The forest

2023 was a great year for me writing wise. I wrote more than I thought I would. DCU continues to be my current fandom of choice, which Jason Todd as my absolute favorite character to write about, three years and counting. The muse that keeps on giving. 

The roundup: 

Total words written: 115k, a lot of them for unpublished WIPs (or they died on the trenches in the eternal Editing Wars. My very own good soldiers)

Total words published: 56k

Total works published: 6


The We in I 
Fandom: Batman All Media Types 
No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen
No pairings, but it explores Bruce & Jason complex father/son—mentor/mentee relationship

This is my top favorite story among those I wrote this year. It's a bit of a character study and at the same time an attempt to tie in together the wide range of changing canon characterizations of Jason Todd. The idea of portraying Jason as someone with DID without demonizing DID is something I'd been thinking on and off for years, but I was intimidated to tackle it since I was unsure if I could do the subject justice. Despite my initial fears, I'm quite pleased with the end result and very glad that I dared to write the story. It'll probably remain one of my top favorites to have written.

Fools Who Dared to Dream
Fandom: Batman All Media Types, Stormwatch / Midnighter & Apollo
No Archive Warnings Apply, Teen and Up
Paring: Apollo/Midnighter, Apollo/Midnighter/Jason Todd

My DCU Rare Pair Exchange submission. This is my second favorite story to have written in 2023, and a very tight second place. I enjoyed writing from Midnighter's POV so very much. Also identity porn, competency kink and unreliable narrator are just catnip for me, not only to read, but also to write as well. I'm quite proud of the worldbuilding in this one, too. 

In the Desert
Fandom: Batman All Media Types, Deathstroke the Terminator
Warnings: Rape/Non-con, Explicit
Pairing: Jason Todd/Talia Al Ghul/Slade Wilson

This was a gift for Meaninglessblah and I enjoyed writing it very much. They always challenge me to think outside the box regarding character dynamics. In this particular case I had tons of fun trying to come up with an omegaverse setting that broke with the typical tropes and rules of omegaverse (and that included palm trees, though the reason why that was important will remain a secret between Blah and me). I'm quite pleased with the result. Also, Slade Wilson should be forced to submit more often. Just putting that out there. 

Healing Wounds
Fandom: Batman All Media Types
No Archive Warnings Apply, Teen and Up
Pairing: pre-slash Bruce Wayne/Jason Todd

My contribution to the Brujay Discord Server Princes of Gotham Zine. A warm, soft Brujay, with these two finding their way to each other. I just love writing the dynamics between Bruce and Jason so much. It can be so versatile depending on how you want to play it from absolute platonic father/son to bitter enemies to reluctant allies to lovers and everything in between. There's canonically so much love and emotions and hurt and misunderstandings between the two of them. This time I chose the softer route with hope for a better future. 

By the way, you can download the Free Zine here

Freedom is a Choice
Fandom: Batman All Media Types, Deathstroke the Terminator
No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen 

Just a little, very short writing exercise while playing Frantic Fic with Scandalsavage and sarriathmg, but I liked what came out of it and I'd love to add a bit more to it, if I ever get the time and I'm not distracted by new ideas. 

From the Deepest Love Darkness Bloom
Fandom: Batman All Media Types
Warnings: Rape/Non-con, Underage, Graphic Description of Violence, Explicit 
Other important warnings: Dead Dove Do Not Eat, Hurt No Comfort, plus a wide range of kinks (mind the tags on this one)
Pairing: Jason Todd/Alien Life Form; Jason Todd/Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne

My Batfam Kinkmas Exchange submission for 2023. Darker and bleaker than I'd usually write. I prefer more hopeful endings but it was good to challenge myself as a writer and stretch beyond my usual comfort zone. Besides, I can now proudly cross off tentacle porn and hentai from my to-write-kink-list. 

Apparently, I'm writing Harry Potter again. An unexpected development.

But hey... I'm writing, which is more than can be said for the whole month of February. Here is hoping that inspiration lasts.

I want to create something for day 7 of the snowflake_challenge, and all the WIPs I'm currently writing are the type that would take weeks/months to finish. Besides, giving myself permission to take a break from them seems like the right thing to do.

Thus, prompt time!

Give me a character or a pairing, some kind of prompt (one or three random words, a line, a kink, ...) and I'll try to write something short(ish). You can also ask for timestamps or headcanons of stories I've already written.

Best fandoms to currently tempt me with: MCU, Rivers of London, Imperial Radch, Dresden Files, Lucifer, A Song of Fire and Ice.

Past fandoms that might still strike my fancy: SGA, SG-1, Harry Potter, White Collar, Supernatural

I can't promise that I'll write something, and I don't know how long it will take me, because... well, muses are fickle. But I will try!

NOTE: You are welcome to prompt, even if you we've never really interacted much (or at all), even if there are a bunch of prompts already. All prompts are welcome! The more the merrier! Muses are capricious little buggers, and one never knows what might strike their fancy.

Day 8: In your own space, make a list of at least 3 things that you like about yourself.

This is not as easy as I thought it would be. I actually like many things about myself, but whenever I start listing them down I feel like I need to add caveats and point out all the ways in which, 'yes, I like that about myself but ... (insert self-deprecating comment of choice.)'

So here is me, trying not to do the latter:

1) I like my writing. There, I said it. I like my stories. I like the process of creating them, sensing them come alive inside my mind, and see them trickle through my fingers into the keyboard to become something better than I imagined they could be. I'm one of those writers who tend to reread what they wrote, and given time and distance, when I go back and reread my stories, I can always find joy in them and feel proud of what I created.

2) I like my body. I like that it's healthy and that it does all that I ask of it and more. And I like how it looks. The latter is a new, tentative thing, because in the past I was influenced a lot (probably still am in some ways) by the concept that beauty=skinny and well, skinny is not something I've ever been. But lately I've began to come to terms with the fact that I don't need to be super skinny to be beautiful and well ... yeah, in the past months I've surprised myself quite a lot by looking into the mirror and thinking, well, would you look at that? Pretty and hot! So, there's that.

3) I like that I'm a social introvert. Mostly, what I mean is that though I thrive when alone, I can enjoy social situations and am not shy around strangers. I can even be charming when I put my mind to it. I like my self-confidence in such different situations: knowing that I could spend weeks in my house, all by myself, with just my dog for company, and be happy and satisfied; but also aware that if I decided to go out and have fun at a party or with friends, I could do that too, and I'd be fine in both situations.

Day 6: In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannish wish-list of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your wish-list if you feel comfortable doing so. Maybe someone will grant a wish. Check out other people's posts. Maybe you will grant a wish.

1. Rivers of London story

I'd love an arranged marriage or force-to-marry story with Peter and Nightingale reluctantly agreeing to marry, working together to make the best out of a bad situation, and slowly falling for each other without noticing it. If Beverley gets to be involved in the relationship somehow, even better.

2. MCU Tony/Steve/Bucky threesome

Porn with plot, though a classic porn without plot would do in a pinch. If it somehow has kink negotiation and bratty!Tony that would be icing on the cake.

3. Fanart for one of my stories

I don't care which story. I'd just would love to have fanart.

Day 3: In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.

Fannish goals

As part of my getyourwordsout's pledge I want to write 150k words this year. That means among other things:
- Finishing the sequel to No blood, no alibi (Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire)
- Finishing my current Imperial Radch WIP
- Writing a story for Rivers of London
- Finishing my MCU dragon!Tony WIP
- and whatever else comes along... maybe even try my hand at original fiction

Spiritual goals

- Do a daily one-card tarot reading
- Continue to learn the tarot

Health goals

- Practice yoga at least once or twice a week

Day 4: Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've interacted with and friend/follow them.

I did this one already. *Waves at new friends from Aurafina's 2017 friending meme*

I want to do this year's snowflake_challenge. I missed the suggested deadline of one post a day from January 1 to 15, so I'll just make up my own timing.

Day 1: In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

1. MCU: Five Thousand Roses
From all stories I've written this is my favorite story hands down. The life of Tony Stark had he been born female.
I love Rule 63 AUs, taking one character, flipping his gender and trying to see what that extra X chromosome would mean for the road ahead. And Tony Stark was particularly fascinating to me because many things the world would laugh about and accept from male!Tony (promiscuity, brashness, alcoholism, drugs, arrogance, unreliability) they would not forgive in a woman, especially since I took 1965 (the year Robert Downey Jr. was born) as marker for female!Tony's birth. It was much harder back then for women in male-dominated fields than it is today, and today isn't easy.

2. SGA/SG-1: No Good Deed

Another AU. In case you haven't noticed I have a soft spot for those. This time math-genius!John Sheppard who happens to be a profession thief on the side. Cameron Mitchell really doesn't know what he's gotten himself into with this one. Fun and plotty.

3. Harry Potter: Trinity

This one is dark and twisted, with a heavy dose of non-con and even more dubious-con. Manipulation, plans within plans, characters trying to survive under difficult circumstances and using the tools at hand to do it, no matter the cost. It was written as a gift for Anne Phoenix, whose name back in the early days of Harry Potter fandom was a warning on its own right. And despite its inherent darkness, maybe even because of it, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Yuletide is now open!

I received a wonderful introspective story about Lucifer pre-series, and it is lovely: Of human decadence. It left me kind of yearning to know more, which is a good sign.

I'm looking forward to reading more of the stories published, but there are so many I don't even know where to start. I'm pants at guessing who wrote what so I won't even try, just read and enjoy all the treats people have given each other.

I'm joining getyourwordsout again in 2017. It really was a great way to start myself writing and I'm very happy with the progress I made in 2016. After two years writing very little, I managed to finish and post three stories and have a couple of WIPs going strong, ready to see the light of the day next year.


[img: notebook paper with "GYWO 2017" printed in large black letters with a blue
shadow. under that, "writing decathlon" in handwritten black letters with an
orange shadow. printed at the bottom in black is "sign up dec. 14 - jan. 15"]
GetYourWordsOut: Year Nine!
Pledges & Requirements | GYWO.net

I usually find the whole time zones issues very annoying, but yesterday I was very, very glad for them.

It allowed me to have a great birthday, and I don't think I would have been able to enjoy it knowing the results of the election. However, by the time we found out in Europe what had happened it was no longer my birthday so....

I'm still reeling from the results, although I'm starting to come to the point when you realize there's nothing to be done about it (and being non-American there was never much I could do anyway) and we need to move on. Personally, I believe that we need to stay strong and together, and refuse to let fear rule our lives, if we are able to help it. I want to look at the future with hope, even if it's hard right now.

*hugs everyone*

I'm also worried about the upcoming elections in Europe, but right now I'm trying to distract myself by writing more and posting new stories. Spreading a bit of joy as much as I'm able to. At some point soon, I will have to face RL again and see what can and needs to be done to help avoid such an outcome here.

Obviously, reaching the 1,000 minimum word count is not going to be a problem.

Stopping, on the other hand...

I've already written 3,000 words and the two main characters have yet to talk to each other. This is going to be a long story, which shouldn't surprise me so. I lost my ability to write short fics somewhere in 2005 and haven't found it since.

Dear Yuletide Writer,

thank you so much for writing for me! This is my first time participating in Yuletide, and I'm rather new at this whole letter-writing thing, so I hope I manage to provide you with the information you seek.

Things I enjoy in stories: unreliable narrators, plot twists, politics, intrigue, messed-up power dynamics, moral grey areas, learning that life isn't black and white, friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, competence, enemies forced to work together, grudging respect, magic, power, the seduction of power, fighting the seduction of power, loyalty, forced-bonding, telepathy, forced marriages, arranged marriages, agency, fighting to retain/reclaim agency when circumstances/people threaten to take it away, refusing to be a victim

Smut things I enjoy: slash, polyamory, het, threesomes, negotiating relationships, negotiating kink, consensual sex, dub-con, bondage, masochism, sadism, humiliation (not public), power imbalance, accidental magic during sex, sex magic, first times not being perfect, humor in bed

Things I don't want: Character deaths, gore, seasonal fics, A/B/O universes, alternative universes without magic in canons that have magic, unhappy endings, kid fics, historical AU, bodyswaps, writing style with second-person POV.

But more than anything, dear secret writer, I want that you enjoy writing for me. Don't worry too much. Listen to your muses. Let them take you where they will. The ideas and prompts I wrote in the optional details are just that, possible ideas. If they inspire your muses, go have fun! But if they don't, then focus on the characters and the fandom and write what you want to write. That's the joy of tiny fandoms, every new story is a gift and I know I will love whatever you come up with. So whatever you do, have fun doing it!

......

Since this is my first yule-letter, I must confess that I've spent way too much time reading other people's letters and trying to see how is done right. Most people seem to use this next part to give prompts and ideas, but I already did that in the optional details, so it feels a tad redundant. Instead, I'm going to share with you why I like these tiny fandoms we seem to have in common. Maybe some of it will resonate with you.( Read more... )

I stole the idea from eleanor_lavish. It seemed like a fun thing to do.

1. Go to page 7 (or 77) of your current WIP.
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written.

Lyanna fears the mysterious moon blood everyone keeps mentioning. Even Old Nan seems to think that Lyanna will change after it comes. She can't imagine how some bit of blood could change anyone that much, and a part of her worries that they might be right. What if it does change her? She doesn't want to become some lady that only cares about husbands and children. She likes who she is. She doesn't want to change, no more than she wants to marry Robert.