#bc I HATE writing a second part and multi chapters

[whichcouldmeannothing]

paper rings part 2!!!(teacher!spiderdads)

oh my god. hi. this fic has pushed me to 100 followers (after 6 years on tumblr 😭😭) and is my most liked post ever. OHMYGOD

THANK YOU SO MUCH THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT FOR MY SPIDERDADS ENDEAVOURS AND SHGSDFHKGHAKGFHA IM SO GRATEFUL

yes i will be writing the teacher one!! it'll be multi-chapter lelelel but the first chapter shld be out by this week!! pls stick with me *pray hand emoji*

alright so. the first 500 words of the chapter for u guys. bc i love u

thank u all sm

-

Brooklyn Visions Academy is a good school. 

It pays well, there’s a clear path to promotion for him and it’s close enough to his house that he won’t be late when Gabriella forgets her water bottle for school. 

Their gyms are nice too. There's air-conditioning when they do assemblies, and the floors aren't horrendously squeaky. Miguel waits by the side for the principal to finish his announcements and introduce all the new teachers. There are at least seven of them here and pessimistically, he wonders how many of them will make it through the year. 

He wears the blue polo (Read: The one Gabriel hated the least) and he tries to go through what he’s going to do today. After this assembly is his first class. Ask them for their names, go through expectations and start work properly. He’s here to do his job and to do it well. 

“Hi,” The guy beside him speaks. He has brown eyes and brown hair, and he looks like he should be tall, but Miguel has to angle his head down to look at him. He’s wearing an ironed maroon shirt. He smells like hot chocolate. “I’m Peter Parker, you’re one of the new guys too, right?” 

Miguel nods. He has to pick up Gabriella today because her piano lesson got pushed to the weekend. So, he has to make sure that he brings home any materials he wants to look over for the next lesson. Then, he’ll probably pick up pizza, the four-cheese one for Gabriella and a small meat lovers fo him. 

“Are you the other Humanities guy? I teach Literature, so it’s nice to know someone, I guess.” Peter Parker has a face that looks like it should always be smiling. There’s a strand of hair falling onto his forehead. Miguel doesn’t think he would care. “I mean, I hope you are, as long as you don’t teach Economics, 'cause only blood-suckers would teach something that bad.”

Peter Parker apparently doesn’t know how to shut up. 

"I teach Economics." 

The principal gestures for them to get on the stage, and Miguel walks past the shell-shocked Peter Parker. Peter quickly follows, and as the Principal introduces them, he leans in to whisper. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you, uh, sorry." Eloquent, for a literature teacher. Miguel fears for the poor literary geniuses who have to be taught by Peter. 

Miguel's name is read out on the screen, and Peter turns around to look at the projection. "So, Miguel, sorry about that, let's start over, get this right." 

The bell rings and the teachers get off the stage, loafers and heels clicking on the veneered wood. Miguel could just walk out of the hall right now and get to his first class, but a tap on his shoulder stops him. 

"I'm Peter Benjamin Parker," He introduces again, a hand outstretched. "I love every subject ever and I am excited to work with you." He lets out a breath after like this was an effort to say. 

Miguel shakes his hand. "I'm Miguel." The sun is streaming into the high windows, and the room is being painted in bright yellows. "I have to go, can't risk getting hit by the sunlight."

Confusion quickly gives way to joy on Peter's face, and Miguel lets himself stand still for an extra second to see Peter's smile before he stalks off.

-

<3

[spicysix]

ok so inspired by @roykentt i decided to make a poll so i can focus on one of my WIPs because i really need to get my shit together lskdsakd. this is acey's original poll btw

i should've done this earlier but i had so much work i couldn't. but here's the deal:

i'll start working on whatever fic is winning tomorrow whenever i wake up

i think when that happens the winner will be well set, but if by any chance by the end of the poll the winner has changed, i'll also try to write for the new winner

i want to try to focus on the wip until it's finished. if it's one of the multichapters, i'll write until i finish the chapter i'm currently working on

so bc of the previous rule, there's no actual word goal to reach, it's whenever i finish the wip! if i don't, well, fuck me ig

i'll probably do this poll weekly bc i liked the idea of it sdkkdçkskd

if i finish the wip or chapter before the next poll, i'll then focus on the second place. if i also finish the second place (very unlikely), i'll focus on the third place and so on and so forth

you can reblog and help me get more votes!

more about each WIP under the cut

it feels like i'm going home

eddie X reader • roadtrip!AU • fluff • multi-chaptered longfic this is already being posted and you can check the first two chapters here i have around half of the 7th chapter written, so if this one wins i'll finish that!

your sweater (up over your head)

steve X jonathan • alternative meeting!AU • angst • multi-chaptered longfic this is already being posted and you can check the first two chapters here i have around 1/3 of the 3rd chapter written, so if this one wins i'll finish that!

jargyle summer challenge

argyle X jonathan • probably something akin to a roadtrip!AU • fluff • oneshot written for lex's spicy six summer challenge, for the dialogue prompt "I'm really glad we did this" and based on Tove Lo's song "anywhere u go" post-canon, after the world ends and goes back to normal, where will jonathan and argyle head to? not very outlined yet, so if it wins i'll also do the whole planning for it!

edancy summer challenge

eddie X nancy • modern!AU, with a pinch of social media • fluff • oneshot also written for lex's challenge, for the word prompt "rooftops" and based on The Aces' song "girls make me wanna die". i wanna honor and stick with the fact that this is a sapphic band and this is a song about sapphic love, so eddie will either be genderbended or trans (mtf). if i go with the trans route, i wanna do it well and so it'll require research of my part since i've never written a trans character and have no real life experience to rely on it's also not very outlined yet, so if it wins i'll do the whole outline, research if it requires it and try to start writing it

soulmate!AU

eddie X reader • college!AU • fluff • oneshot classic "first words tattooed on your wrist" soulmate trope, reader and eddie are both studying music, both dislike their soulmarks around half of it already written

5 + 1 nicknames

robin X reader • college!AU • fluff • oneshot '5 times you gave Robin a nickname she hated, and 1 time you gave her a nickname she loved' - the ones she hates will all be bird names and she thinks reader is teasing her! i'm not sure what will be the one she loves the fic had a name but i'm hating it and will change it lskdlaskd i have exactly one sentence of this written LMAO

[senbons]

I love how you put the note to discuss the ending scene in ch 2 because I NEED to discuss it!

I dont know if I interpreted it right but "you could do it" was more like an invitation than a challenge. She wasn't challenging him. In my head she was asking him to release it, release them. They both want it and they both knew. And SHE knew. But when his fingers grasps too tightly into her neck, she realized and that's why she is so scared. She did not expect it. She thought she got him. (And you fucking got me. Really thought that they were gonna kiss until he mentioned that he's imagined doing it to her for years lol). I think that was the first time she actually realized how much he hates her. Like, hates her. He is so hard. But he's been through alot. The beginning of the chapter and the brief explanation about the occupation, the war, and his family really gives so much into that end scene. The feeling of frustration and guilt Shikamaru experienced in this chapter brought tears to my eyes in the end (even tho it ends with him looking at his sperm-covered hand lol).

ANYWAY, THIS IS ALREADY SO FUCKING HOT.

It's sad but it's hot and it's soooo goood I literally shiver.

Just please fucking update it soon!

LOLOLOL that's not AT ALL what I wanted to discuss about the last scene -- my reasons were absolutely without substance 😂 dying that you're like making a critical analysis and I'm just giggling in the corner like "hehehehe semen"

----

Interesting interpretation of her line. I honestly don't think it's incorrect at all. I love so so much that you're focusing on it -- and forcing me to really articulate my way through it! I love that! In my take it also is said with multiple meanings/intentions, and then, of course, his action leads to more mixed/multi emotions.

I took first and foremost her line as a power play. Like showing that he has everything he needs in that moment to do what he wants to do most -- her life is literally on a silver platter before him. Like a pig with an apple in its mouth put before a starving man -- and that he stilllllll won't do it because she is (ALWAYS) in control of him. He will look at the pig but not eat it (weird analogy idk why i'm running w it). So it's like her showing off and also torturing him kind of with her power (but obviously in that really subtle way where they know it, but it's overwhelmed by the other thing -- it isn't a torture he wants to escape in the moment, even if he knows in the back of his mind he should). Really the "you could, but you wont" part of it.

Second, I think her line is also a kind of a dare. And I mean that not as a challenge... because even though I think the challenge is part of it (see above) I think the dare is kind of like... idk, a request for him to actually do it. Not to push him, but requesting him to do it. To make her physically feel the weight of herself. Like he said, she's stifled. And obviously has really complex feelings about her own life and role. And so there is this "do it" kind of proposition that has this unspoken "please" on the end of it. And to have him do it would be different because she has this thing with him. Whatever it is, they have a thing. He describes it as something in this chapter, but regardless of the truth of it, it's definitely a thing (whatever that means) (also please write me later (after next chapter or so) because i have more thoughts on this issue but dont want to say too much yet!)

And then, also, as a third thing (though honestly there's plently more one could get through here) there is the sex. Like, obviously, there is always the sex. The touching, the control, the desire to be controlled, the intimacy of that specific action (not at all trying to advocate a choke fetish please do not take this that way like the way people had a tie fetish in aibg 🤣🤣🤣 (everyone read that nyt article about the prevalence of choking in teens? bc im not saying im not into it, just be aware! 😂)

I think the squeezing of the throat scared them both because it was some form of actualizing all of the above and neither wanted to actually take the jump they'd primed themselves up for. like they both walked to the edge of a high dive and then shikamaru shook the board and they fell back terrified. HILARIOUS you thought they were going to kiss bc it didn't even occur to me. I am going to have to go back and read it! I love that. I mean, the intimacy is there. They're so dangerous together rn. (as you said, they both want it and they both know it).

Honestly though (per usual) Shikamaru is the big mess here -- like you said, his frustration and guilt is so overwhelming... I know she is also going through soooooo much (more than him honestly), but I'd date the temari in this story in a heartbeat over the shikamaru 😂 he's a wreck

long long response but thank you so much for sending this and hopefully everything written above makes some semblance of sense! and thank you SOOOOOO MUCH for reading! the fact that you're into it is literally the best compliment I am so thrilled. Thank you!

(oh god, now how to even unpack her still feeling her throat after he leaves.... what is going through her head tonight?!??? oy vey!)

[crybaby-bkg]

I hateeeee hate hate hate it when I write a one shot and finish it on a certain note bc I don’t plan on nor desire to expand it or write more…….and then someone……..comments a brilliant fucking idea that could turn into another part and it’s SO FUCKING good that I literally have to write another part or else I’ll die -_-

[ad1thi]

ao3 ask meme

tagged by: @omg-just-peachy

What is your total word count on AO3?

124, 975

How many fandoms have you written for?

On AO3, 4: MCU, H5O, Criminal Minds and TVD, but overall, much much more

What were your top 5 fics by kudos?

the dumbest genius alive (stuckony)

1000 lives (for you) (buckytony)

the second (love of his life) (buckytony)

princely duties (thortony)

captain americana and the heartbreak prince (stevetony)

i like that i have a good mix of ships here

Do you respond to comments - why, why not?

I didn't used too, but now I do, as much as possible

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

i do more hopeful/ambiguous endings than happy endings so i would say moments of beauty bc it ends with tony saying yes to bucky's proposal

What’s your fic with the angsty-est ending?

i actually do have an answer for this bc i just resposted this fic - four weddings and a funeral

Do you write smut? if so, what kind?

i guess it depends on who you ask? i have written nsfw-adjacent ficlets but i dont know if i would call them outright smut

Do you write crossovers?

yes and no? i don't cross fictional characters but i will write stuff inspired by other universes, like buckytony in Superstore for example

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

a couple of times, but i try to not let it get to me

What is your all time favourite pairing?

it changes all the time but for MCU i would say rhodeytony and buckytony are strong contenders

What is a fic you would like to finish but don’t think you ever will?

if it's still up on AO3 then i'm reasonably certain i will finish it, and I don't want to jinx the ones not on AO3 by saying that i won't

Writing strengths?

ive been told im good at characterisations and character studies

Writing weaknesses?

i would say dialogue, and story cohesiveness. i struggle a lot with remembering plot-lines that i myself would've peppered into previous chapters or parts of stories, and its one of the main reasons why i often shy away from multi-chaptered stories

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

harry potter, or percy jackson. actually it might've been mortal instruments. im not sure it was almost a decade ago now; ive been writing on and off for about 8/9 years

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

i think i have to say begin again, but this is me trying also holds an extremely special place in my heart and im hoping everybody else likes it as much as i do (and Amy does, she's my #1 cheerleader for this fic)

[godkilller]

@izzabizz139

I wanna hear you rant about the Gin vs Hitsugaya anime fight bc I love seeing your pov and you clearly write better than whoever extended that scene :) pretty please

          out of character.  DON’T ENABLE ME SO MUCH !!  No but I cackled when I first saw this ask because oh my god, clearly you saw a taste of my annoyance about the anime adaptation -- no, adaptation implies it was accurate, I’ll say the anime’s take was “inspired by” the manga’s quick run-in. I’ll start by saying this moment is supposed to be a bit important considering, via the audience’s point of view, THIS IS THE FIRST WE SEE OF TWO CAPTAIN-RANKED SHINIGAMI CLASHING. The only other captain-involved fight we’ve seen thus far in the manga is Kenpachi  ( who is an outlier and should not be counted... no, I joke... but, still, Ichigo was not an equal to him, his sword was sliced through like butter. )  The whole reason I enjoyed this encounter between Toshiro and Gin was simply this; it wasn’t some fancy multi-chaptered fight. IN THE MANGA, THERE ARE ONLY TWO BLOWS MADE. One, by Toshiro, to begin the fight. The second, to end it, is Gin’s strike.

          I want you to know that I’ve rewatched this specifically to answer this ask, and only due to this, as I wouldn’t have ever sought it out otherwise. HONOR MY SACRIFICE.

          Read more for length. I’m merciful.

          In the anime, they monologue at each other, and it’s mostly a combination of Toshiro making three separate death threats  ( he starts this off by saying “I’ll kill you before Hinamori arrives” and then goes on rewording it each time, and then also repeats the death-threat he gave Gin prior to this conflict about “I’ll kill you if Hinamori bleeds” )  and then also Gin and Izuru talking about how truly powerful and amazing Toshiro is -- no, this isn’t me being bitter or petty, I literally shit you not, Gin has a line that is legit “AS EXPECTED FROM HITSUGAYA TOSHIRO, CAPTAIN OF THE TENTH DIVISION, A CHILD PRODIGY OF TH' SORT THAT ONLY COMES ALONG ONLY ONCE EVERY FEW CENTURIES. HOW VEEEERY DANGEROUS. YOU’RE SERIOUS, AIN’T YA?” like don’t get me wrong, love a good sarcastic little shit comment like that, but the amount of times the anime pumps Toshiro up like he’s their shinest new cash cow ( and he is, at this point, it is not even 50 episodes into the series and they’ve realized everyone likes him and he’s jumped to high ranks in popularity polls... earning him filler spotlights, and eventually his very own non-canon movie )  so everything coming out of Gin’s mouth feels like more bullshit than necessary. Izuru’s already literally monologued, internally, how powerful and amazing Toshiro is anyways. Why this ?

          Not to mention that, prior to saying that long-winded shit, Gin’s haori changed length three times  ( and once it was longer than his entire body by several feet, and no not in a ‘to show motion’ way )  and most importantly Shinso was drawn, consistently, at katana-length for the duration of their little spat where the following, too, happened: Gin frog-leaps after doing a backflip, Toshiro gives Gin two (2) haircuts, Gin ruins some floorboards and gives Toshiro at least one splinter in his arm, Toshiro whilst wearing socks lands on Shinso’s blunt edge and pushes the sword down with his footsie because that’s how that works, there’s another backflip somewhere in there that Gin doesn’t need to be doing, twirl, twirl, and ballet, Gin’s face elongates until his chin is bigger than his face, Gin spends ten+ seconds purely dodging very close strikes to his face as Toshiro is the only one making breathy growly and ‘tsuuaaah’ sounds, there is a brief moment of no gravity as Toshiro keeps hacking at Gin midair and Gin blocks it over and over again but they still stay in the air but they’re not standing or jumping or using reiatsu they’re just like, momentum-locked I don’t fucking know, Gin frowny faces as he blocks because like somehow this kid who doesn’t even have more reiatsu than him, whose arm strength should not be an issue, is like. making him nervous?? as sword sparks fly. if you know me at all you know I hate when they fuckin’ firework sparkler-ify swords clashing.

          Anyways, all of this happens whilst Shinso is the wrong length and Gin’s hair is getting purpler by the second and this entire thing is somehow a big jack-off to Toshiro’s immense strength even though he’s screaming and wailing at Gin like a child and Gin’s just a vessel at this point to Enhance Toshiro, which, fine, okay, but at least be more accurate with it god damn. ANYWAYS,

          THEY JOUST. They literally run at each other, swords centered, and run past / to the side of one another. Jousting. “Cause that’s how that works. No slashes, no cutting motion. Just swords centered, because the animators were like “no worries guys I know swordfighting basics that’s a legit pose” yeah it is WHEN STATIONARY. Not rUNNING IT DOWN.

          And then Gin’s sleeve is cut, somehow, from the Jousting, because wow Toshiro wow wow wowowowow, and then Toshiro comes back and starts wailing at Gin again and Gin blocks it, again, and it’s all very annoyingly repetitive, and Gin’s frowning and sparks are flying and Gin’s using Shinso, the katana-length wakizashi I guess, with two hands because like I said, the animators knew basics and basics are “katana are used two-handed” like. Okay, you’re not wrong, but I cannot stress this enough: SHINSO IS NOT A KATANA. It’s shorter and meant to be used single-handed!!!! sTop!!! So then Gin rips off the tattered part of his sleeve and throws it at Toshiro, who swipes it away from his face using his Zanpakuto because that’s intelligent and a piece of cloth was definitely threatening enough to use your sword to bat it away  ( btw, Hitsugaya wasn’t holding his sword with two hands at this precise moment, so he could have just... used his other hand )  and then Gin goes in for the classic “stabby stabby rapidly at you while the animation gets a little breather because we repeat this cycle a few times with flashy bgs and phew money made” ... WE ARE FOUR MINUTES AND THIRTY SECONDS INTO THIS FIGHT BY THE WAY. Gin does this for seventeen (17) agonizing seconds straight. Yes, I counted. That was sixteen and a half too many seconds for me, personally.

          Toshiro somehow lassos Shinso whilst Gin is stabby stabby-ing with Hyourinmaru’s chain component. I say component like it’s somehow some type of beauty guru’s lipstick holder, but really am I that wrong ? When else has he ever used this feature ? Anyways, he lassos Shinso because yeehaw I guess, god I’m falling apart at this point can y’all tell????? I need a drink.

          and so, because now Toshiro has Gin’s sword somehow trapped with chain even though it’s just looped around it, he backflips over Gin for a cool trickshot, no blow issued, just vibes, and Gin uses a big brain moment to tug Shinso and the chains slide off. okay now what. We’re past five minutes into this fight, nonstop.

          SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD TIME FOR GIN TO PAUSE AND APPRECIATE TOSHIRO AGAIN! “I see, I shouldn’t have underestimated you, HItsugaya Toshiro” I’m starting to have a feeling Gin’s VA was told to just wing these lines because the amount of times he fills silences / Gin’s mouth movements with Toshiro’s long-ass name is astounding, he’s definitely drawing blanks here but he sure as hell knows one thing: that damn ice-boy’s name. He continues by saying “I suppose I’ll end up regretting it afterwards.”

          Toshiro says that’s not enough, and it’s really dramatic and cool. His eyes even glow all icy and blue and pretty, like his flowy reiatsu. Aesthetic points were gifted entirely to Toshiro’s animations in this scene. Gin was finished in MS Paint and each new scene they had to draw Shinso from memory and try to remember what hue of purple his hair was at gunpoint. Toshiro lets off a big wave of reiatsu and then it vanishes, and he jumps up reaaaally high. like this guy’s flying. his eyes arent glowing anymore that’s sad. Bring Back Glowing Eyes For Strong Shinigami 2k21.

          Toshiro releases his Shikai, and it’s badass, the sky darkens, Izuru looks distinctly more worried than usual, and Gin’s frowning with his teeth out like Bugs Bunny’s having a bad day, all is right in the world. Toshiro and his released Shikai have a nice moment for the Pics, and a big epic freeze frame blur moment happens with it all coiled and swirling around him. Wrow!  ( click the ‘wrow’ it’s a link to my exact reaction )  Izuru narrates for the third time about how powerful Toshiro is, his reiatsu, his Zanpakuto being a deity who is only unlocked every few centuries. The strongest ice-type sword. Pardon the pun, but that’s... you could say, so cool.

          It can even control the weather. So hey, next time it’s rainy, cold, icy, or snowing and you’re unhappy, it’s time to direct a big fuck you at Toshiro.

          Gin dodges the first dragon, and blocks the second with Shinso because blocking water and ice with a sword makes sense right? This actually takes a solid amount of seconds as Gin cuts through the entire length of this ice dragon noodle. Things dissipate, and pause, too, to really drag this out. Surprisingly, this reveals that Gin’s made a boo-boo, his left arm’s frozen, which doesn’t even mean anything because Gin is right-handed, and Toshiro teleports himself behind Gin in true fighty fashion.

          We have arrived at seven minutes and just under twenty seconds of this fight, and Gin turns, DOES THE UNTHINKABLE, gasp! He opens his eyes. His red, dull, evil, gray-eyebrowed with purple hair eyes, and shoots Shinso through its hideout spot behind his haori. This nearly takes off Toshiro’s eye and upwards of his head, but the little guy dives down fast. The rest happens in slow motion, supposedly, because it takes an eternity and people talk entire full sentences in its span of time.

          Gin asks Toshiro if he’s sure he’d like to dodge that  ( it’s a little late for that ) and says that Momo’ll die if he does. SHINSO SCRAPING ALONG AGAINST HYOURINMARU STRANGELY MAKES NOT A SINGLE SOUND. Mute. Even though before they had no problem animating and adding sounds to them smacking blades earlier. There are soundless sparks though, so there’s that. Yay. Can you tell how exhausted this’s made me? I need a nap.

          Shinso is already more than halfway towards Momo, still unconscious, she most definitely has a serious concussion via Toshiro backhanding her midair consider she’s been unconscious for longer than ten minutes. Toshiro has time to get up off the floor where he dropped to dodge, realize with a shocked gasp, turn, shout her name, and watch as Rangiku arrives in a random glow of gold which never happens ever again and blocks the attack with Haineko. Haineko almost cracks on the impact, and continues growing in damage as Rangiku holds Shinso there, implying that she’s stopped it from reaching one-hundred sword’s lengths to pierce Momo. Yes I’m including that implication / note in here because we love to see Rangiku succeeding in life and being Not-Helpless, all while potentially damaging Haineko severely if it wasn’t able to hold him off. Yikes, Gin!

          Rangiku threatens to join the fight if he doesn’t withdraw his sword. Gin smiles, withdraws it, and then Shunpos away.

          Whatta mess. Oh, and the anime fight was pretty fucked up, too.

          This is a long post, but here’s the manga version:

Toshiro leaps into the air,

This is where the fight actually starts between them:

And end. 

Five pages. Two blows. Does not equate to ten minutes of non-stop fighting and monologues. Sometimes, and I mean this in the most unbiased way possible, less is more.

[theroomofreq]

I was tagged by incredible writers and friends, @fightfortherightsofhouseelves @narukoibito @sweeethinny @clarensjoy thank you and love you all!! 

Fandoms: Harry Potter 

Where you post: right here and AO3

Most popular one-shot: the very clear winner is not too subtle

Most popular multi-chapter: the first one I ever wrote, personality before punctuality 

Favourite story written so far: i really like the way are we on a date right now has worked out!! 

Fic you were nervous to post: i was sooooooo worried about the second chapter for are we on a date right now but also my first attempt at romione

How you choose your titles: i am now taking applications for someone to name my fics bc i hate doing it so much

Complete: hahah only my one shots 

In progress: i have a few finishing touches for are we on a date right now before I post the last chapter. and i am working on personality before punctuality but it is rapidly spiraling out of control sos. 

Coming soon/Not yet started: there are prompts in my inbox that i am planning on getting to soon!! i have a little bit started for my pen pals au and the fic that is always bouncing around in my head is my sweets fic. someday i hope to get more missing moments done, but quite honestly my life is so busy i dunno when i can get to any of these :’)

Do you accept prompts?: yes! i am always happy to work on a prompt, although there is never any guarantee for timeliness on my part 

Upcoming works you’re most excited about: i am super excited about my pen pals au, i have an unlimited amount of ideas and dialogue running through my mind 24/7. i really hope i can do it justice! 

tagging! if you write fic consider yourself tagged, and tag me so i can read your writing!! also - @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world @adenei @be11atrixthestrange @tumbledfreckles @mppmaraudergirl @liiilyevans @katie-with-the-tea @alrightginger @blitheringmcgonagall @jilytho @solstilla @ihopuhopwehop

[rahleeyah]

Fic Interview Meme

Tagged by @idoltina thank you friend 😘

Name: rahleeyah (this has been my name for a decade I am never changing it)

Fandoms I write (or have written) for: Spooks, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, City Homicide, SVU, the Closer back in ye olde days, dabbled in a few others

Two-Shot: I am also confused by this question lmao since the next one is "most popular multi chapter" I am going to answer with my most popular one/two shot. By Ao3 hits/comments/kudos it's Stubborn Love (I am excluding Changes bc it's 3 chapters).

Most popular multi-chapter: using hits/comments/kudos, the winner is Hell of a View, but I gotta give a shout-out to Long Way Down coming in second on comments when there's about 25 people total in that fandom, love you Blake fam, thank you for embracing madam Jean 🥰

Actual worst part of writing: ok I have to agree with you, it's transitions. I am so guilty of starting a scene about ten minutes earlier than it needs to, and trying to walk people through every single step of the character's days, so that's something I'm actively working on, trimming the transition from point a to point b. Also, smut is a close second; I love writing smut. I love having written smut. But it takes me twice as long as anything else and I inevitably end up just grinding out three words at a time, swearing.

How you choose your titles: there is absolutely zero rhyme or reason to my process. Maybe it's a song I liked that day. Maybe it's a popular idiom that suits (I will always be proud of the pun in A Will and a Way). For one shots I tend to use shorter, snappier titles that have some vague bearing on the theme of the piece but sometimes it's a stretch and I'm just trying to put something down so I can post the damn thing.

Do you outline: sometimes, kinda. Some fics don't need an outline, I know where they're going. Sometimes I do bullet point lists of things that need to happen; with Collision Course, for example, timing was vital as we were switching between past and present and they had to match up at certain points, so I had a list of things that I wanted to happen and tweaked it as I went, as necessary. For long fics (I frequently write 30+ chapters) I will also usually have a doc to refer to with birthdays and dates of important events; the doc I made for A Messy Kind of Love is my Blake bible to this day.

Ideas I probably won't get around to but would be nice: ok I don't have any that I don't think I'm gonna write. They all exist in equal possibility, like I'd like to get to all of them eventually. But the ones that'll take the longest to get to are: selkie Jean, Blake beauty and the beast AU, and madam Liv. Actually that's not true I'll probably get to madam Liv before I get to benverse. But I'm a changeable creature.

Best writing habits: routine!!!! This is the answer every time someone asks how I write fics that are so long, or how they go up so fast. There are things we can do to trick our brains into performing, they just need the right environment. Like, in college I only did homework in the library or in a classroom after hours, bc my brain recognized that we were in A Place Designated For Work, and I could stay on task much longer there than in my room, bc my room was A Place To Relax. Carve out a time, or a space, or a series of environmental triggers and recreate them over and over and your brain will learn to focus and write under those conditions. Everybody's life and schedule is different, but if you can find A Place That Is Just For Writing, it will help.

Spicy opinions: I hate first person pov. If a fic starts with "I", I will almost immediately back out of it. It has to be shockingly good for me to read it (I am thinking of the massive Malcolm pov spooks fic). Second person is marginally less unappealing to me but again it has to be really remarkable for me to carry on with it. I don't like fluff fics. Like "the gang goes to the beach and shenanigans ensue!" They are great and they should be written and there are people who wanna read them just not me. And that's fine!! Bc not every fic is for every reader and that's the point; there is such a variety of interests and passions in fandom and there is something for everyone and if you don't like what's in front of you, you close it and go to the next one.

Tagging: @gabolange @andallthatmishigas @doctoraliceharvey and anyone else who sees and wants to play

[mrskurono]

Thank you for making this femdom page, it truly is hard to find femdom fics out there. All you really get is stuttering, daddy issue, shy reader, and it's honestly kind of annoying. As a femdom writer myself, I've experienced lots of negativity writing for a dominant reader, and forced myself to write sub reader just for other people, but you inspired me to just stop doing that in general! Much love to you, and your amazing writing!

My first experience with a writing blog was the Jujutsu one I ran. Typically I was the writer who did like multi chapter fics/oc writing/third person type of things. But between having a baby and less time I didn’t want to stop writing but I had to put my big fic on hold. Plus I liked Jujutsu a lot and thought why not. 

Worst. Experience. EVER.

I hated it. For the most part (I like the friends I made). I hated the things I wrote. I felt pressured to churn out what the mass wanted and only the mass. Write for characters everyone liked and I didn’t like. Focus on kinks and body types I didn’t want to. Finally the misunderstanding of kinks was what broke the camels back and I stepped away from that blog in December with intent of a break but turned into “I don’t wanna do this anymore I fucking hate it and it makes me hate writing.”

Thus the birth of this blog! I don’t have daddy issues (I loved my dad and he was present and loving in my life before he passed), I’m not shy, I’m not small cute and dainty. I’m fat, I’m bossy and I don’t lay back during sex bc that’s boring and wtf is even the point if you’re just gonna lay there and do nothing. So I started writing exactly that (I’ve actually got a real good chubby chaser!Suna fic I was gonna drop tonight but the Atsumu thing took off so I’ll save it for tomorrow) I hate how little femdom content there is bc I feel like there is a diversity in female doms that you don’t get with the typical daddy dom trope. You can be hard and mean as a dom but the flip side femdom puts huge emphasis on caring and treating your sub well (which I just don’t see with daddy dom shit and I hate it) The amount of “ew femdom” fuels me with spite to continue this bc I love it and it’s what is arousing to me. The fact you felt good enough to write for yourself just makes me *uglycriesforever* Write for yourself hun! Always yourself first and everyone else second! No one is as important to please as you and unless you’re contracted with a publishing company, you’re writing is for you and you alone. Make it what you love and not just what gets everyone parroting the same narrative <3

Also if we ain’t mutuals then you better dm me so we can be <3 <3 <3 

[stevethehairington]

Tagged by: the lovely @scimitar-and-longsword  💕💕

Name(s): my name is Mack, and if this also includes like usernames too then my ao3 is macksdramaticshenanigans and obviously yall can see my tumblr url lol. i have a fandom twitter but i hate twitter so i barely go on it lmao.

Fandom(s): oh boy haha this is a loooong list. as of right now, the main fandoms i’m involved in are The Old Guard and Trust FX, but in the past i’ve written for Skam, Marvel, Good Omens, Love Simon/Simon vs., Shameless, and IT. and ofc there are some fandoms i have not written for that i casually enjoy as well.

Where you post: all my fics are posted on ao3! or are sitting in my wips folder lol. i’ve ocsasionally posted some snippets of writing here to tumblr, but none of those are like full on, proper fics, mostly just me rambling off some thoughts i had about whatever characters in whatever scenarios

Most Popular One Shot (by kudos): Imagine Being Loved By Me (918 kudos) ((so close to 1k holy shit!!!! if it got to 1k i think i’d actually die of happiness omg)) this is my Good Omens smut fic lmfao, crowley is fantasizing and aziraphale makes it a reality skgjsd. i’m actually pretty damn pleased with how this one turned out, and i never expected it to get that many kudos so that makes me ridiculously happy sfjgfg. (and also podfixx made a podfic of this fic which made me INSANELY happy like that is the coolest thing ever)

Most Popular Multi-Chapter (by kudos): I Have Hella Feelings For You (697 kudos) ahhh this one!! this one is actually my very first ever chaptered fic!! it’s a skam fic, and i have the most distinctive memory of me sititng in my dorm bed freshman year of college, furiously typing away at my laptop everyday for a week because i somehow managed to post a chapter every day until it was finished, which meant i was writing a new chapter everyday. like damn, i really peaked with that huh? lmao

Favorite story you’ve written so far: ahh okay not to like. toot my own horn kgfldg but this question is HARD bc i have a lot of favorites. i’m going to pick a favorite from each of my main fandoms i’ve written for because i’m an Indecisive Hoe okay fdjdf.

- From Marvel: Just Called To Say I Love You this one is my wrong number stucky fic and i actually adore this one so much, and also it actually ended up being WAY more popular than i expected it to? like i was lowkey shook by how many people liked it 

- From Skam: If You Love Me, If You Hate Me so. about this one. it’s probably my favorite skam fic that i’ve written. but. it also is the utter bane of my existence bc this is the one and only fic i have ever written and posted that i haven’t fnished gskgjfdlfs. it’s going on soon to be a little over 2 years of sitting on my account as an unfinished wip, but i REFUSE to mark it as abandoned bc i really genuienly DO want to finish it, i just havent written for this fandom in a while and inspiration/motivation is tricky yknow? but anyways. this fic is my soccer au!! it was a gift for a secret santa exchange i believe to a dear friend of mine and i still feel awful that i never finished it but. one day!!

- From Love Simon/Simon vs.: Where I Like You Best i am actually obsessed with this one. is that weird to say about your own fic? i enjoy reading a good soulmate au, but writing them has always been SO daunting to me bc i never feel like my ideas are original enough or like things that havent been done a lot for that trope. but for this one!!! omg i found the BEST prompt for it and it fit these characters SO well and i wrote it and i ended up absolutely loving how it turned out, and i was so proud of myself for writing a pretty successful soulmate au.

- From Shameless: Wooden Floors, Walls, and Window Sills so this one was my second ever gallavich fic, and it’s probably my favorite because i think it’s the best characterization i got of them in all of my fics, and good characterization is one of the most important things to me when i write fic. 

- From IT: To What We Might Do is my favorite reddie fic i’ve written! i definitely projected onto richie a teeny tiny bit in it for some parts lmfao, but yeah idk i just love how this one turned out a whole lot, and i enjoyed how i ended it too (esp since endings can be very difficult for me lol). ((BUT also a special shoutout to my fic Imagine Me and You, I Do bc that one is just pure fluff and i adore the concept of someone being just so absolutely in love with someone doing something so incredibly simple and it just rocks their world)

- From Good Omens: I Want To Know What Love Is (did i use the most cheesy title ever? absolutely. do i love it? absolutely.) anyways this fic is one where crowley the demon experiences love and promptly thinks he’s dying. 

Fic you were nervous to post: ooh, i mean i’m always pretty anxious about any fic i post because i never know if it’s going to be recepted well or if people are going to like it or hate it or if anyone is even going to read it or repsond to it. especially if the fic is a gift for someone, because i just really want that person to like it yknow? but yeah idk if theres one in particular i was more nervous to post than any others... i guess maybe any smut fic? just bc i never know if the smut is even any good lol

How do you choose your titles?: eaaaaasy, i usually pick song lyrics lol, ocassionally i’ve used lines from a poem, and a few times i’ve gone with a pun, but mostly it’s song lyrics. i usually find a song with lyrics that i think will fit, or if there’s a particular song that vibes well with the fic or that i listened to repeatedly while writing the fic i’ll try to pick the best lyric from that one.

Do you outline?: yes and no lol. it honestly depends. sometimes i outline extensively, but other times i just sit in front of a doc and let whatever happens happen.

Complete: on my ao3 account i have 80 works completed (will be 81 once i finally finish that one single unfinished wip i have posted gahhh). but i know in my wips folder i have a at least one finished fic that i have not and probably will not post. there are also some other things in my wips folder that like technically could be conisdered finished too, but it’s not up to my posting standards so until i fix it so it is it’ll just sit there lol.

In-Progress: honestly there are too many to count lol. i have a shiiiiiit ton of wips (as yall will know if you saw that one ‘tell us about ALL your wips’ tag game post that was going around that i did lol). 

Coming soon/not yet started: tbh see above answer bc it’s pretty much the same lol. 

Prompts?: so the thing about prompts is that i would LOVE to take them, but it’s very very tricky bc i’m a super specific kind of gal and if i don’t vibe with the prompt it’s very difficult for me to write anything for it. but then there’s also the fact that inspiration/motivation are fickle bitches and they come and go as they please and so taking prompts is hard bc i never know if the stars will align and all that jazz for me to be in the ~ right mood ~ to work on a prompt. this is the exact reason why i have SO MANY sitting in my inbox right now, and i feel so bad for just letting them sit there but ughhh brain function?? how?? lol

Upcoming work you’re most excited about: sooooo i don’t necessarily have any specific works in progress right now (i’ve been so busy lately that writing has been the last thing on my mind and so i haven’t touched anything in weeks) but. i guess if i can ever get my shit together and finish the primo fic i’m close to finishing i’m pretty excited to post that! or honestly if i can actually get myself to finish any of the tog wips i have i’d be suuuper excited to post any of those bc i have not yet posted any tog fics!!

anways!! if you made it to this point thanks for sticking w me and reading through my long winded rambly answers lmao

Tagging: @peachykoya @wandering-scholar-lad @raynertodd @cluelessheroes @pinesboi @thewolvesrunwild @1derspark 

[melinaajamie]

35 Questions for Fanfic Writers

Thanks @bachint for tagging me! I’ll try to provide you with the best answers I can come up with ^^

1. From one to five stars, how would you rate your writing? (No downplaying yourself!) Probably three stars, maybe four? Yeah, four. I know it seems arrogant but aside from the occasional “OMG EVERYTHING I WRITE IS CRAP!” that ever writer experiences from time to time, I usually like what I’m writing and especially how I write ^^

2. Why do you write fanfiction? Bc I love exploring the universes and characters I love further. Ehy accept the canon as it is? ;D

3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works? Puuh, that’s a hard one? Maybe that I like to kill a bunch of characters? :D Naah, it’s probably the length of what I write. Once I get started I can’t seem to stop.

4. Are there any writers that inspire you? Since I study literature and read a bunch of books for it, absolutely. It can be any book from any author I read. But Arthur Conan Doyle inspires me a lot, Simon Beckett and Paulo Coelho.

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of? My Professor Layton fanfic “The Cogs of Time” ^^

6. What element of writing do you find comes easily? The start. I hear a lot of people say this is the hardest and in some ways I agree with them. But I usually just start writing and go with the flow. Or I immediately have the beginning of a story/chapter in my mind once I start thinking about it.

7. What element of writing do you struggle with most? Writing believable dialogue between parents and their kids. I’m fine as long as the kids are little (let’s say up to 8, maybe 10), but then I’m stumped.

8. Which character(s) do you find easiest to write? Like in general or specific characters? I can write any characters as long as they are not parents. Then I have a bit of a problem.

9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write? Ah. Okay. Tying in with (7) here, parents (:

10. What’s your favorite genre to write for? To write for? Hm... probably adventure, crime fiction/detective fiction and Young Adult? I don’t know, I like a quite realistic approach that can and will take a dark turn.

11. Who or what do you find yourself writing about most? About the world. About what’s wrong. About relationships that took a wrong turn, about things that are almost right, about figure skating (big fan!), about growing up, about changing.

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about. Currently, I’m absolutely excited about my Layton Brothers; Mystery Room fanfic “A Game of Murder”! I’m SO close to the ending and I can’t wait to solve the murder and finally reveal the killer! Everyone will hate me XD

13. First fandom you ever wrote for? Disney’s “Frozen”

14. What’s your favorite fandom to write for? That changes according to my current obsession. At the moment, my favourite fandoms are Professor Layton and Pokemon.

15. What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve ever written for? Weird in what way? I don’t believe in that concept, sorry :)

16. Any guilty pleasure trope(s)? Does murdering characters I and the audience love count? Then it’s that XD

17. A trope you’ll never, ever write for. Probably more of a genre but romance. If romance is the main plot/trope I’m off. If it is a sub plot that’s interesting AND supports the story in some way, I will take a look.

18. Wildest fic you’ve ever written? Probably also “Cogs of Time”. So much death in the end that no one expected, so much heartbreak. I admit, I indeed was a bit of an asshole with that last chapter XD

19. Do you prefer canon-compliant, AUs, or something in-between? I like giving the canon a little twist and AUs ^^

20. Gen fic or shippy stuff? Gen. If it’s shippy, then it’s usually just something short. Like I said, I’m not one for romance.

21. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!) That also depends on my current obsession. At the moment, that would be LayClaire and Lemmy (both romantic, both Professor Layton) and Lucifendi (platonic and romantic, Layton Brothers; Mystery Room). And any Pokemon couple for friendship ^^

22. Do you listen to anything while you write? MUSIC! Always!!

23. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas? independent ideas. But I often find myself including a line I’ve read as a prompt somewhere or making it the theme of a chapter.

24. One-shots or multi-chaptered works? Multi-chapter works.

25. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic?Tell us about them! I have dreamt about my fics being movies or TV series, but spin-offs? If I want a spin-off I write it :D

26. Is there anything you’ve wanted to write, but you’ve been too scared to try? So far, nope. As Margaret Atwood once said, “The paper basket is your friend. It was invented for you by God.”

27. What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received? Someone saying I made their day with my writing :) I love to make people happy!”

28. How well do you handle criticism when it comes to your writing? It does hurt but I know people want to help so I try to be open to it and look back into the part that was given critic.

29. Have you ever gone outside of your comfort zone for a fic? How did it turn out? I always do that when I have to write interaction between parents and older children. I always feel like it’s very stiff but my friends say it’s okay. Well.

30. Tooth-rotting fluff or merciless angst? MERCILESS ANGST ALL THE WAY.

31. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them! Yep! I once created a Professor Layton OC whom was the dead (well, we never really got to know if she was indeed dead, she has just vanished) daughter of a character. She was instead just kidnapped by the criminal organisation her father was fighting and trained to be one of their soldiers. I never write the fanfic but it never left my mind. Might do that one day :)

32. Summarize a random fic of yours in 10 words or less. “Let’s play my favourite game. A game of murder.”

33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process? That I put as much effort in as I can to make it as good as possible fir you guys!! And that I usually do a lot of research and put the most effort into the tiniest things to make it realistic and add another layer to make it a shade darker ;D

34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of. I’m really proud of this but it’s not a fanfic. I hope that’s okay. I can’t really think of one thing that I’m proud of bc there are many. It’ from the book I’m currently writing.

He let go of him so suddenly that the cold hit him like a brick. Mikhail gasped for air, needed a few seconds until he could open his eyes again. The view was heaven-sent. Vasja was standing above him, the gaze of his icy blue eyes troubled yet so piercing and captivating that Mikhail found himself sitting up without another thought as if someone had turned him into a puppet. At times, he felt as if Vasja was the great puppet master who made Mikhail’s entire world dance as he liked. And he loved dancing for Vasja. The gaze of his icy blue eyes contrasted with his ruby red hair which surrounded his face like a bloody halo; it made his snow white skin glow even more. He remembered the feeling of Vasja’s hair between his fingers, as soft as velvet, as clouds, as a mild breeze o fair on one oft he first days of spring. He reached out for Vasja but he was quick to grab the boy’s hands and place them low on his stomach. A shudder ran down Mikhail’s spine when he felt Vasja’s finger travel across his arms until they cupped his face. He lifted it so Mikhail had to look at him. „You know the rules, right, Micky?“

35. Ramble about any fic-related thing you want! Like, it’s so amazing?? You get millions of words for FREE and the authors don’t get ANYTHING but STILL we have this amazing community who keeps writing and reading and commenting... It’s just AWESOME!! I’m so glad I discovered fanfiction bc the community is so awesome and I always wanted to give some canons a good twist or just think of new things with characters I love!!

[cozyteez]

Hii, do u have any tips for writing fics?? I’m so used to writing research reports, lab reports, and formal essays that creative writing has become something I really struggle with. I guess it’s having the freedom to write anything and not knowing how to make sure it’s not corny. I tried outlining a fic one time but it was so frustrating LOLOLOL. Anyways, I love your ateez fics. They are so cute and creative!!

hi !!!! im like rlly touched u asked me and i feel u actually that's why i started this blog; im a biomedical engineering major so as u can imagine i dont get to take much creativity with what i write because writing papers and reports and proposals are so formulaic and u gotta stick to the facts so that being said i actually tested out of all my college writing classes so all my writing knowledge is from ap english in hs lmao so take it w many grians of salt

the #1 thing i do when im feeling sort of unmotivated about a story or maybe like like dragging myself thru mud to write it is to just write the "fun" part first. to me the fun part is usually the climax or maybe the like the "wouldn't it be cute if..." moment that came to mind that inspired me to write a blurb in the first place! then usually once i sort of get the ball rolling on that my brain will help me out and keep the momentum going by thinking of maybe "oohh okay maybe this can happen next" or "oohh and what if this led up to it" or !! just stop there !! something ive learned from my mx writing blog which is like a year older than this one was that you don't owe anybody context especially for a blurb so maybe it really is just 3 sentences of a cute moment u thought of like its whatever ur the one writing it

now for longer fics im going to be honest jongho's first love is my first and only completed attempt at a multi stage coherent story. and that was fueled purely based on the fact that when i look at jongho he just gives off sort a really excited sort of innocence that i wanted to further explore and personify through the idea of him experiencing love for the first time but even then i really struggled w the last part because that's where my personal experience stopped and i had basically nothing to go off of because ive never been in love so i did have to kinda wait for ideas to come to me. for prince yunho i have posted 4 chapters but have all the way through chapter 15 drafted. and by drafted i mean it's like 3 sentences of the overall idea. again, the fic was inspired by the duality between yunho's on stage vs. off stage persona where if somebody was to watch an ateez performance for the first time they may find him very serious and maybe even intimidating but atiny would know that his off stage persona (the one he choses to create for us anyways) is very silly and happy-go-lucky and approachable, which is why prince yunho is seen as narameth's strong and stoic pride and joy but in reality he's sort of clumsy but means well. so i let that and his relationship w xenia who is an original character (OC) sort inspire stories or interactions that i force into a plot line. so for example i believe when i first started thinking abt a prince au for yunho i thought "wouldn't it be funny if the first scene started out painting him as this strong and serious man and then cut to him choking on food or something" and that sort of inspired the idea of him being nervous abt the speech and then xenia came out of that because he needed a complementary character imo since i knew he was gonna be kind of one dimensional and then his backstory with xenia inspired other ideas and then one day i was sad and wanted a hug so that inspired a piece of the plot line and so on. so basically: let an idea or even an aspect of somebody come to you and just write it down, let it inspire other ideas. and don't be afriad to completely start over. i wrote a whole chapter for prince yunho and deleted the whole thing because i hated where it was going and started back from scratch. sometimes you have to revisit things abt your characters and their relationships with others to get a new idea. there's a story in every person and every relationship you just have to find the clues

here's an example of what i mean by "write the good part first". this is typically what the very first draft of a blurb will look like for me

((( blah blah blah basically its raining and y/n is sad bc wooyoung broke her heart two weeks ago idk maybe go into it maybe not)))

y/n is all sad and feeling sorry for themselves on the couch theyre past crying but still feel pretty shitty plus it's storming and cold outside. great

there's a knock on their door ofc they have the cliche "who could that be moment" even tho they lowkey know. we literally all know

so yeah wooyoung's there soaked in rain eyes puffy y/n thinks he's been crying

-this would be the "fun part". i'll fix all that garbage up top later or maybe even change it completely idk yet-

"y/n? i - uh. hi"

he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck while you crossed your arms over your chest, fighting the urge to close the door and walk away for good

"hi? really wooyoung? is that the best you can do?"

(((wooyoung does smth idk)))

"well i just -"

"you just what? showed up here in the rain after you broke my heart and didn't even bother to tell me why? this isn't some romance movie, asshole. you can't just come here late at night and expect to find me all sad and willing to take you back because i'm not. so say what you're gonna say so i can get back to my life"

your face was red hot and you trying very hard, probably too hard, to fight back tears. ((( idk talk some more abt y/n's emotions then what wooyoung is doing)))

"look, i made a mistake i-"

"oh my god! why did i know you were gonna do this. i just knew as soon as i saw you-"

"will you let me get a fucking word in!?"

well that was new. in the entire time you'd known him he had never raised his voice at you like that, your shock causing you to immediately close your mouth and fold your arms back into yourself (((make y/n seem more scared))) noticing your reaction, he lowered his voice back down and instictively reached for you, heartbroken at the way you jerked away from his touch

"please y/n, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to raise my voice it's just that i need to tell you that i regret what i did i regret breaking up with you so fucking much and you don't have to take me back i just need you to know how much you meant, no, mean to me. i still love you, a lot. there's not a day, an hour, a minute, or a single second that goes by that i'm not thinking of you"

"then why?"

your voice was small and wavering, your tears now dangerously close to spilling down your cheeks

"why what?"

"why did you break up with me like that, just all of a sudden"

he pushed his hands into his pockets and looked away

"because that morning i woke up before you and when i looked at you asleep next to me, i saw myself spending the rest of my life with you and it scared the shit out of me"

"why did it scare you?"

"because i just figured you didn't feel the same. i was selfish and wanted to save myself heartbreak down the line and so i told you i didn't wanna be with you anymore, but that was a mistake because it turns out i can't function with out you, i can't breathe without you i can't live without you, y/n. i shouldn't have let you go"

tears were now freely flowing down your face (((okay brain no work anymore y/n kisses him duh and then ofc they make up wooyoung prob says smth cheesy and y/n is like ur lucky i love you or smth ahaha the end)))

tl;dr -> don't be afraid to get messy. creative writing is not nearly as structured as academic/scientific writing. write whatever u want first it can even be the middle of a huge fight scene or some dialogue u think is funny. if ur stuck read what you have or maybe just take a break and let an idea come to you. a story doesnt have to come together til the very end so it can be as messy and out of order as u want until u wanna post it. also i would always use the third person omniscient point of view for a longer story like a chaptered fic as a default and only change if it would impact the plot in a negative way. this is where the narrator knows what every character is thinking/feeling and im p sure a teacher in middle school told me it was the easiest to write and follow

[shillanseva]

If you are still taking prompts - Beca's family is poor after father left and mama Mitchell stayed with Beca and her siblings, she is going to some fancy school bc of scholarship, she is trying to help her mother out and collect money for some school trip by playing on the guitar in the park aaaand this is where her future lover(s?) from class finds her (you can choose the ship) (sorry this is so long)

This is completely unedited and I decided to make this a multichapter fic. So this is a very introductory chapter and i’ll come back and edit it soon. It might be a tiny bit different than the prompt but I’m hoping to do something along these lines. I haven’t decided between mitchsen or triple treble yet.

Music had an amazing way of fixing everything for Beca Mitchell. Well maybe not everything. She wasn’t naïve. But it at least it helped her pretend.

And she needed that sometimes—a lot of times if the callouses on her fingers were anything to go by. Plucking at the steel strings of her father’s old Stella guitar made all her worries melt away, and she could feel her voice speaking through the gentle thrum of the strings. It wouldn’t make her dad come back. It wouldn’t get her mother a better job or pay for her sister’s medication, but it was her release, and her world didn’t feel quite so dark with the weight of her guitar in her hands.

She never expected her playing to lead to anything else. Sure, she would stop off at Central Park every couple of days and play for whatever coins people would toss her way, but she never expected to be recruited, especially not by the recruiters from Park Edge Preparatory for the Fine Arts.

Park Edge was one of the largest magnet schools in the city. They had thousands of applicants every year and if you weren’t a part of their program by the time you were eleven, there was almost no way to get into the school which meant it mostly accepted of trust fund babies from the Upper East Side—definitely never a poor kid from the Bronx.

She had been playing near the 81st street station next to the Museum of Natural History on a Saturday afternoon in June when she was approached by very stern, blonde woman in a navy-blue pants suit. She was tall. At least a full foot taller than fifteen-year-old Beca who had already reached her peak height of 5’2. Beca had thought she was about to get cursed out by the woman when she first approached. She was all angles—strong, bony nose, a mouth set in a grim line that didn’t look like it even knew how to smile, and cheek bones that would have given Angelina Jolie a run for her money. The woman didn’t say anything at first, just whipped a card out of her jacket and pushed it into Beca’s face. Beca had been forced to take a step back from the proximity, but the woman didn’t back down until Beca’s small hand shakily gripped the card and took it.

It read Angela Parry, Recruitment Office, Park Edge Preparatory for the Fine Arts, and a few phone numbers listed at the bottom. Angela nodded and stretched her hand out which Beca took after a moment.

“Angela Parry,” she said with a strong Brooklyn accent and continued to introduce herself before asking Beca’s name.

“Um, Beca Mitchell,” she replied. Shifting her weight slightly and tugging her guitar strap around to hang the instrument from her back.

“You have a voice, Mitchell,” she said bluntly. Beca furrowed her eyebrows. “And your guitar playing is decent too, do you have any other talents?”

“Well, I play flute, kind of, and piano. And I write?” Beca responded. Angela only nodded. This woman was intense. Her compliments didn’t really sound like compliments. It sounded more like she was giving Beca permission to exist because she didn’t completely suck.

“How are your grades?”

“Mostly B’s, a few A’s,” Beca replied quickly. The woman’s eyes were piercing as she thought for a second.

After a succinct nod, she continued, “Have a parent send me a copy of your transcripts and we’ll discuss setting you up at Park Edge.”

Beca was wide-eyed as Angela shook Beca’s hand once again and walked off, the clack of her heels causing Beca to blink after her. It took a moment to realize what had just happened before she tossed her guitar in its case and sprinted after the woman. She finally caught up to her about half a block later, and grabbed her arm. The daggers she received from the woman were enough to make her drop the Angela’s arm like it had burned her, but then Angela raised an eyebrow at her.

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Beca asked. She didn’t dare to hope that she understood the woman, but she needed to hear it herself.

“I want you at Park Edge,” Angela said as if it explained away every question Beca could have.

“But I can’t afford that school,” Beca responded. “And that’s like an hour on the train.”

“We’ll give you a scholarship,” she said as if it was the most obvious solution in the world.

“You can just do that?” Beca asked.

“Of course not,” Angela said. “You’ll have to audition and prove you can handle the schoolwork, but as long as you can prove not to be a drain on the school, I don’t foresee any problems.”

“That’s it?” Beca asked suddenly feeling dumbfounded. Her arms hung limply at her side, guitar case thumping against her thigh.

“That’s it.” Angela said, then pivoted and walked away. Beca almost chased after her again. No way was it that simple right? Who just recruits random teenagers off the streets, gives them multi-thousand-dollar scholarships, and all they need is a transcript?

Beca was right. It didn’t turn out to actually be that simple. There were a lot of logistics to figure out. Most importantly, school wasn’t in session at the moment meaning there was no administration available to approve a scholarship for Beca, nor was there anyone to witness an audition to make sure she’d be accepted in the first place.

After Beca had told her mother about the strange conversation with Angela Parry, her mother had spent almost three hours on the phone with the woman going over details. It was a private school and had plenty of money so there really wasn’t anything to worry about financially as long as Beca could nail the audition. Her mother spent the entire phone call getting reassurances about money and then figuring out what exactly Beca needed to do for the audition and what was expected of her should she be accepted to the school.

It took three weeks before an audition could even be booked because the principal of the school was required to be present for all upperclassmen auditions. Beca prepared herself the best she could. She wasn’t classically trained as a musician, and all the arts programs at her school had been cut so she didn’t exactly have a teacher, but she did her best to pull together an audition. They were intense. They wanted scales, two contrasting solo pieces no longer than a minute and a half each, sight singing and playing, and specific vocal and instrumental etudes. Apparently, all music majors were required to have vocal and instrumental talent. The vocal aspect was a non-issue, but Beca didn’t feel completely competent on any instrument. She eventually decided on use piano for her audition. It didn’t feel quite so personal, and she wouldn’t be judged on the condition of her guitar.

But despite Beca’s pantsuit angel making her dreams come true, Beca still wasn’t convinced she even wanted to go to this new school. She would be going into her sophomore year of high school without anyone, everyone would have already found their groups, and most of these kids would have known each other since pre-school. Not only that but Beca hated rich kids. They were always spoiled and arrogant like the world owed them for existing. Beca had no time for those kinds of people. All she wanted to do was be at home to take care of her little sister, Triss. She was eleven-years-old. She didn’t exactly need a babysitter anymore, but Beca’s mom worked late so they didn’t see her as often as they’d like.

It took a lot of convincing. Triss called her an idiot no less than fifteen times for not being excited about the audition.

“Why am I the idiot Triss?” Beca asked, looking to her mini doppelganger. Triss was reading on the couch, feet tucked up underneath her, and glasses perched near the end of her nose. Beca smiled a little as she watched Triss’s eyes scan a few lines of her book before she spoke.

“Because.” Triss didn’t even look up.

“That’s not an answer,” Beca chided. She plopped down next to the girl, and pulled the book from her hands despite an indignant “hey!” “Why am I an idiot?”

“You think those scholarships just get handed out?” Triss asked. “You’re going to get to go to one of those cool music schools like you see on tv and you don’t wanna go? Why? Cause I need a baby sitter after school. That’s dumb Beca.”

“Well someone has to keep you out of trouble,” Beca laughed and ruffled Triss’s hair.

“And someone has to keep you from being dumb,” Triss said. She climbed over Beca to grab at her book but Beca held it just inches out of reach. Triss’s light blue eyes narrowed and Beca let out an embarrassing squeak as Triss started to poke at Beca’s side. They wrestled on the couch for several minutes before Beca felt too winded to fight off her sister’s onslaught of tickles and she wheezed a breathy “uncle” before handing the book over to Triss.

“Don’t look too smug,” Beca said, emphasizing her words with a poke to the ribs. “I know where you sleep dweeb.”

“Yeah, six feet away from you. You’d be, like, the first person they arrested if I went missing,” Triss responded flipping her book back open, settling against the arm of the couch and flinging her legs over Beca’s lap.

She still wasn’t convinced, but she went to the audition anyway. She was nervous as hell—never being one for the center of attention, but she nailed the audition and they offered her the spot and scholarship later that night. She took a few days to answer them, but eventually came to realize, she was never going to get an opportunity like this again. She wanted out of the Bronx. She wanted more out of life than a crappy food service job, because there was no way she could afford college.

School at Park Edge was going to be intense. Two days after she accepted the scholarship, a student handbook and a box of uniforms came in the mail. Beca thought the uniform looked ridiculous, but at least it included pants so she wasn’t forced to wear the plaid, pleated skirt.  The handbook was two inches thick though. It included everything from grading to attendance to dress code to extracurriculars. Apparently, on top of a mandatory 3.0 GPA, all students were required to take part in at least one after school activity, of which, they had seventy-six; sports, debate, musical groups, theatre, writing clubs, science clubs, math teams, Beca was a little dizzy from the prospects. They even had a gaming club.

Despite the school having “fine arts” in the title. It turned out to be dedicated to the entire class of subjects. They could declare a major and take specific classes pertaining to that major. Each major fell under one of four broad subjects: math, science, humanities, or fine arts.

For Beca, it was a no brainer that her major would be in fine arts, but she couldn’t decide between performance or, the increasingly intriguing, composition. She had never written her own music before, but she would have been lying if she said it wasn’t something she thought about—a lot.

Both programs were very similar. They would have to take generals in math, science, language, and history, but then they would get to choose electives that pertained more toward their major as well as take lessons from a private instructor in either vocal or instrumental music. The composition majors would get additional lessons in composition.

The longer Beca looked at the classes list, the more overwhelmed she became. She began to wonder how many students actually went to this school if they could offer nearly as many classes as a small college. Then she took a look at the campus map and realize she wasn’t actually that far off. The school was set up exactly like a college.

The closer the first day of school got, the more nervous Beca felt. She really didn’t know what to expect. She was used to a school with cheap linoleum and metal detectors, torn and worn textbooks, and lunches that were barely edible. If the amount of her scholarship was any indication, the lunches at Park Edge were probably five courses, and that was intimidating as hell. Her mom was convinced that a new school meant all new shoes and a new backpack. Things Beca knew they couldn’t actually afford, but her mother couldn’t be convinced otherwise.

A week later as she stood in front of a giant stone, gargoyled building, Beca was thankful her mother had insisted. Students walked around her as she stared up at intimidating figure it posed ahead of her. She felt her heart rate accelerating as she realized what exactly she got herself into. Beca shut her eyes for several moments and took a deep breath before her characteristic, apathetic smirk slid into place, and she walked into the office.

[lannister-slings-and-arrows]

I was tagged by @rzrcrst to share five things about me so we all can get to know each other better. Thanks sweets! :D

I was raised in a tiny house with six other people and a bigger side of medium sized dog, I thrive on noise and chaos lol. I am loud, opinionated, have a lax standard when it comes to boundaries, and don’t take personal offense easily. (Do I get Angry? Yes. I have a Temper that I really should see someone about lol, but I don’t take personal offense if someone gets mad and calls me an idiot or steals the last of the pop tarts.) That being said, I am well and truly satisfied being by myself, making my own noise however and whenever I see fit- I think it’s the novelty personally, it probably won’t ever wear off lol. That’s not to say I don’t miss those chaos days. Getting back together with all of my siblings is my favorite thing to do. No one can quite match me screaming opinion for screaming opinion as they can lol. In the line of my friends my siblings will always come first, they’re built in bffs that you never have to worry about pretending with.

I’m sure that at some point very early on in my life I must have made a conscious decision that my big brother was The Authority on Everything That Is Cool and Awesome, but it must have been VERY early because I don’t remember it. All I know is that the standard by which I have always measured if something is Cool and if I should Like it/Do it has been if Kevin has either done it before or also thinks it’s cool lol. Kevin did karate, so Meghan did karate. Kevin wore flannel shirts over tee shirts? Meghan STILL does that lol. He got sick of the more age appropriate boy bands I was listening to in jr. high so he burned me CDs with bands like Blue October and The Tea Party and Rammstein and Korn et al on them and said they were cool. And So It Was lol. And that hasn’t changed- to this day I’m still not really sure if I actually like all the things I like or if I just accept that I do bc he does lol. Honestly it hasn’t been all bad, in fact it has some pretty great advantages. I’ve never been in a Terrible relationship in my life; the second Kevin doesn’t like someone they’re gone- it’s been pretty damn useful having a guy look out for all the shitty things that guys do and point them out so I can head that mess off at the pass lol.

I think I was probably 12 when I wrote my first fanfiction? It was this LONG ASS multi chapter behemoth that was written in I think four of those black and white notebooks? The marble ones? You know what I’m talking about? It was about the characters from the movie Gladiator lololol. It didn’t go on the internet (fandom online was in its INFANCY back then and I wasn’t a part of it until years later) and no one besides me read it. Like NO ONE. I’m honestly not sure if anyone besides me actually knew that I wrote this lol. I kept it hidden in different places all over my house, my back yard (zipped in those gallon freezer bags lol), and a few times my grandparents basement lol. Every week like clockwork I would move it’s hiding spot- I don’t know why I felt the need to do this but whatever lol. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately) the first time I smoked pot in high school I came home so fucking paranoid that I took it out of its spot in the shed in the back yard and burned it. Just set it on fire lol. I was convinced someone knew where it was and was going to read it so clearly the only thing to do was destroy it before my secret could get out. That was also the time I realized that pot makes me too paranoid to function and I should not be allowed near lighters when I was high lol. Thankfully for all you I have become much more lax about letting people read my writing since those early days.

When I first saw Pirates of the Caribbean I, of course like any decent human being, fell in love with Jack Sparrow. Who wouldn’t. But for some reason I could not put my finger on every time I thought of or looked at or had to talk about Elizabeth Swann and Kiera Knightly I got so MAD. Like unexplainably FURIOUS. I HATED her and I really didn’t have any good reason to. About a year later my brother introduced me to the original Lara Croft movie (the Angelina Jolie one) and I watched it constantly- I LOVED it. And then came the Kate Beckinsale Underworld movies which I couldn’t get enough of. It was okay to say that those two women were hot cause Kevin said so too right? And I just kind of branched out from there? I didn’t deliberately identify as bi, I just kind of started taking it for granted that I looked at women and thought they were gorgeous the same way that I did men. My mental block about Kiera Knightly finally lifted sometime in college and I can now finally admit that the first girl I ever had a crush on was Lizzie Swan in POTC lol. (Not that I will EVER tell my mother or the adult members of my very Catholic, very conservative Republican extended family that I have, in fact, kissed girls and liked it lol. There are some things that even I am not stupid enough to do lol.)

I fucking LOVE science fiction. The camp-iest, the cheese-iest the better. I love space travel/adventure sci-fi the best, I’m sorry I don’t care what ANYONE says, Flash Gordon is a cinematic masterpiece and I will fight anyone who says differently. I love Firefly and Star Trek and oh my god the Riddick movies are so fucking great. And when you can combine my love of sci fi with my pure and unadulterated THING for cowboys (I don’t know where that came from by the way I just. I have a cowboy kink that cannot be stopped. I need professional help lol) you have right there a double threat of Meghan is gonna love this. (I unironically STAN Cowboys and Aliens ok. And Pacific Rim.) I’ll read sci-fi, I’ll watch it, I’ll listen to it, you put it in front of me and I will consume it.

I’m tagging @spacegayofficial @youmeanmybrain @pajamasecrets @pascalispretty @stevieharrrr @keeper0fthestars @zeldasayer @hystericalmedicine and frankly anybody who sees this and wants to share. Tell me about your interesting selves!! :p

[musings-on-bucky-barnes]

Q&A Part 3 with Owlet about The Infinite Coffee & Protection Detail series

Here is Part the Third of Owlet answering questions about The Infinite Coffee & Protection Detail series and also about her other writing. Some of the questions are from readers of the first Q&A, and some come from a Tumblr post of suggested questions for writers.

Warning for discussion of rape.

OWLET'S NOTE:

Thanks for all the cheers and good wishes on part 2! I'm glad people think the behind-the-scenes stuff is interesting and not just me being a windbag.

I was delighted that so many of you seem interested in my novel! It's not available anywhere yet: I still have to find an agent, and who knows how the heck long that's going to take? (I am NOT cut out for self-publishing.) But I certainly hope it'll find a home. If you want to keep up with me on tumblr (vmohlere) or twitter (virginiamohlere), I assure you that when such time comes, I will scream about it a LOT.

Pink floaty hearts, y'all.

  Reader questions:

From EssayOfThoughts:

 I know that you say that you like to imagine AOU doesn't exist, but I will admit (because I find Wanda deeply compelling and the twins story as a whole very interesting) that I've wondered a lot about how your Bucky would deal with the Maximoff twins? Like, on the one hand there's Wanda's ability to mess with minds, which he'd hate, but simultaneously (at least according to the AOU prelude comic) the twins was effectively radicalised by HYDRA while they were pretending to be SHIELD and expected to be their weapons which is not wholly dissimilar to Nat or Bucky. So if you're willing to acknowledge AOU just enough to ponder this I'd really like to know your thoughts! If not, of course, I understand.

Wanda’s not a character I’ve given much thought to. You’re right that her abilities would freak Barnes out. But he has a strict policy of observation before reaction, so he would give them a chance. And they’re so young (and so broken) that his protective instincts would kick in. I think they could probably count on some wary kindness, along with a dose of irritation at Pietro’s shenanigans.

From Ev42:

 Thing I can't stop thinking about today: babies. Specifically, Bucky + baby = ???

 I personally am a sucker for "Steve knows nothing, Bucky's a pro" thing re: babies. Mix that up with the Mission and the Briefing and what would we get? I keep think about, idk, maybe Sam has a niece or nephew, or one of the Olds has a grandchild or grandniece or something, and I just really want your thoughts on Bucky + baby... Please?

Barnes would be too worried about inadvertently hurting an infant to be willing to touch one, though he likes the directness of slightly older kids.

If in the presence of Steve trying to deal with an infant, the Briefing would definitely have a lot of commentary about everything he was doing wrong.

From Fred1085:

 I guess if I had one question though it would be: Do you always see Bucky existing as Barnes, the Briefing, and the Mission, or do you see a time in his future in which those aspects of him would be more integrated. Not through the magical Asgaridan science, but through his own force of will/healing?

  He definitely does become more integrated over time. The Mission is a protective identity, and as he needs it less, it recedes. The Briefing is literally his memories, which he does recover many of over time, though that’s a long and painful process. There’s a lot of regression throughout the long-term forward progress. But he keeps some of the habits, like “confirm” and “deny.”

 MusingsOnBuckyBarnes:

 After “This, You Protect”, the Mission went to ground so to speak for a bit and Bucky was distressed at its loss, at it not communicating with him. But over time as he heals and it recedes, he wouldn’t be so upset?

Exactly. When the Mission’s going quiet is part of the organic process of healing, he misses it but isn’t upset by its loss.

From stentorian_lore_n:

 Did Bucky and Steve ever make a donation to Sam's VA?? :)

Yes, of course! But Sam had to be bullied into buying a better chair for himself, because he wanted all the money to go to programs.

There’s a lot of red tape involved with how much money the center can receive in donations, so Steve & Bucky give that much each year, even much later, when Sam does in fact move to NYC to become an Avenger.

From englishghosts:

 Also, since you're taking questions, I'd like to ask you something. (TW RAPE)

Although Bucky suffering sexual abuse and torture "for fun" during his time with HYDRA makes perfect sense in my head (70 years in the hands of powerful white men who had complete control over him, it's difficult to imagine nobody got ideas), especially with the imagery of the bank scene, it's something we don't see that often in fics outside certain areas of fandom. I'm really glad you included this, because for me it not only makes it more realistic, but also it brings an extra layer into Bucky reclaiming himself and being comfortable with touching and his feelings for Steve. So the question is what made you decide to include it in this fic?

Like you say, powerful men with a powerful man under their complete control, over the course of 70 years – to me, it’s a given that among the many abuses he suffered was sexual abuse. It was always part of the character, for me, one of the many layers that he needed to work through to reclaim both his body and his self.

I started to think that the romantic-physical relationship with Steve was an inevitable part of Barnes’s healing process, because he and Steve really just do love each other SO much. The more I thought about it, the more I could see that given the style that I’d set up, writing Barnes’s reactions to things kind of obliquely, would be SUPER FUN for writing about bodies and sex. I cackled my whole way through writing that section.

And, you know, there were a lot of commenters who were like “hey man where’s the smut?” – a few of them NOT SO NICELY. I’m glad I stuck it in its own section, though, because I know there are also a lot of people who like to only read the gen parts.

From Selkieinthesea:

How did you come up with the curses? My favorite is “Lenin’s pickled scrotum.” It makes me laugh every time I think of it. I’d use it, but I have toddlers so then I’d have to explain what pickling is, what a scrotum is and why you’d pickle one.

That is a mystery and a blessing from the part of my brain from which jokes arise. Every one of them delighted me. “Lenin’s pickled scrotum” hearkens back to college jokes in Russian History class about how they embalmed Lenin with a mixture of Twinkie filling and maraschino cherry juice, and of course scrotums are always hilarious, I don’t know how people who have them even deal.

from Ev42 (about the fic “Love Is for Children”):

 Nicholas. Anything to do with Nick Fury? Bc I think that'd make his faking-my-death-without-telling-Natasha sting that much more. Ouch.

 I'm trying to imagine how Nicholas meeting the gang would go. I... have no idea? Barnes would bake, of course, but what? The Olds would be happy. Barton already knows. I guess I'm just trying to figure out what the hurt/happy ratio for the rest would be

I actually have a tiny bit of this written out – it was originally going to be another piece of ICaPD, but I couldn’t get it to have any kind of arc to it, and the pacing was just BALLS.

Anyhow, yes, Nicholas is named after Nick Fury. His sperm donor is no one of import, and the only one of the Avengers who knows about him is Clint.

The snippet I never wrote involved Bad Guys kidnapping Nicholas & Steve/Barnes/Nat/Clint/Sam going on a rescue mission.

In this universe, Nat & Clint have a couple of Barton-Romanoffs, of whom Nicholas is the first (Clint adopts him). Tony & Pepper likewise have several kids in this universe.

  The remaining questions are from a “Fanfiction Writer Asks” Tumblr post by criminal-minds-fanfiction:

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

I haven’t written a reader-insertish kind of thing since I wrote a Duran Duran scifi AU when I was 14 years old. Original characters are where it’s at.

What is your favourite genre to write for?

Fantasy, for sure. Tho romance tends to worm its way into most of my stuff.

If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

I think This, You Protect has better pacing than The Long Road Begins at Home, and writing it helped me fall back in love with writing.

If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

Um. Maybe my Loki poem? Tho I don’t think it’s necessarily bad.

When is your preferred time to write?

First thing in the morning, tho I’m grateful to be able to write almost any time. In the past couple of years, I've gotten into writing into the notepad on my phone, so I literally write any- and everywhere.

Where do you take your inspiration from?

Absolutely everywhere.

In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote? [Any of your Bucky fics]

The chapter of Team-Building Exercises where Barnes & Pepper go to France is something I’m so proud of. I think I did pretty well with the action and the pacing in that one, and I love writing Pepper.

Their first Thanksgiving, with the Sandwich of Suffering, is also a favorite.

In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind? [The Long Road Begins at Home]

It was always going to go Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving.

If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

ARGH NAMES. What a pain. Second only to titles in terms of terribleness. I try to roll a few names around and chew on them until I find the one that feels right.

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

I have notes for 3 more sections of Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail – one that’s pure fluff, one that’s an action scene, and one at the very end of their lives. But I dunno. For one thing, the last one is unbearably sad. And I don’t really have Barnes’s voice in my head anymore. I think it’s time to be done.

More about the action scene is answered in response to a reader question in the previous section. The Sad Ending is just too far off in tone that it doesn’t fit the series at all, so let’s leave it in a dark drawer. But Barnes & Steve live for a very long time and remain faithful to the successive generations of their Avengers family. And when they go, they reach the end of the line together.

The fluff scene is CAT JACK and will post on Friday, June 7. (it's not a full story, just a snippet)

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

The epilogue chapter of This, You Protect has some cute jokes, but it’s pretty weird, and I kind of wish I’d left it off.

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

Depends on the day. I definitely like music when I’m Pondering, though.

How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

LOVE IT

Do people know you write fanfiction?

People know about my MCU fic, yes.

What’s your favourite minor character you’ve written?

That’s like asking about my favorite child!! Hill is definitely up there on the list, though. Hair Club in general was fun to have around.

Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

I wish I could remember what it was, but yes. That was really fun.

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

Smut, because I think the best smut is also really emotional, so it’s not like cutting out angst, fluff, or anything else.

xXx

The link to the full list of questions for fanfic writer is here:

http://criminal-minds-fanfiction.tumblr.com/post/172926526725/fanfiction-writer-asks

(EDIT: link appears to be maybe-broken?)

[jokerfic]

Do you ever find it hard to push yourself to keep writing/to finish a fic? I really admire your works, especially pastimes, because you write both good quality and a good quantity with your stories. I find i'll plan out this long fic, and know all the details, but when it comes to writing more than a few chapters I find it difficult to continue. I don't know if it's just me getting bored of my own idea or being lazy but, do you have any advice for seeing a story through to the end?

Oh, it’s hard forrrr suuuuure. There’s a post floating around about how Charles Dickens shouldn’t be given credit for his prolificity bc he didn’t have streaming services and it strikes me to my core every time I see it. It’s part of why I like Neil Gaiman’s writing advice more than anyone else’s (in no small part because it’s really advice, not rules for you to follow– I hate “writing advice” that’s really a bunch of “don’t EVER use adverbs” and “write only in the mornings!” and other things that only cage you in rather than making you feel free)– it basically boils down to “write anything, write everything, just make the time to write.”

and generating content is just one part of the multi-pronged problem– the second is generating content for a specific project, consistently enough that you actually finish it, lol. some people would have you believe that if you love a project enough then it’ll always come naturally (and imply or even outright say that if it doesn’t come naturally, you don’t really love it– side note, I like some of Charles Bukowski’s poetry but he can eat my entire ass with that “if it doesn’t come easily then it’s not what you’re meant to be doing” idea). That’s only part of it. A thousand writers better than I am have already said that love/“inspiration” only gets you so far, and after that comes the work.

I’ve found that to be true. Not that the love doesn’t come back! I’m constantly falling in love and out of love with different WIPs, and each time I fall back in, I get a little bit (or a lot!) more done, but there’s definitely a point where I say “okay, I’m not allowed to work on anything else until x book is finished.” (Whether or not I stick to that resolution is a different matter.) Honestly, it happens the most with jokerfic because I have a small but active and devoted audience and I start to feel THE GUILT if I leave them too long without new content bc they’re so loyal and it has to be a symbiotic relationship or it’ll 100% die.

idk, man, I’m mostly musing out loud here because writing is work, and it might be fun work, and fulfilling work, but you have to allot time and energy to it specifically, and if you do want to finish and publish something on the longer side (fanfic or original), you have to be the one to decide to put that time and energy into it– no one else can do it for you.

All that to say: you have to figure out what motivates you, and what’s important to you. Personally I’m motivated by a moderate dose of ambition and just a little bit of spite (I see writers I don’t like flourishing, I think “I can do better than that,” and it’s good for at least a few pages), as well as feedback from readers and the desire to be able to re-read the specific, finished work whenever I want to. Probably more significantly, and not to be morbid: it’s extremely important to me to get these stories out there and not let them die with me. Listen, I may be a slow writer, but I live and breathe storytelling, it’s the majority of what I think about, and there’s very little that kicks me in the ass like the realization that time is coming for me and all of us, and I don’t have an unlimited amount of it to waste. So what’s important to you, what’s worth spending your time on? Rewatching a TV show you’ve seen all the way through 3 times already? or making something new and sharing it with people, connecting to people through a story that’s important to you?

of course, you can’t and shouldn’t aim to be productive all the time, you’re not made for it, you need to live your life in addition to doing your work. Stephen King says you have to read a lot if you want to write well, and I agree with him. It’s harder to write people if you’re never around people! Some days you are just gonna NEED to veg out in front of the TV (or tumblr) because you don’t have the energy, mental or otherwise, for anything else. you have to read books, watch movies and tv, spend time with people, live your life, have experiences, if only so you’ll have more to draw from when you are working.

Outside of that normal “living life” stuff, I’d focus on trying to trim things that you know are a waste of time, or that drain your energy without reward. Delete the social media you can do without (or outright hate but for some reason haven’t pulled the plug on yet). If you’re sitting down to write, then write, even if you have to use an app to block out the million distractions that are just a click away. If you can, try and make friends that write so you can egg each other on (there are a lot of writing Discords out there that may be helpful). I personally like reading or watching interviews with artists (not even just writers) that inspire me or that I relate to– the richness of David Milch’s mind and the way he seamlessly ties together humanity, community, history, and art makes me want to work harder and be better so that someday I can be a fraction as good as he is, I found out like yesterday that Donna Tartt and I have basically the same process (and take about as long to finish a thing lol), Jack White’s live performances energize me and make me want to create, Tom Waits is a natural born storyteller and funnyman who weaves such a thick atmosphere and mythology for himself with every word that I feel compelled to try and do the same.

and that’s it, that’s the process that consistently results in the most productive work for me: I read or watch other creators I admire until I’m whipped up into a frenzy of needing to do something, then I get in front of a screen and do it. When the excitement runs out, I pretend it hasn’t until it comes back (with mixed success, but really, “fake it till you make it” is an EVERGREEN piece of advice in almost every area). I try not to let too many months slip away without having something finished and semi-polished to show for my time. That’s about the only way I know how to do it anymore.