#not my proudest work i'll be honest

[thetomorrowshow]

Whumptober 19 - Blood Trail

title: washed up

fandom: hermitcraft smp

cw: blood and violence

~

It was his own fault, really. His own fault that he didn’t check the durability on his elytra, that he hadn’t bothered to enchant them with Mending. How was his laziness more pressing than Mending?

So Etho had tumbled out of the sky, drifting where he could on his damaged wings, until he managed to crash into a tree and fall through its branches, where he landed on the ground just at the edge of a forest.

Etho groaned, pushed himself up onto his knees. His face stung from the lash of the branches against his cheeks, his entire body sore from the impact against the ground. He might have broken his right wrist, caught under his body. It was already swelling up, his hand practically useless.

He wiped his other hand across his face, grimaced when it came away bloody. A quick look down showed he was bleeding from a multitude of different scrapes on his body, his clothes torn here and there. None of them looked serious, or even all that deep, so that could have been a lot worse.

A wrist and some scrapes wasn’t the end of the world, but the dull pain coming from his ankle told him that wasn’t all. He shifted to sit, tugged down the sock of his right foot to check it.

Yep, it looked about the same as his wrist, already swelling up. Maybe broken, maybe badly sprained—either way, he wasn’t walking out of there.

It wasn’t too bad, he supposed. He could be in a lot worse of a situation. Sure, night was falling, but if he messaged the main chat for help, someone would come get him.

<Etho> hey anybody on-world and awake

<Docm77> Hello

<Cubfan135> I never sleep

<Tango> so not bdubs? haha

<Etho> my elytra broke far away… ://

<Tango> oh etho

<Cubfan135> no mending?

<Etho> I haven’t gotten around to it

<Docm77> how far away are you?

<Etho> idk pretty far out

<Etho> [COORDINATES]

<Tango> oh dude that’s forever away

<Etho> yup

<Cubfan135> needing some help?

<Etho> well I think I broke my ankle

<Cubfan135> oh nooo

<Docm77> no potions?

<Etho> nope

<Cubfan135> suiting up now

<Docm77> omw

<Etho> thanks guys haha

Etho set his communicator down in the grass, dug through his satchel. He usually carried a couple of bandages, so he could at least wrap the ankle, get it some support.

He did find an ace bandage, thankfully. He set one end against his ankle, started looping it around the arch of his foot and the joint of his ankle. He moved with practiced efficiency, pinning the loose end and pulling his sock and his shoe back up over it.

He tested it carefully, putting a bit of weight on that foot. Not too bad, but nothing that he thought he could reliably walk on.

A groan sounded from the treeline, and Etho’s head jerked up, scanning the trees for movement. Had the sun already set enough for monsters to spawn?

He wouldn’t be able to wield a sword all that well. He last practiced left-handed combat . . . two or three years ago, probably, on a consistent schedule, he just hadn’t needed it in so long. . . .

“This is why you stay on top of your skills, Etho,” he told himself. Maybe he could construct some sort of shelter? Or—

Another groan from the forest. He’d never been that fond of building, so he didn’t tend to carry that kind of stuff on him. Especially not when he was just flying out to find some unexplored cave, his pockets as empty as they could be. Sure, he had torches, but that wouldn’t be enough to fend off a horde of zombies.

He passed over a village not too long ago, didn’t he? If he could find a large enough stick to lean on, maybe he could make his way back toward it. Surely it wouldn’t be too far of a trek—he remembered seeing it just before he crashed.

Etho glanced back at the forest, the most likely place to find a stick. No sun filtered out through the thick canopy of trees, the darkness much deeper than it ought to have been, even at this late hour.

Yeah. That probably wasn’t going to happen.

He had to lean on his sword, then, and hope that it was enough. Luckily, the ground was dry enough that the tip shouldn’t just sink into the earth. Etho counted that as a blessing and started off, adjusting his left-handed grip on the hilt after each step, trying to find what worked best.

It wasn’t all that helpful, to be honest. The sword was just too short to work the way he wanted it to, and he would have preferred it on his other side. Just his luck that he happened to break the wrist and ankle of the same side of his body.

He probably should have wrapped his wrist, too, but he wasn’t in the habit of carrying more than one ace bandage, and he didn’t really have time. His arm shoved into his sleeveless coat, held in place by the halfway-zipped zipper, would have to do.

He should message the others, let them know that he was moving and heading toward a town, but when he reached for his communicator at his belt, he found the holster empty.

Uh-oh.

Etho turned (slowly, too slowly), spotted his communicator on the ground where he’d left it, ten feet behind him, resting in the grass.

Come on.

“Okay,” he breathed, staring at it. How long had it taken him to walk those couple of steps? Not too long, surely, mere minutes, but minutes were everything at sundown.

Should he risk it? Grab his communicator, or keep making his way toward the village?

It was more important to be able to update his friends, probably.

He tightened his hold on his sword, started to hobble back to his communicator. He tried to keep his uneven footsteps quiet, careful not to disturb any monsters in the woods, but the grass underfoot was dry and crunched, and his gait wasn’t particularly suited for quiet at the moment.

He made it to his communicator, though, and puzzled for a moment with the concept of picking it up. He could bend forward if he put his weight on his sword, but he wouldn’t be able to pick it up with his free hand. Not to mention, when he attempted to bend over, his back shot through with stiffening pain—deep tissue bruises from his fall, no doubt.

Right. How was he meant to do this?

He could crouch, he supposed. On one leg, though? Well, his right leg might not take much weight, but it could at least steady him. He would have to put his sword into its sheath, unable to hold it and unwilling to drop it.

He fumbled with it, awkwardly trying to work his sword into the sheath with his left hand. He managed to slide it in, though, and was about to crouch when he heard the snapping of underbrush.

Etho looked up, eyes trained on the dark woods. He scanned them, back and forth, and quickly identified the source of the movement—a bush, right up at the edge, trembling as something pushed its way through—

A rotting hand shoved aside the last branch, and a zombie stumbled out, arms reaching toward Etho.

Now, Etho didn’t usually have any problems dispatching zombies. A quick stab and slash, maybe a running jump, and they were down. One of the easier monsters to handle, honestly. Far easier than creepers or skeletons.

But this zombie was . . . different.

Etho had seen zombie villagers before. He’d always shuddered at their twisted features, their not-quite-right noises. He’d killed those as well, if they were too far gone to be restored.

This one was, quite notably, not too far gone.

It was a farmer, once. Its wide-brimmed hat protected it from the last rays of the sun, its blood-stained overalls not thick enough to save it from whatever zombie bit it, blood staining the jean. Gloves hung from its belt, one almost entirely slipped out, just a finger pinning it in place.

It wasn’t quite a zombie, though, not yet. Sure, its skin was splotched with green, its mouth hanging open to show rotting teeth. Its eyes were completely clouded over with white, its fingernails cracked and blackened. But something about it screamed human, something in the way it checked right and left before lurching toward Etho, something in its repetitive swallowing of saliva instead of letting it all drip down its chin.

This was a freshly-turned zombie villager. Its reflexes were likely to be quicker, its bites stronger. Usually, Etho would turn the thing back, but as proved earlier, of course he didn’t think to bring an Ender chest with him.

He didn’t want to kill it, though. It was just a farmer, maybe still conscious enough to recognize that something was wrong, and he hated to condemn it to death for not being able to defend itself against a monster—not when he should have been able to help it.

Ah, well. He cared more about surviving this encounter than feeling bad for a zombie.

“Whoa there, buddy,” Etho said, hopping back a bit on his uninjured foot. His communicator remained on the ground as he tried to get his sword back out, sweaty fingers pulling fruitlessly on the handle. “If you want to just hang tight for a minute, my friends are on their way. They can turn you back.”

He didn’t think that the zombie could understand him, but there wasn’t any harm in trying.

His sword came free—

The zombie lunged—

Etho missed. Etho missed, and the zombie reached for him—he did his best to twist away, but his good foot slipped out from under him. He hit the ground and swung back blindly with his sword, pulling himself away on his bad arm. His wrist buckled under him and he gasped, pain surging through it.

Before he could properly turn around and defend himself, the zombie was on top of him. Etho writhed, tried to shove it off, but before he could get any leverage, it was biting down on his upper left arm.

A pained noise escaped his clenched teeth as he felt his flesh break under the zombie’s teeth, fire spreading from the bite. Involuntarily, his fingers released the sword, letting it clatter to the ground beside him. He shoved back, managing to dislodge the zombie—but a glance down showed several of the teeth still stuck in his bloody flesh. Etho rolled onto his back, scooted backwards as quickly as he could.

The zombie threw itself at him again, and Etho had nothing to defend himself with—

It bit into his chest this time, and Etho kicked and kicked and beat at its head with his fist, grimacing as its soft head gave way partially under the heel of his palm. White-hot pain burst from his chest as its jaw clamped down on him—Etho’s arms spasmed, but he just forced himself to breathe through it and kept trying to push the zombie away.

Without warning, his broken ankle erupted in pain. For a moment, he couldn’t make sense of it—the zombie was still on top of him, pulling away with a mouthful of flesh, blood dripping everywhere: how could it have grabbed his foot?

There was a hand wrapped around his bad ankle, and as the zombie pushed off of him, Etho saw it.

Another zombie villager, and this one was a teenage boy. It was a farmer as well, made clear by its jeans and straw hat, and Etho had a moment of staring at the two through tear-blurred eyes before he realized that they were probably father and son.

Then the son pulled, and Etho had a second realization.

He’d only seen this happen once. A villager reported missing from one of his villagers, that had been seen dragged away by multiple zombie villagers. Etho had ventured out in search and discovered an entire zombie villager family, feasting on the kidnapped villager.

These two were taking him to their family.

That wasn’t good. That wasn’t good at all.

“Hey,” Etho gasped, trying to spot his communicator as they started to haltingly drag him toward the forest. “Hey, I don’t really appreciate this. I’ve got—things—”

There it was, glinting in the grass—he reached for it—

The farmer’s boot came down on it, the screen cracking and fizzing out.

Maybe it still worked?

Etho twisted around onto his stomach, gritting his teeth against the scream that tried to tear from his throat at the turn of his injured ankle. His efforts were wasted, anyhow; his communicator was already out of reach.

He kicked, grabbed the grass, tried his best to fight, but the father growled something like a warning and Etho let himself go limp. He just had to wait for an opportune moment.

They breached the treeline, and Etho groaned aloud when the branches and roots of the underbrush began to pull at his clothes, scraping his skin up even worse.

This was going to be fun.

-

“Uh-oh,” Cub said as they landed at the coordinates that Etho had sent. Doc made a noise of unease.

Before them was Etho’s communicator, a large crack splintering down the screen. His sword lay abandoned a couple of feet away.

More ominous than anything, however, was the clear sign of something heavy being dragged through the broken grass and into the woods, the trail dotted and smeared with darkness that shines in the light of Doc’s torch. Blood.

They looked at each other, a quick analysis of the situation passing between them.

No discussion was needed. They turned toward the forest and charged in.

Following the trail was easy—blood marred it, of course, but whatever had taken Etho had made sure to drag him through the worst of the underbrush, making a clear path all the way through. Cub kept one eye on the ground while Doc followed close behind, his mechanical eye whirring.

Then they heard a sound that chilled their very bones.

A scream, cut-off and choked, sounding from not too far within.

Without a word, Cub broke into a run. Doc followed right behind.

-

Etho was still pretty sure he could make it out of this alive.

They hadn’t reached the rest of the zombie family yet, and the two dragging him hadn’t shown any signs of tiring out, but Etho was just resourceful like that.

He’d managed to roll back onto his back (terrible for his elytra, which he just knew were getting as destroyed as his mask already was), and from there he had pulled his satchel onto his stomach and begun pawing through it, ignoring the quickly-failing mobility of his right arm and the pulsing pain and slow seeping of blood from his chest.

He had torches, a pickaxe repair kit, some basic redstone. Food. Some finer instruments for chiseling. Not much, but certainly enough.

His left-handed throw would be rough, but surely he could launch something at these guys. If he could catch the kid in the face with his chisel, it might loosen its grip enough for Etho to sit up, then swing the miniature sledgehammer at the leg of the father. That should shatter the bone, give Etho a moment to grab his pickaxe off his back and swing.

He grasped the chisel, rubbed it between his bloodstained fingers. He had this. He just needed to breathe, ignore all the pain, and. . . .

Before he could take aim, they broke into something of a clearing—still with heavy tree covering, but few obstructions.

Sitting in the clearing were three other zombie villagers: the farmer’s wife, a baby, and another son.

Oh, no. He’d better not have left this too late.

“I really don’t want to die,” Etho said, as casually as he can manage. “I know that’s kind of your thing, but—”

He threw.

That part worked, somehow. The boy dragging him let go as the chisel hit him square in the nose, stumbling back and covering his face.

The next part . . . didn’t. Etho tried to sit up, tried to swing the sledgehammer at the farmer, but his back seized up with all-encompassing pain, just as it had earlier. He was stuck on the ground, muscles jerking, he couldn’t sit up—

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” Etho muttered frantically, doing anything he could to roll to his feet. He’d run on a broken ankle, he didn’t care anymore, but this was getting dangerous and he had to go.

He was too late, not even able to turn onto his stomach as the farmer’s hands closed around his right foot and twisted. Etho screamed, briefly, at the horrible jolt and drag of pain as he felt his bones crunching together—he shoved his forearm into his mouth to stifle the noise, tried to focus through his watering eyes.

He threw the sledgehammer—missed. Just his luck. And now the other zombies were stalking toward him, and the older son was back to it, reaching toward his other leg with his mouth open—

The father bit down on his foot, his teeth held at bay by Etho’s shoe. Etho jerked, tried and succeeded in kicking him in the teeth, despite the added pain to his ankle. The farmer dropped him, but the son had his other leg and bit down on his shin—it hurt, it hurt, and the little baby was crawling toward his face, green hands reaching for Etho’s eyes—

This was it. Etho was going to die here.

He had a good run, he supposed. Friends, laughs, some redstone contraptions. Looking back, he’d had more good times than bad times, and that had to mean something. He must have done something right, right?

He didn’t have the energy to fight anymore, but he didn’t give up. He still tried to get away, still struggled and kicked and flung out. He still shoved the baby away.

But his energy was flagging, and soon enough, he would be nothing more than zombie food. The farmer’s wife, bent over him, tore into his stomach—the other son was gnawing on his shoulder—this was definitely it—

He’d never been this bone-chillingly terrified before, it washed over him like a tropical storm, he was dying—

Etho didn’t hear the thud and twang of the crossbow firing, nor did he see the bullet land, but he did see the wife zombie stumble away from him, landing hard on its back. He watched it, confused, his left hand coming up to uselessly try to staunch the bleeding from the gouge in his stomach.

This time, he did hear the whistle of an arrow, which buried itself in the older son’s throat and sent him crumpling to the ground, dropping Etho’s leg.

Etho looked back, over his shoulder and to the left, and there—

Cub, Cub drawing another arrow, Doc tossing a crossbow to the side and coming forward, sword already drawn.

Etho could have cried.

They had come for him. They were going to get him out of here.

The other zombies were taken out with relative ease (though Doc did splash a weakness potion on the baby and led it away to give it a slice of golden apple), and Cub was at Etho’s side in mere moments, light touches cataloging each wound.

Cub’s face had never looked so beautiful. And Doc’s.

He was going to survive.

“Hey,” Etho rasped, trying to smile. “Took you long enough.”

“Dude,” Cub shook his head. “We can’t leave you for one second.”

“Yeah, I’m a noob.” He felt a bit lightheaded. Probably the blood loss. “Got any . . . uh, potions?”

Cub clicked his tongue. “Yeah, but we’re gonna want to clean these out before you have anything. Which ankle did you hurt?”

“Uh, the right one. My wrist, too.”

Cub examined them both, his frown growing deeper and deeper. “You’ll probably want to get these checked out by a real doctor, off-world. I don’t wanna give you a potion if it isn’t set properly.”

“Whatever,” Etho said, biting his lip to keep his teeth from chattering. Now that the danger was over, he couldn’t seem to stop shaking. He watched as Cub uncapped a bottle of disinfectant, pouring some onto a piece of cloth and beginning to wipe down the wounds—it stung, of course it stung, he knew it would. Etho tried not to make too much noise.

“No head trauma?” Doc asked, approaching. Etho hummed, still gritting his teeth against the sting of the disinfectant.

“Don’t think so,” he said. “Don’t even remember hitting it on the fall.”

Doc knelt beside his head, took his face between his hands—surprisingly gentle, considering the cold metal of one of them. Etho’s mask was ripped to shreds by now, but Doc still straightened it as he stared into Etho’s eyes, his mechanical eye flashing.

After a moment, he smiled. “You can sleep, Etho. We’ve got you.”

Honestly? Sleep sounded really good.

So Etho fell asleep.

When he woke up, he was home, wounds bandaged and a soft glow coming from the lamp at his bedside.

He was safe.

He closed his eyes again and let sleep take him.

[csainzoperator]

yummy: LN4 ☆

summary: y/n is a chef in the mclaren hospitality who is famous for her fabulous recipies. everyone is head over heels for her recipies, and a certain someone is most definitely more than head over heels. but not just for the food.

(lando norris x fem!reader)

read more under the cut!

itsmey/n has posted!

another day at work! for the british gp, their special "sticky toffee pudding" was a success :)

tagged: landonorris and oscarpiastri

liked by landonorris, oscarpiastri, lewishamilton and 76,123 others.

landonorris it was so yum (she fed us the so called desert forcefully after giving us a 4 course meal)

- oscarpiastri you're such an ungrateful brat. it was great, bestie itsmey/n

- itsmey/n thank you pastry, and lando...i might leave you to starve to death.

lewishamilton i would kill for a pudding rn! you should drop by merc hospitality y/n!

- mclaren look at you trying to steal our goddamn chef....

f1wagsss oh my god you're so pretty

landonorris has posted!

P2 AT HOME RACE BABY!! so proud of the team to be finishing at P2 and P4. also special thanks to y/n for feeding us well :)

tagged: oscar piastri and itsmey/n

liked by georgerussell63, carlossainz55, itsmey/n and 872,182,283 others.

landonorizz are we gonn ignore the fact that y/n just made it to a lando post???

lechaaair OH Y/N FEEDS US TOO. SHE SERVES ALL THE DAMN TIME. MOTHER 🙏🏼🙏🏼

itsmey/n its literally my job tho...?

- oscarpiastri some people are bad at their job. he's appreciating you for being good. (lando you fr have no rizz man)

carlaando lando are you trynna make a move GN

- landonowinss BROS PROBABLY REGRETTING RN 💀

(time skip!)

it was the hungarian gp. you were in the mclaren hospitality. the mclaren kitchen was quite big, and your co-workers were extremely sweet. you mainly cooked for the drivers and mechanics, while guiding the others. you were tasting a dish when you feel a presence behind you. you immediately recognise who it is.

"what is it now, lando?" you ask with a knowing smile on your face. he sits down on the counter beside you and watches you as you work. "i was wondering if you would like to, maybe, just maybe, come outside with me and sit down and talk and get some food you know?" he blabbers

"are you asking me out on a date?" you tease him. "well, yeah. only if you want it to be. its okay if you say no" he says with a sad smile on his face. you cup his face with one of your hands and give his cheeks a squeeze. "ofcourse i'll come, dumbass. now shoo, let me work. you're too distracting"

the smug smile he has on his face makes you blush. "so i am distracting huh? what else am i? you can give me details when we go on that date" he winks at you and walks off. you just simply shake your head in amusement.

the date goes well. to be honest, more than well. you both have the most fun ever. lando is everything that you craved. he was the sweetest boy. day by day, meal by meal, both of you started talking more, discovering each other. one fine night, in his apartment in london, where you taught him how to bake his favourite cake, he surprises you by asking you to be his girlfriend. you say yes without hesitation. you knew he wasn't going to play around with your heart.

it was the brazilian gp. lando had placed P2 again! you were the proudest girlfriend to exist, and the happiest. you were just so incredibly proud as he was doing so good this year.

itsmey/n has posted!

brazil you were brilliiianttt <3 liked by oscarpiastri, mclaren, landonorris and 92,233 others.

f1wags HOLD UP. SOFT LAUNCHING????

oscarpiastri yuck i hate being around the hospitality now.

landonorris 🌟

- carlandodod PLS IM NOT OK WHAT DOES THIS MEAN.

- leclercvc oh. my. god. guys. i think its lando and y/n.

f1gosssip apparently some people saw looking for his "girlfriend" after the race, and some people even saw him kissing a girl in the mclaren garage! we hope its y/n 😫

y/nfannn MOTHER WHO IS THAT

landonorris has posted!

brazil with bae. thank you team for making the P2 happen! more to come.

p.s i don't believe in soft launches. she let me hard launch after 8 races 🖐🏼

tagged: itsmey/n and mclaren

liked by mclaren, itsmey/n, charles_leclerc and 827,123,12 others.

oscarpiastri GAG

carlandooo MAMA Y PAPA

carlossainz55 finally mate! congrats :)

maxverstappen1 lando isn't a kid anymore

f1wags OFFICIALLY OUR FAV WAG (with lily obv)

itsmey/n i love you, baby! super proud <3

- landonorris i love YOU. so much. so much.

paddockclubb 8 RACES?? HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON OMG

the end ♡

[sondescent]

the cranberry collection (9 items!)

y'all remember me?

hey strangers! so I'll be honest, the whole drama situation with EA's TOS around last August kinda made me lose my mojo for creating cc, so much so I just disappeared off the internet altogether, i'm sorry for that. However I had been working on some pieces during the time I was away and i've slowly got back into the love for creating and thus I bring you the cranberry collection! this set has taken me so long and is definitely my proudest accomplishment in cc yet. You'll notice my change in editing yet again and I am so happy to share this one with you. Thankyou to everyone that's stuck around and I can't wait to keep improving for you all - SD <3

everything is bgc!

9 items altogether 

DOWNLOAD (released for public 27-07-23)

follow me on insta <3

[writergirl2011]

I got tagged by @musing-and-music!! Thanks!! 😊 So here goes...

Story I'm proudest of...

Argh. That would be so unfair to the other stories I've written. But if I had to choose, it would be the baseball story, Diamond in the Rough simply because I always wanted to write about baseball and finally found the perfect pairing for it! Not to mention how much research went into the story.

Your story that's gotten the most love online...

Funny that this came up because this just overtook the baseball story for most hits--though to be honest, I probably would've put this anyway given that it actually got several mentions on Twitter during the 2022 J/B fic exchange: you who know what love is (lol, musing-and-music, you tagged me in this and our regency stories are the most popular!!)

Tease a current WIP or idea that you're currently working on...

Speaking of fic exchanges, I just started working on my very short story for the 2024 J/B fic exchange. So sorry, can't...oh, what the heck. Heeeeeere's...a little bit from the next story in the "A Girl for All Seasons" series!!

JAIME: I don’t know whether I’m going to kiss you or kill you next time I see you

TYRION: ahhh I see you talked to ros

JAIME: you didn’t think she’d keep that to herself did you

TYRION: guess not

TYRION: it was for your own good

TYRION: not to mention mine because if I had to listen to you moaning about your blue balls one more minute I was going to smother you in your sleep

TYRION: though now that I think about it that would’ve cured yoru problem too

Your top 3 fandoms...

I only have two. A Song of Ice and Fire and Bridgerton at the moment.

Your top three ships...

Jaime x Brienne, Eloise x Cressida (shut up) and I guess that's really it. If I had to have a third, it would probably be Sansa x Margaery since I've paired them off in some of my fics, but they're not the main focus of my stories and I don't write for them specifically.

Rec someone else's fic...

Yikes, there are far too many I want to rec, but I'm going with the story I received in this year's smut swap because I just love it to death: BT, Phone Home by @angelowl-fics. Brienne as an alien!!!! Jaime as her wannabe boy toy!!!! If you haven't read this already--go read it!!!!

Pick one!

Fluff or Angst: I don't think I write things that are especially fluffy. At the same time, I don't think my fics are super angsty for the most part. Dramatic at times? Sure, but angst--the part that really, really hurts--not so much. But I'll put angst because I do drift in that direction more often than fluff. Where's the "snark" option? That's definitely my speed.

Oneshots or longfics: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Was this even a question???????

Canon compliance or canon divergence: I think it depends on the canon. For example, I'm not great at writing canon fic for J/B, so I stick with mod AUs. I was better at writing canon fic in other fandoms, though. So I'd say that for now, canon divergence. But I'll read both.

AO3 or ff.net: I somehow completely missed the ff.net experience. AO3 all the way.

[utopiastri]

Fic Writer Interview!!!

tagged by @1425fivefive (forever ago, whoops!) and @miamimaiden

(this was such a funny ask game bc i did mostly end up discussing my F1 fics but I also have a Number of musicals fics on my ao3 so those do also crop up in my answers lmao)

How many works do you have on AO3?

10 in total!!! 4 F1 fics so far though

What's your total AO3 word count?

62,635 apparently (mostly being driven by one of those aforementioned musicals fics lmao)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

who actually texts people this much (3,076) (again. the musicals fic)

you must like me for me (646)

tell me 'bout the first time you saw me (508)

you're always on my team (464)

and i'll learn how to fly (253)

ok other than the obvious outlier at the top, i'm thrilled that my four F1 fics are the ones that have made it into the top 5 because they are undeniably the ones i'm proudest of right now

insane to me how many people have liked you're always on my team!!! i was a little nervous about posting my first chaptered fic in a while and i'm so happy it got such a lovely reception

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

yes!!! oh my god i love responding to comments as much as i love leaving comments myself!!!

the only thing with this is that i do find myself forgetting to actually put time aside in my day to do it!!! so sometimes, about two weeks after i read a comment and internally squealed about it, i'll go "oh FUCK i didn't reply that comment" and sprint to my laptop

so, uh, if you've ever received a late comment reply from me? now you know why lmao

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

oh god um. none of them? i guess the one abandoned fic on my ao3 account (a she-ra fic from 2018 lmao) has the angstiest ending by virtue of the fic not being finished and no resolution being reached lmao

but genuinely i don't think i could ever write a fic with an angsty ending!!! i think at best i could plot an angty ending??? or maybe write a drabble or something??? but honestly, i really struggle reading angsty endings so it would be a rogue move to write one lmao

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

ooooooo excellent question

honestly any of my finished F1 fics probably work but i think i'll go with you must like me for me! truly one of my favourite brands of happy ending is a reciprocated love confession and (not to spoil the fic lmao) that might be one of my favourite ones i've ever done!

Do you write crossovers?

nope!!!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

oooo once upon a time i received a comment on that musicals fic, who actually texts people this much, that was fairly harsh on the writing??? the worst part was enough time had passed since i'd written the fic and i'd honestly reached the part of the writing cycle where i hated everything about it so i almost agreed with the commenter lmao

even today, i think the critique was accurate! but perhaps not a polite/kind thing to comment on someone's fic lmao

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i'm trying to!!! i haven't posted any yet

i am terrible at describing things (including like. physical movement) so, so far, any smut i've attempted to write has been fairly dialogue-heavy!!! but honestly that's generally my taste in smut so i think this tracks

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

that musicals texting fic has been translated somewhere on the internet! one of my friends in uni dug it up lmao

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

never co-written before! i am a huge fan of brainstorming fics with my friends though! either their fics or mine - i just love the collaboration of it all!!!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

god this is difficult!!! my taste in ships moves around all the time to be honest

ok for F1, it's fairly easy - landoscar do unfortunately possess my entire heart and there is very little i can do about that lmao

other than that? i do have to mention how much i still adore the les mis pairing enjolras/grantaire because i did spend a good portion of my teenage years thinking about them and only them lmao

and i spent many a year in steve/bucky from the mcu hell so i guess it's important that that goes on here too!

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

so many!!! in particular though, i would love to one day finish the first ever landoscar fic i ever worked on (the idea was that oscar and lando are friends with benefits but, through miscommunication shenanigans, have somehow never kissed lmao)

i think i'd just really enjoy the full circle moment of getting to finish that first wip!

What are your writing strengths?

dialogue!!! dialogue my beloved! my favourite thing i have ever written is the unreciprocated love confession scene in you must like me for me - writing a dramatic not-argument/discussion was just so tailored to my strengths of writing dialogue and not much else lmao

there's a reason i'm having so much fun with you're always on my team! and it's because what is a texting fic if not a fic made only of dialogue!!!

What are your writing weaknesses?

description!!!!!! tell me 'bout the first time you saw me was a delight to write but truly i don't know if i could do a first meeting fic again because trying to work out how a stranger would describe oscar piastri was a NIGHTMARE

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

as someone who can only speak english, i simply don't have a good enough understanding of any other language to do it without defaulting to like. terrible google translate

i think it can be fun to read though!!! it depends what effect the author is going for tbh

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

...glee (i wasn't even that into glee!!! my two best friends at the time were though so i wrote a couple things i thought they'd enjoy lmao)

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

galex!!! i don't know if i could do it but i really really want to one day - if only because my girlfriend's sister adores them and i think it would be fun to write something for her!

although i have also been pondering gax a lot with @jusst-you-race!!! so maybe i should throw gax in here too

What's your favorite fic you've written?

you must like me for me undoubtedly. it's the most complete fic i think i've ever written in that there's a clear plot with a clear resolution and, as i said earlier, that unreciprocated love confession/first kiss scene is genuinely my favourite thing i have written of anything ever!!!

it was also the first fic i'd posted in nearly 6 years!!! and i'm so glad i felt happy enough with it to share it because i've just had the most wonderful time in this fandom since doing so!!!

i cannot for the life of me remember who has done this so no pressure tagging @ipleadbritney and @jusst-you-race and anyone else who wants to do this!!!

[zenkindoflove]

How about 11 for the ask game? 💕

11. Which Elucien work are you proudest of?

I was going to say Summer Heat, my recent Elucien multichapter fic I completed. But I think if I'm being honest with myself the one I brag about the most to people is my collab fic Dear Lucien, Dear Elain with @crazy-ache. It'll be the fic I'll tell people about years from now. I just like how we tried something completely new with the epistolary style, and it was the most fun I've had writing a fic. Creating with your friends is a completely different experience, and I know that fic couldn't have been done without her.

Thank you for the ask!!! <3

Elucien Week Ask Game

[bropunzeling]

If you're up for some random-ass questions, here are some questions for the new year!

what fic were you proudest of this year?

what fic are you most surprised you wrote?

favorite old (to you) ship this year

favorite new (to you) ship this year

favorite old (to you) ship you picked up again this year

favorite old man (old man being a state of mind not gender) ship (maybe you ship a younger version of them but they're Old Men now)

ships/characters you're excited about in 2024

fics/plot bunnies you're excited about working on in 2024

give a random prediction of any kind - about your own writing, about your fandom's fic trends, about canonical developments in your fandom

share a random thought about fics you've written, characters you're thinking about, writing in general, etc

Feel free to pass on if you'd like, or not! Happy new year!

thank you anon! what a great excuse to ignore the work computer. also consider this a blanket "steal these prompts" from me for whoever is so moved bc i don't want to tag everyone

what fic were you proudest of this year? i might have to say only fools rush in aka marriage bets! it certainly is the longest one i've written and had the longest gestational period. plus i wrote a lot of it while incredibly busy (tho maybe that helped?). im still happy i managed to hit the balance between ridiculous premise and genuine feeling that i was aiming for, and that i managed to figure out and feel comfortable in a new pov.

what fic are you most surprised you wrote? linger. if you told me a year ago i was gonna write 65k of omegaverse i simply would not have believed you! it wasn't a trope i ever thought i would write! and yet here we are. lmao.

favorite old (to you) ship this year? i mean. viva la ratfiction. someday we may run out of steam but not this year by golly!

favorite new (to you) ship this year? the amount brady/quinn clawed its way into my brain this year cannot be overstated. maybe i was exploring last year but this year is when it really got me in a fucking chokehold. the pining! the friends to lovers of it all!!!!! exquisite. honorable mention to matthew/sasha. those two ARE in love.

favorite old (to you) ship you picked up again this year? earlier this fall i started a rewatch of miss fisher's murder mysteries and god. jack and phryne. they are EVERYTHING. someday i really will write fic for them.

favorite old man (state of mind) ship? gotta be honest first thing that came to mind was band of brothers winters/nixon. we'll go to chicago. i'll take you there.

ships/characters you're excited about in 2024? hmm brady/quinn, obvi. the general state of brady tkachuk and how i'd like to give him a midlife crisis and by midlife i mean when he's 29. jamie and trevor are BACK baby, and i wanna make trevor sad and making poor choices for 50k before he finally gets to get kissed. has someone written timmy stu and mo seider as summer boyfriends yet? bc i still like that.

fics/plot bunnies you're excited about working on in 2024? i think i have tentatively figured out my next long matthew/leon project (which i can't start until the new year) but i don't want to say quite yet in case i scare it off but! that. it WILL be a true slow burn which will be fun. also ballet quinn i WOULD like to put more than 2k in your gdoc. hopefully at some point soon inspiration will hit again/i'll feel less dull and burnt out

give a random prediction of any kind - about your own writing, about fandom trends, about canonical developments in your fandom: the kraken will sign yamo to a longer contract. i will start a project thinking it will be nice and short and then watch it double, like bread dough rising.

share a random thought about fics you've written, characters you're thinking about, writing in general: did you know the more you write the better you get? even though there’s plenty of areas where i want to improve and become a stronger, more thoughtful developer of sentences/plots/et cetera, i can really see my growth from month to month or year to year and that's neat!!! i'm slowly getting better!!!

[aceofbooks]

12 and 28 for the soft asks please!!!! 😊🤍

Hi Roxy! This set is really cute! I'll be in your inbox as soon as I post this!

-- -- --

12. What calms you down?

It used to be petting my old lady, Ashley. But she passed away in March. I've been working on training Vonnie, but she's not much of a cuddler right now 😂 I also like to take care of my nails—whether that be filing them, removing old polish, repainting them, whatever. I'm also big on baths—I almost always take one after we see Husband's family because they're just too much. Hot drinks too!

In like a panic/anxiety attack situation, I usually turn to counting my breaths, up to ten and then repeat. But sometimes, especially if I'm already crying, I just have to ride the wave until there's nothing left.

28. What are you proudest of?

I'll be honest, there's plenty that I probably should be proud of, but I have problems recognizing it as something to be proud of. The only reason I know that I should be proud of them is because my OMT tells me she's proud of me every time I have an appointment with her.

That being said, something I can identify and be proud of is the progress I've made with how I interact with people my friends on Tumblr. You ask anyone that I was in the notes of this time last year, and I was basically a ghost. A very supportive ghost, but a ghost all the same.

I resolved in January to make more/better use of my Tumblr, to change patterns, make more friends online. And I think I've done that. And it's made my life so much better. I've been dealing with a lot healthwise this year, but I'm able to come on here and feel like I'm a part of something, something bigger than myself.

And I think that's something I can be proud of.

-- -- --

Thank you for stopping by! 🩶

Soft asks

More Ask Games!

[actualbird]

hope you have a great Christmas and new year!! what fic/headcanon/ficlet did you enjoy writing the most this year, and are there any fic/headcanon ideas you want to write in 2024? 🎄

hi hi anon, thank you for the well wishes!! i hope you have a wonderful holidays too, and a happy new year :DDD

thank you ALSO for this question cuz uehhhhh i feel pretty emotional over my writing journey this 2023. i didnt write as much as i wanted, but im still proud of myself for what i managed to get out

the fic i enjoyed writing the most this year has got to be, hands down, growing pains

(yes i will shamelessly self promo it HAHA, it's the fic im proudest of writing this year!! to anybody out there hasnt read it, if you do read it, itd mean the world to me)

while this fic didnt do numbers or anything, it's the one fic that i'd been wanting to write basically ever since i learned of marius' family's lore and his backstory. it was an idea that i kept in my head for the longest time, and finally being able to write it was so rewarding. the comments i got on the fic too, both on the fic or from people telling me or from aRT INSPIRED BY THE FIC (CHIKA IF UR OUT THERE, KNOW THIS ART LIVES IN MY HEART!!), it all made me so so so grateful and happy. just goes to show that theres no such thing as too late to write a fic idea ;w; someone out there will always be able to resonate with the story ;w;

as for 2024......i....actually dont wanna be writing very much anymore, if im being honest ;w;

i know i just posted a wip of a christmas fic but after some reflection ive come to the conclusion that! writing isnt making me very happy lately if im being honest HAHA. and life is too short to waste on things that make me feel upset. the only reason im writing right now is because it feels like homework, which....isnt a great way to think about a hobby thats sposed to be bringing me joy.

maybe one day in this upcoming year, the joy to write will come back and i'll ferally work on a wip with passion and gusto again. but until then, take this ask as me taking an informal hiatus from fics and most hcs

anyhoo, thank you for the ask anon!! to a fruitful 2024 for us all :D

[liviavanrouge]

Jasper Bloom Banquet

Jasper: To think that my birthday would come so soon, I'm having a lot of fun here in the school, I wonder who my presenter is gonna be...

Jasper: Hopefully, they'll be someone chill

???: Jasper! Happy birthday to you~~

Kalim: *Beams* I'm your presenter for today! I hope your excited!

Jasper: *Screams in fear, his eyes wide*

Kalim: You sound excited! That's good!

Jasper: A-Aha....y-yeah...

Kalim: Wanna begin with the interview now?

Jasper: Yes please

Kalim: What is your best class?

Jasper: Hm, I'd say Ancient Magic..I've learned about it from the ghosts at home, they'd tutor me and teach me some of the spells

Kalim: Woah, you can talk to ghosts, that's really cool!

Jasper: ....all students talk to ghosts, Kalim, I just talk to them more often than others because they have a lot of knowledge

Jasper: Ghosts are really kind once you get to know them and they're really smart, not at all like how most people perceive them all

Jasper: I always make it my goal to say good morning to at least a hundred ghosts. Let them know they're appreciated

Kalim: *Beams* That's so sweet!

Jasper: Learning Ancient Magic from them was a fun experience, I'd like to make it a tradition if I can

~~~~

Part 2

Kalim: What is something that made you glad you could use magic?

Jasper: Hm, to be honest, I've never thought about this before

Jasper: There are some things that don't really bother me, like me being able to use magic

Jasper: If I absolutely have to answer, it'd be being able to protect by baby sister

Kalim: Why's that?

Jasper: When I was ten and she was six we were playing and running around town but a hostile dog leaped at us

Jasper: I remember zapping the dog and sending it running away, I was praised by my sister and family for it

Jasper: It's my proudest moment and it made me relieved that I could protect my sister

Kalim: She must admire you a lot! How lucky she is to have you

Jasper: *Smiles slightly* Yeah....I guess so..

~~~~

Kalim: Wow, time certainly went by fast didn't it? Here's our final question

Kalim: How do you spend your days off

Jasper: I usually join in on games, Idia showed me lots of them and we play with his online friend almost every day

Jasper: The raids are really fun and lots of items get dropped or earned through each of them, it's certainly quite the experience

Kalim: That sounds fun, you should show me the games sometime

Jasper: ...ah..sure...I'll see what I can do..

Kalim: Anything else you do?

Jasper: I play spooky pranks, it's tradition back in Halloween Town to play pranks twice a week, and that tradition still comes with me despite being at school

Jasper: I play lots of pranks with Lilia and Ace, they give me lots of great ideas, I mostly play my pranks on Riddle, Idiq and Azul since their reactions are the funniest

Jasper: Besides, I also feed on the fear of people, it's more like a snack because it just sustains me long enough until lunch or dinner

Kalim: Mind if I join in sometime?

Jasper: ....

Jasper: *Closes his eyes* ....

Kalim: Jasper?

Jasper: *Opens his eyes and smiles* Sure, I wouldn't mind that actually...

Kalim: Awesome!

~~~~

Kalim: That's the end of our interview, Jasper!

Kalim: Here's your broom!

Jasper: Violets, yellow pansies, and roses it makes a nice broom...

Kalim: Yeah! Now have fun and fly safely

Jasper: Thank you, Kalim...

~~~~

Jasper: ...I hope I can have more fun at school with everyone

Jasper: Starting today, I'm going to work harder!

----

Jasper: *Hangs upside down by his legs, holding his head out with one hand laughing with a big grin on his face*

@anxious-twisted-vampire

[shoshiwrites]

27, 36, 42? please and thank you!

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

Excluding the days I feel weak in everything, including this, I would say sensory details. They are one of my favorite parts of writing, and one of the things I get complimented on the most, if I can say that? One of the major parts of the editing process for me is to go back and add those little flourishes, once I've firmed a piece up substance-wise, if they're not already there. I also just love indulgent little details and descriptions for their own sake, lbr here. 

36. What fic are you proudest of?

I'm hoping that this will be superseded, eventually, by my current WIP/rewrite but...I would say the flower shop AU. It's the longest piece I've written (somewhat ironically) and...feels really true to the vision I had before writing it? That feels like a success, to me.

42. What’s your favorite title that you’ve come up with?

I have some pretty terrible GoogleDoc titles but those aren't safe for work. I'll be honest...I'm not that good at titles. I'll often just use the prompt as a title, or a singular word, or usually a song title (lol). Off of Ao3 I'd probably say as we're going, living, glad to be because the song it's from is just incredibly Jo/Joe in my mind. All The Things You Are is also a contender. And I can't say I came up with either of these, because they're from songs.

[Fanfiction writing asks!]

[tiredassmage]

17,20, and 30 from the creator asks :)

Thank you, friend! <3

17. What are some tropes and dynamics found in your wips?

Specifically in my wips, hmmmm.... Well, I do have to say I think I've revealed my weakness for the mentor-type relationships and while I don't think I have anything actively in the pile that chases that dynamic, I expect it won't be going anywhere any time soon - both in that I definitely want to explore more of Tyr and the mentor figures in his life and his potential for sharing that experience forward.

Currently, I'd say the biggest one is the developing ride-or-die Savosta has built up with Rhystyl. I have a snippet of a piece started that's meant to retell their time in carbonite as a shared sort of hellscape dream-land (the base idea being that, even if Savsota's head is where Valkorian decides to kick his feet up, both of them are experienced with Vitiate's influence, so it'll still affect and connect them both) and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to finish that one off sometime because it lets Savosta shine in a role Rhyst has traditionally taken for him thus far: the calm in the storm, the support when everything else is going wrong.

Fun fact: while I was writing sacrifice, part of my hold up was trying to determine if there was something other than friendship developing between them. The opportunity for it was absolutely there and I couldn't ignore it, but it just didn't feel right and I did sort of hesitate to leap on the possibility because I didn't want to overplay something. Ultimately, I found Savosta like me: somewhere on the ace spectrum! It was most important to me (and Savosta) to build a friendship - that's not something he's properly had in a really long time. KOTXX really seals their friendship as inseparable and there's absolutely love there. They're best friends who go through a lot together and I, ironically, haven't written a lot of characters that share marginally in the experience of asexuality with me, so it's kind of an exciting thing to have discovered and decided. I wanted that friendship and that journey of healing, self-discovery, and self-love to remain focal in Savosta's story and friendships can be just as vital to that. It makes the most sense for him and for the kind of story I hope to see him through, I think.

20. What story are you proudest of? Why?

Not to reuse, but partially sacrifice, for actually finishing that idea from start to posting. Version history of that on Google Docs tells me I spent about a month and a half with it and I'm incredibly pleased with how it turned out. Savosta finally getting one of those moments to really connect and... I guess not necessarily feel positively, given the stress of the situation, but to go through a moment with him where he engages his emotions in a way that accepts them and acknowledges what him and Rhyst have both been through is really gratifying. He started as this character that was mostly motivated by the achievement hunt for DS5, to be honest, and then I... grew attached. And I genuinely decided "I want to see him succeed and I want to see him heal." So, it's... kinda heartwarming to have that go full-circle, at least in my head. There's a lot of other stops along the way in him and Rhyst's story I still want to tell and explore, so, hopefully, I'll be able to continue to create and share those in the new year. <3

Also, greedily picking another, imbalance was such a fun exercise, so honestly thank you for enabling that, lol! I'm proud of this one because of how thoroughly it shows of Tyr's more Cipher side. I've explored a lot of his sort of struggle and his connections, I think (and I hope its at least sort of showed, lol), but I hadn't really showed how Tyr worked as Cipher Nine. imbalance shows where he's willing to cross lines, where some of his willingness to compromise himself and ideals crops up when he's on a job. Yes, it's been incredibly important to me to show his very small inner circle, the very few people with whom he tries and tries (and fails, sometimes) to be an at least more honest version of himself - more honest to himself about everything he's been through, but to really feel the ease of the shift he makes when he works is so fulfilling. I feel like it added some much-needed weight to my musings about his inner workings and how he feels being a Cipher. He is, in fact, rather good at his work - if not in the most traditional sense. (I'm still reeling from Watcher Seven going for the fucking throat intentionally or not after... everything that happened, okay? Yeah, maybe he is mentally unstable and you're not helping!!!!)

30. How are you doing? <3

Okay, I know I got all sappy on my New Year's post unexpectedly, but WWWWWW. Really. Really. I just want to say that our friendship was a highlight of the last few months of '22 and I'm just. <3 I treasure it. And you're a joy to see in my notifications. Keysmashing, etc etc

aH. Okay. Uhm. Otherwise, I have survived my first week back to classes for spring semester and I am! Hopeful and kind of excited again. I was a bit nervous given how stressful last semester was (generally a poor semester for me as far as time management, etc), but my classes so far seem cool and interesting - I'm doing primarily just elective credits to satisfy eventual hour requirements for graduation this semester with the idea of hopefully being kinder to myself than last semester's schedule, so I think it'll be nice. I'm excited to be back with the campus group I joined last semester.

Overall, pretty good. I'm looking forward to it and I think it'll be a really valuable and informative semester!

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

i have some questions, if you feel up to it: which of your published fics are you the proudest of? which of them have you reread the most? and, which of your wips should the average buddie fic enjoyer be most wary of?

Of my published fics it's hard to pick just one, since I have about five that I really consider the best examples of my work or milestones in my writing abilities.

(For example, my Hunger Games fic I wouldn't say is my best work today, but it's still one of the fics I'm the proudest of since it was in my opinion a really well-done fic for a sixteen-year-old and marked a milestone in trying to tackle really difficult subjects including unlikable characters and main character death.)

Of my Buddie fics the three I'd say I'm proudest of are Your Fingerprints Smeared on My Heart (Lead Me Back to You), In the Gray You are Golden, and Further Than Blood (Or Than Bones).

The first is my soulmate fic and a rare fic where I feel like I set myself a very high bar and actually accomplished what I set out to do in my head with the fic. The unending lament of a writer is that the story rarely turns out as good on the page as you see it in your mind, but I think with this one I came close. It was a challenge to write, and I'm really happy with the finished product.

The second is my Zombie Apocalypse AU that I dashed off in a fit of inspiration in 48 hours. I'm really proud of the atmosphere I created and the worldbuilding. My goal was to write a zombie fic where non-zombie and non-horror lovers could still enjoy it, and given the comments I've received I think I've succeeded.

The third is my long vampire fic that I wrote for Halloween this past year, and it wasn't coming together for me the way that I wanted. I was extremely frustrated and disappointed with myself. And then I got the idea to write Eddie's moment of being shot as if it were poetry, a 'life flashes before your eyes' moment, and sprinkle passages from that moment throughout the rest of the fic. This turns the fic into actually one long flashback, something the reader isn't aware of until they hit the shooting and all the fragments of the poem (so to speak) are repeated as one piece. That made the fic come together for me, and I'm really proud of that idea and how it turned out.

I'm actually not sure which fanfic of mine I've read the most since I uh actually don't reread my fanfics much. I do, however, enjoy reading the comments, since they help me see my fics through fresh eyes and appreciate them anew. I reread @extasiswings fics a lot, and so of my fics I'd say A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words (But Love is Undefinable) and Carbon Date Me, Excavate Me are the ones I've actually reread most since they were co-written with her and I adore her sections of them. But of my solo works... probably my Zombie AU if I'm being honest? I've reread it a few times, I just love what I did with that one.

Occasionally I'll get a comment on a slightly older fic like The Best Lie is a Truth (My Best Mask is My Face) or Even the Darkest Night (Can't Outshine the Stars) - to name the two examples I can recall at the moment - that inspires me to reread the fic. But I actually don't make a regular habit of rereading my fics. Does this make me an outlier? Mayhaps?

Which of my WIPs hmm... hmmmmm...

Probably All My Shattered Oaths. All four WIPs are angsty (the fifth is just fun monsterfucker smut) but I think that one is a little bit more painful than the others.

NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING ANYONE SHOULD WORRY ABOUT. BECAUSE YOU SHOULDN'T. SHHH. IT'S ALL FINE HERE.

[dustteller]

I've worked with older elementary school kids before and my proudest achievent was being the "terrible kid" teacher. Because all the other volunteers hated dealing with the kids that didn't grasp stuff quickly or who misbehaved, and thus they were labeled problem kids. As a result, they were all left to me, who was the only one that could manage them. My trick? "Hey dude, it seems like you're struggling a bit here. What are you having trouble with? Let's work through this together." Or, alternatively, "Good job on finishing your work, buddy! You're bored now, right? How about when you're finished with your work, you can sit here in the back and I'll give you some construction paper and craft supplies. I know it's hard to sit there quietly when you're bored out of your mind!"

Literally the bare minimum amount of actual interest in their problems and a desire to understand why they were struggling with what was expected of them. That's it. That was my trick. It's so easy to get most kids and teens to work hard and behave, because the vast majority of them WANT to behave. They WANT to do good in their school work! Sometimes, they don't have the tools to succeed, and in those cases, it's very often as easy as just giving them a bit of extra help and listening to what they have to say. Sometimes they need more help than you can provide (for example that second kid almost certainly had some severe and untreated adhd and was twice exceptional. he needed help to develop coping mechanism and possibly meds, which was outside my abilities to provide), but even in those cases, being honest with what you CAN do and validating their experiences makes them want to work with you! That kid understood I couldn't solve his issues with concentration and hyperactivity, but he knew I was ready to chat with him and offer him outlets for his energy and help him focus on a task through redirection. He knew that he could ask me for help. He knew that he could ask me to explain the reasoning behind my actions and requests to him, and trusted me to tell him the truth. He also knew that I trusted him to make the right choices and look for help when he needed it.

That mutual trust goes so far when working with kids. They're little humans! Of course they want to know what's going on! Of course they want to feel like they matter! And its so easy to provide when you get to work with a small number of kids!

consider: teenagers aren’t apathetic about everything they’re just used to you shitting all over whatever they show excitement about

[anthonyartz1109]

Here's the full animation, complete after about 4ish weeks

I spent almost every in the studio trying to finish this and I did one all-nighter just to render it

It is definitely one of my proudest animations and I'm more than happy with the way it turned out and that I actually managed to finish it considering how big the animation was in comparison to the other animations I've created

When making this animation, which really emphasised the validation of my process of making animatics, I learnt that colouring/inking the animation can take just as long as trying to animate in TVPaint and that is all thanks to the pixilation in TVPaint's canvas'

The pixilation makes it really annoying to select the areas you need coloured/inked and, even if you increase the selection depth, if it thicker than the lineart, it will select the whole canvas

I say it every time and I'll say it again, TVPaint would be so much better if it was, at basis the same, but had passive features that are to today's standard of animation software

I've never programmed a software so I don't know how difficult it is, but it's an industry software, the developers can afford to make those updates >:(

The camera movements, timing, and putting all the scenes together was all done in after effects and to be honest, I was working off of muscle memory with after effects

For the most part, it's one of adobes not-as-complicated software which was why it was simple enough for me to remember how to do what I wanted to do for this animation; can't stress enough how important those camera movements are and how much it adds to the animation

There were two parts to the sound, to edit the sound where I needed to (making the bear running sound from editing the sound of a horse galloping), I used audacity which I would say I am well versed in using because I use it all the time

To put the sounds in the animation and have them play at the right times, I used premiere pro, another of adobes software's that aren't too unnecessarily complex to use, again allowing muscle memory to kick in to do what I needed to do

The music, which isn't copyright free, is 'Since U Asked' by Swim Good Now and I thought it fit the scene perfectly in my opinion

[watercolor-hearts]

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

🌻 How often do you read your own fics?

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

[Fanfic Writer Ask Game]

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

I think I always answer this with different lines because I have so many stories I don't even remember all of them and I always choosd different favorites. Sometimes I reread them and I find lines I can't even believe I was the one who wrote them. 😃

I reared some of my stories to refresh my memory and I tried to choose only one (which wasn't easy) and to be honest if I could I'd put the whole “Maybe I deserve all of this” here. That story (and my othet Galex story, Battle scar) is my everything. I took time rereading it and, thinking about how much I loved working on it and it almost made me emotional. This story is my proudest work out of the ones that weren't written for a prompt sent by someone here.

You know, when people see someone crying, they usually say something like ‘please don’t cry, it’s going to be alright’ because they… They don’t really know what to do when someone cries. Nobody really teaches you what to do.

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

Of course I have. 😃 I'm still struggling with my Charlos one (the continuation to Good Effects) I really really want to write but can't manage that smut to work but without it I can't write the part/story that comes after (which I have a drawing to and I really want to show it)... But I do have a few moments from this universe here's one, unedited (🫀kinky):

“This is good. No, this is amazing. Hearing your heartbeat after sex,” Charles said, “But you know what would be even better?” he asked, lifting his head to look at Carlos, “Hearing it during sex. Hearing how this strong and healthy pump right here,” he put his hand on the middle of Carlos’ chest, “starts to work harder and harder…” his fingers traveled towards Carlos’ neck, resting on the pulse point as he slowly squeezed his boyfriend's neck, making Carlos moan just like how Charles likes it, “...as I get you closer and closer to the orgasm…”

🌻 How often do you read your own fics?

Quite often, I would say. Especially when there aren't any new stories I'm interested in, or when I get a comment on one of my stories and I reread it before or after answering the comment (depends on what's in the comment) because why not. And to know what's in the story to be able to reply to the comment well. 😊

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

I can't recommend only one, so here are my top 3 favorites: Icarus, High Speed Loving, and Burnt lungs, Sour taste. I have a lot of single chapter stories I'd like to recommend too but I think I should write a separate post for those. 😃 (If there's anyone interested, send me an ask and I'll go through my 300+ bookmarks and post my favorites.)

I can't really recommend writers because I don't read in a way that I have favorite writers and I only read their stories or stories they recommend. I read almost everything, I usually don't really care about who's the author.