#aspiring mediocre writer

[flapjackoctolover]

Genuine, oddly specific question…

If someone were to make a character a self-insert, and people started shipping said self-insert with other characters, would that be weird? Like, say, if I were to write a book and one of the side characters was basically a self-insert, but people started shipping them with other characters, would that be awkward? I don’t know how to feel about it, but I guess it’s hard to avoid within the shipping community. (Frankly, I’d find it kind of entertaining, but should I feel that way?)

Also, at what point does a self-insert become *not* a self-insert? Because if a character has similar traits to you, or you’re projecting your own experiences for the sake of relatability, doesn’t that make them a self-insert? Would that make many characters that are seemingly unrelated to the author self-inserts in some way?

I’m really sorry, this is a stupid question (and I only took one year of creative writing in high school). I’m also really dumb, so please forgive me.

[always-coffee]

My darlings, a moment.

Take the word “aspiring” out of your bios. YEET it into the sun. Never speak of it again.

Do you make art? Write? Take photographs?

Congrats! You’re an artist, a writer, a photographer.

If you create, you earned that fully.

[simple-and-cozy-life]

I went to adoration last night for part of Holy Thursday and spent two hours praying conversing with God.

I originally was just going to stay an hour, but I really had a lot weighing on me.

I really desire marry my boyfriend but we're both in wacky places in our careers and it doesn't seem feasible to get married yet. I really yearn to be his wife and he my husband. We could have so much joy through that. I've literally dreamt of it and we're so perfect for each other. I cannot wait to support each other and welcome little ones. I want to nurture and provide for all of them and have a wonderful little family.

I am also leaving to study violin/viola performance at a university in another state 3 hours away. I really am not sure if I made the right decision but I'm committed now. It's something I very much want to do and to become better at my craft so I can teach better and get better gigs.

It weighs a lot on me because I'll be two extra hours away from my boyfriend and I really like my students at my current job. I spent a lot of time in prayer about them because some of them worry me. I also don't have all the moving details ironed out yet, which stresses me out.

Much of the conclusion I came to is the things I want will happen, just not yet. I just need to make it through these next two years and everything will be fine. It might not exactly look like what I envision, but there are lessons I need to learn at grad school beyond the coursework itself.

Grad school will be challenging. Being away will be challenging. Starting somewhere new will be challenging. Finances will be challenging.

But I'm not going into this alone, even if I'm the only one moving there.

I will need to trust that He will lead me, and I will follow.

For we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. - 2 Corinthians 5:7-9

Dare to declare who you are. It is not far from the shores of silence to the boundaries of speech. The path is not long, but the way is deep. You must not only walk there, you must be prepared to leap. -St. Hildegard of Bingen

[puckinghischier]

PuckingHischier’s Masterlist

quick intro: alli, she/her, 20s, big devils enthusiast, aspiring canucks girly, mediocre writer, yapper 🫶🏼

hello lovelies!! i wanted to try to put all of my writing in one spot so it’s a little easier to navigate. This might not be the prettiest masterlist in the world but it’s functional and that’s what matters. I hope you enjoy!! :)

Nico Hischier

Locksmith series (ON HOLD)

1. Locksmith

2. Bouy

3. Jersey Talk

4. Hat Trick

One-Shots

- Chef’s Kiss

- Suds n Sorrows

- Desperate For Dessert (18+)

- Tattoos Together

- Shadow Puppets

- Tentastrophe

- The 7th Year

- Falling, Fallen

- Neighbors

- I Don’t Dance

- In-Between

Headcanons

- Gameday!Nico

- Boyfriend!Nico

- Disney!Nico

Jack Hughes

One-Shots

- Nervous

- Sunburnt

- Meet the Parents

- Choices

- Fakers

-Dogtooth (18+)

Luke Hughes

One-Shots

- Prison For Life

- Surprise…?

- Cart Girls and Curly Q’s

- Crowded

- Spotlight

Quinn Hughes

One-Shots

- Mornings (18+)

- Quick Study (18+)

Blurbs

- hughes brothers

- jealous!quinn, cont.

- comfort!luke, cont.

- hughes!comfort

- celebrating!luke

- luke’s curls

- pouty!jack (18+)

- asshole!jack (18+)

- golf!quinn

- insecure!quinn

- quinn taking care of you while you’re drunk

- arguing w/quinn over the sauna

- quiet lover!quinn, extra.

- book!quinn (18+)

- munch!quinn (18+)

- another munch!quinn (18+)

- slow, praise!sex quinn (18+)

- boat!jack

- whipped!jack

- jack & luke love quinn’s gf, cont.

- girldad!nico

- more dad!nico

- even more dad!nico

- comfort!nico

- comforting nico during a slump

- binge watching w/nico

- reassurance!nico

- domestic morning!nico

- studybuddy!nico

- angry!quinn (post game), bonus (18+)

- needy!nico (18+)

- frustrated!nico (18+)

- friends or more?nico

- valentine!nico

- soft launch w/nico

- christmas decorating!nico

- christmas movie watching!quinn

- present wrapping!quinn

[brother-laetus]

Salvete omnes!

I am Brother Laetus, formerly of Fiorenza, now of…what is this place called again? “Farnham”? Eh vabbè…I am certain this penitential exile cultural exchange will be a marvelous adventure of piety and great scholastic inquiry for all concerned. I am a scribe and aspiring librarian, a mediocre but eager Latinist (and I am NOT a heretic, no matter what those liars at Santa Maria Novella might be saying)! My favorite saints are Augustine, Thomas Aquinus, and Franciscus Petrarch 😉

OOC: this is a fictional character created for the freeform Farnham Monastery RP game on Tumblr. Posts will be tagged #monkposting and #unreality. I have no idea how long I will be able to keep up this gag so honestly if he gets excommunicated at some point a) he will deserve it and b) I will find it hilarious.

For the sake of transparency: I the writer am a very full grown ass adult. I will not be putting anything NSFW here (the Catullus incident doesn't count), just disclosing.

[cosmiccare]

WELCOME TO COSMICCARE

If this is annoying, do not fret- this will be the only time I will post in the main tags.

This is an ask blog derivative of @sparklecarehospital and @askcometcare. Aside from lifting the green cat and purple dog, the general gist of their partners, and the hospital in which they met, everything else is warped beyond recognition and largely made from scratch, so please don't expect canon complicity.

The ask box is currently OPEN.

Below the cut is most of the about page, featuring descriptions for the characters.

Content Warning

Per the source, there may be mentions of canon typical medical malpractice and mental health struggles up to suicidal ideation and self harm. This webcomic also focuses entirely on dysfunctional family dynamics and familial discourse.

The Family

They are collectively called the Cosmic family, for no particular reason except that the majority of the members enjoy the night sky. The below character listings are information as currently known, and some things may not be disclosed immediately.

The Parents…

Aluminum (Ale) Mint

48 yr old, transmale (he/him) bisexual Professional physicist and direct father to Aurora Din Airy, Winter Green Mint, Reese Ent Mint, and Ace Oort Cloud Mint.

Imogen Airy

45 yr old, bigender (she/he/neos(pup/swag/paw/love)) pansexual Professional streamer and small time personal artist as well as direct mother to Enon Haus Zero (estranged), Aurora Din Ary, Lumin Airy, and Ace Oort Cloud Mint.

Rhys Per

49 yr old, intersex nonbinary (they/it>he) gay Professional grocery store cashier and restocker and direct parent to Ed Salut Zero, Lumin Airy, Reese Ent Mint, and Ace Oort Cloud Mint.

Kevin Zero

50 yr old, genderfluid (any pronouns) aromantic Professionally unemployed and direct parent to Ed Salut Zero, Enon Haus Zero (estranged), Winter Green Mint, and Ace Oort Cloud Mint.

The Kids…

Ed Salut Zero

22 yr old, trans man (he/they) undisclosed sexuality Child of Kevin Zero and Rhys Per. Obligatory takes care of his family.

Aurora Din Airy

18 yr old, transfem nonbinary (she/they/star) straight Child of Ale Mint and Imogen Airy. A talented engineer currently in college; when not working on her career, she’s teeters on the edge of mad science.

Lumin Airy

17 yr old, nonbinary (she/pup) lesbian Child of Rhys Per and Imogen Airy. Aspiring (and failing) artist and writer. Considers herself a princess.

Winter Green Mint

15 yr old, male (he/him) undisclosed sexuality Child of Ale Mint and Kevin Zero. Mediocre artist and writer. Does his best to help his family, despite apparently holding known resentment towards many members within it.

Reese Ent Mint

12 yr old, female (she/squeak/kit) undisclosed sexuality Child of Ale Mint and Rhys Per. Likes ‘cool things’, like dinerries, sports, and bullying others.

Ace Oort Cloud Mint

10 yr old, genderfluid (they/it/(bit/byte)) aromantic Child of Ale Mint, Rhys Per, Imogen Airy, and Kevin Zero, all together. A chemistry savant and eternal ray of sunshine.

[tyrantisterror]

What's the worst legacy sequel you've ever seen? What, in your opinion, separates a good legacy sequel from a bad legacy sequel and what's the worst thing you think a legacy sequel can do?

The worst that I've seen is probably Rise of Skywalker. It's close competition, though - both Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic World: Dominion have moments that are significantly more stupid than anything in Rise of Sky Walker, but I also think both have a bit more creative effort put into them - Fallen Kingdom has that third act where it basically becomes a Resident Evil adaptation except with a murder-saurus in place of the Tyrant, and Dominion has the whole locust plotline which, while terrible, is at least an unexpected direction for a Jurassic Park sequel to go into that tries to figure out something ELSE you could do with the genetic engineering premise of the franchise beyond just making dinosaurs. Like, all three Jurassic World movies have big problems and they get progressively dumber with each installment, but they're also all ambitious to some degree that I still feel respect for, even if they never really actually reach those lofty aspirations.

Rise of Skywalker, on the other hand, has no ambitions at all. It has nothing it wants to say, no unique twists to pull, no real identity of its own. It's a potroast made of leftovers from better movies, a resuscitated corpse of something much more interesting, patched together like a Frankenstein's monster and abandoned to a cruel world just as callously.

It has no desire to do anything new, merely a checklist of Things You've Seen Before That the Focus Groups Say You'd Probably Like to See Again. Any character that can be slipped into an arc that was done in a previous Star Wars film is slipped into one no matter how little sense it makes for them, and any character who can't is either forced to tread water with nothing to do (hi Finn!) or just quietly shoved off to the side early on and forgotten about (hi Rose!).

Any story beats that weren't in the original films are simply grabbed from a box that reads "time tested cliches to keep your script moving with minimal effort." Make the plot a treasure hunt so we can just race from scene to scene with the flimsiest justification possible and try and trick the audience into thinking something is actually happening! What's that, audience interest is flagging? Quick, throw in a cameo of someone from an older movie! What's that, they're bored again? Pretend to kill one of the old characters, but make sure to reveal they actually lived in no more than two scenes down the line, or else we might piss off the fanboys! Hey, let's look at the Cinema Sins videos for the original movies and see if there's some gripes we can "fix" with this one for added fan cred! Can't disappoint our audience!

It's the story-telling equivalent of smothering something in salt to cover up the funky taste of the close-to-the-expiration-date ingredients.

As for what makes a good vs. a bad legacy sequel... ok, so, let's define legacy sequel first. A legacy sequel is a film or TV show that is a sequel to a popular film or TV series that ended a good many years ago, which brings back some of the old cast of characters (generally played by the same, and thus much older, actors that played them in the past) along with adding a new cast of characters played by younger actors. It tries to replicate the tone of the original series despite being made in a different era and probably by different writers and directors, and generally aims to give you that Ratatouille style moment of nostalgia.

I think most Legacy sequels are kind of doomed to be mediocre at best on the outset because the goal of them from the moment of conception is so mercenary - they're not created to Tell A Good Story, they're created to Keep Consumers Invested in a Lucrative Content Franchise. They have the artistic aspirations of a McDonald's Hamburger - "This tastes exactly like what you had as a kid, and doesn't that make you crave more of it?"

I don't think that art made for mercenary reasons is doomed to be bad, mind you - I mean, almost ALL movies and television were made to make money first and foremost. Even the classic High Art movies I love like Seven Samurai and The Third Man were made for mercenary reasons at the end of the line - it didn't stop the people who were working on them from having artistic goals, but it's a fact nonetheless.

But Legacy Sequels just have an uphill battle in the "artistic aspirations" department, because most people with artistic aspirations don't want to recreate the feeling someone else inspired with their art - they want to put their own stamp on it, their own spin, their own voice. And that will often mean something VERY different will be made, something that might piss of the fans - something that doesn't taste like the McDonald's hamburger you had as a kid, even though it came in the same wrapper.

The worst parts of Legacy Sequels are the only parts that Rise of Skywalker is made of - the parts where the story is clearly only trying to show you things you know, only trying to reheat the leftovers so they taste like your memories, only trying to trick the nostalgia center of your brain that you're four years old again eating at McDonald's. "Here's the thing you know! Here's the running gag you liked, repeated five more times by actors with far less enthusiasm! Here's the same basic premise as the first film, but the stakes have been inflated to make it feel like a progression! Cameos! Catch phrases! Eat your hamburger, you consumer pig!"

The rare good legacy sequels don't really TRY to be legacy sequels. They're just... sequels. Another story in the same world as the first, bringing back the characters who actually have interesting arcs left in them, creating new characters with their own shit going on who have good chemistry with the pre-established characters and setting, expanding on themes from the original and exploring parts of the setting that hadn't been explored yet, and all in all telling their own story that's related to the first one's but still manages to be its own distinct thing.

There are not many good legacy sequels, because a good legacy sequel is different than the McDonald's hamburger you ate when you were four, and might make less money than desired because of it.

[artiststarme]

Midlife Crisis

Should I write this into a longer fic or leave it as is? I hope you guys like it and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

~*~*~*~

Steve didn’t know what to do with his life. It was a common thought he had on his shifts at Family Video. What was he doing? He of all people knew how short life could be and yet, he was wasting his own. Steve spent his weekdays working soul-draining double shifts just to sleep all weekend or work some more to make a meager $3.25 an hour. It was pathetic. 

He didn’t have any goals or aspirations. His friends were making plans, trying to impact the world and make a difference. Dustin was taking a bunch of STEM classes so he could apply to MIT in a few years and work at NASA like some type of hotshot mathematical genius. Robin was applying for elite linguistics programs at colleges across the country to understand more cultures and ways of communicating. Even Eddie ‘repeated high school three times’ Munson had goals. He was traveling to different cities with the band, trying to make it big as Corroded Coffin. 

Steve’s biggest goal was to get out of bed in the morning and stay alive for another day but he wasn’t even doing that very well. He needed something to be interested in, something to devote his life to and take pride in but he had no idea where to even start. 

Steve was twenty years old and having a midlife crisis. He hadn’t even enjoyed any of the twenty years he’d been around and now it felt like he was too late to do anything about it. He was too old for college, too dumb to get in even if he wasn’t. He couldn’t get a good job without a degree or quality life experience and he couldn’t mention any of that thanks to a stack of NDA’s.

He needed something though. His parents were done with housing their deadbeat son who managed to disappoint them with anything he attempted. He was sick of his friends saying that they had to study or they’d end up like him. And he was sick and tired of being the only person he knew that had nothing going for him. 

So one day, he decided to be spontaneous. He put in an application to the University of Illinois with an entrance essay about personal struggles, neglect, and self-doubt. He poured his heart and soul into that essay hoping against all odds that the admittance committee would look past his mediocre grades and would take a chance on the kid that struggled all by himself behind a smiling facade. 

He forgot about the application until he got a letter in the mail from the university. He almost threw it away right then but decided to take a look just to reinforce what he already knew, no college would want him. 

But they did. They congratulated him on his acceptance into their school in the fall and complimented the writing skills in his essay. They said they looked forward to having him join their program and mentioned that he would make a difference. 

So Steve took them up on it. He kept the news to himself until it was time to leave and said his goodbyes to the Party on his way out of town. He was moving on so they could too. Steve wouldn’t be the one holding them back anymore. Then, he drove past the Leaving Hawkins sign without a backwards glance. 

Years later, Steve thought back on his midlife crisis. He was just a stupid kid at the time that didn’t know all of the options he had at his disposal. Now, he was a world-renowned novelist with novels on the New York Times Bestseller list. He never would’ve seen himself becoming a writer but here he was, working his dream job. 

He never would’ve seen himself dating Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson either but here they were, partnered since 1988, married since 2014, and touring the world together on the Corroded Coffin international tour. 

Steve was having a crisis about a lot of things but everything turned out better than he ever could have imagined. He could’ve given up or accepted that he would never make a difference in the world or have a purpose in life. But instead, he took a chance and now he was living the best life that he could’ve ever dreamed of.

Permanent Tag List: @doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @carlyv @pyrohonk @straight4joekeery @conversesweetheart @estrellami-1 @suddenlyinlove @yikes-a-bee @swimmingbirdrunningrock @perseus-notjackson @anaibis @merricatty @maya-custodios-dionach @grtwdsmwhr @manda-panda-monium @lumoschild @goodolefashionedloverboi @mentallyundone @awkwardgravity1 @anzelsilver @jestyzesty @gregre369 @mysticcrownshipper @disasterlia @lillys-weird-world @messrs-weasley @gay-stranger-things @pnk-lemonades @coolestjoy30 @strangerthingfanfic @dangdirtydemons

[gayleonofcuy]

Writing Lessons from ASOIAF

The last night fell black and moonless, but for once the sky was clear. "I am going up the hill to look for Ghost," he told the Thenns at the cave mouth, and they grunted and let him pass.

So many stars, he thought as he trudged up the slope through pines and firs and ash. Maester Luwin had taught him his stars as a boy in Winterfell; he had learned the names of the twelve houses of heaven and the rulers of each; he could find the seven wanderers sacred to the Faith; he was old friends with the Ice Dragon, the Shadowcat, the Moonmaid, and the Sword of the Morning. All those he shared with Ygritte, but not some of the others. We look up at the same stars, and see such different things. The King's Crown was the Cradle, to hear her tell it; the Stallion was the Horned Lord; the red wanderer that septons preached was sacred to their Smith up here was called the Thief. And when the Thief was in the Moonmaid, that was a propitious time for a man to steal a woman, Ygritte insisted. "Like the night you stole me. The Thief was bright that night."

-Jon, ASoS

I have this passage marked as 'writing inspiration' and wanted to share why I like it, if (like me) you are an ASOIAF fan and struggling aspiring writer. GRRM does a few things in this passage that I think are helpful 'advice.'

Exposition: When people criticize bad books not set in our world (or even mediocre books that could be better), one of the most common complaints is clunky exposition or info dumping, especially in the first few chapters of the novel.

Here, GRRM is expositing in a way that adds depth and richness to Westerosi and Freefolk societies. Jon lists the stars by talking about his childhood (which we already care about) and compares and contrasts his names with the names by which Ygritte knows them. This is more retainable and interesting for readers than if he had simply looked up at the sky and listed them for us.

Importantly, we are three books into the series, but we are still learning about the world. Everything hasn't been told to us already.

Lesson: Find memorable ways to show your worldbuilding. And you don't need to show everything in the first few chapters.

Cultural similarities: By this point, we've learned that the Freefolk are descendants of the First Men who were kicked on the worse side of the wall. This is one way of reinforcing the point, by having them share names for 'universal' things like stars.

Cultural differences: The influence of the Andals' religion on the common tongue, even among the First Men, is obvious here with the star named the Smith. But the passage is also pointing out at least a couple of other differences between their geographies and cultures.

1. The Fauna of Beyond-the-Wall: At the beginning of ASOS, Chett's prologue notes

It was a rare thing to find even a dozen mounted wildlings, and five hundred...

One of the advantages that the Rangers have over the Freefolk is their properly armed and armored warriors, but it seems clear that horses is another. Jon mentions that most of the people in the column are traveling by foot.

And even more telling, only one in a hundred wildlings was mounted. The Old Bear will go through them like an axe through porridge.

Stallions, while important in both cultures, are perhaps less important to lay people beyond the wall. At the very least, they're not important or perhaps relevant enough to the common person to merit the name of a star. The King's Crown also falls in this category, obviously.

2. The importance of thieving in Freefolk culture: The harshness of the North, especially during winter, has been established many times. This is magnified north of the wall, which is colder and more brutal. Aside from climate, a big reason is because they lack regular commerce with the rest of the Seven Kingdoms due to the Wall. They can't exactly show up to the Vale to buy grain during hard times.

Thus the Freefolk have had to become necessary thieves, and thieving has in turn been raised to a point of respect or reverence, even extending to their courting or mating customs.

We don't know at this point, whether stealing women was part of First Men culture that the Northerners gradually discarded. But, I think we can say that part of the reason the Freefolk have elevated stealing to a virtue is because it's so necessary. Thieves are needed for luxuries, like silks, wine, spices and so on. But they're also crucial for survival, by taking weapons and perhaps food and goods that you can eat or trade for food during their harsh winters.

So the Thief is great name for a major star in their culture, in the way that Jupiter was in western European culture.

Movement: We learn later that Jon is (brooding) on a hill near the wall, a long ways away from The Fist of the First Men where we saw him last. The end of the passage also sets up Jon describing the beginning of his physical relationship with Ygritte, but he does this in post. There is no 'and the next day, and the next day' until we get to the meat (heh) which is the instinct of many newbie writers. We have arrived here without tedious descriptions of progress, while also covering a lot of physical, emotional and narrative ground.

[autism-purgatory]

Writer intro or something

Hey! I’m G.J, I’m an aspiring writer and (kind of) fanfic writer! I wrote Old Republic fanfic when I was 12 and was never the same again. I’m particularly fond of dark fantasy and revenge stories.

current interests: MW2, Dungeon Meshi, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Fear and Hunger, and Jujutsu Kaisen.

here are some of my WIP’s! (Jfc there’s so many)

Altered_Humanity: The New (and better) version of Augmented Humanity. Post apocalyptic urban fantasy. Humanity already collapsed centuries ago, and whatever’s left is being wiped out by the remnants of a fantasy world that strangely fused with ours when it began to die. An android and a demi-god are convinced they’re the good guy, fighting each other for the greater good. (Inspo: NieR: Automata, Drakengard 3, Dying Light)

Tales of the Sculpted Lands (my magnum opus): A Dark Fantasy anthology, about various stories and myths of the ever-evolving sculpted lands. (Inspo: Berserk, Demon’s Souls, ICO trilogy)

Grayguard: A fantasy adventure story about a group of “elite” knights with three goals in mind

1: rescue their master from an ancient demon with magic robots

2: stop the major kingdoms from imploding after said master got kidnapped

3: Therapy? (Inspo: Aurora, Jujutsu Kaisen, Tears of the Kingdom)

WanderStruck: About a popular knight that gets kidnapped into the regular world and his growing love for the nerd who got him there (inspo: Panty & Stocking, WALL-E, Little Witch Academia. Yeah I know these make no sense)

Shadows Over Novald: An Urban Fantasy story about two peculiar partners in crime when their home, the city-state of Novald, is cloaked in darkness, the only way to lift the curse is to kill the five magic wielding humans that lurk in the city. There’s magic, espionage, a dash of steampunk, and so, so much murder and chaos. (Inspo: Discworld, Inglourious Basterds)

Chaos Travelers: A dragon bard with a southern accent, a necromantic death cult runaway, a cat lady with magic paint, and a knight with a spooky clone get invited to save an island kingdom. The results? Absolute madness. (Inspo: Dungeon Meshi, Belkinus Necro Hunt)

And here’s my AO3 fics!

Little Doll (Bloodborne Fic): about the doll after the events of the third ending. With the reborn hunter in her arms, she goes on a little journey to the physical fishing hamlet and nothing bad happens along the way.

Breathtaker (COD fic): Soap and Ghost didn't get along too well when they first joined 141 (Or did they?) but all that changes when their mission to Alaska goes sideways.

AO3 Original Works (that are actually out):

LunuL: about three bounty hunters in the year 2199. they trek across the Solar System being mediocre at their jobs and accidentally get wrapped up in several conspiracies and near death experiences. (Inspo: Cowboy Bebop, the Mandalorian, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and a bunch of other sci fi shit)

Loop of the Hollow: About four friends reuniting in their hometown of Ciclo, Texas. However, there is much, much more to the town that it seems…

Viscered: About a father taking care of his 10 month old son after the death of his wife, and his past as a bio weapon coming back to bite him in the ass. (Inspo: Prototype, Berserk, The Substance)

Our Lonely Ocean: About a prince-turned squire and his commander, and their many, many shenanigans as they stumble into romance while hunting monsters together. (Inspo: Adastra, Dungeon Meshi…and a little bit of Peter Hart)

[carnalapples]

My Year in Writing: 2024

Thank you @theluckywizard for the tag!! I'm not sure who hasn't done this yet, so OPEN INVITATION to brag about your writing!! I want to see it <3

Words Written: 132,589

Fics Published: 23

Fandoms: Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Dishonored (!!), The Hunger Games, Rogue Trader

Favorite Fics:

1. anatomy of a haunted heart - DA: Awakening, Nathaniel/Velanna, time loops and haunted houses

I really challenged myself to do this fic, I'm terrified of writing long fics on a deadline, but I wanted to do something different. I fell in love with both Velanna and Nathaniel while writing this fic, and I tried really hard to match up to the vision I had in my head--while that vision wasn't super clear, and I'm not sure if this did match up, I'm really happy with how it ended up!!

2. four and twenty blackbirds - Dishonored, Corvo/Granny Rags, a love letter to Granny Rags

This is another fic I got weird with, I wrote this for an exchange, and I was originally going to write Geoff Curnow/Corvo, but then Granny Rags took over my entire brain. She's just so interesting and the fic kind of got away from me. I had so much fun putting this together!

3. cut down at the garden's gate - Dragon Age 2, Hawke/Sebastian, political marriage forces you to confront your feelings for your ex, more at 11

Again, this was a challenge, and I do love how this ended up. There are sections I might rewrite, but I was really proud of finishing on a deadline (despite many issues I had with continuity haha, I'm not much of a multichap writer so even 3 chapters was tricky for me!) I think I wrote this in a rush, but I think otherwise I never would have finished this story, and I really wanted to finish and share it.

Most Used Tags: Sexual Content, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant

Highest Kudos: follow me into the dark - Mass Effect, Shepard/Tali after Rannoch.

Highest Hit Oneshot: also follow me into the dark, haha

New Things I Tried: Time-based challenges! i.e. a DA Big Bang, and the WIP Big Bang... And I tried DADWC and really ended up liking it!! I think it did a lot to help me learn how to write without judgment and just get a story or concept out, and I used a lot of what I wrote and learned from DADWC as inspiration to write or finish larger stories.

Fic I Spent the Most Time On: dead winter in the forgotten land (Dragon Age), this was like two years in the making lol

Fic I Spent the Least Time On: I think savior complex (THG); I wrote it as a pinch-hit for a Hunger Games exchange, which was super fun!

Favorite Things I Read: I read so much amazing stuff this year but here are 3 that come to mind:

dirt romantic by rowanisawriter (@rowanisawriter) GUYS this fic... Peak romance, peak Zevran, the relationship between Zevran and a Cousland Warden is one of pining and differences in status and constantly shifting boundaries and Rowan writes that perfectly. Please read this and come be ill about Zevran with me....

Eat, Drink, Poison by elo_elo (@junkbabelna): This is a Cullen/Trevelyan modern AU--I aspire to write modern AUs like theirs, I love the details and the atmosphere so much. I think that they have such a knack for just getting to the heart of a character and what shaped them that way!!

a soft place to fall by petruchio (@petruchio): This was a gorgeous fic about Johanna coming back to District 12 after the war, I really love the way her recovery is portrayed and how all of the characters are struggling to adapt to a life that's in their control.

Biggest Surprises: I think that I’m capable of writing longer pieces? I was flying blind for both the longer pieces I did on deadline and somehow finished on time. I reread "anatomy of a haunted heart" the other day and I still can't believe I did that, lol. It was very scary, but I'm proud of it.

What I Learned: To keep writing when I'm feeling discouraged, sometimes I write a piece and I think it's mediocre, but when I go back and compare it to things I had written before, there is definitely growth there. I've been rereading what I wrote this year since I was feeling like I was rushing through pieces and they weren't as good, but I was really proud of some of the works I put out! So I guess I've had to keep in mind that I'm always changing, even if that's not evident at all times.

What I Want to Write Next Year: I want to try writing horror--I think that would be a real challenge for me, but I love reading it. I want to do more outlined/planned out fics. I want to finish at least 3 of my WIPs: my arranged marriage AU, the last part to a Bollywood series i posted, and my post-destroy fic!

Most importantly, thank you to everyone who has read, commented on, and supported my writing--I would not have written without y'all, and I'm so happy to have found this community of people who also feel that writing and reading are necessary to them!! It makes writing so much more fun, I'm really grateful to have you 💕💕

[gxilgramore]

Jubilee is a lot!

Yes i know the quality of the photo is bad, i couldn't find an high quality version of the OG cover.

First listen of Jubilee, and i assume you already know why i gave it a chance, because the episode Dalek from series 1 with Eccleston is an adaptation, and of course being a Eccleston fan i was interested in how the story would work with a completely different Doctor and Companion.

Basic stuff first, Evelyn is delightful, ok, she is not a standout for me, she feels like other companions to some extent, but make no mistake i still love her and the relationship with the Doctor, their dialogue feels kind of Donna, kind of Sarah Jane, even kind of Charlie Pollard but she still feels like her own character because of her aspirations and objectives, you can also say that she feels like Rose, but I don't see it besides the compassion for the seemly good Dalek and the confrontation of the Doctor's own internal hatred, i think she is pretty good and I don't know if other stories showcase her in a different light but im curious, if you have any recs for other Evelyn stories id love to listen.

Also the Daleks here, my previous experiences with them in BF were the first 8th Doctor/Lucie Miller story that i forgot the name, i as you all know i think this story is mediocre at best, and i thought most Dalek stories from this era would be like that and I'm so happy of being wrong, the Daleks here are not only full of the threat that made me love them in Victory of the Doctor but also more thematic relevance than ever, because of how much they add to the whole "humans can also be bad if fed by propaganda" thing, also the "good" dalek has an personality so unique by how much Briggs (i think its Briggs) put these inflections and manical laughter to him, it really makes him feel so alien even in the other parts of the storie where he should have felt like a normal Dalek.

And speaking of the TV episode that adapted this story, yeah i can see where the similarities come, but it also feel like the TV episode reconstructs from the ground up the story to feel to the 9th Doctor character, Dalek is (at this moment, i need to rewatch series 1) my favorite episode of that season, so seeing an episode that expands on those themes is pretty amazing, im not complaining of course that Dalek is a watered down version of Jubillee, those stories care the same themes but Dalek adds his own spin on it with discussions of PTSD and the framing of the Doctor as a being that can villain due to his traumas instead of the humans so they compliment and expand on each other instead of the TV episode feeding on it's source material.

And another thing is the build up, in my Chimes of Midnight mini review i made clear that the way Sherman builds a mystery is so anxiety inducing and i want to know more because what the actual fuck is going on and Jubilee also carries exactly that, this fucked up world that it builds is so weird that it feels off-putting even to think about it but you really want to know why these people are this way, how that happened, the mystery of the TARDIS, the Doctor's visions, the second legless Doctor, it feels wicked, dark, disturbing, also because it's kind of gruesome, yeah i know, its the wilderness years, Doctor who was like that, but i was not expecting a beheading, the "Doctor" dying like a maniac, it feels really tense and the cliffhangers, god they are so good, i literally gasped at 2 of them because of how tense they are, Sherman is really climbing to be my favorite who writer, him, moffat and Davies are my big 3.

Thematically is where things get... Complicated, because yeah the point of the story is fair and the way it explores it is intense and hammer the point home a lot, i still feel a bit weird about the entire conclusion tho. Don't get me wrong i felt more rewarded in that conclusion than in Chimes, it's not about the narrative rather than the themes being portrayed, thats why Jubilee is a lot, because it is so many themes, from propaganda, the relativation of fascism (even a kind of meta joke on the Dalekmania, somehow), the hypocrisy of the way governments deal with the rise of fascism in the modern era, it's so many themes packed into a 2 hour audio drama that it gets really dificult to discuss right after listening to it, requires some listens and thinking to grasp to totality of its political themes, and im too tired to think and with too much adhd to relisten, thanks college for both of these.

Jubilee is good. 9/10

[erin-unknown]

Author Ask Tag

Thanks @hyperions-light! I'll do my best to answer these, though I haven't had much of a chance to really dive deep into any long-form fic (or my own novel for that matter).

I'll answer these for my aspirational fic about Neve, Lucanis, and Rook post-Veilguard. I'm currently working on something shorter, a young!Rook Thorne fic called Lights in the Shadow, that probably won't break 10K words. Hope to have that finished and edited within the next few weeks, work allowing.

What is the main lesson of your story?

I wouldn't say it's a "lesson" but after the credits rolled on Veilguard I thought: Well, what now? Everyone's experienced a massive status quo shift on their respective questlines, and you don't just hit the ground running after that without stumbling. You have a whole new "you" to get to know, after all.

Thematically I could see myself in the realms of re/building trust, honesty, and self-reflection. I'm mostly interested in their personal struggles, so I'm keeping the scope rather narrow, even within the context of larger events around them.

What did you use as inspiration for your world building?

I'm going to have to do a little research! The actual DA writers have referenced other genres for their companion questlines, so I want to honor that. It also just seems fun! I want to get more familiar with typical plot beats, tropes, themes, etc. in, like, noir/crime fiction, melodramas about powerful families, and stories about organized crime. I'm sure I'll think of more things as time goes on.

What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? So you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, or help them grow as a person?

Everyone has experienced a large status quo shift and are (hc) more or less in love, but all at slightly different stages. So, how does Neve handle the clashing priorities of the Threads and Dock Town? Are the lines of her moral framework being redrawn? Where do her personal relationships fit into this?

What does First Talon mean for Lucanis, and how do the events of the past year affect him, Spite, and his family? What is he going to do about the feelings he has for his closest friend/s? Does he take a risk, or will he push everyone away first?

Who is Rook now that he's left the Wardens and has just enough solitude to see how little he knows himself? There's time now to fear that future he was fighting for with the Veilguard. Plus, he's picked up a little demon problem.

I want to weave these storylines together using the shifting relationships between the three as the sort of connective tissue; it starts off as just Neve/Rook, then expands to Rook/Lucanis, and eventually Lucanis/Neve.

Spite is also there 😈 (and so is Illario 🤡💕)

How many chapters is your story going to have?

Lol, no clue. It'll have roughly 3 parts, but I don't know how the chapters will work within those.

Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Fanfic and probably AO3.

When did you start writing?

I've been telling myself stories for as long as I can remember. I used to draw these little pictures and narrate a story about them as I drew.

I started actually writing when I was introduced to fanfiction at age ten, I want to say? It grew into an epic Digimon/Sailor Moon/Ocarina of Time crossover fic and it was amazing...ly cringe but I had a ton of fun. I was writing almost constantly from then on.

Do you have any words of encouragement for fellow writers of writeblr?

It's cliche but it's good to just write. Get words on the page, however you can. Even if it's nothing to do with your main wip. Even if it's only fifty words. Even if those fifty words might be bad.

And show those words to people sometimes.

I get the apprehension. Some of it is the horrifying ordeal of being known. Some of it the fear of confirming that our worst fears about our writing are true: something like "I am a mediocre writer with boring ideas" or "I failed to make people care about my characters and their struggles..." just to name a couple in my regular rotation.

But it's good to get comfortable with that discomfort. It's part of why I'm here on Tumblr now! It's nerve-wracking at times, but healthy in the right community, and can bring in a fresh perspective when you've been staring at your work for too long.

We can learn a lot from each other.

~

I thank anyone who's read all this for taking an interest, omg. This was actually really beneficial in helping some of my more scattered thoughts about this project coalesce. Neat!

Who hasn't been tagged yet? @arookacrow or @awardenandacrow, if you'd like to to do this, it would be cool to see 💕

Does... anyone want to do another for a different story? Lol.

[cantstayawaycani]

I want all you aspiring writers out there to know that you are talented and you should go for your dream career.

I'm reading a pilot script for one of our network shows that just got greenlit.

I have read better fanfiction.

And, this script is based off of popular IP that is in the public domain and has been adapted countless times.

This script is what I would describe as "mid" at best.

Go for your dreams kiddos.

The people who write and produce these shows certainly have no compunction about putting mediocrity out into the world.

[denimbex1986]

'There’s something rather extraordinary at the core of the new Netflix miniseries RIPLEY, based upon the famed 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. It’s what drives antihero Thomas Ripley (Andrew Scott) to covet the lifestyle of the rich. It has less to do with any glamour and glitz, or even access to Italian villas, fine dining, and tailored clothing, and all to do with sheer relief. The relief that comes from never having to worry about money, the nagging to make more of it, or living the fear of losing it. When con artist Tom Ripley reaches his status of privilege and money, he achieves a zen-like calm, even if he’s achieved his goals via notorious means. It’s access, sure, to better living, finer accommodations, and designer clothes, but mostly it seems to be access to peace of mind that this thief has never known.

And that’s why filmmaker Steven Zaillian’s eight-episode miniseries is so strong. It strips away all the easy things for an audience to drool over in it and concentrates on motive. Why does Tom do what he does? The landscapes and fine wines are incidental. It’s what having money does to his headspace that is dramatized here with such cleverness.

The story remains the same from the book and previous filmed adaptations: Tom Ripley is asked by the wealthy Herbert Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan) to convince his prodigal son Dickie (Johnny Flynn) to return to NYC from Italy. But Tom’s introduction to Dickie’s leisurely lifestyle in the coastal city of Atrani turns out to be catnip for his former college classmate.

Still, this is a film about cons and crimes, not country splendor and that is why Zaillian shot his adaptation in black and white. He doesn’t want the camera lusting over sunny days, tanned torsos, and electric nightlife like director Anthony Minghella did with his lingering shots of such things in 1999’s THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. In Minghella’s film, everything was glamorous, especially bronzed playboy Dickie (Jude Law) and his leonine girlfriend Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow). It was easy to see why the impressionable and naïve Tom (Matt Damon) would become so mesmerized. Heck, Damon all but played the character as a kid in a candy store, wanting to gorge himself on everything associated with the one percent.

Not Scott. He plays Tom as a desperate criminal who wants the calm that comes with a fat wallet. And Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning, playing Dickie and Marge this go-round, are hardly worth putting on a pedestal. As directed by Zaillain, their rich characters are dead-eyed, soulless zombies. These two world travelers are not bright, nor personable, and far from gorgeous. What they are, are the type of entitled rich kids who sleepwalk through their lives of privilege, so used to daddy’s money that they aren’t impressed by it one iota.

And wow, is this couple lacking in any discernible talent. Dickie wants to be a painter but his work is simply awful, while would-be writer Marge’s poems and prose are wholly mediocre, as are the bland photographs she’s taken during her time in Atrani. Tom likes them less as people and more as aspirational figures; those who never have to scrape and claw to survive. These two dullards just sit around their homes all day with nary a worry. It’s a state of bliss that Tom would love to know. So much so, that he’ll kill to experience it.

The black and white cinematography is Zaillien’s way of showcasing how Ripley delineates his “have and have not” sensibilities. It’s also there to underline the miniseries noir-ish tendencies as once murder enters the frame, the remainder of the series becomes a cat-and-mouse game between Ripley and an intrepid Italian detective ((Maurizio Lombardi) on his trail. The black-and-white palate is also there to underline that this is essentially a dark comedy. It’s pretty funny watching Tom have to continue his life of labor once he starts killing people as it takes a ton of effort to dispose of bodies and keep track of his ever-mounting series of lies. The poor bastard was already huffing and puffing enough as it was simply following Dickie up and down the various staircases they encountered through the winding streets of the city, and now homicide is really making him put in the work!

At times, Scott’s performance recalls a jittery Anthony Perkins in his male ingenue days, but more often than not, his Tom is played close to the vest. Even when Dickie’s loutish friend Freddie (a scene-stealing Eliot Sumner) comes a calling, suspicious about why Dickie has disappeared, Scott’s Tom remains stone cold. And it’s darkly humorous how he returns a square, glass ashtray he weaponizes to its proper place on an end table. He adjusts it just so.

It’s always easy to vilify the rich, of course. and Hollywood has done it time and time again, from YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU in 1938 to SALTBURN this past Christmas. RIPLEY may be the third filmed adaptation of Highsmith’s classic book but I think it’s the best of all of them due to its slyly subtle nastiness and emphasis on Tom’s truest motive. Class warfare has rarely been as apparent as it is here, seen in black and white by both Tom and Zaillian’s camera.'

[shutyourfacemonsterlover]

Luck

It's simple, it's opaque, it's a little worn and old, the gold doesn't gleam as the rings displayed in the jewelry stores that fill the avenues; the ones old, worn men think can buy the hope of love back in the eyes of their misty wives.

But she likes it all the same, every time she fidgets her brown knuckles with it. It reminded her of the three necklaces she carried around herself all the time for luck (but hid when walking on the streets- she wasn't fancy to attract unwanted comments, shameful revelations or presumptions). The day he plopped it on her finger, nonchalantly; one door closed and another opened.

She felt dim to describe her possible "wedding day" in that manner, since no priests gave their blessing, no flowers (well, no, she was lying to herself about that; he made sure to drown the bed with bouquets whenever he could, even if she was overwhelmed by it, and questioned, at what time he did go to buy flowers?), no guests greeted her...But she had married, that much was certain. "Erik is finally married" he bolted, giddy and overwhelmed, just after they finished lunch (more like she finished, and he just talked and watched her, a queer quirk that mostly unphased her as time moved on; like his obsessive feeding of the stray cats), and her thoughts, once again; diverted her to a world of expectations and hesitant uncertainties. Where were they going? How would this work? She was poor, he was old enough to be her father, he faked his identity when he met her...And of course...There was also that, even if she chastised herself for bringing it up in the first place.

Natalya, like most little girls with loud laughs and scurrying feet, dreamed of marrying once, but she knew her choices were small as the years passed, and her dark skin was noted more and more by onlookers. And, life has a funny sense of humor; to gift the quiet, dazed, aspiring brown writer the opposite of a prince: no, her prize, for being so stuck in her dreams and tales, was being the Bride of Death (though, curse her for recalling that...How could she say something so vile...)...She was sure she read that in a story once. Or maybe heard it around the campfire...Living her own fantasy, in a way. Hah, she wished; where was her Golden Kingdom? In the great stories there was also a beautiful Kingdom to look forward to.

But he liked that, too. With him it was never "get your head out of the clouds" or "you're not thinking straight". Rather, the day she confessed feebly her little aspirations, he jolted once again. "My dear, what pure, thoughtful dream that is! Now, never settle for mediocrity when the flames of passion are bursting inside you! Don't ever think of putting down the pen, Erik will see to help you in any way he can!" It would never be singing, but it amused her, and inspired him...That would be enough. But she wondered if, in a way, Erik was right and she did enjoy the comfort and stability of mediocrity....But that was nonsense...If she truly desired comformity she wouldn't be writing so desperately, would she?

Of course it didn't help when they had their random "fits" of inspiration, and each would enclose themselves in their world of wonder and magic. Him and his music, her and her words. Worlds and emotions burst from their pens...But any distractions would cause either of them to develop the loudest tantrum possible. She chuckled at that, and slightly tapped the surface of the table she sat in with her ring finger. That was another point too, how they would share the same emotions, and how she saw a shadow of herself in him.

Maybe it was luck they met? Possibly, and something glistened in his golden eyes when she caught him looking from time and time. Not at her, but shadows that just...never left. Never left him. He wasn't one to hold his tongue, if, at all; but he always blocked himself without delving further in certain subjects. Whenever Natalya got too bold for her own sake, and simply "Erik does as he wishes" wasn't enough for an answer.

But maybe luck did point at something...Something that turned him away from his shadows, and into her arms. In a way, she was frustrated at his doubts...But also glad at them. Otherwise he would've never landed in her arms.

And every day, the smiles grew larger and larger. And she could tell, by now, which one was a grimace, which one veiled sarcasm, which one carried earnest, and which one held his heart (when the tears weren't about to burst, that is...and that occured often).

She could feel satisfied about that, at least.

Stretching, she went back to her pen and her papers. The story would never end if it had such a scatterbrained narrator...!