#spyfest after dark prompts

[spyfestafterdark]

It's a wrap - posting for Week 1 is over!! Hope you'll enjoy the works for it: 1. Bloodshed - Yalex, T, 3,8K

As Yassen’s apprentice, Alex needs to master the art of killing.

2. Poltergeist - Yalex, E, 2,4 K

The ghostly phantom of an assassin with strange, indecipherable intentions visits Alex not long after the events on Air Force One.

3. Spilling Secrets - Yalex, E, 2,2K

Yassen shows Alex that there’s more than one way to make someone talk.

Please don't forget to vote for your favourite fic before the 5th of August!

Happy reading!!

[polarnacht1]

Spyfest After Dark - my masterpost

Here are all fics I've written for @spyfestafterdark, either for the weekly prompts or for the fic exchange.

A dangerous Life written for @turtlesnails Yalex, E, 7.8k When Alex and Yassen’s paths cross once more during a mission, they have to decide: Friend or foe - or maybe something entirely different?

Like a Comet - written for the prompt: coming home Yalex, E, 3.6k. When Alex gets kidnapped, Yassen does everything to get him back.

The Funeral - written for the prompt: caught in unusual weather Yalex, G, 780 words A young man is observing a funeral, his sombre thoughts a harsh contrast to the bright day.

Bloodshed - written for the prompt: There are few things worse than_ As Yassen’s apprentice, Alex needs to master the art of killing. Yalex, T, 3.7k.

[pongnosis]

Fic List - SpyFest 2019

SpyFest is a wonderful annual fic event that runs over four weeks on the Revival forum on FFnet and is organised by dalekchung and wolfern.

Every week a prompt is posted, writers have the week to complete it, and people can then vote for their favourite of the lot. In short, everyone wins since it's a month-long flood of amazing writing over the summer. There's also fic exchanges once or twice a year on the same forum, which result in another fantastic round of fic. It's a good time.

In honour of this year's SpyFest, here are the four weekly winners. And, as always, a link to the Google doc.

Week 1:

JustMcShane - felt my slow blood warm

Prompt: "A SAS soldier meets the animal he was named after."

Wolf and Fox tend to get the lion's share (heh) of fic-time whenever K-Unit shows up, probably - and understandably - because they get a bit more character development than Snake and Eagle. This is a beautiful fic that gives Snake some of that attention he deserves. It's Snake and Cub in the middle of a miserable, wet forest, and a snake bite and quiet, low-key character development in unspoken words and half-sentences and forced proximity. With no one else to rely one, Cub becomes less the nuisance to be mercilessly picked on and more exactly what he is - a teenager who's weaker and less experienced but still doing his best - and in turn Snake stops being Snake and becomes just a tired and injured and miserable human being. It's a wonderful exploration of a character that's never given any real depth in canon but deserves much more than that.

Week 2:

Zyzyax - Blood Pact

Prompt: "There's one secret everyone takes to the grave."

I've already recommended this one once but a minor detail like that isn't going to stop me from recommending awesome fics. Alex, whatever his situation, carries a lot of secrets around. Even tangled up with SCORPIA, even as Yassen Gregorovich's apprentice, even under Dr Three's unwanted attention, somehow Alex still matters to have enough secrets to have Alan Blunt's head delivered on a silver platter and get away with it. Alex is a trouble magnet and easily bored and stuck in Russia for a couple of days while MI6 and the CIA handled things ... well, maybe it's no surprised that he managed to find trouble there, too. And who can turn down a bit of revenge on Alan Blunt? Not Alex, that's who.

Week 3:

Oceanbreeze7 - Paved With Good Intentions @digitalta

Prompt: "Alex's best punchline to a villain."

As Kae herself describes it: "The story where Yassen Gregorovich, reluctantly, saves the world". There's an art to revealing the ending before the story even starts and Kae masters it beautifully. The description raises as many questions as it answers and for most of the fic we are just as lost as everyone in it - Jones and MI6 and Yassen and SCORPIA and Tom and Jack and even Alex himself. Because the story that starts as Alex somehow surviving against impossible odds slowly descents into something dark and visceral and terrible as the little bits of wrong start to add up. And Yassen, apparently the only person in the entire world with even a bit of common sense if you ask him, ends up with the unwanted task of saving the world. Alex's character development and the awful hints of his time away are beautiful and watching Yassen go up against something that should be able to track his every move and still outwit it is a delight.

Week 4:

Nightshade2412 - In Vino Veritas @nightshade2412

Prompt: "[Character], pick your poison."

Alex's experiences with MI6 has turned him into someone who's both too old and painfully young. With the traumatising experiences of spies or soldiers decades older but without the experiences of most of his peers - even things like hanging out and getting drunk with friends. From his unit's POV, people who want to get to know him, Spider is a bit of a riddle and hard to get to know at all, and that matters to people whose lives depend on trust in their team. For the reader who knows Alex, it's an outsider's glimpse of someone we know is independent and secretive and distrustful for awfully good reasons, and it hurts to see Alex try to adapt to a more normal life just as much as it warms to see him slowly open up and maybe find some people he can finally rely on a little. It's technically part of a series but I think it works great as a slice of life fic, too, and if you like this one, I wholeheartedly recommend picking up the other two fics in the series as well!

[spyfestafterdark]

Authors reveal prompt week 3

The voting for the last prompt week has closed, so it's time for another author reveal! Many thanks to everyone who participated this week and go give them all a read if you haven't yet!

What Makes A Home by aliceroses @aliceroses - Alex & Ben, T, 1.5k. After a mission Alex is tailed and on high guard. Living alone in London with no one to turn to, Alex doesn't know what to expect when he sees that his house has been occupied. Life has never been easy for Alex Rider and he's never been fond of surprises. or, K-Unit planned a welcome home party and didn't tell Alex

Promises by by turtle_snail @turtlesnails - Yasha/Leo, T, 3.0k. Saturday was Yasha’s favorite day of the week. The only thing that would make the day better would be sharing it with his best friend, Leo.

Like a Comet by Polarnacht @polarnacht1 - Yalex, E, 3.6k. When Alex gets kidnapped, Yassen does everything to get him back.

The Ending is Always the Same (But Sometimes Not Always) by fElBiTeR @foeyayshippingweakness - Alex & Ian, T, 2.4k. On Ian's way to meet their friend from Moscow with Wilby still in the car, he receives a rather distressing phone call from Alex.

for the lonely hearts by icebluecyanide @icebluecyanide - Ian & Alex, Ian & Helen, G, 1.7k. The question always has a way of taking him by surprise, but somewhere around the time Ian turns thirty people stop asking, or perhaps there is simply no one left to ask.

We're also happy to announce this week's winner: Like a Comet by Polarnacht!

With this we wrap up the prompt weeks for this event and we hope you enjoyed them! Thanks to everyone who participated in them, whether it be through writing or by reading and commenting on the fics. We're very happy to have inspired 12 new stories!

We will keep open the prompt collection for late submissions for a while longer, so if you started a fic for one of the prompts but couldn't finish within the deadline, feel free to still add them so people can find them later.

[spyfestafterdark]

Announcement: 

Spyfest After Dark Prompts are coming!

We were blown away by the response to the Spyfest After Dark fic exchange, with a total of 17 sign-ups! However, we noticed people might also be interested in something more low-commitment than a full exchange. So to give everyone a chance to participate in the fun, we’ve decided that alongside the exchange we will put out three weekly prompts.

How it works: 

Each week one prompt will be made public (on AO3, Tumblr and Discord), and everyone who feels inspired can create something centred around that prompt - all fic and art welcome! 

These prompts are open to everyone, whether you have signed up for the exchange or not, and you are free to pick and choose. If you only want to write for week 2, that’s perfectly fine, and the fandom will be one fic richer! 

You will have one week to post your work to our new AO3 collection Spyfest After Dark Prompts. Please mention the prompt in your summary. 

The works will stay anonymous for a week after the deadline, during which fans have a chance to look through the fics and art that were posted. We will link to a voting site so people can vote for their favourite work.

Anonymity will be lifted after a week when the winner is announced and feel free to claim any Bingo squares you may have filled then too.

As with the exchange all ratings, pairings & warnings are allowed! No kink or ship shaming will be tolerated, this is meant as a way to have fun and hopefully encourage more Alex Rider fans to create fanworks.

The first prompt will be released on Saturday, 22th - so keep an eye out! 

[spyfestafterdark]

Spyfest After Dark Prompt Week 1

The first weekly prompt is: There are few things worse than __

You have until Saturday 29th of July (Midnight Pacific Daylight Time) to submit fic or art based on this prompt to the AO3 prompts collection. For questions, please check the collection or send us a message/email. Hope you have fun with it!

[spyfestafterdark]

Spyfest After Dark week 3 prompt

The third weekly prompt is: Coming home.

You have until Saturday, 12th August (Midnight Pacific Daylight Time) to submit your entry to our AO3 collection! Happy writing!

[spyfestafterdark]

Author reveals prompt week 1

Now that the voting has closed, we're ready to reveal the authors for the week 1 fics. Many thanks to everyone who participated and go give them all a read if you haven't yet!

Bloodshed by Polarnacht (@polarnacht1) As Yassen’s apprentice, Alex needs to master the art of killing. Yalex, T, 3.7k.

Poltergeist by fElBiTeR (@foeyayshippingweakness) The ghostly phantom of an assassin with strange, indecipherable intentions visits Alex not long after the events on Air Force One. Yalex, E, 2.5k.

Spilling Secrets by TheOtherBlue (@icebluecyanide) Yassen shows Alex that there’s more than one way to make someone talk. Yalex, E, 2.2k.

We're also happy to announce that we actually have a two-way tie for the voting! This week's winners are Bloodshed by Polarnacht and Spilling Secrets by TheOtherBlue.

[spyfestafterdark]

Hello! I have an idea for the prompt, but i'm not sure if it would count, how 'unusual' does the weather have to be?

Hi! Please feel free to interpret the prompt as broadly as possible. 'Caught in unusual weather' could mean anything from characters trapped inside by a sudden thunderstorm, unexpected snowfall, a sandstorm, or any other type of storm, etc.

Maybe the weather is unseasonal, or maybe characters just aren't used to a type of weather in a location (thing of Alex in a desert setting, or a rainforest) and it's a novel experience for them. Or perhaps the weather is unusual for being almost stereotypically perfect for days, and it's in stark contrast with the whatever is going on in the story. As long as there's some focus on weather and setting in a story, it should be enough to fill the prompt, there are many ways to take it!

Hope that helps and good luck with writing!

[spyfestafterdark]

Last day of week two

Just a quick reminder that today is the last day to post your works for the week two prompt! You have until Midnight on Saturday in Pacific time. We're excited to see what everyone came up with!

Today is also the last day to vote for the fics for week one so please go do so if you haven't already!

[spyfestafterdark]

Spyfest After Dark Author Reveals

The time has come to reveal the authors for the exchange fics, we hope you've all been enjoying the fics and the guessing! We had seventeen people participating and ended up with three circles for our matching, consisting of 4, 6, and 7 people each.

Without further ado, here are the fics and their authors:

Falling Slowly by RavenJames for Sirius4Life (Yalex, M, 5.1k) Alex knows that he’s been sold at the auction to someone who doesn’t wish him well but he’s not too bothered by that. He still has a tsunami to prevent and he will deal with that pervert in no time. The only flaw in his perfect plan is that the buyer happens to be Yassen Gregorovich. Written for the SpyFest After Dark 2023 for the prompt: “Instead of sending Alex to the organ factory, he decides to sell Alex to the highest bidder amongst the Scorpia Board and Scorpia’s best operatives.”

No Harm Done by Sirius4Life for Sivan325 (Yalex, E, 1.4k) Prompts: Soulmates, Enemies to Lovers, Finding out by accident that you and your crush feel the same way.

Guardian Alpha by Sivan325 for greenkite (Yalex, G, 1.0k) "Are you sure it's a good idea?" Alex asked his best friend, who only smirked at him. "Definitely," Tom replied.

lingonberry, spruce by greenkite for fredbassett (Yalex, T, 2.6k) He opens the unlocked front door, noting that it hasn’t been forced. There is a black wool coat on the coat stand, and, bizarrely, a dress cane in the umbrella stand. From the front room, he can hear the faint sounds of a piano playing over the radio. A suspicion starts to form. Alex drops his backpack on the floor by the coat stand and shoulders open the door to the front room.

High Wire by fredbassett for LastlyMatt (Yalex, T, 5.1k) “Well, this is embarrassing, isn’t it?” Alex sauntered into the dimly lit basement, positively oozing fake concern in a slime trail that would have left a giant slug feeling justifiably proud.

At the End of the World by LastlyMatt for RavenJames (Yalex, T, 5.9k) After spending years in the apocalypse, Alex tries to do something good. Of course, it backfires, and of course, Yassen is there to help him out.

A dangerous Life by Polarnacht for turtle_snail (Yalex, E, 7.8k) When Alex and Yassen’s paths cross once more during a mission, they have to decide: Friend or foe - or maybe something entirely different?

A Tale of Two Assassins by turtle_snail for Myulalie (Yalex, M, 18.9k) On one side, there was Alex, the youngest ever Malagosto graduate. Alex was never expecting to see the MI6 agent Yassen Gregorovich again. Yet, here he was. Alex really should take care of the problem, but for once he was hesitant. Yassen knew something, and Alex just had to find out what it was. On the other, was Yassen, the Ex-scorpia operative turned special agent. Yassen understood that he was going into a dangerous solo mission. But, it might be his only chance to find Alex Rider and bring him in. For Myulalie whose prompt was Role reversal (MI6!Yassen and Scorpia!Alex)

A Little Piece of Cornwall by Myulalie for GrapefruitZest (Yalex, T, 4.6k) Alex left the service in his twenties with only chronic pains and a shitload of trauma to his name, convinced that all the people he had known and come to care for were dead. Not quite retired, but definitely working somewhere unrelated to intelligence now, he struggles to put his life back on track. A ghost from his past shows up one day, threatening to destroy everything Alex built so far. So Alex keeps Yassen at arm’s length, not willing to get involved in whatever nefarious purpose that brought Yassen back from the dead. Everything is not as it seems though, and Yassen might simply be trying to build a normal life for himself as well…

These Walls are Caving In by GrapefruitZest for Storm7 (Yalex, M, 3.8k) Alex thought he had it all: successful MI6 employee by day (and some nights too). Dutiful boyfriend of Yassen Gregorowich by night. Unfortunately, MI6 did not quite see things his way.

in between the lines by Storm7 for kelkblr (Yalex, T, 7.0k) Deep in the Peruvian mountains, Alex Rider is being held captive at a labor camp. Yassen is there too, in uniform, and on the other side of the bars. The assassin wants to keep his little spy alive, but Alex isn't making it easy.

What remains when hope is lost by kelkblr for Morfox (Yalex, T, 31.8k) It was meant to be a straightforward joint mission, but when disaster struck Alex found himself stranded alone, injured and with no way home.

When Yassen Calls by Morfox for Polarnacht (Yalex, T, 2.9k) London life for Alex: tea, traffic and treating Yassen’s latest scratch.

Plucked by Strange_Soulmates for DantesThird (Alex/OMC, Yassen&Alex, E, 4.3k) Alex's mission goes off without a hitch for once, and when the MI6 Agent posing as his father suggests they celebrate, Alex thinks nothing of it. But Alex's partner has a very specific post-mission reward in mind: Alex himself.

Avunculate by DantesThird for Rirren (Alex/Ian, Alex&Ian, E, 6.1k) When a man from Ian's work spots him and Alex on vacation, he sees an opportunity for revenge.

Contain An Inferno by Rirren for TheOtherBlue (Yalex, E, 4.3k) Yassen is checking up on Wilby after Ian’s death when he discovers a teenager chained up in the bedroom. Alex.

A Timely Rescue by TheOtherBlue for Strange_Soulmates (Yalex, E, 7.1k) When Alex travels back in time to the night Ian was killed, he has to rush to stop history from repeating itself, and finds himself face to face with the mysterious man with the scar that he met at Point Blanc.

We hope you have enjoyed this Spyfest After Dark event, and thank you all so much for participating! We were blown away by all the great fics coming out of this exchange. Please give them some love if you haven't already!

[spyfestafterdark]

Spyfest After Dark - Fic Exchange Rules

You should to be 18 or older to sign up for the fic exchange.

Please fill in the sign up form until the 13th of July and make sure to fill it in as best as possible - it will help your gifter to write something you'll enjoy.

Minimum length is 1k, and fics should be completed and able to stand alone. Don't leave your giftee waiting for that final chapter!

By the week of 7-13 August, we will be getting in touch to check how things are going. If you don't respond by the end of this week, we will assume you have dropped out and find a pinch hitter to take over the assignment.

Fics have to be submitted to the ao3 collection by Saturday the 26th of August, closing at 23:59 Pacific Daylight Time (GMT-7) at the latest. The collection will be revealed anonymously on Sunday the 27th of August, with anonymity being lifted a few days later on the first of September.

You can combine your assignment with bingo prompts such as the AR bingo, but please hold off on adding it to other collections until anonymity has been lifted.

Reading people's responses is at least half the fun, so please show your gifter some love and leave kudos and a comment on your gift! If you need to let your gifter know you won't be able to read it immediately, feel free to contact us and we can pass on a message.

No ship bashing or kink shaming will be accepted. Please be nice to each other and let's try to have fun!

[spyfestafterdark]

Spyfest After Dark week 2 prompt

The second weekly prompt is: Caught in unusual weather.

You have until Saturday, 5th August (Midnight Pacific Daylight Time) to submit your entry to our AO3 collection! Happy writing!

[spyfestafterdark]

Three days left to sign up!

Don't forget the sign up for the Spyfest After Dark fic exchange closes this week! You have until Thursday to figure out your prompts (which can include one picture prompt too if you want!) and submit the form. Hope to see you there! 🎉

[polarnacht1]

Heeey! Tough choice but I settled on 3, 4, 12, 17 and 29 for the ask game!

thank you so much for the ask 💙

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic For me the most important thing is to have a starting point and an ending, especially for the entire fic. I envision my stories very vividly, especially certain scenes I have played a lot in my head before I write them down. The middle part is usually a bit more blurry, though I always know the general gist of how to get from start to finish. Some things just develop while writing.

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas? Often I have certain scenes in my mind which I just have to write, and from those the story builds. In general I really like fandom events like bingos or for AR shipweek and Spyfest After Dark which give prompts. Talking with others helps too, often it's just a "wouldn't it be funny" or someone shares a pic that inspires me

12. how does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you? I absolutely love getting feedback, I really like to interact with the readers. It's nice to know that I don't write for the void. But I also try not to be too disappointed if there aren't many comments or kudos - that I write for rarepairs or small fandoms definitely helped with that. It doesn't impact what I write, I couldn't write something just for the clout.

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)- Talking to others often helps, just running an idea by someone and often the huge problem solves itself. Or give the scene that is hard a rest and skip to another one I was looking forward to writing. If that doesn't help just let it be for now and read something - usually I manage to overcome those lows pretty quickly.

29. What’s your revision or editing process like? When I finish a story, I usually let it rest for a couple of days so that I have completely fresh eyes. Then I go through it, add on to scenes that lack something or also delete things/adjust things, both while doing the spell/grammar check. When I have done that I let it rest again. Then I copy the fic to words (I write in google docs) and do the spell check there & read through the fic again if something needs adjusting. Sometimes I then send it to a beta reader. Otherwise: posting time!

[polarnacht1]

Hey! For the ask game🙃

67. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

68. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

77. Do you have a favorite scene you’ve written from Blood and Guns?

Thank you so much for the asks 💙

67: oh that is a difficult one... I really like to participate in fandom prompt events or challenges like recently bingo or spyfest after dark, but I also have completely independent ideas. Usually those independent ideas are longer, multichapter ones.

68: songs often give me great inspiration, sometimes the lyrics but also often just the vibe of them. And then doing something completely different like going to the pool. Also showering and driving are great sources of inspiration for whatever reason - probably because those are times I'm not distracted by anything or anyone and my thoughts have space to roam. 77. oh that's tough again - I enjoyed writing this fic a lot and had really fun writing a lot of the scenes. I think my favourite was actually the angsty one, where Alex almost dies and Yassen is so bloody angry with Alex for being reckless and then the blood drinking that follows that is so vastly different from the sensual scenes before (probably not a surprise I love angst 😂)