hit_the_books - SPN, OMGCP and fandom

Let's make a post before the year is done... 2022 my time in fandom review

Sat, 17 Dec 2022 00:01:35 GMT

I've not posted on this particular main blog since April 2021. The fic I mentioned in that? Still a WIP. I've been trying to write a few more chapters lately.

But I think I've done pretty well during 2022, considering I've had some life-changing stuff going on. And 2023 is looking to be even more life-changing.

Lots of art

This year I've posted more art than fanfic. Partly due to making art for the Dean/Cas Reverse Bang, SPN Dystopia Bang and for Hannigram Tropefest. (All my art posts on AO3 start with "Art for".)

Due to the above life-changing events, I've had to look into using digital art tools more because breaking out my chalk pastels was not viable. Rebelle 5 is lovely and does much of what I'd want to do in meatspace, so that's something I was glad to find on sale this year. I should be able to do traditional art again later next year... so long as I have the space and time.

Running a brand new fest from scratch

So, Hannigram Tropefest (Tumblr here, Dreamwith there, and Twitter here) is a new fest that I launched and ran this year. It is based on Dean/Cas Tropefest (with permission from the event's organisers). I launched it as two regular Hannibal fanwork events were not going to be run this year, and I wanted something for Hannibal fans to sink their teeth into while also being different to what was already out there for the fandom.

The fest involved writers using at least two tropes in their fics and artists/visual creators making creations based on fic allocated to them during a claims process.

When I ran Team Free Will Big Bang and SPN Dystopia Bang before, that was coming into events that already existed and had followings. I wasn't building from scratch. This time round, I had to build from the ground up.

What's worrying for me is that I don't think the event would have done so well (we finished with 17 complete stories with art) if Twitter had been in the state it now is, back when I launched the fest in April. The fest's Twitter following is 225 strong, while Tumblr is 150, but many of the followers on there found us through Twitter first.

I'm not sure how I'll adapt to the running of events, with Twitter likely falling into completely nothing safe and useful come early 2023. I suppose Hannibal fandom has a greater presence there than on Tumblr these days, but the changing tides of Muskiovian social media mean this too could change. I at least know Supernatural fandom is still quite active on both, plus a few other places.

Discord might be viable but it's getting that initial word out that's always the challenge.

I did not write much this year

Aside from the WIP mentioned earlier (Who's the Daddy?), I posted one other fic this year, a lone short fic for SPN fandom as part of the SPN Dystopia Bang. Frustratingly for me, my artist bailed last minute and I was unable to find a pinch hitter. So I published without art but at least with a cover image I was happy with. The Last Dance is a feverish short focusing on Rowena dealing with a world overrun by vampires and features Major Character Death.

I did sign up for Hannibal Bingo again, but the life-changing stuff going on meant that I have rarely found the inspiration to write, even with prompts.

One other thing is due out from me at some point that is finished. I contributed to Love Bites (a Hannibal fanzine with fic, art and recipes). It starts shipping soon, but the story was written 2020/21 and only edited a tiny bit by me this year. So it does not count as new writing for this year.

Ah well, at least Who's the Daddy went past 20,000 hits this year. My first fic to have that much reach.

Speaking of reach...

Making AO3 works members only

I thought about this on and off for the past few weeks after someone revealed on r/AO3 that scraping of AO3 had happened. Perhaps the cat is already out of the bag, but I just wasn't sure about keeping things public to all in case there are more fly-bys, so to speak.

Personally, I don't understand why returning users don't create accounts. The bookmarking feature alone is amazing, plus getting subscription alerts is super handy.

Maybe I'll shift them back at some point but not right now.

I've read less fanfic this year

My Kindle and browsers have not been used for as much fic reading this year as past years. It's been difficult to be in the mood to read fanfic, though I have read far more this year than I've written.

I'm not out of love with my main fandoms, it's just life-changing events have taken up a lot of brain space. Like a lot, and I've not been finding much comfort in fics. Though this could be due to a lot of the ones I've previously downloaded or bookmarked being explicit and well... let's just say life-changing event has hit my libido quite a bit and reading NSFW fic isn't as fun as it would usually be.

What will 2023 bring?

I'm unsure. I know that Twitter is not going to be a useful space for fandom soon. Hive, which everyone jumped on because of its copy-paste Silicon Valley UI, is a mess and is the same kind of walled garden we've all been falling into the trap of using over the years. (Also has big security issues that will take them forever to iron out.)

Personally, I think good fandom experiences can be had across Discord and Mastodon if you don't want blogging (Tumblr's NSFW views atm are rather miss than hit).

Use Discord for re-creating cosy Twitter group DM chats. Use Mastodon for recreating Twitter posts and reach, coupled with your fave site for posting fanworks.

If you're looking for Mastodon instances to consider for fandom accounts, check out this resources page from bloodwrites for potential candidates. (I mostly luck on fandom.ink if you're wondering.)

In terms of my own fanworks, I don't know. I am definitely not going to be writing anywhere near as much as I was pre-pandemic anytime soon, if ever again. But I'll still indulge in my fandoms when I can.

Stay safe and here's to an awesome 2023.

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Current WIP: Who's the Daddy?

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 15:04:13 GMT

Who’s the Daddy?

Explicit | Hannigram (Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham) | WIP

Omegaverse, Alpha!Hannibal, Omega!Will, MPREG, Pining, Dubious Consent

by hit_the_books / @hitthebooksposts

Read it on AO3 here.

Will Graham wants to start a family. As an unmated omega, the normal choice would be go and find himself a mate and live happily ever after. But Will can’t bring himself to become tied down with some alpha or beta who doesn’t understand the things that go bump inside his head.

After Bev suggests Will just finds a sperm donor on a website dedicated to helping potential parents find donors for free, Will decides to go for it—much to Hannibal Lecter’s dismay.

Hannibal Lecter, perpetual bachelor and lonely serial killing cannibal, has realized he’s ready to start a family. And he’s also sure that Will would make an excellent mate (on many levels) if he could just find the right way to ask Will to be his mate.

OR: The decimation of the Hobbs family leaves Will feeling like he finally wants to start his own family and Hannibal does his up most to be the donor Will deserves (even if he doesn't know it).

OR: The Switch (2010) AU no one asked for.

Read it on AO3 here.

---

Cover art by @harlotshouse.

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Wow, it's been a long ass while since I posted on here

Sat, 24 Apr 2021 12:35:35 GMT

Well, 2020 happened, so I didn't exactly feel much like posting on here.

I kept writing fanfic though and last year was pretty productive for me on that angle. Since March last year, I've posted 18 fanfics, which is more than the 13 I managed in 2019.

And 2020, in August, saw me fall in love with Hannibal fandom, which is why my icon on here has changed.

I'm still into Supernatural (and have a few WIPs still (sh)) but I doing more moderating on that side of things than actually writing. My main focus at the moment is currently several Hannibal fics (one WIP that's posting and a story for the Love Bites Zine) and one Supernatural fic (TFWBB idea).

Will I post on here more often? I don't know but in terms of fandom spaces that I'm active on at the moment, you're likely to find me kicking about Twitter more than anywhere else.

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Gearing up

Sun, 01 Dec 2019 13:47:08 GMT

Alright!

Bangs and writing challenges

Just because it's getting to the end of the year, doesn't mean I'm slowing down. Having finished my fic the Check, Please! focused Poly-Epifest, I'm currently involved in:

Dean/Cas Reverse Bang - I have an idea for what I want to do art for, just need to try and draw it successfully.
Holiday Mixtape - another SPN challenge, where you write a Christmas fic. I have an idea for this.
SPN Dystopia Bang - as an author, maybe an artist. Currently outlining my idea.

Speaking of SPN Dystopia Bang, sign ups opened for it today. So if you're feeling a bit like a touch of the end of the world, then why not come and join in! We're after authors, artists and beta readers. It's the bang's fourth round and my third time as a mod for it.

Rewatch

I've gone back to my Supernatural rewatch. Currently in the latter half of season 2. Watching it on Blu-ray and I have surround sound, and I'm noticing call bits of sound work that I couldn't hear when watching on my DVD version. I know that up to s9, I've watched the seasons a bunch of times, but it has been a while since I rewatched everything.

Nearly a year since Tumblr went to hell

I recently posted on r/fandomnatural about how my fandom experience has been since Tumblr's not safe for work content bans. Obviously I haven't been super active on most things, neither Dreamwidth, Pillowfort or Tumblr have held my attention the way Tumblr use to. And while my original Tumblr blog is no longer shadow banned (it's coming up in search again), my tags have been pretty much destroyed, making my old blog unusable.

When I launched the SPN Dystopia Bang in 2018, a few days passed and all that nonsense with content started kicking off on Tumblr. It massively affected sign ups.

Missing out on SPN gift exchanges

Another year and no Dean/Cas Secret Santa Exchange. I did this for a couple of years when I got into the SPN fandom, and I'm missing not having it run again. I heard last year that the mods just were too busy to run it, but I kind of wish they'd look for some people to take on the exchange on their behalf.

I think, maybe if my love for SPN hasn't been killed off by the conclusion of season 15, that next year I might try and run a little something. I liked how the Dean/Cas one used AO3's features to their most to try and get people matched.

Anyways...

I better get back to plotting!

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We all go to Hell

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 20:43:06 GMT

Art Title: The Boy Who Became King
Prompt Number: S2009
Artist: aceriee

Fic Title: We all go to Hell
Author: hit_the_books
Fandom/Genre: AU- Canon Divergence, SPN case fic
Pairing(s): Gen
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Word Count: 16,000+
Warnings: None
Summary: Have you ever stopped and thought about what Hell might do if it no longer had a leader?

Well, neither had Team Free Will 2.0, until they had to...

Sam, stricken seemingly by madness, ends up in a secure clinic. But when Sam disappears from the clinic, Dean, Cas and Jack realize that this isn't Sam's life finally taking its toll on his mental health. Racing to find a way down into the depths of Hell, the rest of Team Free Will hope they can reach Sam in time and bring him back in one piece. Of course nothing is ever just that simple.

Art Link(s): Ao3 | tumblr
Fic Link(s): Ao3

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Got some writing done and stuff

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 20:18:14 GMT

Today I updated my Supernatural Sastiel WIP Out of the Black, which is big for me, as I hadn't posted a new chapter since 12 August last year. I've been writing new chapters here and there, but as I said in the notes for chapter 9: life happened. I'm now finally getting back the headspace I need to work on the story.

(I'm planning on posting a new chapter every other week. I have five more chapters already drafted and my beta, Threshie, is checking them over for me when time allows.)

It felt good to finally post a new chapter, as I'd been sitting on a few, writing them when I had the headspace. I've completed almost two chapters in the past week and I know where the story is going, or rather the beats I want to hit. I think doing GISH has helped me get back some of my normal levels of creative drive, because if there's one thing GISH makes you do is get creative. Plus a slow rewatch of Supernatural is giving me ideas.

Onto my other main fandom: I signed up for the Check, Please! Polya-Epifest the other week, and submitted for claims on Tuesday. I am really looking forward to writing a gift fic for someone. I like writing gift fics quite a bit and I'm hoping that I do get one of my picks. I'm also really looking forward to getting a fanwork as well.

I'm also re-reading Check, Please! in preparation for writing awesomeness for my fest giftee. I think this must be the fourth time I've read it all the way through since getting into the comic during April 2018.

So sounds like I should sound off on what events I'm involved with at the moment:

Story and art for Team Free Will Big Bang (multiple ships, Supernatural, posts September)
Story for Polya-Epifest (poly ships, Check, Please!, posts December)
Story for SMPC in late August (Wincest, Supernatural)
Art for Dean/Cas Big Bang, if I'm successful in claiming (Destiel aka Dean/Cas, Supernatural, posting Oct-Nov)

I am also considering whether or not to sign up as an author for the SPN Reverse Bang (multiple ships, Supernatural, posting November), like I have done every year since 2016.

And yes, I said previously I wasn't signing up for more challenges, but being involved with half the challenges I previously was is still way more manageable.

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Fic: Inside of Me

Sun, 30 Jun 2019 15:16:06 GMT

Title: Inside of Me

Author: hit_the_books

Fandom: Supernatural

Words: 3107

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Sam/Dean

Warnings: Extremely dubious consent, tentacles, mpreg, eggpreg, Season 12 Canon Divergent

Summary:

When Sam falls unwell after a hunt dealing with a witch and needs to have an appendectomy, all Dean thinks they need to worry about is Sam taking it easy for six weeks. But that isn't all they have to worry about.

Read on AO3 here

Written for SMPC.

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Getting there

Sun, 09 Jun 2019 15:08:23 GMT

Back in May, I talked about how I was trying to wind back my participation in bangs. Here's the new status of that list from then:

Wincest Reverse Bang (has a complete draft, edited)
~~OMG Check Please Reverse Bang (posted)~~
Team Free Will Big Bang (has a complete draft, needs a beta)
~~Dean/Cas Tropefest (posted)~~
~~SPN Dystopia Bang (posted art)~~
SMPC (I am signed up to post another story in a few months and will likely stick with it - need a story by end of June)
~~Check, Please! Kink Bingo (I wrote one story, but the Tumblr purge killed all the fun)~~
~~(Forgot to mention before) Dean/Cas Reverse Bang (posted art)~~

But I've also signed up to do art for one TFWBB story. So:

Team Free Will Big Bang (deal with own story, make art for another)
Wincest Reverse Bang (has a complete draft,edited)
SMPC (need a story by end of June)

I think that's pretty good going. The Wincest RB fic is posing June 22 and then I'll be down to two events. I'm already feeling the free time I have all of a sudden. To the extent that I have started working on my Sastiel WIP fic Out of the Black after giving it a read through last weekend. I have eight chapters posted on AO3 already, and four more in the bank (though my beta needs to check some of them out) and I'm halfway through writing chapter 13. It's been a long time since I could work on this fic, so I'm really happy about that.

I might sign up to do art for DCBB. I'm unsure at this time.

But, here's to getting back to awesome WIP!

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Fic: Pies, waves and kisses

Sun, 09 Jun 2019 14:56:27 GMT

Pies, waves and kisses

Fandom: Check, Please!
Artist: @randomnoteforfuturereference (ForFutureReference on AO3)
Writer: @hitthebooksposts (bittycanbake on AO3)
Pairing: Nursey/Dex
Rating: Teens and Up
Words: 6629
Warnings: None
Summary:

In a world where magic, ghosts, fae, demi-demigods and monsters are real, Nursey Patrol has a whole different meaning for poor ol' Dex and the rest of the Samwell crew.

When Nursey proposes they go on holiday to his parents' cottage in Cornwall, England, Dex manages to convince Nursey that Lardo, Shitty, Bitty and Jack should come with. Y'know, make it a couples' holiday... only he and Nursey aren't a couple yet. But hey, at least Dex will have the backup he needs for Nursey Patrol.

ART | FIC

Created for the OMGCP Reverse Bang

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Fic: Getaway

Sun, 12 May 2019 20:31:05 GMT

Title: Getaway
Author: hit_the_books
Artist: deliciousirony
Rating: Explicit
Fandom: Supernatural
Length: 15,000
Pairings: Dean/Cas
Warnings: None
Tropes: Sharing a bed, Sharing Clothes

Summary:

Dean finally feels like he can catch a break. Michael’s gone, Cas is safe, Sam and Jack are holding down the fort—everything is a-okay. So Dean decides to head up to Donna’s cabin for some alone time and to do some much needed repairs, but soon Cas turns up and he brings problems of his own. For some reason, Cas is experiencing some very human (and angelic) needs.

Link to fic

Link to art

Created for the Dean/Cas Tropefest

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Going to be taking a break from challenges and bangs

Sun, 05 May 2019 13:27:58 GMT

Okay, first up: I am going to finish the bangs/challenges I am still signed up. That is:

Wincest Reverse Bang (needs a complete first draft, but is started)
OMG Check Please Reverse Bang (the story is finished and betaed, just needs some edits)
Team Free Will Big Bang (needs a complete first draft, but is started)
Dean/Cas Tropefest (my story is finished and is literally posting tomorrow)
SPN Dystopia Bang (I'm making art and I'm halfway through that)
SMPC (I am signed up to post another story in a few months and will likely stick with it)
Check, Please! Kink Bingo (I wrote one story, but the Tumblr purge killed all the fun)

But after all that, I'm stopping. Well, the only thing I might come back for are maybe Christmas fan work exchanges. If the Dean/Cas Secret Santa came back this year--I'd do it. Maybe a Check, Please! one, mainly because I do enjoy writing gift fic over Christmas.

I am coming to terms with the fact that I need to get over a sense of FOMO with regards to this year's Dean/Cas Big Bang, which is in its 10th year hence the FOMO. And I was signed up to do the Wincest Big Bang, but I dropped out about a month back.

Those who know me and have done for a while, know I've been pretty consistent with taking part in anything from 5 to 8+ challenges/bangs a year since 2015. Well, I think I have finally reached my limit.

I've basically gotten to the point where bangs and challenges I have signed up for are getting in the way of me writing stories that I want to write. And that's not good, when you consider they're meant to be for fun--I'm not having fun any more. I think of signing up for other challenges/bangs and it just feels like work, rather than fun.

So, I'm going to stop once that list above has been burned through. Then my plan is to get back to things like my WIP Out of the Black (a Sastiel fic) and original fiction... and a host of fic ideas that don't fit in with many bangs and I just want the luxury of being able to write at my own pace. (I'll still mod the few events that I do, but yeah.)

This isn't to say I don't think other people should take part if they want: you should, if you're going to enjoy yourself.

But I don't advise going in as deep as I have where the whole process starts to feel like a chore. Get out before that point.

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Fic: The Ball

Sun, 28 Apr 2019 08:15:32 GMT

The Ball

Fandom: Supernatural | Unrelated Wincest

Words: 2518 | Non-traditional ABO | AU | Explicit

House Campbell is looking to help secure the future of its pack by securing an alliance with House Winchester, a house from another pack.

Dean Campbell heads to House Winchester’s annual masquerade ball to show a willingness for his house to form a stronger alliance. That he might also find a mate there is just an added bonus.

A swell of violins buffeted Dean as he slowly walked into the home of House Winchester. His fox half-mask was heavy on his face, his tux more confining than he would have liked, the coat tails trailing past his rear, and his shoes were like flippers on his feet—their narrow long style in contrast to his usual boots. But he didn’t complain, it wasn’t his place to complain as the scent of other alphas and a few betas washed over him and made Dean scrunch up his sensitive nose under his mask.

Continue reading on AO3

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Doing art claims never gets any easier

Sun, 14 Apr 2019 20:51:34 GMT

Another weekend, another round of bang moderation duties.

This weekend, Enoliel and I have been busy moderating art claims for the spndystopiabang.

The 2018-2019 round of Dystopia marks its third year as a bang and this is mine and Enoliel's second year moderating the bang together.

But art claims has got to be one of the most nerve wrecking parts of the entire process.

Saturday afternoon my time, I was sat in my Mother-In-Law-To-Be's craft room, waiting to make the claims form live. But once you flip that switch that is only part of the drama as you wait for claims to come in, and you quickly work to match claims to stories, marking off stories as claimed and then sending out emails to authors and artists letting them know they're matched.

Enoliel and I took it in turns watching over things as our different time zones and weekend commitments permitted.

How did the SO's family take to me heading off to sort this out? Well, SO already knew I had this coming up, so when we arrived at his parents' place, we pointed out that I needed to be on my laptop and online by about 3:30 pm (claims we're at 4pm BST, so 11am EDT). They took the whole thing in their stride.

It took until Sunday evening (I was back home by this point) and we finally had everyone claimed--all 9 stories. This was pretty good going for this bang and while I don't mind opening things up to public claims, it's good when we have enough pre-registered artists make claims.

(Like last year, I have claimed a story and I am l looking forward to breaking out my art supplies.)

This process isn't easy, because you really want everyone to get claimed. You've got a bunch of brilliant stories where the authors have put some serious effort into them and you want them to get matched with people who want to make art for them. So you open claims up and you hope everyone gets matched as you manually watched, then organize and contact participants.

But how is doing claims not getting easier? Probably the biggest one is that the balance between artists and writers more often than not tips towards writers. It makes it difficult to recruit. You also need enough of your registered artists to claim for stories. We got there though and that's what matters.

Also, seeing the summaries for this year and having the fics checked over, showed Enoliel and I that SPN Dystopia Bang really is an 18+ bang. We had a lot of questions during author sign ups about why we'd set a minimum age for participants and while we might not have loads of dark fic in the bang (there's definitely some) the rest of the subject matter is more 18+ than Hunger Games ever was.

I have all this to look forward to again in the coming months for the tfwbigbang :D

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March, heck of a month

Sat, 30 Mar 2019 12:57:52 GMT

So yeah, been a while...

Okay, the good news is I got a new full-time job at this company I'd been freelancing for. Started this week. Three month probation period, but that's shorter than the last place I worked for, so that is something. I'm already really enjoying it there, it's a genuinely nice place to work. Like seriously: pool table, free gym, free fruit, and a bunch of other benefits.

The past week, I've started knuckling down on bang/challenge writing projects, which apparently I have a million at the moment. There's a page in my main notebook that has a table now of everything I've signed up to. Eight challenges across Supernatural and Check, Please! fandoms. A few are safe for dropping out of if I want to, but I'm aiming for shorter word counts for most of them doing mini bangs and the such like.

If I'm careful, I think I can finish a bunch of them over April for Camp NaNoWriMo, along with starting an original story I want to work on.

Plus, you know what? I am in love with the Sprinto Discord bot. I've set it up in a couple of bang Discord servers, but I set it up on a friends' server today as well, with its own channel. I just find sprints a real good way to get words down when I need to.

It's Mother's Day in the UK tomorrow (our date is tied into when Easter is happening, unlike most of the world) so unsure how much writing I'll get done Sunday... BUT I have figured out timings with my new job that I'll either have an hour for lunch, which I can use some of for writing or I can leave half hour early at the end of the day.

Yeah definitely need to carve out writing time at the moment.

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Recently been reading: The Bright Lights of Disturbia (re-read)

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 22:49:35 GMT

Yesterday I finished re-reading The Bright Lights of Disturbia by leonidaslion. It's a pretty dark Wincest fic, over 350,000 words long. Heed the tags, please.

Not all of our scars are worn on the outside ...

It's a canon divergent fic set around s1 and s2 of Supernatural before going off on its own timeline...

And it majorly plays on consent and having an unreliable narrator: Sam.

I think these are the main reasons I like this fic so much. It is not a happy Wincest fic, even until the end, you're wondering if there's full consent on both sides. (I'd say it's open to interpretation as leonidaslion manages to thoroughly show that both brothers are messed up in ways that cloud their choices regarding each other.)

While I enjoy Wincest fics where everyone's on board, and so on, I actually prefer reading fics where the nature of the relationship is addressed in the fic. Like I much more prefer it when both brothers mull over the problematic nature of what is going on between them. And actually those who love them (Bobby, John, and so on) also find out and it causes tension.

This is the second time I've read this fic all the way through. There is a wealth of detail and characterization in this fic that I admire. On the second read, I must have rad this about 3 years ago the first time, I was able to see just how unreliable Sam was as a narrator. It was exciting to retread over this ground with this realization.

If you've somehow never read this and like reading Wincest fics of an incredibly dark nature, then I think you need to give The Bright Lights of Disturbia a try.

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Life and fandom update

Sun, 24 Feb 2019 21:53:22 GMT

Some of you may know that at the start of this month I was made redundant from my job. I'm pretty much over that now, moving onto new opportunities, etc, and just having the occasional thoughts of "FU!" about that employer.

This weekend has probably been my most productive since that all kicked off:

Got my latest SMPC Supernatural fic out. (It's a Wincest one and you can find a link in this post.)
Managed to get a load of mod tasks done for the SPN Dystopia Bang and the Team Free Will Big Bang (author sign ups close for TFWBB on March 4th).
Got an update done for post_tumblr_fandom which you can check out here
Socialized Saturday night.
Put my laundry on.
Exercised.
Read some fic.
Rewatched some episodes of House.
Oh, and wrote 5905 words for a challenge fic that has a fast approaching deadline (I'll be writing another 5000 words during the coming week).

Yep, super productive weekend.

I am currently doing some freelance writing work for a local tech company and I have a job interview with a local university on Tuesday. Between the two, I'm hoping something permanent will come of one of them, as the tech company wants to give me an actual job, it's just the person hiring me for the freelance work (which costs them more than having me on staff) is trying to show that they need someone like me to their higher ups. The uni job would be nice, but doesn't excite me as much as the tech one.

After this coming week, I'm hoping to write some more Check, Please! Kink Bingo fics.

Anyway, sorry for the silence on my blogging locations. It's been a crap month in one huge way.

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Fic: Strong Hands

Sun, 24 Feb 2019 14:01:35 GMT

Strong Hands
Fandom: Supernatural
Pairing: Sam/Dean (Wincest)
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 2645
Summary: Sam almost drowns while on a hunt and it pushes Dean's feelings for his brother to the forefront of his thoughts.

“DEAN!”

But Dean couldn’t get to Sam fast enough as the sound of splashing icy cold water met his ears. His bobbing head flashlight showed the eddy of water that was lapping at the cave floor shore, but he couldn’t see Sam. Pulling out his silver knife, Dean jumped into the water and started for where the circles of water had originated from.

Continue reading on AO3

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It's cold out

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 18:27:27 GMT

Title: It's cold out

Link: AO3

Square Filled: Poly Haus

Ships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann, Larissa "Lardo" Duan/Shitty Knight, Adam "Holster" Birkholtz/Justin "Ransom" Oluransi, Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Justin "Ransom" Oluransi, Adam "Holster" Birkholtz/Larissa "Lardo" Duan/Shitty Knight, Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann/Justin "Ransom" Oluransi

Rating: Mature

Major Tags: Canon Divergent, Polycule

Summary: The power's gone out. The furnace is being uncooperative and no one can remember when they last had a hot meal.

Word Count: 1124

Written for checkpleasebingo (submitted on PF originally)

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Does all the modding

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 20:29:09 GMT

Welp.

Guess who’s just finished drafting the sign up posts for this year’s Team Free Will Big Bang… okay, obviously that’s me. Sign ups open on Friday Feb 1st.

But I’m fecking psyched to be working with majesticduxk on it again this year.

(Art signs up are also still open for the SPN Dystopia Bang… hint, hint.)

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Bang season is upon us

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 17:07:25 GMT

I feel like maybe there's a couple of months in SPN fandom where things quiet down for a bit on the bangs front. It's just gift exchanges and seasonal challenges... and then the holidays are over and everything cranks up back into gear.

But I am responsible for two of those events, so I've only got myself to blame.

SPN Dystopia Bang

Author sign ups for the SPN Dystopia Bang close today (13 January). Then I've got to the usual thing where I try to find artists for the authors who will hopefully stick about. I usually expect there to be an imbalance at this stage of things, so it's no surprise to me that we're on schedule for the big author:artist ratio imbalance. My big headache is that of course Tumblr's BS is going to make this all harder.

So, if you have any artist friends who like Supernatural and Dystopia... I'd super appreciate it if you put a good word in for us.

I won't be writing for it again this year. I thought I might have an idea and did some basic outlines for a couple, but since taking part in the bang during its first year, I just haven't been able to bring together a strong enough idea. That's probably because after the first year I became a mod and it's not easy for me to think of ideas for. It's just too much for me to mod and write for it.

Team Free Will Big Bang

Details for the fourth (third time I've been running it) Team Free Will Big Bang, will be going live tomorrow (14 January). I'll admit, this bang is a little more my speed, because the constraints are ones I write within a lot.

The TFWBB is a bang I resurrected (along with majestic_duxk's help) back in 2017. It had run last in 2014 back then, and the mods who had done it had since moved on. I managed to get in contact with one of them and get their blessing (and my own access) for running it and taking it over. Though that did involve killing the LJ, when LJ pulled its last round of BS in 2017.

Again, I foresee issues getting artists on board, because of the Tumblr BS.

Am I writing in any bangs this year?
Maybe a few.

I'm hoping to take part in the OMG Check, Please! Reverse Bang, which is new. I'm hoping to take part in Dean/Cas Tropefest. Plus I would like to find an idea that suits the TFWBB, but I'm not holding my breath on that front. And I am hoping to take part in the Wincest Reverse Bang and maybe the Dean/Cas Reverse Bang. Finally, I hope to do something for this year's SPN Reverse Bang, but that's mainly because I love taking part in it. I am definitely taking part in the Check, Please! Kink Bingo, which I'm co-modding.

But all of the above rely on good ideas or good prompts. I also did say something about completing Out of the Black...

Last year I took part in way fewer events than any previous year. And while I am happy to run events, I'm becoming less and less sure about taking part as a creator. The deadlines and so on are seeming less of a draw.

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1000+ words and counting

Thu, 03 Jan 2019 21:51:04 GMT

I went back to work on Wednesday. But I had "going back to work nerves" so of course woke up about 20 minutes before my alarm.

Laying there in bed, I tried to figure out whether I should try to doze or get up. I got up, got myself sorted out and decided that I'd used the extra time before work to have a positive experience before work.

My job isn't in my nearest town, but that town is on my route and has my fave indie coffee shop in the world. I went in early and got there at opening time, with my personal laptop in tow. I got myself a skinny chai latte with a shot of espresso, sat down with my laptop, and wrote (over 30 minutes) just over 500 words on a WIP I hadn't touched since September.

And then today I did the same thing.

It felt good to be working on this story, but also taking the time to have a positive experience before going to work. And I think taking this time for myself and doing something I enjoy before heading into the office is a way I can make things better for myself in 2019.

See, I started my job a year ago this week. It's not my first professional job, but it's a very different business culture to what I cut my teeth on. The pay's good, but the compensation hasn't been enough for the psychological upset the culture change has meant for me (I'm seeing a therapist on the regular, that's how bad it is). I'd switch jobs, if it weren't for the fact I live in a part of the UK where this level of opportunity is rare (and Brexit means I need to see how the dust settles before I can even think of going freelance again). So I'm having to find ways to cope, like therapy, exercise, and now taking some time to do something I enjoy before work.

In fact, the stress of this job has seriously hacked away my mental energy needed to write. The Christmas break helped me regain some of it.

I'm hoping that I can keep up this early morning writing, let it have a positive effect on my day. There might be some mornings I can't go to my fave coffee shop, because I need to spend some time deicing my car, but hopefully I can at least get a bit of writing in each morning. Working on fan or original projects that bring me joy.

It would be good to finish this WIP this year (Sastiel, Supernatural fic called Out of the Black). And I'm saying to you all that I am setting myself the goal of writing a little bit each day before work. Even if it's just a blog post sometimes (though I'm writing this one just before bed).

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Surviving Christmas

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 15:24:51 GMT

It's day three of hanging out at my friends' place. We had Christmas together - cooked food, shared booze, shared gifts, and have watched a tonne of TV. We've been moving between The Good Place and Aggretsuko. (And in my case, having friends' cat trying to sleep on my face in the night.)

I've been writing, editing and posting a tonne of fanfic. I had two Supernatural fanfics due in the past 7 days and a Check, Please! fic too.

Me hanging out with friends and writing a load of fanfic before the end of the year is like an annual thing at this point.

Another thing that I realized this past week, is that I went past 1,000,000 posted words on AO3, which actually surprised me. I haven't been writing as much fanfic this year as I had in the past few. So I knew I was getting close, but I didn't think I would hit such a milestone this year.

Anyways, once I'm back at my own place Friday, I'll be initiating a massive tidy up/get rid of things drive and going through the Spark Joy process as much as possible before I head back to work Wednesday next week. But if I'm lucky... I might get to write some more fanfic in my downtime.

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Taking Our Time

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 14:42:47 GMT

Taking Our Time
Fandom: Check, Please!
Rating: Mature
Pairings: Jack/Kent, Eric/Jack/Kent
Word Count: 7370
Summary: When Jack gets back together with Kent and signs with the Las Vegas Aces, Eric's whole world crumbles around him. He certainly doesn't expect Jack and Kent to be the ones who rebuild it.

(Thanks to Treefrogie84 and Unforth for all your help.)

“Well, you know, something always goes wrong during these parties.”

Jack’s words echoed around Eric’s head again as he sat on the floor beside his bed, Señor Bun clutched close to his chest. He’d heard too much, seen more than he wanted to. Smelled more than should have been possible. Every fucking sense, bar touch, had been overloaded like he’d been struck by lightning and almost died.

Continue reading on AO3

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Fic: Nougat

Sun, 23 Dec 2018 21:07:58 GMT

Nougat story: hit_the_books art: crowleykoh85
Rating: Gen - no pairing
WC: 2159
Summary: Sam makes an unexpected discovery while out for a run on Christmas Eve.

(Thank you to Coconutice22 for betaing this for me.)

A bin lid rolled across Sam’s path and he stopped, breath misting on the air. He paused the music playing through his ear buds and looked to the small alley between the bakery and bookshop he had been passing. It was early morning, Christmas Eve, in Lebanon, Kansas and there was a light dusting of snow still on a few surfaces.

“Yip!”

Sam stepped to the mouth of the alley and pulled out a small flashlight he always kept with him when he ran. He pressed the rubbery black button on its base and examined the alley. There were a few trashcans lined down the side, but not much else.

“Yip!”

Continue reading on AO3

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Fic: A Not So Cursed Christmas

Sun, 23 Dec 2018 21:06:04 GMT

A Not So Cursed Christmas by hit_the_books
Ship: Wincest
Rating: Explicit
WC: 3557
Summary: This Christmas is just going to be the two of them, and Sam's looking forward to it. He's got the perfect gift for Dean and they're going to be spending some quality time together. It'll be a million times better than one of their motel Christmases... right?

(Thanks to majestic_duxk for betaing this one for me.)

Sam’s not going to admit that every single magic shop they have been into while on a hunt of late has seen him looking for something for Dean. Christmas was drawing near and Sam’s kind of desperate to give Dean a little something that will help protect him. Keep him safe, because they have had so little of that lately. What with finally giving Michael the good ol’ heave ho.

There’s just the case of finding the right thing. Sam figured a talisman of some sort would work. He’d liked wearing necklaces in the past and if Sam was being honest with himself, which he rarely was, he kind of missed seeing something around Dean’s neck that was from him. From Sam. Showed that Dean was cared for.

He stopped in front of a glass cabinet and scratched some hands through his beard. The magic-New-Age-Wicca store they’d wandered into, while looking into something to help them track a missing woman, was filled with all sorts of odds and ends. Unless it was a crystal, candle or Tarot card the store didn’t have more than one. The sign of the place being the real deal.

Continue reading on AO3...

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hit_the_books - SPN, OMGCP and fandom

Let's make a post before the year is done... 2022 my time in fandom review

Lots of art

Running a brand new fest from scratch

I did not write much this year

Making AO3 works members only

I've read less fanfic this year

What will 2023 bring?

Current WIP: Who's the Daddy?

Who’s the Daddy?

Wow, it's been a long ass while since I posted on here

Gearing up

We all go to Hell

Got some writing done and stuff

Fic: Inside of Me

Getting there

Fic: Pies, waves and kisses

Fic: Getaway

Going to be taking a break from challenges and bangs

Fic: The Ball

The Ball

Doing art claims never gets any easier

March, heck of a month

Recently been reading: The Bright Lights of Disturbia (re-read)

Life and fandom update

Fic: Strong Hands

It's cold out

*Does all the modding*

Bang season is upon us

1000+ words and counting

Surviving Christmas

Taking Our Time

Fic: Nougat

Fic: A Not So Cursed Christmas

Does all the modding