#this has got to be the most tags I’ve ever tagged for epic

[awnrii]

odysseus and companionship

(based on the post below)

[thecheshirerat]

On TAZ-

Wow that sounds like I’m about to summarize some sort of discourse but I promise I’m not. I guess I’ll say that I really like this show and I will keep listening even if my worst fears come to pass, so keep that in mind!

For reference, I started listening near the end of Amnesty.

I’ve noticed, with the past few arcs- really since Ethersea- the narratives have just… not been fulfilling their promises, so to speak. They’ve been placing a lot of guns that don’t go off. What I mean by that is, the characters are great. Excellent, really. Lady Godwin? HELL YES. Emerich Dreadway? Fuck yeah! And so on! And the settings and premises have been epic- the goofiness and also horrifying nature of Engrave, the mad and thrilling world of Steeplechase- these things are COOL AS FUCK.

and then the actual narratives keep flopping?

And honestly, I notice it most in the endings, because you can really tell when an ending doesn’t land. You feel the sense of disappointment. But with vs. Dracula, for example, I could kinda see leading up to it that the ending couldn’t really BE anything special, because they lowkey didn’t set themselves up for it.

They spent the campaign fucking around in Engrave, finding clues and solving problems and not really experiencing any particularly meaningful character arcs or growth or, idk, forming relationships? So there wasn’t much to pay off, I’m not gonna lie!

Of course it doesn’t feel quite as dissatisfying when you’re in the thick of it, because they’re funny and the stuff is cool and- oh hey! Lady Godwin’s been turned into a werehorse against her will?? that’s got some real potential for a LOT of allegories and exploration of some fun character development! And then it’s kinda played as a joke. And then they do that again and again.

And they actually said that that was a move they made intentionally, in the TTAZZ. I’m not quoting them perfectly here, this is from memory, but I do remember them mentioning that they wanted lighthearted comedy without the burden of real life story stuff. And I get that, honestly, but… it’s not the choice I would’ve made. I do think you can keep a lighthearted tone while also, idk, forming relationships and wholesomely engaging with some amount of emotion. And sometimes going way too deep is funny as a tone shift!

But I digress. One thing that’s also popped out to me is the almost complete lack of any kind of romantic storyline or even references. This becomes obvious if you’re in a fandom because everyone is always dying to ship SOMEONE, and you can tell when people are really getting desperate. I don’t blame them for not wanting to roleplay romance with their family, and I do think stories lacking romance are COOL and SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED!

However if you can’t find ANYBODY to ship together… that may mean you just don’t have character bonds. The growing popularity of the PC polycule is interesting to me; I wonder if it’s partially because

a) none of the pcs have significant relationships outside of their party and

b) even within the party, there doesn’t seem to be much chemistry between any given pair of characters…? I hope I’m making my point well here- the PCs all seem equally close and have more or less the same relationship to all of their compatriots with little distinction, meaning, essentially, no shipping fodder that doesn’t involve just all of ‘em.

Either way, it makes me wonder if I can blame the “Graduation has too many NPCs!” critique. They really stopped giving the parties tag-along main NPCs after graduation, with the exception of maybe.. Urchin? Kodira? Shlabethany? Poppy? and even they get relatively little “screen” time. Steeplechase has great NPCs, I love them to death, but none of the PCs seem to ever have one on one conversations with NPCs or each other that do not explicitly focus on the plot. And I think that’s part of why the characters feel so underdeveloped despite having spent a lot of time with them- because in this character-driven genre, we get very little insight into their feelings or motivations or even their rudimentary backstories.

I started watching Fantasy High recently and it made me realize a couple things about TAZ.

1) Recently, TAZ has sooo few core NPCs, and it’s weird that the characters aren’t doing more one-on-one purely character based scenes. And that makes it really tough to develop them.

2) TAZ is- and I should have realized this before- one of many good dnd podcasts. They’re probably looking for a niche they can master.

And it sounds like they’re trying to get back to that old “Here there be Gerblins!” energy. They’ve referenced it so many times in recent TTAZZes- they wanted to be job-focused, allowing story stuff to happen organically, so they tried a more open world vibe with Ethersea. They wanted to be less afraid to kill stuff, so they tried playing criminals (and were still afraid to kill stuff). They wanted to be silly and light on character, as they tackled with taz vs dracula. Now they’re trying to bring in the silly cartoon vibe with Abnimals. I think they’re trying to make that family-friendly, funny and goofy show their niche. Something other actual plays can’t be better at them at.

And honestly it kinda makes me sad, that they keep trying to go back to Balance while ignoring everything they learned during it. Because I loved Dust. Because I loved Amnesty. Because I loved Ethersea. I loved these past arcs! But they keep doing their brilliant characters dirty for some reason!!! And i don’t know why!!!!

You know that meme about people who ask questions in movies and then the person responds “Have you ever been to a movie before? You watch them and the information is revealed.” There have been so many times in TAZ recently where information has Not been revealed and if they keep doing it the audience will stop bothering to suspend their disbelief, because the trust just isn’t there.

What is Montrose’s deal? What on earth was Carmine Denton’s whole thing? Tell me more about Zoox’s feelings, about Devo’s past, about Amber’s future. Show me how Lady Godwin feels about the body horror that is her life- like, seriously! WHY DID WE HAVE TO COMPLETELY DISMISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS GENERATIONAL TRAUMA IN MUTT’S LIFE FOR A JOKE??

Do you remember in Steeplechase where the boys were getting medical attention or something- i don’t remember, but they were all in one room and only talking about The Plot. And Poppy literally banged on the door (speaking for both Justin and me, tbh) and was like “does anyone want to share any feeeeelings??” and they were like NOPE! and they moved on!!

like. cmon. you can’t just put a character like montrose out there and then leave them severely underdeveloped to the point that what would be interesting in proper context, with audience insight, becomes confusing and chaotic.

I just wish they would take their stories as seriously as we do.

It feels to me like they don’t believe in themselves, and it makes me sad. Maybe they didn’t get the response they wanted from Ethersea and so they’ve been trying to pivot, hoping to recapture whatever it was that earned them a loyal audience.

Again, I love them. They’re so funny and I’ll keep listening until the day they stop making this show, and when it happens I’ll cry.

But i KNOW they have more in them. Remember the “we’ll grow gills” monologue from Justin in the Prologues? Remember Travis’s SOLID acting with Devo? Or his awesome choice to give Lyndon/Beef a clearly delineated work/irl identity? His excellent narration and prose? Remember when Montrose described being lonely?! Remember all those moments where Shit Got Real and you cared??? The nanofather said some dope shit! dracula and victor and sweater dracula had such a wild dynamic! Clint’s acting in Dust 2- I can’t remember the characters name right now- was ASTOUNDING, I genuinely didn’t know he had that in him and it blew me away!

I’m not referencing Balance on purpose, both because the fandom is way to hung up on it and because I want to prove that you don’t even have to look at Balance, or even Post-Balance arcs, to see this kind of good cool stuff!

GAAAAAAAGHHHH!!! I want them to have fun. But also. We’re starving out here.

[specialagentartemis]

Tagged by @professionalowl and also @wizardysseus (almost a month ago but know I've been thinking about it!)

Books I want to read in 2025, one for each month:

The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson. I’ve tried to read this twice before but fizzled out in the introduction. But this year I am more renewed with the desire to read it than ever!

Witch King by Martha Wells. I have it! I just… haven’t read it yet.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Look at this fool who still hasn’t finished Nona lol.

City Spies by James Ponti. I even have a copy and I’ve heard rave reviews haha.

Magebike Courier: Flight of the Fallen by Hana Lee. I read the first book last month and liked it; the sequel comes out next June and I’m looking forward to it!

The Popol Vuh translated by Allen J. Christenson. He did a prose version and a poetry version. Reading the Iliad and the Epic of Gilgamesh gave me a hankering for more Great Classic Epics

The No-State Solution: A Jewish Manifesto by Daniel Boyarin. Boyarin is one of the most interesting and incisive nonzionist Jewish political philosophers I’ve read; I’ve read a few articles by him, and oh boy does he write like a philosopher, so I’ve been a little daunted to crack open this book even though it’s not actually long, but I really do want to read it because if anyone has unique and useful insights it’s him.

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It just came out and I haven’t had the chance to read it yet but I WANT TO

The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould. Time to admit I'm a POSER, I’ve read selections from it for class and they were brilliant and insightful but I've never sat down to read the whole thing through.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo. I’ve heard weird things about it but I haven’t disliked a Nghi Vo book yet.

Mis 50 Años de Vida Asexual by Rafael Torres Sebagg. A short memoir of growing up asexual in Argentina in the 70s and 80s. I’m gonna finish my English translation of this this year, I’m GONNA

Time to Orbit: Unknown by Derin Edala. Got these for Christmas and I'M EXCITED

tagging @needlesandnilbogs, @clonerightsagenda, @consolecadet, @ilovedthestars and @grammarpedant - what books do you want to read in 2025?

[yourlocalartsonist]

MONTHLY MFIP UPDATE✨✨

9/24 | Month 2 | Next Month | Month 1

Hey folks 🦐 I finally got the chance to make this month’s MFIP Update cuz god damn life was kicking my ass. College is fine for the most part tbh, just a lot of reading and writing cuz of the specific classes I chose. HOWEVER I have 💥FUCKING PMDD💥 so um skill issue on my part but it’s why I’ve been kinda exhausted as shit this week and was late with the update so my bad folks! (Also for more info on PMDD, click here! I don’t wanna spend this post yapping about it but wanted to leave a resource to spread awareness just in case :3). Also, Imma be tagging some of y'all who have been reading/supporting MFIP consistently just for this post, so yk you guys actually know these updates exist. I was gonna do that for the first ever update but as with many things, I forgor, so I'm doing it now! They’re supposed to come out on the 18th of every month, but yk sometimes life happens and I’m a lil late. It won’t be any earlier than the 18th tho so look out for these once it hits that date! Anywho, cheers to this month’s update!

Alrighty folks we be starting with the Art~!

Alrighty so obvious new thing, WE GOT RAPH’S REF SHEEEEEEEET TEEHEEEEEEE

BRO IM SO HYPE ABOUT IT! It turned out so genuinely amazing and I’m ridiculously proud of it! Especially cuz I honestly thought Raph was gonna be a harder design to figure out yk? I’m not used to drawing his body type, I wasn’t as familiar with his outfit, and even tho I’ve sketched him a few times before, I was just a bit nervous with Raph. Funfact, he’s also been the hardest to figure out how to write back when I was first starting MFIP. I genuinely don’t know why, but I got there eventually (I actually really love writing him now—) and same thing happened with his design!

Since MFIP’s taking place a few months after the Krang invasion, i’m able to take creative liberties and update the boys’ designs more! For some clarification btw, in my story’s lore, the invasion took place in September 2020, and MFIP starts on March 2021. Anywhizzle, my ideas for the boys’ designs is to combine their movie look with their show look, cuz while I do LOVE the black on them, it doesn’t feel right to me to not make them still unique in their own ways. These guys are all about authenticity, so why make their gear exactly the same, ya get me? I basically recolored his show gear to be black and red (and added a lil asymmetry on his legs) cuz I think it makes Raph feel older and more sure about himself, just feels right for him! I also just think the red fade on the black is hella cool! Fun lil color theory i think application, the black is more of a really dark, inky blue, so it makes the red pop out even more! I decided to make a bow out of his mask tails, too! I don’t wanna spoil the entire lore reasoning for it yet (it’ll pop up in the story), but I can indeed say it’s intentional that it looks a little like a lunamoth with damaged tails :3 I also took a BUNCH of creative liberties with his sais’ handles, since we haven’t really seen it much so like idk gaslight yourselves into thinking it’s always been this epic✨✨

Also I gave him his shorts back because FUCK YOU I LIKED THE RED TRIMMMM—

OH I ALMOST FORGOT yes he has longer eyelashes! I saw he grows to have really pretty eyelashes in the future cuz of his turtle species, and I wanted to lean into that by showing they’re starting to grow now :3

Bullshit Gag Because Yes‼️‼️

There ain’t shit to say about this, I just pulled a silly. I saw the fact Donnie was supposed to have a “Doctor Donatello” persona in the deleted episode where Dale turns into a werewolf. I’m really heavily on the train of Leo being the team medic and into medicine in general. I don’t think it makes sense for Donnie to be the medic judging by his sensory issues and this mf being as much of a germaphobe as my mom, and in my opinion it felt too stereotypical anyway to have Donnie be the medic. Ofc, to each their own, and this is just my interpretation of it, but I thought it’d be funny if Donnie still had this persona and was passionate about it, but was like horrifically bad at being a doctor. I made this dumbass sketch that I’ll finish sometime in the future (it’s gonna be a chapter in Arc 3 probably) and I just wanted to share it with yall~

THEY’RE HUMAN NOW⁉️

My ass wanted to show off cuz I’m sketching out some ideas of what my human designs for the boys culd be. I already did Leo’s like ages ago so he’s not on here but I’m realizing as I’m typing this my dumbass forgor to post it so um my bad I will do that in a few days—

But I wanted to design (or more accurately, redesign cuz I did draw em once a while back but I’m not satisfied with them) and I think I ate so far so uh yea. There isn’t any logic to sharing this, I just thought it was cool😭

And actually, imma share them here too just so y’all can see my boy ;w;

(A lil outdated cuz I didn’t give him lips at the time)

Okay there we go~

As you can see, I want all the boys to look kinda etherial and like they'd turn heads, and I think I am SUCCEEDING SO HARD SO FAR CUZ DAMNNNN THEY'RE ALL PRETTY AS SHIIIIIIIT TEEHEE✨ Also am tryna make sure they actually look Blasian since that's what the canon of my story says they are. I'll talk about them more another time when I have all of them on here~

But yea that's all for art this time folks :> ONTO THE NEXT THINGGG

Chapter Progress Time Whoop Whoooop‼️‼️

I didn’t make much progress on anything this month due to college—again, it’s fine, but there’s a shit ton of time management going on in my part to just manage everything and make sure I’m on track—BUT I am indeed still working on chapter 10. We’re up to 20 pages now which is only two more pages written from last month, but it’s kinda cool writing Donnie and I feel like I’m getting a better understanding of him! One thing I’ve been tryna do is understand autism better as a condition cuz I do wanna acknowledge and show bro’s autism instead of just ignoring it due to a lack of understanding. Donnie ain’t Donnie without it, ya know? I don’t know everything and tbh I would say I still have A LOT to learn on the subject matter, but I’m tryna expand my knowledge every opportunity I get and experimenting with how to better show it! This is to say tho, I’M NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, NOR AN EXPERT ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM. This is what I’m finding and comprehending via my own research, and can tbh end up being wrong so please don’t quote me as a reliable source, I’m still learning ;v;

I remember one of the things I kept hearing about was autism leading people to struggle with empathy. The best way I heard it being described was someone bringing the example of when their friend was upset. That person can’t truly feel their friend’s emotions because they’re not the one experiencing it, so can’t properly understand how it’s making their friend feel. But they can see that their friend is communicating their sadness, and they still try to comfort them and make sure their friend knows they’re there for support. I understood it as bringing logic to emotions in a sense; collecting data and figuring out how to handle the situation based on the data rather than using intuition alone.

I’ve been using that to figure out how Donnie might handle more emotionally subtle situations, where he might try to rationally work through what’s happening and kinda substitute it in place of natural empathy. Like the little tidbit I gave above! Instead of just automatically being able to get vibes that the other person is upset, I felt maybe Donnie would instead notice the fact their tone is kinda different from before; it’s basically a data point. With that data point in mind, he could connect it to past experiences where a tone change could indicate a mood change, and as a result he might conclude that Salena’s tone change means she’s upset. I comprehend it as manually working through empathy rather than it being second nature, if that makes sense. Obviously and thankfully Donnie isn’t gonna spend the entire chapter playing a guessing game or anything with Salena’s emotions, it’s just one lil moment that I thought was cool challenge to myself with when writing him! I really love putting myself in the characters’ shoes when I’m writing them or their dialogue. I highly recommend it as a tool too, since it's helped me a lot with staying in character!

Last Lil Segment Y'all

Aight so, I wanted to try doing something cool if y'all are up for it. I really love rambling about my story and lore and characters blah blah blah, but I don't really know how to do so tbh. I'm not that familiar with how social medias work cuz I just never took it seriously, and I don't wanna just keep being like HEYYYYY ASK BOX IS OPENNNNN like I'm screaming from the top of the hill either. Sooooo insteaddddd

I think it'd be fun to do Q&As here! Or at least something similar. I'll open my ask box again and feel free to send any questions you want; it can be about the story, past lore, design questions, getting to know the characters, absolutely anything! Then when I'm gonna do my update for the month, I'll compile all y'all's asks, (prolly will have to tag to make sure you guys know I answered it, or if you ask anon then uh idk look out for the monthly update) and then answer them during the monthly update as the last section! I think it'll be a cool way to make this feel more interactive, and gives me an excuse to ramble. Don't be afraid to ask potentially spoilery questions either! If it's something I can't spoil yet or even give hints or vague answers about, I'll just say so in the update!

Anywhizzle, That's All Folks~!

I'm glad there was so much to talk about this month! I actually deadass thought it would be short but I should know better with my yapping' ass💀✨ But yeah, thanks for reading everyone! I hope y'all enjoy the rest of your days, and I shall see you next month~ Bye :D

Tageroonies:

@yosajaeofficial @chaoticspeedrun @ramblehour @randomcerealbrand @goldanrabbit @m1sf0rtun3 @foundthethief @ackalice @jellyfishheartsss @dollyrin @harukonene @iieieiw @mwantstossleep @zipzaizen @hypocriticaltypwriter @lordfreg @rainbowpr1sm @idioticsky @oleander-nin @cheeselord-official @skittlesqueen101

By the way, if you guys think you’d like to be tagged whenever an MFIP chapter is posted, lmk in a reblog or comment (no asks or dms plz, too inconvenient) and I’ll be sure to tag so it’s more reliable than tumblr notifs :3🫶

ROTTMNT: Moths Fly In Packs

[lover-of-mine]

Christopher Diaz has 3 dads has got to be the most cursed tag I’ve ever had the misfortune of accidentally stumbling upon. We’ve never even seen Tommy interact with Chris on screen what do you mean he’s a father figure to Chris????????

Excuse me, what? Okay but are talking about a poli relationship or is this a delusion that Eddie would allow Buck's partner to parent his kid? We didn't even see Chris interact with Tommy. They had the chance, they were both at the medal ceremony, there wasn't even a still from that bit where Buck was at their table and didn't make it to the episode. We haven't even seen this great epic friendship Eddie and Tommy allegedly have. What are they on? And wasn't the other side just last week saying Buck wasn't a parental figure for Chris and Eddie uses him because they aren't family? Can they fucking pick a struggle?

[eneiryu]

do you have any tips for people who want to start writing/posting works, but don't know where to start?

I’ve been mulling it over since I got your ask, and I think I have come up with a few things:

- Start small, not just in length but in concept. Plotting out fics in such a way that all the threads get satisfactorily tied up at the end, and things don’t feel rushed or dragged out or forgotten about, is a skill. I find it much, much easier to pick one single core concept, and build a whole, detailed story around that, than to successfully keep several metaphorical plates in the air. For example, with my last fic: I wanted Theo to convince himself he had to leave BH after the series finale, and then for him and Liam to run into each other years later, and end up having that explosive resolution. I could have felt like I needed to write all the in-between, or even the after, but really I didn’t. To steal a piece of writing advice I heard from someone else, ask yourself if you’re writing the most interesting parts of your character’s life/story, and if the answer is no, try stopping and writing that. Conveniently enough, that also usually ends up being the more fun parts to write. And, eventually—you’ll get to the point where writing out the epics is much, much easier.

- OUTLINE. Seriously, outline everything. If you have an idea, even if you don’t have any idea where it goes or anything other than the first sentence or summary? Write it down. Write it down immediately. You will forget things if you try to save it for later. My phone is full of incomprehensible chunks of stories, but that is how I get to comprehensible stories. And outlining honestly makes things so much easier. If I have an outline, I very rarely get “stuck.” I know what happens next, and it’s so much easier to thread the different moments together, than to sit there staring at an intimidatingly blank page, and feel like I need to come up with everything.

- Don’t worry about titles and summaries and tags until the story is actually done, and don’t stress yourself out trying to come up with the perfect one. I come up with my titles on the fly. One of the most talented fic writers I’ve ever come across has one-word titles, usually just some kind of noun (does the fic take place in an arena? The fic is tilted “Arena.”).

And, honestly, most importantly?

- Write for yourself, and for the fans that you have, not the fans that you wish you have. It’s so tempting to judge how “successful” you were at a story by how many comments or reblogs or likes you get, but my experience has been that there are so many stories, and so many posts, and so many different tastes and styles and whatever, that being “popular” in fandom is a mythical and almost impossible thing to achieve. Some of my favorite stories I’ve written are the ones that received the least notice, comparatively. I have made so many friends and have come to have a group of readers who names and pseuds and comments I genuinely remember and appreciate, because they show up again and again and take the time to leave the comments, or the reblogs, or the likes. They engage, with me and with the work that I do genuinely spend hours or my time and energy on, and having a handful of those readers show up in one of my stories, even if it doesn’t hit the same “mark” as some of my others? That’s a damn good day, right there.

Okay just kidding, one more:

- Have fun. Writing is seriously so much work, and it’s hard, and a lot of the time, it may feel like you’re shouting into the void. So you’ve got to write the things that you enjoy, that you want to see in the world, and then you’ve got to go put it into the world. If you’re having fun, your readers will know it and respond to it. And if you’re having fun, well, then—you’re having fun, aren’t you? 😊

[andydrysdalerogers]

The ABCs of Nick Vaughn - "Y"

Pairing: Reader x Nick Vaughn (Before We Go)

Summary: Children its time to learn your ABCs. And Nick Vaughn is here to teach you the lessons. 26 glimpses in the world of you and Nick Vaughn

Warnings: S-M-U-T!!!! (under 18 please leave the chat!) descriptions of sexual activity including some themes of BDSM, loss of virginity, fluffy bits, pet name etc...

The new upload will probably be Sundays. Have fun kittens! Also, the tag list is open!

A/N: There is just one letter left and I am excited AF!

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS. Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated

Divider by @firefly-graphics

Previous: X - X Rated

ABC Masterlist - Main Masterlist

Y – YOLO 

From Nick’s POV   

I married her.  

I finally got to fucking marry her. 

When she walked down that aisle towards me, fucking gorgeous in her gown, I thought it was a dream.  My girl was an angel walking towards me and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. But no, she stood next to me, and we vowed to love each other forever.  

Now, after an epic party, I’m sitting here on a plane to Paris, my girl asleep on my shoulder, in first class.  And a thought crossed my mind.  A rather dirty one.  See, I splurged and got us the best first-class tickets money could buy. The last tour paid me big and with the re-release of the album, YN and I will be comfortable for the rest of our lives.  

And we have a cabin in the sky.  

I’ve always wanted to join the Mile High Club.  

Always wanted sex on a balcony or in a dark corner of a library.  

Fuck, I just want to take my girl wherever my heart wishes.  

As the ideas manifested, YN shifted in her seat, waking a little.  “What time is it?” She asked in that adorable sleepy voice.  

“It's about 1 am,” I replied.  “We still have about four hours left on our flight.”  

“Oh.” She rubbed her eyes. “I’m gonna wash my face.” She grabbed the complimentary toiletry bag and headed to the bathroom suite.  Yes, this plane had a fucking suite for a bathroom. And now, I can put my plan into action.  

I move quickly with her when I notice there are no attendants in the area.  As she opens the door, I gently push her in. “Nick...” I cut off her protest with a hard kiss.  She moans into it, letting me in. I taste her, my wife, God that sounds so good.  

“You have to be quiet, Mrs. Vaughn,” I whisper against her lips. I pull back to see the glassy eye expression she gets when she’s aroused.  “Wanna join the Mile High Club with me?” 

Her eyes widened, focusing on me again. “Nick, we can’t...” 

“We can if we’re quick enough, baby.”  I turn her around and lift the bottom of her skirt up.  She had changed from her wedding dress, which I had been able to fuck her in before the reception, and now was wearing a beautiful black skirt and pink blouse. I reached for the black lace panties I know she has on and slid them down her legs. I bent her over the sink and ran one finger up and down her slit.  

“N-Nicky,” she studders. “S-sensitive.”  

“I can tell,” I whisper.  She’s so pink and wet and trembling, “you like this don’t you, sweetheart? You like the thought of someone hearing us.”  She nods softly. I undo my pants and pull them down with my boxer far enough so I can run the tip over her skin before sinking into her, hard. I slap a hand over her mouth just as she lets out the most delicious sounding moan I have ever heard.  

I rut into her, hard and fast. Her eyes roll to the back of her head and I know I’m hitting the right spot.  I let go of her mouth and reach down to rub her clit. I can feel myself sliding in and out of her and my god, it makes it so much hotter. “Cum for me,” I whisper in her ear.  

Her head rolls back against my shoulder and she lets go, silently, losing the scream in her throat. It has to be one of the sexiest things I have ever fucking seen. I love it so much that I cum right there and then.  

I kiss along the back of her neck as I slowly pull out. I grab some napkins to clean her and myself before I bring up her panties and pull her skirt down.  I can see the mascara marks from her ecstasy tears. “Clean your face baby and I’ll have some water, champagne and snacks for you.”  I kiss her lips sweetly.  

I make it back to our seats and hit the call button.  The flight attendant rushes over and takes my order.  I sit back with a smirk, reading my book.  My girl comes back, looking refreshed with a hint of pink on her cheeks.  The attendant brings us everything and sets up the table.  

After they leave, YN whispers, “why did you do that Nick? I mean, it was good but...” 

“YOLO.”  

“What?” 

“You only live once, my love and I want us to live in this marriage. I love you!” 

“I love you.”

Next

Taglist:

@patzammit @texmexdarling @firephotogrl74 @slutforchrisjamalevans @jennmurawski13-writes @tinkerbelle67 @atoosa22

[wellbelesbian]

20 questions for fic writers!

tysm for tagging me @bazzybelle, it took me a while to get around to this but it was a lot of fun!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

37!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

113,598, not bad.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mostly the Simon Snow Trilogy, but I have a couple of Greek Mythology/Epic Cycle fanfics too. i used to write for Percy Jackson and Marve, but not anymore.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

two old Marvel fics are right at the top, then it’s:

i want the love on your wrist (oh give me the heart on your neck), the first explicit work i’ve ever written, maybe a sign i should write more.

The Tale of the Two Merwolves, which I wrote with a bunch of other lovely people in the fandom

Everything I Am Not, my COTTA fic from 2020

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

yes, I always try to!

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

definitely crimson, my COTTA fic from 2022, but a close second is Visions, a little Trojan War Helenus fic i still really like.

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

well a lot of my fics have fairly happy endings, but I’d say All That She Wants, an Agatha-centric fic, and Happier Memories, a proposal fic, have the most hopeful endings.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

no, I don’t think I ever have, luckily!

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

only twice so far, though I have another stewing in my brain that might get written. I can’t really say i'm limited to a certain “type” though, i’m pretty versatile, pun intended.

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

no, they’re not really my thing.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge! i hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

back when i used to write on wattpad i got some DMs asking to translate my fics and i always agreed, but i don’t know if they ever followed through.

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

yes, i really love doing so! I wrote a stucky fic with one of my friends years ago, but we never ended up posting it anywhere. also, the two aforementioned marvel fics were co-written with another (now ex) friend, and the tale of two merwolves was written as part of a group.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

snowbaz, definitely. it’s been my longest-running OTP (do people still say OTP?) and i’ve written so any fics for it.

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

hmm, i’ve only got 3 wips and i think i’ll finish them all eventually, but blow on the tinder and we are slaves to the gods are definitely on the back burner for now.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i’ve been told i’m good at writing dialogue, which is good because that’s two thirds of all the words i write.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

descriptions and anything sappy, which gives me second hand embarrassment.

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

i tend to shy away from it, but if i do i always put it in italics and will put a translation in the notes unless it’s super obvious, and like when other authors do the same.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Percy Jackson! I wrote so much solangelo and was actually pretty popular on wattpad, one of my fics broke a million hits which is still insane to me. i still get the occasional message asking me to come back and finish my fics, but i logged out of that account in 2018 and am not going back.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

oh, that’s hard. i’m really enjoying writing Shoulder To Shoulder right now, but i still love All That She Wants and Liar Liar. i also really love I’m On My Way To Believing, which is a greek mythology Pyrrhus/Hermione fic. they’re my blorbos. but i’d have to say my all-time favourite will always have to be the first carry on fic i ever wrote, which got me out of a years long writing slump: Rats.

i don't know who has already done this, so i'll just tag @ileadacharmedlife @prettygoododds @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @imagineacoolusername @ic3-que3n @forabeatofadrum @aristocratic-otter @larkral @hushed-chorus @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @youarenevertooold @artsyunderstudy @alexalexinii @shrekgogurt and @j-nipper-95

[shizunitis]

@miaoqing hath taggeth me and thus. i answer

why did you choose your url?

so people would mistake me for @shizunstits

any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them.

@mark--er for anything unrelated to shizun/fandom, and a secret third one for. well. that’s my business.

how long have you been on tumblr?

since 2012, approximately? 2011, maybe?

do you have a queue tag?

i can’t figure out how to make it automatic…

why did you start your blog in the first place?

good question!

why did you choose your icon/pfp?

self-portrait

why did you choose your header?

shizun deserves support, love, respect, and to be handled with gentleness and care. he has old man hips.

what's your post with the most notes?

i’m not sure how i could check that, but it’s either one of my au’s from when i was young and excited, or the loyal ghost story? i’m sorry, i really don’t know 😞

how many mutuals do you have?

enough to make me sit and think about how much i love the world every now and then. every one of them, i respect and cherish dearly

how many followers do you have?

enough to intimidate me 😞 i’m used to yapping to myself, so this is. uh. overwhelming? but the warm and good kind. it’s fitting that it happened because of shizun… he truly is a treasure…

how many people do you follow?

226

have you ever made a shitpost?

what i do is speak my mind, not shitpost. i bless and curse people with my joy and sorrow. my funny shizun thoughts. write that down. but yeah, i suppose most of my posts are either shitposts or sad/melancholy/yearning shizun musings

how often do you use tumblr each day?

once. like my thinking of shizun, it never ends, so.

did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

no. but i got very close, once. i respect what danmei-confessions is trying to do but. GOD. god leave my boy and my shizun alone. please

how do you feel about 'you need to reblog this' posts?

useless, condescending, annoying, does nothing, reeks of self-righteousness. shame does not work the way some people think it does

do you like tag games?

sometimes. i love seeing others’, i’m very lazy.

do you like ask games?

i do! a lot!

which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

odd question, mefears

do you have a crush on a mutual?

yes. i giggle every time they interact with my posts. it’s very embarrassing

what is the last song you listened to?

stars by tai verdes, it’s almost depressions season

what are you currently watching?

jerma vods, if that counts? i’ve been meaning to re-watch, you guessed it, the svsss donghua

sweet/savoury/spicy?

any and all flavours are good <3 depends on my mood.

what is your current relationship status?

courting two characters that are married to each other and one of them has two alternate universe counterparts that i’m also attempting to woo. it’s complicated.

what is your current obsession?

…guess? you’ll never get it, i promise.

what are nine albums/songs you've been listening to lately?

steve lacy’s dark red, hozier’s unreal unearth, some of taylor swift’s songs, syml’s the bird and the boy, radiohead’s amnesiac, epic: the musical, conan gray’s lonely dancers (but the album as well) and unlike pluto’s we’re screwed (PEAK. BINGQIU. also the orv animatic with this song? OUGH)

tagging anyone who would like to join in <3 (i’m insecure but mostly i want everyone to have fun so i can watch like a benevolent guardian)

[pragmatic-optimist]

This week's theme: Rec a 'gateway' fic - a fic that you read and it was so good it lead you to read multiple works by the same writer.

The rules: Tag a fic and explain why it was a gateway fic / what you liked about it. Then tag some people to see what everyone else is reading. Spread the love! I'll do the round up on Sunday again, so if you're still recc-ing on Saturday, no pressure. Please tag @welcometololaland or #fic rec friday so I can compile the masterlist!

*****

Very excited about this week’s theme because the first fic of an author you read is a little bit like watching the pilot of a TV show that has several seasons, but you’ve only just found it. So you fall in love, and before you know it, you’ve blinked and spent 12 hours binging as many eps as you can. It’s a great feeling, to chase the same elixir of magic in each story someone has written. There are several fics I could mention here, but I challenged myself to choose fics purely from memory because otherwise I’d be here all day looking through my bookmarks. 😂

911 Lone Star

No Right to Love You by @reyescarlos: If you’ve been following me for a while or if we’ve had conversations about our all-time favorite fics, then you’ve read/heard my unhinged praise for No Right to Love You. It is not an understatement to say that this story was my whole personality for the entirety of April 2021 lol. This canon-divergent season 1 finale fic is truly epic and filled me with so many feels (so much yearning!). Kim posted it one chapter at a time over the course of a weekend, and when she posted the final chapter, I was standing in line at the grocery store when I saw the AO3 notification and proceeded to let out a loud yelp of excitement. There were looks.😂 This story and Kim’s writing were worth the public embarrassment, I just love it so much. 🙌🏾 It was my first Kim fic, and I immediately inhaled everything else she had written for LS.  

Begins at Sunrise by @iboatedhere: Ah, Begins at Sunrise. I’ve read so many of Rae’s fics over the last two years, so it’s really fun to think back to the first fic I ever read. TK and Carlos have the “who are we to each other?” talk on a spontaneous beach getaway because Carlos can’t deny TK anything, and their conversations/interactions here are so Them™️. Also, it’s all just very romantic and there’s a beautiful thread of vulnerability that runs through each scene, tugging at your heart. Given that it is a story set in season 1 circa ep 1x10, I appreciate it was written from Carlos POV and gave us some insight into his headspace after TK got shot. He was so in love already. There are a lot of single lines in this fic that pack an emotional wallop in the best way. As soon as I finished reading it, I hit the subscribe button so fast, and every AO3 email notification I’ve received sharing a Rae original has been a joy. 

All Along There Was Some Invisible String Tying You to Me by @tkstrrand: Alternate first meeting AUs are always a lot of fun because I love the notion that these two people will always find one another no matter what. AJ’s dual POV, ER Meet-Cute for TK and Carlos is a personal favorite. The story is lovely, with TK worried about Owen after accompanying him to the ER and Carlos (a stranger at first, also at the ER worried about his partner) stepping in to offer TK kindness and conversation and then eventually both realizing they don’t want their time together to end (and as the reader, you realize you don’t want your time with this version of them to end either). I loved this one a whole lot, and I am grateful it led to me finding more of AJ’s work! 

Red, White, and Royal Blue

Before This, After That by @orchidscript:  

I have a rule about not reading WIPs because I’m just not the most patient person when it comes to waiting for the next chapter (know thyself, etc). So I wait until the entire story is posted, and then I dive in. BUT every so often, a fic comes along and makes itself the exception to my rule. Before This, After That is the most recent exception. I adore this fic—it’s a great example of why I enjoy reading AUs. I love seeing how a writer captures the essence of the characters as individuals as well as the heart of their relationship and translates it into a brand-new world. This AU does it seamlessly with Alex and Henry. There are certain parts of this story that really feel inspired by Henry’s line from canon, “I thought if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire.” Alex is hired to help Henry recover, but he realizes it’s more than just recovering from an injury, Henry needs to be brought back to life. [insert metaphor about Alex’s presence kindling Henry’s motivation to live]

I love how Alex shows care for Henry. There is a scene early on regarding Henry’s pain meds, and through a conversation, Alex swiftly resolves it. It’s a short scene but a really lovely moment. Henry feels so seen and heard in a way that he clearly hasn’t been since being hurt (or maybe ever). The whole exchange made me 😍😭🥹. The slow burn of this fic is fantastic, and I have also really enjoyed the interactions between Bea and Henry and (gasp) even Phillip. Lol. I am eagerly awaiting the next chapter, and as I wait, I’ll be reading more of orchidscript’s catalog! 

*****

Open tag to anyone who has a gateway fic that lives in their mind rent-free, please share (and tag me so I can add more fics to my marked for later lol). 

[rowan-guerrins]

9 fandom peeps to get to know better:

thanks @dragonagelesbian for tagging me! i am so eept rn so i have,,,, no idea how coherent this’ll be lol

3 ships you like: gigolas (gimli and legolas; i refuse to use any ship name other than the most ridiculous one lmao) (they invented love methinks); nerdanel x fëanor (their love and epic divorce compel me… rotating them in my brain like The Cube); and bagginshield (idiots 🫶). i like (love, even) many ships akfkskf but right now im in my tolkien era (again.) so uhhh yeah. all tolkien ships here. shoutout to dinkus tho.

first ship ever: literally aragorn and arwen. i was obsessed with them and wanted them to be my parents. in after-school daycare i would sit in front of a whiteboard and draw a big ole castle and draw out my elaborate fantasy role play i had w a friend in which i WAS their child. this brainrot has been with me for as long as i can remember i inherited it i will live forever with it. incurable disease (liking tolkien) haver.

last song you heard: squints. well earlier i was SINGING many songs from the broadway beauty and the beast musical but that was acapella so that doesn’t count. it’s uhh. (opens spotify). well i’m halfway through doom days by bastille (doom days by bastille my beloved). so that. (unless you do count what i was singing for some reason. in which case. uhhhh. if i can’t love her. THEE beauty and the beast song of all time. helloooooo is this thing on do you hear me? do you understand? it’s the musical song of all time to me actually. it’s so good. listen to it. evermore wants what she has.)

favorite childhood book: uhhh so i only remember really early childhood and later childhood. i know i had other favorites between like 5-8 or so. but you’re getting what i can remember ajdjwjd. as a YOUNG kid i loved “goodnight moon”. the kids book of all time. and in later childhood, outside of my obsession with the warrior cats franchise (a given), i really loved the inheritance cycle books. i need to reread them so bad SO BAD. also i need to get the illustrated edition of eragon. shakes.

currently reading: “the fellowship of the ring”. don’t look atme. don’t— look. look. when i said it’s my tolkien girlie era again. well. yeah. anyway. i am. 97-98% thru it so probably it will change to two towers. also TECHNICALLY. i am still. technically. reading “carmilla” (she’s somewhere in my room but i don’t know where oops). and also. technically. “the silmarillion” (LOOK.), because i need to actually read it all the way thru for once and not just skip to the bits about my favoritest worst guys alive who are hated by god and also do war crimes but they’re funny. so it’s. look. it. it’s okay. hey look at me. the murder is not a big deal. it’s all so catholic here. i’m more worried about that.

currently watching: stares into the distance. it’s been so long since i’ve watched anything. at least TV/movie-wise. i watch a simmer’s streams and youtube vids is that anything? no…. naur…. i think the last. thing i watched was. uh. an episode of ATLA.

currently consuming: BALDURS GATE THREE. i am obsessed w my tav rn. i restarted my playthru bc i wanted to good recruit minthara bc i feel like she’d have a crunchy dynamic w my tav, lleuad. somehow less crunchy than i expected but we just got her so who’s to say. anyway. shakking,,,, look at Them. (talking to one of the besties.)

currently craving: japanese curry……… mmmm. with. chicken katsu. yeag

tagging: open tag bc actual tagging always gives me anxiety lmao. if you want to do this, consider yourself tagged!

[msbigredmachine]

Watched Wrestlemania 39. My highlights:

Night 1

1. Right person won the US title match. Not a fan of Cena and probably never will be. Sorry.

2. All the guys in the men’s showcase match went off! Gosh! They all killed it, every one of them.

3. Seth versus Logan was expectedly good. Yes Logan Paul is an ass but that guy is great in the ring. Period.

4. KSI being frogplashed through a table 🤣🤣🤣

5. Outfit of the weekend. I don’t care what none of y’all say.

6. Didn’t really like the six women tag match. I just feel that Damage Ctrl need to split up now. Nothing is going their way.

7. Father and son arguably with the entrances of the weekend. Dom coming from prison and Rey in a low rider with Snoop bumping to two classic songs! 😭

8. This part had me screaming!

9. Dom splashing a drink in Aalyah’s face made me gasp! Excellent heel work by ex condom.

10. Rey winning made all the sense in the world. Months of disrespect ending in the most emphatic way possible. Dominik will be fine.

11. So glad Rhea won. Charlotte Flair is not interesting unless she has the title. The match was entertaining though. Loved it.

12. Lil Uzi Vert playing out the Usos was random, but I like Just Wanna Rock so it wasn’t an issue for me.

13. The Usos in all white is always 🔥🔥🔥. The main event twins!

14.Loved that Kevin and Sami wore matching outfits too. Sami is sooo over it’s crazy.

15. It was all fun and games till the Usos isolated Sami and started teeing off on him. Like fucking assassins. Then Sami kept kicking out and the Usos kept brutalizing him. That shit was uncomfortable.

16. Please rewatch the part where Jey put Sami in the corner and used him for target practice. The slaps, the forearms, the leaping Helluva kick, the trash talk. Jey is soooo HURT. That made me emotional.

17. The near falls were killing me! It got to a point when I stopped commenting and just kept watching because I was mesmerized. I didn’t want to miss a thing by talking.

18. The ending sequence. Cinema. Sami putting Jey away was the icing on the cake. Kevin’s face after the bell rang. The roar of the crowd. My own tears falling. Heartbroken for Jey. Elated for Sami. Unbelievable.

19. Hands down one of the best Mania main events in its 40 year history. Best tag team title match I’ve ever seen. And it did not surprise me at all, because four of the best in the world executed it to perfection.

Night 2

1. Nothing to say about Brock/Omos. Whatever.

2. Night and day between the men’s showcase match 👍🏾 and the women’s showcase match 👎🏾

3. LOOOOL Drew, Gunther and Sheamus beat the SHIT out of each other. Wowwww. The right man won. Gunther has a great aura and needs to hold that shit for a year.

4. That little girl in the middle of Bianca’s troupe lost her mother THAT DAY and still went out and killed her section. She is so so brave and I’m so happy she was still able to get that opportunity. She looked so happy despite her immense loss. My condolences to her and I hope she had the time of her life.

5. I feel bad for Asuka. L after L after L at Mania. But Bianca is a once in a lifetime athlete. Keep that belt on her for as long as possible.

6. I have ZERO sympathy for Shane McMahon. 7 years away from turning SIXTY and your ass still thinks you're 25. LA Knight was LITERALLY there to do this segment with. There are useful nepo babies and useless nepo babies. You can guess where I think Shane belongs.

7. Snoop essentially flying through the air just to hit one elbow drop 😂😂😂

8. Edge and Finn’s video package was TOP tier! And the fact that Russell Crowe was involved is insane!!!

9. Shout out to Finn for continuing the match with his head split open. Holy cow.

10. Great match from Edge and Finn. Really good.

11. The main event felt like a HUGE deal. Fabulous entrances.

12. Immaculate entrance by Cody Rhodes. I had chills. He looked like the star that he is. His jacket was 🔥🔥🔥 The wings on the back made it look so epic.

13. Tears in my eyes when he hugged his family and then gave his belt to Negative One.

14. This was Roman’s first grand entrance as the Tribal Chief. The pianists went off. Loved how the soft piano ended and the BOOM opening of his theme song followed right after. So intimidating.

15. He didn’t change his pants. Just his boots. Boo, Mr Reigns. That doesn’t count.

16. Shout out to Samantha Irvin and her intros. That girl is GOOD.

17. Solo the shooter, terrorizing Cody at every turn. It eventually paid off. That’s why Roman don’t talk to his brothers anymore, lol. They’re not as reliable as their baby brother.

18. ROLLERCOASTER of a match. The ejection of Solo, the near falls! 😭

19. This match would have been five stars for me if it wasn’t for the ref bump. It’s like the 4th match in a row it was happening and it’s a bit repetitive. Let Roman have a no DQ match for once so he can do what he wants.

20. My jaw dropped when the ref counted to three! I honestly thought Cody was winning. I was sooo shocked. Nothing I thought would happen, happened

21. It will be interesting to see what is going to happen next because I have no clue. Will Cody still chase the titles or will it be someone else? How badly will Roman bully the twins now that they are no longer champions?

22. Lmao at Roman using every social media platform to gloat afterwards. He knew this was the reaction he would get and he was loving it.

Overall: Night 1 was much better than Night 2 IMO. Night 1 is probably the best Mania night I’ve ever watched. Practically every match delivered and I was happy.

MVP of the weekend - Dominik Mysterio. He was flawless. Heeled it up to the nines. His match with his father was near perfect. Bright future for that young man

Line of the weekend - “This is what Dominik gave up for those bozos, Dominik deserved what he got tonight at Mania”- Michael Cole spitting 🔥 the entire show.

What did you agree or disagree with?

[ofwondersandhares]

name : Soup (Candace)

pronouns : she/her

preference of communication : Tumblr IM, I am rarely on Discord anymore

most active muse : Sean will always be the most active, he is pretty much the whole reason the blog exists lol

experience / how many years : I feel like I’ve done it all. Private message boards (way back in the time of ezboards lol), rpme, discord, aim, tumblr, twitter, even on facebook. I think I’ve been roleplaying at this point for over 15 years.

best experience : It’s hard to narrow it down, I’ve had some pretty epic stories and plots with @thornstocutyouwith , @notquiteahitman and @saidthecaterpillar I would have to say I’ve been writing with @saidthecaterpillar the longest

rp pet peeves : I could tell you many stories. i guess my most major one are writers that forget that Sean is a fictional character. I’ve had to deal with some epic - and I mean EPIC drama that carried over to OOC because the writer wasn’t happy that the muse fell out of love with theirs. I’ve had friendships tarnished, and I have been called a bad writer simply because he just didn’t have the same feelings for their muse as he once had. I also had one writer who got jealous and upset for even having Sean get a hug from another muse on Tumblr.

fluff, angst, or smut : I would have to say I am partial to all three, it all depends on how the story is carried. All in all, I like to have balance in a story. Fluff can get a little boring if that is all that is always happening. Angst is needed to give the stories more depth and excitement - but if the angst carries on too long, it gets to be a bit a too much. Smut is fun, but it can’t be all that the storyline is centered around either.

plots or memes : It all depends on how well I know the other writer. I think memes are the best icebreakers or a way to fill in time between the more involved plots and storylines

long or short replies : I am usually one that does long replies, if I have a reply less than three paragraphs I kind of feel guilty lol

time to write : whenever the mood strikes honestly, I go through phases where I will really be into writing and then I will just randomly not be in the mood for it for awhile.

are you like your muses : A lot of myself and my own personality goes into (almost) every muse that I write. Sean would have to be the closest, he was created, really, as someone I thought was my ideal boyfriend. He has shown tremendous growth as a muse over the years and is definitely one of the most complex and interesting muses I have ever written

tagged by: @defectivexfragmented (thank you)

tagging: @notquiteahitman @saidthecaterpillar @notyouraveragesecretary @thornstocutyouwith @charmed-redemption @chaoticrebels

[lajulie24]

20 Fanfic Questions

I was tagged by the lovely @otterandterrier and this one looked like fun, so here goes!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

67

2. What’s your total AO3 words count?

296,981

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star Wars, mostly the Original Trilogy / Rebellion era timeframe, although sometimes I branch out to other eras.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Corellian Lilies (Han/Leia Bespin pregnancy AU, 230)

Our stained glass means nothing without light (Leia and Obi-Wan reconnecting right after Endor, 226)

A Betting Woman (Han/Leia putting one over on the Rogues around ESB timeframe, 211)

Sampler (Leia makes a needlepoint that makes a point, 210)

Epic Love (TFA fix-it AU with no HanLeia breakup, a much better reason for Luke to be in hiding, and other surprises, 204)

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

I try to always respond to comments, although sometimes it takes me a while to get to them. I really love getting comments, and when I get the chance to chat about things with readers in the comments, that’s really fun for me. And honestly it’s just lovely to hear from folks what they liked, what affected them, or even just a word or two of encouragement. Sometimes posting a new story or chapter feels like putting something into the void, and comments feel like it’s not so much of a void anymore, that there’s a place for what I’ve shared. Which is also why I like to acknowledge comments, to appreciate what readers have shared back.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Most of my fics that involve angst tend to be “angst with a happy ending”, but there are definitely a few where the ending is a bit more uncertain (or, we know eventually things end up okay but the characters don’t know that at the end of the fic). If forced to choose, I’d say If we survived the great war because it’s uncertain what will happen with Han and Leia in the end, and there aren’t a ton of great options. Rage is also pretty angsty for being just a drabble/ficlet.

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

Interesting, I write mostly happy or at least hopeful endings, so picking the happiest is tough. But I think I’ll go with Sky Full of Stars, where there’s a bit of post-ROTJ war cleanup keeping them apart, but when they come together there’s a reminder that they both very much belong together in this new world they’ve fought for.

(If I were being really snarky I would answer this question by pointing to my smut fics, where everyone generally has a very fun time so nearly guaranteed at least temporary happy ending?)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

You know, I don’t think I really have. People generally are pretty kind. Definitely have gotten a couple of “well this isn’t my version of this character so I don’t get it” kind of complaints here and there, but I wouldn’t classify that as hate so much as someone being grumpy.

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

Yes I do! Uh, I’d say so far fairly vanilla stuff, and pretty much only for Han and Leia thus far. It took me a while before I wrote smut at all, so while I’ve written more in the last couple of years, I haven’t branched out much. (Yet.) Most of it tends to be the “smut with feelings” variety of things, even when it’s porn without plot.

10. Do you write crossovers? If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No, I don’t — I have too many ideas in the Star Wars universe already, I don’t have time to write in other ones!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet!

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

No, although @contrivedcoincidences6 and I have worked on a joint WIP together here and there.

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

Han/Leia!

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

I tend to never say never when it comes to finishing things. I did start a sequel to Corellian Lilies, kind of got stuck, and have yet to finish it, and now I think I like some of the ideas and concepts and scenes but might end up repurposing them in something else rather than writing the specific story I originally thought I would write at the time.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m pretty good at dialogue and characterization. Sometimes I struggle with plot, although some fics I write are more “two people talking and hashing things out” or a sort of mood where the plotting is mainly an excuse to get them into a room to have a moment together. And I think I’ve gotten better at plot over the years that I’ve been writing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Is “not writing” a writing weakness? Because sometimes I have that. I think craft-wise, like I said sometimes I struggle with plot, and I do find it a lot more difficult to write space battles or fight scenes or the like. I think sometimes my writing when it’s not working as well veers between “too spare” and “too damn wordy,” often in the same fic. There are definitely other writers whose ability to craft complex political situations or battles or relationships is a source of awe and admiration for me (and sometimes envy, let’s be real), but I’ve mostly accepted that I can admire the way someone else writes without that having to be the way I write, if that makes sense.

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

Well, I’ve somewhat lucked out in that I write in the Galaxy Far Far Away, so in general if I write something in another language it’s a made-up Star Wars language anyway, so I’m less likely to make an ass of myself doing it. I think if I were to use an Earth language other than English and write dialogue in it for a fic, I’d probably ask a native speaker to take a look to make sure I haven’t had my characters accidentally say they were pregnant when they were just embarrassed or say something that is a slur or a colloquial phrase that means something other than intended. I think it can be done well, but it has to be done thoughtfully.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh, I can’t pick just one, damnit! I love them all in different ways. But if pressed, I guess I’d say my favorites (see, I’m cheating, you get multiple) are Epic Love for longer multichapter fic, The Book of the Lovers for mid-length one-shot fic, and Of the Stars for drabble/ficlet.

Tagging a few writer friends, if you’d like to play! @organanation @contrivedcoincidences6 @soloorganaas @yoyomarules @miabicicletta and anyone else who is interested (and tag me please if you do, I’d love to read your answers).

[professorsaber]

Fic Author Self-Rec

Share five of your personal favorite works, then tag five authors to do the same. Thank you to @bg-sparrow for tagging me!

1. “Their Song Is Almost Over” (Doctor Who)

Twelve remembered her eventually: Clara Oswald, the woman for whom he nearly burnt the universe. They got their happily ever after. But even the Doctor won't live forever. After thousands and thousands of years, the Doctor’s life comes to its natural end on Earth. This is the story of his passing, and that of Clara Oswald, who was at his side.

This was the first story I ever posted to AO3, I wrote it in a single sitting, it’s epic in scope, it gives a ship that got an at-best bittersweet ending in canon a gloriously happy ending, and I swear it seems to be one of my least popular works! (Seriously, my most popular work has eight times as many hits, and I feel like it’s so half-assed by comparison!)

2. Loose Ends and Loose Memories (Back to the Future)

Upon returning to 1985, Marty McFly finds that he has two sets of memories in his head. While struggling to figure out which set is "right," he finds that someone else remembers his visit to 1955.

I posted three BTTF fics to FF.net years before this one, but I was younger and I feel like this one was such an improvement! I’d grown so much as a writer in the interim. And it’s the first in a series of fics involving events after Part III. Now, as of right now, there are only three fics there, but I have plans. I’ve always wanted to do a series like Kristen Sheley did, and this was a new (and I think, much better) attempt than the one on FF.net

3. “That Isn’t Our Song!” (Doctor Who)

At St. Luke's Bristol, Clara and the Doctor have a musical prank war.

I get few comments on this one, but it’s so silly and I just love it so much. It's an AU of the in-between of Series 9 and Series 10, where immortal!Clara stayed with Twelve and they get up to Shenanigans™ while working “undercover” at St. Luke's University Bristol.

4. “Moving Day” (Back to the Future)

Marty and Jennifer move in together.

When I posted this, it had been two years since I’d written any fics, and five since I’d done a BTTF fic! I’d been stuck trying to finish two different BTTF fics (still am), but when I came up for the idea for this one I was able to break through my total writing block! (For a while anyway; it was a year again before I returned to fic-writing.) Still, I really like this one. Perhaps especially because it focuses a lot on Jennifer, who’s such an enigma in canon.

5. “r/ThePinheads: Guys, Marty McFLy really *is* a time traveller!!!” (Back to the Future)

Did you know that it's a meme that the lead guitarist and vocalist for the rock band The Pinheads, Marty McFly, is a time traveler? Well, some guy on the Pinheads subreddit thinks he's found definitive proof...

This is quite a departure: it’s a fake Reddit page. I’m taking an HTML coding class right now, and it gave me the idea to create an in-universe one. The second “chapter” is a screenshot of the actual page I made! There are a lot of easter eggs in it!

Honorable mention: “I Need You, Now More Than Ever” (Doctor Who).

Escaping a planet after a “date” where everything went horribly wrong, the Doctor and Clara find comfort in each other.

It’s NSFW, and I’m worried about community rules and whatnot so I won’t link directly. It’s also the very first NSFW piece I ever did. And it sat on my harddrive for four years for a single reason: I couldn’t think of a title! I was thinking of it recently when the title came to me suddenly and I had to post it immediately!

I'm tagging @universe-on-her-shoulders, @clara-is-brave, @daryfromthefuture, @bttf-dork, and @cosmicallyavg!

[tennisdadsaficionado]

2024 Fanfiction meme

How many words have you written this year? So, according to my 2024 GYWO tracker, I wrote – and I am so fucking proud of this – 141,633 words last year. And I published 115,015 which is just mindblowing, I’m not gonna lie

How many works did you publish this year? Um. 37 apparently. I counted twice. That’s epic!

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Honestly, there’s quite a few of them, I really loved a lot of the tennis RPS I wrote last year - going through the photographs, staring at the phone, 'cause you kiss me and it stops time, the consequence of you touching my hand in a darkened room, I still remember the look on your face lit through the darkness at 1:58, and the whole of the and maybe get some sleep tonight series

What work of yours has the most hits? Sometimes I wonder when you sleep are you ever dreaming of me which has 1160 hits

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? Honestly, the fact I got any feedback at all on any of the Darren/Jannik kinkfic really surprised me – I didn’t expect to get any and I got some really nice comments

Favourite title you used I can’t pick! I have so many titles that I really like because…

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? They’re pretty much all Taylor Swift lyrics

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? Carlos Alcaraz Garfia/Jannik Sinner (24)

Favourite pairing you wrote for this year? Um… yeah probably the Sincaraz

What work was the quickest to write? So many of these were written really quickly, mostly in one sitting – I was ridiculously productive and the words all just flowed, it was great

What work took you the longest to write? I’m still editing a fic that I started in October. But of the ones that were posted, it would be my voice comes out begging – it got pretty much completely re-written in the editing process

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? 150 or so… lets not think about that though

What’s your longest work of the year? Love’s a game, wanna play? which is 8241 words! The second of the Juan Carlos Ferrero/David Ferrer puppy play series, I’ve got one more to finish writing, edit and post but OMG I had so much fun.

What’s your shortest work of the year? hide away and find some peace of mind my very first tennis RPS fic and it came in at 788 words

What WIP are you taking into next year with you? Lets see… there’s the Darren/Jannik powerplay, the Juanki/Ferru puppy play, a bunch of different Sincaraz first times, some Sincaraz angst, more Darren/Jannik kink, there’s a Juanki/Ferru omegaverse ‘verse, there’s a Jannik/Darren/Simone omegaverse ‘verse, a Sinnettini breakup.. I’ll be here forever if I list them all 😂

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? PWP with 11, closely followed by established relationship (10), fluff (9), teasing (8) and one shot, smut and age difference with 7.

Your favourite character to write this year? Jannik. Hands down. Pretty much all fic revolve around him. He’s just so… y’know?

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? Also Jannik, actually. He’s kind of fascinating to play with because of it.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? Probably some Sinnettini, and maybe some tennis dads. More Sincaraz, more Ferreru, more Darren/Jannik

Which work of yours have you reread the most? Only twenty minutes to sleep but you dream of some epiphany – I’m still really proud of the description of Jannik and Carlos curled up asleep together on the plane.   

How many kudos in total did you get this year? 1,593 which is fucking mindblowing, y’all!

Which work has the most comments? I still remember the look on your face lit through the darkness at 1:58, Only twenty minutes to sleep but you dream of some epiphany, and And when you can’t sleep at night all have 6 comments

Did you do any collaborative works this year? I did not, no

Did you write any gifts this year? I did, yes. It must have been the way you kissed me was written for the Tennis RPS Discord Secret Santa. And I wrote a bunch for the Advantage Tennisblr promptfest

Did you receive any gifts this year? Yes I received a fic in the secret santa (One Look, Dark Room) and a bunch of the prompts I left in the promptfest were filled

What’s your most common category? M/M with 140

What do you listen to while writing? Nothing specific – but I write when I’m watching tennis, watching TV, listening to anything really.

Favorite work you wrote this year? I genuinely don’t know that I have one. They’re all my babies and I love them all.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? “it’s 3 a.m. Can we please pick a language and stick to it? Preferably one we all speak!” – it was one of those lines that just happened, I was thinking it as the author (at one point Carlos was speaking Spanish, Jannik was speaking German, Simone was speaking Italian, all in the same conversation) and so I had to write it in.

Biggest surprise while writing this year? Honestly, just the fact that I can still actually write, that I haven’t completely lost the ability to tell stories. That I can still write fic really quickly. That my planning/drafting/writing/editing process has fully cemented itself. And how much I’ve improved as a writer since doing those creative writing units at uni.