#mass effect ficlet thing
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Ashley peered at him over the rim of her pink but mostly empty glass. "Ask you something?"
"Sure?" They'd just had what he considered passed for a touchy conversation topic, and nobody was bleeding. As far as Garrus was concerned, this was an excellent talk.
"What do you think would've happened if your fleet had found out about Earth before the Council found out about us?"
...what a question. Garrus leaned back and looked out the window, considering. It was a speculation that came up in certain circles every now and then, and it tended to point in one particular popular direction. And Ashley didn't need him to spell out the words to know it.
"You know," he said, "I don't think either of us would've liked that all that much."
*
Two species, both alike in dignity
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I know this is wildly out of character for me, but here's a NOT Mass Effect ficlet I wrote. If a short bit of eldritch horror is your thing, give it a look!
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BREAK FROM THE PACK
Jonathan tries to escape from a party. He's not used to people noticing.
NOTE: a stonathan sunday ficlet inspired by the prompt "why do you care?"
you can also read this on ao3 here
“Hey, Byers!” Jonathan turns around reluctantly. He’s just managed to disentangle himself from the masses, so close to a successful escape. But no. That would’ve been too much to ask.
This never used to be a problem. First, he never used to show up at any party full stop and tonight’s reminded him of all the reasons why. Second, when he does show, no one’s ever noticed him slipping away before.
“Wait up,” Steve Harrington says now, squeezing through the crowd to catch up with Jonathan, completely unaware that he’s breaking all the rules. He never seems to notice. That it’s not supposed to be like this.
Jonathan tries not to let it show, just watches as Steve closes the distance between them and throws an arm around his shoulder. He smells very Steve-like with an added pinch of sweat and liquor. His cheeks are flushed pink. Definitely on the drunker side of things. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Why?”
Jonathan wonders if alcohol can have the magical effect of Bambi-fying a person’s features. When his father gets drunk, his face only grows more sunken. Not Steve. He’s beaming at Jonathan in that weird way that makes his stomach twist and he could swear his eyes are bigger somehow. And soft.
“Why do you care?” It comes out crabbier than Jonathan intentioned. He really wants to get out of here and the weight of Steve is distracting and threatening to change his mind.
Steve leans in closer, bringing their heads together as if they’re sharing a secret. Jonathan hasn’t drunk anything, but in his chest there’s a low fluttering. “Because,” he says, slowly, like he’s contemplating the question very seriously, “I just do.”
The breath escapes Jonathan. The hum in his chest doesn’t go away, but the tension in his shoulders does, built up in the weighty little pause Steve built into his sentence.
“Okay,” he says.
“No seriously,” Steve insists and puts a little more of himself onto Jonathan’s side. He’s not heavy, just warm and close, getting rid of the last spaces between them. “Did something happen? I saw you with Tommy and Carol. They just talk a lot of shit, you know? They’re idiots.”
Then why are you friends with them? Jonathan thinks and realizes then that he isn’t really. Not anymore. It’s just this kind of party. Everybody comes and it doesn’t mean anything. He hates it.
“They are,” he agrees. “Just isn’t my crowd, I guess.”
Steve moves to the side and Jonathan isn’t expecting it. They sway together as one and stumble over their own feet, halfway into the hedge that borders the little stone path leading to the gate.
“Mh. Okay.” He turns and looks directly at Jonathan who idiotically forgot to avert his gaze in time. Another pause. Jonathan can smell his breath. It’s not great, but he doesn’t mind so much when it’s paired with brown eyes flicking up and down, catching him in place. “Do you wanna go somewhere else, then?”
It takes a second or two for Jonathan’s brain to process. “With you?”
Steve grins. “Yeah.” He frowns briefly. Sways again. “But I don’t think I should drive.”
“No.” Jonathan looks back to the house and then into the darkness where Steve wants to take him. Only him. “Come on, I’ll drive.”
#stonathan#stonathanweek#jonathan byers#steve harrington#stranger things#this is good writing practice especially for someone who always needs a prompt or a project to write ficlets#so this is amazing tyvm!!#only very lightly edited fic-posting is still nerve-wracking to me personally#*ficlets#also i went over 500 words BUT WHO'S COUNTING EXCEPT AO3 AND WORD??#jonathansteve#emstuff#emfics
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Just a tiny ficlet, to vent I guess.
It's Sparklecare because I hate myself and I know the fandom will skewer me anyway. Uni recognizes their worth and gets over Barry for being an asshole. Wooly is my own OC. Trying to emulate some realism. I added a few symptoms of the conditions they have that aren't in the comic.
She kept thinking of the last conversation she had with Wooly. A line stuck with her- "Why do you let him be around you when he treats you and others like shit?"
It was a good question that made her pause and have no immediate answer. Barry often treated people as lesser in episodes. He'd belittle her for use of magic. At the time it felt like just small things. Sure, they happened often, but isn't that reason to think it wasn't intentional?
But someone else noticed. That means other people probably did too. Barry wasn't exactly popular with other patients, but that just made Uni stick around due to feeling like he needed friends. Some people even avoided him.
Turning in bed, Uni looked to the curtain separating her and Barry. Often she wanted to throw aside the curtain and cuddle, but he never wanted that. Never wanted any physical touch, which is fine, but she's a physical person. "Barry? You awake?"
"What do you want?" The same, usually crabby voice replied. There was a bit of a blunted effect at times, but masked well just due to the general mood of a sourpuss.
"What do you honestly think of me?"
A sigh came across the curtain, "I think you're obnoxious, childish, and delusional for your belief in magic." The answer was curt. He'd thought about it for some time. "The puppets made me uncomfortable to watch. I don't want to be sexual with you. I did not like having a window into your feelings like that without my consent."
He had his points, she felt. It didn't hurt, as much as actually help her sort out her feelings. All the times after he'd say something about magic not existing, she'd retreat elsewhere to an empty room to cry. It was so clearly real and no one believed her. It was the same pattern when after the initial flustered response, the emotions would settle and she'd be left knowing it was meant to degrade her, not because she liked being degraded. It made her own feelings feel more grounded despite the fact she'd often brush it off and leave the mass of lingering feelings under an emotional rug.
With not much sound in the room except the faint buzz of the lights outside the room and the ticking of the clock, it was interrupted by the stomping stim on blankets to feel okay. So many thoughts to quiet, not much space to get them out alone after curfew.
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writing patterns
Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!
tagged by @junemermaid, no-pressure tagging anyone who would like, because I have no idea who's seen and either done or passed on this one lately. PLEASE PLEASE DO IT AND BLAME ME IF YOU HAVE EVEN THE SLIGHTEST INCLINATION, I love seeing these things, I'm just brain-dead re: tagging today. 💙
1. Vakarian makes Shepard feel old.
Chicory, Mass Effect, Weaver Shepard, not on AO3 yet because I'm trying to turn it into a series of first/early impressions of the ME1 crew from Shepard's perspective.
But then I've done Kaidan's first impression of Shepard already, so I can't decide if I should do her version of that or figure out another one. But also should I add Joker? I should always add Joker. But then in what order? (You can see the overthinking process here, can't you?) SOMEDAY I WILL WRITE WEAVER & TALI AND IT WILL BE DELIGHTFUL. She adores Tali. But also wishes to keep her safely in engineering 99% of the time. BUT ALSO...
anyway. back to sentences. ->
2. Emmett had known that he would see her.
Almond Blossoms, 7kpp, Emmett/Sheltered Princess & a lot of chaperone POV's. Also I posted that in September last year so this is clearly going to be a little depressing in terms of my ongoing 'am I a writer anymore?' existential crisis
3. “Don’t move.”
Never Again, Shadowhunters, Malec, sort of omegaverse, sort of weird magic bonds, a very belated prompt fill from the @knotinmyname anti-ai-scraping event.
4. The Matchmaker may have announced them, they may consider themselves engaged, this might be exactly what they should be doing as these connections are exactly what the Summit claims to be for… but Nathalie’s a 'known’ seductress and suspected murderer, but Clarmont’s only 'allowed’ here for the Royal Family to keep an eye on him, to make sure he knows how generous they are being with their mercy.
Relief, 7kpp, Clarmont/Ambitious Widow (Revaire feels!). Yes, that is just one sentence. Yes, I did that on purpose. No, I probably shouldn't have, but idc. 😅
5. Alec hasn’t even been Marked, still technically a fledgling rather than a Shadowhunter, when he learns that most nephilim can’t hear their weapons sing.
untitled eldritch angel powers prequel, Shadowhunters, Alec Lightwood & Politics is my jam, even when he's like 10 or something. As is weird magic and angel lore that I get to make up! Not on ao3 because I think it's going to be in a bigger thing, but I haven't actually done it yet, but I also get really tired of trying to rearrange my AO3 stuff because then I lose links and comments and brain power that should have been used for maybe writing something again some day.
6. All the dealers know Magnus’ name.
Fluff for @foodsies4me! Malec Auctioneer AU on the floor because it made me smile. (I used to be an auction block clerk.)
7. A familiar flare lit up his apothecary, and Magnus reached out to catch the fire message.
working title is 'wtf the clave is competent' and this is another playing-with-lore Shadowhunters prequel (that will eventually be Malec) started off via a Tangential Tuesdays prompt (which is a thing I would like to properly do again, but I keep not writing which makes it tricky)
8. An Omega heir to two old bloodlines in line for a Headship was something the Nephilim hadn’t seen in almost a century, and ought to have been prestigious enough for Alec to have chosen any path or mate he wanted. [x]
9. That was Magnus. [x]
These are both omegaverse prompts for the aforementioned anti-ai event and actually posted on time last June. Both Shadowhunters and Malec and just little bits and pieces of almost things. And fun on their own, imo, but. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
10. Cullen thought he’d gotten used to seeing this new Hawke in Haven.
Gladiolus, Cullen/Hawke, Dragon Age: Inquisition (Hawke as Inquisitor). Another prompt fill, a ficlet for a collection I have on AO3; its continuing existence is almost entirely @jadesabre301's fault.
Well, picking chapters and scenes posted on tumblr rather than my ao3 was probably good for my sanity, since my ao3 is a bit of a mess.
I seem to start with very declarative sentences this past year or so: we are here and this is what we're dealing with. Which is not... how I have previously concluded this meme, but I'm not sure that it's really any different than usual, just more obvious. It's a habit developed, I think, in writing relatively short-fic and also playing with lore or setting, because I very much need to set up my framework if I want anyone else to follow it.
I definitely should try and play some ME and/or watch some Shadowhunters and clean up some of the bits that I would really really like to have as finished stories though. This has successfully reminded me that I do, in fact, usually like writing and still think like a writer, so that's probably good!
/thank you june 🥰
#writing memery#junemermaid#10 first lines#writing patterns#I know I've done this one before#but can I tag consistently?#no#on writing
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G'day! I'm Roach. I'm a child of the 20th century and I'm a lover of gothic fiction and gothic romance. Yearning for an era before the algorithm. Profile picture by the talented @missygoesmeow.
Minors, please do not interact with my blog or my work.
If I ever reblog ai generated content, please let me know and link to the post. I will only ever intentionally reblog generative AI if it is a post about identifying generative AI.
I write fic! Please find links to my work under the cut. There are links to the Ao3 page, and also to the original tumblr post I shared them here with.*
Please read the tags in the individual fics -- I write smut that might be upsetting.
Ghost:
A Problem of Mind and Body 5,900 words (explicit) x
The Cardinal creeps into your room at night, intent on teaching you a lesson about the value of obedience, and the joys therein.
Poor Beast in the Catacombs 9646 words (Chapter 2/3) (explicit) x
Hiatus because writing hard but chapter 3 is coming i prommy. i do this for free. im getting there.
Quiet had been the want you bore for the Cardinal. He seemed a man so devout in his studies of the Satanic faith that you had considered him, perhaps, uninterested in that most delicious of Sins - Lust.
It is at Mass one night that you realise perhaps this may not be true, and you can no longer silence those lascivious thoughts and fantasies - but it is on his terms that these passions will be unbound.
Dark are the catacombs - but there are pleasures to be found there, if only you submit to the shadows.
Cover art here by @meowsaidmissy - it is beyond gorgeous!!!
Also, peep this incredible artwork and this gorgeous artwork, both by @meowsaidmissy
What You Deserve 5819 words x
When the terrible inferno consumes you, catharsis comes bloody and destructive.
Perhaps, though, you do not deserve this.
Ritual and Ruination 6911 words (explicit) x
Cardinal Copia has been avoiding you all day, and you do your best to respect his need for space - but when he backs out of Mass with no warning, you're sure something is wrong. When you go to check on him... well, you're not ready for what you find.
Ritual magic can have very strange, very delightful side effects.
A Violent Shower 3979 words (explicit) x
In which the Cardinal makes promises in front of the entire audience - promises that are up to you to fulfil after the show.
Sacrificing Nothing 2761 words x
You thought he knew you better than this - but still, you find out he wants to ask the impossible of you... to be his Prime Mover. But really, what were you thinking was going to happen? He is Papa. This is the way of things, isn't it?
Late Night Worship 4864 words (explicit) x
After watching the Cardinal’s… exertions… on stage, you’re having trouble getting to sleep. There’s something about him that you can’t get out of your head. Perhaps you need a little bit of exertion yourself before bed?
Tumblr only fics/ficlets/headcanons:
Headshot - fic (explicit), inspired by this Ghost chapter: x
Pantysniffing Copia - ficlets (explicit), what it says on the label
Baldur's Gate 3:
Ficlet 16/11/23: Tav x Haarlep in the boudoir bath. Dubious consent. The steam is implied to be a drug-like substance. 324 words. (explicit)
Being able to distinguish fantasy from reality is literally SO sexy.
*NOTE: my fics are exactly where I want them. Do not ever repost. My fic are currently locked to AO3 users only due to data scraping concerns — go get an account! It's worth it, I promise!
[pinned edited 14/07/2023]
#pinned#fics#ghost fic#my fics#Late Night Worship#Sacrificing Nothing#A Violent Shower#Ritual and Ruination#What You Deserve#Poor Beast in the Catacombs#A Problem of Mind and Body
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20 Questions for AO3 Writers
I was tagged in this FOREVER ago by @the-frankenman-writes I'm sorry it took me so long to get to!
1. How many works do you have on A03?
89
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
84,067 (my fics are usually pretty short haha)
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Quantum Leap (TV 2022) (18)
Dragon Age (Video Games) (17)
Detroit: Become Human (Video Game) (11)
Original Work (10)
Dead by Daylight (Video Game) (10)
The Witcher (TV) (6)
The Sandman (TV 2022) (5)
Doctor Who (5)
Elder Scrolls Online (2)
Critical Role (Web Series) (1)
Torchwood (1)
F.E.A.R. (Video Games) (1)
Mass Effect Trilogy (1)
The Champions (TV 1968) (1)
Baldur's Gate (Video Games) (1)
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
The Cold and Dark (Detroit: Become Human)
Holy, Holy, Holy (Original)
Her Sweet Kiss (The Witcher)
Just A Scratch (The Witcher)
Less Than Stellar Judgement (The Witcher)
(,,, people really like my Geraltskier whump fics huh XD)
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
Yes! I respond to basically every comment I get, even if all I can usually manage is some variation of "sfkgjhsfkgj thank you!!" because I have no idea how to take praise but I want the commenter to know they mean the world to me
6. What's the fic you wrote with the angiest ending?
Ooooooooof uhhhhh probably the little Detroit: Become Human ficlet I did called I Will Go Down. TW for suicide XD But there are a lot of angsty fics on there so who knows lmao
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Most of my fics end pretty bittersweet but I think Hope (Doctor Who) is one of my happiest endings <3
8. Do you get hate on fics?
No, surprisingly! My fics don't usually have much reach tbf. The only time I got anything close to "hate" was an ableist saying my disabled Dragon Age Inquisition OC is unrealistic to the setting and would likely be "with their clan or dead".
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Sometimes! Usually it's abstract (a la Holy, Holy, Holy) or porn with feelings (a la A Tale of Yearning) but I've been known to indulge in a lil PWP on occasion
10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?
Just one! I have an ongoing Torchwood x Quantum Leap crossover 'verse thanks to @chaos-of-the-endless 😂 I also wrote a Baldur's Gate x Dead by Daylight AU recently!
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not as far as I'm aware
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
I don't believe so (please tell me if you ever do!)
13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?
no but some of my fics were inspired by other people or based on RP I've done in the past
14. What is your all time favorite ship?
Oh don't even XD uhhhhh right now it's Jenn&Ian from Quantum Leap and Geralt/Yennefer/Jaskier from the Witcher but my shipping loves go so far back I could never name an all time favourite
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
Family Reunion :( I've been trying to write it for,,,, basically as long as I've been writing but I can never finish it and then years pass and I hate it and think it's cringe and want to start it from scratch, rinse and repeat)
16. What are your writing strengths?
Taking an impulsive headcanon and running with it. I have so many ficlets just because I thought of a headcanon and NEEDED to put it to the page. I also enjoy angst and hurt/comfort, things that expand on already existing angst and make it WORSE :3
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
In fic writing it's definitely description. I tend to get carried away in dialogue and forget to Say Other Stuff but I think I have a good handle on it now. That and smut, I enjoy writing it but I have to be either In The Mood or shut off my brain so I don't cringe so hard I delete it all bc I struggle with explicit content and get embarassed when things I'm writing are at all Kinky bc I have a crippling fear of judgement
18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language for a fic?
As a reader I enjoy it! As a writer, just be careful, stick to one or two words rather than full dialogue if you don't have the time or energy to deep-google that shit
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Doctor Who <3
20. Favorite fic you've ever written?
this changes daily but at the moment I'm loving Something More and the rest of my Sandman fics revolving around the dream OC I made for it. I'm in love with them and I enjoy writing their dynamic with the Endless siblings too <3
Tagging: anyone who wants to do this <3
#about#writing#ao3 writer#fanfic writer#tag game#fanfiction tag game#writer tag game#writers on tumblr#quantum leap 2022#quantum leap nbc#doctor who#torchwood#the witcher#the sandman
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2023 Masterlist
This is kind of silly because I already have a masterlist, but I literally can see my writing improve through the year by re-reading the fics I wrote, and that's a very meaningful thing for me, so I want to share the fics I wrote this year specifically :D
Putting the list under a cut so it doesn't clog up anyone's dash <3
Points of No Return
Fandom: Dragon Age Inquisition
Pairing: Solavellan, Cullavellan
Published: Jan 7, 2023
Summary: Nearly two years after Solas' sudden departure, Ellana Lavellan is still dealing with the loss. Everything gets more complicated after a very vivid dream, and the news that Divine Victoria is hosting a meeting to discuss the fate of the Inquisition.
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: mShenko
Published: Jan 10, 2023
Summary: After winning the Battle of the Citadel, Shepard and Kaidan take a week of shore leave and stay at the Alenko family farm. It’s winter, and it’s cold, and Shepard doesn’t like it. The snow seems to make Kaidan happy, though, and Shepard thinks he could learn to deal with it.
New Stars
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: none
Published: Jan 14, 2023
Summary: Twelve year old Alex Shepard grew up in a New York City orphanage and spent a lot of time running the streets, but he’s always wanted to go to space. The first opportunity he saw, he took, and ended up on an unfamiliar planet, surrounded by unfamiliar people. It changed the course of his life forever.
Kiss Me, Not Him
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: mShenko
Published: Jan 30, 2023
Summary: Alex and Kaidan have been roommates for a few years, and friends for longer. Kaidan’s never considered the idea that he might want something more, and Alex has been harboring feelings for his best friend for months.
Febuwhump 2023
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: multiple
Published: Feb 6, 2023
Summary: Small collection of drabbles and ficlets based on daily prompts for Febuwhump 2023. I only made it through 5 prompts before I got wrapped up in something else and lost interest haha
Growing Pains
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: Brief mShep/Asari OC
Published: Feb 9, 2023
Summary: Alex Shepard hopped a cargo ship with an unknown destination when he was twelve and ended up in the Asari colony of Blackdamp on Asteria. He liked the colony, and when he told Ishara—the Asari who found him in the streets—that he’d rather stay in Blackdamp than be sent to the human colony on the other side of the planet, she adopted him.
These are snapshots of Alex’s teen years, one per year, starting at the age of 13 and continuing to the age of 18.
Femslash February 2023
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: Sam Traynor/Jack Nought
Published: Feb 13, 2023
Summary: A collection of drabbles and ficlets about my favorite F/F rare pair based on Femslash February daily prompts. I made it through 8 of these before I ran out of ideas
By The Stars
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: pre-mShep/Reyes Vidal
Published: Mar 18, 2023
Summary: Alex Shepard and Reyes Vidal are nearing the end of basic training, and it's time for their land navigation test. Unfortunately, Alex’s biotic field interferes with the compass, someone’s stolen most of his rations, there’s a cliff between them and the extraction point, and no one packed climbing equipment.
From The Bedside
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: femShalibrations
Published: Mar 22, 2023
Summary: Tali and Garrus wait at Shepard's bedside for her to wake from the coma caused by the injuries sustained when she fired the Crucible.
The Man I Thought You Were
Fandom: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Pairing: mReyder
Published: Mar 30, 2023
Summary: In which Scott and Reyes are both fucked up about how things ended between them, and Scott realizes some things
ME Drabbles
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: multiple
Published: Apr 5, 2023
Summary: A collection of Mass Effect drabbles based on prompts from the Mass Effect Fanfic Writers discord
Disappointment
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: none
Published: Apr 23, 2023
Summary: In which Jackson talks to Hannah about turning down her ICT recommendation
Gun Mods and Handjobs
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: Venko
Published: May 7, 2023
Summary: James distracts Kaidan while they're talking about gun mods
Some Things Never Change
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: mShenko
Published: May 29, 2023
Summary: Shepard and Kaidan take a much needed vacation after the Reaper War. Kaidan reflects on his relationship with Shepard.
The Upside of Down
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: none
Published: Jun 28, 2023
Summary: Two snapshots of Alex's time in basic training. These take place before the events of By The Stars.
Family Day
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: mShep/Reyes Vidal
Published: Jul 9, 2023
Summary: Alex graduates from basic training, Reyes sympathizes with him, Anderson encourages him.
Couldn't Utter My Love
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: mShep/mShep
Published: Jul 27, 2023
Summary: Jackson Shepard, Commander of the Normandy spends a lot of time with Alex Atruzea, right hand of Aria T'Loak on Omega.
Let Me
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: mShenko
Published: Aug 26, 2023
Summary: Kaidan and Alex shower together
Verisimilitude
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: mShep/Coats
Published: Oct 14, 2023
Summary: Jackson Shepard and Garrett Coats have history. And chemistry.
Vicissitude
Fandom: Mass Effect
Pairing: mShep/Coats
Published: Nov 18, 2023
Summary: Elysium, the Blitz, and choices that change the course of Jackson Shepard's life.
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4, 24, 36, 48 :)
(Fanfiction Writing Asks)
4. How do you choose which fics to write?
Vibes? Haha. Most of my fics are definitely focused around missing scenes within the existing story framework, expanding on character relationships and adding detail to events. So I look for places where it feels like something could be expanded upon or where there's missing detail or emotional implications. (My liveblogging adventures have been very good for helping me notice where these points are I think.)
Plus requests when I am lucky enough to have some in the backlog. :D Which I do at the moment yay!
24. How do you choose whose POV to write in?
I was actually just thinking about this the other day as I was working on "Broken Little Puppets"; I'm much more practiced/familiar with Karlach's POV so I was a bit surprised that I ended up writing from Astarion's. "Open Your Eyes" was also originally going to be a Rasaad POV except I just randomly started writing it from Jaheira's instead (and this was before I really went down my current Jaheira fan rabbit hole XD ). A number of little liveblogging ficlets in Hector's run (this one and this one come to mind) were about his emotional turmoil but all ended up being from Karlach's perspective watching how that turmoil manifested outwardly.
Ultimately I'm not entirely sure I ever actively CHOOSE if that makes sense? I just sort of start writing and see which perspective starts centering itself, and I often surprise myself. XD
36. What fic are you proudest of?
Ahh, the dreaded self-compliment, my greatest struggle. XD
I think probably "The Two Sides of the Coin" is at the top of the heap right now. It's the deepest I've gone so far into exploring Karlach and Jaheira's friendship, it's one of the more emotionally intense things I've written, and I made a lot of strides forward in my writing and editing while working on it.
"Prayers and Hellfire" (nsfw) also pushed me way outside my comfort zone and I think turned out really well so I'm pretty proud of that too.
And if we wanna do a big throwback to my Mass Effect fic days many years ago, "Huerta Memorial" was the only longfic I've ever actually completed (hopefully "Open Your Eyes" and the as-yet-unnamed Nine-Fingers fic will join it eventually) and I'm still pretty proud of it.
48. Who is your favorite character to write for? Has this changed since you’ve started writing for that fandom?
It should surprise no one to learn that my answer for this is Karlach and Jaheira. XD
One thing that I've noticed about the fanfic community that I find kind of fun is that even within the niche of writing about a particular fandom, different authors seem to carve out their own little niches within that fandom, and I think Karlach content and Jaheira content have definitely become my particular niche corner.
This is fun partly because it's nice having a little area that I am comfortable exploring in great depth, and also because it makes trying other things (like my recent Astarion experiments - Astariments?) feel like a fun challenge/change of pace. :)
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Fic Stats Meme
Thank you for the tag, @ziskandra!
I'm tagging (no pressure): @celemee, @brennacedria, @potatowitch, @contreparry, @enigmalea
Rules: give us the links to your fics with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the fewest words.
Most Hits: Solid Fluidity (Mass Effect, shakarian) Written during the height of the Mass Effect hype, will be unbeatable for years to come with 21,464 Hits, almost twice as much as the second fic on the Stats page. My very first fanfic, still waiting for the last two chapters to be written (which seems to be a theme).
Second Most Kudos: Shepard and the Machine (Mass Effect, Legion x Shepard) Interesting! This fic had a recent boost, I kept seeing it coming up in my Kudos emails. I'm quite proud of it, writing smut between a robot and a human was challenging and it turned out well.
Third Most Comments: Sunset, Sundown, Sunrise (Dragon Age, fenders) Look, the current obsession is making an entrance! Fenris x Anders, who have completely taken over the writing brain. This is a vaguely Old-Western-Movies inspired bounty hunter AU with the kind of character development I just love writing about with these two. And its missing its last chapter/epilogue, I will get to that.
Fourth Most Bookmarks: In Service to the Inquisitor (Dragon Age, Cullen x Lavellan) Hah! I'm so glad this showed up. The BDSM AU I didn't know I had in me. I discovered a few things about myself while writing this fic.
Fifth Most Words: That's Sunset, Sundown, Sunrise (Dragon Age) again, with 56,770 words.
Fic With The Fewest Words: ignoring the podfics, that's DA Ficlet 47 - shadows (Dragon Age, fenders) with 295 words.
This was fun!
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Ideas for stories and such...
I'm a bit overwhelmed with plot bunnies right now, and I think writing them all out is the best way to get 'em all straight. So... here are a few ideas for future fics I'd want to write. I dunno which one(s) I should focus on first...
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
A Saga Most Ordinary : I have ideas for two more chapters, one about Eivor playing Dungeons and Dragons with the three Good Boys, along with Hytham, Randvi and Tewdwr, and another about her and Valka Staging An Intervention because she thinks Sigurd went and joined some cult because of his new girlfriend (ie Fulke).
Untitled/maybe it’ll just be chapter two of an existing fic, I dunno: A new companion piece/sequel of sorts to ‘Nornir's Curse, Nótt's Counsel’ about Randvi and Valdis just hanging out (on the beach while their respective spouses watch over the young ‘uns) and talking about their (rather similar, really) lives.
Dishonored
Take Your Silver Spoon (Dig Your Grave) : A two-shot about two bastard-born princesses of the Kaldwin line. Part of it is already written, I just need to get off my ass and do something about it lol
You and Me and The Leviathan Makes Three : An AU where Daud survives the events of DoTO, and Billie is stuck trying to find new purpose in her life while teaching a god-turned-boy how to Human and a suicidal old man how to… not be a total wreck of a person . Oh, and the Abbey of the Everyman is falling apart all around them (which makes the Boysider happy, since his two newfound biggest goals in life are 1) to destroy organized religion and 2) to save the whales. Every chapter would be set in a different isle, with titles based on sea shanties.
Dracula
Untitled : A little one-shot about how Drac might have gotten to Mina on the night of October 3rd. Because the details are kinda hazy on that, right?
Final Fantasy XVI
The Tale of the Telamonides : Before the mission to Drake’s Head, Mid shows up to the Hideout to Bring Chaos and Shenanigans to everyone’s live. Because I was sad that we never did see her interact with Cid.
Gravity Falls
Dungeons and Dummies : …I need to finish this you guys, I already have it all planned out. I feel weirdly anxious about this story, mostly because I don’t happen to have the whole of the rules of D&D stamped in my brain (shocking, I know). It’s like I’m afraid I’ll have someone go, ‘hey, that’s not how it goes in the Player Handbook, page so-and-so blah blah blah ’ so I don’t even try, you know?? It’s a weird thing.
The Awesome Mixtape of the Apocalypse: A story where Dipper and Mabel’s parents join both sets of twins on a roadtrip to Gravity Falls. The concept would be that Mabel made a mixtape with songs for everyone in her family (so for example Ford definitely gets weird prog rock like this, listen my dad was a happier, most well-adjusted Ford, and that was his shit, car trips in my family were trippy), with each character represented by a particular musical style (the Pines mom’s got punk ska like Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto lol…) and each chapter corresponding to one song. I got every big story beat and character moment planned out, I just… need to get off my ass and write, I guess.
Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West
Untitled : Aka Aloy watches Varl and Zo together, gets confused/frustrated, and shares a convo with Erend that helps her figure out she’s asexual. Sweet!
Untitled Rost and Ersa fic : Rost and Ersa, as ghosts, hang around Aloy and Erend for the events of the first game (and have a mini ship war about the merits of Ereloy as a couple). Also known as ‘Rost Gets Another Grumpy Daughter Because These Are Sure Fun To Collect Or Something’.
Mass Effect
Untitled : Just a little Shakarian ficlet about Shepard listening to Thane’s story about how he met his wife after the events in Garrus’ loyalty mission and her being like, oh, oh boy, oh no.
Radiant Historia
Will You Learn to Love (Without Consuming): A little one-shot set in the Apocrypha ‘verse which is not compliant with the canon shown in Perfect Chronology. Basically my take on who became the big Mana Monster causing the desertification (and why he’s a foil to both Heiss and the Conuts Guy).
Déjà Vécu : A one-short about Ernst and Heinrich (and, by association, Stocke and Heiss) because I guess that’s what I always write about in this damn fandom.
This Sweet Corrupting Reality : Basically the only parallel history I would have liked to see in Perfect Chronology, that is, Stocke wakes up and realizes he is now King Ernst of Granorg.
#Assassin's Creed Valhalla#ac valhalla#dishonored#Gravity Falls#Dracula#Final Fantasy XVI#Horizon Zero Dawn#Radiant Historia#Mass Effect#I'm tired y'all#i dunno what to do#tanakafic
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rules: give us the links to your fics with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the fewest words. Tagged by @missanniewhimsy
Most hits: Family, Familia, ‘Ohana. Buddie/McDanno Navyseal!buck. long fic with glacially slow burn. I’ve got five chapters left to yeet…. Hope to have done by spring 2024.
Second most kudos: I Wasn’t Looking Until I Found You. Complete. Buddie Sentienl/Guide retelling of 2.01. One of my favorite tropes (sentinel/guide) and one of my favorite pieces. Complete, just shy of 30k.
Third most comments: An Andromeda Tale, MReyder, retelling of Mass Effect Andromeda with a focus on Reyes’ backstory and how he and Scott eventually meet and then tangle their lives together. Space opera epic. Glacial slow burn (my specialty for long fics). I currently have the all-in-one version of this one hidden as I’m in a major overhaul/rewrite. To read the weekly-updating first section, read Arrival in Andromeda.
Fourth most bookmarks: Sleepless in LA. Buddie rom-com a la Sleepless in Seattle. Takes a lot of inspiration from classic rom coms. This is possibly the coziest thing I’ve ever written. Complete at 73k.
Fifth most words: Eddie Diaz Ain’t ‘Fraid of No Ghosts. Buddie Halloween fic for 2022. Written when my brain got stuck on the ghostbusters theme and Eddie’s consistent denial of the supernatural. 38k. Complete.
Fewest words: Blackmail material. MReyder crack!fic. What it says on the tin. 334 words. Just barely beats out Hot Stuff (448 words) which is a BeckWatney Martian post-movie ficlet written because I got a certain disco song stuck in my brain on vacation.
No chapter art for either of these unfortunately.
Tagging (with no pressure) @outtoshatter @tkwritesdumbassassins @rosieposiepuddingnpie @westernlarch @whimsyswastry @quietborderline and anyone else who wants to play along.
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Fanfic Writer Questions
Tagged by @kittlesandbugs, thank you so much!
1. How many works do you have on AO3? 24, but there are a lot of things that I've only posted on reddit or kept in a document, I've been trying to upload some old works recently though!
2. What's your total AO3 word count? 47,945
3. What fandoms do you write for? Dragon Age mainly, but also Fallen Hero, some Baldur's Gate 3 (not posted to AO3 yet but there is... a decent amount), a bit of Mass Effect and a bit of The Exile
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Some of these are at the top simply by virtue of being older and/or with more popular pairings
Stay - Dragon Age Inquisition, Cullavellan, early work, Cullen's perspective on a late evening reviewing paperwork in the Inquisitor's quarters. He makes a scandalous suggestion: forging her signature
Eloquence - Dragon Age Inquisition, Cullavellan again, also Cullen's perspective, set earlier than the one above. It's very cute, early work but full of words unspoken and gentle teasing
Deliberations on the Inevitable - Dragon Age post-Origins, Morrigan/Amell, from Morrigan's perspective. A mouthful of a title. The Warden is convinced to leave to find a cure for the Calling after Kieran tells him his blood sings louder
Amell Family Letters - Dragon Age Inquisition-ish, letters between the Warden, Kieran, and Morrigan while he's out trying to find a cure and they're at Skyhold
Motherly Love - Dragon Age post-Inquisition, Cullavellan, early work, Lavellan has difficulty bonding with her daughter. The story itself I'm considering retconning but it was really personal to write
5. Do you respond to comments? I try to but I have a habit of bursting with joy when I read them and telling myself "I'll respond when I get to my desk" and then forgetting that I should
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Most of my fics usually end reasonably positively even if the path they take to get there can get rough. I think maybe I am cursed, maybe I am gifted might be the angstiest overall, the PTSD of a war criminal Exile commander still towing the party line before exile
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I don't know if I have any that aren't at least a little bittersweet, but of them A Father's Legacy is probably the happiest. Colonist Shepard has a long-needed talk with his parents and has a chance to try to learn from their mistakes with his daughter
8. Do you get hate on fics? Not that I've seen
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Only for fun in private with friends. There's some truly silly smut on my drive that will never see the light of day publicly
10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Also only in private with friends, but only once. A satirical TWC crossover into FHR
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No I don't think so
12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not really, I've started a few collaborations but they didn't get very far
14. What's your all time favorite ship? Anything with Morrigan. It's always great, there's always a little edge to it even in extremely loving fics (as there should be!)
15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Raynda and Tamaris's Wycome Adventure, a pre-Inquisition short novella-length fic. It's mostly there, kind of. Needs refining and editing and at this point probably a rewrite
16. What are your writing strengths? Period novel-like prose, describing impressions, established npc voices, and I'm really good at writing child POVs
17. What are your writing weaknesses? Plotting a longer work, or rather coming up with a compelling problem that will build tension toward a satisfying climax. It's why I trend towards short in-between ficlets instead
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? If I know the language maybe, it just has to have a purpose beyond obfuscation and I'd rather not use google translate
19. First fandom you wrote for? Dragon Age
20. Favorite fic you've written? I'm torn between Deliberations on the Inevitable and The Queen but I think it may be The Queen. The courtly love and the metaphors are things I'm still proud of. It also comes as no surprise but both fics feature strong women, Morrigan and Anora.
I'm not sure who hasn't been tagged already so I'll tag @ohmypawsandwhiskers @wolfs-dawn and @plisuu but if you see this consider yourself invited to fill it out
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AO3 Asks
Tagged by @quietborderline 💛 (I'm still working on the last writing asks you sent me! But this one looks like is much easier than picking out specific lines from my writing, so hopefully it won't take two months plus to publish lol)
Tagging: All you writers out there. I'll tag a couple of you directly, but please don't feel pressured to answer. And if I didn't tag you, it's my lizard brain. Please answer them and tag me so I can read your wonderful answers 💛
@flamehairedsiren @pigeontheoneandonly @greypetrel @destiel-wings
How many works do you have on AO3? 39 (Mostly one shots)
What's your total AO3 words count? 105,481
What fandoms do you write for? The last year has been Mass Effect only, but I have a few Dragon Age and Greedfall pieces as well. And there might be an Anthem ficlet? I can't remember.
What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
(1) Masquerade & Mysteries (Greedfall)
(2) 31 Days of Kurtober (Greedfall)
(3) The Hot Zone (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
(4) Unharrowed (Dragon Age)
(5) Operation Leviathan (Mass Effect)
Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Almost always. I really enjoy getting comments and even though I get incredibly anxious to respond because even though I feel like an imposter to be like "OMG THANKS!!!" I am truly thankful for the time they took to not only read, but to reach out, too.
What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Unharrowed; but only because it's plotted out to be a trilogy. So the first book ends with a high level of angst. Unfortunately, the one that's currently published to AO3 is not only unfinished, but also COMPLETELY different from the re-write I'm working on.
What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Masquerades & Mysteries, but technically it's not done yet. Because...I feel way too intimidated to finish the story, because in truly 10K story fashion, it ends with a smut chapter. And I don't really do that.
Do you get hate on fics? I've gotten some...disappointing comments that paraded under the false pretenses of "constructive criticism" but as they were from strangers, it mostly just felt like criticism. But only on Unharrowed which makes sense because Unharrowed (the version that's published on AO3) is very weak. It was my first story coming back from a 15 year hiatus of writing fiction (I'd been too busy writing academic research papers). And...you can tell.
Do you write smut. If so what kind? I do, but usually fade-to-black scenarios before it gets explicit. I have one story that I wasn't planning on fading to black, and it has been sitting in limbo for like 3 years because I'm too intimidated to try and write it.
Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I don't do DIRECT crossovers, but I will definitely take pieces of other fandoms and just apply them to my own.
I haven't written it yet, but I do have a pretty wild pseudo-crossover planned. It's the plot of House of Ashes by Supermassive, but instead of the HOA characters, they're all the characters from Mass Effect.
Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of, but that's probably because every single fic I have published so far is only half done. And also because I have a couple dedicated readers, but I don't advertise my writing very often (not advertise, but things like blogging the links)
Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I'm aware of.
Have you ever cowritten a fic before? I've never co-written, but I've had the opportunity to give my input while beta-ing my best friends Dragon Age fic.
What's your all-time favourite ship? I can choose favorites in each fandom, but probably not all time. Kaidan and Shepard have been reining supreme lately though.
What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I am uncertain I'll ever finish Unharrowed. I had planned on writing 50k of it this year for NaNo, but due to health issues, I have chosen to not participate in NaNo this November. Hopefully I can still crank out 50K in April during camp.
What are your writing strengths? Plot. My plots are banger. Dialogue sounds pretty natural, I think.
What are your writing weaknesses? CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Which sucks, because you can have a weak story, that people will still love if your characters are strong. And my character aren't weak, but they are not dynamic. They don't tend to grow. Hopefully, realizing that about myself over the last year, maybe I can change that.
Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I don't mind if it makes sense storywise, or if it's a nickname for another character. But in general, I think it just creates more work for the reader, which isn't always a good decision.
First fandom you wrote for? Ever? Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place way back in 2002. It still gets a few likes every couple years and it startles me lol but it's on FF.Net, not AO3. The first for AO3 was Dragon Age.
Favourite fic you've ever written? It's not done, but The Hot Zone is definitely one of my favorites.
Answering these made me realize I really need to finish a story. Like..badly. Lmao they're all half drafted or half edited or just pseudo-abandoned.
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I was just doing a re-run of mass effect 1, no biggie, but then I decided to do ALL of the missions, I'm talking a thorough play through since I usually on do a few till I need to get things moving. Then, I stumbled upon one called 'asari diplomacy' and I clicked land, thinking nothing of it. But then right before the loading screen came on, I caught the name of the planet and I kid you not, my mind had to reboot. Sharjila. I stared at the screen for perhaps minutes before jumping to my phone to let you know. I mean, it's not important but I just wanted you to know I found the planet. And I literally just read 'the things we've done' this morning because I was putting it off, since I needed to be emotionally prepared to go through Sharjila again. Btw, I did in fact love every second of it, and I don't think I can put into words how much I adore your writing, I get so happy when I get a notif saying you posted. Sorry for the long message, and I hope you cherish your writing as much as I do :)
YAY!!!! Ahhhh, thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!
Fun fact - I don't think I have made up any locations in Opus (except Ares Station and the Can, and even the Can sprung from something in ME3MP). I loot canon and the codex like it's going out of style, and use this incredible spreadsheet (made by @thefinalpotoootoo, I believe) to find a suitable planet when I need a location. That spreadsheet is a godsend.
At some point, I intend to tell the story of Sam and Kaidan returning to Sharjila on the SR-1, when Sam gets his second crack at Dahlia Dantius. It'll be lots of fun.
Another thing about Sharjila is that there isn't actually a thresher maw there. I just needed one for the story, and figured that was the kind of place they'd enjoy. Originally, I'd intended for Sam to nuke the thresher from orbit once he got back to the 'Yang just to set up a joke to acknowledge the canon lack of one. On the SR-1, Kaidan would grumble something about thresher maws on their way down to Sharjila, resulting in this exchange:
Someone, Probably Liara: I did not realize there was a thresher maw on Sharjia.
Sam, under his breath: Not anymore.
But nuking the maw from orbit just didn't fit when I wrote The Things We've Done. Alas.
I'm absolutely delighted Sharjila had that kind of impact on you, and SO excited you told me. I'm extremely proud of that story. <3
(ps - you sent me another ask that I have not forgotten about - I am holding onto it as I am attempting to write a ficlet for it)
#swaps replies#ao3-enthusiast#how writing is written#opus!verse#this next chapter of fugue is LITTERED with canon easter eggs#just about everything in it comes straight from canon#i just bent it into a different shape#AND I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT
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fic stat game
Rules: Give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words.
tagged by @foodsies4me & @mirrorofliterature, no pressure tagging @pearwaldorf @loquaciousquark @twistedsinews @junemermaid @msviolacea and anyone else who would like to blame me!
Most Hits: i am for you, my Shadowhunters Malec epistolary fluff!fic WIP that ISTG I am going to finish... someday.
Second Most Kudos: i cannot touch because they are too near with is a parabatai bond fic from Magnus' POV that I am very very fond of (which has very steadily worked its way up the kudos statistics, it's been fun to watch.)
Third Most Comments: shy sweet eagerly my most dear a ficlet collection of Malec & Lightwood Sibling Feels (mostly fluff & prompt fills)
Fourth Most Bookmarks is i am for you again 😅 so uh... Fourth Most subscriptions instead gets me: kisses are a better fate than wisdom
A Malec Series Of Firsts, which is probably closer to a proper vignette series than just a ficlet collection, since they're in order and may eventually even get more and go somewhere conclusion-y. Hopefully.
Fifth Most Words is Not Shadowhunters! It is in the middle of a Sebastian Vael/Bethany Hawke series that started on the Dragon Age Kink!Meme way back when kink meme's were still a thing: Improbable.
And I know I'm now supposed to jump to the thing with the least words, but that's a DA one-shot I've talked about before, so I am INSTEAD going to do the Sixth Oldest Thing because that's the only stat I haven't touched on and I'm enjoying the countdown too much:
Corolla, an earthborn!Shepard (Mass Effect) prequel, about the street!gang nerd before the marine happened who can already feel the gestalt of a real team; thus proving how she'll hold hers together through apocalypses in the future.
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