#i already have fic ideas exploring this in my notes app

[twopercentboy]

we need to deeply study the whole iron making ghosts solid for a tick, like what does that entail? is it like they have a body again for split second? do they become Solid and have like mass to themselves that can be felt by humans (crystal & niko mainly)? Like would a hug from them when their solid from iron actually Feel like a hug? or any physical contact from them actually. And how does the pain work? is it based on how much iron they're touching? how diluted it is? like does an alloy with iron also hurt them? or is the pain the same no matter how much is touching them? I need answers.

[bbybluemochi]

bbybluemochi's F.A.Q. ✧･ﾟ

Hi! Arun here! I thought that instead of answering your submissions one by one I’d gather all the frequently asked questions and answer them in a single post (this is a mix of art/OC/commissions related q's)!

Please note that I do read all your messages and I’m so grateful for every one of them!!!! I keep all your words really close to my heart, thank you for liking my art and loving my Ocs as much as I do, it means the world to me <3

What’s the name of your OCs?

They’re called Cotton (the blonde one) and Puppy (the dark haired one). The original idea for them was to make some silly wolf/bunny OCs (that’s why Cotton is called like that, it was supposed to be a joke about her tail…) but somewhere along the way they took over and became something completely different!

Is there a webcomic for your OCs?

Not currently! I don’t have the time or the skills (for now) but I’d love to give it a try in the future! 

I was wondering if you mind people using your OC art as character art/inspiration for DnD?Just games with friends that are for fun, nothing for commercial.

Go ahead! I find that really flattering.

Just out of curiosity, are any of your OCs bisexual?

Both Cotton and Puppy are lesbians. That’s what I feel comfortable drawing since I’m a lesbian myself. If I ever do draw a bisexual OC I’ll make sure to mention it! <3

I think you said Cotton was a dominatrix in a previous ask, but is Puppy on the opposite side of the spectrum or is she just glad to be there whichever way?

Puppy is very much a sub. They both switch (Puppy as a service top and bottom and Cotton as a top and power bottom), but the dom/sub dynamic never changes. Also I wanted to mention that these dynamics do not transcend outside of the bedroom that much, there’s more to them than their kinks but I do love to draw them deep in their submissive/dominant headspaces. 

Are one of the lesbian fairytale characters trans?

I didn’t design either of them with that in mind, but I’m super OK with people headcanoning them as trans!

May I use your art as a header/icon?

Of course! Remember to credit me tho~

Do you allow people to use your art freely?

I don’t allow reposts of my work (not that it matters that much, since almost all my art has been already reposted a million times ))): but I’d really appreciate it if you just shared my posts instead of reposting my art). As for phone backgrounds/wallpapers or stuff like that, yeah!

Do you have an instagram account or other social media, I would love to follow you there.

My main platform is twitter (same @), I post all my drawings there and I’m usually more active over there. Tumblr is kind of like an archive. I really like the community here but I find it easier to reply/interact with people on twitter! As for instagram, I do have an old art account (same @, again) but I haven’t posted in so long. I may start posting there soon if a certain rich guy decides to keep destroying the bird app tho. 

I’ve always thought about this… how do you think it’d look if the aesthetics/styles [of your OCs] were reversed?

I’ll have to explore that in a future drawing, I haven’t thought much about it! 

Do you write fics for your characters or has anyone else written fics about them?

Not yet! A couple of my friends have offered, tho! I usually like to stick to drawing because that’s what I do best, I don’t wanna subject anyone to my writing (it’s not very good,,,,). When I share some of my Ocs stories, I think it will be in comic format. 

What's the story behind your OCs? 

There are several, actually!! I like to put my OCs in different universes. As for now, there’s the Fairytale AU, the modern setting AU (this is the original one), and now the Werewolf/Vampire AU. I also did a drawing of them as spiderwoman and black cat but I don’t think that AU is gonna make a comeback for a while. I’m also planning a scifi AU but I’m not sure I’d be able to pull off that aesthetic with my current art style so I’m still working on it. 

The Fairytale AU is the one I’m working on most of the time. I wanna release a small artbook with their story + illustrations. That was my main goal for 2023 but life got in the way, so maybe,,, 2024??? *crosses fingers* 

Is your shop down? It’s saying that it’s not available.

I open my shop for 1-2 weeks every now and then, that’s why it’s closed most of the time! My plan is to open the store again in september, if i manage to finish all the merch in time! I’ll announce it on my twitter and tumblr account when I do. 

Would you ever share a tutorial on how you make your art?

Yes, of course! I’m not very good at explaining my drawing process but If it helps anyone I’d love to! Just let me know what part of the drawing process you’d like me to focus on, because If i try to make a full illustration tutorial it’s gonna be too long/difficult to follow. 

May I ask what brush do you use for your lineart?

I use a different brush almost every time I start an illustration, I’m not very consistent when it comes to that (I think it’s mainly because I haven’t found the perfect brush yet!). But let me know what illustration you’re curious about and I’ll try to remember which one I used!

Do you come up with poses off the top of your head or do you use some type of reference? I always struggle with them.

It depends on what I’m drawing! Some of my drawings are reinterpretations of paintings (I’m obsessed with pre-raphaelite painters and arthurian legend paintings in general), so in those cases I try to adapt the poses to my art style. Even If I’m trying to recreate an already existing painting I end up changing the poses/proportions a lot along the way to fit my personal taste/art style. 

Other times, I just sketch from imagination (this is more entertaining, I think, since looking at references can make the drawing process a bit tedious). If I find it hard to draw a certain pose/part of the body I will look up references on printerest, no shame in using pictures! If I still can’t find the pose I need I’ll just take a picture of myself (this is like, a last resort for me. I’m too lazy for this). 

My personal advice would be to use references for the pose and then tweaking the pose and trying to make it more personal 

I love the way the armor was designed and rendered! Can you share some tips on designing armor? 

Drawing armor is something I still struggle with most of the time. I think I’ve learned a lot in the past year (please don’t look at my armor drawings from 2022,,,,, sigh) but I still struggle to draw certain poses/angles. My advice is: don’t hesitate to draw non-functional armor!!! There’s always gonna be someone like “actually, that armour makes no sense :)” well !!!! it looks cool as hell so who caresssss !!!!! 

I think it’s more important for you to get comfortable drawing armor before you start beating yourself up for not drawing accurate ones. It takes a lot of practice (I’m still learning!!!), especially if you’re trying to draw historically accurate ones, so start by having fun, and then work your way up from there.

Most of the tips I can think about are really hard to explain without a visual example, so let me know if that’d be a tutorial you would be interested in and I’ll try to make one (I’m cringing a little just saying this bc I swear, my armor skills are so bad compared to some amazing artists out there………..).

Do you allow cosplays your OCs?

YES…. YES PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM BEGGING YOUUU ILL LOVE YOU FOREVER !!!!!! *rattles my cage* 

Do you allow fanart of your OCs?

Again,,, PLEASEEEEEEEEE !!! Just tag me so I don’t miss it and remember to give me credits if you do !!!!!!!!!!! :D

I was wondering if you use procreate , clip studio, or similar apps?

A mix of both. I used to draw on procreate only until I got a tablet and now I’m a clip studio user (csp sponsor me please), and now that’s all I use. I’m so used to drawing on PC now that I don’t think I’d be able to go back to procreate, but I still like that app a lot! All my drawings (even the ones I do on csp) always get retouched on procreate because I like some of the effects (*dreamy sigh* chromatic aberration filter,,, love u). 

I wanted to know if the marks Cotton has on her waist are tattoos or like a scar? 

Those are tats! Puppy is a tattoo artist ~~~ (I’m actually not sure if i’ll keep the waist tats on Cotton or if I’ll end up redesigning them,,,)

I was wondering if you take commissions?

Not right now. I also don’t have any plans of opening commissions any time soon! When I do, I’ll post a google forms on twitter and here on tumblr with the prices and type of comms I do. But there’s nothing scheduled. 

Even tho I'm not doing commissions atm, I’m currently looking for illustration jobs (specially book covers), so don’t hesitate to email me at bbybluemochi@gmail.com

That's all for now, thank you for reading!! I think I covered most of the questions, I'll make another q&a post in the future! Bye~~

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @morningberriesao3! morningberries has 15 works in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

@steddieas-shegoes recommends the following works by @morningberriesao3:

Sweet Surrender

Sneaky Link

How I’d Kill (to See You Again)

"If I could write a sonnet, it would be about berries. She specializes in that very specific angst with a happy ending that grips you by the jaw and spits in your mouth and then you say thank you because it tastes so good. So anyway love her, love her work, love everything about what she writes and does. 10000/10" -- @steddieas-shegoes

Below the cut, @morningberriesao3 answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Funnily enough, it all started when I exclusively read Eddie x reader on tumblr. I didn't have an account yet, so I made a quick burner and would gobble up anything under the tag. I always saw people on the internet "shipping" characters but never really understood it, until I came across one particular fic called Wild Parts, where the pairing was reader x Steddie. I remember being more excited for Steve and Eddie to fall in love than I was with the reader aspect. It all went downhill from there when I discovered there was a whole community that loves Steddie. I decided one day, yeah, I want to make them fall in love, too!

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is the classic friends-to-lovers where Steve has a sexuality crisis because he's falling for Eddie. I could read it over and over and never get sick of it.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I feel like angst with a happy ending is common ground for, like, 90% of my fics. I also find myself constantly writing miscommunication, and giggling at all the comments that say, "IF THEY JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!" Yeah. That's a point to be made.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

It's quite literally impossible to choose just one when there are so many talented Steddie writers creating new works everyday. I'll rapid fire a few that pop to mind first (all on AO3): Sea Legs by Midnightdrive. Drought by a_star_danced. Wanna Hurt You Just to Hear You Screaming My Name by DotyTakeThisDown. I've Been Having a Horrible Time Pulling Myself Together by Deadrats. Stupid Cupid by DirtyValentine. Money, Power, Glory by StrangerThings1975.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Definitely! I want to write ALL the tropes! I think the reason writing Steddie hasn't become redundant for me is because each time I write a fic, I want it to be different from the last. I rack my brain like, "Okay, I've already done Kas Eddie, Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, No Upside Down, Modern Setting, Rock Star Eddie... What's next?!" 

What is your writing process like?

It's a very linear process for me. I'm somewhat of a daydreamer; I see the things I write in my head almost like a movie. And then I just type it out as it plays in my brain. I rarely outline anything, but I'll have random gibberish in my notes app to remind me of ideas or big plot points I need to wrap up. I'm honestly surprised anything I write makes sense when I'm through with it. I'm waiting for the chaos of it all to bite me in the ass one day.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I don't know if it's a quirk so much as a fault, but I do this thing where I let my comments pile up and pile up. I won't let myself answer one until I can answer them ALL, because I don't want anyone to think I'm ignoring their comment specifically. I also have to match the energy of the comment, so when it's super long I HAVE to write something back that's super long. This makes it an hours-long task when I let them go for as long as I do unanswered. If anyone hasn't gotten a reply back yet, I PROMISE I WILL!!! 

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

In a perfect world, I'd only start posting a project when it's completed so I could keep up with a posting schedule. Reality is: having 20 WIPs saved to my laptop in which I'll post the first couple chapters as motivation for me to finish it. It's a flawed system, but it works out most of the time!

Which fic are you most proud of?

I think it'll always be Sweet Surrender. It was my first fic and the first time I had ever completed something similar to a novel after it was wrapped up at 150K. When I look back, I see some flaws, but I'd never want to change them. If we're talking about which fic I think I wrote the best, I'd say How I'd Kill. The fantasy universe allowed me to get creative with the plot and scenery, and I think my excitement for that is reflected in my quality of writing.

How did you get the idea for Sweet Surrender?

Sweet Surrender is an amalgamation of every fic I read and loved when I first was introduced to the fandom. I basically owe it to all the favourite fics I mentioned earlier. Without their inspiration, I never would have started writing fic in the first place. 

When writing Sweet Surrender, what was something you didn’t expect?

The response. I cannot capture in words how GOOD it felt when people started reading, commenting on, and loving something that I created. You see it mentioned all the time, but it really is true when they say that a comment goes a long way. I was absolutely gobsmacked to see people following along from the beginning. It was such a motivator, and truly a feeling that nothing else could give me.

What inspired Sneaky Link?

I read Must Be a Devil Between Us, Or Whores In My Head by whateverokayFINE (a modern, OnlyFans AU that Sneaky Link could never touch)—loved it SO much that those daydreams I mentioned took off. It stayed as an unposted WIP for a long time because I told myself that I couldn't write a convincing modern AU. I'm so glad I did though, because I've never had a response to a fic like I've had with Sneaky Link.

What was your favorite part to write from Sneaky Link?

There were so many fun side plots to Sneaky Link—the whole thing was a blast to write. One of my favourites was the main conclusion, when Chrissy got to be the hero. Glitter and Chanel No. 5 really saved the day. Of course the first few chapters were hilarious, too. Dumbass, clueless Eddie will never fail to make me giggle, and his obliviousness to Steve's hidden identity really drove everyone up the wall.

How do/did you feel writing How I’d Kill (to See You Again)?

This story really had its CLAWS in me. I wrote the chapters so fast that I think I put out almost 50K words in a matter of four weeks; I've really never written that quickly before or since. The last few chapters were a little slower going, though. I think I was nervous as the plot got a little heavier how people would react, so there were definitely some mixed emotions.

What was the most difficult part of writing How I’d Kill (to See You Again)?

When I wrote Eddie betraying such a soft, loving, trusting Steve. When he pinned that part of his personality against him. I love writing angst, but I had never delved quite this deep into the trope. I definitely teared up a couple times making Steve go through it like that.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

Without spoiling much, I think the end scene of chapter 7 of How I'd Kill (The Judas Kiss) was absolutely thrilling to write, and of course the following chapters as well. This whole idea of "morally gray" Eddie Munson was the reason I started writing the fic in the first place. But when I got to the bit where he had to be morally gray and posted the chapter, I immediately had this fear; I didn't know how the readers were going to react, or if I, as the writer, would be able to properly explain Eddie's motivation or make him forgivable for what he did. It was an "oh shit" moment for sure, but I think I ended up doing an alright job pulling it off.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I'm currently writing a piece for the 2024 Steddie Big Bang called "A Thousand Flowers Could Bloom". It's in collaboration with Inflomora-art, so I'm completely thrilled that I'll have gorgeous artwork to go with this fic. I'm sure by the time this is posted, it'll already be live! I'm so proud of this story—it might be the best I've written yet. So yeah, if you're reading this, please check it out!!! 

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

I don’t think so, but thank you so much for this! It was really fun to answer all these questions <3

Thank you to our author, @morningberriesao3, and our nominator, @steddieas-shegoes! See more of morningberries' works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[starlightbelle]

8, 17, & 30 for the fic writer ask!!

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you'd write one for...

Of the ones I've shared, probably Here's to Not Being in Love. Zoro/Nami's dynamic is so fun to write; I left it open-ended for a reason, because I imagine I'll probably write more for them at some point. I don't have a sequel in the works yet, but if a compelling enough plot bunny should surface in my brain, I'm sure it'll insist upon being written. 😆

Ahhh I nearly forgot!! I intend to write a continuation of A Crisis of Confidence! Isuka doesn't get much appreciation among One Piece fans but I like her and I want to explore her relationships with other members of the Revolutionary Army. I've already penned her interacting with Dragon, so I think next on the docket would be something opposite Sabo. Both pre- and post-Marineford. I expect the latter will be very angsty, and I can't wait to explore it.

17. talk about your writing and editing process

✨The stars align. An idea strikes, either seemingly out of the blue, while discussing characters with my friends, or after hearing a line in a movie/song that hits just right.

Generally I jot down as much as I possibly can (if I'm at work or something I'll loop the idea/scene/dialogue in my head until I have a free moment to type down as much as I remember), key points or words to jog my memory later. I do often have a line or two that I know exactly how I want written. There are no shortcuts or abbreviations of those, I have to write the line out entirely.

After that, once I have a block of time I can more fully devote to writing I fill in the blanks. Whatever flows, whatever works. I am kinda an edit-as-I-go type of writer, though normally at this stage just finding a synonym for a word that works better or fixing the phrasing of a sentence.

If a particular scene is giving me trouble, the draft will remain a cocktail of disconnected snippets (sometimes in the wrong order) until I have a breakthrough with the gaps.

Once the story is penned, I read through it. Usually this stems from a desire to have the manuscript look tidy and neat and complete in my notes app. Along the way I'll make little changes, fix any errors I find, rearrange paragraphs if needed, etc.

After that, I reread it an absurd amount of times. This is motivated by pure enjoyment. I am my target audience so I like reading what I write. 😊 It just so happens that that's how editing works, too. Win-win.

If I'm sending it to a friend, or preparing to share it, I'll give it another pass or two (or three). Normally I don't have much to correct at this point.

I also will reread it again after I've shared a piece to make sure the formatting works, everything flows, etc.

Yep. That about sums it up. 😅 It isn't really a conscious checklist I go thru, just kinda how it ends up working out.

30. share a fic you're especially proud of

I'm proud of all my works! 😁 But one I haven't seen get much love is my seventh Corazon Week piece. Although I believe one of those three kudos is yours already lol.

It doesn't have any relationship tags, which I suspect might be the reason it's not showing up on Cora fans' radar, because the pov character is left intentionally ambiguous. It was an artistic decision I knew might keep it out of search results, and I debated using multiple relationship tags instead to cover all bases but I worried that might come across as baiting so I left it without. I may change it though if I get feedback on that.

Thanks so much for asking! I know my answers tend to get a little rambly, so thanks for your interest! This one was a bit like a behind-the-scenes feature on a DVD! (Prompt list)

[s4pphic-sh3nan1gans]

WIP Weekend

thank you so much for the tag, @mint-ty <3 I didn't think I had that many wips to share but after looking through my notes app, there are actually quite a few things there gathering dust that I mostly forgot about 😭 sooooo here is my list, starting with the earliest:

Zame, si čisti dopamin - this is a bojere fic I started nearly a year ago now, based around the infamous tavastia 1.0 gig and Bojan both discovering and navigating his feelings for Jere. as I remember, I had one more chapter planned that I unfortunately lost motivation for, buuuut as it stands now, I guess it's kinda left on a cliffhanger? sorry 😅 but it holds a special place in my heart as I was just beginning to get very deep into my joker out hyperfixation when I started writing it hehehe

This ship of love is loaded - another bojere fic that I never finished and didn't post, this one was inspired by the release of Huhhahhei by Käärijä 😌 y'know the song's implications of fucking someone on a boat? yeah, I took that and ran with it whilst wearing my tin-foil hat and made it about bojere 😭 it's set on the 2023 eurovision pre-party boat and includes the scene of what is now the first snus proposal. ultimately, I abandoned it because I wanted to include smut but wasn't yet ready to (properly) write mlm smut for the first time back then

untitled jance fic - this is the only time thus far I've written jance (which is actually criminal tbh). it's a very short wip so I'm not entirely sure where I was going with it, but it appears to include Nace attempting to flirt... 👀

it's better if we remain a memory - now, this one is a little more obscure. it's based on the film Bojan is in (Kaj pa Ester?) that I unfortunately haven't watched (c'mon, slovenian film industry, make it available internationally, I beg of you 🙏). basically, I watched the trailer, made up a plot, and made it very very very gay. and then posted all but the final chapter before succumbing to lack of motivation again 😭

Immortalised - .......okay, I just realised I was wrong about only writing jance once, this is another time I tried to write it! this one is all about the incredible jance photoshoot by Damon Baker, exploring their relationship behind the lens. not sure why I never finished this one, if I'm honest 😅

Forgotten Nights - here, we have a bokris wip. this one was going to be a classic friends-to-lovers fic, littered with flashbacks and snippets from the past that both of them were repressing. I found that I didn't properly plan out the sequence of flashbacks though, or where I was going with it so it ended up a little messy as I was writing it and eventually I moved onto other things

a bunch of bokris "5+1 things" fic ideas I never got round to writing properly - specifically, I have 8 fics that I planned for 😭 if you want to know more about one, send me a number between 1 and 8 and I'll tell you what the 5+1 idea was :)

untitled damkris fic - finally, this is what I started most recently. it's inspired by Kris and Damon's recent trip to Ljubljana Castle, and basically they flirt and gay panic all day whilst being idiots and not realising they're both actually crushing hard on each other 😭

if you want to know more about any of these, or read a snippet from one, go ahead and drop into my ask box!!! I shall be more than happy to provide 😌

no pressure tagging (and apologies if you've already been tagged): @trips-around-the-sun @graysantimony @paperphilia @electron-road-suspect :D

[lbigreyhound13]

BESTIEEE!! Tell me more about Many Adventures!! What inspired you to write it? Is there any fun plots or details you haven’t been able to add to it that you’d like to one day? LOVE YOUU

THANK YOU, BESTIE!!!!! LOVE YOU TOO!!! And OMG!!! I would love to talk about Many Adventures! Here we go!!

Okay, so, in regards to how I got the idea, I had gotten into Iron Dad after I saw Infinity War with my ex-boyfriend not too long before Endgame came out, and after I saw THE HUG in Endgame, I was even more hooked. So of course I got sucked into the Iron Dad tag on Tumblr and fanfiction. And I think I was scrolling through Tumblr one day and saw a post talking about how cool it would've been to have a limited series (it had to have been when Wandavision and Falcon and Winter Soldier were announced or something, I don't remember) centering around Tony and Peter and have it take place between Homecoming and Infinity War. And I was in love with the idea because I loved the idea of getting more Iron Dad content and having RDJ come back as Tony and really exploring how Tony and Peter went from that awkward not-a-hug in Homecoming to Peter gripping onto Tony like a lifeline in Infinity War. Although, I knew it would be close to impossible, so...I think I pretty much decided I would try to tackle that concept but of course as fanfiction.

I did some researching in regards to analyses about the relationship and the characters and the timeline of that 2-year-gap between Homecoming and Infinity War and saw that it worked. I had read a Big Time Rush fic called When We Were Young and was already working on a fic for my OC called The First 21 Years of Grey Bergman. So I was already familiar with this concept of each chapter taking place over the course of a certain period of time. I planned it out in my Notes app in my phone and began to write it. Thus on June 27, 2019, I posted the first chapter of The Many Adventures of Iron Dad and Spider Son on FF.net and then on AO3 as well in February 2020. Also, as a bonus, I got the idea for the title from The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh. I have no shame! LOL! So, yeah, that's pretty much what inspired me to write it.

As for plots and details I haven't been able to add but would like to, ooooo, that's a good question. I do have a few!

I would love to show more of Tony and Peter training as heroes together. In a recent chapter, I have them agree to train more together as Iron Man and Spider-Man for when the aliens would come back.

Another idea I had is Tony and Peter being trapped in a freezer together. I got that idea from the show Castle. So, if I can find a way to make that happen, I would love to do that.

I also would love to do a chapter where Peter is so distraught because he wasn't able to save someone and have Tony comfort him. I guess, kind of like what you did for Dadneto, bestie.

OH! I would also love to squeeze in doing a scene similar to Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man where he saves a kid and unmasks himself to help the kid feel more comfortable.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head for now, but I'm really excited to get back to continuing Many Adventures, especially during our writing sessions. But the fics are on a rotation, and I'm sticking with it to help my sanity, lol! Thanks so much for asking, bestie! LOVE YOU!!!!

Reblog if you're okay with receiving asks for backstory info on any/all of your fics.

[mercurial-vroom]

Hi Meg!

I just finished binge reading GTG and hopped on straight here to yap about it.

I don't think I've EVER had this much fun reading any fic!!! The humour was, the EASTER EGGS from irl F1, the pace, the group dynamic and ofc CarCar!! You guys are absolute geniuses! The jokes during the group interactions were especially my favourite but nothing will beat the utter chaos of the gc when Lando outed CarCar. I had to legit stop reading to laugh at that one for at least a couple of minutes straight!!

And your Charles has got to be my most favourite Charles from ANY fic based in ANY universe!! Loved loved loveddddd his ditzy characterisation.

If you do actually end up writing more for this universe - which I hope you do - I sure hope you consider writing a gc interaction at some point. I would totally not mind the entire spin off or multiple chapters being solely in the chat format. You guys are hilarious, your humour is top notch and so is your writing so I'm sure you'd COOOOOK with it!! And I'd gobble it up!!

Okay that's enough rambling haha. Just, thank you for writing this beautiful fic and for sharing it with the CarCar fandom. We definitely need more CarCar enthusiasts like you to keep this ship sailing!

Wahhhh this is the absolute kindest ask I've ever gotten! Thank you so much!!! ❤️❤️❤️ We had just so so so much fun writing Grill the Grid, and it makes me immensely happy that people are getting even a fraction of the same joy and laughter out of reading it that we got from writing it.

And I am definitely planning to add more to the GTG-verse! At the risk of making promises I may not 100% deliver on, we already have a couple ideas that we're considering for little bonus oneshots or follow-ups (none are guaranteed to actually be written, but we're having lots of fun spitballing concepts):

An entirely groupchat-based spin-off, like you said! I wrote all the messaging bits in the original story, and they were so fun to do... the texts from the "CarCar get caught" scene in Ch 9 came out of me literally jolting awake at like 4am one day with them having popped into my head fully formed, and I had to frantically type them up in my notes app before I went back to sleep and forgot all about them.

Something Maxiel focused - Their developing background relationship was a really fun part of the story to write, so I've definitely been thinking about ways to make them the focus of a spin-off... either something going back into how their relationship came to be/what they really got up to at that holiday party, or maybe something in the future, like a fluffy little oneshot of Max helping Daniel come up with questions for a week he's not going to be there (including lots of couple-y bickering and subsequent makeup sex, ofc).

The Chaotic Adventures of Charles - My husband sent me this idea in the middle of a workday last week, and I can't stop laughing every time I think about it. 😭😭😭 The idea of Charles getting into Situations all day and then having a Slumdog Millionaire-esque sweep of trivia that night (to everyone else's immense surprise) based on the random things he learned is soooo funnysilly to me. He is allegedly drafting up an outline for me of this and was responsible for most of Charles's funniest lines/general aura in Grill the Grid, so we will see!

4. Galex? - I adored writing Galex's dynamics and would love to write a whole spinoff chapter that focuses on them, but I am stumped by the fact that I never actually decided whether they are together or just, like, intense platonic soulmates. So maybe that's something to be explored? Though I also don't want to ruin their intentional aura of mystery!

5. CarCar in Spain - I've thought a little "meeting the family" oneshot of Carlos and Oscar in Spain for the holidays could be fun... possibly alongside snippets of a trivia night back in Austin that goes very unsuccessfully without their presence, lol.

Anyway, for anyone who enjoyed Grill the Grid enough to read through this entire stream-of-consciousness text wall -- would love to hear what type of spin-offs you'd be most excited to see, or if there are other ideas or characters you think could be fun to explore!! ❤️

[tiptapricot]

Happy 1000 followers! That's definitely a number worth celebrating :D. Here are some asks for your Ask Game; don't worry about answering them all, these are just some questions I thought of, free free to answer whichever ones you want to. :3

What got you into writing?

Is there any books or piece of media that inspired your style of writing, or did it develop in some other way?

What character(s) do you enjoy writing the most and why?

Are there any character(s) or fandom(s) you love that you'd love to write for but never have?

Are there any hobbies or interests you have that you find leak into and/or influence your stories?

When did you embrace the ways of the apricot? (That is to say, when and why did you commit to the bit and start creating your marvellous collection of apricot icons?).

Hope you're doing well :). Enjoy your fame, my friend! 🧡🧡🧡

I will answer 🔥 ☠️ ALL OF THEM 🎸🔥 *sick riff*

What got you into writing?

I don’t really remember a specific point of Getting Into It, because (and this def plays a part) my dad is a writer! He’s written for some video games and has some short stories published, so I grew up with him reading me books and writing his own manuscripts/engaging us in that way. He never like Guided me into writing but it was always a natural presence and I was exposed to a lot of stories early on.

We did nanowrimo in elementary school, and I also made comics when I was younger that were my own narratives and things, and I did a few small stories for other classes along the way, but when I started Really doing it more intentionally was when I got into fic writing. Which… what got me into that was I think like… danganronpa self insert things? That’s my ultimate lost fic. I wrote it in the notes app in middle school and it was super long and then I hated it and deleted it all and I’m SO MAD ABOUT IT because IT WOULD BE SO FUNNY TO LOOK BACK ON NOW! It was kind of just a natural progression though I guess? When I started reading fic more and being online more and getting into more media, I wanted to create for it since I’d already been doing that sort of thing (most comics I did were inspired by superhero shows I watched or DND games I played) so I stated posting. And then I did more original stories for school and started making ocs and it just sorta settled into being part of what I do.

Is there any books or piece of media that inspired your style of writing, or did it develop in some other way?

None consciously? And I can’t really trace my style to anything in specific, but there’s def got to be some input from the books I grew up on. Stuff like series of unfortunate events, larklight, the leviathan trilogy, the keys to the kingdom series, the Roman mysteries series, the Lockwood and co series, Harry Potter to an extent, etc. all were things that I was exposed to growing up. I don’t think I’ve really picked up the quippy narration a lot of those have, but I know they shaped some ideas of description and imagery I do now, at least in inspo. But I guess on a whole it just sort of developed naturally? I really don’t have a very conscious writing process half the time 😭

What character(s) do you enjoy writing the most and why?

At the moment and also in general I like characters that have strong voices. They make the prose pop for me, make it easy to find fun descriptions and forms of speech. Bill and Ted and Steven Grant definitely come to mind immediately as like. When I get to write them stuff just goes fast because I know how they’d talk and narrate and react and it feels like something very solid to shape and work with. So accents? I guess? But on a larger sense of just characters I Like Writing… MK system are all very fun and I really enjoy getting to explore their dynamics and reactions. If I ever get my hands on Din Djarin for a fic (finally) I think I’ll have a good time with him, but idk. I think it’s very dependent on the interests I’m into at the time, as those will be the characters I’m the most excited to engage with and create for, so it varies!

Are there any character(s) or fandom(s) you love that you'd love to write for but never have?

THE ZETA PROJECTTTT!!! AND ALSO MORE OF LEGION 2006 ANDDD THE DCAU ANDDDD MORE LUKE N DIN N ORIGINAL TRILOGY CAST AND THE DAREDEVIL NETFLIX CAST AND MISS FISHERS MURDER MYSTERIES AND TIGER AND BUNNY AND— Ahem. Yes there are and they torment me every day wanting to get to create for them but having finite brain space and time space makes writing everything all the time… a bit hard. I kind of want to do a like niche interest power hour week or somth where I take fandoms I haven’t written for and make a small piece for them—WOLF 359 ALSO GOOD GOD!!!!!!!! But I don’t know when that will be.

Are there any hobbies or interests you have that you find leak into and/or influence your stories?

Not generally, but whenever I’m writing a character as having an interest in something or really liking something in depth it often has to be something I’m also into for me to be able to do research on it. This can mean I sometimes have to find middle grounds between what a character might find fascinating and what I find fascinating, so sometimes my interests are directly or indirectly in stories. Lost media I know has made it in a few times, and so has sci fi and superheroes and action figures. I don’t really have a whole ton of hobbies that are easy to slot in or draw from on a large scale otherwise, as niche toy collecting, a love for stickers and earrings and clown paraphernalia, and performing arts are only applicable under certain circumstances.

INTERESTS is a whole diff thing. My monster/inhuman character love, my love for certain genres or aesthetics, etc. influences ALLLLL of my OCs and a lot of my fics. Stuff that focuses on loving the strange, or the inanimate, or the weird crossover between the two is in a lot of my work (and will be in more haha) but definitely colors the types of stories I want to do, and the original content I end up making outside of fic.

When did you embrace the ways of the apricot? (That is to say, when and why did you commit to the bit and start creating your marvellous collection of apricot icons?).

THIS ACTUALLY HAS DOCUMENTABLE HISTORY!! Ok so.

The username Tiptapricot was what I came up with when I made my Minecraft account in elementary school. I liked apricots and peaches and plums and stuff (still do) so that was part of it, but I was also into semi-tap dancing (AKA being a young kid with some cheap tap shoes from somewhere and doing performances) so tip-tap and apricot combined and… there we were. It became my standard name on sites when I had to make accounts (bar like animal jam I think because it was maybe made earlier), since it was never taken and it was unique enough to slot in.

I guess as I was maybe making an Instagram account or going into highschool or just… for some reason, my sister @dimidarling wanted to make me a cute icon and, based off my username, drew me a little apricot with a face for one! This created what I now call… Prototip on July 14th, 2019

This icon was very cute and I loved it a lot, but it wasn’t quite the vibe I was wanting for myself, so I ended up getting a PNG of an apricot, slapping it on a blue background from looking up “light blue” on Google, and drawing a little face on it. That became the Default Base Tip as is seen in my icon most places, in December of 2019

FUN FACT you will never unsee after I say it: I think at some point I resized or re-edited the image or something, and I wanted to carry over the original face I had drawn on it, so I ended up cutting it out and pasting it over a face I didn’t like as much, and on the left side of Tip’s face (our right) u can see this tinyyy little black mark showing the edge of the main face cut out because I didn’t get it perfectly covered or aligned. I’m sorry in advance.

ANYWAY! So base Tip was made. I don’t remember the following order of events, but still being in my kpop phase in late 2019 I got Twitter briefly and made a Tiptapricot account there. And having an apricot with a face I thought: wouldn’t it be so funny if I was a gimmick account that pretended to be a real life apricot tweeting? So I did that for like a little bit. And then I went: wouldn’t it make the bit even better if this apricot was appropriately apricot aged? And long story short I changed my age to be a year old, then realized that would probably be bad legally, but when changing it back to my actual birthday, Twitter freaked out and banned me for messing around with my age and not being old enough when I made an account (even though I was at the time) so I got booted off Twitter. (And I’m glad about that can you imagine if I had settled in there instead oh lord) But the seed for apricot jokes was planted!

From there it happened somewhat naturally as a way to either make reaction images for friends online without sending my face, or to change my icon to play along with a funny joke. I made edits for friends in the DC fandom and for jokes we had running about each other going to jail or like “I’m gonna beat you up” or whatever, and joined along with a growing bit of giving me Tip related names, it became something I Did.

Now my Tip folder is 200 images strong and my mascot/sona/little guy is somth I actually care a lot about and have a lot of fondness for as a way to express goofy stuff and emotions in a way that’s simple to draw and feels rly truly me.

And there you have it :-D The Ti(nfodum)p

Ty for the questions Charlie, they were super fun to answer!!

(IDs in ALT)

1000 follower celebration

[nerdnag]

Thank you for the question @alienducky!! You know most of my WIPs already but I'll answer anyway ^_^

The fic I'm currently working on most actively is The Boundaries of Magic, which is a sequel in my FE3H series in which Constance von Nuvelle delves into dark magic ✨I only have two chapters left to write.

But I also have some other WIPs that I'm not actively working on right now:

A mini-sequel to Boundaries which will be approximately 6-8 chapters long and star an OC of mine

A FE3H Ashen Wolves modern AU in which the gang become uni roommates and Constance is an app developer looking for her big break

An MtG fanfic about mage students Killian and Dina and how they grow close while struggling with issues regarding family and expectations of others

A fairly short and simple Great Ace Attorney fanfic which follows Ashley Graydon as he grows up in, and gets out of, the slums of London

An interactive novel/game (original work) about personal identity, with mystery aspects

And then there are some loose ideas/half-started fics which have probably been abandoned at this point and can't really be called WIPs but that I'll mention anyway:

A FE3H YuriCoco enemies to lovers FWB fic which has three whole chapters written but is probably way too OOC. But I might use some bits and pieces to build something new from it eventually

A FE3H YuriCoco pirate fic inspired by a comment you made on Boundaries (^_^)

A really really dark FE3H Sylvain fic that I started in 2020 but that will probably never see the light of day

A FE3H crack fic in which Constance is convinced Hapi is the Savage Mockingbird

A FE3H fic that explores Constance's and Jeritza's dissociative similarities

A handful of MTAP fics, most of them about Arlo, but then one which was once a very ambitious political intrigue AU about Ginger as told from Mint's POV

A Death Note fic in which Misa is smart actually and successfully tricks Light into thinking she's not (i.e. a fic giving rational reasons for her canon behavior)

A Death Note fic in which L manages to figure out who Kira is after being introduced to Rem. This one I'm actually pretty happy about because I think I captured L's thought process pretty well so far, so who knows, maybe I'll get back to it someday, or at least post what I do have

An original work taking place in an alternate universe with fantasy/sci-fi aspects, exciting heists and mystery, starring a very competent asexual character who joins a group of criminals to provide for and protect his mother. I started it many years ago and have maybe half of a full draft, but I have realized since then that it may have problematic parts in its core concept. Certain aspects of it were cool though so I might reuse those somehow eventually and rework the rest.

[nebulousfishgills]

Returning the favor for the writing asks! (And you're right, there's SO MANY good ones!)

1, 3, 11, 13, 17, 20, 35, 54, 55, and 74 please!

I see ten numbers so we're just gonna assume this should in theory be split into ten asks but it's gonna be one doctorate thesis length post so be warned as usual and here we go!

1) Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chapter fics?

See already I have a cop out answer ready because I like doing both! A good portion of my multi chaptered fics started out as one shots, actually. A Song of Stars and Magic started as an alternative look at how The Avengers could have ended that spun way way way too out of control. 29 chapters and two plus years of nitpicking and adding and writing later...

As we know Diplopia started as a one shot before it, too, spun out of control and got six seasons and a movie. The Weirdo From Saint Valentina's is gonna get an additional three chapters and that started as a one shot (I'm very excited to show people what I have planned for that can of worms).

But, you know, Facade was always a longfic. I never finished it but I at least stopped at a decent enough stopping point. One could believe that's how I chose to end it if a) I didn't outright say I never finished it and b) it's not actually marked as incomplete on AO3. Time Variance Detected was a long fic by design because of the episodic chapters. One episode of the series was one chapter and that trend will continue with it's eventual sequel.

His Tenebris Moenibus was always a longfic. It's gonna have a sequel once season 5 comes out. It's kind of exciting but a little nervewracking that part of the anticipation that comes with Stranger Things' finale is also me being able to find out how Emily's story is going to end. I'm on the same page as my readers as of now. None of us knows how that will go and it's exciting and... oh good god it's also fucking terrifying.

But I love writing my small, stand alone one shots. Little nuggets of story. Ways to explore alternative ideas and plot bunnies that are too big for a simple idea but (in some cases, at least) are too small for a full, dedicated fic.

So... they kind of go hand in hand, really. I love the planning and complexity a longfic requires, but I love the bite sized freedom one-shots give. But one shots with me sometimes turn into longfics. So... one shots, I suppose, if you put a gun to my head and made me choose.

3) Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

It varies from project to project. Nine times out of ten, though, it starts out as one of my elaborate daydreams. I have to mentally plan everything at the very least before I write even if I don't write down those plans or outlines all the time. The ideas come in bursts, sometimes with listening to music, sometimes when watching a piece of media, sometimes with the Holy Grail of idea generation: the shower.

Most of any kind of "creative process" with my fics happens mentally. Sometimes I just get so many ideas for a fic that I have to make a bullet pointed plan or an outline. I have a server on discord that just has me in it where I send things to myself or write notes. It's just an alternative for a notes app, really. I have pages of ideas and outlines there. I remember doing this for Necrosis specifically when that last large piece of the narrative puzzle just came to me and then I got so excited I wrote out an outline I still continue to follow.

I wouldn't really go as far to say I'm a planner, though. Most of my fics are more spur of the moment.

Sometimes I have to research as well. I have wikis bookmarked on my laptop in a folder called "The Sacred Texts." The most notable time this happened was with Diplopia and I wanted to better understand these characters before I wrote about them... and now I know too much, go figure.

Ultimately it's kind of chaotic is what it boils down to. I get an idea, sometimes I plan it, sometimes I research it, and then I just kinda... let my brain do what she do.

11) Link your three favorite fics right now

In no particular order:

Necrosis

His Tenebris Moenibus

Instinct (largely because it's my highest kudo'd fic, an unexpected cult classic)

13) What's a common writing tip you almost always follow?

Okay, so I don't know if this is exactly a common tip, but it is THE end all be all writing advice I've ever gotten. A few years ago I watched a virtual book discussion for one of my favorite authors, Christopher Paolini since he had just released a new book ("To Sleep in A Sea of Stars").

Side note he had actually given us a sneak peek of the book a couple years before that when I went to an in person book signing of his when he released a coloring book for his Eragon series that I still have, actually, it's very cool.

Anyways, one piece of advice he gave was to plan out exactly what you want to write in your head throughout the day. So, you know, come up with dialogue scenes when you're eating lunch or how to start your story/chapter's opening paragraphs in the car etc. And then once it's "writing time" you don't have to waste "writing time" coming up with ideas right then, you just need to transcribe your thoughts from the day and then work from there.

I do it for every single piece of writing I put out, even in micro ways. Sometimes I get impulsive and post one shots I wrote in like, two hours, but the hour or so before that, I was laying in bed with music going, eyes closed just organizing and basically writing in my head. It helps me weed through my thoughts prior and saves me a lot of time in the long run.

Also because I fixate on my fics, I'm constantly thinking about them anyways so this advice is just how my brain operates anyways.

17) What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (Maybe a lack of inspiration or writer's block)

This happens pretty frequently. It's more like I have the motivation to write but I can't physically bring myself to actually type it out. Typically what I do is I just let it happen. If I'm de-motivated I won't be writing at my best and the product won't be at the level I would want it to be at. The dialogue and scene pacing would get clunky and then it just feels stiff. I'll eventually get my motivation back.

But in the meantime I'm doing more planning (daydreaming), I'm looking at pinterest for ideas, I have music going, whatever I need to help me not only get my motivation/will to write back, but with more ideas and inspiration than I had in the first place. More often than not I just need to find that one perfect idea that hypes me up enough to finish the chapter/one shot/what have you.

It was a huge help with Necrosis in particular since some of the filler chapters I trudged to get through, but I was motivated by the chapters that set up that big twist at the end or even those chapters themselves. That's another idea, I sometimes write the scenes I'm excited for ahead of time because I'd rather take advantage of that motivation rather than let it die and then leave more work in the future. I had those three particular chapters of Necrosis all completely done, and that's three whole chapters of work I was done with.

Basically, to sum up: Accept the fact that there will be times you want to write but can't. Find the time in between to come up with more ideas. Then, if you get motivation but for something other than that next chapter you need to write, just write that something else. Means less work in the future and it leaves room to experiment.

20) Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/Expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

Well, corruption arcs, obviously. I'm a sucker for redemption arcs, of course, but there's something so cathartic about having a character arc involve going batshit rather than having a come to Jesus moment. But at the same time, usually my corruption arcs happen because of outside forces.

I like to take an optimistic approach to life, that nobody's born evil, it's their choices and environments that can fuck everything up. My characters never start out as evil, but typically the longer they have negative influences, the more it may seem like it. Like the juxtaposition between Olivia's downfall in SoSaM and Emily's spiral downwards.

We know something went wrong to cause Olivia to do horrible things, and it wasn't her fault. So there's a bit of space to sympathize with her because likely her real self is trapped inside of her mind, screaming to be let out and appalled at what she's done. She's naturally a good person with a tricksy streak, not a genocidal maniac. Emily seems more like a bad egg from birth, but that's because her life was set on a downward slope the minute she was popped out and given up. Then it's just nonstop abuse, tragically. St. Valentina's was a horrid place to live, two years on the streets, twenty years in Hawkins Lab... the Upside Down is arguably her best place of residence and you've seen how hazardous and desolate it is. I guarentee you'd lose your mind, too. And this isn't even mentioning my Mind Flayer theory.

I take the optimistic approach to a very pessimistic trope, but the secret is that I usually find the exterior corruption along the way. At first, the characters usually start by fucking shit up for no reason because I want to throw my action figures together and explore the consequences of poor actions before I feel bad and then decide to find the proverbial "Palpatine" in the Anakin to Vader fall from grace.

Of course, smaller things could be my blue rose motifs, my frequent uses of meta humor/references, and how sometimes you can tell I just remembered a cool word and use it three times each paragraph. Also just the Villain's Favorite Person trope, which with me goes hand in hand with the Corruption Arc. It's demented but there's an inherrent appeal in loving someone so much you'd do anything for them. Someone who's done horrible things being gentle only with the one they love. That sort of shit.

I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting.

35) What's one essential thing to remember when writing a villain?

Motivations and how they're not always one-dimensional. All the best villains are ones we can understand, sympathize with because we understand their motives. Sometimes yeah, it's fun to just watch a bad guy fuck shit up for the sake of fucking shit up, but Malekith-type villains are rarely all that memorable (in fact I bet I'm one of maybe six people who remembered his name was Malekith).

I like it when my villains are a little bit sad, wet, and pathetic, or I can mold them to be like that. Look at the characters I ship my OCs with, look at all their drama, their family angst, their abusive pasts, among other things. Even the villains I don't ship my characters with who I use as actual villains, I make sure to analyze their motivations and reasonings.

You have your Thanos types who are trying to do a good thing for the way wrong reasons. Like, my guy, just double the resources. I know some Thanos truthers exist, but I just can't quite see it.

See it hurts knowing Henry would probably agree with Thanos to some degree. I'm a hypocrite for disagreeing with Thanos and being like "yes king go off, fuck humanity" when Henry monologues.

Or, how about delving into something I've only recently been able to discuss because of spoiler reasons, arguably the most complex thing Stephenie Meyer ever came up with that's rarely mentioned and she didn't do anything with: the situation with Didyme. This is what Stephenie Meyer's website mentions about the event, our most thorough analysis on it:

"Once upon a time, a fairly young vampire (he had only been a vampire for a decade and a half) named Aro changed his young sister Didyme, who had just reached adulthood, in order to add her to his growing coven. Aro always wanted power, and because he himself had a potent mind-reading gift, he hoped his biological sister would also be gifted in a way that would help him rise in the vampire world. It turned out that Didyme did have a gift; she carried with her an aura of happiness that affected everyone who came near her. Though it wasn't exactly what he had hoped for, Aro pondered the best ways he could use this gift. Meanwhile, Aro's most trusted partner, Marcus, fell in love with Didyme. This was not unusual; given the way she made people feel, lots of people fell in love with Didyme. The difference was that this time, Didyme fell in love herself. The two of them were tremendously happy. So happy, in fact that, after a while, they no longer cared that much about Aro's plans for domination. After a few centuries, Didyme and Marcus discussed going their own way. Of course, Aro was well aware of their intentions. He was not happy about it, but he pretended to give his blessing. Then he waited for an opportunity to act, and when he knew he would never be found out, he murdered his sister. After all, Marcus's gift was much more useful to him than hers had been. This is not to say that Aro did not truly love his sister; it's just that a key part of his personality is the ability to destroy even what he loves in order to further his ambitions. Marcus never found out that Aro was responsible for Didyme's death. He became an empty man. Aro used Chelsea's gift to keep Marcus loyal to the Volturi, though not even Chelsea's gift could make Marcus show any enthusiasm for it."

That's surprisingly a lot of information and it really shows how much thought she has the capacity to put into these characters, yet refuses to, but I digress. All I did was take the Machivellian motivation mixed with the genuine love Aro had for his sister and just expanded upon that. Alas, actions do have consequences, and Emily's a little shit so go figure.

The point is, villains need to have good motives to make them stick.

54) What's your favorite part of the fanfiction writing process?

That moment when everything, every disparate piece and idea just clicks together and the plot finally comes forward. Usually I start with an idea and find the plot along the way. I think my most classic case would have to be Necrosis. I started with just "Diplopia Sequel" and then ended with:

And it was cathartic as hell

55) Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite?

Oh, god, that's hard, cause I don't typically write for characters I *dislike* writing for. And then that question changes depending on if you mean OCs or canon characters.

I suppose my favorite OC has been Emily since it's been a blast seeing what wacky shit I can do with her. Olivia's gonna be making a comeback soon, though, since Loki s2 is DAYS AWAY AAAAAA- But I missed working with her, it's been a HOT minute.

Favorite Canon is a broader arguement since there's so many fandoms and characters I've written for. Obviously the characters I ship with my OCs I enjoy because I have to be able to see them in a certain way to write them that makes me like them. It has be a joy expanding upon the Volturi though, I'm very proud of what I've come up with. Loki, Sylvie, and Mobius have also been fun and I'm very excited to mess with them again. Eddie was fun to pit against Emily and in particular I remember really enjoying writing the parent/child dynamics between Harry and Keira.

Take your pick I suppose.

74) You've posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you'd written it?

Well, obviously look for my trademarks, playing with morals, blue roses, meta asides. And nine times out of ten if it's a Canon x OC fic, there's a high chance it's a brain child of mine.

But let's very hypothetically say I was to post the one shots I hope to write about Caius and Athenodora's backstories anonymously. Since these characters are so open to interpretation you could probably pick out unique things specific to me about them. Thena has a penchant for swearing and will Cut A Bitch, Caius is a massive wife guy and is extremely horny...

You know come to think of it, these are pretty universally agreed upon ideas... except perhaps Thena's swearing habit, I will stand by the fact that she drops f-bombs like nobody's business.

But aside from all that, I think there's a certain diction and voice my writing has that one could probably pick up on overtime. I'd say assume if you think I wrote it, I probably did.

***

Oh my god I got this ask even before fucking July 5th/Doomsday and I'm just now finishing it I'm so sorry.

[lostnorthwinds]

Alright, I need a break so...

Online, I use the default setting. But, if have to write by hand due to school rules, cursive because that's how I learned to write.

Yes, I already do it anyway. A) From what I know, I am not a wizard and B) Pencil. Easy to erase mistakes.

Use my daydreams to go to fantasy land and try to act like the characters, be it for thoughts or the dreaded dialogue. My mind goes really far, and sometimes I spend unfortunate hours on it... It's almost out of my control, but I'm trying to use the Maladaptive Daydreaming to my advantage.

Orbs. Bluenette. Latinx. ESPECIALLY THIS LAST ONE. IT'S PERSONAL.

Writing superstitions? I'm not sure I have any, but what might count is that all of my fics started with a song, almost. A little verse makes my mind go haywire, and most of the times the fic ends up nothing like the verse. My closest example os this is my fic, 'Silhouettes'... That has nothing to do with the song.

Writing out of character. I am terrified of this. I won't be able to see the fic in my mind if I fvck them up.

Letting my long since repressed creativity loose. When I tried expressing it as a kid, everyone thought it was weird and sometimes creepy.

Without action, a poem of a character's life or woes might be great!

Kind of? I do think they exist somehow, but not in the way we think of them.

Yeah, you can be sure of that. I ended up making two fics shipping two characters I thought were both young adults. But one of the characters involved doesn't have a age explicitly said by the creators, so everyone thinks of her age differently (the appearane doesn't help). The person reviewing the fics thought it was problematic since they thought of her as a kid.

Sometimes I do kill off my darlings, but they do get some sort of closure. Don't worry. Most of them either fade away in peace or get to be a guiding spirit.

Writing in character, discover plot holes easily and actually writing. DON'T TAKE MY WIPS.

An actually corageous character is hard for me to write. Meanwhile writing a character with anxiety is a cake walk.

Nope, nobody actually asks for my books.

Nope, I don't do these things. I slightly judge them for it depensing on which one it is an yeah, we can still be friends.

I gave a colleague a piece of paper I found crumpled on the classroom's ground to use as a bookmark. Six months have passed and she's still using it.

Oh, I have many WIPS. Wilson from DST and the Lamb from CoTL interacting, Cookie run HTTYD AU, Dark Laywright for a shipping week, rewrite of Labyrinthia with actual magic, holy shit there's much more but writing on this page is slow-

There's a revival poem on my most recent fic, which goes like this: "Oh, Almighty Sea, this child did not deserve this fate. They only wanted to do great, even with their life at stake. So, I beg to you and the Moonlight. Listen to my only plea! And let their unjustly taken spirit, be free to explore as they please!". I made it in less than three minutes, but I love it so much. The character who says it is a mermaid, that couldn't save a kid from drowning in the sea. The irony is, after the miracle poem works and they become a shark mermaid, due to lore reasons, the same mermaid that revived the kid cursed them to not be able to speak on land, with the only sound being bubbles!

Actually, the writing ideas startes long ago, two years, I think. But I only stared posting recently due to a writing week that I dropped midway. But, I will start posting again when time is right, I just need energy to do it.

The WIP, obviously! I'm particularly not interested in romantic love.

No. This is my outlet, and I kind if need it.

My organization consists of the notes app on my phone and the actual notebook I take to school. It's an organized mess.

Comfy bed, on top of a blue fluffy blanket. On the upper right of the bed, lays a computer's box and the comouter on top of it. That's where I write, with my phone serving as a background music.

Either I write them on a whim, or I have an entire document detailing he plot points. How I wish I could just get on with it, but I do not want plotholes.

The shark mermaid kid, in canon, has a little black bracelet on their left arm, and I think it's the marks left by their mother's original bracelet turned into one by magic.

Maladaptive daydreaming pretty much is both a blessing and a curse. One of the blessings is that I can try to imagine myself as the character if I try hard enough. The problem is the time, going too far, attention to what I'm actually doing in the daydream, etc.

Professor Layton. He talks so fancy that I don't know how to write his dialogue therefore all WIPs involving him are currently on hiatus.

Capsaicin Cookie. He's a buffed anxiety man and I can get my thoughts out through him.

Good question, actually. Sometimes I look at the ground and let the mind go far, listen to songs, take advantage of my visual snow and stare at a blank wall and see what the pixels form, etc. When one of these doesn't work, I try the others.

Yes! There is a scene that happened in my dreams that I'm thinking how to fit into one of my fics, but I've never written inside of a dream.

Dear readers, I love you all. You just reading the fics I have and sometimes leaving kudos is something amazing, because I know somebody else enjoyed reading my delirious ramblings. Thank you so much for just being there, even if I couldn't speak to any of you directly.

This one actually got me stuck for some minutes, maybe I'm too tired. A simple, "It's okay" on a fic sometimes breaks me. That's what I get for reading Hurt/Comfort.

Sometimes drawing, but they're nit really grand or anything. Sometimes I want to draw scenes I had in mind, but I don't like them, and I don't have experience, so I end up scrapping them.

... Confusing. Because I have to used it for my mother language sometimes, but sometimes not, someone help-

Not using miniscule after a :, I only use it on writing tests.

... How to make noodles, how to hide a body correctly, steps to help someone suffering of bloodloss, how to get someone out of thermal shock... Or at least try to.

Child killer who writes fluffy couples.

Branching paths so much I can't choose with which plot to go. Seriously, it's tiring.

Looking at a friend's messages, seeing the people that actually read my fics. Seeing that somebodyuis rooting for me and enjoying the things I make feels good after many people irl don't like it.

Dear darling, don't you fret. Although life can be quite a scare, we will have upright stares, and be on each other's care.

No matter what anyone says, even after many long days, we'll see the sunlight rays and in the grassy ground we lay.

In the dawn of the sun's light, we'll stare at the brilliant sky, and as the day turns into night, we'll never say goodbye.

Weird Questions for Writers (because writers are weird)

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

14. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

20. If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

21. Could you ever quit writing? Do you ever wish you could? Why or why not?

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

30. Talk to me about the role dreams play in your writing life. Have you ever used material from your dreams in your writing? Have you ever written in a dream? Did you remember it when you woke up?

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

36. They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice...what do you Know?

37. If you were to be remembered only by the words you’ve put on the page, what would future historians think of you?

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

[hibiscusangel15]

Heart to Heart 8, 15, 26, 30

8. Did you cut something out of the outline or an early draft? What was it and why did you decide to cut it?

Hm, this wasn't in the initial outline, but I did have a vague idea of Rukia consulting Byakuya about the ethics of stealing precious memories and happiness from an unwitting human after her talk with Kaien. No specific dialogue or anything. Literally just that idea on its own.

When I saw that the word count was kind of getting up there, though, I decided to ditch the idea. The word limit was 7k, and I think at that point it was already like 5.5k or something? I needed a conclusion, so...

15. Talk about the characters' struggles & how you decided on those

I guess the whole fic is a moral quandary for Rukia lol. After being a succubus for so long, she can't really tell the difference between her own feelings and someone else's.

I knew from the start I wanted her to "eat" Renji's heart and have him forget everything that made him him and to explore the consequences of that. She sort of blames Byakuya for turning her into this without fully explaining what life is like as a succubus, but since he's a bit...emotionally stunted (and not human), he wouldn't understand what the problem was.

Mostly, I just wanted to write her agonizing over wanting to be close to Ichigo because she thinks she'll ruin him. So...typical Rukia.

26. Share your favorite detail

I like a lot of little details I put in in the beginning, like describing the city through emotions and the way Byakuya's heart looks like a jewel.

I guess my favorite detail is the bits I came up with first:

She remembered bits and pieces of people throughout the years—hobbies, memories, even secrets. They were freely given, a currency most people didn’t even know they were paying. Their hearts all tasted different. Each was a riot of experience tinged with flashes of their soul underneath.

And:

His shoulders were slumped like the weight of the sky bore upon him. Underneath it all, she could almost taste it: a strong heart.

She looked upon him, shattered and made all the lovelier for it. A kintsugi recreation that barely held himself together. For the first time in centuries, she knew what it meant to starve.

These were the first bits of this fic I wrote in my phone's Notes app lol. I think I was reading a book (don't remember which one) and it gave me this vague idea. I didn't even have Ichiruki in mind when I first wrote it. It was just this imagery.

30. Would you ever return to the story's universe and write more?

Maybe? I feel like it's complete enough on its own, but if I do ever get inspiration for some sort of continuation, I'll write it. I do like this universe a lot.

[ladywaffles]

hello fellow enjoyer of things >:)

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

🛠What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?

💖 What made you start writing?

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

💞 Who's your comfort character?

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

😈: i am so bad at writing smut scenes so i always fade to black, even when it feels like there should be a scene there and i've built up to it, and it just feels cruel. i would say like 60% of the time there was a sex scene there but i just couldn't get it right so i always end up cutting them out before posting. also i wrote a story once where the entire thesis was "what if the villain deliberately broke the rules on bioethics, as a character study and worldbuilding exercise" and well. readers did not seem to like that. conversely, i also have not updated either of my big WIPs in over a year, so like, that too.

🛒: music and sound are a very big part of my life, so they come up in my stories pretty often! i really enjoy writing to set the place of a scene/story, so i do a lot of touch/smell/hearing similes and metaphors. in terms of feelings, there's a lot of contemplating of loneliness, but not the kind that is, "i am alone in my room," rather the, "i am the only one who has this set of experiences and circumstances, and i cannot explain myself to this person who i care about so they can understand my actions/affections/choices fully, and that makes me feel isolated."

🛠: i primarily use scrivener to write fic, although if you catch me without my laptop, i'll sometimes use google docs or just a plain old fashioned pen and paper. if i'm plotting something out for a longer story, i might use a handwritten timeline on a blank sheet of paper and then just cover it in highlighter and sticky notes as i tack on addendums, if i'm not just screaming about it in a friend's DMs. thesaurus dot com is my best friend.

💖: i started writing fic when i was maybe 11 or 12, right around the time that i first learned that fic existed when i was looking up pictures to make my nook wallpaper, and you could do self-inserts and change the story around to suit your desires, like play-pretend but better. there were just so many permutations to explore, and i really liked that idea! i didn't start publishing fic until i was about 15. that first fic is still out there on ao3 somewhere, but i've since anonymized it so i don't have to look at it on my profile anymore lol. (not because i think the fandom is cringe, but rather because i've grown a lot as an author and it's not necessarily representative of my ability anymore!)

👀: so i know the answer you want me to tell you about is the comphet iceman accidental lovechild aaron tveit AU but sadly i have no more words on paper than that which i have already told you (iceman, very gay and upset over breakup # 3 with maverick, comphet rebounds with a woman who is also very gay and rebounding comphet style and whoops there's a baby now and here comes a bouncing baby aaron tveit). i'm still working on the timelines, because the top gun timeline in relation to the actual universe timeline of when everyone got married/how old aaron is versus when CMIYC was on broadway/aaron's nearly 10-year long absence from broadway is a hot mess and i'm trying to piece things together in the way that is the most true to form/makes the most sense.

💞: donald scripps from the history boys ("I have never particularly liked myself but the boy I was, kneeling in that cold and empty chapel that winter morning, fills me now with longing and pity," spoke wonders to my eighteen-year-old self who was also off to university and questioning reality) and obi-wan kenobi from star wars ("until this very moment, he had never realized he’d always expected, for no discernible reason—that when he died, anakin would be with him." his place in the series as a man who fights for good because it is the right thing to do, because he believes in goodwill, even as the world crumbles around him because it is inevitable that he fail in his mission and ultimately lose everything and everyone he loves, and we all know that he must fail so that others will succeed where he did not... i eat that shit RIGHT up.)

✅: there are at least three separate instances where i have used the righteous brothers' unchained melody in my writing, and two of them are because the song plays on a jukebox in a greasy spoon diner. it was completely unintentional, that's just a song that keeps popping up lol.

fanfic writer emoji ask

[hiorintruther]

I’ve come to the realisation I struggle to write about my ultimate faves in any capacity.

Like, Bachira is by far my favourite bllk character. My skrunkly boi has my whole heart in a choke hold. But I… just… can’t write about him. I can’t write analytical posts, funny posts, meta posts, even shippy bachisagi posts… AND BACHISAGI IS MY BLLK OTP!!!

But I have no problem writing about Hiori, Reo or RyuSae. Or any of my other faves for that matter.

It’s starting to bleed into my fanfic as well. I’ve currently written a Ryusae oneshot and now I’m mulling over a Kunigiri university AU. For a while I was coming up with ideas for a very detailed Reonagi fantasy AU. Hell, I have a whole Hiorin v-tuber AU plotted out in my notes app! Absolutely no Bachisagi in sight (well, they’d be a background pair in the Kunigiri uni AU but not a main ship).

My only guess as to why I’m like this is because I already see Bachira and bachisagi as ‘sufficient’. That is to say, I already find the way canon treats them good enough. Sure, I read fics and enjoy them immensely, but I always end up nitpicking the characterisation in my head (especially of Bachira). With my other faves that just doesn’t happen. There are things about other characters I want to flesh out more with headcanons and I’m willing to accept most hcs even if they take liberties with canon. There are aspects of ship dynamics I want to see explored in more depth. I can write about those things for ages. Bachira and bachisagi tho — already enough and anything fanon adds on is a cherry on top.

Gaaaaa rambley rants aren’t gonna be a normal thing here I just had some thoughts idk

[synthwayve]

Thanks for the tag, Anna!

Disclaimer: I am not really a fanfic writer in the slightest, and my writing is not good. But it’s definitely fun to explore other creative options!

-I’ve jokingly roleplayed with @unbloomingblossom before, as one of their ocs! Please check out their work, they’re fantastic!

-I’m not sure what counts as beta-reading, but I have had someone proofread a script for me before(thank you blossom), and I’ve read works that are open to readers for beta-reading.

-I have written one(1) self indulgent BB fic, and I’m currently writing others/writing out my headcanons and fan theories. They probably will not see the light of day though x,D I consider it violating the 8th amendment to make people read my work.

-I will vomit absolute essays at authors whom I feel are down-to-earth enough to not be off put by my incessant chatter, as @karnaca78 and @wikipedianna know(though I usually have an abundance of thoughts about all the fan work I read, I’m just usually too shy to express it.) When the next chapters of your works come out? You will not hear the end of it. This is a threat/lh

-I love angst more but I’ll never turn down fluff

-I’ve written some OC fan fictions, but only one BB fic. Im not sure if that counts as 2 fandoms or not, so I left that one as a “?”

-My form of “research” is interrogating Blossom about OC and story details so I can incorporate it accurately in whatever im writing, and I love it. BB has made me SWEAT trying to research for writing, because im no historian nor am I particularly versed in the more serious/intelligent levels of the game. Im sure it would enhance my writing if I was, but I mostly just research to make sure im not explicitly destroying canon with my headcanons.

-My OC’s story outline is on version 8.3 (8 as in general story/plot rewrite, 3 as in third attempt to outline it start-finish) and I literally began version 9.0 last night.

-I think I’ve only received full-fledged “feedback” on my OC writing(both fan work and my own) but it sends my blood pressure skyrocketing. Sharing my writing has always been a challenge for me because I started out in spaces where I used to share writing semi-proudly, and then it would either get utterly torn apart/ignored entirely so I just gave up. It’s left me unable to share unless I am very directly told someone WILLINGLY wants to read what I’ve written(“I’ll read it if you wanna share!/feel comfortable sharing!” Will never ever get me to share. I need to be grabbed firmly by the shoulders and told “LISTEN YOU LITTLE WORM. I KNOW YOU’RE HIDING SOMETHING” to actually think “oh okay so they ARE interested and aren’t just trying to be kind/polite and I will not in fact inconvenience/agonize them if I share my writing”), which is difficult for the other party if I don’t talk about the writing existing in the first place! So sorry about that x,D Getting back into it has been insanely difficult and I still get very anxious after I share writing, but luckily blossom is very sweet and their reactions are always heartfelt. Thank you blossom for not obliterating me when I make your ocs cry.

-I have multiple unfinished stories, but hopefully my main OC’s story(TERMINAL LUCIDITY) will be the first to be finished. I’ve scripted out a 1st episode(I write more in the context of art/storyboards/screenwriting for my own ocs than I do in standard novel format), but may have to revise it with V.9.0

-I am the bane of every liberal art degree owner’s existence. I do big block writing(start-finish, no indenting, no breaks) and then move it from notes to docs to portion it out. Anyone who is professional about writing will die if they look at my notes app. I am sorry.

-12 current story ideas going, with TERMINAL LUCIDITY being the most developed.

-I am suffering from a terrible tea addiction. Do not send help

Everyone I wanted to tag has been tagged already I think ;0; so I will risk re-tagging them. Sorry if there are duplicates, if you aren’t comfortable with me tagging you, or if you don’t write fanfiction;0; @mrslittletall @galaxirin @fareehaandspaniards @ofsilentthings @katyspersonal @trustflowerrrblogs @fantomette22 @heraldofcrow

Thanks to @revewrites for the tag! :D

• I ADORE screaming in fics' comments. That's something I love about fanfic: you can actually talk to the authors fairly easily! I find the whole social aspect of fanfic very interesting and I've met amazing people through comments.

• Researching is kind of a double-edged sword but I genuinely enjoy it. The research in itself is what I love most, just like in academia: reading through documents on a very specific topic just to add a few lines in a fic is actually a source of fun. And sometimes you end up not using any of it. That's life.

• Advanced HTML formatting functions are the bane of my existence. I have read through several guides on inserting footnotes and somehow it never worked.

• I received fic-related fanart twice and spontaneously combusted. Twice. (huh is that why I feel like I'm a roasting chicken right now)

• Well. I do want to write professionally someday, I guess.

Tagging fellow writer friends @a-simple-kazoo @rapturezoo @wikipedianna and anyone else who feels like joining!

(Blank template under the cut)

[ya-pucking-nerd]

sabre and doodle - o. power

This fic is a part of @antoineroussel ’s winter 2k22 fic exchange.

Hello @bords !!! I am your mystery fic-writer ;) I am so excited to be your writer. I’ve had this idea in my head for a long time now, and I’m so excited that I was able to use it! I’ve decided to write this story from two different perspectives - Y/N’s and Owen’s. I think it gives the story more depth. Writing for Owen was never really an option for me before simply because I never payed him much attention, so thank you for inspiring me to broaden my horizons! Also, I have discovered that I am older than Owen Power by 12 days and I feel old :/

Disclaimer! I do not know anything about University of Michigan. I only googled the name of the library lol

One last thing, I decided to break this fic up into two parts. The deadline for the fic is creeping its way closer and I want to only give you my best. I have a whole plan for the rest of this fic, but I don’t want to give you a rushed ending - you don’t deserve that.

Word count: 4094 words

Warnings: I’m pretty sure it’s race-neutral (is that even a term? idk) so like I didn’t put any descriptive words about Y/N except that she uses she/her pronouns, some swear words but nothing hard core

Enjoy!

“Hey there! At long last, you’ve found the sticky note I placed here on 9/4/2021! Hopefully this book helps you out more than it did for me. This idea is sounding lamer and lamer, so I’m gonna leave it at that. If you want, you can leave your reply in this book :) ”

It was a folded little yellow sticky note sticking out of a book called Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. You had to snicker a little. The note was recent – today was 9/7/2021. Apparently, you and the mystery sticky note person had awful time management skills in common. Truth be told, you weren’t looking specifically at time management books. You were just exploring Shapiro Library because you had never been inside of it. Well, there was that “mini-golf through Shapiro Library” thing during freshman orientation, but you didn’t exactly pay attention, opting instead to finish as quickly as possible to get to the pizza on the top floor.

You dug through your bag, searching for any stray piece of paper you had. You found a pink index card and a blue pen. That’ll have to do.

“Hello mystery sticky-note leaver. I’m Y/F/N. I’m sorry the time management book didn’t help you. So... what year are you? What’s your major? Put your reply in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – it’s one of my favorites :)”

You smiled to yourself, satisfied with your note. You hoped the mystery note person would find it. Maybe it was just a little game to them. They put the note in as a joke, thinking it would stay there forever, or at the very least for more than three days. Regardless, you folded it up, tucked it safely between pages 1 and 2, took the original note with you, and walked away.

3 days prior...

“This is stupid,” Owen thought to himself. He was sitting in a study room on the third floor, math homework on his left side and an empty Google doc on his right for his economics class paper. He had hockey practice in an hour and a half and a night class after that. College was much more stressful than he thought it would be. He felt like he was never going to be able to get this all done. At this point, he was getting kind of desperate, so he decided to look for a time management book. Maybe they would give tips like a daily planner (which he already had) or perhaps something in the Reminders app on his phone.

Then, Owen realized he didn’t know anything about the library and where books were other than the author’s names were in alphabetical order. So, he went to the library aide. She directed him to the non-fiction floor and to look for books with the number 650.11 on the side. See, telling him to look for books with 650.11 on the side was easier said than done. He did eventually find it. Tucked in a corner with a window facing the stadium (ironic) were the books labeled 648-661. There were a few thick books that Owen didn’t really want to waste his time on. Then, he saw a small book by Oliver Burkeman that looked like it might be helpful.

The book proved not helpful. But by that point, Owen didn’t really feel like doing work. He had 13 minutes until he needed to leave the library, head back to his dorm room, grab his hockey gear, and head to practice. “Might as well use these,” he thought as he looked at the yellow sticky notes that he was going to use to write important notes down for his economics paper.

“Hey there! ...”

Back to the present...

You figured maybe the mystery sticky note person would never return your message. Or someone random who hadn’t written the first message would find your index card and throw it in the trash. What you didn’t expect was to see another yellow sticky note in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn the next time you went into the library.

The classes you were taking this semester hadn’t piled on the work yet, so you decided to browse through the library. You found yourself in the classics section a lot, finding comfort in the words of the greats like Mark Twain, Harper Lee, and John Steinbeck. This time, you came upon your favorite book from your high school English class and found a sticky note peeking out of the pages.

“Hey Y/N, you have really nice handwriting! My mom would be very impressed. You can call me Sabre. Kinda makes me feel like an international spy with a codename, which is the most fun I’ve had since getting here. And I’m a sophomore sports management major. What’s your major? Post your reply in one of my favorite books, The Giver by Lois Lowry. Signed, Sabre”

Sabre. Interesting. Why didn’t they want to give you their real name? You also wondered if a sabre could symbolize something in their life. Sabre like a saber-toothed tiger? Maybe they liked cats. Or it could be a saber, like a Star Wars lightsaber. They could be a Star Wars fan. But why spell it sabre instead of saber. There had to be a significance to that. You were a little confused at their choice of codename, but you played along. You dug out another index card and your blue pen, mind racing as you thought about what to write back. You weren’t sure what to expect with this... friendship? This guy... girl? was a sophomore. And a completely different major. You didn’t have anything in common with them – except poor time management skills. You would just have to wait and see. Upon finishing the note, you got up and strolled through the library, quickly finding the fiction section. As thankful as you were that Shapiro Library was this big and had this many resources, your feet were starting to hurt, and you hoped you found the book soon.

3 days later...

Owen was genuinely excited. His first year with the UMich hockey team went really well, to say the least. Despite it being the year of COVID, he managed to scrape together a damn nice resumé. He made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, the second All-Big Ten Team, Rookie of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year Finalist, and he led his team in blocked shots. But this time around, he had expectations to live up to. He was the “first draft of the 2021 NHL draft” guy. The very first one. Top selection. All of his achievements and the NHL draft meant that he was clearly a phenomenal hockey player. His coaches expected him to up his game. Umich hockey and Buffalo Sabres fans were expecting to see something spectacular out of him, and he was deathly afraid of disappointing them.

And, as guilty as he felt, it was nice to talk to someone who had no idea who he was. There were no expectations. Even if he would have told you just his first name, he could still be just Owen, but he didn’t want to live that dangerously. He didn’t bring up hockey with purpose, and he strongly doubted you would bring it up. His codename still kind of gave his identity away, but only to the extreme hockey fan. Maybe you would get confused with a Star Wars lightsaber or something like that (he was a Star Wars fan, anyway).

None of his teammates spent much time in the library. They all thought about playing Junior hockey, and some of the guys were drafted into the NHL, too. They partied hard, had their fun with girls, and did not put in a lot of work in terms of the academic side of college, but Owen knew that all it took was one bad hit on the ice, and his NHL career would be over before it even started. So, he took his studies pretty seriously.

Since leaving his last sticky note, Owen had been hanging around the library a little more than he’d like to admit. Meeting ... well, talking to you had been one of the few times that Owen felt he could ultimately be himself since entering college. Not the number one NHL draftee, not the Big Ten Rookie of the Year, not Big Dawg, just Owen. It was like a breath of fresh air, a glass of cold water, all the metaphors for feeling peaceful and relaxed.

Today, he genuinely had work to get done. Calculus was kicking his ass, and he absolutely could not afford to fail, especially with his hockey scholarship on the line. But first, he had to check the Lois Lowry book. At this point, he was getting a little scared that you had answered his sticky note out of pity and then completely forgotten about the whole thing. He wouldn’t be mad, exactly, but he’d be a little disappointed.

Strolling through the fiction section, he found the L’s. La. Le. Li. Lo. Loa. Lof. Lou. Low! The library had three copies of The Giver, and Owen was praying he found a pink index card inside one of them. In the first book, Owen didn’t find anything. He found an old bookmark in the second book, but nothing was written on it. The third book, he found it. He snatched it, returned the books to their proper place on the shelf, and rushed back to the study cubicle he reserved.

“Sabre? Well, in that case, call me Doodle. I’m a freshman business major. I’m taking the classes because I want to own a bakery one day. Why did you pick Sabre as a codename? Are you going to the football game next Saturday? Leave your reply in The Giver, too. I can’t think of another book. Signed, Doodle”

So, you decided to go along with the code names. Owen had never met someone so... God, what was the word. Open? Fun? All the girls who have ever approached Owen at a party or at the rink only wanted to talk to him because they heard he was slightly famous and a future NHLer. You still didn’t know about his future career, and he was certainly nervous if the day where you find out his identity would come, but for now, he liked just being Sabre and Doodle. The second thing Owen noticed was that you asked about the football game. So, his codename hadn’t given him away. Maybe you were an all-American girl who only cared about football and didn’t know the first thing about the NHL. Or maybe you only asked him because he told you he was a sports management major. Either way, it also showed an attempt to connect with him, meaning maybe you were enjoying this strange connection as much as he was. He dug out his pen, crafting his response to you.

6 days later...

The first person to find out about Sabre was your roommate, Carly. Unfortunately for you, the UMich rooms were set up so that your desks were next to each other, so Carly could easily see the sticky notes you collected. She confronted you as you got back from your art elective class.

“Sabre, huh? Who’s that?”

“Oh... Um... It’s a... It’s a friend, I guess,” you stammered back, caught off-guard. “How does one explain this one?” you thought.

“And have you ever met this ‘Sabre’?” she persisted.

“No, we’ve just been writing notes back and forth. Clearly, you read them; they’re harmless. Sabre is harmless.” you replied back, now getting upset that she read your notes. Yes, they may have been sitting out on your conjoined desks, but that didn’t give her any right to just read your stuff. You didn’t read through her bullet journal.

Carly crossed her arms across her chest and sighed. She brought her left hand to the bridge of her nose, sighing once again.

“Y/N, don’t you get it? What if it’s a creepy perv trying to lure you in and then kidnap you? Or what if....” At that point, you stopped listening. Carly could talk for hours if you let her. She was a journalism major and political science minor, so she absolutely loved to talk. You figured she would stop for air eventually. Besides, you didn’t really care about her opinion, especially considering you met her less than a month ago.

Finally, after being fed up with Carly’s nonsense about your “psychopath stalker library sticky note guy,” you picked up your bag, grabbed a textbook and your laptop, and walked out the door. And yes, maybe slammed the door to make a point.

At first, you thought about grabbing a slice of pizza from the North Quad and studying there. And, truth be told, it was nice, but no place was as beautiful as the library. So, you grabbed a slice of pizza to go and started walking towards the library, eating your pizza along the way.

It was probably a horrible idea to go to the library. If you found another sticky note, Carly would get super mad. But you trusted Sabre. They hadn’t given you a whole lot to go off, but it just seemed safe. You knew that if you ever found anything to be a little suspicious, you would snuff it out quickly. Carly’s doubts and warnings were starting to get into your head.

At first, you couldn’t remember the location of The Giver. Shapiro Library was so huge. Then, you remembered the staircase, so you thought upstairs might be your best bet. You hopelessly asked the library aide, who smiled sweetly and pointed to the next floor up and to the far right corner. You thanked her and rushed up. At this point, you weren’t sure if finding a note would make you feel better or worse, but you checked anyway.

You found the sticky note tucked between pages 34 and 35. Did the number 34 or 35 mean something to Sabre? Or, did they carelessly place it between the first two pages their fingers found? It was things like this that continued to intrigue you about Sabre. How much did they care? Were they leaving you subtle clues to their identity? Or were you just overthinking this like you tended to do?

You took the sticky note out and plopped yourself onto the ground right next to the shelf. 

“Dear Doodle, Sabre? Lightsaber? Star Wars? Come on... And yes, I went to the football game with some of the guys on my team. And also, if you want to own a bakery one day, I definitely want to stay friends with you. Chocolate chunk cookies are my weakness (and definitely not on my diet). And, since I am a sports management major, leave your reply in The Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant. Signed, Sabre”

And here he is, leaving you with more questions than answers.

So, Sabre was a guy. And, you were right about the Star Wars thing, but still confused about why he chose to spell it Sabre. And second, he had a team? What type of team? He could be fooling you and be on the football team. It technically wouldn’t be a lie because if he was on the team, he did technically go to the game with guys on his team.

You didn’t know him well, but he didn’t seem like the type of guy to fool you like that. He could be on the basketball team since he mentioned Kobe Bryant. But that would be too obvious – if he was trying to conceal his identity, he wasn’t doing a good job of it. Here you were overthinking again.

He even called you friends. And he wants you to bake him cookies. It’s a shame the communal kitchen in your dorm is disgusting, but you’d be more than willing to bake him chocolate chunk cookies once you get into a proper kitchen.

You were nervous to reply. What do you even say?

That very same day...

Owen was not having a great time. The hockey season was picking up, and midterms were about a week away. In the last game, Owen barely had ice time. And when he did, it just seemed like he couldn’t do anything right. He messed up easy passes, took way more hits than he was used to, and he broke a stick on a slapshot.

The only thing he was looking forward to at this point was going to the library and searching for a pink index card. He wasn’t even sure if the library had The Mamba Mentality. On the way in, he bumped into a girl, furiously texting on her phone.

“Oh god. I’m so sorry. I was texting my roommate and wasn’t looking!” She bent down to pick up her phone and the water bottle that miraculously hadn’t spilled. When she bent, Owen could have sworn he saw a yellow sticky note at the top of her bag, but he dismissed the idea, knowing that sticky notes were common among college kids.

“No problem, take it easy,” he replied.

The sports biographies and autobiographies were always Owen’s favorite part of the library. He knew where to look. The library didn’t have The Mamba Mentality, but a flash of pink caught his eyes in the place where it should’ve been.

“Sabre, Ok, so I was right about the Star Wars thing! I went to the football game with my roommate, but we got shitty seats because we were late. So, what sport do you play? I don’t play sports, really. I played volleyball for my high school, but I hated it. My parents made my play because my sister did. And I’ll totally get you those chocolate chunk cookies. Let me know where to leave them. Leave you answer in I am Malala by Malala. Doodle”

What if you were one of those crazy girls that look up the roster and then are investigative enough to figure him out. That’s a lot of ifs, but Owen wasn’t sure if he was prepared to take that risk. He liked the anonymity of the sticky notes in the safety of the library.

He thought carefully. He obviously didn’t want to dismiss the question entirely because you would probably just ask him again. He also didn’t want to answer. This was tricky.

Two of his teammates found him on his way from the library to practice. He would’ve preferred to be left alone, but he couldn’t tell his teammates without them asking him what was wrong. They would probably tell him he was being ridiculous. They didn’t really get it, and Owen wouldn’t have expected them to.

The boys walked to practice, fooling around and hitting each other with random leaves and twigs that littered the Quad on their way to the rink. Owen, however, had Airpods in both ears, with the volume turned to maximum. He knew he loved the sport of hockey and would never give it up, but at this moment, all he could think about was Y/N.

4 days later...

Carly was still giving you grief about the “situation” (as she called it). So, you did the most non- sensical thing possible and told your other friend, Gia. Gia was the type of friend who would do anything for you. Gia was the friend you would call if you found a dead body in a creepy alley and needed support as you called the police to report it.

“... So that’s basically everything. You don’t think I’m crazy, right?” you asked after explaining the whole thing to Gia. She just stared at you, mouth open like they do in cartoons.

“Y/N,” she said gently. “Have you considered that this guy may be acting so sweet just to, well, you know. Screw you over?”

Carly raised her arms above her head, shouting. “That’s what I said!”

You looked behind you at Carly and rolled your eyes. Why couldn’t your friends just be supportive of this friendship? Making real friends on a college campus with more than 44,000 students was so incredibly hard. Yes, finding that sticky note was a twist of fate, but continuing the conversation was intentional. You responded with enthusiasm, and it seemed that Sabre was, too.

Gia was looking at you as you were thinking things over.

“G,” you sighed. “It just doesn’t seem like that. I mean, you guys have both read those notes. It just seems so real. So natural. At this point, you hadn’t checked the library in a while. Suddenly, an idea popped into your head. “Guys, come one! We’re going to the library.” Your two friends looked at each other with the “she’s crazy, but I guess we’re responsible for her” look.

The three of you made your way into the library. When you opened the door to Shapiro Library, you did a quick scan to see if there were any people in the library. It was the Saturday after midterms, so you didn’t expect too many people. You only spotted three guys studying in the back left corner. Well, one was studying. You could see the second one hiding his phone behind his laptop screen while on a Zoom call, and the other was playing 2048.

The book you told Sabre to leave his next note in was actually on the shelf right behind the guys. You tiptoed your way back, and with every careful step you took, the old hardwood floors creaked louder and louder. They say silence is loud, but you would argue that attempting to tiptoe on old creaky hardwood floors was louder.

You picked up the book, found the sticky note, then put the book back. You missed the smirk on boy #2’s face as he watched you take the sticky note and sit down with your friends in a study cubicle.

“Doodle,

Well, football isn’t really my thing. We got shitty seats, too, but I’m not a huge football guy. And I’m not gonna tell you my sport, how about you guess? Besides, me telling you my identity kind of ruins the point of me having a codename ;) And if you leave chocolate chunk cookies outside of the window with the TikTok lights on the west side of Weller Hall, I will literally love you forever. Leave your answer in I am Malala. 

Sabre”

It wasn’t much, but he did give you a little more. So, he didn’t play football. And he was smart. He knew you would try to figure it out on your own. Also, he lives on campus. And while that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, it means you had a slightly smaller pool of people to investigate. You let all your friends read the note after you. While they read it and analyzed it, you found your pen and notecard.

On the other side of the library...

Owen watched the group of girls enter the library, and a small part of him wondered if you were one of them. He was a little anxious, wondering who you were. He obviously knew your name because you gave it to him before deciding to use codenames. Owen also had to exercise extreme self-control to not look you up on all forms of social media.

Then, he watched you walk up to the shelf that he had just put his sticky note in about 5 minutes ago. At the time, his friends laughed at him. Now, they were staring at Owen in shock. 

“Bro, she’s real?”

“I thought you had like an imaginary friend, or some ass gave you a fake name.”

“Thanks for the support, guys.” Owen had grumbled.

But now, he watched you read the note, brows furrowed as you concentrated. Then, you passed it off to your friends, and they read it more intensely than you did if that was possible. Your friends giggled, pointed to a bit, and then whispered some more about it. You were busy writing furiously, barely listening to your friends, let alone looking to the corner of the library. 

It was incredible to Owen how close he was, yet how far away. He could practically smell your perfume, but he couldn’t go up and say “hello”. At least not without scaring you. He wasn’t quite sure what to do. He just wanted to watch you leave the note and read it ASAP. And if you noticed him reading the index card, that was fine with him.

~

@bords I hope you enjoy it :)