#I thought of attempting to write a novel in my third language

[yourgranpasteeth]

Writing in your second or even third language messes with your confidence so bad. The flow just isn't the same.

[senualothbrok]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag @optimisticgrey <3 I've been saving this one up; any chance to yap about my fics (especially when I'm on a downer about my writer) is so appreciated!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

26

2) What’s your total AO3 word count? 142,787

3) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Unsurprisingly most of these are smutty, haha...

The Difference - Gale isekais into Mia's life in modern Britain

Words - Gale eating out smut

A Tight Fit - You and Gale are trapped in a too-small space

Mortal Pleasures - Gale blow job smut

A Show of Love - Loving on Gale smut

4) What fandoms do you write for?

Baldur's Gate 3. I find it hard to balance fanfiction with my original novel so I am steering clear of writing for any other fandoms for now. Two of my attempts at writing a novel have already imploded because I got distracted by writing Gale fic... I am determined to manage this third attempt!

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

Of course! I am just so grateful whenever people take the time to give feedback and share how they feel about my fics. I also have made genuine friendships through AO3 comments, so they are priceless to me!

6) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Prayer and Absolution - in which both God Gale and Tav move on from their relationship. It's the saddest thing I've written. The rest of my fics are generally angst/hurt with a happy ending (or 'happy' ending involving closure and resolution).

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

For me, personally, I think it's Promise (though there is a good argument for many of my others). Promise ends with Gale and Aurora's very fluffy wedding, after a long struggle with mental illness. Happy tears, ugh...

8) Do you get hate on fics?

I am very fortunate in that I have not. The only hate I have received was from an AI troll bot, which accused me of using AI to write my fics. The irony of this is exquisite.

9) Do you write smut?

Yes, and those are by far my most popular works. I also think of smut as the ultimate writing challenge. It is extremely difficult!

10) Do you write crossovers?

No, but what I wouldn't give for a good Arcane and BG3 crossover OMG. I am not volunteering to write this because that would be goodbye to my original novel...

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge! But I am well aware of this risk, given that I have published my stuff on a free and open site.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, not to my knowledge.

13) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

No, I haven't. Closest I've come is beta-ing.

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

Gale x Tav. I am a simple Galemancer with simple Galemancer tastes. I love seeing all the different Tavs and their different dynamics with Gale.

15) What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The WIP I desperately want to finish is my original novel. I sometimes doubt I will but I try to shove those thoughts to the back of my mind.

16) What are your writing strengths?

People tell me that I write poetically and in an emotive way. I try to put my heart and soul on the page, so that people can connect and resonate with that. I think many people do.

I like to focus on characters and relationships. I have had feedback that I am good at writing these realistically and powerfully.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

I am a slow writer, and my output can be sporadic. My stories are more character and relationship driven, so sometimes plot can be light (not much happens in the way of external events, there aren't many dramatic twists and turns in the sense of adventure). I am not immune to repeating the same motifs and turns of phrase (re-reading fics comes with this humbling realisation). My works are generally heavy in tone, so if you like lighter rom-com vibes, I fail at that.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

Ooh I've never done this before! But it could be cool, so long as it is translated and understandable to the reader.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Slam Dunk, a manga/anime by Inoue Takehiko. That was over 20 years ago, wow...

20) Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

What a question.

I think I peaked with The Difference, so I have to mention this. But my favourite thing I've ever written (in my life) is probably My Tulpa, though it's not technically a fic, more of a confessional.

Tagging (with no pressure): @astarioffsimpmain @sorceresssundries @auroraesmeraldarose and anyone else who wants to play!

[breserker]

Hey! Can you please tell me about these books? You got titles? I really wanna do 12 year old me a favor and read them.

omg yes absolutely

so i ended up only reading about 2.5 of the 3 books of the Machiko Noguchi saga, published 1994 - 1999, these are what the first AVP movie is taking from in some form (although they're more set in the Alien timeline of future space travel instead of modern day like the movie) but the first book is still near and dear to my heart. The good two are written by Steve Perry and daughter Stephani Perry, whomst! by the way! If you're familiar with the Resident Evil novels, SD Perry is Stephani Perry here!

This book is the one you wanna read, it's a closed story and rewired my brain chemistry: Aliens vs. Predator: Prey, 1994.

(Thriftbooks link, although I bet you can find it for even cheaper?)

This first book stays with me even if I'm not directly thinking about it; around the same time I read it I had DigimonWorld Dusk for the NDS and I got a friend to get Dawn so I could have best boy Guilmon, and I named him after the main Yautja character Dachande. Ever since with Digimon games, Dachande is the name I give my Guilmon. This book is great because it's told from both Machiko's perspective and Dachande's, so you see a glimpse into Yautja society and thought/language as well as how Machiko saw them. I haven't read it in years but it was formative stuff.

The second book, Hunter's Planet, was by a different author in the worst way and it shows; not only was the plot like, weirdly dumb in a modern failed attempt at a blockbuster way but the second book was my first run-in with like "An editor should've caught that" type mistakes in mass published stuff. It's because of this book that when I write a sequence of a lot of dialogue without tags/noting who is speaking I go back and comb through it because, personality aside, the author of this second book David Bischoff would write long discussions between Machiko and her android buddy but it was immensely difficult to tell who was saying what because they pretty much spoke exactly the same. Kind of disappointing, imo skippable but maybe it's good in a B-Movie way now.

The third book, War, marks SD Perry's return! And it really showed from what I remember of the half that I read of it, sadly I did not finish it.

Since then I think Machiko has appeared in comic runs and is referenced in other things in the more print-world stuff rather than movies. AVP1 the movie was an iteration on Machiko's story, and I really dont' remember it being that bad of a film. I think people were upset because they interpreted the marking of the woman's face as romantic (???) instead of respect, which, to the book's credit and less the movie's, the movie didn't take its time to explain Yautja culture and probably assumed the audience would figure it out. Which, some did, but the backlash was so great that in AVP2 the Yautja, the only other sentient alien in the movie, did not interact with humans at all. Which tbh made for a worse movie! So. Y'know, happy reading!

[peachesgaeass]

Hello to anyone who reads this, I have only just started writing and am quite young, so I was wondering if you could give me some critique or pointers on how I could get better and you thoughts on this. It is my own story and I wrote it for my English assessment, I'm hoping I can someday turn this into a novel.

Layers of love

Hurried footsteps could be heard, growing louder by the second, once they stopped the door to the classroom opened, revealing the source of all the commotion. A lengthy, messy brown-haired girl dressed in baggy, green camo pants and a black, plain oversized hoodie, paired with her black converse.

"Ah!" Said the science teacher, making the girls attempts to sneak in futile. "So glad you could make it Lyra. what is it, your third time this week?" She continued dryly.

"Go sit down." Sighed Ms. Kumin as she gestued to the seat next to a strawberry-blonde girl adorned in gold jewellery and dressed in a frilly, pink chemise paired with ripped, skinny jeans. Both Lyra and the girl physically cringed as she took her seat.

"Now, as i was saying 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 Ms. Lanturn rudely interrupted us, your next chemistry assignment will be done is pairs." Loud murmers erupted from the class.

"Hang on. Before you pick your partners, you should know that 𝘐 will be picking you partners." The whole class sighed with disappointment.

"Yes, yes, I know that you hate me, but calm down."

Ms. Kumin called out the class, pairing up students.

"Lyra Lanturn and Minara Pahres."

the two shot a quick glare in the others direction. Despite neither having shared a conversation, they both hated eachother with a passion. Minara hated her because of the rumours that surrounded Lyra, whereas Lyra hated Minara because she was apart of the popular clique, and she hates those gits as a whole. The two girls sat in silence for the rest of the class, the tension between them thick enough to cut with a knife.

The bell rang, signalling the end of class. Minara, eager to leave, grabbed her stuff and started to leave the classroom, while Lyra stayed behind, taking her time, being in no rush to get to second period.

……….——_——……….

It was the final class of the day. Minara placed her books down next to a brunette girl, who was gazing out the window ready for class. Once she realised who it was, she made her attempt to move, but was foiled by their strict, language teacher Mrs. Tinpern entering the class, practically screaming at everyone to sit back down.

Lyra was at her wits end. Minara's constant bombardment of questions and confusion on the subject to the teacher made her question why this clueless prissy princess was even in AP Latin, and if the yapping of this pomeranian would be more pleasant with it's lips duck taped together, and with Lyra becoming more irritated as time passed, the thought became more pleasant by the second.

Neither of the girls muttered a word to eachother throughout the lesson, not even trying to hide their distaste for one another.

Minara was now taking notes from the board while Lyra, having already finnished, was looking out the window like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"so... Berry?.." Lyra started hesitantly, still gazing out the window with her head in her hand.

The usually silent, grouchy brunette's words piqued the strawberry-blonde's interest, though mildly offended by the nickname, lifted her head from her notetaking.

"yours or mine?" The brunette asked.

"Huh?" Answered Minara in a slightly shocked, yet irritated voice, not understanding what she meant by that vauge question.

"Whose house are we studying at?!" Lyra specified, with a harsh side eye paired with her signature aggressive tone, mainly because of Minara's tone more than how she didn't understand. She wouldn't expect Berry to understand anything since she's so stupid.

………——_——……….

To call the bus ride to Lyra's place awkward would be a huge understatement, while both girls were sitting in the back they made it their mission to stay as far away from each other as possible, practically plastered to the glass, neither saying a word.

Lyra's home was of standard size. The back yard was littered with balls, bats, shoes and dog toys, along with an old, faded, red and yellow plastic slide.

"Why didn't we go through the front?" Minara asked quietly to no one in particular, afraid that if Lyra would hear her and get offended.

"Because the gate is broken." She spat with venom.

"Oh... okay." Minara swallowed.

"I'm home!" Called the brunette, a smile slowly etching on her tan, freckled face as the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps answered her call. Seven kids all with the same dark, messy brown hair she possesed, burst out of the hallway like a stampede, and tackled her in a hug. Minara couldent help but smile at the joyous family before her. The genuine smile on Lyra's face as she talked to her younger siblings, left the strawberry-blonde feeling nothing but guilt for the way she treated her, for believing the rumours and not actually getting to know the girl herself.

The 'study' session in question consisted less of actual studying and more of constant bickering, mockery, yelling and constant inturuptions by nosey siblings and worried parents.

Over the next couple of weeks Lyra would ask the simple question, 'your's or mine?', it was asked every now and then at first but slowly became more frequent, and tollerable, as time went on. over this period Minara had built a bond with with the Lanturn family. When she would come over, she would help with the cooking and cleaning, or play and carry-on with the kids and dog in the backyard with constant sounds of laughter dancing in the air.

……….——_——………..

Lyra was laying on her bed, looking down at the phone, waiting for Minara to get out of the shower. It was the strawberry-blonde's first sleepover, having strict parents makes that kind of a given, but they were out of town, so Lyra asked her perents if she could stay the night.

Minara entered the room, having finished her shower, her wet hair clinging to her bare neck, droplets of water dripping down the pale features of her face with a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

"The shower's ready." Minara said, making her pressence known, the brunette looked up from her phone, the strawberry-blonde having caught her attention.

"Lye?" She questioned Lyra, who didn't respond, just staring blankly at Minara.

"Lye." She repeated, waving her hand infront of the brunettes face. Snapping the girl out of her trance.

"Yeah?" Lyra asked, jumping slightly at their close proximity.

"I just said the shower's ready." Responded Minara, chuckling at her friends reaction.

"Oh okay." Replied the brunette, slightly flustered as she felt her friends minty breath fan her face.

"Oh! Right, I forgot." Exclaimed Minara.

Lyra looked at the Strawberry-blonde, waiting for her to continue.

"There's a party on friday. Do you... um... want to go with me?

"Sure. I don't see why not." Lyra Shrugged casually, though internally screaming at the thought of going to a party with her.

For the rest of the night they watched movies and snuggled under the sheets.

……….——_——………..

It was finally the night of the party, Lyra was adorned with rings, and dressed in black, cargo pants with a loose AC-DC graphic tee. Minara accessorised with a gold butterfly necklace and earrings to match, and garbed in a pastel pink and yellow, mesh corset top and a matching asymmetrical skirt, both adorned with embroidered vines and flowers.

And just like any other teen house party, it was loud, crowded, and there was no questioning that the punch was spiked with cheap liquor.

The music boomed as people danced, dangerously close and drunk, the beams of light danced and dappled on the smoke of the fog machine. Lyra being a bit tipsy, now on her third drink, went outside and took a sip as she leaned against the wall by the pool, keeping a distance from the rowdy teens. Minara spotted the brunette leaving and approached her, occasionally losing her footing.

“Why aren’t you dancing?” Lyra nonchalantly asked the strawberry-blonde girl.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Minara retorted.

“Don’t feel like it.” Lyra deadpanned.

“Well too bad.” Minara stated, dragging the brunette to the dance floor.

Everything from then on, felt perfect. After a few more drinks, Lyra became more willing to socialise and dance, savouring these joyous moments with Minara.

The two girls swayed to the music, the strawberry-blonde’s arms draped around the taller brunette’s shoulders, who was holding onto her waist, her head resting in the crook of Lyra’s neck. All sounds seemed to drown out, the only thing to be heard was the sound of each others steady breathing and the rise and fall of their chests, in that moment, all they felt was… serenity. Minara lifted her head to look at Lyra, only to find the girl’s eyes already looking at her, with a gentle gaze, full of adoration. Each other’s eyes locked together, in Minara’s semi drunken state, she gave into the impulse, closed her eyes, and placed a soft kiss on the brunette’s lips. Feeling Lyra stiffen, she quickly pulled away, but taken aback moments later when the sensation of Lyra’s lips crashing into hers welcomed her senses. The kiss was filled with passion, slow, but with it you could feel all the emotions she conveyed through it, love, compassion, longing and more. They pulled away from the kiss breathless, meaninglessly gazing into each other’s eyes, goofy smiles on their faces.

Minara grabbed Lyra’s collar and pulled her into another kiss, this one was different, it was rough and full of lust. Lyra’s hand drifted from the strawberry-blonde’s waist to tangle in her hair, deepening the kiss, while the other drifted to her ass, and squeezed it, earning as gasp from the girl and took it as an opportunity to stick her tongue in her mouth. Minara’s hands had found their way into the brunette’s hair, tugging on it, earning a slight groan in return. Lyra moving away from Minara’s lips, biting the girl’s bottom lip in the process, moved down to her neck, kissing down it, then working up until she found the pulse near her jawline, and sucked it, being awarded by a soft, breathy moan coming from the shorter girl’s lips. She grabbed Minara’s hips and tugged them, bringing her closer, and bit down on the joint between her neck and shoulder, causing Minara’s nails to dig into her back mewling at the sensation.

“Fuck.” Lyra muttered under her breath, finding the action really hot, squeezed her ass with both hands in hopes to earn the same reaction. Minara gasped at the her sudden change of demeanour, lust.

“Let’s bring this to my place.” The strawberry-blonde whispered in the brunette’s ear nibbling on her earlobe.

Minara didn’t know what tomorrow will bring, but one thing she knew for certain is that she will love this girl till the day she dies.

[dwollsadventures]

Magnus Chase Project Idea

The next thing for my list of projects is something a little closer to home and achievable, but also perhaps less anticipated. 

Percy Jackson was the first series of novels that I ever read of my own volition. It instilled a love of reading and appreciation of mythology that continues to this very day. When I heard that Riordan was going to be writing a series based on Norse mythology in 2014, I was ecstatic. Unlike before, I had a basis of knowledge to draw from to prepare for the books. When the books were released and I read them though, I felt a little disappointed. I actually have a large document that I wrote back in 2017 detailing all of my criticisms, but I’ll summarize them here: 

Magnus Chase as the protagonist goes through a very well defined and meaningful character arc in the first book. It’s probably one of the only things that make him stand out from Percy Jackson, who he can sometimes read as a carbon copy of. In the subsequent two books, however, he loses everything that made him special. His identity as a peacemaker and healer, and his choice to not use Jack the sword as a weapon are all forgotten about. 

Rick Riordan’s passion for Greek and Roman history oozes out of everything he wrote for his previous books. And while he did make an attempt, the mythology presented in Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard is one of its greatest flaws. The gods of the stories are shallow, one-joke cut-outs compared to the complex parents and power players in PJO. Heimdall is the worst example. Rather than echoing themes and remixing myths, oftentimes the characters play out recreations of Norse myths word for word during the course of the story. Norse mythology has a lot of large gaps in its content, meaning that an author will almost certainly have to bridge them with their own creations at some point. Riordan chooses to do this by mixing in modern culture and folklore from the 1800’s of Scandinavia. 

This book was not the first to feature cross-overs from other Riordan books, but it is the one that leaned the most heavily on them. Annabeth’s inclusion in the first book was appropriate, but it seemed like pandering to include Percy in the last one. When reading reviews to refresh myself for writing this, a good percentage of them cried out about their insufficient screen time. 

Slavery. The mythology point above makes me the most peeved, but this one baffled me as I read the books. One of the first einherjar characters introduced is Hunding, from the Volsung Saga. In the Saga, another of the characters, Helgi, kills Hunding, and his reward for the victory is that Hunding becomes his slave in Valhalla, commanded to “of every hero / Wash the feet, | and kindle the fire, / Tie up dogs, | and tend the horses, / And feed the swine | ere to sleep thou goest”. This is present in the books, but couched in PG13 language, so that Hunding is Helgi’s “servant”. One of the main cast of characters is Thomas Jefferson (TJ) Jr., a runaway slave that died fighting in the Civil war. In the third book, one of the other main characters replays a scene from mythology where she gets a bunch of jotunn slaves to accidentally kill each other. This character then apologizes to TJ for killing the slaves and they make up off-screen. Hunding is never rescued from eternal slavery, the existence of slavery in Valhalla is never acknowledged, the end. 

So what? Why did I list all of my gripes with the series and put it under the future projects title? Well, after I wrote my laundry list in 2017, I capped it off with a “what I would do” section. I’ve never been able to get into the realm of fan fiction. But what about fan rewrites? Rewriting the book chapter by chapter with my own changes? 

The reason I haven’t done this is because, again, I don’t have a foot in the fan fiction world, and for most of my time I’ve thought that spending so much time and effort working on something like that would be a waste of my time when I could be working on my own stuff. But recently I’ve been rethinking that. Finding the motivation to work on my own Acronym Pending series is conflicting with my anxiety about perfecting it so that I don’t tear it down a month afterwards. What if working on fan fiction doesn’t trigger this response? After all, the hard work’s already been done. If I end up doing this, it will be because I can’t bring myself to work on the TDG, which is bad, but it would mean something is still getting done, even if it’s something I cannot claim as 100% my own. 

What would I do differently? Here’s a few examples:

Magnus is not a demigod. Demigods are not a big thing in Norse sagas or myths, and it links the series too much to the previous ones. 

Samirah would not be a valkyrie, but another of the einherjar. 

Valhalla and the Norse elements would not be modernized, at all. 

Hearthstone’s father would be Volundr. 

Overall, the story would be closer to a runaway tale rather than a hero’s journey. The overarching mythological theme would be focused on breaking the cycle. 

[lermisv4]

Okay, writer ask game: #7 and #13 (and if you want to do a third, #16). :)

#7 I've never liked coffee so tea it is! Well, my absolute favourite is hot chocolate though.

#13 No, nothing of the sort.

#16 ...I think it's... plot? Or rather, planning. It's hard for me to make and follow an outline of how a chapter should go, and even harder to implement it. A lot of my writing is by the seat of my pants, following a list of "stuff I want to implement in the story" that ranges from super vague like "do something about this thing" to "I want this hyper-specific scenario to happen". However, those don't necessarily amount to an original chapter outline.

My longest-lasting fanfic project - and one I abandoned for a variety of reasons - was a Novelization. An extremely faithful one. Everything from the outline to the minor details to the dialogue was already there, I felt like I was putting dates on a calendar or highlighting the colours on a pre-existing painting. I was proud of the work, and there are moments I deviated, but the point is I didn't have to come up with stuff on a large scale. The structure of the fic was pre-set by the nature of the undertaking.

Prior to that, my attempts at making an AU - something with original plot, original characters, was back when I was a teenager taken with HP crossovers, barely having a decent grasp at English (second language), and the ever-pervasive thought "I can do better". You know what they say about aiming too high.

So now that I'm back in that territory, using OCs as main characters, trying to come up with an original plot, I hit roadblocks all the time. "How do I manipulate events in a way that remains convincing and internally consistent?" I hold the principle of "let the characters be themselves" as the highest of priorities, and it works for the most part, but some factors are not dependant on the characters. And this is where I get stuck.

[just-4pple-pi3]

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Sep 1, 2024

[Spoilers ahead for Silas Marner by George Eliot]

I believe books require a particular atmosphere and mood to read in. Today was a cold cloudy day. Usually cloudy days are hot and humid here, but today was an exception. My mind has been at ease due to the weather. I was glad that I am not sick, and do not have flu and cough. Moreover, I did not have my morning class. The sleep knowing that there is no schedule the next day is comforting. Therefore, I finished Silas Marner. Yesterday, I was in the part where Silas complains about his robbery. It was sad that he lost his meaning in life for the second time. When this novel was in my syllabus i roughly read the summary only and had found it to be terribly boring. But after reading the whole of it, I'll say it is full of good vibes, this book was perfect for a day like this.

I felt that the first half was bland. I could feel that the writer perhaps first thought about the latter part of the story, which is so well-written in terms of humor, speech, thoughts. The first parts see Silas Marner from a third person perspective, but no one will be able to guess what they are getting into, whether reading this book is going to be good or bad. I found most of the detailed explanation regarding how we should feel or how the characters feel about something to be exhaustive in that the language was not understandable. I assume the purpose was to make the emotions understood as a whole, but that purpose failed in my opinion. Perhaps this purpose served during its contemporary times. In this aspect, the parts from where Silas is consoled by his neighbors for the theft and especially from the part where the 'un (baby) arrives is well-written in that, almost every aspect is understood fully. But i will say a part I found to be witty yet exhaustive is where Silas comes to put forth the charge in Rainbow after getting fully soaked in rain and we see the conversation of the people of that area. Perhaps why this part is so long and boring is exactly to bring that effect in that the neighbors are engaging in useless talks and affairs that goes on and on.

Another witty character portrayal is that of Godfrey Cass, his emotions, thoughts, and motives were well portrayed. The writing starts to get better and enough keep you hooked after Marner discovers the 'un. Overall, you can definitely trust this book to be a good read full of good vibes that will leave your heart fuller towards the end, I can assure you of that.

Did you know that George Eliot is actually female? Her actual name is Mary Ann Evans. In that era, in the 19th century, women authors were still not free from prejudice about their writings, deemed to be "too emotional". She wanted her publishes to be judged solely based on their literary merit and not with biasness, which is why she took up the pen name.

September the 1st is also world letter day. I was thinking of writing letters to the few friends of mine. I pondered abt what to write, how to make the envelop and the letter exceptional and creative, what gifts should i give. I might attempt to gift handmade bookmarks. I'll share here if I do. It has been a long time since I did arts and crafts.

~Just Apple Pie. Really gotta make some apple pie someday.