#actually a scene of a very old wip i abandoned

[beevean]

I take care of slamming the door as I storm back to my room.

Wasted, all of it, wasted! Good for nothing! Useless, like everything else!

I am old enough to have learned one of the most important lessons in life: sometimes, you do the best that you can, and still lose. I can accept that, I am no brat.

But when ’sometimes’ becomes ’often’, and ’often’ becomes ’always’, no philosophy is enough to quell the fire in my gut and the urge to break something, someone, I am sick of it…

I kick the bed for good measure. It shakes under my strength, but my boots are sturdy enough to protect me from the pain. It's not enough, nothing is ever enough.

A couple of knocks hit the door: I can recognize them anywhere. No, please, not you. Anyone but you. I'd rather face Lord Dracula…

“Go away, Hector.”

Silence. The door opens anyway - stupid me, I should have locked it first thing. Now I have to look at Hector's impossibly perfect face, not even a hair out of place. He has the decency to look contrite, though, but it's not enough to dent my revulsion.

“I thought I spoke in plain Romanian. I am not in the mood to talk to you,” I snarl through gritted teeth.

“I’m… sorry about what happened, I really am.” You better be, it's the least you can do. “But I don’t understand why you’re taking it on me.”

Of course you don't! You are never in the wrong, aren't you?! I am the one who always messes up!

“Do you have any idea of how much time and work I spent on that Devil?” I yell. “I haven’t slept in days, I barely had time to eat! I took care of every detail, every ability, I chose the perfect materials…”

“Yes, I could hear you work well into the night.”

Is he making fun of me? I choose to ignore him. “And then you come, fresh as a flower, with your shining new creation, and destroy mine as if it was made by an amateur! I’m not some child who just stumbled here– I’ve been immersing myself in Devil Forgery longer than you have!”

Hector wilts under my voice. Good. He deserves to feel small for once in his life. Do you understand me now, Hector? Are we finally seeing eye-to-eye?

If his pain is the only thing that gives me comfort now, then so be it.

“I didn’t do it on purpose! I’m not trying to undermine you–”

I slam my fist on the desk: something shatters on the floor, but I couldn’t care less. “What do you do that I don’t do? What do you have that I don’t have? What are you that I am not??”

I said it. The thoughts that have been plaguing me for months have escaped the cell of my mind. I should be humiliated by my own weakness, but I have made enough of a fool of myself already.

I can’t have reached my limit. I can’t be stuck, while Hector keeps growing in strength! I am not inferior! I cannot be! I cannot afford to be!

“Stop it!” Hector grabs me by my shoulders; I wrench myself away from his touch that burns down to my bone, and I dig my nails in my palms so that they don't end on Hector's face. “It’s not a competition! We both know how powerful and talented you are–”

“Your opinion is worthless! It’s Lord Dracula that judges both of us!”

“Lord Dracula is not going to get rid of you just because my Devils happen to be stronger!” Hector steps back, and he dares to look at me with pity, with those big clear eyes of his that used to put butterflies in my stomach. “Is that what you’re afraid of?”

I try to keep my uneven breathing in control. My fists are shaking for how hard I'm clenching them - look at me, my Lord, no wonder I'm not worthy of Your praise.

I want to believe it so badly. I want to feel secure that I can do something worth of recognition, that I am useful. But…

But Hector never notices how He looks at him, and how He looks at me. I have become the ’other’ Devil Forgemaster, the spare one. I am replaceable, I already have been.

What if He decided that I am a waste of space, because everything I could offer, Hector could do it better and faster? What if He thinks my life is pointless? It already is, isn't it? Why can’t Hector fail once, just once, we were supposed to be equals, what am I doing wrong…

Humiliation and shame roll deep in my stomach; I am this close to throwing up, and for what? For Hector? No!

I grab the first thing that I notice in my field of vision: it's a small hammer, it doesn't matter, what matters is Hector's raw fear when I swing my arm at him.

“Leave me!”

This time, Hector listens to me. I hold my tears for as long as I can, to make sure he's not within earshot when I lose control of myself, weeping in my hands like a child. I disgust myself. Lord Dracula would be disgusted with me as well. I bet Hector never feels sorry for himself.

[boogiewoogieweeb]

would LOVE to hear about the ned quits the navy one 👀👀

hi kay! thank you for the ask!

it's more of a nebulous, 100+ bullet point listicle of an au than an actual wip at this point, but i'm more than happy to yap on about it:

it's essentially a ned-centric post-rescue joplittle au in which ross ex machina saves a handful of the expedition survivors (including some of the mutineers). it mostly follows the show's timeline, with some self-indulgent exceptions regarding canonical character death (jfj doesn't die, for instance. he and francis had their 'wedding night' scene, but francis couldn't go through with it, and jfj is not quite as scorbutic in this au).

aboard the investigator, ned learns that jopson survived being abandoned, and has to wrestle with his conscience. he tries apologizing to jops, only to be soundly and coldly rebuffed in the attempt. this shakes ned to his core, and he questions the purpose of his own survival. things only get worse for his mental state when he overhears francis tell jcr that he feels personally responsible for what happened to the men after he got captured by the mutineers.

this makes ned question his entire naval career, and what it means to be a good man. after some soul searching, and further developments once they reach ye olde england (including an inquest by the admiralty; and sending francis money on the condition of anonymity to help pay for jops' recovery), ned decides to quit the navy and start a shipping venture of his own with the help of his (legendary) brother, james, and some rich benefactors thanks to his connection to lady jane.

things go moderately well. james invites ned to come live with him for a spell, their business grows lucrative, and ned slowly relearns what it means to be, if not happy, then at least content. until a very angry jops shows up on his doorstep one day and goes, "so. it's come to my attention that it's not captain crozier, but you i have to thank for funding my recovery". this leads to them having it out in the foyer, with jops angrily telling ned he doesn't need his charity, and ned replying even more angrily that it's not charity; but he had to do things behind jops' back because he knew jops would never accept his help otherwise.

eventually, jops asks him why he's so deadset on helping, and ned - without thinking - blurts out: “my heart stopped beating the day i left you behind, and only restarted when i learned that you’d survived. but by the time i could tell you so, however, you already hated me. and now, all i have left is my ability to care for you from afar.”

they're both stunned into silence by the admission. ned, in a near panic, hastily tries to salvage what little dignity he has left by vowing to stay away from jops forever if that's what he truly wants.

but instead of turning away in disgust, jops breaks down right in front of ned and simply says, "it would've been easier for both of us if only i was capable of hating you."

smth smth emotional catharsis. and then james little - gay legend that he is - walks in on them having their heart-to-heart, takes one look at jops and goes, "oh, this explains so much about why ned's Been Like This™ since he got back."

cue happy ending, applause, etc.

and yeah, that's basically ned quits the navy in a nutshell! i'd be more than happy to share the full bullet point list on here for anyone who'd like to know more.

once again kay, thank you for picking my guilty pleasure au to ask about! i hope you enjoyed learning more about it 💖

[valeriianz]

fic talk! yay! tagged by @beatnikfreakiswriting and @hardly-an-escape <3

How many wips do you have currently?

okay, let's be reasonable about this (lol). WIPs that im currently working on, only 4. don't- hey! don't look into my Google Docs! ignore all those files. sometimes i like to jot a sentence or idea down, that doesn't mean it's an active WIP! that also doesn't mean they are abandoned. they are just... marinating. snoozing. biding their time.

Which one are you finding the hardest to finish? Why do you think that is?

oh geez, probably Savory & Sweet. it's so silly because the first chapter of that flew out of me. it was so fun to write and its a verse i definitely revisit from time to time... and technically the first chapter works as a stand alone- i don't need to write a follow up. but after i had posted it, i really had every intention to write more. but for some reason the motivation to actually sit down and write it out is fleeting. but it's a year old at this point and i just want. it. FINISHED!

What does it usually look like when inspiration strikes for you?

it never strikes when i want it to, firstly. never when im sitting down and writing. it sometimes comes when i dont have access to a pen and paper or my phone- like riding my bike or in the shower, so whatever great idea/line of dialogue/scene that pops into my head in that moment, i repeat in my head over and over until i can finally scramble to get it hastily written down lmao. but it is very random... and usually strikes when im alone and in my own head, doing nothing in particular.

Do you curate playlists for each fic or is your process different?

no. and i write in absolute silence as well. lyrics distract me and music has never spoken to me that way- not enough to influence writing at least. of course the big exception is Bolt in the Blue lmao. but i think it makes sense that im making playlists for that fic. (oh and i made one for Let Me Down Easy as well... but these two fics have literally been the only times in my entire fanfic history that i've made playlists haha)

Do you go balls to the wall and write as you go or are you more organised?

for the moooost part i have a bit of organization, even if it's a few scattered notes. i learned my lesson quite late about making sure to at least have an ending in mind before i start writing and publishing (to be very real with y'all, the reason the dreamling Road Trip au hasn't gotten off the ground yet is because i can't think of a good ending for it). that being said though, once i do have an ending sorted out, my writing process is basically chaos. sometimes plot points or arcs will change entirely... which is a little scary, but as long as i can keep my ending the same, fuck it.

tagging, no obligation/tag me in existing posts: @issylra @delta-pavonis @valiantstarlights @tj-dragonblade

[bigalockwood]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Thanks @sunshine-rudberg for tagging me <3333

How many works do you have on Ao3?

7!

What's your total Ao3 word count?

175,665

What fandoms do you write for?

Young Royals. I used to write for other fandoms ages ago, but have no interest to write for any others right now.

Top five fics by kudos

(The results to this are kinda skewed, because I started posting my stories for users only after Royally Whipped, which drastically influences nr. of hits and kudos).

Royally Whipped

we'll make a home on the cracks (glowing review)

Simon Eriksson hates breeches

All Is Fair In Love and Secret Santa

arm-biting (vindictively)

Do you respond to comments?

I try my hardest, but when I was writing Royally Whipped I was insanely busy and got super behind on replying. So now I have a mountain of comments waiting for me to reply to . I'm trying my best to go through them and keep up with the comments coming in because of should've said no.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

No angsty endings for me. I guess in terms of what was angsty until close to the end, it would have to be glowing review.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Royally Whipped, I'd say. Season 3 completely derailed my plans for that one, so it's much less angsty than originially planned.

Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet. But I guess there's always first time for everything, right?

Do you write smut?

So far, no. Just weirdly suggestive scenes.

Craziest crossover:

Never written one.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. Hope it doesn't ever happen, either.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! (As far as I know, at least.)

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

In an old fandom, yes. It was fun but also super messy and definitely far from my best work.

All time favourite ship?

Wilmon! No one does it like them.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

There's a bunch of stuff in my drafts, but most of those are just rouch ideas or random scenes. So no WIP. I'm usually very good at finishing them (though there is an abandoned twilight fanfiction on another website, but I'm not touching that one with a ten-foot pole).

What are your writing strengths?

Questions like that always throw me off, because I genuinely don't know. But I think I'm pretty good at coming up with metaphors for my characters feelings that are hopefully not too cringy to read.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I ramble. A lot. Other writers could probably tell my stories in three chapters and be done. I'm unable to do that. Also too many details in general. Pretty sure I overuse and repeat certain words all the time. Generally just don't know how to make anything concise.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I don't mind it when reading fanfic (actually barely notice), but personally choose not to use it. If the story is set in Sweden, then imo they're already speaking Swedish with each other, so no need to have them say Swedish words.

First fandom you wrote in?

Twilight lmao

Favourite fic you've written?

You're asking me to decide between my children??? Okay, I'll give it a shot. I think Royally Whipped will always have a special place in my heart because I wrote it in such a chaotic phase of my life. But I also really, really love Simon Eriksson hates breeches (I think it's very funny ngl) and had the best time writing glowing review.

No pressure tags @hergrandplan, @wilmonsfolklore, @gulliblelemon, @nerdyfangirl76, @iwouldnevergetintofanfic & anyone else who wants to do this (I could tag so many amazing people, but I have no idea who's already been tagged, other than those along side me)!

[redbelles]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by: the wonderful @carry-the-sky 💖

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

51

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

245,595

3. what fandoms do you write for?

i don't ever really abandon old fandoms, but so far 2024 has been all berserk (nothing posted yet, unforch) and masters of the air

4. top five fics by kudos

like a heartbeat drives you mad

the dreadful need in the devotee

and my body found the wind

stuck in colder weather

all the love you need

5. do you respond to comments?

yes! it may take me a hundred million years, but i appreciate each and every comment i get, and i often go back to them for a little jolt of "hey, people actually like your writing!" motivation when i'm stuck

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

lmao uh. known angst goblin meg redbelles here, but i honestly didn't have to do much work to the canon endings of robert baratheon (the clouds will form a crown) or judas iscariot (in the violence of our dreams) to make them even more horrifically angsty, so. one of those, probably!

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i don't tend to go for out and out happy endings—i prefer bittersweet—but i feel like the answer is either the mercy wheel, which fixes dany’s gabarge season eight character arc, or tongue’s talkin’ riddles (sticky sweet), which gives chrissy and eddie a mostly happy future together instead of horrible deaths in deeply cursed hawkins

and! for what it's worth! the chimneys hardly ever fall down is going to end on a happy note! they're just going to have to Suffer a lot to get there! it's fine!

8. do you get hate on fics?

nope

9. do you write smut?

me, currently 3k into a m/m/f threesome scene:

10. craziest crossover:

i enjoy spitballing about crossovers, but i doubt very seriously that i'll ever write one

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of, no

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had offers before, but i've declined every time; they all wanted to host the translations outside of AO3, which is not something i'm comfortable with

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

yep! keep calling me home is a really fun little round robin fic i wrote with three other authors a couple years ago

14. all time favorite ship?

i can't read suddenly.gif

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

shUT UP!!!!! I'M GONNA FINISH ALL MY WIPS!!!!!! SHUT UP!!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!

16. what are your writing strengths?

imagery, emotion, themes, dialogue

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

plot? never heard of her. also, i feel like i still suck at writing humor

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

to crib from a previous answer: unless you speak the language, it gets real dicey real fast. i personally avoid it unless a) it’s a canonical term/phrase, like all the faux-russian bullshit in the grisha trilogy, or b) i can check the grammar/usage with a native speaker or someone who is solidly fluent

19. first fandom you wrote in?

[redacted] way back ages ago on [redacted]

20. favorite fic you've written?

recency bias talking here, but i am so, so, so fond of the chimneys hardly ever fall down; i challenged myself to write the first chapter as one continuous scene (i feel like i sometimes abuse scene breaks to heighten tension), and honestly i think i nailed it. also, this sequence:

Maybe he is drunk. That would make sense. He’s going to wake up and find himself alone at the bottom of a bottle. Back in the cold blue, Fort shot to shit and tumbling from the sky like a wounded bird, trailing fire and screaming as she falls. Maybe he won’t wake up at all— maybe he’s dead in a potato field, a ghost who never made it back in the first place. His heart can’t fucking take it.

like, i'm sorry, but that's brutal! and i am so proud of it!

tagging: @sluttyhenley @littlelindentree @oatflatwhite @meyerlansky @ladywaffles

@charmtion @anthropologicalhands @jacyevans @thatworldinverted @thatgirlnevershutsup

and anyone elso who wants a go ✨

[slitheringghost]

i'd be so interested if you wrote about marauders' era schooldays which is really saying something because i normally couldn't care less about that time period but i feel like you'd make it awesome.

also i agree that lupin and lily def weren't really friends but it makes total sense that he'd have a slight attraction toward her that he never really considered doing anything about, obviously, but his type seems to be vivacious, sunshine-y people (james, tonks) and lily probably had that side to her. i just think it's funny how lupin's like "he always got the women" about sirius, i'm guessing bc the girls he (and lbr, probably peter) liked were clearly after sirius or just hung around their gang to try and get closer to sirius. so akshually this implies lily liked sirius too.... lilypad - at the very least one-sidedly - confirmed canon? 👀

I hope to put together some pieces of my old abandoned Hogwarts Era Lily WIP into a cohesive fic, with some Sirius & Lily and Snape & Lily scenes, but it's not my priority currently. But thank you! <3

Personally I am a "Remus has a crush on James and is jealous of Lily" truther because unlike when people do that with Sirius and Lily where it doesn't belong, it actually brings flavor to the Remus and Lily dynamic which is otherwise boring.

But lmao Sirius does always get the girls, although I like to forget the weirdness with everyone suggesting Tonks was in love with her uncle. And listen... Lily being in love with Sirius is canon I genuinely believe this.

[tonydaddingham]

hey….totally unprompted question not prompted by terrible visions but do you have any tips for making amvs / any suggestions for editing softwares (preferabky on mobile but computer can work too) ? 😁

oh babe ive GOTCHU okay so obligatory "im just a girl that can't escape the brainrot" disclaimer. im not an expert, i do not do this professionally in any capacity, and im sure more seasoned video makers and editors will look at this list and think it's horseshit - and they'd be right!!! but for what it's worth here are the things that help me:

okay so first off, i edit everything (inc music, bc i do Not have the capacity to make edits to a full 4 min song) on my phone, so you've come to the right place - this nifty little app here is what i use.

is it good? as long as you're happy with it not being overly flash, yeah sure. does it get the job done? well id like to think so, as long as you're willing to get a bit creative/think outside the box on occasion. is it free? fuck yeah, as long as you don't want the spanglier functions.

okay so as for creating the vids themselves (very good omens centric, btw):

(here is where i wrote loads of shite but i remembered that you, dear anon, would have to read this and probably just want a simple list but always happy to discuss in more detail just lmk)

(edit: turns out, anon, that i still couldn't keep it to a simple list!!! and for that im very sorry)

obligatory start with: get good quality rips of the show. i didn't do this in the beginning and a lot of my old stuff is uploaded in 720p as a result, whereas now i can upload... decently in 2180p. the longer upload time is worth it. oh, and there is a small aspect ratio difference between s1 and s2, and it's the bane of my fucking life especially when i miss it and it's So Obvious To Me that ive missed it post-upload. don't make my mistakes 💕

right. advice. first, storyboard your vid. even if the song is not particularly relevant to the show/story but has Blorbo Potential™. look at the song you've got, and break it down lyrically (if applicable). what are the words saying? what is the story being told? is it thematically relevant/meta (e.g., RUTH), or is it just so applicable to Them that it's a bit embarrassing (e.g., meatloaf)? or is it neither, and it's just a Vibe (e.g., sushi restaurant)? there have been times where ive had to write out the lyrics physically and make notes on what scenes/bits to put to certain lyrics, in order to not feel overwhelmed with the whole thing... even if i change it later on/it ends up not working out anyway. but yeah take a sec to actually look at your song and work out if you have enough material to tell the story you want to tell in it - ie. not just the chorus/a bit of a verse. (ive fallen into this trap Many a time and have a Lot of abandoned wips floating around as a result)

related to the above, and i can't imagine it will be a problem lol, but being Very Familiar with the source material helps. pay attention to blocking and angles, especially if you want to do a cool/slick transition, or want to group together similar shots for a bit of visual interest and satisfying brain itching (e.g., 00:31 onwards of best shot). keep a track of filler bits, like clicks/hand claps/funny faces/dancing/dramatic head turns, because not only is it sometimes helpful for when you've got a musical interlude, but it can help maintain the tempo. (e.g., beginning of darkness)

ALSO related to the first point, and just a general tip - you don't have to start from the beginning. start, for example, with That Emotional Part where you can Perfectly see a part of the show cut to it. (e.g., cut to the feeling, where i started with the 1941 bullet catch at 1:18-1:27 for the bridge, and then built on it backwards). it helps with motivation too, when you find The Good Bit that you knows others will hate you for 🥰

in general, i recommend to keep the big set pieces (bullet catch, kiss, wall slam, in the beginning, on the wall, bookshop fire) in your back pocket for the Big Emotional, Heart-Swelling points of the song, and build on them from there. if you can, exercise symmetry in your scene choices across the choruses (e.g. dog days), or bookend the vid with the same scene (e.g., bon jovi intro and 1:45); i find it keeps a Theme going and drives up the emotional payoff, and again helps with storyboarding (dog days example: i framed as flashbacks, bon jovi example: i framed it as a flashforward)

i know others do this, and it is Not me criticising it at All because it can be soooo effective, but my personal style tries to avoid mouth movements as much as possible (unless it matches the lyrics, and then i keep it in because it's funny - e.g., "yeah" at 0:39 for bon jovi). so to that end, if you're looking to do the same thing/same style, be mindful of when expressions change/mouths start to move - it can literally be a matter of 0.1s, but be jarring if left in. this does regrettably mean losing a lot of source material (bc. yk. they talk in it, not just make Faces at each other), but i personally try to keep it to a minimum or try to keep any mouth movements out of focus.

now. i love a short cut. i go mad for a short cut. i go berserk for fast, sharp scene changes, they're like crack to me. prefer them to using huge stretches of clips. but!!! when actually editing (especially with the above app that whilst great, is not very good on refresh rate/buffering), id recommend exporting your video periodically or after doing a particularly choppy/fast bit, and Checking if it works/it's in time with the music. rewatch it 5, 10 times to make sure. you will constantly have to adjust stuff if you're creating the vid out of sync, unfortunately, but it will honestly help so much. it'll just give you a "ah yes i have 10 fast cuts there, and sure it only makes up for around 5 secs of actual screen time, but it's perfectly in sync and very satisfying, good job me" feeling, which is awesome. if you have issues with timing, consider downloading an overlaying metronome track in the bpm you need, and match it to that. (that saved in me in more of my vids than i care to count)

that being said, don't use short cuts if it doesn't suit the song!!!💕 or at least try to use a mix of them to give the vid some pacing. i like a pop or rock song, me, so i naturally tend to go for higher bpm songs (rip) anyway, but i try to get some longer cuts in there (especially around the intro/bridge) to give the viewer some breathing room (e.g., 0.00-0.44 for hero)

biggest advice tho: just have fun with it. create what You want to watch. do you listen to a song and think GOD THAT SCENE WOULD BE SO GOOD HERE??? then DO IT!!!💕 it doesn't have to slick or flash or overly clever in the transitions or effects, if you don't necessarily want it to be. don't get me wrong, they can look bloody spectacular - some of my favourite vids are really polished and impressive!!! but some of my faves are technically really basic, but they Understand the material and they Understand storytelling. equally some very kind people have told me that mine are some of their favourites (still makes me grin, months later!!!) and my transitions/effects are rudimentary at best. people will see your Vision because it is a Great Vision and will love your work regardless of the quality. you will improve with time, you will recycle bits and use them in new ways, you will learn skills and shortcuts that you will do better the next time. please pls plssss just create and have fun with it, god knows we need it in the world rn 💖

if there's anything else that i can answer or help with, anon, pls let me know!!! good luck my darling!!!💕

[mutantninjamidlifecrisis]

Your 23!!!!!???? I’m also 23??!!!!!

Dude; how the hell did you get so good at writing/pos/affectionate

What are your secrets and tips??

Oh wow this got longer than I thought it would be but anyway lets kick this off by saying age is no number! Don’t ever feel like you’re too young/old to start/improve. Also take any advice I give here with a grain of salt! I’m a stem major, I specialise in Zoology, not English. I’ve never taken a writing class, this is just what I've found works from my own experience and also from talking with other people that write fics.

I think first up, have a concept that you deeply, deeply love - an idea that you want to see so bad you’re willing to remove it from your brain and write it down onto a page. This is harder than it sounds.

There are two types of writers, I think. Type One – the people that want everything structured and figured out before they begin, and then there’s Type Two - the others that go: Fuck it, we ball, and type out the story without a plan and let it fly by the seat of their pants. Both styles have their pros and cons. Sometimes when your story is too structured and you’re trying to drive through plot points the story can feel very stiff and rail-roady, like you’re trying to play out certain beats rather than letting the narrative go where it would naturally flow. But sometimes letting the story flow without a plan for long enough means you get lost in it, and it never actually come to an overarching message or end point (i.e., it can get very wish-washy, and parts you want to really hit are less likely to because you haven’t had a pre-established plan leading up to it). You’ll probably naturally lean one way or the other, but I think both these styles can and should be interchangeable when you’re in the process of writing a story. I think having a good structure is particularly important the longer your fic is. The way I usually do things is to have a loose structure set out (typing out dotpoints of what I want to achieve from a chapter and the sequence of events that will play out, and keeping this as a reference during the writing process), and then let myself go wild with everything else in between (probably how I end up with 10k+ chapters. Which. Is not advisable, I think 2-7k is a much more reasonable number).

You might also want to have in mind how long your story is going to be and how much time you’re willing to put into writing it before you start <- (CJ has many sadly abandoned wips because they lost sight of where the story was going and didn’t plan out their time schedule appropriately) I try to plan ahead and have some vague idea of where I want the story to end. This helps a lot with motivation when writing.

If you’re able to write out a one-shot, I would highly recommend it. I tend to really like writing multi-chapter fics because the brainrot gets to me and I have no impulse control.

Once you have your concept and your loose structure (start, middle, climax, end), you’re going to want to expand on things. i.e. what are you trying to say with your story. What are the themes that really hit for you. What scenes are going to make you go absolutely feral (you can write these first, if you want). I’ve got a scene a chapter or two ahead that I already have in mind that’s going to make me go insane, and that’s the carrot at the end of the stick that’s pulling me through areas that I don’t want to write so much.

I also have like, sheets for each character with a list of dotpoints relating to their background, motivations, feelings towards other characters and how these dynamics may evolve over time etc. This is a really useful resource to flip back to when I’m writing.

Research, research, research. Google, read, watch videos. Expand on the stuff that you do not know, or stuff that you do know and want to expand upon (for example, I have had a panic attack before. I can write from experience of what that is like, however I do not know what it’s like from other’s perspectives, and they may have completely different symptoms to my own). The more information you’re able to gather, the more believable and interesting the story is going to be to the reader.

Do Not. I repeat. Do NOT write that you are a new writer/sorry im bad at summaries <- that kind of stuff in your fic description if you’re going post to ao3. I know it is tempting. I have imposter syndrome and the urge to lower people’s expectations before they jump in is very strong, but you gotta at least pretend to be confident. The summary is for marketing yourself and convincing people to give you a chance. You can add that stuff to the author’s notes if you’d really like. People will usually be willing to give you a shot even if you think you’re summary is bad. And often your writing is a lot better than you think it is (after having stared at it for hours). Also, the more you write and post, the better you will get.

I guess the only other advice is uh… Read! Read a lot. I don’t read nearly as much non-fanfiction as I should, but I am constantly reading, and I do believe that there's some non-published stuff out there that's a lot better than "official" books or whatever. There’s so many amazing authors out there – fic writers or no, and there's always going to be someone (probably a lot of someones) better than you. Don't be discouraged by that! Keep in mind the kind of stuff that really affects you, and how the writer got you to that point.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten/left stuff out here so if you ever have more questions feel free to ask. Also google is your friend! There’s so many incredible resources out there that can teach you how to write/structure/improve your story.

Most importantly, have fun with it. You’re not getting paid; you don’t owe anyone anything. If you’re not enjoying yourself, what’s the point?

[singsweetmelodies]

tagged by lovely @car-bo-hydrate to try this <3333

star sign: virgo

favourite holiday: new year

last meal: a hot mug of tea and some south african buttermilk rusks (comfort food breakfast!!! ❤️☕)

current favourite musician: probably taylor swift, but as always, it's hard to choose just one. OOOH! lately, dove cameron is high up on the list too

last music listened to: confetti (acoustic version) by little mix - LISTEN. ever since ms perrie edwards put out a tease that her solo music is coming soon, i have been on a big little mix high again, listening to all my old favourites and hyping myself up sooooo much for that perrie music drop 👀👀👀😍

last movie watched: my girlfriend and i rewatched shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings again last night for movie night <3 LOVE that movie, omfg. both my gf and i firmly declared all michelle yeoh's scenes our favourites 🤭

last tv show watched: you know, it's actually been really long since i've properly watched a TV show, so the answer to this is probably something silly like reruns of FRIENDS

last book/fic finished: 2 different answers here!! last book was iron flame by rebecca yarros (yes, i caved to all the hype and read it on the plane - yes, there were bits that pissed me off, but i mostly enjoyed it) and last fic was one of AO3 user venerat's landoscar masterpieces, "i'll kiss you first" <3

last book/fic abandoned: hmm... i tried to read this rom-com called "you & me: a mlm single dads romance" while on holiday in SA, and i just... couldn't make it more than 5 chapters in. the cringe (& the VERY american focus of... everything...) was just too much for me, especially because i tried to read this right after a super delightful wlw rom-com recommended to me by darling @duquesademiel. after that, this one just... couldn't compare. at all.

currently reading: well, i'm back to work, so my time for books has unfortunately dropped exponentially... all i'm actively reading rn is a bunch of f1 rpf fics, to be perfectly honest

last thing researched for writing/art/hyperfixation: "WHAT COULD CAUSE A SCANDAL IN THE REGENCY ERA" 🤣🤭

favourite online fandom memory: storytime sundays where we tell those long DM fics with @boxboxbrioche and @welightitup <3333

favourite old fandom you wish would drag you back in/have a resurgence: HMMM! i am mostly over all my old fandoms by now, to be fair, but if i really had to choose one... probably one direction?? because a proper resurgence would mean the reunion, right? (right?) ((so maybe i'm not quite as "over it" as i pretend 🤭))

favourite thing that you enjoyed that never had an active fandom: ohhhh, i can't think of a name immediately now, but it's definitely some or other book series that, if it had a fandom at all, was so tiny that i was practically the only person in it 🥲

tempting project that you're trying to rein in/don't have time for: LISTEN. i have had the most awful writer's block for months, and now that i can finally write again, somewhat, all that i want to write are the things that i should NOT be focusing on rn, because those things don't have deadlines but other things do *charles_wtf discord react*

prime example: about 2838474829 piarles smut WIPs and a/b/o and chussyverse explorations, instead of... my PWFE fic. some belated birthday fics. some celebration fics i promised nearly half a bloody YEAR ago. oops 😭😭 but, we'll get there. we will! just like this will be ferrari's year (i am delulu) xD

no idea who's done this yet and who hasn't, so i'm just going to tag some friends and hope i'm not double-tagging anyone - also, if i miss anyone, please feel free to say i tagged you anyway, because i'd love to see your answers <3 @boxboxbrioche @welightitup @hourcat @teamnick @sedicii @francophones @radiocheck, if any of you feel like giving this a go <3333

[materassassino]

Fic Writer Q&A

Tagged by the lovely @dangerouscommiesubversive

How many wips do you have currently?

Far more than is wise, to be honest. I fear the Star Wars ones will languish forever in the Pits of Abandonment, since I can feel the urge to work on them ebbing away. I have some Old Guard ones to finish, of course, but honestly Even in Another Time ate all my momentum and I feel a little burnt out. Too many wips, no energy at all.

Which one are you finding the hardest to finish?

Apart from the Star Wars ones, the Pride Flag Colour Collection. Since the fics are based around the meanings of the original Gilbert Baker flag colours, obviously each one needs to have a Theme and boy am I struggling with some of them. I need to actually sit and talk them over with someone instead of just waiting for inspiration to bonk me over the head.

What does it usually look like when inspiration strikes for you?

A fit of madness. True inspiration is 7000 words in one day, banged out in a state of semi-coherent mania. Those times are rare, but tbh I feel like I'm always chasing the high of emerging from the hole I crawled into about ten hours later, dehydrated and shaking.

Do you curate playlists for each fic or is your process different?

I think the only fic I ever wrote that had a playlist connected with it was Ever Decreasing Circles, and that was for a very specific part of it (the Reclaiming of Mandalore). Even then I don't consider it strictly part of the fic, it's just vibes that went with it. I don't listen to music as I write anyway, I need total silence.

Do you go balls to the wall and write as you go or are you more organized?

It depends on the fic. In general I have specific beats I want to hit, but how the characters get there is entirely up to them, so things can change as they go. Other times it really is just whatever goes. I'm not usually a multi-chapter writer so planning is a nebulous process for oneshots, however long they are. My plans are usually

<paragraph of actual fic> [This happens, then that happens. Thing??? With person. Profit!]

And my way of working is very much a patchwork. I'll write the scene that inspires me and then move on to something else and sew them together in the end. I had the ending of Ever Decreasing Circles written basically from the very beginning, for example, but the middle changed forms so many times.

--

Tagging @wingsofbadass, @non-un-topo, @emmalostinwonderland and @raedear! Do this, because I'm nosy.

[mypoisonedvine]

🎢🍆👀😅⛔️ for the asks!

(Sorry if that’s too many lol)

not too many at all!! sorry for the slow reply lol I had a busy night

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

I guess that depends on what you think is wild! if anything I might have to say my very dark marvel fic seven against one-- it's got so much going on (I mean it's literally seven men and one woman), you never really know what to expect, and it's insanely twisted and kinky. that was a long time ago so I'm not necessarily saying it's any good, but it's probably my "wildest" fic by a certain standard. I don't think I have the patience to write something like that now lol

🍆 Do you write the spicy stuffs? If so, what's your most popular nsfw fic?

well it's safe to say I write nsfw 😂 probably hundreds of fics on here by now and there are easily less than 10 that don't have smut. I thought my most popular fic was my first ever eddie munson fic, but it's actually this dilf!steve harrington request by just a few hundred notes. I never expected that one to blow up like it did!

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I'm working on something for Zemo inspired by the look Daniel had in the zookeeper's wife-- cause that character is not it but the styling is so sexy 😭 it's dark with some very fun power dynamics!

😅 What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

I'm not sure about outright embarrassed, but I do reread old stuff and think I could do it better if I did it now. I won't name names but I went through a really old series of mine and thought the whole thing was just sort of bland and rushed. things happened faster than I could explain the emotions and reasoning behind them. I think part of why I used to write that way is because I always imagined my fics as movies, and movies take place through action and not internal thought. so while I still am a very "visual" writer, I'm a lot better at actually describing how people are feeling and why they're doing what they're doing.

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

about a billion... I have multiple abandoned series, most of which I never even discussed on here, with over 10k already written. and they'll never see the light of day!

thank you for asking these!!

[emilykaldwen]

thanks so much for the tag @theladyelizabeth!

tagging: @acrossthesestars, @stannisfactions, @arrthurpendragon, @mercurygray, @alicentive, @nyctophilic0vitnir, @selfproclaimedunicorn, @themaradwrites, @lya-dustin, @dragonsoftheeast

1. How many works do you have on AO3?: I have 9 so far! I ended up deleting some old works that were abandoned and didn't have a lot of interaction that were over a decade old (and they didn't have bookmarks either so I wasn't worried)

3. What fandoms do you write for?: Currently, House of the Dragon is the hyperfixation

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Maiden and the Drowning Boy - HotD Canon Divergent

Soulmates Never Die - The Borgias (my oldest fic)

Fight For Me (If It's Not Too Late) - Teen Wolf

Boy With a Broken Soul (Heart With a Gaping Hole) - HotD Fae AU

You're the Lighting of the Blaze - Hotd Canon Divergent

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Always! (and if I don't it's legit cause I forgot/thought I did and AO3 ate the comment). I love the community aspect of fic writing so if you take the time to leave me a comment, I love to engage. I especially love it when commenters ask questions and look for discussion.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? probably one of the old Prequel Star Wars Fics I wrote way back in the day.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Right now, it's a tie between You're the Lighting of the Blaze and Bright Star

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not on my fics directly but I have gotten some rancid hate in my inbox re: Abby (And then that escalated to telling me to end myself so). This is why I now have anons turned off. Sorry guys.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do write smut! I'm not sure what it means by 'what kind'? I've done a few solo smut-shots, and Maiden will have a few explicit scenes when this arc is completed. I'm definitely someone who loves Plot with a side of Porn, and as long as the smut flows well and isn't overly repetitive, I'm here for it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I have written a crossover! I had a mini-series of Whedon-verse/Supernatural called It Must Be Tuesday back on LiveJournal. Sam and Dean meet River Tam in a bar and the apocalypse happen. Dean and Buffy hooked up. I was acutally very proud of that LOL

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not stolen but I did have some concepts lifted from a Once Upon a Time fic

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I'm aware of!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! Soulmates Never Die was co-written with a friend at the time (we've lost touch since then), and then when I was in the Charmed fandom, I adopted out an abandoned fic of mine and was the beta/co-writer on a big future Fic series with Wyatt, Chris, and Chris' friends. Those were some fantastic stories.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship? Oh man. I really love me Jacelaena and Helaemond still has a soft place in my heart (but the trajectory of a lot of the fics has just been... a turn off). Harry/Luna will always be warm and fuzzy for me (I used to be the ship captain back in the Fiction Alley days). Buffy/Angel was my first real Fandom OTP.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? Hmmm... I don't have anything right now that fits that. I did have Isabelle Martin's Life is Totally Over which was a Derek/Lydia future Kid fic that I was actually enjoying but the fandom was such an utter turn off by that point.

16. What are your writing strengths? God fuck if I know. I think I'm really good at tying things together/call backs and really emphasizing those themes. I like to think I'm thoughtful at cause/effect of character action and consequences. 

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I feel like my descriptions are lacking and I get lost in the weeds. I struggle with finding the stakes in a story. Conflict is difficult. 

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? me crying with dote on doing some appropriately translated high valyrian for Maiden instead of just copy/pasting from one of the online translators. Only very, very, VERY few people will know that they're grammatically correct and honoring the original development of HV, but it was important to ME.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Star Wars back in the late 90s.

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written? Maiden obviously holds my heart and soul, and it's always going to be everything for me, but I'm actually incredibly proud of Fight For Me (If It's Not Too Late). It was a two parter, and I wrote it in the span of a week? Maybe two weeks? and it was the last thing I wrote for a very long time.

[welcomingdisaster]

I also have an insane Gil-galad epic in progress! I'm curious-- tell me a little bit about yours?

oh hey hey hey! you are opening a pandora's box lmao.

basically! i'm a fin-galad truther and also a "gil-galad is both complicated and deeply flawed" believer and i have a little WiP i keep chipping away at that goes through each name gil-galad holds over the years. this involves a vaguely genderqueer/transmasc gil-galad, with oscillating points of view and pronouns. the outline, which i will probably fuck with, goes along the lines of:

finduilas: finduilas, born in tol sirion, comes to nargothrond as a child. her father, orodreth, loves her very much but is deeply protective of her after the ruin of his island, and wishes to shield her from the realities of war. she begins to idolize finrod, her uncle, and models herself heavily after him. feeling stifled by her father's protectiveness, she also develops a habit telling little lies that spins into a habit of telling big lies. after finrod's leaving, finduilas and orodreth fight about the placement of a family portrait. orodreth, grieving his brother and feeling abandoned by his kin, asks her, for the first time -- whose child do you think you are, mine or his?

faelivrin: chapter of three interspersed scenes, which are told out of order, cutting in and out of one another. in the first, gwindor and finduilas fall in love, and he gives her the name faelivrin. in the next, a badly wounded faelivrin returns to nargothrond, sneaking around a sleeping glaurung, and finds the bodies of both gwindor and her father. finally, in brethil, one of the women of the haladin tell a journeying elf-lord the story of burying the elven princess, unaware of whom they speak to.

finellach: the refugees of nargothrond gather, and debate where to flee. it is then that the king's child returns, wounded in the chest/shoulder and carrying orodreth's crown, recovered from the wreckage. they refuse the name faelivrin, speaking of the defilement of the pools, and take on the name finellach. the chapter ends with finellach cutting their hair in grief and taking the crown of nargothrond as the last surviving member of the royal family. gildor, a ward of finrod's house, crowns them.

finwain: after a short timeskip, we see finellach with their hair dyed black, styling himself after the kings of the noldor of old and very pointedly seeking power. when some of his newest followers, refugees from gondolin, are confused about his parentage, taking him for a descendant of fingon's house, he neither confirms nor denies. he meets with cirdan, who is troubled by this development and urges him not to forget his roots. finwain, whose following and influence among the noldor grows, dismisses that. forgetting is both emotionally and politically easier.

artanaro: war of the wrath chapter! meeting with finarfin, his grandfather, finwain speaks in rusty quenya, having partly forgotten the language he had learned in childhood from orodreth. he wishes to tell finarfin everything, but cannot bring himself to do so, and when finarfin asks if he is orodreth's daughter, he denies it, naming himself a son of finrod. finarfin knows he is lying, but not push. after a moment, finwain gives him the name artanaro, orodreth's mother-name.

ereinion: post war of the wrath! elrond, who is treating ereinion's ever-present shoulder injury, presses him about which kings he is the scion of. ereinion jokingly tells him several different stories, none of which are true.

gil-galad: after ereinion's fall in the battle against sauron, elrond and gildor speak of their legacy, and of the way the story will be taught in rivendell.

this is basically the summary!! it might change a million times over as i actually write it! but it's definitely a "story that plays on repeat in my head while i drive" kind of vibe lmao

[lumentears]

20 Questions for 20 Writers!

tagged by @treeofnonsense, thank you so so much!

How many works do you have on ao3? 33, though there are 3 or 4 more on an abandoned old account and 2 on a secret kink account I've lost access to. Some of my fics are anonymous as well. And that's not even touching my abandoned and my current account on the german FF.de...

What's your total ao3 word count? Excluding all works on other accounts, 368,102 words.

What fandoms do you write for? Currently I only write for tlt on ao3, though I have written for Fire Emblem, NieR: Automata, Arcane, Dracula, Steven Universe and...sigh...supergirl before. In German I also write for The Hunger Games, and I really really really want to write for Bloodborne as well.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? I fear this question, because despite me having improved a lot since these days, I think it's going to be very Supergirl-heavy. Ah well, here goes: 1. Where The Heart Is, 2. despite everything, it's still you, 3. Love Language, 4. Praise for Whatever (FINALLY A NON-SUPERGIRL ENTRY I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO CRY) and 5. There Beneath

Do you respond to comments? I sure do try! It takes me a long time, especially if the comment is really in-depth, because I want to make my comment worthwhile, but I do my best to answer every comment.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? enough said about us, which is an exploration of Marta's feelings for and about Judith, with the story [SPOILERS!] being told from Marta's point of view in the river bubble as she comes to terms with the fact that something is horribly, frighteningly wrong with Judith.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I mean, probably one of the dozen supergirl fluff fics I wrote way back when.

Do you get hate on fics? I got hate on my very first account on the German fanfiction archive, but the general tone and vibe is VERY different to a lot of english speaking fandom spaces I'm a part of, and most of it was just young teen mudslinging.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I love, love, love writing smut, and not just because I'm a horny bastard! (though I certainly won't be beating the horny bastard allegations any time soon.) I think smut is a great way to show characters in a vulnerable position and explore their relationships to themselves and to each other! They are very much like fight scenes in that way.

Do you write crossovers? No.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Sadly, no, but when I have the time I might translate selected works of mine into German.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? All writing is co-writing to me, because my beta reader is insanely involved in the writing process and I have several friends to bounce ideas off of on discord.

What's your all-time favourite ship? It's gotta be jodybeth, I am SO insane about them.

What's one WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I really, really wish I could finish one of my Fire Emblem WIPs, even children get older (and I'm getting older too). I really had some cool ideas of where I wanted the story to go. A lot of the vibes of this story actually got absorbed into my jodybeth postcanon au.

What are your writing strengths? I think I'm pretty good at exploring characters relationships and emotions, even if these emotions are unflattering or unhelpful. Also, dialogue! My favourite part of writing <3.

What are your writing weaknesses? I hate nothing more than writing connective tissue between scenes. I hate getting characters from a to b, I wish I could just insert a cartoony bumper segment swirl, you know the one.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Only if I'm reasonably confident in my grasp of that language.

First fandom you wrote for? It was one of those tried and true "what if the avengers all liked each other and lived in Stark Tower together" fics.

Favourite fic you've written? I am really proud of my jodybeth postcanon au series while we are still alive, in fact, I'm thinking of writing a third and final part sometime soon. However I also think my New Rho Vigilante Cam fic wipe you clean with dirty hands is pretty fucking good.

Thanks again for tagging me, and I'd like to tag @ptolemia, @arithmonym, and @friendamedes, if you want to!

[zukkacore]

i can't. remember if i sent in numbers for the writer's ask already. if i did, crying ignore this but: 11, 12, and 30?

11. a wip you'd like to finish someday

Oh god i started so many just w/in the past few days. Jace hireling au obviously. jaceporter first time. Actually, the true honest to god earnest answer is i always felt terrible abandoning my multichap danganronpa talentswap. It's so old i really don't think its indicative of my current skill level but it was so much fun and it means so much to be and its so long and i did have a whole ending planned out but im just not that good at writing detectivework. I do think there's some good shit in there still tho.

The other answer that's kinda cheating is i have a fantasy based Taming of the shrew retelling i've been like retooling for like a goddamn year. It's such a fucked play but i have so many mixed feelings abt it. My feelings on taming are very similar to del toro's on pinocchio in that it's very pro domestication of the human spirit that i think is kinda depressing. Like im very centrist abt whether the play is irredeemable or whether its not meant to be taken seriously, but the themes are interesting. In my mind, there's like. all this stuff abt performance and palability and. Individiuality vs community. Acceptance vs ostracization. This tension between vulnerability n connection vs. power and control and how those are competing needs w/in people. Like. Kate n Petrucchio are both outsiders and petruchio could choose vulnerability and connection w/ his wife and instead he chooses social approval in a patriarchal society which he gains through proving how good he is at subjugating his wife. The themes are INTERESTING it's just the fuckin CONCLUSION (aka its morally good and just to gaslight your wife actually) are fuckin DIRE. On the other hand. Kate and Petruchio have mad chemistry and is it so wrong to think they should fuck nasty?

12. a trope you're really into right now

... 4 jaces? I feel like i have a weird stance on the clonefucking joke poll that goes around every few months (in that its not the same as masturbation b/c the minute their consciousness is different from yours thats like. a full person but not a person i would be compelled to be with but maybe im to arospec for that) so its never particularly compelled me before, like i thought that shit in Loki was kinda cringe. but just bc i don't find the idea particularly compelling for myself doesn't mean Jace can't be a little obsessed w/ himself. Tbh the idea of being a xerox of a xerox of a xerox in general is very interesting for me tho.

There's also something I think i keep returning to abt like. Having to renegotiate or reclaim power and love in a relationship that should otherwise be fucked and heartbreaking. By all intents and purposes, there should be one break at the heart of this that ruins everything, a moment at the beginning that should have ruined everthing from jump. but if we're stuck together, I'm determined to reconcile w/ myself that there's love there. It's very Jaceporter. It's very Kate n petruchio. Very hades n persephone I have another very old school ship that actually has something very similar happen. If you can figure it out based on this text i sent my friend then you were probaly on tumblr when a certain webcomic was updating.

30. share a fic you're especially proud of

I feel like me giving so many answers to these is a total copout. The truthful answer is that I have like a 10k togakure (hiro n togami for those curious) pwp fic thats on my google drive somewhere that i've never posted bc ive been too embarrassed and the ship is NOT that popular so i think like .5 people would read it. But it's like my favorite thing i've ever written. I might post it eventually. If i pluck up the courage. I have sent it to like 2-3 people in my lifetime. I'd cite a scene i like, but I like all of it. And also most if it is smut.

The half-hearted answer is my talentswap bc i am fuckin proud of it im just embarrassed bc i abandoned it. I'm legit so sad. I'm such a Hiro n Mukuro should be proxy siblings truther and im glad their scene was the last thing i posted but now it will never come into fruition.

So i guess. My default answer is my Sky High AU for It chapter 2. It's called Welcome To the Loser Track and it's reddie and in it Richie is the kid who glows and Eddie is the kid who turns into a guinea pig. I actually really like the movie Sky High a lot, I think it's a really good kids movie and it's got a lot of fun setpieces and cool design components and even some of the camerawork is pretty neat and cute stuff in it that's rly underrated. Its like one of the main Things i feel like ppl who are my friends or have been w/ me a long time know about me, and the silly thing abt me is that i really do earnestly like Zack/Magenta as a ship, but mainly bc i just think Zack gives off baby butch dyke vibes (and. I hate to use the phrase. but it's kinda black cat x golden retriever vibes). I actually like it so much that Sky High reddie is probably my favorite version of reddie, and i do think the other Losers in that mode are also very fun (Bill is strong n can fly, Mike controls plants, Stan melts, Bev is pyrokinetic, and Ben is a technopath). The main thing abt it is that it's COMPLETE (i have so many abandoned wips), but i am geuinely proud of it. I don't think the writing is like always the most polished but i think there is a lot of interesting queer subtext in that movie (in that there is basically a coming out scene even if the conclusion of the story is that he was straight the whole time lol) that i kinda picked at and did a good job elaborating on. There's actually a lot of underutilized subtext in that movie that isn't rly interrogated that i think is fun. I just think there's very romantic abt two people with "useless" powers seeing the beauty in each other.

I feel like some old school mutuals from my IT days already know this, but this is probably my favorite scene from the fic:

[acertainmoshke]

🧥 🍎 and 🌙 for the October ask game!

Ooh these are some good ones, thank you! I'll start with Cold Iron for this ask. And under a cut because, predictably, this got long.

🍎 apple: let’s talk about friendship in your wip. do you have any favorite friend/platonic dynamics? any friendships gone sour?

You know that scene in Leverage where Parker and Elliot are trapped in an ice cave having a deep conversation about how they have a darkness Hardison doesn't share because of who they are, what they've been through, and the things they have to be willing to do? That's basically Shakatra and Doug. By the time they meet, both are considerably more likely to kill casually and, while not exactly enjoying it, both understand it as a necessity so their better friends can be safe. Shaka introduces him to the idea of wandering deep into a rain-dripping forest and screaming at the top of your lungs, and Doug takes them to seedy bars to chill for once. Both of them are usually the most dangerous person in the room (Doug is human so of the two, Shaka is much more of a danger but compared to other humans Doug is awful fast and mean). They can both be kind of dicks in a very much not joking way, but it's refreshing that neither of them is bothered by the general grumbling, complaining, and insulting.

There WILL be some friendship drama but I'm not nearly far enough to know what it is yet.

🌙 moon: do any of your OCs have dark backstories or secrets they’re trying to keep?

Oof, does Shaka ever. This is actually my really self-indulgent darkness hit here. Not only were they an unwanted changeling child (in the early 1900's!), but their mother determined that rather than abandon them to die it was better to punish them for the loss of her real daughter. So they were abused and bullied throughout childhood, struggled as an autistic inhuman kid in school, got beat up by older brothers until they were old enough to strike back. But they stayed, even after they met Kris and understood that leaving was an option, they stayed because of their baby brother Richard. He was the only one who actually liked them, and they took care of him and protected him back.

What they're trying to hide is that they killed him.

They didn't, of course. Probably. If I really want to go dark I'll make it accidentally their fault, but as of right now what happened was he accidentally fell off the fire escape in a fight with his mother, and Shaka wasn't fast enough to save him. Both of them fell 7 stories. They weren't human, they survived with only bruises (and the general idea that they were unkillable and should test that theory as much as possible). He...did not. They ran away after that, and as of book 1 it's the only thing they haven't been fully honest with Kris about.

In later stories, they are also trying to hide who they were back at the beginning of the series as they learn to be less violent and have more compassion, they don't want to admit who they used to be.

🧥 warm coat: share a happy or fuzzy scene from your wip!

There haven't been a lot of these so far, but I'll do my best...

Ok, there haven't been any so I'm just going to write something. This takes place towards the end of the first book.

It was good to be home, but the platform seemed smaller than before. I took the stairs two at a time and spun on my bare feet at the bottom, letting my body fly into the nearest wall. The air stirred slightly and I raised my hand instinctively to catch the box of cigarettes. Kris, holding Jack on one hip, winked at me. I flicked the first one and the end sputtered into glowing life. I let myself take a long, comfortingly familiar, drag on it before flicking another one to life and placing it carefully between his lips, on the side away from where Jack snored against his shoulder. Maggie looked around and dropped Cassie's hand. Cassie, released, swayed until she almost collapsed, stumbled, and blinked up at the flickering lights. Maggie adjusted her glasses. "Think we could get some fire or something in here?" I went to share a glance with Kris, something like We've never needed one before, but he was already moving. There was a pile of paper bags in one corner with paper wrappings flung on top from all our diner meals. There may have been a trash can at the bottom of the pile at one point, but it was impossible to tell anymore. He tossed several into a small mound in a more central part of the platform, under a light. And then he threw his cigarette in the middle. Maybe it was the oil that soaked through the paper in big greasy stains, but it worked surprisingly well. Soon the fire flickered up almost to my eye level, the smoke drifting lazily up the stairs and down the street. "I'm really tired," Cassie said, yawning. She was leaning against the grubby tiled wall, in stark contrast to her blue silk gown, and tugging idly at one dark pigtail. We settled the kids into our old nook. They had enough room to burrow under the blankets until both vanished entirely. There wouldn't be room for two kids and three adults, but that was a problem for future us. The fire blazed. Warmth crept into my fingers and toes for what felt like the first time in my life. I lay my head on Kris' shoulder and he didn't pull away. He was huddling into the circle of heat and turning to ask Maggie if she wanted to try our diner tomorrow, which was definitely better than the one we met her in. I still didn't understand why this made her laugh, but things were good again and we were home and safe and actually warm and for just this moment that was all that mattered.

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