#like sometimes people will comment on the podfic as if its writing and we have to kindly point them to the author

[mistbornhero]

If it makes anyone feel better, I can confirm that there's 0 scanning going on. There's tons of people who post non-fic fanworks to ao3 (art, vids, podfic) and I many of those works got the "scanned by AI" comments. (I'm also pretty sure this bot isn't as active anymore? The Webnovel one might still be alive, but I don't think I've heard much about the AI one, lately)

Quick PSA, if you get one of those "Work scanned, AI use detected" comments on AO3, just mark them as spam.

Some moron apparently built a bot to annoy or prank hundreds of authors.

There is no scanning process, your work doesn't actually resemble AI writing, it's all bullshit. Mark the comment as spam (on AO3, not the email notification you got about the comment!) and don't let it get to you.

[shitouttabuck]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @thewolvesof1998 thank u bud i’m procrastinating packing and this was fun

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

seven!

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

129,484 which is a fake number to me

3. what fandoms do you write for?

nothing has made me as insane in my life as network television procedural drama 911 on abc, so

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

you can start a family who will always show you love

let the world have its way with you

my hearts over-pumping and your mouth is an ambulance

like a dog with a bird at your door

i like the summer rain (i like the sounds you make)

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

i try very hard to because they make me so happy and it’s unbelievably kind of people to take the time to leave them!!! However i sometimes leave it too long and then worry it’s weird to reply after like. a month. which as a fic reader i wouldn’t give a shit about so idk what my problem is!!!! i will reply i will just maybe take a hot sec to do it

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

i don’t have any i’m a happily ever after or bust kinda guy in my own head if nowhere else…… angstiest is probably the sound of love astounds me if only because it ends post-feelings realisation but still pre-relationship

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

they’re all so happy omg. i will say with great personal bias it’s my heart’s over-pumping but also i have. a sequel in the works….

8. do you get hate on fics?

no people have been very very very lovely but also sjjsjsjs i’ve not been here super long. the funniest comment i’ve gotten was on my first fic where someone was like i liked this but it is jarringly inaccurate as mcdonald’s in california doesn’t have a veggie burger option 😭 i cried laughing im so sorry to u americans. pls petition your local mcdonald’s to stock the mcplant it slaps

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

have written two e-rated fics….. it’s very fun but i don’t think i’m very good so i’d like to practice actually (maybe some sexy prompts after i finish the bed-sharing ones?) just the regular kind for now like i love buck and eddie desperately and am myself into a million things but i don’t know how kinky they would actually get in my own head. so just a little gross with it for now i guess

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

nope!

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

no that would be SICK. @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove is podficcing bucket list fic which is so very cool of her!

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

no omg i don’t know how y’all do it i’m bad at group projects but also this sounds soooooo fun. if also deeply stressful

14. what’s your all time favorite ship?

if that’s synonymous with most likely to get you institutionalised, uh. gestures around us. otherwise mulder/scully and i am just now right as i’m typing this realising i’ve never ever in my life actually read x files fic what the fuck. also steve/bucky but i haven’t read fic since 2017 probably

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

listen i have not written a word for x files au past that one snip i shared forever ago. i want to soooo bad i’ve talked about it to some of you very rabidly but. it does not want to be written and if it did it would have to be so fucking long which is very daunting to me. not saying i’ve put her in the ground yet but. we might need some necromancing

16. what are your writing strengths?

i think i’m pretty good at writing in character? mostly? sometimes i struggle with buck just because i think we’re very similar and i project a little and then have to go back and fix it lmao but for the most part i think i’m good at that! and i have a lot of fun writing dialogue

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

plot!!!!!! and pacing!!!!!!!!!!! also my inability to write non-linearly omg if i get stuck i just get Stuck i can’t jump ahead

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

oooh i love it and would love to include more than the teeniest bits i have but i’m so conscious about it sounding natural and not stiff to people whose language it actually is (shout out and a million kisses to @eddiebabygirldiaz for fixing the spanish in i love you like a dog!!!!!)

19. first fandom you wrote for?

911 babey!

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

my heart’s over-pumping and your mouth is an ambulance !!! not just because it was the first fic i posted after joining tumblr fandom but. idk it is so so so special to me like it makes me so happy and when i think about it i’m like. hey u wrote that. good for u my dude. and also maybe i just associate it with meeting a bunch of you whjsjssjsj

tagging @callaplums @eddiebabygirldiaz @housewifebuck @rewritetheending @try-set-me-on-fire @onward--upward @anxieteandbiscuits @devirnis @athenagranted if anyone wants to do this i’m nosy soz if you already have !!!!

[gaypiratebrainrot]

I've now read Water Flowing Underground twice because a) it's very good and b) it's so fucking interesting.

Even the first time I was constantly thinking about the choices you'd made while writing and what effect those choices have on my experience as a reader who can't stomach RPF anymore (I read some in my teens, was never super into it but wasn't icked by it back then). Like how switching the names creates just the amount of distance to the real people that I'm not intensely uncomfortable reading it. It's a fluctuating thing where sometimes it feels more like these are Ed and Stede in a modern AU and sometimes like Taika and Rhys with different names, and I can't quite put my finger on what makes it feel one way or the other. (The party scene where the cast talk about fanfiction is like part of my inner dialogue on this)

I've also read all the asks you've answered here about the fic and it's so satisfying to see other people have had some of the same experiences and reactions to things in the fic, like the background panic of the pancakes burning. The whole thing about time being kind of weird while they're at Ed's house is a great touch, the thought of not knowing what time it is is (perhaps not so) surprisingly distressing to me.

There's something I struggle with about the fic though, and that's the parts where the cast talk about fanfiction and the podfic thing. It's solid meta, like I mentioned earlier the dialogue in the party scene is like reading my own musings, but I suppose it just makes me uncomfortable because I WISH the actors didn't do that irl. At least not extensively. Admittedly, the OFMD cast interact with the fandom a lot and that can exacerbate some problems fandoms already tend to have, like the harassment of Rita and Rosie that someone else talked about in an earlier ask. Idk where I'm going with this but I'd love to hear your thoughts behind these scenes.

Oh and also before you published the fic I was trying to guess what the controversial theme in the fic would be and somehow RPF didn't even cross my mind. I think my first guess was mpreg. Don't know what that says about me.

This ask is already so long I may have to write another about the story itself and the emotional side of things. All in all, fucking fascinating work. And thank you for being so open about your thoughts behind all of this.

thank you so so much for this incredible ask!!

i am so delighted to see folks wrestling with who exactly these characters are, and it's absolutely a trip to see there's a variety of opinions. since there was so much rpf wank on twitter, a common comment as people actually read it is that the fic "isn't even really rpf." which is so, so interesting to me!

part of the inception of this fic was having the scenes in my head that were very much rpf, but also being at a point in my fic writing where i've got some solid stede/ed voices that i really like using. truly, there is no clear dividing line in my head between my stede/ed imaginary friends and my rhys/taika imaginary friends. often when i write stede/ed, there are certain lines where i'm like "oh, that's really a rhys/taika line". listening to a bunch of the cryptid factor earlier this summer was a huge boost to my stede voice.

re: the cast interacting with fan fiction scenes: it also makes me uncomfortable that this cast/crew seems so aware of the fan fiction, but almost exclusively for legal reasons! i don't have the fine-grained legal knowledge of this that i wish i did, but it's so dicey to me that a show with that much improv would also permit its actors to read fan fiction. they're getting paid to make the show, and we are not. if our writing ends up influencing the show, they owe us a check, imho.

twitter especially has really changed the fandom landscape, because the creators and actors feel so close and all-seeing, and that def comes with a multitude of problems. but i also think a lot of the hand wringing about fan interaction is overblown, in the sense that the people with the most control over what the creators/actors see and consume are the creators/actors themselves. this is why, after much deliberation, i didn't lock this fic to the archive. at the end of the day, if someone really wants to send this fic to famous people on twitter, the lock won't stop them. the best way for Mrs. R to never read this fic is for her to choose to never read it. i have no control over that.

all of that said, part of the joke of them listening to the dtbg podfic is me trying to be transparent that this fic is, at its most basic, my own masturbatory fantasy. do i want the cast irl reading my fic? probably not, or at least not until the show is over. is it totally a fantasy in my head that they're all sitting around talking about how brilliant my fan fiction is? oh yeah lmao.

i should write mpreg sometime! <3

[ultimatebethylficlist]

Veteran Author of The Month: June 2021

The featured veteran author for June is also a co-admin right here at UBFL: SquishyCool (or @im-immortal )!

SquishyCool can be found on AO3 and FFN under the same penname.

When asked what got her into Bethyl and what the fandom means to her, she said:

I’ve been a hardcore TWD fan since the show began airing, but that’s because of my love for zombies. In all honesty, I didn’t really ship anyone for the first 3-4 seasons. I kind of shipped Daryl with Carol, but then it became clear that it was a platonic relationship and in all honesty, I just wanted to see them both get some action lmao. Then the prison fell... and in those first moments of “Still,” when we see Beth and Daryl running and running and finally collapsing on the ground, breathless and exhausted... the butterflies started. Something clicked and I immediately thought, “uh oh.” The rest is history, especially considering how “Still” and “Alone” played out. I can’t explain how or why I’m still so heavily invested, especially considering my last 2 fandoms only kept my attention for about 2-3 years each, but here I am. And I love it! I am so incredibly grateful for the Bethyl fandom because not only has it helped me improve my writing so much more than I ever could have imagined, but it has also introduced me to some of the most amazing people, including someone who I now consider one of my very best friends! It’s my happy place :)

For her personal fic rec list, she recommends:

In The Maw by ronsparkyspeirs

Way Down We Go by LeathernLaces

Surfacing by lindentree

Wild Things (The Moonshine Poet) by Abelina

The Gift by Feliz

The Man Who Can't Be Moved by burningupasun

New Experiences Series by wallflow3r

Whisper Softly to Me by taylorcatherine

Interstice by leftmywingshome

To Love Like a Man by Seraphique

Death, Death (i defy thee) by alamorn

In My Blood by Courtneyshortney82

Let the Good Times Roll by gutsforgarters

Resolved by Allatariel

the weight of these wings by peachthorns

all my spaces are filled with you by annabeth_writes

A Little Jailbreak with the Little Jailbait by wandering_gypsy_feet

between the beginning and the end by sheriffandsteel

SquishyCool’s Works & Personal Thoughts:

Dirty Fingernails and Dried Blood Summary: What happened during the months between "Still" and "Alone"? Beth uses the last pages of her diary to write down every detail of surviving with Daryl. Thoughts: My first Bethyl fanfic. It holds a special place in my heart for that reason, though it is pretty rough. If I could go back, I never would’ve done it entirely in first-person. But I do plan to finish it one day. There are some scenes I’m particularly proud of, and I still have a long note full of ideas and plot points.

Most Wanted Summary: After Beth’s mother and half-brother are murdered in a drug war, the godly veil on the Greene Family operation is lifted, and law enforcement comes down hard. In an effort to protect her family, Beth commits a heinous crime that could mean life in prison alongside them. Now everyone she’s ever trusted is in police custody and her only chance at freedom is to get as far away from Atlanta as she can... Thoughts: Well, this is a must-read if you like my writing. I hope to one day convert this into an original fiction and maybe get it published, but I need to finish it first LOL. I got the idea from ONE scene of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and from there, it exploded into a huge mystery thriller (with lots of romance and smut). I’m really really proud of it, and I’m scared I’ll fuck it up tbh, so I keep putting off continuing it. But I really need to get back to it because I really want people to see what I have planned! (Also, this fic is the reason @courtneyshortney82​ started talking to me, so that alone is pretty historic lmao)

The Crow’s Song Summary: Beth and Daryl spend a few more days together in the funeral home and come to terms with all they've lost along the way. But soon, they must decide what comes next. Thoughts: This fic... this fucking fic. It took me a full year to write. I made numerous edits. I even got a little depressed while I was writing the last two chapters, and my bf didn’t know why until he read what I’d been writing lol. It’s honestly the Bethyl fic I’ve always wanted to write but just didn’t know how. I’m still really really proud of how it turned out.

Carnival Games Summary: Daryl is a traveling carnival worker and Beth is a barely legal farmer's daughter looking for a night of fun when the carnival comes to town. Thoughts: Omg this fic is so fun!! One of my first Bethyl fics, and one of my first Bethyl smut fics. Short, sweet, a little funny, and a lot hot. I am still impressed with myself on this one, especially considering how much my writing has improved since lol

Breathe. Please. Summary: Beth shows up at the Hilltop. Alive. Daryl can hardly believe his eyes. Until she's lying in his bed, an arm's reach away. And he can hear her inhaling... exhaling... inhaling... Thoughts: Another “fix-it” that I’m proud of. Tbh I didn’t think it was anything all that special, but a lot of readers have said it’s one of their favorites, and some say they reread it regularly, and nothing makes me happier than hearing that, so I am extremely proud.

picking @ scabs Summary: Sometimes, no matter how much you love someone, being with them just isn't right. But what wouldn't you give for it to be right? Can someone like Daryl learn how to swallow his pride and stop repeating the same mistakes over and over? Can someone like Beth learn to fight off her demons and allow him to get close enough to hurt her again? How can they stay away from each other when it's all too easy to fall back into one another? Picking a scab will leave a scar, but they both have so many scars already... what's a few more? Thoughts: This fic is very, very personal for me. It’s like my “therapy” fic. I have poured some of my deepest feelings and struggles into its chapters, and the whole idea that got me to start it was that I wanted to find a way to navigate and cope with ending my 3-year long relationship with my emotionally/mentally/sometimes physically abusive ex. I still have a lot of fond memories from that relationship, but even more so, I have painful memories. Not to mention, going through your early 20s as a woman in the modern day is a fuckin’ trip, so this kind of explores that. It’s really self-indulgent, I think, but I’m really proud of the smut in it. And more than that, I’m proud of the response. I’ve had a few people message me or comment to say that they’ve felt all those things, or have experienced similar things, and it’s really just... relieving. I put my heart and soul out there, and what I got back was “you’re not alone.” So yeah, this fic is special. I wanna finish it soon, but I have to be in A Mood to do so. 

In Toto Corde Summary: Despite a million reasons not to, Beth and Daryl fell in love. Then he made the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep all of his promises. Now, facing unimaginable consequences at the hands of witch hunters, Beth has no choice but to use her powers to bring Daryl back from the dead. "He won't be the same..." Thoughts: I LOVE THIS FIC. I love it so much that I had to rewrite it after like 4 or 5 years. And I already started on a sequel that I really hope I’m able to finish. Though it doesn’t have many hits, and I don’t think many people have read it at all, which I understand since it basically is entirely focused around Daryl being killed. But damn, I’m proud of this one, and it was really fucking fun to write because witch!Beth is just... the best.

risk it all (part 1 of in for a penny, in for a pound) Summary: Daryl Dixon has a pretty decent life, all things considered. He's got his own place. A good dog. A few friends. Even a girlfriend. He keeps himself out of trouble. Until he starts texting Beth Greene. And hell, if he ain't about to risk it all for this damn girl. Thoughts: This was supposed to be one short multichapter fic focused entirely on smut and social media. Then I got on a roll and it ended up being the beginning of a series! This fic is purely fun. Nothing too serious or heavy. I write it when I’m in a Good Mood because it’s my little happy place. I have plans for about 4 more fics before the series will be finished!

Don’t Make Me Haunt You Summary: So here's the thing: Merle Dixon is dead as fuck. And as it turns out, Beth Greene is the only one who can see or hear him. Which is weird considering she's never met or even heard of this guy, let alone anyone with the last name Dixon. That's her first problem... Thoughts: The reception to this fic has absolutely blown me away. I had no idea anyone would want to read about ghost!Merle haunting Beth and forcing her to solve his murder with the help of his grumpy brother. And it was all inspired by an episode of South Park lmao then I started really getting into it and now it’s just like, my super fun fic where I explore a range of emotions and all kinds of religious beliefs and different mythologies and I can build the world however I want and goddamn I just love writing this fic. Plus there’s a podfic for it! I can’t even begin to explain how much I love this fic and how proud I am of it :)

[unacaritafeliz]

fic writer review

tagged by (one of my absolute favourite authors) @dameferre!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

94! I am slowly creeping closer to that 100!

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

360, 929.

3. how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

technically nine, but only seven for ao3 - check please, avatar the last airbender, miraculous ladybug, haikyuu, yuri on ice, 2gether the series & cherry magic

(more questions + tags under the cut!)

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A slap to the face. (viktuuri)

Here in Your Arms (nurseydex)

Re-dib-flip (nurseydex)

It's (not) You (nurseydex)

New York at Christmastime (nurseydex)

anyone else miss the days when the check please fandom was active? i mean... i don't miss the racism i had to see every second of my life, but i do miss writing fic for the boys to combat that racism. and not hating canon!dex. i miss that too.

5. do you respond to comments, why or why not?

listen, why did ao3 make it so that author comments count towards the comment total? I always used to think it was cheating by artificially inflating your own comments now and I can't start now because how will i compare my fic if some of them have double comment counts? i know there are comment threads in statistics but consider - i don't care.

anyway i feel bad because i do feel as if more people would engage with me if i did respond but alas. maths brain won't shut up.

6. what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

the only fic i've written with a sad ending is Goodbye (nurseydex) where Dex confesses to Nursey and gets rejected (rip). It was a prequel to another fic i was writing where they met 5 years after college and managed to get together but i... never wrote the follow up (which i started writing first)

7. do you write crossovers? if so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

i write crossovers in that they are inspired by other media but not that characters from both media are present. I have 2 chapters of Checks, Chirps & Cellys (zukki set in the check please universe) up (and yes I am working on chapter three for the anniversary) and I have a Haikyuu x Cherry Magic crossover (kuroken!) ready to go up as soon as I have a free week to post.

8. have you ever received hate on a fic?

yeah so in New York at Christmastime someone told me that it was "abuse" for Nursey's sister to threaten to leave Dex on the side of the road if he was mean to Nursey when the Nurse siblings offered to take Dex home for Christmas since he didn't wanna go to his own family (even though he had been a dick to nursey previously, as per canon). This person left me this comment on CHRISTMAS DAY which makes it better.

also it's not hate but i get a lot of "wow i love this fic which is weird because bi zuko seems so wrong!" which isn't hate but i do take it as hate <3. bi zuko rights but more than that just leave people alone if they ship something you don't. you don't need to tell them you don't ship their ships or disagree with their headcanons.

also also this wasn't on a fic but do y'all remember when the parse stan told me I was drinking the "cool-aid"? Truly my favourite fandom interaction.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

bitch please can you imagine?

10. have you ever had a fic stolen?

lmao who would steal my rubbish

11. have you ever had a fic translated?

i have! Because I love Adrien too (Alya & Adrien) was translated into Russian! I also have two fics that have been podficced! It's Chow Time!! (Chowder-centric) and Adam J. Birkholtz and the case of the missing clothes (links to translations and podfics at the end of the work)

12. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Anne and I worked together on 2gether 4ever (sarawatine).

13. what’s your all-time fave ship?

y'all are picking favourite ships?

14. what’s a fic you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

okay so the 5+1 fic The long way home (zukki) won't get finished. I don't think I'll ever go back but I loved it so much. It was such a fun concept. It was basically sokka and suki being like "okay can we love you know?" and zuko being like "no! you can't! honour!" and sokka and suki being like "okay! how about now?"

i still want to work on Checks, Chirps & Cellys (zukki) and am trying my best to get chapter three chugging along but i think if we're being realistic... its been eleven months since chapter one and i'm only just starting on chapter three. i don't think we're gonna get to the end on this one gang (unless y'all wanna hang around until 2024)

15. what are your writing strengths?

i don't know what i'm doing i just write a bunch of words and sometimes they're good.

16. what are your writing weaknesses?

i don't know what i'm doing i just write a bunch of words and sometimes they're not good.

17. what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages on a fic?

i think it can be confusing to understand but i do occasionally throw in some better known words into my fic.

18. what was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

if we're counting unpublished, then pirates of the caribbean self-insert when i was ten. the first fandom i actually count is Miraculous Ladybug.

19. what is your favorite fic ever written?

I can't pick a favourite from my own fics so I'm interpreting this as my favourite fic by someone else and it is without a doubt A Mile Away by @dameferre. I remember reading it, a beacon of light in the messy racism that was the nurseydex fandom and just... everything felt right in the world for once.

tagging: @creativityobsessed, @admiralsushishin, @toriftw, @literalchineseperson, @hoenursey and @ambykinns

[suzukiblu]

Fic Writer Meme

Tagged by my dear @dancinbutterfly, and like, obviously I will take any excuse to talk about writing.

.

1) how many works do you have on ao3?

168, although a few of those are podfics that the podficcer credited me as a co-author on. Actually less than I would’ve expected, tbh.

2) what is your total ao3 word count?

1,431,989. Honestly also kinda less than I would’ve expected at this point. I will blame all those old fics I never brought over from LJ and ff.net for this expectation.

3) how many fandoms have you written for, and what are they?

I literally cannot tell you, the ancient ways have been lost to me. I can give you my Ao3 fandoms, though!

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Overwatch

The Witcher (Netflix)

Young Justice (Cartoon)

Animorphs

Star Wars

Good Omens

Venom

Fantastic Four

Leverage

League of Legends

Daredevil

Supernatural

Care Bears

World of Warcraft

Spider-Man

X-Men

Slender Man Mythos

Additionally, long ago: Naruto, Gundam Wing, Digimon, Ranma ½, Bleach, Inu-Yasha, and many scattered other fandoms of my youth. So, so many others. So I’ve written for 25+ fandoms, at least.

4) what are your top 5 fics by Kudos.

a mark, a mission, a brand, a scar (13004)

I once started out to walk around the world but ended up in Brooklyn (8450)

it’s a long way forward (so trust in me) (6965)

oh don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me (6818)

if the bad times are coming let ‘em come (5362)

5) do you respond to comments?

Not really these days, though I hoard and treasure them like a freaking DRAGON. I used to respond to all of them but sometimes I’m just not around and then it becomes awkwardly late to reply and also they kinda . . . pile up a bit. I do try to answer all the comments with questions in them, at least, as long as the questions aren’t literally spoilers or anything like that.

6) what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t usually write super-angsty endings, I think? I don’t FEEL like I usually write super-angsty endings, anyway, at least not these days. I think I did it more often when I was more into, like, drabbles and shortfic. Now I just spend way too long on stuff to give it a downer ending.

The most recent angsty ending I can think of is wanna hold him, maybe I’ll just sing about it, though eventually I did write a sequel to that to soften the blow a bit. And also torment people a bit. Both, technically. Technically both.

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

blondes really do have more fun, definitely. It’s very . . . giddy, I guess? What with the gender euphoria and all. There’s angst and heavy emotions in the actual plot but the highs of the happy parts/ending are probably the highest/happiest ones I’ve written, and Supergirl gets everything she wants without having to compromise or give up anything else.

8) do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

I write fusion fic more than crossovers, really, but I have written a LOT of fusion fic. Some of it has been weirder than others, tbh, but probably the Avatar: The Last Airbender/Animorphs fusion that I have been lovingly slaving over deserves to be this answer if only for how much extremely sincere effort I have put into it over the years.

9) have you ever received hate on a fic?

Mild hate, but occasionally. I don’t really tend to remember negative comments, tbh, though it does sometimes make me not want to reread the comment section I know they’re in. But a lot of the hate I’ve gotten in the end just seemed like socially-awkward people being unnecessarily blunt instead of just hitting the back button, so I try not to take it personally. Can’t please everyone. Don’t WANT to please everyone, frankly.

10) Do you write smut? What kind?

Yes, and the kind is “a lot”. Sometimes I don’t really feel like it but definitely I have done a lot of it. I try for Feelings and also to be safe, sane, and consensual as much as I can.

11) have you ever had a fic stolen?

I . . . am not sure? Though probably, after being at this for all this time. Someone once told me that someone picked up a fic I’d (at the time) abandoned and just started writing/posting more of it without asking or telling me about it, but I never actually found said fic and I don’t know if that technically counts as “stealing” anyway.

12) have you ever had a fic translated?

A few times, yup, it’s pretty gratifying! I also like to run them back through Google Translate and see what they say, haha.

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

yoooo @dancinbutterfly, @rainnecassidy! Also done it with a few other people long, LONG ago, but that was back in the LJ era. Don’t think I’ve technically collabed with anyone else lately, although sometimes people will give me ideas for stuff I’m writing or offer suggestions when I’m stuck on a thing, which is very helpful.

14) what’s your favourite ship?

Like . . . per fandom? ‘Cuz we could be here a while. Most recently it’s Jaskier/Geralt, for a while it was Aziraphale/Crowley, DEFINITELY for a while it was Steve/Bucky . . .

You know, I guess technically my all-time favorite ship is actually Naruto/Sasuke, because I made a LOT of friends in Naruto fandom and it actually hugely influenced the end of my teenage years and beginning of my adult life and so, SO much of my writing. So like, if nothing else it wins on influentialness.

15) what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Let ‘Em Come. @rainnecassidy and I wrote that AU a long-ass time ago now and I never did my half of the sequel fic because I got too distracted with another longfic I was working on at the time and then took a real long fandom break. I always felt kind of bad about it because people seemed to bother her for said sequel more than they bothered ME for it, since her fic was the last posted part. Unfortunately I just don’t have the spoons or the MCU-focus for the research and effort it’d take anymore. Also, like . . . it’d probably be pretty long, so unless I was REAL obsessive about it it’d take a good long while.

Basically I think its time has just passed at this point, alas.

16) what are your writing strengths?

Sex, action, snark, and weird fusion fics. Also making people love things they usually hate, that’s one I get told a lot.

17) what are your writing weaknesses?

Fitting physical descriptions of . . . literally ANYTHING into the story. Just, anything. Physical descriptions are hard.

18) what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

I try not to do it, personally, because I know soooooo very little about other languages. Sometimes I’ll sprinkle in a little bit of it, but usually I feel like it’s better to avoid it, personally.

19) what was the first fandom you wrote for?

I literally could not even tell you. The first fandom I REMEMBER writing proper “fic” for was . . . Ranma ½, I think. I thiiiiink. But that was a long-ass time ago and I never even posted it anywhere because those were the days when I despised typing things up beyond all measure, hah. And before that I remember writing Animorphs . . . comics? Storyboards? Something like that. Kind of a cross between the two.

20) what’s your favourite fic you’ve ever written?

I do not know! There’s really just too many, tbh. Some top options are you found me when no one else was looking, best friends means you get what you deserve, clay kids, Avamorphs, handmaiden!Anakin, oh don’t you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me, and . . . and I could go on for a dang MINUTE, honestly, haha, I’m just gonna stop myself here before I get too carried away.

.

I tag whoever happens to be reading this that wants to be tagged; have fun with it!

[the-lincyclopedia]

* adapted from @librajiminn on twitter

A fun game to celebrate 2020 ending! The rules are simple: recommend your favorite OMGCP fics so everyone can enjoy them, while trying to fill in enough slots to get a bingo!

This is going to get long, so I’ll put it under a cut. Also, I’m too orderly to try to shoehorn my favorite fics into these particular prompts, so I’m just going to go right to left, top to bottom, taking the prompts literally, until it’s bedtime. 

1. first fic you bookmarked: “Here Comes the Sun” by @doggernaut, 19k, G, no warnings, Zimbits

For the past month, the man with the baby and the sad blue eyes has been stopping in for a cup of coffee an hour before closing. He always sits in an overstuffed chair in the corner and drinks his coffee while his baby sleeps next to him in the stroller. Sometimes he pulls a book out from the diaper bag he carries with him; other times he just stares straight ahead as if in a daze. He never asks for a refill, always respectfully gathers his things and leaves ten minutes before the shop officially closes. Eric desperately wants to ask him what his story is. 

My notes: I read Check Please over the course of two days in June of 2019. On the second day, right after catching up, I looked at @peppermintfeminist‘s AO3 bookmarks and found a fic by @doggernaut. Then I read just about everything @doggernaut had ever posted. It was glorious. This fic in particular is so cute. 

2. most recent fic you bookmarked: “Flight Check” by @edgarallanrose, 15k, E, no warnings (though there is a creepy/handsy guy at a club to watch out for), primarily Zimbits with most of the other popular pairings in the background

Flight attendant Eric “Bitty” Bittle has been working his way up at Samwell Airlines for the past four years, and his new promotion has provided him the opportunity to work with a brand-new crew. Unfortunately for Bitty, that crew includes an incredibly handsome but equally grumpy pilot, Captain Jack Zimmermann, who seems to want nothing to do with Bitty. Even worse, Jack refuses to eat any of Bitty's baked goods. Will Bitty be able to win the captain over? Or is there another reason Jack has been avoiding Bitty?

My notes: There are a lot of great things about this fic--Jack’s character arc, Lardo’s dialogue, that scene in Seattle--but the reason I bookmarked it is the scene where Bitty’s basically slut-shaming himself and Jack gently but firmly tells Bitty not to do that and that it was the creep’s fault. 

3. a fic that made you cry actual tears: “a little bit more” by @ivecarvedawoodenheart, 14k, T, no warnings, Holsom

“I just wanted,” he says, “a perfect day. With you. Because it’s our last day together and our last day being here as undergrads and we’re kissing the ice tonight, and the weather’s supposed to be beautiful, and you’re moving tomorrow and Holtzy I just — I don’t want to be missing you already.” Holster wipes his eyes before he even realizes he’s crying. Behind him, Ransom sighs. “One more day where everything’s the same,” he says, feeling around blindly for Rans’ fingers. He feels Rans nod as he laces their fingers together. “Yeah. Yeah, Rans. I’d like that a lot.” __________________________

Holsom after graduation and throughout the subsequent six months after Holster signs to an expansion team in Oregon, and realizes his feelings for Ransom too late. Holster's POV :) kinda angsty, but there's a happy ending :)

Inspired by shitty-check-please-aus: "Holster moves to Oregon while Ransom stays on the east coast. The time difference makes it difficult to talk and one day they wake up and realize they aren’t best bros anymore."

My notes: I almost never cry at fics. I searched “tears” in my fandom email account and only a handful of my fic comments came up, but Syd is a literal master of Holsom angst, always. 

4. longest fic you’ve read: “Like Real People Do” by @xiaq, 153k, M, No Warnings, Kent Parson x OC

Parson gestures with his spoon toward Hawke. “So am I allowed to ask about the service dog or is that not PC?”

“My medical history is more of a 3rd date conversation," Eli says.

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“Because. No one sticks around afterward and I like to live in glorious denial for a short period beforehand.”

It comes out more self-deprecating than he intended.

Parson looks…thoughtful. “Well, does this count as one or two?

“Pardon?”

“This. Ice cream. I mean, technically it’s a second location, but still the same night. So is this one date or two?”

“One,” Eli says firmly. “If it’s happening within the same three-hour period.”

“You’re the expert,” Parson says, which, he’s really, really, not, but ok.

“So still two dates to go then?” Parson continues.

“I—what?”

“We’ve got a roadie coming up but then we’re home for almost two weeks. When does your semester start?”

“You want to do this again?” Eli asks.

Parson stops idly twirling his spoon.

“You don’t?”

He does, Eli realizes. He really does. Because apparently he actually likes Kent fucking Parson.

My notes: Okay, this fic has my whole entire heart. I’ve read it multiple times in its entirety, and it’s almost twice as long as the full-length novel I’m querying. Eli is one of my favorite OCs I’ve ever seen in a fic (probably tied with Damian Navarro and Ari Paxton, both brainchildren of @fozmeadows). Anyway, this is probably going to be the next thing @themeaningoflifeischeese and I read out loud to each other. 

5. a fic you almost didn’t read: “when all else fails (i’ll still be right here)” by @whoacanada, 6k, T, Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings (and I don’t remember if I think there’s stuff to warn for, sorry), Zimbits

The National Hockey League is resurrecting the Quebec City Nordiques, and the expansion draft hits the Falconers much harder than expected.

My notes: Given that this was for @omgcpheartbreakfest, I was worried this would be all angst--all hurt and no comfort. Which made me sad, because I love @whoacanada‘s writing but I wasn’t up for reading unresolved angst. But @doggernaut reblogged the fic, so I asked if the ending was sad, and it’s NOT! There is quite a bit of angst but the ending isn’t sad. 

6. a fic that convinced you on a ship you didn’t ship before: “it drops with the gravity of rain” by @geniusorinsanity, 16k, T, Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings (attempted sexual assault by an OC), Nurseydex

It happens like this:

“I don’t--this is a bad idea,” Dex says, his lips still tingling, his hands shaking on Nursey’s hips where he’s shoved him away. “This is a really bad idea, Nurse. I can’t--We can’t do this.”

And there’s hurt in Nursey’s eyes and his bottom lip is swollen from Dex’s teeth, but he says, “Okay.” And then, “It’s chill, Dex. Just friends, then.”

It happens like this:

“Actually,” Nursey says, talking more to his granola than to them, “I kind of have a date.”

It happens like this:

When Nursey calls, Dex almost doesn’t pick up the phone.

My notes: So I was really confused and a little disturbed when I first found out people shipped Nursey and Dex. Like, Dex just wasn’t someone I trusted. But then I was moving out of the house I’d been living in, and I needed stuff to listen to as I packed and cleaned, and @khashanakalashtar‘s podfics came in clutch. I gave this one a try even though I didn’t like Dex, and @geniusorinsanity blew. My. Mind.

7. a fic from an unusual POV: “Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy” by @porcupine-girl, 8k, G, no warnings, Zimbits

Jesse Snowden knows all the best restaurants and gourmet food shops in Providence, so when Jack Zimmermann starts bringing in incredible baked goods, he's eager to find out where the new bakery is. When he meets the man behind the pies, he decides that there's no way Jack could really appreciate this guy's talent the way he does, even if they are friends. He starts hiring Jack's chef on the side, in the hopes that maybe once Bitty's done with college he'll come work for Jesse.

Good thing there is absolutely no way whatsoever that Jesse could possibly be misinterpreting this situation.

My notes: Oh my gosh this is so funny. The secondhand embarrassment factor is huge, but like, the hilarity. 

8. a comfort fic: “Don’t Need to Compromise” by @khashanakalashtar, 11k, E, no warnings, PB&J

“Hey,” said Kent, unknowingly setting off a chain of events that would change his entire life, “you said that like you know from experience. Have you done this before?”

Jack and Bitty have not done polyamory before, but they do know Ransom and Holster’s polycule, which contains March.

And March?

March is trans.

My notes: I’m in love with @khashanakalashtar‘s entire Directionverse series (and honestly a lot of their other writing), but “Don’t Need to Compromise,” which is the second fic in the series, just makes my heart swell especially much. The gender feels are so good, and all the characters are so good to each other, and when I listen to this on walks I have to actively try not to arm-flap. 

9. a fic you wish could be a movie: “Ice Crew Please!” by @petals42, 61k, T, no warnings, Zimbits

Jack Zimmermann was drafted first by the Providence Falconers when he was eighteen years old. He is good at hockey. Very good. His team won the Cup his second year and now, in his third year, they are looking good. Jack should be on top of the world. And some days, he manages to convince himself he is.

He’s not, of course.

Enter the Ice Crew.

AKA: The Ice Crew AU

My notes: This fic has its tender moments, but what I love most about it is the sheer goofiness. Ransom and Holster and Shitty are HILARIOUS in this one. I’d love to see their shenanigans in movie form. 

10. a WIP you read as it was updated: “Something Borrowed” by @fozmeadows, 48k, M, no warnings, Kent x OC

All things considered, Ari did his best to prepare himself for the advent of Kent Parson, Potentially Difficult Housemate and New Star Liney. The problem was that his best was an idiot.

My notes: So technically I didn’t start reading this until the first 19 chapters were posted. But there was still plenty of anticipation for the final few chapters. And like, @fozmeadows (as mentioned above) makes EXCELLENT OCs. And I love how their fics consistently convey that having bad things happen to you does not mark the end of your story. 

Okay, it’s bedtime, so have 10 excellent fics. I got bingo twice, because I went straight across on the top two rows.

[minnarr]

tagged by @klainelynch thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3?

94 under my main pseud (fanfiction and fan poetry), 66 under my podfic pseud

What's your total AO3 word count? 

329,067

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Happy Accidents

You've Got Mail

That Beautiful Shore

Cusp

It's Not Fire You Want to Ignite

Do you reply to comments, why or why not? 

I try to, because I really appreciate every comment that comes in, but I've definitely had periods where I didn't get around to it so now I have all this old comment debt hanging around. (Replying to things weirdly hard sometimes).

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

I prefer hopeful endings these days so probably We Rise and We Fall, an HP fic that's a little older now, which is bookended by the canonical death of one of the members of the ship it explores.

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

Hm, I think maybe All You See is My Ghost? He manages to get rid of the dark side stuff causing him pain! He reunites with his faaamily! Everything's good when it's been so bad for so long!

Do you write crossovers?

There was a while when I breathed zany crossovers played straight, but it's been a while. 

Have you ever received hate on a fic? 

Yes. Just on one that was, uh, probably a little too much me playing with the difference between attraction and behavior + grief via publicly posted fanfiction. I orphaned it because I just didn't care to deal with the brief but vociferous debate in the comments, neither side of which I completely agreed with. 

Do you write smut?

Rarely in publicly posted fic—the above instance is one of the few—and even then it's usually more M than E.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Outside one of those sketchy third party aggregator sites, not that I know of. 

Have you ever had a fic translated? 

Yes! A little Percy Weasley/Gawain Robards ficlet I'd written for a challenge ended up translated into Russian, I think. 

Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

Yes, I've done some round robin fics and fanworks where we all took discrete chunks to write. (We've got one going up for pod_together!)

What's your all-time favorite ship? 

I don't think I have one? Multishipper 4 lyfe at this point, and the ones I've gotten deeply obsessed with are ones I've fallen out of.

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

That C'rizz and Grace thing. I ill-advisedly put up a chapter with no plans beyond "healing! tender! maybe meet grieving Nine and get him in on this!"

What are your writing strengths? 

Making people sad about things I am also sad about. I also have been told there's a… clarity? To my writing? Which can be a double edged sword and risk overexplaining but. I also think I do pretty well at imitating tone in narration.

What are your writing weaknesses? 

Plotting, both having an end in mind and figuring out how to get there and letting my characters face real (and internally difficult) conflict. I'm too easy on them and I know it! 

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

While I do enjoy the thing some writers do where there's a bunch of (usually Mando'a) dialogue translated in end notes, personally, if dialogue needs to be understood to understand the fic, I'm going to make its meaning clear in the text of the fic, either by rendering it in English in italics because the POV character understands it or summing up the gist/making its result clear in narration. 

What was the first fandom you wrote for? 

Harry Potter. 

What's your favorite fic you've written? 

Usually the answer to this is going to be the last long fic I finished. And that's definitely true right now! I am really pleased with Leave a Light in the Window.

If you would like to participate, please consider yourself tagged (and tag me!)

[atamascolily]

getting an early start on this whole "end of year fic review" thing

Okay, I found my "2019 Year in Fandom Review" post with my goals for 2020 after some frantic tumblr-archaeology. It was fun to see my guesses for what I would accomplish this year, especially given how weird this year has been on so many levels.  It’s only early December, but I figure I might as well write this now since the numbers are unlikely to shift too much in the next three weeks.

One of my goals was to finish Through a Glass Darkly, my Star Wars Legends/ST fix-it--that did not happen, lol! However, I did write 6 chapters (about 40K) with possibly one more on the way before the end of the month, so that's certainly an achievement! Glass is now 81K, which is the longest fic I have posted to A03 to date! Yeah!!

[To put it in perspective, I have more or less covered all the events of TLJ (with a few more appearing in flashbacks) and now I just have one more movie's worth of events to cover...]

Long fics are hard, and Glass is extremely challenging for me, because of the rapidly expanding cast, the crappy world-building of the sequel trilogy, and the fact that researching for it is hella depressing. Still, it's been extremely cathartic to write, and I can feel myself growing as a writer, which is why I've stuck with it (also I've been snickering over certain plot points for MONTHS now and I want to share them with the world but they really only make sense in context).

Glass also continues to be my most popular fic, although that's not the main reason I'm writing it. Comment screening continues to be a godsend - most readers are great, but every now and then I get some really weird ones and it's nice just to delete on sight and move on.

Moving forward in Glass: The events of TROS will be lampshaded, but most of the plot will be its own thing. Ideally, every character will get a full and satisfying arc (even the minor ones!). It's gonna be EPIC if I can actually get it on the page and out of my head. We shall see! Maybe 2021 will be the year this fic finally reaches its conclusion!

This year, I continued to experiment with genres and tropes: My first modern AU fics!  My Star Wars daemon fic! More crossovers with different fandoms! Becoming more comfortable with present tense!

Also, I wrote my first two E-rated fics this year! Major kudos to @myevilmouse for her encouragement and enthusiastic beta skills. Smut is so challenging for me - everyone who writes it deserves a medal!

Still Water is probably my low-key favorite of the fics I wrote this year, but all my Luke/Callista fics will always have a special place in my heart. I am such a sucker for this pairing, okay? Luke/Mara is amazing and my forever OTP, but Luke/Callista is really interesting even when (BECAUSE) it is dysfunctional and doomed.

I finally posted the last chapter of my Earthsea fic, Out of the Wind, which had been languishing in my drafts for years, and also that Lady or the Tiger fic, which was just sitting there since 2018. I have been going through my files recently to see what else might be ready to post soon as well as anything I just really want to be done with.  

I participated in two formal fic exchanges - Star Wars Rarepairs 2020 and Yuletide 2020. They are a lot of work to sign up for - figuring out what to write, and what I want other people to write takes a lot of time and energy - but I wrote some fics I probably wouldn't have written earlier, and got a lot of great ideas that I can refer back to later. Since “picking the right prompts” is 80% of the challenge - 10% is writing it, and 10% is making sure it meets my recipient’s criteria without violating any DNWs - this will be helpful in expediting future sign-ups. But after years of hearing people talk about these kinds of events, it’s nice to finally participate!

More informally, I posted fics for Crosstober and the Luke Deserves All the Blowjobs Challenge hosted by @myevilmouse, also a lot of fun and encouraging me to continue pushing boundaries. 

Podficcing has been on the back burner after posting 4 podfics early in the year. I love recording them, but editing them was not so fun, and it was too much on top of writing. Also, I just haven't felt like it much this year, so... we'll see what happens in the future?  

Posted to A03 this year: approximately 110K WIPs: hard to say, but at LEAST 40K of various projects

...to be honest, that's not as much as 2018 or 2019, but I think it's absolutely fantastic given how batshit crazy this year has been, and how hard it's been for me to write sometimes. (This also does not include meta, tumblr rants, or other fannish writing, such as the articles I’ve written for Fanlore!)

Goals I am 90% certain I can meet in 2021:  

-Continue to work on Glass and finish if possible. -Start posting Moebius (one of my WIPs). -continue to write more short fics and experiment with different styles, tropes, genres, fandoms, etc. -participate in challenges and exchanges as time and energy permit.

... and of course, be open to whatever comes up!

[bettsfic]

socknography: the importance of preserving fan creator biographical data

i wrote earlier on utilizing collections and bookmarks to boost the archival power of ao3, and in that post mentioned how i wish authors would fill out their bios so we can preserve fanauthor information as well as we preserve the fics themselves. so, here is my rant about WHY WE ARE SO IMPORTANT.

for my masters thesis i wrote about the layered pseudonymity of fanfiction authors, and after doing a ton of research, i find myself still thinking of the pseudonymous/anonymous divide as it pertains to fic. we have authors we consider “famous” and ones whose followings eclipse that of traditionally published authors, but unlike traditionally published authors, we don’t put a handy bio at the end of our fics. in fact, if you want to find out about the author, you have to hope they’ve linked somewhere to their tumblr or twitter or dreamwidth, or they have consistent pseuds across platforms. and from there, you have to hope they have an ‘about me.’ but most, myself included, don’t.

unlike traditional publication -- where amazon and goodreads and even the back of the book contains biographical info -- and even unlike the rest of fandom archival etiquette -- which, despite having virtually no committed rules still maintains its organizational structure -- there is no standard etiquette on fanauthor biographical data. 

i speculate the reasons fanauthors are hesitant to write their own biographies is very complicated: 

there is no “ask” for it or existing standard. when i publish stories under my real name, i’m required to provide my bio, which contains my accomplishments, where i got my degree, where else i’m published, and my website. all literary author bios follow this formula, so they’re pretty easy to write. other than this post, i have never seen a request for fanauthor bios. so without an editor demanding it, and without a standard formula or platform to draw from, a total lack of information becomes the norm, and almost any info other than the standard “name. age. pronouns. ao3 name. list of fandoms and/or pithy one-liner” of tumblr or occasional ask game is seen as a deviation from the norm. even ask games get a bad rep sometimes, and they’re transitory, a post you see as you’re scrolling through to somewhere else, not static, like a dedicated profile page.

pseudonymity veers too close to anonymity. an anonymous author cannot have a biography. a pseudonymous author can, but biographies may be seen as defeating the purpose of writing under a pseudonym, or multiple pseuds. a sock account is a sock for a reason -- you don’t want it associated with your main. moreover, i believe fandom creates an environment in which to acknowledge your accomplishments and promote your own content is seen as narcissistic. fanfiction can sometimes be seen as a genre of selflessness, donating time and energy into a community centered around a shared canon, not personal gain. to acknowledge the self publicly is to invite attention, and attention is contradictory to anonymity.

shame and humility. the more information you have on the internet, the easier you are to find. very few fanauthors use their real names, or feel comfortable connecting their fan identity to their real one. i hear pretty constantly how often fanauthors hide their fannishness from their coworkers and loved ones, how only the people closest to them know they write/read fanfic. moreover, you might think “my most popular fic only has 10 kudos and 1 comment, nobody wants to know about me” (which is so not true, but i’ll get to that in a minute).

fandom is constantly changing. with a central archive for fanfiction in place, it’s easier now to be in multiple fandoms at once than it ever has been. if you want to read all sugar daddy fics, there’s a tag for that, and if you’re not picky about canon, you have an entire buffet of fandoms to choose from. communities are growing and shifting and changing shape. i move fandoms, and i keep my friends and readers from previous fandoms. i get dragged to new fandoms frequently. my interests and inspirations change, but i don’t erase my history or identity every time i move, i only add to it. i am always betts whether i’m in star wars or the 100 or game of thrones. but if you only read my fic, you don’t know the stories behind it. many people don’t know i entered fandom in the brony convention community in 2012, or that i was sadrobots before i was betty days before i was betts, or how fandom changed my life and led me through a path of personal trauma recovery, or that i co-founded wayward daughters, or ran the fanauthor workshop, or all these other things about fanfic that is not fanfic itself. 

if you are a fan creator, your fannish personal narrative matters. telling your story helps preserve the metatextual history of our genre.

i think constantly about what our genre will look like in 30 or 50 years, if it will be like other genres that began as subversions of the mainstream: comic books, beat literature, science fiction. genres that, at the time involved groups of friends creating stories for each other, bouncing ideas off of one another, experimenting with or distorting other genres, and which became, over time, well-regarded forms with rich histories. 

maybe one day, like the MCU, we’ll have a dedicated production company that churns out adaptations of longform coffee shop aus written between 2009 and 2015. maybe “BNFs” will be read in high school literature curriculums. maybe our work will end up on the real or virtual shelves of our great grandchildren. and if that happens, if fanfic goes entirely mainstream, how will fanfic authorship be perceived? how will fanpeople in 2080, if humanity is still around by then, interact with the lexicon we’ve created and preserved? what would you do if you found out Jane Austen wrote under five different sock accounts across three platforms over the span of twenty years? how would you, a fan of Pride & Prejudice, even begin to find all of her work?

we have so many social constraints pushing against us. there’s purity culture, which encourages further division of identity -- fanauthors may write fluff on their main and have various sock accounts for underage/noncon fics. if you’re a scarecrow, you’re much harder for a mob to attack. there’s misogyny, which dictates women/queer ppl shouldn’t be writing about or indulging in or exploring their sexuality at all. there’s intellectual property and a history of DMCAs, which, although kept at bay by the OTW, may still have influence on the “illegal” mentality of our work. with social armies against us, it’s easier to exist in the shadows, on the fringe. we change URLs based on our moving interests, and split our identities a million different ways, and keep sarcastic “me” tags full of self-deprecating text posts. we are difficult beasts to catch, because we have not been allowed to exist.

i spent a lot of time today googling the word for “pseudonymous biography” and came up empty-handed (if someone knows of an existing word, pls let me know. “pseudography” is apparently a fancy word for a typo; “pseudobiography” is a fake biography), so for lack of anything better, i’ve come up with the term “socknography” because 1) it’s funny and doesn’t sound intimidating, and 2) it encapsulates the sensitive and complicated way fanauthor identifying conventions work. and also i think “fanauthor biography,” “bibliography,” and “profile” just doesn’t cut it for the actual work of these pieces. they don’t necessarily include IRL biographical data, they include more historical/community context than a bibliography, and the words “profile” and “about me” don’t really inspire interaction, or acknowledge the archival importance of this work.

astolat’s fanlore page is my go-to example. astolat writes under multiple pseuds and has major influence in the history of fandom. she’s also a traditionally published author, but you notice, her ofic novels are not mentioned, nor any other real-life identifying information. fanlore has a really good policy on this in place, for those concerned about doxxing. 

(moreover, i am not suggesting you centralize your socks. they’re socks for a reason. but most everyone has a main, and that main identity has a story.)

there are 2 existing spaces to preserve socknographies. 

fanlore, a wiki owned by the OTW, you can make an account and create a user page (which is different than a “person” page) using a user profile template

ao3′s “profile” page, which is a big blank box in which anything goes

(i’m not including tumblr on this list because i don’t think it’s a stable platform.) 

fanlore’s template is straight to the point and minimal, which doesn’t really invite narrative the same way a literary bio would. ao3′s big blank box leaves us with the question -- wtf do i say about myself? how do i say it? how much is too much? and because of that, most profiles are either blank or only include a policy on translations/podfic/fanart, and maybe links to tumblr and twitter. but let me tell you, if i have read your fic and taken the time to move over to your profile, you better believe i am a fan. and as a fan, i want to Know Things.

here are the things i want to know, or

a potential template:

introduction (name/alias, age, location, pronouns, occupation)

accomplishments (degrees, personal history)

fan history (fandoms you’ve been in, timeline as a fan, how you were introduced to fandom/fanfiction, what does fandom mean to you -- this is where your fan narrative goes)

fandom participation (popular fics/posts, involvement in fan events/communities, side blogs, interviews, etc. 3 & 4 might be one and the same for you)

spotlight (which of your fics are most important to you/would you like others to read and why? what are the stories behind your favorite fics you’ve written?)

find me elsewhere* (links to tumblr, twitter, insta, etc.)

policies on fanart, fanfic of fic, podfics, and translations

*you cannot link to ko-fi, paypal, patreon, or amazon on ao3/fanlore per the non-commercial terms of service

i’ll be working on filling this out for my own profile as an example, but you can also see how my @fanauthorworkshop participants filled out their fanauthor spotlights, and the information they provided. obviously, you should only share that which you feel comfortable sharing, and as your fandom life changes, your narrative will change too. it’s not much different than updating a CV or resume.

tl;dr the goal is to provide a self-narrative of your fan life/identity for posterity. who are you and why are you a fanperson? why do you create fan content? what are you proud of and what do you want to highlight to others? who are you in this space?

[trashyeggroll]

Fanfic writer asks: 3, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 38, 40, 44, 49, and 50 (Why haven't you written a Charlie's Angels (2019) story yet?)!

Hey thanks!!! 🤗

3. name three favorite writers

cash me reading @aspidities, @haughtbreaker, and @blackteaandbones fic all the time

13. hardest character to write

sometimes Alex Danvers and i don’t speak for weeks after a big fight

14. easiest character to write

ya’ll tell me if i’m wrong about this when you’re reading, but Sabina Wilson and i are soul siblings

18. favorite pairing to write

19. favorite fandom to write

the black lightning fandom leaves me the kindest, most consistent comments for its size and it makes the low hit traffic so, so worth the writing time ❤️❤️❤️❤️ (besides my obvious fanatic support of ThunderGrace and BL as a show)

22. favorite story you’ve ever written

Pierce - Black Lightning/Creed (movie) AU, ThunderGrace

i love boxing and boxing movies in general, and there was such an interesting cast of characters to mix into this AU! Plus I wanted to give ThunderGrace the origin love story they deserved (in the show, there’s really no content between their first meeting and when Anissa is going home with Grace after work, all casual). It turned out to be a treasure trove of fluffy family content possibility, too—I just really like fleshing out this universe and never get tired of it.

38. do you reread your own stories?

sometimes! i have a really bad habit of refusing to read multichap WIPs as I’m still writing them, so it’s a miracle that I have any continuity at all. I don’t like re-reading my smut, which is ironic because I’ve read some of them for podfics.

40. which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series

see #22!! Nafessa has said she wants to be in a boxing movie... CALL ME? WILL WRITE FOR FREE. CHANTAL? YOU IN?

44. do you write linear or do you write future scenes if you feel like it?

i write the bulk of stories in linear order, but occasionally work out future scenes when i get stuck on the earlier bits

49. writing advice

not to be a feelings-having mfer on main but when andrea gibson wrote “you said you have never given birth to a child, but you tear every single time you write a poem” and “i don’t believe in the godliness of steeples, but i believe in the stained glass” and “we have to create; it is the only thing louder than destruction, it is the only chance the bars are gonna break”. no matter what you’re creating, fic or poetry or screenplays, or how “good” or “bad” you think it is... you are creating, and that’s p fucking cool of you. (Problematic people do not interact)

50. open question to the writer: why haven’t you written a Charlie’s Angels story yet?

Ah! Sabina has been disadvantaged by my own appreciation for her. I started writing one that was a slowburn Sabina/Original Female Character and then also started a multi-chapter Sabina/Jane, and wouldn’t you know... neither of them have had a full chapter completed yet 🤪

fanfic writer asks

[veto-power-over-clocks]

@squireofgeekdom tagged me about two weeks ago. It took me a bit to get to it because the post got lost in my likes.

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you’ve created this year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world this year. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works. <3

Tagging @sorrythatwasamistake. Anybody else who wants to do this, consider yourself tagged.

In no particular order:

1) The “Do Re Mi Do, Do Re Mi Do” series

My “eternally salty about how the plot about Ratchet’s hands was wasted, and how no one ever challenged him again on his belief that mode of creation influences your skills” fics. It’s a couple of MTMTE canon-divergent fics in which Ratchet doesn’t get new hands at Delphi and Brainstorm “offers” to make him some new ones.

I love it because I didn’t think I’d be writing TF fic again, and then I had an idea, and another one, and people encouraging my writing. It was awesome.

2) Such a big deal, though

Currently on hiatus but entirely planned, so it counts.

I watched “Transformers: Prime” and felt bad for Starscream. The series goes out of its way to humiliate and hurt him, which would be fine if any other of the vllains got the same treatment. They don’t.

So I wrote a canon-divergent fic in which he realizes that the universe hates him and goes, “Fuck this, I’ll be neutral.”

You get Vehicons deciding they’re tired of being cannon fodder and starting a movement, Knock Out being more than an acquaintance but definitely not a friend, and Starscream marathoning “Gilmore Girls”, watching cat videos, and joining a cospiracy theories forum.

3) The “Decepticon Hot Rod” AU

There’s a point in the IDW comics where it’s revealed that Hot Rod had been invited to join the Decepticons and didn’t. This is the AU in which he does. 60% an excuse to write Deadlock/Hot Rod UST, 40% me having fun with the concept.

4) they don't write songs for you [podfic]

I’m an awkward bird that sometimes comments anonymously on fics she loves because she’s afraid that the author might click on her username and see that the only thing she has written for the fandom they have in common isn’t good, thus entering that author’s mental blacklist.(Yes, Squire, that’s 50% of why I commented anonymously. The other 50% was the gushing.)

So! There was a fic I loved with my heart, soul and liver. I somehow befriended the author through the power of barging into their DMs with headcanons and AU ideas. Because of various reasons, I did a podfic of it and sent it to them, who then had to spend about two months convincing me to share it with the world. I had a lot of fun recording it! And the fic is still amazing!

5) Silent Light

A fandub of the MTMTE story from the Holiday Special. My voice is there and it’s one of the most fun projects I’ve ever participated in.

[sagemoderocklee]

Oh what's this about "the only valid fic that’s ever going to be written for gaalee"? You don't have to tell the name of the fic I'm just curious about what happened? Like what's the deal with this fic?

oof… well, this is a conversation I’ve had many a time, but be forewarned, I have a lot of feelings on this matter and this will… not be short.

I’ll just use [redacted] but in all honesty whether I give you the name or not, I promise, it wouldn’t be difficult to know what fic I’m talking about (not least of which because I’m one of the few people who has been vocal about that fic and when asked I make it known I have No Interest in it). But literally everyone in the GaaLee fandom knows about this fic that was written–after careful research–just over 13 years ago. THIRTEEN! That’s quite a long time for a fic to maintain such acclaim, but the GaaLee fandom is small and a bit of a fic desert when it comes to content, and in a way, I think that’s to blame…. 

From my perspective, this fic–which published it’s first chapter in September of 2005 on Livejournal, then posted in April 2006 to a lesser known fic hosting website–has remained a staple in this fandom for so long because it was, by and large, one of the only decent novel length fics in the fandom at the time. And that time was a long time. If you look at the GaaLee tag on any fanfiction hosting website, you won’t have an easy time finding novel length stories with quality writing, characterization, plot, etc. 

[Redacted] was, ostensibly, the first GaaLee fic with any real substance: it had good pros, and, seemingly, it had a plot (though if you ask me the plot was “get gaara and lee together, and forget about any and all conflict outside of them once they bone down”, but I digress). 

People loved this fic. So much so that there are a number of depictions of scenes from this fic drawn by talented fanartists, there are podfics, there are probably translations, there’s a fucking TV Tropes entry. But the real impact this fic has had on the fandom? The reason I always vaguely complain about it?: “I won’t read anything if it’s not [Redacted].” 

As a writer, myself, I’m sure it’s obvious why I might have grown bitter about this fic over the course of my time in this fandom. Unlike other fandoms I’ve been in, such as the Harry/Draco fandom, which upholds the classics that helped shape the fandom but still allows for new, fresh takes, the GaaLee fandom holds on to this singular fic as the Pinnacle Fic. According to this fandom, you will never come across a greater gaalee story–never mind that this fic is 13 years old, is ableist in its depiction of Gaara, actually does forget the plot partway through, not to mention the gross ‘sand rape’ scene, and of course doesn’t hold up 13 years later with canon specifically because of mischaracterizing at least Gaara (it’s been a while since I read it, so I’m sure I’m missing things). Never mind that we, as individuals and communities, should be able to look at something more critically and say “yes, this was good at the time, but now I see that it is not perfect. Yes, this helped shape a small and lacking fandom, but it does not have to be the be-all end-all.” 

The GaaLee fandom, as indicated by the shit I was fielding thanks to daring to call out homophobia in the fandom, does not like change. It has certainly changed, even grown I’d like to think. But the fandom itself is stagnant in many ways; it does not want to let go of its old ways which is easily seen by some of the GaaLee–oh, excuse me, LeeGaa blogs out there (it’s very important to remember exactly who is putting it up whose butt, because heaven forbid we treat these characters genuinely and not depict mlm couples with gross fetishistic tropes like seme and uke–i hope that the tone of “i’m rolling my eyes” comes through strongly here). 

Now, I haven’t read this fic in about 4 years, roughly. I put off reading it for a very long time while working on Alliance because I, like so many people in the fandom, held it up on a pedestal. I worried over comparing myself to the author, I worried over the potential to be influenced in a way, that Alliance would seem too much like [Redacted]. Then, in the midst of depression and wanting desperately to read a GaaLee fic, I re-read it. I hadn’t touched it in four years–at that time–and thought “what the hell”. So I read it. 

And I didn’t like it. The pros are good, I’ll give you that. But other than the pros, I wasn’t moved. In fact, I felt only relief. “My fic is nothing like this. I don’t agree with this author’s interpretation here and here–oh my god that’s rape what the fuck” and so on. Now, it has been a long time since my last read through, so I may be missing things about the fic, but ultimately it’s not really about whether or not I like the fic, it’s not about whether or not the fic is good. It’s old. It shouldn’t really matter anymore because we should all have matured enough to say “This fic was good, it did a lot of good for the fandom, but looking back I realise it’s not what I thought it was and has some gross elements which we will not allow to continue to propagate in our fandom.” 

But unfortunately, this fic is still relevant; unfortunately this fic still matters and still shapes this fandom in far too many ways. If the common theme of this fandom wasn’t “oh my god, have you read [Redacted]” “[Redacted] is the best fic and the only one I’ll read” then maybe I’d never say a peep about this fic. It would fall to the back of my mind, a fic I read and enjoyed once upon a time, when I was young and less rounded as a person. But unfortunately, the fandom does not take the stance that other fandoms take–it is not ‘a classic we appreciate for what it did for this fandom’, it is now a weapon used against new authors. I don’t think it’s necessarily intended to be, but it is. Who wants to write a fic for this pairing when all they hear is “I’ll never read anything but [Redacted]”? Who wants to write anything when they know people won’t give them a chance? Hell, who will read things when they’re told that the only thing worth reading is [Redacted]? When they’re told that everything else in this fandom is trash? And listen, I know there’s a lot of trash in this fandom–and I don’t mean writing skill, I mean actual trash. Writers who manipulate minors into a cult following while their writing features a relationship between a 16 and 25 year old; writers who write A/B/O; writers who write ‘soft stalking’; writers who turn Shukaku into “a voice in Gaara’s head”… The list is long and ugly. But that doesn’t mean write off every writer, that doesn’t mean refuse to move past a fic that’s 13 years old.

How are we supposed to overpower the gross, ugly content if we as a fandom community refuse to give new writers a chance? How can fandom grow and change and get better, if we hold on to something from 13 years ago? (Trust me, it shows that this fic was written thirteen years ago. It is Very Obvious.) 

Yet here we are, holding on to a 13 year old story. Who else do we know in this fandom who writes? Who else has that much acclaim? Who else writes good, quality stories and gets art and a goddamn TV Tropes entry and countless people raving about their work? Do you know what happens when I say I want to read a gaalee fic? I get a number of people asking if I’ve read [Redacted] as if I haven’t been here for 11 years. It was literally the first GaaLee fic my friends told me to read so that I’d understand why GaaLee was a good ship. I read it when I was all of 18 and so new to the fandom. I read it again when I was 21. And again when I was 24. I guess the third time was the charm. 

There is a post that floats around sometimes visible in the gaalee or leegaa tag that says “guess it’s time to go reread [Redacted]” or something to that effect with something like 350 notes. 350 notes. This tired comment from years ago that suggests there’s nothing worth reading in this fandom, that’s been put out there for writers and readers of fic to see. Listen, I won’t lie, it IS hard to find good fic content! It is, but it’s even harder when you don’t give people a fucking chance. 

Do you know what conversations I’ve had with people about fanfiction in this fandom? I literally had someone, point blank, say to me and the other writers on the GaaLee discord “I don’t read anything but […] [Redacted].” 

How disheartening. How unsupportive. How insulting. Saying that to people who you know are writers, who work hard and want support. That’s ugly. That’s not cute. That’s not community. 

There are fresh new takes on Gaara and Lee, and I know that for a fact because I have worked tirelessly to help create some of these fresh takes. I know my fucking worth as a writer, I know I’m good at what I do. I’ll always be learning and refining my writing, but I am a good fucking writer and it is a slap in the face to me and every other writer out there, who dedicates any amount of time to trying to produce good written content for this pairing. We don’t need the fic tags for this pairing to be filled with the trash mentioned above (pedophilia, rape, ableism, etc). We don’t need to be a fic desert. But if people only ever read one 13 year old fic, then that’s what we’re gonna keep having. 

I’m obviously not going anywhere. I’ve got plenty of GaaLee fics to write (something like 20+), regardless of the “I’ll only read [Redacted]” people in this fandom. But who’s to say if it’ll matter in this fandom? Who’s to say it’ll change how people feel about [Redacted]? Who’s to say if I can help make a trend of supporting fic authors other than [Redacted’s Author]? I mean, the person who made that post with 350 notes, far as I know, has never read my fic content. If someone is so desperate for content that they’ll re-read something from 13 years ago, then why aren’t they also checking the GaaLee tag on tumblr or Ao3 for new fics? Like people actively complain about the lack of fic in this fandom and then… do nothing about it. And I don’t mean they should write fics necessarily. Like yes, if you’re a writer and you want to see fic content in this fandom, I absolutely urge you to write! But first, we need more people who are willing to read fics. Who will go out of their comfort zone and just give us a chance. We need these people who are always complaining about the lack of fic content to do something about it, make other authors feel better about themselves, lift up other authors, share their works, comment like your life depends on it. That’s what we need. Because there are a handful of people out there who want to write and want to keep writing for this pairing. But without support…??? They disappear. They give up. They lose interest. 

There will probably be some people who feel like personally attacked because they’ve said these things and not supported other authors, but honestly, if you feel that way then please take that and prove me wrong. Be more proactive. Find a new GaaLee writer, find a story you haven’t given a chance. Prove that this fandom can change and grow; prove that fic writers have a place in this fandom. 

Because right now, fic writers don’t have a place.

Anyway, I’ve spent the last like hour going on and on about this, and I have things to do and I’m sure you didn’t want me to write something this long, Anon. Please, just blame my Aries Mercury ass for being a passionate talker lmao 

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight @echomoon

Every week we are going to be interviewing a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

what up im jared, im 19 and i never learned how to fuckign read. JK my name is Theo and I super know how to read. Most of the time. Also I’m 22. Anyway I’m one of the more OG members of the Magicians fandom, having been here since back in the early days of early s1. Uhhh I’m nonbinary and hella queer. Metafic is my most favorite thing in the world other than puppies. I cry at least once a day. I have adhd and depression and chronic pain and hella other issues. I’m an anthropology major, in my third year. I’m a slytherin, an illusions discipline, and a pisces.

How long have you been writing for?

Since I learned how, basically, but I only really started posting things online because of the Magicians and also because of Twilight?

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

It’s the BEST and I find it very easy to write from Quentin’s pov which means I actually finish things sometimes lol.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Quentin, because he is essentially me if I was born as a cisdude except more repressed in terms of sexuality and also more wealthy, which makes him super easy to write and super easy to get ideas about. I also like Penny, because for some reason people think I’m good at writing him?

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

I write a lot set in the Brakebills years because I like the whole magic school thing and the exploration of magic and interpersonal relationships without having to deal with the Beast or other threats trying to destroy everything they know and love? Like I like that slow burn, spread out, things are happening but they’re happening slowly and also heres some meta about magic kind of exploration that that time gives me the opportunity to do. I think this is partially influenced by that the first book has them in that setting so much longer, and partially because I’m still doing the whole college thing myself and find that easiest to relate to (because no one really wants to read ‘Quentin working two part time jobs and struggling to survive and nothing else happens’ unless it’s just a tiny segment of the fic lmao).

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

Well, in regards to Magicians fic, I’m still trudging along on chapter two of Magician’s Path - I’m trying to introduce more of Julia’s side of the story as well as working on how to warp the two canons into each other while also making the storyline unique - and also on the next part of crazy/classic/life, my paradise kiss and magicians crossover au. I’m also trying to find the time to record more podfic of my fics, because I think its important to have audiofic available. But nothing new, just continuations.

As for other fandoms, I’m working on a HELLA long reworking of the Descendants universe (hi i love disney channel movies dont judge), and that’s my primary focus right now in terms of fic.

How long is your “to do list”?

Very

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Oh heck, um… probably either all tied up or The Magician’s Path. all tied up was my first time writing PiV smut and also writing shadeless!Julia and I’m just really proud of it? And TMP is like, my baby, my huge multichapter canon reworking that I’m putting so much planning into and I’m always so excited to talk about it. I know it doesn’t seem like much yet but y’all I have so many plans for it and I hope you end up loving it as much as I do.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

TMP for sure - I hope that when I’m done more people give it a try.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

Ha my writing process is either ‘has no ideas for months straight and then suddenly idea when I’m supposed to be doing something else but I gotta write this down!!!’ or ‘one sentence every month at most’. Now that the FTB server has gotten bigger, I’ve found some people who will proofread for me, so there’s that editing process afterwards (thanks @oneeyeddestroyer for being the best beta).

I guess my only superstition is that if I’m doing a multichapter or big work I try not to give too much detail out when I talk about it because I get worried that saying about the plot too much will make me lose interest in it.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I do tend to write more when the show is airing, because more people are engaged and it’s something to fill the void between episodes - during hiatus I tend to drift away a bit and focus on other fandoms. This is the first show thats been so all consuming for me, I don’t usually watch things while they air because I tend to forget about remembering to watch them after a week or so? But Magicians keeps pulling me back and keeping me in.

As for ongoing canon developments, it really depends on the thing. If it fits into my plot of it’s a detail I want to put in, I might, but otherwise I’m comfortable lifting what I want from canon and throwing the rest out for a fic - we follow a show with canon multiverses, we can do what we want lmao.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

Honestly, most of my fics? Because I try to improve every time I write and like, explore new things. So whatever I’m working on at the time is the most challenging.

Are there any themes or tropes that you particularly like to explore in your writing?

EVERYONE BEING HAPPY AND NOTHING BAD HAPPENING EVER cough cough I mean, um. I like meta, I like worldbuilding and exploring meta and seeing what I can change. I keep accidentally writing soulmate fics? So that’s a trend I guess.

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Oh heck, so many dude, I don’t even know, I’m gonna just link you to my bookmarks because that’s the fic I love and probably unconsciously imitate on the often

As for nonfic, like I def want to write like Marisha Pessl or Tamora Pierce or Donna Tartt or Lev Grossman or Mark Z Danielewski but more in his house of leaves phase than his current stuff tbh or Neil Gaiman and also like. Everything that you read or watch or experience makes up how you see the world and how you create what you create and I consume so much stuff I can’t even begin to guess my influences beyond the little tidbits that I keep in my bookmarks or on my shelves.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Currently I’m reading a lot of harry potter fic - the mood is the department of mysteries or other exploration of magic, so things related to that. HP fic is my go to when I’m not revving for any fandom in particular. Nonfic, I’m working my way through Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which is hella fucking good, as well as a bajillion textbooks.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Fuck canon do what you want

Cringe time:

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

Yes but now that you ask can I remember any? Nope.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

Oh shit dude I don’t even know. The earliest one I can remember was this like, post twilight self insert fic where the cullens came to my middle school for some reason? I barely finished the intro of it iirc but it might still be in my stack of papers in my old room somewhere.

Rapid Fire Round:

Self-edit or Beta? Beta (always get a beta kids! They’re worth their weight in gold)

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes? Comments!! (please, leave me comments, i live for them)

Smut, Fluff or Angst? fluff

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn? Slow burn

Favourite season? All?????? Dont make me choose

Favourite episode? Im stuck between life in a day or all that josh

Favourite book(The Magicians books)? Probably book 2, i love seeing julia’s side of things and exploring hedge magic

Three favourite words? BUTTS, lore, hearth

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[sincerely-chaos]

A Year as Told as Words of Fic Written

Inspired by @jbaillier‘s post on the year in terms of written fic (and the absurd experience of seeing one of my own scribbles mentioned amongst some frankly amazing stories…) I decided to give this summary thing a try, if nothing else then because I’m trying to get back to writing more again, and this might… something.

Most hits: A Study in Floodgates and the Art of Tipping Scales. My very first fic in fandom, my very first story written in English and also a frequent reminder of the fact that my English has - after all - improved after three years of writing solely in English. The story in which we follow the codependent and somewhat unhealthy start of what’s to become a relationship between Sherlock and John, with the added twist of each chapter illustrating a psychiatric symptom or a psychological phenomenon. Let’s say that ‘Show, don’t tell’ wasn’t really a concept I was aware of when I first started writing this…

Most hits on a work posted (I read this as ‘started’) 2017: Inconsequential. My little sandbox project that I started as a one-off on tumblr and almost deleted the day after, but that apparently resonated with a few, very persuasive people, which made me attempt to write an ending to it, and then it all got out of hand and became a story that is now rather dear to me, both because of its themes (kink, emotional constipation, neurodiversity, sensation seeking behaviour and the intricasies of relationships, kinks and emotions) and because it’s a story where I allow myself not to obey to any sort of ‘common sense’ in terms of writing - the chapters are very uneven, the story is fragmental at times, there are jumps, the chapters may or may not be written in the same narrative style and— you get the picture. This is where I go to amuse myself without caring too much about consistency, which is pretty fitting, given this version of Sherlock…

Most comment threads: Patterns of Silver Birds, which is delightful in a way, because of all that I’ve written, this is by far the most intriguing writing experience, but also the most personal and experimental. Plus, this story is what brought @pennypaperbrain into my chaotic life, and the discussions, beta and nudgings from her during the writing of this story have been some of the best and most intriguing things that has happened in my writing life. This is where love is actually - arguably - a chemical defect, OCD isn’t quite what you’d (well; John…) expect, Sherlock’s thought process is guiding the narrative and his perceptions and sensory experiences are more coloured by my gut reactions and instincts than in anything else I’ve written. Also, this is very much a cathartic story to tell in more ways than one… The fact that this story has put me into contact with people who mentions having had similar experiences as those in the flashbacks to Sherlock’s childhood is nothing but fascinating.

Highest wordcount: A Study in Floodgates and the Art of Tipping Scales (which initially had an even longer title, believe it or not…)

Most bookmarks: Patterns of Silver Birds. (Yes; I’ll try to finish the last chapter shortly. By which I mean ‘anytime I have the focus to put that many words and plot parts together without losing track of them. The outlines and parts of several scenes are in fact already done…)

Most popular AU story: Define ‘AU’, and what do you mean by ‘popular’? All my stories are more or less AU in some way, given the backstories I give the characters, but if we go by more common ways of defining AU, my most kudo’ed AU would be The Landlocked Adventures of The Tuna Detective, which is, yes; exactly what it says on the tin. Tunalock with a side-order of mental health (well, if we’re to be more exact, I’d say that Tunalock’s reactions in this isn’t very depressive, but a natural reaction to his situation as a landliving tuna in love with his human flatmate whilst being stuck in Moriarty’s net…). But if you look closely, it’s probably a story about otherness…

The stories I never expected to write: All of them, to be honest, but in particular The Landlocked Adventures of the Tuna Detective (I think you can guess why… but I had a fever and @yourdykeinshiningarmor was bringing me so many fish puns…!), Trick of the Light (because I honestly tried to write a PWP teenlock, and despite the fact that people tell me - kindly - that I failed the ‘without plot’ part, it was not something I thought I’d write. First time teenlock without any prominent mental health issues isn’t what I expected, so I rose to the challenge…), Imprints (because that ended up as close to ‘fluff’ as I’m likely to ever get), Things About Bodies Still Alive (my first poem ever…!), a redundancy of moons (this is probably as close to ‘break up’ or ‘relationship falling apart as I will ever go - I want them messed up and sometimes suffering, but not parting ways…!) and Anomie (in which I, for the first and to date only time, write something that takes place after The Reichenbach Fall).

The Story I’m most proud of in 2017; Patterns of Silver Birds.

Favorite moments in fic life: I refuse to answer this question as the answer would be obscenely long, but 70% of it would consist of the people I’ve met through fandom, IRL and/or online, and the things we’ve done, discussed or created. And a lot of knowledge that’s been earned through these years.

Frustrations: Seeing kind, talented, encouraging, fascinating people leave fandom because of wank (and not the nice kind that involves genitals) or other problems, or due to disappointments. Me being unable to un-compartmentalise everything happening after The Hounds of Baskerville (I don’t hate it, I just… got stuck in my happy place which is season 1 and 2). Being unable to write during periods of time due to the frailty of a chaotic mind. Fandom getting a bit less… populated after season 4. We have so much to work with - please stay and discuss things with me!

Stories I wish I had written aka my favourite reading experiences of fics published/updated/finished in 2017: Can I refuse to answer this question as well? Because frankly, I don’t remember which of all the amazing stories I’ve read over the year were actually posted or updated during 2017, and I could probably tell you some of my favorite stories overall, but… I can’t choose. If anyone wants to know what I’ve enjoyed recently, I do have bookmarks, bookmarked for very variating reasons; finding good descriptions of a phenomenon in them, an interesting take on something, the perfect comfort food in fic form, a story that won’t leave my mind, a story with fascinating narrative, a story that changed the way I look at love/sex/the mind, a story that pushes many of my kinks… there are many and varied reasons things end up in my bookmarks. But rest assured - there’s been so much amazing fic written in 2017 that I’ve adored!

My conductors of light: This is yet another question I find hard to answer, because I honestly am too wary of forgetting someone. I suspect some of you know who you are: the people that have discussed everything from sexuality to psychiatry or books with me on the tumblr chat and in comment sections, widening my understanding and opening up for a mutual discussion and sharing of some personal things I will rarely discuss with anyone in real life - I really, really respect and adore you all, and am thankful. It might be months between our conversations or I might be slow to respond, but it has meant the world to me. The people who have beta’d for me over the years. The people that has given fandom and me so many amazing, insightful stories, artworks and podfics (PODFICCERS!!). THÉ PEOPLE WHO ENCOURAGES OTHERS with their kind words, their inarticulate, enthusiastic keyboard smashing, emoticons, recs, reblogs, messenges, replies, love... and so much more!

I’m just really, really happy to be here with you all.

[muzzmurray]

year in fic review (2017)

You can find all of the fic mentioned below on my ao3 account, savedby. If you’re looking for my football fic edition, you can find it here.

Year at a glance: Total number of completed stories: 32 Total word count: 77707

Overall Thoughts:

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? I wrote way more than I realized for this fandom, um, wow. There were a couple of months where I was writing like four or five fics and I have no idea how that happened.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Oh, the Vegas Golden Knights! Because when they signed two, I was joking around on twitter about how I could ship them now, and my friend was like ‘well, why don’t you’ and then that evolved into Sabaton and by extension into the Bold in Gold series, which was one of the most rewarding parts of my year for sure.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? these tornadoes are for you, which was Nick/Bob and written for the Cannon Fodder exchange. The combination of magic realism, humor and their general softness was really nice to write, and @frecklebombfic did a beautiful podfic of it.

Did you take any writing risks this year? Purely in terms of style, I wrote descent, in second person, which I know tends to polarize opinions. I love it, for whenever I want to write something that feels more immediate and intimate. I actually tried to rewrite it in third person, because the friend I was writing it for told me she wasn’t a big fan of second person, but it just wouldn’t work. It had to be written exactly as it is.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? I’d like to finish this chaptered Mcdrai magic AU fic that I’m working on and I’d like to continue writing the Vegas Golden Knights as their narrative unfolds, so the Bold in Gold series can become a sort of written history of the team and its fandom. Ambitious, but. We’ll see. I’m already working on the next part.

From my past year of writing, what was…

My best story of this year: armet. I think this was in the works the moment I realized that there was a possibility that Flower might go to Vegas and it ended up becoming exactly what I had hoped it would be.

My most popular story of this year: i still get jealous of your old boyfriends, judging by kudos, which is actually funny to me, because for the longest time I really hated what I wrote for that fic and I ended up posting it after having it written for a period of time.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: foundations, my Marleau/Thornton fic. I mean, it’s a niche pairing and a character study, so it’s probably as good as it’s going to get, but it’s basically peak me and my love for old men and their narratives.

Most fun story to write: world i can call mine , which was my Pod_together project with @frecklebombfic . Having her input on it was so essential (as it was in many of my fics this year) and I had such a fun time discussing Auston, Zach and Mitch, and poly with her. And her podfic ended up being perfect. It was just a great project.

Story with the single sexiest moment: Man, I don’t know, I’m an ace essentially floundering in the world of smut. But I did manage to post, like 4 explicit stories this year, which just goes to show you that you can be anything you set your mind to, kids. As it is, I’m nominating this line from wake me up come tomorrow

Oscar does, adds another finger only when he feels Adam completely relax into the first. He fingers him slow and easy, watching his face as it relaxes from discomfort to pleasure. Adam makes these noises too, cut off moans, helpless and involuntary. Oscar adds a third finger and he whines, high in his throat.

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: circumstance, which I hadn’t realized was still posted on anon until right now. So I’m owning up to it, I suppose. I’m not ashamed of it, because it still makes me laugh a lot on re-read, but please heed the warnings.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: your morning cup, my Tim Horton character study. I didn’t even really know anything about him when I decided I was going to be writing this fic. But as I researched and wrote, the story ended up being one of the most important things I wrote this year.

Hardest story to write: something like hope was an exercise in frustration, until I figured out how to frame it with quotes from Pekka’s Players’ Tribune article.

Biggest disappointment: I don’t really post things I’m actually unhappy with.

Biggest surprise: I was most surprised by how well fandom received Sabaton, because I figured it was something so niche that only a few people would actually click on, but it became one of my most popular stories. I’m really grateful for that.

Highlights + Wrap-up:

Favorite Opening Lines (4):

From tomorrow is going to be pretty pawsome

Ryan is halfway through his breakfast when he hears his front door opening. It’s 9am and he’s not wearing pants, so if he’s going to be robbed, he’s pretty much defenceless, unless he pelts the robber with some granola.

What still gets me is how real this ship became as the season progressed.

From Sabaton

There’re a few things Vadim expects to see when he lands in Las Vegas. His new teammate holding up a big sign with his name on it, decorated with footballs and pucks and glitter, isn’t one of them.

Am I still prissy about how badly they treated Shippy? Yes. Absolutely.

From LXXXVII

Sidney Crosby isn’t high on the list of people that Vadim expects to see in the hotel bar in Pittsburgh before the Knights game against the Penguins, and yet, there he is. Crosby is wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses and a hat, presumably as some sort of disguise. It only makes him stand out more.

He also seems to be getting closer, swapping stools whenever Vadim glances away, until they’re sitting elbow to elbow.

Ridiculous Sid is my favorite plot device and he was in full effect in this fic.

From your morning cup

Strictly speaking, there’s never been a hockey player called Tim Horton.

I just liked the way this commands attention when you read it. I think it when you have something so niche, you need the first paragraph to grab your attention, and I think I did well here.

Favorite Closing Lines (5):

From dust in your veins

Then, Geno pulls him into another kiss, desperate, his chest shaking under Sid’s hands and Sid thinks that maybe he won't have to separate them after all.

That he can have this – his heart beating rapid fire in his chest, and Geno’s steadying palms on the muscles of his back, and the ghost of ice above them both.

I love the removable heart AU (not to be confused with the escaping heart AU) because it just works so incredibly well for those sports narratives.

From knight

“You know, it’s actually a pun, because I used to play for the London Knights and-”

“Oh my god, please stop.”

From we were a house on fire

“I want.”

“It’s been years.”

“Want still.”

“...yeah, okay.”

“Like that?”

“Yeah. Just like that.”

I love how deceptively simple this is, with no dialogue tags, but it feels like it packs a lot of punch, cutting through the complexity of their situation.

From descent

The streets of Edmonton turn slick, coated with fallen snow. Daylight is scarce, and cold besides, and you wear a jersey that doesn’t mean much to you and you watch out for the boy that means everything.

At night your curl around Connor in your bed. He always runs hot, burning in your bones and warming you from the inside out.

He presses his mouth to the nape of your neck, and you blink, mind muddled with sleep, and you realize you don’t know which one of you is the one doing the protecting.

Ask me sometime about my thoughts about enforcers and their relationships with star players, and why end up romanticizing them so much.

From armet

“Fleuuuurrrryyyy,” the fans scream, without a hint of mocking, echoing off the concrete of the building,  “Fleuuuurrrryyyyyyyy!” and it’s all he can do to smile through his tears, waving at these people who have crucified and martyred him over the years, but have loved him through it all.

His crease hasn’t changed. He pats the pipes, feels them steady beneath his palm, familiar. His teammates are all on the ice now, circling his goal, and he catches sight of Nealer coming forward with the puck. His face is grim and determined, and Flower remembers he’s got something to prove too.

He gives Nealer a sharp nod and crouches. Smiles.

He’s ready.

Flower’s game against the Pens in Vegas was emotionally devastating and I can only imagine how it’ll be when they play in Pittsburgh.

Favorite Lines From Anywhere (6):

From be your spine

The Bruins seem just fine without him, which is just a metaphor for his life, really. He notices the absence of Boston, but Boston is too big to notice he’s gone.

He limits his texts to Tuukka, and eventually they taper off, growing sparser and more impersonal as months go by. It’s understandable. Anton feels the absence of Tuukka like a phantom limb, but Tuukka is too brilliant, too beautiful, to be affected by Anton’s absence.

My first fic of the year was a homage to the journeyman player, the one who isn’t a star anywhere, the one that’s expendable. And this was one of the lines that summarized it pretty well.

From teddy bear

“I just want to be a cool dad, like Bozie! You’re the lame dad, Zach is the big brother figure and Leo is the grumpy grandpa. We all have roles to play!”

Matt bites back his first comment, and the second one. They’re both swearwords.

This whole sequence between Mo and Matt still makes me laugh really really hard.

From foundations

The Sharks are Joe’s team by virtue of wanting him more than anyone else did, but they aren’t his team like they’re Patty’s, who’s left pieces of himself in every crack in the Shark Tank concrete and who wears the jersey with more pride than anyone Joe’s ever known.

This fic hurts more now that Patty got traded.

From heart like a home

Roman is still sprawled across PK’s bed, entirely naked, reading one of PK’s magazines. His tanned skin glows in the soft yellow light of the bedside lamps. The sight never fails to make PK’s mouth go dry. As if sensing his gaze, Roman looks up, arching an elegant eyebrow, a stray curl falling across his forehead.

I want to eventually try to capture the various details of Roman/PK in a longer fic but for now this image of naked Roman will have to do.

From these tornadoes are for you

Bob is standing at the stove, muttering something to himself. He still looks like he did last night, little bolts of lightning racing across his skin, and when he turns around his eyes are still glowing pale in his face. It’s a little disconcerting, but Nick goes with it.

“What are you doing?” Nick asks, walking next to him to look at the pan and wincing. He’s careful not to touch Bob, doesn’t know what it’ll do to him. “Was this supposed to be scrambled eggs?”

I really enjoyed writing the whole scene of Bob releasing his magic in the woods, but what made me happiest to write was the morning after and how all that magic becomes somewhat of a hindrance.

From i still get jealous of your old boyfriends

“Are you telling me that Connor McDavid’s favorite show is My Super Sweet 16?” he asks incredulously. Mitch grins at him.

“Oh, no,” he says and Auston lets out a sigh of relief, “it used to be his favorite show. I think his favorite right now is Extreme Couponing.”

Connor and Extreme Couponing is the greatest love story I’ve written this year.

Fic Goals for 2017: I want to finish off the four WIPs that I didn’t manage to this year. Beyond that, I don’t have any particular expectations. I hope I can continue to enjoy writing in this fandom and that people will continue to enjoy my work.

year in fic review (2016)