#people keep coming into the tags on this and being like oh but ianto is having a really tough time actually! yes i know that…

[watchriverdale]

fragments is like here is the most heartbreaking and traumatic backstory you could have ever imagined for tosh. and now here is ianto doing his best to sleep his way to the top while wearing a studded belt

[redsector-a]

AO3 Ask Game

I was tagged by @themarshalstale which, thank you so much! I feel like I always get missed on these (I know why, it’s been 84 years since I published anything but still). 1. How many works do you have on ao3?

46 it seems. Which...look I’m slow man so that’s not surprising. lol Also crippling depression does not make for much production, at least for me.

2. What’s your current AO3 wordcount?

309662 according to the stats.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

So do I could only AO3 or in like life? lol I suppose it should only be on AO3 since this is an AO3 ask game. Hrm. Basically AO3 can be summed up as: Marvel (in several iterations - all Avengers related) Torchwood Highlander But isn’t it more fun to consider my entire fandom life, which, I’m sorry, I’m old so...yeah. Not all of this is was published and beyond that a lot is not available anymore...which is likely for the best. Highlander Star Wars Babylon 5 Ronin Warriors/Samurai Troopers Marvel (again, several iterations also of note Avengers and X-Men both count) Torchwood Star Trek LOTR Stargate (SG-1, SGA) Mortal Kombat I dabbled with the idea of Potter fic but never got past the ideas stage.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1: You rearrange me till I’m sane Clint finds himself spiraling into a deep depression after the Battle of New York...until the Winter Soldier ends up saving him and inadvertently giving him a new purpose – to save the man that the Soldier had once been – Bucky Barnes. Not one to be outdone, the Soldier decides that his new mission is to ensure that Clint remains alive himself. Protecting a blonde man with a self-destructive streak is somehow very familiar to him. Through the back and forth of who is saving whom they cross the country and learn more about themselves and each other – and perhaps find a reason for living. 2: Five Dates Bucky Didn’t Realize He Was on And the One He Planned Himself To say that Bucky was surprised when Clint kissed him was an understatement. But it was nothing compared to the shock he felt when he learned they'd been dating for months without him realizing it.Clint gets whisked away for a mission before they have time to talk and Bucky is left to figure things out on his own - hindsight being 20/20 he can't help but wonder how he missed things the first go around.

3: Puck Luck Bucky Barnes is used to the ups and downs of an NHL season. He's used to the unpredictability of the game, knows that bounces don't always go your way, but that doesn't make a broken hand in the final third of the season any easier to deal with. Especially not when he ends up with an impromptu roommate/personal assistant in the form of one Clint Barton - his agent, Natalia Romanova's (rather attractive) friend he hadn't known existed before his injury.

It's just for six to eight weeks - what could possibly happen in that span of time?

4: Loose Lips Launch Ships

Based on the following prompt: “We go to school together and I think you’re cute and apparently you’re also the pizza delivery guy and my little sibling opened the door screaming hey sibling! you know that kid you’re in love with? you really weren’t kidding when you said his jawline could cut steel holy shit-” Bucky is the pizza delivery guy. Clint's younger (foster) brother has a big mouth.

5: Indelible Bucky Barnes has a pretty decent life – a good job, good friends, a cat that adores him - but something is missing. He’s always found body art to be beautiful and inspiring, and on a whim (and with the hope that maybe he can find what he’s missing) he decides to take the plunge and get a tattoo. That's how he meets Clint Barton. Clint's talented and compassionate and there is an instant spark between the two of them. It's not long before Bucky finds himself wondering and wanting more from the relationship despite the ghosts of the past that crop back up. Because Clint makes him feel normal in a way he truly hasn't for years...

(this was pre-Alpine so I was totally chuffed when canon confirmed Bucky’s status as a crazy cat lady (affectionate).

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not.

I really really really want to do it but I often times don’t end up doing it. There are a few reasons. First, I am akwward AF and bad at interaction adn I feel like just saying thank you would be...not enough? Second - I often times tend to like...turtle (aka retreat into myself) when life gets Too Hard/Busy which happens a lot to me (sigh) and then I miss the vague window in my mind in which it would be okay to respond and then it’s even more weird. I do love and cherish all of them. Like there was one months ago that made me go “hmm...I didn’t think I was going to do a sequel to that fic (You rearrange me till I’m sane), timestamp glimpses sure but a sequel hadn’t come to mind” but then the comment made me think! So...who knows? lol Anyway, I literally have been rereading some in an effort to try and get myself going again. Know that if you have commented, I love you.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

At the moment? Probably: Look at you look at me Bucky's in love with Clint - problem is he's really not supposed to be. For Winterhawk Week 2019 - Forbidden Love (I really don’t want to give away the spin in the fic but...if you’re familiar with the Secret Avengers Vol 2 run circa 2013ish (aka when SHIELD initially ‘took control of the team’) that’s a bit of a hint as to the spin). Were it done, Torch Song would be up there. ;) Torch Song Clint is sent back in time, via an alien device, to 1938. While he tries to figure out how to get back home, he takes up singing and entertaining to make ends meet and does his best to not disrupt the timeline.Then he meets a 21 year old Bucky Barnes. --- A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship.

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

Does *wanting* to write crossovers count? lol I want, so badly, to do more crossovers and fusions (which...are kinda deeper versions of crossovers in a way). The only one I do have posted is a crossover between Highlander and Torchwood -

The Immortal Mr. Jones A series of vignettes (some long, some short) in the life of the newly immortal Ianto Jones. My most ambitions project that I have been working on since late 2011/early 2012 is a fusion of the Avengers with Stephen King’s the Stand. I will get that done at some point *shakes fist*  The Stand, for those who don’t know it, is an epic 1000+ page novel about a flu epidemic (I know) that wipes out over 99% of the population and then two figures representing Good and Evil pull the survivors in two directions for a showdown. So basically it’s a non-powered modern AU set in that universe. It’s a passion and comfort project. lol

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. Well, minor bitching back when I was in a prior fandom because I tagged a pairing in a fic but it was pre-slash and not labeled as pre-slash. I got hate on...I think it was Torch Song? And I’ve gotten hate on tumblr re me and my fic in general as well. Fandom! *jazz hands* Oh! And I’ve also been hit by those reviewers within Winterhawk (among general Clint pairings actually) who like rate you on either number scales or the “meh” scale. Which isn’t hate exactly but...it’s passive aggressive bullshit because I can’t believe none of them realize at this point that the authors can see their bookmarks - you know?

9. Do you write smut?

Yes. Do I write it well? I have no idea. lol

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of. Well...there was, I think, one of those reposting sites that had a few fics on it but I don’t think it was being passed off as someone else’s? I can’t quite recall. It’s why I have a note on AO3 about reposting my work anyway.

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

Not entirely, but sort of. Let me explain - I am part of a PBEM game; which for those unfamiliar since it’s a term that was most heavily in use 15-20 years ago, in which you basically do a round robin type writing thing but rather than everyone writing the same characters you write your own characters and you play off what other people have done. Another way of looking at it is  it’s basically DnD without dice and written down rather than done out loud. You also don’t have to all be around at the same time. It’s a lot of fun and yes I have been in it for 20 years even though there aren’t many of us left but they are some of my dearest friends and fabulous writers. Wins all around.  One of the other writers and I have actually toyed with the idea of doing a co-written fic actually, mostly because we work super well together and keep getting ideas for things but can’t really do them as rpgs since the pbem style isn’t used much anymore.

12. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Winterhawk probably. Though, let’s be real - Han & Leia are epic and amazing as are John & Delenn (from Babylon 5).

13. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Does wanting to expand The Black Stallion books as a wee child count? lol Not much of that was written save for world building ideas but there was a great oral tradition of telling stories to my friends. Otherwise...maybe a tie between Star Wars and Highlander. Star Wars was a love since I was super young but the writing bug didn’t hit me until around the same time Highlander was a thing as well.

14. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? You rearrange me till I’m sane for sure. Though Torch Song, if it were finished, would be tied I imagine (I suck at picking favorites). Honorable mention to Puck Luck and Indelible. Tagging: I have seen this like a million times (okay 5) so I feel like everyone has been tagged already that I know. But...I guess... @vexbatch @crazycatt71 @heartonfirewrites and @disruptedvice sorry if anyone has been tagged before.

[miazeklos]

Fic Writer Review

Tagged by @takaraphoenix. Thank you! ;33

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

301 as of right now!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,106,292 currently. More written, but not posted. ;D

3. How many fandoms have you written for?

If I bring out umbrellas for some fandoms (for example, I'd count Mando under Star Wars but won't count Torchwood under Doctor Who), I'd say 10-11.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos?

Okay, so. My stats are sorted by hits, usually, and now that I've sorted them by kudos to check, I'd like to say that this is NOT representative of my work. At all. I actively recommend maybe two of these fics.

Rapture in the Dark (Malec, Rated T. It's a one-shot where nothing happens. Why.)

The Only Permanent Tenderness. (Janto, Rated T. I barely remember what happens in this one, but it's Time Lord!Ianto and also a lot of bendy space-time rules.)

For the Sake of Staying True. (Saphael, Rated T. Soulmate AU. Once again, why.)

deeper than time (13/River, Rated T, pseudo-noir setting. I actually like this one, ngl.)

In the Backroom of a Bad Dream (Jalec, Rated E. I have written better Jalec smut than this!!! But it was the first one, so I get it.)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

I do! Comments are amazing and I love talking to people. Unfortunately, I also have crippling executive dysfunction, a time-consuming job, and the terrible conviction that I can't answer one comment unless I answer my entire inbox, which means that I'm pathetically slow about it sometimes, but I try (oh my god do I try).

6. A fic you've written with the angstiest ending.

Oh man, this one is hard to decide. I write so much morbid shit. I've narrowed it down to three: Jalec (death by parabatai bond), twincest (death by anti-white walker wildfire; 8x03 hadn't aired then), and the one where Tyrion buries his siblings. Being sad while writing is my passion.

7. Do you write cross overs?

Not really? I made... an attempt of it once many years ago, but it did not really work for me and I haven't tried since. Unless mix-ups between parts of the same properties count, of course, which I suppose they don't.

8. Ever received hate on a fic?

:/ Let's not go there.

(For a more wordy answer: I don't know why I'm always fatally attracted to characters/ships that the most vapid people in the fandom seem to loathe, but here we are. The bright side of it is that it's been going on since my teens and I am completely numb towards it, so now when people gleefully go on anon and send me impressively graphic suicide baits occasionally, I can laugh at them).

9. Do you write smut?

Yep! Not in every fic, but I sure love using even the slightest excuses for it.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

A few times, yeah. Intimidating people into deleting it is... not ideal, but the way they start immediately backtracking is always hilarious, especially when it comes to 'it wasn't me my cousin posted from my account' sort of stuff.

11. Ever had a fic translated?

Yes! A few Shadowhunters ones, in Russian. I think there was one in Spanish too, and I think one in Japanese? But I'm not sure if they only asked or actually did it.

12. Have you ever co written a fic?

You bet! This massive Jalec collab right here.

13. All time Fav ship.

Ooof, hard to say, hard to say. Given that I keep circling back, on and off, around them for years now, I'd say either J/C or Jalec.

14. WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I might be far too optimistic, but if I've started posting something, I like to think that I'd finish it. Eventually. At some point. There really isn't a story I've fully abandoned. I've lost the outlines for at least one and have 0 clue where I was going with it, but I want to get it done if I have a lightbulb going off moment.

15. Writing strengths?

Going by what other people have told me, I'd say getting characterisation right and also metaphors/being flowery in sort of the right way.

16. Writing weakness?

So many run-on sentences. So many semi-cons. Also irregular writing patterns.

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I just feel like it rarely works, tbh. It breaks the flow of the story if I have to go back and forth with the footnotes (or worse, Google Translate if the translation isn't included). Pet names - that I like. Buuut when it comes to entire conversations, putting it in cursive and indicating that it's in a different language does the job, IMO.

18. First Fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, though somewhere distantly before that, in a notebook somewhere, I think I might have small vignettes of H20: Just Add Water fanfic, and my very first misguided attempts at smut. I was like 10, so I'm not gonna go through my old stuff and check what that memory's about. ;D

19. What's your fav fic you've written so far?

storm within skin, no doubt. It is my one true love for many reasons - I love that it gives the characters a semi-plausible happy ending, I love the journey it takes them on, I love writing about the sea (my other one true love), and - last but definitely not least - I'm ridiculously proud of the fact that I made people feel bad for Euron Greyjoy for even a second.

Tagging: Anyone who would like to and hasn't yet, seeing as I'm always last. ;D

[avaantares]

Tag game - Torchwood edition

Tagged by:  @humany-wumany-stuff

Rules: Always post the rules. Answer the 11 random questions posted for you. Create 11 new ones and tag 11 people. Let the person who tagged you know that you answered.

1. When did you start watching Torchwood and what (or who) got you to start watching?

I was actually a bit late to the party, since my personal history with Doctor Who is... complicated (and waaaaay too long to relate here, though I’m happy to share the story if anyone ever gets really bored). The net result is that I didn’t catch up with New Who and, by extension, Torchwood until long after Torchwood had finished its TV run. I think it was 2014, maybe? (Sadly, I’d already been spoiled for most major series events, so I didn’t get to experience the shock and dismay of those who watched when it was new.)

I started watching because yes please, more Captain Jack Harkness, thank you. But I stayed for Ianto Jones.

2. What is your go-to episode to watch when you’re feeling down/bored and why?

You know, I really don’t have that kind of relationship with television. I watch TV so rarely (by which I mean I went for 13 years without even having TV and didn’t miss it), and I have so little free time in my schedule, that I don’t tend to rewatch shows unless I’m 1) showing the series to someone new (which I’ve done with Torchwood) or 2) looking for specific costume references (which I have also done with Torchwood).

That said, I think KKBB probably packs the most pure, shameless entertainment value, so if I really needed a Torchwood fix I’d probably go for that one.

3. Which of the TW villains/aliens/whatevers did you find the scariest and why?

I think Torchwood’s storytelling was at its best when the team wasn’t facing camp alien monsters, but rather dealing with concepts and issues rooted in our reality. Suzie Costello was a decent person, slowly warped into a serial killer by the things she’d seen and done. Out of Time touched on aging and cultural disconnect and loss. Meat was about exploitation. Children of Earth used aliens as a frame to explore political corruption and the abuse of power. Those stories were much darker and stayed with me longer than, say, a poorly-CGed “fairy” with improbable dentition. (Apologies to The Mill, but those effects... weren’t scary at all.)

4. If you had to pick 2 characters to do a BF audio, who would it be and what would it be about?

Ianto Jones and Norton Folgate. Probably having to join forces to save Jack, or something. I don’t even care what the plot is, I just want a full hour of catty insults and cutting dialogue between those two. SO MUCH SASS.

5. What is your favourite fanfic-trope to read/write?

To read? Probably slow burn, but it has to be done really well. I also enjoy emotional H/C, if it’s believable and not just abusing or woobifying the characters.

To write? The pen-dulum (ha!) swings liberally between angst and dry humor/snark. I also have a tendency to get characters into really heated, emotional arguments, possibly because they’re all so stupidly repressed and it’s nice to see them let loose once in a while.

6. If you could assemble your own TW team (post-CoE) with canon characters from the extended Who-niverse (any show related to DW), who would be in it?

So this is basically just a list of all my favorite companions, right?

Core Modern-Day Team:

Martha Jones - brilliant medic; worked for UNIT; saved the world a few times. Won’t take guff from anyone.

River Song - Jack’s equal in every way, only far more likely to shoot you. Tolerates even less nonsense than Martha.

Zoe Heriot - super genius from the future who can calculate pretty much any mathematical solution in her head faster than a computer. Adorably perky, but not afraid to hit bad guys over the head.

Sara Kingdom - by-the-book former Space Security officer. The one who would constantly be reminding Jack that he’s in violation of Torchwood code #439.27 subsection A. Also handy with a blaster.

Ianto Jones - because of course he’s still around, why wouldn’t he be?

Victorian Team:

The Paternoster Gang (Lady Vastra, Jenny, and Strax) - They’re pretty much doing Torchwood’s job for them already. so why not?

Jamie McCrimmon - 18th-century Highlander. Only barred from the main team because if Jack actually had a young, athletic, kilt-wearing man on his regular team, he’d never get ANYTHING accomplished (also, Ianto would probably have to intervene due to Olympic levels of workplace sexual harassment).

Consultant:

Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 - journalist-turned-suburban-mom who still saves the world on a weekly basis, and her robot dog. She doesn’t really approve of Torchwood (that’s actually canon!), but helps out when they need it.

7. A question you would like to ask the actors on a panel (assume they are all present :p)

Since we know that the storylines and character arcs were often in flux as the series was being written, what grounding concept or idea allowed you to keep your character’s portrayal consistent throughout the series?

8. If there was another season and they would do a crossover with any show/movie/book/whatever of your choosing for 1 episode, what would it be and why?

This is a little bit cracked, but someone recently posted about a Dirk Gently/Torchwood crossover, and I think, with enough suspension of disbelief, there’s actually some potential there. I mean, except for the conflict of Samuel Barnett being in both series. (Though I could see some good material there, too...)

Apart from that, it’s already been, er, “established” that Sherlock and Doctor Who/Torchwood exist in the same universe (oh, Arwel Wyn Jones, did you know the chaos you were unleashing?), so... why not?

9. If you were to find out tomorrow that Torchwood is real and Jack is leading a Torchwood team in your home city, how would you convince him to let you join them?

Oh, man. Would I want to? I mean, what are my odds of survival?

I am (among other things) a professional animal trainer with some certification letters after my name, so I would probably just point out that they really need someone to train their pteranodon so it stops eating livestock and pooping on all the war memorials.

10. How would you recast the original Torchwood team? (Jack, Owen, Tosh, Ianto and Gwen)

Hmm, I’m not sure I would. The characters are so closely tied to the actors in my mind, I can’t picture anyone else playing them. I can only come up with alternate faces if we port it completely out of context. So here’s my completely ridiculous Golden Age of Hollywood Torchwood cast:

Jack - Errol Flynn (dat jawline, yo)

Owen - James Cagney

Gwen - Barbara Stanwyck

Ianto - Marlon Brando (young Brando. Not Jor-El.)

Tosh - Miiko Taka? (This is a hard one to cast in that era, because Toshiko’s Japanese heritage is so significant to her character, but there were so few headlining Asian actresses during the GAoH. Or... well, even today, for that matter.)

11. If you could pick any author to write a Torchwood novel, who would it be and why?

Are we excluding fanfic writers? Because if we’re going to talk novel-length Torchwood stories, I could name a few that are more consistent and true to character than the official ones... *sidelong glance at @gmariam321*

But while we’re dreaming of impossible things, how about Douglas Adams? He wrote for Doctor Who, and his own books spanned the bizarre (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and the tragic (Last Chance to See), so I think he would bring an interesting perspective to a bunch of alien hunters trying to save the world from their glorified sewer in Cardiff.

Also, potential sofa cameos.

In all honesty, I was going to do the 11-new-questions-and-tag-people thing, but it’s now 4:59 a.m. (ZOMG1 what am I still doing awake at this hour?!) and I really, really need to turn off the computer instead of thinking up creative new asks. So I’ll just open this up to anyone who hasn’t yet been tagged and offer them the same questions @humany-wumany-stuff posed!

[halethesourestwolf]

Pass the happy along! When you get this, reply with 5 things that make you happy and then send it to the last 10 people in your activity feed 💕💕

This is a lovely thing to pass around, so thank you for passing it along to me! We all need a little more happiness in our lives, and to list a few of the things that keep us going right now is a beautiful thing. So, I’m going to do this before I crawl off to bed, let’s ignore the fact it’s 6am, oops, and then tomorrow I’ll pass it along when I’ve got the brain function to do it properly.

1. My animals. I love them to pieces! My beautiful and precious dogs who I would be lost without (Toshiko, Ianto, and Damon - they’re all special in their own little ways), my wonderful cat who deserves so much better (Rupert, my precious kitty who was born with his back legs backwards and still lives life to the full), and my three remaining guinea pigs who are the most ridiculous creatures in all the best ways (Brad, Ray, and Poke - I miss their brothers Nate and Walt every day). Animals in general make me so happy, because they’re such innocent creatures, and so many of them deserve better - they deserve everything.

2. Emmerdale, and, especially, Robron, because in spite of all the weirdness that’s been happening and still doesn’t make sense half the time, I do love this show, it’s been with me since I was born, it’s the only soap that’s ever really meant the world to me because it’s Yorkshire based and the rest of the UK forget we exist most of the time despite being the biggest county in the country, so I’ve always loved that we at least have this. And our boys, I would be lost without them, too, because they’re idiots, but they’re our idiots. They’ve both been through so much, and I live for the day when they see happier times (or when someone writes the fan fic and I devour it, either way). I love everything about them, especially their flaws, even when they threaten everything they’ve been working towards. I could write pages on them, but I’m half asleep right now, and not coherent enough to do them justice.

3. This fandom. I’ve been in a fair few fandoms over the years (Harry Potter, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Mavel, etc. - all with so much more unnecessary negativity and horridness), but I can honestly say I’ve never come across one with half as much passion at this one, or as much talent - from the fan fiction and fan art, to the theories and headcanons, even the notes and tags people write hold so much thought and care for the show and the characters, and everything between, even in these dark times there’s been so much more positivity than negativity, there’s been so much laughter in the face of adversity, it’s such a beautiful thing to be allowed to take part in. But, most of all, the people themselves. I’ve never been welcomed into a fandom the way this one has welcomed me, I’ve never made friends quite as easily, and I do struggle with that, but I’ve been accepted so easily, met the loveliest of people, and I wish we could all meet up in this wonderful world and all be amazing together, but Tumblr is still more than enough. I love each and every one of you, and to everyone who’s given me the time of day, who’s listen to me ramble on, or who’s just generally supported me either with fandom things or me things in the smallest of ways, thank you. I appreciate all of you, and everything everyone does.

4. Writing. I know I’m not all that good at it, and I keep the best things I write to myself most of the time because I’m too terrified of the world ripping my happy places to shreds, but picking out ideas, grabbing hold of them for all they’re worth, and building all these thoughts and feelings around whatever characters I’m working with (either my own or someone else’s creation), the worlds they live in, and the plots that always get carried away with themselves. I love sitting down and writing out about all these other people, places, and things, because I’m rubbish at knowing what I’m thinking or feeling about myself most of the time, I struggle to connect me and the world together, to know what emotions it is that I’m feeling or to see clearly what it is I’m thinking, and yet I can so easily know and be aware of these fictional character’s thoughts and feelings, their motives and plans, and it keeps me going. It’s an escape, but it’s also so much more than that. It’s what I live for when I’m struggling to find things from my own little world to keep going for, it helps me to heal in a way nothing else ever has, and it helps me to figure myself out along the way and to learn new things when I’m in research mode, things I never would have considered otherwise.

5. I’m honestly struggling for a fifth, so I guess just general things that mean a lot to me like books and telly shows that I can connect with, the beautiful parts of natural, the sun, moon, and stars, and all the mysterious still out there waiting for me to discover, because there’s always so much to learn and I know I’m behind in that area, it’s just a nice thought that there’s still so much to find out about the world and everything in it. And I’ll probably think of something obvious I could have put for this last one later, but I’m tired and brainless right now. Oh! My bed, I love my bed, it makes me happy, even when it’s uncomfortable and not cooperating, it’s a beautiful place to be. So, I guess, sleep (when it’s available to me, at least, because, life-long insomniac here), and whatever place allows me to find it.

And with that, I’m off to bed. It’s been an amazing day, celebrating Robert Sugden’s birthday has been such a wonderful and amazing thing with all of you lovely people, so thank you for letting me be a part of that.