#plus it just might be the longest fic i've ever written

[whattraintracks]

22. Puzzling - TMNT 2012

Don't worry, guys, that wasn't supposed to happen.

When the bit of Kraang tech he's examining (read: poking randomly in the hopes that something will happen) explodes, Donatello's not sure if he or Raphael shrieks louder. He thinks it's Raph. Which would be way funnier under different circumstances.

He blinks against sooty particulates. "Huh, well, that wasn't supposed to happen."

He's amid a cloud of unexpectedly thick, slightly pink smoke. Which is on-brand but frankly annoying. He waves at the air in a vain attempt to disperse it. Maybe he can move this operation to the kitchen, work under the exhaust hood. He should probably install one in here. He gives up flailing his arms, and backs away from the desk. Step one to solving any problem is getting some distance. Step two is—oh, that's weird. The cloud doesn't seem to have moved since the initial explosion. What kind of particles are these? He hasn't seen Kraang tech do this before.

The moment he remembers Raph is also the moment he trips over him. With a yelp, he hits the ground. Hard. Raph giggles. Rude. He's going to have at least two bruises tomorrow. And his scream was definitely louder than Raph's, so he's lost any right to make fun.

"Dude," Donnie groans, pushing to his feet. At least he's away from the Kraang smoke, "Why'd you trip me?"

"I don't know," comes the high-pitched reply, "Why're you so big?"

By the time his eyes clear, he's pretty sure it's a genuine question, not an insult about his height. It makes more sense once he looks down, down, down to find Raph miniaturised.

Donnie throws his hands to his head. "That wasn't supposed to happen, either!" Raph just giggles again.

"Leo!"

As far as they can tell, based on Raph's appearance and memories, he's about five. Donnie can't even remember being that young. Which he counts as a good thing because kids are weird. Or maybe that's just mutant turtle kids. He doesn't have experience with normal children to establish a baseline. Leo and Sensei do, though, and they seem unperturbed by Raph's behavior. Even Mikey takes the whole thing in stride. He is, in fact, absolutely thrilled and oscillates between gathering blackmail material and doing whatever Raph asks.

Donnie will admit he's having trouble making sense of it all. First, and he thinks he’s mentioned this, that was not supposed to happen. He can't figure out how a broken Kraang tech part without any detectable energy source could have caused something like this. Which naturally leads to the question of how he's meant to fix it. Raph has no idea what happened, either, so he's no help. Worse, he just might be the most confusing being Donnie has ever met. Take yesterday, for example.

He's not sure what time it is when he stumbles out of the lab for breakfast, so it might not technically be in the range of the day at which it is appropriate to call a meal breakfast. His brain is too full of viscous pink Kraang smoke to care. It must be some mealtime because everyone but Master Splinter is in the kitchen when he arrives. Leo is at the island supervising Raph and Mikey's mess-making by the stove.

Raph perks up, "Hey Donnie! I wanna tell you a question."

"Ask nicely, Raph," Leo reminds, hiding a smile behind the rim of his tea cup.

"Please, I wanna tell you a question." He barrels on, "How do you open your labrador?”

Open his what? Donnie stares at the space above Raph's head, trying to parse the question until a nudge from Leo resets his brain. "Say what?"

"Your labrador!" He flings his arms out, nearly knocking himself to the floor. Mikey catches the lip of his shell just in time.

“What Labrador? Raph, I don't have a—”

“Yeah, you do!” He's angry of a sudden. Of course, he is. But it's weird. It's not the first time Donnie's made him mad since the incident, but he's never gotten in anyone's face or stormed off with a huff. He just screeches until he gets whatever it is that he wants. It's Raph's anger, but it's not. “It’s how you get to the place you do all your smart stuff!"

Mikey swoops in, crouching to squeeze Raph gently, then translates, “He means the door to your lab, bro.”

“The door? Oh. Why would—?" Donnie sighs heavily, sinking into the stool next to Leo. “Raph, that’s the lab door,” he enunciates, “Not a Labrador. A Labrador is a dog breed."

Just like that, Raph's face unscrunches into something thoughtful. “So it’s not a labrador?”

Well, at least the exasperation is familiar. "I literally just said that. It’s a normal door.” Leo clicks at him warningly. Come on, what is he supposed to do here? Seriously, this feels surreal. Maybe this whole dialogue is a dream, and he's hunched over his desk right now. He straightens his shell to test for any worse-than-usual aching.

“Okay," Raph says. Then he turns around. Just like that. As if the entire conversation never happened. Never mind his original question or whatever he was trying to ask. He makes no sense, literally none at all.

But, you know what, fine. Donnie has to eat anyway so he can go back to the "place where he does all his smart stuff" or whatever. So he can figure out how to get his actual brother back, who at least makes sense most of the time.

Leo finishes his tea, returning Raph's enthusiastic wave goodbye, and then there are three. Mikey and Raph finally settle down to eat whatever noxious concoction they've whipped up as Donnie cleans his dishes. Freshly fed, his brain refills with extradimensional smoke and engineering.

"Well, that's boring!"

He fumbles with his mug at the sudden shout. A glance over his shoulder finds Raph, who had been eating quietly, now glaring at him.

“You should name that boring normal door Labrador so we can just call it that anyway," he says firmly.

He's not sure why he tries to ask, “Why would I—”

“Or or!" And it's like a switch again, anger suddenly dissipating. "We could name it something cooler! Like Thundoor from Crognard!”

“Thundarr,” He corrects. It's too late, Mikey's joins in.

“That’s awesome, little dude!" Mikey laughs buoyantly. "We should name all the furniture!”

“Yeah!”

And Donnie is so tired and so lost, and Raph is too much and too little of his brother at the same time it’s not even funny anymore. He doesn't think it ever was.

“Come one, Dee!" Mikey hoists Raph onto his shoulders, naturally content to ignore the messy kitchen. "Help Raphie and I name everything in the lair!”

Donnie tries to shake his head as Raph reaches for him. “Can you! Can you, please? Just for a little bit, please, Donnie, please?” Oh, now he recalls his manners.

"No, Raph." He bangs his mug onto the drying rack, ignoring Mikey's frown. "I don't have time for your nonsense questions and weird games. I'm trying to fix you."

It's not until he slams closed the lab door that the words trailing after his dramatic exit finally click. A puzzled sort of muttering from Raph: "Fix me? But I’m not broken."

So maybe he got a little too worked up, as tired as he was. But he's better now! He's eaten. He's slept five hours. He's determined to sit here until he cracks this thing.

And then someone bangs on the door.

He drops his head with a groan. How is he supposed to heroically solve all of their problems in these conditions? “Who is it, and what do you want," he shouts into the pages of his notebook.

"Once a second!"

One second, he mouths to himself. He listens to Raph struggle with the door for a lot of seconds and hopes he'll give up. He probably won't. Donnie better unlock it before he hurts himself. Or worse, starts screaming. Only because Leo would find some way to blame Donnie for it.

He shoves the door open, not at all irritated. Or vindicated either, when Raph falls on his shell and his sai skitter across the floor. Wait. “I thought Sensei took those out of your—Hey!”

Five-year-old Raph may not be much of a ninja but he is pretty slippery. He scrambles under Donnie's arm and launches into the rolling desk chair.

“Raphael." He glowers, summoning his inner Leo, "You are not allowed in the lab—”

“Without you,” he recites, spinning the chair so Donnie only catches glimpses of his cheeky smile. “But you’re here too! So it’s okay.”

It most definitely is not. Raph has no understanding of lab safety right now, so if Raph stays in here, then Donnie will have to keep an eye on him, and if Donnie has to watch Raph, then he can't focus on his work. He does not want Raph in here, and he says so.

“Donnie, I'll be so so so good. Please!” Oh, Mikey absolutely taught him how to do that with his eyes. Not cool, Mike.

“Raph," Donnie faux whines back. "I need to work. Go play with Leo or Mikey."

"Ugh," Raph flops onto his shell, letting his head and limbs hang. “But Sensei and Leo are medating, and Mikey’s with Red."

“Meditating," he corrects, "And I know you know her name is April.”

“Casey calls her Red.”

“Yeah, well, Casey’s a—” Raph looks at him with wide, innocent eyes. A promise on his face that anything Donnie says will be repeated. "It’s polite to call people by their name."

Raph hums, continuing to spin idly, “But I don't call you Donatello, I call you Donnie. And you call me Raph or sometimes Fai.”

Not a bad point. But what was that second thing? Fai? Oh. His brain retrieves fuzzy, forgotten memories. That's right. When they were both little, that had been his nickname for Raph. Just between the two of them. He can't remember when he stopped using it.

“Right," he says slowly. "But those are nicknames. They're a shorter version of your name.”

“Oh, okay.” Then Raph rolls out of the chair, clunking to the ground shell first, and wanders away to explore the lab.

Donnie retakes the seat, resigning himself to further interruptions. Part of his brain is devoted to thinking up better excuses in case this is one of those conversations Raph returns to without warning. The rest of his awareness is on Raph as he pokes and prods at books and equipment and even poor Timothy. It takes the better part of a half hour for him to realise he's still sitting at his desk not moving a muscle.

He growls, gripping his head. Raph is on him in an instant. "What's wrong? Can I help? Do you need a book? Do you want one of mine? I can get Leo! Or Sensei, or—"

"No," Donnie snaps.

He gapes as Raph's beak trembles and his eyes fill with tears. "You're crying. Why are you crying? Please stop crying." He slides to the floor next to Raph, "I'm sorry? It's just. I'm trying to focus! I need to fix you, but I don't—"

“I don’t want you to fix me!” He shouts, scrubbing his face and hiccupping. “I just want to play! Why won’t you play with me anymore?"

“Raph, I," Donnie looks down at his hands, "I don’t have time,” he finishes lamely.

“Yes, you do! You’re just being mean!” He runs out of the lab. Probably to someone who actually understands him. Someone who tries. Donnie wonders if he’ll ever stop messing things up for Raph.

Because as far as they can tell, this version of Raph went to bed one day, and the family he found upon waking was suddenly different. Of course, Raph is frustrated and confused and probably a little scared. He's not just normal Raph in a smaller body. Donnie might've realised that sooner if he'd spent more time with him instead of causing one mess after the other and then hiding from it all in his lab.

Donnie doesn't remember when he was five, but he's heard Sensei's stories about their childhood. The ones about his younger self hanging on Raph's every word. That one embarrassing retelling of the biggest fight Donnie ever caused by announcing Raph was his favorite brother. His father's memories of them doing everything together, at least until Donnie really got into science. So he steps out of the lab and locks it behind him. His brother, this brother, needs to come first.

He must look contrite enough that Leo only grills him a little before he points to Raph's room. After a single breath of indecision, he sits, shell against the door.

“Hey, Fai?” he starts, tugging at his fingers, “I’m really sorry. I have been pretty mean lately, haven’t I?” It takes a few moments, but a little thud echoes on the other side of the door.

Relieved, he continues, “I’m not as good at this as I used to be. I might need your help. But I’m out of my lab right now, and we can play whatever you want.”

Donnie hits the floor before he realises the door has swung open. Little Raph is looking down at him, eyes still watery but excited. "Really? Anything? Even Space Heroes!"

And Donnie almost can't believe it's that easy. He smiles with Raph's infectious joy. “Space Heroes? Who are you, Leo?”

Raph collapses into him with a laugh that banishes the rest of his tears as Donnie reaches out, tickling him just like he's seen their big brother do. He's still giggling when Donnie staggers to his feet. “Think I could use some bedding to build us the Dauntless?”

Raph cheers. Launching into an explanation of his favorite episodes and characters as he directs them around the lair to collect supplies. If this isn't blackmail material, Donnie doesn't know what is. Raph will never be able to deny that he likes Space Heroes ever again. Once Donnie figures out how to reverse this Kraang-smoke-induced de-aging that is.

He does still have to. They need Raph as he should be: their teammate, their protector, their equal. But if he were here in those roles right now, Donnie knows he would have heard a thousand times over that he needs to sleep, to eat, to take a break for at least five minutes, Don, come on.

So he'll try. He'll take breaks to hang out with his favorite brother. He'll get a lot of experience building sheet spaceships and pillow forts. And by the end of it all, Donnie will realise his little brother really does just want to play and ask silly questions that probably don’t seem so silly to him. He'll decide this little version of Raph isn't a puzzle of confusing emotions. He's the same pieces he's always been, unfiltered and untethered from all the pain and fear of their older selves.

And so, even after Raph returns to 16, whenever the thought creeps up on Donnie that he's not doing enough, that he needs to fix it. He'll lock his lab behind him and say, "Hey, Fai! Wanna play something?"

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

kdnfb's Ten Years of Fanfiction Mania

Featuring: Unmasked

Summary: Written under an Anonymous pseudonym ~M~ to fill the following prompt ~ Historical Katniss and Peeta hate each other. They attend a masquerade ball and for some reason end up kissing each other. Sparks fly everywhere. Katniss tries to find the man behind the mask but Peeta knows it was Katniss though he doesnt say anything. They end up bethrothed even if they 'despise' each other. How they fall in love is up to u and how katniss figured out it was peeta is up to u

Rating: E for explicit sexual content, explicit language, implied/referenced rape/nonconsensual (not everlark), implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced suicide, implied/referenced miscarriage, discussions of illness, war, and injury in a historical setting, ptsd, minor character death. They worst of these tags happens offscreen and is merely discussed and dealt with rather than shown here.

A/N: ~Unmasked~ is my longest fic in terms of word count (around 234k), although Outside Chance and Spellbound are not too far behind and are both incomplete. Unmasked started as something meant to be fun and cathartic, then turned into a ridiculously long and self indulgent fic that I still, to this day, have no idea if the anonymous person who submitted the prompt to @everlarkficexchange even read, let alone whether or not they liked it. But I love what I produced for this fic.

Why write it anonymously and only reveal myself later? A couple reasons. 1) Historical is not my wheel house. At least not writing it. I am a shameless consumer of historical romances. I did some research for this fic but not nearly the level I would've liked to have done. Eventually, I said screw it, it's about the vibes not the accuracy. 2) I had a pile of unfinished wips when I started this, to include Outside Chance and Spellbound (both of which are still unfinished hmmmmm) and I really didn't want a lot of questions about when I was going to get back to those while I was working on this because 3) I'd just gone through a small slice of writerly hell to the point that I seriously considered deleting my entire tumblr and all of my fanfic. Details are not important right now, the result is. That's probably the closest I've ever come to calling myself done with fandom.

Then this prompt posted to EFE and wouldn't leave me alone. Eventually, I decided that if I was going to write it, I wanted to write it with as little pressure as possible. So I chose to write and post it as ~M~ until it was finished. Plus, I thought it might make it fun for people other than me if there was a bit of mystery behind it. And I don't regret doing that.

Writing behind a mask allowed me to be as long winded and self-indulgent as I wanted to without worrying about how tight the storyline was or how accurate the historical details were, or wondering if I'd be walking into my tumblr and a barrage of the kind of messages I'd come to dread receiving. The only thing I worried about, really was if the amount and kind of smut I included gave me away prematurely lmao.

While this was my first real foray into the realm of historical fics, I am hoping it's not the last. I've got too many ideas and half started pieces to back out of it now. But those, like this one, will probably remain untethered to a specific real place, and a specific time, mainly because I just don't have that kind of time for research if I'm not getting paid to do it lol. They will be works of love if not works of accuracy.

Unmasked on AO3

[tackytigerfic]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag @lettersbyelise. loved reading yours here!

How many works do you have on ao3?

63 under my tacky account and I think 2 under my brasstacks account.

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

On my tacky account: 358,302.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only HP so far (plus, inexplicably, one Witcher fic even though i wasn't even really into the show let alone in the fandom). I have an idea for a Steve x Eddie fic (stranger things) and an F1 fic (i don't know the fandom or the real life people at all but I am obsessed with the writing of @boxboxlewis and have, fatally, had An Idea for a galex fic as a result. pray for tacky, i can't afford another hyperfixation, the one i have is bad enough). but they will probably never get written, alas. i barely get my drarry stuff done!

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

I never check my stats - i don't have them blocked or anything, it just doesn't occur to me. I also think it's a really unhelpful way of judging the merits of a fic. Fandom is supposed to be fun, and a fic can be great in many different ways for many different people, and none of that can accurately be conveyed by how many hearts people leave. That said, I appreciate every reader i get so much - I never ever imagined people would read my fics so each person who does gets a whole lotta love from me. However for the purposes of this ask i did go into my stats section to have a look and here we go, it might be a surprising one as i suspect Modern Love is probably my most recced:

If It Takes All Night: quick oneshot i wrote for Lock Down Fest, forced bonding, quidditch buddies, friends to lovers.

A Lick and a Promise: My first long fic, a case fic involving an auror/unspeakable team who go undercover as Hogwarts professors to solve a crime at the school. oh and they also happen to be fuckbuddies already.

Modern Love: My own favourite, also my longest fic (so far, mwahaha). Muggle world Draco, depressed Harry learns to love himself and falls in love with Draco along the way.

Through the Window, Clear Skies: 1.4k of love story. so fond of this one as it's the first fic i wrote where i felt like i had finally clicked stylistically. it was the start of me learning to write in my own style rather than trying to emulate the fics i loved to read.

And One to Play: Gosh, i actually do not really remember what this is about. auror partners? Harry loves clothes in this one i remember. And it's about weather magic. I was so proud of this one when i wrote it and really learned a lot at the start of my fic writing journey.

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

Just like Elise, I would love to but I fell massively behind after Modern Love posted and never got my momentum back. I am currently about 3 years behind though i do try to reply whenever i can. i absolutely treasure comments and i really miss interacting with readers. at the moment it's a choice between writing new stuff and replying to comments. i also never ever mind when an author doesn't reply to my comments so i figure people will allow me the same grace.

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

Some people might say it's Last Offices as that's MCD, but my own choice would be The Quiver of a Heartstring because of the sheer hopelessness of it. Depends on your particular flavour of angst i think.

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

Most of my fics are cheerful, I suppose Modern Love as there are two follow up fics so you get to see them happy in both of those, as well as in the epilogue?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not much that anyone tells me about! Someone did feature one of my fics (ironically, the one with most kudos) on some horrible mean-spirited blog about crap mary-sues, which was probably the most out-and-out horrid thing i've come across. i wasn't upset by it, but i did think it was a surprisingly shitty thing to do about anyone's fics! I also had someone leave me very very long comments on one of my fics asking me to explain why I made Harry so mean, and then went on reddit and posted some long posts about the same thing (naming the fics they had a problem with, including mine). bizarre! i have never had out and out hate comments, thankfully. just the usual WELL ACKSHULLY type "concrit" that really just means "i didn't like how you did this, so i'm going to let you know in detail about it". to which i say, off you fuck, buddy, and learn some self-awareness. and brush up on your grasp of fandom etiquette while you're at it.

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

Yes i do, not necessarily all the time and sometimes it's more M or T rated hints. I read fic for the romance and sex is part of that. and i write what i want to read.

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

No i don't, though after chats with my resident F1 expert @sweet-s0rr0w I wondered about writing a racing AU where one of them crashes and ends up in a fiery inferno but walks out of it. only they've come back wrong.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of, i would absolutely hate that though.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

earlier fics yes, but now i ask that people not translate my fics. this is because if i need to delete all my works off AO3 at any point, i would prefer to have them all in one place to scrub them. i know it doesn't work like that but it's just one of those irrational worries i have and it gives me the illusion of control!

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

Yes! Body Electric with @shealwaysreads which is a Drarry bodyswap. And Dreaming Skies with @sweet-s0rr0w which was the Dron dragon-tamer getting together fic of my dreams. love a collab, what a privilege to get to work with such talented people!

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

Drarry absolutely 100% no questions asked. I've never had another ship and never will. my brain just isn't made that way. it's a pain but it is what it is.

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

None, i have quite a few WIPs but I feel like I could go back to any of them at some point. I'd never say never on a fic tbh. if i started writing it, i had a reason. some WIPs i have from years back are: quidditch fic where Draco buys the team Harry plays for, Master of Death Harry fic where he is reckless after the war and Draco dies due to trying to keep up with him, and Harry has to go get him back... umm political fic about a corrupt Ministry where Dudley has a magical baby and Harry and Draco take the kiddo (and Dudley!) and go on the run. i probably have more that i've forgotten.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Not being disingenuous but it's harder for me to appreciate my strengths as I tend to be too immersed in my own writing to have any distance. I think maybe, going by what people have said, I am able to capture a mood? And i write love in a loving way.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

From my own perspective, my weaknesses are being too slow (it takes me ages to write anything), inability to focus for long, and not being a good plotter.

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

Yeah, I think that's fine! i'm not sure what this question refers to tbh 🤔😂 I mean, if it works in the story then it works. I have never done it myself other than in Our Little Life which is a multiverse fic where Harry gets visions of multiple other lives with Draco through space and time. In it they speak Middle English, Latin, Irish... i think that's all?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. i actually wrote an angsty Draco x Ron oneshot YEARS ago (it was called Take This Longing and i went by perfidia back then and i can see the link on the wayback machine but the fic itself is lost sadly.. or actually that might be a good thing) but then I never wrote anything at all ever again until i started writing fic in 2019. i have never been in another fandom and i don't think i ever will. i don't know why i've imprinted so hard on these two idiots but here we are. I have also started writing original work in recent years, again not something i ever imagined doing but it's lovely and satisfying in different ways to the way fic writing is! so i feel very lucky tbh.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Probably Modern Love. It is exactly the fic i wanted it to be, and people who read it seem to get what I wanted to give. and you can't say fairer than that.

Tagging @blamebrampton @boxboxlewis @citrusses @epitomereally @maesterchill @mintawasalreadytaken @porcelainheart3 @shealwaysreads @skeptiquewrites @sweet-s0rr0w @teacup-tai if you fancy it! and anyone who wants to play.

[welcometololaland]

someone pointed out i didn't actually do my own WIP game, so here you go lol. thank you to everyone who participated!!! i love knowing what's on your tasty, tasty plates.

I'd like to encourage anyone who hasn't done this to please do it! This is an open tag from me, you can say lola pressured you ;)

Rules: List your WIPs below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future WIPs/ideas!) then answer the following questions. Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs (or more). (There are also questions for artists/GIF creators below).

For Writers

1. WIP List:

(only my active WIPS):

Not Now But Soon aka 10 Things I Hate About You AU (Tarlos)

When in Rome aka Eurotrip (RWRB)

Call Me (By My Name) (co-write with @rmd-writes) (Tarlos)

Cause of Action aka Set It Up AU (TGM)

[Redacted] Christmas Fic (RWRB)

The Ring-In (Again) aka The Ring-In Sequel (Tarlos)

[Unnamed/Redacted AU] (co-write with @strandnreyes) (Tarlos)

Product Placement aka Sequel to TikTok Fic (Tarlos)

2. Which of your WIPs is currently the longest?

Hands down Eurotrip - I think it's about 45k right now.

3. Which WIP do you expect will end up the longest?

Eurotrip. By my projection, 180k.

4. Which WIP is your favourite to write/the most enjoyable to write? Why?

I love writing my co-writes. I just find them so, so fun to plot and jointly scream about.

But I also find writing The-Ring In 2.0 very easy because it's just so. damn. silly (see also [Redacted] Christmas Fic which I think might be the stupidest thing I've ever written).

5. Which WIP do you find the most intimidating to write? Why?

Eurotrip because it's SO LONG and also I keep having self-doubt.

6. Which WIP do you experience the most self-doubt about. Why?

See above. I think because I keep worrying it's not good enough. I really wanted it to be so perfect and I think that perfectionism is haunting me. Plus, I keep getting discouraged that it's boring and everyone else is doing the same thing but better lol.

7. Which of your WIPs will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? Why?

All of them because frankly I can't be trusted not to give a character six hands or put them in the shower with their clothes on.

8. Have any of your WIPs been struck by the curse of writer's block?

Eurotrip, many times. Not Now But Soon. Cause of Action. Product Placement. All of them have been haunted.

9. Which WIP has your favourite OC? Tell us about them?

Definitely The Ring-In 2.0. I have Richard "Dick" Reynolds, the childhood 'nemesis' of Carlos Reyes that turns up at an inopportune moment. Also, an unnamed OC which will basically be a play on Tad Mikowski from the Aspen episode of South Park (if anyone has seen it).

OH ALSO. REDACTED RWRB CHRISTMAS FIC HAS THE MOST RIDICULOUS OC OF ALL TIME. seriously. i cannot wait to write him.

10. Which WIP is the sexiest?

Well I've barely started The Ring-In 2.0 and they've already fucked in a spin cycle shower stall so...

I think Call Me (By My Name) will also be fyyyyyre since Rae is there with me.

11. Which WIP is the angstiest?

Not Now But Soon or Eurotrip. Neither are particularly angsty, but I don't write angst (well).

12. Which WIP has the best characterisation (in your humble opinion)?

I think the [Redacted] co-write with Jen will be heartwarming and funny and Jen is amazing at characterisation so I have faith she will carry the team ;)

13. Which WIP has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

Eurotrip (I HOPE). The Ring-In 2.0 could be really fucking funny if the scene setting is good. Also, [Redacted] RWRB Christmas fic if I can pull it off. 'Scene setting' but not as you know it ;)

14. Which WIP have you worked the hardest on?

Eurotrip, but it continues to evade me.

15. Which WIP do you have the highest expectations for? Why?

Eurotrip. Which is the whole damn problem with it.

16. Do you dream about any of your WIPs?

Yes. I hate it because I can dream it but not write it (WHY?)

17. Do any of your WIPs have particular complexities that your other fics don't?

Eurotrip, because the characters are covering a lot of distance (literally). It involves more research than the others. Call Me (By My Name) for [redacted] REASONS.

18. Which WIP is the funniest or has the most humour?

Oh shit. All of them? Humour is my brand people!! I mean The Ring-In 2.0 will be straight up ridiculous, of course. I have cackled over the plotting for [redacted] with Jen and Call Me (By My Name). There are some truly stupid moments in Eurotrip. The whole of Product Placement is basically crack. The REDACTED RWRB CHRISTMAS FIC. GUYS. THIS FUCKING FIC. WILL BE THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN (also it has nothing to do with Christmas don't look at me).

19. Do any of your WIPs contain outside POVs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? How are you finding that process?

Not really, but I have to create some OCs for The Ring-In 2.0 and also bring back a bunch of existing OCs from the original, which makes the characterisation aspect a little more complex.

20. Tell us one thing we don't know about one or more of your WIPs.

Redacted RWRB Christmas fic is basically being co-created by my sister who offered to jump into my Google docs. A family affair!

Thanks again to everyone for playing!

[chameliyun]

20 Q's for Fic Writers

thanks for the tag @spacejammie-eimmajecaps!

How many works do you have on ao3? Officially 8, but I have one on anon and one currently unrevealed in a fic exchange

What's your total ao3 word count? 61,996

What fandoms do you write for? So far I've written for Death Note, Tangled the Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Haikyuu, plus a couple of crossovers. Haikyuu is definitely my main rn though

What are your top five fics by kudos? #1: Frosting and Freckles: 69 (nice) #2: Draw Me Near: 39 #3: [embarrassing anon fic]: 35 #4: Varian Is Not a Wizard: 25 #5: Midnight Coda: 21

Do you respond to comments? Yeah, I love to! I don't get a lot so they always make me happy :)

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? probably the anon fic sdfsk but other than that, Midnight Coda is kinda bittersweet because of what happens later

What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? hmm idk but the sappiest is definitely Frosting and Freckles

Do you get hate on fics? Not so far, thankfully! I don't think I have a big enough readership for that haha

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I have not; not sure what kind it would be if I did

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I love writing crossovers! A PJO/HP crossover was actually what got me into fanfic. Unfortunately most of them are merely concepts or abandoned (for now), but as for crazy, I think my Lunar Chronicles/PJO one is the craziest in terms of how the plot grew out of control from a simple "what if these two characters interacted" to "I could rewrite most of this series," which is why I got stuck and put it on hiatus lol but I do want to get back to it someday. Maybe once I finish my other active crossover

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge

What's the longest you've spent working on one fic? And the shortest? Uhhh well if we count "working on" as "having it in the back of mind to get to but haven't worked on in months," probably Sent from the Heavens lol. If not, then Varian Is Not a Wizard (just over two years since I published the first chapter). Shortest is definitely Midnight Coda, since I wrote that pretty much in a day iirc

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but it sounds like it could be fun!

What's your all-time favorite ship? From all fandoms? Dude I have no idea how to narrow that down. Best I can give you is my current fave is Tsukkiyama from Haikyuu

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Probably my "Leo Valdez ends up in the ATLA world" one :sob: It never made it past the word doc and about three pages of story and I haven't looked at it in like two years

What are your writing strengths? I like to think I'm pretty good at dialogue and grammar/spelling

What are your writing weaknesses? Everything else (jk). I am awful at describing scenes/settings; I get bored writing them so I don't put as much effort in as I should haha. I also tend to ramble and use passive voice too much

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I haven't done it, but I think it's fine as long as it fits the context

First fandom you wrote for? Published: Avatar: The Last Airbender. Unpublished: Percy Jackson

Favorite fic you've written? I think it's still Bent Out of Shape. It's so niche, but I had an idea and I executed it, and I'm proud of what I accomplished. Although once I finish Varian Is Not a Wizard, that might take the top slot.

No-pressure tagging: @supermarine-silvally @starrynightarchive @litterateur97 @palant1r @soreiya @lilac-writes @oloreandil @kandybarkreepshow @ellegamgee and anyone else who wants to!

[luninosity]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love! Tagged by @estrellami-1 - thank you, my dear! <3 Let's see, fanfic specifically, not original works, I imagine...well, I've got a lot! The question is, which... Okay, these are just my personal favs, not even necessarily the ones I think might be the best-written, and I'm also excluding co-authored fic because that would be a very different list! (For one thing, Amateur Cartography, with Reg....) 1. straight from your heart (Stucky) - lots of people seem to like this one (thank you!) and I do too - I love recovering!Bucky stories, I loved the premise (it was written for a fest prompt), and I love the idea of Steve and Bucky working out what they want to incorporate, and play with, and reclaim, as far as identities (and, okay, some kink; it's me!). 2. Like Sugar (Evanstan; series) - okay, this is probably cheating because it's a whole series, but I can't separate them! This might be the thing people know me for most, maybe, and it was at the time the longest and most detailed story I'd ever written, and one of those that was (mostly) easy to write - words and scenes just turned up and flowed. I sometimes go back and reread my writing and am honestly impressed by myself. I do love this whole giant thing. 3. tempt me, tease me (leave me breathless) & (baby won't you please) run your fingers through my hair (both Evanstan, both sort of gentle kink) - okay, this is also kind of cheating, because they're two separate stories - except they're sort of linked, in my head? They have vaguely similar premises, about Chris discovering some things about Seb's preferences, and love confessions, and kink, and comfort, and...I don't know, they just have a similar 'feel' to my writer-brain. They both have specific lines that I've put on "top ten favorite sentences I've written" lists before, and I love my writing at this point. 4. never mind the why and wherefore (Johnny Storm/TJ Hammond Fantastic Four/Political Animals no-powers AU crossover) - this is an odd random one but I genuinely love it! In the category of "stories I never expected to write"...and then friends made me think about it...and then suddenly it practically wrote itself and I had 45k of story. One of the best and most unexpected and consequently wonderful writing experiences I've ever had, plus of course TJ deserves all the happiness! 5. Know That It's True (Cherik, X-Men: First Class era) - pulling out a real old-school one: this was my first-ever X-Men fic! Well, to be fair, that depends on how you count - it's the first one I started writing, but then I stopped and wrote and finished something else short, and then went back to this one! These days my writing style has evolved a bit, and there're some things I'd do differently - but the sheer sense of fun to it, the absolute joy, the "oh gosh YES" rush of feels while writing, posting, being so nervous about it as a new(ish) writer...oh, I love it. And I tumbled into so many communities and friendships and fan events and fests and, oh, the shared love - really, without this, I don't know where I'd be. So that's always got to be on a list of favorites. *hugs you all* Tagging people, oh, let's see... @musette22 @significantowl @ninemoons42 @thebestpersonherelovesbucky @rozf and anyone else who wants to! love you!

[fullyvisible]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love

Ooohh, I love this!!! Here we go:

Stay (Glee, Sebastian Smythe/Dave Karofsky) - this was my first-ever fanfic, written more than a decade ago, and I still have a lot of love for it!! Would I change things if I wrote it now? Sure! But I'm still damn proud of it.

Thank You for the Flowers (Legends of Tomorrow/The Flash, Barry Allen/Leonard Snart) - my first non-Glee/Smythofsky fic (... but still involving a character played by Grant Gustin lol)! It was my first time participating in a Big Bang, too, and there's lovely accompanying art by @oriley42 :)

We Deserve It (Legendborn, Bree Matthews/Nick Davis/Selwyn Kane) - you know that feeling when the characters won't get out of your head? This fic emerged from one of those times! Also, my first time writing an OT3! I'm very proud of the way I got into the heads of a new set of characters and let myself play with a world that wasn't fully built.

Secrets and Honesty (All for the Game, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard) - this is my first REAL multi-chapter fic, and it's by FAR my most popular fic to date (seriously, it's an order of magnitude ahead of anything else I've written by pretty much whichever stat you look at). And I love it! Minyard-Josten Rivalry! Top tier Kevin Day friendship! A nice helping of Jerejean on the side, plus some Renison! I wrote EXACTLY what I wanted to read and, as a bonus, other people wanted to read it, too.

To Be Certain We'll Be Tall Again (All for the Game, Kevin Day/Jean Moreau/Jeremy Knox) - this is my longest [posted] fic so far, and, while this list is just in chronological order and while picking favorite fics is like picking favorite children ... if I had to pick just one, it might be this one. I love Kevin Day and I love angst with a happy ending and I turned all of that up to 11 in this one!! AND it helped inspire A Falling Star, the INCREDIBLE series by @knickknacksandallthat <3 So that in and of itself is enough to make this one of my favorites :)

[amethystina]

I saw someone ask how many chapters you think Who Holds the Devil will be, and it got me thinking about how long (word wise) it might actually end up being since it’s already ~270K. This fic is a monster where it currently stands and if there’s still a lot left to go, the final word count might be insane. It makes me curious as to what the longest fic you’ve ever written was. Have you ever written a singular fic as big as this one before? What’s the most challenging part of writing stories this big? Is it outlining, continuity, or is it less to do with the story itself and more to do with things like potential burnout etc.?

(Okay, so, this is going to be quite long (which is very on-brand), perhaps a little more detailed than you asked for, and also delve into my insecurities in a way that might be TMI. Read at your own risk x'D)

Yeah, I can't say for sure how many chapters I'll write or how high the final word count will be, but it's definitely going to be a very, very long fic.

As for other fics I've written, my very first fanfic was a series (three parts that tell an overarching story, plus nine bonus chapters) that clocks in at 290k. And, after that, I've written two more than go past the 100k mark, one at 183k (if you count the bonus chapters) and another that lands at 127k. So writing long fics isn't anything new to me, but Who Holds the Devil is definitely the longest so far.

As for the most challenging part, that differs depending on the story. That first fic I wrote was a Teen Wolf one where I basically did a third season (before the actual third season aired) and the challenge was definitely the continuity, keeping all the details in order (both from canon and my own creations), and making sure to write the frankly rather big cast of characters in a believable way. It was meant to be a cohesive story that spanned over three parts, but each part also had to have its own internal structure and climax, slowly building up to the big finale in the third instalment. Hilariously enough, I was too young and dumb to even realise how big of an undertaking that was and just kept writing, blissfully unaware of my own hubris. And, somehow, I pulled it off.

But in hindsight? I was nothing short of insane. Especially considering my, at the time, untested skills at actually finishing a story of that length — in English, to boot, which isn't even my native language. I had written original stories before that, some of which were quite long, but none of that size or complexity. Like, I'm not sure I would dare try that now, even with the added experience and skills I've accumulated since then x'D

Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss.

Anyhow, the more I write, the easier the outlining, continuity, pacing, characters etc. gets so that's rarely a problem. And a lot of that has always come naturally to me in a way I can't really explain. Like, that 183k fic? I wrote that entirely without a timeline, outline, or notes. I just kept it all in my head and went by instinct and, somehow, never had to go back and correct a mistake — not even once. Which is kind of wild when I look back on it (not to mention reckless) but yeah. And the fic is Autonomy, for those of you wondering.

I don't know what it's like for others, but I rarely get stuck on planning and outlining. I usually just figure out a beginning and a couple of key scenes and off I go. And then everything just falls into place as I keep writing, sort of outlining itself without conscious effort from me, long before I actually reach that point in the story (my brain works faster than my hands, I guess? xD). So I usually figure out the ending before I reach the halfway point and then it's just a matter of filling in the empty spaces in between. And, somehow, my brain just automatically manages to figure out the pacing, continuity, and details without me having to pay attention. Don't ask me how that works, it just does x'D

Since it's so much bigger, I do have a timeline for Who Holds the Devil, though, to keep track of where we are and remember important dates (like Go Eun's birthday! :D) as well as a document with notes for future scenes. But that's mostly because I got so excited about some of them and wanted to write down all the cool dialogue before I accidentally forgot it.

So I would say that the more experience I get, it's definitely not the story itself that makes writing long fics difficult — that part is honestly the easy one. Burnout is definitely a factor, though, especially for a fic of this length. Basically, I'm a sprinter, not a marathon runner. I will usually write a lot of words in a short period of time, then have long stretches when I write nothing at all. If I divide my total word count from last year, I actually wrote over 500 words a day, except it's usually more along the lines of 6k three days in a row, then nothing for three weeks x'D

Anyway, since I know this about myself, I usually never start posting a fic until I've finished writing it, since there might otherwise be months without updates. But I obviously had to change that with Who Holds the Devil and that has proven a bit of a challenge, I will admit. I'm not used to regular or even semi-regular updates like this, so I've had to change my habits quite a lot. But I still make sure to recognise when I have to take longer breaks (which does happen, usually after a very intense portion of the fic) just to let my brain cool down a little.

Fortunately, since I'm very goal-oriented, I never lose sight of what I'm doing, however, even during these breaks. I'm not someone who needs to feel inspired or motivated to keep writing, so I can just pick it up again whenever I like. That's not to say I force myself to write, but I can usually trick myself into getting excited enough to continue simply by taking myself over that first hurdle when everything just feels boring and uninteresting.

I'm stubborn as all hell, is what I'm saying, which is definitely useful when writing long fics.

Because, at a certain point, you're going to need more than just inspiration and eagerness if you want to finish. I have not written a single long fic during which I didn't have a moment — often more than one — where I questioned if I truly wanted to continue or not, either because I was at a boring part of the story or felt overwhelmed by the thought of how much further I had to go.

And that's honestly the most challenging part with Who Holds the Devil. I'm confident in my writing, my characterisation, my ideas, and even my plot, but sometimes when I look at my notes and see how much more I have to write, all I feel is doubt. And, in an interesting turn of events, it's not even my own commitment I'm doubting, but everyone else's.

I know I can get through this and stick with this fic to the bitter end, but can you?

Now, don't misunderstand me — my readers don't owe me anything. You can stop reading any time and you should if you're not enjoying the story, but I would be lying if I said that the amount of criticism and questions I get about the length isn't beginning to wear me down. It makes me second-guess every single choice I've made about the plot, pacing, and overall tone of the story.

At the same time, of course I get why people ask. Some want to know when they can start reading because WIPs are scary (I can totally relate) and these readers have no reason to trust me when I say that I will finish this fic, come hell or high water. Heck, I've already lost two grandparents during the writing of this fic and I'm still going. I even tried to write one chapter while sitting at my grandmother's bedside, waiting for her to die (bad idea in hindsight, my writing was very incoherent — do not recommend).

But it's not like everyone who runs across my fic automatically knows that. They don't know me so of course they'll ask, not knowing that they're the fifth person to do so in less than two months. And that kind of hurts.

And I won't deny that there's probably a bit of pride involved as well — it's annoying to have people question my choices — but, more than anything, it's telling me that I must be doing something wrong. My readers don't trust me. And, well, that's kind of alarming as a writer, when the whole point is to take someone on a ride and they keep asking you for directions or "are we there yet?"

Clearly, I'm doing something wrong.

Now, this is not EVERYONE. I have so, so many lovely readers who enjoy both the insane length and glacial slow burn of this fic — I know that. But there's always a niggling doubt at the back of my mind that I'm eventually going to alienate every single reader because this fic is just Too Long. Or that they'll simply give up on the story since it's going to take us beyond Yo Han and Ga On kissing. Like, this fic isn't just about the two of them getting together, but also how they'll make their relationship work in the long term with their individual and shared baggage taken into account. It's going to continue long past the point of them kissing for the first time, as well as them having sex for the first time.

And a lot of people lose interest after the first kiss or the first sex scene. Which is fine — each to their own — but it's very disheartening to be told that as the author. I've had people ask me in what chapter they'll finally kiss so they can jump to that chapter and ignore the rest. I've had people tell me they're going to stop reading because they just can't stand the annoyingly slow burn anymore. I've had people tell me the fic is already too long for them to read and, here I am, knowing it'll take a lot more words to even come close to finishing it.

And that, at least in the case with Who Holds the Devil, is the biggest challenge — to stay motivated and committed when more and more people are telling me I'm not doing this right. It's daunting enough as a writer to look at your fic and realise that, damn, I have such a long way to go, without also having people tell you, to your face, that, yeah, that's way too fucking long, what the fuck are you doing?

It makes you wonder why you should even keep going, especially when you know how much time and effort you're going to have to devote to the project.

What's the point?

Because despite all the lovely comments I get, praising the level of detail and how realistic everything feels, we all know that negative comments have a tendency to stick with us longer. I can't ignore them even if I desperately want to. And, to make matters worse, not all of them are even intended to be mean. Some just want to know how long the fic will be — which is fully reasonable. But those entirely reasonable questions just pile on top of this mountain of doubt I already have, telling me that this is all pointless. My commitment to this fic is a mistake. I'm wasting my time. It's not Good Enough. It's Too Long.

Now, all that said, I love Who Holds the Devil. I love exploring the characters and the story, and I honestly don't think I'll stop writing it. Because, cliché as it might sound, I do write for myself, not others. I share with others because I know people like my writing, but I'd still be writing even if no one wants to read it. So, worst-case scenario, if people are no longer interested, I'll just keep writing it but will stop posting.

Because, when it comes down to it, I don't need validation to write. I can write in complete solitude. As mentioned, I usually finish a fic before posting, which means I've sometimes completed a 60k fic without a single word of encouragement from another person. I LOVE validation, as most writers do, but I don't actually need it to keep working on a project.

Interestingly, what I'm seeing with Who Holds the Devil, is that too much attention can, apparently, instead make me doubt my commitment to a project in a way that's honestly pretty fascinating? I felt more confident about the fic BEFORE I started posting it, BEFORE I knew if anyone would even want to read it x'D

Now is when I feel the doubt, because what these comments are telling me is that, sure, a lot of people would want to read this fic, but it's too long so now they're not gonna. And, in many ways, that feels like a failure on my part, even if I of course know that tastes differ, we can't please everyone etc. etc.

Tell that to my anxiety.

So yeah. For me, personally, it's definitely outside things that make writing long fics difficult, more specifically opinions from other people that make me doubt my skill level, intentions with the fic, and if it's even worth writing in the first place. I'm actually pretty confident about the rest and, even if I struggle sometimes, I can usually push my way through those issues.

Sidenote: As someone who likes to analyse people's behaviour (including my own), it's pretty fascinating to realise that my biggest issue isn't that I feel pressured to produce more or post on a certain schedule — which is what most fanfic authors struggle with — but that I might, in fact, be doing too much? My fic is just too goddamn long for people to handle.

Like, you gotta admit — that's pretty funny xD

Anyway. All of that said, know that I don't regret writing Who Holds the Devil and that I certainly don't regret posting it. I also have every intention of finishing it and I doubt I'll actually reach a point where I'll stop posting. As long as there's even one person out there who enjoys reading the fic, that's enough for me to keep posting.

So to all of you out there — especially if you happen to be one of those who just casually asked me how long the fic will be without knowing all of this shit — I'm fine. I'm not angry or upset with you. I know the majority of you love the fic and wouldn't want me to change a thing. I also know that these insecurities of mine are… well, not unreasonable, but I don't need to listen to them. And I try my best not to (it's just difficult some days, you know?)

So, to finish this off, just know that I love you, appreciate you, and have no regrets. And thank you so, so much for reading my fic, even if it's long, and taking the time to comment, kudos, or even just gush about it with your friends. To know that my writing brings joy to other people and that it can help support you through difficult times or make your day better is the best feeling ever.

Thank you 💜

… also, chapter 29 will probably be another 15k one, because fuck my life x'D

[retrowhatever]

So basically all I've done in the last week is consume an unhealthy amount of Horizon fanfic. I don't have an ao3 account (yet) so I thought I would put my list of faves here. I've ordered them from shortest to longest. This is the first of two posts.

Ereloy fics I love:

Glarebreak by @dark-t1des-hzd - 850 words / Teen & Up - short and sweet scene of Erend being hopelessly in love and Aloy being injured

The Greatest Moment by @pikapeppa - 1200 words / Teen & Up - short scene at a festival with an absolutely dazzling kiss

Sparkstruck by @yogrossdude - 1200 words / Teen & Up - short scene of Erend tripping over his words when he sees Aloy in Oseram armor

A Forthright Woman by @dawnfromzero - 1500 words / General - bewildered Erend not realizing she's into him too

The Serendipity of Thunderjaws by blue_dragon1836 - 1700 words / Teen & Up - injured Erend and probably my favourite Aloy-kisses-him-first moment

Chainscrape by @dark-t1des-hzd - 2100 words / Teen & Up - I won't ever get tired of Aloy getting mad enough that Erend just confesses his love, plus the last line of this one is *chef's kiss*

another lesson learned in blood by sunspot - 2600 words / Teen & Up - Erend would die for her (don't worry, he doesn't) and I would die for them

you are unbreaking, though quaking by @plaidflannelcake - 3000 words / Mature - I have such a weak spot for like mind control fics (spoiler alert for my upcoming niloy list) and this one about corruption arrows scratches the itch

a sky full of light and none of them stars by @rhovanels - 3400 words / Teen & Up - condensed slow burn, plus drunk Erend falls out a window

your hands on every part of me by justalittlebluetiefling - 3600 words / Mature / HFW spoilers - just a raunchy scene at the base but also Erend is in love because duh

your hands on every part of me by @soupandchaos - 3600 words / Teen & Up - come for the sexy sparring, stay for Erend flexing

Thread Together by @yogrossdude - 3600 words / Teen & Up - single scene where Aloy gets injured and Erend stitches her up while being awkward

Long Road Ahead by @ladymaliwan - 4300 words / Teen & Up - I love drunk Erend and I love drunk and confused Erend even more

Steady by theyloy - 4500 words / Mature / mild HFW spoilers - Erend is surprisingly delicate when applying body paint, Aloy is unsurprisingly flustered

old wounds by @yogrossdude - 4500 words / Teen & Up - Erend is injured and Aloy is mad at him, quelle surprise

A Chance by @brandyllyn - 5000 words / Explicit / mild HFW spoilers - Aloy thinks she's missed her chance and Erend is bewildered as usual

outside looking in by I_heart_thunderjaws - 6600 words / Teen & Up / HFW spoilers - Big ol' mutual pining, the ending is so sweet I almost cried, and fun cameos from the rest of the gang

Playing Games series by @soupandchaos - 7900 words / 2 works / Explicit / HFW spoilers - stripstrike. that's it, that's the fic

Hearth by @yogrossdude - 8400 words / 3 chapters / Teen & Up - hypothermia and unresolved tension

those wings in your spine by @theherocomplex - 8800 words / Teen & Up - Erend is charming and lovestruck and dense, so basically he's Erend, kind of a slow burn I guess

simmer down and pucker up by @skellagirl - 9000 words / Explicit - injured, tattooed Erend and Aloy being shocked that she's into him

Fire and Spit by @godliath - 15k words / 10 chapters / Teen & Up - a good slow burn with lots of lovestruck gentleman Erend

Honourable mention: The Moth by @sacrificethemtothesquid - 250k words / 92 chapters / Explicit - look I don't think anyone needs to be told about this fic considering it's the #1 ereloy fic on ao3 and honestly I've only read like a third of it and it's almost too angsty for me because I'm a delicate flower so I probably won't finish it but the Vanguard in this are amazing and Tandin might be my favourite OC in all the Horizon fic I've read so we're including this for him and the rest of the Oseram weirdos

I can't draw and I haven't written anything in years and years, so consider this a small contribution to the fandom. I'd love to hear anybody else's fanfic recs as well!

Oh and I used the tumblr @'s for people whose names I could find. Happy to edit to include the @'s for anyone I'm missing, just tell me who I should be crediting!

Part 2: Niloy recs

[umbracirrus]

20 Questions for Writers

Tagged by the lovely @thequeenofthewinter to answer some questions, and I will leave an open tag to anyone who wants to answer to feel free to say that I tagged them 💛

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have three, at present - I have posted many a fic to AO3 over the years, but with my current account, just three.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

70,506 at present

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Elder Scrolls at present, though only have Skyrim posted at present - hoping to get something for Oblivion posted soon though! I've also recently dabbled in writing some things for BG3, and also Stardew Valley (though I don't think that any of them will be posted unless I find myself very satisfied with how they end up). Historically, I've delved into and posted Fire Emblem (primarily Awakening/Fates/Three Houses because they were the main games I had played), and even further back (back when I first started writing fanfic when I was about 12/13! I just realised I've been writing fanfic for half my life writing that out!) Pokemon.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

As I only have three fics posted on AO3, I can only do them, but in order: 1. The Perfect Storm (it's my main and longest fic to date, so unsurprising) with 117 kudos 2. Purity (a Vilkas/Dragonborn oneshot) with 17 kudos 3. Seeking the Sun (prequel to The Perfect Storm which I started on after it!) with a mere 2 kudos.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Where I can string together a coherent thought, and if I remember (and I am terrible at remembering!) I try to!! But I do read every single one, even if I don't remember to respond.

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

Now, as I haven't finished any fics (as of yet) beyond a few oneshots, I will have to base my answer on some plans for the few fics which I have planned out, and I believe that the story with my Hero of Kvatch Aelia is most likely to have the angstiest ending. She throws away her entire support network, including friends and family, to wallow in her misery and grief in the Shivering Isles, descending into madness, because all she wants to do is bring Martin back.

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

I really want it to be The Perfect Storm! I haven't planned out the ending for it yet, but I want it to be happy. However, I shall delight in stirring the pot and make Elyse and Balgruuf work for that happy ending, you hear? 😂

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really? The closest thing to that which I got was being told that my writing was 'too dramatic'... Shame that I love writing me some drama. Dramatics can be taken from my cold, dead hands.

9. Do you write smut?

Yeah, though I don't think that I've posted any of it yet.... I still need to actually finish the smut which I was writing for my birthday. My birthday which was over a month ago. Ooops.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope. I just don't really like them. It's something I've always got to filter out when reading fics.... The closest I'd get to writing a crossover is, say, references to stuff from Oblivion in a Skyrim fic? But would that technically even be a crossover, if they're both Elder Scrolls? Though they are separate games....

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, no, not that I know of...

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Does it count if I tried co-writing a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon fic with a self-insert shiny Eevee with a ff.net friend when I was like 13 that we never posted???? If not, no!

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

Honestly... I think it might be the fic based around Elyse's parents, Ingja and Edwyn, which I've only posted the first chapter to here on Tumblr. I know their story - it's all very firmly in my head, and is set to be referred to across Seeking the Sun and The Perfect Storm, but I simply don't think that I would be able to finish it... Plus I like keeping Edwyn's fate very vague. Though Ingja dies, because Elyse will meet her in Sovngarde when she goes to fight Alduin, what happens to Edwyn I've left ambiguous, hence why I don't think I would be able to finish it. He simply leaves one day and after sending Elyse a handful of letters he disappears. It gives me opportunity to maybe bring him in at some point down the line in The Perfect Storm... I kinda want to write a scenario where Balgruuf meets Edwyn now. Damn.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'd like to say dialogue. I don't like putting dialogue into a fic unless I can mentally hear the line in the character's voice, if that makes any sense? If I can't hear it, or can't imagine a character saying it, I won't include it. But in addition to that, a lot of my scene-building and whatnot comes from using dialogue as a baseline. Obviously there are times where that isn't the case, but I do love writing little conversations to push a scene along.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I do believe that just as it is a strength, dialogue is also a weakness! Sometimes, I find myself over-relying on dialogue simply to 'fill space'. Where something like non-verbal communication, or environmental descriptions or even a change of scene would fit better, I'll just throw in some dialogue in the same way that I add cheese to meals - in overabundance! In addition, I would say that finding a way to bridge scenes together is another weakness of mine. I can have a chapter mostly complete, but without that one last bridging moment - often simply a sentence or paragraph or two which can join two scenes together - I simply cannot bring myself into completing it.

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

Now, in terms of reading it, I find it really cool as long as some sort of way to translate it is available! In that vein, I do sometimes use some of the dragon language in my fics - mostly when a dragonborn is communicating with Paarthurnax or Odahviing - and I'll have a full list of translations to include in the end notes. On that note, I swear that I have https://www.thuum.org/ open in a separate tab almost constantly when I'm writing just in case!!! I've always found that most useful when trying to include the dragon language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

That'd probably have to be for Pokemon Ranger Guardian Signs, though none of those fics were ever typed up (I think???). I still remember excitedly pulling the odd page from school exercise books to staple together whilst scavenging for pens to write me some more Pokemon Ranger fanfic.......

20. Favourite fic you've written?

The Perfect Storm, absolutely. Though I do sometimes think of going back to work on/improve some of my earlier chapters in the fic, in particular surrounding Elyse's experience in Windhelm because I'm not as in love with that as I once was. My love for Balgruuf (and Elyse, and the two of them together!) fuels my love, favouritism, and bias towards the fic.

[dragonladyzarz]

Fanwork creators self rec! When you get this, reply with your five favorite fics/art/podfics/etc. that you've made, then pass on to others. Let’s spread the self-love 🌼

From @anstarwar :}

Thanks for asking!

Hmmm. Tough choice! I'm not sure I can pick "favorite" stories, so let's just say that these are 5 that I really love:

The Garden - This was the first multi-chapter story I ever started actually writing down with the intent to post. It's also the longest story I've ever written by quite a bit, and while I love all my fix-it stories, I think it's my favorite "ending state" - or at least I've written more sequels for this than any of my other stories! Plus, I really love having a piece commissioned from @anstarwar to go with this fic.

Do You Swear to Walk in the Light? - Speaking of sequels, I was quite proud that I actually managed to keep this as a reasonably self-contained, short-and-sweet story of an important moment in Cody's life.

Past the Bannerline - My first Big Bang! It was a lot of fun getting to work with my artists and beta, plus this was my first time attempting an AU and a mystery.

Let's Make a Deal - I have a definitely fondness for the question "What if the world, and the people in it, weren't quite so evil as they might seem?" This turned out to not be as popular as the other fic I wrote at almost the same time (to be fair, I'm really proud of that one, too), but I'm still really pleased at how it turned out and how I was ably to build Cody and Rex's relationship.

The Legend of 1900: An Ending, and a Beginning - While at this point I'm basically a Star Wars writer, this is the first fic I ever wrote or published - back on ff.net in December 2007. I wouldn't publish another story for a year and a half after that, and it was twelve years after that before I published my next story - my first Star Wars story. But it's neat to look back and see that this was what started my journey as a fanfic author.

[marcellebelle]

20 questions for writers

I was tagged to do this by @isnt-it-pretty , so thank you for that!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I think 16

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

535,969. Most of that is from my longest fic tbh.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I actively write for BHNA and FMA. I also have a crossover with Death Note, and have written for Les Mis (crossover) and Naruto too. When I was younger I wrote a fic for Undertale and a couple for Avengers which I've now orphaned since I know I won't be continuing with those fandoms or fics.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Eraserhead - 8153 (BNHA fic)

the tin can man - 3124 (BNHA and FMA crossover/fusion fic)

not the first time (but hopefully the last) - 985 (BNHA fic)

When The Rain Falls - 834 (FMAB fic)

Izuku has a guardian... something and his name is Light Yagami - 810 (Death Note and BNHA crossover)

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

I do my best to within a couple of days on my actively updating long fic. I try to respond on my other fics too but because those fics aren't at the forefront of my mind sometimes it takes me until the next update to get around to responding.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I would say not the first time (but hopefully the last) since even though the ending is sort of hopeful, it's definitely still angsty.

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

Probably Eraserhead? It's a crack fic but like All For One retires to become a botanist by the end so I'd say that's a plus.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I actually have done before. When I was eleven on ff.net I wrote a twilight fic and decided that speech marks were too much effort to bother with. Definitely regretted that choice and received some pretty cruel feedback for it. Eleven year old me definitely learned a lesson that day.

Since then I've not really gotten hate hate, but there have definitely been a few comments that have been a little negative about my choice of plot device or something like that which is okay. It's not something I take to heart (and sometimes the advice is good.)

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

I've never written smut and tbh I probably never will because I find romantic relationships the hardest to write!

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

I write quite a lot of crossovers. In terms of craziest it would have to be the tin can man because that's just become a thing unto it's own.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Same as above!

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

Never! I'd like to say I'd be open to the idea but tbh I'd probably have a lot of trouble sticking with it as my schedule is all over the place.

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

I think Erasermic just for the comfort.

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

When The Rain Falls. I've got so many other projects going on its just fully on the back burner at this point. I would like to finish it so I might just devote a month to writing solely that and get it to some sort of conclusion, but we'll see.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I would probably say characterisation and plotting/world building. I do think my dialogue can be quite good but it depends how invested in the scene I am. I'm definitely better at writing angst than regular conversation.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I don't have a beta reader and I have a tendency to skim read so I know I post chapters with mistakes even after combing through them. Plus I'm impatient, so it'll be little things like words missed out of a sentence that my brain has automatically filled in, in my rush to get it published! I think also I make my sentences too wordy and quite often can't seem to find the right structure. Like I know what I want to say but I can't get it onto the page in the right order.

Also I think my plots can become a bit too unwieldy meaning I have to work very hard to keep up with all my odds and ends of character arcs and plot devices etc. which is also fun!

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

I personally wouldn't as I don't want to make a fic less accessible and I don't trust myself to get it right. French is the only other language I have enough understanding in that I probably could muddle my way through finding the correct grammar etc but I don't want my readers having to break out google translate for my fics.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

That would have to be Twilight when I was eleven.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

the tin can man - a BNHA and FMA crossover. It's everything to me and I've put so much of myself into it. I know I'm going to finish it, even though it is a huge project. I have adhd and anxiety and so projects for me are difficult and even just finishing it would be amazing so I can prove to myself that I can do it!

I'm tagging @alighted-willow @aobawilliams @dumbassrasure @shadowwolfsworld

no pressure to do this! :-)

[anneapocalypse]

Fanfic Author Self-Recs!

Tagged by @chocochipbiscuit to rec five of my own fics! Thank you for the tag!

This was surprisingly difficult, as I sort of wanted to go multi-fandom for this one, and I found myself looking at all the fandoms I've written for and having a hard time choosing which to focus on!

A Pot to Piss In. Dragon Age, Sera gen backstory fic, 41K, rated M. Definitely my favorite DA fic I've written so far. It was so, so much fun and it's a huge love letter to Sera's character and has a lot of side OCs I loved writing and I'm just so stinkin' happy with it.

No Woman Rules Alone. Dragon Age, Anora/F!Tabris, 34K, rated E. The longest exchange fic I've written to date and the one that I feel like really solidified my love of writing about politics (and femslash, and Tabrises) in this fandom. It was an incredibly fun project and I'm very fond of it.

The Drop Trilogy. Red vs. Blue, Maine/Carolina, 240K total, rated E. My RvB OTP fic, the longest project I've ever written for fandom and one that's still really close to my heart. It's about Maine, it's about the Meta, it's about Maine and Carolina, it's about isolation and loss and abuse and sorrow and hope and redemption.

Inroads series. Red vs. Blue, Carolina/Kimball, 74K total, various ratings up to E. Carolina's adventures in self-sabotage, and a relationship that might actually work out despite her best efforts! My main Kimbalina series, three one-shots and a longfic, taking place before and during season 13 (which made it an absolute nightmare to plot and I'm so proud I actually managed to make it work). I'm especially proud of the longfic, The Way We Win, but I'm still fond of the one-shots as well and it's probably best to read those first for context.

Cast Your Bread Upon the Water. Fallout, Dr. Madison Li/Star Paladin Cross, past Madison/Catherine/James, plus Madison & female Lone Wanderer, 26K, rated M. This is a fic I wrote for a Big Bang, and is illustrated by my good friend @ialpiriel. It's a story about Dr. Li in the late days of Fallout 3's story, after the Enclave takeover of Project Purity, as she confronts her past with James, the present life his actions have once again left in shambles, the complicated feelings stirred up by meeting his daughter, and a connection with an unlikely companion.

Tagging @ialpiriel, @farfromdaylight, @rosella-writes, @darethshirl, @rakshadow, and anyone else who'd like to play.

[emileesaurus]

Fanfic ask meme: 🎯 🔮

🎯 Do you have a writing milestone you’re working towards?

I kinda wish I had an answer to this one. I don't do a ton of stat tracking. Tinderbox is over 50k words as of the last chapter, and the next one I post will be chapter 10... that's neat! It's the longest fic I've written, so every chapter is a milestone for me, sort of.

🔮 Any advice for writers working through burnout or writer’s block?

I'm currently suffering from a bit of both, plus some post-COVID brain fog I can't seem to shake, so I wish I had a better method.

The best writing advice I've ever gotten was to write every day, even if it's bad, because you can't get to the good stuff until you've gotten all the bad stuff out first. This really does work, but I'm not very disciplined, and the annoying thing is that you actually have to do it. What a drag!

The method that has been almost bulletproof for me is this: I write all my drafts in a document that I call "TITLE (Dumbest Version)" and I write it all in lowercase with careless punctuation in a Comic Sans-equivalent font. The scenes don't have to be in order. You can just write AND THEN SOMETHING COOL HAPPENS or AND THEN HE SAYS SOMETHING PROFOUND AND THEY SMOOCH ABOUT IT and move on. I also keep a scratch document with snippets of dialogue that I liked but won't fit in a particular scene. You never know where you might be able to repurpose an idea!

The other thing I'll say, though -- and I'm saying this to myself as well -- is that it's okay to take breaks! Fandom should be a hobby, not a responsibility or a source of stress. More than ever we're being bombarded by the idea that we should be maximizing our productivity and even monetizing our hobbies, and that kind of mindset can make a person feel so, so guilty for wasting time on one thing when they could be doing another. It's an easy trap to fall into, but it's important to remember that it isn't something you owe to anyone.

I'm very fortunate in that I have readers who are still following Tinderbox even though I've been drip feeding chapters for years. But I don't think that's a rarity at all. The story will be finished when it's ready to be finished, and your readers will find it. You'll be a better writer if you've taken care of yourself first.

[bunysliper]

Can we get your answer to Q.4?

4. what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

H'okay, so this is actually one that I don't even have written down in my ideas file, but it's something I've had at the back of my mind since like 2014-2015ish. Basically the totally cliff's notes version is something terrible happens with Castle's investments/financial situation through no fault of his own and - similar to how Martha's con-artist husband ran off with all her money, leaving her broke - it requires them to make some serious lifestyle changes. I just think it would be really interesting to explore how Castle handles not having the money he's gotten so used to having, and how Beckett helps him through the crisis.

Why I haven't written it yet? I think it's mostly that so many other thoughts/ideas keep jumping the line. Plus, I'd want to do some research to figure out what might cause the problem (stock market crash, broker embezzling, etc.) before I really jump in and i just haven't yet. (I'm too busy being filled with existential dread about everything else to feel it about not writing this fic, lol.)

Thanks, Anon!

[inkvoices]

"sharper and more brilliant" for the WIP meme please!

Thanks for asking! sharper and more brilliant is a Marvel AU for the (first half of the) book Seveneves by Neal Stephenson - a hopepunk novel set at the end of the world that mainly focusses on a group of people on the International Space Station. By hopepunk, I mean very bad things happen and people work together with some optimism that it's worth fighting for things to be better, despite the fact that a happy ending is not guaranteed. (I started writing this fic in 2020. Is this an emotional support WIP? Absolutely.)

The original plan was a Clint/Nat/Bucky fic set in space. It is currently a sprawling multi-POV team fic with various background relationships including Clint/Laura/Nat that might become Clint/Nat/Bucky at some point. Eventually.

This one is a WIP for two reasons:

It's a research time suck. One of the reasons I love the novel is that it goes into a lot of detail about life in space and projects that into a potential future based on what is currently possible. For the fic to make sense, I need to include some of that content, but I don't want to just copy it, because no, plus the book was published in 2015 so there's been some new science and developments since then. And I love space and the ISS, and worldbuilding, so: RESEARCH. Except, I am a slow non-fiction reader and there is A LOT. But I'm learning things (like that the ISS has an espresso machine) and having fun!

It intimidates me. There are already over 20,000 words and I'm nowhere near the halfway point in my outline. If I ever actually manage to finish this thing it will be the longest fic I've ever written (by miles). The cast is huge and it's mixed POV - currently Shuri, Natasha, Clint, and Jane. And there is so. much. detail. I have to forget about the ARGH when I open the pile of notes and scroll down pages, but once I start working on it again I get sucked back in.

Snippet - near the start of the fic the crew of the ISS are called to a meeting, and Clint is introduced:

“Could’ve been a primordial singularity.” Shuri had to look ‘uphill’ in the curved room to find the speaker. “A small black hole,” Clint clarified at the blank expressions on most people’s faces. “One that zipped through space invisibly and punched its way through the moon and out the other side.” Clint Barton was an inch shy of the maximum height for a NASA astronaut with impressive arm muscles he'd mostly managed to maintain even in space, by making regular use of the ARED (Advanced Resistive Exercise Device) machine. An American astronomer, or as he liked to say ‘an observer of the universe’, Clint was the co-creator of the ‘Look Up’ series of children’s picture books with his wife. He had an approachable way of talking with people and was often partnered with Shuri for interviews and social media events. Shuri appealed to the younger crowd, but she had a habit of getting technical when excited while Clint had a way of making everything sound simple without making people feel stupid, although that could give a deceptive impression of his own IQ. He’d folded his long frame into a seat next to Natasha, leaving the seat on Natasha’s other side free for Shuri to slide into. "Where are you getting this after only four hours?" she complained. Clint winked. "By following the comment thread traffic and joining the ad hoc email lists emerging from that, my young Padawan." “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to read the comments?”

WIP Ask Game