Cross my heart, I didn't plan to go on an extended hiatus, but here we are like...MONTHS later since I last posted and EVEN LONGER since I've read or written any fic.
What the hell happened? Just run of the mill life stuff. A home renovation, some health issues that have pretty much been resolved, mixed with exhaustion and no desire to make or consume any media.
(I'm woefully behind on so much Pedro stuff - TLOU S2, Fantastic 4, The Materialists, the list goes on...)
But! The light of day is finally falling on me again and I'm feeling the familiar itch of creativity coming back to the surface. I'm a bit out of practice so I'm not going to promise big updates on current projects (though I WANT TO THE IDEAS ARE EATING ME ALIVE) but I want to do some fun small things to ease myself back into Tumblr life.
To start, I want to do a bit of a Rec-a-thon to jump back into reading and reblogging! My TBR list was getting daunting so I've made a clean slate and want to know what YOU lovely readers and writers have been enjoying. I'll put a little post out when the Rec-a-thon will begin but I'm excited to see what new (or old! or worth a reread!) fics are out there.
I also have a fun little poll game I'd like to try with some of my headcanons that aren't full fic material but are insistent enough that I'd like to put them out there in some capacity. More on that to come when I get the format sorted.
Then...I'm thinking about...another Bangathon...stay tuned for what that may entail...
Behind and around all that I'm working on updates to my longform fics, including:
I Think of You
SW!Frankie
Best Laid Plans
Westworld and Whiskey Epilogue
Plus a few fun asks that won't leave me alone like:
Incubus!Dieter on the Red Carpet
They Were Roommates!Frankie
I know this is quite an infodump after such a long time away, so thanks for sticking around for the updates and being here for me when I'm in the right headspace to contribute to this community. I've been missing it even when I had no energy to be part of it. I can't wait to really get moving on these fics I love so much and to share them with you.
Hello friends! It's been way way way way WAY too long since we chatted, and to be honest I've been taking an embarrassingly long time to write this update post because godDAMN life just gets you sometimes and you go on an impromptu hiatus that gets super messy. So let's get into what's been going on and what to look forward to!
Pedro Tax for this long-ass post.
(We're gonna get into some personal stuff, but if you're just here for what's coming up skip down to WHAT'S NEXT for the tl;dr version)
So beyond work getting hectic from January to March, which was the catalyst for everything getting wacky, I experienced a weird emotional turn that I wasn't expecting. It made me get a little introspective, which I blame some of my productivity slump on.
As I was finishing up the Bangathon entries, I noticed a sharp decline in interaction. I'm a fairly young fic writer on Tumblr, but I was a little baffled as to why stories I'd posted only a week before got a nice bit of interaction yet the newer ones were only getting half to a quarter of what I expected. For a minute I thought I had been shadowbanned (I was not) or I hadn't tagged the posts (I had) or my taglists weren't working (they were). People were already talking about interaction being lower, so I sat back and tried to go with the flow and not let it bother me. I posted Decoherence, which has a more niche audience, but I was definitely missing and wishing for some of the comments and reblogs I thought I might get.
All this led up to one of the least favorite voices in my head saying something that stuck around:
"Well, you were right not to become a writer if your motivation is this closely tied to feedback."
If you're new here or I haven't talked about it much recently, I initially was planning to be a writer. Went to school for it and everything. While I was there I felt like I hadn't found the stories I wanted to tell yet. My colleagues were developing in their niches and writing "the great American novel" and I didn't feel like I fit in. My stories had a lukewarm reception, and I never felt like anyone was excited about anything I was trying to say. So I wrote myself into burnout by the time I graduated with not much to show for it. I ended up doing a career switch, which I love to this day, but I stopped writing for almost 10 years.
Coming to Tumblr, I felt that spark of excitement writing again, and some of that was definitely due to people commenting and being excited or interested in the stories I was sharing. That truly revived something in me I thought was long gone, and reflecting back on the last two years that I've been sharing stories with this community makes me wildly emotional. I didn't know how much I missed of the life I left behind, and how much joy it brought me to share stories again.
Which is why it was SUPREMELY FRUSTRATING to have that shitty little voice pulverize my productivity and excitement over something as silly as interaction. But I'm sure most of you know how hard it is to get that voice out of your head. I worked to write things I found fun and less stressful than the series I already felt bad for not updating. And while I still love those stories, it felt like I was pulling them from an inauthentic place and finishing them wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped.
Thus the hiatus! I stopped writing and turned my attentions to consuming and creating in other ways. I watched some shows I'd been meaning to catch up on, started planning to buy a house, worked my butt off at the day job. And I was starting to feel like inspiration was coming back. I didn't want to spook it so I took my time and promised myself I was going to start small and not stress about getting stories out for a bit.
Top that off with some medical surprises, an upcoming surgery, and a little re-evaluation of life moving forward and things have been wild. But I've been missing the daily joy I get from being part of this fandom, and I'm getting back into being here more because I miss you guys! AND! I have stories I want to share and fun to be had. So let's shake off all the heavy shit and get to the fun stuff!
WHAT'S NEXT!
The big thing I'm getting ready to post (after teasing it for so long) is the 2024 Bangathon! This one is different from last year's because instead of requesting stories from me, the Bangathon is open to anyone who wants to participate! There will be a randomizer to play with, and some fun bonuses for those who participate. The announcement will be coming out soon, stay tuned!
As for fics, here are some updates on what's in my WIPs:
Series:
I Think of You: I spent some time rewatching Mando for the newest installment, and I've finally gotten the thread of where to go next thought out. It's been a long time coming so this one's gonna be BEEFY to make up for it.
SW!Frankie: I am crushed to realize it's been over a year since I posted any SW!Frankie! I've got a new story about him and Ms J moving in together I need to finish, then some more asks that are getting into new story arcs I'm excited to share!
Best Laid Plans: Dieter and Murch's first date is bouncing around in my head and I NEED to get it on paper. There's much fun to be had, and I've been binge listening to my playlist for them to get into the headspace.
Midnight Alley: I got all up in my own head about continuing the story with these two and lost a little steam, so I'm going to ease off my "big plans" and start smaller with some oneshots instead. I think it'll help me find out where I want this story to go.
One Shots in Progress:
Decoherence Follow-Up
Incubus!Dieter Ask
You know, laying it out like that makes it feel much more manageable than my brain was telling me! I'm also planning to prioritize more fic reading while I'm getting these updates in ship-shape. Reading your stories always helps get my creative juices flowing, and there are so many good ones lingering in my TBR list that I need to devour.
This has been a rollercoaster of emotions, so thank you for coming on the ride with me. I'm excited to bring more of myself back to Tumblr and have fun with all of you again! To many more stories!
Hi LJ! I’m suuuper late with this, but if you’re still doing the WIP folder asks... can you tell us anything about I Think of You: Frog Lady Mission?
Is Frog Lady coming on a mission with them? Because she was pretty badass with the tiny blaster against the ice spiders! 😆
Also, I Think of You is one of my fave Din fics, so I’m thrilled there’s more in the works!
(PS - it’s good to know I’m not the only one with a still unfinished Roll a Trope fic! 😅)
Dear Jem! I'M sorry I'm so late to answering this after you were so sweet to leave one!
I love the idea of our badass frog lady coming on a mission with Din and our Reader girl, but mostly that name is the placeholder for the fact that the next part of I Think of You is jumping back into canon! We're going to be following along some of the events of The Heiress, though the majority of the story will actually be elsewhere, because...
(it’s not his fault)
Of course it isn’t, Mando’s whole plan was to leave you and Bean here. He had no intention of dumping you on a strange planet by yourself.
(it’s your fault)
A sneaky dark voice brings tears back to your eyes, squinting shut against them. You thought Bean had warmed to you, maybe even preferred your company to Mando at times. You certainly spent a lot of time with him, between the feeding and the entertainment and the sheer amount of alone time you both spent together.
(not enough for him to want to stay with you)
Your brain helplessly follows this train of thought. Bad enough that Mando’s attentions feel mercurial by the day, but for the child’s to mimic that was too cruel. What more were you supposed to do? You cared for Bean, more than you’d admit without embarrassment.
(cared for Mando too)
But it wasn’t enough. You weren’t enough. Not enough to stay, or trust, or think of.
We're doing parallel storylines baby! While Mando gets into antics for the next couple episodes, you'll get to see what some extended time without her little clan of two looks like, and how things might fare when Mando returns. This is a beefy installment so it's been taking a little while to get up and running (plus writers block has been a bitch) but I'm hoping to get something to you soon!
(also I'm laughing over the roll-a-trope thing too, I have such a cute idea and I need to write it down! It'll appear one day!)
Holy shit, it's 2025. Sorry for being hella absent for the past three months, life got bad, then okay, then REALLY bad, and is finally evening out into "manageable." Unfortunately that means my fic reading and writing fell to the wayside, which bummed me out even more, so I'm making an effort to carve out time to enjoy fandom and fic again.
I have some backlogged tag games that have long since passed, but I want to bring them back because they looked super fun. Who doesn't love a throwback?
I also have SO MANY kind reblogs to the few measly posts I eked out over the holidays. I am forever grateful to you guys for sending love, even if you didn't know how much it meant to me. I hoarded those little tokens when things were feeling especially rough and they helped me more than you know.
I'm also getting back to a bunch of fic that's been in half-stalled states for the last six months. Updates to series, one-shots I've been teasing, new projects knocking on the door, all are getting pulled back into the works. I'm dealing with the extreme guilt of neglecting them for so long by not promising any posts right now, but with any luck I can work on some things behind the scenes and start to have a more regular posting schedule. Fingers crossed!
And since I've been absent, I'm sure I missed lots of great new stories and series. If you have a good rec, send it my way! I miss supporting this community even more than I missed writing for it.
I hope that the new year is treating you kindly, even amid all of the chaos and awfulness that's surrounding us. If you ever need a break from the shit to read silly stories and thirst over fictional men, you're welcome here.
Okay friends, the Bangathon is coming along nicely mostly thanks to some source material that is giving me so much joy. But I have a question for you, because I can go one of two ways with this and if YOU are gonna write for it, I want it to be fun for YOU!
What kind of positions are you into?
Ones I'm mostly familiar with, names that make sense, fairly self-explanatory
Neither, you're all heathens (I just want to see the results)
Voting ended onJan 31, 2024
The book I'm getting the position names from has a wide range of options and I've been cracking up over some. I promise this time around no matter what we'll all have a clearer grasp of what the heck these positions are (no more honey bear confusion). However, I think you all should at least enjoy the manic confusion of some of these position names.
Under the cut, without explanation or context, please find a few examples of what I mean:
Fairly self-explanatory:
Side-by-Side Clasping Position
The Pressed Position
Belly to Belly
Starting to get weird:
The Lotus-Like Position
The Elephant Posture
The Rising Position
What is going on here help:
Reciprocal Sight of the Posteriors
A Phoenix Playing in a Red Cave
The One Who Stops at Home
It's been a fucking mess at work lately so the struggle is real when it comes to writing. Doing the final edits on this fic has been keeping me going:
“Never tried something like this,” he mumbled, and you smiled under the knowledge that he was nervous. Din Djarin, feared throughout the galaxy, and dearer friend than you ever expected, had something he wanted and didn't know how to ask for.
“Would you like to try it?” you said, taking the last barrier away. He tilted the helmet down, fingers restless on his hip.
“Yes.”
What could he be nervous to ask for? Find out on the 16th ;)
Everything is crazy right now because everyone needs something by September 1, but I'm writing the pain away! Tagged by @amywritesthings, here is a little taste of something coming (hopefully) next week:
Every piece of information you know about Frankie you learned against his will. Mostly from his military buddies who crash the living room once a month. It always smells of cheap pizza and beer and testosterone in that mouth watering way that brings you out of your room for “a slice.”
A slice of all that man candy is more like it. You could shoot a Calvin Klein centerfold on your couch. And they didn’t ignore you like Frankie.
And a hint for any of last year's Bangathon readers:
NP tagging @psychedelic-ink, @pedrito-friskito, @julesonrecord, @wannab-urs, @iamskyereads and anyone who wants to play!
