#jen answers

[late-to-the-party-81]

Answer the questions and tag five fanfiction authors you know!

Thank you @metalbvcky. NPT for @mrs-illyrian-baby @doasyoudesireandlive @km-ffluv @labella420

🍓 How did you get into writing fanfiction?

As a teen I was a voracious reader and tried to write my own stuff based on other books I'd read. I also loved ST:TNG and wanted dearly to be in an episode and had lots of the books. I wrote my own ST stories with OC's (gratuitous self inserts), but they never went anywhere. In my late teens I read some Xena fanfic on the internet. But that was it for a great number of years.

At the beginning of 2021 I sat and watched the entirety of the MCU films in chronological order (I'd seen most of them before and was mainly a Thor gal.) I fell down the Stucky rabbithole. Deep. I decided to look up fanfic. AO3 was now a thing! I wrote (a very poor) Stucky fic and here we are, almost 3 years later

🍇How many fandoms have you written in?

As my ST stuff never made it further than my parent's old PC in the days of dial-up, I won't count it.

I've written for MCU, various Chris Evans and Seb Stan Characters and one fic for RWRB. I've been toying with writing a one-off Criminal Minds fic as a gift for a friend.

🍈How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

Three in July since I first published anything on AO3.

🍎Do you read or write more fanfiction?

I try to balance it out. If I have a period of hyperfocus writing I try to then go through a period of reading. I read on both Tumblr and AO3, so try to keep that even as well.

🍌What is one way you've improved as a writer?

Getting betas to pick me up on tense changes, overuse of words and rogue commas. Reading more. Practising. Writing outlines for longer stories so I don't go off-piste.

🍑Do you have any bad habits as a writer?

Getting bored half-way through a long fic, especially if the first few parts haven't had a lot of interaction. Which is why I try to write the whole thing before I start posting.

🍍 What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Engineering courses at MIT and, for a separate fic, Violet wands, including the ways to use them and the differnt types of accessories you can use with them. I even watched a Youtube video.

🍉What's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

Any comment! Anything that gives me the validation I need!

🍐What's the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

I wrote a transformation into Tsum-tsum fic that was both cracky and smutty. That's pretty niche.

🥭What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Action scenes. I loathe them. I'm constantly wondering if they are long enough, and make sense.

🍏What is the easiest type?

Short things that are either PWP or fluffy slices of life.

🍑Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

Mainly on my elderly laptop on G-Docs, and in every moment I can - normally afterwork before dinner and on Mondays when I don't have work.

🍋What is something you've been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

There are a few characters and ships I haven't written that I'd like to. And I suppose I'd like to write a proper long, over 100k fic at some point.

🍇 what made you choose your username?

When I made my AO3 account I felt as though that at 40, and only really starting in Fandom in this way, I was late to the party, so that is who I became.

[jentasticart]

who is the best cinnamon roll

tomas, syzoth or ashrah?

I'd say Tomas is best one imo, he's bby

although Syzoth is a close second

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

wow just read your yoi analysis on viktor having adult problems and first of all you are so correct and second of all, I was wondering about what you've written on ao3 because it seems like your portrayal of viktor would be right up my alley. only to find out that you wrote can you hear my heartbeat, which I've been putting off starting for way too long because of real life. i will 100% take this(me finding you on tumblr accidentally) as a sign and start that fic asap!

Hi and thank you for your message! 💜 Knowing that my analysis of Viktor speaks to you so much makes me a very happy person. He's a character I strongly relate to because he's going through a lot of stuff that feels familiar. And you had CYHMH already on your to-read list? I hope you'll enjoy the ride!

If you're interested in a character study of Viktor that examines the issues I discussed in my analysis, you might also like to check out Beneath the Shine of a Thousand Spotlights. It's set right before CYHMH (or rather in the gap between chapter 1 & 2), but unlike my yoi novelisation, it strikes a more depressive note, which might be something to keep in mind.

Have a lovely day!

(@ anyone wondering what analysis this is about, it's this one.)

[sapphic-gardn]

who is this man

him

[supernatural-jackles]

Thank you very much!! ❤️

[jentrevellan]

#20 from the hype q&a

20. Post a picture or gif that conveys your current level of excitement for Dragon Age: The Veilguard!

Can I post more than one? I'm gonna do more than one.

DA: The Veilguard Asks!

[silverofthunder]

omg i'd love to hear something about the tattoo!AU fic if u want to share, that sounds so nice!! <3

oh, what could i tell about it...?

basically it's a fic about tattoo artist!Copia and my OC Dante. i'm not sure where the idea came from but i love tattoos and saw someone's art of Copia with tattoos, so the fic happened. 😊 it's kind of a slow burn without actually being a slow burn.

here's a little snippet:

”Must be nice to own the whole company,” Dante stated, making a random conversation just so that he could stall the inevitable parting. ”It has its good and bad sides,” Copia said, shrugging. ”My mom, who used to run the whole thing before, is still trying to meddle and it’s kind of annoying.” ”Oh…” ”But I love the job itself, though. Even though I’m not the most social person, I still like to meet new people and give them their desired works of ink art.” ”Your work is honestly stunning.” Copia shook his head smiling, trying to brush the compliment off with a wave of hand, and Dante shoved him playfully with his fist. ”Hey, I’m really starting to think of getting another one so I could admire your work more,” Dante said and it was actually the truth. He had thought about getting another tattoo and he even had a small idea for it.

[borgialucrezia]

"Madonna Lucrezia [Borgia] is the most intelligent and lovely, also exceedingly gracious lady. [...] She is very beautiful, but her charm of manner is still more striking. In short, her character is such that it is impossible to suspect anything “sinister” of her." — Ferrarese envoy Gian Luca Pozzi

[barcaatthemoon]

If you're still accepting requests, could we have

"can I borrow your sweater? it smells like you"

With Jen Beattie please. Love your writing.

sweater weather || jen beattie x reader ||

you were beyond excited to visit jen. it was your very first time visiting america. she had warned you that it was a good few degrees hotter there than it was back in england, and yet, you felt like a popsicle every single time you walked inside of a building. even jen's apartment was freezing with the air condition on full blast.

"aw baby, you're shaking," jen cooed as she wrapped her arms around your waist. the two of you were standing in a coffee shop waiting for your order. jen had ordered for you, claiming that she knew exactly what you'd love from this place.

"it's freezing. how are you in shorts? i swear i need a coat," you grumbled. jen laughed, teasingly calling you grumpy as she kissed your cheek.

"i'll get you a jacket so you aren't cold while we're shopping," jen promised. you did like the sound of that, but you really wanted the one that jen had tied around her waist as part of her outfit. she had already bought and sent you several sweatshirts and things since she had moved, but none of them smelled like her.

"can i borrow your sweater? it smells like you, and i really miss that." you didn't need to bat your eyelashes and pout, but it didn't hurt your cause one bit. jen moved lightning quick to take her sweater off and put it on you. you tugged it closer to your body and sank back into the comfort of it. "thank you, babe."

"anything for the loveliest girl in the world," jen said. she was really playing it up for a kiss, which you happily granted her.

[late-to-the-party-81]

15 questions (for 15 friends)

Thank you for tagging me @zenaidamacrouras1 and sorry this took me so long.

Are you named after anyone? Officially, no. My mum specifically picked names for me and my sibling that weren't family names so no-one could act like a shithead. What she didn't realise at the time is that her name and my name are actually from the same route, so you could say I'm named after her, lol

When was the last time you cried? I am a weepy cow and will cry at tv shows and emotive tik-toks. I last cried watching a tik-tok about some kittens that passed away :(

Do you have kids? I have one super-powered IVF miracle. The love of my life and the bane of my existence.

What sports do you play/have you played? I am quite bad at sport. My hand-eye coordination is fantastically crap. However, I did learn Judo for all my years at highschool (age 11 to 18) and I have recently started learning taekwondo with my son, to help

Do you use sarcasm?

What’s the first thing you notice about people? If they need help with something, lol

What’s your eye color? Grey/Blue

Scary movies or happy endings comedies? Action comedies are my bag. I hate horror/scary movies with a passion. I am a wuss.

Any talents? Baking, crafting, singing, violin, infodumping about the medieval period

Where were you born? South London, UK

What are your hobbies? Writing, Crafting, Sims and Minecraft, Medieval Reenactment, Cooking/Baking, being alone.

Do you have any pets? Yes. One cat (I posted a pic of her on Boop day)

How tall are you? 5'3" and 1/2. The 1/2 is very important.

Favorite subject in school? Geography and Biology

Dream job? Getting paid to be creative, but I am mediocre at these things at best. I briefly had a crafting business, but the only time I made money from it was making fabric face masks during the pandemic.

Tags: @lokischambermaid @mrs-illyrian-baby @sparkagrace @cable-knit-sweater, @blackwood4stucky and anyone who wants to play.

[jentasticart]

I am bored so I come to bother your ass

havik would definitely eat the head off his pets because he can regrow them anyways

if I must see this, y'all will too

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

You call yourself a lesbian and talk about men more than women hmm. Why don't u go to women and leave mlm shows to us? Your "analysis" fucking sucked btw

Hi anon,

it seems as if you lack a general understanding of creativity and art. If people would only create the art they can personally relate to, then I have bad news for you: The world would be a very boring place because many media wouldn't even exist.

Many famous shows, books with a male-male couples have been created by women or people of some other flavour of queerness other than the cis gay man. The same is true for basically any other kind of queer media. That includes fanworks. And I bet that is true for many of your favourite books and shows as well.

Do you go to every writer and artist and lecture them about what kind of art they are supposed to create in your opinion? Did you know that YOI has been created by two women? Would you tell them to create stories about women in the anime and manga industry instead of making animes about gay figure skaters? Given the logic of your ask, I'd advise you to not consume any kind of media that isn't inspired by personal experience and resort to textbooks, autobiographies, and documentaries. It seems to be better for your health.

Honestly, I find your proposal quite distasteful and ridiculous. Please touch some grass and leave us artists that don't fit your narrow worldview alone, block us and politely fuck off.

@ everyone: If you just came across this post and wonder how in the seven hells a lesbian can write about gay men, I invite you to check out my YOI meta and my works on AO3.

[sapphic-gardn]

you don’t have to do this gracie

[supernatural-jackles]

Happy Birthday 🎉

Thank you!!💜

[jentrevellan]

For the DA Q&A: 4, 6, 19 👁

Thanks so much!! 💜

4. Answered here.

6. Answered here.

19. Are you planning to replay any of the previous games, watch Dragon Age: Absolution, or read any of the books/comics/short stories, or are there other games you want to play in the meantime? Everything!! I've just restarted started my canon playthrough of Origins on my Xbox and Inquisition on my PS5. 💜 I'm also rereading Tevinter Nights! I don't know which number of playthroughs I'm on but I'm at the point where I don't need the HUD on in the Hinterlands anymore because I know where everything is 💀

[beautifulhigh]

It just occurred to me that the polo scene doesn't get much love as it should. I know it's very short but just the thirst in Alex’s eyes, the way you can see his mouth dry while watching Henry ride that horse and his oh so sexy smile. I feel like that scene required a major dissection, and no one does it better so I came calling.

You know what? I'm doing this one now. I know I said I would do a meta on Henry Fox and I would do a meta on the New Year's Eve party but this is in my inbox now and yeah, let's talk about the polo scene.

(I'm also doing this now so I don't have another thing on my To Do pile, and your kind words made my shitty day a little better so thank you.)

Short scene, not a short meta.

In the book when he and Henry are in his bedroom, Alex has this little moment of clouds parting, sun beaming, angels chorus revelation:

In an instant of sudden, vivid clarity, he can’t believe he ever thought he was straight.

And while movie!Alex doesn't have the same bi awakening that book!Alex does. this is very much his moment of "oh I am very not straight at all" and that is valid of him.

(As this is a Jen meta, we shall also be talking about everything else because you do not analyse a text in isolation.)

This interview talks about the editing of the polo match:

Nick [Moore], my new editor coming in, took a look and he says, “I wanna try something with that polo match.” He spent a weekend of his own time doing something, and then he was ready to show me. He sat me down and said, “I’ve done something crazy.”

And we went from filmed scripted scenes and a lead in, to "bagpipes intensify" and it works SO well for where these boys are in this new stage of their relationship.

Our establishing shots are of the teams, the horses, the uniforms. This is Henry's world and Alex is about to step into it (which is a reversal of Henry at the NYE party - I swear I will write that meta once I have all the gif posts I want to link to) and it's all quick cuts and sharp transitions and moving shots. The pace has been set for Alex to enter.

We pick him out in the crowd but he's lost as quickly as we spot him. He's one of many here and it's all too quick to stay with him.

Firstly, you will never convince me that he didn't pick the tightest trousers he could find. Henry's comment about him being a mouthful is foreshadowed, right there.

ANYWAY

He walks in, he's looking around, he's doing up his jacket as a form of protection. Alex is the proverbial fish out of the proverbial water (and I have a meta about water if you're interested) and we're straight back in with the quick edits. Horses, polo sticks, this is not a game most people know how to play. Alex certainly doesn't. He's doing up his jacket and he is uncomfortable.

He is not a stranger to a suit, and that is certainly not something that is ill fitting. It is circumstance, not clothing.

And then we get our first clear shot of Henry. Only it's not clear, not at first. He literally comes into focus.

Stick aloft, mouth open, like he's a walking riding metaphor.

And Alex's face changes.

Yeah. He is definitely not straight.

From then on we stay with Henry. We, in Alex's viewpoint, have found him. And so we track Henry through the game and it's just generic horse legs if we're looking at anything else. The only player we/Alex see is Henry.

Here, Henry is leading. Going in first, checking it's clear, knowing Alex will follow him. Henry leads, Alex follows. Into the garden, into the bed, into the sexual component of their relationship. Alex admits to Henry right from the start that this is new to him:

“I’ve, uh,” Alex begins. “I’ve never actually done this before.” “Alex,” Henry says, reaching down to stroke at Alex’s hair, “you don’t have to, I’m—” “No, I want to,” Alex says, tugging at Henry’s waistband. “I just need you to tell me if it’s awful.” Henry is speechless again, looking as if he can’t believe his fucking luck. “Okay. Of course.”

When it comes to being with a man? Henry leads, Alex follows.

And then the pacing and editing kicks off. We intercut to the tempo of the bagpipes between the match and the hook up and Henry is leading the charge on both.

He's in charge and Alex is LOVING it:

Turns out being on the receiving end of Henry’s royal authority is an extreme fucking turn-on.

This is risky and the most dangerous thing they have done so far. Amy walking in on them in the Red Room is one thing - book!Alex is VERY thankful for the staff NDAs when it comes to what they know about him and Henry - but neither of them care here. And Alex is very much letting Henry take the lead and set the pace.

Which, given how long Henry has wanted Alex, wanted this, and how he's not able to live and love (at this point) as openly as Alex is, giving Henry this control means that not only can Alex continue his education in this mlm era of his life, but he's giving Henry all of the freedom he can. God Bless America or something.

We intercut the make out scene with shots of things being hit, the hard slamming of one thing against another, of riders in saddles. The hands may be a metaphor for sex in the Paris scene but we have it here as well.

Alex is fully on board by this point and he's not letting Henry set the full agenda. In his White House bedroom we got the scene of Henry going down on Alex (and there is no way that it was a one-way exchange given how long they were there) so now? It's his turn.

My favourite editing choice?

We then cut to Henry's arse bouncing in that saddle. If the Paris scene is making love? This is them fucking. Henry is bouncing away, riding for all he's worth, chasing down his singular aim with precision and determination.

It's innuendo at its finest.

I love this shot. We're looking up at them - we're just like Alex who is now looking up at Henry due to his new vantage point (#NoLongerTaller) - and we see Alex is fully crowding up into Henry's space. And they are right by the door. There is no cover, no escape. Anyone coming in has fully caught them. Please let there be a PPO or a Secret Service be just outside. Please. For their sanity if not mine.

But even if there isn't for some insane reason, they don't care. They are so lost in each other, so caught up in this moment, that they aren't FSOTUS and the Prince Of Wales. They aren't boys with status and expectations. They're just two consenting adults who are testing the boundaries of what public indecency actually means.

They are really going for it now. Henry's arm is tensed with the effort of keeping Alex close, his hand is splayed on Henry's back to give him contact with more of him. They are not letting go. Diving all in like it's a nod to the Olympic event where they met in the book.

And when they come up for air it's because Alex is... well... about to go diving.

Those fingers make VERY quick work of the belt and what he is doing with his hands and those fingers is further evidence in the "this is them fucking" category.

And then the frame which I'm guessing inspired Cordelia's ask to me:

LOOK AT THAT FACE. Look at those fucking eyelashes. But Alex is wanting and he is wanting hard for Henry. Pun intended. He's got a plan for this, he's got a To Do list for those Very Bad Things he promised/threatened Henry with all those weeks ago.

And it will have been weeks. The State Dinner was around February time based on the texts (end of January at the latest) and then Henry says the polo match is "next month" (which would put it end of February, early March because we would not say 'next month' if it were next week, regardless of when the month starts) and so it's been weeks since they hooked up in Alex's room. Weeks of having to just text and email and maybe venture into video calls.

None of that would compare to being together.

This is the first time that Alex has gotten his hands on Henry since his bedroom and he's desperate to get more than his hands on him.

And this shot as Alex pulls Henry's trousers down is fucking pornographic. Matthew López, did you direct Nick to act like this or was it his choice? Go watch his expression as Alex is pulling the offending clothing out of the way and tell me that this isn't pornographic.

And then we cut to the not-at-all subtle shot of Henry well, making the shot. With ease and power and the ball shooting out of frame. Something something orgasm metaphor something release.

There's even a little wisp as he makes the shot. If this post isn't flagged for mature content I'll be surprised.

Next shot?

Congrats on not getting caught, on the sex, on the most smut-filled-while-almost-fully-clothed-sex scene I've ever had the joy of frame-by-framing through.

Alex is doing up his tie again but he's not uncomfortable. And Henry is so fucking happy I could cry. Because he just hooked up with this guy, in semi-public, and got away with it. They are firmly in Henry's world here, a world where he can't be out and proud, and he got to have something he wanted. And, maybe crucially, no one knows about it. His privacy is intact.

But more importantly, this thing he's got with Alex is something. It's not a one night stand. Alex came here specifically for him, because he asked him to. Because Alex wanted to see him, be with him. This wasn't an obligation, this wasn't something set up by anyone for show and to do damage control. This was for them, and them alone.

Look at these smug bastards. Look at them. Gettin' their rocks off and making puns about being hungry and eating like they didn't just devour each other.

BUT

I gotta bring the feels here 'cause it's me.

Henry attended the State dinner because he was expected to, because that was in place before the New Year's kiss. It was an obligation and in both the movie and the book he had been ghosting Alex. And then Alex grabbed him in the Red Room and they hooked up and at the end of that scene Henry nervously asks Alex if he wants to be his guest at the polo event. Alex doesn't actually say yes - he says he doesn't know how to play polo, there's a comment about it being safer if he's on the sidelines - but leaving aside any fear that he would stand Henry up this is the first time they have made plans with the intention of seeing each other, of being together in this way.

This is, for want of a better term, kinda like a date.

Alex turned up, Henry put out, and they're very much committing to seeing where this path will take them. (Forever. It'll take them to forever.)

Alex isn't straight, Henry is very much in love, and they're embracing that giddy phase of a relationship where you just can't keep your hands off each other. And we fade from this to Paris where they're on another kind of date and then there's another kind of sex scene and it's a speedrun of their relationship on screen like they weren't indulging in foreplay with all the text flirting.

Which, by the way, don't think I didn't notice that Henry's jersey number was 4. Four-play indeed.

(Thanks for this, Cordelia, I needed something like this to soothe my brain.)