(3) What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?
(11) Do you have specific playlists for writing fics?
(30) Ask anything! What is your favorite length for a fanfic to be? (for writing)
(3) What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?
It's an older Dragon Age Origins fic, all my possessions for a moment of time, which was for a gift exchange. I started it, despite not really liking the main character in canon, because the idea I had for it was the most interesting of the bunch, and came out the other side willing to punch someone on her behalf. It's a really personal one for me for, oh, a dozen reasons, and one of the most difficult things I've ever written. I spent fully a month on it. I cried literal tears of frustration. It's also a story I still often think about over seven years later after posting it and I think it's probably a perma-favorite at this point.
(For Bleach specifically it's probably a tie between two I'm unlikely to post, one Gin/Rangiku and one about Rukia mourning Renji after he dies)
(11) Do you have specific playlists for writing fics?
I have writing playlists, but I don't make or use unique playlists for specific fics. I need a very specific type of music in the background for writing so for a long time I stuck to a writing playlist I made for myself. A couple weeks ago the spotify algorithm was like "we see you" and spat out a writing playlist for me that I've actually really been enjoying though!
(30) Ask anything! What is your favorite length for a fanfic to be? (for writing)
I had to think really, really hard about this one. I think my sweet spot is 5-10k words, but it really, really depends on the story. The nice thing about 5-10k is I can usually write that in a day, maybe as many as four if it's the middle of a work week, which means I'm much much more likely to actually finish. I don't really have anything over 35k because I've never done a story that needed more words than that and that I was willing to spend more time than that on. I also really enjoy the art of writing drabbles (the traditional strictly-100-words variety). There's something very satisfying about tinkering with a story and coming out with exactly 100 carefully chosen words in order to tell a story within such a narrow scope.
@captain-aralias tagged me to answer questions about myself. Thank you, I’ll do my best.
are you staying home from work/school?
yes, since last Wednesday. I had a fever and had to self-isolate for a week. Then it came back, exactly one week later. -_- I’m almost halfway through week 2 without leaving the flat and sometimes I take my temperature for fun.
if you’re staying home, who is there with you?
my cat. Her functions are: softness, going “murrrrr???” when I touch her unexpectedly, big bug eyes.
are you a homebody?
yes, but being quarantined is testing my certainty. I assumed before now that if I were confined to my flat for a fortnight, I wouldn’t even notice.
an event that you were looking forward to that got canceled?
all my choirs have been cancelled for the rest of the term. Three concerts postponed, one probably cancelled. I’m only getting partial refunds for the ones that had already started rehearsals when this happened, grr. But it’s ok because I’m funding The Arts.
what movies have you watched recently?
I watched Princess Mononoke for the first time on Netflix! It was very depressing.
what shows are you watching?
I finally watched His Dark Materials. Good points: Lin Manuel Miranda, all the scenery/sets (it looked a m a z i n g), Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy, I cried through all the daemon-cutting scenes, as one should; bad points: I preferred the book limiting itself largely to Lyra’s pov, most of the added scenes just felt like chaff that Philip Pullman rightly pared down, big mistake to reveal what the ‘other world’ was so early when it should have been a Captain America-waking-up-in-2011 style reveal right at the end.
Then I watched Years And Years, which is a Russell T. Davies drama from the end of 2019, and. Y’all. If you have the physical capabilities of getting hold of Years and Years, You. Must. Watch. It. It’s brilliant and scary and hilarious and awful. It’s about a family living through Britain’s dystopian future of the next 15 years. Emma Thomson plays a populist right-wing politician grabbing more power by the day. I don’t want to spoil anything that happens, but it’s proper heart-in-mouth stuff and everyone in it is wonderful.
Now I’m rewatching Bojack Horseman - it’s weird seeing the early seasons and remembering how relatively little he’d fucked up his life back then! - and watching Steven Universe Future, which is almost ooooveeeer... and depressing in a way that is slightly reminiscent of Bojack, only without the alcoholism.
what music are you listening to?
...god. I haven’t listened to music for months. :(
what are you reading?
I’ve been picking limply at It Devours!, the second Night Vale novel, and also at Meddling Kids, by Edgar Canterro, which is a kind of pastiche/parody of Scooby Doo, The Famous Five, and other plucky-kids-solve-mysteries fare. I’ve stalled on both, though. I’m struggling to even read fanfiction at the moment. I’m listening to podcasts instead. the podcasts demand nothing of me.
what are you doing for self-care?
uhhh. well, I don’t feel like I’m working all that hard (although it is harder to work without all my office equipment, which slows me down. but in general, my job is pretty easy). I made dinner with actual vegetables earlier in the week, allowing me to stave off scurvy for another day. I honestly don’t know. Is my pathetic slobbing about self-care, or would self-care be getting my shit together? I’ve no idea. I did all the washing up, at least. go me.
16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?
19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.
:D
This got long so I'm putting it under a cut.
8. What project(s) are you currently working on?
I have just like an insane number of Bleach plotbunnies running around freely in my brain these days, but right now I'm mostly focused on three four stories; One is a pre-relationship Renji/Rukia story I've been talking about, The Most Eligible Bachelor in the Seireitei, in which Renji becomes very popular among minor noble houses as a prospective match. It's not really about that so much as it is about Renji and Rukia beginning to mend and rebuild their friendship in the wake of the Soul Society arc, though, under the shadow of the upcoming war. With a little jealousy in the mix. I think I'm going to finish this one today or tomorrow, edit Sunday, and post sometime next week hopefully.
The second is an Ichigo/Orihime story from Ichigo's POV that I'm still hashing out. I had an outline all prepared and then you actually reblogged something that made me rethink the whole thing, so that one's back in the drawing board stages lol.
I'm gonna preface this next one with the disclaimer that there is no combination of Rukia, Renji, Orihime and Ichigo that I don't ship.
The third is one I may not ever post, because I kill Renji off in it (not a spoiler, the entire topic of the finished prequel is Rukia mourning) and it makes me very very sad. In it Ichigo dies unexpectedly in his 40s and a proactive local Shinigami sends him to Soul Society via konsō, causing him to lose his memory, and Soul Society being what they are, nobody can seem to find him despite his massive spiritual energy. Everyone mourns and eventually moves on, and the story starts after Orihime dies of old age and joins Squad 11 (this is hilarious to me and makes absolute sense in context of the story and is one of my favorite parts) and she and Rukia rekindle their friendship. It starts out Rukia & Orihime, becomes Rukia/Orihime and eventually becomes Rukia/Orihime/Ichigo. There's a possible Byakuya/reincarnated!OC!Renji story sequel in the mix as well I think? There's also a much!older!Karin/Toushiro story that I vaguely want to write in that universe, which is a ship that I don't generally like unless you give Karin like forty years at a minimum to marinate.
I'm also planning to work soon on a Rukia & Orihime story in which Rukia asks Orihime about her feelings for Ichigo and why she's never acted upon them. It focuses a lot on how Ichigo protects everyone and Orihime wanting to be the one to protect him.
(I'm also vaguely trying to figure out my headcanons for Byakuya/Hisana and Ikkaku/Yumichika because I really want to write some stuff for them, but I don't have anything really concrete there at the moment)
(ALSO I can't remember if it was you or polyna who headcanon that Renji had a gruesome crush on Ikkaku back in the day but if nobody else is going to write it I WILL)
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16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?
Sometimes I have a title going into a story, and sometimes I write a line in the story that I immediately know is going to be/inspire the title, but more often than not I finish a story up, slap a Hozier lyric on it, and call it a day 😅
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19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.
I don't think I'm likely to ever finish this little series of micro-vignettes about Isshin and Ichigo so I'm just gonna use this as an excuse to post what I do have written!
****
It’s a bad idea for a hundred thousand reasons, Isshin thinks.
Their child will be an abomination in the eyes of some, an unholy amalgamation of shinigami and quincy and hollow. He knows the stories from history as well as anyone, and even they do not describe this thing that the two of them have created.
But Masaki places his hand on her belly and he feels the baby kick, and he sets his apprehension aside for the sake of the smile that graces her lips.
****
Ichigo is an entirely normal little boy, Isshin tells himself. So what if he turns his head when ghosts pass by? Children are sensitive to that kind of thing regardless, aren’t they?
Masaki thinks he can see them, and frowns every time it happens. It was inevitable, she says quietly-- even if he were just quincy, it would be expected.
Isshin hopes she’s wrong. He wants their little boy with Masaki’s clouds of orange hair and his eyes to grow up safe and sound and normal.
He knows better, but he’s always been good and lying to himself.
****
He catches his son talking to the ghosts sometimes, as he grows a little older. He’s a happy child, as prone to laughter as he is to tears, all skinned knees and sticking weird shit in his mouth if they take their eyes off of him for a moment.
He resigns himself to this one quirk of his son, who is sweet and perfect and otherwise remarkably normal. He shows no signs of quincy powers, and Isshin learns to count his blessings.
“Dada,” Ichigo calls, and he stands.
“What is it, my son?” he booms, and Ichigo giggles and toddles towards him.
I was tagged by @a-memory-a-distant-echo to post the last line I wrote, so here's slightly more than one line (as chosen by the placement of my cursor in the open file).
The covers rustle as Li Xiangyi sits up. "Next question: has anyone ever pointed out that you're a stubborn fool?"
The sound that escapes Di Feisheng is a scoff, but there is a pained edge to it. Yes. You—the man you will become—used to, and often.
Tags but no pressure to @electricshoebox, @rose-tinted-vision, @faejilly, @la-muerta, @lynne-monstr
I was tagged by @faejilly and I am in turn tagging @ladymatt @silver-lily-louise @lightwormsiblings @electricshoebox @lynne-monstr @michellemisfit and whoever else wants to do this!
Rules: Give us the links to your wonderful words with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and least words.
I'm doing a Shadowhunters-only edition, so unsurprisingly these are all Magnus x Alec.
Most hits: Talking With Strangers, the university AU friends-to-lovers one which broke 20K hits a little before I could finish it. A departure from my usual repertoire but clearly well worth it!
Most kudos: bodies full of untold stories, the accidental soul bond case fic you never knew you wanted, which has been my one reasonably enduring hit in the SH fandom. Still a fic close to my heart.
Most comments: The Stair Into the Sea, the mystery/stealth ghost story channelling the spirit of Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle and plenty of old-school urban fantasy (albeit it's set in a remote seaside village). This is the fic I most want to finish—it's been a long time coming, and life has not been gentle in the last two years, but it's never left my mind. So it is up next!
Most bookmarks: This one is also bodies full of untold stories, but as a fine runner-up there is Walkers of the Winding Path, my Shadowhunters/The Witcher fusion, which, I'm delighted to say, has found its own weird niche audience. Truly the little monster-hunting romance romp that could.
Most words: Still The Stair Into the Sea by a tiny margin.
Least words: The Morning of a War, a small coda for episode 3.07 of Shadowhunters. This was a tiny slice of melancholy fluff to round out the Institute corridor hug in that episode.
Posting these as I work on my drafts, sorry for the delay!
Rising onto his toes, Magnus wrapped his free arm around Alec's neck. Alec held him close, their heads bending together. Magnus's other hand slid up Alec's back. The line of his shoulders was taut beyond the strength of his embrace, and it did not slacken as Magnus tilted down, his face against Alec's throat, sighing into his skin.
"Magnus, I don't think I can—" Alec seemed to stumble. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just—"
"I'm sorry." Magnus stifled his laugh into Alec's shoulder. "I'm not coming on to you. Not on purpose. I really just needed a hug."
tagged by the mah-velous miss @mallaidhsomo and the swaggy-as-fuck @swaps55, whom apparently want to deep-dive in my google drive, hehe.
Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.
tagging: @threewhiskeylunch @maxrev @mareel @resmiranda13 @shadoedseptmbr @urrone @theoriginalladya @foofyschmoofer @ghostxofxartemis @lyrishadow and anybody else who wants to play!
*blinks* They've only grown since last time.
Dogs of War (Mark/Kaidan):
~Shifted -chapt 3
~Heated
~Bonded
~Let It Snow
~Dinner for Two
~Remembered
~Amie and Mark talk
~extraterrestrial
How I Met Your Father (Erin/Kaidan, Mark/Erin, Mark/Kaidan):
~How I Met Your Father - chapt 4 (needs title)
~Turning Diamonds Into Dust
~Found You
~Citadel TikTok
In Another Life (OT3 w/ Mark/Miranda/Kaidan):
~Knowing
~Inappropriate Use of a Broom Closet
~The Night the Desk was Violated in the Best Way
~Tastes Like Mindoir
~Commander Takes Major
~Think A Little Less
~Say Something
~Dressed to the Sevens
~Friendly Fire
~Silk and Lace: the panties piece
Blood Oaths and Broken Halos (OT3 2 with Mark/FemShep/Kaidan):
~the Glitter Files
~Foolish
~the Villa
~Ties That Bind
~Talitha, Mark's POV
~Vergessen
Wish You Were Here (John/Kaidan):
~Greetings from Sunny Vancouver!
~The River
~Old Habits
~Tags
~Spectre Authority
~Tempest
~Misheard Lyrics
~Immortals
~The Calm Before
~The Long Walk
~The Long Night
~Apollo Ever After
Arthur-verse (Kaidan/John):
~Coronation
~The Black Prince Returns
~Heir Apparent
~the Rites of Beltane
~the Outer Gray
Paper Umbrellas (Mark Schaefer/Clay Beaudoin):
~Two For The Show
~Third Time's the Charm
~4
~Shape of You
~Rescue from Cock Block
~Ezno's a Dick
~The Sharjila Incident
~Last one: Paper Umbrellas
Mark things in general:
~Firsts
~Guitar Strings and Heart Things
~Last Call
