#its VERY interesting to me from a writers pov though

[dennistakesamentalhealthday]

me when it's nearly 4am and i need to sleep but i'm thinking about the essay that lives in my head about how sunny shifted with the gang goes to hell

[foxmulderautism]

beau is such a trailblazer of an oc cause he's the first dallonwrites protagonist to have a good relationship with his family

[secretthegriffin]

A MOST RESTFUL NIGHT

summary: crosshair often fights his exhaustion, but tonight proved to be a little bit more difficult...

pairing: crosshair / fem! jedi ( can be seen as reader as they're unnamed)

A/N : so this is basically an excerpt from a story I'll never finish. I don't usually post what I write but I felt this is special. I also would like to point out I am in no way shape or form a professional writer so I'm sorry if there's mistakes but anyways this is mostly in cross' pov. and its super fluff. with softie and slightly touched starved cross. so no warnings. :)

He sat alone in the darkness of the shuttle. All of his crewmates have been asleep for some time now so the ship was especially quiet. He held his fire-puncher with his supplies, ready to relax and clean the weapon. Most of the time his rifle hardly needed it. Alas he cleaned the damn thing so much though it turned habitual. Often avoiding sleep entirely he would indulge himself with said habit until complete exhaustion. It is so cleaning his rifle, he found himself entirely lost in the activity. He didn't even notice the hesitant figure approaching him from the shadows of the ship.

"How can you see? Its so dang dark" she sighed.

Almost startled, he looked up from the gun speechless. There the jedi stood as breathtaking as ever, standing before him.

"I don't need the light, I can see in the dark". He replied sarcastically.

Avoiding the jedi's sleepy eyes, he took her in. she wore her regular jedi robes, except she had a tightly fitted tank and shorts on as if she threw the robes over her sleep wear.

"figures" she yawned stretching her hands above her to the ceiling. cross was thankful it was dark, she wouldn't see his hawk like eyes devour every inch of her as she stretched. From her pretty face and soft curves down to her beautiful breasts and long smooth legs. Cross would be lying to himself if he said she wasn't attractive. Maker, she was down right the most stunning jedi cross had ever laid his eyes on. He keenly watched as she carefully made her way through the dark to the opposite side of the sofa he sat on. yawning once more she gestured to the rifle.

"Well, go on" she proclaimed.

"What?" He was taken aback a bit to be honest.

"Don't let me stop you from cleaning the damn thing". Gesturing once more to the rifle, but with a smile.

That damn smile. It made cross's heart flutter a bit. She could never know what she does to him. She made him felt things one never thought could exist. He hated it. Hated she made him felt this way. And yet. He hated how much he loved it. oh so much. With heat rising to his face, he smirked. going back to his business. Basking in the warm feel of her watchful eyes as he silently cleaned the weapon. He didn't quite understand why she watched. But he also didn't really care. He loved the idea of being the very object of her interest in this moment.

"Its soothing". She whispered. as if reading his mind.

"Excuse me?" He whispered back.

"The noise. Watching you...its.. Meditating" she hummed, closing her eyes.

"hmm". He didn't really know what to say, she must be especially tired.

"Can I get a better view?" Her bold question surprised cross a bit, making him stop suddenly to directly look at her.

"What do you mean?"

She huffed. her cheeks going pink as she smiled at him again, turning his insides to mush.

"Like this". She lifted his arm off his lap and gently adjusted herself to lay across his lap so her head rested on his thigh, looking at the rifle and his hands.

"Now I can watch closely and comfortably." she said quietly lifting her hands to snuggle between her head and his thigh.

"If I didn't know any better, sweetheart, I'd think you're looking for a different kind of entertainment tonight". He teased with a chuckle. Though he was not so subtly trying to hide the fact he was entirely flustered by the closeness. He couldn't take his eyes off her beautiful face. The warmth of her body on his thighs sent shivering chills through his body. Maker what he wouldn't give to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer to him, into his lap.

she giggled at his response but playfully smacked his leg.

"shut up. now c'mon, I'm trying to meditate." she insisted.

Looking down onto the gorgeous jedi, Cross gladly went back to his rifle, but not without a stupid smug smile on his face.

She watched intently as his skillful fingers cleaned the rifle. His hands were so carefully delicate as he took the weapon apart. She was surprised the mean marksman could care enough about something to treat it so. Watching as if he was an artist, it relaxed her. Sighing as she slowly fell asleep to the soft clanking of the metal.

As soon as Cross noticed she was soundlessly asleep, he thanked the stars for such a moment. His gun long forgotten, Cross silently studied her features and the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She looked so gorgeously peaceful and so serene. and so perfect against his lap.

"Mesh'la". He breathed. Gently brushing loose strands of hair from her face. His hands trembled as he ever so lightly with the tips of his fingers traced her face. they ached to reach out and hold her, but he could never let himself do that. After some time she began softly snoring. So with a tired and heavy sigh Cross tucked his arms under her, lifting her to his chest bridal style. He slowly and carefully made his way to her bunk. Softly laying her against the cot. But as he turned to go to his own cot, her hand reached out to his wrist stopping him.

"Do you wanna lay with me?" she whispered. She sounded so tired, and so beautiful. Cross sighed another heavy sigh, he too was tired. hesitating, he slid next to her, not touching her, but sitting awkwardly just next to her. He eyed her as she lazily curled herself next to his side, falling back to sleep. for a moment he thought about going to his own bed. until she reached out in her sleep, wrapping her arm across his chest to snuggle into his side. cross's heart completely stumped. He completely gave into his feeling he was never going to beat, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as possible. He curled into her, almost melting. Soaking in the warmth of everything her. He felt so undeniably comfortable, he wished the stars this wasn't a cruel dream. As he held her tighter to his chest he succumbed to the drowsiness he'd been avoiding for so long. Loosing another internal battle. Falling oh so deeply into a blissful slumber.

-----the end---- <3

[davycoquette]

Questionnaire~

Thank you for the tag, @drchenquill!

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life?

I always call it a hobby, but almost always prefixed with some form of, "greatest," "most important," or "favorite." I think way of life fits a helluva lot better. I've been writing since I can remember.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript?

The journal one. I have like 900 I'm actively writing in at this very moment.

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration?

Cormac McCarthy. The love I have for my shitty characters. The agonizing unignorable need to put words on paper or screen.

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing?

The singing one. I am not ashamed of my writing, but I have been taught to be ashamed of my singing lmfao. Which is weird and dumb because singing isn't something I go around telling people I can do decently - I don't tell people, "Oh, I sing," or, "I'm a singer." So, I have nothing to prove on that front, yet... I don't think I could make a peep of noise if someone said, "Sing me a song." Meanwhile, even when my writing's not at it's best, I'm like, "Yeah, I'm a writer. Here's some shit I wrote that isn't good. Sometimes I write good stuff, though."

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective?

I mean... in the literal sense, sure. A story looks different from the eyes of a character. By the same token, it helps me "understand" when people make choices I've not personally made. I think, for this reason, it's important to write about characters with different belief systems than we have - to write about them as sympathetic people with complex emotions. Not just to villainize or cathartically punish them, but to explore why people do the things they do and what life events might drive them in that direction. But cathartic character murder has its time and place, and who am I suggest what others write? Y'all do y'all.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN?

I have not used LiveJournal since I was a teen - is it still a thing people use??? That sounds nostalgic and fun. Not sure what FFN is; something to do with fanfiction? I only write original fiction, so that rules it out if so. AO3 is very cool, but the interface isn't my favorite. Also fanfic-heavy, so I never know if I've got a place there. Tumblr always freaked me right the fuck out, but the Writeblr community has proven to be my favorite writing community I've discovered online. And in a very short timespan, I might add!

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it?

I do not use AO3 but wordcounts can never be high enough 😎

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably?

Probably too many to count. Little House on the Prairie A Separate Peace The Road Fight Club (recently rewatching this was humbling because it showed me how much of my writerly personality seems to be inspired by the way it rearranged my brain chemicals) Bullet Train (I fucken love this movie) Lawn Dogs Box of Moonlight Harold and Maude (book & movie) Pride and Prejudice (book & movie)

9. What’s the highest compliment you’ve ever been given, and have you been given it?

I've received some absolute banger compliments, and I don't want to dismiss any in favor of others. My favorite compliments are often ...questions? Just things that let me know people really did read, absorb, and are interested in things I wrote. Also, my love language is when people think about me of their own volition. So, any time people come to me apropos of nothing or say "this reminds me of you/your characters/your writing, I giggle and kick my feet and do a lil' happy dance.

10. What defines your writing style?

Gritty, casual. If it was art, it'd be the kind with the sketchlines still visible. Deep, silly. Visceral, I hope.

Taglist and blank template under the cut!

@albatris

@capnmachete

@harmonic-melodii

@illarian-rambling

@michellekarnold

@nathaniel-zellos

@sableglass

@saturnine-saturneight

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life?

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript?

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration?

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing?

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective?

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN?

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it?

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably?

9. What’s the highest compliment you’ve ever been given, and have you been given it?

10. What defines your writing style?

[spreta-invidia]

Do you have a daemyra fic rec list please? I’m desperately searching but they don’t live up to what you write I love your writing so much !! ❤️

Thank you so much!!! <3 That means so much to me! Thank you for reading and loving my writing.

I didn't have an actual Daemyra rec list, but I put a short one together today! There's so much fic in this fandom that I love, and so much that I have in my tbr queue also!

One Shots (canon or canon AU)

Those Happy Golden Years by SeveDeChampagne: This is actually a series of one shots set between episodes 7 and 9 that I think are just lovely. This is also maybe my favorite subgenre of Daemyra fic?

girls have their secrets by ginvael: This fits the subgenre above also! This is more focused on Rhaenyra, Baela, and Rhaena, and their relationships as the girls grow up. I really love ginvael's writing.

watching, always from the outskirts by vintagemocha: This is Alicent POV, but hear me out- it's great. The outsider POV works so well here to show Daemyra through the years.

burn for me by luthien_under_bough: Dark young queen Rhaenyra demands a special declaration of fealty from Daemon. Luthien's writing is so, so good basically always, and in this piece what got me was her use of detail. Also. Hot.

Multi-chapter (canon or canon AU)

Lavender Haze by madgirlslovesong: I think this is my favorite take on the idea of a disinherited Rhaenyra. This fic pairs really wonderful emotion with really interesting plotting/politics, and some excellent Daemyra content.

Bigger than the Whole Sky by CharlieLeau: Would you like your heart to be broken and broken and then mended? Then this is the fic for you! Instead of bearing her three sons during the ten year separation, in this fic Rhaenyra suffers a series of miscarriages, so the Rhaenyra Daemon reunites with is very different than in canon.

WIPs (canon or canon AU)

Threads of Black, Threads of Green by madgirlslovesong: I described this the other day as "if HotD was actually like ASOIAF" which is probably the highest compliment I can give. The hunt for the white hart inspires Rhaenyra to step up her political game. I caught up with this over two nights and I was so tired at work. Worth it.

Battlefields by calenlily: I'm a sucker for warrior Rhaenyra, but especially in the way calenlily does it here: very much a young woman in a new arena, with missteps and moments of glory both. Super excited for the rest of this. (Calenlily is another writer whose work I enjoy very much!)

Maternal Love by ginvael: An Aemma fix-it! I LOVE time travel fix-its, and this is one of my favs. There are some excellent moments between Aemma and Rhaenyra here.

Speaking of time travel fix-its... I think these two are abandoned, but I love what's there: Beyond the Black Door and five seconds later.

Modern AUs

Petrichor by sweetestsorrows: Really great Rhaenyra POV that takes the reader on a seven-year roller coaster through her relationship with Daemon.

entropy by firecollide (WIP): One of the first modern AUs I read in this fandom! In addition to being super fun, this fic also reignited my love for Arctic Monkeys.

This is definitely incomplete as lists go. I am perpetually behind on things and sort of a sloppy bookmarker (and also not a great comment leaver, though I am trying so hard to get better at that- it means SO much to me when people leave comments that it's almost talked me out of the incessant "oh god why does anyone care what you have to say, ugh you're probably sounding like an idiot" that goes through my head often/always tbh). There are gaps in here I should fill, and some fics are not available right now that any list of my favs feels naked without (High Hopes, I'm looking at you).

Let me know if you love any of these in particular! <3

[archiveikemen]

Harrison Gray Main Story: Chapter 1

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection. I do not own any of the original content. Please support CYBIRD by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

❥･• Warnings and FAQ

[Harrison’s POV]

— Your memories will always be more peaceful than reality.

Cicadas were buzzing, and the paddy fields resembling a huge golden carpet swayed in the end-summer breeze.

The shadows of a father piggybacking a little boy and the mother chasing after them stretched long on the ground.

Mother With Gentle Smile: Come on, stop running, the two of you. You’ll trip and fall.

Father and Son With Mint-Coloured Eyes: Okay, sorry.

Mother With Gentle Smile: Seriously, you boys have so much energy.

Mother With Gentle Smile: You should help me out more around the house with that energy.

The little boy, laughing while on his father’s back, suddenly thought of something and spoke,

Little Boy With Mint-Coloured Eyes: Hey, Father. It’s bad to tell lies, right?

Father With Mint-Coloured Eyes: Hm? Why the sudden question?

Little Boy With Mint-Coloured Eyes: When you and Mother are at work, I spend my time reading picture books.

Little Boy With Mint-Coloured Eyes: I’ve read lots of them and in every story, the fox is always telling lies.

Father With Mint-Coloured Eyes: Lies…?

Little Boy With Mint-Coloured Eyes: Mm, they lie and hurt people. That’s a bad thing to do, right?

Little Boy With Mint-Coloured Eyes: That’s why I hope a hero like Father will catch all those bad foxes that lie to people!

Mother With Gentle Smile: Oh, are you leaving everything up to your father, Harry?

Little Boy With Mint-Coloured Eyes: Nope! When I grow up, I’ll become a policeman like Father. Then I’ll arrest all the bad guys!

Father With Mint-Coloured Eyes: That sounds very interesting. However, Harry…

Hey, Father. I have a feeling you said something “important” to me after I innocently told you about my dreams.

I can no longer recall what you said. Recently, it also feels as if your face is fading from my memories.

Right now, I’m somewhere pitch-dark where the sun doesn't shine, and the smell of blood lingers in the air around me.

There’s no turning back for me.

In this darkness… I continue to lie.

… Even the things I just said might've been lies.

…

[Kate’s POV]

Kate: … Haa.

I sat up in my bed, woken up from my shallow sleep.

(... It's still night time. I feel like I just had a terrifying nightmare.)

Even though I was awake, my surroundings were unfamiliar to me.

(Right. I…)

– Flashback Start –

William: There is an imperial organisation under direct command of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, all of its members are “cursed ones”.

William: — And that’s us, “Crown”.

William: We take on shady tasks ranging from spying to assassinations. In other words, the dirty work that the police or military can’t do.

– Flashback End –

Kate: … “Fighting evil with evil” for the sake of England’s prosperity— that’s the duty of “Crown”.

(While delivering mail, I accidentally came across a forbidden secret.)

(It was as if I had fallen into a pitch dark hole that appeared out of nowhere.)

If only I could cover my ears and close my eyes, and ignore everything.

However, that wasn't possible. There was no way for me to turn back time to when I knew nothing about all this. Therefore…

(I’ll earn their trust by fulfilling my duties as a “fairytale writer”, and make them believe that I won’t reveal their secret.)

(After that, I can safely return to where I came from… and have my ordinary life back.)

Just as I was mentally preparing myself to stay strong and not let my anxiety overwhelm me, I heard some noise coming from outside my room.

(...?)

…

When I went downstairs to find out the cause of the noise, William noticed my presence and turned around.

William: My, it’s already so late at night and the little robin is still awake.

Liam: Oh, it’s Kate. Did the noise wake you up?

Liam: Sorry for the disturbance, we’re about to leave for a mission under Her Majesty’s orders.

Harrison: …

Kate: A mission… this late at night?

Liam: Yeah, villains prefer to work in the dark. Besides, it’d be nonsensical to commit evil deeds in broad daylight, right?

(Is that so?)

William: It’s good you’re awake.

William: If you want, we can escort you to the criminals’ stronghold. Miss fairytale writer?

I was told that my job as a fairytale writer was to write about the activities of Crown. Those documents would then be used as reference material for research being conducted on “curses”, and as reports to Her Majesty.

At the same time, Crown would keep their eyes on me for a month to make sure I don’t leak their secret.

… That’s the situation I was in.

William: — But considering that you’ve only just arrived, we could save this for another day…

Kate: If it won’t be too much of a bother to all of you, please allow me to accompany you on the mission.

William: Oh, gladly.

Liam: It’s going to be so exciting to have Kate come with us.

Liam: Now that it’s been decided, let’s go. We should get a carriage so that Kate won’t have to walk too much.

With that, Liam dashed out of the castle.

William went after him with graceful steps, like an owner chasing his pet cat.

Harrison and I were the only ones left.

Harrison: …

(Why is he being silent? This is kind of awkward.)

Harrison: … Hey.

Kate: Y-Yes?

Harrison stood in front of me.

Harrison: Did you ask to come along, thinking that would help you earn our trust?

Harrison: Or was it because you feel that you’re obligated to do so as a fairytale writer?

His mint-coloured eyes were as clear as a puddle after rain, they seemed to be staring straight into the depths of my heart. It felt impossible to lie to him.

I nervously met his gaze.

Kate: I think it's both of those reasons, and also self-interest.

Harrison: Self-interest?

Kate: If I don’t earn your trust, I can’t return to where I was before this happened.

Kate: Therefore, I will do my job well and prove that I’m worthy of your trust.

Kate: That is what I have to do right now.

Harrison: Hm.

Harrison: You’re surprisingly honest.

Whenever someone says that I’m honest, it doesn't quite click for me.

Kate: Is that so…?

Harrison: No idea. At least, that’s my impression of you.

Harrison: Anyway, it’s up to you whether you want to have some kind of sense of responsibility or be naive. However…

Kate: …?

He leaned in closer and stared into my face, so close that our breaths nearly touched.

Harrison: Such noble intentions make you easy to kill.

Paying no attention to how shocked I was, Harrison gave me an aloof smile and walked out into the darkness.

(What on earth was that? Was he warning me? Or…)

Still puzzled by his words, I rushed outside as well.

…

The carriage brought us to what appeared to be an abandoned circus tent.

Liam: Kate, shh… quiet. See those guys over there? They’re our targets for tonight.

We peeked at them from the shadows. Two men were counting large sums of cash with sinister smiles on their faces.

Man 1: One bill, two bills, three bills… haha! We made so much money selling those orphaned brats from the East End to other countries.

Man 1: A truly profitable business. There are people who want those starving brats, and even their corpses.

Man 2: As long as people like them continue to exist, our pockets will never be empty. Haha, this is great!

(T-They’re taking children from the slums and selling them…? How… How could they…)

I was fuming as I heard them talking about their heinous acts, so much that my body temperature dropped.

(But this is a cruel reality that “I didn't know about”.)

England often boasted about being the most prosperous country in the world, and yet the dark world of poverty caused by inequality was hidden within.

(But that doesn't justify treating the lives of innocent children like disposable objects.)

William: They look like they’re having a good time. Let’s join them, shall we?

With graceful steps, William approached the man.

Kate: W-William…?

Liam: Kate, I’ll use my curse’s ability to become your invisible human shield and protect you if anything dangerous happens.

Liam: Look, I’m invisible now.

(!?)

Liam’s physical body vanished like he had put on an invisibility cloak, and only his voice could be heard.

Harrison: Don’t get too carried away, Liam. We’re not here to play.

Liam: I know. Come on, Kate. You should get front-row seats for your very first mission.

Kate: Wahh…!

William: Hello, gentlemen.

Man 1: … Who the heck are you?

William: You don’t need to know my name. I'm just someone very interested in the kind of fun you’re having.

Man 2: I have no idea who you are. But now that you've seen something you shouldn't have, you won’t be leaving this place alive. … Get him.

Before the men could charge at him with their knives, William spoke with his shapely lips.

William: “— All of you drop your knives, get on your knees, and behave yourselves.”

Men: !?

*clang* Their knives fell to the ground, and the two men kneeled in a strangely obedient manner.

(“Making people do as he says”... that’s William’s “King of Self-Righteousness” curse.)

It would’ve sounded outrageous if he were an ordinary man, but I knew it was true because I had experienced firsthand this ability of his.

Men: I… I can’t move! W-What the heck is this guy…!?

William: Now that you’re more well-behaved, let us commence with the trial. The judge for tonight is you— Kate.

Kate: What?

William: You’re our special guest tonight. You should state your opinion. Now, Kate.

William: The accused are these two men in front of us. They desecrated the lives of innocent young children, ruining them to fill their own pockets.

William: Should we get rid of them right here and now, or give them an alternative form of punishment to taking their lives?

William: What's your decision, Miss Judge?

Looking into William’s eyes, I could see that he had already decided since the start what the verdict would be.

Kate: … William, you used your curse’s ability in front of them.

Kate: They know your secret now. That means it has already been decided, hasn’t it?

Kate: Although there’s the option to make them fairytale writers like me… that’s highly unlikely.

William’s beautiful smile sent a chill down my spine — it was like he was telling me that I was right.

William: I admire your ability to stay calm and assess the situation, Kate. Now…

(... The atmosphere has changed.)

He was still smiling elegantly, but there was an air of tension rising around me.

William: It’s up to you whether you want to close your eyes or leave them open from this point forward. You have the freedom to decide.

Liam: Hey, Will. I really want to satisfy my curiosity tonight, can you let me handle it?

Liam: You stay right here, Kate. … Fufu, ahaha. I’ll do my best…

Kate: … Liam?

As I was feeling puzzled by the unsettling tone in Liam’s voice, the atmosphere grew even more tense.

William: — Time for the final judgement.

Men: AAAAH…

Patches of red bloomed before my eyes like licorice flowers.

The sound of the men’s ear-piercing screams, their bodies falling to the ground lifelessly, and Liam’s unhinged laughter filled my ears.

Even though Liam was invisible, I could visualise him swinging a knife around as he killed them.

(... I mustn't look away. Why… why did I come here?)

(... For… what…?)

My heart beat louder in my chest.

Staring at the blood spilling out everywhere, my legs felt weak and eventually gave way.

30 seconds later— it was all over.

A low sound of footsteps echoed, and someone sat down in front of me.

Harrison: … Hey, are you alright?

(... Harrison.)

I sighed, almost relieved to hear a familiar voice of concern.

Kate: … I am.

Harrison: I see. Because if anything happened to you, I—

Right at that moment, I heard a metallic clicking sound next to my ear.

(What?)

In the corner of my eye, I saw something unexpected—

Harrison: Bang. You’ve been deceived.

(...)

(A gun…?)

A gun was pointed to my head.

Harrison: I could kill you right this instant if I wanted to.

Kate: Why…

Harrison: “Why”? We’ve only just met a few hours ago. What made you think you could trust me?

Harrison: You could've been used as a decoy, or a human shield. And at this very moment—

Harrison: A bullet might get shot right through your skull. Did any of that ever cross your mind even once?

My life was in Harrison’s hands.

That overwhelming fact had me rendered speechless.

The pair of mint-coloured eyes staring at me caught my racing heart.

I caught a waft of a refreshing minty smell that didn't suit the current situation.

Harrison: Kate.

Harrison: This is the kind of evil world you walked into.

[2007ru]

A (shaky) Mikoto Double Color Analysis

Tl;dr 4koto

Throughout Double there are 5 prominently shown colors, not just red and blue (John and Mikoto) despite the mv being primarily John's POV and him only being aware of Mikoto's existence, he was literally just born I don't think we can expect him to know how systems work or that Mikoto isn't the only other alter.

The main 5 colors I noticed were red and blue of course, but also green, pink, orange. I counted orange as its own alter originally, but then realized orange is also often used to represent red/John. I can only make sense of this assuming different variations of the same color (for example, different shades of pink) represent the same alter. There's a few blues that appear, a few pinks, and a few greens, and a mix of orangey-reds.

Some of these are from inverts, of colors turning into pink or green, but some are very much so standalone the color appearing.

Green and red background with blue and pink and (cut off) red text. So these are blue, pink and red's thoughts? With the background shifting from green to red, to indicate John fronting.

Red, green

Pink, red, green

I can't even screenshot it because I keep missing the frames but in this scene it also shows green silhouette which then inverts to a static overlay of a pink color, which then happens again at the door.

Finally caught the pink on the running scene.

The running scene is the most interesting to me as it shows the most.

In order, it's green flashes, then pink, then black with a blurry more monotone background, then quickly white with an orange background. Then it is blue and orange, monotone again, green and pink, orange and blue, THEN specifically orange, pink, green AND blue when it shows the silhouette of three of him running. It shows 4 Mikoto's running and shows 4 different colors.

It does of course flash between other combinations of these colors but like, come on. Showing 4 Mikoto's running away on screen and showing 4 colors... At times the red and the orange look similarly, but this one is most definitely an orange. Especially since the frame after is blue and red, orange in the corner, and then no color Mikoto as the actual? I saw people take this scene as trikoto, but there are 4 Mikoto's shown, as well as a mix of 4 different colors.

I really find it hard to believe they'd write a system character who became a system as an adult, when the writer has a psychology degree and it's very common knowledge DID stems from childhood.

Blacks and white's also often appear, but generally before drastic color changes. So would black and white indicate a 'switch'?

This scene then has blue, orange, pink, green, and a much lighter orange. Are both oranges representing the same alter? Idk lol, it looks more yellowy this time.

I wonder if whether a color is on Mikoto or in the background represents something?

This scene shows the three other alters, pink, blue, and green, but then a ring around them of orange, showing John is controlling the body ultimately at this point maybe?

Red tint fading in and out during a murder

Pink tint panning up which leads into....

Straight up pink background! With a bit of purple? So purple grouped with pink, similarly to how red had been grouped with orange and the two shades of blue are probably supposed to indicate the same alter? I have no idea, it has been 12 hours since this thing even released. What gets me mostly is the blatantly pink backgrounds as well as the pink text, that are very clearly in contrast to the red backgrounds and text.

I keep editing this and adding more on lol, but my general view of this is that Mikoto lived covertly as a system throughout his life, but then when Orekoto/John was formed, it as a lot more overt and different from the previously existing alters who, though incredibly stressed out, were managing to live in 'peace', or at least together enough to hide/not realize that they had DID. It's possible Mikoto is the only alter who was not aware of the DID, as Orekoto is clearly directing comments at someone in their body who is AWARE of what he has done, and terrified of it. Yet Mikoto himself insists he has no idea, and is truly genuinely confused.

[ghoulangerlee]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (if you’d like). Let’s spread the self-love 💗

hello, hi thank you so much for thinking of me with this <3 ive been down in the dumps about my writing recently for absolutely no reason whatsoever!

but anyway, onto the meat of the ask <3

you share not the blood of our, our, ours / eventual Copia&Polyghouls / wip is one that I'm going to rec all the time. because its like the reason i started writing for the ghost fandom LMAO. i wanted to see something like this and so i wrote it. its at 70k, the touring hasn't even actually started and probably won't start til we hit maybe 100k but I'm so PROUD of this one <3

ill split in two to stay the same / aether/dew/mountain / completed

another one that became so very important to me. written for a friend as part of an exchange. its my first finished multichapter fic in forever.

baby even though you just want to live / copia&polyghouls / complete

i love the trope of dying and coming back wrong and learning how to love again. this came about because of a tumblr post i saw once and im glad i wrote the thing bc it birthed the second part:

maybe you do have a lot to give / copia&polyghouls / completed

same premise as the above fic but the first part is told from the ghouls povs after reviving copia while this one is told from copia's pov as he learns how to be alive again. its such an interesting thing to explore. i need to write the third part haha

either born in hell of heaven sent / copia/dew / completed / smut

so this is smut but its like. look i have an ongoing headcanon based around copia dew and aether being in a committed relationship with each other and i occasionally write fic reflecting that. this one is my fav one because i love the banter :)

thank you so much for this btw, because sometimes i guess i do need to sit down and think about why i love writing and why my own works mean so much to me and this allowed me to do that haha. <3

[barbswo]

I have to ask, considering Aemond is one of my favorite povs in 'Tides'...what have you been thinking of him in season 2?? Up until last episode it seemed like he was just moping in the brothel ever since Luke died..

Uhhh fasten your seatbelts people, we are in for a rideeeee.

I literally thought about it yesterday when writing the next chapter—that now that I have all this new information and images of Aemond in my head, it’s kinda hard to shake them off and go back to my Aemond, Aemond we all grew to love over the course of 300k+words of ‘Tides’... Because the show is definitely going down the villain route for him, and while I personally don’t have an issue with that, it’s just so... Different?

Okay, I’m rambling, back to your question.

To get it out of the way—and MASSIVE SPOILER in case someone reading this hasn’t watched the show/last ep yet—Aemond burning Aegon had me shaking fists at my TV screen at 4AM. I suspected it was coming, as the writers were building the whole brotherly feud since season 1, and I still. was. so. pissed. And I have no love for Aegon, but after they painted Aemond as this strategic mind behind Cole’s campaign, I expected our smart guy to be actually smart, and burning his brother’s dragon when their side already lacks them... Yeah, great planning.

Of course, I get that in Aemond’s head, he thinks that he rides the largest dragon of all and by extent is invincible and doesn’t need anyone else to win the war, and that his emotions get the best of him, but—“This war will not be won with dragons alone, but with dragons flying behind armies of men.” What dragons, Aemond dear? Plural? Are you sure? Counting that the show already mentioned Daeron twice, we might actually see him on screen, but as for now the greens have Vhagar and Dreamfyre, and unless they armor-up Helaena and make a second Visenya out of her, I don’t think Aemond understands the repercussions of his actions.

I feel like everyone and their mother is shouting atop of their lungs that Aemond is the one true Targaryen, that he respects his ancestors, he never skipped a High Valyrian lesson on duolingo, Aemond this, Aemond that, but excusez-moi—he had already. Killed/wounded. Three dragons. The sacred sygil of his house. And he didn’t give a f4ck. And I think that he saw Cole planning to cut Meleys’ head to drag it to King’s Landing and just went “meh, not my problem, not my monkeys, I am regent now and that’s all I care about.” Gr-r-r-r.

But to be honest, I actually expected to be far angrier with him than I actually am. Because Aemond isn’t just a plain villain. He is complex, and I do love him for it. His weird attachment to that madam clearly indicates that our boy has serious mommy-issues; he has no friends (if you don’t count Cole, and I never count Cole); his big brother won’t stop bullying him even after Aemond had bested him in everything but getting the crown (which still isn’t good enough reason to unalive Aegon, but this is Westeros and I get it); and he, apparently, does “regret that business with Luke”, which I think is the most sincere thing that came out of his mouth this season.

Aemond has an odd relationship with every person in his life, even his family, and I believe that makes him who he is. He is a circus tiger that has been caged his whole life, and now he broke through the bars and is—understandably—lashing out. War brings out either the best or the worst in people, and in show-Aemond’s case, it’s definitely the worst. Which makes sense, counting what we know about him from canon.

I wish I could say that I trust the writers of HoTD to do their thing, but I really don’t. I do hope they won’t butcher the story and its characters, though.

So I guess I still have very mixed feelings about show-Aemond? All his contradictory character traits make Aemond an incredibly interesting person—and yep, it helps that he literally put the SLAY in kinslayer, because MAN is he gorgeous. Ewan was born to play him, and I’ll never stop saying that, because every time he talks about his character, I pause everything I’m doing to just... listen.

Anyway. Thanks for coming to my TED talk, I’m off to gym now. See you guys soon.

[daifukumochiin]

Writers ask!

1. Start to finish, how long did it take to plan and write? Did you take breaks during the process?

6. How did you decide what tense and POV(s) to use?

18. Talk about your editing and revision process

26. Share your favorite detail

Since no one is curious about any particular fic, I'll just answer in a general sense, Lav 🥲 I'll address it to everyone who'd come across this post. 1. How long does it take me to plan and write a story? Do I take breaks during the process? > I don't have stellar records. So far, out of nine that I uploaded on ffnet, I have two completed one shots (one of those, I promised I'd write a part two, but I'm not interested in it anymore), a completed short multi-chapter fic, a microfic anthology, and then all the rest are WIPs. I've been DM for 7-8 years now... That's how long it is to plan my most read fic xD Technically, it is complete, but I promised some extra chapters and I could just never get it done. I'm answering in a roundabout way because I'm not as organized as Lav when planning and writing my fics. I don't keep records, I mostly go by feeling. However, if I do put my mind into it, I guess I could be the type to set a deadline and get it done. Though it's not a guarantee that I'd get the response that I hope for, and that makes me feel gutted. So, in my case, after getting familiar with my writer self through all these years, I need to believe in the importance of a fic more than anyone so that no matter the response and readership, I'd never stop until it's complete. How long does it take me to plan and write a story? Until the will to do it takes me through its completion, that's my answer. Do I take breaks? Hahaha! It's breaks that need to be taken from me.

2. How do I decide what tense and POV(s) to use? > Past. Third person limited POV. Those are my default. I don't think much about it. 3. Talk about your editing and revision process. > Even after I finish uploading a fic, I'll always end up finding errors here and there. I don't have a perfect chapter unlike PianoCoat. When I see an error in PianoCoat's chapter, I'm like, "whoa, that's rare." I edit for as long as I see mistakes, and for as long as I wanted to check for mistakes. I used to be more prudent with this, especially with my first fic, but recently, I don't have much time anymore, and you know, that's fine. I run it through Grammarly-sensei and even after then, I'd still catch some errors. Fresh eyes? Don't know her. Maybe give it five to ten years, then I'd truly have fresh eyes. Not the day after. Fresh eyes I tell you, isn't necessarily a good thing. Your past self's treasure could turn into your future self's cringe. My verdict: I edit and revise, but I'm not the best person for it.

4. Share your favorite detail. > 🤔... This took long for me to think about to be honest. I think I've already told everyone in the SasuHina Month discord about things I liked that I felt those are old things that aren't necessarily very true for current me anymore. I'm thinking maybe something from my most recent works. Is 2022 recent? Doesn't matter, let me tell you about it, 'cause I haven't told this to someone yet. I liked how my story for SH Month 2022 Day 3: Dépaysement took everyone on a journey where they didn't know how it would turn out. That's my favorite part about it. People knew it was a SasuHina story, but they weren’t able to predict the ending because the experience of the journey had immersed them. Also, I liked that Hinata had a hard time with the goats. That part was semi-autobiographical🤣

Thanks for checking out my stuff😽💞🙌 If you haven't yet and are interested, here are links for you:

AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daifuku_Mochiin/works

FFnet https://www.fanfiction.net/u/9526245/Daifuku-Mochiin

[katie-delaney]

For the WIPs tag game: I Wanna be your Endgame, would love to know how much plot you initially had planned for the series compared to what it has grown into? Also will we get any Steve POV in this sequel? Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love Bucky POV I’m just curious and think it could be interesting to see inside Steve’s head!

If there was anything that you were hoping to get a chance to talk about with your WIPs feel free to use this ask as an excuse to!! Would love any and all thoughts on what you have cooking or how certain stories have evolved or where you get inspo from. Thanks for writing and sharing with us 🥰

Hey!

He Ate My Heart/I Wanna Be Your Endgame - so I had no plan at all to make He Ate My Heart as long as it ended up or to have that much plot, it was initially just meant to be three/four chapters, and I was planning to end it about after the chapter where Steve fucks Bucky in his apartment, but as quite often happens with my writing more ideas started growing and it got its hooks into me. Around then though I planned out the whole thing in one go and then wrote it from there. I was thinking I might put a bit of Steve's pov into the Endgame sequel, but wasn't entirely sure as I worry about continuity and tone and stuff. I've put that one on hold as it's going to be a bit of a rougher ride in terms of Bucky's recovery, and I felt like I needed to write something a bit lighter at the time.

Inspiration wise, I'm never sure how much things are influencing/inspiring me but @sarahowritesostucky and @pandafishao3 are two of my favourite writers in Omegaverse, and you'll definitely see that in my fics I think. Omegaverse wise I think there's Ass-ets For Use and Test Run that are some of my favourites that definitely inspired some fics. There's also Voxofthevoid who and @possumwoodpie who I love both their writing that definitely has an influence on it. When I'm writing Asset Bucky in I Wanna Be Your Endgame I have to be really carefully I'm not just sliding into Possum's 'The Asset Does Not Want' Bucky. Mostly cos it's just amazing. The other thing at the moment is the Dark Stucky Discord server that I'm in, where they are all amazing and we bounce a lot of ideas around which is great for idea generating and creating.

Unfortunately my head is a very productive idea factory, and quite often I'm trying really hard to write a series and finish it and something will come and completely derail it - like Footsteps, Empire, and Pushing the Envelope. I'm trying to finish up some of the ones that just need one chapter doing to finish them at the moment, like Empire State of Mind, The Officers Tent, and Who's Afraid of Little Old Me, but Vanity Fair has completely taken over my brain at the moment. I have a Pintrest board and playlist and everything. I do feel bad that I've parked New Gods for the moment, as I was really enjoying writing that, that's probably going to be the one I go back to and finish first big series wise as I have so many big plans for it and how it's going to end, before I then go back to Endgame as I haven't fully plotted that out yet. I also have this idea for more Taylor Swift titles as I mentioned in a previous port around Style/Cruel Summer which I'm also hoping to do, but that's only gonna be a few chapters, so I might do that in between one of the longer series :D

<3

[amethystina]

I was casually rereading whtd, as one does, and reading the comments (because i love the extra insight you give about the information that we're limited to in Ga On's pov) when i stumbled upon this comment: "… sort everything out? (and no one dies along the way, hopefully) He'll be very happy for them." about lawyer Ko and that in combination with the "minor character death tag" has made me Extremele worried about him. (plus you have also said that the kidnapping tag is not the one we should be worried about!!) I know you probably can't say anything about this because of spoilers, but know that it has been noted!!

Also kind of want a scene wherein lawyer Ko, Yo Han and Ga On are all together. Their dynamic would be so exquisite!! (obviously no pressure to actually write this, just a thought)

Anyway, whtd remains so good even after already having read and reread it in its entirety at least 5 times (and some scenes/chapters much more than that) (my ao3 history says i've visited whtd 200 times… so uh. yeah. i'm normal). I love slow burn so much (to the point where most romance book leave me disappointed bc they MCs get together like 100 pages in), i just love reading/watching the build up of a relationship and you write it so well!

I guess i just wanted to thank you for writing! I hope you're doing well <3

I'm usually very careful not to spoil what's going to happen in future chapters but I'll make an exception this time and flat-out say that you don't have to worry — Lawyer Ko is not going to die. I would literally never forgive myself if I killed him xD Not to mention that you all would probably come for my head if I did. He's just too amazing to be killed off!

So, rest assured, he's not going to die :)

And there will be at least one scene with Ga On, Yo Han, and Lawyer Ko in the same room unless my plans change dramatically. Which they rarely do, but "rarely" isn't the same as "never" so we'll see. Truth be told, though, I'll probably try really hard to keep it because I totally agree — the dynamic would be SPECTACULAR. So yeah. Stay tuned for that, I guess? ;)

You've definitely read Who Holds the Devil more times than I have x'D At least in its entirety. I mean, I reread the chapters at least twice (often three or four times) but I rarely start from the beginning and read it all the way through. I did at the end of my long break last year to get back into the swing of it, but it's difficult to find the time for that since I always have to focus on the next chapter. Which is a bit stressful at times, I will admit, since it puts more pressure on me to remember things at the top of my head (or at least know where to look if I want to check any details) but I'm lucky enough to be blessed with a really good memory, so that helps.

Anyway, I'm so glad you're enjoying it 💜 I honestly didn't plan for the slow burn to be quite this slow when I started the fic, but I can't say I have any regrets. Much like you, I just enjoy it too much ;) There's something so incredibly satisfying about delving this deep into Ga On and Yo Han's feelings and slowly developing relationship. And I guess that's also why I can't help throwing out tidbits of information in the comments, since there's usually so, so much happening within this story that you readers don't see (especially within Yo Han's head).

And I'm still not sure how to handle the knowledge that some people read the comments specifically to find those tidbits. Like, I don't mind you doing so! Go right ahead! They're public and all that. But it kind of blows my mind that some of you are so interested in what I'm writing that you'll do that. It feels a bit surreal to me, but in a good way? Like I'm an ACTUAL writer or something xD

Anyway, thank you so much for this kind and supportive message 💜 I definitely needed it right now because things honestly aren't all that great. Partly because of overall exhaustion and restlessness — mostly due to work — but even more so since it's now been a month since I posted a chapter and the requests for me to please update soon are starting to come in. I swear, it happens like clockwork every time I don't post within a month. And, what makes it worse, is that it's often from people I don't see comments from when I actually DO upload more frequently. As in, they don't comment on the fic itself, only when they think I don't update fast enough. Which is pretty disheartening, not going to lie.

Tragically enough, once the month mark passes, I have to start bracing myself whenever I get a comment or ask because there's now a 50/50 chance that it'll be someone asking me to update soon. They usually try to be nice about it, but it kind of always fails.

So, again, thank you for this. Because while I know that I should take my time and update on my own schedule, it's not always easy to remember that when people start asking me why it's taking so long. This was a nice change of pace and I'm very grateful for your kindness. Thank you 💜

[walpu]

Aventuriene is one of my favorite character and a favorite make character. Honestly, I'm not a fan of male HSR characters. I love Luka, but now Aventuriene scored him higher. Blade and Dan Heng are interesting but I don't super love them, I do like em though. At first I dislike Dr. Ratio becouse he seemed to me judgemental, but then I realise I misunderstood him and Penecony even made me love his character. I know that's lots of fans Sino for Jung Yuan and Sunday, but in my opinion they are to overted and I think their design is boring.

Now here is what I love about Aventuriene. At first, I liked his design but I was also neutral to him. I wasn't fan of his personality but after watching the play troughs (since I'm taking a break from playing the game) I changed my mind. I like how realistically Aventuriene is written. I realize that there still others HSR characters written realistically, but honestly Aventuriene is the male character that is written like a real person, and not just as fan service. Of course that's is my personal opinion and I understand if you have the different one.

I genuinely think that Aventurine is probably the best written character in hsr. Since 2.0 it was pretty obvious hoyo handles his character well, the leaks only confirmed it, but holy shit, they did so good in 2.1. They managed to deliver his story and make him sympathetic but without overdoing it to the point when it feels like a tearjerker. Like, you look at him and think "yes, it's a very realistic trauma response. yes, he has a lot of conflicted feelings about pretty much everything, from his religion to his own life and I would probably feel like that too". Honestly I'm so happy Shaoji was the main writer for Penacony arc even if he caused me a lot of stress lmao

I remember the first time I saw Aventurine's design I thought he looks cool. I also remember me and my friend joking that he looks like he's Reigen Arataka coded. I named him mr scammer and all that 💀 People make mistakes okay. Then I learned he's from the IPC and said yeah you lost me here I don't fuck with capitalists. Then the whole "slave" tattoo discussion started and he caught my attention again, then the 2.0 happened and well.

I like the rest of the male cast too tho and for a very long time Gepard was my favorite, so I didn't plan on pulling for Aven since I already have a blonde preservation bbg. Well, things change 💀 I get yiu about Ratio, I wanted to punch him the first time I saw him but like. Affectionately. He was funny af to me. I like the way they handle his character so far tho and I honestly have a lot of thoughts about his arc.

I think the thing with a lot of hsr characters, both male and female, is that we didn't have enough time with them yet. Which is not a bad thing since the story has basically just begun. It may be more noticeable for the male characters since its fewer of them tho. Plus the Lofu storyline was a bit messy in general tbh, I hope they'll handle it better in the future. Since we now have the POV switch mechanic, there are a lot of great opportunities to let us understand the characters better.

[clambuoyance]

I know that you are a stalwart TimKon Shipper

But what are your opinions on other Kon ships?

KonCass

KonCassie

SuperMartian

KonBart

I am a firm KonCass Shipper through and through

even if i have my own personal hcs, i mean i don't mind any of these ships

koncass had a couple of cute issues and they very much feel like young teens trying to date kinda clumsily but i liked that they agreed to just be friends at the end of it T-T also given what cass says about how she's looked at and her relationships with other characters i cant really see her with a guy >_> they are definitely cute tho and glad you have a cute ship to enjoy!

i actually think koncassie are sweet to each other in tt03 but it's like very basic and surface level to me (that's just how johns wrote everyone there though so) and within canon, cassie had something of a celebrity crush for him at first, but there's the issue where cassie looks in the mirror and wishes she was beautiful and wishes kon would stop looking at her as if he only sees her as a sister and nothing more and then they kiss and i was like >_> okay i guess (if we had seen more of this romance from kon's pov i might have bought into it more) and later in tt03 johns writes cassie as if it was a flaw to act so boyish in her youth and while there's nothing wrong with characters growing up and changing it just felt cheap or whateverrr like at least write her realizing she doesn't need to be doing this for a man and only for herself. again, theyre okay to me as a ship on its own and are cute and i joke that kon got domesticated and learned to be a decentish boyfriend i guess (altho i think he was always going to be a loyal bf and the persona from his youth was more of an act). i could enjoy them more maybe in cases where they are presented in a way i find more interesting (such as both having similar journeys in exploring gender, making cassie's stories revolve less around kon or boy drama etc) or outside of canon but personally i also cannot see her with a man </3 koncassie really doesn't do it for me </3

supermartian really only exists within the yja show which i havent watched in over a decade so i can't say much except that i remember being obsessed with them in s1 and then i kinda lost interest and never finished s2

konbart is neat too even if i don't talk about them much either, they also have a lot of canon scenes showing their devotion and support to each other, not to mention the humor in all of yj and dynamic esp during the parts surrounding the apokolips-ish era(the guilt and worry kon felt, associating bart for a chick etc etc). they also have a lot in common origin/character wise (very sci-fi/experiment origins, inertia and match, interesting relationships with adult figures and expectations, both dying, being written off as stupid or immature, etc etc) so i can definitely see the appeal and think theyre also cute. honestly for me it probably just came down to preference and the order i read things in bc if i read yj2019 first or didn't tend towards tim drake/annabeth chase/rose lalonde coded characters i might've had a different main dc ship but theyre neat :)

ofc again these are just my personal opinions and hcs i have nothing against the people who like em (except maybe for the writers of some of these comics)

[birlwrites]

How goes Bloodfinch! Are you at the stage of writing parts yet? Is there a particular area of writing (dialogue, point of view etc) that's particularly fun with it?

And another hopefully answerable but somewhat generic question (to give you the power of surprise yet if you want it!): what person and tense have you gone for? or have you varied it according to a pattern of your own design?

If there's stuff to say about the process of writing concerning what brings you joy (and not further worldbuilding/plot details necessarily that I'm sure time will reveal) it'd be interesting to hear it!

Also, as a side note, you said you very much identified with the sliding meme of your opinion on your skills varying. Hence, I desire to communicate that I think you're consistently brilliant! I am curious why you feel that way though, as I was shocked it was somewhat widespread (I have days where things don't go so well writing, naturally as consistency isn't quite how it works as an area, but find my faith in my skills is rather solid and veers only between "I'm fine at it I suppose?" to "oh yes, it's an area of skills I've worked on that I'm good at" with more sporadic bursts of "I'm a genius! I'm so great at this!" never reaching more despairing "I'm hopeless, utterly hopeless").

it goes well!!! i'm having fun!!! i'm nearing 2.5k now - i had a longer draft, but had to frog that since i decided to start the story in a different place. i'll probably grab and reuse snippets of it later on though. and the outline is complete!! i'm hoping that it'll be similar to lachrimae in terms of time it'll take me to write, although unlike lachrimae i'll then do at least one round of editing once i have a full draft, plus then i'll need to do like. layouts and get cover art and stuff

finch, the pov character, is a singer, and i'm having a WILD time being able to write a very highly trained singer - her tutor (dulceis) definitely has. some traits in common with. certain singing teachers i've had. just wrote a line about dulceis standing on the opposite side of the room from finch yelling 'WHERE ARE YOUR CONSONANTS I CAN'T FIND THEM' and. yes

it's first person present tense and it'll stick to that - normally i'm a third person present tense writer by default, but i'm going for first person here because a) we are VERY deep inside finch's head and b) that was the best way for me to make clear that despite her calling herself finch, that's not what other people call her

i also just created yet another saint today, the sea-saint, who's associated with the sea (duh) and those who make their living from the ocean (sailors, fishers, etc), AND ALSO rhetoric, poetry, and all of the word-arts. the sea-saint is associated with fluidity (duh), impermanence, but also a certain type of control - navigating uncertainty. there is a story about the sea-saint calming choppy waters just by speaking to them and persuading them to settle. they're represented with a wave, a seashell, or a siren (this tends to be the less positive side of the saint, representing fickleness, hunger, and misleading appearances)

oh and i also just wrote up a little story about the origins of bloodfinches, because i was going to type up my handwritten notes but writing up notes was boring and writing up a story that conveyed the same information was far more interesting - so perhaps i'll post that! in a different post though, so it can just be its own thing instead of being buried in this response

naturally from finch's pov i also get to go wild with the auditory imagery which is fantastic, and i'm also having a great time with introducing original characters - even though i work with very, very, very, very, VERY minor characters in hp fanfiction, so minor that in many cases i am inventing characterization out of wholecloth, people still already have certain impressions about characters' appearances, personalities, and general vibes. that is not at all the case with completely original characters and figuring out how to introduce them and convey impressions of them is SO MUCH FUN i forgot how fun it was

i think that the reason my perception of my own writing tends to swing back and forth wildly is because i associate it with ease. words are flowing? plot details are blooming? everything feels great! but if i am not living up to my own expectations, if trying to write feels like banging my head against a wall, or if a scene isn't coming out the way i imagined it and i don't know what the problem is, or i DO know what the problem is and it's going to be a shitload of work to fix, or if it's not connecting with readers the way i thought it would, then i do have a tendency to spiral

logically, i am a fairly confident writer, but emotionally, i'm of course more inconsistent, and emotions tend to rule the day when it comes to how i'm feeling about my skills at any given moment. fortunately, i'm at least aware of that, and i know that feeling like it's hopeless means a) it's not actually hopeless, my brain just likes to latch onto worst-case scenarios, and b) it is well past time for a break

a central issue here is that i often expect very high levels of productivity from myself, and so then even if i know it's time for a break, i then am fighting a separate battle in which i have to convince my brain not to beat me up over needing Break Time, and it all leads to me staring at the wall wishing i could put my brain in a washing machine

[adickaboutspoons]

🤡🛒⛔ for the meme!

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

I prefer to think of most of my WIPs as in long-term holding patterns, but yeah, there's a couple that will prolly never get developed further. There's one I wrote to entertain my Discord girlies (g/n) as an canon-divergence to 1x7 where Jack is drunk enough to black out before whippies part II & drunken Ed goes to see about Stede reading in his bunk. And I quoted entirely too much "Tess of the D'urbervilles" and there is drunken knifeplay.

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

I'm constitutionally incapable of not comparing Stede to the sun or going on at length about Ed's incredible eyes. You know it's an envinoveritas joint if Stede is deeply oblivious or, at the very least, nobly restrained when it comes to Ed, because he's fundamentally incapable of believing that anyone, much less *Ed*, could be attracted to him. Oh, also I'm a little obsessed with Ed creatively swearing in his head - if the fic is from his POV, there WILL be at least on instance where he's all "Fucking fuck a motherless poxy cock-swallowing twat waffle of a duck taint in hell."

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh? I think I'm a pretty funny writer, but I don't really laugh at my own jokes. That said, I'm not above a self-satisfied smile. Here's a scene from a Taskmaster AU I've been pecking away at for the entertainment of my Discord girlies (g/n). The premise is that, while recording the tasks, Stede got assigned a solo task to send cheeky texts to Greg's phone every day for five months, only to find out at the record for the in-studio part of the show that Greg hadn't received a single one; Stede had sent them all to the wrong number. Which started to text back after the episode aired...

He climbed out of bed, wincing just a little when he stretched and cursing his old bones. He went to the bathroom, brushed the bog-taste from his mouth, pulled on some clean clothes, then grabbed his phone to go downstairs and put on some tea. A calming brew might be just the thing, depending on what William S. Hornberry, Esq. had to say. Will answered on the second ring. “It’s already on telly, Stede. You really just need to put Channel 4 as far from your mind as possible,” he sighed into the phone without any preamble. “No - I mean, yes, I know. This is not about that. Well, adjacent to that. What I mean to say is I got a reply. From the person I’ve been texting in error I mean.” There was another sigh down the line, and the sound of Will taking a sip of a calming brew of his own. “Okay. Let’s have it.” “What?” “Read it to me - what does it say?” Stede picked the Taskmaster phone up off the counter and thumbed the power button. He undid the lock screen (a picture of Greg’s disapproving face staring out at him), and pulled up the text window. “Oh! There’s more since I went to bed last night!” he said. He skimmed over the new message quickly. So far, no indication that this was going to go south! Excellent. He judiciously tempered his excitement until he heard Will’s opinion, though. Will waited in polite silence. Stede cleared his throat, scrolled back up to where the messages started, and read it all off to him. “‘Loved the show tonight.' 'Been loving the texts even more.' 'Keep ‘em coming.' 'Sexy.' That’s all the stuff from before I went to bed. The new stuff says: ‘You deserved more than 2 points for Kings Quest. That game rocked.' 'Let me know when you’re done playing with floppy things. I’ve got something hard I think you might be interested in.’ So what do we think? Doesn’t seem like they’re inclined to sue me, right?” “Well, if he is, he won’t have a leg to stand on now that he’s flirting back,” Will answered with a hearty chortle. “Flirting? What - no! Just being cheeky, surely? Giving as good as they got.” Another heavy sigh heaved its way down the line. “Stede, I say this not just as your lawyer, but, after all these years, someone I hope you think of as a dear friend. You don’t have the best track record when it comes to realizing someone is flirting with you.” “I think I’d know if someone was flirting with me.” Stede huffed. “Name one time you’ve seen someone flirt with me and I didn’t recognize it.” There was a long silence. So long that Stede pulled the phone away from his ear to see if the call had dropped. “Just-” Stede pulled the phone back to his ear quickly, “Just send yourself screencaps from the Taskmaster phone, ok? Just in case it gets deactivated? That way you’ll still have the evidence. Leave it to me to prove intent.” “Okay,” Stede agreed. “Do you want me to forward it to you as well?” “God no - I don’t want your Etonian smut. Not until absolutely necessary at least.” “You’re hilarious,” Stede said wryly. “No, that’s your job. Goodbye, Stede. I’m charging you for the whole hour.” “Hilarious,” Stede repeated and rang off.