#so i post a chapter. maybe get 2 kudos that week

[presiding]

just saw that there's a monster in the hull update and realized i'd missed three of those........this + the audio are such treats giggling and kicking my feet about it fr. going to leave a comment on the fic itself but in the meantime needed to drop a letter on here to say i love the way you write billie--her loneliness, her thoughtfulness, distrust of yet attraction to emily and everything she represents........not to mention the way she's haunted by daud, the longing for a life she can't fathom and will never have !!! society if everyone gave billie the complexity she deserves. and your banter and prose are stunning as always lord everything abt this fic is so good. bringing wine to you on the deck to drink together about it in spirit and yes pun intended

🙏😭 thank you so so much I don't know what to say! that's amazingly kind of you ♥ its a genuine pleasure to like. double down on themes and nuance and less popular characters and just like. idk. trustfall into the fandom that there's people with taste like you, and you can invite them onto your metaphorical deck for wine and meaningful looks 🍷♥♥♥

re: billie - no one else in the dh universe comes close to whatever she has going on

hiding my thoughts about writing dh2 billie >

there's so much material to her!

i thought i'd never write for dishonored 2 (not derogatory - its my favourite game). its undoubtedly linear & doesn't have the mystery or grit of dh1 IMO.

but i saw lapin post that billie & emily comic, and i saw a few other people i respect mention billie/emily and it had me rotating them until the abjection/emily-monster thing clicked and then it was downhill from there

but there's more to think about - what billie has been doing with herself, how she feels about daud & the whalers at this point in her life, her relationship with sokolov (god.a separate rant), her history in karnaca & dunwall, emily's place in the empire and how that fits into billie's story, her lifelong revenge arc, and comparisons between jessamine & deirdre.

like. when you consider billie's perspective you realise how fucking badass she is for going back to dunwall. she not only did it scared she did it scared for her life. suicidal level flimsy disguise trapped in a tin can with your enemy. etc

PLEASE tell me if you ever decide to post that daud & billie fic you mentioned a while back :O

[starlingflight]

Update following my post earlier this week: I am going to have to put Bewitched (and everything else I was working on) on indefinite hiatus.

My life changed completely and irrevocably on Tuesday in a way I never would have imagined. In a way I never would have wished to imagine.

Right now, I can't envision getting out of my own head enough to write anything ever again. Maybe that will change in the future, I don't know. I'm trying to take life one second at a time currently.

I'm sorry to everyone who was reading along, I was only 2 chapters away from completing the first draft so I never foresaw myself not finishing. I never foresaw a lot of things though.

Thanks for all the comments, kudos and asks. Especially thank you to everyone who sent me love on the last post. Sorry if you've messaged and I haven't responded, I will try to when (if) I'm feeling more myself.

[awarmbowlofhomemadesoup]

How to Build Resilience in Long Fanfic Writing

Sometimes, when a fanfic goes past 20 chapters, people who had been commenting, began to lose interest. Maybe you'll start doubting your skill or whether you "have what it takes" to be a writer, even if you're doing it for fun.

But maybe you see all those beautifully written but unfinished long fics and mourn that they'll never be finished (for the writer's valid reason or another). And you don't want that to happen to yours.

There is also an advantage to completing long fics: you develop the discipline to write original novels which can take far longer.

So if you're in for the long haul and you want to stay steady and true despite whatever popularity your fic may have, here's how to have the resilience to finish it to the end.

(Disclaimer: this is not a reason to stop commenting on fics)

#1 Whatever You Think You're Owed, Let It Go.

Accidentally quoting Elsa aside, I'm talking about comments. Comments validate and can make you learn new things about your fics through other people's eyes.

But when you see a high-to-low ratio between kudos and comments, you may feel like you are owed.

When you push yourself to complete three long chapters and publish them all in the same day and only get one response, it can feel like people are being mean.

The truth is, we'll never know why the people who loved our fics will not talk to you about them.

Maybe they forget there's a person behind the fic.

Maybe they're having a bad day and just want to shut down after reading something enjoyable.

But whatever the case is, it's beyond your control.

This post said it best (shoutout to @radioactive-earthshine) :

"Remember - hits/likes/kudos/comments are not reflective of the quality of your fic or your ability to write. Most people just don’t comment - even if they say they do, they don’t... Even if your fic brought tears to their eyes and it haunted them for weeks and they printed it out and sent it to their friends they just don’t comment. You just have to accept it.

I'm not saying you force yourself to let it go now. But someday, you will need to let it go, and control what you can which is you.

#2 Put Your Life First Before Your Readers

I have to say this because sometimes writers would have thoughts like "I haven't written for a long time; people must be wondering about it." Nope. Stop. Not worth it.

Creating is fun, but it is also exhausting. Add into the fact that most of us have 8-hour jobs or classes.

The reason you haven't written for a long time is that other aspects of your life deserve your time and energy, too. And after all that, you would be understandably tired.

So put your life first before your readers.

#3 Make Preparations to Replenish Your Soul

Long fanfic writing is energy and time-consuming. But you cannot depend on external validation to make up for it.

External validation in the form of comments can be good because we don't want to imagine it's all in our heads. But seeking it too much leads to what I've read in the book, "Ego is the Enemy":

"If outside validation is your only source of nourishment, you will hunger for the rest of your life."

So before posting a chapter, list down what you can do to replenish your soul after. Treating myself to a cafe one time helped. So is taking walks when the air is cool.

To stop anticipating responses too much, what works for me is to post on Wednesday. Wednesday is when people are less busy. At the same time, when the weekend comes, I don't obsess over it so much and can focus on other aspects of my life or replenish my energy for the next week.

In the commitment to complete a long fic, it's important to be honest with yourself. This is to be transparent with your needs and watch out for any signs of burnout, like feeling sad and tired. If you need to walk away from your fic for a while, then do it.

#3 This is Between You and Your Creation

Yes, fandom should be two-way street. Yes, fandom shouldn't treat fanfics and fan arts like commodity. And yes, there should be interaction and engagement. But before all that, there is this thing between you and your creation first and foremost.

Just as a story has to have a "why", remember why you thought you should write your long fic. Your reason may change over time, but when you remember your "why", you remember your true goal to keep going.

#4 Write like No One is Reading

This is a perk I adapted when I only get two responses if I'm lucky after updating a fic that has more than a hundred subscribers. If people barely react, then you're free to write whatever you please in your story as if you're dancing like no one is watching. Just have fun improving your skills.

This is similar to an inspiring section of the same post that I've found:

"10.) Write for yourself, not for others. Write the fic you know no one is going to read. Write the fic that sounds ridiculous. You will be so happy you put it out in the world and there will be people who will be glad it exists."

#5 Cherish the Rare Friends You Find Along the Way

Sometimes, we get lucky and get something better than a hundred people interacting with our fic -we find a friend we would make in the way of writing the long fic that we dared to write. And they're the ones who would cheer you on and cry and laugh with you about the shared stories. Cherish them.

(dedicated to @lightreader1)

[shroomyifiy]

Kinda late but episode 15 dropped

Hi guys, I just finished watching the episode :)

Spoilers for Chapter 2, Episode 15 Below!

I CALLED IT!!!

I fucking called it baby, wooo!! (rip Ace stans, it really was Aceover for you all)

Man, what a wild ride this has been. I will miss Ace, but man, he was great this episode, and this chapter as a whole. And if he was going to die, this was the perfect time to do so.

Alright, breakdown time!

How much stuff did Shroomy get right?

A surprising amount, actually! Tbf, it was all kinda obvious when looking at it, but still.

-Ace took the tape (I called it being grabbed possibly for first aid, and also murder attempt, although I said to kill Nico)

-Ace isn’t as stupid as everyone thought (Man, that one was personal. Intelligence is pretty subjective in all honesty, and I stand by the ‘no one is truly dumb’ in DRDT, everyone here is equally stupid /j)

-Ace figured the murder method out later (No but seriously, no one would know by looking around for ~5 minutes. Maybe Charles but he would be out of commission at the sight of blood so no)

-Ace tied Arei’s hands because he was able to fight back (Self explanatory; I did like how Teruko calls him out for having fought back, so he would know to tie her wrists)

-Ace was trying to frame Nico (This one was obvious, but it at least explains the fish)

-Ball of clothes to get rope up and broken lights (I didn’t figure out the slingshot, but otherwise was spot on. To the person who first figured it out, kudos for your massive brain)

-Ace being sneaky and eavesdropping (yeah 👍 we been knew this, but hey it was relevant)

I think that’s all I directly called out. This is not me bragging or anything, but I was cool seeing my thoughts come true (even if body placements were not relevant to the ace murder scene, rip)

Moving on to my favorite section~

Thematics and Parallels

God, yknow, I think this is just going to become my thing atp. What can I say? As a writer, I do love some silly themes and parallels

But anyways I was right about this!!! The Ace-Arei and Ace-Teruko parallels were not the ramblings of a crazy person! They meant something!!

Ace wanting to change, but not having the strength to do so is tragic. God he is so tragic, everyone is in this cast, it’s why I love them all.

I’ll probably end up making a whole separate post about the parallels after episode 16 drops, just for completion sake. I want to have all the cards available for that, yknow?

But man, Teruko being both sympathetic to Ace about his injury but also trying desperately to get him to defend himself is so sad. Like girl completely understands, they are besties your honor.

And by god the VAs blew it out of the park!!! Man, next week is going to be something, huh?

Back on topic

Look, I get a lot of people are sad to see Ace go, as they wanted to see him grow. Unfortunately, this is a death game, and people with amazing potential are always killed off.

In fact, it’s kinda a running trend in drdt (goes to show how good the writing is, even if you personally disagree with it)

Xander, who could have been an amazing support and leader to the group, defending justice and the innocent

Min, a smart girl who also could have been a good support character and grow to see more to life than just studying

Arei, who could have become good friends (girlfriends) with Eden, who could have become a better person like she wanted to

Ace, who could have grown to be more brave and make more connections, who could have survived despite all odds against him

It’s tragic that any of them had to die so soon. It’s tragic that none of them got to survive the killing game. It’s tragic any of them are here to start with.

But, someone has to die. It’s a death game after all, not everyone can survive. Some characters and potential arcs have to be sacrificed to tell the story you want to tell.

And isn’t it ironic that both the killers so far (Min and Ace) killed because of their fear of death?

Min, who came across Xander over Teruko’s body, was scared and panicked because she thought he would kill her too.

Ace, who no one liked and who was almost murdered, knowing that someone else would likely try again.

Min, who cried and denied it was her, even when caught red handed. Ace, who gave up after he was truly backed into a corner. Two people, pleading for their lives because, by god, they want to live.

It’s actually something so interesting about drdt, because MonoTV’s motives have nothing to do with it. Everyone is just scared of dying, which is really realistic for this situation. Of course more people are going to kill because they don’t want to die.

(wait did I just start making Min-Ace parallels? Oh goddammit)

Overall thoughts (for now anyways)

I loved this episode, it was basically the highlight of my horrible day. I’m excited to see where the story goes from here, and I cannot wait for the bonus episodes for Arei and Ace.

I know a lot of people were not as happy with the conclusion of the case, understandable if your favorite was Ace. But I do have to remind everyone to be respectful about writing choices drdtdev has made. You may not like it, but they know the story they want to tell more than any of us do. And oh boy, does this story seem like a good one.

This was kinda short, and less analytical, but guys I am actually really fucking tired. I’ve been up for way too long and got like, 2 hours of sleep.

Expect me to do another post soon. Idk when, but probably before next Friday.

I have so much I want to say because ahhhhh, I love this series!!!!

Feel free to leave your thoughts here as well!

Bye for now, have a wonderful day!

[amberlynnmurdock]

Blind Faith

Chapter 3: Temperance 

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader

Chapter Summary: You get private self-defense lessons from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, who you call Mike now.

A/N: The POV switches a bit frequently in this chapter, between Matt and the reader. I tried to make it as clear as possible. Basically, if you see Matt's name when he's with the reader, it's from his POV. But if it's just described as "he" then it's the Reader's POV. Thanks to all for the kudos you've left on this so far <3 this fic is in its beginning stages but I am really excited to see it through. Enjoy! P.S. This entire series takes place after Season 3 of Daredevil, but Matt kept the black suit.

Chapter 2 here

Hell’s Kitchen

8:00 AM

You hated mornings.

You specifically hated mornings when you were hungover. Your phone alarm woke you up obnoxiously. Groaning, you slammed your finger on the button to shut it off, worried it might wake your friends.

The bright 8 AM sky of Hell’s Kitchen shone directly in your face. No amount of blankets covering your eyes could keep the darkness inside, and you forced yourself to wake up knowing your sleep was well over. You stretched in bed and reached for your phone again on your bedside table.

You scrolled through your notifications.

The Daily Bulletin posted a new article about new restaurants coming to Hell’s Kitchen this summer. You scrolled through mindlessly as you tried to stay awake. You had a few emails from professors, wishing you a happy graduation and good luck to prospective law students. You remembered your job searching app and that you had one new message from one of the firms you applied to.

Nelson and Murdock: 1 view, 1 new message.

You clicked open the message:

Hi __,

Thank you so much for applying to be our new legal assistant. Of all the applications we received, your resume stood out the most to us at Nelson & Murdock. We’d love to have you come in for an interview next week. Does Thursday at 4:00 PM work? We look forward to seeing you.

Sincerely,

Karen Page

Office Manager at Nelson & Murdock

You couldn’t help but smile at Ms. Page’s message. Finally! I get to have some experience working in the legal field before applying for Columbia Law.

You quickly typed out your message:

Dear Ms. Page,

Thank you so much for reaching out! Of course, I would love to come in for an interview. Thursday at 4:00 PM is perfect. Thanks so much for your consideration.

Regards,

___

You added the interview to your calendar and immediately texted your friends’ group chat the exciting news.

Hell’s Kitchen

8:30 PM

You wanted to go out with your friends, but you had other plans for tonight.

“I can’t believe __ is skipping out on tonight!” Hannah exclaimed as she was getting ready in the bathroom. You looked up from the LSAT book in your lap from the couch and mustered up the most convincing shrug.

“If I want to be a successful lawyer, I’ve got to get into law school first. Columbia, no less. That means studying for this Godforsaken test,” you held up the textbook in your hand and clumsily dropped it in your lap.

“Oh, you’ve got the whole summer to study,” Emily pried, dabbing her lipstick on.

“Better start now, then,” you retorted. The truth was, you were absolutely not going to get any studying done tonight. But it was unlike you to decline a night out with your friends, so you used the LSAT as your excuse. You had other plans… of course, if your savior decided to actually show. Who knows? Maybe vigilantes also played games like every guy you’ve ever met at NYU.

“Well, we’ll miss you,” Bella said as she walked out of her room. You smiled at her.

“The bright side is if you guys need me to pick you up, I’ll be sober to do so!” You tried to reason with them.

“True, though we may crash at Ben’s place. Depends how the night goes,” Hannah explained. You nodded, thinking that might be preferable, but you didn’t say so.

You waited patiently, hiding behind your textbook for your friends to leave for the night. Luckily, they decided to get dinner before going out. You would’ve been jealous had you actually needed to study, but the thought of seeing your savior was too exciting to be jealous about anything else.

As soon as they locked the door, you hopped up from the couch and changed out of your pajamas and into a relaxing outfit of leggings, a sports bra, and a hoodie.

It was 9:30—only thirty minutes until your secret meeting with the man in the mask on the rooftop of your apartment building.

Office of Nelson & Murdock

Earlier that day

“Okay, who’s ready to hit up Josie’s tonight?! Karen, Matt?” Foggy Nelson cheered as he slammed his hands on the conference table. Karen Page laughed in her seat as she leaned back in her chair. Her strawberry blonde hair was pushed to one side of her neck.

Matt Murdock suppressed a smile and paused the case file he was just listening to on his Orbit reader.

“I might be inclined,” Karen thought, leaning forward on her desk. “It would be nice to have a drink after coming in to work on a Saturday…”

“Oooh, yeah,” Foggy squinted his face, “sorry about that. I mean, it’s a good thing we’re getting a lot of clients but at the same time, we don’t have enough people here to talk to all of them,” Foggy explained. And then, he remembered something. “Hey, did that applicant ever reply to your message?”

“Oh!” Karen pointed a finger, “Let me check. Ahh, okay! Yes, wow, she did. Uhh, so she’ll be coming in for an interview next Thursday. I just calendared it.”

“Yes!” Foggy put his hands into fists. “Karen, I trust your judgment, unless you want Matt or I to sit in on the interview.”

“Either works. Whoever’s available, I guess,” Karen nodded.

“Cool. So, Josie’s tonight? Matt?”

Matt shook his head.

“I’ve got plans,” he simply said, a smirk on his face. Foggy rolled his eyes.

“Come on, man,” Foggy begged, “you can’t take one night off?”

“I—I can’t,” Matt answered, “I promise next time I’ll join you guys. But not tonight.”

Karen sighed. Matt knew neither of them was pleased with his nighttime activities as they called it, but they’d be happy to know that wasn’t entirely what he was up to tonight—then again, he’s not sure they’d be happy to hear what else he had planned. That was a secret he wouldn’t tell.

“Just let us know if you’ll need us, okay?” Karen asked. Matt nodded.

“Of course,” he said.

“Alright well, guess we’ll hit up Marci to join us,” Foggy suggested.

“Matt, we trust you’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be fine,” he reassured them.

“Well then, I’m going to get a head start on Josie’s martinis. Karen, let’s get outta here.”

Hell’s Kitchen

10:00 PM

You stood by the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the people who walked the streets. You never came up here at all. Sometimes, you and your friends would take pictures up here, but that was it. Being up here alone felt different—it felt like a hideaway. There you were, watching as stores began to close, and bars began to open up. You could see the lights from Times Square in the distance. You shivered when a cool breeze passed.

And then you were startled by something—a thud, somewhere around the back of the rooftop access. You turned around in defense mode, waiting to confirm the identity of what the noise was.

Then, he appeared. Out of the black, into the soft light that reflected from midtown. His black shirt hugged him so tightly, you could see the outline of his muscles on his chest, his abs… his arms. His face was of course covered by the mask, but you saw his lips and the light stubble he had. His hands were wrapped in rope, like a boxer's. He wore black pants and boots to match.

“I wasn’t sure if you would come,” you decided to speak first as you walked toward him. You stopped after a few feet. The man in the mask walked toward the edge of the roof and sat on the edge, facing you.

“I keep my promises,” he replied. “It’s the Catholicism.”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise, “you’re Catholic? And you act outside of the law? Seems like a subjective way of justifying things.”

“I don’t think about it too much,” he responded with a shrug. You eyed him suspiciously.

“So, before we begin,” you cleared your throat to keep the mood light, but truthfully he was making you nervous, for some reason. He had a smirk on his face you wanted to wipe off. “Why did you agree to come here and teach me how to defend myself?”

He was quiet for a few moments.

“You had a convincing argument, from what I remember,” he said.

“That can’t be enough to come out of your way and onto the rooftop of my apartment. Surely, you have more important things to do. So, why did you come? And don’t say it’s because of religion, because that’s bullshit.”

“Maybe I wanted to,” he returned. Your heart pounded when he said this. You were thankful it was dark out, or else he might’ve seen your blush. “And you know, it’s important you know how to defend yourself.”

“Hmm,” was all you said. You pressed your lips together. “Do you give all the girls you’ve saved before private self-defense lessons?”

He laughed. You liked how his laugh sounded.

“You’re my first student,” he said in a low voice.

“So, what should I call you? In my head, I’ve been calling you my savior.”

He smiled, then he got a bit serious.

“Call me Mike,” Mike said.

“Well then, Mike,” you walked closer to him so you were no more than a foot away. You crossed your arms and tilted your head. “I’m a quick learner.”

Mike pushed himself off from where he leaned, so the space between you shrunk even more.

“I don’t doubt that.”

~~~

“Show me what you’d do if someone were to approach you in front of you,” Mike ordered, placing his hands on his hips. You squinted your eyes at him, thinking.

“I’d try to do this,” you began as Mike pretended to “attack” you. You took your arms and tried to hit him away, but he grabbed you by your forearms and steadied you from losing your balance.

“That’s how they can get a hold on you, as I do now,” Mike explained, with a sly grin on his face. “Instead, you want to make sure you move both your arms to one side and do a swiping motion, so they can’t grab you. Try again.”

He got back into position as you did. You braced yourself as he came to you, holding up his arms. You did exactly what he said before, and moved your arms in a swiping motion, gently hitting his arms away.

“Don’t be afraid to hurt me when we do this. I want you to fully grasp how you’d handle yourself, God forbid, you ever had to,” Mike stated. “One more time.”

You repeated your stance as before, and this time, you aggressively swiped his arms away, feeling your forearm clash against his.

“Good girl,” he smiled in satisfaction. Your heart was pounding again in your chest. You weren’t sure if it was from his comment, or that self-defense training was like a workout. You huffed as you caught your breath.

“And what if they anticipate that? What next?” You asked, genuinely curious. Mike thought for a moment before answering.

“Then you have to use your legs,” he replied. “Let’s try that. Give me your arms,” he held up his hands. You raised your arms, and like slow motion, he wrapped his fingers around you, pulling you closer to him. You gasped at the contact. The tip of your nose barely touched his.

“Listen carefully,” he said in a low voice. “I’ve got your arms. You’re going to want to slip from under, using your whole weight.”

You nodded your head, understanding him. His grip on your arms tightened. You took a deep breath and then plunged, slipping out of his grasp.

“Now stop!” He halted. “Raise your right leg and try to kick my shoulder.”

“I don’t know if I can stretch that much,” you stressed.

“You can. This is life or death. Just try it,” he urged you.

You raised and kicked your right leg, hitting his shoulder and using the weight to push him away. He nodded and clapped his hands.

“Exactly that,” Mike smiled.

“I need a water,” you uttered, “I don’t know how you do this every night. Do you need a water?”

“I could use a water,” Mike answered.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Trotting down the rooftop access stairs, you hurried for two water bottles from the fridge. You glanced at the clock—11:30 PM. Sheesh. Time flies when you’re learning self-defense.

Upon entering the roof again, you were confused to not find Mike where you left him. You scanned the roof, looking for him. Did he leave?

Suddenly, a dark figure came charging at you. You dropped the water bottles and immediately went into defense mode, realizing it was Mike. You thought fast and swiped his arms immediately, swaying him to the side.

“That was a test,” Mike said out of breath.

“Jesus!” You exclaimed, “You scared me!”

“That’s how fast an attacker will be. Out of nowhere, and just like that,” Mike explained.

You shook your head, picking up the water bottles from where you dropped them. You handed one to Mike.

“Let’s take a break, shall we?”

~~~

Matt contemplated coming tonight.

There was something wrong about why he chose to come to you, to fulfill his promise. When he started his activities, he told himself he’d never get attached to the people he saved—never get emotionally involved. He would strictly leave it to business: stop the criminals, and save the innocent person. But for some reason, with you, he couldn’t let go.

The second time he saved you was a complete accident…fate, as you had said. He was in a completely different part of town, and you so happened to be in the same area. He remembers hearing your voice, dignified, yelling at that punk kid to leave that innocent girl alone. He recognized your voice immediately. Matt’s hearing was so sensitive, even after hearing someone’s voice once, he could pick it out in an entire crowd. He liked that you talked to him; that you weren’t afraid of him in his suit.

And still, he wasn’t sure if coming tonight was a good idea. Because he knows he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from coming again.

And now, here was, on your rooftop, sharing a bottle of water with you. He sat against the wall, knees pulled up. You sat next to him with your legs in front of you.

“Don’t you ever get tired?” You suddenly asked in a soft voice. Matt tilted his head to listen to your body. You were calm now. You weren’t when he first showed up. Your heart was beating steady. She feels safe. She is safe. He could smell a lingering scent of your perfume on your skin. It smelled like black cherry and vanilla.

“Of what?” Matt asked in return.

“You know,” you shrugged, “expecting to be everyone’s savior.”

Matt shook his head, “not really. It’s easy to not get tired when you’ve accepted this as your purpose.”

“It’s your purpose, to bear the burden of other people’s situations?”

Matt laughed, despite himself. “Maybe.”

“Well, if you ever need someone to share that burden with—I’m right here,” you told him. “Even though I don’t actually know who you are.”

He smiled a little. “It’s better that way.”

“Is it?” You questioned. “I mean, you could literally be anyone. You might be one of my professors and I might not even know it. Actually, I’d hate that. I take it back,” you shook your head. Matt laughed again.

“I promise I’m not one of your professors.”

“Phew,” you said. “Well, who are you?”

“A New Yorker, like you.”

“I guess that counts,” you smiled. “How old are you?”

“Oh, come on,” Matt sighed.

“What? These are valid questions. I won’t figure out who you are, but I can know basic information. Can I guess? You’re definitely older than me.”

Another reason why this felt wrong. He wasn’t that much older than you—about seven years.

“I’m not that old,” Matt argued. You laughed.

“I didn’t say you were, Mike.”

“Let’s try another defense technique,” Matt said, changing the subject. He stood up from sitting and held out his hand for you. You grabbed it and he pulled you up. He let his hand linger in your touch before he let go again.

“Okay,” he said, “turn around.”

“What?”

“Turn around,” Matt repeated. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” you answered. Matt listened to you closely. You weren’t lying. You turned around.

“Do you mind if I…get close?”

It was your turn to pause. “No.”

“Okay,” Matt took a deep breath. He listened to you closely again, and using his senses, he took you in. He knew your hair was down. He slowly raised his hand and moved your hair to one side, revealing a part of your neck. He felt your goosebumps rise at his touch. You shivered. Matt pretended not to notice. He placed both his hands on either side of your waist, bringing you snug against him, so your back was against his chest. You felt warm against him, and delicate. He slid his arms underneath yours so he rested at your collarbone. He was completely holding you against him now.

“You okay?” He whispered in your ear. You took a shaky breath.

“Yeah,” you said in a small voice.

“Someone could come up from behind you, and grab you like this,” he held you tighter for emphasis. “Similar to before if they got hold of your arms, you have to slide out from underneath. And kick back, too.”

“Okay,” you said in understanding. “Let me try.”

Matt anticipated your moves. He felt your muscles tense as you braced yourself to slide down. And you did, quickly. You exited his restraint, and he didn’t feel warm anymore.

“Good,” Matt said, “exactly.”

You caught your breath. “Can we do it again?”

Matt nodded, motioning for you to come to him.

You slid easily back against him, like putting on a glove. It was like your body melted against his, the way you sunk back into position. You rested your head in the crook of his neck, taking a deep breath.

Matt could feel every muscle you had relax when you did this. It was then he slipped his arms under you again, holding you tightly—but not in the way he instructed before, a different way. He held you tighter against him and touched his covered nose on your temple. He took a deep breath, and instantly, like inhaling a drug, you filled his senses to the max. Your fragrance was intoxicating. He listened to your heartbeat slowly pick up its pace until it was pounding against your chest. He heard you take your own deep breath, as you sunk even more into his body.

It took everything in him to practice self-restraint. He repeated Bible verses in his head, the longer he held you.

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25:28.

“Ready,” Matt whispered.

~~~

You slipped out of his grasp, and you were almost successful, but he held onto your right hand. Mike kept holding on, and suddenly, you were pulled right back into his grasp. This time, facing him, you collided flush against his chest.

He was breathing heavily, and God did you wish you could see his face underneath that mask. His mouth was slightly parted, and you were breathing heavily. You felt Mike’s strong arms snake around your waist, pulling you closer to him. His nose gently touched yours. You felt his hand run up the length of your spine before it rested on the back of your neck. And then, his lips were on yours.

The kiss… you felt his stubble tickle your face, but you didn’t care. His lips crashed into yours, which you accepted gracefully. His lips were soft, but his kiss was rough. Needy. Curious. It was intoxicating, being kissed like that. The closest thing to describing it was like a brand new day. It was like exploring a new universe, where only the two of you existed. Yeah, that’s what it felt like right now. You weren’t in New York City, on your rooftop anymore. It was you and him sharing this kiss, with no one else to see. In secret. His head tilted to the side to take more of you in. You breathed in sharply, desperate for more.

And then, he pulled back and rested his forehead against yours.

“Was that your plan all along?” You asked suspiciously.

“No,” Mike answered. “It wasn’t.”

“Good,” you said, “because that’d be messed up.”

Mike laughed.

“I fear we are way past messed up now, sweetheart.”

Hell’s Kitchen

1:00 AM

Your friends stumbled into the apartment. You were on the couch, LSAT textbook in your hand. You kept reading and re-reading the same paragraph over and over. Your mind kept replaying your moment with Mike, just an hour ago.

“There’s our girl,” Hannah walked in the living room, plopping on the couch next to you. Bella made a beeline for the fridge and Emily sat on the floor, turning the TV on.

“How’d studying go?” Hannah asked drunkenly.

You sighed and closed your textbook.

“Terrible,” you answered with a knowing smile, “I’m in deep trouble for this test.”

[kinja145]

The evil has been defeated ; the french translation of DLTD is complete !!!!!!!

It has been almost 9 years since I started it. I was in my first year of highschool when I started, I've gratuated, I went to university for 3 years, graduated again, and now I'm working. It has been a long, long thing to do. I did it with passion, but sometimes I feel like I wasn't as much implicated in the translation of some chapters compared to others, but I still loved it from start to end. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to stay so implicated and how I didn't just abandon the project ! But at the end, DLTD is always somehwere in my thoughts, I just can't escape it lol DLTD is a story, a fandom, I can't quite seem to leave. I've been way less into it these past few years, but everytime I came back to it, it felt like home and it still does. I think I've felt almost every emotion with DLTD, and I'm not just talking about the first part, but DLTD as a whole. I don't have the words to drescribe how much this story means to me, how it changed my brain chemistry.

I know the story isn't perfect, God knows I can tell that. But I just accept it with its flaws and kind of cringe parts that are so reminiscent of 2010s ! Without DLTD there is no drawings from me, or at least less, and probably not so much progression. So DLTD saved my imagination in a way, even tho time and energy is missing now that I'm working but I still love to draw for it. Thinking back on those 8 years, I'm amazed to see how obsessed I was with it. I did a comic adaptation of the first chapter, an ending, a parody I never finished with Daniel, dozens of fanart, a discord (that didn't really work but it's still out there !). I met lot of people, including my beta reader YuuKyun whom I haven't heard from for almost 3-4 years now. I really, really hope she is okay and will reappear someday. Big kudos to her, she was so helpful in the early years ! This translation wouldn't exist without @burakkuenjeru19. She is the reason I even started translating it. So kudos to her. She also listened to me yapping about DLTD for all those years, and yapped back so yeah, really kudos. This story has literally marked me. Even today, we still quote the lizard in the toaster from chapter 2 with my friends (iconic !), and more parts of the story. We had so so much fun reading the story together, giving each other a character to voice. We did it again a few weeks ago for old time sake, and it was still so wholesome !! The chapters aren't all out right now, but I'll start posting one chapter per day in december. Wich makes me think ; ever since 2016, I've always had at least 10 chapters of advance on the publication. I think I can take pride in that uwu As for DLTP, I don't know for now if I'll get to it. It's just a whole lot of work, way more than the first part. But I feel like I'll miss it so maybe there's a world where I start the translation of it too. I'm just not making any promesses !

And to end this post, I have to thanks the one and only : @hateweasel

I don't even know what to say to thank you, Hate. You brought to me and to many more people so much with your story and your imagination. Your interest for the surnatural stuck with me and you put it so well into the story, I just love the fact that you don't represent surnaturals as monsters. Yeah, they're people too. I just love this concept !!

I was so, so scared the first time I sent you a message here to ask the permission to post the translation. I think I read my message like 10 times to make sure that there wasn't any mistakes... And then, you helped me tons of time with words, sentences, and parts I didn't get. And you let me have so much liberty with the adaptation of the story in my language, it was really, really great from you, thank you !!

We started talking a lot at some point even with jet lag, and it was really great even tho we had multiple conversation at the same time lol

You made me discover a lot of things outside of DLTD with your blog too, and I'm thankfull for that too.

I just can't thank you enough, and I think everyone else who has read and loved DLTD can say the same. Thank you again, Hate (especially if you read all that) !!!

I'm going to keep on posting the last chapters, and then post drawings here and there I guess, now. Until then, farewell duckies !!

[demonkinguwu]

FANFICTION PROGRESS

This is an update since I'm back in a mental space where I can start writing again. [A bit of my personal thoughts at the end] I am continuing all of my current fics, none will be abandoned but some will be on a long hiatus before I get to them, so I'm sorry for the delay on those, but I'll most likely fix the aus they are based on. Now for the statuses of those:

The Witch Bride and The Groom Ghost: I will most definitely be finishing this one in the next coming year, I have been plotting it out and have all the chapter drafts finished. However, I will most likely be moving the chapter upload from once a week to once every two weeks due to the chapter length [boy they are long jdsknf] and my work schedule picking up. Art will added later on.

Subcon Waltz: This will most likely take a while for me to revisit, mostly because I am plotting out the chapters and reworking most of it, no drafts have been done as of yet but I have a pretty good idea of where the story is headed. Plus this has been a story I've been wanting to get back to since it's been in the works for so long, it's a nice mix of the fairytale tropes, horror, and that good old Subcon dark humor lol. I really come to love it :>

How To Be a Loving Family: This is definitely one that will take me the longest to get back to work with due to the amount of rework that I'll do with the AU. A lot of it going to change from what I had in mind but it's for the sake of feeling comfortable with it. That said, once again, the current chapters will be reworked a little at a later point once I have a clear idea of the reworked AU.

I'm also working on 2 new fics not yet to be announced but they're being worked on behind the scenes on occasion. Thank you so much for sticking with me on these, your kudos and comments are appreciated!

A bit of a personal journey with writing these fics

Last year hit me pretty hard, I experienced big-time burnout. I wasn't really capable of doing much that I felt I like doing artwise, especially with writing. I only did doodles on discord but aside from the occasional post, not much else.

Back then, rereading my old writing, my old rps from the old servers I was in, I just cringed at how bad I was. I don't consider myself a good writer, heck even now I'm so-so on my writing, but reading back on my old stuff, man I feel like I kissed a lemon dkjnfddf I was pretty bad and writing felt off to me since then. I did still do private oneshots but I couldn't get back to writing these series. The thing about the Hat Mom AU and the Subcon Waltz AU fics being felt in the dust was that I wasn't as invested in A hat in time much, it was just a mix of my hyperfixation on the series dying off, the fics not being ironed and plotted out properly [Literally didn't plan a thing on Subcon Waltz and just winged it out impluse] and the fandom drama had drained me [Yeah, remember the whole Vanessa hating asks I got? Yeah those certainly didn't help with my mood at the time]

The only reason I got back into writing at all was due to how invested I grew in TGOGM but it didn't have that many fics at the time so I decided to throw my hat into the ring with my own au. By then I learned how to properly plan out chapters and writing and remembered I was just doing this for fun, I wasn't being paid to do this so I could take my time with this.

Eventually, I applied this mindset to my other fics and aus once I got back into ahit, these are my aus/fics, I can rewrite them if I don't like them. So that's what I'm doing right now, just taking the hammer, smashing stuff and just fixing them into something I like. Because at the end of the day, I'm not really a popular artist nor have a grand story everyone is invested in, I'm just a silly little creator with my own silly ideas that I choose to share with the world. If they like it, then poggers!!! I will cry and sob for weeks over a nice comment dkjnfds If not, well, I like this, and maybe one day someone else will too :>

I know this is long but I just needed to share my thoughts out there alongside telling you guys they're not dead, they're just being fixed with the hammer lol :> If you read this far, thank you for reading this madness fdnjf I'll try to get these to a place a like while taking my time in doing so uwu

[jules-writes-stories]

Thank you so so much for tagging me @zenkindoflove (I think you tagged me lol, I can't remember now) and @fieldofdaisiies

1. How many works do you have on AO3? I'm a baby fan fic writer, so only 5! (but I have 3 more WIP on the way...)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? <- BABY. How do I figure this out? I mean, other than mathing?

3. What fandoms do you write for? ACOTAR

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Just Enough Light to Cast Shadows | Azris

Held Close, Like a Secret | Azris

Into the Night | Azris

Heart of Gold | Elucien

Valkyrie | Emerie

5. Do you respond to comments? Always! I love engaging with readers.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Angst is necessary to any longer fic, but I rarely play for keeps, at least where my OTPs are concerned. The saddest fic I've written is probably my Eris Week fic "Monster" which isn't posted yet. But even that ends on a hopeful note (I think?).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I'm pretty proud of my ending of Into the Night, my Azris retelling of Hades x Persephone.

8. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do, but only included in a larger work. I've written Azris, OCs, and Elucien... and maybe a little LoA/Helion that might be coming in future JEL chapters (spoiler lol).

9. Do you write crossovers? Not yet

10. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

11. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not yet, but sounds fun

12. What is your all-time favorite ship? Azris! I have a soft spot for elucien, and Helion/LoA. Oh! And Thesan and his Peregryn. I want to write them so badly! I didn't follow directions for this question. Sorry. Azris is my OTP.

13. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? This summer I started writing Amarantha's origin story, and I really want to finish it, but I keep getting sidetracked. Stories gnaw away at me until I get them out though, so I generally finish what I start. It's a sickness.

14. What are your writing strengths? I don't know? I've been told I write dialogue well. Sometimes I will act out character interactions because that's totally normal. I like descriptions too. Not sure I'm good at it, but I love a metaphor lol.

15. What are your writing weaknesses?  My comfort zone is with short fiction and poetry, so I worry about timing/not having a good enough plot/arc for longer fics.

16. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? It is fun, but hard. I speak several languages (poorly) so I try to sprinkle words in that I know.

17. First fandom you wrote for? I'm a trembling new born FF writer, so, ACOTAR. But long time reader. My first fan fic was maybe Harry Potter? (Surprise! A little Drarry grew up to be an Azris, lol)

18. Favorite fic you’ve written? Just Enough Light to Cast Shadows is the love of my life, but I'm really proud of my Eris Week fic Monster, which I'm posting for Day 3!

No pressure tags (and sorry if you've already been tagged): @the-darkestminds @c-starstuff-man0 @unanswered-stars @mistandmemories @chunkypossum

[fluxweeed]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

i've had so much fun reading other answers to these questions over the last few weeks!! thank you @nv-md and @sweet-s0rr0w for mentioning me in your posts!! i fear my answers drifted much too far into self-indulgence, but what's new for this blog eh??

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

22, but one of them is 11 separate drabbles/microfics in a 2k-word jacket

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

293,865

3. What fandoms do you write for?

i'll only ever write hp on this username!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

all drarry:

the four doors (legilimency healer draco + memory loss)

adventures in truth and texting (advent texting fic)

all i have to do (draco thinks harry is a magical fantasy but whoops he's real)

eight o'clock, tomorrow evening (four doors sequel)

two to lie and one to listen (8th year fake dating, sort of)

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

i respond to everything on the final chapter of a fic! sometimes very kind commenters will say something at the end of every single chapter, which is SUCH a joy to receive, but i haven't yet figured out a way of saying "thank you!" 26 times over without sounding insincere

(i also don't usually respond to comments on fics i've co-written bc i don't feel like i have? the right? feels like i'm taking credit for something i did not really do!)

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

also drarry: for lack of wanting, wherein harry thinks it's sexy when draco acts like an evil dick again, and draco is too in love with harry to tell him that makes him feel weird

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

man i think all the rest are pretty happy, all things considered? tho i guess two to lie and wrapped are the only ones that end with explicit i-love-yous?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i've been quite lucky, actually! i've had the occasional demand to change an angsty ending, or comments that have been quite mean about a character who isn't supportive of drarry. oh and i've had a couple of people get suuuper mad when draco malfoy, death eater and snotty spoilt brat, makes mildly immoral decisions. i've found all of those quite funny tho, which i'm sure i wouldn't if they were legitimate hate, so i don't think they count!

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

yep! the vibe of two characters wanting to fuck but knowing they shouldn't for some reason (uneven dynamic, magic stuff, they simply haven't had a fucking conversation about it) is my absolute favourite. will read it every time, will write it pretty much every time too 😅

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

the closest i've come to writing a crossover is say no to this, a fic vaguely based off the storyline of the song from hamilton. it was the first drarry fic i'd written in about 10 years!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yep! not any under this username (that i know of), but someone re-uploaded an old drarry fic of mine to wattpad – and honestly, i don't mind at all. i don't think the fic is very good lmao, if someone else wants to take the blame for it, that's totally fine by me

(the wildest thing about it is the combined ff.net + wattpad views of that fic now top 2 million i think?! but despite that u have almost definitely not heard of it!! i've only seen it mentioned, like, maybe 3 times since i properly re-joined fandom spaces in 2020)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes!!!! it's SUCH an honour!!! the four doors is in german, chinese, russian and spanish; thirst (drarry vampire fic) is in chinese; and all i have to do (the not-fantasy-harry fic) is in russian 🥰

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

yes!!! well, sort of – officially, i co-wrote per my last letter (i hope you choke on it) with @lastontheboat, but i really do think i was more like an alpha reader with knobs on. the workload split was at least 25/75, with j shouldering a great deal of the burden (and all of the brilliance)!

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

this is going to sound silly given that i'm definitely a drarry writer and only really hang out in the drarry sphere – but i don't have one! for hp, i gravitate towards ships with harry in them, but even that isn't a hard and fast rule for me

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

nothing that i've posted! but i have tons that are never going to see the light of day. three recent-ish hp ones i've written the most for:

a fic i call The Opus, which is a drarry auror partners fic – i have 16k words written; it was going to end up a solid 100k. i love the concept i have for this fic so, so dearly, but a 100k casefic is not happening.

a harry/ginny established relationship smutty oneshot that is really nothing more than ginny being fun and sexy and harry being horny but, like, self-deprecating about it.

a drarry little mermaid au that i wrote for nanowrimo in 2019. like i MIGHT come back to this one day? but it's unlikely. pros: i do have 50k of it written already and the first draft isn't too far off being complete. cons: i have almost exactly 50k words of it written bc i hit the nano goal and stopped in the middle of a sentence bc writing it was SO stressful (that november i had two jobs + one volunteering role, and also i was moving house, so. a lot going on.)

16. What are your writing strengths?

god knows. dialogue and characters come easiest to me, ig? and i tend to cut a lot in editing, so i don't think my stuff is? overly wordy? so it doesn't require much brainpower to read? that could be a positive or a negative, depending on how you look at it!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i suck at caring about anything other than character dynamics, so my fics never have plot outside of something vague to put the main pairing in the same room

similarly, i'm not very good at describing locations – describing anything, really

bc i tend to focus on the "oh we want to but we shouldn't!" moment, i'm pretty bad at actually developing feelings in longer fics – that part always feels too rushed to me, but fuck if i know a way of fixing it that isn't just, like, write another 20k

i think my endings usually feel like a bit of an afterthought and often quite forced

the more i write, the more i realise i know, like, 5 ways of phrasing anything, and i just repeat the same things over and over

i'm trying to fix my lack of skills with plotting + pacing by planning extensively before i start drafting, but i think that takes a bit of the spark out of the final version? it becomes a bit predictable and samey?

em dashes every tenth word

i'm convinced ppl i respect are in group chats talking abt how annoying and bad at writing i am, and also lowkey (…highkey) i agree with them – so actually getting myself to write anything is super hard!!

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

yeah man! i mean, i personally am not sufficiently confident in my skills in any other language to do it without help (and i'm not sufficiently confident in my skills in asking for help to do that), but it's fun to read imo

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i've dabbled in a few over the years, but the first was hp – it was a marauders era snape/lily/james love triangle fic that i posted on a forum on a hp roleplaying site – this was before deathly hallows came out, so i was very smug when my pairing theory (that i undoubtedly stole from someone cleverer than me, because i was 13 years old) turned out to be true

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

god. @decaflondonfog recently told me that drabbles don't really count, so i? don't know? perhaps still the pine-woods scent the moon (guilty remus/harry) or taste of țuică (established drarry bringing ron in as a third) are the ones i like best, but i don't love either of them enough to be able to confidently declare them my favourite!

u know the drill: i got too sad and anxious and unfollowed everyone so i have no idea who to tag. if u made it this far please know i do love you very much, i want to kiss u on the cheek at LEAST, and would love to know any thoughts u have about the things u make ❤️

[sunshinereddie]

Communication Error Has Occurred.

Alright, maybe Richie did hate his job. But, to be fair, it wasn’t like his job treated him very well either. From the way he was more often than not loaded with more work than he could possibly get done in a single day, to how he was expected to spend more than his contractual hours in the office slaving away at his desk without any extra pay, to how his boss was always breathing down his neck and always seemed to have something to say about Richie’s clothes or his attitude or his work performance, even when Richie was trying his best. The salary wasn’t anything special either- it was fine, but nothing close to what Richie thought he deserved for putting up with everything that was thrown at him. So maybe Richie did hate his job… but, there were some things that made staying worth it. And one of those things was Eddie Kaspbrak. _____________ Richie Tozier has a secret crush on his coworker, Eddie Kaspbrak. And while he prides himself in having kept those feelings to himself for so long, on one drunken night... well, it becomes not quite a secret anymore.

22,838 words, 3/3 chapters

read on ao3

inspired by this hc post 

@reddieweek Day 2 Prompt: Occupation Swap

here is day 2 of reddie week fics!!! i gotta say folks, i’m super proud of this one. i’ve been working on this baby nonstop for about 3 weeks straight, and i’m so happy to finally post it!!! i hope you all enjoy it, because i had worked so hard to get this done and had a BLAST writing it myself! 

comments, kudos, and reblogs are highly, highly, appreciated <3 

[suspendingtime]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

I've been tagged by @stars-of-kyber and @andthebubbles. 😁 So although I feel barely qualified, I guess I best do this...

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

7. 🤗

I started about 2 months ago, so... and yes, they're all Kanthony. Initially just started as a way of contributing to Anthony Week 2023, and I didn't even expect that I'd actually do all 7 days.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

13,370.

Currently ranging at 661 to 3,779 per fic. Rookie numbers!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So far, just my beloved Bridgerton.

But there have been a couple other shows that have tempted me...

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Astride  - 166

Nursery  - 118

Hunt - 105

Yours - 94

Temptation - 88

Having published a handful with various ratings, it's quite interesting to see the kudos, bookmarks (private vs public), and subs ratios! Much to think about.

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

Yes.

Why... I sort of have a need? Idk, when I see a comment it's hard to just leave it hanging there and not to reply. Like irl if someone looked at something I made and verbally commented on it... and I just stared back blankly not saying anything. 😐 This is how it feels to me on the receiving end at least haha. And my replies saying various forms of 'Thank you!' is probably quite repetitive, but hey ho.

Plus comments give you that lil hit of dopamine; from both povs as a writer or reader. Being on the reader side for most of my Ao3 activities I tend to comment on most of fics I read, I can't help it - I must tell you what I loved about it and why, and there's a pleasure in reciprocating that back too. Look, now I've written half an essay on the subject, gaaah. (I've not been on Ao3 as much as I'd like to recently, and because I opened it to scoop out the stats for some of the questions above I can now see that I have some unreads... and the need is happening.)

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

Hmmm *thinking really hard*, I don't think any of them have an ending that is all that angsty. If I had to choose, maybe Temptation?

The pattern I've shown so far in my posted works is that it's gonna be 90% fluff. Though that is liable to change. 😆

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

Probably Nursery?

I'm not sure, cause they've all ended on a pretty optimistic note so far. But that one has Kate and Anthony with a few of their kids, so it's the furthest on the Kanthony HEA timeline.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet...

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

Ummm 👀 I may have dabbled in some smut.

What kind... hm, the kind where both people are panting for each other, and end up caving because they literally can't hold their horniness in anymore (this totally explains why I went feral for Bridgerton S2, ha). Another pattern I seem to have is making Anthony a submissive man puddle.

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

Not yet, but I do have some crack ideas I may explore.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, I very much doubt it.

How often does this happen to people?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. I'd certainly be all for it if anyone ever wanted to translate any works of mine. 😊

If I was proficient enough to write in other languages, then I would probably try publishing the different versions from the get go.

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

Kinda?

Nothing formal, but there was a lengthy comment thread on Reddit some months ago where myself and another user went back and forth re-writing the script for that stormy library scene 😅 (not so much re-writing what was already there, bar the last few lines, more of a continuation in a universe where Kate hadn't fled).

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Must I even answer this? Kanthony, c'mon now.

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

There's only 1 work that I have, where I've actually started a chapter 2. And I have all the faith that I will finish it. ✍️🤓

Other potential WIPs, that are currently just posted as one shots, only exist in my head... who knows if they will see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

This question feels illegal to be asked.

I have no idea, I'm very new to this whole writing thing. At least in terms of fiction, so I'm not sure what I'd consider my strengths to be. I feel like I need some more practice before I can get a real sense of this?

I would say that dialogue usually comes very quickly to me, and it's having to fill in the bits around it that takes more brain muscles. So that might indicate something.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything apart from the answer to the question above.

But really I think it's remembering that there is a world outside of the main couple happening, and trying to describe the details there. Also other general 'setting the scene' stuff like clothing, weather etc etc. I usually just want to jump straight in with some random dialogue.

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

On writing it... no thoughts; not done it yet!

If I needed to for some unknown fic reason in the future, I'm sure I'll be apologising profusely in the author notes for trusting Google translate and probably butchering whatever language it is.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Still just the one so far, Bridgerton. 😌

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Hunt 🥺🥹 I was a lot of feels, and just very indulgent tbh.

I also really enjoyed my shortest one, Obedient, which was in 2nd person (hadn't done that before). The writing of that one was just really fun and I idky but I've reread it quite a bit!

__________________________________________________

I'm woefully looking at my Ao3 bookmarks (which has grown exponentially since joining Tumblr), full of things that I've not got round to reading yet. So I'm tagging partly based on stuff hanging out on top of that pile: @islemeadow, @ladykettlechips, @hydriotaphia, @eleanor-bradstreet, and the smut aunties @colettebronte & @fayes-fics 😋 (if y'all wanna do it, ofc. I tried to find those who hadn't been tagged/done it yet, sorry if you've actually already done this and I've just not found it).

[umbracirrus]

I'm so excited and happy - The Perfect Storm has reached 150 Kudos on AO3-!!

It's something I definitely didn't expect when I first posted my fic, with it being a rarepair and all (there's only 16 Balgruuf/Dragonborn fics on AO3 - of which I think 2 are mine so far, including The Perfect Storm!)

And to celebrate my excitement, and the fact that I've started breaking out of the writer's block I've been stuck with for a couple of weeks, here's a little WIP snippet for the next chapter which I'm hoping will be up in the coming weeks!!

------

“You’ve had more than your fair share of gossip about me tonight," Hrongar eventually remarked after he had answered a handful of Elyse's incessant questions about his relationship. "What about you, huh?"

Elyse blinked as she quietly stared at him, before rising her eyebrow. "Are you asking if I'm dating anyone?" She continued looking at him, puzzlement across her features until he lifted his own eyebrow back at her. "I'm not," she muttered, her shoulders slowly drooping. "And not for lack of trying… I've just…"

He remained silent as she looked to be trying to find the words which were on the tip of her tongue.

"It's not a priority right now. I've… I've got a lot on my plate, and there isn't time nor space for romance. I thought that maybe I would have had a chance after defeating Alduin, but some cultists from Solstheim attacked me so I had to handle that… Then I tried to at least get myself settled in in Breezehome, but Ulfric started pestering me with letters. And now you and your family are having to shelter me in Dragonsreach for my own safety, which is just..." She let out a sigh. "There's just isn't the time."

Hrongar had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Balgruuf had used a similar reason to her – that her safety was a priority over anything else. Both her and his brother… They were kindred spirits! How could they not see it?

Taking a deep breath, he rose to his feet then quickly made his way back into his rented room, grabbed two bottles from the drawers in there, then went back out onto the overlook. He offered her one of them, and her eyes widened before accepting it and letting out a quiet laugh.

"Heh. Do you know that Lydia told Hulda to not let me have any more drinks?" she grinned, bringing the bottle to her lips once she removed the cork keeping it sealed with her thumb.

"I ain't Hulda, and what the housecarl doesn't know won't hurt her."

[cadriona]

tagged by @lisascumslut78, thanks for the tag!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

uhh at least 43? 39 are unanon'd, but at least 4 are anon'd i forgot the exact number lol

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

537,345 somehow????

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Genshin impact! but other fandoms that i've written for are trigun stampede and naruto lol, and then atla by dint of crossover and two unmentioned as they form a crossover that i want to discard to the back of my mind

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1: 5 times Ningguang saved Beidou and the 1 time Beidou returned the favour (genshin) 2: Mora for a myth (genshin) 3: [redacted] (naruto) 4: Beidou walks off the gangplank (by accident, really) (genshin) 5: Yelan: Spymaster, gambler, self-proclaimed matchmaker (genshin)

5. do you respond to comments?

Yea!! although sometimes it takes a bit to kick my brain into gear to mass respond. Typically needs the right frame of mind, but then i can chug through replying to quite a few!

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

either Take my heart for it was already yours or Your soul's drowned into silence, No one will rouse you, both genshin with MCD ahaha oops

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Fever, soup, and tiny baby chirps maybe??? i've quite a few with happy endings but this one was pretty cute

8. do you get hate on fics?

Probably! but people have been nice in the comments section and i love all my readers dearly :D

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

ahaha yes >u> um. uh. in my defense generally its inspired by art (taro's art specifically) or for event weeks so imgoingtoduckoutofthisquestionnowplsandthanks

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

Yea! The one thats most out of nowhere is Rebirth, Revision, and Revolution, an atla x genshin fic where post apocalypse in genshin verse due to celestia, ning, beidou, yelan and keqing have been reincarnated into the elemental nations! i... really need to finish it lol, there's 3 chapters of *hopefully* 4 up, but the Book of Fire is not cooperating

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not exactly? i know there are counterfeit fic sites and at least one of my fics are there, but idk if that counts

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

yea! with the funniest tags too

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

I... don't really recall doing so?

14. what's your all time favourite ship?

BEIGUANG thank you my queens for rekindling my joy for writing

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

the naruto fic, the beiguang vigilante fic, the anon'd trigun fic, uhhh oops

16. what are your writing strengths?

not entirely certain! i think im usually decent at balancing humor in the right situations and worldbuilding?

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

actually getting the brain to settle down to write ok while true, setting that aside, probably not knowing what to cut (i tend to want to put all the details i can think of in the fic, which isn't really conducive for a variety of reasons)

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

depends on if i'm actually familiar with that other language or not, and how easy it is for the reader to get at translations (hover text or subscripts, depending), i myself probably won't be capable of doing so.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

...naruto >u>

20. favorite fic you've written?

mora for a myth for all the worldbuilding i got to cram in! and maybe in that vein, the atla x genshin cross :D

tagging @yuniemaki, @canonical-transformation, @xnarja, @fishareglorious and anyone else who wants to give this a go!its currently past 1am so i can't really remember names rn, sorry orz

[sarah-sandwich]

20 Questions (for fanfic writers)

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

45

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

1,280,212 lol

3. what fandoms do you write for?

presently? Just spider-man ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4. top five fics by kudos:

Paradise (spread out with a butter knife) - spideypool 72k - soulmates au that's actually about the power of friendship

Don't Freak Out - parkner 136k - the one where they get kidnapped and spidey saves the day in the first chapter then they spend the rest of the fic falling in love

A Peach Like You - parkner 73k - sequel to a 16k coming of age one-shot in Harley's POV. This one is Peter's POV and he's autistic, overworked, and overwhelmed and this is the very worst time ever for falling in love so he's absolutely not going to do that... on purpose.

The Distance Between (You and Me) - parkner 29k - bodyguard au! Harley was kidnapped and rescued but his kidnappers are still out there so Tony begs an old friend to keep an eye on him until Natasha hunts them down.

You're Freaking Out - parkner 166k - sequel to Don't Freak Out this time with Plot! and Miles!!!

5. do you respond to comments?

Sometimes? I've gotten really bad about it :( After an update/new fic I try to get all the comments that come in over a week or so... but then I retreat into my cave and giggle and squee over them in private.

6. what is the fic your wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm I don't really do angst and especially not endings... but maybe The Devil is a Hopeless Romantic? I wouldn't call it an angsty ending though. Maybe bittersweet? Idk it's been awhile since I've read it. Not my favorite tbh

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Happy endings are my bread and butter lol The happiest? Uhhh

Lemme just plug For the First Time, Eye to Eye because it's one of my all time favs and hasn't come up yet.

8. do you get hate on fics?

nope!

9. do you write smut?

yep! Baseball Smut ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ yeah that's the title just posted this morning!

10. craziest crossover:

I haven't written a crossover since I was writing for spn and none of them ever made it out of my wips folder lol I had spn crossovers with Firefly, Teen Wolf, The 100, Criminal Minds, and (naturally) The Hunger Games. Man, I miss that. Such a versatile show.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that I know of!

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

YES! biggest compliment so cool

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

nope! Done some brainstorming a time or two but just for fun. idk that I could collaborate that well what with my disappearing into the abyss habit...

14. all time favorite ship?

I mean parkner's got the longevity doesn't it? Dean and Cas will always have a special place with me though

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My time travel time loop parkner fic le siighh

16. what are your writing strengths?

Hmm I think overall voice (not just dialogue but internal narrative too) and breathing fresh air into old tropes.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes. My god they take forever to think of a way to do them that isn't tired and boring. And then I still have to write it.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

adds enrichment in my enclosure

19. first fandom you wrote in?

hp

20. favorite fic you've written?

oof umm probably Peaches Ain't Pretty (the alluded to 16k Harley POV coming of age one-shot). Taught me I could write outside of fanfic if I wanted. It's actually the foundational inspiration that lead to Red, like my bleeding heart in your hand. Opened up the whole beach (if I'm brave enough to leave the sandbox). Anyway it's got a special spot in my heart. I'm probably due for a re-read tbh.

Thanks for tagging me @spoofymcgee!

no pressure tagging: @jammerific @wyxan @myarmsaretoolong @fieldsofview

[artaxlivs]

20 questions for writers

I was tagged by @corrodedbisexual who is a kickass Steddie writer and you should check them out if you haven't already!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

45 although I have several dropping in June for Bangs (eek!)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

419,731 - which is just bonkers.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things, Marvel (Clint Barton centric) and Teen Wolf (I tripped and fell into that one but its just so good...fucking werewolves)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Destroy the Silence (Drummer Steve) - Steddie

An Accidental Flogging - Steddie

The Second Worst Trip to Mordor Ever Taken - Steddie

Even Flowers Have Their Dangers - Steddie

Screw Todd, Steve's Her (His) Daddy Now - Steddie

5. Do you respond to comments?

Always. Once every three weeks or so, I go through and leave full, complete responses to every single one (It's where I've met some of my favorite peeps!)

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

Angsty at the end?? Nah, I like my angst safely in the middle and I give it a nice landing in smut and laughter, thank you.

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

I mean, all of them? Endings are kind of my specialty - gotta stick the landing, you know? But in my Teen Wolf fic Somewhere Under the Rainbow it ends with a literal happy ending (not that kind you perv)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet but I don't write anything that would inspire hate (Hopefully?)

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

Yes, yes I do. I really like consent and kink discussions and unlearning all the unhealthy shit society and our parents have dumped on all of us. And service Doms...because ❤️‍🔥

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have a problem with 80s movies and crossing them into fics. Gremlins, Dirty Dancing, etc. But like, just a little. My name is ARTAXLIVS, give me a break!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I mean AI is out there fucking us all without our consent, right?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have one currently being translated (Destroy the Silence)

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

I have not.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Winterhawk probably - Clint Barton is just perfectly imperfect and Bucky Barnes is a growling bastard with a thing for idiots.

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

Fuck my life - don't come for me but There's Something Wrong with Steve has been sitting at 2/4 chapters for like 9 months and I actually have the last two chapters written but there's just something not clicking so I haven't posted them. I will. I WILL.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Endings - as stated, characterization, story flow, cadence, dialogue, smut scenes, minimalist world building but not a lack of - I get a lot of comments from people who also have aphantasia (we can't picture things in our heads) and I think it's because I don't describe every stupid ass tree (Tolkien, I'm talking to you)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Crippling self doubt

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

Enh, you do you boo. When I write sign language or D/deaf culture for Clint, I touched base with someone fluent in ASL but I have access to that so...

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Marvel - Bucky Barnes/Clint Barton (Winterhawk, my loves)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Pic a favorite? Blergh. I really love when people comment on Even Flowers Have Their Dangers because it's the biggest world building thing I've ever done (there's a DND-like battle scene!) But also, What if Clint Fell has a special place in my heart because I love bashful first time gay Steve and slutty Clint figuring it out during WW2.

***

Pretty sure i just did one of these 20 questions things a few months ago so I'm gonna no pressure tag the people I'm currently collabing on bangs with so I can learn more about them: @angeleyz4ever @rufferto9 and I don't think @eviscer-8 writes fanfic but they're a bookbinder so maybe they could tweak the questions which would be interesting!

[nobigsecrets]

Fic Writing Review 2023 🌈

Ha, I did think about digging up last year's review and doing it sometime before Christmas! Because I've done these for a few years now. But I have barely written anything in 2023 and I never went looking. But now that I've been tagged I'm gonna do it, even if it comes out on the (very) short side. Thank you for the tag, @itwoodbeprefect!

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Words and Fics (on ao3) 📚

words posted: 32,393

fics posted: 5

first fic: Rainbows over Waikiki

last fic: "Are you mad?" (Chapter 7 of H50 Short Fics and Prompt Fills)

-

Ships and Fandoms ⚓

Hawaii Five-0 (2010) (2) McDanno, of course

Ted Lasso (TV) (3) Roy x Jamie, who I have shipped since season 1 (when Jamie confessed to Roy about the poster) and I find it somewhat funny that it has become the fandom's Big Ship only after last season

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Top 5 Fics by Kudos 🏆

With 5 fics in total this one is easy:

Oi! Tartt! Boot Room now! Ted Lasso, Roy x Jamie, T, 1k words

Those Lips (Red as Blood) Ted Lasso, Roy x Jamie, T, 1.4k words

Rainbows over Waikiki H50, McDanno, M, 27k words, incomplete

One night at G-A-Y Ted Lasso, Roy x Jamie, T, 405 words

"Are you mad?" H50, McDanno, G, 567 words

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Top 5 Favorite Fics 💖

Picking just one:

Rainbows over Waikiki Shortly after his mom dies, Steve kisses his best friend Luca. A week later his dad shoves him back into the closet by sending him away to the Army-Navy-Academy. What follows is a life full of lying and hiding and pretending—until he finds support from unlikely allies. Things get complicated when he returns to Hawaii 20 years later, when DADT is repealed and he falls head over heels for his new partner, Danny Williams. This is Steve’s story.

My baby. My big story. The Project that I've been working on for several years tbh. It's still incomplete even though there's not much that's missing (mostly editing, a missing link between the last two chapters and parts of the epilogue). I wrote most of it in 2022 and was on a good way to finishing it at the beginning of 2023 so I started posting. I don't know what happened then. Too much work, too much stress, call it writer's block if you will, I haven't been able to pick it back up. I will finish it, I promise, I just don't know when. 🥺

-

Fandom Fic Events 🤝

none

-

Projects for 2024 👀

After the last year I don't have much trust in making fic writing plans anymore. I don't think my work load will decrease anytime soon. But then, maybe I should stop waiting for the day I'm suddenly not tired anymore and just write anyway. Because I miss writing. A lot.

So let's treat this as a wish list more than an actual project list, yeah?

The fic that is closest to finishing is a continuation of One night at G-A-Y, with a gay Roy trying to figure out what kind of flavor queer Jamie is, if at all.

A McDanno fic where Steve has been dishonorably discharged from the Navy thanks to DADT. He returns to Hawaii, out and proud now because fuck the Navy, and he opens up a queer gym after he doesn't find a place where he can train without either hiding or suffering harassment. When a man dies in an illegal MMA fight, Steve suddenly finds himself subject of a police investigation led by (surprise!) Detective Danny Williams. In my mind this is another Big and Long Story. Maybe I can find a way to break it down into small chunks.

A kind of dark-ish fic where, despite being a SEAL and therefore very capable of defending himself, thank you very much, Steve finds himself at a disadvantage when he's assaulted by a bunch of homophobe thugs.

I have collected a variety of paragraphs and snippets around a transmasc!Steve headcanon. I haven't figured out what to do with them yet.

And, of course, finish Rainbows Over Waikiki

-

Tagging ✨

I think most people I know have been tagged in the original post. I'm adding (no pressure) @cowandcalf, @goneahead, @emphasisonthehomo, @lukeclvez and anyone (you!) who wants to join in.