#this is a total experiment in pov i have no idea what i'm doing here

[thefreakandthehair]

@eddiemonth prompt, oct 19th: Scifi/tech | Electric Eye - Judas Priest | Bewildered a/n: eddie pov, eddie & dustin friendship, dustin & steve friendship, and an excuse for me to weasel one of my favorite steve headcanons into something. un-betaed because I'm challenging myself to write these in under an hour. read on ao3 + masterpost | tumblr masterlist

After his release from the hospital and the unfortunate news that his trailer had been destroyed, Eddie goes from functionally homeless to having multiple spaces that feel like home. 

He’s been all but adopted by Claudia at this point, an offer extended immediately after hearing the version of the story everyone’s agreed upon— that the ground split open and Eddie nearly ate it pushing Dustin out of the way. It’s not quite the truth, but the theme is the same and anyone who’s willing to sacrifice themself for her son is welcome any time. 

Especially when he’s been called upon to help with Dustin’s science fair project. It’s out of Eddie’s league a bit, the actual science part, but he and his mechanical brain prove helpful. Kinda nice, actually, to use those hotwiring skills for good. 

Of course, it also helps that the government set him and Wayne up in a modest two bedroom house down the road, and that Eddie can practically smell Claudia's cooking when the windows are open. Like Garfield, he’s drawn to the Henderson house with the scent of a fresh lasagna. 

Bellies full and completed project sitting confidently on the kitchen table for tomorrow, they’re watching Star Wars movies in Dustin’s living room, one after another, and he feels just a touch like a traitor. Star Trek will always have his heart and Wayne can never know. 

“How’d you get into Star Wars anyways?” Eddie asks, sprawled across Dustin’s couch. 

“Can you believe Steve actually got me into them?” Dustin replies, curled up on the recliner. 

There’s an infinite number of ways a child might be introduced to the Star Wars franchise— a parent, a trailer before another movie, a carrier pigeon dropping a flier at their fucking feet— and they’re all more believable than Steve Harrington introducing Dustin Henderson to the sci-fi epic. 

“I’m sorry,” Eddie turns with wide eyes and a crooked grin to face Dustin. “What?”

“I know, right? It was uh, okay this is a little embarrassing.” Dustin cuts himself off, justifying some secret Eddie somehow hasn’t been told yet. 

He knows about the Mind Flayer and the Russians, and all the other Dungeons and Dragons lore that’d lived beneath his feet for years. What could possibly be left to make Dustin cringe like that? 

“Oh, do tell.” Eddie raises an eyebrow and gestures with an arm towards the expanse of space between them. “Floor is yours, young Bard. Spin the tale.”

Dustin rolls his eyes and throws popcorn at him. He tries to catch it in his mouth but he’s never been that coordinated. 

“It’s not really a tale. A few years ago, there was this school dance, the Snow Ball. I got all amped up, Steve helped with my hair, and then the night was a total fucking dud. Nancy danced with me which was like, super awesome of her, but I felt like shit after anyways.”

Eddie listens with rapt attention, pissed off that Dustin had such a relatable middle school experience and intrigued at this new sliver of Steve lore. Not that he cares. Obviously. Why would he? The idea of Steve helping Dustin get ready for the Snow Ball doesn’t conjure up words like adorable at all. 

He nods him on. 

“And uh, I called Steve the next day. He came over and we had pizza and he brought some of his favorite movies he thought I’d like. Star Wars had spaceships so obviously, easy choice. And here we are now with Return of the Jedi.” 

Okay, yep, that’s gonna be hard to tamp down the next time he sees Steve. Stomping his ill-advised crush into the ground beneath his Rebooks has been hard enough but now? Motherfucker. 

It’s also not lost on him that Dustin chose these movies today. Eddie feels like he’s stepping into some tradition that doesn’t belong to him, but he can’t squash the kid’s enthusiasm with his own insecurity. 

Instead, Eddie goes for the low hanging fruit.  

“Wow. Gotta tell you man, that’s maybe weirder than finding out about the monsters and shit. Steve’s favorite movie is Return of the Jedi?” 

Dustin snorts and laughs, toothless and free. Happiness isn’t new for Dustin, not anymore, but it’s still nice to see after all they’ve been through. 

“Well, that’s one of them. He always calls it ‘the ones with the teddy bears’, so people assume he means Return of the Jedi. But I know the truth. That dork loves Caravan of Courage.”

Eddie flips through his mental catalog of sci-fi movies and lands on a VHS cover: a couple of humans, a few Ewoks, and something that looks like a machine gun. If he remembers correctly, it has something of a cult following but wasn’t touted as a high point in the series. 

… And it’s Steve’s favorite. The one with the teddy bears. 

“Wait… what?!”

[queseraone]

Talk shop Tuesday: how many and which fics do have planned or have started writing? Talk about them. 🤭

Omg you brat 🙈💗

So I am, of course, insane, and have a Google Doc to keep myself organized (suddenly wondering why I didn't make a Google Sheet... a change may be in order!)

Anyway, so I have "in-progress," "ideas," "abandoned?" and "completed" lists (and then I link to each of the docs within the doc, because I like organization, okay?). I also have a list of lyrics/title ideas and "homeless pieces of writing" (where I copy and paste things that didn't quite fit into a particular fic) in here as well. It's like my own little master list.

Still along for the insanity ride? I swear there's a method to my madness.

I consider a fic in-progress if I've actually started writing it (as in, I have written actual sentences/paragraphs for it, not just jotted down a few bullet points), so here is that list:

6x06 post-ep fic (Tim's Version - hope to have this done in the next few days, if the muse cooperates)

a very (very) bare bones start to a car accident angst-fest

a beachy AU that may and may not happen

an outsider POV fic I started during Chenford Week last year and am on the fence on finishing (it's sooooo random and and feels kind of pointless, but I love outsider POV fics)

a continuation of our 5x08 spec fic collab (because girl, we cannot leave it like that)

On the ideas front (this includes both ideas with tons of notes/plans, and ones with two bullet points and a prayer):

a smutty reunion of sorts...

a sort of enemies-to-lovers AU (Lucy is either a reporter or a screenwriter... or both?, Tim is a cop)

a what-if sort of scenario - what if Lucy and Emmett dated longer (or got back together) - aka how Tim realizes he's in love with her and makes his move

Contractor Tim AU (iykyk - this is basically born out of my desire to not waste the 10K+ words I started for Linstead - we shall see if I'm able to reimagine it for Chenford)

a collab with you that I think would be so much fun (the experience and the actual fic itself), so I really hope we can make that happen together

a Wildest Dreams-inspired collab with @makeitastrength that'll hopefully be a hiatus project

a little thing that's basically me bashing the go-to jealousy trope and coming at it from a totally different (fluffy) angle

an inkling of an idea to go back and dive deeper into various conversations between Tim and Angela over the years (including scenes we saw on the show and scenes we didn't)

And, for fun, a list of ideas I've abandoned (maybe temporarily, maybe forever):

a heartbreaker where Kojo dies - but also included a trip down memory lane at some moments in his/their life so it wasn't pure sadness (full disclosure, this was basically my personal therapy after my dog died a few weeks ago. I am so sorry Kojo, I promise I'm your number one cheerleader)

a fun group/couples game night (the result of me misreading a prompt that said "it's a fight, couples fight" and then the idea of the couples battling it out took over my mind... 😅)

I feel like I'm missing a few more, but this is already the longest, most insane response ever... and if you made it to the end? Congratulations/I'm sorry.

ILY 💖

[elgatt0]

Inside Wolves

Hoie ^3^)つ

I always liked the villain/evil AU theme, and after reading this wonderful fic by @tashilover, I decided to put into practice an idea that was hammering in my mind for a long time!

⚠️Note: the following story will tackle some topics that may not be suitable for everyone (death, blood and such) But I promise to hold back and not leave anything too absurd. I will try

(⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

======================

Chapter I

"Rabbits that live in burrows dug by wolves do not spend on burials"

==============================

Legend pov

"It's late. The sun sets and darkness rises, we better stop here." Mr. blue scarf speaks very politely.

Everything he does is always politey, I'm sure he's like that even when he shits.

To be fair, Mr scarf is a captain in his era. He fought in wars and led troops, so barking orders and having nice hair is his second nature...

Being a bastard is the first.

Everyone knows, he knows and seems to be proud of it, I wish hylia have mercy when that vain being starts talking about women.

"We're not going to use a bonfire tonight" he still didn't get tired of talking "Terrain is unknown, as well as the monsters here. The strong flames will attract unwanted attention, an oil lantern should be enough for us." I hate to admit it, but he's competent at what he does.

"Now that you mentioned , we've been walking through the forest all day , strange that we haven't encountered any monsters...or anything alive" Someone comments. Little guy, being observant as usual. If the trees could hear I'm sure they'd be offended by that last sentence.

Ah yes, new adventure, new faces, same name. But I already solved the last problem.

"Strange don't you think? It seems as if the forest is mourning" Cloud head agrees "It doesn't match at all what the villagers told us."

"Not only words, nothing was matching in that village."

The old man, many things with him don't match either. The tattoos that go with that pale eye emanate something ancient, dangerous, maybe divine? I don't know, I feel a strange sense of unease about them. But that doesn't matter, for now.

Everyone in that village was hiding something, far beyond secrets. I felt like I could find a corpse at any moment.

"I think we were fooled, one way or another" Looks like I'm not the only one who feels this way.

All the others fell into silence as morbid as the forest, lost in their minds as they prepared for the night. I bet that just like me, everyone is processing everything that happened these last days.

Having your butt ripped out of your house through a dark portal and thrown into a totally unknown place with 8 other incarnations of your spirit to travel aimlessly and fight demons is a really wonderful experience, I don't blame them.

May Hylia pay my therapy.

It hasn't been long since we started this journey, despite knowing that we have shared the same spirit, yet we are not the same person.

It feels like we've become more strangers than allies with each passing day. Not hating each other but not fully trusting either.

I shake my head as if to throw my thoughts away and toss my bag and boots aside. Lying down, I don't bother to take off the extra layers of my clothes. I'll likely wake up sore, but I don't care.

Behind me, the sailor brat seemed uncomfortable with the silence. Not enduring these calm seas, he decided to break the awkward silence and started talking about food, which seemed to liven up the tense atmosphere a bit. But I wasn't interested in joining, eating now seemed cloying.

Using my hands as a pillow, I gaze up at the dark starless sky. It's odd, we are in the middle of nowhere far from any dazzling light from towns or villages, I should be complaining about the brightness of the stars, not the absence.

I keep facing the darkness until an apple shakes my thoughts out of my head, again. I sit up, rubbing my aching forehead and look at the one who will wake up with a mouth full of ants.

"Stop the drama and eat. I bet the poison that comes off your tongue is more potent than anything I could put in food" Forget the ants, I'll smother him with his damn fancy scarf.

"And I bet my kick can make that butt flatter than it is" I don't normally put salt on the wound...

I use oil and set it on fire.

And it burned badly, leaving the captain's face flushed a pure red. "Why, you little s-"

"Enough" The old man intervenes with a firm voice "Veteran, eat. Hunger won't do anyone any good" I think about arguing until he gives me that look which reminds me that I have more important things to do.

Mister Blue Scarf snorts, a bit awkward after being scolded. "Your little shit" He mutters as he turns his back and stomps out, not being much polite in hiding his annoyance.

I salute the captain with my middle finger as he leaves, even I can be polite sometimes. My good manners elicit a few giggles and eye rolls.

That sharp eye was still piercing through my skull, so I decided to pick up the apple and eat it, not caring if it's really poisoned or not.

It's not like I need to have worries in the matter, the captain may be a bastard, but he has strong morals. He would never kill me like that, his death language is sword against sword, I respect that.

That damn wolf is what really worries me.

Wolfie gives me a strange feeling every time I see him, something wrong. Those eerily human eyes, the way him appears from the shadows no matter what era we're in, the beast always follows us. A wolf that herds sheep.

I remember the time the crazy cook said it was okay, he knew that wolf. Apparently, Wolfie acted as a guide on his journey, a kind of divine beast. I'd say it's about time he got some glasses, 100 years in darkness takes away anyone's eyesight.

There's nothing divine about that beast. The brutal way Wolfie shatters his victims and the pleasure he seemed to take in it was so wrong, I've seen demons be more merciful.

"Wolfieeee! You're back," the Sailor exclaims happily. Perfect, just as I was thinking about demons. I wonder if whispering his name three times will make him appear too.

I watch Wolfie approached slowly, each step calculated and deliberate. His claws dragged along the ground, producing a low, grinding sound. His tail wagged in excitement, making large arcs in the air.

Why is this so familiar? Where...when...who?

I don't know if it was because of tiredness, the low light from the lantern, or even if everyone needed glasses too.

There's no way anyone didn't notice the fresh blood that adorns the wolf's fur and stains the ground.

There's no way anyone didn't notice fangs ripping off sailor's throat.

AO3//Next>>

[crackinthecup]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

@gardensofthemoon thank you so much for the tag! It was super interesting reading your responses :D <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 51

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 465,678

3. What fandoms do you write for? Bold to assume I write at all I've always mainly just written for the Silm BUT I have recently become obsessed with The Locked Tomb series so miiiiiiight do some writing in that universe. At some point. Maybe.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Yield to the Moment takes the cake here, which is not surprising given that it's a 300k Angbang modern AU slowburn beast of a fic.

Then we've got Strange New World, set in my Swords 'verse, which takes a look at Melkor and Mairon post-Dagor Dagorath through a mental health-y and relationship/character study lens.

Third up is A bond once called fealty, also in the Swords 'verse.

Then there's The Metal Cage, which is shameless Angbang PWP focused on chastity play.

And finally A quiet sort of introspection, also part of the Swords 'verse, a bit experimental in the sense of taking Melkor's POV in second person.

5. Do you respond to comments? Always! I feel it's only fair if someone's taken the time to share their thoughts with me. Plus it's often such a fun, creative space where you get to bounce around ideas with the commenter.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Not entirely sure, actually. Don't think I tend to write particularly angsty endings. No Other Choice, maybe? It's about the Fëanorian attack on the Havens and the choice Elwing makes when she jumps into the sea.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably YTTM. I'm pretty pleased with the ending actually; feels like it pulls together a bunch of narrative threads and highlights all the amazing growth the characters have done. Also, it's a wedding at the end of a very long, very bumpy slowburn.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have, yeah, years and years ago, around an abusive take on Angbang; but generally I find that the Silm fandom is very lovely and very welcoming.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do! Quite a lot of it haha. I think, for me, the appeal isn't so much the physical act in and of itself, but what's going on for the characters behind the scenes as it were, emotionally/psychologically. Especially with a ship like Angbang where they spectacularly fail at talking to each other so a lot of juicy unspoken stuff gets acted out through physical intimacy.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Nope, never written a crossover, nor do they hold much appeal for me personally.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I have. Sadly those fics had been written around 2015-16 and I deleted them a few years back at a time when my mental health was... spicy. I couldn't say whether the translations are still out there somewhere.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yep! YTTM started out as a co-write.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Angbang. There's just a lot of layers to their dynamic that scratch an itch in my brain. Power imbalance. Fucked-up-ness. Possessiveness/protectiveness. Worship. Loyalty.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I've got a WIP from almost ten years ago about Celebrimbor in Gondolin and I'm not sure if the interest/time/motivation is still there for me to ever pick it up again :')

16. What are your writing strengths? Hmm I tend to put a fair amount of thought into characters' emotional experiences and I also enjoy playing around with fun ways to describe things.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I guess there's a flipside to focusing on emotional experiences in that sometimes I might humanise characters like the Ainur too much and lose some of their eldritchness. I also tend to be quite disorganised with my plotting, and by disorganised I mean that I just sit down and start writing without a plan or outline and sometimes I can end up scrambling to tie everything together and make it make sense and I'm not sure how effective that is. Also also, I don't find endings very easy to come up with.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Sure, if done purposefully in a way that furthers the plot or tells me something about the characters.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Harry Potter, I think! Those fics are not on the internet anymore and that is probably for the best haha.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Ohhh see, I don't actually like my own writing very much (cheers, perfectionism) and I very very rarely re-read it. But I do think some bits in YTTM are fun, and my latest ficcy that I've written (Reason to Try) which is a ficcy of @tarmairons' ficcy kinda shifted something in my brain for the better and I revisit it sometimes on bad mental health days.

Let's see which lovely people to tag: @markedasinfernal, @elevenelvenswords, @undercat-overdog, @lvsifer, @foxindarkness and anyone else who sees this and would like to have a go (if you want to! zero pressure)

[dreaming-marchling]

⭐  Because I couldn't choose which fic I most wanted a director's cut from. :D

I'll go with Across the Lonely Decades :)

Some BTS Tidbits:

"In the center of the mess was his newly re-made warlock. Magnus’ magic had been restored to him eight weeks ago and seeing him with his old confidence back had been a relief to Alec. Worth the trip to Edom and the literal hell he and Jace had gone through to make it right."

Imagine my deep shock when the show went in a totally different direction with this, lol. I was so sure that Jace was going to be a big driver in helping Alec get Magnus back, like nearly as intense about it as he was in getting Clary back. After Magnus and Alec sacrificed for him and with Alec's pain which Jace knew so well having just lost Clary I really thought we were going to see battle parabatai in Edom doing their damnedest because they BOTH were determined to get Magnus back. Super let down that they didn't go that route although obviously there are great aspects to what they picked. I left this bit in even after that aired just as an ode to what I wanted that arc to be.

---

This is one of the main ambience videos I used to help myself get into the Victorian mood.

---

“I don’t know much about parabatai I’ll be honest.” Ragnor said

Ragnor is not being honest. He's trying to get Alec to talk about it.

---

In answer, the warlock hurriedly handed him a… scimitar? Not his favorite and kind of a random choice but he’d take it.

I was getting into The Old Guard and Joe uses a scimitar so I threw this in for the unexpected blade Alec is given. I also picked Ragnor using Yusuf as the first Joseph iteration when he was sharing his revelation about Jozef's identity for the same reason.

---

The whole thongs conversation got added after I started posting the story because I felt like we needed another nice Bane scene of him trying after readers were even more upset about his behavior than I had anticipated.

---

“Shh,” Jozef shushed him gently. “I’m Joseph and Lottie is getting Magnus. That’s what matters, all right? I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise. Dymphna won’t come back.”

“Alec!”

Magnus’ frantic voice called for him.

Alec blinked slowly.

“Stay awake, Alec.” Jozef urged him. When had he learned Alec’s name? He hadn’t known it before when he had been sending Alec through time. He hadn’t been kind then either.

I wasn't super clear in the story and it confused some readers so I'll say it clearly here - Joseph only uses Alec's name here after Magnus calls it. He doesn't know it before that, he was using it after to try to keep Alec awake. I also initially had Joseph call Alec "child" before I decided that was too much and switched it to boy. I wanted Joseph to be really kind and tender to Alec to highlight the person he used to be. Also, I forever live for the idea that Alec is very obviously not centuries old to actual centuries old beings lol

---

Alec felt like he was floating.

I added this whole section to further break hearts right before the chapter was posted.

I pre-write all my stories before I start posting and while I'm editing as the story is posting I have added little bits to stories but I have never added so many scenes as I did to Across the Lonely Decades. I was having so much fun with this one and had so many feels and this was one of my favorite experiences with readers, I just wanted to give more and more.

---

A reader was sad that I didn't include Magnus' POV of Alec getting glamoured for their morning bread date so I wrote them this in a reply comment, in case anyone here has never seen it:

Magnus didn't go into this with plans for how he would change Alec. If he was going to take his 21st century boy out for as many different 19th century experiences as he could, he would likely be magically disguising him enough times that a great deal of fun could be had through the month. Right now, he had plans that needed them out the door quickly so he was just going to play a game of opposites top to bottom.

First, hair. Lengthen it and lighten it. He sent a pulse of magic at Alec and his hair grew rapidly, going from his usual short style into...

Oh.

Oh that was...

Alec leaned into the mirror to inspect his new hair, “What are you doing?”

Every moment of every day Alec was beautiful, Magnus was agonizingly aware of all the ways, but this...

It was like a Greek statue had come to life. Lush and lovely, made for worship. Tousled curls framed Alec's face, somehow highlighting his hazel eyes and making them glow. He looked like a Romantic poet, like he was about to whisper sonnets into Magnus' ear, like they were...

“Magnus?” Alec asked sort of cautiously.

Alec's voice broke the spell abruptly. “Apologies, darling, that hit me harder than I anticipated.”

---

To Alec’s surprised, Cat gave him a brisk rub of her hands over his arms, “I’m joining Eula and Kaira at the pantomime. Send me a fire message if he keels over but otherwise, have a lovely time and I’ll rejoin you tonight.”

Eula and Kaira are from Hybrid. Kaira more prominently as one of the warlocks who comes to help Magnus get the collar off and Eula is one of the warlocks who were killed to give Alec magic, Valentine calls her a bore when she argues with him.

---

But her eyes were the same. The pleased smile was the same. Martha stood in front of him.

“Hello, pretty boy.”

I didn't end up getting into their reunion conversation but Martha had been keeping an eye on Magnus for decades waiting for Alec to start appearing at his side. Technically she could have gone to Magnus while they were freaking out trying to find Alec and explaining but that would possibly ruin getting Alec home so she didn't. She was pretty pleased to get the call inviting her over knowing now was the time. Now that she doesn't have to stay away she and Alec become buddies :)

Thank you for asking!

[katyaromanoffpetrova]

being totally honest with you, i’m not like the biggest fan of the maya and lynn centric chapters like they are so amazing and your writing is perfect perfect perfect! and i still enjoy them but obviously i’m a whore for nat and kat content more however i’d a totally curious for a vulnerable lynn moment and maybe she turns to the women for help with something bcos she hasn’t got a mother of her own and the women are so flattered and honoured that not only can they be a role model for other girls that they never had but lynn comes to them for motherly advice like after they’re just like what. is. our. life. how did we get here and everything?! *cue soft moment*

*i really hope i didn’t offend with the top comment like i still love them, it’s just not my favourite but i love everything you do!*

Me as I'm about to write another Maya centered chapter: 😬😬

I understand though. I was hesitant on whether to end the story or take Maya's life as a storyline and continue the story. I feel like I needed to focus more on her so that I could give Kat and Nat more storylines too. Does that make sense? Like, Maya needs to experience stuff so that she can drag her moms along into those things.

But if more people think that way, I could make those parts shorter? My main aim rn was to switch pov every chapter :) But your idea is very nice! I love it actually. I'll see if I can work it in somewhere.

You didn't offend me at all 😊 Not everything I do can be your favorite thing. I just hope you'll stick around even if I have to write those necessary Maya and Lyn parts (which will get so cute eventually, just wait and see 👀)

[super-secret-clown-corner]

catching up on the kabsmp videos rn and i'm having normal person thoughts as usual anyway did you guys ask for a crazy ass idea on where i think the storyline is gonna go because i have a crazy ass idea on where i think the storyline is gonna go (this is gonna get long sorry in advance)

In Which I Lose My Mind Over Some Guy's Minecraft Persona In A Goofy Ahh Lore SMP

cover image for sillies

So. Hear me out. Clown is still the overarching villain of the series. Whatever's happening with Kyle and the void is still """""important"""""" n stuff, but (totally not because i'm biased or anything (i totally am)) that's all a red herring covering up the real threat. The idea I have rn is that Clown is biding his time and finishing up whatever research he had on the void, then when Kyle is defeated, he's gonna swoop in, take the void for himself, and become basically unstoppable which'll lead into season 3 or smth.

Bits Of Info That Makes The Pepe Silvia Meme Cover Relevant

Time to be insane and dump every single bit of potential evidence on why I think Clown's a bigger threat than the others think he is, starting at the very beginning (i'll try to keep this as chronological as possible but i'm busting my brain trying to piece everything together i watched this so out of order at first).

First, obviously, is the whole him killing Pyro bit and betraying him to get to Rae, then killing everyone in the commune. hoWEVER bro just casually tore open a portal to the nether and back and none of the other people in the group can do that. It's kinda hinting that Muu knows how to make portals but other than that the original s1 group has been stuck there since the start (which maybe suggests Muu isn't from this dimension also but that's another thing to unpackage).

a side note here: lincu came from an end portal that clown made for maddy and they NEVER BRING THAT UP AGAIN????????? WHAT

In the Pyro POV that came after that, it was heavily suggested that Clown was originally a conqueror or insanely destructive pillager (not the actual mob) (like come on, "bow before the scythe emblem" or whatever the words are? just write your name in the book you're practically screaming it at this point). Then, when Branzy showed up in that cameo episode, he didn't shut up about how Clown destroyed entire villages and killed a fuck ton of people (i will scream more about this point in a second 😁).

In the Season 2 opener animatic, he dropped his manipulative buddy buddy act the moment the void appeared, stabbed Kaboodle, and fucked off. He was also shown going full aggro on Magic, trying to get information about the void from her. A little while later, he's shown reading books on the void and finds something "perfect" for whatever he's planning (brain explosion).

Looping back to the Branzy cameo, it was revealed that he, Branzy, and Ashswag worked together in a laboratory somewhere in a different dimension researching and experimenting with portals. Ashswag said that Clown pushed him into one they made, which resulted in him glitched out and broken (WHICH OPENS UP ANOTHER CAN OF WORMS ARE THEY SUGGESTING THAT THIS IS ALL ACTUALLY JUST A SIMULATION/GAME LIKE HOW MINECRAFT ACTUALLY IS???????????? holy shit if i think about this for too long i'm gonna have another huge scream fest again).

and THEN in the most recent one as of today (aka A New Issue) it's revealed that Pyro had his suspicions that Clown is otherworldly and unnatural. Bro casually soloed a 100-Piglin invasion. I already had the thought of "oh yeah this guy's definitely not from any of the three dimensions" but the only contradictory thing that popped up for that was he and Pyro used to live together for a bit with the Waste Walkers. HOWEVER with this new information that Clown was just this anomaly that popped up periodically in their group, he's practically screaming that he's not from any of the three dimensions.

BASICALLY. I'M VERY NORMAL RIGHT NOW.

i love overcomplicating silly lore as a pastime

[rocketyship]

That poll is so hard to vote for cause on one hand, it feels like Tiff would fit the best because of her incredibly unreliable narration matching Ted's while it would still be a subversion of the original because of the reason why she's unreliable(rose tinted glasses and extreme devotion to BE as opposed to the stuff Ted's got going on) and her pov on and relationship with BE would just be so fun to see explored and the horror of the situation being a subtle thing thats swept under the rug could be so cool.

But on the other, Evan would also kinda match with the original due to his open emotional distance and disconnect from the girls, AND it would bring a lot of fun, fresh stuff! Seems like Evan is the one who pays most attention to AM, and seeing what's happening there from his pov would be so interesting! He, just like Ellen if she would've narrated could bring up how things like being the only one of the opposite sex and gender in the group and (from what we know from the short story at least) only dark skinned person would like.. idk change perspectives on things?? I'd also love to find out more about him!

Oh, not to mention Naomi!! Having narration that is pretty damn reliable would make worldbuilding and exploration much easier and she's also got that disconnect due to her age and crystal clear memory, being able to see things as they are and were could be really refreshing in a ihnmaims universe and i really want to know what her whole deal is! Being born toward the end of the war must've made quite a difference to how a person would process everything, Ted's whole "I'm youngest so my experience is different because i barely had time to live as an adult before the nukes" wouldn't have shit on someone who wasn't even like... done w puberty.

Ooooh they'd all make for such fun narrators 😭 It's really too bad that writing takes so much time and effort or it would've been amazing to see all three's povs! I still don't know what to vote for or how the results are looking so far but im really looking forward to seeing what the results will lead to!

Maybe you have a character you have the most ideas for or would like to write most? Cause if so, that'd def help me choose what to vote.

Sorry for the wall of text(would you believe me if i said i wanted to write more? This is me trying to show restraint, didn't even write about the potential AM could have as a narrator), and i hope you have a good day!

Okay so first off, I love-love-love this response. You have such fun perspectives on these silly little au characters of mine and it makes me a little sad that you didn’t write anymore cause I definitely would have read it, especially what you were thinking about what an interesting narrator AM could be.

As to which character I have the most ideas for, is such a difficult thing to answer cause well I have so-so many. But I do want to put them out there for you so here they are:

Tiffany: narration wise, I imagine the stuff she says can and does come across as nonsensical and border line trigger happy, however sometimes she occasionally lets something slip that clues into her true feelings and that a part of her may indeed be aware of the gravity of the groups situation, however she shuts it down as she has severe attachment issues and cannot fathom how she could possibly survive without BE. Another thing I pictured is that she very often quotes the bible and other religious texts, as BE doesn’t present herself as machine and genuinely as a divine entity. I also have been toying with a scene similar to the one in the radio drama, where AM is talking to Ted about bumblebees and getting high r something. Where it is set up as the reverse. BE showing Tiff the horrors of what the radiation and world has come to (in a way that is seriously deceptive) and claiming that all she has to do is snap her fingers for it to return. It would definitely read as a story where there is total tonal whiplash from one scene to the next, so that is something to consider.

Evan: I have come up with so many pasts for all these survivors before they were “rescued” by BE, however one thing to note is that I don’t really think of these characters as just “genderbent versions of the originals”. Evan is one of the key examples of this, as in this au he is technically the original Ellen’s older brother, however he left home when she was around 12-13ish, as he didn’t like the life, college and job his family set out and tried to push him into. Unlike Ellen who was a successful engineer, who may have been a hopeless romantic based on the original text. Evan was and very much still is kind of a massive party animal. I picture him very punk but like the old kind of punk. Like he was the kind of guy to go motorcycling around the country (even into war-devastated bits, cause it was a thrill), he went to underground clubs and concerts, and sure as heck slept around and had no shame in it (both women and men if you are curious). He doesn’t want to get sentimental, he wants to live his life on the edge and BE doesn’t allow that. He constantly tries to upset her, get some kind of intense reaction from her. He tries to escape, he kicks and tries to tear open parts of her internal network. This man has tried to kill Gloria (Gloria kind of deserves it thou) and the only reactions he gets from BE is her finding him cute, amusing, or as if he just needs to be put in a corner to calm down for a bit. Truthfully he is someone who just wants to go back and experience life again, recognising that BE’s utopia isn’t living and refusing to buy into it.

Naomi: I won’t lie, Nimdok is so boring in the og story, and they definitely tried to do “something” with him in the game. I don’t like it, again different ramble. So like Evan, she is a different person. Like you said she has barely started puberty and because of BE neither her body or even her mind has really aged in anyway and she is horribly aware of this. Due to the war she has had her childhood taken from her, but now because of BE she shall never experience adulthood or growing up. Her memory hardly anything particularly helpful. She remembers exactly what BE did to the others when they first got brought to the compound, she has seen what goes down in the labs, she knows what pills are and aren’t sleeping pills, developing a habit where she will pretend to take one and spit it out if she is able to. As stated in the survivors master post, she knows BE’s blind spots and will often go there on her own. Not really to do anything, just kind of sit around. Further more, she and Evan have a way of communicating, number of blinks, which fingers moved when you spoke to them, that kind of stuff. Still she doesn’t want to escape, she knows she’ll die if she does, generally she acts more like a mediator in the group. As a narrator, I did have this idea for a few odd habits she has learned over the years. Example is that she constantly counting, time and routine is import to her, as she notices when something is wrong and that freaks her out. She also has this habit of just staring at the others for very long periods of time, especially Gloria. She clearly remembers seeing her on tv during her old life, and also remembers how she attacked her when Naomi attempted to mention it to Gloria.

Writing does take so much effort, especially for me, cause truthfully I’m always jumping back and forth on what I’m working on. On top of this au and the fic, I’m also in the process of finishing the final script and sketches for a different web comic I’ve been planning for a while, as well as a completely unrelated world building project that I’ve been at for two years now. Anyhow!! Tell me more please

[staybabblingbaby]

W.I.P Glossary and Master List

Ok, so, I'm gonna start posting w.i.ps here shortly, but like. As writing process archives? I just think it'll be fun. I'm posting this in advance bc my organization system is a bit weird. SKZ fics will be here at @staybabblingbaby and BTS fics will be at @babyarmybabbles. I may make another side blog for other fandoms I write for, but we'll see. All fics are xReader unless otherwise indicated. Stuff and Things under the cut :D

Bear w me bc I don't usually do text posts and have no practice with formatting yet lol

Glossary:

Attempt - A draft with major changes. Wording changes of a paragraph or more (not including completely new material), changes in POV, setting changes, characterization changes, etc, are included in this. Abbreviated as a(#) [e.g. Title a(1) d(4)] Draft - A manuscript that has been edited. Even minor edits like grammar and spelling corrections are a new draft. These are labeled, but only saved as new files in intervals of 5. Abbreviated as d(#) [e.g. Title a(1) d(4)] Addition - A manuscript that has been added to enough to warrant a new post.

My intent is to upload all new Attempts, Drafts in intervals of 5, and Additions in intervals of 1,000 words or more. My hope is something of a progress log? I think it'll be fun, help me keep track of what I've done, and help motivate me.

Master List:

Coordi AU: Current Total Word Count - 5,469

Intro Part a1 d3 - 1,178 Words, Posted 5/12/24 Han Part a1 d4 - 2,190 Words, Posted 5/12/24 Chan Part a1 d4 - 640 Words, Posted 5/12/24 Lee Know Part a1 d4 - 639 Words, Posted 5/12/24 Hyunjin Part a1 d4 - 854 Words, Posted 5/12/24

Felix Tinder AU: (coming soon) [Gotta make the text images lol]

Fan Day AU: Current Total Word Count - 1,399

Fan Experience with SKZ a2 d2 - 1,399 Words, Posted 5/12/24

Janitor AU: (coming soon)

Bangchan/Youtuber AU: Current Total Word Count: 296

Chan/Youtuber (idea drabble) a1 d1 - 296 words, Posted 5/12/24

[mightbewriting]

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 ❤

oh goodness, hi anon! self-rec is not my forte; i feel deeply self-conscious when doing so. but for you, i shall persevere! i have a soft spot for pretty much everything i've written (and a visceral sense of cringe in equal measure), but at the moment these are the ones i think of most fondly (in no particular order).

she thinks: this one is probably a surprise to a lot of people. i know, i know, romione isn't what 99% of you follow me for etc etc etc. but this soft, horny, romantic little cottagecore fic has my whole heart and i make no apologies for it. i'm also incredibly proud of the number of folks who have told me they don't normally like ron in a romantic lead but love him here. this fic is my personal testimony to the idea that with the right story, any ship can be enjoyable.

season pass (to this ass): i've gone on a bit of a journey with this one, tbh. i wrote it totally on a whim, with very little effort or planning, and it blew up in a way second only to wait and hope. that felt weird? something i put very little effort into was liked so much more than things i put *way more* effort into. BUT i've gotten over that weird, self-confidence shakiness and am back to loving it for all the reasons i loved it when i wrote it. himbo draco is a blast. widely accepted fanon characterizations aren't the be all end all. and everybody loves an enthusiastic partner in bed.

well said, hermione: FIRST PERSON IS FUN, OKAY? inhabiting horny draco headspace for this silly, ridiculous little fic was so much fun. and to this day, i think it's some of the best smut i've ever written. plus there are shakespeare references. and a sexually liberated hermione. and golden snidgets. from brainstorming to posting, i had a blast with this fic even if folks widely refuse to read it because of the pov lol.

a season for setting fires: i get it. i scared people with darkfic after apparently convincing them i'm all soft and fluffy romance only. this is my ~divisive~ story. do i still get a spike of anxiety when i see comments in my inbox for this fic? yes, i sure do. but when i separate my experience with it's reception from the fic itself, i still love this one. i tried new things while writing it, including letting myself do whatever i wanted. i'm proud of the story it tells, done apologizing for it, and thrilled by everyone who got what i was trying to do and enjoyed it as well!

wait and hope: if nothing else, a girl's got to be grateful for the community it brought her, let's be real.

[disfordevineaux]

Okay with the 2024 Player Appreciation Week in march I really want to do something, and i think my best way back in is with a pt.2 to the fic I wrote for it wayyyy back in 2022. I have some ideas on where to head with it but then it's the issue of the expandability of such and which I think will work the best.

I'll link the orginal fic here incase anyone wants a refresher and the 2024 Player Week post but here are my thoughts for a continuation of the fic:

Day 2 - Parents: Direct continuation of Pt.1

Once arriving in Argentina, Players mum finds it difficult to accept letting go of her only child, and after a while (and accidental encouragement from Player himself) ends up phoning and messaging him multiple times a day, always at the worst times, aka all the time. It all culminating in almost ruining an important mission thanks to the eventual escalation. A nice resolution, naturally, but a story about the difficulties of separation and how ignoring/distancing in contrast to the almost obsessive inability to let go, one extreme to the other, isn't the best way to process it at all.

Player POV. Players mother & Carmen, then new team ACME Ivy and Zack and possibly Julia, Chase.

Day 5 - Loyalty: Can be a separate fic or direct continuation of Pt.1

(If a seperte fic, based sometime after the 2 year jump) Chief attempts to poach Player to join her ranks now that he's officially legal to actually hire and back out after the hiatus. Chief assigns Zack & Ivy to get the 'job' done, unbeknownst to them of her actual plans. After an official approach from her senior Agents Julia and Chase and sending him all the ACME merch one could possibly need, unsurprisingly, leads to no avail. Hijinks ensue.

Player POV. Carmen vs Chief + New ACME Zack & Ivy, brief Chase and Julia.

Alt. 3 - Hacker + Day 6 - Abandonment: Direct continuation of pt.1

Due to some self reflection, Player is determined to spread his wings with his new found 'adulthood' and separate himself from being a 'simple hacker' after Carmen unintentionally gets in his head about his role in the team and maybe his lanky physique, truly, she didnt mean it. Its hard being a young adult in the big wide world, trying to make or reinvent a name for yourself. He attempts to cultivate a new 'field agent' identity, eager to get out there one-on-one and in his words; "if Zack can do it, how hard can it be?". Unfortunately underestimated the true training, experience and skill development it takes to do what Carmen does, and do it well. He ends up, quite literally and accidentally, abandoned in a foreign country after failing to make it to the pick up location. With Player on the ground and off his perch, his tech destroyed, AI failing to fill his 'old' position, Player has to hope that he can either turn the drastically crappy situation around, manufacture a 'run in' with ACME or he will probably fall into the remnants of VILE's grip he barely avoided to dodge in the first place.

Player POV. Carmen, non disclosed VILE agents & Maybe ACME.

This is what I got. Or at least the best ideas I have that have a bit a meat to em. I'm open for a discussion on what y'all would want to read the most. I'm open for anything, Rbs, direct msgs on the post or to be me are totally welcome. ♡

[boinin]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks @redrocketpanda for tagging! ❤️

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

Just three! All from this year.

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

64,235

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Blue Lock presently.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

Skewed given I published two just last week, but at time of writing it was:

Cassis Orange (132)

The Witch With Sunlight in His Hair (19) and

Between us and the trees (16)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do my best to!

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

None of them... yet. 😈 But chapter 7 of Cassis Orange has the angstiest cliffhanger I've ever written.

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

My latest, Between us and the trees!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Never; everyone's been very positive and lovely.

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

Yes, but nothing I've published. Yet...

I like porn with plot/porn with feelings, so there's usually a lot of set-up. For me, there has to be a reason the characters are getting together. It's payoff for something.

I'm fairly vanilla in terms of the actual smut, but my writing tends to focus on the sensations the POV character is experiencing, as well as their desire for their partner. All five senses get utilised!

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

Nope! But never say never...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. What's the longest you've ever spent working on one fic? And the shortest?

I started working out a plot for Cassis Orange on 18 March this year. So it's been eightish months at time of posting. Reasonable for a longfic that'll end up around 80,000 words long.

For The Witch With Sunlight in his Hair, I'd been sitting and thinking about the idea for a couple of months. The actual writing took maybe two or three writing sessions, the editing just one, beyond the pre-posting review. Overall, I think it was finished within a fortnight?

This is unfortunately as quick as it gets for me 🥲

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

Not outside incorporating suggestions from beta reading. It sounds fun, but co-writing involves a lot of trust and understanding between the writing partners. I'm wary about the pitfalls personally. That said, I co-wrote original fiction once or twice during college in a low stakes setting, it was good fun!

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

I'm actually not a massive shipper outside bllk! Hard to believe, I know. Anyway, it's Kunigiri.

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

*checks list* this is depressing. I have a lot of WIPs.

There's an angst fic I started, which is set after the ending of the third rounds of NEL matches. The hook is Chigiri gets injured by Shidou, leading to a reconciliation with Kunigami, but the anger he experiences creates additional motivation for him to go kick Shidou's ass.

My drive for this one was tied to figuring out Kunigami's deal. I'm unlikely to return to this one, given how the manga is progressing.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Horrible thing to ask a writer! We're too stuck in our heads to be objective. But here goes.

I think my best strengths are writing dialogue and characterisation. For Cassis Orange, I've heard frequently from readers that my versions of early thirties Kunigami/Chigiri feel authentic to their canon personalities.

Description is another thing I handle OK, thanks to my own need to be able to visualise the characters and setting from my writing. I also have a decent knack for foreshadowing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

For me, it's writing action. A lot of my work involves characters' inner monologues, or conversations between them which drive the plot. Basically, not a lot happens. It's something I'd like to improve on.

I'm also a maximalist author. If an idea could be executed in 1,000 words by another author, expect 3,000 words from me. Drabbles are anathema. Not necessarily a problem, but this tendency does make it difficulty for me to actually finish my WIPs/ideas when the initial novelty wears out.

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

It can be a nice detail—but the need to translate foreign dialogue for the reader can be clunky. It breaks immersion more often than not.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Blue Lock!

I also dabbled in writing for Persona 5 prior to getting into football Squid Game this year, but never got further than making notes/outlines.

What's the thing I'm most likely to write fic for next? I'm really vibing with Undead Unluck this season, and there's barely fics for it on Ao3. If I continue to enjoy the world and the characters, and get hit with inspiration, I might write something for it. But for now, Blue Lock is keeping me busy.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Cassis Orange is my first and favourite child 🥹 I can't wait to wrap up this story over the next couple of months—it's been a journey, as someone new to fanfiction writing, and as a Kunigiri stan.

I have a few fic writer buddies here, so I'll leave this open to anyone who reads this/follows me: if you'd like to have a go at this, please do! You can put me down as the tagger.

[psychewritesbs]

This ask has something to do about the new 237 leaks so you don't have to entertain this but-

As much as I want to be optimistic. Is this it for Megumi? I'd like to think not, but somehow I wouldn't put it past Gege to pull something off like this. Not even a farewell, or a pov on Meg inside. He's just -

If this is truly the end for my boy I might have to stay away from the manga for a while.

Hola!

So... since I am slow at replying to asks, ch. 237 leaks are a thing of the past at this point lol.

I hear you anon! I really want Megumi to come back ofc, and I love all of the evidence that has been presented about his return, it all makes so much sense from a thematic pov. Even from a depth psych perspective, I can do mental gymnastics around the idea that what he's going through right now is necessary for the next stage of his growth.

In fact, come to think of it... when I wrote my Megumi and fate ramble, one of the things I predicted was that he would have an experience that would mirror the experience he had under the Hasobachi bridge, and that it would lead to a completely new understanding of himself.

I'm not sure if I said this before too, and if I didn't I totally meant to say it, but I felt like this experience would have to cause a much bigger shock than the previous one. It's hard to explain...

So if what Megumi has gone through isn't the ego death I predicted, then I don't know what is. This tells me that, yes, Megumi died in the sense of the word that he experienced ego death (which I also wrote about), which means that being possessed is just part of his transformational journey.

And yet, I totally understand where you're coming from in feeling like you wouldn't put it past the cat to be done with Megumi. Like... isn't it so relatable how a lot of people are like "Gojo is not coming back! Move on!!!"?

Anyways, the way I see it, Sukuna reincarnating his og body at last kind of does feel like he's overcome Megumi's sense of self completely. That's my understanding of it.

HOWEVER, Gege has shown us a couple of times already that the body's original consciousness sometimes does come through and either overrides the presiding sense of self (i.e. Geto overcoming Kenny for a bit) or that the body's consciousness is so intricately tied to the sense of self and the soul, that it can override the host body (Toji in Shibuya).

SO! Here's to hoping anon...

That said, I think that ch. 236 made it exceedingly clear that Gege is a non-linear writer and that he writes in a circular fashion sometimes. What this does is that it gives new meaning to past events. So I wouldn't be surprised if he gives us that Megumi flashback, etc. We just have to wait for it.

Basically, nothing wrong with stepping away from jjk until then. I know I sat out the majority of Gojo vs. Sukuna. For me, I am fascinated with Sukuna so I am going to continue reading.

Thanks for stopping by anon!

[acacia-may]

Hullo. Can I ask for 13, 31, and... 43, please! Thank you! And also, here's a hug (that is also a nice distraction): 🫂

Thank you for the ask and the hug, friend! 🥰 (I definitely needed a hug today so it's greatly appreciated. And sending one right back at you too🫂)

13. talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you.

Well you probably know this one because you were part of it, but the first time I ever posted one of my fics to AO3 was definitely a pleasant surprise. I honestly didn't expect anyone to read my story, and I posted it right before I went to sleep (so I could just leave it and not worry about it anymore), but then, when I woke up in the morning, I was shocked to discover I had kudos, hits, and comments from some lovely writers in the BC fandom (including you who had left the very first comment!). I was so flattered that people had actually read my work, liked what I had written, and had taken the time to tell me that they enjoyed it, and I was so encouraged to keep writing and posting my fanfictions. I don't think I'd be posting my fics anymore if it hadn't been for the support and encouragement of wonderful people like you. And I will always be indebted to you, especially, the very first person who commented so thank you so, so much for that! 🫂

31. Tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

I answered this question here and talked about one of my OCs (since it was worded as "my characters"), but this time I'll answer slightly differently and talk about canon characters I love writing (even though they are not mine 😅) [No pressure tagging @kalolasfantasyworld who originally asked this question in case this was the answer you were actually hoping for when you asked but I took the question too literally]

I'm sure it's probably not a secret but my favorite Black Clover character to write is Langris. He just has so much depth to him and is so indignant and snarky but such a tsun about his feelings. I love bringing out his more dry sense of humor, his blunt honest, and the depths of how much he cares for his (select few) family & friends. Writing him bantering with someone who can match wits with him (like Vanessa) is always a blast as well!

Another BC character I love writing is Charmy. I think she's just a treasure trove of snarky one-liners (which I hope are funny to the reader) and I absolutely adore putting her into my fics just to look up from her glorious & beloved food to tell it like it is. ^^

When it comes to choosing the POV character though that's a little bit different. I try to push myself as a writer by choosing POV characters out of my comfort zone and really trying to give each of them a distinct voice. I like to think that sometimes that works out, even if it can be a struggle for me to write in the POV of characters that have a totally different thought process than I do. For instance, it can be really fun to write a character that talks before they think (i.e. Asta) because they'll really just say whatever pops into their heads, but it's difficult writing in their perspective because there's no introspection (and I am personally deeply introspective so I have to pull myself back from that in the narration when writing the POV of one of these characters). I love writing those "talk now, think later characters" as supporting, side, or background people, but I find it hard to get into their heads and worry my attempts to write them come off too broody sometimes. 🙈 So there's definitely a difference between characters I enjoy writing into a story and characters I enjoy writing as the main, POV character of a story, if that makes sense?

43. How did writing change you?

I think writing really helped my confidence and encouraged me to put myself out there a little bit more. It also helped me learn to communicate better and verbalize concepts and ideas (and headcanons) that I didn't really have the words to explain in just regular discussion or an analysis post.

Given how much I can ramble on and on, it's a little ironic but I genuinely think of myself as a "when words fail" fic writer since most of my fanfics exist to explore and/or explain concepts that come up in discussions I've had with friends & family (both irl & online) about these characters I love and/or their relationships with one another that I couldn't just explain without showing them how I see it. I started writing Black Clover fanfiction after getting frustrated at my inability to explain to a friend irl how I saw Finral and Vanessa becoming friends and imagined them building this incredibly strong platonic bond with each other despite Finral being seemingly incapable of being "just friends" with an attractive, eligible woman in his age range. And it sort of just spiraled from there. Almost every fanfiction I've ever written connects back to a meaningful discussion I've had and/or a desire to express how I personally interpret a certain character or relationship. It's so nice to have an expressive outlet for that, and it's been humbling to see other people connect to and respond to my ideas and takes on the characters too!

[narastories]

Hi Nara, I hope you had a good day!

For Fanfic Writer Friday, do you want to tell me what you're working on (if you are on something currently)?

And if you've got time, I'd love to hear your opinion about the use of the past or present tense in fanfic, because it always gives me so much trouble. I don't really have a logic for using one or the other, so I'd like to know yours.

Thank you <3

Hi! Yes, thank you, I had a great day <3

Ooh, these are two very interesting questions.

1.

I'm sort of working on something... By working, I mean writing notes in my notebook and trying to figure out how to tackle this idea ^^" I really want to write a Dresden Files/FPA crossover! (Let's see if by announcing it publicly I can successfully shame me into going through with it... I doubt it, but we'll try it...)

I've never actually written a crossover, so that's already a bit daunting. Having to juggle twice as many characters/ships as I would normally is also a challenge... Currently, I'm trying to decide what POV/s to use, and how not to make this too long. But I think it would be fun to draw some parallels between the characters, and it would also be fun to bring two of the fandoms I like together like this.

Another, perhaps silly consideration is that I now have 99 fics on AO3... To make the 100th one a little bit special would be cool. (Okay, that might not happen because I have already uploaded my Yuletide fic, and I'm not actually sure where AO3 will put it in the order of fics once the authors are revealed on Jan 1st...)

Anyway, wish me luck, I can tell you that Philes would very much be on the menu ;) 2.

You're asking me this because of the tags on my last fic, right? xD

Oh dear, where do I even start? I actually wouldn't say I have a well-developed opinion on this. And I think maybe it's better if we split it into two categories: what I think of past/present tense, and how I would decide what to use.

Just from vibes alone, I would say past tense is very comfy. It sort of "disappears" because we're so used to it. No one will be turned off by you using the past tense. You can do anything with it.

Present tense, on the other hand, feels a bit more intimate to me. It can work well for a more poetic tone. It has an urgency to it like you don't know what's going to happen. But it will also very much turn some people off ^^"

I will also add that if I'm talking about multiple layers of past events, the English past tenses can give me a bit of a hard time, so using the present tense can gloriously simplify that lol

I do like reading either btw, but how do I decide what to use when writing?

I use past tense 99% of the time. (I mean, literally. I think I have 98 fics written in the past tense, wrote one in present, and I'm pretty sure the next one will be in the past tense as well lol) So I’m no expert here, although I do have some WIPs where I also used present tense and I would totally consider experimenting with it more.

To be honest, there is only one scenario where I would opt for the present tense always, and it’s the 2nd person "you" fics... Dare I say: *whispers* reader-insert. Which is a whole different can of worms altogether that we are now opening.

Personally, in my opinion, if you think old forum role playing was cool but you think self-insert fic is cringe, that’s a *skill issue*. Luckily, I have mastered my destiny and overcame feelings of cringe lmao (I'm joking, you only read what you want, of course.)

What I mean is, I find it very charming how self-insert or reader-insert fic specifically about RPG games kind of circles back around to the roots of the “role-playing” in RPG. I might not read certain types of reader-insert fics, but I think they have their rightful place in fandom.

Now, getting back to the topic of present tense lol To me, sometimes certain things will just fit better for a fic. For example, when I started writing my first Dresden Files fic, I started writing it in 3rd person, because 1st person felt intimidating. But the canon is in 1st person, and something in me knew that it just had to be done that way for the right tone, you know? (It doesn’t mean you have to stick to the way canon is written, of course. It’s more about what fits better with the mood you are going for and what effect you want to achieve.)

Same thing with my last fic: the fandom I wrote it for uses present tense and uses 2nd person for the main character. Yeah, sure you can write an OC and write 3rd person, but the right vibe I was going for was begging me to use the present tense. So yeah, in a sense it was me wanting to stick more with the canon vibe, even if that challenged me. Which is interesting because usually it’s the other way around, no?

That is a really long way of saying I tend to stick to what is closes to canon. But I think you should always listen to your gut and just write how you like it better.

Thank you for the thought-provoking questions and sorry for the long ramble.

[uncleskyrule]

for the fic writer ask game, 1, 26, 30, and 41? :))))

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

Oh boy, this is tough. I experiment with writing styles frequently, so idk if there's just one that could be a good introduction to them all. Still, I guess I'll go with this one: "alive again" (short oneshot of post-BotW Zelink being cute and silly).

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?

Lol since you sent this ask, I've written two entire fics without dialogue: "this one at last" (TotK Zelda's POV of waiting for LInk) and "you waited smiling for this" (HW Link's journey of self-destruction and then healing). I'm interested in trying out a dialogue-only fic, but I don't have any ideas yet. There has to be a reason why there's only dialogue, y'know? I don't want to just write it that way just because.

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

Yes, and I'm so proud of it! I've never written whump or any kind of fight scene, and definitely have never mixed humor and angst before, so writing this fic was a challenge, but it totally worked! One commenter said that this fic felt like someone put Looney Tunes music over an action film, and the compliment hasn't left my head since. Without further ado, I present "holding out for a beedle" (BotW Link gets captured and tortured by Yiga but Beedle saves the day).

Maybe this fic affected my approach to writing by giving me confidence to explore more. Now that I know I can write a decent fight scene, I want to try to push myself to write something more in depth, like a spar between HW Zelink.

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

HAh, you think just ONE fic will suffice??? I had a hard time choosing from my bookmarks list but here are some that fit the bill:

I STOP TO SMELL THE BLOOD IN THE TREES AND FOR A MOMENT THE WORLD IS SO BEAUTIFUL IT BRINGS ME TO TEARS by @corpsentry

“Let’s say you’ve been asleep for a hundred years and when you wake up you’ve lost all your memories, but you defeat the big bad monster like you’ve been told to, because a girl told you to, and because you were in love with her. And after defeating the big bad monster she comes back, only she’s not the person she was a hundred years ago. And you’re not the person you were a hundred years ago. And yet every time you look at her, your chest hurts so bad you think you might be dying.” He looks up from his breadstick. “Am I dying?” “No,” Beedle says. “I think you’re stupid.”

among golden hues by @syilcawrites

[totk] Link and Zelda reunite (in one form or another)

on gods and deserts and children by @lemoncakedesign

he is the hero chosen by the goddess. he is the bearer of the legendary blade. he is the savior of a land. he is a child. he is a killer.

Hold your faith in death and don't breathe by @sister-dear

The thing Legend hasn’t told Sky, hasn’t told any of them: Twilight isn’t the only one with an item that lets its user change shape at will. The thing Sky hasn’t told any of them: his version of the Master Sword has a few special tricks of its own.

Old Car, New Roads by Anonymous (TT)

A hum of an old engine in distress fills the air as a dark lowrider pulls up in front of the rows of storage units. The beater pull to a jerking stop in front of his garage unit. The brakes lurch unhappily and Four cringes at the sound of the wheels. The whole car vibrates unhealthily before coming to a stop as the engine cuts out. The window rolls down with a squeak and Shadow pops his head out, arm leaning out of the opening. He's got dark sunglasses and the hood of his jacket pulled up to protect him from the midday sun. "So?" Shadow asks, smirk pulling at his lips, "What do you think?"

Thanks for the ask, Evie!