#writing mcd is very fun actually

[valec275]

Whumptober Day Six

Prompt: Made to watch

Fandom: Linked Universe

Legend could feel his resolve crumbling. How could it not? He wanted to fight. He wanted so badly to snap his chains and kill the Acheman that was holding his head, but he couldn’t. Hyrule’s screams were just crushing his angry walls.

They were in Hyrule’s era - had been for a few days now. They’d been jumped by things Hyrule called Achemen and dragged to this cave. Legend didn’t know where the others were, just that he and Hyrule were here, and that he was forced to watch as Hyrule screamed.

“How does it feel, Hero?” asked the Acheman who was holding Hyrule by the scruff of his blood-soaked tunic. It stabbed Hyrule again with its wicked blade.

Hyrule didn’t scream, and Legend wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or terrified.

Scowling with dissatisfaction, the Acheman twisted the blade, ripping open Hyrule’s stomach even more.

That got a scream. Hyrule screamed the scream of a thousand tortured souls, the sound ringing through the cave just to cut off with a throaty, coughing fit that had blood dripping from Hyrule’s mouth.

Legend felt sick. He couldn’t take this anymore. This image - his descendant facing an agony Legend wouldn’t wish upon even Ganon - seared a place in his head. Even when he closed his eyes as Hyrule wailed, the image burned in his eyelids, not allowing him even that moment’s reprieve.

“Having fun, Hero?” the Acheman holding Legend’s face asked.

Legend didn’t know which of them the question was for, but he responded anyway. “Stop,” he pleaded. “Let him go.”

“Stop?” the Acheman asked, incredulous. It laughed then, raspy and condescending. It grinned from above, dagger-like teeth on display. “Why? Is the entertainment not to your liking, Hero of Legend?” It didn’t let Legend say anything before it redoubled its grip on his face, talons digging into his skin, cutting deep enough to draw blood, forcing him to look at Hyrule. “Hear that? The Hero of Legend isn’t satisfied.”

Hyrule fucking whimpered.

The sound made Legend’s heartstrings snap. His breath hitched and his eyes burned. What else could they possibly do? “No, please,” he begged. He wasn’t above begging, not if it made this stop. “Please, leave him alone. He’d going to die. He-“

“That was the plan,” said the Acheman holding Hyrule’s trembling body. Its beady, crimson eyes were alight with glee.

Hyrule drew a weak breath. “I killed Ganon,” he whispered, the words almost too quiet to hear. “He won’t revive again. You know this. My blood is worthless.”

“Oh,” the Acheman holding Legend said. It blinked. Then it laughed, loud and boisterous and grating on Legend’s ears. “Oh! You though that’s why we were doing this? Oh no, Hero of Hyrule.” Its grin dropped, a snarl taking its place, twisting the Acheman’s face into something somehow even crueler. “We just want you dead.”

Hyrule stared, eyes wide. He gasped at the words. All at once, it looked like a horrid realisation had reached him.

“Hm,” the Acheman holding Legend hummed. “Finish it.”

The world slowed as the other Acheman stabbed Hyrule through the heart.

Legend wanted to scream. He wanted to scream for his brother - his successor - as the light left his eyes, as he was dropped into a crumpled heap in his own blood on the rocky floor, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t process what he’d just witnessed.

He’d just been made to watch Hyrule die.

He was still made to watch as Hyrule’s corpse was released from its chains. He was forced to watch as his brother was tossed aside like a rag doll. He still watched his brother as he was freed from his own chains. He still watched as he was dragged to where Hyrule had been writhing in pain only seconds ago.

He only looked away when he was forced to his knees in the puddle of Hyrule’s blood. It soaked his legs. The chains that had held Hyrule were clasped around Legend’s wrists, holding him in place.

“Now then,” said the Acheman who had made him watch, “clean that sword, won’t you? I’ll go get the Hero of the Skies.” It grinned. “It’s his turn for a show.”

[romeave]

the real reason why mcd zane sucks, from purely a writing standpoint, is that the writers really want him to be a pure evil villian. a force of evil that can not be reasoned with or stopped. absolutely nuance free and unsympathetic no matter how you slice and dice it.

which, would normally be fine, but is a weird choice for zane specifically because the writers keep naturally bringing up ways to give him depth, only to bend over backwards to shut it down once they remember zane is supposed to be cardboard flat for their kid audience to remember he's the bad guy.

and by all the time i do mean all the time. here is a list of roads blocked off by the no development tree that fell across the road:

Zane grew up isolated even by the standards of noble children, as heirs to the O'khasis throne start their training rather young, and, according to accounts about his childhood, Zane preferred to spend his free time alone as opposed to with family. At some point, his father contracted some illness that turns people into asshole tyrants, and began to groom a very impressionable Zane into a good and obedient pawn for him to control on his quest for world domination -> Zane was actually always evil from birth, which makes him immune to trauma. Garte's dickheadness actually only affected the "good" Ro'Meaves, and actually it's Zane's influence that turned Garte into a bad person. Even shit that Garte did long after Zane died are Zane's fault by proxy.

Zane's strained relationship with his brothers are also largely attributed to Zane being evil. Honestly there's a lot I could put here but the most damning one is probably the fact that Zane isn't allowed to talk about his upbringing at all after vaguely mentioning having a dead brother on the docks.

Zane's initially introduced as an ambitious young priest who came to power due to his commitment to his studies. He secretly uses taboo ancient magic that people can't exactly come across if they don't have an obsessive drive to learn about the divines beyond the church's teachings. -> Actually Zane stole everything from "real scholars" and never actually cared about his research outside of what power it could bring him. Apparently he can't even read for himself without a "real scholar" in the room.

Zane's most terrible deeds (Kiki's pendant, Alexis, Falconclaw) were committed in service of opening the Irene dimension. Its implied that some, if not all of the specific deeds needed to open the portal were decided long before Zane ever got his hands on the amulets. -> Each portal-opening crime is treated as its own separate crime, motivated purely by sadism. Falconclaw specifically is referred to as a "horrific mass slaughter Zane had a lot of fun committing", even though everyone involved just painlessly fell over dead

Zane only raises a sword to people to have actively betrayed him. Jeffory betrayed him, the Wolf Tribe was plotting to eat him the next time he showed up, and Garroth committed treason two seperate times and shoved his own sword in Zane's face before Zane tried to kill him about it -> Evidence that Zane is just a bloodthristy killer who would kill his comrades unprompted. His victims are not traitors, but martyrs to his unreasonable wrath

Zane possessed the protector's relic for a period of time. Surely he must've had some reason to hold it -> Zane was entirely undeserving of the relic. He only had it because blood relations.

Despite already having a relic, Zane wants to get Irene's relic -> Exclusively to hoard power! No personal reasons or family reasons or nerd reasons. Just an insanely dangerous and high stakes task done solely to have them all. Like its a pokemon with life steal.

Zane gets turned into a Shadow Knight. Zane used to have an absurd amount of knowledge on the Shadow Knights, lots of shadow knights hate his gay ass, becoming a Shadow Knight is usually pretty traumati--> Zane doesn't feel trauma, duh!! He's actually stronger than ever.

And I know I'm aphblr's foremost Zane dick rider but this isn't a Zane did nothing wrong post its just bad writing. Zane's actions affect so much of the plot its fucking bonkers to give him the depth of an evil sheet of printer paper. Aph's usually pretty good at fleshing out her villians I don't know why the one guy who everyone and their mother has a connection to is just a knife roomba of a man. At the bare minimum he should've been as fleshed out as his brothers because then it'd be a tragic tale about a family being torn apart by a system they benefit from instead of a karma-farming AITAH post set in medival times.

[magpiefngrl]

hey! curious new writer here. which fix of yours were the easiest to write and which were the hardest? in what way?

Hello anon! Thanks for an interesting ask.

OK I'll start with the disclaimer that every fic has its difficulties as well as moments when it flows, but there have definitely been some that poured out of me with great ease than others which were a constant struggle.

The Miseducation of Draco Malfoy, my first drarry, was written at the height of my obsession and it poured out of me. I wrote like a fiend all day and would go to bed at night and reread what I wrote. I breathed that fic day and night for the weeks it took me to write it. It was also the most fun I had writing, prob because I was a complete unknown and there were zero expectations from me. Similarly, The Full Monty, written just after TMODM, was an easy fic to write. I remember I read the prompt and was immediately assaulted by images and started laughing on my own and was like, OK I need to claim this, the fic is writing itself.

Similarly but in a more tortuous way, dirtynumbangelboy poured out of me too. More tortuous because it took me ages to find the right beginning, and by then I was behind with my deadlines and got stressed. Also, I wrote it in a sort of dread of the Erised fest, because it had some amazing writers that year and I was intimidated. I remember my goal was to "at least not embarrass myself" .

But, aside from the doubts and stress, dnab itself flowed like nothing else. There are passages that I really love, even now years later, and they are exactly as they came out the first time. I did very little editing (compared to other works).

With The Boy Who Died I made a fun post on tumblr about a mdzs AU of drarry and then the idea wouldn't let me go so I had to sit and write it. Luckily it was summer and I didn't work and I could spend my days writing it. There were moments I got stumped but it mostly came out easily.

Finally, a lot of my short fics poured out of me in one go and came out almost perfectly formed. The Dare, A Perfectly Normal Reaction, and my MCD The Death You Carry are good examples.

Fics that took ages at first:

so my thing is that I have to find the right opening to begin the story, otherwise I can't proceed. I don't plan; the first scene/chapter is my plan. And sometimes I get stuck for yonks. With The Unquiet Grave I began with a Draco POV, him being a politician and Harry his bodyguard, had an interesting first scene and then---nothing. It's like I hit a wall. Zero words come. When I have this feeling, I know I need to go back and revise. Long story short, it was when I changed the POV to Harry that somehow the whole gothic mood came about and I felt the auspicious click: I got it. That's what the story is. A gothic romance. After that, it was easier.

The same thing happened with Hush, darling. I rewrote a first scene fruitlessly several times until a random bit of inspiration fell into my hands: the visual of a card game. I began with it and I let it guide me and the whole plot/stakes/cast fell into place.

Fics that needed a LOT of work and had to be dragged into existence:

The Gift is the first that comes to mind. First couple of chapters were pretty easy and then I was stumped. Writing it felt like dragging myself up a slope, step by step and also not being happy with anything, so that was fun. :/

The other is 9 ½ Days, which took actual years to finish. In that case the middle part was the hard one. I wrote the beginning fairly easily and the last chapters, the plotty ones, also flowed. But the middle. Zeus almighty. It took me years and I thought and thought and thought about it a lot. Finishing this fic was an immense relief but also a source of pride, especially because I really liked the result, and judging by the comments I get, people seem to love it too.

Thanks for an unusual ask! It was good to ponder about my fics and my writing process. The same issues seem to crop up with my original works too, and it's helpful to remind myself that I got over those issues before and I can get over them again.

[snuffink]

I doubt I'll ever actually make a MCD rewrite, gods know my fixation will die down long before I'd get anything on paper or even finish rewatching the whole thing, but it's still fun to share what ideas I have come up with, so here we are!

In a hypothetical rewrite, I would change a bunch of dynamics. If I were to write mcd, a large portion of season 1 would be relationship focused. And I DON'T mean romantic necessarily, I mean building relationships, fleshing out the town, making the audience really get to know the characters and how they interact with each other.

My biggest focus is on Aph's closest friends, so here are my current ideas and hcs!

(Note here: I mention aroace dynamics, I am aware that it's a spectrum, I myself am on the spectrum, I just haven't decided how it would work with Aph herself so it's vague.)

Garroth:

Still in love with Aph

Laurance is his best friend, depends on him when he can't depend on Aph

Views Dante as a younger brother or son

Much less jealous and possessive over Aph, accepts that she may never feel the same, though is causes him heartache.

Has a habit of "adopting" people, most likely due to his past and feeling like a failure to his younger brothers. (Zenix, Dante, Levin, Brian etc)

His closest friends are Aph, Laurance and Dante. Unlikely friendship with Dale and Logan along with Cadenza

Laurance:

Likes Aph, though mostly mistakes his loyalty and fondness and genuine friendship for love. Aph is just as important to him as she is in the series, it's just not romantic love

So much less pushy. So so much less pushy.

They play flirt with Aph, as they do in the series. (Example, the table scene in s1)

Puts his feelings for her aside whenever needed. She needs a guard? He's there. She needs a friend? She's there. She needs to gossip? Girl, what'd they do this time?

Tries to gently push Garroth to do something, anything about his feelings. The pushing turns less gentle after the SK business though it's not his fault

Father/Big brother figure to Malachi.

He's closest with Aph and Garroth and Cadenza, very close with Dante as well, though they don't know each other as deeply as the others do.

Probably friends with Katelyn and Nicole as well, they spar together from time to time.

Gossips with Lucinda from time to time, they shit talk over tea

Yip probably really likes him

Dante:

Sibling like relationship with Aph

Ridiculously loyal to her

Definitely closest to her than anyone else

Had a super good relationship with Nicole, would have stayed together had their interest not clashed.

Dante would have wanted to stay in touch but Nicole needed time to herself

Started getting close to Nana after their split

Loves children, father/big brother to Malachi and Levin

An absolute goof, loses braincells with Laurance, Garroth and Aph. (All of them are super capable by themselves, absolute dumbasses together)

Aph:

Not romantically interested in any of them (I haven't decided if she's on the aroace spectrum or just not interested in men, but I just don't imagine her liking any of the guys)

Views Dante as a brother, Laurance as her best friend and Garroth as a close friend

Has always kind of felt like there was a wall between her and Garroth, couldn't explain it

Genuinely unaware of Garroth's infatuation until the ending events of s1 or then the dreams of s2

Confused over Laurance and others teasing Garroth

Made an effort to get to know Emmalyn after their bad blood died down, recognising her own issues with boundaries and respecting people's space

Unlikely friends with Emmalyn, though it gets tainted a lil after the Irene discovery

(In case not aroace: Zoey is her wife, though this could also be interpreted as platonic. In any case, they are wives and share a friendship that could only be seen as soulmates.)

Considers Laurance and Zoey her platonic soulmates, feels as though the two understand her better than anyone could or would.

Bonds with Aaron particularly well, though they have no romantic involvement.

Aaron:

Not in love with Aph

Sees his late wife in Aph along with his son in Levin and Malachi, and they end up helping him heal over time.

Forms a special type of bond with Aph, and finds himself able to rely on her much more than anyone else

Begins bonding with the others first over their shared hatred of Zane

Due to his time as a lone wolf, he struggles greatly with talking to people for a while

'Fast' friends with Dante, the two bond over the loss of their villages and family.

Surprising friends with Logan, along with Brendon and Emmalyn.

Becomes a father figure of sorts to Dante, Levin, Malachi and other youngins in the town.

Enjoys sparring with people, but begins first doing it out of necessity to be stronger, though it overtime becomes something he truly enjoys

Soft spot for kids

Ferociously protective of Aph due to their close relationship and her resemblance to his wife.

Ends up finding peace in Phoenix Drop, willing to do anything to protect it

Helps Levin figure out lord stuff with Aph.

[a-little-bit-of-ravioli]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @the-real-azalea-scroggs! Had to wait until I was of my phone because doing these is a nightmare on mobile lmao

1. How many works do you have on A03?

18 as of a few days ago!

2. What's your total A03 word count?

157,937! Which is. Only a fraction of the word count in my Docs folder. Be prepared.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I mainly write for The Legend of Zelda; specifically Linked Universe! In fact, that's all that's posted on my Ao3 currently, since my fall into that fandom began with me uploading there! Pre-Ao3 I wrote for Black Cat (Anime/Manga), Megaman NT Warrior, various Pokémon things, Assassin's Creed, Yugioh, Final Fantasy XIV and Octopath Traveler! Some of these I still write privately, but I haven't gotten around to re-posting any.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Whistling on Deaf Ears - My longest fic on Ao3, focusing on Wild and Twilight's friendship and how good intentions can lead to disaster.

Iconoclasm - Warriors deals with the room full of portraits in Cia's palace. The Chain also deals with it, but with a bit more fire.

Deserving - Twilight finally tells Rusl that he was the wolf in the village during TP, but that also means dealing with some heavier topics. Colin half overhears them and forms his own conclusions.

Something Greater - The start of the "Hyrule can see magical auras" series! In this one we deal with Legend and his many rings.

Ocean Magic - Mermaid Legend and Zora Time have a race and then fight one of the Big Octos from WW! Fun times.

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

Every single one!! I love comments, they give me an excuse to ramble about my fic more!! I am always down to ramble about every single insignificant detail of any line and/or section. If you ever want more background info about one of my fics, look to the comments!

So please, I adore comments, I treat them like treasures, not responding to them would be a CRIME.

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

There's no contest; Inevitable, my (so far) only MCD fic.

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

Hmmm, that's hard to quantify. I usually try to end fics on a hopeful note regardless. I'd say possibly either Deserving, where Twilight reconnects with his family, or Shimmering Blue, Striking White, where Time meets the Fierce Deity settled down on Satori Mountain and they both get closure.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully, no! I've been blessed with mostly amazing and patient readers, even when my upload schedule isn't the best.

9. Do you write smut?

No, not really. I've attempted it, but I'm too asexual for it lol

10. Do you write crossovers?

Very, very rarely. Mostly privately, and only very specific ones. Only a single one has had an actual plot, so far (more on that one in question 15!).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also a nope! I tend to write for smaller fandoms, where these things don't tend to happen a lot!

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

I have! But it's been a while. Over a decade, in fact! I tried to find the fic to link it here, but it was on the German fanfic website fanfiktion.de, and my friend who posted it back then must have deactivated her account, because it's nowhere to be seen (I still have the Word file though!). It was a Multi-Crossover that started as an RP in a forum, and we took turns turning the RP into prose one chapter each. "If a Hero Turns to Dark" was its title. We were edgy teenagers.

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

Hissssss. Bad question. Shoo. They are all equally important!!

But it's probably TenRose from Doctor Who.

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

One of the very few crossovers I've ever worked on; a crossover fic between Assassin's Creed and Doctor Who, that I have mapped out in both chronological and timeline order, and yes, those are different. I only ever wrote about a quarter of it, since my primary audience of it disappeared when we graduated. I doubt I'll ever pick it back up properly, and if I do it'll probably go through heavy rewrites first since it's so old. Finishing it is a nice thought, but realistically, after 9 years it'll never be high priority enough for it to actually happen.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, especially arguments, and emotional impact. I've been told I do really well making characters feel alive and believable! Also I like to believe I'm decent at setting a scene and giving it the vibe I want it to have!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with dialogue tags when nothing much is happening besides the talking. I always feel it's too bland, and fall back on the same phrases. My scene transitions could use some work too.

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

I've done this with Japanese phrases, because I was a massive weeb. Usually I followed them up with their own translations, though; I'm not the biggest fan of footnote translations, unless they are properly linked to. Simple dialogue tags are my favourite way of indicating a language switch.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Black Cat the Manga/Anime! It's a series about an assassin turned bounty hunter trying to live a life separate from his murdery past, but getting dragged back into things by still wanting to avenge his best friend's death. The series has a special place in my heart and my bookshelf, it left an imprint on 13-year-old me that will never leave.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Probably Jailbreak, uncharacteristically enough! It's one of the only fics I never got stuck in once. Writing it was a great feeling from start to finish. I love writing all of my fics, but that was a special few days.

Tagging @ahrva @nowhere-to-go-but-down @silvercaptain24 and @aeghina! And anyone who wants to do it, really, go wild

[bourbon-ontherocks]

20 questions for writers

I was tagged by @pia-writes-things (ty!!! ❤️)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

46!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

703,271. Which is, um, a lot.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Good Girls (formerly), HPI (formerly), and l'Art du Crime. There's also a random bit for les Combattantes, and one GG fic has a shared universe with Graceland. I'm very mono-fandom lol.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Take A Dip

It's All Coming Back To Me

It Hurts When I See You Struggle

Love And War

We're Living In A Powder Keg And Giving Off Sparks

Unsurprisingly, these are all GG fics, although I don't think my kudos ranking is accurate because most of these were impacted by the great kudos-bombing gate from 2020 so it's hard to tell what's actually my most kudo-ed fic.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely. My secret goal is to keep the conversation going back and forth for the longest possible time because I love the opportunity for a good ramble about my writing 😈

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

I wanna say Ad vitam æternam (L'art du crime)? I mean, it's literally an MCD fic, so, not that merry... Also if I remember correctly, Always lost in the sea (HPI) doesn't end on a very hopeful note either.

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

I don't know? All of them? None? I generally tend to go for happy open endings with that extra bit of bittersweet so I really couldn't tell. But hey, maybe the ending to that thing I'm currently writing actually is the happiest of it all, because oh boy, things do get cheesy at some point 🥺

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No at all! Unless you count that one person who commented on several chapters of whichever long GG fic I wrote just to point blank hate on Beth character lol

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

Of course I do (in English only), I like my porn toxic and desperate and angsty with just the right amount of power play and mutual hatred. Basically, I write hatefuck 😂

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

Not really, no... I've tried a couple of times, but I think I'm better at/more interested in mimicking existing interactions than inventing a dynamic between characters who never met canonically (and also, boy the kind of SETUP you need to justify some characters crossing paths... it's just too much work). I'm more of a cameo/easter egg kind of writer, so once in a while I'll allow a character from another fandom to pop up in a fic and say hi, but it's really a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of encounter.

I guess my craziest attempt would be that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend / Good Girls crossover that I never finished though, cause like, super different moods?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of but I don't really attempt to know

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! By myself lol. I once posted a fic in two languages before acknowledging it was a hell of an additional work 😭

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

Kinda? We never finished nor even posted it but at some point we shared a quite unhinged co-writing story with @whiskeyjack and @00gangfriend00 and it was a lot of fun 🥰

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

You... you guys have that? You don't just live by your Ship of the Moment just to instantly forget about it and hop on the Next Ship when it shows up? I'm sorry but I don't think I have one of those.

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

What a trap question!!! 😂

It's All Coming Back To Me, obviously. Look, I really really want to finish it, not even for me at this point, but for the 120-something people who subscribed to it, for the faithful readers who still leave me comments every now and then hoping for closure. I know how it ends. I have it partially written. I just don't seem to know how to write for Good Girls anymore, and getting my head back into it feels like such an insurmountable load of work, I just- I'm trying, ok?

But like, if someone's interested in helping, or even writing that ending based on my notes (and getting full and proper credits for it obvi), just let me know! I'm really open to it 🥲

16. What are your writing strengths?

Probably dialogues? I've been told many times that my dialogues feel very close to the original, and the thing is, I write about TV shows and I have a very good ear so I think I catch quite easily the actors' voices and tones and mannerisms in my head, so every time I write down a line, I play it several times in my mind with the character's voice to determine whether they would say it like that or not. Looks like it's not working so bad.

Also I *think* I'm not too bad at stream-of-consciousness inner monologues. At least it's one of my favourite things to write so there's that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes (that includes sex lol). Filling the gaps between the important parts. Descriptions. Setting up the scene.

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

Like, featuring two different languages inside the same fic, or writing in different languages? I'm not sure I've ever really written the first one? I guess I find it a bit clunky, occasionally I've written scenes that included a character whose native language wasn't the one of the fic, and I'd give them a line or two if that's relevant to the plot (for instance, if characters are lost somewhere in another country, I can add a line/dialogue in another language for comedic effect. Or it can be a way for a character to whisper something for themselves), but the logistics are quite nightmarish, you gotta either assume your audience knows the second language, or translate the lines in the author's note, or have another character translate it in a way that doesn't sound too articifial, that's really really tedious haha

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Good Girls.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

You think I know that? Out of FOURTY-SIX??? Lol. Get out.

Tagging: @sdktrs12 @joeyjoeylee if you're around @riosnecktattoo @humanbra @hemerae-ramblings @sothischickshe @asteraceae-blue

[theminecraftbee]

did anything in particular make you decide to study grief through solving counting sheep? very much enjoyed chapter 16 but augh my heart

this one’s under a cut because I ramble a LOT here!

so: SORT OF! it’s a long story!

so scs was ALWAYS gonna be about identity. even from day one, when half my original thought was “doing this from three’s perspective would be funny”, there wasn’t a world where the story wasn’t largely about identity, because this is the kind of story you can’t tell at all without it being about that. like it was maybe day two or three of waffling about this au, at least a month before I would actually commit to writing it, that I went “oh three isn’t actually really grian” (albeit in a different way than I ended up exploring it here).

the part about grief came later.

originally, the theme of grief came about because I was trying to decide WHY martyn was about and stealing watchers. that’s when I remembered a common watcher!grian trope: it’s fairly common (at least on the watcher!grian I’ve read, which to be fair is limited) for grian to have assumed the evo crowd was dead and vis versa. and I was like. aha! martyn can be attacking the watchers in vengeance for grian being dead! then I’ll be able to REALLF play with the dramatic irony if already wanted to use, where no one but the audience knew three was grian, because there’s another angle to work at that on!

cue: oh no wait this is about grief again. (see: tumblr post that I’m pretty sure is still semi-viral.)

the thing is, oftentimes “the evo crew thought grian was dead” is played for grian angst, which makes sense in grian-focused angst fics (this is not shade). but I was like. but that’d fuck up the people involved, right. like having your fun mystery game ended by someone actually getting murdered would tear basically everyone there apart, and that’s not even considering that the evo gang isn’t the WORLD’S most communicative people already. so I went… what if I made the story about that? what if, alongside being about three and identity, it was about the evo crew, grief, and how trauma can fuck up your relationships in unique and messy ways?

plus, like. this is a winter soldier fic. a staple here is “the moment steve realizes the winter soldier is bucky”, and while in three’s arc that bit is almost all about it taking the final step to establish its own independent identity, in the other’s arcs, that’s when they have to come to terms with who three used to be. and like, even in a world where three is uncomplicatedly grian, that’s a pretty big grief to have to unpack all over again. but this is a world where three is not grian, where I realized I’d have to tag mcd despite the character who died sort of also being alive, etc. at least there, grief would have to be explored.

also, for the weight of “grian and am I him” to actually hit three, three has to have an idea of how heavy grian is. like, in the original version I had pearl with the line “oh my god why are you grian” as a joke, and three responding “who is grian”. (oh, the early darlings of this au I killed.) but that doesn’t actually hit the same way, thematically, right? because it works best if once the reveal happens, we all know how much of a shadow grian casts.

in that way it comes back to the theme of identity, because identity here is therefore kind of intrinsically linked to grief. that final hurdle three has to cross to figure itself out of “can I define who I am out from under this shadow” doesn’t work unless everyone is really grieving for that shadow, yeah?

and, well, I’m me. I can’t avoid writing grief that long, it’s a theme I tend to gravitate back towards all the time. it makes sense in a fic that ended up actually being somewhat personal thematically that I’d end up back there.

it’s just one of those things. I realized martyn was there to avenge grian and then realized the story all worked so much better if it was about grief.

anyway this was a REALLY LONG RAMBLE but I hope you liked it! a glimpse into my thoughts I guess.

[goat-guy-tm]

Welcome to ANOTHER "Goat tries to write something small about void's rewrite but it turns into something terrifyingly long for no reason" post.

This is basically a fic talking about Kul'Zak (Modzilla) and Irene (Aphma)'s relationship, I am still gonna do the mini fic series going into MORE detail, but this thing....yeah

The divine are messy to say the least in my rewrite, but one of the messiest is Kul'Zak, which I will give small pre-needed context; in my rewrite world Kul'Zak does not (technically) have a decendent or reincarnation because Kul'Zak is still alive, he is actually Professor Modzilla from MMW/VP.

He was just a dimension hopping guy trying to have some fun only to hop into the Overworld (what I call the MCD dimension as it has no set canon name) during what is going to be one of the most turbulent times in their history for the next eon.

One day, some hunters from Scaleswind rush back into town, stating they had found an injured man in the woods, screaming and withering on the ground. They said he looked burnt, and badly. As if his body had been chared.

Being one of the sisters best versed in healing magicks, Irene had demanded they show her this man. It happened to be none other than Monty, but, at the time Irene was none the wiser to the man's name.

She had slammed healing spell after healing spell into the man, but none of them seemed to work, only seeming to for a small time alleviate the man's suffering.

At first, Monty had been, albeit weakly, fighting back the hunters and Irene, but for only a moment. Until he realized what the woman was trying to do. He couldn't stay fully still, but he tried to let her help him, the pain was just so much though.

He knew his face was badly burned, he couldn't open his left eye at all, it could be burned shut.

They had carried him back to the town, Irene scolding the men everytime Monty would groan or whine in pain.

He was placed in a room in the temple Irene was a sister to, mainly so Irene could try and look over him and help him heal.

Covering the burns didn't seem to help either. When wrapping a guaze over them, the bandaging stayed for a moment, before they burned and sizzled away into a purple mist of kinds.

Even though many of the other sisters told her they would be willing to take care of him every so often, as they did commonly take turns tending to the injured that resided in the temple, Irene had denined it, becoming somewhat fixated on figuring out who this man was and what was happening to him.

Monty had been in and out of consiousness for a few days, feverish and skittish anytime Irene tried to communicate to him.

Quite quickly it became obvious that there was a language barrier. Irene tried to make some kind of system, a series of taps for different things and needs Monty would have.

For a while, the sisters of the temple only refered to him as "The Stranger", which Irene didn't like. Everytime she had tried to ask the man his name, he would only look at her confused, which she put to his state of sickness and confusion.

So, Irene came up with a name for him. At least for the others to refer to him as, until she could get his real name out of him.

Now, she would not admit it to anyone else but Monty some time later, but naming him Kul'Zak was not entirely original from her mind. At the time, a romance novel had been getting quite popular, and one of the love intrests, Irene's personal favorite, was named Kul'Zak.

So when asked what his name was, Irene had rushed out that it was Kul'Zak. She was embarassed about it, and of course a few of the sisters she was closer with teased her over it, saying how convient his name was the same as her favorite fictional man.

After a few months, Kul'Zak had finally become more, aware. He had started to slowly piece some words together, out right asking Irene for water, in Ru'aunian, one day. Of course not fully asking, more so just saying "water" in a questioning tone. Irene had been admitingly very excited the first time he did, full on cheering.

She had been spending most her time with Kul'Zak, tending to the burn or more so researching it. Whether it be feeling how hot it was, as it seemed to generate it's own heat nearly 24/7, ot seeing what healing spells would affect it, if at all.

Thankfully, the burn was only on his face, and well a bit of his hand. It was more scattered on his hand, but he still seemed to express a discomfort with it, seething and pulling his hand away if she held it too hard or for too long.

After some time, they had sat down together and Irene tried to teach him Ru'aunian. He was picking it up quickly, but it was still a treck, especially because there was no way for Irene to figure out what his own language was.

When he was able to hold a conversation with her, she was estatic. She would take him outside the temple, walk around Scales Wind, and they would just, talk.

With this, she would learn his name was actually Monty, and when she asked if he'd loke her to tell others, he told her that it was fine. Kul'Zak fit their culture better, and with his status as a other-realmer, he'd rather not cause a rukus of any kind.

Their talks were about anything. Kul'Zak's life as a dimension explorer, Irene's life as a sister of their temple. Anything and everything.

She had asked him when he would be going back to his own dimension, and Kul'Zak only seethed, and said he couldn't go back, at least not for a while. The burns he was suffering from meant he shouldn't, not until he was finally healed. That coming here had put him in danger, and he was lucky he was still alive.

Void burns, is what he called them. One day, he had sat Irene down and went through the books he had held in his bag, that now Irene could finally understand with him translating to her.

Apparently, void burns were something anyone could suffer from, if they dimension hopped in an unsafe manner. And dimension exploring was still considered unsafe, but, he had wanted to do something big. To be one of the special members of his community to find a new dimension.

Irene had gotten him books upon books, journals, theological texts, mythology and folk lore, and even blank journals for him to write in. She loved watching him read, taking notes and writing what he called official dimensional writings.

Not many Irene believers knew of her life before her stint as a hero, hell 90% of books barley ever mentioned her life as a sisster of a now forfotten temple for a god no long known in Ru'aun. Because of this, people also never saw the relationship between Irene and Kul'Zak.

After some years, the two became much closer, Irene only really leaving Scales Wind after a time to accompany Kul'Zak on his adventure of exploring the realm.

The two had been deeply in love, yet according to the texts written of them years later, they were barley even more than just fellow Divine.

When she had decided to finally lay to rest, she entrusted half her relic to Kul'Zak, asking him to shatter it and spread it across the realms, to take her with him on those realm discovery adventures he had told her all about.

Modzilla was never truly a religous man. Ironic for a man that was basically a god. His adoration for Aphmau made him sick. She wasn't Irene, he felt like it would be overstepping to put himself in her life. Even though it's what Irene had asked of him.

He knew Irene, in her later years, had regretted acending to what they had become. He wanted Aphmau to be as normal as she could be.

When she put herself into his life though, even when he thought he had ran far enough away, he didn't know what to do. Especially when Tommy started to adore her, to see her as a mother.

Modzilla was, embarassed and ashamed of how much he had cried that night. He was admitingly cold to her at first. Only 'tolerating' her for Tommy's sake.

She became his lab partner, exploring dimensions for him when he was too sick or weak feeling to. Or tired. She paid attention to his health, so meticulously. It made him want to hurl. He kept telling himself she's not Irene, don't associate her with her.

After all nighters he would wake up with blankets over his shoulders, cups of hot coffee set out for him, even breakfast or lunch on a good day.

One morning, he woke up to a very special breakfast. A dish he had learned of his first few years in Ru'aun, that Irene had adored. Aphmau had told him she found it in one of those cook books, and that it was so well cared for so she assumed he liked it.

He wanted to cry over it, but he had just sighed and asked Aphmau to leave, that they weren't doing any tests today. A few hours later that day, Tommy had come to Aphmau's house and said his father had locked himself in his study and wouldn't be coming out, so he wanted to sleep at her's for the night.

On his bad days, Modzilla would lock himself in his study for, days, maybe even weeks depending how much of a spiral he would go down, where he would read and reread all the journals he had wrote decades ago.

During one of these spirals, he had left his study to go for a walk of sorts, and during that, Aphmau had snuck into his study and went through said journals strewn across the room.

She had been slack jawed at the whole journals full of passages of love, the descriptions of a woman named Irene. The name seemed to strike something in her in a way she couldn't explain.

Some of the pages had drawings of this woman instead of writing. She was, beautiful. Aphmau toom a moment, looking at this woman, till she realized she looked like her. Albeit a little different. Her hair was longer, she wore a hair covering that was longer than the more tied up one Aphmau wore, her clothing in most of the drawings was flowey and white.

Aphmau recalled pictures Modzilla had shared of Polly, she had a similar head covering and flowy clothing, but Polly was white and had blond hair. Irene, as she could see, had tanned skin and black hair. Plus, there were no photos of her, just drawings, some messily colored with dyes and patterned with stamped in flowers.

The journals were so well cared for. More so than the other books and texts Modzilla had in his library section. Aphmau started to feel, bad for looking at this without his permission.

When she intended to leave, she turned and was startled by Modzilla standing in the doorway, eyes locked on the journal she had in her hands. She didn't plan on taking it with her, she just hadn't put it down yet.

Modzilla looked, tired and sick, plus uncomfortable with the new information that Aphmau had been reading his journals.

The conversation was, like walking on eggshells. She asked about Irene, who the woman was, that if Modzilla was so infactuated by her, why was he married to Polly, a woman who seemed so close to this Irene figure.

Modzilla had shakily explained that him and Polly weren't married for love. They were very good friends, but it was common for his kind to not marry for love most the time. He told her about Irene. How happy they were together before their time as divine, explaining to her how Irene had asked to be reincarnated outside the realm she was born of, how Aphmau was one of those.

Then, he broke down. He sobbed and apologized to her, that he wanted her to go her whole life without knowing about it. That he thought that's what Irene would have wanted; to live a life of normalcy, save for the dimension exploring.

She knew now why Monty had become so choked up and emotional when she would try and take care of him when he was sick or tired. That she was unknowingly reminding him of the first times he ever met the woman he would come to love for the rest of his immortal life.

Aphmau wasn't all that young herself, she was already over 100 years old, but, most the time she chose not to disclose that to others. She herself had been overly puzzled by her lack of memories of a childhood, now knowing she never had one in the first place, but then even more confused by her not aging, and living so long already. She knew now why. Monty was obviously still older than her, and she would not be stopping the teasing of him for it.

She came to enjoy the dimension exploring just a little bit more. Sometimes she would find herself talking to no one, as if she was talking to 'Irene', even though she technically was Irene. Unbeknownst to her, she was one of the few Aphmau's to accept the idea so easily and fully. Knowing that she was living a life a her from before craved made her more happy for what Irene had done to give it to her.

Her and Monty's relationship had changed after what she learned. They seemed to flow better now, Monty having put down the wall he had built so long ago, at least a little bit.

When they had finally found Monty's home realm again, Aphmau had cheered for him, so excited he could finally go home. He was happy too, but bitter sweet about it. They hugged, and Aphmau gave him a kiss, which had stunned Monty in his place, face burning red and stuttering.

Aphmau promised to keep Tommy safe, and told Monty that he had to find a way to visit sometime.

Monty left Tommy in the care of Aphmau. He knew she would take care of him better than he ever could.

If fate wasn't so cruel, they could have a redo, but Monty knew that that was a pipe dream.

The void still called, it hungered, and Monty, Kul'Zak, Modzilla, whoever he was, he was going to do everything in his power to keep that thing at bay, to keep the realms safe, and if it meant being burned by it time and time again, he knew he had at least someone he would go to that would be his boulder to rest with. Just like she had all those eons ago.

[cuephrase]

20 questions for writers

tysm for the tag @crows-murder!!

1. how many works do you have on AO3?

seven, but two of those are site skins

2. what's your total AO3 word count?

51,455, which is. so little. omg

3. what fandoms do you write for?

rn, exclusively batfam. i've also posted fic for bnha, and while i do think there's a solid chance i'll post more my hero fic in the future, idk when. i've also written for tmnt, voltron, and spn, but most of those never left my notebooks lmao

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

penance - ghost!robins au where tim dies + meets ghost!jason, and metric tons of emotional devastation ensue. MCD tagged bc yk. tim wakes up dead.

adds up to less - my sole bnha fic, platonic bakudeku that spans from childhood to after their fight post-all might vs. afo, centered around the fact that izuku knows katsuki's mom is abusive

despite all his efforts - whumptober fill for solitary confinement, dami and dick!bats and pain

bile is sweeter - whumptober fill for safety net, dick & tim where tim gets seriously injured on patrol. ambiguous ending as a standalone, but also ended up becoming the prelude to penance.

i know (do you know?) - whumptober fill for delirium, jason & dick, jason & bruce, bruce & dick sick!fic where jason is sick and bruce and dick are at odds but trying not to be.

5. do you respond to comments?

yes!! i love responding to comments. i am really behind atm, bc 1) penance got way more attention than i expected and 2) the comments are so frickin kind and like i short-circuit.

planning on responding to some more tonight, i want to try and wrestle my inbox away from hitting a like critical mass point

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

hmmm. i think it depends, especially on how you interpret the end of 'bile is sweeter', but my gut instinct is 'despite all of his efforts'.

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

mmmm. none of them? jk jk, kind of. i think they're all bittersweet is the thing. maybe 'penance'? or ik(dyk)? actually no, it's def 'penance'. neither of them end super fluffy, (or fluffy at all? fuzzy at best), but like i personally think, as hard won as it is, 'penance' has a happy ending.

8. do you get hate on fics?

i have not yet!! shockingly.

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

cuephrase on ao3 does not have any smut posted

10. do you write crossovers?

no, at least not yet. i don't think i will?

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of 🤞

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope!! i don't think i've written anything popular enough to warrant a translation haha

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

not yet!! i think it would be super fun tho

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

uh. hmm. i don't know if i have one?? ships rank pretty low on my overall interest, relationships that stick with me forever and a day are siblings lmao. but okay.

overall, like regardless of fandom it's probs a tie between kyo/tohru from fruits basket and kabakura/koyanagi from wotakoi.

rn my top ship is timkon, no contest. love those two very much. platonic or romantic i am sat.

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

any of them? all of them? i have one fic with like actual words written, everything else is percolating in my mind. i have a decent track record of finishing stuff i start...but starting is difficult. i'm trying to work on that tho!! i really love writing and every time i sweet talk myself into it i'm like omg why don't we do this more often. baby cue would be horrified at how little i write.

16. What are your writing strengths?

making people cry. at the ripe-old age of 7 i decided the best writing was the kind that elicited a physical reaction, which to me was either tears or laughter and i don't think i'm funny. so bringing the pain it was.

and dialogue. i'm super picky about my dialogue and i act out convos + read exchanges out loud. i worry sometimes that i like have too many "blah blah bla-" type lines, but like when people are arguing, nobody is getting out full sentences lmao. there's a balance to it, for sure tho

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

setting/description. i have the worst White Room Syndrome ever i fear. like, okay, so writing for me typically feels like i'm watching something play out and just recording what i see, and uh what i see is usually characters interacting. sometimes they're interacting with their environment but ehhhhh. so i have to make a conscious effort to have my writing not be talking heads interspersed with chekhov's guns

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

i don't do it. too paranoid about it being wrong. i don't mind it when someone else does it, but if i was going to do it foreign language dialogue would probably be written like "<This is not English>." with a note at the beginning that dialogue in <> is X language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i was going to say tmnt, but then i remembered i wrote warrior cats fic way before i knew what fic was omg. stopppppp. i was like eight, i think? but like. consciously knew that i was writing fanfic? tmnt.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

hmmmm. this is probs a tie between 'penance' and 'ik(dyk)' rn, the former was just so much fun to write and the latter features robin!jason and dick bonding which i'm particularly fond of rn hehe this was sm fun!! no pressure tagging @androxys @librarylexicon @tevyaa, @coyote-nebula, @motleyfam and anyone else who sees this and wants to play!!

[starhvney]

Helloo! I have a question, who do you enjoy writing the most? And the least?

oooh, a question!! thank you for asking, anon! it's hard for me to say.

i think it's a little obvious that i really like writing for gene hahaha. i didn't even know that was gonna happen until i started this blog.

i actually genuinely like writing for most of the characters, because i feel like they're very well developed and unique

i guess i could say i like writing for laurance and garroth for my other top favorites. i think the differences in their characters between mcd and mystreet is so interesting and so fun to distinguish when i write them. for the girls katelyn, nana, and sasha are super fun to write about, too.

i'd say my least favorite to write for is aaron. i just was never a huge fan of him for some reason? i haven't written anything about him yet because i genuinely can't even think of how to characterize him. i just don't find him interesting (sorry to any aaron lovers reading this)

i also don't like writing specifically about aphmau because she's a real person so idk my brain just doesn't let me (but i am still gonna fulfill that request to that one anon because i said i would and i don't back up on promises so dw)

thanks again for the question!! feel free to talk to me or ask me more in my inbox, it makes me really happy :D

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

can i ask for a quick rundown of your mcd and/or mystreet rewrite? i’m a new follower and a tiny bit lost 😭

Ah, Ofc!! this will be a long post, because you said 'quick' and i just heard 'explain everything'. just because I don't know HOW to summarise everything, so I just explain what I can... which is too much.

each section will have a TL;DR if it's long, though.

So, the only rewrite I’ve actually, like, done so far is Amaranth (https://archiveofourown.org/works/31310384)

It’s an MCD rewrite, the first one I did, and it’s not **technically** related to my overall rewrite universe, though I’m not going to totally discredit it. It’s where I got a lot of my ideas, and it was sort of a first draft for me. It’s very similar to MCD, just with events changed to how I would have written them myself. Major change is that the Zane/aphmau engagement actually goes somewhere. My favourite change was the Pikoro arc tho for some reason bc it was just my first significant deviation from the original plot.

Now… cannibalism and cult stuff, yeah?

(Don’t read past this point if you are uncomfortable with discussions of human-on-human meat/organ consumption)

Lycoris Radiata (https://archiveofourown.org/works/50710504) is the only part of this current era of rewrite!Aphverse that has any content so far.

TL;DR for this section: i mostly just emphasised themes present in canon, there's cannibalism for magical reasons, Shad is more relevant early on, and there's a reason why characters look like that when i draw them, i promise. Also, cult stuff!

LR is an MCD rewrite, which has some lore changes. It begins with Avra (Aphmau) travelling with Visher, Garroth being angsty, and so on. Only the prologue and first chapter are currently posted, and you don't need to read Amaranth to begin it (though it will follow similar storylines later on). Basically, the main premise is that it’s kind of a criticism of imperialism, organised religion, and so on. Those are themes already present in original MCD, and so I… expanded. Blood Magic is the main magic focused on as well. It's the kind that Avra uses, and it's the kind that makes SKs function. Avra has to consume blood and meat (typically organ meat, preferably human) in order to have any amount of magic, and depending on what creature the meat comes from, also grants her some fun little magical extras. She also has a strong association with Judgement(Shad) in my rewrite, and there is a reason I draw them so often together. Most character changes you'll see have some lore-based backing for it. Characters who are made darker-skinned, or have had their haircolour changed, it's typically due to them belonging to a particular ethnic group that i made for Ru'Aun or Tu'La, which does impact their characters in the way that they obviously grew up under certain cultures. Sometimes it'll just be because I think it looks cool, or for visual/thematic parallels with another character. If you're ever curious as to knowing why i have certain characters looking the way I do, then just ask. Oh, also, people aren't just loyal to Avra because she's nice. there's like an actual cult thing that begins happening and to say there's some weird shit with that would be... underselling it.

A Royal Tale, and Mermaid Tales both fall into the timeline between LR and the MyS rewrite. they're quite insignificant series, but i decided to devote myself to being a completionist.

My plans for them aren't really set in stone yet, but I know i want to expand upon them and their lore a lot more, and they will eventually both fall into the, uh, cannibalism and murder theme of the rest of the rewrites. they'll likely be little side projects. I have trauma from ART tho. Show makes me *uncomfy*

Mystreet.... yayyyy...

No official name for the rewrite yet, I'm working on it.

TL;DR: If you let an edgy teenager write MyS but they also watched desperate housewives so they write some sitcom episodes on the side. Also, Avra needs that gross-tasting nailpolish that stops you from chewing on your nails... but like... all over her body.

Basically, MyS except they've always been reincarnations of their MCD (or LR, in this case) selves, with some residual trauma and habits because of that. I'm going to lean more into the darker seasons, even though Ik popular opinion is that the light-hearted ones were the best, and I'll just focus more on lore and stuff. PDH has a 17 year old Avra joining PDH, after being homeschooled for a while due to having some mental health issues. I'm going to go a little more 'general highschool drama' vibes, might have some mystery shit idk. Will be less cringe than canon, because yes, i'm cringe and i'm free, but even i have limits. The more lighthearted seasons might just be amalgamed into one big 'sitcom style' fic, which will be set before S4 and such, but i'll probably make lighthearted chapters between the serious ones. S4, Aphmau's Year, S5, S6 and Her Wish will be my main priority, and will go into the whole murder and cannibalism theme of LR. It'll already have been kind of expanded upon, because MyS!Avra has a bit of a habit of auto-cannibalism (eating the skin around her nails/on her fingers, on the inside of her cheeks and on her lips) which eventually just... goes a little crazy. There is gonna be cult stuff in MyS too, it just might present differently to how it does in LR. Or maybe similarly. Idk, depends on how you view it.

[kiwiana-writes]

20 question for fic writers

Thanks @stereopticons and @welcometololaland for the tags, even if it is distracting me from hockey lmaooooo

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

221. No, that's not a typo.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

729,286! However there's a few collabs in there, per my spreadsheet where I obsessively track these things my *personal* wordcount for works on AO3 is 600,080 (so I guess I crossed 600k with this morning's kinktober! That's fun.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now it's Red, White & Royal Blue. I still have my toes in Schitt's Creek, and I've written for Happiest Season and The Last of Us on AO3 as well.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) [Red, White, & Royal Blue] - the actor AU, aka MJ Nerds Out About Shakespeare For 65,000 Words. And y'all love it, apparently 😅

We always walked a very thin line [Happiest Season] - It remains forever fascinating to me that my rage-fuelled fuck-that-ending thing I smashed out in like 3 hours after watching that film is still the most-kudosed work in the entire fandom. I guess other people shared my annoyance lol.

We were supposed to find this [Red, White, & Royal Blue] - The soulmates/solemates fic and my first fic in this fandom??? That somehow blew all my SC fics out of the water kudos-wise??? Go figure lmao.

Meet me out at the end of my rope [Schitt's Creek] - angstapalooza, my beloved.

When you care enough to send the very best [Schitt's Creek] - this being in the top five (and my second-highest SC fic) is eternally fascinating to me. A fully epistolary fic with Patrick as a greeting card writer for Hallmark?? I mean sure, it's a cute concept, but this is another one of those 'wrote it in an afternoon and y'all love it apparently' fics.

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

Absolutely! Sometimes I feel bad that my responses aren't always, like, enough. But I massively appreciate people taking the time to comment so I'm always gonna respond!

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

Probably the one that ends with MCD lmaooooo

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

Most everything I write has a happy ending, but it's probably the RWRB Actor AU? Both the end of the main story and the epilogue end on massive joy

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah. Particularly kink stuff (please be cool on tomorrow's y'all) but also some massively panphobic bullshit on some Schitt's Creek fics. And one or two people who have beef with me lmao. I'm liberal with my use of the 'delete comment' button haha.

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

It's been said about me that I might write a bit of smut from time to time, yes. (Though, contrary to my reputation, especially in SC, E-rated is actually only 37% of my total works.) The filthy-yet-tender kind. The let's-examine-where-kinks-come-from kind. The sex-positive kind. The let-people-be-horny-freaks kind.

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

I haven't, but I would if the right idea presented itself!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of...

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of...

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

Yes! My partner in crime @ships-to-sail and I have co-written two uhhhhhh somewhat tonally different fics: The afterlife fic that was a huge treatise on grief and how the people in our lives shape us, and the one where Patrick is a snowman who comes to life complete with sparkly Twilight dildo dick. Something something range.

The Jake/Rachel series has each individual fic as a solo write, but the series is an internally consistent collaboration with @sarahlevys

And there have been a few projects where I've written a section or a chapter as part of a larger collaborative work: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Don't have one. I love a whole bunch for a whole bunch of different reasons.

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

Technically I guess the series is a WIP, but I honestly don't know if I'll ever get to the end of the show for kink!verse. (Never say never 😭 but right now I can't see it happening.)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Fuck off stop making me be nice about myself.

Um, character voice? Both dialogue and narration. I think I'm good at getting a handle on the way characters speak and think, and when I'm on my epistolary bullshit I tend to put a lot of thought into how they text etc as well (for fandoms where we don't see that in canon haha).

Also I'm apparently really good at making readers feel their feelings. Love y'all ❤️

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot lol. I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's a reason y'all keep seeing me thank @ships-to-sail for the outline on anything with any substance.

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

Not opposed to it, but have a horror of google translate fail. So beyond, like, a word here or there, I wouldn't do it unless I could reach out to a fluent speaker and make sure it's right. My second language is functionally useless to me in a fandom context lol.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

HP. Fuck JKR for tainting all my memories of that time.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Hey remember my answer to #1? That makes this mean.

I have a different answer every time. Been a bit dysphoric lately so today I'm gonna say it's nonbinary Alexis Rose lol.

Tried to skip people I'd seen have done it or been tagged already but was probably unsuccessful, sorry if some of y'all are feeling spammed: @affectionatelyrs @celeritas2997  @daisymae-12 @happiness-of-the-pursuit @heartitinthesilence @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @hypnostheory @inexplicablymine @myheartalivewrites @sherryvalli @smc-27 @tintagel-or-cockleshells and anyone who wants to play ❤️

[bittercape]

I was tagged by @mightymightygnomepriest, thank you lovely

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

204 posted works under 2 pseuds

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

484,365 as of 2/6/24.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly DC and Marvel now, but I'll dip into others from time to time

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Kiss and Tell (DC, M, wc 1,845) Paradise At My Fingertips (DC, T, wc 1,559) a bird on the edge of a blade (DC, T, wc 1,261) The Unbearable Lightness of Bedding (DC, T, wc 2,045) raps at my window, waits at the gate (DC, E, wc 2,865)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I want to, and I try to, but it's difficult when I fall behind. I cherish every comment like the treasures they are, but it's sometimes very difficult to respond.

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

I don't really do angst, and at least not angsty endings. The closest I get is Once More Into the Fray or The Road to Tartarus, both RQG fics and both ending with MCD. Somehow they're still not angsty.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my endings are happy, or at least funny. I think maybe What Spring Does With the Cherry Trees?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Very rarely

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

So much. Mostly M/M, but I occasionally do femslash, and sometimes omegaverse. I am far too willing to answer any challenge (or percieved challenge) that comes my way, so I have written a lot of different kinks, some of which were a struggle.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

Yes! I love crossovers and write a lot of DC/Marvel, which is not crazy at all. I'm quite happy with the DC/Discworld fic I wrote, though.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, but there are some fics similar enough to mine that I have gotten anon messages about it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of

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

Yes! Baguettes At Dawn with @mightymightygnomepriest, and The Care And Feeding Of Tjelvar Stornsnasson, Or, What I Did Last Summer, by Edward Keystone, aged 27 with @ex-libris-craux a couple of years ago

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

So many. So, so many. Like many others, I shipped Gigolas before I knew what shipping was, and I don't think I'll ever stop shipping 00Q and Arthur/Eames. Current favourite is Jason/Slade, but I'm willing to ship Jason with almos anyone. Sailing up as a new fave is Jason/Frank Castle. And of course Winterhawk, which truly has some of the best writers out there.

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

Avignon, which I struggle with because of JKR. It's been ten years, so if I don't manage to pick it up this year, it's probably officially abandoned.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I'm good at beginnings, and I like to set the scene with a bang -- which is a necessity when mainly writing shorter fics like I do. I've also been told my dialogue is good.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I like writing long paragraphs, which is not universally appreciated. I'm trying to find a balance. I struggle a lot with writing longer fics, and I think it's unlikely I'll aim for anything longer than 20k again, at least when I'm writing on my own.

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

I've done it a couple of times, mostly single sentences in Russian for Nat or Bucky. As a reader, I enjoy it a lot.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

What Spring Does With the Cherry Trees is probably the one where I made the most effort and I think it shows. How To Get Ahead In Gotham was probably one of the most fun to write. But I think my actual favourite is Seven Days in June, which is a tiny little found documents-style thing and possibly the most me thing I've ever written.

No-pressure tagging: @ex-libris-craux @there-must-be-a-lock @drgrlfriend @katzynia @daisyapples

[that-one-ao3-writer]

10 fics for International Fanworks Day

THESE ARE ALL ALMOST FROM THE SAME FANDOMS IM SO SORRY but they are very good I recommend.

Please consider going through the authors' other works as well.

1. Nothing hurts like the almost, almost, almost by communist_sasuke

Fandom: Bungo Stray Dogs

Summary: “Don’t use Corruption, Chuuya.” Dazai tried again. “Let’s just get out of here.”

(A mission goes wrong, and Dazai learns to hold on to the things he can't bear to lose. If only his revelation hadn't come a little too late.)

I KNOW I KNOW mind the MCD tag but it's so well written and the grief just hits best at 1 am.

2. Atsushi's Guide to Surviving in the Armed Detective Agency (and Being a Part of a Family) by FrogintheWindow

Fandom: Bungo Stray Dogs

Summary: Atsushi studies his coworkers in the hopes of understanding what exactly he’s a part of, and realizes that he’s joined a family, not an agency.

Basically a series of short stories where Atsushi writes about his experiences with the Armed Detective Agency (and the Port Mafia)

FOUND FAMILY FOUND FAMILY FOUND FAMILY

3. try again, try again, try again by absolutefuckery

Fandom: Heaven Official's Blessing

Summary: Feng Xin accidentally steals Mu Qing’s first kiss. Naturally, the only logical solution is to give him another one. And another. And another. And another. And—

I'M LITERALLY IN LOVE WITH THIS FIC HONESTLY FQ ARE IDIOTS

4. Sleepwalking in shadows by oilux

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen

Summary: “Fushiguro Megumi,” Sukuna drawls. “You summoned—”

“Do you have two dicks?” 

It's all fun and games until you summon the King of Curses from your shadows.

OKAY OKAY SHIP CHOICE IS WEIRD IK BUT IT'S FUNNY

5. and all the things unsaid, come sweetly to your lips by citruspromenade

Fandom: Heaven Official's Blessing

Summary: the Xian Le Trio reconciliation, through the (metaphorical) seasons.

(The actual summary is longer guys) FENG XIN LOVE AND MULIAN FRIENDSHIP WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED

6. pretty face, electric soul by khrys

Fandom: Heaven Official's Blessing

Summary: Feng Xin and Xie Lian are attempting to re-enter high society. Mu Qing helps, and Feng Xin realizes a few things along the way.

LAST TGCF FIC I PROMISE

7. like, comments, share and subscribe by detectorist

Fandom: The Untamed / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Summary: Lan Zhan runs a popular studytuber YouTube channel. Wei Ying decides to parody his videos. Things escalate from there.

THIS FIC GIVES ME LIFE

8. A Broken Soul by raendown

Fandom: Naruto (dont judge I had a phase)

Summary: Kakashi was born with a counter just like everyone else. But his was different. His was broken.

THIS IS ANGST OKAY YPU HAVE BEEN WARNED

9. Autonomy by beetlebee

Fandom: Naruto

Summary: "But this Not-Sensei soulmate guy could be anybody," Naruto whines.

Sasuke narrows his eyes. "No. He tried to act like Kakashi, use his techniques. He must be familiar with him already..."

"They could be childhood friends!" Sakura gasps.

"Sensei has friends?" Naruto asks, squinting at Obito.

"Or he's a stalker." Sasuke grips the kunai he still hasn't put away.

"I'm not a stalker," Obito lies, pushing away the kunai edging towards him.

----

(A soulmate bodyswap AU)

FUNNY OBIKAKA THERE I SAID IT

10. An Executive's Guide to Love, Jealousy & Everything in Between by mocarin

Fandom: Bungo Stray Dogs

Summary: Dazai Osamu is known for many things. Being the Port Mafia’s renowned strategist, a coldhearted executive, and ½ of infamous duo Double Black is just the shortlist. One thing he isn’t known for, however, is being capable of being in love. More specifically, in love with his hot headed slug of a partner of 3 years.

Or, Dazai attempts to navigate the complexities of love, with varying levels of success. Featuring his own special brand of flirting, an all too knowing audience, and poor, poor Tachihara who just wanted a friend but ended up on Dazai’s personal blacklist instead.

OOC WARNING BUT IT'S FUNNY SO

+1. Snapshots from different lives: It's a bittersweet symphony this life by Crepuscolaria

Fandom: Heaven Official's Blessing (I couldn't resist)

Summary: He didn’t even get to meet Mu Qing last time! And now they could grow together and have a lot of time! Of course he would run to him!

Not that he can explain this to his mom. She would just look at him with the same exasperated fondness she reserves him when he grumbles under his breath things like youths these days, or back in my day.

------

A brief glimpse to that one time FX found MQ and they were both kids and he actually managed to grow with him until old age.

Series

Part 4 of Beyond Space and Time

CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED FIC GO READ IT NOW

(Might make pt. 2 idk)

[stereopticons]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @rmd-writes

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

78! Which is honestly still astounding to me.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

327,853

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Schitt’s Creek, with a smattering of RWRB and 911

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the lie between your teeth (SC)

if I’m not beyond repair (SC)

never knew a home before I found your hands (RWRB)

love you in moderation (do I look moderate to you?) (SC)

so bitter and so sweet (SC)

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

Yes! I am very slow at it but I do eventually respond to them (I promise!).

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

I mostly only write HEA, but I guess I have to go with (we’ll always long for) one more song by nature of it being MCD (but after a long life, at least)

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

How do you judge which happy ending is the happiest? I do not know.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Once and I did not appreciate it one bit.

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

I do. It’s the kind that always has a lot of feelings in it (and is often a lil bit kinky)

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

I have only written one—twist yourself around me, which was pre-canon SC/Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. I did have an idea for a v smutty SC/911 crossover with slut era Buck but I have yet to write it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not a whole fic, as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I would be open to it!

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

Yes! It was a lot of fun and I would love to do it again.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

David/Patrick

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

I’m not willing to admit defeat on any of them just yet, even when it feels like I’ll never finish anything again.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think feelings and introspection. At least I hope so.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Not using the word murmurs. I’m getting better at world building but it’s still a weakness.

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

I included David speaking German in a fic once because I headcanon that both he and Alexis speak multiple languages. I think if it’s done right and you don’t rely on online translators, it can be good!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Rent

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

How am I supposed to pick one out of 78?! I was going to say if I’m not beyond repair but I went over to grab the link and was scrolling through my works like oh but I love this one too!! I think my actual favorite is the as yet incomplete indie band Patrick which I swear I’m gonna finish one day (but if you want to read part of it that IS posted, that’s you light me up like starlight. The full fic will be a prequel)

Tagging @indestructibleheart @nontoxic-writes @blackandwhiteandrose @hippolotamus @lizzie-bennetdarcy @jettestar @alienajackson @rosedavid @housewifebuck @kiwiana-writes @mostlyinthemorning @apothecarose and anyone else who wants to play

[voiid-vagabond]

Hi hi hii!! <3 for the fanfic author ask game: 7, 12, 31, 32, 38 :)

Hiiiii hello! Thanks so much for the asks!

7. Is there a character or ship you'd love to write for, but haven't yet? Ahem danbert ahem. Who said that? There's actually a few from different fandoms! I would love to write Sisko/Dukat and I have a few Kira/Dax ideas for ds9. Deblene for Red Dwarf :) and maybe some different pairings for Ace other than the one I wrote.

12. What was the first fandom you wrote for? The normie answer I give along with a link to it is X-Men. It's a cherik missing scene from First Class. The actual answer is RWBY. Yes, it was bad. No, it isn't available to read. It was first-person POV and I put it on fanfiction.net

31. Do you listen to music while writing? I am never not subjecting my brain to funky airwaves 😎👍

32. What's a fic you'd love to write, but probably never will? Okay, this is a terribly niche idea that I think would be really fun/funny to have exist in the world. Imagine Vic Fontaine from ds9. The holosuite singer character who's got very fun, witty dialogue. Now imagine a worse, more annoying version of him whose only similarity is being named Vic(k). It's a crossover where Vic Fontaine from ds9 and Vic from Red vs. Blue swap universes.

38. Are there any popular tropes/themes you'd never write? I say this lightly, as I have been known on occasion to grow and change as a person, but Omegaverse is currently in my list of things I don't write. In my experience, I can achieve the effect of whatever niche thing from Omegaverse by just writing a different, more specific trope. I also once upon a time vowed never to write MCD and then I did.

ask me about fic writing