#my goal for the coming year is gonna be 150k

[kiwiana-writes]

Fic Writing Review 2023

Tagged by my fellow stats nerd @stereopticons - thanks pal!

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

Words and Fics (fics written in 2023 only)

143,107 words published to ao3. At least 3,900 more guaranteed by the advent fic so... I think I should make a concentrated effort to break 150k, right? 👀

No good way of tracking unpublished words in WIPs written this year. My goal for 2024 is to set up my spreadsheet to track words written as well as published so watch this space.

3 published fandoms: Red White & Royal Blue (book), Schitt's Creek, The Last Of Us (TV show). Technically 1 unpublished fandom in Red White & Royal Blue (film) 😅

Most recent drop: Apart from the daily advent fic drops lilnked above, a PWP interlude in the hockey boyfriend Henry 'verse

Longest (published) fic: By a country fuckin' mile, With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest), aka the Much Ado actor AU, at 65,586 words.

Longest (published) oneshot: Kinda think that I might be his type (Alex and Bea fake date) at 12,864 words

Top Fics by Kudos (fics written in 2023 only)

With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) [RWRB, Alex/Henry, rated E, 65,586 words]

Kinda think that I might be his type [RWRB, Alex & Bea + Alex/Henry, rated E, 12,864 words]

We were supposed to find this [RWRB, Alex/Henry, rated M, 3,384 words]

Puck It [RWRB, Alex/Henry, rated E, 9,739 words]

Feel your hands in my hair and you whisper my name [RWRB, Alex/Henry, rated E, 2,508 words]

Miscellaneous Data From My Unhinged Spreadsheet about 2023 fics

To no one's surprise, highest percentage of private bookmarks goes to Bukkake Breaky Heart.

Out of 24 fics published in 2023, 14 were explicit, 2 were mature, 7 were teen and up, and 1 was general audiences

3 fics didn't have a title sourced from anywhere. 3 were sourced from literature/poetry, 3 were puns, and the remaining 15 were song lyrics, with 3 each from Taylor Swift and Matt Nathanson.

My highest kudos/hits ratio was on Empty your heart of its mortal dream, aka the Fae Prince Henry fic.

My fandom fic events in 2023

Nilch nada zip in terms of, like, fests. I wanted to do Threesgiving but the words wouldn't come, so a sort-of-threesome-sort-of-foursome will probably appear on some random day in fucking February or something lmao. However while they weren't fandom-specific events, I did do:

Kinktober 2023

Advent 2023

Upcoming Events and Projects for 2024

I have a lot -- a lot a lot a LOT -- of WIPs that will be completed in 2024, so please don't think of this as an exhaustive list, but they are the ones I'm most excited for:

A Practical Arrangement - @clottedcreamfudge has Devised A Punishment if I don't get chapter two out for y'all by Christmas because my usual methods of pushing past my brain bullshit weren't working, so technically this is a 2023 project 🤣 @ships-to-sail and @celeritas2997 have the carrot and CCF has the stick.

Anastasia AU!!! I LOVE this fic and I think it's in the 'meaty one-shot' range buuuuuut we'll see. It might get a little out of control.

Angstapalooza RWRB edition - this is gonna be another long fic, 10-11 chapters, 50k words ish, and I cannot WAIT to make y'all cry sink my teeth into it. My Schitt's Creeks babes know what happens when I deem something 'angstapalooza' lmao.

Hockey Boyfriend Henry part 3, aka the whole reason I started writing the fucking series in the first place lmao

Leverage AU, which I haven't shared anything of yet because it's a post-angstapalooza longfic but I am VERY HYPE FOR.

Rafael Is Surrounded By Disaster Queers, aka the Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead-style Rafael POV... 5+1? Vignettes? set in the Much Ado actor AU verse. Which at this point is just a gift for @inexplicablymine and @cricketnationrise and I wouldn't have it any other way.

STFAU 👀

*infomercial voice* And much, much more!

BUT, 2024 is also for taking original writing seriously. Maybe flash/microfiction on patreon, definitely diving into an original novel. I've thrown in the towel with my contracting agency in the new year and everything. Ack.

Tagging anyone I've tagged above and also @anincompletelist @cha-melodius @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @indestructibleheart @myheartalivewrites and anyone who wants to play because I love data.

[vacantgodling]

this year was one of the first years in a long time that i TRULY committed myself to writing any and everything that i thought of and it’s been a really good feeling. so starting from this year, i wanna have a little year in review so i can look back and reminisce on how much i actually did cuz sometimes it’s hard to tell lol.

TOTAL WORDS WRITTEN (january — december 2023)

139,345 (as of 11/30 (google docs only))

i’ve written more probably, but my notes app is harder to keep track of word counts in. this total is also across all pieces of prose and poetry, though poetry isn’t a significant number lol

if this was all in one piece i’d probably have a full novel already lmao 💀

LONGEST SINGLE PIECE

paramour chapter 9 — masquerade, clocking in at 5,894 words

WIP THAT HAS MADE THE MOST HEADWAY BY THE NUMBERS

paramour is sitting pretty at 30k-ish words written overall (including me writing chapter 20 twice lol)

WIP THAT HAS MADE THE MOST HEADWAY BY THE HEART

definitely cage. i’ve had this fanfiction and wip for years and the fact that i’d finished the full outline like last year but didnt start writing it until now and how much headway ive made in such little time… i’m really proud of myself. i can’t wait to actually finish this bitch

TOP PIECES WRITTEN THIS YEAR

Worthless War -> the cherry on top, best thing i’ve written this year and probably in general for a long time.

Come To Bed -> when i lost my mind about buddy daddies earlier this year, this fic really encapsulated everything i felt about the show. i love the narration, i love how it’s fun and playful but also deep, and i remember having so much fun writing it.

Paramour Chapter 20 “Careless Whisper” -> the rewrite of chapter 20 i am UNREASONABLY obsessed with and it’s a shame i can’t post it here without giving so so so much away. i love it so much i am willing to share it with those who don’t care about spoilers lol but its smutty and emotionally charged and everything perfect about amon and hya’s fucked up mess

A Fool’s Errand -> this is in the role swap amon and hya au and tbh this au is So Fun to me. getting to be in amon’s head more often is definitely a treat and the description of the make out is PEAK

Good Feeling -> i will never be normal about hue and jihan and i think i captured their relationship esp in the early days perfectly so i’m just gonna cry about it

Ritual -> i really love this piece and giving life again to some old ocs meant a lot to me. + the smut 🤌🏾🤌🏾

Distraction -> no one knows or cares about these ocs but me and that’s okay i’ll just be feral about them on my own 😭

GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR

reach 150k words written overall

finish cage like it’s GOING to happen i will it

finish the first draft of paramour!!!

[direwombat]

1, 5, 9, and 12 for the new year fanfic asks!

@neverthesameneveranother also asked for 5! thank you both so much!

fanfic asks for the new year

1. Do you have a word-count goal for the upcoming year?

i do! kind of. i have a wordcount goal for kneeling at the crossroads. my goal is to add another 150k by the end of the year (or to get like halfway through the fic knowing how i write aldfkjasdf) but as far as other wips go? eeeeeh i'll write as much as i write for them, ya know?

5. Which WIP is first on your list to complete this year? Will you post a snippet?

considering odds are katc is gonna end up going into 2025, i'll say that the horror and the wild (the jakesyb werewolf au) is probably it. I had wanted to get that fic done by uh. yesterday. but it just. didn't happen. i haven't touched it in a while actually....but if i can bang out the approx 60k it'll take to finish the fic, i'll be happy.

but here's a very short exchange from part 3 where syb calls jacob because she has no memory of the previous night's shift but woke up covered in blood and coughed up a human finger

“Calm down,” [Jacob] tells her. “Calm down? I ate someone!” [Sybille] barks back.

also i have like 20 different smut fics i would like to finish eventually afdlkjasdfasdf 💀

9. Short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in January?

lmao i want to get interlude ii/chapter 6 of katc done. augustine's pov has been giving me trouble, but i'm chipping away and i'm aiming to have it up sometime this month

12. Will you change anything about the way you edit or rewrite this year?

mmmm tbd. i don't have any specific plans for changing how i edit/rewrite, but if i come across a new technique and feel like experimenting, i might give it a shot.

[amaiguri]

heyy, happy last STS of the year!! it's hard coming up with an original end-of-year ask, so I'm just gonna shoot off a bunch of questions, and you feel free to answer whichever you want/haven't already:D are you satisfied with where you're at right now in your writing journey? where do you hope to be at this time next year? do you have any Must-Accomplish 2024 writing goals? anything new you'd like to try in your writing (technique-wise, story-wise, scheduling-wise, structure-wise, etc.) next year? any stories you'd like to start? end?

My Yssaia writing is a hobby so I try not to put time-based pressure on myself long-term -- only short-term goals. If I'm not writing, it's probably because I'm doing something else "productive" -- whether that is other hobbies, hanging out with friends, or focusing on my health! Obviously, at my job, all my writing is dictated by the needs of the project -- so of course, I want to keep up with those.

I am perfectly happy with where I am -- and I have worked really hard to ensure I am generally content with myself and love the journey. So, I am proud of my mindset, even if that, too, has more to go. I have written more words this year than almost any other that I have tracked. I have ACTUALLY made new friends, just like I've wanted -- now I just gotten deepen my relationship with all of them! And I have reached by 1k subscribers on YouTube -- now I just gotta get those 4000 watch hours for the passive income. And eventually, convince all those subscribers to buy my games someday 🥺🥺🥺

I have started to frame my hobby goals as "accomplishments that I have pre-emptively listed". This makes it feel like there are no minuses if I don't make it -- I am Enough as I am. Everything more is extra. So, I have nothing I must accomplish because existing happily in this economy? That's the biggest and most important thing I can do.

In my dream world, I would finish the rough draft of Yssaia's whole 300k+ word plot but that's not gonna happen with my continued focus on YouTube and a full time job and my attempt to focus on my friends. So, I will just try to get to 150k words in this most recent act by July 2024.

(If you don't know, Currently Untitled Yssaia Game is about world of fated heroes and abyssal machines -- born both of Kings and Philosophy --, in which a burned assassin girl must find new purpose when the War ends. Right now, it's a writing project but it'll eventually be a narrative-focused, hand-drawn adventure where you navigate an assassin through her delicate, brutal world after the War annexed her homeland. You'll delve deep into political dealings, your past trauma, and the Abyss beneath the world!)

((How's the marketing pitch? I'm still workshopping it!))

I would like to try to write every day again, cuz in CalmWriMo November, that did, in fact, improve my productivity without spiking my stress. It didn't happen in December but as we leave the holiday season, I want to pick it up again. And journalling or daily posting, lol, I already slipped on that again 😭😭😭 It's so healthy for me. It helps me see time pass. I just need to do it.

Thanks so much for asking about my goals/pre-listed accomplishments! I look forward to a post about your goals floating across my feed 🥰

[talandros]

CHARACTER INFORMATION:

FULL NAME: Tallahassee Andros

NICKNAMES: Tal

FACE CLAIM: Peter Gadiot

PRONOUNS AND GENDER: Cis man, he/him

BIRTHDAY: September 27,1987

BIRTH PLACE: Tallahassee, Florida

HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN IN TOWN?: Eight years

SEXUALITY: Fluid

HOUSING: Coral Coast

OCCUPATION: Freelance songwriter

TL;DR:

TRIGGER WARNING(S): DRUG USE, DRUG ABUSE, BLOOD MENTION, ALCOHOL ABUSE

has-been washed up musician in a band that comes back on throwback playlists and people go ‘oh hey what happened to them’ (the goal and the vibe is like… del amitri meets nine days meets a much less successful third eye blind)

(really though absolutely no one is gonna recognize this dude for that anywhere ever lmao) but don’t worry he will tell you all about it. sometimes he has the grace to hold off until someone asks why he was like 150k followers on twitter [after saying it’s because he’s really funny and insightful]

florida native who left home when his band got signed after years and years of playing dive bars, bowling alleys and birthday parties

minorly and mostly peripherally successful but that was all tallahassee needed to absolutely rip his life to pieces

developed a drug problem on tour, got carted off to rehab (twice). the second time was the last straw and he was kicked out of the band. (that he named and started, but whatever, he swears he’s let that go)

moved to fairford for a fresh start roughly eight years ago and my dude has done NOTHING with that

living a good and california sober life, which suits him just fine

he is genuinely annoying but maybe in a way that’s endearing in select circles

FUN DUMB STATS:

Birthday: September 27,1987

Zodiac Sign: Libra ☉ | Sagittarius ☽ | Gemini➶  

MBTI: ESFP

Enneagram: Type 7w6

Temperament: Sanguine

Moral Alignment: Chaotic neutral

Element: Air

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

absolutely anything

ESTABLISHED CONNECTIONS:

tbd

FULL BIOGRAPHY:

OKAY THIS IS THE FULL BIO BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YOU DON’T HAVE TO READ IT it’s here for posterity

All Tallahassee Andros’ life had been a vacillation of falling in love. First, it was music. The instant his uncle had put a guitar in his hands, that old Fender with nicks and dings that could barely hold its tune, a part of him never put it down. It was all he thought about during school days and baseball practices — getting home and playing that guitar. For a long time, the sound was unbearable, something only made worse by his tenacity. But he started to get better. Started to understand how to wrap lyrics around a melody — stupid little songs about missing the bus and hating homework and loving the girl who sat in front of him in math. He had heard his uncle say music brought him peace, but that wasn’t the truth for Tallahassee. Tallahassee felt this frenetic need for it, an all-encompassing, jonesing sort of itch. Later he would learn it was in his bones to need things, and music would be his bridge into the land where no one ever said no.

He started his first band when he was 14. A garage band with neighborhood kids who didn’t have much skill between them, but they were still willing to spend every day writing and rehearsing and trying to make something of themselves. Even the members remained in a sort of flux, one kid tagging out and dragging another in. By the end of it, they had only played at the bowling alley and the pizza shop across the street, and the only member who had stayed was Tallahassee  Andros. He was, after all, the front man. A position he both decided on, and clung to. He wrote the songs, after all, and his parents cared the least about a ragtag group of kids playing discordant noises late into the night. Tallahassee’s parents were two people who, at best, tolerated each other – but wanted to do right by their kids. Doing right meant a lot of letting them do what they wanted, as long as they were out of their hair. That meant, for the Andros family, a lot of late nights and loud music.

By the time he graduated high school, their still unnamed band consisted of   Tallahassee on vocals and guitar, his lifelong best friend Will on drums, a friend of a friend from down the street called Kurt on drums, and his brother Dover on rhythm guitar. They weren’t great, but they had been featured in the paper, and their gigs paid. It was barely enough to gas up the van to get there and back, but money was money, and that made them feel real. A real band needed a real name, and after spending months kicking around the first thing that came to mind, the landed on something. They were all sitting around the garage smoking — shitty, dirtbag weed that Dover had pocketed from their uncle — when they landed on something. Far more pretentious than an early 2000′s bowling alley band had a right to be, but they didn’t know it at the time. Kurt had been flipping through a Nat Geo magazine, one his dad had left from his days of hoping to be a wildlife photographer, when he started reading about this cluster of sharks off the coast of San Diego. Requiem sharks, the author called them. The Wild Requiem.

As much as the boys agreed on anything, they agreed on that name. Later, people would ask how they’d decided on it — and every time, every member of the band came up with a different lie. Tal liked the sound of it — liked that experts seemed to be torn on whether the name came from the French word for that old final rest, or the word for a grimace that showed teeth. It didn’t match their sound, not really —  but he liked that too. They started to work on an EP – their best songs to shop around to any label they had the gas money to get to. They burned it onto CDs and slid them unceremoniously under the door of every record shop and radio station in a 50 mile radius. They all had to get other jobs, real jobs, while they waited for something that felt like a break. They’d gotten a few bites, and continued to play in bars and small venues, but they weren’t successful — they weren’t paying bills.

Not until her. Their final addition, the one that would elevate them from a shitty little band to something with potential, was Laurel. She saw the Wild Requiem playing at a basement party, and she immediately started giving them advice as soon as they were off stage. She was pretty, so Tallahassee  pretended to listen. She was also smart, so Dover actually listened. It was a mercy Tal Andros had stars in his eyes, or he would’ve kicked up a fuss at receiving unsolicited advice from someone who had only heard 23 minutes of their material, and what did she know, anyway? A lot, as it turned out. Laurel’s dad was the head of Guilty Pleasure Records, and even if she didn’t have a foot in the door, she was a talent on her own.

Finally getting bored of her advice, Tallahassee asked her to prove herself. At their next practice, the room felt impossibly cramped with the new body, and he’d never realized how messy the garage was until there was a pretty girl standing in it. Laurel cast a disdainful look around the place, nudging an empty beer can out of her way with her boot as she stepped inside. He knew right then, she wasn’t going to try and blend in with them. She was going to try to change them —  fix them. He wanted to stand in front of her and say this had all been a mistake, they didn’t need help, and they didn’t need her. He would’ve been wrong. She sang for them, a song of her own that was far more eloquent than anything they’d managed to write. She guided them through playing it behind her. She and Tallahassee fell into a harmony, and the room seemed to come alive with it. With her, their sound changed entirely. They were firing on all cylinders. They needed Laurel in the band, and Laurel wanted to prove herself in her own right. They put together a new demo, and despite her connection, they were not picked up by Guilty Pleasure. Instead, they were scooped by one of their competitors — a nothing little studio that spawned out of GP Records, and picked up the studio head’s daughter out of spite. That was alright by the Wild Requiem, and more than alright by Laurel.

They spent almost seven months on that first album, every second that wasn’t spent writing was spent recording. For all their differences — and Tallahassee was learning there were a lot —  he and Laurel knew how to make a certain kind of magic together when it came to music. She knew how to get on his goddamn nerves, but she also knew how to fine tune his ideas. The album, for all it’s faults, was a success in a way none of them prepared for. They had received a fair amount of local buzz, but being excited about the neighborhood band that kept you up with their late night practices was nothing in comparison to what they would get. Required Listening was a sort of alternative rock, pop rock album that was easy. Windows down, singing with your friends on a July afternoon music. It wasn’t what any of them wanted to be in the end — but they knew it was a sound that would give them a beginning.

And it did. They were booked as an opening act for a three-band tour, and their set time was roughly all of fifteen minutes, but that was fifteen minutes they got to perform in big cities all around the country. They were out of Florida, and onto a lifestyle that was entirely different than bowling alleys and dive bars. When he read about how rock stars lived, how freely drugs were passed around backstage, Tallahassee believed it, but in a distant way that he didn’t think he would have to learn to deal with. He gave into it, at first not wanting to look like an amateur, like some Florida dirtbag who was out of his depth. First it was coke, and that could’ve been enough for him. It should’ve been. How quickly it sunk its teeth in, and how much more alive he felt was something he couldn’t ignore. Before he knew it, he was staying awake for days at a time, one city blurring into the next, the second leg of the tour becoming nothing but a feeling. In that time, he and Laurel had started sleeping together. She was only a half step behind him on the blow, both of them letting long nights of hooking up turn into writing songs that were nonsense in the daylight.

Their album had started to chart during that tour, and even if most of the country didn’t know they knew the Wild Requiem, they would find themselves humming their songs. No one was coming to shows for them, not really, but they were still getting attention. Tallahassee’s recreational drug use had started to turn into a habit, and they all knew he was going to have a problem by the end of the tour. He had started taking uppers in the mornings, and needed downers to get anything close to sleep. He had started to balance a combination of them during the day to keep himself running at a level, riding that high. But if anyone cared, that was eclipsed by how worried they were about Laurel. At the start of the tour, she had been right behind him. But she had surpassed him somewhere between Tempe and Seattle, and she was already getting into the shit that came from street dealers in dark alleys. Her family was intervening, and they were setting her up for a rehab stint at the end of the tour. The end of the tour was important, because despite getting in their own way, despite being on a bender reserved for business veterans, they had written some solid music. The band agreed, the label agreed. The tour would end, Laurel would get clean, and they’d meet up in four months to start on the next album.  

Tallahassee wasn’t worried about her. Not even when she would wake up with dried blood under her nose, and she had long since stopped feeling like the level-headed decisive woman he’d encountered just a few short years ago. They’d all changed on that tour, though. Shy, quiet Will had a different groupie on the bus every night. Where Tallahassee had given in to the harder substances, Dover had started to get just short of falling down drunk before every show. Tallahassee himself had, by almost all accounts, become an absolute dick. Before his tenacity had been to the band’s benefit, but somewhere in the time he started snorting Dexedrine, it was to their detriment.

They were still a fairly small band. They didn’t have room for his ego.

The tour ended, and The Wild Requiem was still riding high. Laurel was carted off to rehab, and the rest of them went their separate ways, for the time being. The band had already agreed on a house outside of Los Angeles for when recording time rolled back around. It was this ramshackle place in Pomona, five bedrooms and one bath. It was a dream home for none of them, but they wanted to grind their sophomore album out in the right place, in record time. Tallahassee headed there instead of back to Florida, living out those three months ‘networking’ for the band. It was during that time that he did heroin for the first time. Bad shit, he knew, and the one thing he’d promised himself he wouldn’t fall into. It had been a bad look on Laurel, even he’d seen that.

That, it turned out, to be his second great love. And oh, how it eclipsed the first. Music was secondary to that feeling, to the extent that he wondered how he had ever loved it at all. By the time Laurel got clean, he was anything but. Recording their second album came with none of the ease of the first. She couldn’t be around him, and he was having difficulty tolerating her sanctimonious attitude. All of the fun of the first album turned into grit, but it didn’t suit their sound. It was sand in your clothes after a day at the beach grit, and it was hard to salvage, even with the push of the label. Their second album felt like a draft, and their label had even less faith in it than the band did. There was maybe one single worth listening to on it, but that single pushed them through. It even charted, and got them their own headlining tour. No big venues, no sold out arenas, but it was enough. They just needed to work through the rockier parts. By the time they left, Tallahassee was all rocky parts. No one told him how short the high lasted – how everything after turned into that need. When he wasn’t using, his blood felt like battery acid. He woke up with his teeth clenched, every part of him crying out for it. It became survival.

He and Laurel had long since split, if they’d ever been together in any real capacity at all. But they couldn’t stand to be around each other. They started to travel on two separate tour buses. Even in his addled state, he knew this would be the end of the Wild Requiem. Their album was critically panned. Two albums in, and crowds already demanded their ‘old stuff.’ What Tallahassee didn’t know was how it would end. He overdosed in Phoenix, but not before taking a nasty header off the stage in Austin. He thought he would get a grace period to work through it himself – he hadn’t. His team put him in a rehab facility, tour be damned. Dover stepped up and took his part, and they hired a new guitarist.

At the end of his 90 days, the tour had ended – and so had his time with the band. He pretended to understand it. Pretended right up until the moment he got high and tore their Pomona house to pieces with his bare hands – doors off frames, furniture in the yard, holes in the walls. He was a one-man wrecking ball, and when he came to in the yard with bloody knuckles and surrounded by debris, he checked himself back into rehab. Another 90 day jaunt for Tallahassee Andros, and a new album for the Wild Requiem.

They could’ve at least changed the name, he thought. He wondered if he had grounds to sue. Probably. But his only visitor had been his brother, and when he saw the worry in Dover’s face, he knew they thought they were saving him. And saving the band. The new album was good. It wasn’t great, but nothing they’d done had ever been great. It returned to the easy sounds of their first album, and Dover thought they had the start of something. Tal did too. He decided then, to let it go. He wasn’t meant for that life. He’d lived it for three years, and it had all but turned him inside out. The other thing no one mentioned when you got sober, is how much goddamn time you suddenly have. He stayed in California for a while, moving up the coast to San Francisco. In San Francisco, he tried to be a lot of different people. So many hobbies under his belt, all because he needed to replace one addiction with the next. Woodworking, gardening – the worst of them all had been when he decided to be a runner. That one lasted until he tore his ACL, because Tallahassee still hadn’t learned to do anything moderately.

While he was healing, he dared to get back into songwriting. That tapped into the very center of him, releasing something he hadn’t known he was still holding. His guitar remained untouched, gathering dust in the attic where he didn’t have to look at it, but the idea of setting something to music was enough. He left California when he turned twenty-eight. After all, he’d been a has-been by the time he turned 23, by 25 he felt like a relic. He tried Seattle for a while, but Seattle felt like Los Angeles in a suit. The novelty of ‘aren’t you that guy?’ wore off quickly, and he was craving a sort of anonymity. It was only then that he remembered the town in Washington that felt like a unique little something. Maybe it was a need for something peripherally familiar without being familiar at all – the feeling of being a strange man in a strange land.

For weeks he tried to remember the name of the town, and for weeks he landed on nothing. He looked at old tour schedules, old pictures, anything. He finally relented and texted Laurel to ask. The band had broken up, and last he’d heard, she’d gotten married. Some British dude that Dover said was an asshole. Laurel, instead of answering, asked to meet for coffee.

They met up in Redding, California – the almost midpoint for them both. The first and last time they ever agreed to meet each other halfway. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, just as he’d known she wouldn’t be. Their meeting was filled with apologies and awkward reminiscing, something he hadn’t considered when he imagined how it would go. The terrible thing about them both being sober is they had no choice but to be present. She admitted only after they’d slept together that she was still married, she had just wanted to see if there was still a spark. Neither of them were sure if there had been. She told him the town had been called Fairford, and she only remembered because they’d impromptu played a gig at a dive bar while they were there, and because of Tallahassee, they’d wound up paying damages instead of actually getting paid.

She wished him luck there, as though his bags were already packed. Maybe they all but were. She was glad they’d had this last time, she said. He supposed she wanted it to feel like closure, but he didn’t think it had. It felt like opening up a book he’d once loved, but only remembered the high points. Still, he smiled and agreed.

He did pack his bags. He spent two months living out of motels and hotels while he tried to figure out if this was, indeed, the life he wanted. He liked the pace of things here. Liked the person he felt like when he went for his early morning run, followed by a coffee on the way back. He liked that the nights were slow and quiet. Most importantly, Tallahassee liked the person he felt like he could become here. He started to find his way back into music, even if it was no more than playing his guitar at sunset. The way the soft chatter in the down the hall would fall a little quieter if he managed something that sounded like he’d once been someone with talent. He would stay, he decided.

He moved out of the motel, opting to buy a house. The kind of roots that could, in darker moments, reach up and wrap around his neck if he weren’t careful. He was, after all, still in the business of replacing addictions, and he had gone a long way from anyone who was willing to stop him. He hadn’t relapsed since moving to the Washington, though he had adopted a California Sober lifestyle. And after 10 years, Tallahassee learned to stop changing the station when the Wild Requiem came on the radio – even if he gritted his teeth at being called a one-hit wonder.

VIBES:

pinterest | playlist

[pieceofcec]

It may be February now but I've been pondering what I want to have done this year so I'm gonna post some goals I have. Then I can check back at the end of the year and see what I've accomplished!

For reference: In 2023 I posted 78,514 words of fics on AO3. My longest fic is Iron and Ichor at 42,180, the majority of my fics are around 1k words. I have 3 dsmp fics, 1 origins fic, 13 hc fics and 20 sekai fics.

2024 Goals:

Write longer fics

Write multichapter fics

Reach 100k words on AO3

Write for 3 new fandoms

Reach 150k words on AO3

Continue The Folly Of Man

Finish one original work

Finish planning for two original works

Participate in NaNoWriMo

Rambling about my goals under the cut :3

For the longer and multichapter fics I want to have more practice for my original works. I like the stuff I write now, but I think it would be nice to get a better feel for more conflicts and where to give a good end to chapters. I think what I tend to write is mostly just one scene I thought was fun so I'd like to build on that.

I have a doc with a ton of fic ideas and there's some fandoms I haven't written anything for in there. I figure adding 3 to my fandom list will make me get through more of my ideas. I also have a couple of crossover fics I want to write that should be fun (and longer).

I think it would be cool to double my AO3 word count. Personally, I like having a very achievable goal alongside a harder one so that I get a midpoint to feel proud of - hence the 100k and 150k both being on there. I think this also goes well with writing longer fics and will encourage me to work on longer projects. They may take more time but they'll add a lot towards my goal!

I haven't worked on the Folly of Man in a while but I do want to continue it! I have a brainstorm for a sequel, I just haven't gotten it to the like,,, outlining/writing phase quite yet.

Speaking of brainstorming - I'm in the midst of brainstorming for a few original works right now. I have two main ones I've made a decent bit of headway on and a third that is still pretty hazy to me, but very personal that I'd like to get work done on. I want to have one of these fully written this year, but I want to have at least two finished with planning so that if I want, I can partake in NaNo with a project! I think I'll end up posting some snippets of my original stuff here when I have some stuff written that I'm proud of.

For the most part, I think all of this is super doable! They generally overlap enough that any fanfic writing will feel good as it's contributing to my writing goals (and also I just love writing fics <3). The hardest thing for me is taking my bigger ideas and breaking them down into something real that I can actually write. A lot of my big projects (original and Folly of Man) are like,,, very hazy and conceptual in my brain. So it takes me a while to figure out how to put them into words. I think all of my goals come down to figuring that out and bringing more things into reality :3

[stonewallsposts]

Outta state

I've been thinking for a while that when the time comes, the 'time' being retirement AND our parents have passed, we will move out of CA. I was born and raised here in the LA area. Lived my whole life here and I'll be honest: I love LA. I love the beach, I love the weather, I love big city, I love the restaurants, I love the variety of things we can do, and I love living in a big enough place where there are always ministry opportunities with new people. I don't love the traffic. 

But I'm now 61 and I live in a two-story condo. At some point, it will be unrealistic to go up and down stairs. So we'll have to sell and move at some point, and we'll probably just move out of the state to someplace where it's much cheaper to live. I am a huge sissy in the cold so I don't want to go somewhere where I'm gonna freeze my fanny off in winter, but I don't want to go someplace where it's gonna be 120 in the summer either, meaning Vegas and Phoenix or Tuscon are out. Moving up the coast to the bay area would be ideal for the weather, but that would still be CA, and to be honest, the other thing I'm getting of tired of here in CA is the political climate. I think our beautiful state is being run by people who have utterly misunderstood some very basic things about humanity and the way life works, and are committed to governing the state in a way in which THEY feel is progressive, but I feel is a road to ruin.  

So where we move will be most likely out of CA. Nevada is not really under consideration and most of Arizona is not really under consideration either, though Flagstaff might be nice. Utah is not under consideration either. I looked into St. George, but the weather was said to be similar to Vegas, so... no. Going further east than Colorado and New Mexico gets into humid territory, so the places I've kind of identified as possible destinations are all along the Interstate 25 corridor: Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Pueblo and Colorado Springs. I've been to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and they're nice. I'd like to check out Pueblo and Colorado Springs maybe next year.  

We'll be looking for a 3 bed (we want to have guest room as well as an office), 2 bath (we need a bathroom for each of us) place, likely a condo or townhome, because I think at the point we need to look out for going up and down stairs, it would probably be wise to have some neighbors close by in case of emergencies. But I could also consider a house too. The winters aren't too bad in those areas- there will be some snow, but nothing radical. The climate is still dry, which I like. I don't really want to deal with super humid.  

I don't want to live in a rural area. I don't need to live in a huge city like LA, but I do need to live in an area with 150k or so people. I want coffeeshops, restaurants and shopping. I'm hoping to work until I'm 70 or so. I'm still 9 years off of that goal. Things can change between now and then, but I feel like I could go until then, and at that point, we should be set enough to where we can live out comfortably and have enough to still travel and see things, not just stay home and clip coupons in order to live. Our current place will be paid off in another 2 years and after that we can start socking away what we currently are spending in paying down the remainder of the mortgage.  

But Pueblo has around 180k people in its metro area, several calvary chapels, and restaurants and shopping. Plus, Colorado Springs is only 45 minutes up the 25, so we can get to a larger metro area without too much problem. With the traffic here in LA, even the local malls still take 20-25 minutes to get to, and they're less than ten miles away.  

The Colorado Springs metro area has around 750k people, so definitely large enough to have everything we'd want in a city area. It's also only 70 miles south of downtown Denver, so we'd be close enough to a major city in case we need something there.  

Tax rates are a lot lower than here in LA. But that's probably going to be true in about 90% of the places I'd look at outside of CA. 

Still doing some research, but thinking about taking a scouting trip out there around June next year. If we like what we see, we'll take some subsequent trips during the winter too in order to gauge the place in all kinds of conditions.  

I will also note that there has been some consideration of moving, even in the area. It would be nice to reduce the drive times. Maybe after we get the current place paid off in a few years, I could think about moving somewhere between my mom's place and here at work. But that's still two years off.

[revasnaslan]

2017 Yearly Review

Basically, I wrote a lot this year, so I figured I’d do a end of the year review type thing just to showcase all the fics I posted... kind of like how artists are doing those yearly review things by month :3

Raised Amongst the Stars | Ao3 Link

Summary: A group of rebels was no place for a cub. They took him in as a favor to Keith's mother, more than anything else. Nobody expected to get attached to him, because nobody expected him to stay. Somehow they made it through seventeen tumultuous (and very adventurous) years... OR: the story of how Keith was raised by his big Galra family.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz, Kolivan/Female OC

Total Current Word Count: 37,959

Out of the Depths | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Pidge is just a humble intern at the Marmora Bay Marine Institute. She never thought she’d have to take care of anything more important than a pesky octopus, but she somehow wound up taking care of the two mermen that were caught in a net offshore. At least the younger one seems keen on making friends, even if Pidge is worried about how he and his father will fare in captivity and what their fate will be. Written as part of the Voltron RarePair Bang.

Pairings: Keith/Pidge, Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 26,068

Just for a Tick | Ao3 Link

Summary: Let them sleep, just for a tick…

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 810

The Flower Merchant | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Hunk and Shiro have been sent on a shopping trip to a peaceful, arboreal planet. Hunk meets a friendly flower merchant, and Shiro accidentally sends them the wrong message. Alien customs, man...

Pairings: Shiro/Hunk

Total Word Count: 1,001

Safe Harbor | Ao3 Link

Summary:  It’s lonely in space. Hunk isn’t used to being alone. Shiro’s been out here for a long time, but the ache never goes away. Maybe they can learn to be each other’s safe harbor.

Pairings: Shiro/Hunk

Total Word Count: 2,282

Can’t Let Go | Ao3 Link

Summary: Thace doesn't want Ulaz to go.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 460

Never My Stepping Stone | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Pidge just wants to finish her Gen Ed requirements in one piece - is that so much to ask? Fortunately her good friend Lance is there to help her when she has a little mishap at the pottery studio. Her good friend Lance who she kinda, sorta, maybe has a crush on... Written for Plance Day.

Pairings: Lance/Pidge

Total Word Count: 1,976

A Giant Dilemma | Ao3 Link

Summary:  They fight a giant in the dead of winter... this can only lead to good things. Written for Plance Day.

Pairings: Lance/Pidge

Total Word Count: 2,371

Seeking Shelter | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Sappy Galra husbands go on a road trip and end up getting cold. What happens next will warm your heart.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Would Count: 1,114

Constellations | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Allura helps Shiro learn the stars.  Written for Shallura Week.

Pairings: Allura/Shiro

Total Word Count: 701

Like An Eagle | Ao3 Link

Summary:  It turned out that explaining trust falls to an alien was a little bit more difficult than Shiro thought it was going to be. Written for Shallura Week.

Pairings: Allura/Shiro

Total Word Count: 941

Little Talks | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Fascination with Shiro's hand leads to some conversations about names and anxieties about the past. Written for Shallura Week.

Pairings: Allura/Shiro

Total Word Count: 872

Only Temporary | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Following Shiro's disappearance, Allura finds it difficult to sleep... so she and the Black Lion have a chat. About as well as they can without having a bond. Written for Shallura Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Allura & The Black Lion

Total Word Count: 1,241

Final Goodbyes | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Ulaz's mind is made up, and no amount of persuading is going to change it. Written for Thulaz Week.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 1,357

A Pleasant Distraction | Ao3 Link

Summary:

So Close | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Being undercover is rather lonely, even when the person you love is only feet from you. Written for Thulaz Week.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 1,119

Familiarity | Ao3 Link

Summary:  It was a surprise meeting with a surprise turn of events... Thace wasn't going to complain though. Written for Thulaz Week.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 914

In the Aftermath | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Ulaz still has nightmares, even after being reunited with Thace. Written for Thulaz Week.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 908

Deep Blue | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Galra dads take their son to the aquarium. Written for Thulaz Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Thace&Keith, Ulaz&Keith, Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 858

Jailbreak | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Thace is taken prisoner by the Empire again, and there doesn't seem to much hope of escape. Written for Thulaz Week.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 1,525

Space Sushi | Ao3 Link

Summary:  In which Shiro tries to cook, and Ulaz is a big baby about taste testing. Written for the Galra Mini Exchange.

Pairings: Ulaz/Shiro

Total Word Count: 712

Fort Marmora | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Thace is taken prisoner by the (very sleepy) officers of Fort Marmora... and it's way past General Keith's nap time.

Pairings: Gen ; Keith&Thace, Keith&Ulaz, Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 1,540

Finding Kova | Ao3 Link

Summary:  When he was young, Lotor often made a game of escaping from his Druid handlers... but his adventures weren't as fun without a friend to share them with. Written for Lotor Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Lotor&Kova

Total Word Count: 747

Contrast | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Ulaz noticed that the contrast between how Thace acted during their meetings before and after going undercover could be rather stark.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 1,029

Night, Night | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Keith loves his dads. He loves it a little less when one of them has to leave on a mission. Written for Keith Birthday Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Ulaz&Keith, Background Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 1,026

Identity | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Cubs weren't supposed to be up in the middle of the night, but Kolivan does his best to be patient with the ones that are. Written for Keith Birthday Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Kolivan&Keith

Total Word Count: 1,034

Oddly Endearing | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Keith isn't very good at asking for attention like a normal cub. Written for Keith Birthday Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Antok&Keith

Total Word Count: 860

Thought That Counts | Ao3 Link

Summary:  When given the choice between brand new toys and the boxes the toys came in, Keith behaves like any other cub... much to Thace's chagrin. Written for Keith Birthday Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Thace&Keith

Total Word Count: 1,034

Keithtober Ficlets | Ao3 Link

Summary: All of the fics I wrote for Keithtober, including the Dads of Marmora series I did for it.

Pairings: Gen (Dads of Marmora), Keith/Pidge, Keith/Regris, Keith/Hunk, Keith/Shiro

Total Word Count: 6,907

Unknowing Loss | Ao3 Link

Summary:  She isn't sure why her lord seeks her out so frequently, but Haggar doesn't see a reason to deny him her company. Written for Haggar Week.

Pairings: Zarkon/Haggar

Total Word Count: 1,070

Flowers for Mama | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Even as Honerva feels herself growing weaker, she still makes time for her son. Written for Haggar Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Haggar&Lotor, Background Zarkon/Haggar

Total Word Count: 1,135

Lost and Found | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Thace had just lost his mother and is having trouble dealing with it. Written for Platonic Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Antok&Thace, Antok&Female OC, Thace&Female OC

Total Word Count: 1,475

Let Sleeping Yuppers Lie | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Ulaz has just moved halfway across the planet. Finding making new friends difficult, he decides to adopt a pet.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz, Thace&Keith

Total Word Count: 934

A Spoonful of Sugar | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Ulaz has been trying to work up the nerve to ask the owner of the Blend of Marmora out for a while now... perhaps he'll manage it today. Assuming he doesn't die from a sugar overdose. Written for the Voltron Halloween Exchange.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 1,591

To Have Loved | Ao3 Link

Summary:  The throne room was supposed to be free of distractions, but Haggar proves to be an unknowing one. Written for Haggar Week.

Pairings: Zarkon/Haggar

Total Word Count: 660

Night in the Medical Bay | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Thace and Antok have to spend the night in the medical bay after coming down with a common cubhood disease. Written for Platonic Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Antok&Thace

Total Word Count: 1,208

Trick or Treat | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Keith's dads decide to take him trick-or-treating... even though they have no idea what trick-or-treating actually is.

Pairings: Gen ; Thace&Keith, Ulaz&Keith, Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 840

Change | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Thace helps comfort a friend in need. Written for Platonic Week.

Pairings: Gen ; Antok&Thace

Total Word Count: 785

Tall and Small | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Antok is much more annoying now that he's tall.

Pairings: Gen ; Antok&Thace

Total Word Count: 513

Obviously | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Ulaz doesn't like the cold. At all.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 343

Featuring A Stuffed Weblum | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Ulaz really doesn't like that stuffed weblum Keith got for his last name day.

Pairings: Gen ; Thace&Keith, Ulaz&Keith, Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 455

Meeting Again | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Thace and Ulaz see each other again. Finally.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 423

Arrival | Ao3 Link

Summary:  To be honest, it was probably counter productive that Ulaz was not informed of who his partner while he was undercover was gonna be. Written for the VLD Trope Fest.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 2,666

Hijinks and Mall Cops | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Keith has a run in with a mall cop while running errands with Regris. Written for the Regeith Mini Event.

Pairings: Regris/Keith

Total Word Count: 1,372

Pouncing Practice | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Practicing sneaking is an important part of any young Blade's training. Written for the Regeith Mini Event.

Pairings: Gen ; Regris&Keith, Thace&Keith, Thace&Regris

Total Word Count: 817

Flower Crowns | Ao3 Link

Summary:  The last place Ulaz looks for Thace and Keith is in the gardens.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz, Regris&Keith

Total Word Count: 645

Some Semblance of Normality | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Sometimes, you just need cuddles. Written for the Voltron Secret Santa.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 1,346

The Space Flu | Ao3 Link

Summary:  When Shiro comes down with something that's "flu-like" on his and Hunk's anniversary, they have to find a different way to spend their time.

Pairings: Shiro/Hunk

Total Word Count: 1,049

Fire and Ice | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Meetings between the gods of Daibazaal always seemed to drag on, and Ulaz wasn't too keen on paying attention to this one.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz

Total Word Count: 848

Nuzzles are the Best Medicine | Ao3 Link

Summary:  Sometimes cubs have to remind others what the best kind of medicine is. Written for the Galra Secret Santa.

Pairings: Thace/Ulaz, Thace&Keith, Ulaz&Keith

Total Word Count: 1,110

In (Short) Summary

Total Word Count Posted: 121,313 meaning I met my goal of 100k being posted on Ao3!! :3

Top 5 Relationship (according to Ao3): Thace/Ulaz with 25 fics (but is anyone really surprised?), Thace&Keith with 12 fics, Ulaz&Keith with 9 fics, Regris/Keith with 5 fics, and Keith/Pidge with 4 fics... I think the lesson here is that I love Thace and Ulaz a lot <3

Onward to 2018!!

[lady-grace-pens]

Wip Excerpt: HTKAG

In light of this wip hitting another 10k word goal recently (currently sitting pretty at a whopping 120k/150k 😅), another excerpt is due! This babe I wrote today, buut I actually loved it so much I knew I had to share it with y'all right away. That all being said, let's stop wasting time and get straight into it!

Our scene begins with Allister entering a restaurant to have dinner with Mikko, Fingal, and Perci, but Perci is late.

—

Upon telling the hostess Fingal’s name, she leads me away to the right half of the room. Off in a booth stowed away in the corner sit Mikko and Fingal jabbering away mid-conversation. Once they notice me, they stop and smile.

“Hey! There’s the man of the hour,” Mikko exclaims, throwing his hands in the air.

“Not late, am I?” I grin, taking a seat beside him.

“Nope. Right on time to get some drinks,” Mikko starts smouldering at our hostess.

“With what money?” Fingal retorts with a glare.

Mikko blinks, struggling to come up with a defense. It seems he mustn't have anticipated Fingal to interrupt his attempt at flirting…

“Wha - With our money, of course,” he laughs, trying his best to make a smooth recovery.

“Aye. Which is why we’re not using my money to buy alcohol while a minor is here.”

Mikko doesn’t reply. Then again I suppose he doesn't need to, his confusion is written all over his face.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about Perci. He’ll be here any minute.”

“Oh! Fuck, that’s right. Him. Well obviously he won’t be getting any. And come on! You know how fast I can down a beer Fin! It’ll just be a few. Just a few rounds! Don’t be an ass.”

“Watch yourself Mikko, it's not polite to use such language in the presence of a lady.” I chime in, giving the hostess a polite smile.

“Oh I’ll show you what’s not polite-” Mikko says before slapping my head.

I try to hit him back, but he catches my hand before I can. Before we know it, we’re caught in a ridiculous slapping fight, both laughing our asses off.

“Not in a restaurant, not in a restaurant!” I speak through gasps, trying to end things.

Mikko obliges, tossing his hands back in his lap.

“A waiter will be right with you,” the hostess makes a case to look at each one of us except for Mikko before finishing her sentence, “... gentleman.”

Much to my surprise, Mikko doesn’t seem to be affected by that backhanded insult. Instead he kicks his knees up against the table and rests his head back, totally listless.

“Mikko, I would’ve thought you’d be more offended by that.”

“Huh? Why would I be offended at something when it’s true?”

“I’ll say. You and Al couldn’t be any more opposite. If there’s anything larger than the truth, the fact that you’re not a gentleman is way beyond it.”

“Exactly. And Mikko, you are aware of the fact that she was just a hostess, right? It isn’t even her job to serve us drinks.”

“I... “ Mikko laughs before leaning over the table again. “Listen. You two just don’t get it, do you? No. You don’t. Allow me to be the one who graces your palettes here, eh? Let me tell you what I’m gonna do. Okay? I’m gonna give you a tip. A piece of advice that will change your lives forever. All for free! You don’t even have to pay me. All you gotta do is listen. Got it? You both ready?”

Fingal and I share a look. I can tell we’re thinking along a similar vein of confused intrigue. We should most likely stop Mikko here, as whatever will come out his mouth won’t be anything good. However, we’re both too stunned to stop him, so…

Mikko beckons us to lean closer to him. Fin and I oblige. We’re almost touching heads when at last our dear mentor speaks once again, in a hushed voice. “It’s not about what you say. It’s about how you say it.”

…

There are no words. For about a minute straight Fingal and I are just staring at each other wearing the same expression that exudes two questions. ‘What the fuck? You’ve heard that too, haven’t you?’

Soon after that’s established and our shock subsides, we burst back to life. Fingal starts us off with, “Dammit Mikko. What the fuck? Where did you learn that? Who taught you that?”

“Some guys from the bar! Why, what’s wrong with it?”

“Which guys from the bar?”

“I don’t see how it-”

“Mikko. Which guys from the bar taught you this?” Fingal insists, a flash of anger showing in his eyes.

Mikko seems to notice this, and complies straight away. “Leo, John, Peter and Paul!”

Fingal buries his head in his hands. This sparks my curiosity. I haven’t heard these names before, but Fin clearly has.

“I can’t say I’m familiar with them, who might they be?”

“Bar friends-” Mikko starts, only for Fingal to finish for him.

“Jokesters. Jerks. Cheapskates always looking for a laugh. Assholes. Can’t wait to give them a piece of my mind.”

Mikko shrinks away from Fin. His head is turned away from me, but I don’t need to see it in order to know how stunned he is. It’s expressed flawlessly through the abnormal quietness of his voice. “Fin? What’s up, why’d you-”

“Because those dicks have been filling your head with shit like this every damn time I turned my back, Mikko! Dammit, this - this is why you always get rejected! Universe, I just wish you would’ve checked with me first about things like this. Not some strangers you barely even know, yet idolize them anyway.

You wanna know how you get a girl Mikko? Huh? You be nice. You be nice to them, you talk with them, and you listen. Compliments and flirting, all that helps, of course, but not forever! And you sure as hell can’t build a relationship strictly off of it. Okay? Standards and expectations vary from girl to girl, but with each and every single one there are a few things that you just have to do. Be nice, have respect, help them just for the sake of helping them! Don’t expect anything in return. Overall just - just be a decent fucking human being. That is how you get a girl.”

Mikko sits there, staring at his brother. I can’t help but do the same. In every respect, Fingal is right. Of course he is. It’s just… rare that we see him so worked up. I can hardly believe my eyes. I can hardly believe my ears, I… I can’t imagine how Mikko must be feeling.

Oh so gradually his head sinks down into his lap. He slumps over, and I swear I can see fractions of tears reflect the golden light radiating above us.

“Can’t believe I’m actually telling you this when you’re eighteen. Fucking eighteen,” Fingal scoffs, crossing his arms.

“I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be. I’m not mad at you. This is my own fault, I blame myself.”

“Aw, come on man! That’s even worse,” pouts Mikko.

Fingal then turns to me with an abruptness that makes me jump. “Al, what’s up? You’ve been quiet for a while. You can back me up on this, can’t you?”

“I…” I force a chuckle to try and lighten the air some. “I don’t think that I’m currently in a position to give advice like this, to be honest with you.”

Fingal leans his elbows on the table, holding his head with one hand. “Why? Something happen with Maddie?”

“Oh, did it ever,” I shake my head.

—

Aand that's all you guys get for spoiler reasons! Lmao

(also because that's all I've written today but shhhh don't tell anyone)

Buut yeah. Legit I swear I didn't mean to go so hard on feminist Fingal 😂 I mean don't get me wrong here, he's absolutely right and I'm keeping it in. But still, the words just kept on coming and coming and we ended up with this

so

y'know

yeah

writing is super fun sometimes

Plus tbh, writing the part where Mikko is stroking his ego and whispers his ‘top secret trick to get women’, I was literally laughing out loud 😂 like he's just so wrong, and I love how horribly Mikko fails in life. It's just super funny to me, I enjoy it a lot.

Fingal, however, clearly does not enjoy it, lmao. Legit I had no clue he could be so protective until today! Especially over Mikko. I mean I always knew their dynamics, but today… it really hit home for me.

Go back and look at the line of dialogue Fingal says right after Mikko apologizes (a rare occurrence, actually).

It’s just one little piece of dialogue, barely a few sentences! Yet I feel like it hits you. You know? It reveals so much about his and Mikko’s vibes, their situation. A pair of brothers poor and orphaned by their birth parents and raised by their grandmother, who is only growing older and weaker each year. Fingal, the eldest, having to take responsibility often. He feels pressured to raise his little bro, and feels like he's failed when Mikko turns out to be the way he is. Ya know? It's just one little thing of dialogue but I feel like it makes you feel the pressure Fin has to bear in a situation like theirs. Even if it’s only for a moment.

And Mikko! While he does incite a lot of the comic relief in HTKAG, I wouldn’t call him a strict comic relief character because that's never what I had in mind while writing him. He and Fin actually play a vital role in the plot of the story! Much more than what I can currently reveal to y'all.

Buut anyways, I'll stop rambling now. I really hope you guys enjoyed this little excerpt just as much as I adored writing it :)

—

taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed!): @vampire-with-a-pen @writingonesdreams @justyouraveragewriter @kazenokaori @dahladahlabills

[thelreads]

Day 30

The day has arrived folks

Nanowrimo 2020 has finally come to an end.

What a fucking trip it was so far, not gonna lie. The first Nanowrimo that I ever managed to beat, and to think that I actually got wrong how long it was, since I’ve been trying since I was 14, which means it’s actually been 10 years since I started doing this.

And in the year that I managed to beat it, I wasn’t even competing officially. god fucking dammit...

Well, nevermind that, let’s see the stats from the sheet, shall we?

A nice table to show how I started slacking off near the end. With a daily goal of 3.3k words, I managed to fail six times, on days 3 (so close), 18, 22, 25, 28 and 29. The 28th one was the best one, 8 words in total, jesus lol.

But I managed to beat the 50k mark by day 11, and the 100k by day 24, which is way better than I was hoping for, I thought I was going to give up by the end of the first week, like so many other times before.

Probably best to visualize it with a graph:

Yeah look at that fucked up day 28, oh my god why. To think that my daily average was around 4.5k by the middle of the mouth, and managed to drop to 4k in just a few days... But in all fairness, work started to really pick up after day 12, I didn’t had much free time to focus on it, and when I did I usually was too tired to go far. My god, my hands are hurting so much, you wouldn’t believe it, and even so I can’t stop typing.

Well, it was a lot of fun, not gonna lie. I still have so much to do, there are a lot of things going on, but I think that’s where I’ll stop annoying people with the details. The month is over, time for me to stop talking about troubled idiots being in love and suffering constantly, to get back to our regular schedule liveblogging, with troubled idiots being in love and suffering, but without me being the one responsible for it.

Now, to get ready for 2021. I’m thinking about aiming at 150k...

[sunshinexlollipops]

Hello! Just wanted to stop by (hopefully not being a bother) and say I have recently just went through all of your red dead fics on ao3 and wow. I've gotten into a/b/o fics more after reading yours! But also your amidst fic made me feel all types of things, and I know however it ends will leave me messy with f e e l i n g s. And I want to prematurely thank you for those feelings xP. I was also wondering, if that's alright, how your writing process is like? You put in a lot of words in amidst and some of your other fics. Do you make outlines? Do you first write down ideas for a chapter/fic and then draft it out? Are there scenes you add/take out? Is there a length goal you usually set for yourself? You don't have to answer, but I wish you well and thank you for fics that brightened my life a little!

LONG POST!

omg, hello anon! your ask 100% got lost in my notifs, so I just wanna start this off by saying you aren't a bother whatsoever!

in fact: I love receiving asks about my fics, as well as opening up about the writing that takes to get them to you guys!

so I'm gonna start this reply off with a quick thank you about my works! I'm so happy you're enjoying or have enjoyed what I've written.

RDR2/Arthur Morgan is a pleasure to write about, but I've also really enjoyed the fandom. it's been one of the sweetest and most supportive, and I've found one of my best literary periods with you guys! so thank you! :>

but enough pitter patter about that-- let's get to the fun stuff!

since you had a few questions, I'm gonna answer these in a separated list so it'll be easy to follow along! :)

-------

What is your writing process like?

well, in truth anon, I don't exactly have much of one.

that may surprise some, and others not. in truth, I think that sometimes the idea or concept of a "writing process" kind of scares anyone trying to get into writing.

I'm not sure if you are, anon, but your questions just make me want to cover this, just in case.

writing should come to you how it comes. I'm definitely NOT a textbook writer. I don't have a method where I have cardinal rules and a set up I have to have.

I simply embrace when inspiration strikes. usually while listening to music or absorbing some other media. frankly, if you treat writing like a science, you're gonna get stuck. it isn't an issue you have to fix, or a challenge you have to tackle.

allow yourself to get comfortable and just think whatever comes your way mentally. even if you think an idea is bad, encourage it! you can't write if you don't let yourself think.

so for me, I suppose my "process" is just encouraging my writing and for my brain to pop out ideas or scenes. just write away and see where it takes you!

You use a lot of words-- do you outline by chance?

ah yes. I am a wordy potato, frankly. albeit ACW is an overall outlier at being ALMOST A MILLION WORDS. even then, I don't think any of my over fics have ever really gotten past 150k, and I believe only ONE had done so.

this was... not by design.

believe it or not, I intended ACW to actually be short. 6 chapters like the game and boom, done. I thought I could summarize everything and just show snippets of a growing relationship between Arthur and my unintentional OC, Wolf. it almost would've been like a one-shot just broken up into chapters for homage sake.

but then I overplotted the prologue and next thing I knew, ACW had become this massive, sprawling monster of a slow-burn.

as for outlines... I don't necessarily outline. I'll explain this more in my next response. :)

Do you write a summary of a chapter or fic down, then draft afterward?

so in terms of summary, no. these stories live in my head, and I tend to feel that writing things down is more of a waste of time for me.

my brain flies through stories at such quick speeds I feel like I will lose my spark or my ideas if I take a second to write things down.

I am known to do audio recordings where I talk about my writing though. this is an amazing way to brainstorm on the fly, and some of my best ideas have come from just voicing what I'd like to see happen aloud. additionally: the recordings are a good way to keep track of what I've said and want, just like an outline!

otherwise I don't outline. I'm not sure what the terminology is, but I apparently go after my stories a lot like Stephen King does.

write first, worry about the rest later. I'm very much a "swim and swim even if you're sinking" because I would rather put the work in than fool with floaties to keep myself up.

personally this works wonders for me, as I don't like restraining myself or my head once I'm in motion. it doesn't end well if I do-- like snuffing a candle. I just go for it and I will make sense of it later.

even so, I have general ideas for what I want to happen, and I remember my basic outlines. the details come later, as long as the big picture is visible to me.

as for ACW: the only "outlines" I did was timing of the game missions. just to make sure I didn't miss major happenings, and that I had the timing in a way that flowed for what I wanted both logically and narratively.

as for drafts, I also don't draft. again, I go for it. that being said, I have restarted updates a couple of times, or have deleted entire scenes out of dissatisfaction. most of the time though, it's one and done for me! and it's all done on the fly. :)

Are there scenes you add/remove?

as mentioned above, yes. I have deleted a lot of content from ACW. some ideas never came to, but more often than not, it was repackaged in a way I liked better. so if anything, content was recycled and you all still got to see it in some way.

but there are some things that I want to do that just aren't possible. like many stranger missions. there's no good way to include certain events or characters in ACW without derailing what is going on. so alas: aberdeen pig farm is not a stop on Arthur and Wolf's itinerary.

but for another example, I wanted to showcase more of Wolf's past with her father (specifically her shut in life before his death), and I wanted scenes and more examples of her being disconnected unlike everyone else as a result.

these will come as flashbacks or other scenes in the upcoming chapters, but I intend to add these changes or additions during my revisions! :>

Is there usually a length goal you set?

as for word goals, I never quite had any apart from "at least 20k words" just because that was usually my average, I noticed.

additionally, this made sure I didn't end chapters without putting the bare minimum of content in them, and to have solid continuity. can you imagine have a 20k update and then a 3k one? no thanks!

20k just became my running baseline, after that. otherwise, my limit is when AO3 reaches theirs for the character limit (fence why some updates were split into multiple pieces).

with my other stories, I simply write until the story is properly paced or finished: however long it takes!

---------

whew! what a post!

but I hoped that gave you some more insight, anon.

writing is crazy, and I'm always learning something new. more now than ever, since I'm looking into actually getting something original submitted for publication.

if you (or anyone reading this) are inspired to write yourself, don't be discouraged! writing is one of the most intensive forms of creation. it's not easy. it's not instant. it's a lot of passion and time, let alone a utilization of language and grammar fluency!

it's easy to feel overwhelmed or lost, or feel like it's better to not try than struggle to start. but I can assure, writing is such a splendid thing to do. write for enjoyment, or pleasure, or simply because you want to.

as long as your story isn't intended to be hateful, is your own work, and is fun for you to create... what else matters?

if you want some additional inspiration, just know that I started writing fic in 2012/2013 and have gone through so much in my near TEN YEARS of fic writing. I've learned a lot, and I've grown so much!

be proud of yourself no matter where you are at and start from, and pride yourself in your progress or beginnings.

just go for it! you may surprise yourself!

hope you're having a good one, anon. and thanks for the ask! :)

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Writing advice I don’t agree with

DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion

1. Passive voice is always bad

There are so many tests/checkers for identifying passive voice in your writing and it has become a rule to change every instance of its occurrence.

Why?

Yes, I get that it isn’t as exciting and makes your plot/characters seem passive rather than active. Maybe it doesn’t make for great prose.

But it does have its place.

I think that one/two/five passive voice sentences in a book are fine. Will you really get burned at the stake if you have the sentence “Her heart had been broken” in your manuscript?

Maybe I’m just missing something.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying every second sentence should be passive voice. I’m just saying that you don’t have to change every single passive sentence in your work.

2. Real writers write every day

Listen, I’ve been writing for thirteen years. I’m always working on a project and I take my writing very seriously. I AM a writer. But I don’t think there’s ever been a period in my life where I wrote every single day.

Yes, if you schedule time to write every day and you manage to stick to it, you’re amazing. And you’ll probably be published quicker.

But that doesn’t mean that other writers aren’t serious about their writing or aren’t “real” writers.

Sometimes, life gets in the way. Sometimes, your creative muscles are really tired and all your words come out crappy. It’s normal.

It depends on your energy cycle/other responsibilities/goals. If you are working on your WIP and making progress, you’re a writer.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. Jeez.

3. Only include what is relevant to the plot

I confess: I am an overwriter. My current WIP is looking to be 150k words, so I’m gonna have to do a LOT of cutting in the editing phase. So yeah, maybe I should take this advice.

But objectively, I don’t believe in the strict application of this rule.

If JK Rowling/J.R.R Tolkien only included what would move the plot forward, we wouldn’t have the amazing fleshed-out worlds of HP and LotR. The extra, interesting stuff is what makes those stories so amazing.

So, I think a much better way to think about this is: Only include what is relevant to your CHARACTERS’ LIVES.

If there is something awesome that your characters do/see that people don’t get to experience in the real world, tell the reader about it. If there’s some fantastical element about your world that the character would definitely notice, describe how the character experiences it. Live through your characters in the world you’ve created.

4.  Every chapter should end on a cliffhanger

There’s this idea that each chapter should follow a formula: End with a tense reveal/cliffhanger > the next chapter opens with the character’s reaction to said reveal > the middle of the chapter is the mini resolution > the chapter ends with another tense reveal.

This is a great way to structure a chapter. But it gets tedious and overdone if every single chapter follows the same basic steps.

Ending EVERY chapter on a tense cliffhanger will drain your readers emotionally and numb them to the tense points in the rest of the novel. So, give your readers time to breathe and enjoy the less intense parts of your story too.

Have a few chapters that don’t end in absolute suspense.

5. Real writers don’t see writing as a business

“Real” writers are in it for the art. They live apart from the world of mortals and only care about fairy tales and castles in the sky. They are too pure and dainty and creative to concern themselves with something as mundane as money.

You are going to die of hunger.

If you agree with these pieces of advice, good for you. I just don’t. 

Reblog if you agree. Comment with the writing advice you can’t endorse. Follow me for similar content.

[ajbrooks-writes]

Blood Ties: For The King WIP Intro

Hello! Some of you may have seen details of this around the writeblrverse if you hang out in my corner at all, but I have changed my NaNo wip again and am now working on the second book in the Blood Ties Trilogy - For The King. Oh yes, that’s right, courtesy of my friend, my trilogy is now named! And ridiculously aptly.

This is my third NaNoWriMo project (trust me, that’s a lot more frustrating to me) after For The Crown is back in development to stamp out plot holes like whack-a-mole and Skillset is back in research mode.

You’re probably wondering what the hell For The King is about, so let’s dive in.

Stats:

Perspective: First Person Limited, multiple (Ryvaeryn and Elthian)

Stage: First draft

Genre: High fantasy/adventure

Word count so far: 15k

Expected work count: 150k

Expected finish date: end of January 2020

First Installment link: For The Crown WIP Intro

Timeline: For The King begins about two months after For The Crown ended.

Here we go:

When newly crowned King Elthian is kidnapped the day of his wedding, his fiance, Ryvaeryn, embarks on a cross country adventure to save him. We follow Ryvaeryn, accompanied by Joal, Orrian and Kalen as they traverse the mainland to save the King. We also follow the trials of imprisoned Elthian and his unlikely allies as our enemy, led by Tris, attempts to break his spirit. And he comes damn close.

Ryvaeryn meets Lowe, her old partner and Skye, her old friend on their journey, facing obstacles and trials set by Tris and his allies. We discover the true identities of Elthian’s three inmates, and learn what Tris and the Snow Cats have planned for Mantha. And why.

For The King is significantly darker than For The Crown. Ryvaeryn and Elthian face their trials alone and we test their characters and independence. An argument before they were torn apart leaves them both reeling in guilt, and it’s up to their friends, allies and own sheer will to reunite that pushes them forward.

Hope you enjoyed that ^.^

 Who are these people, you ask? Good question.

Ryvaeryn, MC: 27, tiger shapeshifter, Queen-in-waiting. Ryvaeryn discovered a lot about herself in For The Crown. She is still the temperamental, no-bullshit Ryn, prone to be commanding even though she isn’t in charge yet. Since the attacks and since losing her right eye she has been tamed a bit. She is an unofficial mentor to Pab, the ten year old orphan ward to the crown she befriended in FTC. Ryn has some trouble with her temper, which slowly becomes more prominent. She bonds with Orrian, and part of her arc is forgiving Joal for his past actions. Ryn wants justice, needs acknowledgement, and her focus quickly becomes her King. He needs her. She won’t fail him again.

Elthian, MC: 30, lion shapeshifter, new King. Elthian usurped his father in FTC (we all saw it coming…), but his manner of succession has left his people divided, and they don’t approve of his bride. Elthian struggles with his internal battle of what the people want versus what he wants, which is a decline from his progress in FTC. Elthian wants peace, needs approval, and his focus becomes survival and escape. Ryn needs him. He won’t fail her again.

This is a lot of information, so I’ve put the rest of the character intros below the cut. Below that is the tag list.

Joal, Secondary: 31, wolf shapeshifter, scholar. Joal is struggling with the fallout of FTC. He messed up, Ryn still doesn’t trust him, and Elthian doesn’t have time to help. We discover a lot more about Joal’s family in For The King, which you will be surprised by, and which is part of the reason for his gloominess early in the novel. Joal wants his family back, he needs someone to love him, and he’ll make up for his mistakes on the way to save his closest friend. Again.

Orrian: Secondary: 36, lion shapeshifter, philanthropist and Elthian’s older brother. Orrian took a hard hit in For The Crown and now lives with chronic pain in his left shoulder. He will find pain management when I choose to give it to him. His goal when his father was in charge was to protect Elthian. Now their father is gone and Elthian is king and has Ryn, Orrian is still support, but searching for another meaning. Orrian wants stability, needs meaning, and will be the least injured in this book. I felt kinda bad for him.

Kalen, Secondary: 33, bear shapeshifter (though I’m toying with the idea of making him human), lord and Ryn’s close friend. Kalen is the ultimate best friend. He reveals his past trauma to Elthian in FTC, which he uses to fuel his desire to help people. Kalen takes a few hits in For The King, but he’s still a teddy bear. He also is reunited with Skye during this book. She is… different. But they are still super close. Kalen wants peace, needs acceptance, and to bring his friends home safe. A bit worse for wear.

Jena, Tertiary: 25, human, prisoner and not someone you want to upset. After messing up in FTC, Jena is a prisoner of Tris, like Elthian, but tries her best not to interact with the others. Jena makes some progress, but whether that sticks is up to her. She wants success, needs love, and receives… something.

Vall, Second/Tertiary: 48, shapeshifter, alchemist. Vall has been in prison for a long time. She is the most active interacting with Elthian, the other prisoners and Tris. She’s been getting snippets of news from their captors over the years so she knows a bit about Elthian already. Vall wants freedom, but she also wants help for her husband, Arclum, who is also in prison, and ailling. She works hard to escape (unsuccessfully) with Elthian, and they haven’t broken her spirit.

Lowe: 29, human, warrior/baker. Some of you may remember Lowe. She was Ryvaeryn’s long term partner at the start of FTC, and encouraged Ryn to go to Mantha with the choking line “Don’t come back… Not for me.” Ryn agonised over Lowe and sent her letters before her romance with Elthian intensified. Lowe comes in to help rescue Ryn and friends during their adventure. She and Ryn get closure, and we learn that Lowe has been building a resistance. What for? You’ll have to wait to find out.

Skye, Tertiary: 23, crane shapeshifter, hermit warrior. In FTC, Skye tried making friends as a coping mechanism for past trauma, and it backfired. Since then she’s discovered new ways to vent and face her fears, and it’s rendered her lethal. She’s still the sweet Skye we love, but with a hard exterior, and a healthy centre.

This is high fantasy. There are a lot of characters. These include Pab, Yail, Astra, Arclum, and the bad guys. Tris (top bad guy) and co. will get introductions when I’ve fleshed them out properly.

And so...

In For The King we finally meet the enemy that’s been terrorising our cast for a year, and causing riots and mayhem in Mantha. We receive threats, and we learn what this whole thing is really about.

Buckle your seat belts, kids. This one pulls no punches. It’s gonna be wild.

*breathes* if you made it this far, you’re a trooper. Nice work x

*bows*

--

Tag list for Blood Ties

@whisperswritings @stand-inthe-rain @fantasy-shadows @halrose @romanticatheart-posts @hopefulmoonobject @angelolytle @albarnesauthor @fantasy-penman @ofinscriptions @jynecca @venomouspen 

Tag list for For The Crown (in case you would like to be added to the Blood Ties tag list)

@dcdarrells @thewriteblrarchives  @trigwrites @jessicacaseyauthor @mfackenthal @mushwrites @b-works-074  @gardeningourmet @apocalyvse @jcckwrites @writingisdivinetorture  @purpleshadows1989 @thatwritergirlsblog @betwixtofficial @pen-in-hand @whynotwriting @bookish-actor @sunlight-and-starskies @jcckwrites @half-explored @watermelons-writings @purpleshadows1989 @waterfallofinkandpage @crazycoffeemermaid​ @summerflowers

(if you would like to be added or removed from the Blood Ties tag list, please let me know. Also if I’ve missed anyone I’m really sorry, could you let me know please thank youx)

[angst-in-space]

december ‘19 writing progress & yearly wrap-up 📝

december:

total words written: 11,292 most words written in a day: 1,064 least words written in a day: 39

projects worked on:

- galolio fic - chapter 15 of altea rising - worked a little bit on chapter 8 of red skies - worked a tiny bit on the roman holiday au i think? - started planning my piece for @burningheartszine! - also started planning a wangxian fic with @parchmints owo

notes: welp, in terms of word count i didn’t do as well as i wanted to in december, but uh as you can see i was spread a little thin among a bunch of projects haha. most of my focus went towards my galolio fic (it’s at like 20k right now and i’m almoooost near the end...i think....).

i’ve also been trying to work on chapter 15 of altea rising when i can, and i feel terrible because it’s now been over a year since i updated it. but iT’S HAPPENING, I PROMISE. i still have kind of a significant chunk of it left and it’s gonna be really really long (like....basically it’s gonna practically be an entire fic in and of itself hahaha) but. i swear i have not given up on it! 

i got a tiny bit done on chapter 8 of red skies and the roman holiday au, but those have kind of been on the backburner since i’m prioritizing the above fics right now. but hey those are coming along, too. 

annnndd *drumroll* as mentioned above i am super excited to announce i will be a writer for the burning hearts zine (which is a promare/galolio zine)! can’t say much about what i’m writing yet, but i will say i’m super excited to write my piece and i’m collaborating with a very talented artist so i’m really really thrilled. :’’) so yeah keep an eye out for that!

and lastly, jessie and i started planning a wangxian fic we’re going to write together so AAHHH i’m incredibly hyped!! we’re still outlining and throwing ideas around n stuff but....stay tuned cuz i think it’s gonna be DOOOPE!! ;))

2019 wrap-up:

total words written: 173,329 most words written in a month: 20.2k (july) least words written in a month: 7.7k (october)

works completed:

- ‘til we meet the dawn - so maybe we can learn to love the rain - heaven is a place on earth with you - countdown (my piece for @kl-beginning-zine - not published yet) - chapter 7 of red skies

other wips:

- chapter 15 of altea rising - chapter 8 of red skies - kl roman holiday au - kl horse riding au - kl love bug au - kl hotel au - galolio fic - burning hearts piece (planning) - wangxian fic (planning) notes: so in 2018 i was really focused on my multichaps and didn’t really work on any standalone fics and in 2019 i basically had...the exact opposite problem hahaha. i finished four standalone fics and only one chapter of one of my multichaps but hey that’s not bad lol. 

“‘til we meet the dawn” (my klance fantasy au) took up....a very very large portion of my writing time/energy in 2019 since it uhh totaled around 75k words and was an extremely challenging fic to write. but in the end it was very much worth it! i’m still so blown away by the way people hyped it up and supported it so much. ;; i really was not anticipating all the love it received and i couldn’t be more grateful for that; i’ve gotten many comments on it that literally had me tearing up because they were so sweet. so yeah, thank you so so much to all of you who have supported it since i first started writing it - it really means the world to me!! 

i’m also quite happy with the shorter standalone fics i published this year and was thrilled to get into two zines!! 

in 2020 i hope to shift my focus back towards my multichap fics since i neglected them quite a lot in 2019 and i miss them a lot. i’m literally on the very last chapter of altea rising and i’m hoping i can get it done soon-ish and i apologize for the extremely long wait....those of you who have been reading it since 2016, you really are the true mvps haha. but i promise i’m working away at it! and once the last chapter is done, i hope to also really dive back into red skies again, since i have so much more planned for it that i’m super excited about!!

i also really hope to get working on the roman holiday au since i’m really fond of that one and have quite a lot of it written. i just...gotta finish it. as for my other kl wips, they’re slightly lower priority but i still do really want to finish them all! 

and of course i hope to also finish my first galolio fic really soon, plus start writing the wangxian fic with jessie! it’s really exciting to be writing for new fandoms and i hope to explore that more in 2020....and who knows, maybe work on some original fiction too! 

2020 goals:

- write every day - write at least 150k words - focus more on my multichaps - finish altea rising - finish a couple of my kl standalone fics?? not sure which ones yet, but yeah! - finish galolio fic  - write burning hearts piece - work on wangxian fic w jessie! - maybe start writing something original?? 

january goals:

- write every day - finish the galolio fic - work on chapter 15 of altea rising (i feel like if i finish it that would be a miracle but uh we’ll see lol)  - write draft of piece for burning hearts zine - maybe work on roman holiday au and/or chapter 8 of red skies? haha we shall see.....

[clumsyclifford]

2, 6, 15, 17, & 21 for the new years asks? -megs 💙

hiya megs!! gladly :)

2. what was the highlight of your year? we actually did favorite part of the year as part of dinner tonight!! my answer was the trip to austin to see my dudes @tirednotflirting and @reveriesofawriter, that was fucking awesome on so many levels. had never been to austin before!! and the aces show!! and everything else!! yeah. so that's my answer. i had another answer though which was the state champs concert i went to, cos i was at the barricade and got the setlist and it was just such a cool fun experience to go to a concert alone. and then also the nats game my family went to in august. those are my top three that i can come up with.

6. what is the one new thing you discovered this year (could be a place/hobby/song etc)? i discovered many things this year! i'm gonna say...concerts. silly answer but true! i had been to three concerts before this year but i don't really remember the experience of the first two, and the atl one was cool but like...i wasn't really a concerts person. in fact i would say i was actively not a concerts person, and now i actively am a concerts person, and that's really cool!! this is a fun development for me as a person. i like concerts. i am in fact willing to spend lots of money on a plane ticket to FLY to a city i've NEVER been to, JUST to attend a concert. bella of 2019 would've never. honestly bella of about six months ago would've never, but i'm a changed woman now.

15. if you could change one thing about the past year what would it be? probably would have tried to save more money. little expenses really add up and i definitely could've cut a lot of costs just by, like, not ordering in or not buying a few things or whatever. going to be a lot more budget-conscious in the coming year! also will hopefully be paid more this summer which will be nice.

17. do you have any new year’s resolutions for the next year? yes! i would like to read five books. and continue my resolution from this year to exercise once a month. and i'm going to set a 200k word count goal. (my wc goal for last year was 150k but i wrote more than twice that amount so i'm upping the stakes a little lol). i think these are realistic and achievable goals.

21. how would you describe your year in a word? i already did this shit and i am NOT coming up with another one but the word i said before was uhhh......what was it. oh, self-aware.

questions for before the new year begins

[rainbowoffics]

FIC REC’S OF 2017 part 7 (june-july-august)

Here it comes! The 25 fic long list of fics (yes, I’m measuring length with fics now!) I’ve read this summer. Hope you’ve all had a great time and read amazing fics during the last months! I’ve separated the chaptered and one shots in this fic rec, so hopefully it’ll make this a little less messy. Happy reading everyone! 

CHAPTERED

Fool’s Gold by tvshows_addict (55k)

Leaflet for Over Again Inc.

“In relationships, there are three types of people: those who are happy, those who are unhappy but accept it and deal, those who are unhappy and in denial.

Handling this last category is our job: we are professional couple breakers.

To reach our goal, we use all means necessary.”

Or the Arnacoeur AU in which Harry is scheduled to be married to Liam in 10 days and Harry’s mother hires Louis and his team to break them up. THE ROMANTIC COMEDY FIC OF THIS SUMMER!

Mutability by haloeverlasting (108k)

Harry and Louis meet in a book club. Life and fiction have their parallels. SLOW BURN, (read the notes before each chapter for tw)

Come Away With Me by suspendrs (80k) 

Louis had such big plans. He wanted so much out of life, and so did Amy. Now Bridget is going to grow up without a mother, and she’s always going to wonder what it would be like if this hadn’t happened. He wonders if she’ll blame him for her mother’s death as she gets older, or if she’ll understand that this is just as painful for Louis as it is for her. Louis doesn’t know how he’s going to raise her on his own, because he’s a fantastic father, yes, but he’s always been the fun parent, and Amy was in charge of the rules. He doesn’t know how to make sure Bridget has everything she needs all the time, doesn’t know how to make her favorite meal or how to do that one braid she loves to have in her hair or how to teach her to be the best person she can be. He doesn’t know how to live without Amy, he doesn’t know what he’s going to do. SINGLE PARENT! LOUIS, MINOR CHARACTER DEATH, FRIENDS TO LOVERS

The Wonderlands by stylinsoncity (150k)

"Somewhere between chaos and control — these are the wonderlands."

Harry's daughter, Andy, is signed to Louis' girl band. Her path to success is marked by competition, chaos, and for Harry, a love affair. FAMOUS/NOT FAMOUS, SINGLE PARENT! HARRY

Just Ask Me To by TellMeThisIsNotLove (120k)

“You’re telling the truth,” Louis whispers.

“Of course I’m telling the truth!” Harry doesn’t even care that he sounds exasperated.

“Oh my god.” Louis grabs the wall behind him as if looking for support. His body slides down against it until he’s sitting crouched on the floor.

He mumbles something but Harry can’t really figure out what it is. He crouches down, and looks desperately at the breaking boy in front of him.

“You’re telling the truth,” Louis whispers. “You were not supposed to–”

“I was not supposed to do what? Tell me please,” Harry urges, taking Louis’ hands gently in his. CANON COMPLIANT, X-FACTOR ERA, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, ANGST

My Lights Stay Up, But Your City Sleeps by PearlyDewdrops (108k)

Harry breaks into his own smile, scrunching his nose when he glances back up, meeting Louis' eyes, his stiff posture loosening. They stare for a beat, Harry's smile dwindling. "So... you're okay with it? That it can’t go anywhere?"

Louis nods easily. "We're on the same page. Promise." He holds out his pinkie to prove it, mind hazy and giddy from alcohol. Harry’s dimples appear in each cheek as he holds out his own, their pinkies intertwining. "We're just two people who like each other, have fun together, and who may or may not kiss and... stuff.” He grins, wild adrenaline pumping through to his fingertips.

Harry sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, lowering his flushed gaze to the floor.

“Just don't go falling in love with me, and it'll be fine," Louis smirks.

Or Louis has trouble sleeping, Harry has a habit of wrapping himself around Louis during the nights, and a mutual agreement to engage in a fun and simple thing quickly turns into something perhaps not so fun, and certainly not simple. FRIENDS TO LOVERS 

Do Not Go Gentle by afirethatcannotdie (70k) 

“This is all a game to you, isn’t it? Well, it’s not for me. This is a real life or death situation,” Louis says, spitting the words at him. “And I just don’t think you’re cut out for it.”

For a moment, they stare at each other in complete silence. Harry can feel his blood thrumming between his ears, can see Louis glaring at him, feels red-hot anger. And then all he feels, oppressively and desperately, is lust.

Suddenly Louis is surging up to him to press his lips against Harry’s. Harry walks the two of them backwards, pressing Louis back against the door. Louis oomphs in surprise and brings his hands under Harry’s scrub top, scratching at his lower back.

“Lock — oh — lock the… fucking door,” Louis mutters.

When Harry Styles starts his first day as a surgical intern, he expects a lot of things: to treat patients, to observe a surgery, to feel a bit overwhelmed. What he definitely doesn't expect, however, is that the handsome guy he kicked out of his bed this morning is also an intern.

A Grey’s Anatomy AU where tensions are high, Harry and Louis are hooking up in secret, and no one has time for love. Or do they? HATE TO LOVE

If It Kills Me by you_explode (109k) 

Harry and Louis have worked together in a difficult office environment for six years. They're best friends; Louis is the bright spot of all of Harry's days. But Louis is in love with Harry, and Harry's engaged to someone else. And that's only the beginning.

The Office AU. More or less follows the first five seasons. A lot of pining and misunderstanding the depth of feelings and rejection and angst, until there isn’t. FRIENDS TO LOVERS, SLOW BURN

Right In Front Of Me Or Maybe You’re In Disguise by zahrasayed (15k)

Soulmate AU Where when you turn eighteen and are standing in front of your soulmate you get a tattoo around your ring finger (and are basically engaged after that ). Louis gets his tattoo when he's in front of his fourteen year old neighbour, Harry Styles, the kid he couldn't get rid off since his childhood and who he sticks around with only because of his mother (not because he has a urge to protect him or anything). SOULMATES, FAMOUS/NOT FAMOUS, MPREG

Relief Next To Me by dolce_piccante (333k)

AU. What happens when a baker and a graphic designer meet via a very specific Craigslist post? Fate, friendship, food, and maybe more. STRANGERS TO FRIENDS TO LOVERS, SMUT!

Remind Me Again by momentofclarity (28k)

He loves it when they do this, when they find comfort in each other like this, so close, soft and sweet. They have never really talked about it beyond “Oh so that’s a thing we do now” all those years ago, but it’s also something they have silently agreed not to share with their friends. This is just for them, just like the way they sometimes fall asleep in each other’s beds, pressed closed under the covers, or how they love to cook each other dinner and light candles all over the flat. They have lived together since they were teenagers and over the years they have settled into each other in ways that the other boys just wouldn’t understand. The romantic platonic friends to lovers AU where they are forced to speak about everything that has always been unspoken. FLUFF AND SMUT

This Wicked Game by cherrystreet (70k) 

An AU in which The Bachelor is gay, Louis is a contestant, Harry is the bachelor, everyone drinks a lot of champagne, the entire world gets to watch them fall in love, and no one plays by the rules. 

Escapade by dolce_piccante (146k) 

In the grand scheme of things, finding a date for a wedding should be no problem for Louis Tomlinson. He's rich. He's handsome. He's reasonably well behaved. But when the wedding is for his lifelong best friend (and former boyfriend), and is happening in under a month, finding a date for the ceremony and accompanying festivities becomes more of an adventure than he ever could have planned for. FAKE/PRETEND RELATIONSHIP, STRANGERS TO FRIENDS TO LOVERS

Little White Lies by xxSterre (13k) 

the AU based off of that one Craigslist post - how a little white lie takes on an enormous snowball effect, that might accidentally include a Tomlinson too. FAKE/PRETEND RELATIONSHIP

Building Castles In The Sky by SexyAssWoman (22k) 

"D-dad? You think I c-can do it? Y-you think i c-can..." Evan trailed off looking down at his chest. And Louis' heart melted.

"I think you can do everything, love. Everything." Louis said while pulling his boy closer. "Because you, my little dandelion, are very brave! And so strong and wonderful and so very bright! You will go up on that stage, and you will blow everyone away. I just know it."

They laid there on their porch while they hugged each other tightly. His little boy was so brave. Louis didn't need to see him on a stage to be proud. He was proud of him already.

"You know,” Evan mumbled aloud again. “Mr. S-Styles says the same t-thing. He s-says I c-can do e-everything too.”

And Louis couldn't help but smile.

or, Where, Louis had a four year old with a stuttering problem. Harry was always there to help. SINGLE PARENT! LOUIS, TEACHER! HARRY

May You Enjoy Your New Life by aimmyarrowshigh (264k) 

It begins for them all at the bungalow –

'Alright, time to lay out the cards. We’re in this together and hopefully, for the long haul, yeah? So I think – you know, we should just be honest. It’s deal-breakers time. That thing that like, if we’re gonna hate you or something, just tell us all now.'

When One Direction begins, Harry Styles is a sixteen-year-old boy foundering under the pressure of impending fatherhood. His ability to balance the sobering responsibility of caring for his tiny daughter, Millie, and the exhilaration of seeing his own dreams coming to fruition affects not only his future, but those of Liam, Zayn, Niall, and Louis, who never expected fealty to be the key to their success. But Liam is the first to show him how to grow up without growing old, and Zayn is the first to defend from the public what is private and precious. Louis -- Louis is the first for a lot of things; for most of the moments of Millie's life and for the moments of Harry's that matter. And Niall is the first to toast when Millie is born: Go maire sibh bhur saol nua -- 'may you enjoy your new life.' KID FIC, DOMESTIC FLUFF, FRIENDS TO LOVERS

ONE SHOTS

Carry This Feeling by Awriterwrites, dimpled_halo (49k)

There’s something about Louis Tomlinson that makes Harry feel unhinged. It’s in the other man’s stare, in the way he looks at Harry like he knows he’s hiding something. Like he’s not really all he says he is.

Harry’s not so sure it’s fear he’s feeling. Maybe it’s something deeper. Ever since Louis walked into his house, he’s felt on edge. He’s just being himself after all, and that’s usually enough to get just about anyone to drop their pants. But...it’s clearly not working on Louis Tomlinson. It dredges up something oily and unpleasant inside Harry. He doesn’t like it.

He’s got to lock that shit down tight.

*** Harry knows, objectively, that he shouldn't try to get his ghostwriter into bed. He knows. But...he finds it hard to resist temptation when Louis waltzes into his home and his life and turns everything upside down. And, as it turns out, Louis might just need a little turning upside down too. FAMOUS/NOT FAMOUS, STRANGERS TO LOVERS

Dirty Laundry Looks Good On You by suspendrs (19k)

“So um, Niall mentioned you haven’t lived here long. What brings you to London?”

“What is this, an interview?” Louis smirks, stealing Harry’s drink and taking a sip. “Wanted a change of scenery. Dunno.”

Harry hums and takes his drink back, narrowing his eyes playfully at Louis as he takes a long sip. “Can I buy you a drink, or would you rather keep sharing mine?”

“You most certainly can buy me a drink,” Louis grins, grabbing the bottle back out of Harry’s hand, “but I’m still going to be stealing yours.”

Or, Harry is jaded and sad and resigned to be forever alone, until Niall sets him up with a friend of his whose broken pieces may just fit pretty well with Harry's. STRANGERS TO LOVERS, PAST ABUSE

The Worst Fucking Idea by juliusschmidt (3k) 

Liam suggests Harry and Louis do Seven Minutes in Heaven, just like they always used to in high school. SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN

Maybe We’re Perfect Strangers by starprediction (39k) 

When an EDM festival in the Caribbean touts itself as a “life-changing and transformative experience,” Harry’s not too sure he buys into it. Regardless, Harry wants nothing more than to please his best friend, so he goes along for the ride. What he doesn’t expect is to fall head over heels for the festival’s organizer who Harry discovers is also the object of his best friend’s affections.

in which it takes three days under the tropical sun for two men to fall in love FAMOUS/NOT FAMOUS

Barefoot In Blue Jeans by indiaalphawhiskey (24k)

AU. Louis Tomlinson is trying desperately hard not to fall for his son’s au pair, but he can’t, for the life of him, remember why. SINGLE PARENT! LOUIS

Tangled Up In You by missandrogyny (45k) 

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn't want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?” FAMOUS/NOT FAMOUS

Heart On An Open Highway by afirethatcannotdie (5k)

AU. Harry's a popstar about to release his second album, and Louis is the Radio 1 intern who gets his heart racing. FAMOUS/NOT FAMOUS

On The Go by phdmama (2k) 

Inspired by - where louis owns a landscaping company called MANSCAPE and harry thinks it’s some sort of in-home pubic hair grooming company, so he calls to make an appointment, there’s some discussion of whether he wants his bushes trimmed as well, and then when it’s time for the appointment, harry’s like half-naked waiting around in a robe or something and louis shows up with lawnmowers. COMEDIC 

Sugar by cheshireflowers (13k) 

“I hope our paths will ‘croissant’ again.”

There’s a little smiley face drawn next to the words, and it’s ridiculous, Louis knows, but he can’t help the swell of butterflies that he feels as he reads over the words once more. An odd fellow indeed, he thinks.

A moment later he shakes his head and collects himself, because he really does need to get home; he’s sure that Harry is probably watching him from behind the counter, all sweet, smug smiles and pink cheeks. And if he’s being honest, he’s not entirely sure he won’t toss his groceries into the trash and walk straight back into the bakery if he doesn’t leave now, so… he really does need to get going.

Before he goes on his way, though, he plucks the note from the top of the container and carefully tucks it inside of his wallet to protect it from the rain.

That’s how it begins. FLUFF, LOTS OF PUNS