#and ill probably pick a char from this fandom too

[thepunchingbag]

Scorch

Fandom: Baldurs Gate III

Pairing: Astarion/Karlach

Description: Astarion and Karlach try to unwind after a difficult day on the road. Burnt flesh and charred clothes might just be a fair trade for a kiss.

Read on AO3

--

Since a peaceful rest evaded him this evening, Astarion chose to idle away the hours by spotting constellations. He stretched over his bedroll, staring up at the vast night sky. The campfire had burnt down to embers, allowing him to see the night's true vibrancy. The stars shined brilliantly here in the wilderness – back at the Gate, he hadn’t much time for stargazing. Not that his Master would have allowed him to do anything so pointless for mere enjoyment.

He spotted the Harp first, glittering against the sky like diamonds upon black velvet. The Centaur and the Woman Warrior had come into alignment, frozen in celestial battle. Squinting his eyes, Astarion thought he could make out the Eyes of the Watching Woman, or. . . perhaps it was Jassa’s Dagger? No, the Dagger normally appeared in autumn. . .  

He heard her approach well before she came into view — for all of Karlach’s many charms, subtlety was not among them— and he could tell she was trying her best to be quiet. Her footfalls were slow, deliberate … but still clumsy. Not to mention the heat radiating off her body and the sound of flames sputtering as her engine rumbled made her ill-suited for stealth.

The fact she was trying so desperately to stay quiet, and failing equally desperately, was actually rather endearing.

Even her whispers were loud, “Hey soldier – you aren’t asleep, are you?”

Astarion whispered back softly, “Just doing a spot of stargazing. Besides, my dear, I don’t sleep, I—”

“Trance. Right, right.” Karlach nodded, “Anything good up there?”

Astarion lifted his arm to point, “The Centaur and the Woman Warrior are in alignment, probably for the last time this year. Then the Centaur will roam across to the northwest. Other than that, it’s awfully boring, darling. But now you’ve come along to keep me company, things have become so much more interesting. . .”

He’d been greatly enjoying himself watching the sky alone— it was far from ‘boring’—  but lying about innocuous things was an old habit. A habit picked up over two centuries needing to be careful about who knew what he enjoyed— and who could take it away as punishment. Not that he needed to worry about that now. Still, some of his old tendencies lingered. No matter what, they lingered.

Even in the dim light, he can see her eyebrow arch. Karlach studied him carefully, then asked, “I can talk to you in the morning, if you’d rather?”

Astarion lowered his voice enticingly, “Heavens forbid. Whatever could my fiery friend want so late at night? I’d be fraught with tension all night without knowing.”

Karlach’s skin glowed in shades of gold and scarlet in the darkness, fire touching her fingertips, flames licking the sides of her face and fluttering in her dark hair. It was hard to look away from her— just as it was often easy to get hypnotized by the dancing flames of a campfire.

Her heartbeat quickened. It was obvious, the way the pulsating light in the center of her chest started rapidly throbbing bright. Her emotions seemed to be on full display, without the benefit of even bodily privacy. Astarion wasn’t sure if he pitied or admired her for it; she was hellishly beautiful.

Karlach’s smile broke out into a full-blown grin, “I’m buzzing, honestly. I couldn’t wait to talk to you.”

Astarion frowned, his smile wavering, “What brought this on?”

“I dunno,” Karlach propped herself up on her elbows, “I was just thinking. Isn’t it mad, how good life is?”

He wanted to laugh in her face. . . but that was unfair. In truth, she was right. Life was good. Or, at any rate, it was better. A damn sight better than a few months prior, when he was prowling the streets and getting on his back in fetid alleyways. Circumstances had drastically improved for her too; no longer suffering under the heavy heel of Zariel, no longer a soldier-slave.

Astarion just manages a half-smile, envying her ability to enjoy the freedom so genuinely— it seemed like every waking moment he was looking behind his shoulder, hearing a hunter’s footsteps close behind.

Before he even knows what he’s doing, he falls into an old rhythm, his smile widening despite himself, “I know what you mean. When I look at you, it’s all I can think about.”

He doesn’t mean it. He means it more than anything. His head swims, lips pressed tight against his fangs as he grins, and he wishes he could pick apart his true intentions from old falsehoods. Karlach deserved better, so much better. And her heart was too fragile to be toyed with, perhaps literally. She was—

Her voice was steady, warm, but her eyes were strangely sad, “Thank the Gods. I was afraid I was the only one. Ten years is a long time to be trapped in the Hells. Ten years without a kind word, a touch.” She shifted nervously, “When I look at you, I feel real again. Alive.”

Astarion wanted to tease her for taking one of his best lines, When I’m with you, I feel practically alive! Ah, yes, an old favorite. Except, she was so. . . so much more convincing than he ever was.

He swallows, sitting up and turning towards her. Opening his mouth to speak, the words die in his throat as he watches her.

“Gods, I want to ride you till you see stars!” She blurts out, throwing her head back in frustration.

A cold pit opens up in his stomach. He digs a fingernail into his palm, letting the painful sensation ground him. It’s funny, he actually lets out a stifled laugh — he’s flattered. Disgusted. Excited. Amused. Worried. Happy. He isn’t sure.

Astarion looks at her, really looks, trying to read her expression. She seems happy, perhaps guardedly so. Hopeful, although a bit of caution behind her eyes. Gods, it’s enough to break his dead heart. Doesn’t she deserve to have something good, for once? He chastises himself. Karlach isn’t a fool; she probably can sense his hesitation.

And he falls into an old dance, the steps almost comforting in their familiarity, “You don’t have to ask me twice, darling. Let’s go.”

She looks away, “Ugh, I’m sorry.” Karlach digs her heels into the dirt, “I shouldn’t tease you – or myself. I’d give anything to touch you, but I can’t. Not until I can be sure I won’t burn you.”

He pouts, “Not even just one kiss?”

“I’ll turn you to charcoal. Guaranteed.”

He draws closer; he can half-pretend that his dead body is alive and warm again being so near to her radiating heat, “We’ll make it quick. One tiny kiss, nothing more.”

Karlach hesitates, holds back. For a minute, he worries she’ll get up and leave. A part of him is surprised when he realizes he’d actually be disappointed if she left. If nothing else, his curiosity is getting the better of him. A chaste kiss is a novelty. Strangely… it’s quite appealing.

She shifts nervously. Finally, she concedes, “We can try.”

He grins and leans in closer, sweat already beading on his brow, a blast of intense heat hitting his face as she leans towards him.

Karlach murmurs, “But don’t hurt those pretty lips of yours, all right? Because they feature heavily in my future plans. . .”

Their lips touch for less than a second, but his skin feels like it’s going to slough off, boiling and red. Karlach’s kiss is a scalding hot brand on his mouth, scorching hot, hotter than the deepest pits of the Hells.

His hair and clothes start catching fire.

Astarion pulls away from her immediately in alarm, picking up dirt and tossing it into his hair, throwing himself onto the ground and patting down the flames. After a moment of sheer terror, he catches his breath while absentmindedly realizing he’s covered in soil and must look dreadful. He reaches to his mouth, feeling blistered flesh.

“Bloody fucking Hells!” He hisses.

Karlach is in a full-blown panic, her hands reaching out to comfort him before she quickly pulls away, remembering her touch would only make things worse, “Oh Gods, are you all right?”

Astarion has the audacity to look shocked and Karlach almost wants to slap him across his smarmy face, if that wouldn’t turn his head into a well-cooked roast.

“I— you nearly melted my face off!” He snaps.

“Make better decisions then!” She snaps back, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, fangs. I’m an ‘at your own risk’ attraction.”

Astarion breathes out a long and ragged breath before he gathers himself, “I’ve never been one for listening to good sense, unfortunately, darling. I’m. . .” He struggles, “I’m sorry.”

She shrugs, letting out a dejected sigh. 

Astarion glances up and notices the forlorn look on Karlach’s face. Something within him twists in sympathy, and the emotion catches him off-guard.

His lips have split open, bleeding— he licks the blood off his lips greedily, not wanting to lose a drop. Sitting there next to her, unsure of his next move, he watches Karlach’s expression gradually grow more miserable with every passing minute. He’s mystified at his own impulse to reach out to her, to lay a hand on her shoulder— if only it was possible without immolating himself. His chest aches in some strange, heavy emotion he can’t classify.

“So,” Karlach says after a long silence, “What do we do now?”

Pausing, he considers this question seriously.

Then he looks at her, a mischievous smile growing on his face. Karlach almost laughs at the sight; him, covered in soot and soil, singed white hair and all. She reminds him of a mangy alley cat about to do something naughty, like stealing a sardine off a fishmonger’s cart.

“Maybe I can’t touch you, my dear, but I can tell you what I’d like to do with you…”

He leans in close, but not too close to cause a repeat incineration, whispering behind his hand. Her tail flicked back and forth involuntarily as he described dragging his tongue along her neck, his hands unstrapping her leathers, his fingers trailing along her body and sliding into the warmth between her legs. How her nails would feel digging into his back. As Astarion pulled away, he was relieved to see her expression had lightened.

“Right, my turn.” She says excitedly.

Karlach carefully drew near. Whispering in between self-conscious bursts of laughter, she told him how she’d thread her fingers through his hair, kissing him (“No burning this time” she sighed)—kissing his face all over. First his brow, then the bridge of his nose, then his lips. She’d hold him close, pulling him to her as they settled comfortably into a soft bed (“The bed’s also not burning” Karlach added quickly; Astarion tried not to laugh) and she would straddle his hips, riding him until they both lost their senses. Then they’d fall asleep together with their hands intertwined, Karlach murmured, her voice trailing off. . . 

Astarion raised his eyebrows. “How sweet. I didn’t realize my she-devil was such a soft touch.”

“Don’t be so sour.” Karlach twisted one of the leather straps on her cuirass, “Besides, caught you blushing just then.”

“I don’t blush,” Astarion bristled, adjusting the ruffles on his collar, “I hardly have the blood to spare for that.” 

“Oh? Just my imagination then. . .” Karlach guffawed, “Guess we’ll have to find another poor innocent boar for you to snack on. Wait, no! Better idea: we bash Gortash’s brains in, you drink him up, then we have victory sex over his corpse.”

“Keep talking like that, and I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself. Burning be damned.”

“Not unless you want your soft hands getting cooked, you won’t.”

To his surprise, he genuinely felt dispirited. “Alas.”

She shook her head, sighing, “Well, you’ve given me a lot to. . . think about. Not sure I can sleep now, honestly. Not without doing something really indecent in my bunk, anyway.”

“Likewise. I’ll be tormenting myself all night with the thought of you.”

“Cheeky.” She snorts, “Seriously, though. I need to take my mind off this, or I’ll overheat. Don’t want to set anything else on fire. Got anything boring to talk about?”

Boring conversation wasn’t usually what he was aiming for with his victims – Astarion stopped himself. She wasn’t a victim.

Dusting the soil off his clothes, he settled down into his bedroll again. Smiling courteously, he patted the earth next to him, inviting her to lie down. . . at a safe distance. Given her affliction, Karlach wasn’t able to even have her own bedroll – not without it immediately combusting upon contact. She had to use a pair of blacksmith’s tongs to pick up anything flammable and even then, the metal became superheated if she held the tongs too long. Even her “bunk” was little more than a patch of dirt, covered with a canvas shade hung high enough to avoid her flames.

As Karlach made herself comfortable (as comfortable as possible, lying in the dirt), Astarion focused his attention again to the sky above.

He pointed to a cluster of stars, “Before you so graciously joined me, I was trying to decide what that constellation over there is. It can’t be Jassa’s Dagger. Too early in the season. But it doesn’t look like anything I recognize.”

“All I know is how to spot the Tears of Selûne but that’s the biggest, most bloody obvious thing in the sky. Bit out of practice— no stars in Hell, you see.” Karlach stretched out on the dirt, “Anyway, that one just looks like a hand flipping me off.”

He snorted— it did actually look like that. Appropriate. Given their current circumstances, was it any surprise that even the heavens were telling them to go fuck themselves?

Things weren’t all bad, though.

They argue over what they’d name the constellation, and somewhere about an hour in, Astarion turns over to point out that he’s spotted the Circle starting to crest over the east— only to see Karlach dozed off, drooling into the dirt. Before he stops himself, he almost reaches over to wipe the drool off her face.

A wave of guilt overtakes him when he breathes a sigh of relief that all they did, all they could do, was talk. Somehow, he’s grown fond of their odd little chats, their not-quite-courtship.

He enjoys being near her. Likes her.

More than likes her, he realizes as he falls into a trance, feeling her kiss still burning hot on his lips.

[guardiandae]

I have another ask for the sutumn themed post, but harvest will take longer than my break to answer in fact it'll be an essay, lmao, so itll have to wait a bit sorry~

[so-shiny-so-chrome]

Witness: Weirdness_Unlimited

Creator name (AO3): Weirdness_Unlimited

Creator name (Tumblr): Burn-your-face-upon-the-chrome

Link to creator works: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weirdness_Unlimited/works

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: In the Mad Max universe, anything that is completely absurd and outrageous is represented as the norm. Leather fetish gear? Oh, that's just the security guard uniform at Bartertown. Those guys over there are wearing black and white face paint? No, you're not at an ICP concert, those are War Boys, also run. Whoa, there are acrobats being flung through the air on poles attached to moving vehicles! No worries, that's just any Tuesday in Gas Town. I love this fandom because pretty much any nonsense my skull meat can come up with, as long as the mechanics of it work, I can throw it into my fics and not a single person will bat an eye. As a matter of fact, the weirder, the better. 

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?

A: Life is gross, humans do gross things, and the environment around you could not care less about any of your moral dilemmas. I suppose you can say my style is a lack of it. I like things straight forward and I know this characteristic often weakens any aesthetic appeal to my writing. “To Love Reptiles” reads from Slit's perspective the same way a radio manual does but with a lot more cursing. I try not to make it too complicated to digest. I'd like for people to be able to fill in any blanks with their own interpretation of the situation and then move on to the next. 

Themes though, I go heavy on themes. The main theme is interpersonal relationships, coping with failure within them, and personal growth. Other themes include coping with mental illness, codependency, hunger, greed, warfare, trauma, etc.  

Q: Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: The most fun work of my own, by far, has been “To Love Reptiles.” It has also been the most popular, most successful, and my most favourite. The most difficult has been an original work with no working title. I can't give away much about this original piece but it has to do with local myths and survival in the wilderness. I quit working on the rough manuscript when my grandmother passed away several years ago. I'll be picking it up again soon. It may turn up on AO3 in the next three or four years.

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?/

A: Gritty but hopeful, I think. The wasteland is nasty but humans need hope, right?

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What's your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: Alright, so that's an interesting question with a pretty messy answer but I'll try to make it brisk.   Step 1: I start with a summary of the story as a whole with a point A (the beginning) and a point B (the end). Step 2: I break that summary down and and fill it out with events that can ferry the characters from the start of the story to the finish on a drawn timeline to keep things in chronological order. I also have note cards. I break this down further into named chapters. This can take a while. Step 3: I summarize each of those chapters to figure out if this story needs more than one installment. It depends out how the series of events land and how many minor arcs are included with the main arc/objective. Sprinkle some drama in there, scrap some unnecessary things, narrow an installment down to thirty (30) chapters at maximum. Step 4: I summarize individual scenes within the chapters and hack out important dialog. This takes weeks. There's typically between four and ten scenes per chapter. Also more note cards. Step 5: I try to flesh out one scene per day. (key word: Try) 

 I get the most writing done in the morning over coffee and before work. I usually sit at the breakfast table with my phone and spit out about 500-ish words before my husband wakes up. I'll write intermittently throughout the day. Lately I haven't been writing much because of holiday junk and winter being kind of a bummer. 

 If I'm in a rough patch, I can break though it by sitting in a room with no internet access and forcing myself to scratch out a scene or two in a notepad. Usually these notepad scribbles are so awful that they get torn out and chucked in the waste bin but the next day I'm keen to do the job right. 

Q: What (if any) music do you listen to for help getting those creative juices flowing?

A: Ambient sound, white noise, or nothing. I do listen to music and there's a lot of songs I associate with stories, fics, characters. Tove Lo is a big one for Dune. Most of the time I find that music with lyrics or a high tempo is distracting if I'm in the act of writing something but it can be a source of inspiration separately. 

Q: How do you keep track of all the details as you're writing? How do you keep details consistent in your works? How do you fact-check your writing?

A: I have a little memo pad with numbered facts that do not change at any point through the story. These are kinda the cardinal rules. I can't tell you the rules because they contain spoilers. After the “RULES” there are miscellaneous details that I'd like to remember in case they come up later. Things like birthmarks, scar placement, mannerisms, things I've hinted at without exposition that will need to be revealed later.

I fact check by googling stuff and falling down research holes for several hours until I forget what I was doing. EVENTUALLY I'll come back to writing and realize that's why there are things in my search history that probably have me on some kind of government watch list.

Q: What motivates your writing?

A: My motivation. Real talk? For AAL it's to get to a particular scene in the planned third installment. Scene thirteen in chapter seven. I know that answers exactly nothing and is weirdly specific but... yes. Other works of mine, I'm motivated by the idea that some of my ideas might entertain someone out there, even if it's just one someone then I've succeeded.

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: Time management. I have a lot of hobbies and finding time for individual projects is... Hard. I made a boredom jar that lets me pick an unfinished task/project/piece at random to do whenever I'm bored so that I can stop myself from starting anything new when my apartment is already full of unfinished junk.

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: Yes. My organizational skills have improved by miles and my attention span is better focused. Grammatically my work has undergone general improvement.  

Learned anything about myself? Hmm, I learned that my opinion of what is canon and what makes good fan fiction are two completely different things. If you ask me anything specific about the Mad Max franchise you will probably get both opinions. As an example: Does Maxosa make for good fan fiction? Heck Yeah! Will canon Max Rockatansky or Furiosa ever be mentally and emotionally healed enough to actually be in a relationship? Probably not and that's okay. I can happily read Max and Furi getting cuddly and domestic and enjoy the heck out of another writer's interpretation of these two overcoming the hurdles of their respective traumas. I can do this knowing full well that Max and Furiosa probably never canonically saw each other again after the closing scene of Fury Road. I'm okay with this because that's the magic of fandom and why I love it.

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: I relate to Max the most, and I think the reason I haven't yet published anything written from his perspective is because he'd be the most difficult to write without touching on my own fears and inadequacies too much. Max is not interested in being involved with the dramas of anyone else's life. He's already seen too much turmoil and had a hand in it too many times to actively seek people and their inherent problems, however, when presented with zero alternative he'll do what needs to be done and suffer though forming new attachments to very mortal people who may drop dead at any minute. He isn't comfortable with the process of forming attachments and he'd rather avoid it. He doesn't want another ghost. At least that's my interpretation of him. 

 Slit, remarkably, is my favorite to write for in spite of the fact that I don't relate to him in any way and my interpretation of his portrayal in the film is, simply put, a blunt edged euphemism for abusive relationships. He's just... a guilty pleasure to examine and write. I blame my fondness on the stunning character design and Josh Helman's energy on screen. The character says and does ridiculous things and it's just hilarious to watch Slit dig his own grave and humiliate himself. Case and point: I've got his boot! My understanding of Slit has grown through writing about him. He's probably (canonically) deeply insecure and his way of thinking very toxic and self focused. There's gotta be trauma there (I took massive creative license in that area) and a whole host of personal issues that explain his behavior, but will never excuse it. Does that make good fan fiction??? Parts of it do, the rest has to be that very human ability to grow and improve, although I don't think he'd have that opportunity in canon or accept any form of assistance... If he'd lived. 

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: I think you kind of have to self-insert to a point. Writing tends to involve exaggerating your own experiences and the imagined interactions in your own head in order to make the experiences of the characters relatable. I'd rather not examine every individual facet of the issue but yes, I think Dune is an unintentional self-insert to cope with health problems before I was consciously aware of what I was coping with and since that realization, lately, she's a lot harder to write. 

Q: Do you have any favourite relationships to portray? What interests you about them?Honestly? Close platonic friendship. Emotional intimacy is interesting. I draw a lot of inspiration for friendship in fiction from Mulder and Scully in early seasons of The X-files.

Q: How does your work for the fandom change how you look at the source material?

A: I see more minor details and the context of silent interactions. Some of these details are unsettling, some of them are so subtle and subliminal that they're easily missed when you watch the films, especially Fury Road. Oddly enough, I'm a lot more- Ah whats the word? Not quite critical of but unnerved by my own observations of Capable's relationship with Nux. I'm not sure why. It could be that I'm misinterpreting the actress's tone or George Miller vision/direction, but I watch the movie now and find that the way Capable looks at and talks about Nux so intensely makes me uneasy. The previous is just an example among many that I've spat out so far, it's not important.

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: Everything I write within the Mad Max fandom with the exception of collaborative works will probably be linked together and consistent with one another because that means less to remember and fewer mix-ups.

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: If you have to, break it. I'll read it. I like my fandom unlimited, baby. In my own works I try to keep with canon somewhat but I resurrect a lot of characters who almost certainly died because if I didn't, it would really only leave seven (I think) named characters with dialog who did not die in Fury Road. (The surviving women of the Many Mothers weren't named.)

Q: Share some headcanons:

A: 1) Max has intestinal parasites. He ate a live (two headed) lizard in the first thirty seconds of Fury Road. You really really really should not do that. 

 2) Furiosa didn't want to kill Ace. She could have just blown his head off instead of punching him in the face with a pistol. She didn't shoot him. 

 3) Ace did not go under the wheels. Foxy Grandpa lives. 

 4) Miss Giddy is also alive somewhere 

 5) Actually, most people in the wasteland probably have intestinal parasites. 

Q: If you work with OCs walk us through your process for creating them. Who are some of your favourites?

A: My original characters tend to create themselves. I don't know how they do it, they kinda just decide for themselves for better or worse what they'll look like and how they'll behave. Dune was an accident and the “About a Lizard” series wasn't supposed to happen at all. It was supposed to be a one-shot word dump of what Slit's final moments might have looked like. Slit was supposed to die in a fleeting but intense two seconds of delusions about Valkyries and Valhalla... And then be eaten by a scavenger cannibal. The whole thing kind of just happened on the fly. Ardith, Phil/Crank, Featherknife, Bones, and the kids were also accidental. I had no idea where I was going with the encounter with Crow Fishermen. They just popped into existence of their own will and the rest is history. The only original characters that have been planned and designed well beforehand have been villains. This probably says something about me as a writer though I'm not sure what. 

Q: When creating a new character for the AAL series, how do you approach their first interactions with your main characters?

A: The first thing I ask is “What does this scene need” and sometimes it needs a new character for villainy or friendly acquaintance reasons or for a skill-set the main characters do not posses. New characters have a habit of changing a chapter or making it much longer than intended. First interactions with Slit probably won't surprise anyone. He phases through distrust to dislike to begrudged cooperation and from there he's either on his way back to dislike or entering the tolerance phase. Beyond the tolerance phase is... The Complicated Zone. The Complicated Zone is where Nux and Dune are situated. Dune has two basic instincts with people: Should I shoot you? Or should I befriend you? Bizarrely, being friendly is the weirder option in the wastes. Shooting is almost always a consideration if she's taken by surprise.

Q: If you create original works, how do those compare to your fan works?

A: My original works are probably darker and deal more with modern problems. I turn to fan fiction for fun and to indirectly work through things.

Q: Who are some works by other creators inside and outside of the fandom that have influenced your work?

A: A lot of the fandom, too many names to name but one stands out and I can't remember their name or the title of their work. It was about Ace growing up and there was a dingo and a young Miss Giddy. If anyone knows what I'm talking about, please help. I've been looking for this fic for ages.

Q: Is there a specific author(s) that inspired your work when you began writing TLR?

A: I don't think any specific author inspired me while I began TLR but The Dark Half by Stephen King is one of my favorites and I recall re-reading it shortly before getting deep into fan writing. I may even have unconsciously plagiarized a few lines off that book. In my latest attempt to re-read that novel I'm feeling like there's a lot of Thad Beaumont in my portrayal of Slit.

Q: What advice can you give someone who is struggling to make their own works more interesting, compelling, cohesive, etc.? 

A: Don't be afraid to write things that are too soft or too dark or too this or too that. Sometimes readers crave that stuff that makes us feel warm and safe and sometimes we're also here for things that make us wonder how the @!#$% the characters will ever recover or IF they will ever recover. The real world is full of all sorts of feelings, situations, serendipitous coincidences. Take us down whatever funky road you got! You're the driver, you decide. Your fic is your world. Write WILD things sometimes because it's fun. 

Q: Have you visited or do you plan to visit Australia, Wasteland Weekend, or other Mad Max place?

A: I would love to take a trip to Australia one day to paint scenery in oils but that predates my time in MM fandom. I really want to go to Wasteland Weekend in the next two years but finances, necessities, costumes, etc need to be sorted out first.

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: Well, I'm buying up model car kits to make little Mad Max cars for nerd purposes.

Thank you @burn-your-face-upon-the-chrome

[alo-piss-trancy]

Hello, you have been identified as An Awesome Writer™! Congrats, you rock! So that all of your readers can shower you with some extra love today, please tell us your favorite five (or as many as you want) stories of yours and why you like them and then send this to another five fic authors you think deserve this title! ❤

Gee, I wonder who this could be from? c; (Thank you so much I love you!)

Okay so I’m doing seven because as you all know from my zillion ships and characters I’ve written for/screamed about, I’m incapable of picking a specific favourite lmao. But it’s still less than half my fics so it’s fine. Also none of these are ranked, I enjoyed them all equally tbh. (Forgive my lack of heart emojis RIP, I’m on desktop for this one)The Troubles Rain Can Bring (Pers/ona 5) : Of course I have to bring this one up, since it’s the one I consider my first legit omo fic (Jade was my first foray, but since it’s unfinished and I picked a dead fandom specifically so I had less chances of getting mean comments, I consider it more of a practice run). This was my first time writing for a very active and current fandom, so it was really intimidating, but I was also really excited to participate in creating for a game I was so passionate about! Also that fic was just a total labour of self-indulgence and love (excuse for fluff with my otp? combining all my fav tropes? Gratuitous Akira Suffering? Including the others for fun towards the end? I was in hog heaven!) While I definitely can find parts where I could improve the writing now, I still love it for all of the effort I put into it, and I got such a lovely response that made me feel really welcome on ao3, the omo tag on tumblr, and in the p/5 fandom! It’s kind of nostalgic for me, even if it was only written like a year and a half ago, haha.All Bottled Up (Dang/anRonpa: THH) : I’m just really proud of this fic, and I had so much fun writing it! I think it’s probably one of the few fics I’ve written that was a completely smooth ride of inspiration and fun from start to finish, without any hitches in the writing process or me getting bogged down with other projects. Seriously I think I hammered the entire thing out in like a week or two lmao. I love Naegiri so much, and the idea was a treat to work with even if it’s some of the most cliché omo scenarios, it was just a nice relaxing bit of indulgence! Also I got to dig into Kirigiri’s character, which I didn’t get to do in my other fic of her (since that one was so short and oddly styled). My favourite bit was probably getting to mess with the drawbacks of her gloves/hand injuries, and of course those fluffy bits with Naegi! Getting Your Feet Wet (Pers/ona 5) : This one, hoo boy. Definitely one of my longest fics, and while at the time when I posted it I kind of hated half the stuff in it (just because I had been nitpicking it for so long lmao), now that time has gone by I can genuinely say I love it and it’s probably one I’m proudest of. Not only was it my first full dive into snut (and I’d like to think it isn’t too shabby), but I got to work with a rarepair that I’ve been intrigued by, with two of my fav npcs from the game! So fun times all around! It was great to imagine how Sae might have changed and opened up since the game’s ending, and what Tae could do to help draw her out of that strict shell while still making her feel secure and comfortable. Also I got to include pet/p.lay which is something I’d been dying to write since I started that account, so bonus points for that! And I got a way better response than I was expecting, so that was nice!A Sinking Ship (Pers/ona 5) : ((Okay I swear I still plan to update the other half of this one someday soon, I literally have the draft halfway done I just haven’t been able to get it finished to the level I want.)) Anyways, I have a soft spot for this one because 1. It’s Makoto, and you all know how much I adore her, 2. I finally got to write some legit palace battling and shenanigans, which I really enjoyed and want to include more of in future projects, 3. I literally put so much detail into this one, from the setting descriptions to the dialogue and going out of my way to include the entire team interacting with her instead of just one or two chars, and I’m giving myself a fat pat on the back for that. And then throwing in actual anxiety and plot issues instead of just making her desperate for the sake of it, which may have been ambitious (hence why it’s kind of on a cliffhanger right now while I finish the comfort half), but I really just wanted her to have one of my best fics possible because Makoto deserves the best (of the worst suffering oops sorry bby). Also did I mention The Shumako Bridal Carry scene? That was absolutely necessary to include okay? Also there’s gonna be quality Shumako bonding in the second chapter so I’m biased to love this in advance. Basically I love this one specifically because it’s my own self-indulgent bullshit, which is kind of every fic I write but this is definitely one of The Most Indulgent. I also consider this one my very best omo fic in terms of the actual omo writing/content, even if it’s long AF, because at least you’re getting desperation and wetting for pretty much the entire thing, even when other stuff’s going on around it. So yeah I guess if you don’t mind a cliffhanger ending (for now) and have a decent knowledge of p/5, this is the one I recommend reading!Conundrums Lead to Collapse (Doc/tor Who - 13th Doc/tor) : I really liked writing this one because of the whump, actually. I rarely have excuses to injure characters for Even Worse Omo Suffering/Comfort, so the fact that I could write based on a canon injury was the perfect excuse! Also I’m just weak for the 13th Doctor so I’m always down for omo of her, but it was also a fun excuse to explore her character. We hadn’t gotten to see her angry or broken down at the time it aired, so I enjoyed getting to play around with how things affect her when she does finally lose the positive attitude and confidence, and bringing a character as powerful (and semi immortal I guess) as The Doctor to the floor was just a fun exercise. Also it’s kind of hard to find whump fics focused on female characters that don’t involve a certain kind of violence (or just female whump in general actually), so I just really enjoyed using all of the fandom tropes I’ve read over the years in those fics to create something for those of us who wanted it the other way around! I would also like to say this one gave me the excuse for Found Family Coddling, everyone comforts and helps her towards the end which is perfect for my fluff-craving heart after all of the angst.Holding More than Cards (Ka/kegurui Compulsive Gambler) : Oh boy, I’ll be honest the reason I love this is purely because it’s pretty much the only fic for this pairing that I’ve found for my tastes and I had to make it myself dang it (They basically had a whole two episodes where Midari creamed herself for Yumeko and they had that scene where they held each other’s faces staring into their eyes, HOW is no one jumping on this ship??? There’s literally 5 fics total on ao3 I’m not joking). I really enjoyed getting to dig into Midari’s characterization for this one, especially since I had such a tiny bit of canon to go off of and had to set it after the anime’s s1 developments. I got to write Yumeko being a dom and dropping her cheerful attitude too, which was really satisfying. Also while this doesn’t have full on snut in it, it was the closest I’d come at the time, so that was an interesting challenge. This was a rare chance to indulge in unhealthy ships too (bc literally every ship in that show is unhealthy on some level lmao) so that was entertaining to try and navigate.Capture the Fly with Nectar Sweet (The Ch/illing Adventures of Sabrin/a) : I just posted this one recently but I’m adding it anyways, because I had an absolute blast working on it. It’s so starkly different from anything I usually write, because you all know I love close friendships and found family and all that quality fluff and caring. But instead this one was me staring at my laptop thinking of how I want to tell this character to go to hell, except that would be pointless because that’s literally where she came from. I really got to stretch my wings outside my comfort zone and dig around in the dark, manipulative side for a while, and it was so much fun to study one of my favourite villains (anti-hero? she’s such a mysterious mess idk how to classify her) and her relationship with Sabrina. I also got to attempt writing desperation from the outsider’s perspective instead of the victim’s, and while I feel like I definitely still have room to improve with that, it was a nice break from the way I usually write my omo fics. I also got to shift around my writing style for this one, using words like ‘betwixt’ (which I love but never get to use lol) and using a bunch of metaphors and similes to showcase how Madam views Sabrina. This is probably the fic that makes it obvious that Language Arts was my favourite subject in school and that I’m Extra when it comes to predator/prey comparisons lmao. (Note: Please read the tags on this one, the Dead Dove: Do Not Eat warning applies here.)

I actually don’t know who else to send this to that I haven’t already, since like half the omo tag has vanished and I’m blanking on usernames, so if any of y'all are reading this post and you write fics: consider this me asking you to do it so I can hear about your fics! :D

[beccaland]

Fandom Tag Meme

I was tagged by the wonderful @tardisly, and then I wrote my answers to several of these on a lunch break, but ran out of time, so I saved it as a draft and only just discovered that I never finished it! Same thing happened to a bit of dinner I had to reheat in the microwave the other day, because I got distracted reading an article while I was waiting. I have really embraced the absentminded professor stereotype lately. ANYWAY.

1. Your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s):

Shipping’s not my main fandom thing, but I’m definitely a Doctor/River shipper. I know it’s flawed and cheesy, but it just works for me. River and the Doctor are mad enough, and alike enough, and different enough for each other, and their weird timey-wimey relationship suits them perfectly. They feel balanced as a couple.

2. A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind (bonus points: who was that person).

I mean, Twelve/Clara sort of? I still really see them as a BroTP and don’t ship them myself, but I can at least see where the romantic shippers are coming from.

Also Five/Nyssa or Eight/Nyssa. Again, I don’t actually ship them in the sense of wanting stories where they’re a couple, but after listening to some of Nyssa’s BFAs and talking with @whovianhermit about people who’d actually make a good romantic partnership with the Doctor (as opposed to being exciting, fun, or adorable, but not necessarily healthy), I really think Nyssa is one of the few people in the universe who’d work. Except I can’t really see her giving up her own lifesaving work, or wanting to make a life in the TARDIS. So it’s definitely going to be a LDR, but really--what long-term relationship with the Doctor could ever not be a LDR?

3. A pairing you used to love, but it all fell apart for you.

LOL I feel like @tardisly and I are answering a lot of these shippy questions the same. Ten/Rose in principle is a good ship, though not one that I could imagine lasting even Rose’s entire remaining lifespan, let alone the Doctor’s. And that’s not a criticism of their relationship, because I really believe that some genuinely good relationships aren’t meant to last “forever.” Like, I sort of see them as a kind of college romance? A good relationship that runs its natural course and they both move on, forever changed for the better by the time they spent together, and forever holding a special place in each other’s hearts, but both OK with having moved on. But ten years on, I’m just kind of bored with it all now. HOWEVER, David and Billie are doing a Big Finish box set, so we’ll see if they can rekindle my excitement for the Ten/Rose ship at all.

4. Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom, if so, what?

Probably the Trees of Rassilon headcannon that @theenigmaofriversong​ and I sort of riffed on each other about.

5. What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Well, I joined rec.arts.drwho in the early 90s, though spent some years later on being a Whovian but not so much in fandom. But there’s no fandom that I’ve spent more time in than this one. I am constant in my affections.

6. Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it?

Probably Mulder/Scully. I can’t remember one before them.

7. Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over Tumblr.

Parks and Recreation

8. Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike).

The Sixth Doctor is way better in the audios than I remember him being from the classic series--much more thoughtful and a bit less abrasive. Also his flirting with River is adorable.

9. Name three things you wish you saw more of in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

Eight, Liv, Helen fanfic & fan art

Enthusiasm for and content about Classic Who and Big Finish

More well-informed criticism and meta of all eras; less ridiculous hatred dressed up as legitimate criticism based on bad analysis of certain characters and showrunners.

10. Choose a song at random; which ship or character does it remind you of?

“Cosmic Love” by Florence + the Machine; Doctor/River

11. A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships.

This would be extremely unlikely to happen, since I pretty much don’t bother with ships that aren’t canon or at least heavily implied. 

12. Your most scandalous headcanon for your current OTP(s)/OT3(s)/OTX(s).

River never picks up her socks, and it drives the Doctor nuts when they’re living together for 24 years. Eventually in a fit of rage he gathers all the dirty socks up and instead of washing them and putting them away like usual, he chucks them in a black hole. It takes River a week to notice she doesn’t have any socks and another month to bother getting new socks. She doesn’t pick those ones up either.

I literally just made that up on the spot. I didn’t have any scandalous headcanons; this is the best I could do.

13. Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)?

The Doctor is varying degrees of asexual, depending on their incarnation. Some regenerations are demi, and some are sex-repulsed. Almost all the Doctor’s regenerations are panromantic, but a couple are aromantic. 

14. 5 favorite characters from 5 different fandoms.

The Doctor (all of them), from Doctor Who

Samantha Carter, Stargate SG-1

Susan Ivanova, from Babylon 5

Tiffany Aching, Discworld

Rupert Giles, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

15. 3 OTPs from 3 different fandoms.

Doctor/River, Doctor Who

Sam/Jack, Stargate SG-1

John/Delenn, Babylon 5

16. 5 brotps:

Twelve & Clara <3 <3 <3

Ten & Donna

Eight & Lucie

Leela & K-9

I strongly suspect that Benny and Warner!Doctor are becoming another...

17. Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go (prompts optional but encouraged).

I listened to “The Auntie Matter” this morning. It’s a Fourth Doctor and Romana I audio in the style of a PG Wodehouse comedy and it’s hilarious and perfect and just way way too short; why aren’t there more Wodehouse/Wilde-style Doctor Who stories??? And then in the commentary at the end, the cast and crew talked about how Mary Tamm fell ill shortly before they were to begin recording, but she insisted on doing the audios despite her illness, and although they completed that run, she died six months before the first of them was released. Tom Baker talked about losing Lis Sladen and Mary Tamm and Caroline John all in the space of about a year, and I was crying, remembering what it felt like at the time to lose these people I never knew but loved nonetheless, and thinking how much more keenly those who actually knew them must have felt their loss. But also what a privilege we have, that in a way they’re still with us, because of this amazing body of work. 

Tagging (only if you wanna do it): @animate-mush @ravenskyewalker @theenigmaofriversong @evilqueenofgallifrey @mewiet