#this fic is complete but i'm posting it weekly so I can finalize edits

[rainbowtitania]

The Scarlet Lotus

In the years following the Sunshot Campaign, the mysterious, masked cultivator who’d defeated Wen Ruohan took on many identities: the Yiling Patriarch, leader of the Wen rebels, enemy of the Jin Sect, practitioner of wicked tricks. His true name was shrouded in mystery. He always wore a mask. He carried no sword; wore no clan colors or insignia. Clouds of resentful energy clung to him as he walked.

But there was one thing that absolutely everyone agreed on: the Yiling Patriarch could not possibly be from the Jiang Sect.

Or: a Scarlet Pimpernel/Untamed crossover featuring Wei Wuxian in disguise, Lan Wangji determined to bring the nefarious Yiling Patriarch to justice, and the hijinks that ensue when you accidentally marry your greatest enemy/love of your life.

Read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/45946444/chapters/115648279

Updates every Wednesday! There will be 12 chapters total.

#i'm back! #finally writing again! #wangxian #the untamed #cql #my fic! #this fic is complete but i'm posting it weekly so I can finalize edits #and idk build suspense etc etc #this is a canon fix-it fic btw #but somehow it manages to get worse before it gets better

[reds-skull]

Fic recs - oneshots (part 2)

Felt like doing another post like this (might make it into a weekly thing idk, until I run out of recs I guess lol)

So like before, this post includes only sfw oneshots:

nothin' gonna hurt you, baby (nothin's gonna make you cry) by MikaelLo - Ghost is captured and drugged while on a mission. Soap finds him and together they deal with the fallout.

Shaken by bleepyear - Soap is haunted by the events of Chicago. His hands won't stop shaking when he holds a weapon. Ghost notices.

In A Hole In The Earth by Louffox - Soap is told to shut it on a mission. He takes it too seriously when he falls down a well. (this one is one of my favorites)

Dead & Bloated by saucebass_yahoo - Soap learns something shocking about Ghost that sets a plan into motion. Do dead men celebrate birthdays?

A Burning Hill by dandeliondick - Soap stopped touching Ghost completely one day. Ghost spirals.

Break Stuff by shiftpink - Soap has trouble making it through the day without wanting to break something. Ghost helps his friend.

you're my end and my beginning by crown_twist - What if teenage Simon got a sneak peek of John MacTavish? (this one is so fuckin sweet it kills me every time)

stay by crown_twist - Soap finally figures it out, and promptly fucks it up.

watch by crown_twist - Soap confesses to the wrong person

get high in the moonlight by wolfspit - Ghost gets drugged and it's not the "fun" kind of drug. Soap keeps him from choking on his own spit.

keeping you safe by oh_ellie - Ghost and Soap always see each other off for their missions. Except for the time Soap was too agitated at Ghost. And that's where he fucked up.

lipstick marks and teacups by flyby2 - Soap finds Ghost making tea when sleep evades them both.

Sit For You by Shitty_Nerds_N0tes - After a rough mission, Soap picks up his old sketchbook and Ghost gets a look inside.

Hypothermic Heartaches by Gummichii - Soap becomes hypothermic and starts taking off clothes. Ghost has to find him before it's too late.

sweet by ElizaStyx - It's the middle of a sleepless night, Ghost and Soap slow dance in the moonlight.

stay frosty by orphan_account - another hypothermia fic, this time both of them freeze their ass off [idk why I have so many of these lmao]

All I wanted Was You by Aessedia - Soap gets injured on duty. Ghost sees it happen and becomes feral in his need to save him.

Choosing Regrets by Sillililli - Simon thinks he can talk Johnny out of wanting him, but Johnny's always one step ahead. [edit: this one is nsfw I labelled it incorrectly in my own notes 😓]

last vision by sherashalala - Soap gets injured and thinks that hiding said injury is a good idea.

Heather by eddie_dxaz - Soap finds a girlfriend. Ghost struggles with it.

I'll stop here for today, still have an unreasonable amount to go through, and that's not mentioning any fics that don't fall into these categories! But I'm happy to do this, wanted to show fic writers some love, since a lot of these really deserve more haha

#call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod mw2 #fic recs #soapghost #I decided on 20 oneshots for each post for now #thought i would finish this post but clearly... I have more than I thought lmao

[cssns]

WOW!!!!!! Can you believe it? We're done and it's time for the CSSNS23 Roundup!!!

Before we get started, I need to recognize and thank my team of mods, @winterbaby89 @jrob64 @stahlop and @ultraluckycatnd, without whom this event wouldn't have happened this summer! Please join me in giving them all the long distance internet group hugs!!!!

And NOWWWWWWWW... Here we GOOOOO!!!!! Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

@hufflepuffinstorybrooke opened us up this year on July 1 with a wonderful soulmates OS called If You're Lucky, Love Leaves Scars, that I was privileged to make artwork for. The fic left me in tears and melting at the same time!

On July 3, @teamhook posted the first chapter of her fic The Last Witch Hunter, inspired by the Vin Diesel movie of the same name. Only one ch so far, but I'm absolutely captivated and eagerly awaiting more! Very intriguing artwork by herself.

@spartanguard dropped her Killian's evil twin MC on July 5, Sons of Love and Death, with artwork by herself. That artwork, of two incredibly handsome guys shouldn't be as chilling as it is, but IT IS... The fic is completely written and she's been updating weekly, so we're on ch9 of 13. Just sayin, but I'm about ready to use a certain dagger on a certain evil twin.

July 7 @goforlaunchcee posted Smoke and Mirrors, a HOOT of a ghost story, with such lovely artwork by @piinfeathers that perfectly captures CS in this fic. Three chapters are up so far, and I can't wait for more!!!

July 10, @killiansprincss posted her OS A Court of Vines and Shadow inspired by A Court of Thorns and Roses, with absolutely gorgeous artwork by @hollyethecurious. I was not familiar with the source material, so I was completely surprised and delighted with this fic!!!

@athenascarlet posted her merman Killian OS on July 13, The Merman with a wonderful visual on Tumblr 😏 Just a regular night between a sheriff and her merman pirate... Would love to see more of this, but it's staying a OS... for now, she says...

Also on July 13, @anmylica posted the first chapter of Fly With the Black Swan with amazing artwork by @zaharadessert. We have two chs of ten up so far, and I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for more!!!!

On July 15, @whatevenisthisbloganymore posted the first chapter of Forest View Apartments, a ghost story that has the questions swirling through my mind and eagerly awaiting the next installment! Amazing artwork by @undercaffinatednightmare!

Speaking of @undercaffinatednightmare, real life has been very rude lately and has left her unable to post her two planned fics for this summer, but she has managed to make the artwork for them both that you can find here and here! I love her writing so much and I know whenever RL lets up, both these fics are going to be wonderful!!! *EDITED* The first of her fics, A Charming Curse, has now posted and it promises to be FUN!!!

July 19, @deckerstarblanche posted An Offer She Can't Refuse, with more lovely artwork by @undercaffinatednightmare. Emily only planned two chs for this very hot and sexy Omegaverse fic, but she took it in a very angsty direction in the final scene of ch2, and so has now promised that she'll come back and add one more ch to give us all the happy ending we deserve!

July 22, @zaharadessert posted a very hot demon Killian OS, Sacrificial Lamb that made bloodthirsty Krystal VERY happy. I was once again privileged to make artwork for the fic, with an assist by @motherkatereloyshipper who was responsible for the Emma edit I used.

July 23, @mie779 posted the first chapter of Finding Caldera: The Hidden World of Dragons, with just lovely artwork by @undercaffinatednightmare. The adventure of this fic is just wonderful! We're on ch9 and nearing the end!

On July 25, it was my turn to post for the event! Into the Light was inspired by the 1987 movie The Lost Boys, my very first introduction to vampires and it has never left me! Incredible artwork was created by @motherkatereloyshipper that still just leaves me staring at it slack jawed!

@hollyethecurious posted the first chapter of The Law of Surprise on July 28. Now complete in three parts, this beautiful BEAUTIFUL but also heartbreaking fic was inspired by the law of surprise from The Witcher. Breathtaking artwork was provided by @eastwesthomeisbest and can be found here, here, and here.

@xarandomdreamx posted her CS Practical Magic AU A Crystalline Knowledge of Love and Magic on July 30. Beautiful artwork by @hollyethecurious. Only one chapter so far and my heart is so broken for Emma and Elsa but also completely in love with the story!!!!

Rounding out July, @caught-in-the-filter posted original artwork featuring ghost Emma and vampire Killian that was absolutely CHILLING!!!!

@snowbellewells started Aug off on the 2nd with an incredible one shot, Deluge! Gorgeous artwork by @eastwesthomeisbest. I am so hopeful that Marta will eventually write more of this wonderfully intriguing fic!!!

Then, @eastwesthomeisbest was so inspired by Marta's fic, she made her own original art in the same vein as the art she made for the fic. Absolutely breathtaking!!!

On Aug 8, @booksteaandtoomuchtv posted the Prologue and ch1 of Witchy Woman. I have sooooo been waiting for this fic and so far, four chs in, it is hitting ALL my buttons! Artwork coming soon from @cocohook38.

On Aug 10, @cs-rylie posted The Journal, a seriously SCARY fic, only 3 chs in, inspired by Native American legend. Artwork by me, again with a much needed assist from @motherkatereloyshipper who was responsible for Milah and the journal itself.

@iamstartraveller776 posted her new fic, To Cleave Destiny on Aug 13. Featuring Demon Killian, just this Prologue has me on the edge of my seat!!! Artwork coming soon from @cocohook38.

@exhaustedpirate posted Parent for Hire on Aug 14. A Mandalorian inspired fic, Caro has melted my Captain Cobra heart so many times already, only four chs in. She also did moodboards to accompany each ch that you can find on each of the Tumblr ch posts x x x and I was also privileged to make a banner for the fic.

On Aug 16, @grimmswan posted the first chs of TWO fabulous fics!!! Dracula in Storybrooke comes from the woefully underutilized Land of Untold Stories arc, and Love Bites (But So Do I) is a supernatural adventure of vampire Emma and werewolf Killian. Artwork coming soon from @cocohook38.

On Aug 18, @snowbellewells posted her second fic of the event, Carolina Moon. A fic inspired by the Nora Roberts novel of the same name, my heart is already, only two chs in, broken for Emma and on the edge of my seat waiting for more! Beautiful artwork again done by @eastwesthomeisbest!

@jrob64 posted Saying Goodbye and Moving On on Aug 20, a DESPERATELY NEEDED and ABSOLUTELY PERFECT fix-it fic from the Underworld arc. I was again privileged to make artwork for it, and I'm just gonna have to accept that I almost can't make picsets anymore without the aid of @motherkatereloyshipper. For this one, she was again responsible for ghost Milah.

Aug 22, @padfootprongslet posted the Prologue for Like Our Love (Falling Down and Over Again). A Mr. and Mrs. Smith inspired fic, my heart was absolutely SHATTERED in this first ch and I can't wait for more! I was again privileged to make a picset for this with @motherkatereloyshipper coming in the clutch entwining the rings.

On Aug 24, @jonesfandomfanatic posted Stolen From Time. Now complete in three parts, this fic was absolutely BRILLIANT!!! @motherkatereloyshipper made a beautiful video to accompany it.

Our final fic by @wyntereyez will post in the next few days. She’s dealing with a hurricane at the moment, so she’s excused! Artwork by spartanguard. Can't wait! *EDITED* the fic and art are both now posted!!! I melted at Kait’s artwork, and I cackled and melted repeatedly reading the fic!!!! AND I am BEYOND EXCITED that Jamie has more to come in this universe, because I NEEEEEEEEEEEED it!!!!!

That's it everyone! Please enjoy all these FABULOUS fics and artworks and be sure to give the authors and artists all the love they deserve!!!

#cssns23 roundup #cssns23 #roundup #event roundup

[morallyinept]

Happy Sunday Everyone! 🖤

I've seen some of these weekly round ups floating about and think they are a really great idea, plus I relish any chance to try and stay a little bit organised at the moment. 😵‍💫

So inspiration for this totally comes from these lovelies: @rhoorl @secretelephanttattoo @sin-djarin @trulybetty @boliv-jenta to name but a few, who have been doing this long before I have. I love reading theirs.

And I love that our favourite cowboy, Jack Daniels, is going to be the star of this weekly round up that will drop on a Sunday. Whiskey's deffo one of my favourite Pedro Boys for sure, sugar. 🤠

Okay, let's whip it! Whip it good.

This week has been a bit busy for me - ugh, adulting - but I've still managed to squeeze in quite a lot... although I'm not sure how! 😅 Thank goodness for queuing posts is all I can say!

☆ Things I've posted this week:

• The Pit - An Ezra One Shot - This is my first time writing for my beau, Ezra (& admittedly I may have peed my pants a little when I posted it 🫣). Thank you so much to those who have left some really positive feedback after reading it! If you haven't read it yet, I'd really love you to, and would love to know your thoughts about it. 🖤

• Five Days - Chapter 2 has been released today. Woo! Again, thank you for the feedback - I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this Joel mini series of mine. I simply adore writing for him.

• The Red Tie - Dave York GIFLET - Got more GIFLETS to come for more Pedro Boys. It's so fun writing these with a limited number of words.

• This week's session of Self Care With Dieter & Jett focused on how you can overcome negativity that's aimed directly at you. With a special appearance from Joel!

• I've finally created and posted my Writing Masterlist too. I would love for you to check it out.

☆ Things I'm currently working on:

• Next installment of Five Days. (The whole story is completed, but I'm just doing the final edits & making it look pretty.)

• A spooky, smutty Halloween One Shot, featuring 3 of the Pedro Boys, to be released on Oct 31st. 🎃 I'm excited about this one.

• Final edits on a couple of One Shots I've finished for Frankie Morales, Marcus Pike & Max Phillips. I have a couple on the go that I've started drafting for other Pedro Boys too.

• Working on some sexy Christmas treats as well. 🎄

☆ Things I've read this week:

• It's Kinktober, and there are quite a few Kinktober lists I've been following. You can check them out here if you'd like. You are all so talented with this yearly theme, I love it!

• I've updated my Pedro Character Fic Rec List too this weekend, so be sure to check it out for more amazing stories from all the incredible writers featured. If I haven't come across your work yet, please let me know. I'd love to add it to the list.

A couple of fics that really blew me away this week in particular were:

You call & I come running - @chronically-ghosted Taylor has written one of my favourite Dieter stories ever, and this Javi P story is a close contender, let me tell you! I'm still not over this. If you haven't read it yet, you're missing out. (The Dieter fic in question is called I Am Touchin', I Am Grabbin', Everything I Can't Be Havin'.)

Tear You Apart - @ilovepedro This Joel story is just fang-tastic in everyway. (You'll see why I used the pun when you read it!) Joel is just incredible in this, and really shows you that age is just a number. Brilliant read.

Stargazing - @secretelephanttattoo I love everything about El's Frankie in this. It's literally the kind of boyfriend I imagine him to be IRL. 😍 This was a perfect piece of sweet loveliness in every way. I'm still mush for it.

Ouroboros - @wannab-urs Gin has made me primitively feral for Dave York after reading this. This was an incredible read, and one I highly encourage you to read as well.

The Man In Apartment 6A - @spookykoolkat This was just so sexy. I can't even describe how sexy this was. I felt like I lived in reader's apartment reading this, and would give anything for this Joel to be my neighbour. Just delicious.

Tenant Girl Cucking - @gracieispunk Gracie did a number on me this week with this latest instalment of her amazing Maintenance Man Joel series. To the point that I am still bug-eyed about it now. 🥴 I soooo look forward to how this is going to all play out. Gracie, you're a menace for this cliffhanger, but I absolutely fucking loved it!

☝🏻All of these incredible stories are listed on my Pedro Character Fic Rec List also.

Also just want to shout out to lovely @bonezone44 who has created this stunning piece of Ezra art. It's absolutely gorgeous and I am flawed by it. The likeness is incredible! I would happily buy a print of this. For real.

☆ What have I been watching/listening to this week?

I'm a massive rock chick, if I do say so myself. Any kind of rock, be it classic, punk, metalcore, heavy... you name it. 🤘🏻 My inner goth is constantly headbanging.

I recently discovered a great, fun rock song called Plan Z by Boi What. If you're a Spongebob fan, you'll recognise this as Plankton. It's basically Plankton's song with a heavy rock riff, which is fucking amazing! 😀

I finished the latest season of Sex Education last week and I love that show so much! I really loved how inclusive and diverse they were with the cast and characters in this season too.

I'm yet to start watching Ashoka - I'm keen to, but just not had the time to sit down all week and binge something. Here's hoping for some time this coming week. 🤞🏻

And I still haven't seen Strange Way of Life yet either in full 🫣 It's coming out on Mubi soon here in the UK, so I'm totally going to chomp that up when it does! You'd better believe it! I'm pining for Silva already.

☆ What have I been up to this week?

I went on a short hike yesterday - something that I'm quite passionate about. Made the most of the sunshine still clinging on here in the UK.

Before the pandemic I would hike solo very often, but since then I've become quite lazy with it, so I'm getting back into it slowly, with the view to start hiking up some mountains at some point next year. My workplace does sponsored mountain hikes for charity, so I'm keen to take part next year for sure. Lots of training to do to get in shape before then. 💪🏻

I love wandering off the beaten track, discovering something beautiful and clearing the ol' mind out for a while. It's very therapeutic. And an ideal time to think up some new stories to write! 😉

Thank you to everyone who has tagged me in things this week, and to those who have sent Asks and DM's. I'm enjoying getting to know you all and engaging with you. 😘

I think that about covers it all. I hope you're all having a lovely weekend, no matter what you're up to!

Remember, manners maketh man.

Stay kind, stay creamy peeps 🖤

🖤

I created my video banner using a GIF of Agent Whiskey, originally by @javier-pena 🖤

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #agent whiskey #whiskey jack daniels #jett's weekly whip round #jett's pedro boys #jett's writing #jett's fic recs #Spotify

[astral-mariner]

It's finally here---a preview of my long Vegeta/Raditz under Freeza fic, Homeworld Lost! I've posted the prologue and the first chapter of Part 1 as a teaser.

I've written 9 out of the story's 12 parts and have close to 130k words in my manuscript thus far. When I've completed and edited everything, I'll start posting regularly/weekly. Until then, I may update with more previews sporadically. (So feel free to subscribe on AO3 to be notified when previews go up.)

This is a fic 10 years in the making. I've had the story in my head for ages, and I began the short story that eventually turned into this novel-length work sometime in 2014. It took me a while to produce this preview because I had to rewrite some of my earliest drafts! (The majority of what I have written was all written after 2022, and I've written more than 70k words since the start of 2023.) I'm about 75% complete overall.

Please tread carefully in reading, however. Homeworld Lost is a darkfic. It's meant to disturb the reader, and I wrote it with a mature audience in mind. Genre-wise, it's a horror story in a science-fantasy setting. It deals with many sensitive subjects and handles them in an explicit way. There's blood and gore, fucked up relationships, torture, sexual violence, a lot of existential angst, and some in-depth explorations of trauma and its aftermath. And yes, there will be some kinky erotica. Heavy on the sadomasochism and twisted power dynamics. Sometimes it will be purposefully mixed with horror elements. If such things aren't to your taste, that's okay. But it was meaningful for me to write, and I'm sure that others can get something out of it too.

I made a pretty bold decision in how I told the story as well. It's in first person from Raditz's POV, and it is framed by Bulma's private journal entries as she processes what she reads/translates. I know this may put some people off, but I truly don't think the story I'm telling could be better told another way. Unreliable narration is a big element in Homeworld Lost and is part of the story all by itself. The reader is meant to question what's really going on and how honest the characters are being. 

Anyway, enjoy! Comments will give me fuel to finish this project 💖

#vegeta #raditz #vegeditz #dbz fanfiction #dbz fics #astral writing

[nightklok]

MTL Rarepair Month 2023

If image is blurry, click on the image to be taken to a higher resolution version!

After a long wait, the calendar for Rarepair Month is here for May 1-27! Thank you as well for those who participated in the survey! I tried to keep in mind of everyone's suggestions!

What is Rarepair Month?

From May 1-27, this event is dedicated not only to unpopular and rarer type of ships, but to any rare pair platonic/romantic!

As doing daily challenges may not possible for some, I am including weekly challenges!

Each week has a theme, and you can use that however you want to! You can replace a day’s theme with a weekly theme, write one fic per weekly theme each week, center a theme around the challenges, anything you want! How you complete this challenge is up to you!

Excluded Pairings

Note: While these pairings are excluded, you are allowed to write OT3s of these popular ships (Ex: Charles, Pickles, and Nathan). The decision to exclude these pairings was based on AO3’s relationship tags (the pairings with over 100 fics) and just general fandom knowledge.

Skwistok (Skwisgaar Skwigelf/Toki Wartooth)

Nickles (Nathan Explosion/Pickles the Drummer)

Narles (Nathan Explosion/Charles Foster Offdensen)

Chickles (Charles Foster Offdensen/Pickles the Drummer)

FAQ

Can I post content somewhere else other than Tumblr/AO3?

Yes, you can! I might only see the challenges on tumblr, AO3, and Instagram but you can always double post to get more traction!

What is the hashtag?

please use the tag #MTLRarePair2023! (Optional but encouraged!)

Do I have to do all 27 days/Do I have to complete the weekly challenges?

It’s all entirely up to you! If you want to do one over the other, both, and/or work on them separately it’s up to you! You are not obligated to do all 27 days or all 4 weekly challenges. The point of this challenge is to have fun so where’s the fun in being stressed out?

Can I write crossover pairings? (I.E Nathan Explosion x Eddie Briggs from Brutal Legend) Self-inserts/OC x character pairings?

Of course! It wouldn’t be a rare pair event without some crossover or OC pairings now wouldn’t it?

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me, but remember there is no limit to this, just do what will make this fun and easier for you! Good luck!! (Any questions will be tagged as #MTLrarepair2023qanda so be sure to check that out if you wanna see if your question has been answered!

Social Media Links

You are free to post anywhere outside of tumblr and what i'm linking below but here is some sites where I'll be checking out the content!

AO3 Collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/MTL_RPM_2023

When you edit your works, make sure to add this to Collections: MTL_RPM_2023

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nightklok/status/1646857331991248896?s=46&t=dEbe-5kzzkXRk_nG60esmg

Instagram: @/mtlrarepairmonth

The Prompts:

Week 1 (1-6): Movie Premiere

As anticipation over the new movie comes near, what are your predictions? Or wish fulfillment? Alternatively, what are some movies, songs, etc you want to write a fic based around? Or some movie you can see your rarepair fitting well in?

Day 1: The Opening Act: How would the first scene or first act begin? Any establishing characters making an appearance? Alternatively, use this to post the first chapter, scene, etc to any series, fic, comic, etc! 

Alternative Prompt: Movie night

Day 2:  The Soundtrack: Using any song that reminds you of the film, write a fic based around the song!

Alternative Prompt: Dancing in the Rain

Day 3: The conflict: There can’t be any movie without some conflict so what is your prediction for the conflict? Is it a misunderstanding? Doomstar related?

Alternative Prompt: Final Words

Day 4: The Endgame Couple: What is the moment that makes it official your rarepair will be canon?

Alternative Prompt: What could’ve been

Day 5:  The Finale:

Alternative Prompt: Confessions

Day 6:  The sequel: You can use this day to write about any potential sequel ideas you might have or alternatively, something you wanted to write that fits this week’s theme!

Alternative Prompt: After the War

Week 2 (7-13) The Forgotten:

A week dedicated to the minor characters, background characters, anyone you feel should’ve gotten more screen time. While the main cast is allowed, try to make the other characters the main character/focus point of the story.

Day 7: Remake- recreate an episode, scene, season, or anything really into your rarepair- give them the love they deserve 

Alternative Prompt: Birthday Wish

Day 8: Anti-hero/Villain Redemption: Maybe the villains were onto something-maybe they can be fixed

Alternative Prompt: Forgiveness

Day 9: Female Exclusive: I can’t exclude the main cast because there is no females, diversity win 

Day 10: Background Character Unveil: Find a background character (someone with NO lines or importance) and basically treat them as an OC-free design template- alternatively, create your own background character

Alternative Prompt:  Road trip

Day 11:  Side Character Exclusive: While the focus is side characters (characters who appear occuringly or at least in more than one episode), you are free to use one-shot characters as well!

Day 12: OC Exclusive: It can be OC/ OC, OC/Character, whatever you want as long as an OC is the main character! For an extra challenge: Make someone's day by writing their OC!

Day 13: Free Space 

Alternative Prompt: New Rarepair (make up a ship that has 0 tags on tumblr/AO3 or use one you’ve never written)

Week 3 (14-20) Alternate Universe:

Alternative Universes and Rarepairs go hand in hand so why not dedicate a week exploring that? Perhaps there's even an AU of an AU with your rarepair you want to explore or you've always wanted to write an AU that wouldn't have worked for your plot. Use this week's theme to go outside the box a little and explore the various possibilities you can do!

Day 14: Florist & Tattoo Artist AU / Coffee Shop AU

Alternative Prompt: First Date

Day 15: Fantasy/Magic

Alternative Prompt: Childhood

Day 16: Monsters 

Alternative Prompt: Costume Party

Day 17: Hanahaki: A disease where flowers will grow in the heart of the infected from unrequited love. The cure can be to either surgically remove the roots but risk death or never feeling attraction towards the person again or confess/have the love turn requited.

Alternative Prompt: Flowers  

Day 18: College/High School

Alternative Prompt: Graduation

Day 19: Fairytale 

Alternative Prompt: Soulmates

Day 20: Free Space 

Alternative Prompt: First Meeting

Week 4 (21-27) General Week:

With this month coming to close, try to write about more of the simpler things in life. The domestic stuff that you may have been avoiding to write. Use this week to try out new rarepairs by using any day/alternative prompts you didn't get to use.

But for those looking for something a little more fun to end the daily prompts on, I've used obscure/outdated tropes for the alternative prompts that you are more than free to use!

Day 1: Proposal

Alternative Prompt: College Radio

Day 2: Concert

Alternative Prompt:  Unwanted Gift Trope

Day 3: Domestic Life

Alternative Prompt: Telephone Booth

Day 4: Eras (80s,90s,00s, etc)

Alternative Prompt: Waterbeds

Day 5: Double Date

Alternative Prompt: Video Store

Day 6: Wedding

Alternative Prompt: Miscommunication 

Day 7: Free Space

#mtlrarepair2023 #metalocalypse #dethklok #metalocalypse fanfic #metalocalypse oc

[voxofthevoid]

hey i was wondering why you post one chapter a month for fics you’ve completed writing? just wondering about your posting schedule! i’ve been trying to decide for my own fic if once a week or every 2 weeks is better

There are a bunch of factors that come together to make it the pace I'm most comfortable with:

The fully written fics are the first drafts, not the edited versions; that leaves me some 500k of unedited fic, at an estimate, at present. Granted, my final drafts are very close to my first drafts. All I do is some typo hunting (albeit semi-successfully because they're persistent fucks) and overall polishing. But it still takes time, and the polishing in particular is important to me.

I need a significant amount of time—weeks, minimum, but months ideally—between writing and editing to check the stories with fresh eyes, and I only do it one chapter at a time. I'll read the stories in between, but that's just for my own enjoyment. After I post something, I kind of stop being able to enjoy those parts. The editing/polishing process kills the pleasure of it, I guess.

Juggling 4-5 stories a month keeps me from getting bored, especially when I have so many written and waiting.

I like the act of serially publishing in terms of reader engagement, and doing it after the fic is complete lets me enjoy people's reactions and theories without worrying whether I'll be able to finish it. I've abandoned stories plenty and am cool with that, but I don't like having to do it. This is the best of both worlds.

I prefer having a flexible schedule to not having one at all, which is why there are monthly updates (sometimes with delays) instead of whimsical chaos; I've done that before too, in addition to trying out weekly or biweekly schedules. I've also posted fics/chapters as I finished them. Of them all, the current system is my preference.

I'd recommend experimenting with your schedule, seeing what you can sustain and enjoy, and not rigidly committing to anything. YMMV, of course, because brain wiring varies for us all, but in general, it's important to prevent a schedule from feeling like an obligation. For all that I plan and organize like a demon, I ultimately only do what I find fun and am not shy about changing plans as needed, especially when there are IRL factors to prioritize.

Good luck!

#i love my anons #anon

[romaine2424]

Weekly Blog July 27, 2023

I've been very busy reading and writing since my last post! The good news is that I've posted the re-edited original (2007) seven chapters of my WIP! It felt so good put them back up. @m0srael and @epitomereally thank you muchly for the tags to do a WIP snip. I was going to do it but did this instead. :) I plan on posting Chapter 8, which will be the first brand-new chapter of the fic this weekend. After that, I'll wait a bit until I'm further along in my writing.

One of the fun things for me in this round of posting a fic, is using Work Skins on AO3. I know, I'm very late in the game. I'm now tempted to go back to my older stories and add some fun things to it. Especially for letters and newspaper articles!

Here's the link to my WIP. Hey, it's my blog, and I can do a little self-promotion. LOL I do miss the harrydraco com on LJ. It was the best for posting new fics and chapters to a wider audience. There is no equivalent in fandom now.

The Azkaban Letters (chapters 1-7) on AO3

Okay, now that's done, let's move onto the amazing fics I've read. Wow, just wow!

What I've Been Reading:

There's three fics I've read that were complete standouts. One older Dramione and Two new Drarry. I'm going to start with the Dramione and apologize to @lol-zeitgeistic (zeitgeistic on AO3) for stalking their works. Ha ha ha. Most folks obviously know their masterpiece story Azoth, REVOLVELOVER with Hit Wizard Harry, and Shibboleths (amazing sci-fi story). Yes, I know there's more...I'm working my way through. :) But as I was making my way through their catalogue of yumminess, I spotted their Dramione fic, Straightaway Dangerous (125K). I immediately felt a kindred spirit in that this was an older WIP that they were determined to finish. 8 years to the day. Here's the Summary:

During the final battle, an unexpected insult sends Fenrir Greyback on a rampage, changing 39 people into werewolves. He should've known better than to make Hermione one of that number. Includes werewolf living and culture, Draco’s questionable morals, Hermione’s questionable life choices, and unrequited bromance (well, it’s requited a bit, but don’t tell Potter that).

This fic hit so many of my personal buttons in what I love about HP fanfic. Exploration of places and character types mentioned in canon but where we have little more info. In this case, the place is Knockturn, where Hermione lives in a rundown flat. She's secretly trying to add charm to the place. The character types are hags, werewolves, vampires, veela (all magical but considered other), politics, and BAMF witches. LOL Okay, and the side of Harry/Luna was adorable. You will fall in love with this Harry.

The premise of the fic is that Hermione and Draco were both bitten together, and 37 or 38 others were too, during the Battle. They have some rights but not enough to make a life. Hermione and Draco are both Unspeakables and best friends for seven years...until things change with the political environment.

The current head of the Wizengamot is making things harder and harder for the 'others' and it becomes too much. Even the Werewolf Aurors (including Ron), are affected. But there is someone on their side and the reveal of that person was such a fabulous surprise.

The relationship between Draco and Hermione goes from enemies to friends to lovers (with lots of arguments because both are stubborn). The relationship progresses so naturally but every step well fought for. The initial sex scene is unexpected and it's fire. They both fall but Draco harder. It's a thing of beauty watching how he works for what he wants.

One last note: The lore in this fic is amazing. My favourite, as it's rarely explored, is for the hags. Truly deserves an award for creativity.

Straightaway Dangerous on AO3

LA, Who Am I To Love You? (42.5K) by Anon was posted yesterday for the @hd-wireless fest. I'm not going to go into too much of the story because it was written for @sitp-recs prompt, and Liv's comments on the fic will tell you how truly spectacular this fic is. I can't touch her way of expressing love for a fic. Here's the Summary:

Harry’s summer in LA is not going as expected. Pansy Parkinson keeps inviting him to parties in the Hollywood Hills and harassing him to finally go to the physical therapist, Blaise Zabini keeps slipping new strains of his company’s magical weed into Harry’s pockets in hopes of an endorsement, and Draco Malfoy keeps having sex with everyone but Harry.

See everything in that summary. It looks so light and so fun. It is, but there is so much depth hidden in each of those sentences. What I want to discuss is LA. If you've lived in the LA area or even just visited, this fic will make you weep with homesickness. Everything rang true, from the Bougainvillea flowers being like florescent crepe paper to driving at night with windows down, experiencing the warm air whether in the city or blessedly in the desert while listening to music. The magical touches added to the movie industry and to Quidditch were mind-blowing.

I was born in San Francisco and grew up in the East Bay Area, but went to undergraduate college in San Diego. 1/3 of my school was from LA. My dormmates, my best friend in college (RIP Kristy), my first serious college boyfriend. They all helped me fall in love with SoCal. It was a long time ago. I can't tell you how many memories came back last night reading this story. Now my ex-husband lives down there, and my son also. He's at an Art Institute. Thanks, MA for taking us on this ride!

LA, Who Am I To Love You? on AO3

The second Darry is also from @hd-wireless. This fic, Weapons of Massive Consumption, like the other one has a funness (yes, I know that's not a real word) to it but there's more darkness to this one. Watch the tags on this. Here's the Summary:

Eight years after the war, Harry Potter lives a life of hedonism: raging parties, huge impulse purchases, and seemingly no worries. But it's Draco Malfoy—former Death Eater, lover of blueberry muffins, and bane of coffee shop workers—who starts to wonder if it's all a front, if something's actually terribly wrong with him. Why else would Potter ask Draco, of all fucking people, to write his biography?

What's not mentioned in the summary is that Draco has been away for much of those eight years. He returns from the US changed and is now a writer. What he discovers is that those that stayed are still stuck, traumatized by the war. And now there's Harry, who wants Draco to write his autobiography but then doesn't want him to include any of his bad behaviours. Draco goes along for the ride but finds himself trying to save the hero.

I've read quite a few fanfics dealing with addiction, but this one...this one so rightfully calls out what a disease is and what trauma is. Theo will fricken break your heart. Anyone who's experienced a group of friends who are playing around with alcohol and/or substances will recognize Theo. The one who is damaged more than the others. The one you're not sure can be saved, but you love them anyway. And then sometimes you have to step away.

The fic is not all doom and gloom. LOL When dealing with sex and drugs, there's a lot of fun...until it isn't. As I mentioned at the start, it has so many hilarious bits and scenes to it. One literally had me laughing so hard I had to step away from my computer. Harry is royally pissed off at Draco and takes it out on Draco with a comment to Narcissa in public. You will know it when you read it.

The fic handles the serious subject matter with clarity and love. You will likely recognize yourself or at least some of your friends while reading it. And, yes, Harry and Draco can both be idiots but still come through what life has dealt them.

Weapons of Massive Consumption on AO3

As with all fics I recommend or discuss here, if you read them, please leave a comment. These authors definitely deserve some love.

Okay, way way too long today,

Rom

#romaine2424 daily blog #romaine2424 fics #drarry fic recs #hd-wireless 2023 #dramione fic rec #the azkaban letters #july 2023

[tippenfunkaport]

WIPs Status Update

I am fairly confident no one cares what I am up to, but I haven't done one of these in ages so I figured I should.

In Progress Fanfic

Outlaws of the Whispering Woods

This fic is on temporary hiatus because I'm working on finishing it as part of the @wipbigbang. Participation in that event means I can't update that fic again until the posting period starts on September 8th BUT that once that posting period begins, I should have both art for the new chapter as well as regular updates through November until the fic is done which should be exciting. 

That said, there is still like 60k ish to go in that story so if it looks like I'm not going to be able to get it all done in time, I might swap it out for the Chipped Glimmer fic which has also been languishing in WIP hell because it's shorter and easier for me to get done on time. I'd prefer to use the event as a kick in the pants to finish OotWW, though, so we'll see.

Prince Glowyn the Fourth

This fic is 100% complete at last, I just have one chapter left to post and will be doing that sometime within the next week.

Going There

Just about four years after I started it, Going There is finally done as well! (Literally just finished it today!) "Done" in this case means I finally rewrote the back end and filled in the missing connecty bits I never wrote the first time so everything's written, it's just going to take me an unknown quantity of time to edit and post each of the chapters. But less time than rewriting it all took so I expect those last few updates to come fairly regularly once I get them started.

Coming Home

I have always said that I wanted to wait to continue this fic until Going There was done so now that I have finally finished it, the sequel can get my attention more regularly again. That said, with everything going on with the WIP Bang, posting the rest of Going There, running the Big Bang and posting my own Bang fic (plus, like, all the other IRL stuff i have to do this summer), I really don't anticipate getting it updated anytime before the fall at the earliest and even then who knows.

Also, because this is my last in-progress canon fic I'm not in a huge rush to get it out there, I'd rather take my time with it, so I'm fine with that timeline. It'll get updated when it gets updated.

Area First Ones

In my head, this is episodic and while i have five chapters written, I have some things I want to add in between so it's not as simple as just cleaning and posting those. So basically, this one will be one of those fics I update when I update here and there with no set timeline other than my whims.

Coming Soon!

My Big Bang fic is called Horse Girl Everyone and it's the long awaited Riding School AU! 

That one is going to be longgggg and basically never-ending and episodic (seriously, we're over 50k words and while Catradora have been circling each other for chapters Glimmer and Bow literally only just met and you KNOW how I feel about Glimbow). I was hoping to write enough in advance that I could do some kind of regular update schedule at the start but because I'm also running the Bang and having some annoying medical stuff going on, I think that's not happening.

I've written a ton in advance, don't get me wrong, I just don't see myself having time to revise it all and post weekly with everything else going on. But we'll see!

Anything else?

Well, yeah, lots of stuff but it's not fandom related so I can't tell you about it. ;-) Though maaaaybe I might have the chance for some of you to help me beta some of my original stuff in the near future if you're willing so keep an eye out for that.

I'm trying to have less things in progress at once so, though I have other fanfic projects in various states of completion, I'm purposely not going to even think about posting any other multi-chaps until GT and OotWW are done. 

One shots and shorts? Yeah, I'll be throwing those up randomly as the mood strikes, you know how I roll. I'm eyeing up the Domaystic 2024 prompts to see which ones call to me right now.

So I have other stuff planned for later but I'm not even going to tease it because we'll see how everything shakes out.

This year has actually been absolutely horrible health wise but weirdly productive writing wise so it's been a mixed bag but at least nice to get some stuff done!

#fic update

[ambrossart]

Weekly Writing Update (3/5/2023)

Paper Men

Posted a little preview for 27.

I was going to include a Patrick scene as well, but then I realized that's his only scene in the chapter and I was like nope. 😅

I've had some people ask which characters are the main focus of this one. The answer is Henry and Vic; they have the most scenes (or scenes about them).

The last scene is really the only thing giving me a headache right now, so if I can just solve that puzzle, we're good to go!

Also, the last scene might be a little triggering for some, so make sure you review all the posted warnings just in case you're sensitive to anything listed there. I always try to keep it tasteful, but I don't know your personal limits.

I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of the week, but we'll see how the last scene and final edits go. It may need to get pushed a few extra days.

DWM

I'm in the editing stage of "Post Prom - Part II."

It's probably gonna be around 5-6k words again.

I've completely changed the way I'm approaching it. I've stopped trying to make it sexy and have just embraced the natural awkwardness of the situation.

Part 2 is going to have a little sexual content, but that's it. No smut.

If part 2 goes well, I might try writing some. If it doesn't, I'll just write it and keep it to myself. 😂

I'm trying to minimize the number of times I use Y/N because I know a lot of people don't like it (I'm not too fond of it, either, tbh).

I already removed a bunch of them from the main story and all future fics will use it as little as possible.

#and that's the news #writing update #dancing with myself #dwm #paper men #ambrossart

[blackbird-brewster]

Friday Fic Recs

Time for another weekly fic round-up! I've been kinda spacey this week (just feeling Extremely Autistic) but I have read a few things. Didn't write much though.

What I've Read

Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily, WC: 8652 Rated: E || Author: ninthwave (@gothprentiss)

Why I Loved It: I know absolutely nothing about boxing, but lemme tell you what.... a Jemily boxing AU!?!?!?! I uhhhhhhhhhhh, I'm very very gay. This is so well written. Ninthwave's narrative voice is so unique and the flow of this was incredible. Never knew I needed the mental image of Emily and JJ boxing each other, and now I'm extremely glad to let it live rent free in my mind.

Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily, WC: 39,514 Rated: M || Author: phoenix_falls (@otahkoapisiakii)

Why I Love It: I've had this on fic recs before, because I started my re-read in January, got halfway through and in usual ADHD fashion, forgot about it completely until this week. I just finish the second half and GOD. Every time I read this fic I am full of so much hnnnnnnnggggggggggggg. Tooth rotting fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, this fic's got everything! It follows the years of JJ/Emily's relationship from when they first start dating through to their wedding. Each chapter is a prompt of ways to say 'I love you' (without saying I love you). Honestly, just read it. It's worth your time.

What I'm Writing:

Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily, WC: 93,318+ (WIP) Rated: E Update: I posted Chapter 14 earlier this week, which means I only have ONE more chapter on this fic!! What a journey. This fic was born out of a four minute song, it was supposed to be a short little angsty Jemily fic and now I'm my longest fic to date and will most likely be over 100k with the final chapter. I never imagined this fic would speak to so many people, the love and support on this one have bowled me over. I'm so happy to get to pour my own experiences with grief, depression/PTSD, and healing into a fic. It's been extremely humbling to read everyone's comments. Thank you all for coming on this journey with me.

Criminal Minds, JJ/Emily, WC: 28,113+ (WIP) Rated: T

Update: WELP!!! After eight years, I have updated this fic! This was my main WIP in 2015 when I completely walked away from writing, which meant this fic was left on a cliff-hanger when abandoned. Last year I decided I was going to edit/tweak the chapters already posted and finally finish it. Yesterday, I posted the first update on TCAU since 2015!!! It feels wild to come back to this fic, my writing has changed SO much, but I'm trying to match my old style so the fic flows a bit better. Thank you to everyone who's stayed subscribed to this for yearrrrrrrrrsssssssss. Thank you for your patience and your gentle reminders that you were interested in an update. I hope I can do it justice.

Criminal Minds, JJ/Tara/Rebecca, WC: 10,135+(WIP) Rated: E

Update: I want to work on Chapter 3 soon! (Hopefully I'll get to start it today) I'm excited to see where this one goes from here. I really love these three and I'm so interested to explore them in a polyam situation.

More Fic Recs Under the Cut

Other Recommendations:

Past Friday Fic Recs:  [Friday Fic Recs - Tumblr] || [CM Fic Recs - AO3 Collection]

Rec Lists: [JJ/Emily] || [Tara/Emily] || [CM Femslash]

My Fics: [Jemily] || [Temily] || [All]

#criminal minds #jennifer jareau #emily prenitss #jemily #cm fanfiction #cm fic rec #friday fic rec #my writing #otp: pain cupcakes #ao3

[capriciouswriter207]

with fics like the Cesar house that you update on a schedule, what's your process? do you pre-write the whole story? do you manage to write a chapter every week? I find the consistency really neat and was wondering how you do it!!

Thank you for the question!

See, that's the thing: I don't know how I do it (/s)

But seriously, when it comes to long-form stories that I try to update on a schedule, I always start with an outline ready that's like 90% accurate of what the final product will be. The remaining 10% are details that are swapped around, scenes that I realize need to be added or deleted as I write, those kinds of things. I like having a goal to work toward, otherwise it'll never get finished.

With that outline, I start to write the story proper. Usually dialogue first (to nail character voices), then building the text around it. And I mean dialogue first for the whole fic, and then going back for the text. And later, of course, editing.

I start to write with the intention to write as much as I can in one go. By the time I reach chapter five or so, I'm too excited about the concept and I end up publishing the first chapter. Beyond that, I do still manage to write a chapter per week and if something unforeseen were to happen down the line that makes me unable to write, I have that buffer. By the time I reach the end, I'll have reached the point that the chapter that's published is the one I wrote that week - perhaps even with bits that I wrote that evening. Sometimes the opposite happens: that I write a chapter that won't be published for months, because I was so excited about it. This doesn't happen often, though, as I tend to write chronologically.

Now, Caesar House's consistency might not have been the best at times. I realized I was in a bit of a writing burnout last year that messed up my update schedule and writing lifestyle - going from weekly updates to whenever I felt like it to bi-weekly, and only recently back to weekly. I still feel the effects of that burnout and goodness knows that with my current projects and the new life series, it's gonna try to rear its ugly head again because I want to do everything, but I'm not gonna let it. I'm trying to pace myself and so far, so good.

I do have one story that's completely pre-written and currently being published: Escape from the mountain, a HC fic. My own problem with completely pre-written stories is that I tend to forget to publish those chapters when I'm also not actively working on the story, so I don't want to do that too often. Make decent progress pre-writing stuff, yes, but not completely pre-writing it. Making an exception for this story, though, because it's short (9 short-ish chapters) and I can remember to post every three days. Posting weekly is where I'm having trouble remembering to update if not working on it, surprisingly.

So, it's basically a blend of pre-written stuff with some week-to-week writing chapters that'll be published in a month or so from writing date. That's what has worked so far, so I'm sticking with it.

#caesar house au #capricious asks #my writing process

[suttttton]

helllllloooooo, hope all is well sutton! popping in to ask about the Groundhog Day fic 😌❤️

groundhog day fic,,,, love of my life, bane of my wip pile

(for those of y'all that are new here, Groundhog Day fic is about our dearly detested Elias getting stuck in a timeloop between the unknowing and the apocalypse and becoming a better person via the power of love/agressively shaking him like a snowglobe)

my first draft is still sitting at 60k words,,,, mocking me. tragically, i haven't made any progress since the last time i gave y'all an update, BUT i do have serious plans to make it my front-burner story after my RQBB stuff is finished and posted

i tend to write in a sort of cyclical fashion where i will chip away at a draft until i have a decent idea of what i want to change for the next draft, at which point i make a new outline and start on my second draft (cannibalizing the first draft as i go; i do not throw away all of the work i've already done that would be crazy), and repeat until i finally have a complete draft, at which point it only needs some light edits for me to consider it 'finished and ready for posting.’ i’ve reached the point in groundhog day where i’m shifting from draft #1 to draft #2, which means i have most of the structure of the story pretty well in hand. awesome!

the problem is. the story is just so goddamn long. and it turns out time loops are really complicated to write because you have to keep track of SO MANY DETAILS. i'm trying to make my new outline but first i have to write out everyone's character progressions for every single fucking time around and what everyone (and i do mean everyone) else is doing while Elias is focused on Elias World. i've had to make like. lists of Ways Elias Has Suffered and Must Suffer before he can be redeemed. i’m having to give him memories so he can have flashbacks because he’s the POV character and he’s been alive for 200 fucking years and some of that is probably relevant to him. i even have a fucking jonelias map tracking their relationship over the course of the story (which is 100 percent necessary for pacing purposes but COME ON I JUST WANT TO WRITE WEIRD CREEPY RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS). and even putting all that aside, 60k words is a lot to cannibalize. even just reading through my current draft is a days-long endeavor???????

no worries though! groundhog day is far from dead! my goal rn is for the final chapter to be posted next August 5 (because that's approximately the day in canon that Elias called the crew in for his pre-Unknowing meeting, which also makes it Time Loop day!) i know that's still a year away, but this fic is going to be like 15 chapters minimum, updating on a weekly schedule (which means the first chapter would go up in april), and i am going to need. quite a lot of time to finish it lol

anyway here’s a little preview of Tim and Elias bonding(??) road trip:

Tim looks at his phone, and his look of cruel, satisfied elation fades. His eyebrows furrow. There are fourteen missed calls. Four from Martin, seven from Melanie, three from Basira. He turns away from Elias, holding the phone to his ear, waiting with concern as Martin’s phone rings and rings.

Then, “Martin, what’s going on? Is everything okay?” Tim’s other hand hand is scratching over the fabric of his jeans, a nervous tic. “Martin, I can’t—slow down, just tell me what happened.”

Tim stiffens, his hand curling into a fist. “Are you sure?” he says, his voice quiet.

Elias can see Martin curled on the floor, holding tight to what remains of Jon. He hears Martin’s panting breaths, struggling to get enough control of his emotions to snap, “Jared Hopworth attacked him. I’m pretty fucking sure.”

It wasn’t a peaceful death. Elias knows exactly how unpeaceful it was, can practically hear Jon screaming as Jared Hopworth took and took and took from him. He is missing vertebrae, a kneecap, several small bones in both of his hands, his left tibia, the bones of his right eardrums, three teeth, his left ankle, and many, many ribs.

Tim stays on the phone for a few more moments, then hangs up and casts tired, dull eyes to Elias. “Did you know this would happen,” he says, his voice a low growl.

“I can’t see the future, Tim,” Elias says.

“Did you know they were coming?”

“Would it change anything, if I did? Would you have given up your chance to hunt down the Circus?”

With a snarl, Tim punches the door of the car, then slams it behind him as he slumps into his seat. Rolling his eyes, Elias gets in beside him.

#i hope i haven't posted this snippet before #if i have let me know and i'll let you exchange it for a different snippet of equal value #also! if you're excited for groundhog day you'll probably also be interested in my RQBB fic #it features elias facing Consequences for his actions #and it will be up on September 14! #asks #groundhog day fic #elias vs time loop

[zorosmalewife]

chain reaction update

I'm going to try to use this acct more to post updates about my writing!! I know no one cares, but I want to do this, so I will :)

Under the cut is information regarding the future of my fic chain reaction

So far I have chapter 8 done, but haven't touched it for editing. I feel that it's too fresh in my mind for me to really catch mistakes. I fear this will be a continual problem as the piece goes on, but I don't have much of a choice. It takes my main beta quite a long time to do a full grammar read, so getting a second set of eyes on the piece is not an option if I want to keep doing weekly updates or even switch to every other week. I'm on my own with this, so please be patient with me.

Luckily, chapter 8 is on the short side, so I don't expect edits to take me the three hours a typical final run takes. I can probably get this done Friday. (Nevermind that I have a fic coming out every Friday on another AO3 acct, and that one has coding that takes quite a bit of time to implement)

After that, the plan is kind of vague. Starting with chapter 9, the fic goes into Timeskip Mode, which essentially means that instead of covering the minutiae of their day to day, it's going to be a number of disconnected scenes that span the two years they're on Kuraigana. I have every scene (and their order) all planned out--there are 46 in total. I'm not sure where the chapter breaks are going to fall, since that will depend on word count and pacing and the like, so I don't know how many chapters there will be or how long it will take to write and edit all of that. Unfortunately, it might take a while.

That being said, I am working on it. I have [checks notes] 2 sections complete, and another in the works. This is certainly not ideal but it is progress and I will take that, at this point. I'll keep posting here as I write more sections.

After Timeskip Mode, there will be one more chapter, which is also entirely outlined. Current tentative final chapter total: 13. Current (VERY) tentative final wordcount total: 65k.

If anyone is curious, I made a very abridged outline of the timeskip! What do these words and letters mean? That's a secret ;)

Scenes, in tentative order:

1 - decides [COMPLETE] 2 - contact [COMPLETE] 3 - FD 1 - decision 4 - S 1 - fruit 5 - handprints [WIP] INTERLUDE - FD 2 - together 6 - alpha  INTERLUDE - S 2 - distraction 7 - farm INTERLUDE - FD 3 - wine 8 - haki INTERLUDE - S 3 - practice 9 - camping INTERLUDE - FD 4 - setup 10 - nails INTERLUDE - S 4 - mihawk 11 - spearfishing INTERLUDE - FD 5 - baths 12 - trust INTERLUDE - S 5 - wrestling 13 - solidarity INTERLUDE - FD 6 - nipples 14 - honest answer INTERLUDE - S 6 - mihawk 2 15 - love INTERLUDE - FD 7 - sacrifice 16 - charades INTERLUDE - S 7 - real 17 - cold INTERLUDE - FD 8 - cringe 18 - sick INTERLUDE - S 8 - N/A 19 - cooking INTERLUDE - FD 9 - recovery 20 - it all comes spilling out. INTERLUDE - S 9 - unseen 21 - reunion INTERLUDE - FD 10 - music 22 - future INTERLUDE - S 10 - unequivocal victory 23 - hair INTERLUDE - FD 11 - …? 24 - legacy INTERLUDE - S 11 - animals 25 - ok stud. INTERLUDE - FD 12 - announcement

#Fun fact: writing out the outline in this way made me realize I messed something up LOL. So that's fixed now #chain reaction by zorosmalewife #making a tag for easy reference

[hkblack]

Hello :) I have a question about communicating with beta-readers: When I'm updating my fic, am I supposed to tell my beta-readers that I just uploaded a new chapter (that they previously edited) or is that unnecessary?

Oh good question! I think the answer is "it depends."

Is it a story that is complete and you're just dragging the posting phase out? Is it a story that isn't complete but is on a set schedule for posting? Did this reader do just one chapter or all of the chapters? If the story is still a WIP, is this reader sticking with you for the long haul?

Personally, I subscribe to any multi-chapter fic I have beta-read that is not posted in one go, or any multi-chapter fic I am actively beta-reading that is a WIP.

I'm doing a long answer behind the cut for you anon, cause I started a new job last week and my brain is mush. So this counts as this weeks Weekly Post.

I asked @ambrasue, who beta-read Beyond Grace (Good Omens, T) for me, for her thoughts. BG started posting after it had been completed. We were 100% done with the editing process when the first chapter was posted. I actually talked out a posting schedule with Ambra as part of the beta-reading process. I wasn't sure if I wanted to post it all at once, stretch it out to once a week, or clip along at twice a week. Ambra ultimately helped me decide to post two chapters a week, because she and I both knew I was going to go back through every chapter for a final brush up before posting. Giving myself a few days in between each chapter gave me the ability to do that. So she knew when to expect chapters. She has informed me that despite knowing the schedule (and despite me interrupting many conversations about totally unrelated things going "oh shit I forgot it's a BG chapter day, hold on. Pick a snippet for tumblr I can't choose"), she also subscribed to BG, so she got notifications that way. She says that much like me, she subscribes to multi-chapter fics she's read as they are posted. I think I can speak safely for both of us when I say, it's sort of part of the cheerleading process. Seeing that last chapter post, even if you haven't looked at that story in a hot minute because the heavy editing is done, is the actual moment when you get to put your beta-reading hat down and go "YOU DID IT! WE DID IT! CELEBRATE!"

When it comes to WIPS, I've recently started working with @aethelflaedladyofmercia on Custody Battle (Good Omens, M, Mind The Tags). When we first were diving into the story together, she let me know that she posts chapters on Saturdays. Like I said, Custody Battle is not complete, so me knowing that schedule is essential to our beta-reading relationship. I have a deadline for myself for each chapter so that Aethelflaed can have the time to make changes. I have also subscribed to Custody Battle so that I can see when those chapters go up. Do I need the subscription? Probably not, because I know that things get posted on Saturdays. But it's nice to see when in the day things were posted. If the chapter goes up later and I didn't get the editing done until later in the week, it might not be my fault that that chapter went up "late" but it's a reminder of my part in the process. If it goes up earlier, I know that when I said "no really, this is perfect, don't change anything," there's a shared confidence there. Or like. I dunno. Maybe Aethelflaed is going to the zoo and wants to get the chapter up earlier so she doesn't have to think about it later. Doesn't really matter. But by subscribing, I can start to see what "normal" is for Aethelflaed so I can adjust my own reading schedule to match.

So again, it depends.

Is the story complete, and are you just stretching out the posting timeline? You should tell your beta-reader that the first chapter is posted, and maybe let them know what your posting schedule will be (maybe if you aren't sure what kind of schedule to keep, you can use them as a sounding board as you did for the rest of the story). In my opinion, you don't need to let them know about every individual chapter.

Is the story a WIP, and you're posting as you go? Then your beta-reader should already know when you're posting. They need to know what they can still help edit, and what has been locked by virtue of being published. Maybe you don't have to send them a link every time you post, maybe they will subscribe themselves, but you should at least be providing a running commentary on your process, "Hey I'm skipping posting this week because I'm going to the zoo," "I know we're not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but I'm going to post it as is. Let's move on," "Here's the line of no going back! This is all posted so we're working from this highlight on!"

What if they only read one chapter in a long multi-chapter work that you needed help on? You should treat it as if it was the first chapter. "Hey, I posted the chapter, here's a link to the whole story, the chapter you helped with is chapter x, thank you again!"

And of course with all of this, you should give credit where credit is due. I do beta-reader shoutouts in the first chapter and final chapter for someone who is with me the entire way. And if someone provides expertise for one chapter, or only does a single chapter for me, I'll say something in that chapter's Author's Note.

I hope this helps!

#beta reading #fanfiction #fanfic #beta reader #HK's Beta Reading Tips #editing #good omens fanfiction #good omens

[jadeile-writes]

Fanfic Progress Update 158

Hello, peeps! The last Saturday of the year 2023 and thus my last post of the year. Wild. So let's see what I've got here, and then I'll see you again on 2024! Stay tuned for a sneak-peek for A Sign that you're important at the bottom of this post!

Current WIPs:

A Sign that you're important

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog, movieverse

Summary: One month upon his assigment as Doctor Robotnik's assitant, Agent Stone is told to learn sign language. He doesn't know why, and isn't suicidal enough to ask, so he simply rolls with it. Turns out, it's not just a whimsy of the eccentric doctor, even though that doesn't stop the doctor from utilizing it like one.

Progress: The latest chapter aka chapter 2 was posted on 28th of December. The third chapter will be posted on 4th of January aka the next Thursday. Chapter 4 is almost finished. This fic will most likely have five chapters, maybe six if I get epilogue-happy or smth.

The Christmas hassle really cut into my writing time, ngl. Let's hope chapter 5 practically writes itself when I get to it so that I can keep up with the schedule nicely and perhaps get new things cooking. Or maybe just focus on Lab Life, I'm starting to feel self-conscious about writing everything but my "main project", even tho that's by design.

-----

Life at the laboratory

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog, movieverse

Summary:

"Wanted: a yesman who is capable of operating an espresso machine, has at least a higher IQ than your average amoeba, and is willing to put work before having a personal life, or indeed a life, period. The extra in your pathetic paycheck is good, but the strain in your psyche will make up for the positives. Forfeit your basic human rights and apply today if this sounds like you." 

Maybe it said something about Agent Stone - and probably not good things - that the poster in the cafeteria's pin board piqued his interest more than any of his official assignments had for a good long while. 

Dr. Robotnik, huh?

Progress: This one will be part one of a two-parter longfic, the first part probably... 10-ish chapters? It's a bit hard to estimate at this point, so the number is subject to change - will probably end up being increased tbh. My weekly writing hour (as in, a specific hour when I sit down and write, no excuses [other than not being home]) is devoted to this fic.

I have the first four chapters completely written now. Chapter 5 is 3/4ths done. Let it be known that this chapter is difficult to write, because it involves so much research for things that nobody else will even care about and are basically just background details (actually, that applies to this whole fic tbh). It would be so much easier if I was less of a stickler for details, lol XD As a sidenote that's actually not relevant to this particular chapter, I'm failing miserably at learning to do latte art. The milk foam just turns into milk with hard whip on top. I need to invest in better equipment and fattier milk and give it another shot. The magic tricks I learned in my Hazbin fic research were so much easier >.>

I also have two halfway written chapters that don't yet know their exact placement within the fic (they're scenes that will be slotted in to wherever they feel natural, once we get Stone settled in.)

-----  

Other WIPs I’m not currently working on but intend to get back to Someday™:

PoE Drabbles (Pillars of Eternity)

DC Drabbles (Justice League)

Diaphanous Relations (Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore’s books)

Rolling with it (Zelda: BotW)

Hah, our afterlife is the most hilarious bushwa, dearest! (Hazbin Hotel)

-----

That’s it for the WIPs! Here’s the promised sneak-peek into A Sign that you're important (Note: the text may end up slightly different in the fic itself due to more editing happening before publishing). Enjoy!

Robotnik let out a deep, exhausted sigh of relief upon the hotel room door closing behind him. Finally, finally the mission was as good as over, with only the paperwork and hopefully avoidable in-person debriefings left, and those were tomorrow's problems. Tonight, all that was expected of him was sleeping, and after days of planning, organizing, and finally the careful execution of the plan he was ready to give his brilliant mind a much deserved break.

"Stone, unpack the bags, order something edible and light from the room service, and ignore any and all messages and calls from the government", he said, taking off his outdoor clothes while his assistant worked in the background. He wanted a shower to wash out the sweat, grime, and the faint smell of a musty warehouse.

As soon as Stone had his pajamas laid out on his bed, he snatched them up and claimed their en-suite bathroom for himself. He couldn't get out of his nasty day clothes fast enough, and after taking out and carefully laying his hearing aids on the edge of the sink – as far away from the danger of falling in as he could manage with the limited options at hand – he hopped in the shower and let the warm water wash out the grime and stress in the blissful silence.

-----

That’s it this time. See you next Saturday!

Links:

My AO3   My FFnet   My Ko-fi    Radiohusk Discord Server

#fanfic progress update