Basics:
❀ Jo or Joly (Joe-Lee)
❀ They/Them
❀ 30+
❀ Fanfic writer!
❀ Middle School Science Teacher
❀ Obsessive pet parent to two cats, a weird dog, and a tortoise
This blog is a conglomeration, as most personal blogs are! You will find a variety of interests and amusements. I try hard to tag appropriately, but I'm open to suggestions if there's a specific flavor or topic you'd like to filter out!
Writing Habits:
I am a notorious one-shot writer, and enjoy receiving prompts for my blorbos. I am most interested in writing Miossan (Felassan x non-binary Rebellion OC), Solian (Solavellan but it's Ian, my non-binary, non-inquisitor Lavellan), and F!Aeducan x Gorim.
You can find my Prompt Post here.
Links:
❀ AO3 - theshirallen
❀ DABB 2025 fic - The Scorpion and the Halla
❀ Var Shiral'vhen - Solas x nb!Lavellan long fic, written in partnership with my wife @queenaeducan
❀ Promise Me the Stars - Felassan x nb!Rebellion OC
❀ The Firefly and the Jar - Series following the adventures of my non-binary Elvhenan OC, who serves both as Mythal and Solas's spymaster.
One of the contractors at work is a dude who recently moved here from the Bay Area. He is used to Northern California, which is to say that he is NOT used to the general Tornado Alley attitude towards Thor dragging his dick across the plains and causing massive destruction on a semi-regular basis.
Namely, the fact that we get them at all, and the fact that the general Midwestern response is to wander outside to see if we can see it.
We have bad weather forcasted the next few days and I had to talk him through the site tornado plan and storm shelter locations (we have six on site, my office is actually inside one) to head off the poor guy's anxiety and also I had to admit that yes, I also share the general Tornado Alley brain damage and go outside to try and see it when the sirens go off.
Poor man thinks everyone in tornado Alley is out of their minds and as one of those people I can't even deny it. 'I seek shelter if it's heading this way' did not reassure him, he's convinced we are mad.
To answer the question in the notes, @what-about-second-tmblr ; when I visited Sacramento and LA some years ago, the sensation of a minor earthquake shifting the ground around just barely enough for a human to feel it had me freaked out and basically lying flat on my back outside going AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA while the Californians looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
i love you all and i need you to stop writing trauma as a single breakdown scene in the rain after which the character is Healed and Ready to Love Again. that is NOT trauma :(
⊹ Trauma doesn't announce itself. it shows up as your character suddenly not being able to eat a specific food, or going very quiet in a loud room, or laughing at the wrong moment because their nervous system decided that was the appropriate response. it's mundane and weird and it makes no sense from the outside. the dramatic flashback sequence is the least realistic part. the most realistic part is your character suddenly needing to leave a grocery store for a reason they can't articulate.
⊹ The body keeps score and it keeps it in the strangest places. a particular smell. the quality of light at a certain time of day. a tone of voice that sounds like someone who hurt them. your traumatised character doesn't think "this reminds me of the bad thing." their heart rate spikes and they don't know why. they feel wrong and they can't locate the feeling. they're irritable for three days and only later, if ever, do they make the connection. write the disconnection. it's more honest.
⊹ trauma also does not make people universally sympathetic and wise. it makes some people controlling. some people funny at inappropriate times. some people very good in a crisis and completely unable to handle a normal day. some people are generously kind to strangers and absolutely terrible to people they love. trauma shapes behaviour in contradictory, inconvenient ways that don't resolve into a lesson. your traumatised character can be difficult to like. that's not a flaw in the writing. that's the WRITING.
⊹ Healing is not linear and it is not a destination. your character does not get better and stay better. they have a good month and then something small undoes two years of progress and they have to start again with slightly more tools than before. that's the actual shape of it. the spiral, not the arc. the scene where they finally open up and cry is not the end. it might not even be progress. sometimes it just means they were tired that night.
like the betrayal’s always going to be worse if they cared about you and it didn’t matter. someone discards you because they didn’t give a shit, then you can be angry about that, you can feel vindicated in that, you can get over it. but if they can look you in the eyes and say “I love you. I would make the same choice again.” You will never sleep peacefully again, is all.
“I thought they cared about me, but they were lying this whole time.” <- tired. boring. removes all the nuance of this relationship to make it easier to move on from.
“I thought they cared about me, and I was right, and every minute they were there for me, every time they said they were proud, every laugh we shared leaning against each other bruised and breathless, all of it was real. and they still left me behind. They could put their love aside. I couldn’t.” <- insane. will never leave you alone. reminds you that even the worst people are still people and can still care about even the ones they hurt the most and that undoes neither the harm nor the love.
As we look forward to another year, there's no better time to celebrate our wonderful community of creators. This year, we're shining a spotlight on our alumni: the talented writers and artists who successfully completed the Dragon Age Big Bang in previous years. All past DABB alumni were given the option of an interactive interview with our mod Alix, or an informal written survey. If you're thinking about participating this year, check out the insights and advice from those who tread this path before!
On Breathing Room
Alix and Swan talk scope creep, balance, and writing what demands to be written
Alix: What made you decide to sign up for last year's Dragon Age Big Bang event? Had you done any Big Bangs previously?
Swan: I honestly can't recall what spurred me to sign up — probably having an idea that wouldn't stop nagging me, and knowing that I wouldn't ever get around to writing it if I didn't have the structure and deadline of an event. My last Bang event was in … I want to say 2019? when I participated in a MXTX/danmei fandom big bang. Scope creep got me then too 😂
Alix: Oh yes, scope creep. I know it well.
Swan: I tell anyone who is willing to listen that my 2025 DABB was only supposed to be 30k. It did not end up being 30k.
Alix: 30k ... 115k ... what's the difference, really?
Swan: Not much, according to my brain!
Alix: The amount you wrote last year in the span of four months was pretty incredible. How did you manage your time to write that much?
Swan: I happened to get very lucky that my work situation for the last year has allowed me to have occasional hour-long stretches where I'm in the back, not working with the public, and not being directly supervised, so when my actual work was done I was able to load up ellipsus and cram in as many words as I possibly could. (Don't tell my bosses.)
Other than that … it was pretty much not having a social life and devoting time in the evenings and weekends to getting progress made, every single day when I could.
Alix: I take it it was worth it, though!
Swan: Oh absolutely! I'm still riding the high of having it finished and posted. Even if nobody read it, I'd still be absolutely giddy just from knowing I wanted to do it, and I did it.
Alix: I know the length ended up being something of a surprise, but was there anything else about the writing process or the story itself that surprised you?
Swan: I think every writer has things that come up organically in the writing process that surprise them, but I think mine was the entirety of chapter 15 in A Good Death that basically popped into my head, word for word, while I was driving home from work one day. I technically hadn't reached that part of the story yet, but it came to me so vividly that I was very lucky I didn't get a speeding ticket trying to get home and write it down while it was still fresh. In a lot of ways I feel like that whole chapter/scene is the crux of the story, and it wanted to be written so the rest of the fic could grow around it.
Alix: Oh that's the best feeling, I love when that happens. I take it you don't necessarily write in chronological order?
Swan: I try my best to, but my ADHD brain doesn't always agree that the story needs to be written down chronologically 😂
Alix: One of the things that really struck me when I read A Good Death was the way you balance tragedy while also being very, very funny. How do you strike that balance?
Swan: I mean it helps that Lucanis, for his part, is a very funny character, and his sense of humor was just dry enough to keep it from getting too absurd. But I'm also a firm believer that tragedy and angst need breathing room. Sure, it's fun/emotionally devastating to read a fic that is nothing but pain and tragedy, but I also feel like the angst hits harder if you're able to come back up for a breath of air and something mildly silly. A palate cleanser, if you will.
Alix: That totally makes sense!
What would you say to someone who is on the fence about signing up for the Dragon Age Big Bang?
Swan: I'd say you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The community is so supportive and kind, and it was genuinely humbling to be in the same event as so many other incredibly creative and talented writers and artists who wanted to see my creation as much as I wanted to see theirs. Plus, at the end of the event, you have a finished piece that you didn't have at the beginning!
It's time, writers! Sign up now with your initial ideas to get in on the challenge, collaboration, and celebration of Dragon Age fan creativity.
Information given on this sign-up is preliminary and non-binding. You can change direction before pitches! The form will ask for:
contact information
a 1-5 sentence explanation of your fic idea
an estimated length
an estimated rating
(optionally) your discord handle to be added to the secret creator channels
✨ Complete the Sign-Up Here! ✨
Writer sign-ups close Tuesday, June 30th, EOD AoE
see when that is in your timezone here!
Confirmation emails come from [email protected]. If you do not receive one, please check your spam folder. If you still do not see your confirmation, contact the mods below to confirm your sign-up.
✨ Review the Event Rules and Writer Guide on our website, and save the Writer Guidelines and Timeline below!
✨ Share the Artist Interest Check with your followers and artist friends!
Writers will create a complete Dragon Age fanfiction within these guidelines:
25,000 words or more (but not less!)
Completed and posted to the correct AO3 collection.
All chapters published, with no new chapters or significant revisions.
Includes an embedded image of the Artist(s) work.
Includes linked credit to the Artist.
Adheres to the event content guidelines.
Adheres to the event rules regarding originality.
See the full writer requirements on our Guidebook Website!
Contact The Mods: ask | discord | email: [email protected]
Event Guidebook: rules, timeline, and more
