#oh and I’ve got so many wips!! Got some great ones for the social media AU

[abisalli]

Sorry for not posting as much, you guys! I’ve been really packed with life (uni and christmas prep) and letting all my creative juices flow into irl-things (handicrafts are really fun!)

But I‘m going to work on some more bad doodle requests this weekend and mayhaps even post some regular fanart, promise <3

[duckprintspress]

How can I write quickly?

I (hi, I’m @unforth) have been asked frequently over the years how I write a lot quickly. I’m a pretty fast writer - for example, I wrote the 5600 words of my May Trope Mayhem fill from yesterday in under 2.5 hours. 

First, a little of my personal history for context. I’ve always written, starting from when I was able to string letters into (very poorly spelled) words and (horrible un-grammatical) sentences. When I started trying my hand at serious, professional-level fiction writing, I joined a community called novel_in_90, which was founded by the author Elizabeth Bear. The purpose of novel_in_90 was “to be NaNoWriMo but more realistic.” Instead of 50,000 words in 31 days, it was 67,500 words in 90 days, or 750 words a day. I participated in multiple rounds of novel_in_90 starting in mid-2005, and in 2007 I completed my first (godawful) novel. When I started, even writing a couple hundred words of day took me forever, but it got easier with time. 

During those same years, I also got a job that required I do professional writing on a deadline: I was a grant writer, and I only got paid when the grants won. That often meant working fast under high pressure, culminating in the weekend I wrote and edited an entire 40 pages grant that was due on Monday. I think, if I hadn’t had a solid foundation of “regular daily plodding writing,” I’d not have been able to marathon when the moment came...and it came because I had to, not because I wanted to. However, I learned a valuable lesson: I could. Subsequently, I found that, when I had the time and space and was rested enough to use my brain, I could bust out a huge amount. Like, I wrote an entire 150,000 word novel in 17 days.

My personal record is about 200,000 words in one month (it was the month I wrote that novel; I wasn’t tracking when I did that so I don’t know exactly), 25,000 words in a day, and I’ve topped out around 3,000 words an hour. I do know people who can do more...but not many.

Not everyone will be able to do this. Flat out, I MUST preface the rest of this post by saying that. Some people will find that writing fast fits their brain, and for others, it just won’t, and that’s okay. Fast doesn’t equal better, and it isn’t inherently “good” to write fast. Furthermore, even for those who can write fast, not everyone will find the same strategies helpful. I can share what works for me. Try out one item, some items, or all of these - if writing faster is something you want to be able to do, which it certainly never has to be. Use what works for you, and discard the rest.

Sit in your chair, put your fingers on your keyboard or touch screen, and write. You can’t write 1,000 words in half an hour until you write one word, however long that one word takes. I know saying this is obvious, but I’ve been asked “how can I write fast” by people who struggle to write at all...fast can’t be your priority until you’ve got a foundation of just writing. (Honestly...fast should never be your priority, but it might be helpful to you regardless, which can make it worth learning.)

Start small. Set an achievable goal, and make yourself meet that goal (daily, weekly, whatever) come hell or high water, no matter how long it takes you. Keep the goal small at first; you’re not trying to torture yourself, you’re trying to build a skill. If you set the goal high enough that you consistently fail, you’re not teaching yourself anything. And, if you find the goal IS too high...lower it. There’s no shame in working within your limits. Think of it like starting a new work out regimen: you wouldn’t try to run a 10k at a record time if you can’t run a mile slow. Treat your fingers and your brain the same way you’d treat your legs and joints. Give them time to grow, learn, and improve before you try to push yourself.

Trying to write daily is worthwhile if you want to work on your writing speed, because you’ll be forced to try to fit it in as you’re able - that might be ten minutes in your morning, or an hour in your evening, and it might vary from day to day, but making it daily means you have to fit it in somewhere.

Building skills takes time and isn’t easy. For some people, it will come easier than for others, and even when you’re fast, going from “I can write words fast” to “I can write damn good words fast” takes practice and dedication and accepting constructive criticism - speed alone will never be worth more than writing well.

Having a community can help. Ya’ll will check in on each other, cheer each other on, remind each other that missing a day or a goal isn’t the end of the world, and keep each other’s spirits up. If you don’t know other writerly folks online, I recommend Weekend Writing Marathon ( @weekendwritingmarathon ) as a good place to start (I used to be a mod there). Once you’re trying to work up to larger word counts in a day, remember that even writing fast will take minutes or hours. You can’t write 2,500 words in an hour if you don’t set an hour aside. Make sure you’re giving yourself the room and time you need to succeed.

You will probably never be able to do high, rapid word counts every day, every week, every month. The best runners in the world don’t run marathons every day. Set realistic long term goals.

Work on projects where you have a clear idea of where you’re going. I’m not saying “pantsers” can’t write fast, because of course they can, but if you want to write fast, and well, and coherently, to create a first draft that’s in pretty good shape, you’ll do better if you have a good sense of what you’re trying to accomplish with your story. That doesn’t mean you need to do all your world building up front, or have a complete outline (I never have either). All you really need is what happens next. I tend to plan projects - and write them - one full scene at a time, with only a vague idea what’s going to come after. (I’m personally a “plantser,” and the strategies in this post will likely be most effective to other plantsers.)

Visualize ahead of time what you’d like to write...but don’t get too attached to what you visualize. When I go to bed, I plan the next scene I’m going to compose, often to the least detail. I then forget all of it overnight, at least all the specifics, and I’m left with a general sense and shape of what’s to come. You’ll never be able to replicate the “perfect” dialog you pre-conceive, so give up on trying to. Instead, play through the scene and think about the emotional beats you want to hit and plot points you want to forward. If you keep that in mind, you’ll be able to get the words out faster than if you’re agonizing over every word or regretting the “oh-so-great” idea that you’ve since forgotten. 

Practice different work styles. If writing every day doesn’t work for you, try instead saying, “this is my writing day each week,” and aim for a lot that specific day, and write little or nothing other days. Try writing at different times of day and on different days, fitting it into your schedule. If you’re beating yourself up for not writing when you “should,” it’ll be that much harder to succeed, so instead, as I said for point 2 - set a reasonable goal that fits your life and working style, fitting it around your other responsibilities, and push yourself within that framework, instead of trying to shoehorn into a style that you “think you should” use to succeed. 

Track your word counts, and take notes on how much you did and what project you were working on. If you’re also experimenting with different times of day and different days, make sure you note that too. I personally use a simple Excel sheet (well, Google Sheets, now) - column one is the date, column 2 is “starting word count,” column 3 is “ending word count,” column 4 is “=column 3 - column 2”, column 5 is notes. Pay attention to when you succeed at writing faster, and when you don’t, and consider what factors might have played into your success...and then try to replicate those factors next time you’re doing a sprint. Control as many variables as you can while you’re “training.”

If you find social media distracting, trying getting a web browser extension that prevents you from connecting to websites for a set period of time.

If you find you tend to dither before starting, I find it helpful to run through everything that I might do to procrastinate (check my social media! grab a snack! make some tea! set up my playlist! check my social media again! finish making the tea! check my social media for what I swear will be the last time!), and when I’m done, it’s like, well, I’ve done all those things, I’ve got no choice left, time to write, no excuses left.

If you find you struggle with picking up a WIP, try leaving off in the middle of a sentence at the end of a session, one where you know exactly how it ends - or, leave off mid-paragraph, or when you are positive you know what happens next (and I mean literally next, as in the very next sentence.) It’s much easier to “pick back up” when your first words are super clear. (Do not do this if you think there’s any chance you’ll forget or end up in a situation where you won’t return to your WIP for months!) 

If you find you struggle to maintain continuity across multiple writing sessions, try rereading what you wrote the previous day before you proceed. Resist the urge to edit it!

Avoid stopping when you get stuck, even to do research. Don’t know a fact? Add a comment to your manuscript flagging the relevant text, “LOOK THIS UP LATER.” Can’t think of a word? Put in something you can use the “find” function on easily (I personally use “XX” since there are no words that have a double x in them) and so you can come back later, search for your chosen placeholder, and fill in the blanks. Not sure how a scene ends but know the next scene? Jump ahead.

That said, if you really don’t know what happens next, you don’t do yourself any favors by pressing on. As I’ve said previously, speed alone should never be your writing object. It’s better to slow down, consider your plot, figure out where you’re going, and then write, than to just plow ahead - or at least, that’s better if you want a manuscript you’ll actually be able to use for something at a later point. If you’re truly just practicing, you can also say “screw it, who needs coherence?” and keep going. I’d personally never have finished my first novel if I’d spent a lot of time worrying about making the pieces fit together and yeah, it’s a mess, but it’s a mess I wrote instead of a mess I got stuck on and never completed.

Don’t move the finish line. If you’ve set the goal of 500 words a day, don’t beat yourself up if you get 550 because you think you think you could have done more. If you say you’ll write five days a week, don’t get mad because you DID have time the sixth day but chose to use it on something else. If you make yourself feel like shit when you succeed, what’ll happen when you fail? And when you’re comfortable and really think you’re ready, change the goal - reassess every month, say, and up your goals. While working for speed, trying upping your word count goal without changing the amount of time you allot for working.

Your need to adhere to the above suggestions will change over time. Once, I always had an outline; now I often don’t need one. Once, I wouldn’t let myself stop even to use a thesaurus; now, I find I can look up words without breaking my flow or significantly slowing myself down. This is not an “all or nothing” prospect, nor is it a “do things the same way forever once you’ve found one (1) thing that works” prospect - you’ll experiment, and find strategies that work for you, and then at some point, your needs will change, and you’ll experiment more, and find new strategies that work for you, on and on, as your skills grow. 

To reiterate: writing fast should never be your objective in and of itself! Greater writing speed will come with practice and as a general side effect of improving your craft. Simply being able to write fast is useless; being able to write fast and well will enable you to get more of your ideas out there, so if that’s something you’d like to accomplish, focus on building your general skills and training yourself to be able to use those skills rapidly and in tandem with each other to produce decent writing, in a first draft, at a decent speed.

Once you try, you may find none of this works for you! That’s okay. That’s good! You tried, which means you learned something about yourself and your own writing style, and that too will help you to improve. Keep experimenting, keep learning, and find what does work for you - and accept that no two writers will ever be the same, and one of those differences will be writing speed. Some writers will never write fast, and that’s doesn’t make them any less awesome or valid. And some writers will always write fast, and that doesn’t make them inherently awesome or valid. Only with a suite of skills that suit your individual life, personality, work style, writing capabilities, goals, etc., will you succeed as a writer (for various, personalized definitions of the word “success”); speed is only one of those potential skills, and not one that’s particularly important in my opinion...yet I still get asked about it fairly often, so here we are, these are my suggestions

Go forth, and write some words! <3

[likesrandomstuff]

Avalance Fic Recommendations Part 4

The final part of this series. Thanks to everyone who reblogged and liked, and a huge shout-out to @heywhereisperry who encouraged and motivated me into doing this.

As I said in Part 1, feel free to add any more stories you think should be recognised to any of these posts, and my ask box is open if you would like more detail on anything.

Part 1: Bite Sized

Part 2: Snacks

Part 3: Meals

Banquets (Over 75,000 words)

When you do not have anything you need to do in the next couple of days

You're My Miracle by bihexualmess

My tags: Ava is FBI, Sara is a Private Investigator, Rip brings Sara on for a case

This just got updated the other week and ruined multiple nights of sleep for me. At almost 350k words, still going, I don’t know how to explain without spoiling stuff that happens a long way in. There are so many layers to both Ava and Sara here, and the trauma, and the issues, and the fact they will not talk to each other about anything. I jumped on this a bit late, as the title and description didn’t grab me, but oh boy, I was missing out. I did get to read a heap of it in one go, but that doesn’t help the slow burn. I would start this even though it’s still a WIP, just because it will take you a while, to read, and also the storylines need time to settle in, because they are heavy, but just amazing. It is now the longest Avalance fic with the latest update.

this is the way that we love (like it's forever) by CoffeeAndArrows, moonlitprincess

My tags: College Avalance dated and broke up, five years later they meet again, Ava’s dating someone else

This fic had me crying in the lunchroom during my second week of work because I couldn’t not read during my lunch break, and it was hitting me so hard. That was after starting it at 10pm, reading to 2am, sleeping until 6am, reading until 11am a couple of days before. Warning for major character deaths; the funeral for one is alluded to in the description. If anyone says something bad about Jordan, I will not be happy; one of the best original characters I have ever read in a fic. Sara’s not in a great place initially, but she gets there. And there’s some cute flashbacks to college Legends too.

you make me smile (please stay for a while now) by CoffeeAndArrows, moonlitprincess

My tags: High School Rivals AU, Ava’s class president, Sara is the superstar soccer captain, they have more in common than they thought

I just looked at the word count for this, and it must be the first time I have, because wow! It is a journey! There’s a couple of prequel, sequel and interjection stories in this universe too. Ava has to deal with her family not being super supportive when she comes out. Sara has to deal with Laurel struggling and their mum having a clear favourite (Laurel). Most of the Legends have really great arcs in here as well. Ava’s family is great. I wanna hang out with her little sister. Don’t be like 2018 me who gives up after the first chapter because they are mad about what Laurel is going through. She’s fine, and there’s a heap of great Sara and Laurel moments. I recently re-read the last 10 chapters, and I still couldn’t stop myself from reading like it was the first time.

i am who you used to love (and you are just a memory) by justpalsbeingals

My tags: The Vow AU, but Ava makes some better choices early on, they’re married, Ava gets into an accident and loses all memory of Sara

I hate the movie this fic is based on. The movie’s fine, and it was a delight seeing Tatiana Maslany in it while I was watching Orphan Black, but basically it is my worst-case scenario, losing my memory. The fact that this fic kept me hooked despite that, is a testament to the quality. The fic itself says “light angst”, I say it’s much, much heavier than that, but that’s just me. Warning, there are some intense twists in here, and everyone is a bit OOC to me, memory loss being considered, which might not be your thing.

and i will stumble and fall (i'm still learning to love) by lucylikestowrite

My tags: SwanQueen kid fic AU, yes, I know go with me on this, Ava adopted Sara’s unexpected baby, said kid finds Sara years later

In general, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t like kid fics. Fics with future children coming back to meet their parents, or the couple going into the future? Some of my favourites ever. This has no time travel, but I trust Lucy. This story is under 75k, but the sequel is almost as long, so combined they’re over. The sequel is a WIP. I didn’t watch Once Upon a Time, but it’s the plot of the start of that, except the gay actually happens. There are a lot of issues our girls have to work through here, but the kid is so cute.

and we could try by plinys

My tags: it’s a story mostly told on twitter through fake screen shots of social media, Sara drunk messages Ava, Ava doesn’t block her

I’m sure this format of storytelling is not for everyone, and that’s okay! I was so confused by it at first. I would recommend starting with the shorter one, I can be your hero (in Part 2), just to see if you like it, before jumping into this. I read this when the epilogue, the fic, was released, and I was up until 5am because I couldn’t stop. It became part of my personality. Story wise, Sara and Ava are on different coasts, but both know Nate, Ray and Nora. Ray and Nora get engaged, and Avalance have to deal with planning that wedding, and whatever is going on with them.

take my hands now by plinys

My tags: Another Social Media twitter AU, Sara is The Canary, Ava is trying to arrest vigilantes, Nate accidently gives Ava Sara’s number

Another brilliant twitter story. Some of our gang is trying to arrest the other half. Sara knows who Ava is, Ava doesn’t know that Sara is the person she’s chasing. Everyone has public twitter accounts. Sara actually gets [spoiler villain] to stop an attack by sending them money for a drink.

your eyes, they shine so bright by plinys

My tags: Social Media AU, everyone works for not Buzzfeed, a colab series is pitched, Sara and Ava’s teams have to work together

Ava makes factual videos, Sara does not, they are forced to work together. Nate is everyone’s boss technically, but they do what they want. Nate and Ava are non-biological siblings, and Satan Camp is a running gag. Oh, fake dating is in there too!

right to the top, don't hold back by SJAandDWfan

My tags: American Ninja Warrior AU, Sara’s a veteran and the Legends train together, Ava’s a rookie, rivals to training partners to friends to …

I re-read this every year when the new Australian season comes out. It’s so burned into my brain that when I was watching the speed climbing at the Olympics I genuinely thought “I wonder how Amaya would go in this?”. Amaya’s pre-Ninja experience is rock climbing in this fic. I learnt so much about Ninja Warrior and how the show (at least in this universe) works, and it’s fascinating. Would recommend watching some clips if you’re unfamiliar with the concept. The story goes pretty in detail about the courses. For recommendations, either Jessie Gaff, who was a S1 Supergirl stuntwoman, or Australia’s own Olivia Vivian, who is just stages better than our next female.

biding our time (until tomorrow) by TheTruthAboutLove

My tags: Period setting AU, Ava’s too noble for her own good, Oliver’s dad is the villain

This was a really cool experiment. Basically, told in lots of mini chapters like a soap opera. I do not know much about this period of American history, but it did not matter. A lot of different Arrow-verse peeps show up along the way. I’m sure I complained out loud “you’re allowed to want things Ava!” at some point. There’s an attempt for fake dating, and it’s not the homophobia but the second daughter problem that gets them.

Click here to see all the parts

[lemoncakedesign]

Some Tim Drake Fic Recs

I have been reading nothing but the “Tim Drake-centric” tag on AO3 for the last like week so here’s some fics! These aren’t all of the ones I’ve read (that would take a thousand years to write up), just the ones I sincerely recommend. I’ll include some notes about the story, why I recommend it, and such. Under the readmore because long.

Liminal Spaces Series by Calamityjim (TimKon)

This is, hands down, one of my favorites in this fandom. Technically a crossover between the Young Justice show and...I’m not exactly sure which continuity of comics, actually. Essentially, Bruce from Young Justice shows up in the comic universe and sees that Tim Drake is Not Healthy, kidnaps him to the Young Justice universe, and gets that boy some therapy. There are four main fics in the series so far, with a few other side fics fleshing out other characters or perspectives. It’s a really good all around Batfam fic, but mostly focused on Tim Drake. Nobody’s too perfect here, either—everyone makes mistakes and hurts people, but they do their best to communicate about it. It’s really, really good, and I am eagerly awaiting the next continuation.

Shutterbug Series by goldkirk (Gen)

On the other end of the “Get Tim Drake Some Therapy” agenda, we have the Shutterbug series. Oh my god, this series. It makes me cry every time I read it and I reread it every few months or so. It’s so good, guys. Essentially, Jason takes notice of Tim at school, setting off a chain reaction where Tim gets away from the Drakes, becomes Robin, and gets some love. All the found family here, folks. I adore this series with all my heart and I cannot sincerely recommend it more. Still a WIP and I am eagerly awaiting updates!

Surveillance Series by smilebackwards (TimKon)

“Jason Never Died AUs” my beloved. I love the consideration about how this radiates out, how Tim still finds a way to be a hero. Also how the Batfam immediately rallies around this kid and gets him on the team ASAP. I love Tim needling Lex Luthor, too, it’s freaking hilarious. The found family hits fast and hard here and I hope the author has plans for more fics soon because I crave it.

The Classic Shenanigans of Two Idiot Boys In Love by MashpotatoeQueen5 (TimKon)

This one hits hard. It’s got a lot of fluff and sweet stuff at the front and then the author comes and slaps you with a goddamn angst bomb. It’s a fic that makes you want to shake the characters and say “open your goddamn eyes, dude” but in the best way. I like the little asides into social media or headlines—they really round out the world. Also gives us an insight into what Tim is seeing about himself, which makes it easier to understand his point of view. Also Dick Grayson is Best Big Brother moments.

Home by sElkieNight60

Amnesia AUs my beloved. Seriously nothing gets these old bones a-rumblin’ like a good old amnesia fic—and this one’s got it all: miscommunications, drug running, Tim Drake not taking enough care of himself, and good dad Bruce Wayne. It’s great. I like the OCs (and I’m not a big OC fan most of the time), they’re really nice and it’s interesting to see people who don’t care much for Batman. 

Okay, five seems like a good number for more—though I might do some more later! There’s so many good Tim Drake centric fics out there. This fandom feeds me well.

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Piper Sargasso

Piper Sargasso has 25 stories at Gossamer, but don’t miss her website where the fics each have cover collage art. If you are a fan of Mulder/Scully romance, there are a lot of MSR fics to read that are set in different seasons of the show. But like the show that never stuck to one type of story, Piper’s stories have variety, so you can also find AUs and /Other.  Big thanks to Piper for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

It does, but I love that people are still into it! Writers back in the day put so much work and love into their writing, and it's nice to know that the stories are still being appreciated to this day. As for my own stories, it puts a huge smile on my face to know there are still people out there checking them out and hopefully enjoying them.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

It was such a positive period of my life. I made some amazing friends who became something like older sisters (and some brothers) to me, even though I was a little ridiculous when I was in my early to mid-twenties. It was also a much-needed confidence booster. I was a pretty shy person and loved writing, but never had the nerve to show anything to anyone. My first fanfic was completely horrible, but because of it I made my first XF friend and super beta, Mimic117. Between her guidance and the encouraging words from my Yahoo group I was able to do something I really loved and felt great about myself and my abilities for the first time. That will stay with me forever. That first story was truly atrocious, but it was a catalyst for great things in my life when I needed them the most.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

I remember trying this cool new thing called an AOL chat room, but they were more interested in perving on each other than talking about the show. Once I knew about fanfiction I kept seeing that some of my favorite authors kept mentioning IWTBXF in their notes, a Yahoo group named I Want to Believe. I looked it up, joined, and with great trepidation made my introductory post. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and talking to my favorite authors in the group was a little like meeting a celebrity and finding out that they're awesome in real life. After IWTBXF fell apart, an off-shoot called Beyond the Sea was created with almost all of the original group transferring over. I stuck to my little family there and didn't branch out into much else, other than the rare dip into Haven. Ephemeral and Gossamer, of course.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Mostly the overwhelming feeling of acceptance and confidence to write, something I was sorely lacking before in my life. I fell in with the best group, that's for sure! They made me feel like being a professional writer could be an achievable goal.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

The commercial advertising. The pilot spoke to my supernatural-loving, angsty 15 year-old soul. I watched it religiously every week. There was nothing like it. It was off-beat, but serious (most of the time) and fulfilled my insatiable craving for the paranormal and weird. You just couldn't get that from Melrose Place and Beavis and Butthead, you know? It definitely helped that David Duchovny was adorable and the character of Scully was the strong and intelligent icon we needed in the 90's and beyond.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

In high school I had a friend who was as obsessed with the show as I was. Maybe more, since she once had a slumber party that was exclusively to binge watch her taped episodes (the other girls who wanted to mess around with spells and the Ouija board weren't thrilled that she couldn't be swayed away from it) and she often drove me from play rehearsals in her convertible with the top down and the theme song blasting to the heavens, much to my delight and mortification. A couple years after we graduated she told me about the piece of fanfic she wrote. Insert a record screech here. What?! You mean there are thousands of stories dedicated to my favorite show? And hundreds more get added every month?! I was obsessed. If I could've stopped working and slept at my computer desk I would have.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

Sadly it's nonexistent these days. I have great memories and it holds a big piece of my heart, but I haven't been active in a long time. I would love to see a huge revival, and would definitely want to be involved in that in some way, were it to happen.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

I read a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction for a while, but I never could expend the kind of energy and time I did for the X-Files fandom. It came at a perfect time in my life, and so far nothing else has measured up to it.

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Besides XF characters? Off the top of my head I really love Hermione Granger, Buffy Summers, Elizabeth Bennet, and Claire Fraser for their sass and strength of character, Severus Snape for his complexity, and Christina Ricci's version of Wednesday Addams for her pure awesomeness. She's pretty much my spirit animal.

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

I do occasionally. I watched the series from season 1-7 so many times that I started to burn out, but I get on my X-Files kicks sometimes and binge it again.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

Like with the show, I'll get nostalgic and need to consume all the fanfics my greedy little eyes can behold until I move on to something else. It can feel a little lonely though, if you'll excuse the drama. We're not in the heyday anymore, so it feels a little like walking through a ghost town. Many of the stories out there are suspended in time because the show ended, or people stopped writing.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

I know I have dozens, but I'm drawing a blank. My ultimate favorite is any well-written MSR casefile with UST finally resulting in RST. Those are my unicorns!

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I have a silly one called Baby, It's Cold Outside that I sometimes read around Christmastime. It was a fluffy song-fic, but I can see the scene so clearly in my mind when I read it and it's just pure fun. I also like my Donnie Pfaster series. I can see the potential in my writing with those, which makes me feel I could really write something special someday. Plus, he's such an interesting little slimeball to write and read about. Bless his heart.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I still think about the two WIPs I haven't finished. I wrote myself into a corner with This Mortal Coil, and honestly I think it needs a total overhaul. I think Dana Scully's Diary would be a fun one to finish. I hate that I never finished them.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I think about writing fanfic now and then and I've had a couple original novels sketched out, but there are so many other demands on my time that I haven't gotten very far. I still plan to see the novels through, even if no one but interested friends and family read them.  

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I used to watch an episode and really study the actors' expressions and actions, always trying to find new angles to the stories we all know. A lot of times things would just come to me and I'd get so excited I couldn't sleep until I wrote a good chunk of it down.

What's the story behind your pen name?

The friend who introduced me to fanfic told me the best way to choose a pen name was to make sure it derives from the show. For a couple days I looked at the titles and summaries of episodes and agonized over just the right name. Finally Piper Maru and the summary from Triangle, which mentions the Sargasso sea, stood out and just clicked.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

My now husband always knew, and he thought it was cool that I had a hobby that made me so happy, but he was never a reader. My parents found out when I was about 24 and my step-dad would tell EVERYONE about it, much to my horror. Most reactions were of the bland, "Oh yeah? That's nice." variety but I definitely got some weird looks from others. The worst was when I found out how much of my racier MSR stories my parents read. My step-dad thought it was hilarious and teased me a little. My usually open-minded mom was uncomfortable, but tried to be supportive. It's all fun and games until your daughter starts writing psuedo-erotica for anyone to see!

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

Circe Invidiosa very generously hosts a page for me at http://pipers.invidiosa.com.

(Posted by Lilydale on January 26, 2021)

[kissjane]

Anon asks, I provide

Dear anonymous asked if I read Elu fanfic and the answer was an obvious YES.

There are shitloads of fics out there and making a list is dangerous because there WILL be authors/fics I forget, but here goes. All of these people are enormously talented and horribly generous (one of the dangers of both reading and writing is that you constantly go “oh, fuck, they write so much better than me, why would I even still post my stuff”), so go check them out if you haven’t.

I’ll just add a break here because this will probably get long...

[I don’t really have a favourite trope or anything and I’ll generally try everything (except maybe real kinky shit, and I’m not too much into mpreg so I usually skip those too), but I have to admit that I don’t like to get into unfinished works that have been left lingering for months. I’m always afraid they will never be finished and my poor heart can’t handle being left in the middle of all that angst! And I’m not a big fan of RPF, so those will not figure in this list either.]

First, the person who kinda convinced me to give tumblr a second chance, @pinkplanetaries. She writes hilariously funny stories with usually a good deal of smut in there. I would suggest you you check out all her work here, but if you only have time for one I’d suggest Lemonade - includes social media!

One of my favourite Elu fics of all time is For want of gold by @lallemanting. I love soulmate aus and this one is just really beautiful, well-written, just the right amount of angst and enemies-to-friends-to-lovers-to-soulmates, paced perfectly, and the characters are all so easy to connect with. So yeah. I just love it. Her WIP Wandering tides has got me hooked, so, uhm, yeah, update pretty please?

I’ve talked about this one before, but A measure of stars by @lepetitepeach is just amazing! Pride and Prejudice is such an awesome classic to start with, and the way she ran with it just blows my mind. She has a bunch of other fics too, so go browse through them here.

A great author who obviously puts great care in to her stories is @surrealsunday . Her stories feature the whole SKAM cast, and she paints them all just so spot on it’s crazy. I can only imagine how much time and effort it must take to find the right photo’s to accompany the stories for the social media part of it, and don’t get me wrong, the stories would work great without them but the way they add to it is just insane. I haven’t started on her latest story Mood tattoo yet, which only makes my life more difficult, I can tell you, because everybody seems to love it, but yeah, go check out all her fics here if you like. If you don’t have time for a long multi-chaptered read, I can warmly recommend Spark to flame too.

I have recently been following the social media au Online love by @livvyblxckthxrn here on tumblr. I applaud the way she’s weaving a story just through text messages and pictures.

Even though I don’t like asmr I did enjoy the story about it by @greathalesonfire called You’re already the voice inside my head.

If you’re in the mood for sad Elu fiction, I have to point you to All you have to do, is kiss me ‘till I’m blue by @bluronyourradar. I can only hope her artist & muse au From stone, we sculpt symmetry will have a happier ending (can’t wait!) - either way, I like how she describes the setting and the characters in this one.

A very productive writer on AO3 - and I don’t know if they are on tumblr - is herilaveur. They have some imaginative aus so give it a go here.

Because I’m a sucker for bookstores and libraries I have to add The book I read was in your eyes by @kritiquer to this list. I know I missed a bunch of others - feel free to add them to this list! And while you’re at it, @kritiquer has a lot of other works posted which are all worth a read, find them here. 

@briallenko has quite a few stories posted here, they are very diverse so read the tags because some of them are rather heavy, but I did like the exploration of Vendredi 19:34 in Not afraid anymore.

Did you know that the evil mastermind prompter @nachtumringt has (half-) written an excellent fic in German called Consacré à Jupiter? For those of you who aren’t lucky enough to read German, try Dis/connected for some great non-linear storytelling.

Okay, on to A rose, by any other name by @flying-elliska. I admit, I was unsure about the premise at first, but I’m utterly hooked now! The world-building, the almost casual weaving in of the mythology aspects, the appearance of the whole gang and crew, the GORGEOUS descriptions, the spot-on characterizations... Count me in, please. Check out the rest of her stuff too, it’s all here.

Another story I’ve recently read and enjoyed and that also includes social media (seriously peeps, I feel like I’m lacking by just *writing* stories when I see all you talented authors using all these extra media) is One call away by AO3 user nutriscii - I’m sorry, I think they have a tumblr too, but I can’t remember? Help me out here, everybody. UPDATE: They do! The url is @demaury! Thx @sandalwoodhusbands for letting me know.

Pining Lucas and secretly in love Eliott? Yes please. If I can recognize real by @tawmlinsun has it all.

Just another sweet little secretly-in-love story by @eliottdemmaury, We’re just friends.

[Okay, so maybe I do have a favourite trope and it is secretly-in-love. Sue me.]

Shit, I know there are so many more stories I have enjoyed... so if I missed you, I’m so sorry. I am notoriously scatterbrained when it comes to things like this. This is where the fact that I don’t use bookmarks comes back to bite me, I guess. I think 15 is a good number for now, I could easily do another 15 though. Another time, I promise!

[jlf23tumble]

There has been some really gross drama going down in one of the non1D fandoms that I've been really invested in for the last 10 years so if you had any famous/nonfamous 1D fics (my favorite thing ever) to rec I would be forever grateful.

OH, MAN, I WANNA HEAR THIS DRAMA!! I’m always so happy when I find some deep dive into something I’m totally not following, tell me more! In the meantime, I’ve got you, bb! I have a bunch--mayhaps too many--so I tried to cull (and tried to avoid famous/famous in other professions). Hopefully, there’s at least one here you haven’t read!

I normally list fics from smallest to largest, but I’m gonna break tradition here to front load my all-time favorites, which are Tuxedo Dress-Up and its sequel Tuxedo Classic Dance Party, both by Blake. If you read nothing else on this list, please god, read these two, the first one especially kills me, it’s so fucking funny and hot (even the TAGS are funny and hot), featuring famous Harry and real estate agent slash drag queen makeup artist slash aspiring songwriter, just the detail in the houses that Louis shows Harry ALONE, I wanna die.

day 1, by sky_reid, 5.6k. The tease of this one being the first part of a series that doesn’t materialize, help, but it doesn’t matter, it is as it says, pure luxury vacation porn, and even though it’s not clear in the story, the tags indicate famous footie star Louis and nonfamous Harry, so I nailed the brief!

I Won’t Let You Forget, by @graceling-in-a-suit, 7.2k. I’m not usually into time travel OR soulmates, but this one’s both AND it’s brilliant, so who am I to judge??? Loved it, the canon aspect works especially well, too!

breathless for an eternity, by cabinbythesea, 7.8k. The first of two SNL-related fics on this list, famous Harry w/ SNL writer/cast member Louis, so it kind of skirts the whole famous/non-famous line(ish), but the tags spell out all the reasons why this one’s a yes in several categories, ahem.

Love Me Like You Do, by sweaterpawstyles, 9.1k. I can’t do better than this one’s author notes: “Harry is a famous model, and Louis is a quiet writer who may or may not be his dom.” SO MUCH GOOD STUFF HERE, FWIW.

The One Where Harry Really Doesn’t Have Ten Cats, by LoadedGunn, 10k. The banter is off-the-charts good, and the entire concept borders on the very best crack, I’m SO HERE for catsitter-to-the-stars Harry and one of his more famous cat-owning clients Louis.

Thought the Song Was Sung, by @100percentsassy, 12.6k. I feel like this one is genre-defining, it’s so wonderful from beginning to end, famous ex-boybander Harry and computer tech Louis meet cute on a dating app (and by the by, the author notes about the inspiration for this are HILARIOUS).

Answer All Your Wishes, by @sadaveniren, 13.5k. I don’t know the IRL reference material for this, but it doesn’t matter, it’s famous musician Louis and stay-at-home mommy blogger Harry who have been in love since high school, and it’s super cute.

Hold My Heart, by Awriterwrites and phdmama, 14k. Heart surgeon Harry joins the mile-high club with famous actor Louis, and the true best part is how Louis’s just as starstruck as Harry here.

Then We Talk Slow, by @letsjustsee, 20k. This one reads so real, Louis Tomlinson out there promoting “Just Hold On,” with social media manager Harry at his new label doin’ his part to help.

You Know It’s Christmas (My Heart Is Open Wide), by @softfonds, 21k. The second SNL fic on this list, famous Harry w/ SNL cast member Louis, and GOD, does it make ya think with all the ropes and what not.

let me make a thing of cream and stars, by @missandrogyny, 24k. Radio 1 DJ crew member Louis dealing with absolute sex pest/famous Harry, plus I really like the way Nick is written here.

led by your beating heart, by @missandrogyny, 29k. Same author as above, so another good job on writing Nick, but it’s also a great game of “call or delete,” with famous Harry deciding if he should call or delete “cute Lou from the loo,” a guy he met when he first auditioned for X Factor (cute Lou now being a teacher).

hymns for restless stars, by @turnyourankle, 37k. Can I just say how much I love the authors who write fictober and advent fic? You get a gift every day, and this one’s from Christmas 2018, featuring haunted-by-fame Harry and his niece’s teacher Louis, a soft and cozy holiday bonanza.

I Think You’re Already Home, by jaerie, 38k. There’s a lot going on here, but bottom line, agoraphobic yet famous alpha Louis Tomlinson hires omega Harry to have his child (the tag “questionable parenting decisions” sends me).

Buried Like Treasure, by QuickedWeen/ @becomeawendybird, 40k. Easily one of my all-time fave Marcel fics, this one’s about famous royal Harry hiding his identity and kinky secrets (but not for long!) from art thief Louis.

Harry Styles Cooks..., by sunsetmog, 61k. A wip, but who cares, this is famous chef Harry and obsessed fan Louis, and I’m not describing it well enough, but every chapter CRACKLES with humor and sex and sweetness, I love it so!

Not That Gone series, by abrighteryellow/ @a-brighter-yellow, 64k. Famous Harry goes back to his high school reunion and reconnects with decidedly non-famous Louis, and a truly great story ensues.

Tired Tired Sea, by MediaWhore/ @mediawhorefics, 113k. Yep, it’s a long one, but there’s a huge world built here, famous Harry with non-famous inn keeper Louis, you will absolutely want to visit a lighthouse when you finish it!

[hklnvgl]

Fan Fic Tag Game 2020

Ao3 Name: dorypop

Fandoms: hm mostly the raven cycle but i’ve also written for all for the game, harry potter and avatar this year

1. Fic that was the hardest to write/you spent the most time on: skinny fleas. i started writing it before summer, but then i had trouble finding aurora’s voice, and then i started writing other stuff that came easier to me so i just kept procrastinating on this one. but it’s literally the only adam & aurora fic currently up on ao3 and i love the idea and the first 2k words, so i just had to write to be able to read it, you know? i had two weeks of leave from work in october and i spent them finishing wips, and even though i needed some more time after that for the finishing touches i really applied myself to this one.

2. Fic you spent the least time on/easiest to write:  the snow is melting (aftg). i honestly had the idea and started typing at a break at work and i didn’t bother to fix plot holes and stuff. i just wrote it in like two days and posted it and moved on with my life.

3. Longest Fic: i’m going to consider all 5 parts in my fifteen years later series as different fics, so it’ll be the miracle came with a pop (52379 words | hp). i didn’t write all that in 2020 but i did finish it this year so let’s say it counts.

4. Shortest Fic:  i don't want to screw this up (536 words | atla). it was a short ficlet born from a tumblr prompt.

5. Fic you were nervous to post: hm so i wrote a kinda quarantine/covid fic back in march and at first it was supposed to be this cute “and they were quarantined together” thing but then my brain started providing unhelpful info and the only way i found to deal with how scary everything felt was to write that. i then got a very angry anon comment which was probably my first ever anon hate? so i’m now a bit ashamed of that fic? but i’m not taking it down bc ao3 is an archive so it’ll stay there. plus i like the title (spring will be spring)

6. How do you choose your titles: oh boy. ok so in summer 2019 i started reading haiku poetry from a very pretty bilingual edition of poems by akutagawa. i just fell in love with the format bc it’s normally very visual and evocative but also super short, so my attention span doesn’t suffer. since then i’ve bought a few more books in the same collection and i dog-ear the pages of the poems that i like or that i think could work as titles while i read them. later, when looking for a title, i sit myself to think what the fic is about and browse those dog-eared poems in search of the perfect one. sometimes i’ll also google “spring+haiku” or something if i can’t find the perfect one. then i just choose a line from the poem. i know it’s a lot of work and probably nobody notices but! it makes me happy!

7. Fave Fic you read: oh i got so many! i bookmark all my fav finished fics

8. Fave Fic you wrote:  in vino veritas (drunk pynch). it looks really similar to what i was picturing in my mind.

9. Fave comment: i appreciate and love all my comments but i especially like the few i’ve got with requests/suggestions of things to possibly include in my fifteen years later series, bc then i get to plan around those things to maybe put them in the text and it’s super fun!

10. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: i don’t want to rewrite it at all, but one of the aus that i’ve written that i think has space to grow is there is a world (my hogwarts au)

11. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning:

(it’s from part 6 of the fifteen years later series!)

Adam’s phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a text from Harvey.

ronan says to tell u foods ready

Adam snorted. Ronan usually yelled at him to come down.

Adam got up and washed his hands, feeling a pang of shame curl around his ribs. Ronan was probably as freaked out as Adam was, and Adam was here feeling sorry for himself and having a mild anxiety attack while Ronan was braving the fort downstairs. He should be supporting him instead, kissing away the wrinkle he always got between his eyebrows when he worried. This was all Adam’s idea to begin with.

12. What was your goal for your fics this year? Did you meet it?: i didn’t really have a goal? i wasn’t planning on writing so much this year actually! back in january i was only thinking i wanted to finish the miracle came with a pop and then never write long fic ever again, and i’ve mostly succeeded—i just need to think of the installments in my harvey series as separate fics, and i’m good to go!

13. What is your goal for your fics next year?: i have the idea for one more installment for harvey that i’m definitely going to write, and after that i think i might take a break for a while (but maybe i’ll get new ideas?? so i’ll never stop???)

14. Highlight of your fandom year: i’ve met really wonderful people through fandom this year. it’s been hellish and i’ve mostly fled every other social media/platform except from tumblr and ao3, so it’s really wonderful that i still want to come here and talk about fictional stuff

15. Highlight of your personal year: oh well it’s been quite bad? mostly due to covid, sure, but i also had some major things come up back in february and early march that were quite hard, and then i had to learn to live with constant changes of plans. i’ve redecorated my whole room though and it feels really welcoming and cozy so that’s a great thing 2020 has brought.

thank you very much to @creativefiend19 for tagging me!! i’m tagging @ailec-12 @pumpkinpadparadscha & everyone else who feels like doing it!

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.  (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Ciule and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you for sitting down with us for a chat.

SS/HG readers might be familiar with your stories “Awkward” and “Headmaster’s Wife”. 

Okay, let’s jump right in. What's the story behind your pen name? Well, I sort of took one of my real names, swirled the letters around in the air with my imaginary wand, and I ended up with this. Can’t begin to imagine where I got the idea from... ;-) Later on, I realized that Ciule is actually a name in Romania. I had no idea, but there are people out there carrying this name for real. I guess I’m #sorrynotsorry?   Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most? To be quite frank: No one, really. This is more about the characters I like, than truly identifying with them. I can relate to parts of some of them, but not the whole package. Primarily, I write about Hermione, Voldemort and Severus, and the one common thread between those three is the search for knowledge. That’s a trait I can identify with, but I’m neither an evil bastard, a grumpy protector nor a fretting, intelligent activist. I am, however, a swot. If you had asked who I’d want to be, the answer is clear. I want to be Albus Dumbledore. Though I can’t agree with the things he did, I feel absolutely certain that he’s the one who has the most fun during the books. I want to have that twinkling fun in face of absolute chaos.   Do you have a favourite genre to read (not in fic, just in general)? Fantasy! Definitely fantasy. While growing up, I read ‘everything’ in every genre, and in my twenties, I decided I’d spend my time reading what I loved the most. So, fantasy it is. Do you have a favourite "classic" novel? You landed me in an existential crisis right there. I mean, there’s so many to choose from! ‘Wuthering Heights’, I think. It hurts so good. Or maybe ‘Rebecca’, at least, I loved that when I was younger. Or the fairly obscure ‘Lorna Doone.’ When I was a kid, I wanted to be a film director, shooting Lorna Doone into an epic film. Oh well, there might be a theme in this selection of books which reflects in my writing… At what age did you start writing? The creative process has gone on since forever. I’ve told myself thousands of stories in my head, but rarely written anything down. At the age of ten, I had a co-writing project with one of my friends. We created this secret room in her basement, and painstakingly wrote a ‘novel’. It was fun, though the writing ended as it became too cold down in the basement during winter. How did you get into writing fanfiction? In 2009, I became completely obsessed with a TV-show in the last episode. I was watching the entire series, casually enjoying the murder mystery, and in the last episode, the villain said: “I can do the math,” and I was literally gone. That obsession sparked writing my first fanfic stories. Those stories are still on FFnet, but they aren’t any good. *shrugs* What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works? Compromise. The world isn’t a perfect place, and will never be. You can, however, make it more to your liking. It may not be perfect, but if you play the cards you are dealt, you might improve something. In Robert Jordan’s “the Wheel of Time”-series, one of the characters goes through a test in a parallel universe of sorts, and she thinks: “The world was not what she wanted, not anywhere near it.” I loved that: trying your best to make things as you want them to be in the face of dangers and difficulties.   And then there’s time travel! I love messing with time, and there are so many great Time-travelling fics. Plus, I have to say I have a certain love for the villains...   What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter? Currently, I’m not writing for any other fandoms. I read Star Wars, GoT, POTO and LOTR, and in the past I read Smallville. Though it’s more of a type of ship for me, because I only read Reylo, SanSan, Erik/ Christine, Lex/Lana and ….drum roll… the extremely small and quite oddball ship of Eowyn/ Grìma Wormtongue. If you’ve never tried the last one, go search for the fantastic stories by auri_mynonys. If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon? One change: duh, that’s easy, isn’t it? Severus lives. Or, maybe Dumbledore acting more rational, not keeping so many secrets. Maybe telling McGonagall that Severus is on the Order’s side… (Interviewer is laughing - ”NOT so easy”) I do write Voldemort wins AUs, but I wouldn’t want canon Voldemort to win. I prefer him to be more sane than in canon. My absolute favourite piece of fanon has to be the Black library. I thought it was canon, but it’s not. This is a thing that really, really should exist in canon! Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet? I’m very much inspired by music, and sometimes I listen as I write, but not always. Some fics are heavily inspired by music, such as ‘Absence’ and the last epilogue to ‘The Manipulation of Time and Matter’. What are your favourite fanfictions of all time? Definitely ‘Two Steps from Hell,’ by the amazing Ssserpensssotia, but that’s a Volmione. This was such a wild ride, I felt like I was on the edge of my seat, holding my breath the entire time. Those twists and turns were so unpredictable and … Well, I’m in awe. The SS/HG fandom is so massive, there’s a plethora of great stories out there. The unfinished ‘Self-Slain Gods on Strange Altars’ is a wonderful story by scumblackentropy, and I love Slytherpoufs stories, especially the wip ‘Ghosts’, but also ‘Angels to Fly’. And then there’s the one that got away - it means, I can’t find it. In this story, Severus watches the thestrals, befriending one of them, I think, but they’re unpredictable and maybe even dangerous. He’s heartbroken, and knows how it all will go down, having bitterly accepted his role. It made me cry. And then there’s the works by Aurette, and lena1987, Subversa, Kittenshift… Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process? I need (strike that: want) to draft the entire story before I post, to have some idea on how it goes. That makes it easier to write, but if it’s a long story, I’m happy as long as I know the general direction. This year, I finished a story that was on an unintended hiatus for two years, and I think part of my problem on getting back into writing it up was a too vague idea for the ending.   What is your writing genre of choice? Uh. I don’t know? Basically, you could argue that I’m a porn writer, or at least it’s fuelled by sexual tension and angst. So, romance or drama, bordering on erotica might be correct. To be frank, I haven’t really thought about categories after I started posting on AO3. Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why? Hard to say. I might go with “the Manipulation of Time and Matter,” because I think it’s the best plot I’ve created. Besides, I managed to write Hermione having a relationship with both Severus and Voldemort in the same fic. My favourite “clean” SSHG would be the short story ‘Grimmauld’. Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote? What did you learn from writing it? In Grimmauld, the house became a character. That was unexpected, and not something I had planned from the beginning. So the lesson would be “don’t start posting until you know what’s going to happen.” Or else, this story might have turned out very much different. I had to throw in a little made-up lore on how you set blood wards on a house too to make it sentient. That proved to be a quite chilling piece of magic.   How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write? I love old houses. Exploring abandoned houses, going inside to see what remains of furniture, tapestries and everything is so exciting. (It can also be dangerous, but that’s another matter). Such houses makes me feel .. nostalgic, plus I get those nice little shivers down your spine that is a little like a horror story. So, I wanted to use Grimmauld as a setting to explore that in a fic, to really dig into the aching loneliness of a lost house. The story came very quickly to me, so I guess that helped me.   What books or authors have influenced you? How do you think that shows in your writing? Big question there. Hmm, I think … it’s hard to say. I’m a reader, really, and I couldn’t easily pick apart any influences. Though I have to say that one of the things I enjoyed when reading ‘Two Steps From Hell’ was the attention to magic. I think it’s important to include spells, rituals and the use of magic in my fics, because that’s what sets it apart from a Muggle AU, for example. That’s an important part of the world-building.   Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction? My significant other knows. I didn’t tell him, but he found out for himself, probably by spying on me. When he told me, I almost couldn’t stop laughing, because he… erm, he said he had thought about reenacting a scene in my PWP ‘Twenty Points to Gryffindor’, where Severus shouts the title as he… well… you get the gist. If he had done that, I’d have had a heart attack. I would literally be dead. Instead, I laughed non stop for an hour.   How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"? Haha, so true. You spend all those hours in front of your laptop - and if I wasn't motivated by doing it for myself, I can’t even see how I’d force myself through all those hours. It’s fun, though. I do this because I love it.   How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media? Very important. I'm on the publishing sites (visible interaction is why I prefer AO3 instead of FFnet) and on Facebook, mainly. I love feedback (as all authors do), and when people form theories or make comments, I get an insight into my own writing. I know how it’s going to pan out, but the audience doesn’t, and how they perceive things might be different from how I think it is. At times, it influences how I go forward, mostly because I need to add things, to explain what’s going on. What is the best advice you've received about writing? Don’t post until you know the ending, and remember: the devil on your left shoulder will be at war with the angel on the right side. Listen to the angel telling you to wait a little longer, and not to the devil chanting: ‘Post, post, post!’ In the end, of course, you’ll give in to the devil, regretting it until you’re done. What do you do when you hit writer's block? Read. Read a lot. And read some more. Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing? Certainly. I’m a foodie. For example, everything that Voldemort eats is stuff I love. His food habits are primarily mine, and I love cooking.   Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser? It’s a short piece, maybe three or four chapters, with the title ‘Transference’. The point of departure from canon is during their time in the tent at DH. Hermione wakes up in a bed, in a room she doesn’t recognize, having no idea where she is, but she spots a large, moving picture on the drawer:  Feeling panic rising, she stared hard at the moving and smiling pictures, and her heart leapt into her throat, pulse hammering as she recognized herself in the largest picture. A slightly older Hermione, in a white wedding dress, kissing and laughing at someone who simply had to be a much younger Severus Snape. It had to be him: Long black hair, hooked nose, sallow skin - but then he looked so young, carefree and happy - expressions she had never seen on her dour Professor's face. Beside the picture, there were numerous cards, greetings and well-wishings for their wedding - the date an impossible 21 August 1982, and amongst the cards, the largest one stood out, the black ink showing an elegant handwriting: “Dear Hermione and Severus! Best wishes for your wedding, Lord Voldemort.” Any words of encouragement to other writers? Read and write, in that order. Don’t worry about trolls, because when you contribute something that you created, it makes you so much more than people spending their time just raining on anyone’s parade. You brought something new to the world, they’re just reacting to things. If someone accuses you of a self-insert, go ahead and lecture them on the intentional fallacy. I promise, you won’t regret looking it up. ;-)   And please, mind the normal physical limits when you’re writing smut. Unless you give the male a stamina potion or put him under the Imperius, it’s unlikely that his refractory period allows him to come five times in one hour. Realistic smut is so much more sexy, lol. Thanks again for speaking with us Ciule.

[riskeith]

happy weekend dearest!

other than the snow angels, i haven’t done much.,, just been cozying it up with coffee and blankets at home hehe. 30 degrees... amazing. ideal feeling like a rotisserie chicken weather. 😌 bc of global warming we’ve been having some great summers these past few years. it even gets to 30 degrees as well which was unheard of tbh.

you’re so cute for caring ilysm <3 and aaa! a walk! do you have any perticular place you enjoy walking to or does the winds guide you, hehe? EDITING A FIC... 👀 i’m looking respectfully...... 👀 wait did the event open up for you already? i tried to play it earlier today but it wasn’t there yet... the lost riches one right?

bennett is best boy i still can’t believe it either!!! he’s seriously the cutest he just makes me so happy. when i need to explore and run around i always run with him bc i love his lines so much. what a bebie. you should go for it there are still some days left! + he’s a four star so he’s easier to get. GUOBA IS SO FUNNY he’s just.... a little fucking bear i can’t stop laughing... tbh the little creatures like amber’s bunny too just 😭 have you seen those yt clips of them dancing? obsession..

i need to ask you this bc when i found out i lost my mind: did you know that the japanese va for razor is also the va for tsukishima (haikyuu) and shigaraki (bnha)???? insane!!! it made me consider switch to japanese dub tbh.. which dub do you use?

maybe i’ll send you a little part and you can read or something shdkdhskdjdjf help 😳 it’s not edited or anything so it might take a while plus i’m super into writing bnha these days so.... but hey if You have any prompts you want to read maybe i’ll write a drabble for you. i don’t mind at all! <33333 ask for anything!!

(FIC-COLLAB!!:!/$:)!:&//&/!$:’sidnd HELP.... omg what kind of fic would we write....?)

exactly! i think when you realize that there’s nothing keeping you there anymore that brings you joy, that’s when you need to step back. social media is a bit fucked up that way imo. like you want to be there to be informed and to have fun but it takes so much.. hm. also you always tell me this but i wanna tell you to that YOU are the reason i enjoy social media these days so.. thank you <3

you relate to bakugou and lance? that’s super hot of you.. 🥵 my wifey is a self assured, super intense and talented person.. couldn’t ask for better tbh. i think out of them both i’m pretty much like todoroki.. we’re super similar in so many ways now that i think about it shsjdhdhdj.. how about we just stay c.r and m.a our dynamic is perfect as is LMAO

DOUBLE VENTI! I’D LOOOOVE THAT FOR US. bow users are difficult indeed but venti is one of the easier bow users it feels like... idk watching others game play he doesn’t have as much pushback as say amber for example. 12K PRIMOGEMS..... babe you’re getting your xiao!!!!!! how long have you been saving? also i seriously don’t mind if it comes down to it hakshddkhd i can be your genshin sugar mommy... ;) imagine a c6 venti though that seems insane. literal insanity.

SPEAKING OF SHIPPING.... THE POST YOU POSTED... THEY STOLE OUR IDEA AND IT LOOKS SO CUTE AND ITS CHONGYUN AND XINGYUN WHICH IS EVEN BETTER... THEY LOOK SOOOOO CUTE TOGETHER I’M OBSESSEDDDDD!!!! <3333 dude idk how but we are doing that co-op date somehow i’m super inspired i want that for us so badly... (also i need to say smth... my love language is when people say ‘i thought of you when i...’ and the fact that you said that just hsjdfhjdjdksk shit)

actually you’re right.. the only way we’d get a sequel is if they did something with the mfe fighters.. like kinkade james veronica nadia and ina. idk how attractive that would be tho...

i’m a lady, my dearest *dips* no but my pronouns are she/her!! sorry i didn’t mention it before i thought i made it clear shsjsjdkdj. ty for asking tho ♥️ super sweet!

AAA!!!!!!!!!! EEE!! i’m super super excited. if it’s like,, too public and you don’t just wanna post it i might think about exposing myself or smth... if that would make you more comfy. no matter what you do i’m just gonna be here buzzing, *hinata voice* one more one more one more.

oh!! i listen to everything but kpop sjdjdkdhdk i did have a semi-phase around like 2014-19 ish but dropped it pretty hard . now i have no clue what goes on there anymore i mostly enjoy rnb indie n rap/hip.. my gay ass was considering making a little playlist or smth for u but i want to make it with songs You’d like so i might pull up my old kpop faves hehe..

guess chilling is out of the question then, heh. hope you slept well!! i’m gonna try to wake up earlier so we’ll have a chance to send more messages during the weekend perhaps... mwah!!

YOURS, m.a. <3

happy weekend!!!! hope you can ease up a bit since there’s no school hehe

“feeling like a rotisserie chicken weather” FHSKFHKSDF yes!! but it honestly sucks when it gets any hotter bc we don’t have central cooling in our house so rip... and my laptop fan goes crazy ahaha. 30 degrees being unheard of.. can’t relate! fsdfjs. have you guys had to adjust to those changing temperatures? rip climate change tho :’(

<333 i do!! i usually walk to the local park and then the streets around that.. omg speaking of... do you play pokemon go? DHAFKHSDKFHSKDFHKSDH i got back into it again recently ahaha. it’s for a free bakudeku zine!! hehehe it’s out at the end of jan so 👀

i just checked and the event is open !!!!!!!!! good luck hehe !

yup lost riches!! and the event opens at 4am server time, so since i’m in asia i get it earlier hehe which colour seelie are you gonna go for tho omg i was debating it with my friend last night.. i’m gonna pick gold!!

baby bennett!! that’s true but i can’t risk getting a 5 star otherwise my pity will reset for xiao fhdskfhskjfhkjshkfj next time :(((( but albedo /is/ super pretty and i see a lot of people saying they like him... NO !!! xiao only >:( no omg i don’t think i’ve seen those clips ? is it mmd where they like dance to other songs and stuff ahah

yes i did!!!! and the VA for diluc is giorno from jjba and kuroko from knb!! omg wait and venti’s VA is hinata did you know that? fun fact i guessed it was him when i first heard his voice LOL that’s my secret talent 😩 and i use japanese dub!! i’ve considered using chinese too bc i can understand it but i just like the japanese voice actors tbh and also i can excuse it as “listening practice” AHAH

yes pls!! sending something bnha is fine too, or legit anything else lmao i’m open arms over here~~ 🤗👐 and ooft... it’s hard thinking of prompts that’s why i always ask others HSDKFJHSDKFHSD but i’ll let you know if i think of something!!!

(no clue!!!! but we could each write from a character’s POV so hopefully it’s more consistent 🤪🤪 idk i have no clue how fic collabs work AHAHA)

yeahhh one of my mutuals said “social media is a curse” and honestly hard agree.. we’re all kinda trapped in a way LMAO. and no pls don’t thank me.. you’re the one who found me first 😩💘 ily..

FSDHKJFS pls you’re making me blush come on 😳😳 but yes i love that for us... m.a. x c.r. the only valid ship 😩

woooo!!!! yeah you’re probably right, like given the fact he’s a 5 star his mechanics are probably different.. i know that diluc’s charged attack is different to the other claymore users so! IM GETTING MY XIAO!!!! and hm i’ve been saving since the middle of zhongli banner! so december 10 ish around then? dragonspine was a blessing tbh i reckon i got sooo many primogems from that. FGJKSHFKJSDHFKSDHSHKJFH my genshin sugar mummy 🥵🥵 c6 venti unstoppable..

AHAHAHA YEAH THEY LOOK /SO/ CUTE TOGETHER!!! i wonder how they got so many of the images tho like they must’ve been so in sync?!?!? ugh that could be us but no cross-server co-op be playin’.. (fhdskjfhdskjfhs um!! noted for future reference 🤪)

omg them.. i always forget about them LMAOOOOOOOOO ugh. actually i wouldn’t be mad if we got a prequel of like when keith was in the garrison... or even when shiro was with adam... ugh so much they could’ve given us and they chose not to

*waggles eyebrows* well hello there, m’lady ;) and it’s fine fhdskjf i had some inklings but didn’t wanna assume ya know? ahah :p

no!! it’s all g, i’ve thought about posting it before anyway. like, just releasing all of my WIPs and letting people do what they want with them HAAHA. (i could also just put the link under a read more and less people would see it, so it’s no biggie!) fkdshfkjs the hinata impression omg precious <33

FJHFDSKJ awks ahah which groups were you into tho! if it’s not like scarring for you to think back to LOL. and oooo i like indie too! i think.. or is it alt? honestly i don’t even know, tbh my music taste is pretty diverse and a mess, i can usually listen to a lot of things. except slow songs i don’t really like those hfdskj. and i don’t like rap too much either FHSDKJS whenever my friend gives me a rec i’m just like “oh i liked the singing parts in that” FDSKJF. a playlist tho huh 😳🥺

and pls!! if the weekend is your only chance to sleep in then do it.. for me 😩 i’ve been legit waking up at 12pm these past few days FKJHSKDF idek why like i’m sleeping 10 hours?? yikes. but as always i shall be waiting for your response <3 💌

[impishnature]

Writer Tag Game!

I was tagged by @infriga <3 thanks~ I love these~~

Author Name: Impishnature, Impish_Nature on AO3 and most people call me Imp. It actually isn’t a pokemon reference or at least I never intended it to be.

Fandom(s) you write for: Gravity Falls, King Falls, Don’t Starve, Good Omens. I’ve written for others, started out on livejournal and ff.net, but these are the ones you’ll find me in now.

Where you post: AO3, tumblr and patreon - I have a load of WIPs there that have never made it here.

Most popular one-shot: Huh. If I were to guess I’d say ‘Stanford’ Pines. That one got a burst of attention after I first wrote it and I’m really glad for it. I wonder if that’s still the case. According to AO3 it seems to be my most popular oneshot! I have no idea how to check on tumblr haha!

Most popular multi-chapter: Brand of a Dreamer! The multichapter/first story I wrote for Gravity Falls and got so much love I had to keep writing. ... I feel like I should be worried that it’s all gone down from there but I like to hope its more that people go back and read it than the opposite ^^ Plus The Light Keeper isn’t that far behind so I must have been doing something alright.

Favorite story you wrote: Hoboi. I feel like this is a struggle because whatever you’re working on is the most fun thing you’re working on- otherwise you wouldn’t keep writing!  I had a lot of fun with Cascading Chaos, that’s whats popped to mind right now at- midnight, I need to sleep. But honestly anything where I work with a friend on a story is so much fun and I’ve had a lot of creative spirals <3 

Story you were nervous to post: Always nervous. Always anxious and shut down social media for a little while afterwards. Though getting better at that. But the one I was probably most worried about was my Ace fic- I was worried that people would tell me it was unrealistic or ‘Ace people don’t act like that’ or general... not niceness about sexuality? It’s scary to put parts of yourself out there. I guess a few of my other vent fics have also worried me but in the heat of the moment they probably didn’t so - Gotta say it was Ace on Deck. And all I can say is that the responses were great and lovely and kind and I honestly hope that I might have helped a few people too by writing it. So the nervousness was worth it for getting it out there.

How do you choose your titles? Heh. A lot of the time they choose themselves.

What do I mean? Mainly that if I’m daydreaming a story and a line pops in and I go ‘that’s it. thats the title’ it usually means I’m going to write it. 

If that doesn’t happen I sit for ages whining about what to call it - that mostly happens with Chapter titles though. 

For instance? Fic I’m writing at the moment? Good Omens with Crowley fighting Heaven and Hell to make sure Aziraphale doesn’t get hurt? - Avenging Angel. It just fit and that was that and oh boy I knew that the fic needed writing.

How many of your stories are complete? Going by AO3 102! I have 102 complete fics on there and 8 WIPS. But we all know there’s more than that really. I’d say there’s at least another 10 that have never made it to the light and that’s not counting old fandoms from years ago... We don’t talk about them though.

In progress: Good Omens one shot! I got hooked on the song ‘The good, the bad and the dirty’ and it fuelled the one shot <3

Coming soon: Hmmm... I mean the WIPs I’ve been meaning to work on is a Victorian Era Good Omens Fic, an Early Hollywood Era Good Omens Fic.... And a werewolf Gravity Falls fic~ So maybe some time soon? Idk writing is hard at the moment.

Upcoming story you’re most excited to write: Again I have to say Avenging Angel/the one I’m working on because if it wasn’t the thing I was most excited to work on then I wouldn’t be working on it!

Top five favorite authors: Ohhhh but there’s so many gooduns Helloearthlings for King Falls AM stories! @babyblueavenger on AO3 for the Mystery Nerds AU <3 Such a good AU @sightkeeper I can’t help it, your remnants fic has fuelled me to write, fight me.  Asbelow AO3 Time has changed me is amazing @apathetic-revenant By The Skin of Your Teeth <3  @infriga Your 1 Step Forward, 20 years back will forever be one of my favs I went for the fics I go back to time and again. ^O^ You all are amazing! 

Tagging: Any of the above who haven’t done it! Any writing friends/mutuals that I’ve chatted to before please go for it and tag me! I wanna know what you all are working on!!!

[insanelycooljk]

tell me about the bmc deh crossover!

send me the title of one of my deh wips and I’ll share an excerpt/tell you a bit about it

oh absolutely!!! I’ve got BIG plans for this one, so it’s going to take a while to finish, but I think it’s going to be worth it :)

The concept is very straight foward and I’m sure has been done many times before, but basically the bmc and deh kids go to same school, and the musicals respective storylines occur simultaneously.

Honestly I can’t tell you much about the actual plot yet because I’m still working it out, but the squip and connor project storylines will be very intertwined. The plan is for it to be very character-driven so I can tell you about the pre-existing relationships between the bmc and deh kids instead!

Jeremy and Jared

so I made a post about this a little while ago because I just can’t get the idea out of my head but, Jeremy and Jared have a very antagonistic relationship. I can’t explain why but I feel like Jeremy just... irrationally hates Jared. Like, he has no real reason to hate him, he doesn’t bully him or anything like Rich does, but Jeremy just doesn’t like him. It’s mostly because Jared’s shitty sense of humour and the asshole persona he puts on at school but yeah, Jere just doesn’t like him at all.

On that, Jeremy and Evan are kind of friends, and since Jeremy doesn’t like Jared’s sense of humour he definitely doesn’t like how he talks to Evan sometimes

Teachers always mix them up (wrol Jere rights baby!!) and it drives Jeremy crazy lmao

Also Jared is sort of friends with Rich so like... that understandably doesn’t sit well with Jeremy either

And Jeremy’s irrational hatred of Jared is like... extra funny because Jared is completely oblivious lmao. He barely even knows who Jeremy is.

Also, Jared is pretty friendly with Michael, and Jeremy doesn’t quite realise this yet but perhaps... he is jealous 😳

Jared and Rich

Rich and Jared is an interesing one. I mean, Jared is kind of a loser so originally after getting the SQUIP Rich bullied him too.

Except unlike Jeremy, Michael or Evan, Jared actually talks back to Rich and gives him shit too. We know Jared’s not particulary great at jokes under pressure (what are you, like...an acorn??), but he manages to be snarky enough/put up enough of a cocky front that Rich finds him funny and lays off him a bit

So whilst the SQUIP strongly discourages it, he ends up being sort of friends with Jared. Rich’s SQUIP actually kind of uses it as bribing material a little bit, it will let Rich keep being friends with Jared if he does X task the SQUIP wants him to do. That kind of thing :(

The bullying becomes more friendly teasing that goes both ways. Although sometimes Rich’s SQUIP will make him say some homophoic shit that really fucking hurts, but Jared just lets it slide. Partially because he’s still kind of scared of Rich, partially because he definitely doesn’t want to out himself, but mostly:

Jared’s realised that in addition to not being bullied by Rich himself anymore, his semi-friendship with Rich means Rich tends to leave Evan alone now. Which to Jared is definitely worth half-heartedly laughing at whatever hurtful shit Rich says in order to maintain the friendship.

Jared and Michael

Ok so I also said Jared and Michael are kind of friends.

They’ll become much closer later on in the fic when they can bond over their only friend ditching them for popularity/a chance to be with the girl they’re crushing on and are lowkey obssessed with

But at the beginning they’re not quite friends. They both do IT and they sit together in class, but they don’t really talk about much besides their work.

They do have a bit of a rivalry going on though. They’re the top two students in their IT class so they’re very competitive when it comes to tests/assignments/grades.

Also Jared can tend to be a bit of an attention seeker in class, so he’ll make a lot of stupid remarks and jokes that sometimes Michael can’t help but laugh at. He tries not to though because he doesn’t want to give Jared the satisfaction of knowing Michael thinks he’s funny.

And yeah competiveness/rivalry? Could definitely be interpretted as flirting so I can see why Jeremy might be jealous lmao

oh my god why does literally every character so far have some kind of rivalry with Jared ?? What it is about that boy that made my brain go “yeah all the bmc kids just lowkey wanna throw hands with him” ? idk but the idea is making me laugh. I love Jared but he does get on people’s nerves sometimes

Alana and Jenna

Now THIS is a friendship (or who knows, maybe something more??) I’m very excited about

Just think about it, both girls are actually so similar. They both feel invisible and lonely and like no one really cares about them. And unlike say Evan, who doesn’t really actually try to make other friends, both girls make SUCH an effort to be loud and be seen. Jenna with her gossip and Alana with her extremely bubbly and friendly persona.

I think it’s just a really interesting dynamic since they have very different personalities, but deep down they're both struggling with the same feelings of being invisible and unwanted.

Unlike the other relationships above, Alana and Jenna don’t actually have much of a pre-existing relationship. Mostly because Jenna is popular by association with Chloe/Brooke/Jake/Rich, and Alana is defintely not popular.

But, they grow closer working on The Connor Project together, which Jenna is going to play a big part in.

Jenna is the one who records Evan’s YWBF speech and helps it go viral. Alana then suggests they recruit her to join the project as their social media manager. Evan and Jared are freaking out because the last thing they need right now is for the project to go viral and risk the truth coming out, but eventually they see how much good the project is actually doing and realise that this is so much bigger than themselves now, so agree to let her on board.

Ok this is getting very long now lmao so I’m just gonna share a few more quick thoughts

A lot of people don’t like Alana because they find her very intense. Most people she tries to talk to (eg. Evan/Jared/Jeremy) don’t really engage with her, they’ll just make half-hearted conversation as if they’re just waiting for her to leave already. But one of the few people who is genuinely kind to her and actually listens and doesn’t just brush her off is Michael. So they’ve got a nice relationship. (Connor is one of the other people who is kind to Alana. Ooh also probably Christine too, because I can’t imagine her being anything but kind to anyone)

No one else really knows this, not even Jeremy, but Michael is actually quite affected by Connor’s death. They definitely weren’t friends, Michael honestly knew nothing about Connor, but sometimes if Michael’s having a bad day he likes to skip class and smoke behind the school. And often when he did he’d find Connor there too. They never talked much, mostly just sat in comfortable silence, but sometimes it was nice to just have someone else there. Michael doesn’t like sneaking out to smoke during school anymore because he really feels Connor’s absence. And he can’t help but wonder if anything would be different if he ever made a genuine effort to talk to Connor on those days.

Christine and Jared. That’s it, that’s all I have to say lmao. They’d have the same chaotic energy as post-SQUIP Rich and Jared. Jared’s parents have been bugging him about trying to join some clubs this year, or just do something that will look good on his college applications. Obviously later on that becomes The Connor Project, but at the start of the year he signs up to do tech for the school play. So, that’s how Jared and Christine meet. Jared being Jared does his best to push her away and avoid getting close, but this is Christine we’re talking about, she’s not gonna let that happen that easily. So, they end up becoming friends.

Alright I’m gonna stop this here or else this post will never end, but I’m definitely excited about eventually finishing this one!

[louandhazaf]

11 Things Meme

Thanks @runaway-train-works for tagging me!!!

What fic/trope do you really want to write but haven’t yet?

I have a poly a/b/o fic that I’d love to write but I don’t trust myself to pull it off. I have a whole list of fics I’d like to write someday, but I just need to be better at writing faster and more often to get through them all!

What was the first ever fic you wrote and what made you decide to take the plunge and write it?

Oh! What a fun question! My first fic was through the jungle through the dark which was a pinch hit for a spring exchange. I was in a bad funk and knew I needed to start writing again, but trying to write for money didn’t sound like fun at all, so I thought I’d try my hand at fan fiction (I had recently gotten over my very snobby view that fan fic was ‘worse’ than original fics) and signing up for a pinch hit meant that I’d definitely write it because someone was counting on it and I had a deadline so I couldn’t write and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite forever. It worked out really well and I’m still really proud of that fic!

Is there a writer that you love that you think needs more attention and kudos in the fandom?

omg so many. I’m going to to with @musiclily aka musiclily88 on ao3. Everyone should go read The Sexual Edification of Harry Styles, Cool and Quiet, All This Noise, and honey belongs to me

Have you got any long abandoned WIPs lurking?

Why are you doing this to me? Yes! I have 40k of a fic based in Madrid, I have 15k of a Lucifer AU, I have multiple drafts of my ‘Cozy Fic’, and I have a few others that are just snippets or starts that I gave up on too easily. 

Do your close family/friends outside the fandom read your fics?

My very first fic I had my sister and an IRL friend beta read for me because I was so nervous, so my sister knows I write, but she’s not very interested in the 1D fandom. My husband has subscribed to my ao3 so he gets notified, and is always excited when I post something, but I know he hasn’t read them all. And I have have two IRL friends that I gave my ao3 name to recently, because they’re both sex positive and non-judgemental even if they’re not in fandom. And they’re both very supportive and often ask when I’m going to post more stuff! 

Do you ever re-read your own fics after posting them?

Yes. Both because there are some fics that I just really really love, like Fistiana and through the jungle through the dark, and some because I recently started doing podfics, so I’m slowly making my way through the fics I’d like to read out loud. 

If you had to write a sequel to one of your fics tomorrow, which one would it be and why?

It would be my sequel to Swallow My Words because I so desperately would like to write it and can’t get myself to do it. (see also, the question about abandoned fics...)

What kinds of fics/tropes do you think we need more of in the fandom?

Ohhhh hmmmm, I would’ve said lactation kink fics, but we seem to be getting a more of those at the moment, which is awesome. I don’t really know? I’m not in any other fandoms so I think my scope of tropes is pretty slim because I don’t know which ones are popular elsewhere? And there are so many fics that have been written through the years. Maybe more losing virginity fics? Whether real or just for play.

How often do you spend writing in an average week and is there a certain time of day/day of the week you do it?

??? I have no idea at all. A lot of the time I’m ‘writing’ I’m actually scrolling tumblr or fucking off on some other social media site, so it’s hard to say. 

What are your tips for getting out of a writing funk?

Writing something small. I’ve been doing the kiss prompts when I can’t properly write a longer fic. And I think the Shake the Dust Off fest helped a lot of people get back into the swing of writing.

What can people expect from your next fic?

fdkjafdjaklfda GREAT QUESTION!  I would also like to know what to expect from my next fic. I’ve come to a grinding halt on my current WIP, so I’ve been thinking of pivoting to work on something else, but I haven’t actually started working on that either. It’s been really fun, this past week or so. :-/////////

*** My brain is currently not working well enough to tag 11 people or to think of 11 questions, BUT I have loved greatly reading what everyone else has written for these!

[greenishbucket]

some assorted check, please! fic recs

not at all exhaustive, of course! but i’ve read a lot of fic in the years since i first came across this comic and probably not given any the amount of love they deserve, so this is just a selection of some

scared to let your guard down by cumulativeChaos (Ford/Lardo, 4.8k)

Ford isn't an art student, but she likes to visit the art building. It's got a nice view of Lake Quad, a nice view of the art pieces, and a nice view of the pretty senior girl who's always working on the fifth floor. 

Comments: I love Ford all the time despite the little canon we have of her, but I just love Ford here; the humour in her narrative voice, her sweetness, and her determination to make college good despite the isolation-in-a-crowd, nothing’s-wrong-but-it’s-not-right-either feeling which is such a staple of starting college imo. And while as a fic it’s more broadly about that freshman year character growth of finding yourself and setting down new roots, the Ford/Lardo grows from this base and is all the better for it! The way their gradual relationship development is weaved through the fic is really satisfying, and all their interactions are so, so sweet.

too complicated for simple labels (but they sure do help) by @pongpalace/jamesiee (aro!March, QPP March & Ransom, 4.5k)

“What’s 'aromantic' mean?” March asks suddenly, stuck on the ending. “So you know how asexuality is the absence of sexual attraction right? Aro is basically the same except it’s the absence of romantic attraction.” “Romantic attraction?” March hasn’t ever heard the two words put together like that. “Uh, the part of you that wants to like um, date someone. Crushes and stuff.”

Comments: I reread this fic soo often. March’s (and her friends’) understanding of her aromanticism unfolding is handled with such care and nuance. The attention to (especially physical) details makes March’s experiences so vivid and the fic really highlights just how much romance is assumed to be central to people’s lives in big and small ways. But alongside there are always hints of change, and willingness to learn and respect, that keep the overall tone hopeful! March’s relationship with Ransom, which is a delight of mutual respect and and finding peaceful reprieve in each other’s company with a side of dorkiness and cuddles, really cements that.

hold me in this wild, wild world by @queerbycrs/darlingargents (Lardo/Camilla, 666 words)

Lardo thought, sometimes, that Camilla was like the sun.

Comments: I’m not sure I’ve ever been so thoroughly affected by a fic under 1k before. It manages to capture the gentleness and constant-lowkey-settled-affection of a slice of established relationship life so well, and the use of art language/metaphor/etc throughout feels really fitting for Lardo.

untitled fic by @nanlicia (Ransom/Nursey, 1k maybe at a glance)

Justin unlocks the door to his apartment at 4.27am, fighting to keep his eyes open just a minute longer - he only has to make it the 12 steps to his bed.

Comments: Sweet enough to cause tooth decay, honestly. I love domesticity in all it’s slightly unappealing realness, the kind where the trying-to-impress period has passed, and here Nursey eating Ransom’s teriyaki and Ransom being too tired to have sex is a great show of that. The dialogue in particular is a delight.

Little Sour Hearts by @omgericzimmermann (Holster/Esther Shapiro, 6.1k)

The girl is wearing a candy stripe apron, and right as Holster walks into the shop, she makes a face like she’s just taken a bite out of a lemon.

“I can go,” Holster offers.

Comments: Woooooow! I love this take on Holster (and his growth!) and the whole construction of Esther who we barely know!! As suggested by the tags, they are both disasters, and it’s both adorable and achey and I could read so many more fics about these two. Plus their families! The section with Holster’s booming dad and Esther’s eyeliner and sharing truffles was just so much. Esther working in a sweet shop and Holster just taking whatever stuff she offers is a really nice opening-closing link, too, and throughout I just really enjoyed their whole dorky thing.

bless this mess and call it a home by pepperfield (Nursey/Dex, 27.4k)

The thing is, being able to talk to houses doesn't actually preclude them from conspiring to ruin your life. Dex finds this out a little too late. First comes the Dib Flip, then Nursey's bed, and the water heater...the Haus definitely has it in for him.

In which Dex has house magic, Haus has Haus magic, and at least one of them is in love with Nursey.

Comments: I feel like this must be a staple of any Nursey/Dex reading? But it deserves a mention here, because I’ve read it so many times and I adore the entire concept of a living Haus and domestic magic. The dialogue between everyone but esp Dex and Nursey is a delight and really enviable in how it feels so organic, plus the classic of Dex thinking it’s just the house’s feelings (oh, hon) stretches out for the most enjoyable length of time.

hand on your heart by @zombiesolace (Chowder/Lardo/Nursey, 6.1k)

Three struggling art students and a whole lotta love.

Comments: Very stressed but passionate and loving art students Chowder, Lardo, and Nursey is everything I didn’t know I needed. The detail of the Art Experience is really immersive and I loved how the three of them all linked up bit by bit. The inclusion of Charmer through text was so nice, too, and I really like how they all just go for it? I love some dragged out mutual pining but this was just so refreshing, and so fun! 

The Takeover by @giraffeter (Bitty/Jack, Shitty/Lardo, SMH friendship, 47k (WIP))

When Eric Bittle started his new job at a local tech startup, he wasn't expecting to find a home.

When pro hockey player Jack Zimmermann agreed to a sponsored Instagram takeover for his favorite nutrition tracking app, he wasn't expecting their social media person to be quite so cute.

When Shitty Knight founded a company, he wasn't expecting being his friends' boss would be this hard.

(AU in which the gang all work together at a tech startup)

Comments: It may be hot off the presses, but this fic has already made its place as one of my most fav Check, Please fics out there!! This is some of the most consistently enjoyable and on point characterisation, dialogue, and journeys of everyone and I actually really like the amount of insight into start up businesses! So so so satisfyingly cohesive, and just a general joy to read! Catch my probs v incoherent comment on the last chapter when it comes to get a more live reaction :D

[arynneva]

10 Questions Tag

I was tagged by the super cool @loopyhoopydrabbles thank you!

1. if you could trade places with one character (yours or someone else’s) who would it be?

Going with one of my characters, probably Luce from Divine Humanity and it’s sequel. Her homeland isn’t in the best shape, and she’s an Anamium, but it’s modern and fairly okay compared to other places and characters. She doesn’t have a bad life, all things considered.

2. who’s your favorite author role model?

Rick Riordan. As much as I love his books, it’s his social presence that I enjoy. From what I’ve seen, he’s pretty interactive with his fans, and also quite sassy. That’s the kind of author I want to be.

3. where’s your favorite place to write?

My room. I don’t have to worry about people looking over my shoulder, and I can lay around in my pajamas. I don’t feel comfortable writing in public.

4. if you could rewrite a famous novel what would it be and how would you change it?

That feels kinda rude. I guess I’ll answer with a famous book that I wish did something a little better: The Great Gatsby. While a great book, I hated how little setup each scene got. I had no idea who was where half the time. One character would just start talking and I’d be like “oh, when did you get here?” Not all scenes, but some of them.

5. what book made you want to write?

I don’t remember there being a specific book that made me want to write. There is one series that gave me courage, but the reasoning is personal, so I’m keeping it to myself. I guess the Harry Potter series influenced me as well, seeing as it was my childhood.

6. where do you see yourself as a writer in 5 years?

I just want to finish one book without getting sidetracked by another idea. I don’t know if I’ll be published in 5 years, but I hope I’ll be close to that point.

7. what’s your WIP about?

Divine Humanity is about an Anamium named Ethan who just wants to go home, but is a target of various people because of his bloodline. With him, James wants to be worth something to someone, while proving their country’s crimes. So, discrimination and human experimentation, with a theme of finding your place in the world (and treating people like people and not tools, but that kinda goes along with the whole discrimination thing).

8. favorite bookstore?.

I always love going to any single bookstore. They are fun to explore and often have cool designs. However, to be honest, I go to Barnes and Nobles more than any. It has all kinds of books, so it makes finding stuff a challenge, but it’s like there will always be something new to see. Also, it has comic books, and most of the small bookstores I go to don’t. And seeing as I like both, I prefer when a store sells multiple media.

9. what color do you want your first book jacket to be?

Well, assuming Divine Humanity is my first book, probably navy blue. I associate it most with blue, and the cover design I am currently using would do well with navy.

10. how many words do you plan on your WIP being?

Hard to tell at this point. It’s probably going to be around 100,000 words at the rate it’s going, but with the edits and whatnot, I can’t say for sure.

If any of y’all want to do this and haven’t already, I’ll tag @nullwrites​ @ana-the-writer​ and @charvaughn-writes​

[izzy-b-hands]

Live From Garden Lodge

Written for my DL server Bingo Card for the prompt Social Media AU. Also an AU in which we have Freddie and Jim with us in current times!

It took me ages to finally pull something together for this prompt, but this was fun to write, once it finally came to me! If there’s interest and I can get my WIP list managed again, I might consider writing a follow-up in the future, especially if folks are interested!

A quick synopsis: the lads and a livestream during the current pandemic.

My love to all who read/like/reblog!

“This feels like a bad idea,” Freddie said gently. 

Around him, Adam, Brian, and John were fussing with their phones, the webcam setup, and god only knew what else (it wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in learning about it, but right now it was all horribly overwhelming, since they’d more or less sprung the idea of a livestream on him.) All of it had taken over the spare room in Garden Lodge that Freddie had volunteered for use for the event. 

“It’ll be fine,” Roger reassured. “Hm. Brian, We have to post about this, right? With the link?” 

“On Instagram, yes, that’s what we said we’d do earlier in the week when we announced this,” Brian said, shuffling some of the equipment over, only for John to immediately move it back to its original spot. “Are you asking me to do it for you?” 

“Not exactly,” Roger said. “I remember how.” 

“Do you?” Brian asked.

“...I haven’t called Sarina to let her know how we’re doing,” Roger said. “I should do that.” 

“Don’t call her to beg her to do it, just let me help you,” Brian held out his hand for Roger’s phone. “There’s no shame in it. How much tech have we had to learn over the years; so what if you can’t remember how to use some of the newer stuff?” 

Roger frowned, but handed it over. “As if you don’t forget how to post things on there too.” 

“I do,” Brian said. “On occasion.” 

“Oh, just ‘on occasion’?” Roger scoffed. 

“Both of you, stop,” Adam interjected gently. “Or I will reveal just how many texts I have from all of you, asking me how to do this or that online or on an app.” 

“You’ve only got the one from me,” John protested. 

“Yes, and that one was just you texting me your number,” Adam said. “I wasn’t counting that one. I think you could do circles around me with most electronics.” 

“I try,” John said, and batted away Brian’s hand as he reached for a cord. “I’ve got it as it should be! Let it alone!” 

“Grumpy,” Brian teased, settling onto the couch near Freddie, tapping at the screen of Roger’s phone. “Roger!” 

“What?” Roger asked. “Something wrong with logging into it?” 

“You left your password as ‘Password!’” Brian scoffed. “We’ve talked about this!” 

“Oh, and what are all yours? Password1?” 

Brian went quiet, and resumed his tapping. 

“Is this something they really want?” Freddie asked. “The fans, I mean. Surely, this won’t be as interesting as they’re thinking-” 

“The last few times we’ve done any livestreams, video Q and As,” Adam interrupted him. “They’ve asked where you and John are. They know you both don’t want to be doing this all the time, and the majority are great, and respect that. That said, I think some of it is just out of worry. They want to see you both too, know that you’re okay, doing well, especially with everything going on. As it is, I answered so many messages and comments asking if we were quarantining together and doing this all safely, to reassure them that we were.” 

Freddie nodded, but it was evident to everyone that he wasn’t shaken of the uncertainty of the situation. 

“I get it,” Adam said. “It’s...a little weird. No matter how many times you do it, talking to a camera, knowing that people are watching, but you can’t tell unless they comment or react. We don’t have to make this a regular thing, if you guys don’t like it. Brian does enough like this to keep most of the fans busy, I think.” 

Brian smiled. “You do quite a bit yourself.” 

Adam nodded. “And if we still want to give them something else, there are options. A podcast, or videos we can make ahead of time and release every other month, or something. I think a lot of them are feeling alone, and it’s a nice connection, you know? To feel like you’re shooting the shit with a musician you like.” 

“Jacky and some others from the fan club are moderating for us as well,” John added. “So if anyone crosses lines, gets out of hand, they’ll be politely warned once, and then kicked off the stream if they can’t behave.” 

“I’ll try, if nothing else,” Freddie said. “Have they given us some idea of what they want us to talk about?” 

“When we asked on Instagram and YouTube,” Brian replied. “We mostly got requests for tour stories. Behind the scenes things, stories from the studio. Nothing too wild.” 

“Except for that one,” Adam giggled. “Pretty obviously just fucking with us, but it was funny, even if they aren’t getting an answer to their question.” 

“Dare I ask what it was?” Freddie smiled. “How horribly salacious was it?” 

“Asking how often we’ve seen each other naked, things like that,” Roger scoffed. “As if we’d even be able to keep track of that. I’ve never tried, but if I had, surely I would have lost count by...god, probably ‘77? And the millionth too-small shared dressing room, where you either strip in front of everyone or perform in whatever you wore to the venue.” 

“A few were a bit insensitive,” Brian winced. “I feel it would be wrong not to tell you that. Asking about Jim and yourself, your health, John being away, and not asking in the kindest way, either...” 

A bit of tension entered the room. It was an unspoken rule that the nineties and the horribly close call they’d had in nearly losing Freddie was talked about only if Freddie brought it up, and if he asked for the talking to stop, it did immediately. As it was, it was still a sensitive topic when interviewers tried to bring up the break Freddie had taken, and that he had helped them bring Adam in as a co-lead singer/frontman. The rags seemed to always want to pit it as Adam vs. Freddie, when it wasn’t like that and never had been, and anyone close to them knew how upsetting it was to both Freddie and Adam. 

There was also the unspoken rule that John’s break from the band (during the same period as Freddie’s) was handled the same way. If he was comfortable talking about it, fine. If he wanted discussion over it to stop, then it stopped. 

“Well,” Freddie said slowly. “We’ll see. If anyone asks during this stream, maybe I’ll address some of it. I don’t want to think they were all intending to be crass or rude, after all.” 

“But at the same time, you’d like to tell the ones who are that way to fuck off?” Roger guessed. 

“Yeah,” Freddie admitted. “Some of them are younger though, they don’t know any better, I figure. I’m trying to be understanding, in my old age.” 

“Shush,” John laughed as he finished the last of the setup. “You’ve still got nearly all your damned hair, and at most of its natural color, no less. Old, my ass.” 

“I’m the oldest out of all of you,” Freddie said. “Don’t talk back to your elders.” 

“I dare you to say that on the stream,” Roger chuckled. “See how the kids react to that!” 

“I’m sure they’ll be wild enough,” Freddie said. “I won’t antagonize them more unless they ask for it.” 

“Talk like that and you’ll get half of them calling you Daddy,” Adam smirked. “And that’s a...different thing, now, with the internet.” 

“I’m aware,” Freddie said, and the room went quiet. “What? Just because I don’t do all this social media shit doesn’t mean I don’t go online! I email all of you, for fuck’s sake!” 

“Right,” Adam said. “But that particular trend is a, well. A sexual one. So I suppose I didn’t expect...but you know what? That’s on me. I shouldn’t underestimate any of you, frankly.” 

“Dangerous thing, that,” Roger nodded. “We’re all just powder kegs, don’t you know, Adam?” 

“I should probably know by now,” Adam laughed. “Do the powder kegs want tea, before we get started?” 

“Already on it,” Phoebe had a tray in his hands, pushing aside the door, a few cats following him as he walked in. 

“What would we do without you?” Freddie smiled, helping him settle the tray on one of the few empty surfaces in the room. 

“Make your own tea, I suppose,” Phoebe chuckled. “Or make Adam do it, perhaps?” 

“I would look good in an apron, in the kitchen,” Adam said. “If you take a vacation, we’ll have to give it a try.” 

“If you can teach this one to use a microwave, go for it,” Phoebe said, gesturing to Freddie, who let out a gasp of faux-shock. 

“I know how to use it,” Freddie defended. “I just don’t give a shit to use it if one of you will do it for me. It’s valid, as the kids say.” 

“They do say,” Adam nodded sagely. 

“Nearly time,” John noted, and they crowded together on the couch as Phoebe herded the cats out and shut the door to the room behind him. 

---

“Songs with Adam, that have been written?” Freddie read off the screen. “Would I let them be released?” 

He scoffed. “Of course! But I can’t say anymore, secrets, secrets...” 

“As it is,” Brian noted. “I just got a text from Mr. Jim Beach. He said ‘say no more!’“ 

“See?” Freddie gestured at the camera, as if he was talking face-to-face with a friend, and not at the thousands of people that were watching the stream, according to Jacky, who was texting them updates re: moderation of the stream. “Strangled from giving you anymore information, I tell you! You’ll all have to be patient!” 

A stream of happy emoji reactions flooded in, and he smiled.

“Not as bad as you thought?” Roger whispered as Brian took over for a moment, addressing a question about his stereoscopic company. 

“Not so bad,” Freddie replied quietly. “Could almost get used to this, on occasion.” 

“Monthly, or every other, maybe,” Roger agreed. 

Adam winced at the next question. “I know, we’d like to be out playing as well. But it’s not safe yet, and I know you all know that already, but it bears repeating. Masks on, social distancing, and if we’re lucky, maybe we’ll be back to playing shows in some places by the end of next year.” 

“And that’s probably a bit generous of an estimation,” Brian said. “We’ve got health in general to consider, not just the virus. We want to be out there as badly as you want to come see us, but we’ve got to do it safely. Doctor’s orders, family’s orders, friend’s orders!” 

“Could do something like this, couldn’t we?” Freddie suggested, and the emoji reactions pinged loudly and quickly. “I mean, it won’t be anything like a proper stage show, mind. Anyone coming in with that expectation should leave it at the door. But I wouldn’t mind trying it.” 

“We’ll put it on the list,” John said, and laughed at the first comment that came up. “Yes, I’m still here. Sitting aside, drinking my tea. I had retired, essentially, you know! I’ve got to warm back up to all this.” 

“I think you’re doing wonderfully,” Freddie said. “Oh, what’s this one? How is Jim? Ah, well-” 

Before he could finish his sentence the door popped open, and in ran the latest adoption. A black cat, that despite all attempts to rename it, only responded to the name ‘Cat.’ 

“You aren’t supposed to be in here right now,” Freddie scolded as he picked Cat up. “Well then, say hello to everyone!” 

The chat flooded with comments and heart emojis as Cat meowed at the camera. 

“Now, to answer your question,” Freddie started, only to be interrupted again as Jim rushed in. “Never mind, he can tell you himself!” 

“Sorry?” Jim asked, taking Cat from Freddie’s arms. 

“They want to know how you are,” Freddie said, and gave a sweeping gesture towards the camera. “So, how are you?” 

“Failing to wrangle cats?” Jim laughed softly. “Sorry about this, by the way. He knows how to jump at the door handles until they open...” 

“It would be a talent, if he used it for good,” Freddie said, giving Cat a quick kiss on the head. “But he came from a rough home, according to the shelter. He’s still learning how to use his powers for good, aren’t you?” 

Cat mewed, and wriggled in Jim’s hands. 

“We’d better go,” Jim said, and out of habit, leaned down for a kiss from Freddie, who more than happily leaned up to meet him for it. 

The chat exploded. 

“Goodness,” Freddie blushed. “I’ll agree with the first comment I saw now: he gets to kiss me, so he must be doing well! I suppose he must be. Including myself in that, since I get to kiss him.” 

“Can we meet the other cats?” Adam read off the screen. “Freddie?” 

“That would be an undertaking,” Freddie smiled. “And we’re nearly at time, aren’t we?” 

“Unfortunately, we are,” Brian confirmed. “But it’s been a good hour or two here, hasn’t it?” 

“It has,” Freddie said. “To answer all those comments coming up, will we do this again? I know it was hinging on myself and John...” 

He looked to John, who smiled and nodded. 

“We will indeed be doing this again. Maybe not on a regular schedule, but with plenty of time to make sure you all are ready to join us. The lads here mentioned some other options we have to talk to all of you, podcasts, things like that. Maybe we’ll look into those yet, especially if we’re all to be stuck at home for some time. A way to keep all of us sane, hm?” 

The chat was full of happy replies and comments and emojis as they said good-byes and closed out the stream. 

“You mean it?” Brian smiled. 

Freddie nodded. “I don’t think I’ll ever be help in setting all of the gear for it up.” 

“That’s what I’m here for,” John said. “No worries.” 

“We can help too,” Roger said. 

“Sure,” John said, but he shook his head just a bit as he caught Freddie’s eye.

“It was wonderful though. They really just wanted to hear us blather, to tell them stories,” Freddie said. “I mean, I know you all told me about their want for that when I first came back years ago, but I didn’t realize how strong it was.” 

“Especially now,” Adam nodded. “People are lonely and scared, missing human connection.” 

“I didn’t realize how good it would feel to have that with them,” Freddie admitted. “And kudos to Jacky and the lot looking after it all. It must not have been too bad?” 

John shook his head. “Nah, not too bad. She texted me the grand total of people kicked, only round ten of them.” 

“That is surprisingly good,” Adam said, and seemed legitimately shocked. “Then again, we’ve got good fans, don’t we? Don’t have to worry so much about them getting out of hand.” 

“Aside from the question or two about our undressing in front of each other,” Roger smirked. “But they are good. I’m happy we’ll be doing this again for them. Gives us something to do, to keep us from going mad as well.” 

“...Got to be over 400,” John mused. 

“What?” Brian asked.

“Times we’ve seen each other naked, changing for shows, and all that,” John replied. 

“Have you been thinking about that this whole time?” Adam giggled. 

“Well, that’s with your count in as well, Adam, but that one is a bit lower of a number to add in. Even so, if we consider how many shows we’ve played, occasionally with multiple outfit changes...It’s an interesting stat, is all I’m saying. I can see why they asked,” John said, as sensibly as if he was discussing the weather. 

Brian shook his head. “Well then. If that person asks us again, we’ll have an answer for them!” 

“Speaking of the requests,” Freddie said. “We didn’t talk much about backstage going ons and all that this time. We could focus on that maybe, for the next one? If they’re all still interested, of course.” 

“I think they’ll be plenty interested,” Roger said. “And I like that idea. Shall we just plan out the next one, before we clean all this up?” 

The empty cups of tea accumulated, alongside a few plates of various snacks, over the rest of the night as they worked. The actual setup wouldn’t be cleaned up until nearly midnight, but by then, they not only had the next few livestreams planned, but also the first episode of a podcast. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to show that even if the world was currently down, it wouldn’t keep them down and out.