#from books i want solid characters interesting worlds stuff to think about... i want fic to build on existing canon not usually to
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ttaibhse · 2 months ago
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reading fanfiction and reading books are such entirely separate hobbies with entirely separate purposes to me it feels basically pointless to get hung up on comparing them. like personally in my personal case
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marley-manson · 15 hours ago
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due South for the fandom ask meme, if you haven't been asked already <3
Thank you 💖
my favorite female character
I honestly can't decide between Victoria and Frannie. I loooove Victoria, I think she's a fantastic villain, very sympathetic imo, and extremely effective at highlighting Fraser's tragic flaws. And I love that she got away in the end.
I also adore Frannie and while she's less of a perfectly written character, she's in more episodes and she's so endearing and loveable. If we had to have a Fraser het ship teased in season 2 I wish it had been Fraser/Frannie rather than Fraser/Thatcher, both because I like Frannie more and would've loved to see more of her before season 3, and because I think it would've been more interesting thematically. In the episode Heaven and Earth she functionally represents Earth and Fraser's capacity to be more human and less "divine" or untouchable, and I love that.
my favorite male character
Ray Vecchio! I love him, I love the way he talks and complains and feels like everything is unfair to him and always steps up and puts his own comfort second anyway; I love his relationship with his family, from the good heartwarming stuff, to the bitchy sibling stuff, to the darker abusive father who still literally haunts him stuff; I love his fashion sense; I love his sheer loyalty to Fraser; I love that in the Pilot he sought Fraser out specifically to apologize for accidentally being insensitive about his father and invite him to dinner; I love his ridiculous love for his car and that he sacrificed it twice for Fraser... nothing I don't love tbh.
my favorite book/season/etc
Season 1, hands down. Extremely solid television right there.
my favorite episode (if its a tv show)
SO hard to choose between The Deal and Victoria's Secret, but I think Ray's episode gets the edge so let's go with The Deal.
my favorite cast member
I don't really know anything about the cast so idk.
my favorite ship
Fraser/RayV. Ship of my heart. I can read basically any ship featuring Ray, including het even, but Ray loves Fraser best therefore Ray/Fraser is the best ship.
a character I’d die defending
Ray. Thankfully the Ray Wars are over so I don't have to, but I'm ngl I can understand why the fandom was so batshit back then. I see someone casually say they can't ship F/V because they see him as too straight and Kill Bill sirens go off in my head and I have to take a deep breath lol. I would not have survived the 90s.
Also Victoria though. Fraser dug his own grave when he didn't let her go the first time, acab, obviously spending 10 years in prison would make her both a better criminal and angry that's what you fucking get for loving the system so much Fraser, and I'm on her side during the whole finale lol.
a character I just can’t sympathize with
One of Due South's biggest strengths is making just about every character sympathetic in some way. Ray's dad was a good answer to this though, got no sympathy there.
Ooh, also: Bob Fraser. The show did want me to sympathize with him at times lol, but I don't. He sucks, he's emblematic of every flaw Fraser has, he's a terrible father and a pretty shitty person, and the fact that the show wanted me to like him and often brushes all that aside makes me dislike him more than I otherwise might. He's still often entertaining and funny, but I do not have any sympathy for him. Hope Caroline divorces him in the afterlife.
a character I grew to love
Idk, most of my character opinions have been static since I first watched the show in high school...
Okay, Ian lol. The most annoying man in the world, but still somehow loveable. It did take me at least one rewatch to start to like him.
my anti otp
Sorry to the fandom lol but it is Fraser/Ray K. I got into the show specifically for them, because I wanted to read all the good fic everyone recced everywhere, and I did everything I could to try to like them including watching season 3 concurrently with season 2 so missing Ray V wouldn't colour my opinions, but it just didn't happen. They are not for me, they don't have the kind of chemistry I enjoy, I don't like the show after season 2 much in general, and my irrational love for Ray V makes me mad on his behalf to see Fraser getting together with his replacement lol.
I'm not usually that emotion driven when it comes to my fandom interests but due south is always kind of an exception there. I am at least self aware enough to find my irrational resentment funny rather than taking it seriously though. Like, I have 0 beef with F/K shippers, I respect your interests and I can definitely see why it was a fandom juggernaut back in its day. I'll just never read it.
ask meme
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bunnimew · 1 year ago
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What do you think about the GOC books? Personally I enjoy them, but separate to the film. It’s very hard to connect the two worlds in my head especially when Joyce keeps rewriting the lore every couple years (no hate, love him as a person but it can get frustrating). With the added lore from his insta and stuff it just doesn’t feel like the same story
Hello Anon!!
I try pretty hard not to yuck somebody else's yum when it comes to the GoC books. I know people like them and I don't want to dampen their happiness.
But man. Do I not like those books. I didn't even finish Toothiana's, technically, because I got so bored that skimming wasn't even good enough and I took pictures of the pages before I had to send it back to the library, telling myself I'd read them later. I never went back and read them. And at this point, I likely never will.
I have a laundry list of problems with the books. And if you really want to know the full extent, you'll have to ask in a private message somewhere because I don't want to make random strangers on the internet upset. But my dislike goes beyond the movie and book canons not lining up. Honestly, Joyce should have just embraced them being different canons, and the fifth book would have been better for it.
The tidbits from his insta don't even make sense half the time ���� I appreciate his love of imagination and I respect that he just wants kids to feel a sense of wonder, but my personal journey with imagination and wonder do not work with his modus operandi.
I love hard science. I always have. To me, the weird things that are real will always be more fantastic than the weird things someone made up. I love the whole magic is science we don't understand yet concept, and given what the leading edge of science is doing right now? It feels real to me. Scifi is my home genre, and when scifi meets fantasy? My heart sings.
Joyce threw science so hard out the window it left orbit.
So there was really never a chance that I was going to seriously like these books. And his continued dismissal of continuity, while his right as a creator, feels like sandpaper to my physicist soul.
I do enjoy seeing what people pick from book canon to apply to movie canon when writing/drawing AUs. That can get very creative and interesting, especially since some of the characters from the books are solid and would have been cool to have in the movie. Kam and I, ourselves, have used book characters in our fics, because they do add something to the whole. Twiner and Jamie teaming up on Jack has become one of my favorite things.
So I'm glad the books exist. You just won't be finding them in my personal collection.
Thank you, Anon!!
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infernal-house-demon · 5 months ago
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I have been writing nearly every day without fail. Since starting my current wip in February, I have written two instalments in what will be a four (or potentially five) book series. The word count of those two books is a little more than the whole hunger games trilogy combined.
People keep asking me how I am doing this. I truly don’t know. I think it’s a bunch of things converging together?
Tldr: emerge from years long burnout, be autistic with storytelling special interest, get medicated for your adhd, take care of yourself— oh, and actual writing advice like build a routine, engage critically with other media, don’t be your own worst critic until you reach the editing stage, write something you genuinely like, and you don’t have to have it figured out from the top. Writing is literally just making shit up and making more shit up to justify it. Now go write my beautiful darlings!
Writing regularly. Getting in the habit of doing it makes it easier to start every time. I’ve been lucky to have a lot of time on my hands recently so I’ve been able to get a lot accomplished.
Not giving a shit if it’s good. I don’t mean write garbage. You should still like and enjoy it. But don’t agonize over every detail. If you can’t think of how to describe something perfectly, do what you can and move on. Writing is for getting the ideas down. Editing is for polish. Make something you like but don’t pressure yourself to make it perfect. (If it makes you feel better, my editor pointed out I completely forgot to describe several of the main characters. Sometimes when you write a scene it’s just dialogue and vibes. You’ll fix it later.)
If you try to build out every detail of the world before you start, you’ll never start. Get place names and important details and customs down, then make shit up as you go along. Remember of course that you will then have to write within the confines of that shit, but don’t worry, you can always make changes! That’s the beauty of editing. (Editor me is so bad for the amount of work I give them, but that’s their job so 🤷🏻)
If you have a really clear idea of a scene, write it immediately! For the most part, I do like to write linearly, but if I have ideas for scenes or snippets of dialogue, I will write them all down right away. Then you’re not slogging through anything just to get to that scene you really want to write. This is especially helpful if you’re writing a series and the scene is very far away. Write it now.
Have a cutting room floor document! I can’t tell you how many times I had to cut things that didn't serve the plot in the moment only for them to fit perfectly into future instalments! It hurts to cut stuff you feel is really good, so keep it! You might use it later!
The rest of these are about to get very specific to me but they are what is genuinely part of what has helped
Take a big long break from your creative hobbies. After i graduated uni, i was thoroughly burnt out. I stopped painting, I didn't write often (only the occasional fic bc it was easier on my brain). I will say writing fanfic was a big help because it gave me an idea of the character dynamics, themes, and plot points I most enjoyed writing. Then I translated all of that into my current wip. But the point of this is not to push yourself if you feel burnt out. Take what opportunities you can to rest and leave your hobbies behind for a while if that's what you need. They will be there waiting for you. I spent a solid year and a half doing almost nothing. Most of my creative energy went into digital art, and even then i wasn't creating frequently. It's okay. You need the rest.
Get medicated for adhd. Obviously this is very me-specific but I realized I had undiagnosed adhd. I had actually been given meds to try in the past but the side effects were too strong. Finally, i went back to my doctor and he helped me figure out a new one to try plus dosage and all that (I know I'm lucky that i have a good doc). The one I'm on now gives me minimal side effects and really helps my motivation and energy.
Take care of your body first. Before I could emerge from burnout and get my super creativity boost I put in a lot of work on my health. I have chronic pain, so learning what helped and what didn't has been really important. Things like fixing my sleep schedule, making sure to eat regularly, listening to my body's needs were all things I had to do before I could get into a space where I felt up to creating. (I am still working on this one. It isn't easy and I am in pain every day. Sometimes that means no writing and that's fine. Wellbeing comes first.)
Be autistic and have storytelling be your special interest. Idk what to tell you about this one. I am autistic and I have always been fascinated by creating stories, why we tell stories, the stories that have lasting impact in our lives, etc. I did my undergrad in English and my upcoming masters program is in Anthropology where i plan to write my thesis on mythology. So, uh, get yourself an autistic special interest and let it fuel your writing.
Okay that was gonna be the last one but I just remembered a really important one. CONSUME OTHER MEDIA! A lot of people will tell you to read in order to write better, and that's 100% true. But like I said, I was in burnout after I graduated, and having read so much in my English degree, I did not want to look at another book ever again. I read maybe like 3 books in the last two years (it was the Lord of the Rings Trilogy which I have already read and I was in lotr hyperfixation mode). But engaging critically with any media will help you improve your own skills. Read a book, read some poetry, watch a show your friend recommended, listen to a podcast on a topic that interests you, listen to an audiobook, whatever! Then think about it and ask yourself what works and what doesn't. Then ask yourself why it does or doesn't work. Is it just a matter of preference? Or is it the word choice, the rhythm of the punctuation, the structure, the character arcs and voices. I have read a lot of poetry in the last couple years bc it tends to be shorter and gives my brain that quick hit my adhd loves. And I promise you it not only made me a better poet, but also helped my description in prose.
Anyway, that's all I can think of for now. I'd love to do another post about my inspirations/recommendations of media. But I'll do that later. I hope this is vaguely helpful to anyone, and if not, oh well! I had fun coming up with it.
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irismono · 2 years ago
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Aight, waffles are yet to materialize so I'm gonna get my project list outlined.
In order of priority/how ready I am to work on them:
The Redwall Retrospective
Basically I'm rereading the series at roughly 1 book a week, and vlogging it on my mostly-dormant YouTube channel. I'll do a Jenny Nicholson style multi-hour video at the end. Currently working on Mariel of Redwall. Will get a link up to the logs for the first three books.
Red Fraction
My take on the "Pyrrha Lives" (Stomp Stomp) style of fix-it-fic. Got some fun ideas for it. Basically got Pyrrha's consciousness split into pieces across several characters, with the ultimate goal being recombining them all. See the opening for Black Lagoon if you want a sneak peek at chapter titles.
RWBY Modern AU (No solid name as of yet)
Man I love AUs, AUs are cool. And I've got some fun ideas for this one. Ruby and Jaune married for tax reasons? Got it. Coco Adel, the wholesome Yuri manga addict? Check. Gauntlets and Greaves? Hell yes, I read some baller GnG fics last year and I've been hooked ever since. There's other stuff too, but I've had trouble figuring out a main plotline, which is why I have...
Old Masters
This is a side story (or perhaps pre-sequel?) for my Modern AU, and one that has a defined plot line. The last generation's megahit pop duo was "Young Masters", made up of Ozma "Ozzy" Calavera and (The Pseudonymous) "Salem". The two had a fairly consistent will-they, won't-they subplot in their music and stage performances, until it came out pretty publicly that "they did", and the act (and relationship) broke up in a rather messy fashion.
Now some (insert number) years later, Salem has a grown up daughter, Oz is still trying to get his solo career off the ground, and neither of them are really happy. They meet by chance, and eventually (though with much pain) reconcile. Don't know all the details yet, but leaning towards a secret romance between Oscar (Ozma's Nephew) and Salem's daughter (either Emerald or Ciel, undecided) being part of it.
To aru Isekai no Tabibito (A certain otherworldly traveller)
It struck me one day that Semblances are rather close to ESPer abilities when it gets down to it. Thus, a RWBY x Toaruverse crossover feels pretty natural, at least to me. My thought: RWBY (and probably JNPR) find themselves dropped into Academy City with minimal equipment and have to figure out their way around.
The Bard for Advanced Systems
Don't know how big Advanced (as in 1st edition) Dungeons and Dragons is on Tumblr, but I take a great deal of issue with 1e's handling of the Bard. I can expand on why in another post if anybody's interested. TBFAS would be an essay and class write up of my idealized Bard Class, probably looking most similar to the 1e Monk in design style. I've got some ideas, I just need to set them in motion.
RWBY x Pokemon Special
More "nifty idea" than anything else. Pokemon Adventures was my first Manga, and I'd like to cross it over with RWBY at some point, probably by dropping RWBY characters in as trainers/Dex Holders. Could even do a full swap, but I'm less sure on that point.
As you may have gathered from the above, I have a penchant for RWBY fanfiction. This is because it is a world I have grown comfortable in, and the fandom I first explored fanfiction within. I haven't actually seen Volume 8, and am not planning to watch volume 9, and really I think things have been going downhill somewhat since... Well actually the show was always a bit of a mess if I'm being honest.
That all said, the world is great, and the characters, as interpreted by FNDM, are also pretty great, and rife with opportunities for cool storytelling.
What's that? Surely I'm forgetting something? Are half a dozen projects I want to work on not enough?
Okay fine, I've got some original works as well, but waffles are just about ready so I'll share those in another post.
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kitewithfish · 2 years ago
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Reading Meme for Feb 1 2023
What I've Read Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir - Oh, man, the last third of this book is just payoff after payoff - stuff that I was certain was going to be left to be resolved in the next book was just laid out in front of your eyes and it worked so damned well. This was my second attempt to read this book - the first time, just after it came out, I made charts and tried to keep track of all the characters and figure out the mystery of the whole thing, well, I had some trouble. The second time around had a much better result when I just let the whole thing wash over me.  I really enjoyed this book and I'm starting on the next one immediately.   Penric's Fox - Lois McMaster Bujold - I am still really enjoying this series, which are short mysteries set in the Chalion universe with a metaphysical  'odd couple'- a young human man with no background in magic is host of a centuries-old demon who has the memories and personalities of nine previous women hosts as part of her constituent parts. They fight crime! It's also got touches of the kind of settled affection that I tend to associate with long-married couples who still adore each other. Penric gets roped into solving murders that are short and clear, with a cast of interesting recurring characters and a boss who is a badass woman in her 70s. The mysteries are a bit straightforward but explore some of the interesting edge cases of how magic in their world works. Fun palette cleansing reads. (I which Bujold had a little more eye for queer relationships in her books but what she does provide is emotionally solid, so, meh.) I'm Not As Think As You Drunk I Am - Mardiaz173 - https://archiveofourown.org/works/33021898 - Clark Kent/ Bruce Wayne - DC comics universe - This was just a nice short little fic where Superman wants desperately to date Batman, but Bruce Wayne keeps showing Clark a side of himself that few people get to see. Which will our hero choose? (I read this on the recommendation of the podcast Clio/Mireille for their Sept 2022 episode on Superman/Batman Identity Porn fic.) It is a fun fic and a charming podcast. Living With a Tiger by x_los - https://archiveofourown.org/works/33488392 - 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù - Original Luò Bīnghé/Shěn Yuán, post Post-Bingge vs. Bingmei Extra - I am delving at last into the fic for the Scum Villain fandom, and I love the set-up on this. X_los wrote an AU that really delves into a grey version of the characters from the canon, and I really enjoyed it. (If you don't care to read the canon, this is still mostly intelligible on its own.) The tags are accurate. What I'm Reading Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir has got her hooks in my soul. Like with Gideon the Ninth, I was spoiled by tumblr osmosis for some elements of this book, but I honestly don't think it matters! Starts basically directly after Gideon the Ninth and I am glad I followed my friend's recommendation to start this book immediately upon finishing Gideon, as my poor memory would not have helped with understanding this book. I find these books do very little explicit handholding of like, "Character realized that this new development related back to This Setup from Chapter 2" and yet Muir does indeed set up enough reminders to guide you back to the points you need to recall for the payoff to be satisfying. What I'll Read Next Phoenix Extravagant - Yun Ha Lee - Book Club The Uncle's Story - Witi Ihimaera - The library wants this back and I don't want to give it back! I might end up having to buy more of the Ihimaera books I want to read - local libraries are NOT great about having these around, and I am slow. The Good Lord Bird Library books Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys Unnamed Midwife (whole series)
Owned and need to read: Frey Marske's A Restless Truth, and Susanna Clarke's Pirenesi California Bones, Raven Song by IA Ashcroft, Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert, Even Though I Know the End by CL Polk, True Colors by Karen Traviss, At The Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard, Tamryn Eradani's Enchanting Encounters Books 2 and 3, Like Real People Do by EL Massey, Tom Stoppard, invention of love. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty, "You Just Need to Lose Weight" and Other Myths about Fatness by Aubrey Gordon, Alisha Rai Partners in Crime, the Right Swipe, Aphorisms of Kerishdar
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thickenmyblood · 3 years ago
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hey maca :)) I have sth that I’d love to hear your input on! (wall of text incoming so beware- I’m absolutely not mad if you don’t want to answer lmao). Basically it’s about how you portray women in your works and to what extent you see that portrayal mirrored in the canon books. I have noticed that a lot of writers tend to go a traditional route with for example daughters not being heirs like you also mentioned in an answer for a wtsioa ask on here. Considering the cultures Vere and Akielos are based on that’s obviously very logical and a lot of authors (including you) make it work fantastically! Yet personally I never got the vibe of Vere and Akielos being as patriarchal in canon, mostly because the Information we get is kind of confusing. On one hand damen is a walking manosphere (and. all of Akielos in general as well) without any prominent female figures in his life but on the other hand damen only ever speaks appreciatively of for example the female vaskian warriors. Both countries seem to ban women from the army yet Damen also refers to a warrior queen. The regent is a total misogynist but with the wording Laurent uses it almost seems like that is more the exception and not the general rule of veretian court life. Both countries also have ties to Vask, an exclusive matriarchy and Akielos is said to be similar to Patras which Pacat has stated is also partly a strong matriarchy due to vaskian occupations in the past. I could go on for a lot longer but I guess that damens overall positive attitude towards women and especially stereotypically spoken masculine women is what sticks out the most to me. It just seems kind of misplaced in a world that supposedly is as sexist as the original cultures from our world. Which is why I’d say both countries do have gender roles but are overall a lot more egalitarian than their respective real world og cultures. But that’s only my take and I’d love to hear more on what others think about the portrayal of women in canon and how they chose to portray it in fanfiction. Love you and your new work, hope you’re doing well❤️
HELLO!!! Thank you for asking me interesting stuff :, ) you always have the best questions and my sad little inbox is open to you any time, friend. I divided this into parts, so:
My portrayal of women: I need to work on this a lot lmao. I’m not proud of any female character I have ever written for this fandom, and I’m also not proud to say I struggle horribly when it comes to writing female OCs, especially if the story is not about a female character that is a literal projection of me. Or Bella Swan (yes, Twilight literally shaped my sad little brain and the way I write and consume fiction).
Authors writing female characters in a “traditional” way (for fantasy settings): I can’t speak for other authors but I definitely think, in my case, that using the “it’s a patriarchal society, women have no rights, women can’t be heirs, etc.” blueprint is a matter of being lazy. It’s quick, and easy, and it’s been done before so we all know how it works and a) it’s unlikely that you’ll mess it up (in the plot hole kind of way) and b) it’s obvious that most readers know how the usual system works and so you don’t have to spend paragraphs or even chapters explaining it to them. I am very lazy when it comes to world-building for fics. Why? Because when I’m writing fanfiction I don’t give two shits about the world, I just care about the characters doing Things and having Feelings. The moment you start to question these issues (a society where women can join the army, where they can be heirs, where maybe they can have multiple husbands, etc.) a billion issues arise because it’s not the “usual way” and so you’ll have to deal with “unusual problems”. See: plot holes, info-dumping, etc.
Vere and Akielos in canon: I think the books get very, very confusing at times when it comes to gender roles in that specific world. They also get very confusing about how royalty works, in my opinion. So:
Damen never mentions female influences in his life, not even nannies or wetnurses or anything. He mentions past queens and his mother, but even then… It’s always struck me as “what the actual fuck” that we get no information on Egeria. In TSP, he doesn’t even read as curious to me, especially when I think of that line that goes something like “oh, well, he’d never asked how tall she was”.
Then you have Jokaste, who is highborn and also… perhaps trained in politics? It’s unclear to me if she’s ever been directly involved in meetings or been an active member of the Council or even been allowed to study these issues. Clearly, she’s smart and capable and cunning, but like… how? Did she have private tutors? Is she a self-made woman? Like, what’s up with that? Are women allowed to engage in public politics? Are they allowed to be kyroi?
IMO, Damen complimenting the female warriors in Vask has to do with how appreciative he is of war-related stuff. Like, he thinks people with his own qualities are neat. We see this time and time again in the books—having honor, being brave, respecting one’s family, protecting those who need protecting… He compliments these things when he sees them in others, especially in Laurent. Obviously one of the big changes in Damen as a character is that he goes from being daddy’s boy to being like “well, actually… maybe war isn’t always the answer, and maybe war isn’t always honorable”. The Vaskian warriors prove themselves worthy of praise in a “manly” way, if that makes sense. (In the same way, Laurent proves himself in the Okton, not so much to Damen but to other Akielons). So, in essence, War > Any issues he may have about women doing Stuff.
Don’t judge me for this but I can’t remember the Regent talking about women. Do you have any quotes about that? I feel like Book 1 is super rich when it comes to world-building stuff and yet it’s the book I remember the least. I know he obviously has a preference for boys and not girls, but I don’t recall him having interactions with Vannes or ladies at court? I’M SORRY I’M SO STUPID but I don’t own the book so I can’t exactly word search my way out of this one, and so instead of saying stupid stuff, I’m asking anyone reading this (lol, you and my mom probably) to please tell me what canon says on this issue.
Ties to Vask: Er, yeah, I mean… They’re clearly not at war with Vask and have some sort of economic deal (there are Vaskian pets in Arles? Which makes me wonder if they, like, buy them from Vask? Or if the pets are Vaskian and turn into pets in Vere? Slaves are not like pets so I don’t know?), BUT just because they have deals with this kingdom/are on good terms with the ruler does not mean they necessarily approve? Like, maybe they’re like “yeah, it’s weird they give women so much power, but also I need that silk/leather/WHATEVER, so I’ll shut up about that”.
“Akielos is said to be similar to Patras which Pacat has stated is also partly a strong matriarchy due to Vaskian occupations in the past.” Is this in the books or is this something she said in an interview/post-releasing the trilogy? I know in the books there’s a quote that Akielos and Patras are similar because they both have slaves, but other than that I can’t quite remember anything about Patras? Like, I don’t recall Pacat giving us extensive and thorough world-building on either nation, at all. Once again, I am asking you for more explanations on this because I literally don’t remember.
4. My opinion and a Stupidity Disclaimer: As I’ve said above, there’s a lot of stuff I don’t remember and so I’m not trying to preach to anyone reading this or even saying that I hold the truth about… anything. I’m answering questions as I see fit and asking more questions when I run out of answers.
I believe world-building is not one of Captive Prince’s strong points. I will not elaborate on this because this is already long enough but there is simply, in my opinion, not enough material to reach any solid conclusions when it comes to world-building questions such as the role of women in Vere and Akielos, how compulsory homosexuality affects the development of highborn men and women in Vere, exactly what makes Akielos’ view on women different from Vere’s (if there’s any difference at all), the history of gender roles in this world and how it’s evolved up until canon, how Lamen can solve the heir issue without recurring to, once again, “the usual stuff” (concubines, bastards, marriage to women, etc.). It’s clear from what I’ve read that Pacat has come a long way as a writer and that her new trilogy has a lot more in-depth explanations to world-building questions, but this is not the case with CP, and so I’m afraid my answer to most of this is “I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone can know for sure”.
Lastly, I think I struggle a lot with understanding the role of women in this universe because I simply did not see enough women doing stuff, so I don’t know what’s permitted, what’s unacceptable, what’s illegal, what is straight-up execution worthy, etc. This is not me complaining about the lack of female characters in CP, at all, which I know is contradictory to stuff I’ve said in the past (I answered a couple asks a year ago about how I’d wished we’d gotten Vannes’ POV or Jokaste’s POV in the short stories). I’ve changed my mind, and so I think Pacat is entitled to write whatever she wants, just like I’m entitled to talk shit about KR with any living soul who will listen lmao.
To end this on a spicy note, I think sometimes we consume the wrong media and then complain because it doesn’t have what we wanted. If you’re looking for a trilogy with strong, fleshed-out female characters, Captive Prince is not for you. If you’re looking for a trilogy on female struggles and, I don’t know, defying… the male gaze… Captive Prince is not for you. There are plenty of books out there that focus exclusively on female characters, featuring sapphic relationships, and dealing with gender issues. WHICH IS NOT TO SAY WE SHOULDN’T BE HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS. This is not about this particular question, but more about a lot of posts I’ve seen floating around… complaining about Pacat’s writing and the themes she didn’t explore.
If anyone has made it this far, thank you for reading, and know this is NOT me telling you what to think. This post is an open question that anyone can engage with, although I hope people will engage with this directly and on this platform, instead of… taking it somewhere else where I sadly can’t engage back! Unlike what happened with our awesome fat Laurent discussion, I will be replying to any questions I get on this (Note: I did not reply to most of those questions because a long time had passed and they were sort of repetitive).
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bettsfic · 4 years ago
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writing advice: make the climax the inciting incident
last night i read a fanfic that, idk, was so ashamed of what it was trying to be that it backed away from its own premise. like it was leading up to something really interesting and then all the characters stepped back and were like, yeah no nevermind. and that was it. that was the whole fic. and like, obviously every writer can do whatever they want with their fics, but i sensed that this was an issue of hesitation or trepidation on the author’s part, and not what they had actually sought out to do.
i’m also doing a significant amount of slush reading for a well-regarded short story contest. i’ve now read up to 50ish short stories and i’ve only given a pass to 3. for the most part these are very competently written stories, really solid at the line level. but most of them are trying so hard to be subtle and Realistic and clever that they’re just so fucking boring. nothing is particularly at stake, and the story isn’t rushing anywhere, just kind of meandering along until a conclusion. it’s not immediately apparent that the characters actually care about anything.
i notice this in many published novels, too. there will be some forward movement for the first half of the book but then once we get to that breaking midpoint, the tension just dissipates. i’ll be honest, i set down a significant number of novels at the halfway point. sometimes i go ahead and skip to the last 20 pages or so to see how it concludes, but that second act stretch? unbearable.
i used to think all of these situations at the same root problem: an absence of the illuminating moment. in a short story, it’s the moment that sheds light on the rest of the work and allows us to see it in a new way. in a novel, it’s evidence of character growth or change, some kind of breaking through, an epiphany. or maybe it’s more literal, like a fire or an explosion. 
the problem is, a lot of these stories i encounter that are good but not quite there yet do have an illuminating moment, a culminating moment, a climax. whatever you want to call it.
it’s just, by the time we get to it, if we bother to get that far at all, i still don’t really care about anything that’s happening. generally this is because what stands for the illumination is the only thing in the whole story that possesses some kind of consequence or direction. 
so, one of the most frequent pieces of feedback i give is this:
take the biggest moment of the story and make it the first thing that happens.
even just as a thought experiment. what if the climax becomes the inciting incident? how does that raise the stakes of the story? how might it drive your characters into more elevated states of drama, desperation, need? how does that elevated state expose their true colors?
if your climax is like, the end of the world or whatever, maybe this won’t work. but i do think it’s worth thinking about how you can present your character with a moment that possesses natural consequences very early in the story. for a short story, the first page. for a novel, the first chapter. what matters to them? what are they obsessed with? what do they care about so much they’ll perish if they don’t obtain it?
obviously stories are more complicated than this. characters don’t always know exactly what they want. characters can be self-sabotaging, unreliable, wishy-washy, etc. but you, the writer, can box them into corners, shove them toward an uphill climb, or better yet, push them off a cliff. 
very often, i think we have to write the lowkey draft in order to find the big moment. so i don’t want you to stare down a blank page and think like, damn i gotta head off with an explosion. it doesn’t work like that. you have to meander a bit while you write. discover the world and the characters. and then, if what you’ve written is Just Okay, you can rewrite it, and elevate the work by putting the end at the beginning. 
so don’t shy away from the drama of the story. i would rather read a story veering toward cheesiness and melodrama than one that resembles a dead fish. at least with cheesy/campy/cringey things, characters care about stuff. 
tl;dr please, i am begging you,
go all in.
my carrd | writing advice masterdoc
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tedturneriscrazy · 3 years ago
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Another Saturday, another episode! Let's take a look at Keeping Up A-fear-ances!
(Good lord I'm starting to make myself sound like some sort of content creator)
Oh, okay, we're just starting at that level of intensity, huh?
Chest gem origins
Gwendolyn not being satisfied with managing the curse and determined to cure it? I'm sure this won't be a real world allegory in the slightest.
Oh, so Eda literally just stumbles upon the portal? I could call that contrived, but honestly it's not dissimilar to how Dipper found Journal 3. For that matter, the entirety of Lord of the Rings is predicated on an accidental discovery like this and nobody gave Tolkien shit about it.
Was the eye on the portal cracked in previous episodes? I don't remember.
Seems like Gwen is the "well-meaning but ultimately misguided" flavor of mom.
As an aside, I am now quite curious about how Eda's first trip to the human realm went. Maybe a future episode will cover it? At any rate, I smell a new favorite fic prompt.
The screaming alarms in the Demon Realm will never not be funny to me.
Also, that is a worrying number of hearts. Eda is straight up murdering these poor creatures.
For some reason the gold fang being removable never occurred to me as a possibility, and now I feel like a kid who's discovered that Santa isn't real.
Oh hey, the new outfit! I'm also impressed how close to symmetrical that tearing was.
I need to get a screencap of Luz sleeping on that stack of books because she is adorable.
Also, staying up all night researching? This season seems determined to completely eradicate the notion of Luz being dumb, and I am here for it.
I have a feeling the Hexside mug will be making its way to The Mystery Shack in the near future.
Lilith's first experience with transformation and she seems understandably horrified.
The curse acting stronger when stressed? That seems...important.
Ah, so the dismemberment is from the curse! A surprisingly useful side effect from what we've seen so far.
Can I just say that I appreciate how Eda's reaction to Lilith's first taste of transformation is immediate remedy, explanation, and reassurance? And doesn't make any snarky comments along the lines of "now you know what it's like?" Whatever happened in that week and a half must have been cathartic as hell.
"Always. Always curious." Luz is the TOH fandom.
(Also, Eda, you know she is, considering how much she went on about your "mysterious past" at the Covention)
"Magic bird tornado?!" Luz has a way with words that's just *chef's kiss*.
"Gwendolyn." Eda is already just fucking done.
"MOM?!?!" Jeez, Lilith, you're just now hearing all this?
I was charmed by how motherly Gwen was acting toward Eda, but then she kinda just...dismissed Lilith, and now I'm somehwat less charmed.
(Sweet flea as a term of endearment is kinda cute, though might have some unfortunate implications depending on how you want to interpret it)
"Who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" OH WE GOING FOR THE ANTI-VAXXERS NOW YESSSS
Luz and Lilith's reaction to that whole exchange is priceless.
Everyone's perspective here makes perfect sense for who they are and what they've been through.
Poor Lilith. Her cursing Eda is beginning to make more sense.
Ah, thus begins the collaboration.
"We'll be consulting someone very special." Why does that seem so...ominous?
Is there anyone who watched this episode for the first time whose bullshit detector didn't go off immediately when Gwen mentioned finding someone who promised a cure?
Heh, Palm Stings.
Nonbelievers will be blinded by the power of the tome? I'm sure they will be, Wartlop.
I must say, as something of a scientist myself (okay that's not true, I'm a QA tech for a food manufacturer, but I do have a chemistry degree), I am 100% here for the swings being taken at faith healing/"miracle" cures/anti-vaxxers in this episode
Oh, we Wile E. Coyote now, huh?
Also, interesting how much apple blood is being played up in this episode.
Lilith please you're projecting your mommy issues on a literal child
OH WE REALLY JUST WILE E. COYOTE HUH?
You're right, Luz, Gwen's bicep game is goals.
(Somewhat disappointed the scars are from questing and not beastkeeping, but eh)
Why do I get the feeling there's gonna be a future episode where everybody stages an intervention for Eda's apple blood problem?
"Those feathers mean we're driving the beast out" Gwen no
Hooty is holding the brain cell? Oh no...
If that ice cream came from the Night Market it would explain why Lilith sounds drunk.
(Side note: I can't be the only one getting flashbacks to Mermista's ice cream binge, right? Different context, but still)
"Abomi-berry" "Franken fruit" "Key slime pie" These are A+ flavor names.
Oh, there's the transformation...
I must say that whole segment kinda rubbed me the wrong way. The way King's opinion on his dad was changed seemed...I don't know how to describe it. I get that they needed a trigger for Lilith's transformation, but honestly if any part of the episode is contrived it's this.
"¡It really is that good!" So that's what an accent slip in written form looks like. (The upside down exclamation point is used in Spanish, in case anyone didn't know)
I keep half expecting Eda to say "Beep! Beep!" at this point.
Luz is finally asking questions. Took long enough.
Ah, the classic "moving the goal posts to extract more money from a desparate family member" technique.
Luz channeling Scorpion, we love to see it.
There is an exquisite irony in Eda's mom being scammed, I must say.
Ah, so that's where the elixirs went. Dammit, Gwen.
Luz is definitely thinking "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"
Beast!Lilith is massive.
"Sweet flea?" Gwen just realized she done goofed.
"I can see you still need a little time." God Luz is so fucking smart.
The con revealed.
OH DAMN SCARY MAMA
(Also I am terrified of bees/wasps, so extra scary mama in my book)
The scam is revealed, goblins, getting back into the Wartlop disguise is kinda pointless.
She joined the Beast Keeping coven entirely to cure the curse? That's dedication. A shame you couldn't have spared some of that for Lilith.
Still, I do like badass scary mama Gwen. I'd be down to see more of that.
Owl Beast fight!
I am slayed by the fact that the portraits are now officially a recurring gag 😂
Aw, here's The Moment™️
"My turn to drive" Does this imply cars are a thing on the Boiling Isles after all?
Lilith crying almost immediately💔 She was holding onto a lot of pain.
Yes, King, she was trying to do her best. I mean, road to hell or whatever, but at least Gwen got there in the end.
WHAT?! YOU'RE BREAKING UP LULU AND HOOTCIFER?!?!?!?
Terrace, that's just cruel. (Worthless brownie points for whoever understands that reference)
No, seriously, you can't just give me my favorite inter-character relationship in the series after Lumity and just...take it away like that, come on! 😭😭😭😭😭😭
I know I should remark on how Lilith told Gwen about the circumstances of the curse, how Gwen rightfully accepted responsibility for the whole situation, and how Luz finds the big hair aspirational, but...NOOOO DON'T END THE ADVENTURES OF LULU AND HOOTCIFER WHYYYYYYYYY💔😭💔😭💔😭
"BUT I CAN'T HOLD A PEN!"
I will never emotionally recover from this.
Okay, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway...
Not the only human, huh? Cue the "Belos is a human" theorists going into maximum overdrive.
That said, a tantalizing lore dump.
We certainly do have a lot of garbage. Some of it even holds office. HEY-O!
Setting up the next episode, too. Continuity!
Camp's over, huh? That means it's been three months.
Way to misdirect with Camila, guys. That said, we have now seen Camila cry and I HATE it. (In the right way, I think)
WHAT THE FUCK
HOLY SHIT
CREEPY LUZ IS REAL WHAT
OWJEIWHQGIWWOPQ
(It's hard to keysmash on a phone, even with autocorrect off)
That wraps it up! The flaws in this episode seem more pronounced than any others in the season so far, but the good stuff was really good! Overall a solid episode! I know everybody's looking forward to library Lumity in the next one (so am I), but I'm personally eager to see what they do with Gus. His part is the A plot, after all.
Anyway, I'll be back at this next week! Still hard to believe this is a thing, but that's life, I guess.
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Collapse- Prompt Fill
Jon is a Dune fan. How can picking up one book change things? Idea from a tumblr prompt and a post by @roseunspindle (permission was granted for writing this)
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cw all the typical episode 160 stuff and references to nausea and of course manipulation and fainting. Some dialogue from 160, and a quote from Dune, of course!
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I am still accepting bingo prompts (card by @celosiaa​) Pick a prompt from the card and a character and let me know if you want art of fic! (I am much faster at art). I have several outlined that I need to write, and I will get to those... Soonish?  Have an excellent day and I hope 2021 treats you well!
Jon isn’t sure why he grabbed the book.  He’s read it before so it doesn’t hold the same interest it once did.   He had to work on that reading habit of his in school, and now he’s managed a few rereads, but he still prefers the unknown and interesting.
But he did love this book when he read it.  He was too young for it, of course.  But that hadn’t mattered.  He sucked the whole world into his young and greedy mind.  
And now that glossy, second hand cover.... makes him pause over it.  He doesn’t know how it survived evictions and his absences.  He must have subconsciously stored it out of the way.  But he grabs it, with a few statements, and his small collection of clothes into a very battered backpack that he’s sure once belonged to Melanie.  
He wishes he had more books.  Maybe once he and Martin reach the train station, he can pick up something else to read.  Or maybe he can borrow some books from Martin….
He stuffs Dune into his backpack.  It’s on the top, distending the fabric slightly, straining the zipper as his grandmother had always reprimanded him for when he shoved too many pleasure books into his school bag, (always to read under the desk and he was always inevitably caught and reprimanded again, but what could you do with an inattentive student who still pulled good marks?).  
He boards the train with Martin.  Battered and aging backpacks filled with worn clothes and statements and books and granola bars.  The station had been loud and busy enough to send Jon reeling with the information spilling off a crowd of people as well as the less eldritch sensory overload.  His head aching dully as they settle into their seats.  
Medicine for motion sickness sends him drowsy as soon as it is effective.  He spends the time before it works staring queasily out the window, clammy hands holding tightly to Martin as much to sooth his uneasy stomach as to hold Martin in this plain of reality.  He nods off, hands still clasped with Martin’s.  Wrapped up in the elation of having Martin with him, around him, talking to him…. almost safe.  
He wakes up in a storm of hurried breaths and crashing thoughts…. precarious as the crashing waves that haunted the lonely, but far closer and more oppressive.  Statements tumbling with his own crashing thoughts.  Fear on his breath.  His fear making him Hungry in the nauseous way of autocannibleism.  
He presses his face into Martin, only just then realizing that he’s been using Martin as a pillow.   Martin, who is dozing.  Martin, who is still a little foggy.  The last of the haze burning off with the contact.  Jon can see the steam rising between them, mainly and gentle.  The sun burning the fog off a meadow in the early morning.  
Jon sits himself up, but stays pressed against Martin.  The imprint of Jon slowly thawing Martin as the train gently sways them both.  
Jon doesn’t want to sleep more.  He would much prefer to read, but it is still more than a bit of a gamble for him to even medicated.  But…. he’s bored.  
Dune.  
Right on the top of his bag.  Leaning over starting to make him queasy (which doesn’t bode well for reading attempts), he pulls it out and straightens up.  
He turns it over in his hands a few times, until his stomach settles.  He’s fine.  Just a few more minutes before the medicine works… probably anyhow.  
He flips through the pages, still waiting for his breathing to calm as well.  
Oh.  
He remembers this words… in a half remembered haze of childhood and tracing those words on his limbs and his walls.  With his eyes, and markers, and pencils.  On the inside of his eyelids.  Carved into the air about his bed as he repeated them to himself.  
‘I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.’
Reading those words again makes his hands shake like they had when he first read them… with Mr. Spider fresh in his nightmares.  Still missing the life he could never have with his parents.  
Jon fumbles for a pen.  
He traces them again on his forearm.  
Poorly written, of course.  Hands far from steady with the rocking of the train and the rocking of his stomach and the rolling of his world after the day he’s had.  But he is once more too tired to focus on anything much, so he tucks his book away again, and shoves the pen in his pocket.  
He tucks himself up against Martin again, using an old jumper as a blanket.  He knows he is taking a bit of a liberty, but he buries his face in Martin’s neck and breathes deeply.  He’s asleep again in moments.  
The trip isn’t eventful.  Lots of track clicking past.  Lots of drowsy hours.  A disappointing sandwich and a tasteless cup of tea.  Jostled shoulders.  Cramped restrooms.  Cramped necks.  Jon’s bad leg protesting the seating arrangements.  Then the slightly uncomfortable walk to the safe house.  Weighed down with hasty shopping and their lumpy bags.  Jon limping more heavily by the time they drag themselves over the threshold.  
In the domestic bliss, time stretches.  Lazy afternoons on the couch Jon and Martin entwined stretch into years in the golden light of afternoon.  Two weeks of cups of tea.  Of trips to the store.  Of statements that Jon goes through way too fast, try as he does to ration them.  Frantic phone calls to Basira as Jon can’t make the trip to town anymore.  More cuddling on the couch.  Bickering over who does the dishes, over who makes the best eggs.  Over what to have for dinner.  Discussions of what counts as a sandwich and whether cereal is a soup.  Jon being appalled that Martin eats cereal from the box directly with a spoon.  Martin being horrified that Jon eats dry cereal from a bowl with a glass of milk.  Playing footsie through dinner.  “Yes Martin, another soup.  Means less cooking.”  Sloppy kisses over glasses of wine.  Jon being too dizzy to go on walks.  Jon retracing Frank Herbert’s words on to his arm.  Over.  And over.  And over again.  
“I must not fear…”
“I must not fear…”
“I must not fear…”
“I must not fear…”
Until a package arrives.  
It’s unassuming and labeled in Basira’s careful penmanship.  If Jon expects to see tear-staines over a lost partner, he doesn’t see them.  
Martin kisses him soundly, and leaves to take pictures of good cows.  
Jon has been tucked up on the couch.  Under a thick blanket.  Finally in better spirits now that he has statements again, ready …so ready for his limbs to feel like his again.  
He tastes copper as he started to read.  The words don’t sit right in his mouth.  Before he can even properly start… before his mind is lost to him, he can feel the wrongness building.  And when the betrayal occurs, he can’t find it in him to be surprised or hurt.  All he can feel is a hollow fear…. a hungry fear.  Gaping and endless.  Tearing into his skin as he tears at his clothes, his skin, the statement that does not belong to Hazel Rutter and has nothing to do with a fire.  Aside from the fire in his throat and in his hand, and leaping from mark to mark as Jon learns what they actually are.  A map of manipulation.  A tool to make the actual tool.  The wood and hammer and nails that make him the door.  The door that he… that he.  “ Come to us in your perfection.                         
                                                                                               Bring all that is fear and all that                    
                    is terror and all that is the awful                    
                    dread that crawls and chokes and                       
                    blinds and falls and twists and                        
                    leaves and hides and weaves and                        
                    burns and hunts and rips and bleeds                    
                    and dies!                                              
                                                                                               Come to us.                                            
                                                                                               I-“
“I…”  Jon chokes.  His eyes sliding helplessly over the room.  Over many tokens of a happy life that he is never going to have.  Because of this…. this… he can’t even call it a betrayal.  His entire life has lead to this.  Every unhappy moment.  Every instinct he has ever had.  Every poor choice.  Every step another step towards the inevitable.  His eye catches on a familiar cover.  Somehow still glossy.  Despite Jon having carried it around like a safety blanket for the last few weeks.  And he catches those smudged and traced over words on his arm and he tears at himself, trying to stop.  
“I…”
He chokes again.  Around those last few words.  The words that will wrench the thunder from the sky and rend it asunder.  
“I…”
He breathes.  Possibly for the first time since his hands ghosted over the unassuming manilla folder.  
“‘I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.’”
His vision cuts out.  He must have stood at some point, because he is falling.  Stings cut.  Nothing to manipulate.  The puppet is broken.  
He wakes with a head full of cotton, but a heart devoid of fear.  There is a clarity in his limbs.  But exhaustion sits heavily on his chest.  He feels… clear.  And real.  And… like utter shit.  
But the arms around him are solid and warm and smell like tea and toast and all the good things Jon can think of in the world.  And even if Jon could bring himself to move… he wouldn’t have dreamt of doing so.  
There is burnt ink in the air.  
“Wha’?”  Marble-mouthed.  Heavy with the exhaustion of years of poor sleep, of running and fearing and the adrenaline crash of something horrifying being…over.  
“It’s alright, Jon.  Everything’s fine.  I…. I don’t know how you did it, but you stopped reading… and I burned it.  It’s gone.  We’re okay.”  
And Jon isn’t sure he understands…. but he doesn’t care.  Because he is not afraid, and Martin told him that everything is okay.  And he thinks… just Maybe.  Just… maybe… that it might be.  
He lets himself be tucked in.  He lets himself sleep.  
Jon takes up calligraphy.  He hates it.  Utterly despises it… but he becomes decent enough to write one thing for their mantel.  In the safe house.  Miles away from fear and Jonah Magnus… if the bastard is even still alive…  
Framed in gold, traced out in neat and flowing calligraphy:
‘I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.’ - Frank Herbert, Dune.  
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sunriseverse · 4 years ago
Note
rec listtttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
fair warning there’s a lot of different fandoms here—i have, uh. twenty-two pages of bookmarks. lots of newmann though, i promise. in no particular order, i give you a fic rec list
the future’s owned by you and me by kaiyen (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 7k, Not Rated)
Years after they stopped writing each other, Newt and Hermann run into each other on the steps of Cambridge University Library. Quite literally.
 Newt stares at him, expecting more. He doesn’t get any. “Come on, man, who are you? Maybe I’ve read something.”
 I doubt it, Hermann barely catches himself from saying. “Gottlieb. Hermann Gottlieb.”
 And Newt looks like he’s struck oil. “Oh my god,” he says, and something flickers behind his eyes, like there’s more than just recognition there, and before he can wonder any more about what it is, Newt blurts, “Oh my god!” and Hermann flinches and makes a face like a disgruntled frog.
What you can expect: emotions, opprotunities missed, and opprotunities taken. I absolutely adore this fic, though I might be biased by the fact that it has Newt as bipolar, and that’s something I always crave (more bipolar Newt fic when???).
Survival is for Nerds by Annabeelee (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 46k, Teen and Up)
It's three hundred and two years after humanity lost to the Kaiju and two hundred and twenty one since the Kaiju left. Not that it matters to Hermann. In relation to following a neurotic genetic experiment across whats left of the Northern American continent while dodging alien predators and hostile subgroups of humans, its possibly the least helpful thing to keep in mind.
What you can expect: scifi, tension, and a very intersting world. Post-apocalyptic, technically, but the way it’s written makes it almost hopeful. I love how the setting and writing makes it feel like a blend between victorian steampunk and futuristic in tone.
people can surprise you (or not) by pdameron (James Bond, James Bond/Q, 10k, Teen and Up)
“I’m not you, Bond. I don’t exactly have a technique for getting rich strangers to like me.”
“Just do your naive cute puppy thing, and they’ll be doting on you in no time,” Bond replies as he pulls up to the grand estate.
“My what?” Q asks incredulously. Bond doesn’t answer, simply giving him an indulgent smile. The fucker.
(or: 00q meets Gosford Park. Except not really.)
What you can expect: humour, murder, and some light espionage. Also, fake dating.
Infinite Distance by lachatblanche (X-Men, Erik Lensherr/Charles Xavier, 7k, Teen and Up)
When they encounter an unfamiliar and seemingly-abandoned ship in the middle of nowhere in space, Captain Charles Xavier of the spaceship Graymalkin heads out to investigate.
What you can expect: drama! Intruige! It’s set in space! I read this a while ago but I have memories of it being rather riveting despite the relatively short length.
Gertrude’s Goulash by lollzie (Gotham, Edward Nygma/Oswald Cobblepot, 7k, General Audiences)
Ed needs a new roommate. Oswald needs a room. Oswald may just be the most amazing person Ed has ever met. Shame he's not single. Cue wooing via the medium of cooking.
What you can expect: pining, misunderstandings, obliviousness, and a lot of goulash as a method of romancing.
Death Of The Author by happygolovely (Gotham, Edward Nygma/Oswald Cobblepot, 9k, Mature)
Edward Nygma was never intended to be anything more than a secondary character.
The Riddler demands otherwise.
What you can expect: a story within a story within a story. You think you have it figured out, and the next moment the carpet is yanked out from beneath you. Fairly dark, possibly disturbing, but my goodness if it’s not engaging.
we make our friends, we make our enemies by ORiley42 (Mission: Impossible, Benji Dunn/Ethan Hunt, 52k, Teen and Up)
Benji finds out he has a new neighbor. This new neighbor happens to be off-the-charts hot. Hijinks, friendship, more-than-friendship, and secret agent drama ensue.
What you can expect: pining. There’s spy stuff going on too, and it eventually gets brought up, but my gods, the pining. Also, it’s fucking hilarious, and, at just over fifty thousand words, the perfect read when you’ve got an hour or two and you want something that’ll make you both laugh and cry.
Self-Sabotage by EmilyweepsforPilfrey (James Bond, James Bond/Q, 2k, Teen and Up)
For some reason, whenever he's alone with Bond, the most ridiculous things come out of Q's mouth.
Or 'the one where Q accidentally invents a girlfriend'.
What you can expect: Q being an utter idiot. It’s hilarious. Nice quick bite of humour if you fancy it.
The Long Con by harleygirl2648 (Hannibal, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, 19k, Teen and Up)
There are two kinds of cons: long and short. Short cons mean short-term gain, with smaller rewards, mostly just everything you have in your pocket at that moment. Long cons mean lots of time, effort, costumes, masks, props, sets, and other characters all looking to set up the downfall of the mark and take them for all that they've got.
Con Artist/Thieves AU: Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter are both interested in acquiring a Botticelli, but both of them are quite fond of each other's short games. For both of them, it's the deception and thrill of the game that's worth more than the payout.
And well, after all, aren't the easiest people to scam are those who think they are smart enough to not get scammed?
What you can expect: no cannibalism, a lot of banter, and, of course, con artistry. Quite delightful if I do say so myself.
deus ex machina by coloredink (Hannibal, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, 26k, Teen and Up)
"What the hell?" said Katz.  "Is that--"
"Yeah, I know, it's kinda flashy."  Will shut the car door behind him and patted his pockets for the little fob to lock the car.
"Isn't that Hannibal Lecter's car?"
The car beeped to indicate it was locked.  "Yeah, I guess so."  Will walked away, toward the field, Katz on his heels.  "I needed a new car."
"So you bought the cannibal car?"
-----
You asked for it: the one where Hannibal is a murderous self-driving car.
What you can expect: what it says on the tin. Quite funny, especially with the element of magical realism meaning Hanni-car is sentient. The Hannigram is more vaguely implied than an actual thing, owing, probably, to the fact that Hannibal is, well, a car.
adapt, evolve, become. by peupeugunn (Alex Rider, Gen, 3k, Not Rated)
“This is how you get out. You're slowly moving towards a desk job.” A pause, then, “you know, most people do it the other way around.” Alex chuckles softly and and shuffles towards him to lean against his shoulder, burrowing into the crook of his neck. Ben’s arm winds around him, shields him from the world, a solid weight on his back. “You're going to miss the adrenaline rushes, kid.” There's something almost sad in his voice. Alex doesn't want to understand why. Down that road lies madness. 
What you can expect: a character study, in a bit of a roundabout way.
A Sharp Dressed Man by Avelera (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 12k, Teen and Up)
Hermann's latest book needs an author photo. However, when he's given a makeover and a suit that actually fits for the photo shoot, his appearance is so transformed that Newt mistakes him for his (much hotter) older brother, Dietrich.
Hermann decides to play along.
What you can expect: gods this fic is so good. It’s the first Newmann fic I ever read, and I’ve reread it a good six times since 2018. I would say more, but I think the fic speaks for itself.
Gestures by Actually_Crowley (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 7k, Teen and Up)
Newton finds out what Hermann does with his rare free time, but the discovery leads him to believe that Hermann honestly and unequivocally hates him. 
What you can expect: the rituals are fucking intricate. I love this fic so so so much. And the eventual reveal/confession...scream.
Fate’s Horrifying Ways (also known as: CHRISTMAS GODZILLA) by linearoundmythoughts (Pacific Rim, Newton Geislzer/Hermann Gottlieb, 4k, Teen and Up)
Your name is Newton Geiszler and you’re going to have to break things off with your sort-of online boyfriend because you’re cheating on him. Sort of. [AKA the most dramatic summary of a humorous crackfic ever ok]
Originally written for the Pacrim Secret Santa back in 2014.
What you can expect: first off, it’s not second person, I promise. It is, though, really fucking funny, owing to the misunderstandings that ensue. There’s much pining, some angsting, and, of course, humour.
Letters From Berlin by spenshi (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 12k, Teen and Up)
Newton keeps in touch with his family when he's shipped off to the Shatterdome. Jacob and Illia send care packages to the K-Science Lab. 
What you can expect: Geiszler-family feels. A lot of them. Also, Newt and Hermann slowly growing closer to until they can finally admit they’re into each other.
Wishbone by cypress_tree (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 8k, Teen and Up)
Hermann doesn't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving, so Newt invites him over for food, family, and a little bit of flirting.  Just a warm, fuzzy college AU to get you through the holidays. 
What you can expect: fluff, softness, general feel-good fic. It’s really good, and it has Geiszler-family feels. Reading this fic is a bit like drinking hot cocoa on a cold day.
next days by catbeans (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 5k, Teen and Up)
Hermann had never felt an ache quite like this one, and he had felt plenty. He had been running on adrenaline first, and then on the necessity to keep running, pain and bone-deep exhaustion falling to such a low priority that he couldn't even consider it one anymore, and then it had stopped.
(the 18 hour nap date these guys deserve)
What you can expect: Newt and Hermann cuddling. A lot. That’s really it, that’s the fic. It’s 100% indulgent and I love it for that.
Tebori by SkysongMA (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 7k, Not Rated)
Newt squints. "It's really not a sex thing? 'Cause I'm not opposed to it being a sex thing, mind you. I just don't want to come in the lab tomorrow and not get to throw things at your stupid face."
Hermann lets out an endless, long-suffering sigh. "It's really not a sex thing, Newton, honestly. We hate each other. That's worked out very well for us so far, and it will continue to work out for us in the future." He doesn't mention that they haven't always hated each other and that, at one point in their long relationship, showing up unannounced at Newton's door for the purpose of sexual favors would not have been so far out of the realm of possibility. Had been, in fact, one of those things Hermann had considered late at night long ago, when he couldn't go a week without a fat envelope in the mail full of Newt's ramblings.
But that was quite some time ago, and he means it. They each get more work done than they would ever have separately, even if only because they like to rub their progress in the other's face.
Anyway, admitting anything different would just give Newt ammunition
What you can expect: Newt gives Hermann a tattoo. There’s a lot of feels.
Newt Inherits a Bar by orphan (Pacific Rim and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 11k, Not Rated)
The scary part is the bar looks exactly like Newt remembers.
What you can expect: you’ll probably tear up a bit. This one hits pretty hard, honestly, but it’s so, so, so good.
First a Darling, Then a Marvel by isozyme (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 20k, Mature)
Newt runs a simulation given three constraints:
1: Newt wants to clone a kaiju 2: Hermann does not want Newt to clone a kaiju 3: Newt is going to clone a kaiju anyway
What you can expect: a lot of sciencing, a lot of feels, and two repressed idiots. There’s like, a paragraph or two of smut but it’s pretty clear when it’s going to happen so it’s easy to skip, which is great. The tl;dr of this fic is Newt clones some kaiju, Hermann reminds him how fucking horrible of an idea that is, and everything more or less works out in the end.
Tea and Sympathy by osprey_archer (Torchwood, Owen Harper/Ianto Jones, 13k, Teen and Up)
Soon after Jack's disappearance, Owen takes sick. Ianto goes to check on him.
What you can expect: crabby doctors, put-upon Welshmen, and a fuckton of emotions that everyone is trying to ignore. Not particularly happy, but then, when is Torchwood ever? It’s good while it lasts, though.
Pareidolia by hal_incandenza (Pacific Rim and The Black Tapes Podcast, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 102k, Mature)
It starts as a profile of paranormal investigator and professional skeptic Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. But it seems the further journalist Newt Geiszler delves into his cases, the more mysterious Dr. Gottlieb becomes. What is he hiding? What is he looking for? What is the truth? What is the difference between a journalist's idea of truth, and a scientist's?
Seeing is not believing. Believing is believing.
What you can expect: suspense, mystery, horror, pining, and apocalypse cults, with a dash of an ambiguous ending. I love this fic so much. I literally would stop what I was doing to read it when I got an alert that there was an update when it was still a work in progress.
Meet Me There Across The Water, And We’ll Start An Endless Storm by Skepticamoeba (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 35k, Teen and Up)
Hermann, an honorably discharged veteran has retired to continue working as a Keeper at a Lighthouse. It is perfectly solitary, and with little in the way for incidents. Newton is the sailor that washes up on the seashore after a summer storm.
[Late 19th century Lighthouse Keeper AU--or the one where Hermann was an aspiring artist whose dreams got a bit derailed, and Newt is the sailor that needs to learn to take his time with things.]
What you can expect: the pining........the intricate rituals............the denial.........*chef’s kiss*
and I couldn’t whisper when you needed it shouted by Lvslie (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 24k, Teen and Up)
He still smells like Newt; bears traces of his recent nearness. Clothes sleep-wrinkled from the proximity, from the way Newt’s ankle has during the night hooked around the calf of Hermann’s good leg and dragged his whole body seamlessly closer. Cheek half-flushed from the face unconsciously nuzzled his into the side of Hermann’s neck—evidence of his presence, fast asleep, as Hermann lay still and fretful for hours an end, staring at the ceiling and feeling sick with wanting.
[An early 20th century AU inspired loosely by Maurice and Age of Innocence.]
What you can expect: wistfulness, pining, repression, denial, lots of feelings. You’ll probably tear up. There’s an achingly happy ending for both of them. This is one of the fics I want a hard copy of so I can mark it up because, fuck, I love it so much.
leave the car running by Macremae (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 1k, Teen and Up)
It is clear that, after everything, Newt doesn't like to be touched. 
What you can expect: touch starvation, mutual pining, Newt finally getting the human contact he deserves. I wrote my own version of this since it was initially a prompt, but quite frankly, I like Newton’s version better because it hits.
The Man Who Invented Sherlock Holmes by Calais_Reno (Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, 15k, Teen and Up)
John Watson, struggling young doctor, doomed to live an ordinary life, dreams of writing detective fiction. If he can just figure out his hero's name, the story will practically write itself.
What you can expect: Watson sort of, kind of, maybe invents a man into being. Oops. I haven’t read this one in a while but I remember it being quite a lot of fun. There’s elements of what I would say is probably magical realism, but it’s never quite clear.
Newton Isn’t Dead by Macremae (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb and Vanessa Gottlieb/Karla Gottlieb, 32k, Mature)
Newton Geiszler is currently being possessed by a genocidal alien race known as the Precursors. They’ve taken over his body, leaving him a prisoner in his own mind. However, Newt has a totally awesome plan. He’s going to make a deal with them: let him prove that Earth is worth saving, and if he can’t do that, they can have his body. But convincing a hivemind full of mega-colonizers that one blue planet can be wonderful isn’t going to be easy. He’s going to need the help of his kind-of-ex Hermann, his best friend Vanessa, and one awesome Footloose remake to pull this off.
So, naturally, they go on a road trip.
What you can expect: pining, world-saving, eventual confessions and happy endings. I had the great honour of reading the chapters before they were published, and this fic is one of my top five favourite fics. There were multiple points where I yelled, both literally (quietly) and through text (slightly less quietly).
it takes time, but time moves slow by prettydizzeed (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 2k, Teen and Up)
Hermann conducts a cost-benefit analysis every class period of sitting in the back of the lecture hall versus walking down the stairs to the front. He wishes he had hard data for this, to get some actual statistics, and perhaps after a while, if he records his pain level and his ability to read the board and pay attention after each class, he will be able to predict the outcomes given either choice on a particular day.
Two curves, traveling in opposite directions, inversely proportional: pain goes up, concentration goes down. It’s comforting, somewhat, to make it a numbers game. Impersonal. Absolute. Not a tragedy, and not his doing, only his to interpret, a smudged scrawl across his left knee in an unfamiliar handwriting, his to analyze, to decrypt.
What you can expect: the fic may only be 2k, but it will leave you feeling like you were punched. It’s fantastic.
I Could Be Jew-ish For You by Macremae (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 10k, Teen and Up)
When Hermann agrees to spend Chanukah with his family in an attempt to wheedle some desperately-needed funding out of his father, Newt insists that he shouldn’t face Lars alone and tags along as his “emotional support family rage distraction”. What they fail to realize are two things: 1. When Hermann brings Newt with him to the festivities, assumptions will be made, and 2. Newt may be half-Jewish, but he sure wasn’t raised as one. 
What to expect: fake dating fake dating fake dating— (can you tell I have a favourite trope?) In which Newt is Jew-ish, Hermann is both exasperated and pining, Lars is disliked, and we all get the Jewish romcom we deserve.
It Was Love At Second Sight by rednights (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 35k, Teen and Up)
Hermann receives the first letter when he is eighteen years old.
or: Kaiju don't attack the Earth, but Hermann and Newt still write letters, botch their first meeting, and fall in love, not necessarily in that order.
What you can expect: feels. So many fucking feels. There’s no kaiju but that doesn’t mean you won’t be on the edge of your seat.
hello my old heart by firebirdsuite (The Magnus Archives, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, 15k, Teen and Up)
Peter’s wrong, of course. When it’s all over, Martin does still want to tell Jon everything. It’s just—well, there’s a few things they need to work through first before they can get there.
Martin and Jon find each other again in Scotland.
What you can expect: tenderness, domesticity, and love. The perfect trifecta.
the truth about me (and the truth about me) by danimagus (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 11k, Teen and Up)
Newton suffers from a bout of memory loss and is told Hermann is his fiancé.
Hermann plays along, to his endless shame.
What you can expect: two words: fake dating. Gods, I love this fic, as Mary can attest from how I unceremoniously started screaming at her about it in her tumblr messages the day of/after it was published. This fic is great because it subverts the trope a bit, and thus avoids issues of consent that may otherwise have occured.
speak right to my heart without saying a word by thekaidonovskys (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 13k, General Audiences)
“Your eyes. Your expression. Your smile. I’ve worked with you for ten years, Hermann, and words have never been our primary method of communication.” 
What you can expect: to be knocked the fuck out emotionally. This one hits pretty hard, and that’s what makes it so good.
Transducer by hal_incandenza (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 85k, Teen and Up)
“I need you to hide something for me.”
“Oh, excellent. Of course, Newton, please allow me to jeopardize my career. And yours as well. My pleasure. Do go on.”
“Yeesh, relax,” said Newton. “It’s a personal thing, not a work thing.”
“As if there is any division between the two,” Hermann snapped.
If only you knew, Newt thought.
What you can expect: intruigue, alien tech, light espionage. This fic will have your little nerd heart beating double-time. It’s very very good.
A Really Private Person by astolat (Person of Interest, Harold Finch/John Reese, 18k, Mature)
The end of the world started on a Wednesday in March. 
What you can expect: badassery on Finch’s part. One of the few fics I have bookmarked for this fandom, and it’s bookmarked for good reason.
Party For Two by ProblemWithTrouble (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 18k, General Audiences)
 “My mother’s parents have a home in the Black Forest that has a guest house. They’ve often allowed me to stay there when I could spare the time.” Hermann looked distant as if he were remembering something; the warmth of a fire and a nice book and the smell of freshly made tea. “It will be quiet, and possibly too boring for you-”
 “It won’t be. I could use some quiet after the decade we’ve had. I could actually compile my research. And sleep. It sounds amazing.”
After the world doesn't end Newt and Hermann take a vacation together to live in a cabin and finally relax, as friends. Cue the pining, the longing, and the living together as best friends.
What you can expect: a fic that will wrap you up like a warm blanket. Mutual pining, vacationing together in a cabin, lots of feels—what more can you want?
Dream Drifting by MooseLane (Pacific Rim and Inception, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 5k, General Audiences)
"You're running an extraction on that spastic PPDC biologist, is what I hear." Chau fixes him with a side-eye. "I know I wouldn't want to go poking around in that little bastard's head."
(There are not enough Inception x Pacific Rim crossover fics, so I decided to change that.)
What you can expect: Inception meets Pacific Rim. There’s no other way to say it, really.
I’ve Got Nothing To Do Today But Smile (The Only Living Boy In New York) by gyzym (Inception, Arthur/Eames, 19k, Teen and Up)
Arthur's a corporate lawyer, Eames owns the coffee shop across the street, and all good love stories start with a quadruple shot latte. 
What to expect: Arthur is stressed, Eames runs a coffee shop, and, through the power of friendship and a lot of stress-baking, everything works out happily for our intrepid protagonist.
Kalimat/كلمات  by rainbowagnes (The Old Guard, Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicolò di Genova, 3k, Teen and Up)
Yusuf translates medical texts for Niccolò from Greek and Persian into Arabic, and Niccolò spots the substratum of the ideas of the classical authors that he had once believed the basis of his own civilisation that he would go to the sword to defend, translated and passed down and sewn into a no longer foreign script. There are words Yusuf does not know how to translate. They will never, ever know all of the words. The prospect is thrilling. --- It takes Niccolò lifetimes to learn Arabic. 
What you can expect: if you, like me, are, especially natively, multilingual, this might hit the sweet spot of Language Feels. It did for me. Also, Joe calling Nicky hayati? Yeah.
i never liked that ending either by Macremae (Pacific Rim, Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb, 15k, Mature)
You want a better story. Who wouldn’t?    - Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out
Once upon a time Dr. Flick Tucker, K-Sci head of Biology, fought a bunch of highly scientific dragons to save the world. Then, they took over her life. It didn’t end well.
Once upon our time Dr. Newt Geiszler, marine biologist, sci-fi aficionado, and accidental discoverer of dimensional travel, got a chance to take her place. He has a couple of ideas.
In which Uprising is still a bad movie, musings on the nature of choice and personal autonomy are made, and somewhere, probably, a coin is showing heads every time.
What you can expect: everything’s fine this is a perfectly normal fic come here i want to cause you as much emotional damage as I can
Not Allowed by acedott (BBC Merlin, Gwen/Morgana, 1k, General Audiences)
Gwen has been dealing with self-imposed touch starvation since she was a child. Morgana sets out to challenge this. 
What you can expect: gays. Pining. Touch starvation. Need I say more?
Rocky Horror Pancake Show by ChuckleVoodoos (Daredevil, Matt Murdock/Franklin “Foggy” Nelson, 19k, Teen and Up)
Foggy falls asleep at exactly 12:00 AM, and he’s making a wish. He wakes up at 12:00 AM too—twenty-four hours before he fell asleep.
"Let's do the time warp again!"
What you can expect: Ground-hog Day style time-loop, lots of fluff, and a happy ending.
Ain’t No Nancy Kerrigan by cleverqueen (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Leonard Snart/Mick Rory, 13k, Teen and Up)
It's 1994, and young Lisa Snart's jumps aren't strong enough for an Olympic singles skater. Thankfully, her older brother has an athletic friend who can match her in pairs.
Mick Rory is hopelessly in love with Leonard Snart, though he'd never say anything about it, so he jumps at a chance to do Len's little sister a favor. If he's patient and works hard, maybe he'll even get to skate with her older brother.
What you can expect: pining, ice-skating, and general goodness. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it has a happy ending.
56 notes · View notes
itsmonobun · 3 years ago
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[compiling the answers i put to this thread here]
1. Who’s your main OC? What are they like?
i don't really have a main oc just the one (or few) i'm fixated on most which lately is robin (they/she) she's like the definition of super curious and eager to learn and explore! they're a newbie adventurer with the goal of seeing more of their world and honing their magic
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2. Does your OC have their own world and lore, or no?
all of my ocs do and most of them group off into separate worlds of stories. some interconnecting and others just short solo stories but overall yea! :D
3. Does your OC have a lot of edge? Be honest
nah! 😂 Robin's gotta be among some of my least edgy ocs and i appreciate them for that (tho their story isn't without it's sprinkles of angst 👀 gotta have balance somewhere)
4. How old is your OC? Are they mature, immature, or a mix of both?
I'd place robin in their 20's (probably 23/24) she can be mature for her age but like any person they have their moments so a pretty solid mix
i think it's safe to say a majority of my main cast ocs fall into their late teens or twenties 🤔 all the others who are either younger or older are either side characters or one off background characters
5. Does your OC have any love interests? If you have art of the ship, share it!
yes! folks who've followed my art for a while might've seen me draw them together often but Robin meets Dai (them/them) early on in her adventures and the two end up traveling together. there's a lot of mutual pining between the two so they're among my favorite oc ships
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6. Who is your oldest OC?
oof i've made so many but it's likely a close tie between these two: my earliest sonic oc jazz and my very old rp oc varona
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jazz in specific gets the highest points for being oldest oc because despite her being a sonic fan character i wound up putting her on a whole other planet apart from sonic's world, with it's own magical gems and a "unique" govt system and everything
girl was the blueprint for my elaborate oc world building and i'm actually sad i've lost most of the old notes and fics i wrote
7. Who is your newest OC?
he wasn't even meant to be a full oc but this guy, elias
he literally started out as my player character in a mobile game and i'm still fleshing him out but i'm attached 😭
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8. Who’s your least favorite OC to draw? Who’s your favorite?
i haven't got to properly drawing him yet but i know for a fact that i'm going to have issues with Sprig and his armor. meanwhile my most fave would have to be Aileen. granted i made their design simple on purpose but i've made up for it by giving her a big wardrobe
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9. Did any games, books, or shows inspire your OC? Which ones?
a looot a lot! anyone who knows me is aware of how big sonic has been an influence but a lot of slice of life and fantasy anime and games have fallen into the inspiration category as well
i'd be lying if i didn't say it's embarrassing listing off specifics but stuff like botw, nichijou, durarara, sao, unison league even this children's book i read once the miraculous journey of edward tulane all had some influence
10. How much like you is your main OC?
I'd say Robin and I are very similar in that we're really curious about the world around us wanting to learn more about others but also learn and grow ourselves
something about personal growth not just for oneself but also to help others or something
11. Are you making anything with your OCs (I.e. a game, comic, novel, etc.)?
my goal is to finish comics for all of my ocs and their story's though i wouldn't be opposed to the idea of making a game for some of them either i know i've got a lot planned but lol hopefully i can start somewhere
12. Do you have a crush on any of your OCs?
i think the only oc i've ever considered even vaguely crush-worthy would probably be Kiren tho it might be because the earliest concepts i had for him came from a dream i had 😭
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13. If all your OCs got in a fight, who’d win and why?
Robin or Spice and it'd be purely dependent on which part of Robin's journey they meet
Robin's due to become a pretty powerful mage (with strong fighting magic but also healing skills) meanwhile Spice can turn into a whole monster with scary destructive force and a lot of speed
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in the end it'd likely be a matter of who's got the most stamina so then it's a matter of how good Robin's mana control is and how long Spice can hold her monster form else wise she'd be made to rely on weapons where's she's less skilled
14. Is your OC a heyyyy person or a bruh person?
Robin is definitely a person who says "hiii"
15. Is your OC an introvert, ambivert, or extrovert?
Robin's an ambivert! She can be really good as socializing and making friends but big crowds and being surrounded by more than a handful of folks will drain their social battery pretty quick
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ashenpages · 4 years ago
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Current Fic Ideas & Emoji Voting Key
Quick disclaimer that I’m a romance writer in all aspects of the term, so most of my fics will contain mature content. Engage at your own risk, you know the rules, you’re responsible for curating your own experience of the internet, blah blah blah. This post serves as a current mock up of fic ideas I’m either actively working on or considering working on next. You can drop me an ask about any of them, or just vote via the emoji combo I’ve assigned them.
Voting lets me know you’re excited about an idea and makes it more likely I’ll actually work on it. You can vote anytime, there’re no deadlines or winner announcements, just me gauging your interest by what I see in my ask box most often.
You can also ask me about the original stuff I’m working on currently. The current WIPs are Medusa centric and the emoji for them is: 🐍
- Lupin: 🤑🤠💍  These are all oneshot ideas, between 5-15K each. If you want to vote for a specific idea, send me the emojis and the number of the idea. 
Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon always play rock-paper-scissors after a big heist to decide who’ll give the group a striptease, and who will get showered with money. Based on a piece of fanart that is basically this sequence of events in a 4koma (except in their version Jigen loses and in mine, it’s Goemon). (written, just needs editing)
Zenigata cuffs Lupin four times, and Lupin steals his heart. Very NSFW conclusion. Zenigata is the most caring lover you’ll ever find. Lupin is as thirsty as usual and twice as intense. (written, just needs editing)
Jigen protects Lupin from poison darts during a treasure hunt in an Aztec temple, and Lupin nurses him back to help--forcibly, since Jigen is a horrible patient. Born from my desire to spoil Jigen and talk about what ridiculous domestic husbands these two are. (WIP)
Born from the idea that Goemon and Zenigata probably couldn’t be an item, my brain decided to come up with how I could write for them. Goemon’s teaching an ikebana class as part of his training, and Zenigata shows up as a student on forced recreational leave for his health from the ICPO. Zenigata wins the samurai’s heart through flowers. But what happens when Lupin and Jigen find out? (Only good sexy things, I promise. These beans are in a healthy polycule--be gay, do crimes)
Trans!Lupin and Trans!Jigen premise: Jigen cares for Lupin after the master thief has top surgery, since Jigen has Been There and Done That. Caring, sweet, and a little sexy. Lupin is a much better patient than Jigen.
- Sonic Vampire Novelist Coffee Shop AU: 📚☕💐 
Shadow is an immortal vampire who has seen the world change for the worse too many times. These days it feels like he only lives for his coffee dates with Rouge, another immortal who loves each new era they encounter, warts and all. He has to admit that the book series she got him into speaks to him, at least. If someone in this era can understand him without meeting him, it can’t all be bad. But he hardly expected the goofy blue barista at the new coffee place to understand him the way those books do.
This is a novel length romcom romp with some big feelings about what it means to watch as things change, grow, and die. Expect lots of Big gothic feelings from this one, emotionally charged kissing, and overly-adoring sex. But also expect shenanigans from everyone in the coffee shop, which include Rouge, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and more.
- Sonic Blazamy: 💖🌸💎
Amy Rose has been in love with Sonic for a while.
Or has she?
When the Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver are trapped as the fuel sources for Doctor Eggman’s newest evil scheme, Amy teams up with Blaze, Rouge, and Cream to save them. With Sonic out of the picture and Amy fulfilling his role, was she ever really in love with him? Or did she just want to be like him?
This is a novel length epic romance with lots of competent women and lots of romantic Blazamy content. Expect flowery hopes and dreams, badass self-actualization, and glancing hand touches that give way to cuddly and sweet sex.
- Persona 5: 🗡🍛☕
After bringing down the Metaverse twice, Ryuji didn’t think graduating high school and figuring out what to do with his life would be so hard. Akira’s back in town, and the gang’s more-or-less all in Tokyo, but everyone else seems to have a plan while Ryuji just floats. How’s he supposed to change the world when he’s not a phantom thief anymore?
This is a novel length fic that addresses how powerless one can feel being just one person in the face of all the corrupted systems and bigotry the world has to offer. It’s about holding on to what you believe in, working through the doubt, and fighting your way to a better tomorrow with the power you do have. The whole gang is queer, featured relationships being Mako x Ann, Ryuji x Akira, Futaba & Yusuke as platonic life partners. Akira is polyamorous and omnisexual, Futaba’s asexual and aromantic while Yusuke is demisexual and very romantic, Makoto’s a lesbian, Ann and Ryuji are bi, and Haru’s pansexual, demisexual, and aromantic. They’re one giant band of queer Phantom Thieves, and even if they’re not really doing the Metaverse thing anymore, they’re still gonna save the world!
Also, I’m gonna make Makoto not a cop. That super didn’t age well. Zenkichi and his boss can work on making them better/abolishing them for other better organizations.
- Hades Game: ❤️‍🔥💀
Oneshot. I just really need to elaborate on the threesome you can have with them in-game, okay? Healthy and canon poly relationships are so few and far between, so often I have to do a ton of groundwork to explain why it’s working in the fic, but NOT WITH THESE KIDS!
Get ready for Meg helping Zag and Than be better at expressing their feelings, lots of kissing, and probably pegging.
- Castlevania Animation Trevor/Sypha/Alucard: 🧛🏰🛌 
Castlevania gave Alucard a threesome last season, and I just really need S4 to give me him being taken care of by his partners. They’re probably not going to give it to me, so I’ll need to do it myself. This is just an everybody loves Alucard oneshot, with the gang’s signature banter (to an extent), Sypha being sexy, and Trever being remarkably sincere. This fic is gonna feel like that Ann Hathaway picture with Trevor kissing Alucard and Sypha holding the end of Trevor’s whip while she leans her head on Alucard’s shoulder adoringly.
- Devil May Cry Nico/Lady/Trish: 💋✨😈 
Nico’s gay, okay? Like really, really gay. And Lady’s bi and not into men who make her pay bills, but very into women who make amazing guns for her and demonesses with hearts who fight by her side. Trish is ace, but loves people and is pretty attached to Lady at this point. Plus it’s cute when Lady blushes and says nice things like they’re insults. I don’t have super solid ideas for them yet, and I envision these more like a polycule where Lady’s with Nico and with Trish but they’re not with each other more than seeing it as a threesome, but who knows what might happen. This is probably 1-2 oneshots depending on ideas, but might turn into a series of oneshots if people are interested (or I can’t control myself and inspiration strikes).
- Post FMA:B Blind Roy & No Alchemy Ed: 👀👑🙏
This is actually an old novel-length fic I wrote ages ago and didn’t post that didn’t turn out well because I was new to writing sex when I first wrote it. The plot is good, and is all about Roy learning to work with his blindness to reclaim his ambition of being Fuhrer and changing the system to something that actually cares for its people. He and Ed reconnect, fall into bed, and both set about working through their respective traumas about being “useless” having lost their sight/alchemy. They go to Xing as an ambassadorial party to offer Amestris’s collaboration on Al and May’s Alkahestry experiments--and uncover a plot that might threaten both kingdoms.
- Age of Calamity continuity Mipha x Revali: 🦚🐟💘
The first time Revali noticed Mipha, it was in the heat of battle. She stole his mark, taking them down with a flurry of quick blows from her spear. Violence rained from her like water--and then she healed him on her way to her next battle. No questions, no conditions, just pure kindness. The usual need to measure himself against those around him was quiet in her wake. And Revali couldn’t understand it. But how to get to know more about her? A fish and bird may fall in love, but where would they live?
This fic could be a oneshot or novel length depending on how far down the hole I fall. I need it to cover time, but it could be done in linked vignettes or with actually covering events in detail. I may elect to do a oneshot just to get it done and out of my system faster. So much fic to write, so little time.
Expect trans!Revali, polyamorous Zoras, scary competent Mipha, songbird Revali, love confessions that are made up entirely of berating Link for not loving Mipha the way she wants him to, and breaking these characters a little outside of their assigned roles in BotW and Age of Calamity. Background Link x Zelda, and Urbosa x Zelda’s Mom.
- Epic desert romance about Urbosa and Zelda’s mom: 🏜🏝⚡
I just think Urbosa should kiss women and Zelda’s mom should get more development and maybe a name or something. Also, lightning imagery/metaphors/play.
It also went way over my head that Riju wasn’t Urbosa’s daughter the first time I played BotW, so now I want to write about the Gerudo queen who refused to produce an heir. The Gerudo are fascinating and have a very interesting cutlure, but I think it could be examined from a nonbinary perspective that rejected pregnancy and wanting to find a husband. Not in like a hateful way, but in a way that examines if that’s really right for everyone. There’s that shop in town that sells Voe armor, after all. Maybe finding a husband and having children isn’t something you have to do if you don’t want to. And Urbosa really doesn’t want to.
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morethanonepage · 4 years ago
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everything divisible by 3
3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?
hmmm i’m not sure what stands out most for other people but when i read my own fic, the thing i find most genuinely funny is when i slip and throw in some vocab or sentence construction that’s obviously from ~my day job. my absolute favorite example of this is from a sex scene:
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(a million years ago, in college, i took a lit class that was like, literature for STEM majors or w/e, looking at books from a more scientific perspective, and we read dr jekyll and mr. hyde and did a whole thing about how Robert Louis Stevenson had studied engineering so a lot of his work has elements of like -- the conservation of matter & the forces required to do something, etc, etc. so i’ve always been a little charmed by the idea that as a ~writer~ certain other aspects of my background show up sometimes, entirely by accident.)
6. What element of writing do you find comes easily?
Coming up with plots that i then never write.
But yeah in general I’m good at like, plotting out an AU (or even an in-world) fic that could be interesting, and posting about it vaguely, and then doing absolutely nothing with it.
When it comes to things I actually DO write -- idk nothing comes easily but sex scenes are actually much easier (if more embarrassing) for me to actually get on paper (as it were) than almost anything else.
9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write?
i have trouble writing characters i just don’t like very much but feel like i have to include for some reason -- like rey is never my favorite character in a star wars fic but as i talked about recently, she’s so important to finn that it feels OOC to write finn and not have her around in some capacity. but i have a hard time getting a read on her/her voice so i uh. sometimes cheat and just have her off stage for most of the fic. 
12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.
I’m excited to have the massive oft-abandoned finnpoe AU done with! I call it the The West Wing/Bunheads mashup that -- literally no one would ever think of, why does it exist? who knows. But it features some political snarking and some explorations of race and sexuality and rose is really fun in it (imo) and there’s some good leia & poe vibes that aren’t them being like, replacement family for each other (since they still have actual families of their own). and i’m still working through it but there’s also an element of dealing with an issue that i’m still not over, i.e., the fact that leia is so relentlessly and obviously pushing poe into a leadership position when it really doesn’t seem to be what poe wants. 
I’m also vaguely excited for some random johnchas stuff that I keep planning to write based on chastantine anons i’ve gotten -- I really hope those folks are still around and haven’t been scared off by how -- slow I am at writing anything.
15. What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve ever written for?
Les Mis lmfao. Like Les Mis fandom is so fucking wild on every front -- so, so wanky -- and i felt like a total outsider the whole time i was in it. there’s some good valvert stuff but for the most part, man, i’m glad to be out of it.
18. Wildest fic you’ve ever written?
Oooh tie between the John Constantine/Jake Peralta things (WHY) and the John/Chas/Trenchcoat fic, bc also, WHY.
21. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!)
Shamefully, it’s still John & Chas. Like I can’t even really say why -- the show is so long ago, none of the new stuff John is in really deals with it, but I just -- i’m love them, your honor!!!
they just idk hit the exact right vibe that i like, to wit: 
1) Friends to lovers
2) Foundational angst
3) Inability to speak of Feelings on both sides (so I don’t have to do the exhausting “Pls talk to me!!!”/”No I SHAN’T” fights)
4) Size difference
5) Unabashed physicality (which ties into...
6) The fact that they don’t talk but have a lot of FEELINGS and at least one of them is really into sex means they theoretically would eff a lot but not talk about it and idk i just enjoy that
24. One-shots or multi-chaptered works?
One shots. I find chaptered works so stressful -- I try to NEVER post anything multichapter without having completed the whole thing (every single time I’ve tried to post something that’s still a WIP, with the assumption that ‘well i know where this is going it’ll be easy enough to get the next chapter up within the week’ i have NEVER succeeded in finishing).
But since I don’t start posting till i’m done, it’s hard to get the motivation to finish, bc I’m not getting the necessary praise and attention that I really bank on to have the motivation to keep going. 
And even when I DO finish, the new stress becomes -- how often should i post chapters? how often should i read & respond to comments? if the comments seem to suggest readers believe something is going on that’s NOT what’s going on, should I tell them? Or should I change the fic according to those comments? Or should I not read ANY comments till it’s done?
Or -- and this is usually how exhausted i am with the whole process -- should I just post the whole 60,000 word fic at once, and leave it at that?
One shots are the best. NONE of those stressors. A nice, solid, 10k word one shot that has some smut and some plot and some angst and some fluff is -- the ideal.
27. What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received?
Someone once said that john/chas shippers were lucky to have me in the fandom and i just about cried. 
also:
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In general I just get such lovely comments -- someone once said one of my john/chas fics felt like “something that would’ve happened on the show” (god bless them, bc it did not, but isn’t it pretty to think so), and one time someone was surprised at how few kudos a finnpoe fic of mine had bc they’d liked it so much. that sort of thing always makes my day.
30. Tooth-rotting fluff or merciless angst?
i’m all about the (un)happy medium -- a bittersweet moment of fluff that acknowledges the inherent/unavoidable angst of existence. but i don’t like to write characters actively suffering in very -- in your face ways. i like inner turmoil that is repressed/ignored and is always just about to be unleashed (but usually isn’t).
33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process?
i mean i feel bad for always complaining about how hard writing is for me -- like, the privilege of being able to write at all is very real, so for me to bitch that it requires effort seems a bit douchey. but writing is genuinely very rough going for me, partly because i’m always kind of embarrassed about it, partly bc given how hard i am on other people’s writing, i’m in some ways EVEN HARDER on my own. but for all that whining i do -- get genuine joy out of completing a fic, and having it be enjoyed by others. i really am so glad to bring -- any kind of moment of happiness (or, if the fic calls for it, sadness or melancholy) to others. 
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sadboinikko · 4 years ago
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What Happened To Small Bob?
We see a lot of artists and writers including the little skeleton cat in moments with Nico, but I can’t exactly remember what truly happened to that cat.
I know he was in Tartarus with his namesake, Bob the titan, but did he ever leave?
Tomorrow, I’m planning on going through the House of Hades and Blood of Olympus books for an honest to god answer to my internal dilemma.
But, for now, I’m going to skim through what my memory can recall. Both about the books, when he’s mentioned, and the fanfics/artwork that include Small Bob.
I remember that Small Bob is the result of Atlas using a Saber-tooth tiger tooth, which failed because he was trying for a dino if I recall. Atlas destroyed them, and that was that until Bob found him in Tartarus. As far as I recall, we don’t see Small Bob after Percy and Annabeth leave Tartarus.
I’m an avid fanfic reader, I’ve been doing so for around 2-3 years now. This account itself is more than 2 years old. I was also originally in very few fandoms. To name them, Harry Potter, Voltron, and Percy Jackson.
I was originally on Wattpad and Fanfic.net, but a lot of fanfic haunts me there. Though I still have an old account. So I’m going to talk about what, according to the ones I’ve read, the majority of them include. They usually try including them when it’s Nico or Percy centric, bringing Small Bob back for some angst/fluff.
Small Bob is usually there to be a cute pet, when he’s included. And they keep his skills/personality basic. I know he’s a cat/tiger but animals have personalities too.
He's never mentioned in combat, although I think he fought monsters with Bob. He never does anything outside of helping to make Percy/Nico happy.
Using a slightly more specific user, Takara Phoenix, they include a bunch of characters throughout their works. They don’t include Small Bob in all of their fics, though when they do Small Bob is a tiny, domesticated cat. Now, I’m not hating. I love Takara and have been obsessed with their work for a long time. They were one of the people who inspired me to just go out and write my stories. I had bad anxiety about posting stuff, even through an anon account.
This isn’t about me though. We’re talking about Small Bob.
Now, I’m going to do a brief skim of google. 1st source I’m going to go through is the Riordan Wiki. a few things catching my attention is that we have no clue how Small Bob truly got to Tartarus, Small Bob was the last survivor of the Saber-Tooth’s, and Small Bob can switch through forms.
A small snippet directly from the Wiki says, “His fate afterward is currently unknown but like Bob and Damasen, he was presumably destroyed by Tartarus for his actions.”
Now, I’m going to talk about the first three before I get to that last snippet. We get an assumption from Percy that when Atlas told his servants to take the Saber-Tooth’s away, they were sent to Tartarus. Though it’s just an assumption. What Percy thinks isn’t solid evidence.
Though we have nothing else to use. So for now, we can only assume that Small Bob was sent to Tartarus by Atlas.
Next, Small Bob is the last surviving tiger from the Smithsonian Museum. I can’t recall the exact number that were created. Maybe 4? Anyways, if we’re assuming what we did earlier, we know they were all sent to Tartarus. So, what happened to them. Did they actually die in Tartarus? Were they just separated? The wiki doesn’t say.
Since it’s unlikely that Small Bob was the only one to survive. I am going to assume that they were just separated and no one truly knows how many survived.
Thirdly, Small Bob has 2 forms. A small, kitten form as I’ll call it, and a second large, tiger form. His kitten form, I’m assuming, is likely what everyone writes when they write Small Bob. A kitten who isn’t that strong, who is just a baby. His second form is actually something I barely recalled, if at all. It’s his attack form. He’s large, strong, not as cuddly as his tiny self is.
It’s very interesting to realize that people don’t remember or don’t prefer this large, tiger form. Because then you realize, because so many people don’t mention it or talk about it, I almost forgot it existed.
And for the final segment of the Wiki, we’re going to talk about Small Bob’s unknown ending. The wiki says that it’s unknown what happened to the saber-tooth. He could have died. Like the person who wrote this Wiki Page said. Tartarus could have destroyed them for ruining Gaea’s attempt at World Domination.
In reality, people who include Small Bob in work taking place after Tartarus are taking creative liberties. Which I fully support. I hate the idea that Small Bob died, even if it’s the most logical idea. I would love for someone to write a fic about Small Bob. Or to even include Small Bob.
Small Bob has his own tag, which only has 20 works on it. I can’t wait to go through it later, but for now, I’m writing this… whatever it’s classified as.
I did want to get through more, but there isn’t much to begin with.
There’s a Tumblr tag and Pinterest tags. But going through both briefly, we can see that they’re not very popular. Occasionally a few get popular and widespread, but those are few and definitely not as popular as some other tags get regularly.
There was this one Tumblr post about Bob and Small Bob, where they reform and get to the surface, meeting with an old Percabeth couple. I can’t find it currently, but if I do I’ll link it. It brings up his 2nd form and is quite sweet.
Link
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faejilly · 4 years ago
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I was tagged by @la-muerta​ & @facialteeth​ & @thedivinemissema​ for the WIP/Title Game
rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and interests you and i’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!
AND THEN  by @shadoedseptmbr​ @msviolacea​ & @ravenclawnerd​ for the “stories you want to write... but for some reason haven’t yet”
so this will be a mish-mash of both? The WIPs will mostly have blurbs in this case (to fit the second meme) but you are still welcome to ask follow-up questions, if you’d like ;) Assuming you make it through the list, it is uh. Not Short.
Anyone who would like to play with their WIPs, please consider yourself tagged in either or both of these. :D
Misc Fic Folder:
“untitled document” - where I’m working on fictober fills so I have word-counts for my GYWO tracker. I am not working on these because Brains Are Dumb and also Going Back To Work Is Exhausting
I made a file called “YULETIDE!” which has nothing in it but I’m determined to finish this year so that is definitely technically a thing in the Unending WIP List of Doom worth mentioning. (Tho obviously that’s all I could say even if I had started, because anonymous.)
“coda-fics, rewatch!” -yes, that exclamation mark is important! it’s to keep me motivated! (it didn’t work). Much like untitled, this is for putting stuff so I can do word count tracking even if I don’t know what I’m doing. Currently I think it just says “MARYSE” because I was working on my SH 1x6 coda-fic and then got distracted and haven’t typed anything up yet. (Yay notebooks? Boo notebooks? Not even sure at this point.)
WNIP (works not in progress) Folder:
“TOG” - I had one vivid mental image of how Nicky & Joe met (blood-stained evil smiles?) but then no idea for a follow-up story and also the fandom is insane and I’m not sure I want to deal with all of *gestures vaguely* all that
“Shan Xia Notes” -for a TTRPG that never quite got off the ground; she was a semi-tragic selkie who was still in love with the evil queen/lady who stole her skin and I got to play her for like one session and she was surprisingly chaotic neutral, which wasn’t at all what I’d been expecting. But the game never really got off the ground, so I never had enough info to really delve into writing backstory fic
“post-Kruschev” -Kruschev’s List was the last episode of Scarecrow & Mrs King, and I was debating writing an epilogue in place of the s5 we never got, to try and tie up some loose ends, but the fandom’s three old-ladies in trench coats and I never quite worked up the gumption to get it anywhere
“Code Realize warm as silk sequel” -there is literally nothing in this file except “SEX! Only a little angst” because I wanted to write some “we can’t actually touch each other” smut but never actually did. 🤷‍♀️
BioWare (also all Not-In-Progress Anymore)
“seb/adelaide”, “Theia” & “DAI Erana” -these WIP folders were cannibalized for ficlets for the last few times I did fictober, and while originally I had ideas for longer epilogues for all three of them, at this point I don’t think any of the remaining bits could support a story any longer.
”whispers in the dark” -Maia Ryder never really got much fic at all; the cancellation of any further Andromeda stuff was really disheartening, and at this point I’d have to play the game again, and I don’t think I’m gonna manage that any time soon
”TSP” -a Mass Effect 3 Shepard AU collab project that kind of went off the rails, and our mutual brains/lives never quite seem to line up so we can try and rebuild it ”Ngaio & Tane” -my one truly ruthless Shepard (Alliance background, who romanced Traynor) whose father Tane Shepard was, I think, in PsyOps, and I wanted to figure out their complicated relationship but never really did know where I was going with it
”JE Zu & Yaling” -so I’ve rambled about my Tragic Sagacious Zu Romance Thoughts regarding Jade Empire more than once (#Icy Yaling should have most of it) but apparently I want to yell about it more than I want to actually write it? Whoops.
”CI sequel: 5 times fic?” -Cruel Intentions is a kinkmeme fill that I started and then it sat for like five years before I actually finished it, and I liked the ending, but it does leave a giant fucking question mark in terms of how those people got from there to where they are after the game, and I kind of wanted to write a proper h/c fic rather than just... leaving them wallowing in all that trauma?
But I didn’t. I don’t even remember for sure how I wanted to frame the 5/1 of it all, besides it being something sad about allowing people to see you or touch you in some way. (Prayers maybe, since I think there was definitely some Sebastian & Fenris & faith stuff going on in there.)
“candles” -Merribela prompt fill that I never was happy with? Not sure what I might do with it at this point, so it’s just sitting there all sad and lonely and neglected-like.
Shadowhunters
pt1: WIP LIST ONLY
“Persuasion” -so I keep trying to write Persuasion AUs in many fandoms because it’s my favorite Austen, but I think I like it too much, I have no real solid concept of how I’d transform it, and if I don’t have anything else to say about different characters within that framework, I have no push to actually write anything? Also this SH version of it suffered from MASSIVE scope creep when I started outlining and it got too big for me to handle so I like, killed it twice? Whoops. This one is really probably never gonna happen.
“oosdt sequel” -I wanted to write more about the Forest That Eats People and Magnus & Alec as Guardians Between Worlds, and also some background Magnus’ Found Family & Lightwood Family Feels (maybe some clizzy?) and I left a Madzie plot-thread dangling from the first one on purpose even but I think this one had too many ideas and not enough focus so it’s sort of sprawling all over a doc with a lot of “???” in it
“procedural-ish” -this was originally going to be a sex-farce. and then it turned more serious. and then maybe kind of copaganda which was uncomfortable in terms of the Everything That Is The News in 2020, and then maybe it was more a Mafia AU and at that point I had self-inflicted tone whiplash and I wished the voices in my head were a little more forthcoming about their plans so I stopped before I brained myself on my computer monitor in frustration.
“I had rather a rose than live forever” -I started a reverse!verse Malec (Shadowhunter!Magnus, High Warlock!Alec) for bingo last year, and I couldn’t quite get it together in time, so I made a moodboard inspired by the bits I’d started instead. I may see if one of my prompts from Bingo this year help me finish it?
“fall fright fest (practical magic  au)” -exactly what it says on the tin! almost exactly a year old & neglected! IDEK ANYMORE (I talked about this one with the WIP meme last time tho: here)
“priest!kink theology?” -I thought it was gonna be smut? I like priest!kink. I have made other people like it and yell at me even! But then I kept diverging into demon!Magnus thinking about Priest!Alec’s faith and as usual, IDEK ANYMORE *laughs*
(If they’re remotely canon-adjacent or divergent, a bunch of these are in here because I need to rewatch the show to get the pacing/timing/tone right and I haven’t, and I don’t know why, because I enjoy the show, but BRAINS! Are Dumb! So I guess that’s it?)
“I do” -I have tried to write this damnable Malec arranged marriage fic like six different times. I have signed up for fic exchanges and bangs with it, I have rewritten massive sections, trying to change tone or structure or POV or whatever, and it basically comes down to they like each other too fast and I keep not gutting it enough to get back to a useful pace, but by the time I realized that I was on take six and kind of sick of it. I may get back to it eventually
“wing!fic” -canon divergent in early s1, trying to deal with the consequences of Simon’s kidnapping as the Truly Serious Event that it should have been. It uh. Got heavier than I expected with those consequences (considering it was originally just supposed to be Alec’s wings flirting with Magnus) and also see above re: rewatching for pacing.
“2x20 aftermath/date night/pandemonium porn“ -yes that is the actual wip title. It used to be “spite fic” because I was originally inspired by fighting against a lot of fic!Alec characterization that was clearly based more on the books and ATG syndrome than the Alec in the show, which is the Alec I know and like and want to read about. BUT, pacing and etc. again, I think. Also I have somehow entirely lost my knack for writing porn, which makes it difficult to finish something originally intended to be smut!fic. Or even teasing almost!smut.
“rubbish heap” -so this is about three different fics that I realized complemented each other really well so they’re now all in the same file as I try to turn them into the sequel of “with an if in its soul”. It includes amnesia, parabatai lore shenanigans, a s3 rewrite, and some truly awful Owl adjustments that make me wince in horrified authorly delight and pain. BUT, as with the other ones in this file, the scope is large and I normally write short-fic and I kind of just threw up my hands in exasperation. I may have to break it back up into the three different fics instead, if I ever actually want to write it. Them? But also I need to take better notes on s3 to make sure I have what I need in here.
SH Pt 2: Started posting or not yet in hiatus because it’s actually almost ready to be a thing in the real world! maybe!?
“kisses (firsts)” -I actually started publishing this one, a “series of firsts” that was supposed to be kind of relationship milestones and kind of an excuse for smut, and then there wasn’t that much smut and I lost momentum and also dear lords & ladies the timeline is stupid, wtf. I may not ever add to this one, tbqh. It doesn’t stop in a terrible place, and they’re all ficlets so they stand alone all right.
“clizzy epilogue” -this is blank atm, it’s more a reminder for me to keep poking away at my “girls who can’t breathe air, only fire” collection BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO ACTUALLY GET TO THE CLIZZY AT SOME POINT
"mer!alec" -pts 2-4 of a series, but apparently having an actual plan gets in the way of me *writing* the thing, and I haven't managed to throw the half an outline far enough away from my brain to be able to write again. Or something like that.
"ibhww" -if broken hearts were whole is a soulmate fic I started a million years ago, and purposefully set aside to finish some other WIPs because I thought they'd be quick, and now it's just buried under two and a half years of regret and shame so it's hard to get back to it
"iafy" -i am for you is a delightful & frothy semi-epistolary fluff piece that also just lost momentum because Life & 2020 & etc. It's far and away the most popular thing I've ever posted on AO3, which also makes me feel weird sometimes, and I feel like the fact that there's no grand conclusion planned, just a bit more fluff and settling in, might end up being disappointing? Basically, it's the first time I think I've psyched myself out about reader expectations, and until I get over that I'm going to have trouble finishing the last couple chapters. (There really are probably only two more chapters though. IT’S SO CLOSE, I wish I could just... write it. And yet?)
“fake-hating” -I do not like fake dating as a trope that much, I just do not get it, but I love outside POVs and arranged marriages and there’s this delighful tumblr post about how they wished there was more fic about people who were together but had to pretend they werent’, and uh. This may be that? Eventually? I’m not exhausted by my failure to finish it yet, so it’s still in the regular folder rather than the hiatus folder, even though nothing’s been posted for it.
AND I THINK THAT’S IT?
Not as terrible as it could be, but still. MANY WORDS THAT MAY NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY. Posting the equivalent of one’s old ratty sketchbook is always a weird feeling. :D
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