#reading challenge 2k18

[bellamysgriffin]

my 2018 reading goal

so, now that the new year is rolling in, i wanna buckle down and read even more books! i read about 60 this year, and while that’s not terrible, i’d like to read more, so my goal for next year is to read one hundred books, which, i know, is quite a lot. so i made a list of all the books i plan to read next year, and i wanted to share them with you guys as well as ask for some recs!

first, i have a book a week based on a goodreads challenge planned out, so i’ll start with that list!

me talk pretty one day by david sedaris

 the square root of summer by harriet reuter hapgood

bear town by fredrik backman

the body in the woods by april henry

the 57 bus by dashka slater

chronicle of a death foretold by gabriel garcia marquez

carmilla by sheridan le fanu

dear martin by nic stone

the face on the milk carton by caroline b. cooney

born a crime by trevor noah

grapes of wrath by john steinbeck

a bend in the river by v. s. naipaul

the fever by megan abbott

my lost brothers by brendan mcdonough 

building stories by chris ware

the pregnancy project by gaby rodriguez

the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy by douglas adams

my life next door by huntley fitzpatrick

the long and faraway gone by lou berney

the art of racing in the rain by garth stein

perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky

and every morning the way home gets longer and longer by fredrik backman

coma by robin cook

chronicles of narnia by c.s. lewis

fight club by chuck palahnuik

ready player one by ernest cline

if i die in a combat zone, box me up and ship me home

the lifeboat clique by kathy parks

revolver by duane swierczynski

persepolis by marjane satrapi

we’ll always have paris by jennifer coburn

the man in the high castle by phillip k. dick

the song of achilles by madeline miller

the bluest eye by toni morrison

shooter by walter dean myers

goodbye days by jeff zentner

the power by naomi alderman

the thousandth floor my katherine mcgee

eat the sky, drink the ocean by multiple authors

the road by cormac mccarthy (subject to change)

fracture by megan miranda

the raft by s. a. boden

we were liars by e. lockhart

the lovely bones by alice sebold

by the river piedra i sat down and wept by paulo coelho

the alchemist by paulo coelho

georgia peaches and other forbidden fruit by jaye robin brown

seven ways we lie by riley redgate

the best of us by joyce maynard

the storied life of a.j. fikry by gabrielle zevin

kids we were by bernie morris

and the ocean was our sky by patrick ness

now, just et cetera books that i plan on reading at some point during the year

the girls by emma cline

the virgin suicides by jeffrey euginides

a man called ove by fredrik backman

to all the boys i loved before by jenny han

his dark materials by phillip pullman (5)

miss peregrines home for peculiar children by ransom riggs (3)

a series of unfortunate events by lemony snicket

the body by stephen king 

in the lake of the woods by tim o’brien

chaos walking by patrick ness (3)

a wrinkle in time by madeleine l’engle

anne of the island by l.m. montgomery

to kill a mockingbird by harper lee

flowers for algernon by daniel keys

the chosen by chaim potok

the new york four by brian wood and ryan kelly

selected poems of federico garcia lorca

the voices great within us

re-gifters

essential rumi

confessions of a blabbermouth

pride and prejudice by jane austen

friends with boys

the hate u give by angie thomas

the best-loved poems of jacqueline kennedy onassis

all quiet on the western front by erich maria remarque

in cold blood by truman capote

replay by ken grimwood

crosstalk by connie willis

labyrinths by jorge luis borges

affliction by russel banks

carrie by stephen king

july, july by tim o’brien

page by paige

more than this by patrick ness

the long way home by g. b. trudeau

simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda by becky albertalli

a semi-definitive list of worst nightmares by krystal sutherland

blood by tony birch

our magic hour by jennifer down

made you up by francesca zappia

what we talk about when we talk about love by raymond carver

where’d you go, bernadette? by maria semple

a lot of this is subject to change as my tastes change and time changes, so pls send me book recs!! i’d much appreciate it! this goes over a little bit by i think four books, haha, but i’m gonna get through all of them. 

[kukazashi-blog]

So, new year’s coming up, this blog has just gotten started, and here’s what I’m gonna be reading next year. (╯✧∇✧)╯

A book with a one-word title.

A book without an “E” in its title.

A book involving a prison break.

A book set in a country that fascinates you.

A book recommended by a friend.

A book from any “Books you should have read” list.

A book with a season in its title.

A book you chose solely because of its cover.

A debut.

A book set on a different continent.

A book from a series you already started.

A book you are excited to buy.

A book your mom loves.

A book by an author who shares your first name.

A book you’ve been meaning to read for forever.

A book with an exceptionally long title (5+ words).

A book narrated by two characters.

A book by an author from your homecountry.

A book with a character’s name in the title.

A book inspired by/based off of a historical event.

A book about a soldier.

A book with your favorite color cover.

A book published the year you were born.

A book recommended by someone 20 years older or younger than you.

A book that’s more than 500 pages.

I reeeeally hope I get all of these done (or find books for all the criteria, for that matter lol). I have a few books in mind already that cover some, but... we’ll see. :o

Feel free to join! ✾(〜 ☌ω☌)〜✾

[camalyng]

Irikah from Mass Effect for the great thawing?

Once upon a time, Irikah went to work and told her workmates a story of how she stepped in front of a targeting laser trained on an old salarian in the park.

"WTF, why didn't you just call security?" her workmates asked. "You know they'll come help you anywhere."

It was true, the hanars took their researchers' safety seriously since there were so few of them with both the willingness and the expertise, that was why she’d started to call, but at the time, she brushed them off with, “I handled it!”

She’s only parttime after Kolyat is born, but security comes when she calls, surrounding the house. And you don’t marry an assassin without hearing about a few tricks of the trade (unfortunately), so after hiding Kolyat away, she boobytraps the house with the most corrosive and flammable chemicals she has at home (remnants of experiments past).

The carpets and the walls are still burnt and bloody when Thane returns to Kahje, and they’re never going to get their deposit back, but the light in Irikah’s eyes as she tells him what happened while drying the knife she used to make dinner makes him think that truly, Arashu protects her own.

(Irikah protects others, too: Kolyat grows up with two parents and she and her team eventually manage to make their vaccine.)

[wrathofthestag]

Tag Game! ✨

Thanks for the tag @weneedtotalkaboutfic <3 <3 I'm taking a 15-minute break from homework so this is a much-appreciated distraction. 😂

Favourite Colour: Lavender and Yellow. Yellow's a fun happy color.

Currently Reading:  "We Can Write the Scripts Ourselves: Queer Challenges to Heteronormative Courtship Practices." Lamont, E. (2017).

Last Song: I've got the Ambient Relaxation station on Pandora going, which is what I listen to when I'm working on school stuff. It's a song called "Frozen in Time"---which I just realized looking at the YouTube for it, is 29 minutes long.

Last Series: Book of Mando Boba Fett.

Sweet/savoury/spicy: Savory. I just had some Trader Joe's popcorn with herbs and spices.

Currently working on:

work for my Family in Cross-Cultural Perspective class;

final edit/posting of my Zimbits Persuasion AU Counting the Steps to the Door of Your Heart;

my nails (later). I think I'll do Zoya's Sam.

Tagging/inviting to participate: @lttrsfrmlnrrgby @mamashitty @paperheartsandparachutes @free-tony-stark-2k18 @teluete @airplanesandcookies @devereauxsdisease @fragile-teacup @zacharybosch @theseavoices @teamrocketgender and anyone else who would like to jump in.

[sameerdanny]

Sultan Salman Khan vs Sultan Sameer Danny - A True Fan

As we always read many times about the Fans of Bollywood Actress/ Actresses, But this time we are Introducing Biggest Fan forever Sameer Danny the Indian Body Builder. Above of heights, He is the Biggest Fan of Salman Khan. When Sultan Movie released on 6th July 2016, He had used to watch the first-day first show, He enjoyed a lot, after watching the movie he was really impressed by the body transformation of Salman Khan and decided to do the same to check out how stars feel to do it.

About Sameer Danny He is an Indian Bodybuilder and he has lots of achievements at the age of 25 i.e. Mr World 2k18(NBBUI) 🏆2x Mr INDIA 🏆 3x Mr Delhi 2k18 🏆MrNorthIndia2k17 🏆PCA PRO 2k17

Steps Towards Gaining the Weight He was quite nervous that whatever he is trying to do, will be good for his health & fitness or he will face some challenges But As the Biggest, the Fans never thought about himself and finally he started to gain the weight

He used to take junk foods i.e. burger, pizza, etc. he sacrifices all diet plans, gym schedules, and many. Overall he took 2-3 months to get the look like Salman Khan in Sultan Movie. He also got a hair cut to look like Sultan Salman Khan

During this step, He faces the people, who were against him. They taunt him a lot and tried to stop him from doing this. & also he got injured but he decided to do it completely

Time to be Sultan Sameer Danny as Sultan Salman Khan

It was not so easy to be a Sultan Sameer Danny. It is too typical in comparison to gaining weight. From day 1 of starting transformation for Look like Sultan Salman Khan, he starts a proper diet plan with some food supplements, He used to Gym in Morning & Evening for 3-4 hours a time. Total time is taken by him for approx. 1 year, meantime may challenge were coming for losing the weight because it was a quick transformation after gaining it. and on the day of the Result, everyone was in shock. Here is a picture of the Biggest Fan of Sultan Salman Khan | Sultan Sameer Danny

Now the time comes for celebrating, the perfect transformation like celebrities by a die-hard Fan Sameer Danny - Sultan Salman Khan                              !! SALUTE TO ALL FANS !!

[murdershegoat]

2018 Fic Writing Roundup

Thanks @spaceman-earthgirl i havent done a tagging thing in so long so i thought id give it a try

Total 2018 Word Count: 120,568

Total 2018 Hits: 87166

Other 2018 AO3 Stats: Kudos (10007), Comment Threads (751), Bookmarks (1203), Subscriptions (563).

Links & Titles to 2018 Works: (I wrote a lot so I’m just gonna link to a few of my favourites from this year)

How I Got To Where I Am (aka i wrote a faberry fic in 2018 what’s wrong with me)

Going Once (aka lena wins an auction and gets to make out with kara)

When You Dream There’s A Chance You’ll Find (aka supercorp 10 year high school reunion au)

Because This Moment’s Really All We Have (aka sanvers modern royalty au)

I Loved You The First Time I Saw You (aka supercorp zookeeper au)

The Holy and the Broken (aka chanukah fic 2k18)

As We Undo Every Difference (aka sanvers the lucky one au)

Street Smarts (aka sanvers street smarts au)

Loving Lena Luthor (aka the supercorp fic based on a drawing by @bigmammallama5)

The Barista (aka sanvers podcast au)

You’re Where I Wanna Go (aka alex is a bad liar)

You Seem Exceptional (aka maggie is a useless lesbian college au)

Coming Home (aka sanvers based on one of the best mark/lexie scenes of all time)

Favorite Fic: it’s a three way tie between sanvers modern royalty, faberry fic & supercorp ten year reunion. those three hold a special place in my heart

Hardest Fic: ten year reunion was hard to get off the ground. i’ve had the idea for ages and trying to piece it all together and figure out how it should be proved more difficult than the others. other than that, the chanukah fic was hard because i was struggling (1) to have it written on time and (2) to come up with a story when i set myself the thematic parameters.

Do you plan on taking prompts in 2019? I take prompts from time to time, mostly if i really just click with one.

What was the best thing about 2018? i wrote an honours thesis and got to spend the time procrastinating it writing fanfic which is what i wrote my thesis about so it felt like research lol

What was the worst thing about 2018? knowing that my uni career is coming to an end (for now) and i dont know what i want to do next.

Any last thoughts for 2018? god, i hope i figure out my shit

Goals for 2019:

write more, always

work on original pieces - i wanna write a screenplay this year!

read 24 books as part of my reading challenge

maybe work out? idk. i need to move more.

be kinder. be more patient. be quieter

figure out what i wanna do with my life

I’m going to tag @aquariuses @bilerleigh @c--and--b and deadass anybody else who can be fucked and wants to do it

[solangelover]

More of the Same

Solangelo Week 2k18: Day 7 – “Engagement/Marriage”

A/N: SORRY I KNOW SOLANGELO WEEK IS LONG OVER but I had to finish.

Read on AO3 or FF.Net or Wattpad

Today was the day. The big day. The one everyone looks forward to. The one that people say changes everything.

Nico was marrying Will today.

Nico was nervous, as he assumed every groom felt on their wedding day. He was excited, as he assumed Will felt as well. He wasn’t afraid, though. Maybe slightly scared that he’d mess up somehow, but he didn’t really see why that would matter. He loved Will, and Will loved him, he knew that. He’s known that for a long time. Today was really more of a formality than any crazy, life-changing day.

It felt like more of the same.

Every day they were together, Nico and Will loved each other and made that clear in everything they did. From eating dinner together to watching movies, there wasn’t a moment of uncertainty in their love. Even when they would fight and Nico would storm off and Will would fume in his room, they always came back together, apologetic, ready to compromise, but mostly just overflowing with their love and devotion. Sometimes, one of them would think too much and suddenly be afraid of the other leaving them for someone better. But then the other would be there, comforting and caring and present.

Not a day went by without Nico remembering all that Will had done for him. He used to be a mess, filled with pain, regret, fear, and hatred. When Will stepped in, it didn’t all go away, not by a long shot. But, gradually, Nico began to see the good in the world. He could confront his demons, and when it was too hard alone, he had his sunshine by his side. Then, eventually, his sunshine never left his side. He was always there, like a permanent fixture that Nico never knew he needed. He could remember a time without Will, but that didn’t matter much anymore. Will was here, Will was his future, he always had been.

Nico’s feelings were really more of the same.

“Ready to go, Neeks?”

Nico turned to see Percy sticking his head through the open door. His smile was genuine, Nico could almost see the pride in his eyes.

Nico rolled his eyes and turned back to the mirror, fiddling with his hair a bit more. “Still with that nickname?”

Percy came up behind Nico in the mirror. “Hey, I know I’ve heard Will call you that, so you can’t hate it that much.”

“Will’s special.”

“Obviously,” Percy responded with a smirk. He spun Nico around by the shoulder to face him. “Nervous?”

Nico mused over the question. “Mmm, nervous to confront the crowd of people who are going to want to talk to me. Not nervous to marry Will.” He shot Percy an easy grin. It wasn’t a miracle for him to smile anymore - it was easy, comfortable. It was nice to Nico.

Percy smiled back, shaking his head. “Sounds about right.” He straightened up and threw an arm around Nico’s shoulders, walking them both towards the door. Nico caught sight of Percy’s wedding ring as it glinted in the sunlight filtering through the windows. No doubt Percy was remembering how he felt on his wedding day. Nico was there for that - he was a nervous mess, couldn’t even calmly put his tie on. In the end, Percy was fine, of course. The moment he saw Annabeth, he seemed to forget everything he was stressed about. Percy’s craziness made Nico almost nervous for his own wedding day. But now he was here, and he didn’t know what was wrong with Percy. He was nervous about being social (that one never really went away), but he wasn’t worried about marrying Will. Confessing his love for him was as easy as breathing.

Before they exited the building and reached the little outdoor wedding, Percy stopped and pulled Nico into a careful hug, making sure he didn’t mess up Nico’s look. “I’d give you a whole loving speech, but then I’d have nothing to say at the toasts.” He released him from the hug. “And I need everyone to hear all the embarrassing stories I’ve dug up.” His wicked grin hasn’t changed, Nico thought.

Nico scoffed fondly at his best friend. He knew Percy was trying to make him less nervous. He didn’t seem to understand that Nico really wasn’t nervous. He was ready. He was ready to publicly solidify his relationship with Will, ready to proudly wear his ring that announced that he was taken, ready to proclaim his love for Will for all to hear. He wanted this for so long, yet at the same time, he feels like he’s always had this. Will has always been his, and everyone has always known it. No matter how long it took for him to get used to Will’s attention, or how uncomfortable he was in the beginning with physical affection. Nico has entrusted his heart to Will long ago, long before they had ever thought of an official wedding.

Really, Nico thought, this really is more of the same.

Nico took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and pushed open the door. It took the two men awhile to figure out how they wanted to do the wedding. Small, only family and friends, they already knew that. Outdoors, they both always felt more comfortable in nature than anywhere else. They eventually decided on Nico walking down the aisle. A wedding is something Hades never got to experience for his child. This was special for everyone, so Will thought it would be nice for Hades to walk Nico down the aisle.

Hades met Nico right outside the door. When they locked eyes, Nico almost cried right there. There was an eternity of fondness in Hades’s eyes, and Nico recalled his words many years back: My children are so rarely happy… I would like to see you to be an exception. Nico liked to think he did a pretty good job of that. He smiled at his father, who returned it with more light than Nico had ever seen come from the King of the Underworld.

Hades offered Nico his arm. “Are you ready, my son?” His voice came out a near whisper, so full of emotion and love.

Nico latched on to his father. “It’s about time something good happens to us.” But really, he thought that this good thing has been his for a while. But for Hades, Nico was sure this was worth waiting an eternity for.

They made their way to the beginning of the aisle and everyone stood up. Nico was nervous for one second when he registered all the eyes on him. Then, he noticed the bright blue pair of eyes at the end, and nothing else mattered. Will was there, Will was waiting for him. He looked sharp as ever, but his hair was still a perfectly messy mop of blonde. He had this crazy smile on his face that felt like you were staring into the sun. Even from this far away, Nico could see tears building up in his eyes. He knew those eyes, had seen them overjoyed and full of grief, filled with love and filled with pain. Those eyes stared back at him now, clear as crystal. I love you, Will seemed to be saying to Nico, just with one look. Nico blinked and already felt a tear roll down his cheek. Gods, it’s too soon, Nico wanted to think, but he couldn’t, not with the love of his life waiting for him.

As they made their way down the aisle, Nico’s eyes never left Will’s. But that didn’t mean that Nico didn’t hear all the sniffling in the crowd. Everyone important to them was there. They all knew the hell that Nico and Will had been through, separately and together. To them, this day signified putting all that behind them, and moving forward to new challenges. To Nico and Will, though, they’d been living life together for some time now. They had been fighting the Fates since they were born, and now, together, nothing really seemed too daunting, as long as they had each other.

This is how it has been, and it will be just more of the same.

Hades planted a kiss on Nico’s forehead before handing him off to Will, who gave a nod of thanks. The two men hooked arms, Will pulling Nico in close. He whispered, “We finally made it, huh?”

Nico could hear the smile in his voice, and he couldn’t help but smile up at his love. “I think we made it a while ago. This is just more of the same, right?”

Will chuckled at how Nico echoed his own thoughts. He should’ve expected it by now, though. “Yeah,” he said as they turned to face Chiron, their officiant. “More of the same.”

[desussquad]

#Paul Rovia Deserves Better and we are here to prove it!

It's time for a fanwork challenge that shows our love and support for Jesus! Let's enjoy the end of summer and spread some Desus positivity.

The requirements of this challenge are simple and centered around these three prompts:

1. Warmth 2. Jesus Saves 3. Happy Endings

How you interpret those concepts is up to you, as long as they are incorporated into your submission(s).

Interested?  Visit our Collection on AO3 to find out more: click here. 

Or simply read on to find out how to participate. And feel free to tag your friends! <3

How do I submit?

On AO3: While editing your work, select --> Post to Collections / Challenges and add “Paul Rovia Deserves Better (paul_rovia_deserves_better_2k18)”

On Tumblr: tag @desussquad and #paul rovia deserves better 2k18

What can I submit?

Fanfic: You have to include all three prompts in your story. Beyond that, there are no minimum word requirements and chaptered works in progress are also allowed.

Fanart/edits: You can use any number of the prompts. You're not required to fit all three in your work if you're not able to, as long as you include one or more.

Is there a due date?

Although this challenge is inspired by summer coming to a close, it will remain open. There's no pressure of due dates or anonymous reveals this time. This also means that you can create and submit as many works as you'd like to!

Rules:

1.) Showing our love for Paul "Jesus" Rovia is the theme of this challenge, but the relationship focus is on Daryl x Jesus only. There may be other side-ships for other characters in the background, but since we are the Desus Squad, we will ask you to stick to Daryl x Jesus or pre-relationship Jesus and Daryl as the focus if you want your work to be included in this collection or on tumblr.

2.) We reserve the right to reject being included in this collection or on tumblr if there is any issue with the work or it doesn’t comply with the rules.

3.) No non-con.

4.) No dub-con.

5.) No pornographic underage content.

We hope to see as many as you participate!  And feel free to share this challenge and tag your friends! :) 

EVERYONE IS WELCOME <3 

[ao3feed-sterek]

hypnotizing myself

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2PEOS9s

by scepticallyopenminded

Because Stiles – Stiles is a spark. A magical being of untold power, incredibly rare and it’s extraordinary that both he and Scott are in one pack; Scott being a True Alpha and all that, also incredibly rare. Not to mention that they’ve got a werecoyote, a kitsune, a banshee, and a hunter. Everyone has heard about the McCall pack, which makes the cloaking spell even more important.

Every spark – and he means every one ever in the history of magical documentation – has a werewolf mate, who’s supposed to help the spark both meet their potential and serve as an anchoring point. It’s not quite clear why, but Stiles guesses it’s mostly because Fate is a motherfucker who likes to do weird little things to fuck with mortal’s minds. So if sparks don’t naturally find their mates, it’s not highly unusual to have these meet-and-greets with various werewolves from all over the world; the cloaking spell was used because apparently only your mate could tell exactly that you were you and not a fellow werewolf.

Words: 1353, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 14 of 15 day lyrics challenge - 2k18

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Laura Hale, Derek Hale, Cora Hale

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: Spark Stiles Stilinski, True Alpha Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Mates, First Meetings, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Secret Identity, Masks, Spells & Enchantments

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2PEOS9s

[theheavycrown]

Day 6 - Fanfic Spotlight

(thank you @betty-cooper for the beautiful gif!)

Greetings Bughead fandom! Fanfic Writers Appreciation Day was on August 21st, but why not make it a whole week of appreciation for our fandom writers? The positivity train is extending with the Bughead Fandom Author Appreciation Week - Positivity and Encouragement Challenge! Today is the sixth of seven full days of fanfic recs! @bugggghead and I are teaming up to spread the love, we had the fun idea of coming up with our 14 favorite tropes/genres and rec’ing 5 fics from each per day (or 20... because I have no self control). If you haven’t read the fics below yet, now is a great time to give them a read and a review!

Today is all about fics set during College!

If you need more fics to scratch your college fic itch check out the @blueandgoldoffice‘s tags page for genre: college, they have some amazing recs!

break free and run by @sylwrites (M - 8/8)

by the grace (of the fire and the flames) by @lessoleilscouchants (NR - 1/1)

College, Love, and Other Harsh Realities by @shrugheadjonesthethird (G - 2/6)

Crisp In The Fall by @teapotfiction (M - 22/?)

Do You Believe in Fate? by @jennimisk (M - 35/35)

Exhale by @witty-tv (M - 7/?)

Flower Girl by @mogitz (NR - 8/?)

Here, Where We Intersect by @dreamersshouldknowbetter (T - 13/?)

Into the Woods by @georgiegirl8 (T - 3/?)

it starts and ends with you by @lilibug--xx (M - 3/5)

the long way home by @elizabethbettscooper (T - 13/?)

love and the law by @judgejuggie (M - 5/?)

Make a Wish by @bettycooperthefirst (G - 18/18)

medusa laughed by @stillscape (E - 1/1)

Movie Night by @gellsbellshead (G - 2/2)

Scottish at Heart by @aisforr (M - 11/11)

see it through my eyes (love me like no other) by @indiebughead (T - 9/10)

Should I stay or should I go? by @eventyyr (NR - 1/1)

Spring Break 2k18 by @tory-b (T - 8/8)

Tacos and Tequila by @jugandbettsdetectiveagency (M - 10/10)

This is just a small sample of the quality college fics out there! Here is a link to the Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones college tag.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN IN WITH US AS WE SHOW OUR APPRECIATION TO FANDOM AUTHORS!

Take part in a day, two, or even all seven and recognize YOUR personal favorites! The more love we can spread around, the better. Pay it forward! Our fandom is growing and so is our appreciation, everyone deserves a little recognition for their passion, creativity, and hard work.

[holbywitty-blog]

❄❄Hexanna Christmas Challenge!❄❄

Winter is coming, and what better way is there to spend those long chilly evenings than by reading and writing Hexanna fanfiction?

So, @bygone-age  @lesdeuxarbres and myself have come up with the Hexanna Christmas fic challenge.

We have a few prompts and guidelines, and the rest is up to your imaginations!

The fic must be a one-parter, but the length is up to you, and of course, you can write more than one story if you wish to.

It can be any genre, and set at or around Christmas at any point in Henrik and Roxanna’s lives and relationship.

You can pick any of the prompts to write about, you could even combine several in one fic if you so wish.

We’ll use the tag #Hexanna Christmas fic 2k18 and fics can be posted at any time from now until the end of the year.

And here is the list of prompts to choose from:

Snowed in

First Christmas

Secret Santa

Proposal

An unexpected visitor

Ice skating

Christmas getaway

First snow of the winter

Staff Christmas party

Baking Christmas goodies

Discovering they are to become parents/grandparents

Babysitting Emma Naylor

All I want for Christmas is....

Meeting the relatives

Baby’s first Christmas

Putting up the decorations

Mistletoe and mulled wine

Gift wrapping

Ghosts of Christmas past

Movie night

Christmas dinner with friends

A Christmas to remember

Happy writing!

[abigailht]

you say ignore the bad portrayals and just support the writers you like but it’s always the same ones post so much and the good ones don’t

( it’s about this ask: http://abigailht.tumblr.com/post/177991170824/okay-what-is-the-deal-with-certain-desus-writers )

Listen, I understand your frustration of not getting what you want, but do you know how hard it is to write a good fic? You sit and google the best ways to break into steel doors and what equipment you’d need, and what that part of a motorcycle is called you know nothing of, and what earthworms taste like on a fresh September morning, and what type of tea brand folks preferred in 1767 in London, UK, in the upper classes during Boxing Day…And don’t get me started on english-ing as a non-native such as myself, and wondering how many natives you’ll make cringe with that last sentence😂 So we’re all rolling in our own misery of hell while writing, okay. And then after that is done, there’s editing left. Editing. Is. The. Worst. (Unless I’m doing it for other people’s writings, lol! But editing my own stuff? TORTURE.)That takes at least 5 times longer than the original draft, and two ice cream boxes and five ugly crying fits in a corner later, you finally give up and just decide to fuck it and post it.

— and then you get 2 comments saying “this nice thank” and 5 kudos —

And that’s it. 😂 that’s very anticlimactic sometimes lmao. Don’t get me wrong, I love those comments as much as the long elaborating ones okay. I embrace each comment and kudo as if they’re the gift for my firstborn!But what I’m trying to say is that writers put a LOT of work and energy and time into their fics, and the better the content, the harder the work, trust me okay, quality content doesn’t fall from the heavens where Jane Austen’s ghost blesses us with free-fluffy-genius masterpieces of literature for Desus. And when you put so much work and energy into something, and the support you’re getting doesn’t really match up with the energy you’re putting in, it can get draining and exhausting quickly. Comments give creators energy. Attention and support motivates more than a good inspirational idea. When I have a good inspirational idea, you know what I do? I dream about the ideal story before falling asleep just as any other person, and go sleep. Period. I do not invest all my free time after 10 hours of irl work to share a fanfic and then not get comments. Lmao. This attitude of expecting content creators to deliver content like machines for free has to die!We’re human. We have day jobs. We have families, responsibilities, lives. So if someone blesses us with a chapter update of their ongoing fic after 6 months of hiatus, you don’t abandon or quit that fic out of frustration and entitlement-feels. YOU FUCKING APPRECIATE. You don’t whine about fics not being finished when so many of you have the attitude “I don’t read unfinished fics, lala” — and with that you’re saying basically “I’m too entitled to support this writer while they’re writing and I’m waiting for them to finish their work so I can read it in one go and not comment at all. Lol.”I’m repeating myself, but how about supporting and encouraging people and sharing their works, reblogging their works, commenting on their works, recommending their works. Like… I can’t solve this problem for you.

All I can say is:WRITING IS HARD. And support what you like. I promise (for the third time) that will help and encourage!

Or better yet try creating content yourself!

We’re running a cool challenge atm — Paul Rovia Deserves Better 2k18 over at @desussquad.

Submit!! 😊💃🙌🏻

[ghostmartyr]

SnK 106 Thoughts

PATION

What a mess.

In Yu Yu Hakusho, the antagonist of one arc is a man who used to have the protagonist’s job. He’s described as a character who sees things in black and white. When he’s confronted with the grey of the world, he snaps and ends up with a lot of new voices in his head. One of the descriptions of him and his journey is that such a pure soul, once touched by corruption, is destined to turn entirely dark.

The individual describing this finds it enthralling.

Eren’s friends appear a touch more against it.

I’m really tempted to just say, “and then Eren ruined everything,” and stop typing, because every time I try to form deeper thoughts, it feels like that summary would save everyone a lot of time. Mostly me. It’s also more amusing than addressing exactly how he’s ruined everything, because yikes.

As a deep appreciator of the themes I believe this series holds most dear, I like this chapter.

As a deep appreciator of Eren pre-timeskip... ahaha tfw Armin is an audience surrogate. Geez.

This is a sad chapter. Yes, that gets its own sentence. It will possibly get its own sentence multiple times, because it is the most accurate statement I can make about what’s going on in this awful world.

I think I said once or twice (a month) that my problem with the Marley chapters is that there was no hope for the stars of it. The Warriors, even if they were to succeed, are pawns in a system that doesn’t care about anything but bleeding them dry of every use it can before it cannibalizes them. Month after month, we saw good people growing up in an evil world that would corrupt even the best of their intentions.

That is a depressing setting to spend a year in. Everything about it makes you start seeing nothing but trains in each glimmer of hope down the pit. Part of why I wanted to get back to Paradis so badly, besides cast preference, was that Paradis still has the concept of hope.

Yeah, it’s a concept that is largely built on sacrificing many, many lives, but when they think that they’re dying to leave a better world behind, where less of them are eaten alive, they’re not wrong. Their view of the world is horribly incomplete, and deliberately so until they dismantle the worst of their government, but the lies that build the foundation of their world are not self-perpetuating.

People on Paradis can move forward, and make the decision to try to blow up the brick wall they run straight into. In Marley, those brick walls have been arranged as a rat maze for Eldians to run.

Now we’re back with people trying to change the world for the better. And the odds are bleak. The first conversation Hange and Yelena has lays it out nicely: Paradis is not built for the kind of war waiting on their doorstep.

The wonder in Yelena’s eyes at these professional titan slayers is a beautiful sight to behold. No other group on the planet has fought these monsters so successfully, and other countries are still a few technology upgrades away from being able to say the same.

Human v human combat on a large scale, though? That is the one thing they’ve never really dealt with. They’ve lived in fear of it at times, when their walls started feeling like the cage they were, but it’s not a thing they’ve concentrated on.

Compare that to literally the entire rest of the world.

Paradis fights giants.

But like. Non-figurative ones.

This applies that same fundamental to a very different environment, and it’s no surprise that the enormity of that ask has led to some sad places. There’s a reason not everyone joins the Survey Corps. There’s a reason, before RAB show up, people wonder why they even need the Survey Corps.

Fighting impossible odds is a fruitless endeavor, from many perspectives. The will to keep with it is hard to harness. A lot of the people we have still fighting have been given some very rough shoves into it.

Wanting better for a world that doesn’t think it needs to change is challenging. It’s been challenging from the beginning, but with the setting expansion, we’re back to fighting giants.

What this chapter illustrates fantastically is which members of our cast are still dreamers. From the start, the Scouts have been full of crazy outcasts who shoot for the moon. Even Erwin, the guy thought to be the most rational of them, starts out as a starry-eyed kid. These people don’t just believe in eventual victory; they believe in the world that victory can create.

There’s an entire ocean out there. Volcanoes. Glaciers. Armin makes this point really, really easy.

There are trains. Zeppelins. You can fly through the air without 3DMG. Guns that fires multiple shots are commonplace. Ports. More foods than you could ever imagine.

You can see so many soldiers light up this chapter. For a year, they’ve known about the outside world. They’ve known they’re hated. They’ve known this is a serious fucking problem and oh no.

Then they hear about what else is out there, and it’s like they’re all little kids reading illegal library books. Yelena looks at Titans and the Scouts with awe. Hange is thrilled by every new word Onyankopon and Yelena share. Sasha experiences seafood. Nicolo’s first understanding of the demons of Paradis as people comes from experiencing Sasha. Armin and Mikasa can talk about the Marley soldiers they’ve come to know with a smile.

Enter the Eren of it all.

His name is Eeyore now.

In the beginning there was darkness. Eren, he of ferocity and indignation, brought a spark to everyone he met. Before Trost, he inspires an entire squad to ditch their original reasons for joining the army and follow the insane dreamers. He brings Mikasa a reason to fight. Just by being a good friend, he helps his country find its true ruler. After the serum bowl, he has no trouble believing that Armin, his best friend, is worth every bit as much and more as Erwin.

He vows to become humanity’s hope. Again and again, he confronts challenges no one’s ready for, and he removes the question of his ability in favor of always taking the next step forward. Do or do not, there is no try, and he always chooses to do.

They’re surrounded by all sides. Walls have been replaced by ocean. There are enemies out there. They aren’t ready for them. They need to be ready.

Eren’s only moment of hope this chapter is when Zeke’s plan is proposed. The plan to scare the world into leaving them alone long enough to live. Eren talks about a destructive force smashing everything underfoot, and his eyes light up.

It isn’t a seashell. It isn’t a train. It isn’t lobster tail. It’s power.

When Yelena’s boat comes in, he’s angry. They can’t do anything. They’re helpless. He wants to be able to do something before they’re all wiped out.

Zeke brings him that.

Everywhere in this damn chapter, Eren’s eventual isolation on Marley is illuminated. He’s kept marching forward, just like they all have, but unlike the rest of them, he does it without faith.

“If we don’t fight... we can’t win.”

“If we win... we live.”

Mikasa’s side comes first. Eren doesn’t bother reaching that point.

I don’t know that Eren knows what living means anymore. For Mikasa, it’s her family. For Connie, it’s his friends. Plenty of characters have things or people that light up their world, and they dream of the day when they’ll be able to enjoy that light without danger encroaching.

Eren’s powers start out as a symbol of hope. It’s appropriate, then, that he’s lost his. Fight, fight, fight, but what for?

Heck, even his decision to hide Historia’s possibly significance originally came from a human place. A day or so after watching Armin die, he can’t do anything but reject the possibility of sacrificing another friend.

A year later, Eren doesn’t even flinch when he discusses that motivation. “I will admit that it was a thoughtless decision.”

(Sidebar:

Am I seeing things, or does Eren look a lot like Frieda there? I mean yes, the hair length, but the way the framing is done, his bangs are cut off, letting it match up more closely to Frieda’s style, and their pupil/iris style has always been similar. I ask rhetorically because Eren has Frieda’s memories, and on the topic of Historia, that feels very relevant. Please be intentional and not an optical illusion.

Let Eren be Historia’s big sister 2k18. He has at least two voices in his head who adore their baby sisters, give me this.)

Historia might not be Armin-Mikasa tier of friendship, but she doesn’t need to be (and hell, she’s the one witness to him begging for death; I’d call that a bonding experience (...actually, based on where things were left on Historia’s side, Eren is her best friend, and wow is that not a good spot to be in (go find Connie, Historia; he’s down a bestie))). Eren loves his friends. That is perhaps on a top three list of important Eren traits. Trost is basically a giant introduction arc, and a primary point is Eren’s rock-solid faith in Armin, his bestie.

Eren loves his damn friends. It was not a thoughtless decision to hide the risk to Historia; it was him being at the end of his tolerance for anything coming even close to hurting one of his people. It was a bad decision, and everyone should be very annoyed with him for not letting it enter the think tank for a whole year, because hey, maybe we don’t want to turn the reigning monarch into a titan, but experimenting with blood magic might be useful just a little don’t you think kind of.

Dumb decisions do not equal baseless ones. Eren being comfortable writing off his concern is a very bloody red flag.

At one point, the threat to Historia mattered to him (which, again: Eren, they were not going to turn the reigning monarch into a fucking titan on a whim).

At one point, working together with his friends as a team mattered to him.

At one point, the ocean could bring a light to his eyes.

Now, everyone around him is on board with chasing freedom. He isn’t chasing it with them. He’s chasing the win. What comes after that, who knows, but he can’t find out until he wins. That’s what matters. His buddies can talk all they want about making friends and life being better, he’ll be busy practicing his aim.

Eren.

You and Reiner need therapy.

Seek. Help. Stop murdering children and go find Mikasa and ask for a hug, because she’s probably the only one who might go for that at the moment and you need one. Well, maybe your brother might too. You know, that guy who will spend the last year of his life receiving death threats from Levi every single day.

This is a very nicely constructed chapter, and for once it makes me happy that Armin likes playing narrator. ...Even if I think I’m supposed to care that he’s addressing his narration to someone. And I don’t. I really don’t. Please don’t ask me to.

But yeah, coming back to Armin, who gives birth to Eren’s dream, at the obvious death of it, is a great format. Eren was right during serum bowl. Armin’s never lost sight of the ocean. Armin has always dropped into moodiness fast, but he doesn’t get lost in it. He’s sensitive, but nowhere close to fragile.

He’s as lost as everyone is with this, so he does the sensible thing: he goes to someone who must have known what it’s like to bear a burden like this. Annie can’t talk back, but Armin knows her experiences well enough to go to her anyway.

When Annie’s a giant, looking down at the tiny ants of the Survey Corps, she spares his life. She kills plenty of people (funny how insignificant that feels nowadays...), but Annie, in an impossible situation, finds room to let her heart stop her from destroying everything.

Armin destroys everything. He doesn’t see a face and pause. He walks, and buildings fall, and people die.

I think Armin’s always seen something of a kindred spirit in Annie. She’s a fighter, but she’s also a thinker. Most of the things she says have an ocean of depth to them, and I think that Armin is someone who appreciates that. Now that he knows what it’s like to kill huge numbers, feeling like he has to, it’s no surprise that he’s reaching out to her.

Especially since his best friend is unrecognizable right now.

I hope it won’t stick, but... the assault on Marley was horrific, and even if the same choice would have been reached regardless, Eren’s actions guaranteed devastation. Armin’s Paradis’ most destructive weapon right now. His best friend abandoning them turns him into a mass murderer.

That is not a small thing. And part of why it hurts so much is that Armin thought he understood his best friend better than anyone. He’s known Eren for years. He’s previously been a staunch shipper of Mikasa and Eren, but he still puts his understanding of their guy over hers. Before this.

Eren’s not who he used to be. No one is, but Eren’s trials have broken him into something his friends don’t trust, and don’t know how to trust.

“I wonder if... just maybe... there could have been a different path. I keep on coming back to that.”

There’s good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for. What they’ve got to worry about is how much of that good their fight will destroy before the end.

This is a sad chapter.

[hydrospanners]

A-Z on the writing meme because I need to know absolutely everything immediately.

WELP okay but just remember you asked for what’s about to happen. meme is here. most of this is under a cut cause i’m longwinded as hell.

A. If you could rec a piece of music to accompany one of your fics, what would you pick? Why?

Um I absolutely was vibing to Lips by The xx when I wrote a wish your heart makes and you should too.

B. Who’s your favorite side-character from something you wrote?

I feel like the answer here is supposed to be Doc because he is not The Main Character in the game but also I have written about him and from his POV so much it feels unfair to call him a side character at this point. So instead I’m going to say this random woman named Cherita who was just trying to make a midnight snack for her pregnant wife from a little eggstra. I thought she had a lot of character for someone I pulled out of my ass for the sake of an outside perspective.

C. Get any good comments on your stuff this year?

I am thirsty for praise and I feel every single comment is a good comment but I think the one that sticks out to me is when I wrote a wish your heart makes someone said something like “if you like doc at all you have to read this” and I don’t remember who it was or where they said it but it really stuck with me!!! If that was you, thank you!!!!

D. Any drawings or pictures that had a big influence on your writing?

No!!! I feel guilty about this answer somehow but it’s true. I think it would be a fun challenge to try to write a piece of fic inspired by someone’s art so I may play with that idea next year (Editor’s Note: it was still 2k18 when I wrote the answer for this one) but for 2k18 the answer is no. :(

E.  Who’s your favorite main character you’ve written?

I feel like this answer is obvious but it’s my girl Rea. I’ve reincarnated her as an Inquisitor and a Pathfinder but the OG Jedi Knight is still my fave.

F. What stories are you planning for the future?

I won’t pretend that a lot of planning goes in to my fic. I normally only write short bits so it kind of goes like this: I have a concept, I write the bit I fixate on, and then it sits in my WIPs for five years until I get motivated during some Fictober or something to finally finish it.

I will say I do have serious designs to finally finish the second chapter of the things you do for love are gonna come back to you one by one as that one is a little more complex than stuff I usually write. I have plans to do some kinda flashback-y thing that finally lays out The Velaran Backstory in clear and obvious terms after years of hints and tidbits I’ve been peppering through my fic. I also have a thing planned and kinda partly written about the first instance of horrific violence in the lives of all the Knight’s companions. Also I have a long series of AU vignettes that glimpses into universes where Rea is a Sith or Kira never made it off Korriban or Rusk remained a pacifist or where Rea never joined the Jedi after losing her family the second time. Stuff like that.

G. Where do you think you grew the most this year?

Structure? I’ve been really working on trusting my reader to bridge some gaps and not letting myself get caught up in details that are important for me to know to write the next part but that don’t necessarily need to be in the story. I think I’ve really tightened up my game where trimming the fat and staying focused are concerned.

H.  How do you write? Paper, pen, computer? Music, no music?

My fic writing process is very different from when I am trying to write original stuff and is even kind of different depending on the mood I’m going for? I always write fic in Google Drive cause I write fic from a lot of different machines and need the easy cloud saving.

My ideal condition for fic writing is listening to instrumental music or ambient sounds playing through headphones either in a coffeehouse or the library or when I am at home completely alone. Angst and smut are best written at night with the lights low and warm. Comedy and fluff are best written in the late afternoon/early evening after one single alcoholic beverage (any more than and one I am drunk and no longer capable of writing).

Realistically though, I usually write in whatever time I have. Mostly at work. My job requires me to sit at a desk and wait for things to happen. Since I start work at 5am, things usually aren’t happening. Even with me going out of my way to create new work for myself and excel at what work I do have, I have a lot of downtime. I spend it writing fic. I get interrupted too much to have the focus I need for original writing, but fic writing is much easier so mostly I write my fic at this bland little desk under the terrible fluorescent lights with lots of noise and interruptions, occasionally playing a thematic playlist very quietly in the background.

I.  What’s your favorite work you did this year? Why?

This is a very tough question. Surprisingly, I published a lot of things that I really liked? ([not pictured: me high fiving me for finally allowing myself to state that I like my own writing]) I think I’ll go with when the wicked play if I have to pick just one. Relative to my other work I think it’s very structurally sound and thematically focused and pretty efficient with its characterization and imagery without ever getting too sparse. Also I’m a slut for examining the commonplace nature of violence and brutality in the Star Wars universe.

J.  What are the best jokes you told this year? Any jokes you thought were funny that people didn’t catch? Vice-versa?

I’m gonna say the pun I used as the title for bars and stripes. Honestly the whole fic is a joke and I like it and I don’t care if anyone catches it or not because I know that I am hilarious and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

K. Who have you killed this year? Why did they have to die?

No one, I think? I don’t think I even mentioned any specific off-screen deaths except for shit from the decades old Tragic Backstories. Not even Valkoriate. I’m not an especially murderful writer, maybe because I haven’t had to deal with a lot of that kind of loss in my own life. Mostly I write about things that are somehow adjacent to my own emotional state/journey. That’s why I fixate a lot on the weight of duty and moral philosophy and the nuances and complications of relationships, of how you can hurt someone and be hurt by them and still love them and how messy yet fulfilling the whole thing is. Thankfully--for me--not a lot of grieving the dead in there yet.

L.  Which character did you most write about this year, and why do you like ‘em?

Pretty sure it’s Rea. Maybe Doc because of the Docember thing I squeezed in at the last second but I’m still pretty sure it’s Rea. Pretty sure it always is.

There’s a particular kind of release I get from writing her because her whole sloppy person is a part of me that doesn’t often see the light of day. I won’t say she’s aspirational because I like who I am and I don’t have any special destiny or Force powers or anything to save me when the consequences of living like she does catch up. But there are pieces of her that I admire, pieces that are still part of me that I have a hard time expressing, and spending time with her gives me a little more strength to unlock those dark musty corners of who I am, I guess? Writing Rea makes me a little more bold, a little less apologetic, a little less prone to overthinking and anxious fretting and a little more prone to doing. She makes me feel strong enough to ask for the things I want and confident enough to feel like I deserve them.

Also she is a damn good time, even when she’s falling apart.

M. Meta! Have any meta about a story you’re dying to throw out there?

Of course I do. I could ramble for hours about the story behind any single one of my stories. Aren’t all of us creative types like that??? Don’t we all love to talk about what we were going for and why we made the choices we did??? What we liked and what we think needs improvement??? Why we wanted to make the thing we made in the first place???

I could ramble about this for hours and honestly the possibilities are overwhelming so I am not going to go into any detail and just say yes. Obviously I am willing to ramble about the story behind every single story I’ve published but there’s 63 of them so if there’s something specific you want to hear about you’ll have to ask about the specific one!!!

N. Anything you were planning to write that never got written?

Nothing will ever be “never got written” until I am dead and unable to write. I am still going back to WIPs from 2014. I am rewriting garbage exercises I wrote in 2013. I like to think everything in my WIP folder will eventually be moved to my Published folder and I am going to keep thinking that until I am physically incapable of writing.

O. Do you believe in outlines? Show us one!

I believe in them very much and yet I do not practice them usually. I rely on them more with my original work which is longer and more involved and doesn’t already have a convenient structure to follow in the form of 300000 hours of video game. Most of my fic is really short, just a single scene or so. I usually start out by writing the moment that inspired me to write the fic and fill in the before and after. I do have an outline for the second half of the things you do for love are gonna come back to you one by one but I don’t really want to share it for something that isn’t written yet!

P. What are your pet peeves in other people’s work?

This question makes me kinda uncomfortable so here we go with some disclaimers: I write the stories that I want to read or that I really need to tell to satisfy something inside of me and I assume other authors do the same. I don’t want to say anything here that might have a chilling effect on someone exploring some idea they really need to explore, even if it’s tired or cliche or offends my own tastes. Writing is very personal and I think everyone should tell the stories they want to, whether anyone else likes them or not.

That being said, I am always desperately wishing for more media about close, intimate friendships and familial bonds. As someone who isn’t interested in sexual or romantic relationships, it makes me weep basically every time I read a story about characters who are friends or family that give that kind of relationship all of the value and weight and nuance that you see romantic relationships getting. It is a very special kind of feeling to see that it is possible for people to value what I have to offer them as much they might value someone who will romance them and sleep with them. It is very validating to see the possibility of emotional intimacy with people outside of romantic/sexual partners.

But I would never want anyone to feel bad about or stop writing their romances and their smut. That stuff speaks to people and that’s what fic is about. Telling the story that speaks to you. I want everyone to write what they want to write and if that leaves gaps, well that’s why I started writing fic in the first place. There was a story I needed to read and no one had written it yet, so I did it myself.

TL;DR Genfic & friendfic & familyfic is the greatest gift anyone could ever give me, but no one should write to satisfy other people. Always write for yourself first and foremost.

Q. Quote three bits of writing you read his year. Can be your writing, or not.

I keep little quotes everywhere--index cards and sticky notes scattered among all my belongings, snippets on my phone, untitled documents on every cloud service there is, random word docs hidden amongst my many hard drives--but the only ones I can find right now are from @meonlyred‘s Dark Horse so please enjoy three bits from that fic that I loved:

They remained sitting on the floor, Rossa leaned against him, eyes staring into the distance. Her silence might as well have been weeping.

I just love how I can feel the vacant, numb quality of her despair in this line. How it feels more poignant for its lack of drama.

“You're an idiot and I hate your hair,” Jonas said over the rim of his glass.

I mean.... Do I need to explain this?

He had never believed in happily ever afters. Not for him, at least. But the cruelest thing about being with Rossa was that he had begun to believe that maybe, just maybe, it was possible.

Closing his eyes, Theron didn’t expect to open them again.

This little snippet still punches me in the gut no matter how many times I read it. It’s so relateable and so Theron and so painful.

R. If you had to rewrite one of your stories from scratch, which one would it be? What would you do to it?

I don’t think I’d rewrite any of them? At least half of my fic has been completely rewritten once or twice before it ever gets published so I mostly have it out of my system before anyone else sees it.

S. What’s the sexiest thing you wrote this year?

a wish your heart makes. It may also be the saddest thing I wrote this year which I consider an achievement. (I was asked for smut but I literally do not know how to write just smut without anything else going on in the story.)

T. Themes, motherfucker, do you have them? What are they?

The importance and nature of family (it is what you make it and not what you were born with! but sometimes you get lucky and get to choose the one you were born with!)! The cost/impact of violence and war! Failure and coming back from failure! The nature of what is right and what is wrong and how much responsibility any one individual bears for the moral direction of their society!!!!

I don’t think I’ve ever written anything that didn’t include at least one of these concepts and most of my stuff deals heavily in at least two of them.

U. Any stories that took a abrupt u-turn from where you thought they were going?

Yep! I was trying to make a stupid joke about a haircut when I started making take back what the kingdom stole but in working my way backward from the joke I ended up with a heartfelt exploration of my character’s past emotional trauma, her character growth, and the nature of friendship and forgiveness.

V. Which story was the most viscerally pleasing to write? Tell us your narrative kinks.

I don’t know that I would necessarily call the sensation pleasing but, once again, the things you do for love are gonna come back to you one by one was probably the story that made me feel the most, that I was the most connected to. It hit on every single one of the themes I find compelling and I really got to play with telling the story in the white spaces, which is something I really love. I’ve been working a lot on trusting my readers and not over-explaining and I think this story really saw the impact of that work, stylistically. It’s peak self-indulgence honestly.

W.  Who are your favorite writers?

Does this mean like authors of original published works or fic writers????? How am I supposed to choose???!!!! Either way my reading habits this year have been abominable. I have really been going through some shit, lifewise, (not bad shit but emotionally consuming and time consuming nonetheless) and I had to let the reading go a little bit.

I have been really into NK Jemisin though. Her stories are complex and challenging and there is so much poetry and power in the straightforward way she tells them. I also was obsessed with the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. The characters were so textured and real with such clear voices and the relationships and ideas were so complex and compelling, yet the story never got weighed down by the heft of the subjects. She has a very light touch as a storyteller that makes her work so easily digestible without making her tale any less impactful or profound.

As for fic…. I’ve got about forty million fics bookmarked, waiting for me to get around to reading them and I am the worst kind of person because I have not yet read any of them. I’m behind on reading one of my very favorite fics right now. I think I’ve read a total of like ten fics this year and straight up probably only read that many because I was doing a bit of beta’ing.

I’m gonna do better in 2019 and I’ll get back to you on all the good shit I’ve read then.

X.  What’s your least favorite work of this year?

crapshoot. It was a really old concept that probably would have been better as visual art than a fic but my artistic talents were too limited so I wrote it instead. It could probably stand a little more meat and a lot more polish, but I don’t have the time to try and turn every goofy image in my head into a fictional masterpiece.

Y. Why did you write? For fun, for a friend, for acclaim?

For fame and fortune obviously. It’s why most of my fic is about a super popular ship in an enormous fandom.

Or, y’know… not. I write for fun and because I have to. Because there are stories inside of me I want to tell, ideas I feel compelled to explore, things I need to say. It doesn’t matter if anyone else hears them or likes them; I need to get them out of me. Also it’s a really great way to work through my own emotional turmoil at a safe distance, so I can engage with what vexes me without being consumed by it.

Z. If you could choose one work and immediately finish it, what would it be? How would you end it?

the things you do for love are gonna come back to you one by one. It’s the most self-indulgent thing I’ve written probably but it means a lot to me and if I knew how it ended I would have finished it months ago. D:

[ao3-sterek]

hypnotizing myself

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2PEOS9s

by scepticallyopenminded

Because Stiles – Stiles is a spark. A magical being of untold power, incredibly rare and it’s extraordinary that both he and Scott are in one pack; Scott being a True Alpha and all that, also incredibly rare. Not to mention that they’ve got a werecoyote, a kitsune, a banshee, and a hunter. Everyone has heard about the McCall pack, which makes the cloaking spell even more important.

Every spark – and he means every one ever in the history of magical documentation – has a werewolf mate, who’s supposed to help the spark both meet their potential and serve as an anchoring point. It’s not quite clear why, but Stiles guesses it’s mostly because Fate is a motherfucker who likes to do weird little things to fuck with mortal’s minds. So if sparks don’t naturally find their mates, it’s not highly unusual to have these meet-and-greets with various werewolves from all over the world; the cloaking spell was used because apparently only your mate could tell exactly that you were you and not a fellow werewolf.

Words: 1353, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 14 of 15 day lyrics challenge - 2k18

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Laura Hale, Derek Hale, Cora Hale

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: Spark Stiles Stilinski, True Alpha Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Mates, First Meetings, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Secret Identity, Masks, Spells & Enchantments

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2PEOS9s

[coldasyou]

My Thots on Hello

THE INTERNATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF SHAUN AND CLAIRE SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER??? (me starved for shaire content NEVER)

jared pls don’t leave you’re one of the only ppl on this show I LIKE

the gay implications of these shaun and jared interactions UGH

andrews hates poor ppl confirmed 

claire looks so beautiful no one talk to me

bold of morgan to think she’s allowed to speak to claire

CLAIRE REALLY DRAGGED MORGAN THANKS GOD

shaun and steve lived in a tent wtf 

shaun talking abt glassman :(((

this doctor was addicted to pot im screaming

shaun pls stop saying chlamydiae   

Impeach Andrews 2k18

why is jared the one hopping to the WORST case scenario and shaun is being more logical abt options did they switch bodies

shut up y’all are getting me in my jaire feels and it’s not NICE

morgan shut up but also yes claire IS better than u

im the set designers just completely changing everything

CLAIRE IS SO SMART ILY

shaun’s talking abt steve im abt to call 911

ANDREWS CHOKE CHALLENGE 

has andrews considered that maybe the reason claire isn’t more assertive is bc everyone here has treated her like shit just wondering

where is carly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what book is shaun reading I hope it’s good

jared is right fml

aoki push andrews off the balcony challenge 

HE MANIPULATED no bitch y’all were just fucking ableist don’t turn this around on glassman

that book does not look good shaun ur a fucking liar 

SHAUN IS SO SMART IM SOFT???

DONT TEAR UP THE BOOK wtf that thing probably cost like 500 bucks

how the fuck did he get brain tumor from that I hate this show

claire and shaun are talking gtg 

dare I say....shaun/jared/claire confirmed

but seriously fuck yall really made me think claire was abt to confess her love to shaun

take a shot whenever they say hello

“I can’t do it alone” IM CRYING also gay

melendez and andrews talking ugh Skip

bold of this show to think I care abt any character that’s not shuan, claire or jared and maybe glassman but he’s on thin ice

SHAUN SWEETIE

damn the good doctor actually giving some good autistic representation with the sensory overload scene...ground breaking

I’m literally skipping the patient scenes i dont care

JARED IS SO GOOD PLS DONT LEAVE

I do not trust this show pls do not use autism and “cured” in the same sentence 

andrews don’t fucking act like u care abt shaun 

JARED DONT GO

shaun standing up for himself and jared <<<<3

when did the surgery scenes get so boring

andrew talking SKIP

shaun is feeling shit and so am I

“thank you jared” GAY THEY ARE BOTH CLEARLY GAY

glassman stop wasting paper

im him worrying abt his book first

shaun follow jared to denver challenge (claire comes too)

IDK WHY IM CRyING IN THE CLUB RN

claire is so beautiful fml

CLAIRE QUEEN OF TELLING PPL TO STAy

where is antonia’s emmy

“one day we’re gonna both be very happy” shaire foreshadowing confirmed

JAUN SHIPPERS U ALRIGHT

jared can’t leave if we all lock the doors

every song on this show is a BOP

no shade but they better have a good reason for lea being back bc WHY DID YALL WRITE HER OFF JUST TO PULL THIS I AM CONFUSION

in conclusion fuck abc deception deserved better idk