It's Agatha Christie time!
Oct. 18th, 2025 08:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I might've waited longer to make a post, but I just finished The Listerdale Mystery, which is a collection of twelve short stories, and I had such a fun time I had to post ASAP! It's different from the previous short story collections I've read in that only one is a proper murder mystery, while the rest are murder without the mystery, murder adjacent, or do not come anywhere near murder at all! (Look at me being so excited, when it may turn out Christie has plenty of these.)
Some of the stories were centered on a twist that, by virtue of being a short story, made the twist far more important to the story itself, like anthology episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Twilight Zone (in terms of story structure, but with mundane concepts instead of fantastical). By the time I got to story ten there were some tropey repeats, especially featuring a man being pulled into an adventure by mysterious girl, but overall it's a fun mix and I really enjoyed myself.
Only caveat I would say that classism is particularly strong throughout in terms of justification for certain characters' successes or assumptions being proven right, but sometimes it seems earnest and others it seems ironic. I say that because another repeated topic of the stories is to not believe that people are who they say they are without proof, but the working class characters who get scammed this way tend to be rescued by their honesty, while the upper class characters who get scammed are either able to brush it off or are able to notice just enough truth through the scam to be rewarded by it.
Particular shoutouts to:
Besides that, I've also read two more Christie short story collections, both of which are Poirot collections and thus more traditional mysteries: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and Murder in the Mews. The best thing about short Poirot stories is that Poirot can show up at a scene of the crime, take one turn of it and solve the mystery immediately. Which is neat!
In Christmas Pudding, I did like the one about the elderly estranged twin men, which kind of deceives you into thinking it'll be a switcheroo between the twins but is actually a switcheroo of a different kind. But quite a few (three, I think) stories involve disguises to make the murder appear to have happened differently or at a different time, and it kind of kicked my disbelief a bit too hard, especially the one that hinges on the murderer leaving it to chance that another character won't see the body after the murder.
Murder in the Mews has four short stories, with three being meatier than the fourth, and they’re kind of bound together with the theming of the "crime" isn’t exactly what it looks like. Well, the third one, "Dead Man's Mirror" is way more in line with Christie's precise murders, right down to the layout of the room being key to what's happened, but all of them are in the same realm. The only qualm I'd have is with the last one, "Triangle at Rhodes" which is the shortest of the lot and the assumptions are a bit of a stretch for me, in terms of what Poirot observes of the relationships that's happening vs. what we the reader are shown of those same relationships.
Some of the stories were centered on a twist that, by virtue of being a short story, made the twist far more important to the story itself, like anthology episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Twilight Zone (in terms of story structure, but with mundane concepts instead of fantastical). By the time I got to story ten there were some tropey repeats, especially featuring a man being pulled into an adventure by mysterious girl, but overall it's a fun mix and I really enjoyed myself.
Only caveat I would say that classism is particularly strong throughout in terms of justification for certain characters' successes or assumptions being proven right, but sometimes it seems earnest and others it seems ironic. I say that because another repeated topic of the stories is to not believe that people are who they say they are without proof, but the working class characters who get scammed this way tend to be rescued by their honesty, while the upper class characters who get scammed are either able to brush it off or are able to notice just enough truth through the scam to be rewarded by it.
Particular shoutouts to:
- The opening "The Listerdale Mystery", about a widowed mother who finds a house for rent that seems to good to be true; the story is, if you think about it for two seconds, a ridiculous concept, but it's a particular kind of romantic id that you'd be well used to if familiar with Bollywood films and I found it kinda charming for that;
- "Philomel Cottage", the most Alfred Hitchcock Presents of the bunch, with a recently-married woman realizing that her new husband might be planning to murder her;
- "Accident", where a retired inspector suspects that a neighbour is a twice-murderess who is going to kill her current husband and wants to try to prevent it, ( spoilers )
Besides that, I've also read two more Christie short story collections, both of which are Poirot collections and thus more traditional mysteries: The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and Murder in the Mews. The best thing about short Poirot stories is that Poirot can show up at a scene of the crime, take one turn of it and solve the mystery immediately. Which is neat!
In Christmas Pudding, I did like the one about the elderly estranged twin men, which kind of deceives you into thinking it'll be a switcheroo between the twins but is actually a switcheroo of a different kind. But quite a few (three, I think) stories involve disguises to make the murder appear to have happened differently or at a different time, and it kind of kicked my disbelief a bit too hard, especially the one that hinges on the murderer leaving it to chance that another character won't see the body after the murder.
Murder in the Mews has four short stories, with three being meatier than the fourth, and they’re kind of bound together with the theming of the "crime" isn’t exactly what it looks like. Well, the third one, "Dead Man's Mirror" is way more in line with Christie's precise murders, right down to the layout of the room being key to what's happened, but all of them are in the same realm. The only qualm I'd have is with the last one, "Triangle at Rhodes" which is the shortest of the lot and the assumptions are a bit of a stretch for me, in terms of what Poirot observes of the relationships that's happening vs. what we the reader are shown of those same relationships.
Crossworks - Crossovers/Fusions - Due Oct 22 - Post-Deadline
Oct. 17th, 2025 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Crossworks is a gift exchange for fusion or crossover fic or art, where a gift must combine two fandoms from one of a recipient's requests (participants make several sets of requests).
Our main deadline has passed and pinch hits are urgently requested. Works are due 11:59pm EDT 22 October, or negotiable. Works must be complete, 1,000 words+ or a piece of complete artwork, must depict a combination of two canons from the same section of the recipient's requests, must stand alone, and must be wholly the creator's own work.
Please contact me at the
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PH #2
Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger, Bionicle - All Media Types
Art/Crossover, Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Ghost Rider (Marvel Comics), Transformers: Prime
Art/Crossover, Fic/Crossover: Tetsuwan Atom | Astro Boy, Portal (Valve Video Games), Metroid Series
Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Ghost Rider (Marvel Comics), Tron - All Media Types
PH #5
Fic/Crossover: ONE - Cheesy Hfj (Web Series), ねこあつめ | Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, Toy Story (Movies), Solaris - Stanisław Lem
Fic/Crossover: To the Moon Series (Video Games), Inside Out (Pixar Movies), Mindplayers - Pat Cadigan, Solaris (2002)
Fic/Crossover: The Greengage Summer - Rumer Godden, Monsieur Spade (TV), Song of the Sea (2014), Trouble With Lichen - John Wyndham
PH #6
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, 太岁 | Tài Suì - priest
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, 叛逆者 | The Rebel (TV 2021)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester, 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest, KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
Fic/Crossover: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
PH #8
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: モノノ怪 | Mononoke (Anime & Manga), 蟲師 | Mushishi (Anime & Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Lancer (Roleplaying Game), Infinite Revolution: Overdrive (Roleplaying Game), I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game), Wayfarers Series - Becky Chambers
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Pressure (Roblox), Lancer (Roleplaying Game), Mystery Flesh Pit National Park - Trevor Roberts, Carrion (Phobia Game Studio Video Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Psychonauts (Video Games), Dandadan (Manga), CAIN (Roleplaying Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Norfolk Wizard Game (Web Series), Columbo, Deltarune (Video Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Kill Six Billion Demons (Webcomic), Lancer (Roleplaying Game), CAIN (Roleplaying Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, とんがり帽子のアトリエ | Tongari Boushi no Atelier | Witch Hat Atelier (Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 悪魔城ドラキュラ 暁月の円舞曲 と 蒼月の十字架 | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Any Other Fandom I've Requested in CW2025, Any Other Fandom I've Requested in CW2025 (Select ONLY In Combo With AOF Tag & No Other Fandoms)
Amadeus
Oct. 17th, 2025 11:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
A friend and I had a loose resolution to check out more non-pop orchestral performances next year (since the ones we've gone to so far have all been for pop culture music, eg. movie and video game soundtracks), so she shared the 2026 season for the Malaysian Philharmonic and I thought maybe I'd check out their upcoming Mozart concert which is in conjunction with his 270th birthday.
Coincidentally, or maybe not because of said birthday, there's a new adaptation of Amadeus! Looks like a miniseries instead of a movie, but still, excitedly hopeful!
Coincidentally, or maybe not because of said birthday, there's a new adaptation of Amadeus! Looks like a miniseries instead of a movie, but still, excitedly hopeful!
Book Log: Where am I Now?
Oct. 15th, 2025 03:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I must've gotten Mara Wilson's memoir Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame during one of my trips to UK, because it has a price tag in pounds, but heck if I can remember when. What I do remember is that I put the book at the back of the drawer because I was annoyed and/or upset at her for something she'd said online. I no longer remember what it was! So I suppose it's time to be reading.
There is a feeling at the start that Wilson was way too young to be writing a memoir, but upon reading it it does make sense, because the bulk is about her time as a child actress and the fallout of that into the neuroses of teenhood and young adulthood. And going through that same thing we all do, where in growing up we become conscious of certain kinds of privilege we don't have and having to reckon with that, except Wilson's realization of the importance of looking traditionally pretty isn't just about trying to fit in and get friends, but also to get acting work. (Ow.) She namechecks as specific examples her peers Kristen Stewart and Scarlett Johansson who beat her to roles and did get to make the transition to acting adults, and her raw frustration that this was not something she could balance out with talent.
Tangled up in that is the intense celebrity-adjacent subculture of growing up in Burbank, California surrounded by peers who want to "make it" into the business and thus have feelings about those who do when they do not. Mean girl culture in a greater Hollywood setting, baby! (Ooofff.) This is probably the most fascinating section of the book to me, of how that world warps the expectations of children and teenagers who feel they're in the pipeline to showbiz greatness. Also, by her reckoning, there's lore than the Californian school subculture of show choirs that she participated in was what inspired Ryan Murphy to make Glee, though that may be more guesswork than cold hard facts.
Wilson specifically lived through some rough times (including the early death of her mother), but she got out of showbiz with relatively less trauma than other child actors, but it's still only other child actors who could understand what it was like to grow up in that environment and have so much of your personality and looks dissected by people who don't know you. Also, to have creepers think it's fun to ask a child questions about mature topics they haven't yet grappled with. Toxic and sadly familiar.
There is a feeling at the start that Wilson was way too young to be writing a memoir, but upon reading it it does make sense, because the bulk is about her time as a child actress and the fallout of that into the neuroses of teenhood and young adulthood. And going through that same thing we all do, where in growing up we become conscious of certain kinds of privilege we don't have and having to reckon with that, except Wilson's realization of the importance of looking traditionally pretty isn't just about trying to fit in and get friends, but also to get acting work. (Ow.) She namechecks as specific examples her peers Kristen Stewart and Scarlett Johansson who beat her to roles and did get to make the transition to acting adults, and her raw frustration that this was not something she could balance out with talent.
Tangled up in that is the intense celebrity-adjacent subculture of growing up in Burbank, California surrounded by peers who want to "make it" into the business and thus have feelings about those who do when they do not. Mean girl culture in a greater Hollywood setting, baby! (Ooofff.) This is probably the most fascinating section of the book to me, of how that world warps the expectations of children and teenagers who feel they're in the pipeline to showbiz greatness. Also, by her reckoning, there's lore than the Californian school subculture of show choirs that she participated in was what inspired Ryan Murphy to make Glee, though that may be more guesswork than cold hard facts.
Wilson specifically lived through some rough times (including the early death of her mother), but she got out of showbiz with relatively less trauma than other child actors, but it's still only other child actors who could understand what it was like to grow up in that environment and have so much of your personality and looks dissected by people who don't know you. Also, to have creepers think it's fun to ask a child questions about mature topics they haven't yet grappled with. Toxic and sadly familiar.
Main Deadline Passed; Repeat Pinch Hits
Oct. 13th, 2025 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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The main deadline has passed, and works look VERY EXCITING.
We have no new pinch hits to report, but we have some earlier ones! Please reach out if you can help with any of these. To claim, please comment below, including your AO3 name and the number/recipient name of the pinch hit you would like to claim. Comments are screened and I cannot reply directly to anonymous comments, but you're welcome to include an email.
These pinch hits are due at 11:59pm EDT, Wednesday 22 October.
Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger, Bionicle - All Media Types
Art/Crossover, Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Ghost Rider (Marvel Comics), Transformers: Prime
Art/Crossover, Fic/Crossover: Tetsuwan Atom | Astro Boy, Portal (Valve Video Games), Metroid Series
Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Ghost Rider (Marvel Comics), Tron - All Media Types
( Read more... )
Fic/Crossover: ONE - Cheesy Hfj (Web Series), ねこあつめ | Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, Toy Story (Movies), Solaris - Stanisław Lem
Fic/Crossover: To the Moon Series (Video Games), Inside Out (Pixar Movies), Mindplayers - Pat Cadigan, Solaris (2002)
Fic/Crossover: The Greengage Summer - Rumer Godden, Monsieur Spade (TV), Song of the Sea (2014), Trouble With Lichen - John Wyndham
( Read more... )
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, 太岁 | Tài Suì - priest
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, 叛逆者 | The Rebel (TV 2021)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester, 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest, KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
Fic/Crossover: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
( Read more... )
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: モノノ怪 | Mononoke (Anime & Manga), 蟲師 | Mushishi (Anime & Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Lancer (Roleplaying Game), Infinite Revolution: Overdrive (Roleplaying Game), I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game), Wayfarers Series - Becky Chambers
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Pressure (Roblox), Lancer (Roleplaying Game), Mystery Flesh Pit National Park - Trevor Roberts, Carrion (Phobia Game Studio Video Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Psychonauts (Video Games), Dandadan (Manga), CAIN (Roleplaying Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Norfolk Wizard Game (Web Series), Columbo, Deltarune (Video Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Kill Six Billion Demons (Webcomic), Lancer (Roleplaying Game), CAIN (Roleplaying Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, とんがり帽子のアトリエ | Tongari Boushi no Atelier | Witch Hat Atelier (Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 悪魔城ドラキュラ 暁月の円舞曲 と 蒼月の十字架 | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Any Other Fandom I've Requested in CW2025, Any Other Fandom I've Requested in CW2025 (Select ONLY In Combo With AOF Tag & No Other Fandoms)
( Read more... )
We have no new pinch hits to report, but we have some earlier ones! Please reach out if you can help with any of these. To claim, please comment below, including your AO3 name and the number/recipient name of the pinch hit you would like to claim. Comments are screened and I cannot reply directly to anonymous comments, but you're welcome to include an email.
These pinch hits are due at 11:59pm EDT, Wednesday 22 October.
PH #2
Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger, Bionicle - All Media Types
Art/Crossover, Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Ghost Rider (Marvel Comics), Transformers: Prime
Art/Crossover, Fic/Crossover: Tetsuwan Atom | Astro Boy, Portal (Valve Video Games), Metroid Series
Art/Fusion, Fic/Fusion: Ghost Rider (Marvel Comics), Tron - All Media Types
( Read more... )
CLAIMED - PH #5
Fic/Crossover: ONE - Cheesy Hfj (Web Series), ねこあつめ | Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, Toy Story (Movies), Solaris - Stanisław Lem
Fic/Crossover: To the Moon Series (Video Games), Inside Out (Pixar Movies), Mindplayers - Pat Cadigan, Solaris (2002)
Fic/Crossover: The Greengage Summer - Rumer Godden, Monsieur Spade (TV), Song of the Sea (2014), Trouble With Lichen - John Wyndham
( Read more... )
CLAIMED - PH #6
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, 太岁 | Tài Suì - priest
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, 叛逆者 | The Rebel (TV 2021)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest, His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester, 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest, KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
Fic/Crossover: 盗墓笔记 - 南派三叔 | Daomu Biji | The Lost Tomb - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
( Read more... )
CLAIMED - PH #8
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: モノノ怪 | Mononoke (Anime & Manga), 蟲師 | Mushishi (Anime & Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Lancer (Roleplaying Game), Infinite Revolution: Overdrive (Roleplaying Game), I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Video Game), Wayfarers Series - Becky Chambers
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Pressure (Roblox), Lancer (Roleplaying Game), Mystery Flesh Pit National Park - Trevor Roberts, Carrion (Phobia Game Studio Video Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Psychonauts (Video Games), Dandadan (Manga), CAIN (Roleplaying Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Norfolk Wizard Game (Web Series), Columbo, Deltarune (Video Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Kill Six Billion Demons (Webcomic), Lancer (Roleplaying Game), CAIN (Roleplaying Game)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, とんがり帽子のアトリエ | Tongari Boushi no Atelier | Witch Hat Atelier (Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: 悪魔城ドラキュラ 暁月の円舞曲 と 蒼月の十字架 | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Fic/Crossover, Fic/Fusion: Any Other Fandom I've Requested in CW2025, Any Other Fandom I've Requested in CW2025 (Select ONLY In Combo With AOF Tag & No Other Fandoms)
( Read more... )
Dear Yulegoat
Oct. 12th, 2025 03:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
It is once again the most wonderful time of the year. <3 I am really excited about all my requests and cannot wait to see what you write! My AO3 is
Snickfic.
Jump to section:
Kyle Murchison Booth stories
Iskryne series
Cuckoo (2024)
Red Sonja (2025)
True Detective: Night Country
Sunshine (2007)
( Likes and Dislikes )
( Kyle Murchison Booth stories )
( Iskryne Series )
( Cuckoo (2024) )
( Red Sonja (2025) )
( True Detective: Night Country )
( Sunshine (2007) )
Jump to section:
Kyle Murchison Booth stories
Iskryne series
Cuckoo (2024)
Red Sonja (2025)
True Detective: Night Country
Sunshine (2007)
( Likes and Dislikes )
( Kyle Murchison Booth stories )
( Iskryne Series )
( Cuckoo (2024) )
( Red Sonja (2025) )
( True Detective: Night Country )
( Sunshine (2007) )
I'm Not Great When I'm Under Pressure, Or When I'm Not.
Oct. 12th, 2025 09:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I received an incredibly lovely anonymous message on Tumblr today, which I'll reproduce here with my response, in case anyone finds this rambling about my writing process useful or interesting!
I'm always so impressed at how fast (and how well!) you can write for different fandoms, it's something I truly aspire to be on the level of. I wanted to know if you have any kind of writing routine or tips, especially for perfectionists who worry about canon details and "getting it right"?
I was so honoured to get this ask! Thank you so, so much! I don't know what specific areas you're struggling with, other than perfectionism, but I'll talk a little about my personal writing approach in the hope that it will be helpful and/or coherent.
As a caveat, I mainly write short one-shots; 90% of the fics on my AO3 account are between 1,000 and 5,000 words. I don't know what sort of thing you personally write, but I doubt my 'dive in, zero planning, work it out as you go' approach would be much good for anything long.
Anyway! Here's how writing works for me.
Step one: get a fic idea! This part, unfortunately, is up to the whims of fate. There are ways I can try to inspire a fic idea, e.g. by revisiting the canon or looking through other people's prompts, but mostly it just happens when it happens.
As a one-shot writer, I find it helpful to have a single core concept that I can structure a story around, something straightforward enough to be expressed in a sentence or two. For example, the fic concepts I've noted down include 'Ace Attorney/Death Note: Phoenix Wright defends Light Yagami' (which became Always Believe) and 'Death Note: L abducts and imprisons Light to see if the killings stop' (which I never actually wrote, but someone should).
Step two: quick, write the idea down before it escapes! A lot of my ideas never get past this stage, but at least I have them written down, so I can pull inspiration from them in the future if necessary.
Step three: start writing the fic. This one's tough; I can't just sit in front of a blank page and decide to get started. I'll mentally toy with my fic concept as I go about my day, and hopefully a potential passage from the fic itself will eventually form in my head: an exchange of dialogue, for example. As soon as I have something, I'll write it down. Once I have a starting point, it's a lot easier to build on it.
I have friends who write in order, but I can't do it myself! I'll just write whatever scenes come to me in the order they come. The first thing I write will usually be partway through the fic, and I usually end up writing the end before the beginning. Speaking of which...
Step four: find the fic's direction. This is crucial; this is the thing that will actually enable me to finish a fic.
While I write, I'm always asking myself where this fic is going. What goal am I working towards; what would be a satisfying conclusion to the story I'm telling? Is there a theme developing as I write it, and, if so, what sort of ending would fit that theme?
Basically, from the moment I start writing a fic, I'm trying to work out how it ends. Once I've established an ending, everything else is easy.
Step five: use the ending as a guidepost to finish the fic. Everything moves a lot faster once I've found the ending. If I know what goal I'm working towards, the question 'what needs to happen after this scene?' will usually have a clear answer. I'm no longer writing whatever scenes pop into my head; I'm looking at what I've written and going 'okay, what do I need to add or change in order to reach the ending I want and make sure this story feels thematically consistent?'
Step six: great, you've written all the required story bits! But you've forgotten to write a beginning, and, because you've written things out of order, you now have to write the boring bits linking all of your disconnected scenes together. sigh, fiiiiiiiine.
Step seven: read through the finished fic in full to make sure everything holds together, make final tweaks.
Step eight: post!
(Step nine: refresh AO3 obsessively for three days straight to see whether anyone liked it, don't look at me.)
Perfectionism can be a tricky issue! I mainly write in videogame fandoms, which helps when I'm obsessing over getting canon details right; it's usually easy to find a Let's Play online and track down exactly the moment I need. It's always a nasty shock when I need to check a detail in a canon where those details aren't as readily available!
If I'm having trouble confirming a canon detail, to be honest, my usual strategy is to rework things so that the detail is no longer required in the fic. For example, if I'm unable to establish the layout of the room a scene is set in, I'll either make my descriptions vague enough to bypass the issue or set the scene in a different location. It's not always doable - sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and do the research - but you can save yourself a lot of time by being willing to go, 'Wait, if I just cut this line about the Doonsword of Gongolblath, I won't have to look up how it was forged.'
I'm always so impressed at how fast (and how well!) you can write for different fandoms, it's something I truly aspire to be on the level of. I wanted to know if you have any kind of writing routine or tips, especially for perfectionists who worry about canon details and "getting it right"?
I was so honoured to get this ask! Thank you so, so much! I don't know what specific areas you're struggling with, other than perfectionism, but I'll talk a little about my personal writing approach in the hope that it will be helpful and/or coherent.
As a caveat, I mainly write short one-shots; 90% of the fics on my AO3 account are between 1,000 and 5,000 words. I don't know what sort of thing you personally write, but I doubt my 'dive in, zero planning, work it out as you go' approach would be much good for anything long.
Anyway! Here's how writing works for me.
Step one: get a fic idea! This part, unfortunately, is up to the whims of fate. There are ways I can try to inspire a fic idea, e.g. by revisiting the canon or looking through other people's prompts, but mostly it just happens when it happens.
As a one-shot writer, I find it helpful to have a single core concept that I can structure a story around, something straightforward enough to be expressed in a sentence or two. For example, the fic concepts I've noted down include 'Ace Attorney/Death Note: Phoenix Wright defends Light Yagami' (which became Always Believe) and 'Death Note: L abducts and imprisons Light to see if the killings stop' (which I never actually wrote, but someone should).
Step two: quick, write the idea down before it escapes! A lot of my ideas never get past this stage, but at least I have them written down, so I can pull inspiration from them in the future if necessary.
Step three: start writing the fic. This one's tough; I can't just sit in front of a blank page and decide to get started. I'll mentally toy with my fic concept as I go about my day, and hopefully a potential passage from the fic itself will eventually form in my head: an exchange of dialogue, for example. As soon as I have something, I'll write it down. Once I have a starting point, it's a lot easier to build on it.
I have friends who write in order, but I can't do it myself! I'll just write whatever scenes come to me in the order they come. The first thing I write will usually be partway through the fic, and I usually end up writing the end before the beginning. Speaking of which...
Step four: find the fic's direction. This is crucial; this is the thing that will actually enable me to finish a fic.
While I write, I'm always asking myself where this fic is going. What goal am I working towards; what would be a satisfying conclusion to the story I'm telling? Is there a theme developing as I write it, and, if so, what sort of ending would fit that theme?
Basically, from the moment I start writing a fic, I'm trying to work out how it ends. Once I've established an ending, everything else is easy.
Step five: use the ending as a guidepost to finish the fic. Everything moves a lot faster once I've found the ending. If I know what goal I'm working towards, the question 'what needs to happen after this scene?' will usually have a clear answer. I'm no longer writing whatever scenes pop into my head; I'm looking at what I've written and going 'okay, what do I need to add or change in order to reach the ending I want and make sure this story feels thematically consistent?'
Step six: great, you've written all the required story bits! But you've forgotten to write a beginning, and, because you've written things out of order, you now have to write the boring bits linking all of your disconnected scenes together. sigh, fiiiiiiiine.
Step seven: read through the finished fic in full to make sure everything holds together, make final tweaks.
Step eight: post!
(Step nine: refresh AO3 obsessively for three days straight to see whether anyone liked it, don't look at me.)
Perfectionism can be a tricky issue! I mainly write in videogame fandoms, which helps when I'm obsessing over getting canon details right; it's usually easy to find a Let's Play online and track down exactly the moment I need. It's always a nasty shock when I need to check a detail in a canon where those details aren't as readily available!
If I'm having trouble confirming a canon detail, to be honest, my usual strategy is to rework things so that the detail is no longer required in the fic. For example, if I'm unable to establish the layout of the room a scene is set in, I'll either make my descriptions vague enough to bypass the issue or set the scene in a different location. It's not always doable - sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and do the research - but you can save yourself a lot of time by being willing to go, 'Wait, if I just cut this line about the Doonsword of Gongolblath, I won't have to look up how it was forged.'
It Will Only Hurt A Lot Because I Am Actively Trying To Make You Suffer.
Oct. 12th, 2025 11:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
For each of my major fandoms, I do a short writeup talking about how it fits into my fandom history. A fandom qualifies as 'major' if I've written five fics for it, or ten thousand words across at least three fics.
The latest addition to the stable is a little weird!
Fanganronpas
The Danganronpa games have a very distinct formula: a group of people, each with a specialised talent, find themselves trapped in an unfamiliar location together. They're told that the only way to escape is to kill one of their fellow captives and get away with it; if they succeed, the murderer will go free, but everyone else will be executed. Every chapter is its own little murder mystery: someone turns up dead, and the survivors have to escape execution by working out which of their friends is responsible.
It's a great formula! The murder mysteries are fun, and the fact that you get to know all the potential victims and killers in advance really heightens the emotional impact of the cases. If a beloved character is killed or, worse, turns out to be the murderer, it's genuinely devastating, both to the characters solving the mystery and to you as the player.
Because the Danganronpa formula is so distinctive, some ambitious people have taken it upon themselves to create Danganronpa-style stories of their own: fan Danganronpas, or Fanganronpas. And then I got into these fan projects, and then I started writing fanfiction for these fan projects, and here we are now!
I didn't originally plan to check out any Fanganronpa projects; I love the original games, but I wasn't sure fan replicas would scratch the same itch. But I became vaguely aware of one Fanganronpa in particular, the YouTube series Danganronpa: Despair Time, because I follow someone on Tumblr who's very passionate about Ace, a character from it. I was a little surprised to learn via his blog that this fanmade character had won a Danganronpa character poll on Tumblr, beating multiple well-liked canonical Danganronpa characters; was this fan project really that popular?
When AO3 created a new canonical tag for Danganronpa: Despair Time, meaning Despair Time fics were no longer folded into the general Danganronpa tag, I messaged the aforementioned Ace enthusiast to let him know. I was very surprised to learn, in the process, that Despair Time had over 1,400 works on AO3. Apparently people really liked this thing! Given my love of Danganronpa, and the fact that at the time I thought we'd probably never see another official Danganronpa release, maybe I should at least give it a try.
I watched Danganronpa: Despair Time at the age of thirty-seven and went insane about it. It had its rough edges here and there, but it absolutely nailed Danganronpa's tone and emotion, it had a lot of fun plot developments and twists, and I really enjoyed the characters. One character in particular is up there with my absolute favourites from the official Danganronpa games.
The other Fanganronpas I've investigated since then are Project: Eden's Garden and Danganronpa Another, the latter of which I'm still working through. I really enjoyed Eden's Garden; I don't think it gets the tone as well as Despair Time, but it's a stunningly polished achievement - it honestly looks better than the official Danganronpa games do - and I'm looking forward to seeing where it's going. I'm struggling more with Danganronpa Another, largely because of translation issues, but I'm finding it interesting as a historical curiosity - it's an early Fanganronpa project that had a big impact on the overall Fanganronpa scene - and it does have a terrible boy I'm really enjoying.
As a side note, the large Despair Time AO3 work numbers that originally provoked my curiosity are actually a little misleading! It turns out there are four specific incredibly prolific authors who have, between them, written approximately 750 works for Danganronpa: Despair Time; the most prolific of the four has personally written 285 Despair Time fics. I have to admire the dedication that leads people to write literally hundreds of fics for a niche fan project, especially when there's not much of a readership to be found; half of the 1,600 fics in the Despair Time AO3 tag have under ten kudos.
Favourite character: David Chiem of Danganronpa: Despair Time, by a long way; I was not expecting to lose my mind this hard over a character in a fan project, but it turns out he's absolute catnip for me. My favourite character in Eden's Garden is Wolfgang; my favourite character in Danganronpa Another is Kinjo. Come to think of it, all three of them share the quality 'this seems like a pleasant young man - oh, no, something is very wrong with this boy', meaning they appeal to the same part of me that adores Light Yagami.
Favourite pairing: I really like David/Arei from Danganronpa: Despair Time; they have some very cute moments, and I was surprised by how invested I became in their dynamic. I'm also absolutely here for horrible David/David selfcest.
Number of words written: 9,645 across five fics: four for Danganronpa: Despair Time, and one for Project: Eden's Garden.
Absolutely historic development: if my Fanganronpa fics are counted, my latest fic means the overall amount of fanfiction I've written for Danganronpa (92,000 words) beats the amount I've written for Top Gear (90,000 words), making Danganronpa my most-written-for fandom by wordcount.
...apart from Assassin's Creed (128,000 words). Assassin's Creed is kind of a special case because I wrote about 120,000 words for a single project, which is very unusual for me; I almost exclusively write short one-shots. Let's discount that project for a moment, because 'another fandom has finally dethroned Top Gear after eighteen years' sounds a lot more impressive than 'another fandom has finally de-second-placed Top Gear after Top Gear got knocked into second place nine years ago'.
The latest addition to the stable is a little weird!
Fanganronpas
The Danganronpa games have a very distinct formula: a group of people, each with a specialised talent, find themselves trapped in an unfamiliar location together. They're told that the only way to escape is to kill one of their fellow captives and get away with it; if they succeed, the murderer will go free, but everyone else will be executed. Every chapter is its own little murder mystery: someone turns up dead, and the survivors have to escape execution by working out which of their friends is responsible.
It's a great formula! The murder mysteries are fun, and the fact that you get to know all the potential victims and killers in advance really heightens the emotional impact of the cases. If a beloved character is killed or, worse, turns out to be the murderer, it's genuinely devastating, both to the characters solving the mystery and to you as the player.
Because the Danganronpa formula is so distinctive, some ambitious people have taken it upon themselves to create Danganronpa-style stories of their own: fan Danganronpas, or Fanganronpas. And then I got into these fan projects, and then I started writing fanfiction for these fan projects, and here we are now!
I didn't originally plan to check out any Fanganronpa projects; I love the original games, but I wasn't sure fan replicas would scratch the same itch. But I became vaguely aware of one Fanganronpa in particular, the YouTube series Danganronpa: Despair Time, because I follow someone on Tumblr who's very passionate about Ace, a character from it. I was a little surprised to learn via his blog that this fanmade character had won a Danganronpa character poll on Tumblr, beating multiple well-liked canonical Danganronpa characters; was this fan project really that popular?
When AO3 created a new canonical tag for Danganronpa: Despair Time, meaning Despair Time fics were no longer folded into the general Danganronpa tag, I messaged the aforementioned Ace enthusiast to let him know. I was very surprised to learn, in the process, that Despair Time had over 1,400 works on AO3. Apparently people really liked this thing! Given my love of Danganronpa, and the fact that at the time I thought we'd probably never see another official Danganronpa release, maybe I should at least give it a try.
I watched Danganronpa: Despair Time at the age of thirty-seven and went insane about it. It had its rough edges here and there, but it absolutely nailed Danganronpa's tone and emotion, it had a lot of fun plot developments and twists, and I really enjoyed the characters. One character in particular is up there with my absolute favourites from the official Danganronpa games.
The other Fanganronpas I've investigated since then are Project: Eden's Garden and Danganronpa Another, the latter of which I'm still working through. I really enjoyed Eden's Garden; I don't think it gets the tone as well as Despair Time, but it's a stunningly polished achievement - it honestly looks better than the official Danganronpa games do - and I'm looking forward to seeing where it's going. I'm struggling more with Danganronpa Another, largely because of translation issues, but I'm finding it interesting as a historical curiosity - it's an early Fanganronpa project that had a big impact on the overall Fanganronpa scene - and it does have a terrible boy I'm really enjoying.
As a side note, the large Despair Time AO3 work numbers that originally provoked my curiosity are actually a little misleading! It turns out there are four specific incredibly prolific authors who have, between them, written approximately 750 works for Danganronpa: Despair Time; the most prolific of the four has personally written 285 Despair Time fics. I have to admire the dedication that leads people to write literally hundreds of fics for a niche fan project, especially when there's not much of a readership to be found; half of the 1,600 fics in the Despair Time AO3 tag have under ten kudos.
Favourite character: David Chiem of Danganronpa: Despair Time, by a long way; I was not expecting to lose my mind this hard over a character in a fan project, but it turns out he's absolute catnip for me. My favourite character in Eden's Garden is Wolfgang; my favourite character in Danganronpa Another is Kinjo. Come to think of it, all three of them share the quality 'this seems like a pleasant young man - oh, no, something is very wrong with this boy', meaning they appeal to the same part of me that adores Light Yagami.
Favourite pairing: I really like David/Arei from Danganronpa: Despair Time; they have some very cute moments, and I was surprised by how invested I became in their dynamic. I'm also absolutely here for horrible David/David selfcest.
Number of words written: 9,645 across five fics: four for Danganronpa: Despair Time, and one for Project: Eden's Garden.
Absolutely historic development: if my Fanganronpa fics are counted, my latest fic means the overall amount of fanfiction I've written for Danganronpa (92,000 words) beats the amount I've written for Top Gear (90,000 words), making Danganronpa my most-written-for fandom by wordcount.
...apart from Assassin's Creed (128,000 words). Assassin's Creed is kind of a special case because I wrote about 120,000 words for a single project, which is very unusual for me; I almost exclusively write short one-shots. Let's discount that project for a moment, because 'another fandom has finally dethroned Top Gear after eighteen years' sounds a lot more impressive than 'another fandom has finally de-second-placed Top Gear after Top Gear got knocked into second place nine years ago'.
Fanfiction: Mutually Regrettable (Danganronpa: Despair Time, David/Teruko)
Oct. 11th, 2025 01:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
David/Teruko did not occur to me at all the first time I watched Danganronpa: Despair Time, but then I saw assorted fun fanart and went 'actually, you know, I could get behind this.'
In this fic, I get behind it in the form of writing a bunch of hatesex. (Also including a touch of... consensual voyeurism for practical reasons?)
Title: Mutually Regrettable
Fandom: Danganronpa: Despair Time
Rating: 16
Pairing: David/Teruko
Wordcount: 2,200
Summary: David wakes with a blade to his throat.
( Mutually Regrettable )
In this fic, I get behind it in the form of writing a bunch of hatesex. (Also including a touch of... consensual voyeurism for practical reasons?)
Title: Mutually Regrettable
Fandom: Danganronpa: Despair Time
Rating: 16
Pairing: David/Teruko
Wordcount: 2,200
Summary: David wakes with a blade to his throat.
( Mutually Regrettable )