#fractionallyfoxtrot

Hullo, hey, hi! How are you? 💜

I come bearing a finished commission of Martin and Carl from Cabin Pressure for the lovely @fractionallyfoxtrot ! What a lovely date they’re having. UwU Thank you so muchly for commissioning me, Fitz. I loved doing this one so very much. ; u ; 💜💜💜

If you’re interested in commissioning me, you can take a gander at this here post if you’d like (if not, a share of that post would be lovely ^u^). But yes! I do so hope you all enjoy. :3 Thank you again, Fitz!

Hearts,

2. How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily a fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both?

Primarily a reader, these days. I would like to write much more than I do, but for various reasons that doesn’t really happen very often. Occasionally I will have a sudden burst of creativity and if you go through my AO3 you will probably find that my fics are mostly posted in bursts of 2-3 at a time, then nothing for months, then another little flurry, then nothing. I’m working on it.

7. Do you prefer to read short fics or long fics?

On the whole I think short, but that’s more for practicality than actual preference. I tend to read even very long fics all in one go, and I just don’t have the time anymore to do that with the long ones. I usually end up saving long ones for holidays and having a bit of a spree. 

26. What’s your biggest distraction when writing?

Doubt. I get to a part I’m not 100% sure of, or a line that I don’t think is working, or a scene that won’t behave, and I decide I’m just not any good at writing after all, and find whatever is the closest distraction to concentrate on instead. It’s not the distraction that caused the problem, it’s the break in my original concentration from starting to think I shouldn’t be bothering in the first place. It’s why I’ve taken to having WIPs filled with “...” and “???” and “[insert X here]” so that I can just skip the difficult bits and come back later.

38. What does your writing process look like? How chaotic is it on a scale of 1 (very tame) to 10 (you can’t handle this kind of chaos)?

Hmm. It probably averages at about a six, maybe a seven, but it can vary. I rarely write anything in 100% chronological order, I’m usually jumping around all over the place. Most of my stories start from a single quote or a single scene, sometimes just a feeling, and expand from there. I rarely have the whole plot all sorted in advance, although I will have the key parts in place. Even then those are subject to quite a lot of change, though, and fairly often I’ll start with one tiny part of the whole and sort of let the characters take over from there.

44. Rant about something writing related.

I hate endings, and I hate titles. Well, no, I don’t hate them. I just struggle with them. Most of my titles end up being quotes or lyrics, and the type of thing I enjoy writing the most isn’t really plot driven, so finding a suitable endpoint is often very difficult. I enjoy writing character-driven, slice-of-life type things, but they don’t always have a clear cut beginning/middle/end. I have so many un-posted stories that are just snippets and scenes from much larger wholes, and even when I know what the whole would be, I just lack the motivation (the time, the talent, whatever) to expand the whole thing because it’s not plot I’m interested in, it’s people. Like okay all this major story is happening, but what I care about the most is the characters and how they’re responding, and this one tiny little part of it that doesn’t really make sense without the rest of the story in my head, but also it’s the only part I really want to be working on at the moment… and then the WIP withers and dies and ends up another forgotten file on my laptop. So… maybe not endings, but plot. If that makes any sense?

From this meme here

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

Oh boy tough one to start... Right now I enjoy Aziraphale and Crowley (hence all their fics) as their POV is so different to the normal human ones I’m used to. I do also really enjoy writing Matt Murdock/Daredevil’s POV as avoiding sight descriptions makes everything more challenging. And fun.

10. How would you describe your writing process?

Chaos. I do try to write in order but end up skipping ahead to get that one scene down and oops no order now. There’s usually a plan somewhere but also a bunch of chat logs saved from that time I talked out that scene I’ve not written yet in the group chat and wanted to keep my thoughts on it. Multiple times.

24. Would you say your writing has changed over time?

“where do you see yourself in ten years time?” produces a very different answer from arthur then it does from martin or douglas

Oh my goodness, Fitz. Now we're going back in time!

F - Fiancé (how do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Cat is a serial monogamist, like her father, but is COMMITTED to a relationship, to the point where she has trouble getting over it. Cat is also terrified of being alone and has had some narrow scrapes with terrible partners.

J: Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?)

Cat is, unfortunately, very jealous, though she tries to put a damper on it. Really, the jealousy hides terrible insecurity.

T: Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, and gifts?)

Answers to the Fanfic Writer’s Questions:

27 - Outline or Wing It? Both! I usually have a vague collection of plot points or beats I want to hit with my ff and then I fill in the gaps. Some times those points are scraps of words or action that can in no way shape or form be considered an outline. Half of the time when I edit I have to unscramble/rescramble to have things make better sense.

35 - Share ahead of time or Tell No One? Definitely the latter not the former. I write for myself. I write what I want to read. I write what comes to me. 90% will never be finished and never be published. If I tell no one I have no pressure.

48 - Fave Trope to Write? There are too many good tropes. Too many my friend. I’d say I get the biggest kick out of communication-issue related misdirection. Character A tells Character B X but really means Y and Character B heard Z anyway. Shenanigans ensue.

Excerpt from Affectionately, Adoringly (BBC Merlin, Leon/Gwaine) posted on my AO3. 

YASSS okay this fic was SO fun to write and just keep kinda light with a little hint of some deeper layers, but overall mostly positive. I think it’s my favorite one I’ve written in a long time actually! And it got such a warm reception, which really made me feel great about it. I still occasionally get some good, positive attention from it, which always buoys my confidence a bit. Leon/Gwaine is certainly an underrated ship and I love that I got to spread the love!

Let’s get started:

“Sir Knight,” said Leon, turning the bottle over to read the label. More eggnog. He smiled, then glanced back at Gwaine who was scooping the dog up into his arms. 

So here he’s answering Gwaine’s question about the name of the little corgi while receiving a gift (bottle of hard eggnog) as the host. They have literally just met after exchanging only a few postcards, and they’re both a bit awkward.

In the postcards, Gwaine had been repeatedly making little nudges about alcoholic eggnog, and it wasn’t quite clear to him if Leon got the joke -- not until Leon sent him a bottle of eggy punch in the mail. “The right kind,” he called it. 

I had Gwaine reciprocate with a gift of eggnog for the host as a callback to the uniting thread through the fic, but ALSO to show that even if he is a bit brash and crass and a bit impulsive, he understands and follows the rules of etiquette when it’s appropriate. He’s also a little more thoughtful than just some guy who comes over for free food. (I also wanted to give big Date vibes.)

Also, Leon seems like a corgi kinda guy. And “Sir Knight” is just fucking perfect I literally couldn’t resist it once I thought of it. 

The name was a bit dorky, and he did expect to be teased, but to his surprise, Gwaine only rubbed at his little snout and gave him a kiss on the head.

And here, Leon is being a little self-deprecating internally. I like to write him as certain in his philosophies, but not in himself. He’s expecting to be teased for naming his dog -- even though he loves the name for his dog. And to his surprise, Gwaine is like-minded and also appreciates a good, dorky dog name!

“A most noble and fearsome creature, Sir Knight,” he said before placing him back down on the floor. 

I wanted to write Gwaine being likable! And what’s a better way to make someone likable than to show them being cute with cute animals!! Also. This is shameless indulgence. In my heart of hearts, I love nothing more than Gwaine being a Very Good Boy. He talks cute to cute animals, change my mind.

So he’s good with dogs, thought Leon with no small amount of affection.

And then, of course, Leon, like me, sees Gwaine being a Very Good Boy and makes fuckin’ heart eyes. You ever see a big tough guy straighten a bow in his four-year-old daughter’s hair? Doesn’t it make your heart skip a beat? This is Leon on seeing Gwaine being cute af with his canine child.

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This was fun! If anyone’s up for sending me another, I’d love to do more!!

Coffee or tea? -- Though I’ve had to cut back on caffeine, so I’m drinking and loving tons and tons of tea

Ice cream or gelato? -- yum @ both, but a preference is a preference