#very technically drawn for my own fic WIP but whether that sees the light of day or not ehhhh who can say

[babykittenteach]

Shooting the shit bout something or other in the distance

[whotaughtyougrammar]

👀 and 🖊 (the WIP that wouldn’t see the light of day and the snippet of a current WIP) for the writing ask meme Or any question you want to do from that really

i like how i said i'd answer this when i got home, and then, upon tumblr eating up the entirety of my response, waited 3 whole days before opening up my inbox again 😎

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👀 Do you have any WIPs that you would never let see the light of day? If yes, what are they about?

there's the single mom morgan au that i mentioned in the previous ask, though i'm not sure that one counts bc i haven't actually written/drawn anything for it.

i have a few bits and pieces of glenn dealing with the aftermath of morgan's passing that i wrote a few years ago. one was a pre-canon look at glenn dealing with life without morgan, basically chronicling his descent into the trash bag we're all so familiar with. another was post-canon after the whole forgotten realms thing, where nick and the other dads help glenn clean out the storage unit of morgan's belongings that glenn stuffed in there so he wouldn't have to throw anything out while also not having to look at her things every single day. i wrote both of these when i was way more concerned with canon than i am now, and on the assumption that glenn’s story would go a very different way then it actually did pfft.

i stopped working on the first one on the grounds of it being too sad and it bummed me out, and the second one simply because i lost interest in what was going on in canon and was more interested in writing in my own AU, although I still like the idea of it.

this one is technically not a WIP in that it’s a complete scene, but it is bc it could probably slot into a larger story, but it also might not see the light of day: the very first fic i wrote actually featured a very different version of morgan and glenn, especially morgan, who was glenn’s band manager, much more feminine/had stronger ‘will use her feminine wiles to get her way’ vibes, slightly more antagonistic towards glenn, and was also called michel—yes, this is how old this fic is, morgan didn’t even have a name yet.

i think this is a fun piece, and i liked this version of morgan enough to draw her one or two times, but if i do ever get around to posting it, jury’s out on whether it will go under my usual ‘musicverse’ tag hahah

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🖊 Post a snippet from a current WIP.

here is a part of that “carol and morgan bonding thing that is supposed to lead into carol/mercedes” thing i mentioned a while back. maybe i’ll actually finish it this year 🥴:

Carol Wilson does not know Morgan Freeman very well. Her job at the museum takes up much more time than she would like, and on the few occasions she’s been able to make the time for any of Grant’s school events or upcoming PTA meetings, she’s been unlucky enough to encounter Morgan’s partner, Glenn, who, despite trying to act as aloof and unaffected as possible, seemed to regard the whole thing like his own personal reality show, subtly and not-so-subtly egging on any potential interpersonal drama between parents and faculty alike.

Carol did not care for Glenn very much, though even she had to admit feeling a certain satisfaction when Madison's affair with one of the janitors' had finally been pulled out in the open. But that would have been aired out eventually, with or without Glenn's slightly too gleeful, devil-may-care nosiness. That and the embezzlement. Probably. Of the handful of times she had seen Morgan at meetings and school events, she was taciturn and aloof (in a way that Glenn could only dream of being) with everyone except her son and a select few. Her husband had been one of those select few. Mercedes was another, but Mercedes was cool and fun and easy to get along with, so it shouldn't have been so surprising. Still, Carol did not know how to feel about the ease of Mercedes' smile whenever Morgan spoke to her, or the way Morgan seemed to relax, just ever-so-slightly, when she was around Mercedes' presence. Carol did not know how to feel about this, and so Carol simply tried not to dwell on it. Darryl had been, as expected, not as helpful as he could have been. "She's nice enough? Quiet. Polite. She's got a temper, though. You should've heard the tongue-lashing she gave Phil a few weeks back, he was fucking crying by the end of it. I mean, he wasn't but… you could tell. You could tell he wanted to. He deserved it but I wouldn't want to get on her bad side, is what I'm saying. Seems pretty strict with her kid, too. No idea how a ball-buster like her married a guy like Glenn. Nick's a good kid though. Gets along with Grant." Taciturn and aloof and polite, but strict with a temper. All this, plus a baffling friendship with one of the loveliest people Carol had the pleasure of knowing. If Carol had been nervous before, well, she was practically beside herself with anxiety now, as she rang the doorbell to Morgan's surprisingly small house and waited for a response with apprehension and bated breath. This was going to be interesting.

[rielity]

2017 Writing Round-Up

source

Total year-long word count: 90303

Word count by fandom:

BNHA: 4891, 4 fics DGM: 3414, 2 fics Haikyuu!!: 81998, 36 fics

Fics completed:

39/42

Works-in-progress:

3/42 - Of Demons & How to Chase Them | twenty-four hours | for the voiceless (though this one... is debatable) crossfire is also, technically, a wip. but at the same time... it's not, lol.

This year I wrote and posted:

Timeless: 4 Across the Ages At Sunrise Back Home Beyond Nightfall

soft kitty warm kitty: 2 cat that got the cream catching catnaps

writing with snowdrops & others: 21 the little bits and pieces of this world with nothing in our hands Of Demons & How to Chase Them (DGM, chapter 3) on eggshells crossfire Runaways (chapter 2) Role of a Captain People You May Know forever is a mighty long time one-way ticket destination: forever the longest, darkest night the weight of you (DGM) cold (BNHA) safe (BNHA) twenty-four hours herding cats (BNHA) for the voiceless molten gold spring (BNHA) when I think of winter

SASO: 15 the owl and the duckbutt at the end of the world terms and conditions count on me, count on you best-kept secret light years from home (you) fear and bravery midwinter silence two chairs to a table crying is contagious phantom passing the baton control, and the lack thereof mirror

Total: 40 fics + two updates to old fics

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted?

At the start of 2017, I wrote on Lofter and Tumblr that my target would be to hit 60 published works on AO3 by the end of the year. I have 79 now, so I wrote twice as much as what I was aiming to. I definitely didn't expect to write so much, and I have SASO to blame (thank?).

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?

Anything to do with the Miyas (duh!)... and also Seijou. But I guess the one that I would have never expected myself to write would be Matsu//hana: I wrote one-way ticket on a bus ride home after reading chapter 258. I hardly ever read Matsu//hana fic, much less ever feel inspired to write it, so one-way ticket really caught me off-guard.

What's your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?

I thought about this question for a long time and skipped ahead to answer a few before I came back to this. At first I thought it was a really hard choice to make - how can you ask me to choose a story out of all 40 that I've written this year? - but then I realised the answer's always been really clear. 

It's the weight of you, my Laviyuu fic based off of Vienna Teng's Enough to Go By. I wrote it in one sitting, with hardly any problems in terms of storyline or thematic exploration. it was one of those fics that just. came to me and let me embrace it. half a year later, I'm still incredibly proud of what I achieved in that meagre expanse of 1000 words. once in a while when I need to be reminded of what my writing can achieve, I reread it.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I signed up for SASO. I was definitely not planning to write as much as I did, LOL. It taught me how to write fast, and to not be as hung up over the editing as I always do. I'm a slow writer because I like to write and edit at the same time, but with SASO it was just writing and minimal editing. I also got a bit more comfortable with working with prompts, though I'm still terrible at it.

I also signed up for two zines this year, one of which was for Kacchako, a pair I'd never written before. And to top it off, I was struck by writer's block when I was working on my submission. I don't know, it taught me to not sign up for zines when I'm drowning in schoolwork and that impulsive decisions are never a great idea (but are they really?).

Your best story of this year:

What's the difference between favourite story, best story and most popular story? I'd say it's either the weight of you or molten gold. the former for reasons stated in the earlier question, but molten gold because it's a fic that clearly shows how far I've come in writing ever since I started writing for HQ last year. when drawn parallel to Storm, my first Noya character study (and my second ever HQ fic), the difference is stark. It's still not perfect, and there are still things I wish I could've included, but I'm proud of what I achieved in it.

Your most popular story of this year:

By 'most popular' I'm assuming most kudos.

herding cats for BNHA and overall, and the little bits and pieces of this world for Haikyuu!! - neither of which are surprising results.

herding cats is a lighthearted and fun fluffy piece written for a ship that is gaining traction in a very thirsty fandom, while bits and pieces has the HQ fandom favourite trope of enemies to friends to lovers, and the benefit (?) of it running parallel to canon story.

Story of yours most under-appreciated by the universe, in your opinion:

At Sunrise. previously I would've said Across the Ages, but as I read and reread my old works, I've come to realise that At Sunrise is a piece that delves very deeply into the emotions of my characters, and really builds up an emotional bond not just between my characters, but also between my story and my readers. The amount of actual emotional pain that I inflicted on myself while writing it really shows in my writing, and my readers can feel it too.

I get why people don't read it. I really do. I've said it before, a few times now. Major character death scares a lot of readers away. Being a fantasy AU, and a Part 2 in a series turns people off. And it's Kage//hina, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it being a major ship means that a huge amount of the people who click in soon find that they're not here for this content.

Even so, I still think it deserves better.

I published it on April 1. It's December 28 now, and these are its stats.

Hits: 614 | Kudos: 37

Go figure. *salt

Most fun story to write:

Honestly, any story with Futakuchi as a narrator is great. It's a toss-up between when I think of winter and People You May Know. with nothing in our hands comes close as a runner-up though.

Story with the single sexiest moment:

You're asking me, a writer who can't even write kissing scenes, about a sexiest moment...??? I guess it'd be Back Home, if only because it's the fic with the most snogging.

Most "Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story:

mirror. It's not wrong per se, just not what I would have usually done for a Haikyuu fic. I think a lot of readers were taken aback by its hidden twist.

Story that shifted your own perceptions of the characters:

I don't really have an answer to this. It might be cold, my first ever Todo//baku. Writing it gave me a lot of insights into the Tod//obaku dynamic and understanding them better, but shifting my perception? I'd be hard-pressed to name it as such.

Hardest story to write:

on eggshells, At Sunrise, midwinter and molten gold. The first two because of how emotionally taxing they were, the latter two because of how difficult they were to actually write. I set out on each of these stories with a clear image of how I wanted to end it, but the process of going from start to finish was a long, long winding road, whether in picking the words that I needed to evoke the exact nuance and atmosphere I wanted to portray, or in letting myself hurt for my characters as I wrote. Sounds dramatic, but unfortunately true.

Biggest disappointment:

I hate to say it, but, Beyond Nightfall. I feel like I could have done a lot a lot a lot more with it, but I also don't know what exactly I could have done. I realised my biggest problem with writing longfic manifested when I was writing Beyond Nightfall - the incessant need to make everything tie up perfectly, which on hindsight was not the best decision because it made everything too neat, and also forced my story in a way that it didn't necessarily want to go. 

Moving forward, I hope I can work on this (I've already started to do so starting with when I think of winter) and I eventually plan to come back and rewrite Beyond Nightfall.

Biggest surprise:

forever is a mighty long time. I'd been toying with the idea of a reincarnation AU for Kuroyaku for the longest time, but never really wanted to actually start on it (...as is the case for 80% of all my fic ideas...) because I'm not a fan of writing tropey AUs (oh, look at that holier-than-thou attitude in that sentence LMAO JK). But when inspiration struck for me to put a twist on what would otherwise have been a very standard reincarnation AU piece, I decided to sit down and get to work on it.

Looking back, it's a good fic. not my best, but it's good.

Most unintentionally telling story:

on eggshells. It wasn't unintentionally telling, though. It was intentional, every bit of it. eggshells was the first time I dared to dig deep within myself to write a story based off my own emotional experiences, and while I found it cathartic, it's certainly not something I hope to replicate anytime soon.

Favorite opening line(s):

Futakuchi was not pining. He was absolutely not pining over Karasuno's vice-captain with the shaved head and rumpled training vest - what the hell, they even shared the same number, ew. - People You May Know

Favorite closing line(s):

kuroo stretches a little, his toes touching the calf of yaku’s leg, warm, solid and present, and very much alive. very much here. “yeah, i know.” - forever is a mighty long time

And the worst part of it all is that when he looks into the shards of broken silver lying on his bedroom floor, he still can’t stop seeing ‘Samu looking right back at him. - mirror

But in fact there is nothing much to say at all, when those shoulders that have been tempered with fire are more than capable of holding its weight. - molten gold

Favorite 5 line(s) from anywhere:

Moonlight scatters on the floorboards, a miniature Milky Way filling the space between them, but Yaku takes a step, then another, and then he’s falling into Kuroo’s arms, no longer a cold ephemeral spectre for Kuroo to gaze at from afar, like the twinkling stars through window grilles, but a warm, solid and real body that fits right against Kuroo’s own, a puzzle piece slotting back into place. - midwinter

And he would have liked to think himself invulnerable, with a mask stoic enough that nothing could shatter, a heart cold enough that nothing could touch, disillusioned with the evils of humanity that he had borne witness to. - the weight of you

where issei would usually retort with some comeback about takahiro’s birthday, today there is only silence. the train pulls to a stop, doors beeping an arrhythmic melody as their knees knock together with the movement. issei’s pulled out his phone now, the bend of his arms making his elbow dig into takahiro’s side; takahiro wonders if he, like him, is trying to feign deafness to the echoing chasm that seems to have opened up between them over the course of five sentences. - one-way ticket

His hands clutch at his throat, run ragged and raw by the smoothness of poppy petals. What an apt irony then that poppies should signify peace, because Aone is and has always been the peaceful, stoic rock to the swirling tempest that Kenji is, but their mere existence is doing the exact opposite in calming Kenji’s raging heart, their stem a noose around his neck. - fear and bravery

He takes a deep breath, and steps onto the court, into the fray. He can feel eyes on him - from his teammates, from his opponents, from the stands. The numbers on his jersey feel like they’re branding himselves into his back, and he squares his shoulders, embracing the burn. He’s not Nekoma’s number 3, but he’s Nekoma’s number 12, and he’ll show them what it means to be Nekoma’s libero - what it means to be guarding Nekoma’s backs. - passing the baton

Top 5 scenes from anywhere you would choose to have illustrated:

Lavi in front of Kanda's grave, at the remains of the old Black Order - the weight of you

Kuroo and Yaku doing work at the kitchen table, their legs barely touching - forever is a mighty long time

Oikawa and Futakuchi in front of the irori - when I think of winter

The moment when Shirabu and Kawanishi realise that Futakuchi's read the map upside down and they're now hopelessly lost - with nothing in our hands

Hinata, through Kageyama's eyes, when he tells Kageyama that he won't forget him - At Sunrise

Fic-writing goals for next year:

15 fics in total. It's a downsize from this year because the first half of next year will be occupied by uni and transition into adulting, so I don't want to give myself too much pressure. I'm still on the fence about signing up for SportsFest (SASO's successor) but I'll think about that when I get there.

I'm also going to take a break from fandom events for the time being. I've learnt from this year that I write terribly when given deadlines, and I admit that it was bad planning on my part to sign up for HQSS and a zine on top of my own schoolwork, especially when I was already taking a module on creative writing. Creative drought hit fast and furious and made the last two months terrible for me, writing-wise. Next year, I want to make sure that I can give my writing the due time and effort that it deserves, rather than forcing myself to churn out work.

Most importantly, I want to keep growing as a writer. I'm happy with how my style has developed this year, and I want to continue growing. Besides improving my dialogue writing and visual descriptions, I also want to venture into writing more challenging AUs and also characters that I've never dared to try.

I also want to attempt long fic, in particular the fic that I'd outlined for Nanowrimo this year but never had the chance to start on. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I'd make that Nano fic my year-long project for next year, except I don't know if I'll actually be able to make it draw out for as long as I want it to, and also because I doubt my discipline in sticking it out with one single work for a whole year.

Besides all that, I'll be slowly chipping away at making the Kuroyaku anthology a reality. That means REWRITE REWRITE REWRITE. With writing style changes come inconsistency in storytelling. I think I need to find some time and give myself the chance to standardise everything, and fix any glaring errors I might find.

We shall see. 2017 has been a fantastic year for me in fandom, both in writing and in finding a community. I hope 2018 is even better.