#lol i wrote a novel in response to this ask

[szynkaaa]

This is my first time asking but I'm going to ask anyway (and English is not my native language) I'm curious to know how your OC and the destined one met (I mean how was their first interaction)

hi hi! thank you so much for your ask, this is the first time I have received one about my OC <3

probably something like this (read right-to-left)

Gonna use this chance to talk a bit more about my AU lol

Wrote in a separate post here that Oz has met Sun Wukong before when she was a child and he was buried under the mountain.

So when she got whisked back into fantasy ancient China, she landed where Yuan Shoucheng aka Gourd Grandpa (the old man carrying a big gourd on his back) was already waiting there for her. He foresaw her arriva. The vague gist of my AU is that the the reason why this Destined One succeeds in retrieving all artifacts and becomes SWK is because he is also sort of the manifestation of that childish promise 5-years-old Oz made that she will save SWK one day (from under the mountain but clearly that didn't happen lol). But also since her ancestor is from this world, her descendants were fated to return back here one day.

Gourd grandpa updates her on her ancestors and their roles in the Celestial Court and the shitstorm that happened that ultimately let to the clan being massacred and one person escaping to "our" world, where magic doesn't exist and all those people are just characters from myths and stories. But also her ancestor isn't the only person that traversed through the two worlds - over the centuries more have come and gone. This is also why people in her world have those myths and deities. In my AU Wu Cheng'en also escaped from fantasy ancient China into her world and then wrote Journey to the West. He took artistic liberty to change some things for his novel, hence some things in BMW are different than in JTTW (like the ZBJ and violet spider love story or how SWK had a romance with White Bone Demon).

Anywayyy, Oz task on the adventure is to document their journey together, and she is responsible for using the magical gourd to suck in the will of the defeated bosses in.

And 2-3 days later the Destined One shows up. I don't think Oz was very happy about leaving gourd grandpa and join the Destined One on his travel, but if he is her best chance to find a way back home to see Taylor Swift live, then she will do it.

The Destined One is indifferent to mildly annoyed about this, but doesn't protest too much, as long as she doesn't slow him down yadda yadda. I do think that DO did feel some sort of special connection to her, because he is sort of a manifestation of that promise. it doesn't really take long for him to get used to her and also to care for her. One of Sun Wukong's massive core trait is that he cares so much for his loved ones and does not hesitate to do the impossible for them, and I like to imagine that even though SWK senses have been split into 6 different parts, the caring part stayed with each Destined One reincarnation.

[bloopitynoot]

Reading SVSSS: BONUS- Chapter 22

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

Yall I am sick as heck. I tested for the plague and it does not seem to be that, but I defo have a head cold/sinus thing going on.

I did something wild and a little unhinged and made my matcha latte with a protein shake like i'm some sort of athlete instead of a feeble old man. I also have enough vitamins running through me courtesy of ener-c to fuel a football team.

Still feel like ass, but this chapter was a solid up to my day.

Before we even get into it, based on the title of this chapter I can already tell I am not ready. The fact that there are TWO Binghe's is already telling me there is a metric shit-ton of threesome PWP on Ao3

Oh! okay! It's like an immediate continuation of the story. I totally thought we would be skipping a bunch of time or something, yay! this is a good surprise. p11

I forgot about the bamboo house replica LBH made for SQQ. It is so cute that he got the bamboo to actually grow in this realm. p11

LOL ofc LBH is sulking because SQQ will not sleep in the same bed as him. p12

I feel like based on the chapter title and the behaviour of the Binghe we have here that this is not the sweet Binghe we know and love. p15

How has LBH constantly pulling AWAY from SQQ not triggered some red flags for this man. Normally LBH makes every excuse to attach himself to SQQ. p16

okay LOL now SQQ finally questions it p18

Ming Fan you fucking narc! No one asked you to go get the other peaks involved. so rude! p19

Dang. Liu Qingge really is all or nothing. He is truly doing the lords work trying to constantly save SQQ from himself. The fact that he keeps picking up his literal shit every time this guy gets himself into A Situation is telling. Not enough respect for this guy, truly. p21

Oh god, well. RIP SQQ because this LBH is most definitely an imposter! p23

(I literally cannot read what I wrote for this note/I think my hand was working slower than my brain and many words are missing in the sentence. I think I was TRYING TO SAY): This Binghe is evil as shit and SQQ still has not confirmed. I am a little bit worried if this Binghe is here- where is the other one????? Is he okay??? p26

Yeah! You correct that asshole Ying Ningning. (If you can't tell this character really grew on me- she had the glow up for sure for sure). p27

I do love that this evil Binghe get's to have some internal dialogue that we read, "Like fuck you do!" p28

OMG. This evil Binghe totally did read the BingQiu porn and is taking his "shizun" for a test run. Oh no! Does good Binghe stop this??? p31

Thank fuck SQQ finds out who this Binghe is (though he sort of was not complaining about the man handling at all). Bless for good Binghe for showing up too! pp32-33

Bless his heart, "In the end, he and Luo Binghe were too unfamiliar with each other's bodies. That was why it had taken him so long to figure out what was wrong here" P35 Okay but I do love that his response to all of this is definitely- "me and Binghe need to be more intimate in case this situation happens again. I will definitely fix this for the future".

The way SQQ is just clutching his pearls this chapter is killing me LOL the romance novel energy is too much. "Shen Qingqiu was stunned silent. Playing around with who? Playing around with me? Bing-ge you...you'd accept all corners?! Welcoming both men and women! Is this something like 'both meat and fish are fine- I'm not picky, I'll eat whatever I'm given'?" P37

SQQ: "What the fuck am I supposed to tell anyone..." Also SQQ: p39

Oh no! Bing-ge is getting into Bing-mei's head. Leave the poor boy alone, he is very sensitive. All the while SQQ is trying to get the little guy to just focus on dealing with Bing-ge. p41

Since this is a different Binghe, I have decided to add another dime to the demon blood mite bank. I believe we are at $0.60 which is TOO damn much. p44

It is highly effective! p46

Oh no. Now Bing-ge is having feelings. Understandable though- he really did get the shit story where in everything is terrible and he has no real support. Bro just wanted some softness. p47

Oop. Well. I guess Bing-mei is going to attempt to level up some skills today. p49

Luo Binghe and his Dick Weapon (TM). p52

Blessed be, we have some sort of lube. I am literally so glad for this. The way my body viscerally reacted to their last scene- this is not much of an improvement, but they are getting there. p55

Oh no, and they're both crying now. p57

Thank fuck his disciples did NOT decide to fix the roof. p60 that would have been one heck of a surprise.

Okay, but this is so tender. Look at them both growing and learning. p61

LOL LBH is DETERMINED to learn. "Shen Qingqiu knew what he wanted to ask and mercilessly spoke first, "awful." However this time, even after receiving criticism, Luo Binghe wasn't depressed. Rather, he exuberantly declared, "Yes, it was awful. Unacceptably awful." "what are you saying...?" "Because it was simply awful, this disciple requests that his Shizun assist him with further exploration." Well." p62

It could have been worse!

These two are so damn weird. Good for them, but also, it's too much LOL. One is self sacrificing, the other is needy as HELL. It must have been so weird for BIng-ge to witness; drastically different version of himself!

[queenaryastark]

Someone needs to explain to Stansas that terms have meanings and they can't just be thrown around at random to mean what they want them to. Newest example of this: Calling Arya and Lyanna pick-me girls because... they don't like them and they want Sansa and Dornish!Sansa (they erroneously refer to this OC they created as Elia Martell) to have more importance in the story.

So, what is a pick-me girl? It's a girl or woman who is desperate for male approval and validation, often at the expense of other women. They'll change themselves to fit a particular man's preference and trash other women to boost themselves up.

In short, Stansas are essentially acting like pick-me girls on a fan level by trashing other female characters to make their self-inserts look better. Meanwhile, Arya and Lyanna are never shown behaving that way. Ironically, we actually see Sansa behaving like a pick-me first when she lies to make Joffrey like her:

“I hate riding,” Sansa said fervently. “All it does is get you soiled and dusty and sore.” -- Arya 1.5, AGOT

---

Joffrey reflected a moment. “We could go riding.”

“Oh, I love riding,” Sansa said. -- Arya 1.5, AGOT

Like a true pick-me, she lies about her preferences to fit what Joff wants. Arya naturally likes horseback riding rather than it being something she does to fit with someone else's preference. If anything, it's used against her as she's bullied over it.

Also, Sansa later trashes Arya to the queen and council specifically so she can marry Joffrey:

“I’m not like Arya,” Sansa blurted. “She has the traitor’s blood, not me. I’m good, ask Septa Mordane, she’ll tell you, I only want to be Joffrey’s loyal and loving wife.” -- Sociopath Throws Family Under Bus For Boy She Likes, AGOT

"I'm not like Arya," or did she say, "I'm not like the other girls"? She does something similar in her mind to Jeyne Poole earlier in the novel by presenting herself as superior because she's not like her:

Jeyne covered her eyes whenever a man fell, like a frightened little girl, but Sansa was made of sterner stuff. A great lady knew how to behave at tournaments. Even Septa Mordane noted her composure and nodded in approval. -- Who's Who of Westeros Info Dump, AGOT

Weak girls have emotional responses to witnessing violence, but not Sansa. She's not like them lol

So, if one were to apply the concept of the pick-me girl - a woman who trashes other women to uplift themselves and changes themselves to gain male approval -- it would be Sansa. Trying to misapply that term on Arya and Lyanna only proves that the person misusing the term has no clue what it means. GRRM wrote Arya as feminist while Sansa, her foil, was created as the opposite of her, meaning she's sexist.

I swear, the misuse of pick-me has become the new "Not like the other girls" in this fandom. These terms weren't initially intended to demonize women for NOT fitting patriarchal ideals. It's the opposite. The terms are pointing out the ways the misogynistic women (ex. Sansa and Stansas) will trash other women by insulting other women who are different from them as a way of validating themselves.

[jennaispunk]

Gift of a Friend

Summary: An unlikely meeting leads to something unexpected.

Pairing: Din Djarin x OFC (Talia)

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: none. This is just fluff (sorry not sorry). A “This is how they met” story. It’s just two people who could use a friend finding each other. Maybe it might lead to more…..

Notes: I wrote this for the @swiftiscruff friendship exchange. This is for you @sawymredfox!!! I hope you like this. Thank you for being brave and reaching out to me. Look at us, two introverts making a connection lol. You are too sweet and my world would be a little less bright without you in it. Love you. 💜💜

The title is from a Demi Levato song.

Thank you @fallingforthearch for being my beta.

graphics and support banners by the amazing @saradika-graphics

The sounds of the bazaar filled her ears: children laughing… vendors calling out sometimes in their native tongue and sometimes in basic, peddling their fruits and vegetables or homemade goods. The sun beat down on the dirt as she made her way through the bustle and cacophony, looking for a few things to make up her dinner for the evening.

Another long shift at the hospital had come and gone, mainly assisting with patching up drunken patrons from the cantina whose mouths had earned them a fist to the jaw or the nose.

Gathering the last things she needed, she headed to her small home, ready to finally relax and maybe start the new book she’d been dying to read. The sound of babbling behind her caught her attention. She looked down to see a small green creature looking up at her. His big dark eyes looked up at her curiously, almost as if he knew her. He babbled again and reached his arms out to her.

“Hey, little buddy…. Are you all alone? Where’s your mama?”

Her eyes darted, searching the crowd. He was an unusual looking creature. Not a species she had ever seen before, but so adorable. Surely, someone must be looking for him.

His ears twitched, and he made a sound that sounded almost like a whine. He instantly lifted his arms again, and she scooped him up. The little creature babbled happily in her arms. She stared at him, feeling a sense of comfort and peace with this little guy she hadn’t felt in a long time. She felt he was trying to communicate with her, even though all his sounds were only gibberish.

“Do you speak Basic?” Talia asked. “Can you tell me where your parents are?”

The little green creature babbled again, tilting his head. His little hand reached out to touch her face. She softly gasped at the unexpected contact but relaxed as she felt the warmth and comfort wash over her.

“There you are…”

Her eyes shot up to behold a broad man clad in armor and a helmet. She recognized his armor immediately; he was a Mandalorian. She blinked rapidly at him, her tongue briefly peeking out to wet her lips.

“He's yours?”

“Yes…he belongs to me.” His voice was devoid of emotion through the modulator. He stood rigid and tall, an unmoving statue. The sun created an almost halo-like ring around him, making him look like some ancient god she’d read about in a novel.  

“Friendly little guy, isn’t he?”

“He doesn’t usually like a lot of people.” His response was short and to the point.

A puff of air escaped her lips as the little green creature babbled in her arms. This mysterious Mandalorian was so hard to read and apparently not one for conversation.

“Come on, Grogu. It’s time to go home.”

Her brow ticked skyward. It was an interesting name. The little guy completely ignored him, continuing to coo and play with strands of her blonde hair swirling in the gentle breeze.

He exhaled loudly, his right knee jutting out slightly as his hands went to his hips.

“Grogu…”

The tone of his voice made Grogu’s ears droop slightly and he pouted for just a moment before leaping from her arms and returning to his Mandalorian.

He scooped Grogu into his arms and turned away without another word. She huffed. Was he just going to walk away without a word? She opened her mouth to insult him, but Grogu’s high-pitched noises stopped her. The Mandalorian stopped as well, keeping his back to her but turning his head to the side.

“Thank you…for looking out for him.”

She called out to his retreating form, her arms crossed tight across her chest. “You’re welcome.”

“Mudscuffer.” she added under her breath.

Din walked away with Grogu babbling in his arms, reaching back toward Talia. Din shook his head, a strange feeling in his chest. Something about that girl intrigued him. Maybe it was how sweet she was with Grogu. Perhaps it was the way she called him a Mudscuffer when she thought he couldn’t hear. She had spunk, and he found himself wanting to see her again.

Halfway through the bazaar, she realized her mistake. The shopkeeper offered his son to carry the packages home for her, but she refused, her pride overruling common sense. She’d been saving for months to buy this easel and canvases, and she didn’t want another set of hands all over it. Besides, she’d made it this long on her own, and she could do this too.

“Dank Farrik!”  she groaned, adjusting the packages in her hands, determined to make it back home without dropping them.

Din watched her from a distance as she struggled, silently chuckling to himself. She was a stubborn one, too damn prideful to ask for help. His heart stirred at the sight.

“Here, let me help you with that.”

Taking the packages into his arms with little effort, he looked down at her, his helmet hiding his smirk.

She stared at him, opening her mouth to speak then closing it again. She hadn’t expected to see him again, although he had managed to find a way into her thoughts over the last few days.

 Before she could speak, Grogu took the opportunity to jump into her arms.

“Hello, little friend.” She laughed as she booped his nose.

“Which way?” he asked. The glint of his armor caught her eye as he shifted his weight.

“Oh, uh…. this way.” Her hand jutted out in the direction of her place.

An awkward silence fell over them like a heavy fog as they walked toward her house, neither one willing to break the tension. His boots softly scuffed the dirt in a steady rhythm, lulling her into a strange sense of comfortability.

“Do you have a name?” Her voice cut through the silence. “Or should I just call you Mando?”

One of his shoulders raised slightly.

“I figured you’d just call me Mudscuffer.” His chuckle was like a soft whisper through the modulator.

She swallowed hard and fixed her eyes on the road. She couldn’t believe he’d heard her say that. She thought he was out of earshot when she let that slip.

“My name is Din.”  

“Talia,” she offered before he even had a chance to ask. His head turned slightly toward her, giving her an almost imperceptible nod.

He sat the package down in her living room and straightened, admiring the small space. It was sparsely decorated but cozy—like a home. A worn bookshelf stood tall in the corner, filled with books and a few small trinkets. He wondered what sort of books lined those shelves and if she imagined herself in those worlds as she read them.

She watched him standing in her living room, the sun beaming in and reflecting off his Beskar armor. She found herself wanting to know more about him…. anything about him, really.

“Thanks for your help.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. Grogu shuffled around on the floor, fascinated by the space.  His coos filled the air, punctuating the uneasiness between them.

“You’re welcome.”

She opened her packages and set up her easel by the window, adjusting it a few times to find the perfect angle to catch the light. The canvases were stacked neatly into the corner under the small shelving holding a small assortment of paints and brushes.

“You paint?”

Din could almost imagine her sitting by this window; tiny speckles of paint freckled across her cheek, her brow furrowed in concentration as she worked. The sunlight streaming down, illuminating her golden locks, would have been breathtaking.

“I’m getting back into it again. I had to save for a while before I could afford a new easel and a few pieces of canvas.”

He quietly cleared his throat, shifting his weight uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to talking to people. He couldn’t remember the last time he had an actual conversation with someone. Talking to her was…nice. His cheeks flushed under his armor, and he was grateful she couldn’t see his face. He was a bounty hunter and a trained warrior, not some little boy with a crush.

“Would you and Grogu like to stay and have dinner with me? It’d be nice to have some company for a change.” Her cheeks burned with heat as she asked the question. Her heartbeat quickened with every moment he was silent.

“Thank you for the offer, but Grogu and I should be going.”  He didn’t know how to explain to her that his creed forbade him from revealing his face to anyone but his riduur. That was a conversation for another time. He’d broken that vow once and endured too much to redeem himself to risk it again.

Her chin briefly tilted toward the floor before she returned her gaze to his helmet with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

 “Sure…. maybe another time.”

His chest tightened as he collected Grogu. This feeling was strange to him—this feeling of wanting to connect with someone. He’d spent his whole life without any real attachment to anyone until Grogu. Now, he found himself wanting to be in her presence, wanting something with her that he always longed for but denied himself: a friend…and maybe something more.

Without thinking, he stopped in the doorway and turned back to her.

“Our home is just outside the city. If you’re ever interested, there’s plenty of good lighting and landscape to paint.”

The words tumbled from his mouth before he could stop them.

“I’m sure Grogu would like it if you came to visit sometime when you’re free. He seems to like you.”

Her smile could have lit up the deepest mines of Mandalore. This mysterious stranger had her completely captivated. She’d realized how much she missed having someone to just be with… someone to fill that void of loneliness she tried to ignore for so long.

“I’d like to visit Grogu sometime, too.”

[thealogie]

I'm sorry but I'm about to treat your ask box like a confessional.

You kind of deserve it, though, because due to your Sherlock rewatch posts I've been forced to remember that 1. Sherlock is a show that exists and 2. that I wrote Sherlock fanfic when I was 13... about SHERLOCK and MOLLY.

In my defence, I was a deeply deeply deeply repressed bisexual who hadn't realized it yet - so all of the obvious and insane gay stuff between Sherlock and John just completely sailed over my head. Also propaganda worked really well on me as a child - so basically I was the ideal viewer for Moftiss lol. There'd be scenes where people mistook Sherlock and John for a couple and I'd go 'huh that's kind of strange that keeps happening' but then it would be played off as a joke and I'd go 'oh yes of course, silly me! Gay people only exist as the punchline! Sherlock and John would NEVER be interested in each other that way. I can't believe anyone would ever think that haha.'

Flash forward to 2017. I'm 17 years old. I've kissed other women by now and have had my brain chemistry rewritten by copious amounts of slash fanfiction. Still young, but wiser to the ways of the world than I once was. The last time I watched Sherlock, I had been 14 years old. Sherlock season 4 airs. I watch it with my mom. It's so bad my brain immediately initiates a trauma response and wipes all memory of Sherlock away. This continues for years. The only times I remember Sherlock exists is whenever I joyfully watch hbomerguy's Sherlock Is Garbage video while I'm knitting or painting or something. Also whenever I have to type in a password for an account I made when I was 13 - because my go-to password was 'SHERLOCKED' back then, unfortunately.

Flash forward to now. I'm 24 years old. And I start seeing your posts about Sherlock. Like a sleeper agent, it awakens something in me. Yesterday, I spent a perfectly good Saturday - one I could have spent doing literally anything else - reading Johnlock fanfiction. I am suddenly re experiencing the show through new eyes, seeing all the queerbait I never did before. Getting hate-crimed on the daily. I'm thinking about Sherlock at work, at my adult fucking job. I'm watching scenes from the show on youtube in my office, quickly and guiltily clicking away whenever a coworker comes to chat. I am considering doing my own rewatch. I am realizing for the first time that John and Sherlock were literally in love. It's the only lens through which you can view the show and still have it be somewhat enjoyable. They literally put Mary in a wedding dress shooting Sherlock in his mind palace on TV. I feel like I'm having a religious experience, I feel like I'm insane, I feel like I'm 13 again. This is all vaguely November 5th-ish for me lol.

Anyway. I just thought you should know the impact your rewatch is having on the population. Sorry for the novel in your inbox. I've been desperately trying to find my old Sherlock x Molly fanfic to read for the lols but I think I deleted it off ffnet. I am both having the time of my life while also desperately hoping I forget Sherlock ever existed again soon. So, basically - thank you/curse you for this.

This is perhaps the best ask I’ve ever received?? I converted a sherlolly shipper in the year 2023? Listen I’d never wish a season 4 rewatch on anyone but I would highly recommend watching s1-2 and the wedding episode for a truly out of body experience. I felt more strongly about this show/ship than any other in my life and it was STILL worse than I remembered

[thelaurenshippen]

How much of an impact has writing and consuming fanfiction had in your writing career?

I ask about fanfiction specifically because it's such an open communication sort of media, it's so easy for author and reader to interact. Do you think you'd write differently if you'd never been in the Fanfiction community? What do you think has carried over from those works and interactions into your current works?

ooh, such a fun question! I've never really thought about this before!

so I will admit, while I have been reading fanfiction since 2006, I never actually wrote fanfiction until 2018 (and then didn't share any of it until 2021). so I think those specific relationships affected my writing in very specific ways.

from a reading perspective, I think fanfic really showed me that a story can be anything, told in a million different kinds of ways. the two fandoms that I was deeply entrenched in/reading fic in were sherlock (lol) and the winter soldier (I stand by it). both of those fandoms - TWS especially - did a lot of very interesting stuff when it came to story structure, multimedia storytelling, etc. while of course there's great published fiction that does the same (I've been a huge David Mitchell stan since I was 20, I read House of Leaves for the first time a few years ago, A Series of Unfortunate Events is such a great example of this tbh), I think there's a lot of freewheeling experimentation in fanfiction that encouraged me to do things like write Some Faraway Place as a mix of journal entries, reddit posts, letters, and tumblr posts.

it's also interesting to me that you bring up the author/reader interaction, because you're right, it is such a huge part of fanfic and a part I rarely thought about for a looooong time. I'm a socially anxious lurker by nature, so I would leave comments (show your local fanfic writer some love!) and I would follow a lot of those writers, but I'd never, like, interact with them directly. and my comments were usually along the lines of "I'M FLINGING MYSELF DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN" rather than openings to conversations lol.

but that changed significantly when I started writing fic. the first fandom I wrote for was SO small and the ship I was writing for even smaller (I'm responsible for over half the fics in that tag), so there wasn't really any interaction there. but then I started writing in a different fandom - still small but much more active - and joined a discord and everything. I'm not really active anymore, but I met someone who now has become one of my best friends and who is a huge reason why Desperate Hollow, my queer outlaw novel, finally got fucking finished.

so being in fanfic really affected my writing in the sense that I found a writer friend who - like a lot of other writing friends - has had a profound affect on me as an artist. but more broadly, writing fic for that fandom - about 200k words of it in eight months - taught me some very important things:

how to write a lot of words very, very quickly

how to let go of something being perfect - no one knows who I am on ao3 and people are just happy to have fic for a small fandom, so it doesn't have to be GOOD

how to write physicality - this is very hard for me, even now. I'm an audio first person, I rarely think about what people look like, how they move their bodies, etc. writing fic is so helpful, because if you're using canon scenes, you don't have to come up with the blocking, you just have to figure out how to describe it.

dialogue/character voice - learning how to mimic a writer's style is good from two perspectives: one, you learn more about style and voice by having to unpack someone else's. two, as a writer working in a scripted medium, you often are trying to write to an established style, because you might be in a writer's room for a world that you didn't create.

this is a less tangible effect, but writing mature works for a fandom that has mostly morally gray characters helped me get more comfortable with being bolder in my own work. Desperate Hollow is about two men in the wild west, one of whom has killed a lot of people, and both of whom are career criminals. the show I'm working on currently has the messiest found family dynamic and it will only get messier. I think in the course of writing TBS, I sometimes got scared of doing the wrong thing, or of leaning too hard into the darker parts of the story, and I'm trying to let my characters and stories be deeply imperfect now.

I hope that answers your questions!

[badbatchposts]

🎱 🍓 🌵🔪🪲. I reblogged the ask game from you, so I wanted to be courteous and send you an ask! I'm honestly curious about these.

Thanks for the ask, friend! It's really nice to be able to reflect on some of these things!! Sorry in advance for the super long responses lol.

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats:

Works: 2

User Subscriptions: 6

Kudos: 204

Comment Threads: 84

Bookmarks: 67

Subscriptions: 51

Word Count: 67,351

Hits: 4,652

I honestly have no sense of how these stats compare for the usual fanfic writer, but it makes me happy to see how many people have subscribed to my longfic, especially since I don't always get a ton of comments on new chapters. But it seems people are reading! And definitely more people than read my dissertation, lol.

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

I used to write a lot of original work in high school and early college, but then as things got busy--and as I convinced myself my writing wasn't good enough to be worth it--I largely stopped. I always felt guilty about it. I really enjoyed writing, but didn't think I was creative enough or had the right amount of stamina that it took to complete a long work, and I had this perfectionist idea where it felt like it wasn't worth doing if I couldn't be the best at it.

Then right as the new Bad Batch season came out this year I was struggling a lot with burnout and found that I was spending a lot of time thinking about the show, and decided that I might as well start reading some fanfiction--for the first time ever--and felt like writing it would be a nice creative outlet that might help me recover from my burnout. It really has been great, and some of what's made it so good is actually exactly the sort of things that used to make me think writing fanfiction wasn't worth it. Namely: it's not professionally publishable.

That is, legally, I will never be able to professionally publish and profit from any of what I write--it can only be posted and enjoyed. This actually just took so much of the pressure off. It doesn't have to be perfect--it doesn't even have to be very good, because that's not what it's for.

I started thinking of it more as an exercise for working on my writing skills (things like, okay, in this chapter I'm going to practice writing dialogue, or in this next one I'm going to work more on establishing an interesting setting). As a result, I'm now thinking more about the writing process and improving my storytelling, rather than worrying about trying to make it perfect or good enough to publish or feeling competitive or down on myself when I encounter writing that I feel is much better than my own. It's been really freeing.

All of this happened over ten years since I stopped writing in college, and the other great thing has been seeing that my writing skills didn't disappear. In fact, they've gotten better and grown as a result of the learning I did in the meantime. I'm now much better at envisioning narrative arcs, outlining, getting myself to write consistently instead of just waiting for inspiration to strike me, and a whole load of other skills. It's really helped soothe a part of me that worried that I had abandoned writing, that it was too late for me to "do" anything with it, or that I only would have gotten worse.

🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love

Parasailing in Rio de Janeiro with a Caipirinha in Your Hand

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I've been spending a lot of time researching historical kitchens on sailing ships and historical brothels for the Pirate AU that I'm working on. Once for an academic paper I was working on a novel that depicts a (non-sexual) human-animal relationship but through very intimate and erotic terms, and I accidentally googled a combination of terms that came back with information on bestiality while on my university's wi-fi.

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

The most recent thing I wrote for my Pirate AU (I'm skipping ahead SEVERAL chapters to inspire myself with the steamy bits haha)

“I hardly think I can get into much trouble here. Your crew have been perfect gentlemen.”

Hunter’s eyes glinted in the half-light of the lamps. Though he didn’t move, all of a sudden she was all-too-aware of how close he was, how easy it would be for him to reach out and touch her. “And what about me?” he murmured. “Haven’t you heard from the ladies in port? I’m a scoundrel. A very dangerous man. Maybe you ought to be afraid of me.”

Thanks again, this was a lot of fun!!

[your--isgayrights]

Outside of Lee Seolhwa and Lee Sookyung, do you have plans for any other character outside of Kim Dokja’s primary companions (like Gong Pildu or Han Doonghoon) for your soulmate fanfiction? Constellations like Persephone or Uriel or Sun Wukong probably wouldn’t make sense to exist in real life but maybe characters such as Han Myungoh/Han Dareum or Jang Hayoung could fit? If I recall correctly, Jang Hayoung in particular is the one responsible for the title of the fanfiction, right? I feel like she alongside the Unidentifiable Wall and the Fourth Wall would be so thematically appropriate but I couldn’t imagine how you would do it if at all. I also want to say that I’m impressed how you managed to seamlessly incorporate so many references to the original ORV into your work. It must have required you to reread and recheck the wiki.

Yess, I'm glad you asked this anon bc literally I just threw in a little reference to Han Doonghoon and Lee Sungkook in the 4.4 update and got worried people would think they had to remember the characters well to understand the surrounding plot point better than Kim Dokja does. But I think I should trust the reader a bit more lol.

Unfortunately my inclusion of Aileen and Jang Hayoung isn't going to be as big as the other kdjco members, but they're sort of already set up in the fic and have a role in chap 5. I think JHY doesn't appear directly bc to me the relationship between her and KDJ is harder to make 'real,' though I have some ideas depending on how much I decide to include in chap 5. In my plans 5 will have a gaming tourney featured, so other big 'wos players' may be referenced further there as well.

Of course like you mention the fic title and many of the chapter titles are coming directly from the mouth of Jang Hayoung, so in that way she is constantly being referenced, haha.

Han Myungoh and his daughter are referenced earlier in Chapter 4. It's sort of a drive by.

I do make use of the wiki (bless the editorsn🙏), though mostly just to check dates, numbers, and spellings of names. I like to think of myself as someone with a pretty decent memory tho, so a lot of the more specific story references are definitely just me pulling in stuff I remember from my novel read throughs. Like I might have to look at the wiki to remember Han Dareum's name, but I'll never forget Han Myungoh's entire Male Pregnancy that he had like that was a crazy random W to me on my first ORV read through I was like hello??? Also that being around when JHY was being confirmed trans haha. I think I was only out for like a year or so before reading orv so the little gender fucky moments really stuck out to me.

Sometimes rereading my old work I also remember things I forgot happened in ORV. I think part of the reason I'm struggling so much with chap 4 and onward is that now that the wall fic characters have sort of developed to where they are some of the scenes I had in mind are less 1 to 1 with the OG. For instance, I'm trying to rewrite a scene I have of YJH and KDJ having a rooftop chat that like parallels the one back before the seoul's strongest incarnation arc in the novel, but it's a bit difficult. At first I wanted to include a lot more of KDJ interacting with the rest of YJH's team, but the rooftop Scene makes more sense to put a cap on the themes explored in chap 4. But when I first wrote this scene it was less specifically addressing that theme, because it was in the outline of like right after I wrote chapter 1, so it was kind of just the OG ORV scene with the flavoring of my AU on top. A lot of the little things they do and say in the OG novel would have to be quite finagled to fit anymore, so reworking it is the big task rn.

Anyway I'm really appreciative of people like you who take note of these small details <3. it's kind of helping me remember and appreciate a lot of the parts of me that were behind a lot of Wall fic originally if that makes sense? I am like reintroducing myself to him and giving him a hug instead of running away cringing just because it's me lol.

[copperbadge]

Sam, I say this with love, exasperation, and admiration: I have no idea how you write so much. I'm in the middle of a long-overdue update of backing up my favorite fics to my hard drive, and your fic archive is basically a mini-project in itself!

LOL! I had this conversation with myself when I moved all my fanfic over to AO3. By hand. From Livejournal. :D I think it's mainly that I was undiagnosed with ADHD while being either understimulated in school or underutilized in my job. I think it's indicative of how my priorities have shifted as I've gotten older, that I haven't really written much fanfic in years, and in general my words-per-year output has dropped quite a bit.

Prior to 2019, it was a rare year I posted less than 150K words and some years I posted over 400K. It was almost always fanfic, because the first few novels were posted to Livejournal, not AO3, and I didn't move them when I moved over all my fanfic. I was in grad school, which was not demanding for me, and then I was in a series of jobs where I began with large amounts of downtime, then slowly had less and less as I gained more responsibility. Up until 2019, when my former office just disintegrated and I changed jobs.

So the output in those earlier years was this balance of struggling to keep myself entertained, having the time to engage with a time-intensive coping mechanism, and processing hyperfixation. It still feels weird to describe myself as having hyperfixations, because that's not how I've ever thought of my own mental processes; I have a specific mental definition of hyperfixation under which I do not fall, but I'm beginning to realize that definition is inaccurately narrow. Given my duration in a fandom is almost always two years on a predictable cycle, I can't really refute the idea that I develop and process hyperfixations like a lot of neurodiverse people do. (Marvel is an outlier in that the canon is massive and much more widely disbursed than most -- even so you can kinda see me move through characters within Marvel on two-year cycles.)

In 2019 my wordcount dropped dramatically, and in 2020 most of what I posted was original fiction I actually wrote in 2019. So I didn't post much in 2020 and didn't post anything at all in 2021, which was shocking to me when I realized it. This past year, 2022, is the first year I've bounced up, posting 246K words, but it's mostly been original work. I rarely engage in meta anymore, and currently don't really have an active fandom that I write or talk about. Looked at on paper, I haven't truly been in fandom in about four years. It's fortunate that fandom is a culture -- it's not something you leave or are expelled from just because you stop participating in some aspects of it. There is no way for me to truly leave fandom now even if I wanted to, short of leaving social media altogether, which I have zero plans on doing.

This all got very deep from a pretty simple ask about my formerly prodigious output, but it was fun to go look up my AO3 stats and engage in a little self-reflection.

[smuttyfang]

I’m so proud of this.

Trying to get better at posting my stories here lol.

John Price, Just Like Your Novels

You’re a writer who writes dark romance novels. They’re dark and incredibly depraved. Your real desires portrayed in a story. A certain ‘government agent’ takes a liking to you through these books. (TW: Stalking, lying and deception) very NSFW.

Words: 5,676

As you sat at the bar, you took a sip of your third drink. He wasn’t coming. Another dumb guy who completely ghosted you left you alone, yet again. You tried to tell yourself you were used to it. But the pain you feel in your heart was like a wound being repeatedly torn open and made worse with each effort you made to put yourself out there. Finishing your drink and ordering another, you sighed heavily.

The books and stories you wrote were printed pages of the things you desired most. Real romance and excitement. Real intimacy and desire. It was something you’d never truly felt. You’d been with plenty of guys, sure. But to feel such intensity and need for someone else, and to have someone crave you just as much.. you wanted that more than anything else in the world. For someone to be obsessed.

“Hey.” You hear a voice behind you, speaking softly close to your ear. Turning around, you find an incredibly handsome man. He had a beard and looked a little bit older than you. It wasn’t the man who you were supposed to meet, no. It was someone else entirely. “Sorry, I saw you sitting here alone and I was curious if you’d like to join me for a drink.” He says, waiting for your permission to sit beside you.

“Sure.” You say, trying to smile through the sadness you were feeling. He was handsome, to say the least. “What’s your name, handsome?” The man smiles happily, taking the seat next to you and ordering himself a whiskey.

“John Price.” He nods to you, taking his whiskey and sipping on it as he looks into your eyes. “Handsome is my middle name though.” He says, chuckling. His comment makes you giggle in response.

“Well, that you certainly are.” You admit to him, sipping your drink again. “What made you want to come talk to me?” You ask, curious.

“Just couldn’t help but notice you. Too pretty to be sitting here alone. And those eyes, my god. How could I not?” His words made you practically feel like melting. Your smile slowly grows as you are charmed by him completely, almost forgetting all about the forgotten date you were supposed to be on.

“You could make a girl fall for you, talking like that.” You tell him, making him smile and raise an eyebrow.

“Maybe that’s the idea.” He admits, his eyes falling to your lips. “Have you considered falling for me yet?” You felt yourself laughing again, feeling so much happier than you were moments before.

“I could certainly consider it.” You admit, your drinks make you feel braver as you place a hand on his knee. You slowly move it up his thigh, making him inhale sharply.

“In that case.. there’s something I’ve been dying to do since I first laid eyes on you.” John trails his other hand up your arm, his thumb brushing a single strand of hair behind your ear. He takes a slow sip from his drink, making eye contact the entire time. "Would you let me?" You nod your head, understanding completely what he meant. You leaned forward, ready to let his lips meet yours. John’s breath catches in his chest as his lips press against yours. His mouth is firm and gentle, his lips moving slowly yet confidently, as if following a secret pattern only the two of you knew. His tongue gently explores your mouth, caressing your lips and slipping inside before drawing them apart again. He moves slowly, deliberately, as he pours his passion into your shared kiss. He pulls away after a moment, his eyes shining with desire as he stares into your eyes.

"You know..." He murmurs huskily, "That was even better than I imagined it would be.”

“You’re a pretty good kisser.” You tell him, chuckling as you place your hand on his thigh. Leaning close to him, you show more of your chest to him. “What else is that mouth good for, daddy?” You whisper seductively. John’s cheeks turn a fiery red as you whisper in his ear, your hand still resting on his thigh. There was a clear rush of excitement within him at the thought of your words. He leans closer, his eyes fixed on your exposed skin, his voice low and velvety.

"I can think of one or two things.." He trails a finger across the skin on your knee, teasing you. "Are you sure you want to go there?" He raises an eyebrow, his expression playful.

“I think I’m pretty positive.” You tell him, leaning even closer. Your foreheads were almost touching. “What about you?” Your breath almost caressed his cheek as you spoke.

"I think we both know the answer to that question." He leans in, his lips lingering just inches away from your own. His voice is seductively quiet, his gaze locked onto yours. "I've been wanting this almost as much as you." His hand slides up your thigh, his fingers brushing along your leg softly. He smiles again, letting his hand linger for a moment as he looks at you. You chuckle as you stand up, offering him your hand.

“My apartment is not far. If you’d like to continue in private.” John’s smirk returns as his gaze trails over your body once again, his eyes locked onto yours.

"I'd love to.." He rises, taking your hand and grinning at you, his eyes shining with excitement. He allows you to lead the way, but not before giving you a quick once over, his eyes drinking in every curve of your body.

“Like what you see, daddy?” You say as you chuckle, leading him out of the bar and down the street. John’s smirk turns even more teasing as you refer to him as daddy. He clearly loves the sound of it falling from your lips.

"Oh, I like far more than what I see." He follows close beside you as you walk out of the bar, casting his gaze all over your body as he speaks. “What I see is perfection." He leans towards you, allowing his breath across your skin to be as intoxicating as his words. "What I feel when my hand brushes over your skin.." He trails a finger across your forearm. "..well, that's otherworldly." You raise an eyebrow, leaning against him as you walk together.

“You are such a charmer, aren’t you?” You question as you lead him to an incredibly nice looking apartment complex. You lead him inside to the lobby, taking him to the elevator. John’s smirk broadens at your compliment, but his face flushes red again as you lead him up to the elevator. He follows you closely as you keep your arm interlocked with his. His gaze continues to drift over your body, his eyes taking in your curves and your features. His lips move close to your ear as the elevator rises towards the desired floor. His voice is a low murmur, making you feel butterflies in your stomach just from the sound of it.

"If you think I'm charming now, just you wait..."

“I’ll hold you to it, daddy.” You say as the doors open. You lead him to your apartment, showing him inside. He’s greeted with your living room, decorated exactly to your liking. His eyebrow rises at the sight of the expensive room, his eyes traveling over your surroundings.

"Someone's got good taste." His gaze flicks back to you as you lead him to the bedroom, his lips twisting into an even more teasing smirk.

"I suppose this means you already know.." His voice is hushed with anticipation, his tone hinting at what's to come. He moves towards you, not wanting to waste any time.

“Show me what you got.” You tell him as you capture his lips in a passionate kiss. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull him as close to you as possible. He returns your kiss eagerly, his body responding to your touch instantly. His arms encircle your waist, pulling you closer as his lips press harder against yours. His other hand slips under the hem of your dress, his fingertips gently raking across your upper thighs. His hand lingers on the delicate swell of your breasts. His tongue darts into your mouth passionately, his body moving closer against your own as he explores with his lips and tongue, his movements becoming increasingly urgent and desperate.

“Oh, you’re good.” You chuckle as you wrap your legs around his waist, your arms around his neck. John’s breath catches in his chest as you wrap your legs around him while your arms continue to hold him close.

"And you're incredible." His eyes are locked on yours, the heat of your kiss and his gaze almost becoming distracting. John’s lips move against yours, his hands exploring your soft body. One hand trails up your dress even further, hiking it upward. His fingers grazed across your stomach, trailing across the band of your panties.

“Take me to the bed.” You say as you kiss him desperately. John’s heart flutters in his chest at the sound of your request. With a grin, his voice was husky as he spoke.

"Of course." He lifts you in his arms, carrying you across the room to the bed. His lips trail along your neck as he lays you down on the soft sheets, his gaze drinking in your beauty. John’s hand trails up your body, his fingers gliding over your skin as he leans over you, his head and mouth hovering just above your own.

“Shit, you’re going to be the death of me.” You laugh as you look up at him, leaning into his touch. He slid his hands upward from your panties, slowly sliding your dress up until it reached your upper body. You lifted yourself enough for him to pull it off and toss it aside. John chuckles at your reaction, his touch becoming slow and deliberate as he carefully removes your bra with ease. His lips find your neck again, nibbling on your skin as his fingers find your nipples. He plays with them ever so lightly, making heat pool between your legs. After a moment, he traces his way back along your jaw, his lips trailing across your ear as he reaches your mouth. His hips shift slightly against yours, adding to the intensity of your exchange. You let out a soft whimper as you feel his hard he is beneath his pants, feeling it press right against your wetness. You slide your panties down yourself, tossing them aside. You were desperate for him. He glances down at your exposed body and lets out a low breath as his eyes travel over every inch of you. He can't seem to take his eyes off of your body, your curves were so soft and inviting. His own clothes disappear in moments. He uses his cock to tease you, making you feel it against your thigh. He takes it, pressing the head of it against your clit. You gasp, biting your lip as you look up at him.

“Tell me that you want me.” You say to him, pulling his face close to yours as he hovers over you. His cock was dripping precum, and you could feel it dripping onto your stomach now. His breath hitches as you speak, your voice sending his heart racing.

"I don't want you..." His voice is hushed, his eyes locked onto yours as he spoke. "I need you." He leans closer, his breath caressing your lips. "I need to have you."

"Good answer." You tell him as you pull him in for a kiss. You wrap your legs around his waist, pulling him to you. He takes the hint, slowly sliding his throbbing hard cock into you. You groan with pleasure, feeling his cock filling you up entirely. His lips kiss you eagerly, his mind melting as you begin to moan for him. His lips and tongue explore eagerly, his hands gripping your waist tightly as he begins to slam his hips into yours. He pulls you closer, his hips shifting against yours. He moved in rhythm with you, as if you were both speaking a language only the two of you could understand. His body begins to sweat, and his breathing becomes ragged as he pumps himself into you. You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol or just the passion and intensity of the moment, but you felt yourself getting closer and closer to the edge as he used his thumb to rub small circles on your clit. "I'm going to cum, I’m going to cum.." You whimper beneath him. John’s breath catches in his chest as you reach your peak, as he feels you about to clench down around his throbbing cock.

"I know.” He rasps. He can feel your body straining against his now, the rhythm of your movements becoming faster and faster. “Cum for me, Princess.” He tells you. It's overwhelming, his passion almost primal, almost out of control. It sends you over the edge completely, making you gasp loudly and arch your back up toward him. You clenched around him as your orgasm took you, your whole body convulsing as you gripped the sheets beneath your body. You breathe heavily and shake, clinging onto his arms tightly.

"Good god..” You whimper, shaking beneath him. His body trembles as he watches you climax, your pleasure and release overwhelming him in the same way. He pumps himself into you roughly a few more times. He cums inside, shooting his seed deep within you.

"Oh, princess.." He breathes heavily, his words escaping him as he rides out his orgasm. He tries to gather himself back together as he looks down at you, covered in sweat. Both of you were breathing heavily, just looking into each other’s eyes. After a moment, he pulls you into his lap on the bed, wrapping his arms around your body as you sit in his lap. "My god.." He murmurs, his voice low and husky. "That was incredible.." He whispers, his hand trailing over your hips and waist. You rest your head on his shoulder, trying to catch your breath.

“Shit, you're incredible." You chuckle as you trace your finger across his chest. His body shivers as your finger traces across his skin, your touch sending a jolt of pleasure throughout him.

“I knew it would be good when I laid eyes on you, but.. I didn't know it would be this good." He whispers. His other hand gently holds your head against his shoulder, the weight of your body relaxing him after such an intense experience. He sighs softly as he runs his fingers through your hair, enjoying the intimate moment you were sharing. "I could get used to this."

"Me too." You chuckle as you rest on him for a bit. You stay silent for a while before speaking up again. "Hey... would you like to stay here tonight and maybe head out for some breakfast together?" You ask him, hoping he would take your invitation for a date. "I want to get to know you better." John’s heart leaps at the sound of your question.

"Of course, princess." His words are quick and eager. The heat and intensity of your passion was exciting beyond explanation, but there's something else to you that appealed to him even more. More than you even realized. "I'd love to spend some time getting to know you better.” You smiled happily, still leaning on his shoulder with content. You felt as if there were more to John than he let on, and you wanted to find out what it was.

"You seem interesting. And we can clearly have fun together." You chuckle. John’s body relaxes as you cuddle close to him, his eyes fluttering closed. The rush of emotions and energy he felt with you were incredible, but there was indeed something else drawing him to you. Something unexpected. He opens his eyes and looks at you, smiling slightly. His voice is quiet, his tone gentle as he speaks.

"You know, princess... I don't usually do things like this. But I'm glad I did. You seem special.” He admits.

"I don't usually do this either. I planned on just having some drinks and coming back here." You say as you sigh happily. "I'm glad you came to flirt with me.” John’s cheeks flush with your words, his eyes sparkling with delight.

"Same here.” He sighs, his voice growing even more hushed. "I'll admit, I had no idea what to expect tonight after our mission, but meeting you.. This is just what I needed."

"Your mission?" You ask him, curious as you trace your finger over his chest. "You're in the military?" John pauses, considering whether to explain everything to you. After a moment, he leans in closer, his voice quiet and hushed.

"The short version, princess, is that I work for the government." His grip tightens slightly around your waist, his eyes locked onto yours. "I’m part of an elite squad, our missions..” He smiles a bit. "Sometimes, we do things most people would only do in their wildest dreams.” He breathes in deeply, sighing. "What do you do, princess?"

"I knew there was something different about you." You say, smiling. "That's certainly intriguing. I'm actually a writer." You say softly. “I write books.” John’s eyebrows rise with apparent surprise as you tell him that you’re a writer. His voice is still soft, but it shifts to a more teasing tone as he responds.

"Did I inspire your next chapter tonight? Or is there more to come?" He smirks, his eyes locking onto your own. "Maybe I'm a character in one of your books."

"You could be. I do write dark romance novels." You chuckle as you trace one of your fingers over one of his muscular arms. "Handsome and mysterious man who works for the government meets a sweet girl at a bar and takes her home for the night.. that could be a good book." John smiles broadly at your tease, his eyes fluttering shut as his body responds to your touch.

"Sounds like quite the thrilling story." He chuckles and leans into her touch as he speaks. "I only fear who the writer has me become at the end." His voice is low, his tone hinting at something hidden beneath his words. "How many dark mysteries does this little writer unravel to the reader before the story ends?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll have to see." You tell him. "You're hiding more, aren't you?" John’s expression shifts again as your words land, his eyes taking in your body as he considers his next words carefully. His expression is hard to read, but a small smile comes across his face as he speaks slowly.

"Maybe you don't want to know all about me, princess.. But then again, that could just make the mystery all the more tempting for you..”

"God, you're sexy." You say as you look at him. "Something about you is so enticing. I can't get enough.” Your words make his eyes flutter. He shifts his body slightly against yours as he gazes into your eyes.

"And this sexy government worker has been attracted to you from the first moment he saw you." His voice becomes low, hushed and intimate. "He couldn't take his eyes off you and had to come over and see if you were up for some fun." He leans in again, whispering directly into your ear. “And you certainly were.”

"And I still am." You whisper in his ear, chuckling as you run your hand down his stomach. "The sweet little book writer wants more of that sexy government worker..” You admit to him. His eyes flutter shut at the sensation of your hand on his stomach, his breath quickening at the sight of your touch. Your tone is playful, yet your words are filled with so much desire.

"I like your idea of that story. Sounds like some more chapters are in order." He whispers, his tone teasing. John shifts to hold you a little closer, his own hand beginning to slide down your stomach.

"Give me more to write.." You tease him, pulling him into a passionate kiss as his hand trails between your legs once again. He finds your clit once more with ease, rubbing small circles on it as you moan into the kiss. His lips press forcefully against yours, his breathing quickening as he explores the curves of your body with his other hand. His small circles over your clit send electricity throughout your body, making you whimper in desperation for him.

"Give me more of you.." His voice is low, his words husky and heavy, filled with desire.

"I'll give you however much you want. Sexy government agent." You tease as you reach down and take his cock into your hand without hesitation. You slowly sit yourself back down on him, taking his cock into your hole once more. His hips meet your movement, his breath hitching as you sit down on his lap.

"Oh, I'll take it." He responds with a smirk as he reaches up to hold your face. "And I'll give you as much as you want, book writer.” He pulls your body close, his lips once again meeting yours, his other hand holding your waist and helping you bounce up and down on his cock.

"Christ, you're so sexy." You tell him, his breath hitching once again as you begin to bounce faster on him. "Your words are like something from one of my books.." You remark as you continue bouncing on his cock. "Are you really real? Or are you one of my fantasies come to life?" John smiles at you as he watches you bounce, helping you to move on top of him. His body moved with yours, the pace growing more aggressive now. His breath comes out in soft gasps, his tone still hushed and quiet.

"Maybe I'm one of those fantasies, princess.. Maybe I'm a figment of your imagination.. Or maybe I'm real, and everything that's happening right now is as true as it could possibly be.” He lets his words hang in the air as he kisses you passionately, his arms wrapping around her tightly.

"You're a living fantasy that I've only written about.." You whimper softly as you begin to move faster against him. His breath hitches in his throat again as you increase your pace. His movements are quick to match, the intensity and heat of the moment rising along with your tempo. He gasps in between kisses, his voice quiet and husky as he shifts to match your movement.

"God.." He whimpers. "Don't stop.. Don't ever stop..” His words encourage you all over again, making you move even faster against him, wanting nothing more than to hear more of his enticing words. John’s body shivers in pleasure, his voice becoming raspy and heavy as he responds. "Fuck, princess.." He whimpers. "You're incredible..” He lets his words hang once again as he kisses you passionately, his touch growing more and more frantic as he responds to your movements.

"Come undone for me." You tell him softly as you move on top of him. He bites his lips as he feels your words in his ears. His body reacts immediately, his movements growing increasingly erratic. He lets out a low moan, his voice suddenly ragged and hoarse.

"God, princess.. Yes.." The intensity of the moment is overwhelming. His hips pump up into you frantically, his hands holding you tightly. "Yes.." He lets out another groan, leaning into your body. "Just.. Don't stop..” You continue your movements just as he wanted, pressing your forehead to his to watch him unravel beneath you.

"Let it go. Come undone. Let it out for me." His voice becomes a heavy, husky murmur as you continue your hard and fast pace. His body responds with a wild abandon, his hips moving up into yours frantically and his face flushed with desire.

"Princess.." He whines. "Please.. You.. I'm losing myself.." His hips shift rapidly. He can't hold it back anymore. It's too much. "You... God, you're going to make me..." He barely manages to speak as he lets out another groan. His breath catches in his throat as his body begins to shudder. You look deeply into his eyes as you feel him come undone. You happily watch as he shivers and shakes, smiling to yourself proudly.

"Yeah, that's it baby..” You say softly.

"God.. princess.” The sound of that nickname leaves his lips with a groan, his hips moving against yours in a final thrust before he trembles. A long moan escapes his lips, his body tense and trembling. He cums deep within you again, his seed filling you even more than you already were. For a moment, he doesn't speak as he tries to catch his breath. "Princess.." His voice is almost hoarse. "You are incredible.” He shifts his hips a bit and keeps his cock inside of you, his eyes fluttering closed as he tries to gather himself. He lets out a deep breath as a soft smile spreads across his lips. You giggle as you stay in his lap, resting your head on his shoulder again.

"Glad I could make you feel so good." His arm wraps around your back, hoping you tightly. He lets out a content sigh as he embraces you.

"Just.. God, that was.." He trails off, his words a mess as he tries to recover. "That was.. Amazing," He finally gets out. His soft gaze rests on your eyes as he speaks. "You're amazing, princess."

"You're amazing." You retort. "I'm just a writer. But you.." You say, chuckling. "An incredibly sexy government agent with so many secrets who's good in bed? Are you sure you didn't come straight out of one of my books?" You joke with him, playfully tapping his nose with your finger. His smile returns at your words.

"Who knows?" His tone is teasing, not taking your question seriously for even a moment. "You never know what your characters will get up to when you're not looking." He smirks. His words make you laugh as you kiss his cheek softly.

“I really want to know more about you, John. We only met tonight but.. god, the way you make me feel. It's incredible." He looks at you as you speak, his smile soft and genuine.

“The way you make me feel..” He pauses before he speaks, considering your words carefully. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know about me, princess.." He says with an almost shy tone. "I'm an open book, if you want it." A pause. "But I’d hate to ruin this wonderful mystery for the book writer." He smirks playfully.

"Then I'll learn over time." You say as you smile at him. "You still want to get some breakfast with me in the morning, don't you?" He nods immediately.

“I would love nothing more. But there’s one little question I’ve been meaning to ask.” He admits. You nod, waiting to answer him. “Why exactly were you at the bar?”

“I..” You begin to speak but your face drops a bit. "I was supposed to be on a date but he never showed." You admit, your face turning a bit red. "I've been single for a long time. Everyone always just stops talking to me or leaves my life without a word." He wraps both arms around you.

“Maybe he did you a favor. He certainly did me a favor. He missed out on a good night with an incredible woman.” He smiles at you warmly. It was hard not to smile back. "Don't let that make you feel any less about yourself." He tilts your chin upwards, making eye contact. "He didn't know what he was missing..”

"I think he did me a favor. I got to meet you." You say as you look into his eyes. He could see how much it melted you when he tilted your chin upward. You lean into his touch like you couldn't get enough of it. "You're too good to be real." You say, smiling a bit.

"Maybe. But I can assure you that I'm real." John’s other hand runs along your waistline, his fingers tracing the outline of your body once again. In the soft light of the bedroom, there's an undeniable sense of romance and passion between the two of you.

“Why were you at the bar then?” You ask, curious.

“Unwinding after a long mission.” He says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Hopefully I helped you unwind.” You say, winking at him playfully. He nods his head in agreement. You hold each other for a while, admiring the glow of the city lights flooding the room. “I’m excited to get to know you more, sexy government agent.” You tease him.

“And I you, sexy little author.” He chuckles as you kiss his lips once more. “You know..” He begins, his voice turning a bit darker than it was before. "Those sweet, sexy words of yours made for the perfect seduction." You stop dead in your tracks.

“What..?” You say, looking into his eyes. His eyes have completely shifted into something darker. Something more sinister. You think for a moment before pulling back and looking at him. "Wait a second.. Do you know who I am? You made it sound like you read one of my books to seduce me.” His eyes trail your body once again, his fingers tracing along your stomach and chest.

"I mean, I’ve read many of the chapters you've written.” He admits, tracing your curves. John pauses for a moment. “You want to hear the truth?” You nod as you watch his fingers tracing your body. You felt excitement flooding your mind at the thought of this man going through all of this just to seduce you. "I read one of your books, princess. Several of them, in fact." He looks at you with a serious and almost.. depraved expression. "And I saw a woman who captured every ounce of my attention on page after page." He takes a moment to look away, his face growing a little sad as his tone takes on a hint of shame. "Maybe it was wrong of me.. But.." He pauses. He takes a deep breath once again and meets your eyes again. "I wanted to learn more about you. I wanted to know if you were the woman you portrayed in your books.” You find yourself dumbfounded, unsure of how you should feel. You knew it was wrong, but something about it was so fucking exciting.

“How did you know I’d be at the bar? Using your government worker privileges?” You ask, trying to piece everything together.

“Honestly, princess.. I’ve been watching you for a while. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but.. I’ve been watching where you go. Who you see. I’ve watched you sleep from the window.” He admits, looking across the building to another tall building that he must have been watching you from. “You look gorgeous pleasuring yourself at night. Do you know that?” He smiles, eyeing you up and down with desire.

“So.. am I like the women in my books?” You ask, looking into his dark eyes.

“The woman I fell for when I read your books, is exactly the woman who sits in this bed with me tonight.” He tells you. “Because I know you want this.”

"John.." You whisper. "You know exactly what I write. You know how dark my romance novels can be. Stalking, lying, deception and deceit. You know the type of men I like." You say as you look into his eyes, your own darkening with desire. "You're exactly the type of man I want. you stalked me and lied to me to get me into bed. I've never been so excited in my life." You admit to him, putting all of your dark desires into the opening. John freezes as your own body language becomes more confident and assertive. He can't help but smile as he watches you lean in closely and whisper your darkest desires to him like this.

"In your books, the men play with their women, using them as mere toys for their own pleasure." He pauses, a small grin growing on his face. "But that's not what I'm going to do to you, princess. That’s not all I want.”

“I know exactly what you want with me.” You tell him, all of the filthy words you spewed onto the pages of your books flooding your mind again.

“Oh you do? What do you think I want, then?” He asks, watching you closely.

“I can feel it. I know which book you used to seduce me." You say as you trail a finger down his chest. "You want to keep me as a little pet. A little plaything that you can love and use for pleasure. Don't you?" You ask him, reminding him of the exact book he had used to seduce you. He takes a deep breath as you speak. You’ve definitely hit the nail on the head with your response.

"Princess..” He leans in closer, his voice a little bit more serious as he speaks. "The reason I found you, why I stalked you, why I.. Did everything that I did tonight..” He pauses for a moment. "Was so I could have EXACTLY what you're describing.. You as my plaything.. Mine to use however I see fit..” He lets out a soft and husky laugh. “I want complete control of you, princess.”

“Christ..” You shiver as you cling onto him even tighter. “I’ve never been so excited in my life.” You admit, showing the full view of your dark and depraved desires. He chuckles darkly, his eyes looking deeply into yours with a hint of sadistic enjoyment.

"I think I'm going to enjoy making you mine, princess."

Link to the post on AO3.

[dragonsoftheeast]

For the directors cut ask: do you remember writing not born, but raised? You captured Guzman‘s feelings after Marina‘s death so vividly. Chapter 8 was heartbreaking to me and I’d love to hear anything you have to say about it. Bonus: how you would have written Guzman‘s thoughts/feelings towards Lu at the beginning of season two (you know me 😅)

Man, I'm so glad you asked me about this- it was so fun to write that! If anyone wants to check it out, you can find it here: not born but raised. And if anyone else wants some behind the scenes looks at my fics, just send me the ask!

Apologies for the essay response, but if there's anyone I can respond with loads of words about Elite to, it's you.

I've always used novelizations as a writing practice (it really helps me with body language since I can't visualize), but this was the first time I ever showed anyone. Getting into Guzman's head was everything for me, and I knew if there's anything this boy does, it's deny, deny, deny. And Miguel did such a perfect denial in his first reaction to Marina's death, that I just had to extend it. Listening to the cast reading of the finale was also incredible help, the actors were so attached to their characters! Maria's reaction to Guzman's line of "Because you know if something happens to them, maybe they had it coming.” made me know that had to be such an important line for him. It had to haunt him.

The trickiest thing to me was actually piecing together those interrogation scenes into something reasonable, like an actual flow of conversation. Cause I had transcribed that the whole season long and I rearranged that conversation so many ways to try and make it make sense.

And I do know you! And just to answer your question, I'll give you the opening lines I wrote for the season 2 novelization.

In the rules of geometry, the strongest structures have three sides. In the realm of grief, however, it seems that these rules don’t apply. His parents find support in each other, if not comfort. None of them will ever find comfort again. But the balance of their family, two parents, two children, is disrupted, and they don’t know how to support him.  Lu tries. They have sex that’s supposed to remind him that he’s alive, or at the very least wants to be. She holds him when he ultimately breaks down in his sleep, the thought of Marina’s misshapen head too much for him to bear. For most of the summer, he drinks, though Lu pulls the bottle away from him whenever she can. For that, he loves and hates her hands in equal measure.

So there you have it! Lu and Guzman's relationship is really messy in that I think they are very complacent when they are with each other. Lu is very complicated and smart (I know you know that), but when it comes to trying to get someone to not do something, she tends to stick to her one strategy, verbally lashing out. And while I love the zingers, it's not the best way to get into Guzman's head (since that is also his strategy). So to me, he's grateful to her, he owes his life to her, but I think he ends up resenting her on two opposing fronts- on the one hand, keeping him from the self-destruction he desires, on the other, not being effective enough to actually keep him from that self-destruction.

I actually have episodes/chapters 1 and 2 written out, but I wasn't sure whether I should post it when I'm not sure I can finish the season and the fandom seems pretty dead (let me know if you're still interested lol). But if you wanna see more of Guzman grieving Marina, I have some tearjerkers in there, if I do say so myself.

[herotome]

Devlog #98

Hi-ho, Wudge here - I'll keep this one short because I'm feeling tired.

FINISHED coding in expressions for Griffin's CG scene. LORD. Here's some out of context screenshots to celebrate, in no particular order:

I'm curious if anyone will recognize the wide-eyed, small iris smiling expression... I took inspiration from a certain character from a certain other indie visual novel!

Coded a rough draft of a screen about the flirt indicators in the game.

(ID: wip of the infographic for flirt indicators. A sketchy anonymous figure successfully flirts with Griffin on the left. On the right, this same figure fails to flirt with Dart and Mia at a funeral.)

Updated the sprite design of Dart's sister

Playtested the game (the affection point system is working fantastically imo) and wrote a bit. Decided to cut a moderately-sized wip section (where Griffin asks if you know which love interest you want to work with -- I'll be pasting it into a future section).

Backed up my files.

Coded in special Griffin dialogue that he ONLY says if you have high points with him. (It was a bit painful to miss out on those lines while playtesting, bc I was intentionally playing the field and getting moderate points with everybody :'D )

Fixed a small continuity error where Warden said he's glad Mia and I were getting along after Mia tried to BRIBE ME.... Easy fix though: his custom BRIBE response didn't trigger bc I was polite to Mia and got a decent amount of points with her, which triggered the GETTING ALONG branch instead Solution: just had to move the BRIBE response higher on the if/else tree.

I also... experimented a bit with text messaging UI this morning

..... I did a lot more code than I realized, no wonder I'm tired lol. I'll try to take it easy this week!

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

[anghraine]

For the ship ask game, Elizabeth/Darcy

Sadly, the long post that got eaten was my original response to this. It had a lot in it, but I'll do my best to remember it.

So! Elizabeth/Darcy is the queen of ships, the terror of the seas, the—yeah, I ship it.

1- What made you ship it?

I don't remember! I was only eleven. I think I considered Mary/Darcy briefly for some reason, but (properly) discarded it. I do remember that I really wanted Elizabeth/Darcy to happen from quite early (I thought Wickham was obviously lying), and partly because of that and partly because of missing things on my first read, I was genuinely surprised that Elizabeth refused him! I thought she'd accept because of her family's situation etc, and then they'd have to deal with their conflicts in marriage.

(This isn't an unusual fic plot, and I myself wrote a fic that was meant to lead to Elizabeth and Darcy having to deal with their issues as a married couple—though I never got to the marriage part—so maybe not quite as batshit as it seems in retrospect, lol.)

2- What are your favorite things about this ship?

There's a lot that I love, obviously. I love the youthful energy of their dynamic, even when it leads to mistakes. They really feel like peers. I love the sense of balance between them. It doesn't rely on everything about their thoughts, feelings, and actions being individually equivalent or even always similar, yet these individual things add up to put them on a par intellectually and morally in a way that is actually pretty unusual for Austen.

I love that they're both clever and truly ethical with a bit of an edge that makes both of them impressive, and both of them very compelling characters in general and together. Yet when they fall in love with each other, they're both rather silly about it.

Despite being borderline ace (and lesbian!) myself, I also enjoy the sexual charge between them. I think that, despite the restraint of Austen's style, it's pretty glaring, especially in the last third or so of the book.

Oh, and I love something that I don't always with other ships. They end up with pretty much everything they could conceivably want out of life, we're assured of their eternal gratitude for their marriage (this is the final line, in fact), they get ... it all. It's not all that common for me to encounter a ship treated so generously by its author, without it feeling forced or saccharine.

But it doesn't feel that way at all (for me). I think there's a reason that it's such a juggernaut in the fandom and people are often so ??? about alternate pairings. You can feel the favor of the narrative itself for them, the way it's so fundamental to the fabric of the narrative that nearly everything in it serves to further the Elizabeth/Darcy plot in some way, yet in a way that makes the novel feel rich and engaging rather than shallow. And at the same time, they have it all! They're smart and hot and good and in love and happy and will never have to worry about money or anything worse than minor inconveniences from extended family, they're going to continue to grow as people, they're—it's so nice and so satisfying in a way that's actually really hard to execute well and it's done so well here.

3- Is there an unpopular opinion you have on this ship?

Many, lol. Despite their immense popularity, I think in some ways that the ship is kind of a victim of it, because there are these inescapable pop culture osmosis ideas of them that just strike me as either reductive or simply wrong. I don't think Darcy is a brooding sexy alpha male romance hero or that Elizabeth is a feisty individualist woman ahead of her time.

I think they're both very much of their time, actually! Darcy is not old-fashioned for the time and Elizabeth is not ahistorically unique. In fact, I would like to see depictions leaning into them as products of their time rather than away (I know of a few, but it's not common in the way I'm thinking, esp given my preference for the 1790s setting).

[nana-glass-chillhop-radio-hour]

🌈🤲

🌈 i found writing a prose novel in response to audio fiction SO challenging. I had to do several "studies" where I wrote a novelized version of an existing TSV scene and make some baseline decisions about how to handle the POV character's interiority before really starting to sit down and draft come hell or high water. Just like... adaptation is kind of hard I guess!!

I also really struggled with transitioning from the second act to the third act in that work, and I fear it shows. Alas.

And I was very proud of the Carpenter monologues in 'My Song Cries Prophecy and Doom'! I honestly don't have much experience writing horror but I really enjoyed just like, mimicking that classic Ware horror monologue cadence with lots of multisyllabic Latinate words and complicated clauses while Carpenter recounts the MOST vivid childhood trauma in a disingenuously blase register despite the fact that her trauma is quite literally slowly killing her lol. And I actually really enjoyed the voice acting too. I had zero confidence in my ability to pull off an accent from outside the US so I just tried to lean into my natural vaguely Pennsyltuckey Appalachian American accent and hope that it conveyed to accent-oriented listeners the same sense of 'this character is, in fact, from a place' that Méabh de Brún's Carpenter conveys to me 🥰🥰🥰

🤲 writing both original fiction and fanfiction has always been a way for me to work out what I think about things! Especially things that I care about so viscerally that it's hard to approach head-on. My fiction very often goes down the same rabbit holes about like. The sins of the father and human rights and queer aspec people navigating getting their needs met in quasi-romantic relationships and coming to terms with disappointment in God and engaging in self-destructive behavior and breaking cycles of trauma. These themes have literally been coming up in my writing since I was thirteen. I like having a place to play out different permutations of those ideas and see what sticks. I think that is what I get most from writing, the opportunity to tease apart my own feelings and thoughts. It does also mean sharing work feels very vulnerable but that's baseball for ya.

Thanks for the ask! 🥰🥰

[emilyjunk]

5, 7, 10, 15, 19

5. a fic idea i've had that i will never write ... mmm i had a jori idea once where it's the last day of senior year and sikowitz makes them play 21 questions to have one last hurrah to get to know your scene partner before graduating and they are so engaged in a competitive/proud stalemate about it that they answer like 3 questions the entire class, but over the course of the summer they gradually keep asking each other questions, ramping up in intensity and attraction until the lovely climax. then i started something else and never wrote it but i think it would also be a fun YA novel idea lol

7. how many current fic ideas do you have? i have... mmm... 6 current fic ideas lol

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting? Hm. Not really, but I definitely didn't expect You Still Make Sense To Me to like... blow up. I thought it would be small popularity like my other fics at the time lol

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters? depends on the fic. sometimes a song sets me on fire and the fic rises from my ashes like a phoenix, so those usually pick themselves. sometimes they are just inspired by the theme of the fic after the fact. sometimes i have no idea at all and i just pick some random lyrics from a song that's a vibe

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs... GSU anyone? :))))

“Hold on,” Cady said, planner falling to the desk in front of her and those wide eyes filling with tears. “Just wait a second. Are you breaking up with me?”

“Yeah,” Regina said, a golf ball-sized lump in her throat, anger and hurt a red veil over everything. Cady was fully crying now, tears slipping down her stupid Renaissance-painting cheeks, but Regina felt cruelly justified in it. It was no secret that she had a barbed wire fence around her heart. Maybe it was Cady’s fault for growing complacent in trying to climb over it too many times. “I am.”

“Regina,” Cady squeaked, panicked, voice watery, gasping in a breath.

And then Regina hung up.

[vriskarlmarx]

Hi, this is EV (read-watch-sleep),

I saw that you reblogged the ask game, so turnabout is fair play!

I'd like to ask R, and Y. No pressure to answer if you don't want to, though.

hi!!! thanks for the ask <33 i actually answered both of these already but I'll try to give different responses this time hehe

R: Which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing?

yeah so generally like i said the first time it's andrew hussie like from homestuck and tiqqun like the zine in general terms (hilarious pair to group together, like, objectively), and then there's some specific people within fandom that inform my characterization of certain characters and dynamics. i think additionally to that if i had to point towards specific influences in fandom stuff, The Seventh Circle by magistralucis (daft punk fanfic lol) was pretty influential for me, and same for the Not Easily Conquered series by dropdeaddream and whatarefears (very well known stucky fanfic) is pretty much what i think about when i think about Fanfic Prose (positive). it's hard for me to think about authors outside of this though because I've only very recently started reading fiction again 😬, for the past few years I was basically only reading theory and fanfiction was like my "fun" reading but i wasn't reading many novels unfortunately.

also my friend martin from Real Life who writes the most beautiful, angry, poetic prose.

Y: What are your thoughts on your personal satisfaction with something you’ve written vs. the popularity of your stories?  Do you tend to be most satisfied with your most popular stories?  

i repeat myself but basically, my satisfaction does not really correlate significantly with the reception, however, it is very nice to receive feedback from others because it can enhance my enjoyment or understanding of my own writing. but it doesn’t tend to alter how satisfied i feel with it, and thoughtful feedback and popularity don't necessarily correlate anyway. actually what is probably objectively my most popular work (a dave strider/reader fic that i wrote for a friend when i was like 16 and that is currently anonymized) has received farrrrr less thoughtful feedback than other things where the kudos metric doesn't break or barely breaks the double digits lmfao but again, that doesn't really permeate my satisfaction at the work itself, the feedback is just like a bonus fun thing on top.