#and while ao3 is still down go to your tumblr writers and leave them some love too

[flowercrowngods]

when ao3 is back up i want all of you to leave comments on the fics you were interrupted from reading, the fics you were looking to find, the fics you were thinking about re-reading, and the fics left open in your tabs for months now.

when ao3 is back up, i want you all to show some love to your favourite writers, favourite fics, or even just the 600 word one-shot that brought a smile to your face that tuesday three weeks ago.

when ao3 is back up i want you all to remember that comments and explicitly voiced appreciation are what keep writers going.

#when ao3 is back up i want you to realise that this lack of fics to read is also what will happen if they go uncommented and unappreciated #ao3 #and while ao3 is still down go to your tumblr writers and leave them some love too

[thelucyverse]

Keep fandoms alive, comment on more fanfics!

The do‘s and don’ts of fic reviews

Because a friend told me she never knows what to write and then never comments, but wants to learn how to do better, I thought I’d compile a list, and maybe it will help someone else as well!

As always, this is unofficial and just from my personal experience writing and reading fic, and talking with other fic authors.

My posts on beta reading | ao3 bookmarks

What to comment

Honestly, authors love friendly comments, no matter how small. Here are some ideas for short comments you can write to pretty much any fic you enjoyed:

I loved it!

Great fic!

Thanks for writing this!

Thanks for sharing your fic with the fandom :)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ 10/10 perfection

So happy I found this!

Reading this made my day

I had fun reading this

You’re a great writer!

Love your writing style

<3<3<3

Amazing!

Kudos!

If you want to write something a bit longer, you can for example

Tell the author where you have been reading the fic or what you were doing while reading it

Tell the author what you should have been doing instead of reading fanfic (and that it was worth it to read the fic)

Copy a passage (or several) from the fic you particularly enjoyed

Did the author write a note at the end or beginning of the fic? Maybe even ask a question? Sometimes you can reply to author’s notes in your comment

How did the fic make you feel? Happy, made you cry, made you laugh, made you jealous of a character, or made you want to punch an antagonistic character’s nose in? Write it in the comment!

Is it your first fic in a fandom or with a ship? Your favorite fic in a fandom, or with a specific character? Did you read it in one go? Did you savour it slowly reading over days or weeks? Have you enjoyed every update of a multi-chapter? Do you wish you could read it again for the first time? Write anything you want to let the author know about your reading experience!

Is there a character you particularly enjoyed in that fic/chapter? Tell the author you think they wrote xy character really well!

You can always start or finish your comment with one of the suggestions from the short comments to make sure the author knows you liked it :)

If you really don’t know what to write, or are reading fic in a language not your own (though authors usually don’t mind you commenting in your native language) and aren’t comfortable commenting in either language, you can also leave emojis as comments, for example variations of:

for any fics:❤️💕💜💗💞💓💖💟🤩😍🥰

for humor fics: 😂😆🤣🤪💯

for shippy fics/getting together: 🎉💖🥳💋💘💏👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨💑👩‍❤️‍👩👨‍❤️‍👨🫶

for angst or hurt no comort: 🥹😭🤯😱🫣😢💔❣️❤️‍🩹🖤 maybe still include a ❤️heart in there so the author can be sure you still liked it!

for smut/pwp: ❤️‍🔥💯🫣😋🤩🥵😈🤯🫦

There are even some stickers you can comment by copying the html! A few tumblr posts with stickers to copy can be found here & here!

Don’ts

There isn’t much you can do wrong when writing comments on fic, but there are a few things you should keep in mind:

don’t criticize (unless negative critics/what they can do better has been specifically asked for by the author, and then stick to the kind of criticism asked for, and best try to include something positive too to soften the blow)

don’t demand more/ask for updates - you can tell the author you’d read it if they wrote more, but don’t put pressure on them, you don’t know what’s happening in their lives right now and for what reason new entries might have slowed down, and they don’t owe you regular or any updates!

don’t tell them what to write (unless the author is taking prompts, and in most cases the comment section is not the right place for prompts, check what the author specified)

Remember: Fan fiction are free, from fans for fans, so etiquette is a bit different than in the Amazon reviews of books you paid good money for! Fic authors don’t have to cater to you, just enjoy that there are fics shared with the fandom :) If you don’t like something, or don’t like a part of something, either close the tab or quietly ignore the issue and just enjoy the parts you do like.

And in general, to end this on a positive note:

Yes, you can comment on older fanfics!

Yes, comment on several fics in a row if you’re reading through fics by one author!

Yes, comment on as many chapters of the same fic as you like!

Yes, you can make art for the fic and tell the author about it!

Yes, absolutely tell the author if you’re still thinking about a fic hours/days/years… after reading it!

Yes, send authors asks on tumblr/other sites talking about how you love their fics, if they link these sites in the author’s notes! (But also comment on Ao3)

Yes, you can comment/review even if you don’t have an account (at least on Ao3 and ffnet)!

Yes, please let the author know if you’re reading a fic for a second time, even if you just write ‘re-read kudos!’

The best comments are also written directly on the site the fanfiction got posted on (so usually ao3/ffnet and not tumblr/discord), both because it makes the note count higher, and because then the comment won’t quickly get buried under unrelated messages or posts.

If you want to leave long comments about different parts of a fic or chapter, you can also make use of the floating Ao3 comment box! It allows you to type your comment while you're still reading, without having to leave the page!

Some more kinds of comments on another post

#comment #fan fiction #fandom #siuaraine #(my friend’s fandom where the topic came up) #fanfic #fanfic comments #fanfic reading #fic #fanfiction #fandom etiquette #fandoms #our flag means death #harry potter #ao3 #ffnet #swan queen #Star trek #supernatural #how to comment

[aizawalovesme]

⭒ 𓍢 LUSTOBER 2023

⟡ Overstimulation with König. ꜛ

MDNI I will call your mom !!!!!

Do not repost, Edit, Translate, Or indirectly share my work on platforms like AO3, Wattpad, Tumblr, and Fanfiction.net.

Smut under

divider: cafekitsune

Cw & Tws /// Overstimulation, No pronouns, Overuse of pet names, no use of Y/N, semi brat reader, female reader, might be slightly out of character, dyslexic writer who uses autocorrect, dom könig, könig gets embarrassed because he doubts himself, semi sub reader, "brat taming", reader humps königs thigh, a lot of cursing, I was listening to old animation meme sounds (not at all important I just wanted you to know this), google translate is used !!!,

Notes /// ummm. . . Did I put this off until 2am on the 5th? ....no........... anyways !!!!!!! I'm such a slut for Valeria she could call me a bitch and I would get down on my knees and apologize. Also I've never written smut before so feedback is appreciated!?!!!!!?!?!?!

König looks up at you as you whine, walking into his office. He has been back from work for about a month. He cocks an eyebrow under his mask as you come up to his desk, standing right in front of him. "What is it, Liebling?" He asks in that sweet honey tone that makes your heart melt and thighs clench.

"I want attention.." You mumble, leaning into his shoulder. He hums at that. "Peculiar, isn't that, Häschen?" He asks as he continues to do his paper work. You whine again and he takes a deep breath, then sighs. "On." He says as he leans back.

"what?" You ask with furrowed eyebrows. He looks you dead in your face and blushes lightly, feeling embarrassed. "You. On my lap. You can stay here until I finish working. I shouldn't be long, Liebling."

You sit on his lap, legs on either side of him as you lean your face into his neck. He picks back up his pen and continues filling out his paperwork. You sit still for a while, ignoring the ache in between your legs. When it begins to be too much you squirm, needing some friction.

He pats you on the back, "schatz, quit squirming gonna fuck up my hand writing." König says with a tone that makes you fucking clench. You stop and he goes back to work. You sit still for as long as you can until it aches.

You grind into his thigh lightly. You bury your head into his neck as you grind harder. He glares at you, "Quit." He commands. You mumble an apology and stop. He continues writing.

You really try not to, but feeling his semi-hard brush against your clit with one of his hands on your ass, massaging the skin lightly, makes your hips involuntarily buck against his cock.

He glares down at you as he slams his pen down on his desk. You feel your cheeks go red as you apologize into his neck, trying to explain that you couldn't help it. He chuckles and takes you off of his lap, causing a whine to leave your lips.

He turns you around so you're facing the same way as him and pulls you back onto his lap, semi-hard poking your ass as he takes off your shorts, leaving you in just your underwear. You whine as he spreads your legs on his lap, massaging and tying with your thighs.

He works his way to the hem of your panties, and slides one finger under them, toying with your slick cunt. You groan in pleasure, having expected to be toyed with and left for your own afterwards, like his usual punishments.

He pulls your underwear all the way off, leaving your bottom fully naked. You shiver as the cool air hits your wet pussy. He starts to circle your clit with one finger, and slides a hand up your shirt to play with your perky nipples. He watches as you get so worked up, and slides his fingers down to your cunt, now two rubbing up and down.

He brings his middle and pointer fingers to your mouth, "Suck." He says and you comply, circling between and around his fingers as you lightly gag. He takes his wet, warm fingers down to your cunt and slides one finger all the way in with no warning.

You moan at this, he adds another and you feel so full. Your hips buck as his other hand circles around to your clit, middle and pointer circling your clit as he starts to fuck into your pussy at such a mean pace..

He feels you begin to clench and he starts to suck and lick and bite on your neck. You feel that knot building deep in your stomach. You moan louder as he begins to circle your clit faster. You moan as you feel an orgasm rush over you, eyes rolling at how deep königs fingers are.

He doesn't stop, even as you squirm. He lifts you up, finally taking a brief stop as he puts you on the edge of the table, legs spread as he gets down on his knees and pulls up the top half of his mask.

He begins to lap at your clit like a starved man. You moan as your hips jerk, still sensitive from your orgasm. He pulls something from his bottom desk drawer that you can't see due to your eyes rolling as he circles your clit am fast, then he stops. You look down through teary eyes and see a toy, specifically the long vibrating dildo he bought for punishments.

He starts to slip it into you after lubing it up, and goes back to eating your clit. You see stars before it's even a third of the way inside of you. Your eyes roll as he pushes the rest into you, pulling it almost all the way out before slamming into you. He created a steady pace all while absolutely devouring your clit.

You moan and lay back against the desk. He uses his free hand to slide your shirt up and toy with your nipples. You feel the knot building and it snaps just as fast, Cumming all over the toy. König doesn't even stop. He doesn't even slow down. You moan and whimper and cry as he pushes you comfortingly, brushing your hair out of your face as he stops playing with your sore nipples, then goes back to doing what he was, hand on the other nipple as you feel the same knot building in your stomach.

König can just.. tell. You feel him go even faster as the knot snaps, leaving you sobbing.

And if he helps you bathe, brushes and washes your hair, cooks for you, and carries you around all night, that's your business .

Tags: @mariaflor18 (ask to be added !!)

#konig smut #könig #könig cod #könig x reader #konig cod #call of duty #konig x reader #konig call of duty #konig #smutty fanfiction #smutober #smut #mdni #18+ only #no minors allowed #no minors please #overstim nsft #kinktober

[2baabbies]

haiii bae, its kai. hardest decision of my life u've put me through here /j

for the image reqs, 4 with hyune, sfw, maybe on ur way home from a date, and suddenly it starts raining... dancing around or kissing in the rain and just having fun :3 (they/them pronouns please pretty)

lol I know, I’m sooo mean 😉 here’s some hyune requested by kaiiii

🖤 cloudburst (hyunjin x reader) 🖤

Words: 880

Flufffff

gn!reader

Request guidelines here!

!!ATTENTION!!

Reposting this fic to other platforms, including as a translation, is expressly prohibited. Do not copy, alter, or claim this fic as your own. Absolutely no permission is given to anyone to post my works, even with credit, and this fic should only appear on Ao3 or Tumblr under my accounts. Reposting is not only plagiarism, but a direct violation of my wishes as the original writer and owner. Please respect writers and don’t steal!

Likes, reblogs, asks and comments are very welcome and appreciated <3

~~~

Your eyelids flutter as the music in the car fades into static. It returns to normal, but still occasionally crackles as you drive home. Your head lulls to the side to look at Hyunjin, in the driver’s seat, humming along to the song. He steers with one hand and the other is linked with yours on the center console. You had started the day together with a cozy breakfast date and are now heading back home. You yawn, and Hyunjin glances at you with a soft smile.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“We’re almost home.”

“Mhm.”

Your attention is drawn to the windshield as something plunks hard against the glass. A moment later, another fat drop of rain falls. They soon begin to fall in succession, thudding on the roof and blurring your view. Hyunjin sighs and activates the wipers.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was really hoping we would beat it.”

“It’s only rain, Hyune.”

“It’s pouring,” He whines, “Plus it makes everything so gloomy.”

You laugh and give his hand a reassuring squeeze. When you arrive on your street he pulls up so your side is closest to the curb. You take the opportunity to detach your hand from his when he shifts the car into park. He sighs again, gazing with longing through the bleary window at your shared home.

“Should we wait it out?”

You shake your head.

“Baby, it’s just rain”

Hyunjin slumps dramatically in his seat, pouting at you as you smile sympathetically.

“It’s cold, and wet. I don’t want to get wet.”

You peer out the windshield at the bright sun breaking through the clouds. It was only a sunshower, and would pass soon enough.

“It’s not too bad.”

You share a look as he huffs and crosses his arms. You roll your eyes playfully and unbuckle your seatbelt.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

“What? You can’t abandon me!”

You step out of the car without hesitation and the rain immediately cascades over you. You lean in the open door to reply and let the rain drench you as Hyunjin reaches out to you weakly.

“Calm down, I’m going to get you an umbrella.”

“Noo…”

You laugh and step away as he lets his hand drop into the passenger seat. You leave the door open as you have a stretch. The sun warms you despite the heavy downpour and you take a moment to enjoy it. The radio sings out of the open door while you do a small spin and bask under the rain.

“You look like you’re having fun!” Hyunjin calls out.

“It feels nice!”

You wander out to the quiet street, mindful of traffic as you splash through the quickly forming puddles. You do another spin and when you turn hear the driver’s door being slammed shut. You grin as Hyunjin jogs over to you, swiping his long hair out of his face as he closes the distance. You decide to splash him with water as he catches up.

“Hey!”

You laugh and turn to run, then yelp when he grabs you from behind and swings you off your feet.

“Come here, trouble.”

“Hyunjin!”

He guides you back to the sidewalk as you teasingly ask:

“I thought you didn’t want to get wet?”

“You made it look fun.”

“Did I?”

You loop your arms over his shoulders and tilt your head as he pulls you in. Music is still playing from the idling car. You are both silent for a moment, studying each other’s expressions and listening to the popular love song pouring out from the speakers. He smiles and bumps his forehead against yours as rain continues to pour over you both. You giggle and let him rock you as you melt in his arms.

“I like this song,” He murmurs.

“Me too.”

You shut your eyes and hum as he reaches up to swipe away wet hairs clinging to your face. He pets your cheek with his thumb and leads you into a slow dance. You rest your head on his shoulder and sigh happily as he sways you in his arms.

“Love?”

“Hm?”

Hyunjin gently cups the nape of your neck as you lift your head. His gaze is tender as you open your eyes and smile at him. This smile only widens when he begins moving in, and presses a gentle kiss to your lips. You stay like this, sharing kisses in the rain, until you naturally separate. He holds your cheek and gives you an eye-crinkling smile before he speaks.

“Let’s go inside, hm? I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Okay…”

He leads you to the house as he begins searching his pockets for his keys.

“Hyune, the car?”

“Oh, right!”

You laugh as he runs away, then scrambles to turn off the car and grab his keys through the passenger’s door. You wait for him to close and lock the car while fondly shaking your head. He unlocks the front door to your home and ushers you inside as he pecks the side of your head.

“y/n?”

“Yeah,” You reply as you shuck off your soaked shoes.

When you straighten up Hyunjin is still standing in the open doorway, sunny rain pouring behind him.

“You make everything brighter, you know that? I love you.”

“I love you too, Hyunjin.”

#dramatic hyune is my fave hyune #I suck at word limits #stray kids x reader #skz x reader #stray kids x y/n #skz x y/n #stray kids x you #skz x you #hyunjin x reader #hyunjin x y/n #hyunjin x you #stray kids fic requests #skz fic requests #stray kids fanfic #skz fanfic

[sharky857]

20 Questions for Writers

Got tagged by @valkeakuulas :D

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

25 at the moment.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

It appears that it's 161,853

3. What fandoms do you write for?

This ones (+ some more that live rent-free in my head and never saw the light)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In case Tumblr won't let zoom in on the thing, from left to right: - Unwanted Visitor - Stupid Mistakes - Sour Dreams - Idiot Sandwich - Born Again

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! :D Even for something as simple as a "thank you".

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

Something IL related from years ago (not on AO3). Back then part of the old fandom had dived into the doomiest & gloomiest collective musing ever called "okay but there will be one day when all the current humans will be either flippin' old or deceased, and the same can also happen to the leaguers, yanno? There's only this itty-bitty question of how our robutts would go through this. 🤔"

... Fun times. :°D

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

Usually, my fics all have a happy (or neutral, at least) ending. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not happened so far. *catch me knocking on wood*

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

I used to write smuts, always following the "here's an actual plot, here's the snusnu part, and here's the ending" kind of scheme.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope, but they also live rent-free in my head.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Does "they pulled a pathetic attempt at recreating one of the fics out of retaliation or something and only made it the cringiest mess ever that everyone brutally mocked them for quite a while until they deleted it" count?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, back when I was moving my (very first) baby steps with English. I would write fics in Italian, and then a friend of mine would translate them in English.

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

YES! :D Me and @evol-astraea did it a few times.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

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

My longestest Transformers (G1) fic ever.

The reason: I was so hyper-focused on typing that past a certain point I didn't realise I was NOT saving the progress anymore. Them MS Word did a crash. It was still without that feature to recover the documents, and I never recovered from those +10 pages lost. :°)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Idk, honestly :°°°D

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes, I guess.

And that forever-lingering feeling that there are parts in a fic that don't feel like they convey the specific feeling as they should, but also I wouldn't even know how to tweak/improve it, so in the end I just leave it as it is.

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

It's fun! :D A little less fun when the character is a canon known to have a particular accent, and you, as a non-native, have absolutely no idea how to put said accent into words. :°D

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Not really a "fandom" since back then there was just me and this friend of mine, but... Spirou et Fantasio (the 90s toon/comic series).

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I have a quite a few that I like to go and re-read from time to time, but can't pick just one.

Tagging @evol-astraea, @missanthropicprinciple, @antsupuff and @alucardy2000 (shush, comics are a hybrid of fan art & fic 😛)

I'll be following Kuulas' example and leave the blank list of questions down here 👇

20 Questions for Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments?

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

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

8. Do you get hate on fics?

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

10. Do you write crossovers?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

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

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

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

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

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

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

#sharky's got a tag!

[kingkatsuki]

why did you make that post ragging on that person’s reblogs here but you were so nice to them on main? that’s pretty rude… saying “no offense” doesn’t make it less mean. honestly you’re kind of a mean girl and a bully. and always so obsessed with other peoples blog posts, what social sites is it ok to dictate what your followers have to have on their own blogs? i’ve followed you for a while but it’s time to unfollow.

your whole “it takes nothing to reblog” attitude is interesting, considering it also takes nothing to be kind. or bare minimum, not a jerk. i have no idea why when there are so many content creators on this site that anyone chooses to support someone with such a poor attitude like yourself.

I’ll copy and paste this here since you thought you’d send me two separate asks about the same topic for some reason and I’ve already replied to you?

Tumblr was made to be a social app, for people to interact with each other and reblog posts in order to do so. That’s why there’s so many options to add responses to posts, to add tags and even send asks.

I have an ao3 and anyone is more than welcome to read my fics over there without leaving a comment, kudos or bookmark— like the huge majority do.

But on here it makes me uncomfortable to have so many blank/empty/plain blogs following me with absolutely no fandom content reblogged whatsoever or only generic posts/responses. Especially since two of the times I’ve been plagiarised it was by either a blank blog following me on here, it a k-pop blog who didn’t reblog anime content stealing my shit. So I’m sorry I don’t want them following me.

And the post you’re talking about in question, I was nice because I know that a lot of people still don’t understand the importance of reblogging your faves. Even though artists and writers go on and on and on about it, what’s the point of being mean? I only posted that response AFTER she replied to me saying that she didn’t understand the point of reblogging fanart or fanfic… even though she reblogs literal nonsense posts. That’s the part that really got me.

If you don’t like how I run my blog, or what I block people for why are you here? There’s literally thousands of people on tumblr you could follow, or like you said use ao3?

It’s the fact that I know you have never left an artist or a writer a comment this long on any of their content before, but you chose to be brave and click that anon button to send me a long essay about me being a horrible person.

The response is always “you’re so weird” and never, “let me go and tell my favourite author thank you for making my day better”.

I’m sorry that I blocked you for not supporting artists/writers, but I don’t regret it. It’s a pretty pathetic mindset to have that an artists work isn’t worth a free reblog that could actually make their day.

“I have no idea why when there are so many content creators on this site that anyone chooses to support someone with such a poor attitude like yourself”

That’s the point though, they’re not supporting anyone. I’m not telling people to reblog my fics or leave comments, I’m just telling them to support someone, anyone. Literally doesn’t even have to be fic either, support your favourite artists? But so many people continue to just blindly like fics when they’re done without so much as a thought for the writer, because they can just scroll down to the next one.

And you might think I’m a horrible person or whatever, but at least I’ve never left anyone a mean anon!

#jo talks

[timebegins-onopeningday]

November 2023 New Works Round Up

Hello everyone, I'm a day late due to the mortifying ordeal, but I'm here with a round up post! We have 3 new works this month in the collection, including a WIP that is currently being updated!

AO3 | All works | Ask box

New works, in no particular order (link in title):

I still need you there beside me, no matter what I do by Anonymous | St. Louis Cardinals | Steve Carlton/Tim McCarver

Left-handed pitchers are their own special breed of crazy. Catchers are their own special breed of crazy. It's a long, long road.

Luck be a Ballplayer by powderblu (bluspirits) | Philadelphia Phillies | Alex Bohm/Brandon Marsh

Alec isn't sure this counts as "just normal roommate things", but he doesn't exactly want Marshy to stop, so he keeps his mouth shut.

Superbloom by heartequals (savvygambols) | San Francisco Giants | Blake Sabol/Casey Schmitt

Casey wraps an arm around Blake’s neck while Blake’s distracted by Yas. Blake flails. Casey pulls him down to his chest. “Me and some of the guys were going out after the game,” he hisses in his ear. “Come out with me.”

The next round-up post will be posted sometime on Sunday, December 10 (unless I get caught up in stupid work bullshit again in which case we may be a day late), so if you need a new deadline, aim for the North American morning of December 10.

Under the cut: November Challenges for readers and creators + 3 questions for creators (for your WIPs or completed works) and a hot sidequest for everyone!

November Challenge for Readers: Before the December post, leave comments on FOUR works from the past two months, if you haven't left comments yet!

November Challenge for Creators: Before the December post do the following:

Writers, add THREE sentences on your work every day.

Artists, spend FIVE MINUTES on your work every day 

Podfic? Five minutes of editing or ten minutes of recording every other day. Something else I’m not thinking of? Adjust accordingly to your medium.

3 Creator Questions: Answer in the notes, on your blog, or in the ask box!

Who was/is your favorite character to work on in (one of) your works you posted so far?

What's a line that didn't make it into the final cut that you really really wanted to include?

Would you trust the players in your work with the aux cord?

November Sidequest for Everybody: Make a rec post on tumblr of at least two works you particularly enjoyed from the challenge so far and include at least one line on why you liked them.

That's it for this month, folks! I'll be back on December 10. Remember that to create art is to push back the forces of darkness that threaten to destroy us (Manfred's nonsense), drink water, and leave comments!

As always, ask box is open and anon is on. I can also be reached at rpfisfine@/gmail.com 🌞

#baseball rpf #fanfiction #ao3 #ao3 prompt meme #fic recs #round up post

[author-a-holmes]

Obviously ignore this if you want but I saw you mention that you recently got published (congrats!!!) and I had a question. I'm still far out from that, but I know how to write and can research how to publish but I don't know how to market. Not only am I autistic and not charismatic, I want to solely use my pen name and distance my writing from my face because of my professional life. Do you know how to actually get people who might like your book to notice that it exists as an indie author with no previous following? Thank you if you have any advice!

Hello Moshke!

Thank you so much for the congratulations! It's taken longer than I expected but the realisation that I'm published is finally beginning to sink in! It's very surreal ^_^

I honestly don't know if I'm the right person to give advice on marketing as, at the moment, my book's been out just over a month and I feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark, but I wanted to give your ask due consideration and, despite my hesitation, I think I still have some tips that could hopefully help.

The reason I think I might have at least some relevant tidbits is that I'm also writing under a penname and most people don't seem to realise that.

Now, in my case, it's not about privacy it's just that don't like my given name enough to see it on book covers :D So I don't mind talking about it, but marketing your book under a penname isn't that much different to how you would market the book under your legal name.

Tip No. 1

Establish your pen name as a functional pseudonym now. Don't wait until you're ready to publish.

So, this stage was a little backwards for me. I come from the age of internet use where you did not give your real name online, under any circumstances, so I've always used various "online names".

By the time I decided that I was going to use "Arista Holmes" to publish under, anyone who knew me online already knew me as Ari. Even my best friend offline will sometimes call me Ari when we're chatting, so it had become as much an actual nickname as an online pseudonym.

But that's exactly what I'm getting at. I'm not pretending to be "Arista Holmes", I am Ari. A writer in her 30's based in the south east of England. The same way I'm Josie to my mum, or Jo-jo to my Godmother.

Tip No. 2

Don't think about it as marketing your book, but as creating an author "brand".

I'm using "Brand" here in the absence of a better term, because I absolutely hate thinking about this as a "brand", but what I mean is think of your Penname as something people will google search.

In fact, Google search your pen name.

As I mentioned, I'd been using "Arista Holmes" online for a while, and I had accounts all over the place that I didn't necessarily want coming up when people looked up my books.

(I will deny spending my youth on Neopets, it's just TOO embarrassing!) 

But jokes aside; Google your pen name. See what comes up. Scroll through all 20, 30, 50 pages of google. Some asshole looking for some embarrassing post from your teen years won't stop at page five, and neither should you.

Shut down any accounts you find, or if you want to keep them, change the username to something else. The only non-publishing related account linked to Arista Holmes now is my AO3. I figure it's still writing, so no harm in leaving that one up.

Tip No. 3

Set up social media accounts now; Be as consistent as possible across all platforms.

Now, and I want to put this in big bold letters:

Having accounts on all the socials does not mean you will be active on all of them.

Or use them at all, in fact.

Having accounts on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, Youtube, etc etc etc, just means that if, by some miracle, you make it big and draw in fans you'll also inevitably draw trolls and by making the account with your pen name; it stops them claiming that username and pretending to be you.

It's a form of pre-emptive protection.

On that note; Be consistent across your accounts. Use the same profile picture, use the same header or banner, use the same colour scheme, use the same "About Me/About Author" description, and (as much as possible) use the same username format.

That last one won't be possible on all platforms. Some of them don't like periods/full stops. Some don't like underscores, but try to be as consistent as possible.

For example my account on here is author.a.holmes, most other places I'm aristaholmes. I'd change it, but at this point, I don't want to break all my links.

Tip No. 4

Author Pictures Are Not Required.

I'm adding this point here because I mentioned profile pictures in the previous tip. Author Pictures Are Not Required.

Don't get me wrong, they're often highly encouraged, and I can't deny that they give a humanising effect to the author, but that doesn't mean you actually have to show your face.

I've chosen to put my face on my "About The Author" page in the back of my book, but that's a personal choice. You don't have to add one at all! It's only more recently that I've seen fiction author photos in the back of books.

Until about... 15 years ago? Ish? I wouldn't have expected to see an author photo unless the book was non-fiction.

If you want to add a picture of you, but don't feel comfortable or can't because of real world problems, consider an artist's caricature instead. Go one step further than a pen-name and give yourself a pen-picture! Jenna Moreci uses an artist's interpretation as her profile picture/logo, and Lemony Snicket only had pictures of the back of his head for ages.

If you do decide to commission an artist though, do explain to them that it will be included in your books, that you'll be selling, as they will probably want to add a commercial licence price to the artwork; But if you explain why you're having the caricature done I imagine most artists would be very reasonable about it.

***

That's all my tips for setting up and marketing yourself, as the author, under a pen name... but I can already hear the voices in my head muttering that I've not really touched on how to get people to find you once you've set up the pen name, and the socials, and your website etc.

And it's because I personally think that if you're writing under a pen name you need to establish it as an entity in its own right before beginning to try marketing it.

So, moving on…

Tip No. 5

Find your place on the great, wide, interwebs...

I mentioned I'd been online as Arista Holmes for about 8-10 years prior to deciding to publish under this name, but once I did decide to publish I went and made all my author socials (just like I mentioned in Tip No. 3)

That was in 2020 and it was part experimentation, and part letting people find me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up with multiple social media's, and I also knew I didn't WANT to, so I made the socials and I started posting on each platform and figuring out which platforms I liked. Which ones were easy to use, and which ones got me the most engagement with other people.

For me, this turned out to be Tumblr and Instagram. Twitter and Facebook are like graveyards for me, and Tiktok is only a little better, but your mileage may vary.

I cross post consistently with Tumblr, Instagram, because those are the places I get the most engagement... but I also maintain a blog on my website and any big pieces of news (such as asking for ARC readers, or publishing my book) gets posted across ALL platforms because, well, I live in hope that one day my tiktok will go viral lol.

But honestly, the multiple socials literally eat up so much of the time I could spend writing; I highly recommend picking two, three at most, and focusing on them.

But what do you post? I can almost hear you yelling <3

Tip No. 6

How to market when you're shy/introverted/not-charismatic/or any other thing you feel is holding you back.

You're going to want to throw something at me but lean on your strengths. It sounds so simple, and I know it's not, I'm sorry, but here's what I mean by that.

When I was still experimenting with all the socials to find the ones I liked, I stumbled across an image. I want to say it was here on tumblr but, honestly, I don't remember and at the time I was neck deep in every marketing and promotional blog or article I could find trying to figure this shit out.

It was called "The Periodic Table of Content Marketing".

I don't know why this helped me wrap my head around marketing, but it did.

I read over each of the types of marketing and I started getting idea's.

Ebooks... I'd heard about people doing reader magnets for newsletter lists.

Interviews... I've seen authors on podcasts. I'd seen people on tumblr interviewing their characters. I could do that.

Trends... What are popular tropes if not trends of the moment?

And I suddenly realised that this silly little graph was all the different types of marketing I could do, broken down simply, and laid out neatly, and I could pick and choose not only the bits I was comfortable doing, but the bits that I was confident with.

I'm never going to put my face on a tiktok video and lipsync to popular songs, but I could write a 12,000 words short story prequel to my series and make it exclusive to newsletter subscribers.

That was something I could do, because it leaned on my strengths; My writing.

Because I haven't said it yet, but two years ago I'd have described myself very similarly to you.

I'm not charismatic. While I'm not autistic, I am painfully introverted. I have severe social anxiety. I'm not funny, I can't talk with strangers casually or easily. Talking about my book more than once a week feels like I'm bragging or being pushy... But I can write.

So I started looking for opportunities to share my writing, and let it... not speak for itself, but let my words draw in the audience. It still took a bit of pushing on my part, I would look for tag games where the user had left an "Open Tag" and I'd hop on those and share some words.

This is part of the reason Tumblr is one of my favourite places to network with writers and readers, because the tag games let me share and tease content without having to push through my social anxiety all that hard.

It's a slower, organic, audience growth but it's definitely my preference.

The content I shared on here, produced to play tag games, I quickly realised that I could copy it onto a pretty image in canva, and share it on instagram easier than I could condense a paragraph into the twitter character limit, or make it look appealing on Facebook's janky system.

And the more writing I shared, the more people commented and followed. And the more they commented and followed, the easier it was to talk to them. And then I started getting asks. That was nerve wracking and sometimes they'll still sit there a couple of months before I can make myself answer them.

(Sorry Sleepy and Avra, if you're reading this! I'll reply soon, I promise!)

Have I gone off topic here? I kind of feel like I have but also... not really.

If you feel like your writing is your strength, lean on it. Let it do the heavy lifting for you. Show your hand with your words.

By the time I set up my mailing list and offered 'Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?' for free, I got 12 people to sign up straight away. I don't know if that's a lot, but it was at least eight more than I was expecting.

When my book launched, I received 14 reviews, and sold 20 copies the first month. Again, I don't know if this is a lot, but it was a whole hecking lot more than I'd hoped for.

I don't know if I'm good at marketing, and maybe someone will reblog and reply to this with better advice, or tear apart what I've said, and if they do great! I really hope it helps you or someone else down the reblog chain because, as I said at the start, I'm really just stumbling around in the dark and hoping I somehow get it all to work out lol

But I do just have one more piece of advice, that isn't really my advice...

Tip No. 7

Fake it until you make it.

You're a writer. The beauty of the internet is that we have time to stop, and think about the words we're writing in response to someone.

I'm a shy, introvert, who doesn't know when to shut up when she gets started talking about writing (Or at least that's what it looks like based on the length of this post...)

But 99% of people I speak to online don't know I'm an introvert. They don't know that after sending an email I have to go back to bed for a few hours to recover my energy, or that I can't answer a phone without feeling nauseous for the rest of the day and it's because when I'm online I'm Arista Holmes, and I can write my responses in the same way I write my characters.

I'm not saying I'm not being me, I am, but I'm also being given the time and space to be the confident me I want to be, rather than the nervous wreck I actually am.

Write your socials, and market your book, as the you that you’d write if you were dropped into one of your own books.

Fake it until you make it.

Handy Resource List For Marketing:

Periodic Table of Content Marketing

Jenna Moreci's Youtube - I take her writing advice with a huge chunk of salt, but her marketing advice is top notch.

Bethany Atazedah Youtube - Co-wrote a Marketing For Authors Non-fiction series, but a lot of her youtube videos contain good, free, advice too.

Self-Publishing With Dale - If you want to market effectively, keeping on top of the current trends and changes in the market is important. Self Publishing with Dale is the best way I've found to do that; He really has his fingers on the pulse of the Self Publishing Market, and even if you're not publishing yet, checking out some of his videos can teach you loads about what to do, but more importantly, what NOT to do.

Michael Anderle's 20Bookto50k system - I didn't mention it as a tip but the BEST form of marketing a book is to write the next book. Michael Anderle talks about his theory that is you have 20 books published, your backlist of royalty income should net you around $50k a year. The hour and a half talk changed my whole marketing outlook and is why I'm focussed on a slow grown, more organically sourced, audience rather thank paid advertising.

Abbie Emmons Youtube - I'm not sure I should include Abbie in a list of marketing resources as she's often more about the writing side of the craft, but her videos have been invaluable to me, so she's just worth checking out in general.

#Ari Speaks #Arista Speaks #Ari Gives Advice #Ari is unqualified to give advice #Marketing #Marketing under a penname #Penname #Pen Name #Pseudonym #Content Marketing #Publishing #Self Publishing #Building An Audience #Growing An Audience #Writeblr #Writeblr Community #Writing #Writing Community #CW: Mental Health #CW: Social Anxiety #CW: Anxiety #TW: Mental Health #TW: Anxiety #TW: Social Anxiety #Ask #Ask Answered

[arcielee]

Interview With a Writer

Here is part 6 of my Interview With a Writer series with the super talented @sapphire-writes ♥ Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and keep this going!

You can go to this post to review the other amazing authors I have spoken with ♥ Just some BTS of the talented minds on Tumblr and ao3. 

Name: Sapphire-Writes

Story: Down in Flames

Paring: modern Aegon x Reader & Aemond x Reader  

Rating/Warning: Explicit, sexual themes, 18+. Pay heed to the warnings for each chapter, it gets messy. 

So, when did you start writing? I started writing probably when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I did creative writing throughout my teens but never delved into fanfiction until now!

What was your first fan fiction story? My first fanfiction was for HOTD. I started writing my Aemond x OC story A Song of Flames & Fury and that was the first writing I ever published on here!

Where did the plot for Down in Flames come from? I always loved the idea of a band story, and back in 2018 I was reading A LOT of fanfiction for Bohemian Rhapsody because Roger Tyler had me in a chokehold. So some of the inspiration definitely came from that, but mostly I was just curious exploring the Dance of Dragons in a modern setting.

I feel like bands are stuffed full of drama and just the perfect setting for this story. I definitely knew I wanted the Reader and Aemond together, and I knew the conflict would be around Jace and Luke leaving to support Rhaenyra's side. I knew there would be sneaking around and stuff but other than that I sort of went with the flow, figured out the characters. There were a couple things I had in mind originally that didn't end up working out/making it in.

Do you want to share any of the "cut scenes" or ideas that did not make it in DIF? So originally I planned that Jace would actually cheat on Baela, following the "Sara Snow" plotline. In part 1 that's who offers to buy him a drink at the bar. But I liked them too much together and wanted Jace to be a complete good guy to root for.

Explain your interpretation of Aemond. What drives him? Why is he the way he is in DIF? Aemond is a lot like our show canon Aemond in DIF. I see him a lot as a duty driven guy, trying to keep the band together, supporting Aegon even though he's this vain, self centered front man in the band. I think what drives DIF Aemond is this sense of responsibility, that he can't let his family down no matter what, even if it makes him unhappy.

You could sense she wanted the best for Aegon. ♥ She definitely did. And she realizes in the end that its not about her, that its about him, and we love that growth!

Was there anything in specific that inspired your Reader portrayal? I think I definitely was a little self indulgent, as I feel always happens as an author. I really wanted the Reader to be this person who wanted to save Aegon, she really wants to help him get better and that's just not how it works out. So definitely some savior complex stuff, but I also wanted to balance it with her being really human, if that makes sense? Like she wants to leave him, she knows she deserves better but she loves him at the same time!

Do you feel your Reader compliments Aemond well? I think in the beginning of their relationship her fire really matches his, and as they start their relationship, I think she really softens Aemond's edges. I think she really drives Aemond crazy because she does what she wants and it’s all the choices Aemond would never want her to make, like dating Aegon!

Do you think you'll return to this HotD AU? Maybe a sequel? I will definitely return! I have some drabbles/one-shots planned because I know people are curious about this group. I just really wanted to wrap the main story before burnout occurred and while it was so clear-cut.

What is next for our author? Right now I'm working on a couple things! I have a modern!Aegon story Thin Ice, I have to finish my Aemond x OC, I still have An Ego Thing ongoing and now a new Daemon x Rhaenyra x Reader The Au Pair!

Do you have a personal favorite story you'd like to share? (Yours or other?) My personal favorite story I've written I think is Dragon's Bane (it’s still unfinished). As for someone else’s, I'd have to say Burning Jasmine by @scalyfreaks​. It’s an Aegon x OC and its so incredible!

#iwaw #iwaw6 #interview with a writer #ongoing series #aemond targaryen x reader #bts of their brilliance

[hollygl125]

On rabbit holes and fanfic (in my own life):

*This is a note I wrote for AO3/FFN, but I’ve been meaning for a while to write a post on how I—a member of the Oregon Trail generation—wound up signing up for Tumblr in January 2022, and this kind of hints at that, so I thought I might as well share it here, too.*

What follows is a TMI note on why I can’t make any promises on when the next chapter of this story will be up; please read or don’t, as pleases you.  I would like to state first, though, what I also state at the bottom of this note: thank you so, so, so very much for reading; your kind support means more than I can tell you.

So, I’m, ah… not very good at all this.

Two years ago now, as I was doing a “CSI as love story” rewatch and falling far, far, far down the GSR rabbit hole, I was also falling deep into ADHD burnout and overwhelming anxiety (without, at the time, realizing that I had either ADHD or a lifetime of anxiety).  By the time spring 2022 rolled around, I was lacking executive functioning abilities for even basic tasks, while my mind sought solace or dopamine or whatever it was with—you guessed it—these two lovely science nerds.

I read hundreds and hundreds of GSR fics, without managing to leave a single, solitary comment/review.  (I wanted to comment!  I couldn’t!  I’m not saying commenting would have killed me, but I just couldn’t do it; I wouldn’t have been able to continue reading if it were required, and obsessing over these two science nerds was basically all my mind could handle.  So when I tell you that I get that commenting can be too much sometimes, I get it.  I should also note my eternal gratitude to all the amazing GSR fic writers who—unknowingly—helped me during this time.)

I occasionally questioned whether I might try writing something about these science nerds, but I always dismissed that pretty quickly.  I’d never willingly undertaken a creative writing project in my life (unless you count my last dog’s Instagram).  For added context, until 2022, I had last (and first, for that matter) previously read fan fiction in the mid-2000s, when my favourites on The West Wing were taking their own sweet time.  So in January 2022, while desperate for more GSR content, I was like, “Is fanfic still a thing?  Is there GSR fanfic?”  I literally started by googling “GSR fan fiction.”  I’d never even heard of AO3 or FFN; I think the fic for The West Wing had been on Yahoo! Groups.

But I had all these romantic scenarios and headcanons and such constantly running through my head, and I was getting tired of having to recreate the dialogue for them every night as I fell asleep.  So eventually, in late June 2022, I thought maybe I should try writing something down—at some point in the future, once I’d had more time to prepare.  Naturally the next day my brain was like, no, now, now, we’re doing this now.  I had no conscious say in the matter.  I wasn’t sure whether I was going to post anything, but apparently I was going to write it.

I had a lot of fun writing out so many of my thoughts and feeling and hopes and dreams for our two lovely science nerds, and pretty soon I had a draft for this series of stories (although it was only a fraction of what I have now written).  I started posting the first story in September 2022.  Luckily I got to participate in a (also luckily, not very mentally taxing) overseas professional placement for several months at the end of 2022, and this was a welcome distraction from *everything else* about my life.

When I got home in winter 2023, the anxiety returned in full force.  I got an ADHD diagnosis, but neither that nor the anxiety are effectively managed yet.  And, truth be told, posting these stories gives me a lot of anxiety.  It’s sort of been a weekly cycle of posting, feeling very anxious about it for several days, talking myself back to a place of peace, getting ready to post again, posting again, rinse, repeat.  Sometimes I’ve found myself feeling too anxious to post, and the chapter/story in question has been pushed back by a week.

So I wasn’t exactly feeling great about the posting process, but I was still determined to proceed.  I had a posting schedule that would have seen me finish posting this story by the end of November (last month) then post the remaining four shorter stories over the next couple months.  (A few of them are synced to dates/times of year: the winter holidays and February, i.e., the anniversary of the AAFS conference.) But then, with the last chapter I posted, I was just too anxious/unhappy.  This may have been because I’d slightly accelerated my posting schedule and hadn’t left myself enough time to process everything; I’m not sure.  But I found myself looking at Tumblr gifs of our two lovely science nerds and feeling sad and resentful, not happy, and I realized that, if I continued on as I was doing at the time, I was going to destroy both my deep love of the characters and my own happy place.

So I told myself that I didn’t have to keep posting now—that, as much as I was determined to have the complete series of stories posted, I could do it in months or in a year or some other time when no one was left to read it; honestly, that thought made me feel a lot better.  But then I decided maybe I didn’t have to wait quite so long—that I could try posting once per month or something like that.  On the upside, I tell myself, this should also leave time for me to respond to comments more promptly and to go engage with other writers’ stories.  (I managed to go back and read and comment on a handful of stories this summer.  Commenting still gives me a lot of anxiety; at one point I felt like I almost gave myself a panic attack.  But I’m going to try to work at it.)  As of this morning, I have responded to all comments on these stories, including to comments by guests/people who aren’t logged in (unless I thought the comment was from a bot!).

I can’t promise when the next chapter will be posted.  My goal is for next month, but it really depends on how I feel after posting this one and how I feel next month.  I do hope you’ll come back to read it, though!

If you’ve read this far—both in this series and in this note—thank you so very much!  You certainly didn’t need to know all the information in this note, but I needed to share it, if you get what I mean.

Thank you so, so, so very much for reading and for your kind kudos, comments, follows, faves, and reviews.  Supportive comments/reviews always, always, always make my day.  Your support for this series of stories is truly what has allowed me to get even this far in posting these stories, and I appreciate it all more than I can tell you. 💛💛💛

#survivors in the night: a las vegas love story #about me #adhd #anxiety #disaster person

[alltheficsiwant]

Here We Go Again (Same Old Hawkins, Or Not Sequel)

PART ONE | SUMMER OF '85

Summary: The Summer of '85 is on the roll. Reader has started her job as a printing personnel in the Hawkins Post with the help of Nancy and Jonathan who are both in their internship as a writer and photographer respectively. Eddie on the other hand is working as a part time mechanic at Jaeger’s Auto shop while Steve continues to work at Scoop’s Ahoy with Robin alongside him.

The kids, well, they are enjoying their summer with the mall in full operation and the upcoming fair that is being planned by the Mayor. Really, as long as all of the upside down remains quiet, everything will be great.

Unfortunately, their plans are going to be in ruins when one Billy Hargrove starts to take interest in the reader. Though, it was much better if it was just some misguided infatuation but apparently there is much more into it than meets the eye.

Reader was really happy not to deal with the upside down and would face a million Billy Hargrove, in fact the rest of them would be happy not to deal with it at all. Apparently, its not done yet. It is just getting started.

Pairings: Eddie Munson x Harrington! Reader

Warnings: There are depictions of minor violence here. Be warned.

Author's Note: Hi! Here is the sequel for my first story, Same Old Hawkins or Not? If you haven't read it yet. Click the link below to access it. It's better to read it first to understand some of the context. I have started posting this in Ao3. I will not link it here until the story is finished there. I have focused my posting there since I kind of don't receive any traction here in tumblr. Please support your content creators by REBLOGGING AND LEAVING A COMMENT. Its okay to leave a like but PLEASE REBLOG AFTER OR IF YOU DON'T WANT YOU CAN LEAVE ANY COMMENT.

This is not yet edited. I apologize in advance for any errors. Enjoy! - J

Same Old Hawkins, Or Not? | Part TWO

Seriously, Indiana heat is stifling, especially if you are working with thick black ink.

You promised yourself you wouldn’t be dealing with a job that involves chemicals but you are not a woman of your words. Whatever happened last year was kind of proof of that. 

You say, you wanted boring but you threw yourself headfirst to the fray of drama.

You say you are here to have fun, well guess what you got attached to it. Who wouldn’t get attached to a sexy and endearing metal head?

You say you wouldn’t be like your father but here you are.

Technically, the chemicals you are handling are ink but still, the principle of mixing anything liquid is there. Though, you would rather mix ink than anything else. You should have considered working at the bar but you are far too an alcoholic not to be tempted with the shelves of alcohol. So, ink it is.

You carefully put the proper oil to achieve the right amount of thickness for the ink. Any thicker or any thinner, the paper would be in ruins. You managed to impress the people in the printing section of the post during your first day. You fixed what to be a withstanding problem with the ink that is why sometimes the paper is a bit botched. Now it's just perfect and you suddenly became the Rockstar of your section.

Well, you don’t want that extra attention, thank you very much.

“Hey,” You carefully mixed the ink now with the stirring rod before you looked up to the owner of the voice. You came face to face with Nancy who is standing there with a nearly empty cup holder of coffee and a paper bag. Your eyes scanned her face and saw the light frown on her brow despite the smile she was giving you. It just made it look like a grimace and you kind of know where it came from.

“They are giving you the misogynistic treatment again?” You opted as a greeting as Nancy huffed at that. She immediately dropped the façade and grumpily placed two coffee cups on the counter. 

“They never really stop,” Nancy grumbled and you lifted the stirring rod off the mixture. You started to remove your gloves as you walked over to her.

“That’s Hawkins for you,” You mused as you gave your thanks to the coffee before you continued talking. “If not the stereotypical drama about partners cheating or any type of drama. There is also the stereotypical views of men are better at things,”

“Just frustrating, I just want to contribute and yet they brush me off as if I am nothing,” Nancy grumbled as she opened the paper bag and pulled out a sandwich. She offered it but you quickly shook your head as you leaned down towards a lunchbox. You opened it up to have the sandwich Steve made for you. “Emilia said that every intern receives that same treatment but they treat Jonathan differently!”

You just listened and did not offer any more comment while Nancy’s rant. Now, this is a bit of a surprise. After Nancy’s and Steve’s history, it's not really mandatory for you to make friends with the girl that broke your cousin’s heart. Though since working here in the Hawkins Post right after graduation, you and her gravitate towards each other. You found a friend in her and you think she did too in you as she started to release her frustrations.

Something of a surprise since Nancy looked to be someone who is always put together. 

“--I just need one chance that is all! One big chance to prove that I am not just good for errands. I am good writer,”

“You are actually,” You suddenly spoke as you took a sip of the coffee. Nancy stopped and looked at you.

“What?”

“You are a good writer. You are editor-in-chief of the newspaper in your sophomore year and still is this coming junior year and the whole school reads your paper. Hell, I did,” You told her as you turned to look at her. “Your pieces were quite more interesting than what grown men write in the Hawkins Post. Even the one that involved the Hawkins's lab,”

Nancy then bit her lip as she looked down at her coffee. 

“So yeah, you are a good writer and probably better than those men there,” You pointed to the adjacent building where the writing happens and where the pictures are developed before your department receives them to print. “You’ll have your time. I promise,”

Nancy then offered a smile as she nodded. She mumbled a thanks with your name as she ate the last of her sandwich. You polished off your coffee and looked at the clock.

“Ugh, though you might want to move it because break is over,” You motioned to the clock and Nancy cursed as she frantically tried to clean up. “Leave it be, I’ll take care of it. Just go!”

“Thank you!” She shouted as you watched her run towards that other building. You shook your head as you moved to lift the tub of ink you were mixing. Though you stopped short when you heard a squeak in the corner.

You raised a brow at that. When it did again, you slowly came around the corner of one of the printing machines and saw mice walking in a line and through a small hole that leads outside. Though, nothing is odd about it until you notice them walking as if there is something controlling them.

You were about to come closer when the door of the building opened. You jumped and turned to see some of your co-workers coming back from lunch. Though one of them stopped short when they saw you.

Mr. Baltazar, the head of the printing press, looked at you curiously. “You didn’t take your break again?” He asked as he said your name in disdain in the end. 

“I did Mr. Baltazar, you just caught me—” You turned to see that the mice are all gone. Mr. Baltazar must have followed your vision because you heard him curse behind you.

“Oh damn, those rats, they have been roaming around here quite often,” Mr. Baltazar said and you looked at him curious now about that.

“Roaming around?”

“Yes, there has been a weird increase of rats around town but I am guessing they are coming from that abandoned mill not far from it.” He mused as he turned towards one worker and ordered them to plaster the hole. “Did you see them?”

“Yeah, they were just walking out of the building,” You told him and Mr. Baltazar looked to be delighted with that.

“Good riddance! We have enough of them chewing the papers we print on,” He huffed as he turned towards you. “Now that hole is settled, were you able to make new batches of ink?”

“Yes sir, they are right there?” You pointed at the tub.

“Great, we have to print a special edition paper for the town library. Please get started on that,”

You took a last glance at where you have seen the mice and decided that it's not a thought you want to dwell on for today.

“Yes sir! On it,”

You locked up the printing press for today. Mr. Baltazar and some of the guys have already clocked out ten minutes ago. You could hear them chatting up front the building. Probably getting their nicotine fix before leaving for the day.

The printing was finished a bit later than scheduled and it was past eight o’clock. You hoped the overtime was paid since you were supposed to be meeting up with Eddie at the mechanic shop. Now you are going to meet him instead at his trailer.

You were really looking forward to seeing Eddie in the mechanic gear and all. It was the highlight of your everyday routine since the summer started. He looks too good and sometimes you can’t help but have make out sessions. Which is the only thing you have done without having a bit of a panic attack.

Yes, you are still recovering from what happened to the Shit Show. It was something you and Eddie knew that would be with you but Eddie is a patient man. At least, when it comes to you. Now you wanted that and instead of a short ten minute wait, you have to drive thirty minutes across town to the trailer park.

With that in thought, you hurriedly locked up the machines and got your bag. Though as you approached the front of a building you heard Mr. Baltazar talking to someone.

“--- inside locking up. Who are you though?” You heard him ask. Thinking he was talking with someone he knew. You decided to continue walking, though you froze as you heard the other voice.

“I’m Billy Hargrove sir, a friend,” he introduced himself as he mentioned your name. Politeness heavy on his voice. Your eyes widened at that. What the fuck is wrong with him?

“A friend huh? Did she know you were coming?” Mr. Baltazar asked

“No, I am here to surprise her,” Billy offered and you could hear Mr. Baltazar humming.

“If you were her friend, I haven’t seen you much around her,” Your manager offered and you could detect the suspicion in his voice. “I only saw her cousin, a bunch of kids and his boy friend. That Munson boy,”

You heard Billy chuckled.

“I have been busy with my job as lifeguard in the pool but we are quite close,” Billy continued to talk back. Irritation is clear in his voice now that Mr. Baltazar is not backing down.

“If you are really here for her—”

A loud sound of an engine stopping almost right in front of the entrance can be heard. Then a loud slam of the doors followed it. You listened closely to determine who it was.

“What are you doing here Hargrove?” You sighed in relief as you recognized Nancy’s voice.

“Wheeler, I didn’t know that you would be coming here late at night,”

“I didn’t know you had something to do here Hargrove,” Nancy spat as you heard her going nearer. “Hey Mr. Baltazar, is he giving you any trouble?”

“Hey Nancy,” Mr. Baltazar greeted back, relaying to Nancy that he was trying to find you.

“Really? Hargrove? You knew that you are still not allowed to come near her,” 

“I’m just here to make amends okay?” Billy answered back, the politeness gone as he let his irritation shine through. “I promised her to prove her wrong, that is why I’m here,”

“Do it elsewhere, she doesn’t need to give you a time or day. Just leave or else I'll call Hopper,” 

“Wheeler—” “Hey!” You heard Jonathan’s yell before you could hear what Billy could have said. You were tempted to wrench open the doors and step out. You swore if he touched Nancy--

“I suggest you follow her advice, kid,” It was Mr. Baltazar who finally spoke up. There was a tense silence before you heard a loud huff.

"Just please make sure she's alright?" Billy suddenly said and then you could hear him walk away. You brows furrowed that. What is he playing at? You waited silently as you heard a car engine starting up before it finally left the driveway. Once you knew he was away, you slowly came out of the building to see Nancy, Jonathan and Mr. Baltazar. It was Nancy who looked at you with relief.

“Hey girl,” She greeted and you offered a small smile to her before you turned to Mr. Baltazar.

“Mr. Baltazar, I’m sorry–”

“No need to apologize kid, he screams trouble anyway. You should all go home okay?” He said and snuffed out the cigarette he was holding as he walked away. He waved at them goodbye before entering his own car then driving away.

You sighed as you turned to the both of them. Though before you could dwell on what happened and why Billy suddenly showed up here. You looked at them and saw that they looked quite stressed.

“Umm, I would like to thank the both of you for showing up on time to be a buffer for Billy and have a discussion of why he suddenly appeared here but you both seemed…” you trailed off as you looked over at their appearance. “Stressed?”

“Right,” Nancy jumped up and turned towards her handbag as she shuffled around it. “We found something,” she added. You looked up to Jonathan and asked with your brows but he just motioned to Nancy.

She pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to you. You looked down to see words written on it.

Mrs. Driscoll

Rats eating fertilizers

All over town, weird rat activities

You raised your brows even higher than that.

“Okay? Is this some kind of new story idea?” You asked helplessly as you looked at Nancy.

“Yesterday, we went to a possible story. Mrs. Driscoll called us with a story about weird Rat activities. They were eating fertilizers and gathering up—”

“---At the mill,” you connected the story from Mr. Baltazar’s earlier statement and Nancy looked at you surprised.

“You know about this?” 

“No, I heard from Mr. Baltazar and I saw rats like walking in a line and walking out of a building. It's not even afraid of any human presence,” you remembered the cats you saw earlier today. Jonathan and Nancy looked at each other before they turned to you.

“Okay, so the rats have unusual activities and they don’t usually eat fertilizers because,”

“It's poisonous, they would have died within a few—” You told her with your eyebrows scrunched together. “Wait, is this the story you told me earlier that got rejected?”

Nancy nodded. “And we actually need proof. Me and Jonathan are going there at Mrs. Driscoll,”

You looked at them for a moment. “You want me to come with you guys?” You asked and thoughts of spending the rest of the night with Eddie vanishes at that. 

Nancy nodded. 

“Why?” You asked.

“Well, we kind of need someone who knows her way around chemicals and raw materials,” Nancy mumbled.

“You want my expertise or this is something entirely weird that you just want me there,” You cleared and Nancy just closed her eyes.

“Look, we just need your help okay? The more eyes the better and they both like you so, they might believe me better,” Nancy offered and you just stared at her. “You know, also with photographic evidence,”

“You just know that you are taking me away from my precious time with my own boyfriend,” You told her and Nancy then bit her lip.

“Please?”

You sighed and closed your eyes. “Okay, you owe me one. Let me call Eddie first okay?”

Turns out Eddie wasn’t home either and he told Wayne that if you ever try to find him. He was spending time with Dustin since he just came back from camp. Also, he was off for the next five days, Jaeger wouldn’t be able to be there to mentor him because he had to leave for an urgent matter upstate. He would make it up to you on another day.

With that, you didn’t bother to check on Steve, because the house is empty most of the time. He might be sleeping in someone’s bed right now. 

You ride your motorbike as you follow Nancy and Jonathan, though once you reach the house. It started to rain and you managed to park it in a shade before running with Nancy and Jonathan towards the house. 

“God seriously, why did it suddenly rain?” You asked as you tried to wipe the water off you. “It's summer for god’s sakes” 

“That’s Hawkins for you,” Jonathan only mused and you can’t help but curse. Before you can speak Nancy started to knock on the door. You watched them silently as they tried again though there were hushed arguments through it.

You decided to stray and looked through the slightly closed curtains. You peeked and saw that all the lights had been turned on. You were about to point it out when you turned to see Nancy walk in. You followed them silently while Jonathan scolded her. Though as you stepped inside the house, you felt the familiar shiver on your spine. You straightened up almost immediately as you took a sharp breath.

Though the two didn’t notice it, Nancy continued to call out Mrs. Driscoll and they had walked further in. You shook your head and tried to rationalize that feeling.

Though you know now that you shouldn’t ignore those signs.

“Guys, I think we should—” Screech a sound stopped you as the three of you turned towards where it came from. Followed by some shuffling, Nancy looked over at the two of you before she proceeded to move towards the sound.

Nancy continues to call out to the older woman but only the screeches and scratching can be heard. Then the next thing you know, the three of you are down in the basement. The first thing you saw was the opened bags of fertilizer. You knew right away that these were the poisonous type. The one that cannot be consumed by any life forms with the chemical it has.

You walked over it, ahead of Jonathan and Nancy as you crouched down on it. Though before you can mention anything, the sound you heard was now accompanied with a growl. That made the three of you stand up straight. Then you glanced towards each other.

Nancy picked up a hammer while Jonathan had a screwdriver. You saw a small shovel and decided to pick it up. Slowly the three of you moved to the side, the other part of the basement. Your eyes widened as you saw an old woman munching on some fertilizers like there is no fucking tomorrow.

“Mrs. Driscoll?” Nancy called out and as soon as Mrs. Driscoll turned and she screeched. You moved out of the way and hoped that the two did too as she barreled forward. Though her face planted on the ground and you immediately pinned her down with your body.

You looked up at the two while you struggled.

“Aren’t you two giving me a hand here?!”

Once Mrs. Driscoll was apprehended and calmed down. Nancy called for an ambulance and the three of you waited for them to arrive. You had your hand up in your hair as you processed what you have seen while Nancy and Jonathan argued silently.

When the ambulance arrived, Mrs. Driscoll managed to wake up and kept crying out that she needed to go back. That she needs to go, though her cries were ignored as she was wheeled away from the scene and they deemed the three of you can finally go home. Though before you leave you can’t help but point out the elephant in the room.

“Okay, what the hell is that?” You exclaimed as the two turned towards you. They looked at each other and shrugged.

“We are not sure,” Nancy offered and you nodded.

“Okay, we are not sure but what do you think it is?” you asked, fearing the worst.

“The worst it can be is a plague,” Nancy explained and you bit your lip at that.

“You are saying that this could be another black plague?” You asked and Nancy nodded. You nodded as you suddenly remembered Mrs. Driscoll’s behavior, the chemicals you saw and the weird sound she made. “As far as I could remember, the black plague may had been from rats but I do not remember it making people rabid,”

“That is why this is a good story. We can warn people about it,” Nancy as she turned towards Jonathan.

“Well, I don’t know. We just found the woman and this would be reported back to the family that we are involved,” Jonathan said. Nancy just looked at him exasperated. You saw that this would be a fight that you do not want to witness.

“You know what, let’s call it a night. I just need to get those images out of my head,” Ignoring once again the strange feeling you had before. 

Well, that is the future problem again. Great, what a summer.

To be continued...

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fic #stranger things #steve harrington #billy hargrove #stranger things rewrite #alltheficsiwant writes #Same Old Hawkins Sequel #Here We Go Again #ilovemyrockstar

[ollieofthebeholder]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks @fridayyy-13th for the tag!

How many works do you have on Ao3? 64!

What's your total Ao3 word count? Holy...! Uh, 1,700,611. (I should've guessed, I've got some ultra-long fics on there, but Jesus Christ on a cracker.)

What fandoms do you write for? These days, mostly The Magnus Archives. I've also written for Star Trek (primarily the AOS/Kelvin films), the MCU/Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Cut & Run, and RQG. I've got a couple of very, very old Sherlock fics, a couple PJO fics from some ship week challenges I took part in back when the Heroes of Olympus books were still coming out, a couple WTNV fics, a few Star Wars fics that never made it to AO3, and three one-offs.

What are your top five fics by kudos? leaves too high to touch (roots too strong to fall) - 1,758 kudos Had He Known It - 777 kudos Whiskey Lullaby - 395 kudos It Was Just My Imagination Telling Lies - 378 kudos Hurry Up and Slow Me Down - 349 kudos

Do you respond to comments? Every single one! It's half the fun to me.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Ooh...that's a toughie, actually, but I'm going to go with Where the Road Waits to be Taken because it's the only one where the ending focuses on the people left behind.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Also a toughie! But I'm going to go with Love Will Find Out the Way.

Do you get hate on fics? Not so much anymore. I've been around long enough that I definitely used to, but I write for saner fandoms now.

.Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not these days. I'm asexual and, while I'm personally sex-averse, my tolerance for it in fiction kind of goes in cycles. I think the last time I wrote an explicit sex scene was in 2016 or 2017.

.Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Heh...I do, on occasion. Most recently the WTNV/TMA crossover (the full extent of which hasn't been published yet), which isn't that crazy. I think the craziest one I wrote was the Sherlock/Star Trek crossover that was also (sigh) a HP AU...which I have deleted, so sorrynotsorry.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not as far as I know, but I don't exactly go looking.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Again, not as far as I know.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Uh...technically? My brother had an idea for a fic, but he wasn't old enough to join any fanfic websites at the time (we were probably the only two kids who never lied about our age on the internet to join websites), so he dictated it to me, I fleshed it out and posted it under my username.

What's your all time favorite ship? I love so many, but I have to say, the only ship I love that I genuinely can call an OTP in that I cannot fathom them in a relationship with anyone else (even adding anyone else to the equation) is Cecilos. JonMartin is a close second, but, well, I can see (and frequently enjoy) them also having other people in their relationships. Cecil and Carlos? Nuh-uh.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Ooh. There are...a couple. But I have a WIP sitting in my Tumblr drafts that was a sequel to Hurry Up and Slow Me Down that I would very much like to finish someday...I just, yeah.

What are your writing strengths? Angst and heartbreak. I've got a gift for descriptions, and I'm really good at conveying emotion in text. And I think I have a knack for putting together a tasty sentence.

What are your writing weaknesses? I do tend to get hung up on irrelevant details, and I frequently think myself into a corner. I also think I tend to obsess sometimes about things being perfect...and if I'm being honest, a big weakness of mine (not just in my writing, but in general) is that I often feel like it's something I need to apologize for, which is not helpful.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Oh, I love doing that! I try to put a translation in hover text, and also in a footnote for benefit of screen readers, but I also try not to burden the actual text with translations. It's one of those "trust the reader to know what you're trying to say, and if they can't figure it out from context, you have failed as a writer" things to me. (This may have something to do with the fact that I used to write Star Trek fanfic, and conlangs are a thing.)

First fandom you wrote for? If you want to get technical, Power Rangers; I used to tell myself stories about the Power Rangers to put myself to sleep at night when I was a little kid, and once I wrote one down and read it out loud for Show and Tell. (The opening line was "One night, when Kimberly and Trini were sleeping, they were stolen," which should tell you everything you need to know about it. In my defense, I was seven.) I didn't know that's what it was at the time, though. If you're talking fandoms that I wrote for knowing it was a fandom and published on the internet...well, I grew up in the '90s and turned thirteen in the early '00s, so it probably shouldn't be that big of a surprise that it was HP.

Favorite fic you've written? It's like asking me to pick a favorite child. I am deeply in love with to find promise of peace (and the solace of rest) even if the next chapter is currently frustrating me a bit, because I am always deeply in love with my current project, because I love the way it showcases how I've grown as an author. That being said, I think my favorite fic that is currently complete might actually be Tomorrow When the World Is Free.

Tagging (absolutely no pressure) @blasphemous-lies-and-deceit, @amberastra, @magnetarmadda, @astudyinfic, @dyscalculated, and anyone else who wants to give this a go!

#ask games for ts #fic writers asks #ceaseless watcher turn your gaze upon whatever the fuck this is

[matan4il]

I feel like something that we don’t talk about enough is the anxiety that comes with fic writing. I’m gonna talk about my experiences, but if this resonates with anyone else and represents yours as well, I would love to hear it!

I tend to have an idea for a fic, or some lines that want to be written. I will open a doc and start writing things down. I’m enjoying writing it all down, I’m so excited about this fic that’s starting to be born! But it’s late at night or I have to go to work, or my family arrives to visit, basically for whatever reason I can’t keep going at that moment.

The next day, I want to open up that doc and keep writing, and... I have to fight myself to. Anxiety takes over. What happens if what I wrote yesterday is no good? How do I continue if it was good, but today I’m fresh out of ideas? Do I even know what I’m doing? If there were fic writing certifications, would I even get one?

It’s been three weeks of thinking about opening that doc every single day without actually doing it. I finally have the doc open. Now I have to read what I wrote. Do I even remember where I was going with this? I open the doc up, read a bit, and start writing. I keep having to go through this internal battle every single time I want to continue, which makes writing very slow. Does anyone even still want to read what I have to post?

I write anyway. Writing is anxiety inducing, but it’s also the most self-actualizing form of creating I’ve ever had, more than drawing, more than giffing, writing is where you get to meet me, so here I am. Is what I’m writing good, is it bad? IDK, but I’m a part of a fandom even with this fic now, I can’t keep stalling. There’s a deadline breathing down my neck, which is anxiety inducing as well, so now I’ve intentionally put myself in the middle of two forms of anxiety. Let them battle it out, see which type of anxiety will win.

My fear of deadlines wins, but I’m feeling guilty, because I’m sure it means the quality of the fic suffers as a result. Is there ever a fic I’ve written which I think is good enough? No. But I’m going to berate myself over the compromise over quality anyway.

Let’s not even talk about beta’ing, and how nerve-wrecking it is to expose my  baby to someone else’s eyes, naked and with all its flaws, and pray that the beta doesn’t make me feel like I shouldn’t be writing at all. This prayer has not always been answered.

Beta’ing was hard, but I finally got through it, and even if the fic isn’t good, it’s hopefully at least presentable. It’s posting day. Are there going to be people around to see the fic while it’s still relatively new in the tags on Tumblr and on the first page on AO3? Will there be a super popular fic writer posting as well on that day, getting everyone to rush to read their fic over other ones being posted on the same day? The people who will be around and who will read the fic, will they like it? Will they leave kudos, a comment, reblog it? Am I stupid to choose to expose a part of my soul online, for anyone to easily dismiss?

I am. I’m stupid, but it’s a kind of stupidity that’s worth holding onto. It’s so hard to write from the heart and post, yet days when I do write are still some of my best days.

Thank you to everyone who’s ever read anything I’ve written. Thank you to all the beta’s who have helped make my stories better. Thank you to people who have held my hand when I needed it. Thank you to people who chose to give any of my fics a chance. Thank you to anyone who’s offered a kind word after reading my stuff. Thank you to anyone who pressed the kudos button. Thank you to every single commenter. Thank you to every person who ever reblogged any of my fic posts. Thank you to every artist who created anything for my writing. Thank you for any sort of kindness you’ve shown me. You may not know it, but you are all healers.

#writing #fan fiction #fan fic #fic writing #mw

[lonestardaily]

zEach week Lone Star Daily looks to provide you with a decent (not  comprehensive) list of the fanfics that have been posted for the week.  The week runs from Friday - Thursday, as that way it does give us an  opportunity to put the list together. There’s no requirement to tag us  as we will check the tags #911 lone star fic and #911lsfic while also  combing through ao3. We currently are only going to post new fics, not  updates. You can check out this week’s fics below the cut.

All our past recs can be found on this page.

Please  feel free to give this post a boost to give our writers a chance to  receive some love for the work they do for the fandom.

(if  your fic is not tagged with a tumblr, it’s because we couldn’t find one  - feel free to send us a message and we’ll be happy to add one)

TARLOS FICS

bring your fears to life by @marjansmarwani

↳  (TK x Carlos | Hurt/Comfort | T | 5.9K)

A series of unfortunate events and an accident: that's what might make Owen's worst fears a reality. That's what might finally take his son from him.

Carlos just wants to know why: why the universe keeps trying to throw these curves at them. Especially after everything; especially now that they were finally standing on steady ground. He wants to believe that what they have is stronger than anything, but it's hard to hold onto hope when the person you love the most is being taken from you—again.

Or, 3x14 if things hadn't gone as well as they did.

porque you voy a quedarme by @morganaspendragonss

↳  (TK x Carlos | 5+1 | T | 2.5K)

five days in the year after tk's death, plus one more.

Hold Me Steady by @chaotictarlos

↳  (TK x Carlos | Angst | M | 4.3K)

The team responds to a scene where someone has overdosed and TK isn’t prepared for it. Thankfully Carlos is there and is able to provide some comfort.

Can’t Keep My Hands to Myself by @chaotictarlos & @ronensass

↳  (TK x Carlos | AU | E | 4.1K+)

When Carlos took the job at a strip club, he certainly wasn't expecting to get a boyfriend out of it.

My Constant Companion by @child-of-wonderland

↳  (TK x Carlos | Hurt/Comfort | T | 23.7K)

Moving to Austin, in a way, made things easier than TK expected. Having a support system that never faltered, that didn't know the depths of it but still supported him, was something TK never knew he craved until he moved.

A simple case wasn't supposed to be enough to knock it all down. He wasn't meant to be faltering just days before reaching 2 years. He wasn't supposed to. And yet, here he was.

The tender things are those we fold away by @beautifulhigh

↳  (TK x Carlos | AU | E | 21.7K)

Season 1 AU - TK turned down the offer of a dance from the (very hot) man at the Honky Tonk, but they're thrown together when someone threatens to expose TK's page on the site Only Fans.

i’m yours (and you’re mine) by @rmd-writes

↳  (TK x Carlos | Missing Scene | E | 4.1K)

In which Carlos takes TK home and shows him who’s boss (kind of, TK has a lot of feelings)

long as there are stars above you by honeymarwani

↳  (TK x Carlos | Hurt/Comfort | E | 4.3K+)

A season three rewrite wherein TK wakes up from the coma with retrograde amnesia, oblivious to the events of the past six months.

begged and borrrowed time by @iboatedhere

↳  (TK x Carlos | AU | E | 82.1K)

TK leaves home in search of work. In 1915, he finds himself on a ranch outside of Austin, Texas, working for a family that will change his life forever.

Look Where We Are by @chicgeekgirl89​

↳  (TK x Carlos, Nancy x Mateo | Fluff | T | 2.7K)

Some post-engagement fun and shenanigans involving Tarlos and the 126 fam.

Love Game by @welcometololaland​

↳  (TK x Carlos, Nancy x Mateo | AU | T | 6.2K)

Love Game: when a player wins a game without allowing their opponent to score a single point.

Since that fateful US Open semi-final, there have been two words used to describe TK Strand: "unfulfilled potential." There's a chance for redemption in there somewhere, and TK is willing to do whatever it takes to fight his way back.

Carlos Reyes finds himself in New York City due to the widely held belief that although he's rocketed up the ATP rankings, he'll never be good enough training out of Austin. Carlos might be Austin all the way down to his bones, but he also wants to win.

i don’t know what i want (but now i do) by falloutmars

↳  (TK x Carlos, Nancy x Mateo | FWB | T | 8.1K)

Can we meet?  

TK freezes in the middle of the firehouse’s kitchen. Eyes glued to his phone, to the text that’s just popped up, he’s blissfully unaware of the team’s gaze locked onto him.

It’s not that he doesn’t get texts from Carlos, but he doesn’t get texts like that. They have something of a casual texting… relationship? Friendship? Acquaintanceship? Honestly, TK isn’t sure. Between hooking up, a failed dinner, and continuing to hook up again, there hasn’t been much of a conversation about whats and whos and whys.

Honestly, TK’s been mostly okay with it. Mostly.

Adhesive by paperstorm

↳  (TK x Carlos | Coda | M | 5.2K)

A tag for 1x4, "Act of God", in which Carlos has some feelings and TK finds out about Owen's diagnosis.

OTHER PAIRINGS/CHARACTER FICS

love in the time of rodeo by @marwani-strickland

↳  (Paul/Marjan | AU | T | 10.6K)

paul strickland isn't looking for love, he's too focused on his career. it finds him anyways in the form of a news reporter. (cowboy! paul strickland and news reporter! marjan marwani.) 

Unknown Muse to Known Companion by Regent_of_RarePairs

↳  (Nancy/Marjan | AU | T | 971)

When Nancy first sees her all she knows is that she's the most beautiful woman she's ever seen. Months, and hundreds of pieces of art, later her Muse shows up at the show featuring the art inspired by her. Lucky for Nancy Marjan is flattered.

#ls daily ff #911 lone star #911 lone star fic

[justaduckarts]

Hey, uhm I kinda wanna ask for some advice? Uhm I’m new to social medias, at least when interacting and posting in social media, this is basically my first official social media account and…I wanna ask, is it normal to feel awkward when doing this stuff? Like, I try to engage and interact with the community, I’m excited to share my DCA au in anyway I can but I kinda feel like I get met with..nothing, like getting met with silence, and I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong or if I’m coming off to strongly, I’m sorry to bother you with this, this has just been bugging me, I’m used to observing and not interacting when it comes to social media or anything of the like, i feel like I’m doing something wrong. Again sorry if I’m being a bother to you

Hello!

Interacting can be hard. And nerve-wracking. Honestly, I wasn't really sure how to go about interacting at first, either. :') For a while, it felt like posting into the void </3

I don't wanna bog you down with advice like "make sure you're using the right tags" because I'm sure it's the kind of thing you can hear from anyone. For me personally, I started by interacting with other people's content (although my Tumblr was also promoted on my AO3 and I naturally found people that way.) Leaving a nice comment or tag can sometimes get a good conversation rolling. Asks are always good, too.

But truthfully, I'd suggest joining a Discord server. It's a good way to meet people and talk about your AUs and Fandom ™️ <3 I know joining servers really helped me make good friends. I really treasure them.

Aside from that, and I hate to say it, the only thing you can really do is keep talking and wait. I know DCA Palooza is in the business of sharing small writers/artists, so you may wanna give them a look. I hope this helps!

I was really surprised to get this ask, I'm still not used to people seeing me as a creator rather than just Some Guy ™️ :') I wish you luck, Anon <3

#justaduckarts answers

[yandere-romanticaa]

From one writing blog to another, I suggest just stopping to reply to the people who think they have a right to say anything about how you write your reader inserts. It is your blog, your writing, your imagination, and no one else has any right to dictate it.

It's a fact that the majority of the writers especially on tumblr are female, or afab, or female-aligned, whichever, so when we do our best to write amab or gn it will eventually be torn apart by others who think it wasn't amab or gn enough. And it's getting so old. Once you answer one complainer (who should be ashamed to even consider complaining!) they come swarming in trying to make themselves feel better in their rightousness while never even having thought about one other human than themselves and maybe their mom. And it honestly fills your blog with so much unnecessary hatred and tearing you, the writer providing FREE OF CHARGE AMUSEMENT, down. As a frequent reader of your writing it makes me sad and mad for you.

People wonder why there's so little fanfiction without afab? This. If you constantly reprimand writers for one little thing you don't consider amab or gn enough, while ignoring the effort, time, skill, and research they put into everything else, they will just stop—for the better. Why bother? It's so easy to get hung up one detail you hated, it ruins your whole experience, huh? I never saw someone afab complaining when writers use chest instead of breast. And as far as I know I have kissed boys with lips much softer than mine, so what is the big deal?

Personally,I have already started disliking having to tiptoe around what I want to write just to suit everyone's taste. If I want someone to bite their lip idc if it's a fetishized female/male version, my characters just do. And while I agree that it's meh that some writers tag every gender in their one gendered post, it's still their thing. Go to Ao3 where the tagging is better if you're so bothered anons, but leave us out of it. As long as you're not the CEO of tumblr you don't get to play fun-police.

It's 2022 people, get mad about climate change but not the people using their skills to provide free entertainment, just out here living their silly internet life.

Also sorry ana that I used your inbox to rant but with the overwhelming amounts you get on this topic, I really hope you can draw a line soon. It's a really personal topic by now for me because it keeps popping up on every blog I go. You are so awesome, please always write exactly as you want and as you seem fit, no one else but you really matters when it comes to your writing. And I never took offense to your writing, so please don't think it's an universal experience for all your followers. There are just some bad eggs who think they are in the right about literally nothing. Delete, block (complainers don't deserve your mercy and work), whichever you want, and move on. It's not worth ruining your reputation (because as you can see people just interpret your responses however they see fit and accuse you with fractions of them) and fun for this blog.

You have a point luv!! I actually received so many asks on that subject, some good others not quite. A lot of heavy words were used and I just didn't feel like posting them ;)

#anon asks #girlie says