#I love writing Cobb’s dialogue so much

[littledeadling]

talky in the tags... fic stuff.. ignore if u don’t care

[butchhamlet]

do you have any good shakespeare retelling book recs?

what a beautiful time to ask this, says guy who has left this ask collecting cobwebs in his inbox for months! because guess who has two thumbs and just finished queen goneril by erin shields! WHAT a fucking play, holy SHIT, this is some of the best characterization of the lear sisters that i've ever read and the exploration of womanhood as filtered through class + race + shitty families + political maneuvering is so so so good. also the things shields does with the og playtext... chef's fucking KISS

anyway, recency bias aside, i've been meaning to make a post about my favorite shakespeare retellings for a while, and i think i never actually did it because i wanted to make a lear retelling ranking list and then i never read some of the ones on my TBR. so whatever. the learlist will happen someday. here are my favorites in general. (here is my goodreads shelf for the retellings i've read, good and bad, and here is the shelf for the ones i have yet to read.)

in no particular order:

a thousand acres by jane smiley: outsold. epitome of what makes an effective retelling--a book that clearly has something to say about and to the original text, but that also isn't afraid to diverge, to exclude here and zoom in there. ungraciously, this is "lear on a farm" and it starts a little slow, but holy fucking shit, i can't do justice in a paragraph to the way this book unraveled me. one of the best books of all time mayhaps. also, introduced the edmund character by describing his ass. 10/10

the last true poets of the sea by julia drake: i don't read that much YA anymore but jesus fucking christ. books tailored for me specifically. twelfth night retelling about siblings + mental illness + being bisexual + love triangles that actually make sense (emotions are confusing!) instead of being contrived + beautiful description + excellent dialogue + THE MENTAL ILLNESS. books that made me start crying in zoom class in 2020

rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead by tom stoppard: kind of a cop-out answer because we all know this one. but that does not detract from how good it is. this is one of those plays, at least for me, that makes me think, "ohhhhhh, THIS is what theater can do. this is using its medium to the absolute utmost." it is so clever and it makes me want to cry. i think about "i don't know. it's the same sky" more often than i can say

american moor by keith hamilton cobb: not exactly a retelling, but a one-man play about a Black man auditioning for the lead role in Othello, tangling as he does with his relationship with shakespeare's work and cultural dominance. suuuuuch a good fucking play even beyond the analysis of othello (which is excellent); the language is so fucking incredible. everyone who likes shakespeare should read this.

teenage dick by mike lew: modern teenage richard iii; this one's more reimagining than retelling, because it diverges pretty sharply from the plot of richard iii, but god, it's so fucking fun. and upsetting! really upsetting also.

foul is fair by hannah capin: i will be so real. i read this in high school and some of the YA books i've revisited since did not hold up for me. so idk if i can tell you this is "good" with my full chest. but the pitch is "lady macbeth gets sexually assaulted at a party and decides to fucking kill the boys who did it" and i stayed up until like 1am to finish it because it was such a vicious gleaming wild ride

the stars undying by emery robin: does this count? hard to say, because it's just as much a retelling of roman history than shakespeare's antony and cleopatra (honestly, more, since it focuses on the era where caesar and cleopatra were lovers, which is before shakespeare's play). but i'm counting it anyway because it's bisexual space opera cleopatra and it's the best book i've read so far in 2024 and it's making me crazy and i'm writing a thesis on it < genuinely

peerless by jihae park: macbeth, but college applications, featuring asian macbeths (they're twin sisters >:3) who think their classmate has taken their place in their dream school because of affirmative action/DEI. this play is absolutely VICIOUS. it's macbeth x heathers. think it mirrors macbeth in faltering a little in its final stretch, but it still fucks hard

the wednesday wars by gary d. schmidt: okay, not a retelling; this is about a preteen boy in the 60s. but it's one of the best most genuine and heartwarming books i've ever read and it manages to be hilarious while also foregoing cheap slapstick punching-low humor for a hell of a lot of warmth and passion. and the main character interacts with shakespeare a lot as a running theme so i can justify putting it on this list. #evangelizing

of course, i would be remiss not to mention that @suits-of-woe / @mjulianwrites has written the best take on Two Gentlemen of Verona to ever exist, and i mean that quite seriously. unfortunately it hasn't been published yet so we'll all just have to prayer-circle about it. i would also be remiss not to take the opportunity to. uh. coughs. do a bit of casual self-promo. if you 1. have ocd 2. have gender or 3. think about malvolio a lot. boy do i have the novella for you

will definitely add to this when i read more retellings; feel free to drop recs in the tags/replies/reblogs/my askbox!

[roomwithanopenfire]

Six Sentence Sunday

Happy Sunday everyone!! Thanks for the tags @blackberrysummerblog and @artsyunderstudy!!

This week I’ve done the big three: writing, editing, and ignoring my wips, with perhaps a bit more of the last one than I’d like. Most of my writing this week has been for an exchange fic for a different fandom, which I finally finished the rough draft of. Cue the celebration. However, even if I wanted to share anything from that, I can’t, it must remain hush-hush, but I am getting pretty excited to share it (and way more excited about receiving my own exchange fic back, this whole thing is very fun).

I’ve written less than 300 words on my COBB this week, and none of them are good, but I have gotten some editing done of Proof of Life. I can’t share any more snippets of the next chapter though because I’ve shared too much already. So instead, I figured I’d do a bit of a process post this time around, because I always love reading those. Check that out under the cut! (and i'm sorry this is long, i still have not learned brevity)

So my editing process isn’t too crazy, and is brought to you almost entirely by google docs comments. I also use the word ‘editing’ very loosely to encompass rewriting, revising, and proofreading. Sometimes editing means completely rewriting a scene/section, sometimes it just means switching around a couple of words or cleaning up a sentence. 

Mostly, I try not to take everything so seriously, because I know that I could edit something forever and ever and never post it if I let myself get too carried away. So I try to keep everything pretty chill. So here’s my steps I go through for each chapter that I edit. 

Step One: Reread the whole chapter. While I do this, I’ll leave comments on big picture things. “Maybe move this scene into the next chapter” or “The dialogue in this scene feels stilted” but I don’t add a lot of comments at this point. Once I’m done with this I’ll copy over any comments I had on the first draft or the beta reader copy over into the ‘draft two’ document. 

Step Two: COMMENTS. Again, my fics are brought to you by google doc comments. I like to go through from the bottom up, reading scene by scene and leaving comments on pretty much every single sentence. 

A lot of the time (read: most of the time) these are really vague like:

And sometimes these are more detailed like:

And occasionally these are compliments

Step Three: Once the whole chapter is filled with comments, I go through scene by scene (in whatever order speaks to me), and rewrite, edit, or fix sections. This part I find really fun, because I’m taking parts that aren’t good yet and I’m making them better. I love fixing things and getting rid of all the comments. It typically ends up being a lot of  rewriting, but I always finish a scene feeling better about it then when I started.

For example, here’s the draft one vs. draft two version of a snippet from the first chapter of Proof of Life. This is one of the scenes I pretty much rewrote. Others look a lot more similar to their original versions.

Original:

Edited:

Step Four: Then before I post a chapter, I’ll read through the whole thing and sometimes find smaller bits to fix. Then I’ll run it through a grammar checker and ignore half of their suggestions in the name of ✨style ✨.

Overall, I feel like I have a pretty basic editing strategy and I’m really pleased with it. Even though sometimes I feel like more robust edits would make everything way better, it’s a good mix of fixing things but not spending too much time on it. I remember I spent like a month on editing the very first fic I posted at that was only 6k words. If I kept doing that for everything, I'd never post anything at all. With fanfiction, I know that y'all will be nice to me even though it's never perfect <333

Tags and Hellos!! (I'm unsure if we still need the spaces, but i've been burned too many times lol)

@you-remind-me-of-the-babe @m1ndwinder @facewithoutheart @run-for-chamo-miles @raenestee

@onepintobean @prettygoododds @noblecorgi @hushed-chorus @angelsfalling16

@thewholelemon @monbons @shrekgogurt @brendughh @hertragedyconnoisseur

@beastmonstertitan @valeffelees @horsesarenotdeer @drowninginships @supercutedinosaurs

@fiend-for-culture @rimeswithpurple @cutestkilla @alexalexinii @ileadacharmedlife

@arthurkko @rbkzz @skeedelvee @bookish-bogwitch @brilla-brilla-estrellita

[omaano]

I absolutely love your Hades au, do you have any planned dialogue between characters? Because I would really love to see a trial of the gods between Leia and Anakin, the pettiness is palpable.

Thank you, I'm real happy that you like it! ❤️

I don't exactly go about this AU from a coherent story-writing point of view, I just want to see all these characters (and some places) drawn in the game's style. So usually the way I go about the dialogues is either to go and whine to some of my amazing writer friends until they take pity on me (as it has been the case with Rex, and much earlier with Boba), or spend a week or two sweating over a single one-liner ^^;

With trial of the gods, I think the dialogue is rather aimed at the player in a "You better pick me first next time, but you're lukcy I still like you" (which, of course can still be petty as hell) - so what I'd rather love to see is a Duo Boon with Leia and Anakin :D that's where the gods/boon-giver characters interact and react to each other, now that would be super passive agressive anywhere with these two! (although I don't think it's possible to get a duo or even a trial of the gods with Hermes, and that's where Leia is cast in this AU. She's a very important political/rebel figure, she's always in a rush, I think it fits.)

(I kind of wish my main criteria for picking the god characters hadn't been "make them mostly Jedi" (and Boba and Cobb) because that really cuts down on their possible interactions, if you want to imagine them like that.... but these were also the characters I wanted to draw so... Priorities had shifted along the lines, I suppose ^^;)

All that said I do have a one-liner in mind for Din's meeting with Obi-wan ("Now, I wonder where I have last seen someone roundkick a droid's head clean off like that."); and I've had a few alternative ideas for Maul's monologuing that very much shows the effect Mand'alor Darasuum has had on me. (Maul finally gets a teeny tiny apprentice in that one, as a small detail. It's awesome, I still need to finish reading it and leave a comment, but in the meantime I'll rec it here!)

Maul: "Hunger. Raw meat. Best devoured while it still wriggles - good, good. We've got quite a little carnivore on our hands it seems. Such potential is entirely wasted on pacifism and the Jedi way." Din: "So you are not a Jedi, then?"

And then it was real fun to imagine the indignant rage Maul would fly into for that accusation XD

There is also one line for Maul in my notes for when Din goes to see him with Ahsoka's token in his pocket:

Maul: "You have something else Force-touched on you. Not you, of course, you are as blank in the Force as a Mandalorian can ever hope to be, but something... brighter."

And there was also the one that was too tempting and thus had to be cast aside where Maul points out that he had been Mand'alor once, and the Darksaber still remembers him, to which Din's natural reaction (who has not yet been enlightened about that particular part of Mandalorian history by anyone hanging out around home base) is of course "Neat, do you want it back?"

[best--dress]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks for the tag @artsyunderstudy <3

I am wip-posting for the first time in a long time! And I have a BEAUTIFUL NEW BANNER courtesy of @thewholelemon Jenny's Little Lemon! I could not love it more. Please take note of the unicorn and rat besties with matching tiaras, the bison with a unicorn horn, and the fact that the pizza has ITS VERY OWN FLOWER CROWN. There are so many incredible things going on here. I love it when kids make art.

I've been writing quite a lot but it's mostly notes for my COBB, a few lines of dialogue here and there but not much actual fic yet. But-but-but, I finally got a little scene going on my subway commute on Monday! AND IT'S AGATHA POV! I struggle with getting into Agatha's POV, and she's looking like she'll have a big role in this fic, which I'm excited about. (I love her.)

Under the cut cause it's on the long side –

I can feel that something is wrong as soon as she opens the door. Minty is perfectly poised, as always. Not a hair out of place. Matching hot-pink velour tracksuit top and bottoms, a new set I’ve never seen before. “Hi, Agatha.” She sounds normal. We hug. I hand her the crisps I’ve brought, and we go into the den. We watch an entire episode of Skins without speaking. “Is everything okay?” I finally ask in the lull between episodes. “Sure, Agatha. Why wouldn’t it be?” “I don’t know…” “I actually have to get ready for dinner with Samantha after this episode.” “I thought we were hanging out.” “We are hanging out.” She looks at me like I’m crazy. (I’m starting to feel like I might be.) “Since when do you double-book on nights we have plans to hang out?” “I already had those plans before you called, Agatha.” (I hate how she keeps calling me Agatha. Usually it’s Aggie, or Ags, or even Taggy – and I hate that one, but right now, I’d be grateful to hear it.) “Well, then why not another day?” “I have plans for every day of break already.” “How is that possible?” “I have other friends, Agatha! Why didn’t you call sooner?” “You know why! My school doesn’t allow phones!”

Hiiiis to @facewithoutheart, @thewholelemon, @ileadacharmedlife, @martsonmars, @youarenevertooold, @rimeswithpurple, @that-disabled-princess, @aristocratic-otter, @leithillustration, @iamamythologicalcreature, @alexalexinii, @cutestkilla, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @nightimedreamersworld, @artsyunderstudy, @mooncello, @onepintobean, @emeryhall

[saltsprite]

ohoho you posted an ask meme

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing...

❄️Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing.

🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP.

🌧️Share something angsty from your WIP.

🌈 Share something soft/fluffy from your WIP.

💧Share something romantic/hot from your WIP, or just something sweet if it's gen.

🌩️ Share something funny/cracky from your WIP.

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it? 🌪️

Sum up a WIP with a few fic tropes/Ao3 tags.

I should have fucking known LOL <3

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet.

[oleander fools, Red Dead Redemption 2] Charles Smith (having loved and lost one Arthur Morgan) encounters Arthur's past love, Mary Linton, at Arthur's grave. Lonely, they fall into bed in a hotel in the nearest town. The next morning she asks for his hand in a marriage of convenience that turns sweeter.

I'm actually gonna do another one here, because I think these are both galaxy-brain ideas

[tentative title: seedlings, Jedi Survivor, gen fic] Boba Fett, for once in his 23-year-old life, has let a Jedi walk free. On top of that, today's bounty (Caij Vanda, a rival bounty hunter that'd been helping said karking Jedi) won't shut the hell up. Needing a drink before heading into the black, Boba takes Caij's advice to visit Pyloon's Saloon... only to find the same Jedi, again. To get away from him Boba heads to the rooftop gardens-- and there, finds a child who reminds him eerily of himself.

❄️Share a snippet from a WIP of your choosing.

[untitled WIP, RDR2 Charthur] God, Arthur's stupid.

(yes i do think im funny, yes i will post another snippet because i like to post snippets)

[untitled WIP, Jedi Survivor, Cal/Bode] “Bode?”  Looking up, Bode finds Cal sitting on the cliff’s ledge above him, feet dangling over the edge. BD-1 chirrups something at him from Bode’s shoulder; Cal flashes a smile that doesn’t smell right to Bode. “Greez said I’d find you brooding out here.”  “Oh. Is that how he phrased it.” And— well, he had, but in much the same way as Cal had just smiled at him: The same way a damaged shield generator will cough and sputter before doing its damn job. Bode plants his hands on his hips. “What are you up to, then?”  Cal sniffs, before a crooked, sheepish grin appears. “Brooding.”

🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP.

[oleander fools, RDR2] “What’re you lookin’ at?” Charles asks.  Arthur slaps on his dumbest grin, the besotted one he hides until they can be alone. “You, my flower.”  Laughing around a groan, Charles decides to play this one out. If Arthur’s going to open his big dumb mouth to say big dumb things, Charles can at least get some kind of entertainment out of it. “What kind?”  “Oleander.” Arthur’s answer is immediate, confident. Like he’s thought about it. A lot.  Crinkling his nose, Charles frowns. “Small and pink?”  Again, Arthur smiles— but it’s softer, sweeter. Missing his hat, some of his hair falls into his eyes as he dips to take Charles’s hand. He presses his thumbs into the pads and cushions of Charles’s calloused palm. “I handle you wrong, you’ll kill me real quick.” Arthur drops a warm kiss to palm center, then glances up at Charles looking almost shy and oozing boyish charm. “And that’s kinda the entire appeal.”

🌧️Share something angsty from your WIP.

[meet me halfway, Boba Fett/Cobb Vanth] Put your softness in my hands, Cobb had said before, those words so carefully chosen, his aim as true and unwavering as his desire. Nothing comes to mind, now. Nothing but the wretchedly tender truth that chokes him from the inside, clumping in his throat like he swallowed sand. There’s too much to say. He should say it. He needs to say it. There’s no fucking point in saying it now because he waited too long, it might kill him to say it, but he will try. He can try.  “If this all goes tits-up,” Cobb starts, wetting his lips — but Boba stops him, gently bumping a knuckle under his chin.  “Have you so little faith in me?” Boba scoffs, attempting lightheartedness despite the worry and grief already carved into the canyon bedrock of his face. He can't say it.

🌈 Share something soft/fluffy from your WIP.

[faith, freedom (RDR2, Charthur)] As he settles against Arthur’s chest Charles grunts in protest, but Arthur feels him smile. Combs fingers through Charles’s hair, made soft with some oil he’s begun using that smells of vanilla, its gentle perfume warmed and sharpened to a point with tobacco and camp smoke. Arthur breathes deep.

💧Share something romantic/hot from your WIP, or just something sweet if it's gen.

[faith, freedom (RDR2, Charthur)] “Beautiful.”  Charles snorts, ducking his head. “Now who’s sayin’ shit he don’t mean?”  “Aw, Charles,” Arthur tuts. He lets go in favor of running the flat of his nail up the fractal scar along Charles’s cheek. “Ought to know by now, I don’t suffer liars in my bed.”

🌩️ Share something funny/cracky from your WIP.

[oleander fools] John Marston: ah, the Morgan widows Charles: …one widow J: Aw but you and Arthur were— y’know. So that’d be you and Mary together, I mean. C: no, no, a widow is a woman, widower is the man— J: yeah but it’s a man who died, so you’re his widow too C: DOUBT [x]

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

idk what pairing, but i know there's a good Hades (game) AU in me somewhere, i KNOW IT. I feel like I can make it work best in SW, using planet names for each region (like... Naboo for Elysium, obvs Mustafar for Asphodel). If it's DinCobb, then Cobb is fighting through the underworld ruled by Boba Fett with Djarin in the Thanatos role. If it's Cal/Bode, then it's Cal fighting through, with Bode maybe posing as a helpful NPC... at first. >:3

🌪️Sum up a WIP with a few fic tropes/Ao3 tags.

Red Dead Redemption 2, Arthur Morgan/Charles Smith, Camping, First Time, Recreational Drug Use, And There Was Only One Tent

[oh-three]

2, 11, 20, 32, 35, 58, 65, 81, 94, 96

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

Hah, okay, this one is actually fairly recent. Spoilers for later in the Cobb Vanth fic:

In the end, it takes Zart raising his voice over the crowd and turning to Cobb- the stranger he had so graciously offered his trust to- to silence his people. And Cobb sees again the respect they hold of him, the confidence, the side of the boy that’s so alike himself. He’s not sure that he’s ever been so proud of someone in the moment that the kid volunteers himself to have his chip removed first. His heart swells, and Cobb wonders if this is how a father feels when his son becomes a man.

Yeah, about that post about Cobb adopting half the galaxy...this literally came out of nowhere lol. Came up with that last line and went fuck, now I have to have Zart go with him.

11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

I only really do research about topics I've not really invested time into researching before, or when I have a very pressing question that needs to get answered to help my story move forward. I have a whole document dedicated to slavery research for a PotC fic I wrote a couple of years ago.

A lifetime of labor began as early as age four (life expectancy= 36)

20. what is your favorite trope to write?

Tragic backstory, no contest. Just look at Quizzy and Cobb Vanth.

32. do characters influence your writing style?

Sometimes. I usually end up picking up the MC's character voice and accidentally writing even the non-dialogue stuff like it's something they'd say. Oops? (Ex: Silence is A Lonely Country, and the Cobb Vanth series)

35. tell us about a character who’s very different than you who you love a whole lot

Quizzy. Lmao. I love him, but holy shit. Some of the things he does 😂

58. what is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were writing it?

does weight loss change your voice

No comment

65. what is your favourite title for a fic you’ve written?

The Impossible Question™

Hearts Bound In Gold is a favorite. It's meant to symbolize the innocence of the younger generation in the Jedi Temple, echoing the fic's theme of why the Guards are so strongly bound to their duty. But it can also be seen as a window into the perspective of a Guard, of seeing how they think while on-duty. Either way, I love the dual symbolism with it.

81. if you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of writing advice specific to you, what would it be?

Younger me was...not the best at characterization. And I also kept writing characters I knew nothing about. So...? I'd tell that younger me to do my research and to rewatch lots of source material. But yeah, I've come a long way.

94. do you prefer dialogue or description?

I love writing both, but if it came down to it and I could only write one in a fic? I'd definitely choose description over dialogue. Because it's not that difficult to sum up a conversation without dialogue, and I have a pet-peeve for lines without dialogue tags. I'd lose my mind if I wrote a dialogue-only fic.

96. romantic/social sideplots: interesting or irritating?

It just depends on what mood I'm in and why I clicked on a fic. If I'm enjoying it enough, I'll be able to put aside the irritation toward a romantic sideplot and come to even respect it. But I'll confess that I have given up on fics for unexpected romantic sideplots.

[corellianhounds]

30, 32 and 34 for the Writer’s Ask Game 🍁

30. Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

I’m SO happy you asked this one! There are several but one I’m really looking forward to and have tons of notes for (without any substantial pages written yet) is the rewrite of The Book of Boba Fett

“Back In Business” is the title of the TBoBF rewrite and it’ll be fixing some of the issues I think the season had regarding cohesive storytelling and compelling characterization, and I think it’s a more vivid and cohesive action-adventure with a lot of new ideas the original season didn’t have but easily COULD have had if they’d changed some things around.

Do you like western motifs and effective foreshadowing leading to character reveals? Do you want a realistic look at the relationship between Fennec and Boba and the conflict that comes from an assassin who always lived life on the move in the shadows now feeling compelled to remain in a sedentary location, in a position that draws a lot of attention? Are you ready to see a more dangerous and complicated Boba Fett? Do you want the tragedy of the Tuskens given more weight and respect? To delve into the characterization and social issues the Twi’leks face as a people? Do you like the cryptic and unsettling Bo’marr Monks? Do you want to see who ELSE will command the rancor? Do you think the incorporation of Mos Pelgo and Cobb Vanth could be more compelling? Are you ready to see Boba Fett wrestle with the conflict of whether or not he can afford to have friends or loved ones, knowing they will always be at risk by their association with him?

Because I can’t WAIT to get into it 🤩

32. Most difficult character to write

This is kind of a cheat answer, but it’s an original character I came up with for a Mando story taking place between Seasons 1 and 2. Something about her doesn’t feel distinct enough, like she has her own voice, and I’m worried she’ll come across as somebody who was created just so this specific plot could happen (I know that sounds dumb but it makes more sense in context and I just can’t find the right words to get my thoughts across 😅)

As far as established characters go, I have a hard time writing Luke 🤷‍♂️ I don’t know what it is but I don’t feel like I get his voice right; I think the actions and thoughts I depict him with are realistic enough and in-character, but I don’t think his actual dialogue reflects how he would say the lines I’m giving him

34. What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

As far as things that are posted goes, I think the sequence of scenes with Cara Dune in Chapter 4 of the Toro Lives story. I didn’t want the intro scene in the common house to be a rehash of the same dialogue in canon with the bartender, and I wanted more dialogue between Toro and Din that showed more of their characters while still leading to the right circumstances that would spark Din’s exit and the fight. I tried instigating the fight a couple different ways and played with different ideas for how it could go down, but realized it couldn’t break out inside the common house without the people of town throwing all of them out, which then didn’t lead to anywhere for their post-fight conversation to happen and left tensions too high for Din to find Cara later

The fight itself took some fine tuning too to make sure the choreography felt good AND was realistic for the characters in both action choices and pacing, and even then I still had to work on making it sound exciting on the read-through since A. It’s now a text-based medium instead of visual one and B. It was largely the same fight as in canon, but also with a third person mixed in (I could probably talk a lot about that fight with how much thought I put into it tbh 😆)

The post-fight convo between the three of them was also difficult— Part of it was because it took me a while to puzzle out what I was going to do with Cara’s character (since it’s good to know each character’s internal thoughts and what goes unsaid in a scene because those are important motivations for what the characters will do and say next), and part of it was also changing it up enough to feel new while still getting some of the same necessary pieces of information across and landing on the right character dynamics for their departure from each other at the end

[confused-bi-queer]

For the weird writer asks: 33, 35, and I would love to see you answer 37

Hello! Thank you for the ask, now you get a bible!

The questions come from here

I’ve also replied the 11, 17 and 34 here.

First, the 33: Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

I do! I'm a huge sucker for art. I like taking photographs to nature, I like drawing little thingies, reading, painting, and I dance! I don't think the things I do per se give me inspiration to write, but I do tend to dissociate very easily in every single task I do, so I end up getting 249737 ideas all day about things I could write about, or phrases, or sometimes scenes that I get stuck on.

Although, the only thing that has helped me write is dancing, since I'm writing a dancing AU for COBB, and it's nice that I know about the dynamics dancing in a group contains. Including toxic traits and stuff. (Dancing really is a dark place.)

But, no, usually I write because I get hyperfixated on it or because I daydream about the scenes and I need to write then.

The 35 now: What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

I had no idea what that meant, so I googled it. But, I think all of them. It's a weird thing, but hear me out. I've been writing for about 8 years. And at that time, I did it by hand. By fucking hand, in the middle of a classroom, in my free time, with the gaze of my teachers, and I only ever wrote my own stories. I never wrote fanfiction until last year. So, I was fucking ruthless and everyone could have sucked my imaginary d, because I did that. I could write pages and pages about different random chapters of my story, from the main character as a five-year-old child to that character learning her bff had killed herself when she grew up. I was terrifying!!! So, it really itches me when there's a rule about writing in a certain way. Because I never had a guide, and I always managed to write something. Specially when they want you to be lineal. Like—Fuck that. I like writing the climax first, to then create the background of whatever lead the story to that breaking point, and have a clearer idea of the story. So, being told to follow a regular timeline is horrible. That and be told to write less. That's why I write fanfics, because I can write someday a 500k fic and no one will forbid me to publish it:)

And lastly, the 37: f you were to be remembered only by the words you’ve put on the page, what would future historians think of you?

That I want to be heard. I wanted to write something else, but that's all I am. Ever since I started writing, my words always marked my real self. I always wrote about my feeling or about my point of perception and I still do, I still give my most traumatized character personality traits of mine. Because I want to be immortalized someway. I want to know that I won't die without my words having me printed there.

Or that I'm sad or that I have too much in my head, too much words and scenes, too much everything. Because I write too much. I'm always writing.

And that I like dialogue. I like problems and writing the position or look of my character messes with the flow of the thing I was writing. I love dialogue!!

[ckerouac]

7, 23, and 27 for the fic asks :)

7. What’s the story or fic that you’re most excited to work on or share next year?

Definitely seasons change when I just give it time aka DILF Din/Prof!Cobb. The whole thing is outlined, I have 2.5 chapters written, and it's such an indulgent piece of soft middle aged men finding happiness that makes me happy, so I figure if it makes me happy it's gotta make someone else happy too.

23. What fic did you enjoy writing the most?

Cocoa was probably the most fun and the easiest to write because it's very much in my comfort zone of light dialogue-heavy humor and David Rose is just so much fun for me to voice.

27. What motivated and pushed you to write more this year?

It was absolutely falling in love with The Mandalorian (which... 2021 made me watch and write Star Wars, I still can't believe that) and the desire to write something out of my comfort zone because I was dealing with a lot of grief both personal and professional this year (which became how it feels when we fall, when we fold). And it felt so good to put something out there, that I just kept doing it again and again lol.

[theydjarin]

5 and 26 for the ask game?

[writing ask game]

5. What's a tag you never want to use for your works even when it applies?

Ah, "cinnamon roll [character]" just because it's a symbol that a character is probably going to be infantilized and stripped of any sort of agency. I don’t know if it would ever apply to a character that I write though

26. What would you describe as OOC?

I love this question so much. I think characterization has two main components, one is motivation and how that motivation inspires action, and the second is dialogue, just picking up on how that character communicates (do they use nicknames, do they speak as little as possible, etc)

The motivation aspect is what can really kill a characterization and make it OOC. Din for example. His primary motivation is honor and duty, and his secondary motivation is loyalty and solidarity. Honor and duty are why he is a bounty hunter and it's the main driving force for every action in the show.

It's why he has no qualms about killing for a living because he finds honor in supporting the people who rescued him and gave him his purpose, and is duty bound by his loyalty to the the two main creeds/codes he follows.

The secondary motivation comes into play in more interpersonal instances like his partnership with Cobb. He's duty bound to get the armor back, and could have easily killed Cobb to get it, but because he cares about people (and because his main motivation isn't violence for the sake of violence), he forged another way forward that involved building bonds rather than tearing them apart.

This plays out in other interpersonal relationships like going back and rescuing Grogu or agreeing to help Boba for free and then pledging his life to him.

A lot of OOCness with Din I think misinterprets (or just ignores) his core motivations

[a-dorin]

☆ one year celebration! ☆

hello all! so, i have been on tumblr with this account for years (cerca 2016) and to be honest, i kind of forgot tumblr existed! around december of last year, i posted a few marvel fics/blurbs. after watching the rise of skywalker, i decided to write my first ever star wars piece, posting it january 12th, 2019. with that date quickly approaching, i wanted to celebrate my one year! 

i just want to thank you guys for the abundance of support. i have met so many amazing people since coming back, and i can’t express how much you all mean to me. i love you. 

so, for january, i will be celebrating with thirty-one fics for 2021! the list is exclusively star wars characters, and i will include the list and prompts under the cut! 

all of the dialogue prompts can be found here! i do not personally own any of them! they were just altered to lowercase! (for my own aesthetic purposes)

jan 1st: feral 

fluff: “is this the moment that we kiss?”

jan 2nd: rey

smut: “i never thought I’d be so lucky, especially not in this lifetime.”

jan 3rd: kix 

fluff: “i think I’m in love with you and I don’t know what to do.”

jan 4th: cal kestis

smut: “don’t hesitate, just kiss me.”

jan 5th: commander fox 

fluff: “you are more than you think of yourself. you’re everything to me.”

jan 6th: boba fett

smut: “i’m not materialistic. i like being happy and having lots of sex.”

jan 7th: quinlan vos 

fluff: “hold my hand.”

jan 8th: plo koon

smut: “don’t look at me like that and then feign innocence.”

jan 9th: kit fisto 

fluff: “don’t think about anything. just tell me that you love me and hold me tighter.”

jan 10th: grand admiral thrawn

smut: “are you going to kiss or keep staring?”

jan 11th: poe dameron 

fluff: “i’m tired and my bed feels so empty without you here.”

jan 12th: fives 

smut: “if you don’t stop looking at my lips without doing anything about it, i will take you right here on this counter.”

jan 13th: captain rex

fluff: “i’m asking because i’ve seen the way you look at me.”

jan 14th: bail organa 

smut: “will you love me like this forever?”

jan 15th: cad bane 

fluff: “my heart isn’t beating faster, my heart isn’t beating faster, i swear it isn’t, get ahold of yourself.”

jan 16th: anakin skywalker 

smut: “don’t pretend that you don’t feel the same way.”

jan 17th: han solo

fluff: “darling, your heart is too pure for me.”

jan 18th: obi-wan kenobi 

smut: “don’t tell me you love me unless you mean it.”

jan 19th: darth vader

fluff: “i hope you’ll never forget how much i adore you.”

jan 20th: cassian andor 

smut: “every morning you kiss my forehead before i leave for work, why was it my lips today?”

jan 21st: din djarin 

fluff: “if only you could see yourself the way i see you, because, holy shit, you’d realise how much i’ve fallen for you.”

jan 22nd: commander wolffe

smut: “the more I look at you, the more i think we need to leave.”

jan 23rd: luke skywalker 

fluff: “please just look at me while i confess, after that you can look anywhere you like, i swear.”

jan 24th: savage opress

smut: “will you stay the night?”

jan 25th: jango fett

fluff: “i shouldn’t be allowed to be this happy.”

jan 26th: cobb vanth

smut: “you keep saying that we’re friends but you look at me for a moment too long for that to be true.”

jan 27th: qui-gon jinn

fluff: “i would honestly die before i let anything happen to you.”

jan 28th: finn

smut: “how can you stand there looking like that?”

jan 29th: fordo 

fluff: “why do i feel like i’m home whenever you’re near me?”

jan 30th: lando calrissian

smut: “there’s always a place in my bed for you, i will wait no matter what.”

jan 31st: maul 

fluff: “i got everything i wanted. my everything was you.”

i will start the prompts off with a fluff piece, alternating between fluff and smut, so i will be closing with a fluff! if you have any questions, want to share, reblog, or dm me, feel free to do so! 

the thirty-one days of fics for 2021 starts january 1st, 2021! i’m beyond excited to share all of my fics with you guys! 

tagging some mutuals: @hounding-around @anakinswhore @dexthtoyounglings @xcertaindarkthingsx @fandom-gal44 @captainrexstan @catsnkooks @mother-0f-monsters @jango-fettish @littlevodika @elenamiria

[tinykings]

tagged for this fanfic meme by the lovely @terribleoldwhitemen, who I have personally learned and gained so much from writing-wise, tbh. thanks, friend!

1)     how many works do you have on AO3?

50!!! As of today, tomorrow (hopefully) it will be 51. 😉

2)     what’s your total AO3 word count?

92,479…I write lots of small fics, tbf.

3)     how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

in ao3? which is the only place I’ve published, currently: 26 fandoms, apparently…and it’s kind of all over the place. lots of one-shots in various fandoms. the most extensive ones I’ve written for are The Expanse, The West Wing, Turn, and Frontier.   

4)     what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

“Open Your Eyes” (Fem!Q/Bond, which is like one of the first things I ever posted, nearly eight years ago at this point)

“tenderest touch leaves the darkest of marks and the kindest of kisses breaks the hardest of hearts” (Casablanca, one of my personal faves)

“you don’t have to be a ghost here among the living, you are flesh and blood, and you deserve to be loved and you deserve what you are given, and oh how much” (The Terror, look, I was on a lyrics kick)

“i’m no hero, i just like punching people in the face” (Ted Lasso, bless Trent/Ted, kings of my heart)

“Look for the Helpers” (another Terror fic, which I personally don’t love, but hey. glad people like it! thanks for y’all’s support as I bumble along)

5)     do you respond to comments, why or why not?

unless someone is being an ass, of course! I love talking to people under any circumstances, but especially about my work!!

6)     what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

uh. hm. I suppose “Fever 1793” for Frontier, where, on a depressed whim, I killed off Cobbs in the Philadelphia Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. OOPS. I still kinda feel bad about that.

7)     what’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

well…I’m not much for purely happy, but I feel like the first Bellevue fic I wrote, “because i am done with my graceless heart, so tonight i’m gonna cut it out and then restart” gives a “happy” ending in so much as the two characters who should’ve ended up together end up together.

8)     do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

for the most part, no. I did start writing an Expanse/Harry Potter fic, but there’s not a lot of crossover, mostly just set in the universe itself. like, Harry Potter himself isn’t gonna show up.

9)     have you ever received hate on a fic?

never directly. (I have received weird comments, though.) I’ve seen strong dislike on Tumblr itself (mostly related to Chrisjen/Sadavir), but eh. Let them fume, chemistry is chemistry is chemistry, Jesse.

10) do you write smut? if so what kind?

no, I am a master of fade to blacks, and by master, I mean I rely on them like a CRUTCH

11) have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not!

12) have you ever had a fic translated?

someone offered to translate a poem once, and I said sure, but I never heard anything else…but if they did translate it, bravo, good for them, translating is hard, and I personally can’t do it.

13) have you ever co-written a fic before?

not officially…I’ve definitely collab’d on broader AU ideas with friends (shout out to @terribleoldwhitemen in particular)

14) what’s your all time favorite ship?

I literally will not answer that because 1) impossible and 2) the first one that springs to mind is kind of. Embarrassing.

15) what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

FOR WANT OF A FUCKING NAIL. Maybe I will…MAYBE.

16) what are your writing strengths?

dialogue, capturing character’s voices, internal narratives (I think? I hope?)

17) what are your writing weaknesses?

sustaining a plot, anything remotely smutty, and yeah, I’ll agree, FINISHING THE DAMN THING

18) what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’ve done brief snippets of other languages, but only with quite a bit of research. I’ll probably never write full on conversations, because I’m not fluent in ANYTHING. (Except for English.)

19) what was the first fandom you wrote for?

…that goes back to my all-time favorite ship answer. I’ll just say…tsbc. if you can decipher that, yeah. YEAH.

20) what’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

oh gosh. all of them? because I’m vain, and also because I really write fics for myself and like, two other people, so I like going back and re-reading all of them! but if I was pushed? I’m really fond of a fic for The West Wing, “Foxholes and the Oval,” where Lord John Marbury gets to talk to Leo post-heart attack. I like fics that fill badly needed holes. (HA.)

tagging, and I hate to leave anyone out, but i literally cannot remember who else on my dash writes fic who hasn’t already been tagged in this: @illumizoldycksonlyfans, @aurel1us, @tormvnd ...if you haven’t been tagged and would like to be, please let me know! 

[oldsolidbooks]

The trade and the ton

I am partial to historical romance novels, and particularly fond of the traditional Regency romance. They are not a so-called “guilty pleasure” for me, as I hold them in high esteem, and delight in them openly. But I do admit that I am rather picky about the books of this genre I read—or of any genre, for I am a picky reader—and always pleased to find a particularly good specimen. Some of those are famous, classics of the genre, others are hardly known.

One of those hidden gems is The Weaver Takes a Wife by Sheri Cobb South.

I found it browsing a goodreads list, and added it spontaneously to the little collection of used paperbacks I bought with a valentine’s gift code from my favourite online book store. It arrived soon afterwards, and I immediately, actually rather randomly, picked it up and read it. And I loved every line on every page!

I expected it to be a pleasant read, nice and just generally good fun. It turned out to be brilliant. The little black volume itself looks good enough, though unassuming, if not a bit off, perhaps, as the type-setting is pretty but at times looks unfinished. As I found out, it was independently published in 1999, when indie and self-publishing was not quite as common as it is now, and the style in Regency romances differed from the older classics and the current revival of the genre.

The story itself is gorgeous. It is written in a far more traditional style, reminiscent of Heyer, yet not at all imitating her. Only a tad old-fashioned, fit to the period and without being stuffy, very funny and full of sparkling dialogue. The supporting cast is great, featuring everything a traditional Regency romance needs, such as a no-good but darling younger brother; a set of caring friends; loyal servants, prone to gossip; and a quite despicable villain. Unlike other books of its type, it also features a delightful group of cotton mill workers.

The hero, Mr Ethan Brundy, is simply amazing, and very unusual for the genre: an illegitimate workhouse brat turned super-rich cotton mill owner, who drops his aitches and dresses expensively, with little taste. He is genuinely kind and caring, responsible and confident. His accent and his earnesty, not to mention his appearance, cause people of the ton to underestimate his intelligence and quick grasp. Nor do they understand that he cares not in the least about their opinion of him—he stands by his background, his class, and his convictions, and he does so with a disarming friendliness. His unwavering strength of character, combined with his exceptional candour, and his controversial opinions, expressed so kindly, are a joy to behold. And so is his love for his reluctant bride.

Lady Helen, or ‘elen, as her husband calls her, is very much unlike him: cold, haughty, and supercilious. She hasn’t a kind word for anyone, except perhaps her brother, and she delights in shoving her numerous suitors away by mere force of rudeness. Though very beautiful, she makes her way through more seasons than her father could afford, because she is still waiting for a man who might not exist. Mr Brundy is, for her, a mere laughing-stock, hardly a real person.

“Mr. Brundy,” she said with a nod, making the most perfunctory of curtsies to her father’s guest. He made no move to take her hand, but merely bowed and responded in kind. “Lady ‘elen.” “My name is Helen, Mr. Brundy,” she said coldly. “Very well– ‘elen,” said Mr. Brundy, surprised and gratified at being given permission, and on such short acquaintance, to dispense with the use of her courtesy title.

Now why does she marry him? Because Mr Brundy, as I have said before, is more than confident, and certain he to reach every goal he sets himself. The moment he sets eye on his ‘elen, he decides to marry her, and her father, a dept-ridden duke, pressures her to accept his offer of her hand. She gives in:

“Mr. Brundy, you are no doubt as well acquainted with my circumstances as I am with yours, so let us not beat about the bush. I have a fondness for the finer things in life, and I suppose I always will. As a result, I am frightfully expensive to maintain. I have already bankrupted my father, and have no doubt I should do the same to you, should you be so foolhardy as to persist in the desire for such a union. Furthermore, I have a shrewish disposition and a sharp tongue. My father, having despaired of seeing me wed to a gentleman of my own class, has ordered me to either accept your suit or seek employment. If I married you, it would be only for your wealth, and only because I find the prospect of marriage to you preferable –but only slightly!- to the life of a governess or a paid companion. If, knowing this, you still wish to marry me, why, you have only to name the day.” Having delivered herself of this speech, Lady Helen waited expectantly for Mr. Brundy’s stammering retraction. Her suitor pondered her words for a long moment, then made his response. “’ow about Thursday?”

And now, the (supposed) marriage of convenience slowly evolves into a love-match of misunderstandings. Only Mr Brundy’s friends are truly aware of his sincere feelings for his wife, and only one of them of her feelings for him. Because Lady Helen enters marriage not only thinking her groom a cit, but certain that he’s only after her social standing. He, in turn, takes all her insults to heart and believes that she only married him for money even as her feelings for him grow to fondness, and love.

All this is tricky to write, for has it been done with less grace and skill, both characters and their romance would have been insufferable. But Mr Brundy’s love for his wife and his way with her are wonderful, as lovely as could be, and her growth as a person, and the development of her feelings are plausible and well-written, gradually, yet with sudden, clear reason.

There are sudden, tender moments of a shy, reluctant couple; adorable scenes of the Pygmalion kind; dinners and balls and dress fittings and the refreshing contrast of trade and ton—and a significant trip to the industrial North.

And in the end, there’s a great, rather Heyer-esque adventure, which causes first more secrets and misunderstandings, and brings our couple to defeat the villain, and finally admit their mutual love to each other.

It is truly a gem, I promise. It is a Regency romance in the most traditional sense, and yet thoroughly original. It’s funny, but never silly. Sensual, but restrained. Romantic and sweet, but never saccharine. All in all, a true delight.

[nandalorian]

5, 15, and 19 for the author ask :>

5) character you were most surprised to end up writing

In terms of Mando stuff, probably Jo! I always knew she would have SOME part because she is one of the few characters we have a name for in Mos Pelgo outside of Cobb, but at this point she is basically an OC that I’ve gotten to have a lot of fun with. And she’s been an excellent voice of reason because someone has to be!   

15) why did you start writing?

I’m just a dude with ADHD and an overactive imagination. It was pretty much inevitable that I would start writing at some point, and I was lucky to have a father who was a giant book nerd as well as a talented storyteller himself, and a mother who was happy to let me be a library baby from the get-go. In retrospect I’ve been writing fanfiction since before I can remember, because as a kid I used to love to retell fairytales and fables and rewrite them as modern AUs.   

19) when it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, etc.?

I usually create a folder where I can bung all my various docs with outlines, characters, temporarily discarded lines/scenes and other random bits and bobs, etc. I don’t usually do an outline for shorter pieces that more or less emerge from my brain fully-formed, but if it’s a more nebulous idea, I will start creating in-depth outlines and writing notes. More often than not, even for longer-form fiction, I will just start writing and see where it takes me before I reach a natural point where I need to start working off an outline--I’m a very linear writer, so it will usually get me pretty far along in the process to start seeing what themes emerge that I’d like to continue, along with subplots that present themselves. I realized yesterday, in conversation with @o-antiva, that a lot of my outlines almost resemble screenplay treatments in that I describe a lot of the dialogue to guide me and hit the necessary points I’m trying to cover, and this seems to be an approach that comes naturally to a lot of other writers too.

For original fiction especially, I get very wrapped up in playing the casting game and creating profiles for all my characters, as well as recording information/inspiration images/moodboards for significant settings and so forth. Pinterest is a great tool as well because I am a very visual writer, and engaging a different part of my brain is usually a nice way to keep me energized and motivated.

I wouldn’t call any of this especially organized, though. I’ve tried using novel-writing software, and it just distracts me, so “big folder full of random crap” is the method that works for me, more or less.

Thanks for asking! These are fun questions.

[oh-three]

⭐️ for a fic of your choice!

Director’s Cut: When The Heart Outruns The Body, The Suns Clear The Fog (Chapter Three)

I'd actually had the opening dream sequence in mind for a while. Trying to figure out where to fit it into the story had been fun- and writing it had actually been a tougher challenge than I'd expected.

The aim was to capture this almost outsider perspective, to hold a detachedness to it while maintaining the tension of the moment.

It didn't work so well the first time and I had to delete all but the first line and start over.

The angsty moment of Scott having seen the whole thing and died immediately after wasn't intended, but I could not ignore the idea once it came to mind.

Same for the angst of Cobb meeting his own eyes and the pain of being unable to tell himself to back down.

.

The Glavis mention wasn't part of the original plan at all, but it felt necessary to have the transport make one stop before Corellia- and I couldn't resist that little nod to Din and his former covert.

.

He wonders how long it will take her and the gotra to realize his absence from Tatooine, doesn’t know if he should be offended if it takes them a while. Something tells him that Din will be the first to figure it out, being the only one who regularly visits Freetown. The Mandalorian might just rip the galaxy apart looking for him, too; Din Djarin is a right loyal man.

But there is such a thing as being too loyal, Cobb thinks. Knows.

Because he knows that Scott’s final words were not simply his ego alone. He had been a good man. Young, reckless, but good. He’d just been a tad too loyal to his tired old marshal. That kind of thing bites far too many men in the back, and Scott is just another one on that fading list.

I also have no idea where any of that came from either, but it just felt so right once it came out. I was struggling at filling the void between Cobb waking up and the ship landing anyway. I loved this segment so much and figured it couldn't get any better than that, so I kept it. Couldn't bear to get rid of it anyway. Such perfect angst.

And foreshadowing of Din discovering he's offworld. There's a whole interlude chapter on that later on.

.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have just been cleared to land at the Coronet City spaceport.

“Please check once more that you are strapped in; there may be some turbulence as we break through Corellia’s atmosphere. Thank you."

I actually looked up commercial flight pilot announcements for this one, and altered/changed/added to them so that they'd fit the Star Wars universe.

.

Writing Cobb's awe of seeing Corellia with his own eyes was definitely a scene I was most looking forward to in this fic- a lot of the Corellia scenery mentions are, actually. Like the water in the most recent chapter, and later on near the end of the fic.

And then the Weequay-Klatooinian hybrid catching on and getting curious (I loved that little dialogue exchange, it's everything to me).

“Where are you from, Coruscant?” Someone asks, and Cobb turns to the Weetooinian with a huff of laughter and the shake of his head.

“Tatooine.”