trickiwooao3

[trickiwooao3]

Last Line

Thanks for the tag, @a-noble-dragon. I've finished rewriting almost half (correction: 30 percent; I just checked. Sigh.) of my WIP "Phone-Free Weekend." This morning I skipped ahead to the ending, hoping a brisk walk and 10 oz. of strong coffee would stimulate my stubborn brain into coming up with an ending line. Alas, not yet. This is Patrick not talking about hair styles (hairstyles? Can't decide). Yeah, I've been fantasizing about hair styling all day. There are so many, uh, styles I haven't tried. Who's writing? @ramonaflow, @characterassassination-at-9am, @flowertrigger, @carolrain, @demora00, @smallumbrella369, @jamilas-pen, @tyfinn,@stargazer56, @leofdaeg-sand, @ramonaflow @vamprayne, @chelle-68

[trickiwooao3]

Wednesday WIP

In an early scene in Phone-Free Weekend, Patrick's wine-infused brain leads him into the vicinity of a true confession. (The fiddly bits amidst the lines of dialogue are not quite ready for prime time.) +++++ I really like David Rose unplugged.

You didn't like David Rose plugged? Like no phone, not like, well, like —

I like you plugged, semi-plugged, replugged, misplugged.

That's just the wine talking. Most people find me supremely irritating.

Untrue. I took a poll. 87 percent of people find you — not irritating. They quite like you.

And the other 13 percent?

Secretly pine after you. Ronnie, for instance. She's crazy about you.

Eew. Ronnie could be my mother. My tragically young mother, but still.

Actually, it's more than 13 percent. Because those categories are not mutually exclusive. It's a Venn diagram thing.

Oh, a Venn diagram thing. And where are you in this Venn diagram?

I'm not that drunk. Okay, where would Ray have put extra sheets?

Hold on. I think you're exactly the right amount of drunk to answer my question."

I never find you irritating, David.

And the other thing?

What other thing?

The other 13 percent?"

I don't know what you're talking about. I just said that most people like you.

You said more than that.

Maybe you misheard. Or I misspoke. Anyway, for the record, I often describe you as non-irritating.

You often describe me? To whom? How often? Daily? Hourly?

You know what I mean.

I do not. But now you’ve made me lose the thread. Speaking of thread, I think I saw a linen closet upstairs. I just hope those sheets aren't a double-digit thread count or [shudder] microfiber.

Tagging just to tag: @demora00, @ramonaflow, @characterassassination-at-9am, @carolrain, @statueinthestone, @a-noble-dragon, @smallumbrella369, @vamprayne, @flowertrigger, @tyfinn, @queenmabcreates, @leofdaeg-sand

[trickiwooao3]

Use Your Words

I have reached the dreaded "describe the setting" section of my WIP. My draft is replete with choppy, inelegant descriptors ("The kitchen had a dropped ceiling. One wall was stone.") demanding to be turned into digestible prose. I don't wanna. Sigh. In my first work, From the Sunny Day I Met You, I had to describe the Southern California sun and sea over and over and over. (Thank you, WordHippo.) The worst bit, however, was describing artwork. I should have kept a count of how many times I rewrote this. It still needs editing -- those repetitive sentence structures taunt me -- but I just couldn't stand to spend one more minute on it. The perspective from the base of the kigelia tree created a feeling of being enveloped in the deep green of the boughs. Light spilling from above made the leaves in their seamless gradations of moss olive and occasional hints of emerald seem to glow from within. An unexpected profusion of dusty white gourd-like fruit suspended by pale ribbons interrupted the familiar greens and browns of the leaves and branches and the almost black trunk. Describing actions is even more painful, given that I can barely visualize a circle. While writing Fallout at the Fantasy, I had to watch and rewatch videos of surf simulator antics. I'm glad I didn't log how long it took to cough up these two paragraphs.

Patrick grabbed a board, held it to his chest, and launched himself down. At the bottom, he glided to the side of the slide, holding on to its edge to steady himself against the strong stream pushing toward the top. Using his right foot to hold the board in place and jumping on with his left, he leaned forward until his knees and then his feet were stable. Rising into a crouch, he held his position to get a feel for the speed and flow of the water, then drew himself upright.

He maintained his stance easily with slow, controlled arm adjustments. When he felt steady, he surfed to the midpoint of the slide and back down. At the bottom, he dropped back into a crouch, then jumped off his board and pulled it to his chest in one fluid motion. He skimmed smoothly to the top, returned the board, and exited. In my WIP, the guys are spending the weekend in a lovely Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired cabin. I saved myself the horror of describing the outdoors in detail by making it rain most of the time. After I power through descriptions of the cabin, I have the fresh hell of inserting dialogue tags and describing their movements. I tell myself it's good for my brain to be so stressed -- the equivalent of an hours-long extreme circuit training workout.

Tagging from my notifications: @carolrain, @leofdaeg-sand, @tyfinn, @stereopticons, @demora00, @characterassassination-at-9am, @ramonaflow, @mostlyinthemorning, @flowertrigger, @jamilas-pen, @a-noble-dragon, @smallumbrella369

[trickiwooao3]

Time flies! Was that really three years ago?

On This Day in Schitt's Creek: May 23

2018

a rose for the holidays [david/patrick, M, 6,997] by mihaly

Christmas, 2004. Patrick Brewer, a high school senior and assistant manager at a Rose Video franchise, wins a trip to New York City to attend the famous Rose Video Holiday Party.

2019

All the things you're supposed to feel...I felt them [david/patrick, G, 475] by @misnamedhellion

After Patrick and David kiss for the first time, Patrick feels all of the things he's supposed to feel.

All the Ways It Was Meant to Be [david/patrick, G, 4,819] by hollybibble

Five times Patrick kisses David first, and one time that he doesn't.

Don't Blink [stevie & david, G, 5,149, CW: MCD]. by @aokayinspace

The Schitt's Creek/Doctor Who crossover fic we didn't know we needed. It's the episode Blink but set in Schitt's Creek.

ritual [david/patrick, G, 1,984] by my_middle_name_is_awkward

“Feeling better?” David hummed, pressing back into him. “You always make me feel better, even on the rare occasion that my dad puts poison oak in my room,”

2020

So Kiss Me and Smile For Me [ted/alexis, T, 678] by princesstigerlily

A reunion, five years later

Two Doors Down [david/patrick, M, 10,638] by @alexisrosez

"It was quickly decided that there would be a time limit for each person to guess which celebrity they had after David spent fifteen minutes trying and failing to work out who he was. Patrick didn’t want to admit that it was him who had written LeBron James onto the paper as David ranted about the legitimacy of calling “sports players” (David’s words) celebrities." --------- Or a slight AU where Patrick ends up staying at the motel, rather than Ray's house, when he first comes to town. A few hours later, he finds himself invited to a games night in Room 7.

you've got this strange effect on me [alexis/twyla, G, 2,341] by @landofsonlali

alexis returns to schitt's creek from new york for christmas and twyla offers her a place to stay. they catch up in front of the fireplace.

2021

Honey, all I see is you [david/patrick, G, 3,915] by @designatedgrape

The toe of his Rick Owens sneaker lands on the first step outside the Apothecary just as the door opens and a smiling dark-haired woman carrying a Rose Apothecary tote exits. David steps back onto the sidewalk to let her pass, then hurries into the store, ready to embrace Patrick and open up his heart and soul to him. But standing behind the counter is Ray. “Hello, David!” Ray calls cheerfully. “Ray.” David isn’t sure he actually holds back his grimace, but as usual, Ray is unphased. “Um, what… what are you doing here?” Or, when David gets back from Ted's during Singles Week, he can't find Patrick anywhere.

I met a boy [david/patrick, G, poem] by elifisher96

i met a boy.not words i ever thoughtwould set my heart fluttering

merry christmas, david rose [david/patrick, G, 2,145] by @roseapothecary

“I think it looks great, David.” Patrick claps a hand on David’s shoulder, watching as he glues the final usable branch of their (very sad) Christmas tree into place. It’s filled out quite a bit, at least, after reattaching and rearranging the fallen branches. (Though, anything is better than the war-torn disaster of this morning — that was far too dark for his taste, and certainly not deserving of ornaments from his store.) “Mm, great is certainly a stretch, but I appreciate your support.” Patrick laughs. “I’ll be right back. Got a finishing touch in the car.” David assumes he’s running to grab more crap from his trunk — decor donated by the alarming number of townspeople willing to “chip in” — but, when Patrick returns, he slides a large, wrapped box at David’s feet. What if Patrick DID get that espresso machine? Part of a series of alternate 'I love you's.

no filter necessary [david/patrick, NR, 2,518] by @maxbegone

The last ten minutes of the drive consists of David attempting not to think about “love” and “Patrick” in the same sentence, but it’s nearly impossible. The harder he tries not to think about it, the more he does. No, no. It’s way too early for this. He needs a nap. — The RIP Moira Rose canon-divergence fic where David realizes much earlier that he's in love with Patrick.

oh, the things i’d share (if i weren’t so self-aware) [david/patrick, G, 3,965] by fairmanor

And now, nearly a year of missed chances had led them here, this strange limbo where a discussion about their feelings would slip dangerously fast into a litany of I-love-yous that have been building up since about a week after David met Patrick. David and Patrick still aren't together by the time Single's Week rolls around. While looking after Patrick's phone for the day, David stumbles across something that he was never expecting to see.

Shakespeare wrote [david/patrick, G, poem] by elifisher96

Shakespeare wrote:"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

2022

I climbed a mountain and I turned around [david/patrick, T, 2,445] by @lesbiantism

5 times Patrick hiked alone and 1 time he wasn’t alone

If Only You Knew [david/patrick, M, 1,149] by @chelle-68

After David’s Olive Branch, David and Patrick spend the evening sharing their pasts and reconciling. If David could just find the courage to share one more thing.

Tell Me What You Want [david/patrick, E, 1,861] by mindswindowsdoors

David strips for Patrick. That’s the fic.

The Details of Desire [david/patrick, T, 7,038] by @trickiwooao3

David was well practiced in turning nothing into something. This situation with Patrick sure felt like something, but he needed to be sure. He used to count things out of anxiety but this was a scientific inquiry. It was definitely not a compulsion. Patrick was spending entirely too much time thinking about, wondering about, and, if he was honest, fantasizing about his new business partner. He knew he could get caught in an endless loop of this kind of analysis and speculation. He needed an action item. *********** David and Patrick take parallel paths to figuring things out.

2023

When you least expect it [david/patrick, T, 3,503] by @smblmn

Patrick is not blind. He doesn’t have experience dating men, but he knows there have been moments between David and him. But the thing about moments is that either you hold on to them or they get lost forever; a confession on the tip of his tongue disguised as a joke about a frame because he didn’t know how to say ‘I like you’ without sounding like a nervous teenager. Because even if he’d only known David for two weeks, it already felt bigger than it had any right to; A hug, long enough to make Patrick wonder if David felt it too. Abruptly ended as he was hyping himself to make a move. And of course, the biggest moment of them all: a breath suspended in time. The two of them sitting in his car, looking at each other, stretching a silence that should feel awkward but instead felt full of possibility until Patrick remembered that that’s not what David wanted and forced a ‘goodnight David’ out of a mouth that only wanted to lean in and kiss him. Or, Patrick and David don't get together in Grad Night and Patrick thinks it's better to focus on the store until he sees the worst performance ever and realizes he's in love with the idiot singing Christmas songs in the middle of the summer.

Stats:

No fanworks for 2017 or 2024 2018: 1 fic/6,997 words 2019: 4 fics/12,427 words 2020: 3 fics/13,657 words 2021: 6 fanworks (4 fics, 2 poems)/12,999 words 2022: 4 fics/12,493 words 2023: 1 fic/3,503 words Total: 19 fanworks (17 fics, 2 poems)/62,076 words

[trickiwooao3]

Notification of a new houdini74 @mostlyinthemorning fic always makes me smile.

(Sorry for the inelegant post. Can’t format on my phone.)

Finally Ready to Mess Things Up

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65582053

[trickiwooao3]

WIP WEDNESDAY: NEED AN ENDING

I have powered through the “outline/lots of dialogue” and “put in stage directions” steps and am now in the plodding “real writing” sweatstage of my current WIP. Then I will rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. How many times have I started a sentence with “as”? Count the “but”’s and "oh my god"'s , divide by seven, and rewrite.

Encountering a "need an ending" note instead of an actual ending makes me sigh, moan, and brew another cup of coffee. I still need last lines for two of the five chapters, including the final one. I keep waiting for the neurons to arrange themselves into the perfect PING! line, but alas. So instead of writing, I whittled away too much time “researching” famous and not-at-all-famous (mine) last lines. I thought I might find inspiration, but that's a hard no.

Generating the first line of a work or even a chapter is wickedly hard for me. I try to start at least half of the chapters with something other than dialogue. This is about as much fun as starting each day with something other than coffee. 

Until this fic, endings have come more easily, I think because I have some tactics and templates:

Stealing movie lines

"David, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership."

--

Patrick had always thought that the romantic feelings depicted in movies and books were like CGI—patterned after real life, amplified and manipulated for entertainment purposes. But with David, he felt like Jack on the prow of the Titanic, Ben Braddock wailing "Elaine!"

"You had me at hello."

--

“That’s incorrect.” David’s eyes were moist, his voice almost a whisper. “ ‘I'm scared of what I did, about who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you.’ “

He paused. “That’s the actual quote. Which is quite correct.”

+++++

Goodbye, good night, sweet dreams

Just a sample; there are too many more. These feel like cheating.

“Go back to sleep.” He drew his fingers over Patrick’s eyelids, then his cheek. “Sweet dreams.”

--

After settling into bed, he touched the screen lightly. "Good night, David."   +++++

Every now and then, a punchy ending just pops in my head:

David reached for Patrick's hand. "Ready when you are."

(DANG! This would be a good ending for my current WIP, but I won’t steal from myself again.)

--

Ray nodded. "Tardiness is preferable to total avoidance."

"Or, as the peasants say, better late than never."

+++++

After 15 years of wandering through a heterosexual wilderness, he had arrived at the land of milk and honey.

--

Of course. The secrets you know and the secrets you don't know are all safe with me, my friend." 

--

It was going to be a long three months. 

--

He could have just let the pan soak, but, as his favorite writer said, waiting was the rust of the soul.

--

As Mark Twain said, at the end of life people tend to regret more the things they didn't do. 

But you should also know that at this very minute there are people in the world who regret things they did do. 

-- Resistance was futile — David was smitten.

--

Placing an arm around David's shoulders, Wendy said, "Sometimes things do work out, honey. You won the lottery. Go cash in your ticket."

+++++

Drippy/romantic lines wander into my writing every now and then:

“Is this okay? Am I crowding you?” David murmured.

“Of course not. I saved this spot just for you.” --

Patrick pulled back to regard David's exquisite face, illuminated by a sliver of light escaping through the side of the curtain, before burrowing back into him. 

--

Patrick whispered, "Are you awake?", reaching his arms around David's body and pressing into him to clarify the question.

"For you," David mumbled. "For you, I'm awake."

--

Home is where the heart is, David reflected. The saying was trite but true. At that moment, the only thing that felt anchoring, that felt like home, was Patrick. 

+++++

Thematic/Symbolic

My favorite endings parallel or echo lines or scenes from the fic itself. In Sunny Day, the story ends and begins with Patrick lending David a phone charger. Patrick grinned. “I just so happen to have, well, you know the rest of that story.”

David gripped his hand. “Yes, I do. It’s a really good story. The best.”

--

In (E)Tea for Two, David has a habit of locking his door and Patrick has a habit of showing up unannounced. 

Patrick? Are you there? 

That's you walking down the hall, isn't it?

Unlock the door, David

--

In the Overtures series, the guys relate various “how we met stories” spun from something about their current situation. In Nosedive in the Cockpit, Patrick portrayed David as an over-the-top boor on their blind date. 

David shook his head ruefully. “I wish I could rewrite the beginning of that story.”

Patrick said, “You will, babe. Many times.”

--

I indulged in a semi-symbolic ending for Details of Desire. | "Allow me." Patrick walked to the front, flipped the sign, and unlocked the door.  +++++

Whimsical/humorous endings are the most fun:

Okay, I won't type that I’m looking forward to our non-date, 75-minute, prepared questions only rendezvous. Au revoir.

--

David said, "That’s a story for another time. Paris, have you sexed anything else? Penguins? Hyenas? Gnomes?" +++++

Oops!

I unintentionally used the same ending (stolen from “The Hike”) twice: Patrick closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Then, exhaling, he opened his eyes and cradled David's face in his hands. 

"Yes, David. It's a yes." 

--

David slid the band onto Patrick’s left wrist, giving it a light squeeze.

Patrick reached over to cover David’s hands with his, then threaded their fingers together. “It’s a yes.”

BONUS CONTENT A baker’s dozen of famous/pithily perfect last lines. Answers below tags.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before.

And the ashes blew toward us with the salt wind from the sea.

He loved Big Brother.

All was well.

And that might be the subject of a new story but our present story is over.

Happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain.

But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.

He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.

After all, tomorrow is another day.

For an instant, everything was bathed in radiance.

It’s old light, and there’s not much of it. But it’s enough to see by. _____

Citations below tags. Who has some good endings to sell me? Paying top dollar today. @ramonaflow, @jamilas-pen, @demora00, @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3, @dinnfameron, @mostlyinthemorning, @a-noble-dragon, @characterassassination-at-9am, @statueinthestone, @carolrain, @beaiola, @smallumbrella369

F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn

Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

George Orwell, 1984

JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge

AA Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind

Geraldine Brooks, March

Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye

[trickiwooao3]

Seven Sentence Sunday

Crush at the Courthouse has been languishing on my computer for years. Maybe late 2025 will see it finally plopped onto AO3. It is an entry in my Overtures series, which involves various setups that prompt one of our guys to relate an origin story to a stranger. This time David "recalls" meeting Patrick when they served on a jury together. (Confused yet?)

In the setup scene, Patrick and David wait for Patrick's car to be serviced before they shop for a sofa. (I fear Wazoo Furniture is no more, but <shrug>.) I'm with Patrick. I would rather drink cold Circle K coffee than furniture shop. +++++ There's a music store in that complex. While you're fingering fabric, I could slip over there and --

Destroy our marriage? You promised that if we stop here first to get the car serviced that you'd -- and I quote -- "serve the full sentence with no parole" at Wazo. 

I did say that. Honestly, the way you can tell the thread count and fabric by touch really does something for me. And we do need to replace our sofa, though those stains bring back some fond memories. +++++ Hey out there! What's up? Tagging from my notifications. @demora00, @ramonaflow, @a-noble-dragon, @tyfinn, @jamilas-pen, @flowertrigger, @statueinthestone, @carolrain, @mostlyinthemorning

[trickiwooao3]

Flower Friday

Thanks for the tag, @carolrain and @ramonaflow. From my yard: peonies in bloom; a basket of purples; itty bitty wildflowers; dandelion and clover evidence that our yard needs mowing.

It’s greengreengreen here. An instant mood lifter!

[trickiwooao3]

Four months later --

Hello, out there! Thanks to those of y'all keeping me in the loop with tags and mentions.

I'm still pecking away at Phone-Free Weekend, a supposed-to-be-5K-word fic that is already over 15K in very rough draft form. I still have way too many place fillers like "David had thoughts that I will detail when I figure out what they are." I do have a clear idea about where the story takes place -- in a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired fancy cabin in the middle of nowhere. There's only one (real) bed! No screens allowed! There's a thunderstorm! Where could this all be headed? I am well aware that SC fic is, er, not at its height of popularity, but this is what I write about, full stop. I've never been on trend, so why start now? Below, David and Patrick cast around for an activity when a thunderstorm forces them inside. +++++++

So we should stare at the walls until we come up with the grand unified theory or whatever it's called?"

No, we creatively come up with an activity. What did you do at sleepovers when you were growing up?"

You don't want me to answer that.

Okay, what did Alexis do at her sleepovers?

Girl things — gossiping, fixing each other's hair. I was always a little jealous of the hair sessions.

Really? You would let a teenager arrange your hair?

Oh my god, you arrange furniture. You style hair. Well, you don't. Anyway, it's nice. The massaging, the combing. The hair pulling.

I would be happy for you to do that. Style my hair, I mean. But there's nothing to work with.

Untrue. You could use some lift. I could give your curls a bit more height. Organized height. Not what you have going on here. I mean, if you want. But just a bit. With the right product. Too much and you'd look like Leonardo DiCaprio in The Titanic."

And we don't want that?

We want you to look like Miles Teller.

The magician?

Oh my god. Mika, then.

Is that an anime character?

Kit Harrington? Game of Thrones -- Jon something? I didn't watch the show, but I follow him on Insta.

Jon Snow. Yeah, sure. Make me look like a Lord Commander.

I don't know what that means. If I had my phone, I could show you my vision.

If you had your phone, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'd be checking scores and you'd be checking BuzzFeed.

Talking about hair is better?

Absolutely. +++++++ Who else is writing? What's happening? What did I miss? Tagging randomly here to check for signs of life. @smallumbrella369@ramonaflow, @tyfinn, @characterassassination-at-9am, @demora00, @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3,@a-noble-dragon, @rmd-writes, @flowertrigger, @beaiola, @stargazer56, @smallumbrella369, @dinnfameron

[trickiwooao3]

12 Days of Fandom -- Days 9, 10, 11, and 12

I'm up before everyone else so -- TA DA. Here are four under 5K works that will make you smile. Coffee Date by eponymiad. A delectable confection/confession. I Shake, Burn, Break, It's Just My Reaction by ryry_peaches. What happened the morning after Patrick put in his mouthguard and nose plug? The Not-Lake House by DisgruntledPelican. An epistolary fic with a time-travel twist. Small Oversight by upbeat. Oopsie daisy! The printer takes David's edits too literally. And that's a wrap! Happy and merry to one and all! Tagging from my notifications: @leofdaeg-sand, @stargazer56, @carolrain, @ramonaflow, @jettestar, @a-noble-dragon, @demora00, @smallumbrella369, @chelle-68

[trickiwooao3]

12 Days of Fandom, Day 8 on Day 9

The text above is from google, not this fic. It's just the kind of thing I (person in the blue) might do. It turns out that 12 days of fandom on 12 separate days is too much of a stretch with all the merriment prep, including hosting a party. There will be 12 days, but which 12 days?

The text fic Patrick, It's David by the summerstars is still one of my all-time favorites. Despite having almost 1300 kudos, I rarely see it recommended. Don't let the ? chapters deter you. Each chapter can be read as a standalone.

I left several comments. Among them:

“That’s TV’s hateful human being to you.”

I’ll be chuckling about that for days. The way you combine the banter and the deep emotional content is spot on. I have reread your series thrice now—you are such a gifted writer. I feel guilty getting these stories for free! I hope someone IRL pays you well for your talent.

++++

“Joke free by Christmas.”

Ha!

You take the ideas that sort of wallow around in my mind and sculpt them into something clear, charming, and clever. I too think Patrick’s repetition of the word “oscillating” was a tell. I too think “Oh, I’m gonna get the money” was more than a declaration about financing. I went back to rewatch that scene and was amused to see I had paused the episode at that exact moment. Shamelessly tagging @demora00, @a-noble-dragon, @characterassassination-at-9am, @chelle-68, @ramonaflow, @tyfinn, @leofdaeg-sand, @jettestar, @stargazer56, @smallumbrella369

[trickiwooao3]

12 Days of Fandom: Days 5, 6, 7

No surprise that I got behind. Maybe I'm now a day ahead. Whichever. Below are links to three frequently recommended fics just in case someone missed them. I've included my comments, which I noticed are a bit gushy. So sue me. ++++++ Under There by @distractivate https://archiveofourown.org/works/33659830

"Patrick suspects that David is only digging into this ridiculous dispute to give Patrick opposing ground to stand on, somewhere steady, inconsequential, and clearly-defined to regain his footing."

This is why I love your writing. This subtle interaction is the most satisfying example I've ever seen of "you make me feel right." In this case, David takes care of him through a process of intuition, empathy, and a performative conversation. Some writers have wisdom and insight, and some have the ability to find just the right words and phrases (I wonder how long it took you to write that perfect sentence?) but so few have both. +++++ Your Driver Has Arrived by @dinnfameron

"You look pretty athletic to me." The perfect Patrick combo comment -- snark, affection, and flirting in six words.

"Like an apple. Patrick was like a bushel of apples. He was like a whole orchard; a little piece of him every day would keep you healthy for life." I don't know if you just dashed that off (if so, I'll try not to resent you) or if you fiddled with it for days, weeks, months, but those lines are absolute gems.

+++++ Fake Fake Boyfriend by hollybibble

“...hopefully one from Georgia named Beauregard.” Ha! I can’t decide if I’m more charmed by the humor, the pitch-perfect dialogue (how do you do that? It’s a gift.), or the heartbreaking tenderness. It’s such a treat for me when a trope is twisted into a new shape like this. Thank you! Apologies to everyone getting blasted with multiple tags. Our tag overlords decided that my previous posts could now be properly tagged.

Let's see if tags are working today: @demora00, @ramonaflow, @smallumbrella369, @dinnfameron, @characterassassination-at-9am, @carolrain, @rmd-writes, @chelle-68

[trickiwooao3]

12 Days of Fandom, Day 4

My favorite houdini74/ @mostlyinthemorning fic is often the one I just read. There is definitely, absolutely, positively only one bed is one I reread often, so it's often my favorite. Here was my comment:

I cannot tell you how happy this fic made me. How does magic like this happen? I couldn't decide (not that it's a thing to be decided) whether this just poured out of you in a torrent, like Mozart scribbling the Dies Irae, or if you fretted and tutted over each line. Regardless, every word is perfect. It was sweet but not treacly. I so needed this antidote to all the squishy sentiments of the holidays. “Anything with Sandra Bullock. Or Julia—any of the Julias. Or you can choose. From those. If you want. I’m easy.” Somehow you managed to make me guffaw at this common Davidism. I think it's the clever rat-a-tat-tat rhythm. This fic is a tonic. I'm off to rerereread it.

Tagging a selection of the usual suspects: @demora00, @jamilas-pen, @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3, @ramonaflow, @chelle-68, @statueinthestone, @characterassassination-at-9am, @tyfinn There is a rift in the tag/time continuum. Trying again to tag @chelle-68, @tyfinn, @characterassassination-at-9am I give up. Anybody else having problems with tags? It's not a settings thing -- I can tag someone in one post, but not the next.

[trickiwooao3]

A Cuppa, Anyone?

(E)Tea for Two, my one and only holiday fic, was the best of times (epistolary format) and the worst of times (text and email formatting, oh my!) Here's the cutesy blurb: Extraterrestrial Tea artist David Rose and numbers guy Patrick Brewer know each other only through their fractious emails — until they are assigned to plan the end-of-year employee party together. Will a partnership so steeped in frustration brew up trouble — or a cup of cheer? Would love to see posts of other holiday fics -- either self-promotion or recommendation. @demora00, @jamilas-pen, @ramonaflow, @characterassassination-at-9am, @carolrain, @a-noble-dragon, @leofdaeg-sand, @jettestar, @chelle-68

[trickiwooao3]

12 Days of Fandom, Day 3

One more betalove post with this recommendation from Frozen Over 2022. The lovely and charming And Then One Day, Everything Changed by railmedaddy/ @rmd-writes landed at the tippy top of my "OMG I wish I could write like this" list. Author's summary: All David wants to do is sign Marcy Brewer on to sell her amazing fudge at Rose Apothecary. Unfortunately for him, her very snippy, business consultant son gets involved. In an effort to win both Marcy and Patrick over, David invites Patrick to spend some time in the store and on a vendor trip. There’s snow forecast for the day of the vendor trip, but it’s Schitt’s Creek and it never snows. Right?

I left an uncharacteristically gushy two-! comment: Your writing is lovely! I particularly enjoyed this:

“My parents are grossly in love with each other. My mom is a lot, most people would say she’s too much."

I love any suggestion that Marcy isn't picture-perfect -- makes her more lovable! +++++++ I subsequently lured @rmd-writes into helping me tame my 100K+ college fic Ubi Caritas. And what help! I gave her "the Fixer Award, for Big Picture conceptualizing, 'of course!' additions, deletions, scene corrections, and countless on-the-money tone and wording edits." Thanks again to @mostlyinthemorning for kicking this event off with this post. Tagging again. I would love to see more recommendations, particularly for holiday works. @demora00, @ramonaflow, @characterassassination-at-9am, @carolrain, @statueinthestone, @rmd-writes, @a-noble-dragon, @chelle-68, @obsessedwithdavrick, @jamilas-pen, @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3

[trickiwooao3]

12 Days of Fandom, Day 2

Thanks again to @mostlyinthemorning for kicking this event off with this post. I'm not quite sure I'm doing this "right," but oh, well. (Yikes, another "but." [See below].) Avoid whatever holiday chore you're dreading by reading Some Things I Still Can't Tell You by @demora00 Here was my comment on this lovely, quiet work: A dozen chef's kisses! I love Patrick, I love emotional drama, I love David's caretaking, I love hearing inner monologues. As an extroverted talktalktalker, I've always been fascinated and mystified by "selective" mutism. Of course not talking doesn't mean they're not communicating, as you demonstrate: "He moves his hand to David’s thigh and taps three times with his first two fingers. David hums and tips his head in answer, pencil moving in confident strokes."

I appreciate your always evocative writing even more because of my description deficit disorder: "That tight thrumming through his body, like bees under his skin."

+++++ When I decided to have a go at fiction writing in 2020, I knew I needed help -- a lot of help. @demora00 to the rescue. We "met" during the five minutes I ventured into the impenetrable and vaguely sinister Discord. My call for betas yielded responses from several people who either then ghosted me or had commitment issues ("I can't read anything longer than 3K. Sorry!") — with one exception. Since then, my friend @demora00 has handywomened over 200K of my words. I wrote this at the end of my first fic From the Sunny Day I Met You: If while reading this fic you didn’t think, “How many hands can one man have?” or “Doesn’t she need a comma there?” or “There aren’t Targets in Canada” or “How many times do I have to read the word ‘but’?” or “Does she not know how to write contractions?” thank Demora00. I’m pretty sure I’d still be fiddling with chapter 1 if not for her soft little taps on my shoulder over these months. Her nearly instantaneous feedback at any time of day or night left little excuse for me to lollygag. She’s an international treasure. I think I have finally kicked my "but" habit, but my inexplicable contraction avoidance and my inability to visualize anything more complex than a circle have kept her plenty busy. (OMG. Look at that sentence. Sad!) My posts just fade away into oblivion unless I tag people, so here goes. @demora00, @ramonaflow, @characterassassination-at-9am, @carolrain, @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3, @mostlyinthemorning, @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3, @a-noble-dragon, @chelle-68, @obsessedwithdavrick, @jamilas-pen

[trickiwooao3]

12 Days of Fandom!

Piano Patrick

I've been without the brainwidth to spend time here or on my WIP. To get back into the swing, I'm rereading some favorites, like this one by one of my stellar betas. AnnieMallistic's writing is A+ and this holiday story is charming in every way. Check it out: The Magic Number (Is Three). Author's summary:

Paul fucking Shaffer. He was the reason David was home so early, nervously awaiting the arrival of the new piano player. He’d hoped this rift between Shaffer and his mother was enough to prompt the long overdue retirement of The Number, the gift of yuletide relief. But apparently Moira was taking it as an opportunity to breathe new life into the performance. New pianist, new arrangement, new choreography. Enter Patrick Brewer. or, three years of The Number.

Thanks for the nudge from @carolrain via this post by @mostlyinthemorning

Probably re-tagging, but here goes: @characterassassination-at-9am, @demora00, @ramonaflow, @likerealpeopledo-on-ao3, @statueinthestonetoo, @rmd-writes, @a-noble-dragon