#and the other is almost 400k words

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

I really really hate to be that person - especially because I know a lot of people are under the impression that fanfic authors are greedy and we should be grateful for any comments we get, even if those comments are full of unauthorized concrit, even if they're kind of rude, even if they're weirdly self-shaming (sometimes insinuating that people should feel bad over reading the dark or smutty content in the fics or that we should feel bad for writing it in the first place even though you're also reading it??).

But like, lately, I have been getting so many comments along the lines of "this fic should be longer!!" "I wish this was a series!!" "please turn this into a series!" "I would read endless sequels of this!!!" - today someone literally commented on one of my fics saying that it was a war crime that the fic was 30k instead of being 'a whole series'. And I totally understand the mindset that if something is good, you want more of it. If you enjoy something, you want more of it. But these comments are definitely not as flattering as people think they are.

When reading those comments - it doesn't always come off as a compliment. Most of my fics range from 5k to 30k on average, and they are usually oneshots or oneshots that I have split into multiple parts in order to be more readable - most of my longer, ongoing series are abandoned because I didn't have the steam to maintain them. (Most people don't know at all how hard it is to write a good, coherent, well-plotted 100k fic and actually keep up with it.) After I post the fic I have written later this week, I will have written over 400k this year alone, with my entire AO3 having over one million words split between 79 different fics.

So often, having people look at my fics and having their only comment be to 'write more' - feels like an insult. Because I do write more. I have written more. I write consistently. (It just sucks that people have almost nothing to say about what I have already written.)

Having people look at my fics - usually very long fics - and go "hey, this would be better if it was longer!!" or "hey, that was good, but the only productive thing I have to say about it is: make it longer" - it always feels very discouraging.

It doesn't make me want to rush to write more of that fic. In fact, most of the time, I actively avoid working on sequels to fics where the only comments are 'more please' because I know the only thing people will say about the sequel is 'when are you gonna make more?' - and oftentimes, I don't intend to make more.

I have said this in another post, but the ending to my fics are always intentional. I don't write fics with the mindset of turning them into a 100 part series. I write fics with the mindset of making them like a film or a short TV series - telling a capsule of a story with a very intentional beginning, middle, and end. And if I write a sequel, it's because I feel there is more to be told - but I will also cap off that sequel with a very intentional ending.

(Also, don't get me started on the complex of - if fics don't have the classic 'happy ending' people feel like every single thread needs to be resolved until it gets to a more classic happy ending, when I love writing intentional melancholic and thoughtful endings.)

Also - in general, I feel like people don't understand how much work goes into a fic. It might take you about 2 hours to read a fic that's 30k (and a lot of people who are avid readers probably read faster than that, reading it in an hour or less) - but concepting that fic, writing that fic, and meticulously editing that fic so that it can be readable and pleasant for people takes upwards of 20 hours of work. I would say realistically, upwards of 30 hours. And those are just working hours - hours sitting at the computer actively working. That doesn't include the time spent in between workshopping the ideas in my head while I am doing other mundane tasks in life.

It's very, very easy to consume a 30k oneshot in one sitting and then hold out your plate and go "more please!!" without putting any thought into how much work went into the original fic.

All of this just to say - please think about these things next time you are commenting on a fic (or even closing a fic without commenting at all), or doing something stupid like generating a fic with AI - which steals from everyday hard working fanfic writers. Fanfiction is hard work - it's a labour of love, and it shouldn't be about blind consumerism where you finish one and then rapidly start looking for the next one. You should appreciate each one like a good, hand pulled taffy instead of gobbling them all down like cheap candy mass made by factory machines.

Yeah - I think that's it.

-your local over worked (but still passionate) fanfic writer

#uuugh #either nobody will see this or everyone will and they will complain about it #sundrop speaks #dick grayson x reader #jason todd x reader #ellie williams x reader #spencer reid x reader #abby anderson x reader #mike schmidt x reader #fanfiction #fandom #vanessa shelly x reader #gar logan x reader

[esta-elavaris]

Part Fourteen [2,710 words] ~ James Norrington/OC

An AU of my completed, 400k+ word fanfic Catch the Wind [AO3], in which Elizabeth, not James, is the one to discover Theodora Byrne after she crash-lands into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Page breaks by cafekitsune.

Also now on AO3 and FF.net.

Masterpost - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven - Part Eight - Part Nine - Part Ten - Part Eleven - Part Twelve - Part Thirteen - *Part Fourteen* [you're here!]

Tag list [let me know if you want to be added!]: @teawithshakespeare @missfronkensteen @dancerinthestorm

A/N: What's a cheeky early update between friends? Not gonna make a habit of it - but as long as I keep to my 'one update a week' thing, I don't see the point in this gathering dust in my documents ✨

While the menfolk were gone, Theo and Elizabeth kept much to their usual routine, although it was filled with less of the usual mirth than it had once been. If she was being honest, Theo had barely noticed that, her mind elsewhere, but after almost two full weeks of it, Elizabeth appeared to decide that it had gone on quite long enough.

Never one to let things lie if she was discontent with them, she strode into Theo’s bedroom one night in her nightgown, plopped herself down beside her on the bed, and addressed her without preamble.

“I understand you’re upset. You’ve every right to be. But I must point out that I am not among those who deserve to be punished for what happened that night.”

Theo blinked her surprise, watching Elizabeth with muted curiosity. That was the key word, she supposed. Muted.

“I’m not punishing you for anything,” she said quietly.

“You are not yourself,” Elizabeth replied archly. “You haven’t been yourself ever since…since all of that. And as I said, I understand that, but I do not deserve to be on the receiving end of it.”

“You don’t,” she replied readily. “And I’m not. Punishing you, I mean. I’m not doing that.”

Even the senior of the Swanns – Elizabeth’s father – had offered her a brief, awkward, but sincere apology for what had gone on that night. Either Elizabeth had pointed out to him that not all gathered had shared his spirit of everything being in good fun, or he’d realised it himself after sobering up, and after hearing the whispers about town. The Governor didn’t have to do that, she hadn’t blamed him for it either because he hadn’t meant harm, her ire was saved primarily for Amelia and Norrington, but she still appreciated the gesture all the same. They were good people, the Swanns.

“Then what are you doing?” Elizabeth entreated.

Her legs folded beneath her, she leaned forward and rested a hand on her arm. Theo, haltingly, placed her own hand over it.

Theo paused, debating on her answer. The thoughts that had been steadily circling her mind, on and on, ever since that disastrous dinner party, weren’t something she’d planned on sharing with any here. Not just because Elizabeth was the only person she really could share them with at all, but because she knew Elizabeth herself would not receive them well.

But maybe it was better than her thinking that she’d spontaneously decided to hate her.

“I got too comfortable. That night was a reminder not to do that. I can’t pretend it was a welcome reminder, but…it was a necessary one.”

She felt most like herself like this – if she ignored the excess of frills and lace and white linen that she sported from the collarbones down, anyway. Her hair unbound, rather than forced into a ridiculous updo, no corset, no seventy skirts, no bows, no satin slippers, and no jewellery other than that which she brought with her. Sure, she didn’t hate the adornments – sometimes they were even fun – but they weren’t her. She’d been reminded of that now, and she wasn’t in a rush to forget it.

“Too comfortable? What? Here?” Elizabeth’s hand slipped away, but she didn’t shift back.

“Not…not here as in here, with you, in your home. But in the general, wider sense of the word, yeah. I got too comfortable?”

“I don’t understand!”

“I don’t belong here, Elizabeth. It’s not my world. I’m- I’m three centuries out of time. I have no business swanning about, developing crushes-”

“Crushes?” Elizabeth’s dark eyes regarded her with concern. “Is…is that an ailment? Is it serious?”

“No, it just means to…to take a liking to someone.”

The concern changed to hurt, and she had to rush to clarify.

“In a way that means more than friendship. I wasn’t talking about you.”

Although if she had to keep clarifying that particular part of what was about to be a very impassioned speech, she’d find herself once again fleeing up the stairs in a fit of mortification. The sorrow that softened Elizabeth’s face then didn’t help matters. Her cheeks began to burn.

“Oh, Theo,” she sighed.

“It’s not like you didn’t know.”

“Yes, but you never admitted it.”

“I didn’t fully realise it until that night – when it was…” stamped all over and promptly set on fire, “…shown to be the idiocy that it was.”

“He looked positively wretched after the fact, you know.”

“Good.”

In order to settle for that one-worded response, she had to push down quite a few arguments – all of which she had no energy for. The primary one being that he probably only looked so wretched because he knew his little display would earn him Elizabeth’s scorn. But maybe that was the reason behind his actions. Not only to show Theo herself exactly where she sat in his estimations, but to show Elizabeth, too. If not the whole of Port Royal.

But mostly just Elizabeth. She’d certainly teased Theo enough about whatever spark she was so sure she’d seen, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that she’d made similar comments to Norrington, and he’d seen fit to act accordingly. Especially after his ruse and been rumbled, and he had no reason to keep…to keep pretending that he…

She reined her emotions in before the lump in her throat could grow into something more embarrassing like, god forbid, tears. Instead, she turned her mind to practical matters. Like leaving. Because she’d spoken honestly to Elizabeth – it had been a sorely needed reminder, and she’d begun to piece together the beginnings of a plan.

That would’ve been part of why others were seeing a change in her. Not only because she no longer had the heart to put on a cheery face and make an effort with the people who had tittered and delighted in that display, but because she really was distracted. So she fell back to the sidelines – in spirit, when she couldn’t do so physically, kept her mouth shut, and retreated inward.

There were only two people she could think of from this story who might harbour knowledge of other worlds. The first was Davy Jones. His job, even if he ignored it, was distinctly supernatural in nature, and unlike Barbossa it wasn’t just a curse that had been unwittingly rained down upon him. It was possible that career instilled him with some knowledge beyond mortal means. However, she highly doubted he’d be inclined to help.

The other, far more obvious, choice was…well. His ex-girlfriend. And, being a goddess, she packed a hell of a lot more of a punch. The odds of Calypso being able to help her were greater, and – if she was doing her best to be optimistic – her inclination to help her might also be weighted in Theo’s benefit. But therein lay the problem. Because to get to her, she’d have to go through Captain Jack Sparrow, and she was barely more confident that he’d want to help her than she was that Jones ever would.

“I don’t know what his motives were – I can hardly pretend otherwise, because I cannot fathom what he was thinking – but he is not a bad man, Theo. There would have been a reason. However much it backfired.”

“You see a very different side to him than I do,” she replied. “He’s in love with you. It only makes sense that he makes sure you only see the highlight reel.”

The phrasing was odd, but Elizabeth seemed to get the spirit of what she was saying.

“I’ve known him for years. Years. Only the most artful social climber could pull off such a façade, and he has little taste for that mode of being. If he despised you, he would simply avoid you. He’s been doing the very opposite of that.”

“To pry information from me. To make sure that you are safe.”

“He’s not in love with me.”

Theo could only laugh at that. It didn’t go appreciated.

“He’s not!” Elizabeth said firmly, thinly controlled ire burning in her eyes. “Perhaps once he was. Perhaps now he thinks he still is, Theo, but he’s not. I just wish he would realise that.”

What could she say in response to that? Elizabeth had the trump card in this discussion each and every time – how long she’d known him. There was little Theo could say that the other woman wouldn’t confidently beat back with that fact, over and over again, even if Theo herself thought that it made precious little difference.

The only thing she could possibly use in favour of her argument was the movies, but Elizabeth knew nothing of them – nor Theo’s knowledge of them. If she unveiled that now, she’d show herself up as a liar to the only real friend and ally she had here, and she couldn’t face that. Even if it was selfish of her.

But the silence was taken as a sign of weakness, and Elizabeth seized on it to further her point. Her hand reached out again, taking her hand and using it to lever herself forward until she sat shoulder-to-shoulder with her on the bed, speaking softly.

“Captain Norrington is a man who prides himself in his plans. He sets goals, he meets them, he deviates from them only when necessary – and is only flexible with them when the heat of battle calls for it. Maybe he did fall for me, I do not live in his mind so I cannot say-”

“He did.”

“If you’re so certain, I’ll believe you. But you must believe me when I say I am certain of this – he has changed, since he got to know you. But he’s…he’s so committed to his original plan, and the way he thinks things should be, that he won’t let himself see it. That is the impediment. His inflexibility. Not his feelings. And if I’m as right as I’m sure I am, he’ll be going through a rotten time now because of it.”

Another ‘good’ was on the tip of her tongue in response to that last bit, but she didn’t have the heart to say it.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said instead.

Although she took the bite from her words by leaning against Elizabeth, and squeezing her hand.

She squeezed back. “It does. You just share a common trait. You’re both too stubborn to see what’s directly in front of you.”

James Norrington had been in a foul mood ever since setting sail. Or, to be more accurate, since the night before setting sail.  

Having plans backfire was part and parcel of a naval career – or, indeed, sailing at all. But none had ever backfired quite so marvellously as his had that night, and…and her face haunted him. Haunted was an extreme word, melodramatic even, and he was not given to melodrama, but it was the only one that truly fit the bill. And many men might class themselves as lucky, to have the face of a fair woman so stuck within their minds during, if not their every waking moment, then certainly a great deal of them, but it was the expression on her face that he could not rid himself of.

The same expression, levelled at him three times throughout the night. Firstly, during that moment in the gardens. Then, when he supported Miss Simmonds’ ploy. Then, the final time, during that terrible encounter at the foot of the stairs. Each time, it increased in severity, and each time it struck him with the same force as a physical blow might – not least because how she usually allowed others to see little other than mirth.

If she showed her hurt, it was because it was so great that she could no longer bring herself to conceal it. And he was the one who’d caused it.

It mattered little that he had not meant to. No, indeed, it did not matter at all.

Those looks, even from the first, had his heart sinking further than he thought her capable of instilling in him – than he thought any capable of instilling in him. And while James was not prone to flights of fancy, he was sure in those moments, while they were being levelled his way, that he’d promise her all he owned if it would only take that expression off of her face.

And no higher power had opted to be merciful on him that night – not that he deserved it – for it hadn’t ended there. Her parting words, though they had not impacted him quite as much in the moment, had grown to gnaw on him endlessly, more and more with each day that went by.

You'll be rid of me soon enough.

It had the sound of a vow to it. An oath. To the extent where he expected – where he feared – that he would return to Port Royal, only to find she’d departed for Ireland in his absence. Or the Americas, perhaps. It didn’t matter, for either way he would find her gone, and though the prospect of her absence alone troubled him greatly, two other things bothered him when it came to that particular notion. The first, that he couldn’t quite pinpoint when the moment came that he began to view such an outcome not as a goal, nor a boon, but something to dread.

The second plagued him more. For the realisation that Miss Swann would scorn him for such an outcome was a delayed one – and, further still, even after he realised it, it was not his primary concern. And he could hardly pinpoint when that had changed, either.

Undoubtedly, the men had noticed his foul mood, along with how it only worsened with each day. It wasn’t as though he did much to hide it, regardless of the fact that those who had not witnessed the debacle firsthand would have heard the whispers of it since, and all would therefore know exactly why he was so displeased.

Perhaps they’d think his worries were based where they should have been. That he feared returning to find his standing with Miss Swann drastically lowered. If they suspected otherwise, they kept their whispers out of his earshot – even Groves, who had so openly voiced his bemusement at his actions made no further mention of it.

He had not explained his reasoning to the Lieutenant when he’d asked, but he suspected the question had been somewhat rhetorical in nature.

Explaining it would not justify it, in any case. It had been a gamble – but like all gambles, he only saw just how preposterous it was when it well and truly went up in smoke.

Timing was at the crux of it. That was his only excuse as to why he’d acted as he had without thinking it through properly. For Theod- Miss Byrne had been angry, and she’d been…well, while not drunk, certainly under the sway of the strong wine that the Governor liked to offer his guests. If she was ever going to allow a crack to form in her façade, it would have been then. If she was of higher birth than he’d suspected (and that fact was looking doubtful now), she would have played well out of spite, in that state.

What would have followed was a foolish daydream. He’d corner her and, seeing that the game was over, she’d confess everything in a flurry of tears, finally entrusting him with her true origins, and endeavouring to secure his help – which he would offer unconditionally.

Only it didn’t happen like that, did it? No, instead he’d embarrassed her twice in a row, and then finished things off by – for all he knew – driving her from Port Royal entirely. And even if she was there when he returned, she’d likely never speak to him again. And that, he feared, would be even worse than her absence.

And, though he’d so often wondered at just how little he could work out about Theodora Byrne, he knew one thing. Regaining a place in her good graces would be all but impossible. Not after a minor slight, perhaps, but after humiliation heaped on humiliation? Few could forgive that. Few should forgive that.

God, but he was a fool.

#catch the wind #ctw #james/theodora #fallen through time esta-elavaris #ftt #james norrington/oc #james norrington x oc #pirates of the caribbean fanfiction #pirates of the caribbean fanfic #potcfic #james norrington fanfiction #james norrington fanfic

[luthwhore]

hello, love your blog, was wondering if you have any clex fic recs?

oh man, i have been binging clex fic pretty much nonstop since i started getting back into smallville several months ago, so i can definitely make some recs! with that said, i'm relatively new to the clex fandom, so i would also recommend checking out @clarklexlois's fic rec page, which is super comprehensive and where i found a lot of things myself! i believe @raelis1 also posted a fic rec list a while back that was full of a lot of old gems, many of which are not on ao3 and/or are only accessible via the wayback machine, so i would definitely check out both of their rec lists at some point.

editing to add: @reedrichards also has a rec list posted on their old blog still accessible here!

i'm not sure what specific flavor of clex you're looking for, so I'll try to provide some variety, but given that quite literally 95% of the clex fic on ao3 is smallville-based, most of these are mostly or entirely based on smallville canon.

also, i'm trying to limit this list to no more than one fic per author, but many of these authors have a ton of fic and i would highly recommend looking through their other work!

-

smallville-based:

the identical series, by @lanninglurksnomore. 400k+ words and 20 years in the making. technically still a WIP but the latest chapter was posted about a week ago. since the fic was started at the end of s1, it's heavily canon-divergent, but lanning's characterization of lex and handling of his mental illness is excellent, and the fic really captures lex's relationship with lionel perfectly.

string theory, by spqr. this is technically an omegaverse fic, but the omegaverse aspect is exclusive to kryptonians. loosely set post-series, but it's pretty light-hearted and fun.

let it snow, by mskatej. sharing a hotel room / sharing a bed / snowed in fic. exactly what it sounds like. i really like how bratty the author writes clark in this fic, it feels very true to his canon characterization.

the hinge moment, by @tasabian. basically all of this author's fic is set post-series and blends smallville characterization and history with comic elements, so it feels like a really wonderful blend of the two. i would frankly recommend their entire catalog of fic because they have some of my favorite characterization for clark, but this one in particular does a masterful job of showing the tremendous amount of pressure clark is under as superman.

switch: a comedy of terrors, by rivkat. this one is a bodyswap fic. if you like bodyswap fics, you will love this fic. rivkat has a huge backlog of clex fic and all of it slaps. i think i lost about a week just digging through all of their fic.

marked, by seperis. this author has a very lovely, almost stream-of-conscious style that makes for a very pleasant reading experience. this particular fic manages to hit shaving kink, make-up/feminization, and collaring. 80% porn but then it sneaks angst in on you at the last minute. this author's fic tends to have a very grounded, bittersweet feel to it.

light the torch, by ang3lba3 & Birthdaytoasts. clark/lex/lois. alien heat/mating-cycle fic. if the idea of that triad interests you, this fic will be everything you could want and more.

long time coming, by BewareTheIdes15. by far the most recent fic on this list -- it was just published this month -- but so, so, SO good. post-series, canon-divergent, fix-it-fic of sorts. fantastic characterization all around, snappy prose, and generally a delight to read.

seduction, by lenore. **heavy trigger warnings on this one for lionel being a massive creep.** the first fic is, by it's nature, a pretty uncomfortable read and also not technically a clex fic, so if the tags/summary does not sound like something you want to read in graphic detail (i personally skimmed some parts), you can skip to the second installment without losing anything for the very cathartic follow-up.

manual transmission series, by bipolypesca. this fic is old and only available on the wayback machine, the only thing on my rec list that isn't on ao3. it's very long but so worth it. the characterization for both clark and lex is excellent and it's one of the few long fics i've seen really delve into clark's very specific anxieties around his fear of sex and specifically of hurting people with his powers during sex, as well as the specific prejudices and issues two young queer men living in a small town in kansas would be subject to.

-

comics-based:

wien's law, by obscureshipyard. (unsure if this author has a tumblr.) exclusively comics-based, though the author does have some more smallville-based works i think. features lex as a trans man, if that's something you're into. there's some triggering content and the first few installments are pretty angsty, but it ultimately has a happy ending.

an alienated property, by kantayra. superman and lex, trapped together on a red sun planet. (i'm honestly surprised this trope isn't more popular because it's a lot of fun.) this fic is tagged with smallville, not comics, but it feels more in line with the comics dynamic to me.

a universe of possibilities, by kitsunesongs. dub-con. based on the superman: the black ring arc and may be a little confusing if you haven't read the arc it's based on, but there's so little purely comics-based clex fic that i feel like i have to include it.

#answered #clex #fic recs #btw if you are a clex fan who has fic recs that AREN'T on here please feel free to add them! #there is no particular order to this other than just which ones i ran into on my ao3 bookmarks first #i have a bunch more fic on my to-read list that i haven't finished and therefore can't really rec #thank you for the question anon!!!

[remythologise]

bestie… what’s the 600k incomplete merlin fic please drop the title

SO glad you asked and also I misspoke. It is actually 871k. THE HANDS OF A HUNDRED WINTERS by FOURLEGGEDFISH. It is in four parts and you both can and should read it despite being incomplete, I have only read 3/4 parts because I am loathe to part with the reading experience of writing this good. This is both my favourite Merlin fic I've ever read and potentially my favourite longfic I've ever read (though hard to assess when it's incomplete and I haven't read it all as yet). It's AMAZING to me that the author has managed to sustain and even increase my interest over this many words, a feat managed by no other fanfiction I've read longer than 400k words ever (and I read a lot of those!). Don't get me wrong it's not perfect, and I do have minor scruples with some things*! I also don't think it's for everyone, my dear friend didn't like it and found it too dark for her personal tastes. But for ME? SPECIFICALLY FOR ME? To quote something I said to my friends 'wells for boys, lads, wells for fucking boys.' I also think it's so immaculately beautifully written that even if it's not your personal cup of tea you should read it anyway. ALSO the sheer dazzling breadth of research that went into this fic is REMARKABLE. I am not joking when I say this author has achieved everything I want to achieve as a writer in this fic. In many ways this is Ur Merlin Fic. The Once and Future Fic. To Me!

*I have minor scruples with almost every fic I've ever read and frankly remarkable how few scruples occur with a fic on this size. There are also scruples I had with things like tone, characterisation or even sex scenes that were then resolved with plot explanations that made sense a mere half a million words later in a quite satisfying way. This fic is a masterpiece in how it threads things like that through and pays them off very handsomely. I know how much blood sweat and tears goes into creating fanfic and I am overwhelmed by the skill, love and zillions of hours that must have gone into crafting this. Nothing but respect for such an incredible piece of art.

#this is what fanfiction should aspire to be. this is the star by which we should all navigate. #merlin #fic rec #arthur x merlin #ask #anonymous #kira for ts #I cannot say enough about this fic you should see my group chat history about it. #again I do have a few scruples or Things I Would Have Done Slightly Differently but like #what is that in the face of being constantly dazzled by the writing. arrogance I'd say. I only mention it bc as I said #I know it's not for everyone and I will state that upfront #but this is literally like to me. everything I've ever ever ever wanted in a merlin fic #and more! #looking back through my chat log on this fic and to quote me #funny that some people will just come out of covid and write a 800000 word cross-era merlin epic #well we all went through things during the pandemic wish mine was half as productive

[itsevanffs]

hit 800k total in digital writing earlier this week! on ao3 i've got just shy of 400k published, so that just goes to show how much you guys don't see XD

but i'm still going strong! last year at this time i had 200k less (615k) which is absolutely buckwild to me. completely bonkers. 200k written just this year! that's over 15k a month, consistently! almost 4k a week! that's absolutely mind-boggling. where did these words come from.

i know i haven't been posting a lot this year (a lot of stressful things keep happening, like stairs) but i have been absolutely grinding at it behind the scenes, as this demonstrates.

anyways, a few announcements while i'm here:

new year, new me: i plan to change every single one my pfps to something i have demonstrable permission to use, by the new year at the latest. i'm still deciding on what; i do want to stick with it once i choose, because being quickly recognisable is important to me.

anabiosis is really close to being finished. like ridiculously close. i want it to be absolutely perfect so it'll be a little while off yet but i just wanted to let you know that it's almost done! woo!

i've finished the initial planning stage for itd in its entirety and am slowly working on rewriting each chapter. it'll be a while before i'm caught up with the published material right now; i won't actually publish any of it over the old stuff before i've reached that point, so rest easy for now. if you want to download the old version for safekeeping, feel free to do so! i will be keeping a personal copy of the old version permanently as well.

there is a chance, albeit not a very large one, that stepbro fic will be finished somewhere before valentine's day. no hard promises, but keep an eye out just in case!

that's all i wanted to say! thanks so much for reading my fics and being kind to me and each other above all!

#fanfic #in the dark (hamlet fic) #anabiosis #anabiosis au #every time we meet (hello hello) #i'm kind of amazed that i caught the milestone so close to the actual event :P #was kind of expecting to update my spreadsheet like a month after it happened as usual XD

[morningstargirl666]

I just finished reading through The Big Bad Wolf and have loved it. I can’t wait for more!! Any updates or news?

Hi! So happy to hear you loved it! ❤️✨

I'm currently in the process of editing/rewriting TBBW right now! I've also outlined chapter 36 and started writing some of the dialogue, but I'm hesitant to start writing it in its entirety because I feel like I'm going to end up changing a lot of TBBW and want it all up to date before I fully commit my attention to the next chapter. I'm not changing anything plot-line wise, but I am making tweaks to the lore, character development, etc. It's still the same story, but now that the first 35 chapters are written, I find I'm going back and adding bits that you'd normally see in 'filler' episodes. Anything and everything that develops characters, relationships or lore - or even just there simply because I find it fun and enjoyable. I keep reminding myself that writing these first 35 chapters was me stuffing sand into buckets and now, with time to edit, I can finally make the sandcastles: carve turrets and staircases, mount flags and add seashells, adding every scrap of detail that will ultimately make this story come alive.

For example, chapter 5 on its own, has 6.5K of entirely NEW unseen content added to it so far (it's not posted yet, nor are any other edits for TBBW, so don't get too excited). And that's not counting the scene between Sam and Kiera on the phone, which has been re-written completely for the most part. There is also at least one more new scene I still want to write. If the chapter gets too long, it might mean splitting it in two and re-organising the chapters again, like I did for chapter 11 and 12 a while ago when I edited them.

Chapter 5, I hope, is an outlier and most chapters won't have as much done to them. Chapter 1 is edited and finished, yet its mostly the same except for grammar corrections. Though Chapter 2 has a deeper insight into Klaus' mindset - particularly his pure dislike for doppelgangers - purely because it's fun for me, as well as highlighting the development of his character between The Little Wolf and the start of TBBW. There's also going to be an extra canon forwood scene at the end of that chapter, as I want to develop them more, in preparation for when I destroy the relationship in the future chapters after 35. But who nows - all the chapters centered around the Mikaelson Ball I'm eyeing hungrily, my mind whizzing with a few ideas on how I might expand on them a little bit. I also want to focus more on the hybrids, which until now I've kinda ignored.

I know it may be a little disappointing, to hear the next chapter update is a long way off yet. But I don't want to rush this. I want to savour it, every single second. And who knows, by the time you get chapter 36, you won't just be getting a 20k chapter - you'll be getting a 50k bonus update of brand new content as well, sprinkled throughout the first 35 chapters. The word count is going to be over 400k by the time I update the next chapter, probably closer to 450k, I'm almost sure of it.

I can't promise when the next chapter will arrive, but I can promise this:

It will be worth the wait.

#tbbw #the big bad wolf #klaroline #klaus x caroline #klaroline fanfiction #fanfiction #morningstar writes #caroline forbes #klaus mikaelson #chapter 36 #anon ask #ask and you shall receive #i am aware this story is hella long #i don't care #i really don't #there's not rush to this story no race #i'll get to the klaroline when i get there #and it will be epic #in the meanwhile we have family fluff and angst for your delight #world building and lore #enemies to lovers #when i said I'm rewriting canon i meant it #this is what it would have been if klaroline were the main stars of the show #this is what it would be if the writers weren't cowards #every issue you have ever had with that show #i no doubt share them #and i am making it RIGHT #you can pry this fic from my cold dead hands but I am fixing the wrongs canon wrought #and I am doing it while having the time of my life #can't ask for more

[manonamora-if-reviews]

One Knight Stand by A. Hazard

============= Links

Play the game (IFComp) See other reviews of the game Follow @oneknightstand-if

============= Synopsis

It's another humdrum day as the weekend winds to its inevitable end. The pandemic has stretched on for a decade now. A new serial killer stalks the streets. A ghost haunts your dreams. And your polo club is waiting. Exactly as expected. Just ignore the sounds in your living room. Just ignore that shadow scuttling across the floor. Just ignore the lies of the 'friend' whose known you for years. He's lying. She's lying. That stranger on the street is lying. And the voices whispering in your mind are definitely lying. Even this blurb is lying. But that's fine… Y̸̷̶̷̸̷̷̷̥͑̅̌̔̉ͯo̼̩̖̓ͪ̽͢ǔ̢͢͏̫͕͋'͎̬́͐ͥ᷇͢r̉͏͍̾᷉̓̓e͓͕ͦ̿᷅͆͠ l̜̻̈̅̃͢͞y̡̬͙̪̦̦ͧi̘᷅̓͒̐̍͑n̰͈᷅ͯͥͨ͜g̯᷾̒̑᷄̕͟ t̶̙͍̏͊᷈͠o̙̟ͦ̏̄ͭ͂ő̶͎̘̝̂

============= Other Info

One Knight Stand is a ChoiceScript game, submitted to the 2023 Edition of the IFComp.

Status: Completed Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

CW: Violence, Language, Mature Themes, Body Horror, Mind Control -/ sound effect, animated elements.

============= Playthrough

Played: 3-Oct-2023 Playtime: around 1h30 (one playthrough) Rating: - [IFComp vote] Thoughts: Will probably be a ChoiceofGame darling

============= Review

Sitting at over 400k total words, One Knight Stand is quite a sizeable game, with extensive branching. It also is a demo (prologue + 1st chapter), meant to be part of a longer series. Characterised as a mashup between Among Us and Arthurian lore, the story will twist and turn at every corner. I found one Dead End.

Spoilers ahead. It is recommended to play the game first. The review is based on my understanding/reading of the story.

The game is very much anchored in the ChoiceofGame style of interactive fiction, with its extensive, almost overwhelming, character creation, lengthy playthroughs, and variation galore. Replay value seems to be an important part of this entry, due to the many many choices available (some are even locked depending on previous choices).

While the amount of available content is impressive (400k for a single chapter is massive), the pace of the story is at times painfully slow. In part due to the extensive nature of the character creation. From requiring you to confirm every single character-building choice, to going into details about some trivial options (like the shade of your favourite colour has a dozen of option per hue), it often felt unnecessary and tiresome (be prepared for choice-fatigue here...).

The entry starts pretty intriguing, with a spooky nightmare set in an Arthurian setting, with a bone-chilling feeling that continues to follow you throughout the rest of the chapter (with creepy voices and creepy feelings)*. To balance it out, the prose strive to add humour when it can, from mentions of or punny winks about mainstream media (Knights of Our Lives, lol), to taking an almost sarcastic or parody approach to some situations**. The balance was not quite there, however, making me question whether the story was supposed to be primarily comedy or horror. *I had a bit checked-out by the time the horror started to pick up. ** It's kinda funny a fast-food server can be part of a Polo club...

While I was not particularly fan of the pronoun switch between the main text (you) and the choice list (I), as it sometimes broke the flow of reading, the formatting of the more horror-y beats (especially the ones with creepy sounds or anxious feelings) helped keeping things fresh. Another thing I hope will be used further into the game was the phone element, specifically the texting side-"game". The options of sending back messages were pretty funny (yay for creepypasta).

For a ChoiceofGame style game, it has a pretty solid base and I suspect it could become quite popular with CoG fans. But I don't think it's my kind of game (I was almost relieved when I reached the end, even if it wasn't a "good" one).

I'm calling it now: you are the long lost child of the Phone Company CEO.

#One Knight Stand #A. Hazard #interactive fiction #complete #2023 #review #ifcomp #choicescript game

[antebunny]

random observations about kudos/hits ratios on ao3

so i've been reading fic on ao3 since uhhhh about 2016? 2015 maybe? and writing since 2018 ish. during those years i've made a few observations about common ao3 reader/author behaviors. i thought i'd share them with the obvious caveat that i am limited to the fandoms i've been in and my own personal experiences

One-Shots

generally the standard for one-shots is a 1/10 kudos/hit ratio. meaning if a fic has 3,000 hits, it has at least 300 kudos.

if a fic has a kudos/hit ratio below 10%, it probably has an unsatisfying ending. i almost never see the ratio lowered for poor writing quality.

the exception is fics tagged Unhappy Ending or Hurt No Comfort. those get less hits but the people reading know what they're getting in to. those fics will generally stay within a 10% range.

generally fluff one-shots or fics that are all comfort, no hurt have the highest ratios of any category of fics, sometimes reaching as high as 20%.

Multi-Chaptered Fics

these fics are damn lucky if they reach 10% lmaooo

this is a gradient of sorts, though. complete fics with 2/3 chapters have a much higher chance of being near a 1/10 kudos/hit ratio, while those decade-long 400k 50 chaptered epics are probably near 1%.

based on how ao3 hits work, i would guess that this is because there's a higher chance of ao3 registering another hit even if the reader is just reading the latest updates.

basically, a 2-chapter fic started and finished within two weeks has a very good chance of being above the 10% ratio. that really long fic you spent a week reading three years ago which made you feel like you just ran a marathon? not a chance.

a brief tangent into chapter lengths: a higher length correlates with higher quality. i want to emphasize (actually, i want to tell twelve-year-old self this, but 12 y/o me is beyond our help now) that quantity does NOT make quality. just because you can squeeze an extra thousand words into chapter 3 doesn't make the story any better. however, in general, the writing quality of a 30k fic with 3 chapters will be higher than that of a 30k fic with 30 chapters.

there are exceptions! i once read a very long fic with very long chapters where the writing was, for lack of a better descriptor, extremely childish. the author mostly rotated the same ten verbs around and around for 100k. also sometimes you read a 400-word one-shot that mentally destroys you for weeks.

of course, at the end of the day none of this matters. i wrote a barely decent 42k 5-chapter fic which is somehow over the 10% ratio. i cannot for the life of me understand why this is. it's not good, you guys. it's really not. on the other hand, i wrote a 37k one-shot which is below the 10% ratio. the kudos/hit ratio has not changed how i view the quality of those fics, it just convinced me that some of y'all have no taste.

these really are just random observations i've made from my six ish years putting fic on the good old Archive. it's not meant to be a reading guide, just something that makes you go "huh."

#ao3 #random observations

[toomanytookas]

March Fic Madness: Comment Stats

Thank you so much to @the-blind-assassin-12 for cooking up the March Fic Madness challenge! It was a great reminder to comment on all of the lovely things I read, and I had a lot of fun seeing other people's fic roundups as the month went along!

I’m a nerd and wanted some extra practice in R, so I ran some numbers on my commenting habits. This is mostly just for me, but since I'm posting about the challenge anyway, I figured I'd share for funsies and posterity.

I reblogged a total of 98 posts, which were from 40 distinct works written by 26 authors.

If you're reading this, you probably know I'm pretty chatty in the comments... It turns out that I wrote ~25.5k words worth of comments this month. Wild.

If you're curious what I read, I've created a separate post here.

More numbers and some pie and bar charts below the cut!

Fic Count

Distinct Works

I read 40 distinct works, a quarter of which featured Dieter.

Fic Word Count

I read approximately 400k words, just over a quarter of which were dedicated to the lovely Frankie!

Data for fic word counts was taken directly from what is listed either by the author or on the ao3 version of a fic if available. There are a few fics included in other stats that are not included here because word count was not available.

Comment Count

I made a total of 98 reblog comments across 26 standalone fics and 72 chapters/parts of series.

Average line shows the average number of comments/character (10.8).

Comment Word Count

This section includes data from 16 additional comments I made on ao3 that don't count toward the challenge but I included in this section because I was interested in overall numbers.

In my comments on fics this month, I wrote a total of  ~25.5k words.

Total comment word count by character

Almost a quarter of my comment word count was dedicated to fics that featured Frankie (which I think probably makes sense given that a quarter of the words I read featured him, too!).

Average word count per comment

I tended to be most verbose when making comments on fics that featured Dieter.

Average line shows overall avg. word count per comment by character (226).

#marchficmadness24

[thequeenofthewinter]

Beautiful Winter, master of beautiful words! I wish to ask ...

🌈

🎀

🕯️

Much loves!

Hello my beautiful Rainfriend <3 Much love and many danishes be upon ye! :D

🌈 is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

Um…well, I currently have almost 400k words into In the Midst of Winter and An Invincible Summer, and I have been working really hard on the sequel. I am definitely proud of myself for having gotten this far (and I definitely also worked hard on the first longfic), but I think that I have been working even harder on the sequel because I am veering off into pretty much uncharted territory and while I know what I am doing, I also don’t know what I am doing sometimes.

🎀 give yourself a compliment about your own writing

Did you talk with Maple and Senu and conspire to try to make me think of multiple compliments for my writing? ;) Let me see…well, I think I would like to compliment myself on the fact that I make a genuine try to balance out my characters and write them with all the good/bad/ugly. They make mistakes and aren’t perfect.

🕯️ was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

Hmm…I think towards the end of In the Midst of Winter/beginning of An Invincible Summer. I know you read that part, but I don’t want to spoil others. Let’s just say a thing happens and trying to write my way through that to the other side was kind of hard on me…and it also wasn’t expected. Originally, I thought I would deal with the Civil War and maybe the aftermath of Alduin, but so much more came into play later as to the things Dahlia had to go through in being the LDB and the aftermath of everything.

#winter answers asks #thank you very much for these questions friend

[luthien-under-bough]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Tagged by @girlwithakiwi

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

97! I am scratching and clawing my way toward 100 this year.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

537,646 *probably at least 400k of that is Daemyra

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Almost exclusively House of the Dragon/ASOIAF since HOTD s1 aired and Daemyra consumed my life.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i got a bad desire (baby i'm on fire) - Daemyra modern AU multi-chapter (WIP)

ain't nobody hurt you like i hurt you  - Daemyra modern AU multi-chapter (complete)

better not touch (i want it too much) - Daemyra modern AU multi-chapter (complete)

...anyone noticing a theme? 👀

I found some hate for you, just for show - Daemyra canon divergence oneshot

do you feel the hunger? - Daemyra canon divergence oneshot

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to all of them! Sometimes I get behind, but I usually get to them by the time I post a new chapter, at least.

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

Uhh probably i've looked at clouds from both sides now. Even though only one of the major characters dies, it somehow still feels angstier than the literal necrophilia fic where they both die.

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

I feel like most of my other fics have a happy ending? Both of the completed multi-chaps I linked above definitely do.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I occasionally get a rude comment, but I have no qualms about being a dick or just deleting/blocking. I have gotten a few tumblr anons that made me roll my eyes, but any hate I get has been firmly a THEM problem and not a ME problem. Haters stay pressed. 💅

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

It's a rare day when I do not write smut. I write all kinds. Since writing in the Daemyra fandom, my list of "hard no's" when it comes to writing has rapidly diminished; it seems like every other day I discover a new kink that makes my brain do a record-scratch. I started writing fic again in 2020, and published baby's first smut shortly thereafter, but it was fairly standard stuff. Now I'm like "well if you aren't literally digesting your lover, is it really romance??!"

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

The only crossover I've written is a House of the Dragon/Naked Attraction crackfic that infected my brain during the depths of binge of the latter show.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Only one that I know of - someone copy/pasted all of do you really feel alive without me into different chapters of their ""fic"".

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

for our blood is restless was translated into Russian here.

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

No. My writing process is chaotic and inconsistent and I would not inflict that on another writer. I'm also very particular about what I do and do not want to write, as well as my prose, so I don't think co-writing is for me. If we don't like to break the rules of English grammar in the exact same way, I'm afraid we won't be able to get along.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I mean, I think it's pretty obvious. 😅 Daemon Targaryen/Rhaenyra Targaryen (House of the Dragon) has only been my OTP for <2 years, but they are already my all time favorite. Prior to that, it was Dramione (Harry Potter), Cullen Rutherford/Female Inquisitor (Dragon Age: Inquisition), and Aloy/Avad (Horizon Zero Dawn).

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

Not technically a single WIP, but I always meant to add more stories to my collection of Cullen/Inquisitor Dragon Age fics (most of which I posted during Swoon June 2022). It's possible I'll experience another burst of inspo for that fandom when Dragon Age: Dreadwolf finally comes out, but I'm pretty firmly entrenched in Daemyra for the foreseeable future.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, characterization, ANGST. I think my smut is pretty hot. Idk I generally like everything about my writing. That's why I keep doing it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Uhhh anything to do with plotting or planning. We thrive on vibes here. ✌️

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

Beyond the occasional word or phrase in High Valyrian for my HOTD/ASOIAF fics, I cannot be bothered. Italics and a dialogue tag do me just fine.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This changes semi-regularly, but my current favorite is one that I'm actively writing - a Daemyra early marriage canon divergence (milk teeth). Also because I just re-read this the other night - surrender (a rare non-Daemyra HOTD fic).

No pressure tags: @anamazingangie, @ar-feyniel, @grandlovescheme, @crimson-tulip, @bluegoldrose

#tag game #my fics #daemyra #id tag my other fandoms but lbr this is a daemyra post #i did this instead of writing oops

[aeide-thea]

god i know that complaining abt fic which most of you haven't read, and which i won't, for politeness' sake, identify in this post, is a great way to come across as both dickish and boring—

but i've been rereading a very long, very satisfyingly plotty series that's a fandom darling and the thing is, when you read like 400k of an author's work at once it really starts to become painfully apparent what their priorities are, by which i mean two things:

holy shit they're obsessed with 'what if strong powerful men who could hurt you didn't (but did hurt Bad Guys) (and it was sexy of them),' which leads into

holy shit they do not appear to have thought through the implications of saying 'i will have my heroes take over the same power structures that have enabled abuse, make no real changes to those structures other than swapping out the leadership, and then claim that everything is wonderful now bc Good Men Are In Charge'??

like. i don't necessarily need every passing fantasy to present me with a coherent, revolutionary system of politics and ethics—sometimes things are just fun and sexy and not especially Examined and that's fine!—but by the time someone's written literally almost half a million words, and done a lot of worldbuilding while they were at it, i am going to start squinting if they seem to think a Good Man can e.g. become an emperor by killing off the leadership of multiple countries and installing puppet kings loyal to him and still remain a Good Man, even if the justification was that the original leadership was maltreating its citizens and deserved to be extrajudicially executed. like. this shit was a bad, autocratic move when the US did it in real life and it's still bad now that you're having our mutual blorbo do it in fiction! and that's not even getting into the whole thing where like. they've got servants who the Good Man and his friends ""treat well"" but who very much remain second-class citizens in terms of how the story actually frames them and their concerns. [this was also a huge issue i had with foz m*adows' most recent book—everyone wants to write about fantasy nobles but they also want to make them good people and it's like. honestly i think it might be better to get comfortable writing about flawed people, but also—if your aristos aren't treating their servants like equals and your text isn't either, you haven't actually cracked the Moral Aristo paradox, sorry!] like, there's nothing that says your story has to depict a fully Healed World, nor should there be! but it's troubling if you seem to be convinced you've written one (and have your wide-eyed love interests constantly marveling at it!) when you very patently haven't.

#in all honesty—i've framed a lot of this as political/ethical critique‚ and like‚ it IS‚ but also— #i'm just really frustrated because like. the whole 'what if people were shockingly nice to you' thing feels like it SHOULD be better for me #but in actual fact i find myself totally turning up my nose at it and i can't totally work out why #i mean i guess part of it is that this author's Traumatized Love Interests are always really innocent victims #which i can't identify with emotionally because i feel like a piece of shit #so i need a story that's more like 'person who's been told they were a monster for so long they believe it gets convinced they aren't' #'(lovingly and sexily)' #but also i think a lot of it just. isn't subtle enough. like i need to have to put pieces together so i'm implicated in my own catharsis #being constantly told 'wow it's so amazing i'm not being abused by this person who COULD abuse me!! that's so sexy of them!' #is just. not doing it for me. like. 'not abusive' is not actually sexy to me‚ unfortunately. i need some character traits. #and unfortunately the ones this author tosses in for flavor ALSO don't convince me #because they never actually manifest in the story. it's like 'oh this character is so prickly—but never actually offends the LI.' #'oh this other character is so gruff—but the LI understands that about them from day one and doesn't take it personally.' #like. if the hero's 'flaws' don't actually cause any problems—they aren't flaws #anyway. i've definitely complained about this exact series multiple times on here at this point #but that's the thing—it's compelling enough i keep going back to it‚ so i get extra-frustrated by its flaws #whereas like. there's a lot of stuff that's much worse that i've been much less frustrated by #because i never had any particular hopes for it #anyway. thx for yr patience in this fully self-inflicted Trying Time‚ lmao #i guess this can get filed under #bookblogging

[ursulanoodles]

If you had told me a year ago that I would be writing thousands of words a day, almost every single day, I'd have laughed in your face. Me? I hadn't written anything for fun in over a decade.

Flash forward to today, and I'm close to having 400k words posted on AO3, and I've written far more than that. This is insanity. That's like two fucking novels.

And it's all because one day, this silly little character popped into my head while I was at work, and I promptly opened up Google Docs and shoved her into a Stardew Valley fanfiction.

Is it perfect? Absolutely fucking not. Am I still having fun writing it? Yep, and I'll continue to write until I'm not having fun anymore.

I will tell you that I've not been having as much fun as I once was, and I've felt pressured to do this or that with my story lately, which left me feeling uninspired as fuck to the point where I'd stopped writing it (and even headcanons and the other stuff I'm working on). Despite that, I've decided to say fuck it, and I'm going to try to do what I want and, hopefully, what my readers want too. But this isn't a numbers game or a popularity contest either, though a lot of people try to make it into that. This is supposed to be fun, goddamn it.

#but my god do a lot of people try to make it NOT FUN #I've been reading too much garbage on Reddit and it broke my brain (again) #I'm really sick of pretentious fucks and bullies #writing #fanfiction #feeling fat and sassy might delete later #ok bye #ao3

[celestemagnoliathewriter]

💌

💌

💌

Look that this love and keep it!

I swear, you have no idea how much I admire all the freaking hard work that you do with the fest’s that you are working with: Remadora fest and the Ladies of HP fest. While also working on your own projects (70K Tedromeda and Remdora fic 😳���) like holy hell, I hope you get some time to sit back and relax.

I love seeing the way you analyze characters from the HP series, because you show their flaws as well as their beauty. I always look forward into reading your thoughts and opinions.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, you do so much and I can tell from your multi-chaps that you do amazingly with getting the most accurate information in order to deliver such a great story to your readers.

Truly, thank you

Anon. ANON. I love you. This is so stinking sweet. So so so sweet. I can't. I cannot.

Thank you so much for this sweet message in my inbox. I am so proud of all the work I've done (with tons of help from people like @merlinsbudgiesmugglers and @artemisia-black along the way). Remadora Fest will run for about two weeks (!!!!!!) and the Ladies of HP Fest has almost 100 works in its collections between last summer's fest and the current monthly minis.

The Tedromeda/Remadora fic is now up to almost 90k words! I think it will end up somewhere between 300k-400k words when all is said and done. Bless Merlins, Artemisia, and even Mr Celeste aka @rawr-gorg-smash for beta'ing for me. Yes, I've even roped Mr C into reading.

Thank YOU from the bottom of my heart, anon. I write stories I want to read but when I see that others enjoy them it fills me up with indescribable joy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

#asks #send asks #lovely anons #i love you anon #i would like to give you a gigantic cinnamon roll #and a three tiered cake #also a fresh batch of muffins

[edgy-fluffball]

Share 3 things you love about your current WIP! (optional: send to 3 other authors who need some positivity!)

Oh hello :)

What I like about my current giant writing project...

I love that I get to listen to loads of new classical music for inspiration, even if the pieces don't end up mentioned in the text or on the playlist.

I love that it feels like I'm writing about friends when I write out my characters.

I honestly love that I don't know yet how the final Enjoltaire-couple moment will happen (Imagine that: almost 400k words and I still don't know how the endgame couple comes to be :D)

Thank you for the ask!

Also: new chapter on Friday, 14th July ;)

#fluffball answers #les miserables #enjoltaire #nocturnal acquaintances #exr #fluffball writes

[fangirleaconmigo]

'There are a lot of fics in the fandom where Jaskier is a concubine or bed warmer and is gifted to Geralt (usually warlord Geralt) and that becomes his path to freedom and love. Some of them are among the best fics in the fandom. One of them is one of my favorite fics ever.'

Got any recs?

Yes! I love rec-ing fics.

First let me tell you why I think this trope works so well for Geraskier. Geralt is often feared and vilified as a monster, and Jaskier is often underestimated and dismissed. In these fics, you see both of these things pulled back, as Jaskier arrives terrified, only to find out about the deep goodness and soft doughy protective core of Geralt. And Geralt, having a sexual tribute or bed warmer dumped at his door, (someone who isn't valued and has maybe even been sold by his family) finds out how talented and intelligent Jaskier is, and how much he has to give. It's finding value and hidden depth in people that society has written off as a heartless beast, or a warm body.

******Past sexual abuse (or the fear of it) is inherent in this trope, but the extent to which the fics focus on it or engage with it varies widely. They range from wholesome to dead dove. So whenever you look for this trope, mind the tags and take care of yourself.******

1. So my first rec is: The Heart is a Winged Beast rated explicit by @greyduckgreygoose

After the turmoil of war robbed him of his birthright, Jaskier endures life as a simple Bard in the court of Kerack, under the protection of his cruel, ambitious cousin. Until the night that Jaskier catches the attention of the Geralt of Rivia, Lord of the Clan of the Wolf, and is terrified to be gifted to the barbarian mercenary as a bed-warmer.

This fic. It's two good people, trapped in a vicious, unjust system. It's the near impossibility of finding their way through it to a strong, unbreakable, love of equals. It is painful, repressed longing. It is everything they can't say. It's the fact that to trust is reckless and dangerous. The scenes between Geralt and Jaskier are so intense and engages deeply with the emotional effects of the power differential. It reached right into my chest and wrung my heart out. If you read fic to feel something, this is your fic.

Full disclosure: it is not complete yet, but there are about 100k words already. If you don't read unfinished fics, check out anything else by grey. You won't regret it. Seriously grey is one of those writers that when I get the notif for a new fic, I drop everything and go read it.

2. I can't talk about this trope and not mention the og, the beloved fandom juggernaut that has inspired many, if not most of these fics, the The Accidental Warlord and His Pack series. @inexplicifics has written almost 400k in this series! There are 42 works in it! That is so impressive.

I have only read the first work so far, and it is incredibly wholesome and heartwarming. It is all about found family and has a full, lovable cast of characters with Ciri, Yen, Eskel, Lambert, Triss, Vesemir, and many others, including OCs. The dynamic between Geralt and Jaskier is so sweet and sexy. There is a scene where Geralt meets Jaskier's father that is VERY satisfying! I believe it becomes poly later on, though I can't speak to that fully just yet.

The consistency, quality, and quantity of Inexplicific's work is a constant source of amazement to me. I aspire to it! The sheer time and effort she puts into this fandom is unbelievable. And she is always gracious in the ask box, and leaves comments for other writers.

3. Inspired by the Accidental Warlord Series Tag. Also, the thing I find extraordinary about this fic series is how it has inspired so many others. As of right now, there are over 150 fics in the 'inspired by the Accidental Warlord and His Pack' tag. Just SO COOL how fandom can take a life of it's own like this! You can go to that tag and browse to find more similar fics. If you like a/b/o there are a/b/o variations of the trope in that tag.

Since I haven't finished the series, I haven't gone through that tag, but I just scrolled through (also the Warlord Geralt tag) and at a glance found a few of my favorite fandom writers in there like @eyesupmarksman @ghostinthelibrarywrites @ theartistformerlyknownasg (not on tumblr I don't think) and @hoomhum

oh and also, @oldandkinky who provides a lot of the hard kink and dead dove material for the fandom and explores the darker side inherent in that trope.

I haven't read those fics yet, but they are fantastic writers, and there are many more where that came from!

#asks #ficrecs #the witcher