#the 'i love hard' zine is one of my favorites. always got it in my back pocket for when i need it <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[happi-tree]

hey happi! it’s been a bit since we interacted but i’m curious haha 💌

Hey, Solar!!! Long time, no talk, lovebird 💜💜💜 Happy to have you in my asks! Hope you've been doing alright <3

I love how wonderfully creative you are. Between your writing and your zines, everything you touch just has this sheen of,,, I wouldn't call it magic, per se, but there's just something so, so special about the way you craft your words. They sort of toe the line between poetry and raw emotion while being unafraid to step fully into either at any given point in time, and I think that's really beautiful! :]c

I also just adore your eye for layouts. Whenever I feel sort of uninspired, I think about your zines and how you layer the mixed materials. It's a really cool look to me <3

[thebibliosphere]

I saw your post about ingram, and out of curiosity, is there some advantage to going through the whole self-publishing thing with retailers when you're just starting out? like I mean the way that fandom zines work is that they don't even bother going through ingram or amazon or whatever. they just set up a social media site (usually twitter) to gain followers, open preorders (usually 1-2 months in length) to generate the costs of printing upfront, and then sell anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred copies of their books (usually artbooks, but anthologies exist too). I've seen some zines generate over a thousand orders. they're kind of like pop-up shops, except for books. maybe the sales numbers aren't so impressive to a real author, but the profit generated is typically waaaay more than the $75+ apparently needed for Ingram Spark, so I still feel like new authors could benefit from this method too, especially if they just need some start-up cash to eventually move to ingram if they want to for subsequent runs of their book. I think authors would also have to set aside some of the pre-order money to buy an ISBN number to have printed on their book, and I'm not really sure what other differences there are, but I just wanted to ask about it in case there's some huge disadvantage I'm missing!

So, popup zines work well for some people, and I know some authors who kickstart their work successfully. But for a lot, it's just not feasible as a long-term stratedy. Or even as a means to get off the ground.

Fanzines succeed primarily because an existing fanbase is willing and ready to throw money at something they love. They’ve got a favorite writer or artist they want to support. Supporting all the others is just a happy by-product. They also take a HUGE amount of short-term but intense planning that just doesn’t always jive with how some of us work.

I, for one, would never offer to organize a fanzine. I’ll take part in them as a creator, but I’d rather throw myself off a cliff than subject myself to wrangling that many people and dealing with the legal logistics.

When it comes to authors doing anthologies, it'svery much the same. The success of the funding often hinges on having other big-name authors involved whose existing fans will prop up the project. Or having a huge marketing budget.

Most self-pub authors have zero marketing budget. I’m one of them, and I’m under no illusions that my work would not be as popular and self-sustaining as it is if I didn’t have a large Tumblr blog.

When I thank Tumblr in my forewards, I am utterly sincere. Tumblr brought fandom levels of enthusiasm to an unknown work and broke the Amazon algorithm so hard, that Amazon thought I was bot sniping my way to multiple #1 spots and froze my sales rankings.

That’s not the norm. And while I could probably kickstart my own work as an indie creator, that’s because I’ve put literal decades into building up a readership. I’ve been doing this since I was 16 and realized people thought I was funny. I didn’t know what to do with it or if I’d ever actually write anything, but it meant the groundwork was already there (thank you, past-me). I basically fell upward into my success by virtue of never being able to shut the fuck up and wanting to make people laugh. Clown instincts too strong.

New or first-time authors trying to sell their work without that will find it infinitely harder.

All of that aside, even if an unknown author somehow gets lucky and manages to fund their work, there’s still the question of shipping and distribution logistics. Are you shipping everything yourself? Better hope you’re able-bodied and have the time for it. (for reference, it took me months to ship out 300 patreon hardbacks because of my disabilites. It damaged my back and hands. I couldn’t type for several weeks after I was done.)

Are you going to sell primarily at conventions? Better hope you’re able-bodied, have the time and don’t have cripling anxiety about being in large groups...

Also, will selling a dozen to a few thousand copies in one burst be sustainable in the long run as a career? Not for me. Doing things via Ingram and Amazon means I earn a steady trickle of sales for the rest of my life provided the platforms remain and so long as I keep working and can generate interest in the series, not just when I have funds to pay for physical copies to sell. The one-time (in theory) cost of $75 to distribute through Ingram gets paid off pretty quick that way. And it doesn't require the same logistics as doing the popup/crowdfund.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you are capable of but also the type of work you’re doing. If you’ve got an extended network of fellow creatives who will back you or you’ve got a large following elsewhere, doing it like a popup might work for you.

If you’re an exhausted burnout who can’t fathom the short but intense amount of organization that sort of thing requires, not to mention doing it over and over and over... Ehhhhh. No thank you.

[twilightarc-gm]

ao3 Wrapped 2024 - twilightarc

Instead of an ask game I decided to just answer the questions on the sourced post that I can answer for my own benefit and fun.

How many words have you written this year? Ao3 Published: 310,834

How many works did you publish this year? 7 Complete / 13 Total

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Always 'mainfic' i.e. This River Runs Beyond Heaven and Earth [江流天地外] I put so much work into it for fanfic. Why? I got mental health issues, I guess.

What work of yours has the most hits? I Long For You (相思) Hits: 5,311

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? Damn your love, damn your lies. Everyone is VERY VOCAL (affectionate) about Jiang Cheng being in a loveless marriage and needing a divorce pronto. 🥰

Favorite title you used Again, mainfic's title taken from a poem and has a wealth of description to it that really sets the tone for the entire story. Never gonna top that.

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? "damn your love, damn your lies" is the only song title and it's from Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? CHENGXIAN to no one's surprise...

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Obviously this is also ChengXian but only because I haven't actually got to Jiang Cheng/Hu Touxiang(OC) this year.

What work was the quickest to write? To Endeavor is to Endure (4,331 words) This was a prompt fill, I did it in like two days ish.

What work took you the longest to write? Of the complete works: The BigBang2024 entry I ended up doing as a series with my co-author Specs. It took 6 months to write. YM3 Gen fic with MSY worldbuilding 🤲 Reprieve and a New Start and The Turning Point

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? 19!

What’s your longest work of the year? My most viewed work this year! I Long For You @ (45,781 words)

What’s your shortest work of the year? The prompt one-shot which is my 'quickest' (4,331 words)

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? Not counting the "structural tags" of my "flavor" tags it's: Protective Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian (3) 🥰

Your favorite character to write this year? Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin (9)!!

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? 😣 LWJ in divorce fic. I hate writing him. It was really hard to convey his own issues and insecurities while not making him say too much or explain himself too readily.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? Jiang Cheng/Hu Touxiang!!! No more posting WIPs for me in 2025 I need to buckle down to get mainfic really going!

Which work of yours have you reread the most? 😅 If not mainfic then Red Tin of Heresy because I dunno what's going on with the vibes on that one but I keep rereading hoping I'll learn something from the demon that possessed me.

How many kudos in total did you get this year? Kudos: 1,050 !! And that's with works locked down which is really nice for me because I got more kudos the year I only posted 5 works when I left things unlocked.

Which work has the most comments?

Did you do any collaborative works this year? Yes! For BigBang 2024 with my friend Specs😘 and the divorce fic with/for @spriteofmushrooms. Oh! and CX Zine 2024 fic with @kabybaali who came up with the idea and wonderful art!

Did you write any gifts this year? Three!!

Did you receive any gifts this year? Five! From @groundwiremantaray Mission: Survive the Date (T rated chengxian SpyxFamily AU, very cute!) and from Specs Still Sparkling in the Night (T rated chengxian with Chinese Mythology!). Also a beautiful art gift scaly sweetheart by sugar_shoal and @notluceo fanart of Cheng-lang and Ya-Xian!! AND a beautiful gifset from @add1ctedt0you for one of my first one-shots Of Summer and Smiles

What’s your most common category? M/M (5)

What do you listen to while writing? Usually something wordless like industrial techno on loop.

Favorite work you wrote this year? Of the complete stuff: I Long For You, I really enjoyed writing the sex scene in that one because it was a lot of ebb and flow and from top!JC's pov.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Biggest surprise while writing this year?

Not doing the last two because of recency bias 🤣 like hell I can remember something like that to compare over an entire year!

[mamamittens]

Every Fold a Wish

This is my piece from the Marco Zine, not related to Spooktober, I promise! For the rest of the fics--and even artwork!--just click the link provided above!

Also, I swear I didn't mean for it to be so sad--the original plan was goofy shenanigans and maybe ending with Marco trying to throttle Thatch when he cracks a joke about his little paper cranes but then...

well, this happened!

Oh, and here's a link to the fic specific artwork for it by @luna-orix, it's a wonderful take on the Big Scene in lovely color and style!

Word Count: 2,757

Under much pressure, Marco would have to confess this all started a very long time ago.

Back when he was still a deckhand sorting through musty maps littered with ink blots that barely passed as navigation tools. Their contents were downright illegible at best, but did well enough as teaching tools for what not to do. Over time, as they were passed from hand to unsteady hand, the parchment became worn. Rips becoming tears and holes until the only thing keeping them in one piece was hopes and dreams.

What to do with such a well loved piece of parchment?

Tossing them seemed almost an insult. And making them into paper again, while an interesting task, was usually not worth the effort. The ink bleeding and dying the usable parts darker and darker. Until it was good for little else but tissues. Marco had done it a few times just for something to do between tasks. The paper drying in the press able to be left for hours if needed. And he did hold a fondness for the old parchment made new again. But it was still not terribly useful. The ink needed to be even darker, or chalk but it smeared something terrible at the slightest touch.

In all fairness, he didn’t start with the worst off pieces.

A kind, older nurse with weathered hands and a gentle smile showing him the way. Every crisp fold building up to a new, enchanting shape. Even money could be manipulated. A cute way to leave a tip, if he was so wanting. And something to do with his hands.

And he kept doing it too. Starting with his clumsy, childish fingers. Baby fat clinging to his digits as he used his bitten nails to scrape the edges clean. Until they started to even out, habit and hard work turning them into slender, calloused tools of his trade. A little treat for himself as he learned the medical trade. It was good, to know that his hands could create even if he could not heal the hurts in others. A small comfort for himself after his patients fell asleep holding his hand, yearning to not be alone with their sickness.

He got some flak for it over the years. Always teasing remarks about how cute he was being. Little flowers and fortune tellers a popular demand when a particularly mischievous brother or sister was bedbound. And Marco would sigh. Teasingly remarking on their ungrateful attitudes even as he was plied with gifts of decorative paper for his little hobby.

They decorated his office shelves. Tucked in corners and atop the spines of medical texts. Peeking behind picture frames or marching along the windowsill of Oyaji’s room. A cavalcade of shapes in a rainbow of colors and prints. Every so often one would be found covered in layers of dust somewhere forgotten and returned to him with a wide grin. Laughter echoing down the halls as Marco racked his brain to remember when he made it.

Officially, he had no favorite paper craft. No beloved origami he had mastered over the years. Just as he had no favorite sibling.

But, if his family had the wherewithal to gather every one of his little treasures from over the years and fill up a room or four with them, there would certainly be an obvious contender.

Starting with the very first one he made with a crooked wing, crumpled lightly from the very hand that had taught him so long ago.

“I saved this one for last, boyo. Hope is… so dangerous to have on the high seas. Without it, you’ll never truly live. But too much and you’ll be too drunk to survive. And this little fella? This is what he’s all about, in a way. They say a thousand paper cranes, each folded with love and care, can grant you a single wish.” She whispered to him softly, guiding his hands over the worn map of some distant island lost to time. “Make as many as you want, it’s important to remember what it means to live—to wish. But never forget the work that goes into them. Wishing—wanting—that’s not even half the journey. Admitting you want something bad enough to dream is but the first step. After that, you still need to fold the paper. And fold it over and over again until it’s fit to fly. And then? And then, little Marco, you need to do it again. Until you have a flock a thousand strong. It can’t be done in a single day. Most won’t have the patience to do it in a lifetime. But one little crane at a time…”

She never finished that sentence.

She sighed, leaning against the pillows of her bed as Marco finished his first little bird in the palm of her hand. His own cradling the bird between their palms and she squeezed gently. Bending the worn paper a little in the cramped space.

Then she let go.

And Marco hadn’t stopped making them since.

Even as he gained his devil fruit. Grew from a boy to a man. They were his little indulgence, the fuzzy memory of a weathered hand clasped in his, paper crinkling between them never far from his mind. It hurt in a good way. A way that his fruit never gave him. A sense of release. A long sigh after a hard day. Sea breeze wrapping around his bare ankles in the hot sun. Endless blue before him with heavy storm clouds littering the horizon behind him.

His office door slammed open.

A boisterous voice practically singing out as Thatch sauntered into his office with a hot meal. It was late. Later than Marco realized. The bubbly, cool fire running thick in his veins. He’d been pushing it as of late, Marco acknowledged reluctantly.

“I come, O’ Great One! With the gift of food~!” Thatch sang, squinting into the dim candlelight of Marco’s office. Free hand hovering ominously over the light switch.

“Do it and I’ll kick you into the sea.” Marco warned. His fruit offering little reprieve from eye strain at this point. Bigger fish to fry, he supposed.

Thatch pouted, nudging the paperwork on his desk aside. Rather than setting down the food, Thatch instead placed his ass there. Wafting about the food Marco still couldn’t quite identify temptingly.

“C’mon, Coco! You’ve been in here for hours! It’s time to eat up and get some rest!” Thatch huffed.

“Stop calling me that.” Marco was ignored, as usual. The nickname a little rare but typically whipped out when Thatch thought he was being an idiot about himself.

“What could possibly be more important than enjoying some good food and even better shut eye? C’mon, I’ll even give you breakfast in bed! Doesn’t that sound scrum-didily-upmtious? This handsome man personally serving you up a hot plate of food in the morning?”

Marco imagined—not Thatch ‘handsomely’ serving anything—but sputtering as seawater ruined his hair. The woeful cries for mercy as he drowned, just a little while, he swears Namur. He deserves it!

Familiar with Thatch’s everything by this point, Marco doubted many would argue that Thatch didn’t deserve just a little waterboarding.

As a treat.

“Sounds like my sleep paralysis demon talking.” Marco drawled, fixing Thatch with a dry stare.

Thatch arched back as though struck, his dramatics nearly sending the food and himself to the floor.

“My own brother! After all the hard work I put into this? Every ounce of love I put into it?” Thatch emphasized, finally lowering the plate enough for Marco to see it was flayed sea king, glazed with honeyed pineapple and served with stuffed potatoes, a hot roll, and a slice of upside-down pineapple cake. A cup of what could be anything from tea to booze to wash it down with.

It looked fucking good. But just for being obnoxious, Marco rolled his eyes.

“Gross.”

That earned him a sharp gasp and playful tears as Thatch attempted to clamber into his lap for apology cuddles. Pressing obnoxious kisses to his face like Thatch was trying to console him from some terrible tragedy that had occurred.

“G-Get the hell off of me, you ass!” Marco sputtered, reeling back as Thatch smashed Marco’s face into his chest with petulant cries of forlorn love.

“—Oh, my poor, stalwart brother! You’ve worked so hard and can’t even accept crumbs of affection! It doesn’t make you any less of a man to cuddle!” Thatch reassured him as any protest was muffled into his shirt. “I promise I won’t think any l-LE—ES--! SHIT! ACK! M-MARCO—NO!”

Marco dug his fingers into Thatch’s unprotected sides, trapping his idiot brother in place for the deserved payback.

“Marco, yes!”

Thatch wriggled fiercely, yelping with every poke and prod as they laughed, eventually knocking back the chair and ending it with Marco wheezing under Thatch’s weight.

Finally, Marco shoved Thatch off into the floor, face aching from the smile they both shared.

“Ugh! Fine! I’ll eat and go to bed, you prick!” Marco huffed, Thatch still giggling beside him.

“Great! I’ll be sure to deliver breakfast to you, as promised~!” Thatch tittered cheekily, dodging the swipe of Marco’s hand.

“The fuck you will!” his fingertips grazing the fabric of Thatch’s sleeves. Still warm with laughter and affection.

Thatch was cold now.

Somehow colder than Marco’s veins as he desperately lifted up the other man into his arms. So much heavier than before, faint breaths wheezing with blood on his lips. Cool blue fire danced over his pale face, sinking in deep with a desperation Marco hadn’t felt in a long time. Hands slick with blood, skin blossoming with feathers and scales. Teetering between bird and man so violently his words were more akin to bird cries.

There were hands pulling him away. Trying to tug his trembling body from curling over Thatch’s cooling corpse. Hot, burning hands ripping him away.

A large hand, firm and steady. A rock in the ocean that beached him with such violence.

A deep, rumbling voice.

“We’ve got it from here, my son. We’ll save him, my boy. Come back to me. Come back to us. We love you.” Those words followed him into the dark. The world shaking as his lungs rattled with sobs.

“We love you…”

There was a beeping.

That was all Marco could think about.

All he could handle.

His hands were wrong. Almost incandescent. The bones vague shadows flickering in gossamer blue light. Gold licking his fingertips as he stroked… something. Lips stiff. Twisting with difficulty out of the pointed beak they were trying to form. Every ragged breath licking across his tongue with a heady weight to it.

There was something in his hands, Marco knew.

It was… thick. A little tepid. Some give until stiff scaffolding within protested. Thin threads slipping beneath a strange, upper layer. A steady, weak thrum beneath his touch.

His eyes burned. He wanted to rip into it, whatever it was. Until it was hot and thrashing and alive—

But a keen slipped from his lips as a rhythmic beeping finally registered properly.

He was at someone’s bedside.

Again.

He was a little deckhand tending to a dying nurse.

No.

He was a man at a bedside.

A friend?

A brother?

He loved them fiercely. Whoever they were.

Marco wanted whoever it was to wake up already. Tease him for losing control like this. Obnoxiously cry about the display of affection that was cutting into Marco’s chest. Turning his lungs to ribbons. Hooking into the arteries of his heart until every thump made him ache for release.

There was a blanket over his shoulders, Marco realized.

How long had he been here? He shifted in the chair and heard paper crinkle.

Fresh, patterned sheets. Traditional ocean waves with little fish peeking here and there. Tiny boats fighting even, arching waves. All in soft blues that transitioned to richer hues, imbuing the artwork with depth and emotion.

It was instinct to reach for the paper. But the weight of a whole person stopped him. Marco looked.

Both his hands were grasping a limp wrist with a faint pulse.

Letting go felt like ripping away his flesh. Piece by piece.

Fold it over and over again.

Marco’s hands were steady despite everything. And it felt like betrayal.

He shouldn’t be able to do anything right now.

Not even breathe.

But his heart kept going. Lungs expanding with the scent of cold antiseptic.

The paper was smooth. Flawless despite the neglect he’d shown it for… however long he’d been sitting at…

Here.

Without it, you’ll never truly live.

She meant this, didn’t she? His family?

Even without a smooth surface, Marco’s hands knew the way. Folding and pinching the edges clean.

No, Marco remembered.

She meant dreams. She meant hope.

Marco knew, deep down, that eventually there would always be a goodbye at the end of their stories. Said or avoided like the plague.

But he expected it…

Marco never wanted to expect it.

He’d rather drown than look forward at a time he’d say goodbye with any one of his precious family members.

The little crane perched between his fingers. Perfect after years of practice.

Marco choked up as he placed it in Thatch’s hand. Gently curling those limp fingers around it’s delicate shape. Calloused hands cradling the bird in a loose cage.

Marco retreated. Shuffling into his dark room. No one stopped him, their gazed burning his hunched shoulders.

In the bottom desk drawer, so rarely opened it almost got stuck, was a single item.

A lopsided paper crane with a bent wing. Stained with faded ink and weathered with age.

Like he was scooping up a live bird, Marco lifted it to his chest. Careful even as he collapsed to the floor.

He cried. Wept like he’d been cut in two with sea stone. Tears gushing out instead of blood. His fire, confused at the agony he was experiencing, danced in the air. Casting dizzying shadows across the space battered with open sobs.

Marco couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t fill his lungs enough between his cries that ached down to his bones and the fire filling his lips with faux heat.

Everything hurt.

Nothing could heal.

He was a little boy again in his father’s arms. Weeping and certain he was dying from grief. Every wail a benediction. A plea against the inevitable. What was already past.

A wish burning in his veins even as shame filled him.

Death was natural. A long sigh at the end of a hard day.

But Marco wanted to hold his breath until he burst. Stop in the middle of a hurricane just to keep feeling the rain.

Parchment protested in his grasp and Marco shot up like he’d been burned.

Opening his palms to find the paper crane bent even further. Flickers of light cast across the ragged edges of ink—no?

Burns.

The bird was smoldering. Fueled by the open air of his shaking hands, it burst into golden fire. Marco wailed, shaken and confused as it lit up. Flying into the air with a trail of burning embers. Dancing in an unseen wind until, before Marco’s blurry eyes, it was gone. As though it was Thatch’s vivre card.

Time stopped. Stuttering as his heel stamped into the ground.

His shoulder nearly slamming into someone.

A door bashing into a wall.

That damn beeping so like Thatch. Annoying and reassuring in its consistent presence.

Nurses crowded Thatch’s bed, arguing over each other as familiar hair rose over them. Wide eyes looking around, face flush with warmth again.

He smiled, that crooked, familiar smile that tugged Marco’s lips into a similar shape.

“Hey, Coco, look! I got a little hospital buddy!” Thatch crowed, voice a soft rasp as he gently held up a small, blue paper crane. Gold catching the light as fire flickered over it’s wingspan. Every cresting wave lined with unnatural color that had not been there before. It seemed as alive as Thatch.

Thatch let out a creaking rush of air as Marco hugged him. Body awkwardly half in his lap as he buried his face into Thatch’s neck. Careful and weak, Thatch curled his arms around Marco’s chest. He smelled of antiseptic, sea salt, and spice.

The storm was behind them now, but there was still time for rain. One breath after another.

Little paper cranes littered across a pirate ship.

Every fold a wish.

Every step hope.

[draculovemp3]

@revenge-of-the-assbutt @firstaidspray @sachermorte thank u for enabling me NEWAY since I’ve been too dead to do any of my own hobbies here’s some thoughts on House & Co’s physical hobbies/lil crafts & such they do in the comfort of their home<3:

House: canonically does a ton of shit like piano/guitar/cooking/so on but In the spirit of him resisting change (At Times!) I think he’s gotten very good if not makes a fun time out of mending clothes🥺…. Didn’t wanna throw away his favorite shirts so it started w small hems+resizings until he looked up more tips online and get decorative w it. Pretty contrasting colors/patterns now randomly laid on his shirts and pants w only the careful eye(Cuddy+Wilson) to notice. If anyone cares

Wilson: gardening. Well as much one can do within his apartments/pretty nonplant friendly homes. He’s not a super greenthumb expert but it always gives him a lil confidence boost when he’s able to grow out spices and herbs & such to use in his cooking ♥️

Cuddy: she seems like a collage-making kind of girlie💗💗 no specific theme in em or anything but she still holds onto the potential self-aid of making vision boards and it’s relaxing for her to go thru magazines/etc + cut out whatever interests her enough to use. Rachel tries and cutely fails to help 💓💓💓

Chase: ironically enough for the prodigal son lol but . He genuinely seems like someone who enjoys spending time in silence/music doing puzzles w 1000+ pieces & such #DWEEB❤️. House once got him a 5000 piece puzzle of a kangaroo or w/e as a joke and he is Determined to complete it. In due time chase…

Foreman: the thought of Foreman crocheting is so dear to me….. he doesn’t rly tell anyone ab it but there’s a lot of half-finished + worn projects as proof around his home. #angsting it sorry but I think he took it up after his mom started deteriorating bc she crocheted too and it was a fonder reminder + sumn they could do together. One yr he gave the fellow ducklings scarves he made as Xmas gift. Not that he told him he made it tho😅#repressed

Cameron: I think she has a moderately sized zen garden on a table somewhere in her home she takes SERIOUS. Changes the lines/circles in the sand periodically, sees what new arrangement of rocks she can do etc etc. Girl that thing is meant to be relaxing!! also colorcodes/sticker-covers/etc her planner like a CHAMP.

Amber: she has the most well-detailed prettiest most concerning-when-read journal/diary everrrr. Dedicates a specific time in every day to it w specific pens of various colors. Some of the recounting even have lil doodles or if she takes the journal out w her she draws her view wherever she is<3 they’re literal chickenscratch but its still fun and fulfilling. It’s a bibleesque piece to Wilson’s Amber shrine btw

Thirteen: she’s hard to analyze for me soz 13heads I do love her #trust… nonetheless I bet she goes to hella dance classes. Partially for the exercise partially for the fun partially for the need to experience Life partially for the women. Heh. She’s rly into zumba, jazz, contemporary classes to be specific.

Taub: ok ok so remember when he did/bought pottery or w/e to convince his wife he was being faithful. I think he’d do it for real as a joke/alibi then be like wait…. This is kinda fun…? There’s no constraints to what he can make + the sculpting reminds him vaguely of plastic surgery work so he keeps it up.

Kutner: I think he draws + writes his own lil comics/zines 🫶 they’re mostly scifi or superhero and more than a lil inspired by his fave preexisting medias . He likes using the crazy cases he’s experienced w House as story inspo. Also he 4 sure runs dnd campaigns so well and fun. Btw

Masters: she’s a suckerrrr for trivia nights my lil nerd wife<3 but um anyway when she wants to relax she Really doesn’t want sumn that can become info overload so in free time she’ll make friendship bracelets, lil shapes/figures out of string, etc. Will someone please give this woman a full on loom to go cray with!!!!

Park: I can see it so clearly . I can see her lil handpainted warhammer and other tabletop game figures so perfectly in my head. She paints more than she actually plays(but she does !). God save you if you touch or tumble them.

Adams: I kinda DGAF about her sorry women… hmm there’s sumn compelling ab her doing blackout poetry plus occasionally full-on written when the inspo hits! started as a boredom thing in her job in the prison w whatever book she brought in then she kept on doing it w more and more written pieces she comes across.

I put so much time into this. Perhaps too much.😭feel free to gimme y’all’s thoughts on this/ur own ideas :3

[desceros]

do you have a favorite villain in tmnt?

oh man this was such a hard question!!! i couldn't pick just one, so here are my thoughts on my top favs:

i really really love bebop and rocksteady. their dynamic together is just. man. i really love their relationship a lot, and their designs are so fun, and the shenanigans they get into are always a laugh, and it's just. gah. Them. (my niece actually got me a zine with them for my birthday, hahaha)

i also really really really love krang in rise and in idw, though for different reasons. in idw he's got this incredibly complex background that's just so interesting to think about, which makes him a compelling character beyond just a stock villain. meanwhile in rise, i LOVE that he's just SO OVERWHELMINGLY POWERFUL that the boys can't defeat him; they can only seal him away. he's got this planet-crushing presence that is just so exciting... and it doesn't hurt that all of his scenes are Delicious.

warren stone is a also favorite, just because he's so silly and Fun and his gimmick gets me every time. i also love his relationship with hypno; it's so sweet! i often clack little dolls of them together in my head and make kissy faces

[burins]

2024 WRITING REVIEW

tagged by @vechter !! thank you so much for the tag i will try not to be tremendously maudlin in response! idk if @timetoboldlygo @rolameny or @try-set-me-on-fire did a fic year in review already. Also if you see this and would like to do it genuinely consider yourself tagged I would love to see your thoughts!

number of stories posted to ao3: 7! although two of those and almost all of another were written in 2023. let's say 4.75.

word counted posted for last year: 27k (minus 8k for estate and 3k for unsent letters, so 16k. Which is frankly, a miracle)

fandoms i wrote for: fatt, dc comics, hxh

pairings: superbat, leopika, dinahbabs, alyarr. I also wrote a relatively high proportion of gen fic this year! 

stories with the most kudos, bookmarks and comment threads: everybody loved how cleanly, how quietly (the tim has friends actually manifesto) which is good because i also love how cleanly, how quietly. 

work i’m most proud of (and why): literally anything i got out this year was the product of blood sweat and tears for reasons i will get into later! I’m probably most proud of the silliest fic i published, my love sits patiently, the leopika chair fetish fic. this sprang out of a joke with some friends and rapidly became ungovernable. I’m always nervous writing for a new fandom about whether i have a good handle on the characters, but the entire process of writing this was just me sitting at the keyboard going teeheehee what if! and then putting that into the fic. I think the comedy hits and the prose is good and i managed not to make it too sad (always a danger) while still keeping the leopika sauce in there!

work i’m least proud of (and why): genuinely i don’t publish things I’m not proud of! the really id shit languishes either in my brain, my dms, or in my notes app. so I’m going to cheat by saying a fic i wrote in 2023 but only put up on ao3 in april. it’s estate, not because i don’t think it’s good-- i think it’s really good!! I gave myself a hell of a challenge in writing it (“oh i want to write a shirley jackson pastiche, from the POV of a character I’ve never written before, and also he is a child” <- words spoken by a fool, and a dingus. No one made me do this!) and I think I mostly succeeded. But because it was for a zine I had a strict word count limit, which meant i had to trim down the prose a fair amount and I think it did lose some of its effectiveness in that process. Someday maybe i’ll go through my gdocs and try to resurrect some of the bits I tightened farther than they should have gone. 

share or describe a favorite review you received: i got a lot of really, really thoughtful and lovely comments this year! I feel immensely lucky every time i write something and people like it enough to tell me so. Especially because writing was such a thorny thing for me it was deeply helpful to have people in my inbox going hey, i loved this. sometimes they did literary analysis! incredible shit!!! there are too many to have a particular favorite but someone just told me that they read to the morning come, the post-utrh superbat, a week into their DC comics journey. Which is crazy because that fic obliquely references the time the Joker was the Iranian ambassador, perhaps one of the stupidest storylines in comics. (In hindsight I could probably have come up with a different reason why Clark doesn't let Bruce kill the Joker.) I hope this person has a great time, and also I’m very sorry. 

a time when writing was really, really hard: ha. well. I don’t think this is what the question was intended to get at but for 90% of the year it was physically painful for me to write! my nerve pain came roaring back in december of 2023 and I spent months and months only able to pick at stuff a couple dozen words at a time on my phone, or trying to do bits in voice to text via a truly wild phone to computer situation, or just full of ideas rattling about that I couldn’t do very much with. I try to let it be what it is but it has been a fucking rough year and many many times it made me want to bite. I have ups and downs and I’ll probably keep having ups and downs! i hope this isn’t forever because i really miss getting to lose myself in prose. but at the end of the day we are all just working within the limits of the form and sometimes that has to be more literal than i’d like.  

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: i was originally writing my love sits patiently leaning more heavily on the jokes. But i realized that it is much funnier and also much sweeter if leorio genuinely gives himself a chair thing because he is so horny and emotional about kurapika, so then i had to write them having sex where the chair was integral while not, myself, being into furniture in that way. (i respect our kink warriors it just isn’t For Me!) 

a favourite excerpt of your writing: i’m so pleased with all of the prose in unsent letters from the end of the world, yet another alyarr epistolary fic, but i’m particularly fond of the conclusion. I rattled around a little trying to figure out how alyosha’s voice should sound in these letters after everything he’s gone through. I was thinking a little bit of Leonard Cohen’s final letter to Marianne Ihlen-- there’s a particular certainty that comes with age, and I wanted to allow alyosha some bitterness while still acknowledging that of the various tragedies he’s witnessed, everything with arrell is probably not the top of the list. And also i wanted to stay true to the ending tone of spring in hieron, which is a story about the end of the world and the lives we make for ourselves anyway. 

What I mean to say, in a rather roundabout way for which you are no longer around to chide me, is that I write you to tell myself a story, to determine my own thoughts by writing them down. To make a story, step by meandering step. I did not begin at the beginning, and I have not ended at the end, but I have, I think, come to the conclusion anyway. I loved a false god, and I will never know what, if anything, He loved. And I loved you, Tutor, and you loved me, and it was not enough. But I also loved the world. I loved it enough to change it. I thought there should be something instead of nothing, and I made it so. I hope I was not wrong to do so. From my window I can see children playing, swinging from branch to branch. I do not think I was.

how did you grow as a writer last year: i would like to say that i learned to accept my own limitations and celebrated my victories (getting a fic out for multiple events, getting to a place where I could write almost all of my love sits patiently by sitting down at a keyboard!!!) but that is a Work In Progress. 

how do you hope to grow this year: i really do not want to jinx anything so i will just say i would like to be able to write sustainably, whatever that means for me this year. I suspect it will mean a variety of different things because what counts as sustainable changes from day to day! 

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): really truly cannot say enough kind things about @suedeuxnim beloved friend beta cheerleader etc. thank you for cheering me on in my dms and keeping me supplied with cat pictures. also, separately, my wonderful spouse. this is a tumblr post, not the oscar acceptance speech, and i suspect they would find it embarrassing if i went on a lot but it makes every aspect of life easier to have a partner in crime. 

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: funnily enough the chronic pain duo fics were actually written BEFORE the big chronic pain resurgence, and also they’re from 2023. (this has actually happened to me twice, and while i’m not going to stop writing about chronic pain it does feel like maybe i am a little bit cursed.) I wrote two fics about bruce’s parenting choices and their effects on his kids and I think you can do the math! No one gets deeply into batman comics because they’re normal about fathers. Oh, in more fun things, Tim’s calendar from how cleanly, how quietly is based on the very real Daikonic Moments calendar from Omega Mart, which was our 2024 calendar. If anyone has suggestions for a 2025 calendar lmk because we got one for Christmas but it’s all bad mullets and we are not hanging it up.  

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: i spent a non-zero amount of this year feeling bummed that i couldn’t write as much as I wanted, both because writing is one of my main hobbies and also because despite my cool and untouchable image (citation needed) it is hard not to compare myself to others who are able to write much, much, much more than me! But that is silly because I am me and they are them. There have been times in my life when i was the demon of productivity and times in my life when i wrote nothing publishable all year. So my wisdom (still working on the implementation part!!!) is to celebrate what you are able to do and not what you don’t manage. And also, write for yourself and your circle of freaks and you can’t go wrong. 

any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: anything i can finish is a win! I have a lot of projects in the hopper from almost two years ago; who knows what will happen. I did sign up for secret samol so there will be a fatt fic forthcoming, and I also signed up for another secret project (no longer secret! I'm gonna be in the Bruce Wayne pinup zine) so there’ll be something else probably in early summer. I would love to finish my jaydick injury fic. i have a second chapter of dinahbabs handler sex, but that one involves a lot of disability feelings and i’ve been putting it off because i want to do it justice. maybe superbat amnesia will happen at some point but that’s so long (and has a Real Plot) so the likelihood is slim. I have a LOT of ideas about how leopika can have sex mistakes I’d love to turn into fics but also they’re just fun to rotate. we’ll see!

[kinglazrus]

Beep boop hello to you! Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💚

I adore whoever made this ask game. Thank you for sending me one, Lexx! This was so hard to choose, so these aren't in any particular order.

The Moment It Breaks

Description: After months of lies and secrets, it finally happens. His identity is revealed in the worst of ways—in the middle of a ghost fight. Now everyone knows that Tucker Foley is the Tech Hunter

Reason: I made this AU for the Danny Phantom au zine, Reality Trip, and I have had so much fun playing with it. It started as a throwaway wondering "what if Vlad approached Tucker instead of Valerie?" and grew into something huge. I've always adored no one knows aus, and this one takes it a step further. I'll be posting the fic to Ao3 soon, and I've got big plans for the rest of this AU.

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

Description: Valerie knows Danny Fenton, everybody does. Youngest of the family, son and heir, future owner of Fenton Works. Notable for all those reasons and infamous for none of them. Where Maddie and Jack are the local quirks, Danny is the tragedy. And, for the next week, he's the Red Huntress' newest client.

Reason: I adore writing Valerie's point of view. She's my favourite character, so it's a bit criminal that I don't have more fics focused on her. I've also used some different narrative techniques in this fic playing with perspective, which has been a lot of fun.

The Punishment Fits the Crime

Description: Ghosts are naturally drawn to death. Danny, however, finds himself drawn to those who have wrongfully died. He always said he would never hurt someone who doesn't deserve it. It's not his fault that he keeps finding people who do. Or: Danny is a vengeful spirit.

Reason: My darkest fic, tonally. I got the idea to turn Danny into a vengeful spirit and immediately decided to push it as far as I could. There's only a couple of chapters up right now, but the tags tell you all you need to know about the direction this fic is going.

The In-Laws

Description: Harriet and her son, Kwan, meet each other's boyfriends through a family dinner. Hopefully, Vlad Masters and Danny Fenton can get along for one meal.

Reason: Because it's fun! This is a very light-hearted, humorous fic, and I had a great time with it. I like to write all kinds of pairings, and this was a great way to explore two I hadn't yet: Vlad and Harriet, and Danny and Kwan. Bad News shippers come get your juice.

Blossoms On Her Tongue

Description: Years after Undergrowth’s attack, Sam’s ghost powers from that day are slowly returning. Sam is excited at first, both at the chance to grow closer with Danny, and the opportunity to use her own powers for good. But things aren’t as great as they seem. After all, plants don't mix well with the cold.

Reason: I can't actually say because that would be a spoiler! But there's a specific dynamic I wanted to explore for the trio and this fic was what came out of it. I've got three parts planned for this series, each one focused on a different member of the trio.

Honourable mentions that I almost picked for this:

The Survivalists (of course)

Prince Before King. Genius Before Fool.

Not Your Danny

Deep Wounds

Dead Man Walking

Until Death Do We Part

[sho-dan]

Hello and welcome to this wild crackship!

In this pinned post I'm going to explain the reason for the name, the reason for the ship, and what I plan to do with this blog.

Why Sho-Dan?

I decided to call it Sho-Dan because it's a play on the name Chō-Han, a Japanese dice game that was a favorite of Zatoichi's, the character that was the inspiration for Issho. It's not hard to imagine Dadan might be a gambler as well, albeit probably not a successful one.

Why did I start shipping them?

Issho has been my favorite One Piece character for years now. It's impossible to know at this point what kind of man Issho was before becoming Fujitora, but I get the impression that he hasn't let his new status in the world change how he views it. Despite being an Admiral, he doesn't follow Sakazuki's orders, nor does he seem to give a damn about the opinions of celestial dragons or whatever punishment they might want to inflict on him. He does what he thinks is right, including letting a certain pirate alliance save a kingdom. He sees the nuance of life.

I always wanted to ship him with someone that would make sense, but he canonically seems like a loner to me. (This isn't meant to be disrespectful to any other ships, this is just how I feel.) I got into the Zatoichi movies because of him, and Ichi always fell in love but always left them behind because his life was too dangerous (he was always on the yakuza's radar) and had to stay on the move. It made sense in my mind that Issho could be similar, making enemies when he acted on his sense of justice, being a wanderer before and after being drafted into the Marines. That he could have left a love behind to keep them safe.

I am fond of Curly Dadan because she's a big, loud woman who swears and smokes, is a coward who makes mistakes, but will be brave when it counts. The characters she interacts with (obviously excluding ASL) treat her like a daughter (Garp saying "I'm leaving these kids with you, raise them well" gives toxic dad vibes) or older sister (her underlings respect her but fear her wrath.) I couldn't help but think she might be lonely, too.

My first thought was shipping her with a woman, but the only woman she's canonically interacted with is Makino. Makino is nice, but I see her dating either a normal person or a great adventurer, not a cowardly mountain bandit.

In 2020 I became part of the Women! Wanted Zine. We had to pick a woman from One Piece and create fanworks for her, so I picked Dadan. This was also during the midst of my Zatoichi movie spree.

It started with a prompt. We were making flash art to spark interest in the zine, and the prompts were based on arcs and movies.

That week's prompt was One Piece Film: Gold.

I drew Dadan. To be honest, hadn't seen Film Gold yet. I looked up character references from the movie, and settled on an outfit I thought was appropriately cool.

This movie had casinos and gambling, though, and of course I had to draw Issho- It's how we're first introduced to him!

Suddenly, things fell into place.

What kind man would love Dadan? What fierce woman would love Issho? What lover would Issho abandon to protect, and what in Dadan's past made her so embittered?

In my mind, it made sense that Issho could've been a wandering swordsman in his youth, maybe catching rides from island to island. He could have met Dadan on Dawn Island, well before the arrival of Ace, Sabo and Luffy into her life. Knowing what we know from SBS 110, maybe he was on the run! Maybe it was before his association with that kingdom!

Now what?

I'm making this blog as a testament to this crackship. I will share art about them, and share things that remind me of them. If I'm ever motivated to continue it, I may share my fanfiction here.

Thanks for reading, hope you liked it 💜🧡

[journalsouppe]

My Sheik spread dedicated to how much I love him! Also a little celebration post for getting to be a contributor in the Sheik zine (Harp in the Shadows) ^_^ Ngl this is just a massive ramble about Sheik lmao I did not plan what I was gonna say beforehand

The sticker is from MaridoodlesShop on Etsy! The Sheik letters are from a halloween sticker pack I found on clearance at Michaels

Typed text below! (plus a little extra writing)

My second favorite character right behind the Hero of Time. Sheik is the reason why I always knew I'd be a Zelda fan, and probably why OOT is my favorite Zelda game. My first introduction to him was in Super Smash Bros Brawl where he was my main. He was so well balanced in that game, I loved fighting with him. However, in Ultimate, they increased his speed and decreased his attack, so playing with him is so hard. Instead I became a Zelda (ALTTP/ALBW) main (also sometimes BOTW Link). One last thing about Brawl Sheik is that his design was updated for if he were in Twilight Princess which I absolutely love. When I got reintroduced to Sheik in Ocarina, he just became an incredible character in my eyes. The way Sheik and Link are able to communicate with just music is incredible. They share some of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen. Even though the music lasts for 30 seconds max, they have become some of my favorite tunes. I know others agree because they wrote full compositions for those songs. The intimacy between Link and Sheik is the reason why I do like OOT Zelink (more specifically Shink than Zelink bc I didn't know the ship name at that time lmao), but only in the adult timeline and if Zelda still treasures Sheik. I absolutely hated the manga implying Sheik was a personality due to a spell and that she will never be Sheik again. Sheik is so passionate about Impa's teachings and the Sheikah culture that no way in hell would Zelda toss that away. Zelda and Sheik are one, it just is up to Zelda for how she will present herself. I believe I also really love Sheik as this is a way for Zelda to express herself and live outside of being the princess. I have so much love for Ocarina of Time and Sheik, they defined the future of the TLOZ franchise especially with gender presentation. Sheik was definitely the shift of making the Zelda games devoid of hyper masculinity or femininity. All in all, Sheik is an amazing character who I absolutely love. I hope to see influences of him in upcoming games.

This is extra not written down but I'm also just such a fan of all the queer Sheik headcanons. Trans Sheik, genderfluid Sheik/Zelda, cis male Sheik who is a different character than Zelda, etc. I especially love characters like him and Tetra where Zelda just gets to live a life outside of the pressures of being the princess and really get to explore who she is. Those characters really just show SO much personality in Zelda and it makes me so happy. Sheik's such an important character to me I even commissioned my friend to crochet a little doll of him for me :,). He's also just a big inspiration for me beginning to journal and write as I get to express my feelings on certain topics, and he was the biggest topic I always want to talk about. So excited to be a part of the Sheik zine and I can't wait to share what I have been working on once the zine releases!

[natalieironside]

Introducing the Writer Tag Game

Ty @iloveyou-writers for making this and to @thewriteflame for tagging me <3

Rules: fill in the blanks with as much or little detail as you would like and tag some writer friends to play too. (blank version)

Hello, there. My name is award-winning speculative fiction author Natalie H. Ironside and I won a writing contest in high school one time that I'm gonna milk harder than Pabst milks their one blue ribbon. I'm a writer of the dark sci-fi and dark fantasy genre(s) and I love to write about sad gay ppl in horrible situations. Also, hope. The hope is very important, and my stories can get pretty dark but they always have happy endings.

I cover a broad enough range that I think I can just reject the dichotomy of SFW/NSFW (everything is adequately tagged and described so the rest is in God's hands). I write about some pretty dark themes and a lot of my work deals with the aftermath of stuff like sexual violence and child abuse, so just be aware of that, as well as the "entrails, lovingly described" throughout. Tropes you will never find in my writing include any salacious depictions of sexual violence (the word "aftermath" in the above is an important one) or...Well, I'm not sure how to put this. Most of my protags are racial, religious, sexual, or some other sort of minority, and obviously there's some darkness in the world et cetera, but there's a certain way of framing bigotry in fiction as though it's cinematic action violence which I find uniquely distasteful and I will not be doing any of that. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this in a way that makes any sense at all but I promise to never try to be the Kojima of sexism.

In my humble opinion, my best work I've posted is The Scruggsdale Organizer #4: Local Woman About Tired of All This Mess because I think it's very funny. Maybe I'm just being precious, but comedy is really really hard and I very rarely even bother trying at it but I'm pretty proud of The Scruggsdale Organizer and this installment in particular. For y'all who don't know, which I'm sure is a lot of y'all since I haven't posted about it in forever, The Scruggsdale Organizer is an epistolary horror-comedy serial about a little town in rural Mississippi where strange supernatural things happen, but instead of blog posts or letters the story is being told through articles in a weekly anarchist zine. Yeah, I guess I've written some "novels" and some "short stories" and some "poetry" or whatever, but I look at Scruggsdale Organizer #4 as a time I set out to do a specific thing and just really nailed it; it's the literary equivalent of parking the car in the spot just right.

My all-time favorite character I've made is Freydis Gothi Thorkilsdottir, daughter of Thorkil Gothi Swordbreaker, Matron of War Witches, Matron of War Matrons, High Field Marshal, Eater of Cities, Mother of Abominations, and Chief Royal Consort. She's a recurring protagonist in my Nameless Queen dark fantasy universe and I am love her very much. Freydis is an enormous ginger transsexual, a sword-and-board fighter who can cast wicked spells, and a rough-and-tumble freebooting adventurer type who suddenly found herself part of the royal court and fast-tracked into becoming a monstrous demigod. It's super weird for her and she's dealing with a whole "to become a god is to lose everything that made life worth living" situation but she's also having a rip-roaring good time while she does it.

Something I'd love for you to know about my writing that isn't listed in this game is, well, I feel like we got kinda dark in the middle there, so I wanted to end back where we began and talk about hope. What really does it for me when it comes to the dark stuff is recovery; I like telling stories about recovery. My characters sometimes have very very bad days, but tomorrow can always be better than yesterday and there's always a reason to keep trying.

Thank you for reading and now I challenge the following people to fill this out: I seem to have misplaced my list of people who said they liked participating in tag games so I'm leaving this one open. I tag each and every one of you.

[maxhpart]

12 and 18 for the art ask!

(WHOOPS, didn't mean to take a week to get back to this! I'm hoping I can actually return to art-as-usual for a little while.)

12. Show your favourite drawing from this year (2023)

Ough, questions of favorites are tricky for me because it's hard to pick just one! However, I think I have my answer. The question isn't asking about my most popular (Matrix Barbie), most grueling (Art Fight multiattack), most experimental (Spider-Punk for style, Caduceus for medium), or best example of what I do (Izel & Yaretzi). The question asks for my favorite, which is this one from August:

(It has been my phone wallpaper for a while!)

I love the composition and colors on this one; they make me smile. I love the layering and texturing I did here. I love that I got to try out the Amogus technique, and it worked better than whatever I would have done instead! And I love it for what it's about: the heat and joys of summer :) Extra nice to think about on these (northern hemisphere) cold winter days.

18. Do you have any larger projects you’d like to pursue? Like comics, shortfilm, a series etc?

I've had recent-ish ideas for one-off comics (a few pages, tops) and merch sets and such, and I think it'd be neat to run a zine someday.

A few years back, I had an idea for a (fan/adaptation) TTRPG that I worked on intermittently for a while. I didn't get to the stage of making art for it, but I would definitely want to if I ever picked it up again and worked out the rest of the kinks in the mechanics/structure of gameplay. Might just want to rebuild it (from scratch) (again)...

I also have always—as in, literally since childhood—thought it'd be neat to make [art for] a video game. These days, I'm wondering if doing something like making my own visual novel would be a good fit (for doing final art in a style/medium familiar to me), or doing character design for a team that translates it to a different style/medium. I dunno! It's not a specific ambition for right now, just something that might be neat. But if inspiration strikes me or a suitable opportunity arises, I might pursue it after all!

Thank you for the questions! I hadn't thought about the game stuff in a while. These are good things to consider for a new year 👀

[cookiecomics]

Hi! ⊂⁠(⁠(⁠・⁠▽⁠・⁠)⁠)⁠⊃

6, 22 and 62 :3

6. What's the last line you wrote?

Technically the last things I wrote for the previous two months are all for zines that aren't fully out yet fsdkjhkjf so technically my last pubic line was this.

It falls quiet before Goro adds. “You also promised you wouldn’t leave.” Ren stares. “As far as I’m concerned your word means nothing to me.” 

Look forward to my lovely Supernatural CW AU :3 from the free-to-read zine @akeshuakeauzine coming out on the 28th of this month <3 <3

I'll also be back to writing ATOTT next month :3 so :3 look forward to that :3

22. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

I agonize over titles, both for my chapters and for fics at large. I want the chapters to have their own individual identity and tell the reader more or less what to expect. So if my brain cannot come up with anything I will look to my favorite shows or animes for inspiration. For example, "You are My Friend" chapter 22, is a reference to a Naruto Opening Song. Chapter 27 (too lazy to check) "Thanks I hate it here" was me being frustrated over the Okumura arc lmfaooo. And I came up with "A Tale of Two Tricksters" when originally it was supposed to be just "Trickster Games" until I thought to myself "It's not really a game...it's more of a tale..." and that's how that title was born.

One of my zine fics "No Rest for the Wicked" is the title of the finale of season 3 of Supernatural :3 I always pick titles during the outlining stage and adjust as needed before publishing. If it doesn't stand out, tell the reader what the chapter is about or just sounds good to say (Shout out to How to Trick a Trickster) then I don't want it as a title :3

62. In A Tale of Two Tricksters, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

I'll have to give it to Chapter 49 and this scene is shown in this comic right here. I love Cognitive Akechi, I love love love what he represents and his dynamic with Goro.

The entire of chapter 49 was just such a roller coster and it had all my favorite things. Drama, FutaGo Sibling pain, RyuGoro interactions, a chase sequence and Cognitive Akechi acting like john wick lmfao. I'm not kidding i went to see the new john wick movie for inspiration on how to write Cognitive Akechi going after Futaba lmao.

Also my favorite disses all come from cognitive Akechi.

Like when he got ran over, THIS is what he comes back and tells Futaba.

"“Cute. Got that idea from Mother, did we?”"

Not to mention the above comic and what he says to Ryuji.

"“Pinched a nerve did I? Which parent never loved you?”"

Like what is wrong with him. Anyways Cog Akechi was short-lived but man oh man, did i love writing him. I love reading about him. He brainrots me hard.

That is all :3

[usamamoweek]

Meet the Mods!

What username(s) and platform(s) can folx find you on? (Please include links!)

Hi, folx! I'm Lillie Bell. I can be found on AO3, and all my shenanigans happen on tumblr @lilliebellfanfics

(Fun Fact) What is your favorite kind of potato?

Waffle House hashbrowns -- smothered, covered, and capped

How long have you been creating works in fandom spaces? How long have you been active in the SM fandom?

I'm one of the OG crew from when the internet was young (lol). I wrote SM fanfiction as a teenager during the era of Alicia Blade, ASMR, etc., I had a short stint in as the writing mod in the SML LJ community, and have recently returned to writing fanfiction, mostly smut, after a long hiatus. I also write for Seven Deadly Sins when I'm not completely lost in SM.

What type(s) of creative works do you usually make? (fanfics, digital art, cosplay)

I cannot draw to save my life or take a good picture, so I am solidly a writer only. I am super impressed by folx who can work in multiple mediums. Words are hard enough, so that's what I stick too :D

What do you enjoy about creating for the SM fandom?

I love the joy & support the community has for each other as well as the diversity of ships and people in the fandom. For the characters, there are so many facets to play with and explore that I never feel like I'm done telling their stories. There are so many more situations to put these babies in!

Are you strictly UsaMamo or do you create for other pairings as well?

I write more UsaMamo than any other pairing, but ReiNako are my grumpy x sunshine queens and I love them. I've also delved into writing KunZoi recently and love their dynamic as well. I'm very much ship and let ship, so I enjoy reading pretty much any ship, but I can only write a pairing/poly that I feel I have a good grasp on. Hence, usually UsaMamo, ReiNako, and sometimes KunZoi.

What inspires you to create works for Usagi and Mamoru?

All the feels (lol). I have specific facets of their personalities or backgrounds that I love to explore. I love to mess with Mamoru the Orphan and how that shapes his decisions & personality (good and bad), and how he evolves with that background over time. I love happy-go-lucky Usagi who is just out in a world being herself, falling through life and living it to the fullest, but also has these big responsibilities and rises to every call.

Do you tend to work on multiple projects (WIPs) simultaneously or try to finish one at a time?

I have multiple WIPs right now, but I tend to be very focused on one at a time (for better or worse). I don't like leaving things not done, so multiple WIPs starts to grate on me to just get it done.

Do you prefer large projects (chaptered fics, webtoons/zines, highly detailed art) or small projects (one-shots or simple art)?

I like one shots / smaller fics where I can hint at how we got here or how the future might look after, but the focus is one small moment between the characters. That said, I currently have two long fics I'm working on... because reasons. XD

Are there any common themes, situations, tropes, or mediums in your work?

I write fairly broadly between dark, smut, and some fluff. There's usually a comedic edge, so it's not 24/7 serious (I'm not that person if you noticed ;D ). My favorite tropes are forbidden love/romance and the banter of grumpy x sunshine. There are definite themes but they may not always come through. For Mamoru, I like to put him in situations he isn't prepared for and help him make bad decisions. I really enjoy playing with his connection to Earth / Elysion and his strong sense of loyalty/duty to Usagi, as well as his shitennou. For Usagi, I think her friends treat her too delicately and, even though she's a bit silly or not totally organized, she will show up for her friends or the world when it's in trouble. I like to play in that space where she is unexpectedly mature b/c Usagi is a quintessential example of a person who doesn't have her shit together, she's not perfect & that's okay, and she can save the world just as she is. MF QUEEN.

I bring these elements into my other pairings--they are pretty common dynamics. KunZoi and ReiNako are facets of grumpy x sunshine and love vs duty/honor. So, I do like to push the characters into uncomfortable territory and then see how they respond. Rei always raises to the bait. Kunzite will crumble... eventually (if mechanical bulls are involved).

Is there anything you haven’t explored artistically and would like to try?

I've done a little bit of everything in my tenure in the fandom, but I think I'd like to produce a few more chaptered works, but not excessively long (6 chaps vs 20). I seem to be strong in either the one shot category or long fic category, but not in between. So that's something I'd very much like to work on for my own sanity.

[an-aura-about-you]

Long post is long, so I'll make a new one! Thank you @coolalicious for tagging me to do this!

Name(s) - Aura (to the point that if you see Aura in a handle somewhere else then it's probably me)

Pronouns - x/they/she in order of preference.

Star sign - on the Pisces side of the Aquarius/Pisces cusp

# of siblings & fun facts about them (if you have any) - I have one sibling who's younger than me by 1 1/2 years. fun fact: their favorite animal is the platypus!

# of pets & their names - I have one cat, a little black domestic shorthair kitty named Schroedinger.

Fandoms - Princess Tutu, The Magnus Archives, the Chzo Mythos, Homestar Runner, and pretty much anything else I've got on the backburner

Favorite color - puce

Favorite song - this is always one of the hardest questions because does this mean of all time? just right now? the one that I can listen to endlessly on repeat? the one that makes me go 110% feral? I think I'll answer based on vibes, and based on vibes my favorite song is Gymnopedie no. 1 by Erik Satie.

Favorite author (of anything readable-- books, fanfics, zines, webtoons, whatever!) - oh, this is another hard one. it is not at all helped by the fact that I've been going through the audiobook of Lightlark and thoroughly enjoying it for reasons the author never intended, which is the case when you pursue media with a So Bad It's Good mindset. but I might have to give an honorable mention to Alex Aster anyway for the sheer number of times I had to pause her audiobook because I was doubled over laughing at it. but for a more sincere answer, I will pick Mel Brooks, which almost feels like cheating, but his professional memoir All About Me! was such an enjoyable ride and had that same voice and beloved sense of humor he's honed in his movies. Mel Brooks is one of the few celebrities I've written a fan letter to, an actual physical fan letter written by hand, and he is well worth that effort.

Hobbies - cooking, writing, taking walks at the park, playing games with friends

Favorite fic type - you know how some fandoms have a very specific type of fic by the nature of canon? my favorite fic is a type specific to the fandom for The Magnus Archives related to the tropes of Loves My Alter Ego and Two Sided Love Triangle. specifically, I love the premise Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist being a former member of real life band The Mechanisms (that real life Jonathan Sims was a member of) and hapless archival assistant Martin Blackwood being a fan of The Mechanisms, resulting in him being torn between his crush on his prickly boss and his crush on frontman Jonny d'Ville unaware that they are in fact the same person. my ideal version of this would be at a point where the crush is mutual and at first Jon uses his Jonny d'Ville persona to try acting as a wingman for Martin to get him with himself?? but then that kind of evolves into Martin dating Jonny while still being unaware it's Jon somehow. we're talking Rio Pacheco from Jem and the Holograms levels of unaware, which I will forgive Martin for because he's just so starstruck.

Favorite holiday - New Year's! I even made arrangements to take the whole week off so I can properly enjoy it. <3

Do you have any partner(s)? (romantic, qpp, anything!) - nope! I'm happily single and ready for some Pringles!

Fun facts about you / anything extra you wanna share! - so y'all know I love food and I like to cook, and I've mentioned before that I've been to culinary school, but I don't know how many of my current followers know that I actually went to Le Cordon Bleu for their baking and patisserie program and in fact graduated from there with honors. I earned my coveted blue cravat for doing so.

and I tag anyone who wants to do this!

[twinkboimler]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

Tagged by @m-b-w, thank you!

Questions are answered under the cut!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

58 works

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

693,141 words

3) What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, only Star Trek; while my focus tends to be on TOS, AOS, and SNW, I'm open to writing for other trek series and will when the inspiration strikes! Previously, I've written a fair amount for MST3K and Anne with an E.

4) Top 5 fics by kudos?

Imagining Something Worthwhile - AWAE Oddly Unexpected, Oddly Charming - AWAE Hush - AWAE Heaven Help The Fool Who Falls In Love - AWAE An Endless Stream of Tomorrows - TOS

(lmao, can you tell I was writing AWAE fic as the show was airing? I think that was the only fandom I've written for while a fandom was at it's peak popularity)

5) Do you respond to comments?

Not always and I do feel bad about that. I try my best when the comment is especially sweet or lengthy, but I've got about 10 unread comments in my inbox right now that I haven't replied to because too much time has passed and it feels like it's too late

6) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

with trembling hands, my SNW Spock/Pike fic that has a sad ending. Super happy with how angsty that fic ends tbh I really wanted to write a fic for Spock/Pike that tackled how Pike would end their relationship as the radiation stuff was quickly approaching

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

I've posted so many fluffy oneshots that it's kinda hard to choose. An Endless Stream of Tomorrows is definitely high on that list

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Not really. The closest I get in the trek fandom are comments correcting me on some lore in my fics. Which, sure, is sometimes nice and useful, but sometimes I don't really need a "um, actually--" on a 1000 word fluff fic

9) Do you write smut?

Yes, and I'm finally at the point where I really 1) enjoy writing smut and 2) think I'm getting good at it

10) Do you write crossovers?

I have one, and I so RARELY get to talk about it because it was written for me and like two friends. Night Shift is my crossover fic: it's Spike from BTVS X Gambit from X-Men (and apparently it has 21 kudos??? who are you people reading this crack ship???). Anyway, Gambit and Spike hook up and through a series of misunderstandings, they end up on a roadtrip/fleeing a murder scene together. Spike thinks Gambit is a demon, and Gambit has no idea Spike is a vampire. I'm realizing I haven't reread this fic since I posted it, which is WILD because this is such a self-indulgent fic, so I'm going to go read that now

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, but people are free to do so! Just credit the original work :)

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

Yep! Between You and Me (AWAE) was such an interesting project to work on! There was a group of about 13 of us, and we all had a week to read the previous chapter and write our own chapters to continue the story. I'd love to do something like that again

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

Spike/Buffy, but funnily enough, I don't have a strong drive to read fic for them. I'm satisfied with how the show handles their relationship arc and haven't really had to resort to reading fic because of that

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

I don't post wips that I don't intend to finish. I've got a few wips in my docs that may never be finished of course, but on AO3 my only wip rn is Place Your Hand In Mine, my AOS academy-era mckirk fic, and I fully intend to finish that one; other fics (trektober, zines fics, etc) just got in the way

16) What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and smut

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Still trying to be a more concise writer; I'd love to be able to say more with less words

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I haven't taken a language course in 5+ years. I think if I had to I could write some simple French dialogue, but not without doing a lot of studying to make sure I was saying what I meant

19) First fandom you wrote for?

On AO3, X-Men. IRL? when I was 12 the only person I knew who wrote fic was writing Youtuber fanfic, so I tried that out for a short stint before immediately shifting to Doctor Who

20) Favorite fic you've ever written?

what remains unsaid. I don't think it's my best fic, but it does hit all the beats for what I often look for in fic, so it's doing everything that I want in a story. What really draws me to some of the TOS Movies is how they deal with themes of parenthood and Jim never really fitting into the role of father and being very aware that he doesn't fit that role. I just really love that he's shown as having faults, like yeah, he wasn't a father to David and he knows that. This fic is in a 5+1 Things format exploring Jim's relationship (or lack of) to David. It's not a ship fic; it was just a chance for me to explore those themes and really dive into Jim's head.

TAGGING: @antspaul @ladywaffles @diabeticjedi @gunstreet @borbtrek and anyone else who would like to do it, feel free to say I tagged you!