#for me it really depends on the scene so i'm constantly going back and forth

[madegeeky]

31 Days of Horror Recs: Are you truly besties if you're not willing to spend some quality murder time together?

A play on slasher movies as well as teen movies, Tragedy Girls is just a really fun watch. McKayla and Sadie, best friends forever, are just trying to live their best lives and that just happens to involve murder. The movie loves to play around with conventions of both slasher and teen movies in ways that are not just entertaining but actually interesting to watch. The small touches are where it really shines in my opinion. There are several minor things the movie does that aren't integral to plot or characters but that were obviously just done to play around with the genre and tropes and I really appreciate that this movie was willing to take the time and energy to do them.

Synopsis: Two death obsessed teen girls use the internet to send their small town in a frenzy in an attempt to become famous.

[pain-is-too-tired]

Am I the only one who's kinda getting bored of the "haha Percy is blonde like Will, the you're not my type scene is gonna be so funny" or whatever?

Specifically because Walker looks nothing like how I imagine Will?

Like yeah, he's blonde. But not the blonde I see for Will? It's a darker tone. Plus He does not have lanky cat stretched out in sun vibes sorry y'all

That, and Nico never specified he meant looks when he said Percy wasn't his type.

Cause if we compare Will and Percy they're different in a lot of ways.

Will's a healer, Percy's a fighter.

Will is described as laid back and appearing a lot more harmless then he really is. Why Percy is constantly being described as frightening and even godlike. He's a whole storm why Will's a cat stretched out in the sun.

Both are stubborn,but Will is a lot better holding in his more extreme emotions. It takes a lot more for him to be loud when going back and forth with someone. He can sound annoyed but he hardly ever sounds angry.

That and Will can calm down others like Clarisse, why Percy ends up matching them in attitude at some point.

Like I said, Percy's a fighter which often leads to impatience as usually in a fight its so quickly placed. You have to strike first before your enemy gets you. His adhd is a lot more hyperactive.

Will on the other hand has to balance patience and speed. Rushing can be dangerous, but you also can't be too slow or else chances of your patient dieing grows. It applies to how he interacts with others too.

And I honestly think that might be why Nico clicked more to Will. Will just has more patience to get through to him. He gets upset but he keeps his cool. Literally,iirc, they were in LITERAL HELL before they had their first true out right fight.

Idk why it urks me so much now. It was funny at first but it feels it's been beaten to the ground.

I think a lot it is also I feel Will is way too often chopped down to Nico's "hot therapist boyfriend". That y'all literally think of Percy was blonde that's all was needed to be Nico's type again. Like that's all that makes Will his type.

Heck, think about the fact Percy hardly ever defenseless. If he doesn't have his sword he has his powers.

Nico's thoughts on Will why he was literally going on about him in boo is that despite his harmless figure. Despite being a healer and not a fighter. Will rushes in to battle, even volunteering to scout on a enemy right after DELEVERING A BABY AT 14.

I think Nico found Will a lot more welcoming because Percy is just too much like him in some ways.

Sure, they can outsmart opponents, they're not dumb or completely dependent on their weapons and abilities. But without them they're a bit more unsure of their next moves. We see that Nico,despite being on the verge of dieing, still instinctively relies on his abilities. Though we don't see a similar case with Percy, his abilities is what makes him great enough to go toe to toe with literally gods. Nico's connect to death related abilities radiating from him was enough to scare back monsters.

Both need someone who isn't as use to being able to depend on weapons or godly powers strong enough to topple armies. They need someone to keep them grounded.

It's why Will and Annabeth click so well with their respective boyfriends. Annabeth constantly coming up with plans, she has only really her wits and a small blade to get her the upper hand. AND SHE DOES SO. I'm sure if Percy was in a situation where he couldn't use any of his abilities and either without his sword or couldn't depend on it as well, she would easily think of a plan and keep him from over doing it.

Will,like Annabeth, doesn't have the same powerful aura that his boyfriend does that keeps others literally backing away.

But he still managed to walk past Gemini without being stopped. I refuse to believe that he can't handle himself in battle like TSATS tried to say.

Anyway, really excited to see baby Will in the show in a few years fhdh

[johaerys-writes]

15 questions for 15 friends

I was tagged by my dear @elveny, thank you so much!! 💙

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?: No! Well, yes, after a character in Greek mythology, but not after a parent or grandparent or anything like that.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?: Yesterday. I was reading the Iliad again for an anon ask and was going through the part where Achilles kills Hector and oooh that scene got hands 🥲 I cry a lot though, I'm a crier, and a lot of the time it's about patrochilles so it's par for the course really lol

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?: Nope.

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?: I'm fairly active generally but I don't play sports at all because I don't like them. I tried several sports while in school before accepting that I simply don't like team sports and I'm not good at them, but I had much more fun with solo sports. I swam for several years somewhat competitively, and I also did track for a while. 

DO YOU USE SARCASM?: I think so? But usually only with people I'm very comfortable with, because I can never know what would go down well or not with a person I don’t know. 

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?: That’s hard to answer because I feel like it depends on the situation. Most of the time, it's body language and their general vibe. Meeting new people can be nerve wracking so I try to "read" them and act accordingly, if that makes sense? I don't want to step on any toes or say the wrong thing so figuring out what the other person's mood or interests might be usually helps. But that often means I miss out on other things on first encounter, like... their eyes or smile or something?? Lol idk man, socialising while on the spectrum is hard 🥲

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR?: Brown.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?: I think I'll pick scary movies because I do like horror and dark stuff and I don't care if the ending is happy or not as long the story is interesting. 

ANY TALENTS?: it took me so long to think of something for this and I honestly don't know? I'm assuming by 'talents' we mean something you're born with, not something you've worked hard at like some kind of craft, right? In that case, I think I have pretty good visual memory, especially when it comes to books and articles and such, or the written word in general. Oh and I'm weirdly good at orientation, I can usually find my way no matter where I am. Which isn't such a huge deal now in the era of google maps, but back when there was no gps it was a pretty useful skill to have haha. 

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?: Greece.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?: Writing, reading, gaming, crocheting, drawing, going to museums! I'm constantly on the look out for new exhibitions and stuff, it's my favourite thing in the world to do. 

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?: A darling and dastardly cat, aka my extension when I'm at home. 

HOW TALL ARE YOU?: 1,68m

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?: Oh god I freaking hated school, absolutely hated it LOL I can't think of one thing I liked in it. I guess I only enjoyed the very last year of high school when I was preparing for the Panhellenic exams because like... it felt like there was finally some kind of purpose or reason to be there at all, even though there was a lot of pressure. I loved Ancient Greek, Latin, History and Philosophy. 

DREAM JOB?: I don't have one, I don’t dream of labour 🙃 I don't think there's any sort of job anyone could do in this capitalist hellscape we're all currently living in that would be enjoyable enough to make up for, well... living in a capitalist hellscape lol. If I could, I'd just go back to uni, probably. That was my happy place and I miss it. And I'd also write a bunch and read a bunch and take up all sorts of creative hobbies, and probably travel more. 

Tagging forth to a bit more than 15 friends lol sorry (and I know I'm forgetting ppl): @baejax-the-great @thiefylilelf @vimlos @mogwaei @gloriesunsung @aymayzing @cordelia---rose @knicknocknick @aristi-achaion @peachandfig @heypax @darlingpoppet @tevivinter @mary-aries @tragediegh @pikapeppa @figsandphiltatos always with love and without any pressure 💕

[dipplinduo]

writer ask game 15, 43, 45, 47, 48

(Context: this ask game)

Lezz goooo

15. How do you write smut scenes? Do you get very visual or detailed? How important is it to be realistic? Ope, now I figured out why this is an anon ask LOL. While I can diversify my writing with proper ratings, this blog is more of a friendly open space for all ages so I'm going to be mindful about how I answer this:

I obviously haven't written any explicit scenes at this point. I'd only do it when characters are obv of appropriate age, and even then, I have honestly gone back and forth with it because I'm constantly thinking about impact.

If I ever do decide to write that kind of content, I wouldn't openly advertise it on this blog given that my followers may be of all sorts of ages. But all in all, I'd want to convey a genuine emotional connection with good takeaways/some educative pieces and overall purpose as to why I'm going into detail (e.g. what something healthy and healing could look like between people - this is often poorly portrayed in media and can lead people to vulnerability in their own intimate experiences, so the message could be powerful if executed with intention). I do believe I have the capacity to do so if I ever choose to, but I may also just be a fade to black kind of author by nature, lol (especially with source material that isn't mine). We'll see. Again, it's really all about trying to be mindful about my impact and thinking of the community.

43. Do you take a sadistic joy in whumping your characters, or are you more the "If you hurt them I would kill everyone and then myself" kind of person?

Highly depends on the character. For example, I love Kieran, but I'm okay with putting him through it LOL. On the other hand, my smiley guy Drayton? Don't you dare make him sad. I had to do that in one of my fics and it SUCKED.

45. Do you want to break your readers‘ heart or make them laugh?

Yes. :)

47. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I don't. LOL. Y'all see the first and only draft usually since I post right after I finish writing in one sitting. xDD I have gone back a few times to add more detail after posting, though. Sometimes I'll also go back to correct spelling errors I often make if I catch them/someone points it out.

48. What do you look for in a beta?

Haven't used a beta before (just have had people I've talked to about ideas before I write), but ideally:

They would specifically and lovingly correct spelling errors

They'd give me feedback about how they felt about different scenes

They'd throw in suggestions about how to flush ideas out more/would tell me what didn't fit as much in a given chapter/work

Ultimately I would be the only one editing the content of the document since I prefer it that way, and I'd follow my discretion while deeply valuing their advisement

[hypnotisedfireflies]

Hi! what do you think about the Tess is a top thing? From that interview with Anna? I have noticed in your fics that sometimes she is and sometimes she isn't.

Hello anon! You mean this interview, for anyone who hasn't seen it. 😘

I have seen some writers take this to the domme extreme and others not so far. It's subjective and there's enough cake for us all to go around, so there's no right or wrong view here. So this of course is all coming from my interpretation of the character and Anna and Pedro's conversations as referred to in that interview.

I do love me a sexy top Tess but it also doesn't make sense to me for her to be a top ... all the time.

Driftersverse Tess and Joel have a very shared, equal partnership. The balance of power goes back and forth between them constantly, depending on their mental, emotional and physical states. Given the breadth of time I write in (I'm between 2003 - 2026 now) I'm constantly moving between different stages of evolution for themselves and the relationship. I think a switch dynamic is more realistic in the circumstances I choose to write, and also more exciting overall because it's like, who has the power now? Who is giving it up and who is getting the release from the giving or the taking?

I don't choose to interpret it simply as Tess Is Always the Top, because everything else is so in flux; and so is this.

Driftersverse Tess is largely in control of everything around her and Joel in as much as one can be. She's the one who is thinking ahead and doing most of the scheming, she plays the room and brings them out in front by planning, organising, out-thinking everyone else and being bold and cold enough to do what they have to.

That control that she maintains is kind of exhausting ... and sometimes, it's really good for her to relinquish that control into Joel's hands in bed. It's release. Losing that control and putting herself in the hands of someone she trusts feels really fucking good. She can just switch off and let him tell her what he wants her to do or make her do it, and that's cathartic. (Though sometimes he still has to work for it, see Cassius blue, lol).

Driftersverse Joel likes a woman who takes charge. I write about that most in SQ because I'm in his head a lot there but essentially, he's spent his whole life filling one particular role in bed as the dominant partner and he really, really likes a woman who will swap that around with him and keep things exciting. He finds sweet, shy violets kind of boring; he wants to be challenged. But just as much as he likes being controlled does he like taking it from Tess, especially as time passes and he learns how much she actually needs that.

So again, it's that back and forth, giving the other what they need when they need it and swapping roles as they see fit.

From a writing perspective it's more interesting for me, because I get to explore a lot of different smutty scenarios, lol. But more importantly, those feed directly into the story itself. I rarely write smut for smut's sake, so what's happening in those scenes is about advancing the story or the characters or whatever needs to be explored. And if it was always the exact same power dynamic ... yeah, it could still work, but I don't think it would be as effective. Or fun to read.

I hope that answers your question! ❤️

[bates--boy]

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ᴜᴘ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ(ꜱ) ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ?

This muse started out as an ask blog, actually! I don't really know what drew me to adult!Peter from the beginning; maybe it's because I really liked underappreciated characters, or maybe I saw how little canon material there was of older Peter versus material for his canon age (which was still very little back in the day.) But I think it was the latter, because it meant that I could shape adult!Peter into any person that I want, which was how my portrayal went from bland, goody two shoes upstanding citizen to a nervous wreck constantly facing a plethora of childhood trauma and trying his best.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ?

I do have rules about not writing rape or incest ships, but it is mostly carried over from my previous rp blogs. In fact, it may be hypocritical of me to even have this rule if you know about the Infamous Fic. I still have reservations about writing this topic, though, because far too many writers and RPers don't treat the subject matter as the horrifying thing that it is, and it's a fetish for some writers, which like... okay, write the rape porn, empty of nuance and trauma or whatever, just do it over there.

I guess another thing I don't like to write is writing against a villain or overpowered character. Over the years, I had sometimes found it to be tedious at best, and unpleasant at worst. Hell, my character canonically is super powerful, and even I don't overdo it. I would never ask a writer of a villain to tone it down, though. It's just one of those things that require curating your dashboard or whatever.

ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ?

With that being said, it is wild how much I write Peter getting into arguments or fights. He's a firecracker baby, an asshole of the highest degree, and it's refreshing to find writers who can do a good back and forth, who can write a fight that actually drives the plot and thread forward, and lead to revelations about character motivations beyond "My character is evil, get used to it."

Another thing I like to write is scifi. But I never get my scifi threads. :c

ʜᴏᴡ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ?

I mostly start with the canon material and a little bit of history and go from there. Like, "What could possibly go wrong with an immortal child mostly abandoned in a derelict fort in the middle of the sea? How does constantly being kicked out of places that you know you belong in, being ignored by your primary parental figure during your formative years, and being told implicitly that you're no used to anyone after the war, fuck up a child? What skills did Peter develop as he survived in both an abandoned fort and in the middle of a war zone? Where is the breaking point, and how does his reaction to reaching that point change overtime and with shifting motivations?"

Sometimes, it just comes to me.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ?

It depends on my sensory load. I mostly like listening to music while I write, because it helps me to put in all the emotions I need for a scene to really make it hit. But if I had a sensory overload all day (talking to people, being in bright and overcrowded spaces, etc.) or if the scene in the thread is chill, I just write in silence.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇᴍ?

I try to plan as much as possible, and even jot down ideas for a thread, but I mostly wing them.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ꜱʜɪᴘᴘɪɴɢ?

Yeah, I do! Especially unconventional ships. (In fact, one of my old shipping partners and I had our muses having a baby together.) Sadly, my former shipping partners had left the fandom and the RPC, and most of the fandom characters I'm interested in shipping Peter with are not popular, so there aren't any writers to ship with, especially for a character as difficult to love as my canon-divergent Peter.

ᴡʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴀʟɪᴀꜱ/ɴᴀᴍᴇ?

In this sphere, I'm known as Droid! In another sphere, I'm known as Decada! I don't know why I chose those names!

ᴀɢᴇ?

Ageless. [knees crack, back aches]

ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ?

[redacted]

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ(ꜱ)?

Teal.

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴏɴɢ(ꜱ)?

Well, I've been singing "Do You Hear the People Sing" for a couple days, now, so it's probably that. Oh, and "Colors" by Coheed and Cambria.

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

Kon-Tiki (2013)

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜᴇᴅ?

Abbott Elementary

ʟᴀꜱᴛ ꜱᴏɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ?

Chocolate Covered Dreams by The Breed

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜰᴏᴏᴅ?

I'm gonna have to agree with Vera on this one, but I really do love savory stuff.

ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ?

I would say Summer because I like going out, being able to walk without needing an umbrella or having to layer, and that's when most events like concerts or parades happen. But, god, the sweat! The fucking sweat! I am a fat fuck and it is unpleasant to sweat in every crevice of my body. So, Autumn.

ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ?

I used to. The same mun who had written Peter's baby mama. She had also written this adorable and spunky child OC and she and Peter were two peas in a pod! We would gush about how adorable and sweet their dynamic was, and it was heartwarming to see what she had posted about her personal life. (Can you tell that I miss her?)

tagged by: @nezumivc103221 (ay yo, thanks!) tagging: @latvianpoet @the-expatriate @sicilitude @heta-micronomics @gebrochener-adler

[redheadedbrunette]

Cool so I reread the series and I noticed a lot more than I did the first two times I read it which is fun. The relationship between Ben and Erica is more explored than I remembered which is good and I can definitely see her character arc a lot clearer.

X is still my least favorite book and there’s absolutely a corner that Gibbs wrote himself into on that one unless he’s entirely giving up on the idea of having Ben and co. be secret agents.

Ben’s a lot more of a competent spy than I remember too, which is refreshing.

I also completely forgot that all 10 of these books happen in the span of like a year and a half which is hilarious.

Oh and the age gap seems like something that would be a lot more of an issue if there weren’t only like 300 people in the world they could have contact with. Even Erica and Josh had a bit of a gap since she had to have been 14/15 or so while he was 17/18. A gap of 2.5 years would be problematic for normal kids but I think different rules would apply.

I'm so glad it was clearer on a second go around! Honestly, I didn't even really see it all that clearly until I reread the series a couple years ago (SSAS came out my first week of college) and had a lot more experience with how stories work on a fundamental idea. Erica's development is very much in the background, but when you're looking for it (excluding SSPX, but that's a different rant) it's so clear and interesting and I love it.

SSPX bothers me for SO MANY REASONS the biggest of which is that Mr. Gibbs puts the message before the overarching plot of everything, and then! It's not even a relevant message! Like, what twelve year old is hardcore believing QAnon (it's pretty obviously meant to be that or something similar). I feel like something could have been achieved and a message about privacy, like Murray makes getting a video of Ben part of some TikTok knockoff challenge, because that seems like a much more likely thing kids would do, but gotta make fun of people who remember what the news said two years ago and comparing it to what they say now! Can't have people with good memories! But yeah, it does shoot the series in the foot kind of, and I understand the reasoning behind why things were done the way they were! I just don't agree with it most of the time.

It's even funnier when you realize that it's not a year and a half evenly spread out, it's one mission his first year with five months before summer, one that summer, and seven his second year. Eight if you want to count SSGS and SSBI as different missions (I go back and forth as to whether or not I do). It's so funny. Please give poor Ben a break.

And yes! Ben is actually so much more competent than people seem to give him credit for sometimes. It's just that his skill set tends to be less flashy and useful in battle scenes, but he's very much the chess master of the group. He's the one planning and strategizing, and all the karate moves in the world aren't going to do you any good if you can't actually foil the plans.

My reasoning for why I'm okay with the age gap is because the narrative treats them as equals who are more or less in the same place in life. Like, yes she's two classes ahead of him, but for all intents and purposes, they're teamed up together constantly with others in Ben's class and I think Erica is the only one we really know about in her class (can't remember Chip's age, but he might be? idk, doesn't really matter). It's never dwelt on, and it bothers me when people try to make a deal about it! Like, they're not going to be in the same place in their lives forever. It's high school. Almost no one marries the person they dated in high school. I've long held that they'd break up sometimes after Erica graduates and starts her adult life while Ben is still in school (or something similar depending on how Mr. Gibbs decides to do things moving forward).

[chocolatepot]

Another tag game! I was tagged by @incalculablepower; tagging @wistfulcynic, @chaotic-neutral-knitter, and @not-nervous-jester.

Do you write in order? Almost entirely. If I'm really feeling stuck with something I will do the "[basic gist of what needs to happen]" thing and move to the next scene, but that doesn't usually happen. I write a basic outline for a fic or for each chapter, depending on how long it is, and just work through it.

How fully formed does your writing come out the first try? Also almost entirely! Er, depending on how you define "the first try". I edit constantly while I'm writing - nearly every sentence gets intensely mentally workshopped as I go. So in one sense it comes out on the first try (no revisions later), but in another sense only about a quarter of the sentences come out right at first.

How many drafts do you go through? As per the previous, just the one! Technically.

Tell me about your process. Oh god it's embarrassing to talk about my process because it's so ... bad.

My most ideal writing process is to walk to the boba cafe, order lunch and my usual tea, set up my tablet (it's a Duet, it has a keyboard), and write and write and write, and then they bring me my food and I write one-handed while I eat, and then I make the tea last while I keep writing, and then finally I accept that it's time to go back home and I pack up. But this only happens on the weekends.

I am super undisciplined. I write while I'm watching tv, I have my tablet set up at work and I peck at it here and there. I sit up in bed at night and write - that's when I mostly tend to do sprints (because that's when my pals can do them, but also because I can't do them at work or while I'm making dinner or whatever), but I also just write then. Oh, and whenever I'm writing, if not sprinting, I'm also often switching back and forth between my doc and reading someone else's fic. I'm a mess! But it works.

I don't use a beta. I think it would be good for me to partner with a beta for more large-scale editing and discussions about characterization, story arcs, etc. because I would like to improve, but when I finish something I want it posted YESTERDAY. I guess eventually I would get to the point where once I finished something my beta would be finished with something I'd sent them earlier that I could post ... but you never know when something will come up and I don't want to resent someone because I'm waiting on their response to what I've written when they're busy or just don't feel like it! It's a minefield.

[willel]

I would argue that Nancy and Mike are closer than Jonathan and El. Nancy and Mike are bickering constantly, but El and Jonathan almost have no scenes together.

I've debated this back and forth in my mind for a few hours.

To be honest, we were robbed of a full picture of their Cali life so I guess we can't say for sure how close Jonathan and El really are.

I put Jonathan and El slightly higher because despite the lack of scenes, he does seem to know what's going on with El sorta? I mean, he knows as much as he knows about Will (Will and El seem to be experts at hiding their bullying, like Will hid his bullying in season 2 from Joyce and Jonathan)

They barely have any scenes together, but even while he's high, Jonathan is trying to downplay El hitting Angela with a skate in the car and at the dinner table. He even glances silently over at Mike just like El and Will do though we don't see his face. (It's kinda funny how Jonathan, Will, and El turn their heads one after the other. Lol)

It also gets me how the minute he saw El on the ground and in trouble, he stepped on that gas like his life depended on it (i mean, it sorta does, but obviously he was trying to save her). Not to mention he drove up honking like a mad man.

Too bad we were ROBBED of a reunion hug between them

I'm most likely biased. Extremely so. LIke, I have no doubt Nancy would do the EXACT same thing if Mike were in that situation, hence where my bias comes in.

Maybe at the end of the day, Nancy/Mike's and Jonathan/El's closeness are the exact same. Jonathan and El don't bicker though.

[emblemxeno]

I remembered you talking about the “Good Guy Garon” mod for Fates and how stilted the dialogue in the first chapter was, saw some videos of how it changes the story on Youtube, and i'm... not impressed.

To answer your question back on that post, yes, Garon's still possessed by Anankos and does bad things during the story because of him, presumably including kidnapping Corrin, but the mod writer changed how it works in the story so Garon's nice side is his default state at the start of the game, with him pivoting back and forth between “nice guy” and “tyrant” seemingly at random due to Anankos taking direct control. It really doesn't add much to the story other than changing scenes when Garon's being a dick from “oh Garon's being an asshole” to “oh Garon's being an asshole, but then he interrupts himself to tell the audience how sad he is at being forced to do these bad things and that he really likes his children, and then he goes back to being a dick and does the exact same morally fucked-up thing he did in the base game”.

I get that a lot of people don't get/like the reason the Nohrian siblings side with Garon, but the only things these scenes add to me, aside from spelling out the fact that Garon was a good person prior to being possessed repeatedly, is confusion as to how the Nohrian siblings haven't already figured out that there's something seriously wrong with Garon when he keeps constantly 180’ing on his personality; them thinking that Garon's just having a tough time due to poor health and that's why he's been more ruthless for a while is one thing, but blatant and constant psychotic attacks SHOULD be pretty undeniable evidence that there's something more wrong with him than just depression.

I get that the mod writer wanted to keep Conquest's story roughly the same, and that Garon doing morally reprehensible things is an integral part of why half the story even happens, so they realistically couldn't really do much more than adding dialogue of Garon being regretful for the things he does when he's possessed, but maybe that should've been the first red flag that trying to make a villain into a good guy without changing the original story too heavily, when large swathes of the original story are entirely dependent on said villain being ireedemably evil, might just have been a bad idea.

The other changes aren't too noteworthy in comparison, at least from what i've seen; The Hoshidan siblings (especially Ryoma) have their racism and bloodthirst towards Nohrians dialed up to 11, along with doing slightly more shady stuff (e;g they forcefully kidnap the Rainbow Sage from where he was living in a nearby town to take him to the mountain fort to keep him from being used by Nohr, which doesn't make much sense given that the Sage lives in the mountain itself last i checked but w/e); and Corrin agrees to go with Ryoma at first when he threatens Elise only to change their minds less than a minute later when Laslow and Peri show up, which is both nonsensical, because the only things they do is kill some Hoshidan soldiers, say that a Hoshidan never keeps their word, and tell them to keep smiling, meaning that murder, racism and a lame metaphor is enough to convince Corrin to stay and fight even if it means Elise dying in the process, and takes away from a good character moment for Corrin in the actual game, since that's supposed to represent Corrin being willing to stand their ground to fight for their dreams and what they believe in, no matter the risks.

Making Hoshido morally worse is the basic-bitch “fix” that any normie Fates critic always suggests doing, 9 times out of 10, so it doesn't surprise me that that was changed for the mod, but having Corrin surrender to Ryoma is baffling to me; what does this add aside from contradicting their character in the previous chapters by making it so they fold at the slightest bit of resistance or risk of death to themselves or their comrades, when they were perfectly willing to do so before when they put their own troops at more danger by ordering them to incapacitate the enemy soldiers, which still happens in this mod btw, and taking away their agency and character growth?

All in all, bad mod.

This is very vindicating to hear, anon. Cuz that's my major problem with people's issues with Fates' "problems with Gray Morality". People who try to fix the game's plot often just make it worse, because their idea of Gray Morality is either "make them flip flop between good and asshole at the most convenient times" or "make the outright good guys slaughter puppies for some reason". They don't know how to make Garon morally gray in the story and have it make sense, nor do they know how to make Hoshido less spotless other than tune up something that already exists to levels of parody that you'd only see on Gamefaqs threads.

And yeah like wtf, why do they wanna take away more of Corrin's agency, the crux of Conquest's plot is that he already doesn't have much agency with Garon breathing down his neck? I thought most people's issues with Corrin in CQ was that he was "spineless" so why rewrite him to be a little bitch that goes back on his decision when that chapter was one of the more prominent instances of Corrin standing his ground?

[ozcarpin]

I would love to read the posts you wrote about them! So I'm really curious to know how you differ Oscar and Ozpin in your writing. Like, speech patterns, body lanaguage, narrative style of their thoughts. But also how they overlap and if and how do they kinda "bleed" over to the other? I would also love to know how you see their merger going in the future, as in my story they're stuck togther for 3 years -ish. Thank you for humoring me!

Alrighty! So, to start off these three ( bing, bong, boom) can give you some quick insight to my thoughts on them. You can also search the tags ‘headcanon’ ‘Wizard of Ozpin’ and ‘Oscar the great and floofy’ on my blog to see some more things that I’ve linked to them in the past. 

In terms of how I differ them in writing, there’s a few things. 

First of all with their dialogue I’ll typically have it so that speaking outloud is in quotations, speaking in thoughts is in apostrophes and Ozpin speaking in thoughts is in apostrophes and italicized. While just a stylistic choice, I find that it can make it much easier when the two of them are going back and forth, just so it isn’t necessary to identify them repeatedly. 

Now, for speech patterns, I’ll typically have Ozpin speaking in a more flowery manner than Oscar. He’ll typically use a larger vocabulary, have a more diverse manner of structuring his sentences and be more round-about with how he says things. Ozpin is, for lack of a better term, constantly in ‘speech mode’. He thinks about what he wants to say at length, and he’s very considerate with his word choice and mannerisms. Ozpin is deliberate.

Oscar, on the other hand is very direct in his dialogue. If he wants to say something, he’ll typically use the least amount of words needed to say it. He’s not trying to impress anyone with his wording or anything like that, he just wants to convey this thoughts and feelings as concisely as possible. That said, Oscar himself isn’t a very confident person typically, which can get in the way of this goal for him. Sometimes he’ll start to say something and backtrack on it upon realizing that it might not sound that good outloud, sometimes he struggles to get across what he’s saying and he’ll start to ramble. He doesn’t always think through what he’s saying before he says it and this can lead to him getting frazzled easily. Oscar is earnest. 

For body language its a similar situation. Oscar isn’t always in control of his emotions. He can get easily overwhelmed in the heat of the moment. Oscar moves about very naturally. When he’s speaking, he’ll usually be gesturing to highlight what he’s saying, if he’s anxious or nervous he’ll shuffle about or fidget and when he’s talking he’ll often reach up to touch his own face or rub the back of his head as a nervous tic. Oscar is a very physically expressive person and this makes him incredibly terrible at hiding his feelings or lying. 

Ozpin on the flipside is very restrained physically. He has his own tics, such as preferring to pace or be in motion when he’s thinking or nervous, and he will always prefer to be in close proximity to his cane (which is at odds to Oscar who prefers to have it stowed away out of view). Ozpin will also gesture with his hands, but its typically done more to accentuate a specific point he’s making rather than having them be constantly in motion. Ozpin will physically play to an audience just as much as verbally and will always seek to hold himself in a very well-kept posture with a composed expression, though he will adjust if the emotions of a situation call for it. 

The best way in my opinion to really portray their difference is that when you’re writing for Oscar, write what would be the most natural action to do in the moment, what first comes to you for motion. For Ozpin, focus on the goal. Write the physical actions that would be most likely to get him closer to his goal in the scene, whether that be comforting someone, conveying a plan of attack or even just answering questions. What actions can he do that will cause the most flow to the scene that he can achieve what he’s set out to with the least interference.

For thought patterns and puzzling, Oscar works in the moment, in the immediate. If he’s asked ‘how will you beat Salem?’ his thought process is ‘by getting stronger’ by doing something he can do in the moment. He’s capable of planning ahead if he needs to, but once more, he can get too overwhelmed and stressed when everything builds up on him like that. He’s not stupid, in fact he’s very clever, but he prefers to work on things as they come to him, one step at a time. 

Ozpin is a strategist. He is always thinking ahead, always planning multiple contingencies for the future. His answer to ‘how will you beat Salem’ would be so vague there wouldn’t be much point in asking, one part because Ozpin will tell you what you need to know when you need to know it (sometimes because his plan depends on you acting a certain way) and also because his plans are constantly changing, always evolving. Ozpin doesn’t take setbacks as hard as other characters because he knows that he has time on his side. Even if something goes wrong now that doesn’t mean he can’t make steps to recover it in the future and make something better out of it. 

Together, Ozpin and Oscar actually compliment each other in many ways. They’re both very clever in their own ways and they both believe that people are inherently good in nature. They’re very protective of those that they care about and while neither of them are very good at initiating friendships, the ones which they do have are forged in fire and stronger than steel. They both lean more towards being selfless, and will put aside their own needs for the betterment of others, and they will both be deeply hurt in moments of betrayal. They’re both incredibly curious, which also works well for their relationship since Ozpin knows more useless facts than the encyclopedia and Oscar actually loves learning them, especially ones about different places. 

Now, as for the merger, my take on it is that once conceptualized, the full course of it will be completed in 2 years (you can of course adjust this to fit your story). They will start out as entirely different entities though over the course of this timeline they will gradually become more similar. Ozpin, in a younger body, will need to adjust to all the lovely corporeal things that go on with it, such as hormones being out of whack, things changing ect. and Oscar will in turn need to adjust to the gradual acclimation to all of Ozpin’s previous memories (not that this will be incredibly apparent to him). This could be as simple as someone asking Oscar a question that he shouldn’t necessarily know the answer to and him answering it without needing to consult first with Ozpin. Things will be more automatic for him and require less mental queuing to access. 

The way that I see this happening is that over time they will start to pick up on each other’s quirks and personality traits, the two of them very slowly becoming more similar as time goes on until they’re simply the same being. A good example of this could be Ozpin doing his little triple-axel backflip into the chair, while Oscar wouldn’t have the confidence to do such a thing, one could make the argument that Ozpin was influenced by the boy’s more dynamic nature and this could be expressed further as time goes on (ie. Ozpin being more emotionally expressive, Oscar having more confidence, taking a liking to hot beverages ect.). By the end of it they will be someone who isn’t exactly the same as Oscar but also isn’t quite Ozpin either, a mesh of the two of them with a single consciousness that is both of them as one.  

I hope that this helps explain a few things, and if you have any other questions I���m more than happy to answer them! (Honestly I could talk for days about these two). 

[driftingglass]

Do you use an outline when you write your fics? Ive only followed you for a month or so so sorry if you've already explained this in the past. You write so quickly that it seems to me either you are REALLY good at following/expanding on an outline or you're writing by the seat of your pants. I'm having trouble starting a fic, the beginning just isn't working the way I want. I don't know how to get from A to B, and I wanted advice from you since you can zip from plotpoint to plotpoint with ease.

Oh man this is a loaded question. (I live for this stuff.) 

Okay, I’ll do my best to help you out here, Anon. I don’t create outlines for everything I write, in all honesty. In fact, some of my works start out as impulsive pieces and gets spurred out of the moment because I have little to no control sometimes when I want to “ride on the wave of a new idea.”

I can even tell you through and through which works of mine do and don’t have outlines. You can probably tell with the writing and how they’re progressing. And yes I write very, very fast, but this is both a good and bad thing. Sometimes they come out too quickly and could easily use extra time to refocus and rehash certain plot points and details that need further emphasis. 

All of these works have had different processes in how they began. 

Honestly, when it comes to “writing by the seat of your pants” and “expanding on an outline,” a lot of the time it can become a mixture of both because of how the story plays out. 

You may realize that you want to actually take it in a different direction, or change the ending or dialogue, so you have to go back and make changes that suit the new steps you want to take. Sometimes the stories have a mind of their own. They can be rude like that.

I’ll share with you the creative backdrop processes for my more multichapter fics below.

My Hunter x Hunter fanfic, Wayward Souls, was borne from a very extensive outline after I wrote the first two paragraphs. I went off the handle with it, and changed the ending twice to accommodate the changes I wanted to make to the overall story. Now, it’s moving swimmingly, but the conclusion is always the hardest part.

My Hunter x Hunter fanfic series, The Afterschool Library Chronicle, has no outline whatsoever. That’s kind of why it’s split up into a series. I hadn’t intended for it go the direction it went, and as it comes towards its conclusion, I’m glad that it was written that way. Sometimes the story just flies off the handle itself and you have to somehow trust the process. 

My BNHA fanfic, Before Midnight, had a similar process to Wayward Souls. That one just kinda… fell together. The plot points became more prevalent to me after the third chapter. Then, I knew what I wanted for the story. The notes for that one are more scattered and I know the ending and the climax already, but the steps to get there have changed for the better. It also helps craft a decent mystery (not excellent, but decent).

My BNHA fanfic, Alexithymia, has been the least difficult story to outline because it’s relatively simple by comparison. There’s less worldbuilding, but still rules and customs I had to make up in order to do it. It’s similar to the canonical universe of the anime/manga with the already widely understood A/B/O Dynamics. I mostly wrote the first chapter out of spite because I normally hate that particular AU genre quite a bit.

In all honesty, Anon, it depends on what you enjoy writing to begin with. It’s better for me to use outlines in my works because my mind constantly strays and I need a mechanical structure to remind me of where I want to go, especially when one plot thread leads to another one much later. 

Outlines help me mostly because I almost only write pretty broad Alternate Universe stories with my own rules, including self-created magic systems, political systems, scenery, geography, history, and so forth. That’s just part of how I think as a writer. 

So, outlines work better for me to keep track of where the hell I’m going most of the time, especially with these broad, intense universes. 

It can help with consistency and planning, and so, I could recommend several approaches you could take for this process in outlining/beginning your work. 

For one thing, every story has its own pace. 

In this article, well-known author Marie Lu discusses the process between writing two completely different series and how she needed to change up her routine to basically mold her style and process to fit both of them. It’s definitely worth taking a look if you’re struggling with even beginning with your ideas.

Now, when you go back to your story, instead of focusing entirely on how to get from point A to point B, think about what your entire story is to begin with. Craft a graph, or an outline, or even a spreadsheet (all of them help) and visually write down what you want to happen for your story. 

Some keynotes I want to address here before you start this exercise. 

Who is your protagonist? What is their goal? Their motivation? What obstacle are they intending to overcome?

Who is the antagonist? Or what is the antagonistic force? Basically, what is stopping your protagonist from reaching their goal?

What changes will your protagonist go through in your story, for what purpose and for what reason? Every solid story follows a protagonist going through some change and a “point of never return,” so to speak.

What are the rules in your universe? Do these changes need to be thought out more before you start writing? 

Where is your fic/story taking place? 

What are the most prevalent themes and ideas behind your story?

Why do you want to write this fic/story to begin with?

What are the three high points and three low points of your story? (Approximately). These will determine the steps from your introduction, to your rising action, to your climax, to your falling action and then your conclusion. 

There are many, many articles you can turn to to help with this process. Even the most successful authors struggle with this exact thing. 

Also, Anon. Writing is hard. Honestly, it’s the hardest task, yet the most rewarding, depending on your effort and ability to be patient with your setbacks. I’ve spent years crafting outlines and meticulously plotting out points for original works that still haven’t seen the light of day because of either major plotholes I discovered or other mechanical factors that didn’t work. 

Whether you’re outlining or just writing impulsively, the story will move on its own. Patience is an absolute must, and the ability to take and process constructive criticism from both yourself and your peers. 

Start with looking at the overall work you have planned, and then go through to find out how you want to break up each scene and plot point into chapters. 

Again, maybe this process won’t work for you at all, but in order for me to take control of my stories and to write quickly, I needed to spend extra hours building an outline to work off of. 

Plans will change, though, and it may just be out of your control. 

Ultimately, have fun with the process. Writing is meant to be exhilarating, hard, rewarding, but fun. Enjoy it. Let your work speak for you and please you, first, as the writer and creator of this fabulous journey that many people will be so excited to step into when it’s finally released.

I wish you the best of luck, Anon! Thank you so much for the ask!

[getoffthesoapbox]

And to continue off from that last ask, Hino has been trying to compare Yume and Zeki and clearly is showing Zeki as the "better" relationship here by having Zero not repeat the same mistakes that Kaname did (guilt trip, abuse, so on so forth). This likely means Zero will continue to just accept the possible fact that Yuuki loves not only him but also Kaname, all of this to show that Kaname's been doing it all wrong! I hope that makes sense. Sorry for the rant. I'm just disappointed with VKM.

Hey, there, again, my friend! Thank you for sharing your thoughts; I always enjoy a good rant. =) I think you hit the nail on the head with where Hino’s going with the comparisons between Zero/Yuuki and Kaname/Yuuki. The problem is that Zero’s falling into a different form of relationship dysfunction–he’s an enabler who is codependent. Basically Zero’s headed straight for “abused wife” territory, which I don’t think would send the message Hino (I hope) wishes to send.

I do have a tiny bit of faith in Hino that she isn’t going to leave Zero like this, though. My reasons for this belief are pretty flimsy, I acknowledge, but I’ll offer them to you anyway: 

Zero did question Yuuki in VKM 9 and he did admit to holding on “just because” of Yuuki holding his hand. This implies that he’s looking for “excuses” not to face the facts about their relationship.

In VKM 10, Zero actually snarks at Yuuki several times during their conversation in his apartment. He hasn’t legitimately snarked at her since the original series. 

Zero does actually try to get her to clarify what she means by “restarting.” This implies that he’s looking for something in particular and testing the waters to see if he’s going to get it. This is a good sign for him beginning to set boundaries.

Zero does actually brush off Yuuki’s attempts to keep their relationship platonic. He’s gentle about it, and he does offer to continue doing those things for her (they would have anyway), but he’s not taking those as the answer.

Zero isn’t jumping up and down for joy in any of the scenes with Yuuki post-restart. He’s assessing the relationship. This implies that if he doesn’t like what he sees at the end of his assessment, he may actually take steps to extricate himself from the relationship.

Zero’s phrasing before the bite implies he hasn’t been drinking his fill and that if he does go through with the bite, he wants to “drink his fill” in order to find her feelings for him in her blood. If he doesn’t find them? Who knows what he’ll do.

I think part of the problem is that Zero is codependent on Yuuki right now. I’ve honestly been concerned about it since his confession in VKM 6 to the hunters that he absolutely doesn’t want to go back to the days when he couldn’t have the blood of the person he loves. So basically, this is what I believe is Zero’s mindset right now. He has two options:

Option A: Leave Yuuki and Ai and whatever lukewarm comfort he can take from them and go be miserable and suffer terrible bloodlust that drives him insane. Alternatively he can have Yuuki or Isaya erase his memories again, which also will drive him insane (he was really bothered by his memory loss for the brief time he had it). 

Option B: Stay with Yuuki and Ai and get fed at least satisfactorily while suffering through not being able to have a real relationship while holding out hope that one day Yuuki will return his feelings properly. Suffer loneliness while Yuuki seemingly pines over Kaname. 

Zero’s a practical guy, so if he does a cost/benefit analysis of these two options, he’s going to stick with Option B for as long as humanly possible until he absolutely has to leave. A little “loneliness with your beloved” is way better than going insane. This doesn’t even give him much of a choice and renders him completely dependent on Yuuki. This creates a power imbalance between them because Zero has no other options than to stick as close to Yuuki as possible or suffer horribly, which means Yuuki has complete control over the relationship (honestly this is never good for a couple).  

I think it’s easy for people to forget that Zero has literally no other option than Yuuki. He has no choice but to put up with her whims if he wants to have even a slightly decent quality of life. This codependency is a problem, and it means that to him being “lonely with Yuuki” is better than “going insane without Yuuki.” (Though I suspect he begins to reevaluate that after she makes him wait 40+ years.) To me, however, neither of these are good choices and I don’t think they’re appropriate.

Given all of the above, I do think what eventually has to happen is that Option B has to become so intolerable that Option A looks preferable in comparison. And I think we’re at that point. This “restart” is to Zero his “last chance” to be with Yuuki. If he likes what he sees, he’ll stick around. If he doesn’t, he’ll likely try to do what he can to fix it, but once that fails, Option A will look tolerable to him and he’ll take it. 

Zero’s selling himself short on Option A; he’s a different man now than he was during the original time skip between arc 1 and arc 2 of VK. He’s lived a full life now, and there are tastier tablets now (the Yuuki tablets) that he can take, plus he can help Aidou with the cure and take it himself once it’s ready. He does have options now that don’t require drinking from Level Es. So I do believe that if Yuuki really can’t open up and give him a real relationship, he’ll revisit Option A and perhaps take that route. 

This is just how I feel currently based on where I see this going. =) Who knows if I’m right or not. I hope I am, because I don’t want Perfect Doormat Zero, who I like to call pod!Zero. I want the real deal back, and I haven’t seen him since he got lobotomized in Night 88. Like a faithful dog, I keep sitting here waiting to see the real Zero again. He doesn’t need to be angry anymore, but having a little spine, pride, and backbone would be appreciated. 

Anyway, sorry for hijacking your mini-rant with my major-rant, but thank you so much for this ask and I truly hope Zero and Yuuki both get their heads on straight and that Hino doesn’t trample over them by trying to make a point about Kaname. I think everyone can see that Kaname was unhealthy for Yuuki if she just lets Zeki be their natural selves, lol. She doesn’t need to beat the dead horse constantly.

Thanks for dropping by, my friend! =)

[anghraine]

Having been wowed by your fanfic ("wandering inside this night" holds a special place in my RO heart), I'm curious: what is your writing/editing process like?

Oh, thank you!

My writing process really varies depending on what I’m doing, but I can explain it in terms of wandering inside this night.

It’s long and rambly, so you can scroll down for a very concise tl;dr version of The Process.

1. Eureka!

I pretty much always start out with 1) a vague sense of something I want to write about, and I sort of mentally fish around until I land on an idea, or 2) an idea pops into my head, or 3) some combination of both.

The last two are the most common for me—I have more ideas than I could ever write. With wandering, it was definitely that way. 

I was hollering into my tags about the Cassian-Leia parallels pretty early, which … Jyn-Han is obvious, but I felt like the Cassian-Leia ones went relatively unnoticed but were probably more profound. And as spies in the ragtag ANH-era Rebellion, it’s more than possible that they’d know each other; I’d made babbling posts, but I really wanted to do something with it. So I sketched out a backstory in until the last chance is spent, but I still wanted more, and also to get into Han-Jyn at the same time, and also just—have something fun! And suddenly (I was actually at a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert, lol) the idea popped into my head of jumping to the Han/Leia meltdown of 1980 with established relationship Jyn/Cassian.

2. Percolation

This is particularly important for longer fic (or any long-form writing, really), but it helps with shorter things, too. It’s where you’re not actively working to figure out details or more ideas, much less writing, just passively letting your mind wander. It’s best if you’re actually doing something else—something that doesn’t take much attention, but enough that you can’t completely focus on your thoughts, like showering or washing dishes or something.

When something does come to mind, I scribble it down (or stick it in a doc in some form that will hopefully make sense to me later). Sometimes it’ll be scraps of dialogue, or a phrase I want to make sure gets in somewhere, or a plot-point, just anything that pops up. Ideally, though, I don’t write anything beyond that—just note down anything I might forget and let my ideas develop freely. 

Normally, I’d only do so much of that with something like wandering (fairly short, fairly light). But I ended up snowed in with my extended family, where I was both bored and unable to sit down and write. So I’m sitting there entertaining myself by imagining Jyn and Han, drinking buddies, and how that’d work with the Cassian-Leia brotp of ruthless idealism (Han would be jealous!), and just having that percolating in my head while I read fic and let stray thoughts pass through my mind. (‘Okay but Cassian would fucking hate Han’ being uppermost among them, lol)

3. Brainstorming/Outline

At this point, I try to pin down the free-floating ideas and/or organize what scraps I have into something coherent. With something longer, like ad astra, I generally do a pretty traditional outline—decide what the story is specifically going to cover, and where the things I’ve actually written fit with that, and what’s going to go in the spaces between.

It’s not classroom-style brainstorming; I usually brainstorm ideas by trying to put together an outline. I’ll be “okay, I want to start with something like that shot of Jyn on the platform with an Imperial ship at the end, but it’s Bodhi” and “they get sucked into the Death Star and Jyn exploits Cassian’s injuries to get in” and then I sit down and figure out how I’m going to get from one to the other. “Okay, so—there’s no way they can actually get Kaytoo, but maybe something—yeah, she just up and grabs his dismembered head l o l, okay, and there’s the jump into the ship which rattles Cassian further, and she’d try to treat him with whatever supplies are available, and we’d have Bodhi trying to get out without being shot down, and maybe I can work in the your father would have been proud of you line, and Jyn goes to check on Bodhi and they see the Death Star and…”

Also, it helps a ton to actually talk ideas over with someone else. With me, it’s generally @steinbecks​—not some strict ‘this, then this, then this, tell me what you think’, but ‘I had this idea’ and ‘OK BUT IMAGINE IF’ and ‘haha yeah exactly’ and ‘shit you’re right they do change outfits’ etc. 

4) Drafting (The Big One)

Ideally, I only get to this after nailing down an outline or at least getting a lot figured out in chats/notes to myself. That’s what I did for pretty much all my most successful longfics—First Impressions (f!Darcy/m!Elizabeth), Season of Courtship (Darcy and Elizabeth’s engagement), we get dark, only to shine (AU of The Borgias that moves the canon pairing getting together from S3 to S1), and now ad astra. It helps a TON if you have trouble with discipline and direction, as I do, because you can always go back to it and figure out where you need to be headed when you’re muddled/uninspired, even if some details change along the way. (They always do, for me.)

I did some of that with wandering, but … I was snowed-in, lol, and finally everyone had gone to sleep and my head was full of ideas. So I laid down with my laptop and just dove right in with the only clear line I had in mind: 

Han Solo once had apleasant conversation with Cassian Andor.

Just once.

That was where I planned it to begin! The actual beginning came later, because I very quickly ran into a problem—the sentence worked to jump into exposition, not an actual scene. And with the exposition, I needed to introduce 1) Cassian’s hatred of Han, 2) Han’s lesser but firm dislike, 3) Cassian and Leia’s history together as spies, 4) Han’s brief and half-hearted attempt to suck up, 5) Jyn and Cassian being married, 6) Han’s friendship with Jyn, 7) Han’s jealousy as contrasted to Cassian and Jyn’s mutual trust, etc. Yikes.

So I kept getting mired down in explanations and flashbacks (I actually wrote the scene where Jyn drunkenly complains about finding something for Cassian’s birthday, lol) that slowed it down. And I wasn’t really happy with anything—I constantly niggled at sentences and moved things around and rephrased and it just didn’t work right. I actually have the document I worked in (I didn’t have Internet at the time), so you can see this sort of intermediate stage:

I niggled with it for the rest of the vacation, then it hit me that the issue was that starting a fic with exposition was the real problem. Starting with ESB-era Han just being ESB-era Han could let me work the exposition section in, and without the pressure of it being the opening section I could keep it to a tangential aside and move the jealousy around and so forth. And from there I could just leap to the canon scene with bonus Cassian-Leia shared indignation, and impulsively I added Kaytoo at the end. 

Moral of the story: if you keep trying to make something work and it just won’t, there’s probably something deeper going on. Take a step back and figure out why it’s not working, and often you’ll be able to correct course. Once I tacked in that little ‘Han sulks’ section at the beginning, it all fell together easily. 

5) Revising!

You can probably guess from #4 that I do a lot of this as I write rather than after I write. That’s true, to an extent.

It can be a very … I wouldn’t say discouraging, but sluggish way to write, because you end up struggling over phrases you might not even keep in the end. I genuinely think it’s best to at least try to restrain the impulse to polish everything, but at the same time, there are some of us who genuinely can’t keep going if the current section isn’t working (again, see #4!). So I allow myself a certain amount of freedom in polishing-as-I-go, while restraining the impulse to do anything more substantial. The single best way of doing this is sprinting—writing in short, timed bursts with little to no editing, ideally with a partner that you check in with. (Again, I generally do this with @steinbecks​.)

However, even if you edit as you go and turn out pretty clean drafts, you should still revise at the end. What I generally do is, first of all, just quickly re-read. The writing process is a lot slower than the reading one, and it’s easy to get so focused on particular passages or sections that you lose sight of how it’s working as a whole. So that quick read-through is a way to back up and see how it’s holding together. It’s best if you give yourself a break before you do this—a day or two at least, to get your mind out of the writing mode and look at it with relatively fresh eyes. 

(I will say that I almost never wait. But I do pretty much always end up editing chapters yet again in the first couple of days after I’ve posted them. Sometimes it’s contuinity, sometimes a passage that isn’t working quite the way I thought, whatever. There’s always something. It’s why the chapters I post at Dreamwidth are generally cleaner than the ones at Tumblr, which are cleaner than the first versions posted at AO3.)

However you do that read-through, the most important for me is the next one. At this point, I read the whole fic/chapter/essay/whatever from start to finish—out loud. In fact, if it’s possible, I’ll do a full-on dramatic reading. By reading aloud, you can catch things like typos that your mind silently corrects for your eyes, but also it’s easier to notice sentence-level problems like repeated words/phrases and unvaried sentence structure. If something makes me cringe when I read it aloud, I cut it or rewrite. If saying it aloud makes it sound wrong for the character, it probably is wrong for the character. Sometimes I do the dramatic reading revision two or three times.

And then I either post or print!

The short version:

1) I get an idea, 2) I let the ideas develop without thinking too hard about them, 3) I nail down and think up specific ideas, mostly through chat and/or outlines, 4) I plow through a draft, rearranging/adding material if things just aren’t working, and 5) I revise, once with a quick re-read of the whole thing, and then again by slowly reading it aloud to myself to catch problems with (primarily) mechanics, voice, and word choice.