Dear Yuletide Author,

Sorry this is late! I was at Fanworks and did not get around to writing my letter in time. /o\

Anyway, it's that time of the year! Thank you so much for offering to write fic. As a general disclaimer, please know that I'll love anything you write, so if you have an idea already, don't let my ramblings deter you. I'm just putting them here for inspiration in case you're looking for some. <3

General thoughts:
I really only have one DNW, which is ABO--I just can't wrap my head around it, so I'd ask that you avoid it. Beyond that, I'm excited to read whatever you decide to write--gen or PWP, kink, anything goes. I really enjoy fic that makes me both laugh and cry (perhaps even at the same time!), and I enjoy reading about characters being bad at emotions and relationships but trying their hardest in their own, messed-up way. I'm very much into character-driven stuff.

As for tropes, I enjoy enemies/rivals-to-lovers, hurt/comfort, believed to be dead, sickfic if it's funny enough, and angst with a happy ending (among others). I'm not so big on coffee shop AUs, domestic fluff, classic romance tropes, or high school AUs.

Specific requests:

( There's some NiF spoilers under here. )

I posted my Guardian fic! As you probably saw, since I linked it here on my DW, too.

I don't know what the policy is anymore in DW based fandoms. Do I crosspost it to comms? I don't see people posting fic to comms that much, so I'm not sure that's a thing that's still done. I'm also only following sid_guardian and brush_and_lantern ... I haven't had a chance yet to go and see if there's others I should follow.

As of now, I don't have any comments yet :sob:. Waiting for the first comment is always such torture. I will say that the first chapter is a little hard to comment on--it's mostly just Zhao Yunlan being extremely sad, without much happening. I also expect that a lot of people in this fandom will want to wait until I've posted the entire thing before they start reading.

Oh well. I'll keep waiting for that first comment. It'll have to come eventually!

Does Guardian fandom have a Discord?

Title: Fear Strikes No Balance
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian
Rating: R
Word Count: ~46k (I'm posting in chapters)
Characters/Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, SID Team

Zhao Yunlan makes it out of Dixing alive. The price he pays is higher than he knows how to cope with. Life goes on, though, and gets even more confusing when Shen Wei suddenly returns—without his powers. Working through what's happened between them would be difficult enough, but before long, Zhao Yunlan has to realize there's much more to being Haixing's Guardian than he ever knew.

Post-Finale, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Temporary Character Death, POV Zhào Yúnlán, Grief/Mourning, Chronic Pain, Trauma, Zhao Xinci's A+ Parenting, Found Family, Haixing-Dixing politics, Angst with a Happy Ending, Additional Warnings In Author's Note

( Read on the AO3 )

I went on a tiny vacation!

I had actually planned to go to Kenya this year, a trip I've been wanting to go on since I was probably eight or nine years old. Thanks to Corona, that didn't happen. Instead, GF and I went on a short, six-day vacation about two hours from here. The place was an old 12th century fortress/castle that had been renovated to function as a simple hotel/bed & breakfast. The owners also run a farm, so there were an abundance of animals--horses, sheep, cows, alpacas, cats, bunnies, peacocks ... I'm sure I'm forgetting some. They served all of their own stuff for breakfast (meat/sausage, fruit), which was delicious. The only downside to the place was that there were a ton of very noisy kids around, but that's due to it being summer vacation season here--can't really get anywhere without noisy kids.

We mostly spent our days trying out nearby lakes and occasionally poking around some nature or one of the medieval towns in the area. I bring pictures under the cut--beware of dragonfly sex and a cat dissecting some mouse prey.

( Pics without insect sex and gore. )

( Click here for insect sex and gore. )

I have posted fic! I wrote this fic two years ago and finally managed to get it beta'ed and ready for posting. Better late than never, huh?

In other news, I have joined the C-drama bandwagon.

( My Nirvana in Fire feels, let me show u them. )

Title: Things You Never Asked For
Fandom: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~45k (I'm posting in chapters)
Characters/Pairing: Dirk Gently/Todd Brotzman, Farah Black

The Holistic Detective Agency has a new case. At least Dirk thinks they do. Nobody's hired them, no obvious crime was committed, but things sure are happening. And there's Dirk's friendship with Todd, which has taken a turn for the terribly confusing. Stumbling from one disaster to the next, Dirk tries to make sense of it all with, well, arguable efficiency.

Case Fic, Oblivious Dirk Gently, Todd Brotzman is Bad at Feelings, POV Dirk Gently, Farah Black is Terrifyingly Competent, Minor Tina Tevetino, Idiots in Love, Neither Dirk nor Todd Know How to People, Holistic Detecting, Some Fantasy Elements, Chronic Illness, Post-Canon, Mild Hurt/Comfort

( Read on the AO3 )

I'm a little late with this, but hopefully not too late!

If you'd like a Christmas card, please comment with your name + address!

I'm screening comments and of course won't unscreen if they contain your personal data. I really enjoy exchanging Christmas cards and decided to do them this year, so go ahead and add yourself to the list, if you wish! :D

In other news, Yuletide is finished (yay!) and I'm vaguely considering a festivids treat, though time's kind of running out on that one. Might post a longer update soon, once the pre-Christmas madness dies down a little.

Title: Taako and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Emotional Crisis
Fandom: The Adventure Zone: Balance
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,893
Characters/Pairing: Taako/Kravitz

He doesn’t talk about it, not until Kravitz spends a whole evening cranking his charm up to eleven. At first, Taako thinks he’s in for a night of sweet romance, but that hope is sorely disappointed when Kravitz sits him down and asks what’s been eating him lately.

"Not you, that’s for sure."

Kravitz makes a long-suffering face, and Taako lets himself fall back into the pillows. "Nothing’s eating me. Everything is. Life’s been a little weird, in case you hadn’t noticed."

Angst, Fluff and Angst, Banter, Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, All of the Spoilers, Minor Lucretia & Taako, Minor Lup & Taako, Let Kravitz Have a London Accent

( Read on the AO3 )

I signed up for Yuletide in the end. Got my assignment, which I am reasonably happy about. I've seen a few prompts I'm considering writing treats for. I really love the Yuletide app, it's so handy!

I've also seen a festivids requests that gave me an idea, but god vidding involves clipping and I just. I hate it so much, it's easily the worst thing of all the fannish hobbies I've tried out. So we'll see if that will go anywhere. I will say that I love the idea a lot.

The AO3 is ten years old! Happy belated birthday to the best site on the internet. The AO3 and the OTW are the one thing that reliably gets me teary when I read about the site's and the community's accomplishments--nothing else does that to me.

I checked my account creation date. Apparently I created mine on November 13, 2009 ... one day before the archive officially opened its doors? I'll take it.

My AO3 stats as of today are:

( STATS because stats are fun. )

I posted to the AO3 yearly except for a big ol' gap Dec 2011 to Nov 2015. I'm glad I came back.

Dear Yuletide Author,

'tis the season! Thank you for doing this. I love Yuletide, and I love everyone who participates in it and keeps it alive year after year. Whatever you end up writing, rest assured I'm going to love it, just because it's a Yuletide fic. :D

I'm going to explain a little bit about what I like a lot and what I like less, but please know that for me, the most important thing is that you have fun with your assignment. If my prompts and ideas don't jive with you, just write whatever you enjoy. My ramblings are meant to be helpful and inspirational more than anything; if they're not that, feel free to ignore them.

Things I like:
- situational comedy
- satiric humor
- self-deprecation
- pragmatism
- characters unable to deal with emotions
- volatile relationships where both give as good as they get
- flawed protagonists who create most of their problems themselves

Things I'm a bit 'meh' on:
As mentioned in my optional details, I am not a big fan of A/B/O. I also struggle with stuff that skews either very much on the fluffy or very much on the dark side--a good mix of the two is what I enjoy best.

Do Not Wants etc.:
No triggers or major DNWs. Go as explicit or gen as you like. This includes all variations of kinkiness as long as it's consensual (or explicitly non-consensual and treated as such).

Specific fandom prompts are in my optional details. I hope I've given you something to work with. If you've already got an idea, forget my ramblings and run with it. Have fun! And thanks again. <3

-- teyla

I have been meaning to update this, so instead of fretting about how to go about it, I'm gonna just do it. :D

I've been trying to figure out how to do fandom going forward. It's so hard to find a place to hang your hat these days! I've at this point more or less abandoned Tumblr, I never managed to warm up to Twitter. When I got into a new fandom and realized I had nowhere to post my magnificent tentacle porn art, I knew I had to finally decide where to put up my tent.

So expect me to be posting about The Adventure Zone going forward. Is anyone who's reading this into that podcast? If you aren't, you really should be--it's so fun. I was dubious about it at first, because that is my nature, but if you've ever played pen & paper (or been wanting to play pen & paper), it's super relatable content that ends up turning into a really quite decent story.

For anyone who doesn't know what TAZ is: it's the three McElroy brothers and their dad playing DND and being massive nerds, surprisingly decent storytellers, and also honestly quite funny. My favorite things about it are:

• Taako (of course)
• Clint and his terrible dad jokes that are sometimes not at all dad jokes
• Knowing that for once, I am not the only one who's not getting a single reference
• These moments when I relate so much to Griffin it hurts because, I, too, have DM'ed a bunch of players too fucking dippy to consistently follow a plot
• The Big Spoiler that I won't mention here because, well, spoilers
• Taako, again. He's great.

I've listened to Balance and the one-off arcs (well, almost--I'm halfway through Dust), and am going to be giving Amnesty a miss for now because I want to check out the new arc and maybe find some folks on here who are talking about it. There's theadventurezone which seems pretty dead, but maybe the new arc will bring it back to life. I shall not be discouraged!

Tentacle porn, you said? Why yes, I did.

( The Precarious Predicament of the Good Reverend Merle Highchurch )

I also drew Taako (from TV) because of course I did.

( Taako, you know, from TV. )

Soo, how have you all been? Is anyone doing Yuletide? I need to make sure I don't miss sign-ups, I really wanna try and get something written this year.

I did the ultimate trope showdown!

1 Enemies to Friends to Lovers
2 They Break Up (but then They Get Back Together)
3 Seemingly Unrequited Pining
4 Hurt/Comfort
5 Snowed-In Cabin/Isolated Together For Extended Period of Time
6 Pride and Prejudice AU
7 Amnesia Fic
( Read more... )

No real surprises there. All the tropes with people being hella antagonistic but also horny for each other and possibly in love go up top, middle ground is where all the fluff ends up, and everything supernatural-y comes after. Kind of surprised that "Actually Unrequited Pining" isn't higher up in the list, but then, I do like a happy ending. :D

Title: Big Cities Never Get Dark
Fandom: King Falls AM
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 42,900
Characters/Pairing: Ben Arnold/Sammy Stevens, Jack Wright

Notes: neery reblogged this with the note "King Falls AM is a Night-Vale-esque podcast about a radio show in a town full of supernatural craziness. This is a lovely fic about two people fighting through their issues and taking care of each other along the way." which I thought is a great summary for people who don't know this fandom (which is most people, sadly enough). It's still readable, even if you don't know canon! At least in the way most fics are.

Notes 2: I'm posting in chapters with updates twice a week. As of now, Chapter 1 is up. Chapter 2 will go up on Monday.

When you lose yourself, it’s impossible to predict where your life’s going to be when you come back around.

Canon-divergent after Episode 75: The Ben Arnold Show

Past Sammy Stevens/Jack Wright, Minor Ben Arnold/Emily Potter, Break Up, Suicidal Character, Canonical Suicide Attempt, Depression, Angst, Emotionally Repressed, Emotionally Volatile, Bad Communication, Endgame Ben Arnold/Sammy Stevens, this fic has jokes and cute moments too i promise, Eventual Happy Ending, Post-Episode: e075 The Ben Arnold Show

( Read on the AO3 )

Title: Things Stay the Same
Fandom: King Falls AM
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 11,475
Characters/Pairing: Ben Arnold/Sammy Stevens, Troy Krieghauser
Notes: Written for the person who's to blame that I'm writing in this fandom at all. Yeah, you know who you are.

During blizzard season, Ben and Sammy each for their own reasons make an unwise choice. The experience that ensues should be life changing—though is it?

Car Accidents, Injury, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Closeted Character, could be read as, Mutual Pining

( Read on the AO3 )

So everyone is migrating back to Dreamwidth, which means that I remembered that I have one, too. I hate that I'm such a flake about social media attendance--I do this on all platforms at this point, though, so maybe I just need to accept I'm not going to make more than three posts a year. Sorry, readers. :/

Anyway. How has everyone been? I have a couple new people in my circle--come in and say hi!

Things I've been messing around with the past couple weeks:

1) Distributed Fandom
( Read more... )

2) Possible New Job
( Read more... )

3) New Fandom~
( Read more... )

There's other stuff going on, of course, like Christmas and the new season of The Good Place and the fact that I still need to clean my apartment, ahem. I also bought a domain and want to set up a proper website for myself again, because the demise of Tumblr reminded me that you can't trust them to host your art or gifs (or vids, for that matter). What's your experience with this, fandom folk--would you set up a Wordpress backend or just code it from scratch? Both has its own appeal. I shall ponder.

Anyway, happy holidays everyone, and if you feel like it, let me know what you've been up to. :D

Whenever I go to Dreamwidth and scroll through it, I remember that I like it so much better than Tumblr, so here I am, back again. How have you guys all been?

( Infinity War spoilers underneath. )

In other exciting news, I'm going to Vividcon this year! Has anyone been? Did you enjoy? I'm so looking forward to it. :D

Dear Yuletide Author,

First of all, thank you for doing this! Yuletide is the best fannish time of the year, and it wouldn't be as awesome as it is without folks like you offering to write in tiny fandoms that nobody else wants to write in. So yay! :D

As for my wishes and tastes, please don't stress. I am in this at least as much for the writing as I am in it for the receiving. I'd rather you write what you want and feel good about than torture yourself over sticking to every letter of my prompt. I'll give you a general outline of things that I like, and (hopefully inspirational) prompts for each fandom, but if you've got a different idea that you're passionate about, please ignore me and run with it!

( More under the cut. )

That's it! I hope I've been able to give you something to work with. Once again, if you've already got an idea, forget what I said and run with it. Have fun! And thanks again. <3

-- teyla

Title: Take Me to Fucking Church
Beta: neery, topaz_eyes
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 50,204
Summary: Having a relationship with Malcolm is difficult, difficult, lemon-difficult. So is growing up poor in Glasgow, being gay in the eighties, and rebranding a major political party. Jamie and Malcolm take a rough three decades to figure it all out, but in the end, it’s the journey that matters. Right?
AN: Here it is, guys. I'll be posting in weekly installments; this is the first chapter. Have fun, should you decide to read!

( Read on the AO3. )

I finished my fiiiiiiiiiiiiic. :D :D :D

51,256 words. It's in beta now (poor topaz_eyes and neery). I can't wait to post. I've never been this excited about a fic. I got up at 6:30 every day the past couple of weeks so I'd be able to write for an hour before work. THAT'S HOW EXCITED I AM. :D

I will make another post later with some other updates (my new job, the zoo, that sort of thing) but I feel like finishing this fic deserves its own post. Longest fic I've ever written! :D

Look at my research post; it's taken on terrifying dimensions since I posted it.

I'm thinking about posting in chapters. There are eight chapters of roughly six- to eight thousand words, and I could post them in weekly installments. That's still a sizeable amount of words per week, and I might get some more traction in this tiny, tiny fandom (which is mainly on tumblr, sadly enough) if I drag out the posting process a little. I don't feel too bad about it when I've got the fic already finished. At least I can guarantee folks that it will be completed.

So, yeah. Watch this space! I'll definitely post a link here, too.

All right, so as of now, there will be no more crossposting to LJ. One of these days, I will go through my LJ and delete all my extremely personal crap. Everything else will stay up. All my content has been imported to DW, so I'm not losing anything. I feel good about this way of handling it, so yay. Thanks to everyone who gave input!

I've been talking to tinny about icons, and because I was stuck on my fic, and quite enjoyed the new Doctor Who episode, I made some 10x01 icons.

( Under the cut. )

Crit, feedback, comments, all welcome!

Has anyone been watching Line of Duty? I'm mostly watching it for Paul Higgins, who played Jamie on The Thick of It. His English accent is painful. He's trying so hard, but as someone on my dash on Tumblr said, it's like watching undercover Jamie acting like he imagines Englishmen act. His character on Line of Duty is an UTTER CREEP, though, so I'm having some discomfiting dissonance with how much I love Jamie and how much I hate ... I think his name is Hilton? ACC Hilton. Blech.

Thandie Newton is playing the lead, though, and she's great. I had a huge crush on her back when she was playing Dr. Carter's girlfriend on ER. Her character on Line of Duty is a bit shady, but man, I know where my sympathies lie. Everyone else on that show is even more of a creep. Oh, gritty British crime shows.