#pulp fiction fanfic

[sepulcher666]

Writing Exercise with a shameless self insert

——-

I help him up. The servos of his armor creaked on the weight of my efforts, the strength of my aching, gene-enhanced limbs. The terminator armor I wore worked overtime to haul him over my shoulders.

“You will not die this day, Blackshield.” I was determined.

“….sending…location..auspex..” he groaned as I took off into a run the best I could..

I turned my body, shielding him from stray energy blasts that traveled towards our direction. I fired my storm Bolter towards the direction the projectiles came from. As my auspex registered hits, I turned and continued to run.

I could hear the whine of the thunder hawks engines as it descended and as the ramp lowered.

“Onboard! Now!”

——-

*dim conversation. Perhaps this is something Titus isn’t meant to hear, but catches wind of nonetheless.*

“Why does it matter that we have a black shield in our squad? He serves the deathwatch as any of us do.”

“My concern is not with him being a black shield, but of the accusations leveled against him. He could be warp-tainted for all you or I know!”

“Agh! I’ve had enough of this! He was already vindicated when he was released from that fools custody!”

“I do not trust the ordo hereticus. That “fool” proved that neither should you, given your years serving the ordo xenos.”

“He wakes. I will go check on him.”

“Fine. Do what you will.”

——

I turn from my companion and head down the hall of the observatory. I see servo skulls float past on anti-gravity machines, playing sacred hymns and constant prayers to the God-Emperor.

His cot should be somewhere down the Astartes quarters….

I approach the cot upon recognizing the figure that sat upon the cushioned slab.

He acknowledges me with a single look, and beckons me to sit beside him.

“How do you fare, Demetrian Titus?” I ask, offering him a fresh flask of cold water.

“Well enough.” He seems somewhat stiff. I can see the icy blue melt a little as he sees the flask being offered to him. It takes me only a second to catch it.

He takes it, uncorking the flask and downing it in a single gulp.

“You did not join us for morning prayers. Is something the matter, cousin?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“I was given an exemption by the apothecary. A torn Achilles heel, ruptured arteries and a several broken ribs. I should be well enough in a day or so.” I don’t think he lies about his injuries, but I suspect that he was uneasy, given this was his first month in the Deathwatch.

I nod. “I see. Did he clear you for firing drills? The watch master wishes to see you today at the range.”

Demetrian Titus is quiet for a few seconds, as if he were considering my question.

“If the watch master summons me I shall go now to save some time. Where is he?” He gets up, grunting a bit in pain. I help steady him.

“I will help you to him if your pains are too great.”

He lays his arm around my shoulder. “Thank you for your assistance.”

“No need. It is my duty to assist. I shall help you the best I can.”

We head out of the cot at and to the lift at a steady pace.

“Why do you excuse yourself from your duties to help me?”

I consider his question as we turn a corner.

“I am not the only one that wishes to help you. Several of my cousins wanted to help and welcome you to the death watch. I suspect their curiosities run deeper than that and would make you uncomfortable, given your status as a black shield. Some do not have the authority to excuse themselves from their duties.”

“I see. You are a veteran of the Deathwatch then?”

I nod. “I am, Cousin. Soon, you will be too, given time.”

“I shall hope that proves to be the case.”

——-

[jackalope-with-a-pen]

guess who forgot about this blog again? 🙈

anyway I finally have a fic on my ao3 now...

it is not any of the fics I've been working on and talking about here, lmao, it's something else:

PULP MUSICALS FIC, BABEY!!!!

here's a summary that my friend @snarky-wallflower helped me come up with:

Benjamin usually thinks of the Stratfords and their stories whenever he sees the moon. ... It’s only now, standing in a brick room with Margaret in his arms and looking out at that odd rock—closer than ever and still so far away—that he suddenly becomes fully aware of just how much space Margaret has started to occupy in his mind. These last few weeks, he hasn’t been able to catch even a brief glance at the moon without thinking of her, too, and wondering if she would be watching it that night, if she’d get her answers this time.

OR

In those final hours aboard the brick satellite, Benjamin Park makes amends and falls into the orbit of Samuel Stratford and Margaret Cavendish, fast and bright. (aka, a Benjamin Comes Along AU with a twist!)

[reservoirreputation]

EXACTLY 10K!!!!!!!! 🥳

[absoluterazr]

Every Assassin has a past.

Contract (series) feat. cast of Dead or Alive.

[ihatetheinternetandeveryoneonit]

The Maul Situation

cw: mentions of blood and gore, and the dark brotherhood and Maven Black Briar are assholes, big shocker. But also OOC

The sun danced over the Velothi mountain peaks and the birds trilled through the aspens, and the sights and sounds and crisp air settled through the open windows of the sitting room. Veezara and his new recruit, soaked in the brains and other juices of of an unfortunate Argonian, soaked it all in. The Blackbriar mead was a welcome reprieve from their early morning escapades, especially in the luxurious home of its namesake.

"Mmm! Divines, Maven," Veezara wore a wide smile. "This is some serious gourmet shit. Me and my friend would have been satisfied with a tepid Honningbrew, but you go and spring this fucking gourmet shit on us! What is this flavor, do I detect juniper berries?"

"Knock it off, Veezara." Maven Blackbriar folded her arms, still in her nightgown.

"What?"

"I don't need you to tell me how fucking good my mead is. I'm the one who makes it, I know how good it is. When Maul goes shopping, he buys shit. I make the gourmet expensive stuff 'cause when I drink it, I wanna taste it. But you wanna know what's on my mind right now? It isn't the mead in my cellar, it's the dead lizard in my stable."

"Oh, Maven, don't even worry ab--" Veezara held up a hand. His companion's eyes darted between him and Maven, tankard frozen on their lips.

"No, no, no, no. I'm talking." Maven scowled. "Now let me ask you a question, Veezara. When you came pulling in here, did you notice a sign out front that said 'dead lizard storage?'"

"Maven, you know I didn't--" Veezara put his smile and a friendly shrug back on gingerly.

"Did you notice a sign that said 'Dead Liard Storage??'" Maven's voice rose.

Veezara sighed. "No. No I didn't."

"You know why you didn't see that sign?" Maven moved her hands to her hips.

"Why?" Veezara's eyes were to the floor, playing along.

"Because IT'S NOT THERE BECAUSE STORING DEAD LIZARDS AIN'T MY FUCKING BUSINESS! THAT'S WHY!"

"Well, Maven!" Veezara looked up and held up a hand. "We're not going to store it or any--"

"No-no-no-no!" Maven held up a finger. "Don't you fucking realize that if Maul comes home and finds a dead body in his house, he's gonna fucking leave me? No counselor from the temple of Mara, no trial separation, fucking gone. And I don't want to find a new right-hand man! Just…fuck, I want to help you out, Veezara, I really do. But I'm not going to lose Maul doing it.

"Maven, Maven, he's not going to leave--"

"DON'T FUCKING 'MAVEN' ME, VEEZARA! There's nothing you're gonna say that's going to make me forget that I love--" she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Now look, he's going to get back from leaning against Aerin's house in an hour and a half. You got to speak to the Night Mother or Sithis or whatever for help? Well then do it! And then get the fuck out of my house!"

"Good, well, we don't want to fuck your shit up." Veezara summoned his smile back once more. All we're going to do is call our people to bring us in."

"You're fucking my shit up right now!" Maven spat. "Just do me this favor, get your shit done, and get out of here!" Maven marched out of the sitting room. Veezara's companion stared at him, tankard now emptied. Veezara sighed, chugged the last of his own mead and wiped his mouth. "Let's get to it."

[pandaimitator]

There's no point to posting this because I've been shadow banned and no one will see it anyhow. Ban has been lifted, woohoo! I'm just so pleased at having managed to finish this week's chapter on time, despite writer's block, and having derailed with a couple of one shots.

The image above was the inspiration for Jane's outfit as the Greystokes and Tenningtons tour the lake district (and end up in a pulpy adventure consisting of absolutely no lions) and the story can be found here

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

Hey writeblr, do y'all know if any publications that can pay me will accept fanfic? I want to write my Kill Bill fics and maybe something about trans Mia Wallace, but I'm not sure if I'd have to change it, and if so to what degree.

I'd likely have to either rename the characters (like 50 Shades did to characters from the Twilight Saga, though that story was an AU anyway), or at least omit their full names (like Gaiman's "Problem of Susan" did to characters from Narnia). For example maybe just call Mia by her first name or have her as a nameless narrator. Likewise don't mention what they call the infamous mob boss she's married to, or give him an alias. And so on.

In the case of the crossover between Kill Bill and Sweeney Todd, it's complicated because Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett are in the public domain (though some of the other characters in Sondheim's musical might not be), while Kill Bill isn't. So I could mention Todd and Lovett by name, but not the birth name or nickname of the strange American moving into their old building to start a new life in London, or of her weirdly violent daughter who babbles excitedly about a mysterious deceased father. I mean I figure in that case the Bride and BB would have a reason to hide their original names anyway.

Also, what publications might accept this sort of story?

[fosliie]

It is time to actually explain that one vague Sam and Max au! Calling it

Take me out Noir au

first off, you have to know, this au is essentially a hypothetical fanfic Sam and Max write together with their “totally not me” ocs. I feel like they’d be the kinda guys to write self fulfilling fanficfion (they’re terrible at it)

The gist is that it is a gritty noir detective drama starring Samantha and Maxine, their fem counterparts. It’s the same vibes as a noir detective pulp fiction novel in the 1950’s, so VIOLENCE!! DRAMA!! TENSION!!!

With a disheveled detective and her ex-partner turned performer/singer (with connections to the mafia..?), they often cross paths and usually end up fighting, reminiscing longingly, or a mixture of the both

[kebuyo]

I love this artwork sm!! 🥰

I'll just leave this here with absolutely zero context (...yet!)

Credits to @kebuyo for being my main inspiration for this project and enabling me to draw this very cursed piece of akam art

[spineless-lobster]

what books would the ghosts read do you think?

Robin: Astrophysics textbooks, literally no one else knows what he’s actually reading but he understands it completely

Humphrey: Definitely history books, I think he’d be very interested in art history and perhaps also french history (Sophie <333)

Mary: Picture books!!! She cannot read but that will never stop her!!!

Kitty: The wildest, dirtiest, most fucknasty gay smut ever published. And she giggles profusely the whole time (also she reads fanfic of her favourite shows because I said so)

Thomas: His own poetry, he just recites it to himself. He might other poets but that is only to criticize them. Though I think he’d indulge in some Jane Austen

Fanny: Risqué victorian novels, showing ankles and so on. But I think she’d also explore various educational subjects to expand her knowledge and I love that for her

The Captain: All the books about war strategy, tanks, birds, insects, etc. except for the one time he stumbled across one of kitty’s books (he wasn’t the same for the next week)

Pat: I think he’d enjoy a lot of fantasy like Lord of the Rings, but he also collects a lot of ghost/campfire story books (scary stories to tell in the dark <333)

Julian: Reading is for nerds, but if he had to it would be some sort of pulp fiction, if only for the covers alone lol

[jackalope-with-a-pen]

Keys To The Press And Keys To The Door

When he had accepted this new position as editor, he knew it would mean more work and more stress in addition to the meager increase in his salary. However, he has to admit he hadn’t anticipated this much extra work. Or extra stress. It’s fine, though—he can handle it, even if he’s suddenly short a reporter. He is handling it! He’s learning and adjusting. He’ll prove himself to his boss and his coworkers, show them that his age doesn’t matter. Because it doesn’t. He may only be twenty-two years old, but he will be just as capable an editor as the man he replaced. That being said, this job would be a little easier to bear if he had something to look forward to when the work was finally done, something to lift his spirits at the end of a long day. OR As the newly promoted editor of the Sun, Benjamin Park is stressed and lonely, but he might have the perfect solution to both his problems. (This is part one of my Benjamin Comes Along + Radiant Sunsets AU!)

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

I know I've made this argument myself many times, but I'm starting to think that we're moving in the wrong direction when we respond to critics of fanfic and pulp romance by saying stuff like "Dante's Inferno was fanfic!" or "Jane Austen was dismissed as silly romance!"

Like yeah, transformative works can be just as creative and deep as original fiction, and romance-centric stories can be literature in their own right, but also…. it's fucking okay to read stuff that isn't like that?

Controversial opinion, but if your idea of a good read is a series of <200 word short stories about characters from your favourite TV show trying to book a hotel room only to discover that (shocker) THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED!!! then that's honestly just as valid a recreational activity as reading Remains of the Day or The Brothers Karamazov.

Do the works have equal complexity or literary significance? No, probably not, but that doesn't actually matter if the question is "what to read in the evenings so I can destress before bed?" or "what to entertain myself with while on holiday?"

It's not like we treat other forms of media this way. No one feels the need to justify having a generic flower painting on the wall by comparing it to Van Gogh's Sunflowers. Nobody excuses playing pop songs in the car by pointing out that "Mozart was the Taylor Swift of his day!"

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people don't get snobbish about this stuff. People get snobbish about anything. But reading is really the only hobby where it seems common practice to validate this snobbery by insisting that actually your preferred form of fiction is literature after all.

We all get that there are people who are consumed by a deep passion for art, or music, or food, or whatever, and that many of these people enjoy spending a lot of time (sometimes in professional settings) analysing various works to determine which ones are the most complex and culturally significant.

That's fine, we wish them well and they're probably doing good work.

But we also get that there are other people who just want to watch popcorn films or listen to whatever's on the radio atm while eating oven pizza, and that's also completely fine. Those things aren't invalid just because you couldn't write an academic essay on them, they're fulfilling a completely different but equally important function in our lives!

As someone with a literal degree in this stuff, it's fine to just let reading be one of those background things that you do purely to relax and don't put any thought into. Literally nobody has the time or energy to become a connoisseur in every field, and the average person will run themselves into the ground if they try.

Bread and roses are important, yeah, but so are bubblegum and fairy lights. Not everything has to be either work or educational.

[reservoirreputation]

I'm almost at 10k AO3 hits, come ask me about the stuff I've written (or even about my WIPs...)

[goodluckclove]

A Celebration!

So I have memory issues.

It's for a lot of reasons that I won't get into here, it's really not a big deal. But it plays a fun part in the way I form relationships, especially relationships online. To put it simply, I can no longer really remember how I met @mercuryytheraven. I think I made some post asking people to tell me what's keeping them from writing and challenging them to allow me to fix it. We spoke for maybe thirty minutes, and I remember them saying that they were working on a Warrior Cat's fan fiction, which tickled me because I didn't know people still read those books.

They essentially said that they've been trying to write for some time, but no matter what they did they could never get past around 100 words. Something always got in the way. If I'm being honest, I don't remember what I told them, but it must've been insightful because they've been messaging me almost daily ever since.

Eventually my brain just accepted the presence of this bright, dandelion-fluff of a human being. I would look at my phone and say oh hey, it's them again. I would tell my wife about their exploits and we would remember what it was like to be young and even more confused than we are on a daily basis. Quietly, and I have never told them this, but I started calling them my protege. I don't know if that's arrogant or not.

Mercury is such a treasure of spirit. All it takes is one conversation to see the depth of color they carry within them. They care so deeply and about so many things, a quality hard to find in a world so preoccupied with cynicism and meta post-irony. Not only are they already an insightful and deeply curious writer, they are also an incredibly skilled visual artist. I questioned the validity of the high standards they held themselves to again and again - but then I told myself that I once did the same thing.

When I met Mercury they said they never wrote more than 100 words. That was less than a month ago. Today they just finished the first chapter of the Warrior Cats fanfiction they've been brewing for years. It's just over 3500 words.

Friend, do you know how remarkable that is? Can you imagine that big a breakthrough? I cannot stress enough that this is an immense achievement - not unbelievable, very believable, but hard. Worthy of accolades. Worthy of relishing in!

One chapter is never just one chapter. It's the creation of something foundational that didn't exist before. It doesn't matter if it's a fluffy fanfic one shot or literary novel or long-form au or pulp genre shlock. It wasn't here before and now it is and that is one of the most wonderful things in the world to me.

You might know me as someone against the general romanticization of The Writer as an archetype, but it's moments like these that truly call that stance into question. Because what @mercuryytheraven did today, and what many of you do whenever you can, is truly a precious sacrament. It is ritualistic in nature, a human sacrifice where we are the blood offering and the result is a story birthed from our own transfer of matter.

It is beautiful. So please, if you can, send some congratulations in the direction of our friend and colleague. And the next time you reach a milestone you feel is too small to be remarkable, know that you're wrong. You're doing something special for yourself and those around you with every single word you write, whenever you can write it.

So go write it!

[sflow-er]

PSA about fanfic locking

I'm making a separate post about this and also putting it in the YR tag in case any of my guest readers missed it this morning:

As of today, all my fics are restricted to registered Ao3 users only.

There's yet another bot scraping fanfic for AI purposes, and even if it gets shut down, others will follow. I already locked the fics that felt the most important to me last year, and it's high time to lock the rest. I don't want even the less significant fruits of my creative labour to be mashed and mixed into the soulless pulp of AI-generated fiction.

To anyone who's been reading my fics as a guest, I appreciate you so much and am really sorry to have to restrict your access. I hope you might consider signing up for an account. It's easy, the wait is not long, and you get access to many useful features (e.g. author, story & series subscriptions, bookmarks and 'mark for later')!

.

Fic list under the cut for your reference.

Young Royals fics by Sflow

Supplementary facets (S1 ace Henry universe):

Other people’s secrets: Retelling and expansion of the s1 canon and an “alternative s2” from Henry's perspective. Outsider POV of Wilmon, a personal growth journey for Henry, and a story about his friendship and eventual ace/allo romance with Walter.

Matters of adjustment: Standalone bonus epilogue to OPS. Shows Walty + Wilmon enjoying some time at the royal family’s summer residence. Mostly fluff but also features a few more serious topics.

The real deal (WIP; currently under revision): Prequel to OPS from Walter's POV. In addition to his personal growth and relationships, the story also examines the social dynamics of Hillerska in pre-canon and early canon.

Not nothing: Optional part of the series: a non-smutty sex-themed one-shot that shows what happens when Henry and Walter do decide to have sex. Mostly Henry’s reflection and dialogue between them (posted for Ace Week 2022).

S2 Walty snippets:

Bright ideas: Missing moment/scene expansion for s2ep2, showing what Henry was up to before, during and after the locker room scene. Also includes his thoughts on Wille’s situation and Wilmon, and his discussions with Walter and Wille.

Like you better: Fluffy missing moment between Walty at the end of s2ep4. Can be read as queerplatonic or romantic.

Last chance: Walty first kiss + ace talk fic set after S2. Not consistent with any of my other fics. Contains discussion of past acephobia, previous sexual experience, and aversions (posted for Ace Week 2023).

Other fics:

Årnäs, February 2016: Pre-canon character study/backstory focusing on August and his father. May explain some things about his views on women, romance, and life in general. Contains some heavy stuff including emotional abuse/manipulation so please check the tags!

[Untitled S3 Walty fic]: S3-compliant ace Henry/allo Walter friends-to-lovers fic hopefully coming soon! Will also be locked so if you want to read it, now is a good time to make that account.

[poppyandzena]

You hit the nail on the head with Proshippers and Lolita. Nobody’s jacking off while reading Lolita. The same cannot be said about their fanfics.

Hard disagree on Flowers in the Attic though. The books are fundamentally about the cycle of abuse. The siblings getting together is not portrayed in a positive light, and leads to the cycle of abuse continuing in their family.

While stories about overcoming abuse are important, it is also important to have stories about failing to overcome abuse.

Absolutely. I think Flowers struggles the more it tries to add more twists and drama, like the grandma coming back over and over. It's a narrative consequence of being a pulp fiction at a time where mental illness and abuse was not quite understood. I just would have preferred if the siblings didn't end up in a romantic relationship as adults. It doesn't make the series devoid of value as a whole.

I really appreciated MertKayKay's analysis of The Suicide of Rachel Foster. It draws comparisons to Lolita in how perpetrators are portrayed based on the narrative framing.

Being anti-proship isn't wanting to eliminate content that covers the taboo. If we did that, societal progress would come to a standstill. Anti-proship is questioning WHY proshippers use free speech absolutism, specifically as an excuse to make harmful forms of pornography.

I'm not going to shame the person making content about what it's like to be with an abusive partner, what it's like to survive incest or pedophilia. I shame those who hide behind the former to inject fetishistic abuse content into that community, whk use it to groom children or traumatized adults. I cannot be like "not all proshippers" when the ideology is made to protect these bad faith actors--like Lily.