ghostsinmachine

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8 & 36 for the fic ask! Specifically wondering if you imagine movie-like scenes which you then have to figure out how to describe in words.

I love all your writing and general willmack takes <3

sorry this one got away from me it turns out i have can't shut-up disease but these were fun to think about ty!

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

really feeling 'So Young' by Portugal The Man recently (mostly because this is the song that would totally be the backing track for my dream canon compliant wsh character study ft. willmack rookie year....)

ALSO 'july' by betcha is a song that i have also thought of as the backing track for my other dream wsh character study where he's like. middle aged and extremely beaten down by life... but tbh all the songs i like best kinda give 'beaten down man in crisis' so there's maybe a little chicken/egg problem there (see, e.g., '45' by shinedown or 'sins' by red leather or 'hanging by a thread' by des rocs) (also also not all of these have religious undertones but some do and like. that is also something deeply compelling to me that i would love to explore!)

but tbh i've always struggled w/ making playlists for fics bc all the songs i like are kind of depressing LMAO so if i were to write a fic based off a fav song it'd be toxic or sad (e.g., "someday; love of mine" was a kpop fic i wrote named after/based off "i will follow you into the dark" by death cab for cutie tagged for major character death)

36. Do you visualize what you read/write?

one of my life's greatest pleasure is daydreaming about scenes before bed to help me go to sleep. LOL. i don't know if i imagine things in 'movie-like scenes' ever--it's more fragmented than that. i usually end up just thinking about exactly how i want to describe a scene! and when the brain worms get really bad i'll drag myself out of bed to blearily type up the exact phrasing. and the next morning i'll reread and it'll be garbage. as one does.

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no bro you don’t understand. we have to make out. it’s for science. dude just listen to me. when was the last time you kissed someone? i’m willing to help you out! you can practice by making out with me. i’m your oldest and best friend. this totally won’t be weird or change anything about our dynamic i promise. it’s what friends are for. making out with your homies to make sure they can really impress the ladies. maybe you’re on top of me. maybe we’re both flushed. maybe you have my hands pinned over my head and we’re both breathing hard and we both wait a beat too long to move but i promise bro this is totally no homo.

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Then & Now 🥺

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Your time travel fic idea sounds amazing. I also kinda like it in the reverse when and older will goes back to Will and Mack’s time near their rookie year. Mack ofc still thinks he’s the hottest thing ever and we get young will be annoyed and jealous Mack isn’t paying attention to him. That would be so great. I am a sucker for the very niche - jealous of my older time traveling self bc of how much my “unrequited” crush loves him. LOL

ALSO an interesting concept, but for me what would be most compelling to explore in that scenario would be older will's pov. he goes back in time and has the unique (dis)pleasure of observing rookie him and mack as a third party, after all these years and all this knowledge of how things turn out. imagine this is a world where him and mack never did get things together but now he goes back and he sees everything he's ever wanted painted all across his own face, just fifteen years younger. he can't imagine having ever been that obvious. but it's there, right there in front of him. and mack. mack, always. rookie mack still shiny and new and hopeful, staring up at older will with stars in his eyes. are we still friends? are we still on the sharks together? do we ever win a cup? will can't tell him that. but he sees it all over baby mack's face, too. in a way that he didn't (or couldn't) when he was living through it. it's obvious. it's so obvious. all that want and all that like just right there for anyone to see.

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from will's postgame interview after his first four-point game in the nhl | 4.9.25 sjs @ min

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greatest hits from the balding will agenda @ghostsinmachine

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10 and 23 for the fic ask please!

Just answered 10, so I'll drop 23 here!

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

SO many omg. but i would loveee to write a time travel fic that takes place in the future, where will's in his early-mid 30s and present-day (18 year old) mack just... appears. and wreaks havoc, obvs, bc he thinks older (balding) nhler will is the sexiest thing he's ever seen. will has no idea what to do with him whatsoever. i have discussed this concept with @somewhatinvested and it has Stayed with me

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10, 32, 45 (one or all three) for the ao3 ask meme

10. How do you decide what to write?

No real strat--brain worms happen and I triangulate between 'things i want to write' 'things i think i could finish' and 'things i want other people to read'

32. What’s your ideal fic length to read?

anywhere between 10k-250k!

45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?

probably everything... i've been writing fic since i was 11 and had first discovered the bountiful world of sasunaru :") but if i were to pick one thing? maybe giving characters a clear inner world/voice???

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3 and or 12!

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

Someone is always a little mentally unwell, no one has ever once said "i love you, too" and canon compliant is everythinggg to me

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

a/b/o, probably! but tbh i'll read anything if i like the writing

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questions for fic writers

a collection of questions i, as a writer, would love to be asked !!!

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

4. What detail in [insert fic] are you really proud of?

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about [insert fic]? Answer it now!

6. What’s one fact about the universe of [insert fic] that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself?

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

9. How do you find new fic to read?

10. How do you decide what to write?

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is?

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

13. Are there any tropes you used to like but don’t anymore?

14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?

15. What’s your favorite AU that you’ve written?

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

18. If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it involve?

19. If you wrote a spin-off of [insert fic], what would it involve?

20. If you wrote a prequel to [insert fic], what would it involve?

21. If you wrote a “missing scene” in [insert fic], what would it be?

22. Who is your favorite character in [insert fic] and why?

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

24. Are there any easter eggs in [insert fic], and if so, what are they?

25. What other websites or resources do you use most often when you write?

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?

27. How long did it take to write [insert fic]? Describe the process.

28. Does anyone read your fics before you post them? If so, who?

29. What songs would be (or are) on a playlist for [insert fic]? Explain your choices if you want!

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

31. What’s your ideal fic length to write?

32. What’s your ideal fic length to read?

33. If you write chaptered fics, what’s your ideal chapter length to write? Is it different from your ideal chapter length to read?

34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?

35. What aspects of your writing are completely unlike your real life?

36. Do you visualize what you read/write?

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

38. Did any of your fics get surprisingly popular (whatever that means to you)? Which ones? Why do you think they were so successful?

39. Is any aspect of your writing process inspired by other writers or people? If so, who?

40. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

42. Have you ever received a comment that particularly stood out to you for whatever reason?

43. If you take/write prompts: what’s your favorite prompt fic that you’ve written?

44. If you take/write prompts: do you prefer dialogue or scenario/narrative prompts?

45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?

46. Do you prefer writing on your phone or on a computer (or something else)? Do you think where you write affects the way you write?

47. If [insert fic] was a pair of shoes, what kind would it be? Describe the shoes.

48. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

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hat series: 3/?

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CATCHING UP WITH WILL SMITH

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what are they talking about?

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(x)

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That post that's like "stop writing characters who talk like they're trying to get a good grade in therapy" really blew the door wide open for me about how common it's become for a character's emotional intelligence to not be taken into consideration when writing conflict. I remember the first time I went to therapy I had such a hard time even identifying what I was feeling, let alone had the language to explain it to someone else. Of course there are plenty of people who've never been to therapy a day in their life who are in tune to their emotions. But even they would have some trouble expressing themselves sometimes. You have to take into account there are plenty of people who are uncomfortable expressing themselves and people who think they're not allowed to feel certain ways. It also makes for more interesting conflict to have characters with different levels of understanding.

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macklin's dainty little gold bracelet