#this ended up really long

[rmd-writes]

Hi, I have a random question about writing but no pressure to respond! 

I am pretty new to the LS fandom (mostly lurking lol) and have been thinking about writing for it. I've never used a beta before and I thought it might be good to find one if I decide to try writing for Lone Star. So I'm sort of doing a survey and asking a few people to get an idea of how it works.

As a writer for the fandom who also does some beta reading, I think it's cool you have both POVs and I was curious if you would mind sharing what the process is like for you? Like when you read other people's fic, what do you need from the writer when you're looking at their work? How much do you talk about the stories? How deep do you get with feedback or is that something you and the writer decide on?

When you have used a beta for your own stuff, how has that been helpful? Does it make a big difference or is it just nice to have?  Is it hard to get or give feedback that isn't always positive? Seems like the scariest part tbh lol. Thanks for any insight you can offer, sorry for the long ask!

hi lurker anon and welcome to the fandom! 💖 You’ve asked some interesting questions and I’ll do my best to answer them for you. what the process is like for you?

I think you’ll find that ever beta reader is different and it really depends on the beta and the reader and even the fic! I work with the same writers a lot, but it’s always a little different because of the time available (to both of us), the kind of fic it is and when in the writing process I got involved!

I’ve talked a little about the process of beta reading (as it is for me) here. 

As I said, it does vary from fic to fic, but thing that remains the same for me is that - time allowing - I will always try to do at least two passes through the doc, because inevitably there are things I miss the first time. I look at fixing up any obvious typos, but also tidying up grammar and phrasing and just generally looking at ways to improve the fic and make it better than it already is. 

when you read other people's fic, what do you need from the writer when you're looking at their work? How much do you talk about the stories? How deep do you get with feedback or is that something you and the writer decide on?

I’ll answer these together because they’re all related. 

What I need from the writer is the document itself, but also guidance as to what they want. There are times when all I’ve done is read a fic for feedback as to whether the emotional beats the writer is trying to hit is there. Some people just want someone to proof read and pic up any glaring errors but not really edit the words themselves. Other writers want any and all feedback that I might have.

Talking about the stories depends on when I came into the process. For long, multichapter fics, it’s quite common that I come into the process at the plotting stage or maybe after the first chapter is written. I might get an outline of the fic or maybe we will just chat about it. But, for example, to use some long LS fics as an example, for both Magnetic North and Love Game, @paper-storm and @welcometololaland would chat with me about the plot, what was coming up, bounce ideas off me and I’d make suggestions about the story too.

In terms of how deep I get with feedback, yes, that depends on what the writer wants. There’s a level of trust involved in beta reading - a writer has to trust their beta! And the more I work with a particular writer, the more I get to know them, their style and what they want from me. My feedback might include plot suggestions, tweaking dialogue or the phrasing of a sentence, making sure that everyone’s limbs are where they’re supposed to be, checking that characters have removed or are wearing appropriate clothing for the scene, or suggesting restructuring a fic or chapter (including maximising the effect of cliffhangers which I have a love/hate relationship with).

When you have used a beta for your own stuff, how has that been helpful?

It’s hard to be objective when you look at and edit your own work. I can do it and try and switch my beta brain on, but there are always things that a beta will find and improve on that I won’t find myself. Sometimes when you’re that close to the writing, you don’t notice that you’ve used the word smile five times in three paragraphs, for example.

Does it make a big difference or is it just nice to have?

For me personally, I tend to have a friend or two living in my gdocs most of the time, and also send snippets of the fic to friends along the way, because I love the feedback and validation while I’m writing, so a beta is a “nice to have”. A lot of the time, beyond my friends picking up on typos as they read the fics, I don’t use a beta - especially if it’s just a smutty oneshot. I do want to use one more though, because my writing is always better when I do use one!

There are times when I’ve sent a doc link to a friend with a message like THIS ISN’T WORKING HELP and they’ve been kind enough to talk me off a ledge so I don’t delete the document and help me figure out what needs fixing. This isn’t necessarily beta reading though (but a beta can do that if they’re willing and you want them to) If you don’t have people to do that for you, then a beta can do some of that if you ask them to - it’s nice to get comments on what they liked in the fic as well as the things they think need tweaking!

Is it hard to get or give feedback that isn't always positive?

This comes back to trust - you need to trust that your beta just wants to help make your fic the best it can be, that their feedback is always intended to be constructive and that they will deliver it with kindness. I’m not sure that I’ve ever given or received feedback that is truly negative - if something needs improvement there are ways to do that gently by making suggestions or asking questions. It does come down to how well you know each other though - I know I can leave Lola a comment that just says “??????” (or vice versa) and neither of us will be upset with it and we’ll probably just laugh about whatever the error was. I hope that answers your questions! If there are stories you think you want to tell about these characters we all love, you should do that! 💖

[catgirlneomatrix]

8 and 15 from ur ask thing

8 - what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime?

I don’t really know. I feel like I’m still figuring out my taste in music tbh. My family was really late to getting music streaming, and I didn’t have many friends as a kid, so my music was pretty much limited to whatever my mom happened to download until like my sophomore year of high school. For years I had like 3 now that’s what I call musics (47,48, and 52), a handful of musical soundtracks, the 500 days of summer soundtrack (I have never seen that movie), and the occasional Taylor Swift or Katy Perry CD to listen to, and that’s it. Let me tell you the Hamilton soundtrack is what got me through middle school. In late high school, I got deep into TikTok and ended up fixated on Lemon Demon and Will Wood during my incredibly cringe, but incredibly free era. More recently Mitski and The Front Bottoms got me through The Horrors™. 

15 - five most influential books over your lifetime.

I’ve got a bad memory when it comes to books i’ve read, but I’m looking at my bookshelf rn, which is mostly stuff from my childhood, and that is definitely influencing this list.

1- Zita the Space Girl

It was my favorite graphic novel as a kid, and graphic novels are what got me into reading. I would read everything and anything my library had in the graphic novel section

2- The Lost Track of Time

I probably got this at a scholastic book fair in mid to late elementary school, but I was absolutely obsessed with it for years. It changed my brain chemistry i think.

3- I am Princess x

Another scholastic book fair banger that I reread for years. This one is about a girl who made comics with her best friend as a kid. Years after her best friend supposedly died in a car crash, she realizes that there is a popular web comic about the character they made together, and she has to solve clues in the comic to find her friend. 

4- Damsel

Traumatizing. I got this book from a raffle when I was 12 or 13, and it should have some trigger warnings cause dam. It looks like a standard y/a fantasy romance from the outside, but the male lead is incredibly abusive (the point of the book, but again, not mentioned on the blurb on the back). Let’s just say the words “king’s yard” were used multiple times. It is a genuinely good book, but I wish it was labeled better.

5-Wings of Fire

On a lighter note, me and my highschool best friend bonded over this series. I was  definitely out of the target demographic when I read it, but me and my friend used to talk about it on the way to class every day.

Honorable mention for Dreadnaught (one of the first queer books I read as a kid, about a trans woman superhero)

[enderscribbles]

Dunmeshi request, Chilchuck and Marcille interacting? 🥺 Or standing next to each other that works too. Could be hugging, or sharing a meal/food, or…

Got a bit out of hand with the prompt XD I ended up doing a scene inspired by this fic! Based on that time Marcille Izutsumi and Chilchuck were sharing a bed in chapter 47. It felt very memorable so I tried to recreate it but I kind of went offscript because I was basing it on my recollection of the fic lmao

^Obsessed with this guy and how he lets Izutsumi use him like a hot water bottle bc it's comfier.

I think he'd hardly ever act this soft + tolerant of physical affection unless it's situations like this: When the others are too sleepy to remember it LOL

[corpsentry]

a glass sun 1/2

[gldnstrngs]

whenever i see colin and bradley in behind the scenes or interviews im just like… 🤨 in the least weirdest way possible like they just have a Certain Energy to them

[hoshiina]

pairing: hoshina soushirou x gn!reader (no prns)

summary: in which he realizes you were the one for him

warnings: none i think !

wc: 1100

Hoshina wasn't a player. He wasn't one to say yes to everyone who came his way nor was he one to lightly pursue just about anyone who slightly interested him— not to mention he didn’t fall easily to begin with. He was a busy man in a dangerous line of work so having a relationship simply didn’t make sense most of the time.

However, this is not to say he hasn’t had a few relationships here and there. He loved those he dated, he really did. He did not believe in dating for the fun of it nor did he believe in starting a relationship he knew would end at some point, but subconsciously he tried not to get attached. He kept his distance and locked away his heart to keep from getting hurt. Was it unfair? Well yes, but he was scared. Everyone has something that terrifies them greatly, this just so happened to be Hoshina’s.

Yet, recently he could tell that something was different with you. It had only been a few months since you started dating, but he feared the shift in his feelings. He knew what it was— he knew very well, but as soon as he admitted it, it would be over. There’d be no going back for him. He knew he was being rather irrational, he knew that if he sat down and confronted these emotions he’d realize they weren’t that big of a deal, but he couldn’t. He’s never been able to.

However, while fighting this kaiju, it became plain obvious that he was simply in denial. 

It upset him how important you were to him, but more than that it upset him that he knew he was important to you. You had made it so painfully clear that he meant the absolute world to you and that broke him to pieces every single time.

To him it was easy being alone— he just had to make sure his job was complete before he died. If he could ensure everyone’s safety or at least help Mina out, there was nothing more he wished for. Yet while fighting Kaiju no. 10 today, when he saw his life flash before his eyes, his immediate thought was of you. If he died you’d cry. And that alone was going to get him home alive.

He’d rather die than make you cry. Especially not alone.

As he stood up again, he could see his blood dripping from his wounds and immediately it made him chuckle. You’d cry anyways when you see the state he’s in. 

I’ll have to be around to wipe your tears at least, he said to you in his head.

He was incredibly lucky that you didn’t work on the battlefield, his heart simply would not be able to take it. But he did, and for you he’d have to get home safe. Even if no one else cared that much, not even himself, he knew you would.

All of a sudden, it was easy to admit. He was hopelessly in love with you, in a way he didn't know he was capable of. He wished that he would spend the rest of his life with you and he hoped you would spend the rest of yours with him. Perhaps he was just afraid and a little flustered to admit that he was important to someone, especially someone special to him too. He had seen how painful it was for those left behind, a little too often. 

But there was an easy solution to that, he’d just get back to you safe every time. He just won’t make you worry and he’ll be there for you. This was supposed to be a dilemma, something he thought he'd stress over, but in the moment he felt eerily relaxed, definitely not like he was fighting an identified grade kaiju. The rest of the fight was a blur, he couldn't remember much. His head was clear but the fatigue had taken over at that point, but before he knew it, the kaiju laid in front of him still.

He was faintly conscious as they rushed him into an ambulance and patched him up. Once he was properly treated and awake, they had warned him to stay put and take it easy, but all he wanted to do was see you.

As soon as he left his assigned room, he immediately bumped into you. You had been waiting to be let in to see him. You took one look at the way he was patched up and tears welled into your eyes. He could tell you didn't mean to, you didn't want to worry him.

“Please don't cry,” he said softly, wiping your tears away. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of you. “I'm perfectly fine.”

“I'm not crying,” you said with a scowl on your face, but the way your voice cracked was not very convincing. “I'm so glad you're back.”

“Can't live without me?” he teased. He knew you couldn't live without him, but he couldn't either. Yet, now he even hated the thought of you living without him, let alone with someone else, so here he was. And here he always will be.

“Shut up,” you said. “You know I can't.”

He knew, but hearing you say that still made his heart flutter. He reached out with his right hand to grab your left and held it carefully. He leaned in to kiss you, but it was so much sloppier than the careful ones he usually gave you. Forgive him, he was terribly exhausted.

“I can't either,” he said, snuggling his face into your shoulder.

“You can't?” you asked, a little surprised. It broke his heart that he had possibly made you feel such way.

“Not for a second,” he said, still avoiding eye contact. “I'd rather die than wake up without you next to me, actually.”

You wouldn’t reply, so he brought his head back up to look at you.

“Oh, don't cry,” he said and chuckled a little, wiping your tears away as he kissed you again. “I didn't mean to make you cry.”

He hadn't let go of your hand and although he was gentle, he held it firmly. He didn't say anything, but he vowed to himself that he'd put a ring on it someday. He wasn't letting go of you ever.

You were the one for him.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

finally at that age where i'm thinking i should get a tattoo. not bc i feel strongly about it, just seems like a waste not to. i've got so much skin i'm not using

[mostlyfate]

MAYBE I’D LET YOU CHASE ME AROUND FOR A FEW MORE CENTURIES. THAT WAS ALWAYS THE FUN PART, ANYWAY.

KLAUS MIKAELSON & CAROLINE FORBES THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (2009 - 2017)

[noxcheshire]

I think I’d be really funny, if Bruce was a reincarnated Vlad.

This is going to be based off of a prompt I saw (I will find you) where Bruce suddenly remembered his past life as Vlad.

HOWEVER, my take on that is the de-aged Ellie and Dan because the amount of ANGST and self hate that Bruce will go through thinking his past self was not only a villain, but also that sort of person?

It will eat him alive.

It will eat that man alive every time he goes to sleep and another burst of memories pass underneath his eyelids.

It burns him when he wakes up with the phantom touch of a body underneath his hands, of a boy just as young as Damian and thinner too, struggling to escape a grip of a man whose hold was too possessive, and too cruel.

It feels like acid swishing down his throat when he wakes with the taste of oily words filled with threat and something more whispered over the form of a boy. A young boy whose blue eyes blazed furiously back and yet tried to hide the quiet bursts of fear underneath.

It feels like Bruce cannot scrub the man he had been right out of him, even when his skin blisters red until it bleeds. Vladimir Masters had woken spitting and screaming, burrowed like a cold sore underneath everything that is Bruce.

Bruce hates it.

Hates the monster he had once been and still is — because despite the fact Vlad is now Bruce, living and breathing and existing here in Gotham — Vladimir Masters still exists.

He is out there right now in a little place called Amity Park, pulling weight and blood just to get what he wants.

A man who has used and abused for far too long…

Perhaps it was time to see to it, that however and whatever way that Bruce came to be, that it began with Vlad’s unfortunate circumstances back into the Ghost Zone.

[gejnialnie]

hi I don't think this duo gets enough love, so here are my fave screenshots of Raph and Leo mirroring each other! :D

+bonus:

look at this frame! don't their poses look similar, even though they're in totally different places?? well, there's a simple reason for it! we can see raph in the driver seat, his left hand on the wheel, while the other one's searching for someting, it's symbolising his active role as leader, while leo stands alongside him, his left hand on a handhold while he gestures with the other, showing him being less active and more of a passive presence, but he's ready on his feet, it's symbolising his potential as raph's co-leader but also him not yet being ready, still gripping the safety rails instead of the driving wheel-

(nah i'm kidding- like, was it just artists drawing similar poses in one scene? oh yeah most definitively! will that stop me from over-analysing? nope! :D this basically wrote itself!)

[occudo]

More Magus Sketches

[straycalamities]

this was supposed to be just a doodle erm

[bacchuschucklefuck]

we let the ocean drown out our voices/enjoying the bitterness/in the chaotic light, I close my eyes and see

[musubiki]

.🖤🔄🤍.

[solplease]

SPOILERS FOR DAY 4 OF 14DWY!!

i was actually losing my mind when i played day 4 lmao, so.... redraw time!!

i hope i drew it well enough haha

[forgettable-au]

Does Flowey exist in this au?

Yes, he does.

Everything's pretty much the same when it comes to the regular story in this AU. It's just the past, especifically Papyrus' past (wich we don't know much about to begin with) that changes

Actually Flowey is one of the main characters in the story! (the main story of this au is divided between the past before the game and a post-pacifist timeline:D)

He and Papyrus will have a fun dynamic

-some thought I had in tags behind the keep reading

Srry for the spelling mistakes in here but I can't go and fix tags because I would end up erasing everything😭tumblr struggles