#I have a folder with a story for Barry

[beartitled]

Hey Bear remember the detailed art where it’s a place and there’s a just filled with different bears, I think it will be a great excuse to practice but idk how to approach it. Any tips?? Or just things you learn when you started drawing those

Hellow 👋

I have a feeling you asked this a while ago, but I only saw it now

If it's the case, sorry must be a tumblr glitch💥

👏a wall of text warning👏/silly

Planning

First thing I usually do is - I plan a lot beforehand

Especially if it’s a drawing with existing characters

Ironically TSP/STP drawings were easier to do for me

Even though bear megadrawings look simpler (I think?)

Basically when you already have a list of character you want to include - you just need to think where to locate them

When you just draw a lot of random characters - you need to design every single one

Which is kinda a nightmare on your brain 💥

The second type is a lot more flexible tho (you can add or remove characters at will, no count needed)

Project stages

I will use TSP + Undertale reblog chain drawing as an example

1) Collecting references - if you plan to draw existing characters, it’s better to gather all the references

Making an additional list of all characters helps too (this way you can track which character you already drawn)

2) Planning the area

Photobashing or finding a good location reference really helps here

Sadly don’t have a photobash I did for this, I deleted everything 💥

This is just an example to demonstrate things 👆

I usually just do a rough sketch on a small piece of paper

You don’t have to have it 100% planned, if characters don’t fit, you can just extend/edit the area

3) Character planning

You have to determine where your characters will be located

The common mistake I see when ppl draw detailed drawings: they draw a singular character and move on to add others

If you’re doing it digitally, this may not be a problem for you (ya know just make a character smaller or move them, problem solved)

But what I recommend doing:

Is drawing shapes where you plan to put characters in

This will help you plan out the composition more and regulate the character amount in different parts of the drawing

Also keep in mind the size of you character

I struggle with it to this day tbh

Usually the characters on the foreground are bigger then the ones on the background (this is one of the art principles used to showcase distance)

But an interesting thing you may notice when looking at illustrations like “Where’s Waldo” series

This principle often may be ignored

It’s still kinda present, but you can pretty much say many characters are -+ the same size

My theory is that it’s done to make every character equal, so the purpose to find Waldo is still challenging

+ I think to keep the whole picture harmonious

I may not know certain principles (the nitty-gritty of detailed art like this)

So keep in mind this is just my experience, do your research too >:D

4) Key characters

This one is a bit vague, but I will try to explain it the best I can

When you have a specific character, who, for example, is way bigger or has brighter colours then the rest

Special bois 🌸

You need to give them more attention

Let’s see an example

- Big creatures on da background - they were drafted first, bc they required a lot place

- Spider Barry - a special area for spider characters

- Thierry - active action, running, led to a chain of characters interacting

- Narry Grilby’s, Bearline, Pixel Alphys - themed areas for certain characters

(my apologies if I made a mistake in any character name here, let me know, I will fix it)

+ Advice for colour: try to keep them the similar saturation, so the image looks harmonious

You don’t really have to have key characters, it’s just my method that makes the process easier to plan out

5) Art part let’s gooo

This part is up to you obviously, different ppl draw differently

For me it’s usually > small draft > sketch > line art > scan > colour

Advice for my traditional artist - ya’ll need a big paper sheet

I usually work on A3 format, bc it’s easier to scan

But the bigger the paper the more detailed characters you can draw

This one as an example

Bc rookie mistake

Too many characters, not enough paper

I used A3, but looking back A2 would work way better here

I used a really thin line pen (005) and didn’t realise the consequences of that 💥

As a result scan turned out not the best quality (+ if you zoom in on the faces 🐻‍❄️🔫)

It was impressive at the time, but rrrr I wish I just bought a bigger piece of paper back then 💥

Just to illustrate the issue

On the top are pens I usually use for comics lineart, the bottom one is 005

And my finger as an obscure reference lmao 💥

As you can see the lines are REALLY DAMN THIN and everything is smol, tiny even

So just keep that in mind 👍

And for my digital fellas

🫵 Big canvas 🫵 big 🫵 the pixels will eat u 🫵

How much time it takes

Practicing concentration and patience is important 💥

This may sound silly, but it does help with finishing stuff

Projects like those require a ton of patience and focus

So just mentally prepare yourself for sitting on your desk for hours™️

From my experience I would recommend to start with small drawings with a small amount of characters

And then gradually build up to bigger amounts and more details

My first ever megadrawing was this piece

Line art took 2 weeks, colouring -+ a week I believe

This was exhausting the first time 💥

After practicing the process became faster and less tiring

The TSP x Undertale took about 4 days (but like full 4 days)

Remember doing lineart in 1 day, taking breaks just to like eat

🫵Ok don’t worry about me🫵

I have a tendency to concentrate on things for a really long periods of time, so it’s not a “🔥I WILL BURN MYSELF OUT WITH THIS PROJECT LET’S GO🔥” type of deal, this is pretty much how I am

If I enjoy a specific process I can spend an entire day doing just that, without getting tired (the only problem could be not enough movement and eye pain, my eternal enemy 👿)

But 🫵 don’t expect yourself to do the same 🫵

Start small, practice, don’t push your limits right away

Take breaks and care about yourself fellas 👏

Good luck with your projects🫡

Alright

Hope it was helpful, thank u for you question ❤️

For new ppl here, you can check the megadrawings section in navigation (pinned post), if you got interested

[cenorii]

Chris Redfield: personality

This is my psychological analysis of the character, which includes important details of the story, an analysis of the decisions they made and the concept of the phenomenon of «Guiding Fear». Contains spoilers!

Even if you know lore 100%, you will be able to learn something new from my thoughts

I did this to practice analyzing personalities and reliably prescribe my own characters.

[These are all my personal reflections that I have been accumulating and analyzing for six months. You can see the same analysis with Wesker here. In Chris' case, I want to dispel the myths that he is unstable and stupid. Thanks to everyone who reads this, I really appreciate it and it's nice to know that my thoughts are of interest to someone!]

Chris devoted his life entirely to the fight against bioterrorism, renouncing normal life so that others could have it. We don't know much about his thoughts and feelings, as it's in Chris' character to hide such things deep within himself so they don't interfere with his work, but his kind and honest nature shines through. His probable motto is «If not me, then who?»

The main theme of Resident Evil is the struggle with fear. We can speculate endlessly about which characters struggle with which fear, but I'm pretty sure Chris embodies the «fear of loss».

In his 48 years of life, he has lost many partners and squad members, as well as family and friends. Death follows Chris, and he is unbearably afraid of his curse. But who is Chris? In the eyes of many he is a hero, famous for his impulsive character and unbending sense of justice, because of which he is ready to argue with his superiors to prove his point. But behind the legend is a sensitive, respectful and careful man, able to recognize the best qualities in people and guide them.

«I'm not a hero» © Chris

Because of his fear of losing his loved ones, Chris needs control and order in his life, he avoids and minimizes any risks. For this reason, in re8 organized his own squad, separated from the organization, to have full control over the situation. This obsession to control his environment and outcomes to avoid the pain or disappointment that he has experienced in the past is a defense mechanism.

Chris is not an overly sociable person or someone who is eager to make new friends. Although he is easy to communicate, Chris still refrains from frequent socializing with people to avoid forming attachments that could potentially lead to losses in the future. He is used to formal communication between subordinates and colleagues, and informal communication only with those close to Chris who have been with him for a long time.

But let's go his way.

Chris and his younger sister Claire lost their parents when they were children, they died in a car accident. Since then, Chris has taken responsibility for his sister and they have become very close. The first major loss in his life.

At the age of 17, Chris joined the United States Air Force, where he stayed for 6 years. From there he has flying skills, and he is also good with various weapons and is known for his hand-to-hand combat skills, which will not once help him in life. A capable man who was fired for disobeying senior officers, because he didn't agree with them. Barry Burton, a friend he met in the Air Force, recommended Chris to S.T.A.R.S. (elite special forces division under the jurisdiction of the Raccoon Police Department), and that's how his fateful meeting with the Alpha and Bravo teams happened. On the team, Chris was valued for his versatility and was assigned as a point man.

There Chris won at least one award as the best shooter and also met Jill Valentine, who later became his good friend and partner.

His desk in S.T.A.R.S.'s office stands out with its perpetual clutter, scattered folders and disks. He tends to bring things from home, decorating his place with them. For example, next to his desk, Chris put a guitar and also hung a jacket with "Made in Heaven" written on it, which is a reference to a song by the band Queen. Did he risk using the guitar in the presence of the Captain?

On holidays, he would often go to the suburbs with his teammates to drink, which sometimes caused riots. At that point, Chris was chaotic, but because of a difficult fate in the future, he had to tame his inner chaos.

All good things came to an end when contact was lost with Bravo's team in the mountains near Raccoon City. Alpha, meaning the team Chris was on, went to investigate and stumbled upon the Spencer's Mansion. But it wasn't an accident, it was just part of the plan of Wesker, their Captain. The mansion was only a cover for the Umbrella lab beneath it. All the inhabitants of the place had become mere shadows of their former selves, turning into zombies. In order for Chris to explore the building more safely, Wesker left supplies for him in some places, which may not be canon, but only a game convention. But this is quite normal for Wesker, he maintained the image of the captain until the very end.

When Chris caught Wesker off guard in the lab, he was finally convinced that his fears were correct... the captain was a traitor. But even knowing that, realizing how many squad members he ruined, when Wesker was mortally wounded Chris didn't hide his excitement for him. In the re1 remake Chris twitches in his direction, but then recoils. Chris has compassion even for those who betrayed him.

Chris lost many friends, including Wesker, during this assignment. And that day left a strong imprint in his mind. It was later dubbed «Mansion Incident». Something that divided the lives of many into «before» and «after» and began an endless nightmare.

Chris, Jill, Barry, Brad and Rebecca survived and took it upon themselves to figure things out. Upon their return, Chris reported the horrific incident to anyone who was willing to listen, but Police Chief Irons hushed up all the gossip, being under the thumb of Umbrella, not to mention that even the government refused to listen to what Chris had to say. Umbrella had too much influence for it to be that simple, but that only fueled the fire of Chris's fighting spirit. He went on «vacation» to Europe to do his own investigation without saying anything to Claire. Chris wanted to keep his sister out of danger, but there were consequences. Concerned about her brother's disappearance, Claire found herself drawn into the chaos of the fall of Raccoon City, where she met Leon Kennedy (events re2).

During his time at S.T.A.R.S., Chris saw his sister often and taught her shooting and combat skills. Thanks to her brother's attention, Claire learned the skills she needed to survive.

When Claire learned enough information about her brother and left the infected city, she traveled to Europe to continue her search for Chris, but found herself caught by Umbrella. She was sent to Rockfort Island prison, which was more like a concentration camp. (Code: Veronica). Thanks to information from Leon, who Claire managed to contact, Chris set out to help his sister. On the island, he encountered a few revelations - Wesker was alive for some reason, and he was also after some Alexia.

The former captain who got Chris's friends killed. The one who was presumed dead has once again cast a shadow over Redfield's life. Their fates intertwined.

Since Wesker's presence has been causing disasters as of late, Chris decided not only to find his sister, but also to investigate the situation on the island to prevent his new enemy from giving him what he was looking for. Upon meeting him, he discovered that the former captain was no longer human. Chris was only able to defeat him by stealth, suffering greatly in the process.

He eventually saved Claire, and they left the place together. Deep in his heart, Chris realized that Umbrella must cease to exist so that people like Wesker would disappear. So that unfortunate people would not repeat the fate of Steve (Claire's dead friend) and the people of Raccoon City.

In 2003, he traveled with Jill to Russia because of reports of infected people in that region. Their visit to a biological weapons factory ended with a victory over a new enemy, T-A.L.O.S., as well as the collapse of Umbrella, because now Chris and Jill had all the evidence against them. It was not without the help of Wesker, who had contributed to this collapse, because he wanted the same thing. Since then, Chris had become very attached to Jill, as if he was responsible for her life.

However, bioweapons and viruses have affected civilians many more times. That's why Chris and his partner joined the young BSAA organization to prevent the disaster in Raccoon City from repeating itself. In 2005 they were drawn into a conflict with the terrorist organization Veltro, in the investigation of which revealed unpleasant information about traitors in their (BSAA) ranks. There, by the way, Chris becomes the partner of a certain Jessica Sherawat, who is clearly partial to him, but he pretends that he does not notice the hints, softly rejecting the feelings of the future traitor. Inside BSAA, the leadership had to be changed, and that was the first seed of doubt that settled in Chris's mind. The first feeling of distrust for the place he was involved with.

Life continues to put Chris on the spot, forcing him to go on various missions with little or no time to rest. Thanks to the huge number of things, he has dedicated himself to, Chris is at the top of the organization. His endless hard work is summed up in his own phrase: «I'm Not Going To Stop Until I'm Dead».

Let's travel back to 2006. DLC for re5 «Lost in Nightmares». Chris and Jill go in search of Spencer, the last remaining bit of Umbrella, its founder. This man is responsible for many things and deserves to be punished, and could help them find Wesker. But when the partners arrive on a tip-off at his mansion, they find only a bloody corpse with their former captain standing over it. The latter in turn was displeased with the intrusion and immediately attacked them, during the fight Chris was caught off guard. A couple of seconds separated him from probable death. But Jill intervened and pushed Wesker through the window, she falling with him into the cliff. Chris could only watch helplessly as they fell, realizing that once again he had lost someone dear to him. Here Chris wonders for the first time if his struggle is worth it.

Jill's body was never found, and neither was Wesker's, so the former was pronounced dead. The empty grave with the headstone that had been erected in her honor was not deprived of Chris's attention. He probably went there often and grieved. What he swore over Jill's grave was unknown to anyone, but it made Chris investigate even more and put himself through even more training.

Since 1998, his body has changed a lot. Knowing that one day he would meet Wesker again, Chris diligently grew stronger, pushing his body to the limits of human capability so that he would be ready for anything.

What follows are the events of re5. In 2009, he travels to Africa to stop a bioweapons deal, where he meets his new partner, Sheva Alomar. Although they don't have the reliving of the past that they had with Jill, they hit it off well, thanks to which they accomplish a lot together. At the very beginning they encounter a new enemy, Majini, the same Ganados that Leon once encountered in re4, only from an improved version of the Plaga parasite. They also meet a virtually immortal mutant created thanks to the new Uroboros virus. After defeating him, Chris gets the data and learns that the deal was rigged to test this virus. In doing so, he lost several more of his men and painfully realized that if he had arrived on the scene a little earlier, his corpse lay with them. The data also contained a picture of a woman who looked strangely like the dead Jill, but with blonde hair. Chris secretly believed that maybe his old partner was alive.

Sheva was disappointed by the deaths of her comrades and frightened. Not wanting to put anyone else in danger, Chris asks her to leave him, but Sheva refuses. She assures Chris that they are partners until the end. Somewhere out there, her people are dying, so she can't drop everything and turn back and leave Chris alone. Then Chris tells her that he's on this mission for personal reasons. His former partner Jill may be alive and she needs his help, so they need to hurry before it's too late. To which Sheva agrees, not doubting her new partner's theory.

Eventually, after going through many trials, they came face to face with Wesker. He revealed that Jill had been with him the whole time, but was under a mind-altering drug. Jill, being zombified, fought on the same team as Wesker against Chris and Sheva. One of the dearest people to Chris had been enslaved for two whole years, which was beyond his mind with horror and sadness. He had almost buried her, almost given up looking for her, but Jill was literally under his nose, in a terrible situation. Struggling with his best friend and partner, Chris never stopped trying to get the truth into her head so she would recognize it, and he's succeeding.

Running away on urgent business, Wesker leaves Jill alone, forcing Chris and Sheva to fight her. During the fight, they remove the injector from her chest that was controlling her mind.

A disoriented Jill repents that she realized everything but couldn't control herself, to which her partners reply that they understand. Jill is back in action and off to the «Desperate Escape» DLC, while Chris and Sheva continue the main plot and head off on Wesker's trail. For Chris, this was already a personal vendetta. Having suffered so much loss through this man's fault, he would no longer be able to look Jill in the eye if he didn't stop him.

While searching for Wesker, the team encounters an Uroboros mutated Excella, Wesker's his ally, on whom Wesker decides to test the virus, to see if Excella will prove to be the «chosen one».

After an exhausting battle, the partners find the man they came for and decide to use the serum stolen from Excella. It is an injection that, under the right conditions, stabilizes Wesker's powers, but when overdosed makes him weaker. A weakened Wesker tries to flee to his plane, refusing to be confronted any further. His partners, who managed to climb with him, cause the plane to crash into an active volcano, where their final battle takes place.

Wesker, having lost most of his powers, finds himself in a difficult situation and decides to resort to overdosing on Uroboros. Against him, Chris and Sheva are once again at odds, but the fragile rock in the volcano plays into their hands, and Wesker falls ridiculously into the lava as the ground beneath him collapses.

This allowed partners to take advantage of his helplessness and fire the rocket launcher twice at the target. Although not shown, it is assumed that Wesker was killed.

After that, Chris finally realized what he was fighting for, realizing that his fight was worth the lives saved. Jill was sent to rehab after everything Wesker had done to her and didn't get back to normal until closer to 2015, causing Chris to change partners again. Chris wrote in his notes, «Defeating Wesker's undoubtedly a turning point for me. Due to this battle, I found the meaning behind what I'm fighting for».

In 2012, during the events of re6, Chris and his new partner, Piers Nivans, were sent to Edonia to prevent the spread of another bioweapon, but things didn't go quite as they expected. Another mission, another loss for Redfield.

At some point, he learns about Jake Muller and the fact that his life is in danger. After learning that he was Wesker's own son, Chris thought deep down, probably about the fate that has been intertwined with this man since the days of S.T.A.R.S.

At the very beginning of the mission, Chris loses almost his entire squad, once again convinced of the curse he carries behind him. And amnesia during the trauma incapacitates him for six months and Chris becomes an alcoholic.

In 2013, Pierce brings his captain back into the service, forcefully reclaiming unpleasant memories in order to continue the mission. The losses that Chris has suffered have affected him greatly, and he worries for the lives of every member of the squad, making foolish and rash actions that put him in danger. It is only after talking with Piers that Chris comes to his senses and becomes his old self again, because being gripped by fear you can't save anyone. And he really couldn't save anyone again, only the two of them survived.

After meeting Jake again, Chris confesses that he killed Wesker, his father, which leads to an argument in which Jake pulls a gun on him. Chris at this point says, "Go ahead, shoot. You have every right to. Just promise me you'll survive. The world depends on it." Jake shoots past and declares that there are more important things at stake than their problems. Chris probably feels guilty about him.

On a mission to protect Jake and many others, Chris and Piers have to face a new bioweapon, HAOS. Piers, sacrificing himself, becomes infected with the C-virus and forces Chris to save himself by being alone with HAOS. In doing so, he became another wound on Redfield's heart. Another loss on the account. Chris had planned to retire, lay down his weapons and turn everything over to Piers, but now he is forced to continue his service, thus honoring Piers's memory. Chris once said he would fight to the end, and he doesn't throw words to the wind.

2017, re7 events. Bakers and Mold incident, which Chris was unlucky enough to be involved in. He once again tragically lost all of his people. Once again, fate has struck a sore spot. And that seed of doubt that had settled in his mind back in 2005 finally blossomed. After this incident, Chris became even more distrustful of the BSAA, because they had hidden the incident from the public, which had never happened before. He formed his own Hound Wolf Squad, gathering people he could trust, and spent the next three years tracking down a certain mother Miranda, with absolutely no authorization from headquarters. He became an outcast in BSAA for this cause and for justice.

As Chris got older, he stopped acting impulsively and began to act more uncompromisingly, clearly following the plan regardless of any interference. He saw no obvious reason why he was obligated to inform Ethan of his next course of action before shooting his «wife» during dinner in 2021. He believed that Miranda would realize that Ethan knew something, so such sacrifices had to be made.

Ethan thought until the last minute that his wife was gone and the baby had been taken away. What loss and stress Ethan went through Chris didn't even take it upon himself to imagine. In the end, it turned out that it wasn't his wife at all, but Miranda, who had pretended to be her, changing her appearance at the expense of Mold's abilities. Chris's plan had gone awry from the start, but it could hardly have been worse if he had prematurely informed Ethan. From now on, Chris tried to keep random people out of his plans to minimize any potential casualties.

On this mission, for the first time, Chris didn't lose anyone from his squad, but he did lose a friend. Ethan died to protect loved ones, and it hit Redfield and his fear once again. He experienced grief and anger at the realization that he would never be able to save those whose lives he held dear. Perhaps he chastised himself for the mistakes he had made during this assignment. Blamed himself for not telling Ethan the whole plan beforehand. He had plenty of reasons to hate himself.

But this small victory over Miranda doesn't mean victory in the never-ending war against bioterrorism. On the way back, one of his squad discovers that the body of the BSAA soldier on their plane was a bioweapon. This is the last straw for Chris, and he decides to look into everything, which will most likely lead to a coup in the organization.

To summarize, Chris is sometimes hard to understand, as he hides his emotions and feelings under a meaningful silence. The kindly man who was the soul of the company, by 2021 looks as if he has lost all hope, but it still burns in him. Every dead person he failed to keep safe feels like they destroyed his heart. Christopher is a huge wound in the fandom that is not easy to heal. His storyline is likely coming to an end, which makes me sad to see Chris meet his old age in sadness and loneliness. At the time of re8 (2021), he's already 48 years old, which is a lot considering he's been fighting bioterrorism since he was 25. Has Chris ever thought of his own wants and needs since then? He has such dedication and concern for others that it seems as if he is completely oblivious to himself. With his endless responsibilities, it would be impossible to take a vacation, but there are indeed moments of calm, does Chris never rest?

On a more personal note, he has always treated his squads like family, "I know it is not any of my business, but I want you to think of us as a family... no matter how this all ends" (Philosophy University Incident 2010). Nothing is known about Chris' relationships, except for one non-canonical instance of dating a girl in «Viral Campaign». Apart from his living friends, he has no one else. It wasn't until Ethan's death that he found something resembling a normal life. Chris helped Ethan's wife raise and educate their daughter Rose, becoming an uncle and father figure to her. It is unknown if Chris ever returned to alcoholism after his amnesia, but I can assume it is unlikely. A lot of things happened to him during that period of his life that affected his view of the world. Surely he no longer allows himself to behave so recklessly, even in the most stalemate situation.

Interesting detail, Chris is constantly contrasted with Wesker, as if he's a better version of him. Both were Alpha squad captains, both have blood type 0, and were once the same weight class and same height. Probably the same eye color, as well as great weapons proficiency. Their encounters in re5 don't look like a fight, it's more like a dance between two people with equally good fighting skills. Sure, Wesker is much stronger than Chris due to his situation with the virus, but he never let himself use more strength than necessary to keep Chris fighting him, prolonging any fight with him. It's possible that Wesker's attempt to kill Chris in «Lost in Nightmares» is just a ruse, and he was going to toss him aside somewhere, as he never seriously intended to hurt him enough. Chris' age at the time of his last official appearance in re8 is 48, which matches Wesker's age at the time of his supposed death. Their conflict isn't over yet, so it's fully expected that Wesker survived and will once again surprise Christopher with his presence. They need to finish what they started, as adults and having already been through a lot. Without the pointless fights that the current Chris is unlikely to get into. There's no telling what the modern Wesker might be like, but if he's stayed in the shadows for so many years, it's not like he's planning to be too reckless either.

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

Due to a misunderstanding, I would like to supplement my text. This analysis is only my personal interpretation and my personal view of the character and his story. I do not claim that it is 100% canon, because canon is so vague and disjointed that it is impossible to fully assemble it objectively. Everyone is entitled to have an interpretation different from mine. Best wishes to all!

[polytropic-liar]

WIP tag game: horrible Flash au for @bettercostume

okay SO I was deep into CW Flash fandom for while and at some point the really quite tragic backstory of the protagonist sparked two horrible neurons in my head and I wrote some snippets of a story that I can only describe as "I can make this worse on purpose"

first, some background info/spoilers for those not familiar with the CW Flash TV show (or who have forgotten what the actual setup plot of the show was because they revised it via time travel nonsense too many times):

a supervillain kills Barry Allen's mother when Barry is 11

it is later revealed that this supervillain was a time traveler trying to kill Barry because Barry will later become the superhero The Flash (who has superspeed. it doesn't involve nudity.)

Barry's father is arrested and convicted for his mother's murder

Barry is raised by a family friend, and is involved in psychiatric care as a child because of his story about the supernatural murder of his mom, but not institutionalized

it's later revealed that the supervillain kept tabs on him and arranged events in his life to later give him superpowers

my au adjustment to this backstory that no one asked for:

the supervillain kills both of Barry's parents

in the lack of any other suspect, he's convicted at age 11 of their murders

he's institutionalized, first in a psychiatric facility and then in juvenile detention

he's adopted out of juvenile detention by the supervillain, who trains him to receive superpowers while pretending to be a replacement father figure

I ran out of steam on it because I couldn't think of a satisfying plot arc, all I had was the horrible setup. So it's just sitting there in my folder reminding me regularly that my inspiration for it was "what if I orphaned the bereaved child", yikes

excerpt:

In the end, Barry won’t calm down until both Joe and the social worker leave the room, and they send in Officer Carter instead. That’s a little bit of a dirty trick, because she’s a forty-something white woman with long brown hair who bears a greater-than-passing resemblance to Nora Allen, but it does get Barry to stop yelling and instead sob into her lap for a while. 

Carter comes back out of the room once Barry has cried himself into a fitful doze, looking shaken.

“Look, I know he did it,” she tells Joe quietly. “But I don’t think he knows it. Kid’s sick, that’s pretty obvious. He needs to be in a facility.”

Two weeks after his parents’ deaths, Barry is moved from his temporary foster home into a juvenile residential treatment facility. He shows up at the building, which from the outside looks like a doctor’s office but inside looks more like a really big house, with a big trunk full of clothes and comic books and pictures of his parents; the woman in charge of the house looks a little taken aback at how much stuff he has with him, and he hears her tell Officer Carter, who is dropping him off, that she’s not sure they’ll have room for it all.

[lennyfromvinci]

Tagged by @ofspacecrafts for this writing meme and i love memes and hate doing actual work so lfg

What's one story you've written, you're the most proud of?

Should we say just about starving tonight? Let’s say that. It was a whirlwind of writing, that’s for sure! It was supposed to be 4k but I had a lot of feelings.

What's one story you wished you had expanded on, or spent more time writing?

The elephant graveyard that is my in prog folder. RIP Morgan and Sasha from Nobody Wants This handcuffed together! Goodbye, goodbye you were bigger than the sky! Alternatively: all the typos in everything I somehow catch a week after I post, despite several rounds of betas and reviews. Jfc how does it always happen?

There is a universe where still counts is 20k longer and deals with Robby realizing that Samira and Jack are definitely hanging out without him — hanging out how? That’s for him to melt down about -- and also includes his Heather-induced damage projected onto Samira but I’m happy I cut bait on all that and kept it tight instead.

What's your favourite trope of all time?

Like Lucille Bluth, I love all my children equally. (Accidental marriage where they then have to pretend it’s real, for reasons. Secretly dating. That list of reverse tropes like accidental old person acquisition (Samira’s life story) and government assigned nemesis/soulhate (Langdon v Santos) and abstinence pollen (everyone, just imagine it). Amnesia. Road trips where there is probably one bed.)

If you could be the main character in one of your stories, what one would it be?

I was gonna say the pythons on the limbs, the (lady) Ghostbusters x Thor crossover, and then I realized that meant I’d probably have been snapped. I’m still gonna say that, but know that I considered it and decided it was worth it.

Do you think you'll ever stop writing for the fandom you're currently most active in?

Statistically speaking, yes.

You've been given a book deal. What story are you publishing from your collection?

If none is not an option, take the adventures of Barry & Kayla and make that an expanded universe. The serial killer and his demanding agent, that’s something, right?

Top writing tip for others?

Because I fear we are losing the recipes: if you hand-code your italics using html tags in gdocs, you won’t get the annoying double line-spacing error or the error with the space before the period when you post to ao3. Barring that, idk, write what you want to read, not what you think other people want to read.

[moriavis]

WIP Folder Game

I was tagged by @kisahawklin on. Uh. January 10th. Whoops. Better late than never!

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

I don't think I've really added anything new to the list since the last time I did it, but let's do it anyway.

bloodlines coldflash bang coldflash - orpheus and eurydice Coldflash Week Day 4 - Body Swap Farther than Everything - future slave fic au I dreamed of snow (i call that loving you) Len and Barry are jealous this is such a dumb story i need him like water (he thinks I'm alright) reporter barry AU Resonance Silent Hill Len/Barry Spook Me Story sugar daddy barry towianw super sekrit sequel Tumblr Prompts 3/24 Tumblr Prompts Sept '23 Untitled Document

(This doesn't count the... 27 original fiction documents.)

Tagging: Do I even know sixteen people? If you want to do this, do it!

[beaumontmanor]

Progress Update #1 - Character Sprites!

Hello everyone, I’m here to give you the first update on the development of The Mystery of Beaumont Manor! Over the past two weeks, I've made significant strides in several areas. I've been working diligently on drafting sprites for each character, which has been both challenging and rewarding. Simultaneously, I've been fleshing out the storyline, adding depth and intricacy to the plot. To keep everything organized, I've set up a dedicated Google Drive folder for the project, which has greatly improved my workflow. I'm pleased to introduce you to some of the key characters that will feature in the story. The main character is Lyra, a curious and clever individual who finds herself at the center of our mystery. Supporting characters include Dominic, a stoic bull butler; Sylvie, a charming moth maid; Barry, a diligent beetle groundskeeper; and Mavis, a secretive blue anole researcher. Each character brings their own unique perspective and backstory to the narrative. Looking ahead to the next two weeks, my focus will be on developing expressions for each of the characters. This process is crucial for bringing their personalities to life and conveying emotions effectively throughout the story. I'll also be revisiting and revising certain aspects of the storyline to ensure coherence and engagement. My goal is to complete all the character expressions within this timeframe, which will allow me to transition to working on backgrounds and in-game items in the near future. The development process has not been without its challenges. Barry's design, in particular, proved to be quite difficult. Creating an anthropomorphic insect character while maintaining believability and appeal required numerous iterations. Additionally, I've encountered some ongoing difficulties with anatomical accuracy across various character designs. However, these challenges have provided valuable learning experiences and opportunities for improvement. In terms of my project timeline, I acknowledge that there is still a substantial amount of work ahead. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with the current pace of progress. If I can maintain this level of productivity, I believe I will remain on schedule for my projected completion date.

[kitkatt0430]

6, 13, 28, 31, 46, 51, 63, 68, 73, 77 and 88 for the fanfic ask game!!

6.) do you have any kind of consistent writing schedule or just hoping for the best?

Absolutely hoping for the best. Trying to enforce a writing schedule always just frustrated me when I failed to meet it, which made writing into more of a chore that had to be completed. By letting myself write when the mood strikes me, I might wind up going days between writing, but I feel better about what gets written because it'll feel right in a way that something I forced myself to write for a self imposed deadline generally won't.

13.) talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you.

Since I've been porting over my co-written fic for FF8, I think I'll talk about that some.

Honestly I think I expected co-writing to be a lot harder than it was and I lucked out a lot with Emcey as a co-writer in that our writing just really flowed well together and adjusting our scenes to fit together after writing them was generally a fun process and not a frustrating one. While at the time I was interested in co-writing more with her and we talked a lot right up until the end about doing so as if the plans were in stone, I think I'm ultimately glad we didn't even.

In retrospect, I picked up on a lot of her habits and opinions on the characters because hers were the stronger opinions of the two of us at the time. So while the experience was overall a good one, I don't think I'd have found my own voice as a writer as strongly as I have if we'd continued co-writing.

28.) handwritten notes or typed notes?

Typed notes, though I'd like to get back into handwritten notes more.

31.) tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

I haven't done a whole lot with Jerrie Rathaway, but every time I include her in a fic it's really great. She's a good balance for her brother and I wish there was more in the comics about her for me to dig into for when I create my own versions of her for fanfics.

46.) what time are you the most productive when it comes to writing?

Usually in the evenings, after work, but afternoons on non work days are pretty good writing times too. Or a thirty minute break on a work day can be surprisingly productive if I've got something in my head that won't quiet until it's been written down.

51.) share the synopsis of a story you work on that you haven’t published yet

Iris has had an unrequited crush on her best friend, Barry, for years. But he's never seen her the same way. These days they're a solid investigative team with her as a detective for the CCPD and him as the in house CSI for the department. But Barry's interest in a barista working at CC Jitters threatens their status quo and just as Iris is planing to finally confess her feelings, Barry gets kidnapped and Iris' only lead is that surprisingly cute barista, Eddie Thawne, who thinks that the kidnappers mistook Barry for Eddie and that the whole thing has something to do with his missing Uncle Eobard.

... I've got, like, two or three pages of this written and I no longer remember where it's going, but I'm going to get a full plot re-imagined for it at some point because the initial premise is still a good one. (but if someone else wants to write a fic based off the summary, feel free...)

63.) what’s the best insult you’ve read in a fic?

... I know I've read some real zingers, but honestly none are coming to mind at the moment. *sigh* Sorry.

68.) how long will you spend on a story or scene before you give up?

I'll usually try for a few hours before putting it aside and then I'll keep coming back to it on and off to try and figure out what's going wrong. Sometimes the scene is right, but I'm not in the right brainspace. Sometimes the scene is wrong, but I needed time and distance to admit it. Sometimes I never do figure out what the problem is and so it sits in the WiP folder until the apocalypse happens.

73.) how do you visualize scenes? do you see it like a movie in your head, or do the words just flow?

I'm much more of a 'words just flow' type then a 'visualizes movie' type. Sometimes it is the movie in my head, though. It's just not usually that way.

77.) how do you write kissing scenes?

Like smushing two barbies together and hoping their mouths actually meet. lol ;)

Jokes aside, I go into it with the approach that a kiss is gonna happen, so how do they get there? Sometimes that means stepping backwards from the kiss and sometimes it means finding point a before the kiss and stepping them forward from there. It's as much about the intimate gestures that draw the characters in towards each other - towards the kiss - as it is about the kiss itself.

88.) if you could have another author write your wip for you (bc we all dream of this occasionally), who would it be?

@fezwearingjellybananas definitely for a Flash WiP

[just-two-blokes]

wip tag game

Thank you so much for the tag @disastrouscanasta :D

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! then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

This would be more fun if I had more WIPs but I only have two.. So let’s make the most of them, even though they are both so old, I do not remember when I last worked on them...

A Dance - A Barris oneshot

A stupid draft from 13.1. - Richard and Phyllis story

(yes, the second one is really named a stupid draft because I do not remember my ideas for this WIP. Also the date is from last year - how foolish of you to assume its a draft from this year.)

Tagging @infinity2020corner and @junkshop-disco and everyone else who would like to contribute.

[lenasai]

oh are we doing wip wsunday

i was tagged by @orbleglorb, thank you blestie 💜

okay here are rules:

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!

i excluded the part about tagging as many people as i have wips because i don't do that with tag games sorry. if you want to do it consider yourself tagged

also i am very aware i actually have unanswered asks from a while ago, i forgot about them and then got embarrassed about not doing it. i will probably answer those eventually once i get over the awkwardness

okay here are wips:

cursed fucking day i fucking hate you

funny duck game*

getting spooky at the wlaffle house

The Big WIP**

spies shrimp

barry bmoment (not started)

nat and dimi shenanigans (not started)

*duck game is on hiatus until i decide whether i actually want to make it a true choose-your-own-adventure game or if i want it to be a few semi-linear stories, sorry @ anyone who was actually interested in that one lmao

**not the actual title, but that is what it's been known as to me for uh....months. it will be very long. i keep telling myself i will write it and then i just daydream about it instead

[vexic929]

For talk shop Tuesday - how do you come up with so many OCs? What’s your process, and what’s the moment when an OC idea clicks for you?

so it usually starts with the story idea actually! a concept will latch on to my brain and not let go until I do something with it, and 9 times out of 10 that results in a new OC

my OC process is generally feeling out where they fit in the story first, with Beth it was "what if Barry had a little sister", with Berrie it was "give the evil man a child", and so on and so forth :) sometimes they start as entirely self-indulgent self-inserts but they usually gain more individual personalities, styles, etc as I plan the story out

before I get too far though I HAVE to give them a name and appearance otherwise whatever stand-in I've given them will stick forever XD (this has happened many times, hence the number of characters with L names, I just really like L names lol)

I dunno if there's an exact pinpoint-able moment where the idea clicks, sometimes I get fully through the creative process and scrap the whole idea, I have many many many folders of scrapped OCs with rich backstories and detailed info that I'm just probably not ever gonna use, which sucks but it's fun to create them anyway!

[mariacallous]

I feel sorry for Gary Oldman. He has done something rarely attempted by stars of year-end Oscar-bait movies: He has turned in an understated performance! He plays superannuated spymaster George Smiley in the new movie version of John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. And it seems all anyone can talk about is the 1979 BBC TV version, starring Sir Alec Guinness in the same role.

In The New Yorker, Anthony Lane gushed over Guinness’ “opaque yet disarming sagacity.” The Atlantic’s James Parker dubbed his “the definitive performance.” (My favorite of Parker’s many astute observations: Guinness’ Smiley “moved as if he were wearing three overcoats.”) They’re both right, of course. Oldman understands that Smiley’s strongest urge is to blend in with the hideous ’70s wallpaper, and he seems appropriately worn down by the life he’s led. Nevertheless, Oldman can’t quite embody the retiring world-weariness and disappointment that Guinness so effortlessly conveys.

The problem is one of reality vs. verisimilitude. Guinness was 65 years old when he first put on Smiley’s spectacles; Oldman is a mere stripling of 53. The same can be said of the period setting: Director Tomas Alfredson did an amazing job of summoning up the dismal gloom of Britain in the 1970s—all smoke and fug and nary a glimpse of color. It’s an artful reconstruction. But Guinness and the murderers’ row of great British actors assembled by the BBC were twitching net curtains and visiting bland safe houses in the real 1970s. How can Alfredson possibly compete with that?

Greater length doesn’t always mean added depths, but le Carré’s complicated story makes more sense when it spills out over the course of the TV series’ six hours rather than the movie’s 127 minutes (as my colleague Dana Stevens can also attest). Both versions turn a thinky book into a talky teleplay—even in the big-budget movie, some parts of the story are conveyed in conversation rather than shown.

The TV series is full of brooding menace, but there aren’t a lot of thrills—it’s more cerebral than that. The mole at the top level of the British intelligence service is trapped using logic, not firepower. (Smiley is a very scholarly detective who spends hours examining documents.) The movie’s most heart-racing scene involves an attempt to smuggle a folder full of documents out of a library-like place. It’s the old-school version of that contemporary cliché: a hero copying computer files onto a thumb drive as bad guys approach.

Watching the TV version after seeing the film is a fascinating exercise, but it’s also a little repetitive. If you can’t face the same mole hunt all over again, check out Smiley’s People, a BBC production from 1982 in which Smiley once again returns from retirement to save “the Circus,” as le Carré called British intelligence. It was filmed three years after Tinker, Tailor, but the rudimentary computers that have started to pop up around the office make the setting seem positively prehistoric. In this adventure, Smiley heads off to Europe in pursuit of his nemesis—proving that the man can maintain his composure even among foreigners and hippies. The highlight of the series is an amazing face-off between Smiley and the Circus’ new boss, Saul Enderby, in Episode 5. Barry Foster plays Enderby as a slimy showoff who treats Smiley like a doddering fool. It’s worth sitting through the whole six hours just to see how effectively Guinness can express annoyance and dismay in a momentary glance. You may not even notice—and that’s kind of the point.

[magical-awesome-kid]

I have the BEST most DUMBEST AU for Pokémon Legends Arceus.

The Arc Phone Has Internet AU.

Dawn/Akari finds the widget for the Internet DEEP in the folders. Arceus tried to uninstall it, but he couldn’t get it off because Perfect Design or whatever, so he just hid it. Akari pulls up the Internet and it’s in-time with how long she’s been gone in the future (let’s say she’s gone six months at this point? So she’s got the news page for six months after she disappeared).

And who’s on the news page? Her.

Now, for the sake of this story, Dawn’s memories are a little scrambled. Not to Ingo’s extent, but things were still missing. She couldn’t remember her first name - Dawn - but she remembered her middle name - Hikari. She goes down the Internet rabbit hole and not only finds every news article about Champion (Champion! How could she forget? Her Pokémon worked so hard for that!) but also finds her Wikipedia page, which is full to the brim not only of pictures and notes but also incorrect info (this, weirdly enough, jogs her memories as she goes to correct it).

Then she realizes Oh. Oh shit. I can contact mom and Barry and Lucas and the League!

And she does. The phone and texting apps won’t go through, but all her social media still work. Not wanting to cause total chaos, she DMs everyone she feels needs to know.

It’s chaos. She’s balancing 40 conversations with various entities and then SOMEONE posts a link and says “I made a secure discord for all of this plus we can video call” (it was probably Volkner).

As the chaos is ensuing, Akari sends one picture of herself in Jubilife Village, and she happens to catch Ingo in the background.

And then someone sends it back with a big circle on Ingo and is like “IS THAT INGO?!?”

And Dawn is like “OMG I forgot Ingo said he was from the future! Do you all know who he is?”

Dawn’s thread is flooded with news articles and wikipedias on Nimbasa’s subway system and the bosses there.

She pulls over Ingo and, after explaining what a phone is, he’s scrolling like a mad man.

It’s not like an instant snap back. Everything sounds so right and familiar. It’s not until Dawn gets a video call from the Unova League does it start to take hold.

Emmet, who has spent the last three years hoping, praying that his brother was out there, who was trying to cope but still held hope, who refused to do a funeral, even a symbolic one, because his brother couldn’t be officially ruled as dearly departed yet, is bawling into the line with Elesa and all their Pokémon (it’s clear in the background that they’re in one of the conference rooms of the Nimbasa Gym to get everyone into the shot).

Ingo ends up recovering a lot faster now. Talking over things with Emmet or Elesa or Drayden or just about anyone in his past life makes it solid, gives him a ring to hang on to, and he gets back on track. He’s still forgetful sometimes, but he doesn’t feel like he’s lost everything precious anymore. Because Ingo doesn’t have an Arc Phone (they’re still unsure how it happens to him, but some of the international police, who have experience with missing memories, suggest Ultra Wormholes), they just have Ingo and Hikari be a relative hunting pair. Ingo enjoys talking about his memories with anyone just to make them more whole, but Dawn is the only one who understands. Dawn is relieved to have an adult just… understand and be there to help her (she’s been through a ton for her age and she’s def cried to Ingo about how her “pokemon adventure” has turned out). They’re also trying to avoid a space-time paradox what with their future knowledge.

Hisui falls in line with Sinnoh time, but Unova is many time zones away. A nearly 12 hour time difference. Ingo doesn’t care. He’s always been an early riser, so he calls in the wee hours of the morning, when it’s dinner time in Nimbasa, and he shares breakfast while they eat dinner and talks for at least an hour. He promises to be prompt the next day, and it no longer feels so far away, his home.

Dawn always checks in with her mom and everyone in the later evening. Her mom is one call, Barry and Lucas another, League messages and specific requests from Cynthia and Various Professors to document the past and see about bringing some DNA samples back to the future (fossil resurrection is a very common thing after all). She’s almost begging Cylene and Komodo to give her other work so she can say she’s busy not screwing up the timeline.

When a plan is in place to get them back to the future - Professor Oak mentions his own adventure with Celebi and believes she’ll be easiest to find and convince to help - Ingo and Dawn take their time thanking everyone and getting to say good bye. It seems rather bittersweet going home…

But Rei follows them.

Rei, who has always had a sharp eye for these things, points out what he’s learned about the Strange Device that Akari has and that he’s heard her arguing with no one a few times in her lodgings (she blushes at the implication of how loud she was). Deciding Fuck It Being Here Has Already Fucked The Timeline, she plops the phone in Rei’s hands just as Celebi arrives at their pick up point. She explains that the phone must always be kept on him and, if it starts ringing, click the green button. She disappears with Celebi, leaving Rei confused.

Rei uses the phone over the next day, just trying to figure more out. He catches onto the photography feature immediately, realizing why Laventon loves pictures so much. It’s such a great way to document things.

And then, almost exactly 24 hours after Hikari and Ingo left with a strange Pokémon, the phone rings.

Rei hesitantly answers.

Dawn is there with Ingo. They’re in a strange room with strange people and Pokémon, but it’s like looking into a little window to another world.

(It is, in a way).

Dawn explains what’s going on and, after swearing Rei not to totally spill the beans (they approve a list of people that could know - The Professor, the Clan Leaders, maybe Cylene in time) they catch up on all that’s happened. The man who refuses to get his feet off Ingo’s lap is Emmet, his (annoying) twin brother, that’s Dawn’s excitable best friend Barry and her newfound cousin Lucas, her mom, Ingo’s best friend Elesa, and SO MANY Pokémon in the background. When Rei asks, Lucas has to shut Dawn up from revealing too much about the future.

Rei swears to try to keep out of Hisui history via the Internet, but he does look up more ‘modern’ stories and discoveries. In turn, Rei goes across the region and beyond to explore his own world. Dawn and Ingo learn how the modern world works once more.

So yeah. The Arc Phone Has Internet AU.

[garcia-allen]

Post the name of all your files in your WIP folder regardless of how non descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send in asks with the title that intrigues them. Answer with a snippet or something about the story. Tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Tagged by: @allyjostan, Thanks for taaging🥰🥰

1. Glimpse (actually is a Lotor-centric but I wrote it only halfway and I think it’s like 2 years ago?)

2. Raining Stars (female! Savitar/Barry）

3. Unstoppable （clex, also more than a year ago🥲）

[pocket-ozwynn]

Has Genesis Day Chapter 3 in the oven like a fine roast, slaps a folder on the metaphorical table.

Y’all wanna hear about two new idiots I’ve been thinking about?

As a note, I PROBABLY (cough) won’t be doing anything long-verse with these two for at least a year or more but I definitely do want to do one-shots with them because I just am starting to really love their dynamic.

The setting is tentatively the “Space Odyssey”!AU, and it draws a lot of inspiration from James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, League of Legend’s Odyssey skin line and sub-universe, and Elaine Lee & Mike Kaluta’s Starstruck comic book series. Loud, colorful, absurd, despite a galaxy ruled by corporations and empires. This setting would allow for vignettes to show what the Space Odyssey versions of Alice (an Empathkinetic), Freyja (an orbital Meteor drop trooper), Rowan (a cyborg smuggler), and Zelly (a vulgar priestess of the Song of Creation) might look like--but like with Offline Valor, I wanted to give this story the opportunity to explore a new G/t (eventual) couple dynamic. I hope you like my scattered notes and thoughts about them! 

The Little:

Character inspirations: Clone Troopers from Star Wars, Barry Syx from Starstruck Odyssey, Mabel from Gravity Falls, Sprig from Amphibia, Raze from Valorant, Tracer from Overwatch, Wally West from DC comics (though specifically Young Justice), Bumblebee from Transformers: Animated

WIP colors: Hot pink, yellow, black, and maybe cyan (the colors for Mountain Dew Spark)

Ever since I watched the Genndy Tartakovsky Star Wars: Clone Wars I was fascinated with the idea of cloned individuals. At first it was just my little brain was so obsessed with how cool and epic and mysterious they were--they’d always wear their helmets and look the same, but then when they’d take off their helmets they’d all have the same face. Fast-forward 5 years later when the ideas of clones and individualism was explored more fully in the The Clone Wars of George Lucas and Dave Filoni, my brain started to ask QUESTIONS about the concept--questions that were metaphysical and philosophical, over the state of a “cloned soul.”

Going into “Space Odyssey” I also knew that I want a different kind of Little to play off the Giant I’d be including as well. With Alice you had sparkling, sweet, and feminine, and Rowan who is broken, brooding, and masculine--with acting as fun romantic foils to Freyja and Zelly respectively.

For this Clone (for the purposes of this document being referred to as “64″) I want him to be optimistically aimless, chaotic but sunny, and hopelessly accident prone. Created for a war long over but only brought “to life” by pure accident in an old cloning facility, 64 now strives to find his purpose in the galaxy--with all the color, laughter, explosions, and shenanigans he can muster along the way.

The Big:

Character inspiration: Hebrion Hythenos from my own personal D&D campaign, Chell from Portal, Cassandra from Dragon Age, Viper from Valorant, Rey from Star Wars, Prince Zuko from Avatar

WIP colors: None at this time  

Responsibility is a crippling thing sometimes. Sometimes it is given to us as a part of a job or calling, but sometimes responsibility comes as part of the consequences of our actions. And most of the time we either try and address it the best we can, or we put it off until the last possible moment.

Not the Runaway.

Inspired by my current D&D character, the Runaway fled her homeworld to avoid some grand responsibility that is tied to her family and potentially even the fate of her people. But why is she running?

Simply put, she’s terrified of facing it.

But she doesn’t show it, though it’s abundantly clear that she is NOT in the right--she needs to face her responsibility and face the consequences...but not when our story starts.

Calm and serious, and cool to the point of maybe even a little icy, the Runaway holds a veneer up, because if even the teeniest cracks start to show...

I wonder what might happen if we throw a plucky, colorful Clone trying to find his purpose in the galaxy at her.

---

And yeah! VERY loose ideas for these two. They represent themes of my struggles over the last few years: finding courage to face incredibly difficult responsibilities and finding purpose and color in life when it seems the world has left you behind.

So let me know what y’all think! I do want to try and get Chapter 3 of “Genesis Day” out by Sunday or Monday, but maybe I’ll take a crack at some HeroForge designs to get a loose idea of what to expect for the Runaway and her Clone! 

[yellow-faerie]

I've just been doing some general housekeeping around my fics folder and my AO3 and...holy shit I have a lot of ongoing writing...

(Also I am now just Yellow_Faerie on AO3 - and I have a few more pseuds for various fandoms where I intend to write more than one fic for organisation purposes mostly)

Anyway, if you want to see the complete list of Fae's WIPs, I'm going to put it under the cut (and also if you are curious about any of them, send me an ask or a message because I am constantly desperate to talk about my fic...mostly so I can avoid writing the fic)

Tumblr Prompts (so you know which ones I have still sitting in my drafts): -Mandis and Beedle, Many Iterations - 5 people Person A thought they were in love with + 1 person they actually were -Curufinrod - 5 times person A called Person B beautiful + 1 time Person B called Person A beautiful -Mandis and Beedle, Minish Cap Incarnation - "Take that back! I am not short!" -Angbang - "Stay here. For me." -Aroace Elven Tindómiel & Alloroace Gil-Galad - "Did I ever tell you the story of that constellation?" -A Guide To Raising Elflings, Eönwë/Mairon - "After everything, you still don't believe I love you?"

AO3: Tolkien [Niphredilien] -A Guide To Raising Elflings -All Good Things Come In Threes -Time and Music Rewrite -The Naming of Fëanáriel Istarniel -Love in Thirteen Days -A Lighthouse in a Storm -No Oath AU -Mairon Time Travel AU

Star Wars [Nabbo_Handmaiden] -Syndor Rewrite -Ahsoka, Barris and Trilla Bonding -Queen's Death -Leiaverse -Bad Batch Complete Rewrite -Rebel Jedi Order AU -Nim Pianna Fix-It AU -The Younglings

ATLA [Yellow_Faerie] -There Are Many Reasons to Commit Treason

DSMP [Dark_Waltz] -Dancing With Your Ghosts -Mandatory Superhero AU

TMA [Yellow_Faerie] -Mandatory Time Travel Fix-It -All Ways Lead to Hilltop Road -Sasha Lives AU -Naomi Herne Fic

The Sandman [Jessamy_Protection_Squad] -Anything Goes Series -Jessamy Reincarnation AU -Modern AU

LoZ [Yellow_Faerie] -Mandis and Beedle -Hero of Dreams

Merlin [Yellow_Faerie] -Ygraine Lives AU -Camelot's (Very Much Not Magic) Postal Service

Skyrim [Yellow_Faerie] -Long Live the King

House MD [Eat_Names_Take_Ass] -Eclipse -Mandatory Kid Fic

The Witcher [Yellow_Faerie]

Sherlock Holmes [Yellow_Faerie] -Enola's Siblings -Gwyneth Holmes

[pokimoko]

OH DUDE YESSS I love behind the scenes looks at fics Ohh my god 👁👁 What are some of your favorite details/parallels/moments from in memory of that you would love to talk about? (And if they end up tying into other stories feel free to infodump ab that as well I am all ears)

Oh, I'm so glad you asked. *thumps book binder bursting with notes onto table* Get ready, this is gonna get long. Oh, and don't let this folder fool you, this is far from organised. For anyone else following me who hasn't read the story and would like to, warning, there are spoilers ahead:

Okay first of all, there's the 'sunny morning hello' / 'cloudy afternoon goodbye' parallel that you pointed out in your comment. Originally, I put more of a focus on the fact the sun was going down in the last part, because in 'The Ode to Remembrance' there's the line "at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them", so I wanted to make a subtle reference to that. And also originally it actually started raining after Randall was gone, and Marc took the time to admire it rather than shy away from it; there was a little rainbow and everything.

But! But then my brain was like "why don't we have the story start with Marc meeting his brother, so that the story acts as a chart of Randall from beginning to end, and to give the reader some time with Randall before the cave so they're sad when we inevitably lose him" and welp, couldn't refuse that idea could I? I've always loved first and last lines being a reflection of each other, it scratches an itch in my brain. In the last scene, the sun's still on the process of going down, but I decided to have the clouds part and to have the sun shine of him to represent him making peace with his past, and to show he was allowing himself to move on from that rainy day. I am not immune to pathetic fallacy. (I'll admit, I listened to 'Más Allá Del Sol' a few times while writing the final scene. Thanks to episode 5, I now have a kneejerk reaction to get upset when I listen to it. And also, y'know, the sun motif.)

I personally am very in love with the height chart part. I was trying to think of an image for the header and that came to me with no warning or lead-up (I was in the middle of hugging my mum at the time and gosh, the fact I had to continue acting normal after getting hit with that idea was definitely something. And yes, I do think about my fics while doing normal things. The only problem is that it leads to conversations like this: "oh crap, I'm so sorry, I didn't hear a word of that, I kinda zoned out, I was thinking about Mayan gods" "...Why were you thinking about Mayan gods?" "Uh" *sweats nervously*).

But anyway! The height chart. They mark the passing of time, but they also act as a preservation of what has come before. And of course they're associated with childhood and growing up. Eventually you reach the point where you stop measuring, because you've grown as much as you ever will, and then it remains simply to act as a reminder. Marc's chart is like an old journal entry; you don't remember writing it, or even the context for it, but you know it's your words, written by someone you used to be. But Randall's chart is like an unfinished sentence, (or one that in its shortness tells you everything...'for sale: baby shoes, never worn'). His chart will never be finished, but the indents remain, a reminder of where his story came to a stop.

This is where the Peter Pan inspiration came in. I didn't take inspiration from the story itself, but rather its own inspiration. When J.M. Barrie was 6, his 13 year old brother David died, a day before his 14th birthday. His mother was distraught, having always favoured David, but she took comfort in the idea that he would remain a young boy forever, never growing any older. This concept stuck with Barrie, and he eventually went on to write a story about a boy who would never grow up. In a way, it was his way to cope with what had happened.

For Marc, Randall's youth is a haunting reminder. Marc will grow older, but his brother will always be the same. The distance between them grows with each passing year. As a teenager, there would have come a day that Marc realised his brother had been dead longer than he'd ever been alive. Then that Steven had been around longer. That he'd known Layla longer than he ever knew his brother. Times goes on, and Randall's life in comparison to his own grows smaller and smaller, until it is only a tiny portion, barely a blip. But the marks remain. The distance that time brings only makes it harder for Marc to reach out for who left them in the first place.

The name of the fic was another idea that hit me in the head like a dodgeball to the face (and trust me, I know what that feels like). The working title for a long time was 'to weigh the heart of an albatross', to allude to ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. In the poem, the titular Mariner shoots down an albatross for really no reason and then, either as a coincidence or as a result of him killing the bird (it's a matter of interpretation), everything goes to shit. The rest of the crew blame him and he is forced to hang the dead albatross around his neck as punishment (and then the crew all die and the Mariner is cursed by Life-in-Death, and is forced to keep living on and suffer as the only survivor, surrounded by the crew's dead bodies, and, well, y'see the connections, yeah?), and I wanted to be like "but see, Marc is the Mariner AND the albatross. He is the guilty man and the one enforcing the guilty. He is burdened, and the burden itself." (The fact Marc was a Marine certainly helped with the idea.)

I also originally wanted the epigraph to be a line from the poem (one contender: 'And they all dead did lie: / And a thousand thousand slimy things / Lived on; and so did I.' Because, survivor’s guilt and all that, and the complete self-hatred in comparing yourself to a ‘slimy thing’. Which as you know in the story, Marc hates..) but none of them fit the way I wanted. I did manage to sneak a sly reference to the albatross with KHONSHU BEING A BIG FUCKING WHITE BIRD HANGING AROUND UNWANTED LIKE A WEIGHT AROUND HIS NECK ENFORCING THE GUILT EVEN FURTHER AND STIFLING JAKE’S FREEDOM. And like, the actual bird Marc sees at the end, flying high.

But then 'in memory of you' came to me, thanks to me thinking about obituaries and such, and since the story is about memory and loss, I thought it was more fitting. I then shortened it to 'in memory of', to make it more open, to have it allude to all the things Marc lost that day. His brother, his innocence, his family. He's living his life in memory of what came before. Around the time of the getting that new title, I also rediscovered the Hill House quote (from an episode aptly named 'Steven Sees a Ghost') and knew it was a perfect fit.

The scene where Marc and Layla are talking about the meaning of their names was in there simply because I found out Layla means "night" and I was like "they really went and called her 'night', huh, in a show called 'Moon Knight...well, I can't let them get away with that, everyone must know." But it is sweet when you think about it, that the Avatar of the Moon god fell in love in with someone named after the night sky. Afterall, the moon shines brightest at night...

Wait. Shit. Oh shit. If that concept shows up in a future fic of mine along with some 'She Walks in Beauty' references you know fucking why.

Anyway. This next detail is actually one I picked up when rewatching the Field of Reeds scene (so many times; I do not particularly enjoying novelising scenes but I knew it was important to explore that scene within the fic itself, as it's an important step towards Marc's self-forgiveness). The way that Taweret says that there is "no danger" there and Marc immediately asks about Steven. Because of course, "when danger is near" and all that. Marc doesn't associate Steven with danger, but rather his safety from it. And when you find safety in something, you keep it close, even when there is no danger near. Because safety is comfort, and comfort is peace. The Field could only offer absence from all things bad, rather than the presence of that which is good, and so of course Marc left. He was never going to find true peace there. He would rather deal with the good and the bad than nothing at all.

Another detail: the movie night choices, because I can't ever just pick a random movie or song and be fine with that, no, no, I have to pick one with meaning. Silly writer brain. Anyway, the movies! If you seen 'The Bridge to Terabithia', I think you'll know why I chose that one; the synopsis literally has '(the imaginary world) helps Jess to escape and cope with a tragedy.' And like...the tragedy itself. 🙃 It's been years since I first watched and I'm still not okay. And 'The Lion King'...well, *gestures at the scene where Simba finds his dad's dead body* *gestures at Scar blaming Simba* *gestures at the years Simba spends trying to escape his past*. Guilt is a very huge part of that movie. Not that Steven would've picked up on that. Just like in 'Absent Place', he does a lot of things subconsciously; using muscle memory he can't remember forming, crying over things he can't remember hurting him, seeing the ghost of a boy he doesn't recognise. There's a blindfold around his eyes, but he keeps swinging the bat anyway, trying to hit the piñata, not knowing where it is or even why he's doing it at all.

Speaking of Steven, I wanted to make his interactions with the ghost distinctly different, to highlight the impact that Marc's guilt has on how he perceives things. With Marc, Randall is very much the epitome of a ghost, lurking in corners and doing nothing but watching. Marc has come to the conclusion that the ghost shows up to remind him of his pain, rather than realising the ghost shows up because he's in pain. But with Steven, Randall acts more natural, almost like a very quiet but kind child. Steven doesn't try to push him away, and he doesn't see him as a source of guilt, but rather comfort and companionship, so Randall acts accordingly.

(I kinda explored the idea of ghosts being shaped by our perception of them once before in a Lucifer fic I wrote a few years back which has, uh, well, a lot of thematic similarities to 'in memory of'. Like, a lot. Grief, guilt, ghosts, hiding in a fantasy, the past lingering. So, yeah, I don't get new ideas, I just pull out my old ones and put new clothes on them.)

But eventually, with the help of Layla and Steven, Marc slowly but surely starts to see past the wall of guilt his mother forced him to build up, and to remember his brother for who he truly was. That's why, by the last scene, when Marc sees him, Randall is swinging his legs and staring up at the sky, acting more like the child he is. Because Marc no longer sees him as something to dread, like you would a ghost, or as a condemnation. He sees his little brother, he sees him crying, and he goes over to give him one last word of comfort: I'm okay. I'm going to be okay. You can go now. Thank you for keeping your promise too.

Jeez, wow, okay, I told you this would be long but I wasn't expecting it to be this long. If you've made it this far, great job. Why don't we tie this whole ramble up with the most behind-the-scene detail of all: the notes I wrote when the idea first came to me, on the 23rd of July. Back when I thought it was really was just going to be 10 scenes.

My notes are usually more...coherent, but it was late at night and I just needed to get the thoughts down. Still, it's fun to see what stayed and what evolved through the writing process, and obviously everything that got added in, because there was a lot that was added in. I salute you Past Me, for ever thinking this would be a short enough story to have roman numerals denoting each part.

Alright, that's definitely enough rambling. I hope you've enjoyed me dumping all my brain's contents onto you. It was fun verbalising some of my thought processes to you and having the chance to explain some of stuff that wasn’t really made explicit in the writing itself. Thank you for the ask! :D