#wip: dyads

[sunlit-gully]

WIP GAMES

Rules: Make a week-long poll with the names of your wips, let it run, then write one sentence for every vote the winner received.

This poll will be up for a week, until 28th August.

[sunlit-gully]

Anthologia Sovietica: I already made a playlist for it. Each season should have at least 2 songs from this (not counting the tidbits of Soviet pop and folk that plays over other segments). And there are 9 seasons. Go figure.

Weathering the Waves: any folksy songs east of the Ural containing a melancholy tune and some string instruments will do as season theme songs.

Dyad: cutesy contemporary classical or hardcore orchestral, no in-between, thank you very much.

If your WIP became a TV show, what would the theme song be like? Instrumental? A repurposed pop song? A specially-written song with lyrics that explain the premise? A five-second musical sting over the show logo?

[jessicas-pi]

Ben has kind of been having the worst day of his life, what with the dying and all.

It’s a marked improvement when he’s tramping through the forests of Takodana and a familiar voice demands, “Would you believe me if I told you Palpatine was my grandfather?”

He turns around.

Stares.

Rey stands ten feet away, her blaster pointed at him, a challenge in her eyes.

“Would you believe me if I told you Han Solo was my father?” he says, answering the question with a question.

“Yes,” she says, lowering the blaster.

“Well, that answers that,” he replies, turning off his lightsaber.

The silence stretches on.

Takodana is unpleasantly hot.

Why did he ever think wearing all-black was a suitable fashion choice?

Rey falters, apparently not having planned what to say if she got this far. “I suppose this is where we save the galaxy.”

“I suppose so,” he agrees. “To Exogol, then?”

“Have you got the Wayfinder already?” she asks, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

“Picked it up on the way here.”

“Ah. That simplifies things.” She holsters her blaster and sets off at a brisk pace, adding as she brushes past him: “And try not to die this time. It was so inconvenient.”

“You died first,” he mutters.

[virtie333]

WIP Wednesday

Poe finds out what Luke and Rey are planning in regards to Kylo Ren in tomorrow's chapter of The New Recruit.

“You’re going to what?!” Poe couldn’t stop the shrill sound his voice produced at his exclamation, and he wasn’t embarrassed by it, either. He was too shocked. Rey’s eyes shifted a bit, her demeanor suddenly nervous. “I’m going to try and contact Ben through the Force,” she said, her voice much softer than the first time she had said it. Apparently, Poe’s reaction was unexpected.

[fangeek-girl]

Rules: Make a 24 hour poll with the names of your WIPs, let it run, then work for 10 minutes for every vote the winner receives.

Thank you @ineffable-snowman

I only have 2 WIPs at the moment because my brain can’t handle more.

Consider yourself tagged if you want to do it 🙂

[jamiepaige]

Constant Companions Closeup #1: DYAD

(also on spotify!)

Hello everyone!! It's been a couple weeks and change since Constant Companions, my newest album, was released unto the world, and I've been genuinely blown away by the response. Genuinely, thank you to everyone who's been streaming, commenting, making mashups, changing their pfps and usernames - it means the world to me!

I wanted to give some of that love back with something people have been asking me a lot about - and, admittedly, something I love doing. Song explanations! Deep dives! Dropping the lore! Welcome... to the Constant Companions Closeups...

For the next eleven days, I'll be going into each track one by one and babbling about the process, inspiration, details, feelings, and thoughts behind each one! We're getting sappy. We're bearing our hearts. We're telling unfunny jokes. And we're starting with track one - DYAD (featuring unit.0)!

---

Naturally, since this is the first track, it also serves as a great point to talk about my intention with this album as a whole!

I'll elaborate more on this with future tracks, but to me, there are really two main things that define the sonic progression of this album versus my previous work - guitars and vocal synths. Obviously, these things have been present in my work since I first started calling myself Jamie Paige, but Constant Companions is intended to be my overwrought, sappy confession of love to these two things that time and time again have made me simply want to make music. I love rock and I love Hatsune Miku dammit!!!

I had originally written this song in February of 2023 for a game-jam-esque online festival hosted by my friend Loni called HAPPY PARTY TRI, and at that time, I had found myself at a major crossroads. I had put out People Posture Play Pretend and :women_wrestling: the previous year, and while the response was nice, I was feeling listless and lost.

I love singing. I like my voice well enough. I certainly love writing music with lyrics!! But... there was something uniquely electrifying about using vocal synths. Amidst a lot of insecurity and emotional turmoil surrounding the process of making art and putting myself out into the world, it was one of the few things that just made everything feel right. Suddenly, I was making the same kind of music that had touched my heart so many times over.

Would it alienate people, though? Would I lose longtime listeners? Yes, that weighed on my mind more than I'd like to admit, but even more than that... I was worried I'd lose some part of myself, as silly as it sounds. Maybe what I thought was a bridge would become a barrier, and the messages I wanted to send across the gap would never find their way.

Ultimately, I felt that Dyad was the only kind of opener I could've possibly given this album, and a perfect fit for the album's motif. A dialogue between myself, stricken with loneliness and a lack of inertia running in circles, and that synthesized voice (ANRI Arcane my darling), grabbing the outstretched hand and asking a question I already know the answer to -

"Baby, do you know what you wanna hear?"

Yes, it's a love song, but it's not just for a person - it's a love song for the creative impulse, and for the places I wanted it to take me.

im resisting the urge to be jokingly dismissive of myself to diffuse tension but i still need to signal that the emotionally bare part of this is over so pretend im doing a funny little dance Anyways let's talk more technical stuff

---

Like many of my songs, Dyad came together from a patchwork of different snippets and ideas I had laying around. The back half of the chorus - "dream together, we can dream together" - originally came from this idea I had jotted down something like 9 months prior, but ended up being a perfect fit for Dyad in basically every way. The verse snippet that I'd written to go with it got reused for a later song on Constant Companions as well! (I say without naming it, as if it isn't literally lifted wholesale from this demo and thus incredibly obvious)

I wasn't originally planning on brazenly quoting the bridge of a Tally Hall song when I set out to write this song, but while toying around with a bridge idea involving a shortened version of the pre-chorus melody, I realized I had inadvertently copied it anyways. I was going to scrap it... but at the request of my dear friend and certified Tally Hall lover Marcy Nabors, I made it an explicit reference. Which I'm fine with, personally! The first CD I ever owned was a copy of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum my sister bought me all the way back in 2006 - You can pry that sentimental attachment from my cold, dead hands, TikTok kiddies.

Lastly - not really behind the scenes so much as just a shoutout - thank you to unit.0 for the lovely lead guitar work on this song!! He's been a beloved collaborator of mine for many, many years now, and one of the people who ultimately convinced me this direction was the right one to go in, so it means a lot to share this song with him. Go listen to his music!!! Now!!!!!!

That's about it for this song! Not to sound like a fucking YouTuber, but genuinely, if there are any details you'd like to hear more about, let me know and I might made a bonus post at the end of all this. Otherwise, thank you for listening! Tomorrow: Not Quite There, featuring telebasher!

❤️💚

[stellanslashgeode]

WiP Wednesday on a Friday

Here's a sneak peek at the start of the Vampire Hunter AU. I'm inspired by @charmwasjess and their own WiP to get this underway.

  Autumn leaves crunched under her feet as Ahsoka reentered the long-abandoned power plant. The sky was turning vivid orange and purple behind her; but the rising sun did little to subvert the gloom of the building interior. The leaves were the only sound, and the dawn’s light and whatever anemic light penetrating the dust and cobweb patina on windows to the exterior provided the only light. 

  Ahsoka sought to swallow the knot of nervous energy in her throat and reached for the glowrod attached to her belt. She shined a vivid bright white LED beam cutting a blade through the gloom, light bouncing off every dust mote.

  She could have called out to her partner, but the plaintive exclamation died in her windpipe, blocked by that knot of grief at her trachea. 

  “Go on in, Ahsoka. That fiend must be asleep by now.”

  She was retracing steps she had taken with Barriss a week previously. Ahsoka looked over her shoulder as if she could see her companion, her fellow Jedi vampire slayer at her side.

  She looked up from her trusty datapad and smiled brightly. Her adorable Cupid’s-bow lips gently curled into a sly smile just for her. Just for her. Like lucious ribbons securing a present for her to unwrap. The screen left dual rectangles of reflected blue light on her glasses. Her stupid sexy glasses. She had her hair tied back in a bun and covered with a kerchief. 

  Otherwise she was dressed like an office secretary. Ahsoka never could grasp how she refused to alter her costume for missions. Ahsoka had her combat gear on, her plate-reinforced vest with the stiff metal collar over her throat. A garlic garland strung across her shoulders like a feather boa. She was holding her stake already, even here at the door in morning sunlight.

  And Barriss in a blouse, pencil skirt, kitten heels, and hose like it was a Tuesday at the office.

  “You’re sure she’s in here.” Ahsoka sought to intone it as a statement rather than a question.

  “According to my data this is the central point where the attacks originate. We are doomed to chase down its victims in villages all over the province unless we slay the monster inhabiting this old plant. Exterminate the queen, and the nest withers and dies.” 

  She pushed up the tortoiseshell frame of her glasses casually with a pinkie finger. Ahsoka was suddenly struck by the urge to grab her wrist and take that delicate digit into her mouth and surround it with her warm wet tongue. But she banished that urge lest her fellow Jedi hunter read her thoughts or emotions.

  She nodded and gave her a half-smile. “Okay.”

  Ahsoka was scared, but having Barriss here both as support and as a loved one to protect bolstered her. This wasn’t their first rodeo. As Jedi Knights they had joined a holy army of the light in opposition to these Sith bloodsucking freaks. Their masters had paired the two together after they showed how effective they were as a team. Perhaps they had also noted the attraction that grew by the day when they were together? Perhaps. Perhaps they sought the knights to overcome the temptations of the emotions and the flesh by serving the light together as a dyad.

  But damn, she wanted to kiss her right now. In this lull before confronting a great evil. Just to reassure each other and to get Ahsoka’s blood pumping rearing for the fight.

  “Let’s go, then. For light and life.”

  She tilted her head and her smile grew. Ahsoka’s heart leapt into her throat.

  Ahsoka sighed. She was returning here a failure and alone now. Barriss was either dead or a creature subverted by evil. And the best option was death. It would be a blessing to find her corpse inside.

  She spent a few days and dreamless nights at the tavern, in the room they rented together, in the one bed they had vacant, drinking herself into a stupor each night and secretly wishing to be awakened by Barriss’s fingernails tapping on the exterior of the third-floor window. Asking to be invited in.

[mayfriend]

wip title tag game

thank you to @starlightandsunshine who tagged me <3

rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs

i'm gonna be so real with you. if i gave u all my wips then we would be here all night. so i'll go with the recent, unpublished ones with the more interesting names

buenos aires

every fledgling louis never made

paul de pointe du lac vs. the devil

(he loved him) as himself

daniel meets claudia's ghost (kinkmeme fill)

unmaking

driftmark presentation au

throwing girls

vaderwan force dyad

for the love of it

vladimira

and i'm (no pressure!!) tagging @searchingforserendipity25 @downstairsbar @officialclaricestarling @a-witch-in-endor @this-world-of-beautiful-monsters @freshairforrabbits @corrosivesaints and anyone else who wants to do it <3

[words-after-midnight]

Hey thanks for the follow and reblog! Just stopping by to say your WIPs sound interesting and unique. For Storyteller Saturday: Since Life in Black and White is an aughts period piece, is there a song from that time that reminds you of the story or characters? Or a song the characters like? (Believe it or not I was going to ask this anyway before I saw your playlist poll lol. Im curious either way tho!)

Ooooh thank you for this, I love music questions!

I'm sure I will forget some, but here are some songs from the aughts that I associate with the story/characters (many of these were on the original playlist, as I actually drafted the story in the late aughts):

Yellow by Coldplay (2000)*

It's Been Awhile by Staind (2001)

Weathered by Creed (2001)

My Sacrifice by Creed (2001)

Hide by Creed (2001) - This song still makes me emotional to this day, bwuh. 🙃

Breathe Your Name by Sixpence None the Richer (2002)

Down and Out of Time by Sixpence None the Richer (2002)

Dark Diamond by Elton John (2002)

Original Sin by Elton John (2002)

This Train Don't Stop There Anymore by Elton John (2002)

Unwell by Matchbox Twenty (2002)

Bright Lights by Matchbox Twenty (2002)

Clocks by Coldplay (2002)* - I've considered this the story's theme song, pretty much, since I started drafting in 2008.

The Scientist by Coldplay (2002)*

Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5 (2002) - Generally not a fan of Maroon 5 but this song is lyrically great for Gabriel

Fallen by Sarah McLachlan (2003)

Stupid by Sarah McLachlan (2003)

Train Wreck by Sarah McLachlan (2003) - this one is funny because I refer to the Gabriel/Jeff dyad as "trainwreck," but this song is not where the name comes from. It just fits lyrically.

Mr. Brightside by The Killers (2004)

Savin' Me by Nickelback (2005) - The actual only Nickelback song I've ever liked because of how perfect the lyrics are for this story lol

Amid the Falling Snow by Enya (2005)

Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap (2005)

Us by Regina Spektor (2006)

To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra (2007) - Not to be dramatic but I can barely listen to this song now lol.

Death and all His Friends by Coldplay (2008)*

O My Heart by Mother Mother (2008)**

Burning Pile by Mother Mother (2008)**

Body by Mother Mother (2008)**

Ghosting by Mother Mother (2008)**

Try to Change by Mother Mother (2008)**

40 Day Dream by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (2009)

Bulletproof by La Roux (2009)

White Blank Page by Mumford and Sons (2009)

The Cave by Mumford and Sons (2009)

*Can you tell I was listening to a lot of Coldplay as a teenager? The opening chapter is called "A Rush of Blood to the Head" after the album that Clocks and The Scientist are on.

**Alternate playlist for libaw: the 2008 Mother Mother album "O My Heart."

In terms of what music They™ enjoy (ie. stuff they actually listened to at that time, so mostly older stuff than the aughts):

Gabriel's mostly an alt rock/metal/punk & similar type, which I'm sure will surprise approximately no one who's read Gabriel. His frequently played artists include Nine Inch Nails (his favorite band), Joy Division, Tool, Radiohead, RATM and the like. He's also been known to dabble in more electronic genres (eg. we share an appreciation for Daft Punk and Depeche Mode), enjoy classical music (eg. Beethoven), and have a certain nostalgic fondness for some classic rock, such as GNR and Pink Floyd, and Elton John, who was his late mother's favorite singer.

Jeff's a big classic rock snob* - think GNR, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Rolling Stones, CCR, Van Halen, Springsteen. His favorite band is Pink Floyd (favorite album Animals). Caveat: if you get him drunk enough there's a chance he'll jokingly (read: fully seriously) put on either Aquamarine by Aqua or Voulez-Vous by Abba and get very into it.

*He gets that from me. The classic rock part, not the snob part.

[sunlit-gully]

a wip by yours truly

ABOUT:

genre — slice of life, drabble, one-shot, contemporary, fantasy, historical

target word count — 3mil

status — first draft

themes —

warnings — violence and gore / death / physical & psychological abuse / trauma

SYNOPSIS:

(no spoiler this time hehe)

Basically these are short imagines for MBTI pairings! Really, this is just where I dump all my personality theory brainrots - maybe the characters are one-shot, maybe they'll get series of their own, who knows? I have a personal preference for shadow pairs (based on shadow functions), BUT you may request for whichever pairing you would want to see in a scenario of your choice!

[REQUESTS ARE OPEN]

Note: concepts related to personality tests must be taken with a grain of salt.

And here's to hoping...

[paisleypudge]

mostly posting this wip because i wanna show off these freakin vocals

[ifonlyweknewwhatiwasdoing]

WIP Game

Rules: in a new post, post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how nondescriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet and tell us about it!

I was tagged by @bluemaskedkarma.

Bear with me; this is about to get ridiculous. XD

Alpha Obi Padawan Fic

AlphaObiCody (Kittywan)

Mando Family Com

JastObiKal ONS

Kittywan, JastObiKal, Poor Little Meow Meow

Bratty JastObiKal

Sky and PJ Bonus Bonus Bonus Bonus Fic

Sky and PJ Bonus Bonus Bonus Bonus Bonus Fic

Feralwan vs JastKal

Blind Jaster Fic

Codywan Dementia

Dyad AU

Fluff Fic Attempt #22

Hung CD

JangObi No Way Home

JastObi Paralyzed

JastObi PC

JastObiJang

QuiObi TA

Tainted Love Idea

JastObi SYG Fic

JastObi SYG: First Babies Born

JastObi SYG: Snip, Snip

JastObi SYG: Space Viagra

JastObi Time Travel Mando Bait DILF Fic

JastObiKal Nonsexual BDSM

The Sun, The Moon Sequel

The Sun, The Moon Sequel Sequel

The Sun, The Moon, The Moments Between the Fic and Epilogue

I'm tagging: @skylariumrose @frostbitebakery @littledumplingwrites @nightoftheland @tennessoui @theshinylizard

[virtie333]

WIP Wednesday

I thought I was nearing the end. Then silly me had to write a chapter that did not go where I had planned. So, guess what? This monstrosity is getting even longer!

On that note, if you're reading this, a heartfelt thank you.

“How do you know this?” Leia asked, her expression incredulous.

“Palpatine may have been great at keeping secrets before he became Emperor, but he wasn’t so close-mouthed afterwards,” Luke said with a smirk. “There are recordings of his ‘triumphs’ all over the place.”

Leia scoffed. “Kriffing shitstain,” she muttered.

Rey couldn’t help but laugh and Luke’s smile grew. Then he focused on Rey, becoming serious once more. “What I want to know,” he told her. “Is if you think you can connect with him intentionally?”

Rey’s own smile faded. She had often reached out with her senses, attempting to distinguish between the individual presences of everyone on the base, and she had gotten quite good at it. She was able to find Poe easily, now, and had even been able to tell when he was in orbit. But to try and connect to someone lightyears away?

She looked at Leia. “The both of you can, can’t you? Talk through the Force, even when you’re far away from each other?”

Leia nodded. “Yes, but it took years of practice.”

Rey looked at Luke. “If I can, would I give away where we are?”

Luke shook his head. “I don’t think so, unless you told him outright.”

“And if I can’t connect with him?”

“Then my theory is wrong,” he said simply. “But if I’m right, we might be able to use it to our advantage.”

Rey took a deep breath. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

[vedavan]

💫"i'll be the light and lead you home"💫

💖Modern AU canon fix-it

💖 Dyad, soulmates, birthmarks, rebirth, reincarnation

💖WIP, 1/3?

Her fingers skate lightly over his abdomen. The silver-dollar sized mark is flat, the same texture as the rest of his skin, just a few shades darker and with blurred edges, almost like the skin has been scorched.

Burned.

"You know, some cultures believe a birthmark is from a past life, showing how that person was killed." Rey hears the words coming out of her mouth, but it's too late to stop them.

She cringes. What a crazy thing to say.

She must have read it somewhere once, but still. It’s a horrible thought, one she doesn't even wish to linger over, the thought of someone killing Ben… and besides, she doesn’t even believe in the idea of past lives. It’s total nonsense.

Isn't it?

Or: Rey's new boyfriend has a very unique birthmark.

Read on AO3 here

Gorgeous moodie by the amazing @sofondabooks

[fangeek-girl]

WIP Tag Game

Rule: in a new post, show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words.

@piecesofeden11 tagged anyone who reads theirs, so here I am (lol)

Cheating a little here, but you will all appreciate this a lot more I'm sure:

“You’re getting ahead of yourself there, Master Kenobi,” she used the title mockingly, but his pupils dilated slightly as she said it.

(From part 2 of the Skywalker Dyad)

Let's tag the RNM crew (feel free to ignore me): @maeglinthebold @greentealycheejelly @beautifulcheat @bisexualalienss @endeni @infp-obsessing-over-everything @saadiestuff @haloud @angrycowboy @ladynox

And a few SW folks (again, feel free to ignore me): @ineffable-snowman @padme-amidala @obiwaned @himboskywalker @kckenobi @grapenehifics @shywhitemoose @0bianidalas @skywalkergeek @edgeofn1ght @darthplodder @wibzenadarksiderwithasoftheart

And... that is about everyone I know 😅

[jamiepaige]

Constant Companions Closeup #8: LIAISON

(also on spotify!)

Welcome once more to the Constant Companions Closeups - a series of in-depth dives into the songs off of my latest album, Constant Companions! After the nightmarish tiktok voice brainrot of Aggrandicize, it's finally time to talk about Lesbian I mean Liaison!

---

...It's a love song.

...

That's about it.

...

..

.

Oh you want me to say more okay

I don't really write simple and straightforward love songs much!! Love is absolutely a core aspect of my songwriting, and I love a lot of people and a lot of things, but even when I invoke romantic love, it's usually not entirely literal? If that makes sense.

But, like, c'mon. I'm a lesbian. I love women with the best of 'em. Sometimes I just wanna be gay! Especially on an album as fraught with emotional moments as Constant Companions is, I feel like it's really important to have at least one simple moment to settle on.

...

oh you want me to say More

Well okay. I like yuri. I like vocal synths. And maybe my himejoshi ass likes making certain combinations of vocal synths do gay shit lesbian style.

lets move on already

---

I love the band Phoenix. I'll be completely honest and tell you that I first heard their music when Lisztomania and 1901 came out as DLC for Rock Band 2 but hey that's how a lot of people my age found a lot of music when they were younger probably. Their album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was one of a couple major sonic touchstones for how I wanted Constant Companions to sound - bouncy, warm, synthetic-yet-natural, with multiple shades of idiosyncrasies - but Liaison in particular was a pretty bold-faced attempt to directly evoke their music, at least in terms of arrangement.

Now, I'm not well-read or French enough to fully match the bright-eyed abstract lyricism or historical knowledge of their songwriting completely - but I can be Jamie Paige about it, reference Arthurian legend, and quote another freaking song I wrote

🤼‍♀️, also known as :women_wrestling:, isn't the gayest song I've ever written, but it's certainly up there, and it gets referenced pretty heavily in Liaison. Maybe this is the aftercare once they're done in the ring? Maybe there are more complicated layers hiding beneath the saccharine sweetness of these hopeless lovers...

Maybe I'm just gay. Ever consider that, huh?

That being said, for reasons I won't go into here, there's some amount of the vocal synth fandom that interpret Solaria and ANRI as being in a sort of toxic embittered lesbian situationship... which does make the layers a little more interesting... though if you ask me? I think lesbians deserve to be happy. What about that you shithead

---

Finally, because I have a moral obligation to make sure you've all seen this, please enjoy ODDEEO's very personal and moving take on Liaison.

Of course, let me know if you have any other questions below!! Otherwise, I'll be back tomorrow to talk about the most transgender song I've ever written - Object of Affection!