#I first saw this post on my dash with a different reblog that was gushing about what great advice this was and askkdejjdjejsjdkdk .NO. 🫠

[venusdebotticelli]

The op of the twitter thread has an issue with books that are "a meeting that should have been an email". But the book they're describing sounds *exactly* like a barebones email, just telling you the most relevant information points in the most perfunctory and succinct way, like you have somewhere else to be and can't dedicate more than two seconds to quickly skimming this book. A book written for a reader with the mentality that your book is not worth their time, so you better make it snappy. It sounds like a miserable literary experience, both as the writer and as the reader.

It's also working on the assumption that the *only* acceptable pacing is breakneck pacing, or they're "wasting the reader's time". No stories are allowed to ever go deeper or take things slower, or to meander around different settings to create a mood, simply for the sake of art. As if different types of stories don't benefit from different styles of writing, and as if there haven't been plenty of literary movements and schools of thought throughout different cultures and periods that valued precisely that, lingering in the details to create a vivid picture. It may not be to your personal taste, but presenting it as if there's absolutely no value to it or cannot be used to great effect is disingenuous and pompous as hell. I agree that it's generally a good rule of thumb to have a reason/purpose why you want to include something, but op has decided that the only valid reasons to include anything are the ones that they personally find entertaining, and everything else is worthless.

This is how you write a textbook, not fiction that's allowed any breathing room. I entirely agree with the previous addition, especially the bit about how this sounds like the perfect method to pump out the fast-food equivalent of writing. I think op wanted to make a point about effective storytelling, about filling your every sentence with meaning and saying as much as you can in a limited amount of time/sentences, but a) doesn't seem to have a great grasp on what pacing actually is and isn't, b) not every story is under time/wordcount constraints or aiming to tell the densest, most efficient story ever, c) they got really judgemental about it and like the only way to write well is to write things that are to their own personal taste.

Ultimately, my main issue with this twt thread and the way this writing "advice" is presented, is that it's not really suggesting ways in which you can think about your work in order to help you achieve what you're going for. It's straight up just telling you what you *should* be going for, and if that's not actually your goal then you're wrong 🙄

PACING IS ABOUT LOAD BEARING WALLS.

*staples violently to my own forehead*

[lyrazehedgieboiii]

Sonic AU (One-shot~)

This was inspired by Sonic AU, a story that I wrote before this. The next thing I post (that’s not a reblog or art), will be the first chapter to a story I’m writing.

     “You know it, Rouge. While the boys have their little ‘guy time,’ we can go shopping! Oh, Eliza just started crying, see you later!” Amy hung up on her phone call with Rouge. They were going to go shopping, along with Cream. Amy wasn’t really a fan of shopping, but she desperately wanted to hang out with her friends without Sonic acting all fussy. They had seven children, but by the way Sonic acted, you could say she had to take of eight. She walked over to a light pink crib, and looked inside. Curious emerald eyes were looking up at her, little beads of tears lining the bottom of the child’s eyes.

      “There’s my gorgeous little hedgie! Oh look at your precious little eyes! They’re so cute! They look just like your daddy’s!” All she got in response to her coos was a squeak, which made Amy fawn even more. “Why are you so cute?! I just want to gobble up your tiny little cheeks!” 

        “Ames, maybe check what’s wrong first, then fangirl over how cute Sonic the Hedgehog’s children are?” Amy looked up to see her husband leaning against the doorframe. The little shit had a smug look on his face.

         “They aren’t just cute because they’re your children, Sonic.” Amy smirked back at him. She picked up her sky-blue baby out of the crib, and placed her on a little quilt on her back. She went to wear the boys’ side was, and looked at whoever was awake. Apparently only Dash and Eric were awake, so she set them on the quilt as well.

       “They got my genes. Look, more of them have my eyes then yours. I heard what you said to Eliza~,” Sonic wiggled his eyebrows, and his smirk only grew wider as he saw her blush. He walked over to her, and hugged her from behind, his arms tightening around her waist. “I’m hungry.” After years of knowing Sonic, she could see someone licking a vanilla ice-cream, she could think of dirty scenarios happening all at once. 

      “W-whoa there! We have children! Some of them are awake!” Amy tried to push him away, but he only held on tighter.

      “Come on, a little fun won’t hurt~” Sonic started to gently peck her neck.

       “...Why do you want this?” Amy asked, trying to hold her moans in.

       “You being the mother to my children turns me on more than you notice, babe.” Sonic was suddenly pushed onto the quilt while Amy straddled him. 

        “I’m going to the mall today with Rouge and Cream. You can take care of the boys with Tails and Knuckles. I’ll take care of the sisters.” Amy often referred to her daughters as ‘the sisters’ because of their names. She named them after the Schuyler Sisters, seeing Hamilton with her best friends. Their middle names were after Greek Goddesses, one of the names for each sister being from the Three Graces.

 “Just be careful, okay? Buy something that’ll make me feel like stripping every ounce of clothing off of you.~” He bit into her neck, leaving a purple spot and a gawking Amy.

        “Do not worry, Mr. Hedgehog, we will make sure that Mrs. Hedgehog has a lingerie so beautiful, you’ll faint and nosebleed like you used to back in University.” The pink hedgehog and her latter looked at the door. Rouge was standing there with a camera, while Cream was staring at them with stars in her eyes.

       “Thank you, Mrs. Echidna. Ames, you be a good girl. Don’t get into any fights, and if you do, don’t let the Sisters get in, or else you and the girls would be in jail.”

        “Actually, Sonikku, I think you should be telling yourself that. You’re gonna be watching the boys. You haven’t properly taken care of them yet. I’m usually the stay-at-home mom, but today, roles are reversed. I wrote instructions on how to take care of them properly and I put their to-” Amy was cut off by a sudden warmth on her lips.

         “Don’t worry, Amy. I’ll take good care of my little guys.” As soon as he said that, Rouge and Cream started gushing over how cute they found Sonic calling his sons “Little guys.”

         “He loves his children!!! He loves the children Amy made!” (I’m personally fangirling too) Cream squealed. Amy and Sonic sweatdropped at their hardcore shipping. 

    ~~~~~~Time Skip to Once They’re Downstairs~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “Okay, I packed Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy’s things. That should be all!” Amy looked at Sonic. “You sure you got them?” Amy asked.

  “Ames. You ain’t gotta worry about me. How hard could it be?” 

   “It’s not hard for you until now, because I usually take care of the kids, while you’re off at the recording studio, or practicing. I’m a housewife!”

     “Don’t think I don’t know that Ariana Growle asked you to choreograph her newest music video.” Sonic said, pulling Flash’s foot from reaching the t.v. remote.

     “Yeah, Amy. You don’t have to worry, Knuckles and I will make sure that he isn’t going to end up in tears because he has to change the kids’ diapers.” Tails responded, ignoring Sonic as he yelled an insulted “Hey!” at him.

    “Thanks Tails, Knuckles. Maybe when you two have children, Sonic and I can take care of them!” Amy said, as she tried to get a two-month old squirming Angelica into her carseat. Angelica whined, wanting to get out of the carseat, until her mother handed her a soft little plush toy. Eliza was smiling at Cream playing peek-a-boo with her. Peggy, however...just...sat there. Amy walked over to Sonic, who was holding Wayne and Dash. She gave them a peck on the forehead, and gave their father a kiss on the lips. Sonic leaned in to let the kiss linger for a little longer, but Amy pulled back.

   “I’ll see my little boys later!” Amy exclaimed as she gave kisses to Eric and Flash, who were being held by Tails and Knuckles. “Take good care of them! Or else...” Amy’s motherly instincts kicked in, her glare telling the caretakers that she’d kill them if even if one of the boys get even a tiny scratch.

- ~~~~~~AT THE MALL~~~~~~~

    “Oh! This would go well with the skinny jeans I saw, don’tcha think? Amy asked Cream as she examined a grey crop top. She looked over at her daughters, who were sleeping, being lulled into a nap after a long walk in the stroller. Rouge was looking at some off-the-shoulder tops.

   “Rouge, looking at your growing stomach, I would avoid looking at these teen tops, and move to the maternity section.” Cream joked. Rouge smiled. Amy smiled too. 

   “I remember when I was pregnant with these little angels, I dragged Sonic to at least 22 different stores. He went ballistic!” Amy laughed. “But seriously, you should start buying pregnancy clothes. One minute your stomach is barely half an inch, you blink and it looks like you have a basketball under your shirt.” 

  “How is it that we knew that you’d be the first one to get married and first one to have children?” Rouge smirked. Amy’s face flushed. 

  “D-don’t look at me! Sonic basically rushed me into this! He was in love with me my whole life! Since we were three!” Amy said, turning redder than the bat’s husband.

   “Well, you have a point. Still. You fell for him!” Cream pointed out. They all laughed. Amy started wondering how the boys were doing. 

Now, let’s see how the men are doing~

-

   “WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” One of the babies, specifically Eric, started crying. Of course, it started a chain reaction, causing all the babies to cry. Sonic jolted up immediately and scooped up two of them, as they aren’t able to move much. He glared at Knuckles and Tails, who got the memo to pick up the other two.

   “What do we do?!” Knuckles yelled at Sonic over the crying.

   “Let me look at the list Amy gave me.” Sonic got up and moved to the kitchen counter. He skimmed through the paper. “Let’s try giving them some food.” Sonic started looking through the pantry.

   “But they’re too young to have normal food. They can only have milk at this age!” Tails skidded over to Sonic and blocked the pantry. They noticed it wasn’t as loud as before. Knuckles handed them pacifiers.

    “Knuckles, you’re a genius!” he gently put the pacifiers into Flash and Dash’s mouths. They started sucking. “Damnit, we don’t have nipples. Amy usually breastfeeds them.” 

   “Too much information, buddy.” Knuckles shook his head.

    “Dude, you’re about to have your own child or children! It’s only natural. Amy occasionally does it because of the brood we have!” Sonic said, rolling his eyes at Knuckles’s immaturity. 

   “What about baby formula?” Tails asked. Sonic tried to snap his fingers, but failed because of the septuplets. “To the nursery!” And with that, he dashed up the stairs, Tails yelling at him to be careful. He sped back to the kitchen and began reading the directions. 

     “For infants four months and younger, one tablespoon of formula in 165 ml water. Infants will best like it as lukewarm. Huh, easy enough!” Sonic gives each baby to his friends, and starts taking out baby bottles. “Wait, how much is 100 milliliters are in cups?” Sonic asked. Tails sighed.

      “Maybe I should do it, Sonic, you can play with the kids.” Sonic handed Dash and Wayne to him, and started measuring. Sonic walks back to the living room and puts the kids on the quilt from earlier. Knuckles started playing peek-a-boo with them, until Sonic interrupted.

       “Dude, they can’t see clearly at this age, give them a few more months. Then again, they’ll be more interested in pulling those red dreads.” Sonic jokes with Knuckles. The echidna makes a disapproving look at him. Tails walks over with four baby bottles. He gave the idiots the bottles, and the kids started to suck on the bottles. After about ten minutes, the boys were done drinking their milk, and Sonic made a disgusted face.

       “Ew, Knuckles, what did you eat? It smells like scrambled egg made with rotten eggs.” Knuckles glared at Sonic

        “Oh sure, blame the buff guy.”

        “Well if it wasn’t you, then who was it?” Sonic asked. Tails pointed to the kids in their arms.

      “Well, I just remembered! I have stuff to do! Bye!” As Knuckles tried to get up, he was stopped by Sonic.  

      “You agreed to help with your nephews, now help.” Knuckles didn’t find Sonic’s face very friendly, so he sat back down. “Chaos, Amy owes me a strip show for this...” Sonic muttered. He looked up to find Tails and Knuckles blushing at what Sonic said. “Can you two imagine your own women doing that? Thank you.” Knuckles thought of Rouge and Tails with Cream.

   “Ugh, help me change them.” Sonic said as he took four diapers and baby wipes. They walked to the nursery and put them on the diaper changing tables. (There’s more than one because of the seven hedgies.) “Okay, guys. We’re in unfamiliar territory, so be careful and stay safe.” Sonic said, acting like he was putting on an astronaut helmet.

   “Sonic, we’re wiping your sons’ asses, not exploring the moon.” Sonic took a wipe and stuffed it into Tails’s mouth. 

    “Wash your mouth, dude! I don’t want ‘ass’ being their first word.” Tails spat out the wipe and started acting like he was dying. 

    “Can we get this over with? Sonic do you know what to do?” Knuckles asked, done with life, and just wanted to go home.

     “Take off the diaper. There are those sticky strap things on the side we take those off, and take the diaper off.” Tails explained. They all followed what Tails said, only to find the revolting urine. The boys all ran to the nearest bathroom. They slowly went back to the nursery, the little hedgehogs giggling at not being covered on their rear-side.

    “I see where they get those annoying smug faces from.” Knuckles stated, looking at the one who wore the smile first. Sonic’s smirk just got wider.

    “I knew Amy would want most of the kids to look like me~, after all, I’m practically the hottest hedgehog alive!” Sonic made a pose, keeping still until he heard giggles at the door.

   “No one’s named you ‘The Hottest Hedgehog Alive,’ Sonic.” Amy said, smirking at the doorframe. “Learn to change your kids’ diapers first. You haven’t even completed that.” Amy walked over to her husband, and slid one finger across his cheek, to his shoulder, and down his chest.

   “Well then, Ames. I guess you better get to it!” And with that, the boys ran out of the mansion.

   “SOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCC!!!!!!” Amy scoffed at his childish behavior. “WELL, I GUESS I’LL HAVE TO TRASH THIS OUTFIT I GOT FOR YOU!” Sonic immediately came back, picked up Amy and left.

   “So, now what do we do?” Rouge asked. 

   “Finish what our guys couldn’t do.”

THANK YOU, I HOPED YOU ENJOY, PLEASE GIVE ME MORE PROMPTS BECAUSE I AM NOT CREATIVE.

[ofmymuses]

Hello! I saw somewhere you are writing a book and I currently doing the same thing! May I ask you on some tips? I struggle with attention span, my own writing style and the pacing. How do you deal with this kind of stuff? Also with critics? I know I need it to be better but I am still super sensitive. GOOD LUCK TO YOU BTW!!!

hey  hey  !!  firstly,  i  want  to  thank  you  for  messaging  me  here  rather  than  over  on  my  indie  –   i’d  just  rather  keep  it  purely  rping  stuff  over  there  so  again,  thank  you  :~)  &  also  thank  you  for  the  well  wishes  !!  i’m  super  excited  &  i  wish  you  the  absolute  best  with  your  book  as  well !!   ~  what’s  yours  going  to  be  about ?  if  you ( anyone  reading  this,  not  just  anon )  ever  want  dm  me  &  gush  about  our  books,  i  would  actually  love  to  :’’’)

but  onto  some  tips  …  please  keep  in  mind  that  these  are  just  what  i  do  because  i,  too,  have the  attention  span  of  an  actual  rock  DFKGHS.  if  you  ever  need  help  with  anything  else  (  regarding  story writing  or  anything  else  ),  feel  free  to  come  back  @  any  time  +  i’d  be  more  than  happy  to  help  :-)

so  …  i  don’t  think  it  really  matters  where  you  choose  to  write  your  story  –  in  any  writing  software  or  wherever –  but  i’d  suggest  writing  in  google  docs  simply  because  it  says  as  you  go  &,  knowing  from  experience,  there’s  nothing  more  heartbreaking  than  writing  for  an  hour  just  for  the  app  to  crash  +  you  lose  all  you’re  writing.

(  i’m  going  to  put  the  rest  under  a  read  more  so  i  can  write  all  my  thoughts  &  not  worry  about  it  being  super  long  – which it is, sorry about that –  &  clogging  the  dash  )

i  made  a  separate  tumblr  account  strictly  for  my  book  where  i  can  put  my  thoughts, ideas,  chapter  outlines,  character  stuff,  etc  on.  whenever  i  go  to  write  in  my  book,  i  keep  that  tumblr  signed  in  &  i  get  off  the  dash  and  only  keep  the  actual  blog  open  because  not  only  does  it  help  having  it  open  to  add  anything  important  you  may  think  of  while  writing  but  it  also  helps  keep  your  attention  off  the  dash  ‘cause  you  won’t  be  following  anyone  on  that  account  so  none  of  the  posts  will  be  your  friends  or  anything  that  really  pertains  to  you.  you’ll  also  be  able  to  follow  /  reblog  writing  help  stuff  or  just  things  that  inspire  your  book  there  without  worrying  about  “messing  up”  the  content  on  your  main  blog.

don’t  open  any  tabs  of  things  that  might  grab  your  attention  —  social  media,  youtube, game sites, etc.  it’s  super  important  to  only  keep  writing  help  tabs  up  so  you  aren’t  tempted  to visit  the  other  tabs  +  potentially  get  lost  among  them  and  lose  time.  the  tabs  i  personally  keep  open  are:  google  docs  for  writing,  spotify  ( or 8tracks )  for  inspiring  music  &  thesaurus ( or powerthesaurus )  for  help  finding  new  words.  this  is  just  me,  personally,  but  you  can  open  anything  that  you  think  will  help  you  stay  focus  &  inspired  to  write.  if  it  doesn’t  /  if  it’ll  just  be  a  distraction,  don’t  open  it.

pop  on  some  music  that  gives  off  the  vibe  of  your  story.  this  can  help  you  stay  inspired  &  get  more  in  the  zone.  what  i  always  do  is  think  of  different  games  /  books  /  shows  that  are  the  same  genre  and  look  up  playlists  for  that  other  thing.  or  you  can  directly  look  up  the  genre  of  your  book  +  writing.  so,  if  you’re  writing  a  scary  book  about  a  haunted  mansion,  you  could  look  up  “writing” + “horror”  ( or just “horror” )  &  i  guarantee  you  a  lot  of  different  options  will  come  up  to  help  you  really  get  into  that  setting. !!  BUT  !!  if  music  distracts  rather  than  inspires  &  if  you  prefer  writing  in  complete  silence,  just  ignore  this  ~  it’s  not  for  everyone.  a  bit  of  a  tip  i  do  have  for  you  though,  if  you’re  in  a  noisy  area,  is  to  put  headphones / earphones  in.  it  won’t  block  out  ALL  of  the  noise  but  it’ll  at  least  help  muffle  the  sound  around  you.

there  really  isn’t  one  set  way  to  stay  focused  ;  you  can  google  different  ways  to  keep  your  attention  on  one  thing  but  something  that  really  helps  me  is  writing  about  something  i  love  or  something  that  inspires  me  !  writing  a  story  about  a  romance  that  blossoms  when  your  true  passion  is  in  the  adventure  genre  is  a  surefire  way  of  making  it  hard  to  focus  when  writing.  no  one  likes  to  write  stuff  you  aren’t  interested  in  ~  so  don’t  do  it  !  it’s  your  book  and  no  one  can  tell  you  not  to  write  what  you  love.  just  find  a  topic  /  genre  you  really  enjoy  &  start  there.

regarding  pacing  ….  ( future edit: i  realize  i  didn’t  understand  what  type  of  pacing  you  meant ....  so  i  didn’t  really  answer  your  question  but  i  have  links  at  the  bottom  to  help  you;  sorry  about  that !!  ) let  me  tell  you  upfront  that  i  am  the  worst  when  it  comes  to  pacing  because  i  either  write  for  5  hours  straight  or  write  for  5  minutes  then  walk  away. and  that’s  okay  !  in  reality,  you  can’t  force  yourself  to  write.  this  just  leads  to  sloppiness  and  while, yes,  it’s  the  first  draft,  you’ll  be  giving  yourself  extra  things  to  do  in  the  future ( figuring out what you wanted to write  /  what  you  meant  at  the  time / editing, etc etc ).  SO  !  what  do  you  do  when  you  don’t  feel  like  writing  ?  i’ve  been  using  this  word  a  lot  and  i  apologize  but  you  should  inspire  yourself  to  write.  i’d  suggest maybe  watch  a  movie  that’s  similar  to  your  book  or  watching  a  bit  of  a  playthrough  of  a  game  ( or  play  a  bit  of  it  yourself  if  you  have  it  )  that’s  similar  to  your  book  or  even  read  a  bit  of  a  different  book  !  you  can  also  wait  until  you  feel  the  urge  to  write  again  but  there’s  never  telling  how  long  that  could  be.  something  that  i’m  going  to  try  doing  is  making  a  schedule  for  writing  your  book.  this  can  absolutely  help  keep  you  on  track  as  well  as  making  sure  you  don’t  burn out  from writing  too  much.

when  it  comes  to  critiquing  my  stories,  i  always  show  it  to  my  mom  /  brother  /  boyfriend  /  anyone  i  trust  to  give  their  real  opinion.  i  think  it’s  important  to  get  critics  from  people  you  KNOW  will  be  honest  (  but  not  rude  or  hurtful  )  about  it.  i  do  this  throughout  writing  &  not  when  i’m  fully  finished  ~  this  is  just  because  books  can  be  very  long  &  take  a  while  for  people  to  finish  meaning  you  get  feedback  slower  than  if  you  were  to  show  your  writing  during  the  process  ??  if  that  makes  sense ?  you  can  also  send  it  to  online  friends  (  which  is  another  reason  i  love  google  docs  btw !!  you  can  so  easily  send a  viewing  link  out  )  and  get  an  opinion  from  them.

regarding  writing  style  ….  i  feel  like  this  is  a  lot  like  when  artists  find  their  art  style.  you  can  just  write  &  let  the  words  flow  or  you  could  also  read  books  from  different  authors  &  see  which  interests  you  or  you  could  even  google  different  styles  ?  you  shouldn’t  force  yourself  to  do  a  certain  style  though,  pick  one  that  flows  well  for  you  &  isn’t  stressful  to  write.

i’m  sorry  for  how  long  this  got  DFDKGHD  i  didn’t  realize  how  much  there  was  to  say  but  i  think  i  got  it  all  out.  i  hope  it  helped  you  out  even  a  little  bit  !  i’ll  leave  you  with  a  few  resources  to  further  help  you  out  :~)  like  i  said  before,  please  do  come  back  if  you  have  any  other  questions  or  if  you  want  to  tell  me  about  your  book  because  i’d  looooooove  to  hear  it  ~

8 ways to improve your focus

8 quick ways to improve your attention span

10 ways to stand out and develop a unique writing style

how to find your writing style

7 quick tips for mastering pacing in your story

pacing in writing: what is it and how to master it

how to create strong pacing for your story

[mercurysnitch]

Future Management (Endings and Beginnings) - Though You’re Many Years Away Oneshot

Pairing: 90s!Roger Taylor x daughter!OC

Summary: Tallulah unexpectedly finds herself visiting Roger in the 90s. She’s never been there before.

Author’s note: So, as always Though You’re Many Years Away part 6 is taking me longer than I predicted. It will definitely be finished some time this week though. To tide you over until then, here’s a little oneshot I scribbled out about the one time Tallulah saw 90s Roger. It’s still set in the TYMYA universe, but it’s a bit different because it’s from Tallulah’s perspective rather than reader’s. I imagined her being in her early twenties here, btw. I have vague plans for a series of these oneshots once I finish the main story, so please don’t hesitate to tell me what you think of this one! (Teenage Tallulah definitely got into shenanigans when she visited Roger in the 70s/80s...) I’m going to put the TYMYA taglist on this post so if you don’t want to be tagged in oneshots please just let me know.

I wrote quite a lot of this between midnight and 2am so please forgive any typos. 

ETA Title from the Roger Taylor song, also known as You Won’t Need Nobody Else But Me. I think it fits really well and I wish I’d thought of it when I first wrote this.

Warnings: Mentions of illness, mentions of impending death, angst, it’s just really sad but with a little bit of fluff at the end

Tallulah came to on a couch. Glancing around, she realised her surroundings seemed oddly familiar. Was this a past version of Dad’s house? She sat up, groaning, and heard a gasp. “Tallulah? Is that you?” She turned around. “Dad?” He was perched on a barstool at his kitchen bench, the day's paper spread out behind him. Tallulah scrambled upright and dashed over to hug him. “Loolah,” he gushed, “it’s been so long, love.” “How long exactly?” She asked casually, stepping back from his embrace. “I don’t know” Roger mused. “Five years, six maybe? Not since the mid-80s anyway.” So this isn’t the 80s then. “It’s the 90s?” Tallulah queried him. He nodded. “Yep. 1991 actually.” Her heart sank. Oh no. Not that year. Any year but that one. Roger’s face quickly fell, and Tallulah realised her emotions at hearing the year must have shown on her own face. “You know about Freddie, don’t you?” he asked quietly. “I’ve always known” Tallulah replied. “Poor Freddie” she added sadly. “Yeah” Roger agreed.  “So, what’s new with you?” he asked, suddenly perky.

Roger and Tallulah just talked for a while, catching up on each other’s lives, like he used to with her mother. It was always fun chatting, but Tallulah could almost feel her Dad’s sadness, despite his attempts to hide it. She could see the weariness in his eyes, hear the tinge of worry in his voice. But he said nothing about it, so she didn’t bring it up. Eventually she glanced down at the newspaper, open on the bench. Suddenly she noticed the date. 20 November, 1991. Her heart sank again. Oh shit. It’s so close. She must have gone quiet because Roger was looking at her with alarm. “You alright, love?” he asked gently. “The date” Tallulah murmured. “What about the-” Roger cut himself off when it finally clicked. “Oh. It’s going to be soon, isn’t it?” He said softly. Tallulah just nodded. Roger’s heart sank almost into his boots. “Can you tell me when?” He asked hopefully. Tallulah shook her head. “No. Too risky. And even if I did you’d forget by tomorrow” she said matter-of-factly. “Sorry Dad” she added softly. “Don’t be,” he reassured her, “it’s not your fault.”

Suddenly Tallulah saw Roger's façade crack, just a little. She immediately wrapped her arms around him."What's up?" she murmured into his shoulder. 'It's just, it's all just shit" he sniffled. "Freddie's fading, and it's just awful." Roger paused. “And… I don’t know what’s going to happen after he… we haven’t talked about it, I don’t think anyone even wants to think about it, actually… but I can’t shake the feeling this might be it for us.” “Us?” Tallulah asked. “For Queen” Roger explained. “I don’t know how it can go on without Freddie, but somehow I can’t bear the thought of it dying now either.” He looked downcast. “After everything we’ve been through, everything we’ve done, this is how it’s going to end? It just seems wrong somehow.” Tallulah could see her father’s eyes boring into her own baby blues. In that moment, she knew exactly what he wanted to ask, and she knew what she was expected to say. But she didn’t. “Dad, just this once, I'm gonna break the rules.” she said softly. “Queen will live on after Freddie” she told Roger. “It might not look like it for a while, but it will. People will always love the music, you know. And Freddie. Even in my time people still love Freddie.” Roger stared at her wonderingly. “Thanks for telling me that, love” he said gently. They sat in silence for a while, Roger trying desperately to absorb the words he knew he would forget by the time he woke up tomorrow.

"You know, it’s always a bit weird when you show up, Loolah” Roger commented. “Why’s it weird?” Tallulah asked. “Aside from the obvious” she added hurriedly, grinning. “Well you’re here, with me, which is great" he explained. "But I never know when I'm gonna see you again, which is always a bit sad." He paused. "Actually, right now, I don't even know if I'm ever gonna see you again. I mean I never do, but it's been so long since last time, it just makes me wonder…" he mused sadly. Tallulah smiled gently up at him, as she decided to break the rules once more. "What?" Roger asked his daughter curiously. "You are going to see me again, and Mum" she told him. "But not for a long time" she added sadly. "And when you do, I'll still be little." Suddenly Roger smiled. "I'm gonna get to see you grow up?" he asked, evidently thrilled at the prospect. "Yes" Tallulah softly replied. Roger looked happier than she’d seen him all night. Suddenly Tallulah started at the odd tingly lightness that signalled her return to her own time was imminent. "Crap, I haven't had a trip this short since I was a kid" she exclaimed. Roger pulled her close, holding her tightly until he felt her leave. He returned to his paper with his heart lightened ever-so-slightly at the knowledge that his future, with his time-travelling wonder daughter, might just be alright after all.

As always, comment or reblog and let me know what you think!

Taglist: @wandering-at-midnight @fruityfreddie @trumanjo @ohmygoditsanthonyedwardstark @itsametaphorbriansblog @theedwardscollection @bookish-oreo @simplyvictoria-93 @kotoamor @j1224 @closertothesunwhenimwithyou @florenceivy

[lunaswondrousworld]

Salty fandom questions

Thanks to @darknesshadows @darknessp @malikaesthetics for sending in questions. I’m answering all of them together and putting my answers behind a cut because this turned into a bit of an essay. Because SOMEONE ( *cough* @dnteverdoubtme *cough*) said I should just answer them all (seriously, if I wake up tomorrow with no followers left I will blame this entirely on you). Also, well, salt. Quite a bit of salt.

Anyone following me for longer than 4 weeks shouldn’t be surprised by any of these answers (even though I’ve probably never spelled things out so explicitly), however for those of you who are new around here… beware some highly unpopular, possibly PROBLEMATIC™ opinions. Consider this your only warning and proceed at your own risk (or, you now, just don’t ;- ).

(I’ve done my best to ensure that this doesn’t end up anywhere near any tags, if it does anyway it’s not intentional)

All answers apply to Sh@dowhunters.

Disclaimer: when I talk about “The XY fandom”, this is obviously a generalisation. I know it doesn’t apply to everyone. Some of my mutuals are part of the xy fandom, and all of them are lovely people. /end disclaimer

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get? While I personally don’t ship any of the canon ships, I do get why people ship them. If we’re talking all the ships in this fandom that anyone could possibly ship, I’d have to say ClaIec. Or Alec/any girls really. Make no mistake, I’m not saying this due to moral or ethical concerns – personally I don’t give a flying fuck what people ship, even if its VaIentine x a Vetis demon, whatever floats your boat – but I just really, fundamentally do not get it. I mean that boy is as gay as they come, take that away and you’ve got an entirely different character. Beats me really.

Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP? All the canon ships, current and future ones.

Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? More than once. I usually live by “don’t like don’t read”, and I scroll past / blacklist a lot. But there’s a handful of things where my stance is 100% A and if yours is B or C, that’s not something I can ignore. In this fandom, it’s mostly when people post / reblog certain nasty anti opinions/posts.

Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP? *looks at the camera like I’m on The Office* (for those of you reading this who seriously DON’T know, just continue to the next answer)

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you? (this one was sent in by ALL but one person, I would like to point out. So either you truly don’t know or you’re just here for the wank.*g*) Okay you might want to sit down and grab a bite cause this might take a while. You see (and that’s the part that usually surprises people) I actually started out as a pretty hardcore MaIec shipper in this fandom. Yep, me. Shocking, I know. I sort of migrated from the Teen Wolf fandom and everyone I followed back then was gushing about MaIec, I saw the first gifs on Tumblr (the show was already more than halfway through S1 when I started watching) and I thought hey, they’re cute, and actually canon, whee! So I pretty much fast-forward binged to 1x12 - through a pair of heavily MaIec-tinted glasses. My ideal version of the show back then, I’m ashamed to admit, probably would have been 90% MaIec, 9% Izzy and a little bit of Lydia on top (which was pretty much what a large majority of my dash was on about), I was totally ready to ditch everyone else for a short while. But thankfully, it wasn’t long before my brain remembered that I was capable of independent thinking, and I did a re-watch, and noticed that not everything was as picture perfect as it was made out to be, and I also actually noticed (and started falling for) the OTHER characters and possible pairings, most prominently Jace and JaIec (and honestly it will never cease to baffle me how anyone with a functioning pair of eyes will be able to look at S1 and NOT see that potential. Well, except for the MaIec-tinted glasses, probably). For a very short while, still blissfully oblivious to the nastier parts of this fandom, I happily multi-shipped (which was a first for me, I really am a ONE OTP kind of girl) both JaIec and MaIec pretty much equally, MaIec as far as canon was concerned (despite its many flaws - which where blatantly obvious once I cared to LOOK - but chose to ignore for the sake of happy shipping) and JaIec as a “God look at all that potential, in a different reality where xy had gone differently they totally would have been endgame” sort of way. And then that E!Online Shipping poll happened (the 2016 one where MaIec lost to CIexa) and that’s when got a first inkling of the truly ugly, rabid side of this fandom (back then I shipped both MaIec and CIexa so that’s probably what gave me a bit of a neutral observer’s perspective on these poll shenanigans, cause personally I didn’t care which of the two ships won since I loved them both). Around that time I had also started talking to a couple of JaIec shippers - who were lovely (looking at you fam) and refreshingly NORMAL compared to what I’d started to see in that other corner. Anyhow, from then on I was slowly distancing myself from the MaIec fandom as a whole. I still liked the ship in the sense that I enjoyed watching it in canon, even though, in terms of actual OTP, I quickly gravitated more and more towards JaIec (as I said I am a ONE OTP kind of girl so it was bound to happen). Long story short, during the long hiatus between s1 and 2a, (MaIec) fandom got exponentially nastier until, at some point – I’m still not sure when exactly - it just TIPPED (cause it definitely wasn’t like that back when S1 was airing, not to that extent) – and it suddenly started being “okay” to just outright attack and hate on everyone who dared ship either one of the pairing with someone else. With a level of vitriol and nastiness I have seldom seen (and I’ve actively been in fandoms since BtVS first aired, which was in the late ‘90s). Coupled with such a level of impertinent entitlement where everything has to be about or relate to MaIec, else there’s outrage across the entire fandom. And that, my friends, eventually managed to put me off the pairing for good. To the point where, if I’m entirely, brutally honest, I’d actually prefer to not see any Alec scenes at all to having to watch MaIec scenes, because this godawful fandom will find a way to ruin it one way or the other. If only by constantly whining about how it still wasn’t enough or “how dare that other character breathe while my OTP was about to suck face this is an OUTRAGE!!!”

Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated? I can’t think of one, no. I might end up hating something I started out liking (see above), but I don’t think it ever happened the other way around. What sometimes does happen is that maybe there's something I don't actually care about all that much and then fandom will start hating on it and in the end I'll like the thing out of pure spite. But if I actually hate something, that'll stay that way.

Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now? See #5.

Have you received anon hate? What about? Nope, because I don’t have anon on.

Most disliked character(s)? Why? I don’t actually actively dislike any of the current main characters. I did Simon in S1 but I’ve learned to tolerate his existence (that’s as far as I’m willing to go here). If we expand this a bit to “characters I’m least interested in” I’d have to go with Luke and Simon. I’m just not interested in either of their personal arcs unless they are somehow relevant to my faves’. Also I’m not to keen on Maia or any of the other new characters they’re adding (unless they’re somehow relevant to my faves) for the sole reason that they will take up screen time I’d rather spend on characters I’m actually interested in. I did dislike Jocelyn, but, yeah.

Most disliked arc? Why? My knee-jerk reaction would be to say MaIec (bitter? Me? Naah!) but that’s only part of the truth. Actually it’s more “all the romantic arcs for the sake of romance while not contributing anything else to the greater plot or to individual character development”. Cause MaIec as a general development was an important part of Alec’s character arc in S1, and that whole “the girl who you’re falling in love with is actually your sister” an important factor for Jace’s, so I can appreciate them for that. But beyond that, I’m just not interested in any of the romance plots. At best, they bore me to tears (I’m not actually joking when I say that I signed up for a show where pretty people wearing leather jackets and fingerless leather gloves kill demons and are awesome together, not “the warIock and his shadowhunter and their epic romance”. I’m more of a “The Walking Dead” / “Supernatural” girl than “Friends” or “Gilmore Girls”, you know?). At worst, they make characters I actually like do increasingly stupid things to the point where I’m left wondering if they’re actually the same character I originally fell for.

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? VaIentine & Sebastian. I usually tend to like villains, and while VaIentine really often leans towards “ridiculous comic book villain”, I just love AIan Van Sprang and what he does with the little that the show gives him. And Sebastian (judging from what we know from the books) is just so deliciously fucked-up badwrongevilPROBLEMATIC™ that he’s inspired the keepers of this fandom’s moral purity to write up entire manifests why Thou Shalt Not Like Him Under Any Circumstances Cause He’s Bad Wrong And Evil™ back before it was even certain that he would be in 2B in the first place. So obviously I’m going to stan the shit out of him. Also, WiIl Tudor’s cute and British and I’m really looking forward to him and Dom having scenes together. :-)

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? As for what has already happened, I didn’t actually mind Izzy’s Yin Fen plot. I wouldn’t say it was my favourite, but I certainly didn’t hate it as much as the rest of the fandom. I don’t have a particularly sophisticated reason for it though. As for what’s most likely / possibly to come, I hope the show will follow the book plot for Sebastian as closely as possible. (I don’t want to say too much for people who don’t know anything about it and don’t want to be spoiled.) Why? Because I like darkbadwrongnasty shit. Give me “darkbadrwongnasty shit where awful things and horrible people happen to good people” over romance any time. (Also, it would most likely piss large parts of this fandom off, that would be an added bonus.)

Unpopular opinion about XXX character? He’s not as flawless as you all like to believe. That’s okay though, flaws are what make characters interesting.

Unpopular opinion about your fandom? It’s the worst fandom ever? IDK is than an unpopular opinion? Probably, since around 80% ARE the worst people, and they would disagree with me so...

Unpopular opinion about the show? The writing really is rather subpar compared to some of the other shows I watch.

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? Age it up (have the characters be some of the actor’s actual ages, i.e. around their late twenties), move it to a network like HBO or Starz, and make it push the limits of an R-Rating. Also, put the main focus on the Sh@dowhunters, Sh@dowhunters politics, just all things Sh@dowhunters. Centered around the Lightwoods (including Jace). (And did you notice how none of what I would change would actually include “make JaIec canon”? Cause contrary to what large parts of this fandom seem to think, this is not all I / we think about. Wow what a shocker.)

Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen… Well take a look at my shipping and plot preferences and then you can probably guess my answer.

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased? I don’t know, does it? If you ask the majority of this fandom, it really means I’m all sorts of –ist and just generally a horrible person. Or something. Do I get bonus points when I act like I care?

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom? Pretending to do everything for a higher, nobler purpose (shipping for representation and the likes), refusing to accept that not everyone else will or has to adhere to your own standards of what’s right or wrong or PROBLEMATIC(TM), and taking everything that happens on the show too damn seriously. Refusing to grasp that this is primarily a fantasy tv show with a main purpose to entertain its audience, and to earn the network money, not to make the world a better place.

What is the purest ship in the fandom? CIizzy and CIimon, probably. But honestly, nothing in this fandom is even remotely pure.

What are your thoughts on crack ships? Whatever makes you happy, I don’t judge.

Popular character you hate? Nope.

Unpopular character you love? see #11

Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not? As a piece of trashy popcorn entertainment to pass the time, yes. To someone who actually asks for a rec for quality television, no. Cause it just isn’t quality television. (And yes I know it’s a fantasy show geared towards teenagers, but so was BtVS, and that one still managed consistent writing and character development, over 7 seasons. But anyways.)

How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX? With the Lightwoods / Alec running the NY institute. The very last scene would end like the very first one began: Jace, Alec and Izzy together, just the three of them.

Most shippable character? For me personally? Jace. Generally (though I personally don’t actively ship them with anyone except low-key with each other), I think Izzy and Clary are pretty shippable as well. Simon too.

Least shippable character? Luke? But just because he doesn’t really interest me so I personally wouldn’t know who to ship him with. Except VaIentine (past times, and probably present time also), but I’m sure that’s all sorts of badwrongproblematic. Ah well.