perfid and nefarious

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

Dead Pixel, a Mouthwashing fanzine, is out now. Go check it out...! Or else 🎂🔪

Go read it here! ⏬👁️ http://bit.ly/48vgbPA

1 Week Until The Crash.

The crew welcomes Myst! 🎂🎉

A group of moral crusaders, in this case "Collective Shout", and in that old case "Warriors for Innocence" campaigned and put pressure on corporations to get rid of "obscene" content, which ended up deleting the works of many creators.

Thankfully in the case of livejournal and "warriors for innocence" we got the miracle of AO3 out of the ashes.

While other people are out here dropping Kinktober prompt lists with 9000 stipulations, I bring you this.

It's not a real October event, but it could be if you believe. The prompts are here for anyone to enjoy anyway.

Why "schlock"?

It means trash/junk, and that's the quality of content I'm striving for with these prompts. It's also fun to say.

But, y'know, if you want to take a prompt and turn it into a masterpiece of a whumpy longfic, go for it.

What fandom is this for?

Whatever fandom you want.

What ships can I write/draw?

Any of them.

Even [my fandom's most despised ship]?

Especially [your fandom's most despised ship].

What if I want to combine prompts? What if I want to write or draw things out of order? What if...

Go for it.

Are crossovers okay?

Do. Whatever. You. Want.

What if I want to create something problematic?

Send me the fucking link.

What does [prompt] mean?

You tell me. It's all open to interpretation.

Are there any rules at all?

Sure.

No AI use. If you need an LLM to write your schlock for you, consider a long walk off a short pier. If you need it to do your editing for you, use a beta reader instead. A stick figure drawn on the back of a napkin is better than soulless AI art.

Tag appropriately. 'Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings' means anything goes. 'No Archive Warnings Apply' means your work is guaranteed not to contain any of the major archive warnings (non-con, major character death, graphic violence, or underage sex).

No irl bigotry. Your characters can be problematic as all get out, but if you try to post a weird pro-JK Rowling essay or something you're not going in the collection, bud. Don't kill the vibes.

What are the vibes?

Just have fun.

But other people are having fun wrong!

Shut the fuck up.

Are you going to be doing this?

Probably not.

How do I participate?

There's an ao3 collection right here:

Schlocktober on ao3

Otherwise, just hashtag #schlocktober or something, idk. I don't expect anyone to actually do this.

Text version of the prompts under the cut.

The Fall 2025 Fanauthor Workshop is a 7-week writing course led by Betts (@bettsfic). The workshop offers fanwriters a supportive space to receive constructive feedback on fanfiction, original fiction, or creative nonfiction.

Where & When

We meet weekly over Zoom. You can apply for one of two sessions:

Group A: Thursdays from Oct 2 - Nov 13, 12-2pm ET [See what time that is in your time zone]

Group B: Mondays from Oct 6 - Nov 17, 6-8pm ET [See what time that is in your time zone]

Note that USA daylight savings begins November 2nd. For those outside the US, our sessions will move one hour back.

What

FAW is a feedback-oriented workshop. This means that each week we read 2 pieces submitted by participants, offer written feedback, and discuss them over Zoom. You'll be able to sign up for the week you would like to workshop your own piece, which can be anything under 6k words.

There may be weeks where, in lieu of workshopping, I present external readings and writing exercises.

I developed a workshop model that focuses mostly on affirmations and positivity, as well as descriptive over prescriptive feedback, which is to say, describing one's experience of reading rather than prescribing solutions to perceived problems. We also present improvement-oriented feedback, but avoid negativity, judgment, and pedantry. Week 1 is spent going over the workshop model and how to give feedback.

About

The first FAW was held in 2017 as an independent study in my MFA. I restarted it in 2022 and since then have led 13 sessions with a total of 60 participants, over half of whom have participated in the workshop more than once.

Participation in the workshop includes entrance into the FAW community, an active Discord server where we host:

Eligibility to attend WTFS (Write the Fucking Story), a different 7-week workshop that takes place before FAW where we each do generative activities toward a one-shot or work on the first chapter of a longer story (WTFS is currently only open to members in the FAW server)

Ongoing accountability meetings during which we chat over Zoom about our projects and set goals for ourselves every other week

A monthly longform writing workshop, where writers can workshop any story between 6k and 100k words

A short story club, where we read and discuss original short form works

Birthday movie nights

Scheduled write-ins and impromptu writing sprints

A group quarterly progress tracking sheet that accidentally turned into a micro social media platform

And there are always other things going on, like international snack exchanges, craft exchanges, support during the looming deadlines of fic exchanges, and so on

We also chat about writing and craft, offer resources, and share many, many pet photos.

In addition, participants of the workshop receive:

A one-hour consultation with me to go over your workshop feedback, come up with a plan for revision and/or publication, or anything else you’d like to discuss regarding your writing

Open enrollment in future workshops

Eligibility

Anyone over the age of 18 who considers themselves a participant of fandom and who is familiar with fanfiction may apply. A stable internet connection is also required.

Cost

The cost of the workshop is "pay what you can" with the recommended amount of $300. To be as inclusive as possible, I don't want money to be a deterrent for anyone interested in participating.

At least partial payment (or notification of nonpayment) will be requested prior to the start of workshop via PayPal, Venmo, or Wise. Installment payments are fine.

Application requirements

To apply, you will need:

An informal cover letter discussing your fan history and goals as a (fan)writer (more specific instructions on submittable)

A short sample of your writing, either original work or fanfiction. This may be previously published/posted

You can apply via submittable. Applications close September 1st.

If you have any questions at all, or are on the fence about it for whatever reason, please feel free to DM me! You can even just say "I'm on the fence about applying to FAW" and we'll chat about it.

FAQ under the cut

"Todos las promesas de mi amor se iràn con tigo..."

What??? More Conclave? It’s more likely than you’d think…

Someone talked too much...