#so i'm trying to use some outtakes

[sorryiliketoscreenshot]

[onlyonetifosi]

Clapping, clapping, i see ya' falling

got the gifs from @matlillard (love the recompilation)

author note1: sorry for taking longer than I expected, been busy

author note2: sorry for the possible bad german, Im spanish, i used google translate

author note2: i hope you like it

"Mick, Schätzchen, have you ever thought about joining TikTok?" Yn asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"TikTok? Really?" Mick raised an eyebrow, not entirely convinced.

Yn chuckled, "Warum nicht? (Why not?) It's a fantastic way to connect with fans. Let's create an account together!"

After some convincing, Mick reluctantly agreed. Yn set up his account, and soon they were ready to post the first TikTok. Little did they know, it would become an internet sensation.

His first TikTok featured the two of them attempting the viral clapping challenge. The idea was simple—clap their hands while crossing one leg, all while navigating different locations on race weekends. However, the process wasn't as smooth as it seemed.

In the first clip, Mick and Yn found themselves in a hotel corridor. As they started clapping and crossing legs, Mick tripped over his own feet, and they burst into laughter. The genuine moment of joy captured the hearts of fans, and the comments flooded in.

"Okay, Micky, let's try this again. Clap, laugh, leg cross!" Yn said giggling

"This is harder than it looks!" Mick responded laughing on the corridor floor

"Komm schon, Mick! (Come on, Mick!)" Yn encourages him as they are running late because of his discordination.

"Ich versuche es, Liebling. (I'm trying, darling)" Mick defends himself.

As they attempted multiple takes, they stumbled, bumped into each other, and laughed uncontrollably. The outtakes became just as popular as the original video.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Melbourne, as they stood in their hotel corridor, Mick began the routine with a confident clap. Yn, however, struggled to keep her balance and ended up colliding with a housekeeping cart, sending cleaning supplies scattering.

"Verdammt (damn)!" she laughed, helping Mick collect the fallen items.

The duo's next stop was Imola, where Mick's Australian Shepherd, Angie, joined in on the fun. With her wagging tail, she managed to mimic the leg cross move, leaving the couple in stitches.

"Angie wants to join the TikTok too!" Yn giggled.

"Angie, du bist so süß (Angie, you're so cute)," Yn cooed, ruffling the dog's fur.

Mick petted Angie, "You're stealing the show, Frau"

Throughout the season, Mick and Yn continued the clapping challenge, showcasing different locations, from the paddock to picturesque cities around the world. Each video brought its own set of challenges and hilarious moments.

Encouraged by the positive response of the bloopers she uploaded on instagram, Yn had an ambitious idea – to get Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff involved. She pleaded with him in his office.

"Toto, please, it's just a quick video! The fans would love to see the boss having some fun."

Toto sighed, "Fine, but just this once. What do I have to do?"

Yn grinned, "Just clap your hands and cross one leg while walking. It's easy!"

Toto chuckled, "Ah, the things I do for social media”

The resulting video showcased Toto's serious demeanor breaking into a smile as he awkwardly attempted the trend. Fans went wild, and Toto's unexpected charm won over the internet.

"You owe me for this, Mick!" Toto playfully threatened him.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their TikTok journey continued, featuring special guests like Sebastian Vettel and his wife Hanna. In one video, the four attempted the clap-and-cross routine together, struggling to coordinate their moves, well mostly Seb and Mick.

" Mama, Papa, come join us for a TikTok! It'll be legendary!"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Really, Yn? TikTok?" but she knew he was joking from the playful grin on his face, adn he agreed.

The genuine laughter that followed made it even more endearing. Mick hugged his friend, saying, "Who knew Seb Vettel could be a TikTok sensation?"

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the Silverstone GP, Esteban Ocon, Mick's bestie, couldn't resist joining the trend. The two friends shared a hilarious moment when Mick accidentally stepped on Esteban's foot, resulting in a fit of laughter that echoed through the paddock.

"C'est vraiment drôle!" (This is really funny) Esteban laughed, clapping along.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taking advantage that Mick's sister, Gina, was with them during a race weekend, Yn decided to involve her as she is very fond of the older Schumacher sibling.

"Come on, Gina! We're going to create a masterpiece!" Yn encouraged Gina 

Gina, always up for some fun, joined them in a hotel lobby. Yn and Gina having planned a prank on Mick were ready.

"Bereit, ihr beiden? (Ready, you two?)"

"Ja, let's go!" Yn said mischievously to her.

As Mick started clapping and crossing his leg, Yn and Gina coordinated their push, causing Mick to stumble dramatically.

"Autsch! Ihr seid gemein! (Ouch! You're mean!)" Mick told them faking a hurt expression.

The three burst into laughter, Mick, with a mock hurt expression, turned to Yn for comfort. Seizing the opportunity, he pulled her into a sweet kiss, knowing it would irk his sister.

"I never thought making these videos could be so entertaining. Danke, Liebling" Said Mick kissing his girlfriend as Gina fake gagged behind them.

Gina groaned, "Ugh, you two are insufferable."

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yn convinced Mick to approach other drivers for collaborations. In the paddock at Hungary, they found themselves persuading Lewis Hamilton to join the clapping craze.

"Come on, Lewis! It'll be a blast!" Yn exclaimed.

Lewis, with a grin, agreed, and soon the trio filmed a TikTok that transcended team rivalries and showcased the camaraderie among the drivers.

In Hungary, they even managed to convince Max Verstappen to take part in the viral trend, breaking the mold of fierce competition. The resulting video, featuring Mick, Yn and Max, became an instant hit, uniting fans from different corners of the racing world.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Mick and Yn continued their TikTok journey, their infectious laughter and genuine moments brought joy to fans worldwide. They uploaded the video and promised to repeat it next season as they had so much fun during the making of it.

They uploaded the video, and soon, the comments flooded in, praising not only the couple's chemistry but also Mick's newfound style

She turned to Mick, who was sitting beside her on the bed in their hotel room, scrolling through his own phone. "Mick, isn't this amazing? Our TikTok is blowing up! "

Mick chuckled, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Ja (Yes), it's pretty cool. I didn't expect it to become so popular" And they started reading some of the comments.

One said "Is it just me, or did Mick's fashion game level up this year?" some others said "Mick's style transformation is giving me life. Thank you, Yn!"

Another fan said: "The 'girlfriend effect' is real. Yn, spill your fashion secrets!"

Mick looked from her phone to her girlfriend, who layed across their bed, raising an eyebrow "The 'girlfriend effect,' huh?"

Yn, smiled grinning, proud of herself "Guilty as charged. But admit it, you look great!"

Mick, looked at her grinning "Looks like I owe it all to you, liebling"

taglist: @love4lando@gcldtom@im-mi @hiireadstuff @celesteblack08@reblog-princess@sunf1ower16@janeholt3@athena-artemis-dorian-gray

[erikahenningsen]

i miss polaroid cadina 🥺 can i request an outtake of them on a date or something

"Isn't this dangerous?"

Regina stares at her. "On what planet is a forward roll dangerous?"

"This one!" Cady says indignantly. "What if I, like, bend my neck in the wrong way and then I die?"

"I bent my neck the wrong way once and I was fine"

"Regina!" Cady puts her hands on her hips. "You were seriously injured."

"I know," Regina says, rolling her eyes. "I was there. Now, come on. This was your idea."

Okay, Regina has her there. Cady did ask Regina to teach her a little bit of gymnastics. But now, confronted with actually doing it, she isn't so sure.

"I've taught many a preschooler to do a forward roll," Regina says. "Squat down like this."

Against her better judgment, Cady mirrors Regina and bends so her butt is parallel with the floor, hands on the ground slightly in front of her.

Regina shuffles over on her knees and places a hand on Cady's hip. "Now tuck your head, like you're trying to put your nose between your knees."

Cady, feeling incredibly silly, does as instructed. "Okay."

Regina's other hand goes to Cady's other hip. "Now, lean forward, and push."

With a bit of a shove from Regina, Cady tumbles forward, landing flat on her back. She stares at the ceiling, relieved to be alive and uninjured.

"Great," Regina says. "Now try to do it without flopping to the ground like a dead fish."

"You're not a very motivational coach," Cady complains.

Regina tugs on Cady's ponytail lightly. "Just try to stay tucked in a little ball."

Cady's second attempt is much better, if Regina looming over her, grinning, is anything to go by.

"Now a back handspring," Regina says.

"No way," Cady replies, shaking her head so hard her ponytail whips her in the face.

Regina laughs. "God, I'm kidding."

"Oh." Cady takes the hand Regina offers to pull her to her feet. "Now what?"

Regina gives Cady a scrutinizing look, eyes moving up and down Cady's body in a way that makes her shiver.

"How's your upper body strength?" Regina asks.

Cady looks at her arms, as if that will tell her anything. "Probably not very good."

"Well, let's try it anyway." Regina turns and starts walking towards the bars before Cady can ask what it is and if it is dangerous.

"Here, put some chalk on your hands," Regina says, gesturing to the bucket full of white powder.

While Cady has never used the chalk personally, she has always been a fan of the way Regina looks in her Nike Pro spandex, dusted with chalk and glistening with sweat after practice. Maybe Regina will do some skills on the bar if she asks nicely; the way Regina combines elegance with sheer strength on bars does something to Cady that she can't really articulate beyond unintelligible noises.

"Hello? Cady, you still with me?"

"Right. Yes. Chalk." Cady dips her hands, palms-down, into the bucket. It's strangely soft, like all-purpose flour, but leaves her hands feeling dry.

Regina directs her to stand in front of the low bar. "Put your hands here"—she taps the bar—"and pull your chin to the bar."

Cady does her best, but she definitely needs to hit the weights before she can do a chin-up.

Regina looks mildly amused. "Okay, just do your best. I'm gonna push your hips up, and try to pull them towards the bar. And don't let go."

After eyeing the bar warily for a moment, Cady tries again. She feels Regina's hands under her butt, pushing her hips up and over the bar.

"Straighten your arms and push up," Regina instructs, placing a hand behind Cady's knees and pushing down, using her other hand to raise Cady's shoulders until she's resting on her hips on the bar, arms straight underneath her.

Regina looks pleased, which makes Cady flush with pride. "You just did a pullover."

"Cool," Cady says, like she knows what that is.

Regina helps her down, and Cady tries to brush the chalk off her leggings, even though it's probably a lost cause. Then there's the sound of the door to the gym being pushed open.

"Shit," Regina mutters, grabbing Cady by the arm and yanking her behind a big, block-shaped mat next to the bars. "Get down!"

There's the sound of footsteps, another door opening, and then closing. Regina peeks around the edge of the mat before standing.

"Are we not supposed to be in here?" Cady asks, frowning. "You said it was fine."

"Yeah, well..." Regina shrugs. "I lied. We're not supposed to be in here without a coach, and only people on the team can use the gym."

"Regina!"

"What?" Regina says, defensive. "You said you wanted to learn some gymnastics!"

"Not if it meant committing a crime!" Cady shoots back, indignant.

"You're so dramatic," Regina says, rolling her eyes.

Cady crosses her arms. She's not really mad, but she definitely doesn't want Regina getting in trouble.

Regina tugs on her arm, loosening it. "Don't be mad."

Cady glares at her for another couple of seconds—okay, maybe she is being a little dramatic, but she learned from the best—before softening. "I'm not. Thanks for teaching me."

Regina brushes a few strands of hair out of Cady's face and gives her that soft, private, intimate smile she only gives to Cady. "Anytime."

"But let's go before we get arrested."

Regina shakes her head, but she's still smiling. "Alright. We can go to 7-Eleven, if you want."

Cady grins. This is the best day ever.

[darkbluekies]

The witty and uncanny: the outtakes

Yandere!doctor OC x reader x mafia!yandere OC

Summary/AN: I had written this, but thought that it was a direction that didn't fit the story, that it spiraled a bit, so I abandoned this and wrote the one in the series ... but I thought that I could share this too!

Warnings: yandere duo, kidnapping, unhealthy relationships

Part 3

Silas runs into the room an hour later, blood covering his neck and black shirt. 

“What happened?!” Dr Kry gasps. 

“Shit happened”, Silas answers while panting and hurries over to you. 

Dr Kry steps in front of him. 

“Stop”, he warns Silas. “Don’t touch them. What is going on with you?”

“My enemies know that Y/N is here”, Silas sighs heavily, running his hand through his hair. “And if you don’t want Y/N, yourself, me and everyone around to die, you better fucking help me transport Y/N to my house.”

Dr Kry widens his eyes. He swallows hard, looking around in the room, hesitating, debating. 

“How long do we have?” he asks carefully. 

“Twenty minutes at most”, Silas says. “We have to move. Now.”

“Alright, alright.”

Dr Kry grabs his bag and shoves some pills, syringes and other necessities he thinks he might need to keep you in check, removes the mask from your face and lifts you up in his arms. Your head automatically falls onto his broad shoulder. 

“Let’s go”, he says, stressed out of his mind. 

He usually stays calm in pressured situations, but when it involves you, he feels like a beginner again. Not a professional. 

The two of them hurries down to the parking lot.

“Where’s your car?” Silas asks. 

“My car?” Dr Kry scoffs. “Why my car?”

“Because I can’t use mine?” Silas asks as if that was obvious. “They’ll know it’s me and then we’re already doomed.”

“Fine, it’s this way.”

They hurry over to the white car in the corner of the parking lot. Silas opens the back door for the doctor to place you down on the backseat. Dr Kry jumps in beside you while Silas moves over to the driver’s seat. The doctor holds your body in his embrace, his arms working better than a seat belt — in his opinion. He caresses your hair softly.

It doesn't take long before you open your eyes and find yourself in a totally different location than before. Your entire body freezes before harshly trying to push whoever is holding you away.

"W-Where am I?" you stutter. "Let go of me!"

"Y/N, it's us", Dr Kry answers calmly and strengthens his embrace to keep you in place. "No need to be afraid. We're on our way to Silas’s house since he released his location at the hospital."

Silas house?! Flashing images of the basement fill your mind. You can still feel the hard stone floor under your ass from all the time you've spent there.

"No!" you burst out and start to fight against Dr Kry. "I don't want to go there!"

"I've started to like you better when you're asleep, little thing", Silas mutters over his shoulder. "I'm not going to put you in the basement — because I'm guessing that's why you're getting all worked up — if you stay calm. Don't yell, don't hit or kick and don't try to do something stupid. Got it?"

You gulp and nod. The doctor notices how you shrink into a ball.

"You can't talk to them like that", Dr Kry says.

"We're no longer in your hospital", Silas says. "Out in the real world, I'm in charge. And I discipline Y/N how I want. Unlike your method, mine actually works."

Dr Kry glances at you. You've curled up beside the car door, hugging your legs close to your body. Tears are running down your cheeks and you have to bite down on your lip to stay silent. He reaches out to caress your hair, but you flinch away. Silas grins in the rearview mirror. 

For the entirety of that terrifying drive, you sit in silence, remembering all the horrific things that occurred in Silas’s house before you eventually ran off. Should you try to make a run for it? You could get away … buy if they catch you you'll go down to the basement. That's a place you want to avoid at all costs.

"Okay, jump out", Silas says after parking the car.

Your hand trembles as you open the car door. Slowly, you step out. The gravel feels harsh and unwelcoming under your feet. A cold breeze runs past you. You hug yourself to create some kind of warmth, but when only wearing a loose, flimsy hospital gown, you can't.

"Let's get you inside", Silas says and wraps his arm around your shoulders. "You must be cold."

Dr Kry stops and looks at Silas’s dark facade. He can't tell if the actual structure is black or if it's so dark that it blends into the night. After a few seconds of thinking, he hurries after. Inside, the house looks like any other house Dr Kry’s been in. The only difference is the lack of personality but maybe that's all that can describe Silas.

You're led upstairs. Silas notices how you try to force your heels down into the floor, but his grip on you is stronger. Dr Kry walks behind you, leaving you no exit. The two men follow you into the bedroom. All will power leaves you the second you see the bed you used to share with Silas. The chains by the bed makes your stomach turn. Silas walks over to them, picking them up.

"Silas, please …", you whisper, frozen in place as you desperately shake your head. "I'm not going to move. I'll stay, I promise."

"I want to believe you, baby", he sighs and hugs you, sighing when you break down in tears for what feels like the hundredth time this day. "I really want to. But the last time you ran away from me, I thought I'd die! I really need you, sweetheart and I can't let that horrible night happen again. I can't let you hurt yourself like you did that night. I hated to see you in that hospital bed when I arrived. You looked horrible. And then you disappeared from me again … I was so fucking worried."

Somehow you agree. That night brought Dr Kry into the picture and made everything so much more complicated.

"Please", you sob desperately. 

Silas thinks for a while before he looks at Dr Kry who nods.

"Okay", Silas says and secures your head into his chest. "No chains."

Your entire body relaxes in relief.

"Give him a hug for being generous", Dr Kry smiles halfly with his arms crossed.

Your arms lock around Silas’s well built body. Silas gives him a surprised look and Dr Kry smiles slightly, shrugging. 

They tuck you in bed and walk out to give you some much needed privacy.

"I didn't know you could be human", Dr Kry says.

"Surprise", Silas says, glancing back to the bedroom door. "I really do love them, you know?"

"I thought you were just a sadist who wanted to hurt Y/N. That's how you come across."

"No. I could watch the world burn, but if anything seriously happened to Y/N I'd join in on burning it down." Silas leans his back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "And why did you suddenly become nice to me in there? Was it just a show for Y/N so they'll choose you over me? In that case youre not much better than me."

"I changed my mind about you — but just a little bit. I still think you're an arrogant, narcissistic piece of actual shit … but I don't want Y/N to be scared … and if we fight it will only spiral."

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Silas breathes out, turning to the door. “There’s a guest room for you down the hall. Get some sleep.”

With that said, Silas walks back into the bedroom and into the bathroom. He’s still covered in blood he doesn’t want anywhere near close to you. A smile tugs on his lips when he exits. He'll sleep with you again. It's soon morning hours, but to him it couldn't matter less. The only thing that's important is your body in his arms. He lies down, bringing your sleeping form closer. You fit so perfectly in his arms, it's such a shame that you don't see how perfect the two of you are together.

You wake up earlier than Silas the following morning. For a few moments, nothing comes to mind. Why are you back? Was everything a dream? Did you never escape? Did you never meet Dr Kry again? Did you never come between them? The bandages on your wrists tell you a different story — a real story.

Carefully to not wake Silas, you climb out of the bed and sneak out of the room.

"And where do you think you're headed?" 

You're about to scream in surprise. You snap your head to your left, seeing Dr Kry sit in a chair in the end of the corridor with a syringe in his hands. 

"Bathroom", you lie. 

"I should come with you."

He's about to stand up.

"N-No!" you say quickly. "I'm okay. I won't hurt myself."

"Either let me come with you to make sure you'll be fine or don't go."

"Fine, I won't."

He smiles, exposing his pearly white teeth. "See? I knew you were lying. If you really needed to go to the bathroom, you'd do it even though you were uncomfortable." Dr Kry stands up, slowly walking over to you. "Where were you heading, little one?"

"Nowhere", you say through gritted teeth.

"Nowhere?" He chuckles. "That's a synonym for 'escape'."

"That wasn't said in any dictionary I read."

"Then you didn't read hard enough." He grabs your arm in a firm, but not painful grip. "Sit with me."

You flinch at your doctor's unusual boldness. He pulls you back to the chair, sits down and pets his thighs. You shake your head.

"If I were you, I'd sit", Dr Kry says, showing the syringe. "I don't want to use it unnecessarily, but I need to keep an eye on you. Please don't be difficult, my dear."

You sigh and sit down in his lap, body stiff and uncomfortable. He doesn't move, doesn't even look at you. You can tell that the hand holding the syringe trembles.

An hour later, the door opens and a tired looking Silas comes out.

"You little shit, Y/N", he yawns. "You gave me a heart attack when I didn't have you in my arms."

"And yet you're still breathing", you mutter under your breath.

"I heard that", Dr Kry says, tilting his head into the corner of your eye. 

Of course he did.

"They did try to leave", Dr Kry says, squeezing the flesh of your upper arms. "Who knows what could have happened if I hadn't been sitting here."

Silas moves over to you and towers over you like a giant. With Dr Kry both behind — and practically under you — and Silas in front — and practically above you — you can't help but start to feel claustrophobic. 

"Are you hungry?" Silas asks, tilting your head upwards by your chin. "Do you want some breakfast?"

"No", you respond. 

"Huh, you seem feisty today too."

The men, deciding that it's too big of a risk for you to sit alone down in the kitchen, tie your forearms to the armrests. They're careful to leave that bandaged wrists alone. This way, you won't be able to push the food away or try to run away.

Dr Kry gets his mandatory cup of coffee while Silas rummages through the fridge. You can tell some of his men pass by the door, but none of them give you any attention. Their eyes sneak onto Dr Kry in curiosity, confusion and amusement.

"Here we go", Silas smiles and holds up a bowl of steaming porridge. "This should do the trick."

You've seen him prepare it, you've seen all the ingredients, yet you don't trust him.

"Open", Silas orders, holding a spoonful to your lips. He blows on it for a few seconds to make sure it won’t be too hot for you.

You turn your head away.

"Oh, so we're doing this again?" Silas says, nodding. "Okay, I see how it is. You want me to treat you like a child again. Here comes the airplane~"

You widen your eyes in disbelief, shock and pure embarrassment. Dr Kry snorts out a laugh behind Silas. With burning cheeks, you have no other choice but to open your mouth, scared to be embarrassed further. Bad idea. 

“Hm, seems like you only respond when I baby you”, Silas smirks. “I’m starting to think that you want me to treat you like a little child, is that right?”

“No!” you growl. 

“I’m just kidding, little thing. Open your mouth again, next bite.”

You shiver. You’re not sure, but he managed to mess it up. Salty — too salty — until the point where you need water. You manage to kick the bowl out of his hands. The porcelain shatters against the wooden floor and porridge splatters over the planks. 

“I told you what would happen if you did something stupid, didn’t I?” Silas asks, dark eyes glowing dangerously. 

Shit. You had totally forgotten that. 

“S-Silas-”, you start in horror. 

“‘S-Silas’”, he mocks you as he unties you. “You can’t ‘S-Silas’ your way out of this one. You might be very special to me, that’s why I have to do this. If I teach you not to get on my nerves, you’ll less likely get hurt, don’t you understand that?”

You beg and plead and cry and scream, but Silas’s have turned off his ears. 

[blumineck]

How long do videos usually take, when it comes to filming and editing? Say, if you put out a 1 min tutorial on something, what would be the (gods I hate to use corporate language) turnaround time for it?

Also, what sort of hardware do you use for filming, and software for editing? I'm always curious about the backstage stuff of content creators.

Always love to watch your videos, you're definitely a bard :3

This is a great question! It varies a lot depending on the video, but in general for one of my 'fantasy tropes' videos, the breakdown is something like this:

- filming: ~2 hours (including setup, warmup, multiple takes, fluffing lines, waiting for the neighbour's dog to stop barking, etc.)

- editing: ~1-2 hours (at the end of filming I usually have around 25-30min footage. The first run of editing cuts the outtakes and fluff and takes it to around 5 minutes. Then there's another run or two to cut that down to around 2 minutes.)

I usually make 3 edits:

one clean without captions that I upload to tiktok so that I can use in-app captions, but I also keep a copy of this in case I need it later

one with built-in captions and text that I upload to instagram and here, so you get the captions without a tiktok watermark (unless I want to use sound from tiktok)

One for youtube because their shorts are max 1 minute so I have to cut a load of content and re-edit the captions. (I could post long form but their long stuff is landscape so I'd have to film everything twice!)

- Finally posting: ~30 minutes (titles, formatting, tags, thumbnails, keeping the app open until the upload finishes before starting the next one, etc.)

So in general it's about 4-5 hours for a final video that's around 2 minutes long. Sillier/ meme-ier stuff is more like 2 hours

- but the biggest variable is research/ training. For some videos I already have the information and skill and I just need to check some things, but for some I need to spend time looking up facts, and digging into history, and for others I then need to go away and practice a new skill, which is all hobby stuff that I love doing, but it's still time spent out of a limited budget!

(Which is why I'm starting to look at some more commercial options, patreon, agencies, etc. Because I'm trying to fit this on top of a day job, part time pole teaching, and family commitments, and some weeks it's... not easy)

I do almost all my filming on my phone (iphone... 11? Pro?- quite recent, bought sdcond hand), with one of those grippy arm tripod things, and a bluetooth microphone. Editing is done in an app called capcut, and finished off in various in-app editors for the social media apps.

Anyway, hope that's useful! Glad you like all this stuff! 😁

[satureja13]

After the Boys did what they could for the Grim Reaper for the time being, they started their day with their yoga/meditation/tantra practise.

Somehow the Little Goats are always attracted to Vlad ^^' And not only the goats. Even Kiyoshi can feel the air heating up by the way Ji Ho looks at Vlad. While Vlad, the master of self control, tried to not look Ji Ho's way to keep things from getting even more awkward between them. Breathe in through the nose - breathe out through the mouth. Repeat. (And Freezer Boney already became friends with Logan, Wicket and Skully.)

Then they went down to the lagoon to cool down. And seize the short time they have here at Tartosa until their meeting with Ms Coombes and athena.

Poor Sai is still sad he wasn't able to spend the night with Jeb. He urgently has to come up with some ideas to seduce him. But how, if he's constantly keeping his distance to Sai? That's ridiculous. Jack and Kiyoshi are more intimate with each other as mates, just mates, or whatever they are, than Sai and Jeb as a couple...

Jeb: "Come in, Vlad. The water is wonderful!"

Same crap as last year when they'd been here and Jeb was avoiding him.

Such a beautiful day! It's still warm here at Tartosa and the water in the lagoon is just right.

And since the holiday season is over, they have the place for themselves.

Well almost. Some guy started chatting with Jeb... Until they noticed Sai torpedoing right in their direction ö.Ö'

If Sai can't have Jeb, no one else will. Some guy: "Eh - I have to go. Bye."

Jack and Kiyoshi separated from the others and went to the beach. Jack was building diligently and pondered about their mateship and the times they had been in their secret relationship.

Kiyoshi must have had the same thoughts: "I'm glad we don't have to hide anymore and that we can talk openly about anything." Jack: "We'll do that, right? And it won't be weird." Kiyoshi: "We will. And it won't." Jack: "I could have never imagined we'd ever be so comfortable around each other. Even when we were together, I'd been nervous and anxious all the time." Kiyoshi: "And I'd been so pressured to treat you right and then I did everything wrong all the way." Jack: "Well, not everything. Our woohoos had been epic." Kiyoshi agreed with a hum. They remembered their epic woohoos for a while - until they got reminded of just how tight these swimming trunks are, and they stopped. Jack changed the subject: "And I never understood what you wanted from me." Kiyoshi: "Now you can feel it too. That we're fated mates. *he let out a laugh* All it needed was getting struck by lightning." Jack: "So, what when the heat strikes me again, will... will you - eh, help me - again? Getting rid of it?" Kiyoshi: "Sure. Anytime. I mean, if it's ok for you?" Jack smiled, relieved: "More than ok. Thanks, mate." Then Jack thought that sand pile looked a bit like a 🍑 and got distracted again...

Too soon it was time to leave and get ready for their meeting. Sai: "Are you trying to bury Kiyoshi like Vlad and me last year?" Jack laughed: "Aouwww, that was fun! But no. I'm building a dam to keep the water at bay so we have more space at the beach." (Even though the beach is so large, there is only a small areal where you can actually place your towels and stuff. When I told Jack to build in the sand, he already had to kneel in the water -.-) And poor Sai didn't even notice how longing Jeb looks after him! But it's for the better I guess, since that guy is still with Jeb ö.Ö'

Ji Ho: "If you're planning to bury Kiyoshi like Vlad and Sai last year, he's lying behind you ;) " Jack laughed and played along: "Ah, dammit ^^' "

Outtakes

The Little Goats also practice yoga. Here, Little Goat shows us how to do the 'Dead Goat' pose... It's not as easy as it looks though, keeping your arms and legs in the air for a while at that angle...🐐

The second time Ji Ho kind of glitches here in the lagoon. Last year, he changed into his sports outfit while still in mermaid shape (trousers and shoes too ö.ö) And here he's doing the crawl, which is not his usual mermaid swimming style.

Greg tends to show up to look after his son ;)

With bored confidence ^^' Or does even he look a bit worried? Or sad and curious (since he lifted one eyebrow)? I'm having such a hard time reading faces... I have no idea if that comes from my face blindness or autism. How does he look for you?

And when they left, the guy who chatted with Jeb, finished Jack's 'dam' because he thinks it's a project worth finishing ^^' Vlad is applauding him for his determination.

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-28

[liminalmemories21]

Fuck It Friday - S4 Interstitial Outtake

tagged @jesuisici33 (thank you!), and for @rmd-writes because she asked for the full AU version of TK and Carlos going up to New York for Passover in S4 (this was written before the episode where they discussed children, and then cut after because it got Joss'd for so many reasons). I think there's a small bit of dialogue at the end about missing Gwyn that still got rescued and reused in the posted story, albeit in a different place (and this is why I never delete anything and have hundreds of pages of cut material).

Tagging anyone else who has outtakes they want to share. Outtakes are the best part of the after movie experience.

Carlos has no baseline for what to expect from either New York, or from a Passover seder.  He's seen New York in movies and TV shows obviously, and he's learned it more intimately from the stories that Owen and TK tell.  They're not staying for that long on this trip, and they're going to a seder on Saturday and Easter lunch with Enzo's family on Sunday, but TK promises that he's taking him into real New York before they leave. 

Enzo makes a face at TK.  "Queens is real New York."

TK snags a piece of grape from Jonah's plate.  "Debatable."

Enzo rolls his eyes, but he's smiling.  "Snob." 

TK shrugs and doesn't disagree, just leans in to whisper to Jonah.  'We'll take you with us, you're never too young for dim sum."

Carlos has even less idea what to expect from a seder.  He's read about it, but that's abstract.  They're going to a seder at friends of Gwyn and Enzo's, a family TK has known since childhood.  He'd made a complicated face when Enzo had told them a few weeks ago, and said with trepidation.  "Is Miriam going to be there?"

Enzo had laughed so hard down the phone that he'd dropped it.  "She hasn't had a crush on you since she was 15, TK.  I think you're safe."

"You're not the one she tried to hit on every holiday," TK says sourly.

Carlos does his best to keep a straight face.  "How old were you?"

"A year older than her."  TK grins suddenly.  "To be fair, I'm pretty sure I spent a lot of time at holiday dinners trying to awkwardly hit on her older brother, so you know."

"You did," Enzo says dryly.  "Every adult in the room suffered from schadenfreude watching the three of you."

The seder is lovely, long, although not as long as he'd been vaguely worried it would be from some of the blogs he'd read online, and as far as he can tell MIriam doesn’t try and hit on anyone except her wife.  He doesn't understand half of what's happening, but he nods at the right times, and takes the things that are handed to him, and piles his plate when they finally eat.  Mostly he watches TK and Jonah, and soaks in how alike they look, and how natural TK looks holding Jonah in his lap when he falls asleep halfway through the seder.  He has the same double vision he’d had at Hanukkah, of TK now with Jonah, and TK in the future sitting at a table with their children leading them through these same traditions.

Everyone tells stories about Gwen, and some about TK when he was younger, which make TK's cheeks burn red and bury his face in his hands.  "You are not allowed to tell anyone at home any of this," he hisses at Carlos when the conversation ebbs at one point.

He grins and crosses his fingers and nods. "Absolutely."

TK narrows his eyes at him.  "Just remember I talk to your sisters."

He nods seriously and then turns to Mrs. Fereira, “What was that you were saying about the play TK was in?” and dodges the pinch to his leg from TK.

Enzo vetoes making Jonah sit through two long religious events in two days, and they skip Easter mass on Sunday, but they do go out to Long Island for Easter lunch.  He thinks Enzo might have preferred to skip that too, let Jonah nap rather than get overtired and overstimulated two days in a row, but apparently his mother was willing to let them skip mass, but lunch was non-negotiable.

Enzo looks at Carlos as they pull up to the house and says, "I apologize in advance for literally everything."

TK snorts and reaches for Carlos's hand.  "I'm calling this payback for that first lunch at Tia Lucy's."  Carlos considers that, and decides that's probably fair.

He gives up trying to remember anyone’s names or relationships about three people in.  At some point he gets handed a plate piled with so much food that he thinks he’s not going to need to eat for a week after they leave. The woman sitting next to him snorts at the look on his face and volunteers her name, if not her place in the extended family, although he thinks she’s one of Enzo’s nieces.  “I’m Emma.  Sorry about the family.”

He smiles and takes a bite of the lamb and wonders who made it and if he can get the recipe.  “Don’t worry.  My family is a lot like this too.”  It explains a lot about how easily TK had weathered that first lunch at Tia Lucy’s if he’s got this kind of experience under his belt.

She gives him an evaluating look, decides he’s telling the truth and says, “Well, in that case I guess apologies for taking you away from your family on Easter.” 

He eyes the way TK has been suborned into a game of snakes and ladders by a group of kids, and the way Enzo’s alternately watching TK lose to a bunch of seven year olds, and keeping an eye on where Jonah’s trying to pet an elderly long suffering cat.  “You’re not.”

She gives him a sharp look and then nods with satisfaction and offers.  “Nonna practically adopted TK, you should probably expect an interrogation at some point.”

He tips his fork to her.  “Thanks for the warning.”

She shrugs. “He looks happier than I think I’ve ever seen him, and Enzo likes you, so you’ll probably do just fine.”

He doesn’t get interrogated by Nonna Luisa exactly, but she does ask for a rundown of his family, and job, and prospects and then starts telling him stories about a younger TK, and Enzo, and Gwen, and he thinks that means he passed.  TK seems to soak up the stories, even as Carlos can see how they weigh on him.  He nudges his thigh next to TK, letting him borrow whatever strength he needs.  TK reaches for his hand, thumb against his pulse point and draws him into the story that Enzo's sister is telling about the time Gwen tried to make lasagna.

"Wait," he says, "I didn't think your mother cooked."

Enzo's sister snorts at the same time TK does.  "She really really didn't," TK confirms.

Enzo's sister's laughs so hard as she repeats the sequence of phone calls from Gwen that half the story gets lost, and Enzo comes over to investigate what's going on.

His mouth twists in a rueful grin when he hears.  "She wouldn't even let me see what she'd made when I got home, took the trash out before I got there, and ordered Ethiopian from a place down the street.  She said she loved me, but she was never doing that again and if that was a deal breaker I should pack my bags and leave now, like she somehow thought that I had missed that the two of you lived on take out, and whatever your babysitter made you in the afternoons."

TK grins, and it's only a little melancholy.  "You spoiled us both when you moved in."

Enzo reaches out to ruffle his hair.  "Well, I had to bribe you with something to let me stay."

Enzo has classes on Monday, but they're not leaving until Tuesday morning, and they take the time to go out to Gwen's grave.  They take Jonah with them, and Carlos keeps an eye on him as he toddles around the cemetery while TK folds himself down next to the temporary marker.  The unveiling will be in late July, and Carlos has already put in for vacation time to come up for it.

He takes a few steps away to give TK privacy to talk to Gwyn, and crouches to take the stick that Jonah solemnly hands him.  He turns at TK's voice, raised just loud enough to carry.

"Hey, Jonah, come say hi to Mom."

He takes Jonah's hand to help guide him over to the grave, and then lets TK settle Jonah on his lap.  Jonah squirms a little, and doesn't really understand what they're doing here, but he catches enough of TK's mood to settle for long enough to obediently say hello to Gwyn and Carlos feels his heart clench when Jonah offers TK a small rock he has clenched in his fist.  He can see the tears on TK's lashes, but his voice is somehow steady when he tells Jonah, "That's perfect, honey.  Do you want to put it on her grave?"

Jonah looks a little dubious, but puts it on the marker and then looks at TK for approval.  TK kisses the top of his head.  "It's a way for us to remember her," he explains to Jonah.  He scrubs surreptitiously at his eyes and pushes himself up.  He looks at Carlos.  "You want to talk to her?"

He nods, and squeezes TK's hand as TK stoops to pick Jonah up and walks a little bit away for them to look at the buds on the fruit tree nearby.  He sits on the ground in front of the grave, in the same place TK had.  He's never really done this before, never really had anyone that close to him who's died.  He feels a little awkward, but, "Hi Gwyn.  Your son asked me to marry him, and it was the best day of my life.  I know I screwed it up a little after that, but he's got more patience than most people give him credit for, and he's got so much patience with me even when I don't think I deserve it."  He puts a hand on the ground.  "I promise you, I am going to love him for the rest of my life, and I am going to try every single day to make him happy."  His voice catches in his throat.  "I wish you could be there, to dance at our wedding, and tell me you told me so, and make him laugh.  But, even if you aren't there in person, I know that you will be there in TK, and in Jonah, and in the memory of every person you met and loved, and through me for him.  And, I am so grateful for that.  I don't think I have words for how grateful I am for him, and that you trusted me with him.  I won't let you down, I promise.."

When he looks up, TK's watching him with a small tired smile.  They go to lunch afterwards at the tiny dim sum shop on Spring Street, and they cut up a dumpling into little pieces and let Jonah gum at them.  The owner remembers TK, and looks sincerely upset when he tells her that Gwyn passed, and brings them out a plate of bao they hadn't ordered, and when TK says thank you Carlos can hear the tears in his voice.  "They were her favorite," TK says when they're alone.  "I can't believe she remembered that."

When Carlos suggests they just go home after lunch TK only makes a token objection.  "I was going to show you Manhattan." 

He nudges TK towards the subway, and hopes he's remembered the right one.  "We'll be up here a lot more times, you have years to show me New York.  Right now I think we all need naps, and he nods at Jonah who's already conked out in his stroller.

TK's mouth twists with amusement.  "I think I envy him a little."

They're playing blocks with Jonah when Enzo gets home that afternoon, and he makes a face as he sits down on the carpet with them.  "I am too old for this."  He points a finger at them, "Let this be a lesson, have your children when you're young.  Or," he reaches out to cup the back of TK's neck, "acquire them when they're past the age of crawling on the carpet."  TK grins and ducks his head, and offers Enzo a hand to lever him up off the carpet. 

TK gets quieter the later in the evening it is, but it isn't until after they've put Jonah to bed that he says, "I really miss Mom."

Carlos curves a hand across his knee, anchoring him, and Enzo reaches out a hand to TK and holds it firm when TK takes it.  "I know, kid.  Me too.  Every day."

When he comes back from brushing his teeth he finds TK standing in the bedroom, staring at the framed pictures on the dresser.  It’s a timeline of TK as a kid, with Gwen, with Owen, with Enzo, in the middle of a pack of kids he thinks he recognizes as younger version of the people he met yesterday, a prom picture of TK with another boy in a tux, both of them looking gangly and awkward.  He comes up behind TK, looping an arm around his waist and peering over his shoulder.  “You were a cute kid.”

TK twists his neck to smile at him.  “I think Enzo’s cherry picking the pictures.  I know Mom and Dad showed you all the embarrassing ones, don’t lie.”

He grins.  “Yeah, possibly.”  He drops a kiss to the back of TK’s shoulder.  “What are you thinking?”

TK sighs and traces a finger along the edge of a picture of him and Gwen at a restaurant somewhere, both of them grinning and laughing.  “I keep thinking it’ll get easier, that some day it’ll feel like less of a shock to remember that she’s gone.  But then Dad’ll say something and I’ll think I have to tell Mom that, or there’ll be something I want to ask her about, or something I want her to tell me how to do, and I’ll remember that I can’t and it’s like hearing Enzo say it for the first time all over again.”

He steps up closer behind TK, tucking his body closer.  “It hasn’t even been a year yet, sweetheart.  Give yourself time.”

“There was so long when I never imagined that I’d get married, not really.  But Mom always thought I would.”  He turns in Carlos’s arms to look at him.  “She said she knew you were the one, even if we never got married that you were the one.  She would have loved helping us plan the wedding.”

Carlos raises an eyebrow and says dryly, “Because what this wedding needs is more opinions.”

TK grins.  “Yeah, but she would have fought with Dad, and it would have been epic and we could have done whatever and neither one of them would have noticed until it was too late.”  He stops abruptly, swallowing hard, and Carlos can hear tears thick in his throat.  “She’s never going to see me get married.  She’s never going to meet her grandchildren.”

And Carlos aches for him, and folds him closer and lets him cry, and curls up with him in bed when TK will let him coax him under the covers.

TK hugs Jonah for a long time the next morning, until Jonah wriggles away, but comes back with a handful of acorns that he holds out to TK.  TK looks at them bemused, and Enzo stifles a laugh.  “He collects them.  It’s an honor if he’s giving you one.”  TK nods and takes his time picking one out and says thank you.

Enzo hugs him too, whispering something in his ear that makes TK hold on for a moment longer.  And then Enzo hugs Carlos too.  “Thank you for coming up.”  He looks at where TK is squatting next to Jonah.  “I always forget how much I miss him until I see him again.

“We’ll be back in July,” Carlos promises, “and then we’ll see you for the wedding.”

Enzo nods.  “Gwyn really loved you.  She was so sure that the two of you would end up married.  I like to think that somewhere she’s gloating, and annoyed that she can’t make bank collecting on all the pots she had a finger in.”

Carlos laughs, and TK looks up, and then pushes himself up.  “We need to leave, or we’re going to tempt fate getting to the airport on time.”

[tryslora]

Hi

Do you have any advice on dialogue and how to make it flow?

I'm constantly stuck with "he said as he looked away"

"He smirked and replied"

It never feels flowy

I don't write fics I mostly write OC stuff so I have to build around my characters to really put them together.

It's just having my quiet and stoic character respond to the hyperactive pyromaniac is hard because one doesn't speak much and the other speaks too much.

Or when my other two characters are in the conversation it gets all messy and hard to keep up with who is talking and what they're doing.

Maybe I'm just blind to my own writing and don't see everything I want to see, yknow?

Hullo, Nonnie.

I’m so sorry for taking so long to reply to this question! Life has been… a particular form of chaos for the last couple of months, and I’m trying to wrangle all my tasks under control now. Which includes keeping up with responses and blogging!

ANYWAY. You’ve asked a really great question, and I’ll admit, I might struggle to answer it.

I’m one of those folks for whom the personalities come first—complete with dialogue patterns and habits—before I get descriptions, setting, plot, or oh… anything else… so breaking down how to best make your dialogue snappy and flow means taking a step back from what I do and looking at how I do it.

This is going to be a mix of advice from how I do things, and advice I’ve adopted and found useful from other writers.

First and foremost: there are two parts to creating natural, flowing dialogue. One is the dialogue itself—the words the characters choose, and how they come out—and the other is the description around it (such as the dialogue tags you reference in your examples). They have different focuses, but both are important to how the text flows.

I’m going to drop a caveat here first, because it’s my downfall: we, as humans (and uh, especially those of us with ADHD, *cough cough me*), have a tendency to repeat ourselves. We also um, ah, like, y’know, a lot. Some of this is fantastic in dialogue. Too much can change flow into drag. So. With everything else I say, please take that into account as well. When I’m editing, I have been learning to trim out the spaces where I am saying or doing the same thing multiple times in a few paragraphs. BUT. That’s the important part—it can ALL be fixed in edits!

Let’s talk words first. You say you have quiet and stoic character matched up with a hyperactive chatterbox (a dynamic I enjoy). And you’re right, this can be tough when the stoic character is like “grunt” or “mm” or “yeah” and there’s nothing else coming out. BUT. This is true to the character and gives great insight—in this case, the character’s actual dialogue is going to come from their actions. So, we’ll get to that.

The thing with the stoic character is that every word needs to mean something. Every word they say is going to be solid and important because they say so little. It might even be overloaded. I’ll admit, with this kind of character, I love writing from their POV because I can put the few words out into the open, but let them ramble inside their own head (which yes, can sometimes be like pulling teeth). I get that flow out of their thoughts more than what they say. The freebie story I drafted for my newsletter subscribers is an outtake missing scene from my next book written from the point of view of my (more) stoic character in the book, because I wanted to play with that myself.

For the chatterbox, I’m curious—do they talk so much in order to hide what they’re really feeling? I know most of my talkative characters are spilling everything in order to hide in plain sight. After all, if you’ve left every card on the table, no one can claim you’re hiding something. Even if you are leaving that one important thing out (keeping a last ace up your sleeve), no one will notice in the glut of other information.

One way to handle this is to have the stoic character really listen and pay attention to what’s underneath all the chatter. Let them respond to the one thing that really means something in the flow of words, which might stop your chatterbox in their tracks. Being seen/heard can be a shock for the kind of character who lets it all hang out.

Let’s get back to those dialogue tags and talk about actions. Every character (every person!) has body language that does a lot of the talking for them. If someone’s arms are crossed, they might be resistant to and idea, or they might be cold, or they might be trying to hold themself still. One of the things I’ve done is to roleplay my character through a scene—move like they move, fall into why they say what they say, and what they do when they are not saying something to hold back. What actions do they take, and how can I put that on the page? Not just movement, but also what do they smell/see, what’s going on inside their head, and all the why involved.

And here’s the thing: sometimes “He says” is a valid way to do it. It’s okay. Let the dialogue do its thing and don’t worry. Remember, you can add blocking later, if you need it. 

Here, quick example from one of my serialized pieces:

“I don’t feel like I can talk to Hannah.” Nevaeh scrunches up her nose. “God, no, I don’t mean that I want to be involved with her. Just. She was so weird about Stevie, and I think she might get even weirder if I asked Liz out. And I don’t know if Liz is even ready to do dating things. Or if she’s into girls! We’ve never talked about it. Why is it all so weird and complicated?” That’s one thing Pawel can answer. “Because humans are gloriously complicated beings, and we have a tendency to take even things that could be simple and overcomplicate them by worrying at them. Anxiety, intelligence, fear… they all make things feel big. And these questions are both very big and very small all at once.” “Because labels are helpful, but not necessary,” Nevaeh says. “Because they make it easier and harder all at once.” “Yes.” He’s not sure if she really gets it, so he adds, “Follow your heart.” “Is that what you do?” No, it’s not. Pawel has too many things to weigh before he can make any decisions. His career. The kids in his care. His own son. There are so many variables in his life, and he hasn’t had any chance to just leap after emotional responses. Not since Conor was conceived. Not since Chelsea first disappeared. “When I can.” He glances sideways at her, away from where Alanna and Jennie have finally stopped their game and are on the swings. “I’m glad you feel comfortable talking to me.”

This is a chatterbox teen talking to the guy her two dads are trying to bring into their relationship. And Pawel is a chatterbox as well, but he’s definitely the kind who will talk constantly in order to not say a lot of things, which is illustrated by letting him ramble internally in the final paragraph of the example.

Also, they’ve been given a setting where they are both somewhat distracted by two of Neveah’s siblings playing at the park, so they have something to do. If I were better, I’d have included things about summer scents, the sky, etc. etc. in the descriptions (they are my downfall).

If you look at the dialogue, you’ll see that the sentences are all over the place in length. Long ones, short ones, and ones that aren’t much more than fragments. I try to echo how people really talk, but avoid the pitfalls of things getting circular or buried in extra words (except Neveah says “like” a lot and it is absolutely on purpose).

One of the biggest things for me is being inside the head of the point of view character. Being able to hear the things they don’t say can really help when it feels like they aren’t saying anything, and you a build a whole story in those subtleties. Kind of like having subtitles that interpret what’s happening rather than what’s said.

If you have a lot of characters, it’s going to get confusing—90% of the book I excerpted above included multiple adults on screen and 7 or 8 kids. It was chaos. People talk over each other. In those cases a simple “Neveah says” is the easiest tag. Let them talk, and let the dialogue shine. And if characters have quirks, let those shine, too. If someone’s screaming about sugary desserts in that book, it’s probably Jennie—no need for an attribution. Growling is Leo. Finishing each others’ sentences are Emma and Conor. Spattered with “like” is Neveah. Little quirks and details are things you can hang a lot on.

And just to say… yeah, we’re all blind to our own writing. It happens. We are so close to our own words that it’s hard to see them as words anymore. I usually have to set something aside for months if I want to do a truly deep edit on it, because I need to see it as Not Mine first. Then I can be objective. Do you have a reader? Either an alpha cheerleader, or a beta you trust? That’s the best. They can tell you if they trip over something, or if something feels stilted. Or if you’ve had someone shrug six times on one page (I certainly do that, like, all the freakin’  TIME).

And in the end, less is more. It’s okay to strip things back and focus more on sentence length and how words taste in your mouth if you read them aloud. It’s okay to write just the conversation first, then figure out how they move around each other while talking. It’s okay to write the blocking first, then fit the dialogue around that. Sometimes stepping back to one piece of the puzzle helps the other one shine in your mind’s eye.

I’ve rambled a lot, and I’m not sure if this is what you were looking for. And uh, again, I’m sorry how late this response it. I really hope you are still here and see this!!

Best of luck with your words, Nonnie. And remember: whatever you write today, that’s another step on your writing journey. It’s okay to delete them, edit them, love them, put them in a box for later… whatever you want to do. Just write them, and tomorrow write a little more. Even if this isn’t your final book, pieces of it will come back in another way later. I’m currently writing “fic” of people I’ve been building over the last uhhh thirty or so years. 

Enjoy your characters and your stories. And remember, everything comes with time. Keep writing, and keep learning. You’ve got this!

[cfr749]

Beneath your Beautiful is one of my favorite Chenford fics ever! 

😭😭😭

This is so sweet anon, and such a compliment given the absurd amount of talent in this fandom. I'm honored that you still have love for the story despite my less than stellar track record on getting this thing done.

For whatever it's worth, here's a silly little outtake / deleted scene from an earlier draft. Sorry to say, there is not going to be a boudoir photo shoot in the actual fic 😂, but I promise to try and make up for it with some other bits of sexiness... ❤️

***

“Oh hell no,” Tim curses, tossing the folder of information onto the table as if it’s burned him. Production had couriered the package over earlier that afternoon, but Lucy hadn’t found time to open it in her haste to get as much of her to do list done as possible before Tim arrived home. 

Kojo hops around him in a final excited attempt to hold his attention before flopping to the floor by his feet, begrudgingly accepting that he’s no longer Tim’s primary focus. Tim bends to give the dog’s head a final loving scruff.

Lucy glances up from where she’s sauteeing some vegetables on the stove. “Dare I even ask?” she teases, raising an eyebrow in response to Tim’s dramatics.

But he just shakes his head, muttering under his breath. “What is wrong with these people?”

“Tim,” she whines, her curiosity getting the best of her. “Come on… tell me. What is it?”

He huffs a frustrated breath of air, finally meeting her gaze. “We have to do a — a —” And it’s so awful he apparently can’t even get the words out.

She rolls her eyes, turning the burner off and wiping her hands before moving to retrieve the packet from the table. Her eyes go wide when she spots the source of Tim’s distress. They are scheduled for… drumroll, please… a boudoir photo shoot Thursday evening.

“What is their obsession with getting us naked?” Tim grouses.

Lucy smirks, allowing her eyes to roam over him, “I mean… I can’t say I totally blame them. You do look pretty damn amazing without a shirt on, Bradford.” 

He grins wolfishly, allowing his eyes to wander down to her chest. “I could say the same thing about you.”

Her lips twist as she attempts to hold back a laugh, choosing to ignore the jolt of heat one suggestive look manages to ignite. She pauses, tilting her head and thoughtfully tapping her bottom lip with her finger, “What if… we aren’t actually a match, and this whole thing was just a grand ploy by a lovestruck PA to get you take your clothes off?”

He rolls his eyes, even as his cheeks tinge the slightest bit pink in response to her ribbing. “Uh huh. Last time I checked, I wasn’t the one with a PA groping my ass.” His frown deepens, clearly following the thread until arriving at yet another reason to despise the idea of the photo shoot. “We’re getting you a very oversized pair of flannel pajamas.”

“Mmm… this from the man that was practically begging me to do a striptease for the whole damn world not even a month ago? Have I told you how much I love it when you’re a giant sexist caveman?”

She closes the remaining distance between them, using his shirt to playfully tug him closer before arching up on her toes to give him a proper hello. His lips are pliant and welcoming against her own. She slips a hand around his neck to deepen the kiss while his hands settle on her hips before creeping the slightest bit upward underneath her blouse to caress the bare skin just above the waistband of her jeans.

“Hi,” she breathes softly as she reluctantly pulls back, dropping back down to her heels and tilting her head back to look up at him, her arms still linked around his neck.

He smiles down at her, and it’s one of those smiles that reaches his eyes and makes her feel all warm and fuzzy and melty inside. “Hi.”

He slips his hands into the back pockets of her skintight jeans and pulls her so that her hips are flush against his body. “How are you so damn pretty?”

“Mmm… I could say the same thing about you,” she teases.

He frowns, “I think you mean ‘ruggedly handsome.’”

“Do I?”

He shakes his head in mock irritation as he reaches up to tuck a strand of hair that’s escaped her low ponytail back behind her ear, before shifting his hold to keep her in place as he dips his head to kiss her again, a little more roughly this time. 

“You are literally the only reason I haven’t quit this dumb fiasco.”

She laughs against his mouth, nipping his bottom lip before pulling back enough to meet his eyes. “Right… I’m sure it has nothing to do with that long, complicated contract you signed promising financial ruin if you refuse to get naked on demand.”

***

Thank you for the wonderfully kind ask, anon!

[groceryreceipts]

chapter 28 of my fic "i've been on fire, dreaming of you" is up! updates are slow but steady, and we're nearing the end now; i'm sad/excited/relieved/proud of myself. here is an outtake from the previous chapter as a little treat — a new year's resolution if you will:

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and asked, “Anything you wanna do this year?”

She narrowed her eyes at him before stating bluntly, “Get married.” Peeta looked a little afraid, which made Katniss a little afraid. She took a step back and immediately missed the feeling of Peeta’s arms around her. “Is… is that something you still want?”

The question seemed to perplex him. “What?” he exclaimed. He shook his head. “No! I mean, yes! Of course, that’s something I still want. You still want it too, right?”

“Peeta!” she huffed and crossed her arms. “I just told you that that’s what I want to do this year.” Her answer made him laugh nervously and run a hand through his hair, which irritated Katniss. “What the hell’s so funny?”

“I just–I just.” Peeta walked backward and collapsed onto the bed. He sighed, “I’ve been having the worst time trying to figure out how to ask you.”

Katniss raised her brows in question and went over to sit next to him. “What do you mean?” she asked tentatively after sitting down. She was still feeling a little hurt by his laugh and had kept her arms crossed.

“I told you I could ask you a better way almost a year ago, but everything I think of doesn’t seem right. All of my ideas feel too ridiculous or too lame. I feel like I used to be so good at this.”

She looked at Peeta with sympathy. “I’m sure that all of your ideas were just fine, sweet pea.”

“No!” he said with a raised voice, making Katniss jump a little. “It all has to be perfect, so you don’t regret saying yes.”

“Why would I regret saying yes?”

Peeta spoke to his hands in his lap, “Because you could be with anyone, and you chose me. Everything I do needs to reassure you that you made the right decision.”

Katniss reached over and rested her hands over his clenched fists. When he looked up at her, she replied, “There… there was never a decision, Peeta. It was always you and me, and you don’t need to prove something that’s already true.” She rolled her eyes at herself. “I was terrified that you were taking so long because you had changed your mind and were just too nice to say anything.”

“You thought I would marry you even if I didn’t love you?”

“You almost married me back when you believed that I didn’t love you.”

“Because you didn’t love–oh.” Realization dawned on Peeta’s face, and he smiled softly. “Oh.”

“Maybe–” Katniss took a deep breath “–maybe you could ask me right now?” Despite what he had just revealed, waiting for Peeta’s question was making Katniss feel impossibly nervous. What if he changed his mind?

Peeta shot up from his spot. “I have to make some bread,” was all he said before rushing out the door. “You should shower and change,” he yelled from the stairwell. “I’ll re-braid your hair.”

“Wait!” she called out as she ran outside of their bedroom. “You didn’t even ask me!”

He was only halfway down the stairs when he turned and beamed up at her. “Do you want to go to a toasting?”

Katniss fought to keep the excitement she was feeling off of her face. “Always.”

[galvanizedfriend]

Hi, Yokan, love your fics! Recently started TW III, and I was wondering if you have any headcanons about baby/toddler Eve? Her likes, her relationships with her parents and family, that sort of thing?

It makes my day when someone tells me they enjoy my stuff, thanks so much, nonnie 🥰

Somebody asked me that a while ago and I'm afraid my answer is still just as disappointing 😂 I think I haven't spent enough time thinking about Eve like that. 🥲 Although I should probably give it a deeper thought now that I'm going to write her as a slightly older child with more of a personality. But anyway, I guess what I can tell you is what has come up in the story.

She's attached at the hips with Klaus. It's not that she isn't with Caroline, but she's sort of fascinated by him (maybe because he spoils her beyond reason? who knows?).

As a toddler, around that age where kids start copying the adults around them (I actually read about that 😂), she developed a tendency to copy some of Klaus' mannerisms and speech patterns. Like when she calls Caroline 'love'.

She really loves to play around with Klaus' paints and brushes (a little art snob in the making).

I had a line about how yellow is her favorite color, and she always navigates towards the yellow and orange paints and pencils when she's drawing or painting, but I deleted it lol

As a little wolf, she's incredibly energetic. Caroline has to keep an eye on her at all times or else she darts out running or starts climbing stuff around the house and that place is very much not baby-proof.

Caroline used to sing to her when she was a baby (I think I might have mentioned that somewhere in the story or in one of the outtakes, about how she sings songs Liz used to sing to her when she was a child), and that's still the most effective way to calm her down and get her to sleep. But she's also developed a huge soft spot for Klaus' storytelling skills, even though Caroline has opinions on the content of his bedtime stories.

She is very competitive lol That's all Caroline.

Has a huge sweet tooth. Caroline plays the bad cop, trying to limit the amount of sugar she can have, while Klaus just sneaks her stuff behind Caroline's back all the time because why not?

I guess that's it? 🥲 I might be forgetting stuff, but sorry if this is a little underwhelming, I just really haven't given it as much of a thought. But yeah, that needs to change.

[trashedump]

keep fighting blooper reel

so for context, while i was working on my fic keep fighting, i had a separate document where i would write things as shittily as possible whenever i got stuck. so some of these quotes are from that document, others are things i wrote in the actual fic document whenever i got bored.

enjoy this series of outtakes, ordered by the chapter they occurred in! also warning for spoilers for my fic in case you care about that

chapter 1:

“i got dis” he [sylvain] sed. dis waz his fite 2 mak up 4 being dum

“r u stupd????” fliz yielded. “i wana fite 2 :((((”

“get every1 ot od her” slyman sed. “itz only 2 il be fin”

“k” flix sed al sad n wroeid nd shit. “u betr nut do sumthin stupd”

SYLVer the hedgehogAIN kisd him on da hed. “i wont. now g0”

chapter 2:

dmiarko waz taking 2 ingird

“r u alrite ignatz:

“she mey b sumwher in abys” billie eyleth [misspelling of byleth] sed.

chapter 4:

flix knu he had 2 finf a way 2 nut fitr 2 (DUNBAAAAAAN (HA HA HA HA HA NUMBERS)) gise @ once so he retreted but nut bcoz he had ben defeted. he snt 3 da ofer sid of da rum nd glen cam @ him bcoz rodric waz stil realing. felix navidaf blikd hiz sord agen nd kickd hkn in da bals lol. den he wnt 2 rodrig

fergalicious definition [abhorrent misspelling of felix] mad him go loco den bc he did rath strik ns da crest fargmnt aktivated.

he [felix] slamd da puml of da sord in glands [glenn's] fac nd glue gun [glenn] fel so den he stabf thru rodricks [rodrigue's] chest. dorime [rodrigue???] fel nd puld da sowrd ot of felony [felix] wich hurt a lot agen but he stortd 2 die on da grond.

"Sasuke— I mean Felix—"

"What the fuck did you just call me"

"Uhhhh nothing lol what are you talking about—"

"shurt the hell up I'm leaving you"

the bad ending

chapter 5:

“its alrite” dimi laffd  in a gofik way. dedu aslo noded behing him. “jst cum bak wen ur rechardgd. da rest of us wil kep tings runing wil ur away (hehe im forshadowing da mening of kep fiting her im so smrt im so intelelgint)”

haoi (THE LONG AWAITED SEQUEL TO YAOI WTF WTFFFFF)

insted of relying on demselvs evry2 had each oders bak. so dat wen dey had a momt of wekness dey cud stil surviv (an im so smart im so smart heheehehehheeheh).

“i hav a hrd tim beliving dats da cas” he refusd 2 bak don. “i cant help but fel im at falt, bcos i sed id talk 3 u mor aftr da war but den left u in da dust evry single day (the DUST? the DUST)”

"Wait, Didi."

"Yes?" He turned around. "What is it?"

"I should tell you...part of what I've been researching all this time." She started to hesitate, fidgeting with a string tied around her wrist. "It could be important, or...something."

Dimitri was listening intently. Hapi realized she actually wasn't sure why she thought this was important. It was almost as if the author was trying to foreshadow a future plot point.

"What was that?" the warlock called out. His voice was growing louder as he approached Felix's hiding place. "Is...is someone there? .....Must've been the wind."

"we're underground you dumb fuck"

"oh fuck you're right wait how do you know that"

"uhhhhhh shit"

*world explodes from fourth wall break*

i hate describing doors theres so many doors why are there so many doors why did i DO THIS

Felix looked. On the ceiling was a metal grate, most likely an air vent.

"Just like in among us"

flix nd sylvSONIC The Hedgehogain wr switchng it up a bit

chapter 6:

so day had escapd da untetical sience lab yey!!! but dey rwr in a cav. :(

fuor dase had pasd. dey wr stil stuk in da fuking cav.

On the fifth day, things changed. Shit hit fthe fuckign fan oh gsod

IT'S TIME FOR THE FUCKIN SCEEEEEEENE

"There is," he [Felix] said.

The revelation hit Sylvain like a medieval truck.

"I was gonna propose to you," he [Sylvain] said.

The words hit Felix like a medieval train.

chapter 7:

“abt da searc?” dey [byleth] sed nd dimi noded. dey cod always tel watz on his mind or maby dey j chos da rite dialog opton

“but aslo speking as a mrecenari” buyleth sed “i kno how tings can torn arond in an instnat. batls u tink r a lost cas switch in ur favor in da blink-182 of an eye. ppl uve logn snic had 2 left 4 ded hold on despit it al. so itx nut ovr until we kno it si. wer so fuking back”

“rite” dimi sed whil sheding a singl ter “wer so fuking bak”

“oh shti dat is prmosing” dimi sed “any sine of da duck nd marmalade” [duke and margrave]

dimiarko [dimitri] torned 2 bananapeel [byleth]

They were almost out of food. Every so often, that realization hit Felix like a medieval airplane.

"Okay," Sylvain conceded damn we out here conceding in this bitch

Felix hadn't said anything in a while—and, to be fair, neither had Sylvain, but it was his distant expression that worried Sylvain. He looked lost in thoughts all alone yoooooou are the oooooceans gray waaaaves destined to seek life beyond the shoooore just out of reeaaach yeeeet the watereeeerrs ever chaaaange flowing like time the path is yours to cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimb

"Clearly," Lysithea grumbled. "I didn't expect the same for you."

"Yes, well, I couldn't rest now," Linhardt said. "There are monsters nearby."

chapter 8:

ok so dery etin gdiner nd itz rtlly harty bef stew lik harty stew in botw i tink dats a recispe in dat gaem

syl stripd don 2 naked nd tok of AL his cloths nd he had a rely long no we’re not going there. he tornd on da watr nd thot abt fliz but nut lik dat u prev. he had a flashbak 2 post rodrick [rodrigue] deth but forst he dint tink abt it yet he gut da sop nd began 2 wash al his skin

But maybe he’ll never be ready, a thought tugged at the back of his mind. Maybe he wants nothing to do with me. After all…I’m the one who did this to him.

The memories hit Sylvain like a medieval blimp.

chapter 9:

dimi codnt hodl bak as he stepd in2 da dorfram nd hugd him as tight as he cud. and den da crest of blaiddyd aktivatd nd he snapd sylvens fuking spine in half. just kiding dat dint hapen lol can u imagin

chapter 10:

“But I promise—for the rest of our days, I’ll do everything in my power to be the man you see in me. To fight by your side, no matter what.”

"Wow that was sappy as fuck lmao"

[hypnotisedfireflies]

Tommy and the Fates

I had a couple of false starts for the Tommy/Maria tale in Cloud Nine & Other Stories. I was looking through my files today and realised the outtakes were a bit more substantial than I remembered, so I'm going to share them.

This takes place in 2024, before Luke is born.

Everyone had noticed the size of Maria’s belly in those weeks.  Her gait had altered too, though she was supremely self-conscious of it and the other things she could not control.

Maria’s stomach swelled in the last few weeks of her pregnancy.  She went from an almost-comfortable bump that fit beneath most clothes to something almost unmanageable. There was no position in which she could lie at night to guarantee a good sleep, and any position she could find to alleviate all her aches for just awhile came at the expense of Tommy’s comfort.  He never raised a word of complaint, but he was getting tired of being kicked in the side or clinging to the edge of the mattress in order to stay in the bed. 

“She’s handling it so well,” was a line that Tommy smiled patiently through at least five times a day from five different well-meaning, misinformed mouths.

The truth was, Maria wasn’t coping that well.  As her due date grew closer her anxiety, which she had so far done well to conceal from Tommy, began to escape containment.  Childbirth again came with complications that modern medicine had largely been able to protect women and babies from.  The mortality rate for pregnant women was high.

In the season Tommy had first come to Jackson, two women had died.  The first passed from complications from a difficult miscarriage – Tommy didn’t know the details – and the second a day after childbirth.  Never mind that there had been other healthy births in Jackson since then.  It was these occasions and others like it that Tommy remembered, and he knew Maria did, too.  

An idea had been rattling around Tommy’s head for days.  He knew he shouldn’t ask.  He already knew what the outcome would be, but for Maria’s sake, he felt he had to at least try.  Tommy made a deal with himself that he would only ask if the opportunity came up.   He would not force it.  He would just wait and see, and if the moment presented itself, then he would seize it.  Some superstitious part of Tommy’s mind told him that was the only way he would get a positive outcome. It was like handing it over to fate or nature. 

That opportunity came late one afternoon at the Bison.  Stormin’ Norman had a new batch of moonshine he wanted to try out.  Tommy and Joel had been helping set the stage up for the spring festival, and he persuaded Joel to come by the Bison for a drink before going home.

And maybe that was where Tommy fucked up, because although he was still waiting for that moment, he did kind of help it come along by convincing Joel to stop in for just one drink. He thought he could outsmart the fates.

They were not impressed by his guile and charm.

“I don’t know whether this is good,” Joel admitted, turning the glass to study the clear liquid, “or if I’ve just forgotten what the good stuff actually tastes like.”

“Don’t know if any hard liquor was ever actually good,” Tommy reasoned.  “It was just what it could do for you that was.”

“Couple of guys in Boston used to brew their own,” Joel continued. “They weren’t so bad.  Don’t think they were as strong as this.  This one time, me and Tess went out to smuggle in one of them some yeast, maize, all the stuff they wanted.  The whole gig was a bust.  We were out there for days.  Someone had gotten to it first, shot up the people we were supposed to meet, taken all the goods.”

“What’d you do?”

Joel shrugged and drank. “Not much we could do.”

“You fucked them up.”

“No,” Joel seemed almost offended.  “We had no idea who done it.  Tess thought maybe the brewer set it up, pitched some of us against one another.  She might’ve been right.  But we never got any proof of it and we didn’t work for him again.  Then he got found out anyway,” Joel took another mouthful.  “Couple of months later.  So I guess it all worked out for the best.”

“Joel,” Tommy shifted on his stool.  This was the moment, he could feel it.  “I need to ask you somethin’ about Tess.”

“She’s doin’ fine, Tommy,” Joel answered on autopilot.  “You don’t have to worry about her.”

“Actually, it’s Maria I’m worried about.”

Joel’s eyes slid to him.

“She’s – well, no one’d know it because she’s so goddamn together all the time, but she’s startin’ to sweat a bit, Joel.  The birth and all.  Everything’s lookin’ okay but, well, it ain’t like it used to be.”

The line between Joel’s eyes deepened.  “But it ain’t like it was, Tommy.  Women gave birth just fine all those years and we know all about infection and such like now.  It’s not the dark ages.  At least,” he added in a low mumble, “not in Jackson.”

“She’s nervous,” Tommy insisted. “She’s seen them go wrong over the years.  Seen a lot go right, but those ain’t the ones you remember when it’s your baby.”

“What’s this got to do with Tess?”

“… Tess had a hard time, didn’t she?”

Joel’s shoulders broadened as he took a deep breath.  “No.”

“If she just talked to Maria – you know, she survived a tough one, a tough birth – ”

“I said no.”

Tommy’s jaw set.  “You won’t even ask?”

“Maria don’t even like us!”

“… that ain’t true.”  Beat.  “She’s tryin’.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“That shit fucked me up, Joel,” Tommy whispered, leaning closer.  “And not just with you.  Shit with the Fireflies, too.  Things I done.  Ask Lachie. He was there for some of it.”

“And that’s all my fault, too?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But she’s thinkin’ it.”

“Joel,” Tommy took a quick breath and spread his hands wide.  He forced a chuckle, determined to bring the conversation back around to civil without descending into an easy feud.  “These things take time.  She don’t hate you, not really.  But Maria, well, she’s had to listen to my nightmares -  ”

“And they’re my fault.”

“Will you knock it off?”

“It’s the truth.”

Tommy shook his head faintly.  “Don’t worry about it.”

They sat in disgruntled silence until Joel wheeled on him.  “How the fuck do you even know that about Tess, anyway?” 

As one, but in very different tones, they said:  “Rachel.”

“You don’t remember?”  Tommy asked.  “Indianapolis.  Tess was stabbed and we’d all just about given up on her.  Rachel handed us our asses.  Told us about Tess bleedin’ out after her baby, how she nearly died then and didn’t and wouldn’t now.  You don’t remember?”

Joel shook his head, perplexed.  “No.”

“But you did know anyway.”

Joel took another sip. “Yeah, I knew.”

“I just think,” Tommy quietly, gently broached, “Maybe – Maria don’t confide in many people, Joel.  She’s got this thing about stayin’ strong for everyone else, so she keeps things to herself.  But if anyone can understand how she might be feelin’, then it’s Tess, right?”

Joel finished his drink and stood up.  He clapped his hand on Tommy’s shoulder.  “I’m real sorry Maria’s all worried about it, Tommy.  I am. I can’t imagine.  But Tess can’t help either of you.  I ain’t askin’ her.”

It was probably always doomed to fail.

(I don't remember where this might have gone next, yipe).

[throughalleternity]

Hi what is your writing process like for your one shots?

In the past it was mostly riding on spur of the moment momentum lol, tho I've been taking more time to plan more recently.

First I figure out why I'm writing the fic and what I think is interesting about it. That can take a while! I like to have a general sense of the entire fic or where it's going (not as bad to plan bc these are short). Once I have a theme or emotion or idea I want to capture, I think about a scenario or scenes that I think would convey that well. I also consider whether I know of a similar fic in the same fandom/ship and try not to adjust my fic to be less similar since it helps me to not compare and to feel motivated that I'm writing something more different (just a me thing, def do not be afraid to write similar scenarios as in other fics). I might reread other fics with similar vibes to help me pick the mood.

Sometimes (often?) I briefly outline those general ideas and/or specific lines, especially if I'm writing multiple scenes, or tackling a topic that's harder for me to write where I might be brainstorming and writing down multiple preliminary ideas. That keeps me organized and prevents me from forgetting things. I might also reference the general character notes doc I have to figure out how the characters will behave. And if I know I need/want to do any research because it goes beyond my own experience/knowledge, I also start that before writing. I usually don't go back to canon (the exception is like, Pool Cues because I wanted it to be very close to canon).

Then I write! Usually in bursts, from beginning to end. I'll be thinking about what makes sense next and what I would like to read in a oneshot (mostly relevant for the unplanned parts). With really detailed stuff, like body positioning/blocking, I'll just wing it based on what feels right. And I do try to keep a mental image of where the important people and things are so that there's continuity. I use OneLook for finding better/different words when wording feels off, and otherwise just try to focus on maintaining the focus and tone I want to capture the right emotions. I've written pretty intuitively from reading a lot, but I've definitely picked up some educational writing tips along the way too.

If I'm procrastinating/stuck, I might plan out the AO3 tags, but I always wait to do the summary and title until right before posting (and then get annoyed that I still need to write those too before posting lol). And then sometimes for the fics I'm more stuck on, they sit as outlines... or I make new docs to start writing fresh... Usually this happens when I'm not super set on the idea or where I want to take the fic, so being confident from the beginning definitely makes things easier. Also, for any long/interesting sections that get deleted, I try not to completely discard them, but instead move the cut lines into a designated doc so that I can repurpose them for something else, or as outtakes for myself.

Once it's done, I might let it sit overnight and then go back to do some light editing, usually just line edits for better phrasing and clarity etc. (Sometimes I post and then reread and frantically edit before it's been up for a while 😅) And that's it!

[crimeronan]

hi!! sorry if this has been asked before but i wanted to know if u had a specific editing process? ive read before that u edited ur fics for 6-8 hours and wanted to know what those hours consisted of, technically speaking, if its not too much trouble!!

hello!!

this is a really good question. i want to do it justice but breaking down every single detail of my editing process would take a VEEEERY long time. so i'll give more of an overview

some fics have a Much more involved editing process than others. so i can walk you through what both "processes" look like, step-wise. my most involved process produces the best work but is also the most time-consuming and exhausting.

to start, though: you gotta understand my first draft process. because whenever i tell other writers about how i draft, their responses range from "that's insane" to "that's so smart" to "that's insane. again."

i don't reread anything when i draft.

and i mean Anything. i don't reread a single sentence. i don't reread my phrasing as i'm writing it. i don't even check to make sure that my sentences make sense.

i just write out the entire story as i'm hearing / imagining it in my head. whatever moments, beats, dialogue, Whatever is most important to me. i don't edit as i go, i don't look back. if i can't think of details or lose my flow, i put [add X here] and keep going.

i usually have a bullet-point outline before i draft -- that's my scribbled concept sketch. my first draft is the equivalent to the slightly less scribbly concept sketch. it takes a MAXIMUM of one-third of my entire writing time.

the other two-thirds (or more!) are editing.

so basically. editing is where i reread what i wrote, identify weak spots and pacing issues, revise my dialogue, improve my metaphors, bulk up my imagery..... it's like doing all of the painstaking lining and coloring and shading of a very involved art project.

with my Most involved editing process, i open a new document beside the first draft. i write an entire second draft from scratch, using my first document as reference. that lets me keep all the important beats, rearrange stuff, go more in-depth with detail, etc. THEN i reread that second draft and do all of my fussing.

with my less involved editing process, i just reread and edit the first draft instead of creating an entire second draft. i also do fewer editing passes.

(the involved process includes editing the whole document once, putting it down for a few hours, then starting over from the beginning and editing the Edited Version all over again.)

it might be easier for me to show you the differences in fic quality, for you to get a sense of how the editing process affects things.... rather than trying to describe exactly what i look for / change / do / etc.

so. here's three recent (ish) toh fics

humans are friends. AND food - no editing.

why did love put a gun in my hand (and all other parts of this series) - basic first draft editing.

what we are is the sum of a thousand lies - 2 to 3 full drafts per chapter, 3 to 5 editing passes per chapter, ~30,000 words of outtakes beyond that.

with that vampire AU fic (#1), you can see that it's short, it's quick, it's silly and fun. it's not emotionally deep. it doesn't make much sense. it's very clearly based on Vibes instead of a fully considered story.

the princess luz fic (#2) is Significantly more involved. the increased detail here is partially because this is a horror series instead of a stupid humor romp, but the principle is the same.

all of luz's internal narration about her fear, the pacing of her interactions and confrontations with belos n hunter alike, the ugly body horror and the way she comforted the dying grimwalker... that's all from the editing process. the bare bones were there in my first draft, but my edits were where i got to make things Effective.

basically, i wrote the horror story the way i saw it in my mind. and then during the edit, i could ask questions like - what would make this worse? what is she really afraid of? what is the most LUZ reaction that she could have in this situation? what's the most effective way to show the differences between this luz and canon luz, and the similarities? etc etc etc. all those little details!

then you have wwaitsoatl. which is by Far the most energy-intensive fic i've ever written. that's part of why updates are so sporadic despite there being well over a thousand subscribers at the moment (FAR more than any of my other fics have ever had).

the reason that this fic requires so many drafts and editing passes is because of the sheer complexity of the characterization. the plot is pretty generic, as toh fics go - hunter gets kidnapped away from the castle and learns how to be loved, this fic has been written 100000 times before in 100000 different ways by 100000 different authors.

BUT. every single one of the four narrators in this particular story is unreliable in different ways. every single one has different priorities, motivations, baggage, feelings, levels of emotional intelligence. all four of them are in massive conflict with one another.

the conflicts Between the characters are similarly complicated, so i have to spend a LOOOONG time on all of the dialogue & interactions. these guys do a LOT of projecting, and arguing, and talking at cross-purposes, and making incorrect assumptions, and lying, and obfuscating, and on and on and on. clear communication is basically impossible.

the internal narration also requires a similar level of care. hunter and darius in particular have incredibly challenging POVs to write because all of their narration is tied up in denial, self-delusion, and facades.

hunter's nightmares, cognitive dissonance, and slow breakdowns take Hours And Hours And Hours to get right. same goes for darius's feelings and the things he says and the things he Doesn't say. i literally study every single individual sentence and rewrite it like 15 times, then study every individual paragraph and rewrite and rearrange them like 15 times. and if a scene isn't working, i cut it entirely, even when that adds up to 30,000 words of outtakes.

it's my most ambitious fic by a longshot and i'm confident in saying it's my best work to date. but hoo boy, it is WORK.

so. that's my editing process, basically! and how my editing process changes my final product.

[satureja13]

The TukTuk with Jack and Kiyoshi on board was still flying through the rain - following the train Sai, Jeb and Vlad rode in. It's been hours already - and Jack was just marveling again over how cool Demon/Diety Kiyoshi was. And how happy he is that they sorted it out somehow, and that they are able to be friends/mates after all that had happened between them - when lightning struck the TukTuk! It crashed in a weird kind of swamp - and Jack felt a searing pain in his chest. The TukTuk was slowly sinking...

Luckily not Jack and Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi dragged Jack over on solid ground. Jack: "Are you ok? Where are we?" Kiyoshi: "Uh - Jack? I... I'm fine..." The strike from the lightning ignited a strange super awareness in Kiyoshi. He hadn't felt so woke since before he left the Temple - and Jack - and went to Kojin's realm, to become one with the tree. Decades ago.

They were soaked wet. Jack: "What now? We lost the TukTuk..." Kiyoshi was just about to try to get the TukTuk out of that swamp in the cool Yoda manner, to impress Jack (where Yoda lifted the X-Wing out of the swamp at Dagobah)...

...when they heard Saiwa yell. Oh, the others are here! So they hadn't been far from their final destination as it seems. And there is also Ms Coombes! (She'd been the Boys' teacher at Belgraves Institute. And Choongang Highschool.) Apparently the swamp was just sitting next to a little village ^^'

Sai: "Omg Jack! I'm so sorry I forgot you!" Jack: "Awww, don't worry. My good mate Kiyoshi and I had an amazing flight!" Luckily it had stopped to rain.

Jack took a look around: "Wow! Where are we?" Saiwa: "Verdantis. It even lies beyond the Otherworld. No one will get a grip on us here." This is the place where Ms Coombes, Francine (Jeb's grandmother) and Dtui (Kiyoshi's mentor) went to school back in their days! And where Jeb found his horse, Valerian. (TMI: and we also had a short gameplay 'story' here with adult Vlad and a few others. A little lot tour is -> here)

They went over to the 'Screaming Mandrake'.

Ms Coombes: "First of all: Ji Ho is here. We brought him to the Hospital Wing and put him to sleep. All his memories and feelings hit him at once. So he needs some time to process and to adjust. We also needed to silence your bond, to not overload him further. I know this must be hard for you, Vlad. Endure it for Ji Ho, won't you."

Vlad was near to tears again, but he drew in a shaky breath and said : "I will." He would endure everything for Ji Ho.

Ms Coombes: "You might know that this place here is our magical school and grounds. Me and some other professors are going to teach you how to protect and defend yourselves against the Siren's Songs and other spells. You also have a lot of other subjects to keep up with, since you never finished highschool... It will take your professors a lot of their power to reside here. It's already hard enough to stay in the Otherworld for longer - and this realm is much further beyond the Veil. So don't pester them, be grateful and study hard. Understood?" Saiwa: "Understood." Ms Coombes: "It should not be that draining for you, though. You already lived in the Otherworld for so many months now. And you have Vlad and Kiyoshi with you - hopefully Ji Ho will assist them soon to keep you here."

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

Outtakes We were lucky with the lightnings again! So cool 🌩

Sai when it finally stopped to rain 🌦