#which is why i think i really enjoy dark! merthur Au's

[myoonmii]

He watches him like a ghost

[aconissa]

I got tagged in this fanfic ask game by @archistratego ❤️

how many works do you have on AO3? 4, but I purged a bunch over the years lol

what’s your total AO3 word count? 16,907

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they? from memory just four that I actually posted: the terror (2018), dark matter by michelle paver, the hobbit, and sh*rlock (lol). I started writing a hannibal fic ages back but abandoned it, maybe I’ll actually write a whole one some day

what are your top 5 fics by kudos? my 3 terror fics (grief taught love to fall like music from his tongue, look me in the stars and tell me truly and  the grass below — above, the vaulted sky) followed by my dark matter fic the ocean held everything, and tossed aside the weary

do you respond to comments, why or why not? I usually have in the past but sometimes I’d forget for ages and then not bother

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? I can’t remember if any of my old deleted fics were particularly sad but I doubt it. and all my current ones give the characters happy endings (or are set in a time outside of what happens to them) because the original source material is sad as fuck

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written? nope, I’ve only ever been interested in writing AUs that use another media setting but aren’t actual crossovers

have you ever received hate on a fic? no

do you write smut? if so what kind? I’ve only ever written 4 nsfw fics (all deleted now) but three were f/f and one was m/m

have you ever had a fic stolen? no

have you ever had a fic translated? no

have you ever co-written a fic before? no

what’s your all time favourite ship? these days it’s just hannibal/will, let’s be real. a lot of the other relationships I really love are obscure and/or aren’t ‘ships’ so much (like sebastian flyte/charles ryder). there are plenty I have enjoyed for a long time though I wouldn’t call them all time faves (like fitzier, bagginshield, merthur, etc)

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? I loved that hannibal fic I started writing a year ago which was an apostle (2018) AU but I think I heard someone else had started posting their own AU so I stopped haha

what are your writing strengths? I have no clue tbh, I don’t write enough fic. my strength is really in academic writing, which I will brag and say I’m pretty great at

what are your writing weaknesses? I really struggle to get fics off the ground if they’re of any significant length, which is why I’ve had so many aborted multi-chapter fics over the years

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I think it can add a lot to a story if done well, and I don’t even mind if there’s not a translation. if the tone and meaning gets across or the lack of translation is relevant to the POV then I’m cool with it

what was the first fandom you wrote for? sh*rlock lol

what’s your favourite fic you’ve written? probably the one for dark matter just because that book is so close to my heart and I think I captured the style really well

I’m tagging a few mutuals who I know write fic, but if anyone else wants to do this then I tag you too! @snailmailthings @thestarvedghost @horrorlesbians @m-i-z-u-m-o-n-o 

[real-life-sucks-ass]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation

*All answers should be about works published in 2017.

I’ve been tagged by @inrainbowz! Thanks for giving me an occasion to blab about my writing to the world :D

1. List of works published this year:

So, according to AO3 I wrote 224132 words in 2017. But tbh I’ve not been very productive, I only wrote a few chapters for two WIP (still unfinished) and a single one-shot. The rest is the exact same stuff, but translated into english. Take a look:

One Video Man (One Vidéo Man in french): This is a Youtube!AU fic for the One Punch Man fandom. I had this stupid idea about a AU where everyone is human, in our world, and every character runs a Youtube channel. That’s all. I just describe videos so the reader feels like they’re watching this on Youtube. I have no plan, no scenario, no nothing. But the thing is, I encourage my readers to post fake Youtube comments for the characters to answer, and to give me some ideas about what should happen next and what kind of video I should write. So yeah, it’s kind of a fun experience, and I like trying new stuff and interact with my readers (I did something a bit like this for a spn fic a few years ago). But I’m so slow at updating, my readers are dying with frustration lol.

Albion’s last bulwark (Le dernier rempart d’Albion in french): This is a BBC Merlin fic, and actually it is a sequel for my fic Le dernier souffle de Kilgharrah I have yet to translate into english. It can be read separately, though. It is a resurrection fic in Arthur’s point of view. He comes back to life in our world today and realize he’s lost his kingdom, his wife, everything, and Merlin looks like an old man and is obviously not so happy about his return. I wanted them to struggle to get their relation back. I wanted Arthur to feel lost and alone. This fic is filled with angst and is merthur. I still have about 5 chapters to write & translate to complete it.

A cheap spell (Un sort au rabais in french): I wrote this short Merthur OS just for funsies and I also made a drawing here. Basically Arthur went missing and everyone is worried sick (especially Merlin) and looking for him everywhere... but Arthur is right there under their noses, only turned into a toad and frustrated because no one recognizes him. Well it’s not much, but it was fun to write.

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

Definitely Albion’s last bulwark (Le dernier rempart d’Albion in french). You have no idea. This fic is my precious, my everything. I’m pouring my whole soul in it. I could talk about it all day. This is the fic that made me want to get better in english just so I could translate it at some point.

Why? Because CloudFactory and I have been thinking about it for years before I even started writing it. I do all the writing, but we made out the story together, we thought every little detail through, and she’s my betareader both in french and in english. Because we worked hard to get the characterization right. Because I had been dying to read a resurrection fic in which Merlin has been deeply changed by centuries of living in a changing world, so I decided to write it myself. I wanted a Merlin who went through some rough stuff that had nothing to do with Arthur at all. I wanted a Merlin living like an hermit, but not because he’s waiting for Arthur to return, but for a totally different reason. Because I wanted Arthur to grieve for Camelot, for Gwen, for his past life. Because I wanted Arthur to return for a very serious reason, because Albion truly is in danger. Also, because dragons. In this fic, Merlin has a bunch of dragons, including a baby one, I love writing them.

So yeah, I’m so fucking proud of this fic and I will cry tears of pure joy once I complete it.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

Well I’m kinda proud of everything I wrote in 2017, but if I really have to pick one, I’d say A cheap spell (Un sort au rabais in french) because, well, I wrote it quickly and I felt the merthur was bit rushed and OOC. But that’s because I’m the kind of author who usually needs at least 10 chapters to bring some romance, so... Also, writing crack is fun, but I’m way better at writing angst.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing: Okay so I’ll follow @inrainbowz‘s example and show one in french first, then one in english. But only for my fic Albion’s last bulwark (Le dernier rempart d’Albion in french), because yup, I’m really really proud of it.

Voilà un petit extrait en français, du dernier chapitre en date pour Le dernier rempart d’Albion :

- Et nous nous sommes rencontrés ?

Freya esquissa un pâle sourire qu’Arthur n’aurait su qualifier d’amusé ou triste.

 - Oui. Tu es celui qui m’as tuée.

Arthur eut une inspiration de surprise et ses yeux s’écarquillèrent.

- Quoi ?

 - Laisse-moi te rafraîchir la mémoire…

Lorsqu’une main creva la surface du lac, suivie d’un poignet gracile et d’un bras nu, Arthur se recula vivement et tomba assis, le souffle coupé. Le reflet de Freya soulevait la nappe d’eau et sa tête émergea à son tour, ses cheveux ruisselant sur son visage, ses épaules et sa poitrine à peine couvertes d’une robe en lambeaux. Le cœur battant à tout rompre, Arthur déglutit et s’efforça de rester calme et de ne pas dégainer Excalibur face à ce spectacle aussi terrifiant qu’époustouflant. Car ce corps qui avait surgi jusqu’à la taille et se penchait à présent sur lui la main tendue, il était translucide, uniquement composé d’eau.

And now another one, in english this time:

Merlin steadied his stance and turned a dark and hateful glare at Arthur. His cheeks seemed hollower and his cheekbones sharper now that he had turned back to his young self. The look on his face was frightening, full of rage.

"Merlin, pull yourself back together!" Arthur ordered, striding right to him. "Don't make me knock you out!"

There was a heavy aura surrounding Merlin when he raised an open hand toward Arthur.

Everything happened very fast. The shock wave that hit him threw him back with a staggering blow, tearing his feet away from the ground. He crashed into the glass doors, smashing them to pieces, and pain flared in his back. He might have lost consciousness for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the concrete strewn with sharp glass fragments and the wounds on his back had reopened, soaking his t-shirt with blood.

He cut his palms on the shards trying to get up, but he clenched his teeth and ignored the pain. There would be plenty of time to worry later about how dizzy he felt and his vision starting to blur. For now, the urgency was Merlin.

5. Share or describe a favorite comment you received:

Okay so I had never once received a comment on AO3 for my fic Le dernier rempart d’Albion because well, french readers are pretty rare on this website and most of them prefer to read in english anyway. And when I started translating it into english, I got a very enthusiastic comment of someone who loved it. And she wanted to know what happened next so bad, she couldn’t wait for me to translate, so she went and read the next chapters in french, even though her french was rusty and she couldn’t understand everything. I had never been so happy reading a comment. That someone enjoyed the story so much they made the effort to read it in french... Yeah, this made my whole year :D And she still reads both the french version and english translation, waiting for each new chapter. Best reader ever. I love her. <3

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

From august to december, biggest writing block ever. I had no motivation, no inspiration, no energy and I think it had to do with work and real life being crazy, but also because CloudFactory was very busy, so I had no cheerleader to force me to write lol.

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Probably ever character in One Video Man? I control nothing in this fic, I just get carried away by my readers’ ideas and the inspiration of the moment.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

I think I started to understand that I should not be so hard on myself. I’m a perfectionist, so sometimes it blocks my writing when I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself to get it perfect on the first draft. I think I made a lot of progress in descriptions too.

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

I hope I’ll be able to write faster and to stop procrastinating. I need to use less adjectives too.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

CloudFactory ( @less-life-and-more-dream ) and Jackallh ( @geek-trough-time-and-space ) are the best. I just have to chat with them about my fics, and yay! Ideas! Inspiration! Motivation! Also tumblr and the Merlin fandom inspire me every day new ideas :p

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

When Merlin brings Arthur in London, I used some real life experience, since I’ve been in London for my 30 years birthday with @less-life-and-more-dream, @geek-trough-time-and-space and @dupond-and-dupont. The fish n’ chips I described in the fic, also Hyde’s park and its geese, all came from my happy memories :D

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

Don’t thrive for perfection. Just do your best, and even if you hate it, you can still edit later. You WILL get better by writing, it’s a slow process, but for this to happen you have to write.

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

First, I have to complete Albion’s last bulwark and One Video Man, both in french and english. Also in a few months I’ll post my translation in english for Albion’s last bulwark’s prequel: Le dernier souffle de Kilgharrah. Then, I plan to write a prequel to Le dernier souffle de Kilgharrah, about the days, months and years just after Arthur died. The whole story will be a trilogy in the end! :D

I consider taking back one of my old abandoned WIP too (I have a Supernatural fic and a Whitechapel ITV fic uncompleted), but I’m not sure I’ll have the time for it. I have AT LEAST three other Merlin fanfics I really reaaaaaally want to write.

14. Tag five writers/artists whose answers you’d like to read.

@creepywonderland-pony @dupond-and-dupont @andersandrew @istadris @always-keep-writing and whoever wants to do this!

[podfic-love]

[Merlin] Gadarene, read by birdie7272

Rec by momo.

Fandom: Merlin Characters/Pairing: Arthur Pendragon/Merlin Rating: Explicit Content Notes: Canon AU, Slavery, Off-screen rape, rape threats, violence Length: 10:33:33 Performer Links: birdie7272 Author: unpossible Cover Artist: birdie7272 Summary: Author's Summary: “You’re the Prince?" Merlin says, eyeing him. He hesitates, then adds, defiant, “The Mad Prince of Camelot." Arthur doesn’t move. There’s quiet for a long time, then he says it. “I am." “You don’t seem mad," he says. The smile wells up from somewhere deep, and very sad. “Well, Merlin," he says, “give me time." Reader's summary:

A bamf, not-too-dark, plotty slave fic filled with merthur deliciousness.

Reccer Notes: This was posted as a WIP, which I think is relatively unusual for podfics? I mean, it’s a long project, so I can totally see why someone would opt for WIP posting. Anyway, it’s all posted now. There are two more fics in this ‘verse by unpossible, but afaik, the podficcer is not going to record them. They’re not needed for the main story anyway. So, this reading. It’s great, honestly. I loved the way birdie7272 voiced the characters. Apparently they’re from America, but their accent is not overtly American, in my opinion. (I usually don’t like “British" fics performed by overly American accents, sorry.) Their voice works super well for me, and the characters, in my opinion. They made a point to include music from the show (since this is a Canon AU), and a couple of sound effects – of which I’m always a fan. In the posting on AO3 they mention that the audio jumps from left to right a couple of times, but I listened to this with only one earbud of the headphones and had no problems with it. Something that’s possibly slightly unusual, at least in my experience, is that they also read the author’s notes out loud for every chapter (or rather, when there are any), and occasionally add their own commentary at the beginning of a chapter. Mostly it’s to make you aware of additional fanart for this story, which has definitely encouraged me to go and check it out. I just really liked this performance and have downloaded another podfic they’ve done, but not yet had time to listen to it. I highly encourage you to give this podfic a chance, especially if you, like me, enjoy long podfic! Fanwork Link(s): Gadarene