#also because its newtmas

[dv3whore]

I have found the funniest thing i have ever found

[anewtmasappeared]

I posted this on Reddit, and thought I’d try here too.

~ Intro

I’ve started these fan pages hoping to share interests with other TMR fans and share some of my own ideas, thoughts, and fan projects. Above all, I’d really like to share about my Newtmas fan fiction writing project. First, I thought I’d ask if there’s really anyone out there seeing this :’)

I might be seen as late, and that would be because I was too young to watch the Maze Runner movies at its time ;-; But after I did, I came to love the story, world, the characters, and their relationships.

~ I haven’t read the books, and I don’t want to—yet

Also something to note: I only know the movies, not the books. I wish to someday read all the books, but I want to stay only in the movie trilogy world for now. It might be ironic, since the books are this series’ origins, where it was born from, the original work, and I’m writing a fan fiction about it. But I have a strong feeling that Newtmas isn’t even a vibe in the books. That what I’ve written and am about to write would be very wildly unrealistic compared to the books. That maybe if I read the books, then my inspiration to write this fan fiction just might be crushed. So I’m deciding to purposely read the books only later down the road.

~ Before you keep reading this:

If you’ve gotten this far, and you don’t know Newt’s story from start to finish within the movies, then you shouldn’t read the rest if you don’t want to find out this way. I wouldn’t really say it’s a spoiler, since everyone already seems to know the events throughout the movies, but just in case, I’ll add this here.

~ Is anyone out there?

I’ve been thinking about the possibility that I might not reach people with my own fan projects either because the fandom isn’t as alive anymore, or because of some cases of the internet’s disappointing algorithms. I’ve been working on something that I’m really proud of, and I really hope to share it with other TMR trilogy fans someday when it’s finished:

~ Newtmas is a very beautiful, delicate thing

A Newtmas fan fiction!

It’s got to be the most popular Maze Runner trilogy ship (is it just me or does it seem even bigger than Thomas and Teresa? Thomresa? Teromas?) and here, I’m taking it and turning it into a fan fiction.

If the sound of a Newtmas fan fiction already catches your attention, then you might have read some Newtmas fan fictions before. You might have seen how off-character the characters can seem or how much the writer sometimes butchers their relationship… Here, I’m doing everything I can to handle Thomas and Newt gently and carefully, because Newtmas is a very delicate and fragile thing, that can be easily failed by any fan writer who might be impatient or who might force the relationship too far too quickly. Thomas and Newt’s relationship is easily loved by TMR trilogy fans, and such a relationship is curiously, unexplainably valuable, but it’s also very delicate. So in my fan fiction, I’m doing everything I can to handle them in the most careful and gentle way, keeping their personalities and character, and I intend to build on their relationship in the most realistic way.

~ Newtmas should have been endgame ;-; / Why I’m writing it

There are so many ways Newt could have been saved. (I could list a whole bunch, but I’ll probably save that for another time.) Seeing that he didn’t make it, it felt like I was robbed of something. Even though the movies gave us this beautiful relationship between the two, it felt like it should have lived on. It felt like it ended too soon. We were given something amazing, but it was taken away too painfully, too quickly. I know Newt died, and that’s how the story goes…but imagine if he didn’t. Imagine he was saved (by one of the many possible ways…) and lived on, and eventually became the most special part of Thomas’ life while living on the safe sanctuary by the beach.

~ My style of writing it

The main focus is Thomas and Newt’s relationship by the end of it all, but it won’t be writing purely all about the two. It won’t be like the other characters don’t exist; it won’t be like the other characters don’t matter. Because they really do, even when the main focus and main inspiration of the writing is Thomas and Newt’s relationship. The other characters are a part of the world and are still a big part of Thomas and Newt’s lives. And the writing also won’t be solely all events focused on only the relationship. Another thing that might seem off about Newtmas fan fictions is that it might be all about them, as if no other characters exist or as if nothing else happens except for their relationship growing. In my fan fiction, other things will happen, and the other characters will still be a big part of it. It’s like a way to care more for Thomas and Newt’s relationship by lessening the overall focus on it a little. I *really* don’t want to overdo anything or rush their relationship, and I’m sure that’s pretty clear by now.

~ My concluding questions

1. Do you think you might be interested in this fan fiction once it’s released into the public? I’m planning to put it on Wattpad once it’s ready, which will be in quite some time, but unlike other fan projects, I’m determined to successfully finish this one. I’m working hard on it for both myself and any other TMR trilogy fans who might have interest in or appreciation for it.

2. Do you agree with my “Newtmas is very delicate” opinion (out of curiosity)? If you do, then you’re sure to appreciate my fan fiction :)

3. Is this fandom still relatively active? :’) Hopefully this amazing series is so great that it still has an active fandom?

4. Not a question, but if you aren’t as interested in the sound of my fan fiction, but know someone who might be, I’d really appreciate a share! And even if you are interested, I’d still very much appreciate a share! I really hope to spread this news about my work-in-progress Newtmas fan fiction. Hopefully it can motivate me to write it not only for myself and my close friends/family, but for other, new people as well. So I’d be very excited to find any encouraging enthusiasm!

End note about this Newtmas fan fiction:

This fan fiction all started with my ideas, my Newtmas-inspired motivation, my thoughts, and is the written form of my ideas. It started with me saying, “I’m going to do this. I’m going to make Newtmas happen, because I refuse to be robbed of it like that.” I’m the writer of it, but so is my sibling, who is working on it with me as a two-collaborative-authors kind of project. We’re in the place of one author, using mainly my foundational ideas, and we’re both writing it together. Some descriptions are mine, and some descriptions are my sibling’s. One thing for sure is that my sibling is a lot better at descriptive and creative writing than me, but I try my best. My sibling is also there to edit and add to my descriptions for the most amazing improvements. My sibling knows the characters a lot better than I do, and can provide judgement or input on a lot of my own ideas about our project, and also suggests ideas of their own. In the end, equal credit goes to the both of us.

If this reaches anyone, and you have the chance to read our fan fiction, I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for reading this! :)

[bokvshou]

My ranking of The Maze Runner books because im bored.

Fever Code. it's the best book in the series, period. newtmas is at its best.

Kill Order. i know a lot of people don't like this one but i love it. I loved seeing how the whole pandemic and disasters in the world began.

Maze Runner. the one and only, the place where you fall in love with everyone for the first time. also, The Glade is my favorite location in the entire saga.

Death Cure. the epilogue is my favorite of all the books, although i feel the ending is the weakest, i'm a big fan of all the adventure and angst feeling in here.

Scorch Trials. I always felt it was a shame that the movie strayed so far from the original plot. but I prefer movie!brenda tbh. dashner can't write romance at all (or women? maybe that's the issue here).

Crank Palace. it's okay don't get me wrong, and I always appreciate more newt content, i just feel dashner could have done a liiiiittle more.

I really feel like I love Fever Code and The Kill Order so much because they contribute a lot to the world building, and makes the experiences we have with Thomas in the three main books a lot more... well, it makes more sense, and gives another perspective. and it seems very special in my head.

[significant-ace-nnoyance]

hi! i’m kiri :) audhd ace sapphic, constantly sleep deprived and avoiding my life but it’s a good time!!

INTERESTS :D

six of crows duology!! (literally my comfort series omfg if u read can we be friends now) ALSO king of scars duology OH MY GOD DONT GET ME STARTED ON ZOYALAI

percy jackson (my middle school era is BACK BITCHES AND ITS HERE TO STAY BECAUSE THE SHOW IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF)

seaweed brain podcast (i apologize to everyone i've ever interacted with for constantly referencing it but also no i dont go listen)

lego batman (unironically one of the best animated movies of all time)

magnus chase (the softest silly goofy queer found family book i love them)

arcane ARCANE. ARCANE. GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW I SWEAR

the dragon prince

six, hadestown, pjo the musical, wicked, epic the musical

newtmas. just newtmas. i barely remember the books ive watched a single movie but BOY DOES THAT SHIP DO SOMETHING TO ME. VISCERAL EMOTIONS. I CONSTANTLY WANT TO THROW UP THINKING ABOUT THEM

TROBED

I WILL START WATCHING JJK SOON I PROMISE

probably more i’m forgetting

dont be an discriminatory idiot people on the internet are not your punching bag <3 thank you pls dni

x kiri

[dumb-bi-thomas]

hey, no hate, i was just wondering why you hate newtmas? i’m not saying there’s anything at all wrong with that, i was just wanting to hear why. have a good day/night ! :)

hi, no problem! Hmmm I guess it really boils down to "it's too popular for its own good". Especially because I was the most involved in the fandom during 2015-2018, and there would be SO much ne*wtm*as content. And a thing shippers would do, because at the time we were all self-described "fangirls" and we were all 16 years old, was butcher Newt's character down to "uwu my soft gay baby". Which is a thing that I saw done mostly by n*ewtm*as shippers, by virtue of them being so numerous. It seemed like angst and more complex character development was more common in thominho or minewt ships by comparison.

I think it's also because a lot of n*ewtm*as shippers came from seeing the movies, as Newt's character and his relationship with Thomas are different and a bit softer. Meanwhile, I was a real fan who had read the books, so how dare these stupid fangirls base their ship on the movies! (< sarcasm) All in all, I was fed up with how much people loved n*ewtm*as while minewt shippers like me were fighting for our lives (my heart goes out to everyone who ships a rarer pair... benho and nalby shippers you are my brethens), especially since ship wars were more prevalent at the time.

So my distaste for that ship was forged back then and I never really got over it lol... Although now I think people have grown up and calmed down, they no longer treat Newt as a "uwu pure cinnamon roll" and they love n*ewtm*as while keeping the characters in character. The ship wars have died down too. But I still hold that spark of outrage in my chest like "what about minewt??"

I've always loved Thominewt though.

[astralpenguin]

you're the only newtmas author i still read regularly, so:

what's one fic you'd rewrite if you had the chance? favorite newtmas trope? favorite trope overall?

and one fic you would write if you could, but you never found the time/energy to do it!

dfjgs i'm honoured <33

i don't think i'd rewrite any of my fics. my writing has definitely improved since writing the lead me to a future series, and it's noticeable to me whenever i reread it (which is fairly often) that it could be better, but the occasional awkward turn of phrase or noticeable crutch word isn't enough to make me want to rewrite it. i plan on making some edits to wckd academy over the next few weeks (i want to finally remove all hp references and alter some minor backstory details that upon reflection were Bad and should never have been included), but i won't be touching any of its awkward turns of phrase either kjdfhsg. i'm proud of what i've achieved, awkward phrasing and all!!

favourite newtmas trope is a hard question lmao but my first thought was: newt falls first, thomas falls harder. i will not elaborate <3 (unless i'm requested to kjshdf)

favourite trope overall is an even harder question and my first thought for an answer is something which is totally irrelevant to tmr which is: depictions of and explorations of consensual and/or collaborative possession and how it can possibly morph to and from non-consensual possession. possession as horror (see: supernatural, undertale/deltarune depending on your interpretation of the player character) and possession as a fun way to get super close with your non-corporeal bestie (see: venom, undertale/deltarune depending on your interpretation of the player character) and the interplay thereof fucks severely. i very recently upped my rating of a book by a whole star (from 4 to 5) because there was some funky possession shenanigans at the end

does finishing the tmr death note au count for that question? i feel like it should lmao i got 70k in and newtmas had literally only just met each other. i think that fic will be great once it's finished! i think it'll make people cry a lot! but i haven't touched it in over a year so who the fuck knows when that will actually happen lmao. i also had an idea for a yuki yuna is a hero au (i think it would work very well - kids being exploited in order to fend off an apocalypse that's never going to stop coming no matter how many lives are lost in the process) but that would be another novel length fic in itself so it's never even been written down. also i have this whole plan for a rewrite of seasons 8 and 9 of supernatural where dean brings emma back from purgatory that i would very much love to write one day but alas. time and energy say no

[eusuntgratie]

what are you weakest for in fic for the following pairings:

stucky

sterek

firefighters whose names i'm not 100% i know

newtmas

oh this is such a good ask <3

stucky - i'm very weak for fics where bucky's trauma is treated seriously, where steve works hard to help him, and where there's an undeniable connection between the two that is less 'omg its you you're back everything's perfect' and more 'there is no universe, no situation, no life where i don't love you'.

sterek - um. bottom!derek is literally the first thing that came to mind. hah. i'm weak for a lot of things in sterek fic but i do really love fics where derek gets to be soft, and lets stiles take care of him. and rail him a lot.

also fics where derek is very wolfy... i love all the werewolfy kink shit and stiles being very much a monsterfucker.

my firefighters are buck and eddie 😂😘 their ship name is buddie which is hilarious. i am very weak for domestic fics where the two of them are soft and sweet and coparenting eddie's son chris. their little family of three is what originally intrigued me about the show. but i also LOVE fics where eddie is in his queer awakening era and discovers how much he loves dick. let eddie be a slut, a little bit. baby deserves it.

OH GOD i also love love love a d/s dynamic with these two (bc honestly... it just works so well for them i'm sweating just thinking about it) and am extremely and eternally weak for possessive!eddie.

my fave newtmas fic of all time is an AU, but i'd say for canon fics it's definitely glade sluttiness. like maybe i'm scared and overwhelmed and i don't know wtf is going on but who cares because i found this beautiful boy and for a minute i can lose myself in that.

common thread in all of these is that i'm very drawn to traumatized characters and i will always love reading about them healing, being seen, getting what they need, and getting to be happy. and having fabulous sex, obviously.

ask me weird and/or spicy shit to keep me motivated 😘

[newtedison]

Newtmas + 20 and 42

thank you!

20. Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

hold up lemme check my newtmas playlist brb

update i dont have a newtmas playlist i just have a playlist for all we do is drive. embarassing.

im gonna go with graveyard by halsey

"You can think again When the hand you wanna hold is a weapon and You're nothin' but skin

Oh, 'cause I keep diggin' myself down deeper I won't stop 'til I get where you are I keep running, I keep running, I keep running

They say I may be making a mistake I would've followed all the way, no matter how far I know when you go down all your darkest roads I would've followed all the way to the graveyard

Oh, 'cause I keep diggin' myself down deeper I won't stop 'til I get where you are I keep running when both my feet hurt I won't stop 'til I get where you are"

i know this could also work for thominho or minewt. their power.

42. What's their favorite type of weather to enjoy together? (getting snowed in together, watching thunderstorms, etc.)

i love this question! i think they would enjoy doing things in the spring because its the middle ground of temperature. newt enjoys the warmth and sun but thomas doesnt handle it as well, so spring is a perfect balance for the both of them. in terms of actual activites, i honestly just picture them going on walks. newt can point out different trees and thomas can ramble about whatever happens to be on his mind that day

Send me a ship and questions!

[kareofbears]

hi op im the asshole that just dropped two nuclear bomb comments on your two newtmas fics and i just wanna say 1. If youre reading this before seeing those comments i just wanna say ummm get ready for the least coherent comments and im so sorry and 2. If youre reading this after seeing those comments in my defense . i love your writing . again tysm for writing for the tmr fandom in the year of our lord 2024 its truly a travesty that the dead franchise has a dead fandom who decided that ❤️❤️🙏😭😭 newtmas fandom fightingg ✊😭

anon,,,, I have read. And reread. Your comments three times. Each. I will one thousand person answer them in full because I want to give it the time and respect and DETAIL that you’ve honored me with, I just want to wait until I have a keyboard to work with.

But I just wanted to say this right away, without delay. But you seriously gave me so much hope and comfort and joy. I can’t stress it enough!!! Like!!!! I love you!!!! Whoever the hell you are bestie!!!! Because you made me so happy. You supported my work. Not only that but you said so so much of the stuff that I was thinking. You quoting Taylor lyrics that literally played in my headphones 200 times while I was writing these fics. I just!!! You get it!! You GET ME!!!! Honestly I was a little sad before this because when I finished Warning Signs (I’m just making the name shorter lol I chose such a long title! Worth it though), I was really fucking proud of it because it came together really well and it ended up being over 6k (my intention for it was 3k haha). And then! No comments! No kudos! And that’s okay, you learn to be okay with it after years of writing for smaller fandoms, but I just hoped that one person would give me a little heart emoji or something! Signs of life yk?

AND THEN BOOM! You’re here!!! Wow!!! I’m so happy thank you so much :)))) it seriously, seriously means the world to me. Seriously!

Also! Since you reached out on tumblr (and I don’t like saying this kinda thing in ao3 because I worry I’m setting myself up for failure), but there’s going to be a third fic for Fever Longing Still which I’m soooo excited for teehee I just wanted to let you know!! Thank you again friend ily ily 🫶🏼🫶🏼

[iasconsumesmedia]

20 questions for fic writers!

I got tagged by @crestfallercanyon, thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3? - 68 apparently.

What’s your total A03 word count? - 219K words. Wow. Considering most of my fics are under 10K that's a lot of words. More than I thought.

What fandoms do you write for? - the Maze Runner and Teen Wolf mainly, but I've also written, or intended to write for a few others, like recently Avatar The Last Airbender

What are your top five fics by kudos? - All of them are Teen wolf fics, and essentially all Sterek: Mother's Day, It's only words except it's not, Thanks Dad, Provider, New Years Eve. I'm too lazy to link all of these. I've written most fics for Maze runner though, but the fandom is so small there and I don't write Newtmas, so none of those fics have any impressive kudos count.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? - Look, I try. And I almost always do. But if all my comment would say is Thank You, then sometimes I don't. I am very appreciative of every single one of them.

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? - Without You, I'm Nothing A Thominho fic where the Main Character Death is very very real.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? - Tricky to respond to, honestly, because what does happy ending mean? Most my fics include characters ending up together and in a happier life than before, but I think the happiest ending I've ever written was The Name simply because so many people were made happy in the end.

Do you get hate on your fic? - Not to my face, no. I'm sure I've pissed people off, or rather I hope I have, but if so they haven't told me so.

Do you write smut? - Occasionally, but I'm not very good at it and it often turns out a little too dry.

Do you write crossovers? - No, and I will not, and I also avoid them like the plague and frankly, if there's a hidden crossover in a fic I will stop reading and never forgive that fic writer.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? - As far as I know, no.

Have you ever had a fic translated? - Yes! For the translation event @its-tea-time-darling ran, don'tbeshy translated my fic Calm into French. That's one of my favourite fics I've ever written and also I think, one of my most appreciated ones.

Have you ever co-written a fic? - I have not, but I would consider it if someone felt we had similar vibes about relationships.

What‘s your all-time favourite ship? - Well. Hard to say, but I think it's Thominho and a big part of that is how well it works in canon. Even Trashner himself said it's the strongest relationship, even if he meant it as only platonic. But that's what I want to see to really ship two characters, that I don't have to add too much to canon to get them together. I also very much enjoy Thominho and of course Sterek, for probably very similar reasons.

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? - I have a WIP where the gladers are all Sorcerers and there's a thing about reincarnation and it's a Thominewt fic and I love it very much but hand over heart - unlikely it will ever be finished. It also isn't posted, so that only affects me.

What’s your writing strengths? - As a fic writer, I think I can take very small traits or lines and turn them into key features for a character and expand on them into some good fics.

What’s your writing weaknesses? - I think a lot about mental health and healthy relationships, and as a result, most of my characters know what advice to give each other and they don't get themselves into too bad situations. This can sometimes lead to more dull stories than if I enjoyed fucking them up. When I do fuck them up they usually make the right decision in the end.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? - See this? This entire message? And also every single fic I have on Ao3 except one? Yeah it's written in another language already. I'm Swedish. This question is weird.

First fandom you wrote for? - Harry Potter. First I published for: Maze Runner

Favourite fic you’ve ever written? - Oh dear.

Hm.

You're just like magic, a Thominho fic, is one of them. But I tihnk other than that, all the ones I've already mentioned. But Also Hey there little red riding hood with Thomas in a Red hoodie and Teresa as a werewolf, which I still like very much and which has received very little love (but Thomesa fics aren't that popular at all in an already small fandom so)

I think everyone I would tag have already been tagged, but if you want to do this, do it and say I tagged you!

[kevday2]

After

Angst

No Pairing/Not a reader insert 

Characters: Thomas, Minho  

Words: 818

It had been about a year since the great escape from the maze. Most had survived the trek through the Scorch and had made it through the flat trans and into what they referred to as the Other Side, or just simply, home. Much like in the maze, everyone had a job and there was a system that kept the place running. Most kept jobs similar to the ones that they had before. Thomas and Minho, for example, continued to run past the current borders into the unknown to form maps in hopes of eventually expanding their camp.

Thomas had just come from a run and was just starting to sketch his route when the door swung open. He didn’t bother looking up from his page as Minho’s heavy footsteps broke the silence. It had become routine for him to check Thomas’s progress after he went out. He stood, silently staring at the rough parchment before speaking up. 

“I want to go back.” 

Thomas looked up from the map and into Minho’s hard gaze. “What?” He, and who was left of groups A and B, had finally established some kind of stable lifestyle. It was chillingly similar to living in the glade, but now they had the freedom to roam and explore without the threat of grievers or changing walls trapping them in an unsolvable, constantly adapting maze. Thomas was more than satisfied, and he was very confused about why Minho of all people, who had been through the worst of it, would want to go back into a world where they would be constantly hunted.

Minho watched Thomas as he pushed down his pencil and sat down. “Why on Earth would you want to go back out there?” 

“For Newt you idiot, why else? We’ve finally got the strength and supplies to send people back in to find him. Hell, we can go by ourselves if no one else does.” Thomas stiffened. “Nobody deserves to have to live in that place, especially not Newt, not after what he had to go through to get here. He’s probably holed up waiting for us right now.”

Thomas swallowed thickly. “I don’t think that’s a good idea Minho.” His voice was barely audible, but he didn’t trust himself not to falter if he spoke any louder.

“Excuse me?” Thomas couldn’t look him  in the eyes. “Listen Min-” 

He was cut off by Minho rushing forward and slamming his hands onto the table, scattering papers across the floor. “You listen shuckface.” Thomas couldn’t move. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t muster a word under Minho’s fiery gaze. “He would do it for us. Hell, he has! When you and Brenda ran off to some crank infested party, he completely disregarded the fact that he could get sick to help save your ass. Why won’t you do the same for him? There shouldn’t be any hesitation!”

 Thomas tried desperately to push words past the lump in his throat, to come up with an excuse, but his brain and his mouth weren’t on the same page and he found himself staring blankly at his friend. “Say something!”

He just flinched.

He could see Minho growing more confused and frustrated at his silence, but he couldn’t will himself to make a sound. All this time had passed and he had hoped that somehow they would imagine Newt somewhere safe, or, despite how selfish and how much thinking it made Thomas hate himself, already gone. Minho watched Thomas, desperately wanting him to say something, anything.  He just wanted to see his friend again, and so did Thomas but only one of them knew the truth. 

After minutes of the boys just staring at each other, waiting for the other to move, Minho turned on his heels and swung the door open. “Fine, I’m going tomorrow at daybreak. I’ll be sure to tell Newt  about how eager you were to find him.”

He didn’t look back to Thomas before he began walking out. Just as the door began to close, Thomas found his voice. “He’s dead.” 

It came out as a strangled cry and Thomas had trouble recognizing it as himself when he said it, but the words resonated with Minho as clear as a bell. He froze under the doorframe and turned slowly to face Thomas whose face had lost all of its color. “What?” Thomas gulped. He felt his stomach drop to his toes as Minho’s anger slowly diminished and cooled to a frigid dread that slumped his shoulders and twisted the fire in his eyes into painfully grim glaciers. “You don’t know that.” Thomas had lied to his best friend about someone that they had both loved, and he could see the consequences that he had avoided unfolding before him. He betrayed Minho. There was no question about it, and standing there, both of them knew that Thomas’ words were true.

[persnickett]

Fave Fics

Ah all right, I’ve been tagged by @its-tea-time-darling to share fave fics, and the reason why. Five of them in fact, and according to ao3 I have 19 maze runner fics so let’s see if I can pick out 5 as ‘favourites’ - omg the stress of having to *like* something, oy vey.  1. Top Pick: 

Of Brick and of Bone  ( 12k, newtmas, T)

Objectively just feels like some of my best, or most serious, work in tmr fandom and one of the few things I might consider as potential submission for Original Fiction publishing. It takes an unusual POV that hemmed me in, in several ways, while writing it. Which resulted in a tighter, more focused narrative without long character-introspection tangents, and without lightening or distracting a little too much from the emotion with comedy and banter, which are both traps I’m extremely prone to as a writer. I’m very character-driven, and if I think of a joke I almost can’t not include it, and it can lead to all my pieces being the same - ie. all romantic comedy. I think this one just stands out.  2. Fan favourite: 

No Strangers to Love  (2k, thominewt, T) With the exception of my one monster 170k WIP, this one does the best on my stats page, so feels to me like the one readers like best. A bit of surprise as it’s not your standard ever-popular newtmas fic, it’s thominewt, but it’s also your standard soulmates joint, so maybe that’s got a little bit to do with it too. 

3. Most Me:  I Like you a Latte (8k, newtmas, T) Well after complaining that I can’t NOT write comedy, I guess I’d be remiss if I didn’t shoot you some jokes. This one contains the most, though I’m not absolutely convinced it’s my funniest (I’ll admit You, Me and my Oral Fixation is a close second, if not indistinguishable, though admittedly apparently rated M, and is glaring at me from the corner as we speak) maybe it’s just the newest and freshest in my mind lol. My tmr comedy seems to fall into two categories: Thomas flailing at what a disaster he is over how cute Newt is, and Newt internally ranting at how irritating Thomas being this cute is. Interestingly, both those links I chose are the latter.

4. The Standout: 

An Apprenticeship  (20k, newtmas, T)

Not sure if these “favourites” are supposed to be recs per se, and I don’t know that I would say this one is - it’s weird. It’s complex and probably difficult to understand and crafted very specifically for somebody who I hope enjoyed it. But it holds a special place with me because there is a whole background universe and lore for it, floating around in the misty shadows in my head, and it has been the biggest stretch outside my comfort zone in this fandom so far. It challenged me to write (I needed an infographic table to keep track of the plot), I think it might be a challenge to read. I think it’s kinda unique. 5. And last but not least:  The Blood Culmination  (170k+, newtmas & ensemble, E) It’s not finished, but it’s my baby, my grand Opus if you will, my WIP that brought me to fandom and has not let me leave for three years. And it feels like it has a little bit of everything - romance, banter, poetry and adventure (yes even smut). Writing it - and all the discussions and support and thoughts, lessons and discovery it has brought me to, via all the interactions in my comments and with other writers - is going to be a writing experience that I’ll carry with me for life! (Plus it’s really me working out my tmr headcanon and characterization at its most detailed and nerdy and honest, and it’s just plain therapeutic saving Newt. <3) aaaand if you wanna do this I guess i’ll tag @singt0me @astralpenguin @seaselkie @dream0fspring @ambientdinostars @comebacknow @kathsilver and anybody else reading who would like to join in! 

[popurikat]

Newtmas essay when?

Finally getting to this, thanks for waiting, I needed to go over a few bookmarks. (Warning, this post contains spoilers from the MAZE RUNNER book and FEVER CODE book, so if you haven’t read either or yet and want the jist of my analysis; just know that in general the fandom interpreting Newt as gay before it was revealed on a twitter post was not just a random headcanon and that Thomas in general is portrayed to have very strong unconditional love for Newt throughout the series; and it shows. To the point that even the director for the movie has stated that Newt and Thomas have a strong bond and portrays that in the movies. I will also preface that I am NOT adding personal opinion anywhere here, these are just backings from quotes and how they are thus meant to be taken/read as. My words are taken as a reader who is currently reading Scorch Trials has yet to fully read Death Cure or Crank Palace.) Anways, without further ado at 3AM today, I’ll try my best to explain how even though Dashner tries his best to make Thomas have other, female love interests; he creates a not so subtle gay subtext for Tommy boy here when in the context of interacting with Newt throughout the lore. Apologies beforehand for any grammar mistakes along the way.

To commence, I am going to start with FEVER CODE, as its supposed to act as the story’s preface to the actual events that play out later. Newt and Thomas upon meeting each other describe their presence as “familiar” and or as a “long lost friend” and they genuinely hit it off from the start to the point that Newt is okay with having Thomas see him cry over the fact that he and his sister are separated since he is doomed to be WCKD’s control analysis as he’s the only one lacking immunity from the flare itself. Once Newt is done being emotionally vulnerable we get our first instance of his personal nickname for Thomas: “That’s the way things are Tommy,’ he said his voice not quite steady. ‘The world outside’s gone to hell. Why should we expect any different here? [...] He said it as if they’d been friends for years” (ch. 14).   An interesting note here is that Thomas doesn’t bother to correct him or stifle the moment by feeling that all this information was too much, he genuinely wanted to hear Newt out and is fine with seeing this side of him; if not slightly taken aback by how natural it is that they can converse about such aspects of their lives. In fact, Newt makes such an impact on Thomas that Thomas ends up that same night dreaming of him: “Throughout his shortened night, he dreamed of Newt and Sonya. Of Newt and Lizzy“(Ch. 14). The thing with Thomas though is that the idea of comfort and connection is very foreign to him as he’s been basically isolated all his life with only the adults like Ava to talk to and the one exception being Teresa as his only kid companion. So Thomas didn’t even think he could make others like him for being himself unless they were vital to the overall production of WCKD. Seeing this portion right before the end of chapter 14: “Alby, Minho, Newt, Teresa. Thomas had friends.” shows that Thomas really had to deep dive to see how he deals with personal connections and why he was excited about the notion of friendship. He could’ve been happy with just Teresa, but only fully cemented her bond to him as “friend” when his circle grew and these kids he got to hang with taught him he can be himself, a concept he didn’t realize was possible when all his life was dictated on what he was supposed to learn or do. It becomes especially clear just how controlled his life is with the aspect of sentiment when later on Teresa’s mental communication evokes physcial pain and fear in Thomas. I’ll get back to that later as its more of a small tid bit of Thomas’ view on his forced love interest, Teresa. And yes, I say forced because multiple sentences with Thomas have him even wish he could cease all communication with her. Moving on, let’s talk about mimicking for a second. As humans, we mimic as a behavioral response to become closer to the person we care about. It’s the reason why yawning or laughter is contagious and or why we copy the posture of the person we converse with face to face. Thomas is seen to do this the most with Newt’s quirks. I’ll give the example in chapter 15: “Newt has been promising them that he was saving something special, and he did that annoying zipped-lipped sign every time [...] the little light in his eyes showed he enjoyed every second of their torture” versus Thomas: “Thomas did Newt’s zipped-lipped gesture, and that got him a sharp poke in the ribs”. So, we know enough that Thomas’ mannerisms are developing as a sign that he wants to be closer to Newt and to continue this sense of playfulness they both enjoy from the other. This is the start of their budding bond and a clear indication that they hold each other at greater fondness than the rest through this unconscious copying. Through this copying, they also pick up on emotional cues the other lets up on. Newt is especially good at noticing small things like when Thomas is anxious or overthinking: “He was just shocked that with all their exploring, the others hadn’t already discovered it on their own. And there were supposed to be TWO mazes. How had Newt and his friends not stumbled upon either one of them? ‘Tommy?’ Thomas realized Newt was staring straight at him, eyebrows raised. ‘Sorry,’ he said embarrassed, ‘wandered off for a second there what did you say?’ Newt shook his head in admonishment. ‘Try to keep up, Tommy Are you ready to see the grat outdoors?” (ch. 15). Also in chapter 23: “Tommy?’ It was Newt, breaking him out of his thoughts. ‘I can see your wheels spinnin’ up there.’ He tapped the side of his head”. This furthers Newts perceptiveness on his friend and Thomas’ ability to pick out when he is being looked after. And they bounce off each other really well in that aspect. To the point that Newt can crack a joke he knows will land right on Thomas’ sense of humor: “Newt waggled his fingers in front of Thomas’ face [...] A laugh exploded out of Thomas’ mouth that sent a spray everywhere. ‘Sorry’ he said, wiping his lips on his sleeve” (ch.15). It’s enjoyable to know that at least at a surface level, they have fun together and can cheer the other up if needed or know when to ground the other to reality. It is also through these instances that as a reader I pick up that Thomas’ nervous ticks perhaps allude to an anxiety disorder he has; of which Newt is aware of and never puts Thomas down on for exhibiting. He in fact understands it and deals with it accordingly as he himself has a similar circumstance. SO, what does all this paying attention lead to? Thomas’ devotion to protect Newt. Yeah, thats right I said devotion. Thomas’ actions are influenced by his developed instinct to protect Newt at all costs. Here is the biggest example that comes to mind: “What in the world happened to Newt? -- Less then two hours later, Thomas had spliced together a series of camera clips [...] Thomas turned off the feed. He couldn’t take it anymore...Newt, Newt, Newt, Thomas thought, feeling as if the very air around him were turning black.”(ch.52). Essentially, Thomas seeing Newt plummet to his near death by falling from the maze wall as a result of Newt’s ongoing depressive state, this is the moment that makes Thomas realize WICKD isn’t as good as they seem and that he is going into the maze to save Newt. Its admirable how much self sacrifice Thomas does for someone he cares so much about, to the point that their name is like a mantra. Thats a sensible area of passion and fighting spirit for someone who is “just a friend”.    Oh and, the feeling of fondness is mutual mind you if I haven’t been clear. After experiencing the horrors of cranks for the first time, realizing Newt was not immune, and watching Newt until they entered the pits it has been months since they last interacted; this is their first reunion: “What’s up Tommy?’ Newt exclaimed, his face filled with genuine happiness at the pleasant surprise that’s been sprung on him. Thomas couldn’t remember exactly how long it’d been since he’d seen Newt. ‘You look bloody fantastic for three in the morning” (ch. 23). I need to preface this that Newt DOES NOT mean that sarcastically and that out of all the people in the room (Minho, Chuck and Teresa are there in this scene), Thomas only reacts this way specifically toward seeing Newt is okay and back.   The characters are also not afraid of being physically close. “Well, look who the bloody copper dragged in,’ Newt said, pulling Thomas into a big hug” (ch.31), “They shook hands, and then the two of them set off...” (ch. 31), and my favorite: “Thomas jumped at the sound, then stumbled. Newt tripped over him, and then they were both laughing, legs and arms tangled in a pile on the ground”(ch.32). I don’t think this far in the novel, Thomas has been AS (emphasis on as) comfortable with touch  with anyone else other than Newt. And thats a big step forward on the aspect of trust in a relationship, being able to be comfortable with the presence of another person enough to be as intimate with them as shown here.  And all this, is just fever code itself. Mind you this is not the MEAT of the novels as it came out later. But even without it, lets look at Thomas in Maze now, I’ll try to keep this segment a lot more brief. Here’s Thomas looking respectively at boys his age: “A tall kid with blond hair and a square jaw...a thick, heavy muscled Asian kid folded his arms as he studied Thomas, his tight shirtsleeves rolled up to show off his biceps [...] Newt was taller than Alby too, but looked to be a year or so younger, His hair was blond and cut long, cascading over his T-shirt. Veins stuck out of his muscled arms”(ch. 2). Thomas’ initial reaction to being surrounded by boys is to deeply analyze their rugged good looks and heavily emphasize their best physical traits. When reading this the first time, my mind immediately thought this boy at the very least is supposed to be portrayed as bi, especially when later down the line Teresa gets a similar descriptor: “...despite her paleness, she was really pretty...silky hair, flawless skin, perfect lips, long legs.” So right off the bat, we know that be it boy or girl, Thomas emphasizes how attractive someone looks in his eyes when he truly does have a sense of attraction to them. Case closed. Within the same chapter we get Thomas also immediately clinging onto Newt for a sense of grounding, it is now ingrained in him at this point that the boy is his lifeline, a person to rely on. “Thomas looked over at Newt, hoping for help.” And help he does, Newt in this chapter helps ease his worries, explain a general idea of what the glade is and even pats him on the shoulder a bit to ease tension. And Thomas doesn’t bat an eye in the same way he’s weary of literally everyone else. In fact, he’s eager to stay put with him as shown with; “If Newt went up there, then I wanna talk to him.” And if none of that seals the deal, we got early bird Newt being so touch starved he flattens himself next to Thomas to wake him up at the crack of Dawn in chapter 6: “Someone shook Thomas awake. His eyes snapped open to see a too-close face staring down at him, everything around them still shadowed by the darkness of early morning...’Shh, Greenie. Don’t wanna be waking up Chuckie, now, do we?’ It was Newt --the guy who seemed second in command; the air reeked of his morning breath. Though Thomas was surprised, any alarm melted away immediately”. This whole scene follows firstly by Thomas once again impressed by how strong Newt is and then Newt giving him a rundown of what everyone else was too afraid to show Thomas, the grievers. And you know, this scene could’ve ended well and everything as totally platonic, but then we have “Newt turned to look at him dead in the eye. The first traces of dawn had crept up on them, and Thomas could see EVERY DETAIL OF NEWT’S FACE, HIS SKIN TIGHT, HIS BROW CREASED.” Now, look me in the eye and tell me there is a hetero explanation on looking at your best bro like they are the sun reincarnated themselves. But let’s not hog all the homosexual undertones with Thomas here. Wanna know what Newt’s initial reaction to having a girl in the glade was? “It’s a girl,’ he said [...] Newt shushed them again. ‘That’s not bloody half of it,’ he said, then pointed down into the box. ‘I think she’s dead” (ch.8). It’s actually a stark contrast to the other gladers eagerly wanting to know her age, how pretty she looked, and calling dibs to date her; Newt isn’t interested in any of that, he’s more perplexed on her status and not even bothering to remark on her looks, he was the only one not to and even remarks a few other instances that girls are more Thomas’ domain. For instance, he makes a joke in fever code when Thomas remarks that the girls in the institution were going to tackle him down, Newt proceeds to point out sarcastically something along the lines of “wait, isn’t that YOUR dream though?” So Newt is pretty out spoken of his disinterest in girls, and his full admiration and attention on Thomas. Oh, and yes, Newt immediately switches over to “Tommy” the moment Thomas mentions he hates being called greenie, and once again it just becomes a thing between only the two of them. Newt is also the one to be straight forward about the whole Runners business. He warns Thomas about the dangers and doesn’t necessarily turn him down on his desire to be one, he in fact encouraged him to just wait until the right moment. “No one said you couldn’t, but give it a rest for now”(ch. 15). So once again, Newt is the voice of confidence and reason for Thomas to prosper. In turn, this time around Thomas is the one to catch when something is bothering Newt. For instance, “Newt chewed his fingernails, something he hadn’t seen the older boy do before...he was genuinely concerned -- Newt was one of the few people in the Glade he actually liked ”(ch.16). Interesting how we went from fever code “friend” to “like”. And also, when Newt explains his concern about the runners not coming back yet, Thomas pieces together how scared Newt is of the Maze without being told and goes to stand next to him as a physical presence to ground Newt as they wait near the entrance. In fact, this piece is trivial to understand why Thomas does what he does next. When everyone else had given up on the Runners still outside with 2 minutes left til closing, and Newt was escorted away from the entrance, Thomas waited. And when Thomas saw them, he yells to Newt, realizes he’s too far to do anything, and makes a decision himself. He KNEW how much Newt cared about his fellow Gladers, they were like family or “kin” as its said in the book, so what does he do? “Don’t do it Tommy! Don’t you bloody do it!’ ... Thomas knew he had no choice. He moved. Forward. He squeezed past the connecting rods at the last second and stepped into the maze”(ch.16). Yes, Thomas does this because of his empathy for the Gladers, but the chain reaction of Newt’s concern is what sets his decision in stone. And yet again, Thomas enters the maze for Newt.  And that’s pretty much the constant for the rest of Maze Runner the book, Newt just sticking up for Thomas and Thomas in turn just being happy that: “He was at least relieved that Newt was there” (ch.17). And thats basically their entire dynamic. Newt just going: “If you really did help design the maze Tommy, it’s not your fault. You‘re a kid -- you can’t help what they forced you to do” to ease the survivor’s trauma Thomas has, as well as saying “I actually believe you. You just don’t have an ounce of lying in those eyes of yours. And I can’t bloody believe I’m about to say this...but I’m going back in there to convince those shanks we should go through the griever hole, just like you said”(ch.51); and I think thats the most romantic thing to hear from him. Just right out being all for supporting Thomas no matter what happens as long as he stays alive and continues to fight, he doesn’t care about what happened before. And Thomas eats that up because it fuels him even more to seek out a means to escape for the people (Newt) that deserve a life outside of running from monsters forever. So essentially, I’ll state again, it’s always been Newt the catalyst for Thomas to run head first into the Maze and seek freedom. And with all this I can clear that these two are shown to if not be romantically involved, at least have unconditional love for the other that transcends the author’s original intention.  And with that in mind, here’s the thing with Teresa as a love interest. I can list here quotes of every time she mind speaks to Thomas and how that affects him, but then this would be too long. And this is a newtmas post gosh darn it. Teresa is gleeful to humiliate, control, hurt, and force Thomas to believe they’re in love. In multiple instances we get her barging into his mind unwarranted making him understand that she has full access to his inner most thoughts. Theres nothing romantic about that, and I think its why Thomas ends up being so perceptive to the smallest of gestures that allow him to think on his own and feel like his own person. Something I’ve seen Brenda do later in scorch, and something I’ve seen Newt do since the very beginning is that they allow Thomas to come to his own conclusions in order to create his own opinions on the matters at hand. Thomas’ love language revolves around words of affirmation. He likes it when people confirm his thoughts are valid and that remind him that WICKD can’t hurt him anymore now that he has the power to be his own person. This is where Newt comes in very handy. He allows Thomas to grow in ways his female love interests have yet to show, sorry Brenda but I’ve heard you were trying to unite all immunes together to the safe haven by the end and in a sense still only using Thomas to get by; I still think she was the better call than teresa of course and I have no remorse for Teresa getting smushed by a boulder. But essentially my point here is that, how do you fail to make your initial love interests clash so badly where one has no real care about the others well being so long as everything goes according to WCKD by using a form of gaslighting and manipulation? AND THOMAS HAS STATED HIS DISCOMFORT ON THIS MULTIPLE TIMES, but the narrative always erases these instances from his mind in place of pity for Teresa’s well being (as you can tell, Teresa through this becomes my least favorite character, I can rant about her some othe time though with proper backing). The narrative in turn treats it all like a joke. I understand there are scenes where Thomas is worried about her and looks out to make sure shes ok, but even then he doesn’t know how to react with mental images of her kissing his cheek or when she screams the next minute that she doesn’t know who he is or how hes speaking into her mind. And thats because they can’t properly communicate their emotions to the other, not even in fever code could Thomas give a forward answer if he loved Teresa or not, she just assumed. Come to think of it, Thomas really doesn’t show much affection to Teresa of his own accord. So then, how DOES Thomas show his affection? Thomas provides acts of service as his love language, if he cares about you enough he will risk his life for you. Why? Because Thomas values putting the people he loves foremost knowing full well they are what help him have purpose and succeed in continuing on. In a way, Newt and Thomas’ dynamic works in this instance because they balance the other out and because they have seen each other at their worst and at their best. In a way, that's why knowing the ending of the books makes it harder to accept that Thomas would just easily take the shot...when all his life clung to Newt’s survival. But that’s a story for another time where I compare the movies (of which let me make that clear, yes I prefer) over the books. For now just know that the book may have done this by accident, maybe not, but at the end of the day theres solid proof that Thomas and Newt care about each other in a way that is separately portrayed from their connection to the other glade members, and have this consistency of soft moments running through the entirety of the series. In conclusion; newtmas. Newtmas. NEWTMAS, etc.

[significant-ace-nnoyance]

I know it's because of the sunburst on his shield, but the sunshine line still makes me CACKLE. the writers really said "YES WE KNOW WHO HE LOOKS LIKE"

OMG IS IT BECAUSE OF THE SUNBURST I DIDNT EVEN NOTICE but HAHAHA THATS A FUNNY INTERPRETATION SBFJBKLJ bro is will solacing it uP in this house fr

i LOVe annabeths delivery of that line tho bc its simultaneously a little condescending but not mean like she sees him as a Greenie (to borrow maze runner terms since ive been in the newtmas state of mind recently) like hes one of her soldiers and a little dumb because hes extremely new to all of this and she needs to set him up but feels a little bad about it but at least she can make sure his armor is straightened up before he gets beat up so he can get claimed by his dad and also HES JUST A LIL SUNSHINE HES SO PURE THATS MY SON RIGHT THERE HES A NATIONAL DELINQUENT WHO BLEW UP THE ST LOUIS ARCH TO SAVE HIS FRIENDS <3

anyways i obviously think about this too much but my brain is too mush from lack of sleep to decode what my subconscious is yelling at me rn haha

[sailintothesun]

things that have happened in my Sims game of maze runner that are now officially canon

- this all started when I made gally, minho, brenda, teresa, newt, and thomas move into a shitty apartment. I mean shitty the attribute associated with it is literally "needs TLC" there are mice holes everywhere, and I had to fully redo the kitchen so it wouldn't blow up in their faces every time they tried to touch the stove or the fridge. there was also no room for a shower so it had to go out on the balcony oops. this is all fine tho because rent is $2400 a month

- only teresa and brenda have jobs #mommy's money!! teresa is a politician!! and she's fighting against climate change!! brenda is a secretary but she is moving on up in the world!!

- all of them recently got into college with at least one scholarship!! except minho because like the smart king he is got 3!! this is good because as a collective they have $3000 and that is not cutting it bc brenda is a diva and expensive #menarenowrequiredtogetjobs

- minho, thomas, and gally all have the "bro" trait meaning that they fist bump and watch sports together A LOT. also gally and minho are workout buddies and it's literally the most adorable thing. thomas is getting into basketball and wants newt to play with him but newt just like... looks at him and goes to sit on the bench (I literally put in the command for his character to play basketball and he Would Not do it)

- newtmas is canon. like official. they're boyfriends. BUT they won't stop woo-hooing in the shower on the balcony. ALSO IN A STRANGE TURN OF EVENTS TERESA KEEPS FLIRTING WITH NEWT???? BUT NEWT SHUT THAT DOWN FAST (king love him for that)

- also!! brenda/gally is a thing! and they and newtmas went to the romance festival, at which brenda and gally would not stop making out and the game tried to make me have thomas propose to newt about 20 times, even though they only started dating FOUR DAYS AGO (they haven't even gone to college yet what the fuck)

- Minho keeps getting electrocuted by the coffee machine and it's really funny. He wants to be like helpful and fix stuff but he always ends up electrocuted. He also set the grill on fire and it made Newt freak out so much that he proceeded to cry in his bed for two hours and be "Tense" for 2 DAYS

- GALLY IS A CHEF!! HE IS LITERALLY ALWAYS COOKING AND HE'S KINDA GREAT AT IT. TERESA ALSO MAKES REALLY GOOD GRILLED FOOD! meanwhile minho literally cannot cook to save his life and even when he makes coffee the food quality is always "poor"

- newt decided to try painting (I was not on his character at the time) and he painted a rainbow (listen trashner I just want to talk how DARE you keep newt repressed for this long)

- remember how I said they live in a shitty apartment? with mice holes? well the boys all share one big room and that's where the mice holes are and at 2am the mice came out and woke everyone up and newt got so mad that he started trying to kill all the mice so thomas had to fix the mice holes

- also when the neighbors made too much noise newt almost got into a fight with an elderly woman and minho just started trying to be friends with her

- (not about the Sims game) nadia and I have decided that newtmas' canon dynamic is that newt makes the decisions but thomas has to follow through. for example: newt always chooses the restaurant they go to, but when they run out of condiments its always thomas that flags the waiter down and asks for more @nneiljostenn

- minho is really good with electronics and like programming so im gonna make him program in college I think

- brenda is a vegetarian and she keeps preaching to gally and minho about being vegetarian and minho is like totally down and gally just says shut up and makes out with her. also teresa won't stop yelling about climate change to minho but minho is like "cool!" and gets very happy for her when she's doing that

- teresa was also really mean to newt and newt got Sad TM whenever she was around so Minho yelled at her and then she apologized

[crestfallercanyon]

⌛️- what is the longest you’ve worked on a piece of writing

🏚- what is an abandoned wip

-

in the first i‘m really interested because i know you‘ve worked on novels of original fiction before, and i genuinely have no idea how much time might have gone into these projects. (if the topic of original fiction is something you‘d rather not have on your blog here lmk and i‘ll resend the ask without it 💓)

and then the question of abanoned wips i find so interesting because i sometimes think it’s nearly equal in how much it says about our creative process and what writing means to us compared to the stories we actually finish! — i don’t know if you share that sentiment, but i‘m very keen on hearing what you‘d have to say on it in any case!

( — careful sap ahead — as i just generally am keen to hear about any of your thoughts.)

🤍 tea

Thank you so much for the ask!! <3 (and as always, you are far too nice)

⌛️ -- I have no problem talking about the original fiction I used to (and sometimes still) write! I find it a great deal of fun.

So, when it comes to those projects, I can't give an exact number. Gauging from work I've done on certain fics and also some of the work I do for my actual career, I would say I easily spent over 200 hours. Almost definitely more on the two books I finished. I tend to be long-winded, and the whole reason I got into fanfiction was to practice my story pacing because I used to have major problems with it, so chapters were often overwritten and took too long. That and I often would rewrite everything. One book took me about three years to finish the first draft (over the span of five years I was working on it) (and it still needs so much editing). So, I'm pretty confident in 200+.

🏚 -- an abandoned wip. I always like to believe I'll finish everything, but the one that I can almost surely say I've abandoned is my Newtmas (background Gally/Brenda) longfic Second Sun.

The fic centered around the idea that Teresa had been working on a second project (Project: Second Sun) for treating the Flare. It turned on the idea that the Flare dies with its host. The story started with Newt waking up five years later resuscitated in the pod of her design, and her idea had worked. He is cured.

On the otherhand, Safe Haven has failed. Thomas, Gally, and Brenda are back in the states trying to find a new place to bring everyone. However, Thomas's mental stability rapidly declines as it becomes apparent the amount of times WICKED messed with his memory has made a lasting impact. He begins suffering what looks like early onset Alzheimers. Upon Newt's arrival, while he is delighted, only enforces the decline because he can't keep track of when he is.

It was going to be hella angsty. The first half of the story was planned to have Newt learn how to survive on his own and handle people with nefarious intentions. Thomas was going to start frequently hurting Gally in the fits of confusion, Gally letting him due to guilt, until one time he almost kills him. Gally was going to find Brenda's brother's corpse in the house she and him grew up in. The whole shebang.

It's just a very intensive project, and much of what I adore about it I have transferred into other ideas, so I no longer feel the need for this fic in particular. Maybe one day I'll refurbish it and come back, but, I think it's pretty safe to say that I won't ever write it in full. I only got through chapter 2, so.

Thank you so much for the ask!! Hope this satisfied your curiosity! :D

Writers Ask Game