#it was the first game i wrote fanfic for on AO3

[andhumanslovedstories]

I'll play the 500-word ask game! Your Tortall fanfic, please - I was thinking of this segment, but really anything you want to comment on in the fic! (Also thank you for writing it; the voice works very well and the text feels very true-to-source!)

Kel may never have forgiven the king for putting her through a probation period—a life’s first major disappointment cuts deep and leaves a scar—but her issues to him as a man did not blind her to his success as a king. “He’s formed alliances with the Bazhir, the Yamani, and Tusaine for the first time in our history. He controls the Dominion Jewel, the most powerful mage in the world is loyal to him, and our training school produces the finest knights in the world.”

Don’t forget our excellent spy operations,” Alanna added. “But people’s memories get short, especially in times of hardship. A short war unites a nation; a long one wearies it. And our war with Scanra has lasted far longer than we expected, even after your contribution.”

Kel grimaced. It was true. Even after Kel had slain the creator of the Scanran war machines, the forces of King Maggur fought bitterly for every inch of land. They had no reasonable hope of winning, not with Scanra’s weak harvest and weaker tribal alliances, but they were determined to make Tortall’s victory costly. They’d turned to guerilla tactics in the mountainous border region between the two nations, and they were willing to lay down their lives for every square inch.

Still, the gaudiness of the Midwinter’s Festival felt tasteless to Kel, a slap in the face to the soldiers who died and the ones who were still there fighting in the bleakest of conditions. “If everyone could put some trust in each other and go without the things they don’t need, we could redirect all this wealth to ending the war.”

“If people could trust each other and go without, we wouldn’t be fighting this war. We’d be living in some happy utopia that would be very boring for people like you and me.”

Oh my god, I wrote this Tortall fic in 2011. Sometimes the passage of time just hits. Especially because of the time I remember Kel has always been my favorite of Pierce's leads. It would be difficult to overstate the impact Kel as a character has had on me over the years. I wrote this fic in October 2011--that was during my first semester of college, when I was 18 years old. I'd brought The Protector of the Small books with me to college for emotional support. There was a hurricane on the east coast during our freshman orientation that knocked out the power in my dorm. I remember reading all four books by a window while it was raining like crazy, and then thinking ruefully that I should have saved them for later when I needed a pick me up.

That makes it an extra pleasant surprise when I reread it and really liked it! (I even had the very odd feeling of being inspired by my own ending.) I remembered the broad strokes of it--Kel and Alanna talking at a banquet while on the lookout for Tortall's second openly female page--and absolutely none of the details. I can't believe the only relationship tag I had in there was Kel/Dom. I'll be honest, I don't even really remember who Dom is. I went back and added Kel & Alanna as the main relationship because, like, duh. Yeah.

It's doubly weird to me I tagged the barely mentioned romantic pairing considering the story was written for a livejournal community challenge to specific write gen fic about women outside of the context of romance and shipping. This was a weird transition time in fandom where lj communities were still very prominent, but more and more fic was getting posted on AO3 instead of in a community or on a personal journal. I remember some debate about what female characters counted for femgenficathon (the community/challenge I wrote this for). It might have been a debate about trans women, but I remember more specifically discussions of whether genderswapped male characters counted.

Anyway, back to this fic specifically, it's funny the author's note is me talking about the difficulties of writing fanfic for a book because I want to match the author's style when that's something that I've been thinking about a lot lately writing for Scum Villain. What I remember most about this fic is specifically the work I put in studying Tamora Pierce's writing style so I could ape it. A sentence early--"Her closest tablemate, a small but sturdy red-headed woman Kel regarded with equal parts affection and awe, chuckled at Kel’s distress."--is the direct result of me studying Pierce's first paragraphs in her work to see how she reintroduces the reader to characters they have met before. There's also a simplicity and directness to the language that isn't my default. I can get pretty flowery. In my default state, I love a paragraph long metaphor.

These two women have this shared experience but also could not be more different. When I was a kid, I really wanted Alanna and Kel to be best friends, and I was disappointed when they weren't, but I understood why. They are very different people, almost in different genres. Alanna and Kel are two very different takes on the lady knight. Having to pretend to be a boy versus openly being a girl leads to such different dynamics. Alanna's story is so much about identity and self-definition, but also about being extraordinary. She's gifted with magic, she's touched by the goddess, she has a magic cat. She's a fantasy heroine. She's indisputably extraordinary.

Kel meanwhile has no magic. Her story emphasizes continual, endless practice, discipline, training. Her adventures are human-sized. Alanna's book one ends with defeating magical monsters in a cursed city. Kel's involves helping a bunch of other pages fight off bandits. She doesn't deal with gods; she gets put in charge of a refuge camp. Her story involves a lot of practical logistics in a way Alanna's doesn't. So she ends up being this character that's such a mix of realism and idealism, seeing the world the way it could and should be while also seeing the work and frustration of getting there. That was what made her such a huge inspiration to me as a kid--god, between her and Tiffany Aching, I have gotten so much from the tales of hard working girls.

That's why Kel in this fic looks to everyday and mundane examples of female fighters. Because she works so close to the ground, she appreciates the grassroots. I thought that hit a good balance of her faith in the future without making it sound like she thought gender equality would be easy. Actually, to be honest, I got...comforted, I guess, by my own ending. (Again, a very pleasant surprise.) Kel's hope always feels earned. That's what I was aiming for.

[youchangedmedestiel]

Ask Game!

25 & 29

25. Have you ever upset yourself with your own writing?

I don't remember feeling upset as I wrote something. At least not yet. My writing actually helps me process things and deal with feelings. I tend to write happy endings but if somehow I end up writing a fic that doesn't, then maybe I'll be upset. If I manage to write about widower arc Dean one day, I'll probably be upsed, maybe that's why I don't write about him (yet).

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

It's a fic that happens after 8x22, one chapter is actually a fic I read and inspired me to write more about it and then it turned into something with more than 40k words. It was one of the first fic I wrote. I was experimenting my writing actually and words just kept flowing at me. I was just trying, okay? I just finished the show I had to let this all out and I was exploring their relationship. Anyway, don't judge me please. The scene I'm sharing with you happens in Dean's room at the bunker, there you go:

“Cas, what are you doing here?” Dean asks frowning, clearly still mad at Castiel’s reaction toward the flirty waitress. Castiel stands up and presses play on the stereo to start the song “The Rain Song” from Led Zeppelin. Dean looks at the stereo with his eyebrows still frowning, not understanding what is happening, since Castiel doesn’t answer his question.

“I need to tell you something, Dean.” Castiel starts smiling, walking toward Dean, while Dean just stands there, where he is looking at him. “I know you like this band and this song. This is why I chose it. And I know you know the lyrics but please listen to them. You will understand what I want to tell you.” Dean tilts his head and parts his lips, surprised. Even though, he doesn’t remember all the lyrics, not remembering every exact word, he knows what it is about. Plus, with the worry face Castiel makes, Dean understands what is happening. This is scaring the hell out of him but it is happening and he can’t stop it, he doesn’t really want to anyway. So, he smiles at him.

“Cas” he starts, wanting to apologize for doubting him with the waitress, but Castiel stops him instantly.

“Listen, Dean.” During the first lyrics, Castiel comes closer to Dean and extend one hand toward him. “I would like to dance with you,” Castiel offers. Dean hesitates while staring at him and puts his hand in Castiel’s. Both smiles as they lean in at the same time. Dean removes his hand from Castiel’s and puts his hands on his lower back, while Castiel puts his arms around Dean’s neck. When the first lyrics are sang, he rests his chin on Dean’s shoulder, while they dance slowly together.

“Listen,” he tells Dean again, whispering in his ear.   

It is the springtime of my loving

The second season I am to know

You are the sunlight in my growing

So little warmth I've felt before

It isn't hard to feel me glowing

I watched the fire that grew so low, oooh, oh

“You helped me grow. You changed me, Dean.” Castiel starts when the first lyrics are over and only the melody stays, moving back his head to stare into Dean’s eyes while he cups his head with his hands. “You taught me so many things, you taught me how to feel. You taught me about free will. And I believed in it, I have faith in it, I have faith in you. I would do anything for you. I would die for you. I never used you, Dean. I never will.” Castiel says finally calling back to what happened in Dean’s first fantasy.

“Cas –“ Dean starts, swallowing his tears. “I know that now. I should have never doubted you, I’m sorry.” Dean says lowering his gaze, but Castiel lifts his head up a little bit, already missing looking into his eyes. Dean’s eyes are back staring at Castiel’s blue.

“And I’m sorry I gave you some reasons to believe I would do this to you.” Castiel’s eyes starts to be fill with tears too.

“You didn’t Cas, it’s not you. It’s me. I always think people will leave me.”

“I never will, Dean. I couldn’t. You hear me? I always come back to you at some point. When you told me that we were family, that you needed me in that crypt. You broke the hold Naomi had on me, Dean. Don’t you understand? I can’t stay away from you for too long. If I do it’s because I have no other choice and it’s to keep you safe.” Castiel’s heart is racing, carried away by the emotions invading him.

“You had a choice in Purgatory, and you chose to stay. You chose to let me leave without you.” Dean throws, remembering how hurt he felt at the time, when Castiel showed him what really happened at the gate, he even altered his own memories to avoid knowing Castiel’s left him on purpose.

“It was different I was feeling so much guilt about the Leviathans, about what I did to people, to angels and to you. I didn’t deserve to go out with you. I didn’t deserve you. I don’t deserve you.”

“You do, Cas. I’m the one that doesn’t deserve you. I always get angry and end up hurting people I care about. Hurting you.” 

“It’s not true. You are not like that. Not at all. You see yourself how our enemies sees you but they are all wrong, you too. And you do, Dean. Deserve me.” Castiel says resting his head again on Dean’s shoulder, with his face buried in his neck this time. “Now, let’s dance slowly again. I like doing that with you. And listen to the song.” Castiel smiles against Dean’s neck.

It is the summer of my smiles

Flee from me, keepers of the gloom

Speak to me only with your eyes

It is to you I give this tune

Ain't so hard to recognize, oh

These things are clear to all from time to time, ooh

Oh, oh

“You are not like you said you are, Dean. When I look into your eyes, and after all these years, all I see is the most caring human in the whole world looking back at me. You care about people, ready to risk your own life to save them. You saved the world so many times. You saved ME too.” Castiel says moving his head back again to stare into Dean’s eyes, showing how much he deeply thinks what he is telling him.

Ah, talk, talk, talk, talk

Hey!

I've felt the coldness of my winter

I never thought it would ever go

I cursed the gloom that set upon us, upon us, upon us

But I know that I love you so, ohhhh, oh

But I know that I love you so

These are the seasons of emotion

And like the wind, they rise and fall

This is the wonder of devotion

I see the torch we all must hold

This is the mystery of the quotient, quotient

Ah, upon us all, upon us all a little rain must fall

Just a little rain, oh yeah

Uhh, ooooh, yeah yeah yeah

Castiel pulls back for the third time to look at Dean again. Dean is used to it now and he knows it means Castiel still has something to tell him. “We have been through so much together, you and me. Despite or thanks to all that, today I am able to say that –“ Castiel stops taking a deep breath to put all he feels in three little words as much as possible. “I love you”. He finally confesses, letting a tear run down his cheek. Dean swallows hard and wipes it with his thumb. He guessed what Castiel wanting to tell him, knowing the song, but he needed to be sure, he needed to hear what he had to say and he needed to hear that he loves him.

“I love you too, Cas.” Dean grabs Castiel’s neck with one hand and pulls him closer. He brushes their lips together, a desperate and passionate kiss, saying ‘I love you’ in another way again. Dean is overwhelmed by Castiel’s love and kiss, not controlling what is getting out of his mouth, his emotions, his feelings for him are getting the upper hand. “My mom used to tell me that angels were watching over me. I couldn’t believe her anymore when she died. But then, I met you Cas. And you gave me faith again. You always took care of me. You always watch over me, even when I sleep.” Dean chuckles and continues his speech, more seriously, putting his heart out. “Then, I fell in love with you as I never did before. I didn’t believe I could love someone like I love you. Cas, you are the light in my life, never think otherwise. You are my angel, you always have been.” Castiel smiles fondly at Dean’s confession, feeling his heart exploding in his chest, wanting to go out of it.

“I’m all yours and you are all mine.” Castiel declares with some lust replacing the happy tears in his eyes. “The song is already finished.” Castiel observes, looking at the stereo disappointed, while the music has ended a few minutes ago, but they were too focus on each other to notice.

“The song last more than 7 minutes, Cas.” Dean reminds him, chuckling, despite he didn’t notice when it ended either.

“I know, but it’s not enough. I like dancing with you, holding you in my arms.”

“I agree, I like it too.” Dean declares smiling fondly, stroking Castiel’s jaw with one hand.

“We should do that again some time.”

[divinemissem13]

Tag Game: First 10 Lines Challenge

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to and see if there are any patterns!

Thank you so much for tagging me, @curator-on-ao3! I currently have 5 unrevealed challenge works and I considered waiting, but let's be honest, I will forget by the time the author reveals happen in another week. So, I guess, watch this space if you're curious about any of those! For now, here are my last 10 works that are actually viewable!

Flirtin' With Disaster (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, 12 chapters, M)

Things with Fritz end just about as smoothly as they can, but it’s still hard. He threatens to start drinking again if Brenda leaves him, and she reminds him (as well as herself) that it’s not her responsibility to keep him sober.

2. Not Today (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, 250 words, T)

Brenda lightly kisses Sharon's fingertips one by one until the brunette stirs enough for Brenda to slide out of her arms. Sharon knows what she's doing. She wants to hold on tighter, but instead she feigns sleep and lets go.

3. Jankom Pog CanNOT Fix It (Star Trek Prodigy: Dal R'El & Jankom Pog, one-shot, G)

"Jankom! Have you seen this?" Dal exclaimed, crashing through the door of their shared quarters so loudly that Jankom nearly fell out of his chair.

4. When the Rain Washes You Clean You'll Know (ST Voyager: Janeway/Chakotay, one-shot, G)

The blankets on her bed were flimsy protection at best, but still Kathryn huddled beneath them as the rain pounded the side of the building, thunder and lighting crashing and flashing in quick succession.

5. I Could Drink a Case of You (ST Voyager/TNG: Beverly Crusher/ Kathryn Janeway, one-shot, T)

Kathryn steps onto the holodeck and into a program she has never seen before. The air is damp with morning dew, the landscape lush and green, and there’s a small house with a garden, stuffed to the brim with flowers and herbs she doesn’t recognize. She’s never seen it before, but she knows immediately where she is. Not that it matters; she’s here for a person, not a program.

6. Beautiful Disaster (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, 3 chapters, T)

No police officer ever wants to fire their weapon. No good police officer, anyway. And Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, despite a myriad of other failings, is a good police officer.

7. Work/Life Balance (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, one-shot but fun fact: I'm currently working on several new chapters!, T)

It’s not unheard of for one or both of them to catch a case in the middle of the night, and so far, it hasn’t ever been for the same case.

8. What You're Willing To Overlook (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, fluff-spring drabble series, T)

“I find that good relationships sometimes depend... on what you're willing to overlook.” Sharon said softly, her hand on Brenda’s arm. Brenda’s arm tingled where Sharon’s hand made contact and suddenly, right there in the bullpen, surrounded by her team, their eyes met and a realization hit Brenda like a lightning bolt.

9. Time Stands Still (Doctor Who: Fourteen & Donna Noble, fluff-spring drabble series, G)

The TARDIS fit perfectly in the Noble-Temple back yard. It complimented the style of Rose’s shed - or maybe it was the other way around - and no one ever asked questions when it just showed up there one day and stayed.

10. Not So Secret Admirer (The Closer: Brenda/ Sharon, one-shot, G)

“You and Agent Howard patching things up, Chief?” Flynn asked, knocking on the door frame as he let himself in to Brenda’s office. “Now what would give you that idea, Lieutenant?” Brenda asked without looking up from her paperwork. “Well, someone out there must be trying to impress you,” he chuckled. “Special delivery,” he added, placing the vase of roses on her desk, right on top of the paperwork where they couldn’t be ignored.

tagging @ussjellyfish, @go-tell-the-bees, @caitylove, @fracktastic, @kate04us, @holy-ships-x-red-lips, @madamairlock, @neverenough37, @commandermeg and anyone else who wants to share! <3

[randofanficrecs]

Today's random fic comes from the Neverending Nightmares (Video Game) fandom, An Escape for Lost Souls by TheVelvetUndergrowth.

Chapters: 1/1 Words: 2,230 Fandom: Knock-Knock (Video Game), Neverending Nightmares (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: The Lodger (Knock-Knock)/Thomas Smith (Neverending Nightmares) Additional Tags: Gift Fic, Fluff, Budding Love, He/They Lodger, For this story I used my friend's headcanon for the Lodger's true name, and basically combined several of their interpretations of both characters with some of my own, Also first time I've ever wrote a romance story (hope it's believable enough), Do not copy this work to other websites, Anyway please enjoy these two men with OCD loving each other as they heal from their traumas! Language: English Summary: Edgar Bormot thought that he was meant to struggle alone in this world, and Thomas Smith assumed that his mind would never allow him to ever truly be happy again. Sometimes all it takes to chase these awful feelings away is a long walk through the woods.

[archaeren]

How I learned to write smarter, not harder

(aka, how to write when you're hella ADHD lol)

A reader commented on my current long fic asking how I write so well. I replied with an essay of my honestly pretty non-standard writing advice (that they probably didn't actually want lol) Now I'm gonna share it with you guys and hopefully there's a few of you out there who will benefit from my past mistakes and find some useful advice in here. XD Since I started doing this stuff, which are all pretty easy changes to absorb into your process if you want to try them, I now almost never get writer's block.

The text of the original reply is indented, and I've added some additional commentary to expand upon and clarify some of the concepts.

As for writing well, I usually attribute it to the fact that I spent roughly four years in my late teens/early 20s writing text roleplay with a friend for hours every single day. Aside from the constant practice that provided, having a live audience immediately reacting to everything I wrote made me think a lot about how to make as many sentences as possible have maximum impact so that I could get that kind of fun reaction. (Which is another reason why comments like yours are so valuable to fanfic writers! <3) The other factors that have improved my writing are thus: 1. Writing nonlinearly. I used to write a whole story in order, from the first sentence onward. If there was a part I was excited to write, I slogged through everything to get there, thinking that it would be my reward once I finished everything that led up to that. It never worked. XD It was miserable. By the time I got to the part I wanted to write, I had beaten the scene to death in my head imagining all the ways I could write it, and it a) no longer interested me and b) could not live up to my expectations because I couldn't remember all my ideas I'd had for writing it. The scene came out mediocre and so did everything leading up to it. Since then, I learned through working on VN writing (I co-own a game studio and we have some visual novels that I write for) that I don't have to write linearly. If I'm inspired to write a scene, I just write it immediately. It usually comes out pretty good even in a first draft! But then I also have it for if I get more ideas for that scene later, and I can just edit them in. The scenes come out MUCH stronger because of this. And you know what else I discovered? Those scenes I slogged through before weren't scenes I had no inspiration for, I just didn't have any inspiration for them in that moment! I can't tell you how many times there was a scene I had no interest in writing, and then a week later I'd get struck by the perfect inspiration for it! Those are scenes I would have done a very mediocre job on, and now they can be some of the most powerful scenes because I gave them time to marinate. Inspiration isn't always linear, so writing doesn't have to be either!

Some people are the type that joyfully write linearly. I have a friend like this--she picks up the characters and just continues playing out the next scene. Her story progresses through the entire day-by-day lives of the characters; it never timeskips more than a few hours. She started writing and posting just eight months ago, she's about an eighth of the way through her planned fic timeline, and the content she has so far posted to AO3 for it is already 450,000 words long. But most of us are normal humans. We're not, for the most part, wired to create linearly. We consume linearly, we experience linearly, so we assume we must also create linearly. But actually, a lot of us really suffer from trying to force ourselves to create this way, and we might not even realize it. If you're the kind of person who thinks you need to carrot-on-a-stick yourself into writing by saving the fun part for when you finally write everything that happens before it: Stop. You're probably not a linear writer. You're making yourself suffer for no reason and your writing is probably suffering for it. At least give nonlinear writing a try before you assume you can't write if you're not baiting or forcing yourself into it!! Remember: Writing is fun. You do this because it's fun, because it's your hobby. If you're miserable 80% of the time you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong!

2. Rereading my own work. I used to hate reading my own work. I wouldn't even edit it usually. I would write it and slap it online and try not to look at it again. XD Writing nonlinearly forced me to start rereading because I needed to make sure scenes connected together naturally and it also made it easier to get into the headspace of the story to keep writing and fill in the blanks and get new inspiration. Doing this built the editing process into my writing process--I would read a scene to get back in the headspace, dislike what I had written, and just clean it up on the fly. I still never ever sit down to 'edit' my work. I just reread it to prep for writing and it ends up editing itself. Many many scenes in this fic I have read probably a dozen times or more! (And now, I can actually reread my own work for enjoyment!) Another thing I found from doing this that it became easy to see patterns and themes in my work and strengthen them. Foreshadowing became easy. Setting up for jokes or plot points became easy. I didn't have to plan out my story in advance or write an outline, because the scenes themselves because a sort of living outline on their own. (Yes, despite all the foreshadowing and recurring thematic elements and secret hidden meanings sprinkled throughout this story, it actually never had an outline or a plan for any of that. It's all a natural byproduct of writing nonlinearly and rereading.)

Unpopular writing opinion time: You don't need to make a detailed outline.

Some people thrive on having an outline and planning out every detail before they sit down to write. But I know for a lot of us, we don't know how to write an outline or how to use it once we've written it. The idea of making one is daunting, and the advice that it's the only way to write or beat writer's block is demoralizing. So let me explain how I approach "outlining" which isn't really outlining at all.

I write in a Notion table, where every scene is a separate table entry and the scene is written in the page inside that entry. I do this because it makes writing nonlinearly VASTLY more intuitive and straightforward than writing in a single document. (If you're familiar with Notion, this probably makes perfect sense to you. If you're not, imagine something a little like a more contained Google Sheets, but every row has a title cell that opens into a unique Google Doc when you click on it. And it's not as slow and clunky as the Google suite lol) (Edit from the future: I answered an ask with more explanation on how I use Notion for non-linear writing here.) When I sit down to begin a new fic idea, I make a quick entry in the table for every scene I already know I'll want or need, with the entries titled with a couple words or a sentence that describes what will be in that scene so I'll remember it later. Basically, it's the most absolute bare-bones skeleton of what I vaguely know will probably happen in the story.

Then I start writing, wherever I want in the list. As I write, ideas for new scenes and new connections and themes will emerge over time, and I'll just slot them in between the original entries wherever they naturally fit, rearranging as necessary, so that I won't forget about them later when I'm ready to write them. As an example, my current long fic started with a list of roughly 35 scenes that I knew I wanted or needed, for a fic that will probably be around 100k words (which I didn't know at the time haha). As of this writing, it has expanded to 129 scenes. And since I write them directly in the page entries for the table, the fic is actually its own outline, without any additional effort on my part. As I said in the comment reply--a living outline!

This also made it easier to let go of the notion that I had to write something exactly right the first time. (People always say you should do this, but how many of us do? It's harder than it sounds! I didn't want to commit to editing later! I didn't want to reread my work! XD) I know I'm going to edit it naturally anyway, so I can feel okay giving myself permission to just write it approximately right and I can fix it later. And what I found from that was that sometimes what I believed was kind of meh when I wrote it was actually totally fine when I read it later! Sometimes the internal critic is actually wrong. 3. Marinating in the headspace of the story. For the first two months I worked on [fic], I did not consume any media other than [fandom the fic is in]. I didn't watch, read, or play anything else. Not even mobile games. (And there wasn't really much fan content for [fandom] to consume either. Still isn't, really. XD) This basically forced me to treat writing my story as my only source of entertainment, and kept me from getting distracted or inspired to write other ideas and abandon this one.

As an aside, I don't think this is a necessary step for writing, but if you really want to be productive in a short burst, I do highly recommend going on a media consumption hiatus. Not forever, obviously! Consuming media is a valuable tool for new inspiration, and reading other's work (both good and bad, as long as you think critically to identify the differences!) is an invaluable resource for improving your writing.

When I write, I usually lay down, close my eyes, and play the scene I'm interested in writing in my head. I even take a ten-minute nap now and then during this process. (I find being in a state of partial drowsiness, but not outright sleepiness, makes writing easier and better. Sleep helps the brain process and make connections!) Then I roll over to the laptop next to me and type up whatever I felt like worked for the scene. This may mean I write half a sentence at a time between intervals of closed-eye-time XD

People always say if you're stuck, you need to outline.

What they actually mean by that (whether they realize it or not) is that if you're stuck, you need to brainstorm. You need to marinate. You don't need to plan what you're doing, you just need to give yourself time to think about it!

What's another framing for brainstorming for your fic? Fantasizing about it! Planning is work, but fantasizing isn't.

You're already fantasizing about it, right? That's why you're writing it. Just direct that effort toward the scenes you're trying to write next! Close your eyes, lay back, and fantasize what the characters do and how they react.

And then quickly note down your inspirations so you don't forget, haha.

And if a scene is so boring to you that even fantasizing about it sucks--it's probably a bad scene.

If it's boring to write, it's going to be boring to read. Ask yourself why you wanted that scene. Is it even necessary? Can you cut it? Can you replace it with a different scene that serves the same purpose but approaches the problem from a different angle? If you can't remove the troublesome scene, what can you change about it that would make it interesting or exciting for you to write?

And I can't write sitting up to save my damn life. It's like my brain just stops working if I have to sit in a chair and stare at a computer screen. I need to be able to lie down, even if I don't use it! Talking walks and swinging in a hammock are also fantastic places to get scene ideas worked out, because the rhythmic motion also helps our brain process. It's just a little harder to work on a laptop in those scenarios. XD

In conclusion: Writing nonlinearly is an amazing tool for kicking writer's block to the curb. There's almost always some scene you'll want to write. If there isn't, you need to re-read or marinate.

Or you need to use the bathroom, eat something, or sleep. XD Seriously, if you're that stuck, assess your current physical condition. You might just be unable to focus because you're uncomfortable and you haven't realized it yet.

Anyway! I hope that was helpful, or at least interesting! XD Sorry again for the text wall. (I think this is the longest comment reply I've ever written!)

And same to you guys on tumblr--I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. XD Reblogs appreciated if so! (Maybe it'll help someone else!)

[thatdeadaquarius]

Have some more language brainrot for your brainrot

Writer reader getting kind of insecure that even if they write something nobody will understand it, so when Al haithem askes you if he can keep a draft or two just for analyzing, there's hesitant agreement but ultimately you tell him to please burn the documents once he's done. They're too awkward to look at now...

Only he doesn't burn them, in fact he ends up recruiting several people close to the creator with knowledge of olden speak to analyze them. A funeral parlor consultant well known for his historical knowledge, a 500 year old shrine maiden who owns and runs her own publishing house, and a bard who somehow butted his way in on the project. None of them could resist the opportunity to witness the creator's sacred scriptures with their own eyes.

Needless to say, the papers ended up being fought over and have been making their rounds around your acolytes. It started with Ei, who insisted that as an archon she also should see the creator's work with her own eyes. Then once Ningguang found out, she ordered they be handed over to a team of literary analysts in order to be properly handled and deciphered. Things got really messy quick, but have luckily come to a halt as none of the acolytes want the creator to know their random writings are being fought over.

Especially when it comes to the creator's sullen additute. Their acolytes first have to convince their holiness that their inability to read and understand the creator's writing shouldn't prevent you from doing what you love. In fact... could they convince you to write some more?

WRITER OR READER WITH TALENTS HAS MY WHOLE HEART LIKE-

On one hand, same 💀 id be terrified for my all time fav skrunklies to see my bs

But at the same time i rlly wanna show them goddamit- THANK U FOR THE BRAIN FOOD IM RUNNING LAPS AROUND MY HOUSE THINKING ABT THIS-

Sun: Gender Neutral Reader (they/them), Writer!Reader

Planet: Language Shenanigans

Orbit: Scenario

Stars: Alhaitham mostly, some of Kaveh, mentions of other Sumeru characters

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: Insecure about craft/writing, anxious first pov (not serious),

& Trigger Warnings: Mild Negative self-talk, insecure perspective/reader “you”, possible anxiety depiction.

You were not a very confident writer.

This had been an avoidable feeling ever since you picked up a pen for the first time and were asked to write a story for school.

You were always anxious turning in essays, letting friends proofread them, anything that would expose your writing to more eyes, because you’d learned the hard way early on that as you get older and better at something, the stuff from the beginning… starts to look a lot different than you remember.

things you used to be proud of after having completed them in the moment, were something you struggled not to rip to shreds a year or two after you re-found it.

If it weren’t for other writers advising holding onto old work so you can see your progress over time, you’d have probably literally nothing older than one year on your ao3, wattpad, etc…

So when you had the fortunate luck (no it is not unfortunately, you are very happy to be here tbh) to fall headfirst into your video game you’ve been obsessed with lately,

You were not planning on showing them any of your writing.

Why would you, after all? You’ve got the weapons, the artifacts, everything they need to be more powerful. Why would you show them a silly little story you wrote? Fanfic or otherwise, not that theyll recognize any characters besides themselves, but still.

Alhaitham, bc ofc it was alhaitham, cocky, deviously aware bastard he is, caught you writing in your spare time first.

You’d gotten your hands on an old journal (if made you feel better than something completely new, a nice worn leather journal, sold at a secondhand shop from an old adventurer) and had started to write what you could remember about some of your ideas you’d had drafts for in your old world

After initially walking in on you writing in the House of Daena (it was the closest you could get to lofi girl, god u missed her lmao), you nearly jumped a foot in the air bc Haitham’s a nosy bitch and leaned over your shoulder and scared the absolute shit out of you, mans goes from asking politely, to begging you to let him read some of your writing over the course of 3 weeks (a month really)

Finally, after this 6 ft (about 180cm) man leans down one day (you’re sitting writing again), and gives you the most insanely good?? puppy dog eyes??? you’ve ever seen on a man???

you give in, revise a draft about 5 times in a row, lose sleep bc ur having a breakdown about alhaitham judging ur writing the night before you give him his copy-

and hand over a small short story for him to read. you specifically leave a little note not to judge you so hard for Haitham bc u werent used to people reading ur work/let alone someone as highly academic as him, ESPECIALLY since your speech is already so much more archaic than his/all of Teyvats-

His stupid green eyes with diamonds look into your soul (are they sparkling??) and he braces your shoulders after you give him his copy,

“Mine Greatest Guide, you hath deemed this one worthy of thy trust of your creations personally, I would be a fool to gaze upon it in jest. To take this work as anything less than a masterpiece in its infant stages.”

…you just leave him to it, and are nearly running out of there (u managed to be calm enough to just speedwalk),

and you make a point to not ask what he thought about it, or even bring it up at all

you’re kind of hoping he forgot tbh… and so nothing happens!

◇

Nothing happens… for 2 weeks after you gave Haitham a copy of your short story.

You still don’t know Alhaitham’s opinion when you see the advertisement, a sign saying something about, a new book? By YOU???

You nearly start a mob because the shopkeeper insisted you sign some copies, but you only signed a few before too many people overwhelmed you, and seeing it was that same draft- !! Oh god, you’d been agonizing over the spelling errors you’d missed when you gave it to Alhaitham, and now it’s just out there???

(luckily it seems the reviews are positive, but dammit you’ve been rereading ur story u gave him for days, and now ur positive it’s shit-)

You make a break for it, and are literally running (more like speed-walking after a while, since u got further away) thru Sumeru City:

you pass by the open patio of a restaurant, the scholars are heatedly discussing ur characterization-

you pass by Dehya, Candace, and Dunyazard, the merc is waving around a copy of ur book, the other two women look excited abt the conversation-

oh my god-

Nahida is relaxing in one of the many little gazebos thruout Sumeru, while Wanderer seems to be reading your story to her-

You fucking track down Alhaitham’s house like a bloodhound.

You are banging the infamous gay roommates’ front door, panting til ur throat burns raw.

“Yes, yes, alright, greetings to you too! I was simply visiting the Acting Grand Sage Alhaitham, tis why I’m here- Greatest Lord?!”

Kaveh is nearly jumps a foot in the air at the sight of you, but recovers, (you’re still not tho lmao)

and invites you in bc apparently, Alhaitham’s been meaning to talk to you about your draft you gave him!

Oh yeah, you’ve got some words to give Haitham after giving him that damn draft privately-

But when he sees you, the fucker just- smiles??

Like he’s done nothing wrong???

You’re about to tear into him when he speaks first to tell you the good news!

He grabs your hands at the table and gets down on one knee, ohhhh no.

Alhaitham is giving you those damn begging puppy dog eyes again.

“My Greatest Lord, Giver of Power, and Guide to All, your exquisite story has entranced all of Teyvat, might I please insist you write a sequel? It is an excellent literary piece to analyze… or perhaps, even better, share other stories you’ve written??”

…

….Motherfucker.

☆

Hello I’m alive! I just took a longer-than-usual break between posts from those last 2 mammoth pieces about gifts,

1: bc they were a lot to write in between writing other stuff like fanfics im already working on lol 2: I got busy with holidays and trying to apply to jobs!

Not that I’m still not doing that.. but you get what I mean!

Safe Travels Anon,

That being said, as you’ve probably noticed, I’ve made a kofi! so if you ever liked my writing (hot mess it is) and want to show me some love, feel free to leave a tip! :]

Iced coffee?? :0

💀♒

☆

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche

[ivi-prism]

✨✨Mcytblr ask game for writers✨✨

Let's start the new year by prompting the writers in the fandom so they infodump on all of us <3

1. Where do you write? (notes app, Google Drive, word, a notebook, directly onto ao3, another word processor, etc.)

2. What was the first SMP or cubito you ever wrote for?

3. Which SMP do you find is the most fun to work with?

4. Anything you like in particular about writing for this fandom? (the setting, the aus, the people,etc)

5. How do you translate the world of Minecraft to fit into your fanfics when you keep the original setting?

6. Do you like using the mcyt multiverse as a concept? (all SMPS and MC content exists in the same universe)

7.How long does it take for you to go from an idea to the end product? (be it drabble in tumblr or fully published multichapter fic in ao3)

8.Do you edit and proofread your works yourself or do you have someone else to help you with that?

9.How do you worldbuild?

10.How do you do character arcs?

11.Are you more of a planner or an improviser?

12.Funniest comment you've ever gotten in a piece of work?

13.Any segment of your work that made you cry while writing it? (because it moved you deeply)

14.Most fun and/or engaging character voice to write in?

15.Writing in first, second or third person?

16.What do you think is the signature aspect of your work? What do you think readers see and go "Ah of course! [Writer] made this!"

17.Favorite dynamic to write? (ship, familial bond, friendship, qpr, rivalry, etc)

18.How similar are the things you enjoy writing to the things you enjoy reading?

19.Do you tend to take into account hybrid characteristics (avian, enderman hybrid, dragon hybrid, etc) when you are writing cubitos?

20.Which project have you poured so much of yourself into that it resembles more an original work than a derivative mcyt work?

21.What cubito have you stared from afar like a weird bug and thought "If I knew what was up with you or your world I'd try writing for you"?

22.Any popular fanfic you heard a lot of buzz around and thought "eh it's fine" just to read it later and decide "oh it does deserve all the hype it gets!"

23.What work of yours would you like to have the biggest impact on the fandom?

24.What work would you like to talk more about?

25.What works and/or authors in the fandom do you recommend?

[waywardstation]

It's the Third Anniversary of PLA!

It's kinda hard to believe the Game is out for 3 years now.

Also 3 years of a good part of the Fandom crying over Ingo's unfortunate fate and the whereabouts of his twin brother.

But it also means almost 3 years worth of your content as well!

3 years of laughing, crying, cheering and rooting for your Akari and Ingo whom she adopted as her uncle/fatherly figure.

3 years full of fun shenanigans, exciting stories and heartwarming and wholesome content.

I know with the release anniversary I am a little early but I wanna say thank you already for giving us so much wonderful content in those 3 years! Keep up the good work! (in your own pace and without stress)

WHAT A FANTASTIC THREE YEARS IT HAS BEEN!! It is wild to think that Pokemon Legends: Arceus came out three whole years ago today. I still remember having the game delivered to my door on that day, and opening it and going in blind cause there was literally like nothing out for the gameplay yet. Immediately ran into Ingo and how Irida described he had appeared here from another place like me, I didn't recognize him at all but in my head I kept going 'he looks like a crashed pilot or something he looks so cool', grew attached to him cause we were in the same situation but his was way worse but he was still kind, and also cause he looked cool to me haha. Only after he started talking about Emmet and Chandelure in Wayward Cave did I realize he wasn't a new character and I had seen him before.

Grew obsessed with his whole story, wrote my first fanfics ever and kept them to myself for weeks, but I wasn't seeing a lot of the content being made that I wanted to see at this point (it's understandable though the game was still so new) so I then made a tumblr account to finally post them, because I didn't realize AO3 had such a long account creation waitlist lol.

IT HAS BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE THIS BEGAN WOW.

I am so, so happy that you and other awesome people have appreciated almost three years of my silly self-indulgent content now, I still see some of the same people who came around my blog three years ago interacting with my stuff today, and that means so much. And it's been so exciting seeing people still jump into this fandom today, too!!

Thank YOU Neko, for being one of those people who have been here since the beginning and for always motivating me and being kind to me, and wishing me well and sharing such awesome ideas you have yourself!!! And thank you everyone who has interacted with this blog and taken the time to appreciate my content and be a friend to me ;v; <3

I am working on some stuff to post for the anniversary today. I have content ready, its just uncertain how much of it will be done haha. I'm cleaning up WIPs that have been aging in my docs!! Happy three years to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, my favorite game, so so important and special to me!!!!!!

[bamsara]

A03 Questions Tag Game

I got tagged by: @kagedbird I tag: @onethirdofimpossible, @coffincrows, (first two that come to mind) and anyone else who wants to do the game

1 – How many works do you have on AO3?

At the time of writing this post, currently 30 fics. (Not including any fics or written works that are not posted to AO3)

2 – What's your total AO3 word count?

1,066,633

3 – What fandoms do you write for?

Formerly: Don't Starve, FNAF, Dragons Dogma, Invader Zim

Currently: Cult of the Lamb

4 – What are your top five fics by kudos?

Solar Lunacy, Celestial Omens, Bytes of Lunacy, The Rehabilitation of Death, Saturday Insomnia

5 – Do you respond to comments?

I try to but I also get very nervous responding because I often don't know what to say back and I feel like it's almost rude or disrespectful to respond to a comment, esp the very nice ones that are long and in-deph with just a keysmash or a bunch of emojis, but I do read every single one since I have email notifications on for them

I'd like to sit down and respond to many but I really don't want to make it awkward so pls dear god readers forgive me

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

I don't like unhappy endings. I enjoy angsty stories but I like when it's at least ending happy to me

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

Not posted? Solar Lunacy

Ongoing? TROD

8 – Do you get hate on fics?

Not really? Most adults (in my experience) know the 'don't like don't read' rule and know basic online etiquette. I've gotten some for discontinuing a fic or switching fandoms though

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

I don't write or draw NSFW! I like to make some suggestive themes sometimes, but I'm a very ace person, it's not something I do often. (I do have a current running goal that if my friend reaches their donation goal for their medical bills that I would give NSFW a shot, but again its not really my cup of tea)

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

Nah I haven't written any cross overs, but I do draw them sometimes. Recently I've been spinning a Alice in Wonderland x COTL crossover in my head.

11 – Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yep. I've had people copy and paste my work, go in with a thesaurus to change a few words (like changing 'angry' to mad, 'upset' to 'sad', and so forth) to try and avoid detection and re-posted my written work under a different title name. AO3 staff took them down for violating their policy against plagiarism though

12 – Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I wouldn't mind it so as long as I'm asked before hand, though not on anon so I can actually work with the person to prevent any mistranslations or mishandling, and that I don't want my work posted to other websites

13 – Have you ever co-written a fic?

I think I did when I was a teen but I cannot remember now

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

Eh I don't have any favorites, just ones I really focus on for a long while

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

Pass.

16 – What are your writing strengths?

I can sit down for hours or several days and work on a writing wip completely in the zone. I cant do it on command but its at least something I can do

17 – What are your writing weaknesses?

Spelling and grammar, and sometimes long running sentences. I just kinda write, theres not really a goal for it to be perfect though so as long as the story gist and vibe is right, im fine with it

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

I've done it before but only minor, had a friend help me with it (one or two lines of dialogue) Aside from that, I'm not comfortably fluent enough in anything to do it again without assistance

19 – First fandom you wrote for?

Soul Eater, when I was wayyy too young to be posting anything on the internet. My fanfics I wrote are still on fanfic.net to this day

20 – Favorite fic you've written?

It's inbetween TROD and EE&E right now

[haunting-heroes-creative-games]

One Year Playing DPxDC Creative Games: A Masterlist

At the Haunting Heroes Discord Server, we’ve been having lots of fun playing writing and art games around DP and DC content. There have been so many drabbles, indulgent collabs, artistic reinterpretations, and many incredible stories and pieces of art, with chaos as the cherry on the top.

If you want to see everything that’s been created this year, take a look at this masterlist:

Banner created by @jazzinjuke

Who Wrote That? (WWT)

A writing game where a host shares a prompt, writers submit their stories to be shared anonymously and have people guessing who the author of each piece was.

Zoning Laws hosted by @chromatographic | Tumblr Masterpost

Tumblr Prompt hosted by @arzuera | Tumblr Masterpost 1 | Masterpost 2 | Masterpost 3

Winter Advent hosted by @summerssixecho | AO3 Collection

12 Days hosted by @arzuera & @chromatographic | Available on the Haunting Heroes Discord Server

Wingfic hosted by @finemeal | Tumblr Masterpost

First Meetings hosted by @theredshirtsarecoming | AO3 Collection

Reverse Robins hosted by @leithlovesyou | AO3 Collection

Self-Indulgent hosted by @chromatographic & @summerssixecho | AO3 Collection

Vampires hosted by @mynewhyperfixation | AO3 Collection

NSFW: I Need You hosted by @ectoentity | AO3 Collection

Teams hosted by @oliveofvanders | AO3 Collection

Mer AU hosted by @disillusioneddanny & @nightshiftshenanigans | AO3 Collection

Anniversary hosted by @arzuera | AO3 Collection

Olympics hosted by @leithlovesyou | AO3 Collection

Chaos hosted by @castrian-amore | AO3 Collection

Demon Twins hosted by @thewritingowl & @tourettesdog | AO3 Collection

Soulmates hosted by @theredshirtsarecoming & @pennerjones | AO3 Collection

Lightning Round (Drabbles) by @redskyeatnight | AO3 Collection

"YOU!" Emoji created by TourettesDog & Jazzinjuke

Guess That Artist (GTA)

An art game based on the same principle as WWT, where artists submit art pieces instead to be guessed by players.

Through The Screen hosted by @noir-renard | Tumblr Masterpost

Lesser Known hosted by @arzuera | Available on the Haunting Heroes Discord Server

Other Creative Games

Our server has also had many different games hosted by both our modding team and members alike. Some of these include our Anniversary Games, Frantic Fanfic, Robin’s Art Relay, Crime Mystery Games, Art Prompt Sprints, DPxDC Jeopardy, and many more.

If you wish to see more of our games, you can join our 18+ safe for work server. You can find all the details in this link

[hivemuthur]

You’re actually wild. Like the first fic you posted on AO3 was in December and since then you have 33 fics up?? You’re insane! And most of them being Viktor/Reader?? You’re feeding Viktor Fucker Nation.

I have some questions for the ask thing! 10 and 14. And then I’m curious about stuff related to the questions 12/13 - like what your writing history is, what kinds of stuff did you write pre Arcane, did you write fanfic before, etc?

I’m curious about how you like writing /reader? I know the first couple things you posted were OCs with Joe and Renly. But OC stuff doesn’t get as much attention as /reader - is that why you switched over to that kinda stuff? Sometimes I don’t love second person POV and it took me a bit to get used to so I’m curious as to your thoughts.

You are so right, insane is what I am :v I just checked my AO3 and it says I wrote 270K words (after subtracting the doubled ones). Lol I need help I think.

Honesty being fed by requests makes it so much easier to write. I was actually very nervous at the beginning (and still am when I deviate from the subject because I get struck by a severe case of brain death in the middle), but it only helped me to formulate my thoughts better. I had no idea how much power is in prompting. And the ask game:

10. Is there a character or ship you'd love to write for, but haven't yet?

14. What makes you happiest? New fic comments, kudos, bookmarks, user subscribers, story subscribers, or Tumblr asks?

Interactions, like, beyond anything. Comments, asks, anything that people want to say to me. I was on the reading side for a long time and rarely brought myself to commenting because of some weird shame and this fear that I might be disturbing the author. Now I’m beating my chest and coming back to all those fics I loved and commenting, because finally, FINALLY I know how it feels when the void answers and I never ever want to lose this feeling and I want to give it back to the authors I love. Once, I received an art for my fic and it made me stop in the middle of the street and miss my tram, legit tears in my eyes. People saying that they’ve read something of mine and they got back to writing. I mean, it just feels so good I’m almost ok with the fact that Viktor is fictional :’)

12/13. First fandom/Do you have an 'official' creative writing background such as a degree or previous experience publishing?

Arcane is the first one I’m writing for in terms of fanfiction! And background hmm… not for the works that contain plot I would say? I write a lot for TTRPGs so I’m familiar with plot mechanics, pacing and character creations. I wrote my own tabletop game some time ago (like 2 years?). But it’s very pagan so never published it, Slavic mythology focused :v I used to write film reviews and music reviews during my uni times. But most of my writing before this was character creation for tabletop games. I also write down a lot from the books I like, I read quite a lot.

And regarding Reader/ or 2nd person POV: in the beginning I felt STUPID writing it, I have no idea why, despite the fact that I actually enjoy them as a reader myself (now I think I have no preference, I just like good stories). And because I’m a classified masochist I HAD TO TRY. So I went slow and rewrote the story from 3rd person to 2nd person POV at first. Then I wrote first Reader one-shot and now it feels natural. Same deal with present tense - completely alien at first, until I HAD TO because my sorry ass wanted coherent flashbacks. So I forced myself to learn and now I prefer it, adds to the urgency and reinforces the feeling of starvation when I’m writing sex :v

Hihi it feels so funny to know you’ve been there reading my shit from the beginning in the corners of AO3, like kicking my feet, twirling my hair funny, thank you 🖤

ask game

[chicadcc]

Forget? Forgive

Fandom: Arcane

Links: Fanfiction.net/AO3

Rating: T

Word Count: 1037

Status: Complete

Characters: Caitlyn Kiramman, Vi.

Disclaimer: All the characters depicted in the story belong to Riot Games

Caitlyn and Vi find themselves navigating the aftermath of their tumultuous past, reconnecting after months of separation. Cait’s mind races with questions, especially regarding Vi’s self-destructive behavior during their time apart. Vi's answers will change their relationship forever. [Set in 208]

Read the story on ff.net here and AO3 here

Big shout out to @bricreative for making this! It inspired a good chunk of the story!🫶

I never thought I'd say this, but I finally wrote my first fanfic!🥳 (and probably only fanfic for a while). It took me becoming completely obsessed with Arcane/CaitVi to finally take my ideas out my head and put them into a story I really love. This means a lot to me bc, without sharing too much, this was the first step to getting out of my own head and start moving.

Anyway I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think! 😊

[e-rated-beardo]

2024 fic roundup

@cheeseplants created this ask/tag game, and I've been tagged by @addledmongoose and @harlotofupdog, here we gooo

What fandoms do you write in?

200% Good Omens. First proper fandom experience. First thing that forced (aye, forced) me to write a fanfic. Huge obsession.

If I were to write for anything else, it might be Our Flag Means Death, or Doctor Who, or perhaps House M.D. or some flavour of Star Trek. Or a crossover between one of those and GO. I'm a completely normal amount of obsessed with Aziraphale and Crowley.

How many words have you published in 2024?

*goes to ao3 stats page*

*hits "2024"*

...220,232 words

What the whole entire fuck!?

And there's another three chapters left on Scorn to go before New Year's, so we'll comfortably surpass 231k. How in the actual fuck is that possible.

What is your greatest achievement this year?

Getting this comment:

What are your favourite top three fics you wrote this year?

Not Single Spies (the third part of Nice And Ominous, which can be read on its own or with the two preceding parts); The Co-pilot; and I'm going to say Scorn and the Saint-Maker, although that's far from finished, because it's been the entirety of my past half-year.

Not Single Spies (part III of Nice And Ominous: a reluctant eschatology of the Second Attempt) Rated E; 61k words Second Coming/post-S2 fic; plot-driven

A man with pale hair turns up in Saint Peter's Square, naked and without memory, and Crowley's old sense of Aziraphale's location snaps like a twig. Heaven is down another Supreme Archangel—but the new Christ is already on Earth (in France, to be precise) and the Second Coming is well underway. And Crowley works for Hell now, but really, he works for the good of humanity; pulling on every friend he has to stop the end of the world.

There is some smut in this, but it's only three sections and they're all skippable. The rest of the story is rated T with no major warnings.

The Co-pilot Rated E; 4k words Human-ish AU; shameless smut

An un-English heatwave, a few open shirt buttons and the demonic entity possessing an innocent Londoner conspire to make long-time friends Az and Tony finally get over themselves and bone.

Scorn and the Saint-Maker Rated E; 97k words so far (WIP) Human not-actually-AU; sorta-post-S2; plot-driven, smutty, mathsy; four plots in a trench coat

Doctor Crowley has turned truancy into an art form, lecturing only under sufferance. Doctor Fell has signed up for his undergraduate course and has no plans to let him slack off. When a faculty member is found dead, our heroes start forming uneasy suspicions. What was the occult symbol drawn next to the body? Why does it feel like they’ve known each other forever? How is Crowley supposed to tell police that he thinks the murderer is a demon he summoned 35 years ago? And what about that statue that’s the spitting image of the victim?

They've been turned human. Now they're academics in Scotland. Romance, weirdness and (skippable!) smut ensue. The fic has some warnings, so check the tags.

What was your biggest pit of despair moment?

I had a nasty week in August, when I got depressive symptoms as a side effect of a necessary medication and spent ~10 days convinced everything I did was shit.

I'm also kind of in one at the moment, but without the pharmaceutical explanation/excuse. I'm just... urgh. Things are stuck. It's. It's a thing. Idk.

What have you learned?

You're expecting me to list everything I've learnt related to writing and fandom and fandom writing in less than an entire academic essay? Are you out of your entire mind!? (❤️)

Big things: I've learnt that I do have the capacity to finish big stories; that things I write are good enough that people want to read them and look forward to reading them and give me all these amazing compliments on them and go slightly feral sometimes; and that if I'm enthusiastic enough about maths, I can trick some folks who didn't even like maths into sort of liking maths.

Smaller things: A smattering of fancy vocabulary. How to paint with watercolour. How to draw Michael Sheen's nose and David Tennant's lower lip. The fact that I have a massive praise kink. More than I knew there was to know about em-dashes and en-rules. Heaps of random facts about the Bible, angels, demonology, poetry, Scotland Yard, Shakespeare, wine, dicks, queer identities I don't have, and queer identities I do have. And a bunch about how to watch/read/consume media with my eyes open and my brain switched on.

What fic did you want to do but never made it off the ground?

I still low-key want to continue The Co-pilot into... something. And That Berry Ice Cream from last December has been sort of asking for a follow-up, which just hasn't happened.

I had this idea, shortly after that week in November that the Americans don't like to think about, for something short, snappy, and a little cathartic; a fuck the system-type deal, both to that political shitshow and to all the sad crap fucking over the GO fandom lately, and I started to write it but got stuck not even a thousand words in. Maybe it just wasn't that good of an idea.

Did you beta any fics? Any favs you want to shout out?

I did my first toe-dipping of a beta read just the other month, for Easy Access by @ModernDayKlutz. I've not dared to jump into beta:ing properly for fear that my old flakiness will resurface and make me disappoint a person I've made a promise to, but this one seemed contained enough that I felt I could contribute. Especially with Kilt Knowledge™️.

What three fics have you read this year that you love?

THREE!??!?

All right, so I'm looking through my bookmarks, and, as it turns out, That Fic I Keep Recommending Basically All The Time was one I only read - or at least, finished reading - early this year!

Mint Tea by @copperplatebeech - 31.5k words; rated E - is one of those fics that half the fandom have heard about, right? I don't know if it happened to hit me at a formative point in my fandom life or if it's simply That Good, which is also very likely, but thirsty-well-hung-Dom!Crowley lives in my head for free and will not move out, it seems. It's scorching and funny and sweet, and when I say it gave me the idea to try some... things... which I hadn't tried before, in... certain parts of my life... 🔥🫠

Fanfic, uh... changes lives, y'all! Ahem, well then, onwards:

Come as you are by hiya_angel - 4k words, rated E - this gave me some of the experience reflected in that gorgeous comment above. The angst is minimal and the smut is gorgeous and wonderfully sweet and I adore this fandom for making me feel hope again and again for all this trans stuff that's still comparatively new to me.

Submitted for Your Consideration by @zehwulf - 19k words, rated E - contains possibly the most spectacular description of subspace I've read in... ever? And when it comes to bowling me over with porn, I could probably just pick anything by ZehWulf because whatever story I pick up it ends with me sitting there absolutely sweating. And feeling fuzzy inside. And maybe also crying for joy.

HERE'S A FOURTH ACTUALLY, YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME:

Lucid by @twilightcitysky - 35k words, rated E. It's unfinished and I barely even care at this point, because something about this fic changed me. It's So. Fucking. Good. It's one of those (rare? Not in this fandom! But a little rare, probably) stories where the smut is absolutely plot-crucial. It's also excruciatingly clever and angstier than I thought I would like (I was wrong! I LIKE IT) and the characters are great. And it's written just beautifully.

What ideas are percolating for next year?

More Scorn. (Don't trust the projected chapter count. Knowing myself, there'll be more of them. Or I might be done with less. It's a completely unqualified approximation.)

More Co-pilot, maybe? (I have Ideas.)

A slightly more fantastical fic that goes into a smut genre I haven't really explored at all before. And which has made me research goats' pupils.

Plus, I want to look into making podfics more. Maybe get better at it. Maybe even try out doing voice work for money? (I'm talking to a guy, it's completely wild, but damn it might be a thing I could do)

Who do you want to thank?

@addledmongoose (quite unintentionally) brought me to Tumblr. (She wrote a review of Nice And Ominous, and it was so lovely, I wanted to go there and like it and respond to it properly, so I just had to create an account, you know? No other options.) I'm so glad I'm here.

@bakingcat made excitable comments about my linguistics-nerdery-snuck-into-sex-scene and made me realise you can actually make friends in fandom.

@klikandtuna wrote the fic which I was a completely normal amount of obsessed with this summer, and which led to (via an instance of fanwork of the fanwork) me being flooded with love from strangers one random Friday and getting put in contact with that voice work guy. We also had the most wonderfully grown-up conversation about a tricky thing, for which I am so very proud and grateful.

@harlotofupdog came straight over to read Scorn almost right when I started posting it - I can't quite remember now, but the timing isn't the important bit - and wrote some absolutely glorious comments. D'you know you're the first writer whose work I'd already been painfully obsessed with, who's also expressed obsession with mine? D'you know how bloody cool that is??

And finally the unhinged smutgoblins of The Beta Fishes The Big Fucks server - idk who to thank anymore because I can't recall who invited me (it was past 3am and I'd just watched Michael Sheen shirtless for an hour, you'll have to forgive a guy) but all of y'all are weirdos and I love to hang out with yous and draw dicks and discuss writing and scream about Rivals and definitely not put mustaches on anyone.

No-pressure tags (in addition to everyone tagged above - please feel free to consider yourselves tagged-tagged if you like) without checking who's already been tagged in this before, because that's A Lot of Work that I don't want to do:

@wiblywoblytimeywimey754 @brenna @majnoonathelibrarian annnnd @kiratastic, pretty sure this could be modified to work for an art perspective too? Right? (If you want)

[kaaaaaaarf]

fanfic author interview game

thanks for tagging me @moonheavens, @pretentiouswreckingball & @languagelessonswolfstar <33

How many works do you have on AO3?

32!

What's your total AO3 word count?

133,785. I write a lot of shorter fics....I have many, many more words in my google docs though.

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

The Killing Time (unwillingly mine) - aka murder husbands check me out - university au one shot back when we were dinosaurs - aka museum soft like silk chiffon - silk slip remus 🤭 they call it the cockpit - airport smut

the rest is under the cut:

Do you respond to comments?

Yes, but I struggle to keep up!! I read every single one, though. They mean so much to me.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Oh, hmm. I try to make most of my endings pretty hopeful, but I Want A Dog is hurt no comfort.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Most of them tbh!!! Maybe back when we were dinosaurs?

Do you write crossovers?

Nope! Although @lynxindisguise has talked about doing a hatefuck b-side to everywhere, everything and I'd be down to help with that. 😇

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes, unfortunately.

Do you write smut?

hahahahahahhahha yes. It's so funny to me because when I set out to write fanfic I always said I wouldn't write smut, and arguably it's what I'm most well known for aside from murder husbands. I really struggle to write it, but I have received good reviews thus far. 🫡

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I had someone put my work on wattpad, which was really fucking shitty.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! I don't think I would really be okay with it unless I really knew the person doing the translation.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I write so slowly, and my writing is so dependent on the muse that I would be a terrible writing partner.

What's your all-time favourite ship?

Wolfstar!! Closely followed by everlark.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I was just thinking about this earlier. I had big plans for Nobody Parts Two Rivers Met but as much as I would love to finish it, I don't know that the muse will ever take me back.

What are your writing strengths?

Erm, good question. I think I have a really strong grasp on who my characters are. I'm also very good at comedic timing. This is always one of those things where I'm like...ask people who read my work, I really have no idea.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with blocking. If there is a lot happening in a scene (like the pool scene in I Got My Spoon (inside your jar)) or there are a lot of people involved I struggle to make it sound natural. This is the same with smut...I really do struggle with it, and edit it to death in order to make it sound not so person a does thing to person b, person b smiles. I also over-use the em dash and italics.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I wont do it unless I know a native speaker of the language who can translate for me. I don't want my poor grasp of a language to take a person out of the story.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I would say evan(s) but I finally wrote a piece for that! I wish I could write snowbaz...I've never written for a fandom that isn't the marauders and I'm not sure if I have the intrinsic motivation at the moment.

What's your favourite fic you've written?

Probably back when we were dinosaurs. It's my most personal fic for many, many reasons. It takes place where I live and in one of my favourite places for a start. I also see myself in both Remus and Sirius at different times in my life....also dinosaurs!!!!! Other than that, maybe check me out. First fic I've ever written off a prompt and to be frank, I didn't think I'd be able to....it turned out better than I ever could have expected, and bonus....people seem to like it.

np tagging: @pain-in-the-riri, @swifty-fox, @moon-seas, @lynxindisguise, @fruityindividual, @imsiriuslyreading, @brigid-faye & @eyra

[aquamarina369]

So fun fact I actually wrote the first genuine Jeckole fic

Here’s the better version I posted later after the series actually got a fanbase on AO3

There were 2 published fics that existed before mine, both on FFN, and one jokingly shipped them for a reveal it was just Jeffrey writing real people fic, so like, mine was the first actual one

This was like 2 months before the game blew up on TikTok and when it was just starting to gain steam from vtubers playing it and I submitted it to a fanfiction contest the official discord was hosting (hence why it’s on FFN it was part of the contest rules which, Jesus Christ that site’s a mess now).

More specifically it was a contest SBN3 was hosting and was the sole judge of

The guy we know now is salty his edgy visual novel, that he only made a visual novel because he saw it as the way to get the most money with what he had at the time (there’s interviews where he says this, multiple in fact), got popular with yuri fangirls instead of edgy South Park fans like he wanted. Back then the fandom was mostly those edgy South Park guys, the announcement of the fanfic contest results hosted in the discord server was basically all guys in the call bar me, the complete opposite of the twitter space launch party after the flip side where it was all women besides one guy with goner in his bio who SBN3 repeatedly said he wished more people like would show up

My shitty fic I wrote in an afternoon while bored at work was his first exposure to what the series would become. He wanted more edgy guys who thought he’s god’s gift to comedy to become fans but instead he got a bunch more yuri fangirls who like the characters.

I highly doubt he remembers me or my fic but there is a non zero chance I planted the seed of hatred that led to The Flip-Side basically being made out of spite. In a way I killed class of 09, or at least dealt the first real blow

And that’s still so surreal to me

I’ve wanted to make a video on this but honestly talking about these games kinda annoys me because of how much now goes back to SBN3 being spiteful of the fandom so any script I’ve written just leaves me frustrated

Have this bad thumbnail draft I made for if I made on telling this exact story

[fantasyinallforms]

Fanfic Author Interview Game

Thank you to the few people that tagged me that I can't find anymore because I wanted too long to do that. So sorry, I've been ridiculously busy!

How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 37

What's your total AO3 word count?

356,687 words

Top 5 stories by kudos:

You Should Be Safe With Me The Proper Way To Call You Mine Not Yours To Touch The Heart Remembers What The Mind Forgets Not All That Glitters Is Gold 

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I try to respond to every single one. I want to show you how much I appreciate them!

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Remembrance, no contest. It's set 30 years after the events of The Hobbit when Bilbo visits Thorin's grave.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

With the exception of the above, all my fics have happy endings. I would say The Burden Of Choice or A Most Unlikely Dance Partner have the happiest endings.

Do you write crossovers?

I've never written one, and I have no plans for one.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Oh yes. I have fairly famously received hate on some of my heavier kinktober stuff. I mean, you put Thorin in a maid outfit one time.... Seriously, though, it happens from time to time, especially the longer you're in one fandom.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, and ALL kinds. Over half my fics are E-rated, and my first Bagginshield fic was E-rated.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Several attempted unfortunately. A few fic concepts shameless ripped as well.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, I have! Happy Accidents was translated into Russian. Счастливые Случайности by when_you_top

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Recently yes! Until Our Next Encounter, co-written with the amazing @sunnyrosewritesstuff

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Bagginshield, forever and always.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I always meant to write more of Reputation be Damned, and I got halfway, but it's been so long that I don't know if I'll go back to that. I have so many other projects that take priority.

What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I have good characterization and story pacing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm dyslexic, so it's always going to be my grammar.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I love to see it! Just please give me a translation in the notes or something. I actually write in Khuzdul in my fics frequently. A few times I've written in elvish as well.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I want to write more Jayvik for SURE. Other than that, any other writing I'm focusing on at the moment is original fiction.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

The Burden Of Choice 56K {E}. I basically wrote a book in less than 3 months, and it turned out better than I dreamed. It was a labour of love and will always be dear to me. That said, choosing a favourite of my fics is like choosing a favourite child. I love them all, and each one is a piece of me.