and I'm on a roll!

[extrapenguin]

1. I finished the problematic bit and wrapped up the following scene as well in one of the WIPs I was blocked on!

2. I also wrote a ficlet for the SongXiao2019 event:
How Beautiful the Moon Tonight (847 words) by ExtraPenguin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Sòng Lán | Sòng Zǐchēn/Xiǎo Xīngchén
Characters: Sòng Lán | Sòng Zǐchēn, Xiǎo Xīngchén
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ficlet
Summary:

All swords were given names, of course, and that was the only engraving on the metal. In addition to that, however, would appear what was called the "ghost script" – a second set of characters on the reverse.

The ghost script could be the name of a sword, another weapon, or perhaps a person. Whatever the characters referred to, they would lead to Song Lan's soulmate.

Event ad on Twitter. I originally only planned on participating on the final day – I have an idea already! – but I went fuck it and decided I'll write some ficlets. It's only three days, I can write three ficlets in a row. Even if tomorrow's prompts are a bit orthogonal to antithetical to my interests, I can surely write some happy family-related stuff. (There will be zero farewells/sad things and absolutely no modern AUs on my watch.)

Comments

[floating_hell]

Thank you for feeding us starving Songxiao fans! I saw that there was going to be an event on Twitter and I knew I wouldn't be able to participate due to rl constraints, but I need to see these two happy.

[extrapenguin]

You're welcome! I've even had a grand total of TWO comments. I know it's not the juggernaut, but the response (or rather lack of it) is always a bit underwhelming, which just makes me go "Aw."

[floating_hell]

The fact that commenting on fic and art has gone out of style makes me really sad. I think it's important to let people know if you like something they made!

[extrapenguin]

Yup! And people might squee and such about the fics elsewhere, such as on Twitter or Discord, where the author doesn't see it, yet not even write an "I liked it when X happened" into the comment box. Sigh.

(Of course, the more niche the stuff one makes, the more likely that the people who do read it will comment on it, but I wish people would just comment more. It's as if everyone is a lurker these days!)

[floating_hell]

Yeah, I found out someone on Twitter recced one of my fics, which made me very happy! But I actually didn't get a Twitter until a few months later. I know in the Scum Villain fandom, everyone always RAVES about Feynight's fic. And as far as I'm concerned, it deserves that raving!! But I wonder if people actually say it to them? I don't see Feynight @ed in the posts, so I'm always like 'it's good that you liked it, it's good that you're telling other people about it, but don't let Feynight feel discouraged! Please tell them all your compliments as well!'

[extrapenguin]

Yeah, it's 100% ok to rave about a fic somewhere (it's like a rec!) but please, make it easy for the author to know people liked it, by for instance ... commenting on the fic. (Then there's also the people who're willing to PM me on Discord and rave about how I'm their favorite author, but haven't so much as left a named kudos on my works. Thanks, mate. It really makes me feel appreciated that you won't admit to liking me in public...)

[floating_hell]

That's really odd! Do you think it's because they're afraid of being bullied if they admit to liking certain tropes/pairings/etc?

[extrapenguin]

My output in that fandom isn't edgy or controversial in my opinion, and a few of the fics are the very definition of nonobjectionable – T-rated sweet get-together for the canon juggernaut – but idk, liking things in public where the creator can see it is passé?

[floating_hell]

That's so strange! Maybe they're afraid it will seem stalker-ish if they post a comment on your fic AND communicate with you privately? I can't really think of any other reason why someone wouldn't just comment.

[extrapenguin]

These are people who fall all over themselves to tell me they love my fic when I join a Discord chatgroup, and tell me they've been longterm fans of my work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯