This weekend let’s talk about titles!

When do you decide on the title for a fic? Do you usually know at the start and build the fic around the title, or are you the kind of person who scrambles to find one after the fic is complete? How do you chose your titles or get inspiration for them? Capitals or lower case? What’s your favourite title that you’ve come up with? Artists, how do you name your art?

What about other people’s titles, are there any that you especially like or that grabbed your attention? Are there any film, book etc titles that got you interested?

In today's ATTF:

a) post a comment chatting about any or all of the above. Let's have some conversations!

b) here's a thing that I found with a 'twenty titles for a writer' exercise. Pick one of your fics/peices of art/vids etc - either finished and already posted, or something new that you're working on - and have a go at this exercise. Post the results in a comment. Everyone else, which titles do you think work best?

Artists: here's an art of the title selection that's fun! Maybe pick a title - even a title from this weekend's ATTF - and play around with how you could make it look?

c) comment with ASK ME and a link to where people can find your creative works. People will then reply with one/some of your titles. Reply with where that title came from, why you chose it, your thoughts behind it.

d) ALL THE THINGS! This is, after all, entitled All The Things Friday ;)



You can sign up to host an ATTF, suggest ideas for future ATTFs, and see what's coming up in ATTFs HERE

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

Posting with the mods' permission, thanks a mill, ladies!



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Welcome to Friday, best bar on Earth, and another edition of ATTF, this week hosted by yours truly and anuna_81.

While researching for hurt/comfort tropes, I came across this really interesting column on hurt/comfort, a lot of which rang true for me.

This especially:

The C in HC is not to be confused with smarm, BTW - that's a different kink, a kind of uber-comfort with only enough hurt (sometimes none) to trigger it.  I like smarm, but I also like the hurt in and of itself - what another fan once called "char torture."  I like comfort to come after, but I'll read stories with insufficient amounts of comfort if the hurt is done well.

I can't really explain what the appeal is.  Partly it's the emotional intensity.  Partly it's the jeopardy.  Partly it's the angst (viva angst!).  But naming different parts of the appeal doesn't really explain what or why it is.

I suspect part of it is the desire to see blatant caretaking going on between the characters, but knowing that, if they are true to character, that won't happen unless something really extreme has just occurred.  So rather than force them out of character to comfort each other for a minor incident, I will produce something extreme and make the comfort in character.  I will also create moments when the characters have nothing TO do but caretake - there's no more reasonable action they can take, they have to wait or hide out for some reason - so no one will tear their hair out screaming at them to stop TALKING and DO something, damn it.  The characters must behave like the intelligent adults they are or it's no good.
....
Pain - like love, death, and sex - is one of the universals of human experience.  We all feel it, we all have to find some way of coping with it.  Whether it's physical, emotional, mental or spiritual (despair is a spiritual pain), we're all gonna run into it.  HC lets us exercise (as Stephen King said, "exercise, not exorcise") our feelings of fascination and repellence regarding pain.  Like a kid with a sore tooth, some of us just can't resist playing with it compulsively.  It hurts, but it's a safe way to explore the hurt without actually having to feel the heights of true agony ourselves.

So here's our challenge: Leave prompts, write h/c fic and have fun! :D
When posting your fics, please don't forget to add a rating and potential triggers in the subject line. Thanks a mill!


Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

Today's submission is from icecream_junkie. To see your fic featured here, send a 500-1000 word snippet to [email protected]. Please remember to include a rating, warning, and your LJ name!


Rating: PG-13
Warning: Beware of the kiss – blink and you might miss it. ;)

Author’s note: This story was inspired by this lovely picture and has been sitting on my hard drive for a while now, because I just don’t know how to continue. All I know is that I do not want to turn this into PWP and would like a happy ending for our two assassins, but other than that I have no idea where to go with this. Therefore thoughts, comments and constructive criticism are very welcome. :)

( Natasha slammed to door shut behind her.Collapse )

Greeting citizens of the bar! Ladies, Gentlemen, and Assassins of all ages, alas, Promptathon 2013 has ended. So, obviously, now it's time to party :D Bring your squee, your picspams, your gifts, your drink recipes, your best dancing shoes, BRING IT ON *showers you all with glitter*.

Of course, if you're anything like me you're still writing/creating fills for prompts. And want to fill more. (And wish you could have left just a few more prompts. Because prompts!) Don't despair: you can still use prompts from promptathon. Here's how: write/create. Post to your journal or AO3 or ff.net and post a link on this community, or post directly to this community, however you usually do it. Tag using the 'promptathon' tag. Done :) Be sure to mention which prompt you used and who left it, so that person can all excited at having a post-promptathon fill.

(Please DO NOT post late fills on the main promptathon thread. They won't count and will not be added to the Masterlist. 'Cause I ain't tracking that post anymore *eyes post of 703 comments you crazy wonderful people*. Please DO feel free to carry on commenting and chatting on that thread though!)

If you'd like some encouragement in finishing your currently unfinished and late fills, why not share your ideas and snippets here? How about which prompts you wish had been filled but weren't? The prompts that you wish you'd left but the deadline passed or you missed it? ANYTHING PROMPTATHON RELATED, BRING IT ON.

And thank you, for a fantastic summer of Promptathon!
DRINKS ALL 'ROUND!

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

It's been a while, guys!

As always, to get your fic featured on UFW, send 500-1000 words to [email protected]. (Be sure to include a rating and warnings!)


Today's submission is from franztastisch
Rated: PG
Warnings: the standard canon-compliant Shitty Clint Barton Backstory

Notes: The reason this is here is because of oresteia's ATTF about crossovers and fusions. And because I like this story, dammit, and I want it to actually get somewhere. As far as over arching plots go, this doesn't yet have one. This is based more off an idea I had about Clint meeting an owl in the support struts of the big top, and a desire (that I later realised, because I am that kind of person) to work out some magical countries in North America. Some things are worked out though (e.g. later than what you've got here, Darcy will muscle her way into Clint's life and force him to get friends and have a social life oh the horror. Natasha turns up in about Clint's third year. I think.) Of course, because I am an idiot, I'm attempting to span the whole seven years, which is filling me with a creeping horror and a lot of self doubt. And could also make this the longest thing I've ever written. If I can get it finished. Which I'm sure will happen, it'll just take about four years.

ANYWAY. Any feedback is much appreciated; I'd especially like to know if Clint actually sounds like an 11 year old, because I can't really tell. And ideas for, y'know, actual plots would also be gratefully received. And, if you do click through the link, any ideas for names would also be super helpful. But mainly I sort of want cheerleading and people to pester me. :)

OH and I am not American. Everything here is round about knowledge, Google Maps and Wikipedia.

( When he’s not needed anywhere else, Clint spends most of his time up in the catwalks and support beams of the big top.Collapse )

Greetings, Denizens of the Hawkeye/Black Widow Bar, also known as the place where cool people hang out, aka the best bar on earth, aka our ship is a yacht, and hundreds of other names. How’s your Friday? Good? Oh, you got that promotion/gift basket/thing you've been waiting for in the mail? Excellent! I’m so happy to hear that. Me? Oh, I’m good, too. The mods have let me loose in the bar to host today’s All The Things Friday.

Anyway, the topic I picked is something I know we all wake up thinking about with giant smiles on our faces in the morning: Research!

Yes, I know. Usually we focus on Clint or Natasha and head-canons and aww-inducing stuff, and research is boring compared to that. But I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that nobody here is a spy or a marksman employed by a well-funded shadowy government organization. So, really, “write what you know” isn’t going to help you much when writing from Clint’s perspective or from Natasha’s. In fact, you probably need to do a little research to get the details right. I mean, you could make everything up—and a lot of writers do—but chances are, you take pride in what you’re writing and want it to be a little factually accurate. A story with good world-building has a few details salted throughout to “ground” it, to make it dynamic and interesting.

So here’s the question—how much research do you do? And, for that matter, how do you research? A typical Clint and/or Natasha story might have a myriad of topics with which we’re unfamiliar: geography, military tactics, weaponry, surveillance protocols, anecdotal data specific to a character. If it’s an AU, even, all bets are off the table. Going down the research rabbit hole can start with you looking up the capital of Peru and end with you, three hours later, reading about the number and skill of knots on ropes given out for Brazilian Capoeira (I may be speaking from experience here).

We live in a digital age, which makes it easier to find research and that’s fantastic, but it can be daunting to even begin, especially when it’s a topic that’s completely unfamiliar to you.

So we have this post! I’ve gathered some links that have been helpful during my times of going down said research rabbit hole. In addition, I know we’ve got a diverse and eclectic community of wonderful people right here at this bar, pill baristas and traveling diplomats, technical writers, needlework genii, and people from all over the world that might know something about the topic you’re writing about, whatever it is. So I thought this post could serve as a great resource to everybody in the community. Chime in with any links you’ve found super-handy over the years, and what you can answer questions about!

(Also, graphics resources are awesome and should be shared, by all means)

( Some of the Links I've Found Useful Over The YearsCollapse )

Anyway, I'll kick things off: my name is Frea, and I'm well-researched into dealing with fraudulent activity, falconry, how to juggle, and the greater St. Louis area, which is why watching Defiance sometimes makes me grit my teeth. What about you? What's your research pattern like? Do you outline or use a program like Scrivener to keep it together? Any tricks or great links or things you can provide help on?

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

Hoping someone can help me... I'm a pinch-hit artist on a bigbang and the art's due at the end of the weekend.

I'm looking for a screencap from Bourne Legacy: specifically, the photo of Kenneth Kitsom (the former Aaron Cross) in his Army Dress uniform.

Otherwise, anyone know where I can get a picture of Jeremy in a 1940's suit, or a suit that's classic enough to pass for it? (Corresponding pic of Scarlett would be appreciated too.)

I can work on another idea or two in the meantime, but I'd really like to do a Blackhawk themed piece.

Welcome to this week's ATTF with your hosts anuna_81 and shenshen77. Although we'd decided on this theme months ago, we'd never thought that we both would need some cute and cuddly so much this week.

Both anuna as well as I had a really horrible, no good week, and I'm sure we're not the only ones. So please shower us and yourselves with love and cuddles :)

Assassins being cuddly, puppies, kittens, babies, team feels, Clint and Tasha being kids, all the feels - everything that makes you go "awww" when you read it or look at it - bring it all.

• Is there anything you read or looked at that made you go massively "AWWW"??? We'd love your recs for fics and art!


• Or have you written something really cute and cuddly yourself? We'd love to know about it!


• You can post a pic spam, it's always nice to look at all the pretties :) (But remember the rules below ;))


• Last but not least - How about a little impromptu comment-ficathon of cute???? Let everyone know what adorable little scene you've always wanted to read, maybe someone else will be inspired. Did you have an awful week too? Try some therapeutic writing, lord knows everything I've tried to write this week was toothachingly sweet ;)

Things to remember:
1) Always label NSFW (Not Safe For Work) stuff in the title and post under a cut.
2) Fic and artwork needs to have a rating and warnings (or you can say that you’ve chosen not to use warnings).
3) For people with annoying internet connections, say in the title if a comment is graphic/images/gif-heavy and post picspams under a cut.
4) Have a damn good time! (Because if that’s not happening then this post has clearly failed.)

Hello, patrons of This Bar!

Today being Wednesday, brings us a snippet of unfinished fic from alphaflyer!

(To be featured on unfinished fic Wednesday, sent 100-1000 words of fic to [email protected], which your LJ name, warnings and a rating!)

Anyway, Alpha (Ms. Flyer if you're nasty) has this to say:

Usually once I start something I finish it, but this one .... has been eluding me. I started it based on a prompt by Anuna_81 for the Valentine promptathon; the quote intrigued me to no end, and so I decided to expand on a little blip concerning a past mission that I mentioned in at least one story. The link will be obvious, I think.

Here's Anuna's prompt: "That is the problem with people today. They've lost faith, and in that loss they don't know who they should fear any more."

And here's the line from my story that was to be the basis for the mission: "She’s thinking of the time they’d found those half-starved girls chained to a pipe, in the basement of a cult leader they’d taken out in Montana. After that, he’d shot arrow after arrow into a dead tree, because the one he’d put into the wannabe prophet’s eye just hadn’t been enough. Natasha had watched, then gone and printed out some photos off the internet and pinned them to the tree. Later, she’d pulled out all the arrows and stuck them back in his quiver. Reduce, reuse, recycle. No point wasting well-fletched ammo on scum."

Dark and cynical, a bit like bits of "In the Service". But since an indictment of the false prophecy business isn't really Valentine material, I tried to lighten it up -- but then the tone wouldn't do the theme justice. Or could it?

For now the thing is trapped in a twilight world of too dark/too light/and do I actually want to write this anymore? Any suggestions (including "drop it!") would be gratefully appreciated.

rating: likely M, albeit not for sex
warnings: none for this snippet, later probably violence and darkish themes -- non/con will likely be referenced but not depicted
( Clint's voice, which can grate at the best of times...Collapse )