#anyway i've probably read it at least 8 times lol & i think it's time for a reread

[devilsskettle]

nellie the biologist and keiko oh i’m there with u…. now i have to read sourdough

sourdough is a very good book but i will warn you that lois is a much more likable and mentally stable character than nellie, the biologist, and keiko! still i cannot recommend the book enough, let me know what you think when you read it!

[aetlasx]

prologue

pair: eddie munson x witch!reader

summary: Ah, memories. You journal your first day of high school, but things quickly take a turn just a few weeks later.

tw: menstruation, pad/tampons, bullying, name calling (pls lmk if there’s anything I missed)

a/n: just stick with me lol. he’ll be in the first part. Also, this is an AU!! For spooky season!! thank you so much for reading!!

*the chat font is the diary entry and it goes back to normal at the end*

August 22nd, 1983 It's been a few months since i've written in this thing. I thought it'd be a good time to start now since I finally made it to high school!

You know what that means? Four more years till I leave this shithole!! Better than five. June was actually waiting by the door when I got home, she really wanted to hear every detail of how it went. I told her about my classes, I have Jonathan in two and Nancy in several. I told her how the school and people were so different from anything I was used to. But, it doesn't take her long to find something wrong with the way I think. She started with her usual warnings and advice, all the things I need to avoid, all the mistakes I shouldn't make. I know she's just trying to protect me, but it feels like she can never have trust in her little sister.

On the other hand, at least Teddy asked if I had fun. He's always been the one who knows how to lighten the mood, especially knowing how his wife is. He asked about my teachers and any clubs that looked cool enough to join. He even asked about Jonathan and Nancy.

Jonathan was definitely not as excited as me. He's quite, but he's always been that way.I know that his mom was excited for his first day of high school, she even convinced him to bring his camera. Right now, I'm trying to convince him to join the newspaper but he just shrugs me off. And Nancy, well, although it's been one–girl is practically glow. Within just 8 hours of the school day, she was able to meet a boy. She kept gushing about him and is pretty excited for the rest of the school year here. I'm genuinely happy for her.

Before June could add her two cents, I interrupted her with how I stopped by Aunt Claudia's after school to see how Dustin's day went. He was already sprawled out on the couch, 'exhausted' from fighting with his new math teacher. It had been a bit since I had seen them, I slaved away my summer at my job so stopping by, I felt grateful that they weren't even mad. I'll have to start hanging out with him again.

Anyways, I’m determined to make the most of freshman year with my friends. I’m ready to prove that I’m more than just a product of this stupid town.

Wish me luck!!

September 16th, 1983

I think I lied. I don’t know where to start…but a four year wait is too long. I don’t know where it all went wrong but it started over the weekend.

Sometimes I’d like to think that if my mom was still around, this wouldn’t have happened. Hell, June is like my mom, why did it happen. I’m talking about mother nature’s gift. It seemed as though no on thought to inform me that a girls first period would be this chaotic.

Nance and I had a movie night planned. I hadn’t really talked to her much, only in class, because her new boy toy or whatever—Steve Harrington, was taking up most of her time. I thought this would be a good time to just catch up and gossip, I was wrong. That Friday was horrible. I ended up throwing up, getting the chills, my body ached to no end. But I was still determined to make movie night happen, especially since June and Teddy were gone for the weekend.

As I was dying on the couch, Nancy finally showed up. But to my disappointment, it was only to cancel. Her and Steve were going out on their first date. I don’t know if it was how hot I was feeling or my intestines twisting, but black spots started clouding my vision. I just remember her screaming for Steve and once I knew it, I woke up in the hospital.

What I’m about to write, I’ll say with confidentiality…probably because I’m the only one reading this. Whatever.

A period is probably normal for all females. What’s not normal is having to go to the hospital and having your best friend’s boyfriend make fun of you because the doctor called you a late bloomer. I mean, she apologized but, if I could’ve just died on that bed, I wouldn’t be here.

Even June lectured me when I interrupted her weekend getaway. The whole ride home she kept complaining and saying ‘how could I not know’ and ‘you just gave us another unnecessary bill’. Like, sorry my baby’s natural response has ruined something for you.

Fuck. That’s not even the worst part. When Monday came back around, everyone was looking at me when I walked in. I know how cliche it sounds after what had just happened but knowing how popular Harrington was and who his friends were, he had already told the whole school by now. During gym, Carol and a few other girls threw pads and tampons at me. I got called ‘Bloody Mary’ and ‘Leak Freak’ in the hallways, at lunch, and anytime anyone had the chance. I tried to stay strong, I even hoped Nancy would say something to me during class or at least when she saw me but she just looked at me with sympathetic eyes. It’s just hard to believe that a few weeks ago, everything was fine. We were making fun of our teacher, gossiping with Barb, and even went shopping but I guess things change. Now when I look at her I’m just consumed with rage.

Jonathan has been supportive, though. The evening I got out of the hospital, he had actually brought over some of my favorite snacks and listened to me cry all night. Even when the mocking was bad, he’s stuck by my side. He’s told some kids to fuck off, walks me to class, and I’m grateful, don’t get me wrong but knowing that I have to wake up and go through it again doesn’t really ease my pain.

I feel like my chances of making friends and actually joining some clubs are ruined. When I try talking to some new, they give me dirty looks. When I go to ask about different clubs, they turn me away. I’ve lost hope. Thought this was suppose to be a fresh start but I guess not.

And just to add more salt to the wound, I haven’t been able to sleep. Every time I close my eyes and drift to away, I’m met with such an unsettling environment. The atmosphere is thick, groggy, red. It’s coated in fog, but a man I’ve never seen before always walks through it. He says his name is Henry, he starts talking about my worries and pain. It’s always the same—he says he’s ‘there to help me’, he’s there to ‘take away the pain because he knows what it’s like’. I truly don’t know what has caused my subconscious to create things like this but I guess I’m just tired of feeling like shit.

I don’t even know why I bother keeping a journal around. Sometimes I feel like I won’t even be here in the future to reminisce on the shitty days like this. Why would I even? I guess it’s just easier to write these things down than having to say them out loud. I thought I’d be able to make my sister, aunt, cousin, and friends proud, but I’m starting to think I’m just not cut out for this.

Closing the diary, the blonde places it back in the shoebox you hid it in. Pushing it back under your bed, standing from the place he sat. A satisfied smirk on his face.

He’d been following your turmoil closely, knowing that this was just the turning point. Your struggles were feeding into his plans. This entry was straw that broke the camels back—your vulnerabilities, your fears, and your desperations. It was almost too easy.

“Your suffering is almost poetic,” Henry said to himself, walking out of your room, your house, determined to take action now. He planned to finally confront you, to force you to acknowledge the full extent of what your destiny could be with his help—with what he had to offer.

[joels-shitty-puns]

The Key To Your Heart - Track 9

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Musician!Reader

Series Summary: After writing your feelings for Pedro into a song, it gains a lot more popularity than expected. Ultimately it brings both criticism and support, with new possibilities around the corner.

Series Warnings: 18+ only (MDNI). Panic/Anxiety attack. Alluding to sexual scenarios. Kissing. Fat shaming, name calling. Mentions of food, weight loss, weight gain, dieting, weighing, potential eating disorder, food guilt. Potential for puns/dad jokes (name of my blog, and the fic) should give that away. This is my first fic which should be its own warning, lol. Also some cursing. Mentions of masturbation (f) maybe more smut later idk. Sadness, reader is pretty depressed. Poor body image. Rude people. Bullying-ish and just lack of support? Anxiety. Age gap! Reader is in her mid 20's, Pedro is current age (48).

Other stuff: Reader is plus sized. AFAB. Inexperienced. Also has a dog, but you can pretend it is another creature probably. Further, in case it isn't clear, italics almost always are the reader's inner thoughts!

Word Count: 2.7K

Series List: Here!

Miss Chapter 8? Here!

Hi everyone!! I really don't feel great about this chapter, I'm sorry if it sucks. I kinda just want to get it out there though because I don't see my brain thinking up anything better. A lot of writer's block surrounding this scene. Anywho, hopefully next chapter will be better, but I still hope you like it. Although we allude to a little bit of sexual situations now that they are together, I likely will avoid explicit smut being that Pedro is a real human and I am a guilty, guilty human for writing any smut at all. I don't want to offend Pedro (not that he'd ever see it anyway, I am delusional), but I also know people find real person fiction uncomfy as a whole. That being said, I think this story may be coming to a close pretty soon. I plan to have maybe one more full storyline chapter, and at least one little side bonus chapter :) Please let me know what you think in the comments, or DM me if you wanna chat! I love hearing all your thoughts. Thank you for reading and hanging in here with me.

Before the screen even had a chance to load, you canceled the request. Nervously looking at Pedro, he held your hand under the table. “What is it?” he asked gently.

“I just realized,” you replied. “What if they ask about us? About those pictures? What should I say?”

Pedro answered with a gentle stroke of his thumb on your cheek. “Whatever you feel comfortable with. I'm sure I'll be fine with whatever you say, baby. I know your privacy is important to you, and I trust you. I'm all in with you.”

“Okay.” You took a deep breath and once again began the stream.

“Live in 3…”

“2…”

“1…”

The fans began to file in, and before you knew it, you had thousands of viewers. Opting to start with your screen covered, you wanted to give an intro first before the big reveal. 

It wasn't long before the comments flowed across the screen. 

You took a deep breath, squeezing Pedro’s hand, and jumping in. “Hi everyone! It's me… a lot has been happening lately and I decided it might be time to show a little more of myself.”

-“First!”

-“Did she mean to start a live video ??"

-"Hiii! I'm a big fan"

-“Is she there??”

-“Do you guys see anything?”

“So… Here's me.” You turned on your camera, waving at the screen, your stomach twisting in deeper knots.

-“No fucking way.”

-“!?!!!!!”

-“SCREAMING”

“Hi… Some of you might know me, some might be surprised. But this is me. This is the girl behind the music.”

The comments flooded in, entirely too fast for you to read.

“I want to thank all of you for being fans and listening to my songs. It really means a lot and I hope you liked the album. Your support blows me away, especially with what little information about myself I've given.”

More comments.

“Well, I uh… guess I should read some of these comments and answer some questions. I'm sure there’s a lot you all are wondering about,” you stated nervously, starting to read.

-“Why did you hide your identity?”

“Why did I hide my identity… I hid my identity mostly based on poor self image. I never expected my music to gain popularity, never expected celebrities to know it. Never expected any of it, and it certainly brought its share of criticism. I was scared to be in the spotlight and I didn't feel like I looked good enough to be someone famous. You know? I'm not skinny, I have flaws, and that doesn't always sit well with the Internet. I guess I was mainly scared of how I would be perceived. I'm just a normal girl who had her whole life flipped upside down when I wrote my feelings down,” you laughed anxiously.

Choosing to ignore the storm brewing in the comments below, you addressed the earlier comment. “Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad I can make you feel more accepted by seeing more plus-sized people in the entertainment business. Everyone should feel seen and have a place at the table, no matter what you look like, or who you are.”

-“I think it's nice to have more celebrities that look kinda like me.”

-“You're so humble!!”

-“You should've stayed hidden lmao”

-“Shut up, asshole. Why are you here if you're going to be rude?”

-“I'm sure you're a real supermodel behind that keyboard bravery.. smh”

You weren't expecting someone to actually feel like you were representing them and making them feel seen. You didn't think you had enough of an impact for that. You certainly weren't treated that way when you weren't famous. Nobody really even noticed you before.

You could feel Pedro’s eyes on your face, his thumb swirling circles and hearts over the space of skin on the top of your hand, below your thumb. The place where his bullseye resides on his own. Does he trace that tattoo when he's nervous, the same way he is with me? Perhaps his tracing of your hand is calming himself as much as it is for you.

Desperately, you wanted to look over at him and be comforted by his deep brown eyes, but doing so would cause people to wonder who you made eye contact with and smiled at. So instead, you gave a gentle squeeze and a smile towards the screen, hoping he would understand. 

-“Hi, I'm a big fan of yours. Can I ask… is what you said on your album true? You've never been kissed before? I haven't either and I was starting to feel like I'm just a freak.”

“Oh, honey, you aren't a freak. Everyone has things happen at different times in their life. But yes, everything I wrote in my album at the time I wrote it was true. And don't worry, I have felt the same way. Seeing others be kissed, falling in love… having the things I wasn't, it really hurts. But it'll be okay.. nothing is wrong with you. You're deserving of love.”

You hoped they wouldn't pick up on your usage of past-tense wording. Pedro, still holding your hand, rubbed his other hand over your arm gently.

-“Wait… at the time you wrote it? What about now?”

The comments were going wild.

Welp…

Your hands shook, and you used your opposite hand to place on top of Pedro’s that gripped yours. He squeezed gently, feeling the nervous tremors pass through your body, continuing to rub gentle strokes over your arm with his opposite hand.

“Uhm…” your cheeks heated and your stomach sank.

“I've changed a lot since this album was first written. Experienced new things. But I'm still the same person.”

Shit.

-“Who did you kiss?! Is it the guy in your song?”

-“Will you tell us who the song is about?”

-“Wait a second… you're that girl aren't you!?!!!! The one in the pictures with Pedro Pascal!!!!”

-“OMG IT IS”

-“!!!!!!!”

-“IS HE THE GUY!?!”

-“ARE YOU DATING!?!”

The nervous tremors continued, now threatening to cause your teeth to chatter. A full panic attack was brewing. Pedro squeezed your hand again, touching your knee and trying to do his best to ground you without speaking up on your live video. Skipper could feel the waves of anxiousness pooling off of you as well and crawled forward to settle his body across your feet. You took a few calming breaths, but when you went to speak, your voice still betrayed you.

“I..” your voice cracked, shakiness evident as you could feel tears starting to edge their way towards your vision.

I can't do this. I can't do this. I need to shut it off.

You shut your eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to ease your nausea and stress. 

Keeping your eyes closed, you spoke. “Yes.”

You took another deep breath. “Yes it was me, yes the song was about him. Yes.”

You opened your eyes to read the comments, tears pooling down your cheeks as you couldn't hold back your emotion anymore.

This is so embarrassing. The first time I show my face I'm crying and having an anxiety attack in front of the whole world.

You swallowed, choking back the full sobs that your body wanted to let loose. Wiping your face with the back of your hand, you began to read the comments, expecting laughter, criticism, and bullying. Instead, you were met with kindness.

Coming back to your senses, you gave a shaky smile. “Thank you guys. I'm sorry for my emotions.” You sniffled. Pedro was still rubbing your hands and arms, comforting you, having never stopped. His eyes still bore into the side of your head, and you knew he was struggling to not speak up or grab you fully. 

-“Oh my God, are you okay?”

-“I didn't mean to make you cry I'm so sorry”

-“You and Pedro make a cute couple”

-“Oh no, please don't cry”

-“Idk if you guys are dating but you seem cute”

-“I'm so glad you guys are spending time together when he's the guy in your song”

-“It'll be okay, please don't be upset”

-“You're amazing, we love you”

“Yes, Pedro and I have been spending a lot of time talking after he publicly commented on my song a few months ago. The party was the first time we met in person and we're still figuring things out,” you let go of your worries and broke eye contact with the camera, looking to your side to meet Pedro’s gaze. “But… we're happy.” You smiled at him. He smiled back gently, squeezing your hand, worry and sadness plaguing his face over your well-being. Breaking eye contact, you looked back at the screen.

You giggled before answering “well, I think that's all we have time for today. Thank you all for joining me!” You silently clicked off the stream, closing the browser, turning off the computer, and turning to Pedro. He grabbed your other hand in his, now holding both. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern etched in his face.

-“AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

-“IS HE THERE WITH YOU!?!”

-“whaaaaat”

-“SCREAMING”

-“Shut. Up. This is insane.”

-“YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE I CAN'T TAKE IT”

“I think so,” you nodded.

“Seeing you panic and not being able to do anything without potentially making it worse… It killed me. I'm so sorry. I just wanted to pull you into my arms and end that video myself. I hated seeing you so upset.” He stared down at your intertwined hands, rubbing his thumb over them again. 

“I appreciate you being here for me,” you let go of his hand to stroke his cheek. “I couldn't have done that without you.” You met his eyes, leaning forward to rest against his forehead. He let out a shaky breath. “I love you. I'm so proud of you.”

“I love you too,” you replied with a smile. “Let's move to the couch, huh?” You asked, pulling him up from the chair. He stood, just as your phone rang, a call from Rose. You quickly answered.

“I saw the live stream. You did wonderful! Don't worry about any of the negative comments you saw or any stories that come out of this. I'll handle it all.”

“Thanks, Rose.”

“Anytime. Take care.” She hung up.

You updated Pedro as the two of you walked towards the couch. “Do you want breakfast?” He asked.

“Maybe in a minute. Can I just hold onto you for a few minutes?”

“I would love nothing more.”

He sat on the couch, you sitting next to him, before he gave you a look. “What?” you laughed. He patted his leg.

“Let me hold you.”

“I'm too heavy for that Pedro, don't be ridiculous,” you shook your head.

“You're the one being ridiculous.” He reached over, pulling you into his lap. “I'm too heavy! You're going to hurt yourself,” you whined.

“You're not too heavy. You're the perfect size, baby. Come here,” he pulled you forward, your body sliding down his thighs as he wrapped his arms around you. You straddled his lap, knees on either side of his hips while he rubbed your back gently. You placed your arms around him, nuzzling into his neck and closing your eyes. You both sighed, and he grabbed a blanket next to him to pull over your bodies. “I could stay like this for hours, wrapped in your arms” you sighed comfortably. 

“Why don't you?” He turned his head to kiss your lips. You lifted your face up, taking your head off his shoulder to kiss him deeper. The kisses were lazy and comfortable, holding each other and enjoying the warmth of being in each other's arms.

Finally the two of you broke the kiss, settling back on his shoulder, him tilting his head to lean against yours. His hands sprawled over your back, pulling you forward a bit to adjust in his lap. You let out a soft whimper at the contact, fully aware of the location your bodies connected at the moment. “Feel how much you mean to me?” He asked, his breath ghosting your ear as he pulled your hips forward again. You whined. “Yes..” you answered breathlessly. The temptation to keep doing that was overwhelming. But he once again wrapped his arms around you, rubbing your back as the two of you comfortably dozed off, finally relaxed after so much stress of the morning.

Hours later, you stirred, feeling Pedro still underneath you. At the feel of you moving, he stretched a bit before settling with his arms around you again. “Morning, baby” he hummed. “Guess we fell asleep,” you smiled.

“Some of the best sleep I've had in a while, here with you.”

“Same here.” You blinked your eyes open, kissing him on the lips with a peck. “What time is it?”

He turned his head to look at the clock on your TV. “5 o’clock” he laughed. “Guess we both needed some rest.” 

“Mmmm, I guess so,” you hummed, settling into him more.

“Good thing I brought nonperishables. Are you hungry?”

You pondered. “Yeah, I am,” you looked into his deep brown eyes. “Breakfast for dinner?” You smiled at him.

“Sounds perfect.” He pecked your lips before you slid off his lap, the two of you standing to stretch. It wasn't long that you two stood apart before you leapt forward again to give him a hug. He laughed, hugging you back. “I'll never get tired of being in your arms,” you smiled into his chest, breathing in his scent.

“I'll never get tired of holding you in mine,” he pulled his face back to look at you.

“Now let's eat! I'm starved,” you scampered towards the kitchen, him giving a gentle pat to your butt before hugging you from behind as you grabbed the breakfast foods. You giggled, setting food on plates as he kissed your neck, still wrapped around you from behind. “I'm starving too,” he replied back to your earlier statement with a growl, biting your ear.

“Pedro!” You giggled, smacking his arm gently. He chuckled, pulling away and grabbing his plate as you both headed to the table.

The two of you ate, filling the space with light conversation, both of you occasionally sneaking Skipper some bites under the table. He could get used to having two humans spoiling him.

The chatter came to a natural pause, eating in silence and smiling at each other across the table. Pedro stopped eating, wiping his hands and continuing to stare at you. You laughed, asking him what was up. Suddenly, he looked nervous.

“I, uh…” he rubbed his neck. “I was going to wait until after we had at least a first date to say this, but…” he trailed off, and your mind spiraled. Is he breaking up with me? Is he not interested anymore? What's wrong?

“I was wondering if… you'd be my girlfriend? Exclusively?” His cheeks flushed.

You stammered, dropping your fork on the plate. “You… you want… me to be your girlfriend?” You smiled.

He nodded. “If… you'll have me.”

“You want to be my boyfriend?” He nodded again, looking down at the table.

“Yes. Yes, are you kidding? Please! I'd love nothing more.” You grinned, jumping out of your chair to move to him.

He stood, pulling you into a hug. “Really?” He smiled at you.

“Really,” you nodded. “Now kiss me,” you held his face.

“Gladly,” he pulled you closer, kissing you deeply, his tongue asking for entrance to your mouth. You squealed, surprised, but letting him in. You'd never experienced this sensation before. But it was… incredible.

He licked your lips, the two of you exploring the inside of each other's mouths, tongues dancing together. The kiss was heated and deeper than ever before, both of you finally pulling away for air, him coming back in to peck your lips a few times, sucking your lip between his own. You sighed shakily. “Wow.”

“I love kissing you,” he smiled against your lips.

“I love kissing you. You're a good kisser,” you smiled back.

“So are you,” he smirked. “My beautiful girlfriend.” He gave a kiss. “How about that date tomorrow?” He pulled away to look at you, letting his hand rub across your lower back, just above your butt.

“I'd love to,” you stroked his face. “My handsome boyfriend.” You wrapped your arms around him again, blissfully.

“Tomorrow,” you two sighed in unison.

@pedrotonin @starcrossed02 @lightupsketchersperson @cartoon-garbage04 @tyferbebe @maryfanson @gwendibley84 @faithfullyyours2000 @brilliantopposite187 @hc-geralt-23 @jenniferpendragon @winchestergypsy90 @red-red-rogue @theendwhereibegin @lottieellz101 @oliversaurus @kyga01 @milly-louise @titabel @taz-97 @stefanibear003 @marantha @fandomoniumflurry @ilovemybrown-eyedbabygirl @leiadjarin @hmneighbors

Thank you for reading!!! Let me know what you think ❤️

Taglist: (Want in? Let me know!)

[devilart2199-aibi]

IDW collection reading update! :3 📖

Just finished Phase 2 volume 2! So it's been 2 volumes since the last update? I think?

These volumes included: The Death of Optimus Prime, MTMTE 1-8, RID 1-9, Autocracy and Spotlights: Trailcutter, Hoist and Orion Pax.

My thoughts will be below! To spare people the long scroll! Haha

All MTMTE stories are very enjoyable, I really love the writing for them!! I love that each character has some kind of quirk and they're all so quippy haha.

I really liked the story on Delphi. Ratchet kick some booty! Also got to finally see this Pharma guy everyone draws, he's fine i guess 🙄 /joking I'm a total sucker for an evil doctor. I look forward to his return! That's not it for him right...?

Also got to experience Tarn! He's a cool character! I really like that he's like a Megatron loyalist to the highest regard. Back during "The Last Stand of the Wreckers" they mentioned the Phase Sixers and I kept thinking "Who is this Black Shadow guy????" (He appeared in like 2 frames lol) the Phase Sixers seem like big deals so I was surprised I hadn't seen him before and then Tarn and the DJD took care of him 💀 so there he was lol.

As for RID, BRUH it's wild, everyone's getting their heads exploded 💀 rip Constructions my beloved. Idk how I feel about Arcee just being super violent and murdering so freely. But yay Starscream in an advisory position. This whole IDW collection i feel like Starscream has been very good leaning, like he's been set up this whole time to be a good guy (or at least questioning Megs in a way that just isn't petty and more towards the way of a better future for the people of Cybertron. Like his intentions are there) Of course this could be hindsight bc I've read ahead by accident.

Speaking of good guy-bad guy, before starting this collection I'd seen a bunch of panel's and artwork with Megs on the Lost Light and it would get me thinking "what is acceptable? what is redeemable?" This is sorta random but I think about it when I read these comics like "holy cow this man gets away with a lot" (this kinda goes for everyone tho lol it is war, but oof) I haven't gotten to his reappearance yet, but I'm curious how he gets to "be free" to some degree, after everything. I imagine they put him to use under the eye of Fortmax or Magnus, I dunno. I'll see eventually! Haha.

The Spotlights for Trailcutter(Breaker) and Hoist were great! Orion's was fine. His stories are kinda confusing me now when trying to make a timeline in my head 😂

Autocracy was interesting 🤔 like with the Orion spotlight, timelines are kinda becoming confusing to me, at least through these. I feel like there is some retconning going on as I read. Orion's personality here is also pretty different. He's very erratic. Of course he's under a ton of stress and his whole understanding of the world has shattered, but still, very different than usual! I feel like things happen fast in this story. Orion also becomes Optimus Prime in this one too! Much goes on! Zeta Prime deserves a good pepper spraying to the optics lol I did enjoy the five minutes of the Autobot and Decepticons teaming up to fight him tho haha.

Anyway that's enough rambling for now! It's all very interesting and I'll probably continue reading more over the weekend :>

[wa-royal-tea]

I'm back! Kinda + What I've been up to + Timezone Change, Story Posting Update

Heyyyy thur guys! I’m back, kinda. Sorry it took me a while to update you guys on what I’ve been working on, life has been extra busy since July 31st for me 💀 I won't post a story update yet as I still have things to do but I mightttt return by the end of September.

If you wanna know what I've been up to, read under the cut. Just a warning, it's pretty long 💀

I have an update on what I've been working on irl and it's kind of an exciting news, at least for me lol. So, in case anyone is wondering what I've been up to, I'm actually preparing to further my Masters overseas and this plan has been a wip since last year. I've been studying for my IELTS because the universities I've applied to requires me to take it. And then I had my graduation ceremony for my Bachelor's Degree after waiting for SO long bcs of Covid. It was one of the happiest day in my life bcs I got the Vice Chancellor's award!!! Sorry for the bragging there, I'm just so proud of myself :') I worked my ass off to maintain my CGPA every semester so getting that award really felt like all of that hard work was worth it :')

After all that is done, I applied to the Uni's that I wanted and surprisingly, all the Uni's I applied to gave me an offer which is pretty neat! I accepted one of the offers and then I had to look for a sponsorship.

I kept it a hush-hush kind of thing and only told several of my close friends about what I was planning to do bcs it was something that I wasn't sure that I'll be getting so anytime that I was taking a "break", I was actually working on this in the background (had to attend zoom interviews with the Uni's. Doing the tasks in order to get an interview invite etc.). It was a stressful process but yeah, this is what I've had planned for me when I was younger so I was determined to make it happen no matter what! Your girl is not one to give up easily! 😤

So around June this year, the sponsorship that I've been aiming for opened and I applied for it, got the results that I had been offered a full-ride sponsorship on July 31st and everything became so busy for me because I had to prepare the necessary documents to be sent to the sponsorship board. It was an exhausting process as I had to make sure that everything is prepared perfectly so there wouldn't be any problems and so far, alhamdulillah, everything has been going well. I had my visa done, I secured a place to stay during the duration of my studies, all the documents were sent at the end of last week. But preparing all of these took a toll on my energy and I simply don't have the energy to open my game or even open blender to work on my story. But I have been writing the scripts and all so yeah, the story is still running in the background. I did find some little time to work on poses but I worked on a few before I stopped because I was too tired hahaha.

Anyways, only a few people knew what I was working on while I was on this break. Shoutout to Miss Wheat knee and Gigi for being patient with me replying to their discord messages late everyday 😭 And thank you for giving me your emotional support and encouragement! A huge thank you to both Miss Devilled Eggs and Wheat knee for helping me in my process of applying to the Uni's from helping me brush up my English for my IELTS during one of our previous calls, and for helping me with my Piece to Camera video practice for my Uni interviews. I really, greatly, am thankful to you guys for that. And to Wheat knee, thank you for believing in me when I was overthinking stuff thinking I wouldn't get the offers sfkhskl I really appreciate you for that 😢

And with that, I would like to update you guys that my posting time will be changing as I will be moving to London for my studies. So my timezone will no longer be GMT+8 :') It will be GMT+1 as of September 28th. Aside from that, my postings won't be regular too, I'll be updating whenever I can as I'll probably be busy with my studies and all. So, wish me luck! I'm a bit anxious about this so I hope I'll do well :')

Thank you to all my readers who are still there for me since day 1, you all are the best! And sorry that the story will take a while to be completed, I'll try my best to still work on it bcs I love it too much to just leave it like that 😭

That's all I guess! Thank you again for reading this if you are reading it lol.

Love,

Nina ❤

[thebrandywine]

20 Questions for Fic Authors

@catgirladjacent tagged me! and i like to infodump! let's go!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

97 including some that are under pseuds, though I did orphan a few once I started fixating on Resident Evil more fully. I was embarrassed lmao

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

865,796 o__o

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Resident Evil exclusively now!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

don't worry about this one cuz it's under a pseud lol

[every picture tells a story], 387 kudos

[lantern], 376 kudos

broken machine, 356 kudos

[the quality of mercy], 332 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do!!! more often than not it's just with some emojis now lol but i relish and treasure every single comment i get

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

oh, this one has yet to be published :) don't worry! <3

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

hmm... probably Two Cakes (which is coming out this month)? made me feel all sappy at least :]

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not now, but I definitely got some hateful comments on things when i was a lot younger-- mostly people complaining that i was a bad writer or that i should delete (which i did, so they got their wish lol). now if anything i mostly get people who comment on my stuff to kind of pressure me to update XYZ (the nivannedy catboy fic is notorious for this, which is why i haven't been working on it very much lately). the block button is my friend tho <3

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

yeah :)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i think someone wanted to at one point and then never did lol

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

i've talked with some people about this before but we've never gotten around to it :P

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

i love chreon but there's just SOMETHING about nivannedy---

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

the lethan re7/re8 rewrite. i really want to keep working on them but i just have so much more on my plate that i keep pushing it off, especially when it'll require the research of rewatching playthroughs a few times to reimaging the plot points. maybe one day tho!!

16. What are your writing strengths?

i've been told that my dialog is good which makes me happy because there are a few fics where i'm actually really proud of it :3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

describing things, especially people! for some reason i always feel like it breaks the flow so i just... am like "there is a man. anyway--" sorry readers but it's your job to imagine him skjfnskdnf

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i only speak english and i'm also VERY american. i don't personally want to mess around with that because it would be google translate type shit and that's just sad imo :/ so since i don't know enough i will abstain

19. First fandom you wrote for?

pokemon!!!!!!!!! i literally found THE first fic i ever wrote which would have been somewhere between third and fifth grade because i PRINTED IT and DREW PICTURES. it is called The Mysterious Manaphy and makes no sense. i read it aloud to my partner and they howled. yeah, it was just that good

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

listen, i love broken machine, but dualities has seriously taken the cake!!!!!!!!!

thank you for tagging me claire :3 i tag @flurrin @fonulyn and @silvercap!!!

[yuebings]

fic writer meme

thank u @fruitdaze @uhuraisgay @cairoscene @englishsub for tagging me!

How many works do you have on Ao3?

44 currently! double 4s? during MY lunar new year? i gotta change that up quick

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

315,042 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

my most written-for fandom is mdzs, but i don't really write for it anymore...if you look at my ao3 profile u can kinda tell i'm a sporadic one-and-done type when it comes to fic hehe no one can predict where i'll go next. my latest fandom is jujutsu kaisen!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

so you've been robbed by a musuem

the stone-filled sea

the family-dodging bathroom-dwellers association

and his wanting grows teeth

diving blind

it's like a wangxian sweep except for the last sambucky lol

5. Do you respond to comments?

i am trying to get better at that! sometimes i don't have the energy to go through and respond to every single one but trust me when i say that seeing the wonderful comments people leave truly makes my day

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

tbh i don't think i've ever written straight-up angsty endings (or at least the way i see straight up angst). every 'bad' ending has a ray of hope in it, or at least an acceptance that like...yes, this is the way it was meant to be, and to reject the outcome would be to reject everything that came before it. sometimes things were meant to go to shit. there was no other way to go. we were doomed but at least we loved each other. i will suffer but at least i can remember you. so on so forth.

with all that said, it's a toss up between the longest journey (di feijing & lei chun), or all things in pain (wen ning character study). 'angsty' endings, if only in the way i described above

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

a lot of my happy endings aren't super-sweet happy endings per se, but rather a promise or hope that things will get better. idk what that says about me lol like maybe i have more interest in the "how to become happy" part than the actual happiness itself...? but ANYWAY i'd say the sappiest ending is i have is uhhhh feel like a brand new person (msr take edibles together) because 1) their mutual attraction is finally acknowledged 2) they're making out 3) they're high as balls. what's better than this

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not any time recently! i've rarely had negative comments before and all of them have been of such a ridiculous nature that my only response was like "lmfao ok"

9. Do you write smut?

nope! not yet, at least. maybe some time in the future i'll feel like it

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

haven't written any, don't really read them either! i keep my blorbos locked up in their separate cages. siloed.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yes! kind of. if this counts, a couple years ago someone on wattpad stole over 100 wangxian fics (including mine) from ao3 and reposted them onto their own account without credit. we got their account taken down tho so all is well...but this is why i say in my ao3 profile that i do not allow reposts. please tell me if u ever see my work reposted anywhere........

i've also come across a fic in a diff fandom that was VERY clearly "inspired" by one of mine (lifting certain scenes and lines beat for beat) and gave no credit. so there's that as well.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! it's always an honor when someone wants to translate my work :)

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

nope! my creative process is so erratic that i feel like i'd be a nightmare to co-write with, so this is probably for the better

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

this is a hard question to answer. i don't have an ultimate favorite that always stays at the top of the pile, cuz my interests change all the time! right now i'm really enjoying platonic yuuji & megumi & nobara & gojo. in terms of what i go to most often when i want a comfort re-read...finnpoe.

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

omg. you want a DEEP CUT? i have a wip for a rarepair in an already sparse fandom...yeongshin/seobi from kingdom on netflix (the historical korean zombie drama). i LOOOOVE that show i comfort re-watch it all the time. i love their bonded-thru-trauma-frenemies healer/warrior dynamic and i have this wip going for yeongshin getting bitten and seobi developing a zombification-reversal cure through sheer willpower and spite alone........there's maybe 2k written and i was relying on a season renewal announcement to motivate me enough to get the rest of it out but uh. fellow kingdom warriors if you're out there. i think we may be losing this battle............kingdom season 3 announcement save me..............

16. What are your writing strengths?

as a haver-of-siblings, i think i do general family dynamics pretty well! someone has told me in the past that i am good at packing meaning into very few words. i also think i'm good at angsty emotional beats (i sure like writing them, at least)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

bro if there is any action scene in my work, writing it is like pulling teeth. what do you mean he's getting hit. what do you mean i have to think of an interesting way to describe punch #1 and punch #2 and punch #3. STOPPPPPPPP I CANT DO THIS.

in terms of technique i used to struggle with this thing where i NEED to perfect the writing i'm working on before i can move on. like i'd waste huge amounts of time rewriting a three sentence paragraph over and over and over again until it was perfect before i could move onto the next scene. i'm getting a lot better with that tho!

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

i've never done it myself, like, full on written-in-a-diff-lang dialogue, but i think it's cool as long as context clues/some form of translation is provided. and if proper research is done if the writer isn't a native speaker

19. First fandom you wrote for?

the man from uncle (2015). lol. napollya could have won in an alternate universe where armie h@mmer wasn't a piece of shit

20. Favorite fic you have written?

HOO. i gotta say it's my sambucky ghost fic the boy who cried ghost. it's by far my longest fic (even tho it isn't actually very long compared to others ive seen LOLLLL) and it took me AGES to write and ended up being quite personal!! part of the reason it took me so long to finish was bc i couldn't bear to write about sam struggling with grief/guilt when i was also going through something similar, so when i finally got around to writing the moment of catharsis i kinda felt like i was helping myself, too! which was a very interesting experience, and definitely served to lodge this fic in my heart forever and ever. it's not exactly popular but i'm proud of it :)

tagging @tantai-jin @bluecrystalrainingdaggers @vinelark and anyone else who wants to participate!

[cheriboms]

BTTF Year-End Tag Game!

Thank you to both @bttf-dork and @future-boi for tagging me in this ;w; also pika ur comments about my art WAHHHH ILYSM <33 oTL

This year:

How many times would you guess you watched the first back to the future movie?

Since I only hopped on this time train towards the final third of the year lol: fully all the way through, at least 4! Otherwise I've jumped around a lot while looking for clips and references and stuff. So if I stitch all those together, then we'll say approx 5ish :) The first movie is my favorite one!

Did you get any sweet bttf merch? If so, what?

Noooo, I don't really have any merch for things I like, actually... it gives me too much anxiety to publicly show my interests ;w;

How many cans of Pepsi Free did you chug this year?

None LOL I don't really drink soda to begin with, but if I do, I prefer white (lemon lime) soda anyway :P

What was a favorite bttf fanfic you read this year?

I'm going to be honest, I... don't read fanfic very much. 🫣 I usually end up creating my own stuff (art/writing) when I have free time vs looking at other people's, which ik I need to get better at T_T So I don't have a loooot to rec... that being said I MUST shout out "Emmett's first weather expirement." by @alex-a-fans !!! <3 It is my greatest treasure of the year <333

I also really liked "incredible" by @penny-anna, which I read before I officially entered le fandom ;w; lone pine doc and baby marty my beloveds !!!!!

Finally, like basically all of the Doctober prompts from @doctorbrown *O* Days 8, 22, and 30 are some of my favorites, but I really recommend them all oTL theyre SOOO GOOOOOD !!!!!

A favorite bttf fanart you saw this year? (please give us a link, not a screencap/repost!)

See: everything I reblogged. Jk but fr, everyone is so so talented it's really hard to choose :'0 Here's a bunch of some of my faves in no particular order!!

[x] from @hearts-for-winona | [x] from @maxintime | [x] from @future-boi | [x] from @bttf-dork | [x] from @synthsays and @daryfromthefuture | [x] from @therobotwig | [x] from @22194isbestboy | [x] from @mythical-bookworm | [x] from @mkayeatsspaghetii | [x] from @tobytost / @tobytost-star

Did you create any bttf fanart or fanfic? If you did, what one(s) are you proudest of?

Yes I did !!! It is actually the most fan content I've ever made for a fandom since I was in... maybe junior high? So like YUH. Tbh, it's very difficult for me to find what you would call 'pride' in my art so ehh >_>; that being said, I do think that I had a lot of good IDEAS for Doctober (esp days 19 and 28), but my execution wasnt really the best. I would have liked to draw days 17 and 24 (+ time travel day) a little more properly too; like, I'm not as disappointed at how they turned out, but I still wish they were better and/or I could have given them more time. The ones I most actually-tried-and-dont-mind are days 7, 9, and 21 + under the sea dance day. (So many links was probably cheating but tbf I've kinda bent the rules for the past few questions so... whatevs lol). I've ALSOOO still been working on my godforsaken essay, it is 40 pages rn but even tho it's not done, I'm INSANELY proud of it Q_Q

How many times were you late for school this year?

None! B) For one thing I'm graduated lol, but also I'm typically early gang. I'm that person who'd sit in the classroom by myself for like 5 minutes before everyone else would show up LMBO ^^;

Did you watch any other movies/tv shows with BTTF actors in them?

Yess I did!! A... lot actually :0 Most of them were by chance/pre bttf era, but still :P Here is my list as well as I could find, sorry it is soooo long, but what are ya gonna do:

Star Wars/The Mandalorian; The Addams Family (1991); The Tale of Desperaux (2008); Cyberchase; & Clue (1985) -- Christopher Lloyd, havent rewatched the latter 3 since I was a kid and literally went :0 to learn he apparently was in them. Also Kings Quest (2015) which isn't a movie/show but I think it counts uwu

Stuart Little (1999) -- Michael J. Fox, which also rocked my world to discover O_O like hearing it now I'm like "yeah thats him alright" but as a kid I would never have been able to tell you that was the same guy from that time travel movie, despite watching both way too much LMBO

Elf (2003) & Last Vegas (2013) -- Mary Steenburgen, nothing much to say except that she slayed ^_^

Love at the Christmas Table (2012) -- Lea Thompson, I didn't care for it and was shouting "LEA GET OUT OF THIS MOVIE, UR BETTER THAN THIS" like the whole time lol.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) & Curious George (2006) -- apparently these have Donald Fullilove (Goldie Wilson) in them? Same w Jason Scott Lee (Whitey) in Lilo & Stitch (2002)??? And Star Wars/Kenobi show apparently had Flea (Needles)????? ...HUH.

I binged both the entirety of Law and Order: SVU as well as Seinfeld this year w my sister; apparently Mary Steenburgen, Lea Thompson, & Casey Siemaszko (3-D) are in at least one episode of the former, while Elsa Raven (Clocktower Lady) and Ricky Dean Logan (Data) are apparently in a random episode of Seinfeld each. So like, technically I saw them, tho I don't distinctly remember it :'D Also, I have been making my way through Little House on the Prairie recently, which has Matt Clark (Chester the Bartender) in a few episodes !

Finally finally finally, I watched I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017), as well as the LOTR trilogy like. Twice? And they all have Elijah Wood of course >:3c

Was there a memorable moment you heard a Huey Lewis song this year?

None in the wild, no :P But I did end up being in the top 0.1% of listeners for Huey Lewis this year... so UHHHHH take that as u will LMBO

How many times did you fall down this year?

Hmmm idk?? Probably at least 1 I would think ???

Did you get to see BTTF: The Musical? What was your experience like!

Nooo, I didn't even know it existed until like October !!! It looks super fun but atm/last I checked it doesn't come to where I live so :( I should listen to the soundtrack soon!

How many times did your mom retell the story of how she and your father met?

At least three times, and then probably a few times I'm forgetting :P

If you could describe your year in a BTTF quote, which one would it be?

The year in general is definitely "Oh great, the atrocity channel!" LMBO (but when hasn't it been since like... 2020? 2016???). For me personally, I think it's either "I don't know if I could take that kind of rejection." or "Don't talk to anyone, don't touch anything, don't do anything, don't interact with anyone, and try not to look at anything." ^^;

⚡️LIGHTNING ROUND⚡️ Did you get to: go on any trains, skate on a skateboard, ride a horse, drive a Delorean, run in the rain, go to a dance, hang up a clock, play the guitar, pull an all-nighter, read science fiction, or drive thru Burger King this year?

Your future is whatever you make it! So what are you going to make of this coming year?

I think I'm going to try to post more of the things I make, like my art and especially my writing ;w; Most of the time I'm quite George-ish and am too scared to put any of my stuff out there, for fear that no one will like it, so... I need to get better about that. Also I'd LIKE to get a full-time job and my own place some time next year, but we will see !!!

Idrk who to tag :0 ik @brinkle-brackle @mythical-bookworm and @alex-a-fans have already been tagged but havent technically done it yet... maybe also @backintime @tobytost @ectojester @stillpreoccupiedwith1985 @itsthemorph @doctorbrown @knickynoo and @fourth-dimensional-thinker :) but no pressure to do it, just didnt catch if youd been tagged or not!

[quaranmine]

The fanfic writer anon again; I've went ahead and purchased the book "Fire Season" and I'm struggling to set it down at work. I've made it to page 26 and read how Philip works 10 days and gets 4 days off. Now,I'm only highly assuming that Firewatch!Scar also gets those 4 days off (unless he's off on weekends), what does he do with that time off?

First of all, YOOOOOO FIRE SEASON. I've shouted out that book so many times now it's not surprising to see someone else reading it slfjslkdfjsl. I always assumed that the writers of Firewatch the game referenced it since the book was published before the game, but somehow didn't confirm that until rather recently. It was soooo useful for me writing this story. I actually found it totally by accident in a Half Price Books store because I always browse the environmental science section when I go in. I recognized his name on the spine from a very early research session where I think I'd actually been looking up poetry? So I'm not sure I would have thought to buy the book until much later into the process otherwise, but when I found it on an unrelated store visit, it was serendipity.

Anyway, yes! Let's talk about Scar's time off! I definitely bring up the 10 days on/4 days off a few times I think in the main fic. Crucially, it comes up in the scene where Grian finds the unofficial route Mumbo took between Cloud Lake and Pinnacles and decides to go to the Forest Service Office to investigate. Due to timing reasons I needed to push that back (needed chap 8 to happen, needed to make sure the story lasted until July at least) so I had him doing his investigation on the day before he went back to work for another 10 days. Then, he'd use his next 4 day break to Get Answers at the main office.

But I never really extended that idea to Scar within the main story since it's very Grian POV. Of course Scar gets the same schedule breaks! I imagine, though, that if one of his days off fell on a holiday like the 4th of July, he may be required to shift his schedule since they need him.

I really like your idea of him going to the cinema in town to catch up movies. I think he'd be very into that. He also wouldn't have been able to see Empire Strikes Back or Top Gun in theaters if he didn't go into town to see them since they both came out in May when he would've already been working. As for mail, he probably picks it up from the office. I don't really have a solid point of reference to point to for this being accurate, it's just an amalgamation of what I think sounds normal based on my other research. He has no permanent address in Wyoming and the lookout is basically his address for the season. I bet all the lookouts use the office address as theirs, and just pick up their mail on their days off. Grian mentions at some point that he has mail at the office but he's refused to pick it up because he knows it probably contains semi-worried letters from his friends/family.

That's a rambling way of saying he absolutely is checking in with Cub, Grian, any other friends, and his family. Also, I think Scar is friends with other random people at the agency and around the town. It's implied he's friendly with a few rangers and people who were willing to give him information in the story; I imagine he probably has hung out with those people some outside of work. I don't have any specific hermits to assign these other people, they just....exist in the story universe lol

I will bring out another point though, which is that Scar may not go into town as often as he could due to his disabilities/chronic pain. Scar's lookout is significantly closer to the road than Grian's is. Not necessarily the main road--he'd still have to drive a bit on the Forest Service road to reach the paved highway. But Grian's is a HIKE and Scar's trail from car to cabin is shorter. But it's still rough terrain and a bumpy car ride. If he was having a bad string of days and his spoons were low, he'd probably just skip going to town (if it were an option) and just chill around his lookout. Go painting somewhere or nap. He probably has to do some gauging of how he feels versus how much energy he's likely to expend going to town/making it back in time. This doesn't mean he never goes to town it just is something extra to consider for his character. Especially since he wouldn't be able to leave Jellie there, so he'd have to consider her too.

All in all, I think you could fill in almost whatever for his free time when he's in town. He probably has his RV/trailer parked somewhere there during the summer season, so he'd stay there. Maybe he engages in some good ol' Wyoming cowboy activities and goes to the rodeo. Maybe he hangs out at a local bar and sees some live music. Maybe there's an art festival that comes around in the summer that he goes to or maybe he makes friends with gallery owners :]

[lonely-shine]

Secret Poker

Finaaaalllyyyyy, thanks the fucking gods, this is FINALLY done!! 😭 You wouldn't believe how long this took me (18 hours. It took me 18 hours. Just the sketch took like 8. That's what you get when the reference you used was from the waist/chest up and you had to figure how to do the legs on your own).

So! This is fanart from Secondhand Origin Stories, by @leebrontide (you can get the e-book for free at their gumroad or even read it directly at their tumblr, go check it!). There's this scene where the main cast plays poker together and I've been thinking since my first read that it would do for some cool fanart— and I was right! I was also right that it would take a lot of time and effort but man did I manage to underestimate just how much, lol

Anyway, I think that time and effort at least brought pretty good results? I'm not 100% happy with it, but this is as close as 'perfect' as I could bring it. The lighting would probably be better if I knew what I was doing with it, but I never do, so whatever! The overall result is good, so I'm counting it as a success. I can always try my hand at this at a later date if that's something I want xD

[sportsthoughts]

15 people 15 questions

thank you for the tag @couthbbg !!

1. are you named after anyone?

depending on which of my parents you ask either lucy pevensie (chronicles of narnia) or lucy in the sky with diamonds (beatles) i'm kind of good with either tbh

2. when was the last time you cried?

lol i watched the makeover episode of canada's drag race this afternoon while i ate my lunch and it had me in bits. this season has been a*

3. do you have kids?

not yet. hopefully in the next two years. my inspiration is my sister who has a newborn baby and is still plugging away writing fanfic. best believe if i'm fortunate enough to have a baby i'll be on here doing night feeds and shitposting.

4. what sports do you play/have you played?

very keen gym goer and pilates doer but no fun team sports. did some dance as a kid. i love literally every sport though and will watch and enjoy any sport as a spectator.

5. do you use sarcasm?

does anyone answer this question with no?

6. what's the first thing you notice about people?

physically - hands. not sure why

7. what's your eye color?

what's YOURS

8. scary movies or happy endings?

happy ending. i am not joking when i say you could not pay me to watch a horror movie.

9. any talents?

i am the best houseplant gardener i know. i have never met a houseplant yet i could not revive or make thrive. at this point i maybe have like 50+ houseplants. hmu for gardening tips seriously. its a passion

10. where were you born?

England. not being more specific although if you followed this blog 5 or 10 years ago i actually used to have the name of my HOMETOWN in my blog title. I actually shudder to remember this. what was i thinking. at least i don't live there anymore lol

11. what are your hobbies?

watching sports obvs, pilates, walking, gardening, digital photography, reading, really want to do more crafty stuff but at the moment i struggle to make time for it even though i've hoarded a ton of art supplies. husband is trying to get me into gaming but honestly have 0 patience for it.

12. do you have any pets?

besides my houseplants no. not in a pet friendly house atm. would love a dog but i have to vicariously live through my sister and her cats.

13. how tall are you?

5'4

14. favorite subject in school?

call me crazy but legit all of them. my high school experience was actually pretty positive and i didn't really hate any of school except maths. favourite at a push was probably history although that was mostly due to a very foxy teacher

15. dream job?

feel like most of you know what i do for a job anyway and yeah, it's my dream job. wish i got paid slightly more for it but the work is a dream.

Tagging any of my followers, feel free to say I tagged you! Aaaaaand @heartsoftruth @carlando @geooooooorge @malkinse @queeerkings @cornerihaunt @prettyhockey @ferperss if you're in the mood!

[beansterpie]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Thanks for tagging me @marley-manson! <3

I would tag people but it's late and my brain is tired so literally, PLEASE just adopt this tag meme if you see it and read the whole thing. You have my full permission to say I tagged you, even if we've never spoken lol. Go for it, be audacious.

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

43,487!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Well the posted fic is a Berserk fic, but I have various other wips that I pick away at when I'm bored. Among them include Eyeshield 21, MDZS, RotE, Harry Potter (technically?). Those are the most recent ones anyway.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Chain of Dissent, she's my favorite fic <3 (she's my only fic)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yeah I try to! Though I'll admit uhhhh I haven't updated it in... fucking? two years? god, and so I've been bad about responding to the more recent comments because I feel guilty for not updating in so long :') Really gotta get back to it.

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

None, because I haven't finished a fic yet lol

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not so far! I've gotten a couple of comments that come across as unintentionally mildly rude, but definitely nothing that constitutes as hate.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Well not so far in CoD, but, ahem, I have written smut in one of my wips lol. Deeply self indulgent but I guess character driven? It's mildly nasty and desperate <3

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I haven't actually written a crossover (yet. well, recently) but they are a bit of a passion of mine lmao. I love ridiculous crossovers, and I'm talking about "a magical portal opens up and throws characters from fandom A into the world (& characters) of fandom B" type shit. I don't need the ways in which the characters interact to make sense, I just want them to be thrown together and see where it goes from there. Fish out of water shenanigans! Characters questioning their own motivations and idea of life by seeing a world entirely different from theirs!! Just like, fun shit! I also absolutely don't need for the two fandoms to be similar lol. I have a somewhat detailed Berserk/Eyeshield 21 crossover living rent free in my head so clearly anything goes.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Lol no.

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

Nope!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I'll probably have to say GriffGuts, because it's a ship that's gripped me by the neck for the past 7 years or something, where my interest in it hasn't really waned.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Uhhhh, idk? I mean I am DETERMINED to finish CoD, so that's out. And the wips I write in my spare time are just like, things I do for fun where I don't put any pressure on myself over it. I'm not planning on posting them anywhere, and I'm not generally planning on 'finishing' them either. I mean if I do finish one, I might post it, but again, they're low key things that I'm not taking too seriously.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hm. I honestly don't consider myself a very strong writer, at least in terms of things like prose and sentence structure, grammar, that sort of thing. I think I'm pretty decent at figuring out the direction that I want the story to go, and all the individual steps that need to happen to get to that point in a way that feels organic (at least, imo.) And I like to think I'm pretty good at characterization-- having the characters behaving and reacting in ways that feel like could concievably happen in canon is generally what I'm going for.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Yeah prose, lol. I mean, I don't actually dislike my more.... utilitarian writing style, mainly because I generally prefer reading more direct writing (unless the lyrical writing is really really good), but I do think I could inject some more illustrative details and metaphors into my writing overall. @marley-manson is SO good at coming up with perfect metaphors to describe a situation or feeling, all while perfectly recreating the character's voice, and I really admire that about her writing!

I also want to get better with having characters like, doing things while they're talking. I find a lot of the conversations I write happen between characters just kind of standing around, which obviously is fine but I'd like to construct scenes with a bit more specificity in the future.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Wait so like, say in a fic that is otherwise written in English, having a line of dialogue written in Spanish when a character is speaking it? I... don't have strong feelings about it one way or the other I guess lol. I mean ideally the line(s) written in the other language are correct lol, and not just badly google translated or something.

Though you know, now that I think about it, I feel like it would work best between languages that use the same alphabet (which does end up narrowing the possible languages down quite a lot) because that way the reader can still sound out the dialogue even if the don't understand the language, which could emulate what the pov character is experiencing. Whereas if it was a fic written in English, and then had a line written in, say, Japanese, the reader wouldn't even be able to sound it out so it's kind of a brick wall. (Unless there's footnotes, but that tends to be a little more clunky in fic than in a published book with pages).

If the readers are supposed to understand the dialogue written in another language, like two characters suddenly start speaking in said other language and we're meant to keep up with the conversation, then I feel like it's just easier to translate their words in whatever language the fic is written in otherwise.

But yeah idk, I think with intent and good execution, anything can work, but it could also be done in a way that's more annoying than anything.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I think. It was neopets LMFAO. I remember writing a fic when I was like 10 about Hannah (the adventurer) and Jacques (from the maraqua plot comic) as a romantic couple because I was annoyed at the time that there were multiple fics about Hannah and Garin (or whatever his name was, also from the maraqua plot) getting together even though I thought Garin was BORING and they were just shipped together because they were both usuls (which are overrated imho), even though Jacque was obviously better.

... I may have had a crush on Jacques.

But the first fic that I think I posted anywhere was for Xiaolin Showdown lmfao, probably also when I was 10 or 11 or something. I wrote like four separate fics for that show.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Yeah it's CoD lol. It's the longest thing I've written so far, and I'm overall still very proud of it. I'd probably go back and change some things in the first chapter because it reads a little clunky and like, abrupt to me now, but I'm not doing that until I finish the fic. Allowing myself to go back and edit stuff before I've even finished the story seems like a road to ruin lol.

[cherlawa-panna]

So first of all you’re like permanently associated with Barney Barton in my brain now so just FYI on that lol

and you reblogged the Aunt May thing and that got me thinking like could you imagine just each family member of a superhero going absolutely FERAL in their own unique way about how their superhero family member gets treated by the public or the press or whatever??

and then they make a little support group to trade ideas and tips and commiserate cause like “relative of a superhero” is a tragically small group lol we’ve got what, May, Barney, Hope Lang (who would absolutely organize a school walkout for her dad at the age of like 8 lol) and maybe Sam Wilson’s family?

and they name the group something super sappy that none of them take credit for but secretly they all love it lol

BESTIE, you won't believe how HARD it was to write this post. At first because of my exams, but then my internet stopped working at least five times during writing this and I lost my progress. I swear, this post is cursed 💀 I'M SO SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT. Everything was against me, I swear. I hate tumblr. Also I didn't proof read this because I was too close to strangle someone so bon appetit.

(We're talking about this reblog)

Okay, but let's forget about my misery. And instead let's start with the fact that this is the best compliment I've ever heard in my life. Being associated with this stupid pathetic man is amazing and I am very happy about it 💕 Maybe when I get my shit together I would write something more about him.

But anyway, YOU HAVE AN AMAZING MIND. Want to kiss you so much, this is so incredible. This idea of a support group of superhero's family members is perfect. I will definitely write more posts about it because you opened my mind and I have too many ideas with it right now. I know something like that already existed in comics but I don't remember them trying to fix heroes' images and they were more like a therapy group if I remember correctly.

WE NEED ALSO ADD KATE'S SISTER TO THIS GROUP. After what happened in Hawkeye: Kate Bishop (2021) I am pretty sure Susan would join them. Maybe not immediately because let's be real, she and Kate really had shitty relationship before the Hawkeye (2021) and after all, for a long time she did not even wanted to accept Kate being a hero lol (she literally ended their relationship because of that). Love to imagine that after what happened in Hawkeye (2021) she decided to "Okay. I'll try to being more supportive. Let's fix her shitty image in media" but then she realized how shitty Kate's reputation is and got mad. She's rich lady, I am pretty sure she would try to bribe people to stop talking shit about Kate.

I need her interact with Barney SO BADLY. They always seemed too much alike to me because they both had to grow up faster because of their stupid fathers (I have even post about it in my drafts, maybe I will public it when I wouldn't be too shy) and I'm just so hopeless about POTENTIAL with their friendship. Just older siblings of Hawkeyes who has enough of their little siblings bullshit but also has enough with media bullshit.

And I'm sure they would be TERRIBLE at fixing their sibling's image in the beginning. She would want bribe and he would want to blackmail or intimate (read: beat the shit of people). Even if they tried to solve this normally like May do, it probably wouldn't work well and they would go back to their old ways. Unknowingly more damaging to their siblings' reputation because they're idiots. Because no, bribing and blackmail the press wouldn't help change anything.

They're like those awkward parents who want to support you, but they do it in the worst possible way, embarrassing you in front of others and making you look like a loser. And Susan is the most awkward because she understands absolutely NOTHING about being a superhero. Barney know some things because y'know, he was a"""villain""" (he was so terrible in this to even call him a villain) and had his weird adventure with trying to kill Clint because of Zemo, then Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers with travelling across the multiverse etc. You know the deal. But Susan? Yeah, she helped her sister in Hawkeye (2021) but it was something not normal for her, like she said in #5 issue.

Anyway, Susan would most likely try to pay press to stop talking bad things about Kate but I'm pretty sure it would end badly anyway. I don't really see her writing to magazines, even if she did, she would probably prefer to call editors directly or even invited them for coffee or something like that. She would do it in the most "professional" way.

I can see Sarah being also feral about people talking shit about Sam but I know she would try to fix it in May way. Ya know, writing letters to magazines, giving bad reviews etc. But I know Sarah would send her neighbors and family friends to help her as well. Unfortunately, I didn't read a lot of comics with Sam so I don't know Sarah's personality or Sam's background well, so I can't talk a lot about Sarah. But based on Sarah's reaction when the newspaper wrote article about Sam's "shady past":

Barney however... Let's start with why I think he would be violent. While I like to think that he would try get a redemption after the shit what happened to him when Zemo got his hands on him, he wouldn't be able to live as normal citizen. Since he is still a wanting criminal and public will always connect him with people like Osborn no matter what he would do. So I know he wouldn't try hard to change his usual ways to fix problems since he'll be always see as a criminal. And we know how it works, why change your ways when people will always see you as bad guy? That's why I can see him using violent ways to help "improve" Clint's image. But I think he would try to it do in May way someday, because after all, he is just a tired guy who wants to have a peaceful life BUT we're talking about Barney, c'mon. Maybe he would try to find a balance, I can see him trying so hard to do it in peaceful way, maybe May or Sarah would help him in that lol. He would definitely subscribe to newspapers who wrote good articles about Clint (and if they also has a good crosswords) but he would be (almost) the most casual one in this group. Yeah, sometimes he would beat some random journalist but I like to imagine him joining this group more to find more non-villains friends and try to learn how to support his brother. It's just a weird type of therapy for him.

(Captain America (1968) #276)

... we can say that the way how public perceives Sam definitely affects her emotionally. So if there was ever a situation where suddenly a lot of the press started talking badly about her brother, she would definitely want to do something about it.

I like to imagine that the community where Sam is from (at least the one in the MCU) would definitely be pissed at the media's stupid talk about their Sammy. I'm not even sorry, but they would be his the biggest supporters. I think the media should be afraid to talk badly about Sam because I'm sure Sam's friends/neighbours would destroy them lol.

While Scott's daughter, Cassie is a superhero herself, I honestly think she'd love to join that group anyway. And like you say, Cassie definitely organized a school walkout for her father when she was a little kiddo. She loves her father and we know it make her furious when people call him a criminal.

I can also imagine that Sarah would be the one who started this group. However, I see May more as a "leader" than Sarah, mainly because she treats it more seriously (and I bet she call them "heroes who fight with press" or something like that). But maybe Sarah and May could run it together somehow. Honestly, there's definitely no official leader here, but since Sarah and May would take it the most seriously, they'd probably be the ones leading the group in a way.

(Young Avengers Special Vol 1 #1)

She would probably argue so hard on the internet with assholes insulting her dad, especially after his death. I imagine one day she suddenly popped at Sarah's house where the meetings take place and just like she did with the Young Avengers, announced that from now on she will be part of their group 💀.

My girl just wants to have other people around her who understand how hard it is when their loved ones are treated like a shit by the public. Let her be. Cassie has always been the kind of person to me who didn't care what other people thought about her, ya know? But at he same time when someone suddenly started talking bad about her dad or her friends, she suddenly became aggressive.

As I began to wonder, why don't we add Bucky's sister to the group? Honestly, I think it would be funny. Especially considering what's been going on with Bucky in the comics lately. Poor Becca trying to fix Bucky's image in the media, which is impossible because sometimes I think Bucky's secret hobby is to ruin his reputation as much as possible lmao.

I see her joining this group after her father's death, because Scott, despite sacrificing his life, was still judged by society because of his past. Which isn't fair since Scott turned back to crime to earn money to pay for his daughter's treatment while she was sick. And he actually became Antman to save her. Cassie is one of my favorite female characters, even though she annoys me more often because some authors write her too childishly, but she still has her charm. She's my girl trying her best.

Rebecca is an old woman, ya know, her children live their own lives, her grandchildren do too, maybe we'll kill her husband in this au, so she's also a widow. So it shouldn't be surprise if she started doing it partly out of boredom and partly to get closer to her stupid brother. To her, this whole group would be such a fun hobby, better than playing bingo 💀

I like to imagine she likes to buy gossip magazines, highlights the negative articles about her brother while doing her normal activities, like I don't know, going to church or taking care of her grandchildren. And if she sees an article about someone else, she sends it to the other members of group. While May would take this whole thing seriously, Becca would take it more as fun. BECAUSE HER EFFORTS ARE IN VAIN ANYWAY. SHE WOULDN'T NEVER BE ABLE TO FIX BUCKY'S IMAGE. The media will always talk badly about him because this guy has no intention of acting like a decent citizen. She would fight with the press and lose every time. And even if one (1) newspaper wrote something good about him, suddenly there would be four more newspapers writing the worst things about Bucky.

"and they name the group something super sappy that none of them take credit for but secretly they all love it lol" tbh I tried SO HARD to imagine what name would be, BUT I'M SO UNCREATIVE. But I love this concept. I see Clint making fun of Barney because of that lmaoo. But at the same time, Clint would be happy because it means HIS BROTHER IS CARING ABOUT HIM. Clint has such low expectations of his brother, he'll accept ANYTHING AT THIS POINT.

(This gave me an idea for a winterhawk fanfic where Becca and Barney knew each other from this group and Becca suddenly tries to get even closer to Barney because "our brothers are dating, WE'LL BE FAMILY SOON, WE SHOULD SPEND MORE TIME TOGETHER". Imagine one day Bucky finally visits his sister and finds Barney and Becca (and maybe the rest of the group) playing bingo or crosswords together. And Buck is "YOU KNOW EACH OTHER???" and Becca would be "Oh yes. He keeps me company, unlike SOMEBODY WHO WON'T EVEN ANSWER MY CALLS".)

I'm sure Susan would be against such a sappy name for a very long time because she's a SERIOUS businesswoman and she takes this whole group SERIOUSLY. But I know she would love it after some time, she has such a vibe of corny mom.

Cassie would think this name is super non-cool and try to find better name but her names would be WORSE. I'm so sorry Cassie, but you're sometimes personification of embarrassment.

Somehow it's funny to me that everyone here has a slightly different approach to this whole group. It could be the perfect idea for some fanfic series, because their dynamic would definitely be chaotic.

Barney Barton: Joined because he wanted to make friends fix his relationship with Clint and to do something good with his life. His ways are brutal (and illegal), but maybe in the future he will change it.

May Parker: Takes it very very seriously. She's also the most supportive of other members and most likely will give you the best advice.

Sarah Wilson: Also takes it seriously but not in the extreme way as May. She has "army" of neighbors and friends who are always happy to help her with "fixing" Sam's image.

Susan Bishop: She wants to support her sister and show that she accepts her as a superhero now. She treats it like a job and she prefer to call/invite editors directly for a talk or try to bribe them.

Cassie Lang: The most aggressive of them all. I would call her a combination of May and Barney tbh. Mostly probably arguing on forums or elsewhere on the internet.

Rebbeca Proctor: She treats it as a hobby and a nice way to spend time. She knows her efforts are in vain so she's here just for the ride.

Anyway, that's my thoughts about this concept! Thanks again for ask it was such fun to think about it! 💕💕 I'm again very sorry for a long wait, I swear it wouldn't happen again. I'll probably make another post if I come up with something else with this concept lool.

[mycurrentobsessionis]

Just coming to tell you I've been reading your wayhaven takes and they're 10/10 🫶🏼 are you excited about b3? Which route are you going to play first?

Thank you so much <3

I am extraordinarily excited for B3, but I'm not sure which route I'm doing first. Whichever route I am doing is my favorite in the moment lol.

Morgan is my favorite in a way because I feel like we get to go on this self-discovery journey with her. She is clearly puzzled at her own maintained interest, even if the detective turns her down for sex due to having feelings and wanting the sex to mean something. Watching her attempts to justify this as just being down for the chase is really funny. Especially as she grows more attached to the detective. For example, on this playthrough I just completed, I had my detective outright state "I don't want to have sex with you unless it means something." Given that Morgan accepts with a graceful "no big, one-night-stands aren't everyone's thing," you would expect her to either give up or realize that she might have actual feelings for this person. Buuuut she doesn't. She is at least questioning it, though, and I enjoy seeing the dissonance between what she says she wants and how she actually behaves from her perspective.

As for Nat... Well, I'll put it like this. When I was 8, I saw "The Color Purple" for the first time. If you are unfamiliar with the novel or film, it is a coming-of-age story about a young black woman named Celie living in the American South in the early 20th century. Anyway, there is a scene where Shug, a blues singer, is serenading Celie. She makes her way across the tavern as she sings about how resilient and kind Celie is, until she is kneeling in front of the other woman and gently pulling her hands away from her face to reveal this beautiful smile.

I was transfixed by that scene; it was the romantic ideal to me. Someone kind and patient meeting another person where they were at. I see Nat's route as meeting the same ideal. Hers feels the most like soulmates, even though I'm actually not a fan of that trope typically. It's very romantic, and I would 100% read a traditional novel about Nat.

Then there's Farah. As I mentioned above, whoever I'm romancing on a given route becomes I favorite. When I don't play for a while, I tend to gravitate towards Farah. She's a fun, friends-to-lovers, cozy romance. She's straightforward and honest about her feelings. She's the kind of person I would want to date IRL. I made a post a couple of months ago where I talked about Farah as being one of my top three comfort characters. In context of strictly Wayhaven, what makes Farah my favorite is that even when I'm not on her route, she's my favorite character. Not in a "I have to hold myself back from romancing her" kind of way, but in the way that even in the friend route, I absolutely love her. I have a type, and it's straightforward and chaotic.

Now I don't enjoy Ava's route as much for a few reasons. This disappoints me a bit, because there aren't a lot of a-spec ROs in games (I think William from Changeling is the last one I can remember really liking) and I like Ava as a character so much. She's complex and interesting, and I don't mind not having physicality as part of the romance (trust me, as a sex-averse person, I really don't mind). Nor do I take issue with characters being confused about their feelings. But Ava is aware of her feelings and of the Detective's. I know there are reasons as to why she is hesitant to begin a relationship, but her method of push-and-pull is deeply frustrating to me. In-universe, the Detective has even less insight as to why she does this, and in their place I would both feel extremely hurt and probably have given up pursuing anything with her.

This brings us to the LT. Now, generally, I am not a fan of LTs, as I don't like making choices like this in games. They stress me out XD. However, this tends to feel, to me, as the way Ava's romance works the best. If you weren't aware, TWC was originally intended to be a traditional novel series, with the Detective (who I think was orginally named Lauren) in a LT with Nate and Adam. This is why that is the only LT available -- it was central to the original plot. While I think Mishka has done a good job adapting to a different medium and all romances feel canon when it comes to individual playthroughs, I think A's status as 1/2 of a LT kind of lingers in the background on their individual route.

I am currently replaying everyone to have some saves ready and fresh in my mind for B3. I will most likely be on Farah when B3 becomes available, so she'll probably be the first lol.

Anyway, don't know if you have an account on Tumblr or anything, but I'd love to hear your takes too!

[catnippackets]

How to come up with tunes basically. Like how to make music that sounds good. How to put different sounds/instruments together in a way that is enjoyable. All I have to work with is GarageBand but I feel like everything I’ve tried to make just sounds like… disorganized? Idk it never sounds like it flows well. I try to do it like the songs I’ve enjoyed do it, where it starts with one sound/instrument/beat and then more sounds are added one at a time until the additional complexity makes it sound better and better - like what you did in Help Like You. How do I do that is what I’m trying to ask, I don’t know if I’ve articulated that properly. How do you put different sounds together in a way that doesn’t sound like a mess?

this still feels very vague to me so I'm just gonna try to explain what I do and hopefully that's of at least some use to you lol I'm not good at all with explaining my process behind any art that I do so I honestly don't think you're gonna get much out of this but I'll try anyway (I also cannot read or write music so idk if that will make my advice better or worse lol)

music does not come naturally to me, at least making songs never feels very natural. usually in the past when I've made music it's felt like I would just wake up one day and my brain would know that something had to come out today and then I'd write the song and then I wouldn't be able to do it again for another like 8 months. it's a little easier to do it now though. when the melody doesn't just come to me like that I usually either fiddle around w a keyboard (I'm sure there's one in garageband if that's what you're using) and hit some notes that sound nice together and then just kind of go from there. OR what happens a lot is I'll be in bed right on the verge of falling asleep and I'll get a little tune in my head that comes from nowhere and then I have to quickly roll over and hum it into my phone before I forget it and then when I wake up I do something with it lol. usually I come up w the melody for the chorus and then for the verses you just sort of build off the chorus to do something that fits with it?? idk how else to explain it

another thing that works in my favour in this regard is I'm really bad at mimicking other people's styles (both visual art and music sounds), so if I'm listening to a song and hear like a drum beat that I really dig I can think "hm I wanna make a song with that drum beat" and then when I recreate it, it really sounds nothing like the drum beat I was trying to mimic, but it still sounds nice and then I have a nice new song that you can't tell was inspired by something else at all bc I can't copy things lol

I would say if you're having trouble, do a bunch of covers of songs you like first instead of starting with your own music. make a playlist of songs you really like and study them, see how the different sounds work with each other, and then try to recreate them, so you can see how many layers go into a song and what makes other people's songs work. you can start small, with the bass/harmony and then singing along with it, like someone who just plays the guitar or piano and sings, and then progress to adding more instruments. adding harmonies will make the melody stronger. adding a bass line (no specific instrument but it will probably be very low) will sort of support the melody and give it a little more depth without distracting from it. the beat will indicate the speed of the song (generally the beat is what you dance to, instead of the melody). you don't need all of them to make a good song, it can be as simple or complicated as you like, but there's plenty of songs out there that only use like one instrument and still sound lovely so you don't have to get too crazy, especially not at first

also I've never used garageband cuz I don't use apple products but before I bought fl studio I used bandlab, which is free for anybody to use and super easy, they have a wide range of instruments and you can also add premade loops too! just in case anyone else is reading this who can't use garageband, the layout looks very similar to it (the only annoying thing is you only get 16 layers which sounds like a lot at first but truly is not lol)

good luck!!

[kitkatt0430]

Answer the Questions and Tag 5 Fanfic Authors

Thanks for the tag @goldheartedchaoticdisaster :D

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Writing fanfic was something I just started doing because I wanted to have more Voyager stories about Seven of Nine when I was still pretty young. Actually posting up fanfics I'd written? Junior High, I think - so preteens/early teens - when a friend introduced me to the wonderful world of Fanfiction.net; I started reading fic and worked up the courage to actually post my own after a bit.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

51? I think? It's at least that many, anyway.

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

I joined FFnet in 2002 so let's just go with 22 years. I did write some stuff before that, but none of it was posted and all of it is lost.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

I read more, but I certainly do write a lot. :D

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

I've gotten a lot better at world building. But also establishing initial characterizations and making character growth make sense.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Not necessarily weird, but I've looked up information on various degrees and how long they take to complete as well as different types of power of attorney - yes, there is more than one! - and the different ways they apply.

7. What’s your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

I like the comments that have reactions to different parts of the fic/chapter and maybe favorite quotes as they read along. Those are the types of comments I like to leave most too.

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

Lol, does writing a Fringe/Flash crossover fic count? ;)

I've got some pretty rare pairs that I've written for - Reverb/HR and Savitar/Reverb and Savitar/Eobard are probably the most rare thus far but I find I enjoy the challenge of rare pairs that are of the ships that pass in the night variety so I may wind up with more very rare pairs as time goes on.

There's been a few experimental-ish fics I've written, like Spiral which… I'm not really sure how to describe the style for that fic.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

I struggled a lot with the ending to You Must Live (For Me) because it was a bad guys win fic and so I knew from the start I'd be killing off Iris. But it was still difficult to do.

So overall I think fics that kill off main characters in some way? I don't write that often, but even just the aftermath of such a thing can be really difficult to write. Grief is just… hard to write because it hurts so much.

10. What is the easiest type?

Fluffy, silly fics. Things like Buzz Buzz often just flow easily because they're silly and fun.

But often also fics that address things I feel strongly about. Not always - sometimes I get in my own way with those fics - but sometimes that strong emotion will just carry me through writing something until suddenly I have an entire fic. Seeress was definitely one of those where replaying the ending of Final Fantasy 13-2 where the bad guy has basically pulled a 'heads I win, tails you lose' scenario (which the final game rectifies) had me speculating on how some of the foreshadowing in the game indicated there could have been a different ending to things.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my computer - though a tablet + keyboard combo will do in a pinch. Rarely on a notebook these days because I can't guarantee I'll find the motivation to transcribe it later, though notebooks are a good place for making story notes instead of fic writing.

I'll typically use LibreOffice because it's easy to use and free. I'll also use Notion, which has a free tier and is good for when I want to be able to work on a fic from my tablet or on a different computer from usual.

For my sins… sometimes I'll write a fic directly into Ao3's editor.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

I'm trying to get better at making 'one day' become 'today' when it comes to this sort of thing. I feel like my Flash/Fringe crossover series falls into this because what I want to do for the series is ambitious and so while I don't want to bite off more than I can write (as it were), I don't want to keep putting it off because it makes me worry I won't do it justice. I won't do it anything at all if I don't at least try.

13. What made you choose your username?

My sister picked it out when she helped me make my first email account as a kid and I've been partial to it ever sense. Kitkatt0430 is in many ways as much my name now as my real name. I've used it for FFnet, my short lived attempt at Live Journal, Ao3, Tumblr (though I have Starstruckpurpledragon here too), and a few other places.

@sophiainspace @coldflasher @incorrectcoldflashblog @terrie01 @fezwearingjellybananas & anyone who wants to play :D