#LET HIM BE WITH PATROCLUS FFS

[tempestandwhirlwinds]

MAJOR HADES 2 SPOILERS BUT...

FIRST SPOTTING OF ZAGREUS!! MY BOY 😭😭😭😭😭

also is Achilles (who is a SHADE btw) such a threat that Chronos froze him in time too??? LET HIM AND HIS HUSBAND HAVE THEIR HAPPY EVER AFTER FFS

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

1-38 from the latest ask game you shared, asked in order for the first 38 characters in the list you shared (as in like.. 1 for Alphonse, 2 for Caroline, 3 for Victor, and so on)

Jay ffs

<3

(If it's a one-character question I'll go by character number on my list, if it's a "which character" question I'll just answer normally Also a minor note, there are some duplicate names, so Thomas Walton, Margaret's and Robert's uncle, will always be referred to as "uncle Thomas" or simply "uncle" and Thomas Martin the orphan boy from Robert's crew will be simply "Thomas", "William" is always William Frankenstein and "Will" is always William Saville, Margaret's son) 1. Does your character have good aim? Pretty sure Alphonse would shoot himself in the foot if given a musket. I have firm belief that none of the Frankensteins can aim with any kind of long range weapon or even just throwing rocks

2. What would history remember your character for? Dying of scarlet fever apparently

3. Does your character prefer to work in silence or with noise and of what kind? Victor definitely silence. Complete isolation from everyone and everything and nighttime is the best time since there's also no outside noise

4. Has your character ever been handcuffed or tied up? No which is a little strange considering Elizabeth gives off the vibes of someone who'd be arrested for arson

5. Can your character cook?

Ernest knows a couple recipes he was forced to learn after going into hiding some time after his family's death, but since he shares nearly all meals with Ferret (no cat food back then) he barely ever uses salt, pepper or any spices, making everything bland as hell. He no longer minds but anyone else probably wouldn't like it

6. Who did your character look up to as a child? Not sure if look up to is the correct word here but I imagine William would often hear about Victor from the rest of the family, how smart he is, how one day he will be a great scientist etc, which most likely led to him creating a very idolized image of his eldest brother

7. Do any of your characters have depression? Would probably be easier to ask which ones don't

8. Who has the worst luck? Adam, it seems. Going off info in the book many of the bad experiences (beaten up by Felix, shot by the farmer) were the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time

9. Could your character win an arm wrestling competition? How well would they do? Not sure if win but Justine could hold pretty well against most people. She absolutely can beat Victor but let's be honest, who wouldn't

10. Would your character give up the chance to come back to life as a god so that someone else could be saved? Henry absolutely would without question

11. What is your character’s favorite historical or fairy tale figure? I imagine Adam would not exactly know to make a distinction between fiction and reality and would take the books he's read during his time with the DeLaceys as recollections of historical events. So naturally, he would relate to Lucifer as is already said in the book, but I also imagine he would like Solon (described in Plutarch's Lives)

12. Would your character marry someone their family didn’t approve of? I love how this question ended up being for Edmund because yeah, that is exactly what happened lmao. He did end up getting disowned by his family and they cut all contact with him so, yeah

13. Do/Did any of your characters have large ears they had to grow into as a kid? Oscar did!

14. Are any of your characters nonverbal? Patroclus sometimes goes nonverbal which caused plenty issues in childhood before his parents pulled him out of school and began homeschooling him instead. For these moments they developed a sign languages of sorts, which Patroclus eventually teaches to Harcourt.

15. Did your character ever want to be a cowboy? Not sure if she even knew about them but Awa would probably tell you pirates are much better

16. How does the way your character present themselves in public differ from how they are in private? Uncle Thomas cares a lot about his public appearance and generally tries his best to fit with the idea of an "example citizen" and it is this appearance he cares more about keeping than being, you know, a decent human being. The only difference, more or less, is that in private he is much warmer toward his son Paul and speaks with Margaret and Robert, though most of the time it's little more than how he would speak with the servants of the house, while in public (or when having guests over) he either straight up does not associate with them or uses them to win sympathy of others (as in "look at me, I have been burdened with caring for my late brother's mulatto children, pity me")

17. How petty is your character? Paul is not, or only in joke. Though his father keeps saying he's being needlessly petty when it comes to Robert and Margaret ("you act as if I beat them" maybe not but neglect and treating them as subhuman is still abuse you asshole)

18. Is your character pro or anti union? Not sure what kind of unions the ask means but if it's about labor unions, those weren't really a thing back then so yeah

19. Does your character like carrots? As the professional soup maker Margaret does quite like carrots

20. How self-confident is your character? Robert is pretty self-confident, especially when he's in his element (aka on the sea) though the confidence does drop a little on mainland in regular society but usually you wouldn't notice. He's come a long way since he was a teen

21. Do any of your characters have heterochromia? Victor does! Sectoral heterochromia, a brown spot taking up about 1/6 of his left eye!

22. Do any of your characters have someone named after them? Or are they named after someone else?

Harcourt is named after a distant relative François-Henri d'Harcourt, a French general and a representative of the French king in Britain

23. Do any of your characters have facial markings? Harcourt has piebaldism and it's a great source of self image issues for pretty much all his life, during the voyage begin a path of self-acceptance but it is not until he meets Patroclus when he truly learns to accept and love himself

24. What is your character’s opinions on squirrels? Oscar thinks of them as cute fluffy little critters but he'd rather they kept out of the yard because they drive the dogs crazy

25. Does your character experience sexism for the job/title they hold? Mary is 12 but in the future as a woman she won't be able to officially do the job she'd want (not sure what yet but something related to mathematics) but she's a smart cookie and will find loopholes to allow her to do what she wants

26. Are any of your characters missing fingers? Thomas did, for about a week, then he lost the rest of the lower arm

27. Does your character know how to tie different kinds of knots? Robert, Corbin, Fritz, Harcourt and all the sailors as it's part of their job, and Ernest from rock climbing. Margaret likely knows a couple from back when Robert was learning as a child

28. How much does your character giggle? Will does, quite often when one of the many critters he adopted does something silly. He's a happy kid

29. Are any of your characters nameless? (In that there is no legal record of them existing, they just don’t have names in canon, or history remembers them but not their name?) Before being forcibly made to join the army and assigned the last name Martin, Thomas had no identification papers, no last name or family record. He does not even know his birth date.

30. How independent was your character as a teen? Very, Corbin ran away from home and joined the navy when he was only 12 and could take care of himself ever since then

31. How much does your character care about their appearance? Madelaine is pretty chill, she likes to look pretty but does not take it very seriously. No matter what, she'll always be the most beautiful woman in Corbin's life

32. Do you have any characters who are twins? Margaret's children Will and Mary! Also Victor and Elizabeth are technically twins via adoption

33. Does your character like math? How good are they at it? Henriette feels like she would be more mathematically inclined than her sister Amélie but I don't think she has any large interest in it

34. Do any of your characters collect sea-shells or wear shell jewelry? Margaret has a couple pieces of jewelry with little shells that Awa brought her from her voyages when she was little

35. Naptime, yes or no? Amélie? No. She goes on full energy mode the whole day and when night comes she just drops dead

36. Would your character prefer to sit around and chill or be up and moving and doing something? Most of his job involves sitting around writing prescriptions or checking patients anyway and de Lesseps is pretty okay with that

37. Did any of your characters have a fever they almost died from as a child? Ernest. At least four times. Also Elizabeth almost died from scarlet fever. And Thomas technically, though the fever was a side effect of an infected wound

38. Does your character worry about breaking the rules and getting in trouble? Fritz generally abides by rules but if he thinks a rule is stupid or actually dangerous he will go around it, even if it means he'll get in trouble. If he thinks he's in the right he'll be able to defend himself pretty well most of the time Adding questions because I was told the ask was meant to get an answer for every character and some questions simply did not fit 39. Do any of your characters have the responsibilities of an adult despite being a child, or did they when they were? Corbin did as a teen serving in the navy and Awa with the pirates, Margaret taking care of Robert when Edmund was busy working, Elizabeth and Justine taking care of Ernest and William after Caroline died, Jindra watching her younger siblings and helping her dad at the smithy, and Thomas, Léo and Luc having to fend for themselves since they were 8

40. If a loved one died, how long would they stay in mourning? I...hate that this is the question that ended up being for Soulier. Spoilers! Next!

41. Do other people around your character dictate their life or do they get to choose for themselves? Harcourt barely ever had any say in anything as a child, his whole life was controlled and organized even into his adulthood and it caused him some major personal issues. Though he would get anything he asked for (toys, clothes, animals...) he was expected to follow whatever his parents said

42. Did/do any of your characters have an arranged marriage? I mean *Gestures generally toward Victor and Elizabeth*

43. Do you have any widows/widower characters? Alphonse, Henry's dad, technically Edmund although Awa was never confirmed dead, uncle Thomas, aaaaand spoilers

44. Are any of your characters overshadowed by other siblings? Or have parents who clearly have a favorite? *Glares at the Frankensteins in general* Alphonse and Caroline made it pretty clear that Elizabeth is their favourite, and Ernest very much did feel overshadowed by Victor in his late teens especially since Alphonse constantly used Victor as an example as for why Ernest should go to university (because "that's how you find the most success"), and then later during the voyage for the first couple months because it was clear Robert would rather have Victor there than him, and continued to think so long after it has stopped being true because insecurity and depression

45. Would your character kill someone to get what they want? Louis? Absolutely not. He was forced to kill in the army and he does not want to raise a weapon against anyone ever again

46. Does your character prefer to lead or follow? Kind of a mix but I feel like Thomas was among the leading members of the gang of street kids he spent most of his life with. Afterwards the people he's with are usually a lot older than him

47. Has your character ever stolen anything? Djinn has stolen many a girl's heart and Stefan's which he's not particularly happy about because he can't ever return those feelings and hates seeing Stefan sad Also pretty sure he eventually owns a deck of cards he stole from a devil

48. Are any of your characters apprentices? Jindra was technically an unofficial blacksmith apprentice, as a woman she wouldn't be able to take over the trade but she has as much skill as her brothers

49. Are any of your characters certified Bird Nerds ™? Will is a certified Animal Nerd™ in general. Harcourt technically since he had a great interest in falconry as a child

50. Are any of your characters Good Dads ™? Oscar, Edmund, Louis has minor dad energy though most of the time he's more of an older brother kind of person and Corbin is Everyone's Dad™

51. Do any of your characters have grandparents who are named and living in canon? Some will eventually become those grandparents themselves but spoilers

52. Would your character prefer to have history know the truth or have many different versions of their life? I think Stefan would rather not have history know that he's still alive centuries later. If he was not already presumed dead after a "mysterious illness" shortly after being turned into a vampire, he will most likely fake his death at some point in the late 1800s and live under different identities/as different animals

53. What if the furthest your character has ever walked in a given stretch of time? When it was not possible to use horses the Three sometimes had to walk for the whole day and Jindra never had any problem with that

54. Would your character prefer to visit a new city or stay at home? Johan did visit a new city and the voyage and the previous fishing trips on the sea were a way of getting away from home at times

55. Do you have any characters who despite trying their best ended up being horrible parents? Alphonse and Caroline kinda failed in some major aspects, yeah

56. Do any of your characters have step-family? There will be but spoilers

57. Do any of your characters consistently wear hats? During the voyage Thomas very often wears a hat he got from Amélie to keep him warm. Robert has his captain hat

58. Does your character prefer the ocean or the mountains? Ilse feels like someone who'd prefer mountains but not sure, though she often spent time at the port with her good friend and ex-boyfriend Johan

59. What kinds of things does your character use as paperweights? Luc never even owned any papers so yeah

60. If faced with certain death, would your character continue to speak out against injustice? I'm pretty sure Léo had some nasty words for Robespierre and the system in general when he was led toward the guillotine

61. Have any of your characters struggled with addiction? Victor with laudanum and Fritz with alcohol. Corbin with alcohol too but not as severe and both he and Fritz have mostly recovered (Fritz will not touch alcohol when he does not have to and Corbin still sometimes relies on a little bit of rum to help falling asleep)

62. Have any of your characters adopted anyone? Louis fully adopted Thomas as a younger brother in every way except legal by the time they emigrated to London (though pretty much everyone in the crew ended up considering Thomas their son/little brother eventually), Djinn was adopted though I cannot say by who, and there's one more character who will end up adopted but that is spoilers as well

63. How far would your character go to help those in need? We don't have much for the character of Anne-Lise but given that Louis is her older brother I think she too would go to great lengths to help someone

64. Do your characters know any old blind swordsmen per the trope? I don't know the trope and there are no old blind swordsmen in the AU as far as I know

65. Is your characters energetic? Benedict is not exactly energetic, feels more like a sit down scientist

66. How much of a disappointment/scandal to their family is your character? Not much, Horace successfully finished his studies at Ingolstadt so I imagine his family was/is pretty proud of him

67. Would your character be willing to do something they consider morally wrong in order to achieve their goals? No, I don't think so. Nikita is a good guy Welp that was long as heck but it was a lot of fun! Thanks!

[melimelo-ao3]

Answers to the ask

So this is my answer to every ask of the “A Writer’s Ask Game” by agwitow that I reblogged just below.

Yes, I know, people are supposed to be the ones to send a number, and only then am I supposed to answer. But, since this blog has like, very, very limited interaction, and I had nothing to do, I answered them myself.

And I’m putting a time stamp on it: Wednesday 17/02/2021, because for some questions, in a week, it won’t be the same answer.

The Basics 1.     Do you listen to music when you write?

I do, yes. I have a couple of playlists with songs – I know some people enjoy listening to music while they write, but only without any kind of lyrics. I don’t care either way. Some days it’s pre-enregistered playlists, others random, and others just piano.

2.     Are you a pantser or plotter?

I’m mostly a plotter. I’ve tried to go pantser on a couple of stories (Pretty Boy is the last example that comes to my mind), but I end up knowing what I’ll put in the next chapters in advance. Even if it’s just the main plot point / scene.

3.     Computer or pen and paper?

Computer. Except when I have writer block.

4.     Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published?

I’ve never been published, and don’t plan on. I write my stories mostly for myself, and to me it’s a bit too over the top to, first, interest a publisher / editor, and then it would need lots of editing and… I don’t think I’m ready yet to see critics on my stories.

5.     How much writing do you get done on an average day?

I have no idea xD I suppose I’m happy if I get 1.000 word a day, especially if it’s a day I only concentrate on writing. Sometimes it can be more, but sometimes it can also be nothing at all. On days I have other things to do, I’m happy if I can write one sentence more during the day :)

6.     Single or multiple POV?

At the same time? Single. In a story? It depends. Some stories I’ve written in a single POV all along, others I switched between chapters, and others within chapters, with a distinction between the “parts”.

7.     Standalone or series?

Um, series as in several “books”? If so, there’s this story I finished last year. At first, it was supposed to be one single book, but things progressed as they did and so I chose to cut the overall, finished epic into three books. So it’s supposedly a series now.

Other than this, I usually cram everything up in one story.

8.     Oldest WIP

Oldest oldest? I started a story called L’année scolaire (= School Year) when I was like 10. It’s unfinished, so I suppose I can consider it as a WIP. Other than that, if I’m talking about posted fic, it’s a Harry Potter time-travel fanfic called Une nouvelle chance de vivre (= A New Chance At Living). Same, the fic has maybe ten years now (damn, time flies) and has been untouched for… about ten years I believe xD

9.     Current WIP

I have several! On my AO3 profile, there’s Sunkissed (an Achilles x Patroclus Omegaverse ff), The Bravest Belief of All (Amandi) (a Peter Pan x Wendy Darling canon divergence from OUAT) and I Desire You (or worse) (which is an original work with original character that I’ve just started posting) that I update regularly.

There are more on my computer, much more than I can type here…

10.  Do you set yourself deadlines?

Not at all. Because I wouldn’t respect them, and it would make me stress.

 The Specifics 11.  Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

Victor Hugo is the main one that comes to my mind atm. I love the way he writes and what he writes about. There’s Emile Zola’s Au Bonheur des dames, too, which is amazing, one of the best books I know of. And, for the beauty of language and the sheer poetry literally pouring from every single word, Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is. breathtaking. I don’t know if they influenced me, because it sounds a bit pretentious to say that one can find some of these authors in my stories if they look closely, but they definitely represent what I aspire to.

12.  Describe your perfect writing space

In a silent room, except there’s music (I know, it’s paradoxical). I have my computer and my head is resting (I mean, I don’t have anything urgent to do, it’s all done and behind me for the day) and I can concentrate on the scene I’ve been imagining for a couple of days / weeks / months / years (pick one).

13.  Describe your writing process from idea to polished

Usually I have an idea, I play it in my head over and over again until I really like it and I have a couple of things found out (like, scenes or dialogues or narration – depends if the idea is about a story or just a single scene). Then, I write it. Admittedly, the polishing happens mostly when I play it over and over in my mind until it clicks or sticks.

14.  How do you deal with self-doubts?

I usually listen to them, because it means there’s something that’s nagging me about a scene, a moment. So I go reread it, I think back on it – what can I change? How can I formulate it in a different way? – and I change it until I’m satisfied with it.

I experience a (lot) of self-doubt at the moment, with the first three chapters of IDY. I chose to post them, but I’m not entirely sure I’d be ready if people began to hate them or find horrible flaws with them. that makes me doubt whether it was a good idea or not, but I know that I can always delete them if it really goes downhill.

15.  How do you deal with writer’s block?

I stop writing. For a couple of days, usually, to let my brain the time to relax and focus on something else. Then, I sit back before my computer and I open another word document – like a blank page. I copy paste the scene I’m stuck on, and I rewrite it under, while using a couple of sentences I feel are good. I repeat the process until the words flow back again.

(This sounds a lot like a cooking recipe xD)

For the real, unbreachable writer’s block (like, if the above didn’t work), I try to focus on other stories. If that doesn’t help kick the inspiration back (like for No, but I do – even though the writer’s block was cemented by GOT’s last season but that’s another matter entirely), I push the story to the back of my mind and I give it up.

16.  How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project?

As many as necessary until I’m satisfied with myself. I can’t give a number.

17.  What writing habits or rituals do you have?

I imagine the scene beforehand, I listen to music, I write on computer… I can’t think of any other writing habit I have atm.

18.  If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about?

I don’t think I could collaborate with anyone, sorry - -’ When I have an idea for a story, I’m excited with writing every single part of it, so I don’t think it’s for me.

19.  How do you keep yourself motivated?

With the scenes I want to write.

20.  How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

At the moment (meaning the ones brewing in my mind): 11.

 The Favourites 21.  Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?

It depends with the story. I liked Weston in Pretty Boy (I like him too in I Desire You), and Wendy in Amandi.

22.  Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write?

Weston/Edmund. They’re my OTP for now.

23.  Favourite author

I don’t have a favourite author, I search for fics / stories mostly.

24.  Favourite genre to write and read

Romance.

25.  Favourite part of writing

I love writing dialogues, especially when the characters continue to talk on their own and I’m just transcribing everything and the conversation ends up very different from what I imagined.

26.  Favourite writing program

None, I just write on Word.

27.  Favourite line/scene

That’s impossible to choose! xD

On a writing’s perspective only, I’ll say the end part of chapter 3 in I Desire You (or worse). When I reread it and I could feel what the character is feeling / does (I’m being vague on purpose because I haven’t posted it yet), I knew I had to post it somewhere. I don’t know, I’m just really proud of it (and have the most self-doubt over people’s reaction, which is – as always – very logical of me).

28.  Favourite side character

In I Desire You, I like Lucy.

29.  Favourite villain

I don’t think I’ve ever written many villains. Ah, yes, Peter Pan in my OUAT fic. He’s a villain, it works.

30.  Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

I’ve been beginning a lot of WIP at the moment, precisely so I could start putting down all the ideas I wanted, so I don’t really know what to answer to that…

 The Dark 31.  Least favourite part of writing

Writing description of settings. I don’t really like how I write those.

32.  Most difficult character to write

Edmund. No hesitation.

33.  Have you ever killed a main character?

No, and I never intend to. I want my characters to be happy and alive.

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

Chapter 3 of I Desire You? Or maybe the chapter 2.

Or the beginning of Amandi, which depicts the Peter / Fiona relation.

35.  What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

Um, none at the moment :)

 The Fun 36.  Last sentence you wrote

I understand how he feels.

But I’ll probably change it. I’m not sure yet. It’s for IDY.

37.  First sentence of your current WIP

Well, I have three, so I’ll put the three.

A frustrated scream would have torn the eerie silence and thunderous sound of waves if Peter had any strength left in him to scream anymore. For Amandi

“Where’re y’all running to?” For IDY

Patroclus’ lip trembled when they pinned the crown to his hair. For Sunkissed.

38.  Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

Oof, lots. I’ve often imagined confronting two versions of characters. Like, take characters, usually from period pieces or in mindsets that are very patriarchal, and make them see another version of themselves, usually in Omegaverse, in a sort of Harry Potter pensieve or television setting, like they just watch this alternate universe version of themselves as they go on their daily lives. And then I imagine all the ways this character would first be horrified / angered / dismissive of that version of themselves that they’d judge weaker because they’d be Omegas, and then, slowly, they see that they’re really badass and yk worthy of consideration, respect etc. Not just them, but all their mates etc. would too, as well. And then they would come out as this better person, who aren’t as prejudiced as they used to be.

39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

I don’t know, I think it kind of overlap with the precedent question? Anyway, my characters are (only) plain, normal humans. Or, well, there was one time I had an idea to write a story with elves à la Tolkien, but it’s not really a weird character concept (or at all really xD)

40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters

Well, all my characters’ important backstories end up being revealed, so I’m not gonna spoil anything here…

I’ll take Curly from Amandi. He grew up in an orphanage, a poor one, which didn’t have proper beds (hence why he calls them pockets, because they look like pockets). He has no memory of his parents because they separated before his birth and his mother died in birth. He comes from a magical land (since we’re talking about an OUAT AU).

 The Rest of It 41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?

Write what you want to read.

42.  How do you feel about love triangles?

I’m mixed. I’m not a fan of them, but I wrote one once, although it was a bit special because it looked like that: Person A is in love with Person B, and vice versa, Person C loves Person A and Person C (and the entire world) is convinced Person A is in love with them.

43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

I just go with it. They know better than me xD

44.  How much research do you do?

A lot, but it’s mostly on little details. Like, not wars or political situation of the country at the time period, but more like were oil lamps still used for that class of population in said year, and can you snuff them out by turning the button (like in a slide sort of way, I’m not sure how to translate it precisely in English, but in my head it’s crystal clear).

45.  How much world building do you do?

I do a lot. When I write a story, I like to know every little detail I can.

46.  Do you reread your own stories?

Yes. That’s the main reason why I write them, to be true.

47.  Best way to procrastinate

By searching for aesthetic pics on Pinterest. That thing can take hours and you never see them fly. It’s incredible. Worse than Youtube. It takes you from picture to picture to picture without you noticing. Amazing.

48.  What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written?

I give a little bit of myself to every character I write about. Be it opinions, thoughts, childhood memory or taste. For example, Weston doesn’t like chocolate (he hates it with a passion) because I think chocolate has a disgusting taste (and because he never had the occasion of eating any as a kid).

49.  Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real?

Weston, because he’s friendly and extraverted, and I wish I could be more of both, and I imagine that being his friend would make me mimic him in certain ways.