#thank you to that 1 single line of dialogue for giving us all so much to work with

[lazylittledragon]

Does Mabel have any middle names? I feel like if she did it would be something Cyra picked or Gale picked. Either way I feel like it's Latin for either something magical or bones

it's 'morena' :))

[marsspeedway]

COD HEADCANONS! (1?)

This is translated from Spanish so I'm really sorry if there is a translation error or a word that shouldn't be there!

SIMON RILEY GHOST

His casual outfit is really simple: jeans and a t-shirt or hoodie, his shoes of choice (usually his sneakers or boots) and a leather jacket if it's a more "formal" outing (a date?) or if he feels like dressing up.

Yes yes, balaclava on the base and cloth mask off the base.

Due to his past he has developed a defense mechanism of making jokes to "get over" or lighten his trauma.

After the betrayal of his team and his capture by Robas he basically got used to survive with very little. Therefore: he doesn't eat much, doesn't sleep much and is always in alert mode.

His chuckles are low, deep and feel mocking 99% of the time even though they are not. Instead his real laughter, his guffaws, are LOUD but very very strange to hear.

This man does NOT have a driver's license.

He has constant nightmares and/or night terrors so he tends to sleep very little.

Simon "Ghost" Riley is sleep deprived.

Ghost is the soldier, Simon is the human. So, Ghost is the armor that protects Simon, the tough exterior that protects the sensitive and too fragile interior. 

His room is simple, he doesn't have many belongings and the few he has are really valuable for him.

Ok yes, "Ghost collects knives" or "Ghost collects guns" but... Ghost collects lighters.

Bonus if you think he's a smoker.

Bonus X2 if you think he's an EX-Smoker!

Sleeping near Soap, or cuddling him, surprisingly calms him down (considering how much he dislikes and discomforts physical contact).

Soap is like his safe place, then Price follows, but he doesn't get that close to him physically (almost not at all really).

His closeness to Price has been very helpful to him, the man is a great listener and a great advisor and Simon can't thank him enough for always being there when he needs a shoulder to lean on or someone to give him good advice.

Ghost's "Fucking hell..." at the moment of meeting Soap in MW2 is mainly because he didn't expect to meet him again, he didn't expect to see him again after Makarov, let alone have to WORK with him again. It's not that he dislikes him, he just didn't expect the guy to be HIS sergeant instead of Price's.

During "Alone" Ghost tells jokes and talks to help Soap through the bad time, to calm him down and help him move forward but he also does it for himself because damn: just betrayed at the border of a country/city they don't know, with the colonel who received them captured, with a (his) wounded and messed up sergeant who is the only ally he has right now and who in turn is trying to get to him, with mercenaries nipping at their heels... I think the poor guy has a right to be a little bad. Well, Simon is bad because Ghost seems to be hiding it well.

Hairless?

He tends to eat fast, very fast.

JOHN "SOAP" MACTAVISH

He told Price that they should make varsity jackets with the Task Force logo on them...

Guess who has varsity jackets with the Task Force logo on them?

OG!Soap (2009) hates dogs (according to a line of dialogue) but personally I think Reboot!Soap (the current Soap, the one from 2022) likes them quite a bit.

He's a bit (too much) hyperactive.

He tends to gift and buy things for Ghost, little trinkets or things he knows Simon can use. It goes from clothes to some toy he thinks Ghost might like, they are usually toy soldiers, little action figures or legos (or anything that reminds him of Ghost).

Simon keeps them all. Every single one, even if it's a rock or a note that Soap left him or a doodle that Soap gave him.

He's a freaking master with butterfly knife tricks.

No, he doesn't use them to impress Ghost....

Maybe he does...

Ghost pretends the tricks don't impress him but they do.

He gives me Golden Retriever Boyfriend vibes that can send a bomb to your house.

Let's not forget he's a 30 year old man, military, explosives expert who basically operates in an elite task force... I mean, he could easily kill you. But, still, he's got a nice vibe, he's sociable and it's hard to dislike him.

Bookworm! He'll devour a book in a matter of hours and if he likes it enough he'll do an essay or summary.

He's a homebody with a big, big family. And he would love to have his own family with his own little house in the camp.

To pass the time he usually draws and occasionally writes in his journal. That thing is a little bit of everything: drawings, notes, stories, a personal diary, etc. Anything goes in there.

He cuts his mohawk himself and also usually takes care of rookies' hair, or really anyone who asks (nicely).

He can actually do more than cut mohawks or shave heads, his mother knows how to cut hair and he learned how to do it himself.

You want him to braid your hair? Of course, he's the one! He grew up with several sisters, so of course he knows how to braid. Ponytails? Go ahead. A bun? Sure. You ask and he'll know what to do and if he doesn't, he'll find it.

He can cook a little, just enough to get by and not live on instant noodles and take-out.

[thisonesatellite]

Tagged by the always wonderful @fsbc-librarian -- thank you so much, darling! 💖💖💖

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

42 works

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

677,643 (how do i have so many?)

3. what fandoms do you write for?

MCU/Stucky -- this is my main focus and current sandbox. i love to play with these two. OUAT/CS -- that is where i started my fic writing journey and it still makes up the bulk of my works. i no longer write it, but it will always have a soft spot in my heart. Dramione -- i wrote one dramione fic a while back, and it is a ship dynamic i really enjoy. i still have one big, rather epic fic idea for it, too. Since this idea -- (and @mysteriouscatstellation) -- have been bugging me about it for over a year, i absolutely have to write it. Eventually. Obvi. (Actually, it's up next after i finish my East German Stucky Spy Lunacy, shhhhhhhhh.) Leverage -- i also have one Leverage fic. i have literally no idea how that happened. None. This fic basically walked out onto the page and said, my turn. 😂 It did give me a really good opportunity to create an original character though.

4. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Always. ALWAYS. i love and appreciate each one, from a row of emojis to a page of analysis. i go back often and re-read them, just to motivate myself. People who leave comments are the real heroes. (Although i do understand that not everyone has the spoons to comment, and that's OK, too. Just know that if you leave me a single emoji i will love it no less than if you write a dissertation. 💖💖💖)

5. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that i know of. But i haven't checked either.

6. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes -- The Sword and The Heart, an epic rewrite of OUAT S5 i tackled with the amazing @ohmightydevviepuu. If you have never collaborated with another writer, i strongly urge you to try it. i learned things about myself and my writing that i am still benefiting from to this day and i am immensely proud of what we created together. However, that is pretty much due to dev being the best collaborator ever. (Get yourself someone you trust and love and yet challenges you at every turn, is what i'm saying.)

7. what’s your all-time favourite ship?

That's a hard question, because affinity does change -- and why wouldn't it. We change, become different people, and sometimes the things we used to bleed for no longer resonate quite as hard. Like - my OG ship was Buffy /Angel, and i have the absolute soft spot of all time for them, but also i'm (obviously) no longer in high school and so the urgency has subsided. There have been a few other ships i've sideswiped over the years, characters i absolutely loved but never quite got 'ship-invested' in. (Shipvested? 😂) Personally, one factor is definitely that i did not know what a fandom was, or even that there was 'fandom' (as a concept, a community, a Thing) until Captain Swan tore a hole in my heart five years ago. i didn't really know what fanfic was. Or AO3. Apparently i live under a rock. But currently, the tl;dr is a dead tie between Stucky, Captain Swan, and James Holden /Naomi Nagata from The Expanse. With lots of honorable mentions bringing up the rear. 😂

8. what are your writing strengths?

Plot, dialogue, world building, and having characters stay true to their nature even when seen through various AU lenses, i think. Also action and fights and sometimes even battles. And i think i have a knack for letting exposition bleed through action and dialogue, instead of writing it outright. (That last one is a hard-won skill and kills me dead at least once a chapter, you feel me.) i also put a ridiculous amount of research into everything. Seriously, it's a sickness. i once spent more than two hours looking up radio dramas from the 30s that had a supernatural bent and might appeal to teenagers. For half a throwayway line. Possibly i should not list this as a strength. 😂

9. what are your writing weaknesses?

Smut. SMUT ALL THE WAY. i cannot write it, i don't know how. People who read my fic will always get shortchanged in the E department and for that i am sorry. But i really am completely useless on the smut front. And fluff. i can do soft scenes, but i cannot write pure fluff. i don't know how to do that either. i'll write a fucking coffee shop oneshot, or a thieves AU that doesn't even crack 5K, or even a BARTENDER fic, and yet complex back story and plot and action will still burst out from between the lines. All you people out there who can just tear off a sex scene or a fluff piece, i salute you. Also all you people who have multiple WIPs. i don't know how you do it. i can only ever write one fic at a time. You are all wizards, aren't you.

10. first fandom you wrote for?

OUAT /Captain Swan, back in 2019.

Zero pressure tags: @sparkagrace @cable-knit-sweater @bittersweet-in-boston @late-to-the-party-81 @metalbvcky @voylitscope

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei, continued

(this is a continuation of my first post on this subject, creatively titled Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei. The parts all build upon each other, so it's best to read from the beginning. Here's a little TOC so you can get up to speed:

Part 1: And They Lived Happily Ever After Part 1.5: I Believe Your Choices DO Matter Part 2: A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers <- (You Are Here!) Part 2.5: In Another World, We Could Have Been (Just) Friends (Future parts to be added as they are written))

(Please be aware that this series will go over topics including coercion, non-consentual romance, and an observation pertaining to potential incestual undertones. If any of this makes you uncomfortable in any way, please proceed with caution. Thank you)

Part 2: A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers

Kris Dreemurr is doomed the instant the player assumes control of them.

If Undertale is a game about how your choices can affect the world, then Deltarune is about how sometimes, your choices mean absolutely nothing. Fate grinds on, irrespective of your wishes. Onward you march, towards your ultimate destiny.

This concept features heavilly in a lot of RPGs - the idea that the protagonist is the "chosen one" who will save the world, which due to the constrains of narrative and gaming, is what ends up happening 95% of the time. Much like the Knight and Princess dynamic I discussed in the previous part, this trope is so heavily ingrained in the gaming psyche that we do tend to accept it when it happens,as part and parcel of the RPG experience.

This very familiar setup is where Kris and Susie find themselves upon meeting Ralsei, who waxes lyrical about the very Non-Specific-and-Light-on-Any-Identifying-Details Legend. They are told that the balance of light and dark is being disrupted and a "terrible calamity (will) occur", are shown some apocalyptic imagery, three heroes who are identified by their race/species (and not their name - a detail which may become important later on), who will stop something nefariously dubbed the "Angel's Heaven". It is Prophecy 101, the most barebones framing for a quest you can imagine... but hey, the game needs a hook, doesn't it? Some grand stakes to get the ball rolling.

And so, the roles are doled out: Kris is the human, the unwavering leader; Susie is the no-nonsense contrarian who doesn't really care much for concepts of fate and determinism, and Ralsei is the exposition fairy, doing his best to keep his comrades on the path he has set out for them.

Ok, cool. But where does Kralsei fit into this? Well, in Part 1 and 1.5 of this series of posts, I brought up how Deltarune goes to great lengths to bring the idea of this pairing to prominence... but I didn't really talk about why the game is doing this. And the answer is, because it ties in with Deltarune's central theme of destiny and determinism. Or to put it another way:

Your Choices Don't Matter.

And here, you might protest. Because surely when the game says that, it's only refering to Kris's choices, right? We, as players, can choose from different dialogue options, we can choose to FIGHT or SPARE our adversaries. More fundamentally, we are the ones in control of Kris's movements and actions, while they are almost entirely powerless to fight our influence (note how I say almost - this will be important later).

But think for a moment about the choices we are given as players, and ask yourself - what meaningfully changes as a result of our actions? In Chapter 1, it doesn't matter whether we fight or spare anyone, they'll all return regardless in Chapter 2, with a single line of dialogue added as a handwave to explain why. And while Chapter 2 gives us a little more say in this - we can lose potential recruits to Castle Town by fighting rather than sparing, and they won't turn up in Ralsei's dark world at the end - the main points of the story do not meaningfully change to reflect this.

(there are, of course, things that we CAN do to change things in a pretty big way *coughSnowgravecough* but given that the means to achieve this are rather well-hidden, and it involves doing some very, VERY messed up things in pursuit of it, we can consider it an exception that proves the rule - technically your choices CAN have consequences, but those consequences are so horrific that you're probably better off not choosing in the first place.)

Okay, sure, you say. But this doesn't apply to the interpersonal relationships in Deltarune, now does it? If we don't want Kralsei to happen, then we simply don't choose any of the options that hint at it. That much must be in our power, surely?

To which I have one riposte: the Acid Tunnel of Love.

Brief overview of this sequence: Kris and Ralsei are tasked with "distracting" Queen while Susie and Berdly go to rescue Noelle. Literally on the next screen, the only way to proceed is across a giant river of acid, atop a swan pedallo, while soft carnival-style music plays in the background. Partway through, Ralsei has a heart-to-heart with Kris/the player, Rouxls Kaard does what he does best, and a photo may or may not be taken at the end.

You don't get to choose not to do this (unless you do that other thing which we're not discussing here). This just happens. And it's difficult to get away from the fact that this entire scenario is dripping with romantic undertones, especially when it's contrasted directly afterwards with Susie and Noelle's equally-romantically-charged Rescue and Ferris Wheel ride.

But then, perhaps it's a parody. A funny contrivance that sends up the absurdity of Kralsei by comparing it to a romantic pairing with actual weight, Suselle. But there are two problems with this; the first is that if we write off this scene as parody, then we must also do the same with the ferris wheel, because they both operate under the same logic - they're both based on a massive contrivance.

The second problem is that Ralsei doesn't seem to have got that memo. And no matter how you respond to his questions, the scene will end with his admiration for Kris strengthened. There is NO dialogue option you can select which will dissuade him from his feelings.

Exhibit A: calling Ralsei a lackey will have him cheerfully exclaim "Ooh, I've never been somebody's lackey before!" (because he's a darkner, that's literally what he was designed to be). Exhibit B: saying "It's strange" has Ralsei write off his question as, erm, "sarcasm". Which would perhaps be read as a rebuttal, except that his understanding of social situations is so minimal that he might genuinely believe he's committed a serious faux pas here, rather than interpret the response as a rejection. It also doesn't change his follow-up response, either. Exhibit C: Saying nothing when he says "it's good that you're you" has him laugh at how "Kris-like" not saying anything is, before saying that he "[likes] you-like things".

Cue Ralsei haters throwing their hands up in exasperation.

Contrast again with Susie and Noelle's scene. Here, too, we're presented with options to influence how things will happen. But the crucial difference is, we have absolutely zero sway over Susie, and she will always choose to say and do her own things. Here, too, we are powerless to intervene, but in a more direct way, whereas with Kralsei, even though we CAN choose an option, none of them make a difference to the scene or its outcome. This serves to show just how much agency Susie actually possesses, and is a stark contrast to Kris's severe lack of agency... as well as our own.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, consider this: Susie is free to make her own decisions, up to and including choosing NOT to pursue Noelle romantically. Kris, on the other hand, has no such freedom, and thus cannot choose to opt out of entering into a relationship with Ralsei. And, as I have alluded to a few times, neither can we, despite what our own feelings on the situation might be.

And thus we come to the title of this part - Kris and Ralsei are Star-Crossed. No reference to this line is made in Deltarune as of present, but it has numerous connotations which I believe are relevant to these two characters. Firstly, the idea that their connection is destined to occur - it's written in the stars, woven into the game's literal architecture. As such, there is nothing that anyone can do to stop it from happening - not Ralsei, who probably would be quite thrilled with it, not the player, who try as they might cannot influence it either way, and certainly not Kris, who is almost entirely unable to voice their own desires. We are each as powerless as each other in this instance.

Secondly, the idea that this destined relationship, no matter what form it might take, is doomed to end in tragedy. From the reaction to the various teas, we can infer that Kris is lukewarm on Ralsei at best (this may change as future chapters are released, but it's not exactly a ringing endorsement). And as time goes on, it becomes increasingly apparent that Ralsei is likely labouring under a false notion of who Kris actually is, and has fallen for the idea of Kris that he has conjured up in his own head, rather than the genuine article.

But the problem is more fundamental still, for if we understand the prophecy correctly, light and dark must be in balance - they cannot mix. That means no new dark fountains, which means that Ralsei can never manifest anywhere as a darkner once the events of the game are concluded. This would of course preclude any sort of interpersonal connection, romantic or otherwise. The best that could be hoped for in such a scenario is that Ralsei returns to whichever object he represents in the light world and Kris keeps him around as a memento.

This all assumes a great deal, of course - Kris's stance on Ralsei may well change, and for all we know Ralsei is more than likely very aware that we exist separately from Kris, as evidenced by his clandestine conversations with Kris while we see what Susie's up to. Additionally, it is entirely possible that Ralsei has instead fallen for US through Kris, which presents... additional complications. More on that later.

All of this leads us back to the central conceit of Deltarune: Our choices do not matter. Nothing we say, nothing we do, can change what is going to happen. We don't know exactly where this is going to go, whether they will fall into a full-on romance, or if they become something more akin to queerplatonic partners, or good friends, or something like siblings, or perhaps even mortal enemies. But one thing is for sure - Deltarune is going to continue cramming Kralsei down our throats, whether we like it or not.

...okay, think I best stop there for now. And look, I know I haven't really gone too much into the why of all this just yet. But patience - much of the past few essays have been establishing the groundwork - the what and the how, if you like. I'n Part 3, I'll attempt to go over what I believe the Narrative (i.e. the game) is trying to accomplish with Kralsei - what it's trying to say about games, stories, romance, and how we can be manipulated into endorsing a potentially problematic relationship, irrespective of the wishes of the vessel we control.

Thanks for reading!

[glacialswordsman]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. REPOST, DO NOT REBLOG !!

NAME: jamey is my name gay is my game (but also idrc what you call me. i've been called many-a-thing, such as: jammy, jimmy, jimjam, james, yimmy, yammy, yimyam, yamey, jamnelius, jamison the third, etc)

PRONOUNS: he/him ONLY! <3

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: if i hardly know you, IMs on tumblr is best until i know we vibe OOCly! then i'll give you my discord

NAME OF MUSE(s): kaeya alberich on this blog ofc but i also muse wriothesley, il capitano, xianyun, aether, jing yuan, boothill, argenti, hua cheng, xie lian, wei wuxi-- alright i'm not gonna put everyone here, if you wanna know the rest go to my mumu LMFAO

BEST EXPERIENCE: honestly a lot of my best experiences just stem from Meeting all the people i have and getting to befriend so many creative & wonderful individuals. making connections eclipses all else for me tbh

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS:

- no OOC communication. i refuse to RP with anyone who doesn't talk to me OOCly, because i want to make sure that 1) we vibe, 2) we have the comfort of knowing we can talk to each other about boundaries/icks/plots, 3) WE VIBE.

- possessiveness. exclusivity is different because i really only do that with people i've known for A WHILE and that i trust. but if we're shipping (not exclusively) and you don't let me even interact with someone/someone's muse that's the same character as yours, even if it's just one-off/not for shipping purposes??? nah. i'm good.

MUSE PREFERENCES: characters that have gone through so fucking much and try their best for everyone around them, themselves, or the object of their affection. characters that paint themselves to be the villains so they can keep the focus on themselves and take all the blame so those they care for don't get lumped with them. powerful. sacrificial. giant heart. smiling but dying inside. hot as fuck. yknow.

PLOTS OR MEMES:  both!!! i like both a lot! they're very situational because not everyone has the time to hunker down and plot stuff, or they just may not have the spoons or whatever other reason. plots are fun because you can get really in-depth and talk long term/potential ideas. memes are easy to use since, yknow, they already have ideas to build off of.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: i really don't mind either way, all i ask is that i'm not given one-liners if it's a serious rp. if it's some crack/one-shot, then whatever! but if we actually plotted something out, it'd devastate me if i was just met with like, one to three lines. to me, it says "i'm not really interested in this but i'm putting up with it." another thing i don't really want is to CONSTANTLY reply with like... 600+ words... i love writing a lot, i love setting up the exposition and doing dialogue, etcetc-- but i don't want to write out Every Single Detail or Every Single Thought about my character/my character has for EACH response, you know?

BEST TIME TO WRITE: late afternoon/evening/late night for me, usually! it really depends on what i'm doing that day, and how long my daily chores take (including game dailies/weeklies lmao)

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): UH? i don't???? think so??????????? i mean. i definitely try my best for everyone, and... uh. hm. maybe in some aspects i guess alksfmalkgm

tagged by: @ccaptain THANK U SAM STINKIE SMELLIE MWAMWAMWA tagging: ERM. UM. AUGGHHH the usual clowns @inblazes, @tartagla, @poswiecenia, but also @maskednihilism and @crimsononiarataki

[blackstarchanx3new]

Creations AU FNAF 4, But I obnoxiously over explain it 2

Pages 30-59

The sad story of Cody and his miserable life.

I know for a fact some of these pages were lined don't remember if they colored any by @akdrawsandwrites thanks AK. ^w^

More NPC dialogue.

In FNAF 4 game: There's an oddity with the NPC with a green shirt and brown hair, he has a STRIKING appearance to one of the "bullies" older brother's friends. But the one in the green shirt in the game has blonde hair. Idk if they're meant to be the same character and the sprite was just bonked up or what. FNAF color pallets being consistent is NOT something this series is known for lmfao.

I made these two characters brothers and modified his dialogue to suit that he knows Cody by "Josh's brother". Either way this character should know this kid's name lmfao.

The party coming up is apparently Cody's. The last NPC is debated to be the character "Susie" from the games....I color picked and this girl looks black to me. (Susie is white with styled blonde hair) Like they both have bows and wear pink so MAYBE it was meant to be her but idk. This was the design I went with. Retconning design and inconsistent colors in FNAF again: Is not new.

Susie is used as a character in another place in Creations anyway and it wouldn't line up timeline wise. (This makes an animatic with her as the Chica we meet in Mike's story outdated and incorrect but there's LOTS of ideas in the animatics that were abandoned going over all of them would take hours lmfao.)

Exposure therapy, I say as a joke.

You might have noticed an itty bitty detail of Josh getting set off every time Cody starts shouting. Bro does not handle that shit well.

Yeet the child again, damn it Josh you gotta kick that habit.

Josh's main response to dealing with Cody: Lock him somewhere where he doesn't have to deal wit him.

Oh dear. This looks familiar.

Creations readers and FNAF players alike know where this shit is going.

HI MIKE! ❤️ Yes that's Mike without his dyed hair lol.

Reasonably avoiding confrontation but uh, to the determent of others oof.

Dude proceeds to never stop throwing himself in danger later so I guess he decided to slam to the other side of the two extremes lmao.

HAH.

Well that explains Cody's creepy ass stalker crush on Mike.

He didn't really SPECIFY he recognized Mike verbally when talking to him in the main comic but here we get conformation he for sure did.

Again Cody/Golden Freddy doesn't consider himself a 1 to 1 with the original Cody. Rather just a robot with the kid's memories/soul.

They don't feel like his memories.

Lol. Cody and his Para-social relationship with Mike Schmidt.

We can tell this genuinely amuses him as his eyes aren't red.

Hah he says something to the same affect in thee FNAF 1 Arc...with a lot more body horror involved.

"It was just a prank bro"

Daddy's gonna make it all better.

Cody stop that. We've talked about how the faces you make are unsightly.

Also Puppet. She's here.

People didn't really GET Cody's reality bending abilities: So he explains it pretty plainly here.

He's powerful as hell. X'D

Basically the most OP character in Creations much like the cannon Golden Freddy.

So I'll give ya some writing advice: If you're gonna make an OP character, just make them lazy as fuck.

Easiest way to nerf them: Make them just not care about fighting. X'D

Cody's got a mixture of laziness, apathy and fear of daddy to keep him from being helpful much in the plot.

Because if he wasn't he'd clap Afton in 2 seconds and that'd be no fun. So he's a coward lmao.

He was gonna snap that bitches neck while he slept. And not a single one of us would have blamed him. UwU

Casually hides in his brother's closet XDDD

Also I pointed it out before but Josh's room is Michael's room in main story.

Cody's cowardess is on full display: He bent to NOT killing Josh when he realized how badly Josh was coping with his brother's death.

Just like his daddy!~

Jokes aside this is my fave page in FNAF 4. It was lined by AK. I drew the sketch

I like, never draw the nightmares but the ended up so good here. Props to Ak for translating the sketches real well.

This is another instance of what I mean when I say there's no real good "Starting" place for the Creations AU.

This is smth that happens in Sister Location, but I feel Josh's character is more interesting with this context.

Buuuut this scene makes no sense. Aaaaand FNAF 4 shows more chronological events.

Agh.

Honestly whenever I get around to doing "Spring Bonnie's friends" I'd argue that is the best place to start chronologically but we'll see.

Anyway Cody saving his dumbass brother is so funny to me.

It's also really sad to think that he saved Josh because he knew how much Josh HATED the idea of dying in a springlock suit. Cody shows empathy quite often, especially towards Mike but this extends to helping Josh too.

His little "Now who's the cry baby?" is just the icing on the cake. XD

So Josh IS dead...?

Kind of?

His "remnant" is just kinda all over the place.

Will pick up in part 3 since PAGE LIMITS.

[amplifyme]

Twenty questions for fanfic writers

I was tagged by @xxsksxxx. Thanks, friend! ❤️

Edited to add that @randomfoggytiger just tagged me too. Killing two birds with one stone here. Or something like that.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

76 in total, but only 57 of those are my own fics. The rest belong to two BATB writers who are no longer with us but whose works needed to be available on AO3.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,360,745 total. 587,663 of those are actually mine.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The X-Files, Beauty and the Beast (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire book series.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

These Scars We Wear

The Calling

Beggar's Banquet

Blessed Be (The Third Night)

Pas de deux

All of these are set in the ASOIAF universe.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yep! There was a stretch of about six years when I disconnected from all my fandoms and didn't respond to anything. Those days are past now and I make sure I always respond to any comment I get.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Pass You By (TXF)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The Possibility of Being (BATB)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I used to be be a Smut Queen back in my OG TXF days. Not sure what's meant by "what kind"? Um, the kind that makes one hot and bothered? Het? Vanilla? I'll stop there.

I quit writing the more explicit stuff 'cuz I got bored with it. These days I'm more interested in the cerebral side of things.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No. I have a hard enough time keeping a single set of characters in line. Can't imagine trying to do it for more than one 'verse at a time.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. Someone from The Nanny fandom (who knew?) pilfered one of my TXF fics, changed the character names, and posted it. Weirdness.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, several. More than happy to give the go-ahead to requests like that.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, I wrote Doors with a fellow TXF writer named Alanna Baker. It was fun but I don't know that I'd want to do it again. I'm much more of a loner when it comes to writing.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Can't pick one and you can't make me. My favorites are the three I write for: Mulder and Scully, Vincent and Diana, Sandor and Sansa.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Sticks and Stones, a TXF casefile I started a really, really long time ago. I also have a BATB WIP I've been messing with for the past year or so but I don't know if it will ever see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, pacing, tone.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Will actually sitting down and writing be considered a proper answer? If so, that.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I did a few lines in Italian in one of my BATB fics but that's it. I can barely write in English, let alone another language! 😄

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Beauty and the Beast.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'll give you one from each fandom.

TXF: Kintsugi. Not my most popular, but this one was effortless and there's nothing I'd go back and change. My take on Season 7 (aka The Season of Secret Sex).

BATB: The Possibility of Being (see above for the link). This entire project was a love letter not only to Vincent and Diana, but to my writing mentor, Nan Dibble.

ASOIAF (SanSan): These Scars We Wear. Link is above. Another love letter. This one to Sandor Clegane and his Little Bird. Because they deserve a happily ever after.

I figure this one has already made the rounds so I'm not going to tag anyone. Please consider playing if you've haven't been tagged and want to join in. It's fun!

[aranarumei]

the anomalous agate (part 1)

edit: there's an updated version of this here

so. a few days ago i floated the idea of a crossover of hanzawa to tashiro and the case files of jeweler richard to the illustrious @dirtbra1n, and after talking about it i. could not stop thinking about it. here is that. you will notice above it says part 1, and that is because I spiralled a bit out of control. this is so long (4.3k) that I thought it merited me posting it on ao3 as well, if you'd prefer to read it there. there's also some notes about the fic contained there, none of which I feel like repeating, except i do have to credit the line of dialogue where seigi asks hanzawa why he has so many piercings to @dirtbra1n. that's entirely their genius.

without further ado, under the cut:

case 2-x: the anomalous agate (part 1)

The longer I worked for the shop, the fewer days arrived when there were no appointments scheduled for the day. As always, Richard seemed unfazed by the lack of customers. I supposed it made sense—this was a shop that only existed on the weekends, after all. He had hired me, but had the two of us not met by chance, it was likely he wouldn’t have hired anyone at all.

Perhaps the reason my employer seemed so content was the fact that he was currently cutting into a delicate slice of tiramisu crepe cake. He ate with almost ethereal grace, and as I somehow hadn’t thought to grab a slice for myself, my mind wandered to the circumstances that had led me to the purchase.

The week before, I had been making Richard’s royal milk tea as usual—I felt somewhat confident in my skills at this point, but there really was no matching a master—and asked him if there was a reason we didn’t serve coffee to customers. It was a common feature of many cafés, after all, and though this place was no longer a café, we still offered things like tea and snacks to customers.

Richard had stared at me like he was waiting for me to figure something out on my own, and after wracking my brain for possibilities, I tried, “We have barley tea and green tea, so it can’t be because you think anything except for royal milk tea won’t do…”

I received a deep sigh for my efforts. Richard arched an eyebrow. “Do you know how much is involved in the process of making coffee?” he asked.

As the coffee I most regularly consumed came from a can, there wasn’t a single response I could give.

That night, I searched up the process of manufacturing and brewing coffee, and quickly found myself beginning to develop a headache. Not only were there many places where coffee beans were grown, the different ways in which coffee was then brewed and what it was paired with felt almost limitless. Searching for espresso machines brought prices well over 15,000 yen, and it was at that point that I began to understand what Richard had conveyed in a single sentence.

Instant coffee could be made without any sense of technique or equipment, but the kind of coffee that set one’s mind at ease was probably the kind that only a real café was capable of. Or a coffee enthusiast, and I was neither. I tried to conjure the image of being offered canned or instant coffee at Jewelry Étranger, and immediately wrinkled my nose. Coffee at a café was meant to pleasant; I had no desire to remind myself of what it felt like to work late night after late night as a security guard. While I felt coffee had a warm, comforting scent, I knew all too well that it was also a bitter necessity. I was thankful that the caffeine had kept me awake, but it only worsened the quality of my sleep.

Still, though I had given up the idea of introducing coffee to our drink selection, I must not have completely forgotten about it, because the next time I stepped into a bakery, their offering of a tiramisu crepe cake caught my immediate attention.

I’d had tiramisu only once during a birthday in junior high. Birthdays when I was younger were a melancholy affair—they were small, intimate celebrations that reminded me of the insignificance of my life. It was the same feeling as lighting a candle in pure dark—loneliness shined more under small points of light. But my mother had always remembered to buy a cake year after year, no matter the circumstances. While she had already developed a taste for coffee, I still considered it something that was a bitter, awful drink that adults actually enjoyed. But after some firm persuasion from my mother, I reluctantly dug in.

Add enough sugar and it can turn bitter into sweet. I knew that now, but as a child I had been given an experience akin to magic. Even now, I could still recall the light and sweet taste accompanied by the delicate hints of coffee and chocolate.

Remembering it now, it was hard to explain why I hadn’t had one in such a long time, but I hadn’t developed the habit of searching out cafés, bakeries, and sweet shops until I started working at Jewelry Étranger. Food tasted better as of late.

This bakery in particular was a favorite of mine—it felt like every time I entered, there was still some sweet I had yet to try. And encounters like these, where it felt like little parts of my life were slotting together in serendipitous fashions, were becoming far more common. It was obvious in the way I’d found out about Tanimoto-san’s love for rocks and minerals, as well as her friend Shinkai’s dance company, or Hase-san visiting at the exact time I happened to be in the back, but when I told Richard this, he simply brushed it off.

“The more knowledge and experience you acquire, the more the world reveals itself to you,” he said. “Department stores have existed before you began working here, but only once you took an interest in diamonds did you notice the kinds of jewels they sold. The girl you wish was your girlfriend had an interest in minerals long before you began to. That was not fate—it was the fact that the more you learned, the more you could find commonalities or points of connection in the world around you.” He paused. “You, in particular… I would guess that you run into so many coincidences because you’re unable to turn your back.”

He was correct. The more people that visited Richard’s store, the more that I came to knew about the world. I had liked Tanimoto-san before I had met Richard, and she had loved rocks and minerals for far longer. But because I had been able to meet with Richard—and that was an encounter that could have only been fate—I’d gained awareness of a part of the world that had always existed, just not in my eyes. The more I learned about jewels, the more I treasured various things.

So that Saturday, I entered the bakery again, bought a slice, and arrived at Jewelry Étranger with an offering.

“…I still won’t give you a raise, you know,” Richard said.

As always, he looked beautiful. I had the feeling that he’d be annoyed if I told him the purchase was due to a bottomless kind of gratitude.

“I know.” At this point, I wondered if I needed to directly tell him how he paid far more than what I earned as a security guard. But I’d already turned down a job offer to stay here, so he must have known that I felt as if the work I was doing here was infinitely more valuable.

Since we’d had this kind of exchange quite a few times before, Richard tried the tiramisu crepe cake without much fuss. It was obvious he was enjoying it—perhaps his face hadn’t cracked out into a smile or anything of the sort, but there was a serene look on his face when he was enjoying sweets.

As he ate, a question popped to mind: “Say, Richard, have you had real tiramisu in Italy before?”

Richard paused between bites. “Do you mean to ask if I’ve had authentic tiramisu?”

“Well, you just seem as if you’ve been everywhere in the world…”

Rather than tell me if he’d spent time in Italy or not, Richard began to speak about the conflicted meaning of the word ‘authentic.’

“Tiramisu is Italian in origin, but the exact nature of how it was first produced is still up for debate. Tiramisu as we recognize it today certainly does not come in the nature of a crepe cake, but—” He paused to take another bite. “Grab yourself a fork, would you?”

I stared at him blankly as he deliberately placed his fork down on his plate. The last few bites of the crepe cake remained untouched, and only when he tilted his head in confusion did I rush to the kitchen in realization.

When I returned, Richard continued speaking without commenting on my lack of wits. “Something being authentic indeed means it is the real thing—a genuine article. Authenticity is also related to truth—in art, the style of realism is grounded in an attempt to depict life authentically. Without alterations or embellishments. For gemstones this is a fairly simple thing to classify—jewels are mined from specific places, so we designate that which is naturally-occurring as authentic. This runs in opposition as to imitation jewels, which are made from a different material, and approximate the look of a jewel without matching its innate qualities. The question of authenticity also is relevant when looking at heat treatment—pigeon blood rubies that haven’t undergone heat treatment are more valuable, because they have acquired the color naturally, yes?”

I nodded in agreement, reminded of Tanimoto-san’s opinion on heat treatment. She probably prized the authenticity of a gem—the one-of-a-kind nature each jewel had. I understood her feelings, but I also thought there was some kind of wonder in the process of polishing and cutting and heat treatment—each step gave a jewel a special kind of shine. But beauty was the kind of thing where opinions differed often.

“You’ve forgotten to actually put your fork to use,” Richard said, and I startled out of my daze to hurriedly take a bite. Well, no one would disagree about his beauty.

As expected, the tiramisu crepe cake was both light and sweet. The texture of crepes was certainly different than what I’d eaten as a child, but both carried that sense of pure delicacy—each layer felt like cotton-candied air. Though it didn’t smell like coffee, there was indeed the warm, rich undertone of what I’d come to understand as coffee’s flavor. If I could spend a birthday just like this… it would be a treasure of a memory.

Richard’s lips curled. “How is it?”                      

I made sure to properly swallow before I replied. “It’s delicious,” I marveled. “I don’t know why I’d forgotten the taste.”

“When you make rice at home, would you consider that rice real or authentic?” Richard asked. When I nodded, still chewing on my final bite of cake, he then asked, “Why?”

Maybe I would buy tiramisu on the way home. Or gift some to Hiromi—I could only assume that my birthday all those years ago was the last time she’d had tiramisu, too. “Well, because it’s rice,” I said. “I bought the rice grains, didn’t I? They were grown naturally. And then I cooked them.”

“If you acquired the exact ingredients required for tiramisu, and followed the same exact process as the original—though there are debates at to what the original is—would you still say that was authentic?”

I frowned. “I… suppose I would? Since everything is exact.” Was there a loophole I was missing?

“Perhaps,” Richard said. “Because it is hard to pinpoint its specific origins, what tiramisu qualifies as authentic can be hard to judge. Though the base components and methods are the same, the exact specifics differ—some may consider any tiramisu that follows the general process to be authentic, while others may not. In the case of champagne, unless what you think of champagne is made in the Champagne region of France, it cannot legally be called by that name. Even if the sparkling wine that is created is similar in taste, or uses the same process and ingredients, if the grapes are not sourced from that region, it will not be champagne.”

“Even though it’s possible to make an equivalent product?”  

“You could, indeed, make a very close match,” Richard said. “But it would legally not be authentic. Can you think of a reason why someone might want a name of a food protected?”

When phrased like that, the answer arrived to me immediately. “Brand protection,” I said. “Because the idea of champagne is precious, if other winemakers started selling something labelled as champagne, it would lose some of its prestige. By controlling what can be called champagne, they retain control over the production and image of champagne.”

“Good for you,” Richard said, and I bit down a smile. “Authenticity holds a different value for many people and many things. All that aside… this tiramisu crepe cake remains delicious.”

“It is,” I agreed, and then began to make him tea.

The rest of the day passed by in peace. Richard read from his collection of books, blond hair glittering under the sharp sun. I busied myself by cleaning the kitchen and running out to complete a few errands. The movement was helpful; the chill of autumn had settled in, and I had made the mistake of dressing far more lightly than Richard. His choice of wear likely made it easy for him to sit still, but I thought that even if he was wearing his suit in a blizzard or a tropical summer, he would seem as even-keeled as ever. That was the beauty of jewels—they were something that was gorgeous from all angles.

Around a half hour before closing time, the intercom buzzed.

Richard set down his book, and I went to let in our surprise customer.

Accompanied by a brush of cold wind, a young man stepped into the store. He had a slim frame, but despite being dressed as lightly as I was, showed no signs of being sensitive to the cold. His hair was slightly long in the front, bangs barely cropped above his eyes, but it was trimmed evenly. He was dressed casually yet neatly in a simple powder-blue sweater, gray slacks, and loafers.

The door closed behind him, and he glanced around the room once before asking, “This is a jeweler’s store, correct?”

“You’d be right,” I said, guiding him to sit in one of the red armchairs.

His hesitant expression curved into a full-faced smile. As he sat down, the awkward lines of his body began to bleed away, and he relaxed into the chair with an air of steady self-assurance. His pose remained polite, though—he kept his hands carefully folded over his lap, and his ankles were loosely crossed.

“Would you like something to drink?” I asked. Originally, I had wanted to give him something to soothe his nerves, but it looked like that was unneeded.

“Ah… that milk tea would be nice, if you don’t mind,” the man said, gesturing to Richard’s teacup.

Richard returned from the bookshelf, taking over the process of greeting out newest, customer, and I headed back to the kitchen. Both men spoke in measured tones, so even though they spoke at a medium volume, their voices carried well enough.

“…Richard Ranasinghe de Vulpian? Is it alright to call you Richard-san, then?” He spoke the name slowly, but he pronounced Richard’s full name without fumbling.

“Just Richard is fine, too.”

“Nice to meet you too, Richard-san. I’m Hanzawa Masato. If I’m not incorrect, you sell jewelry at this place?”

“Indeed we do. Is there something in particular you’re looking for?”

I returned to see Hanzawa-san wearing a thoughtful expression on his face. His gaze flickered towards me as I reentered the room. “I was hoping to look at stud earrings… is there anything else I should specify? I would prefer if it wasn’t prohibitively expensive…”

“Are there any kinds of stones you’re interested in looking at? Or a particular occasion or style this is meant for?”

When I drew close enough, Hanzawa-san turned to face me and accepted my tea, eyes still curved in a pleasant smile. “It’s something like a birthday gift, I suppose. As for stones… I’m not too knowledgeable regarding them.” He paused to contemplate.

Choosing a gift was always a complicated thing, in my opinion. For a gift, the trouble never ended at the purchase—it was always at the gifting that the issues arose. Would they understand the gift with the same meaning that I had in mind when I picked it? I thought about my grandmother and mother choosing my name. Was I the type of person they’d had in mind? I could only hope that was the case.

“I guess… something neutral would be best? The kind of earring fit for daily work wear.”

“Are you interested in looking at birthstones?”

Hanzawa-san sipped his tea, eyes fluttering shut in thought. “Not particularly.”

I had spent enough time to catch the traces of concern on Richard’s face, but not enough time to understand his worries. “It will take some time for me to bring my selections out. Please enjoy your tea while you wait,” he said, and then he was off, a determined crease to his brows.

Though I didn’t know exactly what was troubling him, I could learn. Surely Richard wouldn’t mind if I made some small talk?

“Might you also be a university student, Hanzawa-san?”

Hanzawa-san waved dismissively. “It’s only my first year, so I think I’m younger than you. I know I’m a customer, but there’s no need to be formal. Your name is…?”

“Nakata Seigi,” I said. “I’m in my second year.”

“I was right, then,” Hanzawa said. He’d passed over both Richard and my name without comment. I’d expected him to sound as restrained as he had with Richard, but he spoke freely. “Would I be right in saying you seem more interested in jewels as compared to jewelry?” At my confusion, he gestured to my neck, ears, and hands, which were bare of any accessories. “You don’t seem to wear any, so I’d wondered…”

“I suppose it’s the jewel itself that interests me,” I admitted. “Is it the opposite thing for you?”

“Most likely,” Hanzawa said. “It’s what I have experience in, anyways.”

At my once-again befuddled expression, Hanzawa brushed back his hair, and I caught sight of six piercing holes in his left ear.

“I see…” I replied, a little stunned. Even when his hair wasn’t brushed back, it was easy to see a few of his piercing holes.

Richard had probably noticed them from the moment he’d walked in.

Now that I thought about it clearly, a birthday gift could be presented to oneself, couldn’t it? Just like Yamamoto-san trying to buy herself a garnet.

I’d seen guys in my college with piercings, but none who bought any with jewels like the ones in Richard’s store. It was a kind of flashy choice for someone who looked so mild-mannered, but so were piercings in general.

In the same way that I’d only noticed the tiramisu in that bakery after asking Richard about coffee, I realized the reason for his concern. If it was a present for himself, the uncertainty in his answers could prove troublesome.

“If I could ask…” I prompted, as Richard returned with his tamatebako.

Richard set down his tamatebako with a harder than usual thud. He still looked concerned, but there was a different note to it.

“Sure.”

“Is there a reason a guy as young as you has so many piercings?”

Richard opened up his tamatebako with a sharp click.

Hanzawa kept smiling up at me. He took a long sip of his tea, and then directed his attention towards what Richard had selected.

I leaned over to take a look. As I did, Richard shot a pointed glare towards me. What? I mouthed back, but he ignored me.

The stones Richard had picked were split between gemstones with faceted cuts and cabochons. The studs themselves were made of a simple silver backing, with the stone fitted on top in a rounded or squared shape. The exception to this was the studs fitted with lapis lazuli, which were backed with gold. While I recognized the diamond and amethyst, there were a few colored stones in faceted cuts that I wasn’t certain how to identify. But the ones that caught my attention were the larger stud earrings, which were fitted with polished stones that didn’t sparkle but had bands of red, terracotta, and peach striped across its surface. Others had the same banding pattern but in soft grays and whites.

“These are beautiful,” Hanzawa said, smile dropping into a look of deep consideration. He leaned forward to study each one. “Of course, diamonds are a classic choice,” he sighed to himself.

“The clear color of a diamond is indeed well-suited to various shades of any outfit you might choose.”

“I see,” Hanzawa mused. He gestured to the rest of the jewels. “I recognize the amethyst. And the… lapis lazuli, yes? Seeing it in person, it certainly is a vivid kind of blue,” he said. “But I’m a little unfamiliar with the rest of these gems. Would you mind explaining them?”

“Of course,” Richard said. “The green stone you see here is peridot. The yellow, orange, and brown stones you see here are citrine. Like amethyst, it is a type of quartz. This”—he pointed to a deep yellow-orange stone— “is heat-treated amethyst, which looks similar to citrine, with minor differences. The banded stones are agate. They are a mix of quartz and moganite—both have an equivalent chemical composition, but different crystal structures.”

I hadn’t heard of moganite until now—unless I was mishearing morganite, but Richard had such wonderful pronunciation I thought that was impossible. Despite all of the information, all Hanzawa did was nod in understanding.

“Peridot,” Hanzawa repeated to himself. “I don’t think I’ve seen any before.”

The stone he was looking at was a sparkling kind of lime green. “It’s like the color of spring,” I said.

Hanzawa bowed his head, suddenly bashful. “Yes. It’s… well, it’s a color I’m fond of,” he admitted.

“Would you like to see more?”

He shook his head. “…No, it’s not really… well-suited for me.” After a moment of contemplation, he pointed to the lapis lazuli. “How does this one get its gold flecks?”

“Lapis lazuli is composed of several different minerals, and a common addition happens to be pyrite, which is responsible for that gold color. As you mentioned, it is a very vivid blue, which is why, historically, it was ground to create ultramarine. Before a synthetic alternative was created, it was an extremely expensive and prized paint.”  

Hanzawa smiled down at the stones. “I’ve heard of ultramarine. Isn't it what provides the blue shades in many of Johannes Vermeer’s works?”

I made a note to ask Richard who Johannes Vermeer was later.

“That’s correct.” After a pause, Richard added, “If you are looking for something neutral, blue tends to be a color that pairs well with others.”

“Oh, that’s—I’ll keep it in mind,” Hanzawa said. Haltingly, he asked, “Is jewelry made of lapis lazuli—is it quite common?”

“Compared to the rest of these stones, it’s a bit of a more delicate material,” Richard allowed, “so it has to be carefully looked after. But historically, lapis lazuli has been used in all kinds of jewelry.”

“…Is that so.”

Silence dragged on between them. Hanzawa seemed unbothered by it, though it was hard to see much of his expression, with both his bangs and lashes obscuring his eyes.

“…This agate. I feel like I’ve seen stones with this banding before.”

“Banding is characteristic but not exclusive to agate,” Richard said. “It has been used for carvings as well as jewelry and remains popular today. Each piece of agate has differences in how exactly the banding occurs, so one could say that each piece is truly unique.”

“Unique…” A ghost of uncertainty appeared on Hanzawa’s face, but it was gone in a flash. “Does it come in any other colors?”

“Oftentimes agate will be dyed into various colors, but there are some other colors present in naturally occurring agates. Would you like to see some blue lace agate?”

“Surely that dyed agate is prettier, huh?” Hanzawa murmured, so low I barely heard him. Apropos of nothing, he then straightened up, looking flustered. “Sorry,” he said. “I think—I think I’m a little in over my head.” He drank the last of his tea in disconcerting silence.

“If you’d like to come back, we take appointments,” I said.

“…Right,” Hanzawa said, eyes still fixed on the earrings before him. He set his teacup down on the table. “What would be a good time?”

“Sunday, 4PM?” Richard suggested, and Hanzawa agreed.

With that settled, Hanzawa thanked me for the tea, bid a polite goodbye to us both, and exited the store, leaving another gust of crisp air in his wake.

As it was now closing time, I went to collect the now empty teacups, only to find Richard looking up at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked.

He sighed. “Nothing that concerns you, I suppose.”

“By the way, who’s Johannes Vermeer?” I asked.

“Have you ever seen Girl with a Pearl Earring?” Richard asked.

“He was the artist?” I confirmed, and then went to wash the teacups.

When I returned, Richard was staring at his open tamatebako.

I took a seat next to him. “Thinking about our customer?”

“…Jewels reflect the inner feelings of a person,” Richard said after a long silence. “I wonder how to convey that truth to a person like him.”

“It was strange to see someone so young here,” I agreed. “Well, Hajime-kun was much younger, but his circumstances were different.”

“You’re quite young yourself,” Richard commented dryly. “Aren’t you two the same age?”

“If we went to the same university, I’d be his senpai,” I said. “Still. It’s rare. I thought he’d be more nervous.”

“…I don’t think he wasn’t nervous,” Richard said, but when I asked him what he meant, he didn’t elaborate.

“Well,” I said, wondering how I could clear those worry lines from his face, “we’ll see him next week.”

“Maybe,” Richard said, and this, I didn’t need him to explain.

If Hanzawa Masato came in next week at the appointed time, or if he had disappeared out that door for forever, it was impossible to know.

[partially-controlled-chaos]

So I was asked by the wonderful @beardedladyqueen to do a writer ask game! Thank you so much for the ask! This was super fun and enjoyable to do! ❤️ Update: I’ve fixed the blog media sharing because I didn’t realize it was turned off.

❤️ Favorite line:

“Tavriel came upon a clearing in the dark forest. The moon shining overhead and the sound of a nearby waterfall filling the space almost entranced her. She stepped softly into the grass, feeling the first taste of dew chill her toes as she walked. Her pace had slowed as she took in the sights around her. The grass, the trees, the babbling water nearby, and finally, the heavens above.”

Okay technically it’s not one line, but it’s still my favorite. It’s a line from Chapter 1 of Simply Transactional, an Astarion x named Tav two chapter story. It’s the first story I wrote for Baldur’s Gate 3 and the first piece of fan fiction I’ve written in about a decade. This was the first little snippet I wrote and decided to go through will a full story. It’s not super powerful or impactful, but it’s special to me because it’s the single line that brought me back into writing fiction. Also about my first Tav that I’m still emotionally connected to and this poor girl just needs some fresh air and a peaceful night.

💥Change one canon event:

I really, really wish there was an interaction between Ketheric Thorm and Isobel. (to be fair I’ve never let Isobel be taken at Last Light so idk if there is an interaction or not, but either way I’ve never seen it.) Ketheric Thorm is one of my favorite villains in recent gaming history because his story is so beautifully tragic (not the mention the whole avatar of Myrkul thing makes me so happy because I love anything remotely spooky) and I would have loved to have seen something between Ketheric and Isobel. His entire reason for turning to Shar and eventually the Absolute/Myrkul/The Chosen is essentially because of her death.

And I’m aware that he knows she’s been resurrected, but he went to such great lengths to bring her back and was ultimately driven to utter despair that a confrontation or something between them would have been nice. And while I understand the reasoning of Isobel not wanting to see her father and not want to give that piece of information away to literally anyone until after his death, I just want more angst.

And just more Ketheric content in general. J.K. Simmons did such a good job with the role and I would have loved so much more content with him.

Bonus event: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, let me give Barcus Wroot a lil platonic forehead kiss and/or a hug after we kill Wulbren Bongle. He needs it.

✍️ Ideal writing setup:

Ideally I’d use a desktop on a desk with a chair. I currently use my laptop or the notes app on my phone when I’m out in the world, and they work but realistically I’d do much better if I could sit up and write. I have to work on stories after I get off work and if I get on the couch or in bed to start writing, I’ll get two sentences in and the next thing I know I’m taking a nap. And of course that just makes writing take longer because I certainly don’t want to write right after a nap.

🚀 Outline or write as you go:

So I used to do outlines way back in the day, but now I don’t. I probably should because my current writing method is a little chaotic at best. 😬 I always know what I want the story to do and where it goes before I start writing, but I don’t write it in order. I tend to write whatever is rotting my brain first, so usually I end up jumping around and doing the story in chunks. A lot of the time I’ll also write out a bunch of the dialogue and then go back in and add the details/fluff/scene setting. I will also put like general ideas in all caps so I don’t forget the order of things. (Caps so I don’t accidentally leave that in and I’ll see it.)

[prattery]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!

Thank you for the tag @queerofthedagger <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

22

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

242,705, which is absolute madness. didn't even realise i have that much to say abt merlin and arthur lol

3. What fandoms do you write for?

BBC Merlin xx

4. Top 5 fics by kudos?

stone cold: the one where merlin was turned into stone. bit heavy i have to admit, no idea what i was on when i wrote it

through storm and hellfire: the one where merlin was kidnapped to force Destiny™'s hand , things went to shit, and arthur went through a Difficult Journey of Discovery (or: the wringer) where he learnt that his dad was not, in fact, a good guy....among other things

flickering embers: the one where arthur lost merlin to the veil between the worlds only for merlin to be spat back out, lose his memory, and become a druid leader

winning the battle: the one where old religion claims everything that makes merlin merlin as a price for the immense magic he used to win arthur's battle

quiet light: the one where merlin stayed mad after agravaine convinced arthur that gaius was a traitor

my takeaway from this is that people enjoy it when i make arthur suffer

5. Do you respond to comments?

i do try but i am genuinely horrible at it. it's so so nice to receive them and i read every single one but i kind of don't know how to respond to them sometimes. one day we will get there

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i did intend for the long way round ANd a line that goes all the way to have angsty endings but oops guess my hand slipped.

the number of times i intended a fic to have an angsty ending only for me to faff with it later... unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on where you stand on this) my mind would not let me rest until I added a happier ending

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

the three trials. it ended well for everybody. and not to toot my own horn or anything but i'm quite happy with it. i think i have a tendency to rush endings generally speaking, but i quite enjoyed writing the ending to this one.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not yet and tbh i'd prefer to keep it this way thank you xx

9. Do you write smut?

i do like thinking about writing it but i just can't bring myself to actually type it out before i give myself the ick. maybe one day

10. Do you write crossovers?

no

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

i think the fact that im still in here 10 (?) years after the show ended on says something about merthur lol. once and future ship init

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

the sword and his shield. i still really like the concept i have for it and i still have the ideas for it rattling around in my head, but i just feel like it flopped. i write for myself and clear my head of plotlines and random bits of dialogue rather than external validation, but it just feels a bit like mumbling into the void

16. What are your writing strengths?

banter and describing emotions that are not my own <3

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

worldbuilding. coming up with the concept is fine, i can do that, but i find the keeping track on them challenging

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

i mean if somebody else wants to do it, go for it, fair play, but personally i will not. only because i can't be 100% sure that i wouldn't get things wrong

19. First fandom you wrote for?

fairly sure i wrote HP (drarry), just never published it. don't remember what it was about, either.

the first one i published on ao3 was marvel (stevebucky). i have not touched it since my return to fandom and tbh im not going to

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

i feel like i should say storm and hellfire because it is my child, it is the longest thing i've ever written, and i feel like it is the only thing i write that resembles an Actual Story (idk how else to put it). i surprised myself by actually finishing it. think it took about two years and i was a bit bereft after the last chapter was posted.

that being said, the fic i enjoy rereading the most (i.e. without cringing) is probably a line that goes all the way. it ticks all my own boxes and caters to all my interests lmao what can i say

not tagging anybody in particular but if you'd like to do this, feel free to say i tagged you xo

[thwip--thwip]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @yes-i-am-happyaspie !

How many works do you have on AO3?

In total, 24; 15 on my Irondad pseud, 9 on my legacy pseud.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

128, 654

What fandoms do you write for?

At present, I’m only really active in the MCU/Irondad fandom; but I’ve written in the past for Marvel, Sherlock, Deadpool, TASM, Supernatural, Glee, Doctor Who, & Psych.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Peter Parker’s Night Clinic for Kinda Crappy, Accidental Superheroes (3,149)

2. the world is not kind (2,013)

3. chosen family (1,200)

4. MTBI (977)

5. every day, every hour (turn that pain into power) (908)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! For the most part. At a certain point I fall behind in responding and always feel a little awkward responding to older comments (a pleasant shyness); but I read all of them and deeply appreciate every single one.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think my answer to that might be different than other people’s answers! I’d probably say count to ten; it’s a fill I wrote for the Whumptober 2019 prompt ‘shaky hands’, primarily from Tony’s perspective, post-Snap.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Happy in tone, or in what happened? I like to think all of my fics end on the happiest note possible; I can’t stomach bad endings. Put em through hell, but make it worth it at the end.

I’d still have to say the world is not kind. It’s the way I choose to believe Endgame ended (until I get around to writing that giant fix-it).

Do you get hate on fics?

Not that I’ve noticed. Occasionally people will get a little pointed, but I try not to take anything personally; I’m just glad they got to the end and were moved by it enough, in whatever way they were moved, to comment.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have written smut, primarily M/M, but only rarely in my published fics.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I’ve written crossovers; I’d like to write more of them eventually. The craziest one was The Adventures of Dean Winchester & Friends, for the SuperWho Big Bang 2012. It was ridiculous, self-indulgent crack. We’ve all been there.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Surprisingly yes! I was honored and pleasantly bewildered. Peter Parker’s Night Clinic for Kinda Crappy, Accidental Superheroes was translated into Suomi (Finnish).

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not had the pleasure! I’d really love to, I think that would be a unique experience and I love collaborative art.

What’s your all time favourite ship?

Oh god all time?? I presume romantic and not platonic ships, but I’ll give both. Romantic has to be Sterek, once a Teen Wolf girlie, always a Teen Wolf girlie. Platonic is Irondad, bar none.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

It’s a threeway tie between the sequel to the world is not kind, my Pepper Potts character study piece, and the Infinity War / Endgame rewrite. Of the three, that last one has the least words put to page; but never say die, I still chip away at them all.

What are your writing strengths?

I can write a good emotional through-line. I like to call it emotions porn. Description has never been my issue, and commas love me.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Writing action, or solid plot. I’m not much of a mastermind, so I have a hard time with penning longer works.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I’ve done it before when necessary; I’m forced to use Google Translate but if anyone ever wants to correct me I know it’s probably wrong! 🤣

First fandom you wrote for?

Since the site is gone from the face of the earth, I’ll tell you. Jonas Brothers RPF.

Favourite fic you’ve written?

the world is not kind would have to be my pick ❤️

Tagging: @blondsak @euphoric-melancholyy @fourdaysofrain @reachingforaspark

[cryingoverspilledmilks-blog]

Kismet

Fandom: The Glass Scientists

Current rating: T

Chapter: 1

Title: Fugue

A/N: This fic is sort of a canon-divergent, wish-fulfillment drabble piece that started as a lot of different fics i wrote that i discovered had scenes that would fit better together as a single fic, and so i took snippets from those and stuck them together and whittled the whole mess down into something more manageable. Lots of late night editing sessions for something I'm doing for free, but I was motivated to finish this by someone being so very enthusiastic in the tags on the WIP excerpts I posted, which was honestly such a delight to wake up to. Thank you so much btw @greedycanine I really appreciate that boost and I hope I meet your expectations in the full chapters :)

The comic has updated several times since I began writing this, and I did add some non-canon elements (for instance, that Lanyon Knows, which is a common enough trope in this fandom and one that I enjoy immensely.)

The flaws in this one might not be as glaring as my over-anxious mind anticipates, but if you notice them, I probably have too. It is likely best read as a self-contained hypothetical with hints of canon plot woven in. It's a bit messy, but I think it may be enjoyable nonetheless.

Here is the first part of this great beast. It consists mostly of a conversation, beginning with some emblematic Jekyll and Hyde mirror-bickering. I thought it would be interesting to explore one of those moments where Hyde has something insightful to say, even if it's something of a means to an end for him.

The font changes are something of a fanfic guilty pleasure for me, but they're also a tool I love to use to show who's speaking and how, without necessarily using a dialogue tag every other line, especially when we have two characters who have the ability to communicate both in ways only they can hear and in ways others can.

Hope all of that works for y'all. Happy reading :)

Chapter 1: Fugue

“Are you ready to let me back out yet? Believe it or not, hanging over your shoulder all day does get old.”

"Not now."

“Why not?”

"I don’t want you getting involved in this. We've just made it through into the thickest of this whole ordeal. There’s still too much at stake."

“Ugh. That’s how you see every situation you can’t directly micromanage. It’s like the whole of your world is always resting oh-so-precariously on the head of a pin, ready to be upset by the slightest deviation from your expectations. Lighten up just this once, won't you?"

Henry sighed heavily at that and slid his finished page to the far side of the desk, thinking better of his initial impulse to reply. Pulling a fresh sheet of paper into view and dipping his pen into the inkwell again, he continued to write, attempting to ignore the familiar but currently disembodied speaker.

“Don’t act like you can’t hear me all of a sudden," the voice grumbled impatiently.  "You know, I’ve noticed something lately, Henry. You always insist on framing our situation as though you’re the most responsible party between the two of us, but you never seem to have any really substantial backup plans on hand, in case those delicate matters you like fussing over so much go awry. You never give yourself a real margin of error, despite the fact you're always angsting over what could go wrong.”

Ink pooled slightly on the page under Henry’s pen as he paused, scoffing at the insinuation that he’d been anything but diligent. “And you do?” he prodded back sarcastically, speaking aloud this time, his voice firm but quiet. He was rather aware of precisely how audible he was behind his office door. It was more risky to communicate this way, but he seemed to have an easier time filtering himself when he wasn’t trying to speak internally, and that was important when he was dealing with his incorporeal counterpart.

The lengthy mirror standing off to one side drew his eye when he heard the reply.

“Oh, I always figure something out, one way or another. Surely you know that better than anyone.” 

Henry rolled his eyes at the hazy silhouette that suddenly could be glimpsed in the mirror’s reflection of the opposite wall. “Abandoning every situation that doesn’t go your way and playing hopscotch all over the city’s rooftops is not a backup plan,” he muttered bitterly, composing the end of a follow-up letter for a prospective sponsor before setting the page aside to let the ink dry.

“It can be, if you’re clever enough," the shadow replied. "Also, you're one to talk about giving up easy. Just a few weeks ago I watched you nearly forfeit your whole operation just because Lanyon told you he didn't think things looked sound after you passed out mid-speech. Face it, you’re all or nothing when it comes to solving problems. What is that about?”

Another exasperated sigh as Henry spared another glance at the shadow in the mirror. "Can we not do this right now? You only ask these questions because you already know what gets under my skin. You don't really care about the answers, do you?"

When the shadow spoke next, it was with a mockery of a hurt tone, the dark shape leaning back slightly. A silhouetted hand rested against an approximation of the chest, in a gesture best described as theatrically wounded.

"Why, you insult me, dear doctor. I'm only curious, for both of our sakes, being as close as we are," came the snidely-sweet reply.

Henry narrowed his eyes. “Do you honestly expect I could believe you truly care about what happens to me? After all you've put me through? You take such joy in my misfortune. Really, you can drop the saccharine nonsense, Hyde."

Letting the name slip from his mouth was a mistake, but wouldn’t be costly this time since they were alone- and he only uttered it the one time, Henry reasoned quickly. It was mostly to try to quell the dread in his stomach at the prospect of someone in the hall happening by as he said it out loud, in an otherwise perceptibly empty room.

Hyde vanished from the glass, only to reappear, more thoroughly illuminated, in the empty air near the desk, looking slightly more like a person than an apparition now, as well as irritated.

“I’m trying to tell you that you might actually benefit from trying things my way. Be a little more spontaneous. Roll over the bumps in the road, instead of just counting on things going the right way the first time, every time. It was funny to watch you flounder at first, I must admit, but honestly it's just getting old. I wonder what would happen if you switched things up and proved me right," he paused briefly, noting Henry's contemplative expression.

"And another thing!" Hyde exclaimed, pointing at the ceiling for emphasis. "You told me you'd let me out after the exhibition, then not at all, and now here you are again running yourself uselessly into the ground. The bourgeois types you find yourself groveling to yet again are notoriously hard to satisfy. Why should you have to rush if they already know what you and the others are capable of?"

Stretching a little as Hyde went on, Henry stopped a moment and glanced out the window with a pensive look in his eye.

“That's one of the few times you’ve been right about something, amongst all those snide remarks.”

“Hey!” Hyde sounded affronted at first, then did an almost comical double-take. "Wait, you agree with me?"

“I can certainly see what you mean, even if I can't abide by that advice in the same way you might,” Henry began. “We need everyone's projects to come together smoothly if we're to maintain what good standing we've managed to acquire with our sponsors. They have high hopes and even higher expectations after the splash everyone made at the exhibition. We would need to plan for every eventuality within reach of what we set out to do, but… I do miss things while trying to account for the unexpected, don’t I? Always, something unforeseen gets in my way.” Henry turned in his seat and reached into the cabinet above, pulling out a leather-bound notebook tucked behind a row of vials. Flipping to the first clean page, he dipped his pen into the inkwell once more. "Somehow the fact you managed to worm your way back to the front of our mind to pester me once again is not one such surprise.."

Hyde furrowed his brow in displeasure, rolling his eyes at Henry's little jab. “Of course it isn't. Did you really think I could be held down so easily? You made it harder for me to take over the body on my own, but I'm still here." he paused for a moment. "How long is this going to take?" 

“Not quite as long as you seem to be concerned about. I just have to jot down some…alternatives so I remember them while the subject is fresh,” Henry spoke mildly, but his expression was disgruntled and contemplative.

Hyde rolled his eyes, and did not look at Henry's page, whose looping, slanted script looked far too dull for him to devote attention to at this hour, restless and bitter as he was.

Henry went on, "I'm still upset about that stunt you pulled on the stage, but I'm certain you figured that out already. It was cruel even by your usual standards."

“Cruelty is the very thing I'm made for, but now that you mention it, I actually did you a favor by dragging you down into the dark and the quiet," Hyde spat."You're just addicted to working until you pass out. It's a real fuckin' problem."

As he grew more impatient, the East-London drawl that Hyde had picked up since his creation was seeping further into his inflections. Beneath that, there was a slight but distinct lilt which gestured toward shared memories of Glasgow, making an uncommon cocktail of tones that were unmistakably signature to him. Like so many things about Hyde, Henry noticed, it produced a quality both familiar and foreign. It was, fittingly enough, a faintly haunting thing to witness, a reminder of just how right Hyde always was about the extent of their connection.

Henry squinted his eyes shut as if to abandon that train of thought, trying to remain bearably numb to the reality of being forever stuck arguing with a living distillate of the most confusing parts of himself. “If I'm doomed to be addicted to anything at all, as you say I am, I'd much rather it be something useful,” Henry replied coldly after a moment, the page under his pen nearly full.

Hyde paused, nose wrinkled in defensive chagrin. "I don't concern myself with counting the ways I can be used by others. At least my addictions don't rely on people telling me what to do," he muttered. "Are you done yet?"

Henry shook his head in stiff silence, much to Hyde’s dismay. He gave a frustrated groan. “You can pick this up tomorrow! It’s getting close to evening by now, and you always take so much longer with these things than you say you will."

Once the page was dry and flipped over, there was no reply but the continued, now noticeably forceful scratching of Henry’s pen. His brow was creased with irritation, a deepening frown on his face. 

Hyde growled in frustration. “Jekyll!”

Henry grit his teeth, snapping a look over at Hyde that was a mixture of anger and anxiety. "Must you be so childish?! Don't think I don't know what you're doing by now, I am not as much of a fool as you seem to think. Why should I go out of my way to let you out again, when you have proven time and time again that you don't know how to keep your excursions from ruining everything I strive for?"

He could not stop the impatient edge from entering his voice, as much as he'd wanted to avoid raising it tonight. As he spoke, Hyde's features twisted into a mask of indignation and rage.

"You don't know the first thing about ruin! Try being in my position for a change- less than nothing, a ghost of a ghost! And for what? You have no idea how lucky you really are. My entire existence is eaten up by watching another man live a life I could do so much more with if I was given the chance!"

Jekyll shut the notebook with a forceful swipe of his hand down against the desk, eyes downcast. "I would love to see you try living my life for once," he replied flatly, "If perhaps you weren't so preoccupied with immediate gratification, maybe I'd even trust you with making an attempt."

"Perhaps if we had any more of that potion of ours made, I would be able to seriously debate if I wanted to take you up on that. But I am mostly stranded now, and it isn't my fault I wound up that way. You're the one who made that call." Hyde shot back, moving phantom-like toward the doorway that led to the other portion of the office, where many of their experiments had taken place. 

Jekyll tucked the notebook into a drawer under his desk, slamming it closed in irritation. "Not your fault? I had to destroy it. You would have found some way to get your hands on it when I was needed most, because that is what you always do! You didn't give me another choice!"

Hyde's image distorted slightly for a moment, like smeared paint on canvas, before resolving itself, as if reacting physically to emotion. "There is always another choice! This is what I'm talking about. All or nothing. We are two parts of a whole, you know that. Or, at least you ought to by now."

His voice, as well, seemed faintly doubled, the translation of a will to be heard. "You need me around, you know you do, even if you can't admit it. How many times have you watched me indulge in what you couldn't? How many times have you deliberately sent me into the world to voice the thoughts you must otherwise claim to revile? How much benefit have you reaped from our cooperation? You can't keep me locked away forever. You will always need the outlet I provide."

Jekyll's head began to ache a bit the longer he considered Hyde's point. It was true, he knew, that he found a secret kind of fulfillment in watching things he could never partake in play out vicariously from behind Hyde's eyes. This was a fault, really, or at least he thought so. However, a fault that he had not managed to shake off, for the better part of fifteen years. It would take a lot of willpower to break a habit like that after so long. That was partly why he had destroyed the potion to begin with. He knew Hyde was probably right, that he was not really strong enough to resist the temptation of such freedom.

Technically, the potion could be recreated if it was necessary, though it was always an arduous process. They had needed to do that many times over a decade and a half. But Jekyll had cut himself off from that last ready-made batch as a last desperate bid for control, and had thought never to make it again.

Thinking about how much work still needed to be done before the lodgers' new project deadlines was a miserable uphill battle. Even now, deep down, he wanted to be somewhere else tonight, doing anything besides wearing himself out, cooped up in the office for the umpteenth time. Acknowledging that, even privately, felt like a betrayal of a higher caliber than even Hyde's, but the thought persisted even still.

He sighed. "Well...be that as it may, you are still an enormous liability. And, besides which- what do you even want me to do? What remained of that batch of the potion is gone now."

Hyde paused, and his expression shifted, from anger to mild disbelief, and finally into a smug, cheshire smile. "Well, I have been thinking about that, and I realized- it's not all gone," he moved toward the tall, solid wooden cabinet against the far wall of the office. It was the one Jekyll kept things that were risky to have visible behind glass (copies of the will written in his name, for instance.) It was also, Jekyll realized with dawning horror, where Hyde kept his physical set of clothing tucked away when Jekyll was in control. 

Among them was a tattered overcoat, with two stolen vials of HJ-7 tucked into the inside pocket.

Enough for exactly one last night on the town before the potion would have to be remade entirely. A final obstacle in the way of true control. A pacifying bargaining chip to buy himself more time before the pair of them would argue like this again.

Hyde seemed to recognize the way Jekyll's eyes shifted in thinly-concealed conflict, bordering on panic, and if it was possible, his grin widened.

"You remember the night I went to Blackfog, don't you, Jekyll?"

[tasteleeknow]

hey i really love your writing! do you have any tips for people that are just starting out? <3

thank you so much! well, to be honest i'm just starting out myself. i started in september so i'm learning a lot all the time but i'll give it a go!

1. do a rough draft/outline first

it's good to just get your thoughts out on the page in any form you find easiest. just type out your thoughts, don't worry about making it actually readable by anyone else. for me this usually means writing dot points outlining what i want to happen and then maybe rough sentences that do very little description but kind of outline the story. i also tend to just write dialogue without any dialogue tags or description or anything literally just the words (i personally find dialogue the easiest part, so this might be different for you). everyone does this first messy outline/draft differently but once you've done that you can go back and actually turn it into something readable. it's much less overwhelming than sitting there and trying to make well written sentences from an empty document.

2. understand your characters and their motivations

if i'm writing something longer and more complex i'll have a table that outlines the characters traits, their backgrounds, their motivations, plot points that represent major character development for them. i'm very much focused on character driven stories rather than plot so i create plot lines that are moving the characters according to their development and motivations. i only do this for complex stories (like hello stranger) not like my 5k words one shots. for my shorter writing i'll include in my dot points (that i'll delete later) a much more condensed, simplified version of the table.

3. dialogue is important

from what people have told me dialogue seems to be my strong suit so i guess if i was to give advice for that... it would be to really think about how people communicate in real life. people stumble over their words, they stutter a lot (even if they don't actually have a stutter), they backtrack, they struggle to get their meaning across. human speech is very rarely perfect and often writing dialogue that way makes it seem unnatural. the imperfections in their speech also depends on what they are feeling at the time. if they are anxious they'll make more mistakes, if they are frustrated it's more likely to just be a long stream of consciousness etc. (oh also side note but adding little descriptions like 'her leg bounces as she scans the pages, pen tapping against the clipboard' or whatever is a lot better at getting emotions across than just saying 'she was nervous') also dialogue is where you can really add character and emotion! the words they use (and even how often they speak at all) does a lot to convey to readers the type of person your character is so it is worth thinking properly about it.

anyway like i said i'm new to this as well but i think there's really no wrong way to do it. you aren't going to love what you produce straight away but you have to try and practice to get better at anything. i truly believe anyone can write something others will love to read so if it's something you wanna do, go for it!

oh also onelook thesaurus is a resource i have open in a tab every single time i write. lifesaver.

one more thing! if you find a writer you really enjoy, take some time to think about what it is you like about them. you don’t have to copy their writing style but studying what you enjoy about their work can help you improve on your own! i do this a lot!

[jacquelinemerritt]

Diamond is Unbreakable: Episode 2 Review

Originally posted April 16th, 2016

Clever animation, fast edits, and emotional poignancy.

The drama present in the second episode of Diamond is Unbreakable is impeccable. It’s an episode that effectively ties the battle between the protagonist and antagonist to the characters involved, and it is perfectly paced, constantly using quick shots and bursts of animation to display its action clearly and effectively. Not a single cut lasts longer than it needs to, and every line of dialogue and action is also motivated by the ways in which these characters have already been established while simultaneously adding new depth to them.

The perfect example of this comes with the death of Ryohei, Josuke’s grandfather. We admittedly don’t have much reason to be invested in Ryohei’s death yet, but the desperation with which Josuke attempts to revive his grandfather gives us the emotional tie we need, and it reveals to us the same kindness and compassion that Tomoko told us about in the last episode.1

Jotaro’s speech adds to this as well, explaining the kindness of Josuke in the face of brutality, as well as bringing up the idea of the Joestar family curse here and the danger resting upon Stand users, a theme of this series that means that Josuke, simply by virtue of being part of this story, is probably going to experience even more pain and suffering.

Angelo himself is fascinating as well, mostly thanks to the phenomenal voicework of Kenji Hamada, who imbues the sociopathic criminal with an instability rivalling that of Mark Hamill’s interpretation of The Joker. This is a character who, after accidentally stepping in dogshit, turns on the owner and forces his Stand through his mouth and out his ears using the blood that spurted in his mouth from the head of the severed dog he just bit off.

That action, more than Jotaro’s monologue, establishes Angelo as the worst and most dangerous criminal part of society, blending in with humanity but turning violent at the slightest offense, and so it’s incredibly fitting that when Angelo is on the ground, begging for Josuke to pass the judgement along to society, he is turned into a landmark monument in Morioh for tourists to look upon. The villain here is made a public spectacle, and Josuke leaves it to society to judge him with all his grotesque nature revealed.

Rating: 5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

1It is obviously more effective this time around, by virtue of showing rather than telling.

Josuke punches through the chest of his second innocent person this week. It’s pretty crazy, and I love how much Araki abuses “healing powers” to put as much body horror on display as he can. (Though to be fair, David Productions is more indulgent here than he ever was).

Now that we’re on the second episode, I have a bit of a confession to make: I can’t stand “monster-of-the-week” formulas. It takes a lot of work for a series to get me invested enough in its characters that I can care about their struggle against a new, generally meaningless antagonist, and there are very few series out there that pass that muster at all. (Other exceptions: Doctor Who, Fringe, Young Justice, and Supernatural (when it’s at its best)).

Here’s another confession: I adore Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, but I also don’t care that much for Stardust Crusaders, because of the first half’s intense reliance on Stand-of-the-week without ever bothering to give stakes or investment into each new enemy. There were exceptions of course; Enya, Hol Horse, and Empress come to mind, and this problem is nonexistent once they arrive in Egypt, but for the most part, each new antagonist served as nothing more than an obstacle in their path that they had to overcome in order to pursue the goals they actually cared about, which makes for boring, unnecessary conflict. (There’s still a decent “camp” value to a lot of the fights, and they’re beautifully animated and acted, which is why I was able to keep watching, despite not really caring about anything going on).

“I never thought a Stand that uses water could be so terrifying.” But you fought Enya, Jotaro. And her stand was fog! Fog! Good grief.

I wonder whether it would’ve been worth it to take a few moments to clarify that what happens to a Stand happens to the user as well, since this is a new series and all.

SAVAGE GARDEN FUCK YES!!! *ahem*

Whenever I’m late with a review I always feel the need to apologize, but I don’t know why, because you all are super patient and never give me any grief about being late with any of my reviews, which is honestly pretty great.

[sleepysuiteheart]

Writer Q&A Tag Game

Omg this blog is new, so thank you v much for tagging me moonlitinks I really do appreciate it ^-^

1) What motivates you to write?

Wanting to give others a way to escape reality for a little while and get absorbed into a place that they would rather be. Idk, I had a turbulent childhood but being able to vanish into a book gave me such an immense amount of comfort, and being able to see/experience things through the author’s voice was so inspiring. I just want to be able to do that <3

2) A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I write both poems and short stories, but I’m more comfy with sharing one of my poems:

“I learned recently that not everyone deserves the love you give.

That no matter how much you shower someone with your warmth, they can choose to remain cold.

Or no matter how hard you try to be seen, they will close their eyes. 

And how much you beg to be heard, they will not listen.

Love cannot heal those who won’t let it in.”

3) Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

Oh this is so tough. I have an elderly grandfather OC that is half-blind but sassy as all hell and I adore him to pieces :D

4) What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

Daydreaming about my ideas, choosing names, and editing my first drafts. I love being able to start seeing my work come together and getting to pick all the little details is like piping the icing on top of a cake for me <3

5) What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Dialogue! I lean a lot on dialogue to help establish things and give the reader a better picture of the relationships between characters and the world around them. 

6) What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

How helpful everyone is! And the honesty. I’ve taken classes, watched many videos, and listened to many older established writers talk about how rewarding writing is but not so much about the loneliness and negative effects writing can have on you. It’s lovely to be able to see and discuss both sides throughout a whole community. Makes it much less lonely(:

7) A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

Omg yes, like moonlitinks said, Scrivener is a miracle app for me since I bounce between different forms of writing. Music helps me, and beautiful scenery. It inspires me. I love being able to write outside and listen to instrumental music while I do so.

8) A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

I love all the little details I add about the weather. Weather in my stories is extremely important to me, so I’ll always add little details throughout my writing about how the weather is and how it’s making my characters feel.

9) What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Omg, moonlitinks gave such wonderful & thoughtful advice, I can’t offer anything nearly as good T.T 

I guess if I really had to say anything, I would say be patient with yourself. I don’t believe there’s a ‘one way’ is best for writing, and every single writer has their own system for their creativity. Our experiences and lives all vary drastically, so it’s reasonable that the way everyone expresses themselves is unique as well.

So when you’re stuck, or feel like your writing is different and it’s starting to get to you, just breathe and don’t panic. That can be a beautiful thing! Writing takes time and however you go about the process of creating your story, as long as it works that’s all that matters.

I keep seeing writers discussing word count per day, which can be incredibly stressful to think about. Especially if your life is a little chaotic. But Neil Gaiman tweeted once that he wrote Coraline with 50 words a day. One of the most iconic writers of this time !! Dude gave no shits about a high word count and ended up creating a masterpiece. 

Patience & kindness towards yourself. You’re your biggest supporter and believer, always <3

Sorry, this was v long, but since I'm still so new I'm going to leave this here and if anyone, (literally anyone at all) wants to do this, just tag me, please! Would love to read more of these :D

[thegeminisage]

one of many reasons castiel spent the first year of knowing dean trying not to strangle him: dean's weird little winchester-only dialect

i’m fucking obsessed with this right now, so buckle in for a meta. a cool fun (horrible) thing about dean's dialogue is that a good 90% of what comes out of his mouth is:

a pop culture reference ("you're just gonna take some divine bong hit, and shazam, you're roma downey?")

references to real life phenomenon ("i don't wanna wake up missing a kidney in a bathtub full of ice" "try new mexico, i hear he’s on a tortilla")

these also often take the form of nicknames, and dean has a tendency to give people nicknames in general or call them something besides their given name, whether it’s affectionate or rude ("easy there, van damme" "so i’m girl interrupted" furthermore castiel = cas, ezekiel = zeke, etc, see also frequent use of "chucklehead" "asshat" and on the nicer/endearments end "buddy" "pal" "sunshine" etc)

an idiom ("a snowball's chance" "if it smells like a duck...")

slang ("drinking the koolaid" "jonesing for some hooch" not to mention the literal endless amount of words dean uses to refer to killing - gank, waste, juice, ice, etc)

a metaphor ("power up your batteries" "fly me back to my page on the calendar")

a euphemism ("cloud seeding" "i'd have given you an hour alone with her first")

sarcasm (his habit of replying "peachy" or "super" when asked how he is)

wordplay (see: the entire "vampirate" and "werepire" debacles)

completely nonsensical (guessing what happened to a magical artifact: "it was dug up by tomb raiders? it was seized by the king of the dead by warlords?")

said at lightning speed - if you pay attention, dean actually talks a LOT, usually a mile a minute (this makes me feel a way when you recall him being nonverbal for a year at age 4 but that’s another post)

slang IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE (casual usage of “guano,” etc)

a lie, a deflection, a joke, etc

or worse, something dean’s NOT saying, deliberately, because he’s one of the most repressed people on earth

the end result of all this being:

dean winchester is utterly infuckingcomprehensible. 

think about this. there's an ENTIRE SECTION on EVERY SINGLE EPISODE PAGE of the spn wiki devoted to JUST explaining dean's pop culture references, because the average viewer won't have seen everything he's talking about either. they have a whole page for this called “hunter’s lingo,” but honestly, it’s not all hunters, just sam and dean’s fucking batshit communication style. even i don't understand dean half the time. SAM gets it, sam speaks it back to dean a lot in the early seasons, but that's because sam and dean are 1. practically two halves of the same person 2. FREAKS. every time we get an episode that involves outsider POV is devoted to them going "what the fuck is WRONG with them?"

enter castiel. technically speaking, the show implies that angels are omnilingual. castiel should understand every language known to man, but knowing the meaning of words doesn't help him understand the following:

pop culture references

references to real life phenomenon

nicknames

idioms

slang

metaphors

euphemisms

sarcasm

wordplay

you get the idea.

listen to me. look me in the eyes. castiel cannot understand a single fucking word that comes out of dean's mouth. my guy laid a hand on dean winchester in hell and immediately fell in love with him and has no fucking idea what he's talking about ever. because not only is dean winchester's way of speaking CLINICALLY insane, and sometimes incomprehensible even to other human beings who are not sam, castiel is an angel, and someone prone to taking things even more literally than other angels do

go back and watch and watch seasons 4-5 especially. the reason cas does so much squinting and head tilting is because every time dean opens his mouth castiel has to open up his mental "dean winchester dictionary" and translate entire paragraphs on the fly, because again, dean never shuts up!

what makes this extra hilarious to me is this gem:

this line is from 5.13. at this point cas has known dean for AN ENTIRE YEAR AND A HALF. what you see here is my guy SNAPPING. cas made an EFFORT in this scene. he asked who glenn close was. he's telling dean that he can't understand him. he is doing his level best to have a normal conversation with this guy he has a crush on and for the life of him he cannot do it (equal but opposite energy to cas blowing up the gas station and motel room in 4.01, tbh)

yes, cas can understand dean's tone. he can use context clues, and he usually gets the general idea. and when cas DOES understand dean's jokes, he laughs at them. the first time we ever see him smile is during their 4.07 heart-to-heart when dean says "it was a witch, not the tet offensive." since cas has knowledge of human history, he knows what the tet offensive is; he got the joke, and he laughed.

but as far as actual dialogue goes, he consistently struggles to keep up. even after metatron gives castiel the pop culture knowledge in season 9, cas struggles to put it to put it to proper use (dean: "you wanna just walk right into the death star?" cas: "what does a fictional battle station have to do with this?"). whenever he asks dean to clarify it's always when he’s most annoyed, like most of the time he knows it would be futile but he's too annoyed to care. (dean: "i don't know who's on first, what's on second!" cas: "what IS second???") i’m pretty sure he spends seasons 4-6 wanting to shake dean by the shoulders and ask him why he is LIKE THIS. 

it takes cas - who, again, is omnilingual - YEARS to begin to acclimate to dean’s speech and start speaking that language back to him. it's season 8 before we start really hearing him use slang, season 9 before he begins to understand wordplay, season 10 before he starts using pop culture references (to other angels, who immediately fail to understand him, which disappoints him immensely), and season 11 before he really gets into metaphors. i don't remember what season he started using "yeah" instead of "yes" but i do know it took a really damn long time. 

and honestly, i don't think cas truly got the hang of it until at least season 11-12. that's something like 7 or 8 YEARS. it’s more than half the time they’ve known each other at the point of the series finale. 

so what's true romance, fellas? it's falling completely and totally in love with the most inexplicable person you will ever meet in your whole 4.5 billion year life, even though you have yet to understand a single thing he's ever said to you. thank you for coming to my ted talk

[spn masterpost]