#crosstagging this ONE fucking time ONLY so you people FUCKING PAY ATTENTION TO THIS POST FOR FUCKING ONCE IN YOUR LIVES

[lexidius]

Dear riordanverse fandom. PLEASE normalize using these tags:

#character hate

#ship hate

#fandom wank

#character angst

#character death

#riordanverse spoilers

PLEASE LEARN TO NOT CROSSTAG IRRELEVANT SHIT EITHER. PLEASE. I AM FUCKING BEGGING YOU.

[buckskinblues]

This isn’t writing advice per se (more like formatting), just things that I take for granted knowing that when I come across I realize that not everyone does, in fact, know about when it comes to writing. You don’t have to pay attention to it or follow it. Just take it as me rambling pointlessly if you want (or even me being a big old meanie). I’m focusing on fanfic because if you’re serious about working on OG writing I...really hope you already know these things and I mention things specific to using tags and all that (I also focus on Ao3 rather than any other site since it’s the best and also the only site I use for posting anything).

First off, if you don’t use paragraph breaks. Fuck you.

Stop using “~” at the end of sentences to denote someone saying something in a “singsong” way or whatever. Stop using it in general. It looks bad and it breaks immersion because it’s not any sort of capitalization or formatting that is usually used so it can be jarring and also just looks stupid as fuck. The dialogue itself, the dialogue tags, and the context are all you need to carry the mood and convey feeling. Anything else is you trying way too hard. (The “~” is a tilde and is used in some other languages over letters to change the pronunciation and it’s also used in math/engineering to mean something about numbers...so basically if you’re writing in English you shouldn’t be using it because there is shit all reason to do that).

Either capitalize correctly for titles or don’t capitalize at all. Stylistic choices only work if you’re consistent about it, otherwise it looks like you don’t know what you’re doing rather than making a deliberate choice. And yes, even something as small and simple as the title can come across this way. It’s the first thing people see when they come across the story so it’s important it doesn’t look dumb as hell just to capitalize the first word and none of the others. It looks like you typed it out on your phone and auto correct got the first word but not the others. This is only for titles though, if you forego using capitalization in the body of your work just know you’ve committed a grave sin against humanity--you’re damned if you’ve done this for a chaptered work and not just a “stylistic” choice in a drabble.

Stop using...those letters that are from different alphabets and symbols you pasted from unicode or wherever else. It’s not aesthetic. Some phones and computers may not read them and they’ll just be square blocks. They’re hard to read for some people. They represent completely different sounds in the alphabets/languages they’re supposed to be used in. Just...stop doing it.

Don’t mix two different characters’ dialogue in the same paragraph. Each person gets their own paragraph. This is how people know who is talking when there are sometimes just one dialogue after the other without anything else to tell who is who, besides the fact it alternates. Paragraph breaks.

Epithets. Stop using them. Pronouns exist for a reason and context works wonders. “The blond haired agent, the doctor with glasses, the grumpy hitman...” it gets old when you use such things to refer to a character more than their names, especially when you’re using epithets in dialogue tags. And it’s especially unnecessary when they’re the only character in a scene or the only other character being referred to by another who’s speaking. (Also when you use the same epithet multiple times, all the time...I wanna die). Very low level children’s books use epithets often because children are just learning about things and have the attention span of a goldfish. But I hope you have faith your audience is above a kindergarten reading level. The only time I ever use epithets is when a character’s name isn’t revealed yet to the main POV and there really isn’t any other way to get around referring to them until it is. Though you can skip doing that if they’re literally the only other person the main POV could possibly be interacting with. And you don’t want to do this for very long because it wears out its welcome fast. It’s okay to use character’s names to refer to them...that’s why they have names.

Do not do things like “!!!!!!” or “?!?!1!!” Just one exclamation will do. You can use “?!”/”!?” but don’t like...repeat it a bunch of times. Like...I get it, they’re surprised.

Is this a chapter story or a script? Are you writing a play? If you use: Character A: Blah blah blah. Character B: Wah Wah Wah! Consider...not doing that. I mean, DO do that if you’re actually writing a script...but you have no excuse for not knowing how dialogue is actually supposed to be formatted in stories because...I mean...you have read right? It’s the same in every book and story. The bar is low here. It’s not obscure knowledge. Children’s trade books use: “Blah,” Character A says. You have no excuse for not doing the same.

Walls of tags. Ugh. Walls. Of. Tags. Again, I gotta say. Fuck you. Tags are for categorization but you still want to keep them as simple and clean as possible. I’ve legit had to scroll past a wall of tags that took up so much damn space they were all that was on the screen. Do. Not. Do. This. Everyone hates you for it.

Speaking of tags: / is for romantic and/or sexual relationships and & is for platonic friendship. Do not mix up the two. Do not use both. If it’s a slow burn from friends to lovers you still only use /. If there’s no romance at all use &. Do not put “platonic but can be read as--” no. It’s up to you, the writer, whether it’s platonic or romantic so use the tags correctly.

Request booklets uwu. I hate those. I hate them because it’s a shitload of different fandoms, a wall of tags, and (usually) little to no actual content. You’ll get one-shot collections in the fandom tag when there isn’t actually any content for that actual fandom in it. It’s Ao3, it’s an archive. If you want to take requests make a Tumblr blog. In general I’m of the belief that one-shots should be...one-shots. On their own. There are lots of reasons for this. You can add a summary for what the one-shot is about instead of just giving the audience a title and shit all else. You can put it in the proper fandom tag without pissing off people who come across the “collection” and there be nothing for their fandom actually. The only time it makes sense is if the one-shots are all happening in the same universe and to the same people and they stand alone because they’re not chronological but they’re still in the same timeline for the same people. A series is fine. But it’s essentially like someone crosstagging here on Tumblr and using as many tags as possible to get attention.

If you have a chaptered story that follows a specific plot...do not add one-shots or AUs of that story to the that story. Perhaps that may not make sense but there is nothing more infuriating than thinking the story is updated when it’s just something tacked on, a one-shot or something, that interrupts the story and pisses you off because you don’t care you want to find out what happens next. If it all happens in the same universe, put it in a series. But don’t clog up the actual story with diversions. This has happened and while I really liked the writer’s stories I was fucking pissed as all hell. When I saw an update I thought the cliffhanger would be resolved, but no, it was a one-shot...

Use an author’s note for introductions or extra information NOT the body of the work. Please and thank you. Similarly you can add a tag or edit the summary to say the story is on hiatus or will be left unfinished until further notice.

Gender-neutral smut...it doesn’t work.

It’s okay to write OOC. Just like...warn people if you KNOW it’s really OOC.

It’s okay to character bash, honestly. Just warn people you’ll be doing it and that you know it’s petty but you hate writing about them in a positive way. For the life of me writing Sakura (from Naruto) was always a pain in the ass for me, so I understand. Just be self-aware about it and warn people so that they can’t come crying about it. (The power of “well, I did warn you...” is strong).

The relationship tags are only for the MAIN relationship(s). Background ships can be put in additional tags or vaguely mentioned in the author’s note. But please don’t make people think a ship will be more prominent in a story than what it actually is.

Stop using quotes for summaries when they don’t actually tell the readers anything. Summaries are for letting people know the basics of what they’ll be reading about so they know if it interests them. A vague quote from some famous person says absolutely nothing. Quotes can be used to great effect at the beginning of chapters or the end to drive home a theme or add a nice touch but they aren’t summaries on their own.

Use whatever tropes/cliches you want. Seriously. Especially if it’s fanfic. Just do what you want as far as actual content. If you enjoy it that’s all that matters.

So essentially write about whatever you want but remember the formatting is important. Basic capitalization and grammar that isn’t immediately terrible is important. Categorizing properly is important. These are things that really aren’t all that hard, seriously. Once you learn about doing them you just...do them.

[theunemployedrogue]

Rogue’s Fics Masterlist & FAQ

Due to the limitations of tumblr mobile in regards to custom pages and linking to tags in blog descriptions, I’ve created this post to serve as a (hopefully) mobile-friendly quick ref. This post contains links and descriptions of my fanfiction written for Voltron, Dragon Age II, and Rise of the Guardians. Several fics written for various other fandoms are not included here -- if you wish to find all of my material, please search the “roguefic” tag on my blog. Fair warning that some content/pairings may be potentially triggering.

Please find more information as well as the links/descriptions under the “Read More”.

---FAQ---

What fandoms do you currently write for?

As of 2017, I only write for the Voltron: Legendary Defender fandom.

What pairings do you write for in the VLD fandom?

I am a multi-shipper and pro-Shaladin (all characters are written as 18+ in my content). Primarily I write for Shance (Shiro/Lance).

What type of content do you typically write?

My content is generally pretty tame. I enjoy writing short, fluffy one-shots the most, though I have written chap fics and explored darker themes as well. I generally do not write a lot of NSFW, though on the occasions I do I will always label it as such.

Do you use content warnings?

Yes. I try to tag anything I think may be potentially triggering or squicky.

What’s your crosstagging policy?

I DO NOT crosstag -- meaning my fics featuring a ship(s) are not tagged with individual character names or gen tags, only the ship name. I do this out of respect for people who do not want to see shippy material when browsing a character’s tag or general fandom tag.

HOWEVER, due to tumblr’s shitty search function I cannot guarantee you won’t run across my material in certain tags. Search picks up words within a post in addition to the tags. 

Do you take fic requests?

I am open to fic requests, though I cannot promise I will respond in a timely manner or at all, unfortunately. My ADHD and work schedule make writing somewhat of a challenging pastime. Also, I never have anon enabled, so you will not be able to submit a request anonymously.

---MY FANFICTION---

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Shiro/Lance (Shance)

Home is Wherever I’m With You (AO3) Rating: PG (will change when final chapter is posted) Type: Multi-chap/WIP Description: It’s been one month since Lance officially started dating Shiro, and he wants to celebrate the occasion. Things have been going great and their friends assure him Shiro is head-over-heels for him...but Lance can’t help but feel a little worried. If Shiro likes him so much, why haven’t they been intimate yet?

Smooth Rating: G Type: One-shot Description: Written for Shance Fluff Week prompt “First/Last”. Shiro and Lance meet for the first time. Modern AU.

All of You (AO3) Rating: G Type: One-shot Content warnings: Mention of scars Description: The team takes a day off to relax on a tropical beach planet, but Shiro doesn’t want to join in the fun. Lance suspects something is bothering him and tries to get him to open up, which leads to more than one secret being revealed.

Black & Blue & Red All Over Rating: G Type: One-shot Description: Modern AU. When Lance shows up to the gym with a limp and covered in bruises, Shiro assumes the worst (spoiler: It’s nothing bad! Nor anything kinky, surprisingly)

Guess Again Rating: G Type: One-shot Description: Keith confronts Lance about something he witnessed during a team mind-melding exercise…too bad he’s got the wrong culprit.

Keith/Lance (Klance)

Alone Again (Naturally) (AO3) Rating: PG Type: Multi-chap/WIP Description: In a world where people rely on auras to identify potential friends and lovers, Keith Kogane is considered a freak. He’s never been able to see another person’s aura, nor has anyone ever seen his. Of course he’d get stuck saving the universe with Lance McClain -- a romance-obsessed boy who has vowed to search the cosmos for the one whose golden aura marks them as his soulmate.

[Follows the canon VLD story with significant tweaks to events and characters. Tags/rating will be updated as needed. This is primarily a slow burn Klance fic, but features several other pairings as well. Please see first chapter notes for full details.]

Dragon Age II

Fenris/Anders (Fenders)

A Belated Lullaby (AO3) Rating: G Type: Multi-chap/WIP Description: After failing to save the life of a young mother, Anders finds himself in a rather inconvenient situation. Fortunately, he's not alone.

Jealous Rating: PG (no actual sex, but sexual references) Type: One-shot Content warnings: Alcohol use, jealousy/possessiveness Description: Insp. by this post: ‘we’ve been fucking with no strings attached but i just saw you go upstairs with another guy and im drunk and following you both upstairs to punch the shit out of him’.

Untitled Rating: G Type: One-shot Description: A short fill written for the following prompt featured on fenders-prompts: Hate!sex’s fluffy cousin: hate!cuddling.  Anders and Fenris may not be each other’s biggest fans, but Anders’s panacea aura does wonders for Fenris’s markings, and Fenris’s lyrium calms down Justice and restores Anders’s strength better than a full night’s sleep. So whenever Fenris has a bad pain day, or Anders is exhausted from healing and Justice won’t let him rest, they cuddle. HATEFULLY.

Point of View Rating: PG Type: One-shot Notes: Also features Merill/Isabela (Merribela) Description: A short fill written for the following prompt featured on fenders-promptsnfills: Anders and Fenris are celebrities (of any type) who have a very public rivalry/feud/mutual hate going on. Tabloids love them, their fans are involved in an epic fandom war, everyone thinks it will one day end in violence…. until the day paparazzi catch them on a date/kissing/having sex/doing something unmistakably couple-y.

3 Fenders Drabbles Rating: PG-13 (NSFW/references to sex, but no explicit sex) Type: Drabbles Description: Written for the following prompts -- ears & neck, foreplay, hair.

WineWords Rating: G Type: One-shot Content warnings: Alcohol consumption Description: Fenris and Anders are in an established relationship. They manage to keep it under wraps until Fenris has a few too many drinks and makes out with Anders at the Hanged Man. Anders wishes he could take a dose of the same liquid courage to deal with his own little secret…

Unfair (AO3) Rating: G Type: One-shot Description: Anders pays Fenris a house call and gets an unexpected surprise. 

All That  I Can Give (AO3) Rating: PG Type: One-shot Description: After being in a relationship with Anders for six months, Fenris still isn't ready to tell their friends. Anders tries to reach a compromise. 

Untitled Rating: PG Type: One-shot Description: Anders/Fenris, for the prompt: Imagine your OTP+ chilling out together in the summer. The temperature eventually rises so high that Person A decides to ditch their clothes and wear only their underwear. Person B follows suit. What happens next is up to you.

Flirting With Flowers Rating: G Type: One-shot Description: A short ficlet based on the “Imagine your OTP in a florist/tattoo artist AU” prompt. Featuring tattoo artist Fenris, florist Anders, and piercer Isabela. Fluffy pre-slash. 

Fenris/Anders/Hawke (Fenhanders)

Fair Enough Rating: G Type: One-shot Description: Hawke tries to win Anders a prize at the fair, but he’s terrible at games. Fenris isn’t.

Rise of the Guardians/Guardians of Childhood

Pitch Black/Jack Frost (Blackice)

Tomb Lilies (AO3) Rating: R/Mature Type: Multi-chap, complete Description: Desperate to save the life of his sister, Jack promises himself as blood slave to a vampire named Pitch Black in exchange for her health. Unbeknownst to Jack, Pitch is an ancient, immensely powerful vampire that has become a threat to his brethren. When Manny, a vampire lord fearful Pitch's uncontrolled power will permanently unravel their society, hires a team of vampire hunters to kill Pitch, Jack has the chance to escape at last...but does he truly want to leave Pitch? Vampire AU, colonial era.

Black Celebration (AO3) Rating: Ranges from G to Mature Type: Collection of one-shots Description: Pitch reaches Jack before the Guardians and takes him on as an apprentice. Feelings develop after Jack begins to desire physical attention after three centuries in Pitch’s company. 

Kozmotis Pitchiner/Jack Frost (Goldenfrost)

Concussion (AO3) Rating: PG Type: One-shot Description: Dr. Kozmotis Pitchiner gets a rather flirty patient. 

The Dismantled Sky (AO3) Rating: R/Mature Type: One-shot Content warnings: Homophobia/homophobic violence, dubcon, implied character death Description: 1945. Kozmotis isn’t where he wants to be when it happens, but there’s a small comfort in having someone to suffer aside him. Originally written for BlackIce Week theme, “Post-Apocalyptic”. 

Gen

Until the Clock Strikes Twelve Rating: G Type: One-shot Description: Pitch is stuck in the body and mind of a small child, with no recollection of who he is, until his next birthday. North takes Pitch under the protection of the Guardians, convinced that they can turn his life around if they shower him with love and affection for as long as they can. The only problem is, no one knows Pitch’s birthday, so there’s no telling when he’ll revert back. Jack & Pitch (friendship) centric.