#and often I'll have thought the words to describe a scene out in my head and it's fine and then I go to write them down

[voluptuarian]

At least once every 6 months I become convinced I just literally cannot write fiction anymore. Considering that's a thing that actually happened with my poetry writing and my drawing ability it's a somewhat concerning idea. Currently in one of these phases now.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Harry Potter is Actually Really Clever

So often, I feel like Harry is underrated in his own series and I want to talk about how much I love Harry James Potter. Harry is my favorite character in the books and I want to showcase some moments of Harry proving the Sorting Hat knew what it was talking about when it comes to Harry possibly doing well in Slytherin and even Ravenclaw.

(I have more moments listed in my notes, and I'm in book 6 in my current reread, so I definitely am not covering everything)

Let's start then with the words of the Sorting Hat itself:

“Hmm,” said a small voice in his ear. “Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There’s talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting….So where shall I put you?” Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. “Not Slytherin, eh?” said the small voice. “Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that

(Philosopher's Stone, page 88)

The Hat says Harry is brave enough for Gryffindor, clever enough and talented enough for Ravenclaw and has the ambition and thirst to prove himself for Slytherin. And the hat isn't wrong about it's assessment of Harry. Harry is clever and talented and I so often find it underplayed in fics, or ones that do include it, acting like it's fanon characterization when it's really isn't.

Harry Potter is canonically a BAMF.

So, here I'm going to talk about his cleverness and give some moments of Harry being clever from the books.

(I'll have a different post for his magical prowess.)

Harry Has Brilliant Memory

So, Harry James Potter practically has close to an eidetic memory, and no one really seems to mention it.

An eidetic memory is described as an almost perfect recollection of images or events. And Harry actually shows himself as being very capable of it:

Angelina: “…Harry, didn’t you do something to your glasses to stop the rain fogging them up when we played Hufflepuff in that storm?” “Hermione did it,” said Harry. He pulled out his wand, tapped his glasses and said, “Impervius!”

(Order of the Phoenix, page 379)

In thus scene its raining during a Quidditch match and Angelina asks Harry about a spell he used a year before. Harry remembered that moment, remembered Hermione was actually the one who cast the spell, a spell he himself never cast before this moment, and he then casts it perfectly from memory.

Harry remembers the incantation and wand movement perfectly enough to succeed on his first try.

Actually, almost every time we see him cast spells he gets the wand movement and incantation right on the first try (even his first attempt at a patronus worked, the happy memory just wasn't strong enough)

In general, they moments we see Harry fail at casting spells on the first try is when he overthinks it and fails himself like that.

Harry stared at the letters in brackets. Nvbl . . . that had to mean “nonverbal.” Harry rather doubted he would be able to bring off this particular spell; he was still having difficulty with nonverbal spells, something Snape had been quick to comment on in every D.A.D.A. class. On the other hand, the Prince had proved a much more effective teacher than Snape so far. Pointing his wand at nothing in particular, he gave it an upward flick and said Levicorpus! inside his head. “Aaaaaaaargh!”

(Half-Blood Prince, page 239)

Harry tends to fail potions, and nonverbal spells when Snape is breathing down on him expecting him to fail, though, in this example, the moment Harry feels he can succeed the spell and isn't overthinking it, he casts it perfectly and nonverbally on the first attempt.

He is the same with potions:

Snape, meanwhile, seemed to have decided to act as though Harry were invisible. Harry was, of course, well used to this tactic, as it was one of Uncle Vernon’s favorites, and on the whole was grateful he had to suffer nothing worse. In fact, compared to what he usually had to endure from Snape in the way of taunts and snide remarks, he found the new approach something of an improvement and was pleased to find that when left well alone, he was able to concoct an Invigoration Draught quite easily. At the end of the lesson he scooped some of the potion into a flask, corked it, and took it up to Snape’s desk for marking, feeling that he might at last have scraped an E.

(Order of the Phoenix, page 660)

When Snape wasn't breathing down his neck and stressing him, even without the Half-Blood Prince's superior instructions, Harry is good at potions. He accomplishes the potion to a level of Exceeding Expectations easily. The problem is never his skill, memory, or talent; usually, it's stress, being stuck in his own head, or carelessness (did anyone diagnose him with ADHD?)

Another example of his eidetic memory in OOP:

“Well, you know, they do work well on non-magical wounds,” said Hermione fairly. “I suppose something in that snake’s venom dissolves them or something. . . . I wonder where the tearoom is?” “Fifth floor,” said Harry, remembering the sign over the Welcome Witch’s desk.

(Order of the Phoenix, page 508)

When Harry describes St. Mongos for the first time (about a week before the above scene) he reads a sign that describes what is located in each floor of the hospital.

A week later, without reading that sign again, Harry can recall where the tea room is since he has that sign he read once a week ago, memorized.

Harry is Sneaky

Harry is a proper sneaky slythein and actually has more cunning moments than some slytherins in the books. Here are a few examples I have from my notes:

“Should call Filch, I should, if something’s a-creeping around unseen.” Harry had a sudden idea. “Peeves,” he said, in a hoarse whisper, “the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible.” Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock.

(Philosopher's Stone, page 197)

Harry is a good liar and scared of Peeves like this in his first year.

“…He likes to keep in touch with me, though . . . keep up with my news . . . check if I’m happy. . . .” And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon’s face, Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.

(Prisoner of Azkaban, page 435)

But their attitude had changed since they had found out that Harry had a dangerous murderer for a godfather — for Harry had conveniently forgotten to tell them that Sirius was innocent.

(Goblet of Fire, page 24)

Again, Harry lying and tricking the Dursleys so they won't hurt him. Leveling Sirius as a threat against them.

“Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess — I let you pass. Answer wrongly — I attack. Remain silent — I will let you walk away from me unscathed.”

[the riddle and Harry thinking through it]

“Spy . . . er . . . spy . . . er . . .” said Harry, pacing up and down. “A creature I wouldn’t want to kiss . . . a spider!” The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for him to pass. “Thanks!” said Harry, and, amazed at his own brilliance, he dashed forward.

(Goblet of Fire, page 629)

I skipped the sphinx's riddle, now the riddle isn't a hard one, but still, Harry isn't stupid. But he thinks he is. He even tells himself during that scene:

Harry’s stomach slipped several notches. It was Hermione who was good at this sort of thing, not him. He weighed his chances. If the riddle was too hard, he could keep silent, get away from the sphinx unharmed, and try and find an alternative route to the center.

(Goblet of Fire, 629)

But it's just Harry and his low self-esteem. He solves the riddle quickly thinking aloud near the Sphinx and he does solve it, and is amazed by it because he doesn't think of himself as smart, even though he is.

Most of the riddles to the Ravenclaw common room are probably along this line of difficulty too. It just goes to show he isn't stupid.

“There,” she said, handing it to him. “Drink it before it gets cold, won’t you? Well, now, Mr. Potter . . . I thought we ought to have a little chat, after the distressing events of last night.” He said nothing. She settled herself back into her seat and waited. When several long moments had passed in silence, she said gaily, “You’re not drinking up!” He raised the cup to his lips and then, just as suddenly, lowered it. One of the horrible painted kittens behind Umbridge had great round blue eyes just like Mad-Eye Moody’s magical one, and it had just occurred to Harry what Mad-Eye would say if he ever heard that Harry had drunk anything offered by a known enemy. “What’s the matter?” said Umbridge, who was still watching him. “Do you want sugar?” “No,” said Harry. He raised the cup to his lips again and pretended to take a sip, though keeping his mouth tightly closed. Umbridge’s smile widened. “Good,” she whispered. “Very good. Now then . . .” She leaned forward a little. “Where is Albus Dumbledore?” “No idea,” said Harry promptly.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 630)

Harry is clever enough to recognize drinking anything Umbridge gives him is a bad idea, so he doesn't. And he does so without her realizing.

“even if you do cause a diversion, how is Harry supposed to talk to him?” “Umbridge’s office,” said Harry quietly. He had been thinking about it for a fortnight and could think of no alternative; Umbridge herself had told him that the only fire that was not being watched was her own. “Are — you — insane?” said Hermione in a hushed voice. Ron had lowered his leaflet on jobs in the cultivated fungus trade and was watching the conversation warily. “I don’t think so,” said Harry, shrugging. “And how are you going to get in there in the first place?” Harry was ready for this question. “Sirius’s knife,” he said. “Excuse me?” “Christmas before last Sirius gave me a knife that’ll open any lock,” said Harry. “So even if she’s bewitched the door so Alohomora won’t work, which I bet she has —”

(Order of the Phoenix, page 658)

Harry can and does strategies. He planned how to get into Umbeidge's office. He employed his friends and actually led them. Being a leader and a strategist — rules we see him grow more into later.

Harry’s mind was racing. The Death Eaters wanted this dusty spun-glass sphere. He had no interest in it. He just wanted to get them all out of this alive, make sure that none of his friends paid a terrible price for his stupidity . . . The woman stepped forward, away from her fellows, and pulled off her hood. Azkaban had hollowed Bellatrix Lestrange’s face, making it gaunt and skull-like, but it was alive with a feverish, fanatical glow. “You need more persuasion?” she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Very well — take the smallest one,” she ordered the Death Eaters beside her. “Let him watch while we torture the little girl. I’ll do it.” Harry felt the others close in around Ginny. He stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest. “You’ll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us,” he told Bellatrix. “I don’t think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?” She did not move; she merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin mouth. “So,” said Harry, “what kind of prophecy are we talking about anyway?” He could not think what to do but to keep talking. Neville’s arm was pressed against his, and he could feel him shaking. He could feel one of the other’s quickened breath on the back of his head. He was hoping they were all thinking hard about ways to get out of this, because his mind was blank.

(Order of the Pheonix, page 783)

This is a bit of a long quote, but I really like it. Harry gets the Death Eaters at an impasse because they can't destroy the prophecy. Then, when they threatened Ginny, he changed tactics and got them talking to buy time.

And even when he says his mind is blank:

“What?” whispered Hermione more urgently behind him. “Can this be?” said Malfoy, sounding maliciously delighted; some of the Death Eaters were laughing again, and under cover of their laughter, Harry hissed to Hermione, moving his lips as little as possible, “Smash shelves —”

...

“NOW!” yelled Harry. Five different voices behind him bellowed “REDUCTO!” Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit. The towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart

(Order of the Phoenix, pages 785-786 and 787)

He's still the one coming up with plans and pulling them out of there.

And if we look at his grades:

(Half-Blood Prince, page 102)

He is very far from failing academically. Actually considering how little studying Harry actually does, he receives very high grades, even for Hogwarts' abysmal education standards. Harry is naturally smart enough and talented enough that with the bare minimum of effort, he can get almost exclusively Es (his failing being in History, an exam he didn't finish, and Divination, which Harry has only been thought bullshit in).

Makes me wish we saw him put in an active effort. I bet it all would've been Os with his memory.

Even Potions, which Harry is supposedly bad at, he got an E...

I just... Harry is just really smart and it kind of frustrates me how I don't see enough fics that treat Harry being clever and with a cunning streak as if it's canon, even though it very much is.

I don't know, maybe I'm just reading the wrong fics...

[cuubism]

I heard that Silly Rabbit is the shit

unless you're @magnusbae in disguise i don't even know HOW you stumbled on that au or remembered it after all this time 😂 but it is, uh, that's one way to describe it.

watch video for context

this au is nonlinear and random and made up of little vignettes so i suppose i'll post a scene. the only scene i won't, or i suppose shouldn't, post, as buns tells me it must be withheld for humorous gratification, is the actual scene that references that video 😂

please note. this fic is 90% CRACK and not meant to be taken seriously

---

Sculpture Class

“Why am I hearing student rumors about you being in their classes?” Hob demanded, hands on his hips. Dream, lounging on the couch in his office, didn’t deign to get up. “Is there some kind of Dream lookalike on campus I need to be aware of? Or are you just tormenting them again?”

“Tormenting your students is only one of my many activities,” Dream drawled. Hob frowned disapprovingly, which Dream found quite amusing. “But this is not one of those times. Am I not allowed to explore the university?”

“Well, you aren’t actually enrolled here, but I’m sure you’ve found a way around that.”

“Nobody dares to question me.”

Hob shook his head, but the admonishment in the gesture quickly ceded to fondness. “I’m sure they start daydreaming too quickly. What classes are you taking, anyway?”

Dream smiled, pressing his hands together. “For now, that is my secret.”

Hob sighed, but ultimately smiled. “Alright, you. Be all mysterious if you must.”

Dream would. He was no longer such a mystery to Hob as he had been in the past, nor did he want to be. But it was good to hold some things for himself. And it was always fun to keep Hob speculating.

Hob would learn about his newfound human hobbies soon enough, anyway.

-----

Crafting with his hands was… meditative. Dream understood, then, why humans spent time trying to banish their many thoughts and daydreams with stillness and silence – he had become so used to the cacophony that lived within him that it was startling to feel it recede to the background. Startling, and peaceful, a moment of clarity for deep focus and reevaluation.

Dream’s mind, such that he had one in the traditional sense of the concept, was a constant flurry of sounds and images, words and feelings, colors and memories. All thought, all imagination, all dreams, all nightmares touched him and lived within him. Dream was used to this and did not find it disturbing, he supposed it was in the way a longtime city dweller may become used to the incessant traffic, chatter, music, and humanity.

Losing it had been disturbing. Waking in Burgess’s cage to absolute, total silence inside his own mind had been one of the most disturbing things Dream had experienced in the past millennium. The Dreaming had been gone from his awareness, the songs of the dreams, too. The silence, the pure utter silence, a century of it – it was the one time in his long existence that Dream had genuinely feared he might lose his mind the way Delirium had, that he might fall into the slipstream simply for having nothing to latch onto. Ultimately, he’d had to ground himself in the meager physical sensations of his prison to avoid it.

Now, Dream was free again to drift in the Dreaming as he so wished. And the meditation of physical creating was not the horrible silence of having something fundamental ripped out of him. Rather, it was like stepping from the crowded city streets into an empty field for the first time in ages. Still, there were the buzzing insects, and the whispering trees. But the hardest edges of the clamor were distant, a memory.

It was peaceful. Peace was not something Dream experienced often. Strange, to be finding it more and more frequently here in the waking world.

He focused on the clay in his hands. It was a slippery medium – literally and figuratively – liquid and wanting to find its own shape rather than the one Dream had in mind for it. It was already all over his hands and arms, but he didn’t mind. Better to be mired in the creation while creating.

He worked, letting the pleasant haze of focus fill his mind. The art room was surprisingly easy to work in; Dream had expected to be annoyed by the presence of others in his space, but as it turned out, the focus of so many minds on creation built an ideal atmosphere for it.

He put his project together carefully, patiently letting the clay have its fits and disagreements. How fun, to work with something that talked back, in its own language. Dream had really been missing out on physical art; he’d have to keep working on rectifying that.

The day slipped by. By the time Dream had the piece the way he wanted it, night had fallen. He set it aside to dry – this would take a few days, and then it would have to be fired, as well. How thrilling, he thought, to be forced to wait to see his finished work.

He had been indulging himself for a while, and should return to the Dreaming to make sure nothing was awry. Before he did so, he stepped briefly through to Hob’s flat to say hello.

“There you are,” said Hob, sitting at the kitchen table with tea and a book. “I was starting to think you’d wandered off.”

“I wander, but I always return,” said Dream, bending to kiss him.

“I know.”

“But I must go to the Dreaming, I have left it awhile.”

Hob sighed. “I figured as much. Come back soon, hm?”

Dream hummed in response, and Hob tugged him down into a proper kiss, holding him close for several long moments before letting him go.

“I’m so curious what you’ve been up to, but I have a feeling you aren’t going to tell me because you want to be all mysterious,” he said when they parted.

“You feel correctly,” said Dream.

Hob waved him away. “Go on, you. Go be brooding and secretive in your realm so I can miss you more than I do already.”

“You desire to miss me?”

“Well, considering having you here all the time is a losing game, and not something I’d ask of you anyway, I figured I might as well lean into the thrill of missing you and getting you back,” Hob said. He looked up at Dream with a smile that was knowing, fond, tinged with the slightest melancholy. In that look, Dream felt understood, in both his wandering, and his constancy.

“You will have me back,” he said.

“I know, love. Now go on, Lord of Dreams, your royal duties await.”

Dream caressed his cheek, and then vanished.

----

Several days later, he had collected his sculpture, hardened from living clay into permanence. Now that it was complete, he was not certain what he was supposed to do with it. Dreams, once completed, went off to perform their functions, to continue evolving. This was static, completed. Dream was at a bit of a loss.

He took it to Hob’s office. Hob was annotating a book when Dream arrived. Notes for lecture, Dream supposed. Hob looked up to smile at him when he came in, but he seemed engrossed in what he was doing – until his gaze caught on the sculpture in Dream’s hands.

“That’s pretty. Is it a raven?”

“Three, in fact.” They twined in a flurry around each other, a carefully balanced triad that appeared off-kilter but held itself upright nonetheless. Figuring out the weighting of it had been an interesting challenge.

“Where did you get it?”

“I made it.”

Hob looked at the sculpture again more closely. “What, in the Dreaming?”

“No,” said Dream, placing the thing on Hob’s desk. While he was happy with the end result of the work, his interest in it was rapidly waning. Unlike his creations in the Dreaming, this sculpture was not alive, it did not move and think and affect the world around it, and there was little of interest in something so static. Unlike the Dreaming, where he had to focus on crafting the right dream, the right nightmare, had to be cognizant of the end result, here, the interest was solely in the creating. “Out of clay.”

He wandered over to Hob’s bookshelf, pulling out a text he hadn’t seen on the shelf before and flopping down on the couch to page through it. He held a vague awareness of all books that had been written, found them drifting in humanity’s subconscious, but he had hardly read all of them with attention.

Hob had picked up the sculpture and was now staring at it, running a finger along the delicate, glazed wings. “You’re really just going to drop an expert-level sculpture on my desk and go lie on the couch?”

“What else am I to do with it?”

“What--? Where--?” Hob spluttered. Dream really didn’t know what was so perplexing. “Dream!”

Dream just raised an eyebrow at him.

Hob sighed and put the sculpture back down, delicately. He came over and perched on the couch by Dream’s hip, taking Dream’s hand in his own. “Every day a new facet of you,” he murmured. “I guess I just didn’t realize you were an artist.”

“I create dreams.”

“I know, but I didn’t make the connection with human artforms.” Hob smiled at him ruefully. “Doesn’t help that you’ve been hiding these skills all this time.”

“I have not frequently indulged in art in the waking world, in the past,” Dream admitted. “At the time, it did not seem valuable, when there were dreams to create. I have inspired more art than I have made.”

“Oh, I’m sure you have.” Hob nudged him teasingly. “So many times, in centuries past, I’d be wandering in a gallery and find a painting or a sculpture that I’d swear was of you.”

Most of the limited time Dream had spent in the waking world had been around artists. Occasionally, he had deigned to serve as a more direct form of inspiration. “I am certain you were right.”

“Well, those artists might have gotten to paint your portrait, but I got you to take a selfie wearing cat ears, so—”

“Hob Gadling—”

Hob leaned down and cut him off by kissing him, warm and fleeting. “Tell me about your sculpture.”

Dream tugged him down so Hob, too, was lying on the couch, half blanketing his body. He liked the weight of Hob over him, it reminded him that this was the plane of the physical. As did working with the clay.

“It was… a satisfying exercise,” he said.

Hob propped himself up on one elbow to look at him. “Really? That’s what you have to say about your masterpiece?”

“The finished piece is unimportant,” argued Dream. “If I want to create a masterpiece, I will make it of dreams.”

“Alright, so why are you doing it, then?”

Dream thought how best to articulate the many sensations that arose in him when he created – and how it was different with the physical media of this world, in comparison to dreams. “In the Dreaming, I create with my will. I shape the Dreaming to my needs. It is part of me, and it responds. This is not true of material in this world. It is outside of me, and I must learn to communicate with it. I must remember… how it is to be physical.”

Using his hands… it was not that Dream never sculpted by hand in the Dreaming. But guiding thought and fear and whimsy into a being with the gentle touch of his fingers was so different from feeling the earthy weight of the clay resisting his attempts to shape it. Clay was earth, absolute physicality, the opposite of dreaming. And Dream felt electric and brazen daring to mold it.

“I appreciate the unique challenge,” he concluded.

Hob was still looking at him, a fond look having taken over the question in his eyes. He kissed the corner of Dream’s mouth. “You are a wonder,” he sighed.

Then his expression shifted.

“Hang on. Is that the class you’ve been sneaking off to? Sculpture?”

“Beginner sculpture,” Dream told him solemnly.

“BEGINNER--? Jesus Christ. The other students are going to throw you out a window!”

Dream considered the prospect. “That would be amusing.”

“Are you actually following the class?” Hob asked. He still seemed scandalized by the idea of Dream ‘taking’ classes. “Or are you just doing whatever you want?”

Dream tilted his head at him. What do you think?

“Menace,” Hob scolded, fondly. “Why do you even have to go to a class? Couldn’t you, like, steal some clay from someone’s dream?”

“I could. But do not both you and my sister insist on me interacting with humanity more often? I am interacting with humanity.” Or, being in its presence, at any rate. Dream rarely interacted with anyone unless approached first. He would rather stay absorbed in his clay. “Besides, I have found it is good, once in a while, to do things outside of the Dreaming.”

“Ah. So that’s the real homework you’re working on.”

Dream played with Hob’s hair. “Mmm. But it is no hardship.”

Hob took the hint and bent again to kiss him, shifting to lie more fully over him. He cradled Dream’s head in one hand. Dream slipped his hands up under Hob’s shirt. This, too, was a good way to remember physicality.

“If you’re going to insist that you don’t care about that statue,” Hob breathed against his mouth, “then I’m going to keep it.”

“Do as you wish,” said Dream. “I will make another soon.”

“Something even more beautiful, I expect.” Hob bit at his lower lip, then soothed over it with his tongue. “But not as beautiful as you.”

“That was trite.”

“Made you blush, though.”

“Only because you affect me too easily,” said Dream, an admission that Hob looked delighted to have gotten out of him.

“It might be trite, but it’s also true. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen on this earth.”

Dream didn’t know how Hob managed to say such things without it sounding like exaggeration or falsehood, but it did not. “I am not truly on this earth. Or of it. You may have to broaden your parameters.”

Dream was not part of this world. But recently, he had been remembering – or perhaps relearning – that through its creatures, their dreams, their thoughts, their fears and hopes, this world was part of him. He remembered it when he looked at the clay staining his hands. He remembered it when he listened to Hob speak.

“Oh, on the contrary, love—” Hob kissed his jaw and spoke against the skin there— “you must be on this earth because you are the realest part of it. Sometimes I think you are the only true thing I’ve ever known.”

Dream smiled, turning Hob’s face back to him and looking at him from under his lashes. “But that, Hob Gadling, is only because you have always been a dreamer.”

[dilatorywriting]

Hey you! Yes you! I was just curious if you could share a little bit about your writing process?! Your works are so well thought out! And your concepts so fun and interesting! You make the readers so colorful and distinct yet still easy for the reader to imagine themselves!

:)

Thank you!!

Unfortunately, I don't really have any sort of definitive process outwith flying by the seat of my pants 😅 Most often I'm just sitting around pondering and go "oh! That sounds like a fun idea!" Plop myself at my laptop, and just start banging it out. Sometimes if I'm stuck on something, or know I want a certain event to happen or a certain ending I'll sometimes write out a little checklist to keep myself on track. Or like put things into bullet points to try and make sure I can come up with a reasonable path of getting from A to B and so on.

My only other general rules I keep for myself as I go are

1) not to repeat words in back-to-back sentences unless it's intentional wordplay (like, if I'm describing someone moving their hand, I'm not going to say "they move their hand. And then lift their hand" back to back). Because I feel it helps the flow of things personally.

And 2) to say fuck grammar and do what sounds best, even if it technically breaks the rules. Like I use commas all wrong for example, but I use them as how I want the sentence to be read. If I want more pauses, I put more commas. If I want a faster-paced bit of text, I'll skip a lot of punctuation and proper sentence structure.

I'm also a fan of using descriptive words that aren't normally associated with certain things (like describing air as soft, or using imagery of odder but very specific things to compare one reaction to another), because I feel like it creates some clearer imagery and forces people to associate very specific traits with a scene, or character, etc. Which I never really considered before until I was talking with my sister one day and having the whole "what do you think when someone says 'apple'" conversation. And learning that some people can't just picture everything in their heads as like a definitive image? Blew my mind. And made me very conscious of not just relying on the theater of the mind for getting people to understand what's going. Sometimes you have to build the theater, the actors, and the soundtrack for them--not just the story. And that's my goal usually if I can reach it.

[lixies-favorite-cookie]

okay so lately I've been thinking to post like fluffs or something and I already have a lot of ideas. So, I wanted to ask if you have any tips for new writers? I've been really inspired by your works and I wanted to start posting as well. <33333 (I'm new to asks so I have no idea if I did this right 😭 but tysm <3)

Me?!?! Little old me for writing tips?!?! I'm actually so honored, thank you so much 🥹 I actually put a lot of thought into this and all the different things I've learned along the way, so I hope this helps! And if you have any more questions, feel free to ask!!

Read. Okay, so I know that this sounds so cliche, but reading is literally a lifesaver for writing. I read a lot of fanfictions that pertain to the fic I'm writing to see how others did it and help guide the way I do it. Does that make sense?? I hope so 😭 Obviously don't copy anything, but like for my newest fic (that's coming out hopefully soon if I can beat this writer's block!!) rewrite the ending in every lifetime, I felt really inspired by @.forlix's setup for her fics and @astraystayyh's when the snow falls, we fall apart for act 3 of it. It also really helps broaden your vocabulary and allows you to get a feel for certain ways to describe body movements, tones, and facial expressions (something I've always struggled with!!).

Punctuation. I've always been SO BAD at punctuation because I was never taught how to properly use it at my school. Also, when I'm writing, I never use it because my thoughts are so flighty I feel like if I stop to put a period or something, everything will leave me. SO, I will always make sure to copy and paste my work into a free punctuation checker like Scribblr (it's pretty good, though there are a few things it will miss), but the one I like the most is ChatGPT. Like, I'm going to be so fr, it has SAVED my ass, but the only thing is you have to paste whatever you want punctuation checked, and if you don't want Chat to change the way you say something, just in parentheses say (Can you punctuate this without changing any of my words please). This will still check punctuation and spelling but will fit your personal voice.

ChatGPT. I literally don't care what anybody says; this resource is useful asf. Like, I use it for synonyms, definitions, and if I don't know the word I'm trying to think of, I'll input something along the lines of "Chan (word) his arm around her waist, leaning down to press a kiss to her head." (What would a good word be for the (word) above?) It's SUPER helpful for getting stuck on words like that!!

Ask for help. Like, I'm so serious, I will ask many of my very amazing mutuals (quite often, I might add) about the way I worded something, if my poetic quips make any sense, which way I wrote something sounds better, bounce ideas off each other; honestly, just about anything I can think of that has to do with writing, I have asked the amazing @yongbun, @jeonginsleftcheek, and @luvtak. So if YOU need anything, always feel free to ask me or anybody else that you feel comfortable with :))

Feel it. Okay, so this is helpful for getting stuck on really deep emotional scenes. I would get so into trying to make it look pretty that I didn't get down into the actual emotions. It's really helpful to just set your computer down, shut your eyes, and imagine the scene. Feel everything they feel—the anguish ripping inside their very soul, the way it feels like an earthquake has just ruptured in the base of their spine, the universe seems to be tearing apart with every breath they take. I don't know, just me personally, I love anything that pertains to the soul and super dramatic emotions. It makes me feel a lot less alone about my deep emotions :)

Writer's jealousy. I had to write something about this because being an artist, you are always going to see somebody better than you, and that can cause some really nasty conflict inside of you. Sadly, there is nothing I can do to stop that, but I can say really try not to let it get to you and instead view it as a learning experience from those people and how they write. Also, never compare yourself to others because all writing, whether good or not, is your most vulnerable parts because it is unique to you. And also, try not to please everybody—I promise you won't be able to. The same way people pay millions for a piece of artwork, another person wouldn't pay a penny for; it's just simply the human mind, and that's okay. But this also ties into Write for yourself. Nobody else. Just yourself. When you're writing, try not to even think that somebody else is going to view it. It will allow you to write what you really want but also get you to be a lot more vulnerable.

The first draft is shit. I'm so serious, every single one of my first drafts has been shit, and that's okay. You just have to edit your way up to something readable. Like, if you don't like how you wrote something the first time, that's okay. The first draft really is just you telling yourself the story, while the second, third, fourth, fifth draft is you telling others the story lol.

I don't think that there is anything else, but if I think of something, I'll definitely add it!! I hope that this helped you at least a little bit!! Thank you so much for asking me of all people for writing tips; it did wonders for my confidence lol.

[gothic-lottie]

Writer Interview Game

Thank you for tagging me @espressoristretto-patronum

When did you start writing?

I sort of had a project in highschool into a couple years out of highschool but it crashed and burned but I'm hoping to rescue my characters and world building from that project. I'll never write with a coauthor again because of it.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I like fantasy without captivating, relatable characters, I probably won't read it though. I also like dystopian books (big Orwell fan) and in those I care more about the Big Message™️ and world building.

Whats your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Women who can kill me and pretty men. How else do you get inspired?

Could kill me Pretty

(these are Caira and Lenya btw. If anyone ever wondered why I like Ominis so much… Lenya has been around for years before Hogwarts Legacy.)

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

One sec… it's easier to just-

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I would absolutely die if I was ever compared to Patricia C Wrede or Jennifer A Nielsen. The Enchanted Forrest Chronicles and The Ascendance Trilogy (now longer than a trilogy) were my life till I was like 14. I'm definitely nowhere near their level but I hope to get there someday.

Are there any recurring theme in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Death and autism. No, I'm not surprised

What is your reason for writing?

Well, right now it's because I'm kinda really sick so I haven't been able to do much else for almost a year. I've always felt like I'd go mad if I didn't get the stories out of my head and give them true form though.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Any comment honestly. My fic is long so not many people have followed all the way through so comments on my newest chapters are the best because it makes me feel a bit less like I'm talking to a wall. Comments on older chapters are just as appreciated though, I know starting a long fic can be really intimidating so I really appreciate when someone decides my story is worth the time dedication to start it. I especially love hearing what your favorite parts of chapters were, especially if you noticed one of my many subtle details that I don't think anyone will notice.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Idk. I'm just a person telling stories and drawing.

What do you feel is your greatest strenght as a writer?

I can draw anything I can't adequately put into words. I think it really helps communicate the feelings I want in a lot of scenes and also helps amplify certain comedic moments.

How do you feel about your own writing?

Honestly, I don't know. I'm not very good at flowery, pretty language and I think my writing ends up sounding a bit bland sometimes. I'm also afraid my plotlines end up a bit… I don't know how to describe what I think is wrong with them. Confused maybe? Unrealistic? It's a probably unfounded anxiety.

Tagging @rypnami @jeongyunhoed @ladyofsappho @ravenwind-75 @saibugslegacy if you haven't done it already.

[real-reulbbr-band]

About the character ask, you reblogged! What about Macavity?

Yay one of the characters I’m scared to talk about!! This won’t be hard!!

tw: mentions of slow death?

Why I like them

I like how his entire gimmick is just that he's evil and “not there” It really feeds into the fact he's a mystery cat and leads to a lot of fun speculation

Why I don’t

Besides the obvious things he probably put Demeter and Bombalurina through

These nasty Dumbo Ears, “I hear everything” looking aaaaa

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

Ngl his fight with Munk, I feel like it's where we get to see him at his most raw if that makes sense

Favorite season/movie

Love him in 2019 since he seems to be more of a character there if that makes sense, and I really like his motivations there.

Favorite line

“I'll be back for you Demeter” (I think that's what it was) it's technically his only line on stage so

Favorite outfit

I'm especially fond of the Broadway revival look because of course I am look at him

OTP

I don't want to be harassed 😀

Uhh but from like a purely “canon” standpoint I really only see him as being in love with Demeter rn so let's go with that.

Brotp

While I don't play around with it too often I like the idea that he keeps Mungojereie around begrudgingly, he hates his guts but he's useful and Mungo often teeters the line of co-workers as pals and refers to Macavity as such which he happens to do on the occasions that Macavity isn't in the mood to stifle someone.

I don't know I haven't thought about him having friends a lot so that's the closest thing 🧍

Head Canon

his magic is slowly killing him; as a punishment courtesy of the everlasting cat. She gifted him with a power that was intended for the use of protection, and defense because in her eyes he was destined to be a tribe protector, never the leader despite his age.

and that made Macavity lose it, to be fair most jellicles assumed he’d take over after Deuteronomy strictly because of age and inheritance of magic but fate said otherwise and when his father told him he snapped. he grew disdainful, and easily tempered, and aggravated which led to him neglecting his duties completely and eventually boiling into him leaving the tribe.

but his powers only started to sting years later, when he’d hypnotize strays, attack the innocent etc. He was using a gift for harm and the everlasting cat didn’t like that. Soon his magic would take a lot more force to control, he grew tired more easily, his fur was thinning and even falling out daily, he got thinner and his mind was eating away at him. It was torture, just like the torture he had put so many others through.

Unpopular opinion

His portrayal in 98 is one of the weakest for me, his makeup was so overdone that he didn’t even look like a cat and the ways his scenes were edited were hard to follow in general.

A wish

I think it was Il sistina that did this but they had Macavity sort of spying or watching Demeter as she was singing his song (might have been Bomba’s part too) but I thought that was cool and you know more stage time for him so might as well. I just think it’s neat.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

Idk a reboot happens and they try to give him so redemption arc would be pretty ehhhh and questionable for me

5 words to best describe them

Callous, Feral, Vicious (that’s at least what I think an alternate three words for him would be ) and then of course his regular three words Jealous, dangerous and hypnotic

My nickname for them

Dumbo ears Mac is like the only one I use to describe *that* design but I do like the “his ears are so big cause they’re full of secrets”

[argisthebulwark]

Ao3 20 Questions

thank you @kagedbird for the tag!! <3<3 i will tag some friends @daedrabait @miraakswhore @somethingscarlet13 @queerbashir if u wanna participate <3

How many works do you currently have on ao3? Currently 25. holy shit, i thought it was more than that lol

What's your total ao3 word count? 98,336. Used to be like 200k before i cleaned out some old works i didn't care for anymore.

What fandoms do you write for? Skyrim and Star Trek TOS & AOS

What are your top five fics by kudos? Sorry Lass, Make Me Feel Mortal, Don't Shut Me Out, Fascinating, and Destroy Rebuild

Do you respond to comments? Sometimes! Honestly it depends on whether or not i'm online and see them. if i don't respond right away it feels rude to respond weeks after the fact, but for repeat commenters or usernames i recognize i try to!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Idk i used to like to emotionally beat up Jim a lot, so probably one of the short stories where i explore all his traumas

What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Sorry, Lass. I originally wrote it in 2015 and i'm fairly certain it ends with a mushy marriage scene.

Do you get hate on fics? Surprisingly, no. I think i got a few rude comments back when i first started, but honestly everyone's been too kind to me.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Hell yeah brother that's what i do!! I love angsty, emotionally charged smut. my personal favorite to write is angry, hatefuck type of stuff. or when they're using it to avoid talking about feelings.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Not that i've ever posted lmao. I don't usually post non canon compliant fics for whatever fandom i'm working in.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Kinda. a few years ago someone let me know that my work had been reposted to a fic site i don't use and one quick message got them to take it down. Also, i once posted a fic as a one off, forgot that i'd done that, and used the same scene much later in a larger story - and some nice commenter on the original let me know that someone had stolen my idea lmao

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope, never had anyone request that and don't want to do so incorrectly.

Have you ever cowritten a fic? Kind of? an old friend and i used to write separate chapters of our self insert marvel fics and mush them together into one story lol. never posted it anywhere, it was just shared emails and google docs.

What's your all time favorite ship? God, that's hard. probably McKirk. as i've gotten older and unlearned all the internal shame about self inserts it's gotten easier to do a self insert story instead of an established pair.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Every few weeks i pluck away at my regency au Miraak fic. i don't think i'll ever actually finish it because it's just so big in my head it's hard to get on paper, but i hope i do someday.

What are your writing strengths? I'm very comfortable writing sex scenes. I think that often when the author is uncomfortable about writing explicit sex the reader can really feel it in the story and i put in a lot of work to get over those mental hurdles. i've been told i'm good at characterization, which is awesome! i love getting in a character's head!

What are your writing weaknesses? Very often i find myself bogged down with the need to describe every little scene. it's a major reason i haven't posted a longfic in a while - i want to write these big stories but find myself getting lost in the little details. i also have a terrible habit of editing myself while i'm writing, which just gets me stuck in an unproductive loop.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Since i'm only fluent in English, this isn't something i am confident in. i've written in a few fictional languages for fics before but would probably reach out or suggest another author if a reader wanted something that heavily involved this.

First fandom you wrote for? Twilight babey!!! self insert oc to smooch Edward Cullen when i was a little middle schooler!!! i didn't know what fanfiction was but i knew i had a big ol crush on him.

Favorite fic you've written? not to be cringe on main, but most of my favorites are things that never got published. they're the little things still hanging out in my google docs that i go back to over and over. i rewrote all of star trek into darkness word for word just to make bones and jim kiss, i made a self insert just to smooch skurge after hyperfixating on thor ragnarok, and the weird time a few months ago where i wrote like 40k words of a cowboy romance. i read them often and wish that i'd written more on many of them but i do not read my published works.

thanks to anyone who read my rambling lmao. love you all sososo much, thank you for reading my silly little stories and caring about them. <3<3<3

[spagyricqueen]

✨Writing Interview Tag Game✨

Thanks to @kalmiaphlox for the tag! (I'm sorry I've been so quiet lately. Best excuse I've got is 'life happened'... heh)

When did you start writing?

I started my writing journey way back in 1994. I was 12 years old. There was no Fanfiction.net, and certainly no AO3 or Wattpad. We had the good ol' "world wide web" and discussion boards, where there were FTP databases with root and sub folders, and all the fics were in .txt files. Read stories written by fans of my favorite TV show at the time, and thought I'd give it a shot. It was all downhill from there.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I honestly can't say that there are. I write what I like to read.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I don't think I've actively been compared to any one writer, nor do I necessarily write like any particular author. I read fantasy novels, for the most part, and if I were to try to emulate anyone (lately, anyway) it's Elaine Cunningham and her work for Forgotten Realms.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

My computer is my space for everything, and I share a desk with my partner. We're both gamers with dual monitors. Occasionally, I'll sequester away in the bedroom with my laptop.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Daydreaming scenarios and writing back-and-forth dialogue for situations (that may or may not end up getting used at all). But that seems to get the flow going most of the time.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Recurring themes? Hmm. Well, I suppose I've written a lot about disability and how it affects the characters, in their lives and interactions with others. Not every story I've written has this theme, but it certainly counts as 'recurring' for many of my works. I can't say it surprises me at all, as I've had great interest in disabilities (respectfully) since I was very young. Not exclusively for the sake of writing angst, though there is some of that too. But mostly for exploring how people can adapt and grow in the most astounding ways, despite what society at large deems a "disadvantage".

What is your reason for writing?

To put it succinctly, I enjoy it. I like having the ability to paint worlds with words, to evoke emotions in written form, and describe action, excitement, and romance. I have stories in my head, and I want to share them. Writing them down is the most accessable way of doing this.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I adore any comments on my stories. The fact that someone takes the time to say even one word to me about my work is monumental. But of course, if I were being honest, the ones that really inspire me is when they engage with what I've written. When questions are asked, details pointed out, or even theories floated about what could possibly happen next... I live for those. They not only make me happy, but they make me want to deliver the goods, you know?

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I'm not sure I want to be dictating or hoping for anything in particular here. People will think what they will. I should hope that, if anything, anyone reading my work would appreciate my effort. I guess I just want to be thought of as a good writer, an entertaining writer. A nice person? A thoughtful person?

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I had the benefit of starting very early in learning how to write, and I am by no means perfect at it. I'm always learning new skills, tricks and methods on how to present the story I want to tell. I have consumed a lot of media over my decades, particularly cinema. I think one of my strengths would be visualizing scenes of my story like a movie, with having a good balance of action, introspection, and dialogue. I had a mentor during my early years who was an English teacher, and learned the ins and outs of traditional creative writing.

How do you feel about your own writing?

My writing style has evolved over the years. My early attempts were, naturally, very juvenile, though I tackled themes that I was told were beyond my years. Writing adult male friendships, learning about the psychological impact of diability and how it affects those friendships and the character's personal life... these were not common themes for a thirteen year old to write about. But again, they were attempts.

These days, I have read many books and experienced enough life to be able to convey deeper, more nuanced interactions and situations. Gathering information, learning about fantasy settings, and having a better understanding of emotions have all helped me to get better. I like what I write, and I write what I like. I know I've improved a lot since thirty years ago, and I'm always looking to get better.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

It's only recently that I've catered a bit more to my audience in my work, though the idea starts with something purely for my own enjoyment and interest. That's how it begins. I have an idea for a story I think is interesting, write it, post it, and hope others like it too. For the most part, I try to keep the story as I envisioned it, but having the benefit of live interactions with readers has inspired me to insert little tidbits here and there that I felt would be enjoyed---as a nod to the reader, and because I found it fun to make it work within the context of the narrative. :)

And that's all she wrote! Maybe I have a couple friends who might be interested in joining in. @cassieuncaged @busy-baker @davenswitcher

[gallawitchxx]

tag game tuesday thursday: fandom edition! ✨

thank you so much to @celestialmickey @energievie @mzshko @shinygalaxyperson @juliakayyy @mmmichyyy @metalheadmickey for tagging me! & then i'm pretending that @gardenerian & @suzy-queued tagged me too. i love you all so madly 🖤

- - - - -

your name: bee 🐝

your age: 13 going on 30 🥳

your first fandom(s): probably harry potter (fuck jkr). there's a picture of baby me that ran in my hometown newspaper at a midnight book release (at borders books! remember that place???), dressed as luna lovegood lolol. i still have the radish earrings that i made out of model magic! but then i was super active in the doctor who fandom in the early 2010s. i never wrote fic or anything though, just irl stuff--god, the 50th anniversary was so fucking fun--& tumblr gifs 🤩

your current fandom(s): shameless 🖕🏼

how did you first get into fandom? see above? lol. i think i just have always been a nerd who likes to engage with media in a fully unhinged way 😅

how long have you been engaging with fandom spaces? i'll keep this answer shamey specific: since early 2021! i fully fell into a deep pit of gallavich & started reading fic & lurking around tumblr. finally made one over the summer & then decided to fully impose on this space for the first ever gallacrafts! what a way to join! ✨

how often do you read fanfics? every damn day 😇

top 3 characters from your current fandom(s): mickey milkovich, ian gallagher, mandy milkovich

have you ever written a fic for a fandom? if so, shout it out! you can find me at gallawitch on ao3 & here's my bee writes 🐝 ✍🏼 tag on tumblr! 😍

have you ever drawn fanart for a fandom? if so, drop a link! surprisingly, yes! there are some on ao3 & then you can also check out my #bee makes art 🐝🎨 tag on tumblr!

share a personal headcanon that you feel very strongly about: i have really big feelings about 4x11 (it's one of my absolute favorite episodes of television, truly) & the powder keg that is the whole day between ian & mickey. you can read some of those thoughts here, but basically i think that regardless of love or mania, ian stopped taking mickey's safety into account when he was pushing him to come out. one day i will find the og meta post i wrote!! i still stand by it! 🗣

you’re trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them? again, because i am UNHINGED, i actually made this whole interactive summary to introduce someone to ian x mickey, aka the greatest love story of all time & you can read it here: the great ship gallavich 🚢

and finally, what does fandom mean to you? oh holy hell. at this point, it's truly everything to me. it's my escape, it's my joy, it's my entertainment, it's my safe space & it's now my BEST FUCKING FRIENDS. i truly think it's the most comfy i've felt sharing & creating with others & i just think it's a magical & emotional place. words cannot describe my gratitude 💗💗💗

- - - - -

tagging @crossmydna @whatthebodygraspsnot @whaticameherefor @whatwouldmickeydo @heymrspatel @thisdivorce @squidyyy23 @abundanceofnots @oatmilkovich & @rereadanon if you wanna play! if not, i'm kissing your head! 😘

[willowmckinley]

For the ask game... 22

Thank you, Justie.

22. describe your writing process from scratch to finish.

Oh, what a doozy! But a fun one, haha. Typically it starts with an image in my head, usually a concept or a scene. Take, for example, "The Opposite Of." That started as the idea "RaylanxBoyd" if Boyd had left Harlan with Raylan.

I open a word document and take as many notes for the idea as I can, problem solving/working out plot as I can. I jot down some scenes I want to write or might fit well with the story.

Then I start with one scene and take it as far as I can. For "The Opposite Of" the first scene, I think, was their stupid little wedding in front of that stupid little gazebo that I'm obsessed with. So I write as much of that scene as I can, then go back and write what kind of scenarios or events would lead up to it.

After, I write out the next scene. I like to write in chronological order, because often I don't know what will happen until I know what causes it to happen, trying to focus on "if, then" for a lot of my plotting. I try to write transitions as they come up, because they help me figure out what flow and pacing I want, and I've discovered transitions really help with that.

I edit as I write, meaning I like to really craft sentences as I put them to page, saving less editing for later. If a sentence or word or detail is really catching me, I'll make a note of it to come back to, but I prefer to instead work on another fic if I really get caught by a scene or a character motivation.

When I do get caught, I set it aside, and usually go over the scene or character motivation before bed. I have really bad insomnia anyway, so it helps me to have something to focus on so I don't drive myself crazy, haha. Plus, without the pressure of turning ideas into sentences, I usually figure it out, even if it takes me a few nights of this, working on other stories in the meantime.

I will switch between scenes if one catches my attention, but I try to finish whole thoughts before moving on, making notes of other ideas and plots and themes to put in my fic.

By now, the fic is really shaping up to be something. At this point, I'm reviewing for themes and continuity. I go back to earlier paragraphs and see if I can add any good foreshadowing or narrative through-lines. I see if anything I wrote by now has answered a question posed in another scene, whether for me or for the reader.

Finally, I do my last edits. Now is the time to catch typos, missing words, incomplete sentences, and awkwardness. If I'm lucky, I'll have a chance to myself to read it aloud to see if it sounds natural. If I don't, I usually post without it, haha.

Then, I read my fic on AO3, and catch even more mistakes, haha.

I think that's it? I really am happy to have found a writing system that works for me, haha.

[starlightkun]

are you more of a plotter or pantser when you write?

ngl i did have to look this up, and i suppose im a bit of both? like, when i say i have a scene planned out, or that i have x words of planning, or that i have an outline, idk what other writers' planning/outlines look like (aside from the outlines they made us use in elememtary school you know). my word docs for a story always reserve the top part for "planning/outlining" then i have a divider, and under that is where the prose of the story actually starts. when i count word counts of drafts, i only count what's actually written in that second part, from beginning then through the scenes chronologically.

i usually don't start writing a fic until i have not only a solid idea, but also a general concept of the plot (though as my recent posts allude, i tend to have difficulties wrapping it up after the climax). sometimes a scene comes to me first and i have to then build the rest of the au and plot around that scene, but i usually don't start writing what i consider to be in that "prose" section until i have some grasp on the overall fic.

and my "planning/outlining" section usually looks like this:

- x au, a!neo, b!reader, (ft. any important side character)

- if it's majorly involved au like frankenstein complex or strawberry sunday, i'll make a short character list. like in strawbsunday it looked like:

Human!Johnny [roommates w MK]

Fairy!Jungwoo [roommates w TI, DY] ; Vampire!Jaehyun [roommates w TY]

Witch!Doyoung [roommates w TI, JW]

and so on. that one also went in descending height order (members who are officially the same height were next to each other in the list, like jaewoo), bc for a time at the beginning, i was playing with having their height be affected by their species, but that ended up not mattering in the end. i also had so many characters who were roommates bc it was a college au that i needed to be able to remember who lived with who after a while, so that went in the list too.

- then a brief paragraph describing the major story beats

- The Scene that made me get inspired to write it, if there is one, usually all dialogue written in a big block of text like this: "Abcd ef ghijk lmn opqr st uv." YN "Wxy zabcde fg hij klm nopqr st uvw." NEO "Xyz?" YN "Xyz. Abcd, efg hijk lmnopqr. Stuv!" NEO

- more scenes, only dialogue like above

- more scenes, only dialogue like above

so that's how my "planning/outlining" can be 8k+, it's my "sketches" of upcoming scenes that i haven't gotten to yet in the "prose" portion. and while im writing, i'll usually get ideas for upcoming scenes, and add their "sketches" to my planning area at the top. sometimes i don't always know exactly how all the little pieces will fit in, and kind of have to assemble them into a little frankendraft by the end. and sometimes i find that little snippets of dialogue that i thought would be perfect ended up not fitting anywhere, or had to be minorly/majorly modified.

i often go into unexpected places, and find out a lot about my characters while i write! i have my loose outline and im flexible with it if i find that the story is headed in a different direction as i go (like, for example, in changer, i was originally imagining sungchan asking reader out at the end of the valentine's day event at the boba shop and have it be more of a second chances things, but as i wrote it i realized that my werewolf sungchan was too much of a loserboy to do that and it wouldve felt a bit forced imo)

[mollish-art]

HOW DO YOU WRITE SO AMAZINGLY WOULD YOU HAVE ANY TIPS I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF UNPERSONS IT'S SO GOOD

eeeEEEEE thank you so much!!! That's really sweet of you to say - I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story so far!!

This is honestly the first I'm I've even attempted to write anything of this length before, so I'm amazed it's been received so positively.

I am by no means a professional writer, nor have I taken any creative writing classes or been to any workshops, but I'll just let you know what I tried to keep in mind, as that seemed to work for me! Take this with a grain of salt, though :)

When I was in the midst of writing, I was absolutely hyperfixated. The story was literally all I thought about. I only listened to the playlists I curated for it on repeat, even when not writing or drawing concept art for it. It was honestly a little unhealthy lmao but it gave me the stamina and inspiration I needed to sit for long hours and just write.

First things first: I wrote a really rough plan of how I wanted all of the scenes to play out, color-coding the headings by perspective. I even gave each segment heading names that were eventually removed from the final draft of each chapter. For example, here are the perspective titles for chapters 2 and 3:

And here is a random screenshot of some of the plot outline from Chapter 3:

I'd put random keywords in there along with media references and links to concept art etc to jog my brain as well.

This helped me to keep overarching goals in mind when I actually began to write the chapters themselves. I also wrote everything in order - I never skipped over writing certain scenes. That might work for some people, but not me hehe

What's very important to note though is that as I was in the middle of writing each chapter, I simply wrote what felt right. If something seemed to just work better, even if it went against my initial outline, I would write that instead.

Additionally, I constantly assessed my strengths and weaknesses. I feel far more comfortable describing physical and emotional reactions than I do writing dialogue, so I would always pay particuarly close attention to the dialogue I wrote when editing. I would often read whole segments out loud so as to avoid as many cases of "he-would-NOT-fucking-say-that"-syndrome as possible.

Also, I would take frequent breaks. If a scene I was writing just was not coming together, I'd stop writing for a while rather than burning myself out.

I tried to take into account some advice I heard from somewhere else as much as I could, namely to balance descriptions of the environment with dialogue, both internal and external. I tried to catch myself whenever I noticed I was dedicating a huge, uniterrupted chunk of text to only dialogue or only environomental description.

Another thing: I like using figurative language. A lot. Probably a little too much. But I like being dramatic and artsy (a bit like my characterization of Hetch, I suppose), so I would include a lot of metaphors and similes within my writing. I feel like it helps to paint more of an abstract picture and let the reader fill in the gaps themselves with their mind rather than to give too many minute details, as that can get boring pretty quickly.

Lastly, I revised my drafts many times before I sent them to my beta readers, checking mostly for continuity errors, flow, and any grammatical/spelling errors. I'd often do my revisions aloud to myself, as I tend to catch more awkward sentences that way as opposed to just reading it silently to myself!

Hopefully some of that is helpful :) Honestly, the biggest piece of advice I can give is to just get out there and write. I didn't know I was capable of pulling this off until I sat down and did it. And, most of alll, I was writing more for myself than anyone else. In other words, I just had fun with it! I didn't really care if people would resonate with it, all that I knew is that I enjoyed writing it myself. Thankfully, that seemed to come across! I'm still blown away by how Unperson has been received so far. I'm really looking forward to getting the chance to get back to writing it again!

[cryptidanathema]

jasper

Why I like them: He turned out to be a much more complicated character than he seemed to be on the surface. It took me until his literal last scene in the game to realize this but damn if that scene didn't paint all of his actions in a new light. Like yeah he's still a bastard but you saw WHY he became the way he did. How easily it all could have been avoided. How he and Hendrik deserved the chance to move past the lies that poisoned their relationship without him having to be a ghost living in his armor. It hurt in a weird way. He became my first true character hyperfixation and honestly opened my mind to engaging with fiction in a whole new way. No one deserves to be painted in the Crying Lucifer Painting pose more than him lol 

Why I don’t: I will forever have a chip in my shoulder that he didn't get a redemption arc, sorrynotsorry. Even Party Chat tries to desperately downplay the significance of the armor scene if you check it on the now-memorial balcony. On a lighter note the fact I missed 99.9% of the Piers fandom is entirely his fault because I was too busy hyperfixating on him lol. Also, the classism. The classism is bad, mkay? :P

Favorite line: His melodramatic evil speech in the throne room where he lists love first as something he's given up on is hard to beat. Also his final line in the game being "we will never be apart again'...yeah 🥲😭

Favorite outfit: The evil queen ensemble. It's so...very.  Exactly the sort of thing a raging disaster gay that designs his own outfits (according to the character book) that's devoted himself to eeevil would wear. 

OTP: He literally only makes sense as a character if you assume he was extremely, painfully gay for Hendrik and sublimating it in a WEIRD way. And Hendrik certainly showed enough signs of feeling the same way (the way he clutches his necklace to his chest after his death in the first timeline...) Mordegon and Heliodor's toxic monarchy just got in the way... 

Brotp: Jade was apparently just as close to him as she was to Hendrik but the game NEVER EXPLORES THIS AT ALL. Also I think he and Sylvando could have been absolute terrors together lol. And I've always liked the headcanons where he and Mia bond over their shared pain and rage at their (perceived) abandonment. 

Head Canon: Quite a few, so I'll just share one that he wrote the MOST emo poetry as a pining teen, something he will never admit to on pain of death as an adult. I'll also bring up the fact he's successfully taken over the world but still paying for cake as proof he's not as happy as he thought he'd be and eating his feelings about it in Act 2 lol

Unpopular opinion: No one reads deeply enough into him, everyone takes the bullshit he tells himself at face value even when he directly contradicts himself *eyetwitch* I often suspected I was literally the only person right about him lol. Also, the Gay Armor Marriage was incredibly touching, but not enough. He shouldn't have died at all. Also while I've read Jasper/Sylvando fic and enjoyed it before I don't really ship him or Hendrik with Sylv myself which kinda feels like a minority take in this fandom 

A wish: At this point I can only hope he gets the Psaro treatment where his death is avoided entirely when the game is rereleased in like 25 years 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I honestly don't want Square to revisit him, they treated him so harshly compared to other villains of the same caliber that pretty much got away with everything so yeah, just leave the angry wet cat man alone guys...

5 words to best describe them: Poor little meow meow supreme 💛

My nickname for them: Bastard son, the Purple Titty Monster (for Unbound obviously)

[aquadestinyswriting]

Writeblr Positivity Tag

OK, so 3rd time's the charm with this. Godsdamned life stuff getting in the way. Thank you to @captain-kraken for the tag.

Tags: whoever wants to complete this honestly, not sure who among my mutuals has done this already.

1. What motivates you to write?

Motivation to write is mostly an intrinsic thing and comes and goes depending on what is going on in my life. It has become a bit more consistent since I started treatment for ADHD though. Getting comments on my work helps a tonne as well since I like to keep my readers relatively happy.

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

This one is tough because I have a lot of snippets I'm very proud of. Let's go with one from Striking the Anvil:

Morag nodded in satisfaction again and set about damping down the fire while Meredith gulped down her drink. By the time the fire was out, Meredith was already getting up to head back to bed. Morag hugged her daughter tightly,

“If ye need anything’ else, hen, just shout. I don’t mind getting up.” She said, ruffling Meredith’s hair.

I love the close relationship Meredith has with her mother, and I'm thoroughly enjoying getting to show it off. For a character that was originally created for a d&d campaign, Meredith's family are very wholesome and somehow lived through the whole campaign, beginning to end.

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

The OC that makes me smile every time is definitely Meredith. As much as I love and cherish Selene for being my first roleplay character ever, I got to play Merri from level 1 all the way to level 14/15 before I had to retire her to the role of npc when I took over as GM of the Destiny's New Servants campaign. Since Merri is everything I still aspire to be as a person, it's hard not to smile when thinking and talking about her.

As for what Merri is like: she's a forthright, loyal and devout woman. She will be the friend who will stand by you no matter what's going on, but will also be the first to call anyone out on their bs when it's needed

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy visualising the various scenes or pieces of a thing I plan to write. Sharing my work is the bit I enjoy the most, though. Knowing that whatever I've written will, hopefully, make others feel the way I did while writing is a big dopamine hit.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

I think I'm pretty good at dialogue exchanges. I do need to work on the actions and tags in between the banter, but I do love having a spiel where it's just two or more people talking back and forth. I prefer to write more naturalistic dialogue and it's fun to read it back to myself.

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

The most enjoyable aspect of the writeblr community is getting to know other writers and geeking out over all our OCs and the situations we get them into. I also enjoy the tag games because I get to see other peoples' thoughts and feelings about their work, worlds and characters, as well as their processes for writing.

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I'll give shout out to text to speech programmes, because they do help sort out where I've gone wrong in the grammar department better than just reading through the document does.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

I like all the worldbuilding tidbits that crop up in the stuff I write, but my favourite, by far, is the concept of cridhe-dàime. It comes up fairly often as a phrase that Meredith uses with regard to Elowyn and is a word that describes a type of queer-platonic relationship in universe. I came up with it after realising that Merri and Elowyn had a much closer friendship than most other characters even during the campaign the two were a part of. After said campaign ended I wanted to keep that closeness between them, and so came up with a word to describe a platonic relationship that was nonetheless as important to Meredith as her marriage to Yoruk. I didn't find out about QPRs until much later.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

If you're having a rough patch, it's ok to walk away from a project that's frustrating you. You can always come back to it later with a fresh pair of eyes and/or ears. I would advise that, if you do this, that you read other things, write other projects or just keep up with some form of general creativity because getting back into the saddle will be much harder if you don't.

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

My biggest supporter is @druidx, who is the creator of Elowyn and was my roleplay partner during the Destiny's New Servants campaign, which almost all my writing is currently based on. I love the comments you leave on my stuff, and I hope it still brings you joy to read about the characters' exploits despite how long it's been since we last played together.

I will also shout out @blind-the-winds for their encouragement about the Fangthane stuff. I'm glad you're enjoying all the dwarven worldbuilding I've had to do to explain the culture and politics of the setting and hope you're enjoying the Fangthane's Folly series (I will get back to that and A Circle None Can Break really soon, I promise).

Other shoutouts go to @ashirisu, @odysseywritings, @asher-orion-writes, @mariahwritesstuff, @freedominique and @thesorcerersapprentice for their support.

[mythvoiced]

“you’re allowed to need help sometimes.” ( for eunjae my enby 🤩🤩🤩- HI LENNY I know i am SUPER late with this but u said memes and shall deliver - feel free to skip any of them if they’re not to your liking, CARE YOU LOTS IN THE MEANWHILE 🥰🥰🥰 )

@clemencetaught | more random dialogue prompts | ♥

---

"No, thank you," that and a raised hand, they have to balance the rest of the paperwork in their other hand and over their raised knee, a position that lasts for all but a few moments before their foot stomps onto the ground again and they catch the forms in their arms before creating a situation for themself that would have certainly led to a kind of reaction they'd rather keep away from eyes.

Sweat. There's sweat filling their armpits and if there's a good chance that if they sit down now they won't get up again. There's an ache in their bones, poignant and moaning.

"I appreciate your concern," the paper lands on the table they'd just gotten up from with a smack. What's the most unpleasant aspect of their work? Of their duties? Is it looking into the eyes of beings that barely reach their waist clouded over with the grief of twenty lifetimes? No, because 'unpleasant' isn't strong enough a word to describe what goes through their chest at that sight.

'Unpleasant' is just good enough for the paperwork, though. Forms to fill out, questions to memorize, reports to write, signatures upon signatures, details on every day out and every day in, legal notes and 'reported by', note as often and as impossibly exact to make sure some distantly hovering insurance company or administrative board won't shit their pants when Eunjae walks into a room.

And here they are, so far behind they had to take it to Grace.

Eunjae doesn't like help. Eunjae is perfectly capable of handling their own. Especially in front of someone like professor Grace, who somehow manages to keep his wits about himself even while half of his blood had been replaced by redbull. There's kindness and a knack for being understanding in him that Eunjae doesn't find as innate within themself as they thought they could discover it, if not for adults, then at least directed at children.

Alas.

They have to blink a few times to refocus as they sit down. They don't feel faint, but so, so very heavy. Sick and tired... and sadly... sick and tired.

"But there's not a lot you can do to help me here," their arms abandon themselves on the top of the relatively small pile, considering what they'd started out with. A half-hearted smile and the irritating churn of exhaustion mixing with the anger of sitting at professor Grace's and painting themself as someone...

Well, how is Grace supposed to respect them at this point?

There's a reason he stopped being 'Patrick' in their head, because it's safer to curb it as fast as possible, they're supposed to keep an attentive eye on him, and not idolize his work ethic.

"I'm already crossing a line here for even whipping these papers out, so," a numb, listless, lifeless hand rubbing aggressively over their eyes a few times. A person Grace is supposed to respect and be conscious of, it should matter a lot more what Grace thinks of them in terms of how seriously they're being taken, and not... how big a scene this is turning into.

"I'll just... borrow your time for ten more minutes then I'll be out of your hair."