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wistfulcynic · 5 years ago

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⭐⭐⭐Give me your director's cut on any story you choose, I'd happily read them all!

This leaves a WIDE open field but I’m gonna opt for Another Brick in the Wall, because I think it was the first fic of mine you commented on and also it remains one of my favourites despite some glaring flaws. I just loved writing it so much. It sort of took over my life at the time (about a year ago!) and I couldn’t stop writing it. This is unfortunately what led to some of the things that I wish I could change, what I feel are some rushed scenes and some opportunities for development I didn’t take. Things like the friendship between Ruby and Emma, the relationship between Emma and Neal, and Emma’s character generally as the school’s popular princess that I didn’t really explore because I was so focused on Emma and Killian’s relationship and on Killian himself. If I had it to do over again I would focus on these things, and take things more slowly, and let the plot develop layer by layer instead of the OMG EXPOSITION DUMP that I had a few times due to all the words being in my head and demanding release.

We live and (hopefully) learn.

The whole thing started because I had read a bunch of high school AUs that had Killian either as a super-nerd or a Bad Boy(TM) and it annoyed me so much because I just don’t think he would be either. Mostly because those archetypes are tired and cliched and in reality they don’t actually exist. High school kids are fully rounded and complex people just as adults are, and Killian Jones in particular is a character with so many facets that trying to fit him into such a narrow niche like that is absurd. He would have aspects perhaps of both, being very smart and into reading and genuinely enthusiastic about the things he loves (characteristics of ‘nerds’) but also moody and inclined to brooding with a very low tolerance for other people’s bullshit or for anyone trying to manipulate or control him, and of course with that quick and violent temper that as a teenager he would struggle to control even more than he does as an adult (’bad boy’ traits). Then there’s also the fact that he’s a sensitive person who feels things deeply and who shows every emotion in his eyes and wears his heart on his sleeve. Which, paired with that face, would mean girls would go mad for him, and especially American girls when you factor in the British accent. And that attention is something he would handle smoothly with his natural charm and charisma but also not feel entirely comfortable with as he’s a person who is all-in 100% committed in relationships, and I can’t see him as a serial dater, at least not as a 16-year-old.

So I set out to write him as a complex, layered character who is neither nerd nor rebel but just himself. New kid in school, in a new country, how would he cope with that, and what would he do? At the beginning I had only the vaguest idea of how that would play out and didn’t really work out all the details of his past with Milah until I started to write them (another thing I would do differently if I could go back in time). But that--that relationship--that was the catalyst that really kicked things into gear. Because I thought WHAT IF. What if Killian met Milah ten years earlier in both their timelines? That age difference that you hardly blink at when it’s people in their 20s and 30s takes on a whole new aspect when it’s a teenager with a 20-something. It becomes something potentially abusive, definitely unbalanced in terms of power dynamics, and something that a teenage boy definitely would not have the tools to cope with. And I thought how would that affect him? What would he be going through in his head, with all his emotions heightened by hormones and the sense of obligation he feels towards people he loves, PLUS how hard he tends to be on himself in situations when he believes he’s failed? It’s a LOT and a lot of fascinating things to unpack and explore. And they just ran away with me.

And then there was Emma. Emma (as you know!) can be a tough character to write in some AUs because what the show basically treated as her defining characteristic (WALLS(TM)) would not exist in an Emma raised by loving parents in a small town where everyone knew her and where her family was prominent and respected. But neither would she be the useless airhead that Wish!Emma was shown to be. She would still be smart and brave and deeply caring, and would want to help people. But she could hardly help having a pretty high opinion of herself (not uncommon in beautiful teenage girls) and it’s likely she would also be a bit spoiled. Not to the point of being a mean girl, I don’t think she’s capable of that, but definitely someone who never really had to deal with wanting something she couldn’t have. Kind and loving but also very privileged, and very, very clueless about that privilege. Someone nice to everyone and loved by all, with her pick of the boys in school and completely unprepared for how it feels when she falls in love with the only one who doesn’t bow at her feet. Because Killian wouldn't. He would fall hard and fast (of course!) but he wouldn’t want to be just another worshipper at her altar, and of course he would still be dealing with the fallout from Milah and his perceived failure to save her, and would naturally think he wasn’t worthy of someone like Emma. Which would make him surly and defensive, which would make her even more intrigued and determined to get him to let her in.

I also think that Emma with this upbringing would not be particularly introspective. She would pretty much go along with what was expected of her, from her parents and her classmates and the town. Until she was given a reason to take a hard look at herself, another perspective that challenged her. And in this teenaged Killian and teenaged Emma would balance each other in that way that I believe is absolutely essential for this relationship (for all relationships really). She helps him heal and to forgive himself, he helps her find her real self and her path and to take charge of her life and her future.

And this is why I loved writing this fic so much and why it still counts among my favourites. It was so fascinating and such a challenge to dig into these characters and imagine them as teenagers in this verse and to make them believable both as real adolescent people and also as Emma Swan and Killian Jones. And I was tickled to death when someone commented on AO3 that ABITW Emma was exactly how they imagined Emma would be if raised by her parents.

So this has turned into quite the Wall Of Text, but I hope you enjoy it my dear and thank you so much for the ask! I really enjoyed answering it!

SEND ME A DIRECTOR’S CUT ASK

#asked #asked and answered #director's cut ask #katie-dub #lovely shipmates

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be-a-nice · 7 years ago

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Introduction

Hello! I am Eunice! I’ve existed on this planet for a little more than 17 years. I decided to make a studyblr because two of my close friends have a studyblr (@biochemistryy (which I’m manually linking because Tumblr refuses to acknowledge its existence?) and @symphonystudies ) and that seems fun!

Plus, I’ll be starting university this fall and it’ll be nice to start a blog at the same time as I start this new chapter of my life. I’m undeclared for now, but I intend on majoring in Computer Science. I hope to major in something else as well, although I don’t know what yet. I’m the worst at studying but I want to work really hard and be the best that I can be in college, so I hope that making a studyblr will help make me more productive!

This ended up being really long so… more after the break!

PERSONALITY:

I’m really relaxed, slow, and carefree but I’m also really timid and cannot operate under stress at all. I’m also kind of scared of people (and being judged–actually, I’m well aware that this introduction is super long and I’m having second thoughts about posting it so that maybe 1.5 people will see it and judge me on it. But `I spent way too much time on this so there’s no going back) and not very sociable but I’m working on that, so talk to me! I have the tendency to be vague (”Concerning this project… I have goals in mind. What goals? Well, to be specific… many”) and to exaggerate things (”The clock may have shown only a minute has passed, but I’ve literally been doing this for 10 years and I can feel myself dying already”).

I tend to dream big and would usually set my standard way higher than my current ability level or I just don’t have standards at all. For an example. I realize most people’s introductions are not as long as this or as self-obsessive as this, but I before I began, I had established the goal of having several subheadings in my introduction and a decent chunk of writing per subheading and I am not about to give up on that goal because of something as silly as “the reader will get bored.” My tendency to overshoot is not the best since I also have approximately zero energy ever and I’m super lazy so I never do anything if there are no repercussions to my inaction. I’m also terrible at finishing things and I usually have a ton of half-written stories or projects lying around, although this might be a byproduct of my inability to set and follow through on reasonable goals. I’m trying to do and finish more things, though. I’m making some progress. I mean, I have this studyblr now, right?

That quickly got kind of negative at the end, but in general, I love being myself. It’s great. I just tend to compare myself to people and feel inferior sometimes, but I bounce back in a day, at most.

FANDOMS:

I’m not really an intense kind of person and usually, I fall in love with something for a couple of days or hours and then move on from that honeymoon phase so I don’t actually belong to any fandom.

MOTIVATIONS:

It sounds way lame, but my extrinsic motivations to do things are usually one of the following:

+ I can listen to music more

+ I’m expected to do this

+ People will think I’m cool

+ People will dislike me if I don’t

+ People will like me if I do

+ I wanna make my friends/my family/whoever proud/surprised

+ I want this to exist but it doesn’t

MUSIC:

My favorite genre of music is musicals! Ahaha… That doesn’t really count because there is a wide range of genres in musicals. I’m not a super-fan with knowledge of some obscure musical or whatever, but I casually listen to a couple of popular ones, and I’m fine with that. Currently, I really like Be More Chill, In the Heights, Spring Awakening, and Evita. I really like musical cartoons like My Little Pony and Steven Universe. They’re just so cute and brightly colored! There might be more, but I can’t think of any right now. I wish there were more cartoons with a ton of songs. I like any music though–although I’m super partial towards music with vocals because I’m a choir person–and I would love getting music recommendations!

I vaguely know the theory behind guitar and piano. I never practice ever, though, so my ability level is embarrassingly low.

HOBBIES:

Since I was small, my response to the question “What do you like to do?” has been “write, draw, sing, read.” I don’t do them all in equal measure though. For an example, this year, I’ve hardly written or drawn for fun. I’m doing those more so far this summer, but it pales in comparison to when I was in that “phase.” My writing phase was mostly in late elementary school and then it happened again early high school. I was in my drawing phase in early elementary and the middle of high school. I had my singing phase late middle and high school and my reading phase was all of elementary school, early middle and high school, and late high school. I really like fantasy and supernatural kinds of stories. Or anything funny, I guess. I also like books about cognition and sleep. Basically, the functionings of the mind. Recently though, the only thing I’ll read are translated light novels about transmigration of a modern human to another fantasy world that’s usually an otome game or something. It’s so niche and cliche I could die of embarrassment. Luckily no one will read this except for maybe the two people I gave a shoutout to, so… Hello, friends! Please ignore me!

I’m absolutely terrible or at best, average, and all of those things, though, so that’s kind of sad. Although I can read pretty fast and stay focused for long periods of time while still retaining the information if I am actually interested in the text, though, so I’m kind of proud of that.

Other than those things I do all the time, varyingly, there are other things I picked up recently that I love and want to do more of. I really like sewing because the idea of making things is just so nice to me, programming because that’s amazing and I can do everything with is and that’s amazing I just need to actually figure out what I’m doing first, and probably other things, but they aren’t coming to mind right now.

LANGUAGES:

The only language I know is English but I want to know literally all the other languages that exist in the world. My top five, however, are:

1. Japanese - Most of the media I consume are natively in English or Japanese so it’ll be nice to learn Japanese so I don’t have to wait for forever for the translations. Plus, I’ve always wanted to learn since I first watched anime while I was an elementary school kid.

2. Mandarin - After English and Japanese, Mandarin makes up the greatest amount of media I consume (mostly light novels). Plus, it’s widely-spoken so it must be useful! Since it’s spoken in so many places, there are a ton of different accents and so native speakers are more forgiving if I mess up so I don’t need to worry that much about my accent! A lot of my friends speak Mandarin as their mother tongue or are fluent in it, and it’ll be nice to connect with them in this way.

3. Cantonese - My parents came from Hong Kong and speak Cantonese as natives. I really want to get in touch with my roots and learn it too! Plus, a lot of my family and some of my friends speak it natively and I want to be able to connect with them in their native language.

4. Spanish - Spanish is also really popular and musicals like Evita and In the Heights make me want to learn Spanish. Besides, I live in California and California has a sizable Spanish-speaking population. One of my best friends speaks Spanish natively and it’s so cool and I want to talk to her in Spanish too! Plus, it is from the same family as English so it won’t be as hard as learning something completely different like Hindi or something… ?

5. Korean - A lot of my friends are excited about K-pop and want to learn Korean and I want to learn Korean with them and be a part of that experience. But really, the main reason why I first wanted to learn Korean was because the spelling is very logical and I thought “eh, why not?” I couldn’t remember the Hangul at all though, so I dropped it by the day’s end, hahaha. But I went to Korea recently and I love the clothes and things and the people seem really nice and I want to be able to make a friend in Korea and maybe didn’t even know English because that would be different! And cool!

MISC. FAVORITES:

I love cats! I’m allergic, but that doesn’t stop my love for cats! Dogs are cute too and birds are way up there too, but cats have purr-loined my heart! I really like puns too. I think they’re cute and clever and people who can make constant puns and turn of phrases are amazing. My favorite characters are the energetic, excited child (or child-like) characters such as Seven from Mystic Messenger or Wheatley from Portal 2. I also really like Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights and Erik from Phantom of the Opera though, so that’s not a hard and fast rule. Although… I like writing dark and moody characters as well as childish and excited characters, especially them being best friends and acting as each other’s foils, so that’s probably where my character preferences come from. I love pastels and I love clothes and I love pastel clothes! I’m terrible with fashion though and I’ve been wearing yoga pants and a jacket basically all my life. It recently changed to leggings, a t-shirt, and an outerwear, and I’ve been trying to dress more nicely recently, but all in all, I’m still pretty hobo-like in appearance. I like anime although I haven’t really been reading or watching anything in particular. I just like anime in general and it really reflects in everything I do, whoops. I’m kind of embarrassed by that though.

GOALS:

(For this summer)

+ Be more sociable

+ Be more cheerful, excited about life

+ Actually stick with things and don’t drop them in three seconds

+ Set goals better

+ Accomplish something measurable by the summer’s end

Welp, it’s 1:11 AM here in Canada so I should sleep.

#170618 #studyblr #studyblr introduction #summer goals

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weneedtherooks · 8 years ago

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Let’s talk about Friedrich, yeah?

Lordie, I’m putting this under a cut.

1: What is your character's biggest fear?

Not being able to take care of his family

2: What is your character's favorite memory? The first time he kissed Clara! She was 15 when he admitted to himself he was falling for her, so he kept any form of romantic affection to a minumum. Mostly just hugging her and letting her sit on his lap, and/or an occasional kiss on the cheek (if she was comfortable with that).

3: What is your character's least favorite memory? That man has seen war. He's got an abundance of memories he'd rather not hash up.

4: Does anyone have a crush on your character? Is your character aware of this? HE MARRIED THAT GIRL, SO I DAMN WELL HOPE HE KNOWS

5: Describe your character's dream date. Actually getting to go on a nice date.

6: What is your character's sexual orientation? Okay, I'm not gonna write a lot about this, because I don't want to get it wrong, but he's pansexual. I just want to be able to look into it further so I don't fuck it up.

7: How does your character feel about their name? He's likes his name just fine. But don't call him Fritz. Ever. He only allows that nickname to a few people, and they're mostly family.

8: Does your character hate anyone? Why? He doesn't have anyone in particular that he hates.

9: How does your character feel about religion? He's not huge into church, but he does believe in a higher power.

10. Would your character ever kill someone? ..............*nervous laugh*.........the real question is how many HAS he killed

11: How did your character meet their best friend? He met Clara during the war. Beyond her, though? His best friend died during the war in Verdun.

12: How would/does your character feel about roller coasters? Best ride ever, 10/10, the puking is just a minor setback

13: What would your character die for? Literally guys, his family is his world. It's really all he has.

14: What is the cutest thing your character has ever done? He had a tendancy to spoil Clara whenever she was pregnant. So he'd do things like get her flowers, make sweets, etc. You know, sappy stuff. I don't know if that counts as cute, but...

15: What music genre would your character listen to? Classical is his favorite, but Jazz is his fallback.

16: What other fictional characters remind you of your character? I actually came up with Friedrich while watching Cry play Valiant Hearts. He doesn't remind me of anyone specific, though.

17: Does your character have any irrational fears? It's not irrational, per se. He just really fucking hates loud fireworks. Like the ones that boom REALLY FUCKING LOUD. He's fine watching them from a distance, for the most part. It's just...they remind him of mortar fire.

18: How would your character feel about having their life recorded? So, my OCs are based on a semi timetravel plot. He knows he's being recorded, and THAT doesn't bother him (it's a long story, but he just knows why that particular camera is there).

19: What is your character's deepest, darkest secret? He has secrets? I wouldn't say he has any "dark" secrets, but he was in a relationship with a guy when he was 15...it didn't end very well.

20: What is the most surprising thing about your character? He can play the piano, actually.

21: Is your character flexible? That totally depends on the topic at hand.

22: What is the worst thing your character has ever done? ......He...he's a World War I soldier. He's killed people.

23: Is your character morally gray or black or white? Black and white, I suppose. Goes into the grey on occasion.

24: What prejudices does your character have? Hmm...I'm gonna have to get back to this one at a later date. I've never actually thought about it.

25: Would you want to hang out with your character? I would very much like to!

26: What is your favorite headcanon for your character? I don't really have one? I have a bunch of "work in progress" ideas, but nothing that's just a headcanon.

27: What would be the worst way for your character to die? The worst? If he was killed as either an example or for no better reason than he was there.

28: What pet would your character like to have? *Friedrich glares at the cat* He does have a pet. Or, rather, Clara does. The cat doesn't usually go to him. He WANTS a dog. He had a dachshund when he was a kid.

29: What would be your character's favorite food? He likes sweet breakfast-y things.

30: Would your character have any hobbies? He likes to tinker with things. So you can generally find him messing around with something in his home.

31: What social media would your character use? Ummmmm...maybe Facebook?

32: What does your character look like? Oh jeez. Ummm...I can give you minimal looks. Blue-grey eyes, dirty blond hair. I'm still floating around google images and such to find the more specific stuff about him.

33: In what ways is your character like you? "Oh cool, I've failed my job as a caretaker. Wonderful."

34: What is cliche about your character? That he's a fucking stubborn German man.

35: What is unique about your character? Um...UMMMMMMMM...LEMME GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT

36: Does anyone want to harm your character? No? I don't think so?

37: Do people have justified grudges against your character? Justified? Not that I can think of.

38: What role does your character play in their story? Uhhhh...main character...? Am I doing this right?

39: What would be your character's niche on Tumblr? I don't think he'd actually HAVE a Tumblr

40: What would be your character's favorite school subject? Music

41: Would your character want to have any children? My dudes, he's got seven.

42: What would be your character's dream career? To run a repair shop.

43: What is your character insecure about? It's not a massive insecurity, but his accent. He knows it's pretty thick, and he knows it's difficult to understand him sometimes.

44: What is your character proud of? *whips out photos* "Look at my family, everyone!"

45: What would your character change about themselves? Probably his stubbornness and his negativity towards himself

46: Would you want to trade places with your character? HAHAHAHAHAHA No

47: What fandoms would your character be in? He'd probably get a kick out of those car restoration shows.

48: How would your character type? Fast, but with a bunch of mistakes.

49: How does your character stand politically? Politics is NOT my strong suit. I'm thinking more towards liberal, but I don't have a fucking clue.

50: What is your favorite thing about your character? What ISN'T my favorite?

51: What is your character's favorite animal? Dogs

52: How would your character act in gym class? He'd be the one goofing off, but the second the teacher calls him out he proves that he's one of the best students there.

53: What clubs would your character join? A shop club of some kind. He does like working with his hands.

54: What is the saddest thing about your character's life? That he's had to kill people. The cost of war weighs on him sometimes.

55: Would your character do the Ice Bucket Challenge? Oh yeah

56: What's one of your character's quirks? *whispers* he chews on his pen a lot

57: How would your character feel about feminism? He finds it incredibly silly that women have to literally fight to get the same rights as men.

58: Is your character dorky or more athletic? More athletic. I call him a dork for fun.

59: What is your least favorite thing about your character? He's not always the easiest to work with.

60: If you could title your character's life, what would you title it? "Living By the Seat of Your Pants" lol

#my ocs #friedrich rosenthal #i love him please give him hugs

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