#they always hit so so hard so far every httyd book I have finished has made me cry w the epilogue

[nerdsandbabyteeth]

There is nothing that can make me cry quite like an epilogue by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third

[owlswing]

Fanfic Writers 20 Questions!

Tagged by @belleyells! Thank you! I know I’ve been dropping off the face of the earth lately... ^.^’

1) How many works do you have on AO3? Uhh... 7 works!

2) What’s your total AO3 word count? Oh, gosh. Math, why!?... Okay, I think it’s ~534,610

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? I am not listing every single series I have in RoW, but I’ll list my favorites and ones I’ve written fic for individually: Httyd, RotG, Tangled, Brave, Trollhunters, Voltron, and I also used to have some fics for a couple anime and for the Legend of Zelda, but they have been lost to the void.

4) What are your top five fics by kudos? Well, I only have 7 on Ao3 X’D, let’s see...

Rise of Wizardry

War of Destiny

Tangled in Witchcraft & Sea of Treasures are tied!

Lights in Darkness

Dragons in Shadows

Now I feel bad for School of Bravery! That one was really fun to write. But I’m also proud of all of them, so <3

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to. I’ve been less vocal on both FF and Ao3 because I’m busy and stressed a lot of the time, but I used to answer every single comment. Don’t know if I’ll ever go back to that, but I am trying to be more attentive and if someone poses a legit question that I can answer without spoilers than I try to always reply :)

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? ...Umm, out of what I have on Ao3? Probably Dragons in Shadows. Problem is I only have RoW up on Ao3, and as of right now I don’t think that’s going to change. Fandoms/antis and whatnot are scaring me away from posting writing tbh... I’ve got enough stress in my life y’all.

7) Do you write crossovers? As of right now? Exclusively *fingerguns* ;)

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic? I... Yeah, I think I’ve had some hate here and there, but it was all super minor stuff. Like trolls saying “this sucks” and nothing else. I once had someone get angry that I wasn’t writing the story the way they wanted it, but that’s about it.

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I’ve never tried... I don’t think I’m going to... But maybe one day?...

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen? I don’t think so? I have the one series in a very small fandom, I think it’d be pretty hard to miss. But if anyone ever happens to notice, hit me up please!

11) Have you ever had a fic translated? I have not. No one has ever approached me, but if someone asked I would say yes, so long as they gave credit :)

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, I have not. I think it’d be a fun experience tho!

13) What’s your all-time favourite ship? Ahh... Okay, mm, I don’t think I have one? I only have a couple ships that I’m really into and I don’t talk about them with people because they’re normally rare-pairs or disliked... Anyways, within the context of my writing, I’ll say Jim Lake/Emma Frost. Those two make me happy and they’re pretty cute together.

14) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? At the rate I’m going? RoW as a series. I’m DYING. Writers block, stress, moving. It’s awful, but I’m trying really hard guys, don’t give up on me! I’ve got nearly three chapters stock piled! I promise Imma start posting again soon!

15) What are your writing strengths? I’ve been told I’m very good at writing descriptions and fight scenes.

16) What are your writing weaknesses? Everything.

Okay, fine. Hmm, I guess there are times when I really struggle with dialogue. Making it sound natural and in character... and Show Don’t Tell is a rule that I am breaking constantly. I overwrite so much.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in another language? I always get uncomfortable trying to write in a foreign language because I feel bad about butchering it. I would love to be able to write in other languages, but it’s impossible to know if it’s right/good: does it sound natural? is this something people say? Is google translate correct because I went back and forth a couple times and got something completely different???

Long story short, if I have someone who is well-versed in the language to help me out, I will gladly put it in my story, but I, personally, have the language ability of a parrot: Cheap imitation. I barely know what sounds human in English.

18) What was the first fandom you ever wrote for? Honestly? Pretty sure it was Digimon way back in the day...

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Dudes, this question is so hard because all of the RoW is a set. One without the other just isn’t right, so it’s really hard to pick a favorite. I’m really proud of all of them and I’ve been working on them for so long I can see how I’ve grown and I’m just... Even the first few books I can still look back on them without cringing because I honestly feel I did well with them (even if there are some things I would change now that I’m older and more experienced). This series is just close to my heart and I love them all. I suppose... School of Bravery was the most fun. Lots of joking around and fun plots points to play with. Dragons In Shadows was definitely the most dramatic and FEELING one, and I thrived with that. I think out of all of them War of Destiny is the biggest, most ambitious one out of all of them and it’s the conclusion so there’s a lot on it but I feel like I can handle it because of how far I’ve come in my writing. I don’t know guys. This whole series is just really close to my heart and each book, for me, represents a step in my growth as a writer...

That got real sentimental real quick... ANYWAYS!

20) Who do you tag?

I don’t have anyone in mind, but if you see this and wanna do it, please do! This was really fun and a good time of reflection during a pretty crazy time, so I’m really glad I got to do this :)

[pixiedustanddragons-blog]

Genre Conventions

We near the end of this blog’s journey, the final task is to simply find out what exactly what makes a movie fit into its genre. Rather helpful for my two movies, as Peter Pan (2003) is Fantasy/Romance and HTTYD is Fantasy/Drama. Very mere differences, let’s focus on the similarities.

Common techniques used in the Fantasy genre.

Dragons

Unicorns

Witches and Wizards

Tiny little men obsessed with rings

Coming in at #8 on the ‘Top 10 Movie Genres’, Fantasy is a widely popular form of fiction. It’s considerably the best genre to use for those who have wild imaginations and want to express that in the most vividly dramatic way possible. However unless you’re really into the whole stereotypical Fantasy with Princess’ having to be saved by dashingly handsome Princes’, the entire genre can become a bit of a bore. Practically all of Disney’s movies follow along the cliche Fantasy / Fairytale layout, and that can get a bit overdone.

So it’s no surprise that occasionally different genres get combined. Both films I’ve studied do this;

Peter Pan (2003) = Fantasy / Romance

HTTYD = Fantasy / Drama

Basically a really popular genre mixed with a not so popular one. It works, obviously by the popularity of both films.

Below will be segments used in Fantasy films in order to provide the full magical effect.

And they lived happily ever after...

There’s nothing that bugs me more than a really pointless ending to a movie, you can tell that in little children’s shows, whatever problem arises in the movie will be easily resolved and the guy will always get the girl. However this is a repeating convention to perhaps provide people with a hope that things will always get better in the end. Bit of a false lesson there, but it keeps people happy. It most definitely happens in HTTYD, but Peter Pan? Wendy definitely gets her Happy Ever After, Peter feels some defeat in which he couldn’t get his beloved to stay with him in Neverland; but considering Wendy is the actual protagonist, this convention has applied.

Make Believe Setting

The definition of fantasy is literally “the faculty or activity of imagining impossible or improbable things.” So ideally with this, an unrealistic world would be present also. Because sadly Dragons do not exist and thank god little pixie boys don’t come and kidnap our children with no hope of them returning. Like damn why didn’t their parents just contact the police and say “hey my kids have been whisked away” instead of just waiting by the window for them to come back. 

Ahem, but yes usually they all take part in an imaginary world i.e Wonderland, Neverland, Berk, Far Far Away. Typically they also have elements involving magic, supernatural, mythical creatures and legends and the extraordinarily bizarre creations. Such as in Narnia, walking into a closet far enough will whisk the person away into a magical land full of talking animals and evil witches.

Castles / Kingdoms are often seen in this genre’s settings. Where there are higher-ups and working class level people. But it’s so overly exaggerated that it only merely follows along some non-fictional world history.

Character Types

Our protagonist is usually a guy who needs to embark on a type of quest where the outcome is where they have to go up against some villain in order to get the (Princess) to love him. And yes not all fantasy movies use this, but seriously, look at any classical Disney movie. 

Experimenting with characters is easily acceptable in the Fantasy movie world, just give it a random name and boom; it exists in your world. Hobbits, Centaurs, Elves, Fairies, Warlocks, Goblins, whatever you call Smeagol.

Shrek however, is quite clever with character types. Because the Princess (Fiona) wants to be part of a fairytale and wishes for a Prince to come and save her, however not for the whole ‘love’ reason. A kiss from someone who she believes she’s in love with, will break some nasty spell. Yet said Prince is a big ol’ Ogre who is only embarking on that adventure in order to get a bunch of fairytale creatures out of his home. Fiona turns out to be a not-so-helpless Ogre herself; and it’s actually hard to note who the main hero is, they’re all heroes in retrospect. Even Donkey.

Maybe Shrek is actually the Princess in need of rescuing. 

Mise-en-Scene

Well there’s a fancy French word, and hey, it’s also a Narrative Feature! Hitting two birds with one stone. mise-en-scene is just the arrangement of props, scenery etc used on the set of perhaps a theatrical performance or a movie. 

Weapons in this case tend be those of the magical agenda. A Witch may have a wand, a Wizard will have a staff, Hiccup will have Toothless and Peter has a sword. Generally it depends on the setting of the film that decides which weapons will be used. Vikings, typically, were set in the middle ages and used medieval weapons; Peter Pan’s enemy is a pirate, they use pirate’y weapons. Props follow along the exact same idea. With spell books, crystal balls, ‘The Dragon Book’ in HTTYD and Pixie Dust in Peter Pan.

To sum it up, magic and things you wouldn’t usually see in a realistic world, will most likely be in any Fantasy land.

Good vs Evil

Several techniques are used in order to portray the contrast between the good and evil characters. Physical and out-of-film (i.e the mise-en-scene) features can account for some this difference.

To give each film a more friendly approach, the colour / lighting in films tend to be quite saturated and lively. It’s a good technique to use when showing the contrast between good and evil. Evil characters usually have minimal lighting and scenes will have dulled out colours; it also gives the viewers of the film a bit of a head start into who the ‘bad guy’ is, before the Hero perhaps finds out for him/herself. Perhaps this is why the genre isn’t as popular as say the Mystery one, as it seems to ruin the whole surprise of who the antagonist is. The use of different colour palettes act as a definition between the good and bad, and also provide us with that mystical kind of feel.

Costume is another feature used and different Fantasy films experiment with this side of things, in different ways. Following stereotypes, fairies and pixies tend to have flora / earthy outfits (Tinkerbell, Peter Pan). Witches and Wizards have their pointy hats and Princess’ always have their elegant dresses with large petticoats beneath them. If you were to sort different types of people into separate groups, each would have a particular costume that openly expresses what exactly they are. With the whole contrast between good and evil, sinister characters will tend to wear darker attire, and vice versa for the heroes.

Themes & Moral of the Story

Usually these are cliche also, but then again, the whole genre typically is. Through each adventure the hero perhaps goes on, there will always be a hidden message in the story as well as a theme the complements it. These can consist of;

Friendship

True Love / Soulmates

Trust in others and yourself

Breaking away from the control of others / Freedom

Justice always prevails / Standing up for what is right

Overcoming difficulties will result in a good outcome

Fiction vs Reality - Since we know Fantasy is extremely fictional, it gives some an insight into what not to expect in the real world.

Famous Fantasy Movies

Disney’s Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Warner Bros: Harry Potter series

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings

Star Wars

Pan’s Labyrinth

Fantasy + Character Studies

So how exactly does this fit in with HTTYD and Peter Pan? Well if you think about it, they both follow along the fantasy genre quite closely. Hiccup living in a land where dragons are flying around freely, pretty sure you wouldn’t see that in real life. Peter Pan himself is make-believe, much to people’s dismay there is no heavenly Neverland full of more make-believe things like mermaids and fairies and it is impossible to stop growing up. 

With their other genres linked into them, Hiccup wanting to be accepted by his fellow Vikings; as well as stopping centuries of war and embarking in a forbidden friendship with the most feared of dragons, it can get pretty dramatic. There’s also differences in lighting with a fulfilling, emotional soundtrack that combine both genres together beautifully.

The romance in Peter Pan is obviously between Peter and Wendy, despite his statements declining any and all love for the girl, his overprotective nature with her proves otherwise. There is the mystical nature of fantasy incorporated with the hazy warm colours of romantic movies; gentle chimes of music in the background. 

All in all we could list a hundred conventions for every genre, but to be honest I don’t have time for that and really just wanna finish this project.