#which means i'm probably putting up 3 & 4 as chapter 2 on ao3

[luckystarchild]

I *do* keep my fanfic back-ups on discord. Actually it's where I write them too, so here's my process, it should be a good starting point at least.

Step 1: I write directly into discord. This is because discord is always in my pocket. However, there is a character limit, and it usually saves in progess posts for long periods of time. But if you don't hit enter there's always a chance the latest post will glitch. Honostly, character limit means you can't lose too much.

Step 2: I copy and paste it into notepad. This is because I want complete control over the formatting and want it compatible with *everything.* I make my chapters around 600 "lines" long which is shorter than yours so you may need to do some extra testing for step 3. If you have a lot of italics you'll want to pretend to edit the post and copy from that mode. It puts asterisks around your italics so they don't just disappear into the aether. (I put them back in in AO3).

Step 3: I upload the notepad to a condensed channel with only the chapters. Discord has a data limit for sharing files. I don't know what word processor you usually use, so you'll probably need to experiment with that. However, most of them can only be opened if the receiver has a copy of the same processor. Notepads open in discord (though with shitty formatting) and are downloadable by everyone. If you don't mind not having italics.

My step 4 is making it pretty for AO3.

I appreciate hearing about your process!

But there has been a miscommunication. When I said I was thinking of creating a Discord server for Lucky Child, my intention was NOT to host the story on Discord itself, nor use the platform as some kind of word processing alternative/a backup server for the text of the fanfic. The Discord server would function as a distribution center (providing download links to chapters as e-reader or txt files) and a chat/community center in the event Tumblr became unsafe and/or the AO3 servers went down and the comments section went with it.

Respectfully, I want to caution you against using Discord as your main writing program or as a backup server for your works. You should ideally be saving offline copies of your work that aren't hosted in the cloud on servers outside your control. If AO3 and Discord went down simultaneously, it sounds as though you'd lose all of your work. Unless you're saving those notepad files somewhere, you're putting the longevity of your body of work at risk. Any works in-progress that you haven't yet manually copied over to a notepad file are also at risk.

(Additionally, and at the risk of sounding pedantic, if you are using Discord as your primary word processor, you're not really "backing up" your work via Discord. That's your primary copy. It sounds like your backup is actually AO3, and potentially those notepad files if you're saving them offline.)

In the end, I'm trying to find a way to get Lucky Child to readers without relying on a single distribution platform (which at this time is AO3). Trusting your data to someone else's servers puts you at the exact risk I'm trying to avoid: censorship. Goggle Docs has been caught altering user's content or locking them out of their own content, and I can see a world where Discord follows suit and starts monitoring the content shared between users. I would avoid hosting the text of Lucky Child itself on the server to lessen chances of the story getting flagged.

If the system works for you, that's great, and thanks again for showing me your process! But it's not really relevant to my goals for LC and its distribution at this time.

[shootybangbang]

The Upsides of Property Damage [Part 4/5]

Authored by @verai-marcel and @shootybangbang

[Ao3 link]

[Pairing]: Arthur Morgan/Reader

[Rating]: Mature

[Content Advisory]: light D/S undertones

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

[Author's Note]: Thank you guys so, so much for your patience, and so sorry for the delay! Most of chapter 5 has been completed and should be out soon. If you want to be notified when that comes out, go ahead and leave a comment down below and I'll make a taglist or something.

--------

The maintenance request form states: [Please give a brief description of the problem.]

for the past few days i've been so fixated on fucking the maintenance man that i've been having difficulty accomplishing basic tasks because every time i try to concentrate on anything even remotely meaningful all i can think about is him saying "maybe you just enjoy my company" and if this keeps up i'm fairly certain that i'm going to actually get fired from my job so clearly i need to either get laid or get evicted

This statement makes you look certifiably insane. It’s not even a request– it’s a confession . Sending this would be tantamount to seating yourself beside the grated window of a church booth and asking its captive priest whether he’d prefer you spit or swallow.

More importantly, it also exceeds the text box’s 250 character limit. You rapidly tap the delete key until the entire obscene paragraph disappears. Then you try again. 

broken cabinet.

Hmm. Lacks an element of genuine contrition.

broken cabinet. sorry. :’(

[Your service request has been logged. Please allow up to one standard business day for a response.]

You glance at the time displayed on the microwave’s grease-spattered screen. 4:36PM. Morgan’s probably already packed up for the day– and taking normal operating hours into account, the earliest he could possibly show up tomorrow would be 9AM… which gives you at least sixteen hours to emotionally prepare yourself to confront him.

Morosely, you drag yourself out of your kitchen chair to pour yourself a glass of sparkling water. So this is what I’ve sunk to . Using service requests as a means of personal summons for the hot repairman. Pathetic. Shameful. And 100% necessary for the preservation of your sanity.

How many times have you pictured it now? Morgan, cornering you against the wall and wrapping his hand around your jaw… Or maybe , he’d rumble, caressing your lower lip with his thumb. You just enjoy my company . Then he’d fuck you silly, of course, in a series of lurid positions that grow increasingly obscene with each imagining.

And how many times have you pictured its inverse? Morgan, backing away in response to your hypothetical advance, his face contorted with faint disgust as he asks, “You know I was just joking, right?” Following which you’d get written up for sexual harassment by the leasing office and put on… housing probation, or something.

Being humiliated, you can handle. Albeit not very well— but you’re usually able to stay at least semi-functional. The same goes for flirtation. It’s this hopeless vacillation between the two possibilities that drives you out of your mind. Schrodinger’s boner: simultaneously fucked and unfucked. And like that quantum superposition, you’ve been plunged into a private hell of uncertainty until your reality can settle definitively on one or the other.

This has been predictably bad for your job performance. Earlier today, you’d accidentally deleted two entire spreadsheets of data whilst lost in competing visions of fornication and abject rejection, and then constructed a pivot table so incomprehensible that one of your colleagues had personally reached out to ask whether you’d recently experienced head trauma. 

God. At this point, you really have no choice but to put the question to him directly. Plain and simple. Just a quick “are you hitting on me” and it’ll all be–

Your thoughts are interrupted by an urgent knock at the door. 

Huh. Looks like Defying Your Blue Collar Dom is getting delivered a day early? It’s unusual for Amazon to leave packages at your doorstep instead of in the lobby, but it does happen, so…

…Oh.

It’s Morgan. What the fuck.

“But you were supposed to come tomorrow ,” you blurt, eyes wide with panic.

“That so?” Morgan asks, one eyebrow raised. He glances sidelong to the empty hallway, and shifts his weight uneasily from one leg to the other. With a shrug, he squares up his shoulders and turns back towards the stairwell. “Later, then.”

Shit. This is all going wrong. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that I– I, uh…I’m… ”

He allows your stammer to run its course into awkward silence. Then the corner of his mouth angles upwards in a sly smile and he asks, “Or d’you need a minute to put away anything else your ‘friend’ mighta left out? I can wait.”

Somewhere in the realm of missed quips, there probably exists a clever response to this. Somewhere that is decidedly not here. “No,” you reply in a small, pained voice. “She, uh– she hasn’t been around, so… y’know…”

The sentence unspools like loose yarn. Jesus Christ, this is stupid.

“You alright?” Morgan asks, frowning down at you from where he stands. “You ain’t normally this incoherent.”

His comment implies that you’ve been operating thus far on an existing, baseline level of incoherence. Biting back the urge to query exactly what that looks like, you reply with a clipped, terse, “I’m fine.”

As you lead him towards your kitchen, you nearly trip over the half-packed suitcase parked beside the door. At this, Morgan again voices his concern. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you this on edge before. Something botherin’ you?”

Yes , you think to yourself. My libido.

“Or is it some one that’s botherin’ you?”

He says the words with such a darkly implicative undertone that you actually turn around to stare at him, disarmed by the sudden shift. The warmth in his eyes has gone out like a blown candle. “Is it one of the other maintenance men?” he asks, and the whisper of lethality in his countenance surfaces so quickly that it speaks to a kind of practiced efficiency. 

A mingled thrill of fear and intrigue runs up your spine, and you swallow hard.

“If one of ‘em’s harassin’ you— if anyone’s harassin’ you…” he says these words with slow deliberation, while curling his free hand into a fist, thumb tucked over his folded fingers in that characteristic manner of boxers and street brawlers alike, and god if he were anyone else you’d likely be shrinking against the wall in terror right now. “Then you come tell me. And I’ll handle it.”

You have a sneaking suspicion that his method of conflict resolution involves grievous bodily injury. “Nobody’s bothering me,” you reply. Then, because he still looks vaguely homicidal, you follow up quickly with, “Just had an off day.”

This placates him somewhat. The tension diminishes like a rope going slack, and you realize with a hot pang of humiliation that your underwear is slick with arousal.

It’s not until he’s crouched in front of your broken cabinet, which stands ajar with its wooden door peaked at a 45 degree angle, that you finally work up the nerve to confront him. “So. Morgan.” You lean against the edge of your kitchen countertop like the faux marble might offer you emotional support. “There’s, uh. Something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

He’s sorting through his tool kit and doesn’t lift his head. Picks through an array of silver chiseled pieces so deftly that you can’t help but wonder what else those hands might be clever at. “Yeah?’ he asks, selecting a screwdriver head. He slips it into the drill chuck, twisting it tight.

“Are you, um…”

Fuck. You can’t say it. Your mouth literally refuses to shape itself to the words. Instead, you hear yourself ask, “Are you thirsty? You want some seltzer?”

Morgan blinks, then turns to you looking predictably baffled. “That’s… what you’ve been wantin’ to ask me? Whether or not I’m thirsty?”

“Yes,” you reply weakly.

For once, it’s him who’s been caught off guard. “I– uh. Sure, I guess.”

He takes his drill and begins to remove the damaged hinge. Taking the door leaf and flipping it this way and that, he examines the damage.

The crack of aluminum when you pull back the can’s metal tab and the responding fizz of compressed air sounds a little like a rebuke. Scathingly, it hisses: what the hell are you doing?

I have no idea , you admit, pouring the can of sparkling water into a clean glass. You pass it over to Morgan after he presses the trigger on the drill twice and sets it on the countertop. He gulps down an absent mouthful, then immediately stands up to spit it in your sink.

Oh. He hates it.

Your voice is thin as a reed. “I guess you’re not a fan of sparkling grapefruit, huh?”

“It’s…” With the duty-bound reluctance of a dog given a loathed order, he takes another, tentative sip, and forces himself to swallow. “It’s fine.”

It is clearly not fine. “Do you, uh. Do you want a beer?”

“What, you encouragin’ me to drink on the job?”

You open the fridge. Good god, you might as well partake too. It’s not like you’re in any state to get any work done, stuck as you are in this miserable limbo . “In any case, I’m gonna have one. And I’m still on the clock.”

“Alright.” He sounds like he’s smiling. “So long as you’re complicit, why not?”

You end up downing half a bottle of 8% oatmeal stout in about three sips, then stand around blankly waiting for the roil of anxiety to abate. You’d attempt the precarious endeavor of small talk were it not for the fact that the only thing you can think of right now is “grapefruit”. Not the concept of grapefruit. Just the word “grapefruit”. This must be how computers feel when they spit out the same, continuous error message.

Mercifully, he intervenes. “You goin’ on vacation somewhere? Saw that suitcase by your door.”

“Catsitting,” you say.

“’…s’cuse me?”

“Catsitting. Like… babysitting. But for a cat,” you explain. “My friend’s going to Vegas the day after tomorrow, and her cat has anxiety.”

“Cats can get anxiety?”

“This cat takes cat Xanax . His name is Sebastian, and he’s the most neurotic animal I’ve ever met.” 

Morgan asks, “Yourself included?”

You make a noise that bears no resemblance to any word in the English language.

He chuckles. “Well, go on, tell me how neurotic he is.”

Thank fucking christ, the alcohol is finally beginning to course its way through your blood. Your tongue loosens enough to tell him how poor Sebastian had spent nearly an entire day curled up under your friend’s bed the first time you’d tried to take care of him, how you’d ended up driving to the grocery on a Sunday morning to scour the shelves for the most pungent can of sardines they had in stock, and how only then , with the room saturated in fish fumes, had the cat finally dragged itself out of the boxspring to nose curiously at your offering.

Morgan laughs. A good sign, you think. “That’s nothin’,” he says, and describes to you his boss’ cat: a purebred white Persian appropriately dubbed “The Count”, so thoroughly spoiled that she won’t eat the same meal twice in a row.

You snort at the image of a prissy little fluff ball turning her nose at a gourmet cat meal.

“Though it’s funny, I never took you for a cat person,” he says.

“No?”

“Figured you’d prefer snails.”

“Look, snails… snails are…” This is a sentence you started with absolutely no knowledge of how it should end. “I like snails,” you say lamely.

“Oh yeah? Think I remember somethin’ else that you like.” He puts his hand around his jaw and pretends to look thoughtful. “What was that book called again? Somethin’ about… bein’ punished by blue collar doms?”

“I’m sure that my friend who left her book on blue collar doms here very much enjoys them, if that’s what you’re referencing.”

He merely chuckles indulgently as he continues to fix the cabinet. You watch his muscles flex under his shirt as he drills new holes into the wood and sets the new hinge in place. As he works the power tool with a soft grunt, you find yourself idly wondering if he’d make the same sound as he drills you —

“Y’know,” he comments, stepping back as he tests the alignment of the door. “I’m actually kind of impressed. This is the most work I’ve ever had to do for a single apartment, barring natural disasters.”

“Wow. Comparing a girl to a natural disaster. Are you this charming with all the tenants, Mr Morgan?”

“You gonna be jealous if I say ‘yes’?”

The alcohol makes you honest. “Extremely.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that.” He grabs the edge of the kitchen counter and hauls himself back to his feet. “If this is the amount of property damage you cause normally, then I’d hate to see you angry.”

He takes another step forward. You take a step back reflexively, but find yourself pressed against the wall. He leans his forearm against the drywall and he’s close enough now that you can smell sweat and machine oil. Your heart beats hard in your chest. 

For once you’re lost for words. No quip comes to mind, for your brain is emitting sparks. “I, uh– I’m not–”

“You’re not what, exactly?” 

“I don’t know,” you say weakly.

He raises his hand to your jaw, tips your chin up with two fingers. “The answer’s ‘no’, by the way,” he says quietly. “It’s just you.”

Morgan looks like he’s going to kiss you. The expression on his face is softer than you’ve ever seen it, all his gruffness melted away. You tentatively tug at the fabric of his jumpsuit and stand on your toes to–

But he puts his hand on your shoulder and pushes you back down. “Goddamn,” he says, frowning. “You’re really red.”

Huh. What.

“Listen, I ain’t one for takin’ advantage of drunks, even if they got themselves into this mess.” He picks you up as if you weigh nothing at all and sets you down on the couch. “Now, I’m goin’ to get you some water, and yer goin’ to sit here and sober up while I finish this cabinet. Alright?”

“I’m not even that drunk,” you protest loudly.

“Yer about the color of a fire hydrant right now.”

When you press the back of your hand to your cheeks and forehead, your skin feels feverish. Begrudgingly, you sink down into your couch cushions and cross your arms.

“Good girl,” he rumbles, patting your head affectionately.

***

You slouch on your friend’s comfy couch with Sebastian sitting regally in your lap as if you were his loyal subject.

“Hey Sebastian, I think I did something really stupid.”

Sebastian stretches and yawns. 

“I hit on the maintenance man.”

He meows. It sounds almost disapproving. Even the cat is judging you. 

“It gets worse.” You loll your chin downwards until it touches your chest. “I was sloppy drunk.”

Sebastian tilts his head at you and blinks.

“Okay, one bottle drunk.”

He sniffs haughtily.

“Right? Pathetic, I know.” You move to pick up Sebastian, but he begins to arch his back and you stop, leaning back against the cushions again. He relaxes and maintains his regal position.

“Well, maybe YouTube will keep my mind off him for the next two days…”

***

You return from your friend’s place, having used her cat and your friend’s YouTube Premium as your therapy sessions. You feel better about things now, and life should return to normal. Right?

The washer’s inner mechanism gives a promising rattle as it swallows your last six quarters. There’s a low rumble of moving parts, the click of something slotting into place— and then silence. The drum of the machine sits sedately in place. Your dirty clothes sit inside in a quiet, unsoaked heap.

“Son of a bitch,” you mutter under your breath. 

You try out a couple different methods: Turn the knobs to various settings without success. Jiggle the handle to try and unlock the washer door. Yell at the machine, call it a worthless piece of shit.

But where discourse fails, violence often prevails. It’s a lesson that has offered a decent measure of success in your dealings with vending machines, keurigs, and lawnmowers. So it’s not merely anger that guides you to kick the washer. No, this is… this is a strategic use of force.

The first kick yields no results. The second kick produces an interesting sputter. Perhaps , you reason, a more precise method is needed here . You raise your fist.

Before you can punch the machine, someone grabs you by the wrist.

“What the hell are you doin’?” Morgan asks, exasperated.

“Laundry,” you answer matter-of-factly.

“What part of laundry involves fightin’ inanimate objects?”

“The part where I get this piece of shit to finally work.” You attempt to give the washer a last parting shot out of pure anti-machine sentiment with your other hand.

Before you can continue to perform percussive maintenance, he grabs your other wrist too.

You tug on both your arms, but he is ridiculously solid; it’s like trying to break free of handcuffs.

Of course my mind goes there.

Looking up at him, he’s realizing at the same time as you of how suggestive this looks. His eyes widen a bit, and you take that as a look of surprise and embarrassment. Yet neither of you moves for a full minute.

“Well,” you say finally. “Are you gonna let me go? Or are you gonna make me submit?”

His eyes narrow for a moment before a smirk slowly grows on his face. “Sounds like that’s what you want.”

He pulls you away from the machine and instead pushes you up against the closest wall. You can feel the heat of his body through the thin linen of your sundress. He traps your wrists against the cold surface and presses his whole body against yours. 

“Mr Morgan—”

“It’s Arthur,” he interrupts. “Call me Arthur.”

You whisper his name, beckoning. His expression darkens ever so slightly as his desire for you manifests in a slight twitch of his lips, a crinkling of his brow.

Then he kisses you hard, his tongue lashing against yours before lightly nipping your bottom lip. When he pulls back, his lips are wet and his pupils are blown out with desire.

Letting go of your wrists, he reaches for the hem of your sundress and hikes it up, his calloused hands stroking upwards from your thighs to your hips. He shifts his knee between your legs and nudges them apart before grinding against you. You can feel how hard he is, how big he is, and you moan softly. Burying his head between your neck and shoulder, he begins to suck on the delicate skin there—

The door creaks open. Mrs. Smith, the septuagenarian from down the hall, walks into the doorway with a hamper of laundry in her arms, then pauses when she sees the two of you.

For a second, everyone stands tense and still as participants in a shootout.

“Well,” Mrs. Smith says mildly. She doesn’t look surprised or scandalized. If anything, she looks mildly entertained. “I can see you two are busy. I’ll come back in an hour or so—”

“No! It’s fine,” you say before laughing nervously. You yank your skirt back down. Arthur immediately releases you and begins intensely inspecting the washing machine. “I was actually just leaving. This, uh, this machine’s broken.”

Morgan’s face is red as he makes a noise of confirmation and nods.

“That certainly seemed a novel means of repair,” Mrs. Smith says. The smile on her face is benign, but knowing.

“Anyway!” You pick up your empty laundry basket. “I really must get back. I have a…that is, I… I think I left my oven on.”

You barrel out the door, nearly knocking Mrs. Smith over in your escape. You run down three flights of stairs and into your apartment, slamming the door shut. Marching to your couch, you put a pillow over your face and scream .

***

Watching her leave, Arthur stands in shock at first, then glances over at Mrs. Smith and turns himself towards one of the washing machines, examining it with great focus.

A soft chuckle reaches his ears and he turns his head to look at the old lady, steadily pulling out one piece of laundry at a time from another machine. Under the pretense of examining all the machines, he notes that she also slowly and methodically loads the dryer.

“You should just go after her,” she says quietly, throwing a pair of large pink underpants into the dryer. “She’s a nice one, that girl.”

Arthur can only mutter, “I got work to do.”

“Come now, we both know that’s a lie.”

He sighs. It’s bad enough that John is on his case, but now 705 is giving him grief. 

“Do you like her?”

He’s silent. He does not want to be having this conversation.

“Because a girl as pretty as her…”

“I know, I know,” Arthur grumbles. “I’m goin’.”

As he walks past her, Mrs. Smith grins knowingly.

[ohwhataniight]

I'm stuck on your heart - Chapter 5

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

On AO3

Strumming my pain with his fingers

John’s life suddenly becomes dim, with only Rosie left to light it up. If anyone had told him a couple of weeks ago that he would find himself co-parenting a child with a person he was hardly on speaking terms with, he would have laughed incredulously at the fella, being out of their mind and all.

The thing is, he’s pissed. How could Sherlock hide from him a thing as important as a date? In all honesty, John knows that Sherlock has every right to, that Sherlock deserves to have his own life. Still, they’re raising a child - his child - together. And that’s becoming increasingly difficult.

Sherlock looks after Rosie while John is at work, then disappears into Mrs. Hudson’s basement, doing God-knows-what. On a few occasions, John has caught him playing “Killing me softly with his song” on the violin. He doesn’t go out a lot, which probably means that the date at the pub didn’t go that great, but the obvious fact that the detective is in pining mode doesn’t make John feel any better.

The festive spirit of the days has suddenly become oppressive, but it’s importnat to John that he stays as cheerful as possible for his daughter, even though the Christmas carols that Sherlock plays for her make his insides turn.

They exchange the most words on a few times when they’re out on a case together, but John gradually starts saying no - he doesn’t want to leave Rosie with Mrs. Hudson for a long time, what with her not getting any younger as time passes.

He loves the time he spends with Rosie, tossing her into the air, tickling her, reading her fairytales and tucking her into bed. He just wishes he wouldn’t get this hollow feeling in his chest every time he notices Sherlock looking absent-minded.

One morning, in the middle of December, Mrs. Hudson stops him at the doorway as he’s putting his coat on to leave for work. “Do you know what Rosie told me yesterday, dear? Papa no love She’lock. Do you really think that this long face of yours is worth it? Think of the baby.”

John’s lips tighten into a thin line. He slowly nods. “I’ll talk to Sherlock, Mrs. Hudson. Thank you. And... sorry. For that.”

That evening, when he returns from the surgery, he dresses Rosie and the two of them head out to meet Harry for coffee. They’ve gradually grown closer together, after she met Rosie and fell in love with her. Harry is doing better for herself now, and she also recently seems to have grown quite keen on Sherlock. In the past, John didn’t remember feeling such warmth when he spotted Harry’s butch haircut and sturdy figure sitting at a cafe, waiting for him. She does look like his twin brother, he’s always thought, thoughts drifting back to that first night he met Sherlock.

Harry spends a good ten minutes playing with Rosie, and giving her gifts (John feels the least happy about the toy harmonica - “to accompany Sherlock with”).

“So, tell me what’s ailing you,” Harry asks, sipping her machiato. The flashing fairy lights from the decorations that hang above their heads are illuminating her round face in rapid stacattos. “It’s him, isn’t it?” she asks when John doesn’t respond. “Has he found someone else?”

John surprises himself with the lack of defensiveness in his response. “It seems so, yes.”

“How many times have I told you since we were kids, John? You can’t freeze with fear when there’s something you fear, when there's something you desire. You need to speak up, be open with your feelings, before it’s too late.”

John for once, doesn’t respond. Rosie is sitting in a giant armchair, red checkered dress, white woollen tights and shiny shoes already a mess as she munches on her cupcake. She occupies herself with her new toys as John leans forward towards his sister. “I never expected we’d come to this, Harry.”

“It’s never too late to act for what you want. Our parents’ repression isn't a good look on you, John.”

As they’re paying and walking out of the cafe, getting ready to hail a cab to go home, a black limousine appears and pulls back in front of them. Harry sighs. “Duty calls you, I see. Make it right, John.”

He inhales, exhales, then kisses her on the cheek, trying to contain Rosie who’s already trying to get into the car, yelling “Unc’e Myc’oft!” They really do have to teach her a thing or two about getting into cars with tinted windows.

They climb onto the back seat. Anthea coos at Rosie, who doesn’t seem to mind the time and place and starts experimenting with her new harmonica. John’s life is a big mess.

They meet at a quiet playground at Notting Hill. “Can you not, with the baby?” John hisses when he spots Mycroft, ridiculously expensive suit and all, sitting on a bench, his weight resting on his umbrella that's fixed on the ground.

“Hello, little Watson, hello, big Watson,” Mycroft forces a smile, handing a granola bar to Rosie. “It’s sugarfree. Anthea will push you on the kiddie swing, run along.” He turns to John. "This playground was licensed recently, passed all tests with perfect marks. I had it checked".

John doesn’t take his eyes from Rosie as Anthea lifts her up and places her on the swing near the bench, but thankfully their encounter with Sherlock’s brother is brief.

“It was young love, as they call it, John,” Mycroft says quietly. “Victor Trevor, he broke Sherlock’s heart in the university. I won’t try to hide the truth from you. It wasn’t for a case, or anything like that. But I assure you, it wouldn’t have happened if you had gotten your act together sooner.”

“Your brother’s apparently... existing love life is no concern of mine, Mycroft,” John states. “Especially not a good enough reason to take me into dark playgrounds when I have Rosie with me”.

“I know my brother better than he thinks, John,” Mycroft exhales a thick cloud of air. “Do what’s right. For all our sakes. It’s Christmas”.

These days are full of firsts. John would never have assumed that Mycroft Holmes would be caught, dead or alive, using Crhistmas as an excuse or a reason to do anything. He wonders if he really does know something.

They are dropped off at Baker street. For now, all that John can concern himself with, is bathing Rosie and putting her to bed.

[rainbow-nerdss]

Fic Writing review 2023!

I was tagged by: @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @aidaronan @exhuastedpigeon @jamespearce9-1-1 @theotherbuckley @aspecbuddie @thewolvesof1998 @daffi-990 (And possibly others, i may have missed one or two, sorry if i did!)

I can't believe 2023 is over, honestly. This year has had some ups and downs for sure but overall I'm so proud of what I've achieved. I started the year mainly writing Stranger Things fics, and while I still love that fandom and all of the wonderful people I met there, my inspiration for writing it was beginning to fade.

And along came 9-1-1. I am so happy with where I've ended up, and for all the new friends I've made since I found this show back in April!

Here's an overview of my year in fic:

Words posted to ao3: 235,060

Words written: 250,465

Works posted: 38

Fandoms posted for: 3 (Stranger Things, 9-1-1, MCU/Captain America)

Specifics and tags are under the cut!

Longest fic:

Crawling on Back to You 109k words, 30 chapters Stranger Things, Steve/Eddie, Rated E

Shortest fic:

Keep on Walkin' and don't look back 521 words Stranger Things, Steve/Eddie, Rated T

Top 5 by kudos:

1. Right in front of your eyes

9-1-1, Buddie, 15k

He and Chris, and Buck. They work, they’re a unit. Why should it matter that he’s single? Buck is watching him, like he’s reading every thought on his face. “You’re already planning to lie about the date. Why don’t you just tell her you met someone yourself?” Eddie shrugs and tilts his head to the side, squinting in thought. “She won’t set me up on dates if she thinks I’ve got someone,” he muses. “But she’ll want to meet whoever it is.” “So... Introduce them?” Or: Buck offers to fake-date Eddie so Pepa will stop setting him up on dates.

2. Pinky Promise

9-1-1, Buddie, 1k

Christopher Diaz doesn't mind that his dad's dating someone new. He's not dumb, he knows there's someone. The way his dad has been smiling lately, the way Chris catches him staring at his coffee, daydreaming like he isn't a grown man. The sleepovers Chris is suddenly allowed to go to on almost a weekly basis. Chris is happy for him, really he is. He’s just not planning to let himself get attached to whoever it turns out to be, just in case. He doesn't need a step-parent, because he has Dad, and he has Buck, and that’s enough. Whoever his dad dates, well. They'll probably leave, eventually. Chris doesn’t need to worry about them. Or: Eddie and Buck come to Chris with some news, and he doesn't take it very well at all.

3. Peek-A-Boo

Stranger Things, Steddie, 1k

Eddie tried not to stare. He really tried. He didn't notice at first, too preoccupied with the tub of pringles he'd been making his way through while talking about Corroded Coffin's last gig. Sure, he'd noticed the shorts. The ridiculous amount of leg Steve was showing, the way they hugged his ass, but it wasn't until Steve moved, lifted one foot to rest on the cushion, knees spread, that Eddie noticed another feature of the shorts. Or: Steve puts on a bit of an accidental show.

4. Definition

9-1-1, Buddie, 2k

It keeps happening, time and time again. People get it wrong. Whatever people say, it feels wrong and they don't know how to set the record straight, until Chris takes it into his own hands. or: 5 times people get Buck's role in Chris's life wrong, and 1 time they set the record straight

5. take my hand (knot your fingers through mine)

9-1-1, Buddie, 4k, written with @pock-o-pea

At least Buck’s okay. He’s outside, safe, doing his job. Buck’s okay, which means no matter what happens inside this van, If the crushing weight of the fridge takes him before Buck can get to him, if the van pancakes or flips or any number of likely disasters occur, if Eddie dies in here, alone, and in pain, then… He thinks of Mallory, of Jo. How they’d called out for each other. His eyes shut briefly as Mallory’s words echo in his head. “She’s not my daughter. Jo’s mother was my best friend… she saved me so many times.” Or: what 6x18 could've been

2023 Events I've participated in: AUgust, Fandom Trumps Hate

Current works in progress:

The bodyguard fic (somebody to someone) -One chapter posted, 3 more written and (almost) ready to post!

Steve time travelling in the upside down (of moments and unmoments (of time lost)) -One posted, two more in the drafts 😁

The break-up fic (you were my town) - Two posted, the third almost ready to post

Season 7 fic: 10 chapters, currently being edited to post

and then a bunch of isolated oneshots I've yet to figure out an ending for: 5+1 times Eddie sees buck with kids that aren't his, friends with benefits, secret relationship, Teacher!Buck, Buckley siblings kiss of death, Buck in the stairs (just started this one last night!)

Goals for 2024:

I want to finish posting all of the WIPs which are already on ao3, post my s7 fic before March 14, keep working on all the WIPs I have in my docs and of course write more and keep sharing!

Most of all I want to keep participating in this wonderful fandom I've found on here, I have had *such* a good time over the past year in fandom 🥰🥰

No pressure tags (sorry if you've already done this and I missed it!)

@hellwrites @the-emdash @wildlife4life @disasterbuckdiaz @loserdiaz @jeeyuns @callmenewbie @911-on-abc @bittersweet-in-boston @kwills91 @trenchcoatsandtimetravel @spotsandsocks @devirnis @housewifebuck @lover-of-mine @gayhoediaz @mojowitchcraft @wikiangela @steadfastsaturnsrings @sunflowerdiaiz @cardamomsage @velvetjinx

Also tagging anyone else who might want to look back at the year and I've accidentally missed!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

[mimisempai]

LITTLE SEEDS OF HAPPINESS 4/4

Chapter 4 : Blossoming

Chapter Summary

Aziraphale and Crowley experience the same doubts as they look forward to their date.  

Will Aziraphale finally find out what the florist is hiding under his dark glasses? Will Crowley trust him enough to show it?

Notes

Already the end of this story.

But the story of the florist and the book seller is far from over, after all this is only the beginning, they have so much to learn about each other and with each other.

On Ao3

Rating T -  4192 words

Chap 1 - Chap 2 - Chap 3 - Chap 4

"You know Crowley, as much as I look forward to seeing your creations, it's you and not the flowers I'm coming for."

Aziraphale felt the heat spread across his cheeks at the memory of the last words he'd said to Crowley before leaving the flower shop the day before.

What had possessed him to actually say that? 

Of course, he hadn't said anything he didn't mean, but it still sounded a little flirtatious. Well, for all he knew, it had been so long since he'd done that. If there was such a thing.

Anyway, he couldn't take his words back, and Crowley hadn't canceled their date, so all he had to do was wait until the evening.

What he was sure of was that it would be an extremely long day until then. 

If Aziraphale was honest with himself, he hadn't felt such anticipation since... since... in fact, it was probably the first time he'd ever felt this way. 

It was clear that after the way he'd been treated by his own family, his self-esteem wasn't exactly high, which didn't exactly make him want to form more intimate bonds with anyone. There was always something lurking deep inside him, the fear that there might be an ounce of truth in what his siblings thought of him.

But without really being able to explain it, there was something about the florist that made him want to take a risk. Like a special connection, a feeling deep inside that they were the same.

Aziraphale, like most other street shopkeepers, was observant. 

You could say it was the primary quality they used to feed their gossip, but if you had a well-established shop on the street, you got into the habit of observing the people around you, if only to observe the potential customer or to find out what they might like - well, not in Aziraphale's case, who was neither trying to attract customers nor to give them what they came for.

Although Aziraphale had observed Crowley for none of these reasons, he had seen that beneath the florist's lanky, nonchalant, sometimes grumpy demeanor, there was someone deeply kind who, for some strange reason, always tried to hide it. Which, of course, only made him more attractive and intriguing to the bookseller.

He'd seen the way Crowley was friendly with his assistant - he still wondered what their relationship was - he'd seen the way he tended to the flowers, he'd seen the way he quickly made himself appreciated by one street shopkeeper to another.

Of course, he'd also seen the way his beautiful red hair caught the light, the way his slim figure was accentuated by his black clothes, and he'd dreamed of seeing what lay behind those dark glasses. 

His phone vibrating in his jacket pocket snapped him out of his thoughts. He flipped it open and read the message from Maggie.

Hello Mr. Fell

He really had to remind Maggie to call him by his first name; after all, she had more of a right to do so than the others, since his grandfather and the younger woman's grandmother had been close friends. 

This morning I received a batch of records that I think you might be interested in. Before I put them up for sale, would you like to take a look at them?

PS: All this, of course, accompanied by a cup of tea.

Aziraphale had barely finished reading the message before he put on his jacket and coat and walked out of the bookstore, striding briskly toward the record store. Moments later, he walked through the door and greeted Maggie with a broad smile.

"Good morning, Maggie!"

Maggie emerged from the back of the store, two cups of tea in hand, which she placed on the counter before exclaiming, "Mr. Fell! You were quick!"

Aziraphale shook his head and said gently, "Maggie, come on, I've already told you to call me Aziraphale. After all, given our grandparents' friendship, we're like family, aren't we?"

She nodded with a shy little smile and murmured, "Okay, I'll try, A- Aziraphale."

Aziraphale exclaimed, "That's the spirit!" before approaching the counter.

Maggie showed him the stack of records, and the bookseller could see that there were indeed several items that interested him.

They chatted about the records for a long time and their cups were long emptied when Maggie asked in a shy voice, "Mr. Fell... uh, Aziraphale, I know I'm probably intruding, but..."

Aziraphale couldn't hold back a laugh, for Maggie had far more scruples than most of the other gossips on the street. 

He said quietly, "Go ahead Maggie, I'm listening."

Maggie asked him bluntly, "Is it true you invited the florist to dinner at Justine's tonight?"

Aziraphale hadn't expected the news to spread so quickly. 

It was only 10 in the morning, for God's sake.

He immediately replied, "First of all, I wasn't the one who made the invitation, and secondly, how do you know about it?"

Maggie replied a little sheepishly, "Well, I ran into Justine at Mr. Arnold's and she was very happy to announce that she had a reservation for you and Crowley."

Aziraphale rolled his eyes and muttered, "Wonderful, I guess everyone knows..."

Maggie replied with a half smile, "Uh, not Mr. Brown. But then again, if you wanted to keep it a secret, you'd have had to book somewhere else."

She wasn't wrong, but at the same time it was a bit like neutral ground, and both would be in familiar surroundings for a first date.

Wait a minute, it was a first date, right?

But what if it was just to say thank you?

The florist had never said that-

"Aziraphale? Are you okay?" 

Maggie had put her hand on the bookseller's forearm and looked at him with a slightly worried expression.

The bookseller reassured her, " Yes, yes, everything's fine," before adding as if to himself, "I'm just a little out of my comfort zone and asking myself a lot of questions, but I think I'll be fixed tonight."

"Fixed?"

Aziraphale shook his head and replied, "Nothing, don't worry."

He picked up the records he'd chosen, stood up and added, "Well, time for me to go, have a nice day, my dear Maggie, and thank you again, for the records and for the tea."

Maggie shook her head and replied, "It's me who thanks you, Mr. F- Aziraphale."

As he stepped through the door, he heard her add quietly, "I'm happy for you. I hope you have a wonderful evening."

The bookseller stammered out a thank you before walking directly to his bookshop, looking straight ahead, not wanting to catch the eye of any of the street gossips.

In any case, the record harvest he'd just made at Maggie's would allow him to pass the time more quickly and forget for a moment the questions that nagged at him about the upcoming dinner.

What he didn't know was that a florist not far from here was going through the same emotional roller coaster and asking himself almost the same questions.

After finishing the last arrangement for the restaurant the next day, Crowley went to put it with the others in the cold storage room reserved for flower storage, then decided to take a short break.

He untied his apron, tossed it carelessly on the counter and made his way to Nina.

No sooner had he stepped through the door than the coffee shop owner called out to him, "Well, well, the number of times you come here, people are going to think there's something fishy going on between us."

Crowley replied in the same tone, "Not even at gunpoint, sorry, but you're absolutely not my type, Nina."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, your type is a nice and soft bookseller." She approached Crowley and leaned toward him, whispering, "And I feel like things have moved on since yesterday, huh?"

Crowley narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you mean?"

I may have heard from Maggie, who heard from Justine at Mr. Arnold's, that you'll be dining in charming company at Justine's restaurant tonight.

Crowley murmured, "I should have guessed. I know, even though I've only been here a few months, that gossip travels faster than the wind on this street."

Nina smiled back, "Yeah, that's what happens when you live in a place where people care about each other."

Crowley retorted, "I don't call it caring, I call it meddling."

Nina shrugged and said softly, "You can call it that, but what I do know is that when I arrived here a year ago, I was in a bad place, coming out of a bad relationship, and I can tell you that if certain people here had not, as you say, meddled in my life, I would not be where I am today. Comfortable in my shoes, in a relationship with someone who respects me and in whom I have absolute confidence."

She looked in the direction of the record store and continued in a barely audible voice, "And who I love."

Crowley chuckled softly and said, " Aw, Nina, I had no idea you were such a sap."

Before Nina could reply, he put the change on the counter, grabbed his coffee and headed for the door, happy to be the one leaving with the upper hand.

On his way out, he couldn't help but glance toward the bookshop and was surprised to see Aziraphale, cup in hand, chatting with Mutt.

Before he had time to think, Crowley raised his hand and waved in Aziraphale's direction, whose face, to the florist's delight, lit up with a broad smile as he waved back.

Needless to say, Crowley's mood was extremely upbeat as he entered the flower shop. 

He dropped into a chair in the corner of the shop, and as he sipped his coffee, he couldn't help but think again about the upcoming date.

For it was a date, wasn't it?

Wait, what if this was Aziraphale's way of apologizing?

What if he'd only accepted Crowley's invitation out of pity?

"Anthony J. Crowley, you're going to do me the favor of not thinking what you're thinking right now."

Crowley turned to Muriel, who was descending the stairs, and replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Muriel raised an eyebrow and replied, "Oh, me, I know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the fact that you're wondering if this is a date, what the bookseller's motives are, all the questions I know you're asking yourself because you're scared."

"Me, I'm scared?"

Muriel came to stand before him and replied, "Oh, yes, you're scared. And you know what you have to do?"

Crowley said cheekily, "Go ahead, tell me, you who have all the answers."

Muriel shook their head, knowing that Crowley was just trying to put up a front, and replied, "Ask him. Before you go to dinner. Just ask him. And even if the answer isn't what you want, at least you'll know where you're going."

Crowley took a sip of coffee, took the time to think before replying more gently, "You're probably right. I'll do that."

"I'm always right, big brother."

In a now familiar motion, Crowley grabbed the water sprayer and doused Muriel.

They cried out, "Eric, come save me!"

Crowley turned his head toward the shop door and saw that Eric was indeed there.

"My goodness, we've been seeing a lot of you around here lately."

Muriel punched Crowley lightly and admonished him, "Be nice, will you?"

Crowley raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's your sweetheart doing here?"

Muriel replied as they walked over to Eric, "You're going to dinner at Justine's and we're going to lunch there."

Then, they grabbed Eric's hand and pulled him behind them as they left the store.

Crowley watched them go, hoping he'd come back the same way with Aziraphale.

Aziraphale glanced at his pocket watch for the tenth time in five minutes, complaining to himself that time wasn't moving any faster as the meeting approached. However, that didn't stop him from jumping at the sound of a light knock on the door of the bookshop.

He grabbed his coat and went to open the door, greeting Crowley with a broad smile.

The florist said softly, "Good evening, Aziraphale."

"Good evening, Crowley."

Aziraphale was about to put on his coat when Crowley grabbed it to help him put it on.

The bookseller, touched by the other man's gallant gesture, said kindly, "Thank you, my dear. Shall we go?"

He saw Crowley bite his lip before he said hesitantly, "Before we go, I'd like to ask you something."

At the florist's serious look, Aziraphale replied gently, "I'm listening."

"Is this a date?"

Not expecting such a direct question, Aziraphale's instinct was to reply, "Do you want it to be?" 

But he immediately changed his mind, he didn't want to play this kind of game, no pretense, no guesswork, no half-truths.

He muttered to himself, "Fight like you can win."

"What?"

Aziraphale looked Crowley in the eye as best he could through the dark glasses and said in a clear, firm voice, "This is a date."

This time there was no mistaking the look of relief that crossed the florist's face, and Aziraphale knew he'd been right to choose the path of honesty.

Crowley, with a slightly crooked smile, said wryly, "There's just one problem."

Aziraphale looking puzzled asked, "Which one?"

"It's been so long for me, I have no idea what to do anymore."

Aziraphale chuckled slightly before replying, "Well, at least we're on the same page. I think we'll figure it out together."

Both men laughed slightly, both in amusement and relief.

They had only taken a few steps toward the restaurant when Crowley muttered, "Is it me, or do I feel watched?"

The bookseller chuckled and replied, "Welcome to Gossip Street, the street where everyone knows what everyone else is doing, or at least thinks they do."

Then his expression turned serious again, and as he moved away from Crowley, he said softly, "Unless you'd rather people didn't know."

Crowley moved closer, gave him a little nudge on the shoulder, and said in an amused tone, "I think it's too late for that, and besides, I'm the one who invited you, right?" 

Moments later, they were ushered to their table by Justine and were pleased to see that the restaurant owner had reserved an isolated table for them, which would give them some privacy.

As they sat down, Aziraphale exclaimed, looking absolutely ecstatic, "Crowley, this is truly exquisite!"

Pointing to the flower arrangement in the center of the table, he continued, "What harmony and delicacy!"

Crowley, blushing, grumbled, "Don't exaggerate, they're just flowers."

Seeing Crowley's modesty, Aziraphale wondered what other hidden qualities the florist possessed and, placing a hand on his arm, replied gently, "I'm not exaggerating, I really mean it, you've done a magnificent job. But now I'm curious, how did you get into this business?"

Overcoming his embarrassment, Crowley told him about the orphanage and the old gardener and Muriel, and although they hadn't known each other long, he found it easy to open up. Aziraphale listened and asked questions from time to time, laughing at some of the anecdotes from his childhood with Muriel. 

They paused to order and barely interrupted when the waiter brought their plates.

"And so I'm here today."

Crowley put down his fork to take a sip of wine and met Aziraphale's gaze, who smiled softly. The bookseller waited until he had put down his glass, laid his hand on Crowley's on the table, and said gently, "I hope you are proud of yourself, of what you have accomplished."

Seeing the sincerity in Aziraphale's eyes and expression, Crowley simply accepted the other man's words and said nothing, just nodded.

Then he tilted his head and asked him gently, "And how did Aziraphale become a bookseller?"

It was Aziraphale's turn to tell of his journey, and though he toned down certain parts, Crowley was sharp enough to see that there was more to it than the bookseller was letting on.

They were just finishing their dessert when Aziraphale finished his story, "So, I'm a bookseller who doesn't sell books, I have enough to live on without doing anything for the rest of my life, and..." he lowered his head before adding under his breath, "I don't do anything I can be proud of."

"I beg to differ." 

He looked up at Crowley, who was looking at him kindly, and shook his head, wanting to withdraw his hand, but the florist turned his underneath and caught Aziraphale's to hold it back as he added, "Really. You're a very nice person, you know that?"

"I don't know what makes you say that..."

Crowley pressed his hand into his and replied softly, "So many things..."

He listed what he'd witnessed since he'd arrived on the street, ending with the little girl who'd lost her mother a few days ago.

At the end of his list, Aziraphale shook his head and protested, "But that's nothing."

Crowley, stroking the back of the bookseller's hand with his thumb, said gently, "It's a lot for the person you're doing it for."

They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds, aware that something special was happening, but unfortunately the moment was interrupted when the waiter brought the bill.

Crowley withdrew his hand and Aziraphale immediately felt the lack of its warmth and, to keep a straight face, reached into his pocket for his wallet when Crowley shook his head and said quietly, "I'm the one who invited you, so the bill's on me.

Azirapahle retorted, ""Then next time it'll be on me."

Realizing the implication of what he'd just said, he watched with pleasure as Crowley nodded with a small smile on his lips.

"Actually, this time it's on me, gentlemen."

They looked up at Justine who was picking up the bill from the table as she added, "It's to thank you," she looked at Crowley and continued, "You for your gorgeous arrangements and you..." she turned her head to Aziraphale before finishing, "For generously providing me with several wines of the finest vintages from your cellar so that I could have an excellent wine list."

Crowley winked at Aziraphale and mouthed, "Nothing to be proud of, hm?" then they thanked Justine and got up to leave the restaurant, noticing that it was almost empty as it was five minutes before closing time.

As they walked slowly toward the bookshop, they were much closer than they had been at the beginning of the evening, and with each step their shoulders and arms brushed against each other, but neither of them could bring themselves to make the gesture that would close the distance between their hands.

They arrived in front of the bookshop and Aziraphale opened the door before turning back to Crowley, who said quietly, "I had an excellent evening."

Aziraphale nodded and seemed to want to say something, but thought better of it, so the florist added, "Good night, Aziraphale," then turned to leave, but couldn't because Aziraphale was holding him by the sleeve.

He turned to him and said quietly, "Aziraphale?"

The bookseller asked breathlessly, "Would you like a nightcap?"

Crowley, who didn't mind appearing eager, nodded immediately and was rewarded by Aziraphale's smile before turning to enter the bookstore.

Once inside, Aziraphale told him to make himself comfortable and went to the back of the shop to get a bottle and glasses.

Crowley saw the plant he'd given the bookseller sitting neatly on the desk and walked over to it before leaning over and whispering, "You better grow tall and green or you know what will happen."

He straightened quickly at the sound of Aziraphale's laugh and turned to face him as the bookseller set the glasses and bottle of scotch on the coffee table.

Aziraphale said in an amused tone, "I've heard that you talk to your plants, but not that you threaten them. Tell me, what happens to it if it doesn't do what you tell it?"

Crowley walked over to him and whispered in his ear, "I let them think I would throw away any plant that had a flaw."

This made Aziraphale laugh even harder, much to Crowley's delight.

Then he saw Aziraphale's expression turn serious and the bookseller asked softly, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to talk about it, but... why are you wearing sunglasses all the time?"

Crowley lost his smile and moved away from Aziraphale, turning toward the window.

He heard Aziraphale approach and the bookseller put a hand on his shoulder before saying soothingly, "I'm sorry, Crowley, I didn't mean to..."

"You...you're allowed to ask the question, I...I have a very specific eye color. It... I hear it happens sometimes. It's been a long source of ridicule and annoyance in my past. People either laughed at me or called me a freak. So I decided to hide them, preferring to be mocked for my glasses than for something I can't change, something that is me."

Aziraphale placed his other hand on the florist's other shoulder and, with a light press, made him turn around.

He asked quietly, "You know me. You even said I was a nice guy. So you know I wouldn't make fun of you or call you a freak. Will you show me?"

Crowley shook his head slowly and said under his breath, "I don't want you to see me any differently.

Aziraphale raised his hand and placed it gently on Crowley's chest before saying, "I know who you are here, and your eye color won't change that. I swear."

Then he raised his hand further and laid it gently on the florist's cheek, adding in the same soft tone, "I intend to kiss you, and I want to look into your eyes before I do."

Crowley let out a long breath before murmuring, "Okay..."

Then Aziraphale placed his fingertips on the side of Crowley's glasses and asked softly, "May I?"

The florist swallowed before nodding slowly.

Aziraphale carefully removed the glasses to see that Crowley had instinctively closed his eyes. So he lightly stroked his eyelid with his thumb and said in a coaxing tone, "Show me, please."

Crowley gave in and then opened his eyes, holding his breath.

"Gorgeous."

The bookseller's face was so close to his own that Crowley could not doubt the sincerity he read in his eyes and heard in his voice as Aziraphale added, "What a shame you have to hide them."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Crowley wrapped his arms around Aziraphale and held him to his chest, unconcerned as his sunglasses crashed to the floor.

Aziraphale wrapped his arms around the florist's waist in turn, waiting a few moments for Crowley to calm down before gently pushing him away. He then raised his hands to frame his face, and with his eyes on Crowley's beautiful amber ones, glistening with unshed tears, he grinned and asked, "May I have my kiss now?"

Crowley, his voice still a little hoarse with emotion, cheekily replied, "I've shown you my eyes, that's the least you can do."

Aziraphale chuckled lightly before pulling Crowley's face to his and, closing the distance between their mouths, gently pressed his lips to the florist's. 

It was only a brush of lips at first, but the feel of Crowley's lips against his was enough to overwhelm Aziraphale with emotion. Crowley slid his hand down Aziraphale's neck to pull him closer, deepening the kiss. Aziraphale parted his lips and Crowley's tongue slid along his lower lip, sending an electric shiver down Aziraphale's spine. As Crowley's tongue continued to explore his mouth, all of Aziraphale's senses seemed to awaken and he felt almost dizzy, clinging even tighter to the florist's shoulders.

Crowley, sensing how overwhelmed Aziraphale was, stepped back a little so they could catch their breath. Then, as if he couldn't help himself, Aziraphale brought his lips close again, delicately caressing Crowley's in another kiss.

They continued kissing like this for long minutes, not trying to go any further, just enjoying the kiss, their lips and bodies touching, getting to know each other, becoming familiar.

Much later, without really knowing when they'd moved, they were catching their breath on the sofa, Aziraphale snuggled up against Crowley, his head on the florist's chest as he ran his long fingers through his hair, noting that it felt as fluffy as it looked.

He said softly, "I'll repeat what I said earlier, I had an excellent evening."

Aziraphale laughed softly against his chest and, feeling bold, replied, "Hopefully the first of many."

Crowley, of course, hearing the slight uncertainty in the bookseller's voice, replied in a clear voice as he held him closer, "Don't doubt it."

He felt Aziraphale smile against his chest as the bookseller curled up even tighter against him.

Eyes on the small plant resting on Aziraphale's desk, Crowley told himself that they were a bit like it, and with care, a little water, a little light, they'd surely grow into something precious and last a long time.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Chap 1 - Chap 2 - Chap 3 - Chap 4

[annerbhp]

20 questions for fic writers!

@runawaymarbles tagged me, but she said I could do it anyway if I liked.

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

114

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

1,436,497

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The big ones were Stargate and Harry Potter and The Untamed. I've also dabbled briefly in CSI, Leverage, Firefly, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Last of the Mohicans.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

It's all HP fic, which I think speaks both to the size of that fandom, but also that I started writing for that fandom as I moved to AO3.

The Changeling (HP, Ginny) The Armistice Series (going to cheat and put these all together, HP, Harry/Ginny) we can't control (watch me unfold) (HP, Harry/Ginny) gone was any trace of you (HP, Harry/Ginny) half awake and almost there (HP, Harry/Ginny)

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

I do try to respond to comments, because each and every one of them mean a lot to me. But I am not always great about it. I think I kind of respond in giant bursts? So there are times when I just don't, often because I am totally focused on getting the next chapter out or something, but then I will just sit down on day and just mass respond to a lot. I could always be better at it though.

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

Interesting. I am in no way afraid of angst, but I usually like to at least have a hopeful ending, if not a wildly happy pay off ending. I'm not sure I've ever done a full tragedy ending. Outside some one-off comment fic or ficlet posted here or there.

I think down here among the wreckage (Sam/Jack, SG-1) is my most infamously angsty fic of all time, and I never completely got to finish it? So it ends pretty darn angsty. Though maybe Beneath the Stains of Time (boy, I used to love a good apocafic!)

my kingdom come undone (Untamed, wangxian) is pretty darn angsty too, I suppose.

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

Hopefully almost all of them? Though, I suppose I mostly like to exist in the "here's some pay off after angst, but I'm never gonna say everything is all good because it never is" area.

Maybe Life is What Happens which is sort of a coda to who Harry/Ginny could have ended up being?

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Occasionally, but not that often. I've only gotten something I would consider straight up hate speech twice, and those just get immediately deleted. Otherwise it's mostly someone telling me what they don't like. Some people really hated The Changeling. And some people really think I hate Hermione for some reason and hated that. Oh, boy and now I'm remembering the time I mentioned the mere possibility of a different pairing (Sam/Daniel) than my usual ship at the time (Sam/Jack) and got a lot of hate about that!

9. Do you write smut?

Not in the beginning, no. I distinctly remembering @holdouttrout and I being like "how can people write smut! I could never!" and then not so long later we had a good time coming back and laughing at ourselves and each other as we wrote smut. Lol. Good times, Trout!

These days, yes, I am known to sometimes write smut. I don't do a lot of PWP, but I think smut can be a great part of storytelling and character development. I'm not sure I'm any good at it, and it's probably the kind of writing I am least confident in, but I'm usually willing to try a hand at it.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Very occasionally I have. Mostly in response to a challenge or a fest or some sort of organized event. It can be fun to just take two things you like and brainstorm what it would possibly look like to smoosh them together. I think the biggest crossovers I ever wrote were a SG-1/Firely one (Raggedy Edge) and a SG-1/House MD one (Unexpected). Both were fics I wrote for someone else. (Man, I have this SG-1/Leverage fic that I always wanted to write but doubt I ever will. I think I had Maggie as one of Jack's cousins or something.)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. People have occasionally posted one of my fics in weird archive or something. But no one's ever tried to claim one of my stories as their own.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, a few! I know there are a few languages for The Changeling. Though I'm not sure if any were ever finished. I've had a few requests for various things over the years. And then I put up a "feel free to do without asking" disclaimer, so who knows!

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

No, that is not something I've ever done. I'm always impressed by that. And some of the best fics I've ever read have been team written. (A Narrow Bridge by @frameofmind9 and Jo Lasalle, it's AMAZING.) I find it such an interesting and impressive idea. Not sure I'd be able to do it, but it's interesting!

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

I feel attacked. What kind of a question to ask a shipper. Well, there is always what takes up all my brain space in the moment, which is Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian in The Untamed. But Sam/Jack (SG-1) was my first and will always own a part of my brain.

It's interesting too, because there are ships I adore, ships I love to read about, and ships I love to write about. And those three don't always align. I think Sam/Jack and Wangxian have been the two biggest ships for me that touch all three of those at once.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

Excuse me as I open my writing folder and gesture at everything all at once. Okay, I'll be nicer to myself. I am in a space where I feel like I will never finish anything ever again, but I will have faith!!

There's really too much. So many HP fics that I am sad that I will probably never get to. There's a time travel fic, there's a Harry never went to Hogwarts AU, oh, man, the zombie fic. So many.

There's a ton of SG-1 fics I left half-imagined, but it's been a decade since I stopped writing for that fandom, so I'm more distant from it now.

I want to finish them all!!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hm. This is hard. Probably because saying nice things about ourselves is hard and feels like being egotistical or something. Lol. I think I really like weaving various plot lines, themes, and character development, probably because that is the thing I love doing and so have spent a lot of time experimenting and practicing. I think I also have an ability to trust my instincts with what is working and what isn't, even if I'm stubborn about ignoring it sometimes. Can being stubborn as hell being a writing strength. Because that, honestly.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have very little discipline. People who can outline something and then just knock a draft out are amazing to me. I am very slow and only tend to write when I'm in the mood. I think I can also be overly sensitive to unsolicited criticism. And in some cases solicited criticism from someone I haven't built trust with. That might mostly be the giant case of imposter syndrome I lug around with myself. So I might be sensitive, but I've been trying to build my skills in hearing it and reacting appropriately in a constructive way. I feel like brevity is another problem! Just look at this darn post!

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

Honestly, I don't attempt it. If someone is speaking a different language, I am more likely to just put the dialogue in italics or something, if whoever the POV is understands that language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stargate SG-1. At least the first I ever wrote and shared. I think I wrote fanfic in my head for decades before realizing what it even was. (Let's say that I had quite the crush on Wesley Crusher and fantasized ways some OC self-insert might be able to marry him while also being adopted by Picard. Ah...the early 90s. What a time to be alive.)

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Wow, and I thought some of these earlier questions were rude. 😂

I'm going to cheat and say that whatever i am currently working on is always my favorite.

Also, I really liked who i am at the end of the day which is so obscure that no one ever read it. (I think it has like 2 comments and one of them was @runawaymarbles being nice to me. <3 )But I just love a lot about it. Sometimes I daydream about removing the serial numbers and turning it into it's own thing.

Tagging @pepperf, @holdouttrout, @narukoibito, @mylittleredgirl, and YOU that person who wants to do this.

[lynxindisguise]

20 asks for fic writers

ty for the tag @plecotusauritus and @wanderingdonut <333

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

16

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

300,242 (damn)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

hp, have considered branching into black sails and good omens

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hot Cocoa Incident of '77

shorn and scarred and yours

A Dog in Stag's Clothing

Sarcastic Truths and Lies By Omission

exes, horcruxes, and other reasons to panic

conclusion: bitches love hogwarts fluff, slytherin sirius, and divorce!!

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

Yes! I love comments!

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

Uhhh I guess the corndog fic?? all my wolfstar fics currently end happily, though Of Monsters and Cowards has more of an open ending

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

They're all happy honestly, but The Hut of the Mistold is probably the most neatly wrapped up, all the warm and fuzzies, happily ever after ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nothing directly mean, but I'll get comments that make me go, "why did you feel the need to say that?" Like ranting a little too enthusiastically about the main character's choices or commenting on how they wanted more of xyz in a chapter (especially when the fic isn't even finished!) Oh and I got one the other day from a guest on a reply I made to someone else that was clearly trying to start an argument about something that had nothing to do with the fic??? I don't respond to those comments.

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

Typically I write a little smooching that fades into a vague description, but I wrote six different versions of smut for don't cover our tracks

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

I write a lot of AU's based in other worlds, but not crossovers. (Unless @impishtubist and I make the ineffable wolfstar crossover happen!)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. And hot take—I genuinely think a lot of cases of "fic stealing" are just coincidence. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I do believe we're all collectively tossing around one brain cell, and we're bound to have similar ideas.

I once read a fic that shared a lot of themes/ideas/details with one of my fics, and upon discovering this, I plotted to trick the writer into becoming my deeply beloved mutual.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I've had people ask if they could translate my fics before a few times, but I don't think anything has come of it?

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

Not currently... (refer to 10)

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

Wolfstar

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

... probably the ATLA AU :/

The idea possessed me back in January of last year, and I plotted out the entire thing, but I've had no motivation to actually write it. I think the problem is that it's too cinematic, and I can't translate it to prose.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Probably world-building, in the way that I can look at one world and say "how would this translate to another?" "what little details and references can I pull from and play with?" "how do I adjust my writing style to make this feel like the genre I'm replicating?"

Also unusual metaphors, zingy little commentary, and comedic timing in dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I really struggle with prose. Which sounds silly, but like, I'm not writing prose—I'm translating the screenplay in my brain to prose, which is weird. And I think it can make my writing really jarring because it's lacking that slow, immersive reflection that is just so delicious when done well.

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

Dude I put a few Welsh words in hotm and panicked that even those would be wrong. If it was ever important for the story, I'd find someone who spoke the language to help me.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

hp

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Please Don't See Me

tagging @kaaaaaaarf @spindrifters @impishtubist @soloorganaas @femme--de--lettres @fruityindividual @worldenough-and-time

[aristocratic-otter]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thank you @artsyunderstudy for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

28, though one was a round robin where I only wrote one of the chapters.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

838, 380. Subtracting Birthday Man (the round robin fic), I've written, by myself, 799, 248. I'm not surprised. I'm not good at brevity. (And I have over a hundred thousand words in unpublished fics right now 😅)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Carry On, though I've made a habit of sticking Simon and Baz into fandom loves of my youth.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Oh, Have You Seen The Fairies Dance, my CORB from two years ago, writing to art by @krisrix. 562 Kudos

Playing With Fire, Treading Thin Ice, my pinch-hit CORB, also from two years ago (I sense a trend), writing to art by @steppjes. 453 kudos

Back To Start, my Simon youthens Baz into a baby fic, 447 kudos

A Fucked Up Cinderella Story, a Simon as escort fic, and my first collaboration with my dear friend (and a brilliant artist), @frjsti. 339 kudos.

A Real Doll, my first real PWP (ok, it sort of has a plot) (a very thin one), written for @captain-aralias's Monster Under the Bed Fest, 331 kudos.

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

Yes! It means a lot to me to hear how folk enjoyed my work, and I appreciate how much effort it takes to reach out sometimes, so I want to show my appreciation. I should be better at commenting myself!

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

Readers nearly burned me at the stake over my ending to The Blue and The Gray, where Simon rides away with his Union troop, leaving Baz behind at his plantation home. Even the 'happy ending' epilogue I wrote, to get them back together, is bittersweet, because Simon is damaged from the war and it will be a long road to recovery (or at least the length of the Oregon Trail 😉) (If you know, you know).

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

I only do happy endings, but, like Ashton, I tend towards angst a lot of the time. So I think that my most meaningful happy ending is in New Year, New Me, which takes Simon and Baz literal to the end, of their long lives together (with a gorgeous song written by @moodandmist and @cutestkilla!)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet! I've gotten a few corrections, which I honestly don't mind. I'd rather be corrected than leave a glaring error in a fic. I agree with Ashton, this is an incredibly kind fandom.

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

Uh <looks side to side shiftily> yes? Like, a lot? It's funny, because I'm ace, but I find all the ways humans can relate to one another through sex fascinating, even if I don't need those things for myself. I'd say I write mostly bonding through sex? Occasional fucking just 'cause it's fun, but mostly soulful, loving sex.

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

Not crossovers precisely, (I don't mix in characters from other fandoms) but I'm extremely guilty of throwing SnowBaz into any story, show, or movie I've loved and putting them through their paces:

The Watford Games: Simon and Baz in a Hunger Games Scenario

The White Chapel: Simon replacing Olivia Newton John in the movie Xanadu

The Snow Fox: (unfinished) Simon as the Francis Marion Character in the old Disney TV show, the Swamp Fox.

Episode 2: The Naked Next, (gift fic for @raenestee) (I blame this one on @facewithoutheart), Simon and Baz in the Star Trek Universe.

and, Stars, Flowers, and Children, an unpublished (part done) fic set in the universe of the movie the Blue Lagoon, and To Heal a Broken Mind, an unpublished (nearly finished) fic set in a scenario similar to the TV show House MD.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Fingers crossed, but no, I don't think so. Probably hard to pass off a seventy thousand word fic as your own that you just popped up with out of nowhere.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

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

Only the round robin fic, Birthday Man, where each of several fic writers wrote a chapter for Simon's birthday celebration, and the Star Trek Universe fic, The Naked Next (linked above). But I'd definitely give co-writer credit to many of the fandom artists I've worked with, because their work either inspired my words, or they even helped guide the evolution of the fic in the background. I especially have to give credit to @krisrix, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @frjsti, and @artsyunderstudy for being brilliant at helping me flesh out the fics they did art for!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Gee. Bet you can't guess.

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

This is a tough one because I've (so far) never not finished a fic I've committed to (I've got a few paragraphs of a few random ideas in my files, but nothing I ever advertised or put much effort into). But I'm also perpetually in the middle of at least five or six fics, so leaving one dangling remains possible, even if I desperately hope it won't happen. I guess I'll mention Westward Son here, because though it ought to be finished in the next couple of weeks, it took me two fucking years to get there!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't get writer's block. I think my habit of fic jumping helps with this; if one fic is dragging, I can spend more time on another until words start to flow for the first one again. I do force myself to write at least a sentence every couple of days, even on the draggy fics, though. I think I'm decent at characterization? Especially Simon, because I identify with his way of thinking a lot. I also think I'm decent at giving the reader a strong visual of what's going on in a scene (hopefully).

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot and tech. I can write plot, but not snappy, quickly resolved ones. For me to find my way to the end of a plot usually takes several thousand words. And that's a weakness, not being able to write short. I don't know how to be interesting in small bites, I guess. And tech: I'm intimidated by incorporating modern tech like social media, etc. in my fics. I always feel like I can't format it correctly or make it look/sound realistic enough, so I tend to avoid fic ideas that are tech based, like text fics or social media fics. Aaaaand now I'm writing a fic based in Tiktok, a platform I do NOT know well. Pray for me.

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

I've done it once (in The Blue and The Gray), but I'm nervous about it. I think I'm afraid of misinterpreting a connotation of a word or phrase. I researched extensively for the Spanish lullaby in The Blue and the Gray, and even the Greek and Latin phrases in Back to Start and The Watford Games. I don't mind it in fics, so long as the meaning isn't integral to the scene (like using French swears in a fic set in French Canada) (@bazzybelle, I'm looking at you!). If the meaning is integral, I tend to prefer the translations be not far away (like at the end of the fic), but rather just a few lines down (like at the end of a chapter), because it's frustrating having to jump back and forth to get meaning from what I'm reading.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

CSI, on fanfic.net. But I only wrote one fic. Don't look for it. I didn't have this username and I'm not interested in reliving that part of my life 😆

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I think it will always be Back to Start (linked above). I still love the premise and it was the first fic that made me feel like a real writer. You don't forget that feeling. It's my baby.

How about, instead of tagging folk, you consider yourself tagged if you're one of the many people I mentioned above? 😂

[cuips-not-cute]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

thanks @toburnup, @numinosmoon, @pearynice, and @morningberriesao3 for tagging me, y'all are the coolest<3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

nine!! but one of them is my darling friend @lollaika's amazing fic, The Agony Of A Loving Gaze, of which i am merely the artist

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

269,805. whew.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

stranger things at the moment lmao but i've written for good omens and our flag means death before, too

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

he could be brave, blood is an aphrodisiac, honeyed affection, cyclical, and lover, be good to me.

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

yes i do!! i'm horribly, horribly behind atm but i will catch up!! love engaging with people who like my stories, and i've made some fabulous friends thru ao3 comments, too<3

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

don't think any of mine?? big fan of happy endings

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

gosh i don't even know they all pretty much have the "and they lived happily ever after" vibe at the end i'm a sucker for sweet stuff what can i say??

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i've gotten a couple weird comments from peeps who don't know how to read tags but those go straight in the trash, good vibes only

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

me?? smut?? never!!! lmao i like it all, the kinkier the better. one of my most proudest smut scenes i've written involved some super sweet fisting. i love stuff that's fucking depraved but still with a good undercurrent of softness. love it when they're gross and in love

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

i haven't!! generally can only focus on one fandom at a time so i don't know that i ever will but i love a good crossover fic

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not as far as i know!! just waiting for the day that i see my art on like pinterest or smth, tho

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no but gosh that would be SO COOL!!

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

i have not!! love beta'ing and being a soundboard for all my super cool and talented writer friends but i write so erratically that i doubt i could co-write with someone

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

...steddie. i'm so embarrassed but i love them. ineffable husbands is SUPER close behind, tho

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

hmm, had a kooky tentacle porn oneshot in the works but that always gets put on the back burner while i'm writing a multichap thing...and i seem to always be writing a multichap thing. maybe one day

16. What are your writing strengths?

oh smut, probably. my fav thing to write , too, so it makes sense. tho i've heard from multiple sources that my kiss scenes are good, but those usually lead up to the smut anyways lololol

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

hmm, scene transitions or points where i need the mood to shift dramatically. usually skip around those and write them later during the second draft

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

it's cool!! i'm lame and don't know any other written languages so i prolly never would do it for fear of mistranslating smth but it's neat to see, especially when it's the author's native language

19. First fandom you wrote for?

technically i think way back when i worte a lil thing for the gemma doyle series, did not think of it as fanfic at the time, tho

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

cyclical!! that one was a BEAST but i'm stupidly proud of her. as it is a time loop fic it was THE angstiest thing i've ever written but i had a great time making it.

honorable mention for my current wip, tho, which will be a steddie sex tape au chock full of pining and porn. hopefullyyyy the first chapter will be out soon (!!!)

tagging the lovelies: @lollaika @jhrc666 @steddielations @thefreakandthehair @phantom-organism and @wormdebut <3<3

[missberrycake]

20 Questions for Writers

I was tagged by @shares-a-vest. Thanks for getting me back into these tag games - they're so fun!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

As a writer, 39 (as a podficcer, 24).

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,011,075! omg!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I'm just writing for Stranger Things, but in the past I've written for BTS, IT, the MCU, One Direction, Harry Potter (it was a long time ago ...), and Inception.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

(Ignoring some of my super-old fandoms, because no one needs to read those)

When the Sun is High (I'll Meet You in the Woods) [Stranger Things - Steve/Eddie]

Meet Me Tomorrow [BTS - Taehyung/Yoongi]

Lovedale, Goodnight [BTS - Taehyung/Yoongi]

The King is Gone [IT - Richie/Eddie]

Blackbird - Stranger Things - Steve/Eddie]

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do! Sometimes with the most uninspired reply, because I can't think of what to say, but I always appreciate comments and like to let people know.

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

I'm not sure I've ever really done a truly angsty ending, that's not what I'm here for in fandom. Oh, well, no, actually - Amaranthus [BTS - Taehying/Yoongi, Jeongguk/Jimin] has a pretty ... bittersweet ending, let's put it that way.

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

I aim for everything I write to have a happy ending, but the most plainly happiest of endings is probably on If I Loved You Less [Stranger Things - Steve/Eddie], as it's the most rom-com of all the fics I've written.

Oh, shit - and The King is Gone [IT - Richie/Eddie] is pretty dang happy as well, now I think about it.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, thankfully. When I first got into fic-writing, I did have an awkward experience (over on Livejournal) when a few people felt that I "didn't fill a prompt correctly" in a voluntary, for-fun, prompt-filling thread. I have also received a grumpy comment or two about character deaths, which annoyed me when I specifically tagged 'author chose not to use archive warnings' for a reason, but c'est la vie.

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

I don't. I don't feel like I'm very good at it, but maybe that's lack of practice. I more of a plot writer, so most of the time I just think, ah, let's pan to the curtains and move on!

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have in the past, though not anymore. I'm not really a fan, to be honest - I don't read them. I feel like they can often be quite niche. Though, are we counting AUs as crossovers? In which case I love those, though haven't written any for a good while.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge??

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! A few, which is very exciting. I always link to them if I know about it, so make sure to send me a message if you want to.

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

I haven't, and I think I'd be a little bit scared to. Writing seems like such an individual thing and I am quite particular about my process. If you found the right co-author, though, I'm sure that could be a really fun and creative way to write.

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

I am still in Steddie's firm grip, but Stucky will forever be the GOAT.

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

Little World! I so enjoyed writing the first few chapters of this, and every now and again I think I could pick it up and dust if off. Maybe. Fingers crossed.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I tend to say dialogue for this, as that's the part that comes easiest to me, and I do feel like I keep my dialogue pretty natural, but if I went by comments (thank you to everyone who says so!) it would be ... I guess ... visuals, would be the word? Setting people in the world. Descriptions! You know what I mean.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Endings. Not endings, actually, but the second half of the story, once I've established the setting and the characters and the Thing That Happens And How We're Going To Deal With It. Then I I feel I can sometimes lose my way before I stumble into the climax.

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

I'm a 'write it as the POV character would understand it' kind of a person. So, translate and indicate if they speak the language, write it in another language if the character doesn't. I don't like footnoting translations, or hover-over translations, as I think they kind of take you out of the scene.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Inception! Back in 2011 on Livejournal, though I did copy them over to Ao3 when I landed there. Arthur/Eames is my true OTP. Some of those fics are truly awful, but every one is dear to my heart.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Oh, God, I was going to say it's a toss up between "these two" but kept remembering more. I love An Act of Grace [Stranger Things - Steve/Eddie], The King is Gone [IT - Richie/Eddie], The House on the Hyeongsan [BTS - Taehyung/Yoongi, Hoseok/Jimin], and Lovedale, Goodnight [BTS - Taehyung/Yoongi]. Top four, I refuse to slim it down further!

Tagging: (I'm going through some newly-acquired mutuals to get me back in the game, please feel free to ignore!) @onirislanding @corrodedbisexual @spicysix

[baynton]

thanks for the tag @thelastplantagenet <3

for the sake of this tag game i'll only be using my main/current ao3 account to answer with. otherwise it'll get far too messy

1. How many fics do you have on AO3?

53, and i only made this account and started posting on it in january of this year. i'm very normal

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

144,946

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mostly just mat fandoms to be honest, although i've got like... 4? non-mat fics on this account. i will be disregarding those 4 fics from now on (because obviously bigger fandoms get more recognition and this is a Mat Account)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

- Cold Turkey - 24 kudos, pat/thomas

- Performance - 22 kudos, thomas/julian, thomas/getting bukkaked by all the ghosts

- Follow Through - 22 kudos, alison/thomas

- Simon Says - 20 kudos, mat/simon

- Permanently - 16 kudos, julian/thomas

obviously since ghosts is the biggest mat show, it makes sense (not really anyone reading fics for ymata, spy, the wrong mans, etc)

5. Do you respond to comments?

i'm a lazy shit, and usually forget. when my friends comment they also tend to message me about it in the mat discord (if you're 18+ and want to join hmu it's a lot of fun) where i post all my fics too, so i tend to reply to them over there to be honest, but sometimes when i remember or am particularly touched by a comment i will go and reply

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

definitely "tell me what you imagine, when you think of me." rip ariel. literally

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

okay well it's not actually finished yet, though i have a good idea of where i'm taking it when i get around to writing more, but i'd say Fixer-Upper probably. chris waltzes into joe's life, improves it, then starts giving him lots of kinky sex while they also dance around ~actually dating~ (which they will end up doing properly. when i get around to writing it)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

generally, no. i make it clear what my fics contain, whether that's kinks, rpf, dubcon/noncon, etc, so most people know not to click if they're not interested. i did have a hate comment on simon says a while back, i remember because it was genuinely funny

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

yes, lol. and all kinds, ranging from sweet to kinky as sin

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

i write many crossovers, i mean. i write a lot of mat character/mat character so like chris x joe (spy x reluctant persuaders), ariel x chris (ymata x spy), but yeah they're only really crossovers in the sense that i'm like hmm this mat character should fuck/date this mat character. the only ones i *properly* create a believable crossover world for are my chris x joe fics, because i'm very normal about them

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

don't see why anyone would bother stealing mine, the mat fandom is so tiny there's not much to steal. emma @toomanyfandomsneverenoughtime has written a few fics based on my favourite chris x joe crossover world i created, though, which isn't stealing but the greatest gift ever <3

12. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

no, actually! i would 1000000% cowrite with emma though. if she wanted to :3

13. What's your all time favourite ship?

look. look.l ook. i can't choose between ariel x jamie and chris x joe but if i had to. chris x joe lol

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

i fully intend to finish my wips! i have the next chapter and a half written for Paid in Trade, i just haven't published it, and i've also got further plans for Fixer-Upper, and those are my only wips. most of my fics just tend to be smutty oneshots tbh

15. What are your writing strengths?

i write pretty good smut when i actually put in the effort, as opposed to being like oh god i have this smutty idea and i need to get it out of my head so i'm just gonna write it all in two hours and then post it because why not

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

having patience. i'm trying to write a longer sam/marat fic at the moment but i just keep wanting to rush ahead to the good bit rather than drag out the slow burn, even though i really want to. i'm impatient af tbh

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

i only speak english and would probably definitely butcher another language. however if i ever have a need for a character to speak another language, i would probably make it czech so i could get @the-illuminated-one to provide me with actual sensical sentences as opposed to google translating it

18. First fandom you wrote for?

ohhhh wow kingdom hearts lol. but those are all wiped from the internet. there's still some ancient glee fics i wrote out there though, which came right after the kh era

19. Favourite fic you've written?

keeping it within the mat fandoms once again (otherwise i will just talk about my jopper fake dating fic which i am still so fucking proud of lol), probably come closer (ariel x jamie), but there's also a few fics i'm working on that are completely unpublished atm that i am very very attached to haha

and now for tagging. i tag @toomanyfandomsneverenoughtime, @sonnet-of-anarchy, @kore538, @goodonecap. no pressure, i just love u guys and know u all write. xo

[grandlovescheme]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @luthien-under-bough, thank you! I love talking about fics and the process of how I write them, so this was fun to put together :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

28

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

459,900

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Now exclusively House of the Dragon, specifically Daemyra

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

High Hopes

Let's Ignite Under the Ember Skies

You're Ripped at Every Edge (But You're a Masterpiece)

If I Could, I'd Get You the Moon

The Dominoes Cascaded in a Line

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

Yes, I try to always respond, even if the comment is to an older fic. Sometimes I'm overwhelmed or don't even know what to say when someone's being way too kind to me lol, but I always want to let people know I see them and appreciate them so much.

The only time I don't... is when I see someone's binging my whole fic, so then I only respond to the last comment, once they're all caught up.

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

This is easy, as I only have one fic without a happy ending - All and Then Most of You, Some and Now None of You. I love daemyra too much to not give them HEA as much as possible

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

This is hard to pick... Because all of my fics, apart from that one, end teeth rootingly sweet 😂 Perhaps Dominoes. Or perhaps fighter!au, which you guys haven't read yet but it's very fucking happy!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Sometimes. Though it is much much better now that I disabled anon asks.

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

I do! What kind I write... Hmm, tbf I think I write pretty vanilla stuff, even if I do try to explore some kinks here and there when it fits the story and the characters. I guess my kind is focusing on the feelings most of the time, and the emotional connection.

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

I don't, or at least I haven't yet. We'll see if muse ever strikes this way!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, so hopefully not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A few times in a different fandom

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

No, not yet, but I'm definitely open to the idea. I definitely wrote a bunch of stuff based on my fandom friends' crazy ideas and prompts with their help, so that's halfway there, I guess

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

No couple had ever taken over my life and thoughts the way Daemyra did, so, the answer is clear!

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

Soulmates AU? I was once so excited for it, wrote a bunch of notes and even the first two chapters, but now I'm kinda... not feeling it :(

16. What are your writing strengths?

I spent the longest on this question. I think it's the emotions I try to convey in my fics, good or bad.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Now this is much easier. Plot! Intrigue! If you guys haven't noticed yet lol, I write fics heavily focused on romance only, and the development of Daemyra's relationship, because I just can't pull off anything more than that.

I'll probably never write a fic where people will wonder what'll happen next, what that and this means, what this person's motivations are... Because I'm unfortunately not wired that way. But I learned to accept that, and I have fun writing my silly romances with no real plot <3

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

I've done it myself a few times and I like to see it in other fics, too. Especially in HV it's delicious to see in the canon-verse. Though I always struggle with how to write the translation - right next to it, in cursive, in brackets, in the final notes?? That's always a head scratcher

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Eh, probably Twilight? I don't remember writing anything before that, so must be it

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Probably still High Hopes, even after all this time 🤍

This was fun! I'm tagging some of my writer friends if they wanna join and haven't yet, @ar-feyniel, @eschercaine, @calenlily, @fiora-miriel and anyone else who wants to! :)

[recurring-polynya]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

got tagged by @mrpuppett thank you!!

1) How many works do you have on AO3? 44, although 1 is just a less-explicit version of an explicit one, and 4 of them are anthologies of my yearly short-fiction output, which range between 6 and 42 chapters

2) What's your total AO3 word count? 942,912 😇

3) What fandoms do you write for? I currently write for Bleach. In a previous life, I wrote for X-Men, Batman, and (sobbing) the Star Wars prequels.

4) Top 5 fics by kudos? 1) a little in love now and then (479) 2) don't tell me that we've grown (for having loved a little while) (357) 3) The Letter of the Law (346) 4) this could be permanent, you know (295) 5) Call Me Back When the War is Over (284)

It is extremely funny to me that my 2nd most popular fanfic is my IkkaYumi one.

5) Do you respond to comments? I try to reply to all of my comments! Even if it's just a super-short one, I try to say thank you or if someone leaves me some emoji, I'll send some back. I love to talk about fanfic and think about fanfic and analyze fanfic, and I have had some really great conversations in the ao3 comments sections, both for my fanfics and for other peoples.

6) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Dear Wormwood, I guess? I got several comments on it that were like "it'll get better, right?" and I was like "no, absolutely not." I'm not really an angst writer. I mean, nothing against it, I honestly just never come up with very good ideas.

7) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? My fics tend to end on notes of progress or hope or small triumphs. this could be permanent, you know probably has the most traditional all-problems-solved, they kiss, roll-upbeat-end-credits happy ending.

8) Do you get hate on fics? Surprisingly, no!

9) Do you write smut? Sometimes! I find writing smut to be an almost entirely different activity from other kinds of writing. If I had to compare it to anything, it's a lot like writing fight scenes.

10) Do you write crossovers? No. I don't really care for them in general, unless the two universes vibrate in a very specific way where I think an interaction between the characters would be interesting. For example, I would think Natsume of Natsume's Book of Friends and Kurosaki Ichigo would have a lot to talk about (not that I ever got around to reading that one crossover series I found)

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen? Nope.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated? I have had people offer and then never heard from again. Not Broken, Just Bent was made into a podfic, that is sort of like a translation.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not in current times, I have in the past. When I was doing Bat-fic, I wrote in a shared universe with a couple of other authors and that was a lot of fun.

14) What's your all-time favorite ship? I have had others in the past, but I think RenRuki has strongly claimed the "all-time favorite" title at this point.

15) What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will? Never say never, I say! There are a lot of fics that I have put aside in favor of other projects, but in my heart, I believe I will get to them eventually! I do have a few WIPs that I have officially Given Up On, and I stick them in a particular folder on my GDrive, but that only happens when I decide I *don't* want to finish them.

16) What are your writing strengths? Banter, slice-of-life, depicting a rich variety of interpersonal relationships that don't fit neatly in one particular bucket.

17) What are your writing weaknesses? Run-on sentences and other related over-wordiness sins. Also, I'm slow as hell.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language? I try to do so sparingly--I use Japanese for things like fighting techniques and also for specifically Japanese items or concepts (like foods or articles of clothing), but I generally do not try to sprinkle Japanese words into my characters' dialogue for mood or whatever. I rarely use honorifics because I don't feel like I grasp the subtleties of them enough to do a good job.

This is a thing I am super-duper nervous about (not just language but also culture generally). It almost stopped me from getting into writing anime fanfic in the first place. I do my best to be thoughtful and respectful. I try to do as much research as I can and I always want my writing to be rich with detail, but I also don't want to overreach into things that I really don't know enough about. I have learned a TON in the process, which has been very rewarding.

19) First fandom you wrote for? I was writing fanfic on paper when I was, like, 9, so it's honestly a little hard to remember. I think it might have been for Batman: The Animated Series? The first time I really participated in a fandom was X-Men (RIP to alt.comic.fan-fiction, you made me the person I am today)

20) Favorite fic you've ever written? It's probably Call Me Back When the War is Over, but I'm also very fond of Portions for Foxes.

TAGGING: @backwardshirt @zabiume @bleachbleachbleach but only if you want to! (and anyone else who wants to, of course, this was fun!)

[virtie333]

20 fanfic questions

Thank you, so much @otterandterrier for the tag!!!!

How many works do you have on AO3?

97. Though I plan to start posting #98 on Monday!

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

813,847 (!!!!!!!!!)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star Wars (sequel trilogy mostly, but some original trilogy), The X-Files, and currently working on my first Moon Knight fic.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kinetic (Damerey) - 245 Flight 814 (The X-Files) - 161 Eyes In the Night (The X-Files) - 160 My Best Friend's Weddings (Damerey) - 144 Let's Get This Show on the Road (The x-Files) - 127

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

Absolutely! I love kudos, but I live for comments. I don't always know what to say (other than 'thank you' and 'i wish i could hug you'), but I will always do my best to show them my gratitude.

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

Well, I always write happy endings... unless I'm writing a series and I know I can drag it out a bit. Which means my angstiest ending was probably Let's Face the Music and Dance. I knew I was going to continue it, so I purposefully left it as a cliffhanger.

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

Almost all my fics have happy, sappy, fluffy endings.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really. I have had one person complain about me calling my AUs 'Star Wars' because I could 'put any character in the story,' and I did get couple of complaints from Reylo fans because I tagged Rey/Ben (past relationship) on a Damerey story. This, of course, made me laugh. I can't even tell you how many times Reylo stories turn up in the Damerey tag. But, I've always been polite (if firm) in my responses.

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

I do. Back in my X-Files days, I had one reader call it 'classy smut.' I feel my style has changed a bit, but I hope it's still 'classy'! LOL It's mostly 'vanilla,' and will always be full of emotion, but I'm always willing to test my boundaries.

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

Nope. I've never felt the urge.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I was once told that one of my X-Files fics was stolen years ago, but I could never find any evidence.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have. I know I was asked for my permission on an X-File fic years ago, but I can't remember which fic or what language. Same with a Damerey fic more recently. I remember which fic, and I'm pretty sure I remember who asked, but I can't find it, so either it was deleted or my memory is faulty.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Way back in the day, myself and a few other crazy X-File writers did a 'round robin' fic that got waaaaay out of control. We never finished it, and I have no clue if it's still hanging out on the Internet somewhere. BTW, I'm still friends with a couple of those writers; one of them was with my on my 50th birthday in Disneyland earlier this year!

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

It's got to be Rey and Poe, the ship that never was. I still believe we were robbed. I adore them so much, however Mulder and Scully will always be special to me, too.

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

I will always finish my stories. If I don't, then you know something horrible happened to me.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't really know. I have been told that I am the 'queen of angst' and I've also been told that I write believable and realistic dialog.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I can't stay on a consistent schedule. Part of this is due to my physical and mental health, I'm sure, but for every chapter I write, I've tried writing it ten times unsuccessfully first. Something (migraine, exhaustion, anxiety, stress, work) always gets in my way.

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

I tend to make Poe Latino in my AUs, since Oscar Isaac is, but my Spanish sucks. I try to use as much as I can to give credit to him and his heritage, but not enough to embarrass myself. If I wasn't so busy trying to write these stories I might get down to actually learning the language!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Wrote for? Star Wars. Han and Leia. I also wrote for Jack and Jennifer from Days of our Lives. Alas, none of these stories were ever read by anyone else (unless my mom snuck a peek). The X-Files was my first 'published' fandom.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

This is so hard! I actually really love them all. I don't understand writers who can write something and then try and forget about it. I think I put too much of myself in my stories. El Halcón will always have a special place, as it was my first Damerey AU. Kinetic is also pretty special, not only because it's my 'greatest hit,' but because it was the story that helped me through my suicidal era. My first X-File fic, The Letter, and my first Damerey fic, Rising, are both very close to my heart. Other faves include The Secret, Naboo, I See You, No Molestar (my first and still best drabble), The Back Corner (smut!), Tempest, Blind Faith, and She Makes Him Laugh. I'll stop there!

Tagging a few writer friends, if you want to do it! @randomfoggytiger, @my-secret-shame, @soft-girl-musings, @campingwiththecharmings, @the-little-ewok, @writefightandflightclub, @sperastella, and anyone else who sees this and wants to do it (it's after 1 in the morning, and I should be in bed!)

[isahorcrux]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you to @kay-elle-cee for tagging me !

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

10, which is wild because I think the last time I was asked this it was only 5.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

109,801 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Exclusively Harry Potter, I can't imagine writing for any other fandom at this point. Within HP, I'm pretty exclusively jily, though I have dabbled in hinny and even some scorose in my early fic writing days.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

some with arrows, some with traps london is lonely laundry day glad he's gone (this genuinely shocked me, but I do love this one so much) love it if we made it

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

I usually try to respond to everyone commenting right when the fic or latest chapter drops and I'll keep it up for a couple of weeks, but I often forget to respond if they come in any later. If it's a particularly long comment I will usually respond though, just because I'm so in shock that someone took the time to write something that nice.

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

hmmm....I mean probably champagne problems (though it's incomplete). This is also my most polarizing fic I think out of everything I've written. I do think i am no mother, i am no bride will eventually usurp the fic with the angstiest ending though. Or my hypothetical remus lupin halloween fic I'm thinking about for this year.

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

Ooohhh, I mean probably some with arrows, some with traps, right?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really. I'd say the closest is people getting angry about how slowly I update certain fics. I'd also say a lot of people REALLY don't like Lily in champagne problems, which I sometimes take personally because I put a lot of myself in her lol.

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

I am terrified to write smut. And I know I'll probably have to write it for something I have planned for a false start, not really sure how that's going to go.

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

I don't...but I do write the jily version of other pieces of media. Obviously SWA is much ado about nothing, and then I'm working on a Love, Rosie version of Jily for the Jilytober rom-com event right now.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not, but this would be the highest form of flattery if someone ever asked to translate.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Never, but I'm definitely open to it!

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

I mean... it's jily, it's gotta be jily.

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

I mean probably champagne problems. I think the ending I intended works if it's a continuation with the rest of the folklorevermore songs I had planned, but it's quite ambitious and I've lost the steam for the other stories. I'd like to wrap up champagne problems as best I can, but I don't think it'll be the ending anyone wants to read.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, 100%. There's a reason SWA is all texts. I also think my Sirius Black is quite good and also weirdly very consistent across all my fics no matter the world he's living in.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Finishing things...

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

If it was Italian or French I'd take a pass at it since I can speak both, but anything else I'd worry I was majorly mucking it up.

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter (specifically scorose)

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

I mean, it's some with arrows, some with traps. It's probably my most favorite piece of anything I've ever written. It's also the first fic that wasn't a one shot that I finished. There's a reason I keep coming back to the world with a false start and with a big cake, happy birthday.

This was so fun!

Tagging @oyprongs @emeralddoeadeer @theesteemedladydebourgh @clare-with-no-i if you fancy and anyone else who'd like to give it ago !

[lucientelrunya]

twenty questions for fic writers!

tagged by the lovely @sunriseverse, thank you dear!

And I'll also do my tagging up here so you don't have to work your way through all my blabbering :) @s1utspeare, @forerussake, @kholran, @lacommunarde, @adelaiderowan, @elletromil if any of you want to do this!

The questions (and my answers) are below the cut :)

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

12

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

541,787 since september 2021

3. what fandoms do you write for?

at the moment only dmbj and basically only fuba, I have two (and a half) Stranger Things WIPs, but I don't know if I'll ever get back to them. Also there are some original works floating around.

4. top five fics by kudos

Mostly my multi-chapter ones (which I guess only have that many because one of my regular readers is unregistered, and as a guest you can leave multiple kudos on the same fic, something I did before I made an account, too). Okay, lets see: 1. Like a lonely house 292 kudos 2. The Crystal Menace 266 kudos 3. Promise in the Dark 256 kudos 4. We go deeper than the ink beneath the skin of our tattoos 85 kudos 5. Stolen Moments 55 kudos

5. do you respond to comments?

Always, at least to thank the reader for reading and taking the time to write a comment. I love hearing what people think, especially with the multi-chapter stories, what they think is going to happen and all that. It might take me a few days to respond, but I wouldn't miss it.

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

Hmmmm, probably The Crystal Menace because it's the first part of a series and has a rather heartbreaking ending (because it's not the actual end of their story). I generally tend to give my characters a happy ending because to me whump is only fun if it gets a happy ending.

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

As I said in 6, I usually give my stories a happy ending because while I love putting the characters through it, I need them to be safe in the end. I guess Like a lonely house has the happiest of them all, if I had to chose.

8. do you get hate on fics?

No, AO3 user are all lovely and I don't really remember how it was on the sites I used before (like ff.net), but I don't think I ever got hate there, I'm sure I would remember that.

9. do you write smut?

Oh yes, I love writing smut :) I even have a series that is only smut.

10. craziest crossover?

Hmmm, probably the Sailor Moon & Stargate crossover I wrote back when I was thirteen and that I never finished. I have never written a crossover since, at least not that I remember.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that I know of. But the only fics I have on AO3 are from such a small fandom that stealing would not be profitable.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so.

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

Oh yes, that's how I started out writing fanfic. Always with one other person in an rpg-style (each had a main character and we planned the story together and shared side characters). I was the one with the crazy ideas and my writing partners mostly tuned them down and brought order to my chaos. I loved writing like that, sharing thoughts, having someone to discuss things, someone to give input on my ideas, to shape all the rough ideas into something better.

14. all time favorite ship?

Nope, not gonna chose. I am a multi-shipper and even if I have been writing dmbj-only for 3 three years, that doesn't mean anything.

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

Hmmmm, there is a Hei Xiazi/Zhang Rishan-idea in my drafts, but it's only an outline, it's not even really a WIP, so I don't know if it counts. And I still haven't given up hope that I will finish my Stranger Things WIPs one day^^°°°

16. what are your writing strengths?

erm.. I have been complimented on my smut, recently. Other than that, no idea. I'm not good at telling these things.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Knowing when to quit, probably? I hate having to let go of characters and finding a good ending for a story.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Full dialogue? I'd probably write that the character speaks in another language, depending on the POV character. In one older story I wrote with a partner we used ~ as a marker that certain dialogues were in another language because the reader was supposed to know what they were saying while one of the main characters wasn't. So I would write the dialogue in the language I'm writing in and then add a "said character in language" if the POV character understands that language and otherwise just mention that the other characters are talking a language MC can't understand.

19. first fandom you wrote in?

Stargate SG-1 and Sailor Moon if I remember correctly.

20. favorite fic you've written?

I love all my stories, but Like a lonely house will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first story I wrote all by myself and the first story I wrote when I started writing again after my dad died.