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queen-of-elves · 1 year ago

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Armitage Hux x reader - Modern Office AU + some background Reylo

Summary: You have been working for First Order for years now slowly giving up on the idea of your dream project ever gracing your presence until it finally happened, however, there is a slightly cold and rude problem, other team leader Armitage Hux.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN (And I'm begging you to send me some)

A/N: There is not enough classic fanfics for Armitage and almost zero AUs so I am here to satisfy the bitches, it’s me, I am the bitches

+not betaread so be kind

Words: 5.8K

Warnings: some swearing probably, there is always swearing in my fics, talking about f themself cause corporate life is annoying, some inappropriate thoughts

Tags:@l0stinth3nightsky @this-harl0t-shant-be-unalive

Everyone in the company knew how mean and bossy Armitage Hux was, even if you were from a completely different department, but this project was going to pull you in his inner work team and it terrified you to get first hand experience with him. You heard plenty of times how he made new interns cry and the older ones want to commit a suicide. So you weren’t exactly thrilled at working with him even on a project you have literally dreamed of since being accepted to work for the First Order company, the most prestigious company among prestigious companies. The project required two different departments that almost never interacted which also didn’t help.

You were ready for the first meeting between two departments, each under the supervision of completely different people and personalities, to be just a horrendous trainwreck. But Armitage Hux being the team leader of the other one? You didn’t have to be some kind of prophet to know this was going to be painful just to watch. Even though you were anxiously expecting disaster to occur in the first meeting, the sunshine side in you just had to shine through. So you had an exceptionally good morning, you were on time, had a delicious bagel and the sky was sunny, therefore there was no chance of Hux fucking up your day.

The office building was huge but not exceptional among the other skyscrapers littering the city, molding it into cement block maze. The windows provide enough clearance for you to see the busy people already moving around in the offices above, you even noticed some of your own team members anxiously waiting for your arrival while preparing the rest of the documentation for today's team meeting.

You knew you were ready, your team also knew but that didn’t put to rest the anxious little monster growing inside your stomach. Still, you put on your best brave smile and entered the lobby, greeted the receptionist Clara and continued down the hall to wait for the elevator. Beeping your employee card on the scanner, to let you proceed to the elevator, put you right back into your morning routine, well, just for your coworker and a sort of subordinate, Rey bombard you with questions in the waiting line.

“Did you hear it?” Her voice sounded an octave higher than usual or maybe it was just your tired brain not used to loud sounds yet, nothing a good old coffee couldn’t fix in minutes.

“Hm?” Your brain was still too tired to properly answer and so you only mumbled an acknowledgement to her question. Slow sips of your latté seemed to clear your mind a bit, thank god for sales like bagel plus free coffee at the local cafe otherwise you would be unusable these days.

“You know what I mean.” You were sure if you were to meet eyes with Rey, she would pierce you with that intense gaze.

“The merge.” There was no merge, so far you weren’t even aware of any cuts in finances for this year or the one to follow. Whatever Rey was talking about was most likely just a bunch of bored employees gossiping and conspiring together, nothing major, nothing serious. This realization calmed you down even though The Merge sounded quite apocalyptic.

“I can assure you there is no merge, especially not between our two departments, Miss-” A voice interrupted but it did not intend to finish that sentence as if the owner was too busy to learn Rey’s name at all. He turned his attention to you, measuring you over, his calculating glare went over the ink stained hands to your low set black heels with that tiny cut on the left side you were so desperate to hide with black marker.

Armitage Hux waiting in front of the elevator for your arrival was definitely not on your list for today. He looked like a pristine image out of some magazine with men’s suits, his deep blue shaded suit with silver cufflinks perfectly paired with an expensive looking watch he was now checking printing itself in the back of your brain forever. Quite a nightmarish image of a handsome man with such a cold and cruel demeanor.

“You are both late. Meeting room 3 in 5 minutes.” And with that he was gone again, like a ghost, maybe he is a ghost of this building, stackup nitpicking cold monster that was stabbed by his tired employee centuries ago and now has to haunt the rest of you. He didn’t even turn around making you puzzle if he was truly addressing you.

“What’s going on?” Whisperyelled Rey, her wide eyes scanning the surrounding as if Armitage was going to pop up from the corner to remind her she has now 4 minutes left to be present in the meeting room.

“Trouble.” You simply answered your bewildered friend, there was no better answer to it after all. The morning you dreamed of was slowly fading into a nightmarish mess but at least you had now caffeined your brain enough to proceed to normal functions. Plus your team had your back, there was nothing to be afraid of except Armitage Hux and he was simply a man in a suit. Just an ordinary man in a tailored suit with a stoic expression.

And you were right, the team really had your back but Armitage definitely didn’t, he was mean and bossy and nitpicking and just so fucking insufferable. However, the meeting ended with both departments and their leaders arriving at a consensus, not a happy one. It almost reminded you of those messy divorce screaming matches in tv shows, except this was veiled in professionalism and formal language.

Of course your suffering didn’t end just as did the meeting, he was probably a sadist, prolonging your pain with his “Word?”. You were sure it wasn’t even a question, it was just an order for you to follow him straight to his office.

Armitage Hux’s office was neat as it can be, if it weren’t for the few scattered papers on the desk you would guess this was one of those exhibitions of furniture in Ikea. Well, even the Ikea display has more personality, some fakeass photos of happy couple/family. His office is neat until it’s bare, devoid of indicating anything about the owner’s personality.

That’s kinda sad.

“Listen, I know that the project is not top notch of the quality it could be but I think we have a solid plan we can now expand upon.” You had to win this argument, you wouldn’t let him defeat you over a project you so desperately wanted for years. So, if he wanted to fight you were ready to bare teeth at this twig in a suit.

“Oh, and before you say it’s-,” you couldn’t even finish before he interrupted you, “acceptable.”

“What?” You blurted out, completely stunned by his remark. Did Armitage Hux, after all that tousling about in the meeting room, admit the plan your team created is acceptable. Yes, there were few changes happening after the “discussion” of both teams but nothing you have not foreseen already that also didn’t mean you were happy with said changes. But consensus between two completely different departments is everything the leadership asked for.

“The proposal is acceptable, I don’t understand why I should be doubtful, so far you have only proven to be a valuable asset for the company.” Armitage was always the epitome of professional and now he was complimenting you. He was complimenting you, right? Maybe you had too much coffee, maybe you had not enough coffee and maybe God was spinning on his chair and laughing at you up in the sky.

“Oh, thanks. I will take it as a compliment, even though you sound like a formal email impersonator.” Gosh, did you really just say that to him? There was a cold sweat pooling down your back, anxiety ranking up. Was he going to yell at you for such a statement, what you have heard so far it wouldn’t be unusual for him to yell at people over smaller things.

“I don’t.” His expression could be only described as a deadpan expression. It’s actually kinda funny, not entirely scary. He doesn’t laugh, noted, but you do and you also make people laugh and so you set your new target.You almost look around to see a hidden camera or an entire camera crew as if in The office. And while you amused yourself in your mind Armitage sported back his expression to emotionless stare before turning his attention back to the documents on the desk.

“You do.” A small laugh escaped your lips at that moment and with his attention divided elsewhere you took it as an ideal time to run away exit the situation and also the office.

But before you could escape this storm of a man, he had to add. “Until the next meeting I expect you and your team to finish said plans.” And with that the conversation and mess of a morning comes to an end. However, there is still a lot of time for unexpected surprises before the day ends.

And so it began, the little you running circles in your brain over the thoughts of your new co-leader, the cold redhead slowly sneaking in your head again and again. It helped the clock to tick faster which was a good thing but the constant train of thoughts disassembling every part of your interaction with him over the time was like a cold shower every single time.

The last time you checked the clock read 5 minutes after 8pm and with that you started to pack your things ready to head home, have little dinner and continue with the paperwork over a random kdrama playing as a background noise. And as you bid everyone goodbye you noticed Armitage’s crouched figure in his office, going over some even more boring paperwork than was the one waiting on you at home. It was probably true, the first one to be in the office and the last one to leave that was Armitage’s schedule.

Sad.

And so you set your mind on a new plan, a horrible and cruel plan to ruin your late morning and exchange it for an early cold shower wake up and speed walk to a cafe not only for your favorite bagel but also a special delivery of coffee.

God, what am I even doing this early?

When the alarm buzzed you were around 100% sure you were making a mistake. Waking this early should be a crime. No, It is a crime. Especially when you were a busy little bee like you always are and spent the whole night until 3am working. But part of you knew it was going to be worthy, today was the day you were going to crack that tough ice cold exterior of Armitage’s facade.

If waking up this early wasn’t a mistake the cold shower definitely was but in all honesty you were just afraid you would fall asleep on the bus, so cold shower it was. In the end it was kinda worthy, you got your favorite bagel without having to wait in long line; got another free coffee, you had no idea if the sale was still on or if you just looked so terrible they felt sad for you and just had to give it to you; you also got Armitage his coffee and as a big finale you were on time, actually very early overall.

The office was ruefully empty. And there was no Rey to talk to, you knew she wasn’t going to be in the office until 9am but you still hoped even she would find the idea of early start amusing. In reality you expected to get laughed at when she finally decides to grace the office with her presence.

You might have felt alone in the empty corridors of the building but it was not so empty after all. The curtain might have been drawn but you could see a slim light escaping in between them from his office, the artificial light was definitely not sunshine.

He must have stayed up all night.

Mustering courage you knocked on his door before waiting on an invitation to let yourself in. It was useless, there was no sound coming from the office and so you knocked again and then again. Realizing he was not going to answer you decided to open the door and check up on him anyway.

He was sleeping on his desk with his suit jacket over the chair behind him and loose tie around his neck. The dress shirt slightly crumpled at the edges, his red hair tousled around and neck craned in such an uncomfortable position you were sure of his incoming back pain.

“Knock, knock.” You tried to say softly, just lightly waking him up but instead you groaned, your voice still not comfortable from no use this morning, startling him awake.

“I-” His form jolted, eyes flying open and searching the room for the culprit of his rough awakening. Blue eyes finally gazing upon you, Armitage looked boyishly handsome that morning, it was not just the wide expression but the state of disarray you found him in.

You decided against speaking, part of you afraid your blushing form would say something stupid, the stupid thoughts of the redhead not leaving you alone. The, almost like a cardboard, coffee cup made an uncomfortable noise once you pushed it on the table toward its owner, making the moment even more awkward.

He took a slow sip, still not fixing his hair or attire and part of you wished he never would, it suited him and you probably liked it even more than it actually suited him.

“How did you know what coffee I drink?” His voice still hoarse and laced with sleepiness painted your cheeks even more crimson red. God it made you imagine things, you didn’t even know from where the thoughts were coming but there was somehow no way to stopping them. Your view of Armitage Hux completely shattering and rearranging itself into a different image.

“It's just black coffee, Hux, I assumed you would like black coffee, you are like the embodiment of black coffee.”

“Thank you, that's very considerate of you.” His lips touched the cup in a cautious move before he took a sip, trying to hide his small smile but you noticed it, you definitely noticed it and you knew you won. You won Armitage Hux over with a simple gesture of kindness.

”Was it a compliment or?” You wanted to laugh and you wanted to see more of a happier Armitage from now on. You felt like you got closer to Hux at that moment, a possible friendship started to blossom between the two of you.

“Who knows.” Shrugging, he moved on to finally fix himself a little, smirk still apparent on his lips complimenting his tired stare. In that moment you wanted to experience more moments like this and you sure were going to try.

********

Finally it was the day the board would either accept the project or deny it. You couldn’t sleep for two days prior and even before that you slept only around 15 hours in a week, you felt almost dead. Both of you, Armitage and you, were now staring at your notebooks, ready to receive the final answer to your now weeks long struggle.

Armitage's notebook beeped, a notification sounding off, sending you flying across the desk almost into his lap, not even considering it could be a completely different email or even personal thing.

You and Armitage got closer, just as the both of your teams, over the weeks you spent on this project, countless nights together in the office seemed to harden your relationship even more. You had fun, Armitage was not only a hardworking perfectionist and handsome man, he was also very funny, like ridiculously funny in your opinion.

The email was long, like unnecessarily when it comes to formal corporal emails but the end of it was just so promising. Both of you skimmed over the words, searching for the phrases denied. There was none, the only thing in the end it contained was so sweet and wanted approval for your project, relieving you both of disappointment.

You were not sure who was the first, if you or Armitage, but now the both of you were jumping as high as you could while clinging to each other, a victorious hug. It could take only seconds or minutes, you squealing and Armitage yelling, hugging each other and jumping once again, but when it was over, the embarrassment in both parties was apparent.

Anyone could come into this office at any time, it was not uncommon for most of the higher ranking employees to just not knock and barge in and if they saw the team leaders of the current biggest project in the company disheveled and out of breath, who knows what they would think.

There was a common understanding of this premise and so the following actions were understandable, while you tried to smooth your skirt down, Armitage did the same to his hair and also his tie. He was still out of breath and a bit flushed, his look of happiness making you warm again.

“You should trust your guts more.” And again with his disheveled appearance, this man was going to be the death of you for sure. And while he was busy sporting himself back into his usual calm and perfect form you had to admire how far the both of you have come.

“Trust my guts? Armitage, I have a crippling anxiety.” Wholehearted laugh clawed its way out of your throat, making him smile. “That’s like the worst advice ever.” You continued still giggling like a little girl with your cheeks starting to hurt from all the happiness flowing inside you.

“I tried.”

“I appreciate it.” You gave him a small shy smile, your cheeks were still too warm for you to completely concentrate. “Thank you.” You whispered in the end.

“You are welcome.” Nodding fondly over this conversation, Hux gave you a smug expression, which you have completely missed because you turned your attention back to the documents you had to prepare for the next meeting.

“Even though you should be the one thanking me for my amazing advice.” Armitage chimes in, relaxed expression kept in place while he slightly nudged you in the ribs.

“Was it a joke?” Your face morphing into a shocked amused grin, you turned to him, observing the man momentarily. “Did Armitage Hux just make a joke?” You were not aware that Armitage Hux, the cold hearted redhead, could joke but you liked it and hoped it would stay like this for a while.

“I regret ever interacting with you.” You could see the slight smirk forming on Armitage's face when he spoke, unable to contain it. Since starting working on this project you and Armitage really got close, you would even call him your friend now. Yeah, he was still sometimes a cold prick but you could see the appeal of him. Handsome, smart and very passionate for his work with a decent sense of humor, Armitage Hux was definitely a catch. This project really opened your eyes when it came to him.

“You don’t.” Your elbow met what you firstly assumed would be a bony mass but in reality was well defined muscles under what you deemed was branded suit.

“I do.” He couldn’t fight the smirk off now. It was awfully obvious. The past you would probably be slightly horrified over the thought of Armitage Hux smirking. The picture of it being painted under the impression that he is obviously an evil corporate man. However, seeing him smirk now sparked something completely different in you. The silly picture of an evil man from a cartoon you used to hold in your mind when someone said his name was replaced with a charming looking redhead man in a suit with a warm aura around him.

“Nah.” You felt silly, stupid and giddy over this man and how warm he made you feel even though everyone viewed him as a cold and mean man he never was. “You love it.”

“Yeah, I do.” The stare he gave you made something carnal turn in you, it was not an alien feeling but with Armitage there was a new intensity to it. Red liquid heat pooled inside your belly under his loving gaze.

Oh.

“I-I have to go and- inform the team, you know- so they like- know and- stuff.” You titered a bit, unsure how to continue such a conversation. Did Armitage Hux really make your heart skip a beat now? First he jokes and now he makes your heart flutter, the world truly is full of wonders

“Yeah, totally. I-” He seemed absentminded for a second, something you could hardly ever see on the young team leader’s face. Everyone might talk about his cold attitude but no one could deny how dedicated Armitage was to his work. Even though you weren’t from the same department you knew long before this project presented itself in front of you, that he was the first in the office and also the last one to leave. His workaholism seemed even more prominent with his quick responses to your emails regarding the shared project no matter at which hour you would send them. It was something worth admiring and fearing at the same time. And now you were the one stuck in their mind and still staring at him.

“Hey, would you like- to go for a coffee or something?” His voice cracked in the middle, maybe it was trying to stop him from continuing but he still pushed through, the final bits of courage sending him past the finish line, finally asking.

OH.

“Your proposal is acceptable.” You tried to imitate his voice, those words as a reminder to the conversation you had with him after the first meeting.

“Thank god.” The relief on his face was comforting to see. Armitage was really keen to go out with you and it made you happy beyond anything.

Bonus little bits with Armitage’s POV:

He really hoped he could avoid Ben this morning but luck seemed not to be on his side this time. Armitage and Ben have been friend-workers since they both started in the company. They actually knew each other even before since they both went to the same college. At first they were not awfully close, Ben liked to annoy the fuck out of Armitage while he was trying to enjoy his morning coffee, lunch or evening run. Basically destroying nice things he liked but somehow the two of them stuck together and formed a sort of friendship over some time. That of course didn’t change anything on Ben annoying him with every single ounce he had in himself, which was the exact reason he really wanted to escape him this morning. This perfect late morning, he decided to enjoy himself and to read in bed until it was completely necessary to go to work. He never did that but recent sunshine in his office seemed to brighten his life and mood all the time so why not to enjoy a slow morning, he was after all always on time for 5 years straight now.

Armitage could see Ben towering over the cubicles scattered over the big room on the second floor of the company building. Ben was currently laughing over something some brown haired woman said, Armitage recently learnt her name was Rey and Ben was incredibly fond of her. This information was obviously carefully and pragmatically locked down inside his brain to be used later if the time called for it.

And so Armitage hoped he could silently walk down to his office without Ben annoying him so early in the morning, leaving him to reminisce about what today could bring him, especially if it was in the form of a cute co-leader he recently had the chance to meet. He was wrong, obviously, well not really, but yes, he was wrong.

The young redhead was correct when his thoughts browsed back to you and if you would be as cheerful in his presence as you were yesterday. What he however didn’t mean to summon was not only your attention but also Ben’s.

“Armitage!” And there you were, a sunshine smile and loud voice directing everyone's attention, including Ben’s, to yourself before they turned to see him.

He simply nods in acknowledgement without realizing his face was graced with a slowly spreading smile. Ignoring his previous distaste in morning conversation, giving her a small wave didn’t seem so annoying as greeting Ben.

“Well, well, well, who is trying to sneak by.” God, just his voice could irritate Armitage to death on most days but today it was exceptionally nightmare inducing.

“I wasn’t sneaking by. I was simply walking to my office.” He answers curly, not giving even a glance to Ben, his expression still souring into deadpan one.

“You should take your coffee with some milk, you are awfully bitter in the morning.” Ben sniggers, amused at his joke.

“You're the one who is quite giddy today. Did the board meeting yesterday go that well?” But Armitage is ready to fire back right at him.

“Nah, not really.” This finally got Ben to shut up and Armitage to go about his morning in silence.

******************

“I didn’t think you were the type to go crazy over a woman.” Ben’s laugh is loud and childish, echoing on the open walls of the main hall between offices.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” The look he gave to Ben was one of his favorites, offended and beyond believe irritated. It was a perfect illusion for him to uphold, ‘cause in reality Hux’s mind was in a midst of complete panic but still he kept on his killer pace to his office, maybe to lose Ben in the big space where the rest of the desk of their subordinates was located.

How much does he know?

This thought however, stopped Armitage in his walk, contemplating if he should address it more. And finally where he was sure his tongue wouldn’t twist itself in his mouth when he spoke of you, he turned around.

“You talk like a cartoon villain, you know that, right?.” Ben’s tall form was not leaning on the side of one of the tables , his gaze partly fixed at his phone before it’s lifted to assess the redhead’s reaction. It was deliberate, it was all planned out, a humiliating and uncomfortable situation Ben could trap him in easily, to get all the answers he wanted.

Now he knew he couldn’t win against that ridiculous giant, this was always a losing game. If he took it too seriously Ben would admit to only be joking, trying to get a rise out of him, if he continued to ridicule or ignore his questions Ben would only tease him more, a truly lost game in Armitage’s eyes. “God, please go and do your job.” But still he could try to collect any advantage he could get his hands on, the advantage being taking everything and shutting himself in his office until the end of the day.

-collects all his things and gets up to leave

“I am working.” Ben’s cheerful voice still followed him, digging into his back in a teasing manner. “No, You are not!” Armitage was aware how his voice boomed through the office making some employees turn their heads over the ruckus but Ben was quite oblivious to his friend’s voice’s effect. He actually couldn’t help but laugh at his friend for moments still unaware of the attention he was given by his colleagues hidden among the various desks in that room. However, even Ben was deemed to notice the confused look he was given by one of the younger secretaries over the small cubicle wall.

“Sorry.” His hands flew up in an apology or a manner that reminded most of them of surrender, before he decided to lift himself up from the desk and proceed to an elevator. Ben of course caught a glimpse of her, so familiar brown haired woman who was already entering one of the elevators. Feeling his chance, Ben's quick walking, caused by his slight embarrassment from the situation prior, turned into jogging when he thought he was already out of sight for the rest of his colleagues.

“Hi.” The elevator was empty except for the said brown haired woman, she looked pretty, exceptionally pretty. Well, she always looked beautiful and so to level the playing field, Ben put on one of his charming smiles before he glanced her way.

**************************

“You should ask her out.” This was coldly stated in the midst of conversation about going for a drink since both of the men’s projects were going to finish soon. The sentence positively stunning Armitage into a statue with a cold sweat pooling slowly down his back while his dark haired counterpart continued to munch on his sandwich.

“Ask her out or I will.” This time those words were slurred between Ben finishing the prelast bite and attempting to stuff the rest of the sandwich in his mouth. Ben’s tall form was stashed between the seating area and one of the tables, he was crunched over but no one of it helped to not make him stand out in the crowd of eating people with his broad shoulders. Ben always towered over everyone, except over Phasma from accounting actually, but everyone else was a victim to his high stature. It was almost comical just as his words. Still, Armitage fumbled with his hands, dropping from one the document he was reading while not being able to control the other, his grip on the sandwich slipping until it unceremoniously slammed in his lap and into the napkin he thankfully unfolded on it.

“What?“

“Ask her out or I-”“I heard you the first time.” Ben was used to Armitage’s cruel remarks or even interruptions but this was the first time he did so with such a vigor.

“Why did you ask then?” There was a knowing smirk painted on his lips, the redhead falling into his trap one more time.

“I know you won’t ask her out.” This confused Ben greatly. What did he mean? The dark haired man adored teasing his pale friend on a daily basis but it was almost unheard of Armitage opposing him. He did attempt to oppose several times and it was not exactly as playful as Ben wished for, usually it consisted of Hux reminding him to get back to work and where is the fun in that? But this time, this time Armitage had something on Ben and he absolutely didn’t like it.

“Rey wouldn’t like that, would she now?” What was left of the knowing smirk on Ben’s face disappeared seconds after those words were muttered into the air between the two men. This time it was Ben who was left with red cheeks and ears, absolutely flabbergasted and fumbling hands with the wrappers of his now gone lunch.

************************

Armitage didn’t even realize how organized you were but now that he had the chance to see inside your office he was lost for words. Who would have thought someone like you would have neatly organized folders with color marked projects and spreadsheets for time management not only for your team but your work.

“You are awfully organized.” He truly was in awe at how your space looked.

“Thanks?”

“I expected to find a battlefield in your office but it’s- surprisingly tiddy?” He didn’t mean tiddy, he meant a perfect, absolutely and adoringly perfect environment for him to exist, something that almost seems to be made just for him.

“That’s kinda rude, Armitage.” He was not known for making a lot of people laugh, maybe Ben but it was more of a laugh at his own account, with you it was somehow ridiculously easy, apparently.

“I was complimenting you.” He objects, trying to defend his honor, it was not in his intentions to come off as rude as it might have seemed.

“Sure.”

Again with the laugh.

“You should take it as a compliment. Organized people are h-,” he paused, gulping down his words until it weighed heavy in his stomach,”good.”

“Good?” There was a suspicious smirk playing on your lips as if you knew what he wanted to say but Armitage almost sure you had no clue, you simply wanted to tease him a bit more.

But God, what if you did catch his misstep? No, surely you didn’t. He gave you one more questioning look to make sure you were none the wiser.

“Yes.” He had to clear his throat, to compose himself a bit by bit but there was an unbearable weight at his chest, almost too consuming. “For business. Organized people are known to be very reliable and hardworking employees.”

Yes, good. They are good. I totally didn’t mean hot. Because organized women are totally not absolutely hot. And I totally just didn’t realize it’s a thing for me. Ha ha. Please, act normal.

Armitage’s brain must have looked like a scrambled egg now, trying to unravel all his thoughts into a coherent solid state so he could function properly while unsuccessfully avoiding all his thoughts involving you and this office.

“Found it.” You held up a blue folder with a little yellow sticky note poking out of the main pages.

Oh, yes, the scripts for the main document, that’s what brought the two of you inside your office. That’s why he was now stuck between walls adored with shelves upon which sat dozens of cute plants. A complete opposite of his office but very cozy, it was obvious you decorated the room with a clear idea of making it a positive and comfortable environment. The purple sofa in the corner ideal for-

Yep, Armitage was fully aware he was fucked.

#armitage hux x reader #armitage hux x reader au #office au #star wars x reader #star wars fanfiction #domhnall gleeson x reader #general hux x reader #isa writes #reylo #ben solo #rey and ben solo

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recurring-polynya · 3 days ago

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Writing/Art Update 11.26.2024

I did not finish chapter 9/52 and there's no way I'm gonna today, so I'm just gonna go ahead and call this week. I certainly worked on it. My current workflow is that I have a document called "temp", and I put the current chapter and all its mess in there, and when it's done, I paste it into the "rough draft" document, put any scrap I want to save into the scrapheap at the bottom of my "notes" document, and then start clean with the next chapter. Right now, the temp doc is over 3k words, but I've really been flailing with what to do with this chapter, so it's three-quarters of fight scene and a bunch of half abandoned scraps of conversation and now Ichigo and Renji are expositing at each other and I'm about ready to throw the whole thing in a dumpster. Anyway, I'm not going to count any of that as progress for this week; it'll get counted when the chapter is finished, which is my goal for next week.

That doesn't mean no progress, tho! Earlier in the week I wrote a 2k Inuzuri vignette, just because I was thinking about it and wanted to write it. It was so pleasant and fun to write and people have been very nice to me about it, and honestly, it's got me fucked up a little, because writing is so rarely like that for me these days. I've had this fear, roughly since I started writing Bleach fanfic in 2019, that I was going to eventually run out of ideas, at which point I guess I assumed I would just quit or something? I don't know. What has happened instead is that, when the random bolts of inspiration began to get farther and fewer between, I've learned to create story concepts and to craft them into a finished product. And, like, that's a cool skill! I am proud of my ability to do it! But it's also, like, work, like a fucking job. And the result is that I spend a lot of time writing things I want to be written, and very little time writing things I actually want to write. I used to at least have parts of my stories that I was looking forward to writing, and that's not even really true anymore. Sometimes I happen to have fun while I am writing things, but looking out ahead pretty much just feels like a slog. I've known that this was happening for quite some time, and I've tried various things to fix it and none of them have helped. I can't stop, though, because the only thing I really want to do is read fanfic, and the amount that is being written to my tastes and interests is a very small fraction of my appetite for it, so my only recourse is to write it myself. Anyway, at least I had fun for two days this week! That's something!

I did some art tutorials this week, and I think at this point I am putting off drawing my Christmas card in hopes that I will run out of time and then have an excuse not to do it at all. 🙃

Sorry to be kind of a bummer this week. I'm also wrapped up in holiday off-my-schedule anxiety, so I've had a headache+ low grade nausea for the last three days, which I pretty much expect to persist through the entire month of December.

GOAL PROGRESS: This week, +1979 words, which gives me 14,150/20,000 = 71% of my year-end goal, with 5 weeks to go.

#writing update #art update

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nientedenada · 2 months ago

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Hi, I not sure if you have answered that before, but I really love your fanfic "Binds of Civility" and wanted to know if you will continue with the story?

P.S.: sorry for any mistakes, English isn't my first language, I'm just curious because I really love that fic. Have a great day!

Thanks for the ask. Yes, I do plan to continue. I have to admit I have been very distracted from actually writing this year. But I never stop thinking about the fic or that extended world.

Mark Twain once ended a very silly story with a declaration of

The truth is, I have got my hero (or heroine) into such a particularly close place, that I do not see how I am ever going to get him (or her) out of it again–and therefore I will wash my hands of the whole business, and leave that person to get out the best way that offers–or else stay there. I thought it was going to be easy enough to straighten out that little difficulty, but it looks different now.

And while I don't have the exact same issues regarding my fic, I feel it. While the fates of some ofthe most central characters: Cecilia and Junius Varo, Elenwen, and Ulfric Stormcloak are fixed, I do keep going back and forth on what will eventually happen to a bunch of the supporting cast. Since they are all at each other's throats in a civil war with *counts* seven fic-relevant factions, some people have to die. I am steeling myself to be ruthless.

And to be honest I didn't expect to end up liking Ondolemar, Thongvor, Madanach, and Delphine so much. Someone(s) has to lose in that tangle even though they would also make a great Reach sitcom cast. ;)

Anyway, I do have an outline, the story is in the home stretch and I hope to post a new chapter in November. In the meantime, Id love to answer any questions you and others have about the story and characters.

#niente fic

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tleeaves · 1 year ago

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Thank you @luciehercndale and also @faithfromanewperspective (I am pretty sure you also tagged me and I forgot to make my reply then) for tagging me 🥺 It means the world, honestly, since I don't update a lot nor write too many fics, yet I'm still remembered.

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

(All of the below are in The Last Hours fandom)

Wasting Beats In This Heart Of Mine 136,108 words. Work in progress. This fic is my most ambitious and it is a various x OC story (James Herondale, Cordelia Carstairs, and Matthew Fairchild). It's my own take on how multiple universes of the same characters work and what would happen if a time loop was created by trying to save someone who is meant to die. Basically, it's the fracturing of reality, the occasional dose of heavy existentialism and derealisation/depersonalisation, fixing of some canon complaints I had, but it all takes place during Chain of Iron. It's a re-write of an earlier and now deleted fanfic of mine called Chain of Lies. Oh, and there's romance. Everything kind of revolves around that, one way or another, even in some rather dangerous ways.

The Rain (It Rains Every Day) 7,912 words. Work in progress. This is a Beauty and the Beast AU but greatly inspired by the myth of Eros/Cupid and Psyche, as well as earlier versions of the Beauty and Beast story (the French version, as well as some others under different titles like East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which is basically Cupid and Psyche in a different font). It's got James Herondale x Cordelia Carstairs, Lucie Herondale x Grace Blackthorn, and Alastair Carstairs x Thomas Lightwood. The setting is 1900, Greece in an alternate universe where a whole bunch of the TLH cast immigrated to the country or live(d) in Bulgaria or Persia.

A Diamond On Your Pillow 1,978 words. Complete work. A crack-ship fic about Christopher Lightwood x Lara Croft because of a silly joke I had with @thevagabondexpress. I still maintain that it is the most genius of my works, even if I did not get around to writing out any of the backstory we talked about. Also, it's the strangest ship in the fandom corner right now and I am proud of that. The moment someone takes my title, I will be publishing a James Herondale x Alastair Carstairs fic and no one can stop me. Not even your mother. Heed my warning because after that it might be Peeta Mellark x Cordelia Carstairs AND I WILL DO IT.

Love, We Did Our Best 3,354 words. Work in progress. A Matthew Fairchild x pregnant OC fic. I came up with the idea after a weird dream I had about IVF, but anyway. It takes place in France (past) and Tortuga (current story), 1906. Matthew has been travelling the world and generally avoiding Shadowhunters until he gets to Tortuga and meets a Nephilim woman with her marks stripped in exile there. She is a widow expecting to give birth to her first child in somewhere over three months. It only has two chapters so far, but it's supposed to be a cute murder mystery (..."cute" as in there's romance, but also the murder mystery itself is not actually cute, it gets quite dark).

Pride and Prejudice 2,460 words. Work in progress. It is literally just a Thomastair Pride and Prejudice AU. It has one chapter. I intend to continue it one day, but I have to refer to the book often so it's on the backburner because I am too lazy to refer to the book to write and this AU requires it. I'll get around to it eventually. Probably.

I am tagging @griddle-cakes, @sourlemons262, @zoyalannister, and @all-this-panic-still-no-disco (mostly because I know you're also fanfic writers, 3/4 of which have written also for TLH. You absolutely don't have to do this though if you don't want to.)

#tag game #fanfic #the last hours #james herondale #cordelia carstairs #matthew fairchild #christopher lightwood #thomas lightwood #grace blackthorn #alastair carstairs

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afteriwake · 11 months ago

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Fanfic asks for the new year -- 2, 3, 7, 9, 11

2. Will you participate in any fandom exchanges or fic challenges, etc? I will definitely be running another regular round of @wipbigbang this year (and I'm probably going to do art again for the unclaimed fics and actually stay on top of it this time...whether I try finishing any of my WIPs is another matter) and I am currently running the International Fanworks Day Mini-Bang at the aforementioned big bang. I may do a fic for that as well, since it's really laid back.

I will also be finishing up the five prompts I got in December for @mollyappreciationweek at some point in the early half of the year (and I'll be running a February week-long round for Valentine's Day/Galentine's Day/Singles Awareness Day as well as another prompt-a-thon in December), and if you do Christmas In July again I'll take prompts. I may do the Spook Me Ficathon instead of Fictober...not sure. But I do plan on doing Spook Me this year after missing the sign-ups the last few years. And if I get enough participants, I'll do another round of @sherlollysecretsanta and make mod gfts as well (which reminds me...got to email participants in this round about the fic covers).

3. Do you anticipate writing for a new fandom this year? Which one? I do! One of the WIPs I'm bouncing around finishing for WIPBB is the Knives Out Cablanca fic you are letting me finish, and I've never written Knives Out before. As for all mine fics? It's not entirely new, but I tossed out a Marvel's What If...? fix-it idea for Peggy/1602!Steve which I might write, which will be my first time writing specifically for that show.

7. Will you change anything about the way you interact with other writers? I'm going to try and read more fic written by people other than @dreaminonao3 (I have a backlog of @sobeautifullyobsessed's fic that I'm going to read when I have a good chunk of time to donate to reading some of her long WIPs, and I have a ton of bookmarked fics across a bunch of different fandoms on my Firefox account), and make damn sure I comment and comment often. I'm also going to try and reblog more fic recs over on @mousedetective, where I have a bigger audience.

9. Short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in January? Since I finally seem to be over my food poisoning, this week I hope to do the mod gifts for Sherlolly Secret Santa and write at least one or two things for @greenskyoverme, including the newest chapter of "What Stork Brings." As for January? I want to get as much art done for the 2023 round of WIPBB that I owe as I can. I also want to write something new for my birthday on the 23rd, since I'm not expecting a whole lot this year.

11. Would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year? Not really? There isn't much I haven't tried at least once in the 25 1/2 years I've been writing fic.

Now, new ships, on the other hand? That I'm game for...

#answering asks!#fanfiction #fanfic #my stuff #strangelock221b

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sainamoonshine · 2 years ago

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The whole thing about Sudowrite is like…

get out of here with your “but you already posted your work for free on ao3, why are you mad that an AI is using it without asking?” bad faith takes.

Posting fanfics on ao3 is like bringing a dish to the neighbourhood potluck. I know what to expect there, everyone is nice and polite, and if they like my dish they can ask for the recipe or take some leftovers home or whatever. There are implied, understood social rules that the entire community understands and follows.

The fucking AI is like entering my kitchen at 2 am to find out some asshole decided to follow me home and is eating the leftovers with their fucking hands. Not only that, but they’ve been doing it for a while and stealing my ingredients and bringing them to Greta from two streets over. That’s why all of her dishes are too sweet because she’s been using MY maple syrup without knowing how to properly pair it up with other flavours or anything. I made that maple syrup myself, I know it’s a grade B from late in the season and not a grade A, so I would never put it on pancakes and I’m also adjusting the amount from what the recipe says. Greta doesn’t know any of that, she doesn’t even know where maple syrup comes from!

These two situations are nothing alike! And just because I agreed to bring the free food to the potluck, it doesn’t mean that I agreed for some automated system to take it without asking behind my back!

Some things I’ve heard people say and my bitchy answers behind the cut, as well as actual ~professional writer~ advice because I felt bad about being bitchy:

“Oh but you would have talked someone through the recipe if they asked, so why are you pissed that the robot reverse-engineered the ingredients and gave them to other people???”

The. Robot. Did. Not. Ask.

But also it’s just fucking ridiculous to think that an AI can just sample a bunch of finished stories and extract turns of phrases and stylistic elements or what have you from them and offer them up to another writer as if they have any value outside of their context. It would be like tasting turmeric in a dish and then telling the next person that turmeric is the great solution to fix their flavour profile when you’re missing the part where I also added black pepper and the exact timing of when to add both of these things for full effect. Knowing about metaphors — or worse! Being suggested a metaphor by a software that doesn’t even know what your story is about and what themes are relevant — is not the same as actually knowing when and how to use the goddamn thing.

“Why are you so angry, just let other people have their ~process”

This sudowrite thing is both unethical (stole my stuff to train it’s dataset), fucking rude (stole my stuff to train it’s dataset) and a tacky, amateurish crutch that will harm those writers who use it in the long run. This process of yours is bad and you should feel bad. Asking an AI to help you generate a story won’t help you learn how to write one — and worse, it will actively teach you bad habits that will impede your ability to write creatively in the future.

“Oh but it’s just to fluff up a couple of sentences”

If those sentences aren’t important enough to merit your full attention then don’t include them in the novel to begin with. The best thing you can learn as a writer is that sometimes, if the words for a scene won’t come, it’s because you need to rethink the scene. Or not include it at all! Tolkien hit Bilbo on the head and made him miss an entire battle, and it worked a lot better for the ~themes and tone~ of the book than if he had witnessed said battle. If you just say “he took the train” instead of describing the entire ride, it’s fine. You don’t need to ask a robot to describe the train for you.

“Oh but I have a story in mind, except that I can’t write very well, so I need extra help. Not everyone is a good writer!”

It’s called hiring a ghostwriter. It’s one of the unspoken foundations of publishing. Look it up. There is no shame in doing it and it’s been done for so long and for so many people that there is an entire structure already in place around the practice. Which means it’s easy to find out how to do it, how much to pay and how to handle crediting (or not, depending on contracts) your writing help. Also these people are goddamn professionals and you will have a much better end result than if you just cobbled a story together piecemeal via a talking robot.

“Oh but I just want something to help me brainstorm, I’m not using it for actual writing, or if I do I’ll rewrite a lot of it. It’s fiiiine!”

Find a beta. Join a writer’s group. Do a manuscript swap. Sorry about the required social aspect of these things but seriously. It will do so much good to your creativity and inspiration if you just talk to another human being about your craft. They can offer suggestions about what you actually WANT to write, not just what you have written so far.

“Oh but I have writer’s block”

We all do. You’re not special.

I don’t have any actual advice on this one because my usual advice is to stop thinking of writing stories as some ~sacred unknowable feat of creativity and inspiration~ and realize that it’s just a craft, and like any craft you can practice and learn to do it pretty reliably.

To go back to my earlier cooking metaphor: some days you don’t have the mental energy or ~*inspiration*~ to make a really fancy meal for dinner. But you still gotta eat. The moment you learn which boring but easy and functional recipes you can make on those days instead or giving up and ordering in, that’s the day you can really say you became serious about being a home cook. (Disabilities notwhistanding etc this is a metaphor).

Similarly, you become a ‘real’ writer when you learn that you can still do writer shit even if you’re not ~*inspired*~, like working on outlines or making a bullet point list of what should go in a chapter so you can come back later or even take a break or create marketing material. Writing is an art, yeah, but it’s also a skill. Some days you’re gonna bang out 500 really boring words without a single hint of divine inspiration and that’s just a thing you gotta learn to deal with.

But in this case I’m not sure if the advice applies because if the fictional person I’m talking to is using an AI software to combat writer’s block, then they probably have already achieved the cynicism required to apply my anti-creative block method of “put aside the naive idea that creativity is a talent and realize it’s just unglamorous work.” So yeah I got nothing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“It’s just a more advanced version of autocorrect, chill out”

Autocorrect sucks. It’s only good for changing ‘fuck’ to ‘duck’ and making funny screenshots.

#sudowrites #sudowrite #ai writing is bad and you should feel bad #long post sorry not sorry #some actual decent writing advice under the cut you should check it out

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jadedbirch · 1 year ago

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Dear Yulegoat,

Blessings of the season upon you, my good comrade! This year I am requesting:

The Radiant Emperor Series by Shelley Parker-Chan

I finished the series in September and I'm still losing my mind. Since my heart has been ripped out already, I would like to have it soothed. Your choice is either Ouyang/Esen-Temur OR Third Prince/Wang Baoxiang. In both cases I need either a fix-it AU or reincarnation AU - the author basically set us up for one, and I'm sure they'll be so sad if we don't write a bunch of fanfics about it. It's totally fine if you keep their relationships to the canonical levels of dysfunction, if you like, but I would like a happy ending for my present, pretty please! Bonus points if you can work all 4 queers into the same fic, though I'm certainly not expecting such feats of greatness.

A Charm of Magpies Series by KJ Charles

It's been years and I'm still thinking about Jackdaw :( Really, I love my son Jonah and his relationship with Ben fills me with such emotion and satisfies my equality kink. They're just so different, but so well-matched and I love it for them! I'll be happy with anything, really, that explores their dynamic. Canon verse very much preferred and happy endings only, please!

Big Bad Wolf Series by Charlie Adhara

I love Cooper and Oliver, but I'm much more interested in Eli for this fic since we haven't really explored him as much (glad he gets his own series though!). I would be thrilled to get some past Oli/Eli - what was their deal? How did they get together? Why didn't it work out? Alternately, if you're down to explore some polyamory, how might Eli potentially fit into the "pack" with Coop and Oli? Have fun, go wild, and please give me a happy ending for the holidays! <3 Thank you, thank you!

Leonardo TV 2021

The show was no where near gay enough. What, you give me Aidan Turner as Leonardo da Vinci and he barely even bares his beastly hot chest? UNACCEPTABLE. I would appreciate as much gayness as possible. It doesn't even have to be just Leonardo/Salai. It can be Leonardo/His Entire Studio, IDGAF, just MAKE IT GAY AS HECK. Rainbows out of Leonardo's butt is what I'm talking about. I just need there to be gay sex, okay? This Queerdo needs it. Thank you!

DNWs: You may have noticed a theme here - life is hard and I want escapism and happy endings. I don't have a lot of squicks. No mpreg, no genderswap, no scat or water sports. Um... No het.

#yuletide 2023

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the-badger-mole · 2 years ago

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fanfic asks: 7, 9, 19, 23, 26

7. What’s the fic you most want to continue (unfinished or no)?

I have 2 long, unfinished fics. The Djinn Dilemma (ATLA; Zutara) and Lost and Found (Sailor Moon; Usagi/Mamoru). I started them around the same time like 10 years ago, and I know exactly how I want to end each of them, but getting to those endings has been...difficult. In the mean time, I've finished a bunch of other long fics with a lot less agony. I am committed to finishing both of these fics one day, but for the moment, the are just sitting on my unfinished works pile. Judging me. (I've linked to these fics, but fair warning, they are currently only on FFN, and you know that site has been trash)

9. Have you ever written for a fandom without watching/reading/playing the source material?

I have not.

19. If you had to pick one fic/scene/chapter of your work to describe your entire portfolio to a stranger, which would you pick?

I guess if I had to pick a scene, it would be this one from Summer Bloom

Aang was seated next to Toph, and he hadn't said anything yet. Now, with Sokka and Suki falling into a conversation about what to and not to say at breakfast, and Katara and Zuko fixing plates, he leaned over and whispered,

"Last night was scary. Are you ok?"

"I survived the night," Toph shrugged. She took a mouthful of congee. It was as good as it smelled. Toph was torn between gobbling it all down and eating slowly to savor every bite. If this was how it would be every cycle, Toph thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Are you pregnant?" Suddenly, Toph's delicious meal was choking her. She had inhaled a bit of fish and she sputtered and coughed.

"Toph!" She heard Katara drop something metal- a spoon or ladle probably- and rush to Toph. She hit the younger girl's back a few times until the fish dislodged. Toph spat it into a napkin and rounded on Aang wildly.

"I'm not pregnant, you idiot!" she shouted. And once more, an awkward silence settled on the room.

23. What’s the nicest review you’ve ever gotten?

This comment from All the Things That Are and Will Be was so nice, I genuinely wanted to frame it. It was a long one, but here is the main point.

the way you developed hamas character and had katara sympathise with her was amazing, and i wish the show had taken the same route. you really fleshed out her character and made her such a deep complex person- much more than i think the show did. you delved into her anger and showed how she reluctantly became attached to katara in an absolutely beautiful way. expanding on the southern water tribe techniques of waterbending and the complexities of bloodbending wasnt something i expected, but it was beautifully done and really just gave me feelings i cant even describe. even though i knew it was coming, hamas death made me cry and left me just a little heartbroken and i actually cant thank you enough for making me so attached to a character- who was only in like one episodd of the actual show- that i cried at her death in a fic.

26. What aspect of your writing do you most enjoy to see praised?

When people say the way my characters act mesh well with canon.

#atla #zutara #sailor moon #ask game #ask the badger mole

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muiromem · 6 months ago

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I am so goddamn stuck on the next chapter of my Voyager OT3 fanfic.

I technically have a whole chapter written, but everything about it just doesn't feel right - the flow, the wording, the character "voice" for the chosen POV... it just doesn't feel like my writing. It feels half-done and rushed even though it's taken months to even get to this sorry excuse for a WIP chapter.

But I don't know how to fix it.

And I'm also stuck because the chapter after was also written a long time ago, before a ton of stuff changed. So I probably need to re-write that chapter (#11) as well as the upcoming one (#10). Except now, I had thought it would be better to change ch. 11 to Harry's POV instead of the original POV I'd chosen before (because the original version had a bunch of problems). But if I did that, it would mean 3 chapters back-to-back of Harry's POV and I'm worried that would feel weird or forced somehow.

On the other hand, if I had to re-write ch. 10 (again) from B'Elanna's POV instead, it might mean a chance to start fresh and feel better about my writing. But at the same time, there are beats or moments in the existing version that feel good/important, and I would have to lose them completely if I changed away from Harry's POV.

So now it's been three months since my last update, I may be starting a new job in a few weeks, and I am fucking stressed.

I feel like I have no time to write, I'm stuck on what to even fucking do with this current chapter because ch. 9 ended up going places I didn't expect, so now I just don't know what to do. And it feels crushing because it feels like as soon as I start a job, I won't have any more time/energy to write and if I leave it here I'm scared I'll never get back to it and there just seem to be no goddamn answers.

#*crying*#I fucking hate how pathetic and incompetent my brain is #I hate that the slightest stress overwhelms me #I hate that I can't just GET ANYTHING DONE #getting a job feels like a death-sentence towards any creativity #I already can't convince my brain to work NOW #how am I supposed to do it once I'm exhausted from working 40hrs a week???#I hate this I hate this I hate this #like why can't I just find an ANSWER???#every option seems bad #and every re-write would bring with it a lot of struggle #and a loss of potentially good stuff that I already wrote #uuuuuuugh #I wanna SCREAM

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midqualitymochi · 7 months ago

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in my multiple failed attempts at writing ive noticed that a particular flaw ive always had that ive never been able to fix is my lack of ability to have mystery; or rather, my lack of ability to distribute information in an interesting way.

almost always, whenever there's a thought, or a concept, or whatever, every singular detail that i can come up with about it must be described at that exact moment, and there's no room for a description to linger, or leave dark spots, or to even exist outside of that sphere of description. its always overexplain or completely gloss over.

though my thoughts came out structured better than i anticipated, theres still probably points where ive overexplained a point, or made sure to try to squash every caveat and corner of the point im trying to make.

and in a rambly thoughtvomit post like this, its probably fine, but its absolutely awful for narrative, and ive always wondered how i fix something like that.

i think probably a big point would be to start at actually planning whatever i write. i almost never do that and instead just type out complete garbage into a google doc at 2 am on a particularly unproductive tuesday, and the result is always dreadful. maybe its that i go in with a scene in mind, and instead of starting with a general idea or vibe of the scene and then work from there, i just try to get it right with the first attempt and fuck up and fall flat on my face and give up for the next 3-5 months.

though i think the bigger problem lies with the fact that the various stages of a story arent nearly as visually distinct from one another as, say, art.

with art, generally it can be broken down as: sketch, line art, flat color, shading, lighting, and rendering; and however many iterations of each stage one may go through. and more importantly, when you line up each stage next to one another, theyre visually distinct, but you can see what additions or logical choices were made to go from one stage to another.

with writing - and excuse my unexperienced assumption of how the writing process is - its: collecting the ideas, structuring the ideas, rough draft, final draft, editting.

the stages of collecting and structuring ideas can take many different forms: a bunch of bulletin points or maybe a fuck ton of notes haphazardly thrown about a board, and maybe a nicely illustrated and concise story bible that neatly packages the main aspects of a story.

unfortunately, all of this generally leads to the exact same "look": a book, a bunch of words, etc. there is very little to no *visual* progression, unlike art, which is to be expected. one cannot immediately see how an author goes from a google drive filled to the brim with images and notes and thoughts to a collection of leatherbound pages (or a 25 page long fanfic, etc etc). most of the time the structure between the stages is only barely kept, probably depending on the author (that is to say, a messy or loose planning stage wont necessarily lead to a messy and loose writing style).

though more than likely, the best conclusion i can get from all of this is that maybe im just impatient. i simply havent read and written enough to be able to see the "sketch" of a narrative and see how the vague forms of "lines" have lead into the "line art".

and just like a novice artist, i see no real distinction between my "sketch" and "render", because i attempt to do the coloring before ive placed the lines.

#oh and. more importantly. i lack a logical throughline or central theme #and if i try. i fuck up

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televinita · 2 years ago

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Power Rangers: Once & Always

My husband and I watched this last weekend because we have shared childhood nostalgia for the OG series, which was extremely fun, and now I have thoughts! A random list of thoughts!

Thoughts Like:

Me literally every second Kat was onscreen: screaming, crying, hearts streaming out of my eyes, etc. MY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are an equal-opportunity Red/Pink Ranger shipper in this house so as clumsy and awkward as I found most of the reminders that he and Kat are married*, I ate them up with a soup ladle.

(*were? idk feels uncomfortably like you could read this equally well as them being co-parenting divorcees on friendly terms, perhaps to appease the rabid OG shippers without pissing off canon purists, but in the absence of Amy Jo, NOT TODAY SATAN).

I was...Not expecting Trini to die on screen, even just by being hit with a blast and dropping out of sight. YIKE.

Although I did appreciate how much that made this movie feel like a fanfic that magically got filmed.

Uncle Zack just rolling up to move in and guardianship Trini’s daughter full time, SURE!!!!!

Was her name always pronounce Tree-nee?? I know I didn’t watch as much of the original lineup compared to Zeo and Turbo, but it’s always been in my head as “Trinny.” It was so jarring, every time. Is my memory that bad or is this like a Modern Day Fix where they got schooled by actual Vietnamese people.

I still require more explanation as to why they have ranger powers at this age. I thought Passing Them On was sort of...a key part of being rangers? I mean I don’t know that much about the mythology because this was strictly a teen drama to me and I fast-forwarded most of the fight scenes and battles but...

Trini’s daughter is

adorable

and I would almost commit to watching a season she was part of. The 2017 reboot film wants what this character’s energy has.

IMMENSELY hilarious to me every time Zack acted like it was unreasonable for a teenager with homework to want to be a ranger, btw.

I will say that her fight against the putties all alone really drove home how young the characters were always supposed to be. Wild visualizing rangers being actual minors.

I was never very attached to Billy and even less attached to Zack (truly the only person who was a greater non-entity to me than the latter was Rocky or perhaps Jason), so kudos to this movie making me care about them. Especially Billy. Oh my god I loved that final forgiveness convo so much.

Husband, howling with laughter at the cringe-worthy single DIVERSITY! moment: “Would you commit vehicular manslaughter for gay rights?? Only true allies need apply.”

I LOVE THE MONSTER DUDES. Especially the snakey guy, my beloved. It was very hard to root for them to be defeated, let alone straight-up murdered. (which, for all Zack kept scolding about, sure looks like revenge to me!! my husband kept trying to explain to me that it was justice and there is a difference, but everyone who claims that is wrong)

Robo Rita is also most excellent.

This movie was way more stabby than I remember the tv show being. did they always have daggers??

I know I said that I mostly skipped the fight scenes/battles, but sometimes I made exceptions for the OG series because the animal zords were actually pretty cool, unlike the later cars. Until they become a giant robot, at least, I kind of love them, so that was fun to see. I also really like the power disks w/ the animals etched on them.

...MEMORY BLAST we used to have a bunch of those from McDonald’s happy meals, I think when the OG movie came out? Now I am weirdly sad they’re all long gone.

I don’t actually remember the episode they used the nostalgic clips from at the end but oh my god that was a perfect choice. Moderately hilarious that after a whole movie of reminding us that Tommy has a kid with Kat, the clip is clearly as much Tommy Makes Heart Eyes At Kimberly as anything else, but again, equal-opportunity shipper here so it’s cool and I appreciate the gift. Also a good reminder I need to go listen to her music again, her voice is so pretty.

In conclusion: basically we got a bonus 3-part episode 30 years later and I think that is very special and my heart is very full. No complaints. :*)

#power rangers #episode reactions

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maulusque · 4 years ago

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Clone genetic enhancement ideas

So the clones were genetically enhanced, but i don’t really see any writers (in fanfic or in published stuff) really exploring what that MEANS beyond “clone very stronk”. Here are some ideas that would actually make clones significantly different from just a regular-ass human in peak condition.

-enhanced senses: eyesight, hearing, etc. I’m talking eyes like a HAWK

-better reflexes

-quicker information processing

-can hear sounds of higher and lower frequency than standard humans

-can see light of a broader spectrum than human standard

-learn quicker, retain information and skills better (potential problem: if you learn something the WRONG way, that way might stick really well)

-photographic memory (really useful for memorizing layouts and maps)

-immunity to various diseases

-can tolerate a wider range of temperatures and environments

-increased stamina and strength baseline. Clones can just run full-tilt for hours and hours and be like “ah a nice stroll”. Over long distances, they can out-pace jedi in the same way that humans can out-pace horses.

-higher tolerance of certain poisons/toxins (clones can straight-up drink ethanol, and get maybe a little tipsy)

-bodies respond quickly to physical stress, and slowly to the absence of it (basically, this means that physical conditioning results in stronger muscles and a stronger cardiovascular system really quickly, and it takes MUCH longer for a clone to lose strength and conditioning due to not exercising than standard humans. Think how much valuable training time is saved if they only have to go on a run like, once a month in order to stay in shape)

-increased ability to function through intense pain and acute injuries. Basically, semi-disabling the pain system so it’s less distracting. Probably not good for the survival of the individual in many situations, but an advantage on the battlefield.

-heal faster and better, with fewer long-term complications. Clones can dislocate their shoulders and NOT have the joint be permanently fucked up, because the Kaminoans re-designed the whole damn thing to suck WAY less.

-actually, unique internal anatomy. There’s probably a lot about the human body besides the shoulder joint that is actually just really stupid, and something no intelligent designer would actually build. So the Kaminoans can fix a lot of that stuff. Better knees, maybe. Stronger ribs. Maybe Cody punches droids not just because he’s a mad bastard, but also because his metatarsals are literally as strong as steel.

-Hearing loss/hearing damage? No problem, your ear can regrow those little hair-thingies that help you hear.

-Of course, it takes energy to maintain muscle mass, which is why human bodies lose it if we’re not using it. Clones need significantly more calories than standard humans. However, their digestive systems are enhanced to extract calories and nutrients from food much more efficiently, so food goes much farther. Potential weird side effect: maybe clones only have to poop like, once a week?

-You could probably extend that into increased ability to tolerate long periods without food/on low rations, despite the increased need for calories.

-wouldn’t it be NEAT if the kaminoans somehow designed self-repairing DNA. This would mean that others couldn’t take a DNA sample from a clone and modify it to create their own clones (basically, it protects their product. It’s like DRM for clones). This ALSO means that clones couldn’t get cancer, and that they’d be immune to radiation poisoning. So a clone could just walk up to a sphere of uranium at critical mass and pick it up. Maybe with oven mitts on if it’s hot. (this would also make it harder for a rapid-aging cure to be developed, but uhhhh fanfic writers find a way)

- “bred for obedience” I think most of this would have to be accomplished through tightly-controlled messaging and cultural norms as the clones grow up- basically, enshrining obedience as a desirable and almost sacred trait, to be prized higher than anything else, including the lives of your brothers. In the same way that we hear stories of people sacrificing their lives to protect their loved ones, the clones would grow up hearing stories of soldiers sacrificing their brothers’ lives to obey an order from a superior.

-SOME of the “obedience” thing could be engineered, though. Humans are already super social, but it would probably make sense for the clones to have an even greater need for social bonds. This would make for greater teamwork and coordination, and better unit cohesion, since the clones would be more inclined to prioritize friendship/agreeing with someone over winning an argument. It would also make it so they’d bond with their natural-born generals more easily, so they would obey them not just because they’re supposed to, but because they’d be much quicker to see them as a friend, and someone who’s trust they want to earn, someone they want to incorporate into their group and make happy.

-consequently, clones who find themselves alone do NOT do well. Isolation has a much more profoundly negative impact on clones than on regular humans.

-Originally, clones designed to operate alone or in small teams would not have the social enhancement- ARC troopers, spec-ops teams, etc. There wouldn’t be much of a noticeable difference in everyday interactions, but they’d also be vaguely weirded out by what they interpret as aggressive friendliness from their brothers, and their brothers would think they’re a bit shy and standoffish.

-actually this social modification would make it MUCH harder for clones to kill people. REGULAR HUMANS are already super bad at killing people- i remember reading this article about how as soon as soldiers have to point their weapons at actual people, their aim gets mysteriously much shittier. Even when compared to situations that are exactly the same, except they’re not shooting at other humans. So reconcile this how you will, idk.

-I imagine a lot of these enhancements would be accomplished not through DNA, but through microorganisms. Retroviruses could explain the DNA resistant to modification, and the increased healing speed, and possibly some disease resistance (do i know anything about retroviruses other than a vague concept of what they are? no i do not. will that stop me? also no.) Their metabolism can be partially explained through specially engineered gut microbes.

-not sure how they’d go about making clones “resistant to any stress”, because you can’t exactly turn off the trauma response in the brain without breaking a bunch of other things. They could probably do a bit of fiddling to make clones more resistant to chemical imbalances, and therefore more depression-resistant. I think most of the “stress-resistance” would have to come through training. Either they train the clones to basically suppress everything, which might work alright in the short term. OR they actually have systems in place that help prevent the development of things like PTSD and help treat trauma. Meaning the clones are literally trained in self-care, positive self-talk, talking about their pain with their brothers, and having community rituals around things like death and grief. I don’t think that’s super likely because one thing that’s integral to those concepts is the concept of “i am a person and i have worth, and if i feel angry about something bad happening, that is ok and valid” and considering that a whole lot of bad things happen to the clones all the time and their childhood is a whole boatload of bad all happening at once, i don’t think the kaminoans would want the clones realizing “hey wait a minute i’m a person and i don’t deserve to be treated this way and it’s ok for me to be mad at you”.

- the clones were supposedly engineered to be “less aggressive” but i think there was literally nothing more to that than a cover story for the control chip. The clones wouldn’t be raised with a lot of the aggressive western concept of masculinity, where anger is the default reaction to like, everything, and your personal pride is extremely important and also fragile (no offense lmao). So you wouldn’t have clones posturing and getting angry over perceived slights and fighting each other all the time, like everyone in-universe apparently expects to be the case. Anyway, why would you want your soldiers to be less aggressive? they’re literally supposed to fight and kill the enemy. You want them fully capable of getting angry, anger is the human response to fear and danger that lets us DO something about it.

-obviously the biggest component in how they behave would be how they are raised, but that’s an entirely different post

-Specializations! I imagine that initially, the Kaminoans had different clones with different traits engineered specifically to fill certain roles. However, as the war went on, they struggled to keep up with demand and had to start shoving clones into whatever roles were needed (hence Fives and Echo becoming ARCs, despite not being engineered as ARC troopers).

-Command clones would have better abilities in the executive function parts of the brain that deal with extrapolation, planning ahead, spatial reasoning, etc. They’d also have increased visual pattern recognition (like a pigeon)

-search-and-rescue troops would also have the pigeon pattern recognition abilities. The coast guard literally strapped pigeons to helicopters who would tap a button when they saw orange in the water, because they were better at spotting it than humans. Pigeons can detect cancer in microscope images of cells, because they’re that good at pattern recognition

-Pilots would have hella reflexes, excellent spatial awareness and spatial reasoning skills, much greater ability to process visual information, stronger hearts and blood vessels (to resist greater Gs of force), and they’d also be much shorter, to better fit into a cockpit. Which reminds me of Axe, that poor bastard from Ahsoka’s squadron over Ryloth who was almost eight feet tall. rip poor Axe, how did you even become a pilot, you long bastard.

-medics who can smell certain diseases. If you want to get a little bit out there, make the medics able to purr so they can sooth stressed-out patients.

-infantry would have even greater endurance than everyone else, as well as greater tolerance for, and ability to, remain constantly on alert.

-ability to fall asleep at will? that would be super dope.

-maybe more efficient sleep, so to an adult clone, 4 hours of sleep is genuinely sufficient.

-concept: clones can sort of turn down their bodily functions- slow their digestion, heart, lungs, the whole nine yards- to last longer in adverse conditions. Sort of a half-hibernation (or quarter hibernation- they’d still be able to talk and think, but they’d feel very lethargic). They wouldn’t be able to function very well, but it would be great for things like enduring intense cold, periods without food, low-oxygen environments, and it would be especially useful if you were wounded and waiting for help, since you could slow your circulation, meaning it would take you a lot longer to bleed out. This state could be triggered by a combination of physical actions such as sitting or lying still, breathing slowly and deeply, and focusing on slowing the heart down (humans can actually slow down their hearts consciously if you practice at it, this is basically that, but turned up to like 1100).

-one thing that never made sense to me was the whole “we’re running out of jango fett’s DNA, all the new clones won’t be as good, and we have to stop ventress from stealing the original DNA” because like, can’t they just, get the EXACT SAME DNA from the clones?? you know, the exact genetic copies? With all the enhancements already done? But now my idea is that the kaminoans have engineered the clones so their DNA straight up can’t be copied. The clone’s own body can obviously replicate it, but if you take a sample and try to extract the DNA, it just self-destructs or something. This is to protect their intellectual property, but also means that they literally have to use a couple of Jango Fett’s actual human cells for every single clone they make (and the fact that they then have to do all the above enhancements to every single embryo helps explain why there’s so many small mutations, such as hair color and height). So they kinda shot themselves in the foot with that one.

-of course since things like ADHD and autism have a strong genetic component, the kaminoans could theoretically engineer those out of the clones, but actually FUCK THAT so for whatever reason, that’s just not something they are able to do, and neurodivergent clones are absolutely a thing

#maulusque's stuff #meta #clones

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