carpediemma

[carpediemma]

Of Dead Boys and Downworlders

I have started to make a new series! It's the characters of Dead Boy Detectives in the world of Shadowhunters (primarily the TV show, but the book series as well).

@ahyperactivehero and @genevievefangirl inspired me to post some of the one shots I had just written for the heck of it to ao3 :)

And V asked me to post it on tumblr and I used it as an excuse to spend WAYYYYY too much time on a graphic for it....

https://archiveofourown.org/series/4680856

[carpediemma]

WIP Word Train

Rules: Tagger gives a word, then for each letter of that word you share a sentence/excerpt from your WIPs that starts with that letter. I finally have something I haven't posted :OOOO Some of this is from Under The Crimson Moon Chapter 7 (which I have yet to complete/finish) and some is from a new Of Dead Boys And Downworlders installment. so thanks for the tag @ahyperactivehero

The word is IMPAIR

I - “I understand that you are in need of warm bodies, and I do not quite see a line of applicants to help you fill said position. From my understanding, Charles was the only candidate for your prior spot… but far be it from me to advise you on how to run your business.” Edwin cocked his head to the side as he stared unamused at Jenny. A challenge.

M - <I don't have something that starts with m but this sentence has many m's> Though, considering Edwin’s experience was only enough to make himself a cup of tea (and a simple one at that), Charles took over Crystal’s typical duties while Edwin manned the register and assisted him where he could.

P - Perhaps you could have even called them friends at one point. Perhaps…

A - “A few years is a drop in the bucket to immortals like us,” he brushed off. “We were just playing a game.”

I - “I am the High Warlock of London. Not the boy you found crawling out of Edom with scorching sand still underneath his fingernails,” Edwin stepped closer to Thomas, now taking the offensive. “You will show me some respect as your equal, High Warlock Lyttel.”

R - “Rest assured, her business will not take long to conclude,” he reaffirmed definitively, hands folded neatly in front of him to emphasize his legitimacy.

no pressure tags to @ahyperactivehero (a tag back, haha), @genevievefangirl, @pastellieria and anyone else ;)

Your word is... FANTASY

[carpediemma]

People I'd Like to Get to Know Better

Thanks for the tag @ahyperactivehero (anod now i'm finally free enough to do it!)

Last song: I Know the End by Phoebe Bridgers

Favorite color: Purple and Dark Green

Last Book: I think... Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Last Movie: uhhhhh.... probably Wicked

Last TV Show: School Spirits (season 2 has been so good!)

Last thing I googled: Morse Code translation diagram; I was beta testing a puzzle event all weekend (spoiler alert: it was binary encoding... not morse)

Relationship status: Married :0

Looking forward to: Going to Denver to see PVRIS!

Current obsessions: Shadowhunters TV show and Dead Boy Detectives <3

No pressure tags: @ouchmyghostskin @hannaloony @hamstr

[carpediemma]

[carpediemma]

The kids are so adorable! What food do they prefer to eat? Are they spoiled with sweets?

Hi everyone! Things have been busy here at the kindergarten so apologies for some days away!

Here’s everyone’s snack ranking!

Readers, what are your favourite snacks?? Did you like to eat anything different when you were in kindergarten?

[carpediemma]

Everything Nice pages 24-28

Pages 1-14

Pages 15-23

Crystal: "Why? What happened with the original ghost flavors"

Edwin: "Ah. It was very experimental. We were transported and subsequently trapped in the Cretaceous Period for approximately 6 months "

Charles: "Also it tasted rank"

[carpediemma]

Four of Swords. Art by Jesse Lonergan, from The Unveiled Tarot.

[carpediemma]

Character Aesthetics: Charles Rowland

[carpediemma]

Character Aesthetic: Edwin Payne

[carpediemma]

I'm a big fan of wizards-as-programmers, but I think it's so much better when you lean into programming tropes.

A spell the wizard uses to light the group's campfire has an error somewhere in its depths, and sometimes it doesn't work at all. The wizard spends a lot of his time trying to track down the exact conditions that cause the failure.

The wizard is attempting to create a new spell that marries two older spells together, but while they were both written within the context of Zephyrus the Starweaver's foundational work, they each used a slightly different version, and untangling the collisions make a short project take months of work.

The wizard has grown too comfortable reusing old spells, and in particular, his teleportation spell keeps finding its components rearranged and remixed, its parts copied into a dozen different places in the spellbook. This is overall not actually a problem per se, but the party's rogue grows a bit concerned when the wizard's "drying spell" seems to just be a special case of teleportation where you teleport five feet to the left and leave the wetness behind.

A wizard is constantly fiddling with his spells, making minor tweaks and changes, getting them easier to cast, with better effects, adding bells and whistles. The "shelter for the night" spell includes a tea kettle that brings itself to a boil at dawn, which the wizard is inordinately pleased with. He reports on efficiency improvements to the indifference of anyone listening.

A different wizard immediately forgets all details of his spells after he's written them. He could not begin to tell you how any of it works, at least not without sitting down for a few hours or days to figure out how he set things up. The point is that it works, and once it does, the wizard can safely stop thinking about it.

Wizards enjoy each other's company, but you must be circumspect about spellwork. Having another wizard look through your spellbook makes you aware of every minor flaw, and you might not be able to answer questions about why a spell was written in a certain way, if you remember at all.

Wizards all have their own preferences as far as which scripts they write in, the formatting of their spellbook, its dimensions and material quality, and of course which famous wizards they've taken the most foundational knowledge from. The enlightened view is that all approaches have their strengths and weaknesses, but this has never stopped anyone from getting into a protracted argument.

Sometimes a wizard will sit down with an ancient tome attempting to find answers to a complicated problem, and finally find someone from across time who was trying to do the same thing, only for the final note to be "nevermind, fixed it".

[carpediemma]

i didn't say it was good, i said it has bewitched me body and soul

[carpediemma]

yippee! is a gateway drug. to other substances such as. wahoo! and yay!

[carpediemma]

2 and 11 for the fic ask game thing!

Thanks for the ask V!!

2. Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

Luckily or unluckily, I don't have many to pick from. I think I will always hold Abstract close to my heart, since it was the one that inspired me to write fic and post again after decades. I enjoyed all the research and connecting things to create a story.

Though In the Woods Somewhere is very close with that since it was a bit of a beast of an undertaking (/still is...)

11. What makes a fic 'successful' in your opinion?

Probably depends on the person. Abstract got way more hits, kudos, bookmarks, comments, etc than I ever expected a fic I posted would get. Granted, I think some of the 'success' was that it was posted when the fic boom of the dbda fandom started, which made it more readily available to folks joining the fandom and allowed it to gain momentum (since several people will filter based on number of hits/kudos/bookmarks as a starting point... which tends to favor older and multi-chapter fics which only perpetuates their high standing)

I think it's successful for me if someone tells me that they like it or recs it unprompted. (Or at least doesn't blast the shit out of my story in a comment)

Would I like to have a fic that's a pillar of the fandom? Sure. But I'm more than happy if just... some people enjoy it (and/or re-read it).

[carpediemma]

4 and 30 for the ask game? ❤️

Thanks Gen ✨

4. What are some words or phrases you feel like you overuse?

When writing DBDA... probably "to be honest", "if he/she was being honest", or some variation thereof. I also say "to be fair/honest" in my normal speech so that probably doesn't help.

When writing Charles's dialogue, I usually have to parse through everything several times to make sure I'm nicely spacing out his eccentricities in speech like right?, yeah?, and oi.

Also the general conundrum of said vs replied vs asked vs remarked etc for dialogue.

30. Have you noticed your style change over time?

I'd like to think I've been able to write Edwin's POV better as I have progressed. I was sorta frankly terrified to write it when I first wrote Abstract.

In a general sense, I'm much more of a dialogue person than a descriptive writer, so I've continuously tried to get better at fleshing out the actions and environment of characters and scenes.

It's part of a passing reason why I would almost want to re-write Abstract with all that I've learned so far ((though I doubt I would ever have the time or willpower to do so, haha))

[carpediemma]

Fanfic/Author Ask Game

Write a scene from [insert fic] in another character’s POV

Which of your fics is your pride and joy?

What are your top three most commonly used tags on AO3?

What are some words or phrases you feel like you overuse?

What’s something you learned while researching a fic?

Would you ever accept requests or commissions?

Coffee or tea while you write?

What is your favorite line/section from [insert fic]?

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Is there a character or ship you'd love to write for, but haven't yet?

What makes a fic 'successful' in your opinion?

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Do you have an 'official' creative writing background such as a degree or previous experience publishing?

What makes you happiest? New fic comments, kudos, bookmarks, user subscribers, story subscribers, or Tumblr asks?

Does anyone you know in real life know you write fanfiction?

What do you struggle with most when writing?

What is something you recently felt proud of in your writing?

How many WIPs do you have and how many do you expect to finish?

How do you get over writer's block?

Share your favorite kiss scene from [insert fic]. If there's no kiss scene, share your favorite moment of intimacy (romantic or platonic)

What stops you from writing more in your free time?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

Which scene/theme was the inspiration for [insert fic]?

Are there any moments in [insert fic] that feel "blurry" to you? Is this a stylistic choice, or would you go back and clarify the descriptions if you were given the chance?

Do you ever "prep" your fics with outlines or warmups before you start writing, or do you just dive right in?

Are any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Have you noticed your style change over time?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

A character you enjoy making suffer.

A character you want to protect.

What is your favorite fic to get comments/messages on?

Wild Card: Ask me something else!

[carpediemma]

On vacation with family:

Sister-in-law: "So are you gonna read that [book that my husband just finished]?"

Me: "Nah. I have... way too many books I need to read already."

Mom: "So how much have you been able to read so far?"

Me: [holding my kindle] "A lot..."

Mom: "What have you been reading?"

Me: [sweats in fanfic downloaded on my kindle] "Uh... short... stories..."