#i wrote this as a self-indulgent never-to-be-seen wip

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

I did it.

[queenofbaws]

as someone who is SO GOOD at forgetting i was tagged in stuff immediately after being tagged in stuff, i thought i'd go ahead and fill this puppy out while it was fresh in my mind ;)c hehehe thanks for the tag @phenanthreneblue!!!!!!!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

156 😎 and hopefully no sign of slowing, lol. i've been writing and posting fic since aboooooout 2007 though, so. do with that as you will.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

it's. um. it's. uh. a lot. ahem. it's a lot.

(1,923,174)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currrrrrrrrently the supermassive universe and dragon age, but i'm slowly adding the remedyverse in there, and silent hill pops up from time to time!!! and in ye olden days, i wrote a LOT for kingdom hearts. i've been CONSIDERING adding horizon to the list too, but...only time will tell, hehehe ;P

4. Top five fics by kudos

the (almost)s; who ya gonna call? not these creeps.; my fav part of summer camp [not clickbait!]; lipstick stains & coffee cups; yes, no, maybe so: circle one and let me know!

5. Do you respond to comments?

i do! i figure if you took the time to read AND let me know how you felt about my work, then by golly, i'm gonna tell you how much YOU made me smile :)c i've met some pretty cool people thanks to the comment section, hehe

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

aw man, probably alone time, right? probably alone time. i'm sure there was some extremely angsty stuff in my kingdom hearts days, but lord help me i am old and i have forgotten a lot of that

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

well, the durellion affair ends with everyone getting to eat as much cheese as they want, so i think that fits the bill!!! 🧀

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nah. i've been crazy lucky that, aside from the occasional (and likely unintentional) insensitive comment, people have always been super kind with my stuff <3 the deviantart days were a slightly different story, but why relive THAT time period, i ask you?????

9. Do you write smut?

nope. i'm not, like, opposed, i just don't think it would be good, and i've yet to write something where i felt it would add anything, so. nah. there are so many other things i can do to earn that m rating ;)

10. Craziest crossover?

for sure did an organization xiii/sweeney todd crossover once, in the long-long ago asldkjflsakdjf recently, though, i guess i'd have to say reading & other fun rituals was a VERY self-indulgent way for me to smash the remedyverse and supermassive universes together!!!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

eh, every time one of those "this site is scraping people's fics!" posts goes around, i end up finding my stuff, but in terms of bumping into an individual nabbing something i've written? not that i'm aware of! (i like to believe anyone reading would recognize the overabundance of adjectives and come tell me, ha!!!)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had people ask, but i've never seen a finished product, so probably not! i tend to write pretty long stuff, though, and i wouldn't wish that kind of work on anyone alsdkjflaskdjfksljfd

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

i have! none that are posted currently, but i've for sure co-written in the past. i'm also slowly but surely co-writing a fun little thing over here with my buds where our (totally cool and DEFINITELY not overpowered) self-inserts have fun being npcs in the federal bureau of control, so...keep your eyes peeled for that, heheheheh

14. All time favourite ship?

right now? varric tethras and f!hawke 🥺 at this point in time, i only have eyes for them

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

sigh. soft reset 😔 it's a big ol' silent hill 2 timeloop fic that i started back in 2015 i think, and as much as i WANT to finish it...i haven't felt the silent hill muse strike in a hot minute. maybe once the remake comes out.

16. What are your writing strengths?

oh, i like to flatter myself that i'm pretty solid when it comes to character voices/interactions 😉 it's why i do so many character studies, honestly - i just *clenches fist* love studying characters!!! i also think my dialogue's fun

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

how much time do you HAVE??? hehehe i feel like i flounder when it comes to straight up-and-down fluffy/shippy stuff, like if the focus of a story is, for example, some sort of romantic gesture, i'm fairly lost. i'm also HORRENDOUS when it comes to keeping things concise, and god help me, every time i have to delete a passage and kill my darlings, i am miserable, so i tend to just...not do that

also? just putting it out there because i do consider it a weakness in regards to writing: sometimes my self-esteem with posting stuff is just. MISERABLE. so i have a tendency to get anxious before, during, and after hitting the post button, just really wallowing in those good, good I'M A FRAUD feelings, lmfao. i'm working on it, though!!! i love writing so much, sometimes the irrational part of my brain just worries i'm not Doing It Right, hahahaha

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

no one's done it better than the thing (1982) and no one ever will

19. First fandom you wrote in?

proooooobably kingdom hearts??? don't quote me on that, though, it very much could've been x-men: evolution asdlkfjsalkjf (those just never saw the light of day)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

c'moooooon. the (almost)s :)

i'm gonna go ahead and tag...hmm... @love-fireflysong @jadedsunshine @unicornaffair @big-ass-magnet @mrs-theirin @theartofdreaming1 @icequeen-07 @chris-hartley and anyone - yes, i mean ANYONE - who wants to talk about their stuff ;) especially YOU!!!

[setaflow]

🔫 FREEZE this is a STICKUP

gimme 5 great lines that you wrote (whether you’ve posted them or not) and 5 great lines someone else wrote (whether published or fanfic) and nobody gets hurt!!

P.S. If one of lines isn't a Tom Robbins quote, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with myself. (I say this as a joke, but also...)

YES OFFICER SORRY OFFICER

Frankly I could've filled the entire second section with Tom Robbins quotes I loved, but I limited myself lmao

5 Great Lines I Wrote:

Johnny’s come to realize a long time ago that most folks tend to employ a geocentric view of Night City— it’s the center of the first world and thus all fads, conflicts, and politics are destined to fall into orbit around it. He likes to think he’s grown out of that mindset, that he’s wizened up enough to see past the veneer, but it’s hard to see the city for what it is some days and not think of it as the nucleus in the great big slow-decaying cell of what used to be modern day America.

Untitled WIP, Cyberpunk 2077

The afternoon air tastes of lethargy— the kind of lazy day you take when there’s little to do and even less worth mustering the strength for. Nothing’s stirred outside besides the occasional gust of wind, a pair of blusterous boots kicking sand up and down the main thoroughfare.

Untitled WIP, Cyberpunk 2077

The look on Hellman's face seems to've transcended terror and looped straight around to piousness, as though God Himself had strolled through the door and asked to bum a cigarette.

The Wheel of Fortune and the Hanged Man, Cyberpunk 2077

No words are exchanged, no gazes are averted. For one split second, V feels doubt creep in, wonders if she should adjust her aim and do it proper this time— no harm, no foul, right? What kind of wolf has the rabbit in its jaws and refuses to bite down?

Rain in the Desert, Chapter 17, Cyberpunk 2077

The sun and the moon were never supposed to meet. They were only supposed to follow after the other, never actually crossing paths. Two entirely separate lives, pulling and pushing on each other from a distance, content just to be as they are and never anything else. When people first saw eclipses, they interpreted them as a sign that the world was ending. Fuck. Fuck. The world has already ended so many times, and he’s still here. Alone. At the brink of everything he’s ever known, at the brink of leaving it all behind for good. And all Johnny Silverhand can think about is how to explain that he loves and hates and deeply fucking misses some stupid merc he never should’ve met who didn’t know how to cut her losses and just let him die.

In Medias Res (Here, Besides the Rising Tide) (WIP), Cyberpunk 2077

5 Great Lines Others Wrote:

"He’s twelve years old, and this summer he learns that people will always choose a simple lie over a complicated truth, because the lie has one unbeatable advantage: the truth always has to stick to what actually happened, whereas the lie just has to be easy to believe."

- Fredrick Backman, Us Against You

"The unhappy person resents it when you try to cheer him up, because that means he has to stop dwelling on himself and start paying attention to the universe. Unhappiness is the ultimate form of self-indulgence. When you're unhappy, you get to pay a lot of attention to yourself. You get to take yourself oh-so very seriously."

- Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

"There comes a point in life when you've seen so much that hardly anything surprises you or bothers you, and that's a shitty moment. Wisdom is so terribly overrated."

- Drew Magary, The Hike

“People are rotten everywhere you go. They’re no good. You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination. Let’s see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants.”

- Min Jin Lee, Pachinko

"Trees fall with spectacular crashes. Planting is silent and growth invisible."

Richard Powers, The Overstory

[bbutterflies]

2023 fanfic year in review

Thank you @kasienda for the tag!!! Been meaning to do this since I wrote so much in 2023!

Fics completed this year:

Oh my god I was writing lovesquare still at the beginning of the year… who was I back then… I finished I’d fall in love with you a thousand times and Meant to be, and then wrote all of Intertwined. I try to hold these all in kind thoughts. I don’t think they’re all that great, personally, but I just hadn’t written as much when I wrote them and never outlined or planned ahead. But I’m happy people liked them!

And then I went off the deep end with adrino:

I’ll give myself a name (something stupid and pretentious)

Falling into place

ways to say I love you

promise me forever

The memories we (don’t) make

Not much of a cat person

The moment I knew (I’d no choice but to love you)

Chemistry with him (for Ninovember 2023! I wrote the entire thing in about a month and a half and posted daily in November. My life took a serious turn for the worse by the end of the month and the comments and support on this fic were so amazing and incredible and kept me going!)

Love you snow much

And then I ended strong with this incredibly devastating (but really good) loveywalker one shot: fine line

Number of words written:

My ao3 stats say I published 329,988 words in 2023 which is insane????? I don’t know how I did that but oh my god it was so fun. I know I wrote way more that I didn’t publish with edits and stuff I scrapped, but I don’t keep track because it would just be way too difficult… at least another 100-150k if I had to guess in cut scenes and wips I haven’t published and stuff I just decided I didn’t like. I don’t know how in the world I managed to write so much while already a sleep-deprived grad student but I definitely don’t regret it. It was a blast.

Your most popular fic:

By hits, Meant to be. Oh man… if I wrote this now I’d do so much differently. I was surprised people loved it so much, and looking back, I’m like oh god… the mistakes… but it’s all a learning process! :) and I learned and grew so much from this one.

By kudos, ways to say I love you, which I didn’t expect to gain any traction at all. It’s just over 600 words, something silly and cute I figured a couple people would like, and it totally blew up.

Your personal fav:

I know I’ve said this before but Falling into place, hands down, is my number one. I know I’ve also said before it’s such a queer, teenage experience, but it is and it means so much to me. Being in high school, being in love with your friends and not even knowing it, aughhh I just love it. I love the way I wrote it. I’m so proud of it still!

Your fav scene:

Oh man… probably the kiss scene in chapter 9 of The moment I knew (I’d no choice but to love you). I wrote it so many times and made so many edits but I ended up so proud of it!

A fic or scene that challenged you:

I had a lot of fun with most of my fics! Having multiple wips on the backburner gave me a way to take a break and work on other stuff when I was having trouble with one and I can usually come back with fresh eyes later and never have too much trouble. But right now, If I hold you too close is challenging emotionally. It’s super personal and self-indulgent, and digging into a lot of my own past and traumas and mistakes to write it has been harder than I thought it would be. I’m excited to keep working on it but it’s been draining at times for sure.

A line of writing you’re proud of: 

Oh man, I don’t know how to pick a single line… I’ll have to go with this (even though it’s technically more than one line) from Falling into place:

Adrien’s eyes were locked on Nino’s. He was staring back with something in his expression Adrien couldn’t quite read, something he hadn’t seen before. Or maybe he had but he’d just never been looking.

A comment that touched you:

A few come to mind! I’ve had several people comment on my adrino fics telling me they hadn’t shipped them before but they do after reading, and honestly that’s my number one life goal at the moment haha. I love adrino! I want more people to love them!

I genuinely love all the comments I get. It means so much that people read and love my work. The people who say so specifically always get me teared up… I’ve gotten several on my fluff fics that said they were going through stuff in life and my writing was a bright spot for them, and genuinely that’s insane to me. To touch someone else, to have a positive impact on their life through art…. oughhh it’s just so human and raw and I love it! I’m so honored!

Something that inspired your writing:

I honestly spent a lot of time writing what I personally wanted/needed to read! I needed more domestic adrino fluff, and I wasn’t finding quite what I wanted to read, so… I wrote it for myself! I love rereading them knowing it’s exactly what I want to read, and knowing other people enjoyed them too. I’ve been incredibly selfish in my writing this year (in the best way) and it’s been so inspiring also to see other people want to read it too! The moment I knew (I’d no choice but to love you) was something I didn’t think would garner much attention at all. A rarepair and a super silly trope? I thought whatever, I’m writing it for me, hopefully a couple others like it, and it got so much more positive attention than I thought. I’m so glad!

Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

Probably figuring out I’ll give myself a name (something stupid and pretentious)! I think I’ve mentioned before I was originally writing it as a lovesquare fic. I wrote it and rewrote it like six times before I thought, no, this should be about Adrien and Nino. And then it just clicked!

Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

I have a secret wip in my docs I’ve talked about a couple times, but it’s a slowburn teenage adrino and I really would love to write all of it! I think I’m struggling to decide exactly what kind of story I want to tell and it’s making it hard to outline and write when I don’t have a clear end direction, but that’s something I’d definitely love to figure out.

And I’d love to get back into lovesquare, too! I have a few wips that I keep putting on the backburner but I really want to dust them off and finish them, and maybe start some new stuff. Writing my loveywalker fic was SO fun (if devastating) and I can’t believe it’s been months since I sat down and wrote lovesquare.

This isn't a direct writing goal, but I'm determined to comment more on fics I read. I love getting comments, and I don't leave them enough on the fics I love, and that's something I really want to change!

Anyone you would like to thank?

@kasienda and @flightfoot I think are tied for commenting on my fics, and it really means so much to have cheerleaders in my inbox!!! Especially writing adrino when readership is lower, it was a huge help to have people reading and commenting and cheering me on <3

@asukiess and @isabugs recently for screaming with me in general about this show! You’ve inspired me to write so much more… I can’t wait to be absolutely unhinged in 2024.

And all my commenters on ao3!! I don’t know everyone’s tumblr and couldn’t possibly tag them all but it means so much every time I get a comment. I wouldn’t be writing as much as I do without the direct support! Thank you!!!

[fiftysevenacademics]

WIP Wednesday

This is what I wrote today. It's actually closer to the middle of this beast (3959 wds total so far, and it's not even half done yet). It's first draft sloppy and raw. I really don't know why I'm doing this except I decided I had to know what happened between Madam Yu and Wen Zhuliu and Jiang Fengmian got dragged in. So now it's basically "why are the Yunmeng Siblings' parents the way they are? What the hell went wrong between them?"

*********************************

Strange things had been happening near a cluster of farmhouses some distance outside of town. It was too small to be called a village and had no proper name. But the families who lived in the houses tended their fields and brought their crops into town to sell. They were hardy, self-reliant farmers who did not spook easily and handled their own problems. 

So when the family elders approached Clan Leader Yu and humbly asked for his protection, he immediately asked, “From what?”

“Clan Leader Yu, there has been a ghost killing our chickens and pigs and damaging our crops. We have set traps and held watches but only in the past few nights have we seen it and it is like nothing we have seen before. This morning, just before the sun rose, it took a child.”

Yu Ziyuan was sitting next to her father in the reception hall, helping balance account books. She reached for her sword and stood up. 

“Did you see where it went?” she asked.

“Miss Yu,” the eldest man said, almost breaking into tears. “The child was my youngest grandson. The ghost ran toward the mountains, but my son and oldest granddaughter ran faster, throwing rocks and yelling until the whole village turned out in pursuit. The creature could not run faster while holding my little grandson, so it dropped him and dissolved into a cloud of black smoke.”

“Was he injured?”

“No, Miss Yu. He was uninjured. But we cannot let this ghost near our village again. So we respectfully ask for help.”

Yu Ziyuan turned toward her father and bowed. 

“Father, with your permission, I would like to drive this ghost away or end its depredations forever.”

Clan Leader Yu stood and clasped his hands behind his back, thinking.

The Yu Clan of Meishan was a small but ancient and dignified clan that was known more for its wealth than cultivation. Over centuries it had produced famous scholars and officials, legendary beauties, and acquired an enviable collection of priceless antiques. They were proud patrons of the arts and generous benefactors of temples. 

They saw cultivation as a requirement for the gentry but preferred a more indulgent aristocratic lifestyle. Their sons and daughters typically trained until they formed a golden core, and could wield a sword and a few talismans successfully. Then, they considered that part of their education complete.

But from a young age, Yu Ziyuan could never hear enough about the deeds of valiant cultivators. It seemed to her that these heroes formed the sole thin membrane that separated and protected this world from the world of demons and ghosts and she thought that was far more glamorous than the idle, comfortable life of a nobleman’s wife she was destined to lead. 

When she married, it would be to one of those brave men, and they would fight side by side against evil. Her exploits would capture the imagination of future children.

After forming her golden core, she begged her parents to allow her to continue training until they relented. They had already arranged prestigious marriages for her two older sisters, and her father was inclined to let her take the place of the son he never had. They hired teachers and sent her to the classes held by the Lan Clan of Gusu at Cloud Recesses, and she became proficient without belonging to any sect or master. She made friends in the powerful cultivation clans and received invitations to join them on Night Hunts and to attend conferences. 

She grew into a beautiful young woman and carried herself with pride, dressed in sensible clothing made from the finest fabrics, in colors that flattered her fair complexion and accentuated her tall, athletic figure. She wore cosmetics and hair ornaments that highlighted her noble eyes. 

Naturally, she attracted the attention of men but her sharp personality made them afraid to offer romantic overtures, which was just as well because if they had, she would have soundly rebuked or even humiliated them. Yu Ziyuan considered herself a force to be reckoned with and as her exploits piled up, other people did, too. Her heart would yield only to the bravest, most talented man in the cultivation world.

Clan Leader Yu regarded this daughter, who, had she been a boy, he would love to have made his heir, and turned toward the village elder.

“What does this ghost look like?”

“It looks like a beautiful woman, but with long, tangled hair, sharp, pointed teeth, and tattered clothing. Its eyes are wild and your body soaks up a cold wind when you get near.”

“This sounds like a very strong hungry ghost, father. I can handle her.”

Clan Leader Yu nodded. 

“A-Yuan, I know you can, and will be honored when you succeed. But you must not go alone. I’ll send someone with you.”

Yu Ziyuan returned to her room to gather a few supplies, which she stored in her qiankun pouch. Jinzhu and Yinzhu clamored around her, fastening her sword to her back and helping her out of her satin slippers and into walking boots. 

“Please, let us come with you!” Jinzhu wailed. 

“I am learning the ‘barrier’ hand seal,” Yinzhu boasted, waving her chubby hands in a pattern. “I can help!”

Yu Ziyuan knelt so she was at face level and gripped their shoulders.

“Someday you will be my fiercest disciples and most trusted assistants. But today you are still children and it’s safer for you to stay here. I will need you when I return. Practice cultivation until then.”

At the gate in the wall surrounding their palatial estate, a tall, muscular man with a disinterested face was waiting for her. She recognized him as Zhao Zhuliu, a new guard her father had brought in to replace one who had married and moved back to his ancestral village. 

He bowed with a slight air of contempt, then looked away from her, saying nothing. Yu Ziyuan, who was used to lavish deference, felt knocked a little off kilter. She drew herself up as tall as she could, and marched past him with a straight, stiff back, and his heavy footsteps fell in place behind her.

[hardly-an-escape]

20 questions for fic writers!

thanks for the tag @signiorbenedickofpadua! gonna put this under a cut since it's a little long :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

22.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Just under 77,500.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, just Sandman – but I do have an unfinished MCU story that I'd like to get back to, and there are definitely other fandoms I'd like to play around in at some point. I'm pretty unfocused, it just depends on whatever tickles my fancy.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kind of Blue, a kind of fire (443) In the February Sun (437) let your heart be light (381) Headache (356) First Time (322)

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

I try to respond to every comment! (Although I'm super behind right now. Sometime soon I'll have a nice long self-indulgent afternoon of re-reading comments and finally responding.) I like to respond mostly because, as someone who reads a lot of fic, I get really excited when an author responds to my comments, and I want people who read my work and take the time to leave a comment to have the same feeling :) Also, I just feel like it's polite to say thank you when people say nice things!

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

I... don't really write angst. Like, at all. I am all about fluff and disgustingly happy endings. I have a WIP that has a fairly angsty beginning/middle (the shellshocked WWI veterans one which I swear to God I will finish), but even that will still have a happy ending (maybe a little bittersweet, but not angsty).

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

Ummm all of them?? Like I am genuinely not sure that one rises above the others in terms of its happiness.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I never have! I'm grateful to be active in a fandom that is almost universally kind and supportive! Also I don't really write the kinds of pairings or subjects that might draw the ire of the general public, tbh, so that's probably part of it.

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

I do! At the moment mostly M/M since I'm still very Dreamling obsessed, but also F/M. I don't generally get too kinky or monsterfuckery with it, though. Pretty much just regular-degular sexy times around here.

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

Not really! Nothing against them, just haven't gotten a spark from that kind of idea. Wait, I take that back. A while back I started a Clintasha fic set in the Station Eleven universe. I never finished it, because I feel like I need to re-read the book in order to do so, and I haven't done that yet. But I'd definitely like to.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope. I would love it if that happens someday! I've considered translating my own fic (I speak fluent German, so it's not outside the realm of possibility), but I'm not sure I'm up to that kind of project at the moment.

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

No, I've had some fun brainstorming sessions and just back-and-forth reblogging with mutuals and trading ideas, but never actual co-writing. I'm open to the idea, but I would hesitate to inflict my writing process on anyone because it is extremely slow and piecemeal. I feel like a lot of co-writing relationships these days are developed on Discord, and try as I might I just cannot become an active Discord user.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh, lordy. Genuinely not sure how to answer this. If you go back to like... my very first childhood OTP, it'd have to be something like Han/Leia. But I've never been active in online SW fandom and never written that ship. I mean, Dreamling is obviously a contender. I do also love Stucky and Clintasha, although I'm not really into the MCU these days. I've recently been jumping on the Steddie train, but it remains to be seen if that will last or not. Going back a little farther, I'll never not be a Spuffy shipper. And I'll admit to Nine/Rose and Ten/Rose, and (wince) some JohnLock tendencies. But I really don't think I can point to a single all-time fave!

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

I don't think I have anything that's published (or at least begun publicly) that won't ever be finished – hope springs eternal – but I certainly have things I've started and abandoned in my personal WIP files. I've got several Dreamling-related bits and bobs that may or may not ever come to something, and maybe 2300 words of a Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries fic that will probably never see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I have a good ear for dialogue, and I'd like to think I come up with some nice metaphors/similes and descriptive language.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually writing lmao. No seriously though, just sitting down and getting a first draft done is the most challenging part of the whole deal for me.

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

I think it's fine and can add some interesting color! Just make sure there's a way for people who don't speak the language (or who are using a screen reader) to understand what's being said.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First I ever wrote was Star Wars Expanded Universe (now Star Wars Legends) fic in elementary school. First I posted on AO3 was a Lizzie Bennet Diaries 5+1 – which, looking at it for the first time in many years, is actually pretty okay! I did something kind of interesting with the form, I think. I think I must have had a fanfiction.com account at some point but I truly cannot remember if I ever posted anything there... I can't remember my username and I don't even think I have access to the email I used to sign up with.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Among the Stars We are Reborn, for sure. I'm really proud of what I accomplished with that story, and to be honest I wish it had gotten as much attention as some of my other fics.

this was fun, thank you! I know this tag game has been going around and I'm not sure who's done it already and who hasn't, but I'll tag @valeriianz @landwriter @teejaystumbles @tryan-a-bex @cuubism and @tj-dragonblade (and as always, no pressure, just for fun!)

[ultraviolet-ink]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

I was tagged by @aawrightworth, thank you so much for this!! <3

How many works do you have on Ao3? 117, but I have four more on the roster due to @aaholidayrare!

What's your total A03 word count? 427,315 (OH WOW???)

What fandoms do you write for? Ace Attorney/Great Ace Attorney!

What are your top five fics by kudos? 1) Once Upon a Christmas (2019)- NRMT first kiss prompt 2) 12:26 AM (2019)- Forbidden Hospital Scene 3) The Talk (2020)- Greg notices that Baby Miles has a crush 4) Oh Shirt! (2019)- Phoenix can't find his shirt at Miles' place 5) Litigation in the Streets... (2021)- Miles and Phoenix become the subjects of tabloid gossip NGL, I'm not surprised that my top rated fics are NRMT, they're oldies but goodies! I've definitely grown as a writer (not to mention grown UP since these were all written when I was 18-20), but it really is lovely to see that they're still getting love! <3

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? OMGOMGOMGOMG!! Yes!! I love doing it because it lets the commenter know that I've seen their comment, and that I really do appreciate them! No matter how old a fic is, I will comment back as soon as I get that email, haha! In all seriousness, it's my way of giving back a kudos, a sort of "kudos to the reader" if that makes sense. They really do make me smile and I like to print out some of the comments that made me cry happy tears and save them in a scrapbook so that I can read them when writer's block hits me. Also, commenting brought my some of my greatest friends <3

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Ohhh DEFINITELY I Dreamed A Dream (2022)!! Not only is the title from the Les Mis song of the same name (where Fantine's life is just absolutely ruined), but I did the one thing I never thought I would be able to do... I KILLED one half of the otp!! It's a RyuuSusa fic, and of course, Major Character Death, proceed with caution!

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Oooohhh this is a really hard one since I'm such a sucker for happy endings! I think the one that makes me the happiest now is from The Caterpillar Man (2022). It's a fic I wrote to sort of conceptualize Yujin and Susato's relationship when the former came home from the original study trip, and it takes place over a year and among other tragedies and growth. It's from the perspective of Susato, and I think it's one that still makes me tear up (and I got fanart based on it once!!)

Do you get hate on fics? I've never been John Phoenix'd which is very rude, am I not GOOD enough for you DaKoolGuy?? but in all seriousness, I don't really get hate on specific fics, but because I'm so vocal about a certain pairing (being Ryuu X Susato.... if I'm not supposed to ship, why game make so cute?)

Do you write smut? Not on Ultraviolet_Ink, but I do on Infrared_Quill! Fun fact, Infrared got put on a blacklist when I only had one work, and Ultraviolet wasn't on it, I found it quite funny XD

Do you write crossovers? The Journal of Dr. Yujin Mikotoba (2022-????) is just one giant crossover with ACD canon, and I'm planning on having Raffles and Arsène Lupin making an important appearance in the future! It's very self indulgent XD

Have you ever had a fic stolen? God I hope not

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not to my knowledge, but I do have a blanket statement saying that I am a-okay with a translation of any of my works!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? It's always been in the "omg we should totally do this" phase, but given how I am with my own works, I feel like I would be a nightmare to work with XD

What's your all-time favourite ship? Honestly... It's between HomuMiko and RyuuSusa, especially since that's just what I've been writing recently XD

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? That's a good question that I don't have a single answer for XD I have a notepad full of a WIP list, but I think one that intrigued me when I first started off was this sort of continuation of the JFA 2-4 bad ending, just kind of coming from the ashes and then De Killer eventually kills Phoenix for betraying Matt Engarde (just because of the principle). It's really interesting to think about, but I honestly don't know how I could workshop it, and I remember stopping because It made me too sad haha! If you come across this and like the idea, please feel free to adopt this bunny, no credit needed! I'm not the first person who came up with a continuation of Miracle Never Happen, and I'm sure I won't be the last!

What are your writing strengths? I think I'm getting a lot better at dialogue, especially since I have a very good friend who helps me workshop them through a sort of RP! I would say that I'm also good at making a sort of vibe/ambiance, I know how to dress a scene B-) (Yes I was a theatre kid)

What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue is also something I struggle a lot with, but I would say I get into my own head too much, and I over think and try to over explain to cover up "holes" (Cracked.Com owes me reparations for this)

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I'm a linguistics nerd, I love writing dialogue in other languages! I even wrote a fic entirely in Latin because I wanted to practice (Miles et Phoenix Romae Sunt (2021)). That being said, you have to use more than Google Translate, I've studied and majored in Spanish, so I'm confident enough in my own skill to write, but I don't really know German despite English being Germanic! So, while I do use Google Translate to get a base understanding, I try to run it by a native speaker, or at the very least, someone who has studied the language, to see if it makes sense haha. Or don't, I'm not your mom, and we're all just doing this for shits and giggles XD

First fandom you wrote for? ...... Oncest Those journals filled with Oncest have been burned since 2014 in the traditional "middle schoolers host a bonfire at the end of the year" that my friends hosted, and they will never see the light of day XD But then again..... how ba-a-a-ad COULD it have been? Tbh, I do regret getting rid of them, not because they were actually lost Great American Novels, but they were something I created and I could look back on and see how I've grown and what I've just stuck with over the years XD

Favourite fic you've ever written? It's honestly a tossup between The Journal of Yujin Mikotoba and The Caterpillar Man! I just love playing around with the empty playground canon left me haha

[rutadales]

currently resisting the urge to ask for more info about nearly all of the wips you just posted in that tag game bc i feel like that would be a lot for one ask. so instead i will simply ask more about 😈🏳️‍🌈🦈TWO!!!!!! and/or Egg is back fic. and maybe come back and ask about more later :3

THANK UUUU 😈🏳️‍🌈🦈 TWO!!!!! is honestly one of my favorites!! It's an older one so I'm not thrilled with my writing but I'd love to come back and finish and clean it up 😭 it's just self indulgent fluff (with a wee bit of angst I mean it's me come on) about c!Foolish finding ways to get Bad to leave him alone (his method is kissing. really thought that one through didn't ya champ)

"And as Foolish yanks him back, he realizes several things all at once:

One, Bad is a lot closer than he realized.

Two, this whole ridiculous game of cat and mouse gets them absolutely nowhere and killing him would do absolutely nothing.

Three, everything Bad does is because he's desperate for Foolish's attention.

So Foolish decides to give it to him, all at once.

He pulls Bad closer, maybe too forcefully in retrospect, and angles his body so he's standing in front of him straight on. The hand not tangled up in Bad's clothing moves to his chin and tilts it up, just enough. In an instant, Foolish presses them together and distantly notes that Bad squeaks as their lips meet. Later, Foolish will hate how he so clearly noticed that Bad's lips are chapped.

The kiss itself is incredibly brief and hardly anything more than a peck, if that. Still, Foolish feels his cheeks heat unreasonably at the action. He draws back, hands still on Bad, before he really processes that he just kissed him.

Which, alright, in terms of spur of the moment decisions, not his best."

---

the egg one is obviously more angsty! I wrote it before the egg finale so it was just me spit balling about certain concepts. Bad getting mind controlled, Foolish's ptsd, the way those two are maybe the only two who will ever understand each other's trauma, Foolish's reluctant but ultimately very deep care and concern for Bad. Not sure I'll ever finish this one, but fun idea anyway.

"He also knows that it's wildly unfair to blame Bad for something an ageless, unknowable entity forced him to do. The logic always painfully knocks against Foolish whenever he feels himself getting irrationally angry at them for what happened but at the end of the day, Foolish will be the first to admit that they're just as much victims of the egg as he is.

Still, Foolish also knows that it's going to take a long, long time before he stops seeing Ant as his executioner and Bad as the monster who called for it.

This fresh hell certainly isn't doing my favors in that department. He squints against the light and tries to piece together what happened. Foolish had been- he'd been asleep. For what felt like the first time in months he'd actually gone to his beacon with a mountain of blankets and had decided to camp out there. He'd been scared and stretched thin, and even if the light never seemed to chase away the red in his nightmares, it at the very least left him feeling physically better.

So he had decided to sleep.

And then he woke up here.

He blinks, slowly, and tries to summon his own power and is met with nothing but the dull tingles more akin to static electricity than actual lightning.

Great. Perfect.

As he rolls over, he can't help but note the ceiling above him is one he's seen before, from this exact same spot even. Then he had been on his knees and there had been lava illuminating the walls. And, Foolish can't help but think as he strains against his bonds, he was probably better off.

"That's not going to work." Foolish flinches before he spots the voice, and hates himself as he relaxes at what he sees.

"Hey Bad."

[farenmaddox]

7. Post a snippet from a wip.

20. Do you prefer writing AUs or canon fics?

21. Do you prefer writing chaptered fics or one-shots?

38. What is your most self-indulgent posted story?

74. Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

Well YOU don't ask for much, do ya? :P

7. Ghost snippet!

Fai was a lot of things—flighty, flamboyant, funny, sweet, even occasionally serious when he had to be—but Kurogane had never seen him look like this. His expression was almost angry, and his eyes snapped with some barely-restrained emotion. He pivoted on his heel and started marching away. “H-hey!” Kurogane protested. “Where are you going?” Fai didn’t answer, and Kurogane could do nothing but follow him. Fai went straight to the headmistress’s office and threw open the door without knocking. She was on the phone, but she hung up when she saw them without even making an excuse to her caller. “What can I do for you, Fai-sensei?” “You really think I’m going to let him go without me?” Fai shouted.

20. AU or canon? hmmmmm very depends on the fandom. Obviously TRC is my main jam and I've dabbled with lots of different things in that fandom. My old HP stuff from my youth was almost all AU. ON the other hand, a lot of the fandoms where I've only dabbled and written one or two fics tend to be canon(ish), I think because I only really start exploring AUs after I've spent enough time to go through some of my canon concepts.

.... you know, I actually think my favorite thing is probably canon AU-type stuff. Like, exploring how canon could go differently if X or Y. Final answer.

21. Longfic or one-shots? Listen. I don't know how to shut the fuck up. I have written a lot of one-shots, actually, but I am a long-form writer at heart. I want to build things over time. I'm a friends (or enemies)-to-lovers and slowburn ho. Give me chapters or give me death.

38. What is your most self-indulgent posted story? Oh, definitely Drinks and Subtle Things (Rockstar AU). I did not choose a focus character and chose all of them. I gave all of them just, so many fucking issues, and then I covered them in tattoos and oral sex about it.

Runner up: All the Faults You've Left Behind, closely followed by the other fics where I wrote Kurogane x Doumeki. I remain the only person who has ever used that tag on AO3. Just me, paddling my one-person kayak merrily down the stream.

74. Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love? I could say my overly-long fic for the 2022 KuroFai Olympics, or grump about how few people leave comments in general these days especially in a fuckoff gigantic fandom like Critical Role, but I'm trolling tonight. I think more people should read my absolutely idiotic Holitsuba-verse porn. Woe, Home Care and Sensei and Souffles be upon ye.

Wanna ask me about my fic? Here's a list of questions. Anonymous is fine with me.

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @merlins-sequined-hotpants!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

108

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

2,129,527

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter. I have a couple neglected Pride & Prejudice fanfics that may never be posted, but we'll see.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Nymph of House Black. 819 kudos.

The Wizard, the Wolf, and the Son. 579 kudos.

The Nymph of House Tonks. 571 kudos.

Cariad. 513 kudos.

Moonlit Marriage. 300 kudos.

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

I try to whenever I can. Every so often I get a commenter on every chapter with emojis, or just a word or two, so I will thank them every few comments.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Father and Son. Teddy Lupin has his own son and still can't understand why his parents left him for the Battle of Hogwarts.

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

Other than fluffy one-shots, I think Real, Real Love.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Sometimes. Negative reviews happen more often on FFN. The other day I got a comment on AO3 from an anon/guest that just read "Why would you write this?" on an angst fic. I replied "Because I wanted to" and left it at that.

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

YES. I've really only written M/F. I've thought of dabbling in F/F, as M/M doesn't seem to interest me much. Either way, I generally like writing steamy scenes that are romantic and loving.

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

No, and I don't think I ever will. Though maybe this Furby fic counts as a crossover. IDK.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Stolen? Ehhh I've seen a translation of one of my fics on Wattpad, but I don't really care about that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

The Nymph of House Black has an ongoing Spanish translation, La ninfa de la Casa Black, though I don't think it will be finished. I'm not the translator, though I could be.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Not yet.

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

Remadora!!! 💖🐺

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

Probably one of my Pride and Prejudice ones. Or, one of my completely self-indulgent, unhinged self insert Harry Potter fics.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I want to say plot and conveying a wide range of emotions. I can bring readers to tears of joy or pain, to heartaches and fuzzy feelings, and to awkwardness and comfort, and that's something I'm proud of.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I used to call it poetic prose, or 'pretty' prose, but I think what I'm weak at is what I'd now call 'atmospheric writing'. I don't tend to set a mood with the prose itself, or the description of a location.

Also, my writing schedule has gone to pieces. I severely overestimate my abilities and time.

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

Depends on the language! I'm fluent in Spanish, but unluckily for me there are no Spanish speakers in the Harry Potter series, at least not explicitly canon ones. I'm reasonably proficient in French, so I feel okay with that, but it's not something I do on the regular. I'm comfortable with Latin.

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, intentionally. Twilight, unintentionally.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

It's hard to pick a favorite! Even though it's nowhere near my best work, Collide. It's what kicked off my fanfic. I legit thought that was the *only* story I'd ever write. How naive of me.

Tagging @puppyduckster @thecasualauthor18 @pixiedustandpetrichor @midnightstargazer @leogichidaa and anyone else who wants to join!

[snorlaxlovesme]

HI HELLO MAY I ASK MORE

38. What is your most self-indulgent posted story?

55. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics?  Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

72. What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten?

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

i'm greedy

38. What is your most self-indulgent posted story?

i'm glad it clarified "posted" story (i literally have a unpublished wip titled "self-indulgent wes and soul BS" because it's a sequel to ANOTHER wip, also not finished. that fic is my personal playground). ANYWAY. ignoring the fact that ALL my fics are self indulgent, More Confused Than Usual [x] is probably the best example of one. for starters, it's Pokemon, a fandom i rarely write for. it's also contestshipping (May x Drew), a couple i have only absorbed through fanon because I never actually...watched Advanced Generation? i've seen clips but i've watched maybe ONE episode feature May and Drew from start to finish. and thirdly it's tropey as hell. who doesn't love a good amnesia shenanigans fic? the writer i mentioned in your previous ask, Bittersweet Romanticide? she'd write something like this. THAT's probably why i love it.

55. Have you noticed any patterns in your fic?

the last two fics i've posted both have the tag "food as a metaphor for love" which i found very funny in hindsight. is this my niche? i also love writing that gray area of love where 2 characters would die for each other but also have never come close to confessing their feelings or even admitting they HAVE feelings. my aroasexuality loves putting a lid on ANY concrete evidence of romance in my fics. YES these characters share a love that's strong enough to move mountains, to traverse oceans, to wage wars. no, they probably won't kiss.

72. What's your favorite writing compliment you've gotten?

any time someone tells me that my writing has like, existed somehow outside of their phone or laptop i lose my mind a little. like my baseline assumption is that people read my writing, then solemnly nod their head, think "hm.", and click the kudos button. so when someone tells me that my writing made them cry??? made them laugh out loud in class?? that they talked about my story with another human person? idk, it makes it feel more real. a real human person read something i wrote and somehow it caused a physical reaction out there in the world somewhere. isn't that weird?

79. Do you have any writing advice you'd like to share?

i think my favorite piece of writing advice is that "write what you know" is terrible advice. or terribly reductive advice. whenever professors at my college would trot around that piece of advice with no follow-up i'd get so mad. like you want me to write what i know?? my day-job is Maid and my night-job is Couch Potato. i clean toilets and go home and watch TV. what the hell do i know? and who'd want to read that? it felt like i wasn't allowed to go beyond that in my writing because i didn't have experience with it. then i took those Stief courses and got BETTER writing advice. when writing what you know, you should be writing the EMOTIONAL TRUTHS you know. you don't need every character or situation to be 1 to 1 comparable to your life, but if you want what you write to believable then try to find the emotional truths within that situation that are. ex: an original concept i've toyed with is a story where the world fast-forwards a whole year in the blink of an eye. as in, the entire world FORGOT what happened in the past year, and now is struggling to pick up the pieces of their new lives. people have moved, gotten new jobs, broken up, had children etc. and have to grapple with these changes they have no context for. the main character? a woman who works at the penguin emporium at the zoo. she puts on a scuba suit and sucks up fish guts and penguin shit from the bottom of the tank. she teaches little kids about penguin gestation periods. the conflict? all of her co-workers and loved ones have dramatic Leap Year conflicts except for her, because her life doesn't appear to have changed at all. i have never experienced long or short term amnesia. i have not and never will work as a penguin shit vacuumer at a zoo. this is very outside the realm of my expertise and has required a lot of youtube video research about penguin care. it SHOULD fall outside of my WWYK bubble, but that doesn't matter! the emotional truth is something that resonates with me deeply, as a late 20s woman who had felt stagnant in her life while other people were changing rapidly around her. are the readers going to get caught up in the penguin details, or are they going to relate that the book shelf they've been planning to build for months is STILL sitting in its box a year later, while their neighbor just got engaged AND promoted? that they STILL leave their clean laundry on the chair in their room instead of folding it, but their favorite co-worker doesn't actually work with them anymore because they transferred to the department they've always wanted to work in? i could have my character be space alien. a deepwater fish. a Vegas showgirl. that stuff is all window dressing if i can still get THAT emotional truth across. THAT'S writing what you know. and i can know all of that from my night job sitting on my couch.

[erythromanc3r]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @pipergirl17 and @pearlypairings - thank you both!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

As far as you can tell, reader? Six.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

65,700+ (not nearly as many as some of you, but I'm always pleasantly surprised to see how much I've written in such little time!)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things is the first fandom I've ever written for!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

brimstone, wrapped up in a bow

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

Better Living Through Chemistry

Among the Willows

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

I do my best to respond! It often takes me a little while but I love getting comments and interacting with anyone who was kind enough to take the time to leave a comment.

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

It's not exactly angsty in and of itself, but the framework surrounding kiss me where you bruise me is not as happy as my other work. For one, it's the first fic I've written that contains explicit infidelity. I consider this fic in particular to be an excerpt from a bigger multi-chapter fic that I have outlined - it may or may not ever see the light of day, and there's a lot of longing and misunderstanding and hurt there, especially from Chrissy's perspective.

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

Relative to where it starts? Among the Willows.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have never gotten any negative comments and I'm really grateful for that!

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

I do! Mostly I just see where the vibes take me. I like including it in multi-chapters as an examination of how people in budding relationships approach sex and desire, and how sex either brings them together or further complicates things. A lot of my PWP one-shots, on the other hand, are just me going "I bet these two would be fun to write with this kink," and most of those fics are anonymous to preserve my ability to actually publish them without getting all weird and self-conscious about the content.

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

No crossovers, but I have considered tossing characters into other hyper-specific AUs.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so!

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

I haven't, I think I'd get really insecure about my writing if I was actively working with someone else on a fic.

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

You know, at this point, considering Hellcheer is the first ship I've ever felt compelled to write fic for...it's probably them! These two were created in a lab to give me maximum brainrot I think

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

Never say never. If it's on ao3, I intend to finish it. Unpublished? The rest of kiss me where you bruise me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Outlining, building momentum, characterization (at least I think so)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

ACTUALLY WRITING. And second-guessing my choices as I write my way through a wip. This is something I am actively resisting as I work on a couple wips.

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

I'm really only fluent in English. If I wanted to include dialogue in another language in my work, I'd only feel comfortable doing it after consulting with someone who speaks that language fluently.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stranger Things!

20. Favorite fic you've written?

it ain't fiction, just a natural fact is me living my best and most self-indulgent life. I make no apologies for what I'm doing here. I'm having a fucking blast writing it and I'm so glad so many readers have responded with so much enthusiasm.

I am tagging...anyone who wants to do this because I have seen this game come across my dash a whole bunch so I assume most of my mutuals have done this already. But just in case anyone feels left out. Consider this your opportunity to dive in! (YES, YOU!)

[karliahs]

state of the wips

total posted p5 wordcount: 33,940 total written p5 wordcount: 62,193

series continuations:

[seen and not heard 2] - 2.5k words - ren POV - pretty close to done but also so self-indulgent i physically blush when i think about it

promises (seen and not heard 3) - 3.5k - This One Has Other Characters In I Promise - more scenes written than not?

[bargaining chips 2(/2)] - 3.5k - 2/2 in this universe - maybe 2/3 done just in terms of getting words on the page

[bargaining chips 3] - 1.3k - why does this fic idea from less than week ago already have a 2nd sequel. this one's an akechi lives continuation bc the exact flavour of sad this AU provides is apparently really addictive to me and me only - less than 1/2 written

one-offs:

rupture - 2.5k - aka ren's complicated but not evil parents exploration. aftermath of ren arrest no. 1 as him and his parents fai to communicate - maybe 2/3 written, mild-medium likelihood of actually getting finished

[More Parents Stuff I Guess] - 1.5k - ren visits for the summer break post-game and the gang are Concerned. lots of discussion about autonomy and how removing a 17 year old from his functionally acceptable but non-loving parents is Complicated Actually - maybe 1/3 written

[royal h/c that kind of isn't h/c because akechi wouldn't play ball] - 2.5k - the period of royal before the PTs wake up is so fucking sad for ren and i wanted to write something exploring that that is also the closest this particular version of akechi can get to comforting someone - mostly written but idk how i feel about it, may just be a Practicing Voices thing that never gets posted, esp bc it covers some of the same territory as bargaining chips

not very likely to actually get finished so maybe not technically a WIP but they exist:

[post-shido palace thoughts] - 1.5k - the sakura-ren-morgana family clean up leblanc right after shido's palace - just kinda getting my thoughts out after replaying this part of the game, mostly couldn't just figure out who's POV it was so tried to a more broad not right-up in someone's head POV and it just doesn't feel right

solitary - 2k - briefly attempted to write post-3rd arrest solitary confinement recovery hurt/comfort, did some research into that, quickly concluded i do not feel qualified or okay writing about it lmao. did manage to reuse a scene from this for seen and not heard 3 though

uninvited guest - 1.5k - discussed previously, thoughts on ren's place in the sakura house, other things just grabbed me more and also a lot of this got explored in seen and not heard

[No Nuance parental neglect stuff] - 4k - discussed previously, one of the 1st things i wrote and i feel like i've explored these ideas better elsewhere

[galactic-pirates]

Share a snippet from a wip without giving any context for it.

Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

How do you come up with fic titles? What's the one you're most proud of?

Thanks for the ask! :) :)

19) Share a snippet from a wip without giving any context for it. Part of me wants to skip this and substitute another question but I am working on some art for the Librarians exchange at the moment. That has to be secret but I don't think it's too much of a #Spoiler to do one line like

"Librarians win with what they know - not magic!"

36) How do you come up with fic titles? What's the one you're most proud of?

I'm quite fond of song titles to be honest. Not usually lyrics, or not formatted as such anyway.

Another place I have looked for titles are episode titles. Not for the show I am writing for usually, but from any show I have watched and liked. I used to keep a text file with a list of titles I had seen that I liked, and when titling a fic I checked that list first to see if anything fit.

Sometimes there is a line in the fic, or the prompt that inspired the story, that just demands a certain title.

As for the one I'm most proud of? Monstrare, Monere perhaps. A Warehouse 13 oneshot. The actual fic itself I am a bit meh about after all this time, but the title and summary I am like "I wrote that?" I also really like and the Sins of Atlantis. Totally self-indulgent ridiculous fic which I enjoy more than I should. It uses the same episode title structure as the Librarians show (I did that for all my prompt month fics that year, which I loved). I particularly like this one though as I feel like there's so many layers to it. Sins - so evocative, so many questions. Atlantis - how? why? I don't know. It was fun.

(Under the cut for the writing advice because despite making myself stick to just one point, I still went on a lot. Oops.)

28) Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing? Ooooh boy ok. The answer is both lots, and nothing, because writing is very individual. I can advise based on what works for me but it's so much a YMMV situation. I always feel like any writing advice needs to be prefaced with this.

So I don't write an essay (and I probably will anyway) but I will stick with just one point so it's not thousands of words. It's actually something I read once and no it isn't the classic "I can fix a bad page not a blank page" (which is also good advice btw). It's actually a point I super hated for a long time and that is probably why I have forgotten where I read it, so I apologise for the lack of attribution. The quote was something like - "Write what you want to have written, not what you want to write." Now that's crazy talk right? Well yeah, and I hated it, but I see the wisdom in it now.

Now a personal anecdote to illustrate the point. Writing fanfic brought me joy. I loved the plots coming together, how I could sneak in references. I don't know if this is egotistical to admit but I still re-read my old fic sometimes - I was my own intended audience - and I love it. However, I have original novel ideas. I have a dream of publishing. It's a future that I would like to build. Possibly just a fantasy but it's a dream that I've held for decades and it scares the hell out of me. Writing novels is hard. It's facing the fear of never being good enough every day, and making myself do the work anyway. Writing fanfic is so much easier and (for me) it became a way to self-sabotage.

Now I owe fanfic a tremendous debt because it has broken through writers block, it has given me soooooo many ideas that I have mutated into something else entirely. Don't ever think I don't respect fanfic but I'm chronically ill and I only have a limited amount of spoons. I have written novel-length fanfic and pouring weeks/months into a fanfic, was weeks/months I wasn't spending on my original work and I hated myself for that. I was writing something that I really wanted to write but even in the middle of the process I was sometimes like "what am I doing???" and questioning my life choices. I love my fanfic ideas and I get so nostalgic sometimes for the ones on my list that I never got round to writing.

Fanfic was something I desperately wanted to write, but it was not what I wished to have written. It brought me short-term joy for long-term anguish if you like.

So my point - my writing advice - is essentially a riff off "life is short". Be damn sure before you invest so much of yourself creatively in a story (whatever that story might be), that you won't get hit by regret later. It's so easy with fandom events: exchanges, bingos, prompt months etc. to get bursts of inspiration and giddy FOMO, only to get months down the road and wish you hadn't happened that earlier WIP.

We all have a story to tell right? So don't write what you think will get you kudos/comments. Write what is in your heart to write. Not some surface level impulse, but what you will be proud to have committed to a year down the road.

I can't bring myself to regret any of my fanfics. Hell as I said I enjoy reading them. But I had to stop so my energy could be focused in a direction that brought my longer-term peace, rather than short-term joy.

Fandom can be a fickle place, and also playing in someone else's sandbox can turn to ash. When a show has gone in a direction I can't follow, or when there's drama in the fandom, it has stolen my joy. I suppose what I'm really get is with writing, it's a creative journey, it's pouring so much of your soul into something. Protect your mental health. Invest yourself wisely.

Write with joy.

[queen-susans-revenge]

Writer 20 Questions

seen via @findswoman!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

58

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

177,314

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Dragon Age, fairy tale retellings, and one fic each for Sherlock Holmes and Batman

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

so Fade to Black and Fade to Black and Back, my two multi-chapter smut series for Star Wars Rebels, are I guess going to be my enduring fandom legacy lol. 637 kudos for the first and 452 for the second.

After that it's...more smut, but Talk About It is Dragon Age smut, and I guess my most popular stand-alone story at 399 kudos.

Then it's back to Star Wars Rebels, but Wedding Dance (377 kudos) is a gen fic, so that's my most popular non-smut piece. Braided at 320 kudos is another explicit one.

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

I always mean to, but sometimes when a bunch come in at once I get overwhelmed. I try and go back and respond to unanswered comments every time I revisit an old fic. Just this week I answered a couple that were seven years old *wince*. It's never too late, right?

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That's Scenes From Rivendell, no question. I can still make myself cry re-reading that fic. Poor Celebcarch.

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

Most of them have happy endings really, but I'll say the happiest is Marriage of Convenience, because it was written to provide a happy ending for Alistair and Anora--and that's a pairing that only arises out of some pretty grief-laden circumstances in Dragon Age: Origins. So that's the fic that takes something sad and makes it better.

8. Do you get hate on your fic?

A couple times people have tried to chide me for writing smut, which is like ??? Did you not see ALL the warnings? My sister what were you even doing at the devil's sacrament?

9. Do you write smut?

I doooooo. Yes I do. I don't feel even a little bit bad about it, either.

Sex is important! It's one of the most intense, emotion-rich experiences in life! Especially in a love story--there is nothing that will tell you more about the dynamic between two people than showing how they have sex. And the smut is the part that's usually left out in mainstream media, so it's the big "missing piece" that I am often drawn to want to fill in, creatively.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, but it would be a fun challenge.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes and it's the best feeling every time. Same for getting podfic made of my stories, or fanart. Just the best.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

No, but from rp experiences, I think collabs are absolutely the way to go if possible. It just gets lonely writing on your own, and having a partner keeps the energy up.

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

Space pirate OCs. But excluding my own characters... man, I've had poor luck with my ships, honestly. Looking back through the characters I was really passionate about, canon screwed me one way or another on all of them. I loved Mulder/Scully, Xena/Gabrielle, and Kanan/Hera, and all of their shows went off the rails at the end, so I think about them all with a tinge of sadness now.

It's better to love your own characters, because then at least when you make awful things happen to them, it doesn't come as a surprise.

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

My only current WIP is a kid's book, and I hope I do finish it!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialog, and also there's a sort of lyrical register that I can shift into pretty easily (it's a trick I often use for endings).

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh, self-indulgence. Things like writing about Kanan's seaglass eyes, or people "growling" their dialog. Cheese, basically. I don't rein myself in too much for fanfic, but in original writing I have to be strict with edits because if I don't force myself to stay spare and restrained, I'm probably getting cheesy with it.

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

Tricksy, very tricksy! It's certainly not something you can just hand off to Google Translate. I personally wouldn't do it unless I had some first hand experience with the language, or could consult with native speakers.

Funny story on that, for the space pirate novel, I had a bit where I needed an automated warning looping in various languages. The English was "Warning! Please evacuate the building!"

I asked my Russian friend to give me a translation, and he said I'd need to do some cultural translation first, because the Russian "would be a lot more direct. And they wouldn't say 'please.'" So he gave me Vnimaniye! Vyhodi zdaniye! which apparently translates more directly to "Attention! Exit building."

That's the kind of thing Google Translate can't do for you.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

X-Files. This was Usenet days. Alt.tv.x-files. Many many memories. At one point there was a spinoff group so we could roleplay, but not roleplay being in the show, exactly. Just like all living in a town. It was almost a proto-Tumblr.

I miss Usenet.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

It might be The Last of the Rebel Angels: that one's not the best, I don't think, but it's the weirdest and most ambitious. I had something to say, and even if I only managed to sketch it out or gesture at it, there's still a really tender place in my heart for that fic.

Any fic writers who'd like to fill out the questions, please consider yourselves tagged!

[yahargulian]

HELLOOOO I HAVE WRITING ASKS FOR YOU

6, 8, 13 (drop the music recs!!!), 29, 39 (begging you to tell the people about the blast furnace. if you want!!), 43, 57

ahem i would also like to take this chance to announce that kim is an AMAZING writer (and an amazing person full stop) and everyone should keep your eyes peeled for their fics in the future because whoooy boy their current serennedy wips and ideas are SOOOO GOOD and i’m not even really in the fandom??? but i live for every snippet i’m sent???

hehe please enjoy 💓💓

AAAAA Jamie holy shit.. Bestie you're gonna make me blush aaaa 👉👈

Whenever I do actually get these fics finished and published, everyone go thank Jamie for all his hype and support and for being my fandom screaming buddy adkjhga AND ALSO if you happen to watch a funky little show called KinnPorsche you should go read their fics like! Right the fuck now! And also keep an eye out for new ones in the future because I have also seen snippets of Jamie's wips and ideas and WOWIE is that fandom in for a treat or two. Or several hehe

6. What’s the last line you wrote?

"Unpleasant didn’t quite cut it." Which is from the same extract I answered with here, and is the last line I've written from any of my wips at the moment... But, I'm also gonna give you the last line I've written from the other fic I'm currently working on. As a treat! "Krauser had changed right there beside Leon, and he had never even noticed." I really am just making Leon go through it in two very different ways at the moment ahdgjkhag

8. Post an out-of-context spoiler from a wip.

"And maybe it had fulfilled the purpose for which it was designed, no longer held a practical use to him. But, as he breathed in, he felt its weight soft against his chest. And for a moment he couldn't exhale. A soft warmth bled in his chest; from his lungs, from his heart, from the weight of metal over both. Held. Like a promise. "No," he breathed, finally. Then, surely, "no, nothing." Not all purposes were practical, after all."

13. Do you listen to music while you write?  If yes, what have you been listening to recently?

I do! But I'm really really awkward about it aghkdgjdakg it depends on the vibe really! Usually music with lyrics distracts me (my brain starts focusing on the lyrics oops) so unless I'm listening to a specific song or songs on loop, I usually listen to video game soundtracks There are some scenes and stuff that call for a specific kind of vibe - or just silence as a last resort if I can't find anything to listen to - but lately I've been listening to boss battle music, of all things. This playlist, to be exact This is my hype music! My 'Getting Shit Done' playlist. I used to listen to a lot of this while doing uni assignments, and have been known to listen to it to do even mundane shit. Like laundry

29. What’s something about your writing that you’re proud of?

People have told me before that my fics have made them cry, and like. Nothing makes me happier honestly. Again with the emotion think, is anything I've written has ever made someone feel something it's the best thing that could possibly happen. So the fact that something I've written has apparently made people feel something so much that they've cried? Hell yeah I'm proud of that!!

39. What’s your most self-indulgent wip?

Okay no you're right, the blast furnace fic is pretty self indulgent so I will mention it. Basically, Leon and Luis fuck in the blast furnace, right after the fight against the two Gigantes. And this came about because I realised that this would be one of the best times for them to kiss in the main plot (literally like in an action movie) and also that nobody had written them fucking in the blast furnace yet? And once I realised that I realised how obvious it was to get them to fuck in there - and now here I am. So it's very self indulgent because I wanna see it ahdjkahkjgd but also now that I've started it I'm on a mission to make it as visceral an experience as possible! It's gonna be fucking great I'm really excited for it Honestly tho, most if not all of what I write or try to write is self-indulgent in some way. Hell, the key fic I'm working on is super self-indulgent just because it's basically me working through all my feelings about this damn lab key! And what it means and symbolises and what if what if what if. Everything I write is written because I wanna see it and explore it and experience it! It's all self-indulgence babey!

43. Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

Answered here but long story short, yes! But hopefully I'll get to them soon hehe I also looked over the 4,000 word pollen wip again after typing my reply to this question and. Yeah. I've definitely gotta finish that one someday my god I forgot how strong the brainworms had got when I started that one ahdgjkahgkd

57. How conscious are you about including symbolism or foreshadowing in your fics?

Foreshadowing maybe, tho I'm not sure how much I'd say I'm conscious of it rather than.. Because I know where I'm going I try to build up to that. So I guess that would be a yes? Ahsdjhjgkj In terms of symbolism, maybe not as much as I should be? The aforementioned key fic is possibly an exception here because, well. It's literally about the fucking lab key. It's about the symbolism. But generally I'm not conscious about including it - and now this is making me wonder if I do? And if I do, how the fuck and when? Someone please tell me, Jamie please tell me aghdjdahgds