#callout posts: the prequels

[captious-solarian]

Callout post

do you think the romans had callout posts?

Pretty sure humans throughout all of history have always tried to mobilize their allies to punish, shame, and ostracize their enemies (or even entire groups of people).

[imogenkol]

This is a callout post directed at @mirandasedai for being the best person I know. She’s been here for two full days taking care of me while I’ve been in terrible pain, getting me whatever I need or want to make me feel better both physically and mentally and on top of all of that making sure I have a good birthday despite it all (even when I force her to watch the sw prequels again)

I couldn’t ask for a better ride or die than you, bitch. Love you so dearly and don’t know what I’d do without you 💕

[classicequinox]

who's your favorite kid to write enji with?

The amount of time I took to reply this is testament to how difficult it was to choose… and I'm still gonna cop out and say it depends on the scenario/universe 🙈

Canon (pre-canon to canon): Fuyumi Headcanon: she was the closest thing to a morality chain/pet that Enji had during his darkest days pre-canon. The scene between him and Fuyumi in my prequel oneshot where he fails to ask/say all the things he wanted and settled for thanking her for washing the dishes was one of my favourites!

Canon (post-canon): Natsuo I'm such a sucker for that 'we never had a father-son relationship to repair' angst. I may or may not have bits of a post-canon AU oneshot where Enji lost his quirk sitting in my drafts… Natsuo and his sometimes sassy, sometimes just bitter but either way brutally honest 'tough love' callouts feature a lot for a reason

Canon (outsider pov): Shouto In a way, he saw his father the most, yet knew him the least. Definitely my fave to write for any outsider POV set in the canon universe! (Also, in a lighter universe, you know we are going to have fun with those youngest child scenes. Especially when said child has wild conspiracy theorist tendencies)

WYLHABE(FM): Touya Alright, you got me. The reason he gets the most screen time (aside from being older) in my main fic is because there's just a lot more going on with the angst on Enji's side in terms of what he could have done as a father for Touya when/before he spiralled (vs e.g. 'simply' having been absent as he was for Natsuo and Fuyumi). All that baggage makes heart to hearts and even the more light-hearted fluffy moments between them so emotionally satisfying to write!

[vio-starclad]

My most recent read book was written by our own @dadpat-tactual and, full disclosure, he told me that it was in a fairly unedited state and that he was working on revisions.

Now I know how I am about editing my own work, and thought that could take eons if he's anything like me, so I picked it up anyway.

I do think it's appreciable as a series of vignette sections amongst a fairly standard post-apocypse backdrop. But I must be honest to say that there's not really enough going on here. There seems to be a sequel in the works, and a prequel, but I really would have liked a tighter narrative right Here.

Spoilers and extended thoughts be ahead here:

I don't think our main character was actually ever described, nor was our villain. I'm imagining him with a hook for a hand because that's fun! We got more description for a random bartender! Our hero also has very little agency and seems to just stumble into events or be put on paths by other characters. He wants to regain his lost memories but has no good ideas on how to retrieve them and that desire hardly comes up anyway.

He's also a bit of a textbook Mary Sue or Gary Stu in this case, wherein he's great at fighting and every woman is interested in him, completely altruistic with no faults.

There was a section at the docks that, as far as this book was concerned, was inconsequential, only existing to introduce Gentle Crew. Their raid on the ship seems to be the story our author really wanted to tell.

There's also a tone issue where everything is quite serious but also constantly jokey. We got to a Lynyrd Skynyrd reference and I was like okay hell yeah let's get silly. I was full on expecting our gruff manly men to bond over country rock and break out into an impromptu karaoke session. It would have been hilarious. But no they just have a bar fight, which also doesn't serve any overall narrative purpose. Maybe someone knew who Evan was and had this fight staged to eliminate him? Just an idea.

Brother it's okay, get silly! It's an apocalypse, have fun with it! Let our heroes be larger than life. Carl scratched the surface at least. Everybody thinks Evan is a super soldier so just let him be Solid Snake-like. Let him be near superhero levels, why not?

Evan sleeps with Ellie after knowing her for like a day and later she says they're just friends and I'm over here like "WOW savage" but he doesn't react at all? Okay.

There's a scene where everyone in the market is taking shelter from a hail of bullets, including the faceless mayor. And our freedom fighter Ellie is in view of him and doesn't shoot him in the confusion? I guess she's unarmed for some reason or doesn't have a shot. Which would be fine but that needs to be stated. And later there's a plot to snipe him as he makes a speech and I'm thinking why not a Claymore pointing towards him in the podium? That makes so much sense. It doesn't have to work but somebody should have thought about it. It's safe and logical. And he's kinda made into a joke when he tickets a woman for jaywalking??? He's also out on the town by himself walking into a house with people who want him dead and they do nothing but chat with him.

It's an okay book.

This isn't a callout post; I hope it doesn't read like one. Our author is a good man this story is just half-baked as is.

[unearthlytwilight]

character overview and stat snapshot! lots of images

Lyn's tale:

oh well. she doesn't really have story presence after her tale unfortunately. she's an alright character, I guess, but not really standout

"why not use Marcus??" I like him more than Marcus. he's devoted to his duty and is a total bro to Kent. respects women a surprising amount. also he's really funny. grew on me a lot!

one of five cavaliers. he's a good straight man for Sain and them vibing is nice to see

no strength. her friendship with Lyn is cute and her dynamic with Fiora is sweet. a little cutie and there's nothing wrong with that

Rebecca is better. the game made the normal archer #3 joke twenty years before I could and that's about all I have to say. his Rebecca supports are nice though

sure is a fighter. I like his relationship with Natalie. he's just vibing but that's okay. sometimes you just gotta go to work

suffers from being on foot but her mag is good. she's good comic relief, but unfortunately it takes her A with Oswin to see her beyond that. her realizing that Lucius is a guy is funny as shit though

surprisingly blessed. he's a good straight man for Serra and his supports are overall pretty good.

thief. has no right to get as much main story screentime as he does but he earns every second of it. his character's great. his supports are all great. 10/10 one of my favorites.

*shakes him* what is your strength?? still, he's a cutie. love his Matthew support and his pre-chapter pre-recruitment monologue. might get a promotion out of sentimentality

Eliwood's tale:

would appreciate speed. really grew on me, he might be a favorite lord even. I've said a lot about his character (& will continue to) but he really does get a bad rap.

one of five cavaliers. gets no focus but his supports are nice enough. also his join dialogue is cute. love this little grass man

one of five cavaliers and the easy button. he's cool I guess but he's also just around. he's also in fe6 but is also just there

no speed augh. it's like they looked at fe6 and decided "for the prequel, made him even stupider" and he is certainly that

surprisingly good. as a character she's just chillin but of all the village archers, I like her a lot. she's just happy and I like that

funny merchant man. I'm used to the avatar being the convoy but I honestly like this better. feels more integrated. also capped con lol

res-blessed. like how he doesn't want to be "Uther's weird brother" but feels pressured into it. also he would ride or die for Eliwood which I respect

his luck worries me. honestly he's doing his best. probably gets more characterization in Hector's tale but I'm not playing that soooo. definitely possesses the most dad energy so far

horse staff. it's a shame 2/3 of her paired endings are sad. also wow she even has a sad portrait here that's pretty depressing

spinny boi. also edgy boi but his Lucius supports are good at fixing that. his Wil support is pretty funny.

his magic sucks but he gets weird crits. Raven supports good. his other ones too but those people haven't joined yet mostly

Luna. man, they really did go "let's make Hugh's dad a character even though we have like two pieces of information about him" and by god they succeeded. what a nerd. love him to bits

got doubled his join chapter. his supports are good though. also said "suicide squad" in 2003 so that gets him some points in my book

actually has strength (Florina callout post). another duty character but her supports are pretty good. out of her current ones, her Florina support is cute

thief. has a strength growth. his Matthew support is super good. unfortunately, we don't quite have the context for his character yet, but he's a chill guy

higher def than most of my combat units. she's a cutie. I like her relationship with Eliwood. also I know she was being controlled but "Children of flame... come to me" is a baller line

[accursedkaleeshi]

If you ever feel stupid just remember that Nute Gunray once asked Darth fucking Sidious if his plan was

Legal

[ageofgeek]

Anakin Skywalker: *is a dumbass, panics, Falls to the Dark Side, slaughters countless innocents, betrays all of his friends and family*

All of us:

[crystalzelda]

Unpopular opinion: I fucking hate prequels, they are a waste of time to me. Idc what happened before, I care about what happens NOW or LATER. Especially when prequels deal with new characters that you know are either irrelevant cause they don’t show up later in the series/books/show/movies/whichever or they die. Like.... why am I watching/reading this.

[wallisjewellie]

On that torrid Anakin/Padmé/Obi-Wan love triangle which was promised in 1983, then again in 1999

My impression is that Lucas had indeed been trying to insert the Anakin/Padmé/Obi-Wan love triangle into the Prequel Trilogy - repeatedly and in different forms/with different solutions. Only, he scrapped elements of this plot line in the last minute every single time. I have written about it in previous, related posts, but here I would like to make some further addition to this line of thought, which is actually way more than speculation.

Let’s begin.

I pointed out previously that Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas (‎Da Capo Press; Updated ed. edition; May 31, 1999), which is a book by Lucas’ biographer, Dale Pollock, and which was first published in 1983, states that

“There will also be a torrid love triangle among the grown-up Queen (who will give birth to the twins, Luke and Leia), Annakin Skywalker, and Ben Kenobi. The consequences of this love triangle are one of the great betrayals layered throughout the three prequels that have enormous impact on all of the major characters in the story.”

Now I would like to draw attention to the sentence right before the above quote:

“A spectacular wedding for Annakin Skywalker is expected for Episode II, in which he is betrothed to the Queen (portrayed as a teenager by Portman).”

The 1999 edition was “updated with a substantial new chapter that discusses the revamped Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition, the Star Wars prequels”. Based on the deal in place between Pollock and Lucas, the latter was able to cut anything he felt was factually inaccurate - yet he didn’t touch the part about the love triangle and the betrayal.

Pay attention to the sequencing of the sentences: Pollock first writes about the wedding of Anakin and Padmé (taking place in Episode II), only then does he mention the love triangle. This makes me think that the Padmé/Obi-Wan plotline was about to be strengthened in Episode III. But as per Pollock, it should also have been layered through the PT. It is not, though. Or is was it…?

Confused? Don’t be. Read along.

We know for a fact that in a 1996 revised draft of Episode I, then titled simply “The Beginning”, it is heavily implied that the teenage Queen had a crush on Jedi Knight Obi-Wan, and he picked up on it. I have wrote about it here (x). (In this 1996 draft Obi-Wan was not a Padawan learner. Also, Padmé and him had a great number of interactions, because Qui-Gon appeared much later on screen.) Padmé’s attraction to Obi-Wan in this draft was overt, and it appeared to be evident to him.There were multiple indications that the Queen was crushing on Obi-Wan, and at least one where he noticed it, and when he did, the reaction it generated in him was of emotional nature. (Her eyes on him made him nervous.)

But all these were not in TPM, and cannot be found among the deleted scenes, right? Right. But-

In June 1999, a mere month after had TPM premiered, LucasArts released a CDROM companion called The Star Wars Episode I. Insider’s Guide which included among other things numerous notes detailing what was in previous drafts of the film, mostly in the revised rough draft that was completed on June 13th, 1996, and which contained clear reference to Padmé’s crush on Obi-Wan. These notes were ripped from the Insider’s Guide, and published on Medium.com (x) in May 2020. The file also included so-called “callouts” that cite the specific page number(s) in the draft where the events take place.

Why is it important? Because there is a note about Padmé and Obi-Wan, literally titled “A Crush?”, and its content refers to what is happening on pages 33, 43 and 44 of the 1996 rev draft. Take a look:

“A Crush?

On several occasions in the revised rough draft, there is mention of Padmé’s growing affection for Obi-Wan. When the Jedi argues with Amidala regarding Jar Jar’s fate, the script indicates that Padmé is “impressed that Obi-Wan is able to stand up to the Queen.” As they prepare to enter Mos Espa, she “gives Obi-Wan a long, adoring look.” Once in Mos Espa, Padmé watches Obi-Wan “with interest and respect,” and it is noted that her “eyes make the powerful Jedi nervous.” (RRD, pp. 33, 43, 44)”

Lucas was clearly meant to be laying down the groundwork for that love triangle, by making Padmé fall for Obi-Wan first. Well before she fell for Anakin. And it was confirmed in an officially released insider’s guide.

Those who cannot comprehend how Padmé got besotted in the first place with Anakin instead of the dashing Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the day, who she had met during the rescue mission… Well, you have your answer now. Her mind was actually supposed to be on Obi-Wan.

Moving on.

The definition of “torrid” according to Merriam-Webster is “parched with heat especially of the sun: hot; giving off intense heat: scorching; ardent, passionate”. Cambridge Dictionary defines the word as “involving strong emotions, especially those of sexual love”.

Pollock writes in 1999 (the same year the Insider’s Guide was published) that this love triangle is envisioned to be “one of the great betrayals layered through the prequels”. And that it is supposed to have “enormous impact” on the main characters. These are strong words. And since we are looking at the words of the author of Lucas’ biography, we should not discard them as part of an overly eager fanfiction.

There are some betrayals we are witnessing throughout the PT: the most dramatic is Anakin’s tragedy betrayal of the Jedi Order and the prophecy; then there is Palpatine’s grand scheme betrayal of the Republic. And we know from the OT that no one is morally irreproachable; not even Yoda or Obi-Wan.

And thus I am missing the promised betrayal with enormous impact which must be connected to the torrid love triangle between the three protagonists according to Pollock. Where is it? Lucas tacitly confirmed it coming even in 1999, since it is spelled out in the book, and he did not have it cut. This is the one which must be committed by Obi-Wan and Padmé. Betraying Anakin. On a very personal level.

If we put together the concept of an ardent, passionate love triangle, involving strong emotions, especially those of sexual love, as well as the concept of a great betrayal, which leaves Anakin hating Obi-Wan, and seriously questioning the identity of Luke’s father, the conclusion appears to be rather straightforward: Padmé and Obi-Wan weren’t just supposed to take the side against Vader in the new, emerging galactic order. They were supposed to have some sort of affair. They were supposed to commit adultery in Episode III. And there was supposed to be a decent buildup to it.

This is harsh.

It really is. But so is Anakin committing mass murder of children, turning against the Jedi Order, becoming a tyrant etc. So is the Chancellor taking over the Galaxy. The truth is that we all see these shocking revelations coming: Anakin’s personality and weaknesses, Palpatine’s master plan are all in plain sight. They are layered through the prequels. Just as the love triangle was promised to be.

In The Beginning, Padmé did have a crush on Obi-Wan, and he knew it/felt it/was uncomfortable about, but aware of it. The adoration could hardly be mutual (at least I hope so), since she was very much minor, while Obi-Wan was an adult Jedi Knight. But the seed was sown: she fell for him, and he knew it. And the original idea could have been that this (buried) childhood crush was to be resurfaced later. Again, Pollock mentions the torrid love triangle after the spectacular wedding.

Or not. Was it always Anakin and Padmé, who were supposed to hide their love and affection for one another? Must two people having a “spectacular wedding” do that? Was there originally something else (apart from what’s canonic now) behind Obi-Wan’s heavy protest against Anakin acting upon his feelings towards her?

One element of the torrid love triangle, the possessive-obsessive love from Anakin’s side was there, and his paranoid fear of Obi-Wan taking Padmé from him remained in RotS, although downplayed. I have discussed the disgraceful fate of the RotS Padmé/Obi-Wan storyline several times before; not going to do that now. But one thing is clear: their affair should not have been only in Anakin’s head. (It could have been a nice last-minute try though, in order to insert the triangle somehow into the story, given that by that time, not much Padmé/Obi-Wan interaction had survived the cutting floor in TPM and AotC.) But it should have been real. And torrid. And should have been having an enormous impact on all of the major characters of the story.

Probably not just on the story of the prequels, but on that of the original trilogy as well.

I think that the original idea was the ambiguous paternity all along, Lucas just eventually didn’t have the guts to steer things to the direction of uncertainty about the identity of the father. Pollock himself mentions in the same sentence the triangle and that the Queen will give birth to twins. (“There will also be a torrid love triangle among the grown-up Queen (who will give birth to the twins, Luke and Leia), Annakin Skywalker, and Ben Kenobi.”)

To be honest, even though I am an Obidala fan, I do not really support the the theory of Obi-Wan being Luke’s (and Leia’s) father. (And don’t even get me started on the twisted idea of Padmé conceiving two children from two different fathers…) I do love the father-son redemption arc, and Vader’s name is… well, it’s literally Vader. But I support the idea of creating uncertainty about the father’s identity in the viewers’ (and Anakin’s) head, as long as possible. Again, the revelation itself is one of the biggest plot twists in the OT, so it would have made perfect sense if Lucas had left us somewhat suspicious about Luke’s origins before said revelation.

The prequels should have left the possibilities open, leaving it to the OT to have the story unfold. And the prequels should have given us that torrid love triangle.

[jedimasterbailey]

AO3 Tag Game

Thank you to the lovely @storytellingdreamer for the tag 😊 I love any opportunity to gush about fanfic writing and these are great questions! Thank you 💚

Name on AO3: Same as the one here 😁

Fandoms: Right now just Star Wars, specifically Clone Wars/Prequel Era

Two-Shot: None yet, so far I have zero control when it comes to chapters 😅 Right when I think I can get away with a one/two shot…the story gets away from me 😂

Most Popular Multi-Chapter: Definitely The Padawans, my post order 66 Barrissoka story (that I must update soon my God) 😅

Actual Worst Part of Writing: Writers block; if I had it my way Id be writing and updating fic everyday but more often than not, my brain doesn’t want to cooperate when I have the motivation to write and if I do try to write, words just don’t come to me. I struggle more with the parts of writing I cant control (i.e. writers block, environment, illness,etc) than the actual writing process itself.

How You Choose Your Titles: I typically go with whatever the central theme/message a story has. Titles actually come to me last, the story comes first, and once I have a rough sketch of where we’re going then the title comes to me. Like with my The Padawans fic, the story revolves around two former Jedi apprentices trying to make peace with their past (by extension their identities as people) and finding their footing in a galaxy ruled by the Empire.

Outline: YES! I do it chapter by chapter and I rely on them heavily when writing.

Ideas I Probably Won’t Get Around To But Wouldn’t It Be Nice?: Hmm none that I can think of. If I love an idea, I do commit to it and will get around to it (I tackle and complete one story at a time).

Callouts @ Me: No, though I did have one commenter that was adamant that my spelling on Star Wars words were wrong (but they weren’t) and offered to edit my entire story like 3 times…not cute.

Best Writing Traits: Hands down my ability to flesh out relationships between characters and delving into heavier topics/themes like overcoming trauma, redemption, forgiveness, etc.

Spicy Tangential Opinion: I don’t think this would be spicy but more people need to comment on fic God damn it. Nothing slows down a writers process faster than putting hours into research and writing only to get like one, two comments. Kudos are nice but that doesn’t tell us writers anything. Feedback is nice y’all! Maybe AO3 should just harass people into commenting like you’re unable to move forward in a fic until you leave a comment.

Well this has been fun and I cannot wait to hear other people’s thoughts 😁

Tagging @devondeal @sirikenobi12 @val-aquenta @darthdreamer98 @crazyinfj @rancidjuno @archduke42 and any other fanfic writer that wants to join 😊

[giggles-and-freckles]

starting a new thread for this because the other was getting looooong, but I was tagged by @vanilla-chip-101​ (thank you!!!)

Name: Abi (well, actually Abigail, but no one calls me that unless they want to be punched in the throat ❤️️)

Fandoms: Star Wars (mostly prequels and TCW!)

Most popular one-shot: I’m not sure what constitutes most popular and my writing is so sporadically divided across ao3 and here (which have very different interaction ratios), but I remember brilliant getting lots of love and making me feel warm and cozy

Most popular multichapter: filling the gaps is a WIP, but it’s been fun to see support for that! (I have the entire thing mostly complete now, but I have one scene in the next chapter that I have been wrestling for a while and it’s just not working for me...but update coming soon! hopefully! lol remember when I was going to try and update that one weekly?)

Actual worst part of writing: TITLES and SUMMARIES! I am so ridiculously uncreative when it comes to these. It’s a crushing blow to every fic I write.

How you choose your titles: I cry and hope God has mercy on me and will provide divine inspiration. Or, alternatively, I fall back on Taylor Swift lyrics or a random line in the fic that probably isn’t an accurate moniker for the work, but is adequate enough to push it over to posting.

Do you outline: uhh, next question please. No. ❤️️

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice? Ha! Um, so many? But right now I’m thinking about this adventure fic with disaster trio and padmé which is basically just everyone making fun of Anakin and trying not to die for a few thousand words straight.

Callouts @ Me: LEARN HOW TO BE SUCCINCT. Prompts make me literally cackle because I’ll start typing what I hope to be a ficlet and then BOOM its 2k+ and just...not what I was going for.

Best writing traits: Witty dialogue? Sometimes? On a good day? And a pretty strong grasp on the characters (or at least my own interpretation of the...which maybe makes this not an actually good writing trait haha whoopsie).

Spicy Tangential Opinion: I have lots but I’ve said this one before so I’ll just repeat it so as not to step on more toes. I have a hard time getting behind any Master/Padawan pairings, unless it’s AU and that aspect of their relationship is eliminated between them. The age doesn’t bother me as much; it’s mostly the power imbalance. (But also like I’ve said–I support those of you who love these ships!! It’s completely just a personal preference.)

And hmm, no pressure tags for @kckenobi @katierosefun @pandora15 @the13thbattalion  @cloudyskywars & any of you other beautiful writing humans!! 

[sinsbymanka]

Fic Writer Meme

I got tagged by the always amazing @kunstpause! <3 

Name

Fandoms

Most popular oneshot

Most popular multichapter

Actual worst part of writing

How you choose your titles

Do you outline

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?

Callouts @ Me

Best writing traits

Spicy Tangential Opinion

Name: Manka to almost everyone, but if you’re looking for usernames @cartadwarfwithaheartofgold of tumblr/discord/AO3, manka on Pillowfort and also AO3, and @cartadwarf on Twitter. 

Fandoms: My true love for the past several years has been Dragon Age, but I dabble in consuming other Fandoms at times. I’ve always had a love for FFVII, Avatar the Last Airbender, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Mass Effect. 

Most Popular Oneshot: The Ambassador’s Vices. I saw a kinky prompt somewhere on tumblr for “Josephine dominated by her Qunari girlfriend and loving it” and I was kinda drunk and thought ‘SOLD’. It’s pretty rough, kinky femslash smut. And er... absurdly popular for being written while tipsy. 

Most Popular Multichapter: This is still my finished Long Fic Of Miracles and Heroes which I’m kind of embarrassed by because I’m sure the writing is AWFUL. It’s a 95 chapter epic that spans the end of DA2 through just past the end of DAI and focuses on three characters: Fenris, Varric, and Varania. It’s got Fenris/FemHawke, Varric/FemCadash, and Varania/Blackwall and sets up a lot for my favorite Long Fic I’ve written - The Viscount’s Mistress.

Actual Worst Part of Writing: The plot. I am built for exploring characters and intricate worldbuilding and smut. I do not know why plot is also important. I feel like I honestly build my plots around everything else because I’d rather do the other things, so whenever I have to stop and be like “UGH PLOT” it’s enough to make me whine. I usually fix this by building as much worldbuilding and character exploration into the plot as I can.

I also viscerally hate editing with a passion, more than any writer I know. I hate it so much I don’t even consider it part of writing. 

How You Choose Your Titles: I actually love titles. I usually have hilarious working titles that sometimes I’m convinced/enabled to keep. The Dawn Will Come, Tell the World I Came at Chateau Haine, I Knew I Had You Pegged, and Friendly Neighborhood Carta Kidnapping are all things I just came up with that were never meant to be kept, but I and/or other people got attached to them and couldn’t let them go. Sometimes I can’t decide on one because I have too many ideas and I struggle to choose. 

Do you outline: Yes. I never stick to it and I’m constantly adjusting but I do outline religiously. I even do mini outlines for short pieces. It’s force of habit now. 

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice: I fully intend to get around to all of my ideas. The ones I’m currently refusing to start, however, are: 

Already Titled Prequel to Girl with the Arrow Tattoo: The story of Reyna Hawke in an urban fantasy setting, and her rise and fall in the City of Chains. It would of course be a FenHawke piece but would honestly feature heavily in side pairs that would eventually finalize into Seb/Bethany, Meribela, Bianca/Varric and an Anders/Amell/Zevran polyship. 

Already Titled Sequel to Girl with the Arrow Tattoo: What happens AFTER GwtAT and Solas’ secret comes out. Basically the Trespasser DLC but URBAN FANTASY GUYS. 

Callouts at Me: If I start one more goddamn side project for this fandom I need put in fandom jail I swear to god. I am running @sunshineandnugs, what is going to be the annual @a-paragon-of-their-kind dwarf exchange, and @dasmutquisition the new DA Smut Exchange which will probably happen yearly as well. I am TAPPED OUT. 

Best Writing Traits: I think I really manage my character development and everyone’s unique voice/perspective well. I’m actually very much a perfectionist on this and will nitpick at a piece of dialogue or an internal monologue until I think it’s right. I think the best characters are complex and morally ambiguous - I like people to sympathize with them even when they make a bad decision. But I also love making my characters grow and change. I’m using a lot of my long fics to explore healing from trauma and what that messy process looks like, the importance of supportive relationships, and forging ahead no matter what. That means that my characters definitely are on a journey and the decisions they make at the beginning don’t reflect what they do at the end. And I personally think that’s very sexy. 

Spicy Tangential Opinion: Every single kudo, like, reblog, or comment is special. I know it’s easy to focus on the “quantity” of them - but each one represents a real person that one of my stories has emotionally resonated with. Every day we write and post we’re affecting real people behind our stats, which means we can treasure every single one. Talking about the numbers and engagement erases that fact, and I wish more people treasured every individual interaction for the meaningful gesture about their work it is. Each one is a little spark of ‘you are loved’ in the world. 

Throwing this out into the world! Tag list below (authors only this time, sorry my lovely artist friends) but feel no obligation to do so! Also sorry if you already got tagged!

@hollyand-writes, @musetta3, @corylion, @another-rogue-trevelyan, @jellydishes, @jennserr, @kunstpause, @charlatron, @pikapeppa,  @kemvee, @heroofshield, @sunspott, @enigmalea, @tessa1972, @wizardofozymandias, @goblin-tea, @jacklyn-flynn, @wickedwitchofthewilds, @ladynorbert, @noire-pandora, @queen-kass-the-writer, @visceralcoma, @serial-chillr, @wardenari, @barbex, @solas-disapproves, @blarfkey, @shadowcrow, @curiousthimble, @midnightprelude,  @alyssalenko, @jarakrisafis, @lauraemoriarty, @ocean-in-my-rebel-soul,  @lucyrne, @lostinfantasies38, @fasterpuddytat,@kittimau @elveny, @rpgwrites, @imakemywings, @fandomn00blr, @in-arlathan, @parera-zuul-jar, @laraslandlockedblues, @nug-juggler, @acrononymous, @jentrevellan, @a-shakespearean-in-paris @hobo-apostate

[lostinfantasies38]

Fic Writer Meme

Name

Fandoms

Most popular oneshot

Most popular multichapter

Actual worst part of writing

How you choose your titles

Do you outline

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?

Callouts @ Me

Best writing traits

Spicy Tangential Opinion

Name: Jordie is what everyone calls me and my username on Tumblr and AO3 is Lostinfantasies38, so I’m easy to track down

Fandoms: Over the years there have been many fandoms I’ve held dear, but my recent work is in Dragon Age and Dear Evan Hansen. I have temporarily left DA for some fresh air in DEH and have been doing very well there. 

Most Popular Oneshot: I actually have a tie for this one and surprisingly, they are from separate fandoms. 

Permanent Ink from DA: Origins, featuring Alistair and my male Warden OC Zane Cousland is quite spicy and tender. If you like pining bi-Alistair and schmexy love interests, this one is for you. 

For You I Could Be was my very first DEH fic and it’s taken the fandom by storm, which still shocks the pants off me. It’s a deviation from canon and focuses on Evan and Connor realizing they have feelings for each other. Read the tags though since triggering content is mentioned. 

Most Popular Multichapter: I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing about Sun Touched and Find Me Well Within Your Grace, but they are tied yet again. Sun Touched is my Dwarven Warden novelization of DA: Origins with Sirra Brosca and Alistair. Find Me Well is a head-canon fueled prequel of DA featuring young Cullistair at the abbey.  

I won’t bore you all with the details, but I am very proud of both fics. I hope to come back and finish them once I’m the right head-space to devote the time to them that they deserve. 

Actual Worst Part of Writing: The plot and staying on target. I tend to get side tracked by character development at times and that can derail an entire story if I’m not careful. I’m also incredibly careful to not lose a character’s voice while trying to flesh out a whole new side of them in my work. It’s a delicate balance. I want to do them justice, so while playing with them in AUs is fun, I still want them to sound like “them” and not caricatures. 

How You Choose Your Titles: Through blood, sweat, and typically numerous tears and hair pulling sessions. I like my titles to reflect the story, but not sound too fucking cheesy, and sometimes that feels like an impossible task. I try to avoid using song lyrics personally, but I have done it once or twice in a pinch, I won’t lie.

Do you outline: FUCK NO. I have tried and I can’t stick to them. I’m also the type that once I write it out, even in an outline, I lose interest in that particular piece. I need the scenes to be fresh and literally banging on the door of my brain so they flow properly. Everything is fixed/cleaned up in editing, but if the emotion is missing in the initial draft it takes a monumental effort later to keep it from ringing hollow. Sometimes the drafts can’t be saved, period, after outlining and I’ve scraped entire stories/chapters because of it.

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice: I have an entire folder of shelved DA stories in the wings that I’m not sure will ever see the light of day now. I’m hesitant to say “never,” but truthfully the more time passes the more likely that word becomes. 

They include: (1) a modern carta/cop AU ft. Sirra/Alistair, (2) part 2 and 3 planned continuations of Find Me Well following Alistair and Cullen through DAI, (3) Varric/Charise Trevelyan DAI story full of intrigue and the House of Repose, (4) world weary veteran Grey Warden Alistair/Rylie Trevelyan DAI, chock full of dashing heroics and a swooning damsel in distress, (5) Cullen/Eryka Cadash DAI with lots of tension/angst due to the Carta & Commander angle causing friction [interpret that how you will, lol!] (6) a modern color soulmate AU with a unique twist ft. Cullen/Alistair (7) a Siren!AU ft. Sirra/Alistair and a cutthroat island of traitorous bitches (8) and finishing my incomplete DA stories. As a bonus, (9) there is a football AU for DEH that I started during NaNo, but it may end up in the scrap pile, too. I’m still picking at it, but meh, we’ll see.

Callouts at Me: Guilt. 

Honestly, I know we do this for free and we have no obligation to write/complete these stories, but we all do it because we love it. Yet with each incomplete story, coupled with my rather abrupt departure from the DA fandom, my guilt has grown exponentially. 

However, I can’t allow it to hold me back and continue to eat away at my soul. It keeps me from being productive and having a hope and a prayer of finishing what I started. If this means that I play in a new fandom for a while, then so be it. I wish I had more familiar faces to follow me there, but I understand it’s not for everyone and I would never make demands. Though, that doesn’t mean I don’t miss my usual readers and the comments I looked forward to, but I have relocated and I have to accept that. Just know that I still love you all and miss the fuck out of you. 

Best Writing Traits: Emotionally evocative prose and creating realistically flawed characters are what I’m best at. My characters are not perfect, because who the fuck can relate to perfection? Who would want to? They are flawed, broken, dealing with a shit ton of trauma as best as they can, and generally bumbling through life. Yes, they may have a LI, but they are not “cured” by love. They are supported by an equally flawed person as they continue to stumble through life, though with fewer face plants than before because they have someone to (hopefully) catch them whenever they aren’t overwhelmed with their own crises. And making all the pain and growth as lyrical as possible is my favorite part.

Sometimes I nail dialogue, too, but more often than not that’s simply luck after hours of talking to myself and laughing/crying so hard I had to include it in a fic.

Spicy Tangential Opinion: Every single kudo, like, reblog, or comment is special. I know it’s easy to focus on the “quantity” of them - but each one represents a real person that one of my stories has emotionally resonated with. Every day we write and post we’re affecting real people behind our stats, which means we can treasure every single one. Talking about the numbers and engagement erases that fact, and I wish more people treasured every individual interaction for the meaningful gesture about their work it is. Each one is a little spark of ‘you are loved’ in the world. {Keeping this Manka because you summed it up beautifully! Bravo!}

Throwing this out into the world! Tag list below (authors only this time, sorry my lovely artist friends) but feel no obligation to do so! Also sorry if you already got tagged!

@kittimau @jennserr @jellysharkbat @fandomn00blr @bigfan-fanfic @blarfkey@darlingrutherford @herald-divine-hell @cassandra-pentughasst @c-e-c-r-o-p-i-a @river-of-asgard @giraffesanddietpepsi @pikapeppa @simper-fi

[zukkaoru]

tagged by @chitsangenthusiast and @marriedzukka to for a fic writer interview tag game, ty so much for the tags!! <3

name: grace

fandoms: mainly atla and tlok at the moment, but i have fics for several other fandoms on my ao3 (no promises i will ever write for any of them again, but it could happen)

two-shots?: uhh i think my only two-shot i've posted is sticky notes which is a tales of arcadia fic i wrote back in 2018. i have a couple ideas for prequels/sequels/side-fics(???) for other oneshots that i suppose could just be a second chapter but i guess i don't really write two-shots

most popular multi-chapter: my pride and joy, the longest fic i've finished to date, this ultraviolet morning light

actual worst part of writing: when you have an idea for a fic except this "idea" is just vibes. those are the times when i wish i was better at art bc i'll be like "okay i want to write a fic with yue and sokka friendship with ace yue and trans sokka!" and then my brain will stop there and not provide a plot so i'm just. stuck with the vibes. and i can't do anything with vibes. (no of course that's not a real example of a fic i've tried to start three different times now what are you talking about)

how you choose your titles: song lyrics. nine times out of ten, it's a song lyric. the other one time, it's usually a pun

do you outline: not as much as i should ksjdgjfjh i have started outlining more for longer fics but for oneshots, i usually just. go for it and see what happens

ideas i probably won't get around to, but wouldn't it be nice?: oh there are so many. i mean, the ask game i just did last night had several i answered with something like "idk if i'll ever actually write this BUT..." one i didn't mention though is a very long fic i came up with based very loosely on the song snow by ricky montgomery that's a war-never-happened au/zukka enemies to lovers fic/sokka character study/moon spirit!yue, ocean spirit!katara, and sun spirit!azula au/[redacted] sokka au/no avatar au and it is...... quite a lot. i could definitely see it being upwards of 200k words which is why i'm not sure i'll ever get around to actually writing it. but if i did... it would be sick, just trust me on that. the amv that plays in my head whenever i hear the song that inspired it is really cool

callouts @ me: STOP COMING UP WITH NEW FIC IDEAS AND WRITE THE ONES YOU HAVE!!!!!!

spicy tangential opinion: more people should write fics for the ace yue & sokka has tourette's tags on ao3. they deserve to be common tags and i want my legacy in the atla fandom to be helping make that happen. (also we need more fics in the aro bumi ii, bi izumi, pan jinora, hard of hearing ikki, jet has adhd, ty lee has adhd, and aro june tags. but one thing at a time i suppose)

best writing traits: uhhh i don't know?? sometimes i just write certain sections (whether dialogue or internal monologue) that just make me go DANG THAT WAS GOOD!! so just. whenever that happens. also the fact that i will continuously write fics based on headcanons no one else shares with me bc i believe in them very firmly even if no one else does <3

tagging: @that-was-anticlimactic @zukosadragon-ace @hi-raethia @sheimagineddragons @capt-snoozles and anyone else who wants to! (as always, don't feel any pressure to do it if you don't want to and apologies if you've already been tagged)

[literallybyronic]

what if the prequel is just one long john winchester callout post

[blarrghe]

Fic writer meme!

Was tagged by @hawkeish @inquisitoracorn @hollyand-writes @musetta3 and @noire-pandora so it’s probably time I do this thing. Will tag @midnightprelude @oftachancer @silversynthesis and @fandomn00blr who have probably all already done this or at least been tagged but I lose track (let me know if you did this already) Name: I’m blarrghe on here and blarghe with only one r on AO3, keepin’ it simple. Fandoms: Just Dragon Age really Most popular oneshot: Anders, Attraction, Other Things That Start With A Most popular multichapter: The Merrill Sessions, by like, a lot. Which is a tad distressing because I’m not 100% on where it’s going yet... Actual worst part of writing: research probably. The other day I went “Halward Pavus is a venture capitalist!” and then I had to go learn what venture capitalists even do and on god it’s so boring. How you choose your titles: Depends. A few have shakespeare-inspired titles (regardless of any actually related shakespeare inspiration in the plot, but y’know, it’s shakespeare, so it’s in there somewhere.) My wips usually have silly titles so I just try to grab on to something from the story. Do you outline: Yes, to varying degrees. I usually write out a sort of point-form plan of events, and in places it might be elaborated on to the point of having full blocks of dialogue or basically perfect scenes. And it changes as the story shapes up. Every now and then a one-shot just pops out fully formed all by itself though. Usually between 2-4am or while I’m on a bus.

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?

- prequel fic to my longfic Shall We Not Revenge? that follows my OC Leila through the Fifth Blight when she was a child fleeing Kinloch Hold to the point where she joins the Inquisition, which would feature my Warden Surana and my Hawke both as background characters since she passes through both of their stories unseen. It would be very OC heavy, feature a lot of bardic intrigue in Orlais, and probably no one would read it but it would be a really fun and cool way to connect all my stories.

- Prequel fic for Taren Lavellan because wow I really did not have to go so hard on fleshing out his backstory but it’s all there. Would feature sexy sailors, a ton of Dalish lore that I just fully make up, and the Found Family trope. Would love to do it as a handful of comics one day or smth.

- post tresspasser “Veronica Mars style” canon-compliant college mystery fic where Taren goes to the University of Orlais to be a giant nerd/guest professor. It would feature Dorian being framed for murder and silly college roommate drama.

- Um, finishing Shall We Not Revenge. I’ll get back to it eventually. And then probably rewrite half of it because it’s a goddamn mess.

- A bunch of heavy metal power ballads about gay elves.

Callouts @ Me: I’ve never kept a regular schedule in my life. Best writing traits: People have said I am good at capturing character voices and I’d tend to agree. I think my dialogue is pretty good and I’ve definitely gotten better at descriptive metaphor of late. Also my OCs are very fleshed out & you should care about them.

Spicy Tangential Opinion: I’ve read so many good takes in response to this question over the last few days that it’s hard to think of something new to say! @inquisitoracorn in particular said something really good about recognition being more luck than skill which was true and also comforting.

Ok this has probably been said in a lot of ways but yesterday I went on a little rant because in this house we read a lot of comics and a lot of mythology. So recently it’s been the Poetic Edda and I found myself thinking about art and stories and human nature and Thor, who in Marvel comics is so wholly divorced from his Eddic origins. He’s walkin’ around in blue jeans and kissing scientists in a modern setting while having plotlines that are vaguely Norse-mythology-inspired and also other things. Meanwhile the mythology itself is just an accumulation of years of oral traditions that changed over time, and so on and so on. And so if a writer were to take the Thor of the MCU and stick him in a story based on like, a Jane Austen novel, the only difference there between that person and a Marvel writer is whether or not they’re getting paid.

Anyway the point is one part “fanfic is real writing” and one part “Information Wants To Be Free”. We talk about fanfic being great practice as if it’s practice for real writing, and while it is great practice, it’s also not actually any different to tell stories for free with characters and tropes and themes you took from other places because that’s all art ever is, anyway. And people do incredible things with themes and new riffs on existing thoughts and references to classics and on and on in fanfic! For the most part I think people in fandoms tend to understand and appreciate this, but because Anyone Can Put Anything On the Internet (even if it’s bad!) there’s a bit of stigma over the “realness” of the art. But making stories is what humans do and they should get to do it in whatever capacity they want. Art should be weird and personal and stolen from everywhere; there’s no such thing as a wholly original idea because that’s not how skills are learned. You gotta learn ‘em from somewhere -- from other people’s art. As long as you are not actively harming others or inciting harm then just like, make shit.

Oh also, that all said, you should definitely read real books to get better at writing.