#omg also it's the 'it chapter 2' plot if you don't want to count friend ... i got you

[angclnumber]

CLOSED STARTER FOR: @seolinah ! BASED ON: this plot ( the sixth plot specifically ) !

"IT'S ABSOLUTELY FUCKED THAT IT CAN JUST ... COME BACK ." flick fumbles to say, her face pinched as she looks at the expanse of their old town . nothing has changed . how is it nothing has changed ? it's been years .despite being back all of three seconds, flick already feels deeply smothered . she spots just a glimpse of her family's motel through the car window and swears she feels her throat get tight . "how can it just come back ? we killed it ." flick reiterates, glancing at them and seeing part of the kid she used to know and part someone else entirely . she hesitates . "right ?"

[valeriianz]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @honeyteacakes <3 (and belatedly, @tharkuun haha)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

25

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

400,576 (+ 100k extra from fics i've deleted/orphaned in the past few years haha rip)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

i am at the mercy of the hyperfixation, and currently it's The Sandman and Dreamling exclusively.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1) Salvation (How to Get Away With Murder) 2) The Red Witch (Good Omens) 3) Bolt in the Blue (The Sandman) 4) Let Me Down Easy (The Sandman) 5) Show Me (The Mandalorian)

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

yes and no. i love that people take the time to show their appreciation for a fic and i always want to reply and show how much it means to me... but i have this bad habit of not replying to comments on say, older works or older chapters of a fic. idk why... im just not good at it lol BUT I LOVE AND APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE COMMENT, EVEN THE LITTLE ONES 💖💖

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

oh, Exit Wounds, for sure haha

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

im a sucker for happy endings so i'd say, everything else lol but particularly Almost Idyllic (The Song of Achilles) due to the build up and Salvation also, because of the events leading up to the ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not since my ff.net days haha.

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

very occasionally. and nothing too wild (except for that dreamling butt plug one. that was. hmm.) but i typically enjoy writing first times.

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

i do not.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nope. though i have seen ideas/prompts used without credit. it doesn't bother me much.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope.

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

once, The Red Witch (which btw has been discontinued, pls don't read it lol). it started off just me, then my editor jumped on maybe 5 chapters in once i realized they were much more versed in magick and fantasy than me.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

haha probably Zutara.

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

ahhh haha... fuck. idk i want to say none. but my brain keeps whispering about the dreamling road trip au. i thought i had a plot but as i continue working on bitb and other little drabbles... ive realized i might've bitten off more than i can chew. and my only option is to completely sideline it until im done with bitb, or change the story (because right now the research i have to do for it is too much and y'all know how i am...) it sucks cos i do want to write it. but it's difficult when all my patience for research is already going into one fic (bitb).

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue and monologuing, probably.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

self 👏 motivation 👏 finding 👏 the 👏 urge 👏 to 👏 write (technically, it's tense. i flip between past and present tense constantly and at this point i just consider it one of my endearing qualities pfft)

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

i try to avoid it but when it happens i just use Google Translate and then toss a disclaimer that ive done my best (to which usually a commenter will helpfully correct me and then all is well)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Inuyashaaaaa (Miroku/Sango omg). exchanging physical notebooks with my friends with fanfics we'd written in school lol

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

truly a tie between Savory & Sweet and Let Me Down Easy (at the moment). the restaurant au was so easy and fun to write (probably because i used to be in the industry) and i reread it a lot. the pacing is fast and i love how immediate Hob and Dream fall into each other haha. Let Me Down Easy was very similar. my major was Media Production in undergrad and although it's been a while since i've held a camera, it was fun putting myself back in that environment. also the angst and tension were just a blast to write and figure out.

(this was an excellent waste of time, thanks again!) tagged, if y'all want, @magnusbae @teejaystumbles @ml-nolan @tj-dragonblade @reallyintoscience @delta-pavonis @staroftheendless

[ddwcaph-game]

Hi! It's super late, and I should probably be sleeping right now! I wanted to wait until I played through EVERYTHING (and I do mean everything. I'm trying multiple playthroughs and different paths to try and see all the different traits, secrets, and extra scenes I can find). I'm not sure if it counts as spoilers now, but I'm giving a heads up just in case. SPOILERS

@hypr-nova First off, sorry for the very late reply! Second, thank you very much for sending this in! I really appreciate it. ❤️ I hope you don't mind that I split up your ask so it's easier to answer.

So far, it looks like the story the twins' mom told them was true! And the power of the lockets?! Rosie almost got hit by a truck - but we can rewind time to make it so that didn't happen?!

I wouldn't say that it's rewinding time exactly (it'll make more sense later), but that's a very interesting idea, since a full day reset was one of the main plot points in the older versions of the story.

Also, it was a school bus, not a truck. That detail is very important. 😛

And the conversation with Rosie's parents, about the mystery man who dropped her off with them than disappeared? Is he also from that other world? Seeing as the story "we" as the main characters choose to write has some bearing on our traits, dies that mean we (including our friends) have repressed memories of the world we cane from previously or is our imagination effecting the real world in some weird inverse reality type thing which makes the impossible possible?

Hmm, I can't answer this properly without spoiling stuff, but some of your questions will be answered if you read IAC! 😉

I do find it weird that a good portion of our friend group is orphaned or missing a parent (like, they just dropped of the face of the planet like the twins' mom).

Yup, Wayne also pointed this out in Chapter 2, and there's a plot-relevant reason for it. I wouldn't say that's what happened with Maggie though (since she still calls the twins every so often), but that's sort of true with MC's dad and JM's mom.

And what's up with JM's stepmom and the weird conversation she was having with (I think?) JM's dad?

Yup, that was JM's dad. You'll get some extra information on the convo if your MC has [Enhanced Senses], but if not, it'll be easier to get the trait from the new Ancestry Traits in the next update. Either way, he is very suspicious, isn't he?

And I'm pretty sure this was in the last update, but I just realized Paddy said they didn't know about us until we got there. Like, before that they had never heard about us and didn't even know his mom had a sister. So, does that mean they're not actually? And what about what Paddy's parents were hiding? Are they also from the other worlds?!

No, Maggie and Julie were just estranged from each other, and they didn't want their kids to ask where their aunt is. So now you have to wonder what happened for Maggie to ask Julie a favor and leave her kids with her.

As for what Julie's hiding... I'll just say that she has a cameo appearance in IAC. 😉

Wait wait wait - and Ma'am Bianes said she was going to be working close to the twins' mom! OMG IS MA'AM IN ON IT?! IS THE PLACE THEY EVEN LIVE IN REAL?! ARE THEY EVEN ON EARTH ANYMORE?!

Hehe. I'm really excited to write Chapter 8 now. But yes, they're technically still on Earth. I think. Maybe.

So is this like a pocket dimension and that's why odd things are starting to happen? Like the weird weather and our weirdly smart dog?! - AND WAS THAT ACTUALLY MY DOG I SAW IN THE RAIN OR WAS MY CHARACTER MISTAKEN?!

Okay, I don't think this counts as a spoiler, but all the weird things happening are because of the "plot hole" that's mentioned in the title.

And I dunno, why do you think MC's pet has a "Secrets Discovered" section in the diary? 😛

I'm sorry if I'm rambling! I have more questions, but I think I'll let you answer these first, lol. One of the things I love the most about this IF is how it seems like a light-hearted slice-of-life game, there's actually things to uncover if you're paying close enough attention. I know it should seem obvious since we can gather secrets, but despite some of those secrets seeming childish at first glance, I feel like they might actually be leading to something bigger. I definitely had to take a second look at them. Even the treasure might be pointing to something - I'm looking at you hairclip/barrette in my favorite color!

Hehe, don't worry! I'd say rambly feedback is the best kind of feedback to read. This was a real delight to read the first time. 😄

And yes, that's why I hesitate to call DDWCaPH! a kids story. It just happens to have kids as the protagonists.

Anyway, whether or not you choose to read IAC, I'm very much willing to answer any other questions you have! There's a lot of hidden details and foreshadowing scattered around the story. 😉

(Also, I don't think there's anything suspicious with the hairpin. It's probably wise to keep a closer look at some of the other trinkets though, hehe.)

[peachonified]

tagged by @mayalaen and I couldn't resist :)

20 questions for fic writers

First, my AO3

How many works do you have on AO3?

202 - that was more than I expected!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,067,968

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Kuroko no Basket and Haikyu!! I was very prolific in Supernatural (and I feel the urge returning tbh), and I keep umming and ahhing about writing in BNHA. In my past I have also written for Glee, Sherlock, and Harry Potter. And that's like, one fic for each fandom xD

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

To Make A Nest A Traditional Family Sammy's Little Boy Not Meant to Be This Omega is Mine Unsurprisingly, they are all SPN fics!

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

I do! I love responding to comments. Sometimes it takes me years (I have honestly responded to comments that are 6 years old) but to me, it's about community, and I won't to share what I love - which is my fic! It's like I comment on peoples art and stories cos I want them to feel the love, and I love that you can become friends when they respond back! that is how I've made most of my fandom friends, and (especially) in this time of reduced interactions, I want to keep it going.

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

I don't do angst. I don't. But it's probably Sammy's Little Boy. That is one of the few true non-cons I have written and it doesn't end with it being good.

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

They pretty much all have happy endings. Like.. that's my jam. but I guess Friday Nights (KagaKuro/AoKi) is pretty happy and Handkerchief Hijinks (AkaBoKuroo) Great and Striking Actions which Dazzle the Eyes (Destiel) is like, the funnest sort of crack fic but honestly a lot of what I write is pretty light.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

oh gosh yes! I once got death threats and it was awful. In retrospect they were an anon coward, but wow that was an experience. I think that antis are more vocal but they've been there forever. There's an element of such an idiot who can't not like something without informing everyone.

9. Do you write smut?

*nods* I do

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

I have never written one, but I have one started at the moment! I have the first chapter and some general plot points. It's a KnB/HQ dystopian d/s verse. I think it's really cool, and I am SO TEMPTED to post the first chapter, but it can take a while to get back to some of my fics...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I have. A couple of times. It's the height of rudeness tbh. Just write your own stuff.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. A few.

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

I wrote a few years ago but haven't in a while. I'd like to do it again!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't have one. I don't! I have characters who I ship with everyone (Kise, Bokuto, Dean) and I love them with everyone! I lean towards polyships because I think that everyone should be happy. At the moment I am definitely feeling AkaKi... but I still Kise is everyone princess. Dean is everyone princess.... slight wincestiel leaning, and Bo is (you guessed it) everyone princess. If I end up dabbling in bnha Kirishim will be... is everyone princess.

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

I think I'll finish them all.

16. What are your writing strengths?

World building. Humour. Polydynamics. all things I want to read. Honestly I'd write less if I could read more!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

finishing things. omg is finishing things hard!

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

I add japanese words to things. for the japenese characters. like where I don't like the direct translation, or the word conveys much more than the english translation.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think it was Glee?

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I refuse to choice. I love them all. I especially love the polyships in d/s and omegaverse settings.

honestly, I tag anyone who is interested! this was a fun one, cos there was lots of opinion, not just stats!

[whimsyswastry]

AO3 Asks

Tagged by @quietborderline 💛 (I'm still working on the last writing asks you sent me! But this one looks like is much easier than picking out specific lines from my writing, so hopefully it won't take two months plus to publish lol)

Tagging: All you writers out there. I'll tag a couple of you directly, but please don't feel pressured to answer. And if I didn't tag you, it's my lizard brain. Please answer them and tag me so I can read your wonderful answers 💛

@flamehairedsiren @pigeontheoneandonly @greypetrel @destiel-wings

How many works do you have on AO3? 39 (Mostly one shots)

What's your total AO3 words count? 105,481

What fandoms do you write for? The last year has been Mass Effect only, but I have a few Dragon Age and Greedfall pieces as well. And there might be an Anthem ficlet? I can't remember.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? (1) Masquerade & Mysteries (Greedfall) (2) 31 Days of Kurtober (Greedfall) (3) The Hot Zone (Mass Effect: Andromeda) (4) Unharrowed (Dragon Age) (5) Operation Leviathan (Mass Effect)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Almost always. I really enjoy getting comments and even though I get incredibly anxious to respond because even though I feel like an imposter to be like "OMG THANKS!!!" I am truly thankful for the time they took to not only read, but to reach out, too.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Unharrowed; but only because it's plotted out to be a trilogy. So the first book ends with a high level of angst. Unfortunately, the one that's currently published to AO3 is not only unfinished, but also COMPLETELY different from the re-write I'm working on.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Masquerades & Mysteries, but technically it's not done yet. Because...I feel way too intimidated to finish the story, because in truly 10K story fashion, it ends with a smut chapter. And I don't really do that.

Do you get hate on fics? I've gotten some...disappointing comments that paraded under the false pretenses of "constructive criticism" but as they were from strangers, it mostly just felt like criticism. But only on Unharrowed which makes sense because Unharrowed (the version that's published on AO3) is very weak. It was my first story coming back from a 15 year hiatus of writing fiction (I'd been too busy writing academic research papers). And...you can tell.

Do you write smut. If so what kind? I do, but usually fade-to-black scenarios before it gets explicit. I have one story that I wasn't planning on fading to black, and it has been sitting in limbo for like 3 years because I'm too intimidated to try and write it.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I don't do DIRECT crossovers, but I will definitely take pieces of other fandoms and just apply them to my own. I haven't written it yet, but I do have a pretty wild pseudo-crossover planned. It's the plot of House of Ashes by Supermassive, but instead of the HOA characters, they're all the characters from Mass Effect.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of, but that's probably because every single fic I have published so far is only half done. And also because I have a couple dedicated readers, but I don't advertise my writing very often (not advertise, but things like blogging the links)

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I'm aware of.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? I've never co-written, but I've had the opportunity to give my input while beta-ing my best friends Dragon Age fic.

What's your all-time favourite ship? I can choose favorites in each fandom, but probably not all time. Kaidan and Shepard have been reining supreme lately though.

What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I am uncertain I'll ever finish Unharrowed. I had planned on writing 50k of it this year for NaNo, but due to health issues, I have chosen to not participate in NaNo this November. Hopefully I can still crank out 50K in April during camp.

What are your writing strengths? Plot. My plots are banger. Dialogue sounds pretty natural, I think.

What are your writing weaknesses? CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Which sucks, because you can have a weak story, that people will still love if your characters are strong. And my character aren't weak, but they are not dynamic. They don't tend to grow. Hopefully, realizing that about myself over the last year, maybe I can change that.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I don't mind if it makes sense storywise, or if it's a nickname for another character. But in general, I think it just creates more work for the reader, which isn't always a good decision.

First fandom you wrote for? Ever? Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place way back in 2002. It still gets a few likes every couple years and it startles me lol but it's on FF.Net, not AO3. The first for AO3 was Dragon Age.

Favourite fic you've ever written? It's not done, but The Hot Zone is definitely one of my favorites.

Answering these made me realize I really need to finish a story. Like..badly. Lmao they're all half drafted or half edited or just pseudo-abandoned.

[apparently-artless]

haii hii art how are you !!! i just wanted to let you know that after 17364748436 years of procrastination i finally watched the one piece live action!! I wanted to lyk earlier, but i procrastinated (again) ALSO. i read a few chapters of the goofy boss manga and they are so cute omg????

Andd, if it's not much of a bother can you recommend more stuff like webtoons that yoy like !! Somehow all your recs are super fun to read,, so if its not a problem can you rec some more stuff hehe :3

^ a cat for yuor troubles

hi, mimi! thank you for sending me a message! and that's a super cute cat by the way! what's the name?? send me a gentle pat on the head, will you? i don't have one so i can only look at cat pics and videos of other people. (︶︹︺) and make gifs of that tsundere cat, hakutou. lol

anyway, did you enjoy one piece? i had fun watching it. not the best live action out there for me but considering it's one piece, i'd say the cast did a wonderful job. it's also nice to know you already tried the goofy boss manga!! they are all super adorable and just heal your soul. ^^

as for webtoons, i do have some i can recommend:

Devil Number 4 - a devil and a young woman formed a "contract" in exchange for her soul. it's a cute story, has some plot twists here and there and the story of the other characters are interesting too. this is already completed so you don't have to wait for the new chapters. i might reread this again.

Interview with a Murderer by Queensa - this one's BL. as the title suggests, one of the MC is a serial killer and the other character is a journalist. but if you are not comfortable with serial killers and psychological thrillers, feel free to ignore this one. this one is just one of my favourite BL webtoons so i might as well include it in the list. this is only around 60+ chapters and the ending felt a bit rushed. and because the story is so good, i would've preferred if there were a few more chapters or at least some side stories.

Eleceed - imagine Study Group but give the students powers, enemies of today become friends of tomorrow. this series is pretty much addicting. when i finished reading up to the latest, i ended up rereading my favourite parts. and the relationship of the main character with his friends is so good.

Bring the Love by Zestkyo - this one's my ultimate favourite romance webtoon. i must admit, i am not a superfan of series that focuses heavily on romance, but this one is just the best romance story for me. season 1 is already completed and season 2 is still ongoing. i also lost count of the number of times i reread my favourite scenes. this one's historical (13th century setting) so just a heads-up in case this setting is not your cup of tea. and oh, there are lgbt couples here, too!

these are what i recommend for now! i am still reading eleceed and bring the love, but devil number 4 and interview with a murderer are both completed. i hope this helps! (￣▽￣*)ゞ

last but not the least! i would also like to recommend another manga series, kyuujitsu no warumono-san (mr. villain's day-off). it's also a light-hearted, soul-healing series. and this is getting anime and broadcast starts in january. you may also watch this through my gifs since i will definitely be making edits for this one. lol

[moth--knight]

HEY YOU!! DEAR FRIEND!! ANSWER ALL OF THOSE AO3 WRAP UP QUESTIONS!! (if you want... Lol)

HEY YOU!! I SHALL DEAR FRIEND!! THANK YOU FOR ASKING!! (under the cut tho cause this is long)

How many words have you written this year?

If my math is correct.....150k words. omg? last year it was 98.7k so I wrote more this year somehow. neat!

2. How many works did you publish this year?

Published 21, but worked on 24 since three of my fics were multichapters that I started last year :)

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

Hmm....probably a three way tie between superstition, severed, and sunday best. superstition I am proud of for actually attempting to write, since it is a proper multichapter with a plot and everything (lolsies). severed was a delight to write and I am very proud of how well I captured the elden ring character relationships despite being nervous to try. sunday best I am proud of because it was a risk to write in a VERY different fandom than I was used to, and I think I did a pretty ok job!!

4. What work of yours has the most hits?

desert hearts, with 3,429 hits. it is a thousand hits ahead of any of my other works haha. people really liked it ^-^

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

severed and wolves without teeth. neither got a ton of feedback, but I expected them to get none hahaha. so the handful of comments from people were really nice!!! OH and my yellowjackets fic, the world's the same, but something's changing. it got a ton of kudos, way above my average in my main fandom.

6. Favorite title you used

superstition, from the song of the same name by the band The Birthday Massacre. the song fits the fic and its themes perfectly. I also liked but this island's run by sharks, children's bones stuck in their jaws, which is a song lyric from I Love You by Fontaines D.C.

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

I pull from a lot of random artists, but I think I pulled from Mannequin Pussy more than once this year. such an awesome band, everyone should check them out!!

8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

Bayonetta/Jeanne <3 same as last year!! it is funny to see my fic count for fandoms because Bayonetta definitely dominates. as she should. teehee.

9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

Rosa/Jeanne, for my fic accelerate. it is such a unique dynamic, and writing a toxic and vindictive Rosa twisting the heart of a stubborn Jeanne was really exciting. Not a pairing I love or would write often haha, but it was the most interesting one I sunk my teeth into this year for sure.

honorary mention to Barbara/Melissa from Abbott Elementary. I always feel intimidated attempting to capture them faithfully in fics, but god I adore their dynamic. shoutout to the many very talented writers in the fandom!!

10. What work was the quickest to write?

I don't know, actually. almost all of my oneshots under 4k I wrote in one sitting over the course of an hour or two. I write pretty fast when I have an itch for a small idea. but I will say I wrote A LOT for superstition very quickly. the first five chapters were written before I started posting, and were all written within a month or two.

11. What work took you the longest to write?

definitely whistle lingers inside of your chest. it was a WIP from last year I finally finished after a long period of teeth grinding editing, and honestly I am still not 1000% happy with it. from start to finish it probably took me at least seven months. funny, since it is only 4k lmao.

12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

*shaky smile* well....................at least 15. ahahahahaha. superstition is obviously my "big project" with a planned 20 chs and might not even get finished next year. right now we are on ch 5, so we shall see. I have a lot of smaller oneshots planned and/or half written. mostly for bayonetta, but I have a few for abbott elementary, bloodborne, portal, and elden ring.

13. What’s your longest work of the year?

superstition. right now it is sitting at 25k and I have plans to release another ch before the year is out (hopefully!!). longest not-multichapter was severed, at 13k. shoutout to skelebotanicals for typing up the 90 HANDWRITTEN PAGES of that fic's first draft. a true hero.

14. What’s your shortest work of the year?

acquired taste, a silly gift fic for skelly. it was a whopping 397 words.

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

superstition !! *crying screaming throwing up* but quite a few of my oneshots will definitely be done in the first few months of the year since those are all in the editing stages already and aren't too long.

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

hurt/no comfort, probably. sorry.

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

*in balder's voice* ROSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bayonetta Origins gave us some more crumbs about her, so it was a delight exploring various facets of who she is/who she could be. the most fun characters to write are ones that are technically in canon, but essentially become OCs since so little is known about them imho. lolsies.

I also really enjoyed writing Barbara Howard for Abbott Elementary!! she is SO specific and such a delight to crack open.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Malenia and Miquella. huge thank you to Wilmaa for giving me some advice when I was shaping their interactions in severed. and to be honest, Bayonetta herself!! I always find her difficult to capture, despite her being my favorite character. Or maybe that is why she is my favorite....hmm......

19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Chell/GLaDOS :D TOXIC ROBOT HUMAN YURI ! ! ! ! !

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

maybe king of silence? I just really enjoyed it. feel good with only a touch of angst.

21. How many kudos in total did you get this year?

I am too lazy to count. A couple hundred, probably. I write for small fandoms, so any interaction is a gift and a joy :)

22. Which work has the most comments?

desert hearts, of course. but I reply to every comment, so my comment count on ao3 is always half of what it says, since the other half is just me haha.

23. Did you do any collaborative works this year?

till death do us part, with dubhgloinne >:) what does it say about me that my only collab work is a raunchy smut fic published three days into the new year?

24. Did you write any gifts this year?

ya!!!! I wrote gifts for dubhgloinne, XilianX, Wilmaa, and skelebotanicals. I think six in total? I really enjoy writing gift fics, but they always make me nervous. what if the recipient doesn't like it !?!?!?!?!?

25. Did you receive any gifts this year?

YA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I received three this year, from Wilmaa, Dikhotomia, and TheValaxy. I feel very very very blessed that all of them wrote such wonderful fics and were kind enough to gift them to me......Wilmaa and Dikhotomia enshrined the best parts of desert hearts from their own perspectives, and TheValaxy reawakened my love and need and desire for Knight!AU bayojeanne. THANK YOU MY FRIENDS <3 <3

26. What’s your most common category?

F/F easily (lesbian moment!) but I have enjoyed writing more Gen works this year :)

27. What do you listen to while writing?

whatever music is itching at my skull in the moment. some artists this year I really loved and found motivating include Mannequin Pussy, Florence + The Machine, Rina Sawayama, Atarashii Gakko!!, the Nova Twins, Fontaines D.C, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

that is like asking me to pic a favorite child.....guh. maybe accelerate. I really enjoy my weird fucked up AU fics. night, I stand walked to accelerate could run. the morgana/rosa fics were also fun tbh.

but honestly I really loved all of my branching out fics for other fandoms. sunday best + moon river for abbott elementary, severed for elden ring, wolves without teeth for bloodborne.....fond of them all.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

literally anything from severed. I was really proud of the descriptions in that piece.

also, this opening bit from sunday best:

Melissa watches with bright eyes as Ms. Barbara Howard makes her way across the parking lot, smiling politely and greeting every person who crosses her path. The day is overcast, and the ground is still wet from the previous night’s rain shower, but that’s fine, because Barbara herself is brighter and warmer than any sun. She’s radiant in a modest dress the color of fresh cut daffodils, her usual pearls laid carefully about her neck, lips painted in a muted plum. It’s September, and starting to get chilly, but Barbara looks like summer, so much so that Melissa thinks she’d be just fine without the protection of her trusty leather. 

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

that I can branch out and write for other fandoms!! I was shocked at how I was able to find the unique voices for a lot of different characters outside of the bayonetta fandom....happy I took risks cause they paid off :) I think I also am surprised as just how much I have written haha. I love writing so much, and it is hard to believe I went so many years NOT writing for pleasure.

[bardic-inspo]

do you like transformers too or are you just embracing the megatron vibes? 2. your writing has been stellar lately ahhh 3. do you have a best practices mental rundown of how you go from daydreaming to forcing yourself to sit down and put words on the page? bc I would love to gain insight bc I'm wanting to start writing again myself :0 godspeed w the next BtG chapter!! P.S. when he said he will bring the gasoline... I said WHOAAAA he said the line!!!! very exciting times :)

Hi friend! :D

No. 1 - Good/fair question! It's actually an old nickname I got in high school that's stuck with me a bit. My name was very badly spelled on a certificate and people started calling me Megatron. I ran cross-country and people would shout it at me to cheer me on during races. It died down for a few years and then I had a co-worker who thought it was the funniest thing and started calling me nothing but. I incorporated the 'h' from my actual name as a differentiator. I know basically nothing about Transformers, haha. No. 2 - THANK YOU OMG. You are so so kind <3 🥺 I really appreciate that. Encouragement is always a huge motivator <3 Number three is under the cut for length!

No. 3 - Disclaimer that of course different things work for different people, so grain of salt for all of this. I'll just speak to my own experience as a way to frame this. This ramble boils down to three things: keep track of your daydreams, set a specific output goal (preferably with a group that will help keep you accountable), and the original draft is only for you. Before I really started writing again, I started keeping an excel sheet with basically a list of scenes I thought up/about. This works with a bullet list, too. At first, there were giant gaps between them all, but gradually, my daydreams started to fill in those gaps. This can eventually serve as an outline. But I think it's really important to never stop doing this; if you're at the beginning and you have fresh ideas for the middle or the end, write them down. You'll thank yourself later. Prior to BtG, I basically hadn't written anything for years despite many vivid daydreams and I was really really struggling with breaking back into it. Then I did NaNoWriMo. Going zero to sixty like that doesn't work for everyone, but it jump-started me. The only goal became getting the words down. Not making them good or anything my inner editor wanted to do. I experimented, I changed tenses and points of view without starting the whole story over, and found what did/didn't work for me. I kept forward motion even when I'd decided that, later, I'll go back and fix certain things. I proceeded with it as if they were already fixed for the sake of continuing. I kept up with smaller word-count goals for several months after that, at which point I realized getting words down was no longer my main obstacle and I transitioned away from tracking word count at all. It absolutely doesn't need to be NaNo, and I'm personally of the opinion that NaNo is best for creating "roughest drafts" or breaking a writing drought and don't personally see myself doing it again unless I'm doing more rough-drafting. But having a known, established goal kept me from moving my goal posts, and gave me access to a community to help cheer me on or commiserate. Setting goals with a group of writer friends or doing a set-your-own-goal sort of thing like Get Your Words Out (which I'm doing presently with a habit/# writing days goal) or Camp NaNo are also great options. The other thing that helped me immeasurably was the promise I made to myself: no one but me will see the original draft. I only ended up using very, very small pieces of it in the posted versions of BtG (and I'm almost out of it entirely now!), but I have viewed it as a sort of narrative outline, and an invaluable experience not only for helping my build my writing skills, but also for showing me what not to do with certain plot points. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't gone down those routes. Bonus bit: fanfiction is just a fantastic place to start with writing. You have less pressure in terms of world/character-building and can just focus on building yourself as writer, bit by bit. 10/10 would recommend. I'm seriously flattered that you'd ask me this and please know I am cheering you on so hard in your writing endeavors <3 <3 And I swear I can't say thank you enough for the support. It means the world :) (I'm so so happy you got giddy with the title line finally cropping up!)

[ramblings-from-elsinore]

*slides in* Obsession numbers 9, 7, 11, 12, 2, 4, 5, and 13? Sorry that's a lot... you don't have to answer all of them if you don't want to :3

What was my inspiration for this fic? How did it come to me?

What’s my favorite part of the fic?

What’s the part of the fic I’m most proud of?

What part of the fic was the hardest for me to write?

What part of the fic am I still dissatisfied with?

Who’s my favorite character in the fic?

Were there any major decisions I made about the fic that could have made it go a whole different direction?

Was there anything I only learned about the fic after I had finished it? (themes, motifs, symbolism, etc)

Did anyone in the fic surprise me by doing anything? If so, what?

If I had to sum up this fic in a sentence, what would it be?

If I were to rewrite this fic, what would I change?

Did any thing about this fic’s reception surprise me?

What were my beta’s major comments about the first draft of this fic?

If I were to write a sequel to this fic, what would it be about?

Any other question about the fic!

Were there any major decisions I made about the fic that could have made it go a whole different direction?

So. Many.  Were and are still.  Honestly I am very undecided about many elements of this story and certain plot points that I have been toying with for a long time.  Some of the biggest decisions are yet to come, and I have been weighing them from the start.  But as for decisions I made in the past: one of the most important ones was probably regarding Ludwig’s confession and Gilbert’s ultimate capitulation.  I didn’t originally plan for Ludwig to have such a breakdown, and I thought Gilbert would agree more easily, without the crisis they both go through before the first time they sleep together.  Luckily, after much thought, I realized that that would not be true to character.  They both had to be pushed to their breaking points: Ludwig, to even consider confessing, and Gilbert, to possibly think that crossing that line was the best course of action.  They had to be desperate.  That decision didn’t really affect the direction of the story so much–they were going to end up getting together somehow or other–but it did affect the tone, I think, as both brothers are still so plagued with self doubt.

Now it occurs to me there’s another big decision that has had a ripple effect on this story: Francis and Toni sexually assaulting Ludwig.  At first I planned for this to be a consensual encounter, something that would expand Ludwig’s horizons and make him consider new things about himself.  But having a threesome with two other men seemed a bit of a stretch, and I realized that with drugs involved, that situation could easily become nonconsensual.  As it’s something that happens all too often on campuses, I decided it would be appropriate to include.  And, since I want to do justice to Ludwig as a survivor, I’ve ended up weaving the aftereffects of that assault into the narrative in ways that have changed it.  And, heads up; we haven’t seen the last of it yet.  If anything, Ludwig is bottling up his feelings about what happened to him, but they’ll have to come to the surface eventually.

What part of the fic am I still dissatisfied with?/If I were to rewrite this fic, what would I change?

Lol, so much.  Really though, I have grown so much as a writer (I hope) in the time I’ve been writing this story that when I look back on earlier chapters–most of Obsession, honestly–I cringe.  Mostly, that has to do with the fact that when I started, I was really thinking of it as fanfiction.  I thought I had to include all the little nods to canon, all the in-jokes and tics of characterization, as well as fanon interpretations of characters.  I used cringe-worthy fanfiction standbys such as “the blond” for Ludwig or, worse, “the albino” for Gilbert.  And I put Feliciano in there just because GerIta was so popular, I felt obliged to include it.  I sort of wish I could retcon Feli out of the story.  Sorry, Feli fans.  It’s not that I hate him so much, I just think he adds nothing to the story.  I do have a trajectory in mind for his character, though, so I’ll try to keep it consistent and make it work.

Did anything about this fic’s reception surprise me?

Yes–that I haven’t gotten any hate for it, really, unless you count one chapter being taken down from DeviantArt (back in the dark days when I still posted my writing there).  There have only been a few unwelcome comments in all this time, and those weren’t from haters so much as entitled, angry readers.  Mostly the reception has been warm and beyond my wildest hopes.  I’m surprised this fic became so popular–I don’t think it would be wrong to say it’s among the most popular fics for the pairing.  I’m so thankful for each and every kind comment I get.  The responses never fail to surprise me–it warms my heart to hear from folks who have been reading for years, sticking with me and my slow-ass updates and feeling for my boys all this long time.  So thank you, deeply and truly. :)

Did anyone in the fic surprise me by doing anything?  If so, what?

The two characters I’ve been most surprised by are probably Liz and Sebastian, the boys’ father.  I didn’t have big plans for either of them, but they’ve both turned out to be important and lots of fun to write.  The whole backstory with the Beilschmidt family history has developed over time, and I’m so glad I’ve been able to flesh it out.  It’s important for me to keep Sebastian human, even if he’s often cast in a bad light.  And as for Liz, it’s fascinating to write someone on the outside who knows about the brothers’ relationship.  I realized, once she found out, she was going to be much more important than I had thought.  I knew I didn’t want her to have a stereotypical “eww you’re so gross that’s wrong” or “omg you’re made for each other, who cares love is love” reaction–I wanted her to be human and complex, as well.  I realized she’s struggling, too–with how to support a friend she genuinely loves and shares a complicated past with, while also being very troubled by what she knows.  I think Liz has a strong moral compass, but a nuanced one as well.

Angie has also surprised me some.  In writing her, I’ve come to flesh her out more and think about her past and future–she’s become much more than “Ludwig’s heterosexual experiment” as she was originally pegged to be.  I have big plans for her that I hope I’ll get to include as the story goes forward.

None of these characters really did any one surprising thing–it’s been more of a gradual revelation with them.

What were my beta’s major comments about the first draft of this fic?

I actually don’t really have a beta.  I’ve talked things over with lilienpasse in the past, though, and have appreciated her input on a number of chapters, and she has made a wonderful sounding board when I’m trying to figure out where I’m going.  I remember some conversations where I’ve been able to use her as the guinea pig for some of my more outlandish ideas (thanks for letting me subject you to that, LP!) and she definitely reigned me in where I needed it.

I am going to have to think a bit more on my favorite part of the story and which was hardest to write.  I’ll answer later :)  Thank you for the questions, and for your patience waiting for a response!!