#not sure if this counts as meta or fic so i'm tagging it both

[chromatic-lamina]

2024 Writing Roundup

I think I deleted my round up on the AO3-looking template, so, at the nnntthhhh hour, using it in text form, tagged by @hyperions-light . Thank you very much! I'm taking this from AO3. I've had a few meta on tumblr, but not many. I've got five fics outstanding for 2024, that I guess we'll see in 2025. I also didn't do any secret santas this year (I told myself I was too busy). It was a bit strange! Anyway--

words posted: 28,656 on main, and 12,362 on anon

additional words written: not sure what this means. I didn't have too many meta, so I'd say about 500? Ooh, wait, unpublished zine pieces: about 8000.

fandoms: One Piece

highest kudos: It's been a quiet year (no Bioluminescent Hearts this year!) so Heart Pirates' Week at 47 kudos. 72 on anon, and cumulatively, Dark like the North Blue Sea (aka The Sea-Hill you Die On) drew in 336 kudos. valuta , which was published in late December 2023, 92 kudos.

highest hit one-shot: Decomposers, my fic for the LawZo zine, has 586 hits. Fic on anon, 5,500 hits (but it's not a one-shot!).

new things I tried: I did the Davy Back Fight <- fic here, written with 3 others, and the remix project <- fic here. I was happy to try both!

fic I spent the most time on: Probably Welding, which was written for the KidLaw zine, just because the timeline/schedule on preparation for that zine stretched across almost two years. Also, it had a higher word count, and I really wanted to do it right (as with most pieces!).

fic I spent the least time on: Probably Sunk Cost Fallacy, which is a Heart Pirates fic written for the Davy Back Fight. Mostly because it was written between four people, and we wanted to keep a fairly low word limit. The ficlets I wrote for the Heart Pirates' Week took longer, but not that long.

favourite thing I wrote: It's a draw between three: Welding (6,767 words), my KidLaw fic; Decomposers (3,006 words), my LawZo fic; and water fills the shape of the holder (2,125 words), Law reflection fic, remixing one of @purplehairedwonder's fic.

I also had fun with the Kaidou, Queen, King and Black Maria piece (Remedy for Errors) I wrote for @crowbarsolo in support of Palestine, and Widi's Waddle (about Penguin's penguin), written for the OP Friend-Shaped Zine.

favourite thing(s) I read: Aw, a ton of stuff. I always like @anarchycox's LawZoLaw (also a great SmoLaw, but I'm not sure if it was this year), and all of the stories for the LawZo and KidLaw zines. I especially liked @alpha-hydra's Liminal Space (KidLaw), beautiful story by @/gammacavy from 2022 (The Caravel who Dared the Tempest) about Going Merry, but I just read it this year, and anything @crowbarsolo wrote, but especially the Cavendish/Nico Robin piece The Special Guests. ALSO! must mention home (the gilded lily remix) by @gladdecease who wrote a beautiful story springboarding from an older story of mine (house / yorishiro). Also loved Only You And I Remain (KidLaw) by @betsib and Give it to me, show me what you're feeling (show me that you need me) (LawZo) by @/CursedHoneyB. Maybe just check out my bookmarks (watch out for the kink!). Have been reading the multi-chap Warsong about my favourite rarepair, MarcoLaw, but it might've just gone beyond my word count limit (it's about 100K beyond my limit. Haha). It is beautifully written, though.

Give @hyperions-light's The Road(trip) to Hell Is Paved with Questionable Decision Making a read! It's a lot of fun, but all of their work is good (paying back, but also true!) They write under @flyiing-giraffe

Two more!

I'm really enjoying the Going Merry: A Poor Substitute for Romance series by Springtime4Persephone. Focus is ZoSan, and I'm not a ZoSan shipper, but I enjoy it, and what I enjoy even more is the LawBin, and side servings of ZoLaw and LawSan. Very empathetic, fun and also a good serving of angst. Also, @/TerrifiedAristocat's Somebody Write Down the Recipe (LawSan, vampire and creatures of wonder in a modern day setting) is very good. Ongoing. Last two are E ratings.

Also, there are a dozen things I've read and loved and haven't mentioned here. I read a lot less this year though. All of the stuff for the Heart Pirates' Week was great, and I really enjoyed the beginning of ghosts speak in whispers and lies; can't know what's real 'til you're the one who's died (E rated, LawBin) by @nehswritesstuffs (Nehszriah) on AO3.

writing goals for 2025: None so far. Maybe return to my own work (rather than fanfic). BUT, who knows :D

new works: Again, nothing lined up at the moment. I do have a story in the gorgeous Pigment of Imagination (ophuezine). Pre-sales open now (closing soon). And four ficlets for the upcoming Fate and Fortune, one piece anthology digital zine. Stay-tuned for both! OH, also, I have a piece for the Baltigo Manifesto zine (about one piece revs). Due for publication in 2025.

tagging: only do it if you want to! (and I know there's not much time, and I know you might've already finished!). @purplehairedwonder , @ninhaoma-ya , @anarchycox , @kookoofufu (even if you don't play on tumblr anymore :D), @fowlfics @starlightbelle and anyone, anyone who'd like to play.

[sailormoonrarepairweek]

Welcome to the third annual Sailor Moon Rare Pair Week! The event will take place from March 24th - March 30th, 2024, but I'm announcing the themes early to give everyone plenty of time to create their fanworks.

What counts as a rare pair for this event, you ask? Any pairing that isn't Usagi/Mamoru (or any of their incarnations), pretty much! (Don’t get too hung up on the word “rare”. Just roll with it, okay?) They usually have their own week, so this event is a chance for fans to show their love for pairings other than the Miracle Romance, canon or not. You can even include poly, platonic, and cross-over ships, if you'd like! Almost anything goes, as long as you follow some simple guidelines.

Fanworks should somehow incorporate the one of the day's themes. (You can pick just one; you don't have to use both.) How you choose the interpret the theme is up to you!

A non-UsaMamo pair must be the MAIN focus of the work (although Usagi/Mamoru can appear as a side pairing or as part of a polycule).

All ratings allowed.

No smut involving underage characters, which I'm defining as under 18 years old. Otherwise, as long as the characters are portrayed as adults in the fanwork, go wild! Just please make sure to properly tag.

Pairings of all sexual/romantic orientations welcome.

Fanfics should be a minimum of 500 words. Poetry may be shorter, though. (If you would prefer to write drabbles instead, you can write five separate 100-word drabbles about the day's themes, but a day's entry should still be at least 500 words long. You have over four months until the week begins and plenty of time afterward if you don't finish in time. That's plenty of time to write 500 words. I don't think that's too much to ask.) If you're writing fanfic, I REALLY would prefer you post your fics on AO3 or Fanfiction.net and provide a link to your story, but if you must post on Tumblr itself, please make use of the "Read More" option.

Fanart should be a completed drawing. (Any fanart portraying nudity or anything of an R/NC-17 nature should be cropped if immediately visible on your Tumblr post and/or posted with the appropriate community label. You can post the full image under a "Read More" or provide a link to the image on another site.)

Graphics, image boards, playlists, cosplay photos, crafts, meta/essays, etc. are also welcome!

Comments, kudos, and reblogs are encouraged, but don't be a jerk! If you're not a fan of a pairing, please just ignore and move on.

On Tumblr, if you tag #smrarepairweek2024, I will reblog your post. I'll tag explict art and fics reblogs as #nsfw, so feel free to block that tag if you'd rather not see those posts.

Please do not post your works anywhere until the day dedicated to your chosen theme. An AO3 collection has now been set up for this year's event. (Adding your work to the collection will not be required.) If you'd like to look back at the last event's works, the 2023 collection can be found here.

And here is the 2022 collection.

Themes

Day 1: Magic/Mundane Day 2: Hugs/Kisses Day 3: Fire/Ice Day 4: Music/Silence Day 5: Birth/Death Day 6: Break-Up/Make-Up Day 7: Free

(Event Organizer: @kaleidodreams)

[lyknest]

bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme! (created by @fiercynn)

tagged by beloveds @nobodynobodyno & @cornflowershade & @solana-ceae thank you for tagging me this was so much fun! 🌹💖

note: i consider "fanworks" to pretty much everything people create related to a fandom, including but not limited to meta/analysis/discussion, gifs, fanvids/edits/fancams, filk, fanart, fanfic, fan food, fan crafts, etc. please include this note with the meme unless you have a different definition!

name and whatever you want to share about yourself

im vi! i'm queer, 23, born & living in India, but brought up in south-east asia!

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom?

i saw the show as it aired but i joined the fandom (and tumblr) around ep3!

favorite ship(s)

PatPran (duh!), but also InkPa because they're such a good pair like how Pa is a badass but around Ink she just melts and gigges (both the jundapat siblings are the same skskks)

favorite character(s)

Pran. he is me, i am him. he is a feral, musky scented hoe and i love him.

favorite episode(s)

episode 4! first we got ink and pa projecting her crush pn pat! then we saw pran AND A LOT OF PINING AND JEALOUSY. my boy had gotten his hopes up and then absolutely shattered. we got "only i can have these super cute dimples" & "if you were ink, would you like me?" and that absolutely heartbreaking last scene <3

favorite scene(s) 

i mean there's the obvious ep5 4/4 fight followed by the best kiss in cinematic history. but also pat in the music shop discovering that he likes pran. and pat shouting his love to pran in the architecture faculty. and pat and pran's scene in the corridor with the guitar. and inkpa hotpot date and the photography room scene. the entire episode 8 & 11 (im cheating ik). i will keep on listing all the scenes if i don't stop.

one thing you would change about the show if you could

i wish there was just one discussion about wai being a dick to pran in ep8/9. like i wouldn't change what happened but like after all the dust had settled and all the friends were ok with patpran, i hope there was a discussion or even a mention of that wai apologised to pran somewhere behind the scenes and pran mentioned this to pat. (and i'm not sure if os2 counts but i would most def change ep3 of the crossover where they are just getting lost and screaming each others' names again and again sksksks)

what are your some of your favorite fanworks made by other people

this is very unfair ok i love them all but here are a few

i'll just link all the fics here & the post i made about it some time back! (special mention to a soft boy in soft sweaters by @dimplesandfierceeyes)

the entire @badbuddyingifs blog

fanarts by @hereforlou (x) & @architectxengineer (x)

bad buddy costume colour theories by @dribs-and-drabbles

InkPa edits:

this edit by @pranink

this one by @akingyouniverse

episode 7 by @mantrisanu

developer stopper fixer by @oswlld

darkroom confessions by @forcebook

just the way you are by @snimeat

another darkroom edit by @chinzillas

FMVs

iris fmv by @prantically

enchanted fmv by @thranduel

patpran x zara zara fanvid by @prany

Quotes & Stuff

this cursed (affectionate set) by @guntapon

this quote that makes me cry everytime by @machikeita

yet another one of my fav quotes by @nanons

when we were younger by @alexshenry

you'll never be friends by @taeminie

myth by @tipsyjaehyun

love story by @fourthnattawat

another one by @freensrcha

v. imp kissing patpran set by @patspran

already home by @sunsetandthemoon

pran's life anthem by @morkofday

Character & Dynamics

pat-ink edit by @pranpats

pat saying ma ni by @casualavocados

best boy pat edit by @louwilliam

feral musky scented hoe pran by @seanwhites

best siblings by @ardentlytess

ink by @angelbesideme

Misc

page to screen series by @actually-yikes

inspired movie posters by @nanonkorapat

bad buddy rewatch series by @baifengxis

bbs2 by @dimpledpran

concept sets by @i-got-the-feels

episode 7 edit by @ayan-sukkhapisit

(if you create fanworks) what are your favorite fanworks that you’ve made?

i did make some edits but my favourite one is the PatPran x Bollywood edit!

a song that makes you think of bbs (the ones in the show don’t count lol)

well obviously same page? by tilly birds. but also way too many taylor swift songs (seven, labrynth, gold rush, our song, the 1, betty, i think he knows, daylight, the great war, mine, enchanted), sleepwalker by julie byrne is so pran coded, home by reese lansangan, straberries & ciggarettes by troye sivan, i'm yours by alessia cara, doors by ben&ben etc. etc.

idk anything else you want us to know?

cursing your feed with this

tagging everyone i tagged above! (if you want) <3

[skitskatdacat63]

Tysm for the tags @monacobasedgirldad @schumigrace @fernandoalonzoo sry im a bit late getting to this lol

Are you named after anyone?

My great great grandmother(I think??), though she was named Katarzyna, and I was born Catherine, but go by Catie obviously(this lowkey annoys my mom lmao, especially bcs if I were to have a nickname, it was supposed to be Cate.)

When was the last time you cried?

Today, over classical music. I think I cry at least once a day 😭 I am very emotional

Do you have kids?

Nope :)

What sports did you play/have you played?

I played soccer when I was a kid. Also does marching band count?

Do you use sarcasm?

All the fucking time, literally constantly. And also we sarcastically bully each other in my family, so I have to pull myself back from accidentally insulting people 😭

What is the first thing you notice about people?

Hmmmm, I feel like ive done this tag game before bcs I remember writing this exact answer. But usually I notice if someone is a good conversationalist or not. Like do they like to lead the convo, do they like to listen to the other people, do they talk too much, too little, are they awkward about it? It's just very interesting to me, bcs I think that kinda thing really does instantly show you if you're going to be compatible with a person(as a friend or more etc.) Cause I talk a lot a lot, and I think it's difficult to get along w people who are untalkative but also people who talk an equal amnt if not more djkfkglg.

What is your eye color?

Just brown!

Scary movies or happy endings?

Scary movies definitely. I mean im not opposed to a happy ending obviously, but that's not really what im always looking for in a movie, I guess? Rn I'm trying to think of my top movies, and man, not a lot of them have happy endings 😭 But I literally just watched two horror movies the past wknd so! Even though they make me paranoid

Any talents?

I think I could go on a rant about anything if you gave me a bit of time. I really think I can just talk endlessly. Is that a skill? Or is it just annoying..? But yeah I'm not sure, but I think I'm pretty good at absorbing information and being able to go on and on about it.

Where were you born?

America rahhh 🦅🦅 I like my state a lot even though I feel like all my peers keep saying "ugh I don't want to be in [insert state] anymore" Smh how dare you

What are your hobbies?

Mostly drawing! I draw both F1 fanart(pretty much all selfmade AUs tho) and ocs. I like writing lore and worldbuilding and meta, but not really writing itself. I like reading fic and watching movies as well. And I think one of the main things I do these days tbh is read about history and keep up with politics. I get more and more involved with it as the days go by, but unlike drawing, I don't really have an outlet for it sigh sigh. So that's why a lot of AUs involve history and random other things, bcs its fun to involve my interests with each other!

Do you have any pets?

Yes I do! Two cats and two dogs. The cats are named Jin and Frank. Jin is basically me in cat form, he's so anxious 😭 and Frank is like my brother, he's such a little bastard who loves to hiss all the time. My dogs are named Maisie and Ruby. Maisie is a menace to society, but she is also the most beautiful dog ever, so I forgive her. Her name makes me laugh bcs she's named after this book character, Maisie Dobbs right? So her name tag says Maisie Doggs

How tall are you?

Around 5'4

Favorite subject at school?

Politics >:) But I'm pretty interested in philosophy as well rn. Unfortunately my love for foreign languages has been slipping in the semester or so, bcs my professors on that side kinda suck. So I've been putting more energy into my other major, and now all I can talk about is history, politics and philosophy, etc etc. It's just a lot of fun and very interesting to me!

Dream job?

Man, sometimes I wish I could just be a student forever, I just want to keep learning all about the world and other things. But I'd like a job that's not too static, something that pushes me out into the world a bit, maybe smth in the government or like a non-profit idk yet!

Ahhhh I'm doing this a bit late so I'm not sure who's done it yet, I feel like mostly everyone has :,) I tag anyone who's interested, like seriously I'd love to see people's answers who I haven't yet!!

[hereforlou]

bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme!

I was tagged by @dudeyuri to answer these BB related questions by @fiercynn Thank youuu <3 these are always fun but I often forget to do them u_u

note: i consider "fanworks" to pretty much everything people create related to a fandom, including but not limited to meta/analysis/discussion, gifs, fanvids/edits/fancams, filk, fanart, fanfic, fan food, fan crafts, etc. please include this note with the meme unless you have a different definition

name and whatever you want to share about yourself

I’m Maggie (Magui), from Argentina, in my 30s, just enjoying the creative burst this show (which I love very, very much) gave me until it petters out. I’ve been in a loOOooOOoot of fandoms under different usernames over the years and I tend to delete stuff from the internet without much warning, so save what you like (but don’t repost, please!)

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom?

I watched it from episode 1 as it aired and could feel the brain rot spreading week after week but didn’t write fic until the day after the last episode came out, and I don’t think I posted any drawings until one or two months later? But I have the first couple of doodles I made on an old sketchbook after the first ep! (note I needed to write their names to remember what they were)

favorite ship(s)

PatPran and InkPa

favorite character(s)

I really can’t choose so I’ll say Nong Nao.

favorite episode(s)

I have a soft spot for ep 11 - running away together to a safe place, both trying to understand each other, the silly guy scene, Our Song, the imaginary montage at the end, the memory of watching it for the first time and being sucker punched by the ep 12 preview??? perfect all around x_x

favorite scene(s)

Off the top of my head (and in chronological order): the trashcan scene in ep 1, the bus stop role-play, rooftop kiss, the last scene/montage in ep 7, the simultaneous parent confrontation and rooftop meeting in ep 10, the silly guy convo at the beach, the last scene with the tin cans on ep 12 ;_;

one thing you would change about the show if you could

I think everyone answered the same thing but the whole Wai conflict and how they resolved it (including maybe Pat getting shot, though at this point would it really be BBS without Pat getting shot?)

what are your some of your favorite fanworks made by other people? 

I'll stick to people instead of particular fanworks, and only those I know for sure are on Tumblr so I can tag them, I'm really sorry if I forget someone!!

@architectxengineer @kit-teung @kornswasianguyswag @miscellar @dimplesandfierceeyes @yourunwiththewolves @icouldhyperfixatehim @fiercynn @charthanry @isaksbestpillow @pransobrave @faillen @jemmo @snickerdoodlles @alexshenry @nanons @mantrisanu

(if you create fanworks) what are your favorite fanworks that you’ve made?

Have I shown you the fridge magnets I made over a year ago? They’re pretty wonky but I think they're cute, considering I don’t know what I’m doing

a song that makes you think of bbs (the ones in the show don’t count lol)

I'll tag the same people I mentioned above, if you haven't done it and want to:

@architectxengineer @kit-teung @kornswasianguyswag @miscellar @dimplesandfierceeyes @yourunwiththewolves @icouldhyperfixatehim @fiercynn @charthanry @isaksbestpillow @pransobrave @faillen @jemmo @snickerdoodlles @alexshenry @nanons @mantrisanu

[larkral]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thank you @orange-peony and @wellbelesbian for tagging me in this game! I feel sure that others have tagged me but I have become incapable of reading my activity feed.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

14! This feels both reasonable and correct. (one is a self-meta and one is a round robin fic)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

204,176 this feels correct and unreasonable.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Carry On, In Other Lands, apparently Check Please though I haven't published the thing yet.

Historically I've written for X-men the movie and Battlestar Galactica (BSG). Most of the fics in my profile are for BSG, and all of my X-men fic was on ff.n 🤷

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos

Number 1 is Good at Something by a ridiculous margin. Number 2 is A Dangerous Affinity by a normal margin Numbers 3-5 are fics in a series I wrote for Battlestar Galactica: Proof Positive (third in the series), Proving Grounds (first in the series), and Prove that you can do it better (second in the series), which I posted 8 years ago. So they've had a while to accrue readers.

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

I do... most of the time. Sometimes I get overwhelmed and don't respond for a while. I intend to respond to comments, I don't always do so.

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

A BSG fic called Grief. Which is actually about how horrible it feels to realize that your grief has lessened over time.

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

I suppose this is a deep spoiler, but I think A Dangerous Affinity has the happiest ending of anything I've written. It's happy for the characters (who don't die) as well as for the crossover setting it's based in.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really? The only thing I'd consider borderline "hate" is when someone bookmarked a fic I adore (An Arranged Meeting) with a long comment that included both of these phrases:

"you have to buy some changes in personality depiction" and "the random timeset of the vignettes is hard to follow."

And, listen. If you are reading a deep AU and you can't understand why people who have a meaningful change in their early professionally formative years might end up as different people, I don't know what to say to you. Also, like, I wrote it nonlinearly. That was on purpose! I love nonlinear narratives, I would change nothing.

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

Yeah. Yep. All kinds? My BSG ship was het, I've written some femslash for Carry On, as well as a...um, fair amount of mascslash (is this a thing? I'm going with it), and in my Check Please fic there's an orgy, so. Lots of kinds of smut, though, as others have mentioned, I tend to trade in tender smut above all else.

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

Yeah, those 200k words up there? 125k of them is a Carry On/Scholomance crossover/fandom fusion. But the characters don't cross over, so... Shrug.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope

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

nope, but I *want to*

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

God, this is a hard question! I cannot. I will not. Pacey/Sage. There. Now you know.

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

I started writing a story in BSG that was based around the idea that Kara was adopted by Tigh and Ellen, and I wrote some stuff I really really love for it, but I lost the mojo around BSG around the time I was starting on that story.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Figurative language.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I really have to be yanked into the story I'm writing. It's difficult for me to find motivation to write unless the story is dragging me along kicking and screaming, or I've got some kind of external motivation to write. I feel very lucky to have had a lot of

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

I think it can be necessary. I did it in ADA, and it was necessary, and I added translations in the title so it showed up on hover and end notes. I think that sometimes it's done when it's not necessary and then it bugs me, but as long as I'm being given adequate context to continue reading on, I'm happy. It's hard to write because inevitably when you're doing it, it's because someone is a native speaker/fluent, but likely you as the writer aren't, so you need to get someone who is to advise, which is not easy to do in fandom. I've been lucky to have friends and connections who can help with those things, but it's not a given.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

whispered Animorphs.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Good at Something. Closely tied with Holsom Timeloop/Friday Prime, which no one but @petedavidsonscock has put their eyes upon, and it's not yet finished, but I love it so much.

I'm tagging @fireinmywoods, @shrekgogurt, @petedavidsonscock, @facewithoutheart, and @cutestkilla if any of you haven't already done this

[thebreakfastgenie]

For the get real fic asks: 🤲, 💝, 🌈

Thank you!!

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

It's a creative outlet! Writing fic has more in common with writing meta for me than you'd necessarily expect, and a lot of times I write fic to process my thoughts and feelings about something in canon. Fortune Cookie Wisdom and The Emergency Room were both attempts to do this with Noël, and safe travels was supposed to do this for The Best of Enemies, and honestly none of them worked. I'm still just as insane as I was before. More generally writing is a craft that I love to hone.

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

I wasn't expected hills like white elephants to get as much of a response as it got! I guess everyone was in their abortion feelings right along with me... and I've been really gratified by the positive response to Campfire! I wasn't sure people would want to read a fic that was half about a bunch of kids at summer camp.

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

I don't know how surprising this is because I've bitched about it a lot, but The Emergency Room almost killed me. At some point I forgot that and I was like "wow that fic came so easily" and then I remembered that was not true. One of the very first scenes I came up with was the scene with the doctor, and I spent weeks or months convinced if I could just get to that scene it would be easy. When I finally got there, it ended up being one of the hardest scenes to write. So it goes! safe travels was also a total bear that took literal months, to the point that I posted a fic I started after it before it was done. I don't know if that would surprise anyone. The scene I was stuck on for the longest time was the penultimate scene (not counting the tag at the end) between BJ and Charles. I think that went through more drafts than any other. I also struggled a lot with the big climactic scene between BJ and Hawkeye, but that was more expected and still not as many rewrites as the other one.

[serenaew]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thanks for the tag @danpuff-ao3, @bintemuhammad, @trueliarose, @sanctuary-angel!

Tagging (no pressure): @renee561, @somnwritessometimes... you're the only ones I'm pretty sure I haven't seen on the tag lists, but feel free to reblog with your own answers even if I didn't tag you!

Answers under the cut.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

68 plus some anon stuff, plus quite a few drafts XD

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

151,217 words. If I disregard the about 26k of collabs where I did less writing and more podfic or support work, that amounts to about 125k.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 

Original Work and the like (more poetry and filk but :shrug:)

Doctor Who (2005)

Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms in the sense that I use a lot of tunes from POTO.

Classical music (as POTO)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Fateweaver (Snarry)

Blooming Heart (Snarry)

A small step for a boy (Severitus)

Curatio (Snarry)

Flight of Dreams (Snarry)

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

I do. I'm always so happy to receive the (more than 99% lovely) comments, and, well, you all know that I really like talking about my stuff, so I'm always glad to have someone reaching out to me.

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

I think it's a toss-up between: Repertum (M, Snarry) for the life-threatening attack on Harry - it ends on two cliffhangers over the course of the story, actually - and Ouroboros in Tribute (T, Severitus) and the adjacent series for the angst of missed chances, of regret, as is Late Reflections (T, canon-compliant), with the exact opposite perspective, but similar premise.

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

Um. Again, a toss-up, I guess. Promises, promises… (G, Snarry), Fidelitas (T, Snarry) and A small step for a boy (G, Severitus).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet, and I'm really glad about that!

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

I don't. I might think of changing that - I even opened an ALT account (EleanorPhoenix) for that.

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

Okay. How shall I answer this... If filk to the tune of a song from another fandom counts, then, yes, quite a few - POTO filk, Dracula filk, Children's songs filk, but the lyrics being from another fandom (HP, original, meta-fandom, the like) If not... I've had the idea of a Snape & 13th Doctor's fic for AGES, but, well.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not quite? it was re-archived on some random website from ffn without my permission, but it was taken down before I knew about it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet! But I do have a blanket permission for translations, if anyone wants to. I'd be especially curious if someone wanted to re-translate my English fics to German or Chinese, how I'd sound in my two mother tongues if re-translated.

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

I have! (Pssssst....)

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

There is no all-time favourite, IMO. I am currently obssessed with Snape and Harry positive relationships, however. I suspect that tide might change in a few months, years, whatever.

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

Oh God. Too many. Shall I list? Mostly, it's an unposted self-insert anthology for Doctor Who the Unspeakable Mysteries Verse (Snarry) and the the Fateweaver Verse (Snarry) that have been lying around for ages, but there are a ton of Severitus ideas I've also been struggling with, like: the Forget Me Not verse and the Christmas in Limbo verse For my full list of WIPs, see this post.

16. What are your writing strengths?

AAAANGST. I really like torturing both my characters and my readers.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have yet to actually write anything resembling action that isn't cringe; I'm deeply reluctant to move out of my comfort zone that consists of angst, angst and more angst, with quite a bit of introspection.

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

If apporpriate to the setting, definitely! -> Latin for spells and chants -> various English dialects - if only I could! -> conlangs and original languages for a certain world - a thousand times yes! -> uhhh. I have yet to encounter a situation where I put my characters anywhere they'd need German or Chinese, but if there is a chance, I'll jump!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Doctor Who.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

uuuuh. I've had a hard time deciding on five fics, never mind one.

Thanks for reading!

[fialleril]

Oh man I would watch the SHIT out of all of those JLA/JLU sequel shows you pitched. But I have to know: will John Stewart's terrifying landlady be making an appearance? (Also you reminded me of just how much I desperately wanted J'onn's human wife's backstory. Or like, even a name?)

(Original post is here for those just joining in.)

John’s terrifying landlady would be a recurring character. At least once per season she would get to wail on a supervillain or five, but there would also be a running gag where she keeps beating on other members of the Justice League. At one point John even introduces her to Flash, but she still whacks him over the head with her broom the next time he comes by and John isn’t home. Once she even beats up Batman.

I keep thinking that J’onn’s wife was named Ming, and then remembering that was just fanon… But yeah, I would really love to know the story of how they got together. I’m imagining a situation where they’ve been dating for months and J’onn has been agonizing over how to tell her the truth about who he is and finally after some harrowing adventure or other he just kind of blurts out, “I’m an alien,” and to his shock she just pats him on the hand and says, “I know, dear.”

Other things that definitely happen at some point on these hypothetical shows:

Remember the Flashmobile? Wally’s…very expressive van? Yeah. Wally, John, and Shayera absolutely go on a road trip in the thing. John complains about the van the entire time. Shayera genuinely likes the leopard print cushions. At some point Wally installed a karaoke machine, and John very much lives to regret this. Shayera sings death metal, which honestly isn’t that surprising. Wally also sings death metal, which…kind of is. John insists that he doesn’t sing, but eventually the other two wear him down and he does a decent riff on Ray Charles.

One time Queen Audrey is taken hostage by a Kasnian nationalist group that wants to see the country leave the World Assembly and rebuild their military might. Diana for some reason can’t get to her for most of the episode, so the plot is just Audrey playing her captors to keep herself and the other hostages alive until Diana can show up and punch some fascists.

Shayera still gets a lot of hate and distrust as a result of the Thanagarian invasion, and although she tries to ignore it, sometimes it still gets to her. In one episode she’s sunk particularly deep in self-hating thoughts, so Wally decides that she’s gonna spend the day with him in Central. She’s not really interested in socializing but he’s insistent and weirdly excited about the idea and it’s kind of impossible to say no to that puppy face, so she goes along. And then the whole episode is just about how the people of Central City absolutely love Shayera. Like they’re stopping her on the street to say thanks, asking for selfies and autographs, kids are shyly giving her pictures they drew of her looking badass and saving the day. It’s wild. Finally she just straight up asks a woman why everybody is being so nice, and the woman looks at her like she can’t imagine why they would be anything but nice and just says, “Well, you brought Flash back from that vortex, after all that business with Brainiac. Of course we love you.”

One time John gets called back to Oa for a couple of weeks and the Guardians send Guy Gardner to cover for him on Earth. It’s a two part episode and half of it is John being a badass and fighting off an invasion of Oa, and the other half is just…people on Earth dealing with Guy Gardner. Like nothing momentous happens on Earth at all. It’s just…Guy Gardner.

The Glorious Godfrey tries to make a big TV comeback by announcing that he’s discovered the Flash’s secret identity. Wally spends half the episode worrying about this but there’s not much he can do. Then Godfrey’s big moment comes and he reveals that the Flash is, in fact…Bruce Wayne! The evidence is all there. They’re both fun-loving playboys, and the fact that Wayne lives in Gotham obviously wouldn’t be an obstacle for the fastest man alive. Wayne’s vast wealth would also explain how the Flash can afford to keep himself fed with that outrageous metabolism, and as the Flash is a founding member of the Justice League, that also answers the question of how the League could afford to build not one but two incredibly advanced space stations, not to mention all the other tech they have. And, says Godfrey, it explains why the other founders continue to hold Flash as an equal even though he’s clearly not on their level - because he’s bankrolling them!

Batman is completely disgusted by this entire production. Wally assumes it’s because Bats feels insulted, and Bruce lets him think that, but tbh he’s most annoyed that Godfrey would say Flash isn’t on the same level as the rest. He will never admit that, though.

Wally, meanwhile, finds the whole thing absolutely hilarious, and gleefully tells Bruce that there’s an obvious corollary here: Batman’s secret identity must be Wally West! After all, he is a detective.

In one episode of John and Shayera’s show, there actually is an alien that sucks out people’s brains. It’s finally stopped by John’s landlady and her broom.

About a week after J’onn finally settles into an identity and an apartment for good, Agent King Faraday moves into the apartment just down the hall. It’s an open question for the whole of the show’s run whether Faraday knows J’onn’s true identity or it’s just a really wild coincidence. This question is never resolved. King Faraday and Jon Jones become friendly acquaintances and every now and then they stop to chat in the hallway about their respective days. Faraday talks about what J’onn knows to be his work with the League as if it were a humdrum office job. J’onn talks about his retirement as if he had retired from an equally dull office job. Neither is ever sure if the other knows they’re lying.

There’s a Batman and Flash crossover episode in which the Joker and the Trickster team up to do something nefarious, so Flash and Bats have to stop them. Flash doesn’t seem at all worried about it, though, and Bruce knows Wally well enough by now to get curious rather than annoyed. In the end it turns out that Trickster was working with Flash all along, solely for the joy of seeing Joker’s face when he reveals the trick.

Aquaman appears for a cameo once per season on every show. Every time he’s riding on the back of an increasingly enormous and terrifying sea monster. He says something suitably badass, and then returns to the ocean.

Diana takes Audrey home to Themyscira to meet her mother and sisters. Audrey is suitably impressed with everything except the party scene, which is pretty nonexistent. She sets about fixing this. Hilarity ensues.

Lex Luthor somehow gets out of his happy fun anti-life adventure time with Darkseid and is pretty pissed about once more being denied godhood. He shows up in Central looking for revenge on Flash for the Brainiac incident (not to mention that time they switched bodies). But it turns out Flash isn’t even home, and the whole episode is just the residents of Central kicking Lex to the curb.

Several old Cadmus files that were meant to be destroyed are stolen and sold on the black market, and there’s a massive crossover finale where all of our heroes have to team up with Amanda Waller to get the data back and undo as much of the damage as possible. Aquaman shows up at the climax riding on the world serpent.

[emiliasilverova]

MI6 Cafe Creators Tag Game

(Thank you for tagging me, @3nigm4art!)

We’d love for people to keep getting to know each other after this year’s 007 Fest, so we’re starting this tag game!

Rules: Answer the questions, then tag 3 new people to complete this. Also, tag the person who tagged you and @mi6-cafe so we can reblog your response.

Note that when we say ‘fanwork’ in the questions below, that could mean a fanfic, gif, fanart, headcanon, cosplay, crocheted work---any kind of fancreation counts!

(IMPORTANT NOTICE: in this post I'll be talking about my works/my inspirations in general, not just stuff that has been done for this Fest!)

(Also sorry in advance for the very long post 🙇)

1. What work of yours challenged you when you were creating it? 

To be fair a lot of the recent stuff I did, each time for different reasons. Some examples:

The Good, the Bad and the Quartermaster (Q dealing with the shenanigans of various 00 agents): writing a fic in the Craig!Bond verse, based on something existing (Comms Chatter) and with a hard deadline (because of the Riverhouse Remix event)

The God is Dead (Janus reforms): managing to write a 100-word story, no more, no less. The point behind that is that I have the annoying habit of making fics way longer that they need to be—the most notorious example of that being a “short atmospheric experiment” that ended up as a 8K-word fic. You’ll find that one further down this list, btw.

Some Solace in the Void (and kinda Straight Up, With a Twist too—both spicy Alec/Xenia action): writing smut. Smut is stupidly hard to write, and I learnt it the hard way. No puns intended. Let’s say that I’m happier with my second attempt than my first…

Shadow Crossing (Bond confronts the ghosts of the Janus gang): coming up with consistent rules of the universe. Can’t tell you much more because spoilers… except that yes, this was the “short atmospheric experiment”.

My series of "Queering the Bond Characters" posts (see my Fest 2022 masterpost for the links): sexuality and LGBT topics are still things I'm learning to get comfortable with talking about, so that was quite a big thing for me to do.

2. What is a fanwork you’ve seen which gave you a new headcanon about a character?   

I guess my answers all will be lists, won’t they? 😅

From the top of my head, I can say…

Tastes Like Strawberries: Boris is in fact very gay, and he acts so obnoxiously/cluelessly around women in an attempt to hide it (the next entry helped refine that, actually)

The Queer Review of GoldenEye (does this count as fanwork? I’d say it does, as meta): DRASTICALLY changed my views on Alec and his relationship with Bond. Basically he went from “fiercely aromantic straight and can’t even imagine anything else” to “confused, clueless, deeply closeted bi and Bond is the love of his life. Also desperate for love and praise”. I’m not going to complain—all those new layers add even more delicious complexity to his character (though I reckon, I have to thank @prismatic-bell for pushing me further down that path 🥲)

The Land of No Surrender: if Alec was a bit more confident in his sexuality but still had intense spite against Bond, that's what would happen. Believe it or not, this fic made me question a lot of things.

These headcanons, especially those describing Lazenby!Bond as having “urges” for queerness and Dalton!Bond as aroace—a post that directly influenced this one btw.

3. Is there a fanwork that you really want to make, but you haven’t started yet?

There are mainly three right now:

an atmospheric/eerie piece revolving around Alec wandering in the streets of Moscow pre-GoldenEye, strongly inspired by the song Спокойная ночь (Calm Night) by Kino

for a completely different atmosphere, a sitcom-ish piece involving Boris playing Doom instead of working... and getting caught red-handed by the rest of the Janus gang

one final chapter for Missing Connection, because I'll be damned if this one doesn't deserve closure.

For those that I'm less sure about, I'd say Janus’ ghost trial (inspired by Pink Floyd’s The Trial, and a “sequel” to Væ Victori), some Bond/Alec/Xenia, maaaaybe some 00Q00... and honestly, a ton of other ideas 🥲

4. What fanwork of yours surprised you, and how?

I was about to say that it was hard to choose, then I just remembered one fic in particular—Let It All Out. While it isn’t the first fic I did in just one day, it’s by far the longest and most intensely emotional in that category. Basically I needed to scream in the dark that day, and it just… happened, you know. Q is just me in this—even the title makes no secret of it.

That being said, there’s for honourable mentions:

The Good, the Bad and the Quartermaster (again): I didn’t expect Q to be so easy for me to write. I should have known though: nerd, check. Working in IT, check. Cat lover, check. Not very comfortable with people, check. Tea drinker, check.

A Momentary Glimpse of Reason: if anyone told 2021 me I’d do a sweet, fluffy, unambiguous Bond/Alec drabble, I’d have laughed at their faces and said it was bloody impossible. Then it just happened all smoothly and naturally. How times have changed. In the same vein, these and these chibis.

5. What themes/styles/subjects are common across many of your fanworks?

Alec. Silverova's inexhaustible source of inspiration since 2007.

Okay, other than him. Time to get all serious and pedant, because I'd say...

choices and consequences

dealing with emotions you don't always understand (both of these first two are very big ones. My depiction of Alec (and of my main OC before he took her place in my writing) is almost all about them)

death and the afterlife (don't get me wrong, I hate killing off characters. Yet I have a growing number of ghost stories under my belt. And also other stories dealing with the fear of dying or metaphorical death)

Russia (consequence of GoldenEye making me fall in love with this country's history)

6. What other fandoms do you create for, if any?

None, but I’m a huge fan of Half Life and Miami Vice. And Berserk. And Ghost in the Shell. And… crap, a lot of stuff. But somehow none of these can take over GoldenEye (Alec, really) as the centre of my creative world. Two words: special interest.

… okay, maybe I should mention GoldenEye Rogue Agent. But is it really a different fandom? 🤔

7. Is there an artist that you like to listen to while you create? Or one whose work always inspires you?

To be fair, to create I need absolute silence—otherwise my mind will wander right off. That being said, music is always a huge inspiration of mine, as it pretty much is the best way for me to immerse myself in the ambiance/mood/emotion of what I’m writing. I listen to music as I do something else, and I immerse myself in my imaginary world. Then I get the vibe and put it on paper, if this makes sense.

So to answer the question, three big names: Perturbator, Pink Floyd, Frankie Goes to Hollywood. And then, a good metric ton of 1980s rock/new wave songs, synthwave(ish) stuff and miscellaneous soundtracks, because that’s just what makes me vibe.

As for writers/visual artists… I think it’s probably obvious by now that PennyFifer and I feed off each other’s more or less chaotic ideas. Best example of that has to be me writing Life’s Little Ironies within hours of him publishing Ghost Riders in the Sky. Then there’s 3NIGM4, who just stirs my urge for both drawing and (heavy) angst. I can’t really think of other people, to be fair… everything I like influences me, one way or another. It’s not really linked to who makes the stuff.

8. Share a fanwork that you’ve found yourself thinking about weeks after reading/seeing it.

Oof, hard one. I have to confess, I am not a very big fanfic reader (or reader in general, in fact) 😱

I guess I’ll just list the stuff I randomly remembered one day and had to search hard to find them again?

The Hanging Wood: very old fic, but whose premise stuck with me. Eventually I did Shadow Crossing, and I was like “oh wait, wasn’t there a fic I’ve read long ago with that vibe?” Yep, there was.

The fanart in Welcome Home, You’re No Longer Alone: spicy. Very spicy. But somehow, when the idea of maybe doing 00Q00 stuff made its way into my mind, it was pretty much the first thing I thought about.

Scars: a Chinese fic I randomly put in Google Translate and... ooboi, what a ride. Again, spicy (and frankly quite disquieting), but at the same time the take on Alec was so interesting.

Touch It, Stroke It, and Undress It (chapter 4 specifically): again, the portrayal of Alec here is. So. STELLAR.

007 Rogue Agent: thinking about it, I can’t not mention this one. Missing Connection, my very first fic (and incidentally the one I’ve written for 9. Friggin. Years), began as an answer to it. So if not for it, I probably wouldn’t have got into fanfiction. Wild, I know.

Real Fear: oh look, another Rogue Agent fic (I mean, there aren’t many of them in the first place). Sometimes I just have to revisit it, the vibe really hits something in me.

Strangeness on a Train: okay, I might have included this one because of a private joke I have with Fifer. It’s uh… probably the first explicit Bond/Alec fic I’ve read in my life? Let’s say I wasn’t quite ready the first time, but I have made my peace with it since then 🥲

9. Finally, share where you post your works!

AO3: Emilia_Silverova

DeviantArt (LOL): S1ilverEye there still is some stuff there though

That aside, just my Tumblr.

Tagging: @lowkeynostalgic @tentacletenshi @reallyneedsalife

[sailormoonrarepairweek]

Welcome to the second annual Sailor Moon Rare Pair Week! The event will take place from March 12th - March 18th, 2023, but I'm announcing the themes early to give everyone plenty of time to create their fanworks.

What counts as a rare pair for this event, you ask? Any pairing that isn't Usagi/Mamoru (or any of their incarnations), pretty much! (Don’t get too hung up on the word “rare”. Just roll with it, okay?) They usually have their own week, so this event is a chance for fans to show their love for pairings other than the Miracle Romance, canon or not. You can even include poly, platonic, and cross-over ships, if you'd like! Almost anything goes, as long as you follow some simple guidelines.

Fanworks should somehow incorporate the one of the day's themes. (You can pick just one; you don't have to use both.) How you choose the interpret the theme is up to you!

A non-UsaMamo pair must be the focus of the fic (although Usagi/Mamoru can appear as a side pairing or as part of a polycule).

All ratings allowed.

No smut involving underage characters, which I'm defining as under 18 years old. Otherwise, as long as the characters are portrayed as adults in the fanwork, go wild! Just please make sure to properly tag.

Pairings of all sexual/romantic orientations welcome.

Fanfics should be a minimum of 500 words. Poetry may be shorter, though. (If you're writing fanfic, I REALLY would prefer you post your fics on AO3 or Fanfiction.net and provide a link to your story, but if you must post on Tumblr itself, please make use of the "Read More" option. If you don't have an AO3 account and would like an invitation to create one, I recently remembered I have some old invites I can give out. Just message me with the email you would like to use for your account, and I will be happy to send you one!)

Fanart should be a completed drawing. (Any fanart portraying nudity or anything of an R/NC-17 nature should be cropped if immediately visible on your Tumblr post. You can post the full image under a "Read More" (if you think it'll get past the sensors) or provide a link to the image on another site.)

Graphics, image boards, playlists, cosplay photos, crafts, meta/essays, etc. are also welcome!

Comments, kudos, and reblogs are encouraged, but don't be a jerk! If you're not a fan of a pairing, please just ignore and move on.

On Tumblr, if you tag #smrarepairweek2023, I will reblog your post. I'll tag explict art and fics reblogs as #nsfw, so feel free to block that tag if you'd rather not see those posts.

Do not post your works anywhere until the day dedicated to your chosen theme. I have created a collection at AO3 where you can submit your entries if you'd like. (Adding your work to the collection will not be required.)

Themes

Day 1: Past/Future Day 2: Sweet/Spicy Day 3: Friend/Enemy Day 4: Dream/Nightmare Day 5: Fake/True Day 6: Hot/Cold Day 7: Free

[mightyducksweek]

Is this week relegated to only gen or specific characters?

No! All characters that have appeared in either of the three movies or in Game Changers can be featured, no matter how large or small a role they play. Most all ships are welcome. The only restrictions on ships are no sexual/romantic relationships between an adult and minor character or involving a real person outside of Reader x fics.

Are Crossovers/Fusions allowed?

Yes, but please be advised that TMD characters are to be the primary focus of the fic. So if you want to write the Ducks living in the Star Wars Universe that's great, but you can't do vice versa.

Are Reader/Imagine fics allowed

Yes, as long as it is set in the universe and one or more canon characters are involved, Reader and Imagines are allowed.

Is RPF allowed?

Generally no as to fanfiction*, brief cameos (like if you want the characters to meet Gretsky or some other public figure) are fine, but actual RPF involving the cast of either the movies or Game Changers is not allowed.

If you would like to write meta or create gifsets/edits revolving around the cast and/or Behind the Scenes content that is welcome. However please make sure that all cast edits tie in to TMD specifically, general content pertaining to the cast or that is relevant to another project featuring the cast isn’t allowed without a direct TMD tie in.

Is there a minimum word count?

No, the only requirement be that the fic/art/edit is complete, whatever that means for you.

Is there a restriction on ratings?

No, but we will require that you utilize the Archive Warnings if applicable, and in addition, if your fic is rated M or E that you list specific warnings/triggers in the additional tags as to the sexual and/or violent content involved in the fic.

Why is the collection moderated?

The collection is moderated solely to keep out troll!fics. Generally if your fic pertains to TMD and is for an active prompt you will be fine and it will go through. If you submit a work filling a prompt on a day prior to the day that prompt is active, I will not send it through until the active date, so we request that you wait to post promos for your fic until you get the confirmation that fic has gone through.

Do I have to write/contribute something for every day?

No, you may participate as much or as little as you like. There is no pressure.

I wrote a story for Day 4 but I didn't finish until Day 9, can I still post it?

Yes! You can post it and tag it for Day 4. Just be advised that in terms of promotions fics posted on topic that day's prompts are given preference, but you are still able to post fics for prior days, you just can't post them early!

Do I need a beta?

No there is no beta requirement. We do encourage writers to review their work to insure basic readability, but this is not enforced.

Does the work have to be brand new. Can I contribute a work that I have posted before the event?

No, unfortunately, all works posted to the collection must be brand new and not posted anywhere on the internet before. That said over on Tumblr we will be running a reccing meme so you can submit your previously posted work there for highlights.

I'm not a writer or an artist, can I still contribute?

YES! PLEASE. If you don't write or create art, please help by promoting both this event and most importantly by leaving comments and kudos on all the works in the collection!

For any further questions or concerns, please reach out to via the askbox, DMs either here or for @boasterkeaton​, you can also email any and all concerns to boasterkeaton@gmail.com

[henrybcwer]

1/ oh my gosh i just saw your last post in the tags and lost my goddamn mind!!! i had no idea you were still posting, much less answering asks and posting hcs!! i used to lurk on your blog waaaaay back when you posted those first scent drabbles. i've only been off of tumblr since 2019 but i feel like i just rediscovered an old band i haven't listened to in years and i'm revisiting all the hits and they still go hard as hell. Simple Minds is even better than I remembered??

2/ You have such a talent for balancing really mature (and usually heartbreaking) character studies with humor/fun/smut, showing compassion for these nasty little raccoons and making it so easy for readers to sympathize with them without erasing their stupidity, grossness, or cruelty. I think your hc posts find more nuance in Henry than Andy and even King sometimes?

3/ Youre one of the few writers who portrays Belch’s loyalty & morals without ignoring that he’s still bad enough to roll with the boys, & u even acknowledge that it’s both noble of him as well as pretty unhealthy and pathetic? Even ur portrayal of Vic brings out so many of the little details from the book and movie & u uncover so much personality in a super overlooked character who’s usually just read as either “the 100% good boy” or “the bored background decoration.”

4/ Has the ship sailed to make an account and join the Bowers fandom? Is that insanely nice person who used to make those moodboards like the scent one still around? Do u have any other blog recs who Get the boys like u do? Is anyone still active enough to warrant making a whole bullies-centric blog? Regardless, I’m just glad this blog is still here for me to revisit. TYSM for all the content, you’ve officially given me 3 years of entertainment. c’: Best wishes ♡

EDIT: I’M AN ABSOLUTE IDIOT! I THOUGHT I POSTED THIS WEEKS AGO AND JUST NO ONE FELT LIKE INTERACTING WITH IT BUT TURNS OUT I SENT IT TO MY DRAFTS?? PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR HAVING NUT BRAIN. 

your words have touched me so deeply and with absolute sincerity i want to thank you for taking the time to write this. i know a lot of my old fics and headcanons are riddled with grammatical and spelling errors that i cringe and i feel so grateful to everyone who’s read my fics and decided to still support me.

every now and again i consider archiving this blog and turning my back on these dumb boys but there’s something about them that keeps pulling me in. i’ll be more than happy to flex on andy’s interpretation of henry given what little directing he did for the first movie and then how much he butchered henry’s arc in the second, but king? he really deserves all the praise for any thought provoking meta i’ve done on henry.

king writes his villains with the same tenderness and care that he does with the loser club. it’s really genius. the way he gives us little blurbs about each boys’ home life just enough to flesh them out into real characters. then he takes it one step further by telling us “these boys are young and a product of derry’s own vices but if given the chance, they have the capacity to change for the better.”  and honestly that’s all i try to imitate in my own characterizations. 

i’m sad to say that i’m not really in the “fandom” anymore. the few blogs from the fandom i follow are those who followed me on my main blog. i haven’t read any of the new fics posted and i’m pretty sure most of the people i hung with in the past are in different fandoms or have abandoned their blogs. i do know that my follower count has continued to grow despite my long absences and empty promises of new content so that must mean there are still people out there who love the bowers gang (or at the very least henry) and would love to you for making an active bullies-centric blog. heck if you ever do make one please give me the url and i’ll follow + promote you.

[mittensmorgul]

Hey mittens! I have a new friend on tumblr who is struggling. She wants to be a writer but her fics aren't being seen. She's frustrated. She wants to give up. I've given her the best advice I can give. I'm a small blog but I keep writing all the time. Trying to give her advice, but not sure what else I can do. She's in her mid twenties, lives at home, doesn't have a job or a car but desperately wants to. She's stuck and needs help. What else can I do and what advice would you give? Thank you!

Heck, I have no idea. D:

Write good? >.>

(haaaaa three hours after I started typing this, with the intent of replying privately, I’ve officially invested too much time in it not to post it… under a cut for length, and because I have officially run out of mental energy and real-world time for dealing with it for today…)

I mean, I see advice all the time on how to get seen/noticed around here, and half the advice conflicts with the other half. It’s hard to even guess what worked for anyone sometimes.

There’s networks she could join (I have no idea how networks work, and I’ve been here nine years, so someone who actually uses networks would probably be better to ask about how to do that, but I do know that the point of them is for a group of people to see/reblog member works, so that might help her get noticed).

There’s also things like Profound Bond and Writers of Destiel. These are discord groups, but they both have a tumblr presence (especially @profoundnet which she could look into.) They run challenges, have a really vibrant community over on discord with hundreds of members, and regularly reblog member works on tumblr.

Plus, making friends, working with beta readers or other writing partners will help find new friends and followers who will help spread her works, too. Volunteering to beta read when a “bigger” writer puts out a call can also help– not only in building friendships with other authors but also gaining experience with writing as well as editing.

Interacting with other authors on tumblr, reblogging their work and commenting– even if it’s just “OH GOSH I LOVE THIS” kind of stuff– ESPECIALLY with other “smaller writers” and thereby spreading the word around about each other’s writing will help grow up a community around all of you.

None of us started out popular, you know? And “popularity” is definitely a relevant term. When I started writing fic, I lucked into a situation that I attempted to recreate with the Christmas collaboration thingy I ran, but ouch that proved to be way more work than I really had the time or energy for. I’d be happy to help others run that type of collab and offer advice, but heck if I’ll ever do one myself again. :P

A lot of fic challenges are a good way for new writers to get noticed, too. There’s a TON of challenges out there. Now, something like the DCBB or one of the other larger and more established challenges might not be the easiest place for a newbie writer to cut their teeth. There is A LOT that goes into challenges that newbies are just not prepared for (rules, deadlines, etc., because knowing how to write, edit, and post on a concrete deadline where others are relying on you to know what you’re doing without needing an undue amount of help from the mods isn’t something you want to learn on the fly in a high-pressure situation like that… there’s an assumption when signing up for something like the DCBB or the Pinefest that in doing so, a writer is CERTAIN that their skills– including TIME MANAGEMENT and the ability to collaborate with an artist and follow all the rules (YES, ALL OF THE RULES) and meet every deadline– are up to the task.

So, that said, I’d highly recommend some of the other smaller, more laid-back fandom challenges. There’s new ones popping up all the time, and a lot of them are geared toward specific types of fic (canon fic, certain tropes, etc.), so there’s a built-in audience for their work. Not to mention that in smaller challenges there’s actually more room for exposure, and not having your work drowned in a flood of hundreds of other long works, potentially many of them by already established authors, coming out in the same time period. Readers are literally spoiled for choice in those situations, and an “untested” author posting a 20k+ fic might fall by the wayside while “guaranteed thing” authors works get more attention, you know? Readers have a limited amount of time they can commit to reading, and with SO many choices available, are actually more likely go for the “tried and true” author they’re already familiar with before investing in an unknown author. Profound Bond is just starting the @casdeanflipfest, for example, with a smaller wordcount minimum, and therefore a more reasonable length work for readers to take a risk on an author they’re not familiar with. I might not have time, as a reader, to invest in every 60k fic that crosses my dash, but I will drop everything to read a 5k fic for half an hour, you know?

There’s also event-specific tags that offer opportunities to be seen by a wider audience. For example, for the last few days, the DCBB folks have been encouraging folks to tag Valentine’s Day themed works #dcvday. This is a very laid-back and casual way to put your works out to an audience who’s looking for exactly that type of thing, you know? Other situation-specific tags like this happen frequently (like Dean’s birthday fic, or the Destiel Anniversary fic, or holiday fic, for example).

There’s also fic collections. For example, right now the @destieltropecollection is collecting fics for this year’s lists: http://destieltropecollection.tumblr.com/post/182800717844/destieltropecollection-destiel-trope-collection. If you have fic that fits into any of these tropes, fill out the form and submit them to be added to the masterpost. They’ll be posted in May, a different trope’s list each day. People looking for that specific trope will have a handy list, and you can reach a whole new audience that way. :)

Take writing prompts, if that’s something you’re comfortable doing. People with cute lil fic ideas will LOVE you for fleshing out their ideas and turning them into something beautiful. Or GIVE writing prompts to other authors who accept them. You never know what sort of creative collaboration that might spark. If you have a fic idea based on someone’s post, by all means TALK TO THAT PERSON! Express your excitement about their idea, ask if it’s okay to turn their little headcanon or writing prompt into a longer fic, and I can almost guarantee that the original poster will be THRILLED.

Take fan art as writing prompts, as well! As much as authors Die Of Squee if an artist is inspired to draw something from one of our fics, ARTISTS ARE EQUALLY FILLED WITH SQUEE if you’re inspired to write fic based on their art. Just, if you do this, please please PLEASE actually communicate privately with the author or artist in question before you do anything with it. Make it clear you’re writing out of love for their thing, and not in a selfish grab for attention, you know? Otherwise it feels a little too much like stealing. It’s a fine line, but it’s all a matter of perception to everyone involved. That communication and collaboration is key.

That said, I think 99% of it all is pure luck. But because of that first challenge I did, the next fic I posted was (miraculously!) reviewed by destielfanfic, which I don’t think is the sort of exposure most authors get on their first long fic… This was also early 2015, when there was a sort of Boom Market for fic, and I don’t even think the atmosphere for fandom is still exactly the same, you know? It feels a lot more decentralized, and a lot of the “big writers” from back then have left the fandom entirely, or else don’t write much at all anymore.

But fandom is a cyclical thing like that. People come and go, popularity rises and falls. I think my best advice is to develop friendships with people who are in that same general region of that arc as you are, you know? Build a community, support each other.

I see bitter posts all the time about how “popular” people don’t want to support newcomers, and “elite cliques” of folks are conspiring to hold on to their popularity by keeping others down, and that’s just bullshit. The little group of people I generally hang in tumblr circles with have been my friends for years, at this point. Most of us are kinda stunned that we’re all still around, you know? We all showed up around the same time, and went through these sorts of struggles together. We’re still here, and most of us recognize that we’re only considered “popular” at all by attrition. We survived while other folks rage-quit the show or the fandom. I know that’s not a particularly encouraging-sounding bit of advice, but that’s literally how the vast majority of us got recognized. We just… didn’t quit.

I was blogging on this dumb site for four years before anyone really started to notice me. (and I still know that the perception of my personal popularity FAR outweighs my actual popularity, you know? I’m not one of the elite 1% of writers around here, and I know it, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I don’t post long fic serially, and that shows in my total hit counts on AO3. Serial posting artificially inflates hit counts, and keeps works at the top of the results page week after week, and I’d personally just rather post a complete fic to stand on its own. But that’s a dilemma for another post.) Then again, I started out mostly reading meta and squealing about the show, occasionally commenting, asking questions, or adding my thoughts to posts. I learned the lay of the land, so to speak (who was receptive to these sorts of additions and conversations starting on their posts and who wasn’t, and the social conventions surrounding it all), while lurking and not even really trying to get noticed. I made friends with people before I ever started writing fic.

(but I also have a background in original fiction writing, so I already knew quite a lot about author culture in general, and had a lot of experience writing myself before I started to write fic, which likely helped me personally quite a bit. I was able to jump into writing chat groups and had a bit of writing cred even before I published a single fic, because I’d been writing original novels and had already cultivated a group of “Professional Author Friends,” participated in writing critique groups (which comprise Alpha and Beta Reading in fanfic writing circles), and therefore knew how those social circles functioned, you know? I mean, some of the authors from my “Professional Author Friends” circle, who I’ve been friendly with for more than a decade now, have gone on to Big Things in Publishing. And clearly I never did… aah health crises that knocked me off that train. But I realized I’m happier writing fic, without all the pressures that come from professional publishing, so I still consider it a personal win. But I was able to take a lot of that knowledge and experience with networking and building communities with me and transfer it to fandom, so I know my experience is not everyone’s experience.)

I think the main key thing is to create that sort of community. A lot of new writers go directly to the perceived “most popular” authors in fandom, as if they somehow held the key to understanding how to become more popular, or expecting the “popular” bloggers to “pay it forward” and give them a hand up (whether it be through asking questions or reblogging their fic posts, beta reading for them or whatever it may be). But even there, there’s a limit to pretty much everyone’s time, in a real-life sort of fashion. The more popular or widespread an author’s works become, the more up and coming writers will also see their work, and I get how people want to hitch themselves to that, you know?

Not to mention, most of us are entirely baffled by being thought of as popular writers. And again, I’m still sort of on the fringe of that kind of Big Fandom Popularity myself, and still kinda baffled as to how I got here.

But we’re all just people, with limited amounts of time to engage with other people, and a limited number of spoons in our respective drawers for social engagement. I do TRY to do what I can, but between beta reading for my already-established writing buddies (which I still only have limited time for, I AM SO SORRY ELMIE I SEE THE THINGS AND WANT TO READ THE THINGS BUT I CAAAAAAAN’T AND I’M MAD ABOUT IT OKAY?!), and still want to engage with current canon and write and read meta about it, and still want to actually write my own fic, not to mention helping to run the Pinefest (even though Cass does the bulk of the behind the scenes work, I take on a lot of the day to day general upkeep of it all) and still have to engage with reality and my human family that I live with and like… pay my bills and cook dinner and all that boring shit, not to mention coping with those chronic illnesses that knocked me off the Professional Paid Writer train in the first place… it’s not easy to balance out, you know?

It’s not so much a function of “I got mine, so screw you.” I just needed to make that clear, since I’ve seen that sentiment bandied about recently (again), and it’s just insulting. I think the main takeaway here is that Fandom is a Baffling Ordeal, and the key to winning in any way is to build up a community around yourself. If you want to achieve success as a writer, push yourself to write better. Find people you trust to beta read for you. And maybe most importantly, never “promote” your own work with negativity.

I see way too many writers who add notes to their work like, “ugh this is probably terrible.” Just… never do that. Have confidence in yourself, love your own writing, or at least present it with enthusiasm, if you ever expect anyone else to take that risk and read your words, you know?

So really? It boils down to perseverance, networking, and putting in the work to become the best writer you can, with no small portion of sheer luck. There’s no secret magical formula to success, aside from building a community that makes you happy. I’ve discovered that people are really attracted to happiness and positive energy, you know?

Heck I’m worn out just from spending five hours on this post now, in between Real Life Adulting I needed to take care of for an hour. I hope it all makes sense, but I’m gonna go surf my dash for a while and hopefully recover enough brain power to do the rest of the stuff I need to today D:

[graaaaceeliz]

Is the first Aquaman cameo just Arthur with a starfish stuck to his leg.

The second he has a pretty average sized trout in his arms,

Then a jump to like a huge tuna,

Then a shark,

Then a whale,

And it just gets more and more concerning from there and Batman is the only one who ever looks concerned about the increasing size and improbability of these creatures. Also, the starfish is always somewhere on Aquaman's body. It is never commented on. He gives it to J'on in the finale for reasons undisclosed.

Oh man I would watch the SHIT out of all of those JLA/JLU sequel shows you pitched. But I have to know: will John Stewart's terrifying landlady be making an appearance? (Also you reminded me of just how much I desperately wanted J'onn's human wife's backstory. Or like, even a name?)

(Original post is here for those just joining in.)

John’s terrifying landlady would be a recurring character. At least once per season she would get to wail on a supervillain or five, but there would also be a running gag where she keeps beating on other members of the Justice League. At one point John even introduces her to Flash, but she still whacks him over the head with her broom the next time he comes by and John isn’t home. Once she even beats up Batman.

I keep thinking that J’onn’s wife was named Ming, and then remembering that was just fanon… But yeah, I would really love to know the story of how they got together. I’m imagining a situation where they’ve been dating for months and J’onn has been agonizing over how to tell her the truth about who he is and finally after some harrowing adventure or other he just kind of blurts out, “I’m an alien,” and to his shock she just pats him on the hand and says, “I know, dear.”

Other things that definitely happen at some point on these hypothetical shows:

Remember the Flashmobile? Wally’s…very expressive van? Yeah. Wally, John, and Shayera absolutely go on a road trip in the thing. John complains about the van the entire time. Shayera genuinely likes the leopard print cushions. At some point Wally installed a karaoke machine, and John very much lives to regret this. Shayera sings death metal, which honestly isn’t that surprising. Wally also sings death metal, which…kind of is. John insists that he doesn’t sing, but eventually the other two wear him down and he does a decent riff on Ray Charles.

One time Queen Audrey is taken hostage by a Kasnian nationalist group that wants to see the country leave the World Assembly and rebuild their military might. Diana for some reason can’t get to her for most of the episode, so the plot is just Audrey playing her captors to keep herself and the other hostages alive until Diana can show up and punch some fascists.

Shayera still gets a lot of hate and distrust as a result of the Thanagarian invasion, and although she tries to ignore it, sometimes it still gets to her. In one episode she’s sunk particularly deep in self-hating thoughts, so Wally decides that she’s gonna spend the day with him in Central. She’s not really interested in socializing but he’s insistent and weirdly excited about the idea and it’s kind of impossible to say no to that puppy face, so she goes along. And then the whole episode is just about how the people of Central City absolutely love Shayera. Like they’re stopping her on the street to say thanks, asking for selfies and autographs, kids are shyly giving her pictures they drew of her looking badass and saving the day. It’s wild. Finally she just straight up asks a woman why everybody is being so nice, and the woman looks at her like she can’t imagine why they would be anything but nice and just says, “Well, you brought Flash back from that vortex, after all that business with Brainiac. Of course we love you.”

One time John gets called back to Oa for a couple of weeks and the Guardians send Guy Gardner to cover for him on Earth. It’s a two part episode and half of it is John being a badass and fighting off an invasion of Oa, and the other half is just…people on Earth dealing with Guy Gardner. Like nothing momentous happens on Earth at all. It’s just…Guy Gardner.

The Glorious Godfrey tries to make a big TV comeback by announcing that he’s discovered the Flash’s secret identity. Wally spends half the episode worrying about this but there’s not much he can do. Then Godfrey’s big moment comes and he reveals that the Flash is, in fact…Bruce Wayne! The evidence is all there. They’re both fun-loving playboys, and the fact that Wayne lives in Gotham obviously wouldn’t be an obstacle for the fastest man alive. Wayne’s vast wealth would also explain how the Flash can afford to keep himself fed with that outrageous metabolism, and as the Flash is a founding member of the Justice League, that also answers the question of how the League could afford to build not one but two incredibly advanced space stations, not to mention all the other tech they have. And, says Godfrey, it explains why the other founders continue to hold Flash as an equal even though he’s clearly not on their level - because he’s bankrolling them!

Batman is completely disgusted by this entire production. Wally assumes it’s because Bats feels insulted, and Bruce lets him think that, but tbh he’s most annoyed that Godfrey would say Flash isn’t on the same level as the rest. He will never admit that, though.

Wally, meanwhile, finds the whole thing absolutely hilarious, and gleefully tells Bruce that there’s an obvious corollary here: Batman’s secret identity must be Wally West! After all, he is a detective.

In one episode of John and Shayera’s show, there actually is an alien that sucks out people’s brains. It’s finally stopped by John’s landlady and her broom.

About a week after J’onn finally settles into an identity and an apartment for good, Agent King Faraday moves into the apartment just down the hall. It’s an open question for the whole of the show’s run whether Faraday knows J’onn’s true identity or it’s just a really wild coincidence. This question is never resolved. King Faraday and Jon Jones become friendly acquaintances and every now and then they stop to chat in the hallway about their respective days. Faraday talks about what J’onn knows to be his work with the League as if it were a humdrum office job. J’onn talks about his retirement as if he had retired from an equally dull office job. Neither is ever sure if the other knows they’re lying.

There’s a Batman and Flash crossover episode in which the Joker and the Trickster team up to do something nefarious, so Flash and Bats have to stop them. Flash doesn’t seem at all worried about it, though, and Bruce knows Wally well enough by now to get curious rather than annoyed. In the end it turns out that Trickster was working with Flash all along, solely for the joy of seeing Joker’s face when he reveals the trick.

Aquaman appears for a cameo once per season on every show. Every time he’s riding on the back of an increasingly enormous and terrifying sea monster. He says something suitably badass, and then returns to the ocean.

Diana takes Audrey home to Themyscira to meet her mother and sisters. Audrey is suitably impressed with everything except the party scene, which is pretty nonexistent. She sets about fixing this. Hilarity ensues.

Lex Luthor somehow gets out of his happy fun anti-life adventure time with Darkseid and is pretty pissed about once more being denied godhood. He shows up in Central looking for revenge on Flash for the Brainiac incident (not to mention that time they switched bodies). But it turns out Flash isn’t even home, and the whole episode is just the residents of Central kicking Lex to the curb.

Several old Cadmus files that were meant to be destroyed are stolen and sold on the black market, and there’s a massive crossover finale where all of our heroes have to team up with Amanda Waller to get the data back and undo as much of the damage as possible. Aquaman shows up at the climax riding on the world serpent.