#deadheaddaisy

[curator-on-ao3]

fic author q&a

I was tagged by @deadheaddaisy for a fun and great fic author game. Thank you for tagging me, @deadheaddaisy! ❤️ As happy as I am to be tagged, the thing is, y’all, I’ve done that particular game a few times already and, even though it’s a great game, I was in the mood for something different. So, I’ve made new questions — and answered them — and I’ve tagged some folks in case they want to answer them, too.

1. Why do you write fanfic?

Life can be stressful, and writing fanfic can be like a little vacation. It’s not my life, anymore, it’s the characters’ lives.

2. Which of your posted stories do you think about the most, even though the story is “finished”?

I think about Malleable and Unmalleable Orders (Mirror Pikeone, E) probably because it’s so different from what I usually write. I also think about The Light Before Dawn (Pikeuna, M) because, even though it would have bogged down the story, I do think they eventually get married and the details of all that sometimes cycle through my brain.

3. If you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

Enjoy this time of not really knowing fic conventions or expectations.

4. What’s your relationship to fic stats?

I try to avoid them. I love every kudos and comment and bookmark and subscription. But I don’t go looking for the numbers unless I have to.

5. Is there a pairing or scenario or friendship you miss writing? If so, why? If not, why not?

I miss writing Kathryn Janeway/Tom Paris. I had a lot of fun with that pairing for a while.

6. What motivates you to write?

If I don’t write the stories down, they get stuck in my brain. So I guess setting them free (in good ways) is my motivation.

7. Why do you write for the fandom(s) that you write for?

I really do believe in the ideals of Star Trek — IDIC and peaceful coexistence and all that stuff. Even though I often write for the spin-off series, not the original Star Trek, creating stories in that universe lets me be part of it, even in a small way. Also, as a bonus, I do think Trek readers are great about comments, kudos, etc., and that helps a lot.

8. If you’re stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

I might work on something else or take a break. The problem will rotisserie in my head and probably work itself out if I don’t push it too hard.

9. What do you wish people knew about comments?

That any nice comment is welcome and appreciated and, if the person doesn’t want a reply to their comment, they can just say so and it’s easy enough for the author to honor their wishes.

10. Maybe there’s a question you wish had been on here. What’s that question (and answer)?

How about, “Do you read public AO3 bookmark notes on your stories?” Yes. Because of bookmarks like these on The Autobiography of Kirsten Clancy (Gen, T):

Tagging with no pressure: @deadheaddaisy, @iamstartraveller776, @fiadorable, @sun-lit-roses, @coffee-in-that-nebula, @grissomesque, @enterprise-come-in, @starrybouquet, @lorcaswhisky, @marymoss1971, @emilie786, @cnrothtrek, @elephant-in-the-pride-parade, @pc-corner, @divinemissem13, @meddow, @missparker, @jazzfic, @the-lady-general, and you. If my tag anxiety got the best of me and I didn’t put your name here, please consider yourself tagged. ❤️

[tinknevertalks]

"Trick or treat!"

Oooooooh, hello! Another trick or treater! I will admit, this was written more because I knew I couldn't do Atlantis characters justice, and because Rick/Evy is just 100% goals. I hope you enjoy this drabble, set some time soonish after the end of The Mummy, but long before they're super established. So super new!Rick/Evy.

--

“Americans are odd creatures,” Evy announced, as she and Rick exited the cinema. Dozens of people flowed around them, but all she saw was him. “Why on Earth would a mummy arise from the dead for secret treasure? It doesn't make any sense at all.”

“Honey, not everyone's been chased by a mummy raised from the dead.” Rick stopped, and turned back to face her. “What?”

She smiled. “Honey? That's a new one.”

He blushed. “Yeah, well… You are… If that’s… if that's fine with you.”

Linking her arm with his, she nodded happily. “Yes, honey will do quite fine.”

[the-haiku-bot]

(Nobody says all

of that is written well, but

that’s beside the point.)

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

Women can write m/m. Men can write f/f. Asexuals can write filthy smut. Lesbians and gay men can write m/f. It's all arbitrary anyway. Who give a shit.

[more-better-words]

Okay, this was a tough call for me… Archer and baby T'Mir or Malcolm asks T'Pol's intentions or the engineering team post Terra Prime… hmmmmmmmmm

I was going to go with Malcolm asks T'Pol's intentions, but it looks like deadheaddaisy just beat me to it (surprise, surprise 😄) so… I’m feeling strong today, let’s go for the anguish (but comforting solidarity through said anguish) of the engineering team post Terra Prime. Please and thank you❣️

Of course you would ask for the one that's the most in pieces currently! 😆 So just a wee sliver, I think.

“How many times did he smile, and laugh, and look the Commander right in the face, knowing what he’d done?!” she cried. Rostov exhaled helplessly. “Janelle…” “How could he do that, Mike?” Kelly asked, wiping her eyes angrily. “How could he betray Commander Tucker like that?” Rostov looked down at the decking, swallowing hard against the bile rising in his throat. “Didn't we all, a little bit?” he whispered.

[curator-on-ao3]

Tag Game: First 10 Lines Challenge

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to and see if there are any patterns!

Thank you so much for tagging me, @deadheaddaisy! ❤️

1. The fabric over her cage is supposed to be soundproof, but Number One burrowed a hole years ago, a toothpick plucked from the open-mouthed snoring of her then-owner and maneuvered to separate tightly knit threads just enough to be able to hear what’s going on. Toothpick returned, the owner none the wiser, Number One could better anticipate when she might be hit or pushed into or sold.

Malleable and Unmalleable Orders, Mirror Pikeone, E

2. The kitchen in their quarters is tiny, a prep island that serves as the main source of counter space hemmed in by the food storage unit and oven. Perhaps, if appliance doors could fully open without almost scraping the island, the whole thing might be charmingly cozy.

Or if the kitchen was for two people instead of the four pilots who live in the shared cabin, just one room with upper and lower bunks built into the bulkheads.

Something Sweet, Pikeuna, G

3. “Vulcan ship approaching to port. Not science or exploration, probably a passenger vessel.” Erica calls out the alert, fingers quick on the piloting console that once was Una’s. “This is weird.”

This Time: A Love Story, Pikeuna, E

4. The wall to my quarters opens. 

Not the door. 

The wall. 

99 Pegasi, Pikeuna, T

5. “It’s like shrinking,” Gloria says, and Phil could crawl inside a magician’s coffin, bang his fists on the interior lid (not to be confused with the secret divider that allows the magician’s assistants to appear to be one person to allow the trick to work) because Gloria is right.

Grief is like shrinking.

Real Estate, Gloria Delgado-Pritchett/Phil Dunphy, Modern Family, T

6. Her knees collapse, a crouch not a fall, her eyes searching for the source of the weapon. She’s highly trained, but his sniper position is almost invisible — the small, high window of a skinny tower on the periphery of the bazaar. 

Disarmed, Mirror Pikeuna, E, the start of what I wrote after prompt text began the story

7. “Do you think Paris has changed much?” Will’s gaze seems to follow the automatic watering vehicles that fly along the straight lines of vines that extend outward from Château Picard. The soil is spongy under Una’s boots, sauntering steps alongside Will, slants of afternoon sunlight, rainbows shimmering in moisture the watering vehicles apply to grape leaves, the dog Number One keeping pace with the two humanoids.

The animal’s species is a dog, right?

One to Make Us Whole, Number One | Una Chin-Riley & Number One | Will Riker & Number One | Jean Luc Picard’s Dog, friendship, G

8. “Try it like this.” Chris’ arm slides alongside Una’s, delicate fingers that slow her shake of seasoning into the simmering sauce. There’s a soft press of his chest to her shoulder blades, ballet-like movements of culinary reverence that help her faster reflexes find calm.

A Little Love, Here and There, Pikeuna, T, a “drabble pyramid” of a ficlet each at 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 words exactly; with five separate first lines I chose the opening I like best

9. Chris left that part out of the official report: the fantasies. 

Not Starfleet’s business.

Not anyone’s business.

Not even his business.

It’s cruel to plumb someone’s thoughts, to share their secrets and watch for a reaction — a reaction Number One barely gave; irritation, if that, not the red-cheeked humiliation he would have felt if that had been done to him. So it’s right to ban travel to Talos IV. No one should ever have to endure that sort of mental pillage ever again.

Nope, never again.

Ever.

Except … ahem.

Fantasies? About him? From the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen?

Truth is a Fantasy, Pikeuna • Pikeone, T

10. “This was amazing, Mom.” Chris settles back in his chair, pancake crumbs and a streak of leftover egg on his plate, the sun bright through the kitchen windows. “Thanks.”

Youthful Exuberance (Some Kind of Love), Pikeuna, E

Pattern analysis: These mostly begin with action or a scene-setting description or both. Descriptions are so the story start can convey that the setting is unusual and therefore relevant to the action about to unfold. Half are quotes and the other half are narrative. My dream is that all of them make a reader want to know more and therefore keep reading. 🫶

No pressure tags: @pc-corner, @divinemissem13, @elephant-in-the-pride-parade, @emilie786, @grissomesque, @fiadorable, @lorcaswhisky, @enterprise-come-in, @marymoss1971, @starrybouquet, @sun-lit-roses, and the many people I’m forgetting because I love to be tagged but get tag anxiety when tagging others. If you want to play, please consider yourself tagged! 🥳

[papercranesong]

last line challenge

Thanks for the tag @unmaskedcardinal and @deadheaddaisy really fun reading what everyone is up to 😁

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you like)

So the last line l wrote in my current Enterprise WIP is sort of like a script jotting before I go back and write it properly -

Malcolm: “I dreamt I was on a boat.”

Trip: “And that's bad?”

Malcolm: “For me it is.”

(Okay so more like a last segment...)

Tagging: @saintzenni @bookq36artemis @themurdochmemesteries

@scatterbrainedcapybara @glitter-and-metal @queenspock @tuvok-enjoyer @ladyeverstark @hederigerenthag and basically anyone who wants to!, no pressure though.

[curator-on-ao3]

Oh my goodness, @deadheaddaisy, I’m crying happy tears to learn this. Thank you, thank you! I am deeply honored for any of my stories to be your comfort read. ❤️

people telling you they reread your fic is the biggest compliment you could ever receive. there are thousands of stories out there begging to be found, to be explored, but your story meant so much to someone that they came back to it eagerly, they went over every word again. to love is to return and loving a fic is rereading it. thank you to all readers and rereaders <3333

[lostyesterday]

gtkm questions, tagged by @mithrandirl!

Last song: Hollon – GloRilla (just listened to it for the first time)

Favorite color: Always a funny question for me since I’m completely colorblind, but I’ve always liked the vibe of dark blue.

Currently watching: Star Trek Enterprise season 2 (I am watching sooo slowly)

Last movie: All About Eve (I’ve been watching lots of Hollywood classics for the first time recently. I liked the women in this one, especially Margo <3)

Sweet/spicy/savory: Savory I guess? I’m somewhat sensitive to food being either too sweet or too spicy.

Relationship status: Single and happy with that

Current obsessions: Mostly Voyager, as has been the case for the last year at least. Also the rest of Star Trek secondarily. I tried to think of a non-Star Trek related obsession and was unsuccessful.

Last thing I googled: star trek discovery episodes (I wanted to check an episode title I couldn’t remember)

Tagging: @tea-earl-grey, @npdclaraoswald, @deadheaddaisy

[talshiargirlfriend]

Alright, you know what to do. Tag 5!

Thanks @flippyspoon

Tagging: @deadheaddaisy @thursdayinspace @killjoyfabulous @themurdochmemesteries @hjea

(and as ever feel free to pretend my forgetful ass tagged you if you want to play!)

What 3 tracks come up on your shuffle?

1. Hozier - Too Sweet

2. Poppy - Girls in Bikinis

3. Chappell Roan - Coffee

What’s the last video in your YouTube history?

Bare Necessities sing along [lmao thanks son]

last one from me is Weird Al’s “Tacky” video - might Al it up for Halloween 😅

The last thing you texted somebody:

It [a neighbourhood cat] wandered out from behind the plant across the street when I got home

The last emoji you used:

🥺 (on behalf of another cat … 🐈‍⬛)

[elenath9]

Have a Hoshi 😁

Pencil sketch on paper

@deadheaddaisy

[curator-on-ao3]

Thank you for tagging me, @deadheaddaisy! ❤️

We good. We real good.

Tagging anyone who wants to play! 🥳

Doing one of these but with my mutuals after seeing this image on my dash today!!

..Y'know he may be the god of war but.. I'm not mad. No, no not at all. :)

@xxgalacticambitionsxx @hatbox-apologist @ghostingyourass79 @kittieshauntedourfantasy @emerald194 @thatonerabbit @comical-icicle

[marointhemoon]

strong like glass

John’s going to be okay. Looking at Rodney, Elizabeth isn’t sure he can say the same. To be fair, neither can she.

Written for @deadheaddaisy. This work is also available on AO3.

Length: 300 words

As far as Elizabeth is concerned, Carson’s voice didn’t shake when he said he could hear John’s pulse, nor when he said it was growing stronger. The doctor was trying to focus. If pretending not to notice him on the verge of a breakdown was the same as not distracting him, so be it.

No matter what he, she, or anyone else thought three minutes ago, John’s going to be okay.

Watching Rodney as he leaves the room, Elizabeth isn't sure he can say the same of himself. As she rises, neither can she.

She finds him near her makeshift office, pacing.

He stares at her, incredulous and welling up, as if coming to find him isn't a matter of course.

“You okay?” she asks, her voice thin.

He could say something snarky. Something arrogant. Something to diffuse the tension. “Never better,” he manages, before letting out an equally watery chuckle of his own.

She bites her lip, takes a glance up and down the hall. He does the same. No one's coming.

As they look at each other again, Rodney breaks first.

She could say something about taking him down a peg. Something about how for all his condescension, he's crying too. Something to distract from how disconcerting that is. As she sees his head tip down, hears an apology under his breath:

Oh, absolutely not.

Elizabeth walks over and wraps her arms around him. He returns the tight hug, burying the lower half of his face to muffle a sob. Her face squishes into warm fabric that quickly gets stained with her own tears. They sag into each other, the tension of the last hour easing.

No one’s going to die today—John’s not going to die today—and that’s enough. Going back to normal is tomorrow’s problem.

[deadheaddaisy]

Lookie lookie, it's Encouraging Malcolm training Hoshi on phase pistols and reassuring her all the way.

[mirabilefuturum]

I got tagged by both @deadheaddaisy (you spooked me alright) and @glitter-and-metal so here we go.

Quiz here, picrew here.

Tagging, which might overlap with previous tags: @rotten-flesh-n-bones @lastlymatt @queenspock @cyanocitta-cristata-bromia @shehungthemoon <3

[more-better-words]

fic author interview

Yoinked this from @ladytharen because it looked like fun. Hope that's not presumptuous of me. <.<

Tagging @deadheaddaisy, @phoenixflames12, @butcharondir, and anybody else who'd like to play.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

60! That's a nice round number.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Currently 593,580 - though in fairness, nearly a third of that is a single fic.

It was a different time back when I wrote that.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The four fics of my Built to Last series (though not in order, lol)

What We Build Here

For the Duration

From the Ground Up

The Place We Call Home

And rounding out the top 5, a Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency fic!

Lay Down the Beat 

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

Absolutely! And because I have very little self-control, I will often do so within minutes of receiving them! 😅

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm. I don't really do angst - I mean, I'll write stories where angst happens, but that's rarely the point of the story. If the plot demands a dash of angst, then, much like a chocolate recipe that needs some salt, it will get its angst. But I don't really set out to write A Series of Sad Events in Which the Characters Are Sad; that's just not my style or my taste.

So I can't really say that ANY of my stories have an angsty ending. Oh well.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

With the above in mind, happy endings are basically a guarantee, at least up to a point. 😆 I let my darlings be happy, I let them get married and have things work out, because it's fiction, dammit, and I can.

That being said, probably the happiest of all would be just about any of my Trip/T'Pol fic, because I let them get married and have kids and successful careers and be surrounded by friends and family who love and support them because SCREW YOU CANON.

7. Do you write crossovers?

No, I don't think my brain's wired for that. I just...can't seem to.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Never on AO3 (okay, I once got snippily told I'd mistagged something, but that wasn't hate). I have gotten hate here on Tumblr, though never anything specific, just general "u suck" which...whatever.

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

For a long time, I did not.

That answer has since changed.

As for what kind...the sweetest, fluffiest, most loving, happy, vanilla, tooth rotting smut ever.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and I seriously doubt I ever would. I'm rather niche.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, niche. Haven't yet, doubt I will.

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

Years ago, I worked on an AU fic project with a friend that was very cool and a lot of fun. None of it ever got published, though.

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Which ever one I'm writing right now. 😁

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

I wouldn't mind finishing my Shadowrun: Dragonfall fic The Haven. Maybe some day.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, baby! I can have two characters sit and talk to each other FOREVER.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action and physical description. Even when I can clearly see a room where action is occurring in my mind, I have real trouble describing it on the page.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I used to not have any, then I started making up words and phrases in my own version of Andorian for my Trek fic.

And I still don't really have many thoughts, because I'm sure I'm doing it wrong.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Hmmmm. Pretty sure there's some BtVS fic of mine still existent on LiveJournal. 😅

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I'd love to write Discworld (I adore Carrot/Angua), but Discworld is already so perfect. It would have to be an absolute gem of an idea.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Whichever one I just finished. 😄

[curator-on-ao3]

Hi! I'm intrigued by "A Flutter of Sparrows" - please tell me more?

Ah, thank you for asking, @deadheaddaisy! ❤️

I was very much in a Voyager angst mode when I started that one. Some words from the WIP:

You watch the sparrows in your mother’s backyard. Pests, your mother says, aggressive creatures that don’t get along well with other birds. But you like the way they hide in the bushes, singing, loud and almost invisible at the same time.

You miss your crew.

You don’t answer any of their comms.

Medical rest, Starfleet said, take some time to get your head together and then we’ll talk.

Not the court martial you expected.

Worse.

You’re like a sparrow, invisible, only you don’t know how to sing and all your aggression is gone.

You want to go home.

You don’t know what that means anymore.

You’ve been at the farmhouse for three weeks, a month and a half in the Alpha Quadrant but it took Starfleet time to inspect Voyager, to process out your crew, to brief you and debrief you and brief you again.

Why do they call it a “briefing” when the meetings take so long?

You miss your uniform. Starfleet wouldn’t let you take any of your red-shouldered ones, issued you new ones with grey shoulders instead and wouldn’t allow the no-longer-regulation ones off the ship. So you wear civilian clothes, blouses and slacks and flat shoes, and feel less like yourself than you do like a bird that some people deem a pest when all the bird wants is to be loud somewhere unseen.

So, yeah, I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to that one. But there it sits in my WIP folder, quiet yet very much seen.

Thanks again for asking, @deadheaddaisy, and for getting me into this round of the WIP ask game! ❤️