#I’m trying 2 post more I have so much unfinished/unposted stuff

[isjuice]

LISTEN 2 me we are going to talk about squiddles ok.

[cuddly-asexual]

Okay @buffintruder and @allpurposepanda convinced me to do this fic writer asks post, even though I didn't write too much this year. So here goes!

1.What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

I wasn’t consciously thinking about trying something new, but I did write a fic from the point of view of a child which was pretty fun. I think it turned out pretty well. I think most media tends to miss what kids are likely to notice and think about (at least based off the kids I work with), so I did try to make sure I included those things. For example a tall bookcase might seem towering to a small child, or how a relatively short amount of time can seem extremely long to them when they’re simply waiting. I would definitely do it again, it’s fun practice for getting into the minds of characters you like even when you never see what they were like as children.

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

I definitely didn’t finish much this year, but I chipped away at quite a few wips. I posted 3 fics. I have another unposted, but finished. I wrote a few paragraphs for one of my wildermyth characters. I rewrote a decent chunk of a school nurse files fic. Other than those it was mostly just a few words here and there on my various unfinished works. Surprisingly most of my creative energy this year went to drawing.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

I don’t think I learned anything new about myself as a writer. I’ve known for sometime that writing is a bit spontaneous for me. I guess I’m coming to realize that I’m pretty good at writing dialogue, which is always nice.

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

Well if we were talking about drawing that would be one thing monkie kid, but for writing probably Wildermyth. Even though I didn’t finish any of the pieces I’m writing for it, the writing in the game itself was so lovely to read. It felt like someone was reading a storybook to me, kind of like a bedtime story, with a soft voice.

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

I wrote more original stuff this year, but I wrote for A3! and Kamen Rider OOO. School Nurse Files as well sorta.

6. What ship(s) captured your heart?

Haha the made up ship in my brain of one of my Wildermyth characters, Ystral, and the star in the Minuet event, good LORD they didn’t leave my brain for weeks. In-Pyo and Eun-Young from School Nurse Files also dominated my mind for a while there too. I rewatched the series again this year and man those two are so AAA. They were on my mind more last year, but since I posted a fic about them this year I’ll mention that Goda Eiji and Ankh make me go insane. Also I haven’t started any fics for them yet, but I had lots of ideas for Alear and Pandreo from fire emblem engage.

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

Again, mostly oc’s. I worked a lot on one world in particular so my baby, Aurelius (full grown woman in her 50’s), took over my mind for a while there. I’m also constantly thinking about Juza and I had been missing him. I had lots of thoughts, for both writing and drawing, about Clayton and Al from The Deep.

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year?

Wildermyth was probably the only new one this year. The only new things I was into this year were channeled into drawing more than writing.

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

Ooh this is a tough one, but probably my Juban fic for Juza’s birthday. First, because I really wanted to write it for his birthday. Second, because I wanted to explore a specific aspect of his character, his thoughts on touch. Juza grew up pretending to be someone he wasn’t because of the way others treated him, but when he came to mankai he’s able to be more himself now that he’s surrounded by people that support him. One of these things being that he actually quite enjoys physical affection and it was nice to write about him rediscovering that part of himself.

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Working on my Wildermyth fic made me feel giddy like a school girl, you have no idea. My heart fucked SWELLED for these 2D bitches. And it’s not even done yet.

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

My OOO fic for sure. I had been sitting on the idea for a long time and I finally kicked my ass into gear to finish it and boy that was a fun writing session. I just really wanted to show how evil I was for that idea hehehe.

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

My School Nurse Files fic eludes me constantly. I definitely like parts of it, but I’ve rewritten the beginning at least 3 times, I just don’t like how any of them came out. I have yet to finish it, but I haven’t given up on it yet!

13. What fic was the easiest to write?

Probably my Juban fic. I’ve written Juza and Banri enough that they come to me pretty easily. As long as I have a concept ready I can write anything for those two.

14. What were your shortest and longest fics this year?

Just going with the finished ones of course. My shortest was the first part of Ocean Memory, my original work about some oc's, at 734 words and my longest was my OOO fic at 1431 words. Pretty standard for me I think, a little on the short side this year.

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

My OOO’s fic please, I had way too much fun writing it. I love when a loved one gets body snatched by something that pretends to still be that person.

16. What were you go-to writing songs?

I usually just play my big instrumental music playlist that has everything from video game music to movie soundtracks to experimental ambient electronica, but this year was probably a lot of the Grindstone soundtrack.

17. What were your go-to writing snacks?

Don’t have anything specific, but I usually always have a coke on hand.

18. What was the hardest fic to title?

THAT FUCKING OOO FIC. This title eluded me that’s why I just said fuck it and picked something stupid. “A Wish Is a Dream Your Heart Makes”??? bro WHAT.

19. Share your favorite opening line

Opening lines are not really my forte, I’m not really sure I have a favorite, but I like the imagery in my Wildermyth fic.

He sees stars behind his eyelids now. Countless, warm and flickering like soft flames.

20. Share your favorite ending line

That he was happy and healthy and loving life brought endless joy to her heart. Pallas was truly a precious child.

Technically there’s a line of dialogue after this, but anyway, I love writing Aurelius being happy about baby Pallas expressing his feelings.

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

“Hey, Settsu. Do you wanna cuddle?” It’s an odd sentence, something he’s never asked someone before, but Banri’s name feels like it belongs there. He doesn't miss how the other perks up, then tries to disguise it as a stretch. Banri pulls out of his hold to face him. “Never thought I’d hear that from your mouth,” Banri smirks playfully. Juza lets out a chuckle.  “Never thought I’d hear it from my own mouth either,” his gaze finds Banri’s. “It feels…natural though. Saying it to you.” He can’t read Banri’s thoughts, but he sees the other make an expression that’s something between fondness and annoyance. “Ugh, you really just said that,” Banri falls onto his back, face in his hands, with a groan. Juza raises an eyebrow in response. “You gonna join me down here or am I supposed to cuddle myself?”

I really liked this exchange between Juza and Banri. The way Banri jokes to make everything a little less intense (also he’s absolutely flustered), and how Juza responds with genuine honesty. I think I captured the vibe I wanted super well.

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

He sees stars behind his eyelids now. Countless, warm and flickering like soft flames. They bring him comfort. One of the many reminders of that night almost a year ago. Ystral's leg glows with a soft blue-white light. The tips of his fingers begin to show signs of it as well. A small smile finds its way to his mouth as he admires the way they sparkle. You wear it well. A familiar whisper circles around him. His smile fades. A pang of guilt makes him want to deny the statement, but the thoughts are gently guided away, replaced with wordless reassurances. The unpleasant thoughts could never win. Not when the very stars opposed them.

I had a lot of fun with this opening scene to my Wildermyth fic. Writing anything with stars gets my creative juices flowing and boom we get crazy poetic shit like this.

23. Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out?

Gonna be real, I have no idea.

24. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

Every time I write Banri I somehow make him even more mushy and soft, so it’s a surprise every time.

25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.)

Just Google Docs really.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Finishing that OOO fic after watching it stare at me for like almost a year.

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

Not really. They were all pretty short, not super life-changing pieces.

28. How did you recharge between fics?

Play games, draw, rewatch stuff to get back in the mood.

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

My friends who listen to me rant about my crazy ideas all the time. Juza for being an unending font of inspiration.

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

SO MANY THINGS. My Wildermyth fic for sure. I have some ideas for The Deep that I also really wanna write. I really want to write something longer for once. I think my goal this year is to write a 5k word fic. I have so many ideas I’m sitting and still so many more wips to finish. Good luck to 2024!

[babycharmander]

Things I have learned in my 20+ years of writing fanfic

I’d been thinking about this for a while and figured I’d compile a list, in case other people find it helpful. Keep in mind that what I say here is only my own experiences and tastes and I’ve no intentions of telling you how to write your own stories. So uhhh... let’s go!

1) Different stories require different planning methods. When I was younger, I used to think that I had to use the exact same method for planning each of my stories. Strict outlines on everything! Except... that's not how writing works. Stories are like wild beasts--you can try to tame them, certainly, but as each one is an individual, it may require different methods. Or you may discover that the stories that come to you are ones you can all write in the same way!

But for me personally, I find it best to plan out stories in different ways depending on which one seems to work at the time. One story may require a strict outline, while another may need a very loose roadmap. Other times I can fly from the seat of my pants and finish a story that way, or even use things readers have brought up to help me figure out parts of my story. The point is, don't try to confine yourself to one method of planning. Do what suits your story.

2) When working on a longfic, look for ways to include other characters. This one doesn't apply to every fandom or fic situation (for example, if there's only two main characters in your fandom, or if your characters have a very very very good reason to be isolated), but it's honestly a little bit of a pet peeve of mine when it comes to other stories, though I was guilty of it too when I was younger. I remember writing fics in fandoms where you'd have a large group of characters, but... the fic would only focus on two or three of them. They seemed to exist in a bubble, where no one else outside of that bubble really reacted to what was going on, even if there was no reason why they SHOULDN'T react to this.

For example, say you're working on a longfic for a fandom where there's a group of 5-10 characters (maybe a family, a neighborhood, a team, whatever). In this fic, character A nearly dies, leaving character B devastated at their terrible state and doing everything in their power to take care of A. And then... the rest of the characters don't really do anything, or just avoid the situation for no apparent reason. Once again, it feels like the whole story is taking place in a bubble. I totally get that sometimes you want to just focus on A and B's relationship, but consider how you approach this sort of thing for a longfic. Why not look for ways to include the others?

I'm not saying that means the entire story has to focus on all of those characters if your main intention is to focus on the relationship between A and B. But look for ways to include the others in the group/team/family/neighborhood/town/whatever--show how they're reacting to the situation or what they're actively doing to help or hinder it. Even if you only show one or two scenes per character, it burst the "bubble" effect of your longfic and makes the story richer and the world fuller. Heck, you may even find that you actually enjoy writing those other characters more than you initially thought. Give it a try!

3) In longfics, have specific details in your story that you can potentially bring back later. I'm not entirely sure how to explain this one, but... give your story specific details. Stuff like characters briefly talking about an event from the past, or a character having an item in their possession, or a character happening to know another, or just... anything. Obviously don't fill your stories with unnecessary detail, but sprinkle interesting, specific things in there every so often. You don't have to linger on them or hang a bright flashing arrow next to them to tell the reader "LOOK AT THIS!!!" In fact, you don't even have to come back to them later.

So... why am I telling you to do this?

Because sometimes those specific details will surprise you.

Sometimes you'll be writing part of your story, and then get stuck, and go back and reread something... and then you'll run across one of those details, and it will be the answer to your problem. Sometimes readers will pick up on those details, and voice their own thoughts on them, which might give you an idea for a plot point to bring up later. Sometimes those details wind up being the link between two plot points that you couldn't figure out how to tie together.

Even if they don't wind up doing any of those things, they can just be something to add more life to your story, and make it more memorable for your readers.

4) If your source material has voice acting, keep videos/sound files featuring characters' voices handy. Something I've found that helps me get into a character's head and voice is to just listen to them. In video game fandoms, you're likely to find videos that consist of a character's entire library of voice lines. For show/movie/podcast fandoms, you can of course find videos or sound files in which the characters are talking. If I'm about to write a character for the first time, I'll listen to them talk for a while before I start writing them. Other times, if I'm not certain a line of dialogue sounds like something the character would say, I'll listen to some of their canon dialogue for a bit in order to "refresh" their voice in my head, and see if I can clearly hear them saying the line I wrote.

Sometimes if I'm writing quickly and don't want to stop to listen to their lines, I'll add in a phrase they usually say to the dialogue I'm currently writing--that way I can immediately hear the way they say it in my head, and that will carry to the rest of the dialogue. 

In general, it's just a useful thing for making sure you're getting a character's voice right. (Plus, listening to the dialogue is fun just by itself!)

5) Before posting a longfic, make ABSOLUTELY sure you want to finish it. So, I've written... a lot of longfics. And as a kid, I had a problem where I would get this FANTASTIC IDEA for a longfic, and I would immediately start writing, and immediately start posting, because feedback! Excitement! Gratification! ... and then a few days later I would lose interest and move on to something else. Oops.

When I was in my late teens/early twenties, I decided that sort of behavior wouldn't do, so for a while I would not start posting fics until the entire rough draft of them was complete, and then I would post one chapter a week. And while that worked for a while, it, uh... could only last for so long, because my stories kept getting longer and longer and man you can only go so long writing on your own without really, really wanting some of that sweet sweet feedback.

So... I figured out a compromise.

I would start my longfics. Maybe write out the first few chapters, or write out the notes, however I decided to do it. For some, I would determine that the longfic would be "short" enough that I could finish it before any excitement I had for it burned out. For all the others, I would continue to write them without posting for a while, seeing how long they kept my interest, and maybe show them to some friends. If I started to get really invested in it, then I would (attempt to) create a buffer of chapters, and start posting on a schedule. That schedule... did not always last, but by that point I was usually able to determine that yes, I absolutely did want to see this fic through to the end. Otherwise, the WIP would stay unfinished and unposted until the end of time.

Naturally most of my finished longfics are the epitome of self-indulgence, but hey, that's what fic is for, isn't it?

Speaking of...

6) Always remember that writing fic is FOR FUN. My previous point there? Completely disregard it if you are not having fun writing a story anymore. I've had fic series I started out with full plans to complete them, but after a few years, I lost steam, moved onto different fandoms, and really could not go back. But... that's okay. This is for fun. If I'm not having fun anymore, why should I push myself to keep writing?

Not to say that you should quit writing at the first sign of trouble! Wracking your mind trying to figure out the next part of the story isn't the same thing as losing all enjoyment writing it (unless it is). Usually once you figure out what to write next, you feel that much happier, and can keep going.

Regardless, never lose sight of what you're doing. Writing fanfiction is a hobby, and hobbies should be fun. If you're not having fun, move onto something else. Your readers may whine, but they'll get over it. Sometimes even the feedback isn't enough to keep you going, and that's okay. This is not your job (unless you're actually getting paid for it). This is a hobby. Write what you enjoy.

Well... that's all I've got for now. I may add more stuff to this list later as I remember other things. But there you have it! 

Again, you absolutely don't have to take any of my advice if you don't want to. There's no single right way to write a fanfic! Do what works for you. If you find this stuff helpful, I'm glad. If not, that's okay! Either way, good luck with wherever your pen or keyboard leads you, and have fun writing!

[seamayweed]

fic meme

Thanks for tagging me, @blueberry-cheese-pizza <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

6! I’m a very slow writer and frequently suffer from writer’s block!

2. What is your total AO3 word count?

59506 words.

3. Top five fics by kudos

Mánagarmr (Vikings)

The Earth Still Burns (Final Fantasy VII Remake)

Second Chances (Thor)

Peony Lantern (Naruto)

like gathering drops of rain (it’s useless) (Batman Movies (Nolan))

4. Do you respond to comments, and why?

I really do try to respond to comments, though it’s rarely in a timely fashion. I love it when people share their thoughts on something I poured all my heart and soul into. Sadly I don’t always have the spoons to respond :(

I also have a bad habit of starting WIPs and then abandoning them, and I end up feeling so guilty that I can’t reply to newer comments (though I always read and appreciate them). This is why I’ve decided not to post unfinished WIPs anymore.

5. What’s the fic you have written with the angstiest ending?

It’s def red dust (it’s not stardust)! Then again, it’s pretty much angst from start to finish. It might very well be the darkest thing I’ve ever written even if it’s not very explicit and more emotionally/psychologically driven haha.

My gremlin heart simply craves angst, darkfic and non-con stuff. All my most self-indulgent fics contain these things and I don’t regret it at all!

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Hmmm I think it’s Peony Lantern, since it ends on a hopeful note. 

7. Do you write crossovers, if so what’s the craziest one you have done?

I may have written a few crossovers veeeery long ago. Let’s not talk about them shhhh.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Luckily, no!

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

I love reading and writing smut so much! I think the kind I write is a mix of entertaining/titillating (in a way that personally appeals to me first and foremost) and character-driven. Trying to put the sheer emotionality, raw vulnerability, intensity and sensuality of this experience into words is such a fun challenge each time!

I like my smut consensual, non-con, dub-con, the whole sliding scale, whether healthy or abusive/toxic... and I’ll give almost every kink a chance if it’s well-written. There are so many kinks that I wanna try my hand at writing too!

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t think so?

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Hmmm no on this one too.

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

Nope and I don’t think I ever will!

13. All time favorite ship!

There are so many, I can’t decide! I love all the ships I write about and more... For My Country it’s Seon-ho/Bang-won & Seon-ho/Hwi (but let’s be honest, Seon-ho/Sung-rok too), for Vikings it’s Bishop Heahmund/Ivar the Boneless, for Thor it’s Thor/Loki/Balder, for FF7 it’s Sephiroth/Cloud... The list goes on and on. As you can see, my ships usually comprise of swordmates! ⚔

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish, but don’t think you will?

*sigh* It’s my Mánagarmr fic. I tend to crash so badly after posting a fic and the writer’s high fades, and convince myself that my writing is horrible... which happened with this story, but what really killed my muse is how the show completely butchered the characters. I don’t have the heart to ever abandon a story of mine completely, and hope to pick it up again one day! 

I’m also working on my unposted Seon-ho-centric Bang-won/Seon-ho AU where they start a political alliance about one year before the First Strife. Seon-ho frees slaves, actually makes some political changes, and finds his own children small found family in the form of Bang-seok and his siblings. There is some Seon-ho/Hwi too (though it’s not the main pairing), with some hints of Seon-ho/Sung-rok. But who knows when I’m going to finish and post this, if I’m ever going to post this one day haha.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Apparently I’m a purple prose monster! The nicest comments I’ve gotten have told me that my writing reads like epic poetry and that it would be a crime against humanity if I ever stopped writing. Another commenter said that I have a talent for writing evocative grossness (as a compliment) lol. I treasure each and every one of them in my heart <3

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I’m wordy af and a perfectionist. I’m working on this!! Dialogue is hard. I can also get a bit too enthusiastic with my flowery language and purple prose haha. Should probably cut down on the sprawling introspection too.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

It’s a cool thing to do! Languages are cool! If you deem it necessary, you should def include it.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

The Batman movies by Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight (2008) left a very deep impression on me!

19. Fave fic you have written?

My absolute fave is Mánagarmr, with Second Chances being a close second. Though The Earth Still Burns was such pure, mindless fun too. I just love all of my fics haha.

Tagging @illwynd, @argents-huntress, @alwaysbethefirstonetodance and anyone else who wants to do it. No pressure tho! :D

[veliseraptor]

2020 Fanfiction Round-Up

I do one of these every year! And have since I think 2016. Can’t break a tradition even if it’s been a clusterfuck of a time and filling this out was in some ways an exercise in remembering the ways I have failed myself as a writer this year. 

But oh well!

Total Year-Long Wordcount: I’ll post the final final number tonight after I finish the writing I want to do this afternoon (and plan to do this afternoon), but it’s currently 451,803 words written this year. Guessing I’m going to land somewhere around 453,000ish. (AO3 claims a higher number than that but that’s because it is counting the entirety of fics where I posted chapters this year.

This year I wrote and posted: I wrote a fair number more than I posted (there are five fics finished but for various reasons unposted on my hard drive) but based on Tumblr I posted 78 posts in my fic tag, which, not including chapter specific updates and three sentence meme answers (but including at least two Tumblr-only longer fics), probably comes out to about 60 or so “full length” fics that saw the light of day in 2020.

Overall Thoughts

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? 

Well, I wrote more than I did last year, which is sort of a surprise to me (all things considered) but also maybe not, because I was doing a lot less of most other things that could’ve been occupying my time, including two hours daily of commuting. 

But still less than I did in 2018. Which is fine.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? 

Lord, I don’t know. It depends on when you ask me. Lately I’ve been in a bit of a “I hate everything I’ve written ever” state of mind, so that makes it sort of hard to do any kind of...reasonable assessment. 

I know I’m proud of With Absolute Splendor but I have all these reservations about it and I can’t reread it for the most part because I always notice new things I wish I’d done differently. I feel pretty good about efforts in a common cause but something about it still makes me cringe, which I suspect has to do with my general self-consciousness. I have a hard time feeling unreservedly proud about...anything I wrote this year, really. 

I feel like the closest I get is maybe nor autumn falter which I am pretty pleased with and also which does hurt me a lot personally. Or I did end up overall pretty pleased with what came out of By Proxy.

But also the more I look at this question the more I start hating all my own work, so...guess this is kind of coming at a bad time.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I mean, I started writing in my first non-English fandom in many years, and specifically one where I was trying to engage more with the cultural background of the setting (in a way I wasn’t with, say, Death Note, when I was writing Death Note fic). So that was a risk. And I learned that it’s very stressful and there’s so many ways to make mistakes and I am, in many ways, a coward. But also I think I’ve learned a fair amount thanks to a lot of very patient people on the internet, so...there’s that.

Otherwise...I mean, I got ambitious with a few projects this year (the Big Bang fic and With Absolute Splendor stand out), but I’m not sure how much I really tried new things. 

I feel like I had to fight myself a little on writing straight up bad sex for By Proxy - I planned on it being hot, and it really wasn’t. It was mostly just miserable. Which made for a better fic, but was a new experience for me as far as ‘I thought I was going to write porn and that isn’t what I wrote.’

From my past year of writing, what was….

My most popular story of this year: 

By far, With Absolute Splendor. In fact, it has now become my second most kudosed fic of all time, behind only fuckin Life in Reverse. So like. That’s a thing.

(It is still less than half as many as Life in Reverse, but for context Life in Reverse has been around for going on eight years.)

Most fun story to write: 

Most fics where I feel like “I’m having so much fun writing this!” also go through a “oh god I hate this it’s terrible” phase which makes this sort of hard to assess. But I did have overall a lot of fun writing Mutual Friends despite all my frustration with the canon-wrangling I had to do to make it work in my head. 

But also I feel like both Retributive Justice and Embedded were in different ways deeply iddy fics that were just fun to write. That actually goes for a lot of the Whumptober fics. That was a very self-indulgent month. Excited to do it again in February (hopefully, if I can write things in a timely manner at all).

Story with the single sexiest moment: 

I feel like the beauty of your repair might be my personal favorite smut I posted this year, but I think my personal favorite that I wrote is in the big bang fic nobody will see until January. 

I feel like most of the sexiest moments I’ve written this year are in the porn fics I’m going to start posting in January also. But just generally I feel like the beauty of your repair is the sexiest thing I wrote and posted.

Most “Holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: 

I mean, I Come With Knives is definitely up there. It’s not that wrong or anything, but it got pretty intense in some ways I wasn’t expecting. Mostly in how much blood got involved, which was actually more than I’d had it involved in a sex thing before! Kind of surprises me that I haven’t previously done more with bloodplay stuff but. Well. First time for everything!

I don’t think this was a year that really had any “wow, what the fuck, Lise” things in it. Nothing on the level of last year’s winner. I’m almost disappointed in myself.

Abattoir was definitely the story that generated the weirdest conversation and creepiest search questions, though, so it does get points for that. 

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: 

I feel like the writing of everyone else is spring bound was a lot of...me thinking through my Jiang Cheng feelings and specifically my Jiang Cheng post-canon feelings. 

the martyr, the victim was pretty formative in shaping how I think about both Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji and their relationship with each other. It was the first fic I wrote that really dug into them in any way, I think, and definitely one that informed how I thought about writing Lan Xichen later.

Hardest story to write: 

I was thinking it was the one that I haven’t posted yet but I did technically finish, aka my Big Bang fic, the terrible threesome fic, the massive “I’m gonna keep everyone in the Yi City arc alive” AU that I started shortly after finishing The Untamed and finished in December. So I spent most of the year writing it.

But then I was like - no, I’m going to have to go with we live until we die even though it’s technically been ‘in progress’ for five years and really kicked into gear in 2019 and I just finished it and posted it this year, because that fic was like. The culmination of a big arc in an enormous verse dealing with a whole lot of balls in the air and trying to tie up a whole lot of threads. It was ambitious and the stakes were high and it was full of plot and action which are not two of my strengths...frankly I’m still amazed I pulled the damn thing off.

Biggest Disappointment: 

I think it is better if I refrain from going too in depth on this because it would just end up as me listing a bunch of my perceived failings. But I think off the top of my head I’m frustrated by the fact that I still haven’t really managed to write a XueXiao smut fic that quite hits the spot for me, myself. I’ve written two and for various reasons I don’t really like either of them. 

Biggest Surprise: 

The fact that my Jiang Cheng fic took off the way it did. Legitimately did not see that coming! At all! I mean, I’m delighted by it but it wasn’t what I saw happening as far as “niche I’d find in this fandom” or “thing I’d write that people would really enjoy reading.”

Particularly with By Proxy. That fic got a lot more attention than I would’ve expected. 

Most Unintentionally Telling Story: 

I feel like every fic I write with Xue Yang in it tells you something about me and most of those things are things that make me, on some level, deeply self-conscious, but I try not to think about that too much.  

I feel like the most telling story is maybe we all drift sometimes because I literally wrote it out of a depressive episode about a bad brain day but that wasn’t unintentional.

Favorite Opening Line(s):

1. So it turned out that if you touched the tendons of a dead person’s wrist and channeled a little bit of spiritual energy just right, it made the fingers twitch and curl like they were still alive. (Abattoir)

2. Here’s the thing: your Daozhang is glorious when he kills. (tear out all your tenderness)

3. Turned out that a sect leader’s head came off like anyone else’s. (Unnatural Selection)

4. The first hint that anything had gone awry was the letter from Lan Wangji (His Excellency Hanguang-jun, pardon me) that simply said have you heard from Wei Ying? (some good mistakes)

5. What Jiang Cheng wanted to do, more than anything, was to go home and take a nap. (everyone else is spring bound)

Favorite Line(s) from Anywhere:

I usually keep this to 10 but because I’ve been in such a :| place about my own writing I indulged myself this once.

1. Sometimes it felt like all he had done since descending the mountain was shatter his own dreams and accumulate regrets. (nor autumn falter)

**

2. It felt like she was holding all the components of a bomb in her hands, half assembled. If she moved the right way they would stay just that: components. But if she moved the wrong way… (til my judgment day)

**

3. He should have killed him. Should have been the one to strike that blow, in revenge for Jin Zixuan and their sister and everyone else dead for Wei Wuxian’s pride. Maybe then there would not be this gnawing, aching thing embedded in his chest; this itching, unfinished feeling. Maybe then he would not feel torn in two, sometimes like he should have reached out with his other hand and sometimes like he should have struck truer and sometimes both, in the same moment. (Interstitial)

**

4. He owed Wei Wuxian more than he could ever give back in this lifetime. Forgiving him felt like betraying his sister’s memory. Not forgiving him felt like trying to walk with a thorn in his foot. He was just - stuck, caught like a demon in a spiritual net.

Jiang Cheng thought of the way Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Wangji, with warmth and trust and love, and the aching, sick jealousy he had no right to feel returned. He felt a little like a child watching someone pick up a toy he’d abandoned and suddenly realizing that he wanted it back. (everyone else is spring bound)

**

5. You close your eyes and think about how he looked back in that town, Shuanghua slicing clean through a man’s neck, opening it to the spine, and think dizzily that he could open you like that and it’d be good, as long as it lasted. (tear out all your tenderness)

**

6. When Wangji loved, he loved with his whole being, without reserve. And now he had been placed between the rock of his convictions and the hard place of his devotion to Wei Wuxian. (the martyr, the victim)

**

7. He spent a week turning the idea over in his head. Studying it like a corpse he was going to dissect, poking at it, cutting it open and examining its insides. (dead reckoning)

**

8. When the world hurt you, that was the only thing to do, after all. Hurt it back, harder, worse. Spill rivers of blood for every drop it squeezed from you.

And when the end came, never go quietly. (the blood in your mouth)

**

9. I would stand with you through the end of the world, said Loki’s voice in his head, and Steve’s heart wasn’t in his chest anymore, was somewhere off on another planet where Loki was lying dead in a ruined city. (we live until we die)

**

10. Was it always going to be like this? Stumbling into traps, tripping over familiar skeletons, slicing himself open on the edges of old hurts. Was there really such a thing as leaving the past behind? He still felt stuck in it, unable to move, and every time he thought he might be finally dragging himself free something pulled him back. (With Absolute Splendor)

**

11. His chest was full of poison. His throat was full of grief. And he was still a little drunk.

Jiang Cheng went to his room, sat down on his bed, put his face in his hands, and cried until he couldn’t breathe. (By Proxy)

Top 5 Scenes from Anywhere You Would Choose to Have Illustrated:

I think the scene from nor autumn falter of Xiao Xingchen just crying his heart out over Xue Yang’s dead body would be up there.

The Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian hug from the end of With Absolute Splendor.

Okay, just gonna say it: Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao having sex by the table with Nie Mingjue’s headless corpse on it. So sue me.

The scene in the blood in your mouth where Song Lan has stabbed Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen is following the line of Fuxue to the latter. I have a very clear visual of it in my head and if I could art I’d art it.

Xue Yang with the hallucinatory Xiao Xingchen from liberate spirits, liberate souls.

Fic-writing goals for 2021:

Finish Walking Far From Home.

Maybe I’ll finish some of these MCU WIPs? I’d kind of like to, on an abstract level if nothing else.

Become a more well-adjusted human being about the relationship between my productivity and my self-worth.

[twixtandshout]

Tagged by @pidgeonpostal! And not tagging anyone else because I have SOILED the original template (soiled it!!) in deference to my [brushes off skirt] mostly clean public-facing appearance.

...I’ve been making a lot of Spongebob memes lately for someone who has not seen Spongebob.

How many works do you have on AO3?

71!

What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

...306,834. Jesus.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Uh. Many! I do a lot of one-offs (and/or start long things I never finish) in many different places. My top three fandoms by fics written are RWBY (29), Undertale (25), Gravity Falls/Transcendence AU (4).

Bet you can’t tell where my hyperfixations have fallen. 

I’ve also got some Pokémon and Sonic the Hedgehog fics back on my ff.net account, or I think I still do, anyway, but let’s never go back there pls

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Sweeter Than Honey (Undertale): Taking a Completely unsurprising first place, with over 600 more kudos than the runner-up, the haphazard Underswap fic featuring a post-college self-insert I wrote just after high school! I shake my head some at how overblown and ridiculous the gap between this and all my other stuff is (c’mon, guys, I’ve written way better fics), but this is also the fic which prompted me (and at least one other person!) to start using they/them pronouns. I’ve gotten a lot of really sweet comments about how seen and appreciated it’s made people feel, so I can’t get down too far about it.

2. To Be A Hero (BNHA): I don’t count myself as part of the BNHA fandom, for a number of reasons, but for something that’s arguably the main motivation for the entire plot, Midoriya’s quirklessness is something I’ve never thought has been handled well. This fic marked the first time I (somewhat tentatively) claimed the disability label (thanks again to Sweeter Than for prompting that realization) to hold that lens over canon. It also really shot up my chart, dang! It’s the only thing here I’d consider “recent.”

3. Three-Sentence Shipping (Undertale): Self-explanatory.

4. Brothers Beyond Bonedaries (Undertale): Ah, the way-overcomplicated AU³ I got nowhere close to finishing. One of the things I really like about Undertale is the interface screw, how Toby Fox uses the medium of the video game to pull off crazy things and enhance his game, but most of the fic written for the fandom seems dedicated to explaining it away, grounding it, rather than taking it to the next step and messing with the medium of fanfiction when you keep the story going. I tried to do something cool like that here, playing with questions like narrator and authorship and breaking the fourth wall, even taking the “final boss” fight to a “totally separate” fic reached through the first by link – but, well, then I never finished it, which probably didn’t make anything less confusing for the poor folks who missed the intent.

5. Spirit and Such (Gravity Falls: Transcendence AU): A whole fic written to line out a particular image I had, which, naturally, never made it to the page. I consider it a bit of a cautionary tale for myself when it comes to writing (near-)original content; there’s a lot I look back on and cringe. I still love the characters, though – well, the important ones – and I think just stepping away from the tried-and-true Mizar formula nets it a star sticker here.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

>w>; I try, but a lot of the time I just don’t have anything to say? Like, oh, you liked it? Neat. There’s not much to respond to in comments like that, and then I’m weighing falling down on an ~obligation~ to respond to every message in my inbox vs annoying people with copy-paste fluff responses all down the page. Plus I know I make more of an effort to comment on things that didn’t get the attention I feel they deserve, so if I’m driving up my own comment count with nonsense, am I preventing myself from being in a position to receive more comments later? And then if I do comment, am I being too effusive or running people’s ears off explaining things they don’t actually need to know? Sometimes people just want to express interest or admiration and don’t necessarily want a whole peek and guided tour behind the curtain.

Can you tell I have anxiety? x3;

Anyway, I do respond when I can. And I keep most of the comments I’ve gotten to go back and reread. 

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hm, hmm. Lots of stuff in the TQ Nonsense series would probably qualify! I’m thinking of Unfixable, Wolfsong, and Ethanol. And there’s Bursting Through A Blood-Red Sky (I Can Live, I Can Breathe), of course, but that was always intended to have a fix-it epilogue. It’s just that I wrote it in a couple of hours day-of, stared at it, and decided I didn’t wanna just then. But now that’s As Long As You’re Still Burning Bright (I’m Still Awake), and that’s probably the best romance I’ve written, so that one worked out.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

Now and then! When the urge strikes. Uhhh, I’ve got a series of Doctor Who x Undertale crossovers I actually made a whole dang verse for that never made it to print. Get a couple great comments on that every few months or so. I think the World Trigger x Undertale crossover is probably weirder, though, by virtue of WT being a very small fandom. My enthusiasm kinda sputtered out on that one.

Mostly I just daydream crossovers with whatever happens to catch my eye at any given moment. I have a lot!!!! Though odds are out on whether I manage to remember any of them once the initial thought’s passed, lol.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Gotten a couple eyebrow-raising comments, but I think mostly I’m just too small a writer to draw that kind of attention.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don’t? think so? Think my tastes are a little niche for most people to bother ^^;

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I had someone apologize once for any language mistakes in their comment cause they had to run it through a translator! That’s not what you asked (the answer is no), but it’s very flattering to think that someone liked my fic enough to read and comment despite the language barrier.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! :D @pidgeonpostal was gracious enough to agree to co-write Five Nights at Denny’s with me off an idea about shoes. This has fulfilled a long-held dream of mine (collabing with someone, not the shoes) and also introduced me to some lovely people.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Who has time for just one? ;3c Honestly, I care more about the characters and how the relationship – any relationship – between them changes them than I do about ~A Ship~ as a solid, bounded noun-object. I’ve got characters I like more and less and feelings about who does and doesn’t have chemistry in which directions with whom, but finding anything that agrees with those preferences is hard, harder when you take alloromanticism into account. I’ll play in any sandbox with cool toys, especially if other folks have already built sick sandcastles there.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

[kicks every single unfinished fic further under the bed] What nooo no WIPs here, everything on my account is either finished or does not exist

I’ve got a couple extra chapters of Sweeter Than floating around unposted, but 1. that fic’s a mess 2. high school Twixt and post-college Twixt are different people and trying to contort myself into three other me-shapes just cause people Like this fic is not something I’m super interested in 3. it’s headed for an emotional dip and I’d rather leave it where it is than post two chapters, stall out again, and leave folks with a bad end.

As for other fics... it’s looking more and more likely that v7 of my Yellow Brick Road AU will never actually make it out. >w>; I’ve got some really great ideas, but not enough to make me feel like I know what I’m doing, and that’s a big roadblock. Plus trying to engage with RT’s Atlas-Mantle worldbuilding in any serious capacity is... a headache. I can’t recommend the Happy Huntress Cinematic Universe enough, but it leaves some pretty big shoes to follow! And I’ve got small feet. <w<;

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue’s fun, probably as an extension of characterization. I love tearing into what makes people tick, especially against the backdrop of their environment, the story they’re in, and the people they’re up against. Voice is a double-edged sword; I’ve been told my writing is really recognizable and individual, but on the other hand, I’ve been growing frustrated with with the limits of my narrative ability. There’s a strong rhythm I keep when I write (you might notice it here, even) but that leaves me feeling predictable and stale. I’m not sure I’m great at setting as a matter of course, but I’m pretty good at describing setpieces where the need comes up; that comes from my background in poetry, as does the fun I have with sublimating and abstracting complex imagery. And I think I bring some needed nuance to the universal. For good or ill, I don’t do what “everyone else” is doing.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Well, writing, for one thing. If I don’t know how something’s going to go and don’t have the urge to write it, it isn’t getting done, which means there’s a billion things that will never see the page and a few hundred more that are never getting finished. I lose momentum easily and have a hard time getting started, and I put way too much standing on finding a foothold with other people; as critical as I am of my work, I have high expectations for the stuff that passes muster, and it never seems to measure up. I’m also really uncreative. Yeah, I can mix up elements and extrapolate events, but coming up with things wholesale is really hard, which is why I avoid it wherever possible and steal/reskin stuff from other places instead.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Something along the lines of “Hoo boy, I am Not qualified for this but hopefully it’s decent anyway.” Maria’s Spanish lines haven’t been a big deal – I’ve used it sparingly and, as a Latin language, it should be easy for English-speaking audiences to pick up on the gist – but I’ve had a harder time with Tai’s Chinese, both because I have Even Less background there and because it is, of course, an entirely different language system. If I write it out in English or Romanized italics, am I colonizing it or changing the meaning? If I write it out in the presumed-original characters (presumed because it’s Google Translate and who knows if I’m even barking in the right forest), am I confusing or alienating my presumed-majority-English-speaking audience? Where should I put the translations? Should I put the translations? And for Frisk’s sign language, thinking back, are the brackets I used instead of quotes alienating/infantilizing? I like that different characters give the text between a different feel, but I’m not an ASL speaker – and I’m pretty sure the word is “speaker,” which would only reinforce that that demographic would rather I didn’t do that. It’s important for all these characters, I think, that they use non-English language where it makes sense; it’s part of who they are. But as a white monolingual English-speaker, I don’t think I can really weigh in.

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Thaaaat’d be Pokémon, followed closely with Sonic the Hedgehog. Whether those fics are still on my ff.net account or not (pretty sure I’ve purged them, but you never know) I’ve still got a couple saved to a folder on my current laptop, ostensibly so I can look back and see how far I’ve come and more practically to allow for the possibility of furthering group cohesion through public shaming.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I still like the idea behind The Man Who Is Atlas, and Burning Bright (Still Awake) gets props for being my current fic, though it’s currently in that spot where I’m excited to get new chapters posted but also quietly marking everything up in red pen. I think Harbinger gets the crown here, at least for now.

[silvormoon]

Fanfic Writer Interview

I was tagged by @heleentje !

How many works do you have on AO3? Currently, 101. That’s not counting the stuff that’s on FF.N. Counting those would put me over 300 stories. I should move them over someday...

What’s your total AO3 word count?       1,945,164

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? On AO3, it’s Boueibu, Happy Kiss, a few different flavors of YGO, Yuuri on Ice!, Jeweler Richard, Fairy Ranmaru, and RobiHachi. My FFN account also has fics for the Power Rangers, The Slayers, Pokemon, and some other odds and ends. I wrote a Warriors of Virtue fic once and that’s getting darned obscure.

What are your top five fics by kudos? 5. Plot Contrivances (142) 4. Perfections (153) 3. Clause 214 (165) 2. Sales Report (179) 1. In Capable Hands (332)

And just for fun: My most-reviewed fic on FFN is “The Dragon’s Ring” with 342 comments, and my most favorited is “White Chicken” with 277 favs.

Do you respond to commets, why or why not? I try to, but like Earth, I am socially awkward, and I can’t always think of anything to say. I treasure every comment, though!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? “Carry Me”, which was a Digimon fic about a character dying of cancer. I’m not sure, in retrospect, why I thought that was a good idea.

Do you write crossovers?  If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve ever written? Occasionally. There’s an extremely silly one I did on FFN called “PokeMoon” that is, of course, a Sailor Moon/Pokemon crossover.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Now and again. FFN used to be really bad in terms of getting flamed if you wrote a ship someone didn’t like. I remember someone threatened me becasue I wrote Jou/Mimi when they shiped Koushiro/Mimi (but that guy was kind of notorious around the fandom and I don’t think anyone took him seriously). There’s a comment on “Sales Report” at FFN, telling me that they don’t see the point of the story and it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever written. As you can see above, it’s also one of my most popular fics. There’s just no pleasing some people. That one sticks in my memory, though, because I had planned to post a much larger fic later that week, but I was so disheartened by that comment that I didn’t bother, and the story is still sitting in my hard drive, unposted.

Do you write smut?  If so, what kind? Nope. I’m ace myself, and I lack the fundamental understanding of what it means for something to be “sexy” or why anyone would enjoy having, or reading about, sex. I can never figure out what to say about it so I just prefer to leave things to the imagination.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? A couple of times, yeah. Someone stole “Gifts of the Elements” from me, which made me really mad because not only did they repost it, they offered a bunch of editorial comments about what had been going through their mind when they wrote my story. Also someone reposted the aforementioned Warriors of Virtue fic, which was just... why would you even do that? It’s not like you’re going to get internet popular posting Warriors of Virtue.

Have you ever had a fic translated? A few times, yeah. I remember one or two of my Digimon fics got translated into German, and I think a couple of other languages too.

What’s your all time favorite ship? How on earth do I even choose? Obviously, Kinshiro/Atsushi from Boueibu is a big part of my fandom experience. I still have a soft spot for Jack/Carly and Ushio/Mikage from 5Ds. Destinyshipping from GX is a big one. And I am perhaps a little obsessed with whatevertheheck the Beppu twins have going on with Gora, in a “staring at the traffic accident” sort of way.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? If the fanfic genie would grant me one instantly completed fanfic, it would be “City People,” which was the planned sequel to “The Dragon’s Ring.” I have this 200+ page document on my hard drive. It is unfinished. I wish it was done.

What are your writing strengths? Description, possibly. And worldbuilding! I love me some worldbuilding. Plot structure in general.

What are your writing weaknesses? I feel like sometimes I over-explain things out of a need to get my point across. I’m trying to learn to be more economical with my words. Also dialogue, especially emotional dialogue.

What are your thoughts on writing dialoge in other languages in a fic? I’m not one to say “Never do this”, but I think it’s probably best used sparingly since I feel like it drags a reader out of the story if they suddenly don’t understand what they’re reading.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Power Rangers in Space. The story is still up on FFN if you want to go look. It’s called “Power Rangers: Operation Z” and started out as a way of me processing my grief at the end of PRiS and morphed (heh) into this whole... thing.

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written? There are so many I am proud of! But if I had to pick just one, “Dear Pen Pal” would be a strong contender, because I really did write that fic just for me, to please myself and express my feelings, and it didn’t really matter to me if anyone else liked it or not. Other options would be “Purple Flowers”, “The Silver Rose”, “DVD Case”, and “Tickets.”

[seekerseekingsomething]

WIP Meme from the depths of the dungeons

Well, I have been called out. @bunnimew lifted up my rock and turned on the light so here I am.   Time to find all the 1/2 finished semi-abandoned projects I have laying around.  I have kind of lost my will to write due to changing life circumstances, but I still think about it frequently and want to reclaim it as it is something I really enjoyed.  But oh well, the meme goes on. Well. I suppose we start at the top.... if something interests you I’ll mark the ones that have been at least in part posted with a * for AO3 and a ** for FF.Net *** for both. Final Fantasy 8 -  Echoing Through Eternity*** - my flagship, unfinished, no end in sight. Post-Game AU about the absolutely awful state of the world post FF8, as the gang try to do something about it.  Squall/Fujin.  The entire concept of the story is a rewrite of an older fic Promises are all I have** That I wrote about 15 years ago.   The only cure [...] *- Shameless pornography Featuring a rather conservative Rinoa trapped in the orbit of some pretty gleefully promiscuous SeeD that gets worked on extremely sporadically.  contains some kink, and a fairly large dish of WLW Divine Apatite 2 *- Wherein Ultimecia gets kicked out of reality and decides that the best thing to do with her eternity is boink people and have deep philosophic musings.  Me having fun writing porn starring Ultimecia, kinky.  Fully commits to Ultimecia’s Awful accent. Dead By Daylight - How to Displease [...]*** - Another chapter in slow roll, updated whenever something funny occurs to me in universe, just a mess of goofy ideas like The Shape learning to moonwalk, or The Huntress learning a new song.

Naruto - 

Hot Blood, Cold Sweat, Bitter Tears **- BIG Naruto rewrite, aiming to rewrite the whole series, got so frustrated with it that I wrote a whole ass other giant project when I got stuck, thus Echoing happened.  Total Rewrite of the series with a slightly darker world and a lot of people being played smart and the power creep virtually turned Off.  Very Very slow progress on this one. Now into the Obscure stuff.... None of these are even partially posted anywhere

Legend of Zelda/For Honor Crossover -  For the Honor of Hyrule - Unposted anywhere crossover.  Wherein the world of Hyrule (BOTW) is in much rougher shape and is essentially in a state of all-out free-for-all war.  After the battle failed 100 years ago, The Hero got locked away to regenerate, however the Gorons blamed the Hylians and Rito, the Rito blamed the Zora and the Gorons, the Zora got furious, Fighting deepened and 100 years later, nobody has even tried to get peace actually happening in longer than many’s memory.  Not to mention Ganon’s minions enjoying their functional immortality to constantly break everything.  A darker world where fighting would be a lot more central. Sidelined until a workable outline exists. 

Teen Titans - 

In Need of Change Untitled Rewrite - A whole ass AU where Beast Boy (now Changeling) fucks off to do his own thing in the wake of calamity forming a new superhero team with a whole lot of headcanon and a liberal dose of “There’s no real reason why this Couldn’t be the case...”  Jinx thinks this seems like a good idea and tags along, BB/Jinx. To Include OCs for interest and flavor and because I don’t like DC that much, lol.  Quarantined due to too many active projects.  Titans Inc - a Cyberpunk reimagining of TT crossing firmly toward Cyberpunk 2020.  A bad future in many ways.  Basically in the planning stages in the docs...  Will probably never go anywhere.  And that’s all of them that are actually being worked on or thought about.  Look me up on AO3 and FF.net as LastHarlequin. I’d tag more people but I literally don’t know anyone as I’m an anti-social rock-dweller.  This Meme branch dies with me >:V

[youhearstatic]

Exit Interview for a Fic (AKA: 10 Questions Every Fic Writer Secretly Wants to be Asked)

I started doing this list of questions every time I finish a ‘major’ fic. I’ve been putting together an updated fic list and realized I hadn’t ever done it for It’s About Time. So here we go!

1. Of the fics you’ve written, which is your favorite and why? At this point I’d have a really hard time picking between the still unposted (and unfinished) TwinSwap and the Dragon!Barry story. (The dragon AU has a lot more to it that I’ll hopefully get to eventually. There’s a few twists I adore with that one.) 

I really, really, really love both of those. I’m also, obviously, really keen on the whole Barry POV canon compliant story and the hanahaki story, Chrysanthemums (Lovesick). And I’m still pretty proud of Like Friendship Set Aflame. (FYI that last one is rated Explicit.) Plus, Losing Time is still something I feel good about.

2. Which scene was your favorite to write in It’s About Time? The scenes of Barry and Lup pining for one another are always fun of course but writing them together and in love? It’s just so good. I think my favorite to write was chapter 44. I started that first scene with no specific goal and it all just kind of organically evolved into what it did and where it all led and it just felt like it fit together well. And they were just so damn happy and absolutely gooey in love. Legato was obviously pretty good, too, but there was a lot of stress writing it because obviously it’s a Big Deal and needed to be Really Good.

(Putting the rest under a readmore because this is very long and self indulgent.)

3. Which part of It’s About Time was hardest to write? I struggled a few times. One of the hardest was chapter 34. I had a plan, there were story beats I was trying to hit and an overall arc to their relationship that called for things to go a certain way. But they just wouldn’t. I wrote and scrapped thousands of words trying to get there and finally realized the option I’d been too blind to see. Changing my plan meant a lot of other things had to be changed and created a lot of other hard to write parts but it also helped with the characterization for Barry and the change and growth he was going through.

4. If you could change anything in It’s About Time, what would it be? I kinda wish it wasn’t over? Like, don’t get me wrong. I’m excited to be on the part of the story I’m telling now - the part that initially drew me to even telling the story? But, holy crap, I miss Lup. I miss the crew and happiness. This is a long slog through dark times and if ever there was a time to say “Poor Barry” then this is it. I mean, I don’t think it’s all darkness? I think there’s surprises that make it worth it? (I really hope so! Like the appearance of certain characters in chapter 7 of Time After Time, for example.) 

And to be honest? I miss the interest that story got. Views/comments/etc have severely fallen off and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make it much much harder to motivate myself to work on it despite my determination to finish. (I get it though. It’s much more fun to read Blupjeans falling in love than Barry alone and kinda losing it.)

5. Did you make an outline for It’s About Time? Did you stick to it? Well, I mean, there’s the outline of the canon 11 cycles and that extrapolates out to giving the expanded story a specific set of story/character beats. As things got closer to Legato I had certain circumstances I wanted to hit in a certain order. So I guess yes, more than anything else I’ve written this had an outline. It wasn’t exceedingly thorough but it was definitely my game plan for things and yeah, several times that had to be scrapped like I mentioned about chapter 34 in question 3.

6. Which scenes did you cut, and which were added in It’s About Time? The scene of Barry cooking for the crew - specifically for the twins - wasn’t supposed to be in his POV. It was in Lup’s POV and I didn’t think it worked for his but then I couldn’t let it go so I just kinda... did it anyway.

I remember that snow cycle went on for much longer than intended, too. I’m really glad though, it got me away from the one cycle/one chapter format which helped me feel more relaxed about telling the story how it worked out rather than forcing things to fit certain ways.

There were definitely things that were cut but always because the scenes just weren’t working the way I thought they would during planning.

7. Who was your favorite character to write in A Thousand Tiny Moments? It’s Barry’s POV and I feel like I have a pretty strong grasp of him at this point. Gheesan and Selba were a lot of fun to write. Probably my still favorite OC is Embrace, though. One day I want to get art of Barry and Embrace, the big golden mongoose from cycle one.

Okay, this is maybe a weird answer since he’s not exactly a character? But I enjoyed writing my take on Griffin’s narration that opened chapter 36.

8. Which came first, the title or the fic? For a long time this was just called “the fic I’m not gonna write” because I’d never really jumped hard into writing fanfic before. Previous to starting this thing I’d only written a couple of 1k-ish minifics for a different fandom and only written something over 10k ... a handful of times.

9. Which idea came to you first in It’s About Time? It’s a little tricky answering this question because, even though it’s split up between Stolen Century and then the rest of the podcast timeline being in Time After Time, I tend to think of them all as one piece - Barry’s story.

I think the part that hit me first was thinking about Barry in Taako’s pocket spa and what kind of things would be running through his mind. 

In this very first consideration of his POV, I’d forgotten he wouldn’t have memories yet. So then I backed it up to that night between Wonderland and his cave/getting back in a body. What all must he have been thinking while they slept? After so long to be so close to the end and then have to get in a body and relinquish any semblance of control to the boys and his memoryless body? Honestly, I find that idea terrifying. From there it just kept spinning out to considering different bits of canon from his point of view. I don’t remember what the point was that finally convinced me to start writing but I’m still surprised it happened after so long of not really being a fic writer.

10. What are some facts readers may not know about It’s About Time? The first thing I wrote for this fic was Contradictions, the so called test minific. Then I got obsessed. I wrote pages of notes, picking out details that were relevant to Barry’s story and thinking and enormous lists of questions about what was going on with him or in his head at certain points. I spent literal days thinking about how to account for things inferred from canon. For example, why didn’t Barry remember things between bodies? When did he get the boys’ artificing projects that he gives them after reunion tour? 

Then I started writing longhand in notebooks. I started out writing where Contradictions left off: Barry’s trip out of the gerblin cave with THB and arriving in Phandalin. For a while I thought that’s what the fic would be: just Barry’s time from that wagon ride to Phandalin and ending with him getting into the tank as his last moments as ‘the red robe’ before revealing himself as Barry Bluejeans again. 

Eventually I realized that I needed to include Stolen Century and decided to start from the chronological beginning of the story. I’d written the entire century (albeit much, much shorter in this first draft - there was nothing between Tessaralia and Legato, for example - and then probably 15k of stuff directly following the defeat of the Hunger - that night and the following morning, as well as the first part of the Faerun things, Frank Texican’s part that is chapters 8 & 9 of Time After Time, and parts that still haven’t posted in Time After Time, including that section I’ve mentioned several times as the bit I’m MOST excited to share. 

After that it still took me weeks to decide to start posting and then another few weeks to decide to start posting Stolen Century and tell the story in order. I kind of wish I hadn’t done that just because it’d be nice to see them falling in love after all the awful alone and voidfished time but it’s good to have it done this way and have specific memories and all the characterization solidly built in order.

[bettsfic]

wip list

i’m hoping that by listing out all the things i want to finish, i will actually finish them. unfortunately this new job is still kicking my ass and i am exhausted all of the time + annual summer writers’ block + self-esteem through the floor = not very creatively productive. 

if there’s a number in a bracket beside the fic, that’s my top 5 priority list/potential posting order. i’ve stalled out on a lot of these because they’re rare pairs and i’m not confident anyone will read them, which sometimes bums me out when i feel like i spend too much time on something/end up liking it a lot.

this list doesn’t include ofic, which is a much, much longer list.

>75% done

[3] retrieval (the rain, martin/simone), 4k -- post-canon angst fic in which martin is tasked to go back into the zone and rescue the remaining survivors. needs probably a complete rewrite, but all the plot pieces are there.

[4] a long way (game of thrones, jaime/myrcella), 14k -- canon-divergent fic in which cersei dies and jaime has to escort myrcella to winterfell to marry bran. just needs the last couple scenes and a final read-thru.

ace of spades (star wars, kylux), 62k -- modern au in which ben and hux are bffs to lovers. i started this in 2016 and then grad school got in the way and i haven’t picked it up again. i’m hoping episode ix gives me some inspiration to complete it.

~50% done

daisy chains (the 100, octavia/marcus), 14k -- modern au in which marcus is octavia’s step dad and she’s in love with him, side order of blakecest. i started this fic over a year ago and a lot of the aesthetic turned into training wheels, but it’s still its own story and i’ve been wanting so badly to finish it. 

new girl (the 100, octavia/jasper), 4k -- high school au in which jasper and octavia start dating, but bellamy is annoying about it. unfinished km fill.

hacker au (the 100, bellarke), 2k -- modern au in which clarke is a porn addict and bellamy uses russian spyware to watch her get off. unfinished km fill. 

just started but shows promise

[5] dares (the 100, bellarke), 2k -- modern au in which bellamy and clarke are step siblings spending their final summer together. i was given this prompt during my last prompt spree and i never finished it.

[1] vigilance (the 100, bellarke), 3k -- modern au in which bellamy and clarke are patients in an 8-week therapy program. just prompted a couple days ago. hoping to have it finished today.

not started

[2] tbd (the secret history, henry/richard) -- canon fic in which henry watches richard masturbate while talking about fucking camilla. prompted by @drawsaurus. i plan to start writing it after i post vigilance.

in the blood (the 100, bellamy/octavia) -- prequel to in the water. this one has been on my list to write for over a year. it was my very first fic idea for the fandom, and i think that’s why i haven’t written it yet. it’s so perfect in my head.

cruel intentions au (game of thrones, braime) -- 90s au based on cruel intentions. originally this was prompted for bellarke but it works so much better with braime. i’m not sure if i’ll end up writing this one because it seems like a lot of work, but i’m dying for more braime in my life.

eoe sequel (harry potter, albus/draco) -- the next installment of A Very Thorough History in which scorpius makes erised on the DL and albus finds out. maybe i’ll start this one in winter?

abandoned :(

only sharing to show how many ideas just don’t end up working, or turn into something else. i’m only going back to 2016 on this, up to ace of spades. i’ve abandoned a lot of fics prior to that, but since then i’ve gotten slightly better at completing stuff/figuring out quickly whether something will work out.

secrets to a successful sale (the 100, bellarke), 4k -- modern au in which clarke is trying to sell her house and bellamy is her handyman. abandoned because a lot of the themes are moving to vigilance and i have no idea how to end it.

storms (the 100, bellarke), 5k -- modern au in which clarke and octavia are best friends, and clarke has a crush on bellamy. abandoned because it later merged with daisy chains and turned into training wheels.

the ring (the 100, bellarke), 2k -- canon fic in which clarke lived on the ring for six years instead of bellamy. abandoned because i do not have the patience for longform canon fic, and i feel like this premise has probably already been written better than i could do.

virgin bellamy (the 100, bellarke), 4k -- canon divergent fic in which wanheda is a sex worker who gives bellamy the girlfriend experience. abandoned because it got way out of hand and someone ended up doing a very similar km fill.

river sequel (the 100, bellarke), 2k -- sequel to run me like a river. abandoned because a girl can only write so many noncon piss fics before she gets a reputation. also i don’t like writing pwp sequels.

within cells interlinked (blade runner 2049, joi/k), 3k -- canon divergent au in which joi is turned into a 7 series and is unwittingly k’s prison guard, but she thinks they’re married, as a means of imprisoning/torturing k. abandoned because it was too goddamn plotty, even though i think it has so much potential, and i really did want to finish it :(((

there’s a total of 125k unposted words here, but tbh this helped a lot to write. i thought i had a way longer list and had abandoned a lot more. i’m hoping to post the top five in the next few weeks to help push through my writers’ block. 

[memorydragon]

AO3 meme

(stole this from Nar)

Rules: Go to your AO3 works page, expand all the filters, and answer the following questions! FANFIC - 105 fics What’re your first and second most common work ratings? Teen and up, with 49.  Then General audiences with 45. What’s your most common archive warning? No Archive Warnings Apply 99 Least common? Rape/Non-Con, with one. Do you consider yourself an adventurous writer? I like trying new things and am willing to push whatever’s outside of my comfort zone into my comfort zone.  I also keep trying aus, and we all know how that goes.  But really, I’ll try anything once.  I’ve written characters I’ve hated, so like, I’m generally willing to give most things a go. How many stories have you made in each pairing category? Gen - 61 M/M - 58 M/F -11 F/F - 1.  I apparently need to write more lesbians.  I should rectify this. Multi - 1

Is this more accidental, or do you have preferences? I need to write more femslash, apparently.  But really, all of the gen is unsurprising. What are your top 4 fandoms by numbers? Classic Who - 40 New Who - 22 (which is a bit misleading, because a lot of those were crossovers with classic who) The Avengers - 22 And a multi-way tie I have no desire to type it all out.  XD Are you still active in any of them, and do you tend to migrate a lot? I migrate, but I do sometimes go back as well.   What are your top 5 relationship tags? The Doctor/The Master - 33 Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - 24 And the rest are some variation of Doctor/Master or &s.  ^^;;;; Does this match how you feel about the characters, or are you puzzled? I wrote a lot for DW, ngl.  I don’t write it any more though.  I’ve got some DC stuff I haven’t put up yet, but those are various relationships, because I go ship loose and fancy free in that fandom, though expect some Trinity stuff since I joined the server.  XD What are your top 2 most used additional tags, and your bottom 2?

Angst - 45 Humor - 36 and an honorable mention to Hurt/Comfort at 33

Bottom 2 are: The Master has Issues -10 Tony Feels - 9 though I imagine there are more they aren’t showing me.

What would happen if you combined all 4 of these into an fic? You’d probably get my one crazy plot dream of the Master disguising himself as Tony Stark while Tony has been sent to Gallifrey.  Here is the dream itself: “I did have a fairly odd dream that seems like it would be a good fanfic. Tony Stark was taken out of time by the Time Lords on Gallifrey because he would apparently cause the Earth to be the center of a giant rip in the universe that would disrupt everything. Tony is not best pleased by this, torments the Time Lords who are deciding what to do with him (Death sentences for lesser creatures are against the law or something) by trying to sleep with half of the High Council and completely scandalize the rest (Oh, God. Tony Stark would enjoy that far too much).

“Meanwhile, back on Earth, no one has noticed Tony's gone missing. Mainly because he hasn't. Well, he has, but the Master has slipped on a disguise so that he can create a massive rip in the universe and being Tony Stark apparently helps that goal some how. The Avengers are fairly suspicious, but they can't figure out what's wrong with Tony.

“Then the Doctor comes in and all hell breaks loose.”

Honestly, that seems like it would cover all of those.   How many WIPs do you have currently running on AO3? Any you don’t plan on finishing?

None!  I never post unfinished fic.  Even my chapter fics have been written entirely before I start posting.  I do have a series that could have continued, but I just decided writing sex was not worth it.  Amy-verse also had two more fics (one written but unposted, the other planned but unwritten) but that was about the time I fell out of fandom.  Also, I entertained a Mr. Pond and the Doctor short of Rory getting stuck with the Fifth Doctor, but it’s probably a good thing I never tried that.  Five hated working with me.  

[maychorian]

Get to Know the Author

Tagged by @eastofthemoon. Thank you!

1. How did you come up with your username and what does it mean?

“Maychoria” was the name of the main country in the fantasy novel I wrote when I was thirteen and fourteen. It means “happy land,” based on two words I found in a Greek dictionary we had in the house. So “Maychorian” basically means “inhabitant of the happy land.”

2. Which fanfic of yours has the most feedback? (bookmarks/subscriptions/hits/kudos).

On AO3, A Split-Second of Violence still has the most views and kudos and bookmarks, over 46k hits and almost 2500 kudos and 762 bookmarks. The first and second Boom Crash stories combined beat it, though, and Sell Me Your Nightmares beats it for comment threads. Over all platforms, I’m pretty sure my most famous fic ever is still Entertaining Angels, a deaged Castiel fic I wrote at the cusp of Supernatural fandom, just as Castiel was starting to get popular. I  happened to write that story at the exact right time, in the mid-season break when everyone was hungry for more of the intriguing character we’d just been introduced to, and cute deaged angel boy trying to help Sam and Dean with their respective traumas was bound to be a hit no matter who wrote it. Plus I gave him pneumonia. It’s a thing I do.

3. What is your AO3 profile icon, and why did you choose it?

Same as my current tumblr icon. Cuz Lance has the best expressions and he’s the cutest and the best.

4. Do you have any regular/favourite commenters?

I do, and I love them and appreciate them so, so much. If you comment on a lot of my fics and/or chapters, you’d better believe I notice, and I love you, even if I don’t respond.

5. Is there a fanfic that you keep going back to read again and again?

Basically anything in this tag: https://maychorianrecs.tumblr.com/tagged/personal-favorite.

6. How many stories are you subscribed to? How many do you have bookmarked?

Oh, golly. My work subscriptions at AO3 is currently at fifteen pages. A lot of those are completed or abandoned, though. No idea how many fics and authors I’m still subscribed to on ff.n, mostly in dead fandoms. I have 80 bookmarks on AO3 at the moment, but that is not an accurate representation of the fics I like and recommend others read. That would be @maychorianrecs, which currently has 681 posts and isn’t even complete even for the Voltron fandom, let alone the other fandoms I read now or have read in the past.

7. Which AU do you find yourself writing the most?

The Dream Seam ‘verse is definitely the one that owns the largest part of my brain right now, but I’m also looking forward to getting back to my DnD AU once I finish my current big projects. I tend to write more canon-divergence AUs than alternate realities, in most cases. I like exploring how things can differ across time if one small (or large) change is made in the setting we know and love. Like what if Castiel went back in time and ended up as Sam and Dean’s older brother? Love that one.

8. How many people are subscribed and bookmarked to you in total? (you can view this on the stats page)

User Subscriptions: 617 Kudos: 27064 Comment Threads: 5019 Bookmarks: 5631 Subscriptions: 2713 Word Count: 1169905 Hits: 325489

That’s insane, and it’s only in the last three or four years, since I didn’t really start using AO3 until mid-2014. I have a lot more before that on ff.n and other sites.

9. Is there something you’d like to write about but are afraid of people judging you for it? (Feeling brave? If so, share it!)

If there’s something I want to write and share, I will find a way.

10. Is there anything you would like to be better at? Writing certain scenes or genres, replying to comments, updating better, etc.

I wish I was better at action. It always takes me a lot time to sort of choreograph it in my head and then describe it in a way that makes sense. I also need to work on writing believable romance, since I want to eventually write more mainstream fiction, and it’s pretty normal for characters to have romances. I can’t just write everyone as being aro/ace or siblings, though I kind of want to. I wish I wasn’t such a procrastinator and had more energy to spare on responding to comments, because I really do love them and appreciate them.

11. Do you write rarepairs or popular ships more often?

Only if you count gen as a rarepair, which it kind of is. Otherwise, no ships for me, ever. I tried it. Didn’t much like it.

12. How many stories have you posted on AO3 to this day (finished and unfinished)?

70. Some of them are reposts. Eventually I need to get all of my fics over to AO3. It’s definitely the superior platform nowadays.

13. How many stories do you have saved in/with your writing program?

Unposted? Mm, more than five, less than a dozen. I tend to post things as soon as I’m halfway satisfied, because I crave that sweet, sweet feedback.

14. Do you write down story ideas, or just keep them in your head?

They’re mostly up in my head. If it changes by the time I start to write it, that’s fine. And if I forget an idea, a new one will come along sooner or later. I write in the now.

15. Have you ever co-authored a story?

Yes, a few times, most recently with ardett for Sewing Patches. It was a great experience.

16. How did you discover AO3?

Back when it was just getting started, I got an invite to the beta from an LJ friend. It wasn’t until years later that I got into sports anime fandom and decided I wanted to start using it, so I searched my email to find that years-old invite and used it.

17. Do you consider yourself to be a popular or famous author in your fandom(s) on AO3?

I’m well-known in the gen corner of my fandom, which is not the same thing as being a BNF in the fandom as a whole. I have no doubt that 99% of Klance fans have no idea who I am, and Klance basically IS the Voltron fandom, much to my annoyance. But I’m fine with the way things are. I interact with cool people all the time and get to show them awesome stuff and get nice feedback when I post fics, and that’s what I want.

18. Do you have a nickname or fandom name for your readers?

Nah. That seems kind of pretentious and arrogant.

19. Was there an author who inspired or encouraged you to write?

I’ve wanted to write since before I knew how to read, as far back as I can remember. As soon as I understand that those scribbles on a page meant something and told stories, I wanted to tell my own. Certainly in my teenage years I was very inspired by the fantasy and science fiction authors I adored, like Tolkien, Lewis, MacDonald, Orson Scott Card, Stephen King, Tamora Pierce, etc. I have been encouraged along the way by many, many fellow writers, as well. But as far as an instigating person at the very beginning, I can’t think of one. I just always knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life.

20. What writing advice would you give to a beginning author?

Just do it. Post it if you’re brave, keep it to yourself if you’re not. Make yourself happy first. Find one person who will read and enjoy your stuff, otherwise it will get stale writing only for yourself. But first and foremost, stoke the fire in your own belly until you have no choice but to use it, to let it fly from your fingers in words and paragraphs. Once you start, keep going, even when the fire burns low. Discipline is more important than inspiration in the long term, but inspiration is how you start.

21. Do you plot out your stories, or do you just figure it out as you go?

Mostly the latter. I’ve written from outlines in the past, and I sometimes do extensive freewriting before I start something to give myself some semblance of structure, but working from a strict outline isn’t really fun for me. I’d much rather  discover the story as I go. I subscribe to the Stephen King school of writing, the idea that a story is a boulder you dig up with a lot of hard work and exploring. Granted, that doesn’t always work perfectly, and it can lead to stories that are overlong and oddly structured or dissatisfying, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take in order to enjoy the process as much as possible.

22. Have you ever gotten a bad comment on a story? If so, what did you do?

Occasionally, mostly not on AO3. My feedback there is by and large very kind and enthusiastic. Every once in a while I’ll get a weird comment on ff.n complaining about some choice I made or chastising me for not doing what they wanted or expected with the story. Mostly I just laugh and let them go, though they used to bother me a lot. Once in a while they’ll make a solid point, and I’ll think about it, and maybe change the story a bit to satisfy the issue that’s bothering me, not for their satisfaction but for my own. That’s exceedingly rare, though. I think I’ve done it twice.

23. Is there a certain type of scene that you have a hard time writing? (action, smut, etc..)

Action is hard, yes. Dialogue and emotional scenes come easily, so naturally that’s the bulk of my stuff.

24. What story(s) are you working on now?

My ongoing series and stories are all currently in posting. I have some ideas on the backburner that I haven’t started working on yet, but I’m not the kind of writer who finishes a project before posting, so there’s nothing going on that my readers don’t already know about.

25. Do you plan your next project(s) before you finish your current ongoing story(s)?

Often as I’m finishing up a long project my mind will already be working on what’s next, yes. Not really planning so much as just daydreaming and working out scenarios in my head, but I do like that I never run out of things to do.

26. Do you have a daily writing goal set for yourself?

I try to write at least 750 words every day. Not always fiction, though, sometimes it’s freewriting or a diary entry. This post will probably be my writing for today. 

27. Do you think you’ve improved as a writer since you first started?

Indubitably, since for the very first story I wrote I asked my mom how to spell the word “fan.” I was five.

28. What is your favorite story that you’ve written?

Oof, that’s hard. In Voltron, probably Bury the Sun. I keep going back and re-reading that one. It just…hits my buttons. On purpose. I did that. In all of my fandoms ever, probably Coming Down on a Sunny Day. It came together in an extremely satisfying way, and I’m very proud of it, even though the last part never got very much feedback since the fandom had moved on by the time I wrote and posted it.

29. What is your least favorite story that you’ve written?

I started writing an original fantasy fiction called Cat by Night with the idea of posting it on Amazon and making money with it. But I started it out in very YA fashion with an incipient romance, and it just bored me to tears. I hated it. I couldn’t do it. Romance is not for me.

30. Where do you see yourself (as a writer) in 5 years?

I would love to develop my original fiction and discipline myself enough to actually start publishing stuff on Amazon and eventually make enough money to live on, maybe with the help of Patreon. RIght now, though, fanfiction takes up all my creative energy, and I don’t know how I would justify making a living off that.

31. What is the easiest thing about writing?

Making characters cuddle.

32. What is the hardest thing about writing?

Getting characters to the point where the cuddling makes sense and feels in character.

33. Why do you write?

For the sake of the cuddles, mostly. Also because I can’t imagine not writing.

No tagging today because I’m exhausted, but feel free if you want to do this. 

[pinkrabbitpro]

The first lines of my last twenty fics (most recent first). I confess I included some unposted stuff because otherwise I’d have to go back quite a ways. I was tagged by @spaceshipsarecool

1. Cat was late. — Late

2. Cat’s a bloody mess when Kara arrives, none of it gushing, but cuts, scratches, and bruises seem to litter every inch of exposed skin, and her clothes are torn enough that a lot more is exposed than normal. — recently started unfinished/unposted hurt comfort fic (but the illo already exists )

3. Alfred Pennyworth had never been prone to panic. — Chasing Fog

4.  “Astra—” Kara Zor El began, her tone making it clear she was uncomfortable with the topic at hand. —  Into the Breach

5. Standing on her balcony overlooking New Argo City, Kara Zor El smiled faintly as she noted the way grand spires rose high above the ground in multiple layers, with periodic platforms and ever more delicate steeples, places where Kryptonians could land and admire their handiwork or simply enjoy an empowering sunrise. — Breach of Trust (unfinished/unposted)

6. Kara was worried. — Latest unposted story in Hearts Falling (series)

7. “Cat, I need you to listen to me,” Kara said softly, careful to keep her voice low and as nonthreatening as possible. — Here Red Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

8. If Kara had been paying attention she probably would have noticed the looseness of her front doorknob or the scratch marks around the lock, but half asleep, her body still humming with pleasure, she just breezed through, feet just barely touching the ground, and that faint contact was only with some effort when what she really wanted to do was just keep flying. — The Shame Isn’t In the Walk

9. Kara’s nose twitched. — Mornings After, Before, and During —

10. Kara floated. — How Art Thou?

11. Cat Grant screamed.  — Equations for a Body Falling

12. It’s still fairly early when Kara stumbles in, but she’s hungry and tired and frankly, grumpier than normal, owing to a troublesome feline who taught her that, while invulnerability protects her from damage, it doesn’t necessarily prevent lethally sharp claws and teeth from hurting like the proverbial sonofabitch, particularly when she has to try and gently pry the enraged owner of the weaponry in question off her arm and chest without doing any damage because as it turned out selfsame weapon-owner had no desire to be rescued from the tree, thank you very much. — Space

13. It’s late, but Cat’s only half asleep when she finally hears the balcony door open and close again.  — Needs

14. “That’s...well...” Cat exhaled, not looking at Kara in favor of the item dangling from a single fingertip.  — Who Knew You Could Do That To Silicone?

15. “You owe me,” Emma Swan insisted while her request still hung in the air. — The Favor

16. Dropped into the so-called Enchanted Forest —which Emma had honestly never found the least bit enchanting —with no more than the clothes on their backs, they were forced to improvise.— Pooling...Resources?

17. Regina Mills had never thought she would — even could — know anyone’s body better than her own. — I Should Make You Go

18. Bodies moved in slow syncopation, sweat slicked skin sliding smoothly in time with the soft, human sounds familiar to lovers everywhere.  — The Lies That Bind (unpublished/unfinished/unloved/unwanted/undroppable story I occasionally work on when in certain moods)

19. Regina stared up at the night sky, trying to lose herself in its beauty. — Night

20. Emma’s voice was soft, fear threatening to take it away entirely. — Footsteps: Prologue

I’m gonna do what I do and be obnoxious and not do this the regular way by tagging a buncha people, both because several of my faves have already freaking been tagged, and because I’m forever seeing these things and thinking, “Sheez, that would be fun,” and nobody sends it to me *pouty face*, and being me I don’t feel like I can just leap in (I’m not THAT obnoxious). Sooo I’m inviting anyone who sees this and wants to play to do so...or just think about it...or heck, post your fave first lines. Or post your last twenty second lines (maybe you’re like me and they’re usually more interesting than the first ones). In any event anyone’s invited to have fun, but no pressure. I’m the no stress bunny, so it’s all good.

Oh, except @rtarara . Her, I’m tagging because  that sort of thing seems to make her happy rather than annoyed. :)

[pyresrpgear]

2016 Fic Round Up

Tagged by @summer-smells

2016 was a difficult year so I feel the need to celebrate the fun things. Like my fan fiction! So here we go!

Total 2016 Word Count (posted): 31,354

That’s about 8k high because it includes the first 2 chapters of The Kingdoms Magic that posted in ‘15. I probably have another 20-30k that I didn’t post.

Total 2016 Hits: 7,041 Total 2016 Kudos: 529 Total 2016 Comment Threads: 35 Total 2016 Bookmarks: 41

In 2016 I wrote for The Librarians, Pitch Perfect, and Wynonna Earp that I posted. Unposted also included Victorious and Doctor Who.

Links and titles to 2016 works:

I wrote 6 stories That I posted in 2016. Five one shots, and one (still incomplete) multi chap. My Ao3 profile is HERE.

Pitch Perfect:

As The World Falls Down

The Librarians:

The Kingdoms Magic

You Will Be

You're Into Kinky Stuff?

You Didn't Have To Ask

Wynonna Earp:

Haught Blocked

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Favorite Fic: Of the posted ones I like them all but I think I have to go with The Kingdoms Magic. It’s one of two multi-chap fics I have started posting. I am really loving this version of Cassie and the fact that other people really connect with her too is just great.

Hardest Fic:  Of the posted ones I would have to also say The Kingdoms Magic. I’ve gotten a lot of work done on it this year, but the fact that I have yet to finish it, despite knowing where it is going, just tears me up. Makes me feel like crap that I haven’t worked on it more, the more I feel like crap the less I want to work on it. It’s a real fun cycle. (Welcome to my broken brain)

Of the ones I haven’t posted but did work on this year I have 2 that are both heavily emotional angst (1 PP 1 Librarians). Both of them I really can only work on in a very narrow window of feeling like hell enough that the emotions going into the story are true, but not so much like hell that I can’t bring myself to write.

Most Popular Fic: Haught Blocked by a HUGE margin. of the 7k hits I got this year 4,670 and almost 400 of the 500 kudos were from this fic. It was a fun little one shot that I was giggling at as I wrote it.

Do You Plan to Take Prompts in 2017? Yeah. They come in so rarely that they are pretty easy to pound out when they do come in (when I am capable of writing). I’m working on one right now that came in on xmas eve.

What was the best thing about 2016? Haught Blocked blowing up was pretty damn cool. Between the fact most of what I have posted has been one shots and/or being for smaller fandoms my work doesn’t get a whole lot of attention. (For example that one fic has more hits than everything I have posted for The Librarians combined.) So by and large I write what I want to read and never expect much feedback or many hits. I love the small group of LITs that read and comment on my stuff and wouldn’t trade them for anything. But it is fun knowing something I wrote has been seen by so many people.

What was the worst thing about 2016? November. I decided to try to use Nano to get work done on as many of my fics as I could. I’d like to find out who picked November for Nano, and if they are american I want to slap them. Got 17k new words written across a bunch of my fics but when 50k is the goal for the month my fucked brain latched onto the TOTAL FUCKING FAILURE aspect and beat me over the head with that.

Any last thoughts for 2016? I decided this year, after The Kingdoms Magic and And The Star of Cairo sat unfinished making me feel like shit for not updating them in SO long, that for my own mental health I’m not going to start posting any unfinished multi-chapter fics for the foreseeable future. I’d rather work on them behind the scenes until they are done then start posting them instead of feeling like I’m annoying/letting people down by not updating.

Goals for 2017:  Finish The Kingdoms Magic and And The Star of Cairo finally. I’d be thrilled if I managed to finish my Pitch Perfect multi-chapter fic that started with Cinnamon before PP3 come out. Keep plugging away on all the other WIPs I have. Keep writing the stories I want to read since nobody else is going to do it.

Tagging: Anybody that wants to do it. LITs, Earpers, Aca-nerds, Grifters, Whovians, Horsemen, [insert a whole bunch of other fandoms here], any fic writers that follow me.

[yodepalma]

WRITING MEME FOR GREAT JUSTICE

Stats:

The Gate of Magic – FMA03/HP, Teen, gen

Just Cat Things – FMA/HP, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

A Handful of Minutes - FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Shut Up and Dance - FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Sway - FMA, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

Learning Curve - FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Damsel in Distress - FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Broken - FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Cascade - FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

One of Those Days – FMA/HP, General Audiences, gen

Shadows - FMA, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

Camellia – FMA03, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

Sunbathing - FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Nine Lives Café - FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed, Maes/Gracia

Shifting - FMA, General Audiences, Maes/Gracia

City Boy – FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

First Impressions – FMA, Teen, Alphonse/Riza, Roy/Ed, Jean/Kain

Ruin the Sky – FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Cinderoylla – FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Silver Lining – FMA, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

Pretty Boys in Dresses – FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

A Very Hawkeye Haunting – FMA, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

Dream Guy – FMA, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

Hopeless – FMA, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

The Children of Snakes – FMA/HP, Teen, Roy/Ed

Too Useful to Shoot – FMA, General Audiences, Jean/Kain

Good Morning, Shitlordia! – FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Best Friends – Ronin Warriors, General Audiences, implied Shuu/Shin

Sparkly Heart Emoji – FMA, Teen, Roy/Ed

Bottoms Up – FFXV, General Audiences, gen

Cadence – FMA, General Audiences, Roy/Ed

Drove Through Ghosts to Get Here – FFXV, General Audiences, Gladiolus/Prompto/Ignis

Total number: 32 posted Total word count: 121,955 + a TON of unposted/unifinished things, good god Ship/character breakdown: Roy/Ed (26), Maes/Gracia (2), Jean/Kain (2), Al/Riza (1), Shuu/Shin (1), Gladiolus/Prompto/Ignis (1), gen (3) Characters that had the main focus: Mostly Roy :| Then a few Ed, Al, and Harry.

 Specifics:

Best/worst title? BEST: I’m pretty partial to Too Useful to Shoot, honestly. Also Bottoms Up because pun. WORST: Pretty Boys in Dresses, gods. Or Sparkly Heart Emoji. I CAN’T DECIDE

 Best/worst first line? BEST: The ridiculous thing about dragons, the thing that was really easy to forget, was that they were basically just cats. (from Sunbathing) WORST: Ed hates dancing. (from Shut Up and Dance)

 Best/worst last line? I’m ignoring Dream Guy, The Gate of Magic, and the WiPs. Also, wow, I’m terrible at last lines. BEST: proooobably~ Needless to say, Friday worked great. (from Sparkly Heart Emoji) WORST: He’d have to see. (from A Very Hawkeye Haunting)

 General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? More, definitely. I didn’t expect to write anything but my main FMA/HP series, but I wrote SO MANY stupid ficlets.

 What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? Pairing? Jean/Kain. Never considered it until recently. Fandom? FFXV. Not just because I didn’t even know it was coming out, but I have no way to play it so I wouldn’t think I’d have any way to grow FOND of it. XD

 What’s your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. Uhhhh it’s a toss-up between Ruin the Sky and Shifting.

 Okay, NOW your most popular story. The Children of Snakes. Shocking!

 Story most underappreciated by the universe? Ruin the Sky. LOVE MY SCIFI AU GAWD.

 Story that could have been better? Oh man, I really wish I’d had the time to do Dream Guy justice, because that story could have been beautiful. T_T But also A Very Hawkeye Haunting.

 Sexiest story? Uhhhh hm. I don’t really write sexy things, but either Pretty Boys in Dresses just for the kink mention, or maybe First Impressions.

 Saddest story? WAS ANYTHING I WROTE SAD?? Okay, no, it wasn’t. So I’ll go with The Children of Snakes for certain events. >.> Or Drove Through Ghosts to Get Here because it’s a story about recovery. Most of my stuff is pure fluff so *SHRUG EMOJI*

 Not Posted? Oh gosh, so many. I wrote 4 or 5 holiday drabbles that I didn’t post, to send out with cards this year. And there’s a bunch of stuff I never finished (two of which are longer WiPs that are a few chapters in, but I’m trying not to post unfinished stuff this time around), and some side stories to The Children of Snakes that either aren’t done or just aren’t posted because of reasons I forget.

 Most fun? Nine Lives Café, oh gosh the cutest thiiiing.

 Story with single sweetest moment? Christ, this list is like 99% fluff. Maybe Cascade? Proposals are sweet.

 Hardest story to write? Hmmm probably First Impressions. It just would not cooperate with me for a lot of things. Gah.

 Easiest/most fun story to write? Toss-up between Best Friends and Bottoms Up. Crackfic ftw.

 Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters? Hmmm, not really? Some stuff like Too Useful to Shoot and Drove Through Ghosts to Get Here were helpful in EXPLORING characters I’m unfamiliar with, but they didn’t really change anything.

 Most overdue story? Posted? The Children of Snakes. Wooo, that one keeps arguing with me so much. T_T Not posted? The next part of the Dragon Scars series, which I really need to get around to writing. Bleh.

 Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Does writing about characters for a game I’ve never even played count? BECAUSE THAT WAS FUN. I did learn that I can write characters that I’m sort of familiar with when I’ve only learned about them through third parties, which is going to be useful when I get around to writing my Riza/Winry. And even though I didn’t actually WRITE the kinky sex of Pretty Boys in Dresses, it was fun even vaguely mentioning it.

 What are your fic writing goals for next year? Finish more longer things? :D Also to try to branch out a little more in genre, pairing, and fandom. I stick to one thing so much it’s painful, and as much as I love writing fluff NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE FLUFFY, SELF.