#cwstau update

[cwstau]

It felt different this time. It was the hum of the tattoo machine near his spine, the shocks of pain sliding near bone and nerves, spreading out along his skin, all linking with the burning ache of his side. It all melded into one feeling that kept washing over him, almost like meditation. He lost himself in the sensation, Viz’s tattoo gun the only sound punctuating the air. There was a hand pressing solidly on his back, little huffs of breath against his neck…against his best judgment, Pony felt this was something. Something different than it had been before.

It could be his imagination. But his instincts told him that it was worth trying.

--Chapter 11/26 of Conventional Weapons is now up!

Note: We have moved from Mature to Explicit in this Chapter!

[cwstau]

“When I was just starting out, when I was struggling with it all, Mom used to say,” Pony looked down at Robin, then, watching her stir in her sleep, turn in closer to him. Even in her sleep, she knew what he needed. What would he ever do without her. “ ‘Batteries don’t bleed, and robots don’t cry. It’s a better way.’

I used to think that was what I needed to strive towards. Now–that’s another kind of hell. Freezy showed me that. You –” Steve cleared his throat, worried he’s given himself away, “You all have shown me that.”

Looking up, he smiled as the cloudless sky showed the wide expanse of stars above them. “With all the light pollution of the city, never could see stars there. But I don’t think I would have ever appreciated them, when I was under their thumb, anyways.” 

Eddie was looking at him again as he brought his gaze back down, and all Steve could do was give a small smile and shrug his shoulders. “Rather die as myself than be forced to be someone I didn’t get to choose.” 

“Yeah well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Pony Boy.” And to Pony’s surprise, Viz smiled back.

-- From Chapter 8 (Revolver) of Conventional Weapons

Got another chapter up, this time it comes with commissioned art from @axolotlelle ! I've had the art for a while, but just had to get to the point in the story! Hope yall enjoy!

[cwstau]

Chapters: 10/? Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016), Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys: California (Comics) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley/Chrissy Cunningham, Eddie Munson/Cherri Cola (past), Argyle/Jonathan Byers Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley, Chrissy Cunningham, Billy Hargrove, Dr. Death Defying (Danger Days), Agent Cherri Cola (Danger Days), Dustin Henderson, Val Velocity (Fabulous Killjoys), Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Party Poison (Danger Days), Fun Ghoul (Danger Days), Jet Star (Danger Days), Kobra Kid (Danger Days), Jonathan Byers, Argyle (Stranger Things), Lucas Sinclair, Tommy Hagan Chapter 10 Summary [Black Dragon Fighting Society]:

Besides The Mad Gear and Missile Kid, there were a few other bands that played shows out in the Zones. Freeze always was dragging him to one show or another, subjecting him to some screeching and yelling. Besides Mad Gear (which was so damn weird, it was hard not to enjoy them–him?), Pony really hadn’t found a group that he enjoyed enough to seek out on his own. This was all a Freezy-project and he was more than happy to tag along. In fact, he was pretty sure Freezy loved finding bands that were progressively worse to torture him, laughing as he would lean in to ask her what the hell any of the songs meant.

This band wasn’t the worst he’d ever heard; what they lacked in skill and talent they made up in enthusiasm and Steve could appreciate that. What he did find surprising was Freezy informing him that before Viz became so damn wanted by BL/Ind, he had been a part of the band –Corroded Coffin– as their guitarist.

Which, watching this band of strange long haired metal-heads jamming up on stage, suddenly made a lot of sense. There was an edge and anger to their music that reminded him of Eddie.

For better or worse.

--

I'm so close to graduating I can taste it; once I'm done, this story will be back fully on my plate. Chapter 11 is a *doozy* in a good way...I'm just so sad that I have to make ya'll wait for it. I know this chapter is short and sweet, but its set up for a bigger thing. :3

Again thank you for each and every one of you that comment and kudo. It means a lot to me. This is my sweet little weird baby and I'm just glad there are others out there who enjoy it too.

[cwstau]

“Has anyone told you about the Post Boxes out here?” Cherri’s voice brought Pony out of his spiral, and he brought his face back up to glance at the radio jockey, who was looking at him with something soft and curious in his eyes.

Pony shook his head, picking up his drink again, wondering if the conversation on the masks was over or if this was somehow part of it. “No. I mean, I’ve seen them, but I thought they were just a remnant from before the Helium Wars.”

“They are–but they aren’t. They became something else during the war, in the way everything got injected with atoms and energy and became something more if they made it out. Some of us believe, I believe, that they still send messages. But only to one person: The Phoenix Witch.”

Chapter 9 of Conventional Weapons is up!

[cwstau]

Just a quick update from my end.

I have one more chapter ready to go which I probably will post this week or next. School has started up again and I have multiple papers due in class, plus my thesis to complete, so I suspect I wont have any updates until after March. School is OVER OVER then, and I'll be able to get back on a schedule.

Sorry for the slowness, I'm a slow writer by nature, and school just makes that worse. Thanks for sticking with the story, and I promise it's going to be worth it in the end.

-L

[cwstau]

As a heads up, no update this week!

School is starting again, and I need to make sure I meet a Zine deadline.

2/3rds of the next chapter is written but I need to add an additional section so I need at least a week to get that going.

-L 

[cwstau]

Just an update for everyone:

School ends in a week or so, and so once I'm clear of march im back writing this in earnest. Everything is outlined so I'm hoping that I'll have it done by June?

But yeah, once school is out, CWSTAU is back on!

[cwstau]

Just a heads up, the new addition I was adding to Chapter 5 got away from me (aka it was supposed to be like 500 words max, and its doublet that now), and I want a bit more time to edit it/clean it up, so my update won’t be coming Monday, but probably later in the week.

Thanks for your patience! 

-L

[cwstau]

20 Questions for fic writers

@cchapsticck tagged me and given we should have an update on CWSTAU by the end of this month, figured I should post.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

4 - Most of my work isn't published. I've written a lot but just...not put it out there. I've always been a chicken. However one I archived/deleted and the other is on an account I don't associate with this one, and is on long term hiatus. The other is on someone else's account that will be explained below and just, /gestures.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

18,760 (published) but to give ya'll some idea of how much of Conventional Weapons is sitting waiting to be edited/refined, I have 14k sitting in gdocs

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things, Danger Days. This is a labor of love towards both fandoms, and when the main CW is done, I have pieces that are going expand with both the characters of ST and DD. Any other non-DD things will go on my other account (not associated here).

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

adlfkja only got the one baby. But I'm so thankful for each and every one of those kudos.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! It may not always be coherent or the best comment, but I try to give people some sort of response as they've gone that extra mile to provide me a comment. Every kudo, every comment means so much to me. Seriously, I wrote this expecting an audience of like, 2 people, and knowing so many more are enjoying it means the world to me.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

There is a timeloop fic that remains in the drafts that has a horrible ending, but I don't know if it will ever be published. As of right now, no angst endings here. Complicated, messy, but not angst ridden, really.

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

The ending of Conventional Weapons is already written--its been written for a long time (before the middle parts were even written) and I don't know if it's the happiest ending, but it's the most hopeful.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nah, I'm too niche for that lol.

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

Smut with emotion? IDK. There are plans for smut in CW but I think they are going to be 'missing scenes' published after the fact that people can read/not read at their leisure. I enjoy writing it, but it isn't really what this story is about, and I honestly don't feel that it works with the main body of this story. Hence, the "click here to read the sex" aspect of what is going to happen. The 'sequel' things may be more explicit, as they aren't the direct story.

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

Gestures to what this entire blog/project is about.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nah.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

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

While not a traditional co-written piece, @cchapsticck has provided insight that has really helped me move this along, and the key mantra in the fic itself is from them. Their art has also really been important as well. They sell themselves short on their additions, really. Their help, esp early on, in helping me shape the world, means that this fic is what it is now.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Legit could never choose one

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

Look, the story that's on hiatus may never be finished. And hey, that's okay. I have a few that I've got outlines for, that may never get past that. I'm a slow writer, I always have been. I really dont want to let anything else get rolling until CW is done anyways.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Look I'm going to be honest, I have no fucking idea. I will say I think I'm pretty good at characterization, and I usually feel confident in my choices for the character--in a 'yes they would do this given the situation' and a 'yes they would say that'. Given it's an AU I get more wiggle room, but I feel really strongly about Steve and Eddie's characterization, and I know that not everyone feels the same way I do regarding them--but I'm confident in my character choices in the story. [This goes for my other stories as well but--]

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I hate writing action. I suck at it, and I try to avoid it, despite evidence to the contrary. Trying to keep track of all the balls in the air is just annoying as hell. Also despite this fic having a real overarching plot, I have really wanted to keep it 'vibes' based more than plot, cause things get to plot heavy and I start to worry I'm a bore. It's where my insecurities start to sneak in, which lets my writing to become a lot weaker in turn.

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

Note: all my statements are assuming you aren't fluent in the language you are trying to write in, and you're a native English speaker. Maybe a word or two is okay? But unless you're fluent, you're gonna make it sound weird. If a character is speaking in German, just say they are speaking in German. Unless it is absoLUTELY important to the narrative that the phrase be in a foreign language, in the fic--do the work to make sure it's correct. Get a native speaker to check it, put in the translation somewhere. But again, ask yourself once, twice, three times if it's necessary.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I didn't consider it fanfic at the time but I absolutely wrote a 'fix it' chapter for the end of The Great Gatsby for class once lol. That was the beginning.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

This one. Again, I know it's niche, but CW is such a labor of love, and means so much to me. It's not perfect, I'm slow going because of school and work, but I've never felt so secure in my own work and felt such joy when I'm working on it.