#I wrote a ship I haven't before :D
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20 questions for fic writers!
Tagged by @feralrookie! :D Thank you for the tag!!
1. How many works do you have on ao3?
10! (technically, kinda)
2. What's your total ao3 word count?
379,547
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Just Bungou Stray Dogs! It's also the first fandom I've written for, actually. :D
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
This is how it feels to take a fall (Dazai goes feral, time shenanigans)
Plate :( (Dazai breaks a plate, experiences emotions)
Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency (Howl's Moving Castle AU)
Chuunyaa's Pawsitively Catastrophic Day (Chuuya is turned into a cat, it's short and pretty much just shenanigans)
Wish in one hand (First fic I wrote, and the first one I posted — Dazai has emotions about handholding)
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I try to, but I've been absolutely terrible at it lately — whenever I'm particularly stressed I start worrying that the negative emotions are going to leak through into what I'm writing and make my tone sound weird, so then I end up turtling in on myself and not saying anything at all, no matter how much I want to engage with people. It's a bad habit, and I want to work on it, so I'm gonna try to catch up on comments! (I treasure every single one of the ones I receive, so for anyone who has left a comment and hasn't gotten a response from me yet, thank you and I am very sorry about my inability to form words in a timely manner skdjfksd)
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
Probably An Unsent Letter, since it's pretty much just a short snippet of Dazai being sad while he's leaving the mafia. And even with that one, I have in my head that skk still get together after the four years apart, I just didn't write it. I am dreadful with sad endings — although the ending to "This is how it feels to take a fall" is a little bittersweet, perhaps.
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Hmm...I'm gonna say Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency, because it's the one with the longest buildup, so I think it has the most catharsis, at least for me! But I tend to give all of my fics happy endings because, as established, I am a wimp when it comes to hardcore angst. I will say that Zut Alors I Have Missed One is probably a contender for happiest as well, just because that fic had no angst whatsoever and was just Unhinged
8. Do you get hate on fic?
Nope! Everyone's been lovely! I have gotten some for my art, but honestly it was pretty toothless and I couldn't take it seriously lol
9. Do you write smut?
...Yeh. :0 There was an attempt, at least — one fic, and I made it anonymous (so on the extreme off-chance that anyone notices a discrepancy between my total ao3 wordcount listed here and the summed up wordcounts of the fics viewable on my profile, that's why!) It's also another fic I need to finish, I hit my writing roadblock with that one at the same time as all my others, and it's almost doneeee I just need my brain to cooperate >:|
10. Do you write crossovers?
Not any proper crossovers, only things like the Howl AU and the Little Mermaid AU, where I took the settings/plots and put in BSD characters.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know of!
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
...Possibly? I'm not actually sure, I've given a couple people permission, but I'm not sure if anything came of that, I haven't heard one way or another :0 I do have a tendency to use puns, which I realize might make things difficult for translations
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
No, not so far — and given how tempestuous my schedule has been, it'll probably be a while before I attempt anything like that! Sounds fun, though
14. What's your all-time favorite ship?
...I mean, it's gotta be soukoku, because for all that I've enjoyed a lot of fictional pairings before (for example, Howl and Sophie specifically from the HMC books, Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing — I like bickering duos, what do you know — Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, currently falling down the Hualian rabbithole because I'm reading Heaven Official's Blessing with my friend, and there's lots of other ones), for as much as I like all those, I haven't really had much of an urge to write anything for them.
So, purely in terms of me wanting to mess around with two characters and write them over and over and over again, it's really only skk! They hit the exact right combination of braincells, I guess lololol
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but probably won't?
Hmmm...honestly, most of my WIPs I still intend to finish at some point or another — first priority being the ones I've already started posting, of course! Although...just due to time constraints, I might not get around to writing the thief!Chuuya/detective!Dazai one I was planning a while back. (and I mean a WHILE lol) I didn't write very much of it, and honestly most of the reason I wanted to write it was for comedy — so maybe I'll turn it into a short comic series instead, because I do think some of the bits were funny :0
16. What are your writing strengths?
That's a hard one; I tend to look more at the ways I want to improve my writing then at what I like about it, and I nitpick just about everything I create, art and writing alike. But if I had to pick something, I would probably say dialogue? That tends to be what I write easiest, at least. I still want to get better at that too, though.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Descriptions and action scenes. I've been making myself write them more, so I think I'm slowly improving (the Howl AU has been great for that! It pushed me to write all sorts of scenes I wouldn't have normally :D ), but those two things remain what I get bogged down by the most.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
Depends on the circumstances, I think? I'd include translations if I did. I do tend to include Japanese honorifics when I'm writing in the canon universe, because there's not really english equivalents and it feels like I'm leaving something out when I just do their names straight — although I did take them out when I was doing the Howl AU and the Little Mermaid AU, just as a setting thing.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Bungou Stray Dogs — like I mentioned in the ship section, this is the first fandom where I've really felt the urge. Although I did write things when I was little that very blatantly yoinked in various creatures and concepts from the things I was reading and watching, which resulted in stories with pirates and weeping angels and Ringwraiths all running around in the same place. But I didn't usually bother with bringing in actual characters from those pieces of media, or even using the settings, I just made ocs and had them run around in my own made up world.
20. Favorite fic you've written?
I like all of them for different reasons, but I think my favorite overall has to be Dazai and the Moving Detective Agency. It's the longest thing I've ever written, and when I started out I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it — so the fact that it's most of the way done (currently chipping away at the epilogue, it is getting to be a LOT of words) makes me really happy. And it's just been so much fun! Writing characters I hadn't before, piecing the world together, working out the magic system, writing Dazai being a mess and Chuuya being cool, it's all been a blast. And I seriously need to finish the epilogue, because the followups are living in my brain and they demand to be freed aksdfjksdjfk
But yeah! I'm not sure how many writers I know on here have already been tagged, so I'll just go open tags on this one! :D If any of y'all write and feel like doing this, then go for it!
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requests 2: electric boogalo
(sure wonder whos hand that is...) I forgot to screenshot this request before deleting it from my inbox. I think @sunriseindigo requested their fav lil guy Min, but if it wasn't you uh. Hope whoever did request it sees this! I went kinda hard on this bc I have posted Min on this blog ONE time. and that's a crime.
forgot to screenshot this one to, but an anon suggested: Hu patching up Ace after he falls off of a horse. I feel like even if Hu and Ace don't get along, she'd try to come to his games to support him once in a while as the mom of the group! (even if Ace is her least favorite child.) In like 90 degree heat she'd pull up, with enough sunscreen and waterbottles to keep everyone in a 70 mile radius hydrated and safe from skin cancer. And she wouldn't hesitate to help Ace if he gets hurt, ofc!
...
I really fucked up with forgetting to screenshot a good amount of these. whoever needed a pic of Nico beating Ace in a fight, I delivered! The tone in which you asked wasn't too serious, so i hope a shitpost is sufficient for your needs.
(someone requested sora and yuki from sdra2 in drdt and im gonna make that its own post. so just know u were seen anon. also person who asked for more ace and eden, same thing.)
i can always draw Whace. they are my everything.
mans even singing it wrong 💀 (thanks for the request i love whace sm im glad they remind you of u and ur bf :D)
in a better world, Arei is talking to her therapist about Hopes Peak drama rn. (i love drawing arei thank you anon)
honestly this ship had never crossed my mind. i couldn't rlly think up anything too cute for it so i went silly instead kjfaljdf (thanks for the request @weightedblankettt, I LOVE THAT ONE FIC YOU WROTE WITH LIKE THE NICO AND ACE SWAP THING. i literally went "OH MY GOD???" when i saw you sent in a request fkhfla /pos)
Hello again @xmicrophonyx :)) thanks for another request
I feel like Xander would buy a skirt to wear to a protest or something and then he'd go "wait but it matches my hair..." and then wear it like just out and about sometimes. Whit would just have one I think. Just randomly bought it and wears it. And Levi literally makes clothes, so I'm sure hes made a few dresses for himself just to test techniques and such. Ik you didn't ask but I felt like explaining my choices for who I drew 🫶🏽🫶🏽
Ur so right actually. I feel like Veronika would be like "Ohhh weird morally gray old man??? ILY." and he would actively detest her. thank you anon i haven't drawn a soy-bean (syobai) in a loonggg time lmao
Ajhskjfafksaflsga gay peiple. i love them. i really do. thank you anon. gay oepeple. aughgshah. /POS
(people who follow the despair time art tag rn ^^^^^)
Thats it for now!
still doin these so send in some more requests if you feel like it fellas <333
#drdt#drdt fanart#ace markey#whit young#drdt spoilers#bc evil david#david cheim#j moreno#jarei#i dont talk abt how much i love arei x eden and arei x j like fr#syobai hashimoto#veronika grebenshchikova#xander matthews#a lil bit a xander and Levi <3#levi fontana#min jeung#nico hakobyan
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20 Questions for Writers
Thank you for the tag @hoko-onchi-writes! Great way to spend a lazy Sunday morning :)
Username: magpie_fngrl
1. How many works do you have on A03? 54
2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 392,045
3. What fandoms do you write for? I've mostly written drarry. I'd started as a pynch writer (TRC) and lately I've written a bunch in other fandoms.
4. What are your top five fics by kudos? all drarry:
dirtynumbangelboy
The Miseducation of Draco Malfoy
The Full Monty
Through the Looking Glass and What Draco Found There,
9 ½ Days
5. Do you respond to comments? I do my best. I made a decision back when I posted a lot of stuff and got more comments than I could handle that I would only reply to the comments on the last chapter of a multi-chapter fic. Other than that, I try my best to reply to everyone.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I wrote a Major Character Death fic (The Death You Carry). Can't get angstier than that.
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most of my fics end happy, but now that I think of it they're mostly HFN in romance-genre speak. Happy For Now aka the fic ends with them as a couple, kissing or touching for example, the Ever After is implied but not explicit. Two fics which end with H/D living together, and thus more committed to each other, are Hush, darling and The Boy Who Died. These are also angstier than my other fics, which makes the happy ending sweeter imo.
8. Do you get hate on fics? Not hate per se. I've received demanding comments ("Can you write more? Another sex scene? And make it mpreg?") or comments like "I like your story but I can't read on because you have X topping". Not hate. There was a time, though, that I got several comments about how stupid/annoying/an arsehole Harry is, which reflect an attitude I used to see in fandom, where Draco is perfect and Harry is a bumbling fool and the minute he says something sharp to Draco he becomes an arsehole and should be screamed at. Needless to say, I hate this kind of interpretation. I deleted a couple of these comments, I just couldn't have them on my page. It was the reason I de-activated comments on all my fics for some time.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? The sexy kind, I hope LOL
Serious answer: I have written explicit sex scenes, although I tend to be more vague rather than write a play-by-play description of what is happening. I mean, there is some of that, but not as detailed as it can be. I don't know how to explain it better in English, sorry. Anyhow, I love sex scenes, I love reading them, I enjoy the challenge of writing them, and I think what I like best in what I read (and thus I try to emulate) is when a sex scene reveals the emotional state of these two people rather than just say whose dick does what.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I haven't! A couple of years ago I got a few asks about wangxian and drarry meeting up and although it was fun to reply to the asks and imagine how it would take place, I don't think I'll ever write it.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Someone screenshot dnab and posted it on instagram. The whole 40k fic. If there have been others, I don't know.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, a few.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I haven't and I'm not sure I could. I don't think my writing process would lead to successful collaborations. If I were to imagine it, the easiest for me would be that each writer has their own POV (I'd write Draco, the other person Harry, for instance) and we'd have a general idea but not a strict outline and we'd write it like a relay race: I'd post something, they'd write the next part, then me etc.
14. What’s your all time favorite ship? I tend to move on from fandoms, so it used to be pynch, then drarry, now wangxian. I don't have a lot of time for fandom these days so I'm not as obsessed with a ship as I used to be. I love all my babies equally.
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I started a fic with a magical university of sorts, or rather 8th year but they'd be more like uni students than normal school students, and Draco was a Veela whose mate was Astoria. Not sure where it would all go, but well--it won't go anywhere now, because I have so many other WIPs that take precedent.
16. What are your writing strengths? I'm decent at dialogue and I've been told my fics have great atmosphere. Occasionally I write an unusual turn of phrase and people comment on that. My fics are fairly short, but I've been told that they have a lot more story than the reader expected because of the word count, and I think that's because I edit ruthlessly.
17. What are your writing weaknesses? Plotting is my main problem. I pants my stories and it takes me forever to figure out what happens next. I also lack confidence and doubt everything while writing, which isn't a writing weakness exactly, but it does affect my writing.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? It's cool. I like it.
19. First fandom you wrote for? The Raven Cycle. I was mad about pynch.
20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Currently 9 ½ Days but I have a very, very soft spot for The Boy Who Died.
Tagging: @lettersbyelise @lucifergraced @coriesocks @wolfpants @julcheninred @nerdherderette @lqtraintracks if they wanna!
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I know I've said this so many times before, but it is just so comforting to see your posts about love and other people agreeing. Because I thought I was weird for almost immediately wanting to put a fic down when the romance was there, with labels of "boyfriend, girlfriend, husband." It’s like I don’t understand how the other qsmp ships work 😭 But the fact that skephalo just seems to always be there... It was just natural that they could go against the world together without anyone pushing a label on it. All that mattered was their unfailing love for the other and their natural friendship that went above that. In the qsmp they already have a history together! They've been with each other for centuries and know they have been together in past lives. Bad adores Skeppy.
For me, I don't really know how I feel about 4halo? I liked it a lot in the beginning because Forever was one of the few people that had the same views on the eggs that Bad did. But it just doesn't feel like it’s going to work? Bad and Forever have such different goals, and especially with Bad... I don’t think either will change. I like starhalo because they're just fighters, both to attack and protect. It just seems a lot softer than 4halo, I guess, but that's only because that ship got sucked into political drama. 4halo has the AMAZING jealously that I love, but it’s just missing something; like both characters know it will end up being a fling. But Etoiles has been so kind to Bad throughout his memory loss, teaching him to fight again, being patient... Idk, it’s strange. I almost miss it when there was no other Bad ship but Skeppy, I didn’t realize how narrow of a box Bad sat in o_o
(also sorry for the long ask. Just adding that I feel like if Bad killed Forever, that might be a schism in their relationship, while Etoiles would just admire it. But I don’t know, I haven't followed 4halo very well)
thank you for the long ask :D also disclaimer: everything i talk about here is more about viability in canon rather than enjoyment of ships. two different things! obviously i enjoy all q!bad ships through both a shipper lens and an analyst lens.
unlabeled relationships resonates so strongly with q!bad, especially given both his species and his aromanticism, which makes everyone pushing him towards a "typical" romance feel off (i wrote an analysis a bit ago on how qbad's aromanticism is treated on the server opposed to cbad, even if its a bit dated).
4halo's dynamic changes a lot, and it's hard to predict where they'll end up, and that makes them fun (happy pills 4halo is my favorite). there definitely is a certain type of inevitable "doom" with them, though. they'll never end up wholeheartedly trusting each other, but they'll love each other regardless. this ask was sent before yesterday's stream, where forever took care of bad, which goes to show how unpredictable they can be. they really do have a soft side, its just that they always seem to fail to fundamentally understand each other. and when all of q!bad's relationships are "tiered" in some way, this makes a committed relationship, whether platonic or romantic, difficult. forever has such a big heart and bad is so guarded. their relationship does come off of uneven in these unbalanced values, while a relationship like aypierre/bbh does not because pierre simply doesn't mind how paranoid and distrustful bad is. (but, again: that's what makes 4halo more compelling. q!bad is sick in the head obsessed yet is still so restrained around him.)
i really enjoy starhalo, but i cant really see bad striking up a committed, trusted relationship with etoiles. they're both warriors, but they're values are different. etoiles is honorable: he defends the weak, he likes fair fight. bad is a bit more desperate, a bit more brutal. he fights to survive and he takes delight in killing. he likes to win. he needs to win. etoiles obviously enjoys seeing this side of bad come out (in a way many islanders do not, like you said) but i cant help but wonder what would happen when these interests come into conflict. etoiles is to bend his morals to save friendships, but bad won't do the same in return.
and there's the issue with q!bad ships: bad is willing to cut everyone off if it means saving those he holds closest to his heart. and so every ship with him will inevitably crumble because he will choose if they're not up there. he would choose dapper over skeppy, even. and if skeppy comes second to the eggs, then how does it feel to be third on his list? fourth? fifth? how many people can stomach being in a relationship with someone who already knows how expendable you are to them?
again i love shipping im a huge shipper, i love romantic q!bad ships a lot. but there's a reason he fits into an us-against-the-world, unshakeable, all-consuming, unlabeled love, as opposed to the more typical romance progressions you see from fitpac/bagina/spiderbit. there's a reason all q!bad ships have some level of toxicity, while many ships without him do not. he's an all or nothing person, and finding someone who will wholly give him his heart, and wholly receive his heart back, will take a lot. so far, the closest is still presumably q!skeppy (which could still change if he were ever on the island), and that is due to thousands of years and lifetimes together. to have someone else take that place...well, we would have certainly known by now.
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20 questions for fic writers
Tagged by @suavissimapenna <3 Sorry it took so long!
How many works do you have on ao3?
7 for Sherlock and 23 Good Omens that are completely mine. 6 collaborative fics I have either partly written, or just made art for.
So, 36.
What's your total ao3 word count?
380,863
What fandoms do you write for?
Good Omens! I used to write for Sherlock too, but that's now in the past.
Top five fics by kudos:
Truth Or Dare (E, 6.5K words), my first proper smut ever! Post s1 gettig together story.
Angel Of Justice (T, 9.5K), my first ever Good Omens fanfic. Post S1 from Michael POV, A/C as a background couple.
!False (It's funny because it's true) (E, 5.4k), an office romance human AU set in software company.
A Stable Relationship (E, 9.9k), horse rider AU with trans Aziraphale. Friends with benefits becoming a romantic relationship.
Girls Just Wanna Have Sun (G, 1.7k), outsider pov scene about Robin's day at the beach, where she meets two weird gentlemen who have never been to a beach before.
Do you respond to comments?
YES I DO! Slowly, possibly, but yes I do, and I read and reread them!
What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
Uhhh... angsty ending? What is that? Technically Be Still My Soul: The Rift, but does that count if it's a middle part of a trilogy? That's definitely my angstiest fic of all time BUT I tried to write the happiest ending possible to it. But also, yeah, people died in the war (just not A or C), so maybe I'll count that story.
Edit: WAIT NO! To Love Somebody, a story from Shadwell pov about how he fell in love both Aziraphale and Crowley, and how that changed him. That's sort of angsty and the ending is bittersweet!
What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Hmmmmmm. I have so many. I can't compare.
Maybe Watching You (Watching Me), it's the porniest porn i have ever written, and it has...uh... several happy endings :D
Do you get hate on fics?
Not so far!
Do you write smut?
Yessss. I'm in my porn writer era at the moment :D
Craziest crossover:
I did some super weird anime crossovers as a teen (I hope those are long lost) but haven't dabbled on that since apart from very vague blink-and-you-miss-it references.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know of!
Have you ever had a fic translated?
One of my Sherlock fics was translated into french in 2018!
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Only for one round robin event, which produced four stories! Not sure if that really counts as collaborating since we weren't allowed to talk about it when we did it, we just got the fic, read it, and added 600 words and gave it to the next one! It was super fun though.
All time favorite ship?
Aziraphale and Crowley. No competition there.
What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I don't usually start posting unless I'm 100% confident I'll finish the story, so I don't have public wips.
I had one pretty cool Sherlock post-apocalypse story idea, which I'd love to talk about if someone is interested, but writing it? Hmm probably not. But it's not really a wip, if I have only like two bullets in a doc?
What are your writing strengths?
I think I write pretty good bickerflirting and humour even in dark situations. And, uh... historical research.
What are your writing weaknesses?
LONG ASS SENTENCES. I need to cut them down. Chop chop chop. Also, I over-use commas and em-dashes.
Also, not being a native english speaker, but I think I've got a lot more fluent during the past years, so maybe that's not my biggest weakness anymore.
Thoughts on dialogue in another language?
I have done it myself, in a situation when my pov character wasn't supposed to understand what was being discussed, but I did only a couple of lines.
My languages (apart from english) are finnish, very rough swedish, and teeny tiny bit of german, but many fics I've read that have used another language in dialogue, use French or Spanish (which are popular languages for English speakers to learn in school!), and with those I'm woefully lost!
But honestly, i don't need to understand every fic under the sun! You do you, I bet there are people who can understand whichever languages you'd like to mix in your story, and that will be amazing for them!
First fandom you wrote in?
The Book Series That Must Not Be Named. I projected so much of my teenage angst into wizard school drama.
Favorite fic you've written?
You monster! Making me choose. Uh.
Okay, fair. It's easy. Be Still My Soul, hands down. @be-still-my-soul-fanfic
No pressure tagging: @hkblack, @ambrasue, @tawnyontumblr , @ack-emma and @zehwulf and anyone else who wants to answer!
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20 Questions for Fic Writers
Thank you @landwriter for the tag <3<3<3 Answers under the cut!
How many works do you have on Ao3?
227!
What's your total Ao3 word count?
I broken two million this year! :)
What fandoms do you write for?
I guess you'd say my "main" fandom is still The Sandman, because that's what really started me writing again, but I'll write for any piece of media that inspires me. I've written for The Terror, the D&D movie, Dungeon Meshi, Supernatural, Sherlock, and Homestuck at various points.
Top five fics by kudos:
1. aulon raid - In which no neonazis are allowed in the New Inn.
2. Curse of the Green Hag - The one where Xenk Yendar is cursed by a hag and he and Edgin have to fuck about it.
3. Ecdysis - Undressing and armor and bathing.
4. That I Should Wedded-Be - This was my first attempt at something longer. It's definitely not one of my better ones at this point but it was one of the first ones so it has a lot more kudos.
5. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - The one where Hob fucks Dream on his desk.
Do you respond to comments?
I would really like to, but I find that I often don't have the energy, and because I want every response to be unique and thoughtful and just for that person, it means that I feel really bad if I give a simple "thanks!" and nothing else. Inevitably the bad feeling of not responding in a meaningful way outweighs the good feeling of getting the comment, so now I really only respond to comments if they address me directly or ask a question.
What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
the long way down maybe? It has a more open "hopeful" ending. I don't usually let things end on a low note!
What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Hallmark-Adjacent, I think. Literally ends like a Hallmark movie lol.
Do you get hate on fics?
Once or twice it's happened. If it's happened since then I haven't been aware of it. I'm sure a lot of conversation goes on in like, discord channels and such that I don't follow. I'm not particularly interested in debating with people about the intentions or morality of my writing. I try to be as authentic and inclusive and respectful as the setting and story allow me to be, but I'm also human and fallible. *shrug* I grow and learn more every day. Expecting perfection from people is an exercise in frustration and futility.
Do you write smut?
yeh
Craziest crossover:
Wrote a BBC Sherlock/Homestuck fusion. That was fun.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I'm aware of. If it was like Cocoon or Maybe sprout wings I think I'd be really upset about it because I put so much into those, but I don't know if I'd feel particularly devastated if it was anything else. BSN, maybe. I mean it would suck? That's a shitty thing to do, but also, you're not earning any real clout or money by doing it, lol.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yes! A number of my fics have been translated, mostly into Russian (thanks chainsmoking and Bonniemary!), and one into Spanish (thanks Dhixi!). I'm incredibly flattered every time someone takes the time and effort to do a translation. It's an incredible art.
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Yes, though not recently.
All time favourite ship?
Listen I write so much for Sandman but truthfully? Mulder/Scully. Alpha and omega ship. Don't know if anything will ever compare.
What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
At this point, The Whole of Love Contained is so far removed from my current writing style that I would have to restart from scratch, I think. I'm not counting it out forever, but there are other ideas I've had that I'm more interested in pursuing first.
What are your writing strengths?
I really like sentence construction. The flow of it. How you can use punctuation to make it stop -- and then carry on, giving it purposeful structure. I've been told I have a talent for inserting life-altering sentences into the middle of things so that they hit you like a punch. Idk I'm bad at listing my own strengths. I like to research things a lot?
What are your writing weaknesses?
Pacing, definitely, and action scenes. I always feel like my action scenes have low-stakes feel to them. And dialogue. I think a lot of people struggle to write realistic dialogue, though, so that might not just be me. Keeping the momentum going. Sometimes I'll be so focused on reaching one specific scene that I'll lose track of how to actually get there, and I'll stall out. I feel like I have a lot more weaknesses but I struggle to articulate them beyond a sense of deep dissatisfaction with my own writing, especially in comparison with other writers whom I greatly admire. I feel often like I'm churning out things that are easily-digestible and entertaining, but not necessarily meaningful, or not conveying what I would like them to do. Logically I know that "entertaining" is a value unto itself, and nothing to scoff at, but still. The writer's hubris, maybe.
Thoughts on dialogue in another language?
Kind of depends on what you're using it for, I suppose. I tend to stick with one narrator's POV, so it can be useful if the narrator doesn't speak that language, but we, as the readers, can pop the sentence into translate and get the gist. I tend to use that sparingly as a gimmick, though, because I'm not multilingual except in the very most basic of terms and I prefer being correct to being aesthetic, lol.
First fandom you wrote in?
If you want to be technical, it was Harry Potter. But the first fandom I wrote seriously for was Heroes.
Favourite fic you've written?
I'm still proudest of Maybe sprout wings. Not sure if I'll ever write something like that again, where so much of it just felt right. And it got a compliment from a writer I admired very much in Homestuck fandom, so I reckon I did something right with it.
I'll tag @arialerendeair and @dsudis because I know you've both been in fandom for a while and I want to hear your stats <3
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20 Question Fic Writer Tag
Hell yeah I'll play. Thanks @palfriendpatine66 :D
How many works do you have on ao3?
AO3 says ten, but one of those is a series continuation of another one, so I count it as nine...although tomorrow that will go up by one, after the reveals for the Ghost Window challenge go out.
2.) What's your ao3 word count?
Oh god. 690,376. I honestly think I was happier not knowing that fact about myself.
3.) What fandoms do you write for?
I don't multitask well. I can write Star Wars fics or I can write Star Wars fics. I haven't even ventured outside the Clone Wars era yet.
4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?
Some Technical Difficulties - big gap - Solsbury Hill - An Uncivil War - medium-sized gap - An Unlikely Duo - another gap-ish - Down by the Seaside.
5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Yep. I like it when authors reply to me when I leave a comment, so I try to pay it forward. Also sometimes we get into fun little side chats.
6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
At the moment, not one single damn one of them. They have angst in them, but none of them end on angst. However as of about twenty-four hours from now, my answer will be, Ghost Window AU.
7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Literally all of them. I'm happy to read angst, but when it comes to writing I am firmly in the happy endings camp.
8.) Do you get hate on fics?
I had some people tell me they were dropping out of Solsbury Hill because it wasn't getting to the Obikin fast enough, but I wouldn't call that hate. So, no.
(Side note, though: you don't have to tell authors that. Just delete your subscription quietly.)
But, I am also very ready to delete any and all negative comments. This is my fun side project; good vibes only.
9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
...pretty vanilla kind, honestly. Again, I read much more adventurously than I write. (Although, as recently as two years ago I would have said I don't write smut at all, so hit me up two years from now and maybe I'll be writing hardcore d/s, I don't know.)
10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?
By the strict definition, no. If you're talking 'dump Star Wars characters into settings of other movies', then hell yeah, that's kind of my jam right now. Down by the Seaside is Obikin Overboard. Next year I'm planning to publish Obikin Jurassic Park, Obikin Parent Trap, and Obikin Princess Diaries II. And I have a couple more on my to-do list.
11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Is this a thing I need to worry about?? Shit.
12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?
@kittonafoxgirl did a podfic of Some Technical Difficulties and it is still like one of the top five most rad things that has ever happened to me; does that count?
13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?
No but @fulcrum843 are currently mulling something over...
I do get a lot of help with my writing though. @piecesofeden11 basically wrote all the DnD stuff in An Unlikely Duo. I talk stuff out on Tumblr with folks all the time before I actually sit down to write it (or during, lol).
14.) What's your all time favorite ship?
I have no plans to write anything other than Obikin, and there's so much new good fic that it takes up most of my reading time as well.
15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?
I wouldn't call it a WIP because there are no words on a page but I love the *idea* of a fic based on Jenn Barkley from Parks & Rec but have no idea what direction to take it and may never get to it. (If anyone wants to take this idea and run with it please do; it is very much up for grabs!)
16.) What are your writing strengths?
This is a weird thing to answer about myself but I hope I write with a sense of movement, propulsion, even a little suspense - as a reader I love to feel that I have to turn the page, I have to see what comes next, I don't want to put this fic/book down - and I try to work towards that goal in my own writing.
17.) What are your writing weaknesses?
Getting bogged down in details. It drives me crazy in movies when characters have these huge mansions but seemingly never go to work and somehow this has translated into me being incapable of just writing a smutty one-shot or whatever because what is everyone's job and how much is their mortgage payment and do they get paid on Fridays or Mondays and how many bedrooms does that apartment have.
18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
See answer above about over-complicating things: I came up with this whole system for An Uncivil War for whether I'm writing out the dialogue in a language other than Basic (I feel like we really only have enough information for me to be able to do this in Huttese and Mando'a, and even then only short conversations in certain subjects), or simply noting that a character is saying something in another language ("he said in Ryl" or whatever), or mixing Basic and a word/words in another language within the same sentence. It was important to me to capture that multilingualism, but it's also a lot of work, ngl.
19.) First fandom you wrote for?
Technically Johnlock but I never finished/published anything.
20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?
I love all my babies equally, she lied.
It's the Can't Stop the Suns series, which is An Uncivil War, Pick Up the Pieces (more than halfway completed), and Sometimes Fate Steps In (loosely outlined). Sometimes I'll just look over my notes and get giddy about how much good stuff I'm packing in there and how much *more* good stuff I haven't even gotten to yet. I'm throwing the kitchen sink of stuff I love at it. Even if the final version doesn't quite live up to the vision I see in my head (it rarely does), as long as I get close I'll be happy.
I tag @piecesofeden11, @underacalicosky, @fulcrum843, and, as usual, anyone else who feels up for it!
#obikin#solsbury hill#an uncivil war#an unlikely duo#down by the seaside#pick up the pieces#let's get together
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20 Questions for Writers
Thanks so much for the tag, @lyntergalactic! :D I feel like I've done this before, but it must have been a whole ago. It looks fun! (also, I'm pasting just the questions at the bottom of the post if anyone wants to copy those)
1. How many works do you have on AO3? 247, though I'm not really sure what the ratio is for images versus fics... Okay, apparently, 97 of them are tagged with 'fanart' and have fewer than 100 words, so somewhere around 100 image-only works and 147 fics.
2. What's your total AO3 word count? 1,141,145; which includes a few collabs and fics for which I just contributed an image.
3. What fandoms do you write for? TCW exclusively 😅 Though I've done a handful of images for other things like Arcane, Dune, Trigun, The Expanse, House of the Dragon...
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? A bunch of my works with the most kudos are images, but if we're talking fics, then I think it's just some of my oldest ones...
That’s Not How It Happened (This Is How It Happened) - Fives arc fix-it and my first fic.
Orbital Decay - Codywan that I haven't edited since I posted it, so I can't vouch for the quality.
Modulation - Another one I haven't touched since I posted it, but it's an 'Echo gets rescued much earlier than in canon and he and Fives reunite' fix-it of sorts.
Will You Walk With Me? - Waxer's pov from the start of the war to the (fix-it) end, and it mostly focuses on his and Boil's friendship (Waxer & Boil or Waxer/Boil pre-relationship - take your pick). Even though this certainly isn't the best thing I've written, it's my baby. 🧡
Interference - Umbara fix-it featuring minor canon characters and some necessary OCs in the first chapter, then more major canon characters later.
More stuff below the cut, since this is a long list...
5. Do you respond to comments? Yes!
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably You're Just Harder to See Than Most, which ends very sadly on its own, but it's part of a larger fix-it including Modulation above, so Fives and Echo get reunited.
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Pfff like basically all of them, idk XD;
8. Do you get hate on fics? No, just on one sketch dump, where someone went through 6 chapters of spicy cloneshippy images and then decided they needed to complain about it being gross and immoral 🤣 It was hysterical kjlksahfg
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Oh yes, I'm a certified smut goblin. Not really sure what the question means by 'what kind,' but I guess 'porn with feelings' is probably the AO3 tag that would most accurately describe all of the smut I've written XD
10. Do you write crossovers? Nope.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! :D
14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Hm, I suppose if we're defining that as like, "what ship have you intensely shipped for the longest amount of time," it would be destiel? I was veeeeeery into that ship for many years.
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I've had one wip sitting around for over a year, and for a while I was thinking I wasn't going to get back to it ever. But I made a little vibes playlist for it and had some help brainstorming, so I'm hopeful I can start tackling it again after I get some current stuff drafted.
16. What are your writing strengths? Starting something and working on it until it's finished.
17. What are your writing weaknesses? I have a lot of trouble generating ideas on my own.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I think it's fine as long as it's either A. very short and clear from context or B. for some reason, the writer is intending to confuse the reader and obfuscate what was said. I know I've said it before, but I'm not gonna scroll to the bottom of a fic every few paragraphs to find the translations for whole phrases or sentences. If the amount of 'other language' starts making the dialogue difficult to follow, I'm just gonna nope out.
19. First fandom you wrote for? Technically, I wrote one thing for Gundam Wing back in like 2000, but I can't even remember what I did with it or what it was about, exactly. Other than that, TCW.
20. Favorite fic you’ve written? flsdlfg that's really difficult... idk man, if it's quality we're talking about rather than sentimentality, I'd say it's a toss-up between these three 😅:
My Heart's Red Muscle - Canon-divergent AU where Waxer is a cyborg.
Kinktober 2022 - Character studies/development through smut, where Waxer and Boil find a list of sexy things to try out, so it's kind of meta. It's from my main Open Skies AU, and I'm weirdly proud of this one XD;
We Could Breathe Underwater - Force-sensitive Waxer and Boil AU
Phew! Okay this took me like three sessions to answer, but it was fun :)
No-pressure tags: anyone who sees this and wants to do it, plus @lizardberries @elismor @bilbosmom-belladonna @valkeakuulas @petrifiedforests @marbled-polecat @writegowrite @sophronist @marbled-polecat @ivalane
20 Questions for Writers
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
3. What fandoms do you write for?
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
5. Do you respond to comments?
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
8. Do you get hate on fics?
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
10. Do you write crossovers?
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
14. What’s your all time favorite ship?
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
16. What are your writing strengths?
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
19. First fandom you wrote for?
20. Favorite fic you’ve written?
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fanfic writer questions
Thanks for the tag @sssammich! I haven't done one of these in years, I'm excited :D
1- How many works do you have on AO3?
Only 11, but a couple are long ones (100,000+ words)
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
406,700 and counting - one of those is a WIP that will have a lot more to add so I MAY make it to 500,000 in the coming months, if I write another couple of short ones on top.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Right now I'm just writing for Supergirl (and supercorp specifically). In the past I wrote a lot for Call the Midwife (Patsy x Delia, my beloveds), and I have written one small one for Strange the Dreamer, just because I had an idea that wouldn't leave me alone until I got it out.
I tend to be a bit all or nothing with fandom, so I am usually only in one at a time.
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
The Hands I Used to Touch (Patsy/Delia - Call the Midwife) by a landslide. It also (briefly) had the most comments of any fic in the fandom which was very cool (it was the one I was writing for longest during the peak engagement era for the pairing, but still it is my crowning achievement as a fic writer haha)
After that Vengeance, Victory and Undying Love (Supercorp), Little Things Mean A Lot tied with A Paper Bag of Pick n Mix (both Patsy/Delia), and Storybooks and Siren Suits (also Patsy & Delia, but as children so not a romantic pairing)
5. Do you respond to comments?
Definitely! I try to respond to every comment, because they mean so much to get and I want the people taking the time to write them to know they are extremely appreciated. Also I have made some wonderful friends that way!
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I am allergic to angsty endings! Angsty beginnings? Almost inevitable. Angsty middles, sure. Angsty ENDINGS? Never. So angstiest: maybe "The Static of Distance" from my Paper Bag of Pick n Mix, because they are still half a world away from each other during a threat of nuclear war. But even so it's only an angsty ending if you squint really hard.
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
They all have pretty unambiguously happy endings honestly, I'm not sure I could pick between them!
8. Do you get hate on fics?
I don't think I've ever had hate as such. Some maybe less than whole heartedly positive responses, though most of that was when I was teasing an apparently dark character arc before a twist and making people worried about what I was up to. But see above re: all of my fics having absolutely unambiguously happy endings, so we got there eventually.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Not so far - I think the closest I have come was my wife and I writing a silly crack fic together that involved smut, but it was not at all meant to be actually sexy and we never posted it anywhere, sooo...
10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?
Not typically, but there was A Misplaced Midwife, in which Barbara from Call the Midwife (a fairly sheltered young 1960s midwife played by Charlotte Ritchie) traded places with Hannah from Siblings (a modern day selfish, chaotic disaster human also played by Charlotte Ritchie) and how they got along in each other's lives. It was silly and crack-y but a lot of fun to write.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not to my knowledge, thankfully!
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Alas, no
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
The aforementioned crack fic with @cynicalrainbows but that was just for our own entertainment. She also contributed several lines/ideas to A Misplaced Midwife. I don't think I have apart from that.
14. What's your all time favorite ship?
I only really have two that I've been invested enough to fic about it, and while my current all consuming obsession is Supercorp, I have only been in it for a couple of months compared to the years long love affair with Patsy/Delia that also led to me meeting my wife and many good friends. So for now, Patsy/Delia still reign supreme. We'll see if that is still the case in a few more months!
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I try to always finish my fics, but I do have one unfinished wip on my conscience, and that's Storybooks and Siren Suits. I still open it and do battle with progress now and again just in the hopes that I will manage to drag it across the finish line and put it to bed once and for all, but so far nothing doing. It remains stuck on the same chapter it has been stuck on since 2021.
16. What are your writing strengths?
Oh no don't make me pay myself compliments...
Angst with happy endings? That is not really so much a writing strength as just a description of the type of story I write, but shh. I guess I got a lot of compliments on characterization back in my Call the Midwife days. Whether that follows through to Supercorp remains to be seen. I like how I'm writing them, at least!
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
My dialogue transitions tend to be clunky, at least so I'm finding lately. Also I am a total feast or famine writer, so any kind of sensible process or schedule discipline is completely non existent.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
I avoid it for the most part because I would certainly make a mess of it, though I have one or two very very brief bits here and there. I think the longest piece was a character recalling their own long distant school french, which contained deliberate mistakes the character was making that acted as excellent cover for the genuine mistakes I no doubt also made.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
I'm trying to recall if I ever wrote anything as a young teenager for Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Willow/Tara, naturally), but I don't think I did, and if so it definitely stayed as tucked away in an old notebook never to see the light of day. The first proper/definite one was Call the Midwife, just after they decided it would be a good idea to hit Delia with a car and give her amnesia right at the moment she and Patsy were about to move in together.
20. Favorite fic you've written?
Well right now it's Forgotten Not Forgiven for sure, because that's where my obsession is currently living.
Of all time though? Probably still The Hands I Used to Touch, because I poured everything into it at the time and it played such a big part in me finding my feet in the fandom world.
No pressure to do this at all of course but tagging @cynicalrainbows @fabulousglitch, @shut-up-heather-d and @fazedlight as people I know write fic and may enjoy this if you haven't done it already. Anyone else interested feel free to claim me as your tagger, I would love to see your responses!
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fic writer ask game: 1, 2 (and why), 4 (if you have any, otherwise you can just tell me who your favourite character is), 5, 9 (and why), and 15! :D
Thanks for the ask!!
1. What is your favorite line in the last fic you wrote?
Okay this was really hard because all of the lines feel so tied up in their scenes but I really like this line from Chapter 2 of Proof of Life
“Of course, all magic resides inside you, but this is much more raw. More dense. Before humans ever had enough words to create spells, they could still use magic like this.” The fire on her palm blazed brighter. “There have always been fire mages.”
2. What fic was the hardest to write?
Probably a tie between not hard enough (but it isn't easy) and Proof of Life for completely different reasons. Not Hard Enough was difficult because it was definitely an emotional fic to write and I had to tap into experiences I've had and try to translate them into something readable. Proof of Life is difficult for the sole reason in that it's the most ambitious fic I've tried so far. I only have six fics (5 for Snowbaz) in total and each one feels more like an undertaking than the last.
4. Who is your favorite OC character?
Besides Simon and Baz, it's Fiona Pitch. I'm in love with Fiona.
5. What's a ship you like but haven't written yet?
I really like Agatha/Niamh and I have a few ideas bouncing around here that one day will be written. Also like Fiona/Ebb has been in my mind too lately idk
9. What is your favorite part of your most popular fic?
My most popular fic is Do As You're Told and really I'm just so proud of that whole thing, it was the first multi-chapter I'd ever written and I had so much fun. My absolute favorite part is the love confession/first kiss scene at the very very end.
15. What's your favorite fic of all time?
What an impossible question. Uhhh, let me check my bookmarks. The problem is I started reading Snowbaz before I had an ao3 account and then I didn't start using bookmarks right away so many of the fics I've loved are lost to the corners of my foggy memory. I love Woundrous and Mystical by philaetos though, so I can share that one. But there's so many fics that I love take a look at my public bookmarks I'm sorry most of them are stranger things fics it took me a while to discover bookmarks.
from this ask game
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Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
This became a pretty long post, sorry.
I noticed something that I haven't seen before in Kirk/Spock analysis, so I'd like to talk about it. As I said other times, I'm aware that Star Trek fans in over half a century have probably already written everything about the most popular ship, but that's not going to stop me from adding my own words. :)
What I want to talk about is in the episode Whom Gods Destroy. I feel like this episode is pretty underrated among K/S shippers. Nowadays, it might be because of this part:
"Kirk and Spock call each other brothers, this episode tries to no-homo them!"
Short answer: No, it doesn't.
Long answer: This is not what I actually want to focus on, but I understand that it's important, so I'll try to give an explanation. When we watch TOS, we always need to remember when it was made. I know it's not easy (trust me, I made that mistake too), but unfortunately we can't forget that, in the '60s, homosexuality was still considered a mental illness (if not worse, depending on the people/country), and portraying it in a positive way in a mainstream American show was NOT an option. At the time, it wasn't uncommon for queer people to call each other "brothers/sisters" as a socially acceptable way to say "we love each other", "we're each other's most important person", "we have something special that is different from friendship".
Does it mean Kirk and Spock say "brothers" when they mean "lovers"? Not necessarily, of course, but we need to remember that, unlike contemporary shows where two men can actually claim to be brothers to mean "we're close but not gay", in the past it could have meant "we're close and maybe also gay". I'm not saying it's canon, but the interpretation is valid.
As you can see, Garth strongly disagrees with Kirk and Spock when they say they're brothers. :D Unfortunately, it's from the wrong reason: he's claiming that they only have a captain-first officer relationship, without feelings involved. And the episode definitely wants us to think that he's wrong! Kirk and Spock love each other! They have very special feelings for each other, feelings that the word "friendship" wouldn't completely convey. I choose to interpret their "brotherhood" in that positive way, also keeping in mind that Spock does say Kirk is speaking "somewhat figuratively", so he's aware they're not actual adopted siblings. :)
Of course, I can't forget to add what every K/S fan knows: if we consider Roddenberry's novel canon (or at least canonically relevant to a degree), Vulcans use the same word, t'hy'la, to say "friend", "brother", "lover" or a combination of at least two of them. That just makes everything easy! Every time Kirk and Spock call each other "friends" or "brothers" in canon, we can just assume they mean t'hy'la. Checkmate! :D
Okay, back to Whom Gods Destroy. If that episode isn't as "no homo" as we initially thought, what makes it so good for K/S shippers to the point that I'm writing a long post about it? Well, a couple of things. The first one happens before the "brothers" speech, and it's this:
In context, Marta claims to write poetry, so she recites one of "her" poems… which is very obviously Shakespeare. Star Trek writers chose one of the most famous English sonnets of all time on purpose, and it's clear because they made 100% sure every single person watching the episode wouldn't miss it:
So, okay, she didn't write it. We got it. It's Star Trek and its Shakespeare references, nothing new.
Is that all? Hm, I'm not sure. Because Shakespeare's sonnet 18 might be extremely famous, but it's not the only famous poem Shakespeare wrote. And even if it was, since the characters were going to point out that "hey that's Shakespeare" anyway, why did Star Trek writers chose that sonnet specifically? Why did they choose one of the sonnets Shakespeare wrote for another man, to express his beauty? To express his love for him?
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
They could have chosen one of the sonnets Shakespeare wrote for a woman. There are a lot more! But no, Marta quotes a love poem by a man for another man, and the camera shows us this:
Just two bros, sitting together, listening to Shakespeare's words about a young man's beauty 'cause they're not gay.
Now… I know, I know. Even nowadays, Shakespeare is too famous to be universally accepted as queer. There's always going to be academics who think "those sonnets were platonic!"; at the time Star Trek was made, I wouldn't be surprised if almost everyone thought "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?" was about either platonic love or love for a woman (the latter used to be a theory too, but it was proved wrong). On the other hand, the queer reading has also been discussed for centuries, and supported by famous academics too, like Oscar Wilde. So even in this case, we can't really know what Star Trek writers had in mind. Did they just pick the most popular sonnet without thinking too hard? Did they try to add gay subtext to the scene? Well, it certainly looks gay to me. :)
And now, the best part! What, you thought it was over? Nope, I said I was going to talk about "a couple of things", and Shakespeare was just the first one. Because if you think that his sonnet was probably not meant to be gay in context, and after that Kirk and Spock call each other brothers, and that's also not gay in your opinion… well, maybe we can add a little more fuel to the potential gay subtext.
So, what is Marta doing here? Quoting poetry again.
Right after their conversation about brotherhood and the loyalty of a crew, Garth gets mad at Spock ("Remove this animal!"); Garth's men bring Spock away, and Garth asks Kirk the password to get to the Enterprise. He tells Kirk that he'll make him beg for death. That's when Marta suddenly starts reciting another poem. This time, though, there's a big difference from the first one: the audience can tell it's probably another reference because of her previous behavior, but it's hard to recognize. It's not Shakespeare. It's not even the most popular poem by that author, and she's also quoting it a little wrong.
This is a subtle reference. The average Star Trek fan doesn't know what it is. I also didn't. So, of course, I got curious, and this is what I found:
A. E. Housman, English poet (1859 – 1936)
XIX.
In midnights of November,
When Dead Man’s Fair is nigh,
And danger in the valley,
And anger in the sky,
Around the huddling homesteads
The leafless timber roars,
And the dead call the dying
And finger at the doors.
Oh, yonder faltering fingers
Are hands I used to hold;
Their false companion drowses
And leaves them in the cold.
Oh, to the bed of ocean,
To Africk and to Ind,
I will arise and follow
Along the rainy wind.
The night goes out and under
With all its train forlorn;
Hues in the east assemble
And cocks crow up the morn.
The living are the living
And dead the dead will stay,
And I will sort with comrades
That face the beam of day.
Alfred Edward Housman is another English poet, but very different from William Shakespeare: he lived just a few decades before Star Trek was made. Why choosing him? Maybe because he wrote a lot about men dying during a war, and it's relevant because Garth killed a lot of people and wants to bring war to the galaxy. We will probably never know, but after a little research, I realized that Housman is definitely an interesting-- no, a fascinating choice.
As I said before, the poem Marta recites doesn't look like one of Housman's most popular works, and it's hard to find something specific about it online. It doesn't even have a title, that "XIX" simply means that it's the 19th poem in the volume it's part of. So what is so fascinating about it? Well…
The title of the volume is "Last Poems". I didn't use Wikipedia as my only source, but in this case, I think it can explain context better than me:
OH.
So the poem Marta is quoting in front of Kirk, the poem she wants to know if Kirk likes, is not just a poem about death: it's part of a volume a man wrote for the man he was in love with.
Wait, again? There are two poems in this episode, and both of them are by male authors who wrote them for the man they loved? That doesn't really look like a coincidence anymore.
It's subtle, for sure, especially the second one. The average person watching the episode probably doesn't recognize Housman, doesn't know anything about his life. The average person in front of their TV sees Marta trying to seduce Kirk right after "her" poem, so everything looks heterosexual, right?
Yeah, that's what it looks like. But it's the surface, nothing more.
Because unlike Shakespeare, I didn't find discourse about Housman's sexual orientation: there were probably rumors about his homosexuality when he was alive as well, and after his death, it wasn't really a mystery. A Housman reader, even in the 60s, probably knew.
So, yes, this episode has two poems. Two poets that in different times wrote for a man they loved. Could it be that Whom Gods Destroy is also, at least partially, about love between two men? Well, I basically already said it when I talked about the "brothers" conversation, but let's think about it again. Except for the last few minutes, Kirk and Spock are the only two characters from the main cast on that planet. There's another man, Dr. Cory, who knows Kirk. Kirk seems to care about him… but not enough to risk something while the doctor is tortured in front of his eyes. Also, Dr. Cory isn't present when Marta quotes the poems. The first time, Kirk and Spock are together, and the second time happens not long after this scene:
They try to make Kirk like the girl, but does he really care?
Nope, he just wants Spock back.
They are "brothers (somewhat figuratively)" who trust each other deeply, and even if their enemies try to distract Kirk, it's obvious what he really wants.
It's him and Spock. Spock and… him?
Hmm...
Okay, that's better. :D
At this point of the series, they're so close that Kirk doesn't even consider the possibility that Spock might not recognize him immediately.
Luckily, none of them dies and their feelings are mutual, so they can be happier than Housman. Maybe they'll read his poems together. Or Shakespeare, that's always an option.
[Pictures from s3 e14 - Whom Gods Destroy]
#spirk#k/s#kirk x spock#star trek tos#star trek the original series#spock#james t. kirk#tos spirk#william shakespeare#a e housman#I'm sorry I wrote so much#well no I'm not really sorry but thank you for reading until the end#my gifs
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20 Questions for Fic Writers
@sallysavestheday and @grey-gazania, thank you so much for tagging me! This seems like fun.
1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 55 non-anon works under the username HewerOfCaves. (122, counting anon fics and my previous usernames).
2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 168.204, but if I count my previous lives on Ao3, probably around 400.000
3. What fandoms do you write for? Silmarillion. I'm an one fandom kind of writer.
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
Idea Dump - 20-chapter collection of random ficlets and drabbles
For the World's End - My very first fic in the fandom! Post-canon Maedhros angst
We Live a Lie - A slightly disturbing ficlet about Fëanor in Arda Unmarred
A King Uncrowned (A King Enthroned) - Maedhros and Fingolfin on the day of Fingolfin's coronation
Ages of Secrets - Russingon and the people who knew their secret through the ages. Tbh, I'm still baffled that this is among my more popular fics.
5. Do you respond to comments?
Yes! I can't rest easy until I've responded to all my comments.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Heh, I thrive on angst, so this is a very hard question. I can't choose just one. It's a tie between Monomachy (Maedhros and Fingon cross paths during the Third Kinslaying), Happy Ending (Maedhros daydreaming, it's just... bleak) and Alone in the Unknown (Maglor reaches his breaking point, Maedhros reached his a long time ago; this entire series is angsty, but this part is the angstiest of all).
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I went looking and was surprised to discover that I've written fewer happy endings than I thought :D But I still have some!
Peculiar Spiritual Connection - QP Russingon and their happy, carefree post-canon ending with just a smidgen of angst.
Greetings Without Farewells - Teenage Maedhros and Maglor, kid Celegorm and Fingon are happy in the bliss of Valinor.
What's in a Name - Debatable because the protagonist, Turgon, is decidedly not happy, but everyone else is, so...
8. Do you get hate on fics? Hasn't happened yet, thankfully. I hope it never will.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I actually started writing smut and am actively trying not to be embarrassed about it. As to what kind... What kinds are there? :D So far, I've written two kinds - wouldn't this be fucked up and wouldn't this be hot. Here's what I have:
Proxy - Maedhros/Fingon, unrequited Maedhros/Maglor. Wouldn't this be fucked up kind of fic. All characters are definitely fucked up.
The Hunters - Maedhros/Aredhel and they are both women. Wouldn't this be hot kind of fic. It would.
Kaleidoscope - Fingon/Sons of Feanor, M-rated but still fucked up.
Purification - Maedhros/Thingol. Actually, I think this is both wouldn't it be fucked up and wouldn't it be hot.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? My only attempt at writing a crossover crashed and burned. It was supposed to be SPN/Silm :/
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I hope not! I'm not aware of it at least.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! Very nice people have translated some of my fics into Chinese and Russian.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Once, in a different fandom. It was a reincarnation AU, and me and the other author took turns writing each life of the characters. It was very fun.
14. What’s your all time favorite ship? It's Russingon. No contest. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Every WIP is a WIP I want to finish but doubt I ever will. If seriously, it's probably my Maedhros on the Thangorodrim fic. I started it about five years ago and haven't finished it yet. And it's not a long fic! If I finish it, it'll be 5k at most, I think. I don't know, I'm just over Maedhros suffering. I want him to be happy. That's a lie, but I just can't deal with the whole Thangorodim torture.
16. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue. Twist endings. Breaking people's hearts.
17. What are your writing weaknesses? Descriptions. Beautiful comparisons and metaphors. Also, I have a very narrow focus, meaning that there is only one fandom, one ship and very few characters I write for. I rarely diversify.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic. Not a fan. A few words are fine, but entire lines are too much for me.
19. First fandom you wrote for? I shan't say.
20. Favourite fic you’ve written? It changes all the time. Right now, I'm fond of To Evil End. Fingon lives, but will it change everything for the better? The answer may surprise you but probably won't.
Tagging @eccentricmya, @runawaymun, @echo-bleu, @searchingforserendipity25, @undercat-overdog
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Near for the ask game 👁️👁️ And also Lawlight ✨
Hi Grim!! :3
Near! :D
How I feel about this character: Like him, but tbh no real deep or passionate feelings. I haven't poked his brain enough to get interested. I will say I started liking him more in the A-Kira one-shot, and not only cause his long hair was awesome, but cause I wanted to know more about WHY he was like that, what he felt all those years later about the Kira Case, how his life had gone as the new 'L'.
All the people I ship romantically with this character: Mello in a childhood rival-turned-enemy-turned-lover way; Light a very messed-up 'mutual substitutes' way; and Minoru Tanaka cause I think they should have at least met and picked each others' brains!
My non-romantic OTP for this character: Also Mello actually, sometimes I just want them to understand each other and come to like...not a moment of peace, so much as a moment of actually talking about what their childhood at Wammys did to them and their relationship as a consequence of it.
My unpopular opinion about this character: Anime Near really was boring and I had no interest in watching him. Manga Near is more interesting, but they still needed to make him more goofy. (I saw two alternate panel translations of 'Serious Near' vs 'Goofy Near' and I loved the second one.)
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Near meeting Minoru Tanaka!!! What a freaking loss of opportunity. Also, I'm a fan of the "Near wrote Mikami's Name" theory and I'd like that confirmed or denied in canon.
My OTP: I don't have one, I don't know him well enough tbh, even the ones I do ship, it's kinda with ambivalent feelings.
My cross over ship: Dont have one, sorry :3
A headcanon fact: He didn't grow his hair out cause he's too lazy to cut it or too depressed to bother, he just genuinely likes the way it looks and feels.
Lawlight! :D
When I started shipping it if I did: In December 2022 when I started writing for them! Altho tbh I'm not sure if I so much as shipped them, or if I just really liked the challenge of writing about them getting and being together.
My thoughts: Love them when they're just eternally messed with and messing with each other. I like them both individually as characters so having them together is really fun.
What makes me happy about them: Their symmetry. They just GET each other. And I love picking at their brains and poking them with a stick, and putting them in Situations together. I think their reactions are really fun.
What makes me sad about them: That in canon they were (or maybe mostly just Light, cause we never got to pick L's brain about it) too dumb to see what they'd be bored as hell without the other. That they never got the chance to actually be honest with each other before it was too late. (Altho in the anime L did try.)
Things done in fanfic that annoys me: For L, my pet peeve is the idea that his whole personality was an 'act.' I've never heard a good argument for why he'd bother. From a character standpoint, this would mean we never knew anything about him, which makes me sad. As for Light, when someone gives him too many "good" or too many "bad" traits, for whatever reason. It no longer feels like Light at some point.
Things I look for in fanfic: Mind Games :3
Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I don't think they're capable of it lol, sometimes I don't even think they're capable of ending up with each other. But for the sake of it, I wanted to see more of Light and Kiyomi. and as for L, Matsuda could take care of him.
My happily ever after for them: Mind Games, but forever! :D
Who is the big spoon/little spoon: Light is usually the little spoon cause L clings like an octopus, and Light needs to breathe so he faces the other way. L becomes the little spoon if Light wakes up in the middle of the night and L's asleep but not clinging to him.
What is their favorite non-sexual activity: Dang, I can't say Mind Games again. Or arguing. Or discussing a book cause it would be to one-up each other. So I think--sharing a meal. Just the two of them quietly enjoying their food together, and even giving little bits off their plates that they think (hope) the other might enjoy. A small sign that they want the other to live, and be happy.
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20 questions for fic writers
Tagged by @smilingbuckley
1. How many works do you have on ao3?
10
2. What's your total ao3 word count?
8,977
3. What fandoms do you write for?
So far, only 9-1-1
4. Top 5 fics by kudos
I want to eat your smile (1,341 words | G | Buck x Eddie)
Discovery (888 words | E | Buck x Eddie)
So… you're in love with me (1,246 words | T | Buck x Eddie)
You are my dad (1,322 words | G | Buck x Bobby)
Beautiful Scenery (1,250 words | M | Buck x Eddie)
5. Do you respond to comments?
Yes
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I chose you. (388 words | G | Buck x Eddie)
It's a plotless ficlet with an open/ambiguous ending.
7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
So… you're in love with me
8. Do you get hate on fics?
It's too early for that lol
9. Do you write smut?
I DO NOW! Discovery is smut (about puppy buck. of all the things I could start with...) and I have a plan for part 2 (about eddie's discovery)
10. Craziest crossover?
Haven't done any.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Nope.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
No, but I'm open to it.
13. Have you co-written a fic before?
I don't have the mental space now, I'd love to do that one day :D
14. All time favorite ship?
I can't do all time favorites, I can barely do favorites in general. Right now, I'm obsessed with Buddie.
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will
My first 911 wip, the one that started it all, is set post-season 5. It's about the Buckley-Han and the Buckley-Diaz spending some family time together. Except, well... Chim is pining over Maddie, Eddie over Buck, and Chris just wanted to play with Jee-Yun because Buck keeps gushing about his niece.
I didn't completely abandon it. I just realized after having outlined it and written some snippets, that the whole thing was way above my writing skills. So, it's just waiting for me to catch up.
16. What are your writing strengths?
......
Oh I know! I can write very sweet stories 🥰
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
I can't do multiple scenes. Writing different moments and connecting them into a coherent story? I can't do that yet. (Hence my answer to question 15).
I want to go too fast in my strorytelling. I always have to force myself to slow down the story.
18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language
Whole sentences? Dialogue? Nah. Unless I have a beta reader who speaks the language.
Single words, like pet names or interjections? Maybe. I'll probably end up in a multiple tabs research, but yeah why not.
also, IF ANYONE NEEDS A BETA READER WHO SPEAKS FRENCH I'M RIGHT HERE.
19. First fandom you wrote for
Technically, Agents of shields. I will not elaborate.
20. Favorite fic you've written
We're okay. (472 words | G | Buck x Eddie)
She's small and a little rough on the edges, but she's cute and she's the first fucking one! Kudos to her.
Tagging: @disasterbuck @aspecbuddie @made-ofmemories @your-catfish-friend @aroeddiediaz @elvensorceress @babygirl-diaz @monsterrae1 @exhuastedpigeon @captain-hen
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20 questions for fic writers
Tagged by @milkteamoon thanks for the tag milk <33
1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 28! Which isn't that much but I never thought I would write that much to begin with :D!
2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 115,038 I wish to write more this year since I was in a slump last year 😤
3. What fandoms do you write for? Most of my fics are JSHK, but I've written a Hyouka fic for a zine and an (unexpectedly) x reader fic for The Ssum. I have two original works there too though!
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
..Everything? (地縛少年花子くん | Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun | Toilet-bound Hanako-kun (Manga)) (1,695 words) kudos: 113
Two Lips, with hues of cherry and honey. (地縛少年花子くん | Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun | Toilet-bound Hanako-kun (Manga)) (4,936 words) kudos: 102
Reason For Another Tomorrow (地縛少年花子くん | Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun | Toilet-bound Hanako-kun (Manga)) (14,236 words) kudos: 89
Just Like Us (地縛少年花子くん | Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun | Toilet-bound Hanako-kun (Manga)) (3,797 words) kudos: 79
Bright as helios, Beautiful as anthos, a True Helianthus (地縛少年花子くん | Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun | Toilet-bound Hanako-kun (Manga)) (10,055 words) kudos: 67
Honestly speaking, '...Everything' isn't my favourite and isn't my best either, so I have no idea why it's there 😂 The others are probably because they're long enough to be there, but I do like seeing Tulips, Just Like Us, and the Bridge fic being there.
5. Do you respond to comments? I usually do! and I, myself love to leave comments! Most of my inbox are filled with replies to the comments that I wrote instead! I like interacting with both my readers and other writers :>
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The only thing that came to mind is Tulips. The first chapter ended hopeful and the second was sad xd Though, I wouldn't really say it's angsty! It's more to bittersweet I think. I have another lesser-known fic that has, not really angsty, but the ending was a little messed-up xD
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most of my fics have happy endings since I usually write fluff.... I think...
8. Do you get hate on fics? Never yet! I was a bit scared when I posted tsunene fics and even moderated the comments xD but no one ever left anything mean there!
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Very very mildddddd in my opinion. And I rarely write smut because I'm shy (pfftt) The only ones I have was for tsunene and they were only making out;; another one is something that I just posted yesterday as a ficlet. If I ever want to seriously write one day though, maybe something sweet like vanilla. I'm a simple person u_u . And I like it when it involves feelings <3
10. Do you write crossovers? I never thought of writing crossovers :0 they aren't really my thing. But I do think they're fun for crack though!
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No, i think?
12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nopee I don't think my fics are widely known to have them translated Xd but who knows, maybe one day!
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Noooooo someone co-write with me someday :);;;;
14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Hananene, of course!!! You won't really get any other answer from me u-u I do wish to be more diverse in the future though! And I did entertain in the idea of writing threesome like hananenetsuka or hananenekou but never actually did it ;;;
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Everything in my never-ending wip list u_u Some of them are big fics that I'm itching to write but never have the time.
16. What are your writing strengths? I'm good at writing feelings, I think? I haven't done any self-evaluation lately. Oh but I really love metaphors!
17. What are your writing weaknesses? I usually have a hard time to make my writing more descriptive. Sometimes they feel too bland u_u and since English isn't my first language, some of the dialogues don't sound natural and casual like I wanted it to be.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I never thought of this before and don't know if the fics I'll ever write have the settings for this xd
19. First fandom you wrote for? JSHK is what really got me into fanfiction. Before that I always have this impression that fanfics are usually /reader only, which I'm not really fond of (Should have discovered more!!) I started as an avid jshk fics reader, and never thought of writing my own to be honest! Love the fact that I tried <3 it's why I'm here.
20. Favorite fic you’ve written? Wahhh I think my most recent favourite is A beautiful heart like yours (is mine to hold), which is a fic I wrote for Tsunene Week 2023. I think it's my most well-written piece :') it's the only one that I don't get icky feelings when rereading it. Others are 'The Reason for Another Tomorrow', also known as codename: Bridge fic, and the first ever fic I've written for the fandom, If I Were The Moon, Would You Be My Sun?, which isn't my best writing but has a really special place in my heart <3
Thanks for the tag Milk <3 I'm just tagging whoever I have in mind so don't feel obligated to do it! This is just for fun <3 @voidjelli @insipidenvy @miss-sternennacht @thatsrightdollface @doughnutboii @krispyt @wingsonghalo @etheralisi @kawff33 @kinkymoonaf
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20 Qs for fic writers
Tagged by @ursae-minoris-world :D
1. How many works do you have on A03? 66 on my regular 31 on my dark account = 97 total
2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 1,238,070.... oh my god
3. What fandoms do you write for? VLD, but I write the occasional fic for other fandoms when I want to read something and can't find it.
4. What are your top five fics by kudos? - Wildhearted, Balancing Act, What hath night to do with sleep?, Influx, Like Animals We Play Pretend
5. Do you respond to comments? On occasion! I wish I could respond to all of them, but between my day job and writing, I already have the beginnings of a repetitive strain injury, so I do my best to minimize what my hands do unfortunately
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The monsters we create, basically just an angst fest
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most of my fics are HEA. Hmmm maybe With your one wild and precious life, that one really centers around healing and finding happiness
8. Do you get hate on fics? No, actually. Even my dark stuff I think people are too intimidated by to comment lmao. I think I've gotten like 2 neg comments ever? And they just get autodeleted anyway.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? *stares at 500k word count on dark Ao3 account*
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Nope. Not against it, just haven't been inspired to
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Hmmm not that I'm aware of?
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Many things with my favorite writing partner extra_nsfw
14. What’s your all time favorite ship? YALL KNOW ITS SHEITH
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The Likeness. Could be such a fun idea but the inspiration ran away and hasn't been back. :(
16. What are your writing strengths? Atmosphere, feelings, and sex stuff. I come from a literary and poetry background so lyrical quality and vibes are like.. so my bread and butter and they're the things that are most often complimented too.
17. What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue and continuity. I wrote spikemoss actually as a practice for dialogue because I have a habit of avoiding dialogue. I've gotten better over time, but it still sometimes just doesn't compare with some banger lines I've read by other authors. Continuity I'm bad at just because my brain can't hold all the details, but this is mostly fixed in draft edits :)
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I will run the lines by a fluent speaker. But if I'm writing in English, I use other languages in text sparingly because you will lose some readers who won't know what's going on. It's a balance between representing cultures and the way people really do speak, and not slowing down the immersive experience by a reader having to translate paragraphs of text.
19. First fandom you wrote for? ever? Danny Phantom back way in the years that show was airing
20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Spikemoss. It's my most impressive work to date and I'm really proud of it! I did some really great things in there and live-wrote it, so it was SO challenging to make sure I didn't drop any balls and get to where I wanted to go. It holds a special place in my heart!
Tagging anybody who wants to do this meme!
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