#wips going right now and one i was working on rewriting to post before this but then my brain went nope we need to do this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

starlit-dreaming · 6 months

Text

when honestly you can't recall (Baxter Ward/MC) p1

Rating: M

Romantic Ships: Baxter Ward/Original Character(s); Derek Suárez/Leandra "Lee" Last

Platonic Ships: Main Character | Jamie Last & Leandra "Lee" Last, Main Character | Jamie Last & Original Character(s)

Tags: Unplanned Pregnancy

TL;DR: A self-indulgent Single Parent AU. Lee has a better relationship with my MC compared to Liz. I wrote this when the Baxter DLC was still in beta, so I opted to avoid writing spoilers (for now) and to avoid rewriting moments of the Jude/Scott wedding.

A/N: Cross-Posted on AO3 under the same title (@ Starlit_Dreaming). Also, obligatory tag @arcosoffireheart because they deadass made a post yesterday, right after I took a break from editing this first part and just needed to reformat it before posting. This fic is still very much a wip but it's CRAZY that they wanted this au too, even if it's not entirely the same in how they might've imagined it to go.

Links: [1] | 2 | 3 | 4

Summary:

Everyone assumes that Gabby is exactly like her mother, but Rosaline will always see the traces of her daughter’s father. The shape of her eyes, how fussy she gets if there’s even a hint of conflict, every moment her daughter is calm and serene in her arms, the sweet and gentle smiles.

Her daughter does not have her black hair, either. Wavy hair, yes, but it was not fully black and her father has only ever dyed his hair.

It’s a miracle that nobody notices their similarities.

Including Baxter himself.

// In which Rosaline ends up becoming a single mother in the aftermath of her and Baxter’s summer fling. Some things change. Some things don’t.

——————————————————————

Part 1: we're just strangers tonight

——————————————————————

Two Months Ago

Beginning of Summer

Step 4: Age 23

———————————

“How did we even get here?”

She chuckled bitterly, purple eyes flickering up to meet dark brown before averting her gaze from his. Whatever expression he had on his face after the question was asked, she didn’t know, and she didn’t want to know.

Not any more.

They both stayed this way, swaying along to the music and the beat, dancing in tune with one another as they’ve always done. It was a song and dance they’ve been intimately familiar with over the years. Every summer since the first time they kissed, they would meet by pure coincidence, and every summer’s end, they’d say their goodbyes with the belief that they wouldn’t find each other again.

Most would call it romantic. Most would say it’s lovely. Most would claim it to be fate.

She would say it was tiresome.

And he… says nothing to her.

Good. Rosaline is quite certain that she prefers it that way, swallowing down the bitter and the hurt. She’s not sure that she even wants to hear anything he has to say at this point. Even if he claims that he’ll talk to her after the wedding is over, she’s very much doubtful. Avoiding important topics has always been his specialty, and she’s sick of it. Sick of his avoidance, sick of his damn smile, and sick and tired of how he still makes her heart skip a beat.

Rosaline isn’t a lovestruck fresh-out-of-high-school girl any more.

Every time, since she was 13, every meeting she would fall for his charms again. Every time, he would sweep her off her feet like a perfect puzzle piece. Every time, he would leave, again, and again, and again. Every time, she would accept the situation. She would forgive him for cutting contact.

Every single fucking time they meet, she would smile at him and accept it, only to cry and nurse her broken heart the second he left.

And maybe it is better they leave it at that. After everything they’ve been through together, everything they’ve done, she’s tired. Tired of feeling that maybe he’ll change his mind, tired of feeling hopeful and falling for him every single time, tired, tired, tired. She’s tired of crying over him, of accepting his goodbyes, of having her words go in through one ear and out the other.

She was tired of him telling her that they wouldn’t work out, if they were to ever try long-distance. That he was never suited for the long-term. That she shouldn’t be with him.

That he didn’t deserve her.

Maybe, Rosaline thinks solemnly to herself, this should be the last time.

———————————

Then

Mid-Summer

Step 2: Age 13

———————————

The first time they meet is at a summer soirée hosted at The Cypress.

She’s a little bored, because she’s letting her moms have a chance of a little mini-date without her third-wheeling. And while she does want to socialize for a bit, she feels a bit too ansty — dancing it is.

It starts with a tap on her shoulder, putting an abrupt halt from her search for a dance partner to instead focus on the boy with black hair and a boyish smile, with brilliant brown eyes. He was roughly around her age — certainly taller than her, which made her feel less self-conscious about herself — and he was, admittedly, very cute.

(If anyone were to ask, however, she would claim that Mr Holden is the most attractive guy in her life, but that is neither here nor there.)

While she recognized several faces of the teens her age due to accompanying her moms to The Cypress events over the years, she didn’t recognize him. Rosaline quite likes meeting new people, so she smiles back and takes this meeting in strides.

He’s dressed in a typical formal suit, with his hair tousled in a way that made her heart race — like those romance novels that Lee gushes over with pink cheeks and a wide grin. This boy was like a mysterious prince swooping in to steal her heart, and she thinks that she’ll be content with just the thought alone.

(Maybe, she will think, years down the line, this is when she first falls.)

And then, he asks her if she’s going to dance.

And then, she tells him that she was looking for a partner.

And then, he holds out his hand, smiling and asks her to be his partner for a song.

How charming, she thinks, smiling wide as she takes his hand. They dance, with her allowing him to take the lead — she knows how to dance both parts, but likes to follow rather than lead. She enjoys the song and dance, the way they move gracefully and fluidly in time with the music.

Dark brown eyes visibly brightened after they dance for a few seconds, and it’s likely the same reason why she’s vastly enjoying herself in that very moment: he’s a fellow dancer.

By no means was Rosaline a competitor, but she always insisted on dancing with someone when given a chance. Not a lot of people in her life were great at dancing — Cove only knew the basics because of her, meanwhile Elizabeth practically hated being in the same space as her most days and only tolerated her on the other days. Her moms danced, but Ma was too tall and Mom liked to tease her a little too much. Lee was probably the only one who would entertain her dancing demands without teasing.

It was the first time in a long while that she’s had so much fun dancing with another person outside of her classes. Especially someone outside of her social circles.

And it ends just as abruptly as it had started.

He doesn’t really stay for a small conversation, he doesn’t even give her his name. All that happens is him commenting on her legs, and then never turning back.

That’s how their first meeting ends, but it’s her first actual crush.

(Lee is the only person who knows.)

———————————

Then

End of Summer

Step 3: Age 18

———————————

Lee is the only person she calls.

Not Derek, who is literally miles and miles away, who, out of all her friends, is the only one with his life put together apart from needing therapy. The only one who knows how to give some semblance of comfort from a distance.

Not Miranda, who would offer her soothing words of comfort over the phone, who won’t push her to talk, who will be there and offer to listen if she needs it.

Not Terri, who would understand what it’s like, to have someone reject their offer of friendship due to how their personalities can be considered “too much”. She would offer to talk and talk and talk, to help her drown the thoughts away with fun conversations and get her to laugh and smile. A temporary sweep before confronting it later.

Not her moms, who live in the same house as her, who would offer a shoulder to cry on and warm hugs of comfort, with soothing words. And if things were different, if Rosaline had told her moms that she was serious about Baxter, that she was thinking about their relationship in the long-term, maybe she would’ve woken them up.

Not Liz, who had already left on her plane to go back to college, who — Rosaline cannot talk to her, nor does she want to confide in her sister regarding the matter. She can’t, and she loves her sister, she cares for her deeply and keeps her secrets, but Liz was never there for her when she needed her the most, even if her own sister doesn’t know that.

Not Cove, who is, well, the most surprising of them all. The boy who literally lives next door, her best friend for life, her brother in all but blood and official paperwork. Cove, who would literally come rushing to her via climbing in through her window, who would hug her, cry along with her, and tell her that she’s worth it. If she laid out her broken heart and its broken pieces, he would try his best to help her fix it. Even if he’s already asleep and in bed by then, he would come to help in whatever way he could. He would offer to call Baxter, to take it upon himself to try and mend her broken heart and…

It’s Lee. It’s Lee who she calls in the quiet evening in the aftermath of it all. She’s sitting on her bed, her hands trembling as she hugs her pillow, tears dripping down her cheeks and — well, she’s in shock, maybe, the reality finally hitting her. It’s Lee, who Rosaline wants a hug from, who Rosaline wants to hear words of comfort from, who Rosaline needs to talk to.

“Lee,” she sniffed, and that’s all it takes for her cousin.

“I’ll be right there,” was all she said, keeping her phone on. Rosaline isn’t sure why her cousin hasn’t hung up yet, so she can focus on driving, but Rosaline doesn’t make any move to end the call either. At some point, she hears a door opening and closing, the clack of a door being locked, the slam of a car door, the twist of a key inside a car, the rev of a car’s engine, and the clack of her phone being placed down. It was oddly comforting, if she had to be honest.

Lee didn’t live too far away; just a 10-minute drive without any traffic. Maybe she’ll break a few laws if she speeds over to her, but Rosaline doesn’t mention it.

She keeps sniffing, and her eyes are burning from the tears, and her cheeks are uncomfortably warm and cold and wet from the tears. Her pillow’s damp, and it — it sucks. It fucking sucks.

“We broke up,” she croaked. She’s not sure if Lee heard her through the muffled pillow.

All she hears is the sound of a moving car.

(Liz would say “I’m going to kill him,” before coming to hug and comfort Rosaline by saying that he’s not worth it. Cove, her parents, Derek, and Miranda would apologize to her when they all know they’re not to blame, give her a hug and say that things will get better. Terri would ask why, would ask too many questions that she just can’t fucking answer and—)

“I was worried about that,” Lee softly admitted.

Because it’s Lee, who Rosaline had poured countless insecurities that laid bare between them over the years. And Rosaline had been worried that this would happen, that Baxter would leave her, that he would dump her for something else, maybe even somebody else, but the reality is so much worse.

Because it’s Baxter, who decided that their relationship wasn’t worth the long-term hardships. It’s Baxter, who says it’s just a flight of fancy.

It’s Baxter who…

“He doesn’t think we’ll last if… if we went long-distance.”

“…I figured,” Lee gently answered, her voice so soft that Rosaline almost didn’t hear it.

“I… I want to stay with him so bad. I thought we could’ve… I… fuck! Sorry, Lee, I’m— I just—”

“Don’t apologize,” her cousin firmly, yet softly said. “It’s not your fault for feeling the way you do. I’m here for you, Rosa, and if you need time, then take as much time as you need.”

“I just… I love him,” the words come out rushed, a quiet whisper admitted into the dim night. “I fell for him so badly in three months. Fucking hell, Lee, I love him.”

“…I know you do.”

(If she called anyone else, she knows that they would all try to help and help and help, to try and fix her broken heart. Few might think that she’ll move on, after all, it was only three months.

But Lee understands her, she’d see the broken pieces and leave it as is — she won’t sweep it aside, hide it under a rug, or try to patch her heart back together. She’d help her pick up the pieces and set it aside, leaving her to deal with it when she’s ready because her relationship with Baxter was doomed to fail the second he didn’t want it any more. She won’t assure her that she deserves better, that Baxter isn’t worth an ounce of her affections.

Because Rosaline knows this better than anyone else. She knows that she deserves better than being dumped just because Baxter didn’t want to try. She knows that she deserves to have a little bit of happiness.

They would all try to fix her.

Lee would not.)

“I’m here.”

And it’s Lee, who rushes to the house even though it’s far too late in the night for it to be convenient for her, and gives Rosaline a warm and comforting hug the second she opens the door for her cousin, and it’s Lee, who tells her that she’ll get through this, that it wasn’t her fault.

And it’s Rosaline, who breaks down in Lee’s arms at 2 in the morning over a boy who doesn’t want her, who thinks that their relationship isn’t worth the distance.

(She does feel bad that Lee’s plans for the following day were set back by this incident, but the understanding smile and a warm hug goodbye was enough to reassure her that it will be okay. That she will be okay, just as Lee can be okay with this change in plan.

What happens next, however, is a surprise like all the rest.)

———————————

Then

Beginning of Autumn

Step 3: Age 18

———————————

What happens next, strangely, is a surprise unlike all the rest.

She knew that she was going to end up meeting a former friend of her birth mother. Ma and mom both told her that her birth mother did leave her a few things with her friend back then, and that the grief of meeting her deceased friend’s child had been too much at the time for her to meet her.

But Rosaline never expected it to be Carol, the old lady who regularly appears at The Cypress, the country club her moms regularly attended. Even though she’s spoken to the elderly woman a few times, her moms often do, once Rosaline was allowed to leave their side to play or interact with kids her age, she never really gave her a second thought.

“I’m sorry,” Carol softly spoke, giving Rosaline a pained smile. “I know that perhaps I’m overstepping, but I felt that these things needed to be addressed sooner than later.”

“You were… friends with my birth parents?” Rosaline simply asks before taking a seat across from her.

She’s not like Liz, who wants to know everything about her birth family. Rosaline didn’t care, and all she knows is that her parents are dead, and she still has an untouched inheritance that she’s had access to once she turned 18. Frankly, she was content with never touching anything relating to her birth family, but with the future expansion of her family, she might have no choice.

“No, just your birth mother,” Carol shook her head. “I’m also the owner of the company you applied to.”

Well, that made this meeting all the more nerve-wracking.

“I’m not here for a formal meeting as your future boss,” she smiled reassuringly. “However, if my relationship with your moms make you uncomfortable, I would not be hurt if you chose to work with another company. There are some people who knew your mother, back when the company was much more of a small-time business, and that might make you uncomfortable to handle the comparisons that will undoubtedly occur.”

“I used to work part-time at a mall kiosk,” Rosaline stated. “I can handle the discomfort that comes with dealing with strangers.”

That made Carol smile with mirth in her eyes, “That’s good.”

“Um… why did you want to meet me all of a sudden?”

“You’re an adult now,” Carol softly states. “And I… I still have your birth mother’s belongings. I wasn’t sure if I should’ve gotten rid of it, since there isn’t a will discussing an inheritance, or anything like that.”

That felt… odd. Even though she knew her birth mom passed away, and that she found the idea of someone she doesn’t know being her birth mom to be unthinkable, she thought it was unexpected. Didn’t people normally have a will? Sure, Rosaline didn’t have one yet, but she was thinking of it…

It felt a bit awkward to ask, and maybe… maybe her birth mother was younger than she thought.

‘…there’s no will…’

———————————

~1 Year Ago

Beginning of Summer

In-Between Steps 3 & 4: Age 22

———————————

If there’s a will, then there’s a way.

It comes to no surprise to her that the moment she takes her daughter out of her toddler seat, the second she places her daughter down for a moment to rummage through her purse, her daughter darts off. That was negligent of her, she had to admit — no matter how calm Gabrielle was, she was still only three and can act like a hyperactive puppy.

Her daughter was normally well-behaved, but there were only so many people she would run off to. Where’d she learn that behaviour from?

Cove, probably.

“Auntie Lee! Uncle Dare!”

Of course.

Rosaline let out a fond sigh, watching as her toddler fled to her cousin and her friend. She then smiled, watching as Gabrielle cling to Lee’s leg, babbling and rambling about her day and squealing the second Derek swoops in and picks the girl up.

“Hello to you, too, Brielle!” Lee cooed, smiling wide as Derek held her in his arms.

“Heya Gabby,” Derek grinned.

“Hi,” she greeted, purple eyes bright as she giggled.

“Hello lovebirds,” Rosaline greeted with a teasing smile. “You’re lucky that you were there, otherwise I’d be scolding Brielle for running off without me.”

“Uh oh, looks like we saved you, Gabby,” Derek grinned, tapping the toddler on the nose, causing her to giggle.

“Rosa!” Lee squealed, hugging Rosaline right away. “Thanks so much for coming!”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she hummed, pulling back from the hug to look at her cousin happily. “Congratulations on the engagement. You’re both totally lucky to have me in your life,” she grinned, poking Lee’s cheek.

Lee grinned at that, “And you’re as modest as always, Rosa.”

“Never change, gal,” Derek laughed as Rosaline gave him a hug before he handed over Gabrielle.

“Never,” Rosaline agreed, smiling as she looked at her daughter. “Next time, hold mommy’s hand when you leave the car, okay Brielle?”

“Okay, mommy,” Gabrielle nodded.

“That’s my baby!” Rosaline cooed, cuddling her daughter and making her giggle.

“Mommy, you’re smooshing me!”

“Man, she’s looking more and more like you every time I see her,” Derek commented, his arm wrapping around Lee’s shoulder as he watches the mother-daughter interaction with a smile.

“Of course she does, my god-daughter has her mother’s good genes,” Lee stated, straightening her back and puffing up her chest in clear pride.

“Yeah, yeah, no need to rub it in,” Derek laughed.

“With me and Cove as godparent candidates? Yeah, you didn’t stand a chance, babe,” Lee poked his cheek. “You’ll have to settle for godfather-in-law.”

“I think I can accept that,” he softly said, staring at Lee with a warm smile.

Rosaline was used to Derek and her cousin always being the cheerful type of people, but when they were together, there was just this look in their eyes, one that just… it felt like genuine love. Lee’s eyes shined brighter than ever before, while Derek’s eyes softened — not quite closed, but rather his eyes would be half-lidded.

Playing matchmaker for her and Derek was definitely a good move on Rosaline’s part.

(Ignoring how exhausting it was when they were kids. It didn’t help that Derek used to have a crush on her when they were teens.)

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Rosaline smiled softly. “Cove’s bummed out that he couldn’t make it tonight, but he’ll still be able to make it to the engagement party next week.”

“That’s alright, it’s just gonna be dinner with the wedding planner, since Liz, Sofiya, and my brothers can’t make it tonight, either,” Derek smiled. “It’ll just cover the basics — the classic getting to know you stuff, possible wedding themes, things we’ll need to think about for the wedding and all that. He said it was fine if we didn’t have an answer right off the bat, since we’re gonna go into details throughout our meetings. He knows that you’re a single mother, and he’s okay with her tagging along to our meetings as long as she doesn’t cause mayhem.”

“Thanks for accommodating us. You’re prepared as always,” Rosaline grinned, pinching Derek’s cheek. Brielle blinked, reaching out to poke Derek in an attempt to imitate her mother. That made Rosa laugh, causing her to lightly tap her daughter’s nose with a soft, “Boop.” Her daughter giggled.

“He is pretty reliable, isn’t he?” Lee smiled softly, cheeks pink as she looked at Derek with a loving stare. “I’m so lucky.”

“If anything, I’m the lucky one here,” Derek chuckled, sounding awfully bashful as he held Lee’s hand.

“Well, at least I’m not the only one third wheeling this time,” Rosaline laughed, looking at Brielle who tilted her head. “Isn’t that right?” she cooed at her daughter. “I’m not alone.”

“Not alone!” Brielle cheered.

Rosaline then follows Lee and Derek into the restaurant. It vaguely reminded her of The Cypress, if she had to be honest, bordering on almost casual and formal.

“He said he already grabbed a table for us close to the windows,” Derek explained, leading them down the restaurant as they weaved between the tables.

“Oh! Is that him?” Lee asked, nudging Derek as she looked at a lone man sitting at a table, staring out the window.

“Sure is,” Derek answered before calling out to the young man. “Hey, Baxter! Thanks for waiting.”

“Wait…” Lee froze, abruptly halting as she narrowed her eyes at the man, scrutinizing him. “Did you just say Baxter?”

“Huh? Yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you, huh,” Derek blinked as they both finally approached the table. “Lemme introduce you guys. Baxter, this is my fiancée and—”

“Oh my god!” Lee exclaimed, eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah… of course. A pleasure to make your acquaintance again, Leandra. Admittedly, I should’ve put two and two together when I saw your name.”

“Wait, you already know each other?” Derek looked at the two back and forth, surprised.

“Do I know him?!” Lee looked at Derek, looking downright panicked and still in blatant disbelief. Rosaline understood that pretty well, but she’s gotten over the shock relatively quickly unlike her cousin. “Of course I do! He’s the guy who��!”

“Lee.”

Her cousin stops, glancing at Rosaline for a brief moment before calming down and taking in a deep breath in and out. When her shoulders relax, she shoots Rosaline an apologetic look before looking at Derek. She mouthed, “Later,” to which Derek frowned at.

Baxter abruptly stands up from his chair, his hand gripping the table as he looked at Rosaline with wide eyes.

Rosaline stared back at him, her expression softening for a moment.

“Mommy?” Brielle owlishly blinked, reaching a hand to tug on her mother’s hair and abruptly interrupting the quiet moment. “Do you know that purple mister?” she tilted her head, her eyes flickering back and forth between Baxter and her mother.

Rosaline winced before gently prying her hair from her daughter’s grip. “Careful, baby, it hurts mommy if you tug on mommy’s hair like that.”

“Sorry mommy.”

“It’s okay, baby. And yes, my Brielle is so smart!” Rosaline kissed her daughter’s forehead, making her giggle happily. “That’s Mr Baxter Ward. He’s the wedding planner for your Auntie Lee and Uncle Derek’s wedding.”

“Mr Batter?”

“Baxter,” she corrected with a laugh. “And he’s going to help your auntie and uncle get married,” Rosaline smiled at her daughter before looking at Lee and Derek. “He’s a fantastic planner — your wedding’s in good hands with him.”

“Are you sure?” Lee softened, completely ignoring the man in question. “You’re my maid of honour. You’ll be interacting with each other a lot, especially because you’re my dress designer…”

And, comes the unspoken words. Memories briefly flash through Rosaline’s mind, memories of sobbing into Lee’s arms, crying over a boy who left without knowing anything of her broken heart. Part of her thinks that maybe she should be enraged at him for ignoring her phone calls, but he did give her the greatest joy of her life.

Rosaline chose to become a parent.

Baxter did not.

“Lee, it’s okay. Really, don’t sweat it,” Rosaline turned to look at Baxter with a smile. “Welcome back, Baxter. Looks like we’ll be working together.”

And when she looks back at him, there’s something different in his posture. The way he looked at her was a clear indication that this was only business, that he wasn’t here for a reunion like she had once dreamt of. Yet, as his eyes land on her hand, as if searching for something, he says nothing about her, about Gabrielle.

If she were hopeful, if she was still that fresh-out-of-high-school girl, she would’ve thought that maybe he was trying to see if she had a ring on her finger. Maybe then, she could believe that maybe, just maybe they could…

He only gives her a grateful smile, an awfully hollow smile, and Rosaline drowns the thought away, smiling back at him with an equally hollow smile.

What a frightening situation she’s in.

#wynter writes #fic: when honestly you can't recall #baxter ward #our life beginnings & always #baxter x mc

25 notes · View notes

chronosdawn · 1 year

Note

don't be shy, you can rewrite the howl's plot while still making the crossover 💞💞 (the feral dynamic between howl reader and wotw scara would be so funny (tired exasperated reader vs jaded simpering brat scara lmao)

In reference to this post.

You get it anon, you get the dynamic I'm going for.

Sadly I don't think I can commit to rewriting the whole plot of the movie because that would be a fairly tremendous undertaking (especially when I already have quite a few WIPs that I'm slowly chipping away at). However, because I really love this concept and as a thank you for being my first ask, I have written a little drabble for you anon. I hope you enjoy it!

I'm also open to taking asks about this AU and may write some more drabbles for it in the future so keep your eyes peeled!

A lone figure stood at the mouth of the alleyway leading to the main square, the dark colors of his outfit at odds with the cheerful banners and fluttering flags adorning the nearby buildings. His countenance too, did not match that of the other parade-goers, for if one were to peer into the shadow cast by his wide-brimmed hat, they would find his features twisted in bitter fury—his eyes trained not on the merry townsfolk, but the two figures soaring high above them, one with their arm wrapped around the other.

The figure sank his teeth into the skin of his lip. Even though he’d been working at pursuing you for some time now, he hadn’t expected you to make a trip into town today, not with all the soldiers and crowds. It had been so long since he’d been this close to you that it’d made him desperate, acting with far too much haste and not enough forethought to keep you from getting away. It hurt more, somehow, to have come so close only to have you slip right through his fingers.

Again.

A faint noise like that of shifting fabric alerted the figure to a presence behind him and Scaramouche, the Wizard of the Waste, turned to face one of his poor excuses for a servant.

The creature made of writhing shadows bowed deeply, arm held over its chest where its heart had once been before the wizard had carved it out and replaced it with his own dark magic.

“My apologies, my Lord,” the thing rasped, “the sorcerer has escaped.”

Scaramouche’s expression twisted further in distaste as he hissed through his teeth, “yes, I could see that much.” He turned back to where your retreating figure still hung in the sky, his fingers twitching at his sides as though he might reach out and pluck you from it. “At least tell me you’re still following them.”

“The others are trailing them from the ground, my Lord. Once they descend, we shall inform you of their whereabouts immediately and attempt to seize the sorcerer—”

“No,” Scaramouche interrupted, keeping his gaze trained on you. “By the time you catch up to them, they’ll be long gone. Follow the other one, the peasant looking fellow they have with them. Find out where he lives and report it to me immediately.”

“As you wish my Lord.” The creature’s form started to disperse, the shadows that made up its body slithering away into the dark nooks and crannies of the crumbling alleyway stonework.

“One last thing before you go.” Scaramouche raised a hand, black-purple smoke curling around his pale fingers. A hiss of pain came from behind him as the magic making up the creature’s body began to constrict, distorting its shape even further from anything that could have once been called human. “I’ll be lenient on this occasion, but the next time you disappoint me, well,” his tone dropped, turning deadly, “I have no need for useless things, do I?”

“No, m—my Lord,” the thing stammered out, the tearing vocal cords in its throat rendering the sound akin to nails being scrapped across a chalkboard.

“Go on then.” All at once the magic at the wizard’s fingertips vanished, and the creature wasted no time in making its exit, leaving Scaramouche alone in the alleyway.

You were so far away now it was difficult to make out the shape of your form—where you ended and the irksome worm pressed against your side began. He couldn’t stand it, the thought of someone else at your side—a place that used to belong to him. No, a place that still belonged to him, and would continue to, regardless of your feelings on the matter.

But no matter how irritating it was to see someone else touching you, he’d have been a fool not to see it for the opportunity it was.

Scaramouche knew you, knew that no matter how much you liked to run and hide away from your problems, there was a kindness in you that you’d never quite managed to truly ignore. If some unfortunate soul, particularly one you’d already shown a hint of favor to, were to turn up at your door, cursed and bereft of other options, you’d surely allow them into your home. And if that cursed individual just so happened to be carrying a talisman upon their person that contained enough of a wizard's magic to break past the infernal seal you kept on the door of your so-called castle, they would be able to lead said wizard right to you.

How fortunate then, Scaramouche thought, that he now had someone he wanted to curse with every fiber of his being.

And once the fool allowed him access to your residence, all he had to do was find where you were keeping your heart hidden away and take it for himself.

#personally I'm still undecided on who should take Sophie's role so imagine whoever you want here #I'm half-tempted to have it be Childe simply because I think it would be funny but as for whether he actually works in that role... hm...#ask #Howl's moving castle AU #Yandere!Scaramouche #Scaramouche x reader #GN!reader #TW: yandere #genshin x reader #my writing #drabble

58 notes · View notes

bumblepony · 12 days

Text

Thank you for tagging me @adhdprincess Tagging @march-flowerr @two-birds-alone-together @becomethesun [Empty Q's are at the bottom of the post]

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 75

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 434,796

3. What fandoms do you write for? TLOU

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Unexpected Consequences : 327

Like You Were Always Meant To Be Here : 306

Glitch in the Code or Playing Video Games with My Uncle and Dad : 183

A Soul For Sale Or Rent : 164

After The Rain :126

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes, as much as I can. But I am bad at remembering, so if I get a notification and don't respond right away, my brain forgets it exists. Thank you, ADHD.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I think its a tie between these two.

Life is pretty cruel For a touchy feely fool

We're Only Going So Far

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Maybe this one. Boy I Was Back Then

8. Do you get hate on fics? No, not really. I had one fic that got some hate but it was pretty minimal. I don't even have that fic anymore; I planned to rewrite it but never did.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes, Yes I do. All kinds, but generally, it's soft smut; I don't do a ton of really out-there stuff, not that I am yucking anyones yum, just not my style. I have M/M pairings and M/F I haven't really explored F/F yet but I plan to just haven't got around to it yet.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Yes, I do. So far, only one has been published its TLOU/Firefly Turn On The Red Light . I am working on another right now for TLOU/LOTR

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No, not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, actually a few,

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? So, it's not really a Ship because they are actually together, but Bill/Frank is my favorite ship from the video game. I love that the HBO version actually gave us a relationship with them.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Probably my Henry & Sam Live Wip. Like, I want to write it, but it's going to be a lot of work, and there already is a great writer, @becomethesun, who is writing one that is amazing. It's called collaborators .

16. What are your writing strengths? Uggg, I guess my ability to come up with ideas for stories.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? My ability to finish writing those ideas.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I do it from time to time, but I try to get help from someone who actually speaks the language.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Technically The Heralds of Valdimar, but that was all through Yahoo email with my friends when I was 15-16 years old. My only published stuff is on AO3 TLOU.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Shit I think it's a tie with

A Soul For Sale Or Rent

Glitch in the Code or Playing Video Games with My Uncle and Dad

----

To copy on mobile, hold and press the text below and tap "Copy". Feel free to use the pic at the top of the post as well!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 2. What's your total AO3 word count? 3. What fandoms do you write for? 4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 5. Do you respond to comments? 6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? 7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? 8. Do you get hate on fics? 9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? 10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? 11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? 15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? 16. What are your writing strengths? 17. What are your writing weaknesses? 18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? 19. First fandom you wrote for? 20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

#tlou #asks #tlou fanfiction #the last of us #ao3

12 notes · View notes

ljandersen · 7 months

Note

whats ur status on sideways 👀? No joke i think abt it daily.

Thank you for reaching out, Anon! It means a lot to me, knowing that a story I wrote is thought about every day. I think about it every day, too, being the author! It's still the story I'm proudest to have written.

As for the status on Sideways, it currently exists as a hand-written, rough first draft stored in a fire-proof safe. It needs massive changes -- complete scene rewrites and a ton of new scenes (mostly for the paragon timeline). It's currently on my back burner while I focus on an original project.

All the adjustments I made editing the 750k words in Part 1-4 has culminated in a major undertaking editing Part 5.

For instance, the reason Shepard joins the Alliance on Rannoch is different after my changes in Part 4. Before, I didn't have a very good reason for her being there and, because of that peripheral role, she wasn't directly involved in a lot of the things happening. Now she's acting Counselor. She's front and center.

It's a good change, the right change, which is why I did it. However, now a lot of the plot-centric happenings, which were only heard about or referenced through another character, need full scenes with Shepard being impactful and altering the outcomes (much better than being a removed observer).

This will require several new scenes and throwing out old ones that are now unnecessary. Then I need to relocate any extra bits of vital information not in the new scene, to other places in the story.

In addition to whole new scenes, I need to majorily revise whole scenes. There's a party scene on Rannoch, which now the goal behind it and what Shepard is doing during it, has changed. That series of scenes need rewritten.

That example of Shep's purpose on Rannoch changing scenes downstream is just one -- and a mostly spoiler free one -- of the dozens of changes I need to accomodate.

Also, the paragon timeline in particular requires a lot of new writing, maybe 50 k words of new scenes (so, the equivalent of a full novel).

Toward the end of writing the first draft of Sideways, I was starting to get worn down. Writing four storylines sometimes made it feel like I was spending weeks going nowhere, because I wasn't moving forward in the main Renegade timeline. Because of that frustration and wanting to reach the end, I chose to focus less on the paragon timeline, knowing I would need to add more to it during the editing. I left myself with some major work to do on that storyline to do it justice.

All of those reasons aside, the main reason Sideways Part 5 isn't ready is because I shifted focus for the time being. I'm serializing an original sci fi series and trying to establish myself an author. I intended to do this after I finished posting Sideways, but with the emergence of AI, I don't think the opportunity will be there for me if I wait.

Visibility for writing is going to become impossible and slow human writers, like me, will be washed away under the tide of AI mega production. There's an influential author in the indie world, for example, who has stated his intention to produce 10k novels a year, on par with the big publishing houses. That's one person, who with a handful of contractors previously put out a few dozen books a year, if that many, who now intends to do 10k a year!

My opportunity to find readers is now, while AI is still clunky and not universal, before people selling a back catalog of 100k books and with the ad spending to match drive human writers out of the market.

Because of this new priority, I've had to funnel my creativity and focus into my original writing. I'm not someone who can do two things at once. I'm all in on one project at a time. That's probably apparent from my fanfic, where I've only posted one WIP at a time, start to finish before the next. I can't divide my passion on concurrent WIP.

That doesn't mean I don't think about Sideways though -- I do, daily! -- and I intend to finish it. For now, though, unfortunately, Sideways is a draft in some notebooks in a safe. It's not a simple undertaking to edit it, and I need to focus on a personal goal.

Your interest in Sideways is something I treasure, though, and appreciate beyond words. I'm so glad my story isn't forgotten. I love knowing it's still on readers' minds. It makes me feel like, what had so much meaning to me as its writer, truly must carry that meaning through to the reader, too, which is the greatest joy in sharing a story.

Thank you for taking time to check in on Sideways and for letting me know how much it still means to you.

Also, here is a picture of my new puppy as a tiny consolation for not having Sideways ready:

#my writing #ask #anon ask #on sideways

22 notes · View notes

yletylyf · 6 months

Text

Thanks for the tag @metalomagnetic 🖤💛

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total A03 words count?

1,234,338

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Whatever I feel like at the moment, but lately my interest has centered on MDZS/CQL. I also love Tolkien, Grisha verse, Austen novels, and Harry Potter.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

An Inconvenient Path (Severitus and Snape/Voldemort) Not bright or noble, but almost sublime (Severus/Sirius raise Harry) The Secret of the Philosopher's Stone (Snape/Voldemort) Voyager, Healer, Survivor (Snape/Voldemort/Harry) Through Peril and Fire (Sauron/Galadriel)

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

I used to reply to every single one, until this summer. I realized it took a lot of energy that could be used on writing instead... but I have vague ambitions of going back and replying to all of them.

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

Oh, I don't really write angsty endings. Perhaps the short Severus/Bellatrix fic, Lilith. Nothing good going on there, unless you're Bellatrix.

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

Almost all my fics have happy endings! Not bright or noble, but almost sublime gets the prize for the happiest unearned ending, I guess.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes, that is why guest comments are off for every fic I post.

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

Yes. All kinds, I like vanilla and kink, happy sex and angsty sex, dubcon and noncon, slash and femslash and poly... all kinds!

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

No, unless you count crossovers in fandoms with shared lore (Disney universe or Austen canons).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Define stolen? Someone trying to pass my work off as theirs - not that I know of. Someone copying my work to another website without permission - yes.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes!! @maraudersaffair I know we need to work on this one lmao

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

Oh, wow. Um. I can't pick. I love Snape/Sirius and Snape/Voldemort in Harry Potter, Sauron/Celebrimbor in Tolkien, the Darkling/Nikolai in Grishaverse, and I'm recently on a Wen Xu/Lan Xichen kick in MDZS (yeah, actually for real on that last one).

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

I haven't posted anything to ao3 I have doubts about finishing. And if something isn't on ao3, I don't feel that strongly about it getting finished or not.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Being straightforward, I think. I am not good at flowery prose, but I think that's fine.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Varying how straightforward I am about writing, lol. Sometimes variance is nice.

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

I love it very much when it's well done - when the meaning is clear and the reader has learned something or you're expressing a nuance not available in the primary language you're writing in.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Lord of the Rings, way back in the day

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

This changes day by day, but right now I'm excessively fond of Rainbow of Chaos, a massive LotR trilogy rewrite centering on Sauron and inspired heavily by Rings of Power.

Tagging: I saw this make the rounds and I'm pretty sure my HP mutuals who want to have done this, but tagging you if you haven't. for other fandoms... @scriberated @demonscantgothere @myfavouritelunatic @storm-elf @for-want-of-a-nail @esssteee @cilil @thescrapwitch but no pressure!

#tag game #about my fic

18 notes · View notes

thirdeyeblue · 6 months

Text

20 Questions Game

Thanks for tagging me, @bronzeagepizzeria & @quite-right-too 🤩

How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

892,591

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Doctor Who

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Bloodstream (Ten x Rose multi-chap)

Tiny Lights Below (Ten x Rose - Tentoo x Rose OT3)

For All We're Worth (Ten x Rose multi-chap)

Mending (Ten x Rose multi-chap)

The Doctor's Brilliant Idea (Ten x Rose multi-chap)

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

Always always always, but I have a horrible habit of getting behind on replying to them - usually because I'm busy when I get a comment and consistently forget to come back... Then suddenly there's a ton of them. This is a reminder to sit down and tackle my neglected comments, so thanks, thing.

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

Ordinary Gifts for sure.

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

I meannnn, all of my fics have at least mostly happy endings, as I'm a baby. But I'd probably say Bloodstream - just considering the odds that have to be overcome to get there.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Never had until my goddamn Martha fic. But thankfully, the hate was on the latter pairing, not my writing. That's the only solace I took from that (along with some badass readers who defended me to a handful of lunatics).

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

I write all of the smut! Lengthy, graphic, emotional 'first time' scenes, as well as all subsequent smut. I have a very, very difficult time skipping over sex (have only done it once to date, and intend to write a separate fic to cover the smut I skipped 💀) and will never skip the first time.

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

No, never have.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope, thank god.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Somebody translated Bloodstream into Russian, which was fucking cool.

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

I'm doing it right now with @bronzeagepizzeria and my excitement knows no bounds.

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

TenRose/TentooRose, of course.

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

Had an idea for a fic inspired by To Have and Not Hold by mtemplar, but have never opened the lil WIP again, and that was over a year ago.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Smut?

Also, not sure if this counts - but I'm a perfectionist about my writing. I'm constantly, obsessively rereading, which I do both as I go and when everything is finished. Making alterations, amending this or that, punching up, rewriting/removing whole scenes etc... But I still, of course, make some mistakes here and there.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I write way too goddamn much. Way too much positive reinforcement in the comments of my first fic gave me a weird perma-complex where I don't even feel like a chapter is complete until it's around 10k, which is insane. Somebody save me. This is a serious problem.

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

I personally don't do it - I'd rather allude to it. For example, from my fic Exposure, since I guess I'm just going all in with this goddamn questionnaire:

He murmurs something soft, something gorgeous, but Rose has got no idea what it is— only that it's far too structured to be sleepy gibberish. There's an almost-Italian-but-also-sort-of-Arabic resonance to it, yet entirely unique; something she can't even pretend to know how to accurately describe.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The first actual fic I ever wrote was for the Russian girl group t.A.T.u in either 2003 or 2004, but I wrote it at school during 'reading time' in Language Arts. It never saw the light of day anywhere.

The first proper fic I actually wrote, finished, and posted completely was for my first feral fixation ship, Inu/Kag (Inuyasha) back in 2005.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I fucking hate this question, but probably For All We're Worth or The Purpose of Repose

Tagging: @demdifferentstories @badxwolfxrising @mulderscully @aintfraidanoghosts @deardiary17 @naaer No pressure!

#Ignore my stupid formatting #I went to my laptop to copy/paste the whole post and its all kinds of jacked up #20 questions #Ao3 #fanfiction #fic #dw fic #tenrose #tentoorose

16 notes · View notes

jenanigans1207 · 3 months

Note

Hi, i was wondering if you have any advice for a first time smut writer? Especially when the writer doesn't even have experience kissing?

I've had an idea for a bonus nsfw chapter for my long term GO wip, and over the months, I have created a detailed account of what will happen with dialogue in my head. But I'm worried that only reading NSFW fics will not be enough to help write it well.

I would ask in a discord server, but may end up gifting it to a friend, and they're in all my servers 😅 Getting advice there might ruin the whole "surprise! I've written a sexy fic!" if I do end up gifting it.

Hi!! Oh man, I don’t know how much help I’m going to be, but I’ll sure try!

I think the biggest thing I can say, and I genuinely can’t stress this enough: you’re going to feel awkward as hell the first time you write smut. To this day I still feel super awkward when I write smut, like I need to look over my shoulder in case someone is looking at my computer screen or this happens to be the moment I’m finally proven right that mind-readers exist and one is reading the smut straight from my brain. So if you feel that way when you write it, don’t panic! It’s not a sign that you aren’t meant to be writing it or that you’re doing a bad job writing it!

My second biggest piece of advice is to remember that this is part of a larger fic. And I hope this makes sense when I say this! It’s not just smut that you’re writing, it’s a natural progression of the dynamic that you’ve been building up for all those chapters. By now you have the character voices and personalities in your head— trust those! Lean into it a little, let them take the lead a bit. If you don’t end up liking how something is written, you can always rewrite it! (Though I will always advocate for simply pasting what you’re getting rid of in another doc instead of outright deleting it just to be safe!)

Third: remember that they’re people. Whether it’s an au where they’re human or they’re still celestial beings, the boys are disastrous idiots at the best of times (that’s why we love them). So don’t be afraid to let it be awkward or uncoordinated sometimes. If you feel like one of them doesn’t know what they’re doing, okay! A lot of us don’t!! And depending on the scenario you’ve put them in, maybe one of them hasn’t ever kissed before either, which allows you to lean into it a little and hopefully make it more comfortable! The point is, nothing is ever perfect. It’s messy, it’s full of emotions, and it’s usually clumsy and heartfelt and it’s okay to write it that way!

If you don’t have a deadline or need to post/send to your friend right away, I recommend taking a few days away from it and reading it again. It’s hard to look at anything you write objectively when you’ve been so close to it for so long. Taking a step away and coming back gives you a better chance of seeing the story the way your readers will— and I guarantee you that you’ll think it’s even better than you remember it being. Even if you thought it was the best thing you ever wrote, you’ll love it more when you are able to look at it a little more objectively! If you can’t take the time away, totally fair. Find someone you trust, someone who knows the rest of your fic so they have the whole story, and ask them to read it.

If you get stuck, and you have someone you trust enough, you can do what I do with my writing friends which is playing Questions! You talk a little about where you’re stuck at in the plot and they just ask you any question that comes to mind. Not always huge, plot-relevant questions, but questions about how a character feels, or how an outside character would respond, etc. and in working out the answers to those questions, I think you’ll find the bits of plot that you’re looking for! It’s always been a huge help to me, and it’s tons of fun!

Oh, and lastly— I think it’s absolutely phenomenal that you wrote an outline of everything! I’ve never been great at plotting or outlines so I’m jealous. But remember not to hold yourself too rigidly to the outline. If you forget something or veer off of where you intended to go for a bit but you like the outcome, don’t beat yourself up over it! Like I said before, you can always rewrite something you don’t like.

So I guess my biggest piece of advice is don’t take it too seriously and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It’s still writing and it’s a natural progression of a story you’ve already spent all this time telling. You know how the story goes, you know how the characters act, you got this!!!

I don’t know if this ended up being helpful at all, but I hope it is! It’s lovely that you’re doing this for your friend and I’m sure they’re going to adore it!!!

#writing advice #if I’m qualified to be giving writing advice anyway

10 notes · View notes

caitylove · 1 month

Text

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @holy-ships-x-red-lips! Thank you so much for the tags. You have given me a lovely way to procrastinate right now. :)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? Only 16, but there are also fics out there on LJ that I was too lazy (or were just too bad) to find on the group events I posted on and port over. There are also some other ff.net fics on another account that I forgot about, but were from when I was in high school so totally not bringing those over either.

2. What's your total Ao3 word count? 78,839. I expect that to drastically change once I start publishing my one long wip...

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently I mostly write Battlestar Galactica (spaceparents ftw) and some The Closer/Major Crimes (I'm a Brenda/Sharon heathen. ) But in the past I wrote for Rizzoli and Isles and Grey's Anatomy. There's also some X-files fic out there and a CSI one somewhere.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Caffeine (Rizzoli & Isles): What happens when Maura consumes an excessive amount of caffeine?

So major note this fic is literally like 12 years old. And super short. And honestly not good lol.

Break All The Rules For You (The Closer/Major Crimes): Sharon Raydor has a list of rules she lives her life by. But Brenda Leigh Johnson very might be the catalyst for her to break each and every one.

This is actually my current active posting WIP. I'm amused it got so many kudos so fast. Guess I'm not the only heathen out there. :)

Frak Me Red (Battlestar Galactica): Wanting Laura to feel good about herself, Bill finds her the perfect gift and they spend an exciting weekend away on shore leave aboard Cloud 9.

Part of my Cosmetics Series. This was a blast and like 70% pure smut.

Pain Management (Battlestar Galactica): Dealing with pain during her cancer treatments, Laura is suggested an unorthodox treatment plan.

This was actually my first fic back after a ten year writing hiatus... :) Never let anyone tell you that you can't return after a long time away.

Spray and Stay (Battlestar Galactica): Laura has a secret addiction that is slowly running out and she can't help but show off her addiction to Bill.

The first part of my Cosmetics Series. Also 50% smut. :)

5. Do you respond to comments? Absolutely. So, I work from home and like responding to them instead of working sometimes.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? So I don't have a ton of angst honestly. So I guess the ending of Auburn Sunsets, Starlit Nights (Battlestar Galactica) is the angstiest? (Or meanest?)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? So like 80% of my stuff is smut... so they all have HAPPY ENDINGS. *snicker*. But I guess I'll go with Frak Me Red ?

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really. Probably did on some of my old FF.net stuff but don't care enough to go back and look.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes. Like thats half of what I write. :)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Not in a long time. But once upon a time I wrote a Grey's Anatomy Zombie fic that had a Doctor House appearance. Its somewhere on LJ. It was BAD, but I am so tempted to find it now for my own amusement.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I am aware of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope. Feel free to reach out if you want to tho.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but definitely open to it.

14. What's your all time favorite ship? So probably Bill/Laura(Spaceparents) from BSG. But Also have a soft spot for Sharon/Brenda (The Closer), MSR (The X-Files), Swan Queen, Janeway/Chakotay, Femshep/Garrus, to name a few.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Love Games. My 12 year old the Closer fic I never finished. May rewrite it one day but I will never just finish it as it exists today.

16. What are your writing strengths? I like to think I do a lot of emotional introspection well. And Smut. I can do smut.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Honestly, I struggle with dialogue.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? As long as its translated or explained, I'm fine with it. Probs would never do it, cause my language skills suck, but wouldn't mind reading.

19. First fandom you wrote for? CSI! I wrote a Grissom/Sara fic back in the day. I was in like High School.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Thats like asking me my favorite children! My favorite is one I am still writing and haven't published yet, The Symposium of the Stars. One day it'll make an appearance.

But for published? I really loved Auburn Sunsets, Starlit Nights. I have a soft spot for it.

Tagging: @lavenderknivess, @mimine666, @madelineusherspearls. @ofhouseusher, @cryscal, @fracktastic, and anyone else who feels like it :)

#20 questions for fic writers #tag game #fic writers #20 questions

11 notes · View notes

cosmic-lullaby · 6 months

Text

fic tag game!!

tagged by: @beri-allen (my beloved) Thank you!!

How many works do you have on Ao3? I have 14!

What's your Ao3 word count? 65,690

What fandoms do you write for? Currently just Wednesday!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? binds of hex and magic, bleed from the heart need me for my heart, in the middle of the night, turn my heaven to hell (i'm under your spell), you should see the things we do baby

Do you respond to comments? Yes, eventually! I'm sometimes very terrible at getting around to it but I try and answer all comments!

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I think it's a tie between monsters (when you're alone) and strings

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably a tie between binds of hex and magic (because plotting to brutally murder Laurel) and special instructions (which is just tooth rotting fluff)

Do you get hate on fics? No, but I do imagine I will someday, because the internet be like that.

Do you write smut? What kind? I've very recently started writing smut! I really wanna try delving into some experimental writing when it comes to that! I'm told my smut is very intimate, which is usually what I'm going for so yay!

Do you write cross-overs? Nah, not my thing.

Have you ever had a fic translated? I don't believe so?

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? Sort of, @lovepoison9 have collaborated heavily on if we loved again i swear i'd love you right so I 1000% see her as my co-writer!

What WIP you would like to finish, but doubt you ever will? I have a smutty one currently unpublished that I wanted to post in the summer, and REALLY hope to someday but have no idea when.

What's your all-time favourite ship? Wyler. Honestly, I haven't even been motivated to write fanfiction in almost 10 years and then these two come crashing in. So yeah, Wyler.

What are your writing strengths? I think I love doing character studies, so I try very hard to make sure the characters are accurate to most of the canon we're given. Also I've been told I write great smut.

What are your writing weaknesses? UPDATING. I AM TERRIBLE AT UPDATING. I AM SO SORRY.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Very nervous of messing it up!

First fandom you wrote for? Supernatural. Back in 2006 / 2007. It wasn't even posted on Fanfic.net, it was posted on a message board. I'm old okay.

Favourite fic you've ever written? turn my heaven to hell (i'm under your spell) is my baby, my first fic in this fandom and in almost 10 years and completely reawakened my writing passion! Very very close though would be binds of hex and magic

What fic would you want to rewrite one day? I always get the urge to rewrite the first couple chapters of TMHTH, just because I feel I could do better now, but oh well! Onward and upward!

Tagging: @persephoneed @wincestation @therulerofallpotatos @nouklea @realmermaid333 and @writerrose1998

#tag games #writing #my writing #wyler #weyler #wyler fanfiction

15 notes · View notes

autisticblueteam · 29 days

Text

Appears from the ether again, after months of only being present enough to fill my queue up, with some WIP snippets from the gen:LOCK re-write I mentioned before...

And also finally adressing these tags lmao, sorry @thesouppond I realise these are like 3 months old.

#FUCK IM JUST SEEING THIS NOW???#FUCK YEAH 2024 SEASON OF EVERYONE GETS TO REWRITE GENLOCK CAUSE FUCK S2#Ahem anyway hi genlock moot :)))#I love your writing btw! Ive read your existing GL fics theyre great!#at this point if someone can give me a GL fic i havent already met I will forever be indebted to you i am DYING for GL content

We're really out here trying our best to do better by GL than HBO did huh!! I've been loving Reloaded, it was so nice to see someone else pop up in the gL tag after it was comparatively dead for so long. I've been working on my re-write since just after s2 came out and it was lonely in there for a while there lmao.

So I'm glad you enjoyed the couple of fics I've already done! I'm re-using parts of one of them for the actual re-write since I'm going for the 'keep the basic bones of s2 but aim to fix the execution into something less shit/re-work the worst bits' and I didn't want to write that first nemesis fight over again from total scratch lmao...

I want to finish writing all of the re-write before I post it in full, but that does mean it's taking forever whoops.

I'm still not past the introduction of Sinclair as his portion is so involved and I keep getting distracted by other projects/hobbies, but I did finally get to a point where my take on Sinclair is actually fun to write! I'm keeping his boyfriend because I did at least like that Sinclair was made canonically queer and they're actually cute when I'm just doing my own thing.

So since I feel like posting some WIP bits, here's my favourite Chris/Sinclair stuff I've done so far.

“YEAH! Take that you fucked up tin can!” Sinclair winced. The shout was like an ice pick being driven into his skull, but it was also what finally drove him to lift his head. There ahead of him, wielding a large piece of debris in one hand, was a heavyset Asian man dressed in torn clothes and covered in grime. He reared back, and for a split second Sinclair thought that projectile was for him, until he heard an impact, and the last of the humming died. The man brushed off his hands, pride written on every feature, and in that moment he was the most beautiful thing Sinclair had ever seen. “Coast’s clear!” the stranger called behind him. There was movement, but Sinclair didn’t care to look, his attention caught by the man’s approach. “And we’ve got a live one.” Sinclair’s throat was so dry he broke down coughing twice, in the time it took the stranger to kneel in front of him. “I-I’m not Union. I-I know— with the uniform, and the—” Another violent burst of coughing cut him off. The stranger handed him a canteen and a crooked smile. “Yeah, no shit. You’ve got way too much emotion on your face to be even a defector,” he said, and if Sinclair wasn’t so busy chugging the offered water, he might have mustered a laugh. “That, plus, the lack of helmet, the collapsing, and the drone getting ready to turn you into a novelty cheese grater kinda gave it away.” “Christ, I could kiss you right now,” Sinclair blurted and then regretted in quick succession. Fuck. He’d been in near solitary too long, his filter had worn away to nothing and he was making a damn fool of himself in front of the first sane people he’d seen in weeks. Except the stranger just… laughed, good-naturedly. “Close, the name’s Chris, not Christ. And I’d say buy me dinner first, but it’s a bit hard out here.”

AND then a little later...

“What about the refugee railroads?” Chris lowered his beer bottle and wiped his mouth. “Too far.” “Vanguard safe crossings?” “Too far.” “The— fucking Canadian border?” Chris laughed, “Too far. Further than either of the other things. Jesus, dude. You sure you haven’t got a concussion?” “Mostly,” Sinclair said, rubbing his face with his intact hand. “I just— you’re going to die if you stay here. A drone only has to get lucky once.” “And if we go deeper in, we’ll only die faster,” Chris said with a simple shrug. “We already have to pack up and move every few weeks when the line moves. And every time, the Polity border gets a little bit further away. Believe me, man, I want nothing more than to get outta here, but it’s just not happening.” “What if I helped?” The offer fell out before he’d consciously decided to make it, but Sinclair stood by it. Even when Chris looked at him dubiously. “No offence, dude, but you’re just one guy. And two days ago you could barely stand.” “And now I’m fine,” Sinclair insisted. “I’m a soldier. I was decorated for valour after I got my squad out of a run-in with the Union that should’ve killed us all. I was the only one who could even still hold a gun. I swear, I could get you somewhere safe. Are you really telling me you’d rather keep sitting around waiting to die than take a risk?” Chris’s brow furrowed, and he didn’t answer immediately, taking another swig from his scratched up bottle of beer. Sinclair sighed. “Look. I need to get to a Vanguard base one way or another. I don’t want to leave you guys behind if I don’t have to. I owe you my life. And maybe dinner.” Chris almost choked on his drink. “Wow,” he laughed, clearing his throat, “you sure pick your moments, huh?” Sinclair shrugged. “Figure if you’re not actually into it I’ll just blame the concussion.” “That you don’t have.” “Exactly.” Chris rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Smooth. Smooth operator. Alright, alright, fine, we’ll talk to the others in the morning. It might be a tougher sell when they’re not the ones getting dinner with a hot soldier out of it, but hey, guess we’ll see.” “Are you looking past the just-got-done-being-tortured chic, here, or is that part of the charm?” “Are you kidding? There’s a whole genre focused on how hot soldier guys look after they’ve been through hell.” “Not sure that’s the intended takeaway of action movies.” “Well,” Chris shrugged, starting to pick at a can of food, “it was definitely my takeaway.” Sinclair laughed. Honest-to-god laughed, in a way he was surprised he was even capable of after the last few weeks. The normality of the moment was like a balm on all the aching parts of him, mental and physical alike. For a moment he could almost forget that the reason he looked like shit was because he’d just escaped the worst experience of his life. For a moment it felt like the fight was over.

Now I just have to actually get through the remainder of my Sinclair set-up and then I'll be only one chapter away from finishing the first half of the fic... so close and yet so far lmao.

#blue is a writer #fic: the only me is me #gen:lock #each part is meant to be like a single season. so part 1 is like a new season 2 and part 2 is like a season 3 #and if i ever actually finish this. i might plan out a 'season 4'#the ending i have planned sets me up for it #i have grand ambitions and so little ability to sit down and just get it done LMAO

6 notes · View notes

spacejammie-eimmajecaps · 6 months

Text

20 Q's for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @grungeeuvu

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

At present, I have 46 fics posted on ao3. Used to have over 50 but I deleted/orphaned some

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Haikyuu is the only fandom I write for right now

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, almost always

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

Probably this one

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

Most of my fics have happy endings so this question feels impossible to answer lol

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, I've only ever gotten 1 comment that was a bit rude, though it didn't seem intentional

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

Not often, the vanilla kind

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

Setting counts as a crossover, right? I used to have a haikyuu fic that was set in Neverland (like from Peter Pan) but I deleted it because I wasn't happy with it. Was going to fully rewrite it, just have not had time/energy to do so. And I have an outline made for a haikyuu fic that's set in the Jurrasic Park universe (starts out similar to the first movie and goes from there, and almost every single haikyuu character is in the story somewhere)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of

12. There was no question 12 so I'll make one up myself: What's the longest you've ever spent working on one fic? And the shortest?

I've been working on SGB for almost 2 years now, that's the longest. The shortest would probably be just a couple hours.

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

Nope

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

Impossible to pick a favorite

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

SGB😭😭😭 (jk, I'll finish it no matter what, it's just gonna take a few more years probably)

On a serious note, I don't think I'm actually going to rewrite the Neverland AU I deleted, and I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to finishing the Jurrasic Park AU

16. What are your writing strengths?

Ermmmmmm I'm not sure, maybe dialogue? I think I've gotten much better at that than I used to be

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Adding last-minute details that aren't necessary and only serve to create openings for plot holes that I later have to fix somehow

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

Don't really have thoughts on this

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Haikyuu

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Tie between these two

I'll tag: @astrowaffles @wewindondowntheroad @paintbrushyy @stormears @axreliono @redrocketpanda @maybe-a-dinosaur @sunflowersatori @themultifandomdisaster @chameliyun @kleiner-ghost @tsukikitsune-exe @novatix

#tried to remember who all my ao3 writer mutuals are but i think i forgot some #sorry if i missed anyone #feel free to say i tagged you if you want to do this<3

14 notes · View notes

leggywillow · 2 months

Text

Fic Writer Interview

I was tagged by @feralkwe

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

10 🙈

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

170,541

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

He Thought Her Unsinkable (50)

Never Free (41)

Failed Attempts at Simpler Lives (24)

Ashes (12)

Torture Of Your Own Design (10)

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

I try to! I really can’t overstate how much I love and value every comment and how they make my day and really keep me going when I worry that no one’s interested, lol. I want the commenters to know that, even if sometimes all I can say is “thanks!” Because I can’t grab them by the shoulders and just shriek right in their face.

People engaging with my characters and ships and little situations is like… the point for me. It’s the DREAM, for real.

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Technically it’s the short Ashes, since that ends with Hawke dead and Anders and Justice gone. The one that makes me the saddest, though, is Strange Bedfellows. That fic spends more time getting to know the characters before destroying them.

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Never Free ends the most hopefully, I feel.

7. Do you write crossovers?

Nah.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, which is the good part of focusing on niche content with OCs, lol. I may not rack up numbers but I also don’t get attention from the meanies.

9. Do you write smut?

Not really, but god I want to. I’ve put a grand total of like 2.3 smut-esque scenes in my stories, because I just chicken the hell out. I get SO self-conscious, and it just feels so bad lmao. No idea how to overcome this.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and I can’t imagine anyone has. Another benefit of creating niche content.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I’m aware of. That would be pretty cool though.

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

No, but it’s something I’d be open to if the right circumstances came up. It seems pretty unlikely at this point in my fandom life, but you never know.

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

I feel like the Simpsons’ “SAY THE LINE, BART!” meme right now because it’s obviously Carver Hawke/my Surana. You know, the only ship I ever write and talk about.

The only other ship I’ve been both feral and inspired enough to write about is Hawke/Alistair, so that ship gets second place.

Mind you, this is strictly from a “writing fanfic” perspective. I love lots of different ships, including multishipping for the above characters.

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I don’t post many things so the only unfinished WIP (besides the one I’m currently working on) is my Hawkistair fic, He Thought Her Unsinkable, that I last updated in 2016. Two years ago I would have said it would stay unfinished forever, but now I DO have intentions of coming back to it. (I got thoroughly stuck with progressing both the plot and the ship and I’ve since thought up solutions for both.)

I’ll probably rewrite the whole thing though. There was a lot of room for improvement, and I cringe looking back.

15. What are your writing strengths?

This is hard for me because I’m so riddled with imposter syndrome and anxiety, but I think I do character dialogue well. I can hear voices very clearly in my head and it’s one of the few things my memory holds onto, so I fiddle with my lines until I can hear the character saying them in their cadence.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with descriptions for sure. Knowing how much or little to include, yes, but I also find myself just blanking out on descriptive words when I need them.

Me, desperately, to my own brain: We’ve seen a house before! I need words to describe a house!

Brain: I have never seen one of those before in my life.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

This is something where I try to stay pretty firmly in my lane, because I know it can be done poorly if you don’t know what you’re doing. And I do not, lol. If a character is speaking in another language, I just say that. I try to keep my usage of other languages to exclamations and terms of endearment if they come up naturally.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I wrote Animorphs fanfic on an old typewriter at my dad’s office when I had to be there after school as a kid and then later on some little word processor software for kids that looked like you were typing in a little book. (I’ve been desperately trying to figure out what 1990s software this could have been to no avail, for nostalgia’s sake.) I made some kind of human/Hork-Bajir hybrid OC that was basically like Wolverine with the badass retracting blades in her skin.

19. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I only like writing fic when I have BIG AND SPECIFIC IDEAS that grab me, and that only comes with being incredibly hyperfixated on the source material until I’m comfortable with the setting… so basically I’m very content in my Dragon Age sandbox and don’t have much desire to branch out. That said, I do love my Dark Urge from Baldur’s Gate 3 and am very tempted to write about her someday.

20. What's your favorite fic you've written?

I think I’ll have to go with Never Free. Failed Attempts at Simpler Lives has more character interactions that I deeply enjoyed writing, but I’m really proud of the plot I wove together in Never Free.

Tagging @theluckywizard @rakshadow @inquisimer @nirikeehan and anybody who thinks it looks fun!

#leggy writes #memes

6 notes · View notes