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stygiusfic · 1 year

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hi styg !! i'm really curious about 14 and 15 for those end-of-year writer asks if you feel like talking about it 💖 !!

hi friend!! <333 thank you for the ask!!

14. a fic you didn't expect to write

I haven't posted this yet, but the question doesn't say it has to be posted, so. Inspired by my re-read of The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells this summer, I've written 40k words (and counting) of a Critical Role C2 fanfic trapping one of my favorite characters of the campaign, Essek, on the island that steals people's memories away and makes them slaves to the false god in its volcano. (Currently titled The Island of New Beginnings; I have a CR sideblog @bug4bread-sideblog which is where I'll share when it's done.)

It's not Hades, which is all I've posted in the past couple of years, and it doesn't mean my Hades days are over, but man, I'm having a blast playing in this new sandbox. It's also an experiment: I've only mentioned it to a few friends, and plan to start posting only after I finish. I want to see if multi-chapter is easier for me that way. So, unexpected but good!

15. something you learned this year

Feels like I learned a lot! Or gained more confidence in my process; probably a mix of both. (Under a cut because it got long!)

Overall, in the long long years I've been writing, I've written mostly short stories or one-shots, and I've always struggled the most with finishing the initial draft. There's always that perfectionist urge in me that wants to get all the themes and plot elements and character arcs in the right arrangement from the get-go, and if I'm feeling dissatisfied with my direction it's hard to stay motivated.

This year, maybe because I've recently wrangled with longer works, I feel like I'm building some endurance in that regard! You can get lucky with a one-shot and push it out in a day, and get a first draft that’s near perfect, but that’s just not possible with multichapter, for me, and I’ve finally started to accept that.

It's still hard to let go of the urge to polish right away, but I feel like I understand now more deeply that my process relies on multiple passes to get where I want to go. Especially for 20k+ stories, this is what I'm learning to accept as the process:

0.5 — Outline: In-depth outline of the whole story with its ups and downs, with a list of scenes too, and I'll usually outline each scene before I write it. (Who's in the scene? What do they want? How are the things they want out of the scene opposed?). The overall outline will be thin in the second half because I still don't know enough about my story, I'll find out what I'm actually getting at when I start writing it; I’ve learned that This is fine.

1. — First draft: Sometimes inspiration works miracles but waiting for a miracle is not a process. I really feel like this year I got a step closer to accepting that my first draft can and should be rough. It's a draft. It's sinking in that, when I look at my artist friends' progress videos, of course I don't expect them to make a perfect painting without sketching basic shapes first, so why do I keep expecting the writing equivalent of that from myself?

1.5 — Heart Notes list: This has been the game changer in 2022. It's a list of things to fix in a later draft, and/or think about on my next walk. When I'm drafting and dissatisfied with something (why would this character do this? why does this pacing fall flat? etc) or introducing some new element halfway through that I will need to rewrite earlier scenes to set up, I just put it on this list. And I don't think about it anymore for now. I used to compile these notes after the first draft was done, but those issues weigh on me enough that they would often discourage me and keep me from finishing the first draft at all. The list lets me mentally set down the weight of that problem, knowing I will address it later, so I can keep drafting now.

2. — Second draft: My beloved. Here is where I will do the larger rewrites based on my heart notes and rearrange stuff how I need it to be and just generally feel terribly relieved the first draft is behind me.

3. — Final draft: Just tweak some sentence-level stuff to make it read better and clearer, and we're done. (This is what I have always foolishly hoped the second draft would be, which meant I needed the first draft to be close to perfect already... and that’s how I got stuck.)

I still have a long way to go in terms of learning to let the first draft suck as much as it needs to, but I've been feeling a lot more secure in the idea that sucking is part of the process. I struggled a lot with writing in the first half of 2022. It's been getting better, and I think giving myself more leeway to suck at first and then seeing it work out in the end has helped a lot.

I hope 2023 is a good writing year for you (and in general too)!!

#answered ask #coffee-writes #fanfic wrapped meme #this turned out very long but I know you're one of my fellow writing sickos so I kept it all

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ariadne-mouse · 1 year

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hi!! first of all, I'm very happy that you liked my passionately unhinged comment breaking up the volcano fic into little chunks so I could eat them like fine caviar. I've re-read the story since and keep falling in love with it all over again!

also: 14, 15 and 24 for the fanfic wrapped meme? <3

Hi!! :)) I liked it very much!! Thank you <3 <3 <3

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write

the fire kept closest (burns most of all) was definitely a fever dream that didn't exist even as a twinkle in my eye and then three weeks later it was finished. I also very much didn't expect to write Everything in Aeor Is Fine, which started as a few micro-prompt fills from friends to get me out of writer's block, then continued for 18k and a dramatic arc. I enjoyed the way that one developed - the constant prompt inputs from readers all the way to the end and the alternating 1st & 2nd person POV were new and interesting to play with!

15. something you learned this year

I learned that when I start nitpicking single word choices and rewriting inconsequential phrases, it's time to put down the editing and let it rest 😂

24. favorite fic you read this year

I'm going to give you four! I will not be chained by rules!

if only for a moment by @saturdaysky made me smile and cry at the same time. A story about grief and yet so deeply full of love and joy and hope. I am tearing up as I write this summary.

presque vu by element78 has been a fun "Outsider" POV mystery, still ongoing. I look forward to more next year!

birds of prey by @mllekurtz for a delicious scourger!Bren shadowgast AU

I’ve been lost before (and I’m lost again, I guess) by @rainydaymonk aka the Climbing AU, which made me punch the air as I read the conclusion. (congrats again on finishing this, Kat!)

[fanfic wrapped meme]

#thanks for the ask :)#asks #fanfic wrapped meme

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dreamwatch · 6 months

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For the wrapped meme: 11 & Steddie, if you please!

Thank you for the prompt, I really needed this to get my brain working.

You know until your ask I didn't realise I hadn't even specified a fandom! Stranger Things, people! (in case anyone else wants to send me a prompt)

---

#11 - Refugee by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers

Steve is vibrating with anger.

They’re sitting in Eddie’s van in the parking lot outside Bradley’s Big Buy. Eddie’s looking in the rear view mirror wiping someone else’s spit off the side of his face with some grubby napkin he found in the glove box. He’s acting like he’s wiping some girls lipstick off his cheek.

“Stop staring at me.”

Steve turns away, looks out the passenger window to see the prick from the store packing his groceries. The temptation to run over there and kick the shit out of him is so intense he ends up staring at his hands instead. He’s not sure why he suddenly feels like the bad guy in all of this.

“I feel like a drive, how about you, Steve?” Eddie’s voice is clipped, his tone all pinched and stiff. Steve just nods, there’s no point saying anything right now, he’ll get shot down and it will start a fight and he’s not in the fucking mood.

They drive for close to an hour, Steve taking surreptitious glances at Eddie from time to time. Over the hour he watches as Eddie’s shoulders relax, the tension in his arms loosens. Watches the transformation from an angry alley cat back to Eddie.

It’s not fair, but he learned a while ago nothing in Hawkins is fair. But what annoys him, what really incenses him, is how Eddie reacts to these bastards. He doesn’t fight back. He just grins, throws up those stupid horns, sticks his tongue out. He pokes the bear, and he looks like he’s enjoying it too, unless you really know him. Then you see the flash of hurt in his eyes, the way he stiffens slightly. The way he hunkers down for hours afterwards while he works through whatever the fuck is going on in his head. Which Steve can’t help might be faster and easier if Eddie would just talk to him. Or anyone. Just fucking talk.

The van slows and pulls off the road, stopping at the edge of a cornfield. Eddie shuts off the engine, killing the music. Steve sneaks a glance, watches as Eddie tips his head back against the headrest and closes his eyes. The engine tick tick ticks, the birds caw. An occasional car whooshes by. Eddie and Steve just sit.

A warm breeze flows through the windows, and Eddie pushes stray hairs off his face. He caught colour on his cheeks over the summer, the scar on his left one no longer looking so stark against his skin. Eddie took great delight in showing that off to the townsfolk of Hawkins. Sometimes Steve just wants to scream at him.

“I know you don’t get it,” Eddie says on a sigh, finally cutting through the last of the tension in the van.

“Yeah, I don’t. Sorry.”

“I don’t need you fighting my battles. I can do that myself.”

Steve shakes his head, “Didn’t see you putting up much of a fight.”

“That’s your answer to everything, isn’t it?”

Eddie pats himself down, and Steve knows he’s looking for cigarettes. He also knows he doesn’t have any. He only has gas in the van because Steve gives him the money for it. No one will give him a job, Wayne gets less hours at the plant, and they all know why that is. So he gives Eddie gas money because he drives Steve around even though Steve has a perfectly nice car, and they both know what this really is. Just another thing they don’t talk about.

Steve lights a cigarette and takes a deep drag before passing it to Eddie.

“I don’t know how you put up with it, that’s all.”

“And what else am I supposed to do, exactly?” Eddie takes a drag, and ashes the cigarette out the window. Doesn’t hand it back to Steve. He wasn’t expecting him to. “You can’t fight everyone, Steve.” And he draws his name out, in that way that makes Steve want to slap him. Like he’s being mocked. Like this is school, and he’s the mean boy.

“Then— Then leave.” Don’t leave.

Eddie rounds on him, eyes blazing. “Why should I fucking leave?”

“You always wanted to go, you said—”

“On my terms. My terms! Not because some hick cunt wants me gone. This is my fucking home, Wayne’s home. My family and friends are here. I nearly died for this place, Steve! I have more fucking right to be here than them.” He runs out of steam, stabs the cigarette into the ashtray likes its ablaze. “I’ll go when I’m good and ready.”

The sun creeps lower in the sky, and the light hits Eddie’s hair and it’s like a halo. He gets these moments, when he’s still, when he’s sleeping, when he thinks he’s not being watched, and his face relaxes and he looks like a boy. Just a kid. It’s not fair.

Eddie scrubs his hands down his face, sucks in a lungful of sticky summer air, and then turns the key in the ignition. Music roars, and Steve jumps, it gets him every time. Eddie huffs, a ghost of a laugh, and reaches over to punch him lightly on the thigh.

“Come on, let’s go home.”

The van turns in the road, heads back towards Hawkins, and despite the afternoon of worry and anger, all Steve feels right now is relief.

#Spotify wrapped writing prompt #steddie ficlet #dreamy writes #steve harrington #eddie munson #Spotify Top 100 Fic Meme #steddie fanfiction #steddie fanfic

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haley-harrison · 1 year

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lilolilyr · 5 months

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✨ao3 wrapped 2023✨

Haven't seen this tagging meme around at all yet this year, so I thought I'd start it myself!

2022

Works published: 74, very similar to last year! a bit less but the year also isn’t over yet :D edit: by the time I’m getting around to post this, it’s on 86! Yay!

Wordcount: 118254 I’m happy I made it past 100k! That was my tentative goal and I didn’t think I’d make it with how slow it came along for most of the year, but with flufftober and the events I did manage :D

Kudos: 3184

Bookmarks: 267

Subscriptions: 114 and I’m at 157 user subscriptions right now? Who follows my multifandom mess of an Ao3, doesn’t that completely clogg up your email inbox? Maybe I’m just biased bc I rarely check my fandomy email and when I do it’s always a mess xD but I think tag lists on tumblr are so much more useful

Most popular by kudos: Gave myself a Fright, a Mirandy (DWP) fic with 301 kudos

Most hits: same fic, 2404 hits

Longest: lonely hearts on remote roads with 10811 words - Milippa road trip AU my beloved!

Shortest: I wrote nine drabbles (100 word ficlets) this year, they’re the shortest ones :)

Most Comments: my podfic of the Mirandy longfic Jigsaw has 14 comment threads - damn, that’s a year with few comments! In past years the whole top 5 commented on fics had more than that. Oh well!

Fics that made me cry: Grief, a fanfic where I project my own feelings about a dead pet onto Myka, and recording the Jigsaw podfic also made me really emotional a lot

Fics that made me smile: so manyy! For example the Berena fic Happiness surrounded by Snow

gifts:

- the first chapter of ‘Time Dilates’ by @barbarawar as my Bering and Wells gift exchange gift back in February, thanks!

- ‘Blame it on Circumstance’, a wonderful sequel to the fluffy fic @squishmittenficfan made me for the Berena gift exchange in 2022, and another sequel Blame it on Love posted just a few days ago I haven’t actually gotten around to read yet but am already very excited for!

- ‘never borrow Helena’s clothes’, a fic for the Bering and Wells advent by @jesstrel that I have beta read for them :)

I have gifted some fics as well this year, I tend to gift people fics when they helped me with it by beta reading or cheering me on, or when I was writing to someone’s prompt! I know I adore getting gift works on Ao3 and I love to share that happiness :)

collaborations:

Halloween fic and art collab with @thewalkingmeepa, that was fun!

Drunken Considerations, a Bering and Wells collab fic with @lavendelhummel :D first time I made a collab while actually in the same room with the other person xD

Both collaborations and part of an event were the fic & podfic works Where No Flan Has Gone Before (Star Trek humor) with @bookgirlfan and Which Mere Modernity Cannot (modern Dracula) with @artax-risen, and the Bering and Wells Advent Calendar with @lavendelhummel @purlturtle @akittennameddaisy @viharistenno @jesstrel @sallysetonbw @violetren @thiakerrigan @tryingthisfangirlthing that is still ongoing! finished now, I take too long for tagging memes xdxD

events:

- Flufftober (I managed to make something for every single day of the month, yay!)

- Berena advent

2022 version

Tagging, if you want to do it, everyone already tagged above as well as @die-schwanenkoenigin @amysnotdeadyet @lesbianlotties @guardianrock @73chn1c0l0rr3v3l @danisnotmyname @batnbreakfast @sapphicscholar @tabsolanya @sterenheart @wibblywobblyida @forestcircle @ongreenergrasses and everyone else who sees this!

For ease of copying: Works published: Wordcount: Kudos: Hits: Bookmarks: Subscriptions: Most popular by kudos: Most hits: Longest: Shortest: Most Comments: Fics that made me cry: Fics that made me smile: gifts: collaborations: events:

sapphicscholar purlturtle die-schwanenkoenigin amysnotdeadyet squishmittenficfan viharistenno lesbianlotties bookgirlfan

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chromatic-lamina · 6 months

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AO3 wrapped!: 9, 19, 29, please!

Thank you!

9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? I'd love to say it's my initial favourite of Marco/Law and I have been reading a great fanfic about them, but my writing for them was also drabbles/ficlets, and not so well developed, so I'll say LawZo, although that's a WIP and will be in the LawZo zine out next year. I had fun writing the (very) irregular limerick for LawBin for the polls this year, AND there is KidLaw in the works, AND, I tightened it this year, but didn't write it this year, but reuploaded a chapter to an AceLaw fic

Guess my answer is all of them. Also, plenty of platonic Trafalgar Law & the Heart Pirates. One Cora & Law fic for the Corazine too.

19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Maybe get some LawBin on paper. I've written it romantically a few times, but more often platonically, but usually in longfic. Wouldn't mind getting a one shot or two out.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? My current fave is in a WIP for the LawZo zine, so I can't share it for a while, so take the following from Bioluminescent Hearts. Not amazing, but I quite like the imagery. Spoilers for chapter 1081 (manga spoilers)

Orange and white striped tentacles rippled past Hakugan—the head of a sea anemone flexing its bright body backwards and forwards through the water. There was so much water, and the pressure. He couldn’t tell if he was cold, if he was uncomfortable. He tried to shake the vegetation from his hands, but to even budge a finger took effort.

Thank you for the ask!

Questions 9, 19, 29 (I like the symmetry) answered! Also 6, 16 and 22. 1, 10 & 27 about to be answered. You can find the asks here!

#one piece #one piece fanfiction #one piece fanfic #trafalgar law #marlaw #zolaw #lawbin #ao3 wrapped meme #chromasks #chromanswered #chromalami #escapaldi

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l56895 · 6 months

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25 for the wrapped fic please 💜

“Are you okay?”

Alexis is poised against the wooden frame of the motel, a beer hanging loose from her fingertips. The very picture of togetherness, even though Patrick knows that it’s largely a lie.

“I should have told him… I know I should have. I just… didn’t think it would hurt him this much.”

“Yeah, well, David hasn’t had the best luck with people in the past. Like, at all. I mean, a lot of liars.”

The word stings, but it fits, even if he wouldn’t have used it to describe himself an hour ago. Lies by omission hurt just as much, Patrick, his mom used to say. Back when the lie was a bad report card and not a whole past life.

“Do you think he’ll ever forgive me?”

Alexis shrugs, and the gesture makes her outfit sparkle in a way that reminds him of David. Confusingly sartorial.

“David has this annoying habit of forgiving when he shouldn’t.”

Another sting.

“But in this case, I think he should. You’re good for him, Patrick. I really hope that you guys can work this out.

✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋✒️🖋

Haven’t written Schitt’s Creek in a little while- but as it was you responding I thought I’d give it a go! 🤍

#Spotify wrapped writing meme #schitt’s creek fanfic #david × patrick #schitt’s creek #fanfiction

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1-8oo-wtfbro · 1 year

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me: no, don’t kill urself! life is so good and so are u!! don’t do it, love exists and it will find you soon!!! please!!!!

also me, while reading ab my favorite character going through the most traumatizing shit known to man: do it. come on, jump bitch. they’ll cry so bad afterwards. they’ll feel SO sick babe. SO sick. do it for urself babe, treat urself dude. NO NO COME ON- DAMMIT i can’t believe they stopped them. kick them in the balls and jump now.

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sugareey-makes-stuff · 1 year

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8, 9, 14 and 17 for the AO3 wrapped please :)

Hiyaaa! You've got it! :D Something tells me this is going to be a rambly fic rec list, so brace yourself! 8. Pairing you read the most for? For the first half of the year, I was creating things and reading at the same time, for multiple ships and multiple fandoms. I was reading everything for common ships and rare pairs, tbh. 📗 From my January TBR list, I’m reccing Licurici by louisfake | @lou-isfake (HP- Harry/Charlie/Draco, E, 133,092) because it’s amazing! I binged this in 2 nights, and it was so worth it! The world-building is phenomenal, and Charlie’s character is so well developed...I love how we see more than just a Weasley and a Dragonologist. He’s a person who’s complicated, has all the feels, and oh hey, he just happens to love the hell out two handsome blokes. A gorgeous read, and make sure to have tissues nearby because you’re going to need it! And I will always rec this fic again and again. You’re welcome. ANDDD, OKAY. From September up to now, I’ve been binging everything Sterek (pretty such every day), because that’s what happens when one is introduced and sucked into Teen Wolf. I quickly fell head over heels for them (it only took one fic ;D), and they’ve been a comfort ship for me ever since. 📗 It seems wasted now by DaaroMoltor (TW- Sterek, T, 48,618) is one of the first fics I read that made me want to explore this ship more. This is a deep slow burn where apparently Derek and Stiles suck at using their words and don’t know how to talk to each other, and the feelings that come up from so misunderstandings kinda just pull at the heart. (I think it’s very obvious now that all my fav fics seem to be angsty and make people cry, oops). I’d say Kelly Clarkson’s lyrics, “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger,” 1000% sums up what this fic is about, with Stiles trying to prove his worth to the pack, and of course I’m on board with anything that explores him being a Spark. Also, maggggic. 📗 Here’s one more rec: Blue Rocket by snarkatthemoon | @snarkatthemoon (TW: Sterek, E, 43,948) is a fic I couldn’t stop thinking about for dayyyys! There are so many things I can probably ramble on about from this fic, but Derek’s PoV is soooo on point, given his complex character, fears and expectations. The world-building is so well-thought out, the chemistry that Derek and Stiles have together is 🔥🔥🔥 and man, there are just soooo many layers to peel back. It’s gorgeous, heartbreaking, and yayy for Magical, Drummer AND Tattooed Stiles! Whoops, I guess that was a really loaded answer! 9. Favorite rare pair you read works for this year? What can I say? Perciver is always on my radar, so I’m always looking for new works to dive right into! They’re a ship I can come back to again and again, and ramble on about for infinity. I will totally talk read and talk everything Perciver in a heartbeat. 📘 A fav back from February is two cannot keep a secret by happynotdignified (HP- Perciver, T, 11,409). This story digs right into different PoVs of the Weasley family with each family member finding out that Percy and Oliver are dating. It’s bittersweet, and there are a lot of feels through conversations, letters and yeahh. Loosely follows the canon timeline while filling in some gaps, but gods, it’s so interesting to see how and what Percy’s family discover about him and Oliver and how that changes what they thought they knew about him, and how wrong they were. In terms of character development, we see how strong Percy and Oliver are as individuals and as a pair through different lenses. Love this to pieces, and it’s such a cool take on things. 14. Favorite AU you read this year? 📙 quite like us by alarainai (HP- Jegulus- T, 67,315) was such a fun read because that was how I was introduced to Jegulus and the awesomeness of text fic! Also, eagerly awaiting each update was super exciting when this was still a WIP. And this is probably the one exception I’ll make for fluff because holy crap, what a slow burn this is, but also, wrong number AUs always leads to great things, right? I have so much appreciation for Regulus’ snark and humour, and well, James is so gone for him, it’s not even funny. ♥️ 17. Did you leave any comments that had to be in more than one part? I usually like to keep things all in one comment just for ease. But if I need to ramble or break down all the things I appreciate in a work, I totally will. In general, if screaming and emojis can get my point across, that works too. :P Omg, just from the recs above, that’s already a lot of words read?! I have no idea what my actual wc for all of 2022 is (500k? Maybe more?), but I know it’s far more than what I read in 2020 and 2021 combined. 😅 Thanks for the asks!

___ Have more reader q's? Ask me via AO3 Wrapped [Reader Edition]!

#asked and answered #ao3 wrapped #sterek #perciver #jegulus #charlie/harry/draco #ask meme #fanfic #about me #hp fanfic #teen wolf fanfiction #fic recs #rec lists

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writtenbyevie · 1 year

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✨my ao3 wrapped!!✨

this both does and doesn’t surprise me hahahaha

if anyone else would like to do this the link is here

be advised it does ask for your password so do this at your own discretion!

happy almost end of the year everyone 💖

#fun fact I visited atsu101 68 times apparently #I didn’t think I read that much fluff since my style tends to be more angsty #also #I had a few friends do this and have no issue but #I changed my password right after I made this #ao3 #ao3 memes #ao3 wrapped #ao3 writers #hq fanfic #hq #evie’s jeevies

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ariadne-mouse · 1 year

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1, 12, and 21 for the ao3 wrapped meme?

Hello there! I answered #12 here, but here are the others:

favorite fic you wrote this year

My answer changes every time I think about this question. I think the last time it popped up in a meme I cheated and wrote that the top 4 were my favorite for different reasons. But this time I will pick! It's gotta be till human voices wake us, which I finished writing this year though it's not all up on Ao3 yet. Ocean vibes, a deep dive into Essek's mind a little to the left of canon, art collaboration with a good friend, the weaving together of story elements across many chapters (which I hadn't attempted previously) - yeah, it's my favorite. Today :)

21. most memorable comment/review

What a fun question to think about!! I have been lucky to receive many comments on my works that I love and appreciate, long and short, simple and complex. They are all wonderful and have made me smile, laugh, and cry in turn. If I'm going by those that stick in my memory at the moment:

There was the time @thechekhov binge-read all of mercaleb (the complete 60k draft 1) in a single sitting and liveblogged their reactions on Discord, which absolutely made my day and no I do not regret staying up till 3am following along.

I also immediately think of this comment on the fire kept closest by Ao3 user Stygius, who Perceived and described at length many of the devices I used in the story regarding emotional notes, showing vs telling via situations/interactions, repetition and escalation of themes, foreshadowing, and the interconnectedness of details throughout the story... is there anything more exquisite than someone noticing so many of the things you worked so hard on?

[fanfic wrapped meme]

#thanks for the ask!#fanfic wrapped meme #asks

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dreamwatch · 6 months

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Spotify Wrapped Writing Prompt

Look, I was pretty sure someone asked for this, but I can't find the ask and I've written it and I think I'm a little bit in love with it, so sharing anyway.

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#66 - Hard To Handle by The Black Crowes

Eddie hates waiting in line. Life is too short (a lesson he learned the hard way) for standing around waiting for things. With the exception of getting gig tickets or getting into those gigs. Both valid reasons to wait.

Maybe less so this gig.

It’s not really his scene, there’s more than a few poseurs in the line, but Kyle likes the band and, as so often is the case with them, Kyle gets what Kyle wants.

Eddie gets… a little less.

He’s at the stage in his life, at the grand old age of twenty four, where he craves companionship over sex. While his friends are still fucking around, literally in some case, Eddie needs to settle. Needs the peace and stability. And he’d never, ever, admit it to anyone, but he needs to be taken care of. The thing is, thats a hard sell in your early twenties. But Kyle got it. Got him. His need to be looked after. The fact that he had scars and trauma and health issues from ‘an accident’. He was okay with all that.

For a while, anyway. Things change though, right?

Eddie earns shitty money, so Kyle pays more of the rent, and he gets the sense more and more that one wrong move, one missed pay check, or fuck, if he lost his job, Kyle would throw him out on the street. What’s love got to do with it? as Tina would say. So he finds himself toeing the line more and more. Doesn’t argue about the stupid shit, let’s Kyle have his way more and more. Just little things.

Little things mount up to be big things, though.

So yeah, he comes to gigs he’s not really into and he sees bands he might not have bothered to, and he listens to music thats okay, but it’s not him, you know? Its like, him adjacent.

And all of that is why he’s standing outside the Ritz Music Hall in Indianapolis, freezing his balls off, waiting to get in to see The Black Crowes.

Kyle got to talking to some people in the line, and Eddie just smiles and makes out like, yeah my god, great band, like he wouldn’t have been arguing a few years back about how Iron Maiden were clearly the superior artists. He doesn’t have the fight in him for those kind of arguments anymore. So he nods and smiled, hands shoved in the pockets of his shitty old leather jacket, scarf pulled tight around his face. Tight around that scar.

He zones out and he’s looking around, people watching, killing time. Eyes up and down the line as he keeps moving to keep warm. And he spots it, about thirty people ahead of him, that swoop of brown hair that he knows oh so well.

No fucking way.

He tells Kyle he thinks he’s spotted a friend, won’t be a second, and all that, and then heads down the sidewalk.

“Steve?”

Chestnut Swoop spins to look at him, and he didn’t even need him to, he knew who it was. Knows that hair anywhere. Those shoulders, the way he carries himself, the way he moves. Eddie knows it all.

“Eddie? Holy shit!”

Eddie nearly gets knocked off his feet, Steve lunging toward him and practically pulling him off the ground into a bear hug. He’s kind of lost for a second, before he wraps his own arms around Steve and squeezes back. He smells good, and Eddie recognises his cologne. Eternity for Men. He picked it out for Kyle, and Kyle just scrunched his nose up and walked off. Steve’s wearing it. Something Eddie would have chosen.

Steve pulls back from him but hangs on to his arms, like he’s taking him all in. Eddie’s heart is thundering in his chest.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Actually, scratch that, where the fuck have you been?”

“Here, in Indy… mostly. It’s a long story.” Steve raises an eyebrow but Eddie plows on, doesn’t give him a chance for a follow up question. “What about you man, here to see... “ he points to the marquee up above.

“Yeah,” answers Steve. “Yeah, there’s a few of us from work and, fuck! Robins here! She’s gone to pee,” Steve looks around, as if Robins pissing in the street, “uh, somewhere. Man she’s gonna lose her shit when she sees you.”

They talk, and Steve introduces his work friends and Eddie can’t help himself, he’s checking them out trying to work out which one is Steve’s girlfriend. Robin screeches “Eddie!” as she runs up the street, practically throws her self at him. He gets the overwhelming urge to cry. He’s feels like an idiot.

“Eddie? Come on man, we’ll lose our place.”

Kyle comes up behind him, looking mildly pissed. He’s eyeing up Steve’s friends and then his eyes are all over Steve. There’s no way he doesn’t recognise him. Eddie has a photo album that he started putting together in 1986. Pictures of the kids, of Wayne, of Robin and Nancy and Steve. There’s one of the four of them sitting on the porch of Wayne’s new trailer, beers in hand, all cheering at the camera as Wayne took the photograph. Eddie and Steve practically in each others lap. That one is in a frame. Kyle clocked something there straight away. Eddie gave him nothing. Close friend, he said. Kyle huffed, sure. Subject closed.

It was the weirdest thing. And it wasn’t just trauma bonding, or whatever the fuck Robin called it. The trauma got them together, maybe, threw them altogether on a big spin cycle and spat them out, but Eddie and Steve clicked. They’d have clicked without it. So easy to say opposites attract, but they weren’t that different really. Not when you scratched the surface.

And it wasn’t really anything but it wasn’t really nothing, either. There were late nights under blankets, and well you’re staying over and it’s cold so you may as well climb in the bed, dude, and I can’t sleep wanna go for a drive? and arms thrown around shoulders, and sitting side by side, knees touching. There were pinkies linked, hands over hands, lying in bed crying, foreheads touching. Nothing, but everything.

They had two good summers before Steve said he was moving away. Nothing for him in Hawkins, apparently. Eddie couldn’t hide the hurt, so he ended up burying it in the back of his van with his backpack and his guitar and left town first. Said goodbye to Wayne and just took off. He came back for holidays and birthdays, but if Steve or Robin did the same, Eddie never knew.

And now they’re outside the Ritzy Music Hall in Indianapolis and it’s November and its cold and Kyle is standing there like he wants to start swinging his dick. And Eddie? He just wants to grab Steve by the hand and run. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t run now. He follows.

“Um, I should get back,” he says.

Steve’s brows dip, like he’s confused. “Fuck no! Cut in with us. I’m not letting you out of my sight, dickhead.” Steve laughs but it’s stiff and his eyes don’t really leave Kyle.

“We’re good, thanks.” Kyle throws his arm over Eddies shoulder, pisses on his territory for all to see and starts to drag him away, but Eddie pulls out from under him.

“Just a second,” says Eddie. Kyle cuts him a look, sharp and beady. Eddie reaches into his pocket, finds a scrap of paper. No pen. Shit.

“Ooh, yes, pen! I have one!” says Robin, and he loves her, and fuck he’s missed her so much. And her hair is different, and she looks so cool. It’s only been three years and he’s missed it all.

He jots his number down and hands the paper over, before snatching it back and adding another.

“Top is mine, or Kyles, I guess,” and he’s so embarrassed at that, “but the bottom one is Waynes. He’d love to hear from you.”

And so its goodbye, and call soon, and he’s back in line with Kyle and Kyle is in a shitty mood now. Declares how he just wanted to enjoy his night, and well apparently Eddie running into the best friends he ever had, the ones he ran away from so they couldn’t hurt him first, well that just fucked Kyle’s night right up.

They’re in, eventually, and the band come on, and now Eddie at least has noise to drown out the thoughts ticking over in his head. He feels suddenly so empty, so cold. He has work in the morning, and he’s starting early and he could feign any number of ailments at this stage, but there’s this terrible little thought at the back of his mind that he could end up with all his shit thrown out in the street.

The band play a slow song, one he knows is called Miserable and deep inside he’s laughing at himself. Kyle is swaying away, one step away from getting his lighter out by the look of him, so Eddie taps him on the shoulder and tells him he’s going for a piss.

There’s another line at the bathroom, everyone else jumping out during the slow song, but eventually he’s at the front, gets in an out in less than a minute. He doesn’t want to go back inside. He keeps looking around, hoping he’ll see the swoop, or Robin’s pink streak in her blonde hair, but the place is packed and it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. He fucks off to the bar instead. Another line. Why not?

The song changes, and he knows this one, intimately. It’s an Otis Redding number. He has a really intense memory of his dad singing it for his mom. His dad fucking loved Otis Redding. It punches something inside him and he feels breathless. He gets to the front, orders his Jack and coke, he’s in a go big or go home kind of mood now, and its not until he opens his mouth to order that he tastes blood. He raises his hand and touches his lip. He was chewing it and he didn’t even notice it.

His mind’s in a fucking pit now, and there’s this song and he just wants to go home, but it’s not even his. Nothing is his.

There’s a hand tapping on his shoulder and like, a fucking fight is the last thing he wants and the best thing that could happen to him tonight. He turns and gets a face full of Steve Harrington.

“Hey, you okay?” How does he do that? How does he just stay so reasonable, so considerate? Eddie ran away and they see each other for the first time in years and he could be pissed and angry but instead he just makes Eddie want to climb inside him.

“No,” Eddie says, honest for once. And then Steve’s hand is in his and he’s being dragged from the building, and they’re out on the street, and fucking Kyle, he’s going to—

“Hey, Ed, dude look at me.”

“Kyle—”

“Fuck Kyle.”

“What?”

They’re back on the sidewalk, with the smokers and the early leavers, and it’s fucking cold so he can’t hide the shiver.

Steve rubs his hands up and down the sides of Eddie’s arms, because he remember. The way the cold seeps into Eddie’s bones and never leaves once it’s there. He remembers.

“I said fuck Kyle.”

“I have to…”

“You don’t have to do anything. You look fucking miserable, and I don’t like the way he talks to you. I don’t like the way you shrink when he stands next to you. You used to shine. He doesn’t make you shine.”

And what is he supposed to say to that?

“I’d make you shine.” Steve says that. Steve Harrington says that to Eddie Munson. Eddie stops breathing.

“I…”

“I’ve missed you, Eddie. So fucking much.” Steve looks right at him, eyes bright and wet.

Eddie can barely answer, his throat tight. He sniffs, just nods like a fool in the middle of the street. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“Let’s go somewhere. Get some food or something.”

“Robin—”

“Robins fine, she’s with her girlfriend.”

And he just nods again, like a dashboard ornament. “Kyle—”

“Do you love him?”

“What?’

Steve laughs. “I said. Do. You. Love. Him?”

Does he?

He loves having someone at home when he is because he hates being alone. He loves having someone lie next to him in bed so that when he wakes up the world feels real. He loves having someone to cook for, someone to go grocery shopping with. Someone to hold when they’re having a bad day, someone to hold him when his world is falling apart. Someone to show his favourite films to, to play his favourite albums to, to share books with. To laugh with. Someone to sit in the drive in and hold hands with. He loves that.

But he doesn’t love Kyle. And Kyle doesn’t love him.

“You always know, don’t you?”

Steve smiles at him, that cocky little smirk of his. Gorgeous.

“I always know.”

Steve takes his hand and they walk together.

Side by side.

#Spotify wrapped writing prompt #steddie fanfic #steddie fanfiction #eddie munson #steve harrington #Spotify Top 100 fic meme #dreamy writes #my writing

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emptythings · 1 year

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#ao3 memes #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 wrapped

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firstelevens · 2 years

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finally a 5 for wilson fam and bonky (platonic) <3

Send me a number 1-101 and a ship and I'll write you a little fic based off the corresponding song on my Spotify Wrapped.

5. "Paperman" by Christophe Beck

Movie nights with Bucky and the boys have historically yielded more hits than misses. The Jungle Book was a lot more messed up than Sam remembered it being, but The Muppet Christmas Carol and How to Train Your Dragon were both winners, even if the latter ended with both Sam and Bucky in tears while AJ and Cass looked on in confusion.

They’re planning to watch The Mummy tonight, but from the sounds of it, AJ has taken the initiative to squeeze in some extra cultural exposure while they wait for the drinks and popcorn.

Sam is helping Cass distribute the cans of seltzer and glasses of juice on the tray for maximum balance when AJ’s voice carries in from the next room.

“Is that what New York looked like when you were a kid, Uncle Bucky?”

“It was in color, actually,” is Bucky’s dry response, and when he laughs a second later, Sam knows that AJ is fixing him with a Wilson Look.

There hasn’t been any dialogue, just music, so Sam isn’t quite sure what they’re watching, but it seems to have the them absorbed enough that they don’t talk for another few moments.

By the time Sam and Cass come in, the music has picked up, bright and sprightly, and he and Cass hover by the couch as the character onscreen get buffeted along the sidewalk by a bunch of paper airplanes.

They watch in silence for a bit, and then, as the credits roll, Bucky says, “Hats. We wore hats back then.”

His voice is a little hoarse, but he smiles as AJ asks, “All the time?” and Cass simultaneously pipes up, “Wait, what kind of hats, though?”

They go from Bucky’s primer on the importance of hats–“Ma always said she raised a gentleman, and the hat was to make sure people knew it,”– to Sam pulling up a picture of Jimmy Stewart in a fedora to watching The Shop Around the Corner, both boys falling asleep long before the credits roll. The conversation is mostly forgotten after that–or so it seems, until Bucky unwraps a messily-wrapped present from the boys two weeks later to find a gray wool flatcap nestled inside the box with a note in Cass’s neatest handwriting: So people know you’re still a gentleman.

#fanfic side of tumblr explain Seabass's gray flatcap etc etc #philtstone #zainab does ask meme things #spotify wrapped fics #my fic

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