#kudos to those authors you feed me

[berlynn-wohl]

okay so I was watching a video about videos and decided to write about writing (specifically, fanfic)

Typically I don't share my thoughts on fandom as a subculture and how it's changed because I don't have the stomach for the kind of things that can happen when one posts their opinions on social media. But I'm gonna give it a go today because I watched this:

You don't have to watch it, I'll tell you the thing that got me: it was about how on YouTube, people are likely to be fans of specific channels, and if you subscribe to one, you could probably, if asked, discuss what you like about that channel/creator with others. But the way TikTok's feed works (turning you into a passive consumer of an endless stream of short videos), it's more difficult to differentiate who the creators are, even when you subscribe to them. You're more likely to just say, "I'm a fan of TikTok" (...or "I'm addicted to TikTok"). This is evidenced by the fact that at a recent VidCon, TikTokers who had millions of views and hundreds of thousands of subscribers faced empty lines at the meet-and-greets, because their content was just part of a blur of content their subscribers passively put their eyeballs on every day.

And I had a thought: Has AO3 done this for fanfic? Of course AO3's content cannot be passively consumed; you have to enter search terms and use filters to find what you're looking for. But once you have entered such a search, you could well be faced with thousands of results, which you begin consuming by opening tab after tab after tab. If you were not in fandom before 2012, I cannot stress how ludicrous this amount of fanfiction is. Before AO3, unless you were in a MASSIVE fandom (like HP or LOTR), you eagerly awaited the arrival of new fics because there just weren't that many -- and even if you were in a massive fandom, if you shipped one of the less popular pairings (or preferred Gen), you still could not necessarily count on even one new fic a day that was to your tastes.

And in those days when fics were fewer and farther between, and when fandoms were more siloed, you got to know fanfic authors. You recognized their styles. When someone posted a new fic, you were excited because you knew what you could expect based on what you already enjoyed about that author's talents and inclinations. In a small fandom I was in long ago, where only about ten people wrote fic, we once sat around and brainstormed which popular music act's vibe corresponded with which each author's style! (I was The Clash.)

Compare that to now, where many readers in fandom have the opportunity to just click-read-click-read-click-read, not just as a reward at the end of a long day, but on the bus or anywhere. I don't think it's a coincidence that fics get fewer comments than they used to, and there's far less discussion of individual authors. There's no incentive to linger on something even if you enjoyed it, when the next fic is waiting in another tab.

Now perhaps it's better that the structure of fanfic culture has changed such that we have less potential for BNF drama. But it also means that whenever I see newcomers to a fandom asking for recs, most of the responses are "Have you read [the fic with the most kudos and comments on AO3]?" It's not just that this response is a bit superfluous, as the newcomer has probably already sorted the AO3 results by kudos/comments -- to me it also indicates that folks get so much fanfic from The Fanfic Website and so little community from The De Facto Fandom Platforms that it becomes difficult to remember individual fics, what you enjoyed about them, or how an individual author's style might make them a better match for a certain reader. (Yes, I am aware that AO3 has histories/bookmarks for people to refer back to, but when one accumulates 1000 bookmarks and then someone asks for a rec, most likely the bookmark holder is only going to remember, off the top of their head, That One Crazy Outlier Fic That The Entire Fandom Lost Their Shit About Seven Years Ago.)

I dunno, this is all I got in the way of thoughts. I'm not saying I want to go back to the way things were 10 or 20 years ago, but I sure do wish I could a-la-carte it a little, you know?

#fandom

[ivyblossom]

Thank You

I'm so grateful that fandom is there and acting as the infrastructure where fanfiction can go and exist.

I realize anyone could just write fanfiction at any time and it could exist without a fandom to hold it. But people who have the creativity, strength, and courage to create things that don't have a place to exist are rare. Those are paradigm-shifters. Not everyone is a paradigm-shifter.

I'm not a paradigm-shifter. I think if I'd known that fanfiction had a place to go and exist when I was tiny, I would have started writing it the moment I could hold a pencil. But I didn't know, and without that infrastructure and a place to hold the thing, it's just so much harder to see it as an option. It's not always so easy to just do what you want, especially when you're younger or less confident, or if you still follow rules, or believe that rules like that are real things.

So whenever I see posts about the importance of feeding fanfic authors with kudos and comments, I hesitate a little. Because, sure. I get it. It's good to know you're not just shouting in the void, and the engagement with other people who dig your idea is absolutely amazing, it is. It feels great. Feedback is terrific. And I have been incredibly lucky in that regard for the whole of my fanfiction career to date. I wrote shitty fanfiction when I started out, and someone was kind enough to very gently school me to make me better, too. So what would I know about voids and silence? Nothing.

But I can't stop marvelling at the fact that I get to write the thing I feel compelled to write, this thing that's fighting its way out of me and will keep clawing at me until it gets out, because there's a place for it to go where it will be understood and it can exist. I can write it and then look back at it and tell it it's pretty and I love it, and then I can put it somewhere where it can live and where it can be understood, where it will part of a larger community of things that look like it, where it belongs. And then I can look at it and say, there you are. You're where you need to be now, and I'll always know where to find you.

Other people engaging with it is a whole other level, and it is so incredibly delightful, but the relief and pleasure of having what amounts to permission to lovingly expel a super self-indulgent, or silly, or wacky story and see it safely home is so immense I don't know how to properly articulate it.

Comments and kudos are amazing, I love them and I'm grateful for them, and there are so many brilliant and insightful people in fandom who have turned my world upside down with their commentary. Their work in that regard matters a lot, it's life-changing stuff, but comments and kudos aren't the cost of admission. Comments and kudos are fanwork in the same way that fanfiction or fanart is fanwork, as far as I'm concerned. As a fanfiction writer, my fanfiction exists because I wanted it to and I need it to. It's my self-care, it's my hobby, it's my joy. Engagement with it is fanwork and a gift, not payment.

Thank you for being the community where fanfiction can go and exist. Thank you for making space for it to belong somewhere. Thank you.

#grateful for fanfiction readers #grateful for fandom #grateful for AO3 #This is the other thanksgiving day right?

[elephant-in-the-pride-parade]

AI is Theft, plain and simple.

I'm seeing a group of posts circulating with fanfiction authors forbidding folks to feed their WIPs to an AI to get a quick ending. I am both horrified that there's actual readers who would do that and also resigned that some readers will do it anyway.

A lot of us have already been robbed.

1,000,000 words of my writing were consumed by ChatGPT when its trainers took massive amounts of AO3 works and added them to its training dataset. Nearly every word I've written in my adult life was taken without my consent to build that machine.

I'm locking all my existing and future fics to registered AO3 users only for this reason. It's the best precaution to prevent future scraping of works on the website by AI. I don't want to do that. Half my Kudos and some of my comments come from guests. I want to be able to share my stories with those of you who can't get an AO3 account. But I don't want my work stolen by an AI again.

To folks who would rather use AI to generate the ending of someone else's WIP, or to write a whole story for them, know that youre condoning the theft of billions of words.

Some may say that all writing is created thanks to inspiration from other writing, maybe you think it's not a big deal that others work was used to train an AI. But there are differences to how a human mind writes and how a machine generates text. A human being can be inspired by another writer or dozens of writers. But the work they create is their own, crafted from their unique human experiences. Humans select words based on their definition, connotation, linguistic history, and dozens of other unique factors to convey whatever idea they are striving to put onto a page.

ChatGPT selects words based primarily on their function, one of the reasons it has been demonstrated to be unable to tell the difference between falsehood and fact. It selects words based on how often it knows they have been paired with other words. ChatGPT  does not have its own emotions. It does not think. It does not create. It only reuses the turns of phrase created by real people. None of its words are its own. It has no original ideas of its own. It's producing a facimile of creativity - a facimile made possible by my and millions of other writers stolen, unconsented contributions. Its creators are profiting off of our work.

WGA are striking to ensure their professional writers' hard work is never used for AI models. Those of us who are fanfiction authors deserve the same choice. I never agreed to have my work used for anyone else’s profit, certainly not for an AI which, by design, steals other people’s ideas each time it generates a word.

If you're too impatient to wait for one of my WIPs to be finished, and for some reason dont just want to message me and beg me to spoil the ending, then go ahead, give my work to the AI to finish if youre that impatient. It already ate every word thats ever mattered to me. But know that whatever ending it spits out, it will be no more real than a trick of the light and not half as entertaining. The equivalent of eating a pack of red dye number 2 when you wanted a red apple. And it will be theft. Is that really worth your instant gratification?

#openai #chat gpt #fanfiction #ao3 #archiveofourown #archive of our own

[aeor-is-for-reccing]

Hidden Gems: A Shadowgast Rec List

This week, we have one of our recurring themes: fics with fewer than 150 kudos! Check under the cut for fourteen amazing fics that you might have missed the first time around:

Ocean Blues by Vailee (3836,General)

Warnings: None

On a remote island, Caleb meets a merman named Essek.

Reccer says: The description of merman Essek with his fins and tail is very adorable.

Breaking Inertia by futureshieldmaiden (31096,Teen)

Warnings: None

A time loop fic where Bren has to work with the Shadowhand Essek Thelyss to straighten out time.

Reccer says: There's a lovely slow burn between the two, and I like the plot develops - with a couple of twists along the way.

flurries by quinn_of_aebradore (1381,General)

Warnings: none

Caleb and Essek visit a night market

Reccer says: It's extremely sweet and soft, with a warm and cozy wintertime feel to it.

the start: wings to chase the sky by mllekurtz (TheKnittingJedi) (2662,Teen)

Warnings: None, but note that the other part of the duology has its own tags! (calamity fic)

Part of a duology of an Age of Arcanum AU where Caleb and Essek are prestigious wizards of Avalir. A getting-together ficlet.

Reccer says: Mlle is so good at writing the shadowgast getting together, and it's fun to see the wizards in this lavish arcane world.

in the blood by VexedVixen (11075,Mature)

Warnings: None

Vampire!Essek rescues an injured Caleb and brings him to his towers in Rosohna. Caleb is them offered a job by Essek - a job that includes donating some blood.

Reccer says: The worldbuilding is so cool! Always nice to see a good vampire AU.

A Thousand Words, Unspoken by soot_and_salt (3150,General)

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings (technically, but it's not a dark story)

Caleb runs a YouTube channel where he films himself restoring paintings. The latest one to come in is a portrait of a beautiful drow man.

Reccer says: If you're familiar with the story of Pygmalion and Galatea, it's a little like that.

you're the only light i've ever known by glossolali (1463,Teen)

Warnings: None

After their bath, Essek combs and plays with Caleb's hair. Caleb enjoys himself.

Reccer says: It's very sweet and tender. And like the author says in the end note, it shows how Caleb has changed and healed over the course of campaign 2.

Break Me, Mend Me by Kaiannae (21835,Mature)

Warnings: Depiction of depression and self-sabotage, CNC if you squint, borderline force feeding if you squint.

Caleb's self-loathing is rearing its ugly head and he is spiraling out of control, pushing his friends and chosen family away, isolating himself from those who care about him and attempting to sabotage everything good in his life. Eventually, Essek decides to do something about it. He knows that nothing mundane like talking would be of any help, so he offers Caleb what the human thinks he wants: punishment, atonement, debasement, a way to quiet the vicious voices in his head.

Reccer says: BDSM as therapy, sort of, getting into Caleb's head for the character study, aftercare for the masses, doms and subs alike.

Silver Couches To Recline Upon And Ornaments Of Gold by soot_and_salt (3242,Teen)

Warnings: None

Essek, unable to leave the tower he resides in, finds a cat on his balcony. He soon discovers there is more to this cat than he could have ever imagined.

Reccer says: It is a fairy tale au and I am a big fan of fairy tales.

Let the River Carry You by Operafloozy (2983,General)

Warnings: none

Essek knits something for each of the Nein

Reccer says: It's very sweet and thoughtful, and I love the description of the patterns

in vaults and cherished amber by allinna (4406,Teen)

Warnings: none

At the Vurmas Outpost, Essek receives some well-deserved love from Caleb and the M9.

Reccer says: it's a sweet, comfy fic that makes you smile! what more would you want.

born from beauty by hanap (2375,Explicit)

Warnings: None

Caleb and Essek have a conversation about their respective experiences with gender and what it means to feel at home in one's body, after which Essek shows his love for Caleb's body by giving him a blowjob.

Reccer says: I resonate with both Caleb and Essek's experiences of gender in this fic, so it was a lovely experience getting to read how much the two of them love each other's bodies that are so similar to mine.

if only I could see your face by lakrisrot (3399,Explicit)

Warnings: Can read having a sex-negative to sex-neutral POV character

Caleb spends some time with Essek after the Transmogrification fails. They end up more intimate that expected.

Reccer says: This fic offers a very intriguing look into Essek's mind as an asexual/demi person. I very much enjoyed that.

And two recs for

the hole in the stone by MinnesotaBruja (13243,Teen)

Warnings: Animal/Pet Death

Shortly after the end of campaign 2, Essek takes a position as a lighthouse keeper on a remote island north of Eiselcross. The fic is comprised of his letters to Caleb.

Reccer 1 says: Essek cares for chickens while living on the island and I find it extremely sweet. Reccer 2 says: Beautiful, heartbreaking, so very well written you will most definitely cry and it's worth every tear!

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast. And hey! Don’t forget to leave comments and kudos for the lovely authors!

Check out the previous Hidden Gem Recs Lists here [1] [2]

Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week's theme is Time Travel/Time Loops!

#critical role fan fiction #shadowgast #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #aeor is for lovers #hidden gems rec list #fan fiction rec lists #cr fan fic

[uglygreenjacket]

I’ve recently started writing in multiple fandoms, and it’s been so interesting to see how they choose to interact on different platforms, but especially on ao3.

One is huge and leaves tons of kudos but very few comments. One is tiny and leaves both. Two of them are extremely quiet except for those individuals that I have known for some time.

So, which motivates me the most as a writer? The comments. THE COMMENTS.

The smallest fandom I write for has some of the most enthusiastic and veracious commenters. I’m an unknown there. No one knows me like they do in my main, but they still leave tons of comments and it absolutely feeds me in the most rewarding of ways.

I’ve always been a slow writer, but in the last three weeks I’ve written some fifteen thousand words, and I was motivated to do so because of comments.

Comments can be transformative.

Even if you can only take the time to say, ‘I loved this, can’t wait for more!’ it means something. It means a lot.

I met my best friend because I left a comment. I have cried the happiest tears because of comments. I keep writing because of comments. Comments mean a discussion about something I love, something I created. It’s the very heart of what fandom is about.

So, read and kudos and comment and review. At the very least, you’ll make an author’s day.

#on writing #fanfic writing #ao3 #comments #on fanfiction #fanfiction #fan fic #writing

[jacqulinetan]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged!!!! thank you @ursae-minoris-world, you're truly so so kind to think of me.

I'll be real honest, I'm only on tumblr very intermittently and I don't really know how to use the platform at all. I'm scared that my formatting will be really messy and make people angry if I put a wall of text on their feed. So hopefully I figure out how to do the jump cut. But I just finished a fic so it's very fun to do one of these and talk about my writing. And I always like to see other people too, so I thought, hey I will give it a shot. Here's the questions:

How many works do you have on ao3? Right now I just finished my 74th work on ao3! Fifty four of those are vld, twenty four are sheith proper

2. What's your total word count on ao3? 993,716 words. I'm set to hit a million this year, I think!

3. What fandoms do you write for? LOL can you believe it? We're still loving Mr. Keith Voltron in the glorious year of our lord 2024

4. What are your top five fic by kudos? Oh well, my sk friends aren't going to be impressed--- my kl fics always take top spots for kudos and bookmarks. I attribute this not to talent or popularity but just because that side of the fandom has a much wider reach. For the sake of the questionnaire, I'll answer properly, in order: 'it's you that's haunting me' takes the top spot by a wide margin at 2,591 kudos to date. 'that mullet, etc' is currently at 1,788 kudos, and after that it's 'cross my heart,' 'swapping out silence,' and 'things that go bump in the night.'

5. Do you respond to comments? I do! for me, one of the best parts of fic is the community between authors and their audience. For the majority of my fandom life I've considered myself more of a reader than a writer, so I really treasure it when I leave a comment and an author responds. It's so special. As an author, I do respond to every comment, though sometimes it takes me a long time. I'm always so impressed that people are not only reading my words but digesting them and thinking on them too. It's wild to me. A very precious gift.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh, my friend, that fic is yet to come. the wip I've got on my closest back burner has a real humdinger of an angsty ending. I'm excited about it. hmmmm if I had to answer now.....I'm not sure! usually I'm a happy ending kind of girl

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? well well well, now I have to answer this one properly don't I? Are we thinking happiest like 'biggest emotional pay off for the reader'? Or happiest like 'Keith is wildly happy' by the end? I think 'heart nailed open' has a very good emotional pay off (though I wrote it so perhaps I can't judge too well on behalf of the reader). If I am really thinking, in which fic is Keith truly the happiest he could ever be by the end...well, I try always to make Keith happy but, in 'the whole story' he has everything he could ever want AND a very nice couch.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not routinely. I did, actually, get a very nasty comment on a fic in 2023 and it legitimately hurt my feelings. Made me feel like I should not be writing at all, actually. But, can you believe it? Friends came out of the woodwork-- people I rarely talk to, even-- and jumped in my comments section and really defended me. like, I really had all kinds of people on my side, defending me! So that meant a lot to me, and I was honestly so surprised, and I'd like to give every one of those friends the kindest hand press because I really did feel very taken care of in the aftermath.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Oh, I don't know! I have plenty of E rated fics but I don't know if I will ever master a true PWP. to me, the sex scenes I write are not so original or exciting, nothing to really write home about lol. I'm not a fan of publicly being negative about my stuff, so I will simply say that I wish I could write some really off beat toe curling wild kink, but it's probably just not my personality to do so LOL

Is this getting really long?? should I be embarrassed ? should I close the tab and never think on this again? hmmm no

10. Do you write cross overs? Cross overs with what, my dear? There's only one Keith

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Oh I think 'it's you that's haunting me' strolled on over to wattpad or some such site without my permission back in the day, but I've never really looked into it. What I don't know cannot hurt me, right? I highly doubt that there's been some crazy highway robbery for perfchan words.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I don't think I have! But I did have someone ask to record a podfic for one of my stories, and I was so flattered and thrilled!!!!!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope! I don't have much interest in this, I am very shy about my writing and I fear I would be too cagey to be a very good collaborator.

14. what's your all time favorite ship? Keith x Being Loved and Cherished the Way He Ought to Be

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? (covers face) I don't have any unfinished WIPs.... it's not in my Type A personality to leave things undone.....

16. What are your writing strengths? This is something to really ponder!!! What /are/ my strengths!!! huh!!! well. I figured out early on that my favorite things to write are atmospheric and setting heavy -- both my most popular fic (it's you that's haunting me) and my most personally beloved fic (heart nailed open) have this in common: they have a lot of detail about the setting, and a lot of effort put into ~vibes~ of the story. so I think, if I could be self indulgent and chose which writing bits I'm good at, it's that type of thing. I really like crafting a scene you can settle into with all of your senses

17. what are your writing weaknesses? too many to list!!! I very often read my own writing and I always enjoy it (I wrote it for myself afterall) but sometimes I wonder....why did I spend so long on this particular bit? I think I am not very good at making a story tight. I wish I could master the art of being able to 'trim the fat' so to speak, really be precise with the story, but I simply don't have the chops! I can never understand how to make it better than I already have! perhaps if I keep writing long enough, I will get better at this

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? this question would really open up a can of worms on the kl side of the fandom LOL. I will admit it, I've had Lance speak spanish a time or two. I don't speak spanish myself so in those rare instances I have been VERY careful to keep things straightforward and try really really hard to not be cringe worthy to native speakers

19. First fandom you wrote for? the first thing I posted online was a USUK fic in a hetalia LJ comm. I can distinctly remember the first time I ever read a fic with *there was only one bed* (it was usuk) and WHEN I TELL YOU MY EYES WERE OPENED. I was forever changed on that day. of course I wanted to try my hand at writing after that

20. Favorite fic you've written? You would ask me to chose a favorite of my children!!! Oh! I simply could not!!! No, seriously, it's 'heart nailed open.' I love that fic

This got so long !!!!!! I can't imagine anyone reading all this !!!!!!!! but omg if you did thank you!!!!!! I'm shy about tagging people in the best of times, and like I said at the very beginning, I am very very shaky on tumblr etiquette, so I had better not tag anyone. but if my friends enemytosleep or grem or kacy or monday happen to see this, I would be very excited to read your responses!!! okay bye!!

#perfchan #my writing #fanfiction meta

[mitsies]

i need help. how do i use ao3? every time i try to look up anything jjk related all i see is are a compilation of fluff, smut, and angst. i want a series or something 😿. preferably megumi or gojo

HI ML!!!!! i can for sure help you out <3 i don't really know any series for megumi but here are some recs for gojo:

gojo:

+ intrinsic warmth: my favourite fic of all time. like genuinely. insane writing, fucking amazing in every sense of the term. 2nd time recommending this! reader's character is so sick BUT updates real slow (which isnt a bad thing!! good things take time!!) so i wouldn't read if you aren't patient // 90k words, 13 chapters, incomplete

+ ripverse: not really a series, more like a compilation of fics! it's got a lot of angst and the one titled 'interlude' contains smut i think so beware, and it's also a lovetriangle/poly-but-geto-goes-crazy-so-not-poly moment // 55k words, 8 pieces

and below the cut, i can give you a quick lil tutorial on how to use and filter on ao3!

first things first, you're going to want to find a pairing you want to read for. you said megumi or gojo, so for example, just look up 'megumi fushiguro/reader ao3' in google or safari and ao3's megumi fics should come up!

the filtering part is how you'd find specific kinds of fics. it depends on what platform you're using!

DESKTOP: - when you're in the relationship tag, the filters should be on the right side of your screen. - it's pretty self-explanatory- you can include certain things you want to read (ships, fandoms, etc) and exclude things you don't wanna read. - in the 'more options' section, you can also sort by completion status or chapter count so you can find series !

MOBILE: - it's the same thing, basically! - once you're in the tag you want, the 'filter' button should be at the top right above the page tabs and rss feed button. - from there, it's the same deal: filter out what you don't want to see, filter in what you're looking for

3. once you've got all your things selected, hit 'sort and filter' and your page will refresh to display all the works that match your search!!

some advice: - on ao3, READ THE TAGS!!!!!! trust me, i've been jumpscared by explicit nsfw or gore all too many times </3 - jjk authors on ao3 are.... horny to say the least. make sure you use filters!!! ESPECIALLY the 'warnings' filter- that allows you to block out a fair amount of dark content - speaking of dark content.. do yourself a favour and don't read anything tagged with 'dead dove: do not eat'. for those who are unaware, that's basically code for dark dark dark content! - i always like to sort by 'kudos' which is basically the highest rated fics! find the option to do this in the 'sort by' part of the filter menu!

i hope this helps, anon!!! good luck on your search!!!

#mitz recs #mitz asks

[weirdowithaquill]

AI.

So, recently fanfiction writers have been getting a bit of a battering courtesy of AI. People are taking our incomplete stories and feeding them into AI, and then sometimes playing those off as their own work.

And it hurts. But you know who it hurts the most? The new authors. People like me, who are really only just starting and don't have the same massive fanbase or following like some other fic authors. Because we're really only left with two choices: either we lock our fics to people not on Ao3, or we have our hard work stolen.

Worse yet, AI is stealing complete works and using them to create their own content. And what are we as fanfiction writers supposed to do about it?

Please, don't do this. If you want there to continue to be a thriving fanfiction community, don't use AI, and don't make our lives hard. Or there will come a day when there are no new fanfic authors left, and there is no new content and then what?

So please, just leave us alone. I'm not sure yet whether or not I will lock all my fics, but I will be locking incomplete ones. And I don't want to do that, because it's guests and anonymous readers who often help get us off the ground, leaving kudos and hits, but what else is there to do?

I'm really sorry, and I hope that something is done about it someday. Thank you.

#ai #ao3 stuff #ao3 writer #fanfiction writer #ao3 author #weirdowithaquill #writers on ao3 #writeblr #what are we supposed to do?

[stevetonyweekly]

SteveTony Weekly - September 24th

 Work is extremely busy and I’ve been doing a lot of writing on some projects for the end of year, so reading is down, but I did enjoy some excellent new fic this week--check it out and be sure to leave a comment/kudos for your authors if you enjoy it! 

~*~��

Day Drinking by Sineala

To fight Orchis, Tony has to make them underestimate him. He spends his nights building armor in secret. He spends his days at the Hellfire Club with a glass of ginger ale in his hand, pretending to be drunk. But the lies will all fall apart if anyone notices that Tony doesn't have liquor on his breath. Steve has a solution for that. Tony's not going to like it.

frequencies of sea and space by meidui

“One mil,” a voice says, firmly, and Steve would recognise that voice anywhere. Like thick amber honey, like smoke from a fire, lighting him up and burning him down.

There are no higher bids.

Steve looks across the room and gazing back at him is the face he’s spent two years squeezing his eyes shut at night trying to block out—the scratch of his beard on his chin when they kissed and its burn between his thighs and burying his face in Tony’s stomach while Tony pet through his hair with one hand and scrolled through his tablet with another and every stupid thing they argued over and how Tony would murmur sweet soothing apologies against his ear afterwards as he fucked him sobbing through another orgasm and the rasp in his voice in the morning and the lines around his mouth when he smiles and the nicknames he tossed his way like spare change—but those eyes meet his and it’s all over.

Spice and a Wound by fuckofdaedalus

Tony’s dealing (poorly) with the effects of his cancer treatment, Steve drops by unannounced to watch TV and sees something he shouldn’t. One thing leads to another, and now Steve’s holding his own belt in his hand, looped in half, and staring at Tony’s bare back, about to beat one of his best friends. Worst of all? He likes it.

mockingbird won't sing by S_Hylor

Steve had fought in the war, seen a man made hell on earth and somehow clawed his way out the other side of it, even if it took him decades to resurface. He hates the world he’s found himself in, doesn’t fit into this shiny, too bright, too loud future, but he keeps fighting, because it’s all he knows how to do. It’s in one of those fights that he gets dosed with an unknown chemical agent that makes him want and need things he shouldn’t, makes him give in to that want. It’s just one night, but that’s all it takes to leave him facing something he can’t defeat.

nothing shines upon by Red (S_Hylor), SirSapling

The New Year brings about a few changes. Stark knows about the pregnancy now. He organises doctors and appointments, and is at Steve's apartment more often than not. It makes Steve feel less lonely, having company that will talk to him, rather than just feeding off him like a parasite.

It changes things.

That doesn't mean it makes them better.

little star by Red (S_Hylor) 

Tony knows nothing he does will ever be able to show his gratitude that Steve gave him the chance to meet their son. To hold him. To count his tiny fingers and tiny toes.

never have i ever before by complicationstoo 

“What’s in the bag?”

Instead of answering, Tony walks them over to the couch and drops Steve down before sitting next to him. He hands the bag over, and his cheeks turn pink when Steve opens it.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I, um, figured we should be prepared,” Tony explains, biting anxiously at his lip and his eyes darting around the room. “I didn’t know what you’d prefer, so I might have gone a little overboard. Definitely got some weird looks from the cashier.”

Steve pulls out one of the many bottles of lube, ignoring the condoms for now. “This one is strawberry flavored.”

picture me in the trees by complicationstoo 

Tony and Steve were childhood friends that almost became more, but Tony moved and they lost their chance. Thirteen years later, a chance meeting brings Tony back into Steve's life.

Apple Bottom Jeans (And Other Love Songs) by gyzym

Or, how Steve Rogers--kind of--learns to dance.

Inbox (1) by Annie D (scaramouche) 

Recently Tony has been communicating over the internet with a charming new friend. Two-way anonymity has its advantages, allowing Tony to express himself more earnestly than he usually would otherwise. It’s safe, too, because what are the chances that Tony and BD01432 know each other in real life? Very low, that’s for sure.

Half Agony, Half Hope by Annie D (scaramouche)

Following the Battle of New York, the Avengers Initiative kicks into high gear under the leadership of Steve Rogers, i.e. Captain America. Tony didn’t mean to become part of this initiative, but it makes sense to sign on due to his experience with SHIELD and Rhodey’s War Machine suits.

The upside: Tony’s tech can be used in a widespread and meaningful way to help protect people. The downside: the last time Tony saw Steve, he’d rejected Steve’s proposal of marriage and broke his heart, leading to almost ten years of the two having no contact whatsoever. Until now.

Walking Wounded by Captain_Panda

A good man went to war. Captain Rogers came out.

A Proportional Response by msermesth 

Steve doesn't have a reason for cock-blocking Tony.

No reason, whatsoever.

The Law Runneth Forward and Back by Sineala 

It's been three weeks since Tony saved Steve's life at Mount Rushmore, and they're not talking about it. It's going to drive Tony insane. But they've got bigger problems, because Nightshade has turned Steve into a werewolf. Again. And all Steve seems to want is to be near Tony.

[Podfic] JentheSweetie's "And Time Can Do So Much" by Renton6echo 

"I really shouldn’t be talking to a figment of my imagination,” Steve said. “Sam would be reading me the riot act. I can hear him now. Therapy works wonders, you know.”

“Sounds like Wilson,” Tony agreed. “And therapy does work wonders. You might want to look into it, once it becomes a thing in a couple of years.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Steve said.

A few years after Steve moved permanently back in time, he started having conversations with Tony again.

#stevetony weekly #stevetony #steve rogers #tony stark #stony #iron man #captain america #stevetony fic #stony fic #fic rec

[chromatic-lamina]

Any number you haven't yet answered but want to for the writer ask meme!

Heh-heh! Great ask ❤️

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue? One with no dialogue, because I can always throw in reported speech and thought processes. Takes a particular skill to make a fic that is all dialogue authentic and interesting.

28. Does anyone read your fics before you post them? If so, who? Sometimes. I won't name 'em cos' I don't want to clutter up their notifications, but especially for exchanges, or if I've used someone's art (with permission) as inspiration, or for zines, etc.

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it? Okay, I guess the most recent is valuta from the Corazine (aftersales almost finished, but that's just an aside). I thought I did a pretty good job on portraying what the Donquixote brothers went through, also Cora's relationship with Sengoku and Law, and then Law with Sengoku, but maybe it was too much for the word count. It got very little interaction in the way of comments, at least. I like the KidLaw fics I did for the 2022 exchange and for the OP secret santa that year, but they remain two of my least popular fics (in terms of hits).

I like valuta for story parallels (Cora and Doffy, Law and Lami, etc.). I like the KidLaw fics because they make me laugh.

38. Did any of your fics get surprisingly popular (whatever that means to you)? Which ones? Why do you think they were so successful? Yeah. I think I've answered this before, and it's not massively popular compared to some fandom behemoths, but the Usopp vs the Heart Pirates fic: Dark like the North Blue Sea (aka The Sea-Hill you Die On) . I think it grew in popularity because it's canon compliant (also, maybe funny). Once a fic gets a certain number of kudos or hits too, it feeds its popularity growth, because people sort by kudos and hits, so all those hidden gems remain hidden! I'm happy that people enjoy it though!

43. If you take/write prompts: what’s your favorite prompt fic that you’ve written? Probably the one that @afterdeck-ace gave me of: Chopper and Law talking about courage or Jolly Rogers. They're talking about both in softening the fall of snow. That's followed or on par with screen / shiki-e, which was inspired by a tsute doodle. You can see the doodle and links to tsute's art on the AO3 page.

47. If [taxi] was a pair of shoes, what kind would it be? Describe the shoes.

Her jeans cost more than his weekly pay, hell — monthly— and her sneakers were scuffed and used in a way that hid or emphasised their one-of-a-kind design. Pretty cool. A red tonbo — dragonfly — from what he could see, stretched from the toe, its thorax and segmented body running along one side of the shoe, a blue chrysanthemum and pond reeds rising from the heel and undulating in the air below the insect.

I used a ref for that, but can't remember where I sourced it from.

I changed a few things, and the maker's name is on the jpg, fortunately!

48. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

Yes! I recommend it: Ours lives like sand in the gears of the world by @afterdeck-ace (Lily_Amazon). A platonic Law & Robin ficlet that explores the parallels and differences between them so well.

Also, a quick but satisfying read (sounds like Borsalino's possible reflection on Akainu) with this fic, In The Dappled Sun. Lemon mentioned (tumblr's being silly with throwing out community settings left, right and centre, so sorry for the return to FFN vocab). Fic author @kookoofufu

Am continuing to read saltyrock's It Takes a Lot to Know a Man but haven't read the latest chapter yet. LawBin and CrocoBin. Endgame LawBin.

There's a lot of good stuff out there, and so little time!

#one piece #lawbin #fic recs #kidlaw #tony tony chopper #trafalgar law #nico robin #eustass kid #fanfiction writer asks meme #chromalami #long post #donquixote brothers #chromafics #chromafic #chromask #rimetin

[brasideios]

I really should stop paying attention to the AI stuff but this is seriously getting to me; so much so that I’m considering quitting writing altogether.

I’ve been digging into my thoughts about this lately and I wanted to break it down a little here; to explain to myself, as well as you poor souls who engage with my bullshit, why I think AI fundamentally sucks and why I’m struggling to find a way to share my work anymore.

It begins with the fact that I strongly dislike the entire concept of traditional publishing.

In a nutshell, publishing houses get to decide what you, the consumer, will read, always based on what will be popular and make them the most money. They have the power to decide what you can’t read, what you shouldn’t read.

How many excellent stories have never been published because they weren’t riding the zeitgeist?

Millions. Millions.

And let’s not get into the ridiculously low percentage of income an author makes from a book published by a traditional publisher. Holy shit, it’s appalling.

Even as an indie author I earn about 32c for every $12USD sale of an ebook at best, and it is much, much worse through a publishing house.

Anyway. I digress.

In my opinion, all stories have a place, a meaning for the people who are listening for them, which is why finding the fanfiction world was so amazing to me.

Every voice here has an equal chance of being heard, and equally, we all have a chance to find the story we’ve been looking for. No one can stop you from publishing whatever it is you feel compelled to say. Whatever it is that drives and moves you.

It was honestly a relief to find stories without perfect prose and grammar getting the love they rightly deserve. Stories with silly or fun premises, LGBTQ+ people taking centre stage or - *insert thing that the publishing world would never publish here* - because it makes people ‘happy’ (whatever emotional form that takes) - both to write and to read.

But that well is poisoned by the people cashing in on that work via AI scraping, making unknowing slaves of creative people - pouring their love and time into a piece of writing only to have it stolen.

And in their own way, people using AI to make stories are just as bad. They too want to take advantage of the labour of others to get some buzz of dopamine from kudos/likes or whatever, which is completely unearned and undeserved.

I’m just going to mention here, while I’m on the subject - if you’re one of those wretches feeding other people’s unfinished fics to the AI to get an ending - I hate you so much there aren’t words. You are actually the worst. I hope none of my followers would do this - but if you do, check yourself.

Moving on…

The thing is, I just can’t understand how writers especially (and not just fic writers) can’t see that AI rips out the heart of storytelling.

Writing as a process is entirely personal; it comes from inside the self. At least in my experience, the process is more important than the end result. The discovery and exploration of themes and emotions entirely your own is only to be found in the process; it can’t be replicated by a computer spitting out strings of words others wrote.

It just can’t.

And I’m just going to say this now - if you, as a writer, don’t think this is important at all - if you don’t think that coming up with ideas and developing them yourself is literally what writing is - then I honestly don’t know what you’re doing, but it isn’t writing.

Anyway (again).

Where in all of this is there a place for a writer who doesn’t want their stories to be grist for the mill, to be regurgitated in some altered, souless form and sold off as if it was someone else’s?

Who’s sick to death of putting money in some other son of a bitches pocket, while they do the work out of love and passion?

I don’t know. I just don’t know anymore.

As it stands, we are powerless to stop any of this unless we simply stop writing, or sharing that writing. That’s a miserable acknowledgment to have to make for someone who quite literally just wants to write and share those stories with others without them being stolen.

It shouldn’t be a lot to ask.

#long post #AI #Anti-AI #anti trad publishing #writing #behold the field in which i cultivate my vibes #it’s been salted

[honeysucklepink]

Y'all I'm in a bit of a writing pickle.

For a while now, my writing mojo has gone. I get a thrill when a story of mine gets a kudos or a comment, but unlike others for some reason it doesn't spur me to write more. I haven't participated in a challenge in a while, or an advent (I checked, and the last thing I wrote was a not-quite-drabble in early March so it's been a YEAR. But what really makes me ache is when I get this:

"When are you going to continue Reaching Out to Touch a Stranger?"

And the truth is...I don't know if I ever will. Because I actually have a few scenes written, including THE FREAKING ENDING, but the idea of figuring out how to string those together gives me hives and sweats. It started really as a Klaine story with Mercedes as a catalyst (ugh, should I have called them catalysts instead of conduits? See, I'm second-guessing myself!) but then I wrote a piece for Sam and it turned into a Samcedes story, and then I had self-doubt about writing Mercedes authentically, and and and...

But I also want to get these other parts I've written out to you, the readers and fans. I don't want to horde them like my preciouses and I don't want to be one of those people who waits until it's perfect. So I guess I'll take the latest tool that Tumblr has provided and do this poll-style:

#pink writes things #(well USED to) #reaching out to touch a stranger #samcedes fic #glee fic #klaine-adjacent #writing woes

[bellamioneotp]

Top Ten Best Bellamione AU’s

Not a list of fic recs, just a list of some of my favorite AU’s that I’ve run into while reading Bellamione. Kudos to the authors who feed us, may a crucio fall upon any writers block that dares impede them.

1. Evil

I’m reading Bellamione. You gotta go big with the dark slice of life or go home. I wanna see fighting, wanna see morals getting corrupted (and Hermione’s you know what), and I wanna batshit wild plot. Hermione better be popping off with the Avada Kedavra’s, sis.

2. Soulmate

Yes, I am a sucker for soulmate au’s. (Let’s be real, who isn’t) And the angstier the better. I want them to have to fight for that bond, and fight for their love. Cute soulmate stories are alright but only if I microdose them.

3. Time Travel

Has this been overdone and overused as all hell? YES. But- it’s still fun to see what kind of twist the author will put on it to make it it’s own thing. It never gets old reading about Hermione traveling back in time to seduce, I mean, save Bellatrix.

4. Duo

This isn’t so much a category more than a trope. Bellatrix and Hermione being forced to pair up and solve problems amuses me to no end. Just good ol’ shenanigans where they pretend to hate each other but end up saving each others lives over and over again because they’re totally not in love.

5. Bad girl

These are the kinds of stories that are so hard to find. Bellatrix is naturally a bad girl, but in canon. I’m talking about muggle AU’s where her and Hermione are regular students in school. Would love to see more of Bellatrix being a leather toting, cigarette smoking, eyeliner wearing, bad girl that hides out under the bleachers. With Hermione as the goody-two shoes being slowly drawn into her world.

6. Scandal

Again, not so much an AU but found in some of them. I just love when the truth comes out that Hermione is dating Bellatrix. It’s just chef’s kiss when the wizarding world loses their marbles and Bellatrix gets to be snooty about bagging the golden girl.

7. Unpopular

This refers to AU’s that aren’t widespread. Meaning when Bellamione are put into a very rare AU type, such as being put in a Witcher AU- not a lot of that going on. I do enjoy the popular AU’s but sometimes it’s nice to read an author’s take on something very niche with the ship. For those of you who do it, thank you for keeping me fed.

8. Crack

From time to time I enjoy crack fics with this pairing. There’s not many of them floating around giving the nature of Bellamione being a more serious relationship focusing on redemption, etc. Sometimes I just wanna see Bellatrix do a sick wheelie on a dirt bike, ya know.

9. Professor AU

Listen...we all have needs. Bellatrix as a professor? As a strict professor? I’m taking her class every semester and reading every fic I can get my hands on.

10. Those Gilded Chains we Wear

I know it’s not an AU, but honestly, it might as well be. It kicked off so many great ideas for how to even write a Bellamione that would work in the wizarding world, and has inspired many authors. I hope one day to see it finished.

#harry potter #bellamione #bellatrix lestrange #bellatrix black #hermione granger #just ramblings #au types #blessed be the bellamione writers

[delta-pavonis]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

Tagged by @valeriianz and @sleepsonfutons, so LET'S DO THIS. Because I want to procrastinate from working.

Under the cut because I don't wanna clog up your feeds with random bullshit about me as a fic author. LOL.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

*checks AO3* SIXTY ONE?!? WHEN THE FUCK DID THAT HAPPEN.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

325,828 total. 216,568 of that is Sandman that has been written since September 5 2022.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Fandoms I have posted fic for: The Sandman, Star Trek, Men's Tennis RPF Fandoms I have written fic for that will only ever live in the secret rooms of my mind palace hard drive: X-Men, The Vampire Chronicles, Harry Potter, Vampire Hunter D, Hellsing (the anime & manga) Fandoms I have written fic for that I might post someday: The Dresden Files

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. New Moon 2. high enough (you got me good) 3. Whispers to the Night <- the one that started me on this wild Dreamling ride 4. To Worship on a Marble Altar 5. Eros in Pragma Interesting note is that almost all of those are early in the Sandman/Dreamling fandom where there was more activity and less fics in existence.

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

I would LOVE to respond more to comments. I read all of them and treasure each one. However, spoons are limited and most of the time recently my brain is just not cooperating. I used to respond to every one and exhaust myself. Now I'd rather spend that energy reading and writing more. But when I am feeling like I am a shite writer and others do it better and why am I even continuing to do this I go back and re-read comments and it really does help.

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

I don't think I write angsty endings, tbh. The angstiest of those that are finished would probably be i will take me away. There is, however, one that will definitely be the angstiest once it is done. 😉

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

I chronically write happy endings. I think my happiEST ending is Hypnopompia turtur, followed closely by high enough (you got me good)'s Chapter 4

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! At least not yet... <.< >.> <.<

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

*CACKLES* Do I write smut? Do I write smut? Do I write smut? You would have an easier time counting the fics that do NOT contain any smut. You could count them on one hand. I mostly write BDSM and/or graphic smut. Lots of porn, sometimes plot.

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

Yes, rarely. I think my recent delve into Sandman+Ted Lasso with Keeper is pretty fucking weird (as much as I adore it).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also nope.

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

Not that is published. I am currently collaborating with someone on future White Horse Mafia fics.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh Christ, that is like asking what is my favorite bird. *pulls out laptop and projector and slides* In this TEDTalk, I will... Dreamling is definitely the one that has had the strongest grip on me in a very long time. Lestat/Louis is a classic I will never be completely over. Harry Dresden/John Marcone just thrills me for reasons I cannot fully pinpoint. Chris Pike/Ash Tyler from Star Trek also is very dear to me, as is Clint Barton/Loki from back at the start of the MCU.

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

My Chris Pike/Ash Tyler/OC triad from Star Trek. I want to finish it in my heart, but I have lost the thread of it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Apparently porn. At least that is what I gather from feedback from others.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Does comparing myself too much to other authors count? Like, too often looking at another person's fic and being like I want to BE THAT instead of embracing who I am and how I write. Does that make sense? It is one thing to be inspired by someone's work and try to learn from them, but sometimes I find myself wanting to try to change my WHOLE STYLE to try and be "more successful" or "more liked", whatever the fuck that means.

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

I avoid it unless I feel I really need it for Plot Reasons™. I will use Google Translate if the language is common, but also other websites for common slang phrases or dialects that Google Translate doesn't have. I am more than happy to have people correct me, though!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Vampire Chronicles

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

OK, this is almost as hard as choosing my favorite bird... I really really love what I was able to achieve with the style of i had a dream (i got everything i wanted). I am so proud of Hob's first-person journal and a part of me will always wish it caught more people's attention. I still impress myself with the amount of world building I was able to cram into the less than 10k of find in me your rhythm and the less than 3k of Stay the Knight. What I was able to do with Hob's snarky voice in A Change in Tactics also cracks me up. But I think the one I am most proud of overall is You create me against your lips. It started out with a blurb inspired by an Instagram post and in the end will be the longest fic I have ever written and the longest fic I have ever finished by far. What is interesting is that most of these are decidedly NOT my most popular based on AO3 stats. Fascinating.

If you are a fic author and want a fun reason to waste some time, consider yourself tagged! *

#tag game #20 questions #If you are a fic author and want a fun reason to waste some time consider yourself tagged *BOOP* #learn about Pavonis

[oddballwriter]

HABIT w/ a Partner who’s a Vampire

Summary: What I think HABIT would be like with a partner who’s a vampire

Warnings: HABIT, mentions of blood, drinking blood, disregard for human life, disregard for Evan, killing, and torture

Relationship: romantic 💕

Author’s Snip: I got this idea from remembering another blog, @rabbits-of-habit, here on tumblr who made a scenario about HABIT and a reader who was a vampire but never made an actual post for what it would be like to be a vampire in a relationship with HABIT and I really liked the idea of it. I also feel like there isn’t enough writing where the reader is the vampire in the relationship and I feel like there should be more. Also, also, I just really like vampires. So yeah this is basically the product of both those things. Kudos to, I believe the mod Dirk, for giving me this idea.

Notes: I wrote this with the idea that your one of those vampires who doesn’t care about people so yeah

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy!

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

He enjoys this! For a few reasons

You’re not human which makes it feels like you guys are at a semi-even level

Even through he’s a multi dimensional demon thing and you’re an undead/night dwell creature (depends who you ask) and those aren’t the same thing

But you not being human allows him the ease of knowing that he doesn’t have to worry about being more “cautious” around you. Which just means that he can be a monster and do a whole bunch of stuff without you getting scared or killed because you’re also a monster and do a whole bunch of things too

Another thing he likes is that you guys can kind of have a bit of a symbolic relationship going on in which he kills people and you get your feed on blood out of it

It’s a bit one sided since you’re actually the one mostly getting something out of it but he guesses it gives him a reason to snatch and torture more people so that you get your supply of blood

If you ever need to feed then you can just go up in the attic and get it from whoever HABIT felt crossed him this time

However, if you like to work for your “meals” and get them yourself, he’ll respect that

“It feels better when it’s your own kill”

He also likes you being a vampire because as a vampire, you have to kill or at least harm people, and that means you don’t have much care for humans either, like him!

So he’s glad that you’re not some sap who “doesn’t wanna hurt people”

He’ll gladly let you have a little drink from “him” if you want he actually thinks it would be hot as fucking hell even though it’s technically not his blood but rather it’s Evan’s

He doesn’t care though we all know that he doesn’t give a fuck about Evan and what he thinks or feels so go right ahead and drink

HABIT heals fast anyways so you can drink a shit load of blood and he’ll just have a seat for like ten minutes or something and then he’s fine

I’m gonna take library to say that you two live together and also take liberty and say that you as a vampire sleep in the day and wake in the night since, you know, night dwelling creature, so it’s a no-brainer that you only dwell in the night

Anyways. When you’re asleep, he leaves you alone to rest in a room. He won’t bug you at all since there’s no point since vampires sleep like the dead. And also, what could he possibly need from you that he can’t simply wait till night for you to wake up? If he needs to go somewhere while it’s day then he’ll just write a note and put it somewhere he knows you’ll find it

If someone bugs you while you’re resting though, let’s say Vinny cause he likes to mess with him and drag him around, and also Vinny doesn’t know what’s good for him or leave things the fuck alone, then he’ll make sure they don’t do it again. Or he’ll let you handle it yourself. He’s sure Vinny will learn to never wake you up ever again

I like to think that vampires have a inhuman stealth ability and don’t make a sound when they move and sometimes you’ll accidentally sneak up on him and spook him a bit

He’s kinda used to it and learned to have that be a thing for his senses to look out for but he swears that sometimes you really do just show up out of nowhere

He has nicknames for you like “sucker” or something like that cause lets face it. He’s smug and cheeky like that

#slenderverse #everymanhybrid #everymanhybrid x reader #slenderverse x reader #x reader #emh x reader #emh #x reader scenario #emh habit x reader #emh habit #vampire reader

[danielleitloudernow]

This came up on my FYP feed and I thought it would be super fun to do in honor of NaNoWriMo.

20 Questions

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 30: 2 series, 5 WIPs, and a whole bunch of one shots 😁

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

134,500. Not sure how I hit an even number, but that's fun!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Korrasami (The Legend of Korra) and JEmily (Criminal Minds), but I have written for WarriorBard (Xena Warrior Princess), Ramvers (Captain Marvel), and Pricefield (Life is Strange). I'm working on originals, too, but that's neither here nor there.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Fuck Was I

The Consequences of Jello

Profiles and Princesses

Measure the Coefficient of Static Friction Between Us

The Violets in the Mountains Have Broken Rocks

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

Always. I always respond to comments. It's so fun interacting with readers, and often, other writers. I've made a few friends from it and it's been so great. I have been known to drop off the face of the earth so I don't answer for a long ass time, but j always answer. Plus, I think it's a great way to show appreciation for those taking the time to interact. I love those emails telling me a fic has a comment. I poured so much of myself and my time into something and someone took the time to say something about it! It's pure magic.

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

I think my fics are all HEAs, honestly. But there's a healthy dosing of angst throughout a lot of them.

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

Probably any of them, but Fuck Was I if I had to choose.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I did and I have. A fellow writer once called it "flaming troll shit" and since I changed my perspective to see it that way, I A) am considerably less bothered, and B) haven't really noticed it since.

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

I do write smut. I write the type of smut I want to read and it's always evolving. I don't really do like, BDSM (love to read it, don't have much urge to write it, though), but I'll throw in some kink once in a while. Really, I guess I just like to write real sex. The emotions, the connection, the want.

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

Honestly, no. It's never really been something on my radar. It feels like a lot to keep track of or to meld and that's just a lot. Kudos to those who can and do, though.

11. Have you ever had a fiction stolen?

I really hope not. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but plagiarism is illegal, kids.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of.

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

I have not. I have a beta reader (shout out to ireallyshouldnt_behere) who tells me if I'm an idiot or gives me suggestions, but we haven't moved into the realm of actual co-author (yet). We have joked about it before, and I would love to try a co-writing fic with someone.

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

Honest to God, JEmily. I had this theory when Criminal Minds first started back in the day that Emily and JJ got a little too drunk one night and clothes came off, that it turned into a thing. And then Will came along and Emily had to go and break her own damn heart because she didn't think she was good enough or JJ would be in danger being with her. Which is funny, given the Lauren arc, but I digress. But also, Xena and Gabrielle, always, because I grew up on XWP and those two were so obviously in love.

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

A novel I started writing 12 years ago 🤣 I love the concept and the characters and what I want to do with it, where I expect it to go. But holy fuck, it's been tedious. I have like...40k words of just bullshit that's not even really connected.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Emotions. Sometimes tension. Angst. Smut.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. And moving from point A to point B. Sometimes grammar (and that annoys me most of all).

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

I've done it, but let's be honest, it's Google translated because I'm American and for some reason we think English is the only language...

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Legend of Korra. I had read something that just made my head hurt and I thought "I can write better than that!" Spoiler alert, that's a really shitty reason to write something and no, you can't always 'write something better.' Plus, everyone is different: voice, styles, confidence, all that. Anyway, I cranked out a random idea (Living on a Spare) I thought was funny, and here we are.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Oh, why do you make me choose? That's a really good question. I think Chaos Theory (at least at the moment). I just found a bunch of bad pick-up lines and turned them into something ridiculous.

Just for funsies, I'mma tag @thewillowtree3 @blackbird-brewster @cargopantsprentiss @ahhhsami and hope you guys do it but really it's up to you! Cheers, yo!

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