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whats-a-reading · 4 years

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So I hit the 300 milestone recently, and I haven’t commemorated it yet because I just got my wifi today. (And haha, willpower to do something is... uh... where the hell did I find it just now)

So, let’s do something a little different because I don’t want to do a hozier cover per milestone (I mean... askbox/pm are open if you miss that stuff... you could just tell me). Fic recs!

Theme is... things I have dug up from the ‘haha funny/random’ folder. (Fics may not be funny. Even if it makes me laugh. I’m sorry but my sense of humor is unreliable like that.) Fic recs below the cut otherwise this post is gonna be too long.

I’ll be splitting this up into sections. Yes, it is that long.

Birds: (there are birds for some reason... why not)

The Big Hawk Chronicles by @neuronary (Based on Salvage, but can also stand alone if you want Azula having a fun time with a bird and said bird having a fun time messing with Ozai. Fair warning, part 4 definitely has feelings involved.)

Untitled Zuko and the Goose Fic by saiditallbefore. A short and sweet crossover with the untitled goose game.

Get got (by the goose) by SheDrabbles_butitsalie_. Muffinlance inspired, and Zuko adopts a polar bear goose.

Prince Turtleduck Does His Duty by deutschistklasse. The tag ‘Zuko is an awkward turtleduck’ but literally.

Zukka: (As you know, I am hopelessly Zukka gang)

The One Where Katara Accidentally Invents PFLAG by alittleduck. Part 1 of a series all about coming out, so check that out too. Part 3 has more Zukka, but I’m linking part 1 because good time teasing and Katara/Zuko brotp.

Always Read Your Peace Treaties Carefully by preciousbunnynoiz. These two got engaged without knowing it. And then they actually get together.

Spirits Help Us, There’s Two of Them by hopepunk. Clown to clown communication is a tag. I think that says it all.

The Zukka Shitpost Records by TheAndromedaRecord. Four works, three of them based on different tumblr posts. Featuring: aunt wu tells sokka that he’ll marry the firelord, zuko pines and sighs about it to the moon, zuko’s therapist is wang fire, and sokka recognizes zuko in ba sing se.

Gossip Lord Zuko by RejectsCanon. (The M rating is for mentions of sexual harassment to a side character, but tread carefully anyway.) Zuko gets too invested in palace gossip. Minor Zukka.

still not katara by sorrowfulheaven. Wrong number Zukka AU. Sokka why did you not have katara’s contact

zuko, have you ever sat on a throne before by rachelwritesthings or @tophbejfong. Based on their own post about Zuko being incapable of sitting on the firelord chair properly.

Operation Leverage by @itszukkatime. Longer but I swear it is worth it. It’s just... oh yeah Ba Sing Se Zukka that turns into not-Ba Sing Se Zukka. The progression of the Zukka is very natural and very dumbass. They are my emotional support dumbasses your honor.

Muffin/muffin derived: (miscellaneous muffinlance (inspired) things...)

Cheating at Pai Sho, Little Zuko v The World, OUTLINE: Amnesia!Zuko Joins the Earth Army, all by @muffinlance. In order: the Gaang joins Zuko, a twelve year old speedruns and shenanigans his way to his redemption arc and makes Ozai concerned, and “what the fuck li, why are you burning rice” (aka my go to haha funny for a while).

There Is No Fire Lord by OccasionalStorytelling. (…I was laughing… that doesn’t make it funny at all.) Based on Towards the Sun. The premise is Zuko Firelord-ing from prison. I have no idea why but I kept laughing throughout the first chapter. Mind the tags and the angst.

Junior Detective Li Finds His Purpose by deustchistklasse. Zuko please stop tormenting the poor traumatized airbender. No one needs to be this pedantic.

Of Badgerfrogs and Dragon Eggs by HappilyUnconventional34. Zuko loves and adopts animals. Animals also love him. That’s all. (It’s precious and funny. It’s amazing.)

Why: (the premise is just... really inexplicable)

The Brassic Bride (aka The Ultimate ATLA Ship Post) by CorundumBleu. Before there was Momoyuki, there was Momo/Cabbage. Let the ship wars commence

Call “Uncle” by JaggedCliffs. Iroh’s singular title is ‘uncle’.

Uncle Zuko by Lavanya_Six. Roleswap and generation swap AU, with this brief ficlet tackling Iroh and Zuko’s different dynamic. (Oh god, the horrible attempt at a proverb.)

Drink Some Fucking Tea by Nele. Did you want an Iroh version of the Go the Fuck to Sleep song? No? That’s exactly what this fic is if that’s your thing.

Adaptation by Wildgoosery. Look, this fic was on Livejournal. It probably predated the comics, where last I checked was where we found out the plot of Love Amongst the Dragons. So, here’s the author’s take on what it is. (I won’t spoil, so I’ll leave you to go in blind.)

Jet’s Troubling Obsession by @emletish-fish. FF.Net link since it wasn’t ported over to ao3. Part of their Stalking ‘verse, but also works as a standalone. Featuring: a pineapple, sausages, and Smellerbee and Longshot trying their best over there. Some swearing/allusions to some content.

A Flame For A Cabbage by TalesOfOnyxBats. Azula–cabbageman roleswap AU. I did say this is from the ‘haha funny/random’ folder. Pure crack. Best read when you just want to read silly nonsense.

Traitors, Failures and Moon-slayers by Themanofmanyhats. The premise is that Zhao actually takes Zuko’s hand, and they all end up on that raft. Can’t get much more absurd than Zhao willingly taking Zuko’s hand.

Freudian Slip by naggeluide. The fic summary’s better than any summary I could make, since I might end up spoiling something. Fic summary: Zuko has one. The Gaang reacts.

Miscellaneous: (this is a haha funny [mostly] based fic rec list, of course there’s going to be a bunch that refuse to be boxed in anywhere.)

The Adventures of Mini Zuko by @younggayanddoingokay. If you aren’t tall, be prepared to feel the short experience so hard you get second-hand pain. Be prepared to want to immediately stab and take the kneecaps of (almost) every single character at once. Perfection, Zuko is amazing and shorter, and it has the Zuko and animals trope. What more could you want? (Also part 7 is just... top notch humor.)

Firelord Zuko’s Unfortunate Misadventures by Trying_For_Sunshine. Zuko’s just hanging around and trying to have a good time in the palace. The staff isn’t used to this.

Quiet Like A Fire by WhatWouldJackSparrowDo. Not actually haha funny… idk. But it has an interesting premise. I put in in the random folder because... uh. Anyway, premise goes: Zuko accidentally murder during Day of the Black Sun. (Oh right, that’s probably why I put it there, it vibes that way despite being serious.)

Different Worlds, Different Outcomes by LeDiz. Not haha funny either, just an interesting insight on Zuko’s role in the story, as seen through the eyes of the Gaang and the various spirit shenanigan things that lead to them interacting with various AUs.

We’ll Meet Again, Some Sunny Day by redrobin1989. A desperate Iroh in Ba Sing Se consults the Gaang to find his nephew. Along the way, he uncles.

The Five People You Meet in Hell by JustGettingBy. A 5+1 about Zuko and customer service. There’s also character development along the way.

Find A New God by dickard23. Has OOC and a parent!Ozai, baby azula, and ozai’s canon levels of stupidity. Guaranteed nonsense happens because Ozai... exists. (Look, I just wanted to laugh at Ozai’s stupidity. That’s why I found this funny.)

Zuko go brrr brrr by DiedInParadise. Based on that tumblr post where Zuko is peak hufflepuff and can find all the things. So yeah.

#atla #fic recs #woo a milestone #...I am now out of energy because of how long this thing is #but here you go #thanks for 300 everyone I appreciate all of you

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muffinlance · 6 months

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Tentative writing plans:

Finish Little Zuko (it's so close guys, I have two chapters I haven't posted yet and 2-3 more to write and then that's all she wrote, literally)

Start poking at Cheating At Pai Sho; get at least to the "Season One Toph" part because Season One Toph is a MENACE the likes of which you cannot fully imagine. You think you can but unless you're imagining The Gaang's raw terror of her (and Zuko's complete obliviousness to said terror) then you cannot.

Blind Zuko story outline is currently with my sensitivity reader, and posting shall begin once applicable edits are made

Priority will of course be with book three of Fox's Tongue, aka The One That Pays My Grocery Bills, but that is where we're at for broad plans just now

#avatar the last airbender #atla #Towards the Sun was considered for this list but then I got several poking comments on it on AO3 and over here and that #is the best way to get an author NOT writing #which is just as well since Cheating at Pai Sho would be infinitely quicker to actually finish #and I would dearly like to finish a few more things #Authors/Finishing Things: the rarest pair of them all

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muffinlance · 4 years

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I read in one of your authors notes that you go on update sprees but I have no idea how to find what fic you’re currently updating -💜

I don't have any kind of official announcement process because I tend to change my mind on a whim if someone's comment/ask/the alignment of the planets inspires me, but I tend to sneak hints on what I'm currently working in the tags, generally on totally unrelated posts because that's how I roll. For example.

#currently re-working Scaled Over outline because I'd really like that to be more in the 100k or less range when complete #progress good #this is why this story hasn't updated in forever #also I just need time to sit down and start the next Towards the Sun spree #that's all ironed out but life got busy #next Cheating at Pai Sho ditto but probably prioritizing that behind Towards the Sun #likewise Salvage but that one's likely to jump ahead in my mental queue because It's So Short #Little Zuko on hold until after Towards the Sun's Boiling Rock arc most likely #was that all my stories? I think that was all my stories #that I've admitted to actively writing

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muffinlance · 3 years

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State of the Muffin Report: 2021 Writing Goals

Overall Goal: Balance fanfic with Serious Face noveling, by adapting one of my AUs into a fully original fic that will be posted chapter by chapter with a "please support the author" pretty version self-pubbed at the end. If that's successful, we will have FUN in the years to come.

On the fanfic side, the goal is to not start anything new dangit while finishing up some of my shorter long works.

Concrete Goals:

Finish Salvage -- the end is in sight, yo, just need to tap-tap on my keyboard some more

Towards the Sun -- Boiling Rock arc, possibly the entirety of Book One but no promises

Cheating at Pai Sho -- hopefully finish! This only has one book so, Tiny Child God Willing, that should be achievable

OG Scaled Over: outlining is in process, but I'm not sure it's ready yet; still teasing out the shape in my head, deciding what influences/character archetypes to include v cut, and where to break up the plot arcs. So you're either getting this or...

OG S&S, aka the "Hakoda and Jun co-parent Zuko" fic, which is already so AU that I just need to change names and it'll be fine. Also I've been thinking about it for a year and a half already, so most of the major issues have been teased out in my subconscious already. Gonna outline this officially soon and see if it's fully ready, then I'll decide on whether to launch this or Scaled Over as my first self-pubbed-novel experiment. You haven't met this story yet, but I guarantee you have a this-story-shaped hole in your life.

Also I will continue rearing a tiny human person, upon whose whims the exact timeline of these goals rest. There was a lot of giggling and playing today which was an altogether agreeable way to begin the New Year. Planning to write but bouncing on a bed with a baby instead is a Good Day.

Edit Because Apparently This Needs Saying I Guess: Please note that my goal is to write the equivalent of three novels this next year. Asking for more is not a good look.

#though I did research a lot about storms at sea #I'm sure it's fine don't worry #also in a recent DnD game one of our friends persistently stopped their toddler from bed jumping in the background of the call #meanwhile Spouse and I were just like #Were we not supposed to toss a mattress on the floor expressly for Bouncing?#no one told us this #no take-backsies #State of the Muffin Report

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muffinlance · 4 years

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I'm really interested in your writing process! Do you have some specific techniques fleshing out/developing new side characters? How do you come up with all those details that add so much flavor to your writing (Thinking of the Yuyan archers - again - and about how every single of your side characters is bursting with personality, no matter how small their role!). Does characterization/worldbuilding just come to you, or do you have specific techniques/tricks to help you? ~Gwen

I was gonna say "no specific techniques" but then I was going to end the sentence with "except" so I realized I was a dirty rotten liar. So no particular techniques except...

For fanfic/background characters in any story:

Make sure those appearing on screen together have distinct personalities. Ex: in the Wani cast, Helmsman Kyo and Crewman Teruko and Engineer Hanako are all reasonably distinct in how they'd react to a situation. There is a clear sliding scale on who is most likely to joke with a threat v stab it, and I think all Little Zuko or Cheating at Pai Sho readers can do that ranking without my assistance. In Little Zuko's Yuyan, the three main Yuyan also have differences (though less, since they've had way less screen time to be developed). But Helmsman Kyo and The Archer That Glued Himself To A Lemur? Not too different in their base personalities. Which is fine, because they'll likely never be in a room together, so readers don't ever need to keep them straight (and if somewhere down the line they were in a scene together, I would just make the obligatory "...that guy is the Kyo of the Yuyan" joke to lampshade the situation and make readers think it was intentional all along. As long as the writer catches things before the reader does, you can always pretend to be smarter than you were.)

Focus on one initial character trait/label. New characters are hard for readers to remember. Especially ones that only crop up occasionally, or for short periods. Pick a distinguishing trait and cue readers with it early and often, particularly at the start of scenes, to reduce the need for back-reading to remember "who the heck was that person again?" Ex: This is why I say "Helmsman Kyo" instead of "Kyo"; that nice man that rammed a ship into the Water Tribe village is his initial trait and what I built the rest of his personality around. Not his name. Never assume people will remember a minor character's name. This also works with character traits. Ex: the guards in Dark Night in Ba Sing Se, Knife and Mountain. Even in their own POVs when they're not using Zuko's names for themselves, I make sure to use their defining traits early after a scene switch to cue readers on who they are. So Knife says biting comments and tongues his sharp tooth, and the Mountain looms with great outward disinterest.

Grow characters in depth with repeat exposure. If you keep using characters, sprinkle in some light background detail and opinions for them in subsequent showings. This is how Engineer Hanako became a crappy firebender (only need small-scale bending for engineering applications), but a scary-ass knife fighter (WHERE WAS SHE HIDING THAT). If you re-read the early scenes of any of my stories, you can see this evolution in progress--at first we get the name and a basic personality, then it gets expanded upon. This makes their character building feel organic, breaks it into chunks that are easier for readers to remember (though you'll need to consistently cue anything important), and also gives you massive pretend-I-planned-that-all-along room. I generally have no idea what new characters are like; I'm meeting them as you are. But building them up little by little means I can figure out where they fit and how they can contribute as I go. Ex: the Yuyan squad leader in Little Zuko became the perfect POV for explaining how an elite group of fairly sheltered archers viewed the Avatar: their commander gave them that "he's not a real kid he's a spirit" briefing and she buys it... uneasily, as she interacts with these children more and more. Fleshing out your side characters should flesh out alternative perspectives on the world.

Use them to support the main cast, do not let them distract from the actual story. I think one of the reasons folks comment favorably on my original characters is they're their own people... but they are used to support Zuko (or whoever they're guest-starring with). When they are having their own conversations, they are about Zuko. When we are seeing the world through their POV, we are getting a sweet sweet outsider view on Zuko. They are real characters with real motivations of their own separate from the main cast, but I am not letting them run away with the plot. Which is a super easy rookie move to make, especially in original fiction--some characters "get away from you". When that happens, instead of letting the minor character steal the show, see if you can re-assign their actions to a major character or otherwise shift things around to support the larger narrative rather than this one small character's plot arc. Ex: Little Zuko's Helmsman Kyo was legit outlined to die, but people liked him so I let him live. He's getting his own plot arc separate from Zuko and the crew now, but it's in support of Teo and Mai's subplots, and it will be only small windows into their world. Because I am keeping him (and Teo and Mai) in their "background character" slots, and not letting them take over. Wrangle your characters' screen time relative to their plot importance, yo. Especially in fanfic, where people are here for the canon cast, and have only limited patience for OCs. It's nice when readers get invested in OCs, but they do so with the understanding and trust that the author isn't going to abuse their attention span.

Final word of advice: treat even the most minor characters with respect. They are real people with real motives, and that should shine through even if they only get one line of dialogue and a brief bit role. Especially especially especially do not treat them like they're idiots. I see that so often with "guards the main characters need to get past" or similar characters. When you make the side characters dumber, you are lowering the bar for your main cast and lowering tension for your readers. Give your main cast smart opposing forces, and you'll make the story so much more interesting while also making the world feel more real. Ex: Little Zuko got caught by the Yuyan. He didn't make them look like idiots by escaping in his own, he got caught like a twelve-year-old v experienced professionals should. And then the fun began. If the Yuyan had been idiots, that plot arc wouldn't have ended in tricky shooting and plausible deniability for everyone.

#writing stuff

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muffinlance · 5 years

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I am in awe. You have three WIPs that you update on a regular basis AND each of them is just as engaging as the next AND you manage to keep everyone in-character, if not better (I will never be unable to unhear Engineer Hanako or unsee Flying Lemur Squad’s plausible deniability). How do you do it??

Real talk time!

I have no idea.

For real, this is significantly faster than I have ever written in my life. Like. By a considerable margin. And I'm going to just go ahead and attribute it to,

(wait for it)

~The Marvelous Power of Procrastination~

Because I am currently making the move from kind-of-amateur writer to serious-face-writer. And I should be editing up that short story I'm sitting on, 'cause I'd really like to get another mag credit before I send out the next round of queries on Novel J (which has gotten full requests, but no bites yet). And I have two other novels lined up to query if that one flops, pending fairly minor edits that I should really be doing. And I've got the outline for my next one all prettified, and that one's middle grade so it's super short, and I really need to work it into my writing rotation.

'Cause.

'Cause I've mentioned this to a few people, but I rationalized starting each of these fanfics as craft practice.

Little Zuko: full novel outline practice. Holy shit outlining is so much better than pantsing for me. But I need to level up my thinking-at-the-novel-level game.

Towards the Sun: series level outlining combined with freeform scenes. 'Cause I'm actually getting pretty confident at the novel-level thing, so this is the next logical step, and 350k-ish is a nice reasonable word count to sandbox in. (And can I just take a moment to scream internally that I feel confident in committing to that kind of word count? 'Cause like, two or three years ago, I'd have been hyperventilating even contemplating that.)

Cheating at Pai Sho: completely winging it. 'Cause I am a pantser at heart, and fanfic is delightfully low stress. I just have a checklist of things I want to do, like 'pick up Toph', but I'm not actively making an attempt to outline the steps in-between. Just seeing where the pai sho tiles fall (I did figure out the Toph thing while writing that last chapter, and will start the groundwork in chapter 5. Go me!) But yeah, this is why you got 10k of adorable Lovecraftian cats and Zuko-Katara semi-shirtless bonding. I make niether excuses nor apologies, shameless fluff is shameless. This story is hella relaxing to write, and I'm getting the impression it's also relaxing to read, and you all deserve some me-time after making it through the Towards the Sun prologue.

Most importantly, these are all daily writing practice. They're fun and low-stress and if I'm not feeling one, I can bounce to another for awhile. I always knew I was physically capable of writing this fast, 'cause my typing speed is ridiculous, but I'd hit a creative limit where I'd feel drained and have to walk away for an-hour-a-day and those kinds of breaks are dangerous, that's when you lose your writing momentum and a day turns into a week turns into six months and what are you even doing with your life you failure you said you wanted to be a writer. And that is not a good headspace, as I think pretty much every creative person ever is cripplingly familiar with.

So these fics are my no-pressure no-stakes daily writing exercises.

And I accidentally proved to myself that I am capable of so much more than I thought.

And I am feeling real good about it, thanks to the wonderfully supportive feedback from all you FF reviewers and AO3 commenters and Tumblr fan arters and those amazing human beings writing ficlets for my stories. Like. Real good, is how I'm feeling. Like I can do this, is how I'm feeling. Like maybe I'm ready to stop hiding from my serious-face writing, and I can write so damn fast now I-know-I-can, so. So even if I work my serious projects back into the writing rotation, y'all should barely notice a dip in my fanfic posting speed. 'Cause I can do this. I really can. <3

In conclusion I love you all, thank you so much for the overwhelming support as I continue catopus-paddling through figuring out this writing thing.

This got long and rambly and didn't even answer the original question. To which the answer would be: practice your craft intentfully. You want to write engaging stories? Study the stories that captivate you and tease out what elements are pulling you in. There's a fuckton of nitty-gritty technical details that go into making things dynamic and engaging at the level of a sentence, a paragraph, a scene, a chapter, an arc, a novel, a series (I consider myself fairly solid up until those last two--hence why I'm using these fics to actively work on them). Characterizations and how to write voices that sounds distinct from each other but unique to themselves, likewise. When you read, don't just read--tease apart the material. Why do you like what you like, why is something not working for you, what would have improved this, what would you have done differently if you were writing it.

Also, take the idea of a muse and shove it. Daily practice, or as near as you can make it. Runners have to build their stamina over time; same thing with writers. Just 'cause it's a mental stamina doesn't make the fatigue any less real. Build it up over time, celebrate your victories, try not to backslide with the mental equivalent of laying on the couch eating potato chips and letting your writing-brain get flabby again. Get out for a writing-walk, everyday, even if it's only a little.

#only... a Little Zuko #did I just write an essay to set up that joke #you be the judge #ask #writing advice #writing thoughts

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muffinlance · 5 years

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You last week: I’m going to finish Little Zuko’s current arc before working on my other Wips. This week you: post 2 new wip in 24 hours. I love you and the new fics but are you ok? That’s 5 ongoing projects.

I, umm. I seem to have worried more than just Nonny with those. And while a part of me is perversely proud of updating so fast it causes a not insignificant number of my readers to be legit concerned, let me take a moment to reassure you all that I am in good health, have been eating and sleeping, and have not been chained to the keyboard by a particularly rabid fan who figured out my home address haha that would be crazy.

Ha.

But for realsies all is well, I'm just at a stage in literally every other project I'm working on (and y'all don't even see how many serious!face files I have going) where the next chapter/arc requires more think time. AKA that weird background thinking that creative types and computer programmers do where you look like you're not working at all but you wake up at two in the morning with the solution to your problem and type it into your phone while your spousal unit hisses and flails at the tiny little light of your screen. So. No writing was going to be happening on any of those.

Then I was like, '...but if I don't write today I risk falling into the dread not-writing-today what's-wrong-with-me self-hate, but I have these two other stories that are ready to go I just haven't officially started them yet.' So. I wrote them. And it was super exciting, and I only hated on myself a tiny bit for not finishing the Little Zuko outline or editing that serious!face short story. I'm just absolutely not promising regular updates on dragon!Zuko or accidentalGuard!Zuko (or Cheating at Pai Sho, for that matter), 'cause they were specifically started as fillers-for-when-I-can't-write-Little-Zuko-or-Towards-the-Sun. I'm not not promising regular updates. I'm just... not promising

Thank you all for your concern, and rest assured that More Writing is my ultimate self-care.

And I am definitely not narrating the soothing message my kidnapper dictates.

#no reason for concern here folks #haha #haaaa #status report #ask

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