#only basic tags for wips if this even shows up in da tags at all

[nhura]

some crazy ass wips to work on this week... do me a favor and hold me accountable KUDASAAAAAAAAI (⁠ ⁠≧⁠Д⁠≦⁠)

[bardic-inspo]

Fic Writer Interview

Thank you for the tag @deacons-wig!! :)

Tagging in turn: @pchberrytea, @diredigression, @gingerbreton, @tanaleth, @valkyriejack if you’d like! No pressure if you don’t! Name: Megh

Fandoms: I really only write for Fallout, but casually partake in other fandoms (like Crit Role, Mass Effect, DA). 

Where you post: AO3, which you can find right here. I don’t post full fics on Tumblr, but do include links to them on AO3. Any WIP memes like WIP Wednesday or similar deals are posted on my Tumblr. 

Most Popular One-shot: No Rest For the Wicked - a sort of pining thing about Deacon showing up to MacCready and Natasha’s place after the fall of the Institute and some sleepy encounters putting Deacon in close proximity with the pair he’s maybe sort of secretly in like with. Overtures of future polyamory and all that. Your gateway drug into my favorite OT3.

Most Popular Multichap: Bring the Gasoline - my multichapter, in-progress slow-burn MacCready x Sole Survivor fic. Here’s a summary for you:

“Six months, huh? How much fast talking did you do to get here?” “Enough to keep me alive.”

“Really? Cause you don’t act like that’s your goal half the time. Hell, you throw yourself at everything like you’re jumping off a cliff.”

Sole survivor Natasha Sokolova is burning through friends faster than she can make them. Robert Joseph MacCready needs all the caps he can get. Problem is, the smooth-talking woman with a pistol and a job offer turns out to be more trouble than he’s counting on. They’re a match made in hell, but their little partnership might be the only thing that can see them through it.

Favorite story you’ve written so far: Bring the Gasoline is my baby, but so far I think I’ve had the most fun writing No Rest for the Wicked. It was the first thing I posted, nobody really knew I was working on it, and there were zero expectations about it. It was something I wrote purely because I wanted to and no other reason. It was also a huge sigh of relief for me to even hint at what the endgame of Bring the Gasoline is like because I’d been hermit drafting for a year while keeping my trap shut about most of what happens.

Fic you were nervous to post: All of them, every single one.  I was a bit nervous about In the Name of Love because it’s sort of an awkward situation. My goal was to balance the awkwardness with tenderness and show a sort of realistic moment where the OT3 have a little hiccup getting used to each other, but they’re helping each other through it. Not everybody’s cup of tea, but I do like how it turned out.

I was also super nervous about We Never Go Anywhere Nice because I’ve never done a gift fic before, and I was kind of trying to do a lot within one oneshot. Naturally, it turned out to be far longer than I initially envisioned, but I’m happy I tried my hand at it.

How do you choose your titles: Whatever strikes me. I try to do something thematic. For my BtG chapter titles, I try to play to themes or something a character says that sort of embodies the idea of that chapter. For my one shots, I’m okay going a little cheesier. 

Do you outline: Yes, I do, but I’m sort of ass backwards about it. I have three different outlines going on within each other like some sort of 3D chess operation. I have a pre-outline, which is the outline before I draft the chapter, usually broad or tentative plans with some specifics but not a ton. Then I have my working copy, which is literally in brackets within the document I’m typing the chapter in, and then I delete it out as I progress pass those plot points. And then, when I’m doing revisions, I bullet point every single little detail into a document called “Actual Outline”. I do this specifically in between drafts as a way for me to find plot holes and fill gaps, or see where things maybe need to be changed. Sounds a little backwards, I know, but it has really, really helped my editing process. There’s color-coding for who’s POV it is, and a scene-by-scene breakdown.

Complete: I have two complete one shots, and a third completed three-chapter “one shot”. But, the series those are nested in is ongoing and has no definitive end. It’s just sort of as I feel like it right now.

In progress: Bring the Gasoline is the only major fic I have in progress. I do one shots as they sprout in my brain, but I don’t have any in progress right now. My main focus is getting edited ahead one chapter on BtG so posting comes a little easier in the future.

Coming soon/not yet started: BtG chapter five is about halfway through a new draft, though I’ll want a new draft of chapter six before posting it. I’m making steady headway there. I have a very smutty WIP in mind for the OT3 with a special focus on Nat/Deacon. The prompt is that the two of them are spending a weekend away together, but MacCready has left some specific instructions as to how he wants them to spend some of that time. Like I said, it’s smutty, but I also want it to be sort of emotionally smutty. I wanted to write the OT3s first time together before writing any other smutty one shots for them, but realistically, I need to finish BtG before that could really happen, because spoilers, so it’s this domino effect waiting game. Which...makes me want to just go ahead and write the smutty one shot anyway. So, maybe. We’ll see. 👀 I also have another idea (also smutty) that might be a one-shot or a scene in a future fic. Basically, Nat and Mac and trying to have some intimacy but Deacon is staying with them which makes things tricky. So they seize the opportunity when he’s stepped out for a sec...but, maybe he’s not gone so long as they were thinking.

Prompts?: I sometimes use prompts as a springboard of inspiration, but I’ve found I’m no good with requests. I have a hard time writing something that I’m not personally excited about.

Upcoming work you’re most excited about: I am really excited about the Gunners plotline for Bring the Gasoline. It’s my first real foray into canon divergence, and the arc I finished for NaNoWriMo last year, so it’s sort of near and dear to me. And it’s right around the corner - not so far as readers might think!  👀 

This is so, so far away, but I also have tentative plans that are starting to have some framework for a multi-chapter fic on how the OT3 get together after Bring the Gasoline. I have a secret wish that this could be my NaNo project next year, but that would involve getting a lot done with BtG, so we’ll see.

[amethyst-noir]

Tagged: All about me and fanfic

I got tagged by the wonderful @aelaer; thank you so much! This was fun!

1. At what age did you start writing fanfiction?

16. I discovered fanfic in December 1999, which makes this year my 20th anniversary, yay! At the same time I also met my best friend. She was curious what walls of text I was staring at while all the others were in various chat rooms. (We didn't have internet at home back then and this was during trade school which was a boarding school. I got online for the very first time, didn't know what to do and typed my current obsession into AltaVista. Highlander. I discovered fanfic about 5 minutes later and never looked back. That was all in German back then because my English was almost non-existent. I only learned it because I wanted to read more HL fic and I've burned through everything in my native language so I had to expand. Yes, I've learned English through fanfic and later on - after the advent of DVDs - by watching shows and movies in the original version.

2. Who is your favorite author?

Help, I don't want to play favorites but okay: Maygra, who wrote beautiful Duncan/Methos stories and whose Chris/Vin stories brought me from HL over into Magnificent Seven fandom. MacGeorge, who wrote the hottest Duncan/Methos and the best Duncan Gen I have ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately, their website is no longer online so the link goes to the Wayback Machine.

Tons of wonderful people in the Mag7 fandom (Gen and Slash alike) whose work is lost in the mists of time of still lives in worddoc copies on my harddrive. Their pages where on Angelfire (some of them are still there); lots on Tripod or even Geocities. See, I've been around for a long while. 😉

During my Stargate Atlantis days I read tons and tons but special mentions go to Auburn and Synecdochic (who wrote much more SG-1 than SGA but freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose still makes me tear up just thinking about).

Between Mag7 and SGA I spent time lurking in The Professionals, Starsky & Hutch and Supernatural fandom but I consumed such vast quantities in such a short time that I barely remember anything (I was jobless at that time), but Flamingo's Starsky & Hutch stories are exceptional.

Then there was Person of Interest and Da Vinci's Demon's and Hannibal and lots of other casual fandoms. Hannibal was the fandom I joined Tumblr for and I still lurked around. I only started writing, posting and interacting with people after Infinity War, a little bit over a year ago now. (And by "started writing" I mean in English. I wrote in German until about 2008 or 09 when I gradually stopped because there was no feedback and I had no fandom I could really obsess over. I was reading and lurking around until IW and Ironstrange came along and by that time I was not even thinking about writing in German anymore.)

A couple of favorites from this corner of fandom (in alphabetical order!): @atypical-snowman, @aelaer, @babywarg, @descaladumidera, @mistressstrange, @myrxellabaratheon, @phierie, @ssironstrange, @stark-raving-strange. There are many more but those are the ones I first thought of. They give me Tony and Stephen as equals, snarky and complex people and also deliver on the angsty H/C. I love you all. 💞

3. Favorite type of scene to write?

Comfort. Hurt is necessary before that but I much prefer long drawn out comfort with lots of touching and talking, culminating in a (first) kiss. Angst and misunderstandings regarding feelings are also nice but only if it ends in happy contentment.

4. What is your favorite fanfic?

Uff, okay, one for each fandom because otherwise we're here until the next year.

Highlander: Variation in D Minor by killabeez (4th installment of Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark series)

The Magnificent Seven: Egeo Fides (Without Promise)  by Maygra (3rd installment of theTo Make of Heaven, Earth series)

Starsky & Hutch: Crystal Blue Persuasion by Flamingo

Stargate Atlantis: No way, there are too many. But check out the SGA Big Bang on the Wayback Machine if you want tons to read. This was the first Big Bang I witnessed and since than I've been stuck with the definition of "40.000 words or more" for such events. The SGA years where the most fun I had in fandom until I fell into Ironstrange.

Hannibal:

Ahem. *draws a blank* Sorry. But there was such much in the heyday of the fandom. Let's just say that I like it when Will and Hannibal are depicted as equals or Will as the dominant one. Frail-flower-Will who is an unsuspecting ping-pong ball for manipulative!Hannibal is not my thing. They manipulated each other like the pros they are and in the end Will out manipulated Hannibal, in my opinion. Peacefrog wrote beautiful Hannibal.

Marvel/Ironstrange: Let's just name my favorite current WIP and be done with it otherwise this gets exhausting. whatever souls are made of by @atypical-snowman. This has everything I love and adore. And I still have to catch up with it. Also, I'm looking forward to @iwritefanficsometimes's Switched at Birth AU.

5. What tags do you avoid like the plague?

A/B/O, except for very rare exceptions. Mpreg. Always. Everything with Tony and Steve in a past or present relationship because I just don't like it. "Hurt no Comfort" - see me run in the other direction as fast as I can.

6. What AU do you wish to write but feel like you won’t manage?

Fantasy or Historical AU. Rewrite of the MCU where Stephen, Tony and Pepper know each other since before the events of IM1 and fall into a relationship before the first Avengers.

7. Do you outline, or write as you go?

No outline. If I outline the story is finished. I write because I have an idea and don't know how it'll turn out. I discover the plot as I write. If I do an outline I know what happens and see no use in writing it anymore. *looks at outline for massive d/s AU with soulbond for Tony and Stephen* You are nice, but I know exactly what happens in every scene so why bother writing it out completely? Boring.

8. What has been your favorite story to write so far? Why?

Precious. Because it wrote itself and was so much fun. I had absolutely no clue what it would become when I started and a week later I had this massive (for me) story.

9. Do you prefer to write one-shots or multi-chapters? Why?

I only can do one-shots. I would love to write a long multi-chapter epic but my style and my endurance don't fit with it. Watch me cram 10 years into 5k words.

10. What is your favorite kind of comment?

Each and every one! I squee in delight when I get an "<3", I jump from joy when I get "I loved it" and I'm bouncing like a little child when I get one of those long ones that tell me what the reader liked best. I look forward to the Kudos mail each and every day.

11. Why did you start writing fanfiction? Why are you still writing?

I started because I was back home from school and offline. "I can do that too!" I thought and tried it. It was bad, it was really bad. But badly writing in German was a stepping stone to writing halfway decent (or so I like to think) in English. I know that I make tons of mistakes, I know that I basically write the same plot/situations all over again and again but I enjoy it and quite some people enjoy it with me. So why not? I don't want to get traditionally published, I don't want a career writing; I just want the ideas out of my head. And if other people like what I write? Yay, thank you, I love you!

[summertime-children]

WIP Challenge

Tagged by @kikithedeceiver​ (thanks~)

Tagging: @starspatter​, @cookiehoodie​ and Meli if she ever sees this bc I want a snippet of all her unwritten knkd fics (?) (and if any writer out there needs a nudge to share their WIPs, feel tagged!)

Challenge: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

I’ll do what what Kiki did and post titles of my WIPs with comments and short fragments of them? I’ll share here only my kagepro WIPs (so basically kidokano/Kano ones lol). A little warning before we start: it’s going to be very long lol bc I can’t finish fics to save a live and I have... lots of ideas, plus I never get to talk about them >.> Also they’re going to be getting gradually worse bc I’ll go from newest to ancient-est. (Full disclosure tho, those aren’t raw quotes from my WIPs bc some had so visible grammar errors, I just had to fix them + I always put notes in my works, like every second word lol) Here we go.

Listen

Comment: This is the freshiest one, I was writing bits of it merely the day before, and because of that I still naively believe I will finish and post it soon, so I won’t say anything more about it.

”I want you to understand. You… need to know there’s so much to love about you!”

“Haha like what?” he laughed with bitter sounding laugh, something that must had slipped as it was followed by a face she had occasion to see only a few times- a face of regret. Regret of choosing wrong words, wrong mask to put on or forgetting to put her at all.

Different ways to say it

Comment: Just a short fluff where Kano’s snarky bottomness is showing lol

“You should’ve asked ‘Can you kiss me?’ instead.”

Kano is dumbfounded for a few seconds before he snorts.

“Right.” he begins with a playful grin “Let me fix that. Can you, Kido Tsubomi, the fierce leader of Mekakushi Dan, my girlfriend, my sun, my stars, the love of my life, the love of my thousands other lives, do me an absolute honor and light up my da-“

He didn’t even manage to finish before he felt the pair of soft lips landed on his, catching his words.

New chapter

Comment: Won’t say much about it because it’s supposed to be a gift for certain someone~ But here’s a little sneak peek 👀

That was weird. They never really talked about having any pets. They talked about having kids (as much as stating that they want to make a family together during several separate occasions counts), but the topic of having pets was never brought up and in a timespan of living together and even moreso of living alone together, they already had plenty of opportunities to get one. And yet Kano always knew that when Kido pictured their future family together there was also present a small ball of fur waving its tail and he could see it in her eyes at that moment more visibly than ever.

GrimReaper!Kido x Vampire!Kano

Comment: I was very disappointed with the knkd fanwork of that one Halloween art, so I decided to write something that would satisfy me (with no success so far rip).

The black figure that merged with the ubiquitous dark hanged up the big scythe they were holding on the wall, among the collection of similar but different in sizes scythes, proceeded to take off their shoes (but then put them quickly back on, changing their mind as soon as their feet met with the concrete) and pulled off the black hood of their cloak to reveal the long green hair, something that finally stood out in the darkness, before walking deeper into the room.

I can’t wait to fall in love with you

Comment: Inspired by well, that one sentence that is in the title and lowkey (?) by Meli’s lovely fic~ It’s the kind of fic that I myself call “(not) soulmates au”. It revolves around the idea that after so many timelines of falling in love with each other, they’re just bound to fall in love again... Even when they don’t remember their past lives...

“Oh man, I can’t wait to fall in love with you.” Kido turned her gaze towards the blond lying next to her on the couch. Her widened from being taken aback by his statement eyes met his golden, cat-like ones, tinted with the strange warm spark that she could feel she had yearn for a very long time. It lasted only a second though because soon her brows furrowed and her gaze dropped from those well-too-familiar (given the circumstances) eyes to her hands.

Two cats

Comment: Set in the sort of the au where they never died? On one winter day Kano takes stray cat to his house to take care of. It’s solely Kano fic btw.

Forgetting for a moment about his own advice (why he should had kept repeating it in his head) he looked over his shoulder to see if his stalker was still there and in that moment their gazes lock. “Crap.” He couldn’t help but think ‘curiosity killed the cat’ as a pair of similar eyes to his stared back at him.

hbd kido

Comment: Product of my procrastination. (As you may tell, I have a problem with it). One year I was slightly~ more productive and was kinda disappointed that I didn’t manage to write Christmas fic. So then I thought that I could save some time and write this fic where Kido has joint Birthday-NewYear party with Christmas decorations still lying around (including mistletoe *cough cough*) just in time for KidoKano Day killing not two, but even four birds with one stone. It’s sort of high school au btw.

“Hi.” The boy tried again. His face was embellished with wide grin and slightly flashed cheeks and in his hand she noticed a can of beer. Oh no.

“Hi, Kano.” She said with disinclination. It wasn’t like she didn’t like the guy. Even more, in the normal situation, like average day in the school, she would find a conversation with him a nice or refreshing thing. He was one of a few people that actually knew about her existence and despite her previous prejudice he turned out to be a pretty nice guy.

Christmas Event

Comment: I’m not sure what Christmas event that was for lol.

For Kano it was this time of a year when his Mother would stay home the whole day instead of going to work and she would be more kind to him. Though he wouldn’t call it exactly this way (it’s not like he felt she wasn’t kind to him normally after all), but she was definitely more forgiving.

Affectionate meme Requests

Comment: Requested for the writing meme in the year 2016. Keeps it as a reminder of how big loser I am (?) (just what this post manages to do so far lol) The prompt was “love bite” >.>

From her spot she couldn’t see him quite clear, due to the still turned off lights, so it was only up to her imagination to decide whether he recollected his mask or not. Maybe it was the second after all, because excluding two golden eyes that shone at her there were two bright spots that stood out in the dark, both marked on his skin.

M!KidoKano

Comment: It was supposed to be male!Kido x Kano fic and yeah... I’m emberassed about it tbh. Like, by the fact I wanted to write it itself. Idk now I find it rather weird to genderbend only one person from the pairing, especially in the fic and for that reason I won’t share fragment from it. Sadly it’s one of my better written pieces lol and going back to it I see I made male!Kido no differnt from the regular Kido... which makes it a good genderbend I guess, but also completely unnecessary.

Angsty Kano fic

Comment: I have no idea lol There’s almost nothing written there.

Even Greater Fear

Comment: Despite what title may suggest it’s more fluffy than angsty. KanoKido family fluff where Kano gets anxious about how happy he is now and that he might someday lose it too. Featuring my knkd fankids, Naoki and Reika.   

“Mom, dad is sad!” announced Reika with reproach. This she wasn’t expecting.

“What?” Tsubomi asked out of surprise and was followed by a low groan coming from behind the couch that could belong only to her beloved husband.  

“No, I’m not.”  She watched how the expressions of her children slowly changed from the ones of concern to the ones of disappointment and disgust.

“And he’s denying it.”

Inverted

Comment: Silly engagement scenario. If I ever finish that, it'll be my comedic genius’ peak I swear (?)  

He was clearly getting more nervous, the longer the searching wasn’t bringing any results. He let go of Kido’s hand and got his another one to help him search for whatever was supposed to be in that pocket. However, after a while his movements completely stopped and with some kind of dread in the eyes he whispered under his breath, “It’s gone.”

Time

Comment: Angsty setomary fic I wanted to write for SetoMary Spring (anyone remember that?) 

When she moved out to her new family the first thing she noticed was that time has significantly slowed down. Oddly, somehow it did accelerate at the same time. It was hard to explain and she herself couldn’t understand the feeling nor did she give it much consideration, but for the first period of living in that new world, new pace of that very activity- living- has struck her.

One in a million

Comment: An actual soulmates au (with the variation of the red thread concept). It’s way too ambitious for me lol (starting with the fact that it’s supposed to be multi-chapter story). I won’t share a fragment of it bc not much’s written and bc tbh there would be spoilers, in case I ever do post it. I could write about the concept in a seperate post though because I did a lot of world-building for it. (A lot for me, ok?)

Clear and present

Comment: Ghost AU. Baby Kano hides one time in the abandoned, partly burned mantion and that’s where he meets the ghost of (scary) green-haired teenage girl he befriends. Somehow got inspired by that anthology comic? Also I would listen to this song while attempting to write it lol. Not much was written though.

What I didn’t

Comment: This one’s rare. My only attempt at writing harutaka fanfic. (Funnily enough last safe was on kidokano day?... many years ago.)  In the manga Takane was pretty excited to give Haruka a present for his birthday, but he had an attack and was hospitalized so she didn’t and it wasn’t said (?) if she ever gave it to him later. So my idea for this fic was that she didn’t and how she was now trying to give it to him after three years. Took huge inspiration from this song: {x}

She didn’t have to wait long until there were heard slow, but at the same time hurried footsteps behind the door and soon it was followed by the sound of doors being unlocked. The doors before her opened revealing the light-brown-haired boy wearing excited smile and slightly oversized green sweater with embroidered reindeer. And one of these was just the warmest thing in this cold winter world.

Sneeze like a kitten

Comment: Inspired by one line from Gravity Falls lol It was just another thing I wanted to add to list of similarities between Kano and cats and I’m sure it would bring Kido joy too ;3 But as much as I still find this idea cute it is so awkwardly written lol. I kinda appreciate that it’s from Rin’s POV and that I tried using kinda fancier English for that reason (as fancy as I knew back then lol), but I guess first person fics will always sound weird. It’s set in a different route I guess where they sort of met before the orphanage.

Soon I noticed all her glances seemed to be directed at small boy with blond hair sitting alone on the bench, a little away from the playground. At first I was fairly surprised, not understanding why this particular boy had become her spot of interest, but giving more attentive look at the boy made me instantly realize reasons of her intent glances.

Connection

Comment: I have almost nothing written there and I barely remember it, but from what I can see it must be my original idea for the “formal event” prompt from the very first kanokido week. I... think it was sort of an au where they never died and they met at some sort of fancy party held by Kido’s parents where Kano was a waiter.

Oof that’s all (I mean all from the folder on my pc, but I won’t be getting into that). For a fair portion of it, I gotta objectively say there’s absolutely zero chance of me ever finishing them, but then (aside from the freshest ones that I still have on my mind) revisiting all those WIPs made me really want to revive some of them owo (some I would have to completely re-write tho OTL)

[zephfair]

Writing Meme

I was tagged by the lovely @desperatlytryingtowriteabook (and how was I not following you before???!) with this writing meme.

Rules: Answer the questions for your work. You can use different fics, and even WIPs. Don’t hesitate to link your stuff for the curious ones :) And tag writer friends to play along!

1/ Which scene/paragraph/sentence are you the most proud of?

I’m weirdly proud of parts of Sailing Off Anchor because I tried so hard, repeatedly, to make the language and rhythm of the story fit the mood I was trying to convey. I don’t normally try to change my writing style to fit a story, or maybe I should say that I tell whatever story I’m telling in my own voice. But I put a lot of effort into trying to make Sailing a little different and more in keeping with how I think Riario thinks as well as showing his confusion and desperation. If that makes sense...

And I’m still immaturely proud of this scene in Thick as Thieves where I basically copy/pasted an ode to the character:

Leo’s fingers flexed, not wanting to engage but wishing for his pencils to draw the figure before him.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the slope of Riario’s neck as he worked out. Riario was always so fully dressed, looked Puritanical and proper in dark suits, dress shirts and ties. The only bare flesh Leo had seen was his cock. It felt illicit now to watch the back of his neck, glimpsing more skin as his shirt moved with his kicks.

His musculature was beautiful, yes, but there was something more about seeing the unseen, the usually covered, and Leo finally understood why Victorian gentlemen got all hot and bothered by women’s ankles, because they were modestly hidden all the time. He watched Riario’s neck, wishing the T-shirt’s neck was wider, until Riario stopped the bag and knelt down to pick up a towel. Leo could see his back flex under the shirt, and he wanted it.

I totally have an obsession with his back and you can tell I wrote this right after the cornfield scene aired and we FINALLY saw Riario shirtless. ;D

2/ For which work/piece of work do you get comments telling how marvelous it is, while you’re not that enthralled by that piece yourself?

I’m picking Creature Comforts, a ridiculous Teen Wolf one-shot that proved weirdly popular and I’m not sure why because it’s very, very gen. I got a huge number of comments for me, and so many requests for a sequel that I actually started one before I gave up. The story was supposed to be a 1,000 word, one-off crack fic, and I had the final paragraph joke set-up from the very beginning, but instead it ballooned into 10,000 words and got a ton of kudos. I had fun writing it, and I’m kind of proud of the way it turned out, but I never expected it to be my most “popular” fic by the numbers.

3/ Which character highjacked the story they’re in?

Anytime I write anything Teen Wolf, Stiles just takes over. In Da Vinci’s Demons, it’s usually Riario. He tends to dominate any story, even if he’s only in the background or offscreen.

4/ Which sentence/kind of sentence do you overuse?

I think I write the same description for kissing pretty much every time. I’ll catch myself using the same phrases or words over and over and then make myself change them, but there’s only so many ways to describe a kiss, I guess.

5/ Which work of yours would you be dying to get fanart for?

Any of them! I do think that Creature Comforts with wolf!Derek would make for some awesome fanart though. Or little Outlaw Cloud.

6/ Which work would you rather forget?

Any of my PWP smut fics. I don’t think I’m good at writing smut, and it’s the hardest (no pun intended) thing for me to write.

7/ Do you have a project you never got the nerves/guts to write?

I’ve lost the nerve to post anything I write! All I’ve been interested in lately is fluff and comedy, and I’ve written five or six things but not finished or posted them because I feel like I’m a burden to the few people who still read my junk. And I don’t want to make them read such crap; it feels like a cry for attention (or help). So until I gain courage or write something worthwhile, Imma just keep it to myself.

ALSO, my Da Vinci’s Demons long epic that I’ve mused over and plotted and outlined but ehhhh I’m not going to write 100,000 words that only three of us will read. I’m such a hypocrite because I always preach that we should write for ourselves first, and I do believe that, but I also know when I’m beaten. lol

8/ For which fandom have you written the most? (can be original fic, say if you count in terms of words, chapters or fics)

Oh, Tokio Hotel bandom, you were a hot mess! I have 29 stories of every pairing and rating for them. Then Da Vinci’s Demons. My original stuff is all over the place and unfinished. Right now, I have stuff going for FFVII, Da Vinci’s Demons, Teen Wolf, Kobi no Kyoujin and, please help me because I swore I wouldn’t, Will. But whether I actually post any of them, I don’t know.

This was fun! You should definitely make more memes, even if they’re just distractions for the time! ;D

[lavalampelfchild]

Fics/Stories I’m working on

I was tagged for this by @celeritassagittae, and honestly, there are quite a lot of fics I’ve made kinda-sorta progress on, but I’ve limited myself to certain ones until I update (you know which ones, @celeritassagittae).  There’s also one I was trying to finish for the DA remix event that @trulycertain and @aphreal42 started.  So here are some of my WIPs: 

To Answer the Call - This is the main one I’m working on right now, because dang it, that 1st chapter has been sitting by itself for too long.  So here’s an excerpt: 

Duncan’s mouth thinned and he exhaled calmly before continuing, “We leave at sunup tomorrow. The journey to Ostagar will be four days.”  He paused then and looked around at all of them, careful not to let his gaze linger on Velyn.  “We can’t afford to waste time.  After tonight, there will be minimum stops, to rest only when we absolutely need it.”

He didn’t relish what these final four days would do to his recruits, but there was no avoiding it.

Duncan placed his pack on the ground and cast a glance toward the town.  “I need to ascertain the state of Ostagar and the king.  I’ll return later.  Feel free to explore the town at your leisure.  I recommend the tavern for—”

“Better food than what’s in our packs,” Rondall called with a smirk.  Duncan shot him a quelling look.  

“That’s certainly one way to put it,” he acknowledged. “However, I would advise caution.”  He surveyed his recruits with an odd combination of amused anticipation and edged wariness.  Two elves, one mage, two dwarves, and two humans.  What a group they would make.  Hopefully not one that draws unnecessary attention to itself.

“And…”  Duncan turned his eyes to Velyn.  “Velyn, I suggest you remain at the camp and rest.  Moving about excessively will only make you weaker at this point, and propel you faster to your demise.”

Harsh, perhaps, and blunt, but Duncan had never been one to mince his words, and Velyn so far had not been receptive to anything but the most direct of commands and orders.  

Around him, the camp tensed, the air growing thick.  Silence greeted Duncan’s suggestion, and the group’s collective gaze came to rest upon him and Velyn.

Velyn narrowed his eyes and sneered at Duncan, saying nothing yet still managing to leave Duncan with the impression that he was being defied.

Well, this could turn out one of several ways.

Growing Pains and a Mabari, Part 2 - This I have been agonizing over solely because I want to make sure I write three-year-old Alistair well.  Tentatively, here is some of what I have:

“Uncle Teagan!”  

The voice, familiar and beloved, had Teagan straightening immediately, his face alight as he turned to greet the newcomer.  

There, in the entrance to the stable, stood little Alistair, eyes wide and round, mouth open in excited shock, body quivering as he waited to be called over to Teagan.  Teagan knelt down and held out his arms.

“Well, are you going to come here and give me a hug, or just stand there?” he asked with a smile and wink. Alistair giggled and shot over to Teagan as fast as his legs could carry him.  Teagan caught him up easily and scooped the boy into his arms, settling him snugly against his hip.  Alistair’s arms twined around Teagan’s neck in an awkward but heartfelt hug, and Teagan was helpless not to return it.  When Alistair pulled away, his smile seemed to take up half his face and his cheeks were flush with excitement.

Oh, he was a welcome sight.

“You,” Teagan said seriously, tapping a finger against Alistair’s nose. “Are getting bigger.” Alistair’s grin widened and he squirmed proudly in Teagan’s hold.  Tegan laughed.  “Why it seems like only yesterday that you were smaller than my head!”

Alistair laughed and shook his head.  “No!” he said, as though Teagan were the silliest human being in all of existence. “That’s wrong!”  

“It’s wrong?” Teagan parroted, pitching his voice higher to make Alistair laugh harder.  It worked, Alistair momentarily unable to quell his delighted giggles.  “Are you sure, Alistair?  Very sure?”

Alistair nodded vigorously.

“I was not small—I was always big!” he declared, holding his chin up with pride.  Teagan gave him a look of awe.

“Always?” he asked. Alistair nodded.  “You were always big?”  He gave Alistair a look of exaggerated suspicion.

“Yeah!” Alistair said, nodding again. “Always!  And besides.” He paused to give Teagan an exaggerated sigh, as though educating Teagan were some great burden.  “I’s not possible to be that small.”

“Well, may the Maker preserve me, you’re right,” Teagan conceded, smacking his free hand to his forehead. “And you’re bigger now, then, aren’t you?”  Alistair nodded.  “How big are you?”  Alistair held up three fingers.  “Three? Three whole years?”  Alistair nodded again, and Teagan was momentarily worried that he was going to strain his neck with the force of it.  

“Yeah!” Alistair replied. “And we had a pie today!  And-and it was really good.”  He paused and his brow furrowed for a moment as he considered.  “Prob’ly the best pie ever.” Teagan chuckled and bounced Alistair.

Unnamed fic potentially for the remix event - This is basically just a self-indulgent oneshot of Alistair x Amell pre-relationship puppy love... Have an excerpt:

He was going to do it. He was.  Any second now, Alistair was going to get up, and go over there, and—

Alright. Definitely.  Right now.  Getting to his feet, that was a thing he could do…

“By the Maker, Alistair, I do not think I’ve ever seen a man in such agony over a single decision,” Zevran’s laughing voice cut into his thoughts.  Alistair immediately turned to glare at Zevran – why was he even drinking with him, anyway?  Zevran only smirked in response and tossed his head toward the other end of camp. Where Aja was.  Alistair almost followed the motion with his eyes but then remembered he was supposed to be glaring at Zevran.  

Because really, that was much easier than actually doing what he was most definitely going to do in a second.

“And who says I’m in agony?” he asked pointedly.  He raised his eyebrows and tried to give Zevran a condescending look.  “I’m just… considering all my options.”

“All options available to you for the next stage of your… wooing?”

Alistair blushed and made a face that he hoped was adequately unimpressed.  Zevran only winked.  

“Well, I think it is very sweet,” Leliana chimed in, leaning toward Alistair to give him a supportive pat on the arm. “It shows that you are truly concerned with how you present yourself to her.  A lady always appreciates that.”

“Ha!” Alistair crowed triumphantly at Zevran. “See?  I’m sweet.”  Zevran was unfazed.

“What you are is still sitting here,” he mumbled as he took another drink.  Alistair glared again and Leliana giggled.

Walk the Mile, Pay the Price - It’s on the list but I haven’t been able to get started on the chapter just yet as I’ve been focusing on my multi-Warden fic most recently.  I do have an outline for the chapter, though!

Well, that’s it for the moment.  I’ve got ideas for other fics, and there’s also a second part for the possessed!Alistair fic that I’ve been thinking about, but I haven’t gotten to starting that one yet, with the other ones I’m working on.  As for the tagging, I’m not sure who else will have already done this, so I’ll just go ahead and say if anyone hasn’t done this but wants to, consider yourself tagged!

[todisturbtheuniverse]

Fanfic Year in Review - 2016

I was tagged in this by @hollyand-writes; thanks! :)

Total number of completed stories: 8, plus 1 WIP I started that is still in progress.

Total word count: Just about 90K posted to AO3.

Fandoms written in: Dragon Age (2 and Inquisition), Mass Effect, and Strange Magic.

Looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? I expected to write a lot less. That last Inquisitor/Iron Bull story was an abrupt decision, and given that it was 25K words, had a serious impact on my word count. I also didn’t expect These Chains to expand the way it did. Silly me, picking up a project and thinking it’s going to be 20K words or less. Like the dumb slow-burn romance lover living in my head would allow that.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What’s your own favorite story of the year? That’s tough. Probably Wall Yourself Away, just because I’ve waited a long time for Bull and Kat to get to the mushy stuff, and it was like finally releasing a sneeze to get it written down.

Did you take any writing risks this year? Sort of? I knew when I started writing it that These Chains was not necessarily going to be popular; it’s a pairing that doesn’t come off looking so good in canon, BDSM is divisive, femdom is not super popular, etc. It was a dynamic I’d never written before, so in that regard, it was definitely a risk. But ultimately, it was something that @argharies had the idea for and that we ended up developing together as a fun creative exercise, and oh what fun it was.

Do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year? I definitely want to wrap up These Chains. I’m getting fairly close to having no more “active” WIPs floating out there in the wild, and I would really like that to happen this year.

Otherwise, I have a few long-ish fics that have been varying stages of development for varying amounts of time, including:

f!Hawke/Isabela fic set during-and-post-Inquisition, getting into what the heck Hawke was thinking to get involved with the Wardens and what happens when she goes to Adamant (let me tell you: Isabela is Not Happy). This was actually a story I was developing for the 2015 Dragon Age Big Bang. I ended up dropping out because, surprise surprise, it got much longer and more complicated than I had planned, and I ran out of time.

f!Hawke/Isabela modern-ish AU featuring Gangs, Fake Dating, and Lots of Panic (about Castillon’s Lingering Grudge); this one was a lot of fun to play with earlier this year.

f!Adaar/Josephine fic set during the “Of Somewhat Fallen Fortune” quest, which is similar in style to Only Pieces/Wall Yourself Away: a flashback fic showing some historical development for both Adaar and Josephine, juxtaposed with the present goings-on. This one is kind of like a sneeze, too.

Jyn Erso/Cassian Andor fic, the premise for which is so full of spoilers that I’m not even going to get into it. If it ever comes to light, you’ll see. Honestly, the most delightful part of even starting this was that Star Wars was really the first fandom I wrote (shitty, self-insert, never-posted) fanfiction for; coming back to it 15-ish years later feels really fun and indulgent.

Just about two dozen one-shots, of various pairings--mostly Shakarian right now, since I’m working on my replay of ME before Andromeda hits, but plenty of Inquisibull & other DA stuff, too.

I have no idea if any of these are going to actually happen this year. If I had to put money on it, I’d say some ficlets and that f!Adaar/Josephine fic, but if I put my head between my ears, I’d hope to really flesh out that f!Hawke/Isabela story. None of those longfics are going to see a post date until the whole damn first draft is written, though. I’ve learned my lesson.

Best story of the year? Probably a toss-up between In Which Tongue Will We Speak and A Little Rehearsal; I personally thought I nailed characterization/atmosphere/humor the best in these two.

Most popular story of the year? By all accounts, it was all the leaves on the trees are falling, though it hardly seems fair; since I started writing it in 2015, of course it has more hits, kudos, comments, subscriptions, bookmarks, etc. than anything I posted in 2016.

Of those that I started posting in 2016:

Most hits: These Chains

Most kudos: Misfire

Most comments: Wall Yourself Away

Most bookmarks: These Chains

Most subscriptions: These Chains

Story of mine most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Eh, I don’t think any of them were underappreciated. Most have a 10% kudos-to-hits ratio, which is about what I expect (the exception is These Chains, which is at about 5%, for very obvious reasons). They’ve all received comments. I think they’ve gotten plenty of appreciation.

Most fun story to write: I loved A Little Rehearsal. There are some characters and pairings whose voices, for whatever reason, really flow for me, and Garrus/Shepard is one of them. In my opinion, I really get their humor/camaraderie (ymmv; these are, after all, my versions of these characters).

Story with the single sexiest moment: Honestly, probably Wall Yourself Away, just because the emotional component has really come in and joined the party; These Chains would have been a contender if Shepard and Vega were in the same spot, but they’ve got a ways to go.

Most sweet story: We All Fall. Quintessential Josephine/Inquisitor fluff.

“Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you!” story: Nothing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I have no shame, or maybe the stuff I’m into/write about is just not niche enough. Plenty of people would probably take issue with both Wall Yourself Away and These Chains for the BDSM aspect, but they’re probably not part of my fandom circle.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: I’m continually adjusting my perception of Bull, more than any other character I’ve ever written, so Wall Yourself Away. When a character’s main personality trait is that they’re a good liar, you kind of constantly second-guess everything you think you’ve interpreted about said character. It is exhausting.

Most unintentionally telling story: Probably Ornamented. Why is it unintentionally telling? Because it tells you all that if I sit down with an hour and a vague prompt, I’m going to churn out Hawke/Isabela fluff with creeping character development. That’s it, lol. That’s what’s in my brain.

Hardest story to write: Well, as the year has gone along, These Chains. I just got knocked out of the right mindset and need to dedicate some time to revisit it so I can get going again.

Biggest disappointment: None, really. I write and post fanfic with zero expectations; there’s plenty that doesn’t get posted because I’m just scribbling, it’s unfinished, it’s not ready, etc., but when I do post it--that end product is still what the starting product was. Basically just something I wanted to offload from my brain, or, usually, the fic that I want to read but can’t find. That other people enjoy it delights me, but if they don’t, oh well.

Don’t get me wrong; in general, I do wish that a greater level of feedback was generated for fanfiction. It’s just that I’m content as-is, personally. I’ve been part of a big enough fandom that I once got a ton of increased views and feedback; the super-long Dean/Castiel fic I wrote back in 2013 has more than 23,000 hits, 668 kudos, was part of somewhat popular rec lists, etc. My personal enjoyment of my own writing, however, is just not changed by the level of feedback.

Biggest surprise: The super-lengthy and loving feedback I got on Wall Yourself Away. I anticipated this fic especially to be a labor of love, mostly written for myself; while I am totally interested in other OCs, I usually still assume that most people do not want to hear about someone else’s OC, and this fic was all-Katrina-all-the-time (plus other OCs I pulled in, too). The fact that a fair few people were captivated was really nice. (I said I was content without much feedback, not that I don’t enjoy it when feedback occurs anyway! :))

Tagging:  Anyone who wants to, really. I’ve seen it going around, so I’m not sure who’s done it and who hasn’t. Feel free!