#one day I'll have enough time to write the already thousand fic ideas i have for them

[sparrow-in-the-field]

I just like to think about how once they're officially dating, Keeley sets up a group chat with the three of them, and like 96% of it is just her and Jamie texting with the other 4% being Roy's 1-2 word replies or thumbs up emojis (basically just agreeing to date night plans or assuring them he's still alive).

And then one time out of the blue Roy sends a selfie. Jamie and Keeley collectively lose their shit.

[coal15]

A few days ago I put up a poll (link HERE) because I had way too many ideas for fix-it fics after Buck and Tommy broke up, I decided to let everyone else choose which sort I should start with. The brain clutter was gumming up my creative process too much to focus. Well, since then an idea came through so vividly I just had to start writing it. I am keeping the poll up though, because I've got so many ideas that if the style of fic I'm already writing wins I'll just start on another one in the same vein, then tackle the second most popular one next. The one I've already started on is rated GA, romantic, angst, some laughs, and it will probably end up being about 3 not very long chapters. Below is an excerpt from Ch.1 of Door to Door

A little while later they were sitting on Eddie’s couch nursing beers in silence. Under normal circumstances Buck would ask Eddie why he was walking around the house in underwear and a long sleeve button-up shirt, but the song ‘Old Time Rock ‘n Roll’ blaring at top volume pretty much answered his question. What guy HASN’T acted out that scene from Risky Business at some point?

“It’s something new, I know that much.” Eddie said out of nowhere.

Buck frowned. “Huh?”

“The vibe you’re putting out, man. I’ve seen you depressed a lotta different ways for a lotta different reasons, but this one is new. So. You ready to talk about it or should we just keep drinking for a while? There is no wrong answer.” 

“He dumped me.” Buck felt his chin beginning to wobble as he spoke. “He actually–and it was, I, I, think, I don’t know, I asked him to move in with me and suddenly his whole mood changed. Outta nowhere. He said he was only my first boyfriend, not my last.” His eyes burned and he started to lose control of his voice, every word less and less steady. “He just took it for granted that I’d fall out of love just because there’s other hot guys in the world I haven’t dated–but I don’t want to! Eddie, I was so ready to just be with him and I don’t understand why–” by that point he couldn’t have choked out a decipherable word to save his life. He doubled over on the couch, and Eddie took the beer bottle from his hands so he could bury his face and sob. 

From what Eddie could glean of the Abby situation Buck got over her gradually, only half realizing it, and the only thing left to do was process what grief remained after the denial finally fell away. He and Ali weren’t together for long enough to merit more than some light moping. The breakup with Taylor hadn’t been easy, but at least then he had the comfort of choosing to end it, and the confidence of knowing he made the right choice. He loved Taylor enough to grieve the end of their relationship, but it didn’t destroy him. As far as Natalia, what was there to say? He latched onto someone, hypnotized by the desire to find a soulmate, and ended it as soon as he realized his mistake. This wasn’t like any of the other breakups. This was new. He patted his best friend’s back, squeezed his shoulders, and waited for the crying to subside enough to ask questions without making it worse. 

It took several minutes.

“I guess the first thing is, do you think he was right?” Eddie asked gently when the timing was appropriate. “I mean, I know breakups suck and you’re hurting, but . . . well, think about it. Carefully. You settle down with Tommy and he’s the only man you’re ever gonna be with. Forever.” He paused to make sure Buck was looking right at him. Eye to eye. “Are you absolutely sure that’s what you want?”  

“Yes!” Buck croaked, wiping his eyes and nose on the back of his sleeve. That is so gross, said a tiny sliver of his brain. Oh shut up dickhead, nobody cares what you think, said the rest of his brain.

“Okay,” Eddie nodded. “And did you tell him that? Like, did you make it abundantly clear you are a thousand percent ready to give up casual dating?”

Buck’s eyes and nose required sporadic dabbing as he considered the question. “I, I think I did.”

Eddie’s eyes narrowed. “Thaaaaaat didn’t sound too confident.” 

“I told him my first and my last could be the same thing.”

“Could be? The first word you ever spoke could be the same as your last word, but it’s not likely. Plus either way there’s a whole lotta yapping in between.”

“Hey, whose side are you on?” 

“Future Buck.” Eddie plucked their beers off the coffee table and clinked them together. “I’m on Future Buck’s side.”

“Hmph. I hope his life doesn’t suck.”

“Um . . . I hate to break it to you buddy, but he’s kinda depending on you right now.”

**********Click HERE for the rest

[vanilla-lip-stick]

Brainrot

So I am about ten years late to the fandom, started reading Elsanna fics about half a year ago. A few times before that, Elsanna stories appeared in my AO3 searches, but I shied away from those because of the incest aspect, I won't lie. However, I was running out of femslash stories to read, to I thought, well, I can read the unrelated stuff, it's fine.

I found those two utterly charming and adorable, and I couldn't get enough. So I eventually peeked into the pile of stories where they were sisters but not only sisters. And I still found them utterly charming and adorable, but also, at times, broken, repressed, yearning, hurting, fighting, loving. It quickly became my favourite ship (and it currently still is), and I particularly like the sister aspect because I always was a sucker for forbidden love, always liked it when writers ventured into difficult territory, asked difficult questions, gave ambiguous answers, because that's what life usually is, at least from my perspective.

After, at the time of posting this, five published stories on AO3 with about 70 k words, I'll tell you a little secret: I have never seen Frozen. Most I know about it and about Anna and Elsa I know from fics, and bits and pieces from other sources. If you read hundreds of thousands of words of fanfiction about them, I guess something sticks.

Also, many of those fics have inspired ideas of my own. New entries keep popping up in my backlog, and I already have about 50 outlined in various degrees. Just to give you a taste of what's in there, have this screenshot:

Yes, those numbers on the right are page numbers. More numbers? Then have this:

Before I started to treat writing seriously some years ago, before I finally committed myself to try my best to become a professional author, I was one of those people you wondered: where do writers get all these ideas from? Now, I find myself on the other end of the spectrum. I have too many ideas. (That above is, mind you, just my Elsanna backlog. My backlog for originals is even longer. Not that size matters.) There's no way I could possibly turn every idea I have had until now into a story even if I turn 100. And sometimes, this thought is so hard to cope with because while I don't think each of these ideas is a gem, there are many of them I love in one way or another.

(Some ideas, I am really scared of, and one in particular makes me sick whenever I stumble across it because it covers a topic I, as a reader, usually give a wide berth. Not so long ago, I read a fic that had this, thought I could perhaps take it, and looking back I have so say: no, I can't, and I have to fight the images in my head when I remember certain parts of the story to stay somewhat sane.)

Anyway. I wish writing didn't take so long, and I wish I were immortal until one day I decided I have had enough. I'm sure many of you can relate. (If there even is someone out there reading these ramblings. If there is, come say hi. Or find my stories on AO3.)

[lookingfts]

hey can i ask for tips on how you write this fast? i always fall into writer's block and i never know how to break it.

Sure! I've always been a pretty fast writer, but I do get stuck. Here are some things that help me:

Setting a small word goal. For me, that's about 500 words. I don't write every day, but if I have some time and I want to write, I try to break it down or it gets overwhelming. I'll either write 500 words and decide that's enough for that day, or more likely, I keep going and write a few thousand.

Switching between fics. In an ideal world, I would always finish one thing before moving on to another, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood to write that specific thing. The other day I had planned to write a new chapter of Sugar and it just wasn't coming to me, so I switched gears. I'll usually have one longer fic in the works, and then some shorter fics or drabbles whenever I need to write something different.

Skipping scenes. Sometimes I just cannot figure a specific scene, and I used to insist on writing things chronologically. Now I understand the value of just skipping to the next scene, or writing the scene you most want to write first.

Changing small things. I write in light mode and edit in dark mode, or vice versa. I sit in different places in my house. I listen to different music. Even a tiny change in perspective can help shake something loose.

Keeping notes constantly. Every time I have an idea for a plot point or dialogue, I write it in Google docs. I have documents for all my fics, plus a document that's just fic ideas and random snippets. When it's time to write, I already have something to work from. I have it all organized by chapter, and the outline doesn't have to be fully fleshed out from the jump, but it keeps me from asking "what's next?"

Trusting my instincts. I doubt what I've written all the time, but I always remind myself that I've doubted my writing before, and people like my work. So I just keep going and trust that whatever comes to my mind is the right direction to go, even if it's not the direction I originally planned for a fic.

Treating writing and editing as separate jobs. This was advice I read a while ago and it's so valuable. I don't edit as I'm writing. My goal is just to write a first draft and then look at it later, usually a few hours later or the next day when I've had some distance and can see it clearly.

Not forcing it. Yes, I often have to push myself to write SOMETHING because starting is the hardest part. But if I'm stuck, I just go for a walk or snuggle with my cats or stretch or watch something on YouTube. By not focusing on the problem, you can often resolve it.

I hope this helps a little! If anyone else has tips, please leave them in the comments.

(And here's a bonus photo of my cats)

[chameleonspell]

HTDC commentary - 0: intro

Recently, I made some unwise threats to write commentary on my almost-10-year-old Morrowind fic, and enough people encouraged me that I started going through my old notes, and re-reading the fic, something I hadn't done in more than five years. It's an interesting experience, looking at it with more emotional distance. I know I had none, at the time, riding a chaotic wave of complicated feelings and ideas that my brain had, for whatever reason, decided to force through the medium of Morrowind fanfiction, like trifle through a straw.

Why did I start doing that, again? 

"A combination of worsening social anxiety, rereading Pratchett novels, listening to the Magnetic Fields, and then starting a new Morrowind game" - Origins of the fic, according to me in May 2015.

It is true that by 2015, my social anxiety was becoming increasingly unmanageable. I used to wake up seized with immediate terror, if I knew I had to leave the house, that day. When I did leave it, the feeling of moving through the world under the eyes of strangers was enough to send me into deep dissociation, barely feeling like my surroundings were real, forgetting words, reduced to speechlessly stumbling around like an automaton.

Or like a video game character. I started a new game of Morrowind that spring. I'd already played it for thousands of hours, but I wanted to try a pure mage, and had a few mods to make it a bit more viable. An illusion mage, maybe, like a thief build, but using magic.

I'd been thinking a lot about invisibility, you see. Well... fantasising about it, but I'd done that since I was tiny. Thinking about it as an adult, surely there would be drawbacks, if you lived in a world where that was actually possible? Or, like... psychological complications?

On March 12th, 2015, Terry Pratchett died. Despite not having touched a book of his since my teens, it hit me like a tonne of bricks. I cried for a week, feeling like I'd lost my dad, talking with other grieving fans about how his books had shaped us, growing up, realising just how true that was.

I started re-reading the Discworld series again, immersing myself in that slightly arch but very warm and human narrative style. It felt so familiar, so natural, so easy to start narrating my Morrowind game like that.

And I already had a voice in my head, for a character, emerging from all the Magnetic Fields albums I'd been listening to. Intelligent, queer, bitter, disillusioned, depressive, detatched, self-aware - but not in any way that seems to, y'know, help. The Stephin Merritt Protagonist, basically. I'll probably mention more specific song inspirations from the big HTDC playlist as we go, but for now, Iriel's opening theme: Smoke and Mirrors. Anti-love songs for jilted illusion mages.

The culmination of all this was, that instead of seeking professional advice about my mental problems, I gave them to a fictional elf, instead. Thereby delaying me addressing my brain problems by several years, but bringing me several (I hope) lifelong friends, and, well. This fucking thing. No regrets!

I posted the first HTDC chapter on 5 April 2015 and the next dozen chapters very quickly thereafter, so I must have had quite a few already written before I decided to shove them all onto a hastily-created tumblr account.

I found a title just as quickly: How to Disappear Completely. Named less for the Radiohead song of the same name (though it does describe the experience of dissociation and has a line about walking through walls!), and more from my dim memory of reading a Radiohead interview, where Thom Yorke mentioned the book he'd stolen the song title from: How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, which has always stuck in my head, as a phrase. It fitted with my dim concept of the fic: what if invisibility, but too much? Later, I realised it fitted with the Dwemer as well, and felt extremely smug.

A song reference for a title is such a fanfic cliché, not to mention the lowercase one-word chapter titles. I was fine with all that. I was always committed to HTDC as a very self-indulgent project, thus the new pseudonym, separate from the rest of my online life, never mind my offline one. No audience, no embarrassment, no holding back.

A comfort project, no need to make much effort, just something silly and easy and fun.

lol.

lmao.

It started that way, I swear.

It devoured nearly 3 years of my life, ended up 40 times longer than my university dissertation, and, honestly, was 40 times the work, too.

It's far from perfect, but it's as good as I could make it at the time. It was a ride and a half to write, I learned a lot, and pushed myself to write in ways that were new to me. Over the years since, I've had people say it's meant a lot to them. Thank you, it means a lot to me, too.

next: 1: numb

[antariies]

20 19 questions for writers

tagged by @i-mybrunettelady!! ty nero :3c

tagging dama my friend dama @sylvaridreams

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

th. three.

2. what fandoms do you write for?

exclusively gw2 these days!

3. what are your top 5 by kudos?

i've only got the three published on ao3, so in order of most to least kudos is: forgive us, visions of the past: the departing, and HOW TO BUILD A CHAIR (THIS COULD BE GLORY) !

4. do you respond to comments?

yeas :•]

5. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hmm! how to come back from the dead

6. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i would say all the gift fics i've written have pretty happy endings!

7. do you get hate on fics?

no. also how is that even a thing still

8. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

no, but i love to talk about ocs fucking creepy and wetstyle on discord with friends. if i were to write dedicated smut i think it would be a series of oneshots from my commander's pov. it's not harley's fault he has so much weird and freaknasty yet incredibly story-relevant sex. pussy that launched a thousand plots.

9. do you write crossovers?

once ☝️ when i was younger and on ff.net i wrote a SYOC pokemon/pjo crossover. it's been abandoned for years. poor thing.

10. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge

11. have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes! we haven't worked on it in a hot minute, but @hawkepockets and i have a fic about harley and prem's historic falling out pre-personal story, featuring our many headcanons about divinity's reach and the events surrounding the great collapse :]

12. what's your all-time favorite ship?

HARLEY/TRAHEARNE/GIL THE OT3 OF ALL TIME !

13. what's one WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

ummm i have a wip called "lessons learned" and it was supposed to be a series of 2nd-person vignettes from the pov of the sylvari commander. expanding more on early personal story and how being raised/mentored by caithe and trahearne kind of fucked them up. whose bright idea was it to let miss "i will walk on my knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting" and mister "i want to martyr myself so bad it makes me look stupid" take a crack at the young and impressionable sapling anyway. now look at them. they're pushing aurene to meet the same unreasonable standards because it's the only way they know how to live. generational trauma fic. you know how it is.

14. what are your writing strengths?

give me a STRUCTURE! give me a set of RULES! if you say "here is a strict format you MUST follow" i will say "YESSIRRRR" and i will think inside of that box so hard and i will do it so good. i don't break rules but by god i'll bend them within an inch of their life. also i'm funny

15. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

more of it now and forever

16. first fandom you wrote for?

pjo high school au

17. favorite fic you've written?

due to recency bias, my fave fic is always the one i worked on last. rn it's my wip "how to make coffee"!

18. what are your writing weaknesses?

the fact that i don't do it. my turnaround time is abysmal there's like a minimum two years waiting period in between everything i publish :[ also according to my boyfriend just now he says sometimes i don't explain things enough. sometimes i expect the audience to know what kind of broth i'm making but i haven't thrown them enough bones. and i don't realize this bc the broth is already cooked in my head. it's obvious to me but not to them.

19. have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had someone ask once if they could translate my fic, but they also wanted to repost it to a different website. so i turned them down. sharing is fine, but i'm just not comfortable with my writing being reposted somewhere else even with credit.

[chartreuseian]

Hey! Fan fic writer ask. 💥🥳🔎😎

Hi hi!! Thank you 🥰

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

Ooooh, I did already get this one, but let's be real, we all have a thousand things we would change if we could. Maybe Nikola saying he loved her in 'The Five'? Or just how they handled him in general? I think they didn't have a huge plan for his character (which, fair) so he's a little all over the place.

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

Not a clue! Fun, I guess. I was the summer after I'd finished high school just before I started university but other than remembering when I started, I've got no idea why.

I restarted because last year nearly broke me and I made a deliberate decision to reclaim my life and my time to do thing that I like. And writing was something I loved, but hadn't done properly since about 2014/2015.

🔎 Does anyone beta read or edit your fics?

Nah! Sometimes I'll send bits to people for feedback or if I don't like how something is going to get some advice, but no proper editing/beta stuff. I don't take it quite seriously enough for that!

😎 What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?

To read? Either.

To write? I call it canon adjacent. Like train fic is my sort of 'what if?' response to if something forced Helen and Nikola together back during their Oxford days. In my head, once they get home a lot of the events of the show would still happen, but with their relationship playing out alongside it.

Same for Lessons. It's the question of what would have happened if James had manned up and let Helen and John seduce him (because you can't tell me the three of them weren't flirting up a storm).

I'm attempting my first ever totally original story for them (I say that, but it's got some big Out of the Blue inspiration) at the moment, and it's a very different experience to write it!

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Hello!!! Your writing is so beautiful and moving!! As an author, do you ever feel like the stuff you write is not good enough? Or your ideas have already been done 1,000 times? I can’t imagine you do, because your stories are pure gold. But if so, how do you move past it and keep writing?? Do you have trouble coming up with original content? I find when I’m writing fics that I sort of stop myself mid story with doubt. Hopefully I worded that correctly. I just admire your fics so much! Thank you!!!

Hey there 🩷✨️😘 And thank you so much for your kind words, I was honestly so, so moved by your message! I'll try my best to offer some advice and thoughts on this, hopefully some of it is helpful 💕

First of all, I sure struggle with this! I have days when I feel like deleting everything I've ever written because I think it's garbage. Those thoughts usually occur when I'm comparing myself to other writers and their work (which generally differs a lot in style, tone and voice, so it's kind of redundant to compare in the first place). Also, I'm not a native English speaker, so there will always be a gap I can't cross. I will always be one, two, three steps behind in expressing myself. Still, I haven't allowed it to stop me from writing and sharing my work. (Well I have, up until this year... But better late than never, right?)

That being said, we need each other for joy and inspiration, which also means that nothing we create is 100% original in the end… and at the same time, everything is original! You write in your own voice, and only you can have a new perspective or offer a unique take on an existing idea. But tropes are tropes for a reason; they're popular for a reason, so I wouldn't shy away from using cliche pairings or recurring tropes as key concepts. Besides, they're so much fun to write!

It's only natural to compare yourself and your fics to other writers and their work, but there's a thin line between getting inspired and feeling like you're not good enough as a writer. It's so easy to feel unworthy when you see loads of new, amazing content (= other people's souls and lifeblood, condensed into a brief flicker on top of our dashboards) every day. But when you start to think about it, there's actually no point in comparing yourself and your creative input to the stream of literally thousands of works.

Even if the idea is not the most original, I keep writing until something "original" pushes through. Sometimes it's a piece of dialogue, and that's when I get interested as an author. Why did the character say that? What do they mean? Why did I write this? What's lying underneath?

I don't know if you catch my drift here or if this sounds like nonsense, but when you get curious about your writing, it starts to gain new levels, you gain new ideas, and even the most "unoriginal" idea may get a fresh new twist. And if it doesn't… who cares 💃 If you write with passion, it shows, and I think that's what matters in the end! Plot holes, or lack of plot altogether, don't matter if you and your readers can indulge in your writing.

If and when I hit a wall, I have to check who I'm writing for. I may have a hidden feeling that I'm not good enough as a creator, or that readers expect this or that and the next thing I know, I'm standing in the middle of a desert when it comes to creativity. Writing to self-indulge (in the most filthiest way if you have to) will almost always fix this issue. It's a simple gospel truth that writing what you'd like to read, works.

I'm repeating myself here, but writing should be fun; the minute it's not, I usually stop and take a break. Professional writers probably say it can't always be fun, and they may have methods to work past that slump, but because this is fanfiction and we are doing this as a pastime hobby, I'd say better keep a light approach to it and cut yourself some slack. There's no need to push it or force it.

'Good enough' is an admirable (and understandable!) aspiration when you wish to be the best version of yourself and offer your readers something fresh and unique. I say the following with all the love: good enough is also the main idea behind a violent worldview where nothing is ever enough. It's the origin of self-doubt and the feeling that we're somehow always unworthy.

To a system that always wants more, and wants it better and faster, we as imperfect creatures and emotional human beings can never be enough. Didn't mean to get deep into environmental philosophy in a tumblr ask, but this worldview is currently destroying people's sanity (not to talk of destroying the planet and its myriad inhabitants). It's not easy, but I encourage everyone to rebel against 'good enough' as much as possible! ❤️‍🔥

So you don't have to strive for good enough, you only need to strive for what moves you, what makes you laugh or cry or simply makes you feel something. That way you'll know it will move others too 💋💞💃

[dangerous-disposition]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

It’s WIP Wednesday Thursday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

I was tagged by @pizzaqueen (thank youuuu)

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post.

OKAY now full disclosure, since I use scrivener, the file names are shit like "fanfiction" and they're all in one singular project, and i've titled each individual part of the "project" already except the one thing so y'all are getting titles.

WIPs:

i'll burn that bridge when i get to it

because no one can break my heart like i can

i can't tell where you end and where i start

spent all winter waiting for the sun to arise

the one about dio

Snippet (from spent all winter waiting for the sun to arise, my super self-indulgent modern au fic where Steve has my IRL job and Eddie is a rockstar):

“She has you so whipped, Steve.”

Steve sat on the staging table in one of the banquets storage rooms and eating a plate of leftover food from a buffet they just cleared. They affectionately called this storage room Dustin’s “office” since the banquet server was most often working events and using that staging and storage area.

He gave Robin a baleful glare as he shoveled another scoop of ravioli into his mouth.

“Yeah, dude, why are you even letting her boss you around? Just tell my mom,” Dustin said, popping open a can of soda.

“I’m not gonna tattle to your mom, Dustin,” Steve sighed heavily.

“Yeah, because Nancy Wheeler has you whipped,” Robin repeated, rolling her eyes. “She’s totally taking advantage because she knows you’re still not over her—”

“Okay, first of all, I am totally over her, like one-thousand percent over her,” Steve said quickly, pointing at Robin. “And she said she doesn’t trust the event managers to handle bands or film crews, and honestly? Valid.”

“I don’t know enough about rooms to dispute your expertise in them,” Robin admitted sadly, grabbing another fancy little brownie bite.

“You don’t know anything about rooms,” Steve agreed, smirking at her. “Anyway, it’s one group, and they’ll probably cancel anyway.”

“Why do you think that?” Robin asked.

Steve heaved a big sigh as he settled in to explain as simply as he could. “Half the time bands will cancel, usually because their tour got all fucked up for one reason or another. Anyway, this group is booking their rooms three months in advance. There’s no way they’ll actually come.”

“But you said they’re traveling with a film crew, right? Wouldn’t they have a pretty strict filming schedule?” Dustin asked, and Steve shrugged.

“No idea,” he replied.

“Who’s the band?” Robin asked, and Steve shrugged again. Robin scoffed. “Seriously? You don’t know?”

“I know they’re a metal band. None of the paperwork says the band’s name, and the rooming list has fake names already,” Steve replied. “Typical procedure for higher profile bands, so they might be a big deal. I don’t really care, honestly.”

Just as he finished saying that Steve’s phone started ringing.

“Hey, this is Steve,” he answered without actually looking at the screen.

“Hey, I know you’re on your lunch, but the tour manager called asking about the rooming list,” Nancy said, her tone apologetic.

“Revisit the first half of that sentence, Nance,” Steve said, but he was already putting his plate aside to hop down from the table.

Robin made a whip-cracking noise with her mouth and rolled her eyes.

“I know, just— the tour manager seems really high-strung about it,” Nancy pressed, and she did sound genuinely sorry for calling on his break.

“I’m. On. My. Lunch,” Steve said slowly and deliberately as he waved goodbye to Robin and Dustin, slipping out of Dustin’s office.

“Fine, fine, just make sure you get it done before the end of the day,” Nancy sighed and hung up.

Steve let out a slow breath as he walked back to his office ten minutes before the end of his lunch break.

Tagging......

I know WIP Wednesday is over, but still, I wanna share the love a little bc i love y'all's writing, and absolutely NO PRESSURE: @patchworkgargoyle, @scarcrossdlvrs, @scoops-stevie, @steddieas-shegoes, @afewproblems (if I am adding u belatedly it is ultimately bc last night I was like "I'm missing ppl who am I missing" and my bitch ass was too tired after a long day being Steve From My Fic and getting my hair cut)

[actuallyitsstar]

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

✍ Do you have a beta reader?

⛔ 🎶 ⏳💥 🎃❌

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

(this is so many and obviously feel free to answer however many you want!!)

✨ send me an emoji and ask me about my fanfic! ✨

😈 has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

honestly, i can't say that there has been! i mean don't get me wrong, i have certainly been writing EVEN MORE ANGST AGAIN and been like. hmm. the people in my phone are gonna hate me for this :) lol. but that angst is also for ME bc like. that's my jam lol. and i never post unfinished multichaptered fics, so i feel its not likely that i'd ever do this, since i don't get feedback on my writing until after it's already completed, lol.

✍ do you have a beta reader?

i don't! i never have, actually. it is an intriguing idea but i've never been a ~serious~ enough writer for it, i don't think, and i also cringe at the idea of anyone seeing anything i've ever written before i have re read and re-edited it about 50 thousand times lol

⛔do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

recently, no, but i have at least 10 unfinished fics for various old fandoms that are like. not *scrapped*, per se, but just uhhh unlikely to be completed any time soon lol, some being 10+ years old. i never say never but like AM i going finish that OC-au of the mentalist season 6 where somebody is trying to attack all the "psychics" in texas because they have a grudge against what some fake psychic told them like 10 years ago???? honestly, probably not, lol.

🎶do you listen to music while you write? what song have you been playing on loop lately?

yes, i do! can't write in just silence, usually, but it can't have words, either, because i can't hear Words and also Write Different Words, lol. recently i have been listening to 70s-80s Japanese city pop playlists (here is one of my favorites!) since i don't speak the language and it also is such a vibe. in the past i've also done the in love with a ghost vibes, lofi girl, and instrumental synth-wave, as well. i also really like the artist City Girl for that reason, and i think my favorite album of theirs is Neon Impasse. I listened to that on loop a lot writing ttnp!

⏳how long does it take you to write a fic, or a chapter?

this is a very difficult to answer question because it depends on a lot of factors, lol. I have written 20k words in two days before. I have also gone weeks only writing a thousand. it depends on how much free time i have (recently, almost none, lol), how much down time there is at my job (i wrote a large portion of ttnp in down time at my job, and there is not going to be job down time for the foreseeable future unfortunately, which has really put a damper on things). as long as i am at least mildly inspired or motivated, and have ample enough time, i can get a lot done, usually, but it all depends on a lot of factors.

💥how do you feel about criticism?

i am made of tissue paper pls dont hurt me akdshdjfhf i am actually very much okay with and welcoming of it, actually, bc without it, i would never improve. definitely needs to be in good faith, because being made of tissue paper isn't entirely a lie lol, but if there's something i have done poorly or something that i have the opportunity to do better next time, i am always happy to take it into consideration!

🎃do you write fics for holidays? what is your favorite holiday inspired fic?

hmmmm well i actually never have but i love the concept and i am hoping to get to do it this year ;) ;)

❌what's a trope you will never write?

for an actual trope i'd probably have to think a lot longer and harder than i have in answering these questions so far, lol, but one thing i can say, though it's not a trope, is that i'll never write smut. your local sex repulsed asexual is just not about it, lol. which is not to say ive never read and enjoyed fics w/ smut in them!!! i just skip ahead until it's over, lol.

🧠pick a character and i'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them!

omg i don't know which of us is supposed to be doing the headcanoning but i'll go ahead and assume it's you ?????? and my pick is iceman. pls tell me ur fav headcanon !!! i am excited !!!

🤩do you have a favorite character to write?

recently, it had been maverick, to no one's surprise, lol. what can i say. somethin' about the inherent trauma just speaks to me <3

🤲 would you please share a small snippet of a WIP?

HMMM...... I SUPPOSE..... A SMALL ONE......... ;)

THANK U SO MUCH for the ask !!! i loved answering all of them and i am so sorry it has been taking me so long to do everything recently oh my god. i am, as bilbo would say (im paraphrasing), feeling like butter scraped across way the fuck too much bread these days akdhfdjfhf but i rly appreciate ur asks and ur support and time and continued habit of thinking of me !!! <3 <3

[sunfoxfic]

4,17 and 19 for the fic writer asks!

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

Active WIP's or just stories that aren't finished?

For active WIP's, I have... the custody battle AU, the fic I'm thinking I'll use for the big bang, and possibly maybe the Adrigami divorce fic which I revisit every now and again when I don't feel like doing anything else. (The Adrigami divorce fic isn't long, I just got stumped and wrote slowly, then at one point decided to rewrite as a screenplay.)

For stories that aren't finished, I have... well. I counted 47. To be fair, some of the one-shots I counted only have a few words and probably were never fleshed out enough to be counted as "WIPs." One looks like this and I stopped writing because I laughed too hard and couldn't continue:

anyway.

17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic?

not much, to be honest. I do the bare minimum amount of research. One time I was late to a Zoom class because I spent a fair amount of time reading up on Swan Lake? I've still not seen Swan Lake but honestly it's the first ballet I want to watch when I finally start watching ballets lmao

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

[Plagg:] “Come on, kid. Gotta get up, get going. Long day of superhero-ing and shit.” Adrien flipped himself over, though he had no intention of sitting up, much less standing. “I don’t need to patrol,” he said. “Too tired.” “Kid, you’re already on the fast track to depression and you think the best course of action is to lie in bed the day after the love of your life moved six thousand kilometers away? You think that’s a smart idea? Jesus Christ, how the hell did you graduate with honors?”

-- Chapter 22 of the custody battle AU

[reggieblk]

H E L O

hello <3 thank u so much for the ask from this game

H. How would you decribe your style?

I actually don't really know, which bodes well for the rest of this lmao. I'd say it's definitely influenced by everything I've ever read and my education - I went to school in France so there's probably some french influence in there. I'd say it's pretty simple and definitely still in the first stages of life, I hope to get much better as I keep writing!

E. If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it be about?

I'm gonna assume we're talking about equals in life (partners in death) bc I don't have any other fics posted haha. If there were to be a sequel it would definitely just be an amalgamation of scenes (already seen from Harry's POV and never seen before) from Tom's POV. Realistically there is nothing else I could do with how the fic ended lol, but yes I have thought about writing a small sequel like 20k of Tom POV

L. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Uuuugghh so many dude oh my god. I am SICK of equals in life how many times did I read that fic oh my god. I would like to use this opportunity as a formal apology for the HORRIFIC dialogue punctuation in that fic btw, any time I read back bits and pieces of it it's like full body cringe like - oh, a thousand ppl have read this, great. I do love the fic though so I'll revise it later on, at a time when I've laid it to rest for a bit bc I did write that fic out of love and I do love it, I'm just sick of it atm.

But, to get to the heart of the ask: I'm in the process of shaking off the habit of obsessively reading over every single sentence I write while still writing so it makes for more editing at the end but I now get the added bonus of rediscovering bits I'd forgotten! So I'd say I read over a fic a total of three times before posting : one entire time from start to finish, and then chapter by chapter as I post and I do that twice over (but there's also the small edits I make along the way).

O. How do you begin a story - with the plot, or the characters?

I tend to always use the same characters, main characters anyway so other characters just appear as the fic goes - but I definitely start with the plot. I'll vividly like hallucinate an idea I have and be like 'this is the best thing ever' and then if I'm motivated enough I'll open a google doc and flesh ideas out, write the bits of dialogue that stick in my mind and write an outline. The characters are part of the initial hallucination so I suppose it's kind of both at the same time!

Although, I mentioned in a post I'm writing a play (original work) for one of my fics, and for that, while I had a general idea for the plot, I was forced to come up with the characters first - so I suppose it depends on what I'm writing. (sidenote: this is the fic I've been writing obsessively for the past few days, I've decided to call it If we were lovers)

[flowerslut]

5, 6 and 19!!!

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

this is so fun to talk about because I never let myself indulge in Fic Thinking Or Brainstorming because that's dangerous for me (for obvious reasons) BUT two fun fic ideas I've had in the past year-ish are these SUPER fun ones:

what if james and co DIDN'T overhear the cullen's baseball game and didn't stop by the cullen's residence until the next day like alice ORIGINALLY thought? (and with edward absent and playing the Must Be Constantly Around Bella game I think the whole 'james knows who alice is' reveal could be SO FUN—really you could go any way with this: angsty, silly, both!) I thought I would write this eventually but there ain't no way in hell it'll happen at the rate things are going lmfao

and what if alice was like "I have to WAIT to meet my true love? hell no" and after a few years she goes down south and makes her own army in a "well if you can't kiss 'em, join 'em" type of way. I just want to see a dumber version of alice who is like "I'll get this man's attention one way or another. i'll sort everything else out eventually" and she makes SO many bad choices but whoops she's good at this army business and now she's super powerful lol whoops! well, she'll get her back blown out one way or another! and if she has to commit a few thousand murders beforehand then like, whatever, yknow?

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

yes!!! right now I've been on a BIG tlt fic binge and these are a couple I go back to all the time: GHAZAL WHERE I'M BEGGING YOU TO TOUCH ME, Inversion (<- this right here is the best tlt fic I've ever read), The Heart is Hard to Translate, and beat your swords into ploughshares (and your spears into pruning hooks). most of these are explicit griddlehark fics if I'm not mistaken lmfao

and as far as jalice fics are concerned I regularly return to @goldeneyedgirl's ongoing jalice fics Jar of Hearts and Shadow to Light because lexie's versions of jasper and alice mean so goddamn much to me. but I don't read much jalice tbh because I am... so picky with their characterization, etc.

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

this is long enough, so here's a bonus roots snippet under the cut!

When the screeching of limbs and heads being removed punctuated the hissing and crying that had filled the field, the vampire who stood, watching, rolling the stone around in their pocket, finally let out a sigh.

“Very well,” they spoke, watching as their army gathered the bodies to drag across the barren land and toward the pile that had already been assembled just out of sight, up and then down another hill. As they worked in agreeable silence, the watcher closed their eyes again, sighing once more.

The stone in their pocket was sharp on one side. With a small amount of pressure, the tip of their finger opened. A clenched fist brought venom toward their palm and with a quick squeeze their hand was wet with it.

Memories attached to the pain trickled in through their thoughts. For a moment they smiled and pictured once more the two bodies that were being carried away. Their faces were not hard to morph with the imagination, their features not quite similar but close enough that there was no effort to this daydream.

They imagined blonde hair torn and burnt, skull exposed and venom slick across the head. An opened neck, perhaps proving that scarred skin all looked the same when peeled back, ripped from the cemented system that held their kind together. His teeth would be kept and put to use. His last mark on the world he’d abandoned would never come. He would become nothing more than a discarded instrument, broken down for parts—maybe put back together once, or twice, just so they could hear him scream and beg and cry—that would be used to carve into every other victim these lands claimed.

The same teeth that had once marked them, would mark others, too.

Imagining the woman was easier, and brought a fiercer fire to their chest, the satisfaction of what would be done to her eliciting a full smile from their quiet, closed off face. Yes, the dark-haired witch would get what was coming to her. They imagined what she might look like, as torn and mangled as her companion had always been. Limbs fused together. Eyes gouged over and over until regeneration ceased (they had never figured out how many times their bodies could do such a thing).

Experiments were only kind when it was deserved. Some people did not deserve mercy.

fanfic writer asks!

[petraevesplace]

Hello! I've been greatly enjoying twofold light, and speculating on future events with friends. I just wanted to ask a couple questions as someone who both enjoys the work, and has had an interest in writing a story inspired by it and it's writing style. Firstly, I wanted to ask how long do you typically spend on a chapter, do some come easier than others, or do you find yourself with writers block often? Secondly, I wanted to ask if you tend to have plot points already planned in advance for where you want the story do go, or do you tend to just let the story go wherever it feels most natural. Finally, I wanted to ask for your thoughts on more modern fire emblem games, particularly three houses since, primarily my idea for a fanfiction would be essentially a Jugdral Fodlan crossover fanfiction. Though I don't know if I'll actually write anything on the topic, especially since in my opinion Fodlan is... deceptively small in its world building, I thought I'd ask for your thoughts on how it stacks up to Jugdral. Thank you for your time, I can't wait to read the next chapter whenever it releases. Reading posts on your twitter about Lewyn and Forsetti or writing new characters for the first time has me very excited.

Hello! I’m very flattered to hear that and so sorry it’s taken me so long to answer you

It’s hard to say exactly how long it takes to write a chapter. None of the chapters have been easier or harder to write than others and I haven’t really run into writer’s block before but how particular I can be about wording and the flow of sentences does slow me down at times. On good days, I can write over a thousand words. Other days, I’ll only finish one paragraph. And after all of that, editing what I wrote adds on probably about another month. It helps a lot that I have the plot of the remainder of the fic planned out so I know where everything is leading and what the main moments of every POV section will be. But getting each character to the point I’d like them to be in a way that feels natural and in character is what makes reaching those points take so long, especially now that there are so many characters. The amount of characters now also often leads to me coming up with ideas for smaller character arcs and moments as I’m writing, like Lester’s thoughts on Verdane or Hicks checking in with Eyvel. This is getting a bit into your second question, to which I’d say I have bullet points for the overarching plot that are set in stone but there is space between them to give side plots and character arcs room to grow, like flowers popping up through cracks in the pavement.

A Jugdral Fodlan crossover sounds really interesting! I’ve kind of seen Fodlan as Jugdral-lite, skirting close to a lot of the similar ideas and concepts but the world building also felt a bit lacking to me. Part of that issue may have been that Three Houses put more focus on exploring the characters and how much of Three Houses’s story takes place in the Academy, drastically cutting down the time available to see and experience the world. Fodlan sounds like an interesting place but I walked away from the game feeling as if I hadn’t seen enough to say whether it was genuinely is or not.

Thank you for your message and once again, I’m so sorry it took me so long to respond! It’s going to be a little while before the next chapter comes out as I’m currently finishing another project, hopefully by the end of the week, but I hope when it does, it won’t let you down!

[threefandomsinatrenchcoat]

Honestly, I'm gonna say it. I'm gonna drop my hot take. K/S just made me realize that no, I haven't become that much pickier with what fanfics I want to read/what's up to my standard. Fanfiction just genuinely got worse since I started reading it.

Thanks to K/S being old enough to bring a good sample size of old fics to the table, while browsing ao3 the last few days, I realized that I could often tell if a fanfic was on the newer side by the writing style. The new stuff is exactly the stuff that I don't like. For example, you'll often find information that could've been put into five sentences that sound good squeezed into one with five commas by using the gerund. And every sentence is like that. One after the other, it's always "person hugged other person, smiling, doing other stuff, saying 'whatever', stuffing another gerund into the sentence, not caring that it's starting to get ridiculous, not realizing that it sounds fucking awful". No while, no and, no but, no despite, no because, only a list of things put together in a way that I'm pretty sure isn't even technically a proper sentence at times. So many people write in exactly the same (bad) style. One fic reads like the next. There's barely any individuality. Everyone uses the same terms and euphimisms and sentence structures and bits. Literally read twenty, thirty smut fics published in the last few years and keep a tally of certain phrases. Look at the sentence structure and see how many different ones you find in a fic of up to tens of thousands of words. Maybe I'm overreacting based on my subjective experience and it's not actually that far spread but I genuinely don't think that's the case.

Older fanfics didn't have this problem. Everyone had their own style, their own ideas, their own thing. I know all art is derivative. How could I not, when we're literally talking about fanfiction? The whole point of fanfiction is that parts of it aren't new but something someone already thought of. But there's a difference between "I'm yoinking your characters to play with them like dolls and maybe I'll use your universe as the dollhouse, too" and "everything is literally the same, there were tracks driven into the mud and now that everything's frozen over, you barely have a choice other than to follow the exact path others have driven before you".

I don't want to glorify this all too much because I'd guess that one of the things that changed and made this happen is fandom becoming mainstream and accepted. You can't exactly have the Fanfiction Writing Style (TM) when you're writing something in secret, don't know that there's a word for what you're creating and certainly haven't read other works like yours before. Fandom being a niche thing that you didn't really talk about and that wasn't nearly as centralized as today is probably what forced this individuality and I can't say I want that back.

I like that fandom is normal now. But I also think that this centralization has brought bad habits into our culture. Be that bad writing, a lack of individuality, taking creators and artists for granted, or constantly calling the fucking moral police and debating what can and can't be depicted.

Do I think all new fanfiction is bad? No. Of course not. I've read wonderful works that were published within the last three to five years. They were refreshing, well written, creative, artful, entertaining, and whatever else I was looking for. Do I think all old fanfiction is good? No. Most likely, the works that have been preserved until today, sometimes for decades, were the most beloved and/or the best of their era. There are probably hundreds and thousands of forgotten works that were either never discovered or didn't survive until today because nobody thought they were worth spreading and preserving. But do I think there's a certain trend of newer works becoming less creative and well made? Absolutely. Fandom has become so mainstream and thus effortless that people don't always seem to put much effort and love in anymore. And I can't say if that's good or bad.

no fandom like the k/s fandom. Just read a fic that's older than me, and not gonna lie, it was pretty good

[breathplayed]

4, 6 & 8 💜

below cut to save dashboards!!

(4) what is the plot bunny you've been carrying the longest? ooouuuuhhh..... so many............ So many............ i have full fic outlines from 2017 LOL but the most viable one is a jikook au where they're both vampire hunters + jimin is Turned + jungkook swears to hunt him and be the one to kill him bc it's "what he would have wanted" some good ole lovers to enemies bullshit Once Again. every year since 2018 i've thought it'd be a fun three-part fic i could post for halloween and have never gotten around to it. lately i keep thinking it'd be good for an original novel (hello lesbians <3) but then i would have to actually worldbuild and write well which is daunting......... so back to the drawing board every time...... Maybe Some Day

(6) do you have any kind of consistent writing schedule or just hoping for the best? 💀 i always tell myself i will try to write a little bit every day, and there's been periods where that worked well enough for me, but tbh i write the best and most when i am daydreaming about a fic idea and get batshit possessed and fuel a Fixation. in those moments i am seized by insanity and sit down to write for about 4-6 hours straight in the dead of the night and manage several thousand words in one sitting. the record is 10k for DSD pt1 in like a day, and when i wrote the 90k fic that is WBIO in like 3 weeks off the high of not having any responsibilities in early lockdown (incl almost 20k in one sitting)

So kind of a mix.... When I have more free periods of the year i tell myself *trying* to stick to a schedule is good, like "ok i should go TRY to write at least a little every day, and if it doesn't work and im not feeling it today that's fine" but I can't lie, most of what I put out is the product of a feverish manic haze. Where i daydreamed too hard about a fic idea and accidentally came up with the whole plot and exact dialogue lines and need to bullet point it immediately before I forget it all. I am tormented by visions

(8) what’s your relationship with constructive criticism and feedback like? do you seek it out? how well do you take it? Constructive criticism: not exactly a fan unless I ask for it lol, just bc I think it's kinda rude to offer constructive criticism unless it's asked for? So I already automatically feel a lil cornered. I spent a year as an art major bringing paintings in for concrit sessions, I can take it, but that feels like a facilitated environment where I knew I was opening myself up to hear things so I could improve..... however, I'm not super interested in 'improving' writing beyond naturally improving by doing it.... bc it's just a hobby if that makes sense? I'm also usually super aware of how/where one of my fics is weak (example: i Know my worldbuilding and side characters and settings are not the most fleshed out, that I usually only focus on the main pairing/conflict and let everything else be a cardboard cutout, RIP) and just didn't put the work in to improve it bc I want to have Fun doing this hobby and struggling with fixing weaknesses is not super fun. Yes i am very lazy but it's ok it's fanfiction posted for free not something I'm trying to publish ukno. I'm a perfectionist in other ways! It balances out

Important to note I define constructive criticism as like "it would have been better if you did x instead" and a lot of times in fanfiction that's just people's personal tastes. I do consider everything readers say to me! Like someone said they didn't think the side characters served any point in "folie à trois" and it's just me inserting my faves, I Considered that opinion. There's been times I consider feedback and changed how I continued in a story, like in TLG people said they wanted more Jimin pov/motives and I said hmmm yeah that's valid I'll do more of that. In the aforementioned case for Folie, I considered it and decided (1) no, they're there for jk to see that Everyone is a lil fucked up and (2) it's my fic i can put my kpop girlies in it if i want lol. So sometimes 'concrit' is really just someone saying 'what you wrote wasn't to my personal taste' and not actually anything to do with the quality of the story/plot/style whatever itself.

Feedback overall tho, I do always want to hear from readers!!??! How a story made them feel especially. Tbh , TLDR, I think it really depends on the tone.... My relationship to it is on a case by case basis..... like I'm fine hearing that a character/plot frustrated someone, that they disagree with a character's actions, etc.... because that's Conflict in the story and I think good writing makes the reader Feel something..... it really just depends on what is being offered? if something is obviously mean spirited (which I have gotten) or offering concrit without asking like telling me "btw this would have read better if you didn't write like a possessed failed poet" i'm like ok well i have no plans on improving that. I am down to clarify any points of confusion on a scene/character/etc but I will not be improving. Lol

I hope that makes sense sorry I rambled as always. I took one of my adhd meds for the first time in weeks and now I am tachycardic and overexplaining myself worse than usual. Thank u for the ask <3