Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗
hello friend!! this was harder than i thought? partly because i keep forgetting that some of my favorite fics have never made it out of the parking lot 🙃, mostly because i love 99% of what i end up posting 😅 but of the fics i've posted, these five are probably the ones dearest to me:
cold and sweet (girl meets world, 2002 words)
found at sea (day6, 1206 words)
it's all around me [provisional title] (spy x family, 458 words)*
running through the night [provisional title] (raven of the inner palace, 685 words)*
that's my line! (haikyuu, 915 words)
(the yapping is optional? i think? so i'll just hide it under a read more)
cold and sweet isn't my first fic, but i think it's the fic where my current writing style and preference really started to develop. i also wrote this when i started getting into fic again, so it just feels really precious. lol i remember feeling very proud that it worked with canon, like i was filling in the gaps canon left because they did not realize the potential of the actual best ship in this show 😤
found at sea, it's all around me [provisional title], and running through the night [provisional title] have some of my most favorite lore i thought up, though i didn't get to directly touch on them in the fics themselves 😅. found at sea's lore was based on the debut music video of a soloist i'm a fan of, it's all around me was an AU i came up with that's set some years in the future of SXF after some characters have passed, and running through the night was my take on an AU for raven of the inner palace. it was originally just supposed to be a modern AU, but i wanted a way to include the magical elements, which resulted in a superhero AU 😅. i can't bring myself to fully yap about them publicly since part of me still wants to write the stories and have people discover the lore through them, but idk when i'll ever get to it 🥲
that's my line! is the most self-indulgent thing i've ever written imo born purely out of my love for oisuga and the need to have more oisuga fics exist in the world. this was based on a prompt, and i thought it'd be really fun to take something angsty and make it sweet ^^
*could be argued that these are technically wips i posted, but since posting them, i've always treated them as ficlets on their own so. i'll just do what i want 😌
From an as-yet incomplete treat I started for the summer 2021 JB exchange.
“Who do you think killed the Night King?”
Brienne Tarth looked down and found a slip of a girl standing near her and staring at Icebane in its glass display case, her expression hungry. She had dark hair cropped short and spiky, gray eyes, and a long face for such a small girl.
Brienne quirked her lips into a small smile. “Do you have a theory?” she asked. She preferred to know what people thought before she spoke and coloured their opinions.
The girl shot her a look that was half annoyed, but said, firmly, “No One.”
That drew a real smile from Brienne. “You know Grandmaester Tarly’s work,” she said.
“Of course.” She sniffed, her pointy little chin jutting out. “He was too romantic in his writings, but his analysis was good.”
Brienne laughed. “He was at that,” she said. “His analysis was well enough.”
Those sharp gray eyes focused on her, unwavering. “Who do you think did it?” she asked again.
“The joy and the pain of history this old is that we will never know for certain. No One is a good theory,” Brienne said. “The Prince Who Was Promised is another, though I’ve never believed he was an actual prince, or that he was a man, for that matter.”
“You think the Prince was the Blue Knight.” It wasn’t a question.
She smiled. “No, not truly. It would make for an interesting story.”
“It does.” A small smirk twisted up the corners of the girl’s mouth. “Your story, in fact. You are Tarth, aren’t you.” That, too, was not a question.
It’s only been 10 days... It’s only a guess which ask game you sent this for...! ^^; (I am basing it on the fact I read the questions and mused about them for this whole time so I am probably right about the game.) @nossbean
9. What are your favorite fanfics?
Oh no. Oh no. I could and should write POSTS upon POSTS about this.
But I haven’t, because I don’t have the energy to. So you get a cheat version of some of my random favorites from my last pages of my AO3 history. And few special shout outs.
@angel-deux-writes Worth is a wholeass gem and I haven’t commented yet, but I binged it basically today (with exception of first chapter) and I can’t stop yelling about it internally, because the way she says things!! She always has some of my favorite Brienne characterization I get so envious over. There is strength and pride in it, and vulnerability and fear and the acknowledgment that her self-loathing is unfounded yet how hard it is to defend yourself, even knowing all that. I could write essays about it and Angel’s stories in general. Anything by her is a treasure trove, truly.
@samirant Rush Me All Night Long is a fascinating concept, so very well executed and absolutely captivating. Makes me go slack-jawed with awe with how seamless it is. And beyond the craftsmanship of the story form itself, the contents are absolutely epic, too. Intrigue, growth of relationship, dash of humor that is right up my alley, lot of good other characters with their wonderful insights... Nothing to add or take away. Just great. And you KNOW you should check rest of her writing out, too. You won’t regret it.
@ajoblotofjunk is back with another subtly, but powerfully in-depth world story with Baby I Will. How many professions has she gotten degree in already? Because the way she weaves art of playing in bars is so organic. And oh, the connection between Jaime and Brienne... Electrifying, a storm that starts as static sparks as they brush past each other. And I can’t wait to watch it grow. (Also shout out to her absolutely beyond epic gift to me, Petrichor. Which is mindblowingly great and written at haste I cannot comprehend. It couldn’t be more tailored to me and I tear up just thinking about it.)
LadyRhiyana’s Stray Sparks II is the perfect example why I tell someone at least once a week “I wish I could LadyRhiyana this”. Her absolutely amazing skill to capture a whole setting, a whole world of emotions in sometimes as few as 5 to 10 sentences (and not the 30 word sort!) is just... Mesmerizing. I admire it so much and am typically absolutely enamored by her stories. Crossover is also in my history and I am absolutely head-over-heels for it.
@kurikaesu-haru Thirsty is the most endearing, captivating way to combine the two meanings of the word and I adore it to pieces. It’s fun and emotional and hot, and everything it could possibly need to be and then some, in best way possible. And her works contain more and more of gold mines, truly.
@firesign23 is a treasure, to this fandom and to me in particular, for many reasons. But her skill to devastate me with short stories is truly something else. Odd Socks (link to one of my favorite of the lot, but do give them all a read if you haven’t!) is what I have in my history, but I rec her as a writer 1000%. Her prompt fills are always poignant and not shy of ache and I can only marvel at them all. But also how could I miss out on mentioning her two breathtaking recent stories for fic exchange? Hold Steady is a Journey without ever leaving Winterfell, but the miles traveled by weary, worried, longing hearts in it... Oof. And, of course, I have to mention by hearts and hands made fast because it’s for me and it made me cry real tears more than once (!) and actually yell in real life, like no other story. Real and complicated as the characters deserve to be told, painful and comforting, absolutely breathtaking in the prose... I could rant for days, truly. And truly, wherever you look at her work, you’ll find more of it.
@aviss Skin Deep is just gem, gem, gem. Am I biased because she wrote for me, in a sense? Maybe. But she ACED it in ways I can barely comprehend. Everything I could wish for in the concept is there and more. Sweet pining, absolute besottery and realistic realizations and then hot, earnest resolutions... What a gem. As is rest of her works, really!
32. Past or present tense?
I used to be such a past tense snob. Nothing else for me, no sir. But now I write almost exclusively in present tense. I can’t tell when the shift happened, I think when I was 20 or few years older than that, and I don’t know why, I think I read a good fic, like really good one, and also was trying to bypass my writer’s block by switching it up. And I found a certain freedom in it. A sense that it makes sense for me to go deeper, to be in present turmoil and wax poetics about it for few paragraphs. Because it’s currently happening, instead of retelling if something that has been. It freed me more in past tense, too, though.
It’s odd I don’t remember how and why the shift happened, almost makes me feel sad.
Nowadays I mostly write in past tense because I get too caught up in flashback sort of sequences and can’t make it grammatically correct anymore so I switch everything to past tense. Tomorrow (with you) is prime example.
49. Where do you draw inspiration from?
Anything. The other day, I was bitterly laughing with a friend I could write a piece about stain on floor, create whole 1-3k word story about someone thinking about the stain, etc. Doesn’t matter if it has funny shape or not, known origin or not.
Most often, though, it’s prompts, it’s song lyrics, it’s some kind of thought/belief I have for character that I want to express/see them through some kind of event in way I think they would. Sometimes, it’s specific setting or watching something. Like, there was one (1) almost head-kiss in a kdrama with secret identities and I created a whole 10k word worth story idea off of it... Sometimes, it’s honestly even just a dumb, dumb post. But yes, music/feelings/prompts, I’d say are the main thing.
And as for inspiration drawn for writing itself... That’s a difficult question for me, right now. In kindest, non-rambly way I’d probably say what other people have lived and written.
The Decemberists! 💙💙💙 requesting JB #11 if you please!
ARGH. This was almost done and then I lost the whole thing. The first version was better, I’m sorry.
11. Was a moonless night, the stars are lending light
“We’ll break our ankles if you continue this madness,” Jaime hissed. “And then how will we arrive?”
“Be quiet, Kingslayer.”
The wench didn’t even look at him when she dismissed him. Not that she could have seen anything even if she’d tried. It was moonless, and the stars were not bright enough to pierce the forest cover. That didn’t stop the honorable Maid of Tarth from traversing the forest, so eager to be rid of her charges to King’s Landing that navigating the uneven and root-covered ground in the dark of night seemed reasonable.
Behind Jaime, Ser Cleos tromped along as nimbly as a drunken cow. The horses he was leading stepped more carefully than he did, and they had four feet to look out for.
“Your lady bid you get me there safely,” Jaime continued to Brienne. “How safe can I be with two ruined feet?”
“Safer than if some enemy discovers us walking in the daylight.”
“At least we’d be walking. How do you propose to get me the rest of the way if I can’t keep my feet under me? Will you carry me like some swooning girl?”
“I’ll drag you,” she said, so stoic and unemotional that Jaime knew she wasn’t japing.
“Perhaps I’ll twist my heel on purpose, then. Would be better to be ferried over this ground than stub my toe one more time with these useless leathers that once were boots.”
Brienne sighed heavily, loud as the wind rustling through the trees. “Do as you will, Kingslayer. I’ll get you to King’s Landing in whatever way I must. Even if that means carrying you through the gates myself.”
It was an image so absurd that it was almost worth it to see his father’s face if they did, though it would not be worth seeing Cersei’s. Jaime had no doubt the dour wench would just as soon drag him by his ear like a wayward child, bumping along the ground, his arse hitting every rock and root she could find. Cleos would be no help, too busy fumbling with the horses behind them.
Jaime didn’t know much about Brienne of Tarth, but he was certain of this: she would get him where she’d sworn, no matter what it took. He picked his feet up carefully, and her armor grew brighter in the darkness as he followed intently behind her, his eyes adjusting to the sight.
She is just taking a few deep breaths, enjoying this quiet corner where no one is watching her, and suddenly the queen is in front of her. Margaery, slim and beautiful and smiling up at her. Sly. She has never approached Brienne like this before, in all the dozens of times she has lived this day.
“I think you and I need to have a conversation,” she says.
Ahhh, thanks for the ask @nossbean! This is for the WIP Writing Asks.
12. What part is the hardest to write in your WIP?
Whatever fic I am writing, I always struggle with the ending. I always have the most fun writing the first few chapters, setting the scene and creating the outline of the world. I then love the few chapters when the main couple circumnavigate their initial problems, but find concluding in a satisfying way both daunting and a little sad!
14. Tell us about an upcoming scene in your WIP, that you’re excited about.
Okay, as Under My Left Ribs is drawing to a conclusion, I’ve got three WIPs where I am excited about certain scenes:
The Blue Knight vs The Kingslayer - Part of the reason the next chapter has taken so long is that it is a *big* one. Brienne learning the truth about Aerys will be very pivotal to the coming plot, and let’s just say the answer to the riddle at the end of the last chapter might just be a body of water...
A Big Cop in a Small Hotel - I am so excited both for the moment when Jaime and Brienne talk about the former’s fears about Tyrion’s birth, and the moment when the murderer is revealed...
Baby Mama - Given that Jaime and Brienne are currently very happy and loved up, the impending confrontations with Tywin and Cersei are definitely hurtling towards them...
