#nothing makes me happier than actually having something for wip wednesday

[kyurilin]

Can't sleep, once again thinking about how I used to be paranoid about anyone so much as glimpsing my writing before it was finished and how now I will straight drop unfinished Google docs on friends at like midnight and not freak out

[matchingbatbites]

wip wednesday

So, final results from yesterday's poll?

🦇 familiar!Eddie 🦇

I want to say I'm surprised, but I'm really not, lol. We love us some bats in the Steddie fandom. I'm not sure if you 34% were hoping for vampires, but I hope you're pleasantly surprised regardless.

I had a lot of fun with the poll idea, and I hope you all did too! As you can tell, I didn't actually vote myself because I wanted to be surprised by the results, so I've spent the last 24 hours bouncing off the walls lol. Thanks to everyone who voted!! I might do this again next week, we'll see :)

I promised a synopsis and a snippet, so here you are! Snippet is under the cut!

Synopsis:

Supernatural Creature AU. Dustin is a witch whose familiar, a bat named Eddie, is not as cooperative as other familiars he’s met. The little creature has a big personality and isn’t afraid of doing whatever he wants, and Dustin is more than used to dealing with how sassy the bat can be. It would also be good if Eddie didn’t go off on his own every chance he got, although he seems to have a built in homing-beacon for locating one Steve Harrington, a Merman adopted into Dustin’s little friend group that the witch not-so-secretly adores.

When Dustin tries to cast a spell that lets him communicate with Eddie, it backfires and turns his familiar into a human. He knows that Eddie can’t stay at his house - he’s not even supposed to be using magic on his familiar, not until he gets older, so his mom will flip if she finds out. The witch begs Steve to keep an eye on the new human while he figures out how to reverse it and Steve agrees, completely oblivious to the fact that he’s going to fall head over heels for the man in the two weeks they spend together. 

And then Dustin's mom finds out. 

She’s upset, of course, but she knows how kids can be. She says she can fix it, she knows what Dustin did wrong and is able to reverse it. But because Eddie is human now, he has human rights, so he gets a choice: does he choose to return to being a bat, to being what he’s always known? Or does he choose to stay human, to exist as something other in the world?

(We all know he chooses Steve, in the end.)

Snippet:

Steve is lounging by the pool, basking in the sun warming his skin and scales alike, the fin of his tail floating lazily in the salt water. He's on the verge of falling asleep - he put on enough sunscreen that it wouldn't be any worry, and it's so tempting with how quiet it is right now. No kids bugging him, nowhere to be any time soon. For once in a while, he's free to just chill.

The relaxing atmosphere is ruined when something crashes into his chest, and - yeah, he screams, but it caught him off guard, okay? He grabs at the object, intending to throw it away from him, but immediately releases it when he hears an annoyed squeak. Startled, he looks down to find- 

"Eddie! That’s the third time this week, you little monster!"

The bat looks up at him from its position with its wings splayed across Steve's chest and makes another, much happier noise. Steve can't help but smile even as he whips his tail out of the pool, flicking water onto the creature who lets out an affronted squeak and quickly crawls up to bury itself in the crook of Steve's neck.

The Mer chuckles softly and brings one hand up to gently scratch at Eddie’s head, and reaches over with the other to dig his walkie free from where he'd wrapped it in a towel to keep it dry.

"Dustin, this is Steve. Come in, over."

A brief pause, then a soft crackle. "This is Dustin, what's up? Over."

"Your familiar got out again, over."

"Shit. He must have got out when I left for Mike's. Is there any way you can bring him to me? Over."

Steve frowns at the idea of having to get up and get dressed when he had planned to do absolutely nothing but lounge around all day. Eddie gives a soft grumble and Steve starts up his idle scratching again, and he feels the bat practically melt into a puddle at the gentle affection.

“I can, but do you mind if I bring him later? This is the first chance I’ve had to sun my scales in like, two weeks, over.”

Dustin gives a long suffering sigh that makes Steve roll his eyes, before giving a disgruntled “I guess. Just be glad I don’t actually need him today.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault that your familiar likes me so much. I’m not even a witch but he latches on to me any time he sees me.”

“He’s a familiar, Steve! He’s attracted to magical energies or something, I dunno!”

“I mean, you can just admit that I’m Eddie’s favorite-”

Eddie gives a soft chirp at the sound of his name, but for Steve it almost feels like an agreement. He coos softly at the creature as the walkie crackles to life again.

“Just- Get him back before dinner, okay? I don’t want my mom to worry about where he is.”

"Roger that. Over and out Dust Bunny."

"That's not my-"

Steve clicks the walkie off, something he knows he'll get an earful for later, but right now he sets the device to the side as he shuts his eyes again, enjoying the heat of the sun and the soft noises from the bat cuddled in the crook of his neck.

[startanewdream]

It's still WIP Wednesday, so let me share a Hinny AU (No Voldemort) that I am stuck for ages how/if to continue, that I'd love to hear your thoughts about!

____________

Ginny gives two sickles to the bartender.

‘Two butterbeers, please.'

The bartender nods, turning to grab two new mugs, just as Ginny feels an arm around her shoulders. She turns, though she already knows who is; that soap scent of Harry is unmistakable.

And because she is only human after all, she inhales more heavily than she needs.

‘You have to help me,' he whispers to her, looking properly in panic.

‘What trouble did you get into this time?' Ginny asks good-naturedly, ignoring the goosebumps that arise on her neck as she feels the warmth of his skin; his arm is still around her shoulders, casually, as if it belongs there. She forces herself to ignore this thought also.

‘A 5’44” trouble,' Harry replies, with a shudder, glancing back quickly at a table in the other corner of the Three Broomsticks. Ginny doesn’t need to look in that direction to gather who he is talking about.

His date.

‘It can’t be that bad,' Ginny says, hoping to sound reasonable and not too bothered by the fact Harry is there with someone. He is free, after all, to have dates with anyone. ‘Lisa is nice.'

‘I have nothing in common with her,' complains Harry. There is so much pain in his face that Ginny almost laughs; Harry is one of the most dramatic people she knows. ‘She doesn’t care for Quidditch, I think Gobstones are boring -’

‘Can’t disagree with you there.'

‘ - and the only topic we actually talked about were the OWL’s.'

Ginny doesn’t bother to hide her grimace now. ‘That’s… bad.'

‘I know, right? One would think that a date would be to forget about school!’ he sighs. His hand is playing with her hair, though Ginny thinks he doesn’t even realize he is doing it. ‘Ravenclaws - I should have known.'

‘Come on,' she says, her face heating. ‘They are not all bad.'

Harry shrugs.

‘Fine, I’d have been happier on a date with Luna,' he agrees. ‘If only we weren’t much better as friends.'

‘Speaking of friends, do you know about Ron and Hermione?’

‘No, but I hope they are enjoying their day. Just so my sacrifice is worth at least.'

Ginny forces herself to smirk. ‘Oh, I see, hanging out a full day with one of the prettiest girls of your year just to give your best friends an excuse to be together. So noble of you.'

‘I’d rather be with you,' Harry replies with so much sincerity in his voice that Ginny doesn’t doubt it. She just wishes he’d not mean it in such a friendly way. Then his green eyes sparkle, in that way that Ginny associates with him using father’s invisibility cloak to prank someone. ‘Hey! That’s it! Be my new date!’

She blinks.

‘What?’

‘I can tell Lisa I have to be with you - come on, you are great at taking me out of trouble. Just invent one of those incredibly credible excuses.'

‘Those work on Filch, Harry, not on dates,' she says, ignoring how her heart is thumping on her chest. Silly, silly, stop dreaming! ‘Fake dating is a horrible idea. Never works.'

‘We could make it work,' he says brightly, his voice full of a joy he is inviting her to share with him. ‘We are really good together -’

‘Besides, I am already on a date,' she adds, carefully avoiding his eyes, just as the bartender returns with her two mugs of butterbeer.

‘Ah.'

Harry takes out his arm from around her shoulders. When she glances at him, she sees there is a frown on her face, one that looks a lot like the one she saw before on Fred and George’s face when they found out she had a date for that Hogsmeade weekend.

Annoyance floods her. If Harry starts acting like her older brothers, she won’t promise she won’t hex him as she did with Fred and George.

‘You’re on a date,' he says, somewhat sounding baffled. Ginny thinks this is a little bit insulting.

‘Yeah, it’s what happens when a girl gets asked out.'

‘Asked out,' he repeats as if he had never thought of this concept before. 'By whom?’

‘Michael Corner. He is -’

‘From Ravenclaw, my year, yeah, I know.' Harry lays his back against the counter, a peculiar expression on his face. ‘I see you have no problems with Ravenclaws.'

There is something in his voice that Ginny thinks it’s edging on sarcasm, but she lets it slide. Maybe Harry is really upset that his own date isn’t going well.

‘He is nice,' it’s all she says. ‘In fact, I have to go back with those drinks.'

‘Oh, sure, yeah. I have to go back to my date too.'

Ginny nods.

‘See you later then.'

‘See you - Ginny? If - I mean - a date? - if he tries anything -’

‘I can take care of myself, Harry,' she replies, grimacing now.

‘I know you can, I just worry -’

‘Don’t,' she cuts him off. ‘I already have six brothers, Harry, I really don’t need one more.'

‘Brother?’

‘Yeah. Stop acting like you are my brother, because -’

‘I am not,' he agrees, though he still sounds baffled as if he never thought of it before.

‘Good,' Ginny answers back and then she turns her back to him, walking resolutely at the table where Michael waits for her and refusing to steal a glance back.

[transmasc-wizard]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday ^^

how precisely does magic work in your world(s), and is it different depending on which story you're writing (for instance I'm assuming the nano thriller has a much different magic system than gfs)

ty for the ask! ok this is A Question that could have a very long answer, specifically because all 3 of my WIPs involve magic and all 3 have magic systems that are literally weird as fuck. But! short version. I will try. for the sake of dashboards.

So the one (1) uniting Thing about magic in all my WIPs is that Death is a person and her name is Susan. This is only actually focused on in GFS tho. It's mentioned in Val Saintly (mainly via Spacey, the resident dead-but-to-the-left person), sort of as a running joke, but like. Susan is an actual character in GFS. (she's just mentioned in a book in NT21 and they don't take it seriously lmao.) This isn't very relevant but it's important to me that you know that. [does this imply an extended universe? ehhhh technically sorta i guess yeah.]

so, in NT21, magic is creepy and dangerous. It mostly happens when very strong emotions band together (e.g. the hate and resentment of all the dying people that create the monster), and is very, very rare. It's paranormal-esque, too, with ghosts being allowed on the basis of "they're cool". It's too rare for people to get a proper hold on, so it's never really explained. (this is absolutely me being a bit lazy but u cant stop me.)

in Val Saintly, magic has only one rule: if it's weird and i like it, it goes in. I don't really care if it doesn't make sense. nothing in this book makes sense. it's batshit insane. I've never been happier

ANYWAY. under the cut you will get the Gay Fairytale Series Magic Explanation now, which you will regret. "short version" was a lie.

In GFS, magic is... not alive exactly, but it grows and changes and moves. People make magic in their own bodies, a bit, but for the most part they're sponges! It is very, very easy for people to pull magic into them, easier than it is for most other creatures. In fact, it's so easy, they're doing it constantly. Not in huge amounts, but at any given moment, a human is pulling magic from around them and into their blood. After awhile, it goes into their bones, something I talk about here. Bone magic is hard to access, so people automatically take magic from their blood, first. But if they use too much of that and start drawing from their bones, magic starts being even more fucked up!

Like. Using surface level magic (the stuff still circulating through your body) is already dangerous, because magic is essentially an ancient bioweapon. But when it's allowed to fester, to sink into your bones and become a part of you... shit gets bad.

fuck up with circulating magic: regardless of what way you fucked up; you'll puke, feel shaky, be nauseous, be at risk of dying, get a fever probably, maybe have a few effects related to what type of magic you used

fuck up with bone magic: ok. say the fuckup was 'i tried to hide myself with shadows, but i did it wrong'. It's likely that the shadows will follow you, slowly wrapping tighter and tighter, making their way into your lungs and heart and veins until they destroy you completely, turning you into nothing but a rotting husk caught between life and death for the rest of time.

Yeah that's fun. Also, "what counts as a fuckup" and "what doesn't" is on a very personal level of your own abilities and expertise, so usually people don't know until it's too late. How you use magic is also personal; it could be a mental thing, spoken words, music, written words, or maybe drawings. (example: Angel often writes spells out.)

Magic itself is relatively the same substance; what you use it for classifies whether it's pyromancy, metalurgy, necrokenisis, whatever. Just because you're really good at summoning up fire, btw, doesn't mean you'll ever be able to manipulate gravity or turn something invsible. Most people can't master more than 2 types of magic.

so that was the Basic explanation of GFS magic! have a nice day and drink water and thanks again for the ask and happy WBW

[gold-from-straw]

Fanfic ask game

I was tagged AGES ago by @stardustloki and then got distracted!! So here it is lol! I think I might fill this in for original fic for my blog on Wednesday too ^_^

At what age did you start writing fanfiction? Actually, I only learned it was a THING in 2017 (I was 32)!! I stumbled on AO3 by accident and fell in love, and immediately started writing about Loki haha! 

However, when I was 12 or so I did start writing a story about the brothers in the Willard Price books - they were written in the 50s, about two boys who went around the world capturing animals for zoos, and were surprisingly accurate... I probably still have that story. I was Roger’s twin sister in the story, and I think the big brother Hal got shot. It was very angst. I have no idea how it was meant to end lmao!

Who is your favorite author?

Aahhh this is pretty hard! I think Alice Oseman (@chronicintrovert), Radio Silence is possibly my favourite book ever, but I’ve also always loved Kate Atkinson (though she’s very dark) and Dorothy Koomson... and Terry Pratchett obviously! And also Haruki Murakami... I understand literally nothing he writes, but I love it anyway, he just does these THINGS with language and I drift away in bliss!

My favourite fanfic author... oh god, how do I choose?? @ikeracity - I would probably read everything they write, especially Cherik! And STARSdidathing for Frostiron mutual pining! And shiiit so many Drarry writers... @llendrinall definitely!! Their HP universe is mind blowing!! And Saras_girl! I got a non-fandom person into fanfic by sending their sliding doors AU to her, she STILL talks about it!

Favorite type of scene to write?

Aaaaannnggsssttttt. I love writing angst and hurt/comfort, particularly really self-indulgent hurt/comfort. I use writing as part of my therapy, and I find it particularly helpful to write someone going through things I’ve experienced, and then having a person give them what they need. It makes me feel like I’ve received that help too.

What is your favorite fanfic?

Oh god... OK, I can’t choose just one, as you’ve probably been able to tell from before lol! So here’s a bunch! Erik Lehnsherr’s Guide To Saving The Universe by Madneto and Pangea - basically the Fifth Element AU where Charles is Leeloo but NOT Born Sexy Yesterday. Been There, Done That by AsYouWish (a time loop of X-Men First Class). Veiled Truths by @ikeracity is VERY close to my heart but PLEASE check the tags first. Turn, by Saras_Girl (The Drarry fic I sent to my non-fandom friend). Life Skills Outside the Curriculum by @llendrinall - that one with the BEST alternative magic basically invented by street-kid Harry. And Like The Cycle Of The Year... by @katherynefromphilly - it’s commonly accepted as Merlin season 6, it just IS. Fractals of a Criminal Mind by STARSdidathing (or really anything by STARS tbh...). The Housemates Series by @coneycat - a crossover of Thor 1 and Being Human, which is the first thing I remember absolutely LOVING on AO3 (I still re-read it) And THIS!! Few Experience (What You Really Are) by @flightinflame is a WIP but I’m lucky enough to have read ahead and HOLY COW GUYS BOOKMARK THIS!! It’s got Charles being all BAMF and dark (or is he...?) and Erik... Erik is brilliant and so brave and his past is revealed so organically, it’s WONDERFUL!

What tags do you avoid like the plague?

I am very careful with self-harm, and especially with anything about CSA, non-con, incest and underage

What AU do you wish to write but feel like you won’t manage?

I’d LOVE to see something that was prompted on the Cherik discord, where the guys from Umbrella Academy end up in the Xavier school when they time travel to the Vietnam war era, where Charles is sinking into depression, and decide ‘hey, you’re our new dad!’ I don’t know the Umbrella Academy NEARLY well enough but I would LOVE to read that!

What has been your favorite story to write so far?

I actually don’t know!! I am very attached to all of my stories lol! There are some I’ve found difficult to write, others I put too much of myself in for them to be enjoyable (writing therapy lol) and a few that I wrote almost obsessively trying to spill all the words out in one go! But I think the one I had a load of FUN with the universe and creating the magic system was Spectres, where Loki is a mythical creature a bit like something Miyazaki would put in his films (that was the aesthetic I was going for) and Tony was a monk who is officially there to fight him, but actually just flirts a lot. Then Peter (Tony’s apprentice) goes missing, and Loki helps get him back. I just wrote that thinking ‘I have NO IDEA where all this insanity is coming from but I will ride the heck out of this wave!’ It was fun!

Do you prefer to write one-shots or multi-chapters? Why?

Multi-chapters, definitely - I like coming up with plot, breaking my characters, and fixing them again to make them happier than they were before (and would be in canon!)

What is your favorite kind of comment?

God, any of them!! I have someone who writes <3 on my fics, on whatever chapter they read, and I am very fond of them! Some people write me an entire LITERARY CRITIQUE of my story and I feel very unworthy of such hard work and attention (that was @amordantia - it was an essay. I would have printed it out and kept it in my diary if my printer wasn’t utterly useless). I had someone recently write ‘what the fuck?? This has no right to be as good as it is!’ on a crackfic, and that just made me laugh so hard. Oh, and someone once wrote ‘I’ve never heard of this TV series but I’ll read everything you write because I know it’s worth it’ and I just... wanted to bow down and worship them.

Why did you start writing fanfiction? Why are you still writing it?

...I really wanted to. That’s basically it? I have been writing original fic for years, and I’d already self-published my first book by the time I found out about fanfic, I think (or else those two things were very close together), so writing fanfic was just... I really wanted to. I had plot bunnies. I still write it for that reason now, only I’m massively incentivised by the actual HEROIN that is comments and kudos?!?! It’s THE BEST feeling ever to have people read your work and enjoy it ;_;

I’ve tagged a LOAD of people in the body of this! If it’s your thing, have a go! If you’re reading this as you scroll past, consider that I’m tagging you too! Fly, my pretties...