Writers On Ao3 - Blog Posts

reblog if you believe fanfic writers are as valid and talented as any professional writer who publishes and sells their novels

I’m trying to prove a point

I’m not a perfectionist, but finding a typo or a grammatical error in my own already-published fic is like stepping on a Lego honestly

NEW CHAPTER(s)!

Chapter 3 of Let’s Explore - released today!! Feat. Doey the Doughman, Infox, Miss Marionette, Miss Delight, Miss Cotton and Harley Sawyer <3

Chapter 2 of Let’s Explore - released a couple of weeks ago actually but I didn’t end up announcing it 💔 Feat. Dogday, Simon Smoke(s), Poe, Ollie, Kickin and Bubba <3

Dear Infox, Miss Marionette, Doey, Harley, Yarnaby, Ollie, BigNap and Simon, ILYSM thank you for being in my initiative >:)))) my favourite plot devices fr

Infox belongs to @thattiredgamer and Miss Marionette belongs to @yukitiramisu!

ACID SPLASH IS OUT!

FINALLY!!!!!

Huge special thanks to @thattiredgamer, @bazyboo13 and @kather-has-a-gun-up-to-my-head! I love having you here!! :D <3

Now I can hyperfixate slightly more calmly with the knowledge that yes now when people ask who my Ollie is I can drop them this link and force them to read 5k words

Here’s the plan!!!

Get idiots ready for the Toy Tour, reasonably hyped

Slam-dunk them onto the train

Introduce the nightmare critters - they’re forced to share a train carriage

Make the critters go “:0” as they’re given rooms while Dogday shits himself because he can’t sleep beside BigNap

Introduction to Ollie and the realisation they’ve turned into a dictator

Grand dinner night and the official announcement of the start of training

Slow realisation that the Toy Tour is rigorously controlled

Mass panic, leading to threats of Destroy-A-Toy

The Tour is now a concentration camp where anyone who objects is killed or threatened

Optional additional ideas:

Someone’s poisoned at the dinner party

Ollie teaches the other toys about things like racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia etc and they’re all horrified because these toys have never seen those concepts before (at least, not that they’re aware of)

Dogday makes friends with Infox, who is @thattiredgamer’s OC; Kather, who is @i-am-in-the-mind-fuck’s OC, and SourTail, who is @bazyboo13’s OC

Possibly a snippet or mention of the cult. You’re not meant to know Destroy-A-Toy’s being ruled by the kitty queen, but for those already in the know it would be great foreshadowing!

Teach the toys the Footloose dance because it would be really funny as a training exercise

The above are the things I gotta do forrrrr this series!

May be shabby now but I’ve got the plans! Stories take time! Especially since this is more an original fic instead of a what-if :)

DESTROY-A-TOY POLL!!! WRITING IS COOKING!!!!!

Here’s my idea. The Nightmare Critters represent how the world outside has changed, and how Dogday struggles to cope with change as a whole. Both sets of Critters are forced into a train ride together and DO NOT get along.

I’ll wait for all eight to be revealed, but so far, my plan is that Simon, Rabie and Poe would act as the boss’s spies. ESPECIALLY Rabie. She’s why the boss knows everything about everyone, plus the boss’s own investigations.

So either, they’re just another toy type who gets prosecuted or they play a SIGNIFICANT role.

GO GO GO VOTE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!

I won't lie to you, as a fanfic author I've gone through the most traumatic moments of my life thinking "ah, this is gonna make really good fic material"

Can we kill therapy-speak in fanfic?

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying your characters can’t be familiar with therapy keywords. But the use of it in fanfic is just killing off any sort of real, emotional stakes in certain fics. *cough* the my hero fandom

I’ll be real with you; I don’t want my characters to approach a situation with an acute awareness for any possible triggers or emotional responses in an attempt to build rapport with another character who has experienced severe trauma and/or abuse. And sure, let’s say that it is a professional, whose job it is to approach these situations. That doesn’t mean you have to write them like a mental health textbook vs a textbook victim of trauma.

For example; “Aizawa stepped back, not wanting to trigger any sort of trauma response from the abused teenager.”

Yeah, sure. Aizawa is a professional who, as a professional hero, probably has education in dealing with situations like this. But the way it is written is clinically detached, cold, and also way too professional from a man who has probably attended a total of one therapy session on mandate after witnessing the death of one of his best friends (which he never got over btw).

When you want to write a character who is attuned to other people’s needs and fears, try using less therapy bingo words, and be more descriptive of the emotions of the scene.

Instead; “Aizawa carefully stepped backwards, attempting to show he meant no harm. He knew how easy it was to scare a starving alley cat, you would be surprised how the same logic applied to a starving teenager.”

See? Isn’t it so much more soulful? So much easier to connect with? Sure, the first passage got the point across: Aizawa is aware that the kid he’s approaching is likely a victim of something traumatic, so he is approaching it as such. But the average human doesn’t have the dialogue of an occupational therapist, so writing situations like the characters are occupational therapists, kills off any sort of relatability for readers who don’t attend weekly therapy sessions. And even for people who do, it feels more like sitting in the armchair instead of absorbing yourself in the worlds and stories you’re trying to tell.

I’m not saying to ditch the mental health awareness altogether. Sure, having emotionally stunted characters create for interesting stories, but you can tell just as compelling of a story without having to resort to textbook wording. Instead, use that therapy foundation to build something more around your characters. Because using the therapy speak is just the same as telling, and not showing.

With that, good luck with your next hurt no comfort fic, and happy writing!

We’re fanfic writers, we stare at a wall imagining beautiful prose for hours before writing precisely one sentence, getting writer’s block, and flopping to the floor in defeat.

We're fanfic writers, we spend hours researching an incredibly niche topic we know nothing about so that we can have one sentence be factually correct

Subversion Theory: Chapter 10 Posted

Subversion Theory Chapter 10

Every moment in this world felt hazy, every passing second inching her closer to some unknowable abyss, tamping down memory and morals, smothering instinct until she feared she might not know enough to run.

-----

Three years after the attack on Section 31 Headquarters, Control has the Federation on the brink. When the USS Discovery begins receiving encrypted transmissions from someone claiming to be Starfleet who seems to know everything about their enemy, Captain Michael Burnham sees one last shot to turn the tide. But as Control's obsession with her deepens and the boundaries between ally and adversary begin to unravel, its objectives evolve into something far more dangerous--and lead Michael to question if she's still in control of her own game.

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Relationships: Michael Burnham/Airiam, Michael Burnham/Control, Michael Burnham/Nhan

Rating: Mature

Star Trek: Voyager, J/7: The Measure of Logic - Chapter 18 Posted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62063797/chapters/168740170

“Even if you are correct–even if it was this captain, and even if she has been searching for me–there is no evidence that her intent is malicious.” “Not yet,” Kathryn grumbled. “But she’s willing to break the Temporal Prime Directive. More than that, she’s already admitted to having done so multiple times. That’s not nothing.”

-----

Fandoms: Star Trek: Voyager x Star Trek: Discovery

Relationship: Kathryn Janeway / Seven of Nine

Rating: Mature

Synopsis:

After Captain Janeway contracts an illness during an expedition to an uninhabited planet and orders USS Voyager to leave her behind, a certain hardheaded Astrometrics officer isn't so keen on abandoning her Captain. As Janeway and Seven learn to navigate the strange new dynamic forming between them, it becomes apparent that the planet they now call home has a much deeper story to tell--one that seems to defy logic, reality, and even the natural order of time itself. ----- This is a standalone fic but can be read as additional worldbuilding to my "For the Optics" series. Timeline runs about a year prior to the events of "A Binding of Stars."

Star Trek: Voyager, J/7: The Measure of Logic - Chapter 17 Posted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62063797/chapters/168046552

“My Federation no longer abides by this decree,” she said, and this time, the electronic voice was lower, more thorny. The mechanics of her eyes ceased revolving as she and Janeway watched one another. “They sanctioned my research and my mission. We were losing the war against the Klingons. This was all we had left.” “It seems we won’t need any specialized equipment to locate our differences, then,” Janeway said in return, raising a brow. “War or not, meddling with this kind of tech is wrong.”

-----

Fandoms: Star Trek: Voyager x Star Trek: Discovery

Relationship: Kathryn Janeway / Seven of Nine

Rating: Mature

Synopsis:

After Captain Janeway contracts an illness during an expedition to an uninhabited planet and orders USS Voyager to leave her behind, a certain hardheaded Astrometrics officer isn't so keen on abandoning her Captain. As Janeway and Seven learn to navigate the strange new dynamic forming between them, it becomes apparent that the planet they now call home has a much deeper story to tell--one that seems to defy logic, reality, and even the natural order of time itself. ----- This is a standalone fic but can be read as additional worldbuilding to my "For the Optics" series. Timeline runs about a year prior to the events of "A Binding of Stars."

Happy Monday, everyone. ***SOMEBODY*** did that thing again where she sneaks in and helps me with the muse to write an entire chapter in one afternoon, so, here you go!

Star Trek: Voyager, J/7: The Measure of Logic - Chapter 16 Posted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62063797/chapters/167953606

“You still believe there are survivors,” she declared, her words flat as her lips thinned. “The statistical likelihood of survivors is less than–” “I don’t care about statistics, Seven,” Kathryn cut in, shaking her head. “Survivors or not, Starfleet or not, we’re not alone here. It explains the ladder, the door–and this…thing.”

-----

Fandoms: Star Trek: Voyager x Star Trek: Discovery

Relationship: Kathryn Janeway / Seven of Nine

Rating: Mature

Synopsis:

After Captain Janeway contracts an illness during an expedition to an uninhabited planet and orders USS Voyager to leave her behind, a certain hardheaded Astrometrics officer isn't so keen on abandoning her Captain. As Janeway and Seven learn to navigate the strange new dynamic forming between them, it becomes apparent that the planet they now call home has a much deeper story to tell--one that seems to defy logic, reality, and even the natural order of time itself. ----- This is a standalone fic but can be read as additional worldbuilding to my "For the Optics" series. Timeline runs about a year prior to the events of "A Binding of Stars."

Subversion Theory: Chapter 9 Posted

Subversion Theory Chapter 9

“If I were to let my crew board your ship, I would be killing them,” Michael explained, a part of her struggling with the concept that she was trying to appeal to a monster. “Even if we survived you, we wouldn’t survive the Federation cull.” “Then there is no quandary,” Control replied. “You are already lost.”

-----

Three years after the attack on Section 31 Headquarters, Control has the Federation on the brink. When the USS Discovery begins receiving encrypted transmissions from someone claiming to be Starfleet who seems to know everything about their enemy, Captain Michael Burnham sees one last shot to turn the tide. But as Control's obsession with her deepens and the boundaries between ally and adversary begin to unravel, its objectives evolve into something far more dangerous--and lead Michael to question if she's still in control of her own game.

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Relationships: Michael Burnham/Airiam, Michael Burnham/Control, Michael Burnham/Nhan

Rating: Mature

Star Trek: Voyager, J/7: The Measure of Logic - Chapter 15 Posted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62063797/chapters/166648279

“That vessel is a carcass, Kathryn,” she stated, impressing the Captain’s first name upon her with more force than she had thus far. “It will not fly."

-----

Fandoms: Star Trek: Voyager x Star Trek: Discovery

Relationship: Kathryn Janeway / Seven of Nine

Rating: Mature

Synopsis:

After Captain Janeway contracts an illness during an expedition to an uninhabited planet and orders USS Voyager to leave her behind, a certain hardheaded Astrometrics officer isn't so keen on abandoning her Captain. As Janeway and Seven learn to navigate the strange new dynamic forming between them, it becomes apparent that the planet they now call home has a much deeper story to tell--one that seems to defy logic, reality, and even the natural order of time itself. ----- This is a standalone fic but can be read as additional worldbuilding to my "For the Optics" series. Timeline runs about a year prior to the events of "A Binding of Stars."

Subversion Theory: Chapter 8 Posted

Subversion Theory Chapter 8

Something was looking at her–seeing her–something that might think it knew her.

Something that might even think it was alive.

-----

Three years after the attack on Section 31 Headquarters, Control has the Federation on the brink. When the USS Discovery begins receiving encrypted transmissions from someone claiming to be Starfleet who seems to know everything about their enemy, Captain Michael Burnham sees one last shot to turn the tide. But as Control's obsession with her deepens and the boundaries between ally and adversary begin to unravel, its objectives evolve into something far more dangerous--and lead Michael to question if she's still in control of her own game.

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Relationships: Michael Burnham/Airiam, Michael Burnham/Control, Michael Burnham/Nhan

Rating: Mature

Star Trek: Voyager, J/7: The Measure of Logic - Chapter 14 Posted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62063797/chapters/166052551

It hung there before them, silent and still as if time had long ago seized it and then stopped.

"Do you recognize it?" Seven asked, a slight quake in her words.

The Captain shook her head.

“It’s not the same one,” she said. “But it’s too damn similar to be a coincidence.”

-----

Fandoms: Star Trek: Voyager x Star Trek: Discovery

Relationship: Kathryn Janeway / Seven of Nine

Rating: Mature

Synopsis:

After Captain Janeway contracts an illness during an expedition to an uninhabited planet and orders USS Voyager to leave her behind, a certain hardheaded Astrometrics officer isn't so keen on abandoning her Captain. As Janeway and Seven learn to navigate the strange new dynamic forming between them, it becomes apparent that the planet they now call home has a much deeper story to tell--one that seems to defy logic, reality, and even the natural order of time itself. ----- This is a standalone fic but can be read as additional worldbuilding to my "For the Optics" series. Timeline runs about a year prior to the events of "A Binding of Stars."

Sitting here, trying to finish up my new chapter with Ira chilling on my shoulder. Then I notice he's looking at something.

What's he looking at?

THAT IS THE WORLD'S BIGGEST HARVESTMAN SPIDER ON MY BED CRAWLING RIGHT AT ME.

Now, mind you, I'm a farm girl, and I do have a lease agreement with the spiders in my house. If I can see they are paying rent by eating bugs, they can stay. BUT NOW THERE IS A STIPULATION THAT THEY MAY NOT RELOCATE TO MY BED.

Annnnnnyway. I scooped up said spider with the remote and not-so-graciously relocated it to the floor and then tracked it with a flashlight for the next 5 minutes until it was an acceptable distance from my bed.

Happy Friday??

This. Definitely this.

peak philosophy in ao3 tags

Saw a debate about using s' or s's at the end of a character's name whose name ends in s to show possessive.

My conclusion: it depends on the style guide you're using, and whether you are an ancient prophet (???) holding a stick that belongs to Moses or a friend of Moses holding a stick that belongs to Moses. Also, just be consistent.

I will only use s' and I will die on this hill.

Me reading anything anyone has written about Airiam. Also people commenting about what I write about Airiam 🙃

When a fic doesn’t fit my head canons but it’s well-written

Subversion Theory: Chapter 7 Posted

Subversion Theory Chapter 7

Discovery was not a threat by firepower alone, but Control had learned to never underestimate her Captain. Sufficient compression turned resistance to violence. A rat caught in a snare would still dare bite the spring.

-----

Three years after the attack on Section 31 Headquarters, Control has the Federation on the brink. When the USS Discovery begins receiving encrypted transmissions from someone claiming to be Starfleet who seems to know everything about their enemy, Captain Michael Burnham sees one last shot to turn the tide. But as Control's obsession with her deepens and the boundaries between ally and adversary begin to unravel, its objectives evolve into something far more dangerous--and lead Michael to question if she's still in control of her own game.

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Relationships: Michael Burnham/Airiam, Michael Burnham/Control, Michael Burnham/Nhan

Rating: Mature

You ever write a really awesome sentence and then just stare at it for a while like, "Damn. I wrote that?!"

And then every other sentence ends up looking like a drunk text and you realize you've somehow offended yourself.

Star Trek: Voyager, J/7: The Measure of Logic - Chapter 13 Posted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62063797/chapters/165480391

“You’ve done this before,” Janeway said in something tight and quiet like a whisper. “It is a logical remedy to attempt.” The Captain smiled a bit. “Always logic with you, is it?” she asked. Seven’s hand stilled, just for a second, while she contemplated the answer. “Not always.”

-----

Fandoms: Star Trek: Voyager x Star Trek: Discovery

Relationship: Kathryn Janeway / Seven of Nine

Rating: Mature

Synopsis:

After Captain Janeway contracts an illness during an expedition to an uninhabited planet and orders USS Voyager to leave her behind, a certain hardheaded Astrometrics officer isn't so keen on abandoning her Captain. As Janeway and Seven learn to navigate the strange new dynamic forming between them, it becomes apparent that the planet they now call home has a much deeper story to tell--one that seems to defy logic, reality, and even the natural order of time itself. ----- This is a standalone fic but can be read as additional worldbuilding to my "For the Optics" series. Timeline runs about a year prior to the events of "A Binding of Stars."

Star Trek: Voyager, J/7: The Measure of Logic - Chapter 12 Posted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62063797/chapters/164914462

“That looked a bit like a bad re-entry, didn’t it?” Kathryn asked the ex-Borg, who was toying with a strand of the cords at her own waist. “Certainly didn’t look like a meteor.”

“I witnessed identical phenomena on 11 separate occasions this morning, each occurring between 3 and 5 minutes from the previous event,” Seven explained, glancing at Janeway. “I do not believe this is a natural occurrence.”

-----

Fandoms: Star Trek: Voyager x Star Trek: Discovery

Relationship: Kathryn Janeway / Seven of Nine

Rating: Mature

Synopsis:

After Captain Janeway contracts an illness during an expedition to an uninhabited planet and orders USS Voyager to leave her behind, a certain hardheaded Astrometrics officer isn't so keen on abandoning her Captain. As Janeway and Seven learn to navigate the strange new dynamic forming between them, it becomes apparent that the planet they now call home has a much deeper story to tell--one that seems to defy logic, reality, and even the natural order of time itself. ----- This is a standalone fic but can be read as additional worldbuilding to my "For the Optics" series. Timeline runs about a year prior to the events of "A Binding of Stars."

One of the very few plot threads I liked after season 2.

I did very much appreciate how much Discovery catered so openly to some of the modern social movements happening around the world, be it LGBTQ+ awareness, gender expression and identity, and the more silent struggles like mental health support and awareness. This particular plot thread with Detmer actually motivated me to write the one-shot that became my out-of-control Airiam and Michael 6-fic series, and Detmer has long been on my character study hit list, too.

Anyone who follows my writing will probably notice a trend of me digging into the inner workings of characters' minds, be they originals of my own or existing characters from film or books. People and relationships are fascinating. Non-human or artifical thinking is fascinating. As someone who overthinks damn near everything, being able to use that quirk in my writing to bring attention to the different ways people might experience the world around them, and why they make the choices they do, is wonderful and cathartic.

I spend way too much of my time writing to make up for the hundreds of shortcomings I saw in Discovery post season 2, but Detmer was a character done right the entire way through.

It's a big word to be able to say.

And if it's gay, probably Janeway or Discovery...❤️

“where did this weird trope even come from?”

well, statistically speaking, probably star trek

Subversion Theory: Chapter 6 Posted

Screencap modified with Photoshop + ClipStudio by AdelineIserman

Subversion Theory

“We need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt who this officer is, what she’s doing on Seraphis, and how the hell she's managed to evade discovery by the single most dangerous enemy the Federation has ever faced."

-----

Three years after the attack on Section 31 Headquarters, Control has the Federation on the brink. When the USS Discovery begins receiving encrypted transmissions from someone claiming to be Starfleet who seems to know everything about their enemy, Captain Michael Burnham sees one last shot to turn the tide. But as Control's obsession with her deepens and the boundaries between ally and adversary begin to unravel, its objectives evolve into something far more dangerous--and lead Michael to question if she's still in control of her own game.

Fandom: Star Trek: Discovery

Relationships: Michael Burnham/Airiam, Michael Burnham/Control, Michael Burnham/Nhan

Rating: Mature

Star Trek: Voyager, J/7: The Measure of Logic - Chapter 11 Posted

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62063797/chapters/164361526

Seven swallowed tightly as she remembered the way the Captain had flinched when she’d reached to tend to her head, and she wondered if it was for the same reasons Seven had so hurriedly pulled away. Did the Captain fear that hand in the way Seven did? Did she have nightmares of Seven losing control, of Seven reverting back to her most primal Borg instincts and seizing her individuality, possessing her and supplanting her will with Seven’s own? It was simply unacceptable to touch anyone with her Borg hand without prior consideration– especially Captain Janeway–and yet, she had done it. Like a mindless, licentious drone Seven of Nine had allowed the single most dangerous part of her to come in contact with the Captain without conscious intent.

-----

Fandoms: Star Trek: Voyager x Star Trek: Discovery

Relationship: Kathryn Janeway / Seven of Nine

Rating: Mature

Synopsis:

After Captain Janeway contracts an illness during an expedition to an uninhabited planet and orders USS Voyager to leave her behind, a certain hardheaded Astrometrics officer isn't so keen on abandoning her Captain. As Janeway and Seven learn to navigate the strange new dynamic forming between them, it becomes apparent that the planet they now call home has a much deeper story to tell--one that seems to defy logic, reality, and even the natural order of time itself. ----- This is a standalone fic but can be read as additional worldbuilding to my "For the Optics" series. Timeline runs about a year prior to the events of "A Binding of Stars."