#katsofmeer

[metagalacticx]

6/? -> favourite fics read in ‘22

if you’re gonna make, it might as well matter by @katsofmeer

[aewriting]

Fic Recommendation - i can make your body echo (like we're in an empty room)

By @katsofmeer

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23637853?view_adult=true

This is absolutely excellent, a great psychosexual piece about Alex and his approach to intimacy. It’s so well-written, heartbreaking in parts, with a resolution that feels so true to the characters. I love the nonlinear structure as well.

And THIS line just stopped me right in my tracks:

“Even with the most perfect of circumstances, memory lies with predatory stillness just below his skin.”

Like, WOW. I mean, that line spoke to me on an absolutely visceral level, waaaay beyond fiction. Bravo.

[myrmidryad]

hi, would you feel comfortable talking a bit about you writing process? I know you have many (pretty meaty) fics, but I'm familiar w/your Shadow Work story and was just So Impressed by how neatly plotted every second was. everything felt totally necessary and the character beats were deeply emotional but still impacted the plot. Just hoping to get a peek into your process/or any advice on plotting/writing a comprehensive story like that because! It really blew me away and I would love to learn!

inasmuch as I have a process, sure! and thank you! :D

I put it under a cut because it got more behind the scenesy than I expected, whoops. I’m just the normal level of narcissistic when it comes to my own writing, right?

edit: I tried to put it under a cut, and that....did not work. cheers, tumblr, this is one of several reasons why I never post anything. 🙄

Shadow Work is kind of an interesting one because I started it with the idea of it being quite short, and while usually my process is ‘sit down, write the whole thing in chronological order, done’, Shadow Work is one of the only fics where it went in a completely different direction which ended up not working, so I pulled back to an earlier point and did it differently. originally, the timeline was shorter, Alex called his mom at one point, the Air Force purchase of Foster Ranch for a base was a Project Shepherd thing where Max, Isobel, and Noah were being kept. Michael and Alex found the Project Shepherd bunker and caught Jesse and Jesse was the one who revealed the Rosa coverup. Alex tricked him into believing he bought the xenophobia and let Jesse take them both to the base before Michael used his powers to break free. there was a firefight and I think Jesse was killed in the crossfire. no Maria at all, far more military personnel, and it didn’t work because there hadn’t been enough time for the relationship between Michael and Alex to develop and there hadn’t been enough time for the world to feel as fleshed out as it ended up being in the final fic.

so process wise, the way it developed was with me needing it all to make more sense. not even emotionally, just in terms of real-world impact. it didn’t make sense for a Project Shepherd base to be on the Foster Ranch land, because that had been an official Air Force acquisition, and Project Shepherd is a secret. it didn’t make sense for Alex to be so easy with confronting Jesse. it definitely didn’t make sense for Jesse to trust Alex was on his side after only one manipulative conversation when he’d spent the majority of Alex’s life thinking he was inferior because of his sexuality. so everything needed to be reworked to make actual sense. no plot holes, no out of character decisions by anyone. Noah had to die very quickly, because Michael had to be free to find Alex and rescue Max and Isobel. if Alex was going to be so confident in Michael, he needed more time to develop that bond.

in practical terms, for any fic that has a Plot, I use Evernote to keep track of everything.

for me that just meant keeping track of exactly what was happening and when. I also made a thing to help me decide how the hell haunts worked, so when Alex referenced the classification system I could keep it consistent.

but yeah, keeping track of things, and editing as I go is kind of the key. originally there wasn’t a Friday at all (as in, the events of that day didn’t exist), but I wanted Alex and Michael to have more time just stewing together, so I made up some shit for them to do. all things that developed the relationship they were building, and developed the world too. they could’ve spent the whole day indoors on their laptops, but it made more sense for the story for them to go out and show off what the world looks like through their different perceptions.

with a fic this long, I noticed multiple mistakes in continuity as I went, and had to keep going back to fix things. I added in the part where Michael and Alex went to get spare clothes for Max, Isobel, and Noah, because I’d just gotten to their rescue and decampment to Kyle’s and realised, oh fuck, they have nothing but the pyjamas they were abducted in to wear, and they’ve been wearing those for about two weeks now so they must be disgusting. a tragedy occurred when Michael took Alex to the pod cave and I wrote a beautiful description of the way the pods looked to him...only to realise as I finished it that I’d written the pods being snatched as well, so there was nothing for Alex to look at. 😂

to get the emotional beats...I’m not sure, it just sort of happens. it might help that I picture each scene as if I was watching it, like it was happening on the show itself. so I imagine exactly how the actors would deliver the lines, what their body language would be like, where they are in relation to everything around them, etc. I think it helps me keep track of the physicality of the scenes. for anything with a real location, like Roswell, I use Google Maps a lot. even if the town as they portray it on the show isn’t what it looks like irl, it’s very handy for describing things like residences and deciding how long a drive from one location to another would take. I definitely went on real estate listings for actual Roswell to see what the houses were like in the neighbourhoods I’d semi-arbitrarily decided the Manes and DeLuca houses were in. interiors, exteriors, street layouts, everything. the lane out the back of the Manes back yard was based off what I was seeing on Google Maps.

oh actually for emotional beats, having a solid handle on what the characters are like and what all their issues are is key, and for that I highly recommend reading meta about the world and those characters. the RNM fandom has some absolutely killer meta, particularly character meta, and it’s really helped me nail down what motivates the characters, reasons for why they act the way they do, and giving extra resources and insight into what life is functionally like for a real disabled vet, or someone whose mother is suffering with undiagnosed early-onset dementia, etc etc.

I hope this was helpful, or at least interesting!

[foramomentonly]

RNM Fandom Creators’ Week, Day 3 -- AU

 MY MOMENT HAS COME.

Fish Bowl by @sabrinachill

Quarantine fic, but make it beautiful and brilliant and fun to be reading about quarantine in quarantine?

Leave the Light On also by @sabrinachill

It’s a fake married fic written entirely by trope prompt HOW?!

Where They Hang the Lights by @leescoresbies

Firefly and Malex and space and adventure and all good things.

Michael Sanders series by @prouvaireafterdark

Michael deserves a family and gruff, accepting dad ok.

You Can't Jump the Track and Loathly by @aewriting

I feel like these are lesser known WIP of aewriting’s, but they are my favorites I love them SO HARD.

Crucibles by @ninswhimsy

YES I’M RECING IT AGAIN FIGHT ME

thinkin' about the way that you kiss (i want to melt with you) by @queersirius

Soft bro, adult college student Michael and a Malex reunion I. It’s perfect.

A treatise upon dueling and its merits in the field of sport: OR: a candlelit rendezvous by @haloud

Smut and Latin dirty talk?!

crawlin’ back to you by detectivemeer (on AO3) @katsofmeer (on Tumblr)

The hitman AU I never knew I needed desperately. Liz is a delight.

you lift the veil (my eyes are open wide) by @iwontbeyourmedicine

Magic and Malex and mystery and world-building and beautiful descriptions and longing.

Everywhere on Earth You Go by @leescoresbies 

Musician Alex and grad student Michael meet again after ten years and it’s sweet and funny and sexy and heartbreaking and Kyle’s in it and I LOVE it.

[winged-fool]

Hey! So I have an A03 now, Would you please recommend some writers because there are so many RNM fics i don’t know where to start? I trust your amazing dark fic loving taste.I also love ANGST, WHOLE LOT OF IT and will appreciate NO 2*06 vibes.Thanks in advance.

I’m so honored that you wanted my recs 😭 There are honestly so many great authors, I’ll recommend some of my favorites and also give you some recs on specific angst and darkfics that I like. This is by no means an exhaustive list (so please don’t hate me if I left anyone off)! Also I haven’t really read that many Forlex fics so I’m not going to rec any, but you probably already knew that when you came to me lol

Authors

AndreaLyn @andrea-lyn

JoCarthage @jocarthage

aewriting @aewriting

EmmaArthur @emma-arthur

manesalex @manesalex

lostin_space @spaceskam

BeStillMySlashyHeart @bestillmyslashyheart

Lambourn @lambourngb

prouvaireafterdark @prouvaireafterdark

Milzilla @queersirius

ninhursag @ninswhimsy

InsidiousIntent @insidious-intent

justsomejerk @booksmartstreetstupid (okay I lied, I’m reccing one forlex and kylex author lol)

Angst

@el-gilliath definitely writes the best angst fics that still have happy endings (most of the time...)

Because I Could Not Stop for Death

Could’ve Had a Family

A Not so Easy Choice

Fear Not

Help me Heal by @captainsassmanes

scream in there by @usbournejez

found me the edge of something beautiful and loud by @iwontbeyourmedicine

WIPS

Alien vs. Self by neverfeltlesscool (I’m not sure they have a tumblr)

Fight the Break of Dawn by DinoPrincess (don’t know if they have a tumblr)

Darkfics

A Kingdom or This by @signoraviolettavalery

crawlin’ back to you by katsofmeer (I can’t tag them unfortunately)

Victory’s Contagious series by @signoraviolettavalery

prettiest thing series by @haloud and @christchex

Shameless plugging of my own fics lmao

Come Meet me in the Stars

God Called in Sick Today

Kiss and Control

There’s Only One Kind of People (People Who Die)

Loving You is a Losing Game (my first darkfic)

[lambourngb]

18, 29, 20

re18. Do you have a fic reading/writing routine?

Yes, I read fic while I’m trying to get out of bed in the morning, around 5 am on my phone. Then I attempt to comment sometime during the day. I try and write between the hours of 6 am - 8am daily and then in the evenings on Tuesday, Thursday after the barn, or on the weekend mornings.

I’ve answered 19.

20. Do you have a favorite fanfic or author? If so, tag them/post a link and share the love!

Oh man this is impossible to answer and I will leave out so many- but my subs are in malex are currently @ninswhimsy, @aewriting, @queersirius, @myrmidryad, @andrea-lyn, @jumbled-nonsense, @tasyfa, @prouvaireafterdark, @manesalex, @usbournejez, @lire-casander, @jocarthage, @haloud, @katsofmeer, ... and I can’t forget your stuff, because you nail the guerin friendship with Maria so well, plus the background of Guerin’s bisexuality. @soberqueerinthewild ...

[queermil]

Hello there! I was just wondering if you might please be able to help me find a Malex fic..? It is an AU where Michael and Alex were both hitmen working and they kept showing up to the same hits... I remember they met up in Japan and Michel looked after Alex. I have searched AO3 and can’t find it so I thought I’d check with you as you’re an expert at finding fics 🧡 sorry to be a bother and thank you in advance 🧡

ohhh that is one of my faves:

crawlin' back to you by detectivemeer / @katsofmeer (who i can’t seem to tag??)

and this is never ever a bother!! <3

[ifeelbetterer]

porcupine-girl replied to your post “A summary of owning a dog”

I feel this, except in my experience it would have been actual dog shit. But my dogs were crated at night, so it wouldn't have been in the hall, it would've been in one of their crates, and they'd be laying in it. Oh, and that only happened if they had diarrhea.

katsofmeer replied to your post “A summary of owning a dog”

ewuilfhjaiwef this is truly what Life Is with a dog :')

I mean, this was a particularly GOOD night of owning a dog in that the morning did not actually involve cleaning up vomit.....but that was just a nice surprise. I was fully expecting and prepared for vomit. 

[flarechaser]

undefined

@katsofmeer I told him for you

[aewriting]

WIP recommendation - Boston.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23526451

Boston by @katsofmeer

I really enjoy AUs where Alex and Michael run off together after the shed. I wrote one, haha. But for these types of stories to be my favorites, they have to include both the giddiness that comes with sudden freedom, but also the very real obstacles that Alex and Michael would face in a situation like this. This fic touches on both aspects in a very skilled way. It’s beautifully written, and contains vivid descriptions of some of the places Alex and Michael pass through in their getaway road trip. The scene where Michael buys Alex a t-shirt at a lake is a favorite of mine. This is a WIP with one part so far. Enjoy!

[dykesmcgee]

GONNA WRITE THE JEANMARCOS

[queermil]

millie’s long list of malex fics | spacin’ out by detectivemeer / @katsofmeer

The first night in their new apartment everything is in boxes and Michael floats the little tea candles five feet in the air because, as he was lighting them, Alex said, “Wow I guess setting the whole building on fire is a great way to get out of our lease,” and Michael lifted each eucalyptus scented wax round with his mind, eyebrows raised in challenge. Alex shook his head, fighting a smile.

College au, technically, where alex and michael enroll in college as nontraditional students in a post-series future.

comment: another college-themed fic for y’all, this time featuring mature-age students alex and michael, who get their nebulous well-adjusted ending and go off to live together and attend college and just do normal boyfriend things. i want to live in this beautiful au. this author is so good at writing this soft domestic tone that just makes me want to melt.

have a fic you’d like to see on the list? let me know!

[flarechaser]

katsofmeer replied to your post:The thing is with my nanowrimo story from last...

TAKE MY MONEY i don’t have money BUT IF I DID I’D SPEND IT ALL TO READ THAT AMAZING STORY

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

*deep breath*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

I'LL KEEP WRITING IT AND MAYBE IN LIKE A DECADE IT'LL BE IN AN AMAZON.COM NEAR YOU