#honestly at this point I'd take an ability to write smaller fics if it means I GET TO FINISH THEM

[tonystarkfucksaround]

*slams head on the table* I’m so tired of having a million ideas and never finishing them, how do I get over this curse, I feel if I don’t finish a fic soon I’m gonna explode >:(

[bonesandthebees]

rhaenicent! rhaenicent! rhaenicent! One of the very few things that kept me engaged with the 5 episodes of house of Dragon I did watch (the combination of Cole being like THAT and the very sudden time skip threw me off so badly I stopped watching during ep 6 (but my mom still gave me all the plot updates).

Anyway, I love this au! I love when people really dig into the worldbuilding and figure out what would be affected by the changes. Having no Targaryens means Otto can’t work his way up to the right hand of the king as easily (or does not deem it worth the effort since it’s way smaller a country). But he still tries to get his daughter married to a royal anyway. (And it’s really fucked up that he tells her this her entire live, like she’s not even officially engaged, there’s no signed contract, he’s just that confident in his own ability to marry off his daughter.)

But it makes sense that Alicent is so brainwashed that it’s not only normal to her, she’s comforted by it. As long as she knows she’ll marry someone her own age, she’s fine with being married off. The prospects are good after all. And she feels no attraction to either of them, so she does not care which son it ends up being.

The thing that throws her off, isn’t having to marry, it’s the combination of her secure future being changed so easily without her having any control over it as well as the fact that this king is very old (which poor canon Alicent btw). Tbf, I think the age throws her more since she can kinda see the logic of why he is the ‘best’ option (essentially, her father could get his blood on the throne a generation earlier, provided that both other sons die before being crowned). It gives her immediate sway over the crown.

But while bearing the children of the younger man didn’t bother her, she knows bearing the king’s children would be an actively unpleasant experience. Thus she is incredibly stressed about the very idea of it (mainly because she knows her father is considering it, and while he has yet to confirm or arrange anything, she has clearly already figured out the advantages on her own and knows it to be something her father would take).

And yet, when Rhaynyra points out that she could refuse, Alicent insists that she is bound by duty (and the sexism). Again, my girl is brainwashed. She has to do this, no matter how unenjoyable it would be, for her family, to protect her family, to empower her family because her father said so who said that? Not me.

Anyway, this is getting long, so moving on to another ask.

(1/?)

-🌲

spruce do you know how excited I got when this popped in my inbox I forgot you've seen some hotd so I wasn't expecting to hear from just about any of my regulars about the fic but I'm !!! rn (also that's very fair for dropping off, I am waiting with bated breath every episode hoping crispin cole dies in horrible agony I hate him so much)

honestly a big reason why I wanted to write this was because of all the changes to the world I'd get dig into if the targaryens never went on their conquest. Otto is in a very different position in this world since he's not the Hand of the King, and instead just kind of helps his brother run things in Oldtown. but also because the Reach is a much smaller kingdom and the Hightowers have such a close relationship with the Gardeners, as a family they have a higher standing. that's why Otto already knows he'll be able to arrange a marriage for Alicent from the day she's born. the Hightowers themselves are practically Reach royalty in this world. not to mention, the Hightowers are the lords of Oldtown, which in the canon asoiaf universe is the largest and richest city in all the Seven Kingdoms. so in this au where the Reach is it's own kingdom, Oldtown is a huge center of power and influence.

the thing about Alicent is that although she is much more okay with the idea of marrying someone her own age, I think if she ever had actually gotten to her wedding day with one of the princes then she would've started feeling similar anxiety and dread. not as much as she's feeling over the idea of marrying the King, but she wouldn't be as calm having to actually confront the idea of having a husband and all the duties that come with that (I am a lesbian Alicent truther I will die on that hill). however, this fear was greatly sped up and multiplied with the knowledge that instead of marrying a handsome boy her own age who she would at least have some things in common with, instead she is going to marry a man more than twice her age. and like you pointed out, there's also the aspect that her future has changed so suddenly without her having even the slightest bit of agency over it. she's always known she doesn't have any control of her own life, but this is a really stark reminder of that fact.

and Alicent is smart. she's Otto Hightower's daughter for a reason. she can immediately see and understand the political implications and what her father's strategy is. there is no reason for her father not to make the switch and marry Alicent to the king, except if he were to consider Alicent's feelings on the matter. which Alicent already knows he will never do. and Alicent has been raised to believe this is normal. this is how the world should work. this is what her duty is as a daughter. poor girl :(

[feliciohno]

Dunno what fandoms the OP of the fanfic post is in, so maybe artists /do/ get a good deal of attention there, but I'd argue that a lot of artists are in just as big a drought when it comes to attention as writers in the hetalia fandom. I have timestamps turned on, and so much art that has hundreds of notes were done /years/ ago, and the op has either deactivated or changed fandoms. And of course when it comes to fanfic, people still talk about georgy something or other

I get where you’re coming from but lemme present you with this;

the ability to push art to the public eye is so much easier than writing. People are far more likely to quickly reblog art than they art to sit and red and then reblog a fic I follow a SHIT ton of people and I never see fanfics reblogged onto my page but art is super widespread and constantly shared also most writers don’t even post their works on tumblr they use AO3 (and most readers are the same) and you can’t reblog and share on AO3 the same way you do on tumblr

Artist identity is much more prominent than writer identity. What I mean by that is, in fandom culture you CONSTANTLY hear the “oh yeah I love [artist url]” or whatever when people see art or talk about art in fandom spaces they know the artist’s name. This is not the same for writers. I’ve almost never heard the same kinda way people talk about artist the way they do for writers. Hell, even IM bad at this I can give you the whole plot to my favorite fics but I couldn’t tell you their titles or authors and that SUCKS and we (me included) should work on giving writers the same treatment we do artists

This isn’t just about hetalia firstly yea older art has way more notes and where yes part of it is cause they’re classics and they’re still being shared to this day instead of sharing newer and more relevant artist there’s also clearly other issues at play here- such as the fact that they are YEARS old so people have years to reblog and like them hundreds of times over where newer work don’t sadly. Also we have to admit to ourselves the fandom is much smaller now. Hetalia use to be HUGE it was fucking everywhere back when we were all kids but now it really isn’t. With the indefinite hiatus the series went on and then the rise of purity and cancel culture came the discorse and harassment the fandom dropped pretty hard at least from what I’ve seen it’s not as active and bustling as it use to be when I was a kid. But throwing hetalia out the window for a moment, it doesn’t matter what OP’s fandoms were because the lack of love and support for writers is in EVERY FANDOM EVER in every fandom I’ve ever been in and every fandom I’ve watched from the sidelines it’s always been the same it’s not just hetalia it’s everything

Yes artists also don’t get shit for shit and we should also be talking about that too but advocating and pushing for more love to fan creators doesn’t mean one deserves more than the other. Artists get more attention than writers in fandom spaces this is a cold truth and it’s plain as day. However artists also still have a horribly hard time getting recognition and love from the fanbase it puts so much into so take that into account when knowing how little they get and how writers get EVEN LESS both (and other fanwork creators) should ALL get as much love and attention as humanly and physically possible in fandom spaces because fan creations make of a HUGE chunk of fandom and also it’s all FREE we do this for FREE

Also your last point only drives home my point; the only house held hetalia fandom writer name I’ve ever heard is from the old fandom and is a dudes who not only writes fucking n@zi fics but also imma say it mans shit sucks but also dude was probably like idk 12 or some shit like the rest of us so hopefully they kept writing and got better and grew and also? Stopped? Writing? N@zi fics? Yeah

Idk why people suck Georgey boys dick like they’re the last fic writer on earth but like it’s so goddamn annoying good lord almighty and that only drives home the point of- what about the authors that are writing for the fandom now? Who are STILL writing for the fandom and make awesome fucking stories do you know any of them by url? Do you tell your friends and followers about the newest fic you read and fell in love with? Probably not, I know I don’t and I know that’s something I want to work on as a fellow creator. I’ve also been working to remember to comment on fics more often these days cause honestly I didn’t comment on people’s shit either cause I was embarrassed and had anxiety but honestly I remind myself that I wish more people left comments on my shit and talked about my shit so I’ve started to work towards doing the same for other writers and I HIGHLY encourage others to do the same not JUST for the hetalia fandom but for every fandom

Comment on fics, send the authors asks about their works, share your favorites with your friends and followers, if you can maybe even do fanart for our favorite fics I know that’s a writers’s dream

Yes do more for fan artists BUT DO MORE FOR FAN WRITERS AS WELL

[terriblelifechoices]

It's the quality, not the quantity, of fic that makes someone a good author and you've got it in spades! And you seem to be an absolutely lovely person on top of that! :) If you want to write a ficlet, I will not say no! We haven't seen a lot of Scary Bastard! Credence, or Extremely Competent and Cutthroat and Brutal Politician!Credence, which are my favorite versions of him. If you'd like to write a fic about his day job of kicking ass and taking names (verbally of course) I'd love to read it!

Aw, thank you! ��

I liked the options rather a lot.�� Extremely Competent and Cutthroat and Brutal Politician!Credence was easier to write, though, so that’s what I went with.

Fear takes a long time to unlearn.  Ten years after the repeal of Rappaport’s Law, Credence is still having the same argument with politicians about why it was necessary in the first place.

The Woolworth Building, February 1943

It was, perhaps, a little mean to inflict Dag on unsuspecting politicians.  At eight months old, Dagonet’s cuteness was surpassed only by his ability to charm anyone he came into contact with.

Credence refused to feel bad about that.  He would take any advantage he could get.

Also, Dag had just hit the clingy phase, and would dramatically scream and cry if left in the care of anyone who wasn’t Credence, Percival or Jacob.  Credence really hoped Dag grew out of that soon.

Senator Bromwell actually did a double take when he saw Dagonet strapped to Credence’s chest.

Credence met his gaze calmly.  He wasn’t going to start a fight with the senator – that was more Tina’s thing than his – but he’d damn well finish one, if that was what the senator wanted.

The senator did.

“Mr. Graves, forgive me.  You seem to have forgotten that the daycare is downstairs,” Bromwell said, all solicitous concern.

“Have I,” Credence said, disinclined to continue the conversation.

Bromwell didn’t take the hint.  “You can’t possibly be serious,” he said.  “Bringing a baby to a committee meeting is ridiculous.”

“Senator Bromwell, if you find Dagonet’s presence objectionable, you are more than welcome to recuse yourself,” Credence told him.  “I, however, will be attending the meeting.”

“With a baby strapped to your chest.”

“Would you prefer it if he were strapped to yours?  I guarantee neither of you would much care for the experience; Dag’s feeling a bit wary of strangers at the moment.”

“You can’t honestly expect us to take you seriously while you’re parading a baby around!” Bromwell said.

“Seraphina Picquery signed laws into effect with my oldest two children sitting on her lap,” Credence said, using his most exquisitely reasonable tone of voice.  He’d found that it tended to have a maddening effect on some people, particularly if they were already being unreasonable.  “The very same laws we’re here to discuss, as it so happens.  There’s precedent for it, if that’s your concern.”

“Credence,” Congressman Rosewater said repressively.  “Stop baiting Bromwell.  And you,” he said to Bromwell.  “Stop taking the bait.”

Credence inclined his head.  “Apologies, Victor.”

Bromwell grunted something and sat down again.

Credence followed suit, settling carefully into his chair to avoid jostling Dag.

Congressional meetings, Seraphina had told him once, were really just so much street theater.  Except rather than amuse the audience, the performers primarily tried to impress themselves.

She was right about that.  They were like street theater.  Boring street theater, though.  No one in their right mind would ever pay to see this performance.

Credence watched the performers.  He was less interested in the performance – he already knew what most of them were going to say – but it was always good to get a read on whether or not they really believed all of the ridiculous garbage they were spouting, or if they were simply misinformed.

Bromwell believed.  He talked about No-Maj’s like Ma used to preach about witches – as if the threat of them were very real, and might erupt into all-out war at any moment.

Rosewater didn’t.  Victor Rosewater was a moderate, through and through.  He tended to vote on the conservative side of things, but when it came right down to it, all he really wanted was what was best for their people.

Congresswoman McGilliguddy believed, too, but she was on his side.  Rumor had it she had presidential aspirations, just like her many times great grandmother.  Credence believed them.  McGilliguddy had the drive for it.

“For magic’s sake, man,” she said, exasperated.  “The kneazle is well and truly out of the bag and there’s no getting it back in.  Trying to slap Rappaport’s Law back on like a bandage isn’t going to work.”

“I didn’t take you for a No-Maj lover,” Bromwell said.  The tone of his voice made it clear that being a No-Maj lover was on par with being a blood traitor.

Enough was enough.

“And just what,” Credence said, taking care to stay quiet so he wouldn’t yell, “is wrong with being a No-Maj lover?”

“Ah,” said Bromwell, some miniscule hint of self-preservation kicking in at last.  “Nothing, of course.”

“And No-Maj’s?” Credence persisted.  “You don’t seem to think very highly of them, either.”

“There’s nothing wrong with No-Maj’s,” Bromwell added hastily.  “Some of my best friends are No-Maj’s.”

“I doubt that,” said Credence.  “But one of mine is.”  He smiled.

Bromwell visibly recoiled at the mention of Jacob.  Or, more likely, at the reminder of what had happened to the last wizard who thought Jacob Kowalski had no place in the wizarding world.  Credence’s wrath had been nothing compared to Queenie’s.

“If you have nothing worthwhile to say, Senator, then please be quiet and cede the floor to those of us who do,” Credence said, still quiet.  “I, for one, am getting tired of your bigoted rhetoric.”

Bromwell’s jowly face went very red.  Credence cast a silent muffling charm on Dag.  The yelling portion of the street theater was about to start soon.

“I am trying to protect our people!” Bromwell snapped.

“From what?” Credence demanded.  “From the No-Maj’s?  They’re people.  People just like you and me, who live and love and just want to go about their daily lives.  Most of them have no idea we exist, and in accordance with the International Statute of Secrecy, most of them will continue to have no idea we exist.  No one is suggesting we start slinging spells around to amuse the No-Maj’s.”

He was so very tired of having this argument.  Rappaport’s Law had been repealed a decade ago, and people still kept trying to bring it back. And for what, he wondered.  So they could live in government-sanctioned fear and tell themselves their hate was justified?

“We can’t go back, Senator.  The only thing we can do is go forward.  If you truly want to protect our people then make a better world for them to live in.”

“WHAT DO YOU THINK I’M TRYING TO DO?” Bromwell bellowed back.  “Don’t you dare take that sanctimonious tone with me, you little No-Maj loving prick.  You’re the one our people need to be protected from!  You and your politics,” he sneered.  “You’re no better than Grindelwald.  Magic knows you sound like him, carrying on about fear and using it to justify your agenda.”

Credence froze.  If he moved wrong – if he breathed wrong – he was going to lose his temper, and he didn’t want to do that.  Not in front of Dag.  Dagonet was too young to remember anything, but Credence still wanted to set a good example for his son.

“I beg your pardon,” he said, even softer than before.  He wasn’t doing it on purpose this time.  Credence got quiet when he was angry – quiet and cold.

“I think,” Rosewater said carefully, well acquainted with Credence’s temper, “that we’re might need to take a brief recess.”

“I’m sorry, Victor,” Credence interrupted.  “But I believe the senator has something to say.  I’d like him to say it to my face.”

Bromwell said nothing.  Bullies were like that.  It was easy for them to be brave when they were standing in a crowd.

“No?  Very well.  Then I have some things I’d like to say in return.”  Credence smiled.  It was a smaller, more subtle version of Percival’s wampus cat hunting smile, but the predatory intent remained the same.  “What you are trying to do, Senator, is justify inflicting the same culture of fear you grew up in on the children who will be our future.  On my children.”  He cupped the back of Dag’s head, protective.

“Grindelwald wanted our people to rule over the No-Maj’s.  If you’re going to accuse me of using his rhetoric, you ought to read a few of the transcripts of his speeches, first.  Anything less just reveals your ignorance and undermines the point you’re trying to make.”

“You’re still no better,” growled Bromwell.  “You think your power and your name give you the right to dictate law to us.  Shall we bow to the Dark Lord Graves, instead?”

“Senator Bromwell, please stop presuming to know my mind better than I do,” Credence said.  “It’s tiresome and insulting.”  He went on before the Senator could find something to say to that.  “For the record, I don’t think my power or my name give me the right to dictate anything, but I am willing to use both to fight for what I believe in.  I have spent the past decade working on the No-Maj reforms not – as you so charmingly put it – because I am a No-Maj lover, but because our previous legislature hurt our people.  All of them, not just the No-Maj born ones.”

Credence met Senator Bromwell’s gaze and held it.  “Wizarding America normalized fear of the No-Maj.  And for what?  Because they don’t have magic?  Because they’re different?  You and I both know what the word for that is.  Any system that justifies bigotry or hate is corrupt and cannot stand.  As politicians, we cannot let them stand.  We have to do better.

“If you don’t agree with what my version of better is, that’s fine.  That’s why we have committee meetings.  But if you have nothing but fear and watered down hate to contribute to the conversation, then recuse yourself and let someone who is willing to do the work take your place.”

Rosewater eyed him warily.  When Credence remained silent for an uncomfortably long moment, he cleared his throat and said, “I suggest we take that recess now.”

Credence smiled.  “Yes,” he murmured.  “Let’s do that.”

[purplefictionmom]

I'd normally be like "ALL THE QUESTIONS" but I'm really interested in 7 and 15 (but like if you wanted to do them all then hell yeah pls do)

You know what, Imma answer them all, cause I love you darling~

All answers under the cut, cause I’m sure I'll get long winded, as usual haha

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?I mean, there was a story that I had been sitting on for...10 years, I think? I just didn’t know how I wanted to tell the story. It started as a mockumentary type of thing, then when that didn’t fit the narrative style I wanted to tell, I moved to a classic modern fantasy style, but that didn’t pan out either.

Then, the game called “What Remains of Edith Finch” came out and it hit me so hard that I nearly passed out: that is the perfect narrative style for the book idea I’ve been sitting on!!

Incidentally, if you haven’t played/watched someone play it, “What remains of Edith Finch” is an excellent game and Jacksepticeye does a wonderful let’s play of it :D

2) what work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?Not as much anymore, but I used to hate bringing up “...And the Things That Followed.” Just for a short what-for: ATTTF is a Left4Dead/2 fanfiction, reader-insert that started as a sort of experiment: I perused lunaescence and picked a fandom that I was familiar with, but that didn’t have a lot of fanfiction to choose from. I mostly wanted to see if smaller fandoms stay active, even with very little content to choose from. And boy, did I get my answer.

The biggest reason that I ended up embarrassed over it was because I hadn’t intended it to be a romance fic (I mean...the two main characters are the reader and a Hunter, and what with necrophilia being really gross and all...), but I had readers out and out demand for it, to the point of going on strike from reading my fanfic. This was years ago, mind you, so I caved like a wet noodle and now hate that particular fanfic, to the point where I don’t even want to write the two sequels that I already had planned and half-written.

So, it started out as embarrassment, now its more I wish I could just delete it and forget it exists, but I’m one of those authors who has a really hard time deleting anything, even things I hate haha.

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?For the very first, ultimate scene I picture in each fic/story/novel, it could really end up anywhere in the final version.

After that first initial scene I see, I try to start as far back as I think I can get away with and move forward from there, so I guess the short answer is I write from beginning to end, no matter how it ends up being at the end, haha.

4) favorite character you’ve writtenI guess this is supposed to not include characters I don’t own, but that’s no fun so here you go:

OC: A supernatural Hunter named Silva and another hunter (who I have an rp blog for) named Theodora ‘Timmie’ Wilson

Non-OC: Writing Yusuke from YYH and Asgore from UT

5) character you were most surprised to end up writingI’m not quite sure what this question means, so I’ll just take a stab and guess it’s talking about how a character can end up differently on paper than how you first envisioned them in your head.

And that award goes to Silva. I expected her to be a hard, cold killer, but she had so much inner turmoil and hidden thoughts that she was definitely the hardest character to write until I actually started to understand her.

Which took an ungodly amount of time, tbh haha.

6) something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change nowProbably how often I use the double-hyphen. Its meant to be an alternative to using commas (which, I use to many as it is anyway haha), but now they litter my writing like popcorn on the floor at a midnight release, haha.

7) when asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?Honestly? A little of both.

I’m someone who sees fanfiction (and any fanwork at all, tbh) as legitimate art forms, but there are so many who not only don’t agree, but they belittle and question those who participate in fandoms.

There are days I have all my shit together and I’m ready to defend my fanfiction to the death, along with all my original content; I have my sources, I have examples, so on and so forth, but other days...

Well, let’s just say there are days I don’t even volunteer that information to people willingly haha.

8) favorite genre to writeOther than fanfiction, I love horror, fantasy, and scifi the best, though there are plenty of times it feels like I’m hardly writing for any of those genres at all, haha.

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?Fanfiction, most of the time, but I also listen to songs on the radio, discuss ideas with friends/family (my step-dad was the only person when I was growing up who nurtured my love for telling stories and many of my ideas for novels came from talking with him over the years), or I also like to free-write.

At least, I think its called free-writing haha. I basically just put my pen on paper and just talk to the page with my pen. Sometimes, its just a rant, but more often then not, I’ll find a story or character hidden there.

10) write in silence or with background noise? with people or alone?All of the above, haha. In the perfect atmosphere, music is playing in the background, and I’m completely alone with no distractions, but since that’s not reality, I’ve sort of forced myself to adapt to what I can.

My computer (where I do 90% of my writing) is in the living room of my house, so my hubby is usually around, and if he’s playing overwatch, then its usually a few voices playing in the background.

If it gets to be too distracting, I just put headphones in, but I also write in notebooks and I take those everywhere, so for that, I just write when/what I can as I go along.

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?Definitely dialogue, but also my prose. Honestly, all of it, haha. I look back at stuff I wrote years ago and I wonder how anybody thought I was any good, haha.

12) your weaknesses as an authorIf I had to pick one, its probably that I tend to either over-explain, or under-explain. There is no in-between, haha. My first drafts are often a mess of me focusing in on the details of one room and then not describing a setting for two chapters or more.

13) your strengths as an authorProbably my ability to logically follow order of events, even though I don’t plot, like, at all. This also makes it easy to see where I can divert from what’s expected and explore different avenues.

14) do you make playlists for your current wips?Not really? I tend to either put my whole library on shuffle, or I have a dedicated writing playlist that’s full of background music from video games and other things like that.

15) why did you start writing?It started as an outlet.

When I was about 10, my dad came home from work one day while my mom was still at work and while I watched, packed all his stuff into his car, called my mother and told her that if she didn’t get off work soon I’d be home alone, and then left.

I was in a complete and total depression from around then until well into my late teens (I have a little depression now, and a slew of other problems, but now for diff reasons). On top of my dad leaving, my mother, step-father and I all moved to a completely new state, where I started to bomb academically and had literally no friends until almost a year later.

It started out as angsty pre-teen poetry (a lot of which actually still pretty good, even as I go back to read it), then it spilled into fanfiction and fandoms, and around the age of 13--once my step-dad found my love of writing and wanted to pull me away from fanfiction--I finally started writing original ideas out.

16) are there any characters who haunt you?Silva, and a few others. Not so much because their stories are left untold, but moreso because of the way they helped shape me as a writer and the things I was interested in writing about.

The debate about whether or not a writer should write about a certain subject usually stems from readers, but I tend to lean toward the argument from a writer’s point of view: there are subjects that I broached as a teenager that I needed to explore in order to be who I am today, as a person and as a writer. Not to say I have something horrible in my writer’s past that I wouldn’t be able to share, but more that it might be questionable about the age that I delved into those topics. (and no, I don’t mean just smut, though that is included in what I’m talking about)

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?Stop wasting your time trying to please family members with what you write. Most of them are going to ignore the whole of your writing and focus in on the one swear word you threw in for characterization anyway.

Write what makes you happy; whether or not its publishable isn’t the point. You’re just starting out and you need to write; to get better, to learn the ropes, so just go WRITE!

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?Oh geez...at the beginning, everything I read affected my writing style. Fanfiction, published novels, everything.

Probably my biggest influencers would be “The Green Mile” by Stephen King, “The Hobbit” by JRR Tolkien, “This Present Darkness” By Frank Peretti.

And while these are hugely different authors with different writing styles, they more influenced me in my way of thinking. Of expanding my imagination of what could be if I just had the courage to write it.

19) when it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?I either have a notebook filled with notes about characters/information, or I use a website called Hiveword(dot)com. It’s a novel tracking website that also advertises its program (which you have to pay for), but the website itself is free and you can store all the information about your book, characters, timeline, etc.

20) do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?Both, but I get more done with longer sessions. I know that seems like a no-brainer, but its more because of how I prep myself for my writing time:

I have to have a glass of water or cup of coffee, I have to have my music playing (which, with spotify could take a few minutes to load), I have to re-read the last page or so of what was previously written so I can get back into the feel of it, then I can actually sit down and write.

the little spurts end up being in my notebooks and they’re a mess, honestly, haha.

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?I used to cringe and close it immediately, but I’ve been trying to analyze and see the biggest differences in my writings from a then and now standpoint. Sometimes its really hard, if its particularly bad or whatev, but its been a real confidence booster when I can see where I was and where I am now.

22) are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?Not uncomfortable, per se, but I tend to try and think of things from a reader’s perspective at the same time I write, so there are times when I get a little too involved in what’s happening on the page, haha.

HIAPOTS was a terror to write at some points because of this.

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?All of it, if I’m being honest, but obscure things specifically? Hmm...

I mean, probably the fact that I give all my pets personalities and conversations between each other? I do it without thinking, but there are times where I’ll find myself using lines or situations from this weird little thing in my actual writings, haha.

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?OMG SO MUCH. Like, idk about ‘expert’, but I have so much useless trivia in my head because of being an author. Talk with me for an hour and see if I don’t throw ‘fun facts’ into the mix of our conversations haha.

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud ofOh ugh...umm...let me to look...

From a currently unpublished reader/sans fic I’m writing:You understand, don’t you, Sans? 

Sure, Sans understood. Sans always understood. He was the one who didn’t make waves, or overturn boats--you could always count on Sans to be the reassuring nod when you felt lost or the understanding ex who’s perfectly okay with just letting things die, even though the ending came as the greatest punchline ever written in history:

He hadn’t even seen it coming.

(I love delving into characters’ heads, and i love it more when i can do it well enough to feel comfortable with letting other people read it, haha)

From Part 6 of my Garrus/Reader serial fic:“They were my cases,” Garrus admitted, his eyes finally leaving Castis’s in favor of looking at the floor, “And I can’t watch it happen again.”

If Castis didn’t have such a steely reign on his composure now, Garrus might have been clued into his father’s line of thought. As it was, Castis was being forced to realize that he had been wrong in his assessments of his son.The older turian had always thought Garrus shirked the rules and regulations as a form of rebellion, since Castis stepped in and forced him to quit training for the spectres--as if to prove he didn’t care about what his father cared about. Now, Castis realized the reason Garrus pushed them aside so easily was because he did care, maybe too much.

(Honestly, the whole argument between Castis and Garrus in this part of the fic is something I’m proud of)

[pale-silver-comb]

Personally, I'd rewrite the whole thing from season one with a romance-of-the-three-kingdoms style conflict to allow Scott, Derek, and Stiles to all shine in their own ways. I could pit them against each other in a sort of Game-of-Thrones style alpha v alpha v sarcasm, with both alphas trying to seduce Stiles (and Stiles' forces) to their side. I'd use the separated groups to send smaller and weaker groups after minor threats, keeping tension up in smaller fights, while also making larger (cont)

fights more cathartic, as the three armies are working together in a much larger scale battle. I’d have the three armies’ forces increase as time goes on, with the divisions between the three sides keeping the cast manageable. I’d have the sides skirmish as a means of highlighting the differences between the armies’ leadership types and organizational structure. I’d probably focus on tactics and strategy, especially from stiles’ side. 

I think I’d move away from the show’s focus on the supernatural world. I wouldn’t go out of my way to rewrite the TW supernatural underground, I just wouldn’t make the incoming threats the instigators of all of the plot. The plot would move forward with the conflicts of the three armies regardless of outside supernatural threats, with the threats as a source of additional strain on our heroes, and multiple threats forcing even the separate armies to divide themselves further to fend off multiple attacks. 

I think I might go for a Percy Jackson-esque “knowing about the supernatural causes it to try to kill you” approach to explain why BH is such a weird magnet, and the same idea could explain why there are so few people willing to tell them about it. I think I’d remove the “you’re teens but you know the supernatural you’re special” part of the show in favor of an atmosphere of “yeah you know about the supernatural that happens, it’s the fact that you LIVED that’s interesting”. 

I’d want early wins for the gang to be more dumb-luck, skin-of-their-teeth flavor stuff that takes maximum effort from EVERYONE to survive. This could keep the series from growing into a DBZ style power-level measuring contest. I’ve been thinking about OCs to fill in the gaps in the rosters for the three armies, particularly in Stiles’ army. I’m thinking about giving Stiles’ army a gimmick of supernatural abilities that are inherently human in nature. 

An example is Jae Nguyen, an OC I’ve been playing around with in my head. Jae is a former MMA world champion who retired in his glory to avoid retirement forced by injury. Should encounter the supernatural, his fighting spirit would be reignited, and he would throw himself into training with a ferocity never seen before. The idea is that Jae is “called Oni,” or in other words has surpassed or eventually surpasses what should be physically possible for ahuman. 

At the same time, he isn’t “beyond human.” He’s more human. To anyone looking for human qi, Jae is like a blazing beacon of humanity. Jae could add to the story by being either able to go toe-to-toe with alpha werewolves or even easily defeat beta after beta in hand to hand. With a character able to easily defeat werewolves without the weakness to wolfsbane, this could give some much-needed focus on the wolves’ other abilities, like enhanced senses and even more, regenerationwhile also removing any chances of that “flailing around with claws” style that the show is so fond of. Jae’s greatest rival in hand to hand combat would probably be Derek, as I imagine a born wolf like Derek would have training in martial arts. 

The combination of alpha power and martial arts would be more than enough to overpower Jae, which would push Jae’s fighting spirit into overdrive. The same fight could set Jae up as a nice stable-big-brother figure for Stiles as well as herself without breaking a sweat. She’d be a mentor to Stiles’ gang in place of the cryptic Deaton, with her to-the-point advice, hands-on approach, and indomitable will. She could also teach Stiles about qi.

 As the second continuation to my Three Armies AU, I want to talk about sparks. Generally, the idea of a “spark” in TW has been a kind of magical talent possessed by a spellcaster. I’d like to take it into a different direction. I read one fanfic where Stiles played around with his spark while it was outside his body like a ball made of light. I wanted to run with this idea because Stiles’ army’s gimmick is their adherence to humanity, so any supernatural powers are actually human abilities that aren’t normally tapped into. Stiles’ army is supposed to be so human that they actually repel minor spells and resist major ones.

If a dark spellcaster were to enchant the entirety of Beacon hills with some kind of unending sleep spell, Stiles’ army would be able to resist with some difficulty, at least until they grew fatigued. To contrast, Derek’s trained supernatural insiders and Scott’s circle of chosen ones would be out like lights the moment the spell was cast, while theaverage human might take a minute to crash. On the far end of the spectrum, the ultra-human Jae and his equally if not more ultra-human grandmother might feel a little more drowsy than usual after twenty-four hours of nonstop combat 

Not to discount the massive wells of courage already in Stiles, Lydia, and John Stilinski. I’ve also thought about Jae’s yet-unnamed grandmother, a spry little eighty-year-old woman and fellow “oni” martial artist. She would practice Tai Chi as a combat art, and would be able to systematically destroy opponents much stronger and faster than  

To continue the Three Armies AU, there was this one scene where–okay, I’m really tired all of a sudden but there’s this girl who’s captain of the BH basketball team who got attacked in the bathroom by a vampire and she broke his ankles and bolted then learned about the supernatural. Then she learns qi powers and gets to naruto run up vertical surfaces and her fighting style basically amounts to the sickest streetball game and dunks known to all of humanity, gosh I’m tired

With this in mind for my Three Armies AU, I want Stiles’ spark to be less like a magical ability, and more related to qi control, like old Chinese stories about monks, scholars, or warriors that could use qi for telekinesis or to make “qi arrows”. Stiles’ spark would be something like a qi arrow, but with a more tai-chi bent to it. Stiles could use Tai Chi to change the jing, which is like a state of qi, of his spark, so that it can do things like pass harmlessly through allies or curve to hit multiple opponents. So Stiles would have a kind of toned-down DBZ ki blast, except he’d throw it like a baseball. 

I remember reading some fic where Stiles was a baseballer and the idea really fit with him, so between his wits, bat, and qi fastball, I’m playing a baseball motif with him. I remember writing a song about baseballer Stiles, the lyrics went something like:

“S-L-G one thousand–slug it all the way/ R-B-I on you– I’m watchin’ ev'ry day/ 3-6-5 ain’t average–hear them ‘bout to say/ Frozen rope comin’ at'cha–best get out the way/ The batter’s up to plate–this batter’s up to plate// "No boots, no gloves, no helmet/ No rules, no ump here to tell me/ My team colors are black and blue, and I’m not gonna rest until they’re all over you!” But that’s incredibly digressive of me. Next ask, I'mma talk about this girl OC.

Holy hot damn. I think this is the longest fic idea anyone has ever sent me???

Seriously, what are you doing in my inbox??? I don’t even know how to begin replying to this one??? All I can say is GO OUT THERE AND WRITE IT. This definitely could be a whole thing and I love the elements you have given to Stiles’ character??? I am such a sucker for fics where Stiles is a major badass/wields his spark in the most impressive of ways. Honestly love *pats your back big time* - now go out there and make it happen! YOU CAN DO IT.

*shakes pompoms*