#if people recognise you from your kudos and comments on their fic they will be more open minded towards yours

[zahri-melitor]

On the last post: the MOST fun you’re probably going to have sharing fic is when you’re in a small to moderate sized fandom (or in a very defined niche of a large fandom) where you know the other fans who make up the main chunk of your expected audience, and you write stuff aimed at those people.

This is why fics for exchanges like Yuletide get outsize attention for the size of the fandoms - there’s an inbuilt audience looking at that fandom that week.

You can choose what sort of inbuilt audience you want, but there are ways to stack the deck to make a more niche story get more attention.

(Please note I’m terrible about actually applying this - I have a BUNCH of stories I wrote with no existing audience for them - but you’ve got to balance ‘what you want to write’ against gaming an audience and I prefer to write stuff I want to read)

[avoicebehindthestars]

DFAFM - It Ends As It Began (a colouring page)

You guys thought I was done manifesting my undying love for @phoen1xr0se's glorious Don't Fall Away From Me? :> I know I took my sweet time, but here's a fanart to celebrate the completion of this insanely fabulous post-s2! While this particular scene didn't happen in the fic, there are certain elements that make this fanart unequivocally DFAFM-coded :> If you've read it, I'm sure you can recognise them straight away ;)

I think that since Aziraphale came up with the name of the cottage, Crowley took it upon himself to hang the plaque. And sure, he could've just miracled it into place, but why would he do that when he could use the excuse to have his strong angel lift him in his arms while he nailed the plaque above the door? Task complete, hammer tossed safely on the ground, it's time to express some tender affection to his precious darling <3

And now listen up! This is a colouring page! I'm serious, if you feel like colouring it in (and can put up with the utter mess I've made of the plants xD), grab at will. I want you to! :D Click on it to enlarge (depending on your screen size and resolution it might appear smaller) and then right-click to download a bigger resolution.

Just a few requests:

don't erase my signature,

reblog this post if you share your coloured version (or link to the source if you share outside tumblr),

leave me kudos (…and comments? ^^) on AO3.

And now I'm going to try and tag everyone who's interracted with my previous post, because I'm assuming those people are interested in the actual page :)

@the-stars-are-ineffable @knifeforkspooncup @techiekittie @akaylawithalotofideas @lucianofranstric-blog @thestarsaresapphic @rori-98 @prinxlegolass @dastardly-ethereal-love @embrembracing-the-ineffable @gallup24 @parker-quil-1969 @hysterical-mess @aroaceling @mimi-and-the-next-20th-century @echeveriaaa @nadiapb @echosilverwolf @bowtiepastabitch @bagelofchaos @dragonwars2601 @newtness532 @velvetvulgarities @belladonna413 @pragmatamis @tragic-cosmic-magic @lickthecowhappy @crowleys-curl @teslagirl6 @akaylawithalotofideas

And of course @goodomensafterdark do your thing! :D

[hlficlibrary]

HL Fic Library 🩷 Meet Cute Fics

Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find the library's other recs here.

🩷 You Make Lovin' Fun by @homosociallyyours {E, 109k}

Harry is a 28 year old travel writer at a gay magazine who gets the assignment to go a lesbian cruise. She figures it's a nice chance to have some fun in the sun, but she's not expecting much else-- even if her partner and best friend are both encouraging her to hook up with someone while she's there.

When she locks eyes with a gorgeous silver fox from across the room, she starts to think she could've been wrong. There are lots of things standing in the way of anything real happening with her and Louis, but that doesn't stop them from falling for one another. True love isn't always easy, but they do make lovin' fun.

🩷 Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds by @2tiedships2 {M, 38k}

Broadway shows were one of the few things that could keep Louis’ attention for a full two hours without needing to move about. But not tonight.

The alpha next to him was both infuriating him and practically turning him on at the same time. He needed to leave. The alpha, that is. Louis was staying.

Or the one where Louis is a nonverbal omega who has accepted the fact that he will never find an alpha that will treat him as an equal. On the other hand, he’s never met anyone like Harry.

🩷  hymns for restless stars by @turnyourankle {E, 37k}

Every Holiday season Louis has his pupils write down their Christmas wishes for class. He's read almost every wish under the sun, but one girl's wish takes him by surprise. It's for her uncle not to be alone anymore. It's not a wild wish by any means, but Louis had no idea that former teen idol Harry Styles was lonely in the first place.

🩷 From the Start by @allwaswell16 {E, 32k}

Louis has no idea that one act of kindness will cause his life to spiral out of control. But that's what happens when his new friend fake proposes to him and a video of it goes viral.

🩷 On This Winter's Night by @reminiscingintherain {T, 27k}

When a random bloke offers his lap for a seat on a busy bus in December, Louis' Christmas ends up being much different, and far less lonely than he was expecting.

🩷 What Side Of Love Are You On? by @fallinglikethis {T, 25k}

Ever since Harry finally made the decision to come out to his mother as bisexual, she’s been foisting women on him left and right, determined it’s just a phase. But when she puts out a personal ad to find the perfect partner for her son, things really get complicated. Suddenly, Harry’s heart is being pulled in two very different directions. On one side is the sweet, caring woman he has fun with, but doesn’t know his mother chose for him. On the other is a man who seems to be his mother’s worst nightmare, but makes Harry’s heart flutter in ways he’s never felt before. When all is said and done, maybe they’ll all learn that when there is no clear path to go down, the best option is to follow your heart.

A Because I Said So Au with a bisexual twist.

🩷 A Road To Something Better by @taggiecb {E, 25k}

Louis Tomlinson, famous romance novelist, has just had the rug pulled out from under his feet when his boyfriend leaves him without notice. What's the most appropriate response to this? Move a thousand miles away and seclude himself in a tiny lake town, of course. But nothing is as he expects it to be in the very best way, especially not the handsome mayor of McAll, Idaho.

🩷 Naked & Proud by kiwikero / @icanhazzalou {E, 18k}

The town itself is tiny, as evidenced by the ten minutes it’s taken Louis to drive the entire thing. There’s not a single recognisable brand in sight—no Tesco or McDonald’s or even a bloody Starbucks. Lining the streets instead are mom and pop stores with names like ‘Jerry’s Burgers’ and ‘The Market Basket’ and…

“'Naked & Proud?'” Louis almost slams on the brakes at the outlandish sign, the name written in a seemingly innocent font, words curved around a large cartoon peach. He can’t help turning into the carpark, easing the car into a spot next to a beat up truck.

He isn’t sure what to make of it. Surely it isn’t a strip joint or sex shop, not with the families and little old ladies going in and out of the establishment. Some kind of nudist hangout, perhaps?

And, oh, God. Did Louis’ mother accidentally send him to live in a nudist colony?

In which Harry runs an organic store, not a nudist colony, and Louis doesn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

🩷 Single Bells Ring by nonsensedarling / @absoloutenonsense {M, 16k}

A holiday singles event is not where Louis wants to be tonight, but there he is, helping his best friend find love. Just as Louis is settling in, ready to have a terrible time, he meets the fittest alpha he’s ever come across.

🩷 love so soft, you ain’t had nothing softer (series) by @neondiamond {E, 15k}

Louis is an Alpha with an odd obsession for gummy bears. Harry is an Omega who makes friends a little too easily. They meet on the bus.

🩷 Breathe me in, breathe me out by @lunarheslwt {G, 14k}

Louis was just passing the autumn collection, when an unfamiliar but addicting scent tickled his nose. Cinnamon. He turned as he realised something. He felt calm. Relaxed. The permanent agitation that he carried was melting away the more he breathed in the scent, as faint as it was. Consumed by the crazed desire to seek out the specific candle, Louis began picking up candles and sniffing them madly, when a deep voice piped up, startling him. “Uh, sir, we don’t allow candle fetishists in here.” Louis froze mid sniff in mortification. Willing himself to not blush, he turned, a retort at the tip of his tongue. Except, it died in his throat as he took in the man before him. “I uh,” Louis blurted out accidentally, temporarily rendered speechless by the frankly unfairly beautiful man before him. Only at the man’s grin widening did he regain his wits. “You’re gonna kink shame me?”

Or, Louis is drawn into a quaint candle shop in his desire to find ways to soothe himself while struggling with touch depri. It takes him two more run-ins and with the lovely alpha sales assistant, and a drop, to figure out the source of the scent that imprints upon him and calms his omega. Idiots to lovers

🩷 Far Afield by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird {T, 11k}

Harry Styles is a witch who owns the best flower shop in Manchester. Lottie Tomlinson is planning her wedding, and brings her brother along to her first appointment. Both men have been having a bad day and sparks fly.

🩷 The Art of the Giants by asphodelknox / @iamasphodelknox {G, 10k}

Louis is dancing away from an old relationship when he meets Harry at a bookstore in the busy streets of Seattle. Harry is just a bookstore owner hoping his handsome weekly visitor could become something more.

🩷 All Shook Up by @littleroverlouis {T, 9k}

Memphis, Tennessee is looking to crown the Ultimate Elvis Tribute artist. A majority of the contestants are content to shake their hips on stage, but singer-songwriter Harry is taking it more seriously. He is confident his voice and charisma will send him straight through to the finals.

He is already polishing his crown before even setting foot on stage, until he meets a fellow competitor. Louis is talented, charming, and a natural born performer. He commands the stage— and Harry's attention.

Harry has his eye on the prize and the Ultimate title, but what happens when someone becomes the ultimate prize?

🩷 The Way to My Heart by LadyAJ_13 / @ladyaj-13 {T, 6k}

Louis' having a bit of a dry spell, until he bumps into an attractive alpha in the supermarket and leaves with his number. It was a hard bump. Very... muscular.

The only problem is, said alpha asks Louis to cook for him - which is not exactly his skill set.

🩷 Only Reason by @letsjustsee {NR, 5k}

“We are so lucky to have with us one of the leading experts on beekeeping in the modern age, Dr. Louis Draper.” No. No, no, no… “I know I speak for many of us when I say that this man’s books have guided our practice, or helped us get started,” Harry continued, and Louis watched as the crowd nodded their heads in agreement. Oh shit. No. What? No. But then Harry was gesturing towards him, saying “Dr. Draper?” into the microphone, the crowd was applauding, and Louis found himself walking up the stairs to the stage.

Or, Louis is most definitely smitten with Harry from the second he sees him, but he is also most definitely not the world's foremost expert on beekeeping. He decides to roll with it anyway.

🩷 Unplant by @hellolovers13 {M, 4k}

Please do not disturb my plant She needs 2 hours of sunlight a day and I live in a sunless flat I’ll be back to collect her soon Thank you and stay well.

or Louis should've looked where he was going, then he wouldn't have to desperately try to save a little flower now.

🩷 Validation by @lululawrence {NR, 3k}

“Hey, how are you?” Harry asked. He’d found that sometimes just a smile and a kind face was all that was needed to brighten someone’s day.

“Oh, uhm. I’m alright. Can you validate me?”

Harry chuckled inwardly, but decided to go ahead and take him literally.

Or the one where Harry worked in a parking garage and he totally didn’t mean for this, the whole validation of people as well as their parking tickets, to become a thing. It just kinda...did.

🩷 more than that by @nouies {NR, 3k}

Harry looks for the best bread in France. He finds Louis.

🩷 an honest mistake by @disgruntledkittenface {NR, 2k}

“You look different when you’re not covered in come,” he blurts out, immediately regretting each and every life choice that has led to this exact moment. Elevator Guy is going to hate him.

Louis has ridden the elevator with his neighbor all week. The first time they speak, there’s a misunderstanding.

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

a couple of years back i was pretty vocal about not getting when people complained about their art not getting "enough" notes. but i'm getting to recognise a sub-category of that frustration these days that, in fairness, was maybe what people were talking about all along? but i've also seen other posts mention how fandom spaces feel changed since the last few years, so maybe it's a new thing or at least a thing that hadn't reached my fandom corner until now.

i truly don't mind if my writing doesn't garner a lot of attention (although i say this from a place of priviledge where my writing has so far always garnered some attention, and often a lot more than i anticipated). but what is really starting to grate a little is the amount of attention vs. the amount of reaction. For example, before the latest update on my big multichapter fic, it sat at ~ 33,050 hits. since then the fic has been clicked 400 times. the kudos count went up by maybe three and there were three new bookmarks - this isn't super surprising because i don't expect to be reaching a lot of new people with an unfinished 100+k word fic in a dwindling fandom, and if they're return readers they can't leave new kudos. but five people have commented on the fic since the update. One percent of readers who have clicked on this fic have reacted. Did all these people see it on the recently updated feed, started to read it, didn't vibe with it and moved on? That honestly wouldn't bother me. But it's been steadily gaining attention for the last few weeks, long after it moved off the first page of the recently updated view for the fandom. so rather, I think it's mostly subscribed users (the fic has a little over 400 active subscriptions so that would make sense) or people actively checking back on the fic. in which case they must be at least somewhat invested in it.

and again, i'm not owed any feedback. i put my work out for free and people decide what to do with that. but fandom is a collaborative space, and it's been feeling like less that for a while. people seem less ready for conversation, and i think that's sad, and quite demoralising for creatives (at least for me personally). fandom work isn't meant as bingeable content that you consume and then leave. if you do that on netflix, that's fine, because you're paying the platform and they're at least supposed to recompense the creatives who made the show you just watched. fandom artists don't get that. we make things for the love of it, and because we wanted to share that love. it doesn't feel like sharing though when you put something out there and nothing comes back. it feels like standing in an empty warehouse telling my stories to nobody. and, again, i'm personally lucky enough that it's not like that all the time, but i get why people stop doing it. and i get that engaging with art as an audience member doesn't come easy to everyone, but fandom culture needs it. it's supposed to be an exchange. it's supposed to go both ways, and i think if you want to sustain the culture, you simply need to try and give something back, whatever that is.

because putting something you made out there and nobody looks at it is definitely not a great feeling, but having anonymous masses file by and look at your thing and then meet you with deafening silence feels... worse.

[hexenmond]

more extra kudos images

I'm hoping most of tumblr (at least the AO3 using parts) have seen the lovely and imho useful extra kudos images by inkprovised and bizarrelittlemew. Well I'm joining in the fun! Have four more:

I'll add them to my embedding images tutorial on AO3 in a hot minute so you get easy copypaste HTML code like with the others.

And also, since I'm currently looking at everything through the lens of accessibility, I'm going to ramble a bit about why I personally feel these images are helpful. Read on below the cut:

I have this vague notion that some people may think these image give people "an easy way out" by letting them post an image instead of a "proper" comment. And I get that a thoughtful, personal comment is maybe the nicest thing that you can receive as a writer on AO3, a very special thing – short of fanart I guess.

But I'm sure that with fanart we all recognise that creating art takes a lot of time and skill that people are not expected to have, so nobody in their right mind would demand it from anyone. And I would like to raise some awareness towards the fact that putting your thoughts into words, however unpolished, also takes time and some skill and definitely energy.

Sure, I would like to write detailed comments on everything I've ever read and loved on AO3. But even for me, someone who writes quite a lot on the daily, and a naturally verbose, enthusiastic person, this is often not feasible. Because I'm tired, my brain is fuzzy for some reason, because so many others have said it all before. Because I'm already late but I had a mighty need to finish the fic before my dentist's appointment so I have something nice to think about during, and afterwards I just need a break from my whole life for a bit.

I can think of so many reasons just for me, a fairly able-bodied person. People may have motor issues that make typing hard. A friend told me lately how her style of writing got put down by her teachers in primary school because it followed vernacular speech patterns, and she still has a hard time expressing herself in writing (she's sixty). People might be just shy. There are so many possible reasons for somebody not writing a comment but still appreciating your fic very, very much.

So what I hope these images do is give a voice, a way of expressing their gratitude, to at least some of those people who otherwise would not comment at all. At the end of the day, every comment long or short, says "thank you, you brightened my day with this fic". That sentiment is at the base of long and short comments, and that is the connection that counts, I think.

Ramble over, enjoy this additional way of showing your fanfic writers some love! 💜

[shares-a-vest]

20 Questions for Writers

I was tagged by the wonderful @hbyrde36 and @sidekick-hero. Thank you both so much for the tags 💖 I always love seeing authors talking about their work!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Six. I really need to cross-post some stuff, including what I wrote for Steddie Love Month and the Flufftober Spring Event.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

16,565 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things and let me tell you, the brainrot is not subsiding (it is settling in to fester now).

4. What are your top 5 3 fics by kudos?

you should come live with me and we can be pirates, then you won't have to cry

Just a Shirt

Eds, I'm Hungry

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! And I'm sure my answers are always too long-winded 😂 It makes me so happy to get comments on the silly things I write. Actually, brb, I'm sure in the initial excitement, I have forgotten to respond to some here and there.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This ficlet (WARNING: BREAK UP FIC). Life got hectic during Eddie Month so I only wrote a couple of things and this one hurrrrt baaad.

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

Hmm, tough to pick seeing as I usually write happy endings. Lol, the number of times I ended something with Steddie kissing or saying, "I love you". I think I'll go with the entirety of my Joanie Munson AU because it's where I aim to be as fluffy/sappy as possible.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I am extremely thankful that so far I haven't. And I am sending all my love and hugs to people who deal with/have dealt with hateful comments.

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

Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson vs. A Box of Condoms is the closest I have come (hehe, pun). Idk, I struggle to write smut. I'm much better with suggestive language and innuendo, but somehow this fic got the balance right and honestly, gave me a lot of confidence!

10. Do you write crossovers?

No. But I need everyone to know that I have a Riverdale x ST crossover sloshing around in my brain juice on the regular.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge. But now I'm paranoid *also proceeds to have an existential crisis about ai scraping my very internet-based soul.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I'm more than welcome for someone to reach out.

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

No. I am absolutely open to it though! The closest to a collab I have done is Just a Shirt in which I wrote a whole fic from some incredible tags that were left on a ficlet.

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

I mean, it's gotta be Steddie right? I've never had a hyperfixation give me brainrot like this. Though, if we go back to lame teenage me, the ship that really got me into the fic/tumblr sphere was Sterek.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

I have been returning to a few wips I thought I had abandoned lately, so never say never. I firmly believe in taking a break if something isn't working out and circling back with fresh eyes.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Despite how I am probably answering most of these questions (lmao), I think I am pretty good at keeping my writing concise and moving it right along. It's not that I rush writing, but I am good at recognising when something I have written begins to meander. I like writing dialogue where people are cutting each other off, and crafting stuff that is a quick little ficlet etc. Having said this...

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Descriptive language. I always get so caught up in action and dialogue that I easily forget descriptions of surroundings, objects, clothes etc. Funnily enough, right now I am working on a few quick visual aids (flash-sheet style sketches) for my Steddie BB fic of things that I need to keep in mind/remember to describe as a strategy that will hopefully help.

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

I could never do it (I only speak English), but honestly, kudos to you if you do/can!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stranger Things is the first fandom I have written for.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I swear to god this isn't a plug, but I thiiiiink it might be the wip I am oh-so-close to finishing. It's basically a character study of Steve's Mom and is her POV of the end of season 3. I have shared some snippets in the STWG server (and complained during writing sprints). I just need to do a solid edit and get a vibe-check read-through from someone else then it's good to go!!!

Tagging: @momotonescreaming @eyesofshinigami @devondespresso @missberrycake @steventhusiast

(I know this tag game has been making the rounds, so if you see this and haven't been tagged yet, count this as a tag)

[lobotomy-maybe-bestie]

WRITING ASK GAME & CHALLENGES

(To copy and paste into the askbox to make it easier for everyone)

Asks:

What's your favourite thing you've written?

Who's your current favourite OC to write?

Who's your current favourite character from any media to write?

Share a sentence or two from your most recent WIP.

Share a sentence or two from a long abandoned WIP.

Write a sentence or more for a WIP, then share the sentence(s).

What WIP got the closest to being finished before you gave up?

What work of yours do you wish people would read?

Which fic of yours has the most hits?

Which fic of yours has the most kudos?

Share one of your favourite lines you've written.

Do you put in-jokes in your writing? If yes, share one and explain it.

Do you outline your plots? If yes, what does an outline look like?

How much do you edit? Do you have a specific technique?

How do you combat writer's block?

Do you have a cutting room floor doc? If yes, how much is in it?

What was the first fandom you've ever written for?

Are there any writers whose influence you recognise in your style?

What plotpoints do you love exploring?

Longest fic you've ever written?

Shortest fic you've ever written?

What's the most you've ever written in one sitting?

Do you do research for your fanfics? If yes, share some things you learned during fanfic research. If no, why not?

Do you RP? Do you see RP as writing or are they totally different?

Have you ever written a joined fic with someone? Would you want to do it (again)?

What pov do you write the most? What tense? Do you switch them up or stick to one?

Do you listen to music as you write?

Do you read your own fics after posting them? Why or why not?

If someone paid you to write a book about anything at all, what would you write about?

What's your favourite comment you've ever gotten on a fic?

Do you respond to comments? If yes, what do you say? If no, why not?

Do you like getting questions about your fics?

If you could choose any one of your fics to get fanart, which would you choose?

Prompts:

Attempt to write for [fandom I'm not in]

Attempt to write [character I don't know]

Write two characters from completely different worlds interacting

Write a few sentences of a parody version of a fic you've written

Write a sweet, comforting moment

Write a terrifying moment

Write a [insert emotion here] moment

Write a scene that starts with "I'm sorry"

Write a scene that starts with [sentence]

Write a scene that has blue vibes

Write a scene that has [color] vibes

Write about a location

Write in a pov/tense you don't normally write in

Write a dream

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I wasn't tagged directly, lol. I'm doing it anyway, though!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 12 works on AO3!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

390,129 words, at present.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently (and I suspect forevermore): House of the Dragon. Previously: Harry Potter (back before JKR was a massive cunt).

4. Top five fics by kudos?

dōnus riñus (sweet girl) (3,417) gevivys (beauty) (2,971) ñuhus prūmȳs (my heart) (2,276) ilībītsos (little slut) (1,881) darilaros (princess) (883)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, I do! I like to thank people for reading, plus it satisfies my odd-number issue (they make me weirdly uncomfy). When people take time out of their day to leave me a message, I want to make sure I'm recognising that and letting them know that I appreciate it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Yikes. I think it's the Harry Potter one, where I have Harry and Hermione marry and have a kid during the war, and they both die in the Final Battle and Ron ends up taking the kid to visit their grave.

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

I think that pretty much all my terms of endearment fics have happy endings - or near enough for ASOIAF-verse!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Weirdly enough, no. I'd resigned myself to it given the themes and content, but people are weirdly accepting of it. I sometimes get strange comments (like someone who keeps insisting I make Daemon cheat with Rhaenyra), but they aren't hate, just... odd.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes. Feels like that should be overemphasised, haha. My writing is diiiiiirty.

10. Craziest crossover?

I haven't written any crossovers! If I were to do so, I'd probably do a 'Daenerys teleports back in time to House of the Dragon and gets with Daemon and Rhaenyra'. Hot.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Three damn times, lol, all from the same fic series (ToE). Once in May of last year, where someone stole my work and only changed the names to fit the Shadow and Bone fandom. Once again in June of last year, where someone plagiarised multiple ways and multiple times to write their fic (a whole other drama, yikes). And once in May of this year, where someone stole the entire first part of one of my chapters to write their Daemon x OC fic on Wattpad. All have been removed, because I'm not down with plagiarism at all.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I think so? I cannot remember for the life of me. I know I've been asked, and I gave my approval, but I haven't seen the translations myself so no idea if that ever went ahead.

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

Yes! But it hasn't been published. We call it 'the Socussy fic' because it involves an unnamed female OC being hired by the Blacks to off the Greens during the Dance, only she does so by banging them to death in hilariously macabre ways. I wrote the establishing part featuring Daemon hiring her and the Larys footfuck death. We're missing one final bit, I think? It started in the big HotD Discord server I run, and @bottlesandbarricades @targaryenrealnessdarling and @ewanmitchellcrumbs have all collaborated on it. We're waiting for a final victim to contribute and then we shall convene as the Socussy Council and bestow the posting of it upon one poor soul! (I vote you Rach @bottlesandbarricades)

14. All time favourite ship?

I'm a die-hard Daemyra (Daemon Targaryen x Rhaenyra Targaryen) fan, but I also recognise that this is likely going to fracture and perish as the series progresses. I'm also hella into Jonsa (Jon Snow x Sansa Stark) and Jonerys (Jon Snow x Daenerys Targaryen). Plus, I like Jaimsa (Jaime Lannister x Sansa Stark) and Sanseryn (Sansa Stark x Oberyn Martell). I don't really know what this all says about me as a person, both the pairings themselves AND the fact they're all ASOIAF ships.

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

I have an Aemond WIP fic that I'm too scared to finish given Aemond stans are a little intimidating to me! Also, I have a Klaus Mikaelson x OC/Reader x Elijah Mikaelson threesome fic that lingers in my files.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I like to think my strengths are my flowery prose, my relative era-accurate world-building and my characterisation.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I ramble way the fuck too much. Seriously, shut up, Em. Explain those three paragraphs in one goddamn sentence only.

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I think it's cool! I've made sure to research how one would format the inclusion of this in a standard fiction novel, too, so that it reads as 'professionally' as it can be. I manually translate High Valyrian to include in my writing, because the translators aren't at all accurate and I don't want to break the immersion (even for myself). (As an aside, I can and do assist others in this too - hit me up if you need it!)

19. First fandom you wrote in?

Blegh. Harry Potter. Don't shoot me, I was a child.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

My series terms of endearment. If I have to choose within the series, probably ñuhus prūmȳs (my heart); it's the first proper divergence from show material featuring my own plot, and I think it's where my writing truly takes form.

YAY! Done.

No pressure tags: @vampire-exgirlfriend @emilykaldwen @marthawrites @mini-kunoichi @selfproclaimedunicorn

@ripdragonbeans @flowerpotmage @presidenthades @queen--kenobi @lady-morrigen

[theowritesfiction]

Hey!

I'd just like to thank you for being such an active member of the Azutara community. I ship them, and define Azula's character in the series as 'morally grey' (I mean, I can't see how any mature adult could call a 14 year old inherently evil, but I suppose watching the show as a child would give you a pretty lasting impression of that), but I have not yet found anyone who has remotely the same opinion as you, and am SO glad I found a kindred spirit in you.

You might recognise me through my AO3 username, lordinkbot, as I've been systematically leaving kudos as I make my way through your Burning Ring series and now am around fifty chapters through WLG, with every intention to finish it. I have THROUGHLY enjoyed everything you've written so far, but I'm still too shy to leave a comment on AO3, so I hope I can express gratitude here instead.

I have a question which will probably be answered as I keep reading, but could you please let me know when exactly you decided to make YuKaZula a throuple in WLG, instead of sticking to the Azutara pairing? I've been reading comments as I read, but there's been no real hints towards it, and as this is the first fic of significant length with polyamory in it that I read, I'd appreciate some insight into your thought process.

Aside from that, I think your writing is so well thought out, and despite the length of some of your fictions, it never seems to drag. Heck - I read The Pit of Snakes in one day flat because I simply could not stop. Thank you so much, again, for being active in this community, and I hope you never, ever stop writing.

All the best, Inky

Hey there, and thank you for this wonderful message, my head has now swelled to comical size from all the compliments to my writing. :)

Yes, I don't feel comfortable slapping a 14 year old girl with the label of Evil. I think Azula commits a few acts that could be classified as evil, but nowhere near as many as most people seem to believe. Azula in the show can be very unpleasant, but at the same time, I have not seen anything that would make me think that she couldn't change her ways.

Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying my writing, and don't feel pressured to comment on ao3 if you don't feel comfortable. I hear that from quite a few readers - really, it's fine :)

YuKaZula throuple in WLG definitely was not planned when I set out to write the story. However, when Yue joined Katara and Azula in Ba Sing Se, I found that the characters gradually developed a more powerful emotional bond than I expected them to. Eventually, they grew so close that I couldn't imagine Yue being with someone else other than Azula and Katara. Of course, Katara and Yue already shared a bit of romantic past, but Yue and Azula had also kissed and obviously found each other attractive. At least from the writing perspective, this really was the case of characters insisting on which way they wanted the relationships to go. I hope that as you read the story, you'll see what I mean by that!

I'm very glad you enjoyed the Burning Ring trilogy, and you definitely don't need to worry about me stopping writing. I have plenty of ideas for more Azutara stories, so I'll be writing about these girls for a while yet. Messages like these also help to inspire me to keep going, so thank you so much for your kind words!

[wastemanjohn]

fic quiz

tagged by the wonderful @nameslikeguns, thank you!

1. How many works do you have on ao3? 38! Got two WIPs cooking so hopefully I'll hit 40 by the new year :)

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

226,530

3. What fandoms do you write for? Literally just SPN these days. I do tend to just write for one fandom for years at a time though!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

when i'm down on my knees you're how i pray

someone forever warm

when i hear your lips make a sound

and if you crave it then you know that you are injured

i don't mean to suggest that i loved you the best

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes - eventually. I am always so happy and grateful for comments, they fuel me, but I'm bad at replying to them bc as @nameslikeguns said I can find it difficult to respond bc I find kind words hard to know how to respond to. IRL if someone compliments me I tend to just squirm lmao so my responses to comments are the online equivalent of that I guess! I tend to just scattergun reply to my whole inbox all at once when I feel brave enough.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh gosh; as someone who mostly writes angst this is really difficult to say! Most of my endings are *~angsty~*. but I guess the first that came to mind is i don't mean to suggest that i loved you the best.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? That's easy lmao. so many moving parts or maybe some unholy war, which is a fic I forget about because i wrote it so early on... but it has a happyish ending!

8. Do you get hate on fics? i don't know about hate but i've had the odd pass agg anon here and there who wanted to tell me my edgelording triggered their IBS or about how much they hate john. Just makes me lol tbh.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Is the pope Catholic... :) Yeah my fics are predominantly smutty but I don't write a lot of straightforward porn these days (I want to but the muse doesn't take me there). Wanky as this is going to sound I usually build the story around the smut so I can get horny and Make A Point at the same time. Works pretty well for me!

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

I used to write a ton of bandslash back in thr day and that quite often involved crossovers from different, er, bands. I'm not going to talk anymore about that though lmao.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not fully stolen to my knowledge but there was a fic going around tumblr recently that had quite clearly borrowed heavily and too specifically from this fic to be a coincidence. The person in question when my friend investigated was actually a minor so... it felt really difficult to do anything about it lol, I'm not about to go after a child on the internet. So I just made a pass agg reblog of the original fic instead like "Hey recognise this?" like the mature and sensible adult I am. But BELIEVE the bee in my bonnet is still buzzing about that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes in my previous fandom I had a few translated into Chinese and Russian! That was really cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes several back in my bandslash days... I wish I could refind my Franz Ferdinand girlies from LJ and confess that I was one of the people behind "the dark!fic" lmao. (Or maybe not bc I was like 14 and had no business being in that community or posting what I was posting).

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? John/the world. I want that old man to fuck everyone. Or possibly get fucked by everyone depending on where the mood is taking me.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Serial killer John may be one of my roman empires and yet it lies in googledocs gathering dust. One of my resolutions for 2024 is to finish it.

16. What are your writing strengths? Ugh these questions make me feel so awkward lmao. I mean... I think I have quite a good range? Which is feedback I get quite a lot so hopefully there's some truth in it! And I think I'm quite good at imagery and emotional pacing ig? I'm not sure what else to call it. Also in the vein of common feedback anyway.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? SELF DOUBT. Honestly mate if I wasn't bogged down with that shit so much I'd be dangerous 🤪 It does make me write slowly and abandon a lot of stuff I start but I'm working on it. From a technical standpoint though I do struggle with plot. I think I'm more of a vibes/moment in time writer than an epic plot writer which does gall me lol. But yeah - I definitely struggle with longer works because I struggle with keeping things cohesive and overwriting/explaining then just overwhelming myself. Again, a resolution to work on for 2024. I also feel like I struggle with dialogue sometimes; if it doesnt magically come to me fully formed which is rare I'll really have to work at it. Trust me if you've ever written a dialogue heavy fic from me then just know that chances are said dialogue will have chopped and changed and been edited within an inch of its life.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I can only speak English sadly and have ultimate respect for people who write in a language that is not their first. That's just so amazing to me.

19. First fandom you wrote for? The White Stripes. Lmao. There were quite a lot of us back in the day.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Hands down i heard love is blind. sharp teeth dry heat and when the stiff wind blows are close seconds because i lived my goddamn truth with both of those fics 🥲 And I have a somewhat complicated relationship with what it is but I'm happy that it exists and i'm happy that it still does the rounds occasionally!

tagging @amiwritesthings @castratedsamwinchester @spnyuri @lovetranasction @beautyandthebeastiality @babybrothershaped and whoever else wants to do this idk who is and isn't writing atm lol

[wetcatspellcaster]

I am eagerly Consuming An Honest Lie, which has bumped Pieces Still Stuck in Your Teeth to a beloved second place for the fic I'm most excited to read. Your dedication to that pale man's little funky brain, and his plotting and falling and confusion is blissfully stressful to me. I get it, and I do not get it at all times. I've never experienced that when reading before. The "EW, no don't say you love me" "but wait I kind of wanted you to" energy. Halsin's massive fucking tits. The whiplash of emotion between that line and where we ended. My dream of this is you release an annotated copy with little notes of either 1) what these blorbos are actually thinking/feeling or 2) what you were thinking when you wrote it. Also kudos on handling the anons flirting with you over your fic. Parasocial blah blah blah, but I feel like they're being utterly charmed and seduced by your creativity, vibes, and brain waves and that's kind of a bop.

Hi anon!!

Thank you for being so nice about An Honest Lie! I had a lot of apprehension/uncertainty about continuing A Bleeding Heart beyond early access even though people did request it in comments. Partly bc it's a fic that's quite close to my heart, but also early access is a much tighter narrative arc than full access lol. Full access is a lot of rambles, as you can already tell by the change in the chapter wordcounts. With all that to be anxious about behind the scenes, it's nice and heartwarming to know someone appreciates it. All in all, I like writing Astarion POV so it's nice to have that excuse again, even if he's 10 times more complicated than he used to be!

(Also Halsin has massive fucking tits. This is just facts. Even an asexual Astarion would recognise basic anatomy.) <- I'm afraid this is the kind of annotation you would receive, I do not know if this truly elaborates or improves upon the fanfic experience, my brain is not a very complicated place. A lot of the blorbos' thoughts are either 'anxiety4anxiety' or 'Insight roll: 2'. A lot of my thoughts are along the lines of 'have you spent three sentences describing someone's anxiety spiral AGAIN, *Miranda Priestly voice* Groundbreaking' or 'fuck, what bodyparts touch in this kiss to make it different from the last kiss???'

As to the final part of your message, 1. I'm fascinated by the concept that anyone could have a parasocial relationship with me, I'm literally Just Some Guy. 2. Listen, I don't get flirted with very often, so if writing emotionally stunted vampire twinks is what finally gets me bitches, then thank god, for I have few other skills. 3. My charisma modifier is negative IRL, so a little spice that I can take 3-5 business days to process is actually an ideal format for me. Like a letter in an Austen novel.

(unfortunately for you, I'm replying today bc I'm trying to clear my inbox before I travel 😊)

[freeuselandonorris]

🦋🍉🩶 for the writer asks 😘

(from the writer asks meme here!)

🦋what are you most insecure about when you post a fic?

it’s actually pretty rare that I feel insecure about posting anymore! I used to feel pretty nervous when I was first posting kink and edgeplay fics (I can remember being absolutely terrified before I posted eight of swords (reversed) which was the first piss kink fic I ever wrote) but now I’ve realised people will generally just avoid the kinks they don’t want to read.

I do like the validation that comes from getting kudos and comments, so I do check my stats a lot after I post which is probably not very healthy. so I suppose the insecurity is that people just won’t engage with it, or won’t bother reading something that I’ve put a lot of work into. but as I’ve said, I’m aware that I write for small fandoms and rarepairs, and a lot of my fics deal with niche or ‘extreme’ (to the mainstream) kinks that I recognise aren’t going to be super popular. (apart from the Lando/Oscar fans who are apparently all freaks 💕)

🍉in what ways has writing helped you process trauma and/or navigate through your own life?

I tend not to use fic to process traumatic events, although I have done in my original fiction and poetry. I do, however, use it a lot to navigate through life in general!

a very obvious example of this is you know how sticky it gets, which is the Dan/Max fic I wrote a few months ago. I’m pretty much bang on the same age as Dan and that fic was basically just 18,000 words of me processing being in my mid-30s and the sickening realisation that your life is never going to turn out the way you thought it would when you were a kid, that actually you do just have to settle for mediocrity sometimes and the challenge is finding the space within that realisation to still make your life feel meaningful. so yknow just light stuff.

on a less existential note, a fic like born and raised for the job was great for me because I got to write about a very dominant figure and — not to break the fourth wall too much — that’s a side of myself I don’t get to explore much in real life where I’m generally much more on the s side of the D/s divide. so it’s nice to be able to use fic as a way to explore that fantasy self in a safe container and one where my preconceptions of self don’t need to get in the way. it’s also a way for me to work through gender stuff without having to actively work through it in a way that might feel exhausting or stressful, and to explore more extreme or unsafe sexual practices (I’m gonna write that goddamn Pierre/Charles knifeplay fic eventually) or even just ones I don’t necessarily want to carry out in real life but find interesting to write about from a distance (like the in-progress Lando/Oscar foot kink fic).

🤍what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

hmm you know what, I don’t think I’ve ever really had feedback for a fic — at least not consistently — that made me think people didn’t ‘get’ it. I think the only one that might come close is the aforementioned Dan/Max fic, which people seemed to find a lot more romantic than I had necessarily intended it to be! but that’s no bad thing, and to be honest I do try to write a lot of my non-PWP fics to be relatively ambiguous in their interpretations. I don’t like it when stories try to bash you over the head with an intended outcome or try to impose a particular worldview on the reader, so it’s not really something I look out for in my reader feedback either. (unless it came from a particularly bad-faith interpretation like reading a consensual power dynamic as abusive, which thankfully I’ve never experienced!)

thanks for asking love! 🩷

[rimetin]

OKAY, I think I answered the wrong ask meme for the ask you sent me (I like your questions better!), but not to worry :D I did this one too, so from the list on your page: for Let's Get ((REAL)) fic writer asks:

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting? 🤍what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"? 💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

🎙️which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of? This post (just to avoid confusion!):

oh no dw it was the right one! thank you! <3

💝What is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

humm, this is a hard one. I suppose my recent smolaw series, Bitten by the Cold? i was counting my kudos to hits ratio the other day and they were some of the highest, as well as easily getting to the top contenders for my most comments received. it's... much more than I anticipated lol? especially bc i think it's a relatively rare ship, i wasnt expecting to get enjoyers crawling out of the woodwork haha

🤍What's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

the opposite of amnesia (a juno steel fic). its very dear to me personally and i remember having so much fun writing it, and getting kinda experimental with it. I was kind of disappointed with the response (or lack of it really), although i recognise said experimental shit may have turned people away.

💥Find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

I'm gonna go with Across Dawns because frosted over is original work. I really like these myself and always mean and wanna write more, because I have a lot of feels about my customizable protags in games. but i do recognise ive done the annoying thing of putting multiple fandoms in one fic as chapters instead of a collection so that's also what makes me hesitant. oh well. (hm well i suppose you can backdate works on ao3, maybe i could fix that sometime.)

🎙️Which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of?

oh gosh i'm. not big into podfics ngl? I still don't fully understand the concept or at least the appeal, i think (but that may just be my audio processing issues and needing the written aid anyway). but... either of the recent phone call-centric ones, Requiem for My Harlequin (one piece) or going to be okay (juno steel)? from what I understand abt the genre (can u call podfic a genre or is it a medium) I'd be interested in seeing how that mechanic plays out in them, and also because they have very strong character viewpoints both.

Thanks again so much for the ask! Here's my ask meme tag if anyone wants to hmu

[iravaid]

🥰🤯 🦅 🤗 ✍🧐

Hi Shro!! Thank you!! The ask post in question

🥰 - How do you feel about reader interaction? Are you open to receiving questions about your fics?

I feel deep and intense fondness for reader interaction oh my god, hi hello absolutely: it's the lifeblood of writer motivation imo, getting any questions about any of my fics at any time is a huge mood boost and incredibly welcomed :')

🤯 - What’s a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

Personally? Anything to do with mystery (unsure if i can think up an actually compelling mystery with a satisfying reveal and interesting setup + red herrings), political drama (I Do Not Know Politics but it would be cool to learn even just to apply to a written work), or comedy. Can't wrap my head around it 😔 but by god will i try

🦅- Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

I'll listen to music i associate with a character, be it original or established, and then think of Scenarios! An idea for something gradually grows from there, and after rubber-ducky-ing off of some friends I write a general outline of what could happen, and then start writing! This outline usually goes through proper processing and through by about the 3rd chapter if it's a longform piece of writing, but can change at any time depending on how the story ultimately unfolds

🤗 - What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

Oh man, I want to say that despite how tempting and fulfilling it can feel, placing your sense of self worth as a writer in the hands of readers, gauging it by how much they engage with your work by how many kudos, hits, comments, or bookmarks you get, will just end up fostering this sense of misery and 'not good enough', it'll make you burn out or only write for the attention and it's not Healthy nor condusive to becoming a better writer imo. It's difficult, it absolutely is, but you have to learn to write for yourself first and foremost, and to accept that sometimes people just Won't interact with your stuff but that's not a mark against you and your own skills. Sometimes things just don't align, and it Sucks, but i find it ultimately healthier to weather and learn to cope and accept, rather than try to chase a sense of fulfilment in the hands of others

Anothe piece of advice I feel should be give (by anyone rlly, esp writers worth their salt) would be to be aware of how fandom can tend to sand down characters into archetypal, easily digestible formats that are nearly identical to characters in completely different media. (this isn't to say fandom interpretations as a whole are 'bad', that's a gross generalisation, but they can be incredibly reductive) I say this so as to avoid trappings in fandom; being able to dissect Why people might interpret a character in this way and how you as a writer can be more faithful to their canon. This makes AUs and character analyses, or even just fics heavily centred on character development all the more satisfying, knowing you have an understand of a character deep enough that they're still recognisable as themself, despite how much they've changed

✍ - Do you have a beta reader?

Not currently! Have a good friend who has offered for WDH and I hope to take him up on that offer if it's still up :D

🧐 - Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

Will admit that yeah, I think I do lmao, sci-hub, libgen, and pdfdrive are great for research papers + books, and I also just enjoy research and looking things up in general, it's personally very fun to apply new knowledge to one's writing - I think for DB I was researching things from the history of oil lamps to gun manufacturing dates to abandoned New York City subway tunnels, never know what you'll pick up from fanfiction lmao

[astorytotellyourfriends]

Hey quick question: do you recognise the people who comment or leave kudos on your fics regularly? and of so do you recognise them more from their username or their profile pic?

i absolutely do! i think i tend to pay more attention to usernames rather than profile pictures, anyway. i don't rly look at the kudos on my fics all that often but i do skim the "you've got kudos!" emails i get most every morning and it's nice to see familiar names 🥰

[cargopantsprentiss]

Hi!! From the lets get real fic ask thing; sorry if there are too many

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

🌿how does creating make you feel?

🍉in what ways has writing helped you process trauma and/or navigate through your own life?

🧿what steps do you take to not take things personally if a fic doesn't do well, or if your writing/posting/sharing experience isn't going how you'd like it to?

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

🎉how often do you celebrate completing & posting a work? how often do you give yourself the credit/validation that you seek from others when you post? (if you don't, you should!)

🤍what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

💎why is writing important to you?

Ahhh thank you for this! I skipped a few I don’t really feel up to answering right now I hope that’s ok.

✨ What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

I’ve actually been rereading a few of my old pieces whilst trying to work on ones I’m struggling to update and I recently went over taking the long way around again (I’m thinking I might draw something from it) and man… those were simpler times before s16 had thrown a spanner in the works. So I guess that’s my answer.

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

Ha, honestly most of my early Jemily stuff could definitely do with being rewritten. I also wrote an AU for a different fandom which I wound up deleting which I wish I could rework but it makes me miserable thinking about it lol.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

Honestly, I love all comments, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I absolutely lose it when I get a review email come through and it’s multiple paragraphs of someone picking out their favourite lines and delving into the imagery etc. I love those comments you get where it’s clear the person who read it just *got* it and gets you.

🌿how does creating make you feel?

Often frustrated hahaha. But it’s also my favourite way of being.

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

I feel like my style as a writer is deeply influenced by other writing I love, and from that point, it is ever-changing because I’m continuously finding new pieces that inspire me. But there’s definitely some things that I recognise as patterns: I’m always writing the same scenarios but slightly different. Those like slice of life, mundane moments like waking up next to a person you love, or travelling late at night. Moments you take for granted like sharing a book that you love with someone you love, or having tea made for you. And then on the other end of the spectrum there’s the moments that rip your heart in two. Parts of characters which never get addressed in canon, trauma that doesn’t get resolved. I feel like with my stuff there’s no in between. A lot of my writing just feels like nothing happens in it, or EVERYTHING does. Does that make sense.

🤍what's one fic of yours you think people didn't "get"?

I will always yell about now we’re ashes on the ground because I’m so proud of that piece. I don’t think it’s necessarily that people don’t get it so much as it’s not as appealing as something that actually has Emily present in it lol but it’s always the one I’m most excited about people commenting on or giving kudos.

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it

My least kudos’d fic is a Gaphrodite piece so I’m not hugely surprised it’s not got more kudos. I really felt like I pushed myself with writing it though, and I love how it turned out.

💎why is writing important to you?

Honestly, writing is cathartic. It’s so good to turn your frustration for a piece of media (or, rarely, your admiration for it) into something carefully sculpted and often self indulgent. Writing is the one thing I have been consistently good at since I was a kid so I’m so glad I continue to find new ways to enjoy it.