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mylittleredgirl · 2 years

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I’m in love with your SG1 rabbit hole. It makes me so happy. Most especially your Janet/Daniel content cause that is my bread and butter/consuming obsession that hasn’t left in 21 years.

oh wow!! that is some serious dedication. that ship was my entry into stargate fandom, so i have great fondness for them. i'd love to hear more of your thoughts, anon!

my daniel/janet thought of the week is about how Everyone Else will react to them (and if i've already posted about it this week, sorry everyone).

i see teal'c being like #1 fan. he understands grief and loss and is so connected to daniel's grief and loss specifically (!!! i feel like we don't talk about that enough!!) that he will be The Most Supportive, and also the friend who is 100% confident that this is good and right and will work out. if daniel's ever having a moment of "we might be too different" or going through the inevitable ups and downs of a new relationship, teal'c is the friend who is like no, you are Right For Each Other and i am Confident You Will Work It Out. (plus, he has great respect for both of them, so he has independently determined that they are an acceptable match.)

jack is going to be the friend who is like "i don't know?? this seems... weird? unnatural somehow???" but also will say this mostly with his face because he's not about to get into like deep relationship talk unless daniel backs him into it. he couldn't explain why it seems weird, but it's because daniel and janet have existed in separate mental boxes for a long time (janet is super-professional and kind of intense, daniel is daniel), so for them to suddenly start hooking up is... you know. he's not opposed. he's just. well, he's genuinely weirded out at first, and then just pretends to be weirded out indefinitely because now he thinks it's funny.

sam is a little put out at first, tbh, but she keeps that to herself because she doesn’t want to be! she loves her besties so much and wants them to be happy! she thinks they'll probably be great together, and she's very careful to be 100% supportive. but it's going to be hard for a little while, personally, that her besties are honeymooning together, because they'll be pouring their attention into each other at the expense of their other relationships, and the whole fraiser family dynamic is changing, and of course they will want her to hang out with them sometimes and it's awkward to end up third-wheeling.

sam will also be the natural outside support to help cassie process this change (cassie being a teenager who Does Not Care, Ugh, but of course deeply cares). jack also helps out with that, in his own way. i don't see daniel ever replacing jack's role as cassie's primary paternal-ish figure, though of course they will get much closer as this goes on. but jack's ongoing joking disbelief lets cassie both complain in a lighthearted way and then wind around to arguing why it's fine, actually, omg stop when jack amps up the ridiculous... but sam is going to be the one to really listen and support her.

#sgwun #i should start a stargate thoughts tag #(not that i remember to actually use my star trek thoughts tag but you know)#stargate thoughts

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marlinspirkhall · 1 year

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The star trek food cubes are haunting me again. I want to put them in my mouth.

So here are the theories on how to make them.

[ID] Screencap from The Conscience Of The King shows Lt. Riley uncovering a plate of food cubes [end ID]

Tofu, diced.

Marinate in liquid(s) of choice (e.g, lemon juice). Cover with cornstarch. Add red, green or yellow food colouring to blocks as required. Roast and serve.

Suggestion: marinate the cubes in different flavours to correspond to their colours.

Prototype recipe

Melon, diced.

This one is low effort: Red cubes= watermelon, other cubes= melon. Allegedly, the original on-set props *were* dyed melon (but I don't have a solid source), so this may be the best fit.

Royal icing/icing sugar.

This one is just candy: make 3 batches of royal icing, one red, one yellow, one green, dice when half-set and leave to fully set.

Cake, fondant.

Possible, if we assume Lt. Riley was drinking milk in that scene from The Conscience Of The King (Pictured above). This one is also easy to make, assuming you don't object to fondant.

Jelly, cubed.

(Jell-O). Dishonourable mention; this one is too see-through for my liking.

[ID] Screencap from Where No Man shows Kirk eating a green food cube, which looks blue here. [End ID]

Potatoes, Diced.

Roast Potatoes, Diced

This idea comes from CoolPete.com, and my first thought was "please don't put food colouring on the potatoes".

Cool Pete provided a photo of the finished results, and the natural colour of the potato offsets most of the food colouring to make them all look greener than intended. The red food colouring comes out the best. I suppose colour theory dictates that you should use blue food colouring on the potatoes in order to get green cubes, but don't quote me on that.

With this in mind, I'm going to tentatively suggest a horrible idea:

Roast Sweet Potatoes (Yams), Diced

In theory, the redness of the yams might allow the Yellow Food Dye to look more yellow, and make the red more vibrant. There's a greater chance that you will be able to use the green food colouring without it looking blue here, but use at your own caution, because the finished product may look oversaturated. Perfectly edible, but potentially unappetizing (the first bite is with the eye).

Closing Comments:

For uniformity of texture, tofu or melon seems to be the best way to go. If we are to believe that the "food cubes" in-universe are supposed to be fruit (according to that same trekbbs thread, they're placed in glasses in Journey To Babel), then watermelon and cantaloupe are begging for our attention, but we must ignore them, for melon alone does not a meal make!

“I wonder if they were actually supposed to be some kind of fruit in-universe, too? IIRC, in "Journey to Babel" the copper aliens put them in their drinks, which seems a strange thing to do if they were supposed to be the 23rd century equivalent of tofu cubes or something.”

-Avro Arrow

This isn't the end, merely the beginning. I will test out a couple of variations of these meals and report back on which one I think is best.

My current hypothesis is that the tofu will allow for the most variation, as you can marinate it in naturally-colourful liquids of various colours. If it's colourful enough you could forgo the food colouring altogether, or marinate it in something colourless (like salted water) and then add seasonings and food colouring if you wish.

I intend to start by using tofu with diced potatoes as a side, though if I test out too many cube-shaped meals at once, my household will get suspicious, so I need to space this out over the course of a few months. I'm going to use the tag #Food Cube Trek, so filter it if that's not something you'd like to see.

#Food Cube Trek #food cubes #star trek #star trek TOS #girl help I can't stop thinking about the food cubes #long post #cooking with quark

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umnitsa · 2 months

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The Sailor's Knot - 2

Summary: Joel slowly makes things better, even if you don't notice.

A/N: Sorry, guys. I take too long to write, tag and everything, but I'm writing <3 I hope you enjoy this! Banner from @cafekitsune <3

Written with unholy eagerness and no proofreading! No beta, we die like english is my second language (and it is! xD).

Pairing: ADHD!Reader x Joel (Reader is also plus size, it just isn't an issue yet. Reader is about Joel's age.)

CW: Depression lifting by the way of serotonin delivered by a handsome man. Reader is also nerdy. First part is here!

The kids kept coming into your house. They would stay at the door and books would exchange hands as they tried to peek inside, just to get a look of the dog sleeping at the floor.

The dog slept a lot. Often over and around you.

Joel started building the fence as soon as the ground permitted, and you joined him, making holes, hammering poles and encouraging him to take breaks and sit inside, whenever he looked in pain.

Which it was all the time.

So you two spent the days inside, talking quietly about unimportant things.

The fence almost started feeling like an excuse. It felt even more of an excuse when he started joining you on walks for the dog’s necessities, while your talks got more philosophical. More profound.

“I can’t believe you’re actually listening to me.” You said, amusedly, after a particularly entrenched defense you feel you’re experiencing Star Trek, in some way, being in an utopic socialist commune. “Most people find this shit tiring.”

“You’re just a nerd.” Joel scoffed, smirking at you. “I knew it the moment you heard my name and made a Mystery Science Theater 3000 joke.”

“You recognized it! I knew it! And what does it says about say about you now, sir?” You bumped Joel’s arm with your shoulder, laughing. The dog jumped, tail waggling. You crouched to pet the dog, gently tousling his fur. “We need to get him a ball… Or something for a tug of war. I think he’s starting to feel better, and without the fence he can’t run.”

Joel nodded, kicking the ground.

“I like bad movies.” He says, almost shyly. “Cheesy ones. A few tapes reached some friends, and we had some fun.”

“That didn’t made you less cool then and doesn’t make you less cool now, sir.” You say softly, standing up. “And your secret is safe with me.”

Joel laughed.

“I’ll try and get him a rope. And we can make a ball with scraps of old fabric or leather.” He continued breathlessly after his laughter. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Hm?” You ask, absentmindedly walking towards your home.

“You make me stop working when I’m in pain.” He completed, quietly. “You let me rest.”

“I do?” You smirked, leading the dog inside, and holding the door for Joel, silently inviting him inside. “Hm. I hadn’t noticed, I thought it was just being a socialist.”

Joel shook his head, his expression fond, sweet. He stayed at the door, holding the handle.

“I should go back to the fence.” He says, and you can hear the regret in his voice.

“I found a brush.” You say, caressing the dog’s chest. “We should brush him.”

“We?” Joel entered, taking your excuse for him to stay. It made you smile, your chest filling with warmth. You didn’t want him to go, and he didn’t want it either.

“He’s a big dog. It’s better if it’s four arms. Do you have a tshirt on?” You ask, and he looks at his flannel. You could see the undershirt peeking. “It’s hard work, you will get overheated and you will lose whatever you’re wearing for the furstorm, and you will prefer if it is your undershirt.”

“I hope this isn’t some trap to get me half naked.” Joel smirked.

“Don’t tempt me.” You deadpan, which makes Joel chuckle, blushing, and look down. “Also, we need to make him enjoy this, because it’s something he will have done often and it’s better if he agrees to the whole proceedings. I also got good scissors to take care of his beautiful paws.”

“Do you cut hair?” He asked, grunting as he sat on the floor, his hands on the belly of the dog, gently scratching, soothing the animal into a relaxed state.

“Without any style.” You giggle, entering the bedroom, Joel’s chuckle following you. After some rummaging, you came back, in an old, rattled tshirt, holding the brushes. You sat by Joel’s side, crossing your legs and letting the dog sniff the brush. “I just know we have to trim his paws, don’t get excited for a nerdy haircut.”

“He needs a name.” Joel buried his hand on the fur and the dog offered his belly for petting. You started brushing slowly, carefully the dog’s neck and he closed his eyes, relaxed. “We should had thought of that.”

“You’ll hate all my ideas. Damn, I kinda hate my ideas.” you chuckled.

“Tell me.”

“Well…” You hesitated. “First one was Clifford.”

“He isn’t red, but damn he is big.” Joel chuckles.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t look like a Clifford to me. So… Cujo.” You cringe, chuckling. “I thought the irony of calling this sweetheart Cujo would be funny, but with those big eyes? I can’t bring myself to do it.”

“I see that.” Joel chuckled.

“I’ll call him Dog.” You say softly. “After another book.”

“Yeah?” Joel scrunched his face, focused, trying to find the reference.

“Yeah. Walt Longmire. I really liked those books.” You started picking the loose fur and piling it to the side. “Shame I didn’t get to read the last one before... you know.”

“What is it about?” He asked, carefully watching you combing Dog’s neck as he stretched.

“It’s a western neo noir. A detective series.” You nodded, holding Joel’s hand. He stared into your eyes, tense for a moment, as you push the brush on his hand. “He’s the sheriff of a small county in Wyoming. I like that not all the mysteries are murders.”

You held Joel's hand and guide it over Dog, in long brushes. Once you see he got the hang of it, you stand up.

Under Joel's curious and confused stare, you got into your trove of books and picked a small paperback, bringing it to Joel.

“I really think you would like him.” You placed the book over his flannel on the couch, then sat back beside Joel, the pile of fur just getting bigger beside you.

Dog grumbled, stretching.

“Yeah?” Joel asked softly.

“He is also an older, poetic soul, marred by war and loss.” You nod, your hand brushing over his as you pull loose fur. You continued, quietly. “Like us.”

Joel nodded, quietly, extending the brush to you. He held your hand as you pick it, then tugged you forward. He kissed your forehead, his nose pressed against your hair, both his hands around yours. You close your eyes, breathing deeply, willing to stay in that position for as long as he held you.

Dog grumbled and snorted, raising his head.

You felt Dog’s wet, soft tongue on your cheek, moistening the skin. You chuckled.

“Two handsome dangerous-looking gentlemen kissing me. Feels like I’m blessed. No danger shall reach me.”

Joel pulled back, smiling fondly. He caressed your cheek, then patted Dog, who laid down, offering his belly. With a chuckle, he went back to pulling the fur. ***

Joel appeared the next day with Ellie, Maria, Tommy and some others. While Maria checked on the dog, Joel led everybody else to the fence. It was finished that day.

You thanked everybody involved, promised things that didn’t matter. People agreed you looked better. You could see they looked relieved you were alive and looked well.

Something snapped inside your heart the moment you realized Joel would go back to his life and you suddenly had no excuses to keep him around you.

As people said their good byes, Joel stayed back.

“You didn’t get rid of me.” Joel bumped against your arm, jostling you playfully. You turned to him, wide eyed, facing his pleasant grin. “Now we built the headquarters, the meetings start.” You just stared, wide eyed, completely taken by his playful expression.

You had never seen Joel like this.

“I don’t understand.” You said, distracted by his eyes.

“Talked to Dog and we are gonna start the ‘Handsome Dangerous-looking Old Gentlemen Club’.” Joel placed one hand on his pocket, head tilting towards you. “We have daily meetings.”

You laugh, patting his chest.

“Wanna have the first meeting now? I bet Dog would love to fetch his ball in the yard.” You point at the door, Joel nods, following you. “Thank you.”

“I’m just glad you’re coming back to us, Sunshine.” He said softly, holding your shoulder and kissing the top of your head.

#joel miller #joel miller fic #joel miller x you #joel miller x oc #pedro pascal characters #joel miller x reader #joel miller fanfiction #the last of us fanfic #the last of us fanfiction #mayb writes

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veryace-ficrecs · 2 months

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Tim Drake & Jason Todd Angst Fic Recs

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

in the planter outside my front door by CosmoKid - Rated G

When Tim’s six years old, his third-grade class takes a field trip to the old firehouse in The Narrows.

By the age of seven years old, he’s learned that there’s a difference between pain and Pain, and that while adults are generally happy to deal with pain, they do not enjoy you talking about Pain.

These two things may be related.

This Dark Ceiling Without a Star by Miss_Lazy_Tuesday - Rated M

“For fuck’s sake, your chatter is going to drive me crazy faster than this stupid spell.” “Then you talk!” “There’s no point!” Jason snaps. “I can feel it, okay. It’s—there’s no emotion behind it, it’s not using my thoughts. It’s just a bunch of weird Greek echoing in my brain and a compulsion to act. And it’s getting stronger. Talking isn’t going to slow it down.” “Then what will slow it down?” After five long seconds of silence, Tim gives into the urge and viciously jabs his fist into Jason’s leg for the second time. “Goddammit, why?” Jason snaps, green briefly sparking in his eyes before disappearing just as quickly. “You are not seriously going to just sit there and wait to die.” “The hell do you care anyway?” “Because I don’t want you to die! Obviously!” “You fucking should.”

unaware i'm tearing you asunder by hendecagrisms - Rated T

The pieces were starting to click into place, aligning to create a deeply disturbing picture. “Are you seriously saying you’ll become a missing person and fake your death for this stupid homecoming plan?” Jason interrupted, his voice full of as much judgmental incredulity as possible. The kid’s eyes skated back over to him, his face twitching into a brief frown. “What? No.” A pause. “I mean, we could do that instead, if you wanted. But to fool Batman I’d need facial reconstruction surgery and new papers and it would all have to be untraceable—,” he broke off with a scoff, shaking his head slightly. “No, it’s just smarter and more cost-efficient to do it for real.” - Tim learns about Jason Todd's return, does some research on the Lazarus Pit, and realizes that there might be a way to solve multiple problems all at once: removing himself from the picture. For some strange reason, the Red Hood doesn't seem keen on cooperating.

Grin and Bear It (I got blood on your carpet) by Alia_JuneBug - Not Rated

When Jack Drake’s business trip gets canceled, he is forced to stay at home while the legal kinks get worked out. He’s not used to having a teenager underfoot, so it’s only rational that he’s a little snappish around Tim. At least, that’s what Tim tells himself each time his dad’s idea of discipline gets harsher. Bruce had told him to take a break from Robin in order to spend some time at home with his dad, and Tim can’t say no to that. He knows Bruce is probably glad to be rid of him for a short while. And he can handle discipline. This is a Tim Drake problem, not a Robin problem anyway. There’s no need for Bruce to know anything. Things get a little muddled when an injured Jason Todd crawls through his bedroom window.

Thrown into the Storm by ThePokeOne - Rated T

"It figured, Tim thought as he trekked through Gotham's streets in one of the worst storms he'd ever seen. He'd been careless. So stupidly careless."

Or:

Tim gets kicked out, and Jason has a change of plans.

am i the only one pretending (i did it to myself) by rutaceae - Rated T

Tim doesn’t expect his latest civilian kidnapping to be any different from the rest, but when he remembers things best left buried in the past, things take a turn for the worse. Luckily, his family is here to help.

sallow skin (and they can’t look away) by Ghxst_Bird - Rated T

Bruce is off planet when Robin’s distress beacon is lit. He tries not to worry, but then Nightwing contacts him: Robin’s tracker leads straight into Gotham Bay.

1-800-ROBIN by spqr - Rated T

“Gotham Youth Mental Health Hotline, this is Jason speaking. Can I ask who I’m talking to?” There’s a long silence on the other end of the line, and then a small voice says, “I, um. Sorry, I don’t know why I called. This was a mistake. I’ll just hang up now.” “Hey, wait.” Jason drops his feet to the floor, sitting forward in his shitty cubicle. Suddenly his heart is racing and he’s not sure why, but he can’t let this kid hang up. “You don’t have to tell me your name. That’s okay. Just – why don’t you tell me why you’re calling?”

buy the ticket, take the ride by Anonymous - Rated M

Tim had always figured that if he ever woke up in Vegas sans-memory, it would be when he was older than fourteen. But there were some things he couldn’t control, and apparently whatever had happened last night that he didn’t remember was one of them.

hungry for strays by Ghxst_Bird - Rated T

Tim knows something is wrong with Batman and Nightwing, and somehow it all has to do with the new crime lord on the rise in crime alley. So of course he’s not going to stay at the manor while they’re out risking their lives. Tim leaves a note and sets out for intel on the Red Hood. Aka. Everyone is straight up not having a good time

Safe and Warm by sardonic_sprite - Rated G

Batman.

Batman lived right next door. Batman surely had a generator, or at least a fireplace and wood, or some way to get warm.

Batman took care of kids, and Mr. Wayne was really nice. He would at least let Tim warm himself back up. Maybe he could even stay just until the power came back on.

It was worth a shot.

Nervous Breakdown by AhsokaJackson - Rated T

Jay closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose to push back the encroaching headache. And possibly the admittedly ironic desire to strangle this kid for his lack of self-care instincts. "Tim. Timmy. Answer me this. Where exactly is the old man? Actually, better question: Why in the ever-living hell is the answer to that anything other than 'right here'?" Tim gave a huff that sounded more tired than defiant. "Because, like I said, it's a mild case and I don't need to be under observation. I already told Bruce the same thing I told you: I'm fine." "And he believed that."

Don't You Know? by sardonic_sprite - Rated T

“How the hell did you think taking everything the real Robin had was going to make him proud of you?” Jason snapped. “I didn’t want to take anything,” Replacement cried. “I wanted to save it. It… Batman… they were… everything was just… It was awful, and, and Gotham needed… but Robin…” The kid looked up at Jason, desperation in his eyes, like he was trying to find justification from his accuser. “I-I know he wouldn’t have wanted Batman to die.”

Living Dead Boy by Terranpheum - Rated T

Tim was having a normal night photographing Batman and mourning the dead when Jason Todd suddenly breaks out of his own grave. He's unresponsive and catatonic, and Tim knows there's no way he can leave the boy on his own. So, he brings him back to Drake Manor to try and help him recover. It goes… well?

Instead of All the Colors That I Saw by SilverSkiesAtMidnight - Rated T

Dick comes around to stand fully in front of him, keeping a steadying hand on Tim’s arm. “Just because you know you’re safe intellectually doesn’t mean you always feel safe,” he says softly. “It’s okay if you don’t feel safe.” “But it’s not okay!” Tim bursts out. “Because if I don’t feel safe, then how is Jason supposed to feel safe? He shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable just because my brain is screwed up!” There’s a faint sound by the door, barely more than an intake of breath, and his eyes snap to the no-longer empty doorway.

The Worst Kind of Crush by TimDrakeIsMyPatronus - Rated T

Civilians came first. It was one of the foundational truths of being a superhero. Their job was to save civilians regardless of the personal cost. Each of them knew and understood the risks associated with the cape when they put it on. Still, rules got fuzzy when one woke up underneath a building. Or the one where a building explodes and Tim is trapped under the rubble

Last Request by destiny919 - Rated T

"Any last words, Replacement?" Red Hood casually crouches down in front of him. "Or how about a last request? I'm feeling generous. I'll do you one last favor before I clip those little wings. Whatever you want. Sky's the limit." There's only one thing he's ever really wanted from Jason Todd.

Echoes of You by SilverSkiesAtMidnight - Rated T

Graveyard mud, heavy and dark, clinging to a stained and torn suit. One shoe missing, a leg bent awkwardly and blood staining a bare foot.

Milk white skin beneath the mud, black hair hanging in muddy clumps around his ears. Blue eyes staring back at him, animal-bright and dilated in the brief moment before he flinches back from the light with a cry of pain that stabs through Jason to the soul.

His shaking hand closes around the flashlight before he can even think about it, cutting off the piercing beam and letting it spill out in shards between his fingers. For a petrifying moment as his eyes readjust, he’s sure that when he looks again, there will be nothing there.

“Tim?” he whispers.

The lean and ragged figure, tiny, god he’s so small, lowers his hands away from his face, away from his eyes wide and glittering almost silver in the moonlight.

Hands, mud-covered and torn. The red of his shredded fingernails is sickeningly dark in the broken light.

He’s vomiting before he even feels the bile making its way up his throat.

Petals for Armor by SilverSkiesAtMidnight - Rated T

There’s a small half-moon of blood under the white of Tim’s nail where he bent it. He studies the red of it, feeling foggy and dreamlike. “Can I ask you a question?” His brother’s eyes flick to him and away again, surprised and wary. “What?” His nail doesn’t hurt much, just the dullest of aches when he presses down against it. “When you were homeless, you slept with people for money, didn’t you?” Jason jerks like he’s been slapped. His knuckles are so pale where they grip the steering wheel they suddenly look more bone than flesh. “Did I -” “Was it worth it?” Tim asks, drifting like a cloud over whatever furious reaction Jason was about to give him. “The money, I mean.” His sternum slams into the seatbelt with bruising force. Unbraced for it, his head whips forward and back against his seat as they swerve off the road again and skid to a halt with a screech of rubber.

farthest you’ve ever flown by rutaceae - Rated T

When Jack Drake kicks Tim out in a rage, Tim, not wanting to be a bother, tries to make it work without getting the Bats involved. But he can only go so long without being found out, and it’s not Batman that ends up discovering his secret; it’s the Red Hood.

Familial Ties by AnonymousWhump - Rated T

What he wasn't expecting was to walk into the kitchen to find Tim, yes Tim because he wasn't in the Robin outfit he was dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants, was that blood on his feet? Staring at him in shock, eyes flicking from him to the phone in his hand, before mumbling a quiet,

“Jason?”

Or, Jason breaks into the Titan's Tower to hurt Robin but his plan is quickly derailed when he sees signs of abuse.

Drop In by iselsis - Rated T

Tim's injured, alone in Crime Alley, and the worst possible person finds him. And yet it doesn't turn out as badly as Tim expected.

Watch Your Step Dear by Redaliveviolation - Rated T

Tim was having a great time watching the Dynamic Duo race across Gotham. He was getting so many good photos and he never wanted these nights to end. Too bad the heroes aren’t around when he takes a trip off of the side of a building.

#veryace recs #batman fic recs #batman #batfam #jason todd #tim drake #angst #whump #ao3 fic recs #fanfic recs #ao3

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you-remind-me-of-the-babe · 3 months

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Shuffle your On Repeat playlist and list the first 10 songs that play, then tag 10 people.

Sappho - Frankie Cosmos

Make Them Gold - Chvrches `

girls - girl in red

Silhouettes - Colony House

Wild Blue - John Mayer

Carry Me Away - John Mayer

Not Strong Enough - boygenius, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridget’s, Lucy Dacus

Decide to be happy - MisterWives

I Want to Be With You - Chloe moriondo

World Keeps Turning - The Strike

I shuffled my Most Played Songs of 2023 to make this list.

Several of these (Sappho, girls, I Want to Be With You) came from the Heartstoppper: Official Playlist because I listened to that shit A LOT. Some good stuff on there that just made me happy.

Chvrches. My love.

Silhouettes came from a playlist @fatalfangirl and I made for @whatevertheweather when she finished A Space In Between. I thought this song reminded me of Ebb telling Simon to try and live. IYKYK.

Wild Blue is about Blue from WS. Tell me I’m wrong.

Carry Me Away is one of a few songs that tell the story of a fic that lives purely in my brain and that plays itself out when I listen to them. It’s about a sad, lonely, teenage Baz at Watford who yearns to design clothes and makes elaborate paper designs of clothes that he puts on a paper doll of himself. This evolves to him making a paper doll boyfriend from his imagination that he dress up and magically makes move around with the paper doll of himself while he fantasizes about the life he wishes he could have if he managed to get away from his oppressive family. He somehow brings boyfriend doll to life a la Life Size the movie (Simon, ofc) and he helps to bring Baz out of his shell. This song depicts them sneaking out of school for a night on the town like Baz has always dreamed of doing. I told @thewholelemon about this last summer, and yes, this story stills plays like a movie when I listen to key songs. No, I have not put one word to paper for any of it.

Not Strong Enough is from my Depth of Reason playlist. Think Simon in chapters 1-2.

World Keeps Turning came from the Star Trek Redemption playlist. Idk who put it on there, as several people contributed to this playlist, but it works perfectly for Snowbaz ✨in space✨ @raenestee have we shared this playlist with you?? If we haven’t, that should be rectified. It’s banging. I didn’t create it, otherwise I’d share it here!

Thanks for the tags @raenestee @alexalexinii @valeffelees @aristocratic-otter @emeryhall @letraspal l love seeing the variety in music. I started listening to some of your picks today and it was fun discovering some new music 🥰

Throwing out some tags, apologies if you did it and I missed it @fatalfangirl @whatevertheweather @thewholelemon @cutestkilla @moodandmist @mooncello @onepintobean @shrekgogurt @artsyunderstudy @iamamythologicalcreature

#music tag game

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chaos-monkeyy · 7 months

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❦ ➷ get to know your fellow fanfic writers better ༊ ✧.*

Tagged by @dewdropreader and @mirilyawrites , thank you!!

1. when did you post your first ever fanfic?

February 2019!

2. first character you wrote for:

Ben Jones my beloved (from Midsomer Murders)

3. main character(s) you’re currently writing for:

I don't know if I'm even allowed to answer this one 😂 Probably my own characters for original works, aside from that I really am just all over the map.. I'll say the ones I'm most likely to come back to regularly these days are Captain Pike, Mobius, and Dalinar Kholin (along with, y'know, people for them to get it on with).

4. character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan on writing about soon:

Pike's sex toys 😏

But uhhh actual people I haven't already written? 🤔 I am still toying with the idea of writing a little Jordi x Erin scene for Who Is Erin Carter? but it's anyone's best guess whether I'll actually get around to it 🙈

5. fandom(s) you’re currently writing for:

The main culprits lately have been Stormlight Archive, Star Trek Strange New Worlds, the Loki series, Stargate, and original fiction! Honorable mention to OFMD and Good Omens who've popped in there a couple times as well and may or may not continue to make occasional appearances 💖

6. platonic pairing(s) you currently write for:

.....let's say Ortegas & Pike since I did technically write them recently 😆 and also I love them.

7. romantic pairing(s) you currently write for:

All the things

Though let's be real, it's just straight up sexual pairings as opposed to romantic most of the time 🍾 But yeah, there's just.. so many to have fun with ✨

8. your top 3 tags on AO3 (if you post your works on AO3):

PWP, Omorashi... and in third place is a three way tie between Masturbation, Watersports, and Blowjobs 😂

9. your current platform where you post your works

Fanfic:

Original work:

With occasional cross-posting between the two 😊

10. snippet of the wip you’re currently working on:

..alright well here's hoping I do wind up actually finishing the big-dick-Mobius fic I started ages ago to go with @natendo-art 's hot fucking artwork 🙈

“May I?” Loki was asking— and he was trailing one hand downwards, fingers teasing along the line of Mobius’s belt.

Mobius’s breath caught in an embarrassing little whimper, but he nodded anyway, a little distracted from wondering… Should he tell Loki he didn’t have any idea what he was doing, not really? Should he keep quiet and hope maybe Loki wouldn’t notice how woefully inexperienced he was beyond his own hands? Or—

Mobius’s nervous train of thought was interrupted by Loki’s fingers finding his stiffened cock through his suit pants with a little squeeze—

…And then Loki stopped, pulled back, and stared at Mobius with wide eyes and a slightly shocked look.

“Wh… what is it?” Mobius asked, face flaming, instantly certain he’d done something wrong. “I’m sorry—”

“Sorry?” Loki breathed, and to Mobius’s tentative relief, that slightly slack-jawed expression twisted up into a grin of delight instead. “My dear Mobius, you should definitely not be sorry about this.”

Tagging @trainofcommand , @d--dandelions , @cosmereplay , @might-be-a-lynx , @confuzing , @knight-of-skyloft , @cordeliaperry , @frankthesnek , @cuillere , and anyone else I missed who wants to do it - consider yourself tagged too! 💙

#tag games #multifandom #smut

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noforkingclue · 5 months

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Just One Year Chapter 21 (Bones x reader)

Just the epilogue to go now! Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me on this fic :)

Just One Year tag list: @brilliantbutbatty, @440mxs-wife, @pile-of-bones-and-stars, @alindeluce, @stephdavies95, @bubblegum-star-trek, @waleyfish

Star Trek tag list: @strange-old-worlds, @stardustnerd

Everything tag list: @greenrevolutionary, @byebyebreezywrites, @spngingerbread21, @layazul, @lov3vivian, @simonsblue

“Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Jim, “If you do this I can’t grantee you’ll be back here.”

You took a deep breath and nodded. You were sitting opposite the Captain, hands folded in your lap, and you tapped your foot nervously. You had thought long and hard about this decision but you knew it was for the best.

“Last chance to change your mind?”

“It sounds like you don’t want me to leave.” You said with a small smile

“No Captain wants to lose a member of their crew.”

“I’ve hardly been here that long,” you said, “and I’ve mostly just stayed in the med bay with Bones.”

Jim gave you a knowing look and smirked which you chose to ignore. You felt your cheeks get hot and you instinctively traced over where your engagement ring used to be. Another nervous tick that you were slowly loosing.

“How are… things?”

It was strange to see Jim looking so uncomfortable.

“It was for the best,” you said with a sad smile, “it wasn’t working out and I think we both knew that. It’s going to take some getting used to being on my own again.”

“Which is why you need the company of your friends.”

“And my family is back on earth.” You said

“Are you sure you want this?”

You took a deep breath and nodded.

“It’s for the best.”

“I’m leaving.”

Bones paused for a moment not quite sure he heard you correctly?

“Bones?” you said as you sat down opposite him, “are you ok?”

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes.”

“Why? I thought you liked it here.”

“I do,” you ran a hand over your face, “but I’ve decided to go back to the Academy.”

Bones put down his pen, slightly harsher than he intended. You winced at the noise and he slumped in his seat, the realisation of what you said finally hitting him.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, “I didn’t mean… I wasn’t expecting you to go.”

“To be honest neither was I.”

You bit your lip before continuing,

“But after what happened I realised that this really isn’t for me.”

“Working for me?”

“What? No!” you said suddenly, “working in medicine, I mean. It’s what my mother wanted me to do and now…”

You trailed off as you tried to find the right words.

“You’re you again,” said Bones, “a new start. Yeah, I felt like that after my divorce.”

“So you came here?” you said with a teasing smile

“I didn’t have much of a choice.”

“And do you regret it.”

“No.”

Bones’s gaze locked with yours and you smiled. He couldn’t help but return it. Moments like this, he realised, were so fleeting. He took them for granted at the time and now he wasn’t going to experience them again. You’d be leaving him.

“Look,” he said, “y/n. There’s something-“

“I’m not going to stay,” you said, “I’m sorry Bones but my mind is mind up.”

“Right,” the familiar feeling of heartbreak was returning, “right. Of course.”

“I know Bones,” you said, “I know because I-“ you cut yourself off before continuing quietly, “but it’s too soon. I tried to ignore but,” you took a deep breath, “it’s not the right time.”

“I understand,” Bones said, “what are you planning on studying.”

“I’m wanting to go back to engineering.”

“Right.”

An awkward silence settled over the two of you. Not being able to stand it any longer you stood up and walked towards the door. You looked over your shoulder and said,

“This needs to happen Leo. I’ll make sure to keep in touch.”

Keep in touch. Bones pursed his lips knowing what those three words really meant. You’d chat a couple of times and then work would get busy again or you’d be too preoccupied with your studies (as you should be!). Then the calls would get shorter and more awkward and then eventually they just wouldn’t happen.

He didn’t want that to happen.

He didn’t want you to go.

And maybe, from the look on your face, you didn’t want to go either. Still, you gave him one last smile before disappearing from his life, seemingly as easy as you came into it. He looked up when he heard someone come into his office again. To his surprise it was Christine.

“She does care.” She said

“Does she?”

“She does. And she will keep in contact.”

“You seem certain.”

“Now that Peter is out of her life I am. Maybe, sometime in the future she can find someone better.”

#fanfiction #star trek #star trek: aos #reader insert #leonard 'bones' mccoy #leonard mccoy x reader #bones x reader

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handyowlet · 1 month

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I’ve seen a lot of discourse lately about the newer parts of this (and other) fandoms. Some of it is just calling out people for bad behavior, but some of it seems downright hostile to people just for being new, and that seems unfair to me. Anyone who is being a dick to others should ABSOLUTELY be dragged for that, whether they’ve been around for 6 months or 6 years. Common decency should be the baseline.

But we can’t control when we became aware of a fandom, or when a new world was opened up to us. And trying to lock people out, devalue their opinions, or refuse to engage with them at all simply because you were here first is just mean.

For example, I was obsessed with My Little Pony back when I watched The Glass Princess (1986) on VHS multiple times a day. But it’s been a long time since then, and while Friendship is Magic is not the same, I don’t begrudge anyone loving it and I don’t think I would be a more important fan or that my opinions would be more valid just because cause I loved it before a newer fan did, especially because I am (probably much) older than a lot of those fans. I only got there first because I was born first and my mom bought that tape. This isn’t exactly the same as some of you because I’m not into MLP any more, but my daughter’s starting to love it, and I’m not going to keep her from watching the new stuff just because it isn’t the old stuff.

I was only 5 when GO was published, so of course there are people who read it and fell in love with it before I did, because I was a child and didn’t know it existed. I didn’t know about a lot of things- I didn’t know anything about Star Wars, Star Trek, LOTR, etc. until college because my parents didn’t let me. I only learned about Rocky Horror, Eddie Izzard, RENT, Queer as Folk, etc. because of the people I met in Creative Writing and drama club in high school, because they had been given access to those things and shared them with me. Drag Race was several years old before someone introduced me to that.

I am relatively new to this fandom, even though I did read the book many years before the show came out. I didn’t even know there was going to be a show until suddenly there was, and I loved S1, but circumstances in my life kept me from becoming obsessed. I also had no idea S2 was coming until right before it came out, and by then I was in a place where the brain rot was able to take hold. I thought Tumblr was like Tindr until around then as well, and I had no idea AO3 even existed. No one else I known IRL knows what these things are either, except for what I’ve told them. I don’t think my participation in this fandom should be any less valid just because I didn’t have access to it before now.

I have dived into this fandom headfirst and unabashedly. I still don’t understand all of how Tumblr and AO3 work, but now that I’m here, I participate as much as I can (sometimes I don’t respond to those tagging posts because I haven’t figured it out yet). I post on Tumblr when I think I have something to say, and try to boost others who say things I think might enrich someone else’s life too. I devour fanfic on a daily basis, leaving kudos and comments and recommending anything I’ve liked to anyone who will listen because I want to support the amazing artists in this community and spread the happiness they’ve brought to me. I try to engage with anyone who engages with me, and I’d like to think I’ve been respectful to you all (but I know I can be blunt too, so if ever I am a twat waffle, feel free to drag my ass for that).

I guess my bottom line is, while I’ve mostly felt very safe, loved, and accepted jn this fandom, the anti-newbie discourse is disheartening. I will absolutely join you in blasting anyone who chooses to be an asshole, but I’m never going to support the unnecessary gatekeeping. I don’t think Aziraphale, Crowley, Michael, David, Terry, or Neil would either.

Thank you to all of you who have shown love and acceptance to me. I’ll strive to return it and pay it forward to every chance I get.

#good omens #good omens fanfic #good omens fandom #leave the gates open #love you all

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phoenixfeathersinfall · 2 years

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Also this is really petty/nitpicky since I know they got rid of it for some of the movies, but I want Geordi’s VISOR back. I don’t want people (writers or audiences) to gloss over the fact that Geordi is canonically disabled and uses assistive technology.

#it’s about me as a disabled person lamenting how sparse representation is for us in the first place #and the trend of people doing everything they can to handwave it away #especially considering what they just did to hemmer on strange new worlds #I should start a tag for my star trek thoughts #star trek #star trek picard #geordi laforge #disability in media #star trek crit

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crushermyheart · 14 days

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you to @fandomsbyladymelodrama for the tag! This should be fun...

How many works do you have on AO3? Presently, 24. (I joined AO3 3 years after joining fanfiction.net so there are a few more on there of questionable quality)

What's your total AO3 word count? 135,060

What fandoms do you write for? It varies greatly depending on what I'm watching, but mostly All Creatures Great and Small (2020) and Star Trek Voyager/Next Gen.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? My Dearest Lizzy (a Pride & Prejudice/Death Comes to Pemberley fanfic from AGES ago), Right Here (Mission Impossible, Ilsa/Ethan), Frozen Harmonies (hilariously, an overly dramatic Star Trek Next Gen fanfic, Picard/Crusher), For a Time Innumerable (Wheel of Time, series 1 aftermath, wrote this last year and kinda proud of it), Milk & Honey (All Creatures Great and Small 2020, in which Mr Farnon and Mrs Hall converse in the kitchen in the small hours of the morning, one of my personal faves)

Do you respond to comments? Yes! I love responding to comments and discussing my fics as well as commenting on other people's works.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? That is a good question... There are a great many. Potentially Some Shred of Goodness (The Crucible) which reflects on John and Elizabeth Proctor's relationship and if you know what happens in the play then the end of this fic, whilst sounding happy, is SUPER angsty.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Ooooh, um, either Little Ordinary Things or Knights and Dragons, both fluffy Siegfried & Audrey, All Creatures Great & Small fics.

Do you get hate on fics? I had one comment on a fic last year that was weird/not nice/super critical/generally confusing and it kinda freaked me out so I deleted the fic - until some lovely person came and found me on Tumblr asking where the rest was and to not give up writing it.

Do you write smut? Nope.

Do you write crossovers? I don't think I've ever written one? I do have a potential crossover in mind (added to the very long list of unwritten fic ideas)

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I don't think so.

Have you ever had a fic translated? No idea?

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not yet.

What's your all-time favorite ship? Good grief I can only have one? Most of my ships have not sailed, lol. RIP. Or have yet to set sail *cough* Siegfried/Audrey from All Creatures Great and Small, and then Picard/Crusher and Janeway/Chakotay from Star Trek. Also platonic ship: Moiraine & Lan, Wheel of Time. My original OTPs will forever be Aragorn/Arwen and Han/Leia.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The Star Trek Next Gen fic I started writing 10 years ago which has 5 different versions and is over 40k words in note form *cries*

What are your writing strengths? I have not been asked this before... I like writing descriptively, describing locations but also emotions. If you've read my fics I'd like to know what you think my strengths are?

What are your writing weaknesses? Coming up with titles. I have a tendency to edit to death. And then ending up in the cycle of I kinda hate this/this is the best thing I've ever written and trying to find an end. Also, not planning everything out and getting lost in my chapters.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? If it's called for, go for it! I'm currently working on a Witcher fic and have done a stupid amount of research into the Elder speech and Skellige jargon.

First fandom you wrote for? Technically Scott & Bailey on fanfiction.net, When it Rains it Pours. It is terrible, the punctuation is everywhere, it's hilariously dramatic, and still my longest fic to date.

Favorite fic you've written? Oh no, I don't know! I really don't. Possibly Milk & Honey?

Tagging: @fuel-prices, @phoenixflames12, @shelbyxhughes, @beanabouttown, @itsmeagain00O , or tag yourself ;)

#fanfiction #this was fun #my fanfiction #i've actually been writing fics for 10 years this week!#writing stuff

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dduane · 2 years

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Hi Diane! I’ve been a huge fan of your Star Trek work for years (and will now be investigating your original fiction I wasn’t previously aware of) and am absolutely thrilled to find you have an active blog.

I did a cursory search through your tags but didn’t see anything answering this so forgive me if you’ve already gone over this, but how do you go about publishing work that belongs to an already established franchise like Star Trek? Is it just through the publisher? Do you go to some branch of Paramount/CBS and get their approval for the story content? I’d love to know the process. I’m assuming with all the new Star Trek content these days, and CBS locking down on what’s “canon”, it’s probably more difficult to get a one off novel published using their IP anymore. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this (or be directed to a post where you’ve already explained).

Thank you for all your wonderful work!

You're very welcome! I hope you find my original work at least as enjoyable as the Trek. :)

Re the business of working with an established franchise: yep, we've dealt with that here before, every now and then. But the tagging has been (admittedly) uneven. So let me just come at it again. :) (Always adding the note that this is how I did it, back in the day, and the methods or pathways of access may have changed.)

...So how did I get to be a published Star Trek novelist?

(adding a cut here, because this is a long one)

I am a first-generation Star Trek fan. I fell in love with ST:TOS* as soon as it premiered, and immediately started writing fanfic in that universe. (It should be mentioned here that—a couple/few decades before the days of widespread internet-connectedness—not only did I have no idea that other people were doing something very similar, but I had no idea it even had a name. I was writing all alone, in a vacuum, with no support whatsoever… but however accidentally, I’d discovered something invaluable: it made me happy. We’ll come back to this later.)

So. Time went by and I slid from that genre of fanfic-writing into writing fic that was much more Tolkienian in genre, and from there, into writing original fiction that Tolkien would have found, well, rather different. Cutting another longish story short, in 1978/9 I sold and had published my first novel, this one—the initial volume in the LGBTQ-and-poly-ish Tale of the Five / Middle Kingdoms series that would later get me nominated two years running for the Astounding Award for best new writer in the SF/fantasy field.

Now when something like this happens to you, it gets a lot easier to pitch new novels to people. I’m not just talking about the increased attention that awards and nominations bring you. But just having a traditionally-published book out tells other potential publishers that you’ve mastered at least some important aspects of the novelist business: (a) being able to conceive of a plot that will sustain a novel-length work, (b) being able to go from concept to starting in on a novel, © being able to finish a novel, and (d) being able to cope with the editorial process—handling suggested edits, dealing with a copyedited manuscript, dealing with proofs, etc etc.

As it happens, while I was dealing with the sequelae to publishing The Door Into Fire—meaning the inevitable question “And what are you going to do next?”—I'd also been doing some typing for an acquaintance who was typewriter-challenged. They were writing a Star Trek novel. And I have to say that what I was typing up for them was giving me hives. It was…not anything like what I thought a Star Trek novel should look like. I remember saying to a friend or two, on the quiet, “I could eat a ream of typing paper and barf a better Star Trek novel than this.” And finally one of them—almost certainly David Gerrold, who (God love him) has a history of daring me into doing things I want to do anyway—turned around and called my bluff and said, “All right, go on then, quit your kvetching and just go do it.”

Which left me staring at the problem with a lot more intent. Fine, you’re going to pitch a novel to Trek: what story are you going to tell? It’s not like you’re constrained by a TV budget here. Stretch out and tell the biggest Star Trek story you can find: one that can only be told, or best told, in this universe. (This being my working “prime criterion” for stories told in other people’s universes. For best effect the story should only be capable of being told within that set of characters and circumstances. The jewel must be cut to suit the setting, not—however counterintuitive it might seem—not the other way around.)

So I sat with that concept for a while, and eventually the right idea, or set of ideas, presented itself. I can vividly remember the moment. I was sitting on a bus bench near Victory and White Oak in the San Fernando Valley when the idea hit. It was a long time before cellphones, so I had to wait an hour or so to get home so I could call my agent and say “Don, guess what? I’m going to write a Star Trek novel!”

There was the briefest pause, after which he said, only half joking: “Do you have to?” Because both of us knew perfectly well that from Paramount’s point of view, Star Trek novels were merely another kind of merchandising, like plastic phasers and James T. Kirk action figures. (And strictly speaking, regardless of how we love them, they still are.) …But then Don said, “Okay, do an outline and we’ll see what they think.”

And so I wrote the outline, and my agent sent it along to the editor of the Trek books at Pocket—who was then Dave Hartwell (God rest him, a fabulous editor of any and all kinds of SF)—and Dave read it and liked it, and he sent it to Paramount for approval, and they read it and liked it, and gave Dave the go-ahead to buy it. And that turned into The Wounded Sky. (A nice overview is here. But I am also charmed to tell you that this book has its own entry at TV Tropes.) As a tied-for-second novel went—So You Want To Be A Wizard was written at very nearly the same time—it doesn’t seem to have done too badly.

Anyway, after that got written and turned in and published, the people at Pocket—somewhat to my surprise—said to me, “Okay, what have you got for us next?” It was that simple… and I was that lucky. I liked working with them: they liked working with me: and they liked what I’d done enough to ask for more. (And...though I have no data on this... I strongly suspect the first book sold well.) So I was in for eight novels more, spread over a fair bit of time. And I have one more plot lying around that I should really get in touch with present editorial about and see if there’s any interest. You never can tell…

So that’s how I did it. Everybody else’s mileage will inevitably vary. But I don’t think there’s going to be much argument with the idea that before working with other IP-holders in their worlds, you might usefully first do as much work as possible in your own. That way potential publishing partners will have something to look at to help them get a sense of what your voice sounds like outside someone else’s world.

…Now as for working with someone else’s IP—anyone’s—this is how I manage it.

(a) Remember it’s theirs. They were there before you arrived and will doubtless be there long after you’re gone. They own that property, are likely enough to have worked hard on it in their time, and—whether they originated it or are just its buyers—are almost certainly powerfully protective of it. You can press against the edges of their envelope—quite hard, if you’re careful and have permission—but break through the fabric of their corporate reality without warning and you are going to be in deep trouble.

Do your homework. Know your licensor: know their history with other creators. Find out where there have been problems in the past and keep your eyes open for warning signs that you may be about to discover some new one. If you were lucky enough to be invited in, act like a considerate houseguest (creatively speaking). While working in that universe, don’t (for example) sneakily attempt to jettison parts of the property that annoy you, or covertly subvert bits that seem to call for subversion. (Overt subversion is a different story. Be in communication with your IP owner about this, and you may be able to win them over. [Though you should be prepared for them to take credit for this after the fact.] But I have seen people disinvited from franchises with extreme prejudice after they were caught trying to pull one or another kind of “fast one” on their publisher.) If there’s a work-with-us guide or in-house bible, sleep with it under your pillow.

(b) Know your subject/universe. KNOW it. It is an absolute certainty that no matter how well you think you know it, there are fans out there who know it better than you do—massively, obsessively, eat-drink-and-sleep-ively better— and if you put a foot wrong, they will come for you. Leaving aside the issue of not wanting to be left looking like an idiot on the Internet, you ought in any case to be deeply cognizant of your host-world’s internal verities before you can expect to write it flexibly and well.

—And add (b1) to this: Know your characters’ voices. Not just the way they phrase things, but the way they think about things and (possibly more importantly) feel about things. It’s not you the readers will have come for. It’s them. You must channel the core characters at the very least authentically, and (ideally) affectionately, or it’ll all end in tears.

For the duration of this work, you are in service to them. Treat them courteously and give them your best words to speak; but always in their own voices. Don’t be afraid to let them be more real than you are. For a lot of people, unquestionably, they are. If that’s a problem for you, you shouldn’t be doing this kind of work. (At least not more than once.)

© Don’t do it for money. Don’t do it for fame. Do it for love or not at all. ...Let’s be realistic: any licensing IP is likely to (in the great scheme of things) be far better and more widely known than you are. You may acquire some positive press for your work with it, but in many people’s minds the positivity will have to do far more with the property than with you, regardless of your gifts or how much you love that universe, or whether or not you “came up through the fandom.”

As regards money, some licensed work will pay competitively with original work done in the same genre, but most will not. Not even being a Hot Name with a given IP will necessarily guarantee you any kind of serious money. (In particular, IP licensors have a historical tendency to pay lower-than-normally-accepted royalty rates, and in the past it has taken very energetic and insistent agents to break them of this habit, even if only temporarily and on a case-by-case basis.)

It therefore stands to reason that, for the sake of your own best functioning as a writer, you need to be doing work of this kind because you really need to do it (or to have done it) to make yourself happy: to scratch a creative itch, or to give something back to a property/universe that you love.

Now, “do it for love” can cover a lot of ground. You don’t have to be head over heels in luuuurrrrve with a property to write for it well. (In fact I suspect this state could hinder a writer’s ability to do their best work for an IP. You need at least a little separation from it so that you can realistically evaluate how what you’re producing is stacking up.) You can just be in really strong like with a given property. But you ought to be in at least some kind of like. A personal commitment to the stylistic, rational or emotional core of a given property will get you through the times of challenge that will inevitably surround your involvement with it far better than any unrealized hope of a big payday or of more widespread recognition of your own talents.

Finally: This may sound heretical, but I don’t believe that licensed work is necessarily most fruitfully viewed as a natural stepping-stone to doing original work. (Or even to becoming a licensor yourself, though that does happen.) I think that, well and thoughtfully handled at both ends of things—the auctorial as well as the editorial—not-your-own-IP-work can be entirely worth doing wholly for its own sake. To write for the enjoyment of readers who’re using licensed work to scratch the same itch or feed the same passion that fanfic readers/writers know—of just wanting more good story in that universe? That’s entirely honorable employment, in my book. You’re an entertainer! Entertain, and fear nothing.

(And read your contracts closely.) :)

HTH!

(ETA: for the interested or curious, another post looking more at the issue of how IP-adjacent book editors pick the writers to work on them is over here.)

*Isn’t it wonderful to have to specify which kind of Star Trek you’re talking about? The times we live in...�� :)

#Star Trek #Star Trek novels #writing #working with IP holders

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bethanyactually · 6 months

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9 people you'd like to get to know better

I was tagged by the lovely @pixiestickers--thanks!

3 Ships: Nancy/Ace from the CW's Nancy Drew, Bellamy/Clarke from The 100, Ben/Devi from Never Have I Ever

I'm listing ones I've most recently read fic about, but really the one that's living in my brain rent-free is Nancy/Ace, as anyone who's followed me for the past couple years is unsurprised to hear. Bellamy/Clarke is an old ship but I've recently been comfort-reading a lot of @ponyregrets's excellent fic. And Ben/Devi are blorbos-in-law written beautifully by @catty-words, whose fic I've recently beta-read.

First Ship Ever: uhhh what metric are we using? The first pair I ever remember thinking, 'they're both so nice, they should get married' about was Bob and Linda from Sesame Street, when I was about 4. When I was a bit older, I watched Remington Steele with my mom and thought Laura and Steele should definitely kiss, partly because my mom thought so. David and Maddie on Moonlighting were probably the first ship I could rightfully call my blorbos. The first ship that made me think, "I bet someone on the internet is talking about them," was Mulder/Scully. The first ship I read fic for was Chuck/Sarah from Chuck.

Last Song:

Last Movie: I think it was Elemental, which we watched in Oregon with my best friend and her family when we were visiting a couple weeks ago.

Currently Reading: Re-listening to the Murderbot series in anticipation of System Collapse being released next week, currently in the middle of Exit Strategy. Just re-read @ponyregrets's excellent The 100/The Good Place fusion series, Knocking on Heaven's Door.

Reading The Canterbury Tales with Elliora for school. And we just started reading A Midsummer Night's Dream out loud and it's been SO FUN because Elliora is loving it. We're reading it fairly slowly, with lots of stopping to discuss what things mean, and she finds it hilarious how similar the sentiments of these 16th-century characters are to humans today. She especially liked the lines, "You have her father’s love, Demetrius; Let me have Hermia’s. Do you marry him," when I explained that was basically Lysander saying, "If you like Hermia's dad so much, why don't you marry him." (My kid is enjoying Shakespeare!!!)

Currently Watching: Star Trek Lower Decks, perpetually rewatching Nancy Drew and Elementary, just started a Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency rewatch with @pressdbtwnpages that we're gonna get back to any day now, need to watch like the last four D20 series while I crochet this blanket I'm about to start working on for my best friend's sister.

Currently Consuming: Coffee

Currently Craving: a visit with friends in California I haven't seen in entirely too long

low-key, no-pressure tagging Corissa, Chash, and Kelsey since I mentioned them in this post, along with @demigodofhoolemere, @kiran-wears-science-blues, @somethinginthestatic, @mumbledletters, @the-errant-bard, @pepperf, and anyone else who'd like to do this!

#meme #me #Spotify

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veryace-ficrecs · 1 year

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Steve Harrington with Head Trauma Fic Recs

one of my favorite Stranger Things tropes, here is a list of Steve having head trauma and/or suffering from migraines.

as always this list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

Misjudged Your Limits by kikisifi13 - Rated T

"According to Robin, the first signs that Steve was getting a migraine were the little things, things that would seem normal if they were coming from anyone else. Steve had walked into Family Video that morning fifteen minutes late, wearing sunglasses and clutching a thermos of coffee. And sure, it was summer. But the knowing glance that Robin shot Eddie told him this wasn’t that."

After being beaten up one too many times, Steve Harrington has some head trauma to show for it. This also means migraines, which he tries his best to avoid displaying. 3 months into dating Eddie Munson, that particular situation becomes unavoidable, and when Steve is forced to be vulnerable, Eddie doesn't know what the hell he's supposed to do. Cue Robin leading Eddie through Caring For Steve's Migraines: A Comprehensive Guide.

TW: headaches, nausea, vomiting

Odds and Ends by kikisifi13 - Rated T

The plan is this: Steve is supposed to take the kids to see the newest Star Trek movie this Friday. The problem is this: Steve is due for a migraine.

basically the kids thought his migraines weren't a big deal, and now they DEFINITELY do hehe well, with a little help from Eddie and Robin. and Max. she knows what's up.

So Let It Out And Let It In by fangirlandtheories - Rated T

"Steve and his Dad get into a fight so he instinctively seeks out Eddie, only realizing too late that he's in the middle of DnD night with the kids, forcing him to be vulnerable in front of them." Anon request from Tumblr. *** “Hey, Steve, you’re kinda freaking us out dude.” Mike was slowly rising from his seat as he watched Steve’s eyes start to flutter. “Why’s your voice sound like that?”

medicinal by peaktotheocean - Rated T

“I’ve got a friend who is having a ton of migraine issues," Robin blurted out. Eddie's head rose to look at her. That was a new one. "We heard weed helps. Any truth to it?” She asked hopefully.

Uncle Wayne always used to joke that Eddie was too curious for his own good. Eddie just never thought he'd agree with the assessment while selling weed to Robin Buckley of all people.

Sticky Notes by voidpacifist - Rated M

"It's the only music I can hear," Steve answers honestly. Something soft passes over Eddie's face at the admission. It's not pity. Steve saw pity in the librarians eyes as he and Dustin and Robin checked out all those books on ASL. Steve knows what self righteous sympathy does to a person's face, and it isn't doing that to Eddie's. No, Eddie's expression is maybe closest to understanding.

Steve's hearing was already dwindling on the precipice of "not good" after his run-in with Billy Hargrove in 1984. Less than a year and one Russian interrogation later, he loses the totality of his hearing in his left ear, and most of it in his right. To help himself readjust to a world with minimal sound, he starts seeking noise in a way he never expected to — by attending Corroded Coffin's performances at the Hideout.

Eddie wants to know what the hell is up with "King Steve" suddenly showing up to his shows. His questioning doesn't go to plan, and instead he lands himself an unexpected new friend.

pre!S3 —> post!S4

yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter by yellowmarshmallow - Rated M

There were only so many times someone could hit you in the head before you got lasting problems. Steve found that the number was about three.

But now Robin and the kids insist he should look after himself, and with Eddie making it his mission to make sure he does, Steve isn't sure he's in a place to argue.

Maybe being loved isn't so bad.

Stuck in My Head by schrijverr - Rated T

Between Jonathan, Billy and the Russians, Steve’s brain has taken enough damage for it to be permanent. He tries to deal with it, but with the Upside Down coming back, he can’t keep doing it alone. So, he confides in Eddie, the most unlikely person, but the only one who doesn’t yet count on him to be strong. The secret gives them a bond that helps them grow closer together as Eddie has Steve’s back and shows him he’s worth something.

#fanfic #fanfic recs #veryace recs #stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #steve harrington has head trauma #steve harrington has migraines #ao3 #ao3 fic recs

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sophiainspace · 5 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for tagging me, @crestfallercanyon !

How many works do you have on AO3? 82.

What’s your total A03 word count? 648,300 (quite pleased with that - a lot of words of fic in six years!)

What fandoms do you write for? In terms of what I've published - Mostly Arrowverse, with a little bit of Buffy and the Good Place (and I'm currently dipping my toe into Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for a fandom event). In terms of what I have not published - so many fandoms. Way too much Star Trek and, again, Buffy.

What are your top five fics by kudos? - Can’t Take That Away From Me (Coldflash identity porn). - Better Latte Than Never (the meet-cute prequel to the above Coldflash, and I actually hope to finish that series soon!) - [A fic that I'm embarrassed to have as 3rd highest kudos so eh] - The Bed (The Good Place, Chidi/Eleanor/Tahani). I'm really pleased that's still high on the list, because I think it's for the writing as much as the ship. - Unspeakable (DCTV Coldwave). I think the high kudos is mainly because it's been published so long - I wrote it years ago.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Always. And I say so at the end of every fic. I adore comments, so I feel like I should acknowledge them. Even if my thanks are really boring some days!

What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? So many to choose from! But in terms of angsty endings, probably First Time (Westhallen time travel post-Eddie's death).

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? It might be the Stealing Time/Saving Time series (Coldwestallen, Len with Oculus powers), where Barry, Len and Iris kind of get everything they want, in a way I think makes sense for this version of them.

Do you get hate on your fic? Only once, and I don't know if it even counts as hate, but it was someone who got mad about one of my neurodivergent headcanons - which was more of a surprise than anything, as those usually get great comments. I got so much support from my fandom friends about it that I felt much better. :D

Do you write smut? On occasion, but I try not to. No one needs to read my grey ace ass trying to write sex in a vaguely convincing way (and failing).

Do you write crossovers? Not yet... but let's say I've been working on a Faith Lehane/Leonard Snart fic for ages, that will probably never see the light of day at this point. It's fun though!

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of, but I can't imagine anyone bothering with my fics!

Have you ever had a fic translated? I don't think so, but I've had podfic made <3 The awesome @litrapod turned Fireworks (Coldwave) into a great podfic, which made me so happy.

Have you ever co-written a fic? A few times! Including with @achangeinpriorities. Top tip, beta readers can make great co-writers!

What‘s your all-time favourite ship? That question is too hard and I will never answer it but also it's Coldwave. Or Faith/Buffy. Or... Nope I'm not starting down this road :D

What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I *really* wish I'd been able to finish Take The Keys (And Drive Forever) - Lisa Snart/Caitlin Snow, spooky fic - but I just ran out of ideas for it. Maybe one day...

What’s your writing strengths? Questions about my strengths are a challenge! I've had some nice comments about my writing of character dynamics.

What’s your writing weaknesses? I really struggle with dialogue. You'll see me try out many different ways of writing it, throughout my fic back catalogue, as I attempt to make it work. I think I'm getting better, but slowly!

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? If it was a good fit for a character - like if Hartley Rathaway was being snarky in Latin - I might give it a go, but I wouldn't try it very often. Too easy to get wrong, in too many ways.

First fandom you wrote for? Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I never shared those early fics anywhere. It's for the best!

Favourite fic you’ve ever written? I've written 82 fics this is very difficult! This answer would probably change if you asked me another time, but I think it might still be the Retired Rogues series, in which Coldwave retire and hijinks ensue. Both were early fics, so my style has changed a lot since then, but they stick in my mind as being a lot of fun to write. I'm not sure who's done this already, so sorry if I tag you and you already have... Tagging (totally obligation-free, of course) @habibialkaysani @coldflasher @kittsfics @joanthangroff @sugar-haus @strangebrainrot @achangeinpriorities @blueelvewithwings

#weekend fic meme #fanfic and fandom #my fic

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