Everything Is Unfinished

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

Write it badly or it'll never be written

She knew me for a coward in many ways. My refusal to cross the street without first checking three times there were no cars. The way I liked to stay in my house and in my comfort zone, never venturing somewhere new, never greeting people who I do not know. The way I would jump at sudden noises.

She knew me as a coward. She knew me as a snake. I had betrayed her, given her up without a backwards glance. And it was not a surprise. My cowardice extended to any and all types of confrontations. I would not lie, even white lies, for fear of the truth being uncovered. I would not make promises because there was a chance I could not keep them. I was unloyal because to risk loyalty was to risk letting someone down. To accept loyalty was to risk betrayal.

I was a coward. I preferred to huddle in my home, hoarding my knowledge and resources, never letting anyone in. Never taking a single chance. And she knew this.

She should not have been surprised. She should not have been hurt. And yet she was. And so she pointed a gun at my chest, assuming I feared death.

I walked closer to the gun, letting the steel, hot from recent shots, burn me through my clothes. I did not make eye contact, for I feared what I would see in her eyes. But I knew she could see the acceptance in my face and I could hear her inhalation of shock.

She knew me for a coward. She thought this meant that I would fear death. She was wrong. I welcomed death. I welcomed the reprieve, the silence, the darkness, the rest.

Death is kind. In death you know what to expect. You do not risk hefty hospital bills from a car crash. You do not risk a slap to the face when you say the wrong thing. You did not risk tearing out your own heart and watching it bleed as someone you tried not to care about cried and begged for an explanation.

I know I’m the one who cast the curse but it can still only be broken with true love. I’m begging you, somebody, please come and fall in love with these girls and make them leave, I can’t take it anymore, it sucks so bad. I can’t keep getting viciously bullied by one of the largest living species of waterfowl anymore. I’ve tried running away but they can fly so they just find me. I’m getting nothing done.

Genre - Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life, Case Fic, etc.

AU - If it's an AU, what kind? What role do each of the characters play? How is it different to their canon role?

Parts of canon - If it's not an AU, what part of canon is it about? Is it set before, during or after a particular episode?

Themes - Are there any topics or ideas which you are trying to explore, or which come up repeatedly?

Minor Warnings - Is there anything you think you should warn for that isn't included in the archive warnings?

Format & Length - Is your work art, video, podfic, etc? Does it use a particular format like a Drabble or 5+1?

Characters - What is going on with each of your major characters? If you had to describe them with one or two adjectives, what would you pick? (Format as [Adjective] [Character Name].)

Relationships - What is going on with each of your major relationships? Are there any relationship tropes like Slow Burn or Enemies to Lovers in your story?

Tropes - Are there any tropes or common story elements in your story that haven't been tagged yet? If your work was on TV tropes, what are the first things you would add?

Sex - If your work includes sex, what kink(s) and specific act(s) does it involve?

Likewise, if you can't find something that fits for your fanwork in the autocomplete drop-down menu, or if you do find something but don't like the wording or it's not quite accurate -- you do not have to use it, you absolutely can write your own tags!

The entire point of AO3's system is to allow creators to use their own words and preferred terms to talk about their work and about the canon, and then wranglers figure out how to make that easily searchable and findable. The tag format guidelines are entirely just directed at wranglers, users need not even think about them.

If you write a fic where Blorbo uses she/her and he/him pronouns and identifies as genderfluid and sometimes goes by Blorbina but doesn't consider herself transgender, and you find in the dropdown menu "Trans Woman Blorbo", "Nonbinary Blorbo", "Blorbo Uses She/Her Pronouns", and you feel like any of these is wrong and inaccurate for the situation in your fanwork... you do not have to use any of them. You certainly do not have to use all of them because they sort of partly fit. You can use "Blorbo Uses She/Her Pronouns" and then write in also a new "Blorbo Uses He/Him Pronouns" tag, but you can also just write "blorbo uses she/her and he/him". You can write "blorbo is genderfluid in this one". You can write "Blorbo also goes by Blorbina".

You can write "Blorbo aka Blorbina" in the characters category!

You can do what you want!!!

Using the already-existing canonicals does mean that your work will immediately be findable by search for those tags, and following the guideline formats does mean the wranglers' job will be easier, and there are some ways to write a tag that will make it impossible for wranglers to do anything with it ever, but you do not need to take that into consideration over how you want to write your tags on your work.

If you're a writer fighting for your life in the tags trying to get people to care about your OCs, I see you.

i have just stumbled upon the most beautiful public document i have ever laid eyes on. this also goes for anyone whose pastimes include any sort of character creation. may i present, the HOLY GRAIL:

https://www.fbiic.gov/public/2008/nov/Naming_practice_guide_UK_2006.pdf

I don't mean co-writing either. I mean having a friend or two who you talk through plot ideas with, who you bounce ideas off of, who you trust to tell you if something doesn't work.