#though that being said someone liked a fic i wrote from 2014. 10 YEARS OLD. those ones u should leave alone lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

breitzbachbea · 3 years

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For the shipping ask, 10 and 11 please ^-^

Thank you for the ask!

Shipping Asks

10. Do characters have to have canon interactions for you to ship them?

Hm, well, it doesn't hurt, but to be honest, no. Best example - when we read "Emilia Galotti" by Lessing in school, I really liked both Emilia & Countess Orsina a lot. I thought the "best" ending for the play would've been Emilia & Orsina becoming a couple while the Prince Hettore and Marchese Marinelli pay for their bullshit. Emilia & Orsina have zero interaction. And yet, I wrote fanfiction for the ship, one three chapters and thirty pages long. Hell, I even read excerpts of the multichapter fic for an event we did for a class in Uni. These two have never talked with each other once in the entire play, but I'd die for them and their love. Countess Orsina is a good ship.

When it comes to Hetalia, I don't think so much about canon but cultural likeness & historical connections. It actually didn't occur to me until a few weeks ago that Oh yeah, people make ships also based on personalities & not historical precedence. I know I'm a dumbass, no need to tell me. I'm again more likely to ship something if I've been introduced to it via canon, but even then canon is my introduction to the idea of a ship, like PortEng or NedPort. The actual shipping would probably occur only after I've familiarized myself with through fanon and my own historical research.

When it comes to my OCs, well, obviously the bitches would need to meet each other

11. What makes a great ship in your own opinion?

I think any ship can be made to work in some way or another if you put the work in. Even if I don't personally like the way the ship works then, I am sure that 99.9% of ships on this green earth can be made viable in a way that I'd enjoy them at least to some degree as onlooker.

I HAVE to believe it. Trust me. Because when I was younger, I decided to just like ships or mash OCs together because ... I could. Because some core idea was funny. However, I never spent much thought on how a relationship between these two people would work, so writing content with the ships was tricky & didn't occur much. Since I am the biggest pighead you'll ever meet, I didn't abandon those ships, though. (The only ones I can remember where I did it is Sarielle and Prucan, but the latter's kinda making a comeback for an AU). I instead spent time to analyze why these two people would be drawn to each other, what makes them tick and which roles they fulfill in the relationship. Why are they staying? Why this person? What's their dynamic? I participated in RoChu week in 2017 to answer these questions for myself & I asked them when a friend of mine said they never really liked AusHun in the way it is often portrayed. So I tried to write them in a way that makes them loving each other make sense. Railey had to morph into the relationship of 'Old married couple' it is these days over years of trial and error (Big yikes to my edgy, hatesex ideas with them from way back in 2014). It took me years to figure out what makes Francetto truly tick, what turns attraction & fascination into love. I feel like I only cracked the code on how to write TurGre in my AU this year thanks to sadlygrove's excellent fanfictions.

All of that jazz being said, I think my two main categories of ship are this:

1. Cast in the same mold

Those characters may be polar opposites on the surface level, but they share one aspect of their personality that binds them together. Ask-Aph-Fruk, bless that this blog ever existed, put it very well with FrUK: They share their pride. They're both proud in exactly the same way, so even if they disagree on a thousand other things, they'll recognize each other at their core. SicIre is a similiar ship - Very different in how they express themselves, what matters to them and many cultural aspects. They however also share some basics (Agricultural islands, history of foreign occupation) and they most of all share their pride. Their yearning for freedom and no tolerance for those who infringe on it. They see themselves in each other's fighting spirit.

Other examples of this (the core characteristic doesn't HAVE to be pride, SicIre & FrUK are just Like That): Railey, Francetto, Kaliz, Gabio, Hette, Johanine. Also, I haven't dabbled in the Soul Eater fandom in years, but Stein/Medusa is also definitely this.

2. The yearning for what one lacks

Those characters are compatible because they're deeply attracted and yearning for something they can't be. They may share some personality traits or common interests on the surface, but they're wired differently at their core, which is what draws them to each other. TurGre is one example - these two share a lot of history and a lot of culture, but they're very different people at the end of the day. Herakles is thoughtful and languid, more quiet than Sadık, who is more impulsive and intense. It's the difference they want, they admire, they adore. It's who they can't be. Even more of a "Who they can't be" ship is GerIta to me. Feliciano and Ludwig do share some interests on the surface, but they seem like unlikely couple most of the time and are different deep down. Ludwig sees in Feliciano a levity, a depth of thought and emotion he simply cannot reach, someone who learnt how to deal with their past and tries to live in the moment. Feliciano in turn views Ludwig as someone stable, who may waver but never fall no matter what hits him, who will always learn how to brave every situation steadfastly.

Other examples of this: Spamano, DOTS, Rutherphee, Telova, Jemar, RoChu.

#beareplies #artemisisdiana #writing #storie nostre #FINALLY got around to answering this #eh fuck it im tagging the aph ships at least the ones I really talked about #gerita #turgre #fruk #sicire

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1dcraftawards · 3 years

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November Author of the Month...

Drumroll please.... our November Author of the Month is none other than the incredibly talented...

@all-things-fic !

Congratulations to a wonderful author, Liz! You can check out our interview with her below!

1.Did you start writing fanfiction for One Direction, or was there another fandom that you wrote fanfiction for before this?

I have one fic that I wrote for One Direction Fanfic Archive, that will never see the light of day. It was really awful, but everyone starts somewhere. I’ve shared it with two people on Tumblr and we just laughed about it.

I’ve also written a Niall Horan fic which has been flagged for how explicit it is, which is quite laughable as it’s tame in comparison to the Harry stuff (eek!)

2. How old were you when you started writing fanfiction?

I was a teenager when I first started writing fics. I don’t know if I would consider it “proper” fanfic though as it was riddled with cliches.

3. What’s been your favorite fic that you’ve written to work on so far?

For the longest time I was proud of the second part of Divorce Harry and specifically the second part. It just felt real to write. I can’t even explain what it is about that piece.

I think at the time it stemmed from an ask I received where I was asked if I was a parent - I’m not - but this someone said I portrayed aspects of a marriage and how children can tip the balance really well.

The sheer bitterness of two people in love and the juxtaposed feeling it brings was an interesting dynamic. Being bitter and in love? How? It happens. You love someone, but bloody hell don’t you hate at the same time.

And I think on the hand Quarantine Harry is the opposite side of the same coin. I love it because it’s so happy. When you’re smitten and basking. Your baby waking you up at 3am and meeting your husband on the landing with the freshly made bottle is a time to enjoy because you’re doing it together.

But soon enough the third child is sprawled out in your kingsize bed and their foot is pressed against your ribs and you're tired. This isn’t me saying the two stories are linked (I do get those theories quite a lot haha)

4. Do you prefer AU or OU?

Definitely more of an OU gal. I’m massively into writing things “realistically” because I think it’s so relatable and helps draw readers in more so. Especially if the writing uses and references visuals that readers are aware of.

5. What’s your favorite trope to write?

Would we call a long-term relationship / established relationship a trope? If so then this is my favourite. Writing characters who know how to push each other’s buttons, knowing what they can and can’t say to get the other going. Being able to write two people who can share as little as a glance and know what the other is feeling.

Sprinkle a bit of angst on the top for good measure.

That’s my kryptonite.

6. What’s your ideal space to write in?

I tend to write when I’m in bed quite a bit, usually really late at night and on my phone rather than my laptop. Often lying in the dark. Sometimes first thing in a morning.

7. How do you get motivation to write?

This one made me laugh considering I’m unable to finish a single piece of writing at the minute.

Pictures are quite inspiring. New images of Harry can usually start something in me. The images of him in the whacky joggers for example from set have inspired a scene in Quarantine Harry (who knows for which part just yet!).

8. Do you typically like to listen to music when you write? If so, what do you listen to?

Very rarely listen to anything when I write, I tend to like silence really. Sometimes this is so I can dictate into my phone.

9. Your dialogue is some of the best I’ve ever read on tumblr, how do you plan conversations in your fics?

Thank you for the compliment, it’s really nice to read that you think so highly of my dialogue. I don’t really plan them - conversations or my fics. I’m quite visual in how I write, so anything that you’ve read I’ve most likely had it play out in my mind and typed it as it’s moved. For dialogue I tend to speak out loud as I’m typing to try and get the pacing right for the conversation.

No, I don’t try to do a Manc accent… Just in case anyone is wondering haha!

10. What is your writing process like?

I write what I see and then hope it fits. Honestly it’s pretty chaotic. The only time I tend to plan is when I’ve got a lot of different scenes written and I need to know if they’re suitable for an update or what order to place them.

Then I read through them and think about the characters and how they would be a certain time and move the documents into another document. Then I close all the tabs and cry cause my motivation is nonexistent.

11. What’s been your favorite scene to write from Quarantine Harry?

One that hasn’t been shared haha! I’m joking (maybe).

From part one my favourite bit has to be the part where she makes up with him by taking him a cuppa and he gets a dig in about how she hasn’t brought any biscuits with her. Also the bit where he says “come an’ love me” meaning he wants to cuddle. I’m quite conscious I don’t really ever write soppy fics, so when I’m writing “fluffy” aspects they’re more so everyday affections. Like, you know someone is properly in love with you when they’re doing the washing up cause you’re busy, or they’re taking out the bins on bin day. That kinda thing.

From part two absolutely the entirety of the morning where she takes the pregnancy test. That was the part I had as clear as day and I worked backwards to the opening scene. I really loved the idea of Harry knowing his partner is pregnant before said partner knows. Him knowing his lovers body like the back of his hand so much so that he’s able to pick up on the smallest of things. I knew I had to write it.

And how he casually suggested she took the test, by pressing a kiss into her back. His face finding that test and then being an insufferable sod and pleased with himself cause he’s in the know about the outcome before the MC.

12. Is there a schedule you follow in terms of when you write? Or are you more impulsive and just write where and when you can?

So impulsive it’s actually embarrassing. I cringe at myself. I know I’ve mentioned this loads but I really write what I see. So if I’m not seeing anything, I’m not writing. It’s quite frustrating.

13. What is one thing you wish you would’ve known before you started writing?

To not talk about your writing before you’ve finished it. I feel like I massively let people down when I post sneak peeks and then I can’t deliver because life gets on top of me!

14. What do you prefer writing, multi-chaptered fics or one shots?

One shots and then if they develop into something more that can be exciting!

15. What's your secret to portraying such a complex and interesting relationship between your main characters??

Personal trauma…… *tumbleweed at another one of my poorly thought out jokes*

I’m a bit stumped on how to answer this one. I think being well read(ish) helps you create complex characters and relationships, not saying that I am but I’ve read a fair few books. Life in general helps too, sometimes personal relationships. Just growing up. My fic when I was younger was nowhere near the type of things I’m writing now but I’ve got a couple (okay, more than a couple!) of years on myself since then.

I think just apply your own lived experiences and call upon emotions you may have felt through certain times that you’re writing should you have experience it.

Partly I also think so many of us are a little bit nosy. Sometimes we all kinda want to be the fly on the wall in the home of couples to see if everything is a rosy as it seems or as intimate. Or whether it is just raw passion with a couple of arguments thrown in for good measure.

16. What Harry era/mood/look/vibe/song/etc. do you get most inspired by?

What’s weird is my favourite era of Harry is 2014, but I wouldn’t want to write him like that. The current Harry is quite marvellous. I’ve never known anyone like him, he really is fine wine (the real album title…. ‘we’ll be a fine wine’)

If you’re asking what mood I like to see him in, it’s either when he's pensive and looks a touch pissed off with a crease to his brow or when you watch his joke his eyes before he’s even said it and he’s amused/pleased with himself.

His current look, mainly late 2019/2020 is quite something (hence the quarantine fics)

I tend not to get inspired by his songs but my two faves if I had to pick would be Woman and TBSL. I think they’re massive Scorpio energy and would make great premises for a one shot sometime!

I’m not sure if I even answered this how you wanted it answer but hopefully it was something haha!

17. Who or what inspired you to start writing?

I’ve always loved writing, I think it’s because I do a lot of it with my line of work. The person that gave me the push on this site was actually an account called @meetyourmouths. The lovely Iz is no longer on tumblr but she wrote a Harry piece that just made me think ‘fuck it’ and I posted Practicing. If you go to that piece the authors note makes mention to Iz.

I would also say @stylishmuser was one of the first people to reach out to me and be encouraging which has always stuck with me. Massive love for, P and still talk to her all these years on.

I’m now sat here thinking about listing all the lovely lovely people who have been so nice to me both in regards to writing and outside of it and I’m conscious I’m not mentioning them. The troubles of being a bit of a people pleaser. Hopefully those people know I love ‘em… You know?

18. Some readers are wary of leaving feedback because they're unsure how the writer will take it, how do you personally like to receive feedback? Do you want to be critiqued, or would you like to just know if they did or didn't enjoy what they've read?

First thing I’d say is please don’t ever think as readers you can’t be negative. Sure there is a way to present the feedback to the author cause writing can be quite personal, but everyone has room for growth.

Just come chat to me. Can be about anything and everything. A simple ‘loved the update’ to ‘this bit was rubbish’. I’m open to all feedback.

One thing to remember is there are a lot of writers out there so there is something for everybody. If a fic isn’t for you there are tons out there waiting for you to go and grab ‘em!

19. Is writing a hobby or do you have aspirations of writing professionally outside of fanfiction?

I used to think it was mainly more so a hobby, and I do still lean towards this. However, now I’m not so sure. My problem is I tend to have long spells of not being able to find balance in my ‘real life’ job and the extra-curricular stuff.

I’m dragging myself here but I don’t think my fics have much plot to them. I’m more so about writing the everyday life and I don’t think there is a market for that really (unless you have something explosive happen somewhere).

20. And finally, What's your purpose for writing? What do you hope to accomplish?

For a while I wanted to write Harry being insufferably British. I found it quite hard to find writings that I thought wrote him using Britsh-isms (is this even a thing?) and types of phrases that are common over this side of the pond. I wanted to put that out there for someone who may have once felt like me.

Mostly, I just want to put pieces out that take people elsewhere, even if only for a couple of minutes. A lot of the world is a bleak place, if you find my little corner on tumblr and it makes you smile, that’s achieved something, hasn't it?

#author of the month #aom #November2020 #aomnovember2020

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toooldforfandom-liveblogs · 4 years

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Gravity Falls S02E18 - Weirdmageddon Part I

I really like that name for the end of the world. I'm not sure what to expect from this one since this is literally new territory for everyone. My one hope is that Mabel gets forgiven easily but there has to be some drama, either for the twins or the Stans (since that relationship really needs some mending, and the end of the world seems to be a good place for that kind of thing.) I think that's all so let's do this!

If this is the first shot of the episode, things are going to get _weird_.

Wait. Wait. What.

Okay, had to go back and check Bill's summoning circle.

I completely forgot about this but I guess he needs all the symbols for something beyond summoning everything weird into this dimension? But why? Uhm.

Anyway, back in Dreamscaperers I wrote:

Glasses = The ones Stan found in the room with the magic carpet? Question Mark = Soos Ice - Fish with food? > Pine = Dipper Star with an eye Hand = Whoever wrote the journals considering the symbol on their covers? Llama/Alpaca? Shooting star = Mabel Heart with stitches

Fish with food ended up being Stan's fez. I _think_ Heart with Stitches could be Robbie. Hand is obviously Ford. I'm still not sure about Glasses (they really look like Stan's glasses but... how would that work?) and Star (maaaaybe Gideon? The star appears in the ending cypher in S02E14.) The alpaca/llama and the ice are a complete mystery. Considering everyone of importance is in there already, maybe Wendy is one of those two?

Symbols aside, does this mean that Mabel is going to be missing until who knows when? That's a bit disappointing.

Imagine being able to choose any physical form at all and choosing to keep being a dorito.

Before I paused I was convinced this guy was some weird Nigel Thornberry cameo.

So, Bill has 10 friends, which is exactly the number of symbols in the summoning circle. Huh. Interesting.

Maybe it means nothing but their appearance feels so sudden that I feel they have to be important somehow.

Immersion ruined, the Northwests would never lower themselves and go "downtown"

What a trianglist, she had no problems with Mabel.

I imagine Wendy can't wait to go to college a thousand miles away from her family.

Death, Famine, War, Conquest and Capitalism.

That's horrifying. But he's a dick. What a moral dilemma. Nah, he really deserves it.

Why steal Durland? Huh. Maybe he's also one of the symbols? Or Bill is just being Bill.

Oh, oh, I know what they do!

What an intro, I'm 100% sold.

What can our protagonists do? I guess Ford has a plan, maybe the symbols are for unsummoning Bill and that's why he's collecting them so they can't do whatever ritual they need to do. Maybe Ford and Stan will be in a similar situation that made them fight 30 years ago, but this time they actually communicate and win? Mabel is out so I hope they rescue her (or she rescues herself) before too much plot happens.

I _love_ how much of an effect the changed OP had on me.

After watching 37 episodes with the same opening song any changes are immediately noticeable and it feels _wrong_. What a great way to show how everything is changing for the worse thanks to Bill.

It does make me wonder how Gravity Falls is going to recover though. It looks _bad_, bad enough that in any other show I wouldn't be surprised by a time-machine or a literal genie undoing everything bad that happened. I doubt that'll happen here, since the town itself is so used to the "weird" but if someone dies all bets are off.

YESSSS, Dipper doesn't blame her! I'm sure there'll be some self-blame later on but I'm so glad his first reaction was to be worried.

Why is Soos unaffected? Is it related to his presence in the summoning circle? Looking for unaltered people may be a good way to find who are the missing symbols.

Soos deserved more episodes, what a hero

Has there been any positive romantic relationship in Gravity Falls?

Wendy and Dipper was an unrequited mess, Mabel and all her crushes were all disasters of some kind or another, the less said about Wendy and Robbie the better, and Tambry and Robbie is the result of the twins messing with their minds without their consent. Oh, and Gideon and his murderous crush on Mabel.

I love that tiny shiny dodrio.

I didn't need to know that Bill's hat was meat and bones.

What? No! Warnings later, explanations how to defeat a demon now!

This is the first time he calls Dipper by his symbol, right? He also called Ford "six fingers." The writers really wanted everyone on the same page here about making the relation between the symbols and the characters.

...I refuse to believe that the eye piece meant nothing with how much it has been shown!

Weirdmageddon sounds much better.

Wow. He has been wandering around for three days, probably having to scavenge for food and water. These kids are really going to need a therapist after summer break is over.

For some reason I find that guy more disturbing that most of the weirdness in this episode so far. He just sounds very predator-y.

...oh Dipper, those nachos are three days old at best. So young, so ignorant of the consequences of gastroenteritis.

...of course. I'm glad she's okay. She's been shown as a very badass so it would have been a shame if she was down without a fight.

But, but, rabies.

Can't wait for the weirdmaggeddon to be over and then immediately after everyone dying of infectious diseases.

So, how many post-weirdmageddon dipper/wendy fics did this scene inspire?

Robbie is conspicuously missing from that list

nevermind. Would have been an amazing selfie though, can't fault him for that

Aw. This got me a bit teary-eyed. They really can do anything if they are together.

Shame about Mabel being inside Bill's floating lair completely out of their reach.

What a raw deal, last game I played with twins on it they l– actually, never mind, spoilers. But it was really cool, believe me.

It looks like the mission briefing for a stealth game so, in my case, I'd try to avoid the lights, fail miserably a thousand times and then rage quit. Hopefully Dipper is better at stealth.

Making the world weird?

Wouldn't they know what's going to happen? Since there seems to be only one timeline? Actually, nevermind, I'm too sober to analyze the time travel mechanics of gravity falls.

Time Baby was the most powerful entity in the show so far! Stakes have been raised.

RIP Bodacious T, we never go to know you.

Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015

Two months being a villain and he still hasn't learned to avoid monologuing.

Don't worry, Gideon. It took Steven Universe 6 years to grow a neck, you'll get one someday.

Huh. So Bill manipulated him by using his obsession for Mabel. That's a nice way to explain why it came back after so many episodes without mentioning it too much.

Ugh.

She's a genuine action movie heroine trapped in a cartoon

I have no idea how Wendy manages to get more and more badass this season.

Right!? Right!? Wow.

Holy shit, this really is Fury Road.

that's deep, man

Ah, that explains it. Nothing more dangerous than a philosophy major.

Hatoful Boyfriend, 2014

My mind is exploding right now. I wasn't ready for anime Dipper and Wendy. What are the monkey and kid in the backseat referencing?

Lady Gag– nah, I refuse to use the same joke three times in the same liveblog.

* screams in terror too *

What a shame that we couldn't see the birth of the legend of Soos.

I can't believe Dipper is using the "Power of Understanding" to talk Gideon down.

This is really good. I almost want to joke and say "but it wasn't worth the Wendy/Dipper episodes" but it actually does make them work in retrospect. It's probably the largest source of character growth for Dipper during the show and here's the payoff.

I mean, yes.

WHAT

HOW DARE YOU

GAME IS OVER, AND I WON

NOW IT'S TIME TO START THE FUN

I ALWAYS LOVE CORRUPTING LIVES

NOW LET'S SEE WHICH PINES SURVIVES

well, that's nice.

---

I wasn't sure what to expect from this "Part 1", I thought it was going to be mostly setup. And it had a bit of that, just to show how screwed Gravity Falls (the town) is, but after that it was all action and it was all good.

I think getting Ford out of the way early was a good idea, it removes the possibility of a quick solution. Now Dipper has to figure things on his own. He still needed Wendy to remind him of what he and Mabel are capable of but that's a friend offering help, not "the mentor" giving him the answer to the problem. On the other hand, while Stan hasn't appeared after the goat, he hasn't been captured yet (he's important enough to deserve an on-screen capture, unless it's going to be revealed as a demoralizing surprise?) so I think he'll appear soon since he's just a guy, without any special knowledge about Bill.

Soos really deserves his own show. "The Legend of Soos" Or give Wendy her own show with Soos as the mysterious stranger that appears from time to time to help. Because wow, Wendy is lost in this show, she should be the protagonist of something.

But the star of the show was Dipper talking Gideon down. I _really_ didn't expect that. This is not a show where the protagonists defeat their villains by talking to them (with some exceptions) so I thought they'd defeat him in some other, more violent, way. And the way he uses the "Power of Understanding" to do it (go read Scott Pilgrim)! While Dipper never got to that extreme, he "gets" it and that's just * chef kiss *

I can't wait for the next episode, especially because this one ended in a cliffhanger, so until next time!

#gravity falls #gravity falls liveblog #gf s02e18

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sicklylittlesnowflake · 6 years

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You said you found your old Stucky fics and were willing to share them, so ... Please? *puppy-dog eyes*

(Gladly anon!! Forgive the mediocre writing, and also i wrote this in like 2014 before civil war so this is totally inaccurate to canon!! Sorry about that lmao!! I also have another fic {and maybe a few drabbles, some unfinished} if anyone wants it, but warning its fluff with no plot lol. Here are my fav nerds)

Steve did not like the feeling of being shaken. He didn’t like how his words were stuck in his throat. He did not like the eating away at his heart, the parasitic monster that made his eyes water and vocal chords whimper. He hated the sight of the door before him; he wanted to kick it open.

To be fair, it was such an ugly shade of white. It was chipping at the sides and there was a light, ever so light patch of rust at the bottom of the knob. What Steve hated the most is what the door hid from him, because he so desperately wanted to see it. He needed this thing so much right now and every second he spent waiting and waiting seemed to last longer than an eternity and the impatience was killing him.

What lay beyond that door was Bucky Barnes, who was a different Bucky Barnes but still Bucky Barnes. He was still the same boy who delivered newspapers to his house and defended him from all the bullies. That boy was incapable of talking about his feelings and he was so so good at pretending everything was okay. He was so good at smiling like everything was in place even when inside he felt drowned and tired; that was why it shook Steve to the bone when he saw him with those cold, dead eyes.

“I need to see him,” Steve said firmly, squeezing his own hand tightly, expressionless and stoic as he’s ever been.

“Steve, we talked about this..” Natasha sighed exasperatedly, closing her eyes and running a hand through her red, wavy hair. “I’ve..dealt with a controlled person before. And I get it; it really hurts..especially when it’s someone you love..” Natasha continued, her voice softer at the end. She turned to face Steve to see him sulking about, pity genuinely filling her heart.

“I know how much Bucky means to you, I really do, I understand why,” Natasha started slowly, eyes dimming thinking about the soldier, “but..he’s not ready. He’s sick and delirious..you don’t know what he’s going to be like–You might not be able to handle what happ-”

“But we can’t leave him in there alone! He’s already been that for 70 years! We should end that isolation as soon as possible! He needs someone there with him!” Steve argued, positioning himself to face his friend, eyes fiery with stubbornness.

“Natasha, I did agree with you. But..I do think it’s time. If..my friend escaped some forsaken hellhole I would..I would spend every moment with him so he knows that he’s okay. You know?” Sam said suddenly, appearing to have given a lot of thought into it.

There was silence for a long period of time.

“Go,” Natasha said finally, so undramatic that Steve didn’t believe her for a second. He gave her a look, as if to confirm that what she said was true and that he could finally see Bucky. Natasha sighed, nodding, “But I’m warning you..he might..be different. He could remember you, and everything, but..be prepared, okay, Steve?” She squeezed his hand gently, looking him in the eye.

Steve swallowed nervously, and nodded, getting to his feet and walking slowly towards the door. He breathed heavily for a while, hand resting on the door knob, terrified out of his mind. He wasn’t scared of Bucky; never was. He was scared of what they did to him, he was scared of seeing the damage.

He turned back to face Natasha and Sam, and looked at them nervously. Sam smiled softly at him, “Go get him, Captain.”

Steve nodded slowly, and braced himself for what was to come.

“So…if you did this part and I did this..” Steve said, eyeing the piece of assignment carefully. He drew some diagram on another sheet of paper to illustrate their pieces of work for their English project.

“..snnfff..Yeah,” Bucky replied absentmindedly, his sheet of brainstorming slowly but surely evolving into a mess of words and lines.

Sarah Rogers came in, a tray of milk and cookies in her hands. “How’re my boys?” She cooed cheerfully, setting the tray on a table. Steve groaned,

“Mooooom, we’re 18.”

Sarah laughed, “Well, you both certainly act like you’re 10 years younger!”

Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at that, however the laugh turning into a husky, soft cough. Sarah’s eyes widened a little, “Oh, Bucky, have you caught yourself a cold?” Steve tensed suddenly, feeling a little protective of Bucky immediately.

Bucky shook his head, “No, just a little dehydrated, I thin..thihhh…” Bucky turned away from the two Rogers and pressed his thumb and pointer finger against nostrils, sneezing.

“Bless you!”

Sarah gave him a sympathetic smile, “Oh, Bucky…You’re looking paler too. D'you need a blanket?”

Steve rested his hand on the taller man’s shoulder, “I’m sorry Buck, I didn’t even notice that you were feeling sick!”

Bucky shook his head, “I’m fine, honestly–”

He sneezed a sneeze so stifled it was hilarious.

Steve wanted to laugh at that sneeze but held it in, smile fading away as he saw his best friend shaking, “Awh, Buck, you’re shaking!”

Sarah kneeled down to the two boys who were sprawled across the carpet and felt Bucky’s forehead, which was a challenge for her when the Barnes boy kept flinching away from her. “This doesn’t seem good at all, James, d'you want to-” she stopped talking as she saw his face scrunch up, retreating to pinch his nose, and release another stifled sneeze.

“You want to stay the night?” Sarah continued, “also, don’t hold them in like that, it’s not good for you.” Bucky shook his head, “Sarah..I appreciate the thought and all, but..if I stay..I’ll be a burden to you and Steve and I risk getting one of you sick..”

“Nonsense! Once your aunt sees you she’ll be sending you back to me to get you all patched up, and don’t you dare mention this to her, but she’s no good at looking after you,” Sarah said firmly, but softly as well.

Bucky’s nostrils twitched and he cupped his nose and mouth with his hands and inhaled sharply, sneezing to the side twice. He groaned softly and sniffled, “Excuse me, f-fine..but..I-I’m not getting Steve sick-I..won’t be able to deal with that-”

Steve slapped his thigh playfully, “Woah! Bless you! That was quite some sneeze. Also, you think you can be sick without me taking care of you?”

“Steve–you don’t have to, honestly–” He was cut off by yet another loud and forceful sneeze.

“Bless you–and I will.”

Sarah helped Bucky stand up, “I’m sorry James, but it appears I can’t do anything to pry Steven away from you, such a pest, Isn’t he?” She said playfully, ruffling both her son’s and his best friend’s hair, “but I’ll be sure to give him an extra dose of vitamin c, so don’t you be worrying.” Bucky turned his head away from her and ducked his nose into his shirt,

“HehhSHiew! HhrSHiew!..ugh. Thank you..you..don’t have to be doing this.”

“They come in twos!”

“ Shut up–Steeeh–” He was cut off yet again by three progressive sneezes, deeply irritated by the continuous tickle in his nose.

“See! Bless you–besides, Ma’s a nurse, Buck, and you’re my friend.”

Bucky sneezed ticklishly, and rubbed at his red nose irritably. He nodded, “Yeah, okay. I know. Sorry. I just, didn’t want to be a burden.” Bucky’s nose twitched and he inhaled sharply, snapping forward into his hands and sneezed. The force bent him over at the waist.

“Bless you!” Steve chirped.

“Not a burden! Ever!” Sarah replied firmly, but a caring tone evident in her tone. She placed a hand on his back, trying to support him as he bent over. He shyly straightened back up, finger rubbing against his raw nostrils. Sarah frowned at the sight of his unhealthy shape.

“Besides, you are the oldest and don’t really get taken care of at home, so might as well try out the whole being taken care of thing. You’re always welcome to the Rogers clan.” Sarah continued, watching as Bucky inhaled for another sneeze but failed in succeeding.

“Part of the family Buck, y'now that right?” Steve chipped in, smiling goofily, far too happy about his illness than he was supposed to. His smile faded a little when Bucky didn’t answer, he hoped that it was just a result of coaxing out a sneeze. “You…know that, right?” He said, softer.

Bucky sneezed three harsh, ticklish sneezes, “nn..Yeah, I dow that. Yeah, us.” Bucky said sleepily, letting himself become sandwiched between the two people who had slotted themselves into his family.

“That’s good. Really good Buck, now cmon, you need to rest.”

Bucky had always looked so beautiful when he was asleep.

Even now, his eyelashes rested perfectly on his eyes, eyebrows furrowed only slightly and his mouth the slightest bit open, his lips pink and soft. He looked at peace; and Steve wished to pretend that he was at peace even though deep within he knew Bucky was at war with himself.

He knew that HYDRA was horrible to him, if they hurt him enough to damage him mentally many many years ago when the 107th was captured, 70 years with them surely must have felt like hell was a better option. So he let him sleep; because he knew Bucky wouldn’t have gotten much of that in the past.

He pulled a chair and sat next to him, unable to stop himself from resting his hand on Bucky’s own, lightly stroking the soft pale skin and the making his touches even softer if that was possible on his cuts and bruises. Touching Bucky made him want to cry, as he suddenly realised that Bucky was real, he wasn’t well but he was alive.

Suddenly Bucky’s breath started to quicken and his chest heaved, and he suddenly shot up, turning against Steve and releasing a stifled sneeze.

“Bucky?”

Bucky turned to face him, and he looked like he was taken aback, his blue eyes sparkling with nostalgia, “Steve?”

Steve let out a strangled sob and couldn’t help but throw himself on the man, hugging him tight, embracing all that he was and all that he wasn’t, letting himself feel the warmth that he didn’t know he was missing. He held Bucky, his Bucky, and when he felt Bucky flinch he immediately pulled away,

“Oh shit, I’m sorry–Bucky I-”

Bucky didn’t say anymore and pulled Steve back to him, letting himself become small and cling on to Steve for dear life, sobbing hard, “I remember you Steve, your mom’s name was Sarah and you used to put newspapers in your shoes. Steve, they hurt me.. They turned me into a monster..I thought you left me…but..” Bucky sobbed even harder, “..you came back.”

Steve sobbed softly, and pushed the hair out of Bucky’s eyes, “Buck, save your voice. Youre really ill and you need to rest.” He felt his forehead, “this doesn’t look good. Come now..lay down your head..” Bucky still was burying his head in Steve’s chest and suddenly felt his breath hitch and nose tickle like hell and he didn’t have time to pull away before the eventual release, “ He sneezed quietly, spraying Steve’s chest lightly.

“Oh god–I’m sorry-” Bucky panicked, having learned how to stifle and turn away from his captors due to their disgust. Steve shushed him, running a hand through his hair, “Bless you, it’s okay..it’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Steve stood to get some tissues, when Bucky tugged at his arm, the tears welling back in his eyes, “Please don’t leave me.”

The desperation in Bucky’s eyes broke Steve’s heart, and he quickly tugged the box of tissues towards the bed. “I’m not leaving you,” Steve said firmly, “never again,” he said, softer.

Bucky would’ve replied but his nose started to twitch with the terrible tickle in his nose, he turned his head away from Steve and sneezed. Bucky groaned and his throat hurt from all the stifles. A little layer of wetness lay below his nostrils and Steve wiped it away slowly, “Bless. That hurt, didn’t it? Stop stifling like that, okay?”

Bucky sniffled slowly, regretting it immediately when he turned his head away from Steve again and let his nostrils twitch, breath hitching, the tickle teasing his brains out, until his nostrils started flaring and finally, the tickle became enough to let him sneeze, and when he knew he was definitely going to sneeze, he took a sharp breath and sneezed.

“Bless you,” Steve said, and quickly brought the tissue back to Bucky’s nose

Bucky sniffled miserably. “Blow,” Steve said softly, and added pressure to one nostril at a time as Bucky blew forcefully. “I’m gonna get you sick,” Bucky said miserably.

“I don’t get sick anymore,” Steve smiled softly, and pressed ruffled Bucky’s messy hair. Bucky’s nose had taken a pink form, and he leaned in to kiss the very tip, “You’ve always been so cute when you sneeze.”

“Fuck you,” Bucky said good naturedly, and his nose twitched with the light touch and he sneezed again. He moaned, “I haven’t been able to let them out like that in so long.”

“Wait, what?”

“…They didn’t let me sneeze properly. They forced me to be as quiet as possible so I didn’t blow my cover but they were really just too disgusted.”

“Oh Buck..”

Not long after that Bucky fell into a fit of coughing, unable to stop, until Steve practically jumped onto the bed and patted him firmly against his shoulder blades, continuing to rub little circles onto his back once the coughing subsided.

Bucky groaned, raising his hand to temple then pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to overcome a headache. Steve pushed him down to the bed gently, fluffing out the pillow his head was on and pulled the blankets over him, frowning when Bucky was still shaking.

“Steve,” Bucky croaked weakly.

“Mmm?”

“What did..what did you say my name was again?” Bucky looked genuinely heart broken, frustrated that this stupid fever was making him forget his hard efforts of remembering his memories again. He looked guilty, as if he was doing something wrong.

Steve smiled softly at him and rested his hand on top of his best friend’s one, stroking the tender skin slowly. “Your name is James Buchanan Barnes and you’re my best friend.”

Bucky closed his eyes and smiled, genuinely smiled and he was so beautiful that it overwhelmed Steve. He hadn’t seen that wonderful smile in so long and he had forgotten the beauty of it and something within him seemed to be fuller.

“Yeah, that’s it, I remember now.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for some time and Steve thought Bucky was asleep when Bucky’s eyes slowly fluttered open and he started to talk again,

“Can..can you..-” Bucky stopped, blushing, and shook his head, “never mind.”

Steve widened his eyes, “Nononono, what do you need? It’s okay, you can ask for what you want.”

Bucky shut his eyes tight, blushing, “can you..lie down with me? I mean..presuming I can’t infect you–”

It was a matter of seconds before Steve climbed onto the bed and was lying down with Bucky, wanting to wrap himself around him but forcing himself not to, only looking him in the eye softly. They lay down together, looking each other in the eye, fingertips brushing only slightly for a really long time.

Bucky’s eyes were the same as they were years ago, but at the same time they weren’t. They were the same shape, the same long eyelashes and the same beautiful shade of blue. But his eyes weren’t shining as bright as they used to. They didn’t sparkle with energy and youth. He was drained. He was so tired. It would take so long to get what was left of Bucky Barnes back. There was a huge portion Steve could never get back. He was Bucky Barnes of the past but he was also a completely different person, but Steve could still love him endlessly.

“..I remember something else,” Bucky said quietly.

“Huh? Like what?”

“That I loved you.”

Bucky said this the way someone would say “it’s warm” or “how are you”. He says this like its the most normal and casual thing in the world. He says this like its the norm, like he’s always been this way, and in a way it was true. Steve didn’t know what to say.

“I remember that I loved you more than anything in the world. I saw something in you that no one else did. You were my stars and my sun and my light and all things wonderful,” Bucky said absentmindedly, dreamily, even, eyes gazing some place else and his voice leaked with nostalgia. He paused for a couple of moments to smile and think about it, and then continued, “but then one day, the world saw what I saw in you. The world started to love you and it hurt because I loved you first. You found someone who deserved you and I tried to fall out of love but to be honest with you..falling out of train was easier.”

Steve’s mouth parted slightly, finding it hard to take it all in, and he brushed his fingers against Bucky’s in the hope that maybe they had a chance at starting over.

“..Do you..think you.. still love me?”

“I never stopped.”

Steve pressed in and kissed him softly, nothing too fast and too firm, something simple and sweet, making nice little noises as they kissed. He feared that he was going too fast, but Bucky wanted it all, and he felt so warm and good. He tasted like birthday cake and snowflakes. 70 years was worth the wait.

Steve grinned and touched his forehead with Bucky’s, unable to control himself from being the inner sap that he was, “You and me?”

Bucky sniffled, and grinned back lightly, “You’re a punk.”

“Jerk.”

#stucky #steve rogers #bucky barnes #captain america #mcu #marvel #winter soldier #natasha romanoff #sam wilson #sarah rogers #stucky sickfic #sickfic #fever #sneezing #recovering bucky barnes #post tws fic #james buchanan barnes #pre serum stucky #uhh i may have edited out the cringe snz spellings loll

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flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash · 7 years

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Writer Interview

I was tagged by the lovely @sherrybaby14 and @jeffreydeanneganstrash <3

1. What inspires your work most? (The show it is based on, the actor who portrays a certain character, maybe the character itself…? It could even be an experience.)

I would say the character and then my ridiculously active imagination. A character has to really intrigue me for me to want to write them, especially more long-term. They can’t just be amusing or attractive, they have to have layers to them, and live in shades of grey. I’m not much for the “good guy” or “hero” type, unless they’re really tortured (like Daryl), and prefer characters who come off as “villains” but who actually have so much more to them, and the lines are blurry of which side they’re on. Case in point, my love of Negan, Crowley, Peter Hale, and Severus Snape. They all have so much depth to them that isn’t necessarily shown in the show/book/comics, or if it is, it isn’t until the end of their arc, and they end up dying a hero, of sorts. I love trying to psychoanalyze those types of characters, and imagining what it would be like to put them up against a female OC that sees past their rough exterior to the man beneath, and how they would react to such a woman...and eventually fall for her. Basically, I write my own fantasies, of how I would love to be transported to that universe and interact with the characters myself haha. Hence, how ID was born.

2. What is your favorite fandom to write for?

It has most DEFINITELY been Negan’s Thirst Squad. I still can’t believe how far this fandom has come in the past year and a half. From literally only a small handful of fanfiction existing for him on any fanfiction site, to now multiple fics being posted daily; from a small handful of thirst squad members who huddled together against those judging us, to a huge thirst squad full of love and support...this fandom amazes me so much. It’s one of the most positive and supportive fandoms that I’ve ever seen on any site, and I love y’all so much for that.

3. Which perspective do you prefer writing in? (First-person, third-person)

I actually prefer second person now. I had never written in a “you” perspective until ID, but after creating a novel in that POV, it’s now become my default, and weirdly, even though it’s supposedly the most difficult POV to write, I find it the most enjoyable.

4. Do you prefer writing reader fics or OCs?

Reader fics. With those, I can literally make myself the character, without having to name her. Reader fics are still an OC of sorts, it’s just that they’re typically unnamed and it’s a different point of view. It’s definitely not as easy when it comes to not giving physical descriptors and not using a name when interacting with other characters, but it feels more personal to me, and I enjoy that a lot.

5. Do you prefer writing longer works or one shots?

Hmm...I guess it depends on the idea. The only longer work I’ve written turned into a BEAST of a novel, and I’ve really loved the journey of writing it, because it proved to me that I can indeed someday write and publish a novel someday, if I so wish. Writing ID has taught me a lottt about not only my writing, but about myself, cheesy as that sounds, and it has been so fun to finally write down one of the huge stories that I create in my head, because I create a lot of them lol.

However, there’s also something exciting to be said for those smutty one shot ideas. Once in a while, I get an idea so arousing that I’m literally obsessed with writing it down, and spend days totally focused on that idea and transferring the fantasy from my head onto paper (or word Document, I guess haha). And then, once it’s finished and posted, I get such a sense of accomplishment, and it’s like I can then purge that fantasy from my brain so that it doesn’t drive me up a wall anymore...plus I can then transfer the thirst to others, which is always fun.

6. Do you take requests?

I do not. I took commissioned requests once earlier this year, and while it was a lot of fun to expand my writing skills by forming ideas from others, it was also stressful. I realized that it’s much harder for me to be passionate about what I’m writing if it’s not an idea that I already created in my head. Luckily, the three requests I got were already fantasies I had considered before, so I was able to draw on that, but if I got requests that weren’t something I found sexy or fantasized about myself, I don’t know if I could do those ideas justice and write them properly. Or maybe I could write them...but I just wouldn’t enjoy it nearly as much.

7. Do you enjoy getting random Asks?

I do! I’ve gotten so many amazing random asks since joining this fandom, and I love them all (minus the hate). Anons have started topics on my blog that snowballed into these amazing conversations, particularly in regards to sexuality topics, and I LOVE those interactions with anonymous followers so much! My ask box is always open to y’all :)

8. What inspires the names for OCs (or extra character names) in your works? Do you pick them from real life or just select them at random? A mix?

When I do have secondary OCs, the names aren’t really based off anyone I know in real life. For ID, I was trying to find names of characters that didn’t exist in the show or comics (which was why I was screaming when the show introduced a young character named Ben haha). And for Trixie, I tried to think of a name of someone who would be young and annoying, and that fit for me. Maria might’ve been subconsciously based off the old lady named Maria who lived above me in my old apartment haha, although I don’t think my OC Maria is anything like her. Basically, they’re kinda random but also names that I feel fit the vibe of the OC’s personality.

9. If your story(ies) have OCs, are their appearances based on real people or celebrities? If so, who?

I don’t actually describe my OCs appearances in ID too much, because I want readers to make their own mental picture of what they look like. I realized that their personalities are more based off real people I know, even though I wasn’t consciously doing that in the beginning, but looks-wise they don’t remind me of anyone in particular. When I first created Ben, I saw him as a younger, blonder Jared Padalecki, but since they introduced TV Ben, I’ve kinda morphed him with Padalecki in in my head and created a totally new image.

My first OC, in a Dean Winchester story I wrote years ago, I totally based off myself, though. That was my first time writing a fanfic, and I made the main character, Amy, look like me, and her friend, Robin, I made look and act a lot like one of my hometown friends. I think that’s why I stick to “you” OCs, because I know if I made an actual OC with a physical description, my vain ass would make her look like myself haha. I wrote the first chapter of ID with an OC character, who was going to be a curvy blonde (like myself) and named Lexi, but then I changed it to a “you” character at the last minute. It’s interesting though, to think where the story could’ve gone and been different, if I had stuck with that OC. But I’m glad that I made the switch.

10. How long have you been writing fanfiction?

My first fic was a Dean Winchester 2-chapter smut fic. I think I started writing it in 2013 and published it in 2014 (it took me forever to write). I then decided that was my one-time foray into writing fanfiction, and didn’t write any again...until April 2016, after the season 6 finale of TWD, when Negan showed up on my screen and ruined my life. So consistently, I’ve been writing it for a year and a half, minus that one story a few years ago.

If anyone actually takes the time to read these rambles, thank you, because holy shit am I good at rambling.

I tag (if you want to) @opheliadawnwalker3 @mamapeterson @faith-in-dean @winchesterswoonathon @kittenofdoomage @hannibalssweaters @bamby0304 @vizhi0n @wickednerdery @wheresthekillswitch @lucifer-in-leather @crzcorgi @purplemuse89

(I tried to tag some authors I haven’t seen tagged for this yet, so apologies if you already did it!)

#about me #writing #writing fanfiction #fanfiction

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thedrakontomes · 7 years

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Quizilla

Quizilla was an online community featuring user-generated content from teen authors. Much of its content was quiz fic and reader inserts.

logo from website: "Penny the Pencil Monster"

"Quizilla was first released into the wild on August 4th, 2002." [2]

When fans began to post their fanfic at Quizilla in the form of chapters, the site added a section for fiction.

In September 2014, Quizilla announced it was shutting down on October 1.

A similar site is Quotev.

What Was Quizilla?

From its website in 2005:

Quizilla is a place to imagine, create and share great content. It started out, as the name suggests, as a place to make, take and share the results of quizzes. In its over 3 year life, it has grown beyond just quizzes. It now is a leading home on the Web for stories, poems and other user generated content. Whether you want to create, take and share quizzes, a personal journal, write poems, stories, create and share games and more. Quizilla has it all. It represents and embodies the heartbeat of today's teen spirit. [3]

The Beginning: An Announcement

Its creator announced his site on August 4, 2002:

What a concept.

A September 2, 2002 post:

Few things are more gratifying than watching HTTP_REFERER logs run past with tail(1). It's quit a cool thought to be sitting here and having people use something I made. And they keep using it, so they must actually *like* it. Wow.

From the FAQ page in 2005:

Where did you get the idea for Quizilla? The ides for Quizilla came to me when I was looking at ideas for expressing complex data structures in XML. I was mulling around the idea of a standardized format for quizzes and other things and I decided to make some CGI code to automate the idea for me. Then I decided to build more complex display layers around that core, and then I added user accounts, messages and everything else you see now. [6]

Some Stats

2003: A year after its launch, Quizilla had over 330,000 users with above 9 Million pageloads a day and more than 50 Million images used on the site. [7]

September 2005: It has 40 servers. [8]

2005: "On an average weekday Quizilla serves nearly 3.0 million pages, most of these involving CGI code and database access. This figure does not include images, which can often surpass 10 million daily... If you go to the homepage of Quizilla.com, you will see some basic stats in the center blue bar at the top of the page. On most days over 1,000,000 quizzes are taken, 5,000 new quizzes are created and up to 2,000 people join the site as new members." [9]

2007: Some forum stats from an unknown month in 2007: threads: 47,098, posts: 4,888,270, members: 184,705,active Members: 1,381, most users ever online was 673 on November 11, 2006

Follow the Money

Regarding costs and advertising:

All Internet advertising is evil, and you're just doing this to make money off the work of others! Some people think that, and maybe they would even be right to think that from a cursory perspective. People think that because they got 10 MB of free web space with their dial-up accounts that every Web site in the world should be free because theirs is. However, the unpleasant truth is that a site of any large size costs money to run, money to maintain, and money to expand.

Also see this 2007 post and comments: A look at some fandom based money numbers; archive link, partly bouncy, June 25, 2007

Bought Out and Changed

On October 16, 2006, Viacom's MTV Networks (Teen Nick) announced it had bought Quizilla for an undisclosed sum of money. [11]

After selling to TeenNick the site went from a free writing site to a PG rated site. Due to the sudden changes, a lot of the users' work was deleted, which caused a large number of people to abandon the site.

In 2014, Nielsen wrote about this:

I found out about this about a month ago via Twitter and I’ve been meaning to write something about it but could never find the right words. I hadn’t been involved with the day-to-day operation since middle/late 2009; when the economy tanked, Viacom laid off or reassigned all staff Quizilla developers. They didn’t lay me off since I was a contract employee with no guaranteed hours, but they basically said they weren’t going to give me any more work to do. As the site went to hell I tried to keep up with the dwindling number of people I still knew inside Viacom/MTV Networks. At first they had one sysadmin and a couple of "community managers” still maintaining the site. Then they dropped the sysadmin and went to one community manager with some interns. The last time I reached my fingers in, Q2 2014, I was told all that was left was someone’s AA answering the support email part-time. I didn’t expect them to axe it, actually. It was still bringing in enough page-views to turn a profit (I assume), especially since they basically had no staff. But there may have other been factors at play we don't know about, like potential liability. I haven’t heard from anyone as to why it was killed specifically. I’m sad it’s gone, but it in a big way it had died years ago but just hadn’t stopped moving. I've tried to restart/reimagine the site at least 5 times since 2009, but my own faults have smothered all my attempts all in the cradle.

Regarding the Citrus Content

A fan in 2014 asked a Reddit forum:

I wonder if teenage girls new to fan fiction know that term, or if it's specific to people who discovered fan fiction on sites like Quizilla and fanfiction.net that technically forbid pornographic scenes so teens came up with terms like lemons to get around the filters but let others know what was going down in their fanfic. [14]

xunker/Nielsen replied:

No bones about it, Quizilla had a problem with that kind of content. I dutifully removed it when it was reported or automatically flagged, but if nobody reported it or they used words I didn't know about, well.. let's just say that I, 24 years old at the time, was regularly being outsmarted by 14-year-olds. I think I learned what it meant when someone sent me a message asking me to "please get rid of all these lemon stories!" Thankfully, when I naively asked them what they didn't like about that particular citrus fruit they explained it all to me. Thus, an arms race started: when I started automatically flagging quizzes if the title contained "lemon", they switched to "L3m0n". Then to "nomel", "lemonade", "limon", "lémón" and a dozen others I can't remember anymore.

Why Was This Format Popular for Fanworks?

In 2014, a fan at

asked:

To this day I still don't understand why people would write fanfiction on a site whose specific purpose is quizzes when there are fanfiction-specific sites around! Why would you want your fanfiction cluttered up with question numbers and checkboxes and submit buttons? When it wasn't even a choose your own adventure story? [16]

xunker, the site's creator, replied:

However, that being said, they're one of the biggest reasons Quizilla stayed around for as long as it did. Quizzes were fun, and people would spend hours taking them but not many people wanted to spend the time to make a really good quiz. But stories... people would gladly spend weeks writing stories and building their little worlds. Part of me thinks that the users didn't really understand the quiz mechanism and so they thought it was a choose-your-own-adventure-type thing but it really wasn't. Or maybe they did, but just in a different way that I don't realize. A big reason, in the beginning, was the laissez-faire attitude toward customization. Early on, the users figured out how to put CSS and JS in to quizzes and the system fully accepted it, unlike many other user-generated-content sites at the time.

Penny the Pencil Monster!

Comments by Nielsen:

From the site's FAQ, around 2003 and again, in 2005: "That logo, the No. 2 with green arms and legs, is "Penny" the Quizilla pencil monster. When the site first launched I needed a logo to identify the site quickly, but I have no artistic skill when it comes to drawing. Instead, I loaded up a graphics program and clicked out a peculiar little image dot by dot in super zoom mode. It's not very good, but I've grown attached to it." [18]

From Nielsen's online journal, January 2, 2008: "Big things are happening at the old Quizilla site, most of which are really due and I'm excited for, though with this new message posted there are more than a few complaints. My favourites? Look for all the people complaining about the loss of the Pencil Monster.. the logo I did in 20 minutes with the Gimp oh so long ago." -- The Pencil is mightier.. - xunker, Archived version </ref>

Comments by fans:

"Whoever created Penny the pencil monster was a genius." [19]

"I pretty much blame the way I grew up on this little monster..." [20]

a fan commemorates "Penny the Pencil Monster" -- "If you remember the old days on quizilla then this is a familiar mascot that they should not have gotten rid of which is by far one of the best mascots ever." [21]

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1upmushrooms · 7 years

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1upMushroom’s EarthBound Adaptation Chapter 1 (1up Dead Fic)

If you want to talk about stories that’ll probably never get finished. Here was an old fic that I wrote somewhere around 2014. I just really wanted to adapt the story of Earthbound in a unique way and this the result of that.

I actually got somewhat far with this one so expect more chapters from this one to resurface.

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In the old days, Onett was nothing spectacular. Sure it had a decent arcade, a competent police force and, dare I say it, a Library where kids actually went to read! However one thing was certain, Onett was just an average town, surely nothing exciting would happen there! Well, tell that to the huge Meteor. It all started in the beautifully specific year of 199x, and the town of Onett was sleeping blissfully. The only one who was actually awake was a guy named Lier X. Aggerate who was an expert sign maker. Other than that, the Onett area was purely peaceful…then the Meteor came. It was all so sudden, it crashed on the peak of a hill, not far from Lier X’s house and it soon gained the attention of the Onett police. Cars were parked just outside the Meteor area as many officers were either walking around or trying to catch a few Z’s. For once in Onett’s life, there was actually a time when more than 9 policemen were needed. And finally, the Meteor crash shook so bad that it woke Ness up. Ness, aside from being one of our main characters, was a young ordinary boy no older than 10 years old. When he wasn’t eating a nicely cooked steak, he was in his room sleeping away. When the meteor hit, Ness’ eyes opened immediately. He then got out of bed and with a quick change of clothes, sneaked outside his window, eager to see what caused that big boom. Unfortunately when he arrived at the site, another young boy happened to beat him to the punch. This guy was known as Porky Minch; he wasn’t exactly the nicest person to be around. When he wasn’t stealing ice cream from stores, he was boasting about how tremendously tough he was even though he always screamed bloody murder at the sight of a runaway dog. The fact that he annoyed anyone he talked to really didn’t help. Sure enough, when Ness saw him, Porky was running around the site-bugging cops, tipping over signs, and just being a jerk in general. But when Ness entered the site, Porky almost immediately stopped what he was doing and was all over Ness like a fly was all over a garbage heap. “So…you showed up.” Porky said with an annoyed tone. “Yeah,” Ness said, “I wanted to see what caused that big boom noise a couple minutes ago.” “So you thought you could just barge through authorities like you’re some big shot?! Not even considering what the poor, poor officers are feeling?!” “Isn’t that what you’re doing?” Porky opened his trap but nothing came out, instead he just scoffed. “Look, bottom line is, you’re not wanted here Ness. You’ll just get in the way of the good hardworking cops who love my comp-” Just then a Cop shouted, “NO WE DON’T! GO AWAY!!!” Porky coughed awkwardly and said, “They’re…just trying to make you feel special Ness. Look, just go back to your house and I’ll explain it all in the morning. I promise.” He then held out a pudgy, indicating a handshake. Ness, however just walked back home. Fortunately his Mother hadn’t noticed his absence so all he had to do was sneak in through his window and go back to sleep. While step one was completed flawlessly, step two would fail within mere minutes. There was a loud and very obnoxious knock at the door. Hoping his mother would get it, Ness tried to go back to sleep, only for his mother to wake him up once more. “Honey,” she said, “There’s someone here for you.” But before she said anything else, Ness already knew who she was talking about. And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as he came to the living room, Ness found Porky sitting on a couch. To say that Porky was panicking was a huge understatement. He was going nuts, shifting his eyes nervously, panting heavily, and worst of all, getting his sweat all over the new couch. Ness felt nervous, why did Porky need him this late at night? Couldn’t he get someone else to do this favor for him? When Porky saw Ness he was ecstatic, he immediately landed near Ness’ feet and groveled. “Oh Ness,” Porky cried acting completely melodramatic, “I’m in deep trouble! Will you please help me?! PLEASE!” Ness looked at his Mother who’s name was Linda, begging her to kick him out but Linda, being the kind soul she was just patted Porky on the shoulder and said: “What’s wrong Dear?” Porky stopped groveling and looked at Linda. “Well, you see me and my brother Picky were outside looking at the Meteor site when…sob…Picky vanished!” Ness quickly chimed in, “You mean you lost him-” “VANISHED! One moment he was just lying besides a tree, the next moment he’s GONE! I NEED YOUR HELP NESS, PLEASE!” With a quick look at her face, Ness knew his mother wanted to talk so they quietly went to the kitchen. “Ness, can you please help him find his brother?” “No, let him find his brother on his own.” “Ness!” “Look, I’m tired of him crawling to either us or someone else for help because of his stupid actions!” “But Ness, that isn’t the nice thing to do.” “Probably because the nice thing never worked-” Linda stopped playing nice and grabbed his hand. “Listen here, young man! I’m not going to have you selfishly kicking someone aside when they need your help!” One sigh later, Ness finally nodded in agreement and got a hug in return. “Thank you,” she said, “I’ll make it up to you in the morning.” Ness then walked to Porky and quite reluctantly said, “Alright, I’ll help you find Picky.” Porky’s eyes widened, “REALLY?! Oh thank you Ness!” He then sat on the couch whiled yawning. “I’m just gonna sit here and-” “Oh no!” Ness said, “You’re coming with me!” “What?” Porky said as if that phrase offended him deeply. “Why? I’m not that useful!” Ness then got sarcastic, “What? Oh, you joker! You’re the most useful person EVER! In fact, since you’re so observant maybe you can help me find out where Picky last was! I mean I could get lost of confused without your amazing guidance!” “But-” Ness dropped the sarcasm and flat out said, “Look, you either help me find your brother or you find him on your own, that’s my final offer.” Porky turned to Linda in an attempt to get out of this but even she shrugged as if saying ‘Sorry, Ness has a point’. With no other option, Porky grumbled as he said, “Let’s go.” Ness couldn’t agree more as he got his favorite cracked bat that was useful for defense against muggers and such. Before they left however, Porky confronted Linda again. “May I at least have one of your Lemon flavored popsicles?” “Sure, they’re in the fridge.” Porky just opened the fridge inside and grabbed one without even shutting the door. “Alright,” he said throwing the wrapper on the floor, “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.” Right before they left, Linda asked, “Can you at least pick up the wrapper?” Followed by Porky saying, “Can you at least pick up the wrapper?” in a mocking tone. Now, both Ness and Porky were outside, ready to find Picky and get this whole mess over with!

#1up Dead Fic

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