#No extra piece of WIP or draft needed ;3

[ezra-iolite]

WIP Game

Rules: Write the latest line from your wip (or post where you last left off in your art) and tag as many people as there are words in the line. Make a new post, don’t reblog.

@hyraxas You son of a- DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY DRAFTS/WIPs I HAVE!?! 😭 And the fact that I'm a LENGTHY WRITER DOESN'T HELP!!!

=w=' Don't say I didn't warn you.... Also I should be sleeping but I fancied doing this to help me get sleepy again. XD

Pirateformers Joka Ardhi Lore: The Evenstar Church

(Before I begin, just as a quick note, IT'S NOT CALLED THE SAVANNAH KINGDOM ANYMORE!! ASYA NOW COMES FROM JOKA ARDHI!!! ;3; I changed it cause it sounded racist... which actually works out in terms of world building and adding that extra bit of realism to the world and its cultural majority (i.e, Primus and its not so perfect ways). So just to be clear.... In the Pirateformers AU, most noble born or educated Primus natives, and most of the northern hemisphere, call the southern kingdom Asya is from The Savannah.... But the locals and those who actually know about the kingdom itself call it by its TRUE native name.... Joka Ardhi, the Dragon Lands. THAT is what I will be referring to from now on, whenever I mention Asya's homeland.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Asya's religion has mainly two names, its native Jokani name and either one of the two versions translated into Primus's native Common tongue. Each refer to the same faith that was properly organized into a widespread "culture and function based" religion by High Priestess Zahara, Asya's great, great grandmother and the second queen consort of Alunnui's reestablished Dragon Monarchy.

Established to help create traditions and comfort within the culture of the desert kingdom, this religious faith is more locally known as Nyotaism (Neo-Tah-Zim), which roughly translates to "Starism", a name very much on the nose in terms of its meaning.

When translated in Common or the language of Primus, it is more globally known as either The Astral Faith or the Evenstar Church, the latter being more referred to when it is translated into the Common tongue by the Jokani themselves.

A massive majority of the Jokani folk follow this religion, hence why Asya will often swear "by the stars" or "by the Evenstar" when she is frustrated or emotional. This is even more heavily impacted by the fact that a Jokani queen, be they the consort of the Dragon Lord or a female heir apparent that ascended to the throne to become Dragon Queen, are vowed upon their coronation to lead the church as its spokesperson or the face of the church, purely due to cultural tradition and how both practical and vital Nyotaism is to those who live both within the cities and as nomadic Dunefarers, where the wasteland of sand between each city constantly shift and the nights are cold and visible only under the dim starlight.

A Jokani queen becoming the face and voice of the church (but NOT a priestess or a church leader) is also due to Queen Consort Zahara, the platonically married wife to Alunnui's grandson, Dragon Lord Mzuri, being its founder, when she chose to change her title permanently to High Priestess of the Evenstar Church.... For she was the one who established the general faith towards the stars and made it into an openly practiced religion amongst the Jokani, one that soon became the backbone of organizational aid to the Dragon Lord's court and has since grown into a means of comfort and festivities for the kingdom, but never to be a power above the law and word of the crown, as written by Zahara's vow.

The diadem she wore has since been reshaped to bear a star ruby on its brow in her honour, and thus it became tradition for those who inherit the same crown to bear her responsibility, not as High Priestess but as the main practitioner and host for the church's traditions.

As many Nyota or Star priests will often preach in their sermons, "For it was the stars that guided the first humans here, lost and without roots to their old ways; It was the stars that witnessed their betrayal to the dragon natives that had welcomed them and asked only for respect to their laws. And in that war a hybrid child born of their secret union swore to those same stars, to his fallen forefathers amongst them, that he would take back what was stolen by the mortal deceivers, to pay for the bloodshed they caused. Those we call family and loved ones who have fallen since the sands were stained red are now above us, watching over us, guiding our way home and to our fates. Never are we lost, for the night will always hold open the path."

And (as a little something in terms of a placeholder/inspiration source for future art), upon the tapestry that adorns the walls of the royal palace lies the royal house emblem... a symbol of the church, the crown and the kingdom's ancestors represented by the three most important gods of the Evenstar Church's pantheon.... Ma'mwezi the Shifter Moon goddess; Usiku the Dragon Elder god, and of course the patron god of all Jokani and travelers, the Evenstar, who is often worn as a symbol of the faith through an eight-point star necklace. And upon the cloak of every royal guard, the pin and necklace of every royal born to the Ruby Lineage of Alunnui, each shall bear this emblem... the symbol of the House of the Dragon Monarchy.

(Legit just found this image on Etsy, it's just a placeholder picture until I can draw the emblem itself later on)

...... Like I said, I'm a lengthy writer. ¬3¬ And this is just a rough draft, as I'm still working out the pantheon and how to best describe who or what the Evenstar is~ In short, it's literally the North Star or the first star that appears at dusk, and it's viewed as like the head of the pantheon, like Zeus or Odin in a way, but it's not the only star based god of the Evenstar Church~

I hope you enjoyed my work so far! Let me know what you think!

[compacflt]

wip wednesday: boy you really would’ve thought I’d have posted these by now

[oh-cosmia]

12, 17, 19 <3

hiiiii alex <333

12. a trope you’re really into right now

haha well im gonna interpret "right now" as something i got into recently... dragon romance (YOU KNOW). also doomed friendship/friends-to-enemies arcs. does "the banality of evil" count as a trope?

17. talk about your writing and editing process

**OUGH**

okay so uhhhh for fic specifically its like. if its a new fic or a oneshot i write down a really rough summary like, i just ramble in my word doc as if i was telling someone this outline. sometimes if i already rambled about fic ideas in someone's dm's ill just copy paste it and use that as an outline. this was basically how me and mal wrote the outline for wedding fic, and also i did this with me and liz's dms when i first drafted solo au. and then i just start writing and keep fleshing out the outline till its done.

if its a chapter in a longer or ongoing work, like db:

prewriting; i need to know what main events happen in this chapter and also what key information is dropped. in chapter 11, something big happens, the steward shows up! thats something thats gonna build up to something in future chapters, so it was necessary to introduce it now. another big thing happens, when min encounters a denizen whose suffering he was complicit in. those are the big things that Have to happen, but then also in between that i want to drop some pieces of information that will become relevant in later chapters. when i get an idea for something gay i will find a way to work it in-- like, i didn't Need to make min kabedon ryan in ch11, but i had a vision. i had a dream. i did that for ME

writing; okay so first i lay down . then at 9-11pm i write in stimuwrite and then copy it into a word document later. then i lay down some more. if im REALLY feelin wild and i get into a groove i just keep writing till i pass out at 2 or 3 am. sometimes i go to my favorite cafe if i need to Lock In. writing is just mostly cleaning up and expanding on my outline. when i know generally what the trajectory of the chapter is and what stuff i need to make happen, everything else i kind of make up on the spot, like, the car settings and denizens are based off of whatever ideas or images were interesting to me recently. if i see an opportunity for fun banter or interactions i'll just throw it in. if i think of something funny or gay i'll put it in too. idgaf

editing; most fun part. so first i lay down. then i get up and look at a random scene of the wip. i edit it a bit. then i lay down. then i review the whole thing and fix any obvious #cringe moments or typos or fucked up syntax. then i lay down. then i edit some more until i can bear to show someone else

peer review. i show my trusted friends the fruits of my labors. they tell me if the vibes are off. they leave comments on my docs and reactions that help me gauge if my intentions/tone came through the writing. also frankly showing my friends a wip is nice bc the writing process can be very lonely and its a good motivator to show people and get amped up to finish

illustration; i've probably been sketching ideas up till this point, but i usually pick scenes if they're either important enough to the plot that i want to give an extra "oomph" to the moment, or if i just really have a strong image in my brain during a scene.

publish it. lay down again. sleep for a week. start thinking abt the next chapters

[risingsoleil]

Fic Writer Interview

My lovely friend @sheepwithspecs tagged me here, and I will spread this by tagging @yellowsalt3 @linnorabeifong @vr-tb @chiefbeifongcanrailme

1. How many works do you have on ao3? 14!

2. What's your total ao3 word count? 414,633

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Choices, Chances, Changes

You Are My Life

Talking to the Moon

The Other Side of Heaven

Lay All Your Love on Me

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I definitely try to respond to comments! The fact that someone spent time and energy to comment means so much to me, and I want to acknowledge that. I'm not the best at leaving comments, but I'm trying to do it more often as a reader bc I, too, am often dying at how awesome fics are

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

It's probably Meant To Be. Now that I think about it, I might write an extra piece for this fic just bc I feel like being salty lol

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

The Only Light We'll See - The whole fic was just an excuse to write steamy, smutty Linzin and let them have a happy life together. I guess you could argue that the main Linzin and family AU I write could also be one of them, but I haven't completed their story yet in this universe. Tbf, I don't think my Linzin AU has an "ending" but whatever happens, Linzin gets their happy ever after

7. Do you write crossovers?

Right now, I don't. But I was more open to writing crossovers when I was a kid.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I haven't thankfully, I have really awesome and sweet and kind-hearted readers in my circle 💞

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

Hell yeah, I fucking do! It's prob one of my fav things to write 😂 Idk what they mean by "what kind" but I've written possessive, romantic and loving, quickies, foreplay, first times, and spontaneous stuff. It's fun and my otps tend to be...super horny vibes

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I haven't, but I would be interested in seeing one of my fics translated!

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

Yes! It's Come As You Are with picajc and @alemanriq, and this holds a special place in my heart

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

404 error. I have too many, but for now it's Lin/Tenzin

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

Probably Olvídame y Pega La Vuelta just bc I lost the vision for it

15. What are your writing strengths?

I think emotions are a big part of my writing process and it comes through in my fics. I channel my own emotions into my writing and it does leave a more profound impression.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Sometimes I want my writing perfect in the first draft, and it stops me from just enjoying the process. Recently, I've been wanting to write and that has manifested into writing for "results" rather than quality. I mean, I still try to write my best and for the fun of it. It's just that work sucks my energy and the time I have left for myself is recharging 😭

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

I need more context with this question. Does this mean if I do something like this:

Lin and Tenzin raised their brows at the girl with the electronic device.

"어머, 죽겠다! 린베이퐁과 텐진 진짜 앞에 있다," she said aloud, though the language is not her mother tongue. "어떡해...인스타로 올리겠지"

In general, I would be open to it because it can open up new pathways for writing

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Meet The Robinsons

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I don't think I have one. For the most part, if I want to write for a fandom, I just do it lol

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Choices, Chances, Changes. I swear a divine force guided me into writing this bc I was so compelled to bring it to life. The updates were posted every few days, and the story was completely written in 6 months.

There were 21 chapters.

Also, it was the first fic I completed in like 14 years (omg I sound old now 💀)

Thanks @sheepwithspecs for tagging me! 💜

[popjunkie42]

Thanks to @thelovelymadone for tagging me! This is a great excuse to avoid writing 😅

Rules: reveal the titles of the documents in your wip folder and tag as many people as there are documents. Let others ask questions about the ones that interest them and post snippets or explain the contents as you see fit!

1. Final chapter of my Feysand fic Hate Me Instead. It is killing me a little bit but the first draft is almost there. Cassian will make another appearance and Rhys takes inspiration from some romance films

2. Blind - I am in love with this one which might end up being a two parter. A retelling of ACOTAR leaning heavily on Greek myths where a jealous Amarantha comes to the human lands, seeking out a huntress who has been defeating all the beasts she sends to subdue the mortals. Feyre will face beast Tamlin, I just wrote a new Calanmai, I want Rhys to be an extra unhinged trickster god, and Feyre gets to hunt the stag.

3. High Lord - pure CoN-related porn that may or may not come together for Feysand week

4. Chains - I’ve talked about this one, an ACOMAF divergence where Lucien manages to get Feyre in the Illyrian Steppes. High Lords may make an appearance. I always felt like all Rhys wants to do the whole series is burn Spring to the ground, so maybe I’ll let him.

5. Mrs. Archeron - a one shot exploring Feyre’s childhood and relationship with her mother. I imagined this as the intro to a future show, where we’ll need to understand a lot about the Archerons very quickly.

6. Occupation - a sort of dreamy piece where Feyre has a rare day of plenty in the forest in summer

7. Townhouse - a short piece exploring the IC convo at the townhouse after Feyre first arrived and everyone is wondering wtf is going on except Mor

Not going to tag anyone but snag it from me if you want to share!! I want to hear about everything.

[heelhausen]

🎉 📝🌺 :-3

🎉 Tell us some fun facts about your newest selfship!

God so. I’ve got so many different versions of Crash at this point that I need to start separating them out into different AU verses to keep ‘em together in my head lol. But. The butler stipulation acquisition AU is my latest tomfuckery, so we’ll go with some fun facts from that one.

- Roman initially realized he kinda had a “thing” for Crash during the Crash vs Solo Sikoa “No DQ/Bloodline Rules” match. He literally came to the realization that he found Crash hot as he was actively watching the poor bastard get the shit beaten out of him by Solo for a solid 45min while completely refusing to fall down or give up. Roman hadn’t understood why Triple H said they’d need an extra half hour of airtime for the Solo v. Crash match. He understands now.

- Roman will read comments on his TikToks to Crash just to hear his reaction. The first time Roman read a comment out loud, Crash didn’t realize that he was doing and looked at him with such exhaustion in his eyes and just went “you can’t be saying that tribal chief.” It made Roman laugh so hard he nearly threw up.

- Crash adheres to the “driver picks the music” rules, which has led to him infecting Roman with his batshit insane taste in music. They will be vibing to a playlist that goes from Czech hyperpop to 90s country to the golden oldies to literally just the Fallout New Vegas soundtrack for the entire drive. meanwhile Heyman will be in the back seat drafting his final will and testament.

📝 Give us a piece of a WIP involving your F/O (writing, art, etc.)

Oough so. Current progress on the merman and selkie art is this:

🌺 How do you and your F/O cuddle?

Curled up together on the couch, both half-falling asleep during the movie but neither willing to get up and actually turn it off. The remote was knocked off the arm rest an hour ago, but Crash has a hand idly playing with Roman’s hair and Roman is NOT getting up while his hair is getting played with. And Crash is not moving Roman off of him to grab the remote because for once Romans just let his brain shut off and relax, and Crash is gonna make sure that he gets all the rest he needs.

[max-logan-viverna]

🎨🖌️!!!WINTER SALE 2022!!! ✒️🖼️

Prices as low as 50% off original asking prices! From now (Nov. 28, 2022) until March 2023, or until queue (0/3) is met past the end date.

Preferred DM format... Body: [Headshot/Bust/Full Body] Style: [Lined/Monochrome/Lineless] Background: [Simple/Detailed ($extra)] Aspect Ratio: [square (1:1)/2160p (16:9)/ect.] # of Characters: [#] Weapons?: [Y/N] Then tell me what you want for your piece after price is told!

Detailed backgrounds only available with Full Body commissions.

The difference between a simple background and a detailed one is that a detailed one requires perspective or just in general has a lot going on. Examples here:

Ref sheets are not required, but very much appreciated! A reference in general, however, is needed. Do not be afraid to send me several refs or more! It really helps me get the general idea!

Payment is asked up front. Refunds will only be offered if I cancel the commission.

You will receive three WIPS, one being the sketch, one being the flats, and one being a draft of the background.

Example images in full quality here:

[hxhbb2021]

HxH Big Bang 2021 Sign-Up

Hello and Welcome to the Sixth Hunter x Hunter Big Bang!  Scroll to the bottom to sign up!  Read the rest of this post for rules and deadlines!  

*WHAT’S A BIG BANG?*

There are several variations, but generally a Big Bang is a fandom event where authors write longer stories (the minimum word length varies), and artists draw illustrations for those stories. This will result in an influx of new works for the hxh Fandom to enjoy and as an added bonus, it will encourage collaboration between Fandom writers and artists.

*SO HOW WILL THIS WORK?*

Authors will sign up to write a fic, and after they know what they plan to write, submit a summary of their story. Artists will then be able to claim the fic they want based ONLY on the blind summary (so make them good, writers!). From that point the writers will be given a deadline to finish their larger work and then the artists will be able to make their accompanying piece. 

*NEW FOR 2021*

*Based on feedback from last year, we have decided to allow the option for writer-artist collaborations this year!  See below for how this will work. 

*This year we are planning not one, not two, but three reveal dates!   The first set of stories and illustrations will be posted on July 1st; the second set on July 8th; and the final set on July 15th.   Each author and artist will be contacted with the date they should post on.  This is to allow everyone in fandom enough time to properly read and appreciate all the new stories and art.  <3

*Also new this year, please be ready to post your entire story or art piece on the date you are assigned! 

*FOR AUTHORS*

*Stories must be a min of 5,000 words in length. The max is 50,000 words.

*Content will not be restricted. You may write gen, het, slash, or any combination thereof; AU’S and crossovers are welcome; any rating (not explicit or nsfw), pairing, tense, pov, or voice are also allowed. 

*You may use a WIP so long as it has never been publicly available.  No submitting a chapter of a work you’ve already posted somewhere else, now.  Stories must be complete, new, and proofread.  

*Multiple authors can collaborate on a single story. 

*A summary of your fic is due February 22ND. You will need to have enough of a solid idea to state your rating, possible length, as well as any possible triggers or pairings. Please refrain from wildly changing your summary or the idea of your fic mid-way.  

*All summaries will be posted blind sometime after Feb 22ND. You will be matched with an artist based (only) on the summary of the story you plan to write. 

*If you indicated you would be willing to collaborate, we will try to match you with an artist who also wishes to collaborate.  In the case this is not possible, you will still write your story as in past years, without knowing who is illustrating.  Surprises are fun!  

*A completed draft of your story, including all major scenes and the ending (so artists can choose which scene to illustrate), is due by May 14th.  

*We will contact you if there is a problem, and advise you along the way 

*FOR ARTISTS*

*After summaries are posted, all fic claims will be due by March 5th. These are on a first come, first serve basis. Any extra artists or fics will be matched by the hxhbb mods.

*If you would like to collaborate with a writer during the draft process, please indicate this on your sign up form.  We’ll only match you with a writer who also wishes to collaborate.  If this is not possible, you’ll illustrate as in past years, without knowing who is writing. Surprises are fun!  

*If you are collaborating, you’ll be given your writer’s contact information.  If you are not collaborating, you will be given a complete draft of the story you chose by the end of May.

*Your minimum requirement per fic is one illustration. One is required but if you feel inspired you are welcome to create more than one.

*Which part of the fic you illustrate is up to you.  You choose the chapter, scene, or even an image that sums up the spirit of the whole piece.  

*Art can be mixed media, digital, ink, animation, etc - anything you can think of. Have fun with it!

*All art must be completed by your assigned reveal date (July 1st, 8th, or 15th). 

*MISCELLANEOUS*

*Wanna participate but not as an artist or author? Please consider signing up as a beta reader. Betas are much appreciated and a much needed resource for fic writers. As a beta you will be matched with an author based on their needs and your preferences.

*We accept pinch hitters!  If you sign up as a pinch hitter, you’ll be illustrating a story where the original artist had to drop out.  

*Due to tumblrs changes, please consider no NSFW. If a fic/art is nsfw, we will not reblog them (and the exchange will be done privately)

*We have a hxhbb collection on A03

*Need suggestions for a theme or are low on ideas? Here are some quick suggestions: new starts and new year resolutions/memories old and new/ friends and family/strangers into lovers or lovers into strangers / unexpected meetings/ simple pleasures/ role swaps/ new adventures

*Even if you are collaborating, please maintain public secrecy on the story/art you are working on.  Please only discuss in private (including a private discord channel we’ll make specifically for this purpose). The fun part of a Big Bang is the surprise on the reveal date.  

*If you have any questions feel free to message @shalnarkonice or @hxhhasmysoul or @subdee on tumblr. We would love to help

●DEADLINES●

*Author/Artist sign ups open: IMMEDIATELY

*Author sign ups close: FEBRUARY 15TH

*Artist sign ups close: END MARCH

*Summary for authors due: FEBRUARY 22ND (again, you must have enough of a solid idea for your entire fic, along with rating and possible triggers)

*Artist claims due: MARCH 5TH (claims will be first come first serve. If we have more artists than authors, more than one will be assigned per fic)

*Author check in: MARCH 29TH (hxhbb mods will message all writers before this date to make sure all those who signed up are still interested and that no extensions are needed. Now is the time to ask for Beta readers)

*Fics are due: MAY 14TH (They must be completed so they can be sent to artists. Please send your fic, or a link of your fic to hxhbb before this date. Do not submit your fic to the blog. Sending a link to Google docs/AO3/fanfiction.net are all acceptable. Do not post on Tumblr until the event is completed. Thank you!!)

*Art is due: JUNE 30TH (this gives each artist 1.5 months to complete their work).

*Posting begins: July 1ST.   There will be additional posts on JULY 8th and JULY 15th.   Please post on the date you are assigned with your completed story or art piece, and tag all fic links and art links to @hxhbb2021. They will then be reblogged for all to see.

~ALRIGHT. SO YOU’RE INTERESTED BUT WHERE DO YOU SIGN UP?

Thank you for your interest! 

Please fill out this Google Form.

Or if you prefer, send the following form to the hxhbigbang2021 submit box before FEB 15th (writers) or MARCH 31st (artists) to be added to our participant list. 

Hxhbb2021

Email you will check:

Tumblr url:

Preferred blog to be tagged as:

Author or Artist?:

Would you like to be an author AND a beta reader (writers only):

Would you like to be an artist AND a pinch hitter (draw art for last min dropouts? Artists only):

What is the max rating you will draw/read (no nsfw): 

If you do not receive a confirmation message in 48 hours please shoot us an ask. We all know how Tumblr is.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

*All submissions will be tagged as hxhbb2021. Please have all materials ready by the due dates (save them so you remember!) If you plan on being absent for a deadline due date please let one of the hxhbb mods know ahead of time. This is a five month commitment, so expect to be in touch with the mods every once and awhile.

Most of all, have fun and don’t miss your chance. Time is going to fly by, so let’s start the year off with a bang! Thank you!

[pftones3482]

Listen bestie I saw your post of just posting WIPS and not finishing them and I'm gonna need you to hand the Steve Harrington Spiderman AU over right now regardless if it has an ending or not

Please bestie I crave ❤

Posting WIPs goes against every fiber of my being, but I can at least concede to posting the part of the piece that I enjoy the most. Because it's not done, I'm not gonna post on AO3, but it IS pretty long, even after cutting some of the stuff before and after these sections, so it's under a "Read More" for length.

Basically all you need to know going into this is that it's set post season 3, Robin already knows, and I based it on the fact that the original Spiderman appeared in 1962 (comic wise), so putting him in the 80s wasn't an issue lol (also this is the version of Spiderman where his web powers are part of his body, not manufactured, cause I like that version more). And also I took some images from the trailers and the end of last season to base the demi-dogs on.

And now I'm gonna stop rambling with nerves and just drop this here lol. This is the dumbest thing I feel like I've ever written, but it has a soft spot in my heart (please know that this has been in my drafts for over two years and I just add to it/edit it whenever the feeling strikes). Hope it lives up to your expectations lmao

~~

“Don’t you touch him,” Steve growled, stepping in front of Dustin, bat at the ready.

The demidogs – where the FUCK had they come from? – snarled, haunches lifted in the air and multiple mouth flaps whipping with spittle. They looked wrong – less like a canine, more like a human. They had fully developed fingers, shoulders, and weird abs that hadn't been there before. Their hips were prominent, and Steve tightened his grip on the bat. “Dustin. Run. Radio the others.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

Steve clenched his jaw. “Dustin-”

“If you die, I die.”

The dog on the left lunged for Dustin and Steve didn’t think. He dropped the bat and threw his hand out, web circling the dog-beast-human-thing and sending it crashing to the forest floor with a yip. The other two charged and Steve took them down just as fast, taking an extra second to bind them all to the trees before slowly turning to Dustin.

The boy was staring at him, wide eyed, his walkie on the ground where he’d dropped it. Steve lifted his hands slowly, heart hammering. “Dude, I…I should have….”

“You have powers,” Dustin whispered.

Steve licked his lips. “Yeah.”

His chin quivered. “You’re…you lied to me.”

Steve felt his heart drop. His lips parted. “Dustin-” he tried.

Dustin pointed at him, eyes flickering quickly to the still struggling demidogs. “Don’t,” he managed. “I’m pissed at you. We need to take care of these shits. But I’m pissed.”

Steve lowered his hands as Dustin scooped up his walkie and stormed away before turning back to the dogs and picking up his bat. It felt wrong, killing them while they were tied up. But one thought of how they’d been about to turn Dustin into a midnight snack was enough for Steve to lift the nail-speckled wood over his shoulder and swing.

He left the bat leaning against a tree, looked back over his shoulder, and took off for home.

~~

Steve wasn’t sure why he decided to patrol the next night. He’d waited all day for Dustin to confront him at work, but nothing had happened. No loser teenagers, no goofing off, and Steve had never felt more miserable. Robin had picked up on it, and he’d explained in hushed tones what had happened. She hadn’t been able to do more than squeeze his shoulder reassuringly, and now Steve was standing on City Hall like nothing had changed.

Like he hadn’t lost one of the best kids in the universe.

He couldn’t say it was all his fault – Dustin of all people should understand the importance of secrets. But they hadn’t ever kept secrets from one another, not as long as they’d known each other. So Steve could understand why he felt so upset. That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, though.

“Steve? Steve come in, goddammit. Steve!”

Steve fumbled for his walkie, on his hip out of habit, and slung it up to his mouth. “Henderson?”

“It’s Mike. The demidogs – Dustin said you guys got rid of some of them.”

Steve frowned, twisting to look at the woods. “Yeah, last night, we – what do you mean, some of them?” he asked sharply.

Mike’s voice was strangled. “There’s more.”

“Where are you?”

“Hops old place, the shed behind it. We’ve been using it as an in between for-”

“Don’t care,” Steve said, zapping the walkie to his shoulder and swinging in the direction of the old cabin. “How many?”

“Seven? Maybe eight?” Mike’s voice was breaking now, and it made Steve panic. He’d never heard the kid freak out like this outside of where El’s safety was concerned. “B-But Dustin and Max are stuck up a tree, they’re surrounded. Lucas and I don’t have anything.”

Steve didn’t bother to question it. He knew the kids, knew they had probably been goofing around, knew that they wouldn’t do something like that without it being a last resort. “I’ll be there in three minutes,” he estimated. “Call Nancy, call Robin, get a ride from somewhere.”

A pause. “But I thought you-?”

“Mike. Do it.”

He paused for long enough to shut the walkie off and sling it back on his hip before swinging into the woods. The forest surrounding Hawkins was old, which meant the trees were tall, which meant Steve could swing through with ease, tracing a path in his mind to Hoppers old place.

He landed silently on the lowest branch of a tree when he was over the cabin, eyeing the surrounding trees. He could hear the growling, could hear Mike and Lucas’ hushed whispers from inside the storage shed, the only building still standing after the destruction of Hopper’s house.

Steve’s eyesight was way better in the dark, and it didn’t take him long to spot Max’s bright red hair up a tree about thirty feet away. Dustin was on the branch opposite her, each of them a good twenty feet in the air, but the demidogs weren’t backing down. Growling, snapping, trying to climb one another to get to them. Steve could see them holding hands in sheer terror, and he snapped.

Those were his kids, goddammit.

He set the walkie in the tree so it didn’t get damaged, made sure his mask was snug, and dropped onto the shed roof with little more than a thump. Mike and Lucas immediately shut up under him and he tapped twice, very distinctly, hoping they’d understand that it wasn’t a monster on the roof.

Steve crept forward, peering over the edge of the shed. There was one demidog pacing outside of it, growling and occasionally headbutting the door, but the boys must have bolted it from the inside. Smart. He lifted his head, judging the distance between the shed, the remainder of the house, and the tree Max and Dustin were in.

He jumped.

The web stuck to the frame of the destroyed house and Steve swung silently through the air, letting go of the strand and leaping to a taller tree before whipping around and landing on the branch next to Max.

He clapped a hand over her mouth before she could scream. “Don’t,” he whispered, looking down at the demidogs. “How many?”

She swallowed and looked over at Dustin in shock, who was glaring at Steve like he was hoping to burn a hole through his mask. “Just those,” she said finally. “And the one waiting for Lucas and Mike – our friends in the shed.”

Steve nodded. “Okay. Stay here.”

He looked down again, steeled himself, and plummeted.

Dustin’s shout of protest registered vaguely in his head as he landed solidly on one of the demidogs, cracking it’s spine with his heels. It whimpered and died under him and Steve allowed himself to smirk.

“Six to one assholes. Let’s go,” he challenged, looking up at the rest of them.

The biggest one leapt, and the next thirty seconds were a blur.

Steve clamped mouths, swung around trees, wound legs together, snapped necks. He was focused mainly on the two kids in the tree, on keeping them safe. He put the last dog out of it’s misery and stood, panting. His suit was a little torn from so many claws, but as far as he could tell, he was okay.

He’d forgotten the one guarding Lucas and Mike.

It landed on his back with a shriek, claws digging into his back and teeth snapping at his neck. It was only thanks to his supernaturally heightened senses that Steve flipped over before it could sink it’s jaws into his skin, webbing slapping it’s mouth together. The demidog snarled, backing up, giving Steve time to stumble to his feet. Blood was streaming down his back and he gasped, flinging a hand to his shoulder.

The dog scratched the webbing off, looked up at him. If it had eyes, they would have been full of malice. It bent low and charged.

Steve readied himself, but at the last second, the dog jumped. It’s hand/paws/claws/things scratched at Steve’s head, shoving him to the ground, and as he hit the spongey dirt, Steve realized with mounting horror that the dog had used him as a springboard.

“NO!”

He flipped onto his back, ignoring the stinging, and shot a web at the tree. The dog was on the branch under Max, who was now shrieking and trying to kick it in the head. She didn’t have a weapon. Steve yanked himself up and slung himself into the tree, back screaming in pain.

Max was closest. She was his main focus. He wrapped a tight arm around her hip. “Hang on,” he wheezed. His back was throbbing. She clung to his neck and he leapt over the demidog, slinging to the next tree with a grunt and setting Max carefully on her feet.

A scream.

Dustin.

Steve twisted on the branch in time to see Dustin scramble back on his own part of the tree, the demidog creeping closer to him. “Dustin!” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Dustin looked up, eyes wide in fear, and Steve’s heart thudded in his throat. “Jump.”

The hesitation was barely there. In one move, Dustin rolled off the branch and fell to the ground. Steve was on the move before Dustin had even thought about falling, throwing himself into the air.

With his right hand, he shot the demidog, gluing it to the tree trunk in a snapping, snarling rage. With his left arm, he caught Dustin around the middle, pushing him to his chest as hard as he could and shooting one last, furious stream of web at the first branch he could see.

The landing wasn’t pretty, both boys stumbling and collapsing to their knees, but then Dustin was clinging to Steve, sobbing, and Steve could do nothing more than hug back and let out his own sob of relief. He ripped the mask off, panting, and pressed his hand to the back of Dustin’s head. “You’re okay?” he gasped.

He pushed back, eyes flickering over every available inch of Dustin’s face, searching for marks. “I’m okay. I’m…I’m sorry, Steve, I’m-”

Steve shook his head and hugged him again, sinking back on his heels and letting himself breathe for the first time in ten minutes. “It’s okay, Henderson. It’s okay.”

“Steve?”

Max’s voice was quiet, somewhat awed, very concerned, and Steve turned quickly, standing. He only remembered his injuries when he stumbled, his shoulders and back screeching in agony. “You’re okay?” he confirmed with the girl, shooting a glance to make sure the demidog was still stuck, writhing, in the tree. Shot it again with another burst of web for good measure.

“I’m fine,” Max confirmed, her eyes dropping to his midsection. They widened. “You’re bleeding. Bad.”

Steve huffed. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am.”

He clapped a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, felt his knees buckle, and the world went black.

~~

When Steve couldn’t let go of his coffee mug, he thought maybe this was a dumb prank from one of the party members, screwing with him and leaving superglue on everything. When his other hand stuck to the countertop, the one he had just been using with ease, that thought faltered a little. And when his feet carried him straight up the wall in his attempt to unstick the mug, Steve fully dropped the idea of the party having anything to do with this and let out a very unmanly scream.

The mug shattered when it hit the ground, leaving Steve at an awkward angle on the wall. Gravity was pulling down on his body, but his feet were planted firmly to the plaster. He squatted to relieve the tension, eyed the wall with mounting terror.

He’d seen news reports, recently. About a vigilante/superhero all the way in New York who was spider based. They could stick to walls. They also kept quiet, were more of a speculation than an actual person, so him even being real was more a theory than fact.

But here Steve was, sticking to the wall.

“What the fuck?” he hissed at himself.

He yanked back on his right foot and yelped when it wrenched off the wall, sending him tumbling to the floor with his left foot still planted. Steve groaned and propped himself up on his elbows, tugging his left foot back with all that he had. It came loose after a moment, jarring him, and then he stood very slowly, careful to touch nothing but the floor.

What the fuck?

He looked down at his fingers, wondering if they were equally as sticky, and paused, lifting his wrists closer to his face. There was a small lump of skin on each wrist that hadn’t been there. If he hadn’t been looking too closely, he might have thought they were a mole, or maybe a zit. As he peered closer, he could see the small hole in each one.

“Nope, no, no, no,” Steve said out loud, jerking his hands down. “No. No way in hell.”

Still, he couldn’t say he wasn’t curious. Because he totally was. He looked back at his wrist, at the wall. Upstairs. His parents weren’t home, never were.

He lifted his left hand slowly and settled his finger over the lump on his right wrist. Pressed down.

A shot of spider web zipped out from it and Steve promptly shrieked, letting go of his hand and shaking his arm around to get rid of the sticky material. Lightheaded, Steve stumbled away from whatever the FUCK that was and into the living room, where he collapsed onto the couch. For a long couple of minutes, he stared blankly at the dark TV screen.

“Spiderman,” he recalled, slowly.

That was the name of the guy in New York. And if Steve, all the way in Indiana, knew about him, that meant there had to be SOME kind of information on him, on how he had become that way. Maybe on how Steve had…

His mind flashed back to the Russians, to the things they had injected him with. Maybe. But why would that affect him and not Robin? Unless it had. Or maybe it wasn’t the Russians at all. Maybe Steve was going crazy.

Oh, he was definitely going crazy, that was for fucking sure.

~~

When he walked into the library for the first time in maybe two years, the librarian looked at him like he had four heads. Maybe he did. A quick check. Nope. “Do you have a section for uh…national newspapers? Or…or state specific ones?”

Her brows furrowed but she pointed him towards a back corner, walking with him until he got to the machine that stored the papers. She walked him through how to use it, still looking baffled, and left him to it.

It took almost four hours, and he barely managed to find more than two articles.

One contained a blurry photograph. Another a slightly better one. One real article, with an even better photo, a closeup of the guy, of his symbol, of his mask. The only thing all the articles had in common? The name of the photographer, Peter Parker.

Steve jotted the information down and went back through the papers a little more thoroughly now, until he found the contact information needed. It would be a collect call, long distance, but he put away the papers and made his way to the payphone in the front hallway, jingling a couple quarters together and dropping one into the phone, looking from the keypad to the paper and back.

It rang three times, four, before a frazzled sounding voice picked up. “Peter Parker, Daily Bugle.”

Steve suddenly found that he was at a loss for words. The guy sounded young, maybe his age. What were the odds that he even knew Spiderman? Slim to none, probably.

“Hello?”

Steve shut his eyes. “Sorry, sorry. Um. You’re the guy who got pictures of uh…of Spiderman, right?”

A pause. “Yeah,” said the guy, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Though most people don’t really refer to him by that name. How can I help?”

“Do you have a way to contact him?” Steve blurted. He felt like his heart was racing. Was that normal? He was super fucking sweaty. What the fuck?

“Not really? He doesn’t really pose for the photos, I kinda just shoot them as I can. Is there anything I can help you with maybe? If you’re in trouble, you should really call the NYPD.”

Steve forced a laugh at that, thumping his forehead against the wall next to the phone. He slid another quarter in as the warning tone beeped. “Considering I’m in Indiana, that’s probably a no go.”

More silence. “Why are you calling from Indiana?”

Steve pressed his lips together. God, his throat was dry. “I just…wanted to know how it happened,” he whispered, suddenly vividly aware of the fact that he was in a public space. “I…how he became Spiderman. If…”

He trailed off and turned around, leaning his back against the cold tile wall and pressing a hand to his forehead. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be bothering you. Thank you for your help, Mr. Parker, I really-”

“Hold on.”

Steve hesitated. In the background, he heard what sounded like a door shutting, and then the sound of clattering. A lull of silence, where Steve thought maybe he’d gotten disconnected, and the Parker spoke again. “This wouldn’t happen to be Hawkins, Indiana, would it? Where all that weird…chemical and science stuff was happening last month?”

Steve snorted. He shouldn’t be surprised that a journalist of some kind had heard of their town. “Yup, that’s the one.”

“Were you exposed to the chemicals?”

Steve dragged his hand down his face, blowing a raspberry. “Kinda? Not really? Maybe? I don’t know.”

“Are you…” another pause, again. “Are you experiencing side effects?”

Steve left his hand on his chin, wondering in the back of his mind if it would get stuck there. “Depends. Are you going to screw my life over if I say I am?”

“No,” the man said immediately. “No, no way.”

He said it with such certainty that Steve relaxed and let his hand drop to his side. “Yeah,” he whispered, and his voice cracked embarrassingly. “Yeah, I…I don’t know what happened. But I…I need to talk to him.”

There was such a long pause this time that Steve had to double check the call hadn’t dropped. “What do you need from me?” Parker asked, his tone low and warning.

Steve was about to protest, about to ask again for the vigilante, when Parker’s meaning clicked in his head. He couldn’t help but snort and sink down the wall, the cord of the payphone tugging uncomfortably at his arm. “Fuck,” he managed. “Okay. Um. What…what do I do?”

Parker huffed into the phone. “Whatever you can. Practice. Figure it out. Make sure no one knows, because-”

“Yup, yup,” Steve said, shutting his eyes and thumping his head back on the wall. “Yup, don’t worry, I’ve dealt with enough shitty labs in my life.”

A confused silence. “Am I allowed to ask?”

“It’s a long fucking story and I only have one more quarter,” Steve said, running a hand over his forehead. “I…okay. What if I…what if I decide to…to do what yo-what he does?”

“Really?” and Parker sounded surprised.

Steve’s lips twitched of their own volition. “Yeah. I mean, I’ve pretty much been doing it anyway, without the…side effects. So I might as well put them to use, right?”

He thought he could almost hear Parker smiling. “Then I think…I’d be happy to have you use my name. If you give me your address…I could send you some things that might help. Would you like my personal number? And I uh…I never got your name. But you have mine.”

Steve nodded, noting the worry in the reporters voice. “Steve Harrington,” he offered. “And if…if you’re comfortable with that…I’d really appreciate it, Mr. Parker.”

“Peter, please. And Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“It’ll be okay.”

Steve huffed, startled to find his eyes teary. He smiled. “Yeah. Somehow it always is.”

[mithrilwren]

Fanfic ask game for procrastinating on writing, which as of this week is actually accurate, since I’m finally writing again! (or, more specifically, editing what I wrote two months ago so I can get back to writing.)

Tagged by @essektheylyss! Thank you, this is exactly the kind of activity my brain needed tonight.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

72! I was hovering at 69 for quite a while, sad to break the streak haha

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

~550K, which is somehow both more and less than what I expected

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

Many, lmao. According to my Ao3 (omitting any blanket tags) I’ve got 22 there, plus at least two more over on ff.net from back in the day, and probably a couple more just on Tumblr. Most of them I’ve only written one fic for, though. I think the only fandoms where I’ve written more than one are Critical Role (35), Supernatural (15), Haikyuu!! (3), The Exorcist (2), Dimension 20 (2), and Yu-Gi-Oh! (2)

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Pick a Number, Any Number

Surprisingly, my number one is NOT a Critical Role fic, nor is it even one of my longer multi-chapters! It’s actually a one-shot I wrote for Haikyuu!! back in the day that took off far beyond what I expected. I wrote it for DaiSuga week, which was a ship I (to be completely honest) wasn’t even terribly invested in, but I had a fun idea and people seemed to like it! (It’s also much fluffier than what I usually write, which might be part of its broader appeal ;))

A Winter’s Ball

Unsurprisingly, the next four are all CR ;). This one was a M9 x VM crossover that I primarily wrote between the hours of 3-8am over the course of two insomnia-wracked nights and honestly, I think it shows in its uncharacteristically unstructured format (compared to my typical style, which tends to favour shorter scenes with very intentionally-placed breaks between, as opposed to scenes that flow into each other without pause). That’s not to say I think it’s a bad thing! The story, which follows Beau as she drifts through a party in Whitestone and observes the interactions between the various guests, actually flows better without that kind of interruption. This was also my first Beaujester piece. I started writing it right before Beau’s confession aired, and published it the week after, which definitely pushed me to make what had been only subtextual in the first half of my draft into the emotional lynchpin of the story.

Only the Nightingale Sings

I’m really glad this one still ranks as high as it does, because this story is absolutely my pride and joy. At one time (though I’m not sure that’s true anymore) it was the longest gen fic in the fandom, which is pretty cool! Plot-heavy, twist-heavy, angst-heavy, with seven points of view to follow and multiple interwoven storylines, it was a beast of a thing to write, and took almost exactly a year to finish, but the long process was oh-so worth it. Literally nothing makes me happier today than seeing a new comment or kudos on this story.

Closer Still

One of my earliest shadowgast fics, this one asks the question “how can you make the ‘stuck in an elevator trope’ fantasy?” The answer is, as always, demiplanes. This fic, perhaps more than any of my other shadowgast fics, is interesting to revisit, because it was written before the ep 97 reveal, but literally everything Essek does in it would suggest otherwise. It reads like I already knew he was a spy working with Trent, and yet I was firmly in the “Essek is NOT the spy” camp at the time. Gotta chalk that up to Matt telegraphing his growing guilt into the preceding episodes - even if I couldn’t see it, it was clearly there.

your dust from mine

My other novel-length CR multichapter, this fic brought me so much joy in the otherwise bleak summer of 2020. Most of my best memories of those four months come from working on this story. A Fjorclay adaption of The Goose Girl (my favourite fairytale) this story is about healing, growth, and figuring out what happiness means to you. While I know most people don’t read stories for this pairing anymore, for obvious reasons, I still cherish your dust from mine for how much of my heart I poured into it, and I look back on it with a huge amount of fondness.

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

I do my absolute best to respond to every comment someone leaves on a story of mine, even if it occasionally takes a month or two. Replying to comments is one of my favourite parts of the fic-writing process - it gives me a chance to revisit peoples’ kind words and (often, incredibly insightful) observations, and I hope it also shows how appreciative I am of each and every one. 

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

Though I write a lot of angst, I honestly tend more towards bittersweet endings than straight-up sadness. The only one I can really think of is What You Own - mind the tags if you follow the link, this is definitely one of the gnarlier things I’ve written for CR - whose ending is, admittedly, bleak. But this story so far removed from canon that I don’t think it’s the kind of angsty ending that lingers with you, as much as it packs a punch and then lets you go on your way.

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

I tend to enjoy thinking about crossovers moreso than actually writing them. I’ve brainstormed a few, but none have ever made it much farther than the first page.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

A few times! Not often, thankfully. Only one time in particular really sticks out to me, mostly for how it rocked my confidence in a way that I don’t think any comment could now, since I’ve had a few more years to build up faith in my own writing.

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

Very, very occasionally.

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not! 

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

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

Oh man, back in the Glee days... yeah. Yeah, I have. Nothing that ever got published, though ;)

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

Not sure I have one! Ships come and go with the seasons, and sometimes they’re best left in the era you found them.

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

The Shadowgast figure skating AU. It’s never going to happen, but I wish it had.

15) What are your writing strengths?

I would say probably structure, in terms of constructing narrative arcs and through-lines. I’m organized with my writing in a way that I am in few other areas of my life, haha. I’d also say my sense of place - I think I’m pretty good at constructing living, breathing settings and exploring how my characters interact affect/are affected by them.

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

I have a tendency to be wordy (which you might surmise from the length of this post, lol) and repeat myself, usually by going over emotional beats that don’t need the extra reinforcement. On the other hand, I tend to underexplain certain elements (particularly, important plot details in fic, and character motivation in original writing), which can lead to confusion.

A couple years ago I would have said dialogue, but I’ve put a lot of practice into it and I honestly think I’ve improved a lot, which is pretty cool!

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

I’ve never done it myself, and it’s not generally my favourite thing to read (like @essektheylyss said, it makes me hyper-aware that I’m reading words on a page, especially if I have to follow a footnote somewhere). That said, I’ve definitely also seen it used effectively, so I think it’s more down to whether it suits the particular story!

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Yu-Gi-Oh!

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

As mentioned above, Only the Nightingale Sings.

[theintentioncraft]

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES - When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag up to 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours.

I've been tagged by @lordbelacqua (thank you Dea! <3) to talk about Backlead aka: that one Masriel fic I wrote where I got massively carried away...

Rambling/essay under the cut - fair warning, it's a long one!

Okay so first of all just a little disclaimer that Backlead did not follow my usual writing process - the idea was 110% borne out of self-indulgence and it was also both my first foray into HDM fanfic and my return to fanfic as a whole after a long hiatus from writing, so for me this was really a chance to just get back into the swing of things. Everything from Heavenly Guard through to Swansong and all of my current WIPs follow a more structured process and I'm happy to discuss any of them in a separate post!

PLANNING: I tend to find with my fics that I either have a nice little timeline of events planned out pre-writing or I have a very specific event in my head and I just take that and see how things unravel from there and Backlead was 100% the latter.

All I had in my head initially was the ballroom dance scene and so a lot of my admittedly-minimal planning was around the technicalities of that particular section, as well as some of the more general details e.g Marisa's outfit, the setting of the ball, etc. Planning the dance was the most fun part because it was a chance for me to put a lot of my dance knowledge to good use and think up something that fits the back-and-forth way in which Marisa and Asriel frequently navigate their encounters. In a way though I'm actually very glad that a lot of this fic Just Happened instead of being planned out, sometimes it's nice to just run away with an idea!

MUSIC: This gets its own section because this is one of the most important things in my process. Every single fic I write is written to various pieces of music that just help me to put myself in the right headspace for whatever I'm writing at the time - sometimes its just a single piece of music (I wrote Swansong in one hour with just one track from the Unforgotten - a TV show in the UK for those of you not familiar with it - soundtrack on repeat) and sometimes its entire playlists. I do love geeking out about my music choices for fic writing so happy to talk more in a separate post about music for some of my other fics if anyone's curious!

For Backlead I found a couple of playlist-vids from the lovely raviolae on youtube that really worked wonders for my writing. This comes with a disclaimer that I did not necessarily attribute any of these specific songs to either dance scene and I wanted to leave that open for people's imagination - but it's still brilliant vibes for thinking about two once-lovers-now-enemies trying to one-up each other whilst ignoring how much they still find each other attractive.

The two playlist-vids in question are here: you're stuck on the dance floor with your rival and find out they're an annoyingly good dancer and you're dancing with your rival and both of you want to lead

WRITING: First step every time is to figure out who's POV I'm going to cover because that makes a major difference in the way I'm going to write. Characterisation is the big thing for me and there's nothing I love more than to really get inside a character's head and basically think like them, and figure out what makes them tick and how they'll react to the story I'm putting them in. With my initial idea for Backlead being basically about the subtle power dynamics of a ballroom dance, Marisa felt like the natural go-to for this one and I found it much easier in this instance to write in her headspace than in Asriel's.

I wrote this fic in a very out-of-order fashion. The first dance (the slower, waltz-style dance) was the first part I finished, then I did as hinted at above get very carried away and move onto the section in the hallway, then I went right to the start and covered the entire section leading up to that first dance. Then I revisited the hallway scene because I wanted to rework it (the initial version was planned to be more explicit and involved less dialogue - but I wasn't comfortable with writing out the former at that time and the latter got changed by way of me having a sudden burst of dialogue-themed inspiration). The second, more set piece style dance came last in terms of the 'major events' that I wrote purely because I spent a lot of time racking with my dance knowledge to try and make it work in a way that didn't feel forced.

My final major writing stage is to write the 'transitions' between each major part - small pieces where nothing particularly noteworthy happens but it helps the fic to flow from one conversation/event to the next and also sometimes allows me to sneak in a bit of characterisation that I couldn't fit in elsewhere.

Along the way I often leave sentences half-finished with a bracket indicator so I know to go back to it later or I make little notes if I've added something in that needs explaining earlier in the fic, and I make sure to sort those parts out before I jump to the self review/beta reader stage. A couple of examples are below:

Although sometimes this method does also annoy future me too 😂:

SELF REVIEW/BETA REVIEW: Whenever I finish a fic, it gets put away for a day or two and I stop thinking about it completely - if I'm using a beta reader (usually @thatlavanderbard but I sometimes enlist help from friends on discord), I'll send them a copy of my draft at this point so they can start going through and leaving comments for me to work on, but the idea is that when I go back to my work a few days later I'm looking at it with semi-fresh eyes and can properly sift through each sentence to make sure things make sense.

When I'm self-reviewing I generally tend to follow this order of operations: spelling/grammar check (via docs') -> flow check (making sure any deliberate time skips/POV changes/etc in my fic flow smoothly from one part to the next) -> address beta reader comments (because they almost always pick up on things I myself would've picked up on anyway) -> general detailed final read through to make sure I'm happy with every single line and it all makes sense.

Backlead didn't get a full beta read because I had hit a point with it where I just wanted it up ASAP and my impatience got the better of me, but the rest of the above self-review stages still happened and I still spent a fair few evenings going through it properly and also running the occasional sentence or two by some helpful discord friends if I didn't like the way it flowed but couldn't quite figure out how to remedy it!

POSTING: First step was to reset my AO3 password because I forgot it yet again whoops

On a more serious note this part is pretty straightforward - once I'm ready to post a new fic I generally just go on autopilot for this part of the process (other than when I get to 'additional tags' and immediately get brain freeze...). As soon as it's up on AO3 I swing by here to make a post about it, then swing by discord to drop the link to friends who may be interested in reading it and then I normally nervously scuttle away from my notifications for a while out of fear that people hate it lmao.

That last part was especially true for Backlead because of it being my first trip into HDM fanfic and I always get extra nervous when posting my first fanfic for a new show/game/etc. Thankfully I got quite a few nice comments both on here and on discord that provided good motivation to stick around and post a few more things!

I always panic when asked to tag people lmao but I'll tag @fortheloveofwii for any part of the Onward, Onward series, @lyracordelia for any chapter in Hiraeth or the fic as a whole, and @glassrunner for this absolutely gorgeous gifset of beautiful game soundtracks. Please don't feel like you have to do this if you don't want to though!

[snowflake-of-destruction]

Please tell me what is Sk8 the Infinity Train WIP!! I love infinity train, so much so that I refused to watch the final episode bc I didn't want it to end (but now that we're getting more seasons i need to get on that)

HOLD THE PHONE WE’RE GETTING MORE SEASONS?!? ARE WE GETTING THE AMELIA MOVIE? 

...I don’t see anything about season 5 but the petitions/outcry/ #finishinfinitytrain 

Have...Have you not watched the season 4? (I mean, no shame. It only came out April 15th, all in one day) Do you not know that it is still cancelled and it was just misleading because they announced the cancellation before they even had season 4 trailers/were dumping 4 because it was already made?

There has been/is still serious campaigning to get seasons 5-8 picked up. It trended over the NFL draft on April 29th.

Tell me you have info I don’t, and we are getting more.

Oh man, if you haven’t watched the end of 3 yet, it’s pretty intense. We’re going to talk more about Infinity Train, but, first, the crossover fic. Most of this summary I’ve posted before, but people shall hear it again!

It will take place post season 3 of Infinity Train (and feature cameos from some familiar denizens and residents, some featuring more heavily than others. In fact, the opening may be Grace and Adam having a chat) and before Sk8 season one would have started.

Reki ends up on the train from some to be defined later event at S that tipped his feelings of inadequacy into overdrive, and put him on the same kind of spiral as in canon Sk8 midseason except this universe worse because he doesn’t have Langa or the squad from Sk8 proper. He just has skateboarding, and he’s “not even good at that.” Though typical angst isn’t enough for the train, so make the incident suitably dramatic.

Read More for length.

Anyway

Reki soon meets Langa who has been on the train for a few months, since his father died and he stopped feeling anything. They hit it off instantly and become close, but Langa’s number….just doesn’t move, even when he starts showing more of a “spark” and takes actions (both good and bad) that you would think would move it one way or another.

Reki manipulates his number to stay with Langa, and soon doesn’t even have to do that because he starts to blame himself for Langa’s problem (which Langa himself, in Langa fashion, is pretty chill about) and this further immersion in believing himself only trouble and no good for anything mixed with refusal to address it and attempts to just mask over it….well, it doesn’t do any favors for his number either.

Reki is super perceptive in figuring out puzzles of different train cars though and building contraptions to make progress easier, so that’s something at least. Langa? Langa is just dazzling at whatever he tries…sorry, that’s the Reki voice coming out.

Along their journey, they meet Miya, sent to the train by isolation/abandonment issues from neglectful parents and friends breaking ties. Sprinkle in Miya-typical pride and stubbornness setting the ol’ numbers in motion. Now Miya I see as having run around with Apex for a bit, but then having gotten left behind on a raid or leaving on his own because “those slimes gave me a weird vibe.”

Now, Adam is a long-term resident (ever since his skateboard was burned), pretty much unhinged as you would expect, but seemingly pretty satisfied with life on the train–though he is a different genre of hedonist than Apex philosophy in that he loves the denizens of the train and relishes every meeting…for as long as they can be entertaining at least.

Tadashi entered the train at the same time, and, obviously, stays there for Adam–though that interpretation becomes debatable the more you study Tadashi and realize he ignores/worsens his own issues. (Hmm, maybe there is a lesson for Reki and Langa)

Kaoru and Kojiro enter the train at the same time (or close enough to it), but in separate cars, after a botched proposal. Kojiro proposed. Kaoru said no. Kojiro broke up with him completely. Both fall to pieces. Then it’s train time baby.

Who does Kaoru meet up with by chance and accident? His presumed dead/long time missing high school sweetheart Adam who traumatically up and disappeared one day. Kaoru had always thought Adam had runaway and had hoped he was happy somewhere, but had been heartbroken that Adam hadn’t asked him to come with him. 

You know I had to get the loveblossom in, not that it’s going to be about them. It’s just extra complications.

Hiromi/Shadow is the only one I didn’t have a train story for.

[cheshirecaine]

fanfic writer questions: 5, 10, 12!

lmao i’m so bad at answering these that i forget to do themmmm. sorry for doing this again, Fox!

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of?

I was ready to spend ages poring through my Works but I reached To be named and yeah. It's one of my faves, I feel an extra piece of joy when I see it's received kudos. Yes, it's been 3 years and I still haven't named or finished it! I noticed. It's just a deeply emotional piece and super loving and I'm happy I managed to convey those feelings. (Plus I love Ichigo & Isshin fics.) What I always remember is this particular image I described, and love deeply: Ichigo walked up behind his father and tucked his hand into his dad’s much larger one.

10. What’s your favorite genre to write for?

Fluff, smut, comedy? I really love writing PWPs but sometimes I undervalue my own work. Crack can be really fun. Angst is a thing that I am good at and . . . I forget that cos I think of myself as a fluff fan. I think fluff makes me the happiest. But smut is fun too. Okay, yeah the first sentence was all I needed xD

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.

Was enjoying one mostly(?) drafted pre-relationship fic for a shoujo manga I've loved for years without loads of fic. I basically magicked it up, cos I love doing that shit xD

Oh! Guess who re-found (again x1000) a like 99% done Jason-centric (w/ JayTim) fic I wrote in 2017. It's longer than everything I write now and I should just write the ending and drop it.

[howdywrites]

do you have any writing tools/tips/tricks to help with descriptions and imagery of a scene ? thanks in advanced xx

Hiya! ❤️

I’m not a master at descriptions, myself, so this is solely based on what I do when I’m writing out descriptive scenes.

1. Using the five senses! It’s a great tool for immersing your readers in your world. What do your characters see? What does it smell like? What can they hear? Are they touching something? 

2. This one might sound weird, but I pretend I’m a movie camera in the character’s little world. Panning over the scene, what am I focusing on? Is it the stain on the floor? A character’s features? A creature they caught in the corner of their eye? You can be as ‘cinematic’ as you want, or withhold information from the ‘viewer’ aka the reader.

3. Think of your WIP as a painting. There are layers to it. You won’t have a masterpiece just putting the foundation colors down (or you might, who knows!). There’s shading and highlights that can be added later. Things can be added/fixed in another draft!

4. Use description as much or as little as you want! Sometimes it’s a good thing to hold back on the descriptors in order to guide your audience in a specific direction. Maybe they don’t need to know every fleck of color in the love interest’s eye until the main character is close enough to see it themselves. You can also do this to mislead readers by making them focus on the bunny hopping in the field but not the crop circle it’s sitting in.

5. To a point, describe what matters. But always go with your gut. If you want to describe the exact details of every tree in the forest, go ahead! However, also consider honing in on what matters to the plot. The number of trees might not matter - but their friend’s descriptions definitely matters. 

I hope these made sense! Anyone is free to add extra pieces of advice if they’d like. Again, these are simply the things I tell myself when I’m writing ❤️

[jaygrl22]

Fun meta asks for writers: 2, 4, 5, 6, 19, 20, because I’m a greedy bitch and not ashamed of it :D

@whether-morning-whether-night​ you may be a greedy bitch but I love you for it 💕💕💕

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

No matter what story I’m working on, I always find myself looking forward to certain scenes. For example, I always love when the main character starts to realize that their love interest might... actually... like them... too? Because it’s super fun to play with those intense moments of omg!!omg!!omg!! mixed with that painfully uncertain doubt. I also love any time a character’s walls get to be down with someone they care about (love interest or otherwise) because I love the tender feelings that come out when our guards are down.

For more concrete answers tho, here’s what I’m currently most looking forward to in my 3 current works in progress:

Monsters & Mystics: Amethyst is currently very nervous over how/if things will be able to go back to the way they were before she turned venomous, and I have a scene in mind where Edward does something quite small but it just screams “I want you in my life & I’ll stay by your side no matter what as long as that’s what you want” and it makes Am feel overwhelmingly loved and emotional and asdfghjkl;asdfghj *flailing arms* Yes.

A Devereux Never Forgets: At this point, I just wanna get the second chapter DONE. But I'm most excited for things that won’t happen until a bit later, like Audrey "holding on” to something important that belongs to Harry, hiding an animal in her dorm room, the Malfoys vacationing in/near her hometown during the summer... Just lots of stuff that I have actually get to.

An Affinity with Fire: The great thing about this wip is that it time jumps every chapter, so I can literally write and post whatever I want whenever I want. But I do still want some build-up to certain things (cuz then otherwise there’s no payoff and what's the point?) like certain traumas Elia has experienced, explosions between her and Cullen in the past, them working through it (and failing but trying again), and them being genuine about their feelings. idk the whole thing is just so cute (and painful) to me 🥰

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

Oh gosh... uhhhh... I can’t think of anything off the top of my head. uhhhhh... I was working on An Affinity with Fire last so let me post something from there:

Her fingers trembled as she laced her boots. When was the last time a vision had left her so frightened? Was it the first time she dreamt of the Archdemon flying overhead? The bloodshed at Kinloch Hold? The coming of the war?

All of them shook her to her very core. And yet this one was worse. Far, far worse.

Ash and blood covering the scorched earth. A devoured sky. Millions of deaths across the world playing out in a single instant; each dying scream colliding into one thundering cry. The world in red, bloody chaos. The Fade itself torn asunder. A sea of demons kneeling before a tall, misshapen creature; a dark god, a king of evils, a monster of impossible power.

She shuddered. “One thing at a time,” she told herself. “One foot, then the other.”

Johanna’s advice from all those years ago came back to her. “There’s no sense tripping over your trousers to get to the future on time,” she’d said with a grin.

Elia smiled at the memory until a knock came at the door.

I feel like most of my writing is very... not mundane necessarily but really just focused on capturing what’s happening in the moment. So it’s not very... full of imagery, I guess? but this^ feels very illustrative and I like that. 

5. What character that you’re writing do you most identify with?

This is really hard to answer for me because I always start out a character by giving them a piece of myself so that I can identify with them, and then let grow on their own from there. 

So like in M&M, I gave Chris my preteen anger issues, I gave Cypress my desire to have a “normal” life, I gave Dale my childishness & heart on my sleeve, and I gave Amethyst my overthinking & (unintentionally) my depression. But the characters have become their own people now, so even the traits that I share with them are different. My depression and Am’s depression manifest differently, Chris uses her anger while mine just consumed me, etc. etc.

But if you really forced me to pick, it might be... idk maybe Amethyst? Or that might just be because I write from her perspective anyway so I’m already used to wearing her shoes? idk. Honestly it changes every time I think about it haha

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

Dale tends to be a lot of fun because he’s always willing to go that extra mile (because he knows he can get away with it). He’s a total dork and just so fun in general. I love getting to be a little wild with him.

I’m also really enjoying writing Elia in AAwF because she is a fascinating character no matter where I’m at in her story: as a child she’s completely out of her element, as a teen she’s a piss poor mage who's always just barely able to skirt by, trauma for d a y s in her late teens/early 20s, forced to deal with boys/men she once loved but hurt her in different ways, falls back in love with one while Thedas is literally on the verge of collapse. Just fun times all around, really.

19. Is there something you always find yourself repeating in your writing? (favorite verb, something you describe ‘too often’, trope you can’t get enough of?)

My characters are always sighing, nodding/shaking their heads, or rolling their eyes 😂 I always have to comb through my rough drafts and ask myself, “Okay, they literally did this TWO SECONDS AGO and THREE TIMES in the last page. How can I change these up but still show what they’re feeling?”

I also think I focus on eyes a lot but I’m a fanfiction writer so what do you expect? at least I generally stick to one shade

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Oh gosh... I know I have a lot of things I could talk about but I’m drawing a blank... uhhhh... 

One thing in M&M that I really like is that readers get to learn as it goes along. I sometimes sprinkle in real-world Wiccan/witchcraft practice stuff into what’s going on and that helps me sort of... ground this supernatural world, in a way? Like it gives me limits and guides with the non-Essence witches and that’s very helpful.

I might go off a little more on some of these answers at some point but right now I’m very hungry and need to get out of bed ahah 😅

Thanks for asking me stuff!!!💕💕💕

[apocalyvse]

11/11/11

I was tagged by @water-writings <3

1. Do you write fanfictions or original stories and did you ever write fanfiction?

I write (and always have written) both; I actually started writing fanfiction when I was like 10 years old, before I even knew what fanfiction was, and then later discovered that it was a whole thing. For quite a few years now fanfic has been my main thing, but I’ve got a few original things that I’m knuckling down on this year and really enjoying, so we’ll see.

2. Did you ever write your stories in the middle of class instead of paying attention?

Not in the middle of class really, but I did write like half a harry potter au fic sort of thing based off of some rp characters at the end of my year 11/12 exams. The exams were like 3 hours long each, and like, I’m not smart but I am pretty quick at theory stuff so I’d have 1.5-2 hours per exam to fill, and I would never use the note paper for notes. So I’d fold my note paper into 8ths and write reeeeeally really small and fill it all up during my extra exam time. (I still have the sheets of paper if anyone wants to see xD)

3. How many notebooks do you have filled with your writing?

Since somewhere in 2015, I have filled 25 notebooks; not including anything I wrote straight out on a computer, on my phone, on random pieces of paper, or in other notebooks that aren’t included in my numbering system, which I have lmao.

4. What’s your favorite way to write? Notebook, Word Doc, Google Docs?

By hand in notebooks. I used to write in a word doc, and I still use word to type up into and edit it, but I find writing by hand really pushes my word counts up, and forces me to do an initial edit when I type it up, especially with fanfic because I don’t draft fanfic.

5. Do you write by yourself or do you need people writing with you?

I’ve always written alone - most of my friends don’t even know that I write, or don’t write anymore themselves, so it’s just me and myself over here. I was in a writing club at school for a while, and we tried to do a couple projects together, but the group got off course way too easily and nothing really got done, so I prefer to be alone with something I’m really passionate about finishing.

6. Have you ever cowritten with someone?

When I was liiiiiike 12, my friend and I co-wrote a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic lmao, which to this day is one of my favourite writing memories. And I co-wrote an entire 50k ‘novel’ with my friend during middle school, which was actually pretty good fun - we traded off chapters and worked together on plot and worldbuilding and actually finished the whole thing. It was horrible (I can’t look at it anymore it’s so cringey), but a good experience to have. I’ve co-written with a few friends online too, with mixed results - nothing that’s ever really gone anywhere though.

7. Who do you bounce ideas off of?

No one lmao. I just throw them into the story and see if they work.

8. Have you ever taken an experience from your life and written it into a story?

Definitely! The most obvious example would probably be the series of short stories I’ve written and posted on this horse racing game I play, Flying For Home, which are sometimes drawn directly from stuff that happens around my workplace in real life, seeing as I work with racehorses in a big stable (the premise of the short stories lmao). 

Another example I can think of is, funnily enough, my other horse-related project; a novel called Vertigo, for which I have drawn on a lot of my own personal history and people that I’ve met in my life and thrown it into the mixing pot. It’s a bit of a personal daydream tbh xD Other than those, there’s a little bit of myself in everything I write, I think, though it’s hard to pick out sometimes.

9. Favorite type of music to listen to while you write.

I usually don’t let myself listen to music when I write, but if I do, it’ll be the playlist I inevitably have for the story, turned down very quiet so that it fades into the background - usually just pop and alternative/indie sort of stuff.

10. Have you ever had anyone give you “advice” that hurt you and prevented you from writing for a while?

I don’t think I’ve ever had anything that stopped me from writing, and I’ve certainly never had criticism from outsiders/strangers or whatever (generally people just ignore me). But I do keep my mum at a distance from my writing, as she tends to just push and push me to ‘publish something already’ and gives off the mentality of ‘it’s not worth wasting your time on if it won’t make you money’. She uh...doesn’t know that I have published over 100k of fanfic this year. Lol. She’s only trying to be supportive, in her own way, and I appreciate it, but I just don’t mention it to her very often, because she’s never really ready to listen to my point of view on it.

11. Have you ever had fans of your writing pester to write a certain way?

I don’t have fans xD

And from @starsandstormyseas because you asked good questions and I Want To...

1. Have you ever had an idea that sounded really great in your head, but when you started writing it, came out terrible for whatever reason?

Yesssss, Flicker has gone through 9 versions in 2 years because every time I start it, it just goes very quickly in directions that I don’t want it to and it never feels right. This version I’m working on now is the first time I’ve really liked all the ways I could go with it so hopefully we’re past book 2 blues and back on track.

2. What’s your favorite part in writing a story? The relationships (or shipping), the plot, the worldbuilding, something else?

The like, ‘main’ scenes, the big hitters. The culmination of all the middle bits into that one main plot point. And relationships too, though not romantic persay - I just really enjoy the scenes where two characters will bounce off of each other for like 7 pages of dialogue, whether its enemies, or friends, or romantic.

3. And weird habits you do when writing, or to keep yourself writing?

I write by hand mostly, and I have my own system to mark as I’m going sentences I don’t like, or words that don’t really fit but I couldn’t think of the right one, or facts I’ve made up on the fly that need to be googled. If I just mark down stuff that I want to change later as I go, I find that I set myself free in a way, and I can just move on without getting stuck on a google spiral (also I don’t forget to fix my plot holes later).

4. Do you keep the internet on or off when you write?

On, though it’s very distracting when I’m trying to write straight on my laptop lmao

5. What books, authors, fics, or any media, have heavily influenced your writing style?

I spent a lot of my childhood reading Enid Blyton and authors like her; older books, mostly my mum’s books from when she was a child, and things from my hometown’s very, very outdated library. So they had a huge impact on the way I learnt to write (they also had an impact on the way I talk too, but that’s another story). More recently, the whole tone and way that fanfic in general is written has really influenced me, and I’d like to think I’ve adopted it and made it my own in a good way.

6. What time is the best time to write? Day, night? Morning, evening?

Evening/night; some days, I cannot focus until like 8pm when I go to bed. And then I lose sleep because I’m writing but y’know. For editing/typing up, that’s a late afternoon kind of job.

7. Is there anyone IRL that you let read your work? 

I have a group of friends that I’ve known for 8 years now that are allowed to read my work. We used to rp together and all used to write and so we all know how bad we were back in the day xD. One girl from that group has been my friend since kindergarten, so she has always had me shoving handfuls of words in her face. There’s been a few other friends that have read some of my stuff, but not all of it, and the older I get, the less I share.

8. How do you handle negative or unhelpful reviews or critique? Does it impact the way you write?

I’ve never had any negative response, so I don’t know. The silence when you’re 4 chapters deep and no one has reviewed is deafening though.

9. Do you respond to every comment/reply you get? If not, which ones get your attention and why?

I only respond to the long/sincere ones, because I feel like they deserve some encouragement in return for taking the time to really let me know what they thought.

10. Ever gotten weird, unsolicited messages asking to join an RP group or some such because this person apparently read your writing (but probably didn’t)?

Hah. Once or twice.

11. What is your favorite platform to post your writing, talk about writing, or anything like that? 

My favourite place to post and to read by far is AO3 - but I find the best platform to get feedback on is FF.net. My favourite place to talk about writing is over here on tumblr.

MY QUESTIONS

How do you get yourself to focus on writing?

What’s your favourite thing you’ve ever written?

Tell me about your current WIP.

Do you write for yourself or for an audience?

Do you share your writing with anyone you know in real life?

What’s the nicest comment/review you’ve ever gotten?

What platform do you prefer to post your work on?

Do you plot or pants?

What have you learnt while writing your stories?

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?

Can you give a spoiler for your WIP?

Tagging (from writer peeps) @converginglives, @pen-in-hand (if you want another one I think mel got you xD), @aethryos, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @siriusguided, @insertpenname-here, @indecentpause, @writing-at-dusk @sillyliterature @anoddconstellationofthoughts @writingtomorrow