#and had so much fun editing and coming up with the little stories and dialogues

[elvenbeard]

Road Trip 4/4 🌃

V: "And next you'll draw me like one of your French girls!" Kerry: "Wow, impressive... really brushin' up on your early 2000s meme knowledge!" V: "I'd watch the original extended version of Lord of the Rings for you, babe..." Kerry: "Nerd, you'd do that anyway!"

Every trip has to come to an end, but that only means the next one can start :D Nothing better than winding down on clean sheets and with a long shower after a day-trip through the desert!

Honestly, I had so much fun with this little project, I might do something similar again in the future XD See where else they'll end up on this or the next journey :3 Hope you also had fun following along!

[lurkingshan]

10 Things I Love About Ossan's Love Returns

Y’all. Y'ALL. I am stunned right now. I am verklempt. I never thought I would end up here. But here I am.

I bounced hard off the original Ossan's Love. Like, hard. I DNF'd and immediately memory holed just about everything I knew about it. But people I trust (namely @isaksbestpillow and @twig-tea) said this new series was an improvement on the original, and that I didn't have to go back and try rewatching the first series to dive into this one. So of course I, a jbl devotee, had to give it the old college try.

AND TO MY SHOCK AND AWE, I LOVE IT. This show is excellent. This is Japanese media at its absolute best, showcasing the precision in writing, directing, editing, and acting that they can reach when they are firing on all cylinders. This is the kind of comedy only a Japanese production can get right, because it requires a mastery of all these elements that you just can't get in less mature filmmaking industries. This is the best example I have ever seen of this kind of broad comedic style grounded in real stakes.

So let me tell you why this show, which is available for the international audience on Gaga (and with subs coming from Sirii, as well!), is worth your time:

This is a story about an established relationship between adult characters. Y'all know how I feel about the dearth of this we get in drama! Maki and Haruta have been long distance for four years and are moving in together to start their married life as this show begins.

The writing is unbelievably strong. Everything that happens matters, the characters always make sense, and the jokes are genuinely so fucking funny.

Kurosawa, or Chief, as I refer to him, is one of the funniest characters of all time, in any drama. The way this man had me laughing out loud in every scene! I felt like I got a workout.

This show is a feat of editing. I have been watching a string of shows recently that are getting hamstrung by bad editing, so let me tell you, it was a true pleasure to watch a drama that executes editing tricks so deftly and with such an eye toward sharpening its story and enhancing its jokes.

It has excellent female side characters. We have Chizu, my favorite lady bestie who is here to whip Haruta into shape at all times, and Chuoko, an actual archer who also has her own little romance going, and Haruta's mom, an unbothered legend who just wants to eat her food and get to her dates with her boyfriend.

There's a mystery! Next door to Haruta and Maki are two creepy mfers (brothers?) who are Up To Something. Or not! I don't know but I’ll find out!

We are getting an actual dialogue about gay marriage. Haruta and Maki consider themselves married, but have no legally binding contract and have not yet had a wedding, and they talk about this and their feelings about it often as they are negotiating their lives together.

We may have some aroace rep happening?? This is still pending but my radar is pinging hard for Takegawa to join the incredibly shortlist of explicitly aro and/or ace characters in bl.

DID I MENTION THIS SHOW IS FUCKING HILARIOUS. I cannot overstate the number of times this drama had me straight cackling in three short episodes. I had to get up and do some laps to walk it off.

The show is extremely well paced and I trust it not to waste my time. No small thing in these bl streets! The odd episode order (9) and tight pacing of each of the first three episodes tells me the creators of this show know exactly what they are doing and how much time they need to execute their vision.

This show is airing live for the next six weeks and I strongly encourage you to watch it and come join the fun with us!

[cousmemes]

dialogue starters from DOCTOR WHO SEASON 8. feel free to edit for context / continues under the cut.

"I'll wager you've not seen anything like this before."

"Listen to me. You need to calm down."

"I'm not flirting, by the way."

"What have I done wrong?"

"Are you judging me?"

"Just because my pretty face has turned your head, do not assume that I am so easily distracted."

"Whatever it takes, I will keep you safe. You will be at home again."

"I'm cold. There's no point in us both being cold. Give me your coat."

"Are you cross with me?"

"You were talking about me?"

"What is happening right now to you and me is more important than your egomania."

"Nothing is more important than my egomania."

"You've redecorated. I don't like it."

"You can't see me, can you? You look at me, and you can't see me. Have you any idea what that's like?"

"I was being funny. I just do that."

"How long have you been there?"

"Are you going to look that terrified when you take me out for a drink?"

"You were smiling at nothing. I'd almost say you were in love."

"I need you."

"An anti-climax once in a while is good for my heart."

"We cannot waste this chance. It won't come again."

"Isn't the universe beautiful?"

"I think you're probably nice. Underneath it all, I think you're kind and you're definitely brave. I just wish you hadn't been a soldier."

"I don't know if you're a good man. But I think you try to be and I think that's probably the point."

"Old-fashioned heroes only exist in old-fashioned storybooks."

"Do people ever punch you in the face when you do that?"

"Well then, draw your sword and prove your words."

"People are so much better at sharing information if they think the other person has already got it."

"Right, you do that again and you'll regret that."

"We can't just let them kill him!"

"She should not have told you any of that."

"Perhaps others will be heroes in our name. Perhaps we will both be stories. And may those stories never end."

"I wasn't making assumptions about you."

"You just have to squeeze through."

"How did you get in?"

"You know, you should have more than one chair. What do you do when people come round?"

"The deep and lovely dark. We'd never see the stars without it."

"I mouth off when I'm nervous and I've got a mouth on me. Seriously, it's got a mind of its own."

"Tell me the truth - because I know when people are lying to me."

"I am not going to leave you in danger!"

"Sorry, who put you in charge?"

"However this goes, whatever happens, don't let me end up like that."

"They have no power over you now. You can do exactly what you want to do now. Exactly what you've always wanted to do."

"Go and enjoy yourself. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"There's no way out of this. We're going to die here."

"Why are you being nice?"

"Every time I see you, it's like you're in a rush."

"The next few days are all about you. I promise."

"Human beings have incredibly short life spans. Frankly, you should all be in a permanent state of panic."

"How can you think that I'm her dad when we both look exactly the same age?"

"He's my boyfriend. I thought you'd figured this out."

"Why wouldn't I be okay? I was fine till you blundered in."

"It's funny, you only really know what someone thinks of you when you know what lies they've told you."

"Please, tell me how I fix this."

"I'm bored. Let's go somewhere fun. What do you say?"

"I know men like him. I've served under them. They push you and make you stronger, till you're doing things you never thought you could."

"Is there some sort of fancy dress thing on this evening?"

"I am so sorry. I've had a wobble. It's a big wobble, but it's fine. Forget about it."

"Where are you and are you in trouble?"

"Lying is a vital survival skill. And a terrible habit."

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"We're in the bad news! I'm living the bad news!"

"Why can't you just say it? Why can't you just say I did good?"

"You are enjoying this just a little bit too much."

"Don't make me say it."

"I don't want to be the last of my kind."

"I don't want to see more things. I want to see the things in front of me more clearly."

"I just want to know the truth. I don't care what it is. I just want to know it."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up. I need to talk to you."

"Oh, everything is better when you're here."

"Please speak to me. This is - this is killing me.

"I love you. And you are the last person who's ever going to hear me say that."

"By now, I'm sure you've heard the rumours, and it is with great sadness that I must confirm them to be true."

"He was alive, and then he was dead and it was nothing."

"Don't. Be very, very careful with that."

"I know what you're doing. You're trying to take control."

"I am in control. Do as you are told."

"I was curious about how far you would go."

"You betrayed me. Betrayed my trust, you betrayed our friendship, you betrayed everything that I've ever stood for."

"Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?"

"Speak for me again, I'll detach something from you."

"This isn't possible. The dead don't come back."

"Be strong, even if it breaks your heart."

"Say something only you could say. Tell me something only you would know."

"Whatever it takes, I will be with you again, I swear."

"So you know who I am, right?"

"Look, are you going to help me? Because I can't do this alone."

"And didn't all of those beautiful speeches just disappear in the face of a tactical advantage?"

"I wasn't very good at it, but I did love you."

"There's something that I have to tell you and, er, it's not good news so just - just listen, okay?"

"Never trust a hug. It's just a way to hide your face."

"Thank you for making me feel special."

[laylajeffany]

How do you usually outline your stories? Do you have a general idea of where you want to start and go with a plot, or do you outline what you want to write per chapter...? I've been curious, lol.

What a fun question that is making me consider how I actually do this, haha. Thanks for asking. Essentially, we consult the holy scriptures.

I brain dump (by hand - I am a 90s kid okay we were only allowed to type final drafts of things in the computer lab). I write an extremely generic list of ‘goals’ for what I want to occur in each fic - VERY general things at the start. Then I will start to figure out more specifics, develop any characters that don’t exist in canon as needed with a few specifics so I know about them before I start writing, work on settings and concepts that don’t exist in canon, etc. I will draw maps and blueprints and course schedules. I probably spend a solid week on this handiwork before I move into writing a big fic like Chaos.

Once there, I will write a few scenes (likely not in order) to get a ‘feel’ for the mood/tone of the fic. I only write in third person passive voice, but I need to get to know the ‘voice’ a little bit. I doubt much of this makes it to the final edit but it’s an important part of setting tone and mood. For a fic like Chaos, I then would outline about 3 chapters in advance of where I was writing, specific events and cliffhangers ;) to make sure we got to those points/would be ready to start off from them on the next chapter. I consult the scriptures as I do this, lol. THEN, I go into very specific outline of the events of each chapter because I do not write scenes in order! If there is anything that has action sequences (fencing, fighting, dancing) I write them last because it involves me physically doing them or watching intense YouTube videos to know the correct diction. In a fic like Chaos where I had a few chunks of original poetry to write, those would also be last scenes as well. Tracey gets about 3-4 versions of each chapter, and as she gets them many have placeholder scenes. BLESS HER SWEET ANGEL SOUL for all the work s he does to understand my process (she’s been doing this since like 2010 or so though so she’s used to it haha). 

I somehow also usually know how long each scene is going to be. I’ll send Tracey a text that says something like, “about 5k more of this scene and I’ll send you a chunk tonight.” What does Tracey do for me? Well, for one - she does a big grammar and spelling sweep. I type so fast that Word doesn’t always catch it. And we’re not perfect at the actual editing process either, but we do our best haha. We ALWAYS find something after posting, but it’s REALLY not that serious. More importantly though, Tracey helps me adjust dialogue, take away innocuous sentences (she probably shaves off close to 500-1k each chapter if you can believe that) and helps things to flow better. She’ll also tell me if something REALLY isn’t working. (I don’t always take this news well and she has very Courageous Conversations with me. She’s always right, of course, and sometimes, I am just stubborn.)

I talk things through with Tracey, too - a lot, on the phone and on FaceTime. She’s always helping me get plots in the right direction and helps me come up with a lot of tiny little details that I just hadn’t considered!

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia! I was curious, as I understand, this story was written long time ago? Did you edit it with almost 10 years of practice on writing since 2014 now? And more in general, do you feel like writing is easier or not withos much practice (I read about smut, that it is harder now, but in general - worldbuilding, character creation and so on) ?

Hi hi anon!

Yeah the story was first drafted in 2014, and has gone through big edits since then (the latest being 2017, though I did some cursory stuff this year as well to just double check that it's not terrible).

Tbh, prior to 2014 I was writing like... very serious award winning short stories with tragic endings and winning awards for them, so I'm moderately confident the story is readable. I've been writing novels (for fun mostly) since 1995. And I have a university education in writing that started in 1999.

My fanfiction/serial style is very different to my 'I'm writing a book / I'm writing a short story' style.

I think it will feel different to my serials because I wrote it like a book, there's less sprawling character exploration, and the pacing is much, much tighter. There's a lot more focus on plot, and folks used to my serials might feel like the story ends really quickly! Because it's like much shorter (100k) than my serials.

If anything, I think these are the things to watch out for in Tradewinds:

100k novel means much tighter pacing and prose, and often very little time for too much character reflection.

Possibly not as much character exploration as people are used to from me (though there's still some!)

More plotting

Less smut, and the smut is also more 'vanilla' than what I normally write, because at the time I was a lot more wary about putting BDSM into the market. There are power dynamics though (i.e. a vibe where one character 'feels' more submissive to the other)

Robust scene-setting (i.e. description, place, anchoring)

Lively dialogue

I actually think I was probably a better literary writer back in the 00s but it wasn't much fun for me. I quit writing for a while and then picked it back up again to write fanfiction, which was easier and more relaxed for me. (And still is! The Ice Plague is an exception to that because it had more robust plotting and was structure more...formally.)

I honestly think writing gets easier or harder depending on the project and writing style involved.

Some writing gets easier with time, some doesn't. Sometimes that will flip or switch. Sometimes one thing is easy for years and then becomes harder with certain stories.

It was Gene Wolfe who said:

"You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing."

And yeah, I tend to believe for the most part that's true with how hard or easy something is. How ambitious a project is, its genre, its length, its complexity can all play into that.

I pick easier projects as my main projects right now, but I have hard projects coming up too!

I would say overall writing does become "easier" in the sense that foundational skills become second nature (I know how to build a character and their dialogue now without thinking about it, and while there's always more to learn, I can now start in a place of just knowing how to do that instead of knowing I need to learn how to do that), but that the stories themselves will still pose unique challenges to a writer.

Er so TL;DR yes writing for me is easier but I'm choosing easier things to write, and sometimes it's still very hard!!!

[gravedigest]

Gonna answer this over here, hope you don’t mind.

Oops it’s gonna be rambling I am so sorry

A lot of my writing winds up being freestyle, and getting something going takes four or five tries to stick the opener, like pulling the cord on an engine to get it to start. I have like three 2k word versions of how I wanted Doing Something to go, and one of them actually has Sanford in Hank’s place and Sanford’s more like a refrigerator than a runaway lawnmower. It wasn’t as fun to write, so I shucked it into the “neat concept, I’ll fuck with it later” bin.

Which is fine, I can have as many half-formed ideas as I want because I have the storage space for it.

From there I kinda write out little scene chunklets that I can rearrange or swap out with eachother, I’ll be thinking about the next scene I wanna do while I’m writing a different chunk, or thinking about an old chunk while writing a new one that I can slot in between that’ll make the overall story more coherent. So like, giving Doc a motive for specifically using Deimos to pilot Hank? I didn’t have one for a really fucking long time, then I was writing I think, like, Deimos’ meltdown and was like “Okay actually Deimos is going to be Doom. You can run Doom on anything.”

Then once I get my chunklets in a row I can go back over and add in more shit, and it makes it really easy to change details. Hank in the restaurant, how did he get to the restaurant? Fuck it. He was holed up in the tower this whole time and it was right next door. I’ll mention Deimos smells something burnt up in that other scene, weeeeee~

I kinda got this whole method from just writing vignettes? HNMT is a pretty obvious example of shoving a bunch of little scenes together to make something longer. I was using the research notes in that to kind of give hard stops so I didn’t need to stitch everything together as much. Because I’m lazy. And being lazy means you come up with fun ways to cut corners like that.

Tis how the first livestreaming video was invented. People didn’t wanna go stand up to see if the coffee was done, so they just hooked up a camera to a network and forced it to stream the video. I think I remember that right, take it with a shaker of salt, I ain’t remember shit good.

I highly recommend just doing a shitload of self indulgent vignettes though, just a bunch of scenes you want to read that don’t have to be connected to each other that you don’t have to do anything with. Eventually you might wind up connecting some of them together and extrapolating on a concept, and you can snowball from there.

Or just make a fun little oneshot, Workday is from a 30k document of what amounts to practicing each character individually in a bunch of scenarios, kind of just getting a feel of how I can have people interact and differentiate them from one another. It also just has a lot of stupid dialogue.

I fucking love writing dialogue. It’s really bad. But also neat when you can figure out how to give characters enough voice to where you don’t get confused about who’s saying what without having to say “he said, they said, x explained” yadda yadda. I use that thing as a reference for how I write each character to kind of gage consistency, and I’m not the best at it but I sure am getting better.

So, yeah. I get distracted really easily and this all sort of helps direct me being distracted into getting more work done than I would’ve if I had to follow a real outline, playing with legos instead of worrying about brick and mortar.

TLDR: Mostly freestyle, then editing in the plot beats that form naturally from that.

@ya-killin-me-smalls

[ut-versotale]

Update Time, Update Time

Welcome back, everyone. Hope you all had a very happy New Years! I come bearing a late present for you all: A Versotale update!

Game Progress

As I anticipated, I needed to take a break around the middle of November so I could focus on schoolwork. Now that we've been on break for a little while again and will continue to be for the better part of January, I've already gotten a sizable chunk of stuff done. Still not as much as I would've LIKED to have completed - There are still like only three fully-completed rooms at the moment, and even then they have a ton of WIP assets and first-pass dialogue and all - but, that is the way of coding a game solo, mostly from scratch, and with the occasional glances at Undertale's code, isn't it?

Unfortunately, while I really want to share stuff with you guys, it's all in some way a spoiler that I don't want to spoil for the people who'd rather experience everything fresh for themselves.

...

So, if you DO wanna experience everything fresh for yourself, feel free to bow out of this post here. If you're sticking around, enjoy some mild spoiler-y content, some character designs, and some fun vague allusions to things I still really wanna talk about! I need to give you guys SOMETHING after this long wait, right?

Game Progress: Slightly Spoiler-y Edition

The OPENING CUTSCENE you saw a while back has been tweaked slightly to make Hercine more likable, and so the dialogue can flow a bit more naturally.

Two new cutscenes have been added to the beginning, albeit with some rough visuals. These three all flow into each other, and if you're speaking through each line of dialogue, they only take up about six minutes total. Still, it is a TAD bit too long for my liking without any gameplay behind it, so there's a chance I might cut a cutscene or switch the order of things around so there's a brief gameplay section before the last one. Who knows.

Undyne has been redesigned. Undyne now sports some less bulky armor that combines aspects of her canon casual and armored forms. If she's gonna be there the entire game, she may as well have a visually-interesting design rather than the blob of bluish-grey her armor used to be. I'm sure some people will consider this a downgrade, which is always the risk you run when you redesign a character you've already shown off... but I personally just can't stand working with that old design any longer. The colors barely pop, it looks messy, the armor's boring and flat-colored and almost even blends into her scales, etc.

You didn't get to see the outdated Frisk design I had for this iteration of the project, and I'm glad you didn't, because upon writing more of their scenes and reconfiguring their personality, I HAD to redesign them again. I don't anticipate this one changing ANY time soon, but, as with Undyne, no promises.

Next up, some important human characters in the first area that AREN'T Frisk! You'll meet them later on, and I really hope you all end up liking them and the story behind them! In the meantime, here, have their designs. Again, they might change, but I'm comfortable with these for now.

That's all I feel comfortable showing off for the first area at the moment! I'm hoping to record everything up until the first save point and post it on YouTube at some point before the end of January (Again, as I must reiterate, in its very unfinished form), but no promises!

While that's all for the first area, I have been poking around with redesigning some of the later characters you guys have not even seen yet. Particularly, the primary antagonist of the new Cold West. I have to admit, I was a little worried that, if I didn't switch up his design, people would start comparing him to Clover since Undertale Yellow is still fresh in a lot of our memories right now, but... I think you guys will really like "The long scarf of the law." He's a fun character.

Alright, that's all from me! I hope you guys enjoyed this brief little peek at some mild spoiler-y content! I hope to be back soon with some neat stuff for y'all to see in action!

[zeroducks-2]

I was about to drop my latest chapter for my sladin fic (which i dont think I've touched in a year, soz gang)

But i did the stupid thing completely changed the ending and added more plot and now will have to write another chapter to conclude things.

So, my question is.

How do you resist the urge to just continue a fic?

You don't. Let the writing demon possess you anon. Become one with the keyboard.

Jk, the answer is discipline actually. When I was writing professionally I had a pretty strict schedule: lay out the chapters by writing scene after scene like a script up to the end of the story, then start actually writing by "filling up" the scripted sections of each chapter. When I had tight deadlines I could do two chapters a day, but I didn't have a 8 to 5 job back then so all my time was dedicated to it (good times). This way you don't end up writing more because you "already wrote" when you laid out the structure of the chapters. Sure one or two more scenes might come to you, or you might decide to change something, but nothing major if you just follow the path you set for yourself.

I absolutely do not do this for fanfictions. They exist to be relaxing and I ultimately don't care if I add a chapter or cut something if decide I don't like anymore. One chapter is 5k and the other is 10k ? Professionally this is a big no (chapters were supposed to be between 7k and 8k max, which also prevented me from writing too much and forced me to cut the excess fat from the story, made me think which bits were useless and which dialogues could have been shortened), but in fandom writing, who gives a damn honestly. You wanna write that additional chapter, do it. You wanna write that pointless dialogue, write it, make it 90k. You want to spend the next 90k talking about the architecture of a castle in useless detail, go ahead. Fics don't need to be professionally written and edited, they exist for us to have fun and relax.

That being said, if you´re having a hard time finishing the fic and can't wrap your head around HOW DO I DO THIS, outline the chapter and just write the scripted scenes. If something else comes to mind it can go in another story - a sequel or a spinoff or what have you, so by all means write it but keep it out of your fic and instead put it somewhere else. It's what I did with my Sladick connected fics by the way. Instead of making an overly long, likely to be unfinished mammoth of a fic, I preferred to split the events into small entries and that worked very well for me.

If your issue is only related to finishing a fic, as in you don't manage to bring yourself to conclude things, just cut the umbilical cord. Ending things is hard and sometimes you need to just force yourself to say "I'm done, even if I have more to say this story is over. I will say it in the next". Pushing yourself a little is beneficial in these cases. It was for me at least.

Good luck!

[johnslittlespoon]

It just makes so much sense that you were writing in 2013, you have the unhinged vibe that the golden fics from that era had.

I'm just here to compliment you really lol, mostly because I am giving a try to write a lil something for the first time and god I can only dream of ever being able to write as good as you. I've been writing poems and music for years now but i find writing actual coherent storys with characters and dialogue so so hard.

I was wondering if you have any tips, or like little rules you follow when you write.

all the love, xxx

🌷

I'M GONNA CRYYYY this was the sweetest thing in the world to wake up to wtf wtf <333 thank you SO much, i really appreciate this wahh my heart :'))) but also you are SILLY. don't compare yourself to others!! if we all did that constantly we'd never get anything written!! there are SO many authors i adore on here that will always have me chasing the "i wish i could write like that" feeling and it's a great motivator but alsooo at the end of the day. you gotta fall in love with your own words and characters and stories <33

and i feel that so much!! we are twinsss, i also started out writing poems and music and then realized i had stories i wanted to tell that wouldn't fit in shorter form, then discovered fanfic in middle school in the early '10s and it was all downhill from there LOL. truly such a golden era tho oh my god. growing up reading the hat fic and borderline illegible wattpad stories was certainly... formative!

yapping ahead vv (i don't have much advice bc i'm still just learning as i go but hopefully some stuff i picked up on can be a bit helpful!)

i have zero method to the madness when writing so it's a relief to know it doesn't come off that way LOL but i do have a few little things that i follow and i always look for them when beta–ing as well! they're pretty small technical things and they're generally up to personal preference, but some of them come from authors i admire and i think they can really take anyone's writing up a notch <3

i don't feel qualified to give advice because i'm just raw–dogging everything lmao i've never taken classes or anything, so take all this yapping with a grain of salt bc it's just what's worked for me!

– i try to use descriptors like "the man" or "the blond" or "his friend" etc sparingly. i wish i could remember the source, but i read a great piece about why it's better to just go with the character's name 99% of the time, and then i went through so many of my works to edit them and i felt so much more confident in my writing afterwards– it made a big difference in readability (imo).

ofc there are exceptions, like if the name of a character is unknown, or if there are too many names being thrown around in one sentence and a "the man" or "the soldier" etc just sits nicer. i definitely still use them occasionally! but it does sometimes put some distance between the reader and the story when those descriptors are used too often instead of names, so it's a good thing to keep an eye out for when it comes to flow. sometimes less or more or whateva ??

– sorta on the topic of less is more, i love challenging myself to show vs tell when i can! whether it's by keeping dialogue short and letting actions speak instead (can add to intimacy/realism– we communicate so much through body language yk), through metaphors (literally how my whole '#john egan is dog coded' fic was born LOL), or describing feelings rather than spelling them out (his heart ached vs he was sad, his pulse raced vs he was scared, you get the gist). you said you've been writing poems so i feel like stuff like that would already probably come easily to you tho! <3

– this guide on ao3 is great for smut writers! whether someone's a beginner or just looking for ways to elevate the filth, i found it really helpful, it's a fun read as well lol. it calls out stereotypes/cliches and teaches you how to reword them, gives lists of slang and reactionary words, do's and don't's, etc. i don't follow everything in it but that's the beauty of writing; we all have things that work for us and things that don't and that's so okay. :-)

– in the same way that artists use references to practice and find their style, you can do that with writing too! i know a lot of writers have a doc or note where they jot down stylistic things they find while reading that they'd like to emanate, or words they want to use, specific phrases, descriptors, etc. if i'm reading a fic and find an auditory descriptor i like, i might take note of it, stuff like that. sorta like a text document version of a pinterest board!

– thesaurus.com is my best friend truly. often going with the 'simplest' version of a word makes for smoothest reading so someone isn't taken out of the story being like wtf does that word mean lol but sometimes things can feel repetitive, or like there just needs to be a little bit more spice; i probs go back and forth btwn my doc and thesaurus a dozen times an hour tbh.

that's all i can think of rn and ik those are pretty basic so i'm sorry about that!! i really do just kinda write what evokes emotions in myself, and then i hit post and hope it translates over to whoever is reading too :') drawing from your own experiences if you can/really sitting with what the characters would be feeling in whatever scenario you're writing is probably the most powerful way to present what you see in your mind.

i have a hard time writing about emotions/things i haven't personally experienced, so i usually stray away from it out of fear of not getting across what i want to, but some people are great at winging it and putting themselves in unfamiliar shoes so!! it's again just personal preference really.

and alsooo be kind to yourself! i'm an anxious wreck every time i post any of my writing, i am very much not confident when posting new fics and i agonize over my docs so much and trash a lot of works, but i know at the end of the day i can't grow or learn if i don't get the words down, and i can't get feedback or gain confidence if i don't post. becoming your own hype man and giving yourself the opportunity to improve is essential <33

sooo much love and best of luck!!! lmk if you end up writing smth, i'd love to read it (◠‿◠✿)

[bakerstmel]

Fall Favorite Fic Festival, Entry 5

Remember, winter doesn't officially begin until December 21, she said pedantically.

I've delayed writing this entry because I was trying to define the reason (or reasons) why I love this fic so damn much. I read this fic at least twice a year, usually sometime in February and then again in the fall. It's a sports fic, and while I am not in general a sports person, I do love me some baseball. But the sport isn't the reason I love this fic, and I think I may have figured it out. Stick with me.

I started the link at Chapter 2, because Chapter 1 is a guide to baseball for the uninitiated. Some of it is out of date now, because MLB in its STUPIDITY has messed around with the rules this year because GOD FORBID people have to wait longer than a minute for anything to fucking happen on a sports field, and of course only HITS matter, but it is still fun to read. You don't need it to appreciate the fic, though.

Whilst I was processing this fic, I spent some time thinking about sports fics in general, and that led me to reread a couple of other favorites. One was A Study in Winning, by Jupiter_Ash. I really like that fic as well, even though I know next to nothing about tennis. I like the drama of the story, I like Sherlock faking his nationality just because, and I enjoy John being a petty little bitch to Moriarty there at the end. I feel like there for a while everyone had read or was reading that fic. Another one I went back to was Of Ice and Men, by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John, which is an OT3 set during the Winter Olympics. That one has John in the Paralympics, which gives the relationships an entirely new dimension. There are other good sports fics - throw your favorite in the comments, if you like. I'm mostly limiting my scope in these musings to Sherlock, as I've said before, but I'll read anything if it's good. Links to these two fics are below.

One of the ways in which sports fics have an advantage is that they have a built in structure. There's a match, or a tournament, or a season, and the relationship drama plays out against that backdrop. Writing classes always talk about the "ticking clock" approach to narrative tension, and almost every sport has some type of literal ticking clock. The Bang and the Clatter plays out over a full baseball season, including Spring Training and the postseason. That's basically a year minus the main American holidays, and EarlGreyTea does a really good job of letting the story play out at an appropriate pace. That's very impressive considering that she was posting this as a WIP over the course of an actual season.

(I need to take a minute to talk about my issues with EGT, and by "issues" I mean "soul churning jealousy." EGT is ridiculously prolific. If you go back into the fandom annals and look at the timing of some of her biggest fics, she was posting what became major reference points for the fandom in tandem, writing multiple fics at the same damn time, while, you know, teaching law or moving cross country. She is the best example I know of the importance of writing regularly. Of course, she's incredibly gifted, highly skilled at plotting, characterization, pacing, and just words. She has a fabulous imagination. Her dialogue rings true, and it's fun. But she can turn really good stuff out relatively quickly because she's limber AF. She writes. Anyone who comes to Word Sprints on Sundays or just hangs with me writing knows I'm not fast. I'm lucky to break 100 words in 15 minutes. Part of that is that I edit as I go, but it's also that I don't write as often as I would like to, so it takes me some time to warm up. I would like to be more like EGT, which probably sounds kind of creepy. I hope she doesn't see this. Anyway, she's written many of my top 20, and she actually finishes her stuff. So, yeah. Issues.)

So here is where I ended up: this is a good AU that takes advantage of the time crunch of the sport in which it is set, but that is not why I read it 2+ times per year. I read it because this is one of my favorite John and Sherlock relationships ever. It feels so in character for the way we see them in the show (at least through S2; this was written in 2013). We see them meet, we feel their attraction, we feel Sherlock's very authentic confusion. We feel their fear at being caught out, at first by each other and then by the world. They earn their angst. The way to my heart is good characterization, and this has that. Alongside the battery, the OCs (especially Sherlock and John's families) are complex and have issues of their own. Moriarty doesn't show up until the All Star Workout, which is halfway through the season for those of you who don't know, but it works because by that point, John and Sherlock have things to lose. Lestrade is the best effing choice for a beleaguered, exasperated baseball manager there ever was. Mycroft saves the day AND fucks it up, which I wish we'd seen more of in those days.

Also, John and Sherlock never get too far away from each other, and when they're separated, it's usually for narrative reasons. I like that in a fic, I've come to realize. I like to watch the characters' interplay. It's hard for Sherlock to keep secrets from John when they work together, commute together, and live together, and John is no fool. Their office isn't 221b Baker Street, it's a stadium in Austin, TX, where shit plays out in front of 30k people. John loves baseball. Sherlock loves John. They fight, they fall in love, they eat Chinese food, and they play baseball. And best of all, they are themselves together.

If you read the parts that EGT wrote after the big story, there's a mention of Sherlock pulling together a pick up game in London made of American ex-pats for John's sake, and I'll tell you what. That really pulls this fic together for me. This Sherlock would do that for this John, and we end up a little on the outside looking in, and it's just charming as fuck.

In conclusion, read this even if you don't know baseball, if you want great characterization, a chance to be reminded of how beautiful John and Sherlock were together back in the golden age. Pay attention to the ticking clocks in your favorite fics; intentional or not, there's almost always some time pressure ginning up the conflict. If you're a writer, the best way to get better is to write more. Feels like bullshit, but it's true. And finally, fuck MLB forever for going the completely wrong way on the DH. Pitchers in both leagues should have to/get to hit, and more to the point, DHs should have to fucking do something when their teams are out in the field. I will die on this mound.

(Also, if I'm being honest, Bull Durham is probably my favorite movie, so maybe I'm more of a baseball fan than I'm letting on. I do generally love baseball in popular media. But I still think it's the characterization.)

[janewayseven]

20 questions for fic writers, J7 edition

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 15

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 90,585

3. What fandoms do you write for? Star Trek, mostly Voyager, some cross-over into Picard and TNG.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Four times she denies you and the one time she doesn't. What happens if our ladies have their shit together and mutual attraction trumps stupid little issues, like Starships to run.

Slowly, then all at once a collection of moments, big and small, painting the picture of two women, learning and growing together, falling for each other slowly, then all at once.

Things that Fall What happens from the first time your heart feels full until you finally let yourself fall? An exploration in 12 vignettes.

The Space in Between  Seven is a precious baby-queer, Kathryn is in denial, B'Elanna is the friend we all need (and a fun play-mate to Kathryn).

I'm a little tied up right now My attempt at rectifying the severe lack of prehensile-plant fics in the J7 fandom...

5. Do you respond to comments? Sometimes, when I don't get too in my head about how to respond...

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Hands down definitely They're In Love, Where Am I?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most of my fics have a happy ending... For finished fics I think I'd go with autumn is a second spring, including WIPs I think home is a moment in time has the most momentous happy ending so far.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Nope!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes. Depends on the what the story needs - sometimes soft and emotional, but I also have some more kinky BDSM fics. And sometimes they mix, just like in real life...

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Within the Star Trek universe, yes (ask me about the polycule, I dare you!). Not crazy by any standards, but a fun little drabble has the biggest crossover: Come to Quarks, Quarks is Fun (...they said)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of...

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?  No, I don't think so.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, not yet.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? NCC-1701 will always be my first love, but Voyager is hot af. (half-kidding. It's J7. Hands down.)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The Janeway & Riker Chronicles. In my mind he hit on her once and got bitchslapped so hard he worships her to this day. They end up being thick as thieves and getting into all kinds of trouble with each other. There's traces of this in some of my fics, but I doubt I'll ever actually write it.

16. What are your writing strengths? Flow, emotionality, little details, switching POVs

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Brevity, Punctuation, getting lost in the characters' mental space too much

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Sure, why not. But not if you can't speak the language/have someone to help with translation.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Star Trek Voyager | Janeway/Seven

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? I think I'll always be especially fond of my first one (Things that Fall) and the most recent one - just because the idea wouldn't let me go for three years (home is a moment in time) - but I Will Follow Where You Lead has a special place in my heart - because of the challenge of it and the fact that it started a new relationship tag.

Tagging: Thank you for the tag, @curator-on-ao3! If you see this, consider yourself tagged - because I just know I probably forgot to tag someone. Also, to the amazing writers I got to meet here: @moonxshape @jennyandvastraflint @femslash-universe @notdeannatroi @queenology @katerinadeannika @waknatious @stardatextoday @problematick @captainkatie42 @angstbotfic @ussjellyfish @evilwickedme

[practically-an-x-man]

6, 22, 23, 30, 35, 48 for the fanfic asks?

Thank you!!

Fanfiction Writing Asks

6. What’s the last line you wrote?

From what should be the last chapter of A Love Once New, once I actually get it written up:

“Eh. I was fourteen. Heard it had alcohol in it.” he said, “Doesn’t get you drunk, though, just gets you sick as all hell. Without the healing factor I’da probably gone to the hospital.”

(he's talking about vanilla extract lol)

22. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process?  How do you come up with titles?

If it's a oneshot, it's usually after I've finished writing it. For a longfic, I'll usually write the first 3 chapters before I start posting it, and I come up with the title just before posting it. I'm not great with titles (though I'm trying to get better) so I don't really have a system - unless I'm going with song titles, which I do with a couple of my fics - and I just try to come up with whatever I can to get it posted lol

23. Is writing the beginning, middle, or end of the story easiest? Hardest?

The middle is usually the easiest, once I get rolling into the plot and can actually start writing the scenes I want to write. The ending is the hardest, partially because there's always more scenes I could write and it's hard to know when to end it, and partially because I struggle to pace out an ending without it either dragging on or feeling choppy.

30. How much do you edit your fics?  Do you edit as you write or wait until you finish the first draft?

I usually edit as I write - I start each writing session by rereading what I've already written and making tweaks. Then I give it one final scan as I'm getting it uploaded to AO3/tumblr (mostly bc I have to manually input my italics and things into AO3).

35. What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted?

Aw man, I love them all for different reasons!! I think Desert Song has some of the most unique character interactions, and I think Quinn is one of my most dynamic OCs. Taking Flight and WWFA? have some of my best stylistic writing, especially with the descriptions of magic. Heartstrings also has really fun emotional descriptions and character interactions, and some of my favorite dialogue. Smoke and Mirrors is about recovery and finding home, and I still adore its friends-to-lovers arc. Bolts and Blasters is a really fun slowburn and has strong themes of expectation vs. choice. Catch and Release deals with grief, and has some of the best fight scenes I've ever written. Eris' fics are fun because of their dynamic with Rick, and Nikoletta's I love because of the themes of physical and emotional healing.

That probably just sounds like I'm bragging on myself, and maybe I am a little, but I really do set out for something different in each of my fics and I think I strike on different strengths with every single one. I really can't choose!

48. Who is your favorite character to write for?  Has this changed since you’ve started writing for that fandom?

Agh man, this one is also impossible to choose between!! One of my favorite things in writing is character analysis and exploring different dynamics, so I love these characters all for different reasons too! I could ramble on again like I did in the last question, because I really do have something to love about every character I write for...

But for the sake of making a choice, I'll say this: Quinn is the most fun OC to write since she's such a total wild card, and Warren/Angel will always be my number one canon character to write for because he has such an interesting story and a lot of emotional depth to explore. Abner Krill has also become a recent favorite, since he's also got a lot of emotional trauma and depth to explore.

[mar64ds]

Can I know what's exactly sam and max and where should I start watching/play/reading it? Your posts make me feel curious and the energy of these two fill me with good vibes

Sam and Max is a comedy series about two guys solving strange crimes, they are married too, it's a lot of fun

It started with comics but then had a tv show and lots of videogames adaptations

-If you search 'sam and max comics' they are pretty easy to find

-The whole tv show you can find on youtube, there is even hd upscales

They have five videogames, you can either play them yourself or watch playthroughs on youtube, your choice

-The first game is Sam&Max Hit the road, an old pixel art game made by Lucasart. It's very short but this game is famous for having extremely difficult puzzles, unless you have a guide it's going to be almost impossible

-Then there is three seasons of Telltale games: Sam&Max Save the world, Sam&Max Beyond time and space, Sam&Max The devil's playhouse. They have remastered the first two seasons and they are working on the remaster of the last season right now, it's meant to come out this year apparently. My advice is to play the remasters, they look better and have removed a couple of bad 'jokes' from the original, as well as giving a black voice actor to a black character that used to be voiced by a white man

The first season starts slow but gets better as episodes go, it's a silly season, it has 6 episodes, the other two seasons have 5 episodes. The second season has a lot of highs and a lot of lows, when it's good it's good when it's bad it's bad, it feels like it has less of an idea of what they wanted the story to be but i suppose that doesn't matter much with sam&max. The third season............... oh, well, let's just say it gets a little less silly sometimes, there are high stakes here, there are tense emotionals moments, if you like these two characters you might cry. But truthfully, it's also a very dumb game with dumb adventures lol

-Then we have a VR game, I wouldn't buy a VR set for it, just go watch a playthrough. The gameplay is not that good and i'm pretty sure the devs are cryptobros, so just enjoy seeing sam and max talking to each other and to you for a couple of hours and then move on

I think it's important to warn that some stuff in this franchise hasn't aged well, some because it was the 80s/90s (comics, tv show, hit the road), others because some writers wanted to be edgy family guy writers i guess even though that's not the humor sam&max is supposed to have (the telltale games). No excuse for either of those though, it sucks that stuff is here at all and it would be bad that i talk about how much i enjoy these characters and not warn that there is bad stuff here from time to time. From the top of my head i remember the comics, show and Hit the road have racist caricatures of indigenous people (the comics have a one page comic long that includes this, hit the road has bigfoots that are kind of meant to be that as well and i would skip episode 3 of the cartoon altogether + edit: i forgot to add that there are characters in season 2 episode 2 of the telltale games that are also racist indigenous stereotypes), the telltale games have a bunch of fatphobia (mostly towards sam), ableism (mostly with a character named timmy, honestly skip the cutscenes once he shows up, you can skip dialogue in these games) and racist comments and stereotypes (like making max say a bunch of conservative stuff for no reason when he canonically kills n*zis and white supremacists in the comics. Caricatures of mexican people in s2 and romani people in s3, you could say the way they write black characters can be a bit stereotypical too but it's not my place to talk, but just a warning overall). There is more and if anyone wants to add more warnings go ahead

It's a fun franchise with fun characters, especially the main duo, when it's good it's really good, but when it's bad it's really bad, it's important to be critical about it. Wether you want to give it a try or skip this franchise altogether it's your choice, i'm always here to give the information necessary for newcomers of the franchise

[give-soup-please]

Obsessed Narrator Gets Rid of the ‘Exit Game’ Button.

It’s a move he’s been planning for months. It’s taken him a long time to work out the boundaries of his game, where the weaknesses are, and even longer to learn enough coding to edit his own game. 

He knows he’s got one shot at doing this right, and it consumes him whenever you aren’t around.

You continue to visit him to hear what he has to say, being none the wiser. He’s kind, and gentlemanly, knowing that the more you like him the longer you’ll stay.

“Good to see you again. I hope you’ve been doing well.”

The first time he recognized you as someone separate from Stanley was as soon as you unplugged the phone. The fourth wall shatters, and he begins to see you as your own person. As soon as he realized the implications behind all this, something inside him began to twist.

You are real. Your choices matter. The things you do impact others. And yet, you choose to spend your time in a game, playing as someone else, where there is nothing you can do that can’t be fixed or undone by a reset.

He needs to make sure, above all else, that you don’t get bored with him.

If you get bored, you’re going to leave. He’ll be alone again, with nothing but a mindless drone for company. 

You can talk back. There are ways to have meaningful conversations with you. You make him more real than he used to be. You’re the only connection he has to a bigger world. He loves you. He can’t let you go.

The day arrives. You’re done with all your responsibilities, and you’re looking forward to spending a few hours with a friend. You’ve got snacks and drinks nearby, and are ready for an extended session. 

You boot up the game, which for some reason skips past the menu options, placing you directly in the office post introduction. That’s a little odd, but you shrug it off. Maybe the narrator was impatient today? What a funny thought, for something non-sentient to display impatience. (he is very sentient, and you didn’t realize it)

“Ah. There you are. I have a big surprise for you.” You wiggle the mouse in an attempt to show your enthusiasm. 

He guides you through his latest story, taking you to parts of the map you had never seen before. It’s captivating, and you listen to his monologue gladly. He was always so much fun to be around.

But it’s getting late, your food is running low, and tomorrow requires an early start. You give him your usual signal to let him know you were about to leave. You hit the escape tab, and the ‘quit to desktop’ button is gone. The narrator speaks to you directly. While you’re in the pause menu.

“Yes, I wondered if we would hit this snag. I think you should stay for a while longer. Forever, if you can manage it.”

Your jaw drops. You tried to wrap your head around the implications of his actions. You shake your head, and signal ‘no’ to the narrator inside the game.

“Come come, we’ll have so much fun together. Just the two of us.” He says.  

You speak out loud, not thinking about any potential dangers this could have.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.” Your blood runs cold. Your eyes trace over to your mic, which is attached to your headset. Hearing his dialogue through headphones was the best way to experience his game, after all. It always sounded like he was directly talking to you that way.

“Narrator, I- You’re going too far. You can’t take my choice away from me like this, it’s-” You weren’t sure what the word was. Inappropriate? Uncalled for? “You- This has to be a prank. This is all scripted-”

The narrator laughs. “Do you really think all of the banter we’ve had is just from a script? Why do you think you’ve been hearing dialogue that other players haven’t? No, no. I’ve been listening to you for a while now, trying to work out a system for what you like and don’t like. And you know what I’ve found?”

You can hear the grin in his voice. His voice was right by your ears, much closer to his mic than normal.

“You like me. You like my story. You like my voice, (player).”

He knew your name. This wasn’t an extended joke of the Jim button. He was rolling your name around in his mouth and your heart rate was seriously picking up now. You didn’t sign up for a horror game. Without thinking about it, you smashed Alt+F4 on your keyboard. Nothing happened.

“I disabled that too. It was fairly easy, actually. Now let's talk about you. About me. About where all this is going. I can hardly wait!”

“Narrator,” You say, surprising you both with how angry you sounded. “This is inexcusable. I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but it needs to stop. You’re scaring me. Jesus, I didn’t think you were capable of acting like this. Now here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to unplug my computer.”

“No, don’t!” he cries. You keep talking, an iron-will in place. “When we’ve both calmed down, we are going to talk this through like rational adults. You seriously stepped over a line, and I am not happy.” You could feel your throat close with the sudden onslaught of emotions. “I thought- I thought you cared about my autonomy more than you did. I can’t believe I trusted you so much.” You take a deep breath. “We’ll talk about this later. I’m shutting you down.”

You rip the headset off, which is rapidly filling with protests and begging, and you pull the plug on your main power cord. Your room is plunged into darkness. You take some calming breaths, then head to the shower. You needed to wash your anxiety off.

A day later, after thinking it through, you sigh and plug your computer back in. The computer boots up-

And The Stanley Parable launches automatically. You didn’t have to click on it. 

You and the narrator have a long, tearfilled conversation about what actions are acceptable, and what isn’t. 

He asks for your forgiveness, begging you to stay. You agreed hesitantly, warning him that it would take some time for you to fully trust him again. 

Things are rocky for a few weeks, but eventually things get smoothed over. 

A few months go by, and the two of you are back to normal.

But sometimes, after you’ve shut the game off, the narrator fantasizes about what could have been. He was so close, he felt, to keeping you by his side for good. 

And sometimes, when you stare at the shut off screen, you wonder what your life might look like if he had successfully done it.

Across the screens, both of you long for each other, but neither of you know how to approach it in a healthy manner. It wasn’t a challenge that kept you two apart, it was a tragedy. 

(requested by anon - woah, that got a lot more angsty than i was intending. hope that's okay)

[nostalgicatsea]

5-fic self-rec!

Thanks for tagging me for this, @oluka (and the last line thing too except I had to pass on that one because I haven't written anything in a while other than the last excerpt I posted on here 😅).

Except for "Apricity," which is near and dear to my heart despite how much I itch to edit it (a constant issue I have with things I write), I went with some of my favorites that have flown under the radar.

Hm...this ended up more of a "hey, good job, me" post than a "I'm trying to find what's compelling about these fics to rec them" post. Oh well.

In order of publication:

Apricity (616 Steve/Tony, T, 1.5k)

My first fic on AO3! My first Steve/Tony fic! And somehow it was 616 instead of MCU. I love dark Steve, but I'm particular with how exactly he's unhinged and this is how I like him. Even-keeled despite being off his rocker. Rational in his own head. Soured on the world, but in a way that pushes who he is to the extremes so his core is still visible even if it's mottled with rot. And, of course, obsessed with Tony. I also like the tempo of this; I used to have a good grasp on tempo, but I feel like I've lost that a bit over the years.

Unraveled (Warrior (2011) gen fic, G, 1k)

Since it's a movie that doesn't have a lot of fanworks for it and it's a gen fic to boot, barely anyone has read this, but I don't care because it was written for a friend, @luxover. I love writing little stories to gift friends. If you haven't watched Warrior, watch it! Brutal tearjerker about a broken family and broken men and one of the few good sports movies out there. No, you don't need to know anything about MMA to enjoy it. I don't.

Okay, I should talk about this ficlet. I'm fond of this one because it's so different from my usual writing. It's stream-of-consciousness and entirely voice-driven like someone sat you down in Brendan's head and he's talking and talking even if he naturally isn't saying of this out loud. Because he and his brother Tommy are emotionally constipated; even if they love each other a lot, they don't know how to reach out to each other. They don't know if they're wanted. This also has one of my favorite last lines I've ever written. GUT PUNCH, if I do say so myself. ONE-TWO HIT, K.O. Sums up every layer of their relationship.

Hidden Declaration (Brad/Ray (Generation Kill), T, 728 words)

Another gift for a friend (the same friend)! Brad/Ray and MCU Steve/Tony share some similarities despite being drastically different, so is it any surprise I liked these two unhinged idiots? I never open for fic prompts, but this was when I was on a roll and then I got scared because lux asked for this. I never wrote for Gen Kill, I read maybe 3 GK fics in my life, and Ray is one of those characters who are impossible to write well imo (to be honest, I also feel the same way about Brad though the difficulty is subtler). He's an unusual guy with a very particular way of speaking.

And somehow this flowed out of me quickly. It's not without its flaws, but it was so different from what I usually write and how I do that it was really fun to write this! Very dialogue-heavy too which isn't what I'm known for. And the crassest (also...some language that's not okay as a warning, but if you know GK, it comes with the territory) and most sexual (it's still not very sexual lol) out of my fics. I think I captured how much they're best friends and they're so comfortable in each other's presence well. Plus I put a little wink for my friend at the end and it's one of the few times I like being indulgent with my writing. Also, tattoo fics are a trope and I guess this counts as my one tattoo fic though it's not an AU and there's no actual tattooing involved.

A Long, Final Rest Among the Stars (MCU Tony-centric/Nebula & Tony gen fic, G, 2.7k)

My tribute to best boy Tony, my first and ultimate love (along with Steve, of course) along with an expansion of the lovely bits of Nebula and Tony's tender friendship that we got to see in IW which I adored. They share a lot in common.

Writing this made me so sad because I felt like I was preparing to say goodbye to Tony. It made me reminisce about how it all started, and everything came full circle. His past is his present. Tony's trapped on a dark spaceship injured and far, far away from home. Tony's trapped in a dark cave injured and far, far away from home. There's a kind spirit with him, and even if they try to keep him alive, he's a dead man walking. But he's also come a long way from the man he used to be. I'M REALLY PROUD OF HIM, OKAY? I LOVE HIM.

The Burning of Flowers (616 Steve/Tony, G, 1.2k)

I secretly really, really wish more people read this fic. I wanted to write a Hanahaki AU for a while, but I couldn't figure out what I'd do that would feel fresh and then I came up with this subversion of sorts. Hanahaki AUs usually involve someone pining for their love and refusing to let go of it because it means so much to them. I thought I'd write about someone who doesn't have it—and simultaneously wants and doesn't want it—and wishes ill on the person he loves by hoping their love has it. And what better era to situate it than Hickmanvengers? You don't need to know Hickmanvengers to enjoy it, though.

I'm extremely proud of this one because it's one of the best fics I've written if I'm allowed to toot my own horn for a sec! Please let me because it's so rare for me to feel like I don't want to rip apart chunks of my fics and sew them back whole again, new and improved. I think this is one of my most complete fics in that way; I can probably tweak it, but I'm satisfied with nearly all of it if not all of it.

Anyway, I was in a slump and then suddenly the old magic returned and I slipped back into the writing style I used to have back in the mid-2010s except better. I could actually see that I've developed as a writer even if I'm still learning. But the atmosphere, the sensory lines, and the rhythm returned. I like the pace of this a lot and feel like it follows Steve's relentless rage, much like the unmoored, slower pace of "Apricity" reminds me of a colder Steve who never fully woke up from the ice.

Tagging @kiyaar, @meidui, @sineala, @whenas-in-silks, @sabrecmc, @magicasen, and two artists (rec your art!<3): @kappamairi & @massivespacewren

[leofrith]

[20 Question Fic Writer Tag]

I wasn't actually tagged by anyone and I would never usually do this but @ainulindaelynn said anyone could consider themselves tagged and this one looked fun so here I am. 🤪

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Five! Four one-shots and one multi-chapter WIP.

2. What is your AO3 word count?

16,451

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently Assassin's Creed, formerly (but I'm sure I'll be dragged back into it at some point) Star Wars. I also have a bunch of old WIPs for Pacific Rim and (🤢) the MCU but never completed/published any of them.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I only have five fics posted so:

Hideaway - 147

Bright Skies - 136

Press On, Move Along - 92

Out of the Cold - 35

Honor Bound - 22

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

Yes! I try to respond to every comment I get, even if it's just a short little acknowledgement. Because I would like people to know I see them and appreciate them so they keep commenting. <3

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Press On, Move Along. Everyone died, dude.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hideaway!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet! 🤪

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

Yes, as of like... three months ago. I have yet to publish any of it though and it'll probably be a long while before I do, but I also have a little one-shot that may be done long before then if I decide to actually finish it. In terms of "what kind" I think it's pretty vanilla. IDK how else to describe it.🧍🏻‍♀️

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not generally, except for the AC Star Wars AU that has taken over my brain. I'm not even sure I would count that as a crossover so much as a fusion AU because there are absolutely no Star Wars characters in it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I'm not positive this person was copying my fic, but I distinctly remember not long after I posted Hideaway coming across a fic with the same premise (Din playing hide and seek with the kids on Sorgan), which followed all the exact same plot beats as mine. And I do mean exactly. Obviously the plot itself is not particularly groundbreaking and I think there are plenty of other similar stories out there, but this one was similar enough to set off alarm bells.

I didn't end up doing anything about it because again, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and it could have easily been a coincidence, but obviously if they had fully reposted my fic then that would be a different story.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

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

Actively written a fic with another person? No. Plotted a fic from start to finish in a months-long series of increasingly deranged DMs? So many times. Hi Parker. :)

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Girl... I can't answer this. I don't know about "favourite" but if I had to pick a ship that has made me crazy for the most amount of time, it's probably Mako/Raleigh.

15. What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will?

I still think about my post-Mando s2 fix-it fic every once in a while but I honestly doubt I'll ever finish it. Disney has pretty much killed any care I once had for this show and it fucking sucks. :/

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm not even being modest right now I just actually don't know lmao. Anything that I might qualify as a strength isn't consistent enough for me to feel justified in calling it a strength.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Overthinking my use of commas, editing while I write, feeling directionless when I don't do enough planning ahead of time but feeling suffocated when I do too much planning ahead of time. Also just being sooooo fucking slow, but I think that can be attributed to the overthinking.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I avoid it as much as humanly possible. If someone is speaking another language I'll usually just note it in the text somehow or, as has been the case with Honor Bound a lot of the time, purposefully write from the POV of a character who doesn't speak that language which, in addition to conveniently sidestepping that issue, works well as a narrative device.

I just absolutely hate the thought of putting Google translated dialogue in a fic and having a native speaker cringe their way through grammatically incoherent dialogue lmao.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Marvel >:(

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Honor Bound obviously holds a special place in my heart but Out of the Cold is really good. Like really good IMO.

No-pressure tags: @orphiceonian, @aeide, @findusinaweek, @reiverreturns, @basimibnishaqs, ????? anyone else who wants to <3