#the longest fic i wrote since writers block is smut.

[euphoricbi]

You mentioned Chris fucking you with flour on his hands? 👀

BASICALLY.. what i was thinking was basically a diff version of the domestic couple fic i did with chris. hes so prettty omf g.

so I'll do like an.. nsfw vers. of it . :3

HEAVY SMUT UNDERCUT

Your eyes began to open as you slowly began to wake up, your eyes adjusting to the light. You felt an arm around your waist making you feel safe, you nuzzled a slight into the supple skin of your lover's pecs.

You heard a soft groan from above your head, causing you to look up, eyes landing on Chris. Chris opened his eyes and looked down at you, a soft smile on his lips.

"Hey, beautiful." He said, yawning afterwards, he raised his hand to your cheek, brushing your skin with his thumb.

"Mnh, morning breath." You mumbled out, leaning upwards to place a kiss on his lips, despite his breath. He chuckles after returning the kiss, "So my breath stinks— And you still decide to kiss me? Must be real love."

Chris let out a small laugh, kissing you again before you spoke, "Do you have work today?" He shook his head no, "No, they're letting me relax for a bit." You smiled, sitting up.

"Okay! We're cooking today. So get up, and get ready." You said cheerfully as Chris gave you a, 'really?' sort of look as you then nodded. Chris sat up stretching his arms, as you got out of the bed, throwing on something comfortable. "Meet you in the kitchen, slowpoke." Grinning, you exited the bedroom making your way to the kitchen, you grabbed the materials to make pancakes and waited for Chris.

It didn't take more than a few seconds as he entered, wearing a gray shirt and matching sweatpants. "Pancakes?" He said as he looked around the kitchen, his strong arms coming to a halt over his chest. You batted your eyelashes at him for bribery reasons, he looked at you stepping closer. "Fine, let's make the batter." He responded, leaning closer to you as he grabbed the flour, which you purposefully put behind you. You grabbed his arm before he pulled away, "I'm mixing it, okay?" Chris would snicker, "Yeah."

You stay there locking eyes for a bit before he pressed the flour to your chest, his other arm gripping the counter behind you. You open the flour, stuffing your hand in, pulling out some and blowing it onto his chest. "Oops."

"Oops?" He questioned as he tried wiping the flour off, getting it on his hands. "You're in big trouble." He raised his hand up, grabbing your throat gently leaning his head closer to you. "Turn. Around."

Chris released you, admiring the flour in the shape of his hand on your neck as you took the time to bend over the counter behind you.

Chris lowered your bottoms and spreading your ass cheeks open, snickering. "So pretty, all for me." You shivered as you looked back, seeing him take out his throbbing cock. Chris spat down onto his member, rubbing the tip on your hole.

"Chr—Chris . . " You sighed out at the friction as you backed your body up a bit, trying to speed him up.

"Hey , don't get impatient." He chuckled, gripping your hips and holding you still as he slowly thrusted in. You both let out sighs of relief as he bottomed out in you.

Chris glanced at your neck again, then placed his flour covered hand on your ass, gripping. He pulled his hips back then thrusted forwards, trying to find a steady pace.

You inhaled sharply, his thrusts knocking the air out of you, "Chris— Feels so.. ngh. So goo—" pausing as a particular thrust caused you to moan out, as Chris leaned forward, knocking over the flour in the process.

The loud and obscene noises of him fucking you clouded your mind as he placed an arm firmly around your stomach, pounding into you.

"F-Fuck.." He groaned out, as your eyes rolled back, cumming for the first time in the day. Chris gasped, as his hips stuttered, "Fuck, did you cum? I want you to cum again..B-But I gotta please myself." He purred into your ear as he shoved his cock fully inside you, emptying his load. He whimpered a slight as you moaned out at the warmth inside of you, feeling his cock twitch as he let out his semen.

Chris slowly backed up, looking down at your body seeing it covered with his flour covered hand prints, causing his cock to twitch.

"You look so hot.." He mumbled.

"Chris? I-I'm tired—" You leaned up a bit, before being pushed down by him, gently.

"No no, I said I wanted you to cum again, didn't I? We're not done yet."

[jennaispunk]

I’m not one to toot my own horn or bring attention to myself but I was inspired by the lovely @jolapeno (ilysm 💜💜), @wethairjoel, @sawymredfox (ily bestie!! 💜), @toomanystoriessolittletime and others, I decided to post my own favorite things.

2024 was the year I started writing fic. I posted my first story in February and the rest is history. My journey has had its ups and downs (self-doubt, writers block, etc) but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve made some wonderful friends in the Pedro fandom (too many to tag) and I’m grateful for each and every one of you and all your shenanigans. 🤪

Now, for the things:

Just Another Saturday Night- The first fic I ever posted and it was for none other than Javi P for Space Sisters Valentine’s Day Exchange. I love writing for Javi. This was a fun story to write about Javi and reader baby sitting for Steve and Connie on Valentine’s Day and their feelings are revealed. Javi singing to Olivia will live in my head rent-free forever.

Like the Rain- my first Frankie fic. If you don’t already know, I love Frankie, and I mean LOVE (I really should write more for him). This one was for @guiltyasdave 1.5k kisses challenge and the prompt was kisses in the rain. If you don’t know by know, I love Frankie, and I mean LOVE. I really need to write more for him. This little story was ultimately about Frankie learning to accept love and the rain provided a good metaphor for washing the slate clean and starting again.

A Symptom of Being Human- my first Joel fic. This one was a bit different for me because it was the most heavy thing I’d written up to that point. It dealt with loss and panic attacks and I cried while writing it.

It’s Only Make Believe- my first Dieter fic written for @burntheedges Roll-A-Trope Challenge. My prompt was fake dating/relationship. This one was a bear, y’all. I struggled with this one quite a bit and it’s my longest fic to date. I had a hard time finding Dieter’s voice but I think I managed okay. This one made me fall for Dieter even more (and also made me rewatch the Bubble 🤣) and I’ve written two more fics for him since then.

Amid the Falling Snow- My first Ezra fic. Ezra has always been a favorite of mine but I had shied away from writing because I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to capture his voice. After a few rewatches of Prospect (a terrible thing to have to do I know 🤣) and some reading some fantastic resource material from @morallyinept, this just flowed out of me. I think I really found my stride here in terms of being able to paint an image with my words.

Miller’s Christmas Tree Farm- I tried something new this year: co-writing. This was a piece of Joel Christmas fluff I wrote with @toomanystoriessolittletime. I had so much fun writing this with you and I hope we can team up in 2025 to do it again!!

I also made a few moodboards (not related to any of my fics) that I’m proud of.

Frankie and Mouse- for @beefrobeefcal. Frankie and Mouse will always be one of my favorites and I will ship them until the day I die. This series has it all: smut, humor and tears.

Jagged Scraps of Him- for @moonlitbirdie. This was the first Ezra fic I read and boy did it blow me away. I love the way Birdie writes Ezra. If you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for?You can find the fic on A03 if you’re a registered user. I’m posting the moodboard as I pic because I can’t link it.

I participated in quite a few writing challenges this year (some of which I mentioned above) and helped me grow as a writer. I’m looking forward to the writing challenges you all come up with in 2025!

I stepped out of my comfort zone a bit in 2024 and participated in @morallyinept’s Pike’s Pick-n-Mix, where I was paired with the amazing @beefrobeefcal who I’m blessed to say became a good friend. ily Beef!! 💜

I also participated in Pedro Scouts. @goodwithcheese-Thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication into creating such a welcoming and fun space for the fandom. Scouts Summer Camp was probably my favorite part of this year. The shenanigans and group activities were hilarious and so much fun. Because of summer camp, I met @jolapeno, who has become a good friend. I’m truly blessed. 💜

I can’t say goodbye to 2024 without thanking all of those who have supported me, laughed with me and shared thots with me. I can’t tag you all because there are just too many. Here’s just are just a few that I haven’t already tagged and/or mentioned in this post who have made my 2024 worth remembering:

@whocaresstillthelouvre @secretelephanttattoo @bitchesuntitled @artsy-girl-76 @sixhours

@mothandpidgeon @yopossum @tinytinymenace @hellfire-state-of-mind @maggiemayhemnj

@romanarose @perotovar @toxicanonymity @wordywarriorwrites @mando-abs @timelordfreya

Here’s to a great 2025 for all of us!!

Much love,

Jenn 💜

[ceilidho]

Twenty questions for fic writers

thanks @kneelingshadowsalome !!!! @ohbo-ohno @charliemwrites if u guys wanna do this go ahead. or anyone else that feels like it

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

47 LMAO

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

a staggering 583,382

3. What fandoms do you write for?

call of duty basically exclusively now, but i used to also write for star wars, shadow & bone, spiderverse, rings of power, and the last of us (may write more for tlou in the future)

4. Top five by kudos.

dead ringer, take me home country road, red dawn, ghost prompts, and landscape with honey.

5. Do you respond to comments?

god i used to all the time ages ago, but now i don't. i truly just get so overwhelmed and it exhausts me. i will respond to the odd comment now and again though, and i read them all obsessively.

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

"the terrible nature of ghosts" for sure

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

i guess "landscape with honey" ended on a sweet note. or "birdsongs". i like writing fics that have endings that feel neither happy nor sad; i'd like to think that most of my fics end on a note that make you feel mildly uneasy but overall good.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i have blocked an UNTOLD amount of people, so not anymore. but every now and then i'll get the stray "you're evil and the shit you write is fucked up" comment. people tend not to do that when you moderate comments though.

9. Do you write smut?

well now, that's my bread and butter

10. Craziest crossover.

i'm with salome on this one - i'm a purist. not interested in crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

ages ago when i was younger sure. not since then thankfully.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

maybe?? i know some people have asked and i've given them permission but then they've never come back to tell me whether they did it or not.

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

yes!!! i wrote "dead ringer" with a friend and it's my most popular fic lmao. i love love love co-writing with people, but i rarely do it because your style kind of has to match the other person's in order for it to work.

14. All time favorite ship?

god reylo was really it for me for the longest time. i'm not sure any non x reader thing will ever top that. i do LOVE abby/ellie from the last of us, but there's hardly anything for them.

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

any reylo incomplete fic, im so sorry. it's just not gonna happen.

16. What are your writing strengths?

detailed descriptions. introspection and character analysis.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

DIALOGUE. i don't know how the fuck people talk sometimes. also longer plots. and i'm not amazing with visualizing how houses and places look for some reason so i really need to get better at that (i'll be honest, i still don't FULLY know what the town in "country roads" looks like so i try to describe it very vaguely).

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

i really only enjoy it when it's used effectively - when the audience is supposed to be aligned with the main character in not understanding what's being said.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

teen wolf!

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

"saltwater" my beloved. or "auribus teneo lupum" from my reylo days.

[rofell]

Hi folks.

I wanted to share some thoughts and love about creativity. Fair warning this is going to be sappy. Please don't let it fool you - I am still a grumpy cynic mostly focused on sharing fics, GO smut, and slowed down gifs of Michael Sheen's tongue. But anyway.

This fandom unlocked a world of creativity for me. Creativity that I thought was lost to me. Dreams I thought I would never come back to. I thought the ship had sailed - yes, I wanted to be a writer when I was a kid, but I'm an adult now and it wasn't going to happen. I had made peace with it.

But when this fandom took me by its wily claws I discovered that not only could I actually write a little bit of fanfic, yes, sure, but I *needed* to write. It poured out of me - all of this observation, and emotion, and creation I didn't realize had been bubbling along under the surface this whole time.

I bring this up because I'm about to hit a milestone. When I first starting writing fic I asked myself "How will I know if I'm successful?" The answer I came up with was "Well, most 'established' fics I see get to 10K hits, and if I can do that, I will have made it."

This was the wrong benchmark. I have since become highly skeptical of AO3 stats and even more skeptical of chasing fame and acclaim.

I was successful the first time I wrote a scene of fiction and burst through a 15+ year writers' block.

I was successful with the first story I finished. I think there is so much to be gained and so much to be said for finishing. your. stories.

I was successful the first time I provided beta to someone else, and learned so much in the act of examining someone else's work, and gained so much in the richness of community.

I have been successful this whole time. And the creativity has been one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. I'm now working on a piece that is deeply vulnerable and challenging to write. It may never see the light of day but I. will. finish. it. and I will enjoy the gifts that writing it provides.

All of that is true and - I'm also about to hit that first, silly benchmark I set for myself.

The Cure for a Broken Heart is about to hit 10K hits. This was my first long fic, still the longest thing I've ever written. It was a labour of love and written with the help of so many of the wonderful folks at @whickberstreetwriters. (@azeutreciathewicked @springofviolets @playdohangel thank you again for your time and your insights)

So to anyone else who needs the push - do the thing. Make the thing. Finish the thing. It doesn't matter if it's good or if it's seen. It can be just for you. But life is not for being perfect. It's for creating and discovering and savouring.

xo,

Ro

[coraniaid]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks to @isagrimorie for the tag!

1 How many works do you have on Ao3?

14

2 What's your total Ao3 word count?

452,732

3 What fandoms do you write for?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and technically Angel, I suppose, but not really), Mass Effect (but not recently)

I've also tried writing some Avatar: The Last Airbender and Farscape and Person of Interest works over the years, but nothing that I've finished yet.

4 What are your top five fics by kudos?

Coexist: Season 3 Buffy AU in which it was Giles, and not Jenny, who was murdered by Angelus in Season 2 [27 chapters; 277,084 words; various POVs but mostly alternating Buffy/Faith]

Last Year's Rain Didn't Fall Quite So Hard: Season 4 Buffy AU in which Faith wakes up from her coma having forgotten about killing Allan Finch and everyting that happened afterwards [one shot; 16,904 words; Buffy POV]

Together: Season 3 Buffy AU in which the Homecoming Dance goes a bit differently [one shot; 2,711 words; Faith POV]

Done: post-canon Buffy fic set a few years after the end of Season 7, with Buffy having mostly stepped back from being an active Slayer [one shot; 4,312 words; Buffy POV]

Mixed Signals: post-canon Buffy fic looking at Faith's changing relationship with Buffy since first meeting her [one shot; 4,919 words; Faith POV]

5 Do you respond to comments?

Not often or promptly enough. I try though: I really do appreciate the comments I get a lot.

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

Think this is a toss-up between two different canon-compliant Faith POV one-shots: One Girl In All The World and Calling.

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

Together is the happiest and fluffiest thing I can imagine ever writing.

8 Do you get hate on fics?

I don't think so? None that I can remember anyway. (I do use the block and mute features on Ao3 though, so maybe I'm just blissfully ignorant.)

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

No. Just don't have the talent for it.

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

I don't have any published crossovers but I do have very vague ideas for a Buffy/Farscape crossover that I sometimes play around with in my mind. (Largely inspired by the joke of taking the couple of times Crichton makes references to 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' which his crewmates don't get, and pretending that they're right to assume he's talking about a person he knows rather than a TV show he used to watch.)

11 Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge (and honestly I'm not sure I'd want to know if I had?).

12 Have you ever had a fic translated?

If I have I don't know about it (and I would love to know if I did!).

13 Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I think it might be fun, but I'd probably have to change the way I write a lot.

14 What's your all time favorite ship?

Moya!

I mean, look at her!

(Oh, okay, it's Buffy/Faith, if that wasn't obvious.)

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

I'd love to finish either of my uncompleted Mass Effect fics (the first and longest, Residuum, is actually fully planned out and has been for years: I just got stuck on writing a particular chapter and never managed to come back to it; I had a fairly detailed plan for Night Winds in Nos Astra when I posted the first chapter but then I decided I hated it and never figured out how to fix it.)

16 What are your writing strengths?

Dream sequences. Internal monologues. Foreshadowing. Planning. Quoting bits of canon back at the reader in hopefully interesting ways. Hopefully getting the characters' voices sounding reasonably accurate.

17 What are your writing weaknesses?

Deadlines. Brevity. Physical descriptions. Titles.

18 Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I haven't really thought about it much before, honestly.

19 First fandom you wrote for?

Mass Effect is the first fandom I submitted anything for anywhere online. I wrote some Avatar: The Last Airbender fic before that though (a long Azula POV AU that I would kind of like to come back to one day, though I'd probably have to rewrite it from scratch).

20 Favorite fic you've written

Realistically, I think popular consensus must be correct that Coexist is the best thing I've ever written (though I sometimes wish I'd spent more than a minute thinking up a title). It's definitely the work I'm proudest of, and I think it contains some of my best writing (and ... well, most of my writing, based on the numbers I just posted). But I have a bit of a soft spot for some of my earlier Mass Effect fics, which aren't incredibly polished but I learned a lot from working on, and for Last Year's Rain Didn't Fall Quite So Hard as well.

Tagging: @juanabaloo @beatriceeverytuesday @explosionshark @bodytoflame-ao3 and anyone else who wants to do this.

[fiveht]

hi!! I know you recently updated the final chapter of disarm you with a smile and it was fab!! But will there be another chapter? Or another update of sorts? I’m obsessed with sirius going to Remus’ for Xmas!!

Hi! I've mentioned this a few times in replies to some people's comments, but I guess I could say it here, since a few have asked.

I included the Christmas conversation as the last scene of Disarm for a couple reasons.

The first is that, in the event that no more of the verse materialises, I wanted an implication there that their story will (and in my head, already does) have a future, and their relationship will be deepening after the 16th. Even if it never gets written, I wanted to make it clear that they are not over.

The second is my own motivation. Over the last 10 years, I wrote very little, and posted nothing. (My last published fic before this year was in 2012 at the height of the Teen Wolf fandom.) I have always known myself as a writer of short-and-sweet smut, but since coming back to writing this year, I've published the longest works I've ever written, by a wide margin, and even managed to tell some actual stories in them. (With a lot of porn, but that's very unlikely to ever change.)

So all of that is to say, before now, I've always found that talking publicly about my writing, especially in the context of people specifically asking for something to be written, was nerve-wracking to the point of writer's block. But I'm not the same writer I was 10 years ago. So I'm trying a new tactic.

Small parts of Christmas are already written, and a plan exists for the whole thing. Plans also exist for six months later, and a year, and five years. I want to write their beautiful Christmas. I want them to tell Rieka. I want to write about them discovering all of Sirius' hidden kinks and maybe even draw a few more out of Remus. I want Remus to take Sirius out on dates and show off his pretty baby boy. I want lavish European vacations with Sirius being spoiled absolutely rotten the whole time. Their lives are mapped out in my head, basically. They're very precious to me. I want more of their lives to exist.

So I still can't make any promises; motivation is a fickle beast. But I'm hopeful, so you can be too, if you're into that sort of thing.

[tamras-shieldmaiden]

I saw this ask game circulating around the Tumblersphere, and I don't remember having done a fic writing recap before, so here's my take for 2023:

2023 Year-End Fic Round Up

Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!): 

Total published word count for this year is 38,706. Hadn’t I been sick, which derailed my flow and hit me with a writer's block, I think it might've written more, but I'm still satisfied with my output. I'm not a prolific writer but I'm still proud of what I was able to publish in 2023.

Smut scenes written (if applicable): 

Two, with a oneshot written specifically for one of them (cough mirror cough).

New things I tried: 

I embarked on a spanking brand new ship. Although I've always said I didn't like shipping Kuvira with any of the Beifongs (and yes, that includes the canon one), after a series of insightful conversations with @redcatmusings, with some nice persuasion I ended up changing my mind about Lin/Kuvira and well, here we are with 4 Linvira fics published so far. 😅

Fic I spent the most time on: 

The fic I spent most time on last year was Masquerade, since it was the longest with 6 chapters. It had been a while since I wrote an action heavy chapter, so chapter 5's car chase scene took me a while to figure out, but I believe that in the end, the effort paid off.

Fic I spent the least time on: 

That would be Melody of our hearts. The process felt almost like a stream of consciousness, from choosing 2nd person POV as narrative devise to the writing itself which I wrapped up in a day. Even coming up with title was a breeze, something that's unusual for me because I tend to agonize over coming up with titles.

Favourite thing I wrote: 

I'm torn between Masquerade and Seeking Harmony. Masquerade was an absolute blast to write. I loved Asami and Kuvira's rapport throughout the story and building up the tension between the leads amidst the suspense of the investigation was tons of fun to write as it was to read.

Seeking Harmony is the opposite because it's a short, soft introspective oneshot, and that's precisely what I liked so much about it because I was able to weave in some atmospheric elements to emphasize the calm and soft mood of the story. And besides, depicting a vulnerable Kuvira with a supportive Korra is always a win in my book.

Favourite thing I read: 

This one is not easy because one advantage of participating on Fanfiction Exchanges is that you get to be exposed to a variety of fandoms and talented authors outside of one's prefered fandoms that otherwise one wouldn't read, and I've read some amazing stories that at moments they've made me doubt of my skills because they were so damned good! I was skeptical at first of the concept but it is a great experience that I wholeheartedly recommend for both the quality writing and the amazing authors one gets to meet and admire and build friendships with.

Writing goals for next year:

I want to pick up on the Linvira fic I had originally planned for last year's ATLA Rare Pair Big Bang because that story is itching to be told. I also have a Kuvira/Asami WIP in the works set in the Bodyguard continuity, and maybe this will be the year which I finally get to complete my Kuvira redemption saga with the last story I've been cooking for years now.

Tagging @redcatmusings @rakaiawriter @roguegona @alpaca-clouds @udaberriwrites @diana-fortyseven @the-orion-scribe @orangepanic and anyone else who'd like to join in.

[pistatsia]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

@ciunasboinin thanks for tagging! This was such a fun to write 1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

27 works.

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

197,001

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Blue Lock!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Birds and wings (kaisagi) (1965)

Kaleidoscope (kainessagi) (973)

dreams (noego supremacy) (737)

sun compression my beloved (kaisagi) (450)

pyrrhic victory (kaisagi) (367) and (for representation of some clear kainess) Flower Crown (351)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do! Sometimes it can take a long time because most of the time between university, work, language courses, immigrant problems, care for my flat and pets I'm partially dead, but I'll always answer. Though sometimes when I'm too tired I ignore really short ones (from five or so words) because I don't know what can I answer for that.

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

pyrrhic victory (kaisagi). I still feel sorry for Isagi when I think about it. It's kinda OOC because of the circumstances I build there, but I still think that that's a quite possible acting for Isagi in that situation. He's just seventeen, after all.

As for kainess, then directly it's house of cards, and indirectly float: major spoiler below, skip italics block if you plan to read 'float'.

Because while Ness believes that "rules" (Ness is useful = Kaiser is not leaving him) which he and Kaiser have will grant him control… actually they mean nothing. The whole scene with spirits (when Kaiser brags about them foolishly thinking that he'll follow long-gone rules about human and gods) along with the loneliness theme is a huge metaphor for that. Kaiser will destroy everything on his path if he'd want to, just of pure boredom, and no rules will ever stop him. And, of course, one day this "everything" will include Ness.

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

"sigh" probably Birds and Wings. I'm still occasionally thinking about orphaning it, but I won't do it since my friend will behead me in instant if I'll do that haha In my defense at that time it still wasn't clear how bad are kainess problems - they looked like two silly plushes, so Kaiser is much softer there, and Ness is in his mentally-stable era. Like, Kaiser still uses Isagi a bit, but also helps him a lot of course. This is explained by the injury that put his career under the threat and after which Kaiser is kind of reevaluating his life a bit, but of course now I realise it doesn't work that way with him haha. It's pure romance, basically. I still feel my teeth getting rotten when I think about the epilogue. As you may see, I don't really like it.

Through this was the fic because of which I've met one of the best persons in my life, so of course I'm also quite grateful to it!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

From myself lol Through I've never got anything bad from my commenters, everyone is always so sweet and nice.

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

I try to avoid it as much as I can haha. Don't like to write it. Through actually there's a lot of feelings and relationship aspects which can be shown through the sex, so it's kind of sad - I'd liked to be better with that. If I write then I try to finish it as fast as possible haha so usually they're rated M and have a really non-graphic smut. Sometimes that really affects atmosphere of the writing (in bad way), so for example I think it's visible in charity project (kaisagi), which just can't be written without a smut scene

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

Nope, and not that I want to - maybe I did when I was younger, but I almost don't remember that time. Though I've mentioned Esperion from Ao Ashi in Birds and Wings!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope, at least I don't know about that.

12. What's the longest you've ever spent working on one fic? And the shortest?

Longest - it's really hard to tell, since there are a lot of fics which I write quite fast but I think for months about the idea, settings and thoughts I want to show. Maybe it was Pilgrims (kainessagi), took so long for both research and writing. I've rewritten it multiple times, and at some point I had 12k words in my cut-out document and 2k in final one.

Shortest - I don't know, probably cyclicity (kainess) or summer in your eyes (tabiori). I wrote both of them in span of 3-4 hours. But again, it also involved a lot of thinking before haha

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

Nope, never. This may be interesting but it involves too high level of trust and organization between writers to do that

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

Oikage once and forever.

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

I have so much of them. I think "electrical dreams" for academic rivals kaisagi without existence of Blue Lock - I've been thinking about it since March or April. Isagi gets in German university in the last attempt to continue playing football, and Kaiser have lost both football and Ness because of his own overconfidence. They meet, but for both of them this moment is almost the worst in which they could have. Also there are awesome background tabiori. But it includes so much smut (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠) And drama haha I've started it multiple times, but it just doesn't sounds right. Not sure if I'd be able to write it the way I want.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh… Not a good question to answer for me with all of my self-esteem issues haha But if I'd say about myself, most of all I love how I'm determining the central theme of the work and then build the whole story around it. I have few works where I allowed myself to be silly or simply writing angst of course haha, but mostly I take this part of writing really seriously, especially in the long works. The central point of my writings usually is absolute acceptance, and when I write it this way I really start to feel some hope towards myself as well.

For example, Kurana (Snuffy & Lorenzo if they met a few times before) is about how you never may know how your impulse act of kindness towards less-fortunate can affect one's life. How you can give someone hope and will to live by simply being a human. Birds and Wings are about how a single person, who finally believes in you can change your life in an instant, and how much of hope and self-esteem this can grant. How all of us are becoming better near the person who trusts us. And Pilgrims are about total acceptance of yourself, including all the bad and good and gray parts. That in the world so huge sooner or later of course you'll meet someone who'll understand you as no one else does, even if their experience is slightly different. That even in a world where you're alone one day you won't be.

Also my planning skills! I always write a plan before starting a long work, even with small one sometimes. Sometimes it changes in the process of writing, of course, but it's still nice to have a base like that. And I also write down there parts of dialog or small acts which I want to add. This can take weeks or months sometimes, but in result works becomes better than it may have been and much fuller.

And maybe the fact that I can force myself to write even if I don't want too or too tired, because else I won't write a single word in months :D

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh, I can rumble a lot about it haha. Sorry if it sounds kind of pathetic. But in short, I think it's either a weak English or the fact that in the end there's almost nothing which can be said about my works. I see that works with the same or lesser amount of kudos get 2-3 times more comments, and of course I'm jealous a bit of it because of my perfectionism, but most of all I'd just like to know why my works don't create similar wish to share the thoughts which appeared throughout the reading. What do they lack, what should I improve - I'd like to know that to become better. Maybe I'd like for a beta reader to read and criticize some of my works so I'd know where to dig, but again this requires a high level of trust.

I also think that characterization variety is my weak point - I'd say I have canon-like understandings of them, of course, which is shown for example in charity project or sacrifice (kainess), but I write a lot about same characters. And it will quickly get boring if I'd explore them from the same side. So my works often have entirely different characterizations, which especially visible with my kainess fics.

And the fact that I'm always trying to jump over my head in everything, and sometimes this badly affects the resulting work.

Also probably the fact that I don't read now as much as I did when I was younger, and of course this limits me in my writings. But usually I'm too tired to process normal literature. Through nevertheless I've almost finished Hesse's Steppenwolf and "The Orange Balloon Dog" of Don Thompson (through it's about art). Hope I'd had more time at the break between semesters.

I'm also almost unable to write something short just for fun (because I want to ✨show✨ something, but usually I don't have much to lol), and this really limits me. I have ~120 ideas in my drafts, but I would never write them because I know they will turn out too empty for my taste, and I'll dislike it the way I dislike some of my both posted and unposted works. Also it's hard for me to write works with more than 30k words, since I'm too laconic and can't make myself to add more scenes when I criticize myself that its 'unneeded' - even if it's purpose is to show development of characters relationships. The fact that I prefer to finish work first and only then publish it chapter by chapter because I'll afraid than else I would abandon it and disappoint someone just adds to it. Too short for maxi fics, too long for drabbles, the drama of my life.

But in the end of the day my main reader is me, and most of time I'm satisfied with my works! Of course there's a directions in which I want to evolve, but still the way I write now is the style I've always adored in other's authors works while I grew.

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

I know only two languages aside of the English (and basics of Czech and French which I've almost forgotten), and they can't be used in bllk fics. Once I tried to add something like that in German (when my friend who knows it a bit helped me) to Kaleidoscope, but this was a mistake haha

Through I know plenty of programming languages 🫡 One day I'll write Sae analyzing his famous statistics data in R and it will be the end for y'all.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh, I don't remember, this was so long ago. Probably Once Upon a Time or BSD.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

sun compression for sure - it gives me so much hope when I think about it. Love this feeling of soft calm wind filled with the sun after the storm - the feeling of serenity, if you get me. The feeling of recovering and starting a new life, leaving all the bad behind, finally looking into the future with hope. Still can't believe I've written something this beautiful. And I really love setting of Baden and kaisagi which I've written there.

[tellmegoodbye]

✨️ weekend wip game ✨️

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more). (There are also questions for artists/GIF creators below).

Or: harley attempts to answer the following questions without responding with push coda for half of them. 😂

Thank you @lemonlyman-dotcom and @thisbuildinghasfeelings for tagging me!

1. List your WIPs.

First I will list the WIPs I'm actively working on because there's only two of those

Push coda - we all know about this one

5 scenes before the wedding and 1 after - this one is pretty self explanatory, and I've shared some snippets from this as well

And these are the WIPs I have planned for the future

3x08 + 3x13 coda - this is pretty much what it says on the tin

hurt/comfort fic - two parts, the first one being hurt TK and the second one being hurt Carlos, this fic is going to focus on the unique ways they take care of each other

"green eyes" fic - this one was inspired by a song and the plan is to do an entire s1 fic from Carlos' perspective, but we'll see what happens

spicy fic (that is the working title we're rolling with for now) - this is essentially four chapters of pure smut with a ton of different emotions rolled into one ultimate spicy experience...at least that's my vision as of now

murder mystery AU - I still desperately want to write this, but the problem is that I initally outlined it for gallavich, accidentally deleted said outline (that I spent months working on) and now I'm considering switching it to tarlos

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

Push coda!! My beloved and belothed...I swear to god this was not meant to be as long as it ended up being. It's currently at 27k and I'm still stuck on this one scene that's bugging me, but the end is in sight!

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

I have no idea what came over me when I wrote the majority of push coda...that's the longest thing I have ever written as of now.

I'm sure the murder mystery fic will end up being longer if I do end up writing that, but out of the five different future WIPs I listed it's the least likely to see the light of day just because time is a factor for me.

4. Which WIP is your favorite/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

I think the spicy fic is going to be extremely enjoyable. I have so many ideas for that one!

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

Definitely the murder mystery fic. There's a lot of intricacies in that fic and it took a lot of planning when I initially outlined it. I'm usually a more "go with the flow" writer so it's very out of my element.

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about? Why?

Probably push coda right now just because it's been a while since I've written and now that it's nearly done I'm afraid it's too long or that the pacing is weird, but I've been staring at this thing for so long that it's hard to be objective about it.

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

All of them, hopefully. I'm scared to ask people but it's always nice to have an extra set of eyes, especially if you've been working on something for a while.

If anyone is offering, I wouldn't say no. 👀

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writers block?

All of them!

9. Which WIP has your favorite OC? Tell us about them?

I have an OC in my murder mystery AU that is very interesting in my opinion. I can't say a lot about this character without spoiling anything, but let's just say this character is a lot of fun to write. I also don't often make OCs, so that was a fairly new experience for me as well.

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

WIP that is currently in progress? The 5+1 fic has a smut scene at the end that I've really been enjoying writing. If we're talking about my future WIPs, then of course it's going to be the spicy fic!

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Push coda! Some of the 5+1 fic is also pretty angsty, but I think as of now push coda is winning in that regard.

That's just what I've currently written. I have a feeling the hurt/comfort fic is going to be pretty angsty as well.

12. Which WIP has the best characterization in your opinion?

I'm not sure. I always try my best when it comes to characterization, but in terms of what I've currently written, the push coda delves much deeper into the characters' emotions than the 5+1 fic does, but that's probably just because I have a lot more written for push coda.

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting in your opinion?

Push coda for sure. There's just something about the combination of bad weather and angst. Very visually satisfying for me.

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

........push coda, again.

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

I have high expectations of everything I write. I'm definitely a perfectionist.

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

I never remember my dreams, but I think about my fics a lot! Part of what helps me visualize the scenes I write is by letting them play out in my head like a movie.

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

The 5+1 fic is a new format for me! It's been a challenge but also a lot of fun.

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humor?

I don't write much humor. I'm sadly not very good at that.

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

I have no plans for this but I would absolutely be interested in an outside POV fic, especially a character like Owen. I could totally write a whole fic from his perspective.

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Push coda has some song lyrics included in between each scene. The lyrics are from this song.

-

I'm not sure who has and hasn't done this so open tag. Feel free to tag me if you do this!

[calenlily]

2021 fic year in review

Total # of Completed Works: 30

Total Word Count: 67374 published on AO3 (plus probably quite a bit more on WIPs, but I don’t have a system for tracking those)

Fandoms I’ve Written In: BtVS/AtS, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992 movie), Fairytales & Related Fandoms, Original Work, Stardew Valley

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected?: More. 2020 was an extremely productive writing year for me, and then I ended up in near-complete writer’s block from sometime in mid-November all the way into April 2021. So when I looked back at the end of the year and realized that I’d somehow managed to surpass my 2020 published word count (even if only by a slim margin), I was very surprised and impressed with myself.

What’s Your Own Favorite Story Of The Year?: Gotta be Buffy And Angel Versus Dracula. It’s the first time I’ve done a full episode rewrite like that, and one of the longest and plottiest things I’ve written in a long time (which is admittedly a low bar, but long and plotty are very much not my strengths), and I’m so glad I stretched my writing muscles to do so. Reworking the canon scenes to reflect changes in cast and storyline and provide sufficient context without wholly rehashing canon was a fun puzzle. I got to practice my ensemble writing skills and my action scene skills, and I’m really happy with how it turned out in terms of the balance of action and humor and romance and of plot versus character/relationship focus. And the bite and hurt/comfort scene in Act II (which I consider the emotional core of the fic and originally was going to be the entire story before it started expanding in scope on me) is probably in my top five for my favorite scenes of intimacy I’ve ever written.

Did You Take Any Writing Risks This Year?: I’m not quite sure whether to define them as risks, but I definitely did quite a few things this year that were venturing in new territory for me as a writer. I wrote my first threesome fic (and then within a month and a half wrote three more). I wrote my first explicit BDSM fic, my first explicit noncon fic, and my first major character death fic. I wrote two new-to-me fandoms (Buffy movieverse, and Stardew Valley), and three new POV characters in my Buffyverse fics (Willow, Joyce, and Dawn).

Do You Have Any Fanfic Or Profic Goals For The New Year?: Publish at least one fic per month (on track for January and February so far; this has been my ongoing goal for a few years and I keep coming close but not quite making it). Get more of my non-exchange projects finished and published. Write a broader range of fandoms and pairings, since my 2021 output was vast majority Bangel and even less that wasn’t Buffyverse.

Most Popular Story Of The Year?: By kudos, my most popular was Give Yourself Over. Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow got the most comments.

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion: The Stanford Slaying Society. I mean, it’s Connor&/Dawn pre-ship gen, I knew it wasn’t going to have a huge audience. But I’m still sad it hasn’t gotten more love because I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Most Fun Story To Write: Probably Clearing the Air, which was the fic that finally broke through my writer’s block last spring, and incredibly self-indulgent for a fic that doesn’t include any smut. It’s one part indulging my love of cathartic conversations, and then the whole bit with Buffy being in denial about her attraction to Faith and Angel accidentally calling her out on it just amused me too much not to write.

Most Unintentionally Telling Story: Probably (There’s a Reason Not to Want This) But I Forgot, which is far too rooted in my college relationship drama; both main characters are basically me, except when they’re my best friend and my ex.

Biggest Disappointment: I’d have to give that title to Noble Idiocy. I can’t say it did badly, but it’s lagged in engagement compared to the other E-rated multi-chapter fics in the same series just enough that I can’t help noticing, and it’s especially frustrating to me because it’s one that took a lot of effort to write.

Biggest Surprise: I’ve been blown away by the performance of where’s the girl with the blaze in her eyes? It’s probably the darkest thing I’ve ever written, and between the Major Character Death warning, the weird Buffy/Willow flirting, and being Buffy/Angelus without any smut, I’d expected it to have a fairly small audience. Instead it’s the most bookmarked thing I’ve written this year, has gathered some amazing comments, crested 50 kudos within a few months and still has new kudos coming in fairly regularly, and has a great hits-to-kudos ratio into the hundreds of hits. (It’s also one of my favorite things I’ve written recently, despite having struggled a lot to get the idea into words on a page in the first place, so I’m all the more thrilled that it’s doing so well. There may be sequels in the works.)

Thank you for tagging me @mrs-steve-harrington

Tagging: Whoever wants to do it, since this is belated as hell

[startanewdream]

2021 in review: fanfic writer edition

Tagged by @theroomofreq and since I've finished/added some things ever since my one year-in-review, I thought I could have some fun:

BY THE NUMBERS

words written: Over 700k

words published (AO3): 680439 as of 29.12.2021

# of published one-shots: 52 (AO3), plus about 15 lost somewhere on Tumblr

# of completed multi-chaps: 3

# of fics in progress: 4 (AO3). On my drive... let's not talk about it.

# of ongoing multi-chaps: 3 (AO3).

# of fic ideas waiting their turn: 3

longest work: Until Spring Comes Again (173245 words)

shortest work: Snuffles (1152 words)

most chapters in a fic: Until Spring Comes Again (24 chapters)

highest # of kudos: Light beam

highest # of hits:The song remains the same

top 3 fics by kudos: Light beam (479), Eyes glistening (with the ghost of my past) (401), A cup of tea (360)

top 3 fics by hits: The song remains the same (6228), Light beam (6041), Until Spring Comes Again (5825)

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

most challenging fic to write: Mirror mirror (on the wall), because I got crazy with the deadline that existed only on my mind, hated the first draft and since then I have made my peace with this fic.

fic that came easiest to write: the thing about (il)licit affairs. It was fun from beginning to ending, the feeback I got was very nice without overwhelm me and it was the multi-chapter fic that less stressed me.

most true-to-the-outline fic: exit song (for film). I plotted the fic when I got the prompt and writer-block apart, it is actually very true to my original plot.

most unlike-its-outline fic: Until Spring Comes Again. For all its length, I had a very-detailed plot I followed until the very end (pun intended), when then I changed most things, including the epilogue, who would/didn't die and included a wedding that wasn't scripted.

favorite reader freak-out: When James and Lily finally meet in Until Spring Comes Again. I got all the nice screaming reactions I hoped this scene would arise and, of course, I can't talk about this fic without mentioning the company of @isidar-mithrim through that ride ❤

most controversial scene: Probably the whole plot of The song remains the same, ops.

hottest ask box topic of the year: I got very nice prompt asks this year, some of which prompted me to write the fics I'm most proud of, so thank you for the inspiration ❤

most loved OC: We don't play with OCs on this Tumblr.

most hated OC: We don't play with OCs on this Tumblr.

favorite villain to write: Riddle in Until Spring Comes Again was so fun. None of Scar's singing, though.

favorite character to write: Dad!James or Mum!Lily, as the number of Jily Lives fics proves.

most i've cried while writing a scene: Snuffles, probably.

most i've laughed while writing a scene: Any scene between Harry, James and Sirius, but I'd say The French Discussion

smuttiest smut scene: the rain scene in the thing about (il)licit affairs is my fave, if not "smuttiest smut"

favorite kiss i wrote: James and Lily's first kiss in bury it and raise above. It's sweet! It's the prompt!

hardest trope/thing to write: Angst scenes never seem to work the way I want them to.

easiest trope/thing to write: Family comfort is a trope? If so, it's my comfort trope.

proudest fic moment: In 2021, all 173k words of Until Spring Comes Again. Past-me would never have plotted, written and published it.

any fic regrets? A lot, but I'll let them stay in 2021.

2021 fic habits to break: Stop worrying about stats, finish the fic before posting it.

2022 fic habits to make: Upload fics on AO3 instead of letting them be lost on Tumblr, edit fics better, find a beta reader to deal with my nonsense.

Tagging anyone who read so far if you are up to!

[amphipodgirl]

Writer Tag Game

Thank you for tagging me @captain-aralias !

I tag @sillyunicorn @omgcmere @carryonsimoncarryonbaz @palimpsessed @aristocratic-otter as well as the people I mention in my answers below -- but only if you’re in the mood.

how many works do you have on AO3? 20, split between two accounts (one nsfw, one sfw)

what’s your total AO3 word count? 151,533 since March 2020

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they? 4 that I’ve really written something for -- Carry On (the vast majority of my fics); For Real by Alexis Hall; the Arden St. Ives series by Alexis Hall; and Docile by K.M. Szpara. There are also two that I’ve only tagged in crossovers -- the Book of Exodus and Mark Steel’s in Town.

what are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

Parent-Teacher Association

Soul Bands

Bonfire Night

Coffee 

Mi Chamoca (Who Is Like You)

They’re all SFW Carry On fics.

do you respond to comments, why or why not? Almost always! I love love getting comments and want to at least thank the person for taking the time. Sometimes they say something more detailed about my fic and then I get to natter on for a while, which is fun. My favorite thing is exchanges of detailed comments and responses, whether it’s my fic or someone else’s. I have a lovely friendship that started with me writing thousands of words of comments on someone else’s fic as it came out chapter by chapter.

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? I only write happy endings.

have you ever received hate on a fic? No, I’m glad to say!

do you write smut? if so what kind? Oh yes! There’s almost always a D/s element of some kind. The biggest exception is my recently-published What Love Sounds Like -- canon (Docile) is almost all non-con and dub-con and the fic is all about the characters trying to build a functional, equal, consensual relationship and even consensual D/s would be very challenging for them because of their history. Most of my smut is pwp, but I’ve recently starting having more of a story. Serves Me Right had some plot, though it was still all about the relationships. What Love Sounds Like has a tech/business plot thread and some family and friend relationship stuff in addition to the smut and the romance plot thread. It’s my longest fic to date and I’m very proud of it. Tasting Menu is my favorite PWP.

have you ever had a fic stolen? not that I know of

have you ever had a fic translated? Not yet. 

I will add a question here:

what about other related works (podfics, spinoffs, remixes, art, etc.)? When I wrote I’ll Melt With You, @xivz did a podfic and @kirito-potter did art at my request -- it was a group birthday project for @peachpit-gabe. @knitbelove wrote a fic inspired by Mi Chamocha and @knitbelove and @super-duper-twelve both did unsolicited art for it. I’ve also commissioned art by @peachpit-gabe for a few of my fics. I highly recommend commissioning art if you can afford it -- it feels so good to have your stuff made into pictures, and it’s a good way to support fan artists. It can draw new readers, too.

have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but I’d be open to it.

what’s your all time favorite ship? That I’ve actually written? Right now I’m all about Alex/Elisha from Docile. I also really love Arden/Caspian from the Arden St. Ives books, but even though I’ve written a fic for the series, it wasn’t those two. I’ll always have a soft spot for Snowbaz; Carry On was my first real fandom. I love love love reading Pynch (Raven Cycle) but haven’t written any. And I’ve adored Spuffy for decades.

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? I’ve started a sequel to PTA called The Longest Time. I really love that AU and their story cries out for more, but Carry On is really not my focus any more.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I could do small amounts in a language I knew (Hebrew, French, and maybe Spanish) but honestly I don’t see the point -- most readers won’t understand it.

what’s your favorite fic you’ve written? God, that’s a hard question. If I *have* to pick just one, I guess Mi Chamocha? But I really love What Love Sounds Like, PTA, Soul Bands, Serves Me Right, and Bonfire Night too.

I’m gonna add another question because I want to answer it:

Do you ever make anything else for your fics? (art, playlists, moodboards, banners, etc.) I’ve done moodboards for a couple of fics, and I do banners for most of them. I’m not artistic or musical enough for art or playlists. I did detailed author’s notes for Mi Chamocha.

And I’m adding this mostly to see my friends’ answers:

What fic was hardest to write? Mi Chamocha was my first really long fic and had some thorny consent issues that gave me writer’s block for a while. And I thought that the double fake-dating plot in Bonfire Night was going to make my head explode -- but then I bought Scrivener and things got easier.

[silvysartfulness]

I got tagged by @ameliarating and @veliseraptor to do this writer meme thing!

How many works do you have on AO3?

Six. I only started posting fic on AO3 last year. Before that, many long years ago, I used my own websites and LiveJounal.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

177481. The absolute majority of which is of course Heaven Has A Road.

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

On AO3, only The Untamed.

But before that, I've written for Disney Afternoon's Aladdin, Slayers, Kingdom Hearts, Assassin's Creed, and one-shot fics for my own original verses as well as my friends'.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Heaven Has A Road But No One Walks It at 1194, unsurprisingly. It's my magnum opus on AO3.

Blanket Statement at 302. The first fic I wrote for the Untamed, and the first thing I posted on AO3 (Thank you, Lise, for holding my hand and walking me through it!)

And To Many More at 169

High Noon In Deserted City at 96, which is sort of funny, since it's just a picture and about 1000 words. But the premise is fun! Still hoping for some hungry writer to adopt it and write something for it. :)

Self-Inflicted at 75.

Which checks out, I guess – the longest fic with the most readers comes first, then the fluff, then the funny and finally the angsty and fucked up. XD

I still suspect The Plotbunny of Doom / The Renegades for Kingdom Hearts would score as my all time highest, though, if LJ likes and comments translated to the AO3 format. That fic took me and two friends three whole years to write together, was 104 chapters long and over 300k.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I really try! Comments mean everything to me, and I want to reply to them all! But when I'm low on spoons (which is unfortunately often) I fall hopelessly behind, and then the catching up becomes an impossible-looking chore in and of itself.

I should really set some time aside every day to catch up on the last few chapters' worth of comments... I do love the interaction and discussion a good comment can spawn!

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

Hm... I write a ton of angst, but only a few actually have sad endings. I'd say Eaten counts, as does Self-Inflicted, I guess. TPBoD had a very open ending that was still definitely on the somewhat hopeless side.

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

Mm, it's not usually my favourite genre (though I mean, the whole Kingdom Hearts verse is a crossover in and of itself) but it depends a lot on the source material. I guess TPBoD might soft-count, since we tossed in a bunch of non-canon references with all the world-jumping.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not as such? Oh yeah, I do recall getting a very upset comment on a non-con fic I wrote back in the KH days, by someone who couldn't conceive how you could claim to love a character and then write such horrible things happening to them. But you get those occasionally. Look, crushing my favourite characters is therapy. Doesn't mean I don't love them.

The Russian fandom are loudly aggressive in their comments on some chapters of Heaven Has A Road, but that's more focused on the characters, not me personally.

On the whole, I've been pretty spared. But then, there's little point in sending hate; I just block.

Do you write smut? if so what kind?

Oh, absolutely. Haven't really gotten to that point in the posted chapters of Heaven Has A Road yet, but we're about to unleash it aplenty in the upcoming ones.

What kind? Most kinds, I guess? Soft and fluffy, aggressive and snarly, consensual, dubcon, non-con. Mostly mlm but I've written het, too. Can't remember if I've written wlw, but I've certainly headcanoned/drawn it. A bit of kink is nice.

I prefer focusing on the chemistry and sensations when I write porn, rather than detailed physical smacking and squelching and body fluids, but that's just my personal preference and writing style.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of? Not that I can remember? I have my art stolen regularly, and I've had my online identity stolen, but I don't think anyone's stolen anything I've written...

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Heaven Has A Road is being translated into Russian, and I'm insanely honoured and flattered!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes – TPBoD aka The Plot Bunny of Doom, aka The Renegades, for Kingdom Hearts. I wrote it over ten years ago together with a friend and my now wife. It was a monster of a fic, I think about 320k, and the fact that we were three people helping and pushing and encouraging each other really helped keep it going!

I don't know if I would have the focus for something like it now, but it was an amazing experience I'll always treasure.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh man, that changes with each hyperfixation... I may have to say Marluxia/Vexen for Kingdom Hearts, simply because it's a ship that's been around in my life for so long. I still occasionally go back to read favourite bits of the fics I wrote for them, including TPBoD.

Currently it's SongXueXiao from The Untamed, of course, and a very strong contender overall! I've dabbled a bit in poly ships before, but this is the first time I have one as my main, and I'm love them.

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

Uh. I don’t really have any? Because of my burnout-brain, I can only really focus on one major project at a time, and that's currently heaven has A Road. And I'm really, really hoping I will be able to finish it!

It's all plotted out, I just need to write the stupid thing. Working on it.

What are your writing strengths?

Hm, I'd say that I've developed a voice/prose over the years that I'm actually quite happy with! And I'm good at conveying/invoking emotion, if going solely by how many people comment that I've made them cry. :D

I enjoy writing dialogue, and I love working with layers of symbolism.

What are your writing weaknesses?

The actual writing process. 🙄 I'm extremely uneven and unstructured in getting the actual words down. Also convoluted and inflated text at times - sometimes I write a lot of words without actually saying anything. And English is my second language, so just nailing the correct phrasing and grammar can be a headache at times.

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

If it impacts the plot – like the POV character not understanding it, then maybe. And using terms that can't be translated, absolutely! Other than that, there's little point in making a text harder for the reader to grasp by tossing in whole sections in another language for clout. Is my personal view, at least, of course other writers may disagree.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

My first online fandom that I wrote fic for was Disney Afternoon's Aladdin show. Before that, I wrote original fic. And before that, before the internet was A Thing, I'd write and draw for stories that captivated me, just for my own entertainment. If you count that, I'd probably say Phantom of the Opera was my first – I had a whole ”everyone is a horse because that's what I know how to draw” AU when I was about 10 or so, that I'd draw lots of pictures for. When I was even younger, I used to make up stories for my younger brothers, based on movies and series we had watched together. I've always been a storyteller, one way or another, if only in my own head. I wouldn't know how not to.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I would have to say Heaven Has A Road, even though it's still unfinished. It's the first work of that sheer scope I have ever attempted by myself, and I'm honestly insanely proud of myself for what I have accomplished already!

Second would be TPBoD – The Renegades. Even though that was a shared effort, it's a very long fic that we managed to bring all the way to its intended conclusion, and I'm very proud of that, too!

Plus there are bits of both these fics I really like, and that I will go back and read for my own enjoyment occasionally.

tagging: @orodrethsgeek, @ebonykain, @fromaliminalspace, @chigrima, @soawen

[rubyleeray]

Jumin Han Fic Masterpost

I know it’s been nearly 2 years since I have written anything for Mystic Messenger BUT this update got me BUGGIN’! Just look at how perfect it is! So in celebration of this and Jumin’s birthday (happy birthday bb!), I have compiled all of my Jumin fics in one place. (Remember how I wrote 17 FOR ONE CHARACTER?!  I’m telling you when my years’ long writer’s block uncorked - IT UNCORKTTTTT!)    Please enjoy my first and earliest fics back when I was constantly experimenting with things like writing style and POV. (It’s so weird to go back and re-read these and not recognize my own writing I thought I remembered so well. I’m feeling really inspired to write another now that I’ve changed so much!).  **=smut  (14/17 are smut because I am who I am.)

Jumin the Virgin - Let’s be real here - he’s essentially a woman-hating jr. chairman when we meet him. Where is he going to find not only the time but the will to become not just good at sex but good enough to become a master of it?! This was an experiment built off that idea and it still makes me happy.**

Jumin Discovers Fan Fiction - Admittedly self-indulgent here, but still one of my favourite things I have ever written! Jumin discovers and reads all sorts of fan fiction written about him.**

Getting Ready - My first practice in making my own kink a headcanon kink for a character. Jumin watches MC make herself feel beautiful and he just can keep calm!**

Between Friends - K this is a bit of a cheat considering it’s Jumin and V, BUT it was my first time writing a threesome and I think we all share the Jumin, V, and we fantasy!**

Sneaking Off- (I’m realizing now I was seriously addicted to the idea of Jumin, slightly public sex, and urgency and hell yeah that still rings true to this day!) MC just can’t wait for Jumin to give his speech at the party.**  

Putting You to Bed - We all remember where we were the day we read this Visual Novel Mode in Jumin’s route XD! This is how my thirsty ass wish it went down.**

Faking It - Jumin Ending - I’ve always been a fan of choose your own adventure stories and when I thought of this one I couldn’t just pick one ending, so I wrote both! You can choose between Jumin or Zen here but I highly recommend choosing BOTH!  

RFA Engagement Series - Jumin Proposal - Romantic Jumin, roses, and Elizabeth III aka instant “HELL YEAH I’LL MARRY YOU!” 

RFA Wedding Night Series - Jumin Night - Eager Jumin can’t even wait until you’re out of the limo!**

RFA Christmas Sex Series (Lmao I didn’t even try with this title) - Jumin Night -  Jumin dresses up as Santa and it’s so cute you can’t not have sex with him.**

The Dinner Party - MC drives Jumin crazy during a business dinner so he makes her pay for it with a desperate and urgent session in the coat room.**

Christmas & Jumin - The ending to the Christmas DLC I was gagging for. Sex in the snow!**

Standing Up - MC confronts Jumin to be strong for Jaehee but his charms are just too powerful.** 

 C&R Party - MC Resues Jumin from another boring party with sex on a sink!** 

RFA Sex Tape Series - Jumin - MC & Jumin want to make a sex tape but MC feels a little shy, so he offers her a blindfold to make her feel more at ease.**

Choices & Changes - (My first angst!) AN AU where Jumin marries Sarah instead. 

Not Interested In Anything Less Than Everything - My first fic (and longest title XD!) where Jumin and MC cut the shit and just put themselves out there.** 

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @high-king-margo​

Every week we interview a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

Hey there! I'm Lexi (or some people may know me as Nell). I'm in my early 20s, recently graduated with a creative writing degree and certificate in publishing and still trying to learn how to navigate the real world! I love all things creative and when I'm not writing, I'm doing art or playing music or spending time with my pets!

How long have you been writing for?

I started taking writing seriously in seventh grade, but I didn't start writing fanfiction until tenth.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

The characters, for sure. I love the world and the story, but the characters are all so complex, so beautiful and ugly in their own ways, it's just thrilling to write about them regardless of context--especially the way they interact with one another.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Margo 100%! Her voice just comes easily to me, and I love the depth of her character. We're all familiar with her armor at this point, and since I watched the show this past summer I've loved poking under the hood at all the soft mushy bits. She has an incredible capacity for love and my favorite thing is to drag that part of her out into the open.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

I generally prefer to write canon-compliant stuff, so my favorite point to write about is after whatever the last episode to have aired was! Easy between seasons, not so much during them. As for a particular season, I haven't actually written anything taking place during season 2, but I would really like to!

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

Yep, I'm working on Timeline 25 off the 39 Graves Project! I don't have a real title for it yet, but it's currently the longest thing I've ever written, so it's a lot of feeling around in the dark and experimenting for me. It's in two parts: Julia and Margo. They're two very different sides of the same situation.

How long is your “to do list”?

Not very long, but that's probably because I don't keep a real list, just random ideas floating around in my head! I do have three fics in progress that I may or may not ever finish, but other than that I have maybe two or three more ideas.

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

"Just to Bring You Home." It's the longest oneshot I've ever written, and I did it based on an ask from the prompt exchange thinking it would be quite a bit shorter than it was. I love the dynamic (what little of it there is) between Margo and Kady, so I took it and ran, and it ended up being something I was really proud of!

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

I've only written three fics, but for this I'd say "So Far From Where I Want to Be." It's a His Dark Materials (or The Golden Compass) daemon AU, so that probably put people unfamiliar with it off, but I think daemons make character studies ten times more interesting, so I went for it! It was the first fic I wrote for The Magicians, and it's a little outdated now that we've had Margo's big episode in 410, but it's how I saw her and her relationship to sex, and it honestly probably always will be.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

It's a struggle. It's hard for me to start working and it's hard for me to keep working, even if I enjoy the work, so if I want any hope of getting anything substantial done I have to completely block my internet. If I'm feeling extra focused I'll put on instrumental music in the background, but usually I need as few distractions as possible, and boy is that hard when your own mind is a distraction!

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

This is my first year in the fandom, so most of my writing has been done during the season, but I definitely prefer to wait for hiatus and I'll feel a lot more at ease writing fic once the season ends! I'm not really sure how the development of canon influences me, though; I take note of new details about the characters, but since I tend to write based on the most recent episode or outside the canon timeline altogether, it doesn't affect me that much.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

I know I'm still in the middle of it, but Timeline 25 by far. It took an amount of planning I quite frankly wasn't prepared for and several structural revamps, and even now that I know what I'm doing, it's a lot of work keeping everything consistent and flowing well.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

I have a thing for feelings confessions. I just think the point at which characters admit to themselves and to other people who they love and how they love them is really interesting, so I tend to explore that!

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I'm gonna be honest, when I read fanfiction I kind of...forget to look and see who wrote it? I leave kudos and comments, but I'm just now realizing I have no idea who my favorite fic authors are! The one I'm sure of is OurLadyOnTheOtherSide, because they're The BattleKing writer and I fell into the ship deep this season. I don't do a lot of reading in general anymore (it's bad, and I'm trying to fix it, but it's gotten a lot harder since high school), but as for published authors and screenwriters, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and Mike Flanagan are the ones who come to mind.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

I started "The Forest Queen" by Betsy Cornwell in January and haven't gotten past the first few chapters...oops. I have a whole pile of books I should be reading, but I haven't.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

Don't stop to mull over small details or even whole sections if it's slowing you down or keeping you at a standstill. If you can't think of a word, put something random in brackets and search the document for brackets after you're done writing to get those words right. Highlight things you're unsure of to come back to later. Put a line break with the word "SKIP" in all caps if you can't figure out how to get from one scene to another. Anything to keep going! Doing these things has honestly saved a lot of my writing from collecting dust because of getting stuck on something insignificant.

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

I think very cinematically when I write, so I usually see and hear the characters pretty clearly, which means a lot of sighing and shrugging and glancing etc., because that's what human beings do. The thing about writing is that you've got to shave down some of those human things or it gets to be too much, and I struggle with that.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

It was a crossover between Victorious and iCarly and...the Portal games. I think I could find it if I tried, but I'd really rather not.

Rapidfire Round!

Self-edit or Beta?

Self-edit

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

Comments and reblogs every time!

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

Angst with fluff thrown in, but I'd like to try smut at some point.

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

Quick & Dirty, because I almost exclusively write oneshots.

Favourite Season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

4x10

Favourite Book?

Haven’t read them.

Three favourite words?

sweetheart, haunted, murmur

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[classicrocker2000]

Found this again and I feel like answering it now. Monday: Depends on what you mean by boring stuff, because I'm honestly better at planning stories than sitting down and writing them.

Tuesday: Not necessarily overrated, but while I'm glad it's gotten almost 730 hits, I'm amazed Powered has been read by so many people considering Gizmo and I didn't have any better ideas for a title and it took me months to figure out a decent summary.

Wednesday: If I had to choose, I'd have to go with the rewrite of Just Like Starting Over. Especially since the original had so many hits. Ah well. I just need to get more serious about updating fics other than Powered (even though it's honestly easier for me to write when I'm collaborating with someone else.

Thursday: I have, but it's not published yet.

Friday: It's a toss-up between Sketchbook and Lonely Nights and Drunken Hearts. The former because I wanted to share my art somewhere on Ao3 and the latter because I ship Lennstein.

Saturday: Primarily, being able to get some of these crazy ideas out of my head.

Sunday: I kind of want to take writing requests, but I'm bad enough at keeping up on art requests. I feel like I'd be even worse at writing requests.

Fortnight: I'm working on too many to narrow it down to just one. I'll just say it'll happen when it happens.

January: Numbers It's slightly embarrassing because that was a shitpost based on an elaborate Tumblr shitpost. But I was depressed, suffering from writer's block, and desperate to post something.

February: Yes, I have.

March: If it ain't Reddit videos, video essays, or documentaries, it's music.

April: Yes. Mentioned above in January.

May: When I was 14, I wrote a Phantom of the Opera fic where Erik was brutally murdered and basically angsted around the Opera House for a while. I've deleted it since and I regret writing it because it feels like I was trying way too hard to be edgy.

June: Not yet, but I want to.

July: I haven't written smut yet. I only just got comfortable reading it last November.

August: Yes. Most of my fics these days are all about the Beatles. Kinda want to write a fic about The Who though.

September: How can I pick just one when almost every comment I've gotten warms my heart?

October: In the Heart of Madness. Despite being based on Frankenweenie (yes really), it starts with Paul being brought back as Frankenstein's monster and only gets worse from there. Despite that, I still consider it lighter than the RP it's based on.

November: Not really. I just know sometimes research is required and a desk is preferred but not entirely necessary.

December: Yep. I wrote Hunger for Casafrass (no longer on Tumblr)

Recent: My Just Like Starting Over rewrite.

Ancient: Okay, so my first ever fic was called Light and Dark. It was basically Star Wars and vampires, and I deleted it a long time ago because I wasn't happy writing it and since then, I realized how a lot of nothing happened in that fic regarding plot.

Seconds: Merry Christian, Brian was just 99 words long.

Minutes: It depends on how many chapters and how bad the writers block is.

Hours: Idk if this counts, but Powered is currently sitting at 36,000 words with 14 published chapters. Longest completed fic would be Hunger at 3,000 words. (Both of those are rounded up).

Tomorrow: I don't know if I have a favorite way to write fluff. I just write fluff if I have a cute idea in my head.

Yesterday: Similar to me writing fluff. Sometimes, all I need is an idea.

Today: Yep.

Calendar: Hell no.

Forever: Nah. I suck at coming up with original characters.

fanfic questions themed around time

monday: do you struggle with the ‘boring’ parts of writing?

tuesday: name a fic you have posted which you think is overrated?

wednesday: name a fic which you have posted which you think is underrated?

thursday: have you ever written a high fantasy concept?

friday: most self-indulgent fic you have ever posted?

saturday: what gets you excited whilst writing?

sunday: how frequently do you take requests or prompts, if at all?

fortnight: what wip do you plan on posting next, if at all?

january: what was the first fic you posted this year?

february: have you ever written and/or a holiday-centric fic?

march: do you listen to music whilst writing? 

april: have you ever written and/or posted a crackfic?

may: a fic you have regretted posting?

june: have you ever written and/or posted a marriage fic?

july: what’s the hottest fic you have written and/or posted if you write smut at all?

august: are any of your fics associated with certain genres/artists/songs/etc?

september: share a comment or review which still warms your heart?

october: name the darkest or angstiest fic you have written and/or posted?

november: do you have any rituals or requirements for getting in the mood for writing?

december: have you ever gifted a fic to someone?

recent: the most recent fic you have posted online?

ancient: the first fic you ever posted online?

seconds: shortest completed fic?

minutes: how long does it normally take you to complete a fic?

hours: longest wip or completed fic?

tomorrow: favourite ways to write fluff? yesterday: favourite way to write angst? today: have you made any progress in any wips today?

calendar: do you have a schedule for posting?

forever: do you balance fic writing with original concept stuff?