#most of my fics are probably inspired by a piece of dialogue that came to me

[the-travelling-witch]

kendall you’re being so sweet yet again🥺

i do love romanticising the little and mundane moments, that’s so true!! plus dialogue is usually what comes to me first and i make up soooo many conversations that never make it out of my drafts :’)

a/n: i was watching the olympic skateboarding final, zoned out and zoned back in to find this in my drafts; modern au (but not part of my existing modern au universe)

genshin masterlist || modern au series

Skater! Childe who you meet at a skatepark your friend dragged you to. You’d been perfectly content watching your friend jump around the bowl as you sat to the side, earbuds in as you busied yourself. That was until someone tapped your shoulder and moved in front of you to block out the sun as you stared up his tall stature. It was a skater you’d seen do some recklessly tricky jumps earlier.

Strands of ginger hair stood off to the sides of his head, no doubt ruffled by the helmet dangling from his arm. The loose black shirt draping over him obscured most of his body, though you had seen how it outlined his toned body while he zoomed through the rink earlier. His skateboard rested casually against his leg, his fingers energetically drumming against it as he shot you a lopsided grin. 

“Sorry, don’t mean to bother you,” he started when you pulled an earbud out. “But I figured I had to come talk to you or I’d kick myself for it later.”

“Oh uhm thank you… I guess?” You stammered, not quite sure how to react. This guy could play the male lead in a rom-com, was he pulling some kind of prank on you?

“So, you don’t seem to have a board with you,” he continued, undeterred by your hesitance, as he plopped himself down cross-legged in front of you, the piercings in his ear gleaming in the sunlight with the movement. “Not into skating yourself, are you?”

“No, I’m just here because of my friend,” you admitted. Not wanting to let the conversation with the handsome stranger dwindle quite yet, you wrecked your brain for something to say. “You obviously are, so uh do you come here often?”

“Yeah, I try to come here as often as I can. Helps me clear my head, you know? Oh, where are my manners? I’m Ajax, by the way.” He grinned, taking your attempt at conversation and running with it. When you told him your name, his smile widened, showing more of his teeth and crinkling around his eyes. “That’s pretty, suits you. Anyway, you should definitely try skating yourself sometime, it’s real fun.”

“I’m afraid if you told me to break a leg, I quite literally would,” you chuckled weakly.

“C’mon, nobody’s asking you to do a kickflip right out the gate. It’s really not that bad, just start with the basics.” Ajax cocked his head to the side, strands of ginger artfully falling to frame his face, before he beamed excitedly and extended his hand to you. “Actually, why don’t you give it a shot right now?”

“Huh what, like right now right now?” 

“Yeah, here you can use my board.” You don’t quite remember when you had put your hand in his but his fingers were pleasantly warm as he pulled you to your feet effortlessly. “Just try standing on it. Hold on to me if you want to, I won’t let anything happen to you, promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that, you know?” With a shaky exhale you slowly set both feet on the grey and red board underneath you, still holding onto Ajax’s hand, the rings adorning it already warm under your touch. The first time the board suddenly moved underneath you, your free hand immediately latched onto his shoulder.

“Woah easy there, it’s all good, you’re doing great,” the ginger encouraged you easily. The way he stroked his thumb over the back of your hand was probably meant to soothe your nerves but it only served to make your heart pound faster.

“You don’t need to lie to me, I know this is like less than the basics,” you gritted out through clenched teeth and a layer of embarrassment. Naturally that was child’s play compared to what he probably got up to.

“I’m telling the truth, I swear. You’re going out of your comfort zone to learn something new, even if you’re scared.” There was so much genuine seriousness in his voice, it made you pause to actually consider his words. “That takes guts, not everyone takes that leap. So yeah, you’re doing great for me.”

Perhaps meeting his ocean blue eyes was a mistake because, in that moment, you found yourself falling deeper than you initially thought you could and you quickly had to avert your gaze again. For a while, you practised balancing on the board, even managing to get the hang of kicking off the ground without landing on your ass and you found yourself agreeing with him; this was fun. Though perhaps that was also thanks to the company you kept.

All too soon for your liking, you heard your name being called as your friend waved at you, skateboard in hand. Turning towards Ajax you stepped back onto solid ground, looking for what you could say.

“I guess that’s my cue,” you said somewhat breathlessly, handing the board back to him. “Thank you so much for teaching me, I really enjoyed it. Uhm… is there a chance I’ll see you again?”

“I’d hope so.” To your relief, Ajax seemed to share your sentiment, even sending a cheeky wink your way. No use blaming the heat of your cheeks onto the sinking sun now, you supposed. “Well you already know where to find me but I’ll do you one better. Do you have your phone?”

Handing it to him, you watched him tap away before giving it back, the screen still showing his newly created contact, the name of which had a little heart attached. “Call me, okay? And not just because of skateboarding lessons. I’d like to get to know you better.”

“Sure, will do.” At this point, you were starting to wonder if the smile was permanently stuck to your face by now with how much your cheeks hurt. “Take care then.”

“Will do,” he playfully replied, flashing you that charming grin that introduced you to him in the first place. “You make sure to get home safely. And don’t miss me too much, you hear?”

With a shake of your head you waved him goodbye as you caught up with your friend, who eyed you knowingly, no doubt waiting to pry the details out of you. This is where your paths strayed from each other again. For now, at least.

© the-travelling-witch 2024 - do not repost, translate, copy or edit; do not feed my writing to an ai

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[helianyx]

trust exercise -

pairing: sylus x mc word count: 1,106 summary: Sylus makes a very simple request with a few not-so-simple underlying implications, and MC tries to fit another piece of the puzzle that is 'Sylus' into place… tags/warnings: more lighthearted, conversational exchanges from me, developing relationship, canon compliant a/n: I was mistaken this was actually my first little fic/test at writing LADS that I forgot about lol. Just a very small one-shot inspired by some of Sylus's dialogue at the café when he's wearing his Unrestrained outfit. P.S. I forbid any use of my writing in any form of generative or AI training, thank you!

(ao3 link)

“Hand me your phone.” 

Sitting in the relative silence of the cafe, the command came out of the blue. She arched a brow at her companion, lounging in the seat beside her with a travel guide on his lap and looking back at her- ‘Expectantly’ was not the right word, not quite. When Sylus gave a command he ‘expected’ it to be followed, to such a degree ‘expectation’ never really factored in, it was a step of any exchange that could be glossed over. 

That wasn’t always the case with them so much, but all the same the muted expression on his face was quietly patient. He always seemed to be thinking ten steps ahead - and that was probably a gross underestimation. In fact, she was sure if she suggested that out loud he’d scoff and feign offense. 

Piecing together the puzzle of who Sylus was had given her this much insight at least. In this blip of a moment between them, as she stared at him in a brief stupor over his sudden ‘request’, he had already anticipated it. He knew she would be bewildered, possibly deny him, ask questions. And who wouldn’t? A phone these days held a lot of personal information, you didn’t just hand over your contact and financial information, your private conversations and what-all-else to just anyone. 

Of course, she had little to no doubt that if the boss of Onychinus wanted, he could easily get whatever information he wanted, so…

So underneath the simple request was a veiled test: Do you trust me? And in making the request: I want to earn your trust. 

But the ‘blip of a moment’ was just a breath too long apparently, and Sylus gave a low chuckle, smirking as he tilted his head, curling his fingers coaxingly.

“You’re overthinking it, sweetie.” 

“With you, I highly doubt that.” She sighed and shook her head, but tapped in her passcode and handed it over to him. Briefly she wondered if he already knew the code, but maybe she’d sleep easier if she didn’t know the answer to that. 

Resting her elbow on the armrest and her chin in her palm, she watched him as he languidly tapped at her screen, unable to see what he was actually doing. His expression gave away nothing, though - no hint of whether he was perusing her conversations or camera roll. No sign he was finding anything amusing, or dissatisfying in one way or another. 

“If I ask ‘What are you doing?’ I suppose you’ll just tell me…” Her words fell off, and like a gentleman he picked them up.

“Patience, kitten.” He drawled with a smirk, crimson gaze flitting up at her briefly before returning to whatever he was doing. 

It was another piece of the puzzle she was toying with, figuring out where it fit. Once, she might have expected him to be the sort to dislike assumptions being made about his character, or it being suggested she found him ‘predictable’. (Not that she’d ever be foolish enough to believe that.) 

Instead he found such suggestions amusing most of the time, and beneath that, if she got particularly close to the truth… It seemed he really liked it. Being seen. Being known. It surprised her, and it only surprised her more that she found it endearing. 

And it felt good to know that those efforts towards understanding weren’t for naught. Once she got past another of his walls or defenses, he didn’t push her away or deny her, but welcomed her in. 

With a quiet, contented sigh, she found herself smiling as she watched him. Actually, come to think of it…. She should have asked to look at his phone! She’d been so lost in her thoughts it didn’t occur to her and now she was kicking herself. 

But just as she was about to jump on that opportunity he finally turned her phone towards her, showing her a new screen display with a map on it. A small red icon indicated…? She took the phone and squinted at the lines on the map and the names of the roads. 

“Is this…?” Looking up at him, he was running the pad of his thumb over the tips of his other fingers, nonchalant as could be. Then he tapped his index finger against the necklace he was wearing.

“The necklace's locator has been modified and is now bound to your device. You'll get my coordinates when it's necessary.”

For a stunned second she felt like all of the walls and defenses in her brain were entirely obliterated. Or maybe it was just her mind itself that was blown. By now she had zero suspicion he would lie to her, let alone about something so out of the blue like this. 

When they’d first gotten involved with each other she’d often make a list of possibilities a mile long for what devious, underhanded schemes he might have had in store for everything he said or did. After all, he said himself he made countless plans for every possibility, but at the very least, where she was concerned, those schemes had never truly harmed or undermined her. In fact nowadays it seemed he actually schemed for her benefit.

She wondered if she admitted to him she’d actually trimmed those lists of suspicions down, whether he’d condescendingly scold her, or give her that rare, genuine smile. 

Letting himself, the leader of Onychinus, be tracked like this… And… for what? Her peace of mind? She wanted to say she didn’t need something like this, but somehow it really did make her happy. He asked for her trust and she gave it to him, and he returned it with interest. 

Though her mind did hitch on the last part of what he’d said.

“And… when it’s not necessary?” 

“Then you won’t.” 

“So I’ll know when you’re getting into trouble.” 

“That’s more my way of keeping you -out- of trouble.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled, looking down at the little red marker sitting beside her in the cafe. 

“You know, I’m pretty sure most girls would start having trust issues with a caveat like that.” Where is he? Why won’t he tell me? Surely he’s off with some other girl. Haha, it was almost laughable to imagine, because it seemed so utterly absurd with Sylus. 

And what a startling realization that was. 

“But you know better.” Never a question, a statement as confident and unfaltering as ever with him. Lately, she found that confidence contagious.

She laughed, and then that laughter trickled off into a fond sigh as she smiled at him. “I know better.”

[goodlucktai]

tagged by @bobtheacorn like...... 3 weeks ago 😭 my bad

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

283

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,353,670

which seems.......excessive

3. What fandoms do you write for?

actively, one piece and tmnt, but that is ruled by the demons in my brain that control the hyperfixation machine.

fandoms ive posted 3 or more fics for:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends Good Omens Final Fantasy XV Undertale Mumintroll | Moomins Series Harry Potter Young Justice 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia 陈情令 | The Untamed King Falls AM Percy Jackson and the Olympians Rise of the Guardians Voltron: Legendary Defender

4. Top five fics by kudos?

Exclusivity - 11,116

walk straight through hell with a smile - 9,152

Inanition - 9,039

there is thunder in our hearts - 8,161

trouble is a friend of mine - 7,842

5. Do you respond to comments?

i do try to but i can't always :'( and i feel terrible if i manage to reply to most and then forget someone and only realize it months later. but i read every single comment and i appreciate them more than i have words for

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

i tend to veer away from angst, but off the top of my head....

where the good men go or if i go i'm going on fire

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

99% of my fics have a happy ending because thats my BRAND but i suppose give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around or the weekend we were in love OR put your empty hands in mine

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not often, but i recently had someone who REALLY disliked the way things change because i 'villainized' raph. which is definitely news to me, since raphael is the love of my life

9. Do you write smut?

nope

10. Craziest crossover?

i wrote a tmnt/one piece crossover once ? but now that we are actually getting a tmnt/naruto idw run it doesnt feel that weird to me anymore

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

only once if i'm remembering right ?? it was a long time ago and wattpad related, which is a site that i dont really understand and therefore tend to avoid

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes ! i'll often have people request to translate my stories and it blows me away every time

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

Devil took your hand was written by myself and @moogsthewriter

14. All time favourite ship?

ineffable husbands, wangxian, or leosagi

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

how much time do you have 😭

16. What are your writing strengths?

i want to say characterization and narrative voice. i'm also pretty good at maintaining a throughline, even if it sometimes gets a little wobbly

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

conflict ! i hate it ! i will avoid writing it at all costs ! i also tend to struggle with writing fight scenes, especially when there are several characters involved :') staging any kind of choreography is my opp

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

i try not to but if it feels unavoidable i google the heck out of it

19. First fandom you wrote in?

honestly it was either digimon (which also inspired my og penname) or xiaolin showdown lol

20. Favourite fic you've written?

i'm stealing bob's idea and going top 5:

there is thunder in our hearts - this story came together so easily for me, like i knew exactly how i wanted to tell it from start to finish

the only hoax i believe in - a kfam fic in my top 5s why yes and i'll tell you why. because i poured so much of myself into this fic that they could probably read it at my funeral instead of a eulogy

traveling so far to get there - after party au raph and mikey continue to take up so much real estate in my brain and for what

now the darkness comes alive - this one is more recent but im so happy with the way it turned out :')

if we could stay all day in the sun - it was a lot of fun reimagining one of my favorite fairy tales and doing a bunch of unnecessary research for this story i will stand by it until the day i die !!

i'm tagging @mykimouser, @owletstarlet, @portgas-d-aroace, @mad4turtles, @camsthisky, @remedyturtles, @pickledcarrotsandradish, @swordsmans, @mangogreent, and anyone else who wants to !

[bolithesenate]

5, 8, 11 for the oc ask meme?

yey!! (since u didn't specify an oc, I'm just gonna pick and choose XD)

5 - Do you ship your OC with a canon character? If yes, who?

Not really, since usually I create OCs more out of the need to flavor nd expand on the worldbuilding of canon in gen settings.

I must say tho that some of the comments in the Guard fic make me honestly consider Cin/Pev'la. I didn't intend to write it that way and probably never will, but I *can* see it XD

8 - What hobbies does my Oc have/What do they do to unwind?

I've touched on it in the fic, but Zessh weaves. It all started as kind of a joke when her Master gifted her one of those small toy looms in her Padawanhood and she just kept making the most ratty, tiny scarves.

Then, when she was Knighted, she also 'graduated' to a proper loom which she just took with her when she accepted her Guard posting.

Weaving is almost synonymous with meditation for her and it has the benefit that the Guard certainly never runs out of fun blankets, fabrics and tapestries.

11 - What was the inspiration for your OC

honestly, as I said above, I kinda come up with them on the spot where I need them. They are inspired by what would make the current situation i'm writing at most fun.

For star wars I do sometimes like to browse the species tab of wookie to diversify, but that's usually step 2. Or three. Most of my OCs stem from a random name I came up with and a piece of dialogue.

[runninriot]

20 Questions For Writers

i'm a little late because i took a break while on vacation but THANK YOU for the tag @ataliagold and @sidekick-hero 🖤

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

52

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

468,074 (written in 16 months, which is a personal achievement i'm actually quite proud of)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Steddie only for now because these boys still have me in a tight grip i can't get out of

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

thought i'd only look at the stats for the ones i wrote this year out of interest

Liberate Me

Worship Me

Sweet Thing

Tomorrow

You're A God (Be My Sinner)

5. Do you respond to comments?

always!! i appreciate everyone who's taking the time to comment on one of my fics so much. love these little interactions

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

it's 'happy endings always' in my house but the ending of Only Love could maybe count as angsty?

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

it's hard to choose but Where The Sun Still Shines has one of my favourite happy endings

8. Do you get hate on fics?

people have always been very kind to me (thank you, people! 🖤)

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

yes and any kind? since i started the The Best You Ever Tasted series i have tried not overthink it and not to limit myself anymore when it comes to writing smut and to just go for it. there's still more to explore 😏

10. Do you write crossovers?

apart from my first ever steddie fic Real Love Is Forever (ST×The Crow mash-up), i haven't written any crossovers yet

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i think/hope not?!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope. but i'd love it if that ever happened

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

no but i think it could be a fun experience although i'm not sure i'd want to burden anyone else with the chaos that is my writing process 😅

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

Steddie. don't know what it is exactly but i love them being in love and writing and reading about them makes me fucking happy

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

Weight of the World. do i want to finish it? yes!!! will i ever? only the stars and moon know (it's been a year, man 😔)

16. What are your writing strengths?

people have said i'm good at writing dirty smut mixed with deep emotions which is a compliment i hold dear to my heart

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

ugh. plotting/outlining, just planning ahead in general. i always start my fics with a random sentence and just take it from there which has cost me some nerves in the past because i never know what i'll end up with

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

love when people do that. i think it can be a nice way for authors (like me) who aren't native english speakers to sprinkle bits and pieces of their own first language into their fics

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Steddie (any hand-written sins from my youth are well-hidden in old notebooks and will never see the light of day again)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

oh god, that one's hard because i love all my brain babies equally but

We Are The Lifeless Stars (Shining In The Dark) is the one that broke me most

Small Treasures To Keep is my favourite prompt inspired fic (kudos to all of those amazing people providing us with writing challenges and prompts, i love you guys!)

i absoluetely loved creating Vampire Steve's background story in Show Me What It's Like (To Live On The Other Side)

Unlovable is very special to me in many ways

and Monsoon and Harrsion was probably the silliest fic idea i ever had, inspired by Jemma who came up with the names. it was so fun to write and it still makes me laugh when i think of my google search history while writing that porn actors au 😆

that was fun!

feel free to ignore me if you've already done this or don't want to but i'd love to read your answers

@thisapplepielife @morningberriesao3 @steddieas-shegoes @thefreakandthehair @steddie-island 🖤

[meta-squash]

Yet another piece for @shamelessdvdcommentary. I really appreciate getting to ramble on about my fic and also my thoughts on Mickey and characterization and things!

Abrade Summary: The immediate aftermath of 3x06. Mickey can't stop thinking about it.

[TW for discussion of rape aftermath in this post/fic]

Give us some stats - (when you wrote it, word count, how long it took to finish, is it a one-shot/multi-chapter, etc) This fic fell out of my fingers in one go, I think I wrote it in about 2 hours at 11pm in January 2019. It's a oneshot, 2,834 words.

What was the initial inspiration for your story? I had a mental image of Mickey sitting on the couch by himself just staring at nothing and then Terry leaning down and telling him to clean up, and I had also just read something for a different fandom that had very little punctuation and a lot of run-on sentences. I liked the anxiety and panic in that, and my brain switched on.

What was your favourite scene to write? I really liked the little detail of Mickey dumping the entire box of detergent into the washing machine because he just doesn't have the capacity to think about or care about measuring. I also really like the end, seeing/feeling that scene in the abandoned building from Mickey's point of view and his inability to react to Ian yelling at him.

How did you come up with the title? Just the idea of being emotionally/mentally/physically raw and worn away. The Mickey we see in the show post 3x06 is trying so fucking hard to keep the walls up and keep up appearances. But he feels so vulnerable and skinless and hurt, and I wanted to see that immediate aftermath reaction where he's all by himself and doesn't necessarily have to fake it for anybody and/or literally can't fake it because the trauma is too painfully fresh.

Are there any little moments or references you hope readers will notice? That almost the entire fic is long punctuation-less run-on sentences until the very end, after Ian yells at Mickey in the abandoned building and leaves and Mickey starts shooting his gun again.

Favourite line in the story? There are lights on in your house and you don't know if dad is home or what's going to happen when you step inside or who knows what happened since you left but fuck it because you're already half-dead right you always knew this was going to happen right you probably fucking deserved it right you're a goddamn Milkovich fucking a dude in your own goddamn house what the fuck else did you expect to happen certainly not a fucking celebration certainly not a fucking hug certainly not a surprise party Terry already got his surprise goddamn party.

Did the storyline change in any way as you wrote the story? I don't think I had a real storyline planned. This fic fell out all at once, completely linearly. I just started going and then stopped when it felt natural. I remember typing so fast because it was just a sudden blast of inspiration.

What are you most proud about in the story? (plot, characterisation, dialogue, twist/cliffhanger, etc) I love the pacing. It's so panicky and frantic, it really makes you feel for Mickey. I struggled with it a little bit, because the lack of punctuation sometimes makes it a little hard to read/parse what's going on, but I actually really like that because it feels like it's just another way of illustrating how Mickey is feeling, all tangled up and lost and hurting.

Are there any ‘behind the scenes’ info you’d like to share - e.g. what’s going on in a characters head in a certain scene or how you came to write a certain line? I really wanted to show the way the emotional trauma shows up as a physical reaction and vice versa; Mickey being unable to put clothes on but also unable to be naked so he puts everything on vs Mickey feeling like he can't even look at another person without wanting to commit violence. Or Mickey feeling like he's too much inside himself but also totally dissociating, basically all the physical and emotional sensations and contradictions that come with trauma and how much they switch back and forth and stuff.

Are there any ‘easter eggs’ in your story - e.g. references to other stories you’ve written, a trope you often use etc? Mickey vomiting on the dishes in the kitchen sink. I established it in this fic but I've mentioned it in 3 other fics now. I think it's such a great detail in that it's small but so visceral and intense and awful. I think it's important that a reaction be equal or nearly equal to its catalyst in some way, and I think it's also really important in storytelling to indicate the severity of an event in indirect ways. I think the upsetting/humiliating/gross nature of vomiting onto dirty dishes and not having the mental capacity to do anything about it is a good way to indicate the awfulness of Mickey's rape and just how badly it's traumatized him even if he doesn't have the language or ability to talk/think about it.

Were you nervous or excited to post this story? I think I bashed this story out in 2 hours, barely proofread it, and then just put it out in the world because I was so excited by it. It was just a flash of inspiration. I wish I could remember what music I was listening to when I wrote it.

Anything else you’d like the readers to know about the story? It was the first fic for the Shameless fandom that I wrote in second person POV, and it reminded me how much I love that as a stylistic choice. It also became the unintentional prequel to my fic Proof Of What You Want, which also uses the second person POV mechanic. The grammar in this fic is all whack because of the lack of punctuation, but I really really wanted the reader to feel that same level of breathless tension and panic and confusion through the inability to "rest" via commas while reading. I think it's a mechanic that worked really well.

[angelosearch]

10 Ways To Tell You're Reading A Fic By angelosearch

@gardengalwrites came up with this awesome tag game and I am so here for it.

I am very punny. I love to use puns, allerliteration, and wordplay. Language is a jungle gym and I chose to climb it in any direction I please.

In every piece of writing I do (be it a chapter, one-shot, essay, etc.) I seek to give the reader a moment of ha, a moment of aw, and a moment of awe. I want to make you laugh, move you, and inspire you! Hopefully, I accomplish that.

This goes without saying, but dialogue (see what I did there? see #1). I let the words a character chooses to say and how they say it be the primary influence on their characterization. I think this comes from my favorite way of consuming media being TV, videogames, and movies where the plot primarily hinges on dialogue.

Family, trauma, and family trauma! I have experience in these things, enjoy thinking about them, and love to write them into my stuff so my poor characters have to suffer, muhahaha.

Most of my background in writing and reading is in nonfiction in nature and on the technical side. I've written for environmental organizations, nonprofits, associations, and medical service companies mostly in the form of marketing copy and press releases. As a result, my writing is overly researched and probably oddly specific about things that may have nothing to do with the plot. Basically, I over-explain things. We know this.

Related to the above note, I also need my writing to feel native to the subject material. I do a ton of research to tone-match and find little details and deep cuts to include to make it feel like it lives in the world I am exploring. I'd say a good 40% of the time spent on anything I am writing is dedicated to the research/planning stage.

Pop-culture references! I try to keep them subtle because I want to keep readers immersed, but I do make a lot of them. I am a pop-culture junkie. I am also planning on putting easter eggs in my fics referencing each other!

Simile, metaphor, allusion, symbolism, etc. My FAVORITE part of anything I consume is dissecting the author's intent and how their work fits into the greater context of their writing/life. Therefore, I do my best to emulate these narrative devices in my own work.

I refuse to play the omniscient narrator. I am in one character's head at a time. They are the narrator and my readers will only see what they see and know what they know in language they would be willing to use. Though I do love jumping perspectives and seeing the same scene from more than one point of view.

Unfortunately, typos. I try really hard to avoid them but my dyslexia is a powerful force that shows up in my writing.

Bonus: If it's an FFVIII fanfic, Laguna is most definitely involved. I have written three fics directly from his perspective (When in Dollet, Man of the People, and At this Moment); Balamb Harbor Playhouse and I hope you love the flowers as much as I do have him as a major character; and Chaos Theory is riddled with him and his POV as well. What can I say, I love that magical himbo and I will never stop making jokes about how he constantly falls off of cliffs. I may or may not also be using him to parent my inner child I MEAN IT'S JUST HIM AND RAINE TOGETHER YOU GUYS THEY ARE SO CUTE

Tagging @mathiwrites @irishais and any other fellow authors among my mutuals!

[mikhailoisbaby]

Tagged by @you-are-so-much-better-than-that for a an artist and fic writer questions ( I’m not a real fic writer so I’m just doing the artist but under the cut if the writer questions)

Artist Interview

1. Do you post on Ao3? If so, how many works do you have on AO3? If not, where do you post? Only for writing never my art so I post my art on tumblr and Instagram

2. What is your total art count? Around about 190 that I’ve posted .

3. What are your top 5 pieces by likes/kudos?

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes ! I just like see what people say and building a bond with the people who like my art

5. What is your current fandom, and what was the first fandom you drew for? Currently shameless and first probably SpongeBob 🥲

6. Have you ever received hate on any art? Some Lmfao

7. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t drawn for yet but want to? Big bang theory !

8. What’s your all-time favorite ship? Gallavich

9. Do you draw outside of fandom? Yes I’m currently studying graphic design so I do load of different type of art

10. What’s the an art piece you’ve drawn that came out completely differently than you expected?

11. Do you draw smut? Kinda ?

12. Have you ever had any of your art stolen or copied? Yeah but oh well

13. Have you ever collaborated on a piece? Kinda for gallacraft !

14. What’s an idea you have that you have yet to draw? Tons

15. What are your drawing strengths? Erm fabric at making things soft looking like a jumper looking cozy

16. What are your drawing weaknesses? Everything lmfao but probably eyes !

17. What’s your favorite art piece you’ve drawn? GOLD CHAIN MICKEY

18. What is one thing you’d like to tell people about your art that they might not know? I use the same colour palette for most of my art

19. What inspires or motivates you to create for fandom? To see the tumblr tags on my art

20. And finally, can you describe your process a little? Do you have a favourite place to draw? Do you play something in the background? Do you do research or just go for it? Give us a little insight. 99% all ways in my room on my bed , listen to blink 182 , always have reference photos for poses and for Ian and Mickey face

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

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

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

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

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

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

15. What are your writing strengths?

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

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

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

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

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Tagging : @deathclassic @heymrspatel @doodlevich @vintagelacerosette @creepkinginc

[serpercival]

for the asks #8-12 for mating habits universe <3 but also number 5 for specifically unconventional pest control solutions! truly foxtrap is taking over my mind mwah <3

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

The lady who's nasty to Trapper in the department store (Boston - Part Two/Chapter 21) is just one of my great aunts. Do not like her.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

There were some changes in Mating Habits specifically between the outline and the actual fic! BJ was originally supposed to figure things out much slower. He was too clever and went to the library without my permission lmao

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

Beejtraphawk as the ship is 100% the product of the people who were involved behind the scenes in most of the outlining. Given it's an extraordinarily Trapper-centric verse it was always going to be traphawk, but the incomparable @ RemyFire did a huge portion of the outlining and their BJ is phenomenal, so he became a massive presence in the story. Also helps that beejtraphawk is my favorite MASH ship :3

11: What do you like best about this fic?

This thing is 100k (so far) so I've got a few things!

The little addition to The Interview, Chapter 6. I watched that episode and Hawk fucking possessed me, I don't think I've ever gotten his voice quite so well and I don't think I ever will again.

Essentially the entirety of Crabapple Cove - Part Four/Chapter Ten. The dinner scene with Daniel, the hallucination of Hawk, the prose poetry section, the conversation with Daniel afterwards... I really think I nailed every single beat in that chapter and it's far and away my favorite piece of it.

The front step gag

The Frankenstein pieces in the entirety of Boston/Part Four! Particularly the resolution to it in Boston - Part Seven/Chapter 27.

Also Morel. Love her.

12: What do you like least about this fic?

ough. I'm still in the process of writing it so I haven't done too much reflection on this, but initial thoughts are that I think my BJ characterization is a little weak. I'm doing my best but he's a serious enigma to me, and Part Four is from his perspective so.... idk. I think it's probably narcissistic but I generally enjoy my own fics!

Actually, to be fair, I think my smut's a little weak, too. I'm not great at internal dialogue so smut scenes tend to fall a little short imo, but I'm working on that! Practice makes perfect yadda yadda

And then for Unconventional Pest Control Solutions:

5: What part was hardest to write?

Okay this is an insane answer but that fic came to me practically fully formed. The main problem was that I was trying to write smut while on a road trip in the back seat of the car with my parents. Genuinely I felt like I was transferring a story from the ether into the computer with barely any input from my brain however it was written while desperately trying to make sure that the window wasn't reflecting my screen and also without looking embarrassed. Literally in the middle of the smut scene I was interrupted to have a serious conversation about world politics and then I just went back to it. This was definitely not the answer you expected but it's the answer you're getting

[adverbian]

How does music affect/influence your writing? (more specific questions if that's too broad! Are you inspired by particular types of music? Or, do you like to write while listening to music and if so, what kind? OR EVEN feel free to just go off about something that inspires you if music isn't a big one for you!) ❤️

Ooh fun question!

Sometimes it’s lyrics. See, my brain has a built-in lookup feature for song lyrics. If I read or write a word or phrase that appeared in the lyrics of a song I know… I will start humming that song. This often happens while writing fic. A lot of the time, the song will wind up resonating with the story, and I’ll use it for the work or chapter titles. “What We Think About When We Think About Each Other” is probably the fic I did that the most.

Sometimes the fic comes first, and I want to reference a piece of music with particular emotions at a particular point within the fic. Then I go down a research rabbit hole to find the right thing. For example, I did that for the opening to my first Good Omens fic ever, “one more river (and that’s the river of jordan).” Had to find something romantic but not too cheesy (and not be-bop). After a long research journey, I ended up with Liszt’s Consolation No. 3, and it now holds a very special place in my heart forever.

(I do not have any sort of music education, so my music appreciation comes fully from the University of Googling It.)

And sometimes a piece of music is the prompt. This happened most directly with “Exsultet,” my fic for the Good Omens Song and Poetry Exchange, in which the whole game was “get a song prompt, write a fic.” I got incredibly cool prompts from @grimboigio (“The Bomb” by Florence + The Machine, and “Stripped” by Depeche Mode) and worked until the vibes coalesced into a fic.

It also happened indirectly with “Confiteor.” (I rambled on at length, so this goes under a cut.)

See, way back last fall, there was a discussion on Good Omens After Dark on Reddit about what music Aziraphale would play during sex. One suggestion was Stravinsky’s 1919 Firebird Suite.

So I put a reference to it in the beginning of “Set Me As a Seal Upon Your Heart.” Then I decided I wanted to write the sex scene that happens offscreen between the end of “That the One Ought To Have of the Other” and the beginning of “Set Me As a Seal.” And I wanted to set it to the Firebird Suite.

So I looked it up and found a neat Khan Academy music appreciation video about it. The suite is an adaptation/condensation of music from the ballet, so I watched three different stagings of the ballet to get the mythic vibes. I realized the vibes are actually pretty dark.

At the same time, I was having lots of thoughts and feelings about Aziraphale and guilt. This all cross-pollinated with the music, and I started drafting a makeup-sex fic about guilt and forgiveness, that I was going to try and pace with the movements of the Firebird Suite.

I ran into problems.

First, the angsty vibe didn’t really fit between the two sweet, romantic, happy fics I’d already written.

Second, the pacing of the Firebird Suite is really hard to use for a sex scene, it turns out. The crescendoing action is interrupted by a lullaby, which is beautiful but meant I had to slow the action to a crawl just when it was getting good. I couldn’t make it work.

I struggled with it. I got beta feedback. I struggled with it some more. I wrote a non-smutty, dialogue-only version which felt way too therapy-speaky. I eventually threw up my hands and shelved the whole thing.

Then, well… eventually…months later, it came back around. I figured out how to approach it. The smut was gone, and it was a standalone piece instead of part of an existing series, and the music references were gone. But the vibes of the first and last movements of the 1919 Firebird Suite can still be felt in the intro and outro of Confiteor — which are the only pieces of the original draft that made it through.

[candyfloss-esophagus]

CRYING WOLF FOR ASK GAME!!!! GIMME ALL THE INFORMATION!!!!

Okay I'm just gonna spam you with asks here so feel free to ignore them if it's too much <3

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (don't think I've forgotten about the post you made mentioning an alternate ending! 👀👀👀) 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15

Hope this isn't too much! (like I said feel free to ignore these if that's the case!)

I remember you mentioned something about making a lore post about stuff that didn't get put in the fic and maybe you could combine them? If you still feel like making it that is <3 (seriously I still love that fic so much!!!!)

Alright buckle up boys this is gonna get LONG. @voidpants since you sent me an ask with a couple of these in, I'll combine them here <3

This probably goes without saying but there are extreme spoilers for crying wolf below the cut

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way? My recent obsession with vivisection, dissection and cannibalism <33 I know I'm very good at falling into stereotypes and I'm your local transmasc butch unhealthily obsessed with cannibalism <33333

The noirpunk server did, in all honesty. I don't know what I'd do without you guys.

2: What scene did you first put down? The very first scene! I write generally chronologically, unless there's something I'm raring to get down!

3: What’s your favorite line of narration? He pulls back, unable to staunch the hysterical giggles building in his chest, and they tumble free like the intestines of a mutilated fox at the side of a road -- all bloody ropes thick with mucus.

I just like this comparison lol. A close second would be the line about Peter's organs being better to eat than the pigeon.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue? “Oh, I know you’re on the square, doll. I don’t think you’ve ever lied to me.” 

I really love this line because I love blatant foreshadowing. But also because in the previous line, Hobie really wasn't lying (as is shown later on).

5: What part was hardest to write? The scene directly before the first cannibalism scene. I'm never too sure how to draw it out and build the tension in the proper way and I'm not entirely too sure I managed it.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics? It's absolutely dripping with paranoia, a lot of what is drawn from my own paranoia (where are my insane babes at ik we're around here somewhere). And also it's one of my most violent fics. Didn't tend to write it before now but I'm really enjoying messing around with it now!

7: Where did the title come from? I was brainstorming with myself after I told the people in the discord that I would try to write something approximating what we'd cooked up together and it took a while (probably about half an hour) before I hit on the story of the boy who cried wolf.

In this context, the boy crying wolf is Peter, whose spider senses are so fucked up that he tends to ignore them when he implicitly trusts people -- which means that when that person isn't in their right state of mind, he dismisses any notion that there might be something wrong.

Simultaneously, the crying wolf is Hobie, who is by far the more dangerous one of them, having been possessed by an actual murderous cannibalistic alien, but who is in much more denial about it. (Literally in the scene where he kills and eats Peter, he refuses to accept what's happened, whereas Peter just told him that it was going to be okay. Both of them are Fucked Up okay.)

Anyway this was a long-winded way of saying that it came from a children's story lol

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it? Yeah!!! In the early days of the noirpunk discord server, we were chucking around the vague idea of symbiote Hobie, throwing out a few vignette scenes and pieces of dialogue, and it was so compelling to me that I said I'd take a crack at it, so here we are! Thanks guys!

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic? AHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHA

Yes. I have an alternate ending kicking around in my head at the moment that I'll probably start with once I'm finished with whumptober and another couple of things I've promised people I'll do </3 the adhd is real you guys

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story? UM?? BECAUSE NOIRPUNK????????

Because this idea was thought up in the noirpunk server with noirpunk in mind and it would have been a disservice to write this pairing as anything other than noirpunk. And also I wanted to give Peter more cannibalism trauma. And at the moment noirpunk is the only thing keeping me sane (which I mean in a very real and worrying way. We ball.)

11: What do you like best about this fic? I got to write cannibalism under the guise of love :>

Also very proud that I came up with the acronym for the D.O.R.M.A.N.T symbiotes

12: What do you like least about this fic? Um. Am I allowed to say my writing. If not, then I know there are plotholes and pieces of lore about the worlds and the symbiotes that don't make sense. Consider: I wanted to write cannibalism.

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading? I listened to a lot of Tunng, Troy Kingi and Arab Strap!!

Mostly from Tunng I was listening to a lot of their album Dead Club and out of those were my favourites of Eating the Dead, Man and also Woman (the last two of which are spoken word poems but I choose to treat them as music because they are <333)

Troy Kingi specifically Sleep (Slumber), First Take Strut, and No Reason to 2nd Guess M.G.

Arab Strap specifically The Turning of our Bones, Here Comes Comus! and The Fable of the Urban Fox.

Sleep (Slumber) was looped specifically for scenes where I needed them to be soft with each other. The Turning of our Bones was looped specifically for the cannibalism. Please watch the music video (don't if you're sensitive to gore) because it's actually one of my favourite things in the world.

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic? HUNGER AS A METAPHOR FOR DEVOTION. or there might just be a parasite eating your brain lol

Just kidding. Hm. Sometimes we go through something in our lives that's horrific. And we're trying to process it and not getting anywhere because it's so huge that our brains can't wrap themselves around it. Most of the time, we start to convince ourselves that it's us at the core of the problem. Sometimes we are. But to peel back the layers and get to the actual center, there are almost always outside forces that influence us into certain behaviours/choices that we regret later. And that's part of being human!

I'm not saying that you have a parasite in your brain that's making you eat your romantically inclined partner. I'm saying that the love shown in crying wolf is a relatively equal balance of give and take. They try to be as their worlds have shown them that love is, they're unlearning some of the more detrimental things, they're learning and growing together. They take steps back from each other when they need to and try to navigate their situations as well as they can. Idk.

Forgiveness is probably one of the main themes here. Please be gentle with yourself. It's so so important that you are.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic? That I really enjoy writing cannibalism. And that I need to watch a hell of a lot of 30s nyc films and 70s london films because I STILL don't have their turns of phrases down and it's annoying me.

And to take the leap (haha itsv references). This fic was very overwhelming for me at first because I don't tend to write very fast-paced or violent stuff. But I really enjoy reading it and so I really wanted to write it! Even if it isn't that great, I had a blast writing it!

Thank you for sending this ask in!! It's been really good to look past the writing into the inner mechanics of what makes it tick! (And I promise that I'll have that lore post up sometime!! I have not forsaken you!)

Edit: just realised you skipped 12 in your request but in my defence I'm not wearing my glasses and sort of assumed you asked about everything whoops

[livwritesstuff]

thanks for the tag @cheeky-undead <3 <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

55 (according to AO3)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

435,923 good lord

3. What fandoms do you write for?

used to write for legends of tomorrow (rip) and now it's literally just steddie (and ronance when the inspiration strikes)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

if we're only talking stranger things (bc tbh i don't really wanna talk LoT lol):

i want your guy (to know)

swing, sucker, swing

plant a seed (we'll watch it grow)

honeydew (you love me, well)

don't look back, love (there's a million people)

5. Do you respond to comments?

yep i try my best to reply to all of them

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

i'm not really one for angst tbh (writing it, anyway, i LOVE reading it). Angstiest overall is probably Covered in the Colors (LoT soulmate au w/an unhappy ending). For ST it's probably hold on (hold you)

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

tbh most of my series The Satellite and the Sky has happy endings, but I guess that depends on your definition of "happy". plant a seed (we’ll watch it grow) is probably the happiest ending overall.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not very often these days -- i don't think it's ever happened during my time writing for the ST fandom bc i think there's been a shift in awareness that leaving hate comments on fic is generally really shitty and that individuals are ultimately responsible for curating their online experience

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

I personally am not a smut writer. idk why but i always run into weird blockers whenever i try

10. Do you write crossovers?

not at the moment

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so -- come to think of it, I should probably being checking in on that every now and then

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not that i'm aware of

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

nope - not opposed to it except that I move at a glacial pace when it comes to writing and I don't want to put that burden on anyone else lol

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

ooh fav of all time? idk i’m not really a multi-shipper to be honest. i usually get really into one ship for a while until my interest runs dry. longest running would probably be captain canary from legends of tomorrow, but i see myself ranting about all the ronance missed opportunities for a Long Time

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

i have bits and pieces of a hadestown au for steddie that i sincerely doubt will ever see the light of day bc I'm so genuinely intimidated by it. that musical is so so good and I couldn't write anything that came even close

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think i’m pretty good at making things feel real. i’m a planner and a bit of an over-thinker so i really like the small details. i also tend to lean on writing what i know which i think helps

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have a hard time sticking to just one tense lol i don’t know what that's about.

i’m also a pretty literal thinker so tapping into metaphors and abstract ideas is still a challenge for me.

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

there are stronger soldiers than me out there who can do this. generally speaking, i like to write what i know. english is the only language i have total fluency in so if i wanted to write dialogue in another language, i'd have to rely on google translate which is obviously not accurate at all (not for conversational dialogue anyway), and I think some realism slips there

19. First fandom you wrote for?

not sure if it counts, but i used to write little self-insert harry potter stories when i was in elementary school before i even knew that fic was a thing. i think my first published fic would have been for glee (again, rip)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

tbh I think just like honey (you make me melt) is my fav. I had never written Eddie's POV up to that point and I was really nervous going into it, but something about writing from his perspective made it easier for me to face some of my writing challenges

i also had SO much fun writing my tommy pov i want your guy (to know)

[cuddly-asexual]

Okay @buffintruder and @allpurposepanda convinced me to do this fic writer asks post, even though I didn't write too much this year. So here goes!

1.What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

I wasn’t consciously thinking about trying something new, but I did write a fic from the point of view of a child which was pretty fun. I think it turned out pretty well. I think most media tends to miss what kids are likely to notice and think about (at least based off the kids I work with), so I did try to make sure I included those things. For example a tall bookcase might seem towering to a small child, or how a relatively short amount of time can seem extremely long to them when they’re simply waiting. I would definitely do it again, it’s fun practice for getting into the minds of characters you like even when you never see what they were like as children.

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

I definitely didn’t finish much this year, but I chipped away at quite a few wips. I posted 3 fics. I have another unposted, but finished. I wrote a few paragraphs for one of my wildermyth characters. I rewrote a decent chunk of a school nurse files fic. Other than those it was mostly just a few words here and there on my various unfinished works. Surprisingly most of my creative energy this year went to drawing.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

I don’t think I learned anything new about myself as a writer. I’ve known for sometime that writing is a bit spontaneous for me. I guess I’m coming to realize that I’m pretty good at writing dialogue, which is always nice.

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

Well if we were talking about drawing that would be one thing monkie kid, but for writing probably Wildermyth. Even though I didn’t finish any of the pieces I’m writing for it, the writing in the game itself was so lovely to read. It felt like someone was reading a storybook to me, kind of like a bedtime story, with a soft voice.

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

I wrote more original stuff this year, but I wrote for A3! and Kamen Rider OOO. School Nurse Files as well sorta.

6. What ship(s) captured your heart?

Haha the made up ship in my brain of one of my Wildermyth characters, Ystral, and the star in the Minuet event, good LORD they didn’t leave my brain for weeks. In-Pyo and Eun-Young from School Nurse Files also dominated my mind for a while there too. I rewatched the series again this year and man those two are so AAA. They were on my mind more last year, but since I posted a fic about them this year I’ll mention that Goda Eiji and Ankh make me go insane. Also I haven’t started any fics for them yet, but I had lots of ideas for Alear and Pandreo from fire emblem engage.

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

Again, mostly oc’s. I worked a lot on one world in particular so my baby, Aurelius (full grown woman in her 50’s), took over my mind for a while there. I’m also constantly thinking about Juza and I had been missing him. I had lots of thoughts, for both writing and drawing, about Clayton and Al from The Deep.

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year?

Wildermyth was probably the only new one this year. The only new things I was into this year were channeled into drawing more than writing.

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

Ooh this is a tough one, but probably my Juban fic for Juza’s birthday. First, because I really wanted to write it for his birthday. Second, because I wanted to explore a specific aspect of his character, his thoughts on touch. Juza grew up pretending to be someone he wasn’t because of the way others treated him, but when he came to mankai he’s able to be more himself now that he’s surrounded by people that support him. One of these things being that he actually quite enjoys physical affection and it was nice to write about him rediscovering that part of himself.

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Working on my Wildermyth fic made me feel giddy like a school girl, you have no idea. My heart fucked SWELLED for these 2D bitches. And it’s not even done yet.

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

My OOO fic for sure. I had been sitting on the idea for a long time and I finally kicked my ass into gear to finish it and boy that was a fun writing session. I just really wanted to show how evil I was for that idea hehehe.

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

My School Nurse Files fic eludes me constantly. I definitely like parts of it, but I’ve rewritten the beginning at least 3 times, I just don’t like how any of them came out. I have yet to finish it, but I haven’t given up on it yet!

13. What fic was the easiest to write?

Probably my Juban fic. I’ve written Juza and Banri enough that they come to me pretty easily. As long as I have a concept ready I can write anything for those two.

14. What were your shortest and longest fics this year?

Just going with the finished ones of course. My shortest was the first part of Ocean Memory, my original work about some oc's, at 734 words and my longest was my OOO fic at 1431 words. Pretty standard for me I think, a little on the short side this year.

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

My OOO’s fic please, I had way too much fun writing it. I love when a loved one gets body snatched by something that pretends to still be that person.

16. What were you go-to writing songs?

I usually just play my big instrumental music playlist that has everything from video game music to movie soundtracks to experimental ambient electronica, but this year was probably a lot of the Grindstone soundtrack.

17. What were your go-to writing snacks?

Don’t have anything specific, but I usually always have a coke on hand.

18. What was the hardest fic to title?

THAT FUCKING OOO FIC. This title eluded me that’s why I just said fuck it and picked something stupid. “A Wish Is a Dream Your Heart Makes”??? bro WHAT.

19. Share your favorite opening line

Opening lines are not really my forte, I’m not really sure I have a favorite, but I like the imagery in my Wildermyth fic.

He sees stars behind his eyelids now. Countless, warm and flickering like soft flames.

20. Share your favorite ending line

That he was happy and healthy and loving life brought endless joy to her heart. Pallas was truly a precious child.

Technically there’s a line of dialogue after this, but anyway, I love writing Aurelius being happy about baby Pallas expressing his feelings.

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

“Hey, Settsu. Do you wanna cuddle?” It’s an odd sentence, something he’s never asked someone before, but Banri’s name feels like it belongs there. He doesn't miss how the other perks up, then tries to disguise it as a stretch. Banri pulls out of his hold to face him. “Never thought I’d hear that from your mouth,” Banri smirks playfully. Juza lets out a chuckle.  “Never thought I’d hear it from my own mouth either,” his gaze finds Banri’s. “It feels…natural though. Saying it to you.” He can’t read Banri’s thoughts, but he sees the other make an expression that’s something between fondness and annoyance. “Ugh, you really just said that,” Banri falls onto his back, face in his hands, with a groan. Juza raises an eyebrow in response. “You gonna join me down here or am I supposed to cuddle myself?”

I really liked this exchange between Juza and Banri. The way Banri jokes to make everything a little less intense (also he’s absolutely flustered), and how Juza responds with genuine honesty. I think I captured the vibe I wanted super well.

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

He sees stars behind his eyelids now. Countless, warm and flickering like soft flames. They bring him comfort. One of the many reminders of that night almost a year ago. Ystral's leg glows with a soft blue-white light. The tips of his fingers begin to show signs of it as well. A small smile finds its way to his mouth as he admires the way they sparkle. You wear it well. A familiar whisper circles around him. His smile fades. A pang of guilt makes him want to deny the statement, but the thoughts are gently guided away, replaced with wordless reassurances. The unpleasant thoughts could never win. Not when the very stars opposed them.

I had a lot of fun with this opening scene to my Wildermyth fic. Writing anything with stars gets my creative juices flowing and boom we get crazy poetic shit like this.

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?

Gonna be real, I have no idea.

24. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

Every time I write Banri I somehow make him even more mushy and soft, so it’s a surprise every time.

25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.)

Just Google Docs really.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Finishing that OOO fic after watching it stare at me for like almost a year.

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

Not really. They were all pretty short, not super life-changing pieces.

28. How did you recharge between fics?

Play games, draw, rewatch stuff to get back in the mood.

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

My friends who listen to me rant about my crazy ideas all the time. Juza for being an unending font of inspiration.

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

SO MANY THINGS. My Wildermyth fic for sure. I have some ideas for The Deep that I also really wanna write. I really want to write something longer for once. I think my goal this year is to write a 5k word fic. I have so many ideas I’m sitting and still so many more wips to finish. Good luck to 2024!

[ltwharfy]

1, 8, 11, 12 (for the fandom ask game)

List 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

The "Bob's Burgers" fandom is creative- I'm often blown away by the fanart, fics, headcanons, and other forms of creativity on display.

It's pretty good natured- even when folks disagree about things or don't like certain characters, episodes, ships, etc., they are never really that nasty about it.

And it's pretty funny- a lot of the posts from folks in the fandom make me chuckle, which is good because we're talking about a comedy show and if I wanted social media that made me depressed or angry I'd go back to following politics on Twitter.

(Note: This is discussing the "Bob's Burgers" fandom as I've experienced it on tumblr. It sounds like Facebook, Reddit and other places may not be as great. Which is why I limit my Facebook use to interacting with folks I actually know and limit my Reddit use to none.)

8. You hope more people will come to appreciate...

Peter Pescadero. I think he might be the most underrated recurring character on the show. He's pretty much always doing something interesting and has a lot of killer lines. I'd love it if he showed up more often and his friendship with Gene was established more.

11. If you are an artist or a writer, what piece of art are you proud of making?

I could probably (hopefully) give reasons I'm proud of all of my fics, but I think I'll single out "For the Boy Who Has (Allergies to) Everything" here. This is my "House of 1,000 Bounces" prologue telling the story of how the Belcher kids came up with the idea of getting Rudy a pepper spray holster to use for his asthma. This was my first time writing Belcher sibling dialogue and I really enjoyed it. I think some of the lines I give Gene the funniest things I've written, and overall I feel like out of all my fics this is the one that could be most easily turned into a scene from an actual episodes. (Not that that is the goal of fic, but it's still fun to write something that feels like that.)

Also, I want to promote it as it is one of my least read stories about Rudy and Louise, probably because I only tagged it under the friendship tag not the romance tag (but that makes sense-to me- because it is set before "Bob Actually"...)

12. Compliment someone else in your fandom

I enjoy @dianadeadwing's art sooooooo much! I think I end up reblogging basically everything she shares! She does things in a number of different styles and they are all wonderful!

In particular, her "Adventure" painting for Day 2 of Roudise Week might be my favorite piece of "Bob's Burgers" fanart ever. If I could buy a print or a poster of it, I would. It bounces around in my brain occasionally like I am trying to think up a fic idea inspired by it, but i haven't gotten much further than "something about this makes me think of some Gaslight Anthem songs..." But maybe someday!

[sabraeal]

1, 4, 12 and 21 for the 2023 fic writer asks!

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

How I handled the epistolary portions of she fills the whole page, and crosses half. Usually I present epistolary text in separated scenes, but since the scenes were part of the letter Shirayuki was writing, I tried to present it less as text, and more as part of the scene itself. I've been doing similar things with text conversations in fics, and I think it came out well. Would I do it again? WELL writing epistolary fics are a pain in the ass, and yet somehow I keep writing them, so YEAH. I GUESS.

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

Tough question! I wrote the most for ANS, as per usual, but I definitely wrote a lot of other fandoms this year. The one that inspired me most I think is probably Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari, even though I didn't have any time to write fics for it. Hopefully I'll manage something this year!

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

The Man of Progress. Not because I don't enjoy writing it but...Mel's POV truly demands precise word choice ans structure, and getting this chapter to come into the right shape was a total slog for the first 3000 words, Good thing the next 4000 came easily 🤣. I think I would have had FAR less of a problem if I wasn't trying to finish up the first draft of she fills the whole page, and crosses half, or if I wasn't dealing with medication woes as I worked, but it became the perfect storm of misery as I chugged through a solid half of it. Long chapters come out so nice, but a lot of the problem of them getting long is that my brain cannot handle working on the same project for an extended period without fully becoming convinced I haven't worked on anything else for days. YEARS really. It will never be complete!!! Oh wait I finished and everything is okay again :)))

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

“I see we’ve relaxed the uniform,” Mel observes, heels echoing in the empty space. To his credit he doesn’t even stiffen, doesn’t even pause when he tells her, “Progress doesn’t have a dress code. Only results.” Mel smothers her smile to a smirk as he stands, wearily submitting himself to her attention. She’s won their little contest of wills, after all, and an audience with him her prize. With a sinuous movement, she slips between man and machine and takes it. “The results could be wearing their shirt properly.”

From The Man of Progress, Chapter 2

2023 in Review

[runnning-outof-time]

Hi lovely! Currently asking around because I’m always interested in how my mutuals rank their own writing (and we love some self love):

The end of the year is close, so what are the top 10 fics you’re most proud of this year?

Hi Chi! Thanks for sending this in! 🥰 we can all practice a little self love! I’m sorry it took me a little bit to respond to this one! I got sidetracked every time I sat down to look through the fics I posted this year, but I’ve finally done it. Below is the list of stories I posted in 2023 that I’m most proud of…I hope you’ll find some of your favs on there too!

1. Mutually Invested - Tommy Shelby x Reader

This one was fun to write because of the plot twist/line it featured. It’s one that I hadn’t really dabbled in before and I was so proud of thinking it up because it was more complex than my usual plots. (ngl I was kinda sad that this one fell flat on its face)

2. Is That How You Remember It? - Tommy Shelby x Reader

I enjoy weaving humor into my stories and this one pretty much had it be the start of the show. It was also fun to try and get my readers involved by asking them to share different ideas of how Tommy and (Y/N) met in this story.

3. The Brother That Always Wins - Tommy Shelby x Reader

I feel I can’t make a list of fics I’m proud of without adding this one. I was so worried about executing this one when I was in the planning phase. It was a tall ask and I was worried how I’d be able to fit all three of the brothers into it…but it turned out to be my most popular fic and one of my favorites I’ve written.

4. Free The Slave - Tommy Shelby x Reader (AU)

I’ve gotta add this one in as well because it was probably the furthest I’ve derived from canon in a fic — it was so fun to find ways to still showcase Tommy’s character traits in it within this new storyline though.

5. Thinkin’ ‘Bout Forever - Tommy Shelby x Reader

This is just a quick, fluffy piece that I really enjoyed writing.

6. Actions Speak Louder - Tommy Shelby x Reader (mini-series)

This was a spur of the moment idea that came to me after reading an amazing mutual’s headcannon…which is the best way an idea should be birthed in my opinion. And then the second part came from a headcannon presented to me in a comment.

7. The Perfect Team - Arthur Shelby x Reader

I had a lot of fun writing this one - there’s something about Arthur and kids that makes me all giddy inside. It was also fun to write this one as Arthur interacting with his s/o’s kid.

8. Blood On the Carpet - John Shelby x Reader

I love this one because I thought of it, and then wrote it, on a dime - which is another amazing way to get inspiration. I also really enjoy writing stories where John’s his goofy/carefree self, and I think that’s captured perfectly here.

9. Everything Is Alright - Arthur Shelby x Reader

One of the best ways to gain inspo - for myself personally - is through listening to songs and reading lyrics. That’s what happened here — it’s so fun to take lyrics and put them into a story as dialogue or showcase them as plot points.

10. When The Kids Are Away… - John Shelby x Reader

This is probably the story that showcases the goofiest John that I’ve written this year. Nothing wrong with a little silly fluff, right?

If you took time to read all of my silly little descriptions thank you so much … I hope I mentioned some of your favs of mine in here, but if not, I hope you find some of your new favs in this list!