#mostly bc i'd end up writing a part three

[simpjaes]

how long do you like oc and jake keep messing around in serial sweetheart? if there are already asks about this, what is the tag because I would feel like shit for asking you questions you've already answered

*wiggles my grubby little fingers* idk if i've answered this before, but im gonna just say what's on my mind now even if i've said something previously to contradict it. im the author, i get to choose and change canon info at will. heuehueheue.

they do keep fucking around though if i were to ever continue it, it would likely end up being over 100k words of reader and jake going back and forth, breaking up several times even though they aren't dating due to pure guilt. but every single time they'd end up tangled together every chance they get. it would be really good sex too. Jake would likely still suffer the most knowing he's had you but you still run back and forth between him and his brother. i'd like to say everything falls apart when Sunghoon asks reader to marry him. By that point she'd, of course, have love for both hoon and his little brother. Things would be weird bc she doesn't immediately answer, and Sunghoon starts feeling really insecure about it. You'd start distancing yourself from going over there, and guess who he would confide in? that's right. our good ol jakey boy. Jake would be the one to drop the ball too. After all, that's his brother. He's living in his brother's home, eating his food, using his electricity, fucking the love of his life. Eventually, the pressure to keep secrets would weigh too heavy on him. You haven't talked to him since Sunghoon asked you to marry him, and from the looks of it, you've barely talked to hoon either. So, out of guilt, fear, and knowing that not only is he about to lose you, but so is his brother?? he snitches. It would get super messy. Lots of angst and emotion. You being pissed at Jake. Jake being apologetic but calling you out on your bullshit bc you both did that shit together. Sunghoon grilling you, kicking jake out, making him move back home without a second doubt. Lots of scenes of you alone in your apartment, even more scenes of Sunghoon by himself trying to come to terms with everything. then a scene of jake, after like three months, showing up at your place. and you're back to square one, like always when Jake is in front of you. kind of funny, really, that Sunghoon only texts a small "can we talk?" after months of ignoring you...when jake is between your legs again.

[elizmanderson]

2024 wrap-up, part 1

part two | part three | part four

[ABBA voice] here we go again, my my—

anyway, now that I've put that song in your head, let's look back at my year

writing

book stuff

as you may know, my second book, The Keeper of Lonely Spirits, releases in March 2025! so I spent much of this year editing, then editing some more, then line editing, then copy editing, then going over pass pages, then over more pass pages... the process never ends (until it's too late to make changes)

(artist: Xuan Loc Xuan)

if you find any typos in the final book come March, instead of being annoyed about them, you should recognize their determination and give them an award for MVT (most valuable typo) and a kiss on their lil typewritten forehead. because they made it not only through my own fifty six thousand rereads, but also through my agent, my editor, my copy editor, and my proofreader, and I think almost every single one of those people went through the book at least twice

anyway, The Keeper of Lonely Spirits is a cozy fantasy about an old man cursed with immortality who hunts ghosts rather than making mortal friends who will die one day. when the residents of an Ohio town beset by a vengeful spirit adopt him as their own, he must decide: leave to protect his heart, or stay to save their lives?

link to StoryGraph listing

link to signed preorders through my local indie

link to unsigned preorders through the publisher

I also received my first ever trade reviews, one of which was a starred review from Library Journal! trade reviews can convince booksellers and libraries to purchase the book, especially if positive, especially if starred. they look good on a book's resume

read the reviews here:

link to Library Journal review

link to Publishers Weekly review

short stories

because I was so busy with novel stuff, I only wrote one short story this year. part of one short story. back at the start of January.

you know what happened? I let it sit for a few days for reasons I no longer remember, and when I came back I couldn't remember quite where I was going with it a l a s

anyway it's a queer Cinderella-inspired short, and I'd love to magically figure out a direction for it afresh so I can finish it in 2025

in-progress stuff

...we still won't talk about how revising last year's cozy mystery is going, but in my defense (a) I've been on deadline for other things and (b) just nine chapters in I had already strayed so far from my scene list that I had to rethink the whole book, whoops

mostly, I've been working on the second book that this publisher bought, which has resulted in a very terrible first draft full of so many footnotes and brackets that I would almost call it a zero draft, except I can't bring myself to use that term*

(*for myself. y'all use it as much as you like, if you like it)

literally it was 79,000 words, 6,000 words of which were footnotes-to-self so as not to ruin my fancy WIP aesthetic (Blackadder and Perpetua ftw) with comments

anyway, then there was a marginally less terrible second draft, which is what my editor got (a respectable 98,000 words with zero footnotes and almost zero brackets)

THEN I was supposed to take a break and not think about the book again until my editor read it and got back to me...but instead I immediately wrote a brand new synopsis, sent it to her like "seriously you don't even have to read the version I already sent you bc it's gonna look so different," and then a couple weeks later whoops turned around started rewriting the whole story

which isn't going great bc I really DO need a break, I can TELL I need a break, but unfortunately when it comes to writing my brain is like "NO BREAK. ONLY WRITE >:[" which is Not Good. but I am trying to let myself casually poke at it instead of going hard and getting it done fast enough to send to my editor before she can even read the version she has lolol, so that's something

no-context spoilers for this WIP:

(tried finding the original post but could not, so screenshot from the internet it is)

that's it for part one! part two to follow is here! link to part two

[ruegarding]

Hi! How are you doing? Honestly, I had a bit of an obsession with Will after The Blood of Olympus mostly because he was a blank slate which meant that he could be anyone and anything especially since Apollo is the god of so many things, so I'd look for Will Centric content. And they were so infuriating because Will would constantly hate Percy for "being better than everyone else," "Killing Michael Yew," "Not trusting Nico." Like Percy did trust Nico, and he trusted him with his plan to defeat Kronos (which worked!) Sure there was some miscommunication but Nico came through for Percy. And Michael's death was not Percy's fault. Percy had to destroy the bridge to stop the monsters. Like to me, it feels like Will centric fics use the justification of Will to hate on Percy without anything being resolved, particularly towards Michael's death without addressing the fact that it was war and no matter how tragic it was, Percy couldn't save everyone. Anyways, HOO is fascinating. I've read somewhere on Tumblr that due to the fact that RR overpowered the five new heroes, that he had to leave the smarts to Annabeth. Which is very true and has detriments to literally every other character but especially Jason and Percy, who were essentially military leaders at 15 and 16! And like would it killed for Piper, Leo and Frank to not have superpowers? And did Hazel really need the Mist? I think it would have been fascinating if Annabeth was the one to learn it, because maybe it would have balanced out the whole power spectrum at the very least because RR insisted on giving everyone superpowers. And it's sad how neither Percy nor Annabeth have a perspective in the final book because they had just returned from Tartarus and because they're the characters we've known for years. RR just shunted them after Tartarus and Percy during the Final Battle. He is the son of the Stormbringer, he can literally summon hurricanes, plus if he really puts his mind to it, he can cause earthquakes. Like the Final Battle is where he couls have shined and yet, he did not. HOO was interesting but so much of it was a disappointment.

hi! yeah, i agree. w the way hoo (hoh and boo especially) are written there's a lot of percy bashing for things he didn't even do or things that are completely removed of nuance (thank u rick for that). like i've said before, percy has plenty of flaws, but instead of using any of them well rick made him completely ooc, and there is a definite bandwagon of hate from ppl for it. unfortunately it makes will's character a bit unapproachable in fandom.

annabeth w mist powers is interesting. i don't think i've seen that before. it could extend past being just another power and be a window into how annabeth imagines her perfect world. but yeah, there's a definite power-scaling issue w hoo, not just w the demigods, but w the antagonists, as well.

i think one of the biggest failures of hoo is that it sets up that there needs to be seven main characters—the seven of prophecy, even—and then fails to deliver these seven consistent main characters. like, the whole reason nico, reyna, and hedge end up delivering the statue is bc the seven (as in, all seven of them) have to finish the quest, but then we don't have perspectives from these characters rick just established as necessary, and rick keeps writing them out of the narrative, and characters who weren't even part of the seven come across as more important. it's a mess.

honestly, it would've been better if the seven did split up to bring the statue to chb, bc then, at least, they would all feel narratively important. instead, it's difficult to tell if we have seven main characters, nine main characters, or three main characters w some side povs. this makes it near impossible to have consistent, well-done arcs and leaves us w. whatever boo is.

[aniseandspearmint]

Oh man just woke up from a FABULOUS dream. Like GOOD JOB brain, that was FUN.

Okay, so urban fantasy post apocalyptic. It was kind of vague on what happened? Like there may have been zombies involved but they seemed more like an area effect you had to worry about in major urban areas rather than everywhere? Lots of people died tho, and there was basically no government. Cops were shooting anyone they wanted, cities were splintered into factions. Things were on fire a lot.

Cutting this here bc it got LONG with me trying to write down all the details.

I was playing a version of me at about 20 or so physically, so average height, looks white, brown blonde hair long but kept up. Baseball type hat. Jeans, T-shirt, over shirt, steel-toed boots.

I was with a group of people that I'd come through the start of things with and we'd stuck together out of lack of any other bonds in the area we were in. IF MY DREAM NAMED THEM IDK WHAT THEY WERE. But i remember what they looked like!

There was this big burly dark skinned guy that mmmmmaay have been hispanic and/or black? Even when dreaming I'm a bit face blind so that parts up in the air. Anyway he was a paramedic, and a really NICE person. Good at calming people down.

There was this quiet teenager most of whoms family very conspicuously died in the first bit of the dream. Except his little sister, who was about eight or nine? Dream never said. They were white i think, and very average. Brown hair, brown eyes, mid range fair skin. Little girl was chubby at first, but apocalypse and all. We ALL got thinner in a skipped meals and doing a lot of scrambling way.

And there was this older lady, mid fifties i think who was kind of pushy and overbearing but you could TELL her she was getting over the line and she'd back off. She was thin and very tall with greying curly black hair. Kind of like Lily Tomlin if you stretched her out. She did something with plants i think, or at a museum? Maybe both idk.

There was this guy vaguely 20s that was in trade school to be an electrician. Brown hair, mid-range tan skin, dark brown eyes. He smoked but kept trying not to.

There was three girls around 18-20 that worked at walmart. Two black girls and one asian girl. They all knew each other before everything got weird. Roommates maybe? One of them was trans, i can't remember which one tho.

There was also a guy that was the kind of face of the group? Like, we did not have a leader, things were decided as a group, but he's the one people ASSUMED was the leader. We decided to let them, mostly. He was very ambiguously aged, could've been anywhere from 25 to 40, about six foot, and blond-brown hair, hazel eyes, long face shape I think. I have no idea what he did before the end of the world, but he was good at listening, and standing straight and pretending he was in charge. Good memory too.

We were trying to get out of the urban area we'd started in, bc yikes zombies, and also yikes, people going nuts.

Because the OTHER thing whatever kicked off the apocalypse did was some people had POWERS now. Which was freaking a lot of people who didn't have them out, and you know, freaked out witch hunts were happening. Religious people convinced you were a demon now bc you could make lights, or were telekinetic.

None of the powers were visible, and over all they seemed to come with some nifty instinctual control? Which was GREAT bc the two kids were firestarters. Or something with heat anyway.

But the rest- well lemme just get into the main body of the dream. XD

So we were all trying to get out of the city, and we managed that pretty well, even if there were some scary near misses with the zombies and mobs. This took a long time, I think, the dream had time being wonky. Idk maybe time in the cities WAS off bc when we finally got past the city limits, the land was WEIRD. Way over grown, and the roads were really rough and cracked like it had been YEARS since the world had gone crazy, except we still had unexpired food from before?

We had a vehicle, and some supplies, but we lost it after a while and were walking until we could find another vehicle. Several of us knew how to fix a car or truck up enough to run, if it WAS fixable.

So we were walking, and we came up to this area of conspicuously cleared trees on either side of the road. Stumps to the horizon, but all of them had a little new growth on them, like they'd been cut a year or so ago.

We kept walking. And eventually came upon people, who seemed friendly enough. They said they'd done the clearing, their group, to make a new settlement because most of the old town had burned down. Log houses right now, nothing fancy, but they had a travelers lodge and were willing to put up people over night for news and a little trading!

Face guy took point and accepted the offer, all amiable and friendly.

We all immediately clocked the way these people were TOO friendly. The three roommates went to the edges of the group, all silent and watching. They had a kind of sense8 like connection with each other as their ability. What one saw/heard, they all saw and heard. They were the group scouts.

I stayed in the middle, with the big paramedic guy and the kids, ready to grab them if i needed to.

When we got to town it was mostly unremarkable, there were maybe three or four dozen people of all ages and ethnicities, but all of them were wearing a necklace of a bent nail hammered through a silver coin of some kind (possibly a silver dollar).

We were all like, oh , yeah, cult definitely.

Electrician guy was like, "Maybe they're a harmless cult? Maybe they raise bunnies and we won't find anything creepy going on?"

To which we all quietly scoffed, but were kinda hoping he might be right, you know?

It was nearly dark when we got there, so they set us up in a guest lodge, sweetly apologizing that the door was old and poorly fitted, and we promptly set up for a siege.

The older lady could do this thing where she could make things remember how they used to be? Sort of? It was a bit weird, but she could take an old broken thing and make it be new again, but only once. If it broke again she couldn't fix it. And she could use whatever energy the power used to make things grow, too. So she made the logs remember they were trees once, and wove a net of branches over the doorway, to make an extra barrier. She could have done more but we were all kind of hoping it wouldn't come to that. After she made everything as secure as possible, paramedic guy tried the food that we'd been given; bread, and bowls of vegetable soup. And was like, "Oh yep, soups drugged. Not the bread tho. Guess they thought that was overkill? Some kind of sedative." He got a bit woozy after bc his power let him identify substances, but the non lethal ones still effected him a bit while his body worked through them. He got all sweaty and worked up when it was full out lethal stuff, his body kinda going into overdrive to flush it i guess.

Electrician guy sighed and flexed HIS power, going invisible and intangible, and floating out to see what the nuts had planned.

He dropped back in a few minutes later. "Murder cult definitely. Possibly cannibals. Looks like they're planning to haul us out and kill us later. There was a bucket of old bloody teeth and a stack of skulls and a bone pit in the lodge in the middle of town."

Face guy looked disappointed but not surprised. They all turned to me.

Because MY power? FREAKING TELEPORTATION BABEY!!

I had to have been where I wanted to go, but i COULD take passengers! I started with Electrician guy, then the kids, then the paramedic guy, then the older lady, then the Face guy, and finally the three roommates.

I took them all back to the highway at a crossroad point before we got to the beginning of the cleared trees, where there was a great big boulder with a bunch of travelers graffiti and marks on it.

The teenager had been hard at work adding a warning while i was fetching everyone else, melting 'WARNING; CANNIBAL CULT THIS WAY. BEWARE THE NAILED COIN.' into the stone.

"Very nice! Good and eye catching, concise." I told him, from where i was leaning against the still a little woozy paramedic guy. Teleporting that much at once was exhausting.

We camped beside the travelers stone for the rest of the night and headed down the other road in the morning. I woke up around then too. Shame, I kinda wanted to know where we were going! I just know we DID have a destination.

[dialux]

Hello! Hope you're having a good day!! Idk if u got my previous ask, but I just wanted to know if you're still doing director's cut and if you are then could you do one for 'i imagined a dark world where the stars clamor to be inside us' aka the feanor and findis fic? I've read it so many times its insane and I just love it so much!! I'd love to know your thoughts when u wrote it

In your findis fic, at the end, is my understanding that feanor ended up making horcruxes or something adjacent to horcruxes right?

Combining these two bc I'm pretty sure they're from the same person!

Literally this started because of the LOTR/ASOIAF crossover AU, where Sansa's dropped into ME and mistakes Boromir for her father: I hadn't read LOTR in AAAAAAAGES and so I hopped onto Tolkien Gateway to learn more about the timeline. My search essentially went Boromir -> Third Age -> Age -> First Age -> Feanor -> SILM.

I then started reading the Silm (keep in mind this is in covid-lockdown in 2020) and found myself so absolutely disinterested in the Valar that I skipped all of it to go to chapter 6 (THEE Feanor chapter), and found myself very confused. So I hopped back onto Tolkien Gateway and used their incredibly useful family trees to keep everyone straight in my head. As I'm doing all of this, I'm struck by the similarities between the Finwean kids and the Stark kids, especially Findis/Sansa-- but at this point all I'm thinking is eldest daughter eldest daughter, nothing else. I put Findis into the crossover fic anyway (still know nothing about her apart from the TG page!) and get on with the rest of the Silm.

And then I find out that there are a number of similarities between Sansa and Findis beyond simple birth order, including favoring their mother, presumably being pious, etc etc. I start reading PoME and HoME. I start building an idea of Findis in my own head from, like, four lines total in all this reading.

Annoyed at the lack of canon material, I go to ao3. This is April of 2020; after filtering for languages, I get about a 100 works. I scan a few, but don't find the character I'm looking for. This is mostly because I've wholesale made this character up myself. I scowl at myself and sulk for a few days. Then I start writing. I post the story in a month's time, and in the process I've gotten so many feelings about the Silm that, a full three years later, I still haven't managed to deal with any of them.

Re: the story itself!! I personally think of the Finweans as a little bit incomprehensible, as more mythologized even to their own family than any normal elf; I wanted to explore that idea in the story, particularly how it feels when one person becomes a myth, and how it feels to be left behind when that happens. Feanor does it first, of course, but Findis isn't far behind-- chapter 2 is all about Feanor leaving Findis (and everyone else in his family, through Findis' eyes), but chapter 3 is very purposely from everyone's perspective but Findis, so we can see how it feels for them when she's walked away.

And yes, Findis does in fact create a couple of horcruxes. So does Feanor. They're good horcruxes, though, ig? Don't need murder, are simply like the... laboratory equivalent of soul fission, and yet with some ephemeral connection to the og soul. Afaik the Valar didn't ask before hallowing the Silms as well, so! Not exactly great when imperfect people have parts of their souls hallowed!

[picnokinesis]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Got tagged by the fantastic @wykart ahh thank you for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

32, most of which are Doctor Who!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

859,228!! (but it's gonna keep climbing until I finish posting part 6 of campervan sksk)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Pretty much just Doctor Who right now, but I have posted fics for Stargate Universe, Marvel and The Greatest Showman. And then I have written for other fandoms - most notably Venom, which I never posted anything for but I did get 40k into a multichapter one time.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In this order: Liminality, Tropospheric Disturbance, campervan part 1, watchfires and Renegades in the Ring (my TGS fic that I never finished, rip in pieces)

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

I always try and respond to comments!! Mostly because I love talking about my fics and also don't know when to shut up hahaha - but I also have some absolutely fantastic commenters who have such interesting things to say! And also like, idk I really appreciate people taking the time to comment, so I reckon it's polite to say thank you at least. The only time I don't reply to comments, mostly, is if it's a REALLY long comment and I just don't have the energy rip (but when that happens I definitely read and cherish the comment dearly haha)

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh. MOST OF THEM RIP. I'm genuinely not sure because I always try and end my fics on a vaguely uplifting note. Maybe Campervan Part 4, simply because of all the uni-era angst? But tbh the ending of Part 6 is definitely a contender, now I think about it. Canon-fic wise, though.......hmm I think it's got to be notches in your spine, since that ends with the Doctor just straight up leaving the Master without warning sksksk

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

Hm. I think I'm gonna go with In the Wind for this one, which is hilarious since I wrote it THREE YEARS AGO, but it's a multi-chapter mid-series adventure that rounds itself off in a satisfying way, with everything being resolved nicely, so I think that's a decent contender!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Hm, no, other than people complaining about the show in an attempt to compliment my writing, but that's stopped for the most part since I got annoyed about it in my author's notes one time ksksks. I did get a weird comment recently that started out very complimentary but then turned really weird in a pretty upsetting way (and, frankly, it would have been very triggering if that sort of topic had been something that was something that affected me a lot? Luckily it wasn't, but the commenter did NOT know that). So I just deleted the comment because I didn't want that sort of thing in my comment section, especially when I know other readers comment lurk.

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

No I'm sex-repulsed lol

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

I wrote a crossover that was The Greatest Showman crossed with the X-Men Comics one time SKSKSKSKSK (and it was specifically the comics not the films, I did so much research on historical terminology for mutants HAHA) which was actually SO much fun - I never finished it, but I do think back on it very fondly. But I'd class that as more of an 'x-men au' rather than a crossover tbh, bc it was wholly focused on the TGS characters.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't believe so

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

Yes! We never finished it LOL

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

Currently spydoc, but this will probably change. I have a MASSIVE soft spot for rush/young from sgu, clintasha from the MCU, newt/hermann from PacRim, and symbrock from Venom.

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

Hmmmm there's a bunch, but probably The Grandfather Paradox? I genuinely love that one so much. But who knows, maybe one day. I feel like it would make a great pitch for a Big Finish audio sksk. Oh, and Deathless will probably never happen. I'm not going to put Trestle on this list because I am SO DETERMINED to finish it some day HAHAH. Oh - and I don't think I'll ever finished Trouble With Entropy, which was my unfinished Venom fic, or Renegades (aforementioned TGS fic) even though I love them a lot, it's just....very unlikely at this point rip.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Going off what other people have said to me, I'm good at creative immersive worlds! Which is mostly because I really want my stories to feel 'lived in', so to speak, and broader than what you actually see in the immediate plot. I think I'm also pretty good at pacing, and also writing narrative prose with a character voice! The latter one I definitely pushed myself with when writing part 6 of campervan, as well as my recent doctormaster oneshot, where I had to weave together both the doctor AND the master's characterisation into one seamless pov

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I definitely worry too much about making sure the reader DEFINITELY gets what I'm trying to say, and so sometimes I'm repetitive and I hammer things home a bit that can be more subtle. I also think that sometimes I can be a bit repetitive in my longer fics where I know a gap needs to be filled but I'm not sure with what sksksks. There are other things too. I definitely struggle writing shorter things and getting to the point and TRUSTING that the reader will come with me. I often feel this urge to make sure all the steps are there for the reader to follow where I want them to go.

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

Oooh so I actually did this in campervan part 5 with Gabriela and Jamila speaking a bit of Portuguese! And I think there's like, obviously nuance to it, but when I had the pov characters who understood portuguese (namely Jamila in the prologue), I had the dialogue in portuguese, but the translation in the prose, either literally just next to the dialogue or explained in the narration by Jamila. But then in later chapters, when Yaz is trying to talk to Gabriela, because Gabriela is upset she's occasionally saying things in Portuguese....but Yaz doesn't understand them. So they don't get translated. And so I think that works for the story in that context, bc what Gabriela actually SAYS is less important and it's more showing the emotion of it. Another case I can think of was in Force Over Distance by cleanwhiteroom who wrote a LOT of ancient into the fic (which is basically latin) and when it was on ao3 there was this sort of 'hover to translate' thing which worked REALLY WELL, bc the translation was there but it didn't disrupt the flow of the fic.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Okay so I wanna know what counts here - if it's like, the first fic i POSTED, then that's Marvel (specifically the Avengers). If it's the first fic I wrote when I actually understood what 'fandom' was, then...I think that was also Avengers....or maybe BBC Sherlock. If it's the first thing I actually WROTE DOWN properly, then it was Doctor Who (specifically Ten and Rose and my oc companion sksk). If it was the first thing I played with creatively for media that wasn't my own...then that was probably me coming up with elaborate ocs out of two unicorns on the credits for the My Little Pony vhs tape we had SKSKSKSK SO. I don't know. One or all of those.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Oh this is hard because I'm proud of a lot of what I've written. My gut reaction at the moment is actually Trestle, even though it's unfinished and no one has read it HAHAH but I'm just so proud of some of the writing in that so far. And I'm extremely proud of Campervan AU as a whole entity. However I do really really love see me bare my teeth for you - which I actually forget about a LOT because it's not one of my thoschei fics sksksk. But I'm super proud of how that one turned out. And then also and they did live by watchfires because that one just has such a special place in my heart.

THANKS FOR THE TAG LIV!!! I'm gonna tag hmmmmmmm @sunshinedaysforever @taardisblue @novantinuum @emptyofdust @strikingtwelves @walker-lister aaaaah basically anyone else that wants to do this! :D

[misc-obeyme]

akwkdjfwjdjf dont mind me in a puddle because that's so sweet that you enjoy my updates ??? 😭😭😭 I didn't think I'd go this far with the coffeeshop au and i have so many ideas bouncing around in my head and they're not even together yet but

WAHHH i feel like I'd never have gotten even CLOSE to writing anything again without your encouragement so i just wanna say thank you 🥹🥹 akwjdj

I'm about to actually try writing that song fic for solomams, EVEN BROUGHT THE WIRELESS KEYBOARD AND EVERYTHING BC I'M STAYING SOMEWHERE OVERNIGHT

also i was reading through my notes (i love that i keep saying my notes, it's so amusing, but i have a notes app AND pages in my sketchbook - anyway), and i think the concert scene might make more sense chronologically? mayhaps? *squints* it would also mean we get to meet beel and belphie for a second

that one is definitely more drama/emotional vibes. and when i say drama, i mostly mean you wanna bonk one of the three on the head because they're going through it trying to realize their feelings (mainly me </3. nothing like oddly specific lyrics to make you realize your crushes !! but playlist drama there's a note that says 'mammon has a breakdown he reschedules for later' is all I'll say bc it's funny how he short circuits over things. He can't be overthinking what was just said, he's got orders to make!)

im gonna do what i always do and daydream about it until it all connects in my head. spiderweb plot at it's finest !! OKAY GOODNIGHT

- ✨ anon

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I must know how this story ends!! LOL. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, so keep 'em comin'!

Oh wow!! Well, I'm always always going to encourage you to write! I honestly really enjoy what you send me and I think anything you create will turn out great!

Woo solomams!! I hope you enjoy the writing process!!

Ah yes sometimes events need to be shuffled around for the sake of the story! You can always change it back if you decide you don't like where it is! My writing program is set up so that I can write each scene in a new "document" and then just drag them around when I want them to take place in a different part of the story. So sometimes stuff is out of order for a bit lol!

LOL Mammon rescheduling the breakdown for later is excellent, I know exactly what that feels like. It's always okay, I know I'm buzzing about something under everything else but I don't have time to freak out about that right now because there are twenty other things I gotta take care of! Anyway, a little drama is always good! Shakes things up!

Honestly, I do that, too! When it comes to longer stories, I spend a decent chunk of time just daydreaming/thinking about it while I go about my regular days. And then eventually it just works itself out! It's one of the best parts of writing imo lol.

[waffles-for-brunch]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @lovevamp

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

4. One's an okay oneshot, then I did a fix-it after 15x20, then I lost my mind completely and spent three years on a season 12 rewrite and now I'm back again writing another fix-it. My twilight zone is self-inflicted.

2. what’s your total Ao3 word count?

540,492 (insert kevin james shrugging meme here)

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Just Supernatural. I started writing a fic for Baldur's Gate Bloodweave but then Destiel dragged me back to the dark side. Maybe I'll finish that one eventually.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

they're not gonna be in order bc I'm just gonna go thru my bookmarks real quick but - "And this, your living kiss" by opal_bullets "On labor" by a_good_soldier (i reread this one twice this week) "The Nanny" by Kitmistry and those are the ones i feel like mentioning. :)

5. do you respond to comments?

Admittedly rarely. Mostly because I'll open my email when I'm getting up in the morning and read them and then work all day and forget to respond. I do appreciate all the comments I get tho. And a lot of the really kind ones I send to my groupchat and/or save in a folder on my email labelled "nice comments" also just sometimes I don't feel like I have anything to say. Like idk sometimes thank you just seems too small or something you know. It's strange. Then I'll just get in my head about it and say nothing and the cycle repeats lmao. But I do read them all.

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

Dog you know I'm not writing any angst without a happy ending. I can't take that shit lmao. It's happy endings only in this house. Happy and found family and loveliness. :)

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

I literally end everything the same way. Please I have the worst case of projection imaginable with these fics.

8. do you get hate on fics?

If I do I'm unaware. But I'd probably know it if I do, I stalk my own name and fics wherever I can because I'm insane and nosey. But nah the most I've gotten is just people being mad about a certain character's actions, but like that's not even hate it's just frustration with a character which is a given in certain circumstances. Now if someone was like "wow bad characterization" I'd be like girl, but no I think people are pretty respectful in my corners for the most part.

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

Bro let me tell you in "Our Old Heroes" I wrote like a singular sex scene and like maybe one or two other hot and heavy ones and good god did they take me so long to write. Like I'm not a very sex oriented person in general so writing this stuff out? Bro it's embarrassing how much poetry I put into that in retrospect (i jest, it's fine) but like I don't generally orient towards it just because it's very time consuming for me. It has to be very intimate and just right.

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

So short answer no, I haven't. Longer answer I love the concept and would be open to it. Particularly if it involves Dean being psychoanalyzed in some way because that's my favorite thing to write so it would probably be criminal minds. I think crossovers have so much fun and wonky potential tho.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope someone printed my fic to bring into prison and make a black market hot commodity. It would be the highest honor. I guess that's not theft, it's just the free market. But so I guess really no, if I have I'm unawares.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of but I have had people comment in other languages or on twitter people will talk about it in a different language, which is pretty crazy. It's so wild we can be so connected to a story in that way despite not speaking the same language or growing up in the same environment.

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

no! but as @lovevamp has said we've talked about a few that I'm certain one day we will follow through on. I've also talked with @icaruspendragon about maybe doing one at some point bc we seem to have the exact same mental illness that is the dean winchester brain disorder.

14. what’s your favorite all time ship?

I live breathe and bleed destiel, it's truly unfortunate for me.

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

I just have a lot of ideas in my docs that will probably never become more than the ideas they are. Usually when I start a fic like for real I follow through with it. I would feel bad if I didn't lol.

16. what are your writing strengths?

I've been told my characterization is pretty good, which I appreciate. If it was bad I'd probably kms (jk). But fr idk that's the biggest comment I'll get is in regards to that which I really do like because I spend a lot of time trying to find a balance and make sure I'm expressing everyone the correct way they'd express themselves or not express themselves.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Sex scenes aside I do struggle with action mostly because I find it boring to write out. You just have to try and find so many different words. Ugh. I love dialogue. That's really where I start getting going. But writing action? I tend to do that last because I wanna get through all the good bits first then circle back and do the boring bits.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

listen I can barely remember english i'm sorry

19. first fandom you wrote for?

i'm an og baby i started here (destiel) and this is where i'll die (maybe not, we'll see)

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

Well, I don't really have many so it's probably the massive one. "Our Old Heroes" by adelaclancy (that's me). I was really in a bad place when I started it and I kind of just gave myself this crazy project for several reasons. One I was stopping drinking so I needed something else to do with my time. Second I was jobless and goalless and really didn't have a lot going for me and writing was really the only thing I have ever had consistently so I was like okay well I'll start this stupid project and it's gonna be like 26 chapters and 500,000 words long and it's gonna delve into all my issues through projection of these fictional characters and if I actually manage to finish it I can finally say I finished something. So I did. And I actually managed to work on myself a lot in the process. So over all that time I went from living in bad straights as an unemployed drunkard to a full time worker with a few years sobriety under their belt and a better sense of my own boundaries and thriving friendships and I dunno man, in a way that fic really was a bridge for me and I think in that too for a lot of the readers they get to see that now too. Like they can see my little notes at the beginning of chapters and how they change over time alongside the characters in the book and it's kind of an experience in that way I suppose. If not through Dean Winchester and Castiel then maybe through me, if someone out there finds a little bit of hope from that silly little mess of words then I suppose that's something to be proud of then, isn't it? Anywho...

tagging: @icaruspendragon

(Bro I know like two people sorry)

[izzy-b-hands]

an all at once nsfw mix of stizzy, steddyhands, and whatever we'd wanna push together to call Ed/Pete/Lucius with an initial touch of Ed/Lucius (this is the Horniest sketching session, u gotta understand)

came (ha) abt bc i wanted to write abt cock worship which made me think stizzy and then suddenly the rest was here too lol, I got no other explanation to offer ajsjjdnfgj

---

It undoes him.

It's as much the actions themselves as simply how relaxed and...pliable feels the wrong word, but Izzy just...is.

Sat between his legs on the floor, face nuzzling into him well before he's hard. Quiet but for happy little murmurs and sighs and moans and he's meant to be focusing on holding this pose for Lucius-

"Wiggle if you need," Lucius cuts into his train of thought. "It won't ruin things for me."

"I'm sure it won't," Stede rolls his eyes. "Enjoying the show?"

"Not as much as Ed, but yeah."

Ed, for his part, has attempted to focus on the occasional interruption from Olu or anyone else on the crew actually out on deck working.

But his eyes don't drift too far from the scene in front of him, and the borrowed silk trousers of Stede's make his interest very clear and prominent.

Izzy sighs and lays his head on Stede's mostly bare inner thigh (it's mesh and lace underthings and thigh highs, but the latter have rolled down just a bit) and the exhalation on his skin nearly ends him.

"Actually, if I can get most of the general forms down now-"

"Then you could finish the rest later?" Ed asks, leaning down to peer at the in progress work.

"I can tell when my subjects need a break," Lucius continues. "Or when they're about to change the scene I'm trying to draw out and they can't help themselves."

Izzy mouths over his cock, the mesh not nearly covering enough. He may as well be wearing nothing at all.

"Like that," Lucius grins. "Five more minutes, you two."

"Fine," Izzy grumbles, but his eyes meet Stede's. "It'll be worth the wait."

He manages a barely audible moan in reply, and lets himself reach down to cradle Izzy's chin and face in his hand.

Izzy melts into the touch, and he whimpers.

"Would it be mean to do a countdown?" Lucius chuckles.

"Got it covered," Ed's eyes shine. "Four minutes, boys."

"Ed."

"You can handle four minutes," Ed continues, and after Lucius gives him a giggle and nod, drops into a chair near them.

Lucius cackles when Ed's legs spread and he palms at his cock.

"You're going to kill them in four minutes time. Might take me out as well, as it happens..."

"Would Pete mind?" Ed's brow raises.

"I think he'd want to be included, honestly."

"We could do that," Ed says. "These two will be busy with each other more than us anyway, at first. Three of us could keep each other company while they're-"

"A few more lines, and then we'll take a break and I'll go get him and-" Lucius pauses. "You really are so fucking pretty."

"Still fuckable after-"

"If I didn't want to fuck anyone who had tried to kill me before, then I'd never get laid," Lucius scoffs. "So yes, very much so."

"Awww."

"You're terrible," he chuckles.

"Lucius," Stede can't help but tease. "You've stopped drawing."

"Ah! I have, yes. Three minutes, right?"

Ed nods and opens up the front flap on his trousers. "Do you guys mind if-"

"Please do," Izzy interrupts and his eyes flutter shut as he rests his head in Stede's grasp. "To think I put off this sketching business for so long-"

"I said you'd like it," Lucius says. "But no, he had to argue with me at first-"

"Take comfort knowing your other captain will keep me from any arguing tonight," Izzy continues. "My mouth will be too busy for it."

"How many minutes left?" Stede asks.

"Not quite two," Ed replies, hand lazily playing with his half hard cock. "Only two minutes, love."

Izzy laughs when he whimpers, but it's easy enough to gently dig a nail into his cheek, not enough to mark or hurt badly. Just a brief sting that makes Izzy hiss.

He moves to kiss Stede's palm, and the minutes no longer matter.

"Thank fuck," Lucius sighs happily as Stede helps Izzy into his lap. "Glad you two broke first. Ed, I'll go get Pete-"

He pauses, and Stede can't help but comment.

"You don't want to wait, do you?"

"I don't, but he'll be a bit hurt if he isn't here to watch me suck his idol's cock."

Ed snorts. "Idol?"

"Okay, maybe too strong a word, but the point is," Lucius smiles. "He'll want to be present for the whole thing. That said-"

He walks over quickly, leans down to kiss Ed hard, then stands back up.

"God, it was better than I expected. I'll be right back with him."

"I'm not getting up to lock the door this time," Ed says. "Can we just make them do it when they come in?"

"I think so," Stede nods, but he can admit he's distracted by Izzy grinding on his lap, nipping at his neck in between kisses. "I mean, they'll hear us, I'm sure-"

"They certainly fucking will," Izzy chuckles. "We did get complaints last time. Might do to be more mindful, now."

"Says the man who can't stay quiet when I'm-" Stede starts, but the door to their quarters swings open.

"Oh!" Pete blushes ever so slightly. "You weren't kidding, everything is very much already-"

"Get your clothes off," Lucius is breathless in between kisses to Pete, and tossing his own clothes aside. "Ah, could I ask you to lock the door too?"

"I would do nearly anything for you," Pete murmurs. "I think I can handle locking a door."

"Good. The less interruptions the better."

It's the best sort of hedonistic: the ship is under control with Olu and Jim and the rest of the crew, and they're free to take the time to-

Well. There are flowery terms that would sound better in his journal recounting of it all. But the most honest is the most blunt:

That they're free to take the time to fuck each other until they can't see straight, and get back to the sketching after.

Everyone else understands; they've either had their own night like this with the three of them (Ed, himself, and Izzy specifically) already, or know one might be coming up soon with the second run of group sketches Lucius is doing (and that might well include Lucius and Pete again, thank fuck they've stolen more couches recently.)

It keeps things fair and relaxed and the rest of his thoughts drift off at the sight of Lucius sucking Ed's cock, Ed pulling Pete down onto the couch for a kiss, and Izzy...

Izzy whining in his ear for more, cock already leaking through the mesh barely there material covering it.

It's good luck none of them mind taking breaks in between moments with each other, because he's so wonderfully close to being that particular sort of undone, and he can tell he'll take Izzy with him when he goes.

[esta-elavaris]

Top 5 fav scenes in pirates of the caribbean

The scene where James tells Will he's a filthy little blacksmith who needs to take a seat (this is the opposite of a Will Turner safe space - a danger zone, if u will), the scene where James mocks Jack, the scene where James--

No, I kid, uhhh, okay just because I'm aware of my biases I'm gonna have to separate James moments from overall POTC moments. Where ol' Norrington is concerned:

That scene in the first movie on the Dauntless where he climbs up onto the ship and fires that gun??? Rent free.

The bit where he first meets Jack and we get the "but you have heard of me" and he's just being a sarcastic bastard, especially where he puts on a big show of pretending to look for his ship. Also rent free.

"What have you got to lose?" "Nothing I'd lament being rid of." Iconic.

The look he gives Elizabeth when he realises she really hasn't worked out how Will ended up on the Dutchman.

"Come on then, who wants some? Form an orderly line and I'll have you all one by one." 😏 (Bc a friend I made through CTW send me that with "I volunteer as tribute!!" added and I ascended).

OKAY otherwise --

"You'd best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner, you're in one." Unreal. Especially "I'm curious -- after killing me, what's it you're planning on doing next?" Barbossa is a treasure, 90% of his lines are sheer gold.

The fight with Jack vs Barbossa at the end of the first movie where they're moving in and out of patches of moonlight, it's just so damn good.

Singing at the start of the third movie, easily one of the best movie openings at all time.

"And its Captain is to sail it as commanded." Beckett don't you dare make me like you bc what a bloody line.

The entire finale of the first movie, barring the part where our boi gets his heart broken (but honestly he's such a good egg about it, I love how they handled that - I'm so glad they didn't make him into a 2D gross "hurrdurr but she's mine" arsehole, and I think they did his character a bit of a disservice by cutting out the scene where he tries to make sure Elizabeth accepted bc she wants to).

I know I'm only supposed to have five, but Elizabeth's speech at the end of the third one and the music during that, What Shall We Die For -- so good. The soundtrack deserves a whole section of its own, it's all on my writing playlist, the Davy Jones theme is god tier, and I See Dead People In Boats literally makes my chest hurt, but mostly bc I listened to it while writing the Dutchman balcony scene.

Honourable mention to any time Jack negotiates with anybody, and Johnny Depp's sheer skill at acting as Jack in the first three movies (bc there are only three, don't you know?), where you can see just how much of the dumbassery is a façade so people underestimate him and what he's up to, because there are just these moments where he gets this gleam in his eye and you realise how much is going on behind the act and it's so, so good and complex and I stan.

[pin4tacademia]

life update!!!

Soooo it's the second week of uni. So far, so good. I definitely feel like the general workload of this semester has eased up SO MUCH. I'm actually so surprised bc so many engineering guys have scared me saying it only gets worse, that I will hate 2nd year, that electrical is the hardest, and tbh, my workload is already eased up so much compared to last semester. I not only have ZERO prelecs (last sem I had 2 classes with weekly prelecs), but I also have like around half the amount of lectures than last semester. On top of that, only three of my four classes have weekly quizzes (last semester 4 of my 5 classes had weekly quizzes AND THERE WAS ONE WEEKLY QUIZ THAT TOOK A WHOLE DAY TO DO I HATED IT).

Anyways, so I'm off to a good start.

I will say digital logic, circuit analysis, and physics has been pretty good. Not too difficult yet. However, algorithms has been a lot already. I am forseeing that I will probably spend a lot more time on algorithms than anything else. I have also been warned about the circuit analysis class, so I suspect it will get much harder later in the semester. Physics has been my favourite class so far, which is good bc I will have to do 2 more physics classes for my degree.

My research internship ends this week. I already have my final presentation mostly done, just need to tweak some aspects of it, but other than that I am fully ready to present. In the next two days I am planning to finalise my report (which I already have mostly done anyways), so I will probably have to spend most of my time on that until friday. Ngl I spent last week procrastinating A LOT, so I will have to make up for that mistake this week. I have also applied to two societies: a rocketry one and a motorsports one. These two I have been planning to apply to for ages, as they're basically work experience that I can put on my resume and they supply a HUGE amount of work hours (I need like 700 or smth to graduate), so hopefully I get in. I am a bit scared in applying though, because I've heard it is quite intensive and I am already working a part-time job already. We'll see. I'm sure I can leave anytime if it ever gets too much.

Because of my procrastination, theres already a lot to do:

watch + write notes for physics lectures

go over physics tutorial sheets

prepare for the physics labs

complete the physics weekly quiz

complete the algorithms weekly quiz

go over digital logic content and labs

go over circuit analysis tutorial (and prepare for lab)

complete motorsports activities

go over algorithms content

finish research report

anyways, in terms of more personal updates:

Finished netflix's ATLA!!! Tbh it wasn't incredible in a way I was hoping for, but it also wasn't dogshit, and I think everyone can agree it was better than the movie. I'd give it a solid 7/10. If they made a second season, I would definitely watch it.

I've also been going out a LOT more. I spent last weekend doing escape rooms and mini-golf and fun little activities. It feels really good to actually go out again, and I definitely want to do it more, especially before the sem gets hectic.

And finally, there's really a lot to look forward to. The first two episodes of Shogun has come out, and I am really looking forward to watching them. I've read approximately the first 100 pages of the book, so I am curious to how they'll adapt it. Also, FF7 Rebirth is coming out tomorrow!!! How exciting!! I probably won't be able to play it, but I might be able to watch someone else gameplay. I have played FF7 Crisis Core and a little bit of FF7 the remake and the original, so I should probably try and finish FF7 itself before the sequel hehe.

anyways that is all, peace out <3

[grapecaseschoices]

put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer ok go

Top 5 ocs of yours? I'm so curious 👀👀

LMAO. yall so cute <3 so good for my ego and self-esteem.

I've been creating ocs since I was like 14? 15?, bb. That's a lot LMAO. And that doesn't include one off characters from shows/books that I made my own when I played panfandom games. And if I were to do a somewhat honest list [lmao bc top five is genuinely hard.] I'd have to add ocs yall don't know.

But let's see. Um. In no order.

Tai Aeothryn: I don't even remember her. Don't even ask me to say her last name, because I made that SHIT UP. Tai started from a self-insert that became more energetic and meddling and pushy and etc than me. I played her in a Dark Hunters [yes, by Sherrilyn Kenyon] group. Totally lied about my age to get in [DON'T DO THIS KIDS!] and her FC was that actress from Passions. ROFLMAO. This is so funny, because I DON'T remember a lot but so much is coming back to me. ROFLMAO. Psychic damage right now. Tai was 19. And partially Haitian. BECAUSE OF COURSE! [Even tho her FC wasn't.] She was short and mouthy and probably could've done with more fear. She was probably the prototype of a lot of my OCs. She had a few cute nicknames that I don't recall. I know one was 'the Meddler' and I think the other was 'imp'?

So, Ima admit. I very much had a HP phase. A lot of my rp time was HP. It wasn't where I started [see above] but it is where i did most of my writing/met a lot of the people I still write with. THAT. SAAAAID. One OC that ended up surviving That Time was Maxwell B. He had too many surnames, one being Bianchi. How do I solve a problem like Max? Max was charming. I don't usually like to call my characters charming because I feel it's a matter of perspective. If I can get you to feel a character I see/hope will be charming as charming, then job well done. But Max was CHARMING. I feel in an olden days, people would call Max a knave or a rapascallion, but in an 'oh, you!!' sort of way. But the thing is, the most important thing, is Max wasn't half as charming as HE believed himself to be. He was a silly guy. And he knew it. It was part of his personality but it was also on purpose. He was "lazy" and a bit of a prankster, and seemingly, didn't take a lot of thing seriously, so don't go taking him seriously. Which often lead to underestimation of his character and his values [both a matter of his fault and people not looking beyond the surface]; but he was a flirt who was very respectful of boundaries and other's relationships, he was extremely loyal, and while not entirely book smart he was very observant and intelligent. I miss Max a lot sometimes. [Max while not the prototype, he was the culmination of previous prototypes lmao. I haven't done a character like him in a minute tho. Amos and Ferryn are the closest but Amos is an asshole. And Ferryn is -- not a good person. And Max was GOOD. I also don't play either a lot, lmao.]

Andy Yasar.

Kendis [in all their variations]

I don't know who I would give the fifth spot to. There are OCs who I still roll in my head and who's dynamics and exploration still mean a lot to me [like Mason and Desiree, that I still tag. And Mason was proto-Irvin in a sense]. Others whose names I don't remember but who still gut punch me [I don't remembeer my own ocs names werw lmao. I don't remember any names]. However, I think I would have to give this to Spencer

Spencer, I've played in various forms. I loved her because she was basically my bitter, grizzled white man in a young woman's body. She had the daddy issues, the sarcasm, the dislike for socializing, the sharp brain. But she also CARED about her job and was SOFT with like the three [mostly one] people she cared about. She had scars physical and interal, but she still wanted to help people. She had a wicked sweet tooth, lmao. Lollipops were her cigarette. I kind of miss her. I want to write her somewhere but I can never quite get her to fit.

[flightyfinch]

ok this is only gonna be kinda interesting tbh bc it's been three years and i don't remember everything, this is mostly to entertain my friends

i used to freelance for Company. i started as a comics editor that worked with creators and reported to lead editors who were staff at Company and oversaw several comics at a time. idk how well this worked out as a system for Company (more on that later) but it worked well for me. eventually i was also signed on to write a comic adaptation of a book Company owned the rights to. i was given a lot of creative liberty on that and the schedule was strict but had plenty of time between chapter scripts being due, so it was pretty nice

in the middle of that project and a few others, i learned that another comic was in progress and was looking for a new writer to finish up the last 25%ish of scripts, and i was encouraged to throw my hat in the ring. i read all the published chapters of the comic and wrote up a short sample script according to prompts i was given

they wanted to see what i'd do with edit notes before taking me on, so enter two contributors to that google doc who we'll call Blake and Borpus. Blake was Company staff and a lead editor and a lovely person, i'd been in communication with her already about this job. she left nice productive notes about tweaks to the script

i never had any form of introduction or direct communication with Borpus. their name was listed on the comic as one of the creators, but apart from that i had no idea who they were. maybe they were also with Company or maybe they were an affiliate creator, but either way it looked like they'd been with this project from the start. their comments were blunt and honestly rude. this genius expected me to have included character development and backstory which hadn't been published yet. maybe they weren't looped in enough to know i hadn't actually signed on yet, i dunno, but one thing for which i give NO benefit of the doubt is that they rewrote entire parts of my dialogue. Company's editorial guide was very clear about how one should only ever provide EDITS, not directly redo another's work. on my own editing gigs i gave creators prompts and had them write the changes themselves. i only ever wrote out new lines or panels and offered them as suggestions if a creator and i had been working for a while and we had a level of trust

so Borpus pissed me off, but i still wanted more writing gigs. i took the notes and made changes to the sample script (putting BACK my dialogue and grudgingly working in the feel of SOME of Borpus's line changes) and my work was given the green light. when i signed on, to my relief Borpus's involvement vanished and i worked exclusively with dear Blake

but SHEEEESH i walked right into a mess. it looked like the comic's last chapters had been written at least once already and thrown out. i was given a rough version of the previous outline with a few story points they wanted to keep, and was asked to outline a new dozen ending chapters from that. i was given 2 (?) weeks for that and once that was done my schedule was one script due per week. this was a CRAZY speed bc every week was writing a new script and implementing edits on the previous week's script. i remember early on i was given a scrapped chapter that had reached the lineart phase, and was asked to rewrite the chapter and rearrange and reuse as many panels as possible to fit the new plot beats. it was understandable that they wanted to use work they'd already paid for and it was actually kind of a fun challenge, but it's also indicative how Fraught this production was

for the next couple months the pace was grueling, but apart from that it was fine. i wrote scripts, made edits, and they were shipped off to the art team. i reasonably thought that we were cleaning up from one emergency overhaul and the rest would be smooth sailing

after a couple of my chapters had published, Blake very apologetically approached me and i was T-boned by another overhaul. my chapters were spending too much time on new characters and story points and not enough time on the main couple...... the characters and the story points i had been assigned to do. yeah those. (specific gripe: how tf am i supposed to show the protagonist finding a place in her local lgbtq community without spending any time on the new people she meets in said community???) i made heavy new edits on scripts that hadn't been drawn yet, and i had to write one new chapter of the main couple hooking up and parting badly in order to amp up the feeling of resolution in the finale. i disagreed with this decision a Ton. this comic had been leaning hard on will-they-won't-they and it didn't make sense NOT to use them finally getting together for the finale. the reasons for the fight didn't make sense for the characters or for the fluffy goofy tone the comic had started with. but at this point i knew for sure that the clown car i was stuffed into was on fire, so i just wanted to maneuver myself to the nearest door. i made changes for them until they physically ran out of production time to ask me to make any more, and then i was done

a few other things happened mixed in this timeline of which i can't remember the order. Blake left Company (i doubt because of this particular comic but i'll never know). Company was acquired by a larger media corporation. and because i was the creator of the script Google Docs, i received the notifications when Borpus made their harbinger return and started doing rewrites to my scripts.

Contractually, anything i wrote for Company was their property. so long as any use of my work was credited and i was paid as agreed, it was theirs to do whatever they wanted with it. i know this doesn't seem to align with the practices i mentioned in the editorial guide, but it shows the hard split between the honor and respect generally shown on the production side of Company and the legal ownership rights the corporate side demanded. i could have edited those scripts as many times as they asked but they still could legally make any changes they wanted after the fact. no one WOULD, of course, bc that's stupid and insulting. no one except Borpus.

their changes sucked. characters became flatter and MEANER just to amp up drama. the scripts had been frankensteined and it was very obvious when you read them. i could have raised a stink about this if i wanted i guess, and someone probably would have stepped in on the principle of the thing, but i knew i didn't have any legal protection to lean on and this was all very clearly revealing itself to be stupid and not worth it. even in my early less muddled chapters the readers were unhappy. turns out if you keep trying to make changes to something WHILE it's in motion, people notice and realize they're being strung along. i just walked away.

as this was wrapping up Company's new owner, shockingly, did a big round of layoffs. maybe that system of freelancing editors to produce a higher quantity of comics wasn't good for quality, or maybe they were just being dicks. i don't know if anything would've even happened if i'd raised the rewrite issue, because the comic was finally ending and a ton of the people who'd made it were being let go anyway. all my connections at Company were gone and my work there dried up, so working on this comic didn't even amount to getting any better work there

to this day i don't know what the fuck was going on up top with that comic. maybe Borpus was in charge and behind every stupid demand for change. maybe this comic suffered a death by committee and Borpus was just one bad actor taking advantage of shitty management. all i know is mercifully people stopped reading this once popular comic, and it died in darkness where no one would see my name attached to it. many lessons learned, much dickheadedness witnessed. anyway the end. sometimes i like to look back on that smashed, flaming clown car wreckage, and now you can too ✌️

i think at some point i'll share the story of the shitshow that was the gl vertical scroll comic i wrote for bc i don't think i've ever explained the whole story to Anyone, and also who doesn't love hearing about a mess

[lizzibennet]

Bestie, drop your favourite Bridgerton fanfics. The people deserve to know!!!

alright *cracks knuckles* let's do this

for reasons wretched and divine by penny_loaf - time loop au compliant with show canon. this is my favorite bridgerton fic, i reread it all the time. ao3 says i've visited this 22 times and that seems right lol i just love some time fuckery and this author nails their characterization. i rec their other fics too but this is my fav <3

nothing breaks our wave, my love by superoverdramatic - s2 through anthony's eyes/character study. ripped my heart right out of my chest and stomped on it. ppl who write anthony well my beloved. another one i've reread a bunch

sidelines by ramarro - "Kate sees Anthony's bumble profile and finds it very pretentious. It does not stop her from obsessively drawing his arms though. Until he starts dating her sister." literally fic of all time i LOVEEEE this one SO much edwina gets a lot of respect (which is rare with bridgerton fic authors </3) and the way her and kate's relationship is written is just chef's kiss. peak kate and anthony being idiots about how stupidly attracted to each other they are. GOD i love this one

three cities by ramarro - ramarro my beloved. kate and anthony have a holiday fling and also meet across a few countries. imagine me reading this and smiling like a fucking idiot cause that's what this one does to me

i'd be your little spoon by magicalmenagerie - [inhales] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. the one in which bagwell is a woman with Knowledge and edwina wants her to Teach. literally edwina fic of all time. i also rec this author's other fics!!

the universe laughs at anthony bridgerton by teabrigadier - modern soulmate au where the first words your soulmate will say to you appear on your arm and both kate and anthony are convinced they have assholes for soulmates. my feel good fic <3 there is also a follow up which is kate's pov which is also great

june, after dark by stutteringpeach - edwina drags kate to daphne's wedding at her country estate with her family. hijinks ensue. literally not a single flaw in this one. it is everything i want in a modern au i was vibrating when it wasn't completed because i wanted to read it SO bad lmao another one i've reread a bunch

engagement series by burnerraccount - show canon compliant for after s2 ends. before they get married kate and anthony have an Agreement. perfect characterization and the smutty parts don't make give me secondhand embarrassment like most fics do <3

love, spoke this silence by ninzied - i'm recommending this one bc it's the most recent but really i am telling you to read all the bridgerton fics by this author <3 by far my favorite bridgerton fic writer. i can't say enough good things u have to trust me you must read all of them

it had to be you by zegabz - when harry met sally au. need i say more

the little things you do by zegabz - flower shop au - kate finds a bouquet she put together abandoned. talented showstopping amazing etc

1, 2 step by zarahjoyce - expanded versions of show canon + some canon compliant stuff + some aus. yes i'm recommending them all i don't think zarahjoyce has one even average bridgerton fic they are all great

the story of us by irishseeker - THE kathony uni au because i said so. i consider this one a bit of a fandom classic lmao you've probably already been recommended it but here it is again <3 i love it so much i couldn't not rec it

come away with me by floralumbrella - mostly show canon compliant smut lol. but good smut!

operation: barista by starkswinterfelling - how does one fic series so flawless exist. idk but i'm glad it does. THE coffee shop au because i once again say so.

i could be your heron blue sky (wrap me in celadon and gold) by krewlak - keeping myself from shouting MILF FIC MILF FIC MILF FIC rn. kate marries an earl for security, but after he dies she and her family relocate from india to find edwina a match. i don't always read incomplete fics bc it ruins my life but i have to rec this one bc it's just so thoughtfully written!!!! love love it

hidden by ironsidee - once again, kind of a fandom cornerstone, but i had to rec it still bc it's SO good. kate and anthony are childhood sweethearts that grow apart but are still caught in an arranged marriage. a fuckin banger of a fic kind of the only one that is book canon that i really like

a supercut of us by joekavaliers - AAAAAAAAAA this one is so up my alley it's ridiculous. basically a buzzfeed unsolved au lmao where kate is ryan and anthony is shane. well except for the fact they kiss a little. also one of my go to rereads <3

do you regret asking yet <3 i will stop

[skypied]

AO3 Wrapped Questions!

3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 16, 20, 27, 28, 29, 30 :)

I'm guessing wrapped implies "works from this year" so I'm only going off those! Buckle uuuuup this is getting looooong like always

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

Hmmm, maybe Back Home. Most of my fics this year feel like mindless brain dumps, but this feels more like a complete work.

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

Probably hard feelings? It generally has a lot less hits and kudos than most my other work, probably because of it being angst without a happy ending (YET), but through the months it's gotten a lot of very sweet and heartfelt and/or heartbreaking comments.

Back Home also got a lot more feedback than expected - it was one of those venting fics that I didn't really expect to resonate and/or not be enjoyed by anyone else but me.

6. Favorite title you used

Hmmmmmmmm , I don't really think any of my titles this year stand out :p Maybe Catch of the Day, just bc it's so stupid.

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

Most my titles from this year weren't song titles actually! Surprising, since I used to exclusively use song lyrics. There's only hard feelings (Lorde) and Can't Help It, I'm Obsessed (Sam Riggs).

(In 2021 we had Orla Gartland, Lizzo, Troye Sivan, Taylor Swift, Halsey and Maria Mena. Taylor and Maria were used twice: so they win. I think Maria would win overall for how many times her lyrics have been direct inspiration.)

10. What work was the quickest to write?

Probably a tie between the first chapter of hard feelings (started at like 10 in the morning when I was supposed to work, lol) - and Home (written while perched on the kitchen counter watching onions caramellize for onion soup). Both were around four hours, maybe one or two more for revisions.

Wait, actually, both chapters of Catch of the Day were mostly written in an hour or two each.

11. What work took you the longest to write?

Depends on whether you count hours spent on it, or stretch of time it took to finish it haha.

I do have wips I started last summer. Most of them are probably never gonna be anything. But I do have a wip that's almost done and I still intend to finish that I began... 14 months ago. oops.

But among published work - the ones that took the longest stretch of time is probably undertow and chapter two of hard feelings. According to docs, I began undertow on Christmas Eve last year (damn, didn't I have anything better to do?), so it tooooook... almost nine months? It's also kind of a mashup between three aimless wips that I eventually figured out went well enough to just patch together. hard feelings part two took seven months.

Most hours spent on it is harder to gauge, but maybe Can't Help It, I'm Obsessed. I remember I spent most my free time on it for maybe two-three weeks. (And then Annie kindly and graciously and perfectly finished it for me, thank god; I'd gotten myself in a real rut with it.)

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

Oh I dunno. Most are generic things like genre, established relationship and aged-up characters. The only one that sticks out is probably Alberto Scorfano has ADHD.

20. Which work of yours have you reread the most?

Prrrroooobably Trust Fall! I think it's just sweet and neat.

27. What do you listen to while writing?

That goes in cycles. Sometimes a playlist with classical music mixed in with movie soundtracks. Sometimes just whatever album I'm hooked on at the moment. I have some specific music for specific things, most are one song I'll loop for hours:

Downtown (feat Pri Pach) by BYOR, VINNE, Pri Pach. It's SO good for hyperfixating and writing smut 2am on a weekday. (Been a while since I did that, though.) There’s a reason it was my #1 on Spotify Wrapped last year, and #2 this year.

IDFC (feat. Ravenna Golden) by WHIPPED CREAM, Perto, Ravenna Golden. Same as Downtown. It tingles my brain.

River by Bishop Briggs. Great for emotionally charged and angsty smut.

I've spent HOOOOOURS listening to just 22:12 Until The End of Time from the Haven soundtrack while writing, no specific genre.

I generally listen a lot to Kevin Atwater to get into those Sad Boy Feelings (especially when writing about Alberto being too brainwashed by Christianity to admit his feelings for Luca. God I still love that AU, shame it's never getting finished.)

Lately I've been rewatching TV shows while writing, just to have something moving on the screen and something to listen to.

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

Hmm hmm hmmmmm, feel like I'm repeating myself here but Back Home and hard feelings. Both feel like is the first complete stories I wrote. Most my stuff is just scenes, this was the first that spanned over a longer time and connected themes together.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Ahhh idk if I have the patience to reread all 50k I published this year, so I'm taking a couple that come to mind:

It’s stupid and predictable and sometimes Luca wonders when they’ll tire of this, when the intensity of the teenage crush will fade into something more mature, as his mother used to sigh when they were chasing each other’s tails around the bay. It’s been years, and he’s starting to suspect this is just what they’re like, perpetually snickering like kids breaking curfew, whispering secrets in a blanket fort and constantly one-upping each other. 

from Morning Routines. The whole fic is stupid, silly fun, but I feel like this passage sums up their relationship in a cute way.

You know him like the back of your hand, but he’s scarily good at slipping under your skin to hide. You convince yourself otherwise, but you can never really tell. Not really. But it’s yet another trust you have to fall into, accept the rush of gravity and hope he catches you. 

Trust Fall, chapter one

He looks at you, breathless and disbelieving. Disbelieving your love for him. When it’s the only thing you truly believe in, when nothing in this chaotic world makes sense without him, when it’s the seam keeping your life stitched together.  

You wish he could reach inside your chest, clench your heart tight and feel that it’s more his than your own. You wish you could put your mouth to his ear like a conch shell, and he’d hear the ceaseless waves that lap in the back of your mind whispering his name. You wish he could feel the magnetic pull from somewhere deep in your guts that makes you unable to stop orbiting him. 

You don’t dare imagine what would happen if he stopped letting you love him. 

Trust fall, chapter two

Both of these from Trust Fall are some of the rare instances that I feel like I’ve written analogies that feel complete and make sense for them and the work itself. 

You stare up like you used to, towards the incomprehensible lights of celestial bodies dancing on the surface, towards the never-ending fantasies of freedom forever pulling you towards the next horizon. Except now there is an anchor wrapped up in your tail, with a low, humming purr filling your body and quieting the restless whisper in the undercurrent of your blood and gentle claws tracing patterns over your ribs, all brazen ferociousness gone for listless limbs and a sleepy murmur whenever you shift.

There’s still a pull, a need to see, try, explore more. But maybe you don’t need to leave everything behind to feel free. 

from undertow. I feel like this is the closest I’ll come to writing something about Luca’s “teenage rebellion” need for freedom that might lead him to neglect friendships/relationships for fear of being smothered again, and becoming comfortable with intimacy and vulnerability and being tied down.

Also this line:

You don’t want him to be in love with you unless it hurts.

This whole thing from ch2 of Back Home:

“Do you still love me?” you ask again, but now your breath is slow and calm because you know the answer. But you have to ask. Just in case. 

You know the answer because he’s ripped your heart out and sown it back together; replaced old, festering scabs with gossamer threads of promises and gently placed it back inside. It’s still a fragile, ugly patchwork, but he’ll keep replacing bits and pieces of old hurt with new hope until it’s whole. You know it because he has scratch marks and bruises down his back and neck colored by your love and rage, because he lets you ruin him to save yourself.

You know it because you believe him more than you believe yourself.

“More than anything,” he says in a firm voice, as if it’s a fact as natural and definite as the sun rising and setting. He picks the smoldering stardust off the floor, breathes life back into the stars and places them back into your eyes. He smothers the flaming rage in your veins and replaces your blood with love. Because he loves you. You love him too. You love him more than anything and it hurts more than anything. But it’s worth it for the blissful, warm silence when he looks at you and you know he’s seen everything inside you and still he wants to. He makes your heart into a home and you let him. No matter how many times you tear it down in all-consuming fits of rage, he puts it back in order and you let him. He wants to make you better and you want to let him.

yayyy I love breaking Alberto and putting him back together again<3

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

Maybe how drastic the shift from only writing smut to never writing smut was? haha. Dgmw, I still write smut, but I just... don't finish it. Idk, it always ends up pushing up against things I'm uncomfortable with, or I write myself into corners. I feel like they're always things that aren't really a big deal, but they turn into massive hurdles in my head. And while writing smut is fun, I eventually end up feeling like I'm just writing the same things over and over. Which, y'know, is still fun and doesn't mean it's not valuable! I guess I just get really self-conscious over baring my ass on the internet.

On a more positive note, I think I've managed to keep a bit more distance to my writing. I do often get stuck with writing, and that frustration used to encompass everything and be... not great for me mentally. I used to obsess a lot more about feedback and get really bummed out about "underperforming" works and compare myself a lot to others. Now it's more like... I just chuck stuff I think is neat up on AO3 and don't think much more of it.

I’ve also experimented a lot more with style than I expected, and I guess found my voice a bit more!

ALSO how much Luca POV I’ve written. I still feel like I don’t understand the guy, but he’s fun to write. Alberto POV tends to become ... dark, lol.

[vielzahlislands]

OKAY SO—I noticed you have a NG character named Andrew. I didn't see what his last name was, so who are his parents? What kind of dynamic does he have with each member of his family?

Idk…feel free to tell me whatever you want about him if you like 👀

OMFG YES!!! I'm actually so glad you asked about him — he's so fun to write and get into the head of, and I have a feeling a lot of people will really like him!

Andrew is Chloe's son and the older of her two kids, and the next generation's cat holder; Gatto Nero. But there are a few details that separate his story/arc from the other four's, namely:

Andrew gets the Miraculous by a coincidence. Marinette initially chose another holder (I won't say who), but a series of events were what caused it to end up in his hands. And while it's definitely played off as a mere coincidence/as if it happened by chance at first, it has a HUGE effect on the fallout of the story, and without it, a lot would be different — obviously including, but definitely not limited to just the fact that it ended up in his hands in the first place.

On that note, with the other four (Emma, Camellia, Tristan and Lindsay), they all know at least one of the others' identities (being relatives, all three Couffaine kids know each other's identities, and Tristan also knows Emma's, being her best friend), while Andrew doesn't know any of theirs and vice versa. Which is a huge reason he's the super mysterious guy on the team as Gatto, lol.

Gatto Nero is Italian for 'black cat', because Andrew was actually born and grew up in Italy! His father (OC of mine; Marco Milano, who's a modeling agent and the son of a fashion executive) is Italian, and Chloe met him bc she studied abroad. Their other child is Andrew's little sister Ella, who's eight at the beginning.

His arc is really like seeing one story told through the eyes of two different people — in this case, one being Andrew's and the other being Gatto Nero's. The two sides definitely blend into one another and are both a part of Andrew, but I will say that at the beginning, Gatto Nero is definitely less cynical and more charming/easily to like than Andrew, but if you love angsty white boy™ characters then you'll love both of them LMAO (but I promise that he's definitely not just an angsty teenager)

As for Andrew's personality, he is nice deep down, but he's very reserved and can come off as very cold at first. And like I mentioned above, he's very cynical. So at the start, he's portrayed/written as a major asshole, but I'd say he's still a lovable one, lol. But when it comes to him being nice deep down, he doesn't show it in the same way as others. He does care about his family and friends, but he isn't and has never really been super affectionate, and that's partly because of how introverted he is.

As for his relationships with his family:

Chloé: Andrew does love and respect his mother, but it's safe to say that he's always been a lot closer to his father. And this is especially so after they move to Paris full-time/permanently — considering that he was in a pretty bad place after their divorce was finalized and didn't want anything else to change big time, and then found out just days later that they were moving, he was really mad at her for it, and still is at the beginning. But a huge part of his arc is learning to adjust and grow to enjoy/find good in his life in Paris, and in that, their relationship is mostly repaired and the issues there are are resolved.

Marco: He definitely understands/knows Andrew's emotions on a different level than Chloé does, which is a little surprising considering.

Ella: Out of everyone in his life, Ella is probably the person Andrew has the biggest soft side for. He's definitely a very protective older brother and really cares about her a lot. One of the first things he ever really enjoys in Paris is going to see her gymnastics meets at her new studio, and they hang out a lot after school at Jacques', which is a restaurant that all the kids in the AU go to, which serves all sorts of things, and they mainly get hot chocolate and muffins together.

Zoé: Andrew really looks up to his aunt, and like a lot of other kids, finds her to be a lot cooler than his mom at times, lmao. One of his favorite childhood memories is actually going to see her when she performed in Broadway shows — of course, living in Italy, which is pretty far away from New York he and Chloe couldn't go to see her all the time, but when they could, he honestly really enjoyed it. She also helped pique his interest in things like opera and classical music a lot.

Brianna: Considering he's the older of his parents' kids, Andrew's viewed Brianna as more of an older sister than a cousin since they were both really young. Even though they are extremely different personality-wise, that doesn't stop them from being extremely close, and they do share some common ground when it comes to their hobbies/interests — Andrew likes cooking and Brianna likes baking, and he also really is into opera and classical music while she wants to be a theatre actress, and plays keyboard. And we love some grumpy bisexual/sunshine lesbian solidarity <3

André: Being named after his grandfather, Andrew is definitely close to him, though it is safe to say they don't always see eye to eye on some things — namely how Audrey treats Brianna, which you'll find out a little more about below. And besides, Andrew isn't the type who's really into stuff like how business works, which is what he grew up hearing his mom and grandpa talk about a lot, lmao 💀

Audrey: Andrew tries his best to be cordial and polite to his grandmother, but he honestly doesn't really like her like. At all, LMAO 🤣🤣🤣 Which mainly has to do with how she treats Brianna, and considering Andrew is very close with his cousin, he obviously doesn't condone the way Audrey treats her. I won't explain the whole story behind that, but I'll say this — when Brianna's parents split when she was around two years old, Audrey grew to really resent and hate her father, Devon, even though he and Zoé split on good terms and remained friends. And Brianna's always known that it has to do with his race, considering her father is black — and while she herself obviously didn't do anything, Audrey sorta takes it out on her bc she's mad at her father. But don't worry; she gets put in her place eventually, by both Zoé AND Andrew <3

Thank you so much for the ask! I really enjoyed talking about Andrew's character, and I hope you enjoyed learning about him! I can't wait for you to get to see him in action in the main story 💙 Feel free to send more of these about the other characters, this was so fun to do and I'd love to do it again!