#'ficlet' 'snippet' and then i continue to write stuff that i could probably just post on ao3 except this way i dont have to title it

[aimwigs]

DADWIG!!!!!

another dadwig snippet from earlier in the timeline except this one is slightly less wholesome and also about parents splitting up... being a parent is not aways easy i fear

Lucy is only three, but Ludwig is pretty sure that she hates him.

Honestly, in some ways he gets it. It has to be confusing, to have your dad living at home one day and then halfway across Los Angeles the next, but he had kind of figured that she would be too young to be super affected by it. If anything, he was worried about Ryan, who’s more than halfway through kindergarten and definitely old enough to kind of understand the talk that they gave the girls about how the two of them aren’t in love anymore, which is the best oversimplification they can muster of what really happened between them.

Ryan is seemingly fine, though. She’s always been a smart, quiet kid. She seems sort of sad, which makes him feel like a horrible fucking person, but she also seems to get it— apparently, one of her friends has parents who don’t live together.

But Lucy fucking freaks out. According to QT, her behavior gets worse after he leaves, including hitting her sister over something as stupid as her putting a different show on the TV and upending her plate onto the ground because QT had the gall to put broccoli on it. This type of stuff was something they anticipated could happen; this is a huge change and they knew it might be something that the girls don’t really know how to process. Even though they both firmly believe it’ll be better for the two of them in the long run, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s difficult now.

What he doesn’t anticipate, though, is Lucy not even talking to him the first time that he has the girls over at Slime’s, where he’s staying until he can find a suitable place. She barely even looks at him.

The weird thing is, she doesn’t even seem that upset. She’s happy to run around and play with Ryan or chat away with Slime all fucking day— seriously, he’s pretty sure that kid loved him more than she loved Ludwig even before all this— but she won’t even acknowledge him.

“It’s a big fucking change. You just need to give her time,” Slime tells him. “Like did having divorced parents fucking blow sometimes? Yeah. Did I love my parents completely until the very end? Also yes. She’s a little kid. She’ll bounce back.”

It should be reassuring— QT said something similar, after all, and both of them actually are children of divorce— but he worries that maybe this will be different. What if she resents him forever? Sure, she’s too young to understand what’s really going on now but it’s not like that erases the fact that she’s going to have to grow up split between two different homes.

He figures that maybe a zoo trip will win her over. Part of Lucy’s idolization of Slime stems from their mutual love of monkeys and even though he’s busy today, she’ll surely still have a good time seeing all the animals. Plus, it’s a fun little day trip and he knows Nick and Aiden would probably both be down to go.

And maybe Lucy doesn’t seem any more focused on him than before, opting to ride around on Aiden’s shoulders all day as they zip from exhibit to exhibit but at least she’s having fun.

Things still seem off, though, and he can’t really shake that.

Ludwig decides to ask Nick who, despite only having a kid for a little over a year now, is like a superdad which is extra impressive given his equally awesome wife. It shouldn’t be surprising seeing as Nick is just someone who is generally competent in a lot of things, but he’s definitely a great fucking dad with everything you could ever need packed away in the diaper bag shoved in the bottom of the stroller he pushes around the zoo. His son sleeps inside, having worn himself out by the time they saw the dolphins.

“I wouldn’t sweat it, man. If she’s actually mad at you, I’m sure she’ll just get over it. Kids don’t hold grudges.” he tells him when he brings it up, both of them watching Aiden reading off the sign that they have posted next to the lions about their pack structure and eating habits to the girls. God, Aiden seriously needs to shave that stupid fucking mustache he’s been sporting recently.

“It’s been two weeks,” he reminds him because he’s pretty sure that’s a long fucking time for a three-year-old to hold a grudge.

Nick shrugs. “Yeah, and you fucking love her, bro. That’s what’s going to shine through in the end. She’s not even going to remember this shit when she’s older.”

It temporarily instills some confidence in him, up until he asks her what she wants for dinner in the car on the way home and she leans over to whisper into Ryan’s ear instead of replying to him directly. He didn’t know kids that young could be this fucking petty.

And then she gets into a fight at preschool the next week and QT calls him to pick her up since she has a meeting this afternoon and his schedule is generally more flexible.

He finds out when he gets there that she bit another girl because she was playing with a toy she wanted, which is usually grounds for a week's suspension but since her teachers are generally aware of her circumstances, they’re only sending her home for today. That doesn’t stop them from giving Ludwig dirty looks when he picks her up, though.

“You can’t be biting people,” he tells her with a sigh as he drives back towards Slime’s place. “Imagine if someone bit you. That would make you sad, wouldn’t it?”

When he looks in the rearview mirror, she’s looking out the car window with a quivering lip.

He tries again. “Did you really bite her just because she wouldn’t share with you?”

Lucy erupts into tears, wailing and sniffling in an instant. The only thing he can make out is, “I want Mom!”

Ludwig makes a show of taking a deep breath, gesturing with his hand to encourage her to take one too. She doesn’t.

“Mom is working right now. You get Dad instead.” He pulls off into a parking lot and parks so that he can turn around and face her. When he reaches over to wipe her tears away with his sleeve, she lets him even though she doesn’t stop crying.

“I want Mom,” she says again in a trembling voice, quieter this time. “Wanna go home.”

“I’m sorry,” he tells her, digging around for a tissue and handing it to her. She poorly attempts to wipe away the boogers under her nose. “Sometimes it’s gonna be Dad that picks you up and takes you to his house instead. Soon I’ll get a new house and you’ll get to pick out a brand new room. Isn’t that cool?”

She doesn’t look impressed. “Wanna go home.”

Fuck, this isn’t going to work. He’s always believed kids are much smarter than people give them credit for, but this conversation is beyond the scope of a three-year-old.

“Do you want to get ice cream?” he asks, knowing that it’s probably the worst thing you can do after your kid gets kicked out of school. He figures that it’s special circumstances. “This isn’t a reward. Biting is still bad,” he adds for good measure.

She lights up a little. “Strawberry?”

He nods, very seriously. “Strawberry.”

Lucy smiles at him for the first time since he moved out. “Strawberry!” she starts to chant.

Ludwig lets out a laugh as he pulls back onto the road and drives toward the ice cream shop. Maybe things will all be okay, just like his friends said. Maybe some one-on-one time was really all that they needed after all.

“I love you so so much, Lucy,” he tells her.

“I love strawberry,” she replies, and he takes it as a win.

[helianskies]

reflecting on my 2023 in this fandom, i wanted to share some observations, reflections and projections for 2024. it's a little mix of positive and negative stuff so, and as this will be something mostly only mutuals will read (if at all), i just wanted to give you that heads up. i have some bits to get off my chest.

so, to start with, some little observations about myself as a writer:

i tag it 'nationverse' because i don't tend to write nationverse (the odd bit of historical, but not consistently), and i think it's useful to signpost to my readers 'oh btw they are actually nations in this one, in case that's not what you want to read today'. that is okay.

i will always call it 'engspa' to distinguish it from 'spuk' because i have a preferred dynamic for them and i grew up in a fandom space that tagged things as such to help readers know what they were getting into. that is okay.

i prefer having a ficlet collection to posting small works separately because it helps me manage my fics, see what i have and haven't done, navigate my profile, keep the request fics in one place, and maintain my drive to write small things compared to posting them all separately. that is okay.

i block people in order to curate my online enviroment, to avoid topics or content i'm not interested in or that i don't want to be in my happy space, and to manage my own emotions - and i am allowed to do so. that is okay.

i don't like every ship under the sun and so won't fulfil every request or suggestion i receive into my inbox, no matter how many times i am asked to. that is okay.

i just feel a need to address these things that have cropped up in my year. at a few points i've felt like a 'bad writer' for doing certain things or have been made to feel like a 'bad writer' for... essentially having preferences. at various points i lost confidence and contemplated throwing the towel.

thing is, we all do things differently, and we all have our own systems, preferences, and needs. i wish we'd stop putting each other down for that.

while i don't doubt my insecurities won't shift much next year, in 2024, i'll be in my eighth year writing. that feels like an achievement i ought to be celebrating. and it reminds me how important writing is in my life - because that's a third of my lifetime i will have been writing for. and mostly for this fandom, haha...

.°˖✧

looking on the fics i've written and finished this year, if i had to pick my favourite three, they'd probably be...

'Let Me Go' - i'm still patting myself on the back for this one. it's my favourite piece of nationverse i've written to date, and i could do so much with it...

'Want' - begging myself to write a sequel that i probably won't, but i can dream!

'Smokescreen' - ...it felt good to be bad, just for a little bit!

if i then think about my favourite aus in general from this year, then it's got to be:

the zoo au, from 'Lovebirds' because it's just CUTE, okay?

the RNLI au, from 'Swell', in which Arthur and Antonio are lifeboat volunteers (10/10 would write more)

the dragons au, from 'Scales' because worldbuilding is fun but also,, Rhys, my boy! :D

the school au, from 'The Note', for the memories it brings back and the reminder that i can write fluff, dammit!

and if only you guys knew the aus happening in my messages with maiva,, we are so smart we are so cool we are constantly drowning in cats :)

to conclude these little reflections on my year in fandom, things i'm a bit sad about:

i've given up on 'Bound' as a series - i just haven't been able to get anywhere with the plans or drafts i have, and i've lost my love for it, so it's officially parked.

'Hopeful Waters' will also definitely not continue - i will, however, not delete it as i have stopped myself from doing a million times this year. i may write snippets of 'what would have been' but my relationship with the fic is... largely negative, so i make no promise.

hetaween fics slipped through my darn fingers this year and i didn't write as much as i wanted. next year, i will return with vengeance... ùwú

and things i'm happy about or proud of from this year:

romespa ✨everything✨

i've written now well over a million words on ao3 which feels,, just surreal, honestly. 16 year old helia would never

i finally cleared out my ao3 inbox and stopped hoarding comments for months and i'm keeping on top of it!

i've continued to write dialogue prompt lists! it always makes me happy when i see others using them as well <3

.°˖✧

and so, looking at 2024...

next year, what i'm hoping above all else is that 'For Me?' reaches its conclusion. it's been slow-going this year with updates, and it's nearly two years old (ouch), but i'm now finally getting the plot back on track and i know my direction. i hope the wait will be worth it! i'm excited about what's to come for Antonio, Arthur, and the others :)

i also hope 'Bitter Teeth' keeps going strong. i hope i let myself take breaks without feeling so guilty. i hope i get more into historical hetalia again. i really want to explore the implications of the events of 'Let Me Go'. i hope i learn to love my unfinished works or abandoned wips. i hope i start sharing more of my ideas. i hope i learn it's okay to not always want to write the same characters over and over, even if they are my favourites.

really, i just want to keep moving forward. i want to keep writing. i want to keep loving writing. i want to keep exploring. i want to not succumb to negativity as much. i want to indulge even more in what i want and what i feel like.

oh, and i want more cat aus. sorry maiva. we're not finished.

.°˖✧

to finish, i just wanted to leave a little thanks to the friends i have here who read my stuff, who encourage me, and who give me the confidence to continue forwards. i treasure you. i hope you know who you are. and i offer you cookies, hugs, and well wishes for the year ahead 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂

thank you guys for everything <3

[des8pudels8kern]

Just 500 words, I said. A writing exercise, disconnected ficlets and snippets, I said. It’ll be quick, I said. Second day of the 500 words challenge. The Witcher, 1405 words of post-monsterfighting with softness, continued from yesterday but can be read alone. Mention of blood, potions, and alcohol.

-------------

There is movement ahead. First, he manages to make out Geralt’s hair, pale and silver under the moonlight, then his body begins to take shape as he comes closer. Jaskier has already begun his assessment before he’s even dropped his branch and slipped off Roach.

Geralt took his time getting back; mere minutes longer and Jaskier would have gone into the lion’s, eh, monster’s den to look for him. Still, he is moving under his own power, so that’s something. Head low with the inevitable exhaustion that always follows the rush of a fight, arms swinging at his sides as he walks rather than protectively cradling some broken ribs – oh, and there’s something clutched in his right hand, perfect, that’s the evidence for the villagers right there, no need to go back to the dead beast later – and both legs present and accounted for and not even limping.

Honestly, for all that his poor nerves have suffered the last seven-three-quarters songs, things are looking pretty good right now. Geralt has done his witchering, he’s got his kill trophy, and now it’s time for Jaskier’s performance. He shakes the stiffness of the wait out of his shoulders, clears his throat, and moves towards his audience to gauge the mood of the evening to decide how to play this.

“Great! I am so glad you have finally decided to grace us with your return. Did you take a nice little post-battle nap while Roach and I were languishing here tortured by uncertainty?”

Geralt’s approaching form grunts at him in reply, which… could mean anything, really. This is Geralt.

By now, Jaskier can see that his face isn’t merely shadowed but still black with poison from his cheeks to his forehead. It’s been a while since Geralt dosed himself up and left Jaskier and Roach to wait for his return. If the black hasn’t started to fade yet, hasn’t at least retreated enough to only leave his eyes dark and sensitive in a too-pale face, then he must have taken more during the fight.

Godsdamned.

Most of that stuff is poisonous enough that a decent-sized sip would make Jaskier very, very sick or maybe do some permanent damage to his liver, brain, or other precious parts of him. Geralt with his freaky witcher constitution may be able to just throw back a few bottles and wake up the next day sick to his stomach and with a raging headache, but he also handles his potion-hangovers less gracefully than Jaskier does his alcohol-induced ones. Unlike Jaskier after too much vodka, though, there is cure for that, and Jaskier at least has his wits together enough to make Geralt drink it. If left to his own devices, experience has shown that Geralt himself will usually insist that the poison is already fading and not worth wasting the Oriole on (which might well be true - some of those witcher potion ingredients are worth their weight in gold, and Jaskier trusts Geralt’s judgement enough that he doesn’t try to push it on him when Geralt refuses in complete, coherent sentences.) That, or he’ll be too out of it or too busy bleeding to take it when he would need it the most.

One of Jaskier’s hands dips into the bag at his hip and rummages around, fingers moving from bottle to bottle and feeling out the knotting at their necks until he finds the Golden Oriole. He pulls it out, unstoppers it, and holds it out to Geralt.

“There, drink that. As romantic as the woods at night may be as a concept, the reality of them is uncomfortably damp and fucking cold, and some of us can’t afford a sore throat because singing is how we earn our living and I know you don’t want to be the sole breadwinner of this little enterprise for the next two weeks.”

Geralt has come to a stop in front of him now but not made a move for the bottle, Jaskier freezing his arse off probably being the highlight of his night, so Jaskier shakes it a bit, like a treat for a child. If Geralt can be a little shit, then so can he.

Rather than harrumphing at him and jerking the potion out of his hand, though, Geralt merely takes one more step, well into Jaskier’s space, and raises his head. Under the light of the moon, Jaskier can see the placid expression on his face, mouth relaxed and lips open just a bit, as he calmly looks at Jaskier in expectation.

Oh. One of those times, then.

Jaskier doesn’t know if it’s a conscious decision of Geralt’s, a sign of trust, an indulgence he allows himself when he is tired and feels like he has earned it, or if the fight and exhaustion and potions strip him of his defenses sometimes and leave him in a strange, unguarded state halfway between waking and sleeping. Jaskier has never brought it up afterwards, and Geralt has never let on how clear his memories are on what happened after he crashed.

Either way, it does not matter. Whether given consciously or unconsciously, it’s an honour, and Jaskier’s self-imposed duty as Geralt’s friend and a decent human being, to take care of him. The Path may be Geralt’s calling, and a witcher’s life one of hardship and pain, but Jaskier’s no witcher, he’s human, and a rather hedonistic, comfort-loving one at that. While Geralt walks his Path alongside him, the suffering will be kept to a minimum, thank you very much.

He lifts the bottle to Geralt’s lips and dips it carefully, slowly raising the bottom as Geralt drinks the potion.

That done, he restoppers the bottle, puts it back in the bag, and moves in on Geralt’s side.

He runs his hands over his hair, gently and methodically checking for bumps or the stickiness of bodily fluids. He knows Geralt can heal from just about anything, even head injuries that are so tricky and insidious in humans, but he’d rather not find out if he can recover from his brain literally leaking out of his skull, and if nothing else they bleed an unreasonable amount and should be wrapped before Geralt adds blood loss to the list of things to recover from. There, above his left ear, an area that’s swollen and hot to the touch and has Geralt breathe in sharply when Jaskier’s fingers probe it. No blood, though, so Jaskier decides they are good for now.

He’ll just wake Geralt up a couple of times during the night, the way he always does in cases like this. If witchers can take a blow to the head and not need to be woken up at intervals to reduce the risk that, when they do so on their own, they’ll wake up with junks of memory missing, or an entirely different person, then Geralt has never told him so, even when Jaskier’ wake-up calls have left him grumpy and growling.

“There, all done.”  It’s not; this close Jaskier can smell the stench of something that must have spilled on Geralt, his hands have rooted around in dead monster, and he’ll have a closer look for cuts, bruises, and anything else that might benefit from attention later on by candlelight, but there’s no need to get into that now. This is not the time for words.

The blackness around Geralt’s eyes has faded wile Jaskier did his little examination, but his eyes are still dark pools that could be looking anywhere. Jaskier would swear that he can feel them on him, though.

He shifts one hand and cups Geralt’s cheek, warm against Geralt’s skin, stubbled and clammy dried sweat. He wills the touch to tell Geralt what he can’t process now in words, not when part of his facilities has clearly already chosen to retire to sleep off the events of the night. Geralt makes no sound, but he sighs and leans into Jaskier’s palm.

One of those times.

Jaskier steps aside and slips an arm around Geralt’s back, leading him to Roach and then to the barn where they’ll spend the night.

They make the trip in silence, no sounds but the creaking of leather, Roach’s hooves on the ground, and their combined breaths.

This is not the time for words; words are what Jaskier fights his battles with, and he will not use them when Geralt’s own defenses are so low.

[jamestkirkish]

Fanfiction Stats

I was tagged by the lovely and talented @ariaadagio

Author Name: amandaithink on AO3, schntgaispocked on FFN (not that I’ve been on there in forever so let me quick update that profile because I’m not 25 anymore...o.o)

Fandoms You Write For:

Active - Lucifer

Not so active - Star Trek, MCU, Doctor Who, Supernatural

Where You Post:

Current - AO3

Former-ish (I’m not planning yet on moving the fics because it seems like a lot of effort but I might) - FFN, Livejournal (I can’t remember my account info)

VERY FORMER - Message boards back when I was in middle school and high school. 

Most Popular One-Shot:  By Kudos/Favs AND Comment Threads/Reviews - Hardly the Best Choice (Lucifer) [I count this as a one shot because I wrote it as on and posted it all at once. The ‘chapters’ were just a formatting choice]. 

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: By Kudos/Favs - Take This To Your Grave (The Avengers) God I miss writing this story. I broken record about losing all of my fic notes, I feel like. Like I complain about it too much. I think about it every day, though, and rarely voice the thoughts. But it bothers me. At some point I’m going to have to give up ever finding them and sit down and reread everything I’ve written and reoutline and plot all of them.

By Comment Threads/Reviews: Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen (Doctor Who) That is super flattering, actually. This is the most self indulgent thing I’ve ever done and it’s super hard to write. I didn’t lose the notes for this. I’m actually still working on it. I haven’t posted in forever because it is SUPER HARD TO WRITE. If you’re in the DW fandom you probably are well aware of how popular season rewrites are, and chances are if you read any OC fics we’ve read the same ones because people don’t jump into OC rewrites lightly and if they do, it’s done in a certain way. I decided to go a whole different and difficult way for this fic.  Not going to lie I have so many random Holly Ashby docs on my computer because I write little random stories set further ahead than what I’ve got written in the actual fic just so that I can KEEP FIGURING OUT MY OC. And because I like what I’m doing even if I’m stuck for the main story. It’s so much fun.

Favorite Story You Wrote:  Of Broken Worlds and Changing Times (Star Trek) I found most of my notes for this, but not the main notes. If I have to give up ever finding my notes, I think this one will be able to stay most true to my original intentions, but I’m still missing so much. Writing this story (as much as I have of it) helped me learn so much. I had never done action shots before. I had never done that much research before (I read a lot of zombie and survival lit, and I’ll probably have to reread a lot of that stuff before I can get back into it). 

I also really loved writing Did We All Fall Down (Supernatural).  It takes place around Season 8 of Supernatural and is a spin off full of OCs. I did it for NaNoWriMo awhile back (I won for wordcount but didn’t finish the story - lost notes, man [playing it cool like it doesn’t break my heart, look at me go]). It’s only on tumblr, because I felt like there wasn’t really a desire for that kind of thing on the fic sites. It was so much fun, though. Which was the point. As always.

Story You Were Nervous to Post:  All of them. Every single one. I’m still nervous about their existence sometimes. Especially the really old ones, because writing is something I continue to get better at the more I do it, and when I look back at some of them I’m just like ‘oh no why’. I so badly want to do rewrites for my incomplete fics when I eventually complete them. Because they could be improved. Really. And I may do that if I move my FFN ones to AO3 once I get going on them again. Like that would be part of my ‘hey guys, if you could read over here post’. Like: “I’m moving this story to AO3 and also I’ve rewritten what is on here because I wrote that X years ago and honestly I can convey ideas better now I’ve been practicing, trust me”. Something like that. Maybe. Who knows. I also feel like I’m supposed to let them be. You know, so that I can watch myself improve. Would be very disjointed for the reader, though ... who knows. 

How Do You Choose Your Titles:  Depends.

For Lucifer fics, I’ve been grabbing lines I like from the fic and using it as the title because that’s how the episode titles work and I think it’s fun. HOWEVER I didn’t do that for Devil Undone because I wrote that in an hour with Hallucinogenics on repeat and then slapped a title on it super quick because I didn’t care what the title was. I want to change it, but I’m worried about breaking the matrix. ALSO I did do that for Before There Was Light and I wish I could change that one too because I feel like Once Before Time is a better title and the current title is too similar to another fic (and that wasn’t intentional, but could easily have been subconscious I have no idea, because my brain is an ADHD trainwreck). Still worried about breaking the matrix.

A lot of my fics are named after album titles, song titles, lyrics, etc. Take This To Your Grave is very directly Fall Out Boy. If you listen to the corresponding chapter’s song as you read it you will see what I was doing there. Also you will experience how i wrote it (writing with one song on repeat is something I actually do kind of often bahaha). 

Sometimes I just think something sounds cool (ex. Of Broken Worlds and Changing Times). 

Do You Outline: Most of the time, yes. Heavy outlines, too.

For one shots? Not at all.

For Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen, not at all, but now I technically have an outline if only because I wrote so many personal ficlets and one shots with the characters that I know what has happened in the future.

For Mischief Managed (Avengers), not at all. As part of an experiment. I actually think I have a few chapters of that handwritten that haven’t been posted yet. I like actually handwriting things more than typing, I’m more likely to finish that way but it also takes forever. 

How many of your stories are…

Complete: 5 (on those sites, as we’re not looking at any of my childhood work)

In-Progress: 7

Coming Soon: Based on my WIP folder? 13. Including NKTTIS extras? 17. What I can actually feel decent about committing to? 2 things. Because my WIP folder is insane and ridiculous and the epitome of ‘writing fanfiction because it’s fun’. 

EDIT: I remembered google docs. There’s like ... 4 partial things on there ...

It’s safe to assume at all times that even if you’re not seeing anything posted by me, I am writing something. Perhaps I should post random snippets on my writing tumblr. 

Do You Accept Prompts: Yes (though if you send them to this blog I will probably still post them on writingithink because that’s what that blog exists for, as my writing tumblr). 

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: The Shift (Lucifer) - that’s a working title. It’s so much fun so far, the only problem is it will probably take me forever to write and by the time it’s ready the @luciferbingo prompts will have expired bahahaha. I’m not going to start posting this one until it’s finished, though. Because having all of those incomplete stories out there frustrates me. I wasn’t planning on any of them taking this long. 

Tag Five Fanfic Authors to Answer These Questions As Well: My god, who writes fics or has written fics. Erm ... I TAG @oh-mylordy, @swishandflickwit, @lucks-eterna, @thesupercousin and @aziraphalesrarebooks and anyone I have forgotten in this current moment of panic.

[strangedreamings]

1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 20 & 21 for the writer's ask!

Thanks!

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Fluff under a thousand words. It’s getting to the point where I’m probably evenly split between established and non-established couples. Short and sweet, that’s my wheelhouse. Of course, my ambition and my dedication to The Story means sometimes I go long but for the most part, I write ficlets.

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Off the top of my head, slow burn that is paced correctly (my weakness). But really, I don’t think I have the patience for it.

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Just ideas? As in stuff I haven’t written yet? Oh lord. I have a huge list of prompts I haven’t answered, stuff like that.

I don’t want to give too much away, but one idea is a ghost!lock Sherlolly, but the ghost isn’t either of them.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

I know I posted this line recently for the 💬 meme but it’s still my favorite line.

Sherlock felt his heart sink to his feet and spill onto the rug.

from Oscillating

It’s one of the few times I’ve been truly poetic in my fics and it’s so visual, you know?

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Ugh. You would make me pick that. :P I feel like dialogue is my strength, for the most part. But if I have to pick something, I’m going with the start of Big Apple Honeymoon (a fic I hope to finish sometime this year).

“Americans, both of them,” Sherlock Holmes declared.

Molly Holmes rolled her eyes fondly. “Sherlock, we’re in New York – most of the people here are Americans. Not exactly hard to deduce.” The newlywed Holmeses were on the first week of their two-week “sex holiday.“ Having lunch at a café had been Molly’s idea – she decided they needed to actually see the Big Apple while they were there instead of just the inside of their suite.

Her husband huffed. “Shall I go on?”

“Please do,” she said, smiling at him sweetly.

“He’s some sort of minor celebrity. Military but not always active. National Guard.” He narrowed his eyes as he continued to study the man sitting a few tables away from them. “Something doesn’t add up.”

“What doesn’t?” Molly asked as she ate her fries. Not as good as chips, but they’ll do in a pinch.

“Everything about him says he’s older than he looks. Much older than he looks.”

She shrugged. “That’s not hard – you looked a good ten, fifteen years younger than you really were for the longest time.”

Sherlock finally lowered his voice to murmur, “I’m not talking about a decade or two, I’m talking about seven. This man is a hundred years old but looks thirty.”

“Not possible,” she declared. Then a thought struck her. A “minor” celebrity in New York who’s a hundred years old but looks young? Can’t be, but who else could fit that description?

Finally turning around to look, she saw a man in jeans, trainers, a grey t-shirt, a baseball cap, and mirrored sunglasses sitting with a petite brunette woman in rectangular glasses, jeans, flats, and a man’s white dress shirt. Both of them were laughing so hard that tears came to their eyes. The man slipped his sunglasses off to wipe his eyes, unintentionally giving Molly a good look at his face.

“Oh my God, it is,” she murmured excitedly, turning back to Sherlock. “That’s Steve Rogers.”

“Should I know who that is?”

“Captain America.”

“Still nothing.”

Molly groaned quietly. “Search your Mind Palace for the Avengers.” At his continued blank look, she added, “Superheroes. They’ve saved the planet multiple times.”

“From what?”

A pleasant male voice spoke up. “Aliens, evil robots, you name it.” The two of them looked up to see Steve Rogers standing in front of them, hat and sunglasses gone. He held out his hand to Molly, smiling a bit. “Steve Rogers, but you already knew that.”

I feel like I nailed everyone’s speech patterns correctly and having Sherlock deduce Steve to his bride Molly just makes me happy, not to mention Steve overhearing. :)

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

It’s more like “fics” than “fic.” Anything with smut, any fic that’s for a ship or fandom that’s a first for me, anything with interpersonal conflict. 

But if you want a specific one, Christmas Getaway has been harder to write since it got popular – I don’t want to let all my new and old readers down.

12. Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

For Sherlock, it’s ASiB, TAB, and TFP tied.

If you look at the MCU movies as “episodes,” then probably Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor. :)

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

If anyone reading this guessed The Incubus in the Hallway, *ding ding ding* you are absolutely correct. :) It’s my baby and honestly, I think it would make for a good Sherlock AU movie.

16. If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Another mean question. :P No, I can’t do it, I can’t pick just one. Three? Sherlolly, Sebolly, and ShieldShock. But no, not just one.

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Peace and quiet, no real-life interruptions, I don’t get uncomfortable from sitting too long, I have enough drinks and snacks to last, and Windows & iTunes don’t need updating. Tumblr might have to be down for me to truly write without distractions, but at least it’s a good distraction. :)

21. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

My normal writing process is getting the first draft done then doing one major revision of the whole thing. After that, I’ll refine it one chunk at a time, then I’ll read it again a couple of times just to make sure it’s okay. At least, this is the process for chapters of multi-chap fics. One-shots get a first draft then a major revision and they’re usually ready to go.

[maychorian]

Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #61

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. Also follow @maychorianrecs for individually tagged posts, the easier to search and reblog. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

No Time For Getting Old by QueenofCheese (Supertights) for burrsir Words: 4,509 Author’s Summary: Shiro might’ve forgotten what day it is but no one else in his life has. My Comments: Perfect birthday fic, sweet and warm and lovely. It made me nostalgic and happy. Shiro deserves all the love.

put this stuff back where it came from, or so help me by prettyshiroic (AnalystProductions) Words: 9,055 Author’s Summary: “Unbelievable.” Platt’s eyes widen, posture straightening and perking up at the words. For some reason, the mouse looks positively content. Oh. Right. Keith almost forgot. The mouse doesn’t get sarcasm. “No that - that is not a compliment!!” —- After a long mission away, Keith returns to a few big surprises… My Comments: Sequel to a previously recced fic about Platt going with Keith to the Blade base. It’s funny and heartwarming and sweet and unexpected and so, so good. I love the OCs, and I love how the author writes Keith and Kolivan and Regris, too. Such a fun fic.

You are home to me by thisfairytalegonebad Words: 6,725 Author’s Summary: When Keith is minorly injured in a mission, Kolivan sends him back to Voltron to have him healed in a pod. Keith gets to spend time with his family. My Comments: I love the relationships Keith has in this fic, with both Kolivan and the Voltron team. It really felt like a homecoming, and it was very soft and warm, especially at the end.

The Weak and the Strong by Bandity Words: 10,483 Author’s Summary: Lance was glad it wasn’t actually raining. It would have made him uncomfortable to get soaked. Not that he was comfortable lying in this alleyway, watching the world spin above him. He knew he needed to call for help, but his head hurt so much and, while he was ashamed of it, he was scared. He didn’t know how much time had gone by since he lost consciousness. He didn’t even know where he was exactly. He didn’t know if that man would be back. My Comments: New favorite fic. This just has so many things I love: Lance getting hurt, a protective team, aftermath and follow-up and consequences and just, ugh, it’s so good, so many of those little whumpy details that hit the h/c lover right in the best place, and emotional comfort as well as physical healing, just everything is amazing.

Common Enemy by SonderQuill (underHiswings) Words: 3,689 Author’s Summary: Shiro wished Allura was here. He wasn’t good enough at diplomacy yet. The meeting he was supposed to chair was getting out of hand—and fast. My Comments: Nice, light fic with Shiro figuring out a diplomatic conundrum, with Matt and Pidge along for the ride. Some great action and fun, humorous dialogue along the way.

I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine (it’s not a problem) by AnaliseGrey Words: 8,341 Author’s Summary: Shiro’s definition of ‘ok’ doesn’t always match the definition his team uses. My Comments: Great Shiro whump and comfort, in the style of “5+1,” everyone getting a chance to help Shiro through something difficult. My favorite was probably Lance’s chapter and maybe the last one, but that’s because I’m biased. They’re all lovely.

Birthday bash 2017 by kitsune13tamlin Words: 5,843 Author’s Summary: so it was Shiro’s (kinda) birthday. And why celebrate a day when you can celebrate an entire week? A fic a day, some short, some long, to explore and celebrate a one of a kind guy. My Comments: Lovely collection of ficlets, each different than the last. Some are angsty and some are sweet, but all are worth reading.

Grounded by FroldGapp Words: 2,843 Author’s Summary: There was no rulebook for the life they’d made. All Krolia could do was make it up as she went along. My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. Angsty and sweet and a little heartbreaking. I love the worldbuilding, all the little moments, and especially the ending.

But At Least by yet_intrepid Words: 2,411 Author’s Summary: He should check his texts, Shiro thinks, as he picks his way around scattered clothes and papers and alien objects towards the door. He should see where Keith is, if he’s okay. He should eat something; he should get back to his job search; he should clean the kitchen; there’s so much to do and it’s all so damn small and yet it’s harder than saving the universe ever was. My Comments: Heartbreakingly realistic, but so, so good. I absolutely love these aftermath stories, and I love the idea of the paladins plus Matt sharing an apartment, even though there’s not enough room and they’re exhausted and readjusting to civilian life is so, so hard. It’s gonna be a great series, I can tell already.

Here to See You Through by yet_intrepid Words: 1,931 Author’s Summary: For a second Matt thinks the room is empty, so he swings the door all the way open with a deep breath of relief, letting his backpack slide down from his shoulders. Then he hears the crying. “Shit,” Matt says again, because he is so good at words. So very good at them. “Uh, Pidge?” “Fuck off,” says Pidge. My Comments: Part of a series, and here we get some of that good platonic comfort to counteract all the hurt. Matt and Pidge are the sweetest siblings. Lovely.

Repeat After Me by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) Words: 7,512 Author’s Summary: The end of February is coming up, and both of the twins have strong ideas of how it should be spent My Comments: Part of a series, and this is such a great addition, a birthday fic with Shiro and his brand-new twin conspiring behind each other’s backs to give each other great day, and succeeding better than they realize.

A Different Story Much the Same by nadagio Words: 4,205 Author’s Summary: Second Lieutenant Lance McClain isn’t exactly thrilled to be a cargo pilot, but sometimes the job comes with extra perks… Like visiting the Castle of Lions.What should be a simple in and out resupply mission takes an unexpected turn. My Comments: Fun little snippet, just enough to whet your appetite and make you wish for more, but what’s here is delightful.

Fics with Season 5 Spoilers Under the Cut:

Prove It by TheClassiestHat Words: 2,048 Author’s Summary: At long, long last, Krolia finds herself reunited with her son. And the reunion goes… less than perfectly. My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. Angsty and realistic continuation of that scene with Keith and Krolia. I could definitely see it going this way, though I hope it doesn’t.

second guessing real life by hollow_city Words: 2,152 Author’s Summary: ”are you okay?” “i don’t know.” or, shiro asks for help. My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. I like this vision of how things could have gone between Lance and Shiro after their talk. A lot. I think canon is going to be much more dramatic, but something like this would be easier. For everyone.

importance by nigiyakapepper Words: 2,928 Author’s Summary: “Mom left right?” “Kid, you already know this. She had to do something more important.” Keith goes quiet after that. He doesn’t know what more important could be, but he—their family—is less than whatever it is. The knowledge settles under his skin. - - Snapshots of Keith growing up. My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. I love this idea for Keith’s backstory, the details woven into to it, and just the whole thing. It’s a beautiful read. But I do need someone to tell Keith just how very important he is.

Lost and Found by IcyPanther Words: 5,950 Author’s Summary: [Season Five Spoilers] Something is wrong with Shiro. Lance can feel it. He’s determined to find answers and returns to the Astral Plane to do so. All is most definitely not as it seems and it’s going to be up to Lance to save the day. If, well… he can save himself first. / “Sh-Shiro,” he choked out. A dark laugh sounded behind him. “Come now. We both know that’s not true.” My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. Somewhat dark and very cool take on Lance searching for Shiro after the events of the recent episodes. I enjoyed it, though my preference is for a nicer Kuron than we get here.

Strike a Match by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) for cofie Words: 4,938 Author’s Summary: Shiro realizes why his head hurts, and Lance is faced with the reality of responsibility. Based on art by Littlecofeiart. My Comments: Season 5 spoilers. This is horrible, but I love it. I absolutely believe that Shiro, any Shiro, would go this far to protect his team. And I love Lance being so sweet and protective, good lord.

[bluewonderer]

Content Creator Tag Meme

Content Creator Tag Meme

tagged by: @i-dont-wanna-take-it-slow Thanks! 💕

1. How long have you been writing/drawing/creating content? I’ve been writing fanfiction for... probably about 4 years total, spread out with year(s) long gaps between. 

2. What sites do you use for your content besides tumblr? All of my fanfiction gets posted over on my AO3. I have a few snippets and drabbles and ficlets on tumblr that will be cleaned up and moved over to AO3 eventually.

3. Which site did you post your first ever creation to? Fanfiction.net. I’m continuously surprised that it’s still in use, but apparently there’s still quite a lot of traffic there. I think it was either a crossover between Gundam Wing and The Pretender or Gundam Wing and Star Wars. ...Or it could have been a crossover between Yu Yu Hakusho and Inuyasha and X-Men. Crossovers are all I ever wrote when I first started and I only posted 1-2 of them and I can’t remember which ones. I was about 13 at the time?  

4. What sites have you used that you no longer use? ff.net and LJ/Dreamwidth. A few fandom-specific sites for SPN. 

5. How long had you been creating content before you joined tumblr? Really about 3 years? But spread out. Like. I posted once or twice on ff.net around... 2003? Then didn’t really post anything again until about 2010/2011 and that was mostly LJ (with a bit of Dreamwidth and AO3 towards the end of that run). And then I’d write/post randomly in 2015 and 2016 on AO3. And then started posting consistently on tumblr/AO3 in 2017.  

6. What did you use to specialize in and what do you specialize in now? Like, fandom-wise? SPN. And now Arrowverse.  If you mean like... trope-wise I’m not sure I have a specialty. I’ve written fluff, some humor, a bit of angst here and there. Now I’m wondering if I have a speciality.

7. How has your content changed/developed? Though I’m by no means a specialist in dialogue, I do have more dialogue than I used to. Also my stuff is a bit more lighter than it used to be. 

8. Have you ever created explicit content and what was the first you created? Yes, I’ve created explicit stuff. XD I try not to do it all the time--I like some nice smut and all, but sometimes I feel obligated to, like people won’t read my stuff if I don’t. So sometimes I add it almost out of habit or a sense of, I don’t know, ‘please read my fic and give me validation?’ (And then sometimes I also just really like some sex OK)

We do not speak of the first time I created explicit content. Nor the second time. Nor the third. Etc. 

9. Favorite work you’ve created? This probably sounds like bragging, but I honestly like a bit of almost everything I’ve posted, even if I’m not satisfied with it overall. Head All Unkilter is among my favorite. It has a bit of a flowery beginning, but it gains really good traction, and it’s the first time I’d really dug in and wrote something after years of not writing, so it’s a bit special for that reason. I really like the character study I did of Lisa Snart in Take Wing. And I’m a little proud of the growth I’ve had in dialogue, timing, and humor in The Good In You (The Bad In Me).

10. Weirdest tag you’ve ever had to use? "Barry has a weird relationship with his villains” is probably my favorite tag, but it’s not that weird. Maybe “hand-wavy facts regarding prostitution and heists”? Because like I actually tried Googling “the life of a prostitute” and “the life of a thief” and it was, kind of surprisingly, not very forthcoming. 

Tagging: @pinkletterday @tobyaudax @sproutwings @lucid-dreamer-dreams @sophiainspace and anyone else who wants to join! /o/