#idk if you ever watched Buffy but I would say something like the episode Normal Again

[elvensorceress]

Ooooh for the fic title: Darling I’m Losing My Mind

Interesting! So, I feel like I would want to make this some kind of amnesia or PTSD Eddie (or maybe magic/fantasy things?) where he’s caught between present day where he and Buck are long time married / his days as a soldier in the middle of the war / times he’s almost died / and maybe just after he came home from Afghanistan and Shannon left and he was alone and not doing well. And somehow (depending on if it’s magic or injury or mental trauma) Buck (and Chris and etc) have to help him come back to himself.

Send me a made up fic title and I’ll tell you what I’d write 💕

[all-seeing-ifer]

8 + 13 Buffy !

8. Most visually beautiful or interesting episode/scene

Honestly there’s so many scenes in Buffy that are really visually interesting - one of my favourite things about the show is how despite its clearly very limited budget the direction is often incredibly ambitious, especially for a 90s show! Obviously I have to mention Restless because it has so many creative visuals and so many of the effects are really simple yet really effective - like I love that the surreal scene transitions were literally just done by filming the actors walking between sets! Also it is genuinely the only dream sequence I’ve ever seen in TV that actually felt the way dreams feel to me, especially the way they put emphasis on really small elements or bits of dialogue to make even seemingly ordinary scenarios feel really off and intense. I’ve got kind of off topic and I’m more just talking about the writing of the episode now, but my point stands!

In terms of individual scenes, I really love the opening of The Body because I’m secretly super pretentious and appreciate a well-executed long take, and the one shot in the Standing sequence of Once More, With Feeling where Buffy is filmed in slow motion in the foreground and Giles is in the background not in slow motion because A) I love the symbolism of it and B) It looks deceptively simple but I have no idea how they did it and it drives me up the wall!!!!

Oh and speaking of!!!! Idk if this counts but the choreography in OMWF is legit really good a lot of the time and I love watching it! Like I appreciate the omwf choreography to the extent that I used the I’ll Never Tell dance break as a reference for my end of year film! When will modern movie musicals ever!!

13. Overall best-written episode

For me, it has to be The Body - it’s definitely not an episode I enjoy or would want to rewatch very often, but the writing is just so so GOOD OH MY GOD HOW DO I EVEN TALK ABOUT IT????? 

Ok so to properly express how incredibly powerful the writing is to me I should probably say this - The Body was one of the first episodes of Buffy I ever saw, because my friend who introduced me to btvs was apparently very not good at choosing which episodes of a show to use to get people into it. So I watched this episode like a couple of years before I got into the show proper and I had basically no context for anything that was happening in it, and yet!! Even with my complete lack of knowledge of any of the characters or anything like that I could still really appreciate how unique and just...visceral the episode is. Like it feels so raw and genuine and you can tell that so much of it comes from this really personal place, which definitely stands out from the rest of Buffy which tends to feel almost unapologetically scripted (which sounds like a dig but I really don’t mean as a bad thing...but again I’m getting off topic that’s a whole other ramble). I guess the point I’m trying to make is that it’s so impressive to me how the episode manages to walk this fine line between really diving deep into the misery of this awful situation while never feeling like it’s just trying to be sad. Like it actually has a lot to say about death and grief and the existential nightmare that is mortality and I think that all that, combined with how personal it feels, really makes it work as a genuine piece of art! It’s such a unique exploration of grief because you get to see how everyone is impacted by Joyce’s death, even people who don’t really know her that well, like Anya, and I think that’s something you don’t really see in media most of the time? Like normally when a character dies the narrative will at most focus on the couple of characters that were closest to them, so I love that The Body extends the scope of that to really take a deep dive into everyone’s responses and how they’re affected by their unique relationships to Joyce!

Oh god I rambled so much about that but hey, I don’t think it’s controversial to say that The Body is a fantastic piece of writing and it deserves to be rambled about!

[theclacks]

Buffy Season 7 Thoughts

Current Emotional State:

So yeah. That is it. After starting in March 2017 (thanks to the 20th anniversary), I officially finished the series Jan 1st 2018.

And hooboy. Straight out the gate, I’d say it its now in my top three shows of all time (i.e. Doctor Who, Stargate, and BtVS). That’s right. It beat out ATLA. (Sorry ATLA but you never ripped my heart out like the others.)

IDK, a part of me is still kind of like “why did it take me this long to watch this show” and another part is glad, because I watched DW, SG1, and ATLA all around the same year or two of my life, and to get completely walloped by something a decade later... well it’s wonderful. Completely and truly wonderful.

BtVS & AtS Recap Master Post located here

So, starting with predictions that I made during my S6 recap...

On predictions that I made during my S6 recap:

- Spike comes back to Sunnydale and becomes tentative friendship bros with Buffy with continual underlying UST that’s never resolved again because of the attempted rape and also because none of my ships can ever be happy It was resolved. It was fucking resolved. I don’t care that they never kissed on screen and Spike didn’t believe Buffy when she said she loved him (still crying forever, Spike you idiot), there was a confession. And even before that, Buffy telling Spike that she believed in him, and that she wasn’t ready for him to leave, and sleeping beside him for those final nights. THAT WAS MORE THAN I’D EVER BEEN EXPECTING. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL (NO CHECK AND I’M HAPPY FOR IT)

- Dawn and Spike eventually work through his attempted rape and become bros again Yeah, their relationship went up in flames (NO CHECK)

- Dawn takes a level in badassery, will fight things Aside from the first episode or two when Buffy’s giving her training, Dawn pretty much got shafted when the potentials arrived (NO CHECK)

- Buffy’s perma-death/rebirth will be addressed re: slayer chain of dead slayers leading to new slayer (CHECK... SORT OF?)

- Anya stays a vengeance demon because fuck Xander (NO CHECK)

- Willow finds a happy place between using no magic whatsoever and trying to fry the earth (CHECK)

- Giles hangs out in Sunnydale again because Giles (CHECK)

- Anya stays in command of the magic shop because it’s her magic shop… even though Willow kind of destroyed it She stayed in command but the other characters stopped visiting, so... (CHECK?)

- Clem continues to have cameos because he’s Clem and he’s awesome (HELLA CHECK)

On Spuffy:

I’ve written enough about these two in my earlier posts. I might make a completely separate post where I talk gush about their development over the course of the series but yeah. In this post, all I’ll say is that I thought Seeing Red would be the official end to their relationship. I thought even with the soul, their connection would be like a giant white elephant that’d never be directly addressed again... and then I got S7, aka the giant, canon, hurt/comfort fic.

Also, I didn’t cry during Chosen, but “No, you don’t. But thanks for saying” kept playing through my head over and over and over again, gutting my heart into numbness, and then sometime during the next day, it morphed into “Quite right, too” and I was so confused, thinking where did that dialogue come from, and then I remembered:

And it’s ridiculously bizarre, since Doctor Who’s Doomsday has been a traumatic thing that’s been a scar on my heart for the last decade, so I naturally think of it as the older, original traumatic “I love you” DENIED scene, but then I look at when Chosen actually aired and Chosen came out first? So if anything Doctor Who cribbed off Buffy? (And both cribbed off Star Wars and “I know” but that one doesn’t count because there wasn’t actually a failure to communicate between Hans and Leia, just Hans being Hans.)

Oh, and then the day after I watched Chosen, as I was getting ready in the morning, I made the mistake of listening to Sarah Brown Eyes which is about a guy reminiscing about the first time he met the love of his life after she’s already died. And then the song ends with “come, let’s dance” and there’s a sad instrumental section and I STARTED BAWLING. STRAIGHT OUT BAWLING.

So, thanks BtVS for that. I haven’t done that for a fictional couple since 2008. I appreciated the jump start to my heart.

Okay, officially moving on.

On Andrew:

AKA the best reoccuring character. I loved his arc in this season, going from a comic puppet of the first evil to a still-comic, yet emotionally redemptive who can’t hide behind “i was just following other people/didn’t know better”. He was the best, and Storyteller was one of my favorite episodes

On Buffy’s relationship with Giles:

I really wish they’d had the time to wrap a bow on this, but I can understand why they didn’t. As it is, their relationship kind of ended in Lies My Parents Told Me with Buffy shutting the door on him and his tendency to decide what’s best for her. But I’m not sure they held to that? Or rather, in Chosen it was kind of back to situation normal re: Willow, Xander, Giles, and Buffy being in the final pow-wow together. Either way, I liked that Buffy stood up for herself, that Giles was finally acknowledged as fallible as opposed to the savior woosh he got at the end of S6.

On Anya, Willow, and Xander:

I feel like the three of them got kind of shafted this season? Xander didn’t really have an arc or purpose other than “fix Summers house when monsters break it”. Oh, and his convo with Dawn in Potential. I really did like the episode Potential... I just wish the whole “you still have purpose” extended past the boundaries of that episode? Which honestly is the subject of another post I’ll write, entitled Xander vs Sokka: Giving Purpose to the Powerless.

And then yeah, Willow intentionally stayed on the backburner for the majority of the season (her best moments were in AtS), and Anya... oh Anya. I understand why she was un-Vengeance Demon-fied, but I still wish she’d stayed a Vengance Demon. Mostly because as soon as she lost her powers, the show for the most part ignored her.

Which is a crime.

Actually...

On Anya specifically:

I’m gonna let some time pass before I do a “thoughts on BtVS as a whole”, but I want to say right now. Anya was my favorite surprise of the series. Every other character or major, major plot development, I’d been warned, or hinted, or inadvertently spoiled for.

Anya (aside from her name) was a complete unknown. When she appeared in S3 as Anyanka the Vengeance Demon, I thought... no, that can’t be “Anya the eventually reoccuring character.” And then she was. And was amazing. And continued to be amazing for the next four seasons.

I love Anya. She is everything I aspire to in life.

Now that I’ve talked about minute character stuff, let’s go to major S7 plot stuff:

On the Potentials:

Honestly, everything I’m gonna say is not groundbreaking thoughts re: fandom. I actually liked the potentials, but I didn’t like how there were so many of them, and how some of their actress were not that great. I didn’t like how Chao Ahn was the one who couldn’t speak English and was the butt of language jokes. They could’ve easily had a French or German-speaking potential.

On the First Evil and other villains:

The mark of a great villain (for me) is how much they reflect and/or personally tie in with the heroes. It’s why Angelus remains my number one fave BtVS villain (and why S2 is still my favorite season from a plot standpoint). It’s why I’m still super pissed that Maggie Walsh (unpowered, rigid, military-backed, older woman to Buffy’s powered, improvisational, rogue, younger self) was killed off in favor of Adam (generic evil dude)... even though I now understand it was because of behind the scenes actor stuff.

So yeah. I started off with high hopes re: the First Evil... and then got let down a bit when psychological enemy was pushed aside in favor of the Turok-han and then later Caleb. Though, honestly, I was more fine with the Turok-han than I was with Caleb. Caleb was... meh. (Sorry, Nathan Fillion.) If I had to guess, I’d say the writers couldn’t think of a good way to keep the First a constant threat without relying on minions that could physically attack the heroes. IDK.

On Spike’s soul:

Once again, this is a topic I’ve talked about before in my per episode recaps, but overall, I really like how they ended up handling it. It makes sense that he’d more easily adapt to it and wouldn’t do an abrupt personality shift like Angel because he voluntarily got his. I still hold to my S6 theory, that (if it hadn’t been for the First tormenting him) he could’ve returned to Sunnydale with no one (except Anya) being the wiser.

BUT! At the same time, it did make him a lot more mellow and self-reflective. Gave him self-doubt as well. And Get It Done and Lies My Parents Told Me were excellent episodes that showcased that.

On Sunnydale getting sucked into crater, Buffy being one of thousands of Slayers, and ending the show with a “well, what happens now”/“possibly anything” kind of feel:

I loved it. It was a great ending. And together with Spike coming back in AtS, and the comics, and whatever, it makes for a ending that fans can play around with however they want. It’s an amazing launching point for new stories, and honestly...

I’d take that open ending over a 19-years-later, “All was well”, ship-killing epilogue any day.

So... thanks, BtVS. It was one hell of a ride.

(PS: If you liked these thought posts and wanna see more inner workings of my mind, my current BtVS fanfic is over here.)

[scummy-writes]

I forgot if I already asked this or not, but: If RFA/V/Saeran were vampires, what would their general feeding habits be like? Assuming they don't choose to feed off MC all the time or just leave her for tiny dessert nibs.

You haven’t! Or at least if you did, tumblr possibly ate it! Gosh, I don’t talk about vampires much, but I really like them….Modern vamps are so good… I’m sorry if none of these make sense! The last vampire related thing I watched was a few random episodes of Buffy afhdsf

Speaking of Buffy, I’m going along with the idea that just because they’ve drank your blood doesn’t mean you’re a vampire. Rather if they drink the vampires blood? …Is that weird? Idk if thats ‘Official Lore’, but now it’s “Scums Bastardized Lore’. And it’s a weird modern vamp world because?? I have?? No idea how to write vampire worlds holy fuck

Thank you @fromthedeskofelizabeththird and my friendo Mouse for helping me out with this one!

Zen: The ‘Lestat’ Vampire

- Probably the most typical, dramatic and Romantic vampire.

- A bit of a drama queen if his fans aren’t giving him much attention

- He won’t drink fans blood, but if its offered he tries to come up with an excuse. Saying he’s already ate, prefers a certain blood type to maintain his ‘good skin’, etc

- With Mc he would be worried about drinking too much at once! He might get carried away, especially since he wouldn’t go feed off of random people (probably some weird modern-vamp storebought bs), and he might try to make it Extremely Romantic (and cheesy)

- Mostly he would try to save drinking her blood for special occasions, and probably wouldn’t even bring up or entertain the idea of turning her for a while.

Jumin: The ‘No One Understands Me’ Vampire

- Look me in the eyes and tell me that Jumin wouldn’t be the type of vamp to lock himself in his room with Elizabeth 3rd, lamenting about how humans and vampires are so different, and how no human could understand him.

- Not as dramatic as Zen, but very closed off and skeptical when Mc shows any interest

- Probably drinks blood like its a fine wine. Gets fancy stuff, directly from the victim without having to sink his own fangs into them- Rich Vampire Bs, basically

- Mc suggesting that he could drink from her causes him to think she’s implying a sexual spin to it, and it takes a bit of talking to explain what she meant

- If he ever does drink from her, he’s very very careful, treats it as a relationship bonding experience, and compliments everything he can about the taste

- He may not do it often mainly due to the fact he wants to save her blood for very special occasions

Seven: The ‘Ayyyy Lmao’ Vampire

- Goofy vampire. Does the cheesy lame vampire jokes and treats his own existence as a joke

- Definitely has scared random humans by popping out and threatening to drink their blood, but then laughing at their horrified expressions

- Hails some god awful cheap blood soda bs as the best drink. It’s disgusting. Everyone things its disgusting.

- Refuses to drink Mc’s blood. He doesn’t want to hurt her like that, doesn’t want to risk going overboard and drinking too much, doesn’t want to risk anything. He would literally starve before willingly drinking her blood.

- If he absolutely had to, he would drink the bare minimum and then possibly baby her for a bit. As in, making sure she’s not feeling lightheaded or sensitive afterwards.

Yoosung: The ‘Innocent’ Vampire

-The most normal vampire that probably romanticizes drinking someone else’s blood. Probably hates that he’s going to look cute for years. Wishes he got turned a bit later in life.

- Drinks cheap blood and never any human blood until he meets Mc. It’s easy for him to get it, has been offered by a few humans before, but shyly refused

- If Mc ever lets him, he tries to make it romantic, almost as if it’s going to be your first time doing something else together

- The first time he accidentally goes overboard, but he apologises profusely (probably cooking something high in iron for you). After that, he tries to be more careful and stresses you can always say no

Jaehee: The 'Most Beneficial’ Vampire

- Probably only became a vampire because it was the best way to get a job, maintain one, or because it was beneficial at the time.

- …vampires probably would have some gross ass coffee blood, huh? If so, that’s probably what she would drink the most, if not then normal coffee it is. Maybe some vampire employees would get better blood than “'storebought”’ blood?(fuk idk)

- When you suggest it to her, she outright refuses. Drinking blood straight from a human seems too personal, too intimate, and she doesn’t want to do that to a friend

-… Until its proven that the two of you are more than friends.

- Still, she hardly does, unless she really needs a pick-me-up. Afterwards she makes sure you rest up and don’t get too light-headed

V: The 'Wrong Reasons’ Vampire

- Probably turned a human into a vampire, under the guise that they would live together happily (*coughs* Rika)

- Because of this, he’s reluctant to drink from Mc. Doing so he might go a bit overboard (Rika would have been the last human he drank from), or stress about you wanting to become one

- He’s mainly used to just drinking like Jumin does, without the 'Humans will never understand me’ vibes.

- If he does, he’s so careful. So sweet, kissing the spot he’s going to bite a few times, barely even drinking enough to satiate his hunger.

- Just don’t seem to eager for it, because it will bring forth some past worries of his

Saeran: The “”“'Edgy”“”’ Vampire

- You ever see those vampires who go around drinking from whoever they want, whenever they want? Well here is Saeran, a Korean version of Spike.

- He does whatever, drinks from whoever, and tosses them aside afterwards. Doesn’t even care how weak they are afterwards

- Mainly the more dangerous ones, so if he hasn’t met Mc like that, she is lucky.

- Presumably, Mc would most likely be the one to calm him down, start forcing him to feel emotions (he hates it at first), and because of that, he doesnt drink from her at first.

- When he does, it’s more romantic. He doesn’t use her or toss her aside. He’s careful, constantly making sure she’s sure and okay, and then even dares to kiss her afterwards.

[velcroboyfriends]

2016 Year in Fic

I really enjoyed doing this write-up last year, and damn, a lot has changed! So I thought I’d do this again and take stock of my writing this past year.

I was ridiculously prolific last year, but due to a variety of factors I really didn’t keep up that volume this year. As someone who doesn’t often feel the spark to write, what kept me going this year were fic exchanges and prompt memes. I feel fortunate to have communities like AO3 and DW to keep me writing even when I’m drained and anxious and feel incapable of it. 

So here are the results:

Fic List

1. Miles High - 1853 words. It’s quite telling about my early-2016 experience that I didn’t write a single word of fic between January and April. Disaster had struck in my work life, but I made the decision to sign up for Smut Swap 2016 anyway, and I was glad for it. This was my first Poe/Finn/Rey fic; we’ll see if I have another in me when Episode VIII rolls around. I just really wanted to write the three of them fucking in a spaceship, okay?

2. Slash: Romance Without Boundaries - 2516 words. I have only the AO3 volunteer community to thank/blame for this pile of trash. They play a game called Slash, in which competitors are challenged to write cracky pairings in weird situations. This led to me writing such pairings as Batman/Grantaire, James Bond/Remus Lupin and Will Graham & Tigger, as well as a very bizarre song parody about Aaron Burr’s encounters with a Drumpf-shaped sex doll. idk you guys. I’m sorry.

3. Bluebeard’s Wives - 1661 painstaking words. I wrote this for Not Prime Time 2016, and I’m really glad the exchange forced me to, because otherwise I would never have written the work I’m most proud of. I wanted to write something dark and twisted and beautiful, and to capture Hannibal’s inner monologue with all its vivid imagery, and somehow I halfway managed it. This was the first fic that ever earned me a place in a fandom spotlight post, and I’m very proud of that. It was my first Hannibal work and will probably be my last, but I enjoyed it.

4. On Not Being Alone - 4103 words. It took me til August this year to write something born purely of the desire to write, not a deadline. I’d been binge-watching Critical Role all summer, and after I reached the scene that precedes this fic in canon, I found myself in a whirlwind of writing. I wrote this near-obsessively over the course of 24-ish hours, and it was incredibly exciting to want to write again. It’s just a PWP, but it was so refreshing.

5. In the Middle of Summer - 2344 words. This was the only Richlee fic I wrote all year, and I’m sad to say it’ll probably be my last. There’s a chance I might pick up interest in participating in the fandom again - and I still get stupid hearteyes over the both of them - but the spark has just waned. I wrote this for a challenge for Richard’s birthday, and without that event I probably wouldn’t have written it. However, I did have fun with one last hurrah.

6. Between the Two of Us - 4584 words. Aand this is where I embraced my trash-goblin self and started writing Critical Role RPF. Even while I was gorging on CR all spring and summer, it never occurred to me that people would write RPF about the cast until I stumbled upon the awesome Five Minute Break. At first I was like ‘ew no’ but then I read it and was hooked. My giant crush on Liam melded with my new-found fascination with sub!Matt and a new fandom obsession was born. This was also my first seriously kinky fic!

7. Girls’ Night - 3218 words. This was partially written because of the criticalkink kink meme, but also because I felt bad leaving Marisha out of the fun in my Liam/Matt fic. It was my first time writing any sort of femslash, and I loved it.

8. I’ll Pencil You In - 3107 words. I entirely wrote this because of criticalkink and the little Liam/anyone reverse-prompt I set up in there. Normally I would never have thought to write Liam/Sam, but I ended up enjoying it a lot, primarily because of how the power dynamic shifted their characters. It was also my first time writing kink negotiation, which was really fun.

9. Break Time - 996 words. Again, this was written for criticalkink. The prompt got into my head and wouldn’t go away. I tend to struggle with writing kissing, so this was a fun little challenge to write a fic that simply consisted of the build-up and the kiss.

10. Like the Bright Morning Stars - 3855 words. This was written for Yuletide. I was scared of this fic for the longest time, because smut is (obviously) my favored terrain and my recipient specifically said they did not want any sexual content. So for once I had to focus on plot and emotions and world-building, and that is HARD, Y’ALL. It’s very easy to churn out some sex; not so much to craft love. But it really paid off, because I loved this and it seems like a lot of other people did as well!

11. Into My Arms - 1843 words. Another prompt-fill from criticalkink. I had a lot of fun writing something simple and sweet and in a position/circumstance I had never written before. I also enjoy a good text convo in fic, so that was fun as an opener.

Total Word Count: (so far) 30,080 words. 

Overall Thoughts: Word-count-wise, I wrote less than half of what I wrote last year, but just as many individual works, which is pretty good. And it’s far, far better than 0, which had been my usual word-count for the past five years before last year. If last year was an exercise in writing for fun, this year was an exercise in pushing myself to write even when I was tired or sad or anxious, and I learned that I’m capable of a lot more than I thought.

Personal Best Story: 100% Bluebeard’s Wives. The vignette style, the imagery, the spare narration, the nuance - I’m proud of every word. If I ever write something better than this, that will be an enormous victory.

Personal Favorite Story: I really like I’ll Pencil You In. It was the first CR RPF story where I really felt like I knew what I was doing, and I really like that even in a scene of bondage and domination, there’s palpable softness, intimacy and sweetness between two friends.

Most Underappreciated Story: I was expecting a lot more traffic on Miles High, because I was writing a really popular pairing in a very popular fandom - but I suppose that when there are a lot of works going up in a fandom at once, it can be even harder to get recognition than it is when you’re writing for a very small fandom. And I don’t think my heart was really in it, which probably showed in the writing.

Most Popular Story: By hits alone, it’s On Not Being Alone, which makes sense, as it’s a simple PWP about a popular pairing in a small-but-growing fandom. By kudos, it’s Like the Bright Morning Stars, which is nice, given that I really didn’t think it was that good until it got such a fervent response. It also wins for kudos-per-hit, with ~19% of viewers giving kudos.

Story with the Sexiest Moment: Girls’ Night, man. Every inch of that is ridiculously sexy to me. The face-sitting, the manhandling, the dualingus... yes. Last year in my response to this question I mentioned that I felt my sex writing was getting a bit stale, and in the latter half of this year I feel I rose to the challenge and really mixed things up.

Most “Holy Crap That’s Wrong Even for Me” Moment: Basically all of Bluebeard’s Wives. There’s gore, there’s murder, there’s twisted relationship dynamics... yeahh. I also felt very wrong writing CR RPF, and continue to feel a bit weird about it - but I love it too much to give it up.

Story That Shifted My Perceptions of a Character: I felt like I really got to know Hannibal through writing Bluebeard’s Wives. I began to understand his way of thinking. I also really changed my perceptions of Sam through I’ll Pencil You In, by exploring him in a completely unfamiliar situation and entering subspace for the first time.

Most Fun to Write: Writing those crackfics for the Slash games was really fun, but also nerve-wracking. It’s hard to say if anything I wrote was purely fun with no worry involved, but I probably enjoyed myself the most writing my two Liam/Sam works, because they’re so good for one another and Sam is just a ball of joy.

Hardest Story to Write: Bluebeard’s Wives was a slog through hell as far as the writing process went. When I was done I was happy, but up until that point I had no clue what I was doing and nothing felt good enough. I considered every single word to within an inch of its life. But it all paid off, I think.

Favorite OC: The only OC I wrote this year was the nameless girl from Bluebeard’s Wives. I liked her, though - she was defiant until the end. She didn’t buy into Hannibal’s shit.

Biggest Surprise: Every moment of my Slash game fics was a surprise. Buffy almost getting the Half-Blood Prince’s book, Batman rescuing Grantaire, Hannibal eating Voldy, “The World Was Wide Enough” being rewritten about a Drumpf sex doll, AVPM!Ron seducing Voldemort with Red Vines, Will Graham shooting Tigger, James Bond kissing Remus, Jack Sparrow rescuing Enjolras... it’s all fucking weird and surprising, and that’s the beauty of the game.

Most Unintentionally Personal Story: I really can’t say any of my works this year ended up very personal. Perhaps what’s personal is how many of my kinks and trash-goblin shipping tendencies I revealed.

Favorite Lines/Scenes:

The morning-after scene in Between the Two of Us feels very true to Matt and Liam’s dynamic, and very tender.

I loved writing kink negotiation in I’ll Pencil You In.

From my Slash fics: “There were many reasons why Buffy always avoided the Hogwarts library. One was that studying was, like, so 1996, and that any sixth-year worth her salt (liberally sprinkled in a circle to ward off whatever) did not bother with books. The other was that creepy librarian who kept telling her it was her destiny to save the world from vampires or whatever. That was super species-ist, for one thing - didn't Professor Giles know that anti-vampire bias was waaay 15th-century? Buffy had hoped the world had come further than that. It was sad enough when that werewolf professor had to quit without her adding to the whole problem. As if.”

From Bluebeard’s Wives: “He cooks a wonderful meal for the three of them. He offers to give up his portion. He washes their hair in the bath. He washes their feet. He sketches Abigail into a copy of Gentileschi's Judith Slaying Holofernes, Bedelia by her side, holding the figure of Holofernes - Hannibal himself, in this copy, although he has never been a self-portraitist - as Abigail slices at his neck. Blood sprays forth in a fountain. Will hangs it upon the wall unsmiling. He brings home a scrappy little spinone, the lovely thing's ears drooping with long fur. Will says the city is no place for a dog. And none of it is enough.“

All of Girls’ Night. Just all of it.

Lines/Scenes I’d Like to Change:

Basically all of Like the Bright Morning Stars. But it seemed to work for readers, so what do I know?

I’d like to let Finn shine more in Miles High; ditto for Laura in Girls’ Night.

The pacing in Break Time could have been a little more leisurely; same for Into My Arms.

Top Five Scenes I Wish Could Be Illustrated:

Vox Machina taking the stage in Like the Bright Morning Stars

Hannibal’s copy of Judith Slaying Holofernes in Bluebeard’s Wives

Basically all of Girls’ Night

James Bond kissing Remus and then being decked by Sirius

The kiss from Break Time

2017 Writing Ambitions:

I just want to keep writing, be it fic or RP or the possibility of non-fannish fiction. I’m not going to set an ideal wordcount, because I’ll end up disappointed, but I just want to write more than 0 words. And I want to write at least one thing I’m truly proud of.

Fic ideas for this year:

Sequel to Like the Bright Morning Stars - titled Like the Rolling Waters and in the works for SFBB 2017!

The last two reverse-prompts from criticalkink: Liam/Matt playful jokeyness and Liam/Laura/Travis threesome (!!!!)

MOAR POLYMACHINA

And whatever the hell I think of next!