#i have so many wips but so less time and motivation to finish them all

[morphean42]

Working on my soulmate WIP diligently, it’s 10k words already and it’s sort of all over the place (I have too many ideas and might need to just take some parts out and write another fic with them) but here’s a preview of what’s to come

I wanted to explore a world where soulmates are less of a “true love” sort of thing and more “someone who will be important to you in some way”. Of course, society treats the idea of soulmates as a strictly romantic thing (especially in Edwin’s time) and many people use their apparent soul bond as an excuse to harm others.

I’ve always been interested in soulmate AUs, how they would affect the society and way relationships form, and I thought DBD would be a fun fandom to explore that in. So yeah, Edwin and Charles aren’t soulmates in this, because they aren’t supposed to meet. How wonderfully romantic it is to fall in love anyway?

(Please if you enjoy this at all let me know, as I said my Google doc is a mess right now and I need motivation to edit and finish it)

It is in the summer of his 16th year that Edwin Payne meets his soulmate. It is July and he would quite literally like to be anywhere else, the heat is oppressive even indoors as he sits stiffly on the chaise longue beside his betrothed.

She wears a respectable pale blue dress that flares out at her ankles, her blonde hair is neatly tied up, and she never once smiles with her teeth. In fact, they do not so much as look at one other during their conversation, opting to stare out the bay window across the room.

“You seem like a very lovely young lady,” Edwin says, because he has no clue what else to say. She nods once at the compliment and does not seem offended by the lack of emotion he holds towards her.

“I look forward to our continued courtship.” In the corner of the room Edwin can feel the heavy stare of his soulmate’s governess. He knows this is utterly wrong (they are soulmates, the woman should have to beat them away from each other. Yet, the idea of trying to kiss this girl sends a shudder through him), but he does not know how to fix it.

They met the way offspring of the rich often do; parents having hired a professional soulmate tracker. After a month of worrying (what if she was lower class or, god forbid, not English. If his soulmate was of lesser stock, obviously it meant he was too and his parents would not hesitate to send him away for good) he finally received the notice— Miss Eliza Geralds had been located.

So, here he sits. She is of noble blood, the match will be beneficial for both of their families. Edwin tries, as he looks at her, to imagine all the things he should feel; the overwhelming love, the feeling of two puzzle pieces snapping together. The problem is he doesn’t feel anything of the sort— just vaguely sweaty.

The whole soulmate business was something he never quite got, after all. Here they were, the intangible red string that proclaimed them to be the perfect match for each other laying neatly between them, and he felt nothing. Yes, objectively he could say she was pretty. Yes, objectively he would say she was smart. In fact, as they met and talked and he realized this was the woman he would be married to in just a few years, Edwin could not say he minded her being his soulmate. If it had to be someone, he would take her.

But, and there is always a but where he is concerned, he does not love her. While he is not an enjoyer of romance novels (preferring detective stories in which the mystery overshadowed any relationships) he knew the basics of how this was supposed to go. Man meets woman, they are soulmates, they fall madly in love at first sight. He doesn’t feel anything except slightly uncomfortable as the future Mrs. Payne smiles (tightly, showing no teeth) and says he is ‘not as bad as he could be’ (Sherlock Holmes had a point when he said “the motives of women were inscrutible”, because what the devil could that mean?) as their initial meeting draws to a close.

When he goes to bed that night he runs a finger over the red string that sits upon his wrist. It is more a curse than ever, tying him to a life he wanted to escape. There’s a war on, they say it will be over soon enough (they have been saying that for two years now), and Edwin knows if it lasts much longer he will be sent off with the rest of his class. He will be sent off with his class to drown in mud and bullets and gas, and when he returns (will he ever return?) there will still be no escape, for Eliza will be waiting and he will be responsible for her.

His future is mapped out and crystal clear. Fight for England (try not to die). Go to law school (graduate early, do not be there longer than he has to). Marry the girl (the wedding will be small and he will practice in the mirror until he looks in love enough as to not break her heart). Have children (he will try to love them, better than his parents did for him, but he will mess it up of course. He only hopes they turn out more like their mother). Die (It will be nice to finally rest away from the expectations that weight down his every step. He can only hope it will be quick). He tugs the string that chains him down and felt a distant thrum of unease mingle with his own anxiety. Eliza is just as doubtful as he, it seems.

The thing about a soulmate is that they were truly nothing but a wild guess, a stab in the dark, an attempt at unconditional love. Edwin knew of soulmates who could never imagine life without the other. Edwin knew of soulmates who fought violently and spewed hateful words. Edwin had heard of a man and woman who were soulmates, the man murdering the woman in the middle of a crowded street. So, soulmates. Was your supposed other half your better or your worse?

Fight in the war (don’t die). Go to law school (do it quickly). Marry the girl (learn to fake it well). Have children (they will be the best part of him). Die (quick, in his sleep, no suffering).

Five months later Edwin accomplishes the last one. He was right, the actual dying bit is very quick. There is suffering, though. He suffers more in those last seconds than all his years on earth. He doesn’t notice the string fade to gray and slip from his wrist as his body is disintegrated and dragged to Hell. There is no comfort in Hell, after all, not even from a girl he could only teach himself to love.

[signanothername]

Sooo... I'm back from the dead after dying from the overflow of too many positive emotions yesterday... (thanks for all the kind words 🩷)

And I'm back with another ask! Cool.

My question is not something necessarily related to the topic of the blog or anything, but rather about your artistic process?

So, personally I think many artists have those moments, or maybe specific paintings, that may just be emotionally draining. Like you're drawing a piece, and you don't like it for some reason, you try to change it, but you still don't like the painting, and you keep trying, but it's just something that's missing and you don't understand what it is and it just becomes frustrating and you start to get angry and-

Well, at least I seem to have such moments quite often (I dunno, maybe I'm just a perfectionist), and as far as I'm concerned different artists have their different ways to cope with this, so I wonder - do you have such moments sometimes and what do you usually do about it?

I'm sorry for the long ask I just can't keep things short and I'm just always curious about such things and the way different artists do stuff 😅

Hello!! Amazing to see you again! <33333 (of course!! Thank you for your kind words as well aaahh 😭❤️✨🌷)

As for your question, oooh boi, yes actually I have these moments A LOT, it’s cause i’m a perfectionist myself jdhdhdh

In fact, these kinda moments is why i sometimes give up on certain artworks or comics I make, and that’s why my wips just always seem to pile up, here are some examples of two artworks and a page of a comic I gave up on cause I just couldn’t for the life of me make them into what I wanted

And I will be lying to you if I said I have a solution for it or that I know how to deal with it

But I deal with it in two ways, I either completely delete the sketch i made and start over again

Or what I usually do is that I actually stop if i find the piece I’m working on emotionally draining, let go of the artwork and work on something else that i find fun, cause “giving up” doesn’t necessarily mean i will never get back to them, I see it as “taking a break” from the artwork till I get inspiration or motivation back to work on it again

Generally I’ve learned that in art, it’s ok to take things slow, I don’t always need to finish the artwork that I started before I start working on something else, in fact, taking things slow is how I made art much more enjoyable to me, cause it means I actually enjoy the process instead of treating it like there’s some sort of deadline above my head

To give you an example of what i mean, this artwork right here? Took me over 2 weeks to finish, not cause i couldn’t finish it quickly (in fact i can easily finish the same artwork in less than an hour) I just taught myself to take my time when making art, take things slow snd enjoy the process bit by bit, i worked on the quick sketch, closed it, then got back to it to work on cleaning it up multiple times, closed it again, then worked on coloring it and so on

And that’s also how i deal with artworks that make me frustrated, i take things slow, if i get frustrated then i simply close the artwork and work on something else till i have the motivation to work on what frustrated me again, that way i took a little break, and sometimes actually while working on something else you might get an idea on how to fix the artwork that frustrated you, but ultimately art is supposed to be fun not frustrating, so it’s ok not to finish artworks, it’s ok to abandon artworks if you don’t like them or if they emotionally drain you

That’s how i deal with it at least, but i say try to find your own path to how to deal with it, cause my way might not work for you, so i say experiment and find out :D

And nah don’t apologize i love long asks actually dychchch

[paeliae-occasionally]

Writer Questionnaire

Thanks @drchenquill, @the-letterbox-archives, @the-golden-comet and @ominous-feychild the tags!

I haven’t posted in a little bit because of real life, but I might be back soon. I miss you guys…

how long have you had your writing tumblr/writeblr? a fast and loose estimate is fine!

Just over a month.

what led you to create it?

I wanted to chat about my world and I really didn’t like the atmosphere in other social medias.

what’s your favourite thing about the writeblr community?

All of the talent and love <3 Making this account has motivated me to plan 3 different WIPs and write the first few chapters. I had never been able to get to this place before, so thank you everyone!

what’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

Feel free to ask things. Even if it is just a hello! I love interacting with people, any questions about my world or my writing process. Or Physics if you are particularly curious…

is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

I like my dash. Lots of great people!! I wouldn’t really change anything.

which wips or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

I have just finished by full outline of the Xaeren WIP and have written a draft of chapter one. I have also finished chapter 3 of Paeliae.

how long have you been working on them?

Well I started building the world years ago, just daydreams, maps and languages. I wrote the history mostly last year and this year and then the characters developed from the places and history.

do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

The world was a project I started just for fun, then acted as a setting to tell stories in. I then liked the stories a lot and decided to write them.

how much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

A long time. Not even just my current characters, many many more people who don’t even fit in this world as well.

when someone asks the dreaded, “what do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

Umm… I say Sci-fi fantasy, and worldbuilding, then when they look blankly at me I say like tolkein and then they leave me alone.

name any characters you created. side characters, protagonists, antagonists, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like!

The main characters in chronological order:

-Ez and Rin (they are the the first romantic relationship I wrote and I love them.)

-Paeliae (His story describes the dissolution.)

-Xaeren (The inventor of most runes and the last godkiller.)

-Apollo and Tyro (Essentially modern day)

-Marsh and Daimion (I’m still not sure how future-ish I want this.)

who’s the most unhinged?

That really depends.

I’m sure lots of people would expect Marsh, but while he has no internal rules against murder, he keeps closely to the rules he does hold for himself and is really loyal when it comes down to it. Even if he doesn’t realise this he does care deep in some hidden part of him.

Xaeren cares the least about his own moral code. The only motivator he has is killing the goddess, and there is nothing he won’t do to get there regardless of the fact he knows it is wrong. He assumes he will die in the attempt so lives like a dead man because he has no life beyond this purpose. He might appear kind at first but you will always be second to his mission.

who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Apollo or Marsh. Apollo because he is lovely, I always like writing him comfort the team and also his fight scenes are really cool. Marsh because he acts so carefree and his humour is great.

do you ever cringe at them?

Yes. Mainly because I hate my writing, but also I just don’t like writing romance in general, so writing Zahra and Daimion has always been a bit weird. Strangely I never got that vibe with Ez and Rin, that might be because they are such a beautiful tragic couple that the story feels less like a romance.

how much control do you feel you have over your characters? do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? to what degree? are some less cooperative than others?

Well… I have a very clear idea of who they are and would much sooner change a plot point than a character so in that sense I have little control, but also they are my people so I can get them to cooperate.

do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? and do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? for example, as asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on ao3, etc.

Yes!!! I love it, any method is great! I am more likely to see asks and reblogs, but anything works!

what makes you want to follow another writeblr account? do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? do you follow based on wips, or vibes?

Vibes. If they seem cool, I will follow them. I’ll likely do a quick check to make sure that they seem like a real person and that they make posts that I would like to see, but this is not usually based on their WIP type.

what makes you decide against following?

If I wouldn’t like to see their posts, I won’t follow them. This could be for many reasons, but common ones include: They seem like a bot, they post overobscene stuff, they make me feel uncomfortable, etc.

do you interact with non-mutuals often?

Sometimes, but if I interact with someone I am likely to then follow them.

do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

Yes! I have so many peoples characters whom I love and cherish.

Tagging @saturnine-saturneight, @theink-stainedfolk, @phoenixradiant and @oliolioxenfreewrites

[rosie-b]

WIP Reblog Game

Thank you for tagging me @coffeebanana! <3

List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)

An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing

Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!

Then tag 10 writer friends!

WIP TITLES

(I'm not sure if these wips are supposed to all be partially posted already or not, so here's a mix of fics with potential sequels and multichapter fics)

True Blue - enemies au + kwami swap (Marinette is the Peacock in this one) (it's been nearly a year since I posted the first chapter and I really thought it would be finished by now T^T)

Guilty by Association sequel (probably) - ladrien fake dating post-hawkmoth defeat

For the Sake of a Ring sequel (maybe) - lovesquare multiverse shenanigans before it was cool (unrelated to the paris special)

A Chat Walks Into an Office series (perhaps) - crack, ladrien, and gabriel realizing he's an idiot after an unexpected reveal

Growing Fangs (someday) - canon divergent future au centered on the next generation of heroes (the dupain-cheng kids) (it's been over a year since the last update bc i wrote myself into a ditch and can't get out of it hehe)

(As you might be able to tell, I don't leave most of my fics unfinished for long; I'm normally pretty good at leaving my ideas as oneshots or finishing them quickly.)

UPCOMING SECTIONS

The Gorizilla chapter!!!!! It's gonna be so fun (and an emotional roller coaster)

Ladrien with fake dating!!! The first fic was more-or-less a setup for this exact scenario. The problem: I have roughly no ideas for which direction to take this series atm

Ok, so this fic will be the battle scene from Adrien's pov, featuring many different universes' Ladybugs. I came up with one Marinette who is literally a rose and I love her so much so I'm most excited to try to incorporate her story (gonna be a challenge though)

Finishing the series. I might honestly end it where it is, but I do have a draft of Hawk Moth meeting Ladybug and explaining what happened (she doesn't believe him, of course, and she's very concerned for her partner)

Ok, after the decade-long timeskip, Chat and Ladybug will start off as the main heroes. However, they'll be forced to give their Miraculous to their kids for Reasons™, and I am very excited to get to that part and what happens afterwards (i swear i have a plan, it's just i keep getting sidetracked)

I get distracted by new ideas all the time, so the only 100% guaranteed updates are for True Blue (within a month) and Growing Fangs (before I die). BUT. I will be motivated to work on the other sequels if you guys vote for them or leave comments/tags saying you'd like to read them!

So:

10 new people to tag is a lot, so let's see: @lady-de-mon-coeur, @nemaliwrites, @marimbles, @chai-ki, @aidanchaser, @deinde-prandium, @ninadove, @fragileizy, and @hamsteriffic (no pressure, of course! and sorry if i re-tagged you)

[queenlua]

Writer interview game

tagged by @ultrakatua , hello thank you i’m a slut for attention

(if you're reading this you should feel free to consider yourself tagged, even/especially if you feel like you don't know me that well!)

When did you start writing?

Since I was pretty little… my 1st/2nd grade teacher had this thing where everyone had to write something in their journal every morning and I was SUPER tryhard about it, and when she told us we didn’t have to write about our lives, we could write about ANYTHING, I definitely started making up wild stories n shit

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I read anything and everything. I guess I wouldn’t be a very good writer of big nonfiction history tomes, but that’s mostly because it requires, y’know, knowing a lot of history first; if I had that knowledge it seems like it’d be fun to try!

I used to say “I could never write a mystery” but then I read Tana French and was like ooooh maybe mysteries are cool actually so. huh. i guess i can imagine myself trying to write just about anything once. (in practice i mostly end up writing a combination of moody litfic and shlocky scifi/fantasy)

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I’ve occasionally tried to actively emulate a specific author’s style, but that kind of thing feels kind of hard to sustain for more than the length of a writing exercise. it's kind of like trying to talk with a different accent. like, sure, you CAN train yourself to talk a different way… but i like how i talk fine, i’m too lazy to change :P

i dunno if i’ve heard many ppl comparing my writing to Actual Authors! and i lack the objectivity to figure it out myself haha

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

i do the Truman Capote thing where i mostly write lying down (but on a couch instead of in bed b/c partner is an extremely light sleeper and i do most my writing between midnight and 4am lol)

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

god i wish i knew!!! then maybe i’d be able to muster it up on demand!!!

(in fanficland i seem to tend to glom onto a specific character and then just write ten fics Examining That Character From Every Angle. in origficland it’s that but usually with some sort of archetype or folktale or something that i’ve become briefly obsessed with)

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

…I did have a moment earlier this month where I typed a line of dialogue, thought to myself “that sounds faintly familiar hm,” did a ctrl+f on my computer, and discovered I’d used a very similar line of dialogue in an abandoned WIP from seven years ago, in a scenario VERY THEMATICALLY/SITUATIONALLY familiar to the WIP i was working on, and i was like. oh my god. i so have a Type why am i like this

(in this particular situation the Theme & Variation was along the lines of “doing a Horrible Thing under duress but also none of these other fucks are willing or able to do it so i guess i gotta, jfc.” skimming over my past few pieces, inasmuch as there’s any commonality between them, i think i can point at, like… “feeling trapped by a mostly-internal sense of obligation that is nonetheless *experienced* as though it were external,” “people talking past each other for very good yet nonetheless tragic reasons,” “clueless rich guys,” “angry women contemplating murder”)

((wait, also: awful dinner parties and awful sex. fuck, why didn’t i lead with that one. i want to write awful dinner parties and bad sex for the entire rest of my life))

What is your reason for writing?

passes time between now and the grave

(less glibly: i get pretty unhappy if i go a long time without Making something, and of all my creative-ish abilities, writing is the one i find most satisfying)

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Once I finished playing a game, thought to myself “that was good but I really want backstory for [character] and actually I’m pretty sure I have the only correct take on said backstory,” and then proceeded to write that fic. A commenter came in saying “hey I came here because I was really craving backstory for [character] and now I can stop reading because yours is clearly The One that I was looking for, thanks." That felt really good! how often have i had to write a fic, not because I wanted to, but because NO ONE ELSE had written the one I wanted to read??? Glad to spare you some trouble, random internet person.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

for origfic: the author is dead babey. do not perceive me. i am not here

for fanfic: i still don’t mind if the reader simply Does Not Perceive Me; the work itself is the thing i care most about. but, y’know. if someone reads my fic & is like “i’m insane about this character in the exact same way Lua is, i’m-a slide into her DMs,” i’m very down for that, lol. it’s like whale songs. i’m out here singing my goofy tune and maybe i never hear anything back but if i do that’d be a sweet bonus

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

hmmmm. i’m never quite sure how to think about this sort of question… people often answer with something like “dialogue” or “descriptive imagery” or whatever, but that started to feel kind of weird to me at some point? like pointing at a symphony piece and being like “the low winds were especially good at staying in tune,” like it may be a correct observation, but also the whole orchestra has to be in tune to *some* extent for the piece as a whole to work, and when it *is* working the thing you point out as a strength isn’t gonna be something ticky-tack like that

…but i’m not sure what i’d specifically point to as a higher-order thing haha. i guess, last time i reread some of my own stuff, i was pretty pleased with how much interpersonal *tension* there was in various “ppl talking in rooms” scenes (see: awful dinner parties), so maybe something along those lines

How do you feel about your own writing?

arguably the main reason to write fanfic is so I can go back and reread it 2+ years later and be like “damn this shit rules, bitch was really onto something there”

(i like it! it’s pretty fun good stuff! a pleasing mix of action/plottiness/gratuitousness and, like, actual character and narrative work)

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Tagged in the 20 Questions game by @the-little-moment and @kybercrystals94! It was fun to read both of your answers too! :D

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

15, although one of them is a collection containing multiple short stories :)

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

160,403. That's 3x 30k multi-chapter fics and the rest short stories :)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment, The Bad Batch. I have fond attachment to older stories for Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West, and Iron Kingdoms as well.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1/ System Upgrade The Kaminoans upgrade Echo's cybernetics before he is cleared to join the Batch, and then he has to bond with his new squad. 2/ A Fair Price To Pay Crosshair is determined to break Omega out of Tantiss. Along the way, she saves him too. 3/ Test Subject Originally a one-shot, now the prequel/first part of System Upgrade. Echo being experimented on by the Kaminoans. 4/ Beach Days & Hair Braiding Nothing but sweet, tooth-rotting, brotherly fluff. Hunter, Omega and Crosshair on Pabu. 5/ Phobia 300 words, Omega helps the Batch deal with an unwelcome 8-legged guest ;)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I'm an inherently social creature. I always want you to know how much your comment means to me, and it's even better when we get a conversation going.

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

Hmm, this is probably a draw between Soup Of The Day and Presumed Dead. Definitely no positive outlook at the end of those.

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

Another toss-up between Beach Days & Hair Braiding and Human Weapon aka. the Birthday Cake Fic. Both set with everyone living happily on Pabu and both end with Hunter and Crosshair starting to regain some of their old brotherly closeness :)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Haven't yet, apart from getting caught up in the AO3 bot comment fiasco!

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

I do ;) My flavour is more to do with the emotional connection and closeness between two people who trust each other very much, M rather than E rating. I love a love story :')

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

No but I get to brainstorm them all the time with @ninjadeathblade! The craziest one? There's been so many! But I want to say The Bad Batch/Mamma Mia crossover. Nobody was finding out who Omega's dad was in that because all the clones have the same DNA XD

11. (Question 11 was missing! So I wrote my own!) Which fic are you proud of but wish had gotten a bigger response from your readers?

Welcome To The Outpost got off to a slow start, and I wonder if it's because for half of the story it didn't include a single main character from the show? But the people who did read left such wonderful comments so I shall continue to consider this fic my underrated gem!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Adrenaline Crash by the fabulous @tech-o-mania

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

None of my published ones, but I literally spent my teen years writing fic by passing notes back and forth in class, me and my friends taking it in turns to add a few lines to the story!

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I don't think I have one? I am fairly open to reading anything and know how to use the back button if I don't like it. It's less about the characters involved and more about reading the same idiots-to-lovers trope in as many different ways possible.

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

Well it would be lovely to finish all my Iron Kingdoms inspired stories because I'm so attached to them, but it's also so sprawling and I have only me to motivate myself so... I guess that's not happening ^^;

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think it's the occasional absolutely devastating heart-breaking descriptive prose that sneaks its way into my writing :P

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Over-punctuation ^^; I tend to add punctuation every time I pause for thought, which means at times, there really isn't a lot of flow, to my writing, because the little reset counter in my head, forgets when the last time I stopped for a proper break is. Then I have to go back and edit it into sensible length sentences!

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

I have only used fantasy languages, but in Iron Kingdoms a large part of my main character's drive was her heritage so language played a significant part in that.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Final Fantasy 8! Oh so long ago and sad to have lost it in many computer transfers since then. I think everyone should keep the fics they wrote when they were 14. I worked so hard on that story ;_;

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I have a lot of favourites but my number one is probably Adrenaline Crash. I am feral for Feral Hunter.

Tagging if you'd like to play! :- @royallykt @theproblemwithstardust @lifblogs @holdingonforheaven @tech-o-mania @fanfoolishness and anyone else who fancies copying the questions and letting me know about your writing ^_^

[mannatea]

Fanfiction writing and posting culture has shifted so much over the last 20 years. Every time I read anything on r/fanfiction, not only do I lose brain cells, but I feel like a huge, huge part of fanfiction culture has moved toward reading only completed works and avoiding engagement at all cost, but particularly until a work is finished. There was a post yesterday by someone celebrating the fact that a fic they had on alert updated because it had "been so long" since the last update: it was a wait of one and a half months.

That isn't that long for a writer with a spouse and/or children and/or a busy career and/or someone busting ass at school and/or a life outside and off the internet.

While a lot of comments did chastise this person for their perceived idea of a long wait for an update, there were also a few comments from readers proclaiming that this was why they never read incomplete works.

Heck, there were one or two (upvoted!) comments about how writers should simply pre-write everything if they wanted feedback.

Don't get me started on the posts by people that read hundreds of fics a week and yet never comment. "Gosh, I wish I there were more fics for xyz." As if there's not something they can do about that by simply commenting on the works that do exist to show the authors the content they made has an audience!

As a fanfic writer specifically, I find this weird attitude toward the creative work of other people more than a bit discouraging (and sometimes deeply uncomfortable). Fanfiction, like fanart, is a social experience. I create a thing and then others engage with it to encourage me to do more of the thing. I am not a machine and I do not exist for your entertainment or pleasure, but the way fandom leans these days would lead you to believe authors and artists exist for the purpose of consumption.

I am a whole person and doing this costs me my time. For a long story, many many hours of time.

I don't think it's asking too much for people who took the time to read a story (and in particular those who enjoy it) to engage with it.

This doesn't even touch the weird "I only read completed fics" mindset and how it feels to see that sentiment echoed as an author.

"Just write it all in advance before posting it then." Do you even know how long it takes to write a story—to write a longform fic with a plot to completion?

Break Open the Sky was 102,000 words long (and this is short compared to a lot of longfics, so keep that in mind). Even if you assume a writing speed of 1,000 words an hour (generous, because some difficult passages will be much slower to write), that is a whopping 102 hours. That doesn't include the time I had to spend to go back and re-read to continue the story. That doesn't include outlining. That doesn't include note-taking. That doesn't including mapping out locations and distance for travel. That doesn't include editing or formatting to post, either, which took hours per chapter.

I have to sacrifice something else to be able to write. No video games, no movies, no books, no television, no nap, no goofing off online.

Comments become a big motivation, especially on a WIP. It doesn't feel like a waste of time then, to get a little less sleep or take a little less time for yourself; it gives the writer something to look forward to: interaction and socialization with fellow fans. And I don't think the cost is that high for a reader compared to the hundreds of hours it might have cost me to be able to show it to them in the first place.

But nope, r/fanfiction is really out there complaining that fics don't update (even though they didn't bother to comment) and that longfics aren't finished before they start being posted (even though they still don't comment as the story is being posted) and then complaining that there aren't enough fics for [ship]/[trope] even though they are really out there refusing to engage in fandom in a meaningful way that might encourage authors whose work they enjoy to continue to create.

TL;DR: creation costs time.

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Excellent Bugle episode this week, episode 4311. I’d wondered for the last couple of days why it hadn’t come out, because they’re usually recorded around Saturday and released on Mondays. This one came out on Wednesday, and as soon as I started listening to it, of course I understood why. They presumably waited a couple of extra days to record to see if more news would unfold in the Trump situation, so they wouldn’t have to talk about something that people knew nothing about.

I guess it’s also worth taking a bit of time to plan your wording instead of responding to that incident immediately after it happens. Find a way to say both “Obviously you shouldn’t assassinate people” and “We still hate that guy though”, strike the balance in a way that won’t have the Daily Mail announcing WOKE SOCIALIST COMEDIANS SUPPORT POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED MURDER AND JACK BLACK WON’T MAKE MUSIC WITH THEM ANYMORE. I think they did a pretty good job of avoiding that, though Andy might have toed the line a little when he read out a list of victims of successful assassinations who deserved to die less than Trump did. I enjoyed that list.

Anyway, I was pleased when the episode appeared in my podcast app this morning, and even more pleased when I clicked and saw the lineup. Andy Zaltzman, Tom Ballard, Chris Addison. Tom Ballard hasn’t been on The Bulge in a while so it was nice to have him back – he was there in person, as he’s doing WIPs in London right now. Which I know because I’ve been checking the London comedy venues for stuff to see while I’m there, and learned that I could see a Tom Ballard WIP if I were there just a few days earlier. But it’s all right that I’ll miss it, since I’m seeing him in Edinburgh. I think his current WIPs are less about working out the show in general, as he did have it finished, but more about translating the Australian politics-focused material to Britain for an Edinburgh run/British tour. I’m really looking forward to seeing the show.

So I was pleased to hear from Tom Ballard on The Bugle again, but I have to say, the only small downside to this fantastic episode is that Tom Ballard didn’t actually get all that much of a look-in. And that’s not due to any weaknesses in what he had, it’s because he was on with Chris Addison, and the other guests always get pushed to the side of the edit when they’re on with Chris Addison, and rightly so.

I’ve said before that Chris Addison is an amazing Bugle guest because he doesn’t do stand-up anymore. The Bugle isn’t a fully improvised podcast; Andy and the guests turn up with prepared material on topical subjects and then present it and react to each other’s stuff. But most of the time, the comedians are writing for lots of different things at once, and put down a few bullet points worth of ideas for stuff to say on The Bugle. If one of those ideas is deemed good enough to make their stand-up show, they’ll polish it up for that. The version they take to The Bugle is their rough draft.

But not Chris Addison. He doesn’t have a stand-up show to be the final version, or other areas to spread out his ideas. He’s writing multiple finished, polished stand-up monologues for each topic they discuss. He’s throwing all his gold at The Bugle, because he doesn’t have to save any for anywhere else. Andy and other Bugle guests have stopped more than once during his episodes to admire his work/admonish him for making everyone else look bad. One time when Nish Kumar did this after one of Addison’s routines, Chris Addison explained that he just comes across this way because The Bugle is the only opportunity he’s had to write new comedy material in over ten years, and he misses it and enjoys that chance. Which made me say, how many other talents are being wasted out there because Andy Zaltzman didn’t work with them in the early 2000s and put them on the Bugle 15-20 years later? How many brilliant comedians don’t write stand-up material anymore, but are just itching for a chance to do it again, if only an old friend would invite him on a podcast?

That’s what Chris Addison does normally, and this latest episode was no exception. If anything, I think he was on stronger form than usual. He had multiple monologues across the episode that were formatted like a proper, fully-formed stand-up routine. He had tags on tags, of the sort that most comedians only develop after months of WIPs where they think of one or two more words at a time. One of his monologues had a callback to something from a previous monologue. Oh my God, Chris, just fucking book some stand-up gigs again. You can still write your sitcoms and whatever else you’re doing.

So that was great, once again. But that isn’t actually the reason I wanted to write this post. The reason I’m writing this post is to call attention to this exchange, from fairly early into the episode:

Andy Zaltzman: I’d like the Republican Party to become a serious political organization again. That’s right up there with my absolute top pipe dreams, along with eternal peace; guilt-free foie gras; a functioning rail network; compulsory lanyards for all – everywhere, all the time, so we don’t have to remember anyone’s name; a ceasefire in the culture wars – and an equitable and lasting ceasefire, not just one that bumps all the problems down the road, [cough] Versailles; competent top-level administration that safeguards the future of Test cricket for at least the next 4,000 years; and having a head like an orange. Those are my top pipe dreams. Chris Addison: [laughs] That’s a very, very good – very in-joke.

That is an excerpt from Bugle episode 4311, released on July 16 but recorded on July 15, 2024. Now I would like to draw your attention to an excerpt from a questionnaire that sketch comedy duo Zaltzman and Oliver filled out about their 2004 Edinburgh Festival show, published on BBC.co.uk on July 28, 2004:

If the Edinburgh fairy could grant your wish, what would your wish for? AZ: A head like an orange. JO: A head like an orange.

Here’s the important thing about those two quotes: I have carefully combed through the entire individual and combined back catalogues of Andy Zaltzman and John Oliver, and I am pretty confident that those are the only two references ever made to having a head like an orange. This includes within the two sources – I have quoted the entire relevant passage both times, there is no context around it to explain what the hell they’re talking about. They made this joke one time in 2004, I read that questionnaire ages ago and wondered what they were talking about, and now they’d done it again, nearly exactly 20 years later. Like, within two weeks of being exactly twenty years later. And they will not tell us what they mean.

Now, it is possible that I’m just forgetting something here. The fact that Chris Addison recognized the joke in 2024, and that it apparently originated in 2004, makes me wonder if it could have been from The Department, the radio show that Andy Zaltzman, John Oliver, and Chris Addison wrote and starred in together in 2004-2006. I’ve heard every episode of that show a few times each and I don’t remember anything about a head like an orange, but it was pretty dense writing so I could have missed it.

The other possibility is that this is something from Political Animal, the stand-up night that Zaltzman and Oliver ran in London/in Edinburgh during the festival, starting 2003. They’d host it and other comedians would come on to do exclusively political stand-up material, and I know Chris Addison was one of the people who performed there a lot in the early days (Andy, you need to re-start Political Animal in 2024, just so you can make Chris Addison do a set). Some of this got recorded for BBC Radio 4 as well, and there were a lot of weird Zaltzman and Oliver sketches that appeared in the radio show in between the guests, and someone having and/or wanting a head like an orange seems like the sort of thing that could have happened in one of those sketches. I don’t remember it happening, but it’s been a while since I’ve heard that show, so it could have been in there. Even if it never appeared on the radio show, my best guess for the origin of the Orange Mystery is that it was some inside joke from their many Political Animal live shows that didn’t get recorded.

I really want to know this now. I wanted to know before, that 2004 questionnaire is one of my favourite of the weird like Zaltzman and Oliver historical relics. But I want to know even more now that it’s been referenced for only the second ever that I can remember, twenty years later, and we have confirmation that Chris Addison knows what it means. But he’s not telling. And neither is Andy.

I mean, they didn’t tell us, there. Didn’t say they’d never tell. I do pay The Bugle approximately $28/month – by far my most expensive monthly direct debit (well over twice the amount that I pay every month for any other one thing, besides, you know, rent and bills), even though I keep telling myself I need to be careful with money and should probably cancel that one because I can’t quite afford it, but I’ve taken so much free entertainment from Andy Zaltzman that it feels like the least I owe him.

The point is that because I pay this much money, I am a premium subscriber who can access their monthly show in which Andy answers questions submitted by premium subscribers. I just recently wrote a post about how I tend to be horrifically embarrassed by the thought of interacting with comedians I like, normally I’d never do this. But I’m thinking I might, in this case. It’s a reasonable question, isn’t it? Why does Andy Zaltzman want a head like an orange? I might send that in. Interacting with famous comedians does feel slightly more justified if I've paid for the privilege.

It originated way too early to be a Trump joke, no one was talking about his orange head in 2004. I keep trying to picture a head like an orange, in the hopes that that that will jog my memory of some other time when that image has been in my head, perhaps due to some other reference that I’d heard Zaltzman and Oliver make to it but had since forgotten. But every time I think of it, all I can picture is the curious orange from This Morning with Richard Not Judy, and that’s not it. I have never heard Zaltzman and/or Oliver reference Lee and/or Herring, I can’t imagine they’d start with this. My only other vague guess is maybe a joke about the colour of Andy’s hair? But why?

@lastweeksshirttonight @nyomkitten @bimwi, any of the Tumblr Buglers recognize this? Can any of you read this post and say, "How on Earth is Meerkats forgetting the very obvious [old Bugle episode in which they clearly explain their in-joke about a head like an orange, which I am somehow the only idiot who can't remember]?" Because if none of you tell me that's the case, then I'm emailing Andy Zaltzman to ask. Well, I'm emailing Producer Chris, and I'll just have to hope he puts the question to Andy.

Although I recently heard someone else get the opportunity to put just one question to a comedian, and they went with "Fuck marry kill - Rob Beckett, Ricky Gervais, Daniel Kitson", and it did make me think that is the perfect use of an opportunity to ask a comedian one question, and that should be the only question asked by any fan who's ever in such a situation again. Sorry to betray that by asking about a head like an orange instead. Andy Zaltzman and Daniel Kitson sharing a stage/radio studio has delivered some of the most awkward, social chemistry-free energy I've ever heard, so I'm sure he'd have a fun answer to that question too. He might have to let Ricky Gervais live just so he could avoid a marriage or sexual situation in which someone made him do a Marvin Gaye impression in the middle of it.

Edit: Okay, I've been informed that apparently there is an old joke about a man wishing for a head like an orange from a genie? I'd never heard it before but a guy I knew from England told me it was quite well known (and showed me a link to an American site, so apparently they had it there). I had never heard of this. Am I the only person who'd never heard of this? It hadn't occurred to me that Andy Zaltzzman would be referencing a joke he hadn't invented.

[sotwk]

Behind the Scenes: SotWK's Writing Process

Welcome to a little "behind the scenes" of my attempts to keep my growing list of WIPS and story requests/ideas organized!

My Fic and HC Requests are (for the most part), always open, and open to Anons. Occasionally, I also invite requests in relation to writing events or games. Needless to say, I get quite a lot of requests, and I am both flattered and thrilled by that.

However, I also work full-time (albeit always in front of a computer), and I have two little kids (who attend preschool, whew), so I have much less time to focus on writing than most creators here.

But I love writing, and I love using it to make people happy even more. My rule is, I will accept any requests (that reasonably fall within my guidelines, but I can be flexible!) as long as you can wait patiently for me to deliver on them. I always give my best effort to make it worth your while, and I will never ignore your request or give up on it without checking with you first (yes, this includes Anons).

I have no wait list. I do not work on requests "in the order they were received". I work on whatever story speaks to and cooperates with me that day, and that means shuffling amongst up to five WIPs at a time. That's simply how my brain works, unfortunately.

All my fanfics / your requests are always, and forever will be, FREE. They're gifts I am honored to give.

I am constantly saying, "I'm working on it" or "It's on my list", and I would like to offer just a bit of proof of that. So, especially for those who have been waiting a long time (and those who might have to wait even longer), I present my Google Drive's Organized Chaos to show how I keep all those WIPs in check:

Drafts in Progress: Stories that are closest to completion, and the ones I am currently trying to focus on.

Drafts on Hold: Drafts that I have started, but have stalled, so they're on the back burner for now.

Headcanons: I usually draft my headcanon requests straight on Tumblr, but sometimes they go on here.

Ask Screenshots: Where I save Asks that I responded to/deleted, but I needed to save the text for the sake of notes. Also lovely Asks that I save for posterity.

Valentine Event: I received so many Asks for this event that it required its own folder.

Gifted Graphics: Always hoping for new contributions to this one! (not subtle enough?)

And now, for my Fic Tracker Spreadsheet, which tracks ALL Tolkien fics I write, both requests and my personal projects:

I redacted the "Requestor" column to preserve some surprises. I track the estimated "Status" aka percentage of completion as a way to motivate myself, because getting to that blessed 100% is the Holy Grail for me!

WIP: Every fic that's on the "front burner" and I'm actively fighting to complete.

Requests/Concepts: Contains details of all requests and ideas I have which will eventually jump into the WIP tab.

Valentine: Remember how I said I received so many responses to this event? Yeah. I'm still determined to finish them all, though!

To Read: Yup, I track all the fics of friends that I intent to read here, too. That's how important those are to me.

I truly hope all this info doesn't scare anyone off from sending in more requests! I hope this gives Readers/Followers a little more faith in me and show that I take all requests I receive very seriously. They are the most important part of what I do as a fanfic writer.

I may be slow, but I'm committed and determined!

If you have any questions about the above, or about your requests, I'm open! Please keep sending in requests! Thank you for your support and patience!

Link to my FANFIC REQUEST GUIDELINES

Tagging some of those folks who are currently waiting on requests: @quickslvxrr @laneynoir @ladyweaslette @scyllas-revenge @lathalea @g-m-kaye @absentmindeduniverse @aduialel @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @jordie-your-local-halfling @ladyk8tie @blueberryrock @the-phantom-of-arda @tamurilofrivendell @achromaticerebus @klytemnestra13 @glassgulls @the-fragile-heart-of-a-lady @guardianofrivendell @a-burr-a-hobbit @literary-eclair

[simlicious]

Saw a bunch of beautiful knitted patterns on Pinterest and got inspired to make a few new knit patterns. They are among my favorite patterns to make! Now some word vomit, I just feel like the need to ramble today...

I noticed that I really suffer from performance anxiety regarding making CC for Sims 3. It has been building up the whole year, and it is especially bad now that Simblreen is around the corner and the Christmas season is coming up too. On tumblr, people mostly post their accomplishments, not so much their failures, and it makes me think that everyone is so much more productive! I see people participating in Simblreen daily prompt challenges, or making/publishing CC for Simblreeen, and feel sad and inadequate in the face of so much success. I manage to make a couple of things that never really see the light of day, and I feel guilty about it and feel like I let people down😿 At the moment, I can really only make CC for the sake of making it (making patterns is a meditative process for me) and I cannot seem to complete the whole process of publication. I guess if you follow me you are not expecting anything you see appearing as a download soon anyway, but sometimes I really struggle with that. I am really sad about this, but I have always struggled with my perfectionism and intrusive negative thoughts that make the process harder. I sometimes think my patterns are not really needed. The lack of CC that is tailored to Sims 3 specifically (that recolors better than conversions) adds to the feeling that I am becoming obsolete, and my anxiety feeds this feeling. I guess I feel much less motivated to try if there are few things that you can use my CC with, and collabs seem to be much more popular for Sims 4, and I really want to make meshes to accompany my patterns, but I just get stuck in the middle and cannot continue, it sucks so much! The last time I attempted to make a super cozy sweater, I wanted to bake nice textures for it in Blender, but it just wouldn't work it out and I got so frustrated, and the automated bone assignments are subpar for highly customized meshes too. Then I wonder whether my meshes are any good in the first place (sculpting folds and such is really hard to get right!). Now most people seem to work with geoms instead of TSR workshop's WSO format, and I have a hard time understanding how everything works. I would love to assign bones in Blender and such, but I also want to use Blender 3.x and keep up to date instead of always using ancient versions for everything. Tutorials are often for older versions. My brain wants to do things a certain way and it's really frustrating sometimes! Learning from tutorials whilst having a different version of the software is making the process much more difficult. At one point, I had 4 different versions of Blender installed, but is so annoying to have different versions for so many things.

I am using a medically prescribed app now to hopefully help with my anxiety and it currently teaches me that anxious people tend to think negatively and catastrophize. This is definitely true for me, and it keeps me from actually trying out things because my brain tells me I could fail and why waste that time. Actually doing things while the brain throws you curveballs all the time is taking a lot of energy too. Maybe this is part of why I abandon my WIPs, because I cannot muster up the energy anymore to work on them. I often have great ideas and start on projects, and then lose the motivation or energy. I envy people who are able to finish their projects 😭

If you have any tips on how to keep going even with negative thoughts and obstacles in the way, I'm all ears.

[heclosescases]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @rngaredead 🫶

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

91 complete, 2 WIP (one of these is yet to be public)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

797,286

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Ted Lasso and The Mentalist

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Pillow Talk — Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon (The Mentalist) 

To Make The World Less Noisy — Ted Lasso/Trent Crimm (Ted Lasso)

Please, Remember Me. — Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso)

All These Things That I’ve Done — Ted Lasso/Trent Crimm (Ted Lasso)

Squeeze Me Harder — Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Usually yes! I love getting comments as it is a more tangible reminder that there are people reading. Plus most of the time they’re nice to read too. 

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

I love writing angst but not too many of my fics have angsty endings. I like happy endings haha. I’m not sure if it has my angstiest ending - especially compared to some of my Jisbon fics - but earlier this year I wrote a Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt one-shot which probably applies (it seems like once again you’ve had to greet me with goodbye). 

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

Most of my fics have happy endings even amongst the emotional hurt/comfort. I actually think ending a fic is one of the most difficult parts of the writing process but endings I can remember fondly in particular are ‘The Tea Shop’ (Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon), ‘Please, Remember Me.’ (Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt) and the conclusion to my ‘i know it’s just a number but you’re the eighth wonder’ series (Ted Lasso/Trent Crimm).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really… until the series mentioned above. I had a couple of haters on that because I wrote Trent as trans. 

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

Some of my fics include smut but I don’t find it easy to write so usually I either don’t include it or I keep it very vague. However, I have realised that two of my top five fics by kudos are 'E'.

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

Nope. I personally don’t understand the love of crossovers. 

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Back in my Wattpad days I had a fic stolen and translated to German without my permission. Including the cover art. 

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

See above.

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

No, but I have had some cool people beta my fics before. 

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I know I mainly write tedtrent now but I think jisbon will always be my ship. 

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

My only public WIP is ‘Pillow Talk’ (Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon) but it’s a collection of one-shots so there really is no “finishing it”. 

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I’ve got better at characterisations. It is one my favourite compliments if I ever get it because I think it is so important to get that right, for the reader’s enjoyment. I’ve also improved at setting the scene as opposed to just jumping in with the story. Dialogue is definitely easier for me to write than this though. 

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I am my own worst enemy. I will be writing and think ‘yeah this is pretty good’ but when it comes to proofing it I suddenly become full of self-doubt. I know I am not the best writer in the world, but it is a good outlet for me, so when I start to feel like my work is terrible, that hits me hard. It is why I rely so much on comments and knowing if people enjoyed reading or not. Just for some more motivation. 

If there are too many characters, some tend to get lost or forgotten. I have especially found this when writing Ted Lasso fics because there are sooooo many characters in that show who I love but it just isn’t possible to regularly include them all in fics. 

When I am writing, I write different sections of a chapter/one-shot and then try desperately to tie them together which doesn’t always flow well. I also then get annoyed at myself for leaving really unhelpful notes as reminders.  

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

I have done this for a few lines in fics but I couldn’t do it confidently regularly. Relying on translations apps is a risk due to accuracy. I’ve sometimes written dialogue in Spanish for my The Mentalist fics, but never large bulks of text. 

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sherlock - back in my Wattpad days.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Probably ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ but the energy on Twitter when I was writing/updated ‘Undercover With You’ and ‘A Blue-Eyed Surprise To Come Home To’ (both Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon) was unmatched. 

(No user tags because I am not good at Tumblr - but thank you @rngaredead for thinking of me!!)

[perpetuallylatetothefandomparty]

3, 6, 10, 12, and 25 from the writer asks please!

3 - how you feel about your current WIP

I'm going to be completely honest here and say that... I kind of hate it? I'm just at that stage where the flaws are obvious and the good parts are a bit obscured from view. Once I've got it all down then I can edit it and like it a bit more. At least, that's what'll hopefully happen.

6 - the word that appears most in your current draft

"Keith" is top, then "Keith's", but excluding names the top 3 are "druid", "eyes", and "guard". Make of that what you will hehe

10 - what is the longest amount of time you've let a draft rest before you finished it?

Not sure if this counts, but when I was younger and doing original stuff, there was a story I left for 2 or 3 years before coming back and giving it a shoddy ending lmao.

Fic-wise... hmm. *glances at Google Drive and looks away from all the abandoned works* Generally that doesn't happen. If a story gets left for much longer than a month I'll take it as read that I'm probably never going to finish it haha because I'll have moved on and lost the inspiration/motivation to write it. (That's the main reason I don't post until it's all written, because I know I can't necessarily be trusted to deliver) I also don't tend to have many wips that I care about going on at once, because I'm slightly obsessive about getting them finished :)

12 - a trope you're really into right now

Ooh, I've been reading some darkfics lately- absolutely consuming that whump. (Which has inevitably bled into my writing hehe) Hurt and angst (accompanying comfort and fluff optional) are still dear to my heart in terms of genre though!

In terms of specific tropes, I love found family- it's an enduring favourite and one of the things I love Voltron for. I also go for trauma, cold-blooded and sadistic torture, Stockholm syndrome, caretaking, self-sacrifice, self-harm, human experimentation, pleading for mercy (bonus points if no mercy is forthcoming!), and of course hugs in pretty much any context absolutely destroy me. I could list more, but oops, the question was only for only one trope and that's... like... thirteen.

I guess my favourite set-up (getting a little off topic here but anyway) would be someone asking to be hurt in someone they care about's place (I'm kind of imagining a Keith scenario here) but that request is rejected and the loved one gets hurt anyway. The helplessness there is delicious to read/write.

25 - besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

I have a few! Still kind of mastering keeping the idea that 'it's okay not to touch hobbies every day' in my head, because really between classes and trying to have a social life and writing and sleeping I really don't have enough free time to pursue every hobby all the time :')

Music was a huge obsession for me a while back, and for a while I thought I'd end up studying it, but no (going for chemistry instead). Still a big part of my life though, so playing piano is one of my go-to hobbies. (Messing around on bass is a little more chill, I do that too.) And I listen to music pretty much constantly, especially when writing or travelling haha

Reading, obviously, whether that's fics or physical books. I used to do it a ton but distressingly less so since my schedule's got tighter and writing (the current dominant hobby) has been using up more of what free time I have.

Those are the main ones! I also do little bits of sound engineering and cycling (although that's usually just for my commute) and I dabble in various arty/crafty things; there's probably more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Thanks for the ask! ♡

[haztobegood]

✨ Twenty Questions for Fic Writers ✨

Thank you @reminiscingintherain for tagging me!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

67, soon to be 68 with the Trick or Treat Fest ficlet I've written!

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

359,280

3. What fandoms do you write for?

One Direction. I've written some 1d rare pairs which adds BBC Radio 1, Music, Fashion Model, and Actor RPF to my fandoms list in ao3.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Nailed By Louis, Not Another Lonely Christmas, All That You Need, The Prince and The YouTuber, Take on Me

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

Not right away but I do respond. I read them as soon as I see the email notification, but I wait to respond until I need a boost. It's so nice to reread every comment in my inbox as I respond.

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

Surprisingly not the one that ends with MCD! My angstiest ending is a 500 word girl direction ficlet The Phantom Heart.

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

I love happy endings so it's tough to pick! I'm going to go with We're Getting Better With Time because it's about second chances, so the ending feels like a new beginning for their love.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

The closest thing I've gotten to hate was a tweet about Premier Fantasies where someone was appalled by the Harry Styles/Ted Lasso pairing. It wasn't aimed at my writing, just the choice in pairing, so I took it as a compliment that I could write something that shocked people.

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

I do write it, but not as much as I used to. When I started writing I felt so much pressure to add smut into every fic because it gets better engagement, more hits, etc. But the more I've written, the less I care about the numbers.

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

I've written a couple of crossovers! Premier Fantasies is Harry Styles in the Ted Lasso universe, which was crazy just because of the pairing. I had a lot of fun writing dialogue for Ted in this one. The craziest plot-wise is Love and Other Antidotes, which is a One Direction take on Emperor's New Groove, and features Kronk, Disney style hijinks, and Harry as a little cow!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. I think short fics and rare pairs tend to be stolen less often, so so far I've been safe.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't allow translations, but someone did post a translation of one without asking. I have mixed feelings about translations.

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

I have not. I feel like as a capricorn I would want to have too much control over the story for it to be a good idea.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I read and write Larry fics the most, but I also love Niall/Greg James as a pairing and think their dynamic is so underrated.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

My very first fic. It's a werewolf pack fic I started plotting in 2017. I didn't get very far before hitting some major plot holes that I was too inexperienced as a writer to be able to fill. I have grown so much as a writer since then that it wouldn't be the same fic with the same purpose as when I started writing it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

My biggest strength is that I write for myself. I love writing short oneshots even though long fics are get more kudos. I adore the humor of crack fics, even though angsty fics get more hits. I will tackle any new rare pair I want, even if I'm the only person that will read it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I am a creature of habit and my habits have been disturbed. I'd worked hard to develop a habit of writing a couple of times a week, and it was going so well. But after moving and other life changes in the last year, it's been difficult to find the time or energy to write. I wish I could flip on the motivation like a switch.

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

There are a couple of books I remember because of the author's use of code switching throughout the dialogue, and I think it can be really powerful for some stories. But since English is my native language, I would only use it for my own writing if it added to the story, and if had the time to properly research and get it reviewed.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The phandom in 2016 but I didn't post it back then. One Direction was the first fandom where I shared my fic.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

I'm going to do this by category because I can't choose only one:

Larry fic: We're Getting Better With Time Girl Direction fic: Close Our Eyes (Pretend We're Miles Away) Rare Pair fic: Now All The Clouds Been Lifted Ficlet: Through the Static

~~~~~

Tagging: @allwaswell16 @hazzabeeforlou @beelou @evilovesyou @uhoh-but-yeah-alright @kingsofeverything @banaanipoika9 @justanothershadeofblue @disgruntledkittenface @zanniscaramouche

[whereonceiwasfire]

Landing Zone

Figured it was about time I finally did one of these, so hey, hi, hello, I'm Rees (a.k.a. WhereOnceIWasFire). You can find some general info about me, and a masterlist of fics in this post!

GENERAL

Any pronouns

I write fic (masterlist below the cut)

My brain has been chemically altered by: Danny Phantom and DBZ (though I typically keep Dragonball posts to my sideblog)

My DMs/inbox are open! Send me things, I'm friendly, I swear!

I'm always open to prompt requests (though I don't do crossovers). Feel free to leave me something in my ask box, and I'll get to it when I have a chance/if it sparks an idea!

FICS

(tags can be found on ao3)

Finished Fics:

Overshadowed - Long ass (140K) College AU, No One Knows, heavy angst, mystery w/ horror elements, mostly happy ending, but I also left it a bit open/ambiguous. I MIGHT write a sequel one day. Everything's Fine (And the Boss is Totally Not a Cryptid) - Outsider POV, intern gets hired at Vlad Co., shenanigans ensue. Oh so many Dracula references. H(a)unted - Weird, angsty little Ghost Hunter Danny AU. Separate Danny and Phantom. ALT ending. I have some ideas percolating to continue off the alternate ending. The Hazards of Being Hot High AF - Shippy Popular Psychology (Jazz/Dash) oneshot I found in my fics folder. Jazz visits Dash in the hospital after a football injury. Elementary, My Dear Fenton - Ecto-Implosion fic. A goofy comedy-mystery where Danny and the trio try to track down who left an anonymous gift in his locker. They get WAY too into it.

WIPs:

Not So Bitter Reunions - AU, canon divergence, badger cereal. The college reunion goes decidedly less off the rails than in canon, leading to some nefarious consequences. I'm just kind of vibing with this one. High School's a Beach - **AGIT SPOILERS** Dan's in high school. This one is so very unserious, but I think I've got a few more chapters left in me. Needs Must (When the Devil Drives) - Canon divergence. AU. Vlad and Harriet reconnect at the college reunion, but since Vlad's technically an evil spirit, he's adversely impacted by things like salt, windchimes, running water, etc. Bad News (Vlad/Harriet) shipfic. I just...I think they're neat. Bearer of Bad News - Post Phantom Planet (not AGIT compliant). Bad News fic because I have an illness and these two live in my head rent free. The GIW enlist Harriet's help in preventing Ghost King Danny from destroying the earth.

Drabbles/Ficlets:

DannyMay 2022 - I don't remember any of these being particularly good, but they do exist. I very much did not last the entire month. Drabble Dump from Tumblr asks - this is just what it sounds like. Though, in general, I'll probably start trying to post oneshots and/or collect the separate, individual Tumblr ask ficlets on this post now instead of just clumping them in a drabble dump on ao3. Monsters Don't Exist - horror vibes. AU. Vlad didn't peace out after the accident and he's keeping his enemies (Maddie and Jack) close. Jazz suspects their babysitter, Uncle Vlad, is more dangerous than everyone else in the family seems to think. Cheese Melt ficlet - Outsider POV. Dani has a parent-teacher interview. Cheese Melt ficlet #2 - Dani doesn't like the toy she got at Nasty Burger. Vlad gets her a new one. Badger cereal ficlet - No one knows AU. Danny works as a cashier and Vlad accidentally outs his supervillain indetity by infodumping to him when Danny makes idle customer-servicey smalltalk.

Unwritten/Unposted:

I'm not going to list out all my filenames and ideas, don't worry lol. But I do have a couple (*cough* couple hundred *cough*) ideas percolating or half written in my fics folder, so that is a thing. I want to jump on WIP Wednesday and such, but like. IDK. Feel free to ask/harass me about my unposted WIPs too, I am motivated by peer pressure.

[onlythebravest]

✨️ Twenty Questions for Fic Writers ✨️

Thank you @disgruntledkittenface for tagging me! These questions things are always so fun to read and answer!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

37.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

212 726

3. What fandoms do you write for?

rigt now, 1D and hockey rpf. I've written for harry potter and acotar before though

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

in order; never been a fan of change, but we're still the same, in the pub that we met he's got his arms around you, dream about a summer night, a conversation starter and these arms were made for holding you

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

yes! almost always. for different reasons. as a reader, I always enjoy getting replies to comments I've left. it also motivates me to leave more comments, esp on that author's fics. that's just how I work. and since I like and want that, I assume it's the same for other ppl so I do that to them. it's also bc getting comments sometimes makes my entire day, and it makes me so happy, and I want to let them know that

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

i'm not sure i've written anything with an angsty ending? oh wait, two of my older mini fics do. the loss of a friend and what are we now? both have pretty angsty endings, or at least not happy ones. so i'll go with them.

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

the rest of them? no, but I prefer happy endings so I think almost all of the rest have. all of my top five kudos ones that I mentioned above are the first ones I'd pick, so take your pick among those. but if I were to pick another one... most of the rest are kinda happy throughout the entire fic and then the ending doesn't feel as happy. so to pick one that's not happy throughout, but has a happy ending, I'll go with maybe we're good, maybe we're not.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

no, i don't. i've gotten some rude comments, but that's as far as it's gotten luckily

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

yes, i've written a little. it's still a bit out of my comfort zone though, esp posting it, but i've written some m/m smut of different variants.

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

no. or well, technically yes, but it's an abandoned wip that i don't like so that's all you're gonna get about it

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not as far as i'm aware, so i hope not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no

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

nope. I was part of a round robin, but that got abandoned and I vowed never to do it again. group projects are not my thing 😂

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I don't think I have one. I change favorites so often, so I don't think I can say I've got an all-time fave

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

oh multiple! I have one that I do doubt I'll ever finish but I still hope I will so so much, so I'm not gonna give up on that one just yet. instead, I have one that's even less likely I'll finish. it's a fantasy one, enemies to lovers (I should've known it was doomed already then, that's not my thing), magic that was based around elements. it's main feature is that it has a "who did this to you?" between two ppl who don't like each other, which is something I love. maybe I'll end up publishing only that scene, it can be read as a stand-alone so it's not that bad of an idea actually

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue, I think. specifically banter, I think I'm pretty good at that. I always manage to write it in at least and have a lot of fun writing it!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I feel like I write pretty short sentences, making paragraphs sound a bit choppy. I'm also an expert in writing english sentences with swedish grammar, so I feel for my beta that has to correct that shit. esp when the sentence doesn't even make sense in English and it's a guessing game😂

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

if it's important to the plot, then yeah, that could be nice. but it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine when i read dialgoue in swedish and it's obvious that the author has used google translate, it bothers me. i'd rather read it in english with an accompanying "says in swedish" rather than the inaccurate translation. but that's probably bc it's my native language. when it's in languages i don't understand i don't have that issue obviously.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

harry potter probably? at least that I posted for, might've written something that I didn't realise was technically for fandom when I was younger

20. Favorite fic you've written?

oh, hm... right now it's probably a tie between does it always end in heartbreak? and maybe we're good, maybe we're not. but that's probably bc those are the latest ones I published. one favorite I always mention is one of the drabbles in the drabble collection snapshots of moments, the one in chapter 11, pretty when you beg

Since this was the first one I saw of these, I'm not sure who has done them, but I'll tag @greenfeelings, @neondiamond, @larrysballetslippers, @lunarheslwt, @sun-lt, @hellolovers13, @zjofierose and @zanniscaramouche. oh and if you see this and want to do this, just say I tagged you because I want to read it!

[elevenelvenswords]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @curufiin- thankies <3

How many works do you have on AO3?

Only 8 so far.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

20,718 apparently

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The Silmarillion- it's been an ongoing obsession for approximately 7 years now lol.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Fretting, which is my first ever published fic, is at the top. I'm not super proud of it if I'm being honest but I'm glad others enjoyed it :P Then we've got Inside Out, Unbridled sword and passion, Take a chance and Stutter.

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

I do try to reply to every comment! The fact that someone made time to tell me something nice about my works means the world to me.

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

Probably this one? None of my fics are fluffy so...

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

My recent Curufinrod fic, I think? It's less... gnarly and angst-driven?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Fortunately no.

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

Considering that 6 out of those 8 fics are tagged as explicit, you can draw your own conclusions :P I write various flavours of kink :)

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

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

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

No, but certain fics that I wrote were inspired by conversations I had with other fandom members :3

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I'll go with the good ol' Angbang. I've recently become deeply invested in Curufinrod though, and I'll (hopefully) write for more pairings over the Christmas break.

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

There's a very old draft of a multi-chaptered Angbang fic that's been gathering dust on my laptop for a year xD I might polish it up and post it at some point IF I find the motivation for it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I guess I'm fairly good at descriptions and metaphors?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Good pacing and finding the right balance between dialogue and narration are both pretty tricky for me.

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

I've never tried this but I find it exquisite in other people's fics :D

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Probably The Hobbit? But what I wrote is between me and god lmao.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I tend to be very critical of my own works, especially after I post them. I don't really re-read them so it's difficult for me to choose a favourite one when I can't recall half the things I wrote lol. But I was pretty proud of Beyond the pale back when I wrote it! My writing style changed over the years, I believe, so I'm pleased to see the improvement :)

Tagging @polutrope, @crackinthecup, @gardensofthemoon, @havenotwillnotreadthebooks, @i-did-not-mean-to and whoever wants to give this a go!