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sparkwhorunswithwolves · 4 years ago

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“The next day Scott apologizes to Allison, who’s a little bit upset. But hey, Scott’s a werewolf, so I mean, what are you gonna do, say no?”

Of all the things that confused me for a long time, among the most confusing was Scott/Posey Stans’ simultaneously held beliefs that Scott McCall would be the bestest werewolf ever and yet somehow remain a toxic human disaster worthy of pity. All the things that make Scott McCall that disaster – his insecurities, his lack of empathy, his bigotry, his hypocrisy, his abusive tendencies and behavior, his possessive instincts – also make him an absolute horror as a werewolf.

How many times did Scott lash out in anger at people he professed to care about just because they didn’t do what he wanted them to do? How many times did Scott lie and conceal important information from others for his own benefit? How many times did Scott’s mother, girlfriends and friends complain about not being able to help if they don’t know? How many times did Scott charge headlong into situations with no plan whatsoever solely focused on fulfilling his own emotional needs? If it wasn’t for Stiles and Derek, Scott would have been killed off by the hunters and by Peter Hale after exposing his own kind during one of his jealous fits/dick measuring contests with Jackson in Season 1. If it wasn’t for Stiles and Derek, Scott would have hurt Allison and killed Jackson out of jealousy.

Scott knew that becoming a werewolf gave him the power to protect the people he cares about (which includes managing their image of him) and the power to force said protection on them. Teen Wolf S5A and B proved that Scott McCall will lie and manipulate and cheat and gaslight and commit premeditated murder to keep things under his control until he can’t any more; then he’ll explode, whine, throw another one of his self important temper tantrums, and attempt to blame others for his own failures. Why do you think Scott McCall’s body count is higher then the villains’?

Remember how Scott reacted when he found out that Isaac liked Allison? Isaac was a goner the moment he interacted with “HIS” woman. Scott never ever had the slightest hesitation (or any regret) about physically punishing him. Dead man walking. In fact, the only reason Scott stopped abusing Isaac in front of Melissa was because he started preying on the new girl on campus and, quoting Tyler Posey’s own words, “Kira is a good distraction for Scott.”

Perhaps that’s what Scott stans mean when they wax lyrical over how much of an incredible wolf and ‘true alpha’ Scott makes in self-insert Scott McCall Supremacist fan fiction after self insert Scott McCall Supremacist fan fiction: they admire how many innocent people Scott murders and how many abuse victims Scott maims, abuses and violates while working out his delusions of grandeur, pathological jealousy and emotional issues.

Scott McCall had that 10-episode span where he plotted/conspired with Deaton and Gerard Argent against Derek Hale and his Pack behind everyone’s back; which culminated in self proclaimed hero and ruler of Beacon Hills Scott violating Derek’s boundaries, bodily autonomy and consent and committing premeditated attempted murder just because: “He threatened my mom! I had no choice!”

And yet, the Scott McCall defense squad trolls are adamant that Scott immediately flipped an emotional control switch and resolved all his issues. Of course Scott McCall wouldn’t lash out and savagely attack the moment his friends chose to kick his whiny ass to the curb for good or suggested that Scott didn’t have the right to make their decisions for them. Nope! Ice-cold control. Clear loyalties, superior morality and leadership skills. A good, nurturing friend, boyfriend and werewolf and a true blessing to the pack. /sarcasm

While canon shows us that Scott McCall is a flop wolf (even his only beta Liam and his girlfriend Malia called him a failure to his face in Season 5), everything in canon confirms that Stiles Stilinski would make a magnificent werewolf. Born Wolf Peter Hale has always known this – that’s why he offers Stiles the Bite in Season 1 and then shamelessly admits that he NEVER stopped fantasizing about biting/turning Stiles in Season 6.

In conclusion: if Teen Wolf had revolved around the Hale Pack and family and werewolf Stiles and/or Dark Stiles & Void Stiles like viewers wanted, it would have been a better and much more interesting show than whatever Scott/Posey crap-show we got (and it would have lasted longer, too.)

The Teen Wolf writers and producers should have killed Scott McCall off in Season 1 Episode 1 and replaced him with Vernon Boyd or Kira Yukimura instead.

~•~

https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/623259473284399104/another-thing-fandom-claims-a-story-about-the#notes There. Fixed it for you canon and reality wise @ princeescaluswords

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Ohhh, do I have opinions about… all of those things. So, in no particular order:

Hale pack; Hale pack 2.0; werewolf Stiles; pretty sure I answered Boyd as the MC before; Kira;

Did I ever actually post that TW would have to deal with fundamentally different themes if Stiles/Allion were bitten instead or did I just go nope NaNo project?

Okay, let’s see, how would a show that actually focused on worldbuilding, werewolf dynamics/culture outside of “I’m the alpha now”, and pack-as-family be more interesting than a show about what is either the most hilariously bad excuse for a Good Guy™, or an unsatisfying good guy turned villain story that didn’t realise that we were actually interested in the character’s lives outside of Scott?

With the Hale pack 2.0, the show would be about rebuilding that, about human and werewolf norms clashing, and finding a middle ground that isn’t “you’ll heal/werewolves made them do it”.

Because TW does have so much potential for all those things, but Scott’s not interested in them unless it directly affects or benefits him; but we never see non-abusive pack dynamics.

And this might just be because I grew up with wolfblood/still haven’t finished the order, but actually seeing that kind of pack bonding/history outside of “let’s save the day” is so much more interesting.

Werewolf!Stiles is interesting, because I can and have seen it both ways with a pretty even split?

(I’ve also answered Stiles saying yes to the bbite at least twice now, and that answer hasn’t changed. Unless it’s time travel. post5a/b Stiles asking Peter or Derek for the bite would be hilarious.)

First off, “Stiles would kill everyone he lies about giving a shit about!1!1!” is absolutely hilarious, given that Scott was the one who tried to kill Stiles, hurt and only didn’t kill Jackson because Derek and Stiles interfered, hurt Isaac, because of “control issues”. But sure, Stiles is the one who would kill everyone on sight. /sarcasm

Okay, so. Stiles wants to be part of this world, does everything he can to learn about it and knows when you can’t do something because werewolves. He has also shown that he’s willing to make sacrifices (skipping the lacrosse game in 1x9(?)/Eichen House in 3b/the relationship with his dad) if it meant keeping people safe, because he knew not doing those things would hurt people more than they could benefit him.

(Meanwhile we have Scott “being bullied” into playing lacrosse/not caring if The Darkness™ hurt anyone— Isaac or anyone at school/lied to his mom, Allison, Kira constantly. Go figure)

Other than that, I honestly can’t tell how much control I would want canon!Stiles to have. Because with fic, I could go either way, for obvious I need to fixate on something other than adhd and werewolves, please, reasons, but canon? I don’t think perfect control on at least the first full moon is something that's actually possible given, you know, canon. And depending on if you go with Stiles being bitten instead of Scott, it’s not a particularly interesting story.

But everything in canon suggests that he would be self aware enough to know that, and not go to a party like a certain other person I will not name here.

But that’s one of the main— issues I have with this line of thinking. It’s always how would this compare to Scott. You always outdo the other, when you can’t really compare it in the sense they are both very different people, who are going to handle the same situation very differently. Scott’s go to response when Shit Happens is to avoid it for as long as possible by distracting himself with school/lacrosse/gf of the season; while, despite for that throwaway line, Stiles always needs to be there— he researches werewolves, stalks Theo, helps the Hales.

As I said before, neither is the most thought out or safe option, both are a normal response, but you can’t— It’s hard to compare them because Scott got bitten “because of” Stiles, and didn’t have any how to werewolf 101 he really listened to. While with Stiles it’s either a) him getting “himself” bitten that night and being excited about it, b) him wanting the bite, knowing what to expect, with a lot less trauma, c) getting bitten without consent but with that understanding of what is happening.

Now, Kira’s story is something I would pay good money to actually see done right. Because can you imagine of they did kill off Scott in 3a, and Kira had to navigate a) BH’s drama, b) coming into her own powers, c) actually dealing with not being fucking told about that, and d) not being fucking lied to end just getting yeeted into the desert?

#teen wolf #anti scott mccall #at least this one is under 1k lmao #idk if this makes sense my brain doesn't like words atm #on a completely unrelated note I'm two scenes from Werewolf Yoda™#and I can't wait to actuall write that tomorrow #Kira's part would have gotten longer but words are hard #and while wolfy stiles/hales have been an interest for a while #going into detail with her would be a whole new narrative that would completely screw over my nano #also who doesn't want domestic werewolves?#submission

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darkestwolfx · 5 years ago

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Volcano - Re-Review #40

So, I’ve said it before but I’m afraid this actually is the really short review I didn’t want to have to deliver.

My internet is really dying on me now, and I don’t have the time today to faff around with waiting for it to respond, so I apologise. On the positive side, there will be another fic tomorrow (it’s another irrelief prompt, and I’ve got my earmuffs at the ready this time - someone out there among you will know what that means), so can I be forgiven?

Anyhow, episode review;

Seems like a busy day for the Tracy’s... a Tuesday by any chance? (Anyone want to pick out what episode that reference is from?)

“Sending situation details.”

“Cross it off the list.”

“Wrapping things up with the shipping collision.”

“Scott, be a dear.”

Definitely a Tuesday.

And a nice case of cry wolf it seems. Even so, it’s nice to meet a man of science who isn’t like Fischler, for once. I can do without seeing him again for a while.

“Hello Doctor Questa, has it been a year already?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Every year I pick up your distress call, and every year the same thing happens. Nothing.”

“I refuse to let you brush me off again. Let me speak to your supervisior. I’m going over your head this time, young man.”

“You asked for it.”

Ha, yeah, he did. Grandma. I feel like she’d make a really fair supervisor.

“Doctor Questa, did you ever hear the story of the boy who cried wolf?”

“Fourth law? I thought Newton only had three?”

Yeah, I’m with you there too, Scott. I was only taught the three.

“It looks like you’re gonna’ have to walk there.”

“I can drop Brains off on my way.”

The clue about the lack of landing should have been there in the use of “drop”, literally.

There’s Scott’s excellent balance on display again. Someone’s going to fall and break a leg (or worse) one of these days...

The RAD! I don’t really know how it fitted inside Thunderbird One, but hey, let’s save that for when I have more time to make a valid case. Iceland looks quite nice this time of year.

“The things I do for science.”

Yes, tell me about it! I’m up to my ears in environmental science right now. This is my break! It’s quite an entertaining one actually. At least it’s not Fischler, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

“Every time you’ve been wrong.”

“Since when was science just about being right?”

Uh... since Fischler entered the industry?

“Let me call a ride and get us out of here.”

I thought Grandma said you’d have to walk, Brains, remember?

“What matters now is saving lives.”

“You mean we’re going to stop the volcano from exploding?”

Yes, Brains, yes you are.

“It’s finally happening, after all these years!”

Um... maybe don’t sound quite so happy about a volcano exploding?

So, is Brains’ uniform more orange or brown in people’s opinions? I’ve always thought it looked orange in TAG, but in TOS ‘Thunderbird Six’ his sash colour was brown.

And look at these lovely robots! They deserve to have each other for friends. MAX playing music as well was just completely classic and MAX following whilst Brains was like “let’s go home”. It would have been lovely to see more of these two, they made a good duo.

“Fritzy seems very nice... but she’s much too old a model for you.”

It’s like parenting, isn’t it? Or gene selection.

I love how we got a robot love story though which just about pushed the boundaries.

“Locals? What locals?”

“Those locals!”

Treating them a little like outsiders there, ey?

So, now we move onto one of my favourite parts of this episode. The guy with the catch phrase, “And I’m Jeff Tracy.” I thought it was meant to be “and I’m the Queen of England”, but maybe that wouldn’t have been as fitting. So here is a lovely little hot spring resort. How nice.

And here is why you should Brains! Volcano! Run for your lives (again)!

Virgil absolutely made this episode for me! Thanks to @flyboytracy for these awesome gifs, they make my day every time.

I’ll fill in the blanks here;

“Hi. I’m from International Rescue.”

No, you’re not, but he is one of Jeff Tracy’s sons. I wish that had been added somehow.

“Oh my!”

Yeah, because Virgil doesn’t even need words to say how awesome he is, he just has to point out of a window and be all like, ‘You were saying?’

I just love how he does that.

So, I probably don’t really have time, but I’m adding the trivia anyway, because I know it interests some of you (and if it interests no one just tell me to stop including it).

So, inspiration or possible sources for this episode could come from three pieces of traditional work. The first is this image, released in the comics as a special news report written by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. The full story was never expanded upon within the comics or as an episode, but the news reported detailed bystanders views of Thunderbird One undertaking some kind of rescue before fleeing the scene, the rescue being (by rumour) to rescue the scientists who had been studying the volcano.

The second was this one;

A special short story release which focussed on a rescue mission surrounding volcanos on the Ring of Fire. This is also possible source material for where the very first episode of TAG took it’s title from. Similar content to the book can be seen in that episode too, but only so much for the setting. As for the volcanos (which were absent in ‘Ring of Fire’), it seems they were instead moved to this episode. Many also thought that this book was written as the expansion that never come to the news report above. That was never confirmed, and the authors were different, but elements were remarkably similar. So it’s far to say that if this book wasn’t an expansion of that report, it was definitely inspired by it. Goodness I feel like I’m tagging works over on AO3 with all this talk of expansion and inspiration.

The third was this video - yes, video. I still have my video player set up and working thank you very much. Not everything got transferred to DVD in the fading days of VCR and this is one of them, along with many Carlton works actually. You may know them better for releasing many videos that featured under the content umbrella of ‘BBC Videos’, however with the rise of DVD’s, the BBC took over selling their own content under ‘BBC DVD’s’, just like they now have ‘BBC Books’. Carlton were known for releasing many old BBC (and ITV) classics, such as Thunderbirds, Star Hill Ponies, Toy Box... many of these were picked up by ITV and BBC and transferred to DVD, but sadly this one was missed.

CD-Rom is another thing which is dying out now - I still have my CD player, just saying, and it has an IPod nano connector (something which I’m aware is also dying out, but my technology lives really well, I don’t know what I do because I’m not a technological expert, but I did have m,y last mobile for 8 years, once again just saying - and moving away from garbled, rushed trivia about me).

The issue which stops CD-Rom surviving is that it doesn’t play on many general CD players, because it needs hard drive space. Old computer monitors used to have CD-Rom drives in built, so you could listen to music, play games and copy data onto disks. They have mostly died out and so the only form this game survives in, is little chunks people have filmed and uploaded to youtube. The quality isn’t great on many of the recordings, but at least they’re there in some form. Give it another 20 years... Preserve what you have is my message from all of this.

But yes, so this was about Thunderbird Two going to a rescue at a volcano! Low and behold, what have we just watched?

And, to finish off, because my break is definitely over, a little more behind the scenes specials! The making of this episode was actually really intriguing to look at.

P.S. I was typing quickly so any errors are my own and I apologise (again).

P.P.S. I am just going to leave this absolutely awesome here for you to all ogle. Look at that little bell! Do you think there’s room in the tool belt to have nicked it (because yes, Parker Class #101 would have taught those skills), because Gordon ends up with a very similar looking one... just putting it out there. And now I have, anyone want to write me a fic featuring the life of said bell?

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shadowsong26fic · 4 years ago

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Coming Attractions!

First Monday of the month, which means Coming Attractions Post!

(Especially since I skipped last month, whoops…)

Before we get into it, as I always do in these things, plug for my Discord server--it’s pretty quiet, but basically a slightly more interactive version of this tumblr. Sometimes I talk a little more about origfic or other stuff than I do here, too.

Also, this is not my only hobby! As some of you may know, one of my others is lacework, and I now have a sideblog for that. I have pictures of my completed projects up there, and will probably have more stuff as I start…well…making more stuff.

Anyway. On to the actual writing stuff aka why most of you are here (also a few requests for feedback/Opinions behind the cut).

So, I didn’t get much done over the month until, like…the last few days. In part because work got super bonkers for reasons I’m still Cranky at but that is a vent for my personal blog, lol.

Precipice:

I have threeish scenes left, which I’m probably going to do as one more chapter (unless they end up Super Long, then I might split it into two). That’ll close out Arc Seven, and the first big chunk of this fic. As I’ve said before, I’ll split off into a sequel fic (working title Protectors) at that point, along with doing a sort of…interquel, working title Preludes, that mostly deals with integrating Rebels content. Also probably Maul.

Right now, I’m tentatively planning six installments to Preludes? Mostly because six feels like a nice number to work with, lol. These will be one-shots that aren’t super interconnected, all taking place during the six-year timeskip. These are the ones I’m thinking about doing as of right now (subject to change, and I welcome suggestions!):

one involving Kallus on Coruscant, shortly before he gets reassigned to Lothal;

one involving Hera and whoever her contact is in this AU (since Ahsoka’s doing something different from the Fulcrum stuff);

one where Kanan and Ezra connect with Obi-Wan et al. (probably through Hondo);

one with Luke, probably similar to that one episode where Leia turns up in Rebels canon;

I really do need to figure out what the heck is going on with Maul, don’t I.

…something else????

The only ones I’m 100% sure about including are the one with Kallus and the one where the various Jedi link up because those are necessary and/or plot-relevant, though I’m still working out specifics (especially on the Jedi one). I may also include something with Thrawn, since I’m doing something different with him than canon did. Like I said, I welcome thoughts/suggestions/etc.

Protectors will then pick up six years after the end of Arc Seven, with Arc Eight. And, as a treat, the working titles for Arcs Eight and Nine are Escalation and Watershed. In theory, I’m planning to post Preludes alongside arcs eight and nine, but we’ll see.

…anyway, uh, what I forgot to mention earlier is that my plan is to wrap up arc seven/the first fic in this series this month. Hopefully I will actually pull that off XD. And then we move on to the other stuff.

Other SW Fic Projects:

Big Bang is coming up again! I think signups will be next month? I’m considering three different plotlines as of right now, though that’s assuming I don’t come up with something new and exciting and/or another ObiAniDala plotline, which is what I seem to do every year…which one I end up doing probably depends at least partly on how S2 of the Mandalorian goes, since two of the three ideas heavily feature Bo-Katan. Of course, one of those lacks a plot and the other is pretty episodic/involves a lot of blank space I still need to fill in…

Anyway, we’ll see how that goes after the show airs and I get more event information, especially since it’s going to be structured differently/teaming up writers and betas much earlier in the process, which will be nice and possibly help chronically-undecided me actually pick something so I’m not scrambling to finish at the last minute but given that it’s me I probably will be anyway XD

As for other SW projects…I still owe a few meme fills from, like, April…but otherwise, extant projects are mostly back-burnered for now.

AtLA Projects:

Aka, the reason why SW projects other than Precipice and SWBB (and any one-shots/prompt fills that occur to me) are back-burnered, lol.

I am working on an AU outline, set to come out this month. There’s a couple of fulltext fics I’m playing with. I haven’t gotten any actual text written down yet, but I know where I’m going with them, at least to start.

The AU outline will be a canon-divergent thing set during the Ba Sing Se arc, and will be hopefully out Soon.

Fulltext fic #1 is…basically, the premise is, Lu Ten had a lover during the Siege, the soundtrack to this fic involves a lot of West Side Story, he left her with someone to remember him by, and then there’s some mindbending and complicated politics after his death. I think I talked a little more about this in a previous post? Anyway, one of the things I’m considering is whether to just tell this story linearly, or to start several years later, and go into the whole star-crossed lovers backstory as she regains her memories of what actually happened. The advantage to the first option is that it’s easier to work with shifting POV, which I prefer; and also involves more canon characters more quickly. The advantage to the second is that I think it would work really well for this particular storyline? Assuming I could get people invested in her and/or Ba Sing Se Politics/Worldbuilding that fast …y’know, when I think about it like that, maybe linear is the best option, lol…

Fulltext fic #2 is an Avatar Zuko AU, where he figures it out at age thirteen, and at that point decides he has roughly three and a half years until the comet, aka three and a half years to figure out how to make all this work (not to mention at least starting to learn air, water, and earth), and hopefully by then he’ll know what he should be doing with it? Whether it’s to resurface and Prove His Worth by defending the Fire Nation during the leadup to the comet, or something else (though Something Else doesn’t quite occur to him until he starts doing the other stuff). This will heavily feature at least one of my old OCs, and probably a few others (and likely one or two new ones), especially during the first two years. I’ve got things more or less worked out up until Aang resurfaces and Zuko’s plans have to shift/he has to cut his earthbending year short (much to Toph’s annoyance). Because once Aang is awake, everyone thinks he’s the Avatar (he’s not; there’s another explanation for how he iceberg’d for a century), and that fact just escalates All Of The Things.

((I’ve mentioned before that I am Pathologically Incapable of not creating a bunch of OCs and AtLA is a particularly strong example of that, so...yeah, that’ll be a Thing in pretty much anything I write in this fandom))

…anyway, this should be fun, once I actually get actual text down XD

Original Fic:

I did write one thing last month! Which was nice. Hopefully, I’ll get a bit done this month, too. For those of you who don’t know, most of my original stuff is posted on rainbowfic, which is a great community and if you guys do original stuff you post online, you should come join.

I’ve also started poking at a couple of new concepts, because that is how my brain do. Including one Arthuriana story despite the fact that I’m not super into Arthuriana but then my brain was like “what if Mordred was a girl?” and welp. Here I am.

NaNo:

I’m proooooooobably going to do a similar setup to what I had the past couple years--set myself a wordcount goal, but not bind myself to any single project. Depending on how things go this month, either with Precipice!verse or SWBB or my AtLA stuff, or if that Mordred thing catches on, I might try to prioritize one or more things (like, have my goal be 20k on X project, and 30k on other stuff), but I’ll decide that closer to the date.

…I think that’s everything! What are you guys up to lately? Does anyone have NaNo plans? Any thoughts on stuff I mentioned on my docket, so to speak? What’s on your mind?

#miscellania #coming attractions #feedback greatly appreciated #shadowsong26fic #shadowsong writes star wars #shadowsong writes atla #shadowsong writes original fic

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winterwedded · 4 years ago

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NANO DAY 1.

word count: 1113

hello! egg here. this is my very first time participating in nanowrimo. this is an odd format for my first day because this is an interview between a interview ‘I’ and my oc ‘S’, done a bit before she returns to her home country after studying at a university abroad (in the home country of her mother).

this is my original verse set in semi-modern times with fantastical elements centered on a princess ‘S’ of a certain kingdom. the details are purposely vague because there’s still a lot i have touch on/formulate.

nano will probably be very self indulgent for me in the way that i just push out things i’ve always wanted to write so hehe

I: […] That being said I think I can speak for everyone when I can say ‘welcome home’.

S: Thank you. It’s good to be home.

I: How did you like it—being out of the capital?

S: It was definitely an eye opening experience, um, I think it would have been a lot harder if I’d gone alone. I’m grateful that I was able to go with some of my friends.

I: Your friends mean a lot to you?

S: [nodding] Oh yes very much—they mean the world to me.

I: Princess there has been talk about whether or not some of your companions are the most suitable for someone in ah—in a position such as yourself. Do you have anything to say to those who say so?

S: [pause] I think we’re bound to meet people we don’t always get along with—but sometimes we meet people who can come from different places and have different ideas, and still become close to. I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all that we can be friends even if we have our differences in fact—I think it says something on both ends to make something like that work, you know?

I: I see. You seem to have learned a lot from being away for so long.

S: Hee. Are you sure it isn’t just me being defensive?

I: [laughs] You might have caught me there, Princess. Were you able to make new friends there as well?

S: I certainly did. Like I said it was a really eye-opening experience—I know many believed that I should have stayed within the kingdom to study, but I really wanted to go to where Ma—my mother came from to understand it too.

I: You seem like more of a go-getter than people believed you to be.

S: [giggles] It took a lot of effort. I’ve always wanted to go to Hvidfyr because of her but I took a lot of time to think about it.

I: Were you afraid of bringing it up to your grandfather?

S: [nods] I was.

I: People seem to consider you as a bridge of sorts between the Kingdom and the Principality of Hvidfyr. I remember actually when they first declared that you were on the way—

S: [giggling and hiding her face a little behind the back of her hand] Oh god.

I: Don’t worry you were a very cute baby.

S: [laughing]

I: But in all seriousness, that seems like so much. Historically they’ve always been on contentious terms. The pressure of it must be immense.

S: [laughing ceases a bit, straightens herself in her seat] It is sometimes. I love both my parents a lot, they mean the world to me. The last thing I want is to have anything divide them as much as things already exist.

I: What about Hvidyfr did you enjoy the most?

S: …Obviously the pastries [laughs]. Their winters are beautiful, and the people I met there—the people I would say. I got to learn a lot from them. You know [fixes her hair behind her ear] someone like me who’s really introverted by nature can have a really hard time opening up entirely to people. I’m also worried I’ll miss the chance of a lifetime or an experience that I could have learned an awful lot from if I don’t just. Speak up when it matters. Being there for a longer amount of time helped me get over that a little, because I wasn’t in my usual place where I could run away to.

I: You’re a very thoughtful person! I’m sure they enjoyed your company too.

S: [giggling] I hope so.

I: Did you get to bond more with your family there as well?

S: [eyes sparkle] I did. I was so happy to be with my grandma—grandmother again. We have really great talks and it’s even better in person. I also loved seeing my uncles again. I felt like I could never see them enough being here in the kingdom.

I: What sorts of people did you meet at University? You joined the journalism club, if I recall correctly?

S: [nods] I did. Mostly because I wanted to learn more about how to talk to people. Ask the right questions, and such. Like what you’re doing right now.

I: [laughs] That’s right, it’s something you learn as you go along.

S: I’ve always been such a book-minded person and now I’m regretting I’ve lost of a lot of time meant for actual experiences. Hands-on, if you know what I mean.

I: It’s never too late for that sort of thing! You’re still quite young.

S: I hope so.

I: Did you enjoy being in the Journalism club?

S: [nodding] I loved it. I loved writing and talking in a lens that isn’t um. Isn’t subjected to one view. I think that’s really important for when you want to tell the cold facts. I think people’s opinions should be their own in such a media—the news and all, I mean. It’s so easy to skew the truth and I think that’s—that can be really terrifying.

I: Mm, it can be. So you got to interview your fellow students?

S: That and others. The locals, like small business owners and also just random citizens in the street. Especially for the opinion features. Those were kind of difficult because I would get recognized…[smiles down shyly] and so it might have distorted what they were going to say originally.

I: I feel as though that’s something you have to learn too, what with everyone knowing who you are. You have a very recognizable beauty.

S: [giggles] Stop it.

I: Did you meet anyone else interesting at University?

S: [eyes with a knowing smile] Are you asking if I have a boyfriend or girlfriend?

I: Everyone’s asking.

S: [bursts into laughs with dimples]

I: [laughing a bit too] Fess up now! The truth will out soon enough.

S: I know I know, I just. I want to take my time. You understand, right?

I: Of course. I think it’s wonderful you want to do that.

S: I’m not in a position where I can just rush into things after all. And me personally—I wouldn’t want that sort of thing either. I’m still a bit of a closed book before you get to know me. So I really want to get to know them too.

I: Completely understandable. But thank you so much for your time your Highness—and once again, welcome home.

S: [smiles and bows her head in a nod] Thank you so much.

#eggpens #v. bb3

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scintillating-galaxias · 5 years ago

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promise

and here we are, my first ever transformers fic! i devoured mtmte and ll at a friend’s recommendation, loved it, and was immediately possessed by a need to write a little more about these two. i love them a lot! (❁��︶`❁) enjoy! you can also read it here on ao3. comments encourage content! (•ө•)♡

The light is there, shimmering away not five mechanometers from his dirt-stiffened digits. Pink, like the energon sticks glowing in sweet bundles in the market stalls lining the streets of Cybertron. His favorite, he thinks distantly. He drags his shattered body over rocks and rubble, forward, he must go forward, but the light never comes closer, never becomes brighter, and the earth begins to close in, swallowing the light and—

Tailgate’s optics blink online. He does not move, not even to unclench the hard fists his servos have formed. Silvery darts of light glisten like crystal dust through the huge window, just missing Tailgate’s berth and instead striking the expansive backside of Cyclonus. He wonders how many of those stars are the same ones he knew six million years ago. Maybe a few had found their time since then, but there still has to be at least some that are still blazing away. He wonders, then, which ones they are.

The gentle rumble of the ship smoothes the rough edges of his fading nightmare. When those are gone, leaving Tailgate with nothing but a chilly, faint sense of panic, it chases the final dregs away too. When those too finally fade, Tailgate is completely online. He hates this feeling, this, this tension this nightmare always brings him. It’s a gross combination of the exhaustion and crankiness of being dragged out of an otherwise perfectly pleasant recharge, plus the hot needles of terror and desperation still buried deep in his spark. It makes his energon froth and bubble frantically within his tubes and channels, but it never spills over. He isn’t really sure if that’s a good thing or not.

He sits up, dimming his visor as he draws his knees up towards his spark chamber. Stupid crummy recharge cycle. Stupid nightmare. He should have known something was going to be off when Cyclonus actually said, “Good night,” back to him last night instead of grumbling noncommittally. At the thought of him, Tailgate’s gaze slides from the wall across from him to Cyclonus.

Even offline, Cyclonus strikes an impressive figure. The starlight casts deep shadows into the grooves of his armor, giving him the impression of being much larger and sharper than he is. A single horn glitters like a blade piercing the dark as Cyclonus shifts slightly. For a brief second, Tailgate wonders what would happen if he crawled right up to Cyclonus and curled up in front of his chest plate. The thought is banished immediately. It’s ridiculous, so ridiculous Tailgate can’t even laugh at himself for ever allowing it to cross his mind.

He vents a huff, sort of wishing he had a mouth instead of an intake port so he could scowl properly. It would feel appropriate given this is the seventh time this decacycle he’s had this nightmare, though it is the first time he’s had it two nights in a row. It’s always the same thing; he’s back in the crumbling tunnels beneath the Mitteous Plateau, eternally crawling towards his energon rations to initiate a rescue attempt. He never makes it before the tunnel collapses, burying his spark once and for all.

He’s tried to convince himself that that’s not what happened. He survived—proof of that is engraved into his chest piece. Proof of that is recharging next to him. Proof of that is that he’s contemplating all of this proof here, on the Lost Light. But he would appear he finally has to concede this particular plan of attack is simply not working. The nightmare keeps coming back, and it leaves him worse off with every occurance. Tailgate draws his knees in a little tighter. The issue, he decides, isn’t what had literally happened to him. What is it then? A mental thing? An emotional thing? He supposes that makes a bit of sense. Living—surviving, really—for six million years in the abject terror of being forgotten without ever being known would have its impact.

Deep in thought, Tailgate does not notice Cyclonus’ vent cycle hitching and speeding up until red optics begin to glow in the corner of his vision.

“Tailgate.”

Tailgate startles, then slouches miserably over himself with another long exvent. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Cyclonus sits up, unswayed. “Something is bothering you.”

Really? Tailgate thinks scathingly, and then is immediately taken aback at his own cynicism. “Mm. Yeah, it’s not a big deal. I’ll—I’ll get over it.”

With that, he twists to lay facing away from Cyclonus and offlines his optics completely. Hopefully, Cyclonus will follow their old routine and ignore him so they can both return to recharge. Then Tailgate can at least take comfort in knowing he hasn’t successfully bothered anyone else with—

“Talk to me.”

Or not.

“Seriously,” Tailgate says to the wall, “it’s nothing.”

“It’s never nothing with you.”

Tailgate pauses. He genuinely cannot tell if that was supposed to be insulting or not, so he turns back around to ask. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You care too much. About everything. Very little does not matter to you.” Cyclonus lifts his legs and swings them around towards Tailgate to set his pedes down on the floor in a deliberate one, two . “I won’t ask you again. What’s bothering you enough to be able to rouse me from recharge?”

“You technically never asked the first time,” Tailgate reminds him and, alright, now he’s just being catty. Cyclonus is very generously offering his help, and Tailgate is being cranky. “Ugh. Sorry.” Cyclonus waves the apology aside with a smooth movement of his servo. Tailgate trails it hazily before he exvents another sigh. “It’s just—just this nightmare I keep having,” he admits. “About when I was stuck underground.”

Cyclonus leans forward. “What about it?”

Even as he runs what he’s going to say through his processor, he can’t help but feel it’s redundant. This is Cyclonus he’s talking to. He’s seen everything under the stars—so many horrific, spark-shattering events Tailgate couldn’t even imagine, let alone dream about. A nightmare about something that didn’t even happen is no doubt going to sound foolish no matter how dramatically he spins it.

“I dunno…” he begins lamely. “It’s always the same thing. I’m back in the tunnel I fell into under the Plateau—legs gone, T-cog shot, that whole thing—and I’m trying to get to my energy rations so I can detonate them and call for help. But no matter how long I crawl towards them, I can never reach them before the tunnel collapses, and I—” Tailgate shudders hard enough to rattle his armor. “It’s dumb.”

Cyclonus’ engines hum. “It isn’t ‘dumb.’”

“I mean, it kind of is. The whole thing was—” A flare of humiliation burns through his EM field before he can smother it. “Do you want to know why I even decided to try to take the Plateau as a shortcut? I forgot to set my chronometer the night before my unit left.” He barks a humorless laugh. “And they told me, ‘Tailgate, we’ll leave without you if you’re late,’ and I said, ‘I wouldn’t miss it for the world!’ and then I did. What part of that isn’t dumb? Who gets stuck in a hole for six million years because they forget to set the alarm? I should have just stayed in recharge that day.”

“Tailgate,” Cyclonus says seriously, but he does not sound angry. Or rather, sound annoyed that Tailgate is wasting his time. “You were still very new to Cybertron as a whole when that happened. You never could have known what dangers—”

“Except I should have,” Tailgate exclaims, “because I heard only about a billion different stories about how dangerous the Plateau is.”

“I will not make excuses for you,” Cyclonus says levelly. “It was an admittedly rash decision. There likely were indeed many more options that you overlooked in your haste.” Tailgate bristles, but Cyclonus cuts him off with a flare of his optics. “Listen to me. I stand by the fact that you could not have known better. Most of Cybertronian life must be experienced; it cannot simply be told to you second-hand and be expected of you to understand it completely. Desperation and your… youth made for a dangerous combination, neither of which is your fault. You must not berate an inexperienced version of yourself which only exists in your past.”

He’s right, in his own cold-cut, clinical way. It doesn’t really make Tailgate feel any better, though. “Thanks,” he says anyway, because at least it’s something.

But Cyclonus seems to reach the same conclusion, as he turns away and mutters, “Hm,” as a response.

They fall silent for a few nano-kliks. Tailgate fidgets. Cyclonus is still with thought.

“May I ask you another question?”

“Shoot.”

“Is that what’s truly what’s keeping you up? Wondering what your life could have been had you simply set your chronometer?”

Tailgate curls in tighter around himself. “No.”

Cyclonus does not press. He watches instead, and watches, and keeps watching, as though he can undo the few layers of Tailgate’s being with his gaze alone. If he does it long enough, he might. Tailgate wishes he would say what he wants to say instead of doing whatever this was. Waiting. Expecting.

“I should not have intruded—”

“It’s just that I was so—”

They both stop, then say, “No, go ahead,” at the same time. Cyclonus huffs. “What were you saying?”

Tailgate hesitates. Then, in a small voice, he asks, “Is it…” He whorls his intake shut. “Is it bad of me to wish I hadn’t been alone down there?”

He almost thinks Cyclonus didn’t hear him for the length of time he is silent. “I do not believe so,” he finally says just as Tailgate is about to dismiss it. “You did not wish for them to share your fate. You wanted company. That is a crucial difference and a reasonable request, in my opinion.”

“Primus, no, I don’t want anyone going through the same thing I did.” The quiet. The loneliness. Tailgate stills. Millions of years worth of memories trickle back in from behind the door he had shut on them in the efforts of pushing the nightmare out of his mind. Memories of hopelessly staring at the energon cubes, of beating back voice after voice telling him to give up, of hating himself. The brightening of his visor is nearly painful in its intensity.

“Tailgate?” Cyclonus asks, alarmed. “Have I said something wrong?”

“There was—there was nothing there,” Tailgate starts abruptly. “Not even an antroid. All I had were my readouts calling me an idiot over and over again. Sometimes I thought I could hear some jets flying overhead, but none of them ever detected my signal. Or—or they ignored me. I’ll never know. But I couldn’t—I-I couldn’t help thinking about if I did die down there.” A strangled laugh escapes from his vocalizer. “No more Tailgate. There wouldn’t have even been a ‘more’, there was so little of me to begin with.”

The words are practically falling from him now, senseless and wild like a frenzy of storms clashing together, his vocalizer spasming with hiccups of static. “But the worst part, the worst part was that I couldn’t stop thinking about how much of a nobody I was. I never told anyone I was leaving, and no one ever came looking for me. If I died, I wouldn’t even be the smallest bit of co— hic —ding to someone’s memory, I would never get to make my mark on anyone or—or anything, ‘nd it wouldn’t have been a-a-a very big mark, but at least it would have been something! Just a little one,” he gasps around a sob, “a little was all I ever asked for—”

His voice stutters as he abruptly finds Cyclonus in the space on the floor he’d been staring at, kneeling before him with his arms held open wide and though his expression remains uncertain, his EM field radiates warmth and comfort and safety. Tailgate whimpers and tumbles ungracefully from his berth into Cyclonus’ waiting arms. They immediately close around him, pulling Tailgate close to the soothing pulse of Cyclonus’ spark. It thrums steadily beneath his mess of loud hiccups and choppy gasps and strangled sobs—he never had been a pretty crier. He pushes his faceplate in, crushing himself against Cyclonus’ body as though he could shield him from the whole universe.

“I am here, little one,” Cyclonus murmurs against his helm. “Do you hear my spark? I am here.”

Tailgate’s own spark swells until his chamber aches. He cannot respond, so he nods frantically instead. They stay on the floor like that for breems, Tailgate weeping into Cyclonus’ chest and Cyclonus holding him until slowly, oh so painfully slowly, the sobs begin to dissipate. They retract at first into violent shudders that shake Tailgate’s whole body, then into shivers, and finally into that exhausted stillness that comes only after one has released every emotion they have to run wild through the cosmos. Cyclonus hums some song Tailgate does not recognize the whole time, one servo gently stroking the back of Tailgate’s helm. It’s warm , he thinks. Cyclonus looks like the type of mech whose vents only produce frost and chill, but up close, up close he is so, so warm.

Time passes as an unsteady stream, jerking between syrupy slow to desperately quick in the same moments. Cyclonus stops singing as Tailgate quiets. He can’t figure out how to ask him to keep going, so instead Tailgate tries to match his vent cycles to Cyclonus’ deep, slow ones and eventually dares a glance upwards. Cyclonus’ optics are dim, but focused on him. When he sees Tailgate peeking, he smiles. Something ferociously powerful has settled between their two EM fields, linking and holding them together. Tailgate can’t quite name what it is, but it feels something like a promise.

“I’m going to stand up,” Cyclonus finally says after another breem slips by.

“Okay,” Tailgate rasps, voice fuzzed with static.

The world lurches slightly as Cyclonus stands, still cupping the back of Tailgate’s helm as though he is something precious. Something worth protecting. Tailgate clings ever-tighter to Cyclonus even as he begins to gingerly settle them both down into his berth. He whines pitifully when Cyclonus moves him away, “Don’t go, please don’t go,” but it’s brief, and it’s only to rearrange him more comfortably over his chassis. Cyclonus shushes him gently, bowing his helm over Tailgate’s form.

“I will not leave you,” Cyclonus rumbles. Tailgate more feels the words through his body than actually hears them. It’s shocking how much comfort that brings him. Already, his optics are dimming and the tension in his joints is slipping away beneath Cyclonus’ touch with every pass of his servo. “You can rest here. I will stay with you through the night, and through the day—as long as you need me, I will be at your side.”

Tailgate’s spark warms with a brilliant burst and with it, the lasting chills of the nightmare are finally dispelled. He takes his first steady vent in the past two groons and fixes his gaze upon Cyclonus’ face. “I—Thank you,” he whispers. “Thank you, Cyclonus, thank you, thank you .”

Cyclonus smiles. It’s soft, private, something reserved only for his most vulnerable moments. He allowed one of those moments to happen for his sake, Tailgate realizes. Impossibly, his spark swells even bigger.

“Of course,” Cyclonus says, as easily as anything.

“Sorry for getting… slag all over you.”

“Do not concern yourself over it.” They share a couple of quiet vent cycles. “You should rest, little one.”

Rest. That sounded good. “I like it when you call me that,” Tailgate murmurs as he goes through his list of systems to shut down. “It’s sweet.” An embarrassed glow enters their shared EM fields and Tailgate chuckles sleepily. “What? It is.”

Cyclonus grumbles something in dissent, but Tailgate can’t hear it. His audial systems are already offline—whether or not this was to avoid Cyclonus’ argument is entirely subjective. Soon after, he slips into recharge right there in Cyclonus’ arms.

He’s back in the tunnel.

He curls his servos into fists, crushing a few unfortunate stones in his grip. He had hoped—he had hoped, that with Cyclonus’ help, his promises, he could be free of this fragging tunnel for just one night. But Cyclonus is not here. This is his fight, and his alone.

He is alone.

As despair crushes his spark, a familiar warmth curls itself around the back of his chassis. He stills. The warmth does not speak, and does not move either, but somehow he can still tell what it is saying.

I will stay at your side.

Night and day, for as long as you need me.

You will never know loneliness again.

Cyclonus never said that. But that feeling, that powerful, all-consuming feeling, that promise—this was it, wasn’t it?

He looks up. The energon cubes glow before him. They are much closer than they ever have been before.

Tailgate reaches forward and above him, the sky blooms.

#cygate #tf fanfic #transformers #maccadam #tf #whump #nightmares #hurt/comfort #my writing #please let me know if I tag something incorrectly!#im not familiar with the etiquette

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jaimistoryteller · 5 years ago

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Last Line Tags & Writing Update

Hiya Folks

*chuckles* so I did three, that are queued up for posting, and I still have like 20 to go. I am taking it as a sign I am supposed to be writing. Now lets see if life lets me actually write!

I’ve been playing in my fandoms more than original works lately, as I tend to do that when things are stressful. After all, I don’t have to create the characters for fandom and keep the world organized, simply keep the story going, unlike original works where I wanna make sure my tales come out the best as possible.

That said, I am actually doing my normal NaNo goal this month: finish at least one already published WIP. I have no clue which one I will be working on. So if you all lovely peeps who read my stuff have an opinion, feel free to tell me!

My hope is to do my normal Nano goal this month, then for Nano actually work on Finding Home a bit more, if I can get things to even out enough that I am in the headspace to do so. Otherwise I will simply have two months of trying to finish fanfics.

Expect a lot of tags and sharing of others older stuff as I go through this. I will tag fandom peeps for fandom stuff, mostly, though not always and only ones that have responded to tags before. Unless you wanna tell me you’d like tagged. I’ll also be tagging writerblr peeps for last line stuff because it doesn’t matter what your last line was, do the writing (and yes that includes homework for those wondering).

Take care all, I hope to hear from anyone who has opinions on which WIPs I should try finishing.

Jaimi

PS. below the cut is a list of my current partially published WIPs

Bond

Playful Stress Relief - Q/James/Alec - Answers Verse - James has an idea for how to deal with Mason not wanting to eat.

Advent - Q/James/Alec - Moments in Another Life - Relationships change and evolve over time, most of which is expected, but sometimes it's the unexpected that are the most enjoyable changes.

Bond & Sherlock

Gotta do It Yourself - Q/James, Q/James/Alec implied - Stand Alone (so far) - Bond and Q get kidnapped on their way to a technology conference

Sherlock

Unusual Relationship - Jim M./Sebastian - Sunrise Cafe - Jim and Sebastian's relationship through the years

Letters and Cards - James S./John W. - Sunrise Cafe - John and James spend a year writing to each other rather than talking in person, though they exchange hellos when passing the letters.

Unexpected - Mycroft/Greg - Sunrise Cafe - Mycroft thinks he is going through menopause and is surprised to discover he is not.

Right Decision - Jim M./John W. - Family Decisions - It was the right decision, it had to be. His daughter would never be a mistake, but would the possibility of introducing her father be one?

Gift for John - Jim M./John W., Sherlock/Greg, Mycroft/Greg - Stand Alone - AO3 account locked - Sherlock comes up with a plan for stopping Jim, but it is a bit more than a Bit Not Good

Clandestine - Jim M./John W - Unexplained - After the Fall, John saves Jim’s life because he is damned if he will lose both of them

Oral Fixation - John W./Sebastian - Baker Street Polyamory - How John learned to be a dom and expanded his understanding of his sexuality

Baker Street Polyamory - Molly/Sherlock/Greg/Mycroft/John W. & all varations of those five - Baker Street Polyamory - Molly gets notified of a new law that has her turning to Sherlock for help, but she does not get the type of help she expects.

Atypical Traits - John W./Sebastian, John W./Sherlock, Jim M./Sebastian - Atypical - Every Guide who has ever tested John has determined he is a Sentinel, but John has a secret, one he prefers not to mention. While he was in the war he had a partner who knew his secret but after being shot he thought his partner had died. Sebastian had been the doctors partner for five years, well aware of the secret that John hid for he had one too, after John's death by a sniper he had gone off the deep end and got discharged from the military. What happens when the two discover that they really didn't die like they each thought the other had?

Trigun

Distraction - Meryl/Vash/Knives - Stand Alone - A look of Meryl, Vash and Knives relationship

Learning to Live - Meryl/Vash, Milly/Knives - Gunsmoke - Vash came back after the fight with Knives, and brought him with him, now can the four of them learn to live together as each person deals with their own emotions, the past, and the future. Mostly based off the anime, however there are a few manga snippets thrown in as well

Hobbit

Blessed - Biblo/Thorin, Kíli/Tauriel - Blessing - Bilbo rarely prays, he doesn't see the use, but sometimes, just sometimes when the situation is dire he does, and the results are staggering

Labyrinth

Powers that Be - Sarah/Jareth - Stand Alone - A horrible night leads to life altering circumstances for Sarah. Jareth finds himself with more things going on than expected in a relatively short period of time. Life in the Underground is never exactly what it seems, yet always is exactly that.

Changes - Sarah/Jareth - Stand Alone - In the time following her trip through the Labyrinth there was a lot of things different about Sarah, this is how she learns to use her new talents and grows into herself before deciding to face the Goblin King again.

Harry Potter

Choices - Lily/Severus, Severus/Hermione - Stand Alone (so far) - A twist on the idea of Time Travel, what happens if Hermione gets covered in time dust from the Time Room and uses a Time Turner to try and help in the war against Voldemort?

Welcome to the Punch

Phrases Said: the Rogue & the Detective - Max/Jacob - Tumblr Prompts - Different short stories about Jacob Sternwood and Max Lewinsky.

Welcome to the Punch & Kingsman

Souls Entwined - Jacob/Max, Harry/Eggsy - Matched and Kept - Things are forever changed for Max and Jacob after a chance encounter years before, and a discovery that changes everything.

Kingsman

Kingsman Academy - Harry/Eggsy - stand alone - All shifters are required to take lessons learning how to control their abilities. Harry is a teacher at Kingsman Academy where new shifters between 20 to 25 years of age go for their training, he is also a snow-leopard, one of the rarest varieties of shifter, so he is surprised when the newest student is a snow-leopard as well

Doctor Who

Daughter - Nine/Rose - stand alone - Rose gets a shock and the Doctor is overjoyed

The Pack Verse - Crossover Central

Seriously, crossover central as it currently has Sherlock, Bond, Marvel, and Star Trek so far, with other stories and cross overs in the notes but not yet out as I wanna finish the ones started first.

Trial & Error - Jace/Eric, Charlotte/Aidan - subcategory Watson Pack - The story of how Jace & Eric and Aidan & Charlotte work out their relationships.

Healing - Peter/Wade, Bucky/Steve, Bucky/Wade - subcategory Heroes Pack - Choices can have life altering affects as most superhumans can attest, so Peter and Steve are both aware of some of the effects that their choices in regards to their favorite assassins are going to have, some of the other effects are completely unexpected

#about me #Jaimi's Update #writing update #it's been a while since I did one of these

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sanderssidesfanfiction · 5 years ago

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We’ll Carry On - Chapter Thirty Three

We’ll Carry On Tag

General Content Warnings: Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Substance Abuse, Abandonment, Minor Character Death, Transphobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dissociation, Bullying, Homophobia

June 26th, 2003

Emile was standing in front of Remy’s new coffee shop with an extreme sense of pride. They had barely been open a month and business was booming enough that they had gotten an article in the local paper. The reporter was taking pictures and asking Remy questions, which he readily answered. But Emile’s heart was hammering in his chest. “Hey, Rem, I have a question for you,” he said.

“Babe, you know all of this already, I talked it over with you,” Remy said.

“Not that kind of question,” Emile said. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a ring box, and got down on one knee. “Do I have to say the words? Because I realized I could never make a romantic speech for you, so I decided to cut to the chase.”

Remy’s face broke out into a grin as Emile opened the ring box. “Of course I’ll marry you, Emile!” he laughed. He reached into his own pocket and pulled out a ring box of his own. “Great minds, huh?”

Emile laughed, stood, and kissed Remy deeply, which the reporter happily took pictures of, congratulating them on the engagement as well as the success of the store.

September 2nd, 2019

Emile watched as the kids all clambored around the dinner table, talking animatedly about how their first days of school had gone. He placed the last plate on the table and clapped his hands. “Ami and I would love to hear your stories, just one at a time, please.”

When everyone looked at each other, Logan cleared his throat. “I suppose I can go first,” he said. “I met all my teachers today. My ASL teacher is the same, but otherwise I’d only seen my other teachers in the halls or occasionally in clubs I would visit with my other friends. Jack was happy to see me, as were my other friends.”

“And did you see any of your friends, Roman?” Emile asked.

“I mean, I wouldn’t call the people I hung out in seventh grade with friends. They were the only people who would talk to me, and they weren’t very nice about it,” Roman explained, scratching his neck. “But there’s a few cool kids in my English class. One of them is writing novel-length stories in her free time. She said there was this thing in November...NaNo something, which she was gonna try. She would be writing fifty thousand words in a month! I couldn’t believe it!

“And then there was this guy in math class who saw me, sat down right next to me, and introduced himself as ‘Chad from High School Musical.’ He was funny and said that he’d like to be my friend just because he’d never had anyone laugh at his jokes like I had.”

Logan nodded approvingly. “Sounds like you’re making new friends already.”

“Yeah! It’s not as hard in the beginning of the year!” Roman exclaimed. “In the middle it’s difficult, but when you’re meeting a bunch of new people in your grade anyway, it’s easier to make friends.”

Remy cleared his throat and said, “So, Patton and Virgil, how was your first day in the third grade?”

“It was good!” Patton said. “Virgil and I got put in the same class again, which was nice! And our teacher seems really cool! He drew a giant wave on the white board just because he could and because he didn’t want summer to be over.”

Virgil nodded. “He also saw that I read Goosebumps and recommended a few books that he has on the shelves around the room that I might like. He’s pretty cool. Although I think the best part of the class was when Rick wound up being in our same class and when he tried to yell at me and call me names, Mister Prince shut him up by simply saying that if he had a problem with gay people, then he had a problem with Mister Prince himself, and he was more than welcome to throw those insults his way instead of mine.”

Patton’s eyes lit up. “You should have seen him, Dad! He didn’t raise his voice, and he didn’t glare, he just calmly stood there and told Rick that he was insulting every gay person when he insulted Virgil, and that included Mister Prince! It was amazing!”

Emile smiled. “I’m glad you have a teacher who stands up for his students,” he said. “Dee, what about you?”

Dee cleared his throat a couple times and fiddled with his new bat pendant that Emile and Remy had given him this morning. “Good,” he mumbled. “Lucy was in my class, and the translator they assigned me was okay, too. She talked to both Lucy and I a lot when we had free time.”

“And you weren’t lost when the teacher started to talk about different things like reading and math?” Remy asked.

Dee shook his head. “It was almost too easy,” he signed. “Once I figured out how to read I could learn stuff on my own, and I learned a lot of what the teacher talked about.”

Emile and Remy shared a look. Emile felt a little shocked, but Remy’s face was filled with pride and a look that vaguely said, I told you so!

“That’s great, Dee,” Emile said. “You might get put in some of the advanced groups.”

“I like learning,” Dee signed. “Most of the other kids don’t, but I found it interesting, and so does Lucy.”

“Something tells me you and Lucy are going to be really good friends this year,” Remy said, smiling. “And that’s good. You work better when you have friends to help you.”

Logan murmured his agreement. “I don’t know what I would have done in middle school without Jack. Suddenly we were taking seven different classes every day and we had to figure out where every last one of them was with little to no help. Jack willingly wandered the halls with me trying to figure out where everything was,” he said.

Roman laughed. “I can almost picture it! A baby Logan wandering the halls, cheeks bright red from embarrassment at not being able to read the school map correctly, and Jack right next to you, holding your wrist in a vice as he guides you through the crowd to the right classroom. How close am I?”

Logan glared and Roman laughed harder. “Pretty close, then?” he teased.

“Whatever,” Logan said, voice cracking. “It’s not like you’ve never gotten lost before.”

“Maybe so, but at least I can read the maps people give me,” Roman laughed. “I had no problems finding my classes today once they gave me a map of the hallways.”

Logan stuck his tongue out before going back to his food. Roman just continued to laugh under his breath. Patton tilted his head to the side and he asked, “What’s high school like?”

Roman shook his head. “No clue. Probably better than middle school, though.”

“Definitely better than middle school for me,” Remy said. “Your mileage may very, but I doubt you’ll miss middle school.”

“I certainly don’t,” Logan said. “High school is pretty nice. Sure, you have to go to all your classes every day and you get a lot of homework, but you also get new friends, and a bunch of different clubs to try and enjoy. It can get a bit boring, though. The Honors classes are challenging for most people, but I found that I got bored pretty quickly.”

“Which would be why we enrolled you in AP classes,” Emile said. “And you never complained about your summer homework for them being boring.”

“We read Ender’s Game, which was a pretty interesting book,” Logan said with a shrug. “And we had to write an essay on thought-provoking topics I had never really considered before, and use sources to back up our opinions, which isn’t new, but the way they handled it made it more of a challenge. And AP Calculus? That’s a real challenge, but in a good way.”

“You’ll never be bored,” Remy said with a grin.

“Oh, no, I imagine I’ll get bored doing twenty variations of the same questions that we went over how to solve in class. But I’ll be bored because it’s monotonous, not because it isn’t intellectually stimulating,” Logan said. “I can be bored doing the same thing over and over, even if I have to focus to solve the problem. It just means it’s harder to focus and solve that problem, and it takes longer to finish the homework.”

“We’ll have to figure out how to entertain you while you do the monotonous work, then,” Remy said. “Provided, of course, you get bored. Because I find that when you focus, you rarely complain about being bored, because your mind has less time to wander.”

Logan shrugged. “I get bored in the same amount of time. But because I’m focusing on the problem, I don’t have the wherewithal to complain that I’m bored in the hopes that I get out of work.”

Roman shook his head. “That makes no sense. But I support you, I guess. Honors courses are sometimes fun, but mostly just a lot more work for no good reason.”

“Blech,” Patton said. “I don’t want more work! Why would you get more work dumped on you just for being smart? Why not just make the work harder instead of longer?”

“They do make the work harder,” Logan said.

“Well that’s even worse!” Patton exclaimed. “Because you get harder work and more work, which makes the extra time you have to work doubly long!”

“I...that’s not...how...that...works...doubly long isn’t a valid form of measurement...?” Logan stammered.

Roman laughed. “You short-circuited him! For what it’s worth, I agree that the honors kids shouldn’t have more work and harder work. Make it one or the other.”

Patton nodded solemnly. “It just seems unfair otherwise.”

Dee waved his hands and signed, “What are Honors courses, really?”

“Torture in its purest form,” Roman said with a smirk.

“Roman, no informing the others that something you don’t like is torture,” Remy said. “We don’t want them dreading school just yet.”

“So, save it for winter break is what I’m hearing,” Roman said.

Remy sighed. “If that’s what gets you to stop talking about it now, then sure.”

“But what are they?” Dee signed, insistent.

Virgil turned to look at Dee. “You know how in school they have different groups for the different kids, one for the kids who need extra help, one for the kids who are super smart, and then one for those in between?”

Dee nodded.

“Honors courses are the groups of super smart kids all in one class, so they don’t have to take turns with the teacher,” Virgil said.

“They can also be boring, and lots of work,” Logan added. “But Virgil’s summary is correct.”

“So you’re the smartest of the super smart kids?” Dee asked, hands moving in a blur. “If you’re in classes that are above the honors ones?”

Logan shrugged. “I don’t know about the smartest,” he said. “But there are fewer people in AP classes because they are more challenging than honors. If I’m the smartest out of my classmates I’d be shocked. Some of them are exceptionally bright.”

“So are you,” Emile pointed out. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Logan shrugged noncommittally, and Emile wanted to argue the point further, but Remy put his free hand on Emile’s, a silent message to drop the conversation, at least for a little bit. “So I’m taking it that the first day of school was a success,” Remy said. “Logan, Roman, do you have any plans for clubs?”

Logan offered a small smile. “They’re doing emergency elections for the Gay-Straight Alliance at school, since the people who were president and vice president last year either graduated or transferred. I’m running for vice, Jack’s running for president. So we’re planning our campaign and seeing if we can get some educational flyers up around the school about gender and sexuality if we win.”

“There’s talk of the middle school doing a play or a musical this year, but everyone thinks it’s more likely to be a play,” Roman said with a shrug. “I want to try out, see if I like being on the stage as much as I like watching people up there. You know, before high school comes around and the auditions are super early in the year.”

“Why can’t we have fun clubs like that?” Patton asked with a whine.

Vanellope walked into the room, apparently looking for a little extra food after her own dinner. As Remy got up to give her something to keep her occupied and away from Dee, who was most likely to give her food, Emile said, “You can in middle school. In elementary school, it's hard, especially since most of the kids are young enough that they need to be looked after most of the time, and a lot of the staff have enough on their plates.”

“Middle school is forever away, though,” Virgil sighed.

Emile chuckled and shook his head. “It may feel like that, Virge, but I guarantee that it’ll fly by and you’ll be looking for clubs you like in no time.”

“Yeah. You’ll find somewhere you belong,” Remy said, walking back into the room. “I’m sure of it.”

#we'll carry on #sanders sides fanfiction #emile picani #remy sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #our creations #danger gays

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raiswanson · 6 years ago

Text

The Loving Seal shorts #2: Mean (Nyvina PoV)

([soft gasp] Okay so I guess a few of you liked the first one of these huh? I am humbled and ShookTM and I love you all ❤️❤️❤️ You guys really like your selkies don’t you? :3)

This is short two of six that I wrote in March to warm up for Camp NaNo! Set shortly after the events of Song! Again, taking place long, long before the events of The Loving Seal proper...

(This short is roughly 3k words long, in full beneath the cut!)

“Do I have to?” Kaelan’s miserable whimper set my feet even more forcefully in the sand as I stood between him and my mother, glaring her down for being so unreasonable.

“If he doesn’t want to leave the cove yet you shouldn’t make him, Mother. It isn’t fair,” I protested.

Mother closed her eyes and set her hand to her hip, matching my posture exactly—I couldn’t tell who was imitating who anymore. “Pup, it’s been a week. I know Kaelan has had a difficult experience but he must go out. I cannot continue fishing for him, and we cannot expect the others to offer their catches in my place—”

“I’ll give him—”

“No, pup. He must join the pod properly. You can’t keep him here all to yourself,” she said softly, making me narrow my eyes in anger only to jump when I felt a timid hand close around my finger. I turned to see Kaelan had stepped closer and was peeking at my mother over my head, shaky hand gripping mine as he swallowed.

“I’ll go,” he said softly, lulling voice still trembling but not as much as he had before, “If Vina goes with me. I don’t want to be alone again.”

Mother sighed and crouched down to look at him around me, smiling. “No one is asking you to go alone, pup. I’m trying to make you not be alone. Nyvina can’t stay here with you forever you know. If you don’t want to be lonely you need to meet everyone else for when she has something to do,” she said.

Kaelan considered this, squeezing my fingers, then flinched when I pulled his arm.

“I’ll go with you. It’s okay. I’ll show you where all the other pups play,” I said, pit sinking in my stomach at the thought. I didn’t want him to meet the others. “I’m not going to keep him like he’s a pet,” I added with a sniff of challenge toward my mother, who watched with a knowing expression.

Shaking her head, she stood to look down at the two pups before her. “I’m glad to hear that. Go have fun with the others. Make friends,” she said, looking to me especially as I felt myself shrink.

“Yes, Miss Nadia,” Kaelan mumbled, and with a grunt I pulled his arm again to lead him out of the rocks to the cove.

We made it to the open beach before Kaelan froze up, yanking me backward as I kept moving and found my arm nearly ripped off my shoulder. I turned to scowl at him but cooled when I saw his eyes had gone round and terrified, full of tears once more. He moved as if to step back toward the shelter of the rocks again, and whimpered when I planted my feet and held my ground.

“Come on, Kaelan, we have to,” I said, leaning my face into view. The closeup startled him and he jerked backward, gasping, then set his eyes to mine and stared at me. “It’s okay. I’m here. I won’t let anything hurt you,” I promised, pleased when his face brightened to a tiny smile.

“Okay,” he whispered, letting me pull him past the rocks. He still flinched as if expecting attack, and when all that happened was more pulling he opened his clenched eyes and let me haul him to the water.

He skittered backward when the waves lapped his ankles, but I held his hand firm, already accustomed to what I had to do. When I didn’t yield he shuffled closer to me and loomed over my shoulder looking out at the water.

“Come on Kaelan, let’s go find the others,” I pressed, pulling his skin over his head and stepping backward into the sea. I heard him gasping as I dropped to the wet sand in seal form, and a moment later a larger seal was thumping to the ground beside me, half his face covered in freshly-closed slashes.

I offered him a friendly, meaningless bark and scooted deeper, slipping under the waves to enjoy being submerged as I’d so scarcely been able to since Kaelan’s arrival. I’d been with him almost the whole week, leaving to splash and catch a few fish whenever he fell asleep, but this was the first in days I’d gotten to swim for fun.

Kaelan followed at a slower pace, hesitant to leave the depths he could stand up in. I flipped and spun ahead of him, signaling a call for play and fun with my fins waving encouragement. He watched me dart through the water a while, then pushed forward to meet me.

“You swim well,” he said in a mystified voice once we floated nose to nose. I blew air bubbles and flipped my tail. Brightening, he blew some back and did a few experimental spins before paddling a slow circle around me. “Are you sure we can’t go back?”

“Don’t you want to make friends?” I asked, silently hoping he’d say no. I didn’t want to go to the others—I already knew how that would go. The cove was a nice, safe place I could hide with Kaelan. Kaelan was nice. He didn’t get mad at me.

He thought about it, floating upside down to watch some kelp go by, then bobbled his head uncertainly. “I like friends,” he said, then nudged his head into my side. “I wanna be friends with anyone you’re friends with too.”

I winced and avoided his round eyes. “They’re not really...I mean, I don’t not like any of them, but...” My fumbling explanation was halted by motion in the seaweed beyond, and I braced myself for something terrible when I saw a pup head poke out and see us.

Here it came. At least I’d gotten a week.

Kaelan floated closer to me as a mini pod of pups poured from the growth and swarmed toward us. He looked mystified by the attentive stares and rapid chatter as they rushed him, and seemed too stunned to respond when they began to crowd him.

I found myself muscled out of the way as the bustling pups all spoke to Kaelan at once, demanding to know who he was and where he’d come from, and his opinion on crabs, and how long he could hold his breath. Usual pup talk—I assumed.

But even from outside the cluster I could see Kaelan getting overwhelmed, shrinking in on himself as he tried to keep up with each speaker with his eyes darting around as if searching for something.

Even as unwelcome as I was, I refused to stand by and not hold true to my promise. Shouting as loud as I could, I charged forward and barreled through the other pups, shouldering them aside to give Kaelan space. “Leave him alone! You’re scaring him! Stop it!”

The response went about as well as I expected it to. There was a moment of surprised silence, and an immediate backlash as everyone realized I’d been there as well as the newcomer, and suddenly I was the center of attention as I was bumped and prodded back out of Kaelan’s space by a hostile flurry of furry bodies.

“Ohhh, why’s she here? What’s she bothering the new guy for?”

“Her mama found him right? Maybe she’s been bullying him since he has to be grateful.”

“I bet that’s it. Look at his face, too! You think she did it?”

A chorus of bubbles followed the final statement, and I miserably backpaddled to get clear as they all turned to examine Kaelan’s healing injuries with horror.

“Oh no, I bet she did!”

“You poor thing, Nyvina was being mean to you all week!”

“Do you think Miss Nadia knows?”

“We should tell her! Look what she did to him!”

“I’m sorry new pup! We won’t let her bully you anymore!”

Each voice sent me further back, and I wanted to whirl around and swim back to my mother as fast as I could when Kaelan stopped looking around and stared at me instead with his eyes wide. He didn’t look scared anymore, just confused, and the way the pups worked it probably wouldn’t be much longer before they’d somehow convinced him I had been the one to hurt him. Or at least that I would have if I’d been able.

To my shock, when he spoke up it wasn’t to condemn me, but a simple question.

“Why do you think Vina is mean?”

He received another round of squeaking cries in answer:

“She never lets anyone win at games! She’s a bully!”

“Every time we used to wrestle I’d get hurt. She’s mean.”

“She’s always making faces and talking like we annoy her, how can you not think she’s mean?”

“Have you been around her at all? She’s been mean to you since you got here, right? She has!”

“Don’t even worry about it. Come play! You look like you’d be fun to play tag with!”

I didn’t try to defend myself. It’d never worked. Arguing with the mini pod was like shouting back at gulls. You could yell and call all you wanted, promise them treats and treasures, but if you poked your head too far they’d always—always—peck at your head anyway. It wasn’t worth fighting them. And soon they’d pull Kaelan into their pecking flock, like they had all the others.

“You’re wrong! Vina is very nice! She’s kind and gentle and been very good to me! Don’t be mean to her!” Kaelan cried over the continuing chatter, bringing a stunned silence to the water. No one answered as the mini pod seemed to try and process the direct confrontation toward their running mantra, and each spotted head looked toward me with heavy skepticism.

For my part I was equally speechless. I gaped at Kaelan in awe, amazed to have heard the same outraged confidence he’d shown when I’d doubted his mother’s words, bobbing dumbly in place where I’d retreated from the group.

“Vina! Come back here so you can play!” he said sternly, extending himself to show how much bigger than the other pups he really was. The group mumbled in reply as a weak protest stuck in my mouth, wriggling as a group when Kaelan gave them all a hard look. “What? You invited me to play with you right? Vina should join in too.”

“We don’t let her play with us anymore. She’s too mean,” one pup finally answered after a long pause, squeaking when Kaelan rounded on them to shove his mangled face right into theirs.

“Then I don’t want to play with you,” he said, and without waiting for an answer shot around the mini pod to join me, bumping my shoulder with his nose. “Let’s go. There’s other places to go, right?” he asked, nudging me again when I stared at him.

I looked to the others, alarmed to see them watching us with eerie attention. “Kaelan, you don’t have to—”

“No! You’re my friend and if they aren’t your friends too then I don’t want to be with them. Let’s just swim by ourselves, Vina,” he insisted, and pushed me with his head to go back toward the cove. “Show me the rest of the territory. This water is different.”

Finally done with the event, I took his lead and bolted, shooting through the water to leave it all behind as fast as possible. Kaelan soon called for me to slow down, and once he’d caught up I began pointing out my favorite places in a shaky voice.

He listened attentively as I spoke until the trembling evened, and soon enough I’d almost forgotten the experience at all under all his enthusiastic focus. He was happy to ask me questions about each spot, asking what made them special to me and if there were any tasty treats hiding nearby, or where the softest places to lay were. The genuine interest—now that he’d been given another option—caught me off guard, and I swam about in a state of bewilderment until after a while Kaelan began looking behind us with irritated blasts of bubbles.

I looked back. Sure enough, a few of the others were following us from a noticeable distance.

Once they realized they’d been caught they inched closer, calling from afar, “Can we play with you?”

Before I could even respond Kaelan had darted in front of me with his chest swelled up, whiskers shaking. “Is Vina invited to play too?” he asked, blowing bubbles as if daring them to say no.

The handful of pups looked between one another for a moment, then bobbled their heads.

“Of course she is.” That was all it took to brighten Kaelan up, and he whirled to me with his fins flapping excitedly.

“Vina! Vina, we can play! Come on!” he cried, doing a tight spin before wheeling off to barrel into the nearest pup with a delighted cry. The others were wary as I approached more carefully, but they kept their thoughts to themselves and sure enough, once we’d decided to play tag they allowed me into the game.

Once I realized I was not asleep on the beach with my mother, and was really zipping through the water with pups like myself, my heart swelled with too much excitement to contain. I hadn’t gotten to play with the others in so long! I’d forgotten how much fun it was to chase actual selkie pups and not shrimp or fish that didn’t understand I wasn’t going to eat them!

I threw myself into the game with everything I had, trying to cram the last few years of isolation backward through time with my current effort, and before long I remembered the root of why I’d been ostracized in the first place.

I was too good.

“Nyvina is being mean again!” a pup cried after I tagged her the sixth time in a row. She was a slow swimmer, and always took her time ducking out of sight when I was ‘it’.

I’d opened my mouth to apologize when another voice rang out with, “Yeah! She swam into me too hard, too!” and when the others drew close to see the ruckus—and begin to join in—I felt the sea whirling around me with shameful unease. I’d blown it. So soon after everyone had let me be with them.

And then Kaelan was in front of me again, gaze snapping to each pup until they stopped piling accusations on me. “She isn’t mean! She’s just really really good! It isn’t her fault she’s so fast and good at swimming! It’s very impressive! You should tell her she’s amazing, not mean!” he cried, earning a wall of startled stares.

They each looked to one another as if wondering if he was serious, and jerked to alertness when Kaelan glided toward them with his voice low and more full of barbs than Gran when her nap was interrupted.

“Tell her,” he hissed, emptying my lungs in a burst as the meaningful words sent a sharp tingle up my spine. They sounded dangerous, but pleasant. It was a puzzling sensation that burrowed deep in my ears and left me stunned.

The others glanced around, then looked to me with sulky faces as Kaelan stared them down.

“It is pretty cool that you’re that fast. And good at chasing.” I stared back at the confession, mind blank.

“I’m a little jealous. I always liked watching you play hide and seek.” More staring was all I could muster.

The last one came forward looking sulkier than the rest. “When...when we played, I think you only bit me when I bit you first...I’m sorry...” This brought on a chorus of similar realizations, and I floated flat as the small group slowly arrived at the conclusion that they’d made a fuss over a mixture of misunderstanding and misplaced envy.

It felt impossible. All those times I’d tried to explain it to them myself and been ignored, but now they changed their minds. Because one selkie had stood up to them for me. Because he’d been determined to change their minds. Had it been real siren magic? Or was it just...him?

I looked to Kaelan to see him watching with vibrant, contagious glee, happily flapping his fins and flaring his whiskers at me.

He looked ridiculous.

And I was pretty sure I loved it more than I’d ever loved anything else in my short life.

That night Mother coaxed Kaelan to sleep on the shore with the rest of the pod, and I lay awake under the stars nestled against her large side beside him. Even hours later I almost didn’t believe the day had really happened. With their anger forced out of them the others had been overjoyed to have me around, even if they still seemed grumpy that I was better at all the games than most of them. The only one I lost was shell hunting, which Kaelan had won ten times over and feasted upon all the spoils as a reward.

He’d shared most of it with me for dinner.

I rolled to bump against Kaelan’s side, nuzzling his neck until he stirred and blinked at me in sleepy confusion.

“Thank you,” I blurted, making him blink more and yawn.

“For what?”

“For making the others be nice to me,” I said with an indignant squeak. Did he really not realize how much he’d done?

“I didn’t make them do anything. I just showed them how great you are,” he answered with a sigh, closing his eyes in a dopey smile as he began to nod off again.

“Thanks anyway,” I insisted, earning a noisy huff of exasperation.

“You deserve it. You’re welcome,” he said, then yawned wide and wiggled over to thump his head across my back. “Can I go back to sleep now?”

“Yes. Sorry,” I said quickly, chirping in surprise when he rubbed his chin against me and hummed.

“It’s okay. I’ll wake up to make you feel better anytime. I like when you’re happy,” he replied.

I froze in silent amazement as he took my stillness as a sign that he could sleep now and snuggled closer until his warmth covered the half of me not pressed against my mother. His flipper fell to rest over one of mine, and once he’d managed to squish his head under my neck he loosed a loudly contented sigh and began to snore.

#writing #The Loving Seal #Rai writes #writeblr #selkies #iiiii don't knowwwww what to tagggg original writinggggg wheeeeee #hey guys look Loving Seal is actually cute and sweet sometimes! wild!#shocking news update: Kaelan is a sweetheart and both he and Nyvina are too good for this world. more at 11 #last short: haha kae thinks he's part siren. this short: HOLY SHIT KAE JUST MADE EVERYONE LIKE ME BY SHOUTING AT THEM #these two cuties were in love from the get-go can you tell :p #kae: my family is gone but vina is my family now AND SHE'S GONNA BE SO HAPPY OR SO HELP ME #kae confirmed actual golden retriever puppy of the sea

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timeisacephalopod · 6 years ago

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One Tony is brilliant but two would be beautiful, three would be heart stopping and four would be world shattering. It's seems the Multiverse has deemed it's Tony day and the averages have so many Tony's on there hands it's ether a dream or a nightmare.

Well, we’ll see how this turns out! God help me I hope this isn’t confusing with so many Tonys. This… honestly ended up kind of self indulgent because its fun to consider how many versions of a person would end up existing in a universe of infinite possibilities.

The first Tony to show up- besides himself of course- wakes him up in the middle of the night and calls him an asshole. And, because he’s talking to himself, he tells himself to fuck off and goes back to sleep until the morning. But then two more of him have shown up and they’re all squabbling over suit designs when Tony wakes up and makes his way to the common area of the compound.

The rest of the team is watching them all, confused, when Tony walks into the room. “Please tell me you aren’t another,” Steve says and he frowns.

“Why is there three of me in the living room?” he asks and Bruce’s eyebrows draw together.

“Tony, if anyone would have the answer to that it’s you,” he says.

“Hey, yeah, how come you guys have Bruce Banner? Is he not the Hulk in this universe?” one of him asks.

They all frown, confused. “I’m still the Hulk,” Bruce says but the Tony that spoke looks as confused as the avengers do.

“Then why are you all… Bruce Banner-y? In my universe you let the Hulk take over permanently. I don’t know the details, just what Hulk said and frankly it makes no sense.”

Bruce looks more confused than before and then shrugs. “I… don’t know how or even why that would happen. Hulk only comes out if he’s needed,” he says.

“How come this Steve wears a cooler suit than my Steve? My Steve wears an ugly ass bought colored flag thing and yeah maybe this Steve’s suit looks like its in need of a wash but its definitely cooler,” another Tony says.

“I designed it,” Tony explains and the other him nods.

“Makes sense. SHIELD designs our suits minus mine obviously. Guess Coulson likes the nostalgia.”

Clint perks up, “your Coulson is alive?” he asks and oh, that’s rough. Tony has hear rumors that they were together before he died but he’s never really gotten confirmation. This isn’t confirmation either, but it does seem to support the rumors.

The other Tony nods. “Is your Coulson… not alive?” he asks.

“No,” Steve says. “Is your SHIELD not HYDRA?” he asks and right, good question. Count on Steve to think of it.

The Tony that spoke frowns. “Um. Not that I know of. Yours was?”

“Mine was too,” says the third Tony. “Then the apocalypse happened but since New York is still here I assume that didn’t happen in this universe.”

The Tony with Hulk instead of Bruce raises an eyebrow. “The apocalypse, huh. How come you guys got all the exciting stuff and I only got dumped by Pepper?” he asks.

“No that happened here too,” Tony tells him.

“Boo on us,” he mumbles but the Tony with maybe-not-HYDRA-SHIELD and alive Coulson frowns.

“Are none of you dating Steve?” he asks. “We’re married in my universe. I mean I assumed you two were together here too since he knew right away none of us were you,” he says to Tony.

“I’m with Steve,” Apocalypse Tony says.

“Right on,” Alive Coulson Tony says, high living the other him.

Steve looks, Tony thinks, as confused as he does. “There are… multiple universes where we’re together?” he asks but more out of disbelief than curiosity.

The two Tonys that are apparently with Steve shrug. “Yeah. I mean, I just sort of assumed we were all with you. To be honest I can’t really imagine my life without you. Well, not you. Other you,” Apocalypse Tony says and its probably only because he knows himself, even in other universes he guesses, that he knows that particular Tony pities him. So does Alive Coulson Tony and frankly he resents that. At least Dumped By Pepper Tony gets it even if he’s got a weird Bruce situation going.

“So,” Tony says, changing the subject, “why the hell are you all here?”

Steve watches as four Tony’s squabble about suit designs and the things they tired, the things they dismissed, and all of them ripping on the other’s designs. When people say you’re your own worst critic Steve thinks they should all watch this exchange because none of the Tony’s like the other Tony’s designs. One of them is on about repulser technology being inefficient and a relic of the past, another is on about the color pattern being shit, the third is on about the helmet, his Tony in particular is admonishing the others about not using nano tech. It’s a mess.

“Can you guys just… get back to your own universes?” he asks and they all turn in sync. Its creepy as hell to watch considering they all have the same look on their faces, even the ones who are dating him apparently, and not one of them looks impressed.

“We need to figure out how to get each one of them back to the right universe and there’s literally infinity options to chose from. We’re running tests,” his Tony says.

“Leave the science to the big boys,” Apocalypse Tony adds.

“Well maybe he has ideas,” Alive Coulson Tony says.

“Yeah, but they’re never really good,” Weird Bruce Tony says.

“Don’t be rude, he tries his best,” Alive Coulson Tony says and Weird Bruce Tony sighs.

“I’m aware of that but he really should stick to strategy. That’s his expertise.”

“Tony, send them back,” Steve tells his Tony in particular.

“I will once I’m done explaining to them why they all suck.”

The other three Tony’s turn in sync, all making the exact same offended noise and just like that they’re off again. Steve sighs and decides to break out the big guns.

Pepper and Natasha over see the four Tony’s and every time one of them tries to argue about something unrelated to getting them all back to the right universe they tell them to get back on track. That’s when the fifth Tony shows up and they all frown. “Why am I white?” he asks the other four and Natasha’s Tony in particular grins.

“FRI, call Rhodey and tell him I’m black,” he says. “In another universe. Tell him I’m black in another universe,” he amends.

The other three Tony’s raise their eyebrows in sync and that’s creepy. “I guess we come in different races,” Apocalypse Tony says.

Black Tony rolls his eyes, “there are infinite universes dumbass- we come in all races and genders. Don’t know why I ended up with four white me’s though,” he mumbles.

“We’re Italian,” Tony says but Alive Coulson Tony frowns at that so clearly he isn’t Italian.

Black Tony squints, “I hate to break it to you, but Italy is in Europe. You’re white,” he says and Natasha’s Tony laughs.

“Yeah, I know that. What I meant was that that’s where we came from. Which obviously isn’t the case for you, and your accent tells me you’re American which probably means you don’t actually know your origin country,” he says.

“I’m actually Romanian,” Alive Coulson Tony says. “And Jewish. Any of you Jewish?” he asks and the rest of the Tonys frown.

“I’m an atheist,” Black Tony says and the rest nod.

Romanian Tony rolls his eyes, “oh course you all are,” he mumbles.

“So, out of curiosity any of you married to Rhodey?” Black Tony who is also apparently Married To Rhodey Tony asks.

The rest of the Tonys shake their heads. “My Rhodey died,” Apocalypse Tony says and Natasha’s Tony winces.

“Mine’s fine, but we aren’t married. I mean we experimented a little in college but that’s it.” Pepper looks surprised by this but doesn’t say anything. “Also these idiots are married to Steve. Rogers,” he adds for clarification. Apocalypse Tony and Romanian and also apparently Jewish Tony exchange a look while Married to Rhodey Tony wrinkles his nose.

“Steve and I hate each other,” he says and Natasha’s Tony lets out a sigh of relief.

“Finally someone with sense,” he says, earning a dirty look from Romanian and Apocalypse Tony.

They at least figure out where all the Tony’s are coming from, but not until Tony But A Woman shows up with Starbucks. “Why are you all looking at me like that? I knew i’d be stuck here for awhile so I got coffee,” she says.

“Nice to know I’m hot in all sexes,” Natasha’s Tony says, eyeing himself- herself?- up.

Lady Tony wrinkles her nose. “Pig. Guess male me is a gross asshole,” she mumbles.

“He used to have a stripper plane,” Pepper tells her, selling their Tony out in an instant and he looks way too offended at this.

Lady Tony gives him a dirty look. “I hope you aren’t married to Natasha in this universe,” she says and Natasha’s eyebrows fly up.

“We’re married?” she asks. Its not like she’s told anyone about her sexuality and frankly she doesn’t even know if she’s attracted to women or men given how the Red Room forced her to flirt with anything that moved if that’s what would get her information. Now its sort of second nature and whatever attraction that may or may not have been there is long eroded. Guess her in another universe figured out what she hasn’t.

Tony But a Woman frowns. “We’re… not together in this universe?” she asks.

“Stripper plane,” Natasha says in way of an explanation and Woman Tony nods sagely.

“In my defense,” her Tony starts but Married to Rhodey Tony cuts him off.

“There is no defense, that’s shitty and you should feel shitty,” he says.

“I had a very good relationship with those women and what they did was hard work. They tried to teach me once and I almost broke my neck, you should respect them even if you think I’m an ass. Which is a fair opinion,” he says and well, Natasha wasn’t expecting that.

“In your universe,” she asks Woman Tony, “was I a Black Widow?”

She frowns, “a who?”

“You know. Black Widow. Red Room, kinda attached to HYDRA but not really?” her Tony says but Woman Tony still looks confused.

“I don’t know what that is either,” Married to Rhodey Tony says.

“Then what am I even like?” Natasha asks, unable to conceptualize herself outside that scope of being.

Woman Tony grins, “still hot.” She rolls her eyes because apparently Tony is a pig in both sexes.

“That answers nothing. You a superhero?” her Tony asks and Lady Tony laughs.

“Oh my god, you have delusions of grander that put mine to shame,” she says.

The rest of the Tony’s look confused. “No we’re all superheroes. Iron Heart?” Married to Tony Rhodey says and the other four frown.

“Iron Man,” her Tony corrects but the rest nod so they’ve taken that name too.

Married to Rhodey Tony rolls his eyes. “White me’s aren’t creative,” he mumbles and then eyes up Woman Tony. “Except you, you might be creative I don’t know yet.”

“There are universes where we are honest to god superheroes?” she asks.

“Did you universe find Steve Rogers?” Pepper asks and Woman Tony frowns.

“Yeah, dead seventy years after he went into the ice- are you telling me he’s alive in your universes?” she asks.

Their Tony nods to Romanian Tony and Apocalypse Tony. “They’re married to him. We hate him,” he says, gesturing to himself and Married to Rhodey Tony. “But if you aren’t a superhero what do you do? Did you get kidnapped in Afghanistan? What is your life like?” Tony asks.

Woman Tony shrugs. “Fine I guess. I run the company- green energy mostly. Howard didn’t like it much but Howard can bite me,” she says.

Married to Rhodey Tony, “Howard?”

The rest of the Tony’s look at him, all of them annoyed. “You didn’t have Howard Stark as a parent? What’s your relationship like with your dad?” Apocalypse Tony asks.

Married to Rhodey Tony shrugs. “Fine, I guess. I mean we aren’t close but we aren’t on bad terms. I… take it you guys are on bad terms with your dads?” he asks more than states.

“Howard was an abusive piece of shit,” Woman Tony says and the rest nod in agreement.

Married to Rhodey Tony lets out a soft laugh, “sucks to be you guys. The company though- why are you running it?” he asks Woman Tony but the rest look confused too.

“Its… Stark Industries?” their Tony says, frowning. “I mean Pep has been running SI for like ten years almost now, but still. I had it before I made her CEO.”

The rest of the Tonys give Natasha’s Tony a confused look. “You gave Pepper the company?” Woman Tony asks, shocked.

“Mine went under in the apocalypse but I manage,” Apocalypse Tony says.

“I still have mine but I don’t do clean energy I do oil. Engineering was always my second love,” Romanian Tony says and her Tony wrinkles his nose.

“You’re killing the planet you dumb piece of shit. What kind of superhero are you? You’re not saving anything,” he says, surprisingly angry about this.

“You almost ended the world with Ultron,” Natasha reminds him.

“That was an accident,” Tony says in his defense and only Apocalypse Tony seems to forgive him for that one.

“Wait, can we go back to the company? What the hell is Stark Industries? In my universe I work at Rhodey’s company and its Rhodes Labs. What’s Rhodey do here?” he asks their Tony.

“He’s a colonel in the Air Force. He runs a company in your universe?” he asks and Married to Rhodey Tony nods.

“Pharmaceuticals.Very focused on getting medications to poorer areas both in America and elsewhere.”

Woman Tony frowns, “then how the fuck did you end up a superhero? Actually I want all your origin stories. Are we still Italian?” she asks.

“I’m Romanian. Are you Jewish?” he asks and she frowns.

“No, I’m Catholic,” she says and the atheist Tonys all wrinkle their noses.

The downside to a bunch of Tonys is that they all know how the other thinks and they keep shooting down ideas as soon as they crop up, and they crop up fast. “Look- first of all we need to break the damn connection. Who did this? Stripper plane?” Woman Tony asks, glaring at their Tony. He sighs and Natasha shares a look with Pepper, who’s just as amused as she is.

“Why have none of you closed the damn connection to the other universes?” someone new asks and they look over to find an annoyed brown woman who is, despite her obvious differences to the rest of the Tonys, unmistakably another Tony.

“I told them to do that but you know. Men,” Woman Tony 1.0 says.

Other Woman Tony squints and looks around. “Are none of you from Afghanistan?” she asks.

Their Tony sighs, “no. In this universe I was the weapons developer who pretty much single handedly ruined the country. Sorry about that,” he says, at least looking properly ashamed even if Afghanistan Tony looks confused.

“What are you talking about? Afghanistan is fine. Is America a third world country in this universe? It is in mine.”

Natasha’s Tony’s eyebrows fly up. “Plot twist.”

“Are you Jewish?” Romanian Tony asks and their Tony rolls his eyes.

“She’s wearing a hijab- obviously fucking not,” he says and Afghanistan Tony laughs.

“I take it none of you are Muslim?”

“Most of them are atheists except him,” Woman Tony says, Romanian Tony. “I’m Catholic. Left over from my Italian roots though I guess these guys didn’t stick to that,” he says, a little judgment in her voice.

Their Tony rolls his eyes, “I found food culture more important than a mary sue magical sky fairy,” he says and Natasha claps her hands as all three religious Tonys suck in a breath.

“Get yourselves the fuck out of the wrong universe!” she tells them.

“Wait- before we get to that are you also a superhero?” Married to Rhodey Tony asks Afghanistan Tony.

“Yeah, Iron Heart. You?” she asks and he grins.

“Alright- another creative. These idiots go by ‘Iron Man’ like some kind of freaks. This one isn’t even a superhero. Are you married to Rhodey?” he asks and Afghanistan Tony frowns.

“Who?” she asks and the rest of the Tonys look offended. “What? Are none of you married to Nick? Fury,” she clarifies when they all look confused. They all raise their eyebrows when she says Nick’s last name and color Natasha curious she wants to know too.

“He’s like… basically my dad in my universe,” Woman Tony 1.0 says and Afghanistan Tony wrinkles her nose.

“Same here, ish,” her Tony says.

“Died in the apocalypse,” Apocalypse Tony says.

“Don’t even know who that is,” Romanian Tony says and when her Tony tells him he was the former director of SHIELD he frowns. “Coulson runs SHIELD.”

“Is SHIELD a non profit organization here?” Afghanistan Tony asks. They all look confused so she takes that as a no. “Huh. Well that’s how I met Nick- who is my age in my universe. I was doing charity work in America.”

“Does he still have only one eye?” Natasha asks because all those Tonys must be dying to ask but they’re all exercising extreme self control not to ask. They all look relieved when she does it for them and Afghanistan Tony nods.

“Lost an eye to infection in childhood. Not unusual in America,” she says. Clint is going to lose his shit when she tells him later.

Clint looks annoyed and honestly Bruce can’t blame him. “They drank all the fucking coffee,” he says.

“Ate all the cookies too and Afghanistan Tony is a scrapper- don’t try and take her sweets.” Even Hulk wouldn’t battle it out with her and Bruce wasn’t about to test his luck. He just wanted a damn cookie.

“They figured it out!” Natasha yells, running into the kitchen all but crying in relief. He would too, if he’d been put in charge of keeping them all organized. “Thank fuck. You should have seen them all argue about the fucking suits. Who cares?” she says, shaking her head. “Also apparently there is a universe where I am not only married to Tony, but I also own a pet shop and wear Uggs. I should horrible and I hate me,” she says.

“Anyone say anything about me?” Clint asks and Nat nods.

“Yeah, Afghanistan Tony’s world is weird and America is a third world country and you got some disease that made you go deaf in your teens,” she says.

Clint sulks. “Why the fuck do I get the short stick?” he mumbles.

Natasha squints, “I wear Uggs and I’m married to Tony. Deafness is not that bad, especially compared to that,” she says.

“Any news about the other me’s?” Bruce asks and Natasha nods.

“There’s a short fat Russian Tony that married you but then you got killed by his rivals in Poland and also World War Two ended ten years later than it did here in that universe.”

Bruce winces. “Yikes.”

“Weirdest Tony to show up, go,” Clint says.

Natasha shrugs, “probably a toss up between Japanese Tony who really liked her Kawaii fashion choices or the one Tony that showed up that we think was an alien but none of us were totally sure. We had no fucking clue what he was trying to say. Or even if he was a he.”

“How is alien Tony on par with Kawaii Tony?” he asks.

Natasha pulls out her phone and shows him a picture of all the Tony’s together with Japanese Kawaii Tony in the front in a bunch of pastel colors with fuzzy mint green cat ears on, baby pink hair in big curls that suggests she’s wearing a wig, and a giant smile on her face. He can spot their Tony right away because he looks as confused by this version of himself as he and Clint do. “I see your point,” he says. “She Iron Man too? Or Iron Woman?” he amends.

Natasha lets out a loud snort, “oh my god guys, you should have seen her suit it was a thing of beauty. Tony in pastels should be immortalized.”

“Actually it was, she had the best designs out of all of us. Which is fucking nuts when you consider that the suits were designed to look like stuffed animals from her childhood. Guess I don’t sacrifice style in any universe,” Tony says.

Clint raises an eyebrow, “seriously?” he asks.

Tony nods. “Yeah. She put that suit through the fucking ringer and came out with some pretty damn sweet designs and functions. Kinda wished I could have picked her brain longer. Also she told my Japanese was an insult to the language.”

Bruce snorts and starts laughing. “Sounds like something you’d say.”

#tony & avengers #multiverse fic

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sorbriquette · 6 years ago

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Tagged by @basic-banshee Thank you Ban <3

1. How did you begin writing? I was writing from childhood. My primary school tutor was really encouraging so I started posting fanfic on FF.net illegally at like age 9. It was bad. When I was about 13 I started doing online RP and fell in with a group of brilliant people who helped me keep that up for YEARS and is kinda how I got into writing properly, not my shitty childhood fanfic.

2. What was your first writing project? Tell us a little about it. Like I said, shitty childhood fanfic. First legit project though would probably be last years NaNoWriMo (where you write 50k in a month). I wrote the first draft of a high fantasy kinda thing I’m working on but like the entire plot of that has been scrapped and I’m starting from scratch this year so...

3. What is your preferred medium for writing first drafts? Oh, I use ywriter 5 (link here) it’s like a free program that lets you write (without a spell check importantly so I don’t stop) and like add in like character and location and item tabs so you can keep track of what and who appears in the story and what each scene fulfills and shit. Imma shut up before this turns into an add but it’s really good and yall should check it out (even if I basically just use the POV system myself)

4. What rituals or habits do you have around writing?

I don’t really have any I don’t think? For me it’s kinda just sit down and go for as long as I’ve got the motivation. Usually late at night admittedly but yeah there’s nothing particularly consistent about the way I write.

5. We all have a “type”– of character, plot, theme– what is yours? I feel called out.

Probably wit though. Across all my characters RP, actual story, weves, I like the snarky asshole ones. I’m weak for that banter.

Also kinda both theme/character: good characters bore the shit out of me. I like ‘em morally grey or immoral and as such I write a lot about the subjective nature of morality in my original shit.

6. Introduce us to one (or more!) of your OC’s. Right so my current original shit has 6 mains and asking me to choose between them is inhumane so you get the 4 starting ones and the other two will remain a mystery.

Ren --> Brings a knife to a gun fight because ‘you gotta live life on hard mode’, makes bad choices for fun, stupidly reckless, very loyal but issues with authority. Military deserter turned pirate. Unofficial leader of this band of misfits.

Marcel --> Brings 2 knives to a gun fight because he is both a follower and coward. Just here for a laff and a taste of freedom. Prince of a country but does not want to rule. Falls in love with the first man who pays attention to him. Alignment is chaotic dumbass.

Kia --> Supposed to be the party thief but ‘it’s easier to loot a corpse than pick a pocket’. An actual proper coward, will leave everyone else to die if it saves her. Can’t take anything seriously. Tries to life-hack everything. Thinks murder is the solution to everything.

Corvus --> Absolute pacifist regardless of the danger. RLLY into blackmail (and plants). Lowkey the token evil teammate. Perpetually rolling his eyes. Makes all the plans and then gets salty when no one follows them. Would sell you to Satan for one corn chip.

7. What’s your favorite genre to read? FANTASY! Which is why, despite only really writing fic for Carry On, I’ve not actually read any of Rainbow Rowell’s other work. Contemporary romance doesn’t really interest me.

Also I’m weak for anything featuring like crime, but the criminals doing the crime, not the crime solving.

8. Your favorite genre to write? Fantasy again! Both high and low but with a preference for high because I like to world build.

9. How do you conduct your authorial research? LMAO what?

Like I said I like to write high fantasy so I don’t so much research as like to perpetually learn and incorporating things I like in.

10. What does your editing (gasp) process look like? So in 3. I said ywriter doesn’t have spell check? For fanfic I give it a cursory read over and fix anything glaring, then I copy it into word and use spellcheck and also grammarly. Then to the betas for the final round (I should do more but also?? Just fanfic)

My NaNo project tho? Never got edited at all.

11. What are your favorite tropes? BRuh I love all the tropes. I am WEaK for tropes. So trimming down to the favs:

I have a weird thing for catagorising so I love me some Cast Calculus

I try but never quite succeed with Blue and Orange Morality

Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking barely counts but I love it

A comedic Rashomon AKA that thing where everyone is being interrogated and they all tell completely different stories

I high key love a Magnificent Bastard in any form

And I mean a nice round five would have been good but how can one resist a Deadpan Snarker

Also I don’t think this is what I was meant to do for this segment but I enjoyed it so wevs

12. Show off your writing space. ABSOLUTELY NOT MY ROOM IS A MESS

13. What is the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever used? Don’t write for anyone but yourself. Write what you want to read.

I know it’s been said a multitude of times but idk the first time it really resonated with me was when VE Schwab mentioned it. I can’t find the source but I think she was quoting someone, soz!

14. What is the least useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever ignored? Write what you know.

Like get fucked? What I know is fucking boring. Let me write what I can imagine.

And though I don’t consider it real writing advice cause it was just 1 dumbass post on pinterest I saw one time “when writing a woman's pov make it more about emotions than a males. Her emotions, other peoples emotions’ etc. etc. Basically a load of shit. Don’t write a gender, write a fucking character.

15. Your writing beverage/snack of choice? I drink a lot of tea but it usually goes cold.

16. How do you compile your ideas? I don’t mostly, it’s a bad habit. Sometimes I drop stuff in my phone for fanfic or I have a couple of pocket sized leather note books I used to carry around for my original shit.

But mainly it’s just left in my head to get forgotten :\

17. What are your controversial opinions ™ on the craft of writing? I’m about to get crucified but here goes:

Writing isn’t hard.

Originally and concepts and stringing together a proper story? Yeah it’s a challenge. But just writing? Nah. not for me at least. If I’m sitting in front of a blank word document it’s because I have a problem with the scene. It doesn’t happen that often but when it does I find the best thing to do is go back and redo the sequence because going off no 13. It probably means I’m not interested in the scene.

But that’s just my opinion so please extinguish your torches and put down the pitchforks.

Tagging: @mydamnsunshine @thatsbitchcraft and any of my mutals who write. Chances are if you haven’t been tagged I thought you already had so go ahead and consider urself tagged.

#tag game #this ended up being a lot longer and a lot later than intended #twas fun tho #tbh I wrote this like 3 days ago and just edited it now

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surveys-at-your-service · 6 years ago

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Survey #147

“i almost died, but it felt great.”

Have you ever thought of a relationship as more of a job than love? Yep, definitely with Tyler. Girt felt that way too, kinda. Do you live in a town where basically everyone knows everyone else? Nope. When’s the last time you chose a bath over a shower? Years ago, you don't even wanna know what was wrong with me. What are you doing for your next birthday? Hopefully I'll be in a tattoo parlor my dude. Do you know anyone else with your name? Yeah, but spelled differently. Who do you care about the most? Sara and my mom. Colored skinny jeans. Yay or nay? YAY. Interests & hobbies: Photography, watching let's plays, music, writing/RP, any interaction with animals, art, gaming, being out in nature if it's cool. Music. What do you listen to? Heavy metal, mostly. Other sub-genres of metal and rock. Quality or quantity? Quality. What’s your phone’s signature? (if you have one…) Oh my fucking god I forgot phones used to have a signature option. I don't have one. Do you think it’s possible to will yourself out of caring about someone? I don't think so, honestly. Well... maybe. But I think you have to truly want to. Do you know anyone that is albino? No. Would you agree that smoking (cigarettes) should be illegal? It should be, but it's too late to make it so. Too many people would lose their jobs. Do you prefer regular bacon or turkey bacon? Regular by miles. Where do most of your relatives live? New York and Ohio. Is your weight proportionate to your height? No. What is the last place, other than home, that you stayed overnight? Sara's house. Do you prefer leather or lace? Lace. Would you ever buy a motorcycle? No, too risky for me. What is the furthest you have traveled alone? Illinois. Have you ever ridden a train? How about a subway? No to both. What did you do on the busiest day of your life? I dunno. Do you think everyone is born innocent? Or do you think “evil” is predetermined? I lean more towards being born innocent. What was the meanest thing you’ve been called? A martyr. Do you have any pets? If so, what species/breed? How did you acquire said pets? I have two dogs, one being a beagle/cocker spaniel and probs collie mix, and another that's supposedly part jack russell. The first came from a friend of a family friend, and the other I think from Craigslist? Then I have a cat that looks to have Siamese heritage, and he came from my sister's mother-in-law. I also have a champagne ball python that came from a breeder in Florida. Both my iguana and rat came from Craigslist. Have you ever gotten a pet at a shelter? You should. There’s nothing wrong with shelter pets. I believe so? Have you ever taken in a stray animal? Story of my family's life with cats lmao. Have you ever dated someone simply for their looks? No. What about dating someone simply because you felt too bad to say no? That's honestly how Tyler and I started, yes lmao. I didn't "like" him yet, but I mean, he was enough of a good guy for me to be like "okay let's try." Does any food always make you sick but you love it too much to not eat it? None "sick," no. Some don't sit well with my stomach, but I eat anyways. How do you feel about alcohol? Dangerous potential. Don't overindulge. Have you ever been drunk? No. Chicken or the egg, really? Chicken. Do you tell white lies? Sometimes. Would you rather be able to talk to animals or be fluent in every language? Talk to animals! Does your kitchen have a pantry? No. Have you ever interviewed a job applicant at your workplace? No. How do your political beliefs compare to those of your parents? I'm not as conservative as either. Have you ever gone over 3 months without shaving/waxing your legs? Lol yes. Would you ever consider being a foster parent? No. What’s your opinion on lottery tickets? Waste of money, or no? Once in a blue moon, whatever, give it a shot if you want. But generally a waste, odds are too small. Have you ever swam in a saltwater pool? Those exist?? What kinds of leisure activities did your family do together when you were growing up? Almost nothing all together... We would swim together sometimes, though. And cook out. Are either of your parents retired yet and if not, what do they do? No. Dad's a mailman, and Mom's a pharmacy tech. What kind of booze did you last take shots of? I've never done shots. What is one moment that you missed out on that you wished you didn’t? Off the top of my head, I guess the total solar eclipse we had a while back. Didn't see anything here. But eh, didn't have glasses anyway. What is your favorite shape? Circles. Who did you last kiss? Romantically, Sara. Platonically, I think my nephew. Are pigs adorable or dirty? PRECIOUS. What brand water do you drink? (Smart Water, Dasani, etc) Great Value lmao. Can you speak a second language fluently? No. Do you wanna learn any other languages? I would really, really like to take German again and become fluent. What is the worst pain you’ve ever experienced? Physically, an infected cyst being drained with not even nearly enough numbing and morphine; emotionally, romantic heartbreak. What’s your least favorite chore? Dishes. I refuse to live somewhere that doesn't have a dishwasher when I move out aksjfdasoejiw. If you had 5 minutes to talk with any politician, who would it be? *shrugs* What would you ask them? ^ You’re stranded alongside the road. Who do you call first? Mom. Name the last 3 TV shows you watched: The Good Doctor, The Bionic Vet, and probably a show that's not coming to me for Keegan or the girl Colleen watches. If you had to be a member of a TV sitcom family, which one would it be? jfaskdjasie the Addams. Goals. Name 3 things from your childhood that you still have today: Like half a billion stuffed animals, some toys, some video games. How many bones have you broken? None. Who is the one person you DON’T want to come to your wedding? Hm. Idk. Maybe my sister's husband, but I mean it'd be fine if he kept his judgments to himself as I'm probably marrying a girl, and boy do I know his opinions. What is your favorite fast food joint? Probably Wendy's. Have you used Limewire before? Hahaha yes. Do you have any siblings? Younger or older? Yeah, five older and one younger. Have you ever had a one night stand? No. Do you or any of your friends have children? My best friend has a son. Who do you envy the most, if anyone at all? Ha, couldn't tell you. Somebody. So have you ever been on a legit date? Yeah. Last person you watched a movie with?   Colleen. Favorite book that was made into a movie? Johnny Got His Gun. Do you like eggnog? NO. Ever seen someone get surgery? Not like, in person. But I watched a video of how the surgery I had is done before having it. Do you play Pokemon Go? If so, what level are you and who’s your buddy? I play when I can anyway, Pokestops are like non-existent here, so. But anyway I think I'm 11 or 12, and my buddy is Charmander. If you wear lipstick, what’s your favorite color to wear? Black. Has your best friend ever made you cry? Yes. Have you ever entered a talent competition? No. What color is your best friend’s hair? Blonde. Is your best friend older or younger than you? She's a few months older. Do you have a dream catcher? No. If you’ve ever been out of your country, do you have a souvenir? I've never been out of the country. When was the last time you saw the person you had your first kiss with? February of last year. Have you read any of Shakespeare’s works other than Romeo and Juliet? Yeah, though it was still for school. Why did you move to where you’re living now? We got evicted and kinda just had to pick whatever accommodated us and wasn't gross-looking. Thankfully we all really like our house, more than our old one even. What was the most severe punishment your parents gave you when you were growing up? Multiple spankings. Have you ever been to California? No. Do you think dreams actually mean anything? Why/why not? No. Because recently Colleen told me about a dream where she won a fried chicken plush from a claw machine and it came out as four buckets of KFC. Find me the meaning pls. What’s something you’re really bad at compared to others? Social interaction. I panic over how long I'm supposed to keep eye contact, dude. How much was gas the last time you filled your car up? I don't fill my own gas, don't have a car. But I think it's like... $2.69 or something here?? Do you usually fill up at the same gas station? Mom normally does. What was the topic of conversation the last time you spoke to a sibling? I was texting Ashley about where we're doing Ryder's birthday pictures. Are any of your relatives musicians? No. Is there a movie you currently want to see? Slender Man and The Meg. Have you ever received an autograph from a celebrity? No.. Do you have a piece of technology that should be dead, but it’s still going? Oh boy, the iPod nano I've had since the beginning of middle school. Ever sent drunk texts? No. How many dresses do you own? Besides my two prom ones, I think one?? What was the most unique pet you’ve owned? My iguana, probably. Do you enjoy swimming in the ocean? Big scream yes. I was at the beach the other day and the water was absolutely perfect. Is there something you want to do, that you swear you will, no matter what? Yeah, meet Mark. Direct opposite location in the U.S. my ass, he has no escape. What’s something you’ve vowed to never eat? Wild animals, unless I'm in a survival situation. Do you have trouble sleeping if you sleep anywhere else but home? Eh, I can sometimes. If I'm comfortable, not really.

#survey #quiz #questions

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bouncepaaad · 7 years ago

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@discontentedfairy and @star-hill-zone tagged me for the same question thing, thank you both!! And it was quite a while back, I apologize. Just for kicks I made one Sonic-related, and the one just about me (and another set of questions) are under the read more to save your eyes.

10 Facts About Me (Sonic edition)

1. Sonic has always been my favorite character from the franchise. 2. When I was little, someone gave me some Sonic & Knuckles sneakers. They were black but the logo was in color, and I haven't been able to find pics of any similar ones. What did I do with them??? 3. My absolute favorite issues of the Archie comic are #25 and the Mecha Madness Special. When I first read them, I was really taken by Spaziante's work in both, enjoyed the Sonic CD tie-in, as well as the higher stakes of Sonic being roboticized. 4. I collected almost all of the first 60 issues of the Archie comic, but then I sold them off during a time where Sonic wasn't one of my main interests. Needless to say I feel REGRET. 5. One of my best friends was so kind and surprised me with a mini box of that Glamglow x Sonic gravity mud. The Knuckles one, I think. I want to try it out, but the collector in me wants to leave it closed forever. Plus it's almost a year old now, so...maybe not. 6. I've never played any of the Sonic Gameboy Advance titles, as I've never owned a Gameboy Advance. 7. I don't have a favorite female Sonic character. Each one is so great in her own way, and I love them all. I really wish they were featured more in gameplay and merchandise. 8. I don't really have an OTP either. Though I'm partial to Sonamy, Sonadow, and Sonally, I'm pretty flexible. Like...man. Sonighty and Metonic have kinda grown on me. I also think Knuckles and Rouge complement each other well. 9. My favorite special stages to play are the ones in the first Sonic game, as well as the spheres in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. 10. I have never made a Sonic OC and I feel kinda disappointed in myself for that. I just never felt the urge. Maybe I'm not creative enough? I've seen so many awesome OCs and I'm always amazed at the imagination and love that goes into them.

10 Facts About Me (General edition)

1. I'm going to Anime Expo this year! It will be my second time. 2. I don't know how to whistle. 3. In high school, I took one year of Chinese language, and two years of Japanese (plus one semester of it in college). I can still write in katakana and hiragana but kanji is a lost cause for me. I even forgot the stroke order of the simpler ones. 4. Despite having to take Spanish in every grade (as is mostly the norm where I live) and being Hispanic, I am not fluent in Spanish. But I can read/understand it more than I can speak it. 5. I don't like scary movies. 6. I've always wanted to have a house full of plants but never been good with them, so I decided to start small. I bought some indoor ivy and a few succulents and I'm happy to say that they're all still alive over a month later!! 7. I still have my old 4th generation iPod Nano and it works perfectly. It's orange and I named it Tampico (yes after the drink). 8. I love media with layered mysteries and symbolism, and all the theories they produce. Right now I have Steven Universe, Adventure Time, and Stranger Things to pore over (and Voltron kinda. I need to know if Shiro is OKAY), but other things I've liked in the past for this are Lost, the Cloverfield stuff, and Evangelion. 9. We have one dog (a Chihuahua mix) and one cat (not sure what he is, but he's old and fluffy). 10. Not too long ago I watched the latest episodes of Steven Universe and then finally got to see Infinity War the very next day. I still don't think I've mentally recovered.

The next questions are thanks to @beevean! I appreciate the tag. I tagged you back in mine but if you're tired of question memes feel free to disregard~

RULES: Answer the 11 questions. Make 11 of your own and tag 11 people.

1) If you could be fluent in three languages without studying, which ones would you choose? For me it'd have to be Spanish, Japanese and Korean. 2) Who are your three favorite characters in general? I'd have to say three characters I've loved since I was a kid and still love fiercely now: Leonardo (TMNT), Sonic the Hedgehog, and Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing. 3) Any unpopular opinion? The Archie Sonic comics aren't as bad as they're usually made out to be. 4) Fluff or angst? Fic-wise I gravitate toward angst but fanart-wise I love fluff. 5) Favorite aesthetic? I love the cute clutter/plants everywhere/sipping coffee kinda feel. But I love starry space stuff and cute pastels also. 6) Any movie, tv series or book you think everyone should watch or read? The TV show Six Feet Under. I can't say it's my favorite but I can say that it's incredible. A friend and I got so invested that we hunted down every season boxset and binged them all within a month. Very moving and thought-provoking, and I cried my heart out at the end (don't just look it up on Youtube; that's a waste of one of the best endings ever). 7) What are you most proud of in your life? I have so many insecurities and regrets that this question was a little hard to answer. I guess I'd say that I'm proud of how I've grown as a person. I used to be really apologetic and hesitant about a lot of things. I speak my mind more often now, and am way more willing to try new things. 8) If you could talk to yourself 10 years ago, what would you tell yourself? Conquer your fears now so you don't have to keep struggling with them ten years later. And please SAVE UP SOME MONEY. 9) Do you have any odd interest? I can't think of any that I have now, but when I was a kid I used to watch the jewelry segments of the Home Shopping Network religiously (a shopping channel on TV, for anyone that isn't familiar with it). I was so fascinated by all the different stones and their cuts, and all the random information the hosts would share about them. My mom still remembers this and whenever she has a gemstone-related question she just assumes I have the answer. 10) What are your favorite words? Smoosh, briolette, plunk, lemony. 11) What’s your favorite superpower? Flight! Would love to have it, love when characters have it.

My Questions For You: 1. What would be your dream accomplishment? 2. Are birthdays a big deal to you, or just another day? 3. Favorite childhood memory? 4. Do you like spicy food? 5. What do you like about Tumblr? 6. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be? 7. Favorite scent? 8. What show/movie/book do you consider a guilty pleasure? 9. Worst movie you've recently watched? 10. If you could pick just one franchise: Mario or Sonic? 11. A meme that never fails to make you laugh?

Tagging @beevean @bookvideogamemaniac @discontentedfairy @dragonforsale @xx-infidgettiku-xx @star-hill-zone @qrow-the-drunk @finnythefloofhog @7-3-d @thattakenusername and @sailormoonwannabe But anyone else who sees this can consider themselves tagged, if they want to!

#just me talkin #I was tagged!!!!#sorry to lump them all together #but I thought it'd be easier

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genyatta-ss · 7 years ago

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from @typ3null:

( @embrace-tranquility hello friend! i hope you enjoy your words @w@ i’m sorry that i don’t know what else a ‘summer festival’ is, but i certainly tried!)

Every time Zenyatta points even a micron of interest towards some sort of mushed faced, crushed velvet disaster, Genji immediately throws himself at the challenge. And what sort of ring toss, dart throw, watergun minigame could a cyborg /not/ win? The rigged ones, they suppose, and while he calls the carnie worker on it every time he fails to knock over a wobbly tower of bottles, there’s no point in arguing. There’s more and different terrible prizes to win elsewhere- and between the workers forbidding the enhanced man from participating anymore, and the unwinnable games, there’s still a very mighty haul. Zenyatta didn’t exactly mean to end up with so many things- but he liked too much giving Genji something to ‘impress’ him with, as he often craved to do. It takes many stops back to the hotel room to drop off giant animals as not to have them carry the weight the entire time.

Earlier in the day, it was hard to get Genji out of their room comfortably. He worried that his visor and mask would be too startling, that he would be too often confused for an omnic. Once he’d removed it, he worried instead how estranged he was from his species at all. They settle for loose clothing regardless, suffering in the summers heat- well, Zenyatta was, at least, long since calibrated for mountain coolness. Genji was built for all levels of temperature control. It’s such a crowded place, however, and once they settle into the thick of it, hardly anyone notices the strange pair, more rather distracted by the lights, colours and distant, early fireworks. Sometimes, people ask. Mostly children, who don’t have the sense not too. Genji has no idea what to tell them in response- but without a second thought, Zenyatta chimes in tales, each one more far-fetched than the last. It’s relieving to Genji to hear the stories he could wildly think of- and if it hadn’t been, Zenyatta would’ve never started.

They take a break beneath a full leafed tree, surrounded by many others who take refuge in the shade but pay the pair of them no mind. The silence reigns over them for some period before Zenyatta thinks to ask him something that’s been prying his mind, he’s playing around with the long and asymmetrical limbs of a what he thinks is trying to be a tiger when he prods Genji’s attention, “Is it much different here than home?”

He doesn’t respond immediately, humming a note of thought. “Not much different, I suppose. Not much different than I was expecting. There are a lot of omnic’s here.” With his legs splayed out before him, Genji looks about the gathering crowd. The sun is setting now, so it’s less about the shade, and more the loose tiredness that takes over. The day isn’t over, however. Genji’s excitement does not cease despite the long sit.

“It’s a bit strange how, in the same country, you can go from one place to another, and the opinions they have varies so wildly.”

“America is a very large place. I think they’ve always been a little divided on things.”

“At least this time, we’ve chosen our place well.”

He laughs out loud before responding, half-lidded eyes drifting over to Zenyatta and his lop-sided tiger. “And you think I would’ve let us stay anywhere more hostile while they celebrated?” Sinking into a lay in the grass, Genji tuts beneath his breath, “They like their explosions here.”

“You imply there are no fireworks in Japan.”

“It’s the caliber in which they use, Master.” He scoffs, staring up at the slowly dimming clouds.

“You think it will be more than I expect?”

“How many fireworks shows have you seen?”

He doesn’t respond immediately, counting fingers more for effect than anything. “I’ve never seen any, perhaps.”

“Never?” he responds incredulously.

“Never, maybe, as interesting as you seem to think this one will be.”

Genji thinks, THINKS he catches a hint of nervousness in his friend’s voice, but shrugs it off; if there was something wrong, he would definitely tell him. Except Zenyatta was notoriously bad at mentioning things like this. It’s something he thinks to be keeping an eye on at the night progresses.

Genji has always liked fireworks- and even after all this work with Overwatch, and Blackwatch, he never shied away from a good lightshow. He’s caught in his own amusement, after hours of waiting, when the dark skies become overtaken by harsh flashes of colour and sound. Zenyatta focuses rather, on the way his scarred face twists in amusement, bright eyes glittering reflecting. He notes how with each explosion, despite his best efforts, Genji flinches, his biomechanic eyes glowing a nano-second of red from each moment of hesitation. How, even with this obvious reaction to his fight or flight response, he is very much alight with how much he enjoys the show.

It takes Zenyatta a bit longer than he would’ve liked to notice that Genji’s sight lingers away from the fireworks, and to Zenyatta, who stares at the ground instead. “… Master?”

“Hmn? What?” It’s hard to hear between the screams of the crowd and the aforementioned explosions.

It’s a staring contest for a moment, Genji’s mouth slightly ajar in confusion. “You aren’t enjoying yourself.”

“But you are!” To attempt to divert the attention, he reaches omnic digits underneath his chin, affectionately cupping the smiling face. Well, the previous smiling face. It frowns- just for a second, before perking up again.

“You should’ve said something. But, I could have also noticed.”

“Noticed what, Genji-“ but it’s too late, the other man rises to his feet with one solid motion, offering a hand to rise his friend as well. “Genji, please, it’s just a little loud, I am absolutely fine.” But Genji doesn’t take a silent or verbal no for an answer, no matter how Zenyatta pouts. He is secretly very glad for this- or, less so secretly, as he too eagerly grabs onto a palm, and hauls himself onto somewhat unsteady legs.

While they shift between the crowd, “I don’t want to pry, but I am curious..”

“Which is prying.”

“You don’t have to answer!”, they duck behind a nearby stand, stuffed close together in the darkness- the shadow of the lights overhead casting wide shadows before them.

“Old programming, perhaps.”

“Were you ever in the omnic war?”

“We all were. I know, I am not /really/ scared of them.”

“But they just don’t amuse you. Zenyatta, you know, you are allowed to be uncomfortable by things.” An arm slinks around his backside, dragging the two of them closer then they’d already been cramped before.

“I know this, of course I do.”

“If you say so.”, Genji teases, gently, and once again, drags them out to the streets, making himself an excellent ‘bodyguard’ through the crowd, and quite a distance away. Now that there was more room to hear, and think, “Have you actually ever seen fireworks? No teasing.”

“I haven’t. I’ve avoided it on purpose. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it.”

He stuffs his tongue out of his mouth, hissing, with a smile, “You should have told me!”

“You seemed so interested in seeing them, I did not want to get in the way.”

“I can see fireworks /anywhere/, Zenyatta.”

“I will admit, seeing you alight the way you did, was very nice.”

“Aha, was that the ploy, then?” He slinks in closer again, hugging him at the waist. Normally, Zenyatta would shy away from the contact. Instead, Genji catches him lingering closer. It’s hard not to wrinkle his nose at the thought.

“And what if it was! It was such a long time going to get you out of the house at all.”

Zenyatta never expected some years ago he’d be receiving so many stuck out tongue’s and other such wild expressions in response. “Oh, does that make us even now! You convinced me, and yourself to come out and dress like normal people and do normal people stuff.”

“Yes! And I went and pretended to like some sky explosions.” He gestures wildly with a free hand, shaking his head, “Genji, though-“ he makes sure to add the append, “We /are/ normal people.”

He gets outright patted on the face for that one, gently- “I refuse.”

“Refuse all you want! You know it in your heart to be true.”

Genji can’t help but laugh at that- and Zenyatta can’t help but laugh in return.

They end their night off where it started- Genji idly staring at himself in the mirror, while Zenyatta rests on the bed, legs crossed and meditating, floating. They hadn’t talked much, if at all on the way back, but there was a sense of calm understanding in place where, conversation wasn’t necessarily required. Zenyatta can only let Genji preen at his scars for so long before he breaks the silence with a quiet but attention grabbing, “Genji.”

“Mn?” He tones like he questions his friend’s concerned calling for him, but he knows what he means, breaks from his mirror staring contest, and trots back over to the hotel bed. Despite Zenyatta ‘sitting’ on the end like some sort of curled up cat, Genji crawls beneath the covers.

A giggle lets Zenyatta know a moment before that the other man plans some sort of hijinks, but he doesn’t relax from his meditation in quick enough time to stop the bedspread from draping over his floating foam. Slightly muffled, “Well, /now/ I’m some sort of ghost.”

“With nine glowing eyeballs. It’s very scary.”

“Can you actually see my eyes.” Some shifting, he feels Genji move to the side, and peering to his front.

“Mn, a little. Maybe not distinctly nine. And now that you’re not focusing anymore, it’s much darker.”

“Don’t feel like sleeping?” He changes the subject to why he’d arisen from his fake-nap. He’s laid for about an hour.

“Must you always meditate at the foot of the bed?”

“I could go elsewhere.”

“I didn’t actually mean it like that.”

Reaching up to remove the blanket, he swiftly tosses it back over Genji. “Well, you’ll have to explain then.”

He accepts his returned blanket, and reclines, wiggles back, “Lay down for once.” Slowly, Zenyatta’s neck cranes around to peer at his cohort- and if he had a face capable of expression, Genji swears he’d be raising a condescending eyebrow. “What?” Genji shrugs from his blanket burrito, obviously innocent.

Instead of answering, he floats down his to weight the bed, stretching his feet into the carpet below; before curving around, and crawling his frame to the blanket’d ones free side of the bed. Genji hadn’t exactly expected that to work so fight-less, but doesn’t complain; he tosses half the blanket across him when he flops face-down into the pillowtop. “Very comfortable.”

“Don’t sound so sarcastic. You’d be more comfortable maybe, if you weren’t breaking your neck so.” With an overdramatic sigh, he tilts and faces away from him, relaxing down again. They lay in silence for another choice few minutes before Genji slinks closer, noise nearly touching the back of his head- he mumbles words into the framing there, “Did you want to talk about it?”

“About which, Genji?”

“Were you truly always this uncomfortable with the fireworks?”

“Mnn….”

Genji’s assumptions were correct. In the years of knowing him, Zenyatta reflects his discomforts in /extremely/ small details. Giving himself the distractions. Toying idling with the things Genji had won him- a slightly downturned head. He wonders if he even wants to press the subject further- how he didn’t even seem to enjoy the crowds, either, but instead wraps an arm around his waist. “I will be here to protect you, Zenyatta.”

“And I will as well.”

#fanfic #submission #genyatta

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mumblingsage · 7 years ago

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Not!NaNo Update/Musings/Post-Mortem (well, not quite post-) under the cut, for those who are curious.

So my original goal was to write at least 300 words per day on one of six stories. As of now, I’ve written about 22,000 words this month, informally upping my goal to 1,000 words a day or 30,000 for all of Not!NaNo.

That’s as much as I’ve ever gotten done in my previous attempts, most of which, I should note, ended with a breakdown around the week of the 20th.

Which...hello!

With about 10,000 of those words, I successfully finished 2 of the 6 stories, the fanfiction I’d been hoping to get off my plate--and serve up to others: the last chapter of Four Days (about 3,500 words) and a one-shot for the Will TNT or just Kit Marlowe fandom, Solamen (7,000 words long...this means I’ve spent about 11,000 words in TNT!Kit’s head, making him one of the characters I’ve gotten most into along with Max Rockatansky and Virgilia. I have no idea what observations might be drawn from that).

Editing and posting those 2 pieces took up most of last weekend and either contributed to or combined with my general breaking down, so I haven’t written more than ~100 words since finishing them. Though I’m outlining.

[That said, I’m glad to have got them posted in time for anyone who needs something to read on their phone under the table to check out from Thanksgiving ‘festivities’. I remember someone telling me that was how they read one of my fics and I’m so happy to be of service. ]

The four pieces I have left to write--

An original fic about Kit Marlowe...and his adventures shagging William Shakespeare. In Shakespeare’s POV this time. Incidentally, if anyone is curious to read this one, I’ll be seeking betas/concrit/opinions once I finish this sucker and before I submit it to an erotica anthology call I have an eye on. I’m at about 2,500 words but will probably need to cut it down to size because I have more than 50% of the story left to write and a strict wordcount cap of 5,000.

Original fic for a Best Lesbian Erotica call. This story has caused virtually no trouble, possibly because I haven’t made much progress with it yet. It’s the only piece that’s not Elizabethan (except Four Days) so it’s not benefiting from synergy-slash-creative-overflow from the other stories. It does follow my general trend of “sexy + something distressing enough that maybe it should kill the mood, but somehow doesn’t.” While also being about survival and triumph, healing and helping each other heal. I’m at about 1,000 words plus outlining.

While her husband shags Marlowe, I’m also writing Anne Shakespeare nee Hathaway x Sappho (who became a fairy, as I’m drawing on one of my favorite yet underreported aspects of fairy mythology). It’s sort of coming along, although I still don’t know a lot of the plot yet. In the absence of plot, I’m making up wordcount with lots of description; Anne’s been an interesting character to sink into so far, especially as her worldview is going to be thematically important. I may be overwhelming myself with references to various wonderfully queer, tragically dead poets in the worldbuilding (speaking of Kit Marlowe...he’s not showing up, but since a copy of The Passionate Pilgrim does play a role he might be quoted. So will Billy Shakes, but I really don’t want him to take this piece over. My goal is to prioritize queer poets for my intertextual quotes, and to have only women appear “onscreen” in the story itself--so far this has worked). Also, this takes place just a few years after Hamnet Shakespeare’s death, which is just...challenging, even by the standards of a writer as angsty as I am. I’m hoping to make this happy overall, though.

(This fic + the 2 Marlowe ones are what have led me to nickname this NaNo “The month I got SO HIGH on INTERTEXUTALITY” because I’m referencing/quoting/alluding to so damn much. Also, Tumblr’s spellchecker wants me to correct “intertextuality” to “heterosexuality” which is the one thing absolutely none of those stories are about, wow.)

The “Kissing in Confessionals” story, which is where I #screw writing obedient Jesuits and...write about screwing Jesuits? (In priest holes, which honest to god is not a dirty pun.) actually covers some similar ground to “Solamen” in terms of raging at the heavens, the Elizabethan religious milieu, heresy, conscience, spiritual abuse (in ways even more explicitly Catholic), relationships between characters with very different metaphysics + how those metaphysics can reflect back on the characters who hold them. And grieving/trauma. Its current actual title draws from Psalm 88, speaking of angsty writing. My concerns are various but include: it’s too angsty, it’s too religious, it’s an awkward balance between being historically accurate in ways that might weird people out while being completely inaccurate when I want it to be; also, it’s got a pretty strong love plotline going but is haphazard in terms of the action-adventure B-plot. I would love to add more intertextuality to this one but am somewhat hampered by a lack of available texts, with most of the ones I could use being in Latin. Despite that, I’ve written several thousand words in it and maybe I’ll even continue and finish! If nothing else, aspects of it have been unexpectedly cathartic, cute (it is in fact a romance by genre! I think!), and otherwise pleasant.

Other lessons learned:

Has writing 300-1,000 words a day paid off? Yeah, I think. Among other things, I now feel twitchy if I spend an evening *not* writing, which means I’ve built up a productive habit. On the other hand, spending 2-4 hours a night writing really messed up my schedule--in particular, reading and sleeping. I re-downloaded f.lux so that I don’t have as much blue light coming off my screen when I write in the evenings. I haven’t picked up a new book since October 31st, I’ve returned a book to the library unread (almost unheard of for me) and I still have 35 or so books to finish reading by mid-December, whoops.

Back to the positives, I'm also happy to have the fanfic finished, both in terms of “At last Four Days isn’t on my to-do list anymore” (I miss it, though) and “Hey, Solamen was even more weirdly cathartic in ways I didn’t anticipate”.

I’m hoping to write a last 10,000 words or so, mostly by finishing the Marlowe x Shakespeare piece, getting some more traction with the lesbian erotica, and going wild with Kissing in Confessionals. Ideally, I’ll be able to continue a small amount of daily writing through December to address what I’m not able to finish this time around.

I also may continue the process of “picking a handful of stories to prioritize for a month, with a least one of them being novella or novel-length”. Because I have never been able to finish novels with any reliability, but this might change if I can just make myself put in the time.

#Sage writes #if my writing process interests you #or you're wondering about the WIPs I keep alluding to #HAPPY NANO MOTHERFUCKERS

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