#what is writing virgils POV?

[stormsthatrage]

It bugs me that so many people's default example of published fanfic is 50 Shades of Grey.

What about West Side Story, a famous modern AU of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet?

What about Dante's Inferno, a self-insert RPF if I've ever seen one?

What about Wicked, a pre-canon AU of The Wizard of Oz?

Hell, what about Percy Jackson? There's definitely an argument to be made that that's a modern AU of various Greek myths.

Humans have been writing fanfic as long as they have been telling stories. In about the year 20 BC, our dear Roman poet Ovid wrote the Heroides, a series of aggrieved "letters" from the female characters of famous myths to their respective male heroes. Are you telling me that Ovid, writing a letter from the perspective of Queen Dido to Aeneas -- Aeneas, whose fantastical adventures were put into poem by Virgil -- wasn't writing an outsider-POV fic? A fic that is, in fact, translated in Latin classes world-wide today!

There is so much famous fanfic out there, but people tend to forget that it is fanfic once it becomes mainstream enough. And as a consequence of that, people who aren't into fandom don't see how beautiful fanfic is, and some members of fandom feel shame associated with writing and reading fic. But fanfic is beautiful, and it is something humans have always done, and it is nothing to be ashamed about.

So if you ever find yourself in a situation to give an example of published fic, think outside the box. Remember that published fanfics hide in plain sight; once they're famous enough, we no longer think of them as fanfic. And never forget that fanfic is a very, very old human tradition, and your ancestors who partook in it would not have wanted you to feel ashamed of it.

[idontknowreallywhy]

Thanks to @ficwip for the questions. Thought I’d have a go to see where I’ve got up to / maybe motivate myself out of a writing slump.

Didn’t quite manage to get it done by end of year but I never do finish anything by NYE and consequently as a mid-January birthday girl I often decide to have my new year start a little later in the month anyway so…

Herewith waffle mostly written while trying not to nod off on a plane…

1. How many fics have you worked on since January?

Complicated question… I THINK - 29 in total?

In terms of what I’ve actually POSTED here…

11 one-shots [ How to Infuriate Your Engineer , The Last of Them , Comb , Pressure , Push , Shine , Expert , Thread , Scott is Not Fine Catharsis , A Refrigeration Situation ] - 11,502 words total.

65 Chapters covering 10 fics [ Estera (3) ; Bearded (3) ; Presence (5) ; Composition (4) ; Resurface (36) ; Father’s Day (4) ; Teeth (2) ; 75 (3) ; Fishtank-ed Up (2) ; An Eyebrow-Razing Incident (3) ] - 72,263 words total.

54 WIP Snippets which haven’t become finished chapters or one-shots yet covering 3 of the above and 8 other fics [ Blue (15) ; Estera (12) ; Burn it All (8) ; Snapshots (2) , Octopus House (4) ; Red (3) ; Fishtank-ed Up (3) ; In a Glass Darkly (1) ; Oort Cloud (3) ; Resurface (1) ; ?? (2) ] - 17,703 words total.

All that totals 101,468 tumblr-posted fic-words so I did hit my target of 100k although I didn’t actually FINISH as many stories as I intended to!

Then there is an additional 46,000 I have in draft for the Estera universe… some of which might make in into publishable form at some stage, some just for my own amusement 🤣 plus another 4,000 or so for other fics including the end of Resurface… and a couple of brand new ones which may or may not see the light of day…

So objectively I really did do a fair bit of writing this year and shall endeavour to allow myself to be proud of this!

2. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year?

Err… Finishing one? 🤣

Did I though… um…

Ok scratch that.

I wrote a cheesy little song for one of them then threaded references to it through some chapters in a couple of fics. That was new. Whether successful? Well I like it but I can hear it in my head which probably makes it work better for me than anyone else. However I enjoyed myself so…

3. What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.).

Well, my beloved Thunderbirds are Go, obviously! Hyperfixation much?

4. How many fandoms did you write for this year?

Just the one :)

5. What ships captured your heart?

Newly this year? I guess to interpret the word ‘captured’ literally to mean ‘possessed entirely against my will’ then I guess… Scott/Havoc (even though I still scream NOOOoOoOOoOOOOOO internally when I type that!). It’s not a natural fit for me as I do tend to favour some potential for a happy ending and it’s harder to see how it is possible with this ship but some fabulous fics have emerged on it. I do love a redemption arc though and I like how various people have developed Havoc’s character in their stories. But also still noooooooo my little guy deserves better-happier-uncomplicated. But also also yeeeeeesssssssss.

6. What characters captured your heart?

Weirdly, because I did not intend this at all and most of the time I want to slap him with a really large fish… I’ve written a fair bit of Jeff POV in the latter part of the year! Both pre-Lucy death and post-ZeroX. In between those times I still want to slap him with that fish.

7. Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year?

A new ship, yes. And one that was completely unexpected and I don’t think anyone else has tried yet but I’m enjoying it. Not made a lot of progress yet so won’t say any more than that!

8. What fic meant the most to you to write?

Resurface I think. It covers a heck of a lot of headcanons and yeah… it turns out walloping Virgil is a fun way to prod at all of the bro relationships. And I have enjoyed the process of iteratively fixing Earth&Sky because (as I seem to have written it at least) their partnership is beautiful but kind of messed up and I have to believe they can get a better balance back. I hope the way I’ve done it works for people.

9. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

I think 75. It was really fun to look forward and imagine a good love-and-family-filled future for them all, especially my boy who didn’t think he’d get one.

10. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

Well I was hoping to say Resurface but given I haven’t yet… hmmm. I might also have said Father’s Day until I randomly started to write more of it 😅 err… what have I actually finished? Let’s say 75 cos I actually finished that! (and pretend I don’t have an idea for a follow on)

11. What fic was the most difficult to write?

Estera. Which is a strange answer in some respects as I’ve compulsively written loads of it (as above!) but well… I’ve had a bit of a crisis of confidence and hit a silly, anxious wall about writing the actual chapter that comes next in the story and thus it has hung in limbo for months. My dearest co-writer is despairing of me perhaps only marginally less than I am despairing of myself!

12. What fic was the easiest to write?

The early parts of Resurface just rushed out as fast as I could type them… it got harder as I tried to heal them from the mess I made though 🙃 More recently the Oort Jeff stuff has been the topic for the most readily flowing words.

13. What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year?

Ignoring WIP posts, shortest would be “Scott is Not Fine” which is barely more than a Drabble at 202 words.

Longest? If it needs to be entirely within the year - Resurface (49,720 & counting) but I added a little to Estera which is longest overall (72,319 posted) but that word count is shared with some other wonderful writers and is mostly 2023.

14. What were your go-to writing songs

I have a few playlists for depending on what I’m writing :)

I do listen to the OST a lot when out and about but often not when actually writing as I guess each part of it is so strongly linked to what is happening in the episodes that it is distracting if I’m writing something different. Often I get ideas by listening to something totally random. I listen to a lot of classical and it may only be a few phrases that nudge something -any kind of soprano/tenor instructment interaction (e.g. cello/violin, trumpet/french horn, flute/bassoon) immediately conjures Earth&Sky for me. 99% of my writing is with music of some kind in the background (because I usually have an earbud in) although in retrospect I might not be able to tell what it was.

15. What was the hardest fic to title?

Resurface. Because I had another title in mind but it was already the title of one of my all-time favourite fics. But then this one came to mind and fitted perfectly!

16. What's your favorite title of the year

Haha, well I like what I’ve been doing with the chapter titles of Resurface. But “An Eyebrow-Razing Incident” is probably my favourite for the pun / spoiler combo.

17. Share your favorite opening line

Virgil’s forehead sank onto the bar and squelched slightly.

18. Share your favorite ending line

A brand new score had been opened. But Virgil knew the notes now. They’d compose this next version together.

19. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

This one because I worked on it for so long to get it right. It’s by no means the only important moment between Scott and Virgil… but is the first of a few steps to sorting things out:

“And I’m… grey, then?”

“No! Not usually! You’ve always been blue, like the sky… there are so many shades of it, with hints of yellow or gold…”

“There’s a but coming, I can feel it.”

Virgil grabbed Scott’s hand again as if to reassure himself his brother wouldn’t float away before he managed to express this.

“Sometimes it’s like you fade a little.”

“I fade?”

“You try to be a lot of things, Scotty and it’s admirable, it really is, and you do it so well but sometimes I worry there isn’t enough of you left to be you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You’re blue when you laugh at your own jokes, or smotherhen us and make a leaning tower of pancake… when you beat Gordy at his own prank game or act all melodramatic when you’re smuggling in the sweets Grandma doesn’t approve of. When someone says pie and your eyes gleam and when you randomly recite Shakespeare inaccurately and out of context or run up the stairs for no reason and surprise hug Allie… those times you’re a rainbow of blues. In the field when you’re problem solving at the speed of light and oh! That time you flew Shadow just for fun you came back shining so brightly…”

Yet again at the mention of Shadow, Scott had startled but recovered quickly and deflected:

“My Shakespeare is always in context.”

“Sure it is, Scott. And it’s very YOU.”

A flicker of resolve hardened his brother’s expression and Virgil was suddenly terrified as to how his clumsy explanation could have been interpreted by someone who was already chronically shackled to the ‘brave face’ impulse…

“But Scott, listen to me, this is important.”

He waited until his brother dropped his eyes from the horizon and met his own.

“I’m not saying it’s just when you are happy, you know? When you’re worried or angry or even sick or even… no, especially when you let yourself be vulnerable for one damn second, you’re you then too.”

“Then…” Scott sagged a little and an edge of indigo desperation coloured his voice “I don’t understand what the grey thing is meant to mean!”

“The grey thing… I guess it’s how my brain interprets the way I sometimes miss you when you are right in front of me. When you get hidden by everything else you think you are supposed to be. You lead so naturally, you do it without even trying but sometimes… sometimes you put on that damn grey baldric and it smothers you.”

“But the baldric is silver. My baldric is silver to match One!”

“It used to be blue though. Blue to match you.”

20. Share your funniest line

Ooh. I don’t know if I do “lines” - most of my attempts at humour are situation or context-specific…

But I’ll go with this little section from toddler-Scotty because it still makes me chuckle:

“Dada! ‘Cotty duck in fidge. Oh no!”

The tiny child lifted his apple sauce covered hands and looked at them as if suddenly realising they were attached to his arms. Bright blue eyes gazed down at him with an expression of extreme innocence:

“Oh no! ‘Cotty all messy! Ooopsiiiieee!”

Clearly realising his father had no follow-up questions to his comprehensive situational update, Scott plunged his hand back into the dish and shoved a fistful of pie crust into his mouth.

21. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

This is a tricky one because frankly everything I manage to create surprises me.

Resurface surprised me with its length. I am a sucker for detail and dialogue and combining that with the fact I had a lot to get the boys to work through… it shouldn’t have surprised me really. But it did.

22. What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

By hand? Hahaha, I’d never know what I’d written!

I’m still playing the risky game and throwing things down in apple notes on iphone, although have been trying to tag them a bit now so I can actually find things. I tried google docs - it drove me crackers by messing with my punctuation although I tend to copy paste into that when I’m finished to get a word count. Tried a couple of online drafting tools but they felt over-complicated. So am still in market for a good app I guess.

23. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

In retrospect I think maybe the end of Composition. Which is funny because despite having planned it for AGES as a kind of bridge between Presence and Resurface, I rushed the last chapter out in a hurry as I’d hit the point in Resurface that refers back to it and needed to ensure all the parts of the circle were in place. But exploring how Virgil sees the world is one of my favourite things and setting that short fic in a musical context was very satisfying. And it may be cheesy but this line still makes me smile:

With a satisfied hum, Scott pressed his cheek into his head and the timid, hopeful note in Virgil’s heart swelled into a triumphant chord of determination.

24. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

Yes. I commissioned a piece of fanart and it is beautiful and perfect and I desperately want to share it but I must not until I finish the darn story because the whole point was it was a reward for finishing (I just got it a touch early…)

SOOON THOUGH.

25. How did you recharge between fics?

What is this ‘between’ you speak of? 🧐

26. Did you create fanworks other than fic?

No, unless Tiny Tracys count 🤣

27. How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!)

I’m not good at prompts with time limits, it seems. I did write a little for Fishtank Week and there was the Secret Santa of course.

28. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

So many people, basically all of Thunderfam who have encouraged me to try something I never thought I could do. But if I start a list I know I’ll miss someone then feel bad so I’ll stick to just one shoutout to @sofasurf for constantly encouraging me in both writing and life in general and who is a most excellent co-conspirator.

29. What's left on your to-do list for 2024?

Well I WAS going to say “finish Resurface” but… *eyes calendar and sighs*

30. What would you like to write next year?

Obv finish Resurface, and then I want to find my confidence with Estera again. So many ideas for Scott & Jeff and Allie & Scott and some fish tank too… and I’d like to write more John and more Kayo… not to mention the big mad apocalyptic fic which I really need to plot out properly before doing any more with…

But probably I’ll just end up writing about the boys playing on an airport travelator or stuck at the bottom of a hole or something because sometimes the pieces I’m most proud of are the ones that come out of nowhere 🙄😅🤪

[medics-secret-shipfic-folder]

Hello. I think you did really well on your analogy horror fic. Analog horror is really hard to do well when you're working with video. Primarily writing it is adding a whole new layer to the complexity as you can't rely on visual shock or audio effects.

The visual effects that you did add look amazing. Enough static and shadow to look eerie but all the images were still clear and easy to understand. There was no squinting at the screen in confusion.

I also appreciate how you didn't use gore to get shock value. That is my biggest pet peeve with horror is that creators think gore = scary. You had far less restrictions than most analog horror creators due to not working on YouTube but you still managed to make a very scary piece without needing to rely on gore to get the effect.

I also appreciate how your writing runs smoothly. No one makes any stupid decisions and there's no confusing shifts in character. You gave enough introduction so we could understand what was going on without needing to beat us over the head with "here's what's going on" CMedic's pov is both horrifying and sympathetic. Virgil and Fred's banter was great and very cute. Cheavy is clearly grasping at straws to get CMedic back but not unjustly the machine is literally called "a life extender". That and the way he dies (?) is properly horrifying and sad.

The way you wrote Gregg and his death was also really well done. We don't know him for long but I still felt upset when he died. And the way he died was properly scary. Like I said earlier I appreciate how you didn't use gore to make the death horrifying. I do enjoy how you used taste instead as I think it's an underused sense in writing. Suddenly feeling like you have a mouthful of dirt can be just as horrifying as seeing a bloody ghost.

Sorry for the ramble. I just really like analogy horror and I think more people should try and write one. I hope you continue this project as it is very interesting!

Hey, thank you so much for the message!

I'm really glad you enjoyed the first chapter of Do Not Stand At My Grave! I've always had a soft spot for analog horror, ever since I first learned about it through Markiplier's playthrough of Maple County.

Analog horror is fascinating to me, and the best analog horror series' out there have made me squirm in my seat like nothing else. Vitae Carnis, Monument Mythos, Gemini Home Entertainment, Local58, and Midwest Angelica are fantastic, and those are just the ones I can name off the top of my head. These particular series' have ALWAYS freaked me out, and part of why I think they're so effective is how "quiet" they can be.

You see, I'm not fond of gorefests in horror. I mean, I enjoy The Evil Within and Resident Evil as much as the next girl, but gore is just...not scary on its own. Shocking, yes, and certainly upsetting if you have a weak stomach, but...what do you have left when the shock is over? Shock value is the lowest form of art. It's monumentally lazy because it's the visceral equivalent of a jumpscare. You can only make someone gag for as long as they have a gag reflex. And it is VERY easy to desensitize someone to gore and shocking content.

And I know analog horror uses gore quite a bit, but the most horrifying part of any analog horror series has ALWAYS been the quieter moments. The slow moments. The parts where you're left staring at your screen, wondering what led to this. Horror that's unsettling and eerie and haunting.

I wanted to get across that feeling in my fic. The horror is very quiet. Almost understated. Narration and descriptions are at once vague and deeply troubling. Why is the "moon" in quotation marks? Why does the night sky smell like ash? Why is Teufort in italics every time it's mentioned? Are the rooms actually melting, or are the events so difficult to describe that the characters can't articulate what's actually happening? Why is Cheavy obsessively going over the locks on his door? Why is it so cold? What the hell is going on with Cmedic? Are Cheavy and Gregg actually dead? What did Virgil mean when he said that Cheavy turned blue before disappearing?

No one is running around, there's no mass panic, there's no blood, there's no screaming. It's just a dark and cold base. The generator isn't working, even though Gregg has been working on it for awhile now. There's this ever present sense of wrongness to everything. Hell the fact that this fic is apparently in an alternate timeline where TFC won over Team Fortress in comic 6 also lends itself to this sense of wrongness. That THIS isn't supposed to be happening. That something is very wrong here.

Even the narration does this. There are parts of the narration that feel like the story is starting to fall apart. Like even me, the omniscient narrator, isn't safe from...whatever is happening here.

And Cmedic's POV takes this even further. I mean, when was the last time you saw an analog horror entity's perspective on anything? I know Midwest Angelica and Monument Mythos do this to an extent, but not like this. Moreover, I know analog horror is in LOVE with its hostile entities, but...I've always been fond of the idea of of a non-hostile entity. The idea that this thing doesn't want to hurt you at all, it has NO ill intentions, it only wants the best for the people it's around, but something is seriously wrong. Cmedic's very presence is dangerous, but we don't know exactly why yet. It's not clear if it's lethal, it's not clear if it's immediately deadly, it's not clear what exactly he's even doing. He's clearly sentient, but something is...off.

THAT is what I love about analog horror. Not the screams, not the gore, not the hyper-violence and destruction. The quiet moments that make you uncomfortable. That make you wonder what the fuck is WRONG here. No blood, no gore, no typical horror tropes of characters just blindly running into danger. Just a slow, quiet story in a dark base, where something is very wrong. As above, so below.

Another major inspiration were the works of Yames, including Water Womb World and Discover My Body. If you want to be DEEPLY unsettled and freaked out by quiet horror, then you will definitely wanna check out his work.

I'm really glad I successfully managed to get across the vibes of analog horror in writing. I enjoyed writing the first chapter, and I can't wait to keep writing!

It's honestly kinda weird writing this alongside Take Back The Fortress. If I had to describe it: TBTF is the Resident Evil to DNSAMG's Silent Hill, and it is wild writing both types of horror side by side.

[gumnut-logic]

Armour

For @sofasurf because of this post.

Only a short thing and not really addressing the challenge as I did a little research and in 700AD there wasn't plate armour and most stuff in Ireland was light. Plus our boys fly dragons, so instead we have padded leather armour. I also stuffed up the removal of even that.

Scott demanded POV even though I wanted to write Virgil's and the scene suffers from his lack of coherence.

But anyway, we have 500 words of something Thunderdragons. I hope you enjoy this tiny bit.

-o-o-o-

“Scott! Scott, look at me! Look at me!”

His brother’s eyes shone from a grotty and blood smeared face.

“Virg…” It was an exhalation, almost a last breath.

“Scott, you stay with me. Stay!” His brother knew how to yell, his deep voice echoing in Scott’s head, back and forth, back and forth.

He realised he was being carried. “Put him down here. I need boiled water and cloths.” Hurried footsteps darted out of the tent.

Something came up behind him and his body sunk onto a hard surface. A wad of soft fabric was tucked under his head as the room spun.

“Brother? Flaith!” His helmet was removed as a hand held his jaw. Scott opened his eyes to find dark eyes glaring at him. “Keep your eyes open, Flaith.”

Curse, Virgil only called him Flaith when he wanted to piss him off.

But it worked. Scott struggled to pull himself together. He had been on the battlefield. There had been an attack. Óen had been beneath him…

“Flaithri!” He sat up, his muscles working on memory before informing him that there was injury, the reason why his healer brother was now yelling again.

Virgil’s voice was so loud!

But arms caught him and lowered him back down to whatever it was he was lying on.

“Scott, please.”

It was his brother’s soft hiss that slammed reality home.

He was injured. But…”Flaithri?”

Virgil’s eyes answered him without words.

So, their grandfather was taken by the Scourge from across the Western Sea.

“Father?” Their father would now be Flaithri. Please.

There was a tear running down Virgil’s face. “The Flaithri has instructed us to prepare to retreat.”

“We are fleeing?” Scott struggled to sit up again, but Virgil held him down.

“You are injured, Flaith. I have been instructed to make you ready for transport.”

“Virg…”

“Please, Scott.” Again with the whispered plea.

When he didn’t respond, Virgil let go of his shoulders and began removing his flight leathers.

Scott swallowed as Virgil gently tugged at the ties at his throat, unlacing his padded armour. His brother’s breathing was tightly controlled, but that tear was still tracking down his cheek.

“Virg…”

His brother wiped his face on his sleeve. “You have injury. We need to clean-“

“Virgil.”

But his brother was looking away as he called for assistance, and the healer’s attendant hurried in, lugging water and cloths. As they removed the leathers from his side, they caught in clotted blood, leaving Scott gasping and barely hanging onto reality.

As if taking the opportunity, hands then poked and prodded and placed pressure on the source of so much fire.

The warmth of his brother’s hand on his cheek slowly drew him back from the edge. Sweat was beaded on his temples; his lungs grabbing for air.

He was bare-chested, still lying on a healer’s pallet. Virgil’s worried eyes still hovered above him.

“You will heal. But you need time and rest.”

“I have neither.” His father would need him.

But Virgil grabbed at his shoulders, again preventing his rise.

And there was something in his brother’s eyes, more than just Scott’s injury.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Virgil’s eyes closed and his head dropped.

“Virgil?”

Something shuddered through Virgil’s frame and when he looked up, Scott could only feel fear.

“What is it?!”

“Mother was taken also.” The words rasped across his brother’s lips.

Time froze.

“No.”

“I’m sorry, Scott.” There were tears in Virgil’s voice.

“No.”

Virgil closed his eyes again.

Please, no.

-o-o-o-

[dndeceit]

5, 6, 9 and 24 for the year in review

5. What ships captured your heart? I'm really not much of a shipper*, but I had a lot of fun writing Thomsleep, Loceit and Roceit fics for the Cafe event. That said, Moceit continues to sneak its way in where uninvited in like it did with Salt for Salt, and it kind of managed to overshadow the rest in Kingmakers and Heartbreakers. What can I say but that I'm a sucker for those two dorks pining? (*As a Janus-themed blog I'm allowed one free lie that you're not allowed to call me on, and I'm using it to maintain my cred as a gen writer in the face of these slanderous allegations that I am, in fact, Moceit trash.)

6. What characters captured your heart? Virgil. I don't normally consider him one of my favorites, but I wound up writing a lot with and centered on him (though the real meaty parts for him in Salt for Salt still won't be going up for a week or two). And I really wasn't expecting to spend so much time in Virgil's POV for the Fallout AU, but he just works really, really well in that setting. And making him a ghoul was just...he's kind of OP. An angst lover's catnip... Honorable mention to Remus, though. He's always so much fun to write.

9. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? This one is kind of a toss-up between A Massive Malfunction and Down the Rushy Glen, both from the event. Massive Malfunction was very fun to write, writing Remus's POV as a "giant" glitchy robot was an absolute blast and I cracked myself up several times writing it. Down the Rushy Glen was another really self-indulgent one, because I love apocalypse stories, but I have in the past been quite obsessed with faerie folklore, and getting to combine the two into a horror-laced and yet weirdly hopeful apocalypse setting was an absolute joy, and getting to grab that prompt and run with it was one of the highlights of my year.

24. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? I haven't yet, but I got a bottle of mead for my birthday and I've been saving the last of it for the day that the final chapter of Salt for Salt goes up... (So let's hope I can finish writing it in a timely fashion.)

[just-a-fander]

What you don't see | fear

This is the second chapter. I'm writing this with @ghost-guard-13 the book version is on wattpad

Wc: 1678

Cw: smoking, fighting

-------------------------------------------------

6 am, Monday

Virgils pov

The suns rays disturbed my fitful sleep, earning a groan at the realization that I had never really left. I'm still here, I thought, in hell.

Sighing miserably, I slowly sat up, looking at the wings that weighed me down like the onslaught of responsibilities I held. I knew I had to put them on. They sat there, across the room on a stool, it felt like they were mocking me, saying I'm free but always keeping me in place.

I finally stood, striding to the bathroom connected to my room, glancing at the calendar hung on my wall and allowing a small smile to shine through. It was Monday, meaning I got to eat breakfast.

Under it said meeting, in bold letters. Great, another useless meeting about some stupid thing, I thought. Maybe it would be exciting this time, or as exciting as it could get.

I leaned down and turned the handle, cold water pouring down from the faucet. I cupped my hands under the water and felt it pool in my hands, I then brought my hands up and splashed my face to help wake me up. I then started to brush my teeth after I went out and got the wings, I took off my sleep shirt and threw it on the bed, its not like it mattered if the bed was a mess, it fit the rest of my life.

I picked up the wings and walked over to the angled mirrors, grabbing the screw driver. I carefully turned, watching the mirrors as I screwed the built in screws in the little holes of the over-sized door hinges that held them. Immediately I felt the 20 pounds of that wing alone hold me down, then the other. They pulled my shoulders down, forcing me to have good posture.

I sighed and looked at the time

6:20

I then walked over to the dresser and opened it, looking for the one shirt that was made to fit me with my wings.

No one pov

After Virgil put on his shirt as well as his belt.

He walked over to his bedside table and picked up his ring, it had a black band and a purple gem. He slipped it on and turned to walk out, glancing at the clock.

6:24

He left his room and walked to the meeting room. He reached for the door nob, hesitating before finally opening it, walking in. Everyone was already in their seats. Nameless faces as far as he was concerned. He walked over and sat down, feeling the weight of his wings on his back, his shoulders where pulled down, he know it should hurt but he wasn't able to feel it, he couldn't feel really any pain other then on his back even then he hardly allowed anyone the chance to be behind him.

He looked ahead, his father finally speaking, "your late, as usual."

Virgil kept eye contact, looking down would be a sign of weakness, he couldn't show weakness. As much as it made him uncomfortable, he had keep eye contact, he nodded. "My apologizes, my wings are quite heavy, its hard to put them on."

His father dismissed him and started talking, Virgil didn't really pay attention to most of it, until he heard his name. "Virgil, you will be tasked with capturing Phoenix. I assume you will have no trouble with doing that, correct?"

Virgil nodded "of course not."

"Good, you may go get ready"

Virgil nodded, standing and walking out, heading for the kitchen, there wasn't much to eat, he made some toast and ate it as he began to plan. Of course he wouldn't be the one going after him at first, he had to find Phoenix's limit. He couldn't go after Piper, one of the two other hero's that were usually seen with him, the last time someone went after Piper and hurt him the rest of the hero's went after them. Piper did seem to be the one that everyone protected.

It would be stupid to appear randomly and go after him, Virgil himself hardly ever appeared, it would suspicious. He decided on sending a lesser villain out to do what he wanted. They usually rushed for the chance to get noticed by him or his father, everyone wanted to be on their good side.

He decided on Blade (amateur name, minor villains name themselves). He picked up the phone and called him. "Hello Blade~ your going to do something for me"

9:00

Just as Virgil was getting bored watching this child play with his butter knives, his target finally appeard. "Hola villano, who might you be? I was kinda in the middle of something."

So he has a life.

Virgil watched as the lesser villain, in that tacky ninja mask, announced himself (honesty making a fool of himself) "they call me Blade"

Virgil tried not to cringe. "Thats a bit on the nose, don't you think?" Phoenix stated, for once he had to agree. Virgil watched closely, taking notes.

He was quite high up, watching from a fire escape. He left his wings at the base so it'd be easier to wear his black jacket. As much as he hated wearing black on hot days, it made it easier to hide in the shadows and watch.

"Like yours is any better, Phoenix."

"Well at least I'm creative! Blade."

Virgil rolled his eyes, they sounded like children bickering.

"Now now, what do I always say about name calling." An unfortunately familiar voice said, Piper. He groaned, the one person he didn't want to be here, great.

"Piper, nice of you to join the party!" Phoenix said excitedly.

He grabbed the phone at his side, quietly walking away. Blade was going to need back up. The metal creaking slightly. He slipped inside of the building seconds after. Hearing Pipers voice "well I couldn't leave you alone now, could I?"

Virgil came back only a few minutes later hearing one of the other villains voices, "I had a feeling you were going to need back up." Frost said, Virgil slightly smirked.

He saw that Blade was already loosing, honestly, what he expect?

Virgil sat back down, watching the fight from afar, taking notes.

Frost jumped down from staue of some forgotten person, landing gracefully on the ground.

"Well if it isn't Frosty the snow man." Phoenix teased.

Frost raised a brow, "you seem to forgetting that I've won the last few times we've met up, sparky."

"I beg to differ."

"Then go on, beg." Frost smirked. Virgil sighed, of course Frost had to risk his life just for some action. No wonder why he was single.

"This reunion is nice and all, but unfortunately we have places to be, so let's wrap this up." Piper said, Virgil raised a brow.

Phoenix smirked at him, "I'd hate for you to melt."

"Aww how considerate of you~"

Virgil groaned, were they seriously going to flirt the whole time?

Piper unclipped his pan flute. Blade shouted and attacked Phoenix from behind, Frost sighed. Ice appearing, separating Blade from the heros. "I don't have time to babysit you, I have a job to do." Frost stated. Virgil was silently grateful for him being work focused though, he would never admit it.

"That makes two of us."

Ice inclosed the two, Virgil sighed. He supposed he would only get to see the end. On the inside of the circle Frost stared at Phoenix, "I'm here for you."

Virgil heard the sweet and almost calming song of Pipers pan flute.

Phoenix punched the ice wall, only going half way through, cracks spreading. Phoenix tried again. Frost spoke up, "I know you too well, sparky. I can't afford to get distracted by your friend." The spot the was originally damaged repeared itself.

"I think you've forgotten just how much we've faced each other snowflake." Phoenix replied.

"And everytime you give me a reputation with the boss, and get new access to things I didn't have before." Frost said calmly.

Phoenix placed his foot down, flames erupting against the ice wall. Frost glared at him, not wasting any time as he started to climb. He shot ice near Phoenix, hoping to get him off balance and make him fall. He wasn't allowed to kill him after all.

Frost watched as Phoenix climbed over the wall, dropping to the ground. Frost made an archway for himself as he walked over, "you're making this harder then it has to be Sparky."

"Can you mix it up a little? Sparkys getting old, popsicle." Phoenix replied. Virgil watched, slightly smiling, so he wants something new?

"Oh don't worry, Sparky, we're just getting started." Frost smiled at him.

"Thats what you said the last tem times, helado!"

Virgil spoke into the earpiece, "I've got enough for now, you can back out."

Frost laughed, backing up. "Leaving so soon?"

"Oh Sparky, this is nothing like the past. Its a shame this may be last fight for us though."

Virgil watched as Frost backed up, a mini blizzard appearing around him, as he slipped away. "Come back you coward!" Phoenix yelled.. Virgil quietly got down, meeting Frost.

"You did good, better the new boy." Despite being smaller then him, Frost still feared the man.

Frost nodded, "thank you, its always a pleasure working for you."

Virgil smirked, "the pleasure is mine."

He turned and walked away, finding the scene, slipping into the crowd. He watched Piper and Phoenix arrest Blade, he didn't care. Blade had proved himself useless.

Finally he watched as Phoenix made his grand exit. Flames erupting around him. Virgil managed to get near where Phoenix last was, trying to find him.

He walked over to the alleyway, looking down it. He saw nothing but crates, still he decided to stay near it, just incase.

He leaned against the wall, lighting a cigarette. Breathing in the smoke. He knew it was unhealthy, he just didn't care, he lost everything already, so why should he?

-------------------------------------------

Please let me know if you like this

[hebuiltfive]

Fandom Creator's Self-Rec Game!

Choose five favourites from your own creations (and tell me why, if you like!), then pass on to at least five other people. I'd love to hear what you're proudest of.

Thank you for the tag @forest-falcon!

This is slightly easy (slightly difficult) as I don't have many published works still, so here we go:

Hope Was A Fragile Little Thing

This was the first piece that I put out there, so naturally it has a special place in my heart. It's a short work following Jeff in the Oort Cloud. He reflects on life and love and loss.

International Rescue, We Have A Situation (Part of The Long Game fic)

This fic is currently on an unofficial hiatus because I got stuck on it (mainly because I didn't plot it properly but that's a whole other story), but the opening chapter is still one of my favourite pieces.

This is from Virgil's POV and is set in the aftermath of Jeff coming home. Tensions are rising in the Tracy household and Virgil, once again, is the one having to try and smooth things over.

Up From The Depths/Lost

I submitted this for Gumnut's FabFiveFeb challenge earlier this year, and somehow it ended up having two titles in my drafts.

This is a short drabble piece following Gordon and his struggle with survivor's guilt.

Aliens in Control? Who really leads International Rescue? (Part of the Tabloid Trash series)

This one has probably been the most fun I've had writing a piece of Thunderbirds fiction (that's been published anyway). It was spawned from wondering what kind of ridiculous headlines that tabloids would write when given the topic of The Tracys. The title, I think, is pretty self explanatory on which topic this particular article is about.

It features a 'journalist' who would be better suited to fiction, a conspiracy theorist who might be a reoccurring OC in this series, and a little cameo from Alan and Gordon at the end.

Haunted

Wayne Rigby's muse caught me one night when I couldn't sleep, so I decided to indulge it and this was the result. I do have some more ideas going forward for this, even wrote a little more after I posted this specific one, but I'm not sure if they'll pan out. We'll see.

But this is a very short piece where Rigby is being haunted by the events of his past. His anxieties are keeping him from much needed sleep and, lost in his thoughts in the dead of night, he's becoming lost in endless worries over things he cannot change.

I'm not sure who to tag so I'm tagging anyone who sees this, who wants to do it but who hasn't done it yet!

[edupunkn00b]

Re: WIP Ask Meme:

3) What tags or warnings will your / one of your wip(s) need if you intend to share it? 5) Which wip your most likely to finish or update next? 9) What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

Found this very-delayed response to a WIP Ask game in my drafts. (And I thought I only did that with work emails!) Thank you so very much, Sharon, for the Ask!

Tags and Warnings

There are two WIPs from the Happily Ever After main universe (Logan-Janus-Roman-Remus series) that I don't know if I'll ever share. They both take place post What Might Have Been. One is called Joy, the other is untitled. Each of them would require Major Character Death tags, as well as a healthy dose of unreliable narrator. In Joy, the unreliable POV is Remus'.

In the untitled (post-apocalyptic) story, the unreliable narrator is a six-year-old Joy. (OC, sorry, not sorry, hafta read What Might Have Been to find out who she is :D)

Which WIP is Next?

Meus ex Machina is finally getting a proper publishing. I made some big changes that required a lot of editing (and an additional chapter) so it's taking a bit of time, but it's coming. New chapters are going up here on Tumblr and on AO3 each week.

Story I'd Love to Write But Haven't Started Yet

Oh, I have several in mind. Honestly, I think Thrall, the final story in my vampire series, Beside Me - Dee - Ours - Thrall. There was no way we could leave so many open questions about thrall (and Logan's about to see just how easy it is to enthrall someone you don't intend.)

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

for the fanfic ask game: 7, 12, and 25? Plus one you'd rlly like to answer if you want :0 (from @virgeandhis-pocket-protector)

@virgeandhis-pocket-protector

7. Post a snippet from a WIP

When Virgil was a small child who had two parents that were very much alive (and not decaying in a grave somewhere six feet under the earth) he used to sneak into their bedroom late at night as children are wont to do when distressed or feeling unwell. -Gibbous WIP

12. Do you outline your fics?  If yes, how detailed are your outlines?  How far do you stray from them

It depends. For most one-shots, it's a free-flow of consciousness unless I get stuck or I can't finish it in one sitting, then I jot down a few quick notes of where I want to take it. For longer projects, I definitely try to lay down a bullet point outline. I often do end up straying from the outline because as I'm writing I find a different way to take the story. This is what part of my outline for Gibbous Chapter 10 looked like:

Logan is sick in the werewolf sense (Full Moon, well technically)

He's worried about Virgil and unable to keep away from Work

Contemplates speaking directly to Virgil (Maybe flashback to Remy and Logan's talk?)

Patton shows up, "I'm not mad, just disappointed" (Bit of an argument)

Someone knocks (Virgil: "Logan, I have a package"), Patton opens the door

Virgil is obviously unwell.

Virgil to Patton: "Logan, are you wearing one of Patton's hoodies?"

Virgil faints

25. What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)?

Would you laugh if I told you it was everything but the writing process? Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy when I get in the groove when writing the rough draft, but I find it more fun to take a rough draft, tear it to shreds and then rebuild it back up to be better than before. Worldbuilding/brainstorming is easy, putting it on paper in a semi-coherent fashion first try is not. At least for me haha.

Bonus Question: 24. How do you choose which POV to write in?

I kinda shot myself in the foot when I decided to write Gibbous/Howl Verse in multiple POV. It's not necessarily a bad thing but since Virgil is kinda the focus/main protagonist, I try my best to keep the focus on him even if it's not his POV. Which is sometimes a hard balance to strike since I want to delve into the others' stories as well. As to deciding what POV to write, it's basically whatever POV I think is the juiciest to write in. I personally like it when readers find out things from Character A that Character B doesn't know about, because it adds some tension as to how Character B will react finding out (although I'm picky at times about this lol)

As to By the Pricking of My Thumbs verse (Heard No More/Spoke No More), I intentionally challenged myself to write only in limited pov from the perspective of Virgil. It was really challenging at first but it does give me the benefit of doing some plot twists since Virgil is unaware of a few things.

Fanfic writing asks!

[kidflashimpulse]

I need to write about Bart but idk what to write

where do i even start… LOL there’s just so much you could literally start anywhere and that would be totally fine :D

you could write about him going about his day as a civilian/at school for example, that would be totally interesting!!

him hanging out with literally anyone i think could make a totally cool story! Sometimes I think about him hanging out with Virgil or Cassie and just come up with anything and it would be pretty amusing.

a fic about a mission? post mission?

a Zetaflash fic? cause why not lol

Outsider (like the other ask, i don’t necessarily mean the heroes Outsider i mean just an external perspective lol) POV on him? Could be from a complete stranger

You could write about his original timeline? Whilst many fics touch upon it and make allusions to it, there r not at all many that address the specifics on how his world was like and what type of experiences he may have gone through.

About his relationship with his parents? His cousin Jenni or half brother Owen?

a fic about the mandatory yearly mental health check up that Jeff makes all the heroes have ?

His thoughts on living in the present time? What it’s like being Kid Flash, taking on the mantle etc

hope these give u some ideas :) i’d love to read what you come up with !

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

So! Re: director's commentary shsksjsj. Melliferous is literally like always on my mind and it's just shsksjsks so good. Bls whatever crumb you're willing to give us about the fic, I will very much enjoy. Plus!! The Thomas and Virgil buried alive fic!!!! So good! I am kissing you on the forehead for that one so ye. Whenever you're up for it I am basically vibrating for the director's commentary for those.

Here's some odd thoughts on both of them, just for you!

melliferous

So one of the things I'm really careful and insistent about in my writing is POV. You might have noticed it. I'm meticulous about this, both in reading and writing: the point of view of the narration has to be both consistent and recognizable. If it's from Virgil's POV, then that must be distinguishable from anyone else's, and we aren't getting insight into another character's head or thoughts as long as we remain with Virgil, and so on. Usually I stick with one character the whole way through (Virgil in Chessboxing, Thomas in Pick A Side, the OC in the Inception AU) or I switch POV from chapter to chapter (Eucatastrophe with its rotation through the full cast, Syzygy goes back and forth between Thomas and Janus).

Melliferous is the anomaly here, because it doesn't have a defined narrator or point of view. It's an omniscient narrator, which I usually shy away from on principle, but I did this on purpose. I wanted the whole story to have a kind of drowsy, dreamy feel of unreality to it, and narrowing things down to a single narrator would have taken away from that. It couldn't be Thomas (my go-to when I'm writing ensemble cast stories like this) because Thomas is dead and not there. It couldn't be any one of the Sides, because that would be elevating them to protagonist, and Melliferous is, at its core, about the group.

So instead you get a narrator reminiscent of folk tales and fairy tales, who knows more about the world than you do, patiently tells you what you need to know, and speaks with pretty words and a kind of knowing resignation, because they know exactly how it's going to end before it's even started. It's the only way this story could be told, I think.

A lot about Melliferous was carefully calculated to be disorientating and strange. It's not a normal Sanders Sides fic, and I knew that going in. Things like: the story opening on a conjunction and in medias res, never explaining exactly how the Sides are alive when Thomas isn't, never explicitly saying 'Hades is a Bee, Seph is a butterfly, also Seph is Persephone' - leaving that all up to implication, albeit very obvious implication - and of course the fact that the strangeness of everything is barely questioned by the people inhabiting the story. The TSS canon universe should not be one that supports concepts such as Greek Gods And Bee Hell without question, but I never wanted that to be in question, just like I wanted everyone to be as in-character as I could manage the whole time.

I feel like that's what makes good surrealism. The familiar tempered with the wholly absurd, in a way that it takes you a minute to go 'wait, why am I just accepting it?' - melliferous is definitely one of my more successful wanders into that sort of storytelling.

lying in a box with a lid on it

This fic was born out of a very specific set of thoughts I had, which I will now roughly try to recreate, in order:

there are a certain bunch of fic tropes that I really enjoy, involving characters being put into Situations, often much to their distress. however, I only really see these specific tropes in certain types of fandoms, like Marvel and the Witcher, occasionally Doctor Who.

Whenever I do see them in Sanders Sides fics, it's usually in the context of an AU (not always my thing) or in the context of Canon-ish Imagination Adventures (again, not always my thing)

I don't think I've ever seen a canonverse fic wielding the Buried Alive trope, have I?

(related thought from a completely different train, arriving almost simulstaneously at the station with the last one) the only way you could get Virgil to discuss his problems with Thomas is if you locked them both in a box and kept them there for hours.

hey wait a second

I like writing unique stories, stuff you couldn't find anywhere else. And there was just something really novel to the idea of Thomas and Virgil getting trapped somewhere together in his brain that I liked the idea of. It felt fresh and interesting, and also something that hopefully would stay a oneshot instead of turning into a multi-chapter epic.

Virgil and Thomas's dynamic is one of the more fascinating ones to me, because of the coexistence between 'we are friends and i love you' and 'you are literally my anxiety and as much as i love you, you occasionally hurt me as a part of your existence'. Someone in the comments of this fic described it as the Hedgehog's Dillemma, and fuck, that's exactly it, isn't it? Shoving them into an enclosed space ratchets the mental health issues up to a million, because they hurt each other. But it also makes them talk it out, because they don't want to be hurting each other.

Was this fic also just an excuse to force them to cuddle? Maaaaybe. Maybe that was my secondary motivation. That happens to be a favorite trope of mine, too.

[idontknowreallywhy]

Resurface 17 - Redraw

Previous bits

Writing art is not my forte but Virg doesn’t have access to a piano right now so he insisted. I hereby blame any clumsy wording / inaccuracies on this being Scott’s POV so… yeah it’s the flyboy’s fault.

💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚

It had been a little over 48 hours since Scott had last been in the same room as Virgil. While at one end of the feed a brother was happily chatting away to his invisible-to-everyone-else best friend, the unseen brother at the other huddled on the couch, curled protectively around his tablet lifeline and was politely rebuffing anyone who hovered with offers of irrelevancies like sustenance and reassurance. And company.

He felt bad about that. He had a nasty suspicion John was berating himself for revealing those details about the past and at some point very soon Scott was going to need to fix it. But it wasn’t now. The rest of them needed to concentrate on Virgil anyway.

Speaking of which…

Virgil had got fidgety and was stretching his arms behind his head in an achingly familiar way. Gordon, who was on duty again, was heavy-napping on one of the other beds and didn’t stir. The squid had taken the brunt of his brother’s care upon himself and he needed the sleep and so this was fine. Kayo and John were distracting Alan. Scott was keeping watch and could raise the alarm if the patient got out of bed. He didn’t though, merely shuffled his pillows around a while before appearing to notice the sketch pad and new set of pencils that had been left on his bedside table at his big brother’s insistence. Scott felt a little rush of justification as Virgil seized the pad and opened it to a fresh page, tapping his chin thoughtfully with the end of a pencil.

Scott watched as his brother began to sketch some light sweeping strokes across the page. The tension in Virgil’s expression melted away and Scott felt a little of himself beginning to thaw too.

After a few minutes, the artist laid the pad down beside him while he reached over to to select a different grade of pencil from the tin. Even upside down Scott recognised the sketch as the beginnings of one of Virgil’s many sky backgrounds - rays of sun peaking through soft clouds, the hint of a light wind mysteriously depicted through graphite on white. So many things could emerge next - a cityscape, a portrait, a whale leaping from the ocean… It could be an abstract of a solar eclipse or a detailed study of one of their ships. Perhaps a flock of birds over a silhouetted volcanic island. Whatever his eventual intention, Virgil so often began with the sky and everything else followed.

He picked the sketchbook up again and proceeded to add something smaller and more detailed. Scott entertained a hope that it might end up being Two and One flying home side by side - had three of those displayed in his suite - one watercolour, one acrylic, one mixed media collage and he was more than happy to add a pencil version too if Virgil allowed it. The eyebrows of intense concentration had been deployed and Scott had begun to smile at the familiarity of this when the merely concentrating look hardened into something else.

Virgil started to add much heavier lines, the knuckles of his right hand white as he held the book steady and the left almost a blur as he dug the pencil in hard and dragged it rapidly to and fro across the page. Scott wondered how the paper could possibly withstand such a ferocious onslaught of carbon - he half expected it to catch fire if his brother didn’t gouge a hole straight through it first.

Scott watched in helpless dismay as his the look of distress on his brother’s face deepened and was on the point of calling Gordon to wake him when Virgil seemed to run out of steam and slumped back into the pillows, sketchpad clutched to his chest. He closed his eyes and took a couple of breaths before propping himself up again and gazing at what he had drawn. He didn’t move at all for several minutes. Scott unconsciously leaned sideways as if he could change the angle of the security camera to see what it was then swore to himself. This was wrong. He should just be able to go and ask… he always asked and Virg always showed him… maybe somewhat shyly but he’d always show him. He didn’t dare defy Grandma, not when he was so clueless about all of this, but his gut told him she was wrong - Scott should be there by Virgil’s side.

This was wrong. She was wrong.

He had to try again.

He stood and started towards the stairs to go and reason with her when another movement from the screen caught his attention. Without removing his eyes from the sketch pad, Virgil leaned over to the bedside table and patted around until his fingers closed over a large eraser. He spun it in his fingers for a few moments then appeared to remove something then added some small detail, his expression intense but unreadable, even to the brother who knew him best.

Some small noise must have alerted Gordon who suddenly flung himself on to the bed and enveloped Virgil in a hug.

The sketchpad slipped to the floor and Scott slowly sat back down again.

💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙

[whatgaviiformes]

For elemental writer asks, could I request psionics please? "How do you get into the heads of your characters?" Thankyou in advance!

Of course you can request it. <3 I guess they live in my head isn't a decent enough answer? I kid, I kid. Gordon is the easiest, naturally by what I posted the past few years. Or, at least my version of Gordon. If he's my home base pov/voice, there are things I intentionally do to switch to the other brothers. For Virgil, I focus on sounds and sights in a more focused way - things he sees and hears and the itch of his hands to build or fix. For John, there's usually a concept or fact I am playing around with, which leads me into needing to research the thing. By nature of being in that inquisitive space, I can usually find John. He's always been a blend of the science and art for me, so I don't write him *all* science but the research helps. I really enjoy getting into his headspace. For Alan, I think I pretty much write Gordon but a bit more youthful, but with an intelligence like John's. He's pretty hard for me to write, actually, so he doesn't show up as much in my natural writing.

Then for Scott, I get a little more straight forward, a bit more direct, and I think I just write "big brother." It works most of the time.

Hopefully they sound different on the page, and sometimes Gordon or John will get super arty and I sit there going - shhhh Virg, that's not how your brother would describe a sunset - but in the end those sometimes become my favorite parts. Life would be boring if we all defined ourselves and our actions only under one lens or facet. So if they stray, I tend to let them and then I think about why they are in that space.

Otherwise, I have playlists. I do have one for each brother, but I can't write overtop of those. They might intro me in, and then once I sit down to write, I prefer to play music based on the tone I am going for. Thanks for the ask. Hope all that made sense!

[odysseyofthemind]

I had an intense urge to write Logicality. This is the result:

Logan pov

“Awww, I love you, Logan!” Patton said. I don’t know why, but his words made me feel strange inside. Something about him made me extremely happy.

Whenever he offered these words, I simply replied with a smile. I was positive he said these words to all the Sides, not just me, so I decided not to dwell on it too much.

“Love you, Roman!”

“Aww, love you too, Pat.”

Exchanges like these occurred almost every day with various other Sides. Was there any feeling in the words? How could I know?

It’s hard not to know.

Patton pov

Logan is my favorite.

I love all my kiddos, but I love Logan differently. With Virgil, I feel like I need to protect him. With Logan, however, I want to be around him all the time.

I often told everyone how much I loved them, but with Logan it meant something else. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him, but there’s no way to know. Unless…

“Roman!”

“Yes, Patton?”

“I need your help.”

This instantly got his attention. The only time we really interacted was when we made those sweaters for Christmas. If I needed his help, this was probably a big deal.

Roman sat down in front of me, crossing his legs. “Alright, Patton. What do you need?”

I took a deep breath. “Well, I need some help confessing to-“

“Sounds gay, I’m in.”

“You didn’t even hear what I was going to say.”

“Didn’t need to. Now, who are we confessing to?”

“…Logan.”

Roman’s eyes immediately lit up. “I knew you liked him! What can I do?”

I shifted in my seat. “That’s the problem. I don’t know how to do this kind of thing.”

“Don’t worry. I do.”

Roman began explaining his plan, but I stopped him quickly. “I’m not so sure about that. I’m not as bold as you are.”

Roman put his hand on his chin and began thinking. “You’re right. Here’s what to do instead.”

I smiled, feeling much better about this idea.

~Mini time skip sponsored by Logan being a wholesome nerd~

“Hi, Lo!”

“Ah. Hello, Patton.” Logan said, closing his book and setting it on the table next to him. “What brings you to my room today?”

I swallowed my nerves and smiled. “How would you like to go with me tonight and look at the stars?”

Logan’s eyes widened for a moment before his face broke into a huge grin, something he didn’t do very often.

“I would love that.”

~Another time skip because I may or may not be lazy~

“Aaaahhhhhh, this is great.” I said, laying on my back on the picnic blanket I had set out.

“It really is.” Logan said, eating another spoonful of Crofters jelly. Logan smiled before letting the grin drop, and looking away.

I looked at him, concerned. “Lo? Are you okay?”

He looked at me and said, “Do you want the truthful answer?”

“Yes.”

“Then, no. I’m not okay.” He looked down at the blanket.

I put my hand on top of his and smiled at him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yes.”

I nodded at him to let him know I was listening.

“I just, I feel like I’m not always heard here. Roman usually gets his way with things, and logic is thrown out the back. Everyone thinks I don’t care about anything, but I do! I really do! I just wish people would stop pretending I don’t have feelings, because I do.”

“About what?”

“About you, Patton! For you!” He blurted out. 

I must have looked very shocked because Logan straightened his tie and looked directly in front of him. “I’m sorry. I completely understand if you don’t feel the same.”

I tackled him in a hug and smiled. “Of course I feel the same way!”

His nervous expression slowly morphed into an excited one. “Really!? I mean…really? A-are you sure?”

“Definitely. C-can I kiss you?”

Logan slowly nodded, and leaned closer. I closed the gap and smiled against his lips.

He wrapped his arms tightly around me and slowly pulled away, resting his forehead on mine.

“I love you so much, Patton.”

“I love you too, Logan.”

[author-chan06]

Sanders Sides AU: Expanded Mind AU

Welcome one and all to the first ever post about an au of mine that I've had for a while now and am very excited to talk about!

This au of mine is one I've come to call the Expanded Mind AU, based on the larger amount of sides there are here in contrast to canons six. It's not super creative, I suppose, but I was more interested in the actual au than a name. If anyone has any other idea let me know as I'm open to changing it if the name is good and makes sense!

So first a description of this AU:

Thomas thought he had six sides; Patton, Logan, Virgil, Roman, Janus, and Remus, but as he starts to learn even more he learns that he has much more than that. This AU follows all of the sides and Thomas as they interact with these sides and deal with life together. I plan on having a "canon" timeline for the main stories, and then just writing whatever I want outside of it. Oneshots of small moments in my canon, offshoots and what if scenarios, aus of this au, if I get any I would adore the idea of writing requests for this, etc etc...

I haven't written an outline of an overarching plot for the canon timeline, but I do have some ideas that I'm starting to try and pick between, but regardless of which I pick this series will definitely have and talk about: Polyamory, Incest, Moral Debates, "Cultural" Differences, Emotional Issues, Trauma, Delusions, Hallucinations, Panic Attacks, Religious Trauma; and other dark and serious topics, but it will also a found family, hurt/comfort, smut, and things that are much more positive and uplifting. Basically what I'm trying to say, is that this series will be many things all at once, and if that is something you want, then this might just be for you.

Apologies if that sounds like a product pitch ahah

A lot of this au will be from Roman's pov (hello, Roman fictionkin here, and I have to say I'm the most natural pov to write ahah), but I will definitely have some parts that has the other sides povs.

There might be some things that parallel or have parts of real life things, like disorders and the like, and though these are not meant to be a representation of such, if things are offensive or harmful stereotypes, please don't hesitate to send in an ask or let me know in any way you would feel comfortable with, so I can address it or change it to make it better. Just keep in might that I am just one person, and so I might not know everything, and I ask that you be civil.

This AU's Tumblr Tags

#expandedmindau - The tag for everything about this au.

#expandeddarksides - The tag for posts and things about the darksides or mainly about the darksides of this au.

#expandedlightsides - The tag for posts and things about the darksides or mainly about the lightsides of this au.

#darksidesculture - The tag for posts and things that are talking about the different culture that the darksides have developed over their years of being semi-isolated from Thomas and the world.

#foundfamilysides - This tag for any found family content with any of the sides, darksidesd or lightsides or both, it doesn't matter.

#characterspoilers - This tag is for anything that qualifies as spoilers for the character that is talking about, canon timeline wise.

These tags are liable to change, and there will be definitely be more added as I decide more about how I want to do this (and learn how, as this is my first au that I'm doing on Tumblr)

Tumblr and Spoilers

This is basically just a disclaimer that says that reading the content that I post about this au here on Tumblr, will make you very likely, if not surely, see spoilers for the characters and the au's actual story. If that is okay with you, then I encourage you to interact on here, as it makes my motivation to write for everything, and especially this, much greater, and talking about creative works, also helps get my ideas pumping. And honestly, it's just a lot of fun!

Anything Else?

I guess that I hope you like this au, and have fun with it! I have so many ideas that I can't wait to talk about, and I can't wait to start talking about the original sides that I've made and their jobs and their relationships with each others and the canon sides! You can also make fanart, moodboards, stimboards, or even your own fanfics of this au if you want, just be sure to tag me so I can see it! It would absolutely make my day no matter what it is!

Till next til, Guys, Gals, and Nonbinary Pals!

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Bloody Valentines

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Young Justice 98, Titans, GL Corps, Legion of Super Heroes, Flashfam, New Gods, Shadowpact

Summary: 90s vampire slasher AU

Chapters: 7/?

Characters: Dick Grayson, Joseph Wilson, Jason Todd, Charley Parker, Zatanna, Eddie Bloomberg, Daniel Cassidy, Chester Williams DC, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Lilith Clay, Raven Roth, Kole Weathers, Bette Kane, Donna Troy, Roy Harper, Jenni Ognats, Bart Allen, Virgil Hawkins, Richie Foley, Ayla Ranzz, Zoe Saugin, Rol Purtha, Darla Aquista, Lori Zechlin, Hal Jordan, Helen Jordan II, Orion DC, Lightray DC

Relationships: DickJoey, Daniel Cassidy/Zatanna, DonnaRoy, Jenni Ognats/Virgil Hawkins, Raven/Lilith Clay

Additional Tags: POV First Person, Unreliable Narrator(s), Vampires, No Capes AU, 90s Slasher AU, Homoeroticism, Horror, Slasher

Chapter Seven: The Hitchers (Rol Purtha's POV)

I held onto a piece of wood from the wreckage, drifting toward a light in the distance. I retched as the ice-cold Atlantic waters surrounded me. As I neared the light, it flashed over me, warming my body. The stars fell from the sky and danced around me like a fairy light menagerie. Then, I saw the source of the flashing light, spinning slowly, brighter than sunlight itself, only appearing to disappear. The lighthouse. And finally, something hitched my shirt in the water, pulling me under. I didn’t fight. I was paralyzed by fear and exhaustion, unable to struggle against the force.

I woke up dripping wet with perspiration… As I’d done for the past twelve nights. I shook violently as the ambient noise of my fan returned to my ears despite the violent ba-booming of my heart. I didn’t know how to make it stop until I saw the lighthouse on a postcard. Long story short, I took a ferry and the bus to get to a place of nightmares. I had no choice. I don’t think the nightmares would’ve stopped had I stayed away.

The ferry was almost vacant, save for two girls who seemed like sisters sitting on opposite sides. I sat behind the less intimidating of the two, and she sat on her feet and turned to face me. “Happy Harbor?” she questioned as she offered me a cookie. I respectfully declined her offer.

“Uh-huh,” I answered, “I’m gonna set up camp near the lighthouse.” I patted my rucksack.

“I wanted to rent a cabin, but I think they’re all booked for the weekend, so I’m camping out that way,” she replied. She extended a hand to me. “I’m Laura. Laura Fell.”

“Roland Purtha. My friends call me Rolly or Rol,” I replied. I shook her hand.

“Maybe I can set up camp nearby… Unless you’re doing a soul-searching thing,” Laura suggested. I shook my head.

“It’ll be nice to have the company… Your sister setting up camp, too?” I asked, gesturing toward the other girl on the ferry.

“Oh… No, we’re not sisters. I actually haven’t met her yet… Hey! What’s your name? Are you going to Happy Harbor, too?” Laura asked loudly. The other girl turned toward us.

“Yeah, I’m writing about the crap that went down there in my zine,” she replied as she walked toward us and handed us a copy of a handmade blood-splatter-designed zine on deliberately dogged and chewed-up paper. It was laminated with a matte finish. The inside pages were thin, rough, and as chewed-up as its exterior. Un-glossed. Some pages were black with white lettering, some were white with black lettering, and others used magazine letters instead of handwriting or typed words. She wrote horror stories. Murder stories. Ghost stories.

“This is a horror zine,” Laura noted.

“Mhm. Call me Black Alice or Alice. Horror enthusiast,” she introduced herself.

“What happened on the harbor? Was it at the lighthouse?” I asked. I sounded more urgent than I wanted to. Alice’s eyes widened.

“That’s the thing. A massive amount of people disappear from the harbor every few decades. In the seventies, a camp cook chopped up a bunch of teenagers. Each one bled dry before they were dismembered. He was found dead, holding his son’s silver cross in one burned hand… His suicide note contained only one sentence: I am not a monster. In the forties, families built neighborhoods there. In one single night, all the adults drowned. None of the children remembered the events of that night, but they all said the last thing they remembered was a song lulling them to sleep. All separate homes… But the same lullaby-.”

“Yikes,” Laura whispered.

“Anything about the lighthouse?” I asked.

“Um… Let me check,” Alice whispered. She pulled a journal out of her bag and read through the most recent pages. It was eerily silent for several minutes. “Mhm… Actually, that’s probably the safest spot you can be at. That’s where they always find the survivors. In the seventies, they found a handful of kids holed up in the lighthouse… Scratch marks on the door, but no one could get in.”

“These would make for killer campfire stories,” Laura whispered, “Alice, do you have a cabin, or are you camping out like us? My tent has enough room for two, and Rol said I could set up camp by him.”

“Oh, we never told you our names. I’m Rol Purtha, and this is Laura Fell,” I introduced us. We shook her hands. They were cold, but not shockingly so.

“I’m setting camp, and it’d be great if you guys were nearby. I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t believe something awful is coming,” Alice confessed. I should’ve been scared, but I wasn’t. Something about the lighthouse frightened me more than the stories. I fell asleep sometime after that.

I dreamt of the water, but things were different. I sat in a rowboat as I washed up gently on the shore. The sky was a deep, reddish purple. It was warm, so I stuck my hand in the water. It was shockingly hot. I pulled my hand up, wrapping it in my sweater. I glanced down and gasped at the wet crimson as it soaked straight through the knitted cotton fabric of my cardigan. I fell out of the boat and woke up struggling for air. "Rol?" Laura whispered. She looked green around the gills. "Your nose is gushing blood."

Alice took a napkin from her bag, and I held it to my nose. “Thank you… That’s not-. This is embarrassing. I’ve been having these nightmares-.”

“Do you mind if I interview you about your nightmares after we set up camp?” Alice interrupted. I shook my head. I desperately wanted to explain my nightmares to someone, but it wouldn’t have made logical sense. Alice seemed like she’d look beyond logic if she noticed a pattern.

The ferry docked, and we got off and took the bus as far as it would take us. My nose had stopped bleeding, and I unfolded the map in my pocket. “How many miles are we from the beach?” Alice asked, adjusting the brim of her hat to hide her face.

“Eight miles-.”

“Let’s hitch it,” Alice suggested.

“Cool,” Laura smiled.

I wanted to argue with them, but eight miles seemed far. Alice stuck out her thumb as we walked along the side of the road, and a truck pulled over. “Headed to Happy Harbor?” the man yelled out the window. We nodded. “You three should be able to fit in the back.” We nodded and sat in the rear-facing seats. When we sat down, a little girl turned around and greeted us.

“Be careful,” she warned as she pointed to Laura. The man nudged the little girl. “You should put your seatbelt on.”

Laura edged closer to me, and we touched hands. Hers were ice cold. She recoiled and scooted closer to Alice. Alice stared at me with concern for my safety. The man drove for a short while and stopped at a grocery store. We all got out and picked up food for the trip. I bought a cooler and ice to hold the meat for breakfast. "I'll cook if you guys want," I offered.

I felt a tug at the bottom of my shirt. “Hey, Mister?” the little girl whispered.

“You can call me Rolly. What’s your name?” I asked. I took a knee, and she shook my hand.

“Helen… Rolly, don’t be afraid of the lighthouse,” Helen whispered. My breath caught as I looked at her serious little expression. “We’re taking the tour. Right, Uncle Hal?”

The man looked up from his magazine and grinned at her before frowning at something outside. “That’s right, Helen… And we better get going, because it looks like a storm’s coming,” Hal whispered, “Come on. Round up your friends, okay?”

I obeyed and we paid for our things, but the rain started soon after we got in the car. It poured and the roads were barely visible in the downpour. Hal didn’t seem concerned, though. He drove calmly through the storm while Helen fiddled with the radio. As we neared the campsite, Hal hit his brakes hard, and we collided with something. Everyone gasped and Hal got out of the car. I unbuckled my seatbelt and followed him. “I hit a coyote… He came out of nowhere!” Hal shouted. And that was the last thing I remember.