#via helloliriels

[hotshoeagain]

made me smile, thanks!

sometimes a story is about gay sex because there is no gay sex. sometimes a story revolves around the gay sex that is not happening

[khorazir]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks a lot for the tag, @helloliriels

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

25 (23 fics, 2 artworks)

2. What's your total A03 word count?

1,462,682

3. What fandoms do you write for?

BBC Sherlock

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Enigma

The Horse and his Doctor

Rewind

The Summer Boy

Putting up Shelves

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

I do, if only to thank the reader.

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

None of my fics have angsty endings.

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

All my fics have happy endings. For a while, I played with the idea of writing an unhappy ending for Enigma, but luckily decided against it.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really. There’s been what I like to call ‘The Rabies Outrage’ in connection with my fic The Horse and his Doctor, in which I had John, a veterinarian, have an animal checked for rabies (as one does in this profession, especially if an animal is injured and is behaving oddly). Several (British) readers alerted me to the fact that there is no rabies in the UK and that hence, John wouldn’t have done this. I had, however, confirmation from actual British vets that of course one would check for this disease, even in the UK. But those readers made it seem as though I had personally insulted them by implying that rabies might be present in the UK after all.

9. Do you write smut?

Awkward and hopefully realistic sex-scenes, more like.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Kinda.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I’ve had fic uploaded at Wattpad and Goodreads without my permission, albeit on Goodreads, I think it was unintentional. They were uploaded via people’s ebook-readers. Still, it’s a pain to have them taken down again, and now with all this AI crap, I’m really sensitive about this issue, especially because plenty of my art has been stolen and uploaded in places where I’d never give permission for it to be uploaded. Some of it has also been used on t-shirt and stuff without my permission.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, several.

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

Back in the days of message boards, I co-wrote Tolkien fics.

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

Not sure about ‘all time’, but at the moment, it’s BBC Johnlock.

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

The Passage

16. What are your writing strengths?

My readers can probably judge this better than I can, but I’d say dialogue and making places come alive.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Smut, I guess.

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

I’ve done this a few times: German in Nightjet, Over Hill and Under Hill and Enigma; French and Italian in Slipstream. I enjoy it as a reader, too.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

My first fanfic (of sorts) was an Indiana Jones story (first written in longhand and then typed on an actual typewriter – those were the days ...).

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Difficult to say. I like and dislike bits of all of my fics.

Tagging @discordantwords @raina-at @7-percent @calaisreno @jrow and whoever else wants to play.

[hotshoeagain]

reblogging for anyone who needs to know this. Yeah, I blocked the first ones without reporting them as spam first, because I didn't know ...

And now ya know the rest of the story ;)

small reminder to remember to report the bots as spam before you block them. staff knows of the issue and they seem to be trying to do something about it

[meetinginsamarra]

Whumptober Day 14 "Flare"

Dying is shit, honestly. But coming back is hell.

A flare of intolerable pain had rebooted Sherlock’s brain with a kickstart. An elephant apparently had jumped onto his chest and landed there on only one foot, crushing bones. Everything hurt.

Great, another rib broken. Maybe two. Would that make three or four in total?

Memory of being choked to death surged up. Struggling in vain against Smith. Unable to breathe. Sherlock automatically inhaled, finding himself surprised that he could fill his lungs with air. It was excruciatingly painful.

Not dead then. Obviously.

With the unfailing ability to disassociate his mind from his transport if necessary, Sherlock deduced himself and concluded that his heart had been restarted via electroshock.

Whoever came up with the notion that returning from a supposed afterlife was a peaceful stroll over a meadow back into some diffuse source of light, accompanied by birdsong and happy childhood memories must have been the greatest idiot of all times.

Sherlock groaned in pain. He was being rolled around on the hospital bed, getting poked and pricked and prodded like a lump of meat. Undoubtedly getting hooked onto all sorts of machines and infusions and needles.

This moron should have remained dead. At least have kept his mouth shut and spared the world his asinine psychedelic nonsense.

Dying had been loud and hectic, blinding light and stars exploding in his eyes. The smell of burning meat when his brain got shredded into razor-sharp shards and dissolved into grey goo afterwards.

Now I have been catapulted back into a sea of pain. I reckon they won’t give morphine this time to alleviate it. My own fault as well.

He drifted back into unconsciousness.

—

find the fic on AO3 HERE

chapter 3 is up now (prompts 12-14)

---

Please tell me if anybody wants to get tagged or untagged (just say it, I won’t get mad).

@helloliriels @calaisreno @7-percent @lisbeth-kk @inevitably-johnlocked @peageetibbs @gaylilsherlock @totallysilvergirl @alexisnoir @blogstandbygo @jobooksncoffee @missdeliadili @kabubsmagga @mary-johnlocked @vaticancameos221

[thegildedbee]

fluffbruary days 27 & 28: from the mixed-up files of mrs. h [complete]

[Chapter 15: The Secret About Secrets] and [Chapter 16: Inhabiting the Palace of Memory] :: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Francis E. Hudson

Here are the final chapters :-) The fic is now complete! Thank you to Fluffbruary's lovely readers and thank you to the @fluffbruary deities for another fun ride via their much-appreciated work on behalf of fandomhood :-) Sherlock and John manage to liberate the correct file about Angel, and as a result Mrs. Hudson strikes an extraordinary bargain with the two runaways in exchange for the details of their escapade. Plus: it turns out there's still a bit more to learn about secrets beyond Angel's creation -- from Mrs. Hudson to John and Sherlock about the essence of secrets, from Sherlock and John (as overheard by Mrs. Hudson's driver), and from Mrs. Hudson, in her last letter to Mr. Thatcher.

A continuation of my contribution to @fluffbruary 2023, through the sherlockization of E.L. Konigsburg's children's literature classic, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Fluffbruary Prompts: Day 27 --market; friend; photograph || Day 28: bonus prompt: birthday [prompt list] Fluffbruary may have ended on the 28th, but the fluffbruarians invited the fluffery to continue throughout the year with the 14th of each month as a focal point. With this "the-fic-is-finally-complete-post" arriving on May 14th, I'm dedicating the last two chapters as contributions to the "fluffbruary: the expanded addition" prompts. For May: I've used pillow and silk.

@totallysilvergirl @mydogwatson @calaisreno @elwinglyre @keirgreeneyes @momma2boys @helloliriels @blogstandbygo @fluffbruary [and, no worries, let me know if you'd prefer not to have me contribute to your inbox clutter!]

[hotshoeagain]

Too cool for words

Untitled.

[meetinginsamarra]

The Curious Case of the Casablanca Killer

Deemed a three at best, the case of an invisible burglar in a historic cinema who stole nothing only caught Sherlock’s attention because he was bored. Also, he wanted to do John a favour. In the end, this proved to be a real stroke of luck. Otherwise, Sherlock would have missed an intriguing mystery that quickly ramped up in complexity.

The fic is complete and betaed.

Updates every Wednesday and Sunday.

chapter 6 is up on AO3 !

-----

On Wednesday morning, Sherlock was relieved to hear John’s alarm clock go off at 7AM. He had stayed up the whole night, thinking, deducing, rearranging the evidence wall and conducting more research.

Right now, he was pacing around the coffee table, eagerly waiting for John to come down so that he could have breakfast and then get ready to finally revisit the cinema at their appointment at 9AM. The first thing Sherlock would do was to have this ridiculous chandelier lowered so that he could thoroughly examine the thing.

At 7.10 AM, Sherlock’s mobile dinged with an incoming call. He recognized Tipsley’s number and groaned, worrying that Peter might have a reason to postpone their meeting. Maybe he was still in Cardiff? Taking a deep breath and expecting the worst, Sherlock answered the phone.

-----

I hope the link works, I am away today and had to do the editing and posting via mobile which I am not good at and therefore hate... Anyway, the chapter is up on AO3.

-----

Please tell me if you want to be tagged as well!

 @peageetibbs @jolieblack @iamjustreading @7-percent @peanitbear @blchssd86 @totallysilvergirl @helloliriels @midgemao

[helloliriels]

Dear helloliriels,

I have a (long) question concerning your Crack Fic Contest/Collection.

I´ve written one but it is a sort of WIP as in I plan to add a new chapter now and then when I have a new idea but each chapter in itself is also a complete story.

Let me explain.

There is a frame narrative (short first chapter) explaining that/why John is allowed to read Sherlock´s diary in this moment. They are together now and “Sherlock´s Secret Laboratory Journal” (which is also the title of the fic) features Sherlock´s attempts to seduce John via applying Internet advice. Which of course will all fail in a spectacular and hilarious way. Each chapter will feature one piece of advice, comprising several pages in the diary narrated in Sherlock´s first person POV.

So, basically the reader will know that Sherlock will succeed in the end therefore the fic is not without an ending but the number of tries (chapters) leading to this point is open and will increase over time and my inspiration.

The first advice-chapter is finished and has about 5400 words.

Would this be OK to be added to your collection? It´s a strange hybrid between finished and WIP so I´m unsure if it will fit your criteria. It´s definitely crack. If you decline that would be totally OK, I´ll post the fic on AO3 anyway and had the idea before you set up your Crack Fic Year, so no offense would be taken at all.

Love, Samarra

Fantastic question!!! Thank you for asking!

Think I've only lightly touched on this, so I'll give the full rules of the contest

Any Johnlock, Mystrade, and Sherlock entries welcome!

Any length, any rating!

If it is written (or posted/shared first) in 2022 - and it is a crack fic - it is a valid entry! Even if you've already posted it this year untagged, you can stlll enter it now! Simply 'add to collection' on AO3: '2022_crack_fix' and it will send me a notif to review and accept!

If it is serious twist on crack, or has angst/whump etc in it - THE HAPPY PART (the funny/silly twist) MUST be posted by the end of the year to qualify! In other words ... if we don't get to the smiles by the end of the year - it will not qualify.

That being said ... If your whole fic is crack (smiles every chapter), as long as the WIP is started in 2022, it is fair game!

Please properly tag your fic (with any warnings, ratings, triggers, etc.)

The only thing I will reject from the collection is if it is mean or I see MCD that isn't a joke/twist. I will send you a message if there is an important tag missing before I accept it to the collection if there is a concern (again, we're talking any warnings or whump/angst to be fair to readers) you do not have to give away the funny twist.

Hope that helps!! Can't wait to see the entry!

2022 Year of the Crack Fic challenge is on!

[hotshoeagain]

At least we were spared Everyone Dies.

This is all I've been thinking about for the past few days

[hotshoeagain]

Sunny bedroom for me, can sleep in sunny morning but cannot stand to wake up in gloom -- but, but, what are we going to do about that single bed?

[hotshoeagain]

2 days?

January 29th the day they famously met ...

I'll be making a chocolate cake with rainbow sprinkles.

Guys their anniversary is in 3 days.....

[hotshoeagain]

That livejournal page is difficult to read (I mean, visually obscured).

cathedral_carver also uploaded that fic to AO3

so here's the AO3 link

Enjoy!

Once upon a time he used to love holidays.

[meetinginsamarra]

Hi @snonkerdoodlefizzy221b

Like @helloliriels said, as a registered user (meaning you have a real account and do not visit as a guest) you can block or mute people on AO3, see below what the consequences are. This is the desktop view.

(sorry that this is so small)

----

Also, there is this (copied directly from the AO3 FAQs here)

"If you're not logged in, or if you don't have an Archive of Our Own account, you can leave an anonymous comment, as long as the work creator has not disabled anonymous comments on that work." 

----

the known issues site on AO3 here talks about

"Comments/kudos section of the page does not appear: Some users have reported being unable to see the comments on works, or the kudos that have been left on works. In most cases, this has been traced to an ad blocking extension or tool on their device, such as 1Blocker or AdBlocker. Disabling the ad blocker for this page should resolve the issue."

----

If the glitch persists I recommend to contact the support team via here They are very friendly.

I hope that this has been at least a bit helpful. Never heard of this problem before,

hello. ah, just a small question about ao3...i was reading a work, went to find the kudos button and then it said i had been blocked by one or more of the creators? i don't remember saying anything untoward towards this person...i don't even know if i've read their works before...is ao3 just glitching or is there something that like allows you to block everyone except those you follow or something like that? i am very confused and quite honestly sad and anxious.

hey! maybe your problem already resolved. i honestly do not know the answer to this question maybe someone else can help...

@inevitably-johnlocked @helloliriels @safedistancefrombeingsmart @a-victorian-girl @gregorovitchworld or someone else?

[meetinginsamarra]

@helloliriels asked about organizing stuff and called me a fandom dragon 🐲 so I am now oblidged to answer ��

First of all, I am a hoarder, too. Moreover, I was born in the analogue age which means I had a lot of time collecting stuff already and I still am very materialistic as in I need to have a physical object or at least save a half-physical copy on my external harddrive(s). Which leads to, of course, having multiple thousands of files.

How do I organize? Not gonna lie, it’s tough for me and I often fail for months to be left with a pile of… piles.

I also make a lot of screenshots of things I like when I use the IPad because downloading and saving stuff on mobile just absolutely sucks for me. I do not use the Cloud.

So here is the list.

Very long answer, therefore a cut for easy ignoring 😉

-digital photos

Get a folder with theme/location and date, like “garden june-september 2023” or “Easter 2023” etc., there are some special folders like “best of” or “garden animals” that combine photos and are copies

-physical CDs

Are sorted by artist name in a big shelf, some get converted into mp3 to be put on a USB drive for listening in my car. I don’t like streaming music although I think I can’t get around using spotify any longer because some of the stuff I would like to have a physical download of (…) is only on spotify.

-screenshots

Get shoved by hand onto my computer via USB cable when I get into the mood (which is not that often because it sucks) and sorted into their respective folders. I screenshot(ted) a lot of patchwork related stuff (subfolders like “retro patterns”, “Techniques”, “quilter artist name”), gardening and crafting inspirations (with subfolders like “maritime”, “Miniatures”, “inchies” etc.) apart from fandoms.

-fandoms in general

I collected other fannish stuff over the years but never to such an extent as Sherlock BBC. They have simple folders with the ship name and sometimes subfolders with a special artist’s name. Or pictures/fanart of real persons/bands/comics I like have their own folders.

-Benedict Cumberbatch

Has folders for photos and folders for his different movies/or movie personas and some realated fanart (Dr. Strange, Third Star, Star Trek into Darkness etc.). There are a private playlists on YouTube which are now neglected. Same (playlists) applies to Sherlock BBC.

-DVD’s or BlueRays

As a collector I buy every movie or series BC has starred in. Some are UK imports (I am in Germany) because they are not available here (like The Last Enemy) but I prefer to have stuff in the OG version anyway. The older ones are second hand via an online seller (lots of my music CDs are as well).

-Sherlock fandom

Well, that’s the obsession since about 2016, sigh.

-fanart copies

Get downloaded by putting the artist’s name after the OG “xyz123” file name and are sorted into folders by artist name. If there are only up to five per artist, there is a folder “rare artist” where I shove all these in. I have folders named Pinterst, Pixiv, DeviantArt, zerochan when someone has put art up there without denominating the OG artist.

-fanfics

This is a huge problem and has been so for years.

I only use personal bookmarks (never public) on AO3 for getting a note when a cryptid WIP has updated. On AO3 I have subscribed to a lot of authors so I always know when new stuff has dropped.

I have (a badly maintained and growing more chaotic) masterlist of fanfic in excel. Name/author/and three slots for descriptive tags like S3 fixit, hurt/comfort etc. a lot are similar to AO3 tags. Since it’s excel I can sort/filter as I want. Now, there are also colour coded infos. Fic name in black=want to read, green=really want to read, orange=have read and don’t like, violet=have read and are great and have to be downloaded. Next is bold (violet) fic name means it has been downloaded. There are also different colours of the cell background (one is for fics I have recced for example) but this is complicated and also too inconsistant and one of the masterlist’s flaws I struggle with.

The main problem is that this list (and the sublists I made which don’t cross-update with the masterlist and vive versa of course) is huge. As in there are 2584 fics in the masterlist as of today. I made sublists with quick notes of fics I find via tumblr or AO3 which are not in the masterlist. I haven’t updated any for about a year (OMG), I also make quick notes on paper or screenshots of AO3 fic titles and these are not put into the masterlist because it’s, well, fucking tedious to say the least. I guess there are now about 500 ??? more titles that float around in paper limbo, some have been markered in orange or violet.

Downloaded fics get put into a folder, there are subfolders by author’s name and also some by trope (which are copies which is dumb) and some by series and this is also generally inconsistent. OG plan has been to just put them all into one folder and the sort by alphabet and find the correct title via the masterlist. Which would work if the masterlist would be updated on a monthly basis which is something I want to start doing this year (fingers crossed).

Hope this helps! 🧡🐲

HALP! Organizing Files ... HoW?!?

Heya! Quick question at the end of the year, as nerd that is having a hard time organizing files, and therefor, thoughts ...

How do you organize your Documents and Pictures folders?

I know I'm making this harder than it should be.

Looking for some basic guidance to keep it simple but to actually identify its my sh*t and where to put things quickly.

I know you're thinking:

Shut up. Yes I am.

Doing this for work is easy! Store it by Client, By Date, or By Street or wtf the company sells idk. But in the world of fandom ... I genuinely keep running into walls and then having to re-shuffle everything and I hate it.

Fandom dragons, appreciate any suggestions that work for you?

Tagging a few moots but don't feel obligated! Just don't want this to get swallowed by Tumblr

@totallysilvergirl @sarahthecoat @7-percent @inevitably-johnlocked @meetinginsamarra @safedistancefrombeingsmart @rhasima

[hotshoeagain]

reblogging for the tags:

#how many times did he fall out of a window?

#oh... i lost count

BECAUSE EVERYTHING is STILL about Sherlock after ALL THESE YEARS, damnit.

why the fuck does english have a word for

but not for “the day after tomorrow”

???

[hotshoeagain]

fuckin hell never go to a goddamn church either

"but AO3 hosts content that contains abuse!" please never go to a local library ever.