#Kylia Talks Her Fics

[kyliafanfiction]

2, 4, 38, 40, 55 from the fanfic writer ask meme?

Thanks for the Ask!

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

I don't know if I have that many times where it's happened like this, but one that did have it happen is in my fic Iron Coin Chronicles Season 1. A core idea of the fic from the start was that Faith wasn't going to go evil. But I did still want to write the reason of Buffy Season 3 close enough to the canon that there needed to be someone in the Scoobies who worked for the Mayor. So I decided to prevent Amy from being turned into a rat, and then have her end up falling down a path to evil, manipulated by the Mayor, while also having her hang with the Scoobies more.

Instead, in the second appearance of her in the fic (the chapter that was supposed to be her start of Darkness, I got really into her dynamic with Faith - their similarities and the way it might play out between them and that rapidly progressed into me wanting to ship them together, which rewrote the rest of the Season (sorta) and them getting together and falling in love became a major sideplot of Season 2. And went on to be planned to be a major part of the rest of the plans for the series, though I ended up abandoning ICC-verse before going all the way with my plans for Faith/Amy.

4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

I mean, there are ideas that I had a long time ago that I still technically know and could write, but I wouldn't say I've carried them all this time, because I'm not all that into them anymore. And there's ideas I've wanted to write for a while, but they're not really a full on plot yet, because they're more just 'I want a fic with X trope and Y pairing' or something along those lines, but I haven't sat down and worked them out.

Allowing for that, I suppose the closest thing that would be an answer to this would be my recurring idea on a fic where I write a Halloween Fic for Xander in Buffy (YAHF as it's known, is a common theme where the characters get dressed up as someone different than in canon for the Halloween episode in Buffy Season 2, and some effects linger, as they did a bit in canon). I wanted to write it to avoid common pitfalls in the genre. These days, I also want to combine it with a desire for genderbending Xander, which Is also a trope I love. I don't really feel existential dread - I know why I shied away from it. One, trouble with a satisfactory plot, two, concerned I couldn't do it justice (though I don't really hold to that anymore) and most importantly, unsure what the hell to have Xander (or others) to dress up as that suits what I want. Every now and then I get an idea, or part of one, but I always rethink it. And right now, I hardly have the time for more fics so.

38. how many stories do you work on at one time?

Many. It does varry, but write now, not counting original ideas I really should be working on more, I'm currently in the midst of 6 different fics, which isn't completely atypical though it is more than historically common, and also working on a 7th very intermittently and I have serious groundwork done on 2 others ideas that I want to start but I DON'T HAVE THE FUCKING TIME. :sob:

40. best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten.

Any comment or review that goes line-by-line about in the reader responding to specific sections.

55. do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Yes. Many. Too many to list here. Usually either lack of response from readers, loss of interest for myself, writing myself into corners, my opinions of the characters changing to the point where I couldn't write the characters the way the story required, or most often, a combination of several or all of the above.

Asks for Fanfic Writers!

[kyliafanfiction-archive]

Are you going to change your name on AO3 as well? (Pardon me if you did, I didn't go check.)

I have not yet, and while I probably will eventually, I don’t know if I want to do it right now. I have plenty of readers who don’t ever check my tumblr in any way, or whatnot, and explaining this whole thing in an Author’s note seems a bit off - it’s a little more than goes into one of those, and I’d have to do it once for each current ongoing fic.Also, there’s another website I publish on where I am 99% sure I can’t actually change my penname (which is actually why my penname on FFN and Ao3 is Alkeni  and why Alkenifanfiction was Alkenifanfiction as opposed to say, Enilasfanfiction, my old FFN penname- I made the account on TTH with Alkeni, not planning on writing fics on TTH, just wanting to leave reviews, but when I got ideas for the kinds of fics TTH hosted, I changed my name on the places I could, to keep it all under one penname.)

I’ll probably do it at some point, with a cursory explanation pointing people to my tumblr for more details, but not at the moment or the immediate future. I don’t have a highly personal relationship with most of my readers that aren’t also tumblr friends. Most of them, anyway. Some I have some more familiarity with.

[stargazerdaisy]

Do you have any Skyeward fic recs?

Hello dear Blueberry.

I told you it would take me awhile to put this together, and alas, it’s been more than awhile.  And I’m totally cheaping out on you too.  BUT I have recs.  Oohhhhh, do I have recs.

First thing is the cheaping out.  It’s not so much cheaping out, as much as it is not duplicating great work.  Both @evieoh and @kyliafanfiction have put together Rec Lists, that I highly recommend you peruse.  I use Evie’s a lot myself, to remind me of some of the greats.Evie’s Rec ListKylia’s Rec ListLike I said, take a look at those and you’ll find a ton of amazing fics.Here are my go-tos:

Under My Skin by @poetgirl925  - I know Evie and Kylia both recommended it, but it is AMAZING.  Hands down one of my top 5 favoritest Skyeward fics EVER.  I read it every few months (twice at year at least, if not more often).  I even talked my husband, who is sooooooooo not a fic guy, into reading it and he really enjoyed it.  If you only read a handful of fics, make sure this is one of them.Know Your Enemy by FavoredFire ( @pieces-solving-a-puzzle) - gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.  Imagine someone hyperventilating in a paper bag and that’s me every time I read this.  It’s an amazing work, canon adjacent, but so in character and just breathtakingly spectacular.  READ IT.It must be fate, I found a place for us by serenitysea and catteo is PHENOMENAL.  SO SO SO MUCH FUN.  Skye and Ward meet in a club.  He’s cocky and self assured, she’s having none of it until she decides to mess with him back, and whoops!  They end up doing the do in all sorts of ways.  Pretty much E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G by Anuna ( @vesperass-anuna).  Not only is she one of my dearest friends, but she is a rockstar of a writer.  (I admired her as a writer long before we became friends, and in fact, commenting on her stuff led to a great discussion which was the basis of our friendship.  But I digress.)  She writes the most tender, emotion filled stories. There is always a thread of hope and love, woven through the stories, even when things aren’t nice.  And while I am adamant that this isn’t all she is, she really does write amazing smut, if you’re looking for that.  Orlissa ( @orlissa) writes the sweetest and most fun fluff and happiness.  Her Haylie/Ada/Ellie universe is such a happy place and another of those that I re-read often.  And girl knows her hot smut too.  Bow howdy!I love @kyliafanfiction’s fics, especially for something more canon-based and with a bit more serious tone.  (I love all kinds of Skyeward.)  I have a very personal attachment to Enough Good Left After All, because Kylia and I agree on how amazing Kara is and how we need more of her in everything.  Someday You’ll Understand by @agenthaywood is a great character study.  He really dials into what the fallout on Skye might be in early Season 2.  It hits all the feels and really focuses on her.  Marvelous.And for one last mention, or else this will literally never stop: Just go read Evieoh’s entire catalog.  ALL OF IT.  Every last word.  The girl blows my mind with how amazing she is.  Yes, I have a personal stake in pretty much every fic, but really, duuuuuuuuuuuuuude.  The things her brain comes up with.  The way she softly but deftly handles emotions and character development, I swoon.  @evieoh is QUEEN.And shameless selfpromotion - I write funny stuff.I hope all of this gives you great fic that you haven’t seen before.  And please come back and tell me which ones you loved and why and just really, any screaming/wailing/commenting of any kind.  It’s what I live for. :D :D :D

[kyliafanfiction]

19 and 28 for ao3 wrapped, please?

19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Hm. That's a good question. I mean, everything currently on my roster or to-write pile is a pairing I'm already very into, but I suppose theres a few that I haven't actually written yet. So I guess Nyssa Al Ghul/Sara Lance, from Arrowverse. Though it's in an AU where Sara didn't join the League, so the exact dynamic we see will be quite different than in canon. But yeah, I haven't written it yet and I do want to explore it.

Maybe Barry Allen/Caitlin Snow from the Flash, but I don't know if I'll actually get to the fic I have planned for that this year, given everything.

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

Hm. That's another good question.

If you limit it to things I started this year, then there's only one choice. And that's Next Year's Girl, but if we expand it to include every fic I worked on at all this year...

Honestly, I may have to go with The Nymph's Kiss, the utterly self-indulgent idfic smutstravaganza I've been writing alongside my other stuff. It's just too much fun to write. Honorable mention to my trans!Draco Malfoy Dramione fic, Cassiopeia, because while it is sometimes slow going, I do very much enjoy writing it as well.

Ao3 Wrapped Asks

[kyliafanfiction]

100 Days of Writing, Day 3

From @the-wip-project

What’s your character’s motivation? What motivates them to act like they do?

Well, you ask that as if I have one ‘your character’. But I suppose, in keeping with the basic premises of the thing, we talk about what I’m working on now. Since I finished a chapter of Cassiopeia yesterday, I’m working now on a chapter of my Arrow AU fic The Siege of Starling City. That’s got a lot of characters, but of the three viewpoint characters, the one this chapter will focus a lot on is Sara Lance.

The Sara Lance of this verse is very different from canon, due to difference experiences. Her motivation... comes down to it, justice - not legal justice, though that’s how she’s been trying to pursue it, and getting pushed up against the edge of justifications she can offer in the process - she’s a cop, she joined the force after the death of her sister Laurel (well ‘death’, turns out she was alive) to be closer to her dad, and to use the law to honor Laurel’s memory (Laurel having once wanted to be a cop like their father, and then moving to being a lawyer and fighting for the law that way), but she’s also just found the work works for her in other ways too. 

Her motive is helping people, fighting those who prey on people - and she knows the police aren’t perfect (or close), but it’s the best available option. Of course, once vigilantes show up and one of them turns out to be her sister, she starts being forced to rethink her views. 

She’s motivated by a desire to do good, help people, and try to make for a better, more just world. She’s motivated by caring about her family, especially her dad and her sister (her relationship with her mom is strained, though obviously she still loves her). Like her dad and her sister, she has an addictive personality (the dad is a canon recovering alcoholic who falls off the wagon a few times, as is canon Laurel, though she doesn’t fall off in canon - that part has been avoided thus far in this AU), though right now that mostly manifests in being a workaholic, though she’s functioning, for the moment. 

[kyliafanfiction]

100 Days of Writing, Day 4

From @the-wip-project

Here’s today’s question:

Thinking back to the motivation(s) you defined yesterday, what is your character’s goal (or goals) and what conflict(s) prevents them from getting to that?

Well, sticking with Sara Lance... her goal is to help people in Starling City as a cop, help her sister and Oliver with their vigilante work and maybe get laid (Okay, that one’s not conscious, but she is quite aware of how long it’s been for her, and there is some major ship tease planned down the line in the fic with Sara and her future LI, so :rofl: )

The conflicts in place are the fact that she’s a Detective in the Police Department, and the Vigilantes are wanted criminals. She would never turn her sister or Oliver in, but she does have to deal with the fact that she can’t be seen as working with them, or get suspected (she had some instances in the first fic in the series, so some people at IA are watching her). Plus, she’s running up harder and harder against the fact that even at it’s best (which the Department isn’t at right now) there’s so many institutional limits and strictures wrt to the Police Department that limit the ability to help people in ways she doesn’t want to accept. She’s going to have increasing conflicts between helping her sister/helping people in the city/combating the new threats on the horizon, and her duties, obligations and rules as a Police Detective.

[kyliafanfiction]

100 Days of Writing, Day 2

from @the-wip-project

For your current WIP: (do you have many WIPs? I have so many WIPs. So I mean current as of right this moment, the project you’re thinking about right now.) What motivates you to write this specific story? What makes this story special for you? Is there a special twist/trope/setting you want to explore? What got you started on this particular story?

My current WIP is a Harry Potter fanfic called Cassiopeia, which is a murder mystery, but really is as much a vehicle for Trans!Draco (the titular Cassiopeia) as anything else. Though it is interesting to try to work on a real murder mystery, as that sort of thing isn’t my forte.

Motivations are spite (because Fuck you JK Rowling) and a longstanding desire to see more stories featuring a transgender draco (that are Dramione, my ship for the character. I don’t think that Draco is trans in canon or anything, I just think it’s interesting. I like reading fics featuring Draco (well, Dramione fics mostly, as that’s the version of the character I like), and I like fics involving trans women, because it’s nice to see myself in a fic in some form. Since I couldn’t find many fics that were both Dramione and featured a trans Draco (or even a Rule!63 or genderswap n other form Draco, I like all three tropes, though in distinct ways), I decided to write my own.

The murder mystery was mostly me needing an actual plot to go with the story and that one finally coming up. Which is what got me started.

As for the twist... well, it’s a murder mystery, so the twist is whodunit, I suppose.

[kyliafanfiction]

Fanfic writer asks: 18, 21, 37, 41, 50

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them? 

Oh yeah. Many and Sundry. Standout examples include Out of the Shadows and Into the Light, Ledger Dripping Red, Jarl of Blackreach and Dead Man Walking in D.C. Mostly a compination of limited feedback (thus making it less worth the effort), loss of interest and loss of inspiration. Though in the case of the first two, my changing views of the Source Media plays a role. 

A few other abandoned fics were deleted, back when I thought it was kosher (as it were) to do that. These days, I do not consider it okay to delete fics. Always keep them up, even if you just orphan them on Ao3.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire? 

Well, since it is never too early to pander to your audience, there’s you, Daisy :p. I admire your ability to actually, like… write fluffy? I can’t do fluffy very well, but you do fluffy very well, and you do sedate (ish) AUs surprisingly well too. I don’t usually read all normal/all-human/etc AUs for genre shows, but I do for your Skyeward.

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written? 

Probably What is The Purpose Of This Hat? or Of Evil Unmatched

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written? 

Amy Madison, duh. :p I mean, Kara Lynn Palamas is a very close second, but Amy still owns me heart, mind and soul.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

I do not feel very comfortable publishing full on smut, or with the idea of publishing it, and I’m bad at fluffy, so angst by process of elimination. I can still call it angst if I give it a happy ending, right? or at least a bittersweet one? :P

Fanfic Writer Asks

[kyliafanfiction]

1, 2, 23, 25

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction? 

Depending on how one defines fanfiction and writing… 13/14? That’s when I’d put it, anyway, IIRC. Maybe 12?

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one? 

Right now, the CWDCTV-verse (I call it one fandom, even if it is four going on five shows plus some other stuff), Skyeward (technically AoS/MCU fandom, but I’m really writing for Skyeward fans only here, though if someone else enjoys it, I’m all for that) Buffyverse.

I’ve also written for Skyrim, Dragon Age, Fire Emblem, and Merlin, as well as some others in Crossovers

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence? 

Music, generally, unless I’m rewatching a scene for reference in terms of the scene I’m writing.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story? 

I believe so. Offhand, I’m pretty sure I did while I was writing Maybe In Another Life (But Not This One)

Fanfic Writer Asks!

[kyliafanfiction]

Writer asks: 3, 11, 20, 29, 30, 40

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer. 

OCs. I don’t understand the appeal of reader inserts. Though the critics of my first major fic insisted the OC I had was a self-insert, a lot. Which was wrong, though there were lots of other problems with the fic.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it? 

I don’t think so?

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently? 

Ended differently? I can’t think of any offhand. Maybe made substantial changes to in the entire structure and substructure of the story, but nothing where the problem is just the ending.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?  

Is all of them a valid answer? But more specifically, I suppose I’d say Red Moon Rises and Iron Coin Chronicles - RMR because I wish it had been more well received so I could have justified writing that sequel (though it does have some structural problems undermining it, to be fair) and ICC because it’s nearly my fandom Magnum Opus, or the closest thing I have to one anyway, counting the whole series and what is going to come of it - sort of a showcasing of all my core notions about what makes for a good fanfic, in a lot of ways.

There’s good reasons for both - RMR has some structural issues and some some super-bad (in hindsight) writing the first few chapters that I just never got around to fixing, and ICC sits in this limbo where the first fic is in many ways written for a certain category of Xander Fan (though not exactly intentionally) and the second fic turns a lot of those people off of it because it’s a different kind of fic (again, not exactly intentionally) so the target audience (of a sort) of fic 1 isn’t going to stay for fic 2 as much, and fic 2’s ‘target audience’, which is much wider than that of fic 1, isn’t going to really notice since they won’t get through Fic 1 unless they have the perseverance for a story that isn’t likely to be their speed.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at? 

What Is The Purpose Of This Hat even counting other fic platforms, it isn’t super well loved overall, but in proportion to the amount of work I put into it, yeah, it is too well loved. It bothers me less these days, but when I wrote it originally and put it on other sites first, I got really really annoyed at it getting seven reviews in like, one day when I was struggling to get two reviews on a much longer chapter in a much more detailed and thoughtful work. Or even on my other oneshots. 

40) Do people know you write fanfiction? 

My parents know. My sister knows. I think my sister even reviewed one of my fics on FFN once. She knew my FFN penname at the time because she knew the online handles I was using and after she read the fic she was like ‘oh, hey, that’s my sibling’s!’ or something, I think. But that’s about it, beyond like my ex who I sort of met (not quite, it’s complicatedish) - I don’t have many RL friends or people I’m close to that I would or wouldn’t tell.

More or less anyone I know online learns sooner or later that I write fic, as it comes up eventually, though not usually with any specific intent behind it.

I think my sister’s husband knows too, I might have mentioned it to him one time while we were in the same room having some chitchats while my sister was elsewhere (he, like my sister and I, is a Nerd™). That’s more or less about it, give or take.

Fanfic Writer Asks!

[kyliafanfiction]

4, 7, 12, 19, 27, and 48 for fanfic asks :)

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

Well, if we go by FFN Genre categories, probably ‘Adventure’ with Romance and Drama as 2nd and third place.

By publishing category, Sci-Fi/Fantasy and related media under the ‘Speculative Fiction’ label, but that’s unhelpful for fic writing, as basically all my Fandoms are Speculative Fiction to one degree or another, so of course my fics are.

More specifically, in terms of the kinds of fics, I would say that my favorite fic genre is Canon Divergence, both in writing and reading.

7) When is your preferred time to write? 

In a perfect world, Early evening. 

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why? 

Oooh, cruel question. Asking me right now, gun to my head, I’d probably say Sara Lance has been one of my favorites to write for, while I’ve been working on Vigilante’s Dawn, because I really like exploring the changes to her worldview while keeping the core character. 

Kara Lynn Palamas is always fun to write for because there’s just enough skeleton to work with in terms of who she is, but plenty of room to ‘customize’ her character as needed for the purposes of the story at hand, because so little about her is defined. And my baseline version of Kara is just a lot of fun to write because she’s such a snarky-on-the-surface but so very ride or die for anyone close to her when you break past the outer layer.

While he’s not at the top of my list rn, historically over time, Wesley has probably been my favorite character to write, and probably will be again. I love Wesley and his pragmatism and his worldview in general, and I also love getting inside his head - I mean, I love introspection in fic in general, but Wesley’s head is the most fun to get into because he undergoes such drastic changes over the course of the show while never actually seeming like he’s OOC at any point, so charting all those changes in-story is fascinating stuff.

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to? 

For a given value of ‘really love’, there’s Red Moon Rises, my Buffyverse Medieval AU - it never really got enough interest on any platform for me to be willing to put the effort into writing a sequel, but I did have about four books in the ‘Prophecies Cycle’ mapped out. RMR is also one of the few fics I’ve written where filing the serial numbers off and creating a brand new story that I could theoretically publish is feasible (most of my other stories are too canon-divergence-y for that), though I’d have to file quite a few serial numbers off and probably cut out or combine a number of characters along the way, and rewrite whole subsets. Still, it is doable, so I’ve always kept in mind that I might do that instead someday, and then maybe write that sequel I considered.

Not a sequel, but I’ve kind of wanted on and off to write a prequel to A New Age For Camelot. That fic is kind of an ‘epilogue to an AU’ sort of story, in that it takes place well after canon diverged and touched on what happened to get there in the broad strokes but none of the details. 

I still have plans to (somehow eventually) write a third Installment in my Buffyverse/Stargate SG-1 crossover series ‘Old Friends’ centering on the notion that Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and Daniel Jackson were friends in pre-grad college and Daniel tries to recruit Wesley to the Stargate program… then in the second book they find vampires on another planet.

And so not counting still ongoing fics or fics that have hard and fast ‘sequels will be written’ in my schedule, that’s about it.

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow? 

I don’t actually sit down and *make an outline* in the strictest sense, but I do have an outline’s sense of where I want the story to go from beginning to end, and I sketch out the scenes I plan to include in a given chapter before I write it, generally speaking.

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Close-in Canon Divergence. Not just canon divergence, but divergence that really sticks close to the canon rather than going off in some weird direction or into left field (though those are fun to read sometimes). I really like it when a fic lets the story continue more or less as canon, with the changes stemming from one or two initial changes, and following them through as events drift more and more and more away from canon, until finally you really do reach that canon ‘hinge moment’, where if things go different, everything goes different.

Like, in say, BtVS, as long as Acathla doesn’t end the world and Buffy doesn’t die (and eventually comes back to Sunnydale) the specific details of how Angelus is defeated don’t really matter in terms of the main plot of Season 3 - the Mayor is still going to have his hundredth anniversary, still gonna have his Dedication and do all the things he does in Season 3. His plan is independent of anyone else. And as long as the Mayor loses in Season 3, the Initiative is still gonna start major operations roundabout the time Season 4 happens, etc. BUT, if Buffy doesn’t die at the end of Season 5? Well, everything afterwards goes very different. The First’s entire plan is impossible, since it relies on Buffy’s resurrection fucking up the Slayer line, and Season 6 is basically three episodes long, because that’s how long it would take not newly back from the dead Buffy to find and stop the Nerd Trio, and Willow doesn’t cast the resurrection spell and doesn’t go magic-overboard, so… yeah, there’s no season 6 or 7, if Season 5 ends with living Buffy.

So I really like fics that do that - that introduce one or two small changes and then follow those changes through to that hinge point and really alter the course of the series after that - the first Fic series I read that did that super well was the Family Name Series by Elbereth in April which has the initial change point of Artemis Fowl going to Hogwarts starting in Harry’s second year, and how that alters the course of each book - but it isn’t until the end of book 4 happens that something fundamentally alters the direction of the next book and the rest of the series (also, series hasn’t been updated since 2012, but that’s a different discussion). The build up was done so masterfully and expertly that it imbued a love for that trope for me, and it’s why I like to write it so much.

And wow, I didn’t mean to write that much. :P

Fanfic Writer Asks!

[kyliafanfiction]

Fanfic questions.

1.

3.

34.

😈😏

Fanfiction Writer’s Ask Meme 1. From one to five stars, how would you rate your writing? (No downplaying yourself!)

Overall? 3.75 to 4 stars, but that’s only when you look at the totality. Individual parts of my writing can go down to 2, 2.5 quite easily.

3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

Not much, really? I’m good, but I’m not what anyone would call unique. That said, I do feel like I spend more time thinking about the interpersonal politics at work than some writers, but others spend even more time on that so, it’s a bit of a mixed bag there.

34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of.

Under the cut. C&Ping it in was a bitch because I had to re-add the formatting. It’s also a bit dated, so there are some writing choices I wouldn’t have made if I were writing it now. Still...

Amy looked over at the cheap digital clock/radio on Faith's bedside table, and saw that it was 10:30. Even though that meant she'd already missed her first two classes, Amy didn't care. This morning, class didn't matter. She didn't want to leave the bed, didn't want to move away from Faith. She wanted to stay here with this woman she felt so much for – 

It meant she'd be in the bed for a while, she knew, but that didn't matter. Faith still probably wouldn't wake up for at least another hour, but Amy could enjoy her closeness nonetheless. The feeling of Faith's body pressed up against hers. The fact that Faith trusted her enough to fall asleep next to her – everything. That Faith returned her feelings.

Faith didn't really 'do' talking. About emotions, or where she stood with a person. It was something Amy had long gotten used to – which made her treasure those times when Faith did talk about her emotions, did address directly that Amy was her friend, her best friend. That she trusted Amy. But Amy knew that they weren't going to have some grand 'what are we now' conversation when Faith woke up. She wanted it – she really wanted to have it, so she could be sure – completely sure – that last night really had happened, that it really hadn't been a dream. But she didn't want to – couldn't – press Faith too much.

Besides... Amy had to be sure exactly what she felt. She had feelings for Faith, granted. Strong ones. This wasn't just some physical attraction – yes, Faith was sexy and beautiful as hell, but Amy still wasn't attracted her own gender generally – she was just... she just wanted Faith. But she wasn't sure what to call 'them' beyond that. It was more than just sexual attraction... but Amy was hesitant to use the obvious word 'love' because... well... it hadn't been that long since she'd admitted the crush to herself, all said and done, and... to be honest, Amy had no idea what love actually felt like. Faith made her happy – almost stupidly happy, now – and her fears and belief that Faith could never return her feelings had hurt, but still. Was it love yet? Wasn't love something that took time?

Amy considered this question back and forth for some time, but eventually put it aside. She wasn't coming to any resolution yet, and until she did, she was definitely not going to press Faith on the 'what/where are we' question. Faith returned her feelings, to some degree. That was what mattered.

About an hour after Amy herself woke, she felt Faith starting to stir next to her. The witch felt the Slayer's arm slide off of her as the dark-haired girl sat up a little, blinking her eyes against the sunlight. Amy looked over at Faith, and Faith looked over at her. The Slayer blinked again, seeming confused for a moment, but it only lasted a moment.

“Usually, I kick the other person out when we're done.” Faith told her softly. Then she smiled a little, “Didn't feel like doing that with you.”

Amy felt her chest tighten a little at the affirmation of the way Faith felt about her. Unable – and unwilling – to stop herself, Amy closed the distance between herself and Faith and pressed her lips against the Slayer's. Faith responded to the kiss, returning it with as much force as Amy gave. Amy put her arms around Faith's back, holding onto her shoulders tightly, as if for dear life – again. But she wasn't doing it for the same reason as she had last night. Last night had been about how she couldn't lose her best friend – and then how Faith was really kissing her back, not rejecting her. Amy had held on then because she wanted to affirm that this was really happening, that Faith was really there.

Right now though, it was because Amy felt like she was drowning in the kiss, and she needed to hold on to Faith as a lifeline. The two locked lips for what felt like an hour, but couldn't have been for more than a minute. Eventually, Faith pulled back and smirked as Amy looked into her eyes.

“Keep that up,” Faith told her lightly, “and we're going to have a repeat performance.”

“I can't say I object to the idea.” Amy admitted, her voice soft. Despite herself, she flushed, then looked into Faith's eyes a moment longer.

“You know,” Faith said after another moment, looking her up and down, “I didn't realize you were into girls... until, you know, you kissed me last night.” Faith still had a bit of her smirk on her face, although it was also a bit of a smile.

I'm not into girls. I'm into you. But Amy didn't say it like that. Instead, she gave Faith a smile of her own. “You just have that effect on me.”

“I do, do I?” The expression on Faith's face could only be described as smug. Faith looked over at the clock, then back to Amy. “Playing hooky today?”

Amy nodded, “After last night... I'm just feeling like I'd rather spend the day with you than go to class.” Amy smiled again – though really, she was just still smiling from before. She was just – she was just so happy. Amy reached up and tucked a stray few hairs behind her ear.

Faith shrugged, “Seems like a fine idea to me. We're friends – sex doesn't change that. Hanging out with you is still fun.”

There was nothing inherently wrong with what Faith had said, but hearing the words... the mostly casual way she said them... it made Amy's throat clench. Had she gotten it all wrong? Had Faith – did the Slayer not realize what it was that she felt –

“It is.” Amy said softly, ignoring the empty hollowness she was starting to feel. She could be wrong – she had to be wrong. This wasn't just sex. This hadn't just been sex.

I never actually said anything – we just... we just sort of kissed and then... Yeah, she'd – she'd just assumed that Faith got it. That Faith understood how she –

And that Faith wouldn't have responded, if she didn't feel the same way .

“I – I'm glad to hear that.” Amy reached over and put her hand on top of Faith's for a moment, wanting to hold onto it tightly, wanting to tell Faith exactly how she felt. But – the words caught in her throat.

Afterwards – it wasn't actually much time, but it felt like longer – Amy spoke again. “So we're still friends.”

“Definitely.” Faith agreed. She smirked and put her hand on Amy's side, then started to run it down to her leg. “Just... friends with benefits.” She leaned in and gave Amy a quick kiss, then ran her other hand over Amy's arm. “Still up for a repeat performance?”

Amy's throat was – she could barely breathe for a moment. Friends with benefits. That was all Faith saw this as. 

Goddess... I was so wrong...

All her happiness crashed down around her, her castles in the sky falling apart, her heart...

It felt like – goddess, it was such a cliché, but it felt like her heart had been torn out of her chest.

Faith didn't return her feelings – Faith didn't –

It was all empty and for nothing. She'd put herself out there, and Faith hadn't –

No. Not nothing – she didn't – she didn't reject you... Faith hadn't rejected her, Amy figured, because the very idea had been so insane it had simply never occurred to the Slayer. But she doesn't love me. We're just – friends with benefits. We're still friends. That – that matters. And it did. But as for everything else –

Forget it. If this is all of her I can have... Amy blinked back the start of tears. She knew if she let herself start crying, she wouldn't stop – and...and she wanted to. She wanted to scream and cry and rage at the unfairness of the universe, at the cruelty of the way the world worked. At Faith for completely missing everything... and at herself for being so damned stupid!

But –

No. If this was all of Faith she could have, Amy already knew she would take it. Even if she wanted to curl up into a little ball and hide, hide from the world, herself, from Faith – she couldn't now. Just as she couldn't cry. Not now. Later – later, she could do all those things.

But right now, she would take what she could have, and try to be happy with it.

“Always.” Amy managed to say with small smile that she hoped looked genuine. A moment later, she leaned in towards Faith, putting her hands on the Slayer's hips and kissing her again.

This is what I have. This is all I can have. All I can ever have.

[kyliafanfiction]

Writing Update 4-14-18

Vigilante’s Dawn Chapter 2 is about to go up. Thanks extended to @ravenclawjuliawicker for her beta-reading services.

I’m about 1/2 to 2/3s of the way done with Fine Dimensional Line Chapter 4, and I should have it finished by tomorrow and handed off to the beta.

Episode 20, Part 1, of Iron Coin Chronicles is done, and should be going up either later today or tomorrow. It isn’t the entire Episode, but for various behind the scenes reasons, I just cannot write the whole massive chapter in one piece - the next part will be worked on soon, and hopefully come out faster.

Once I’m done with FDL 4, however, I’ll be going Vigilante’s Dawn Chapter 3, which should finish off Episode 1 of Season 1 in terms of recap. In general, expect 2-3 chapters to cover a single Arrow Episode, though it will depend on how much of each episode is different from canon. Readers of ICC will grasp how I tend to show drift taking a while to really happen - eventually, that drift builds up, but at first, the course of events seems broadly similar to canon.

[kyliafanfiction]

Yikes omg

imagine being 29, having a cringeworthy header image that not even an 11 year old in their twillight phase would use AND being proudly ignorant towards other cultures.. just because all your country has for you to be proud of is the racist fucking founding fathers it doesn't mean you get to be a bitch, karen

Oh, whoops that s you xD

Not really sure what's That objectionable about this header

"Kylia. 29. She/Her.  Certified Maladjusted Misanthrope™. Dedicated to Fandoms and Fanfiction. Expect seemingly random and often contextless musing and grumping about modern fandom and various fandom related issues. There is no real method of organization here."

I mean, yes, I guess an 11 year old wouldn't have it, because

A) 11 year olds aren't supposed to be on Tumblr (you have to be at least 13) and

B) An 11 year old wouldn't use the term 'Maladjusted Misanthrope' because they wouldn't think like that. Whereas I use it because I got a review on one of my fics calling me a Maladjusted Misanthrope (not particularly sure what about that fic led them to call me that, tbh) and I found it amusing in it's absurdity, so I put it in my header.

If this is really the cringy-ist about you've ever seen, then you haven't seen that many abouts. I'd suggest spending more time on tumblr, but really, I don't recommend anyone spends time on this website. Really has a tendency to warp your view on the world.

Such as recycling the profoundly nonsensical claim that Americans have nothing to be proud of apart from the Founding Fathers, which is... certainly a Tumblr Take™. America (meaning the US in this context) has had a pretty complex culture for it's entire history and even before there was a US. So... y'know, whatever?

And if we're going to talk about being proud of racists, you do realize that Ancient Greece was also a profoundly racist civilization? Ancient Greeks literally coined the term 'Barbarian' to mean foreigner, and Ancient Greek writers themselves said it was because every other language sounded like 'bar bar' (i.e., gibberish). And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, just consult Aristotle's views on 'natural slavery', to say the least. It's not like he was some fringe thinker on the subject.

I, like most rational people, can appreciate the successes and positives of historical figures and groups (such as the US Founding Fathers, or Aristotle, or Ancient Greece in general) while also acknowledging their negatives.

Given your conduct in your message, you don't seem especially rational. Though to be fair, it is just one little glimpse on you.

I'm gonna rate this 3/10 because it's at least slightly more grounded in reality than most hate I get, but it's also incredibility unoriginal and just a bit stupid.

[stargazerdaisy]

11 Questions x 3

I was tagged by @kyliafanfiction, @trinitea-fics, and @skyeward-otp forever ago, but there’s no way I can come up with 33 questions.  So I’ll answer the 33 and come up with a new 11.  Theoretically.  We’ll see.

From Kylia:

1.) Favorite Trope To Subvert?

One of my favorites that I (think I) pulled off was in Please Don’t Make Me! , where Skye is all whispering in Ward’s ear about them sneaking off and finding a way to ~entertain~ themselves, and it certainly seems like sexy times are about to happen.  And then...it’s Mario Kart.  I love twisting people’s expectations for the sake of comedy and fun.

2.) Favorite Trope to ‘Play Straight’, as it were?

Bedsharing.  I am weeeeeeak for bedsharing.  GImme gimme gimme.  I want those  punks to wake up spooning and entwined and then the awkward to set in, but actually push them to deal with their feelings.  Yes please I need it now.  

3.) What is that one character that, no matter how much you might like to be open minded about other fans having their own opinions and whatnot, when you see people defending them, you just cannot stop rolling your eyes and being at the very least somewhat angry, if not raging?

Melinda May and Phil Coulson....

4.) Favorite Thing To Put Ketchup On?

The garbage can.

Haha, just kidding.  I’m not a huge ketchup fan.  I prefer bbq sauce or ranch for most things you’d use with ketchup.  But ketchup on a burger or hot dog works well (if bbq sauce isn’t an option).  

5.) Cake or Death?

Cake.  

6.) Is there a Spoon?

47 of them to be precise.

7.) What is the Average Airborne Velocity Of An Unladen Swallow?

African or European?

8.) Did you get the references in questions 5, 6, and 7 without having to look them up?

5 sounds familiar, but no.  6, not even in the slightest.  7, my answer should explain that one.

9.) Silliest name you’ve ever heard for a person/thing/group?

Oh, oh, oh, I know I have some doozies of nicknames, but I’m drawing a complete blank right now.

10.) What is a book series that is nominally completed that you’d like to see more installments of?

I’m a big fan of the Jack Ryan books by Tom Clancy, but well, Clancy died a few years ago, and none of the co-writers can match his original style and quality (honestly, neither can his own later books).  So while that verse could easily accommodate more stories, and I could love them, it’s not going to happen with the quality I want, so I wouldn’t want people to try and subsequently fail.

11.) Song you both hate but sometimes can’t stop listening too?

There was an *Nsync song back in the day that I hated.  But I listened to it enough times that I ended up learning all the lyrics and singing along with.  That’s happened with a few others too.  There are some One Direction songs that I like and it pisses me off that I like them.  

From Trini:

1. A song you are listening to on loop right now

Actually no, I’m not this week.  Which honestly is kinda rare.  Then again, I’ve been listening to a couple of playlists with The War on it and that song always gets to me, so it’s back in my mind again.

2. What is a popular show/book/movie/podcast could you not get into/have no interest in?

I’ve never gotten into Supernatural.  Just never had that much interest, despite having a big fondness for Jensen Ackles.  

3. What is the last movie you watched?

Thor: Ragnarok

4. Opinion of Valentine’s Day?

It’s nice to have a day where you make an extra effort to show your love for others.  It’s just as lovely to do so with family and friends as it is with a romantic partner.  And I definitely prefer, low-key, thoughtful gifts/activities.

5. A show, book or movie that you consider “Your childhood”

Inspector Gadget was one of my absolutely faves when I was a kid.  Also, totally loved Ghostwriter and wanted to start my own crime-solving group.  Alas, we did not have a ghost to aid us.  Magic School Bus was also watched a lot and I can still remember the ending bit with all the kids making phone calls.

6. Favourite Youtuber/what you do watch on Youtube?

I mostly listen to music on YouTube.  I don’t follow any particular person.  I’ve been enjoying mashup videos lately.  Imagine Dragons are great for mashups.  (There.  Happy Megan?)

7. What do you need to buy?

A new battery for my laptop.  It would be nice to use it when it wasn’t plugged in.  After all, that’s a big part of the whole laptop thing.

8. What merch are you close to impulse buying?

At this moment, nothing really.  But I had strongly considered buying Chloe Bennet’s Fight Like A Girl shirt.  If I had had the money at the time, I probably would have.

9. What’s the weather outside?

Right at this moment, overcast, grey, cool (low 40s), but happily, not raining.  Typical late March weather in this area.

10. A thing that you recently accomplished that you are proud of?

@mframe and I spent a good chunk of a day (or was it a couple days?) and built a form within the test environment of our database.  Built it from the ground up, adding groups, creating custom fields, making them calculated fields, setting up a bunch of codes in order to make them calculate correctly, etc.  And it works really well.  I really like it.  Now if only the assholes that I work with would shut the f*** up and get on board, we could actually use it.

11. Movie/book/Tv show/podcast coming out soon that you’re excited for

I NEED TO BUY MY TICKETS FOR INFINITY WAR.  Also, The Incredibles 2.

From Gilly:

1. If you won $1,000,000 dollars, what’s the first thing you’d do?

Pay off debt.  

2. A movie/tv show that you always go back to whenever you’re bored or don’t know what to watch?

Friends, Community, Brooklyn Nine Nine are all great standbys for when I can’t decide on what I’m in the mood for.

3. Most meaningful book you’ve ever read.

That’s an excellent question.  To Kill A Mockingbird is one of those books that’s always stuck with me.  I need to re-read it again, in fact.

4. Have you ever gotten anyone to get hooked on a tv show? How did they feel about it?

HAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH.  Yes.  I mean, nothing on the scale of Megan getting me hooked on AoS.  But I’ve convinced a couple friends to try Doctor Who, I got @evieoh to watch Community, and then she and I ganged up on @airaze-blog and made him watch all of Alias.  There was a lot of screaming.  We won’t talk about Orphan Black.

5. Has anyone ever gotten you hooked on a tv show? How did you feel about it?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Yes.

As referenced above, Megan was the one that really pushed me to try AoS again.  (I’d watched the first 3 or 4 episodes when it first aired, but lost interest and was always having to watch it later b/c of committments those nights.) There was another friend of ours at work, who pushed along with her, and my bff watched it as well and encouraged me.  I was kind of hesitant, didn’t care a whole lot, but I was getting into the MCU as a whole, so I decided to give it a shot again.

Amazingly enough, while I knew Hydra comes out of the shadows and about Jiaying’s evil turn, Double Agent Ward wasn’t spoiled for me.  I was SHOCKED at that.  And I’m so glad, because it was SUCH A GOOD TWIST.  

But yeah.....that may have just slightly, dramatically changed the trajectory of my life.  I wouldn’t have had an Aussie live on my couch for the last 6 months and that would have truly been tragic.

6. Where’s your dream vacation?

Croatia.  I’ve been dying to go there for years and it gets more intense every day.

7. Favorite social media app/site.

Tumblr.  I get the most interaction and the widest range here.  

8. Dream job.

Stay at home mom would be my preferred occupation.  For a profession, lactation consultant is my dream.  We’ll see if I ever get there.

9. Favorite genre to read/write.

Uhhh.....in terms of fanfic genres/tropes, I love enemies to friends to lovers (on any scale).  

10. Favorite genre to watch.

I love spy shows.  Gimmes spies anyday.  

11. Favorite quote at the moment.

CHICKENS!  (just for you, Evie)

My questions - sorry dudes, only doing 11.

What is your favorite season?

What are your feeling on A.I. (the concept, not the movie)?

What is the oldest piece of technology in your home?  Do you use it?  Do you know how?

Hummus.  Thoughts?

Tell me about a favorite birthday or holiday present.

What pair of shoes do you wear the most?  Are they your favorite or just the most functional or something else?

What’s your dream fanfic?

How easy is it for you to unplug?

What is a hobby/activity/something that you have an absurd amount of supplies/tools for?

What is your guilty pleasure snack food?

Are you more a dialogue or song lyrics referencer?

I tag: @evieoh, @mframe, @agenthaywood, @airaze-blog, @helloimthedoctor, @agentsofsunnydale, @queermageddon, @livesindaydreams, @orlissa, @vesperass-anuna, and @in-the-moving-castle

[kyliafanfiction-archive]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Arrow (TV 2012) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance & Sara Lance, Oliver Queen & Thea Queen, Laurel Lance & Quentin Lance & Sara Lance Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Sara Lance, Quentin Lance, Thea Queen, Moira Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Malcolm Merlyn, Felicity Smoak, John Diggle Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Laurel and Oliver were Both on the Queen's Gambit, Sara Wasn't, Alternate Season 1, Detective Sara Lance, Laurel is the Black Canary From the Start, Expect Major Divergence from Canon, More Character and Pairing Tags May Be Added as Time Goes On, Lance Family Dynamics, Queen Family Dynamics, I feel like I should be adding more tags but I can't think of any right now Summary:

What if Oliver Queen hadn't let his commitment issues sabotage things with Laurel? What if he'd invited Laurel onto the Queen's Gambit, instead of Sara? And what happens in Starling City when, five years later, The Arrow and the Black Canary, together, go after the List and the rest of the City's criminals? And what happens when Detective Sara Lance finds out her sister is one of the two Vigilantes that are bringing on the dawn of a new age?

I’ve been sitting on this story and this chapter for a while, but with my renewed zest for fic writing in the last few weeks, I decided I can finally post this up. This is that Lauriver AU I’ve talked about a few times, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what people think of it.

Read it on FFN