#but stealing the words and opinions and hard work of small queer writers??

[always-andromeda]

I always wondered how James Somerton could crank out such many well written video essays in such a short amount of time…

Because he’s stealing the words of literally dozens of writers who are better than him. 😀

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

twenty questions for fic writers

Thank you @altruistic-meme for the tag! 💜

How many works do you have on AO3? Currently sitting at 25 works!

What’s your total AO3 word count? 502,854 (holy shit)

What fandoms do you write for? Right now I only write for Young Royals. I might branch out in the future, but my mind is pretty all-consumed at the moment.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? (a list not one person is surprised by) 1. Simon Eriksson: Just Some Guy From Biology Simon is a little shit, but it's a whole lot of fun. 2. Screwed Erik lived, but things are still royally screwed up. 3. Love Bites The Hickey Crack Fic no one asked for. 4. Simon Eriksson: Not Really Just Some Guy An unhinged continuation of Simon Eriksson: Just Some Guy From Biology, in which Simon is still a little shit, but it's really not his fault this time. 5. You Have Reached The Voicemail Box Of... Humiliating table shenanigans.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? As often as I can! I try my best. I've gotten better at it more recently, but sometimes it still takes me a million years to reply. I apologize. But I really appreciate people who take the time to comment on my fics, and I try to let them know that.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The Last Time which is ironically my least read fic. It is my masterpiece, though. My Nilcent no-happy-ending fic. Truly one of the best things I have ever written, in my humble opinion.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I couldn't figure it out, so I asked Dani. She says the answer is Simon Eriksson: Just Some Guy From Biology and she is probably right.

Do you get hate on fics? Not really. This fandom is pretty chill about that kind of stuff. The only thing was that there was one anon who told me I was too obsessed with Swedish while writing a fic. Even thought the show is... quite literally Swedish...

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Once. I wrote one blowjob. The readers said it was good, but I am very unsure. They may be lying to me. Also I don't like men and my beta is asexual so we are quite possibly the worst pair to be writing gay sex.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I haven't and I don't have any current plans to.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not a whole fic, no, but I have had someone steal a few paragraphs word for word 💀

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not translated, but I have had one of my fics turned into a podfic by @willesworld, which was super super cool! [Podfic] Simon Eriksson: Just Some Guy From Biology

What’s your all-time favorite ship? Wilmon of course! Although I have delulu'ed a bit too close to the sun with Nilcent and my quite literally made up Erik/Ebba.

What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Lightning Strikes. It was a Felice and Walter friends fic that takes place in their second year. I realized recently that I have put Walter through the absolute ringer with his fanfictional queer journey and this story was literally no different and I felt bad. I stopped writing this fic because I felt bad for a fiction character going through a fan fiction plot.

What are your writing strengths? I have a really hard time giving myself compliments, especially with writing, so I'm not really sure. I think I do pretty well with characterizations, though.

What are your writing weaknesses? Grammar and being repetitive. My grammar sucks ass. Dani fixes way too much. And I feel like I'm quite repetitive. Not necessarily in a whole-plot kind of way, but in a small detail kind of way. If I like a little thing I added, I'll keep it going throughout the fic or multiple fics (ie. Walter's queer journey, Wilhelm's favorite color being green, Fredrika's nickname being Freddy)

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Go for it. I do it sometimes (but I usually add the translation somewhere). I think it's fun, and ultimately I write for me.

First fandom you wrote for? DIVERGENT LMFAO

Favorite fic you’ve written? Oh I love them all. It's like having to choose a favorite child. But I have some fics that are just way too close to my heart. Screwed is always going to be one that sticks out because it brought so many people around me and I met so many new friends. The Thing In The Mirror is very much a love letter to my own grief and I cherish it deeply. And Reckless Abandon has taken so much of my time to craft and plot that I lowkey might just turn it into a novel lmao.

tagging: @insomnaticwilmon @the-navistar-carol and @willesworld if y'all want to participate 💜

[sinsbymanka]

Writing Tag Game

Okay listen I’m on vacation XD hence why I’m ignoring everyone’s tags/taking forever to respond. But I’ve been tagged in this A LOT and I really liked it/wanted to do it so thank you to everyone who tagged me (oh my god I’m so sorry if I missed one of you there were SO MANY): @noire-pandora, @in-arlathan, @thevikingwoman, @morganlefaye79, @elveny, @kunstpause, @pikapeppa

I’m not tagging anyone because I’m tagging everyone since I’m too lazy to find my tag list (I’m on VACATION). If you’ve not gotten tagged and wanted to do this, say I tagged you. 

How many works do you have on Ao3?

147 - I have 145 linked to my profile and two in the anonymous collection. 

What's your total Ao3 wordcount?

1,468,248. Almost 1.5 million!! 

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Of Miracles and Heroes (FenHawke, Cadash/Varric, Varania/Blackwall): 269

Interspecies Relationships Have Their Ups and Downs (Shakarian): 145

Don’t Make it Hawkeward (Varric/Hawke): 135

The Ambassador’s Vices (Josephine/Adaar): 111

The Girl with the Arrow Tattoo (Cadash/Varric): 101

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do (but - to be honest - it takes me FOREVER). I love comments. It’s so much easier to not leave comments than leave comments, so every time someone leaves one I’m blown away. I feel like - for leaving me a comment - you’re definitely owed an answer! I do apologize that it takes me awhile though - I am very bad at answering because they mean a lot to me and I get easily overwhelmed by the AO3 inbox I don’t know why. Blame anxiety. 

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I’ll be honest, I don’t like angsty endings so I don’t have many of them. By far the angstiest ending I have is Flowers, Lies, and Forgiveness. This is a Bianca Davri/Varric Tethras fic set during the final act of DA2. I wrote it from Bianca’s POV - showing Varric unraveling under the pressure of Kirkwall and Bianca’s complicated feelings about infidelity to her husband who clearly cares about her as well. I wrote it for @hollyand-writes who always lets me lean into the tragic “fucked upness” of the pairing when I’m feeling like making Varric suffer.  

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending

I prefer happy endings so almost EVERYTHING has a happy ending. My favorite endings, so far, are for Cheating the Dread Wolf, which is my Varric/Cadash/Solas polycule (or as I like to refer to it - Solas has a dwarf kink) and The Viscount’s Mistress which is my Hurt/Comfort Cadash/Varric Trespasser bullshit. 

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

I have not written crossovers - but I am very into AUs in another setting that belongs to a different fictional universe. Most recently I got back into my Downton Abbey bullshit and wrote Flappers for Fen’harel which is basically a Downton Abbey AU Solas/Cadash and I’m not taking comments about the outrageousness of it. 

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yep. Honestly though? Over the two years I’ve been active in Fandom, the shitty comments can be counted on one hand and usually came from the same people over and over again, who are easily blocked, and should stop seeking out clearly labeled content they don’t like. Me and my work are not for everyone - that’s REALLY okay. I’ve blocked people for no other reason than making things I don’t like - that doesn’t mean they’re bad people. 

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

GOD DO I.

I am extremely sex and kink positive. Because of this - a lot of my work involves sex in some way or another. I think sex is a beautiful part of many (although not all) relationships, and that it’s frequently glossed over in mainstream media (particularly queer, kinky, and polyam sex). 

This ranges from sort of vanilla slow burns (My Cole/Bea fic, Compassion for an Assassin, has smut which hasn’t been posted yet. It’s Cole’s first time and is fairly vanilla and romantic, and occurs approximately 40k into the fic) to some pretty dubious consent near 24/7 dom/sub dynamics with BDSM kinks (I’ve written JUST as much of the Sereda/Gorim problematic smut as @jarakrisafis has in our series Forced Moves). 

There’s very few kinks I’m not willing to touch at least to try out - even if I end up not liking them. And the ones that aren’t for me are 100% allowed to exist and I will fight for them to the bloody end. My only recommendation is CLEARLY labeling your shit and not being afraid to add a tag if someone asks you to. 

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of? I’ve seen ideas I’ve tried on picked up by other people - but I don’t consider that stealing and it’s hard to trace “who has been inspired by who” because we ALL have been inspired by thousands of other people and frankly more stuff for me when I pull you over to my weird AUs and rarepairs. 

I also think that’s a huge part of not getting stolen - I’ve got so much weird niche shit that only a couple people read that stealing from me is going to most likely be caught IMMEDIATELY the audience is so small. 

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t believe so!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! I’ve got some co-written secret smut with @blarfkey which almost nobody has seen, I’ve borrowed @tightassets Hawke, Lavellan, and Shepard for fics that she has illustrated, borrowed @tuffypelly‘s Adaars for some great fics, and my most ambitious project - the Forced Moves series with @jarakrisafis. It started out as us just exchanging gifts back and forth but we’ve wrangled it into Gambits and Countergambits, an Aeducan-origin prequel, that I’m VERY proud of. 

I love co-writing very much, but it’s very important to find the right partner and for it to be someone you trust completely. 

What's your all time favourite ship?

This is a stupidly hard question because I am, at heart, a multi-shipper. 

I love Varric/Hawke and Varric/Cadash. I’m also a sucker for Solas/Cadash. My fandom pool noodle is Varric/Cadash/Solas which I adore, and I’m very fond of Cole/Cadash. 

Most recently I’ve been DEEP in Aeducan/Gorim Saelac, Bhelen/Rica/Vartag, and Aeducan/Brosca feels. Dwarf origins are the best origins in my opinion and those characters are PERFECT. 

What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I fully plan on finishing everything. My writing style changed a lot, for the better, in a short period of time. I need to integrate my old style/new style and had to get a pep talk about how to do that. Now I’m ready to try as soon as I finish Compassion for an Assassin. 

What are your writing strengths? 

I write very sexy, hot smut. I also really like playing with character voice and making sure I get them “right” so I do a lot of experimenting before publishing a new character for the first time. 

I struggle to write action scenes - it’s like pulling fucking teeth - but people really LOVE my action scenes and they read well. So that’s something I’m proud of even if it feels like doing fucking pull ups. 

What are your writing weaknesses?

I never learned anything. My experiences with English and writing teachers were overwhelmingly negative. I’m unsure if I’m just not cut out for classes or if they were that bad, but I always left feeling like there was one “right” way to do it, and everything I liked was “bad”, so what was the point of “learning” anything? 

It turns out there’s this very pompous, pretentious thought process in writing where people “assume” things must be done, but GOOD writing teachers teach you the rules and then how to break them. I either never had a good writing teacher or got too intimidated to give them a chance before bouncing. 

So I’m exceedingly self-taught. I lack the vocabulary to discuss plot structure, characterization, grammar, etc. I instinctively know most of these things based on trial and error and reading, but I didn’t learn them and I miss a lot of nuance in the rules, but until recently I was still too intimidated and unsure of myself to admit that or take it seriously. 

So - my defense mechanism is NOT taking ANYTHING seriously. If my writing is a joke to me, it’s gotta be a joke to everyone else, but that’s been a shield to hide behind instead of being thoughtful about things. I’m here to have fun, yes, but there’s nothing wrong with learning a technique to the art. 

I’ve learned - mostly thanks to @blarfkey who is an amazing person and a wonderful teacher - that I am a good writer based on my self-teaching. And being intimidated of people who throw around impressive sounding words is a weakness that I am working on. 

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

Use sparingly and with good reason. It should be short and explained later or clear from context. 

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter on message boards back in the fucking day. Thankfully none of it exists anywhere anymore. 

What's your favourite fic you've written?

This is such a sappy answer and I’m so sorry. My favorite things have been written for and because of people I love and care about. When I read them, I’m not just reading the story, but remembering the relationships I’ve made and how important they are. 

So, my top three fics for THAT reason: 

1. Cheating the Dread Wolf - written for @blarfkey who inspired the idea and ruthlessly encouraged me to make it happen. This fic was so healing for me because it heavily features Fatherhood within it - and I lost my father in June 2020. I don’t know if I’d have been able to do it without her and it was so important for me to do. 

2. Gambits and Countergambits - written with @jarakrisafis and the culmination of a years worth of gifting shit back and forth and crafting a shared universe. The worldbuilding, smut, relationships, EVERYTHING about this fic is so deeply and passionately cared about by both of us and to our knowledge it is completely, totally unique.  

3. Relentless, Ridiculous, and Rakish - one of my only primarily gen-fics focusing on a forming brother/sister relationship between Maria Cadash and @tuffypelly‘s Otsar Adaar. I very much enjoyed writing it for her <3 

And then my overall favorite fic: 

The Viscount’s Mistress: I have a lot of opinions about how fanfiction treats the anchor’s meltdown and the aftermath. It’s one of the things in DAI that resonated with me SO much as someone who lives with chronic pain and a disability. I loved the fact my OC was in the same shoes and STILL saving the world. This is very much a fic that explores all the dark sides of trauma, pain, and the mental health effects of it. But it ends on a happy and hopeful note.  

[ccorneliast]

A Heart In Barcelona - Chapter 5: A Carrison Fanfiction

Rating: T  Summary: Carrie and Harrison go on a weekend getaway to Barcelona during filming of The Empire Strikes Back in the late seventies. Something happens on that trip that changes their lives forever. Disclaimer: this is a real person fan fiction, so it all definitely came from my imagination and I’m not trying to offend anyone (you know the drill). I did take some creative liberty on what concerns the timeline, so stuff that is mentioned/places they visit may not have existed in the seventies, I apologize in advance; I do use/paraphrase some parts from Carrie’s books, as a way of making it feel more like them.   A/N: This is going to be the last chapter before the Epilogue (and before this story comes to an end). I hope you’ve enjoyed this so far and if you did be sure to shoot me a message! Chapter 5 goes out to my love Angie ( @soreidy27 ), because I know how much she likes inner-thoughts and stuff like that. This is also your late bday present, itch. I hope you like it, I love you passionately. Shoutout to the carrison groupchat, your girls rock!

On AO3

I sure hope you enjoy this chapter and, if you do, please don’t existate on sharing your opinion and reblogging!

It was a queer, sultry friday night, the night of the wrap party for The Empire Strikes Back, and Carrie and Harrison had silently agreed to keep their distance, as rumors of their involvement didn't show signs of dying down.

“Carrie, so glad you could make it!” one of the producers joins her right at the entrance.

“Couldn't miss it,” she smiles satisfactorily at her employer.

“Great, great,” he smiles back, looking around the room. “Enjoy the party.” he says, as he walks away, distracted by this one and that.

“Enjoy the party,” she huffs to herself.

The last few days Carrie's been in hiding in her London apartment, not wanting to go back home to LA, to be lectured by her mother, nor to New York, to Paul. As if he'd still want her after the news broke.

“Carrie!” Marilou rushes towards her. “Finally a familiar face.” She exhales.

“Hey,” Carrie hugs Mark’s wife, and she squeezes back.

“I lost Mark right about the time we walked in,” she laughs, though curtly. “It's fine, I found you now!”

“Yeah,” Carrie smiles, though her head is still dizzy.

“So, how've you been?” they sit down around a table, Marilou sipping on her wine. “Mark mentioned you've been sick lately.”

“He did?” She mentally kicks Mark. “I guess I've been. I'm feeling good today, though.” another smile, a smaller, edgier one, forms on her lips.

“Hum,” Marilou ponders. “Alright.”

“How are you? How is little Nathan?” Carrie turns her body towards Marilou’s, crossing her legs.

“He’s good, won't stop screaming and crying, but I think that’s normal.” She replies. “I must find Mark so he can show you some pictures!” She promptly gets up to find her husband, leaving Carrie to herself.

Not long after that, a voice echoes behind her:

“Hey, kid.” it’s deep, raspy and slightly demanding. It's Harrison.

“Harrison,” her tone is monochromic.

“What happened to “Hello, lover”?” He teases, but there's no hint of smile or playfulness in his voice.

“Take a seat, lover,” she obliges. “Better?” She raises one eyebrow.

“Nah, I don't want to sit down.” He shoots back. “They're playing our song, care to dance?” He cocks one eyebrow at her, but doesn't offer his hand.

“Save it,” she waves him away. “We don't even have a song,” she looks at him straight in the eye and listens closely. “Unless you and I have slow danced to “Take me On” before without my knowing.”

He grins.

“We'll wait for the next one, kid.” he promises. “I have the whole night.”

“Well, I don't. If you'll excuse me,” she gets up to leave, but his hand on her arm stops her.

“Carrie, I know you're hiding something.” His breath is hot against her ear. “Be a good girl and tell me.” he’s still gripping her arm, and she inhales shakily. How does he know?

“Well, hotshot, I have positively no idea what you're talking about.” She frees herself and puts her hands on her hips. “Please, let me go.” her tone is strong and assertive.

“Please, you dug yourself a hole and haven't come out in days. And I know you can't resist me for more than thirty two hours, we've tried that before.” it could sound like he's teasing her, making her deliberately uncomfortable, but his voice is very much matter-of-factly.

“Arrogant much, Mr. Ford?” She can't seem to get out of this one.

“Carrie…” he mumbles, pulling out a cigarette. He lights it in one swift motion.

“Don't smoke that around me, Harrison,”

“What's gotten into you?” He asks, frustrated. “Usually, you steal it from me in a second.”

“Yeah well, maybe I grew up a little.” It stings.

He looks at her worryingly for a second before laughing: “You almost got me there, sweetheart.”

Two second of excruciating silence fall between them.

“So, where's Paul?” he asks. There it is, jealousy.

“He’s working in New York,” she answers, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“Pity,”

“Jesus Christ,” she’s exasperated. “Will you leave me alone if we dance?” She runs a finger along his jawline, the stubble scratching her skin.

“Can't charm your way out of this one, dear.” But he takes her up on her offer nonetheless.

His big hand steadies her, pressing against her waist. Her cheek lays against his chest, her hands running up and down her back.

“Don't,” he warns.

“Harrison,” she calls. He separates their bodies and looks down at her. “Harrison, we should've never gone.” Her voice shows her panic.

“We shouldn't have gone where, dear?” He furrows his brow, confused but satisfied at the same time.

“Barcelona. Harrison, we should've never gone to Barcelona.”

“What’s our number?” Carrie fidgets from one foot to another.

“Twenty seven.” he answers. “Just sit down or something. Rest.” Harrison motions to a black, leather couch. Intimidating, to say the least.

“Alright,” she sits down, but keeps her eyes on him.

“Look, I gotta return a call,” he says. “Mary called,” he continues. “Maybe something happened with the kid-,” and he stops right there. Sore spot.

“Yeah, of course,” she manages a smile and watches him walk away.

Meanwhile, she clutches the paper tightly and fixes her gaze on the white wall in front of her, almost as she’s looking through it. Carrie can almost see the woman lying in that hospital bed, a white, paper-thin robe covering her. She could feel the excruciating pain she must be feeling (Carrie had never met anyone that’d gone through the procedure, but she imagined it hurt) and the sudden regret. The feeling of coming home knowing who you were the day before resembles nothing of who you are now. Or maybe she’d feel relieved. The woman might feel relieved, not having the burden of raising a child in a home that never quite was .

But what if it had been a boy? Would he have had his brown hair, his hazel eyes, or would he have had her fiery personality? Would his father have taught him how to build a wooden table for his mother, or would she have been late to work for picking him up from football practice?

Carrie pushes those thoughts aside as she rummages inside her purse, looking for her lipgloss. She applies it carefully, not taking her eyes from the small, compact mirror. As she finishes, her gaze averts to across the room. A lone woman, much like Carrie herself, smiles reassuringly towards her. Carrie observes her barely noticeable bump and her mind spirals again.

Was it a girl? If it was, was there the slight possibility of her inheriting her father’s family’s blue eyes? Or her mother’s chestnut hair? Hopefully, she’d have the sensible qualities of her dad, with a sprinkle of her mom’s craziness. After all, a little craziness never hurt anybody.

Of course all this back and forth was pointless, she knew it was a girl. He didn’t know though, she kept that secret for herself. She’d have that.

But she didn’t want just that, it occurred to her. She actually wanted all of it, the hard parts, that staying up late and vomit everywhere, and the easy parts, watching her take her first steps and speaking her first words.

“Harrison,” Carrie got up and rushed to him as he entered the waiting room.

“We have to talk,” he says. “I changed my mind.” his face is flushed and his heart is racing.

“What?” she furrows her brow.

“I was talking to Mary and the kids and well,” he takes the two remaining strides that separate them. “I changed my mind.” he smiles and shrugs.

“Thank God,” she throws her arms around him and he, though startled, holds on to Carrie. “I changed my mind too,” she whispers. “Oh, also,” she tells him. “It’s definitely a girl.” He smiles into her hair.

After they part, their eyes search each other’s, looking for the next logical step. Then, a ding sound erupts from above them: number 27.

“Fuck that,” he says. “Let’s go home.” Yes, home…

Four months later, Harrison and Carrie meet up at the hotel booked for the press interviews in New York. When he sees her for the first time in a while, it takes nearly everything in him not to run and crush her body to his.

They kiss. It’s a slow, lingering kiss, very different from the kisses they shared under the Barcelona sky. Those had been rough, demanding, but impersonal. These felt like a beginning more than anything else, a sweet, honey-covered, shiny beginning.

“How’s little Rose doing?” Harrison caresses Carrie’s stomach through the smooth fabric of her clothes.

“Better now that you’re here,” she pecks him on the lips.

“For a writer, that one was pretty weak, kid.” he teases, but returns the kiss.

“Pregnancy brain,” she laughs, and he pretends to accept her excuse.

“We should go, Mark’s waiting for us at the restaurant.” he grips her hand and they slide inside a cab.

She lets her head fall against his shoulder in a carefree manner she’d never tried before. He adjusts himself on his seat, but this time it’s not to distance himself, it’s to make her feel more comfortable.

Then, out of nowhere, Harrison asks: “Do you think we should get married?”

“What?” shock coats her voice.

“I mean, shouldn’t we?” he asks again. “It makes sense, with us having a baby and all.” his hand grips her arm softly.

“I guess…” she ponders it. “I don’t us to marry just because we’re having a baby though.”

“If you don’t want to get married, we don’t have to.” he offers her a smile.

“It’s not that I don’t want to get married,” she raises her head and faces Harrison. “I just want you to get married to me because you want to.”

“Hell, kid,” he huffs.

“I’ve seen enough failed marriages to last me seven lifetimes.” she tries to ease the tension.

“Hum,” he guides her back into his embrace, resting his head on hers. “Why do you think those marriages ended?” he asks.

Carrie has to be careful of what she says: “Well,” she starts, tentatively. “Most of them ended in cheating.” she awaits his reaction.

“Right,” he exhales.

“Hey, baby,” she places a warm hand on his face. “I don’t mind if we don’t get marrie-”

“What if we promise?” he interrupts her. “What if we promise right now to never cheat?”

“That’s kind of like saying our vows, huh Harrison?” she jokes.

“Alright, then,” he faces her and takes her hand in his: “Carrie,” he clears his throat exaggeratedly. “I promise to never love any other woman other than, well, you-” he laughs, nervous. “I promise to give everything to little Rose and any other children we may have,” she raises her eyebrows. “And I promise to take care of you,” his words are muffled as she kisses him. “Forever.” his words never do sound outside their lips. Her hand grips his hair and his hand cradles her flaming cheek.

“I promise all of that to you too, baby,” she laughs into his ear.

“That’s easy for you to keep, you don’t like women,” she takes a second to understand his poorly-thought-out joke.

“Alright, I promise to never love another man other than you,”

“That’s better.” he smiles and she throws herself on top of him.

“Did we just get married?” she whispers, incredulous.

“I think we did, kid,” he laughs. “Hell, we just got married!”