#because you're lucky if 1% of the people reading your fic comment on it

[trainsinanime]

Your favorite fanfic writer doesn't know (but would like to)

Let's talk about comments on fanfics. This is not meant as a guide or call to action, just a bit of observations. Personally, I always saw it as impolite to ask for reviews or kudos or comments or likes or reblogs or whatever. That's not a rational point of view, it just reflects how I am. And people actually telling others that they have to leave any of this feedback? I've blocked folks over that. In my mind that's not okay. I'm not announcing a change of that, this is not a policy, just some deep-seated mental issues, but I want to write down some more things that have been going through my mind, from the perspective of someone who occasionally writes fanfics. My previous suggestion in this regard was mostly to write some fanfic yourself and see what happens and what you'd like to happen, because it's genuinely fun and I think you probably have more to say than you realise.

But there's also another point here, and that is that your favourite fanfic writer has no idea that they are. If you're anything like me, then it will seem like the great writers in your fandom are obvious. Also, the last time you bought Blåhajs, it ended with you having to flee a smoke-filled subway tunnel. The great stories and great writers in your universe are facts of nature. You read a story and you think, "this is the greatest thing I've ever seen." A story rewires your brain chemistry forever. You keep coming back and reading that one fic whenever the mood hits you. It feels obvious that this story is great. How could it not be?

It feels trite to say that the author of that fic doesn't know that unless you tell them, but it's hard to really understand the feeling unless you've been there yourself. You write a story, but is it any good? Maybe you get a lot of kudos, or maybe very little, but what does either of that mean? Kudos can mean literally anything from "loved this" to "didn't close the tab in disgust". Maybe you just got unlucky. Maybe you just got lucky. What do these numbers mean? What is a good number of kudos? 1? 10? 100? 1000? Should I calculate ratios? How do I know whether people like this?

In light of this, a comment where someone just said, "I loved this", has an almost incalculable worth. A comment where someone says they read this over and over again, or quotes lines they loved, or something? You can't imagine how valuable that is. A while ago someone told me "a couple of us are talking about this on Discord, we love it and we keep repeating our favorite lines". I thanked them, but I was too polite to say, "really? What are they saying? Which are your favorite lines? How many people are there who love it? What are their names? Which lines are the favorite ones, please, tell me!". Part of me still regrets that, because I so desperately want to know! I don't think it was a public Discord and I never heard from the others on it, but just the idea that they're out there and they like my story was so powerful. (By the way, it's not on any account that's linked from here, please don't try to find that comment.)

Now, I firmly believe that you, as a reader, don't have to care about any of that. I know there are people who disagree with me on this point, very strongly in fact, but I don't think it's necessarily your job to care. It's great if you do, and I think a lot of you do in fact care, that's why I'm writing this. But if you haven't thought about that or don't feel comfortable leaving comments or whatever, that's fine, that's normal, and you are in fact part of the majority. Any well-adjusted fic author has found ways to deal with this. They have learned to love writing for its own sake, or they love re-reading their own fics, or they have a couple of trusted friends who like their work, or ideally all three. Personally I was scared of Discord for the longest time, but it really helps with that. One person who you sort of know going "hey that's neat" can outweigh just about anything else. (Still, there will be days when you post something and you won't get a response and that just plain sucks, no two ways about it.)

But if you do care, if you think it's important that a fanfic writer knows what they mean to you, not because of any concern about the wider unpaid fan creator economy but just because of the way their work affected you, then this is important. Your favorite fanfic writer probably doesn't know and/or believe that they're anyone's favorite, and even if they do, a reminder or learning that someone knew found them will make them incredibly happy. And obviously, all of that applies at least just as much to all the beginners with potential that are out there. So if you're wondering whether it's worth it leaving a comment that says how much you enjoyed something: It probably is. And if you shared this with others and they loved it, or if this is your favourite fic, or if you enjoy how original it is, or how well it does your favourite tropes, or anything like that, the writer is going to be so happy to hear that.

A final aside: This obviously applies even more when it's about fandoms, pairings, subject matter and in particular ratings that are considered a bit embarrassing. Writers who write stuff that, say, happens to be E-rated for whatever reason, doesn't matter, will probably get fewer kudos and comments just because people are embarrassed to have their names show up in the Kudos and Comment sections. If that's you, just a note that it is perfectly okay to comment anonymously, or to create a second separate account for leaving kudos on, commenting on and maybe even posting the somewhat more risqué stuff. Now I'm not saying I have one of these second accounts, at least I'm not saying that in public, but it is an option worth considering.

#fanfic #comments

[welcometololaland]

Hello!

If you’re not here, ignore this, but if you are, I present you this or thats for a nice ask. Elaborations welcome but not required

Only write 1k fics or only write 100k fics?

Crunchy green grapes or mangoes?

Tarlos getting a dog or tarlos getting a cat?

Reading smut on the elliptical or on public transport?

Charlie Swan or Billy Tyson?

Comfort movie, comfort show, or comfort book?

JEN! I LOVE THIS AND THAT ASKS! (pls note expression of excitement, i'm not saying you could learn from the best, but i'm saying-) i actually have an ask game saved in my drafts that i'm itching to play because it's based on something similar, so thanks for reading my mind🧍‍♂️

1. 1k fics or 100k fics? look. it would be better for everyone me if i wrote 1k fics. but i know myself. it has to be 100k. besides, i couldn't leave @three-drink-amy alone in the overwriting club.

2. fuck you (affectionate) with your crunchy green grapes, i'll never get over that. i pick mango because grapes are a tummy hurt culprit (even though i love them).

3. i know you're setting me up, but i'm cat man carlos all the way (and i know you agree with me because lucky in meet you after dark is EVERYTHING to me). like he doesn't hate dogs or anything, in fact i think he likes dogs. but carlos would just vibe with a cat so well (makes sense, tk being a feral stray, after all). i co-sign @liminalmemories21 most recent comment on the rainbow fish. we're drivers of the cat-owner-carlos train, everyone hop aboard!

4. smut on the elliptical is my go to but i will say i have a new workout regime and the elliptical is sadly no longer my friend (which is also why i'm reading a lot less fic these days). so i guess i'm gonna have to find another quasi-inappropriate place to read smut.

5. nice trick question. billy tyson and charlie swan are the same person and we all know it (charlie swan having turned into a vampire and moved to...texas (?) as part of his immortal cover story).

6. comfort movie used to be v for vendetta which is not comforting at all, i just love it. it's probably set it up. comfort show is veronica mars (lone star if i only watch tarlos/126 funny scenes and not the rescues because they stress me out). comfort book is rwrb, hands down.

thanks, jen this was a super fun ask! i wanna send people the three comforts now because i'm so intruiged as to their answers! note to the people: please jump in!

#strandnreyes #lolaland answers #nice ask day #rwrb #tarlos #911 lone star #answered #red white and royal blue #set it up #v for vendetta #charlie swan #billy tyson #cats #cat agenda

[lcvernat]

That Stupid Red String Part 3 | Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Part 1 | Part 2

Summary: You used to believe that you would never find your soulmate, but you did, and you couldn't be happier. Natasha Romanoff makes you the happiest person in the universe, and you just can't seem to comprehend how you had gotten so lucky.

AKA you and Natasha being the cutest soulmates ever for an entire fic.

Word Count: 6.6k

Content Warnings: soulmate au, gn!reader, so so so so much fluff it's disgusting, very brief mention of the red room/nat's past, brief mention of anxiety, definitely not canon compliant

A/N: you asked for it, i delivered. i am very sorry this took so long but either way i hope you enjoy this absolutely tooth-rotting, sickeningly sweet, bundle of fluff fic. i can't do summaries for the life of me tbh but this is literally all fun and fluff. also if you're reading my ongoing series 'our tainted love', consider this my apology in advance for putting you all through a lot of angst in that series. comments and reblogs mean a lot to me so please tell me if you've enjoyed this!

The morning after confessing your love for Natasha Romanoff, you had woken up beside her, her limbs tangled with yours. Now, you'd been waking up like that for the past six months, and it still didn't feel real to you. Everything about it was so surreal. From actually finding your soulmate, to your soulmate being Natasha Romanoff and her miraculously reciprocating your feelings? You still couldn't comprehend how this was now your life. For the first two months of your relationship, you had asked Kya to pinch you multiple times because you truly don't know how you got so lucky.

It wasn't even the fact that Black Widow was your soulmate, you didn't care about that. You didn't care about her fancy title or her fancy job, all you cared about was the real Natasha. All you wanted to know was the real her, not the facade she put on for the public. You wanted to know the Natasha she was around the people she loved and trusted, the Natasha who didn't put on a mask, the Natasha who wasn't afraid to show her emotions. It had took her a while to truly open up to you, but you didn't mind. You were patient with her and always would be. Even now, six months into your relationship, you didn't know every side of Natasha. There were still parts of herself that she kept hidden from you, but you weren't worried about that. She'd show you every side of her when she was ready and you would wait years until that time if you had to.

"What are you thinking about?" Natasha whispered into your ear, her arm wrapped around your shoulder as you two sat together on the couch in the Avenger's Tower. It was a Friday, which meant it was the Avengers weekly movie night. Initially you had felt wrong about attending because all you really were was a doctor in the MedBay, not an Avenger, but you just couldn't resist Natasha as she pouted and pleaded with you to attend it all those months ago. Now you attended it every week.

"Just thinking about the fact that I had to have saved an entire world or something in my past life to get this lucky," you whispered back, smirking as you noticed the blush making it's way onto the redhead's face.

As you placed a quick kiss on her cheek you heard Tony dramatically gag, "That's disgusting. Get a room you two,"

Natasha rolled her eyes as she flipped Tony the bird, "You don't see us complaining when you're being all lovey-dovey with Pepper."

The man merely rolled his eyes, brushing Natasha off with a wave of his hand as he turned his attention back to the movie playing on the TV, some horror movie that Sam had suggested (you're not sure why he had suggested it though, considering a glance at the man showed him with his head buried into a pillow and his eyes squeezed tightly shut).

Natasha's head moved to lay on your shoulder as you turned your attention back to the movie.

An hour later and the credits started rolling. Sam visibly deflated, putting the cushion back in it's place as he stretched. "Well, that was a wonderful movie, wasn't it?"

Bucky raised an eyebrow at him, "You've had your head buried in the pillow for the entire movie."

There was a collective chuckle from everyone as Sam rolled his eyes, "Whatever. You're all lame. I'm heading to bed."

"Wanna head to bed too?" You asked Natasha, silence being your only answer. You look down at her confused until you noticed her eyes were closed and her chest was rising and falling slowly. A smile made its way onto your face at the sight of her peacefully sleeping. You softly kissed her forehead, being careful not to wake her.

Tony walked past, and you were half expecting a snarky remark from him, but instead he said something that surprised you a lot, "You know, I don't think I've ever saw Natasha as happy as she's been since she's met you. You make her really happy, Y/N," he walked away before you could reply, leaving you there to process the bombshell he had just dropped.

A warm, fuzzy feeling runs through you, settling deep into your bones and every crevice of your body, your heart full of love and adoration for the redhead currently asleep on you. Deciding that you should both head to bed now, you very carefully untangle yourself from Natasha, standing up and stretching your arms before you place one arm under her knees and the other around her waist. You lift her up very carefully, hoping you don't wake her since she looks so peaceful sleeping and you don't want to disturb her. She stirs but fortunately, doesn't wake.

You successfully make it back to your shared room (it used to be Natasha's but when you two had finally started dating, she insisted you move in with her so you had moved all your things into her room and you now permanently reside in the tower) without waking up Natasha. You don't know how she hasn't woken up yet, since she's always so aware of her surroundings and the littlest noise could wake her up, but you're grateful either way.

Pulling the covers back, you gently set her down onto the bed before pulling the covers back over her. Kissing her forehead you mutter, "'Night, Natty," before moving to your side of the bed and lying down, quickly falling asleep.

"Be careful, okay?" You wrap your arms around Natasha's waist, placing your chin on her shoulder. She had to go on a mission with the team, which was no surprise considering it was her job, but it still left you with a pit of worry in your stomach every time she had to leave.

She turns around in your arms, forcing you to move your head. She wraps her arms around your neck and places a quick kiss on your lips, "I'm always careful,"

You raise an eyebrow, "Need me to remind you of how I found out you were my soulmate?" There was a hint of amusement in your voice as Natasha scoffs playfully.

"That was one time."

"Mhm, okay, and how about the other countless times? I felt every single one."

It used to be a touchy subject every time you brought it up and you knew Natasha still felt guilty about the years of pain you had to endure because of her, but you reminded her every single time that it wasn't her fault. She had started to believe that, just a bit. When she had eventually trusted you enough to tell you tiny snippets of her childhood, you had felt so many different emotions. Sadness for the pain she had endured and the childhood she had never got to experience, an overwhelming sense of protectiveness for her and also so, so much anger directed towards Dreykov. Natasha telling you that she had killed him herself brought comfort to you though. At least she had gotten revenge in the end.

Natasha broke you out of your train of thought by leaning her forehead against yours, "I'm sorry," she whispered gently, her breath fanning your face.

You roll your eyes but there's no hostility in the gesture, "I've told you countless times that it was fine. It wasn't your fault, angel. It's okay,"

She blushes at the pet name you've started calling her. You two lapse into silence for a couple of minutes, content in basking in each other's warmth. Natasha breaks the silence after a while, "You know I really gotta get going,"

"Do you though?"

She huffs out a laugh, "Unfortunately yes. I'll be back before you know it, promise,"

You admit defeat by nodding, "I guess I need to go down to the MedBay and get ready for your return then. And you better not be one of the people I need to patch up,"

Natasha rolls her eyes but there's still a soft smile on her face as she moves away from you. You grab her wrist and pull her back to kiss her once more.

She kisses you back quickly before laughing and moving away, "I really need to go, detka. Stop being so cute."

You huff, crossing your arms and pouting, "Fine. Go. Save the world or whatever. I'll be waiting to shower you with kisses when you come back."

Her laughter echoes off the walls of your shared room before she finally walks out to head to the Quinjet before Steve hunts her down and yells at her. You know you should be heading to the MedBay to make sure everything is ready in case any of the team gets injured on the mission, but you're rooted to the spot as you stare at the closed door that Natasha had just walked out of.

You are undoubtedly, hopelessly in love with Natasha Romanoff. You've known it for a while now. You're pretty sure you fell in love with her as soon as you set eyes on her, that fateful day at the Avenger's Event. When she had smirked at you, when she was so gentle and loving with Lillian, how could you not fall in love with her? Even if she wasn't your soulmate, you're 100% certain the outcome would've been the same.

You would've fallen in love with her either way, it was simply inevitable.

Thankfully, none of the team had returned from the mission severely injured. Sure, they were bruised and tired but that was nothing an icepack and some rest wouldn't fix. Honestly, you were always relieved when they came back mostly unharmed because having to see the team in pain or bleeding out was never an enjoyable experience, even if they were good sports and always tried to crack a joke as you stitched them up.

"Told you I'd be careful," Natasha smiled at you, currently lying on the bed wearing an old t-shirt of yours that she'd stolen at some point and a pair of shorts.

Taking your shirt off, you throw it at her (she lets it hit her square in the face even though she could've easily dodged it) before changing into some comfortable clothes and falling into bed beside her.

"I have a question," Natasha says.

"Shoot," you reply before grabbing her and pulling her on top of you.

A surprised giggle escapes her, her elbows resting on either side of your face as she leans above you. You lean up to kiss her as strands of auburn hair tickle your cheeks.

"Okay, I have to actually ask you something," Natasha pulls away reluctantly.

"Go ahead,"

"How would you feel about finally meeting my parents and sister?"

You splutter, shocked by how bluntly she had asked that sort of question. Meeting your soulmate's parents was a big thing. It was massive. Your soulmate is the person the universe has destined you to be with, who you're meant to be spending the rest of your life with. If your soulmate's parents don't like you well, then that's kind of awkward.

And to make the pressure worse, Natasha's family is far from normal. You haven't met Melina or Alexei yet, but Natasha has told you a few stories about them and you can't help but feel incredibly intimidated by them. Yelena you've only spoken to once, and it was through FaceTime. It was also accidental. You were unaware that Natasha was calling her and you had walked into the kitchen to grab a snack only to find the redhead on FaceTime with her sister. You'd tried to sneakily make your way back out, but somehow Yelena had heard you and had insisted she talk to you because she's 'heard so much about you'.

The blonde seemed nice from the five minute conversation you had with her, but you were also shitting yourself throughout the entirety of it because you really did not want to get on the bad side of a trained assassin and Yelena struck you as the very overprotective type. She'd said to you the clique, "If you hurt her, I'll kill you," line, but you had an inkling she wasn't joking about the killing part.

So, to put it in very simple terms: the thought of meeting Natasha's family in person was terrifying.

"Y/N?" Nat poked your cheek and you realized you'd been lost in thought, failing to answer her question.

You cleared your throat, "How do I feel about meeting a family of trained assassins who would literally hunt me down and kill me if I ever dared to hurt you? Hm, let me think,"

Natasha rolled her eyes, rolling off of you to lay beside you, "Oh come on, they love you,"

You turn on your side to face her, "They don't know me,"

"I've told them plenty of stories about you,"

The side of your mouth quirks up, "And were these all very flattering stories?"

A breathy laugh escapes her, "You're insufferable. But yes, they were," her gaze softens as she stares at you, "trust me, Y/N, they'll love you. Anyone would be insane not to love you," she reaches a hand out to cup your cheek and you lean into her touch.

"Okay," you agree finally, "I'll meet them. What's the worst that could happen?"

Your words cause a massive smile to take over Natasha's face, causing you to smile too. "Exactly," she moves closer to you and places a kiss on the tip of your nose, "thank you for agreeing," she whispers.

"Anything for you, my love."

You were going to throw up.

Staring in the mirror, looking at the outfit you had chosen to don for this occasion, you were fairly certain you were going to throw up. Meeting your girlfriend's parents was one thing, meeting your soulmate's parents was something else entirely and a hell of a lot more nerve-wracking. At least Kya had sent you a good luck message and she had reassured you that you'd be fine. You prayed she was right.

Natasha comes up behind you as you anxiously fiddle with your fingers. She wraps her arms around you, moving her hands down to grab ahold of yours to stop your fiddling.

"You look amazing," she murmurs into your ear, "don't worry."

"It's not the way I'm dressed that I'm worried about," you chuckle nervously.

She sighs before turning you around in her arms so you're facing her, "They'll love you, Y/N."

"I'm going to throw up."

"No you won't."

"No, I'm pretty sure I will."

Your stomach is really not on your side today, the constant somersaults it's doing really not helping the anxiety you're already feeling. Natasha holding you does help to ease your worries a tiny bit though.

She kisses you reassuringly, "You'll be fine, promise. But we really do need to get going or else we're going to be late."

You nod, "Yeah, I really don't wanna be late. That'd make me feel even more nervous."

Taking a deep breath, you try to calm yourself. It's not that big of a deal, you'll be fine. You've done more nerve-wracking things than a simple dinner with your soulmate's parents. It'll be fine.

On the drive to Melina and Alexei's house, you found yourself slowly growing less and less nervous. Especially with the reassuring presence of Natasha beside you. She'd told you while she was driving that even though Melina has a house in Russia, and they had bought the house that they spent 5 years in in Ohio, they had also insisted on buying a house in New York so 'they could be closer to their daughter to make sure she isn't getting into any trouble'. That had made you laugh, and you had laughed even harder when Natasha had sent an annoyed glance your way.

You finally arrived at their house, and you were eternally grateful that your stomach had miraculously stopped doing somersaults. Natasha reached over to give your hand a reassuring squeeze before you got out of the car and made your way to the front door.

The redhead's knock was instantly followed by a very enthusiastic barking on the other side. "That would be Fanny," Natasha chuckles.

"I'll get it, mama!" You hear the slightly muffled yet familiar voice call accompanied by some shuffling on the other side of the door, a "Get out of the way, Fanny," and seconds later the door swung open and you were greeted by Yelena, a massive smile on her face as she held onto Fanny's collar to prevent her from making a run for it.

"Come in, come in," She ushers you both in and closes the door behind you, letting go of Fanny's collar as the dog instantly makes her way over to you, jumping up on her hind legs and wagging her tail.

"Hi," you smile at the dog before petting it.

Yelena gives her sister a hug, "How have you been?"

Natasha returns the hug, "Same old, same old. Saving the world and all that."

You turn to Natasha as Fanny starts to sniff your shoes, "Why have I been categorized as 'same old'? I'm offended."

Before she can respond to your quip some more footsteps are heard down the hall, "Natasha! Come here, come here!" Melina walks down the corridor and engulfs her daughter in a massive hug.

Melina turns to you then and you smile nervously, "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Vostokoff,"

"Y/N!" The woman smiles at you brightly before engulfing you in a hug too, "It's so great to finally meet you. We've had our ears talked off about you by Natasha. And please, call me Melina."

You look at the redhead who blushes and turns away, suddenly finding Fanny very interesting.

"Is the famous Y/N finally here?" A booming voice calls from what you think is the kitchen, and seconds later a bulky man comes into view. "Aha! So it is!" He says once his eyes land on you.

"Dad-" Natasha starts, exasperated, but is cut off by Alexei, who shushes her and makes his way over to you. He wraps his arms around you, giving you a bear hug and you're pretty sure you just heard at least 2 ribs crack. He lets go of you and pats your back with so much force that you can't help but stumble forward.

"It's so great to finally be able to meet you! Natasha has said so-"

"Mama has already mentioned that," Natasha's face has turned as red as her hair and you can't help but snort even as she turns to you and gives you a death glare. You reach forward and squeeze her hand.

"Okay, let's all move to the kitchen instead of taking up room here," Melina ushers all five of you, including Fanny, into the kitchen, and the instant you walk into the place, the delicious aroma of food makes your mouth water and your stomach rumble.

"The food is nearly ready and the table's been set, so make yourself at home," Melina smiles warmly at you before heading over to the oven to most likely check on the food.

You, Natasha, Alexei and Yelena make your way over to the table to sit down, Fanny trailing behind you. The dog makes its way under the table, her fur tickling your legs as she walks past you.

"So," Alexei starts, his hands joined in front of him as he leans over the table to stare at you, "how have you been treating my daughter?"

"Um," you start, feeling very much like you're being interrogated right now, "your daughter is an amazing human being, and I've treated her as best as I possibly can. Truthfully, I'd give her the whole world if I could and I'm forever grateful that she's my soulmate. I truly don't know how I got so lucky, and I'll treat her like a queen until the day I die."

Alexei nods approvingly and Natasha squeezes your hand under the table. You spare her a glance to find the beginning of what you hope are happy tears in her eyes as she smiles at you.

"Gross," Yelena jokes before turning serious, "I like you, Y/N. I think I can trust you with my sestra, but do you remember what I told you on the FaceTime call?"

"If I hurt her, you'll kill me,"

She nods, "And I wasn't joking about the killing part."

"Yeah, I gathered that," you laugh as Yelena smiles innocently at you.

Melina joins the group a minute later with multiple dishes in her hands. She sets them down in the middle of the table before going back and returning with even more dishes, a bottle of vodka and some water for Natasha because obviously she couldn’t drink if she was driving. "Dig in, everyone, there's a lot to go around," she says, "I wasn't sure what you liked, Y/N. So we have a wide variety. There's some beef stroganoff, lasagne, mashed potatoes, veggies, sausages, chicken and mac and cheese with hot sauce, for Yelena."

Your mouth starts watering a concerning amount as she lists off all the options, and you're honestly shocked she went out of her way to make that much. "This is like a buffet," you laugh, "thank you. Wow." You're at a lost for words so all you can do is grab a bit of everything and dig in.

The conversation flows steadily around the table. Melina, Alexei and Yelena ask you questions about your life, your job, all the generic questions you'd usually ask your daughter's partner when you meet them for the first time. They also revealed some very funny childhood stories about Natasha (much to her chagrin), which made you laugh a lot and also feel grateful that you were able to get this insight into some part of your soulmate's childhood and her family.

Honestly, you have to appreciate how they all refer to each other as if they were an actual family. Even though none of them are actually related, you honestly wouldn't even notice if they didn't tell you. They act so much like a real family that it's adorable, and you're really happy for Natasha that she finally got this family back together.

You take a sip of your vodka and you can't help but scrunch up your face as it goes down, burning your throat. "So," you try to speak but are instead overcome by a coughing fit. God, how did these people drink vodka like it was water?

Natasha thumps you on the back and you give her a thumbs up in thanks, your eyes watering.

"I was starting to like Y/N, but now I might change my mind if they can't handle their vodka," Alexei says. You would probably worry if his tone wasn't so obviously meant to be teasing.

"It burns," you gasp out, making everyone at the table laugh, "how do you Russians handle it?"

"We came out of the womb drinking vodka," Yelena says.

"Anyway," you quickly change the subject once you've gotten your bearings back, eager to save yourself from any more embarrassment about not being able to handle your vodka, "how is it with your daughter as an Avenger?" You ask, "Like, I find myself worrying about her every time she goes on a mission even though I know she's amazing at her job and will be okay, but I still can't help but worry, so I can't imagine what that's like for you as her family."

"Oh yeah, I definitely get that. But Natasha knows that if she ever dies on the job I'd drag her back to life myself just so I could kill her again," Yelena says, Melina and Alexei nodding in agreement as Natasha shakes her head amusedly.

"Love you too, Lena,"

You let out a laugh as you lean back in your seat, content in just listening to the conversation between the four as you let your food settle. You really don't know why you were so worried, this night couldn't have gone any better. And you're fairly certain Melina and Alexei like you, at least you hoped they did and weren't just putting on an act. Yelena seemed to have taken a liking to you too, which you were glad about because you happened to have grown a liking to her too. Fanny also seemed to like you, the dog content in curling up at your feet for the entire meal.

All in all, you are infinitely glad that you've gotten their approval. You reach over to grab Natasha's hand under the table, interlocking your fingers together. She looks at you out of the corner of her eye, giving your hand a squeeze as she smiles gently at you.

You find yourself wondering again how you managed to get so lucky.

“See? Told you they’d love you,” Natasha says, sparing you a quick glance.

You two were on the drive back to the tower, warmth flooding through your veins both from the vodka and the knowledge that the night had went as best as you could’ve possibly hoped for. You had gotten a big hug from all three of them before you left, and they had each shared their phone numbers with you in case you ever wanted to talk (Alexei had even sent you a photo of little Nat with her adorable blue hair as soon as you had driven away which you were very grateful for). You were so thankful that they had accepted you into their family as quickly as they had.

“Mhm,” you agree, leaning your head against the window, “I don’t know what I was so worried about.”

Natasha hums in agreement before you two lapse into silence, the only sounds being the steady hum of the car and the faint noise of whatever radio channel Natasha had turned on.

Your breaths fog up the window as your eyelids start to droop, feeling utterly exhausted for some reason even though you didn’t really do anything that strenuous today. Unless you counted absolutely devouring Melina’s cooking, your stomach so full it almost feels like it’s about to burst.

“You know who Yelena reminds me of?” You ask even as your eyelids start to close of their own accord.

“Who?” Natasha spares you another quick glance, a gentle smile making its way onto her face when she notices your half asleep form. She taps the steering wheel with her fingers as she awaits your response, which takes a lot longer than is probably necessary since your brain is already halfway to unconsciousness.

When you finally do respond, your answer makes Natasha laugh, “Kya. I think they’d be really good friends.”

“A force to be reckoned with, more like,”

“Mhm,” is the only response your brain seems capable of making before you’ve fallen asleep and the only thing you remember hearing before sleep overtook you was Natasha saying goodnight.

Let’s just say you weren’t the least bit surprised when you had woken up the next morning in your own bed, Natasha sound asleep beside you (Tony had managed to sneak a photo of Natasha carrying you to your shared room, the redhead looking at you with a love shining in her eyes that was so raw and pure it had made Tony wonder whether he looked at Pepper that way. He was sure to stash the photo away for safekeeping until he could show you it, and also so he could use it as evidence against Natasha every time she claimed she was a ‘big bad assassin’, because even if she may be a very terrifying and intimidating individual, she is still also simultaneously an extremely whipped woman).

Your one year anniversary with Natasha came quicker than you had expected, and it was honestly quite shocking that all of this had happened in the span of a year. She had made your life so much better, you were so much more happier now and you hoped that you had also made her just a tiny bit happier too.

For some reason, the team plus Kya and Natasha's family had all decided to declare this day a massive holiday worth celebrating, which is why you were all currently sat in the living room of the tower, catching up and laughing over some drinks. They had also been showing photos they had took of you and Natasha (Tony had finally been able to show you the photo he snapped of Natasha carrying you, and honestly, the amount of love in her eyes had made yours fill with tears as you looked at it), sharing cute moments that they recalled seeing of you two and lightheartedly complaining that you two were so cute together it was literally sickening.

Of course, you and Natasha had also wanted to celebrate your one year anniversary with just the two of you, so you had went out to dinner earlier in the evening, but you weren't necessarily complaining that all of your friends (Kya still freaked out every time you casually mentioned one of the Avengers as your 'friend') had decided to get together to celebrate your relationship.

"It feels like it's been ages since we've hung out," Kya says as she sits down beside you, Natasha having left to stop Clint from showing Yelena embarrassing photos of her he had captured over the years.

You nod in agreement, "I know, but you've been so busy lately, and then I've been working in the MedBay and our schedules just don't align. How's Lillian?"

You and Kya tried to call each other at least once a week to catch up, but she had been overloaded with shifts at the hospital recently that there's hardly been any time to catch up, which honestly sucks because she's still your best friend and you don't know what you'd do without her. Technically, she is the reason that you had found out Natasha was your soulmate. If it wasn't for her obnoxious begging, you probably would've never applied for a job at the MedBay and would've lived the rest of your life not knowing who your soulmate was. It's weird how fate works, isn't it?

"She's doing great, still hasn't gotten used to the fact that Black Widow is basically only a phone call away yet, and she's still as obsessed with her as she ever was," Kya chuckles, causing you to laugh too, "but yeah, she's doing great."

You hum before taking a sip of your drink, content in just watching everyone talk and laugh together. Yelena runs past you, laughing like a maniac as she clutches a phone, which you have reason to believe is Clint's, in her hand. Your eyebrow raises in slight confusion which quickly dissipates as Natasha runs after her a split second later, looking equally embarrassed and annoyed.

Looking over at Clint, you give him a questioning look which he only answers with a shrug of his shoulders and a mischievous smile. You shake your head in amusement before Yelena comes running back over to you, "Y/N! Look at this hilarious photo of Nat!" She thrusts the phone in front of your face to show you a photo of a younger, clearly very drunk Natasha completely knocked out on the floor of the Barton's home. You burst out laughing seconds before Natasha comes running back over, making Yelena yelp and run away again.

Natasha stops temporarily in front of you, "What photo did she show you?" She asks, barely out of breath even though you're pretty sure she's been chasing Yelena all around the tower.

"Hm? A photo of what? She didn't show me a photo of anything," You look at her innocently, taking another sip of your drink. You're very aware she can see right through your act but it's still amusing as she glares at you before running after Yelena again.

Kya smiles at you, nudging you with her elbow, "I'm really happy for you. I'm glad you've found not only your soulmate, but also two amazing, albeit slightly unconventional, families. You definitely look a lot happier now too,"

Throwing your arm around your best friend's shoulders, you bring her in for a side hug, "Thank you. This literally wouldn't have happened without you though, you know that? So maybe you should just start calling yourself Cupid,"

She hums, "Maybe I should. I seem to be pretty amazing at it,"

The heartfelt moment with your best friend was quickly broken by Yelena's yell, "HELP! SOMEONE SAVE ME!"

Everyone turns their heads at the same time to see what exactly had made Yelena scream bloody murder, only to find her pinned on the ground by none other than Natasha. You all turn your heads back in unison, everyone starting to talk animatedly at each other and leaving Yelena to fend for herself (no one wise in the head would get in Natasha Romanoff's way), and you're pretty sure you vaguely hear her curse you all in Russian.

You may now be apart of two unusual families, but you find yourself knowing for certain that you wouldn't change it for the world.

"Nat?" You question confused, "Why'd you call me up here? Is everything okay?"

Earlier you had gotten a very urgent text message from Nat, demanding you meet her on the roof of the tower at 9pm, which is what you had done. Your mind had been going a mile a minute since you'd gotten the text, going through different what ifs and possibilities for why she had called you up here. Was she finally, after two years of your relationship, calling it off? Was the spark not there for her anymore? You don't know whether it's normal or not for soulmates to lose their love for each other, you assume it probably is normal, sometimes you just don't click with the other person even if they are your soulmate. You thought you and Natasha had fit together perfectly though, like you both had been missing a part of yourselves until you met each other. Maybe you were wrong though, maybe Natasha didn't feel the same way. Why would she wait so long to tell you though?

She turns around and smiles at you, but she looks nervous which makes your stomach sink with dread. Natasha Romanoff never looked nervous, never. You've never saw her nervous before. This was bad, it had to be.

"Nat?" You say again cautiously.

The redhead lets out a deep breath before ushering you over, "Come here,"

You walk closer to her and slowly reach out to take ahold of her hand, just in case maybe she really was breaking up with you. Thankfully she didn't flinch or move back and instead intertwined her hand with yours, "Are you okay?" You ask, "You seem nervous."

"I'm sorry," she says, "It's just, I- I really don't know how to do this, but it's," she takes another deep breath, "okay, okay, right, I'll just do it. It's fine. I've done things a lot more life threatening than this and I wasn't nervous about that," she seems to be talking more to herself than to you, and that makes you even more scared. Why was she so nervous? It was making you nervous.

"Just say it, whatever it is,"

She nods, "Okay, so I had a speech planned and everything, but I've completely forgotten it which is so weird and I don't know why this is making me so nervous. Seriously, this is how the Black Widow gets defeated? Why is this what makes me nervous? Sorry, I'm rambling," you can't help but chuckle at that, because even if she was making you very nervous right now, her rambling was undeniably adorable. It was a side to her that you never even knew existed, and you're pretty sure she didn't know it existed either until right now.

"Y/N Y/L/N," she starts again, sounding more confident now, "ever since you've came into my life I have been so much happier. It's funny, really, because I had went my entire life believing I just didn't have a soulmate. I didn't think I deserved one. Well, I believed I didn't deserve to be loved in general. You taught me that I was wrong, though. I don't know whether you meant to do it or not but, with every little sign of affection you showed me, you made me feel that maybe I was worthy of being loved and being in love," your breath hitches as you start to slowly figure out where this might be going, "everyone in the team is right when they say that I am completely whipped for you. I am literally hopelessly in love with you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm not lying when I say that. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I know we're kind of expected to do just that because we're soulmates, but even if you weren't my soulmate I would still want to spend the rest of my life with you,"

She gets down on one knee then, taking a small box out of her jean pocket and tears fill your eyes, quickly overflowing and sliding down your cheeks as you realize your assumption was correct. Your hands move up to cover your mouth in shock.

Natasha smiles sheepishly, looking a bit nervous again even though you're not sure why because you're obviously going to say yes, "Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?"

You nod frantically, not trusting yourself to speak without either your voice cracking or just incoherent sobs coming out of your mouth. You simply hold your hand out in front of her and she gets the message, sliding the ring onto your ring finger. Natasha stands up, smiling at you and you can't help but notice that she's also crying. She pulls you into a bone crushing hug full of complete love and adoration.

You pull back after a few minutes only to cup her cheeks and bring her in for a deep kiss. Of course you've kissed each other plenty of times, but this kiss is different somehow. It's earth-shattering, it's like fireworks going off, it's like drinking hot chocolate on a cold winters day, the warmth flowing through your body and making you feel happy and content. Time seems to stop, the only thing mattering right now is her lips on yours. It's fierce but soft, desperate but passionate and your knees almost give in with the force of it. Your hands tangle in her fiery locks as Natasha's hand snakes around your waist. When your lungs scream for air, you reluctantly pull away, resting your forehead against hers.

"I love you so, so, so, so, much," you whisper into the very little space between you both.

"I love you more," she replies.

"No, I love you more."

"I love you most."

"I love you mostest."

"That is not a word," Natasha chuckles.

"It is now," you smile from ear to ear before kissing the tip of her nose.

You two stand like that for a few minutes, content in just basking in each other's warmth and the knowledge that you're getting married now. Kya is going to freak, and also probably be very smug because this was her doing.

You're about to begin a whole new chapter of your life, and you couldn't be more excited for it. It doesn't scare you, because as long as you have Natasha by your side, you're certain you'll be able to get through anything.

tags: @sheneonromanoff @olicity-boo @r4nd0mgir1

dm me, send me an ask or reply to be added to my taglist!

#natasha romanoff x reader #black widow x reader #natasha romanoff #black widow #black widow imagine #natasha romanoff imagine #black widow x you #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanov x reader #natasha x reader #natasha x you

[greenerteacups]

Hello! I wanted to let you know how amazing your fic is, it seems my life now revolves around Friday mornings. I think it may be one of my favorite series ever, not just fics, your stuff is better than most published works I have read. I really could go on and on. Suffice to say, thank you x1 million for just putting this out there for us.

I had a couple curiosities! Is it ever hard to restrain yourself and just post 1 time per week? Or is that necessary for your creative process?

Also, your fic is rapidly growing in popularity, do you ever get worried about how that might change your audience?

Thank you again for the amazing thing you've written, I feel super lucky to be reading it in real time because I know this is going to be one of those legendary classics.

Thank you so much! You're wonderfully kind, I really appreciate it, and I hope I can live up to your expectations!

Weekly posting: Posting once a week is actually something I started for my own sanity — posting it regularly/serially is better for audience response, so there's a natural incentive to do it, but it also gives me more time to write ahead. And having all of a book prewritten in advance is really important for me creatively, not only so as to avoid the possibility of cliffhangers, but also to feel immune from the pressure to change the story based on what audiences want.

Growing audiences: Oof, it's been wild. I've been sort of boggled by the response to my little fic; it was entirely unexpected and the most I can do is work hard to deserve it. For the most part, an increasing audience has been a wonderful, wonderful thing, and I've been so grateful for everyone who's been offering support and praise. I'm seriously insanely lucky. My only point of frustration is that, in general, as a fic grows, readers seem to perceive increasing distance between themselves and the author. For instance, people in my comments have increasingly started to address each other instead of me, or have left comments seemingly without the expectation that I'll read them. But when someone comments on the fic, they're still sending that message directly to the author, and I think that some people might... well, they either don't know that, or they don't care. Like, the audience/author distance might be greater than it is for a fic with only 300 hits, but it's not like I'm a showrunner, or some other media production bigwig who'll probably never see 99% of the feedback generated by fans; it's still my pet project that I read basically every scrap of feedback for.

And sometimes (rarely — most of my comments are just so wonderful, and I don't want to sound ungrateful, but) people do say weird or unnecessary things. One comment for the last chapter read, "if krum dies im gonna drop this fic ngl," and that just irritated the hell out of me. Like, if that's your opinion, cool. Your reading habits are none of my business, and I sincerely encourage everyone who needs to take a break from Lionheart — or, hell, even loses interest — to go find something that sparks joy instead. Reading fic should bring you pleasure. No hard feelings, swear to God.

But my frustration with that comment, in particular, was: you do realize that you've sent that message directly to my inbox, right? You realize that was the first thing I read when I opened my comments section after a long afternoon of writing? Someone directly informing me, the author, that a narrative decision (which, either way, I already made about 4-5 months ago) will lose me a reader? And how does this person expect me to react? "Oh, no! I have to go back and rewrite 90,000 words of the story — God forbid I lose you, Single AO3 User Who Left No Other Comments! How can I live with myself if you're not here??"

It's just a bit frustrating. And, to the point — I say this politely, with respect — but if you seriously can't handle seeing characters die, then maybe don't read the fanfiction that's rewriting a series where very many characters die. Just a thought.

#someone left a similar comment after I posted Chapter 30 #which just made me roll my eyes #these clowns act like they're the author's personal muse #'unfortunately i am no longer enjoying your fic and i must stop reading' ok? have you mistaken me for your book club president? #anyway. thank you for a kind ask sorry it got salty at the end

[broomsticks]

I have a weird (and probably out of the blue) confession to make.

So last march you (and several others, I can't remember who originated it although I'd been following yours regularly) had been posting a 'mutuals march' rec of wonderful authors. I loved reading them and was overwhelmed by the love and joy spread around.

However by mid-March 23', I selfishly wanted someone to do the same for me, even though I'm a relatively small writer in terms of fics, and I tend to neglect interacting with people on here because of a busy real life. But the insecurity stayed and this year I decided to stay off tumblr this March.

I realise that praise is not necessary to acknowledge me as part of fandom, but it's nice to be seen, I guess. To connect.

That's all. I know you didn't do mutuals march this year - I'm curious about that. But also, how is it possible to .... brainwash mutuals into reccing me I mean, have that community and love? While leading a busy life (that allows me like 1 hr of tumblr/fic reading/fic writing per day, max). Or is it one or the other.

awww, thanks for the message anon <3 has it really been a year since i last did mutuals march?!! omg time flies. i'm now somewhere i would never have expected i'd be last year, so that's pretty cool. anyway -

yeah. unfortunately I have no easy advice for building connection in fandom for time-stretched people. it takes time to find and build the connection and, unless you get absurdly lucky, it really doesn't happen overnight!

(the good news is that if you do invest the time and energy and manage to build meaningful connections, they do tend to be pretty lasting, particularly in this sort of fandom space where inconsistent levels of activity are somewhat expected (the bad news though is that nothing lasts forever))

to be honest the best way I've found to 'get noticed'/make meaningful connections is to notice other people, seek out other people who want to connect.

was originally going to follow that up with "and do it on their terms" - but no, fandom is so big, and being the initiator, there's all the room for you to choose who you want to connect with, what you want to look for. gen family fic? underrated professors? dead dove fic? maybe something to consider next time you're in a bit of a writing lull: leave comments, write recs. it's obviously more effective with recent fics/authors who aren't already being drowned in comments/attention - which does mean effort required to seek out and find, especially to find ones that you -really- love - i can promise, though, that finding those fics and writing recs and comments gets easier with time.

it's definitely harder to initiate organic connections from the author side of things - because essentially you're searching for that unicorn active reader/commenter/reccer you have no time and energy to be, and persuading them that you are worth carving out that limited time and energy on. there are certainly different ways of playing it, but that marketing/numbers game really isn't for me - not something i want to bother giving even a second thought to - so. I'm prob not the best person to ask :c mutuals might have better suggestions? ❤️

#thank you for the ask!

[mandalhoerian]

bruh my comment was too long to post under the new chapter so i’m sending an ask. saw the ao3 notif and scheduled to read it this fine evening, good thing i was like “lemme scroll on tumblr and see what’s up” because SJFKDJLXBZB the face i made when i saw i was tagged and followed BY YOU? also ma’am 🤚🏻wdym nobody comments like i do. like what do you mean. i have a concerning relationship with receiving praise so i advise you to stfu (affectionately).

my poor girl vera can’t catch a break, loss after loss after loss in such a short period. i just want to give her lots and lots of hugs (consensually). on another note i love that she clocked ada’s intentions right away bc capcom wtf is that writing. one person taking down a whole organization is like sending only one person to save president’s kidnapped daughter (laugh track). let me tell you i have been waiting for this 🤌🏻 vera and ada interacting 🤌🏻 leon being there all charming and naive and trusting people easily 🤌🏻 shai you just get the dynamics of all the characters *so right* 🤌🏻

sorry for the excessive amount of parentheses and emojis let me just find another obnoxiously annoying emoji to spam about the intimacy between leon and vera. 🤧 it’s this one but i’m wiping my snot away from crying about it. the small touches between the two are so tender in this fucked up world 🤧 vera’s hand on his forearm… leon collecting her in his arms, comforting her 🤧 his arm on her shoulder 🤧 i could cry and get a headache from thinking about them. i’m so serious.

(gnawing at the bars of my enclosure) JILL VALENTINE MENTION???? VERA KNOWS HER? WHAT IS THE LORE? I NEED TO KNOW.

how does one end a delirious comment. uhhh. so yeah. i love nttd and vera so much and i’m so happy that it’s back babyyyy.

Ofc I followed!!!! I don't remember why I didn't in the first place like but like ???? ur making it sound like I'm some big shot but like pls im a loser who's writing oc fanfiction on the internet and is so lucky and grateful to get people invested in it!!!!! AND YES nobody comments like you do! You're the dream of a fanfiction author ON GOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH

ramble below to keep your dashboards clean:

I think we talked about this over on ao3 but honestly re2r's ada just doesn't make sense to me. The FBI cover is logical (when you first think about it), but the way she's immediately pulling a gun on Annette the minute they see her and DECLARING her intentions isn't. She then proceeds to reveal her target is Annette, and then her going with the FBI thing becomes less logical, bc why would Annette hand over the G-Virus sample to the feds, either? It's entirely a shock factor thing revolved around Leon, she's only fooling him -- or maybe, she's fooled Ben like this, too, and was forced to stick to her cover when shit went down, we don't know 😭 why did they do my girl ada like that... (ngl re4r ada supremacy. period.)

But either way, un-truths she would throw as a bone to a "civilian" like Leon would of course be caught by Vera, nugget by nugget, while still making her think "mayhaps the FBI is misinformed????" -- I didn't want to ruin that fine line by Ada going on about Annette making the virus and her being the most dangerous of all "g-virus g-virus g-virus" or whatever because 1) WHY WOULD A SPY DO THAT???? 2) it would surely make Vera go "yeah NOPE" 💀💀

it's so much fun for them to try sussing each other out, Light and L mind games over there while Leon is happily frolicking. not one thought behind those eyes 😭

ALSO LIKE YES THE TOUCHES!!!!!! It's Leon initiating all of them for me 👹👹👹 physical touch taking over when words can't. my favorite thing of all UGGHHHHHHHH THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME IN MY MISERY

ALSO totally not going "actually 🤓☝" as I'm saying this because it's been HALF A WHOLE YEAR + the fic is over 100K words -- Vera knows Jill from post!mansion incident - pre!outbreak, in that ephemeral "investigation" phase of Jill's. I do mention it in the fic that Vera supplies information to Jill (as around that time she's trying to get rid of the weight of all she knows and trying to pass on the "hero's job" to someone else) and they exchange their findings while trying to be careful not to get caught by ppl Umbrella put on Jill's tail. I think I wrote it in passing that Vera was disguised as a secretary and sat back-to-back with Jill on a booth in one of those occasions? She's loosely connected to re3r by having a brief appearance in carlos' police station section in my head, entrusting Jill to him and all and promising to meet up with them in the station once she talks to her dad about it ☹

"delirious comment" WDYM ITS MY LIFEBLOOD THANK YOU 😭

#an ask for shai

[corvidcrybaby]

20 Author Questions

Shout-out to @the-frankenman-writes for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

4 - I actually only started publishing fics a little over a year ago and my main project has been a still-running longfic so I haven't been able to build up much of an archive thus far LOL.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

408,653. The longfic is a fucking TOME.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

At the moment, just Hellsing. I do intend to publish some Castlevania fanfiction soon, and I've got a couple of larger OC fics planned for Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Guess I'm listing all my fics in order with an empty bottom slot, oopsie!

formulas fatal to the flesh - Alucard (Hellsing)/Transfemme Jewish Reader fic that also serves as the "pilot" for my OC longfic. I originally started writing this as a means of exploring my sexuality in the wake of HRT changing a lot of things about my desires whilst also issuing a love letter to my favorite series. Then everything got intense.

2. Interview With the Impaler - Alucard (Hellsing)/Transfemme Reader. This was me trying out some new ideas with how I write Alucard as well as just trying to contribute to the transfemme reader insert pool. It's really nice when you don't have to mentally change the genitals of the reader insert you're reading about to put yourself in their shoes and enjoy the fantasy, so I like providing more of it.

3. lesions of a different kind - Alucard Hellsing/Transfemme Jewish OC. My longfic, my baby, my first foray into long-form storytelling. She's choppy, she's unhinged, she's full of bigger ideas than I know what to do with, but damn it all, I'm having fun with her. This is the main story of Zemira Shani Makhabi, my homebrewed blorbo and shameless self-critique. She started out as a reader insert before I decided to turn her into a golem allegory full of meta commentary on what it means to relate to a fictional character. That, and so much BDSM shit like oh man so FUCKING much.

4. Operation: GREENHOUSE - Pip Bernadotte (Hellsing)/Zemira Shani Makhabi. In dead last, a fic involving a character who is unfortunately not very popular to write about, but I happen to find incredibly hot in his own right. Technically AU of an AU fic too? IDK man I just wanted to write steamy smut about these two because I thought their dynamic was fun bwahahaha

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

Absolutely I do! They really motivate me to continue and I love connecting with people based on how they perceive my work.

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

MWEHEHEHEHE that'd be Interview With the Impaler. I used the Mean Alucard tag for a reason. I may continue this story yet tbh, because I could make it ever angstier.

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

Operation: GREENHOUSE. Just ends with those two snuggling and teasing each other. Easy shit.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I'm extremely lucky to have never gotten a mean comment and hope it never happens.

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

LITERALLY EVERYTHING I WRITE IS SMUT BWAHAHAHAHA I lean heavy on a few tropes - maledom/femsub shit, mind break/hypnosis/heat/etc, and a constant obsession with men's hands. Hands in general, tbh, I get really horny about hands.

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

I've never published a crossover but I like the idea of one. I would need to find two series which I REALLY wanted to compare and contrast.

11. Have you ever had a fiction stolen?

None that I know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

See above

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

Nothing that's published, but a pal of mine and I are cooking something cool up rn... You know who you are.

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

ALUTEGRA BAYBEEEEEEEEEEE my beloved genderfuck angst-fest full of questions about monstrosity vs. humanity and forbidden desires and old souls and and and and look do you know how hard it is to have an OTP that literally never touch in the original series

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

I don't have any right now but I live in constant fear I'll wake up one day without the drive to finish Lesions. That would make me so sad.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I can write really visceral gore and snappy action scenes, I can construct a layered character like a motherfucker, and I'm pretty damn good at dialogue, I think.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

OOF. Plot. Fucking PACING. I feel like my stories can sometimes feel like super compelling personalities flopping about in a sandbox. Which can work, for some cases, but I try to deliver on the promise of a compelling plot.

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

It really depends. I've seen writers do it with tags for the translated words? It seems to work best for small, potent exchanges.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think this honor actually goes to Pokemon. I was doing a Nuzlocke comic once upon a time!

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Probably Lesions, thus far, lol

Tags: @neet0 @rotten-hearts-sharp-teeth @brunette-barbie42

#thanks for the tag! #writing quibbles #tag game

[meggie-stardust]

20 Questions for fic Writers!

Tagging myself via @lucky-bishop because I'm half bored, half a bit loopy on benadryl... And same suggestion; if anyone else wants to do this, say I tagged you <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 73?! Wow that surprised me.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 403,636

3. What fandoms do you write for? These days, mostly Teen Wolf, but I've written a lot for Merlin, Percy Jackson, BBC Sherlock, Gundam Wing, and assorted others over the years.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1. Acts of Man (Merlin/Arthur, Merlin): On the morning of their Annual pre-Christmas Dinner, Merlin is shocked to find out that Gwen thinks his boyfriend, Arthur, isn't good enough. But after a glimpse into Merlin's quirky flat, Gwen realizes that she might not have the whole story. 2. Nightmares (Jason/Percy, PJO): Percy feels lost and alone after returning from Tarartus. And if that's not bad enough, he can't sleep without having horrifying nightmares. Luckily for Percy, Jason is the one person not avoiding him, and the one person that has offered to help. 3. Looking for the Thing We Lost (Stiles/Peter, Teen Wolf): But the thing is that Stiles had already been forgotten by everyone. 4. Here I Am (Stuck in the Middle With You) (Jason/Percy, PJO): Percy and Jason's mission gets derailed when they find themselves trapped in a room with no way out. Luckily, they find a way to pass the time… 5. Know How A Man Becomes a Beast (Stiles/Peter, Teen Wolf): Peter took a steadying breath and stepped into room. He held up his hands and walked forward slowly, the way he would approach any wild animal. “Stiles. It’s gonna be ok.”

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yes, I try to, even it take a while -- at least on my newer fics. I haven't gone back to things from like 10 years ago to reply to old comments that I missed, but I try to keep up. I want people to know I appreciate the time they've taken to read and react to my fic, and you never know if you're going to connect with someone new and make a new fandom friend.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Give Me Pure Energy (Stiles/Peter): the alternative season 2 where Stiles craves some normalcy and befriends a new kid in his econ class, only to realize that maybe they both want more from each other than just a simple friendship. This is a super darkfic anyway, and has the kind of ending that's happy only if you're ok with all the awful things that Peter does during the fic... but generally, I like my angst with a happy ending so this is the best I can do.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Oh gosh, so many of my fics have happy endings... that's how I like em... uhhh. I'm going to go with one of my all time favorites:

Stuck Between Stations (Stiles/Peter): the one where Peter and Stiles are stuck in a time-loop inside The Wild Hunt.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I have been so lucky to not get much hate. If people are talking about my work behind my back, it's not getting back to me. And aside from an odd comment or two, I've gotten through about 20 years of fandom without having to deal with random hate.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yes. I've written m/m, m/f, f/f, and, I think an m/m/f once... but I'm into all sorts of things and have fun writing about it

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I have in the past; a Harry Potter/BBC Sherlock x-over that got abandoned. I've also done a few prompt challenges that lead to crossovers/fusions like SPN meets MJN Air, etc.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? god, I hope not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, I have been so lucky to have a few of my fics translated into different languages. It's always such an honor, and I give full permission for people to translate my work as long as they connect it back to mine on AO3.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have but it's been ages. And I think there may be someone *cough*@punchedbymarkesmith*cough* that would be great to collaborate with if an opportunity presented itself...

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Steter it would seem. I've been reading and writing it since 2016...!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I fully intend to finish It's Only Forever, but I've used some of the ideas for it in other things, so I know it will be hard to get back into where I was going with it. I don't want to abandon it, but it's been a few years... le sigh.

16. What are your writing strengths? I think I'm pretty good with dialogue, especially banter. I think I'm also great at taking a small detail from canon and using that to world build something different.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Oh, that's easy: action and mystery. I really wish I could write a good casefic or mystery plot, and I just can't. I have to distract and misdirect at the end... I have to do the same with the action, too.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I don't trust myself. I might confer with someone who speaks that language if it was really needed, but I would probably do something like:

"Wow, I can't believe you survived that helicopter crash," he said in Spanish.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Gundam Wing, followed my Newsies and Harry Potter.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? I already gave a call out to Stuck Between Stations above, so I'm going to have to go with:

At This Truth We Have Arrived (Stiles/Peter): Five years after the death of Laura, Peter returns to Beacon Hills only to be confronted by the truth that the pack has moved on without him. But the fact that everything he once knew has changed isn't necessarily a bad thing; not when there is someone like Stiles who is so full of possibilities.

OR as my WIP notes for this fic say: "Peter is curious. They do something. Murder murder. Sex sex."

#meg writes fic #writer meme #tagging myself like a cool kid

[justagalwhowrites]

Hi Kit!

First off, I've really admired your writing, Lavender is one of my favorite things I've ever read. I even made a Lavender friendship bracelet so I can have Lavender Joel with me whenever I want.

Second, I've been getting into writing FF lately, starting with a Jackson Joel story. I'm about 12K words in and I've been struggling a lot with thinking my writing isn't suitable for posting and a lot of self doubt. I was wondering if you have any tips you wish you had known before you started writing FF, or even how the heck do I find someone to be a beta reader? Do you have an editor or beta reader, is that something I even need?

Thanks Kit!

OMG Hi Bestie!

I'm so sorry it took me a bit to respond to this. I wanted to make sure I thought about it before replying. You are so so kind to say such lovely things! And a LAVENDER FRIENDSHIP BRACELET?? That's AMAZING! I love that this story meant so much to you that you want to carry it with you out in the world!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE that you're writing! Jackson Joel is so special, he's such a gorgeous character and I'm sure your writing is doing him justice in exploring these sides of him.

Self doubt is a BEAR, I tell you what. I'm riddled with it, personally! Every day I'm on this site or on AO3 and reading things that are better than what I write and I spend a LOT of time comparing my work to other people's in my head. It's part of why I don't really reread my own work, I think. I know I won't be as happy with it as I am with other people's writing and it'll just get me down. But... I share it anyway! It's hard sometimes, especially if a chapter feels really good or really personal, and I always have this underlying fear that "this is it, this is the chapter where everyone who reads my work wakes up and realizes that I'm shit, actually, and they decide to let me know it." But that's never happened.

Part of fic, for me, has been pulling me out of that shell creatively. I've written stories for years - decades! - and I can count on one hand the number of people who have read them before I started writing and sharing fic. These stories just live in my computer or in notebooks in my basement and that may be all they ever are. Overall, people are remarkably kind and supportive and it feels really, really good to share something I made with other people.

I think some things I wish I knew is 1) that the sharing part of writing can be a really fun - if anxiety inducing - part of the process and 2) negativity isn't the end of the world. While almost everyone has been insanely lovely (probably kinder than I deserve tbh) I have gotten a few negative comments and whatnot and yeah, they definitely sting. But ultimately, it's just one person's opinion. It doesn't change the satisfaction I felt writing these stories or the fulfillment I found in telling other people about these characters and the lives they're living inside my head. People can dislike what I made - you can't please everyone! - but it doesn't take away from how it felt to create and share it. I think, as long as you're telling stories because you want to explore those characters or themes or what have you, you'll be satisfied in it and readers will, too.

As far as beta readers and editors go.... I don't really use either one! My process is write the chapter, read it to make sure there isn't anything too egregious, share it. If I sit on it too long, I go back and rework and rewrite and it'll never see the light of day. But that's me! Everyone is different, I don't think any two people have the same process. And if you're interested in connecting with other writers and are comfortable, feel free to DM me! I'm happy to help and there are some Discords I'm in that have other, fabulously lovely writers who do things like beta for each other and give feedback on plot points and all kinds of beautiful collaboration that I'm so lucky to be a part of.

I do have some tips for editing, as a former copy editor, though! I recommend reading the chapter twice, once for overall story and flow (basically, does this chunk of the story make sense?) and then once for the nitty gritty stuff. Highly recommend the second read be done out loud, as silly as it might feel. It will force you to slow down so if you left a word out, you're less likely to gloss over it, or if a sentence doesn't make sense, you stumble over it and have to think it through again. Stuff still definitely slips through - it's bound to when you edit what you write! - but it's helpful.

Anyway, I hope this answers your question!! I really really hope you share your story with us. It's always great to see the community grow and give more people outlets to share their stories with us!!

Good luck, Bestie! Love you!!!

#fanfic #send asks #kit answers #writing

[imogenleewriter]

✨ Twenty Questions for Fic Writers ✨

THANK YOU @nouies FOR THE TAG!! I'd missed the notif and was reading yours and thinking it looked fun to do and then when I got to the bottom I saw you'd tagged me.

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 

5 but one is a WIP

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

581,554 - which is pretty decent for less than a year, I think lol

3. What fandoms do you write for?

one direction 

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

You Can Hear It In The Silence

You, Me (and everyone we know) - Which is crazy because it's the WIP!

Save Me (from myself)

You're Not My Type (still I fall)

I Hope You Choke (on those words) - which is like my neglected child. I always forget it exists and literally never mention it.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? WELL, I used to and it was something I prided myself on. But, well, I am so extremely lucky to have such a loud, and talkative readership who are insanely loud and talkative... I've been trying to catch up, but I'm still about 2 months behind and that's after me giving up on like 7 chapters of ymaewk. It was just getting too hard to try and catch up so I cut my losses and am just going from the chapter I'm up to. I will one day. But also, some of those comments are like 4 months old now, so people might not want answers to those? It must be annoying to get emails for those, right? RIGHT?

But in general YES! And it's something I feel really passionately about. If someone goes to the effort to write a comment, I really think they deserve a reply - and a decent one. All that being said, I think everyone kind of thinks that way? Like I've never commented on a fic and not gotten a reply?? So I'm pretty sure everyone replies.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? None? Angsty endings aren't really my thing, and I don't think they ever will be. I want everything wrapped up as neatly as possible. I guess maybe I hope you choke, because it's only 3k words, so it's not like... fully resolved? But there isn't much to resolve.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Hopefully all of them?? I think maybe ychiits because it was really, really well resolved? Like... every single thread was tied. You're Not My Type also had a really happy one but it's such a soft fic that I don't think it would ever not.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

A little. A lot less than I deserve, tbh lol. The main place I've seen it is in bookmarks, so now I just don't check the bookmarks. (if you're going to bookmark a fic with criticism, make it private).

I do get a few... odd comments. Like they're not hate, but they're just... idk how to explain it without signalling comments out. In a fic discord group, I'm in with like 70 members. There is literally a sticker that says 'Imogen's comment complaint time,' for me to use when I... complain about those comments, lol.

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

Yeah. Very consensual, often awkward smut lol. Like to keep it real.

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

Nope.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No. At least not as far as I'm aware and I'm sure someone would tell me if I had.

I've been accused of 'stealing' fics... twice. But both times were by anons who hadn't actually read the fics, and had just read the summaries/tags... and both times were low-key ridiculous (again, I say this as if I didn't cry both times... and have to turn anon comments off).

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah... actually... I think one has been done and I haven't linked it yet. Shit. So I'm pretty sure that ychiits has two (one that I haven't linked) and someone is doing SMFM now. I currently have a rule that it can only go on ao3, and not Wattpad but I'm low-key thinking about changing it. In fact, I'm kind of thinking about uploading them to Wattpad... it's just no one ever does it and I don't know if there is a reason for not doing it??? Is there are reason? Why don't people upload to Wattpad??

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

No, but @hereforh and I are in the process of writing one!

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

Larry. The only time I've read other ships is when I've been reading smut lol. And that's more about the smut than the ship.

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

I always think of WIPs as in ones I've started uploading lol. And I always intend to finish those. But WIP as in started but not uploaded? Yeah, heaps!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, relatively authentic characters, and complex plots.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Literally everything else. I feel like my writing technique is ... shit, tbh. I'm really surprised no one ever says it. I do feel like it's improved a bit, but yeah, still shit.

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

I think if I was going to write much of it, I'd find someone who spoke it well. I'm not really sure when I'd need to do it though.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I always say I never wrote fanfic until One Direction but I'm not ENTIRELY sure that's true. When I was a young teenager, I used to read All Time Low fanfiction on Quizilla and I did upload some stuff there. As far as I can remember, they were all original fiction but it's possible I wrote an ATL one. I know I wrote a tiny one based on the song Self-Conclusion by The Spill Canvas. I think it was literally using the dialogue from the song and then writing around it.

20. Favorite fic you've written? 

Oooooh, so tricky. I love them all for different reasons. Ychiits will always be my baby forever and ever.

Probably YMAEWK, and the only thing that stops me from being sure it's that one is just that it's less relatable. Like I know with ychiits and even SMFM, people saw themselves in the characters and story. Whereas I feel like it's harder to relate to ymaewk and long term, it might not have as big of an impact. BUT, I do love those boys soooo much and love the story. So, yeah, probably ymaewk.

Anddddddd (sorry if you've already been tagged and obviously no pressure) I tag @hereforh @nooradeservedbetter @lunarheslwt @enchantedlandcoffee @thelavendrhaze and anyone else who wants to do it!

[ventiffy]

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝑜𝑔𝑒𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 ♡ PT.4

EHEH *cries* GUESS WHO GOT THEIR *beep* PERIOD.... MEE! *cries again* ANYWAYS HERE IS pt.4 OF I FORGOT, jk, "The alliance that bounds us together"

FOR NEW PEOPLE, YES IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE TAGS NOR SEEN THE HEADER (picture above).THIS. IS. A. DOTTORE FIC BC I LOVE HIM UGGH.. before any Dottore hater comes in my replies saying I shouldn't write these fics since they ship the reader with a HORRIBLE person... go away. Your comment doesn't compete with my love for him ever since his unhinged little self came into the manga. I read the manga before playing the game and so basically ever since I started playing genshin, even though he never appeared in game he was my fav character (AND I KNOW HIS LORE, IVE READ EVERY SINGLE ARTICLE THAT REVEALS SOME OF HIS LORE, I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM)--(plus my post don't appear when at your home page so u either 1 follow me or looked at the tags so, you asked to see something like this- RANT OVER -

WARNINGS: should've put this for the last one BUT Dottore is named as "Zandik", mention of Pantalone (This shouldn't be a warning, just that I'm not going to put Pantalone in the tags cuz, this fic isn't about him so like why should I do that? MENTION OF TORTURE... NOT IN THE WAY YOU WOULD THINK THOUGH- READER IS AGED UP, SCHOOL = SOMETHING LIKE UNIVERSITY IDK- NOT PROOFREAD FOR NOW BECAUSE IM IN TOO MUCH PAIN, mention of the word : heck and hell

Summary: Just look at the part plz, this intro is getting too long-

You came back home safely. It felt as you went on a normal walk although, you had a particular destination that was not related to school at all. To you it felt just like a normal walk but instead of merely walking alone, you were with somebody to which you could interact with!

You decided to go on Zandik s' account, you remember not seeing any post, instead he only got tagged by accounts that you didn't care much about. The reason why they appeared on post/tagged was basically out of honor of sort. Heck, the Snezhnayan government even mentioned him on their post about how some particular doctor of theirs had figured a discovery that they'll look into professionally. Theirs? What did they mean by theirs? Did Zandik work for them. Already, you heard how the training to just become a soldier there was torture. Huh, good for him then. He was able to go through the stress of becoming a Doctor at the most demanding Akademiya AND he was able to put up with straight up torture the training gave him. You knew people were serious when they said you'll most likely die at the trainings then when you're actually at war. The Fatui had to set up their own healing buildings near their departments due to how many soldiers get ALMOST fatally injured. But yet, you found it weird. Neither did being a trainee in the Fatui nor did being a student at Sumeru Akademiya give you any breaks, so how did he manage to accomplish both and succeed further on. He looked young, possibly in his twenties. So, he couldn't really graduate and go straight to the Fatui. Since, trainings take 3 months to do since soldiers have to get to go in their camps in their group.

They take about a week if their lucky to walk to a certain destination in the middle of nowhere, yet they also have to go through the heavy snow, the icy wind while wearing a uniform almost made for the summer. They also have to go through storms on flat terrains which end in to soldiers getting electrocuted, through avalanches if their route makes them go by the edge of mountains during a storm. Then they get to site, yet you also have to know they are carrying all of their materials, even whatever they'll use as shelter and food to which they have to unpack and build on whatever terrain was given to them, whether it's bumpy or not, they decide whether they want to sleep in their sweaty uniform in a somewhat secured space or outside during maybe storms since that is the most frequent disaster experienced on a daily basis by the land of Snezhnaya itself.

After that torture, the next day they'll have to wake up early, most soldiers in training get 5 hours of sleep at that time. And then, for about more then two months wit their commander they'll have to go on expedition all while going through courses such as going on one without wearing any form of shoes or socks, they'll have to use weapons against enemy camps. If they get hurt, they have to wait to get healed only after they get back to camp, which leads to infections. They are forced to swim through cold lakes in the early morning when the temperatures are at their coldest. So on and so on.

So basically, now you kind of had an idea that one maybe he didn't work at all. But, on that particular post, they mentioned "past soldier" then they tagged his "@". And, you can't really join before the time you're officially an adult so basically older than 18 years of age. You decided that nothing really peeked your interest so you decided to see who was following him.

Huh.

How?

How was a harbinger following him if he was some random Fatui soldier? Was it usual for the 9th to follow all sorts of Fatui soldiers..? Maybe the ones he trains..? No, the 9th doesn't train since he doesn't fight...

Maybe the one who takes the 9th place of the 11 Fatui Harbingers, used to be a Student at that Akademiya. Both of them looked around the same age and both of them were smart enough to be at least decent at that school. But, wasn't there a rumour that Pantalone grew up poor, the fees of that school have a price that not just anybody can afford, unless they have a scholarship. But only those seen as "average" get them.

But, although the possibilities were rare... Could Zandik and Dottore be the same person all at once?

It would make sense though since, Zandik only said he went to the Akademiya. He never said if he graduated from it though. And Dottore has is past sort of well known to those whose work has been somewhat related to his. Now most people know that he was expelled from that Akademiya for his inhuman experiments but, one of the higher harbingers, supposedly the first, gave him the opportunity to continue testing those blasphemous theories of his.

But, it was late. You didn't want to ask him any questions. Maybe you'll ask him tomorrow at his lab.

Me reading this is in like one year wondering what the hell was I doing:

Y'all reading the end basically realizing I did a cliff hanger once again (maybe on the verge on blocking (MAYBE unfollowing - 😒) me for being lazy and not writing the end bc I write right before sleeping-:

YEAH UHH adding memes at the end of my posts is definitely something I'll start doing more because it's fun. *cries in cramp pain* I MAY START AN AO3 WHERE I UPLOAD ALL THE CHAPTERS OF THIS FIC- ANYWAYS BYEEE-

#fatui dottore #genshin dottore #il dottore #dottore #genshin zandik #genshin impact #genshin #dottore x y/n #dottore x reader

[sorcerous-caress]

Sending this all in one ask even though it's technically four different things, hope that's alright-

1. Ik it's small and just in the tags but the Sol response for the soulmates post is so 💞

2. I really liked the writing in your Yurgir post, just thought it was really neat and I liked your wordings (I could not come up with a better way to word this, though- my bad). Let him protect Tav!! Even though he's also completely wrecking them <3

3. I agree really hard on the backgrounds giving dialog options. It really feels like it should be a thing- I think maybe all background affects dialog wise, is whether or not your character gets the Baldurian tag..? But that might just be a race thing (in which you'd either get Baldurian or Underdark. Or... Nothing for githyanki? Unless they have the Planar tag? Idk)

I may not be able to have the option in game, but in my mind's eye my noble Tav introduced themselves proudly with their full name, and Astarion immediately poked fun at them for how much of a mess their family is known to be. Them most likely recognizing Wyll as the Ravengard son and assuming he'd know of them as well but he straight up doesn't. Beautiful stuff

-Tressym anon

Thank you for taking the time to write this! Love hearing your thoughts <3

1 - You read it!! I didn't think anyone would notice, I'm so happy. I really want to add them to the several characters mini-lists I make but I always hesitate because since the post will leave my blog tags, I don't want it to feel like I'm forcing my OC into the fandom main media?

So I just leave it in the tags for my readers to hopefully find, since only you guys know about Sol and will see the OG post while most people will see reblogs of reblogs without my tags.

It's like, while Halsin embraces fate and has faith in it, Sol and Minthara do not. They realise how incredibly lucky they are to have met you. Sol condems fate for being so pitiful, how easily they'd have never met you and just spent their life hiding their true self and following their family.

While Minthara fears fate, she knows she would've killed you under any other circumstances. She dreads the idea of never waking up from her brainwashing, be it from Lolth or the Absolute.

2 - I'm glad to hear you liked it! I can't stress how I will never get tired of hearing this or how these comments never get redundant to me. Honestly, I'm having a really bad day rn but still pushed out a fic bc I felt like it's been a while, it makes me feel appreciated when people tell me they liked anything about my works. So thank you again from the deepest of my heart.

3- omfg, the Astarion idea is gold. He would totally have gossip on most noble families since he spent so much time in the upper city. You'd be announce yourself and titles so proudly and he'd be like "didn't your cousin runaway with that barmaid and leave his wife and three kids behind?"

Or playful banter with Wyll since he came from nobility originally, the two of your characters could've seen each other as kids or something before the whole Mizora thing and he'd be like "wait...I remember you! You're that kid who stole my piece of cake during my birthday party"

Also imagine insulting Gortash during his coronation with a noble background, basically calling hime fake nobility and how he doesn't know the first thing about rulling or etiquette.

Maybe when you come back to the city, you already have an account made in the bank and don't need to start another? Maybe you get pickpocketed quite often because you "look rich" and if you sleep at any camp besides the elfsong tavern, you remain restless and don't heal to full.

Being an obnoxious noble sounds way too fun. A spoiled rich person who has to trudge around in the mud in the underdark and complain about their silk clothes getting absolutely ruined while the party snicker behind you.

Imagine teaching Lae'zel and Shadowheart how to slow dance <3 or taking Karlach to a very fancy restaurant reservation during her date in act 3!

#♡Noble tav #♡tressym anon

[allylikethecat]

ally!!! congrats on finishing the january prompts !!! i have enjoyed them so much & am very happy to have 31 prompts to look back on when i’m need of some fictional!george and matty

also!!! as the self-proclaimed #1 fan of YKWTCI I was very excited for this update and it did not disappoint (tuesdays have quickly become my most anticipated day of the week thanks to u and ur fics)).

Poor fictional!taylor and fictional!matty are clearly going through it & you portray their struggles so well. I am especially loving how you portray fictional!matty & his struggles with his new found fame as taylor’s boyfriend ((also the fact that the money from fictional!taylors drawer went ‘missing???’… hmmm wonder who took that - such a good detail!!!)

also fictional!george makes an appearance?????!!! YAY. I love me some fictional!george and cannot wait for a fictional!tay & george interaction — i feel that the angst & jealousy may just be unmatched.

last thing and i’ll shut up!! — the equestrian fic??!!!? do i know anything about horses?? no. do i know that i am absolutely going to devour this fic? yes. the enemies to lovers vibes are so strong and this version of fictional!matty seems so soft & i am in love with him already. i am VERY excited to see where this goes!!

yours,

— 💌💌💌

Hello My Dear 💌 Anon! I hope you are well!

Thank you so much for following along on the January OTP Prompt Journey! It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, but I had a lot of fun with it, and am super proud that I was actually able to finish them all! (And also so grateful for everyone that read them- thank you so much for being so wonderful and encouraging!) If you're looking for all of the January OTP Prompts one place, or any of my other prompt fills, they can all be found HERE.

I'm smiling so hard at the idea that Tuesdays are becoming a favorite day because of the updates! Thank you so much for following along and the continued support of this fanfic endeavor! I am *also* a huge YKWTCI fan, and am so happy that people are still willing to give it a chance after all of the May drama with these two IRL. I was really excited about this update and am so happy it didn't disappoint!

Oh my gosh thank you so much 🥺 Fictional!Taylor and Fictional!Matty are both very sad and fucked up in their own ways in this fic, (I've been calling them my fictional bisexual disaster duo lol) and I have really enjoyed writing them and developing their characters and motivations. Getting to explore Fictional!Matty's relationship with his essentially "over night" fame in this fic is also a lot of fun- I can't imagine a universe where the character I've created with all of his issues would handle it well, and that it wouldn't have an impact on his self worth only being "desired" because of who his parents, and then later his "girlfriend" are. I was also way too excited about the missing money bit 😂 and was so very much hoping that someone would comment on it so a HUGE thank you for that😂 (this is like when I was very eagerly waiting for someone to comment on Fictional!Matty doing coke in Fictional!Taylor's bathroom and her totally missing it- and then being SO EXCITED when someone commented about it, I'm like yes, excellent, my hints are obvious enough lol)

We still have another chapter before Fictional!Taylor and Fictional!George meet (the meeting will be going down in lucky Chapter 13!) but I am SO EXCITED about their pissing match as they essentially both try and mark Fictional!Matty as theirs meanwhile Fictional!Matty has no idea what's going on and is just trying to make it through the day 😬 I was really excited about this chapter though and getting a little introduction to Fictional!George since he hadn't physically appeared yet.

AHHH Thank you for checking out the Equestrian AU as well! As very much a horse girl, that fic is so much fun for me to write and I am very much my own target audience (then again, I am pretty much always my own niche target audience lol) If I ever am just... assuming that people know too many things about horses let me know and i can try and clarify more. Horse things are just such a part of my day to day life (and the day to day life of the people I am surrounded by) that I sometimes forget that not everyone like, knows what a martingale is. One sided enemies to lovers is one of my FAVORITE things and I am having SO MUCH FUN writing it! Fictional!George hates poor Fictional!Matty so much and Fictional!Matty just wants them to be friends 🥺 I can't wait to get into this version of Fictional!Matty's past- if you think he's soft now just WAIT you are going to want to give him the biggest hug (I know I do!) I also really enjoy writing bitchy Fictional!George and it's been a lot of fun to explore a different dynamic with him!

Anyway, I apologize that I have written you the longest response ever. I was just VERY excited to see your ask! I thought of you when I posted the YKWTCI chapter and am so happy that you liked it! Thank you so much again for always being so lovely and supportive! I hope you have the best rest of your week!

❤️Ally

#allylikethecat #ask ally #anon ask #fanfiction #keep it kind #matty fic #gatty #fanfic #💌 #💌 anon #letter anon #You Know Where the City Is #2014 matty x taylor fake dating au #All the King's Horses #Equestrian AU #thank you so much for reading and sending me this ask and just all around being the best #i reread this ask like 10 times and was just smiling SO MUCH #the entire time #so thank you!!

[pebblysand]

From the most recent Ask Game you reblogged: #4, and #48 plzkthx

thank you!!!! 😊

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

i've spoken about this on the podcast but i think many things: re-reading canon, music, or just ... thinking? i think it's a bit different for long works v. shorter things. in castles, what gives me ideas are 1) the plot/writing (i.e. thinking about a particular plotline breeds more ideas for more plotlines, etc.) and sometimes comments i get/conversations on discord. it's rarely ever that i will take someone's feedback/idea and run with it, but sometimes there will be a line said in passing that will jolt something else in my brain. for one-shots, it's generally more prompt-based - either prompts that are given to me (the wolf or slipped) or prompts that i give myself (like: oh, what if i wrote a fic about fleur?) and then taking it from there.

48. What do you look for in a beta?

this is SUCH a great question, but also: i'm very picky. i think when you start out as a writer, you'll kind of take feedback from anyone under any circumstance because you want to get better so bad, you'll take any feedback you can get. as someone who's been writing for 17 years now though, that's changed a bit lol.

i like to work with someone who has a similar sort of "vision" of writing as me. as someone who goes through about fifteen million drafts to get to the final iteration, it's harder to work with someone who is the type of person who just writes, posts, done. no shade to those who do this At All (what works for you works for you) but they'll probably get bored of my overthinking 😆. same thing in terms of story format: i write long shit. if you're the kind of person who prefers pieces that are less than 1k, that's not gonna work, you know?

i think it's important for me to work with someone with whom i have a relationship outside of beta-ing. i find feedback much less effective when it comes from random strangers. even if it comes with good intentions, i am much more likely to disregard/be annoyed by the feedback if it comes from someone who i've never had a discussion with/don't know that well. i've had offers from people to beta my stuff where it's like: mate, you're probably really nice but you've *never* left a comment on my stuff before, we've never talked about my fics before... i truly appreciate the offer, but for me that's just not going to work. i need to trust the person, and i need to know they like my writing generally speaking.

if i'm going to get feedback from someone, it's also important to me that i admire their writing. that i think they write better than me. i know this is shit and i might get hate for this but i find it difficult to get beta-ed by someone who is "just" a reader. i find that sometimes, it's hard to explain things to people who've never written before. additionally, i want to know that this person has an expertise that i don't have, and that i can draw from. it's -again- much easier to get some "tough love" from someone whose work you truly admire/aspire to, rather than someone else. getting "negative" feedback from someone whose writing i don't really vibe with is like: "ah cool, but i don't really want to write like you, so 🤷🏻‍♀️"

so, yeah, i'm really fucking picky. i'd love to have a beta for castles, and right now there's one - maybe two - people i know who would fit the bill, but then you also get into the territory of: do they want to beta? do they have time? that's also a huge one. especially when it's people who read and enjoy the fic - they might not want to be spoiled with your ramblings. i was lucky enough to work with @copper-dust on the fault in faulty manufacturing and she really helped me shape that fic :).

#asked and answered

[heliads]

hi, lisa!!! can i ask question number 1, number 13 and number 39 from the question game??

hi!!

1: Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

angst. straight up angst. idk why but i feel like my best pieces come when i'm writing to make people unhappy. with fluff i can get distracted with trying to make it the perfect scene, but angst gets to be messy and unfair because that's the whole point of it, you know?

13: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

write when you can. it's hard to get motivated for writing something (fic or essay or literally anything) when you're thinking about it as a task to complete. write that bad boy in snippets! ten minute intervals in between classes! it'll still get done, and you won't feel like you're forcing yourself to sit down and churn out something you won't like as much.

39: Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

tbh, i have been really lucky to not get that many rude reviews. tumblr has been very kind to me. i also upload my stuff on wattpad, which is where people are slightly less positive just because they're way more vocal in general. even there, though, it's mostly just people pointing out 'flaws' like plot inaccuracy (ex one time on a peter maximoff fic i think i had peter and reader in class and someone was like 'oh, isn't peter a teacher, how could he be in class' but that doesn't really matter at all because the man was a teenager at the time). that doesn't really affect me because the whole point of fics is really just plot inaccuracy so i just read the other comments and go about my daily business

#ask game #not writing

[charaznablescanontoyota]

1, 5, 17?

what's the fic you're most proud of?

recently it's one more thing, the crabs-larping-columbo fic i wrote for al in the crabs fic exchange! i'd been kind of going through a drought for the past 4ish months where i would only write short stuff, or start wips and then never come back to them, so i'm proud both that i finished it and that it turned out to be a banger. i like mixing my mediums in fic, so it was also a lot of fun to write something that was half screenplay and half prose!

5. what fic of your own won't you read?

i'll read basically anything that's still on my ao3 lmao. i have i think one or two orphaned works that i have not gone looking for since i orphaned them, and i won't read the stuff archived on the deviantart account i used in middle school/high school because reading any of my own writing prior to 2013 gives me secondhand embarrassment lmao

17. what's the best engagement/interaction/feedback you've received from someone who's read your work?

@jiggit's finnlumbo fanwork blew my socks clean off. basically any time someone makes fanwork based on my fic i lose my mind a little over it but that one made me scream

also crabmoney commenting "i am going to walk into the woods and make my home in a log" on lucky people

#writing meta meme