#eliot writes good

[eliotwritesgood]

Rating: M, Chose not to use archive warnings, Category: Gen, Warriors-centric

Only 179k words for the plot to start to pay off. Chapter 42 summary:

Warriors touches grass, but it doesn't help.

Fic summary:

Nine bearers of the Hero's Spirit once went on an adventure together. At the end of their natural lives, eight of them were reunited in the goddess's eternal Hall of Heroes. Nothing so trivial as their own deaths would stop them from finding out why one of their number was missing. In other words: "Warriors isn't canon."

Read from beginning

[elle-rosewater]

I’m trying to catch up on steel can’t carry me right now and DUDE every time I read it I feel exactly like Legend. I miss judged Warriors SO badly and you make it so heart breakingly clear.

<333

seaotter<3 maker of beautiful art and writer of the soup in my to-read pile!!

This made me giggle. You feel like Steel!Legend?? Oh, man! Haha, I'm so sorry, Legend feels BAD most of the time! The point of Steel isn't to make anyone feel like they've misjudged Warriors by 50 miles (they have), BUT IF IT WERE.... I will have done a good thing lol. People are sleeping on Wars.

thanks for giving the ol' fic a look! I hope you stop feeling like Lege soon lol. Cheers!

[elle-rosewater]

Fic writing: it starts with canon and the source material for me. Something about it sticks in my head, and I want more. Or I want it different. Or if [this], what about [that]? Or it reminded me of this other thing.

Once I have an idea, I think about wtf My Point is. What am I trying to say? Answer in 5 sentences or less. (This makes writing the summary easy later.) When I know what I'm saying, I think about how I want to say it. Charactization, etc. is established here. This is the "shower thoughts, daydreaming to music on my commute" part of the process. With my latest longfic, I rambled at a friend for the first time until something substantial formed, like the writer's version of rubber duck debugging.

Once I know how to say what I wanna say, it's outline time. I do this by hand (sort of, i use the reMarkable writing tablet). If it's longfic, I have a rough outline for the whole thing and each chapter gets a detailed one to help keep the pacing right.

So by the time I'm at my desktop with my beloved clicky keyboard, it's easy and all I gotta do is stitch the pieces of the outline together. I can touch-type fast enough to keep up with my thoughts most of the time. I've a lifetime license to MS Word, so I still write there most of the time. All the power to people who can write on their phone. It COULD NOT be me.

I'll edit the draft from a different device or program than I wrote it. I think I see mistakes better when I'm looking at it through a different interface. Alas, the typos still manage to pull off that trick they're so famous for: Only being detectable after publication.

OK, so I was inspired and now I wanna start a bigger conversation and I wanna know: fic writers, comic makers, au creators, etc. how do you do it? How do you go from plot bunny or story idea to completed chapters/story/comic update? What's your process? What programs do you use? Do you draft stuff? Outline? Storyboard? Do you chart or sketch? How do you settle on characters and characterizations? How do you plot (or do you)? I wanna know all the nitty gritty details. It's just so interesting because everyone does it so differently.

[askyea-poesy]

The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.

T.S. Eliot

[libraryofgage]

The Wish Job (One)

Part of: Steve Deserves Good Parents, Actually

Debbie and Fester Addams One | Two | Three | Four | Five Rick and Evelyn O'Connell One | Two | Three Harley Quinn One | Two1 0th Doctor and Rose One | Two (on the way!) Scooby Gang (there are plans for this one lmao, so plz be patient with me orz) Jedidiah and Octavius (from Night at the Museum) One | Two Queen Clarisse Renaldi One | Two | Three Leverage Crew One (you're here!)

This fic was line jumped! If you'd like to learn more about line jumping (getting to see your favorite fics updated sooner) you can read this post

I had a lot of thoughts for this AU, actually, so I'm really glad it got line jumped so I was forced to put them down into words lol

Steve becomes one of Nana's foster kids, but he spends a majority of this series with the Leverage crew working a job (as the name of this series suggests), and they fill similarly parental role.

As always, if you see any typos, no you didn't ;P

----

After his father's arrest, everything is a blur. Steve can remember flashes, sure, but nothing concrete. Nothing more than two FBI agents in the door of his classroom, the cold steel of interrogation room chairs, an agent's ponytail with split ends, a kind smile but clammy hand on his elbow, the broken A/C of the car when he finally left the FBI office, and the slippery feel of the garbage bag he's given to pack 14 years of a life he'll never see again.

Nothing comes back into focus until he's faced with an older black woman, standing outside a two-story house. The man with a kind smile but clammy hands introduces her, but Steve doesn't actually hear the name.

"You can call me Nana," the woman says, looking at the man like she doesn't know why he's still there when his work is obviously done.

"Well, uh, Steve, feel free to call if you need anything. We'll keep in touch," the man says, nodding before half-running down the walk way.

"Never liked him," Nana says, clicking her tongue. "Too damn squirrely for my tastes. Now, Steve, come inside and we'll go over some ground rules."

Steve follows her mechanically, gripping his trash bag tightly and wondering far too late why he wasn't allowed to pack his own suitcases. The house is a cacophony of noises: feet running across wood floors, a TV blaring from the living room, shouts coming from every direction, a microwave beeping while the oven timer rings, a crash from the next room over that makes Steve wince.

Nana stands in the doorway, takes a deep breath, and then shouts at the top of her lungs, "Y'all had better stop all this racket right the fuck now before I cancel pizza night!"

The house goes silent, and Steve feels his shoulders tense even more. He hates the silence. Silence means anger, and anger means punishment. He clenches his jaw, trying to keep himself small as Nana nods and leads the way into a dining room.

A girl appears in the room shortly after, carrying a mug and a soda. She places the mug in front of Nana and the soda in front of an empty seat, gesturing for Steve to sit. "Welcome. I can take your bag, if you want," she offers, looking at the trash bag with bright eyes.

"Don't make trouble, Breanna," Nana says, dismissing her easily.

Steve watches her leave before sitting. He licks his lips, opens the soda as quietly as he can manage, and waits for Nana to take a sip from her mug before saying, "Thank you for taking me in, ma'am."

"I said to call me Nana, none of that ma'am business unless you're in trouble, and you're not in trouble," she says, waving her hand dismissively. "Now, the rules. No complaining about sharing a room. No TV remote access after seven because that's when my shows start. We all eat dinner together on Wednesday night. You go to school every day unless you're sick, and you tell me when you're feeling sick. You got all that?"

"Yes, m....Nana."

"Good. Now, I know you're used to a fancier living than this, but I expect you to adjust without too much complaint. You still get your own bed, and whatever you brought is yours to keep, but money is tight. We save where we can, and I expect you to help with that. Turn off lights, use less water, unplug things when you're not using them."

Steve nods again, inexplicably feeling a little better as Nana speaks. She's not treating him like a spoiled brat, but she's not coddling him, either. She gets another boy (an older one named Hardison) to give him a tour of the house. He shows Steve the mezzuzahs on each door and the Kaaba directional marker in each room---"We're a multi-denominational household, kid, Nana will get whatever you need if she doesn't have it already," Hardison says, grinning widely at him---and makes sure he knows which spots are good for hiding when he needs a few minutes.

He ends the tour at Steve's new room. It has two bunk-beds, three of the bunks with rumpled sheets and one bottom bunk devoid of sheets altogether. Hardison gives Steve blue sheets, welcomes him, and then leaves Steve to unpack by himself.

It's new, it's unfamiliar, it's terrifying. Steve hopes, despite himself, that it's not a temporary stop.

----

"I don't care! He can't stay!"

"We're already in London, Hardison. We can hardly send him back on a plane by himself."

"Isn't that how he got here in the first place? He's 17, not seven."

Steve moves his gaze from Hardison to Sophie to Eliot, feeling like he's watching a tennis match. He's sandwiched between Nate and Parker, a hand on his shoulder holding him back from trying to defend himself. Not that he's upset about it. Keeping everyone from turning their frustration on him sounds like a great idea.

"Yeah, and how did he get here?" Parker asks, dashing Steve's hopes right as they're forming.

He shifts uncomfortably as everyone looks at him, ducking his head and staring at the floor. A small part of him is frustrated, angrily protesting the familiar move when its usual target has long been absent.

"Hey, give him some room," Hardison says, moving forward to push Nate and Parker back a few steps. He stands at an angle to Steve, leaving him plenty of room to move away if he wants. "Nobody's angry, kid. Well, I'm a little mad, but only because you could be putting yourself in danger. So, how'd you catch up to us?"

Steve wonders for a brief moment about whose wrath he'd rather endure. In the end, he decides Breanna is scarier than Hardison, so he lies. "Nana and I overheard you on the phone with Parker at Hannukah dinner, and then Nana said she gets worried about you sometimes," he says, meeting Hardison's eyes before glancing away. He makes himself small again, but it's on purpose this time, broadcasting shame as he adds, "I still have, um, access to my savings account...from my....from them. Enough for a plane ticket and cab ride, at least."

"Aww, Nana worries about us," Parker says, smiling brightly as she nudges Eliot with her elbow. "That's sweet."

"If it weren't a lie," Sophie says, her lips pursed and her eyebrows raised slightly as she walks closer to Steve. She taps his shoulder, his temple, and his hand. "Lowered head but not as low as before. Shoulders drawn in but tense to hold them there. Fingers twitching just slightly. Impressive, I will admit, but I'm a professional, darling."

Steve sighs and lifts his head, his shoulders relaxing some as he frowns. "You didn't have to call me out on it," he mumbles.

"Breanna got you here, didn't she? Ain't no way you'd lie to protect anyone else."

"She could ruin me, Hardison."

"I can ruin you, too, did you forget about that?"

Steve considers him for a moment before shrugging.

"Well," Nate says, clapping his hands together and pulling everyone's attention to him. "Steve is here now, we might as well use him. Sophie, give him an Italian accent and some suede shoes."

"I can already speak Italian," Steve says, "and I have my own suede shoes to match a Cesare Attolini suit." He feels something like guilt twinge in his stomach when Hardison glances at him. Steve's mother may have forfeited custody of him, but she still sends gifts every now and then. Steve usually sells them, slips the cash into drawers and wallets and couch cushions so they can be discovered by Nana and his foster siblings.

The suit and shoes, though? Steve couldn't bring himself to sell them. If there was one thing he missed about life before Nana's foster home, it was the clothes. It was the way his clothes made him feel like a better version of himself, a version everyone would admire and approve of. So, yeah, he'd kept the clothes and shoes his mother sent him two months ago, and he'd packed them for this trip just because.

He'd glad they seem to be coming in handy.

After processing his words, Nate blinks, a smile growing on his face like he's discovered a treasure he won't be letting go of any time soon.

----

Tag List

Please let me know if you'd like to be tagged!

[elle-rosewater]

This is so humiliating. Less than 1k. I'm taking the day off work for the next one. Not missing all the fun next time 💜

Celebration: 88,978 Words in One Day!

Just yesterday, a few other LU writers and I, Hot Cheeto Hatred, hosted our first ever monthly (hopefully) Write-a-thon! This event ran on June 4 from 12 am EST to 12 am EST, with one goal in mind---write as many productive words within that day as humanly possible. Words included in the final marathon count ranged from storyboarding, fic writing, editing, answering comments, journalling and homework---basically, any words that furthered yourself, the writing community at large, or your stories. We utilized either the Discord Sprint bot or self-reporting to collect the numbers at the end. Everyone involved gave it their all, with most of them being present for most if not all of the run time as they were able, and I'm so proud of their dedication towards their craft. Anyways, here's the final breakdown of the numbers below, as well as the awards and titles earned each participant, as decided by the discord server (and myself at random).

Now onto the awards:

I am pleased to report that @not-freyja (Freyja above) won the "Writer of All Time" Award, pulling ahead with 20,565 of our total words. What an accomplishment! Freyja participated from dawn to well, dawn, and they absolutely deserve all praise and awe.

I'm giving myself, @hotcheetohatred (Cheeto), the award "Writer of Some Time," as I fell behind our lovely Freyja by a mere few hundred words fifteen minutes before the clock struck midnight. Next time, Freyja, next time...

The "Actually A Writer" award goes to @marcusdoodlesalot (Marcus), who, despite the name, DOES actually write, not just draw! Who would have thought. Not Freyja, that's for sure.

The "Early Bird" award goes to @lerikwrites (Lerik), who solely sprinted in the wee hours of the morning (my time, at least). Terrible. Good job.

"Star Commentor" goes to @elle-rosewater (Eliot), because I stole most of her words for the count from my own comment section in the BDOR Prologues. We love you, Eliot :3 Can't wait to see you next month.

"Cheerleader" goes to @la-sera, who gave us much encouragement throughout the day. I stole your 19 words from you saying you were excited to read Estelian's work. Hope that's okay, because I really wanted to include you---you provided a lot, even if you didn't write with us this time <3.

@a-manicured-lawn (Lawn) earns "Spirit-ed Storyboarder" for all of her lovely, informative talk on Spirit and just what makes him so great as a rather underappreciated LU boy.

Two awards next! "Chief Editor" and "Most Student" both go to @unexpectedstormy (Stormy) for faer work on getting. stuff. done. Fae did a steady amount of work, so proud.

"Editor (of Word Count) in Chief" goes to @tashacee (Tash), who, at reporting time, was scrounging up 100 and 200 word bits like spare change while I desperately tried to do math. I love you, never change.

The title of "Specter" goes to @somer-writes (Somer), who logged in very few sprints, but participated with the rest of us and pulled up at the end with a whole 7.5K words and a bunch of fics to post at the end, with a lot of it being Ghost AU! He's amazing.

The award "Better Late than Never" goes to our resident artist and recently turned fic-writer @estelian-01 (Este), who joined only in the last half of the marathon but managed to pull a whole 4K! Pictures might be worth a thousand words, but Este wrote a couple more anyway.

@across-violet-skies (Riv) gets the title "Mover and Shaker (of Blorbos)" for managing to participate and get quite the hefty wordcount only a DAY after moving. They're a trooper, that's for sure.

@anime-obsessed (Vio/Nene) earns the award "Most Old School" for writing with pen and paper for most of the day. Please go rest your wrist after all of that.

The award "Head in the Clouds" goes to my bestie and beloved beta reader @needfantasticstories (Skip), who spent the day listening to music and writing Skyloft drabbles. I am nervous/excited to see if those drabbles turned out fluffy as a Loftwing, or perhaps into something more angsty.

@noorahqar (Qar), my lovely fragile Victorian wife, earns the title "Chatty." You know why. But you were there nearly all of the run time, and so engaging and encouraging throughout---a blessing to us all. And even then, you managed to pull so many words. I'm impressed.

And finally, @rosehipandroots (Rose) receives the titles "ndskanefnre" (self chosen) and "Birthday Santa." The first was borne of panic of being asked to choose a title---the second of their relentless effort to get their birthday fics done. Great job.

I'd like to thank everyone that I tagged for participating in the write-a-thon, and thank all of you for helping me draft this post as well. If I messed up any word counts or details or pronouns, you want to request a title/award change, or I missed someone, please DM and let me know! The next Write-a-thon will be held on July 1 from 12am to 12am GMT, and we'll be trying to beat our record. Can't wait to see all of you then!

[mqmotivate]

The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink. -T.S. Eliot

[eliotwritesgood]

I’ve been reading through SCCMN, and I have to say it’s extremely well done. Warriors is my favorite link in the chain, and Steel just so happens to be one of my favorite character explorations— that is to say, loved ones experiencing the traumas (or echoes of them) that plague the people they care about. Thank you for writing it.

why thank you!! Warriors really is the best one; everyone else is missing out big time.

the concept for Steel popped into my head all at once, but it is probably the fic I've had to do the most planning for (long-game politics is hard to write!). I wanted everyone to suffer in a really specific way, you know? lol I've said this before, but I am going to say it again here: Steel was always meant to be Time's POV. Talk about a loved one experiencing ALL the traumas of someone they care about!!! Can you imagine how miserable that POV would be ?? And it would be about 3x longer.

thank you for reading! i really appreciate it!

[elle-rosewater]

suffered a humiliating defeat to the word count tonight

[elle-rosewater]

this is the hardest tag game I have ever been tagged in.

Honestly, there were very few things Time wouldn't suffer for the captain. But there was no need for either of them to be boiled like shellfish with nothing to gain. A reminder was in order then. Time turned to one of his bags and fished it out. Holding the mask half of a breath away from the flesh of his face, Time turned the Keaton mask in the captain's direction. When the captain turned toward it, Time let his head tilt to the side inquisitively.

From Pieces of You Stuck on Me, which I think is my best effort that I've posted for LU.

open tags! but I'm looking over into the next lane directly into your eyeballs. Yes, at you.

Starting a silly little writers game because I'm bored:

Tell me what a favourite line/sentence/paragraph you've written in a fic is, whether it's something deep and moving or silly and funny!

Post the link to the fic (if it's published) for everyone to find and then tag 5 writer friends to share their own! Show us what you are proud of!

I'll go first:

The portal had appeared unexpectedly. One second the Chain is all killing time (the concept, not the Link) on one of the many islands in Wind’s world, laughing as Warriors trips on the loose tail end of his own scarf and tumbles down the sand dune like a skinny Goron, and the next he’s rolling straight through a tear in the space time continuum and out of sight. It speaks volumes about the lives they have all led that the only reaction to this is a chorus of sighs.

From my upcoming Double Cursed Legend fic.

Tagging @not-freyja @weavingstarlight @tashacee @toyouhellohowareyou @undertheopensky

[tracing-lines-in-the-infinite]

I love rewatching Leverage.

Started rewatching The Underground Job for some Eliot content and instead remembered that Parker is often taking notes when grifting - both in preparation and during. She was writing out a script for herself and in redemption we finally got to see it develop into using notecards to classify any possible interaction!

Also this is the first time I realized that the kid Eliot meets in the mines is the same kid whose birthday it is about to be when the mine exploded. Making him 14 two years prior (its unclear if he was turning 14 or 15)- which means Cory is only 16/17 years old... hence why the miners always try to keep him as far from "the action" as possible.

When the mine owner complains about how the union demanding workers be paid fairly and have safe working conditions is destroying the business Sophie and Hardison both let their disgust show- they both break!

Parker (or Hardison) keeps a pillow and blanket in Lucille so that Parker can take a nap after too much social interaction [which is now inspiring me to bring a blanket( or maybe a comfy sweatshirt) to my office so I too can nap after too much interaction]

Bonus!

Parker's observations of Pierce:

Image ID: Hardison holding a notepad to camera that says (in all caps):

Learned more on Pierce today, after hours of undetected observation:

She looks right to left...

Opens office door with right hand, answers phone with left...

Blinks 15 times per minute...

Uses hand sanitizer more than 10 [times] a day...

Has 2 cats...

/End ID

There's another shot where she wrote "Smells like Bubbles!" with Bubbles underlined. And Hardison apparently touches his chin every 2.5 minutes.

[yardsards]

a pet headcanon of mine is that after they're done with the sigil removal, emira expands her horizons and starts studying the psychological side of healing, pulling in some resources from the human realm and combining it with boiling isles methods (i imagine the field of psychology in the boiling isles, while existent, was often pushed aside as just a lesser branch of the healing coven back when belos was in charge. i do imagine there's often magic like the memory tweezers involved)

and i imagine she ends up focusing in on like, art therapy and self-expression, because she knows how important that can be, after having her individuality stifled so hard when she was young

[elle-rosewater]

ty, bee ^.^

i actually have something this time. For Steel:

Wind's hands were balled into the front of Time's tunic. [...] "What's your excuse? You had all the time in the world to figure out what to do and what to say. You got to do it in the right order. I had to do it backwards and as a kid. What's your excuse?"

@gintrinsic-writing @irenkaferalkitty @across-violet-skies tagging @needfantasticstories even tho already has been bc I am curious! no pressure and open to all, as always

@1-renegade @1-renegade @1-renegade @1-renegade :)

I’m a bit late oopsie

tagged by @appalesbian! Post six sentences of a wip and tag six people

“Oh c’mon Mako, you weren’t worried about them, were you?” Bolin poked at the firebender’s chest with a big grin.

Suddenly defensive, Mako brushed Bolin’s finger away. “No, no. All I was saying is that it’s good we made it out without a scratch. Is that such a bad thing?” Always with the jokes on this ship, he sighed.

“Stand down, Sea Salty,” Opal suddenly called from up in the crow’s nest, and Mako rolled his amber eyes at the nickname while Korra laughed lightly, “Bo’s just poking fun. But I wouldn’t get too ahead of ourselves. The stern actually did get clipped back there.”

Tagging @shadowlinktheshadow and whoever offers themselves up as tribute (no pressure though! Do what you want you can be lawless)

[lizardkingeliot]

going back and forth between writing queliot and loustat is a wild fucking ride you guys lmao

[smallblueandloud]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Leverage Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Billy Spencer & Eliot Spencer (Leverage), Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, Alec Hardison & Billy Spencer Characters: Billy Spencer (Leverage), Eliot Spencer (Leverage), Alec Hardison Additional Tags: Coming Out, Found Family, introducing your dad to your other partner, portland brewpub, Leverage: Redemption (2021) Spoilers Summary:

They’re in the kitchen -- Hardison’s talking about the number of times they’ve had to replace the dishwasher. Billy asks, “How long have you guys lived here?”

For the first time since he started the tour, Hardison hesitates. He glances at Eliot, who says, ��About ten years, on and off. We don’t stay in the same place a lot. This one’s-- special.”

“I can see that,” says Billy, putting his hand on the brick wall in a way he hopes is comforting. “It’s a really nice place.”

(or, Billy comes to visit his son in Portland, and ends up meeting someone new)

[elle-rosewater]

thank you, skippppp!!

it doesn't seem like it, but I am forever working on Steel. chapter's been sitting two-thirds done in my folder for two months, but I think I've just about finished it now lol

"This guy is pretty brave though," Traveller said. "Huh?" He nodded toward the head of the guard. "He's probably going to be killed for this. For telling the truth. If not by justice, then by revenge." Every fibre of Legend's being wanted to deny that the head of the guard was being brave. Wanted to minimise what everything he'd spoken about here meant. It was the least he could do: Be truthful about the treason he'd taken part in. "Whatever."

@1-renegade @gintrinsic-writing publicly bless me with words, yo

Apparently @fallen-knight tagged me for a Last Line challenge and then provided a handful of paragraphs. The last thing I was writing was the second chapter of a Life Series SMP double AU fic (AU of an AU). And I'd just started a section. So here you are:

Even at night, the city lights shone brightly. Enough that the three immortals surveying it from above didn't bother with their own lights.

"And they're mad!" Poultry Man chuckled. "Rushing around like they have somewhere to be."

Alright, let's tag some folks. How about...

@somer-writes @linderosse @hotcheetohatredwastaken