#i'd like to write a long overly dramatic fic about a day in his life that takes place in the timeline of the show

[doubledyke]

thinkin about edd today

[larvasmoon]

Thank you so much for tagging me @cinnamontails-ff 💕

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Two.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

58,705 and it's growing a little bit every day, I started writing about Astarion at the beginning of this year so I'm still fairly new to the fandom.

3) What fandoms do you write for?

BG3.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I don't even have 5 fics on Ao3 (yet) but here are my two little works in progress :

Portrait of the pale elf - Post canon Astarion has become a famous tailor in Baldur's Gate and struggles with his new life without Tav. He meets a young painter named Selene, struggling to paint after a mysterious incident. One look is all it takes to draw the two of them closer.

Salt the earth behind you - A pirate Astarion AU in which a young tavern waitress called Beatrice gets dragged in the dangerous adventures of a charismatic pirate captain.

5) Do you respond to comments?

Always, it makes me so happy to see what the readers thought of a chapter, what parts were the most memorable or interesting ! There is no greater joy than reading and answering to comments imo.

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

I am yet to finish writing one of my fics but I can already say that I'm not a big fan of overly tragic or dramatic endings. The stories I write can be really angsty and sad from time to time, but the end goal for me is to work towards some kind of character development and take the characters to a "better place".

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

Same answer as the previous one haha.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

No, I never got any mean comment and I'm really grateful for it !

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

I do ! It's my first time sharing it though. My first fic is more of a slow/ medium burn so the smut scenes have yet to be published on Ao3. The pirate AU has a pretty spicy scene though !

It can be kinky or soft and intimate smut, but I usually try to make it happen in a way that means something for the character development. Dub con, rape scenes, or anything too violent is not my cup of tea.

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

I have never written any, but I might write one at some point !

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, I don't think so.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

No never !

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

No but I think it'd be a lovely experience. I love discussing my fics' plot on discord though, it's so always so enriching and helpful to have other writers insight on things.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

My favorite ships would probably be out of some obscure and old french book so I'm not it is worth sharing at all 😂 But lately, I really like bloodweave, Astarion x Gale.

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

I have a few ongoing fics and I really plan on finishing them both, no matter how long it'll take me to do so.

16) What are your writing strengths?

That's a tough question but I'd say, from what I've been told by readers, that my writing is pretty immersive. I like writing very "sensory" scenes that make the reader feel like he is there with the character, seeing, smelling or touching things. I've also often been told that I have a poetic/lyrical writing style, which I could not be more pleased about !

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

I often have more trouble writing dialogues, because I'm always afraid of not having found the right voice for the character. My pacing might be either too fast, or too slow when I get lost in long and detailed descriptions of things or people. I'm probably a bit too "talkative" when I write too, I'm physically incapable of writing a short chapter. My brain just comes up with long chapter every time !

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

I think it might be difficult to pull off and I'd personally try to stay away from it as much as I can. I could put a few foreign words here and there though, to allude to a character's background or story.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

BG3 😂 ! I've never had the courage to publish any of the stuff I've written before.

20) Favorite fic you’ve written?

Portrait of the pale elf. This fic feels very personal and cathartic to me in many ways, and it's the very first one I've published on Ao3, so for now it stays on top of my list !

I don't have anyone new to tag for now, so I will stop there ! Thank you for reading ❤️

The incredible @kittenintheden tagged me for this, so I'll give it my best shot!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Four.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

224,051 - which, honestly, is insane because that means I've written (and edited) pretty much two entire novels over the course of last 12 months. The vampire elf is too powerful, guys.

3) What fandoms do you write for?

BG3

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'm a fandom newbie, so I don't even have 5, but here are my babies:

Accountant's Guide - Pre-Canon Astarion teams up with a human accountant to frame Cazador for tax fraud. It's exactly as whacky as it sounds.

Magistrate's Advocate - The Magistrate Astarion longfic someone had to write.

Vampire Stay-at-Home Trophy Husband - Reverse Isekai EA oneshot

An Empirical Science - My contribution to the Holy Rolan Empire

5) Do you respond to comments?

Always. Obsessively so. Love responding to comments and chatting with readers.

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

My fics have a good bit of angst and tension and heartbreak, but I always strive for an overall "warm" feeling in my writing, so those moments tend to get resolved at some point. No angsty endings in my portfolio (yet).

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

Accountant's Guide is where I gave Astarion everything I wish he could have. Zero regrets.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Occasionally, but it's pretty rare. Not to make excuses for people hating on fics (because that is despicable; we're working for free here), but I don't think my fics are controversial enough to attract a lot of hate. They're cute. They're wholesome. They don't take themselves too seriously, so I think it's pretty difficult to hate on them.

Although someone once called Scarlett a b**** and sometimes I remember that and I become wrath.

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

Explicit smut is something I've really only started doing when I got into fanfiction this past year. I like incorporating it into my longfics to emphasize key moments for my characters and their development, so it's part porn, part plot.

It can get kinky, but it will always be consensual. Dubcon/noncon is a big no for me, personally.

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

No crossovers, but An Empirical Science is where I have a lot of fun butchering adapting Pride & Prejudice lines. I mean, it's a Rolan fic. How could you not?

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know, but I have seen coincidences of very similar concepts and ideas popping up after I've introduced them in my fics.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, there's an ongoing Ukrainian translation for Accountant's Guide! I translate the comments every now and then and readers are really praising the language skills of the translator, so that's awesome!

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

No, but we chat a lot about my stories on my Discord server, so that's often a little like writing together.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Shalladin (Kaladin x Shallan from Stormlight Archive). I love Brandon Sanderson with all my heart, but for this, I will never forgive him.

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

I get very hyperfocused on my stories and rarely work on more than 1 project at a time, so I tend to finish what I start.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Look, my social anxiety makes me a pretty rizzless person to talk to in real life, but my writing is funny. It's charming. I am great at character voice. I keep things real. My OCs don't need to be perfect flawless beauty goddesses to woo the guy; they recite a few paragraphs and swing their fountain pen and the guy is on. the. floor.

Sometimes literally.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

According to a rather charming public bookmark on my fic, I struggle with "pacing issues" and "questionable narrative choices". Clearly, this person knows what they're talking about, so let's accept it as fact.

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

I think this is generally really difficult to pull off without being confusing (check out "The Wee Free Men" by Sir Terry Pratchett for a really good example how to do it). So unless I had a very specific reason for it, I would prefer to write around it as I've done with Infernal in An Empirical Science.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Still BG3. First and last? Who knows.

20) Favorite fic you’ve written?

Accountant's Guide. It's the story I wrote when I hit rock bottom and thought I couldn't write anymore. It's the story that made me believe again. My first story in English and by far the easiest thing I've ever written. It's the story I reread when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I want a hug that reaches all the way into my soul. I am never happier than when people tell me this is a comfort read for them, just as it is for me.

I'm tagging @thedreamlessnights, @purdledooturt, @larvasmoon, @karinamay and @davenswitcher if they feel like sharing their answers!

[doitwritenow]

I'd ask all 35 of the ask game, but I feel that might be a little too much. Instead, I'll choose: 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 23, 29, 31, 33, and... oh that's way too many. Uhhh, feel free to not answer some if you feel overwhelmed. If not, go ham! I'd love to read more about your writing/writing process. :)

Oh WOW thank you! These are so fun. Hm...

2. Why do you write fanfiction?  Recently answered this one! Here’s what I said: I write fic because of the spaces between the lines of a story. The gaps and unanswered questions in canon encourage me to come up with deeper mechanics, more complicated lore, and complex character motivations in order to explain. Sometimes, one of those pieces will click into canon so well that it becomes inspiration. And then there’s nothing else to do but write! Lol. Stories are so wonderful because of what we can do with them, individually and all together, and I really like being a part of that. 

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of? While EoI is kind of my magnum opus, I really really adore Sunrise Loves To Go Down. Something came together in that fic, some tone and some thread of style, and I am immensely proud of how it turned out. I started writing it when I had been evacuated from my house due to a wildfire, lying on a hotel bed and typing on my phone in the middle of the night, and so it felt different to write than my other works. Maybe that’s why it feels different to read, too.

6. What element of writing do you find comes easily? Easily? I have to say dialogue. It’s often my favorite part of any scene, and I love the way it determines tone and establishes character. Though it’s not my absolute favorite part of writing, I dance through dialogue scenes feeling like I’m on a caffeine high. Of course, lots of times getting dialogue right is a lot of work, but there’s an ease to it that some things don’t have. 

7. What element of writing do you struggle with most? Hnnnngk the answer is pacing. It’s pacing. I struggle to pace things. I do enjoy long projects and feel proud of my ability to commit to them, don’t get me wrong. But I’d love to get better at structuring a plot to allow for the same tone without needing an overly generous amount of words. My go-to answer with pacing is always ‘write more’, but I don’t think that’s always strictly necessary. I want to be able to use the other tools in my arsenal to tell a story that’s just as complete but even more gripping.  Me: *challenges pacing to a death battle* Me: *dies*

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about. Okay so a friend and I were laughing about how funny it could be to write about what happens to Odin after Loki sticks him in a retirement home on Earth. The Mystic Artists would obviously know he was there, what with all that cosmic threat sensing bullshit, and things would devolve from there. Like, can you imagine? The Adventures of Odin Allfather and the Home for Elderly People. Series of one-shots. Each titled something like: Odin vs. Thursday Bingo. Odin vs. His Roomate. Odin vs. the Grumpy Wizard. Odin vs. the Craft Store. And slowly other characters start to show up. Ned’s grandma is in the same nursing home, and he and Odin hit it off, so obviously Ned introduces him to Peter. Stephen comes to check up on him occasionally and Odin stages the most dramatic escape attempts of all time with no real intention of going anywhere. Now I dislike Odin in canon but how comical could that be I’m serious--

23. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas? I like prompts and challenges, but generally I work best with completely independent ideas. I can’t force my one-shot muse, so whenever it strikes I buckle down and write there and then. So yeah, prompts and challenges are really fun, but the inspiration has its own plans for my hapless self.

29. Have you ever gone outside of your comfort zone for a fic? How did it turn out? Comfort zone? What comfort zone? Lol. I suppose I do have bounds of what I’m willing to write and share, but they’re not particularly limiting. Each story I write extends the limits of what I’m used to; I try not to hesitate. And most of the time, I like where things end up! 

31. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them! OCS YES I DO HAVE OCS THANKS FOR ASKING. Most of my Marvel OCs show up in EoI or were created specifically for it. But I have some other lovelies floating around, my three favorites being: - Silas Ewyn, a necromancer detective. He’s basically a vigilante archeologist, using his abilities to interact with bones to solve the mysteries of foul play victims. Silas doesn't care about politics or reasons; all he cares about is facts and bringing voices back to the dead. In the lawless Roughs (yeah, he’s a cowboy, fight me) he takes that justice back into his own hands. Though he doesn't kill, he'll go to great lengths to punish perpetrators, and he always takes a bone of the murder to bury with the bones of the victim to ensure the victim gets their justice in the afterlife, too. Which bone depends on the severity of the murder. During one of Silas’s investigations, however, he was murdered himself. Oops. But he woke up three days later with his soul rattling around in an entirely different body with no memory of the event. The only way for him to discover the truth is if he finds his old bones and solves a whole new murder... His own.  Anyway I love him and I could talk forever about the truth behind his murder and all the details of the Roughs and everything but we’ve got a limited amount of time and I still have to tell you about: - Sohcahtoa and Pemdas! If their names look like math acronyms, that’s because they are. Sohcahtoa and Pemdas are kind of children’s comic book characters in my mind? Sohcahtoa is a superhero; she travels through the Sciverse bringing people together and solving scientific and mathematical problems between others who are concepts come to life. With her meter-stick sword and her protractor throwing star, she’s a force to be reconed with!  Pemdas is her trusty sidekick. He’s a cuttlefish with immense knowledge of operations and formulas, and Sohcahtoa keeps him in a cube on her belt. Pemdas checks her math and gives her any theorems or formulas she might need.  Lol I’m a nerd next question.

33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process? Just want to say: I’m not some sort of warlock, I promise! The reason I can post so consistently for EoI is not always because I write consistently; it’s because I have a cushion of chapters between what I’m writing and what I’m posting. Sometimes I’m completely barren of words and I can’t write for days on end, and sometimes I just fly through things in hours. But all that inconsistency balances itself out in the end and keeps the chapter cushion intact, so my readers get to see only me looking like I have everything under control. I’m just as chaotic as you, I promise.  (Prophets is not like this with the chapter cushion. I am a bad girl when it comes to Prophets. XD instant gratification is my arch nemesis.) 

Anyway! This was super fun Ish. Thanks for the ask! 

[gnostic-heretic]

Hi! I'd love for you to respond to this, but ONLY if you're comfortable! I'm planning on writing a hetalia fanfic with a trans character. I researched a bit, but I feel that my fic could be read as problematic: my trans character (MTF) is introduced as her assigned gender with a different name, only to be uncovered later. She dates pre transition, but get back together. Is this realistic? You've written fic w/ trans characters before, so can you give any tips of advice? Thank you for reading!

hey dear, thank you for reaching out! i’m more than comfortable giving advice but remember that i’m just one trans person, so this does not represent a consensus- i encourage you to reach out to a trans friend to do a sensitivity reading, if you and your friend are comfortable with that! 

i say this because a lot of people would say this scenario of portraying someone pre- and post-transition is a no-no, but i think it’s doable (i’ve done it myself!) if approached in a sensible way. 

and yes i do think it’s possible for a character to date someone, break up for unrelated reasons, transition and then meet that person again and fall in love again. it’s a sweet idea! it’d be lovely to see your character grow and be more content and confident and finally *herself*, and find love as herself :)  plus at least in my experience, a lot of cis partners of trans people do a lot of serious questioning and self exploration when their partner comes out so it can be interesting from the other character’s perspective as well. i’ve seen for example many gfs/wives of trans women realize they’re wlw when they previously never questioned their sexuality. so it can be an interesting journey for both characters to go on and for you as a writer to explore! 

my first bit of advice is to read read and read. read what trans people have to say on the subject of writing- i know there’s more than one post floating around on tumblr with advice for cis people on how to write a trans character. and read the experiences of trans people, how they talk about their own “egg cracking” (if you don’t know, i’d start by searching what “cracking your egg” means- and hint: it’s not always “i played with dolls as a child”), transition and their own past present or their future plans.  and as you read remember that there is no singular standard “trans experience”- transition is not linear, and there’s no such thing as a transition that is “complete” or “incomplete”. some trans people feel really intense dysphoria, others don’t and are mostly fine with the body they have. some trans people want to start hrt asap and to have every medical procedure available, for others, coming out is enough, in many cases they might want to have surgeries, but hormones are the only thing that’s accessible because of the cost of surgeries and long waiting lists. 

keep in mind that everyone experiences gender in their own unique way, so a trans female character doesn’t have to be hyper feminine, and a trans male character doesn’t have to be super masculine to be “good representation”. 

also i’d say to read up on harmful tropes to avoid as well, i’m gonna tell you some just off the top of my head and offer advice on how to handle tricky subjects - portraying trans people especially trans women as violent or predatory/creepy is a big NO (i know this might be obvious to you, but this is also for everyone else reading this out there). there’s nothing wrong with writing negative or morally grey characters but this is a damaging and dehumanizing trope with a long history of being used as propaganda against us. 

- on the same note i’d say to avoid portraying your character as easily offended, overly sensitive, quick to anger etc etc. another (more modern) trope used to mock and ultimately harm trans people is to paint us as “special snowflakes”

 --> a good thing to remember is that anger can be portrayed as righteous, as it is in this situation, and assertive so that would be a good place to start if you have to write about the character being rightfully angry and sad, upset at discrimination she might experience. 

- avoid the dramatic scene in which a character is found out to be trans by undressing them and “revealing” something about their body. also tied to transphobic ideas (trans people “trick” people into thinking they are their gender) and to trans panic defense that legitimizes the murder of trans people. 

 --> a good way to reveal that your character is trans is... simply to make her come out. have a talk! there’s so many possibilities from it being heavy and awkward, to light hearted and heartwarming :) 

- this one is a more complicated thing to handle, because i know some will disagree with me on it... but i’d advise you to steer away or ask for a second opinion/sensitivity reader if you’re gonna write The Sad Mirror Scene TM in which a trans person gazes at their own body in the mirror (or even without the mirror tbh) and points out everything that is “male/female” about it. personally i think it’s bad but in a more subtle way... the focus on our bodies and everything that is considered “wrong” with it can have creepy or outright transphobic implications. also it’s way overdone js 

 --> instead of the long gazing scene i’d mention those things in passing and incorporate them into her daily life, because it is something we live with every day and not just in all-at-once intense dysphoria sessions: maybe she has broad shoulders, so she wears a cute blouse with a lot of ruffles to conceal that a bit; or maybe she’s out and about, on the way to her laser hair removal appointment, and feels awkward about having a bit of shadow (so she treats herself to buying a new concealer on the way home);

 --> also don’t forget about small moments of gender euphoria and trans joy!!! so maybe she gets a new haircut after growing her hair out for a long time, or takes her estrogen for the first time and cries of happiness, or she tries on her fave bra and notices that her breasts have grown a little bit or they feel sore which is a good sign!. etc etc. these are just examples so don’t sweat it :D  but showing the happiness that comes with being trans and not just the sadness of it is really important imo for everyone thinking about writing a trans-centric story 

- in general i’d be careful for anything that implies trans people aren’t “really” the gender they are, or that deep down we’ll always be our assigned gender. sometimes it’s not the outright essentialist statements but the more subtle things that can go undetected to cis people, but we see them. stuff like: the character deadnaming/misgendering themselves (so for example, when she comes out, no “remember deadname?”, or, “i used to be a man”) equating genitals with gender (even as a joke), or making the cis experience out to be universal (that feel when pms, am i right ladies? :) <-- this kind of statement even in good intentioned fun can feel exclusionary and should be perceived as such by your character), body shaming or implying certain non-conforming characteristics (ex: a strong jawline, broad shoulders, narrow hips, small breasts on a woman) are inherently “bad” or inherent to trans people only (plenty of cis women have all of those above listed things). 

 --> i know that dysphoria can make these last things appear to be inherently negative to the person, but you might counterbalance this by making her confident about other aspects of her personality, and making your other characters compliment her and paint her insecurities in a new light. for example she might feel self conscious about her height, but maybe her love interest loves her beautiful, long legs; or maybe more simply unrelated to anything she’s insecure about, she’s smart and hard working, she’s a science genius, she’s the best of her judo class and could kick your ass, she has really nice hair, or really striking eyes, or a very pretty color of very chipped nail polish. details are the key!!! and remember that value and beauty are subjective!!!! 

and last but most important of all... please write your character as HUMAN!! we trans people are just regular people, like anyone else in the world.  we aren’t just defined by transness, we have lives and passions and talents and our own problems completely unrelated to being trans.  so please keep that in mind while writing your gal! and don’t let everything i’ve typed above intimidate you, most of it is obvious stuff and i’m sure you’ll be fine! good luck with your story!