#longest fic in shortest amount of chapters

[freohrweohnatakausta]

oh...

[passthroughtime]

the update postponed indefinitely because i suck the biggest ass apparently 🤣

[the-100-days-of-junkan]

Day 60

Wow we really made it 60 days huh?

Okay so i’m not gonna yap long for this part. You saw the image, you see the read under. This is a small comic adaptation of @vanadisvalentine’s “Everything You’ve Ever Dreamed” fanfic. And it adapts the end of Chapter 4 which is pretty fuckin pivotal in that story. So if you haven’t read that fic yet I’m actually begging you, please read it and don’t let this comic be your first experience.

Second warning, this is going to be a long one. How long? Who knows. I haven’t written it yet, but this Day represents one of the biggest turning points in the whole project for me. 

When you click the read under you’re gonna get just the comic, and then you're gonna get hit with a gigantic fucking wall of text. I apologize in advance for the amount of rambling I’m about to do but I got a lot to say here.

Okay so you read the comic, you ready? Cause not only am I gonna yap about making that comic along with all the behind the scenes stuff, (amidst other tangents), but I’m also going to talk about the fic this is based on. This is probably going to feel a bit disorganized but i’ll try my best to keep this legible. Apologies in advance.

So your first thought is probably “Jem why the fuck did you do that?” and you’re correct for thinking that way. Rest assured, you’re going to ask that question again later but significantly louder and more exasperated in the future. 

Answer is simple though. I wanted to do something big for Number 60, cause every 10 images I wanna do something Big. For Number 50 I came out of retirement and wrote a fanfic and some art to go with it. So I wanted to go up. How do i go up? Well I am a comic artist, and making a webcomic is my general goal in life and what directs me forward. Sooo, why not a comic?

Okay but a comic of what? Well, why not a fanfic? And at the time the real answer was obvious.

There are Three Fanfics made for Junkan that are pivotal to this entire event. Without all three of them combined ya’ll would not be having Junkan art pop up in your feed every day, questioning what the hell is in my bloodstream to make me draw all this. The answer is Junkan, junkan is in my bloodstream.

I plan to talk about all three of those fics in this event, in as much detail as I can muster. That said not only are we going in reverse order, as todays fic “Everything You’ve Ever Dreamed” is the last piece of the puzzle for why I went off the deep end and drew this much Junkan. But also the other two fics aren’t gonna be discussed for a long time due to their placement in the event order. I’m talking within the last ten days. Oops.

But at the time it was, pretty fucking easy to choose this one to adapt. The other two either wouldn’t really fit my style that I had been working with up to that point, or were just not made to be a comic without way more energy.

And as a reminder this was before I had actually gotten to know some of ya’ll. Within the realm of Junkan Val was the only friend I had. I did have other people who liked DR and were on board with Junkan after I showed them my supply and stated my case, but Val was the only person I knew at the time who was as brainrotted for this ship as I am, granted I think she has like, a normal amount of brainrot. I think by the end of the project I’ve fully snapped and now I can’t stop thinking about these two, like I have actually tried to stop thinking about them but they keep popping up. What was I talking about- Right! Point is, you can consider Day 60, or as I would call it in casual conversation “The 22 Page Junkan Comic,” my most excessive thankyou to her for helping me stay motivated throughout the project and playing a massive part in its inspiration.

As for making the comic.

It was a very bold mix of “I’m having the time of my life” and “Hell,” that's the shortest way I could put it. The longest way? Wellll

So by this point I wasn’t just showing these pics to Val alone. I had a few friends even before Val who I showed the art too. I’d get compliments and feedback and all that nice stuff that keeps me going.

As I’ve stated in the past (i think) one of the hardest parts of this project for me was the lack of validation for my efforts. I do not make art purely to be complimented, I make art in order to hopefully bring a smile to someones face. However I do still take a lot of joy when I see my art being positively received, it shows that my efforts were worth it. Seeing peoples reactions helps me remember why I’m doing this and that I’m doing a good job at it. So if I  don’t get a lot of that, especially on something i put a lot of effort into, it can be a little demoralizing. It’s something I’ve tried to work past during this year, but at the time it was a big issue. Day 60 took around 2 weeks to finish, as I was managing other projects and commission work at the time. The whole time I barely showed anyone, Val was obvious because this was a surprise gift for her, however the rest is because I was very adamant about not spoiling the Fic it was based on, and say for a single person amidst the people I would show these pics to none of them had read the fic. So I went from showing a small handful of people these to showing one guy (admittedly one of my best friends) for the span of 2 weeks while grinding away at the comic. It wasn’t until the very tail end that my girlfriend surprised me by reading the fic, meaning I could show her as well finally. 

Was it worth starving myself of a majority of positive feedback for 2 weeks when I haven’t had to do something like that for years? Oh god yes but we’re not there yet I still need to talk about the actual comic.

So when you compare the fic to the comic you’ll notice I skipped a decent portion of this scene, this is mostly just for the sake of not making this take too long, I think I picked a pretty solid starting point but also I won’t lie and say there isn’t a part of me that wishes I took like an extra week or two to adapt the whole scene sometimes. Sometimes.

Mukuro acted as the pseudo cover for the comic, both because it was a small detail noted in the scene that she was watching the door, and because I could call back to the “Mukuro Notes” bit I did on the Vampire Junkan comic, which seemed like a cute call back. I also used this as a way to skip past some of the initial dialogue of the scene in terms of adaptation. I’m really happy with how this page turned out visually, I remember having to fiddle with Mukuro’s anatomy and smaller details for awhile.

As you can probably tell, like usual the art for this was still being done as a sketch which I colored rather than what I do in my usual comic stuff, that being Sketch > Lines > Colors > Shading. I did shade a few of these pages cause I think the extra effort was warranted for some pages. I wouldn’t know this without like, actually time traveling to check but I think there was even a time this would be just uncolored sketches. Clearly that didn’t last because yeah, the chick who’s drawing 100 days worth of junkan art is going to make a 22 page comic and NOT color the whole thing, keep telling yourself that Jem.

Once again since I was directly adapting this fic like with Day 20, I tried to be semi accurate in what I assume Junko’s appearance would be, giving her the bunny and bow clips in her hair. I didn’t go all the way since honestly I think i would have gone a little crazy if I drew both characters in their actual Hope’s Peak uniforms for the whole thing, so I mostly stuck to their killing game designs with that small change to Junko. And yes, I did have to edit Junko’s hair to remove the bear clips multiple times throughout the first few pages because I kept forgetting not to draw them. For the first time having these two memorized was a hindrance. 

If you’ve ever seen me draw a Question Mark with a cross instead of a dot when drawing Mikan, it’s cause of this comic. Val said it was a cute detail so I decided to stick with it when applicable.

I think I have read the segment of the story this is based on like, 30 times bare minimum. Now some of those times were just because I often reread this fic to help me relax before sleeping, but the majority are because I kept looking at this scene over and over again so I could try and get every detail of this perfect. The posing, expressions, and other visuals, while a little rough around the edges were all possible after going over every paragraph to get the vibe as close as possible.

The dialogue is word for word, punctuation for punctuation ripped from the fic itself. Mildly difficult to pull off without having to extend certain pages, but in the end I managed to pull it off.

Page 7 is one of my favorite pages from the experience. Originally the visual was supposed to be Junko in literal chains of despair with Mikan coming in with a key to unlock them, however chains are agonizing to draw. Not drawing them was a form of self care, even if I think it would have been a bit of a stronger metaphor. 

Mikan’s expressions were very difficult to get just right in this, which was half the fun. Do you know how fucking satisfying it was to draw her happy crying??? Very.

Page 10 is another one I’m really happy with. I don’t know exactly what the original plan was beyond the fact that I wanted the shot of Mikan reacting to that being a lot more visually extreme for the colors and amount of space it takes up to make it as overwhelming as possible. But I went in reverse  and made the initial heart stop moment of her realizing that Junko just said that more prominent than the rush of emotion hitting her right after.

There were going to be more visuals of Mikan being cute in the following page, however not only was I struggling for ideas but also my energy was fluctuating to hell and back by this point in the comic.

It took awhile to get the initial kiss to look good because by this point I was still really figuring out how the fuck to do that. I can’t remember if I mentioned it but the kiss in the Vampire Comic is one I actually edited after the fact before the post was scheduled because it looked really weird and pissed me off. Luckily this one doesn’t bother me at all. I remember being super paranoid i made the posing look too sexual, I don’t know what the fuck past me was on about but I’m not here to question I’m here to curse you all with knowledge and funfacts.

On page 15 Junko’s blush and smile are a bit more intense compared to the other panels on this page while she wipes away Mikan’s tears. This is because in future stories by Val it is confirmed a few times that Junko has dacryphilia, meaning she thinks Mikan looks really hot when she’s crying. Yes I’m really working in details from other fics into this comic, you should not be surprised this isn’t even the weirdest thing i’ve put in this whole event.

Peak comedy that I mentioned the question mark with the cross dot earlier and on Page 16 I didn’t do that, immersion broken, back to square one Past Jem!

Junko with no contacts!!! I mentioned during one of the Vampire AU days that while I don’t feature it in that AU alone I like the idea of Junko’s real eye color being red. Something I can never remember whether it’s actually canon or just strongly implied. I think this is the page I put the most amount of effort into, both to make it look well lit, and also to make sure her god damn eyes look as pretty as humanly possible. The end result may or may not be my favorite page of the whole comic? I dunno

I said Mikan’s expressions were hard to draw for this since I wanted to get them just right, she requires a lot more work on the smaller details to make everything feel right. Junko however? Oh no I was thriving by this point, her more lowkey expressions do need a bit more thought and effort, but by this point in the comic I was in my element with her. 

But speaking of expressions, Page 19.

That smile on Mikan in the middle panel took 20 fuckin’ minutes because I had never drawn Mikan looking that happy and I had no fucking idea what I was doing. I did actually edit the page last night (as of the writing of this post), however it wasn’t for the expression. In the original version of the page, Junko looked really fuckin weird in the last panel, like I don’t know how I let that slide but her whole face and neck looked way off. These pages aren’t like, perfect quality but that one was just egregious. Also edited Mikan’s blush in that panel just cause I was already there.

Junko’s surprised face was very fun.

And I think if I were gonna ever redo any page in full for this comic it’d be the last one. I don’t think this one looks bad I just know that I could I could do way better nowadays even if I stuck to just coloring a sketch. Maybe sometime down the line.

And that’s the comic itself! I can’t think of any other fun facts or thoughts on the art itself at this point. Uhhhh, I guess the cover I made last minute for this post is technically a reference to a future day? What does that mean? Oh you’ll fuckin’ see.

So 2 weeks of effort with little feedback and rereading the same scene over and over again, was it worth it?

God yes it was.

When I sent Val the Google Drive folder with the comic I was jittery for hours as if I had too much coffee. I was nervous as shit over whether she would like it or not, since this was when I still was a perpetual nervous wreck with very little self respect who was viewing her as “Coolest Person Ever” rather than “That’s bestie.” I was also nervous because it was the first time I actually asked for a more detailed response rather than just letting her respond in whatever way she wanted.

But when she responded?

I have lived the past several years doing weed, I’ve recently quit (i think by the time this posts it’ll be close to 3 months since I went clean), but that’s besides the point. I’ve had mild highs, crazy highs, bad highs, good highs, sad highs, and highs where I don’t feel anything. 

I severely doubt that any drug or vice on this planet will ever match the feeling of reading that response. I was shaking, I bit my knuckles until it left indents for like a full hour minimum, an adrenaline rush doesn’t even begin to describe what I was experiencing. I rode out the happiness from this moment for an entire week, I worked on comm jobs that would normally leave me feeling aggravated as hell and did so with a smile because I was just that fuckin excited over it. This probably sounds embarrassing as shit but there have been times where I go back to read that response when I just need a pick me up.

I had a fuckin epiphany at that moment. Who fuckin cares?

24 fucking years (25 starting tomorrow) I’ve lived my life as a people pleaser perfectionist with extreme paranoia problems with absolutely no self esteem and a whole wealth of other mental health issues. I would feel like dogshit if I halfassed a comm even if it was a really bad one. My whole goal in life was to make a webcomic that would make EVERYONE happy, be a positive part of their week. I was paranoid about pissing off the wrong people, starting shit, how people perceive me, about what ideas for my comic would be problematic or not. But after this? Who gives a shit?

It ain’t about making People Happy it’s about making Yourself Happy and the People you can reach happy. My goal is still to make a webcomic that people will come across, and look forward to every week as an escape to give them some positive vibes every week, but I ain’t gonna do that if I’m desperately trying to appeal to every single person on the planet while trying to stay as uncontroversial as possible. I wanna make art that makes people happy, and if I make it the way I wanna make it then it will eventually reach the people that it can make happy.

But enough of that shit, the actual big thing that happened because of my complete reassessment of my personal values and entire goal for life is that I fucking finally stopped giving a shit about whether people were gonna throw me in a woodchipper because I shipped Junkan. And it will continue to get funnier and funnier that after all the time I spent scared out of my fuckin’ mind over what people would think, that absolutely fucking nothing happened. It is day 49 at the time of writing this and STILL I have not had anyone give me grief or issues over this whole project, nothing but support and even some new friends over it. You cannot write something funnier than that.

I think if I went back in time and told myself at the beginning of the year that her fears were completely unfounded she would bleed out the eyes and pass out, and I would laugh. I’d laugh so fuckin’ hard.

So yeah, this Comic and the reaction it elicited changed my entire perspective on life and being an artist, I can’t say It’s been perfect or that I haven’t faltered on certain things, but  I think to an extent I have been a lot happier as a result. Is it a little weird that this niche version of a niche ship is now directly tied to a drastic change in my mind? Is it any weirder than the fact that I transitioned into a woman because I binge read like, all of the Tokomaru I possibly could on AO3 and it made me think that wearing a skirt might be cool?

Alright so how’re ya'll holdin up? Drink some water we ain’t done. This is already getting up to 7 pages on the google doc that I prepare these posts on and now I have to like, talk about Everything You’ve Ever Dreamed properly. So bare witness to me trying to figure out how the hell to format talking about what might just be my favorite fic of all time.

But first lemme go reread the entire thing, I know the passage of time doesn’t exist in the context of these text walls but i’ll be back in like, a few hours to a day.

Okay i’m back-

I’m honestly not sure where to start here. Normally with my biggest obsessions I could probably go on lengthy rambles about why I love them so much, but this? I struggle to find a proper place to start, or even how to format this. I don’t want to just give a beat for beat plot synopsis while talking about the things I like, but also how do I talk about something this good otherwise.

So fair warning this might be completely incoherent at points, sorry??

This was not like, the third Junkan fic I ever read despite it being one of the three fics vital to me becoming the inhuman machine of pure Junkan brainrot that I’ve become today. A lot of things are blurred but if I remember right the exact timeline of events was Read a cute Junkan fic which made me think “Wait this ship can be soft and cute???” and then I read Smile by Kayleen, which is funny in hindsight because I really went to tooth rotting fluff to one of the darkest Non-Abusive Junkan fics out there (dark by my standards at least and I think my frame of reference is out of sorts). I think after that I just stopped for awhile, partially because Smile wasn’t finished at the time, partially because I still wasn’t sure how to navigate the Junkan tag to find what I was looking for in the ship.

Smile comes to a thrilling conclusion and I think to myself “maybe this author has more?” which is how I found Kayleen’s series of One-Shots for these two (along with separate three other pieces), I read through those in a day and would continue to check the tag to see if it updated, like, every day.  Eventually after a couple months (possibly way longer), something came over me and I finally started seriously looking over the tag to try and find more Soft Junkan, whether there were others I read before it or not, I honestly can’t remember. 

What I do remember is I came across “The Marvelous Makeover of Mikan Tsumiki” by VanadisValentine. I don’t know how I found that before the fic of today’s subject, if I had to guess I wasn’t reading the tags first on this run through. I was likely reading the name of the fic, and THEN i read the tags to see if it has what I was looking for (I wasn’t a starving animal for the ship by this point so I was a lot more picky with what I was willing to risk my time on). And this fic’s name was slightly more eye catching for me at the time I guess??

Fun fact when I first read this fic I wasn’t even sure if it actually was a shipping piece at first, not until finishing it at least. How? Poor reading comprehension is my only guess lol. Anyway, I finish that, loved it, and made my usual move of checking to see if the author had written anything else like this fic, and oh boy did she. 

This finally brings us to me finally reading “Everything You’ve Ever Dreamed.” Took us fucking long enough.

It was perfect, it was everything. I fucking loved reading it the entire time. It had everything I could have wanted out of this ship without me even realizing what I wanted at the time. The weirdest part that my immediate response after wasn’t to go on an adrenaline fueled binge of the tag like I did for Tokomaru way back when I first got into Danganronpa. The most I did was read the other Junkan fics in Val’s library at the time. Otherwise I just stopped again. 

It was then that I drew the first three days of this event, the original sketches. I kept them a secret between myself and a small few friends, too paranoid to let anyone find out. And things just kinda stayed like that, for awhile. And then sometime in December, of last year I decided to give that same fic another read, and something just kinda, fucking snapped?

I went up and down the Junkan Tag on AO3, reading whatever I could, I was reading stuff I wouldn’t have ever risked reading with variable amounts of success. I only skipped a small handful of fics, including one that we’ll come back to way later in the project. Everything else I was scraping even the smallest crumb of fic to read at times. After that I scoured the tumblr tags, taking in whatever soft art or headcanons that I could, I went to Fanfiction.net, a website I still barely know how to fuckin’ navigate to try and find ANYTHING. I went to Deviantart to try and find any art or fics, no results not helped by the fact that it would include results that were slightly related. And not to sound like a Youtuber with no personality who’s built their career on punching down at whoever they can because otherwise their audience would see they’re a complete shell of a human being, but it being deviantart you can imagine what I was finding more often on that search. 

I even went to Wattpad, and that ones it’s own mini story that I’m saving for Tomorrow because the art for Tomorrow doesn’t have a lot of talking points on it’s own like this one does. But Wattpad had no fuckin results either.

I cannot remember the last time I had ever been this obsessed with a ship, this desperate. So, 100 Days of Junkan began, even if it wasn’t planned to be this big project. All cause of this fic turning a switch in my brain with a hammer.

Hey look we’re talking about the fic again, I told you this was gonna incoherent.

Anyway so the fic is just, perfect? To me at least? Before I had even realized why I liked the ship in the first place it did everything that I love about it at it’s core. It practically set the standard for the ship in my brain, at bare minimum within the context of a Non-Despair AU. And overtime as Val’s continued to write for these two her portrayals of the character are practically just how I view them at this point.

It’s not 1 to 1 but you can likely trace every aspect of how I portray Junko and Mikan whether through art or writing back to Val’s writing, down to even using certain pet names for the characters because of their usage in her work. I’d worry that I’m being way too much, heaping an overbearing amount of praise and respect. But also this fic unintentionally sent me careening into the direction of drawing 150+ Junkan pictures, learning various new skills and techniques as an artist, rekindled my love of writing (despite the horrors of actually having to write), making new friends both in and out of this community including some who I consider close, coping with mental health issues, and then performing this gigantic project at the tail end of the year. So I might actually be underselling this a bit in actuality. And don’t worry when I get to talking about a few other fics later in the project I’ll be doing my best to give equal praise to them as well, it’s just gonna be a bit sdlahfljasdfhas.

I’ve already said it but the fic has everything, at least of the core reasons I love this ship from the non-abusive perspective that this blog has built its foundation on.

To me I love Junkan because it’s two people that could not be anymore different from one another, who arguably should despise one another finding happiness in each other. It adds a new layer of depth to Junko to ponder how someone like her, whether in canon or in a non-despair AU like this could fall in genuine love with a total wreck like Mikan and how that would affect her character. It’s fluffy moments of Mikan getting to be genuinely happy for what might be the first time in her life while Junko showers her with affection. It’s Junko being fucking hilarious while Mikan can barely keep up with her humor and teasing because she’s so flustered. It’s Junko grappling with newfound emotions. It’s Junko and Mikan bringing out the best in each other and inciting positive change through their influence. It’s that perfect blend of hurt/comfort. And so much more beyond that, all contained in this one god damn fic. I might even be forgetting things I like about the ship too, there’s just so much that goes into this!

Obviously this is all specifically in a Non-Despair context, the Evil Girlfriends angle has a myriad of other reasons to enjoy the ship which I’ve become fond of. Especially in some of the parallels it can have with a non-Toxic Yuri angle of things. But that doesn’t really apply for today’s subject and I’m not someone who’s deeply knowledgeable or equipped to sing its praises at the moment. Maybe in the future though?

Is there anything else I can yammer on about with this fic? Uhhhh- Oh. I love how it uses the supporting cast. I think Val has a really excellent grasp on how to write Mukuro and Junko’s dynamic without dipping into the territory of DR3 where it just gets a bit uncomfortable. I think that’s better exemplified in one of her other fics rather than this story, but I still do love Mukuro’s portrayal and role in the story. This was my first time learning who Yasuke was, I hadn’t properly heard of Danganronpa Zero by this point so I was really confused as to who the hell he was. Certainly left a strong impression in the story though. I think Kaede’s sudden appearance and role in the plot progressing towards the stunning climax of Chapter 4 was really good! 

I very often go back to Chapter 1, 4, and 5 whenever I need to go to relax before bed. I’ve reread this fic multiple times as a whole but an absolute fuck ton of times as separated pieces, they’re so god damn soothing on my mind. 

The fact that I haven’t left giant fuckin’ comments on any chapter of that fic is quite frankly one of my deepest sins, but one of these days I’m gonna buckle down and write up on those because they deserve every ounce of praise in my scrawny lil whitegirl body. 

I think I’ve said everything I can for now but even now I feel like I haven’t gotten across how much I love this fic. It genuinely is my favorite fanfiction out there both just for the quality of it’s writing and the comically massive influence it had on my life this year. If you somehow haven’t read it by now, please do, if you like the art I’ve drawn of this ship over the past 60 days I can almost 100% guarantee that you’ll like this story. And read the rest of Val’s fics too! Please! 

As always, Reblogs, Comments, and Little Notes in the Tags are appreciated!~ They always make my day!~

[verycharismaticdragon]

Do you know why everyone and their mother keeps saying that Sheb Qingqiu's secluded cultivation lasts for a year or 3??? Last I checked, wasn't he only in the cave for several months??

...I haven't seen a fic use that timeframe in quite a while - am I the delusional one??

Having intensively cultivated for several months, he could freely control his spiritual energy and had risen one level above his original cultivation base.

... nope, still as I remembered from the official book, page 85 in my copy. Even my old Exiled Rebels translation puts it as, "several months." Last I checked, 12 (or 36) months is far too many to simply be considered "several", so what am I missing? It just- throws off the timeline so badly and greatly increases the amount of time poor Binghe is stuck in the woodshed, for what?

Okay, so the 3 years thing comes from the donghua, no need to look further. It's one of those things that directly go against canon but have stuck in people's minds, similar to 'the washerwoman was the one to pull baby Binghe out of the river' and 'Shen Qingqiu fainted dramatically several times early on in his transmigration'.

Then, I don't believe I have seen 1 year myself, but if I had to guess, it may come from the fact that Binghe is 14yo prior to SQQ entering seclusion and 15 once he leaves. That said, an entire year makes zero sense considering what we know of the timeline.

Which is where I confess that I tore out some hair over the length of SQQ's seclusion when constructing the timeline for Transmigrator Time Traveler, because for me 'several' months means 3 to 5, but given all the facts, SQQ's seclusion had to last somewhere between 6 and 10 instead. (I went with 9 in the end, for the fic, cause I've read that 9 is a significant number for spiritual practices cultivation is based on? the source was a little vague so i don't know how true that is, but I needed a number.)

Nevermind, to the aforementioned facts. MXTX confirmed the date of the first chapter publication - Sept.21 - to be the date of SQQ's transmigration. (Small note: I'll be using modern months, even though SV's world uses lunar calendar, because it's easier to gauge weather and stuff. For characters in the novel, they might see those as different months/seasons, but that doesn't really affect our purpose here.) Luo Binghe’s 15th birthday - which Shen Qingqiu missed in seclusion - is in winter ('coldest day' which I after some research came to hc as jan6, though that's not particularly relevant, because...) Demon invasion happened on a 'hot day' (SQQ mentions it in relation to how SHL is dressed) - which puts it in May at the earliest, August at the latest. So these are the 'borders' we are working with.

Now, to my actual calculations. We know SQQ spent some time on the Peak after transmigration, before the Skinner mission that led to him going to seclusion. So I'm gonna say that happened in October at the earliest, December if you stretch it (though I feel like his tatas would freeze off if the Skinner left him half-undressed in December...) - but definitely not later, cause Binghe’s birthday has to happen off-screen. So if we take the longest possible time frame, October to August, we get 10 months. The slimmest possible window - December to May - gives us 5 months, but between the aforementioned boob hypothermia issue and the fact that May is a bit of a stretch for the 'hot day', I think that 6 months is the shortest you can go.

Which, again, doesn't align with my understanding of what should be described as 'several' months, but what can you do... tbh, im not sure MXTX thought all that hard about the timeline, which is understandable as a writer - but as a fan, frustrating

So yeah - definitely less than a year (and absolutely not 3, donghua), though the math gets fuzzier after that.

[rainbow-nerdss]

Fic Writing review 2023!

I was tagged by: @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @aidaronan @exhuastedpigeon @jamespearce9-1-1 @theotherbuckley @aspecbuddie @thewolvesof1998 @daffi-990 (And possibly others, i may have missed one or two, sorry if i did!)

I can't believe 2023 is over, honestly. This year has had some ups and downs for sure but overall I'm so proud of what I've achieved. I started the year mainly writing Stranger Things fics, and while I still love that fandom and all of the wonderful people I met there, my inspiration for writing it was beginning to fade.

And along came 9-1-1. I am so happy with where I've ended up, and for all the new friends I've made since I found this show back in April!

Here's an overview of my year in fic:

Words posted to ao3: 235,060

Words written: 250,465

Works posted: 38

Fandoms posted for: 3 (Stranger Things, 9-1-1, MCU/Captain America)

Specifics and tags are under the cut!

Longest fic:

Crawling on Back to You 109k words, 30 chapters Stranger Things, Steve/Eddie, Rated E

Shortest fic:

Keep on Walkin' and don't look back 521 words Stranger Things, Steve/Eddie, Rated T

Top 5 by kudos:

1. Right in front of your eyes

9-1-1, Buddie, 15k

He and Chris, and Buck. They work, they’re a unit. Why should it matter that he’s single? Buck is watching him, like he’s reading every thought on his face. “You’re already planning to lie about the date. Why don’t you just tell her you met someone yourself?” Eddie shrugs and tilts his head to the side, squinting in thought. “She won’t set me up on dates if she thinks I’ve got someone,” he muses. “But she’ll want to meet whoever it is.” “So... Introduce them?” Or: Buck offers to fake-date Eddie so Pepa will stop setting him up on dates.

2. Pinky Promise

9-1-1, Buddie, 1k

Christopher Diaz doesn't mind that his dad's dating someone new. He's not dumb, he knows there's someone. The way his dad has been smiling lately, the way Chris catches him staring at his coffee, daydreaming like he isn't a grown man. The sleepovers Chris is suddenly allowed to go to on almost a weekly basis. Chris is happy for him, really he is. He’s just not planning to let himself get attached to whoever it turns out to be, just in case. He doesn't need a step-parent, because he has Dad, and he has Buck, and that’s enough. Whoever his dad dates, well. They'll probably leave, eventually. Chris doesn’t need to worry about them. Or: Eddie and Buck come to Chris with some news, and he doesn't take it very well at all.

3. Peek-A-Boo

Stranger Things, Steddie, 1k

Eddie tried not to stare. He really tried. He didn't notice at first, too preoccupied with the tub of pringles he'd been making his way through while talking about Corroded Coffin's last gig. Sure, he'd noticed the shorts. The ridiculous amount of leg Steve was showing, the way they hugged his ass, but it wasn't until Steve moved, lifted one foot to rest on the cushion, knees spread, that Eddie noticed another feature of the shorts. Or: Steve puts on a bit of an accidental show.

4. Definition

9-1-1, Buddie, 2k

It keeps happening, time and time again. People get it wrong. Whatever people say, it feels wrong and they don't know how to set the record straight, until Chris takes it into his own hands. or: 5 times people get Buck's role in Chris's life wrong, and 1 time they set the record straight

5. take my hand (knot your fingers through mine)

9-1-1, Buddie, 4k, written with @pock-o-pea

At least Buck’s okay. He’s outside, safe, doing his job. Buck’s okay, which means no matter what happens inside this van, If the crushing weight of the fridge takes him before Buck can get to him, if the van pancakes or flips or any number of likely disasters occur, if Eddie dies in here, alone, and in pain, then… He thinks of Mallory, of Jo. How they’d called out for each other. His eyes shut briefly as Mallory’s words echo in his head. “She’s not my daughter. Jo’s mother was my best friend… she saved me so many times.” Or: what 6x18 could've been

2023 Events I've participated in: AUgust, Fandom Trumps Hate

Current works in progress:

The bodyguard fic (somebody to someone) -One chapter posted, 3 more written and (almost) ready to post!

Steve time travelling in the upside down (of moments and unmoments (of time lost)) -One posted, two more in the drafts 😁

The break-up fic (you were my town) - Two posted, the third almost ready to post

Season 7 fic: 10 chapters, currently being edited to post

and then a bunch of isolated oneshots I've yet to figure out an ending for: 5+1 times Eddie sees buck with kids that aren't his, friends with benefits, secret relationship, Teacher!Buck, Buckley siblings kiss of death, Buck in the stairs (just started this one last night!)

Goals for 2024:

I want to finish posting all of the WIPs which are already on ao3, post my s7 fic before March 14, keep working on all the WIPs I have in my docs and of course write more and keep sharing!

Most of all I want to keep participating in this wonderful fandom I've found on here, I have had *such* a good time over the past year in fandom 🥰🥰

No pressure tags (sorry if you've already done this and I missed it!)

@hellwrites @the-emdash @wildlife4life @disasterbuckdiaz @loserdiaz @jeeyuns @callmenewbie @911-on-abc @bittersweet-in-boston @kwills91 @trenchcoatsandtimetravel @spotsandsocks @devirnis @housewifebuck @lover-of-mine @gayhoediaz @mojowitchcraft @wikiangela @steadfastsaturnsrings @sunflowerdiaiz @cardamomsage @velvetjinx

Also tagging anyone else who might want to look back at the year and I've accidentally missed!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

[inthedayswhenlandswerefew]

Congrats on finishing a fantastic series! You've outdone yourself!!

I'm curious and this is no reflection on current times, but what is the shortest time you've took off between series and what is the longest?

Take off as long as you need before the next one (if you ever feel the need to do another), you deserve it!

Hello lovely! Thank you for reading 🥰

I think the longest I've taken off between fic series has only been a few weeks, I tend to feel pretty rested after that amount of time and ready to dive back into a regular posting schedule. I really do love writing and am kind of perpetually infatuated with story ideas, so I don't enjoy taking long stretches of time off.

The quickest turn around, I believe, was 1968 -> Martyrs, which was like 3 days 😅😂 I got too excited about the idea and couldn't wait!!

There is certainly a new series on the way (moodboard and chapter list are already done) but I need a little more time to get into the right headspace and finish the necessary research.

Be on the lookout for clues in my reblogs! 🥰

[jadeandroses]

Ao3 wrapped, @astralithium edition!

Covers:

Beyond the Final Frontier, chapters 16, 18, 19, & 24-27

your fate is mine

(practiced) ease

the only way to bring me down

pulse failure

two swords

rainbow

on second glance

nowhere to be

1. Final word count: 78,242. Most of it went to the most difficult chapters of Beyond I have ever written. Seriously. I complained so much over 19 and 24, but they turned out okay.

2. 8 works this year! Though admittedly, it weren’t for that spite induced writing coma last week, it would’ve been 4

3. Honestly? I’m most proud of nowhere to be. That had been kicking my butt since March, and then all of a sudden it just clicked, and I’m so happy it did

4. My most hit is Beyond. Not really a competition, though, considering it has 24 chapters compared to the usual 1-3.

5. bring me down got way more feedback than expected! I thought for sure it would fade into the background considering how nuts the tf fandom was in the wake of One’s release (and given the prevalence of the M*gop shippers)—but it did unexpectedly well, and I’m proud of it

6. practiced ease is my favorite title, because I feel like it tells the story before you even read it. Second is pulse failure, because it actually uses the knowledge I got working at the car wash

7. There wasn’t one specific artist I used for chapter titles, but bring me down, rainbow, and nowhere to be all got their titles from songs:

8. I only wrote for Mareach and Oplita this year—though since two swords was written three years ago, and because Beyond also features Mareach, I think I technically gotta give “most written” to Mareach.

9. Favorite ship I wrote for? I can’t pick—not only did both ships practically raise me, but I feel like they’re the same ship with two different endings. I can’t pick!

10. on second glance took the least amount of time. First line to posting took about three hours. (Unfortunately it was 2 am)

11. (Excluding Beyond because it’s still ongoing,) nowhere to be took the longest. I attempted to write it in March, but scrapped it until December. Second longest goes to bring me down at three months, third to your fate is mine with two and a half

12. At least two in the list for next year—but I’m sure inspiration for more will come to me sooner rather than later.

13. *gestures vaguely to Beyond* Long enough for ya?

14. Shortest is rainbow, by four words. Second shortest is, hilariously, on second glance

15. Beyond, my baby, will be coming with me into 2025—don’t get me wrong, I might complain, but I love that this fic is basically my brand as a writer.

16. “fluff without plot”—I’m getting very close to adding it to Beyond

17. TF One Elita was the easiest to write. I was shocked by how well I could step into her shoes

18. Hardest? Easily one little Miles Tails Prower. My god WHY is his voice so difficult to capture well

19. Shoot. I wanna write Luiaisy. I just have a hard time coming up with original ideas, ya know? Their fandom’s already so good at it

20. I thought bring me down would age poorly, so I keep rereading it expecting the quality to go down. I’m surprised by how it hasn’t yet.

21. Ao3 counts all of Beyond toward this year, even the parts I uploaded last year, so my total kudos for this year is 540. Ik that’s not accurate but I like the number

22. Again, you cant really compete with Beyond because it’s so big—just passed 100 comments—but I am amazed by how well bring me down has done in that regard—53!

23. No, but I’d like to collaborate with people next year! (I’m just shy)

24. …shoot, does bring me down count as a gift for Odette? Since it was technically her idea?

25. Nope!

26. Gen fic is my most common. Mostly I write what I wanted to read as a kid, I think

27. Beyond and bring me down have their own playlists. Usually, if I’m writing anything else, it’s because there’s a song stuck in my head, so I’ll listen to that

28. Honestly, I appreciate them all—but pulse failure was so niche, and I actually got to write it while inside my car wash, so that one’s got a special place in my heart.

29. Favorite passages are a tie between this bit from Beyond—

—and this one from bring me down

30. Honestly? What’s surprised me most is just how many friends I’d make doing this. Thank you guys for being here, and I hope you’ll all stick around.

Love y’all

-jadeandroses/astralithium

[can-of-pringles]

Talk Shop Tuesday: How do you decide on the length of your stories? How do you know whether something will be a oneshot or a multi-chapter piece - or when you do a oneshot series rather than multiple chapters of the same fic? Do you have a method for outlining your longfics or choosing which scenes will go in each chapter?

What's the shortest piece you've ever written - do you like the length of it? How about the longest piece you've ever written - same question? How much do you think about word count as you write?

(I know that's a lot of questions, feel free to skip over whatever you don't want to answer, I just wanted to give you something to focus on for a bit)

Thank you so much for sending this bestie I really appreciate it

Talk Shop Tuesday

I usually try to aim for at least 1k words. If more, then that's great obviously. I've learned not to pressure myself into writing a strict certain amount and just try to let my writing flow naturally.

I typically prefer one-shots over multiple chapters, but if I'm coming up with a more obvious overarching plot/clear cut story, then I stick to multiple chapters. Another thing is if I'm rewriting an existing media then those tend to be chaptered.

This is not to say that majority of my one-shots don't have a clear story or anything, they are more like loosely connected chapters so to speak, or maybe peeks into a big story is more correct to say. I feel less constricted when working with one-shots if I change my mind on something related to the plot. If there's an outdated one-shot it's not as big as a deal since I can either delete it or rewrite it. Whereas with a multi chapter, it feels harder to go back and change things.

I don't really tend to outline my work, though lately I've been big into spreadsheets and making timelines. Most of my stuff is now categorized by months and years, and I can decide what happens in a certain month which gets turned into a chapter or new one-shot/fic.

I feel like word count was answered above. I try not to think too much about word count as I write because I don't want it to discourage me. Sometimes I do check rarely if I've been working on a single fic for a while and it feels like it's getting long

Looks like the shortest thing I've written was Low which is 192 words. I wrote it when I was having a low (shocker /j) and was coping by writing about Peter dealing with low bloodsugar and Marigold helping him feel better I think. I think it's fine, it's certainly not my best but it only really exists as a coping fic, ( ironic when the actual fic is fairly fluffy from what I remember?)

And the longest I've written so far is When I'm Alone with You which is currently at 31,476 words. I'm honestly pretty happy and proud of myself that it's gotten that far, with still a lot more planned!

[sapphicscholar]

✨ao3 wrapped 2023✨

Tagged by @lilolilyr - thanks for kicking it off!

Works published: 9 (much lower than in years past and a testament to how much time the job market + wrapping up the dissertation have taken)

Word Count: 57,926 - this is my first ever year since getting an ao3 account where I dropped below a 6-figure number with most other years averaging ~300k or 2 years between rounds of grad school with 600k+ words each (lmaoooo truly laughable amounts of free time compared to now)

Extra Stats:

Most popular by kudos: Two corpses. Everything's fine. (Hacks post-s2 murder mystery party)

Most popular by hits: see me in hindsight (Hacks post-s2 dream AU)

Longest: indulgence (Julia, Blanche x Judith) coming in just barely shy of 14k words

Shortest: (coming apart) at the seams (Julia, Blanche x Judith smutty missing scene one-shot) at 1,859

Most Comments: adrift with 34 comment (although it's a multi-chapter, so a bit of a leg up there, that I will get back to after i have some real work done)

Fics that made me cry: none sorry haha

Fics that made me smile: I like to think all of them did! There's a joy in creating something!

gifts:

- tangled up with you all night from the very person who tagged me! I *still* have this in my AO3 to read 😭 I think I've read maybe 3 fics all year with how much work has been kicking my ass

-and I gifted flicker to @trying-to-get-somewhere-real as our lovely champion of the Judith x Blanche fandom <3

collaborations: none this year! the handful of things I've written have been mostly unexpected time I carved out for myself (some of which perhaps I shouldn't have taken but ya know...) so I wouldn't have wanted to collaborate with anyone and subject them to the whims of this very hectic year

events: I organized the Hacks Week 2023 fandom event and added my Good, Tomorrow fic to the AO3 collection!

Consider yourself tagged if you'd like to participate! I know lots of people are traveling and with family and friends this time of year, but it's always fun to see what other people got up to during a year I feel like i've largely missed in fandom (not in a sad way, more just in a literally: I was so logged off/out that I straight up didn't know what was up haha)

[bingebuddie]

My 2023 AO3 Wrapped

How many words have you written this year?

418,813 words were published on AO3 this year. I don't even know how many from WIP or unposted stories.

How many works did you publish this year?

12 works. 2 on going works, spanning 66 chapters and 1 collection of one shots.

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

Sideways. It's been a ride. https://archiveofourown.org/series/3373597

What work of yours has the most hits?

In A Flash, part one of Sideways, with 27,982 hits. https://archiveofourown.org/works/45261967/chapters/113868901

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

How Buck Gets His Groove Back. I wasn't expecting people to jump into me doing my own thing and tying my original characters into Buck's past as a SEAL.

Favorite title you used.

Only You... Should have been the title of the arc and not just one chapter.

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

Illenium. Not only is the work named after the song, Sideways, is it featured in the work in a key moment between Buck and Eddie. Another Illenium track is used in a later chapter.

Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

#Buddie Buck and Eddie

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

This is tough. Buck and Eddie, for sure. But as I worked through the year, I found the scenes with Eddie and Maddie a lot of fun. But also, Eddie and my OCs, Wes and Cole.

What work was the quickest to write?

In A Flash.

What work took you the longest to write?

For You

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

Sideways has 3 full arcs outlined. Nevermore has at least 15 chapters left that are drafted in some form. Cole and Wes ... the amount of work I have around them... fills a book series.

What’s your longest work of the year?

Solo arc is For You at 121k words... But, Sideways as a whole is over 300k words with all 5 arcs.

What’s your shortest work of the year?

Happy Ever After

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

Nevermore

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

Established Buck and Eddie, Demi Eddie, Bi Buck

Your favorite character to write this year?

Wes and Eddie.

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Nial from Nevermore... Having to keep things about him under wraps is annoying.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Wes and Cole.

Which work of yours have you reread the most?

In A Flash and In Another Life... they go hand and hand

How many kudos in total did you get this year?

6019

Which work has the most comments?

How Buck Gets His Groove Back.

Did you do any collaborative works this year?

Nope

Did you write any gifts this year?

Nope

Did you receive any gifts this year?

Nope

What’s your most common category?

M/M

What do you listen to while writing?

I am a DJ... this is a loaded question... But my fic playlists are published on Spotify.

Favorite work you wrote this year?

Chapter 6 of In A Flash when they face off with the Buckley parents.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Phillip steps closer to Eddie, "I am just supposed to believe that you will dedicate yourself to my son." He laughs sarcastically.

Eddie laughs louder. "I already did." Eddie raises his left hand so they can see the wedding band on his hand and taps his ring. "In sickness and health, Phillip."

Biggest surprise while writing this year?

How easily Wes and Cole fit with the 118...

[chiyana]

HA yeah that was…that was from Tuesday night so you know a dude had to be a little sedated

But in ANY case, I for one am happy to have another chapter in this trying time! Regardless of thematic coincidences!

And I’ve thought about it more, and I think Kryptonians would definitely use fluorescent based sequencing, as opposed to something chemistry based, because they’re such a heavily wavelength based species and sequencing using flashing colors detection really fits that, you know? They seem like they would utilize lasers forever and for everything

And while I’m sure they have something to do whole genome sequencing that’s faster than we currently have (tho we are limited by how fast chemistry can you know. Chemical), I like to think Tim’s sequencing was done using Sanger sequencing, or the equivalent, because it’s fairly easy, fairly accurate, and it’s confirmed they already have sequenced something similar before so they would have the materials already (and you know, now that I think about it, Kon being a hybrid and in canon Kal having a half/half kid does indicate Kryptonian DNA has the same if not chemically compatible bases to humans)

If I had a heavy hunch about the identity of a sequence AND I already had the materials from before, it would take me like….personally 4-5 hours from start to finish to confirm Tim was human, and that’s from using my 2005 sequencer. If I needed more information/more sequence, I would use a next gen sequencer of some kind, but those take a lot longer to set up, like…hmmm at least a day (you can way more info, like in depth population analysis or a Whole Entire Genome, but they don’t NEED that right now)

Also I just love Sanger sequencing a lot, it’s so neat how it works. It’s like. It’s like you place a train on a track, and the train is a short DNA sequence you know (or hope) matches somewhere in your sample. And that train goes forward, replicating the strand of DNA it’s on (the train track). And every so often, the train will get stopped in its path by a glowing DNA base, 4 different colors for the 4 different bases. And this train does this thousands and thousands of times, getting stopped randomly at any point in the track with a glowing base. And when it’s done, you use an electric/magnetic current to separate the different train paths, from shortest (train gets stopped immediately) to longest (train gets stopped a solid mile down the track). And then look. At which color each track glows. Because they’re in order of size now! So you can see what the sequence of the whole track is by checking the order of the glowing bases from smallest to largest! I love it, I want to be buried in a Sanger sequencer when I die

Anyway. I actually love how you write your fic because you put just enough science in it to entice me and make me think, but not so much that it kills suspension of disbelief. It’s the perfect amount of explanation for me, unlike other shows that shall not be named

Ooh! I like the idea of them using fluorescent based sequencing, since yeah considering how heavily light/the sun ties into them conceptually and thematically, they absolutely would use lasers for everything forever XD

I didn't know about different kinds of sequencing, but Sanger sequencing does sound really cool! I like learning about neat tricks in science used to gather data quickly and accurately and then organize it to sort through and understand :)

Thank you so much for sharing, and I'm glad you like the fic! Also, if you want sci-fi world-building that really gets into the weeds of things like different genes and chemical structures, I recommend checking out Jay Eaton and Runaway to the Stars! It's a currently updating webcomic, but they're on Tumblr as well as jayrockin. The story follows a hypercarnivore alien/aerospace engineer named Talita who gets involved in fixing a pirate ship and running off to have space adventures. There's SO MUCH world building and thought gone into the world of the story that I think you would be interested in (if you haven't heard about it already).

Thank you again for the ask!

[higuchimon]

This is mostly from curiosity but also genuine interest. I jump from fic to fic frequently (which is why so many of them aren't finished). But I want to make as much progress on the Great Editing & Rewriting Project as I can. So, keeping in mind the following:

This involves editing or rewriting almost everything I wrote between 2014 & 2020, one-shots, drabbles, drabble collections, chaptered fics, everything. This amounts to roughly a LOT of rewriting. I have released myself from all limits (unless I choose to limit myself). All fics 100% rewritten will be removed from ffnet, a03, & Tumblr only when the new version is finished & posting is ready to begin. (If you want to keep anything of those fics, feel free! But no AI finishing it, please).

And the reason for this poll is:

[walkawaytall]

My Han/Leia Fics by Era: Hoth

Look, I've written like 20 one-shots and completed a multichapter this year and figured I'd categorize them by...uh...eras, as decided on by me. Here's all the Hoth-era stuff (apparently my favorite era), listed from shortest to longest. Absolutely none of these take place in the same universe. I mean, I suppose some could, but it wasn't done on purpose.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

A Billion Ways to Die in Space One-shot | 994 words | G General vibe: tense worry, positive ending with reunion, friendship.

Summary: When Leia's mission runs late, Han worries.

(This technically isn't explicitly set on Hoth, but I was imagining Hoth when I wrote it, so you can, too.)

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Fleeting Infatuation One-shot | 1836 words | G General vibe: humorous angst? Is that a thing? Leia's in denial and is annoyed that she's in denial.

Summary: Leia Organa didn’t just have a problem; she had a crush.

Leia could handle a problem. Problems could be solved with logic and careful thought and sometimes a little luck. Problems could be reasoned through. Problems, if they became too overwhelming, could often be set aside for a minute or two while she regained her bearings.

Crushes, though…Leia hadn’t had a crush since she was seventeen, and this current iteration made her feel entirely juvenile.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Speak Louder One-shot | 1960 words | G General vibe: friendship is magic, mildly humorous.

Summary: He’d never seen them apologize to one another. Three years running with the Alliance together, a gratuitous amount of time spent on the Falcon, on missions, and on base with his friends, and Luke Skywalker had never witnessed Han and Leia apologize to one another.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Served Cold One-shot | 3216 words | G General vibe: cutesy friendship-turning-romantic stuff; the mildest of angst for live five seconds because Han's grumpy.

Summary: Han Solo really hates snow. Leia wants to try to fix that.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

So, Now I Have to Destroy Them One-shot | 3766 words | G General vibe: low-stakes shenanigans, humorous, friendship, Han's a little grumpy but also definitely has a crush and doesn't know what to do about that, Hoth turns the Rogues into feral space raccoons.

Summary: Han Solo wasn't invited to join in a game of Bounty Hunter -- not that he cares. But everything changes when a certain princess asks for aid during the final hours of the game.

Vague Hoth time period when people aren't yelling at each other.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Confirmed by Sources Close to the Subject One-shot | 3910 words | G General vibe: humorous, practically crack, heartwarming ending.

Summary: When Han returns to base with a new biography in hand, Leia is horrified to discover who the subject of the book is.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Spiral Together One-shot | 4666 words | T General vibe: humorous, a little mushy and romantic, Hoth turns the Rogues into feral space raccoons.

Summary: When some of the Rogues overhear Han and Leia get into a fight, they take measures to ensure the pair makes up before they're all stuck on a mission together.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Terrified Without You One-shot | 6818 words | G General vibe: hurt/comfort, physical peril, mushy almost-confessions under dire circumstances.

Summary: Han and Leia end up stuck in a crevasse together on Hoth after being in an argument about...well, Leia can't remember what exactly. With no way out and comms not working, all they can do is sit, wait, and try to survive.

Vague Hoth-era time period. Pre-The Empire Strikes Back

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Collateral Multi-chapter | 51135 words | T General vibe: hurt/comfort, a fair bit of romance and snarky dialogue, angst with a moderately hopeful ending thanks to our good ol' friend The Epilogue.

Summary: Han is scheduled for a dangerous mission, and only Leia can ensure he makes it back safely. An Ord Mantell story, set right before The Empire Strikes Back. This story has everything: friendship, romance, angst, flashbacks, an explanation for the existence of that necklace Leia wears during the Yavin medal ceremony, a sarcastic Chewbacca.

My attempt at answering the question: what the heck is everyone's damage at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back?

[taddymason]

-20 asks for Fic Writers-

Thanks for the tag @rainofthetwilight!

Tags: @tik-ket and @fanficmaniatic and any fic writer that wants to do this!!

1.How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 5!

2. What's your total AO3 wordcount?

154,728

3. What fandom(s) do you write for?

For now, just Ninjago, but maybe I'll do some ATLA or BB in the future

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Stormbound: 406 kudos (I still can't believe it)

Everything I think I Know it's just static on the radio: 137 kudos

Lightning Pin: also 137 kudos

Let the poison bleed out of me: 60 kudos

Spirits in the sky: 19 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

YESS Almost always, I don't always know what to answer, so there are some that I don't answer, but I love each one of them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angiest ending?

Eh, Let the poison bleed out of me… because Jay dies there so

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of the ones I write end with a bittersweet ending but I think it would definitely be Spirits in the sky! I actually really love the amount of fluff that that one has

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nop

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

No but... I mean, maybe in the future I will idk kdjd

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

No, but I've been thinking for a while about doing one of Ninjago and Back to the Future. Simply because it's canon that lightning masters can time travel.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

As far as I know, no

12. What's the longest time you've spent working on a fic? And what's the shortest?

Stormbound: I think I spent about a year planning the whole story (?) and it took me about seven months to write it all. I swear that fic was one of the ones I'd been wanting to write for the longest time.

Home: I made that fic and the illustration in less than two hours.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Nop, but i’d be interested!

14. What's your all time favourite ship? From all the fandoms?

HiccupxAstrid from httyd

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The second part of Stormbound. I started making some drafts for some one shots, but a long time ago I decided that this fic didn't need a continuation. I think the ending is quite conclusive so I doubt I'll continue it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Describe the feelings of characters. I really like replacing dialogue of the characters saying what they feel with simple descriptions and leaving various things implied for the reader. Show instead of tell, I have received very good comments about it.

17. What are your writing weaknessess?

Action scenes. I'm still trying to make them more dynamic and not dwell too much on the descriptions.

And I don't know if it counts but... correct any spelling mistakes because english is not my first language, so every time I reread one of my fics and see some small spelling mistake, a part of me dies.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I haven't tried it yet, but maybe in the future!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ninjago

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Everything I think I Know it's just static on the radio

I'm still proud of that fic and I think it was one of the ones that made me most sure to plan everything in advance and that there was some symmetry in the chapters.

-

[winter-spark]

Hiya friends, I'm having a writing predicament.

See I think just maybe my arranged royal marriage au might be too long. And mayhaps I need to break the chapters into their own stories and make the story a series.

Which is wild because the chapters were me trying to find the best places to split up the one shot that was getting too long. Plus that means that it might feel a little cheap to stop before the actual wedding.

But like let me explain why it might be too long. My first draft which was this 🤏🏾 close to being complete was a one-shot turned 3 shot, turned technically 4 because chapter 2 was split (chapters are named by "Acts" so chapters 2 and 3 are both Act II but Act II part 1 & part 2), then turned 5, then 6. It has about 35,988 words and again was incomplete(finished in my head.) But to put the chapter sizes in perspective, in my second draft, chapter one is currently 8,183 words. I'm still writing chapter two but I'm a third - halfway through it at 3,226 words. For comparison, the first two chapters of my tangled hs au are 3,926 and 4,601 words, chapter two being the longest of all the chapters I've written for it, chapter 9 the shortest at 2,899. Chapter 9 is not the end. With the way the story is going, there's still 4 (give or take one or so) chapters left.

Now that was a lot of words what am I saying? Well before I fully clarify, I love both stories. And I like reading both, and I have ideas still cultivating for both for my edits and conclusions. But it's easier to get in gear for the tangled hs one(I need less misleading nicknames for these). And I'm starting to think it's the way they're broken up. I think it's easier to get through thus easier to work on. See when I did draft two, draft one was a bunch of loosely connected scenes here and there (the beginning was solidly connected but as it went on the rest was just "oh I have an idea for a scene" several times some more attached together than others) so when doing draft two the hard part was making a calendar for the story and deciding when each event happened. Then I could just write the chapters like "this is day three so this thing needs to happen", and it's all heading to a conclusion and the chapters are complete chapters but they're largely built around small scenes I'd written, some things becoming a thing because "oh something needs to solidly get them to that point of their dynamic."

With the arranged marriage one, I started out solidly writing a story, each part in full, each part following the next, to the point that it visibly got too long to be a one-shot. With the tangled one, I was like oh to tie all this together this is gonna be too long to be a one shot, but with the arranged marriage fic I heard my sister in the back of my mind saying "some one shots are so long it's like okay you really could've cut that into chapters" or something along those lines as she told me before that she does feel like with some large one-shot there are clear good spots to cut it into chapters at and that it should be cut into chapters. So I thought, dang, this is probably one of those one-shots. I wasn't even done writing it I was on what became chapter three maybe now chapter four, thinking I'd be able to end it soonish but knowing it was long and needed that chapter split. So the division started up as large portions of the story. Then I went through to solidify them as solid chapters and fixing the pacing by adding more scenes to more clearly elaborate on the amount of time passing and what the characters were noticing. Which of course made the chapters longer.

Thus in editing and getting to the scene that's stuck in my head, it takes a minute while with the tangled hs au, revisiting rereading rewriting takes less time. I don't even think the arranged royal marriage one is a drag or anything but it's lengthy. In several aspects. So maybe leaning towards the bite-sized would make it easier.

However, I do have hesitance in doing that. See the thing is, it's a complete story. From chapter one to chapter 6. If I make them separate stories I have to work out if they standalone alright. Honestly, I think the first chapter would but Idk where to split it into chapters. And again how would I end the series? Like literally the last chapter is mostly wrap-up and fluff like idk if it can be its own standalone or if it would be a solid enough end to series rather than a single story. Like if I do this I'd have to probably expand it and I've already expanded it so much, it's so long.

On the other hand, if I do expand, like maybe I can throw in another perspective here or there as I do have thoughts on scenes that happened off-screen. I dunno though. But who knows how long it'll take if I do that. And I might have to give the others actual storylines. I mean like I could bring back the Izumi maybe having a crush on someone plotline that I scrapped because I was too indecisive but like that's a story rework lowkey? And another thing. I can't post a story until I'm done writing it but if it's a series would I be able to share the story as I go, as I finish individual works? Because finishing a whole series before posting any of it sounds like it'd take forever. But then I won't be able to go back and edit freely to make it flow better.

Oof. I don't know what to do.

[captainskyson]

Fic Writer

Wanted to do ficwip's year in review questions for my own sort of journaling :-) I answered a couple of these over on Twitter/X, but wanted to track for myself all 30 questions. So, I've put my answers below a cut to keep everyone's feed a little more tidy:

1. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again? Explored writing a true narcissist and not redeeming him or the relationship with the main character by the end of the fic. I would do it again - and in fact am, though this 2nd one may never be public. It was/is very cathartic though.

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!) I'm only counting what was published in 2023, because I've dabbled on probably 50 others. I added 6 or so chapters (~90.000 words) to my longfic (Guesstimation judging from emails...I should start keeping better stats of that process, maybe), of which I only include the word count because there were only 4 other fics, 1 drabble, & 1 drabble set. For me, that's a big drop as far as amount of completely separate fics, compared to past years.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer? Alongside question #2 - When I can't post as often on my longfic, I put more time into posting longer chapters. Too long. And I need to stop that. (One of my biggest chapters last year was over 25.000 words. I'm so sorry to my readers, especially those using phones.😶‍🌫️)

4. What piece of media inspired you the most? Music in general. Also notable Buffy's perpetually wandering eyes, and Giles' ruggedly handsome face and his hearteyes.

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year? Mostly Buffy, and I've only posted Buffy (and one Ted Lasso fic), but I did feel nostalgic at times and opened up a few of my old Daisy x Mace Agents of SHIELD fics and dabbled a little bit.

6. What ship(s) captured your heart? Nothing new, but Buffy/Giles always. ❤️

7. What character(s) captured your heart? I was never a Dawn-hater, more indifferent really, but watching her scenes with a more thoughtful eye and writing her has caused her to grow on me quite a bit.

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year? Yes, my fic mentioned in #1 was Rupert/Rebecca from Ted Lasso. Definitely a new type of fic for me in nearly every way, especially considering it's a "ship" I don't "ship" canonically at all.

9. What fic meant the most to you to write? Our Souls, They Blend. A hurt/comfort fic brainstormed with one of my best mates the last time I was in England, and I finally finished it satisfied for posting this year.

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? Bad Idea; I've reached the point where I've diverted from canon timeline quite a bit, so it's always so satisfying when a canon quote or scene ends up weaving into my story really well.

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing? The Trouble With Wanting; it was a wip for a couple of years due to just one or two scenes that wouldn't quite find themselves, and the song itself was in my "inspiration playlist" for even longer prior to that.

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it? Out of all my wip's I dabbled on, overall I'd pick Bad Idea. By the end of the year I started getting into my stride again, but it's been incredibly difficult working out the plot where I want it to go, and try to keep everything "logical" with as few holes as possible as I near the climax and end of the story.

13. What fic was the easiest to write? Wips: I'm surprised to say my Tabula Rasa rewrite (to be published soon 😉). I had a general idea but once I saw a specific image the fic just flowed. Published fics: my Kinktober drabble series, despite my normal struggle to keep anything short. I found myself able to knock out each drabble almost every morning before I even went into work.

14. What were your shortest and longest fics this year? Longest: additions to Bad Idea, previously mentioned. Shortest: a single drabble added into my "Laughter drabbles" series.

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023 The only 2023 one I haven't mentioned yet, a collab with another dear friend! A fluffy, funny, first-dates exploration that ended up including a lot of real life inspiration.

16. What were you go-to writing songs? Too many to list, but some notables: The Devil You Know by Kovacs, The Trouble With Wanting by Joy Williams, Dirty Little Secret by Alex Who?, Can't Pretend by Tom Odell, and pretty much everything Dermot Kennedy does.

17. What were your go-to writing snacks? Snacks? I usually forget to eat at all.

18. What was the hardest fic to title? The collab mentioned in #15 Third Time's the Charm, which wasn't really that difficult but it was one of the few that wasn't inspired by music. 😂 I often make it too easy on myself for titling when I've got song lyrics to pick and choose from.

19. Share your favorite opening line Out of what I've posted, Bad Idea Chapter 41 (Blood Ties, All the Way): “Have you noticed that every time we talk about moving past the honeymoon phase, we end up finding ourselves in situations like this?” Buffy commented, slightly breathless.

20. Share your favorite ending line “There won’t be another test.” Giles assured her firmly. [iykyk hahaha]

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue "Santa can bugger off and have the mince pie." [unashamedly stolen from a convo w/ my friend: thank you, dear, for that]

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene Classic American vs. Brit tea scene: “You don’t trust my tea-making skills!” Buffy exclaimed, even more indignant than he had been, and he gave her a look. “And what in our most recent history should make me assume otherwise?” “Don’t be snarky.” She huffed, and straightened. “I’ve been watching you make it for years. It’s not that complicated.” “Oh, God,” He mumbled in sure dismay, resting his arm across his eyes.

23. Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out? Not so much a single paragraph as it was an idea - how to create and then solve Buffy's problems in Bad Idea's version of "Life Serial", as the Trio and their dumb curses don't exist in the fic. Luckily (and humorously, to me anyway) an ol' song came on the radio and gave me inspiration... sometimes the simplest solution works. And in this case, it was parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

24. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story? Buffy's third "time test" in the Life Serial chapter being another run through the Cruciamentum. I didn't originally plan that and it sort of just happened organically. It didn't change the end outcome of the chapter, but it did provide me a little moment to do an almost AU of my AU, which was interesting.

25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.) Paper & felt-tip pen for notetaking, Google Docs for my meatier fics, Apple Pages for the rest.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? When I had Rebecca tell Rupert to his face: "I warned you that I was going to make you crawl."

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? Started the next one.

28. How did you recharge between fics? I read fic, or I watch something completely non-Buffy related. (As it's most often only Buffy, these days.) Spend some time walking or kayaking. Go see a show. Something creatively filling, because I long ago learned the hard way about not being able to pour from an empty cup.

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank? Tony Head's parents. 😄 Really though, my two sisters. ("What have you been reading?!" 😉) The orchestra would play me off the stage before I finished talking about all the ways I'm grateful for them.

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024? I never ever thought the day would come, but I've actually got a couple of different ideas involving a little bit of that silly de-aged comic plot with Giles. (Both fix-its in their own ways, of course.) I've been having a lot of fun with both of them; one for the research, and the other for... the fun. Haha. x