#currently 6 wip's brewing from that one song

[trulybetty]

spotify receipt's 🎵

thanks for the tag's @wildemaven & @rhoorl, this looks like fun!

But Jess, come on, was there ever any doubt? 😏🤠

NPT's: @maggiemayhemnj, @marcus-is-my-muse, @bluestar22x, @katareyoudrilling, @secretelephanttattoo, @goodwithcheese, @chronically-ghosted, @for-a-longlongtime, @agentjackdaniels, @haylzcyon, @bitchwitch1981, @something-tofightfor & @wyn-n-tonic

[ghost-1-y]

For the asks!!

3, 6, 11, 14, 19, and 21!

from this ask game!

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Out of fics that I've published, it's probably either Sacrifice or Sabotage. For the former, I'm really proud of how I wrote Kyojuro and I felt like it was a relatively creative idea that I started out with (with him being a jotunn and reader being a nordic village chief). The latter, on the other hand, is my longest fic thus far and I put a ton of effort into the symbolism of reader's character and how her relationship with Sanemi slowly changed over time, which is why I'm gonna say that these fics so far are tied.

However, in terms of all of my fic ideas, I have a strong feeling that Desecration will be my favorite fic I've ever written. I know I've only posted the prologue for it, but this fic is something I've been brewing for months now. I have like...9 pages of bullet points and tables dedicated to the storyline/plot (and that's without any of the actual writing, those 9 pages are 100% just outline). It's also the first fic I've created a playlist for. This fic is my baby I just know it (and I hope you all will enjoy it when it gets posted).

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

I don't have a lot of time on my hands to reread larger fics unfortunately, usually things I reread are very small, one-off drabbles or headcanons because reading a larger fic is something I feel like requires commitment. I did actually reread your Phantasmagoria fic before the final part came out though so I could have the plot fresh in my mind lolol

11. Do you have specific playlists for writing fics?

The only playlist I have so far is my Desecration playlist, which, once I've rearranged it to fit the plot and have added all the songs I want, I will share on here! For my other fics I've usually just looked up playlists on youtube or spotify that fit the vibe I was looking for.

14. If you could see one of your fics adapted into a visual medium, such as comic or film, which fanfic would you pick?

Hmm...maybe Sabotage? I don't think a lot of my fics are long enough to be considered for a film adaptation lmao. Once Desecration has been written I'd probably pick that one though just because it'll be long enough (and is also my favorite storyline I've come up with so far)

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

<(´ཀ`」<) okay

Fleeting memories raced across your mind and rattled within your skull – short visions of sunlight reflecting across statues of women you couldn’t recognize, the brief feeling of love and fulfillment as delicate as dew drops laid upon the blades of grass overgrown in an old cathedral forgotten by time.  It was the warmth of the sun that you’d always treasured the most, its gentle rays caressing your skin just as the faint vision graced your very thoughts.  The realization of betrayal and blood splattered across the floor as darkness enshrouded the very hall in which you stood, clouds blocking out sunbeams and withering flowers in empty, desolate corners long untended. And the screams – screams building from within yourself and echoing across barren walls as you are ripped clean from your body, a mind so full within a body so hollow – an amalgamation of blood and skin and bones, but lacking the very threads that hold a being together as you become a husk of your previous self. A blurry face, a voiceless name, an unbearable cold and a feeling of lightness.  And then, nothing.

21. Have you ever deleted an entire scene after spending hours laboring over it? If so, why?

Yes, all the time lmao.

Mainly because I'm a perfectionist and I cringe whenever I read something that doesn't feel like it lives up to my own impossible standards.

In fact, I currently have an entire scene for one of my WIPs that I'm going to rewrite completely because I don't like how I went about describing it. I like the idea of the scene, so the general concept will be kept, but I'm 100% rewriting it when it comes time to actually put it in the story lol

[crazycatfaery]

ん乇ﾚﾚの, ｲんﾉ丂 ﾉ丂 刀のｲ んﾉﾚﾚﾉ乇! You have not, in fact, seen the last of me, your HEX anon! 🧚 I have a few questions for you this morning as I continue stirring the pot to brew your gift... 1 - Your list of characters only includes one of the younger generation, but would you be okay with others showing up if it makes sense for the story? Anyone you don’t want? The story would still mostly be about characters from your list! 2 - Of the ships you listed in your request, are there any songs you associate with them? If there are too many (coughSilrahcough) what are a couple of your faves? Bonus crack: pick a character and associate a musical instrument with them. 3 - What are the proper spices to make Hillie-approved mulled wine? Until next time! ✨💚

Hiiiii Anon!! I'm so curious what kind of gift your cooking up, can't wait to see it 👀.

1 - Side characters: I'm completely fine with that! As long as, like you already said yourself, they make sense to be added, I'm good with anyone. I'm also fine with original characters, if you really need them.

2 - Songs I associate with my ships: I can only remember Silrah, Ben/Luna and Ben/Rose, so forgive me if I forgot any.

For Ben/Rose: There's this one heart wrenching song, the inspiration for a scene that has been haunting me for over a year by now (it's for a way later chapter of a wip of mine). The only spoiler I will give is that it immediately made me think of the morning after Ben receives some devastating news: Wide Awake and Dreaming (stripped duet) - OSKA, Stu Larsen.

For Ben/Luna: I hadn't thought about songs for them yet! Doing a quick scan through some of my playlists, maybe: Heal - Tom Odell ?

For Silrah: Oh my goodness this was HARD! I have a Silrah playlist with currently 160+ songs I had to filter through for this (as you said, too many, lol). There’s a few different themes in there, mainly around different periods in Saul’s and Farah’s lives, but also plenty that are linked to certain stories in my mind/wip folder (so those are rather specific). I’ve tried to keep it to three of my current favorites, in no particular order:

Who We Are - Hozier. I suppose it’s actually a breakup song, but a lot of the lyrics just feel very fitting for them post Aster Dell. So much of our life is just carving through the dark, or You and I burned out our steam, chasing someone else's dream. Perfect.

Oblivion - Bastille. Saul's worries towards Farah. Makes me think of that scene with the two of them in Farah's office, when he asks her if she got hurt by the burned one. In the context of S1, pre-episode 6 Silrah, these two lines in particular seem very foreboding: Are you going to age with grace? Are you going to leave a path to trace?. Ahh, my heart.

Hurricane - Tommee Profitt, Fleurie. Could be them during any time period, really. But probably works best right after Aster Dell.

Angst, pining, pain, what else could make me think of these two idiots? I promise, there’s sweeter/nicer ones on there too. I think.

Bonus crack: Saul is a contra-bass. Farah is an alt-violin. Ben is a bagpipe. Rose is a transverse flute. Luna is a triangle. Make of that what you will😏.

3 - Mulled Wine: I realise I said mulled wine previously when I meant glühwein, my bad! Is mulled wine the same as glühwein, or different? I’ve only ever had glühwein, and I genuinely don’t know any other spice combination than sticks of cinnamon, whole star-anise, and cloves. Now I’m wondering what other things I could throw in there👀.

These were fun again! I’m glad to not have seen the last of you😁

[maiikawriter]

Fic Writer Review

Tagged by @justanotherblonde thank you! You were right about my stats being a lot to sort through, but tags like this are always a fun way to put things into perspective 😃

1. How many do you have on Ao3? 88

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 1,444,134

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Dragon Ball, Naruto, The Amberlough Dossier Series, My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and it’s not posted yet, but I have Chainsaw Man in the works too, so that’ll be number 6

4. What are your top 5 five by kudos?

-A Song of Lightning and Blossoms, 506

-Seeing in the Dark, 474

-Co-Starring, 428

-I’m Not Where You Left Me, 367

-In My Domain, 358

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not? Most of the time! I enjoy interacting and thanking my readers for their comments, but at the same time I don’t like the repetitive “thank you for your comment, glad you like it!” so if I don’t have something more specific to say, I think it’s better not to.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Lesson Learned - it’s a oneshot revealing Kakashi’s backstory in the Yakuza AU

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written? No, only alternate universe settings based in other fandoms

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic? Oh yeah! The funniest was either the one reader who threatened to report me to ff.net and wanted to throw their computer through the wall after the angst in the plot was too much for them, or the person who called me “Kakarot’s c*@$-sucking c$@!” for writing a GoBul scene into a multiship get-together story where that pairing wasn’t even endgame

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind? Yes! poly threesomes have become my speciality, but I write plenty of twosomes het and slash, m/m and m/f, but most kinks aren’t really my cup of tea so you don’t really see those from me

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Sort of? Someone asked my permission to write because they were inspired by my story, but when I checked it out, they were basically trying to re-write the same story as their own. They took it down after I asked them about it

11. Have you ever had a fic translated? I had someone tell me they were translating Cold Brew to Russian, but they never followed up with a link for me and I wouldn’t know how to check ficbook for it

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I’ve dabbled in the idea but never really committed

13. What is your all time favorite ship? Kakashi/Obito/Rin

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? wake up and smell the coffee, possibly. I would say Wrench if it wasn’t already pre-written before posting because lack of engagement is kind of killing the drive behind that story. Just Naruto in general has never been very responsive to me but those few really engaged readers help keep me there. I currently have two for wake up and smell the coffee who I don’t want to let down, so we’ll see

15. What are your writing strengths? I used to say dialogue, but lately I’ve been strengthening my description. But where I really thrive I think is plot, hence all the longfics

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Too many WIPs, too many ideas that are very hyper-specific

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I’m usually against it, but recently broke my rule here with Wrench. It’s the Japanese mob, so it only seemed fitting that some Japanese should make it into this AU

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Dragon Ball

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written? Either Scattered Pictures or To Reach This Point or pour me your last drops. They’re definitely my favorite three but they each come out on top for different reasons

Tagging: @breezytealy, @dbzebra, @redaloves, @mrssakurahatake, @anannua, @ohayohimawari, @uintuva, @syusukerambles, @nibbler747, @sloaners

[shuttymcshutfuck]

I got tagged by @writingat-night to do the first line game!

rules: list the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). see if there are any patterns. choose your favourite opening line.

I don't think I have 20 wips but oh well. I tag anyone who wants to do it! (Mostly cause my only writing friend i know wouldn't mind me tagging was the one who tagged me.

*untitled fic* (TMA, jon centric h/c)

“Jon, are you ready to go?” Jon sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed he and Martin had been sharing. He had only gotten this far before he realised today was going to be a bad day but he didn’t want to make Martin late. Begrudgingly, Jon got to his feet - pausing to let the dark spots from his vision clear - and started to get dressed as fast as he could. He put on his fake energy then his coat and headed out the door to the institute, Martin following behind. It was odd being around Martin so much, he had such an eye for when people were hurting and Jon was finding it harder and harder to hide his own. He didn’t regret letting Martin stay at his flat after he had finally escaped his worm infested flat, but it was more difficult than he expected it to be. 

2. *untitled fic 2* (TMA, JonMartin, fluff/whump I guess?)

“Jon, I was thinking we could have pasta for- What are you doing?” When Martin walked into their living room he was expecting to see Jon curled up in the corner of the couch with the book he was currently reading. Maybe even grading some papers or going over his next lesson plan. He wasn’t expecting Jon to be lying on his back on the floor, trying to place the arm cuff of Martin’s blood pressure machine around his arm. A spike of fear shot through him, expecting the worst. Martin took a breath to try and ground himself. They were both safe and he knew that, he just had to remind himself every now and then.

“I’m taking your advice.” Jon’s head tilted towards Martin from his place on the floor. After the initial panic had faded it was actually quite an amusing sight to Martin.

3. "Its okay if you can't find the words, let me take your coat and this weight off of your shoulders" (Rewrite: TPP-Junoverse, Jupeter, Juno centric h/c)

A day off on the carte blanche was rare but every so often there would be a day or two with nothing. No jobs, no maintenance, no planning. Just nothing. Today was one such day. Juno had spent most of the day held hostage on the couch by Rita with everyone popping in and out every so often. He hadn’t paid much attention to the streams Rita had put on, his mind drifting whenever he tried. When Rita started dosing on his shoulder he decided it was time to call it a night. After carrying Rita to her room, Juno made his way to the room he and Nureyev shared. Peter lay on the bed reading a book, his glasses on the very end of his nose.

“Coming to join me?” Nureyev spoke softly, still not looking up from his book. Juno knew that he wasn’t angry at him, there was no reason he would be but he could feel the familiar twinge of panic in his veins. Breathe, he’s not diamond. Diamond. “Juno?” It was only then they met eyes, Peter’s laced with worry.

4. "We can't run from the wind and the thunder" (TPP- Junoverse, Jupeter, Peter centric h/c)

Peter hated the thunder. He would never admit he was scared of it but he couldn't hide the flinches he made each time he heard the roars from above. Luckily, being in space you don’t see many thunderstorms and the few times they’d been to planets that could have them luck was on his side. But the thing about luck is it runs out eventually.

The crew were all staying the night at a hotel on a planet Peter hadn’t bothered to remember the name of. All he knew was they were all going to stay the night in a fancy hotel and very early in the morning they were going to start the heist, hoping to be out and back on the ship by 4am. This meant none of them would get a decent amount of sleep that night but it was worth it to get one step closer to the Curemother Prime. They had all made their way back to their respective rooms after checking in. Buddy and Vespa in one, Jet in one, Rita in one and Juno and Peter in another. I mean they had the -fake- money for it, so why not?

5. The wound has healed but the scar still hurts (TMA, Tim centric h/c)

The past couple of days it was awfully quiet in the archives and to Martin that meant something was wrong. Very wrong. It was never this quiet, there was always at least a little bit of chatter or something but right now you could hear a pin drop. It wasn’t until his lunch break that Martin figured out what was wrong. Tim wasn’t making a sound. Tim was always talking or flirting or humming but today he was silent. Thinking about it now, Martin remembered how distant Tim had been the past couple days. It wasn’t unusual for him to forget to reply to texts but the past couple of days all he’d given were one worded answers. That’s it, Martin thought to himself, I need to talk to him.

So Martin popped on the kettle and made himself tea while making Tim some coffee. He was never sure why Tim preferred coffee but apparently it helped him relax so Martin wasn’t going to question him. He wandered the institute until he found him. Tim was sitting on the cot in storage, books scattered around him with his head in his hands. Martin paused for a moment, was he crying? 

6. In our bedroom after the war (TMA, JonMartin songfic)

Wake up, say good morning to

That sleepy person lying next to you

If there's no one there, then there's no one there

But at least the war is over

It was nice in the safehouse, quiet. There was such a comfort in the normality of it all. In the morning, Martin would be up before him brewing some tea and they would sit together. But there were days where that wouldn’t happen. Days where Jon was alone even though Martin was there. Ever since he got out of the lonely, Martin would flicker every so often. Jon could tell without even knowing, he could feel Martin’s embrace become colder, small pieces of fog would escape his mouth with words that had nothing to them. On those days, Jon tried his best to help. He knew it would pass and he wouldn’t be alone again, he just had to hold on. 

Thats all I've got right now. My go to has basically just been "pain" I guess. My favourite is probably "in our bedroom after the war". Mostly because I love that song but I literally can't listen to it without thinking of JonMartin. One day I will finish these and post them, I swear

[sapphcon-ic]

11/11 tag

thank you @emdop for tagging me! these are literally so fun to do ugh (and its literally the only time im not a pansy when it comes to posting about my writing on here) anyway:

1. Do you have any pets? if not, do your OCs?

Yes! I have three dogs and a cat. They’re babies, all of them. 

2. What was the last song/album/artist you played so much you got sick of it?

Real Friends or The Front Bottoms. Like OK, I love pop punk as much as the next low key emo, but there comes a point where I get tired of listening to songs about guys in their late twenties whining about their ex-girlfriends who cheated on them the summer after high school. Like no shade, I still love them, but I have to be in a specific mood to listen to their stuff again.

3. Do you write poetry?

I used to do, and I want to get back into it again. I literally have no idea how to get back into it though. 

4. Last book you DNF’d 

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan. Loved the world, hated the MC. Besides that there is nothing really wrong with the story. It’s a good entry level fantasy story. Just was not for me. 

5. Last book you couldn’t get out of your head.

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Both incredibly powerful stories that will stick with me forever. I don’t think the last page of Impossible Beauties will ever leave me. Please read both of these books if you have not, beware of triggers though. 

6. Do you have a pre-writing routine? like lighting a candle or a yoga stretch.

Brewing coffee. 

7. What’s your favorite time period to write in?

The past. Literally any time period. I’m in love with fantasy based off historical time periods. Right now, specifically Ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome. All super interesting. 

8. Writing tension filled scenes is difficult. What’s a scene from your WIP that had you anxious or cringing while you were writing it?

The prologue honestly. Like, the beginning still feels rocky asf and I’m not really sure it flows well, and I feel like the dialogue is off. Its a super high-tensioned scene with necessary plot relevance, so I can’t cut it out. 

9. What’s your favorite to read/write: Dialogue or description?

DESCRIPTION. I don’t know how in the world, what sacrifices y’all had to make to whatever deity, or rituals you’re doing for all this good ass description but please dm me so I can find out. 

10. You have to have dinner with the characters in your WIP. On a scale from 1 to 10, how much of a disaster is it?

Like ALL of them? Omigod, it’s Desperate Housewives level of brawling. Ecaeris (she’s an Aries) and Alessa  (she’s a bonafide Leo) are ready to fight (), Vesuvia is being petty (she’s an air sign, OK?). No one has chill. Someone just threw a plate. The only calm one is Esi, Ecaeris’ older sister, but she isn’t doing shit to stop anyone. Its chaos. 

11. If characters from your WIP met characters from another WIP, would they get along? Or start a war against each other?

Let’s see. I have an OC named Aden from a fanfic I wrote a couple years ago (which I will not touch on, we don’t talk about her). If Ecaeris and Aden got together, and talked about their issues, I have a strong feeling that they would be besties. Like ride or die, ‘let’s go get our revenge and then get some therapy’ besties. 

***

ugh this was cool as hell. I’ll tag @ibuzoo @whimsicalpersephone @dove-actually

Now for my questions: 

1. Who’s your favorite character to write?

2. What writing playlists do you have for your WIPs? 

3. How many WIPs do you currently have at the moment?

4. When and how did you get started in writing? Do you eventually want to be published?

5. What genres do you want to write for, or dabble in later on?

6. How did you get the idea for your main WIP?

7. Who is the hardest character to write?

8. What’s your favorite trope or cliché?

9. What book/movie/TV show inspires you the most? 

10. What character, besides your own, has impacted you the most as a person?

11. Who’s your least favorite published author?

Thank you again @emdop!!!!

***

Anyway, wow, that’s more information about my WIP with literally no snippets or character intros, or an intro in general???? Like I really have to get on this. I literally have a whole ass separate writerblr for all this but I’m just the biggest pansy lmao. 

But this isn’t about that, I’ll do it eventually. Meanwhile, if you are interested, you can follow me @vesaeris-writes for the eventual moment I do post an intro. It’s under construction atm. 

[livvywrites]

11/11/11 tag game

Thanks @nightmares-and-fireflies for the tag!!! This is one of my favorite tag games because you can redo it as much as you want, basically 😂

Rules: Answer the 11 questions of the person who tagged you, make up 11 questions, then tag 11 people to answer them.

1. Do any of your characters have similar traits as you?

Of course! Pretty much all of my characters have similar traits to me. Take Talitha for instance—she gets my passion for history, my love of magic and magical settings, my ability to talk forever, and my love for my siblings.

2. What’s your favorite book? Why?

…I… I have to pick favorites???

Um. Okay so.

Favorite book I’ve read this year: the Tiffany Aching subseries of Discworld

Favorite book I read last year: The Enchanted Forests Chronicles, or The Dark Wife

Book I’ve reread the most: A Court of Mist and Fury

Book I’m reading right now: The Priory of the Orange Tree

And then I don’t think I could pick an all time favorite…

3. Something you dislike about an OC you have, if anything?

Yessss. Alinora is too self sacrificial; Elaena is too distant; Lyr is ignoring all of his problems; Ava spends too much time worrying about other people; Tali has decided to play with a curse; and Aishlynn won’t talk to her sister.

Obviously all of these things are the way they are ~for plot~ but that doesn’t mean they don’t frustrate me. I just want my babies to be happy!!

4. Something you like about an OC you have, if anything? (I hope so!)

I love Alinora’s determination and love for her people; Elaena’s adoration for her dad and mischievous spirit; Lyr’s protective nature and slight fear of the ladies in his life; Ava’s nurturing nature and ability to be scary af; Talitha’s passion and reckless spirit; and Aishlynn’s determination and strength.

5. Have one of your characters ever surprised you?

Yes!!! Alinora called herself Death’s Champion way before I expected; I had no idea her dad would turn out to be the spymaster, making her and Aish half-sisters; and I didn’t expect her to have such a fondness for mushrooms. I could probably talk about how each of them have surprised me but I won’t ;)

6. One genre you’d never read? Why?

I was going to say horror, but then I remembered I’m avid lurker on r/nosleep. Then I was going to say murder mysteries, but I HAVE read and enjoyed some. I don’t typically read published erotica (I use fanfic for that lbr) but I HAVE.

Ah!

Wait. I’ve got it. I know the genre I refuse to read. I don’t read romances + terminal illness. (Basically, anything Nicholas Sparks or similar.) I get that those are cathartic for some people but I have a deep, unending hate for the genre. (But no judgement to those who like them!!! I just could never read them.)

7. What are your current WIP(s)? If you have more than one, which is your favorite?

My main WIP is The Martyr Queen, the first in a series that details how a young woman who was never meant to exist stops Fate from destroying the universe. With a li’l help along the way.

My first completed draft—which needs a lot of rewriting—is Sapphire Dreaming, the first in a trilogy. It centers around a young woman who struggles to find her place in the world, and claim the birthright she’s dreamed of since she was a child.

Then I have two books in an active planning stage—Heart Eater and Overmorrow. Both are probably temporary titles.

Heart Eater focuses on a young woman with strong morals who kills abusers. Particularly those who evade the law, or have the money to do so. However, trouble is brewing in the criminal underworld and she has to team up with the government agent sent to stop her.

Overmorrow is a sci-fi story focusing on a princess desperate to retake her people’s homeworld; save her mother; and secure her place on a throne she’s never truly wanted.

8. Was there a specific moment that made you think “I want to be a writer”?

Not… really? I’ve always been enamored with stories and writing my own. In about 3rd grade I announced my dream on career day and… that was it, honestly. That’s all I’ve wanted to be since.

9. If you could live in any world (from a TV show/book/movie/etc.), which one?

Oh, jeez. This is a hard one tbh. Can I choose my own world??? Sometimes it feels like I half live in Eldora as it is.

10. Do you have a favorite writing playlist to keep you motivated?

Nope, unfortunately! I’ve been meaning to make one but… every novel playlist I’ve come up with I end up hating in 2 seconds. I don’t know if I’m just bad at them or too picky.

11. A piece of advice (about anything)?

Before you sit down to write a scene, have a concrete goal. Know where the scene is going. It will make writing way easier, way faster, and you’ll get stuck less often. If you don’t know what needs to happen here, but you know another scene? Skip to it.

And don’t be afraid to freewrite a bit, especially in a different POV.

Those have saved me from stalling on TMQ so far, and I hope they’ll get me to the finish ;)

My questions:

Do you have a favorite book or article on writing? Care to share? (Pls)

What outlining method do you use, if any? How strictly do you stick to it?

Which of your OCs do you connect to most? Whose POV comes easiest?

What kinds of things do you associate with your OCs?

When you’re not writing, what kinds of things remind you of your OCs?

What are you reading currently, or what book have you finished most recently?

Favorite aspect of your story’s world or setting?

What methods do you use to stay inspired for your story? (Pinterest, music, etc)

Top 3 songs at the moment?

What was the first story you ever wrote/had an idea for?

Can you tell us a little about the OC you’ve had for the longest?

tagging: @firesidefantasy; @queenie-dragon; @abalonetea; @writings-of-a-narwhal; @waterfallwritings; @quilloftheclouds; @runningonrain; @idreamonpaper; @diabhals; @sidhewrites; @sixstepsaway

[salaciouscrumpet]

WIP Questions Tag Game

Saw this on a writing blog and thought it looked fun (plus might keep fanning the flames of my creativity), so here we go ...

1. Describe the plot in one sentence: A run-in outside a nightclub drops a young woman down the rabbit’s hole and into a world she hasn’t glimpsed since her childhood.

2. Pick one sight, smell, sound, feel and taste to describe the aesthetic of your WIP: Sight - Shimmering; Smell - Ozone; Sound - Clash of metal on metal; Feel - Callused hands; Taste - Copper pennies

3. Which 3+ songs would make a playlist for your novel: Monster by Mumford & Sons; Legendary by Welshly Arms; Seven Devils by Florence + the Machine; Arsonist’s Lullaby by Hozier; What’s Up Danger by Blackway and Black Caviar (I actually have a Spotify playlist that I put on in the background when I’m doing chores and stuff to help get me inspired.)

4. What’s the time period and location in which your novel takes place: Modern (as in nowish) time period in an as-yet-unnamed Canadian city (kind of going for a Toronto/Vancouver/Montreal vibe without actually placing it in any of those cities).

5. Are there any former titles you’ve considered but discarded: My current title is “Unnamed Urban Fantasy WIP” so ... uh ... no.

6. What is the first line of your novel: Nori knew this was a bad idea.

7.What’s a line of dialogue you’re particularly proud of: Oh, man. *blushes* Ahem. It’s more a sequence of dialogue, and I’m going to catch so much hell for it:

Devon: “Oh my god, Luke, you don’t even drink coffee? I know you grew up in the [REDACTED] but come on, man, live a little! Branch out! Experiment!”

Luke, dryly: “Cut me some slack, Dev. Most people would think me taking it up the ass on the regular would be enough deviation from my sheltered upbringing.”

<Devon spits out her coffee and starts choking; Tessa and Charlie burst out laughing>

Tessa: “Kind of went with the nuclear option there, babe.”

Luke, unapologetic: “Yeah, but saying ‘now I eat candy sometimes’ doesn’t have quite the same effect ...”

8. Which line from the novel most represents it as a whole:  Currently? “I just watched a guy with a glowing sword fight a half-man, half-shark ... thing ... before you waved your sparkly fingers and brought a woman back from the brink of death. I think the whole ‘there’s no such thing as magic’ ship has sailed.”

9. Who are your characters’ face claims: I don’t really have any. They just kind of look like themselves, I guess?

10. Sort your characters into Hogwarts houses: (As someone with only a basic knowledge of Harry Potter): Nori - Hufflepuff; Luke - Gryffindor; Charlie - Ravenclaw; Tessa - Slytherin. I didn’t actually intend for them to be in different houses (I didn’t think of Hogwarts houses at all), so it’s weird the way it worked out that they’d all logically be in different ones.

11. Which character’s name do you like the most: Elsinore “Nori” Lindsay. Named for the location in Hamlet, not for the brewing company in Strange Brew (although that reference is definitely gonna get made)

12. Do any characters have any distinctive birthmarks/scars: Weirdly enough, no. Luke has scars, but I wouldn’t say any of them are especially distinctive. The other three have managed to flit through life relatively scar-free (externally speaking, at least).

13. Which character most fits a character trope: Nori is very much The Fool. 

14. Which character is the best writer? Hmm. Nori is probably the best writer, or possibly Charlie. Which character is the worst writer? Tessa. Hands down, no contest. What are words, even?

15. Which character is the best liar? Tessa, without a doubt. The worst? It’d be a toss-up between Luke and Nori. Probably Nori. Luke at least knows how to lie by omission, whereas Nori is a sweet summer child who hasn’t even needed to lie all that much.

16. Which character swears the most? Weirdly enough given the number of F-bombs in my fanfiction, none of the characters in my original work swear all that much at all. Luke is the one who swears the least, though; if he’s swearing, shit is really going down. Like, someone is dying (if he’s not the one dying then the person who is dying is doing so in his arms), the world is on fire and bad language is the very least of our worries. (Even him saying “ass” in the above snippet of dialogue is the result of him going for shock value.)

17. Which character is the most like you? Either Nori or Charlie, although neither of them is much like me. Nori is probably objectively more like me than Charlie is, but she’s so different from me that there’s zero chance of her being perceived as an author self-insert. Least like you? Either Tessa or Luke. Probably Luke, as I’m not a towering muscled modern-day paladin with an inferiority complex.

18. Which character would you most like to be: Is none of them an answer? I guess if I had to choose I’d go with Nori; she had a nice, normal childhood and a reasonably happy life until I decided to start dumping on her. (She made it about 24 years before disaster struck, which beats the other three main characters by a wide margin.)

Tagging: I’m not going to tag anyone, but if you’re working on something and wanted to share I’d love to see it!

[starlightwrites]

Writing Process Meme

I was tagged by @illusivesoul! Thank you ! :D

I don’t want to tag anyone because I’m not sure who’s writing right now, but if you see this and want to share, please tag me! I’d love to read your stuffs! <3

Short stories, novels, or poems?

I used to be all about novels but I have started looooooving short stories!

What genre do you prefer reading?

So many! I love fantasy and romance and horror and historical and satirical and--

What genre do you prefer writing?

Most of my non-fic work is modern fantasy or bangsian fiction! Love me some ghosts and faeries! I like writing romance too!

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

Both! I start out with a great plan and then I do not follow it even a little bit. I’m bad at directions, even when the directions are my own. :/

What music do you listen to while writing?

I like all those lofi hip-hop montages because they are just enough sound to keep my brain happy and focused, but they are still quiet and soothing. I also sometimes listen to a song that inspired me on a loop for six hours while I try to figure out how to manifest that exact feeling in a paragraph. It is. The Worst.

Fave books/movies?

OH man so many.

Books: Le Petit Prince by Antoine de St Exuprey; the Harry Potter novels; White Noise by Don Delillo; Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes by Cory O'Brien; Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell; 90% of the Shakespeare Comedies and Tragedies (Histories are ok but they’re on thin ice) (fuck The Taming of the Shrew); The Outlander novels (even though they have their issues...like...so many issues)

Movies: Amelie; the 1996 BBC Miniseries version of Pride and Prejudice; the 2005 Kiera Knightly Pride and Prejudice (there’s a theme); The Adams Family movies; The Princess Bride; Clue; Moulin Rouge; literally any Disney movie ever.

Any current WIPs?

Also a lot lol. I have

Moments Between (Mass Effect: Rae Shepard and Garrus Vakarian longfic)

Another Life (Fallout 4: Cori Hart and Porter Gage longfic)

Where You Belong (Fallout 4: teen Shaun and Sole Survivor Lola fic--unreleased)

Companion One-Shots with Fallout 4 Sole Survivor Lola Clover

Under the Mojave Stars (Fallout New Vegas: Courier 6 Lulu and the companions and a whole lot of emotional constipation)

Aaaaaand then a few non-fic WIPs that I am sitting on.

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

A black dress with a cardigan over leggings, flats, and a pair of glasses! That is 75% of my outfits. I dress like a librarian.

Create a character description for yourself:

She walked into the room like a baby giraffe on roller skates. Her arms were piled high, full of books, notebooks, scraps of paper, keys, a laptop, four different pens, and a precariously placed Grande coffee. Her glasses were perched on top of her head and she squinted, eyes pinched to figure out if that person waving was waving to her? Or not? Maybe not--probably not. They drew closer and oh. They were waving to her. Oh no. She shifted her things into one arm to wave back but dropped her keys, knocked her glasses off her head, and nearly dumped the coffee.

(I’m a mess, pls send help)

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

Nooooooooooooo! Nope! I may draw inspiration here or there, but that is a slippery slope and I try to avoid it at all costs.

Are you kill-happy with characters?

I used to be, but lately I’ve been all about happy endings. It depends, I suppose.

Coffee or tea while writing?

Both? Both. At the same time, because I got up to make a tea, forgot that I had made the tea, brewed some coffee, made it back to my desk, and then realized I had just an abundance of beverages. SOoooooo both.

Slow or fast writer?

HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA slow. As molasses.

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

Everything! Most often a feeling I got from something (a song, a setting, etc), but also from all over the place. Random thoughts, people at work, prompts in my classes, etc.

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

Probably a bard but...like...not a good one.

Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche?

Fave: They Thought They Didn’t Have Feelings for Each Other. They Totally Have Feelings for Each Other.

Least fave: sexual assault as a means of motivation (*ACHEM* OUTLANDER *ACHEM*). It is needlessly triggering, sloppy, lazy, and does a HUGE disservice to survivors.

Fave scenes to write?

Catharsis scenes. I LOVE scenes that let off steam or lighten the mood after a really dark patch. They are satisfying to write!

Most productive time of day for writing?

Midnight to 3:00 am, preferably after I have decided to go to bed and have showered. -_______-

Reason for writing:

Because. Seriously, though, just because. There are only a few stories we can tell, but endless ways in which we can tell them, and that is magical. I write to connect to people and to explore the world we live in. I write to process and understand, but most importantly: I write just because. (And no one can stop me).

[melimelo-ao3]

Answers to the ask

So this is my answer to every ask of the “A Writer’s Ask Game” by agwitow that I reblogged just below.

Yes, I know, people are supposed to be the ones to send a number, and only then am I supposed to answer. But, since this blog has like, very, very limited interaction, and I had nothing to do, I answered them myself.

And I’m putting a time stamp on it: Wednesday 17/02/2021, because for some questions, in a week, it won’t be the same answer.

The Basics 1.     Do you listen to music when you write?

I do, yes. I have a couple of playlists with songs – I know some people enjoy listening to music while they write, but only without any kind of lyrics. I don’t care either way. Some days it’s pre-enregistered playlists, others random, and others just piano.

2.     Are you a pantser or plotter?

I’m mostly a plotter. I’ve tried to go pantser on a couple of stories (Pretty Boy is the last example that comes to my mind), but I end up knowing what I’ll put in the next chapters in advance. Even if it’s just the main plot point / scene.

3.     Computer or pen and paper?

Computer. Except when I have writer block.

4.     Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published?

I’ve never been published, and don’t plan on. I write my stories mostly for myself, and to me it’s a bit too over the top to, first, interest a publisher / editor, and then it would need lots of editing and… I don’t think I’m ready yet to see critics on my stories.

5.     How much writing do you get done on an average day?

I have no idea xD I suppose I’m happy if I get 1.000 word a day, especially if it’s a day I only concentrate on writing. Sometimes it can be more, but sometimes it can also be nothing at all. On days I have other things to do, I’m happy if I can write one sentence more during the day :)

6.     Single or multiple POV?

At the same time? Single. In a story? It depends. Some stories I’ve written in a single POV all along, others I switched between chapters, and others within chapters, with a distinction between the “parts”.

7.     Standalone or series?

Um, series as in several “books”? If so, there’s this story I finished last year. At first, it was supposed to be one single book, but things progressed as they did and so I chose to cut the overall, finished epic into three books. So it’s supposedly a series now.

Other than this, I usually cram everything up in one story.

8.     Oldest WIP

Oldest oldest? I started a story called L’année scolaire (= School Year) when I was like 10. It’s unfinished, so I suppose I can consider it as a WIP. Other than that, if I’m talking about posted fic, it’s a Harry Potter time-travel fanfic called Une nouvelle chance de vivre (= A New Chance At Living). Same, the fic has maybe ten years now (damn, time flies) and has been untouched for… about ten years I believe xD

9.     Current WIP

I have several! On my AO3 profile, there’s Sunkissed (an Achilles x Patroclus Omegaverse ff), The Bravest Belief of All (Amandi) (a Peter Pan x Wendy Darling canon divergence from OUAT) and I Desire You (or worse) (which is an original work with original character that I’ve just started posting) that I update regularly.

There are more on my computer, much more than I can type here…

10.  Do you set yourself deadlines?

Not at all. Because I wouldn’t respect them, and it would make me stress.

 The Specifics 11.  Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

Victor Hugo is the main one that comes to my mind atm. I love the way he writes and what he writes about. There’s Emile Zola’s Au Bonheur des dames, too, which is amazing, one of the best books I know of. And, for the beauty of language and the sheer poetry literally pouring from every single word, Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is. breathtaking. I don’t know if they influenced me, because it sounds a bit pretentious to say that one can find some of these authors in my stories if they look closely, but they definitely represent what I aspire to.

12.  Describe your perfect writing space

In a silent room, except there’s music (I know, it’s paradoxical). I have my computer and my head is resting (I mean, I don’t have anything urgent to do, it’s all done and behind me for the day) and I can concentrate on the scene I’ve been imagining for a couple of days / weeks / months / years (pick one).

13.  Describe your writing process from idea to polished

Usually I have an idea, I play it in my head over and over again until I really like it and I have a couple of things found out (like, scenes or dialogues or narration – depends if the idea is about a story or just a single scene). Then, I write it. Admittedly, the polishing happens mostly when I play it over and over in my mind until it clicks or sticks.

14.  How do you deal with self-doubts?

I usually listen to them, because it means there’s something that’s nagging me about a scene, a moment. So I go reread it, I think back on it – what can I change? How can I formulate it in a different way? – and I change it until I’m satisfied with it.

I experience a (lot) of self-doubt at the moment, with the first three chapters of IDY. I chose to post them, but I’m not entirely sure I’d be ready if people began to hate them or find horrible flaws with them. that makes me doubt whether it was a good idea or not, but I know that I can always delete them if it really goes downhill.

15.  How do you deal with writer’s block?

I stop writing. For a couple of days, usually, to let my brain the time to relax and focus on something else. Then, I sit back before my computer and I open another word document – like a blank page. I copy paste the scene I’m stuck on, and I rewrite it under, while using a couple of sentences I feel are good. I repeat the process until the words flow back again.

(This sounds a lot like a cooking recipe xD)

For the real, unbreachable writer’s block (like, if the above didn’t work), I try to focus on other stories. If that doesn’t help kick the inspiration back (like for No, but I do – even though the writer’s block was cemented by GOT’s last season but that’s another matter entirely), I push the story to the back of my mind and I give it up.

16.  How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project?

As many as necessary until I’m satisfied with myself. I can’t give a number.

17.  What writing habits or rituals do you have?

I imagine the scene beforehand, I listen to music, I write on computer… I can’t think of any other writing habit I have atm.

18.  If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about?

I don’t think I could collaborate with anyone, sorry - -’ When I have an idea for a story, I’m excited with writing every single part of it, so I don’t think it’s for me.

19.  How do you keep yourself motivated?

With the scenes I want to write.

20.  How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

At the moment (meaning the ones brewing in my mind): 11.

 The Favourites 21.  Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?

It depends with the story. I liked Weston in Pretty Boy (I like him too in I Desire You), and Wendy in Amandi.

22.  Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write?

Weston/Edmund. They’re my OTP for now.

23.  Favourite author

I don’t have a favourite author, I search for fics / stories mostly.

24.  Favourite genre to write and read

Romance.

25.  Favourite part of writing

I love writing dialogues, especially when the characters continue to talk on their own and I’m just transcribing everything and the conversation ends up very different from what I imagined.

26.  Favourite writing program

None, I just write on Word.

27.  Favourite line/scene

That’s impossible to choose! xD

On a writing’s perspective only, I’ll say the end part of chapter 3 in I Desire You (or worse). When I reread it and I could feel what the character is feeling / does (I’m being vague on purpose because I haven’t posted it yet), I knew I had to post it somewhere. I don’t know, I’m just really proud of it (and have the most self-doubt over people’s reaction, which is – as always – very logical of me).

28.  Favourite side character

In I Desire You, I like Lucy.

29.  Favourite villain

I don’t think I’ve ever written many villains. Ah, yes, Peter Pan in my OUAT fic. He’s a villain, it works.

30.  Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

I’ve been beginning a lot of WIP at the moment, precisely so I could start putting down all the ideas I wanted, so I don’t really know what to answer to that…

 The Dark 31.  Least favourite part of writing

Writing description of settings. I don’t really like how I write those.

32.  Most difficult character to write

Edmund. No hesitation.

33.  Have you ever killed a main character?

No, and I never intend to. I want my characters to be happy and alive.

34.  What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

Chapter 3 of I Desire You? Or maybe the chapter 2.

Or the beginning of Amandi, which depicts the Peter / Fiona relation.

35.  What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

Um, none at the moment :)

 The Fun 36.  Last sentence you wrote

I understand how he feels.

But I’ll probably change it. I’m not sure yet. It’s for IDY.

37.  First sentence of your current WIP

Well, I have three, so I’ll put the three.

A frustrated scream would have torn the eerie silence and thunderous sound of waves if Peter had any strength left in him to scream anymore. For Amandi

“Where’re y’all running to?” For IDY

Patroclus’ lip trembled when they pinned the crown to his hair. For Sunkissed.

38.  Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

Oof, lots. I’ve often imagined confronting two versions of characters. Like, take characters, usually from period pieces or in mindsets that are very patriarchal, and make them see another version of themselves, usually in Omegaverse, in a sort of Harry Potter pensieve or television setting, like they just watch this alternate universe version of themselves as they go on their daily lives. And then I imagine all the ways this character would first be horrified / angered / dismissive of that version of themselves that they’d judge weaker because they’d be Omegas, and then, slowly, they see that they’re really badass and yk worthy of consideration, respect etc. Not just them, but all their mates etc. would too, as well. And then they would come out as this better person, who aren’t as prejudiced as they used to be.

39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

I don’t know, I think it kind of overlap with the precedent question? Anyway, my characters are (only) plain, normal humans. Or, well, there was one time I had an idea to write a story with elves à la Tolkien, but it’s not really a weird character concept (or at all really xD)

40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters

Well, all my characters’ important backstories end up being revealed, so I’m not gonna spoil anything here…

I’ll take Curly from Amandi. He grew up in an orphanage, a poor one, which didn’t have proper beds (hence why he calls them pockets, because they look like pockets). He has no memory of his parents because they separated before his birth and his mother died in birth. He comes from a magical land (since we’re talking about an OUAT AU).

 The Rest of It 41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?

Write what you want to read.

42.  How do you feel about love triangles?

I’m mixed. I’m not a fan of them, but I wrote one once, although it was a bit special because it looked like that: Person A is in love with Person B, and vice versa, Person C loves Person A and Person C (and the entire world) is convinced Person A is in love with them.

43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

I just go with it. They know better than me xD

44.  How much research do you do?

A lot, but it’s mostly on little details. Like, not wars or political situation of the country at the time period, but more like were oil lamps still used for that class of population in said year, and can you snuff them out by turning the button (like in a slide sort of way, I’m not sure how to translate it precisely in English, but in my head it’s crystal clear).

45.  How much world building do you do?

I do a lot. When I write a story, I like to know every little detail I can.

46.  Do you reread your own stories?

Yes. That’s the main reason why I write them, to be true.

47.  Best way to procrastinate

By searching for aesthetic pics on Pinterest. That thing can take hours and you never see them fly. It’s incredible. Worse than Youtube. It takes you from picture to picture to picture without you noticing. Amazing.

48.  What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written?

I give a little bit of myself to every character I write about. Be it opinions, thoughts, childhood memory or taste. For example, Weston doesn’t like chocolate (he hates it with a passion) because I think chocolate has a disgusting taste (and because he never had the occasion of eating any as a kid).

49.  Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real?

Weston, because he’s friendly and extraverted, and I wish I could be more of both, and I imagine that being his friend would make me mimic him in certain ways.

[brynprocrastinates]

10 questions tag

Tagged by @an-author-in-progress (on my main account)! Again, I’m still getting like seven of these a week, so I can’t reasonably get through them all. I’m sorry to everyone I’ve had to skip!

1.) Was there ever a time when you thought about quitting? What made you keep writing?

I pretty much quit writing during my last two years of undergrad. I didn’t stop in the sense that I never wanted to write again, but I had gotten so caught up trying to edit my novels to perfection while still working on the first draft that I never finished a single one in ten years of writing, and it finally wore me down. 

A particular book (which shall go un-named) inspired me to write again during my last quarter before graduating, and I decided at that point that I wanted to work my way into becoming a professional full time author. I’ve been writing (or editing) 6 days a week since.

2.) What is your favorite word?

According to my CPs, my favorite word is a toss up between soft and smirk... (I have actual favorite words to say based on their sound but I can’t think of any of them at the moment.)

3.) Who is your person? (aka the one person you let read everything)

@thewritingoctopus is the first person to read everything I write, usually in the unedited junk stage. 

Some other people who I will forever throw my manuscripts at and cross my fingers that they have free time: @gingerly-writing, @typeaadventures, @byjillianmaria, @theemdash, @muffindragon227, @prycarious, @sieryn, and a few more people I’m definitely forgetting. 

4.) If you had to pick one of your characters to bring to life, who would it be?

Honestly, I would bring to life a particular role play character only @thewritingoctopus knows about, because he’s an absolute sweetheart and also has bad ass magical powers, so I’d have a cool friend who wouldn’t try to kill me but we could also use his op powers to help make the world better.

5.) What is one sentence to describe your current WIP?

TWLC: It’s a toss up between: 

The unwilling heir to an empire tries to stop his father from making a dangerous contract with unnatural forces in order to gain more power.

When a coveted supernatural force reappears on the borders to two dangerous empires, a warlord’s son must commit treason to prevent the continent from plunging into a war of gunpowder and magic. 

Pearl: A siren with a paralyzed tail teams up with a pirate captain and a mechanic in order to take down their mutual enemy in the midst of a brewing war between sirens and humans.

WAWAM: Three teenagers must stop an ancient vengeful deity from rising out of a volcano and decimating their island, all while navigating the harsh tension between the island’s human and monster residents.

6.) How do you kick writer’s block to the curb?

I talked about this here!

7.) Is there one thing that will never cease to distract you from your writing?

My cat. She’s just much too cute.

8.) Do you try to think of titles for your works before, during, or after writing the work?

I try to think of them as soon as I start outlining, mostly because I know it very well may take me the entire writing process to actually come up with something I like. 

9.) How long have you been working on your current WIP?

TWLC: Eight-teen long, long months.

Pearl: Ten months.

WAWAM: I started outlining it last month, but I’m not planning to actually write it until 2018.

10.) If your main character had a theme song, what would it be?

Vasha: King by Lauren Aquilina.

Pearl: Oceans Brawl by Coeur De Pirate.

I don’t have one for the main character of WAWAM... she doesn’t even have a name yet either...

[omegasisgamedesign-blog]

A new year, new content.

If you are reading this, welcome to a new blog I’m trying to start to sort of keep everyone updated on my progress on some of the work I do, most notably game design and mod development with maybe a sprinkling of some streaming thrown in. I’m going to try not to get ahead of myself just yet though.

First let me begin a incredibly short explanation for my absence in mod development for 2017. It was a hard year. Lots of personal events between moving twice, two very hard school terms, a passing of my grandmother, and trying to take care of myself since I believe self care to be important.

On the flip note though 2017 had plenty of opportunities. I made friends, traveled to Spain, and learned more about myself as a person. All of this in combined with spending adequate time with friends and family really got me remotivated to get back into what I love to do, game design and modding.

While I started this endeavor almost two years ago Most of my work was done in the first year and not much progress has been made on the neverending list of ideas I wish to develop/am developing/have developed but not released. 

I suppose I’ll talk about a bit of my work since that’s what is going to be the main focus going forward

Stardew Valley Mods:

This is the bread and butter for this blog for the time being, the main thing I’ve done and what I plan to mainly work on for some time. I’ve already released a slew of mods on nexus under the name of Omegasis with the help of Pathoschild in teaching me new things and maintaining my mods in the large year of absence. I’ve done great things like Happy Birthday, Stardew Symphony, and Auto Speed just to name a few. However this could be greatly improved upon. Here’s some of the upcoming ideas that I probably want to work on in this order.

Note* Some of these names are subject to change.

0. Stardust Core: Status: WIP

     This is the main core mod I’ve been working on for about the last year now. It’s gone through many different iterations, but the main focus is to provide a modding core for a bunch of shared functions and things I want all of my future dependent mods to work off of. This includes a generic template object that all my modded objects will inherit from, a serialization system for saving a loading all of these custom objects, and the Illumination Framework, which I’ve decided to integrate as opposed to having it be its own stand alone mod since I can use a lot of the code in the core. Also one notable feature is an animation manager where users can add in animations to their custom objects and have them run at specific triggers when combined with a code based mod. This could allow for things like fountains, spinning tops, and more! 

0.1 Illuminate/Chromatica Framework: Status: WIP Planned: Summer 2018

    This is already a really basic implementation of lots of colors that I’ve added into code to basically just make things look well...colorful! It’s in a very basic alpha stage and doesn’t do too much since it really only includes the Chromatica side of things, but in the future I hope to be able to add a lot more customizable light sources with different light shapes, interpolation, and configurations to be able to have lots of controls to add multiple light sources to an object. An example would be having multiple light sources on something like a christmas tree or a lamp that gives off multiple colors!

This crystal for example would be colored differently and give off a colored light. Stuff like that mostly.

1. Additional Crops Framework: Status: WIP Planned Winter/Spring 2018

     This is one that I’m currently developing right now. I recently learned that a similar mod called JsonAssets exists that covers some of the same features but what this one does differently is

     1.Allows the user to purchase planter boxes that can be placed down. More of these can be added in by modders for different aesthetic designs. These planter boxes will be used to plant crops anywhere in the world and allow for more features such as greenhouse effects where crops don’t die and self-watering planter boxes. No more having to have crops planted just on your farm!

      2. More kinds of fertilizer that can speed up crop growth and increase quality. This will basically expand upon the fertilizer that is already included in the vanilla base game.

Also shoutout to Spacechase0 for JsonAssets. Definitely a big fan of the work and very impressive.

1.1. Rune Factory Crops Mod: Status: WIP :  Planned Winter/Spring 2018

        This mod is being co-developed alongside Additional Crops Framework as a way to make sure it has a good set of features so that mod authors can make their own mods based off of the Additional Crops Framework. All it would take is a super simple 5 lines of code or so in a code based mod to simply tell the framework where to find the new assets. Of course I would include a tutorial of how to do so full of documentation, but the point is to make a crops mod with lots of new features and customization without having users struggle with the code side of it.

Here is some examples for my art so far, I’m a programmer so programmer art is more of my style but some of this doesn’t look to bad.

     Sorry about the size. I’ll have to find a better way to include images without destroying the quality. Also yes, the turnip crop is just a recolored parsnip right now. I’ve made custom art for the object, but there is still quite a bit more work to be done on this one in terms of art.

2.Stardew Symphony Reboot/Stardew Music Displayer: Planned for Winter/Spring 2018

     One of my personal favorites that I wrote a long time ago with not much programming experience behind me. While the mod works, it’s not terribly user friendly and the tutorials that I made for it well.... frankly put need lots of work. I wasn’t very confident streaming back then and my old house echoed terribly so my voice just doesn’t sound very great on these videos. Also what does one typically say during these things anyways? Well the point is that this mod is going to get a user-friendly upgrade. While a sister mod for it exists which is the simple sound manager and allows for simple mod sound effects for modders to use, Stardew Symphony is aimed at the general populace with no coding experience. 

     Some of my plans for it include:

     1.Making an interface to listen to music included in music packs. That way users can determine what music they do and don’t like. This will probably take form of a music box that you can purchase from Robin to keep keyboard keys clean from a million menus. This menu would also be able to customize what music would play when in terms of location and season instead of having to fudge around with text files.

     2.The Music Displayer portion is a part I already integrated that automatically parses the names of songs from the music files included in a music file. Using some nice hex parsing techniques this allows exposing all the sound files associated with any one given music pack without mod authors having to include a file saying which songs are included.

     3. Finally some better tutorials on the process from how to install the mod, to making music packs, to working the interface. This one is huge since it’s almost stupid that the ability to add custom music to Stardew has existed for so long and I just haven’t made some good tutorials for this yet. So this time it’s happening.

3.Additional Fruit Trees Framework: Status: Planned for Spring 2018

     This is the same as Modular Crops Framework and very well might be integrated into Additional Crops Framework at a later date. This essentially does what you think it does. Adds in different types of trees that will be able to produce different things for the farmer such as more fruit or different kinds of trees that maybe produce modded items. That would be fun!

4. Unnamed Cooking Mod Framework/Overhaul: Status:Planned

     Because what’s the point of having more crops if you can’t cook with them? This essentially will make cooked dishes have different/better effects or at least have a more reasonable logic when it comes to healing stamina and health.This mod would also add in the ability for new cooking recipes that can be learned in different ways. How this would all work is still undetermined. Maybe the same or maybe you research them? Also maybe include a cooking skill??? Who knows.

5. Unnamed Alchemy/Magic mod/Framework: Status Planned for Summer 2018

      This is a big one. It’s to hopefully expand on the fact that there is magic in the world of stardew but finally add on things like spell books, potion brewing, and other small magical machines and artifacts that would be able to add a bit of variety to Stardew. I’ve already prototyped a bag of holding which can be expanded with upgrades, some crystals that do different things like healing or cause it to rain, etc. Like I said, there is a lot that will be done with this one, and is going to be the big content adder.

6. Additional Animals Framework: Status: Planned for later 2018.

     This mod essentially will expand on the potential to have different types of animals that can live on your farm. Of course content mods will be made off of this and I already have an idea of one. It’ll sadly be awhile before I get to this one since I know the other mods will take me a ton of time to get around to completing, but I’m determined to add this one in too.

7.Modular Furniture Framework: Status: Planned: ????

     This is a HUGE mod that I’ve been trying to properly tackle since my early days of Stardew modding and I think I finally found a working solution to how to go about this one, but understand the amount of time it will take is going to be a task within itself. This will finally allow modders to add in custom furniture and place it anywhere. This will also allow ways to include more interactable types of furniture as well that could allow for some fun potential. 

8.Unnamed paint mod:Status: Hiatused

     This is a mod I made back in the spring and it technically works but needs some more tweaking. It essentially allows you to paint on a canvas object with different colors and place that painted tile anywhere in the world. This is pretty much the same way Animal Crossing does it with their designs from the Able Sisters. While I could probably get this mod up and running pretty quick it’s a bit lower on the priority list right now.

9. Additional Buildings Framework: Status Hiatised/Planned to resume LATE 2018

This is a mod that I’ve already made a variant through XNB content modding, but I need to update it to be more compatible to SMAPI since this mod was made on a patched version of Stardew Valley I made as an experiment in the early days of modding. This would allow for different buildings to be placed on the farm such as a bathhouse, warp hubs like subways to go to new custom maps, different aesthetic barns/coops etc. I want to get back to this one but it’ll take a ton of time before I can get here.

Anyways that’s what I have PLANNED for 2018 but the scope of some of these might even flow over into 2019 depending on a ton of factors such as multiplayer, code complexity, and the amount of art I would need to do. Not to mention I have a life where I go to school, am social with friends and family, and like to do other hobbies to. If I can complete even half this list though that would be amazing!

Unnamed Story that actually has a name:

Now this is a story I’ve worked on a long time ago for a game I was making in good ol’ RPG maker VX Ace and while I might not get around to making the game anytime soon, I really want to get back around to writing this story.

Game/Code Streaming:

Since I already play games in my free time and I spend so much time coding  figured I might as well try my hand at streaming again. It could be a fun way to pass time and maybe bounce around ideas from streamers about things I could do with my mods. We shall see where this all goes.

And that’s the very first and VERY long update.

I’ll try to see if I can stick to a bi-monthly update schedule where I’ll update every two weeks or so with my progress that I’ve been making and hopefully next time I’ll have more graphics to show on the specific mod I’m working on. 

Util next time.