#tbh i’ve done more beta reading than actual writing

[stardvstbby]

this is so lovely, thank you for this post 💕

Hey, Writers! Hype yourselves up!

If you see this post you are hereby obligated to tell me in the replies and/or tags what you believe your strengths as a writer are! Go off! For this post, we’re tossing that imposter syndrome in the bin!

[loserlvrss]

.. 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐕𝐑𝐒𝐒 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 ( 슈퍼노바 )

𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 : no one but you 이민형 1739notes fight! 김동현 (mdni) 1674notes thirsty 김선우 (mdni) 1196notes locked door 정윤호 (mdni) 1147notes asking can i stay over? 엔씨티 드림 963notes

𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐂 : cupid & psyche 최승철 & 최한설 9.2k (mdni)

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐂 : cherry chapstick 沈泉锐 0.2k (mdni)

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐎𝐅 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 : father (for) christmas 방찬 (mdni)

𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝐈 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 : boynextdoor

𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐋 𝐈 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 : 김동현

𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐒 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 : 18

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒 : Since I actually started this account a little over 2 months before 2024, pretty much everything I’ve done on here is a milestone. Im so thankful that you guys enjoy my work enough to read it and leave feedback (sometimes) THANK YOU. AND STARTING @kstrucknet WAS THE BEST DECISION IVE EVER MADE I LOVE YOU GUYS TIMES A MILLIONBILLIONTRILLION.

𝐆𝐎𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 : Nothing much, I just want to post more than I have been. Maybe even finish my Hyunjin and Ateez series 🙏 I also want to make a smau again (I haven’t since my wattpad days).

𝐅𝐀𝐕 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆(𝐒) 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 : @gluion I’m still not over the angst (and your ATTEMPTS /j at fluff) period best writer of the year. @neopuppy I think I’ve read everything on your damn account bruh top tier yummy yum yum. @jeongin-lvr kept me fed along with @blue-jisungs yall single handedly kept my sanity intact. ++more but it’s 3am.

𝐅𝐀𝐕 (𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐬) 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 : fic rec post

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒 : couldn’t tag everyone but ilyall

@jooillusion : We fight and then flirt so much one would think we’ve been married for 60 years but, I honestly couldn’t love you more and wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re so much alike that even when we disappear for months it feels like we never stopped talking. Im so glad we met ‘cause now you’re locked in with me my fellow xdh stan 🤩 you can’t get rid of me now muahhahahaha.

@hursheys : I find comfort in knowing you, and I hope somewhere you do too. It’s really nice to know you’re around and to have you be so willing to help me out and support me. We’ve had deep conversations and conversations that don’t mean a thing. We argue and then thirst over random ass men. I love fighting and then flirting with you and then telling you about my situationship (which has just gotten worse dude ‘cause why’d she piss me off) and then asking for fic inspo. You are truly the most amazing and versatile person I’ve come across on here. Love you 5eva, Ves. You deserve the world 🤍

@heechwe : Oh my Lexi. Where do I even start? I haven’t known you for very long but it feels like I have. You are truly the person I can go to for everything. We always got each other backs and I loved beta reading your enhypen (mainly) fics. It is one of my fondest memories this year on here, and when I have more time I’d love to do it again. I appreciate you so so much you don’t understand. I hope you know that I’ll always be ur #1 supporter, on blr and for what you want to do irl. Truly, live laugh love Lexi ‘till I die 🫶

@slytherinshua : Thanks for introducing me to verivery (ik you want credit😒). You truly are just like me fr, esp when I was seventeen. Stanning a billion groups, writing fanfics (I still do :/ N E WAYS), serving cunt, being the best humanly possible person ever. Okay, maybe I wasn’t doing the last two but you def are. I lerv you a lot, Zanna and I’m so glad we met on Onedoornet ‘cause I truly didn’t know what I was missing before. I swear you got a fic for everything and that’s what keeps me going tbh. The pookiest of pookies I love your trivia games and I need another soon 🤓

@hoonven : Paging Doctor Freak 🎀 Mimi my pookie dookie snukums vanilla ice cream with a cherry on top baby bear lovely chocolate muffin the color pink the wind in my hair I love you. My wife. I’ll support you until I’m in my grave. My 04 twin 😻 The Jake to my Sunghoon. My fav enhablr writer. Nobody else I’d rather write Jake hurt-comfort for. You’re one of my oldest moots and idk what I’d do not knowing you’re there (even if you’re always on an unannounced hiatus 🙄 /j). I reread your stuff for comfort. I love you so so so much, nobody else I’d rather send thirst trap edits to on insta.

and to all my other moots (and kstruck children) muah muah you’ll never understand what you mean to me I love you all so very much and I’m glad to be going into 2025 with you all.

psa. new year, new me…but worse :D find all my stories from (the end of) 2023-24 on @tragiclvr btw

[diejager]

this is random but since I had mentioned beta reader, I wanted to add little headcanons I had because people make them too basic >:(

they make little clicking noises! Kinda like how an alpha might chuff or an omega might purr!

I think they also have a very mild heat/rut, but it’s like hardly noticeable

maybe even have faint scents, so some enhance that with perfume and cologne that matches their natural scents

claiming mate(s) through small things like a personal item (clothes, accessories, etc)

and lastly, they have a little hidden spot where they hide things that are comforting, like maybe their mate’s hoodie.

I’m rambling but I wanted to put this out there cause I wanna show some love for the betas

~🧋

They’re too basic XDD boba anon, you made me laugh so hard.

ANYWAYS, that clicking noise is interesting, I can imagine the reader randomly clicking at times because they’re proud of something they did. A mild heat, almost unnoticeable, but with a stronger nose, it gets more uncomfortable than other betas, yeah? It would make things really nice 😏

I think some fics imply that some betas have a subtle scent, not as strong or noticeable as omegas and alphas, but it’s very, very subtle. Colones and perfumes do exist for scent enhancements too, I read a few mangas and manhuas who had it. Even we have some, I remember looking at the pheromones shelf in a sex shop with my friends, and they actually smell good.

Betas aren’t really known for bite claims, or anything, honestly, I’ve never read or seen it done? So clothes and accessories makes sense, like a married couple wearing rings. Hiding or keeping items you deem precious is… sounds very cute tbh, like a possessive pup hiding its stuff.

And ramble more! Betas deserve more love, but it would be fun to write a dom!omega….🫣

[trashmouth-richie]

Do you have any advice on getting people excited for a story you haven’t posted yet? Your teaser posts get more notes than my Masterlist. Obviously your work deserves it. But it blows my mind you have hundreds of people excited to read it before it drops when I can’t seem to find people interested in my reader fics even months after they’re posted. I was thinking it was the dark themes in them but now I’m thinking I’m just doing something wrong. I’ve been following you since you were first posting and you’ve done an amazing job blowing up these last few months! Do you think that reblogs from people with large followings have helped you grow or that it doesn’t really matter who reblogs as long as the content is good?

thanks for reaching out. i am in no way shape or form an expert when it comes to writing or tumblr itself

i started off writing twinflames with one follower and that was @b-irock, who i met in the comments of @andvys fic lolol

my writing has definitely improved since then (thankgod) but i owe a lot of that to people i follow, my beta readers, and stories i’ve read.

everyone has a different writing voice, i don’t think there are two that are actually the same and that’s the beauty of writing.

reblogs on tumblr are huge. it puts your foot in the door to someone else who might not know you’re on here.

also the tags.

i didn’t understand tags at first or how to use them. but they are very important. i wouldn’t necessarily say that having a big blog reblogging your fics would get more people to see your work, any reblog helps tbh. and sometimes it really is just hit or miss. i know fic writers who have had lots of notes on certain fics and then barely any on others (me included) tumblr is strange and the algorithm is fucked with all the time, and as of late it’s been dog shit.

do you post on other platforms, ao3, wattpad?

i will say making friends on this app with lots of different people has helped too, i wouldn’t be anywhere with their support, reblogs, interactions etc.

keep your chin up! you’ll get there! 🩷

[spacejellycreates]

Heya! could I grab your opinion on something?

I’ve been writing a spirk fic for the last few months, it’s currently at around 44k words and I’m roughly two-thirds or three-quarters of the way through. I’m pretty invested at this point, I’ve got a really good beta reader who I love, and I know where the plot’s going. What I‘m interested in is your opinion on posting chapters before completing a work. I’ve written long fics before, and I usually write and edit the whole thing before staggering posting chapters on ao3. It’s a solid enough route, and it’s what I was planning on doing for this spirk fic. But I’ve been debating starting to post chapters now, rather than wait. Do you think doing that is more likely to get you to finish it, or is it more ethical to be 100% sure you have a satisfying ending before putting it out in the world, even if it means potentially losing steam before getting to that point?

thank you <3333 I love your works x

you can absolutely start posting chapters now if you like! i did that with one of my longer fics (The Lonely Warrior). it can be fun to get feedback as each chapter posts, and see how interested people are in the idea before its finished, and that might motivate you to keep writing it!

idk if im ever actually going to finish lonely warrior tbh. im not very good at Plot so i dont actually know where im going with it and i kinda hoped i would come up with something as i went along but. we're 10 chapters in now and nothings really happened yet. im glad i did it because it was super fun to write and it does have a few fans who keep coming back to read each chapter. but yeah idk where to go from here really.

people will enjoy your fic regardless of whether its finished or not. if you would prefer to have it all done before you post then absolutely do that, because thats perfectly understandable, but if you want to start posting it now theres nothing stopping you! either option works :)

[ladymatt]

Writing Tag Game

�� I was tagged by the impressive @la-muerta! Thank you, lovely! 

No pressure tagging: Any mutuals that want to take part! (I know TGs aren’t everyone’s favourite thing, so no worries if you don’t want to!)

How many works do you have on AO3?

31

What’s your total AO3 word count?

 67,208

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Driving Him Insane - (Malec / Rated M / 1,504 Words)

Magnus Bane is a celebrity whose press tour has brought him to New York for a week long stay, but the only pressing he's interested in is what can be applied to his ever-polite, handsome-as-hell chauffeur, Alexander. With only one more night in the city, will he get the chance to steer their professional relationship in a new direction and take this need to taste him up a gear?

Your Full Attention - (Malec / Rated M / 1,804 Words)

Waking up in the arms of his boyfriend, Magnus Bane, was always something to savour for Alec Lightwood.....when he had the time. Unfortunately for them both, on this occasion a Clave meeting prevented a proper 'Good Morning!' With an appointment arranged for the 'Head' of the Institute to shake hands with The High Warlock Of Brooklyn later that day, he should have known Magnus would still make him pay for choosing the Clave over his cock!

The Pleasure (And Pain) Of Your Company - (Malec / Rated E / 2,902 Words)

The only thing that frustrates Magnus Bane more than the company's temperamental tech is one Alec Lightwood, the man supposedly in charge of fixing it! Which leaves their bodies' traitorous compatibility as the only means of reliable communication between them!

Santa’s Little Helper - (Malec / Rated T / 10,941+ Words)

After a visit to the cinema with his son Max and goddaughter Madzie, Magnus Bane accompanies them to the wonderfully festive Christmas Fair where he discovers that he has a Christmas wish of his own for Santa!

Wake Up Call - (Malec / Rated G / 500 Words)

When Magnus wakes to find last night's booze-fest hasn't drowned those unrequited feelings for his long-term roommate, a message recorded (and promptly forgotten) in a moment of painful desperation, lays out far more than just French toast on the breakfast table!

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do, because they have invariably MADE MY DAY, and I want to say thanks for taking the time to send them! 

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Although it doesn’t necessarily have an angsty ending but a sad theme in general, I would have to say my Widower Alec ficlet, To Us, You’re Still Here! Broke my heart to write it but hopefully the happy memories and lasting love are a balance for the grief!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Aside from my previous answer, all of my fics have happy endings, but the sappiest would probably have to be Love, Spoken And Unspoken because few things are more romantic than exchanging poetry quotes, imo!

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t, and I can’t say I have the urge to either - it takes a more deft touch than mine to blend two worlds successfully! 

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

On occasion, though it’s more of the blink-and-you-miss variety! I’ve read some intimate scenes that managed to hit that sweet spot combination of intoxication, realism and humour, and I aspire to one day do the same!

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I was once asked permission for Your Full Attention to be translated into Portuguese, but I’m not sure if it was actually done because they didn’t respond to my request for a link! 

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I haven’t - and given how I write at a pace that would probably frustrate the hell out of a co-writer, no matter their saintly patience, that’s never likely to happen either! I much preferred being a beta (of the informal kind) that bounced ideas with friends looking for another perspective, tbh, than a stressed out writing partner to someone!

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Malec Forever, Baby! 

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

On a bad day, the answer is all 7 of them - but on a good day, the answer is I KNOW I’ll finish all 7 of them because I’m a damned completionist and stubborn as hell!

What are your writing strengths?

I’m confident in my ability to write humour, innuendo/word play is second nature to me, inserting gestures of casual affection wherever humanly possible, composing a decent summary, and delivering details in a pretty turn of phrase that hopefully avoids purple prose! 

What are your writing weaknesses?

Dangerous question to ask a self-doubter, but I’ll go with too-long sentences, not trusting the reader to visualise the scene I’m badly describing so I overcompensate by plotting each touch, step and position instead (which is a failure of trust, I know), and sometimes rushing my endings! 

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Uh, I have none, really? Author’s choice, I suppose, although accuracy would need to be a high priority, I imagine!? I’ve had no problem with reading snippets of dialogue in languages that are foreign to me personally, and on the one occasion I myself needed to include a translation of a Spanish lullaby into English for a story, I sought help from native speakers! 

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Shadowhunters is (almost certainly) the only fandom I can see myself writing for because, no matter how much I enjoy other shows and films (and I DO, even though it appears I’m stuck in a SH-only bubble), I simply don’t feel the urge to explore other ships/characters outside of their canon in the same way I do with Malec! They continue to capture my imagination as a special couple, and as individuals, and until that fascination is somehow exhausted, I’ll keep writing about them!

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Made All The Difference is one I’m particularly proud of because it’s more introspective and structured than my other stories, and the closest I’ve come to a character study of Alec (whilst being able to indulge in Malec moments that complement his train of thought throughout their evening together)! 

[themonkeycabal]

Question that has nothing to do with the Run ‘Verse and more just getting into the writing & editing side of ao3.

I have a way crazy ton of time on my hands and I need something to get into, and I have unintentionally found that I like to do editing for my own personal reading of fics here and there. (For the record, I’ve never touched one of yours cause they’re hella perfect, you magnificent creature! ☺️♥️) I’ll copy and paste a fic (including the link and author’s name and all that, and I’d never dream of reposting my edited stuff, it’s mostly so it makes more sense in my head or if there are noticeable grammatical errors.) to my notes app, read through, and if it’s something I’d like to read again but had some little errors, I’ll go through and fix them and then go in for my re-read. (Autism plus disability! So many re-reads! I get hyper focused on something and can’t stop.) But I’ve found that I actually really enjoy the editing, and if possible, I’d like to dip my toe in the water a bit and try doing beta for a few fics for someone and see how it goes. (Tbh, not you cause I’m too in love with your stories and I can’t do that to myself or you, and you might even be your own beta, so idk! 🤷🏼‍♀️ My Question, is how does one get in on that side of the ao3 world?

Fun little side note: I’m debating about starting myself a second tumblr page just for sharing the bits that I have written that are basically about learning to navigate live with weird pains that have more explanations than I previously realized. Will share a title with you in chat if I decide to do it…

Aaaaalso, is this (and the rest where there’s more eyebrow and lip something) the kryptonite of which Darcy thought during the road trip (Ain’t Gonna Drown, near end of chapter 13)? Cause that’s what I pictured.

LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU’RE WELL!!

Hi! It's always so great to hear from you. I'm so sorry I'm late to reply, I'm still sick -- turns out the real covid was the colds we thought we had along the way. I'm doing better, so no worries.

Anyway ...

I think that's a great idea! And, lol, it's okay if you do that to mine, too. I do it all the time and sometimes go back in and edit things that have bugged me.

I'm going to open this up to ask for help from other people who might know the ins and outs, because I'm actually not sure the best way to go about becoming a beta reader. I've only ever done it a tiny bit and not at all recently.

You might want to check out some fic writing communities like r/FanFiction. I feel like there has to be a place where beta readers offer their services, I'm just not sure where that is. You know, you could maybe also branch out into other writing communities, too, for copy editing and people writing original stories. My friend was a script reader for a writing contest for a while, and she got the job by literally just answering an ad.

Also, I think starting a side blog about your experiences is a wonderful idea. Both for yourself and for others. I think that would be a tremendous thing to offer.

And finally! How could that not be kryptonite? Lol. Exactly. Smug. He knows what he's doing. Evil handsome jerk. lol

Love you, too!

[alovesongshewrote]

Pride or Something | Loki Laufeyson

Plot:  You’re a ghost.  You follow Loki around.  That’s it, that’s how the two of you operate.  [Loki x Gender Neutral!Reader]

Word Count:  1,406

Warnings:  uhhhhh the reader’s a ghost, but like, it has nothing to do with the plot.  it’s just 

A/N:  well, first off, this is mostly platonic tbh. secondly, this legit just crack taken seriously.  like, think of it as a beta, if it does well, i might write more ghost shenanigans/loki content but whooooo knowsssss

Tags: @the-phantoms-library​ @blixeon​ @yagirlcheesely

masterlist​​

I don’t know if I would call you and Loki “friends.”  

It was more like you were a ghost who’d spent their days haunting his ass ever since he stepped foot on Earth.

And that was probably because you were a ghost who’d spent their days haunting him ever since he stepped foot on Earth.

It wasn’t for any sad or dramatic reason.  He hadn’t been responsible for your death.  (Although he had been responsible for several others, so you kind of haunted him out of revenge, but only a little bit.)  Overall, though, you just liked his style.  His flair, his moxie, his zest for life.  Ya liked the cut of his jib, etc, etc, etc.  

Also, being Asgardian, he could see you, and that was pretty dope.

So, you followed the god of mischief around, causing him problems, and relishing in the fact that he couldn’t get rid of you no matter how hard he tried.

And believe me, he did try, but by the second faked death, he kind of gave up.  I mean, he thought he’d done it.  He returned from fooling his brother, banished his father, and took the throne of Asgard, all without a glimpse of you.

But alas, when he retired to his chambers that night, you were on the bed, reading a book.  As you do.  Or maybe as you don’t, Loki was pretty surprised, so much so that he threw a knife at you.  It missed.

“Nice shootin’ tex.”

“What are you doing here!?  How- how did-”

“Shit, man, are you actually surprised by this?  I’ve been following you for like, a while now.  I’ve been to Asgard before.  Did you- did you think your dad’s bedroom door would stop me?”

“That- that doesn’t answer my questions.  What are you doing here, and what will it take for you to leave?”

You groaned and put your book down before answering, making it a much bigger deal than it actually was, “I’m here to bother you, as always. I thought you knew that, like, I’m not going to stop.  And I’m not leaving, either.  I like it here.”

“Ahahahah, no.  You have to go if anyone sees you-”

“What, they’ll figure out that you aren’t really Odin?  I kind of doubt that.”

“I-  Even if they don’t, this,” he made a vague gesture at your entire being, “Is going to raise questions.”

“Subtle,” you rolled your eyes in the most dramatic fashion possible and snapped your fingers.  The second you did, your clothes changed from regular modern ghost clothes to Normal Asgardian™ wear, “Is this more to your liking, your majesty?”

“One of these days,” he muttered while wandering off to do something, “One of these days I will banish you to the underworld.”

“I’d like to see you try, Princey.”  

He didn’t respond, but you heard a crash from somewhere in the room, so you were satisfied. 

Things continued on this way for a while.  You basically followed Loki around making dumb jokes and quips.  He got you back, though.  In order for your presence to go unnoticed by the Asgardians around you, you had to pretend to be his royal advisor.  It wasn’t an awful experience though, for either of you.  Your dumb jokes eventually got the god to laugh, and your “job” as an advisor had some perks.  You got to wear cool shit all the time, and that was pretty nifty all on its own, but you also got to explore Asgard.  Like, Asgard, Asgard.  Most humans would never experience that place in a million lifetimes, and here you were for the second time.  You weren’t alive, though, so maybe you didn’t count.  And then there was the advising.  Despite your status as a permanent thorn in his side, Loki actually listened to you when it came to that.  No matter what you thought about him on any given day, you had to admit, it was nice to have someone who listened to your concerns.

Eventually, you figured out that he needed the same thing.  

You found him staring up at a statue in the middle of the night.  The statue was one of a woman you did not recognize, cast in gold and lit from below.  Another thing you didn’t recognize was the look on Loki’s face.  It was almost… forlorn.  Mournful, maybe?  Whatever it was, it was definitely sad, and not something he’d ever expressed around you before.  You’d seen him try to be smooth and suave and manipulative, hell he’d tried that on you when you first met.  You’d also seen the god angry, full of rage and ready to kill.  Mostly, you saw his irritated side, because that’s what you brought out in him, and occasionally, you saw him laugh, but this?  This sadness, this abject heartbreak on his face was something new entirely.  

And you had no idea how to handle it.

“Heyyyyyy, buddy, you okay?”

“Not now, (Y/N.)”

There was something in his voice that drove you to do as he asked for once. So, you didn’t bother him.  Instead, you just stared up at the statue, standing silently by his side.  Seconds passed into minutes, and minutes to hours, until the first light of dawn broke over the horizon.  And yet, neither of you said a word.

But alas, you reached a point where you couldn’t take the silence.

“She’s beautiful.”

“She was.”

You turned your head from the statue to face Loki instead.  He was in his own body, not masquerading as his father, for once.  The expression on his face had remained the same since you’d found him, “You knew her?”

“I should think so, she was my mother.”

“Oh.”

You stood in silence for another moment, clawing desperately for something to say.  You knew of Frigga’s passing.  Hell, you’d even been on Asgard during the funeral.  Granted, you hadn’t been at the funeral.  You hadn’t been with Loki, either, you’d figured he needed some space.  Nope, at that time, you were in the palace, wandering around until the mass of mourners found their way back in and you vanished off into one of the walls.  

Now, though, now there was no vanishing.  There was only a lonely god, a golden statue, and a ghost.  A ghost who was looking for the right thing to say.  Ironically, it was only when you turned your back on Loki that you found it, for behind the three of you stood Asgard, in all her glory.  You suddenly knew what you had to do.  Tell the truth (or at least what you knew of it.)

“She would be proud of you.”

“Proud of what, a son who stole the throne from his father in the absence of his brother?  I think not.”

“Well, it sounds pretty shitty if you put it like that.  But look-” gently, you brought your hand to his face and turned it so he faced his kingdom.  In the dim light, the city seemed to catch fire, flickering a bright gold. 

“Look at that,” you said, “Since you took the throne, you’ve poured money into the arts, into the people.  Asgard is flourishing under your reign.  In such a short time, you’ve done what Midgardian politicians take generations to do.  I think that is something to be proud of.”

“And you’re so certain of this because-?”

“Well, I mean, I could ask her if you want me to.  I am a ghost, so..."

"No!  No.  If she is at peace, don't- do not bother her."

  I see a lot of shit, but your leadership?”  you took a second to let go of Loki’s face, “Definitely some of the least shit leadership I’ve seen in a hot minute, you feel me?”

The god took a minute, thinking about what you’d said.  You could not stop the grin that crossed your face when his distressed expression shifted to a more peaceful one.  You gave him a pat on the shoulder and looked back up at the statue.  It took a few more seconds of silence for you to ruin the moment.

“You’d better feel me.  Wait, no, I- fucking hell.  You know what I mean.”

Beside you, you could see Loki trying not to laugh.  Whatever your mission was, you considered it accomplished. 

With the smallest of sighs, you stretched and turned away, a smile still plastered on your face, “Well, I’m gonna go take a nap.  Have a good night- ah, morning, Princey.”

You continued to stretch as you wandered off, not at all noticing the god watching you walk away.

“The same to you, dear ghost.”

[igarbagecannoteven]

2021 Writing Self-Evaluation

thank you hazel ( @allsassnoclass ) for tagging me for this!! 😊 putting the answers under a read more bc y’all know my answers will be not be consise lol

1. number of stories posted on ao3: 7 :))

2. word count posted for this year: 20,232

3. fandoms i wrote for: i’ve only posted 5sos fic, but i have worked on/fiddled with a couple of old hp wips this year!

4. pairings: i’ve only posted cake, malum, mashton, and lashton, but i did finish a fic for every pairing (not including ot3/ot4) this year!

5. story with the most kudos/bookmarks/comments: the answer to all three of those is by far don’t let me drown in my mind! i could delve into the reasons why i think it’s my most popular but the night is not-so-young and also that’s not the question lol.

6. work i’m most proud of (and why): oh goodness that’s a hard one! i’m proud of everything i’ve posted for various reasons (i wouldn’t have posted them if i wasn’t) but i think today i’m particularly proud of we gotta make a decision (leave tonight or live and die this way) for a lot of reasons. it’s set in an au that i have much bigger plans for and i love the characters so much, which in some ways made it a lot more difficult to write and stressful to post bc i wanted it to do well. while it’s set somewhere very similar to where i was born, it deals with a lot of things that i have zero experience in, and i think i pulled them all off semi-decently! also, this grew a *lot* from the first draft to the final one (mostly thanks to the fact that i turned in a het version for my prose class and used their critiques to shape the fic lol) and i’m very proud of the way i was able to take the notes i was given and make a much better work because of them. i think it’s leaning toward more of my “literary” style instead of my fic style which is my only quibble with it, but i think that works for the content of the fic.

7. work i’m least proud of (and why): most of the works i’m not proud of have not seen the light of day tbh. every work over 1k that I’ve posted is the result of weeks of stressing and editing and pulling my hair out because i really do my best to make sure i don’t post something i’m going to regret lol. that being said,,, i do wish that if i bleed you’ll be the last to know was just a touch more polished. like, it has a lot of stuff i’m proud of and i think overall it’s a decent fic, but i’m not confident that the pacing is up to scratch and the ending isn’t the best, although i always struggle with endings. but i do love it! and it’s really not bad! i’m just very picky lol. beyond posted work, i’m not proud of how many wips are less than a quarter done. i’ll be the first to admit i’m a slow writer and i do try to keep my expectations of myself realistic, but i do think i could have gotten more done.

8. share or describe a favorite review you received: i’ve recieved several reviews that i carry with me in a special box next to my heart so it’s really hard to choose! i will say that when i sent bella the doc for don’t let me drown in my mind asking her to beta read and her first reaction was something along the lines of “i’m so relieved you’re a good writer” was really affirming to me because i am a little insecure about my writing and that felt like a very honest comment bc idk about everyone else but i’ve def had the feeling of like, reading someone you know’s writing for the first time with your fingers crossed chanting under your breath “please be good” bc it’ll be so awkward if it’s not dsjflkdsjf so yeah it just gave me that moment of like “okay i’m not a shitty writer” lol. honorary mention to helen sending me a message about a specific line in what if i’m weak (and i need you tonight) bc when i received the notification i’m pretty sure i actually squealed kjsdflkjdslkdsjf

9. a time when writing was really, really hard: writing is tremendously hard for me about 90% of the time, and i mean miserable, pulling-my-teeth-out hard lol. (don’t ask me why it’s my main hobby because i still don’t know how to answer that lol) writing seeing things in a different light was especially stressful though because it was my first time writing for someone else and when that someone is as talented as adri that makes it extra scary lol. it was also my first time writing fic on a deadline, which mean it was the first time since middle school i was expected to have a final draft at a specific date (most creative writing classes only ask for your next draft, not necessarily your last). it was also my first foray into fluff, *and* my first time writing something that would only really work as a fanfic, so there were a lot of learning curves. but i’m pretty proud of the finished result, and adri left a lovely comment on it that i go back to whenever i need a pick me up, so it was definitely worth it!!

10. a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: i know i legit just posted this but i did not expect to write a bee au. like, i know i love a hyper-specific au but that’s a bit much even for me ksjdfljdskfj also the fact that the bigger au for we gotta make a decision features a subplot revolving around the opioid crisis is insane. like what was i thinking when i made that decision. (i know what i was thinking but still. craziness.) 

11. a favorite excerpt of your writing: listen. on a craft level i find this to be one of the most heavy-handed things i’ve written, like i really stretched this in a way i maybe shouldn’t have. it is not something i’d ever include in a work for class. however. i am so in love with the dissected frog metaphor in if i bleed you’ll be the last to know it was just so fun to write and while i’d probably dislike it if someone else wrote it, it makes me smile just thinking about it. part of me says not to quote it here but as a treat for myself here it is:

Calum felt like a dissected frog, like his insides were all neatly lined up on the table on top of his English notes, each organ pinned with a little label. If it were anyone else seeing his guts laid out in the open, he was certain he would start desperately attempting to shove them all back in, not even caring if they went in the correct spot as long as they were safely hidden again, but since it was Michael, there was no surge of fear. He knew Michael would gently put everything back in its proper place, that he wouldn’t take pictures or type up a research article. Calum never would have thought it was possible to feel safe inside-out if he hadn’t met Michael.

12. how did you grow as a writer this year? i posted my first ever fanfic! i *finished* my first ever fanfic!! i’d never actually finished a work of fiction before this year, can you believe it? never reached that final draft. and now i have! multiple times!! wtf!!! i also think my decision in august to hold off on posting fic and instead squirrel them away until i get 24 complete fics was a big moment for me. like i said before, writing doesn’t actually bring me a lot of joy, so it’s important to me that i make sure the parts that *do* make me happy continue to do so, and my hope is that this challenge thingy will help me do that. i’m very proud that i was able to recognize the way posting fic was starting to turn sour and nipping it in the bud before it could do that.

13. how do you hope to grow next year? hopefully finish more fics! i think that writing is very much one of those skills where the only way to get better is to do so, and i’m hopeful that my writing will continue to improve as i go. i’d also like to stop comparing my writing process to other writers. it can be hard to be a slow writer in a fandom where so many great authors can churn out longer fics in a matter of weeks or even days and still have the work be amazing, and it’s also hard when you’re someone who takes multiple drafts to get a fic where it needs to be when there are people who can ace it on the first draft. i’d really like to shed that habit of thinking of my writing process in comparison of others but instead simply in comparison of my past self. also, on a less writer-y note, i’d like to get better at leaving comments on fics i enjoy! part of the reason i don’t comment very much is because it does take a certain amount of spoons to do so, but there are also other reasons that i’m going to try to get out of the way. january is apparently a month where some people try to comment on every fic they read so i may try to do that! 

14. who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc)? i mean i can’t *not* mention the fantabulous @clumsyclifford because not only is she the reason that i started writing for this fandom, she’s also a wonderful beta and so so good about me randomly talking to her about my fic problems, even if it’s for a work that’s really not her thing. also hazel has been so encouraging and kind about my writing and is *also* a great beta as well as someone who shares my excitement for niche aus!

15. anything from your real life show up in your writing this year? yep! i really did cut a watermelon in half with an oyster shell for seeing things in a different light (sometimes research can be fun!) and i’ve also written two fics heavily inspired by my hometown (seeing things in a different light and we gotta make a decision) *and* there’s don’t let me drown in my mind whose first 1k is very heavily inspired by real events. like, i changed some of the things i was freaking out about but all of the descriptions and intrusive thought/executive dysfunction stuff was written from memory. 

16. any new wisdom you can share with other writers? join an irl writers/critique group that isn’t mainly for fic. no, i’m not saying this for some elitist reason or just because i love critique groups (okay, maybe a little for that last reason), but because it’s just a very different experience than having beta readers or people in your doc. i’m of the firm belief that listening to other’s work being critique can help you with your own, and i also think that critique groups are more likely to tell you if something needs a more drastic change. beta-ing and having people in your docs has a lot of positives, many of which you won’t necessarily get in a critique group, but getting critiques irl can offer you lots of positives as well. it doesn’t have to be one or the other! and you don’t have to disclose that you write rpf; i definitely don’t! finally, i do think that writing and critiquing are two separate skills, and if you want to build up your critiquing muscles you’ve got to exercise them (not that you have to if you don’t want to! there are plenty of brilliant writers who are terrible at critiques and there are some mediocre writers that are great at critiques, you don’t need one to do the other.)

17. any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year? so many it’s actually ridiculous. i would commit actual crimes to finish tis the damn fic this year, i started it in february and it is still no where near done and while i am absolutely in love with the characters and the world i just want it all to be on the page so i can share it with people already!! my new year’s resolution is actually to make some major headway on my fic challenge, and while i doubt i’m going to reach 24 i’d like to get semi-close. 15? 20? among those, i’m looking forward to several 5(ish)+1 fics i’ve got sizzling (faking the moonlanding au, mer!ashton au, another crackfic i won’t spoil), plus i’d love to finish up/start some more driving is for lovers fics because my brand is not going to make itself :)) 

18. tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read: i’m not sure if other people have tagged new people (that makes zero sense but hopefully y’all know what i mean lol) so i’ll just tag a few peeps: @cringeycal , @pixiegrl , @werewolfashton , @valiantnerdtm , @burstingsunrise , @kaleidoscopeminds , @tirednotflirting , and anyone else who wants to! (and if i tagged you and you don’t want to that’s totally fine! it’s not obligatory!)

[jacaranda-bloom]

FIC WRITER QUESTIONS

Thank you to the lovely @allwaswell16 @runaway-train-works @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed @uhoh-but-yeah-alright and @evilovesyou for tagging me to answer some questions about my writing.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

47

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

901,445 (Hoping to hit the Magic Million by the end of the year!)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

1 (One Direction)

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

When Tomorrow Comes 1155

The Baby Whisperer 950

Love, Ever After 898

Harry Poppins 856

Play Me A Memory 760

More under the cut…

5) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Oh gosh. Uhm. I don’t really write angsty endings? All my fics have Happy Endings and most have epilogues to round them out and tie them up in a bow. Perhaps I’d say If You’re Out There (I’ll Find You Somehow) purely because (spoiler ahead) the epilogue is written 100 years into the future so they’ve both passed.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Interestingly, I would actually say the answer is the same as above, If You’re Out There (I’ll Find You Somehow). The epilogue is so uplifting and I cry happy tears every time I re-read it. It’s written from the POV of their granddaughter and you get to see the world they had a hand in changing for the better through her eyes, so you get a sense of how impactful their lives were on the rest of society. Oof, tearing up right now just thinking about it.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Yeah, I have actually. I really enjoy doing new takes on an existing universes, although they aren’t always the easiest thing to pull off tbh. I’m not sure which I would say is the craziest, but the hardest to write was definitely The Peter Pan/Hook AU.

Harry Poppins - Loosely based on the book/movie Mary Poppins, but without any magical aspects.

Playing To Win - Set in the Big Brother house.

The Pirate and The Piper - A Peter Pan/Hook AU which I took a lot of liberties with.

In The Still Of The Night - My Dirty Dancing AU.

A Hungry Heart - This is a Great British Bake Off AU that is due out in September for the Cliche Fic Fest!

8) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Whoa Nelly. Yeah, I do. All the time. Every fic actually. There’s only one, Exposed, the only fic I’ve published that’s not rated Explicit and doesn’t have smut. But, to be fair, the challenge was to write exactly 666 words and I still managed to get the implication in there. Plus, Louis was naked and Harry was applying body paint for the majority of the story, so like, I think I can get a free pass on that one - I tried!

In terms of what type of smut, I guess it varies depending on the story. I tend not to push the boat out too far, but I do dabble in BDSM in quite a few of my fics. A recurring theme in the comments I receive is that my smut scenes are well constructed and detailed, without being too tedious or drawn out, which is lovely feedback to get because they can be challenging to write.

9) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Absolutely. Every single one.

10) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not often, people are usually so kind, but there have been a couple.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of!

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah, quite a lot, particularly on Wattpad, all with my full consent. That said, I’m thinking of stopping this because it’s getting a bit out of hand and I’ve been feeling uncomfortable about it recently for various reasons that I won’t bore you with here. 

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

Nope! I don’t think it’s really my thing tbh. I get very in my head about writing and struggle even to brainstorm or share too much until I’m well into a story.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Of the 47 fics I’ve written, there are 45 Larry, 1 Narry, and 1 Louis/Dermot O’Leary (I think mine is still the only fic with this ship hahahaa), so that’s probably a good indication of my fave writing ship.

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I have one lonely WIP sitting on AO3 from 2018. I keep promising myself I’ll finish it and it’s on my schedule every year, then I get distracted by other fics/fests and it gets pushed back. Plus, it needs a complete rewrite because my style has developed so much since I started it, so it’ll be a big job. Based on that, I think that the fic, in its current form, won’t ever be finished as the rewrite will completely wipe out what it was, although the underlying plot will still be there.

16) What are your writing strengths?

World building (or so I’m often told). I write very visually and people often say they can imagine the scene exactly, or that it’s like a movie, or that they think it’s actually a real place I’m describing, when most of the time it absolutely isn’t, it’s just something I’ve created in my weird brain.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue (although my lovely beta disagrees) and telling rather than showing. They’re both things I’m actively working on.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’ve never really considered it. It’s not something I’d shy away from necessarily, but it’s just never come up.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

One Direction. First and only.

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Wow. This is really tough because it changes over time. I find that once I’ve finished a fic I don’t want to revisit it for a few months because I’m kind of over it. But I find comfort in them after a while, like I get to go back to that happy place and immerse myself in that world and the characters again, similar to catching up with an old friend. It’s familiar. I think I also like different stories for different reasons and I’m drawn to various ones depending on my mood. My top 3 (although, ask me next week and the list will probably be completely different!) would probably be:

1. If You’re Out There (I’ll Find You Somehow). Written for the hybrid fic fest (a fest I created just for this fic lol). It’s not everyone’s cup of tea due to the hybrid aspect, but it’s one of the stories I feel is the most rounded from a character development perspective and the world building was pretty epic, if I can be so bold as to throw that out there myself!

2. No Going Back. One of my Big Bangs from 2020. I adore the way their relationship develops in this fic and the setting (as remote lighthouse keepers) was such a lot of fun to write. Plus I got to collaborate with an amazing artist who created an entire website as an accompanying travel blog which was truly wonderful.

3. From The Heart. This is a series I wrote for wordplay back in 2019. I had no idea that what I was doing was so unusual and so meta by having Louis essentially write for the equivalent of wordplay in the fic. It was such an fun way to share my writing process and challenges I encounter (exactly how many synonyms tabs do I have open at any one time?!) and I thoroughly enjoyed the outcome (although getting there was definitely a struggle).

~

This was really fun and thanks to anyone who made it this far! Writing brings me so much joy and is a wonderful outlet for all the imaginings in my head, so I appreciate everyone who supports me and joins me on that journey.

~

I’m pretty late with this and I’m not sure who has already done it but I’ll tag @fallinglikethis @homosociallyyours @lululawrence @reminiscingintherain and @beau-soleil-louis if they’d like to do this and haven’t already.

[spideywhites]

Hey spidey

Totally waiting for an update from u

For the prompts thing please tell me about Toshiro or Kousei in regards to:

🌍, 🤝, 💍, 💀, ✨, 📚, 😍 , 😇

Any and all of them will do.

[ 🌎 ] are there any aus you have for your muse? what are they like, and how is your muse different in them?

oh, tons. i always end up making AUs for literally every OC that i make, but usually i keep that in my head. they come around because i get super attached to an OC and want to fit them in everywhere!! for Toshiro, i have the general Konoha High School AU, Mythos AU, soulmate AU, ABO AU, and alternate meeting AU.

Konoha High School AU: nurse Toshiro ! honestly... he's probably just less traumatized and more happy-go-lucky. Mythos AU I've done a little one-shot about, with dryad Toshiro. Soulmate AU is . . . interesting, because it doesn't go as you'd expect. But i'm not going to say more on that just yet, in case i actually go through with making a little mini-fic for it. ABO AU is about Alpha Kakashi and Omega Toshiro being absolutely not the norm for their dynamics, and Toshiro being a late-presenting omega who is already halfway through his reforms when it hits, causing a whole new slew of political upheaval for the initially presumed beta. (honestly, might write a little thing about this too, but i shouldn't get ahead of myself lol) as for the alternate meeting au, it's mostly where they meet early on during the third shinobi war, when they're both actively child soldiers. trauma bonding? hm.

[ 🤝 ] how does your muse approach intimacy? are they hesitant, or do they like it? what types of intimacy do they like and dislike? (ex. physical intimacy, sexual intimacy, emotional intimacy, etc.)

toshiro is . . . simultaneously direct and nervous, depending on the type. he is very warm-hearted, but lawful (in a sense) and takes great stock in morality. he's comfortable with physical intimacy with children (hugs, holding hands, general paternal care) and close friends, otherwise he's not . . . touchy? or rather just uncomfortable with prolonged touch from strangers or people he doesn't feel close to. he'll tell you directly that he's uncomfortable, and maybe even give you a lecture on good-touch bad-touch lol. sexual intimacy is exclusive to his partner. he's not one for flings, as he doesn't feel exceptionally sexual impulses towards those he's not close to. emotional intimacy has to be the most complex.... he's very open with children, showing care and love with relative ease. if he feels like he's grown close to someone, he's not afraid to open up to them. he can be nervous and procrastinate for a time, but he always ends up as the type to make the first moves. not exactly 'heart on the sleeve', but is willing to jump when he comes to the edge.

[ 💍 ] does your muse have a “type” of people that they prefer to enter relationships with? is their type generally compatible with them, or does the dynamic tend to be toxic?

toshiro will say he doesn't have a type, but he definitely does! it's not exceptionally particular, but he's certainly more attracted to people who are 1) tall, 2) the type he can sit in quiet with, 3) independent, 4) have nice arms.

in most cases, he's pretty compatible with his 'type', though the variety of personalities you can get who also possess those four qualities is pretty huge. luckily he's very straightforward and oddly centered, so he will call out toxic behavior when he sees it and is unlikely to enter a relationship with someone before analyzing every facet of them and how they would work with him.

[ 💀 ] has your muse gone through anything traumatic? if so, how has this trauma affected them?

as a child soldier, you could say he went through... a bit of trauma. he was forced through a rigorous training schedule that he barely passed, considered a statistic, and thrown onto the battlefield where at most he was expected to serve as fodder or a distraction for better nin to use to their advantage. he was the sole survivor more than once, moved around and placed on multiple teams to fill space, and made to carry the bodies of other child shinobi back. obviously this still affects him mentally, but he used a lot of the accompanying rage to put a plan in motion and twist the world into something better.

[ ✨ ] what aesthetics or symbols do you reference when writing your muse? are these backed up by canon, if your muse comes from a canon? is there any specific relevance to these choices?

pale gold / rose / peach / crimson / ink & parchment / plants / the scent of rubbing alcohol / white / the sun & stars / soft kimonos / red piercings / warmth / spring / autumn

i use constant reference to these as a way to describe him and make him feel more .. . in the moment? like his presence is actually taking up space in the scene.

[ 📚 ] what books does your muse have on their bookshelf? what books would they like to have? if your muse isn’t an avid reader, is there anything they collect or might like to collect?

a few fuuinjutsu for beginners scrolls, heaps and heaps of medical texts, some cheesy romance novels, guilty pleasure enemies to lovers books. he doesn't have a lot of time to read for fun, so most of his bookshelves are stocked to the brim with reading material concerning his craft.

[ 😍 ] does your muse believe in true love? why or why not?

n ot . . . exactly. he thinks love is something you have to both feel and think about. you have to work for it, with it, and around it. he's not sure there's a true definition of true love when there are so many types, kinds, and versions that work better for different individuals. if everything with kakashi works out and they grow old together, he'd consider kakashi his true love, the love that worked out best for him. in short, he really thinks too much to believe in the unanalyzed concept, and he doesn't believe in 'love at first sight'... because that's just attraction.

[ 😇 ] what would your muse do if they became a god?

probably keep moving the same as he always does, unless he god powers give him better healing abilities. then he'd go around the countries fixing people up and trying to stop wars. essentially goes back to his original goal of ending child death in shinobi ranks. he's not fond of being a solo leader tbh.

[isthatbloodonhisshirt]

(This will probably be a 3-4 part ask, fyi) So I skimmed through Alpha Beta Omega when that post with the photoset popped up, mainly to remember if I've read it before. (I have a lot of opinions on the actions and stuff in that, and that's definitely a fic I can never re-read, but that's not what this ask is mainly about). But anyway: how soon after the video incident did Scott meet & become friends with Stiles? I can't imagine he would know what was happening and not mention it or say (1/3?)

anything, even if they were only acquaintances at that point. Like Scott knew who some of the pledges were, but did he know who the "targets" were (besides his own)? Because maybe I just read way too many 'true alpha' style fics but I can't imagine him not trying to warn people. (But then again I'm also basing some of this off of my college experience, which was a tiny campus (<2000 students) so warning people is probably easier said than done when you add a huge campus & class size) (2/3?) Also, no rush on getting back to my messages. I know you didn't actually say names with that comment but I'll out myself as one of them. I know I'm bad about sending literal essays sometimes (and then adding more later)   . I know I've told you but one of my best friends also doesn't always have enough spoons to actually respond to me with words, so sometimes our messages are only gifs & memes for weeks. But I still love you both just as much no matter how frequently or what style we talk with ❤

Okay listen. Listen. I can’t remember what I had for dinner yesterday, and I almost always eat the same thing (creature of habit + cheap + lazy) and you’re asking me to remember a fic I wrote when I just started in the TW fandom |D LOL I barely remember any of the fics in the Sterek New Year’s Extravaganza except the ones people seem to always bring up (Quickest Way to a Man’s heart, Not so Beauty, It’s Happening, Your Pain is my Pain, etc.). 

All I really remember from Alpha Beta Omega is that the prompt requirement for that day was Fraternities and I know exactly 0% about frats because 1) Girl, 2) Canadian, and 3) Not involved whatsoever with Greek row at my uni. Like, I’m 80% sure we had frats and sororities at my university --  I just Googled it, we did -- but I know nothing about any of that outside of movies |D AND MOVIES ALWAYS MAKE FRATS SEEM LIKE TRASH!!! So I had to go with what I knew (and sadly if I recall from the comments, a lot of people said most frats are like that. Not all! But most, which is depressing tbh). 

Anyway, in answer to your question remembering like, basically nothing about this fic, I would assume Scott and Stiles didn’t meet until way later. Scott definitely would’ve told Stiles about everything with Derek considering I’m pretty sure (if memory serves) that he left the frat specifically because it was trash and... he fell for his target right? It was Allison or something I think? I DON’T REMEMBER OKAY LOL. But yeah, Scott would’ve 100% told Stiles about the whole thing so they would’ve met after Scott had already left and Derek had already done his part. 

There’s a lot of fics in that entire series I’m honestly not super happy with because again, that was when I first started, didn’t really have a handle on the characters, and a lot of the prompts were things I would never write (frats being one of them, another being the friends with benefits, crossovers, etc.). On top of that, I rushed like, basically all of them because I was trying to get a fic out a day and some of them are LONG |D (I legit remember writing Not So Beauty on the fucking bus on my way home from work for a week because it was the only time I had to write it, and my brain was like “IMAGINE HOW GOOD THIS COULDA BEEN WITH YOUR COMPUTER!” because I defo cut corners. And we’re not gonna talk about the Human prompt because I hate that one and legit wrote it the same day it went up. Mistakes were made during that event, I am not proud, but you learn and grow from things, right? |D 

Anyway, not what we were talking about. Yes, Scott would’ve told him. 

And thank you ;~; AND SORRY! I just... need to do it. I keep watching the number go up and instead of doing something about it, I just hide from it |D But I know some people probably think I’m a bitch for not replying to them, or think I’ve like, idk, died? I WILL REPLY THOUGH! Maybe I should give myself a goal of like, 10 messages per week minimum or something |D I’LL REPLY TO YOU SOON THOUGH I PROMISE FORGIVE ME!!!!! <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3 

[bluegarners]

fanfic writer 20 questions

tagged by the wonderful and lovely @biromantic-nerd 

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 18! 

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

171089 words! that’s crazy tbh considering one fic comprises of 46% of that number

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

on ao3, I’ve published for only two fandoms: DC/Batman and Marvel/Spider-Man~ it used to be three, but i ended up discontinuing (maybe?? idk it’s been over three years dkjfhskjdfb) a Naruto fic. honestly, it should just be one since 17 out of 18 fics published are for DC lgjslfjdfs

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

a storge for you ~ 670 kudos (DC)

Tomorrow Is Not Tonight ~ 344 (DC)

mainstay ~ 304 (DC)

Enmity ~ 264 (DC)

even atlas crumbled beneath the weight (but i won’t) ~ 245 (Marvel)

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

yes!! i make it a point to respond to every comment i get because it means the absolute world to me that people read my stuff and even take the time to tell me that they liked it! personally, i get so excited whenever an author responds to one of my own comments, so i like to do the same!

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

oof, tough one.... i think it’s a toss up between Natural Disaster and approbation for the dead since both of them are largely surrounding how Dick dealt with the news of Jason’s death. honestly though, i have been told that most of my ending are angsty (true) so it could really be any fic alfhslkdjf

7) Do you write crossovers?

nope! i’m just not into enough fandoms to actively want to write a cross-over and publish it. a couple years ago when i was super into Naruto and Marvel, i had a lot of wips for a crossover between those two but never got around to fleshing them out

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

hmmm once or twice? when i was on ffn more, and i was still actively publishing for that Naruto fic i more-or-less shelved completely, i would get a few harsh criticisms, but it wasn’t really hate. i hadn’t gotten any on ao3 until about a week or two ago where someone commented and basically complained about the premise of the fic (of which i am 100% sure they either didn’t read or just skimmed through) but i wouldn’t really call it hate

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

nope! i am not comfortable writing sex related things, at least not to the point where it’s called “smut” and i don’t think i ever will be

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i’ve come across!

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope! i think it’d be really cool if it happened one day though... just the idea that someone liked the fic enough to want to spread it around in another language so someone else could read it is soooo amazing

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope! honestly, i am very exact with what i want to happen in a fic, so i don’t think i’d be a very good collaborate concerning that... i did used to beta a lot back in 2018 and 2019 though, and the main person i beta-ed for did a lot of world building and i helped them with that, so i am going to say, yesn’t

13) What’s your all-time favourite ship?

hmm i’m not too big into shipping but i do adore Dick/Kori. i’ve seen them across so many different forms of media and their dynamic is sooo good every time. i feel like they are just made for each other, their relationship is so beautiful

14) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

ahhh there are so many, but i started writing a Banana Fish fic and i have an entire plot on my phone, but i just don’t think i’ll ever have the time to actually get anything down for it even though i would really love to

15) What are your writing strengths?

i’d say emotion? or maybe characterizations? i really love getting down and dirty into the minds of the characters i write, and since my plots are typically very angsty and hurt/comfort, i have been told quite a few times that the characterizations make people tear up (in a good way!) and that they can see said character actually doing/saying the things i’ve written for them

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

getting to the point, probably. i get long winded with the fics i write because i focus so heavily on character rather than actual plot. so, fics that shouldn’t have been longer than 2k are 7k or more, and my biggest example for that weakness is a storge for you. the average chapter length is about 9.8k and i know for a fact that what was supposed to be a single chapter somehow evolved into a 50 page mess, so i had to split it into two

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

when it’s done well, and i think a lot of @/dustorange’s fics do this wonderfully, it is so brilliant and heartfelt to read. when it’s done for the sake of shoving “hey look this character is bilingual” in your face, it honestly feels a bit cluttered and unnecessary. i don’t really mix languages together in my fics because i don’t really know much else other than English and Latin, so i don’t want to be disrespectful by throwing words of a language i don’t speak into random dialogue

18) What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Naruto! i absolutely hated that Sakura got nerfed so hard in the show/was portrayed as really weak because she was compared to people with literal *hacks* in their genes, so i was obsessed with bamf sakura fics. and then i got bored after reading all of them and decided to write my own kjdfhskhfd i really liked the time-travel aspect of Naruto fics, so i decided to incorporate that too but then the plot got wayyy too big for me to handle, and that’s one of the reasons i kind of.... dropped it. and because i keep hinting at it, here’s the fic: War Happened

19) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

it’s gotta be a storge for you. it is my literal baby and i have sooo many plans for it. i’ve been pretty pleased with the way it’s going and how it’s been received so that makes me love it a lot more! i think The Call is a very, very close second though because it was the first fic i ever published for DC and it holds a very special place in my heart

20) Who do you tag?

i would love to tag:

@daringyounggrayson & @newsical & @ckbookish

[arsenicpanda]

Bughead Appreciation Day 1 Except It’s Day 2

So I spent yesterday nice and cozy in bed and put this off (good choice, tbh, I was very snug as a bug), but now, now comes the time for me to gush about some people in the fandom!  This is definitely not a comprehensive list, I have absolutely left some people out because I am very forgetful, but, in no particular order and under a cut because I’m a wordy bitch:

@tory-b: A delight and a dear, leading writer of monsterfucker!Betty, co-runner of @riverdaleprideandjoyzine, a legend and a friend, we have no choice but to stan.  Her stuff is so good and varied and just *chef’s kiss* a delight, two favorites of mine are Fangs/com/Match (Betty/dragon!Jughead meet via monsterfucker Tinder, has some great friendship moments with Kevin and Veronica and is v sexy and funny, features the horniest Betty) and Sticky Sweet Serenade ((past)-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers bughead, mixes up some statuses in Riverdale, excellent mystery, I remember reading it and going, “holy shit, a believable take on Northside!Jughead”).  I’ve also gotta mention Whats in a Name? (Betty and Jughead meet on tumblr, Betty writes poetry and Jughead is a shitposter, they slowly connect, it’s great) and To Balance the Scales (scientist!Betty/mermaid!Jughead, currently a slow build, I cannot wait for you guys to see the excellent worldbuilding she’s done).  I could keep going, or you could binge all her fics today, an excellent use of your Saturday, I assure you, because I’ve left a lot out.

@stillhidden: Always good for some great thoughts on the show, one of the best reasons for my your thoughts on Riverdale please show them to me tag, I get psyched every time I see a Riverdale text post or ask answer because I know I’m in for a good time.  Thoughtful and funny and nice, what a combo!

@satelliteinasupernova: So talented!  Author, artist, co-runner of @riverdaleprideandjoyzine, funny, haver of good thoughts on Riverdale is there anything she can’t do?  No, there is not.  Every time I see her art I’m like !!!, the colors! how well-drawn the hands are! the accuracy of their hair! the backgrounds! the way I can see the love in their eyes! I cannot even, there are no words.  Also!  Her fics!  So original!  One of my earliest memories in the fandom is reading The town called Riverdale (a sort of mystery about the meta fuckery going down in Riverdale, explores time loops, stories that control lives, the roles the Archie characters are “supposed” to have, a mash-up with concepts in Princess Tutu that requires zero knowledge of Princess Tutu) and going !!! is this a Princess Tutu mash-up?  Have I been #blessed enough to see a mash up between Riverdale, a story that fucks with archetypes, and Princess Tutu, one of the shows about fucking with archetypes and the way stories ontrol lives?  I was and I am and I raved to my non-fandom but Princess Tutu liker friend about it.  Has also wonderfully tackled eldritch horror in return to Eldervair and gothic horror/romance in The Lady of the Manor, does fluff, does angst, does it all, so go check her out!

@go-ldy: An angst and time skip queen, tbh, and always has some great thoughts on Riverdale, another reason I’m glad I have that tag.  Every time she answers an ask, I’m like, “Yesss, incoming Good Thoughts, I am HERE for this”.  But do not sleep on her as an author!  Into the Deep is some delightful dark!bughead, and I’ll walk with you in the shadows is such good time skip angst and a mystery and there’s a certain surprise I love but is a spoiler but you simply must read this, you must.  The Time after Time series is giving us that good angst bughead content that season 5 is not going to, and I’m so glad it exists and just thrilled that she trusted me to beta it.  I’m leaving a lot of stuff out though, so you should go check her out!

@milajovovich: One of the best gif makers in the fandom, I will fight you on this.  Makes absolute miracles with footage, the way she makes season 4 webrips look like they’re actual blurayrips is godly, they’re so crisp and so smooth and the coloring is always great.  And like, jesus, the way the bluray footage looks?  Fucking outstanding, the talent is off the charts.  Go marvel at their gifs, go, go.

@imreallyloveleee: A prolific, talented author and funny to boot!  loveleee is one of the people who has been here since the beginning, a mainstay in the fandom, and we are so, so lucky she hasn’t left.  How do I even begin to rec you some of her stuff?  She can write smut with fics like burn, baby (a 3x16 missing moment of bughead fucking in the car as the trailer burns, what a gift to the fandom, I can’t even), is queen of pining with fics like boy problems (season 1 post 1x05 canon divergence, a bughead get together but with that quality pining) and her i’m just a shot away series (two fics, one from Jughead’s POV and one from Betty’s, that are fully of pining and sexual tension and miscommunication and major teenage vibes, you gotta read them), and writer of one of the funniest fics in the fandom and one of my favorite, like spirits in the night (the core four + Kevin perform a seance to contact Jason Blossom and yes, it is just as funny as it sounds, perhaps even funnier).  And there are countless others, so settle in and go check her out because she does it all, fluff and angst too, I just don’t have time to rec them all.

@meditationonbaaal: Absolutely one of my all-time favorite fic authors, like across fandoms, the talent, I cannot even properly describe it, like the quality of the prose, amazing, iconic.  the devil’s daughter (a season 2 rewrite with some differences in season 1, jumps back and forth through time in the best way, has the best and creepiest dark!Jughead, has some great smut that includes dom!Betty and dom!Jughead can you believe we are so blessed, such a good rewrite of season 2, and you know how I love season 2, so that is some high praise, let me tell you) is easily in my top 10 all-time favorite fics across the many, many fandoms I’ve read many, many fics of, and you simply must check it out, you will not be disappointed.  develop, stop, fix just blew me away as a kink week fic of bughead playing with bdsm in a dark room, the layers, the smut, the trust, the feelings, I cannot even.  And doll parts!  doll parts is so good, just such an amazing take on drop dead gorgeous, a fabulous Jughead and Betty as per usual, dare I say even better than an already fantastic movie.  I am behind on loose lips sink ships, but I can already tell it’s going to be a great exploration of the Stonies and a great take on season 4.  Keep an eye on her stuff here and here, do not miss out!

@dieqohargreeves:  An icon and legend in gif making, just makes the most beautiful and intricate and creative gifs.  The coloring is amazing, the techniques are amazing, that shit is Art, I will fight you on this.  You gotta check ‘em out, you just gotta, I can’t do their work justice.

@sullypants:  The wit!  The humor!  The observational skills!  The talent, my god!  Sully is the genius behind @bettycooperoutfitwatch and @riverdalearthistory as well as a fabulous writer of both meta and fic, yet another excellent reason for me to keep up with others’ thoughts on Riverdale.  Her a comic miniverse series is so funny and sweet and such a great take on the Archie Comics version of bughead, and the after-party series (Betty and Jughead attend a, well, prom after party, and the events that happen, and I am not doing it justice, but it is v good, I promise) has such a great vibe and such great characterization.  And young adult friction (librarian!Jughead is in a kind of competition with librarian!Betty, it’s so funny and so great) is such a delight, and we do not have time to get into everything great she’s written, but go check it out here.

@lilibug--xx: The queen of bughead smut, can you believe she has graced us with her stuff?  It is steamy and it is in character and it is amazing.  Dark Cherry Chutney is still a fandom favorite of mine, just some great dark!bughead who are unaware of each other’s darkness (but oh, they find out!) as well as some excellent smut.  And Pressed for Time (Betty teasing Jughead with her skirts in an effort to get him to fuck her and he is barely holding on until he isn’t, alternating POVs in the best way) is sexy af but makes you work for it, it’s a delight.  And give you mine (Betty and Jughead fuck at work and it is so hot, I can’t even) is so goddamn good, just some of the best dom!Jughead out there.  Has also written monsterfucker!Betty, which you know I’m a fan of, in once upon a midnight (werewolf-hunter!Betty/werewolf!Jughead with sex pollen where she does not shy away from some wolfy-ness and it is hot af) and has written monsterfucker!Jughead, a rarity but always a delight, with reap what you sow (witch!Jughead/undine!Betty and Betty is so delightfully otherworldly and it is so sexy but also sweet), and there are countless other smut fics, we would be here all day if I went through them all, so you gotta check her out here.  One more thing though: she can also write fluff with Lemon Drops and Chocolate Chips, a sweet fic of Betty and Jughead as neighbors that you should definitely check out.

@thatiranianphantom:  Funny and thoughtful and talented and has correct opinions on musicals!  Writes such good explorations of post-4x17 (and post-4x17 adjacent) scenarios.  Like, the we are a masterpiece series is v good and so interesting, and no one else is singing my song is such great angst as a post-4x17 fic and a great use of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend songs.  I am forgetting a lot of stuff, I know I am, and I think I might be behind like a fool, so let’s go check out all her stuff together here, yes?  Yes.  Also?  Great for Riverdale speculation, especially about the season 5 musical episode.

@heartunsettledsoul:  So talented, queen of canon missing moments, and funny to boot!  I love reading her liveblogging of the episodes, and I cannot recommend her stuff enough.  Her Forgotten Moments series of canon missing moments is iconic, you must go read all of it, especially there’s witchcraft in your hips, a post-2x13 fic of Betty and Jughead being such teenagers and Jughead being a dweeb about his cheerleader girlfriend and I am not doing it justice but you gotta go read it, man, you gotta.  But the series is full of gems from the beginning with Midnight Silence (Betty and Jughead talk post-1x04 about the Grundy debacle and it’s such a delight) and going all the way through to the most recent it might’ve been a nightmare (a 4x12 through 4x16 fic that gives me a wide range of emotions and is fantastic) and your eyes look like coming home (Betty’s diary entries throughout season 1, simply inspired).  But she’s also so good at AUs!  a dark world aches (for a splash of the sun) is already looking so good as a bughead mystery with some varchie fun on the side, just some quality core four content, and won’t be the same (if you’re not here with me) is a favorite of fake dating, Christmas, and there was only one bed, just the best tropefest.  And there are so, so many more, so you must check her out here.

@lovedinapastlife: She writes such a variety of AUs, I am just in awe of them all!  The talent, I am amazed.  The dark!bughead in The Society is peak dark!bughead with a simply iconic yandere!Betty, and you are seriously missing out if you have not read it yet.  Oh, and there’s some more dark!Jughead with a side of dark!Betty in the key to harm(ony) that you must check out because it’s such a great ride and is sexy, what more could you want?  Every movie AU she does really takes the source material and makes it her own from works You Drive Me Crazy (but I'm gonna keep on loving you), based on Drive Me Crazy and definitely better than the movie, to the most recent to all the boys (but especially you), based on To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and just so sweet.  But also can write otherworldly fics like Heart’s Desire with genie!Betty and The Second Coming with fae!Jughead, as well as regular aus like Detention (Betty and Jughead in detention and it gets a little sexy but also quite cute), and pure porn like Eye of the Beholder (Betty and Jughead as sorcerers who hook up over sorcerer Tinder and it is sexy but also sweet), as well as some of the best ABO in fandom with her A/B/O Mine series (alpha!Jughead/omega!Betty in high school and holy shit is it hot as hell).  I am only just skimming the surface here, so definitely go check her out!

@kyloren aka @jughead-jones:  Mila is so talented at making gifs, like goddamn, and also so funny, but I bet you didn’t know that she also has written some damn good fic!  She hides it, but it is out there and it is very good, my favorite being let me hang my hook on your splendor, a fandom fave of a Scooby-Doo au that is so much more thoughtful and clever with its casting, and also very amusing, you must check out the rest of her stuff here.

@elizabethbettscooper: A delightful person and a delightful writer who is largely retired from the bughead fandom but still such a talent, like seriously.  Her Twin Peaks Riverdale AU The Past Dictates the Future is so good, you simply must check it out, like you must.  And yours was the first face i saw is such a fun AU of “what if Betty’s crush on Archie was a front for her crush on Jughead”, you must go read it.  And holy shit, her i may be bad (but i’m perfectly good at it) series is peak dom!Jughead/sub!Betty taking place when they’re in college and fucking in so many varied ways, like if you are into that, you must go read these fics, you must, you will have a great and sexy, sexy time.  And there’s so much more good stuff, you gotta go read it all here.

@bettycreeper: She does so much for the fandom and she makes such gorgeous gifs!  Like, the coordination she does on the @bugheadfamily server and @bugheadfanfictionawards and @riverdale-events and probably elsewhere cannot be understated, she is such a valuable presence in the fandom.  And have you seen her gifs?  Gorgeous quality, just gorgeous, and her movie poster gifs for fics are simply inspired.  Also?  She’s an amazing beta, just outstanding.

@stillscape: A very thoughtful person and excellent writer who I can’t seem to tag.  Dianthus Caryophyllus is still one of my favorite fics in the fandom, a high school bughead fic with some amazing pining from Jughead with an oblivious Betty, I can feel it, it’s so good.  And of course there’s Ninia, an amazing take on the soulmates trope, just so good, I cannot do it justice, you must check it out.  The for the life of me series is also such a good AU for Betty and Jughead getting together pre-Riverdale at a summer internship, I have such fond memories of it.  And la peste (the plague)!  So good, I cannot even.  We don’t have time for everything, except you should make time and go check all of it out here.

@theheavycrown:  God, where would we be without Sarah?  She does so much work for the @bugheadfamily and @bugheadfanfictionawards and @riverdale-events and @riverdalecentral and I’m probably forgetting some, tbh.  And so sweet and talented!  Her gifs are fantastic and so are her fics.  Like, Rain Comes Down (Betty and Jughead fucking in the car on the side of the road while cars drive by)?  Iconic, some amazing exhibitionism.  you had me howling(Betty in heat in the woods and then Jughead finds her and fucking ensues)? Fantastic ABO, so horny, so desperate.  Beneath the Silver Moon Rising?  Excellent dom!Jughead, excellent sexy times.  You must go check out all of her stuff here, you must.

@50shades-of-bughead:  Just some of the absolute cutest art that you must check out, especially their series of dark!bughead that is just fantastic.

@thepointoftheneedle: The variety of work here is phenomenal, the talent, I cannot.  Took my ridiculous double fake marriage/draft-dodging concept and turned it into an excellent, thoughtful period piece with phenomenal characterization and a great mystery with Never No Locomotive, I cannot recommend it enough.  And Ghosts and Clouds and Nameless Things (ghost!Jughead/grieving-dead-Jughead!Betty with a side of mystery) gave me so many emotions, I think I almost cried, and I am not a crier, I assure you.  Hey Pixie Dream Girl, I’m Coming for Your Man! (Betty in her bookstore saves Jughead from his date with a Manic Pixie Dream Girl) is so delightfully funny, and Sunflowers (Betty and Jughead share a working space and fall in love) is so goddamn cute.  I have actually found myself behind on her work, which is a crime, it all looks so amazing and I know it will be, and you must check all of it out with me here.

@hellodinoflower:  Such an amazing presence in the fandom, such a delight, so clever and funny.  She ran @bugheaddrabblechallenge this past summer and gave us all so much joy in the process, and, while her fics are deleted now (as is her right), I promise you that they were amazing, you all missed out if you slept on her.  She’s such a great follow, you gotta follow her.

@bluevelvetvideo:  A delighful soul, great character insight, great writing.  Like, her smut is fantastic, have you read Arsenal (a double feature of Betty and Jughead fooling around in public and then having some sexytimes back in private with some quality dom!Jughead, let me tell you, v steamy)?  Because you should.  Christmas Lights (Jughead ties Betty up with their Christmas lights, it’s fantastically sexy) is a delight, and you can’t blame gravity (for falling in love) is a very fun take on soulmates and soulmarks, and you simply must go read it.  She is a master of smut, let me tell you, and you must check out all her stuff here.  Also?  An excellent beta, 10/10, I’m so lucky to have her.

@a-true-janian-reply:  Very funny, has excellent thoughts on Riverdale!  Like, truly, every time I see an original text post or a reblog from her, I am PSYCHED because it’s always going to be SO GOOD.

@writeradamanteve:  Such great talent across genres, really impressive.  Drive (illegal drag racing Betty and college student but former-ish Serpent Jughead, just fantastic) is one of my earliest fandom favorites, I remember excitedly telling my non-fandom friend about it because I thought it was so clever, and we all know how good Daemon Bound is, yes?  Yes, I’m sure we do.  Let’s go make sure we’ve read all her stuff here.

@thugheadjones:  Has some great insights, some great responses to dumb anons, and some fantastic art, like holy shit, I cannot even.

@bugggghead:  A delightful soul, so nice, so talented.  Writes some amazing smut, like, have you read intimately acquainted (alpha!Jughead/omega!Betty, meeting up on an app to help Betty with her heat in a heat retreat, four chapters of excellent smut)?  Because you should if you’re even kind of interested in ABO.  And en pointe is the bughead knifeplay fic of dreams, you gotta check it out.  And there are so many other ones, we do not have time to cover them all.  She also does cute fics, btw, and Message Me (fanfic-author-who-is-actually-the -real-author!Jughead/gif-maker-and-fangirl!Betty meet on tumblr and fall in love and it’s great) is such a delight, definitely go check it out.  In fact, go check out all her stuff here.  Also a fantastic beta, I really owe her for that.

@heavy-lies-the-crown:  A talented soul who has written so much high quality fic, from the hilarious red ribbon winner (a Christmas fic comedy that I cannot describe well but I assure you is both hilarious and sweet) to the emotional and moving road to me (Betty and Jughead break up, find themselves, and come back together and it’s perfection) to the heart-ripping angst of apizza (a semi post-4x17-speculation fic of bughead together but apart at Yale and the way they will come back together and it is so good and so angsty) to many, many more.  You gotta go check it all out here.

@lurker-no-more:  Yet another funny person, we as a fandom are so blessed, you must check them out, you just must.

@iconic-ponytail:  Another excellent writer!  a revelation in the light of day is SUCH a great slowburn and  SUCH a great take on both FBI!Betty and Sheriff!Jughead and the two of them falling in love as adults.  Also, the side varchie is fantastic, and the mystery is amazing.  I have not yet checked out the nighthawks, but I already know it’s going to be good, I can tell, you can trust this author to be quality, so go check all of her stuff out here.

@soyforramen:  Funny!  Very funny!  Also?  Writes some great ficlets that are, I think, exclusive to tumblr, which is a tragedy, tbh, but as is their right.  But I do have the link to this genius fic about bughead and a platypus in honor of the platypus anon that was going around this summer.  Definitely go check them out!

And now I am very tired, I have used up my energy, and I am so sorry if I forgot anyone!

[crispyjenkins]

Hi Crispy! I was just wondering how do you write characters with multiple pronouns (he/they, she/they)? I’m having trouble trying to vary them throughout my story but it just feels strained on my end. I only have my own experiences to go off of as a fledgling non-binary person and I can’t find any writing resources on the subject. It’s ok if you don’t have an answer I was just wondering!

hmmm that's am excellent question! and like most things, there isn't any one answer. (so of course my answer is heckin long rip)

my personal experience with varied pronouns is, for lack of a better word, varied (ﾟ◡ ﾟღ) when i first started going by he/they (oh lord like six years ago??), I was one or the other for whole days or weeks, and i was going by two names also, so myself and others would associate they/them with one name and he/him with the other. truthfully, i've never written this dynamic

i rarely pass as masculine usually, and i've found in work environments it was so so much easier to have coworkers and customers use he/him because i want to be read as masculine first, if that makes sense? like i wish there was a masculine-they/them if that makes sense? (ღಥ◡ ಥღ)

i have only ever had one person in my life successfully bounce between he and they evenly for me, i honestly don't know how they made it look so effortless to just. use both in a conversation or when they're telling someone about me?

in the context of writing, i still struggle switching, say, obi-wan's pronouns to they/them when i normally write them with he/him? like i'm thinking specifically the agricorps obi, good lord i kept forgetting their pronouns and automatically writing masculine ones. and it was hard to correct in editing, because it. read really normal? it didn't actually stand out to me reading it back, i think largely because obi-wan already has masculine pronouns in canon. WHILE writing it though, blehhh it took me out of the groove a lot because i was constantly having to correct myself and then i'd worry about if i was being clear enough on who's who in a sentence, or with dialogue tags, and i relate to the struggle you're describing A Lot. (i'm writing an nb din right now where they also aren't sure of grogu's pronouns so it feels like a MESS of they/thems everywhere, but then i realised it would be a mess if they were all he/hims, too, i'm just more like. acclimatised to gendered pronouns and was way over thinking it)

now, i also had this problem in hunger 'verse, using Naberrie for obi-wan. it felt clunky and out of place and i was constantly correcting myself.

i guess what i'm getting at is that like 99% of the time, the clunky you feel while writing is because it's something you've never done before, and/or are worried about doing it "right" (or respectfully) , and/or are worried you're not making it clear enough.

i've written varied pronouns like you're describing only once, and i never posted it because i never finished it. i got caught up in worrying about if the readers would understand, if i needed to have an explanation in the notes, if other nb folx were gonna tell me i was doing it wrong

i'm all over the place in this answer omf, but my advice is this: there's no formula for how often you switch between he and they, she and they, etc., because every nb's ratio is different, if that makes sense. if your character doesn't lean any more to one side than the other, i sincerely don't think it matters how or when you change up their pronouns (except maybe not in the same sentence, unless in dialogue; jury's out on switching it up in the same paragraph, i think that's up to you!)

it'll be a little strange for readers, only because they've likely never read that before (lord knows i haven't 🥲) but it's a little strange for those reading a they/them character for the first time, too. it's just a new experience, and by the time the reader really gets into the story, they won't notice it

i don't believe in the "only write what you know" because fuck that, BUT using your own experiences as inspiration or a starting off point or as a learning tool is important too! i can't tell you how important it was for me to start writing obi-wan with hunger 'verse, because he was 22 and i was 22 and I needed that connection to really solidly and understand what i was wanting from him in everything else i wrote for him (as well as everyone else in star wars tbh)

so maybe that's a starting point for you? if you go by, or are wanting to go by varied pronouns, there's nothing stopping you from applying that to the character you're writing. when would YOU switch between them? how frequently? do other characters know or is it only in their internal dialogue/exposition?

your writing feels clunky and forced because you're writing it. when i'm unsure if something is clear enough or too confusing, i usually send it to my kid @theclonewarsbrokeme, and cannot recommend another set of eyes on your work enough. not even a full beta reader or anything, just someone else to look at it while you're writing, largely because, quite often, it reads just fine

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with VivWiley

VivWiley has X-Files stories at more archives than I could list, but you can find the biggest collection (30 stories) at AO3. She's been prolific and around the fandom for a long time. I've recced some of my favorites of her stories here before, including Autumn's Threshold and Equilibrium. Big thanks to VivWiley for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

It does and it doesn’t.  As someone who is always discovering new shows and new fandoms, I know that one of the first things I do is go hunting for the related fic.  I love the ways that fanfic can fill in missing gaps, give us other POVs, and just generally help us see characters that we love (or are growing to love) in new lights. The X-Files, in particular, left so many freaking plot holes and jumps in logic, that I suppose it’s logical that people newly discovering TXF would gravitate to the fic.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

First, I should say that my “fandom” experience was really limited to the fanfic for TXF.  I didn’t get involved in discussions about the actors, the show runners, etc. Nor did I go to any of the conventions.  But, from the fanfic experience, I remain astonished by how many smart, funny, wonderful women I met (sorry, guys, I know you were out there, but I mostly didn’t get to know you), and how many of them are still close friends. My life would be infinitely less interesting and rich without all those friendships.

I also took away from that experience a confidence in my own creativity that I didn’t previously have.  I have done a great deal of professional writing throughout my career – policies, reports, protocols – but TXF fic writing allowed me to exercise a whole other part of my brain and heart.  It was fun and also felt like another way of learning and building a skill set I’d lacked.

Finally, I say that it was an early exposure for me to both the good and ill that online communities can foster.  There so many amazing acts of kindness and support.  One of my friends organized the Beta Readers Circle, a group of volunteer fic editors who would read and help you with stories on everything from grammar to “is this character acting in character” questions.  I both used and volunteered with the BRC. On the flip side, some of the discussion threads on the email lists could get a bit ugly.  Forerunner to the comment threads on today’s posts. So, humanity in a nutshell, right?

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

I initially discovered XF fic through a Washington Post article that was trying to drum up interest in the World Wide Web (as it was then talked about).  Every week, they featured a list of “hey you might find this cool/interesting” sites, and one week one of the sites they listed was the Gossamer archive.  I dove in and emerged utterly hooked.  I also discovered one of the early fic mailing lists (the name of which now escapes me), and from there I began sending feedback, which allowed me to start building relationships with authors, etc.  I later joined other mailing lists like Scullyfic, Sparky’s Doghouse, etc. I never connected with atxc or the message boards, really.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

The characters! Particularly Scully, at first.  It was clear from almost the beginning that the “story arc” (or the notion that there actually was an arc) was pure fiction, but I loved the relationships between the characters, the nuances that so many of them had, and the interplay of the notion of skeptic-believer could have.  And, of course, later on, Skinner was a personal favorite. [Lilydale note: VivWiley wrote a number of really great fics featuring Skinner.]

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

In many ways I think about TXF and TXF fandom in the same way I think about fond memories from high school or college.  Something that helped shape who I am today, in ways that aren’t always straight-forwardly apparent.  I still don’t really get involved (or care TBH) about the lives of the actors, the politics of the show construction, etc. I keep in touch with a large number of fandom alumni, and we will still occasionally reference the show, but our real-life connections have long-since overtaken TXF as our common denominator.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

I read and wrote in several other fandoms post-XF, but nothing ever grabbed me in the same way, and I certainly never found the kind of real community that I did through XF.

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

I think I’m drawn to characters who are human – flawed, nuanced, neither purely good nor purely evil – and who are ultimately driven by higher principle or purpose, even as they make mistakes along the way. From early days, King Arthur was a particular favorite, as are Raederle from the Riddle Master of Hed series (Patricia McKillip), Sam Vines (Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series), and Codi Noline (Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver).

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

I did watch the most recent reboot/seasons of XF (and try not to think of them too much as I don’t need that kind of stress).  I do think about Mulder, Scully and Skinner on occasion.  Sometimes when the news reports something particularly weird or absurd, I wonder how Mulder and Scully would react to that, or amuse myself by thinking about how Skinner would be clenching his jaw and subtly undermining the current misuse of federal law enforcement resources.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I still read a lot of fic.  I kind of cycle through fandoms.  I read a lot of Marvel stuff, but have gone through other fic cycles.  I tend to find an author I like and then follow them into other fandoms.  That is, if I can find characters and stories in those fandoms that call to me.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

I’m a really old school XF ficcer, so some of the folks who drew me into the genre were writers like Madeleine Partous, Parrotfish, Meredith, MustangSally, Rivka, etc.

There are so, so many other writers and authors I could mention, so I think I’ll just stick to some of my early favs.

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

In XF, my favorite is Equilibrium.  It was the most plotting I’d done, and one where I wrote from several POVs and where I had to really let the characters tell the story. In order to avoid spoilers, I’ll just say that there was a moment where a character did something I thought was really stupid, and I actually quit writing the story for about a week during which I argued with the character.  Then I had to go back and just let the story unfold. It’s the only time I’ve ever actually shed tears while writing a scene, but at the end of the day (end of the story?) it was the correct decision for the story I was writing.

Of other fandoms in which I’ve written, I think Fieldstripping (Farscape) and Gravity is not Responsible for your Fall (Firefly/Serenity) are ones where I felt I got it most “right.”

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I actually have a long Skinner-related story that I’ve been threatening to write for about 10 years.  I have it 80% outlined and a very clear picture of the first and last scenes…. I just need to find the energy and focus to sit down and start writing.  I think I finally tracked down all my old fic and it’s posted up to AO3.

What's the story behind your pen name?

Which one?  Ha!  I’ve had a few.  Viv Wiley is a weird one – it just sort of came to me while driving one day.  Not entirely sure where it came from, just settled into my brain while at a stoplight in Northern Virginia (where I was living at the time).  I ultimately consolidated all my fic under that name.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

Some friends and family know.  I’m judicious in who I tell.  I think people find it surprising, and of course, up until 5 years ago or so, I’d have to explain what fanfic is to most folks.  Now it’s so mainstream that I think if I were to tell someone new about it they wouldn’t be that surprised.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

Everything is on AO3 under VivWiley

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

At the end of the day, what I care about is stories.  I think about the Doctor Who quote:  We’re all stories in the end, just make it a good one.  I am so grateful for all the nooks, crannies, and giant chasms of plot holes that the XF writers left for us to fill in.  Through that filling in, I discovered so many other wonderful stories, and wonderful writers and people.

(Posted by Lilydale on September 8, 2020)