#thank gods for ao3 and every single one of its writers

[deathbyoctopi]

The year is finished, so it is time to look back and go through the best AO3 treasures I found these last 12 months!! And since XueXiao has been the bane of my existence ever since i discovered it, I decided to make a top 10 list of them! 

So these are (in no particular order) my favourite (song)xuexiao fics:

- the backyard is full of bones by @veliseraptor  A thoroughly enjoyable what-if with Xiao Xingchen being a bit smarter about the wounded man he found. Extremely well paced and written, it eases into the enemies-to-lovers dynamic perfectly, and it depicts characters so believable and well-rounded that it practically feels like canon. 

- I promised you a garden by @lady-of-the-lotus  A short snippet into an alternate timeline where Song Lan’s consciousness is trapped in a paperman and forced to bear witness to the yizhuang’s (very sexy) domestic life. Cute and frustrating and very, very satisfying. (One of those where Song Lan’s not having a good time, which might be one of my favourite tags). 

- Now that I see you by @10holmes​  Don’t usually go with unfinished projects, but this one is an absolute treasure which’d need to work very hard to go awry, so of course I’ll have it here. We have a double canon divergence with Not Blind!Xiao Xingchen, and Amnesiac!Xue Yang!! Which make for a delightfully angsty relationship as they both tiptoe around each other, all while battling with internal turmoil, conflicting morals and a misplaced low sense of worth. A fic absolutely worth keeping track of. 

- The prisoner of Jinlintai by @fieri-sentio-et-excrucior  A rather recent project that had us in tethers for a month and a half (!) with the very sexy prompt of Xiao Xingchen being framed and arrested by the Jin, while a certain guest disciple with a sweet tooth was still around... Another enemies-to-lovers with a wonderfully natural evolution in their relationship, with the extra treat of a rich and entertaining world building that could easily sprout a few spin-offs. 

- Nothing but a way of shading blood by @veilchenjaeger​  This one is very recent, but it shoot up to my top 10 immediately, both for the marvelous writing style and the perfect way they executed the prompt. It provides just the right amount of anguish in Xiao Xingchen, before and after certain discoveries are made, and the diplomacy game with Jin Guangyao and his minion just adds an extra flavour in an already spicy mix. 

- Heaven has a road but no one walks it by @silvysartfulness​  The second (and last) ongoing project here, but just as deserving of the spot. This book-sized treasure is a long journey of (re)discovery, of a slowly kindling relationship with wonderful twists and turns. The slow pace balances out perfectly with some intense (and, in one occasion, thriller-like) action scenes. Also, it was the fic that made me see SongXueXiao with a more favourable opinion.  

- lie back and let me unlock you by @veliseraptor  A short and extremely sexy xuexiao roll in the hay, with the amazing prompt of Xiao Xingchen being (quite shamefully) aroused at the thought of his old enemy Xue Yang, and good ol’ Chengmei offering to rolplay. The result is even more unbelievable that what you can imagine! 

- On the topic of cold by @andreri25  A cute little snippet in the early days at Yi City, where Xiao Xingchen almost dies from hypothermia and Xue Yang has to keep him warm. So what if he takes advantatge? Daozhang won’t remember, and he does need some hot friction after all! It’s wicked and cute in equal parts, because Xue Yang starts off really concerned (even if he wouldn’t admit it or know why, really) but changes gears when the danger is over...

- Final victory by @fieri-sentio-et-excrucior​  A funny concept very well executed, particularly in the emotional response both Xiao Xingchen and Xue Yang give at the different turns of the plot. Daozhang discovers that his old enemy is in town, killing people, and after recovering from the surprise, Chengmei offers his help to hunt him down. Cue some well-placed deceit and a cruelly cute happy ending. 

- it hurts at first (but it ain’t that bad) by @veliseraptor  Yet another change in dynamics with Xiao Xingchen discovering his mysterious friend’s identity, if only this time because Xue Yang flat-out tells him (well, he thought he was done for anyways). What follows is a wonderful deluge of arguments, moral dilemmas and Xue Yang’s particular brand of twisted social logic that allow a deeper (and less deadly) reprise of their last canon conversation. Just lovely. 

Which one of those I like best? I don’t know. I don’t care! They are all fantastic. 

AND, since this year was also the first I started actually writing some original content, and not only devouring other artists amazing works, lemme put them here as well >w<

- Phantom Threat  The foregone conclusion of all the fix-its that have xuexiao become an item (sans hidden identities, that is), in which Song Lan arrives at Yi City and does what he should have done in canon and talks directly with Xiao Xingchen, to reveal the terrible secret... which he already knows about. 

- To carry a bit of yesterday  A small slice of life in the Three Year Bliss, where Xiao Xingchen wants a family portrait and despite being quite contrary to the idea, both a-Qing and Xue Yang end up complying. It has amazing art by @wrathyforest​, too!! ^-^

AND FINALLY, just a few non-xuexiao fics I also loved to the moon and back, but have little-to-no connection other than belonging to the mxtx universe. 

- You’re stuck with me by LikeAFlamingKiss_Consume  A delightful jadecest with dark!Lan Xichen (well, dark!Everyone and their mother, it’s a fucked up AU) and a reluctantly horny Lan Zhan. 

- Blood array by @giraffeter​  Though it could technically be a xuexiao fic, the actual fucking here is between Demonic Gremlin Team Extraordinaire! Xue Yang and Wei Wuxian, sooo... doesn’t count. The fic is entertaining, very sexy and their interaction is marvelous to follow! 

- Despite warning signs by @extrapenguin​  A surprisingly cute and light-hearted Xue Yang/Mo Xuanyu little treat, from their days as Jin disciples. A happier alternative reality for both of them, with fluff and smut in equal parts, which never fails to make me smile. 

- Qi Rong’s day off by @ahintofblue​  Too bad the only tgcf fic to make the cut is a very, very nsfw alternate outcome of the mausoleum scene from book 2, but what can I do? The writing’s so smooth and engaging, it’s rough and cruel and I loved every single minute of it. 

I have the gnawing feeling I’m still forgetting something, either here or in the xuexiao part... but until I discover the way to check which fics I left kudos in, I either go through an ocean of titles from my ao3 history page (that won’t even let me filter!!!) or I just wait for my two braincells to click one day. Oh, well!

Thanks for reading, and to all writers, THANKS FOR WRITING!!! I love you all. Have a happy new year!

[deathbyoctopi]

OP you asked for it, you got it! >w<

Dogtective Columbo - Show Chapter (AO3)

There has been a murder! And the culprit is very pleased with himself, no way he's getting caught for this. His plan is flawless! The police are completely fooled!

...Why is this dog squinting at him so much?

A silly little story in which Columbo is a dog.

what would you do if you murdered someone and this thing showed up at your doorstep and started questioning you

[rwrbficrecs]

Readers' Choice Rec List Part 1 of 7

To celebrate 500 followers we thought we'd do a special rec list featuring recs submitted by all of you, the readers ❤️ Though at the time of posting this, we're at 800+ followers 🥺 From the volunteers and I, thank you for supporting this blog. We hope it's been a helpful resource! Hope you enjoy these recs, with a little comment from the reader. Thank you to everyone who submitted a fic rec 🥰 I'll be posting a list everyday till all 7 parts are posted Go and leave these authors some love ❤️ Happy Reading! Theme: A fic that you’d like to celebrate and give some love to ❤️ the poem you make of me by @omgcmere

@celaestis1: Just as they speculate under the linden tree, Henry is a writer; Alex a model. The story is just so beautiful, sweet and smutty and funny.

Omakase by @orchidscript

@historicallysam: Orchid made me fall in love with a brash American who wants respect and a stoic Brit who wants to be himself. I could read this story every single day.

We'll Invite Something In by @smc-27

@historicallysam: President ACD & HRH Prince Henry, grown up and willing to work for what they want. It's one of my top two favorite stories in this fandom.

Spoke Love to Soul by @celaestis1

@emmalostinwonderland: The story is gripping, the characters are compelling, and the myth they chose is really under-appreciated. I rode the entire rollercoaster of emotions with this one, and I would gladly do it again.

cover to cover by Anonymous

anon: The characters' voices are amazing and the narration is just super sweet! A feel-good fic for anyone craving a good intimate time.

On Thin Ice by @pirates-against-heterosexuality (WIP)

anon: A really sweet, in progress, NHL AU. It's in progress but It's really enjoyable so far, especially as it draws a lot of similarities to book moments, without being a copy.

Heartaches and Cupcakes and Sunshine Boys by @everwitch-magiks

anon: This was the first RWRB fic I read, and it's still my favorite! Henry as a writer (and her skill writing as Henry) and the emotional depth of this fic are things I need in every fic!

love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves by @kapplebougher

anon: I am simply OBSESSED with this oneshot, I scream about it to anybody that will listen. I come back and read it every time I read the climax of Alex and Henry's argument in London. It is Henry POV and the first time I read it I truly wondered if it was CMQ writing Henry fic on AO3. Not only does it build on the signet ring and give background on what it means to Henry and parallels it with his parents, but it also weaves fire/water symbolism for Alex/Henry. The thing that gets me is the quote at the end though. It's just like the queer historical quotes from the emails in the books and it makes the ending SO PERFECT it just makes me go feral. I wish I could give it all the kudos!

Picture On Your Corkboard by bleedingballroomfloor

anon: absolutely beautiful and a roller coaster of emotions. 100% recommended.

religion's in your lips (even if it's a false god) by @coffeecatsme

anon: NSFW but also incredibly good and i need everyone to appreciate billie's writing!!!

Someday We Will Be Home by witchseeker1133

anon: this fic is incredibly special to me bc it was one of the first ones i read. it is very angsty but i think its worth a read.

[callmearcturus]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by @lo-fi-charming

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 82, 83 if you include the one I wish I hadn't orphaned.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 2,721,477 words

3. What fandoms do you write for? Oh boy. Homestuck, The Magnus Archives, Mission Impossible, Borderlands, Welcome to Night Vale. Some one-offs in other fandoms. First really cut my teeth on The Dresden Files.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? Let's seeeee.

dustsceawung (The Magnus Archives) with 4,600 kudos

a steady hand, a delicate man (The Magnus Archives) with 3,316 kudos

dripping with alchemy (Borderlands) with 2,663 kudos

The Eurydice Suite (Homestuck) with 2,164 kudos

I'll bring the motion (The Magnus Archives) with 2,163 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? When I have something fun or interesting to say, yeah. I don't wanna just say "thanks!" on every comment so I tend to try to repay the comment with a tidbit or something?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hmmm. See I'm a Happy Ending Guaranteed kind of writer so I don't know. Maybe we float before the sea at dusk because it's technically a bad end?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? GOD that's hard... I think maybe all the world is earth and water or the Five Years Later ending of The Eurydice Suite.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not anymore. 8)

9. Do you write smut? what's smut never heard of her

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I'm going to choose to interpret this as "fusions" instead of "crossovers" and in that case I have written....

Homestuck/Inception (The Eurydice Suite), Homestuck/Kinda Sorta John Wick (so we don't kill the ones we love), Homestuck/Fallout New Vegas (out here the good girls die), and WTNV/Good Omens (all plans are golden in your hands)

Out of those, I think the New Vegas one is the most out-of-left-field.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? By now, at least 10 times that I'm aware or.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? A few times, yep! Russian and Ukrainian I think.

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

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? I despise this question and if this question had a face, I would punch it. I assume this has to be a ship I have written since this is a writing questionnaire.

In my heart of hearts, it's Karkat and Kanaya. I enjoy their platonic love more than any romance pairing....

SEE THE PROBLEM WITH THIS QUESTION is that I... think for me personally, the pairing is a vehicle of the wider story/themes, so I can't say "Oh its DirkJake" because to me the KTOWL DirkJake is wildly different from, like, TES DirkJake.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The barely-inspired-by-Hellboy AU that I should probably just write as an original story. But I won't because I'm a coward, lmao.

16. What are your writing strengths? Consistency and structure, I think. I'm a tradesperson, not an artist.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I feel like I lack a lot of foundational material that other artists have due to my lack of education and just generally not knowing things. Like, the kind of works I personally admire and learn the most from, I lack the toolset to create myself, which is constantly frustrating.

Structure is sometimes a shackle, and I often feel like I can't execute something truly Artistic because to me, writing is a trade, not an art.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I do this sometimes and lemme tell you, every single fucking time I do, I rigorously check everything.

Like, I recently agonized over whether a character would use Verzeihung versus Entschuldigung in a fic, and that was a solid hour of research. Worth it tho!

I'm of the opinion that if you're just going to use google translate or something, then I would elect to write it as ["Excuse me," he said in overly-polite German as he passed], but that's me.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Uuuuuuuuh ppppppprobably Gundam Wing or something? Way back in the era when you could post smut on FF.Net.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Could it be anything other than KTOWL? Honestly.

I am taggingggggg @arquiving and @interropunct

[deathbyoctopi]

Absolutely in love with this commission for my ongoing songxuexiao nightmare, The Stormcloud. It’s so cute and beautiful!!! The Sentient Cloud shining sun on his precious ward Xiao Xingchen, while raining on his two vermin friends!!! <3 <3 <3

Read this story if you want to see Xiao Xingchen grow up in his immortal mountain raised by a cloud with a short temper, and also Song Lan and Xue Yang, who were dropped one day by his doting atmospheric parent figure in the hopes he’d make some friends... It’s all good humour, if you can overlook a frightfully high body count ^^U

Credit to @uragirinoteme​ Thank you for the art! It’s truly everything I wanted for them.

[deathbyoctopi]

Can’t say I’m sorry!! XD  But if I could, I’d give you extra sets of eyes and hands for you to write moarrr!!

but whatever the pace, new projects and old wips are always a joy ^^

[wildemaven]

twenty questions for fic writers

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

40

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

165, 022

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Pedro Pascal & Garrett Hedlund (specifically Benny Miller)

4. top five fics by kudos

Duality of a Man / Sleepless Nights / Infatuation / Sweet Creature / Duality of a Man Part 2

5. do you respond to comments?

Yep

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

One Last Try (with the option of part 2 alternate endings of fluff or angst)

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

I tend to write mainly happy endings, but I’ll go with Sweet Creature

8. do you get hate on fics?

I was once told, and I quote: “you are kinda the most virgin writer I resd on this site”

9. do you write smut?

I try

10. craziest crossover:

I tend to do a lot of crossovers within the fandom. I think referencing a few mutuals fics within mine was my favorite

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

God, I hope not

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

No

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

I haven’t. But I might have thrown the idea out to a mutual before. Definitely not opposed to doing so.

14. all time favorite ship?

Idk

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

Uhhh, I have a few 😅

16. what are your writing strengths?

Right now I don’t even know, I think I’m lacking in all areas

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Every single one of them

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Here for it. Its intimidating but I’m trying to use it more within my own fics

19. first fandom you wrote in?

PPC

20. favorite fic you've written?

Series- Sweet Creature / One Shot - Look At Us

Thanks for the tag @gnpwdrnwhiskey

NPTs @rhoorl @lovesbiggerthanpride @lavendertales @kteague @juletheghoul

[deathbyoctopi]

CAN I RECCOMEND Y’ALL

The monster they created by @noppoh​

A short series of fics with this exact premise, where demonic cultivator Wei Wuxian snaps and accepts disciples Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao in his quest to fuck up all the sects that tried to fuck him over. 

It’s just delightful 😈

there's an alternate universe out there where Wei Wuian, Jin Guangyao, and Xue Yang all joined sides and oh my god-

[starfleetwitch]

20 Questions for Writers

Thanks for the tag @technicallywrite

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

13

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

93,749

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Holby City (Berena)

Doctor who / UNIT (Kate Stewart, Sarah Jane Smith, Ace, Tegan and Osgood)

Worst Witch (Miss Hardbroom)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Still Beating

The Gift

Happy Anniversary

Happy New Year Mrs and Mrs Wolfe

Operation: Steal your girl

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do my very best because I appreciate every single one of them!

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

Its probably a toss up between Hush Little Baby , Happy Anniversary and The Ghost of Tomorrow

However, I am on the very CUSP of posting a new fic that even I'm like 'Oh my god... do you just dead ass hate happiness?' 😂

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

I'm genuinely looking through my fics like... Omg I really do hate happiness. But alas, it was between The Gift and She's Not You and I feel like She's Not You wins because you technically had to read through trauma before it got there

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on fics no. I once got hate on artwork though. The commenter said I should be ashamed and what would Elisabeth Sladen's family think about the fact I'd drawn Sarah Jane kissing another woman... Jokes on the commenter though cause Elisabeth Sladen's IRL daughter recently posted the artwork in question on her instagram because she was basically like HECK YEAH, GO FOR IT MUM! 😂

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

Me? Write smut? I don't even... I... WHAT IS SMUT?

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

I'm currently writing a long ass fic that crosses over with SEVERAL fandoms within the Jemma Redgrave Multiverse just so I can make a 'We don't talk about Bruno' reference

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

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

Technically yes but it was never published. I DID illustrate fics for a couple of people though!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Berena... with a side order of Kate Stewart just getting her some from anyone and everyone apparently. Womans been through a lot man... she just needs herself some comfort.

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

The multiverse fic with the we dont talk about Bruno reference 😂

Nah for real I'm gonna say Still Beating. Bernies been bleeding out on the trauma unit floor for 4 years now, maybe more. Even if I DO get round to finishing it, it wont be what I wanted it to be. I had a lot of avenues to go down with the ex husband being involved in her treatment and recovery and now I've lost a bit of heart in it that I might cut that section out.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh. I... don't know. I don't know if I actually have any, I just write.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes I compare myself to other writers and I get really frustrated when I cant write poetically like them. When I read their work I really FEEL an emotional connection. I read slowly just to savour the words because they're so delicious and I'd LOVE to know how to do write like that.

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

If it calls for it... ok? I don't understand the question. I didn't know this was an issue I needed to have thoughts on.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

1998 Worst Witch. I started as I meant to go on. Inflicting trauma on my favs with no real plan to bring them out of it 😂

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Oh don't make me choose my favourite child! I enjoyed writing Still Beating but I'm gonna say Operation: Steal your girl cause I just had SO MUCH FUN with it and the comments make me believe others also had fun reading it 😂

RIGHT! On to the taggy tags: @akaanonymouth @seahorsepencils @ktlsyrtis @colourmestoked04 @defo-not-sfw

[siderealscribblings]

Hello. I hope you're okay with me dumping every ounce of my adoration for you The Games of Divinity series here, because I simply cannot stay silent any longer. I read the whole thing yesterday in the span of fifty three minutes at one a.m. with my eyes barely open and a blanket up to my chin so it was truly one of those Authentic Fic Experiences TM. I'm obsessed. I'm enraptured. I'm in love.

Your character analyses of Neuvillette and Furina? Chef's kiss. I am throwing them into a glass jar and shaking vigorously to watch them bounce off the walls. I am chewing on them like a four year old with unlimited access to a bag of Starburst and every flavour in their mouth at once. I am gripping you by the shoulders with tears streaming down my face because you have ruined every fic I read for the next two hundred and sixteen business days. Nothing will ever compare. Sanity is a long lost dream. Your AO3 account isn't a prison, it's home.

If you can't already tell, I adore your work. As a writer myself, I get gender envy while reading it. Except its writing style envy. Your use of italics for highlighting humour is wonderful. The shift in dynamic across the years with Furina and Neuvillette is masterfully done. It's hard to ship Neuvifuri because to me it's only appealing in one of two scenarios: an AU where Neuvillette knows, or one in which he begs pitifully for Furina's forgiveness after trapping her and putting her on trial without knowing what she was going through. Your fic is easily the best example of the former I've ever read. The only reason I haven't flooded your inbox with Kudos and AO3 comments is because my account is acting up and I had to read as a guest.

I love every chapter. Like actually. The first one? Seeing their initial attitudes towards each other was fascinating. The one where Neuvillette gets The Horny? Literally so funny and somehow hot as hell at the same time. The chapter from the POV of the Gardes? Hilarious and an incredibly creative way of showcasing their relationship from the perspective of an outsider. On that note, the Gardes themselves are such colourful characters, I think it's amazing how you went to the effort to give everyone such a distinctive personality. Also the scene with Xiao and Zhongli was scrumptious, that one line... "Zhongli placed a hand on the back of his neck, thumb gently kneading the soft spot where his neck and shoulder met like a man scruffing an unruly cat." That's so cute to me. Your Honour. They are so cute. And Neuvi being all baffled by himself for trying to intimidate Zhongli was endlessly amusing, especially when you said something along the lines of '"Neuvillette didn't mind being spoken of like a dog in heat, but he drew the line at barbs being aimed at Furina." You nail the dynamics every single time. Wild.

The internal conflicts of both Furina and Neuvillette are delightful as well. Furina's guilt for needing Neuvillette versus Neuvillette wishing Furina would let herself need him? Collapses. I am bleeding from multiple stab wounds. It's so eiohrohsiowiourwhrf. They're so vdhkfhoewirdkf. Neuvillette being awed by her humanity versus Furina wishing she could properly hide it. Neuvillette wishing he could share her altruism but knowing he would send a fleet to die in Furina's place even if she despised him for it. Banging my fist on the table. The intrinsic protectiveness and the guilt of needing to be protecting. Clutching my head in my hands. Tearing out my hair. Shuddering like I'm attached to an electric chair cranked up to the highest voltage.

I would suffer the trials of every hero from Greek mythology to read more of it.

Thanks for reading! Love hearing your thoughts on this; I think one of the big appeals about this pairing is crazy devotion that can happen between two people lying to God's face. It's like the greatest hits of every ship that's tickled my brain over the years and I'm glad I have an opportunity to play around with it.

No Neman Lions will need to be slain for the next chapter (probably)

[quotidian-oblivion]

20 questions for writers

(I'M GONNA CRY, I'M GONNA SCREAM, I'M GONNA LAY ON THE FLOOR AND STAB MYSELF WITH A STRAW, I GOT TAGGED BY THE AUTHOR OF THE FICS OF ALL TIME, I'M GONNA CRY-)

I got tagged by @wesslan for this writer tag game!! (I'M GONNA SCREME, LET ME JUST SAY HOW MUCH I LOVE YOUR CARDS ON THE TABLE FIC AND THE GOTHAM WATER TAP ONE AND-)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

62! I'm still in awe of the number. But then I look at the wips and unposted fics in my folders and then die

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Hmmm, I have-

oh.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Batfam! On the majority. I've written quite a few BBC Merlin ones as well, and there's a Gravity Falls one roaming around somewhere. I'm hoping to write for the Ninjago fandom too and I already have a Danny Phantom wip too

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My School’s Local Mafia Boss (expected, i'm still so proud of this one) Sometimes You Have To Find Your Own Genes (also expected, because of the multiple chapters thing, it appears more and more and its also one of my very first ones on here!) Phone Alarms (I love how it makes everyone laugh ^^) The Client (I was not expecting this one lol, dunno why, but it's a cute thing) Greet Me With Open Arms (makes sense because it's a composition of everyone's prompts in one fic!)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yeah!! I used to reply to every single one, but as time went on, I got more burnt out and more and more busy cuz school became more and more harder. So I'm taking A While to get to comments cuz I don't have the energy and time, and though I read and love and snuggle the short comments too, I don't answer them nowadays unless I have the energy to at the time

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

*CACKLES*

Let Me Die, Let Me Drown, Lay My Bones In The Ground

*CACKLES HARD* >:D

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

I write so many sweet endings, I'm not entirely sure. In my opinion, true happy endings in stories are the result of what has gone down in the plot. So based on the plot and the results it has given in the end, I'd say it's either Loving In And Against A Storm or Let Them Be Family. Because the characters really deserved the ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

'Course

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

Nope.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Depends on the crossover. My very very first fic (not on ao3, on wattpad ugh) was a crossover between DC and Marvel lol. I haven't written any crossovers right now, but I have a Danny PhantomxDC one where Danny meets Tim while he's searching for Bruce.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yeah, actually. It was my wattpad one. Idrc about that, but I haven't found any of my ao3 ones stolen (thank God), and if I do, I'm going to be tearing someone apart with my teeth.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, I'm afraid. I've had people leave comments in other languages on my fics, so I suppose there are people who have been translating the page to read it which makes me very honored ^^ and it makes me want to translate a fic myself too if not for the fact that I'm bullshit at my other languages just as I am with English lol

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

Plenty! I love co-writing with people! Let's see...

At The Drop Of A Hat I did with @tristicorde

I feel so broke up, I wanna go home I did with @wakkoroni

Chapters Capture and Grok along with 4 Times Jason Hid His Trauma + 1 Time Tim Helped Him I did with @cygnusdoesthings

And @sardonic-sprite and I have a fic in progress.

Broken But Not Beyond Repair is something Sprite, Vibey @foursixtwonineoh-pieces-of-lego and I scribbled around on tumblr reblogs then Evie graciously made it into an actual fic and posted it on ao3, praise be.

Vibey and I also have a batfam DEH AU collecting dust in our foldes. I also employed Tristi's help and @tireddruid in a 60 fucking chapters of a Merlin fic which isn't going to be written in a LONG ASS WHILE. @mispeltnostalgia is supposed to be looking at a de-aged Tim fic with me, but her role has become a beta/alpha reader role and I'm attending to other wips rn.

So yeah! I know for some people writing together isn't their cup of tea, and that's understandable lmao. I personally I love writing fics with people. It's... it's kind of a love language for me? It's much fun seeing how our writing styles meld together but are also distinct enough that you can still spot it. I also love the clash that explodes into a google doc with pages and pages of us ranting about ideas and plots in different colors texts. It's so cool.

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

I don't ship publicly

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

Ahhh. Idk tbh. Any WIPs i have, I am hell-bent on finishing them until I have. And if I can't I just toss them in the scrap pile and never look at again. So idk if I have a wip I want to finish but won't.

Although the 60 fucking chapters of Merlin looks very appealing to abandon. But no. I've done too much work on it to just forget about it, unfortunately. I've worked too hard.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Right now, I'm feeling very down and flat and not finding any strengths at all 😭

It's been months since I've written an actual fic cuz I went on a break recently and I'm like... how do i- how do I write. how do I. words? where words?

In all seriousness though, I believe I can come up with Plots. I'm a mystery fan, so any fics I write, I make sure to have character motivations, purpose, plot, drive, foreshadowing, characterization, reasoning, etc. in it. Even in a oneshot. Even if all the literary devices are used in a shallow way, I use them. I like my stories having a purpose or a lesson to them. I can't write something which doesn't have one or both. I've also been called out /pos on my attention to detail. Sure, yes, some things do slip by. I am human after all. But yeah, on the most part, I like tightening all loose threads ^^

And I think dialogue's one as well. Because when I write, I actually picture everything I type in my head. So my writing is pure grains of imagination on paper :D, it's the only way I know how to write tbh. Which is why I struggle so much with reading or writing analytical stuff which sucks bc, school.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

EVERYTHING 😭

Well, right now anyway. I'm still recovering from burnout and mental breakdowns.

But there are weaknesses in my strengths. My dialogue can get lost sometimes and soon you'll be staring at just half a page of just dialogue. Or sometimes, I read back and realize that the dialogue I've written has no context and only makes sense to me.

I lack description in my settings and appearances. I struggle to describe things which are plainly obvious but aren't as obvious to the reader. Because of the whole imagination thing, the things that need description are all in the background, so when I write, I mostly assume that the backgrounds have already been established, so readers are left with faceless feelings most of the time. I'm practicing though! I'm practicing and I think I'm getting better at it!

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

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

I love adding representation of my culture and identity everywhere I go. My fics have Muslim characters and poc characters who speak Arabic, mostly. I'm also working on adding bits of Mandarin (thanks to lovely @birdybat who's helping me with that) in my current wip and hopefully in future wips as well. I know I've added Urdu and Hindi to previous fics which are not on ao3. But yeah! I love adding bits of cultural representation everywhere!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Marvel and DC lol. The crossover.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHY TF WOULD YOU ASK ME TO CHOOSE BETWEEN MY BABIES?

The most work I've put into a fic is Let Me Die, Let Me Drown, Lay My Bones In The Ground. I put tons and tons of work in it and reread after reread after rereads. I had Sprite, Tristi and Joan look over some parts and reread it too so it would be perfect. Every little detail is present in it and as you read for a second or even third time, you'll find more and more hidden details and symbolism present in it, like-

Literally. There are so many tiny details which all lead up to the final conclusion at the end and it all connects with the overarching theme and the purpose and the moral and lesson and comes together for the conclusion and I just-

I put a lot of work into it. only to get a couple hate comments on it Soooo, yeah :)

~

Thanks for the tag wesslan, I appreciate it very much (AND AM SO HONORED I LOVE YOUR FICS I'M GOING TO STAB A WINDOW-)

Gonna tagged everyone who I've already tagged in this post already if you write fics lmao + anyone else who wants to have a go!!

[deathbyoctopi]

*writes newest chapter for NTISY*

*random thought (memory of a recent conversation) hits me*

There's this weird itch in my fingers. I really want to write this... But. No. No. Don't do it. You have enough WIPs already. Focus on the new chapter for NTISY. Focus. No. Don't do it...

[issylra]

12 & 18!

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

So I've always had a very major squick (due to past trauma) with age gap/power imbalance. Bad enough that I've had a handful of tags blocked on AO3 and tumblr for years. Then the dreamling fandom came along and kind of turned a lot of that on its head? I've been able to read so many fics with those themes and not be bothered by them at all (quick note that if I was bothered, it would be entirely my own fault and not at all the responsibility of the author). In general, I think dreamling fandom has introduced me to a lot of things and I swear there's something new thrown into the pile of "stuff I didn't realize I was into" every single day. It's been a breath of fresh air after several fandoms that felt very heavily policed, where kinks were considered a reflection of a person's moral code. Cannot stress enough how happy it makes me.

18. If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it involve?

You didn't include what fic you wanted me to talk about here so I'm going to pick the one I've been thinking about the most lately (outside of the mafia au). There's a sequel/epilogue to by the minute kicking around in my head that's entirely @valeriianz's fault because she came up with the entire idea. Think first date. Dream and Hob trying to be so normal™. The small talk! The awkward tension! The vibe of "I watched you masturbate over video chat and you're also the most beautiful person I've ever seen in my entire life, but how about the shit weather lately, huh?" Of course, one of them would crack, the lack of hinge would be very apparent, and then the other would immediately follow suit because "thank god I'm not alone in wanting to jump you across this table right now". The whole thing would be a lot of silly fun. So I'm really tempted to write it and then use it to fill my public sex bingo square. No, they would not actually fuck on the table in the restaurant. It would be somewhere civilized like the restroom.

(for the writer's ask game)

[evilwickedme]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you for tagging me <3

How many works do you have on ao3?

69 lmaooo

what’s your total ao3 word count?

407,178 which is. A lot

What fandoms do you write for?

My current main fandoms are DC comics and marvel comics, but I've also been writing a lil btvs. Historically I've written a fuckton of Harry Potter, The Witcher (TV), a decent amount of leverage and daredevil (TV), the raven cycle, all for the game, and a few other fics in some random fandoms

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

before we get married, I need to get permission from batman; hang on til the chaos is through; in which an entire university becomes far too involved in Pankratz and Vengerberg's love life; This is all just HR paperwork waiting to happen; and The Sound Of My Own Voice (Asking You To Stay)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I respond to every single comment, with exactly one exception, that absolutely haunts me. The person just kept replying to me no matter what I said and I couldn't make them stop

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending

Mornings, for sure. One of my first ever spideypool fics back from 2016. Peter dies at the end. know we're not together (but I won't forget you) is a close second though

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

Oh I don't know, I have a lot of happy endings but they usually follow a fuckton of angst. Maybe in which the daily planet staff are 100% convinced that the kent-lanes are fucking superman, but I wouldn't call that a traditional ending

Do you get hate on fics?

Nah, although I've had some unnecessarily harsh public bookmarks

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh yeah. My first ever smut sucked but then I wrote so much in 2021 for the witcher that I actually got pretty good at it, or at least as mlm sex. I have some body dysmorphia issues around vaginas and I never feel like I write that well. Anyway I tend to go for excessively sweet or incredibly kinky and borderline unhealthy fics

Do you write crossovers?

Only the buffy/jason fic, unless you count daredevil tv and marvel comics or itsv and marvel comics to be crossovers

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not as far as I know

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes!! It's incomplete unlike the original fic but someone translated most of I'm a mess (but I'm the mess that you wanted) into Russian. This wasn't the question but @flowerparrish also podficced the first chapter of my jaybuffy fic!!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes but I removed it from my page following an extremely brutal and somewhat traumatizing fight with some of the people I was cowriting it with

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Mmmm I don't know, that's a good question. For a long time I would've answered jily. Spideypool is probably the main contender now, although spuffy could give it a run for its money - despite the fact that I've only written one fic for them (and implied them in my jaybuffy fic), I've adored them since I was 13, which is. Over 12 years ago fuck

What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Mmm I'm always hoping I'll finish my wips, but the ones I doubt the most are my yennskier fic (no progress in over a year), my literati fic (although I did make some progress about a month ago), and I don't plan on going back to my drarry Hogwarts professor au for obvious reasons

Edit: OH ALSO the Witcher s2 outsider pov is never ever getting finished I'm sorry I know I promised it to a lot of people in the comments but it's not gonna happen

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and characterizations imo

What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptions my fucking God I struggle so much with them

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'm fluent in Hebrew and my first ever fic was in Hebrew, so if that came up I'd feel pretty comfortable with it. Anything else I'd have to approach someone who spoke the language, and I'd rather just write it in English and say it was in the other languages

First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter and again, it was in Hebrew. I recently described what it was about to a group of friends who called it, and I quote, "adorable". I was ten or eleven at the time and I do not plan on reposting it.

Favorite fic you’ve written?

That's a toughie. I think probably I'm a mess (but I'm the mess that you wanted), but Under the Pink Hood, Of Three Times Lily Evans Changed Her Mind About James Potter, and know we're not together (but I won't forget you) are all honorable mentions

I'm not a tagger - I usually don't even participate in these kinds of posts - but I guess @not-the-blue @supergirlboy @penny-anna and any other mutual or even follower are invited to participate if you wanna

[sunriseverse]

twenty questions for fic writers!

tagged by @chirpybirdy (thank you!!!)

tagging: @lucientelrunya @butchybats @cedarbranch @lunarriviera @killerandhealerqueen and anyone else who wants to participate! questions below the cut.

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

434 in total! about half of those are from when i was a pacrim writer, though.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

1,407,660 as of today! i am, unfortunately for all of you, possessed of hands and the ability to string words together, and i'm making that everyone else's problem. i've written 136,786 of that this year, and i'm hoping i can hit 200k this year (last year i had an all-time high of over 300k+, which i'm very smug about; i don't think i can hit that again this year, though, because i'm busy as all hell). my total wordcount to works ratio has changed a lot in the years i've been on ao3—2019-2021, i wrote a lot of fics, but each of them was fairly short; now i write probably ~20-50 fics per year but each one is a minimum 2k, usually 5k+.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

at the moment: dmbj (sha hai focus), zmyx/swwht (mostly a show setting with novel elements), and tgcf.

4. top five fics by kudos

the kudos count for overall pisses me off so i'm giving my 2024 kudos data. we have not long to love: 327 kudos, m, 13k, nanqiu nie huaisang and the no good, very bad day: 241 kudos, t, 3k, gen god knows i can never get rid of habits: 227 kudos, e, 12k, nanqiu my dear, let me buy a red painted boat (and carry you away): 82 kudos, t, 5k, hualian hunger, bright: 81 kudos, m, 8k, nanqiu

5. do you respond to comments?

i try and respond to every comment i get! as an author, i want my readers to know just how much i value their comments, because getting comments really does make my day. usually i'll write some variation of "thanks for commenting, i'm glad you liked the fic!" and then maybe insert a reply to a specific thing they said in the middle, if applicable.

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

recently? probably heartsmudged (dmbj ficlet, pingpangxie, pangzi pov)(also on tumblr here). technically there's nothing overtly angsty happening, but it's set during one of the most depressing times in canon for poor pangzi, and he's going through it.

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

not sure what i'd call the "happiest" fic ending? most of my fics have happy endings, so it would be hard for me to choose one. i guess a single slip brings sorrow has the most dramatic shift from angst to joy at the end.

8. do you get hate on fics?

not on ao3 because people know how to behave (mostly) but i have gotten hate on ffnet, because ffnet is a cesspit of the worst types of commenters. i've had comment moderation enabled for years because i don't have any interest in allowing that shit to stay up.

9. do you write smut?

i mean, do i write smut for smut's sake on purpose? no. however apparently some of the characters i'm writing really, really want to have sex, and sex makes sense narratively, and so i've lately wound up writing smut. mostly minimally descriptive, though, because i'm more focused on the emotions.

10. craziest crossover?

probably my iasip/tma crossover, statement begins. (i have other crossovers that never got published, but i'm not counting them for the purposes of this post.)

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge. i do have a note up on my profile on ao3 and ffnet letting people know that if my work is found anywhere but on those two accounts or my tumblr then i didn't consent to its posting, though. i hope that if this ever happens someone would let me know.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had someone ask before, but as of five years on, it's not happened yet.

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

i have! not sure i would do it again, because it requires a lot of coordination, and i generally don't have the patience to wait on other people; my pace of writing is both unpredictable, hectic, and frenetic.

14. all time favorite ship?

an agony...........how can i choose.............ozma/dorothy.

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

technically not a fic per se but i started writing out a set of zhang sect precepts for sunrise based on the yan family precepts but i didn't get very far into it because trying to emulate the tone of the yan family precepts made me discover a deepseated hatred. this is what it's looked like for a couple months now and it's unlikely to ever be completed because the yan family precepts are stupidly long and i don't know if i could keep that up.

16. what are your writing strengths?

description! i've been told my writing style is very descriptive, and i can see that. i love writing things in detail and using sensory descriptions to make the scene feel more intimate. it's probably not to everyone's tastes but it's my writing and i do what i want.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

updating regularly. if i have a longfic the update rate is between me and universe and i'm not invited to the party. also action-heavy fics. there's a reason my plots tend to focus on emotions rather than action.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

if it's a language i don't know, probably just "[x] said in a language [y] didn't understand" or "[x] said in french" or something. that said because most of what i write is for cdramas/cnovels these days, and since i write everything from the perspective of "this is an english translation of a chinese original" i usually don't wind up writing anything that's not in english beyond a word or two here or there. if i were writing a fic for an english language novel/show and someone were speaking chinese or turkish (or maybe german) i would probably also just write it as "[x] said in [language]" because i find that foreign language text usually breaks my immersion.

19. first fandom you wrote in?

on ao3, warriors. in real life on paper, probably also warriors.

20. favorite fic you've written?

how am i meant to choose...........i love all my fics.....................anything from sunrise 'verse i guess.

[deathbyoctopi]

the backyard is full of bones is one of my all-time favourite mdzs fics (and non-mdzs, even!)

❤️❤️❤️

What's your favourite XueXiao dynamic?

all of them. can I say all of them? I want to say all of them.

I mean, that's not completely true, I definitely have favorites and there are ones I actively don't like, but there's a lot of different ways their dynamic can be played that I enjoy. I guess I'd sum up my favorite flavor as being "bizarre blend of extremely fucked up and remarkably sweet, somehow both at the same time and both is equally real and true."

if there's not at least a little bit of a layer of "a complete outsider looking at this would be going 'oh no that seems like a problem'" going on in the background, even (or sometimes especially!) if it is deeply submerged, then it's just not xuexiao to me. like, even in my most functional AU which is probably the backyard is full of bones there's the ghost of song lan lingering thoroughly unaddressed in the background along with, you know, all the other personal history, and the fact that xue yang continues to feel not even a little bit like he made a mistake about any "crimes" he "totally committed."

the "yikes!" gives it flavor.