#meta: plot weaving

[bardic-tales]

Character Arc Continuity in a Multiverse Narrative, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Fantasy Worlds Collide, an original-fandom hybrid

To keep my OCs' arc consistent across canon and original storylines, I rely on detailed organization through Scrivener. Each character gets a comprehensive folder that includes motivation, power sets, personal history, and over a dozen questionnaires to deepen internal logic. I use a master timeline divided into Celestial, Infernal, and Mortal eras to align original events with FFVII canon. This system helps prevent continuity errors and ensures character growth tracks logically across arcs. I also evaluate every scene against the OC’s knowledge, trauma, and development stage at that point in time. My method blends creative freedom with technical structure to protect narrative cohesion across a complex, layered universe.

For Trivia Tuesday, let's dive into how I keep track of everything.

When I’m ensuring consistency in my OC’s arc as it travels through both original storylines and canon events, I rely heavily on structure, documentation, and version control. I use Scrivener as the central hub for all of my organizational needs because it allows me to nest complex layers of development without losing sight of the overall trajectory. My OC’s journey isn’t just about what happens in one scene or arc. It’s about preserving continuity of motivation, tone, and consequence across a multi-realm, multi-era narrative. Scrivener lets me trace those threads with precision, which is essential when crossing from my original universe (Fantasy Worlds Collide) into established canon like Final Fantasy VII.

Every major OC has a master character sheet folder. This isn’t just a personality chart or list of traits. It’s a deeply integrated directory. At the top level, it holds essential info: core motivation, driving goal, basic character info, such as age, and overarching narrative purpose. Nested inside are subdocuments like a key points summary (which breaks down turning points), a synopsis written from the character’s POV, and a Tumblr-style Meet the Character intro sheet, which I copy and paste for all of my character introductions.

I also include a MISC folder which is deceptively robust. It contains OC games from Tumblr, a breakdown of possible languages known, psychological profiling, in-depth backstory, power sets for ease of writing combat scenes, and over 14 different OC questionnaires, including one that’s 221 questions long. I don’t leave anything up to guesswork. Every folder is alive with ongoing updates that reflect my OC’s evolution and how those changes ripple through canon and original material alike.

Another critical tool I use is my master timeline, which overlays canon and original arcs across three distinct eras in FWC: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd eras. This is where things get technical. I treat canon as a fixed structure — non-negotiable unless explicitly AU, such as the biker, Redemption, highschool, and vampire AUs — and map my original events around it. This helps avoid inconsistencies like referencing characters who shouldn’t be alive yet or giving an OC knowledge they couldn’t possibly have.

Each event is tagged by realm, time, and narrative impact. The 1st Era establishes the divine framework and civil war among the Creator’s children. The 2nd Era introduces the Abyssal Realm and Bianca’s conception. And the 3rd Era overlays Earth events with Final Fantasy VII canon directly, including lore from Crisis Core, Advent Children, and the Remake continuity.

It’s not just about structure. It’s about internal narrative logic. I treat my OC’s arc like a mathematical equation: her behavior, relationships, and growth must all add up across every timeline. If I make changes in the Infernal Era that alter her perception of Sephiroth, that will absolutely echo in how she reacts to him during FFVII canon events.

I also double-check each scene I write against the character’s internal compass. What would she know by this point? How would she behave based on the trauma she’s already survived? Even when I cross into my FF 7 fanfiction territory, I’m writing her with the same seriousness and consistency as I would an original novel protagonist.

Ultimately, consistency is not just a matter of memory. It’s a deliberate system I build and maintain across every stage of writing. My process blends deep documentation, timeline control, and careful character curation.

I don’t expect my brain to keep all of this sorted. My Scrivener file does that for me. When you build a multiverse, you have to become your own archivist. And when you're bringing an OC into canon territory, you owe it to the canon and your OC both to ensure nothing gets lost in translation (unless you are writing very canon divergent fan fiction and that's okay, too).

@themaradwrites @shepardstales @megandaisy9 @watermeezer

@prehistoric-creatures @creativechaosqueen @chickensarentcheap

@inkandimpressions @arrthurpendragon @projecthypocrisy @serenofroses

@sapphirothcrescent @tolliver-j-mortaelwyver

[randomness-is-my-order]

i like that mdzs is actually not a tragedy. a tragedy would have ended at wei wuxian’s first life with no one but the antagonists getting some semblance of an happily ever after. but mdzs is unique because it gives a chance of healing and growth after the tragedy, after the heartbreak, after the soul-crushing grief. if wei wuxian had never come back to life, almost every character would have been worse off. jin ling would continue to be an angry teenager who’d become an angry adult while having authority and power he wouldn’t be able to handle. jiang cheng’s thirst for revenge would remain and worsen and become uglier and many more would fall victim to his animosity against perceived demonic cultivators. lan wangji’s mourning wouldn’t ever end. sizhui wouldn’t reunite with the man who’d he once thought of as a father and he wouldn’t reunite with his uncle and he maybe wouldn’t even learn of his true past until much much later. jgy wouldn’t be as easily exposed and lan xichen would remain blind to the wrongdoings of his sworn brother. maybe nie huaisang would still find his vengeance but it would have to be another way, a messier way. in general, the resentment of many people would continue to fester––there would be no reality checks for the cultivation clans as they did during the second siege (not that their collective shitty behaviour was corrected, but atleast there was some reckoning involved.) the history would still be the winner’s and the wronged parties would be continued to be vilified. but wei wuxian does come back and that kickstarts every single character’s journey once again. his resurrection throws a wrench into the complacency of tragedy and makes the characters hope again. i like mdzs because it is about second chances. because it doesn’t succumb to the absolute narrative of ‘why do good people always suffer?’ by giving the protagonists an ending that is not perfect but an ending that is rewarding, despite everything. i like mdzs because it is not trying to sell you a tragedy and deliberately play with your emotions but a story about hope, about betterment, about renewal. the second chance may seem like the one wei wuxian got, but in truth it is a second chance for every single character and some rightfully learn to be better and get better endings while some stick to their ways and for them, even a third or fourth chance wouldn’t be enough. i like mdzs because it tells you that yes, tragedies happen and yes they are allowed to deeply affect you but you can move on some day and you can find happiness again and you can live your life as if you were reborn, even if it’s just metaphorically.

[jojo-schmo]

I wish I could tell the original artist that this drawing permanently changed the entire direction of my life in 2009. I want to shake their hand, look them in the eye, and admit I would not be who I am today if this drawing didn’t exist.

EDIT: Original artist is @ivynajspyder !!!!

[ambiguous-avery]

On the Same Page

bf!Sam Winchester x fem!reader!Reader/You | WC: 4142

Summary: Sam finds out what kind of books you like to read in your free time and maybe gets a little inspired by them.

Tags/Warnings: Smut 18+ MDNI, no use of Y/N, established relationship, reader is AFAB, femme nicknames (pretty girl), unprotected P in V sex (remember to be safe, friends), PWP (Plot? What plot?), porn with feelings, fluff, no beta we die like men

A/N: Here’s a piece inspired by this TikTok audio. This goes out to all the girlies who read (and write) the filthiest smut in public completely straight-faced. I see you because I am you. Also, tell me why writing this felt semi-meta haha.

You were something else when it came to lore and research. Sam could set down a pile of books and tell you to find info about a specific monster, and you could get back to him in under an hour, pinpointing the exact paragraph he had in mind when he gave you the challenge. You were quick as a whip when it came to the sheer amount of information you could tear through to get to what you were looking for. The only time Sam ever saw you take your time with a book was when you read something for yourself. 

The you that read books as a hobby was very different from the hunter-research you. When you read your own personal books, you had a completely different look about you. Instead of the fierce concentration you wore when trying to find an incantation, you looked peaceful. Like you were savoring the words on the page. Like you enjoyed letting them take hold of you and weave a fantastic story around you. As if real life didn’t have enough fantastical stories. Granted, the ones in real life were less romanticized, and he could hardly blame you for the desire to escape even if it were just for a short while.

Sam had quickly figured out the different expressions you wore when you read. He saw the subtle smiles and bitten lips and little leg kicks. And when he asked, you would tell him about how a character just confessed to another or how two characters just shared their first kiss. The sweet moments. The tender ones. He could tell when characters were going through strife by the way your eyebrows would furrow together, and a look of concern would worry its way across your forehead in creases. But nothing was quite like the eerie calm that would wash over you every now and again. That was the one reaction that he couldn’t figure out. 

At first, he mistook it for your neutral reading face. But after several times of seeing and mentally comparing it to how you looked when you read something like a newspaper article, he discovered that it was different from how you normally looked when you read. So then he started looking for patterns. When did that expression show up in comparison to when you would smile and kick your feet over a Hallmark moment? That avenue of thinking didn’t help him much either. Because that calm expression would overtake you sometimes before you were kicking your feet but also sometimes after. And sometimes, the calm would be broken in the middle before sliding your features back to that unreadable mask he just couldn’t figure out.

But Sam was nothing if not determined. And he had the internet at his fingertips. Although he rather enjoyed the game of trying to figure out his girlfriend, every man had his limits. With you sitting across from him on the bed in your shared room, he typed the name of your book into his search bar and hit enter. That calm had swept over you again. He clicked into the top search result, a link to the publisher’s website, and scrolled down the web page, hazel eyes skimming over the book’s description. It seemed like a pretty straightforward enemies-to-lovers story. But as Sam continued down the webpage, a large heading caught his eye. Trigger warnings. And as he read through those, Sam swallowed thickly. So it was that kind of book.

The pieces fell into place in Sam’s mind shortly after that.

When his gaze flicked back up to you, you still had that same unreadable expression on your face. He closed his laptop and scooched in close to you. 

“What page are you on, pretty girl?” he asked softly, planting a kiss against your temple. You let the book fall against your chest – a little too quickly, he mentally noted – as you turned your attention to him. You looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, like you couldn’t believe he was there, invading your comfy, cozy world the words on the page had crafted around you. Absolutely adorable.

“Nothing,” you squeaked. He raised an eyebrow, and he knew that his suspicions were right on the nose.

“‘Nothing’ isn’t a page number,” he quipped, pressing another kiss to your cheek as he slid an arm between you and the pillow you were leaning against. His pillow, he noted. Because his pillow was always ‘comfier than yours’ even though they were the exact same pillow. You peeked at the page number, and he couldn’t help but notice how to angled the book away from him.

“Two-forty-three,” you muttered, barely audible. Sam nodded, pretending to accept your answer before reaching for your book. You grabbed his wrist, and he flashed you a knowing grin.

“What, I can’t read to my pretty girl?” His tone of voice was teasing with a hint of something more behind it, and his hazel eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Don’t pick a fight you can’t win,” you warned, although your voice only had a mild heat to it. Sam knew better than to mess with you and your books. He chuckled.

You bit your lip and turned your attention back to your book, trying to focus on the words on the page, but you were acutely aware of Sam’s presence. How long had he been watching you? Heat crept up your neck. Had he been watching your reactions? Times when you swooned to yourself over a cheesy confession. Moments when you couldn’t help but giggle quietly when one of the protagonists realized that they were in love with the other. The times you kicked your feet and squealed internally when one of your favorite tropes showed up. And if he had seen those reactions, then that also meant that he had seen... Oh no.

Sam was perceptive. Dangerously so. And you had zero doubts that he had caught onto the fact that your calm expression wasn’t calm at all. It was concentration. The kind of concentration that came with trying to maintain your composure while reading something decidedly... adult.

“You know,” Sam’s voice rumbled close to your ear, and you nearly jumped out of your skin. “I could make that book a lot more interesting.” 

You snapped your book shut.

“Sam Winchester, are you insinuating something?” you asked, feigning indignance. His answering laugh was deep and warm, wrapping around you like a blanket.

“Just that I know you too well. Your ‘calm reading expression’ isn’t as unreadable as you think it is.” His fingers traced patterns on your shoulder.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you huffed, but the way your lip twitched upward in the tiniest hint of a smile gave you away. Sam didn’t miss it, and his eyebrow arched knowingly.

“Oh? So if I were to take that book right now and flip to page two-forty-three, I wouldn’t find anything... interesting?” You clutched the book tighter to your chest.

“It’s literature, Sam. Very... sophisticated... adult literature.”

“Mmhmm.” His smile was dangerous. Playful. Very Sam. “Very sophisticated, I’m sure.”

“The plot is actually quite complex,” you defended, trying to maintain dignity despite the fact that the heat had risen to your cheeks. “There’s political intrigue and–”

“And?” Sam prompted, his voice dropping an octave. You swallowed hard.

“And character development.” Your voice shrank. Sam shifted closer, his breath warm against your neck.

“Character development,” he repeated in a tone that very blatantly said he didn’t believe you. You didn’t believe you either, if you were being honest. “You know what I find fascinating?”

“What?” you asked, trying to ignore the way your heart fluttered in your chest when he looked at you like you were the only one in the universe.

“How expressive your eyes get when you’re reading those scenes.” His fingers trailed up your arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake. “They get all wide and dark, and you bite your lip just like you’re doing right now.”

You immediately released your lower lip from between your teeth, making a mental note to never play poker with Sam lest he take you for every dollar you had to your name.

“I do not.”

“You absolutely do.” Sam’s grin was wolfish now. “And sometimes, when it’s really good, you make this tiny little sound in the back of your throat.”

“I do not make sounds!” Your protest came out louder than you had meant it to.

“Want me to prove it?” Sam challenged, his hand sliding to rest on your hip. “I bet if I read that page out loud right now, you’d make that exact noise.”

The thought of Sam reading the words on that page. Those words in his voice. Your stomach flipped in a way that had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with anticipation.

“You wouldn’t dare,” you shot back even as your grip on your book loosened slightly.

“Try me,” Sam whispered, his fingers dancing along the edge of your book. “I’ve read worse things than whatever’s on that page. Ancient curses, demonic texts...” His lips brushed against your ear. “Lust and fertility spells... Things that would make your romance novel blush.” You couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped you.

“It’s not a romance novel. It’s contemporary fiction with romantic elements,” you corrected.

“Of course,” Sam agreed, the tone in his voice clearly humoring you. “So contemporary fiction with romantic elements has you looking like you’re trying to solve complex equations in your head? Because that’s what your face looks like.”

“My face does not look like that.” Sam’s hand finally caught yours, gently prying the book from your grasp.

“Let’s see what has you so... concentrated.”

You made a half-hearted grab for the book, but your heart wasn’t fully into it. Sam flipped through the pages, his long fingers deftly finding page 243. His eyes scanned the text, and you watched as his expression shifted from playful to something... darker. More intense.

“Well, well, well...” he murmured, his voice dropping into that dangerous register that always made your knees weak. “No wonder you’re so engrossed.”

“It’s part of the plot,” you insisted, though you didn’t quite believe your own argument.

Sam’s eyes flicked up to meet yours, and the heat in them made your breath catch in your throat.

“The plot where the rugged hero pins the protagonist against the wall and–” He paused to skim the next line, one eyebrow raised in your direction. “You call these ‘romantic elements’?” You snatched the book back from him, tamping down your embarrassment.

“It’s about the emotional connection,” you mumbled unconvincingly.

“Right,” Sam drawled, all teeth and dimples as he smiled. “The emotional connection happening while they’re–”

“Sam!” You swatted at his arm, but a smile of your own tugged your lips upwards.

He caught your hand, bringing it to his lips to press a soft kiss against your knuckles.

“You know,” he started, voice low and intimate, “it doesn’t bother me that you read those sorts of things. I just didn’t realize how... detailed they were.”

“Why do you think I keep them to myself? You guys watch your porn; we girls typically read it.” Sam’s thumb traced circles on your wrist as his eyes darkened.

“I could give you something better than fiction.” Your next breath stuttered.

“Better how?”

“Well,” he began, his lips just a whisper away from yours, “for starters, I wouldn’t just pin you against a wall and leave it at that.”

“No?” The word was harder to get out than you expected.

“No.”

His free hand came up to cup your cheek, thumb brushing over your bottom lip. “I’d take my time with you. Make it last longer than a page or two.” You couldn’t stop the small sound that escaped your throat at that – the exact sound he’d mentioned earlier. Sam’s knowing smile told you that he didn’t miss it either. “There it is,” he murmured, satisfaction laced in his voice. “That’s the noise.”

“Shut up,” you groaned, bringing your hands to your face. But there was no denying the way your body responded to his words. To the knowing look in his eyes. To the feeling of being completely seen and known by your boyfriend. To being so completely loved.

“Make me.” Sam’s voice was a rumble that you felt more than heard.

The book tumbled to the floor, forgotten, as you reached for him, fingers threading through his soft hair to pull him closer. His lips met yours with an intensity that stole your breath. No matter how many times you kissed him, you would never get enough. You could kiss him all day, every day and still never have enough of him.

“So,” Sam mumbled against your lips,” tell me what happens next in that book of yours.” You laughed breathlessly.

“I thought you were giving me something better than fiction.”

“Oh I plan to.” His hand was already sliding beneath your shirt, warm against your skin. “But I need some inspiration. Tell me what those characters are doing right now.”

You bit your lip, a rush of boldness washing over you.

“He’s kissing her neck,” you whispered, “right below her ear where she’s most sensitive.”

“Like this?” Sam’s lips found that exact spot, drawing a gasp. You arched against him.

“Yeah,” you breathed. “Exactly like that.”

“What else?” His voice was rough with desire.

“He’s telling her how beautiful she is.” You dug your fingers into his shoulders as he continued his exploration. “How even though she does so much that annoys him, he can’t help but watch her. How he imagined this moment.”

Sam pulled back just enough to meet your eyes, his gaze intense.

“I have been watching you. All day,” he confessed. “The way you get so lost in those books. The way your breathing changes when you hit those scenes.” His hand slid up your side, fingers tracing your ribs through your shirt. “It’s been driving me crazy.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” you asked as his lips returned to your neck. You tilted your head to the side.

“Because I liked watching you,” he admitted. “Liked trying to figure out what was happening in those pages that put that look on your face.” His teeth grazed the skin near your jugular, gently nipping. You shivered under his attention. “But now I think I’d rather be the one making you look that way.”

You tugged at his flannel, a sudden need to feel more of him overtaking you.

“Show me.” If you weren’t mistaken, you were sure Sam growled at your words. With one fluid movement, he had you beneath him, his weight pressing you into the mattress. His hands pinned yours above your head, a perfect mirror of the scene you’d been reading. The realization made heat pool in your core.

“Is this what happens in your book?” he asked, voice husky as he studied your face.

“Something like this,” you managed. “But the real thing is way better.”

“Damn right it is,” Sam growled. You were sure of it this time. And yeah. That was fucking hot.

Fiction had its perks, but as Sam’s hand wandered, – his other still kept your wrists pinned – exploring every inch of you with the same meticulous attention he gave to his research, you made the executive decision that reality was so much better. The way Sam whispered your name against your skin. The way his eyes darkened when you arched against him. There was no way any author could capture that perfectly.

“You know,” Sam murmured against your collarbone, “I’ve always wondered about what gets you so worked up in those books.” His fingers skimmed along the hem of your shirt, playing with it teasingly. “I think I like knowing your little secret.”

“It’s hardly a secret now,” you replied, your voice catching as his hand slipped beneath the fabric. Sam’s smile turned predatory.

“So tell me, what happens next in that scene? Page two-forty-four must be getting good.” You flushed, remembering exactly what came next.

“M-maybe we should just improvise.”

“No, no,” Sam insisted, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “I want to know. Consider it research.”

“Research?” you laughed, only slightly breathless as his thumb traced circles on your hip.

“Very important hunter research,” he confirmed solemnly, though his dimples gave him away. “What does your book suggest I do next?”

You swallowed hard, remembering the explicit details on the following page. It may or may not have been your third read of the book... You’d never confirm or deny that.

“Well, he... he starts to undress her. Slowly.” Your voice dropped to a whisper. “Like he’s unwrapping something precious.” Sam ‘hmm’ed softly as he slid the hem of your shirt up, just enough to expose a strip of skin. 

“Like this?” You nodded, breath unsteady as he slowly pushed the fabric higher, his calloused fingertips setting every nerve alight in their wake. “And then?” he prompted, his eyes never leaving yours as he continued his torturously slow pace.

“He tells her how long he’s wanted her,” you breathed, lifting your arms to help him pull off your shirt entirely. Sam’s expression softened, vulnerability bleeding through his teasing facade.

“That part’s true, you know,” he said softly. His hands stilled on your skin, hazel eyes holding yours with a steady confidence that made your chest tighten. “Ever since that first hunt when you stayed up all night to find that obscure banishing ritual. You were so focused. So brilliant. And then the next morning I found you asleep with your nose in a book.”

“I remember,” you said, reaching up to brush his hair from his forehead. “You brought me coffee.”

“And you told me about the book instead of the hunt.” His smile had turned tender, his thumb brushing against your cheek. “That’s when I knew I was in trouble.”

Warmth bloomed in your chest at the confession, a different warmth than the heat of desire, but it was no less powerful. He had never told you that before.

“Are you saying you fell for me because of my reading habits?”

“Among other things.” He lowered his head to press a kiss against your collarbone. “I fell for all of you. The researcher who could outpace me in the library. The hunter who had my back. The woman who got lost in fictional worlds when ours got too heavy.” Your chest grew tight with emotion. You had known that something more profound had been building between you and Sam since those early days. But you didn’t ever think it could become something like this. Something deeper. Sam wasn’t just your other half. He didn’t just complete you. He was more.

“God, I love you,” you said breathlessly. You pulled him down to kiss you.

“Love you too.”

You slid your hands under his flannel shirt, pushing it off his broad shoulders. 

“Oh, is this what happens next?”

“I don’t care about the book anymore,” you said as he shrugged out of the garment. “I’d rather write our own story.” Sam’s responding smile was slow and devastating.

“I like that idea.” His hands found your waist, fingertips pressing just firmly enough not to tickle. “Chapter one?”

“Chapter one.”

As his lips found yours again, you couldn’t help but think about how different this was from the scene in your book. The fictional characters had passion, certainly. But they lacked the history that made every tough between you and Sam meaningful. They didn’t have years of watching each other’s backs. Of patching wounds. Of the late-night research sessions that turned into deeper conversations. 

When Sam’s hand slipped beneath the waistband of your pants, his touch tentative despite the heat in his eyes, you bucked against him. The sound that escaped you was one you don’t think you had ever made before. Not while reading. Not during hunts. Not any moment prior.

“I want to hear more of that,” he said softly, his lips trailing down your neck to the sensitive spot where your shoulder began. “I want to hear every sound you can make.”

“That might take a while.”

“We’ve got all night.” His voice was a promise against your skin. “And I’m a very thorough researcher.” You laughed, even as his hands continued their exploration.

“I don’t think research is as broad of a term as you think it is.” Sam lifted his head for a moment.

“Field work,” he corrected, pressing a kiss to your sternum. “Very important field work.”

Clothing was discarded piece by piece, and Sam took his time memorizing what made you gasp. What made you sigh. What made you whisper his name like a prayer. As though he had never done it before. And when he moved back above you, his weight supported on his forearms, his eyes found yours. And you knew that no words could ever capture this feeling. The connection between the two of you went beyond physical desire. It was built on trust forged and tempered by life-or-death situations. On countless quiet moments in motel rooms. The sleepless nights in the bunker library. The understanding that came from seeing each other at your most vulnerable.

“You with me?” Sam whispered, his breath warm against your lips as he paused, waiting. Ever patient. Ever caring.

“Always,” you answered, and the word had more weight behind it. Weight you only hoped Sam could understand. His hips pressed forward, and he sank into you, a delicious stretch every time.

When he moved, it was with the same care and attention he gave to everything important in his life. Each thrust was deliberate, his eyes never leaving yours as your bodies found a rhythm together. Your hands mapped the familiar terrain of his back, tracing old scars you knew the stories behind, feeling his muscles flex beneath your fingertips.

“Better than fiction?” he asked, his voice strained with the effort of maintaining control. His hair fell around his face like a curtain, and you reached up to tuck it behind his ear, needing to see his eyes.

“So much better,” you breathed, arching into him as he shifted just enough to hit the spot that made stars explode in your mind’s eye. “No comparison.”

Your words seemed to be the key to the floodgates in him. Sam’s movements became more urgent, more passionate. Though he never lost the core tenderness that was so essentially Sam. Your name fell from his lips like a mantra. Like a song he would never get tired of singing. It mixed with praises and desperate sounds that you tried to commit to memory, determined to hear them again and again.

Pressure built inside you, and you reached a hand between your bodies, finding your clit. Your head fell back against the pillow, jaw going slack. When you finally tumbled over the edge, Sam’s name tore from your throat, loud enough that you were sure someone else heard you. You couldn’t be bothered to care for longer than a half a second as Sam followed you moments later. Your name was a broken cry on his lips as his body tensed and then shuddered against yours.

For a long moment, there was only the sound of your mingled breathing, gradually evening out as you each reveled in each other. Sam pressed his forehead against yours, eyes closed as though he were savoring the moment. When he finally looked at you again, you were sure that the tenderness in his gaze made your heart skip a beat.

“I think that I need to pay more attention to what you’re reading,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to your temple as he shifted to lie beside you. You laughed softly, curling into his side as he wrapped his arm around you.

“Is that right?”

“Mmm,” he hummed, his fingers tracing idle patterns along your side. “Quality control. Research purposes.” You laughed again, playfully smacking his chest.

“You’re ridiculous,” you said, but you smiled regardless. “So you’ll be monitoring my reading material now?”

“No, never. Just... taking a more active interest.” Sam’s dimples deepened. His hand moved to drag lazily up and down your spine, sending soft shivered through your still-sensitive body. “For instance, if I see that calm expression again, I’ll know exactly what’s happening on those pages.”

You buried your face in the crook of his neck, feeling his laughter rumble through him.

“I still can’t believe you figured it out.”

“Hunter, remember? Observing details is kind of our thing.” His fingers tangled in your hair, gently working through the knots that had formed. “Though I have to say... this particular investigation had a much better ending than most.”

“Better than any book ending too,” you murmured, pressing a kiss to his collarbone.

---

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[utilitycaster]

I mentioned I had more thoughts on "party of NPCs" in a recent ask, and I'm about to do a little Nein Againing, so: the original mention, from an early 4-Sided Dive (covering up to 3x21) from Taliesin, was mostly about two things: the fact that the characters (other than Imogen) were offbeat and felt like statblock archetypes (weird fey quest giver! undead witch in the woods! Guard #2!) and that only Imogen and maybe Dorian had a "feeling of intense destiny."

It did not mean they had uniquely tragic backstories (and I do not think they did); it did not mean they were uniquely impoverished and lacking in resources (indeed, they had tons of resources very early on compared to any other low-level party on CR); it did not mean they were uniquely othered by society (and I found that while that was part of their backstories, it didn't play out very strongly during the campaign, less so than frankly either the Mighty Nein in a number of places, or Vox Machina in specific locations such as Syngorn). It was literally just "wacky or archetypal, and lacking in a feeling of intense destiny."

As for lacking in destiny - I don't think that's a problem, and indeed I like characters who make their own destiny! But I think that "party of NPCs" increasingly gets quoted by people who are leery of D&D characters exercising their free will and who defend a lack of direction. I feel Bells Hells often seemed to wait around for direction, and again, that's a whole discussion that's been had many times and which gets into the meta level, but between that and the actual intended meaning Taliesin had, it doesn't make them more special to me; it makes them less.

PC vs. NPC is itself not a perfect dichotomy (in that PCs of one campaign become NPCs of another; or that someone can adopt a character like Cerkonos and make him a PC), and all it means is player character vs. non-player character. Ludinus is an NPC, but he certainly makes choices. However, EXU Divergence does a brilliant job of showing what makes a player character a person who has levels and not statblocks. Almost everyone starts as an NPC; they become a PC through the events that occur in their lives. This again is not unique to Bells Hells. Fjord and Veth were very much the Sailor and Commoner statblocks until a life-changing event occurred to them; Percy was a Noble statblock; Vex and Vax were hunters or bandits until they decided to be more than just mercenaries and join up with a group, and so on.

The issue I always had was in fact that lack of destiny - which I am taking to be external and narrative, not internal and literal. It's hard to say in a world where fate and destiny are quite real, but I think what's also important is that other campaigns actively discussed destiny vs. free will at length (in particular, Percy's conversation with the Raven Queen, and Fjord, Caleb, and Caduceus in episode 84 of Campaign 2) and engaged with it thematically in a way Campaign 3 never did. But when the Nein are introduced as a "handful of wandering destinies" I don't think the intent is to say that what they do is pre-ordained (and indeed, it's an improv medium and there's an unexpected PC death; we know it's not). I think it's more in reference to the fact that these are all people with some intent - to learn about their powers, find their family, or undo what has been done to them. Many of Bells Hells lack that (Laudna never has any clear nor consistent goals of her own that she works towards), or their motivations (free themself from Jiana and learn more about who they are, deliver the weave lens and learn about their parents, find the Gorgynei) are either over quite early or rushed past to make way for a plot that most of them are poorly grafted into, and never quite takes. I suppose that is what most makes them feel like NPCs, but that is not complimentary - it feels like they are in someone else's story, and that we're waiting for the PCs to arrive the entire time.

I think the fact that this comment is from just after episode 21 and people still cling to it for Campaign 3 is perhaps the most telling thing of all; it was a party of NPCs by vibe, and at episode 21 that's not a bad thing, but it never fails to shed that over the course of the next hundred episodes.

[myrsinemezzo]

Haladriel Positivity Post #4

You know ‘em you love ‘em, and today it’s a day to shout out cool metas! So cozy on up like Halbrand to Galadriel in Eregion, and let’s get started

The reason I like metas so much is they posit what might be and flesh out ideas for us to make connections and think about things from the show and/or the source texts in a whole new light. This one by @conundrumoftime about Galadriel’s relationship to Sauron in Fellowship of the Ring is one of my favorites. It’s short, and boy is it sweet (or creepy depending on your take) ;)

And then you get metas rebounding off of metas like this one from @deus-sema building off the previous meta, which is so cool to see

When @fatcatlittlebox talks about Sauron’s “Please, you think too much of me” and Galadriel’s “All this was by your design” in s2 ep8, I get the shivers because it’s that good. The opportunity to delve into characterization and acting choices as well as the plot? Mmmmmm that is some tasty tasty food.

Another reason metas can be so cool is the multimedia opportunities afforded by them. This one by @testyqwcde weaves together gifs (with attribution which is lovely) and spectacular descriptive language

“This may be the only genuine and enduring feeling of light he has experienced in thousands of years. Its intensity overwhelms him, a sensation unlike anything he's ever known, leaving him addicted and desperate to bind it to his very being.”

That last sentence makes me roll around on the ground and froth at the mouth as a fic writer. Gorgeous.

Last but not least, the opportunity to make it MORE tragic or MORE beautiful is something that ties meta and gifs and art and fic together within this community of ours. This post by @dinosaurswant2rule about how Sauron never lies to Galadriel made me wail and flail in the depths of my emotions

That’s only a short sampling, please feel free to reblog with your own favorite metas or drop them in the comments. And as always, be well, trop fam!

[fellthemarvelous]

Staged and Good Omens: The discontinuity of a story within a story within a story.

I'm watching the third season of Staged again right now, and I think I've figured something out.

The discontinuity that people are talking about of Good Omens 2.

Staged 3 was a very modern version of A Christmas Carol. Ep 1. Is there a version? (David and Michael work with Simon again) Ep 2. Who's Playing Who? (Scrooge, episode was a farce) Ep 3. Past (Michael and David are co-dependent af) Ep 4. Present (Michael and David fail to write a script) Ep 5. Future (David tells everyone they are doing a live show) Ep 6. Knock, Knock (Simon gets even, ending is sad but not really because they are just taking a break and breaks don't last forever, and Simon gets a job offer based on his script for Knock, Knock, the one story he didn't write.)

The epic trainwreck that is David and Michael's live version of A Christmas Carol is actually a hit, but everyone else has to convince them to stop the show because it can't go on forever. So they end it with Michael and David agreeing to take a break from working together even though it makes both of them sad.

But the whole premise of Staged was that everything was filmed on iPads, computers and cell phones. And it was submitted to Simon so he could piece it together.

Simon Evans wrote Staged as a love story between David and Michael. Simon writes what he sees and finds ways to incorporate fiction into reality. He saw them on Good Omens together and he saw the chemistry between David and Michael, and he turned it into a comedy about these two eccentric actors who clearly love each other. And they agreed to star in it.

They improvised most of it, but Simon laid out the framework of the plot for them to follow, and then he let them be themselves.

The entire show has layers upon layers of meta weaved into it.

Anyway, my point is...

This post is one of several that covers the different ways discontinuity seems to occur during Good Omens 2. The evidence is very compelling.

I'm not here to point all that out because I don't have the strength of some of the meta writers in this fandom, and they're already on top of it, but if we look to Staged as an example, what is the plotline that Good Omens 2 is following?

Good Omens 2 is a modern version of.... Ep 1. The Arrival Ep 2. The Clue (A Companion to Owls) Ep 3. I Know Where I'm Going (The Resurrectionists) Ep 4. The Hitchhiker (Nazi Zombie Flesheaters) Ep 5. The Ball Ep 6. Every Day

What are the stories happening around Aziraphale and Crowley? They're the focal point of season two, but what else is happening?

Neil Gaiman has said that everything means something. They aren't just showing us these things by accident. There is a story happening outside of Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship. And we are all looking closely for that person doing a very odd thing just out of sight or objects being moved around without knowing how they got there in the first place.

There was literally an entire scene in Staged where they are trying to figure out who is playing Scrooge and Simon is so anxious that he keeps moving his plant between two different spots in the room. It also ends up with Georgia accidentally planning her own birthday party because David is in Tokyo. But then they cut at one point and you learn David was actually in his bedroom and not a hotel room in Japan and Georgia didn't really just plan her own birthday party. That chaos was scripted. David has to change clothes, they have to go several minutes back in the scene they just did, but as Anna points out, the sun is not in the same place it was when they started the scene. And then Michael loses his shit at Simon and storms off.

You think that's the reason Simon left, but then we get the episode where Georgia tells David Michael wants to write the script and then tells Michael that David wants to write the script. She does it so she can get them alone in a room together because people love watching them argue. They find out she set them up about six hours later. They are hungry and hot and annoyed and mad at her so she gets Simon to come back to work with David and Michael. Simon comes back from cosplaying as a dentist, brings the food Michael ordered hours ago, and sits down to write. Michael gets pissed off at Simon again because Simon forgot the prawn crackers, so he throws his food at Simon.

Some of these are of the past. Some are of the present. They were all filmed at the same time though so you don't know what happened when or why.

These scenes are all cobbled together. They tell a complete story though. The order just isn't exact.

The story we are seeing in season 2 isn't the real story. It was happening around Aziraphale and Crowley, but with them at the focal point, you get a romantic comedy and it distracts you from what's going on in the background.

There is more than one story in season 2. It's basically a jigsaw puzzle that we can try to piece together, but we won't know what's actually happening until we get the much needed context of season 3.

There are clues all over the place in Good Omens 2. The story is being told through so many other methods except for the one that makes the most sense to us because someone doesn't want us to see what's coming, so we get distracted by Nina and Maggie, Jim, Aziraphale and Crowley.

We know Muriel and Saraqael are up to something. We know Shax and Furfur are up to something. We know the Metatron is up to something. What we don't know is where God went. We hear God's voice in Companion to Owls and we hear God's voice speaking through and with Jim when Crowley orders him to tell them what is going on. It ties directly to the first time Crowley and Aziraphale ever worked together.

We know that Aziraphale is going to Edinburgh and he knows exactly where he's going because he and Crowley have been there before. It challenges the concept of good and evil because Crowley does the good thing and gets sucked into Hell. Right next to Gabriel's statue.

We know that Aziraphale picks up a hitchhiker even though he doesn't want to, and it turns out to be Shax. She reminds Aziraphale of the time that Furfur caught them working together. There were zombies and human magic tricks and Aziraphale uses sleight of hand to save Crowley from being dragged back down into Hell again.

The episode titles of Staged 3 all represent different chapters of A Christmas Carol. But it was more than that because Michael is upset with David for doing adverts without him after they were both asked to work together at first. They love each other and they love working together, but it's preventing them from doing other things they want to do. Hence the break from working together.

It's a story within another story within another story.

And I think that's what we are witnessing in Good Omens. Things aren't happening in the right order. Beyond the sadness of Aziraphale and Crowley splitting up, there is still the next apocalypse to deal with. The story we are getting in season two isn't happening sequentially. It's being manipulated to hide the signs that things are already underway by giving us a love story as a distraction.

And it works very damn well. Because the love story was beautiful.

Staged 3 ending

Good Omens 2 ending

[bookwormwithadhd]

so my nlmg review / meta / rant / idk what this is im just gonna put my jumbled thoughts in here

i started never let me go because... pondphuwin, plus the plot seemed interesting, and let's say they both didn't let me down, the first more than the latter. but i do have a bunch of criticism for it and things i wish they had done differently.

I'll start from my favourite things about Never Let Me Go:

First of all, the freaking OST. so far NLMG has the best OST in any thai bl I've watched. It was so contextual, beautiful, weaving in and out of focus when it needed to, had a big role in setting the mood of so many scenes, in creating tension and resolving it. The songs chosen in many of the romantic scenes were super fitting and all had a similar vibe somehow. The OST helped hold this entire show together so well. I really need to save a bunch of the songs from the OST to my playlists.

Second thing, the cinimatography of the show. From start to finish, NLMG consisted of so many aesthetically pleasing shots. All the visuals were amazing, and served the plot and themes of the show so much. The colour grading of the show gave it a very nostalgic feel. The scenes that showed confidence were so powerful, the scenes with the sweet moments were so soft, the scenes that showed desire were so strong and heartfelt. Honestly the director of the show did such a good job. Also thematically a lot of shots showed the class difference and social hierarchy, as pointed put by @biochemjess in this post, by using levels and the characters positions in the scenes. Or the lighting discussed by @respectthepetty in this post. There are a lot more thematic things that were shown through the cinimatography but im too lazy to analyze them all. All in all, I loved how each and every scene was so put together from visuals to music to acting. Good job jojo.

Third, PondPhuwin's INSANE chemistry, and their amazing acting in general.

I'll start with Phuwin. He did so well portraying Nuengdiao's character. It was so satisfying and awesome to see it from the subtle body language to the big emotions. Phuwin is so good with big emotional scene's ™ it literally gives me goosebumps. He was able to show the softness yet the rage in Nuengdiao, all the pain but all the happiness, all the immaturity and maturity displayed by him throughout the series. The freaking confidence after coming back from the island, and the uncle kit confrontation scene were so powerful, so well acted and vital to Nueng's character arc, and Phuwin did them flawlessly. Some of my favourite scenes that showcase Phuwin's brilliant acting are the rooftop fight/breakdown scene (it was actuallyone of the first scenes i saw a clip of before i watched nlmg and i was like nah i gotta watch it), the fight/break up on the beach scene, the putting-palm-to-sleep-and-running-away scene (might be my favourite scene ever even though it's so sad), the comeback feom the island and taking his rightful place as a heir sequence, the palm getting shot sequence. Like, oh my god, again, goosebumps. Have I mentioned how good Phuwin is in big emotional scenes???

And Pond... that guy, he's probably one of my favourite thai actors ever. Pond has a certain feel, a certain texture and genuineness in his acting that I can't put my hands on, but oh god, do i feel with every role he plays. His acting has a flavour that I really love. He does geniune, sincere, devoted, softly strong like no other. I saw his acting in We Are first, and honestly it was so surprising to me at the beginning how different Palm's personality is from Phum's (they do have their similarities, but in the beginning of nlmg, Palm was so diff). This showed me how much range Pond has. The hesitance, the politeness, the strength yet softness, the sweet confidence, the micro expressions and the not so micro expressions, they were able to paint Palm's personality so well from ep1 directly. His devotion to his work and to Nuengdiao were so prevalent in every look on his face. His conflict of wanting becoming closer to Nueng but also wanting to (more like having to) do what his father wants him to do, was so well acted. And all the confidence Palm gained at the island arc, when they were in the safety of the island, free like the sea, away from expectation, it was so beautiful to watch Pond act that. Some scenes that highlight what im talking about are the scene in the hospital when Palm confronts his dad about not caring about him (then we see Tanya hugging Nueng just after Palm got slapped by his dad and like kahskajmaj), the scene were he sees Nueng kiss Ben, the shooting class scene ("love is much more powerful than hatred" YEAH TAKE IT FROM THE GUY WHO IS FULL OF DEVOTION AND DESIRE), the scene when Nueng humiliated him at the party (i hate the scene but Palm's face, Palm's reaction, Palm's heart breaking... its powerful), Palm coming back to confront Nueng after the first breakup. The list goes on.

Now PondPhuwin together? it's fucking ART okay? it's so beautiful in all its shapes and forms. All the longing looks, every stare, every piece of dialogue shared, every touch, the tension was there, very strongly. It was so there you could feel it through the screen. Then all the romantic scenes, all the sweet ones, they served. The fight scenes were so good. The soft scenes were so good. The angsty scenes were spot on. The comforting scenes, the hugs, the pain, the tattoo kiss (i will never be over that), the way their relationship goes through so many different stages and so many different dynamics and they did each one of them so fucking well. I honestly will stop talking about this because i could write a 100k essay just about how much i love to see them together on the screen. You guys get me, right????

Anyway, another thing this show did right was FEMALE CHARACTERS. I can't stress this enough, but I'm so tired of shows that give the most 2D, weakly written, unlovable female characters only. And here we got three well flesh out, well written important female characters. Starting with Mrs Tanya, Nueng's mother.

If you saw my post after watching ep 1, you saw how much Tanya caught my eye and attention. And that didn't stop as the show went on. She is strong, loving, caring, but flawed, and oh do i love that. I live that she isnt perfect. I love that we see how much she tries to do her best after her husband's death, how confident she is managing the business and stating her terms and boundaries, and how much she tries to protect and care for Nueng. Was her way of doing that right all the time? not really. but that makes her realistic and makes sense for her character. She unconsciously puts pressure on Nueng for being the only hope for the Kiattrakulmethee family, just like his dad did, and unknowns makes Nueng's relationship with Palm more strained with the promise she made Palm make. But over all, we see a genuine caring mother, that fixed her mistakes by the end and tried her hardest to be successful. (Also she is gorgeous??? i can't not mention that. plus her stylist slayed)

Up next is Maggie!! she was such a pleasant and very very needed character. She helped in Palm's development by being a very good friend. Im so grateful they didn't make her flirty with him all the time and the usual not being able to read the room and trying to get in between the mcs. Nope, we got a genuine friend, who had an initial crush on Palm (i mean look at him, who wouldn't??) but then realised the story, recognised so many of Palm's internal problems and gave him much needed advice and support. They were so cute to see together, and i loved the scenes were she was talking to Palm about what she wants to do with her life, and asking him about what he wants to do with his. I think there was something beautiful there because we saw so much of Palm interacting with people from higher class, poeple who dont understand an integral part of his character, and then we see him talking to maggie, who is also working class, who is also trying to navigate her life and live it to it's fullest job after job. Idk why i liked that this much. I love Maggie, she deserves the best.

And finally, the character i thought i was gonna hate but i loved immensely, Palm's mom, mama Mam. We meet her, as a mother who doesn't know her son, a selfish mother that left and loves her family on her own terms. But them once her son comes back to her life, she steps up to take her role as a mother, and boy does she do good. What we saw of her in the few episodes she was in, was so important. She embraced her son's presence fully and read him so well, gave him advice and supoort he very much needed, gave him a safe place and so much love (for him and his boyfriend), and then as a final tribute, sacrificed her life for theirs.

Her character portrayed the complexity of motherhood, of love, of life. The thing she told palm about life not being all about love explained a lot about her character, and is kinda true. So yeah i love how well written she was.

Now, for side character appreciation we get CHOPPER! You dont get how much love I have for him. He is a green flag, no, a green forest and literally such an perfect character. Perth's acting>>>>>>>>>>> The fact that Chopper faced all that conflict alone, had to choose between jailing his own father and becoming complicit in his crimes, it's heartbreaking. Even Ben wasn't by his side at that point. He was so alone, yet he did the right thing. Love a character with strong values. I love that he didn't have any negative feeling towards Nueng, despite all their parents' conflicts. And him confornging his father? badass, even if he faiked to stop him. Him shooting his father? BADASS.

[g0lightly]

(image credits) (deleted pin credit 1)(deleted pin credit 2)

the hounds of harrenhal is a slow-burn brienne x sansa romance within a whimsical adventure with a good mix of found family + re-found blood family fluff. don’t get it twisted, this is still pretty plot heavy. since this is a rather expansive work, there are plenty of other eventual pairings such as gendry/arya and jon/satin (i hc jon snow as the most clueless bisexual to ever live and i love him) in addition to some surprises for later.

can you spot the jenny of oldstones and prince duncan of dragonflies reference(s) in the collage? in addition to rhyming with past asoiaf-verse love stories (dunk x rohanne, jenny x duncan, elissa farman x queen rhaena, lyanna x rhaegar), THOH draws on the persephone/hades abduction myth to subvert both the hound's offer to escape with sansa during the blackwater and littlefinger's "rescue" of sansa from king's landing.

for the purposes of the fic (curse you, abandoned five year gap), sansa's been aged up to robb's twin and two years have passed in-universe.

brienne becomes the newest wearer of the hound's helm after lem when jaime sacrifices himself to lady stoneheart following an escape plan gone very wrong. as the hound, brienne enters a tourney at the eyrie as a mystery knight to win some much needed coin to help the brotherhood without banners through winter. there, lady alayne arryn begs for help escaping a doomed marriage; brienne temporarily sets aside jaime's honor-saving mission for sansa to help her. petyr baelish announces that the hound has abducted sansa stark from the eyrie and advertises a large reward for her safe return. meanwhile, tyrion is trying to use his previous marriage to sansa to claim the vale for the mountain clans and daenerys. sansa hides out in the riverlands’ magical hollow hill with brienne and the brotherhood, falling in love as tensions within the realm build up to a second dance of the dragons amid a years-long winter. when love is the death of duty, what happens when your duty is to the one you love? this work will ultimately take place over the course of several years, weaving in new allies and foes for our star-crossed lovers as the realm moves from crisis to crisis. for generations to come, all of westeros will sing of harrenhal’s hounds and its witch queen. but life is not a song; in this story, it is far sweeter.

meta thoughts below the cut on why a future briensa is objectively one of the best ASOIAF ships in terms of thematic potential.

briensa has the best elements of the far more popular s*ns*n and br*ime ships except they're both teenagers and, crucially, brienne has never held sansa at knifepoint 🩵 no shade to either ship though bc the themes those relationships explore have sent brienne and sansa on journeys that have made them kind of perfect for each other; ie, the subversion of brienne being a protector to sansa rather than a threat is especially relevant if brienne is the next hound after lem!!! alexa play god bless the broken road

brienne is the hero sansa prayed for!!! sansa has learned to put more trust in disfigured people than "beautiful" people which means she can see brienne's beauty in a way she cannot!!! thematically it would be well supported yet subversive for sansa’s true knight and true love to be a jonquil darke type rather than a florian type ��� thematically i think the surest route to true love for sansa is a naerys + aemon situation so why not make it like alysanne and jonquil if they ✂️? it's not my fault grrm accidentally (?) wrote sansa as a closeted femme4butch!!!!

[wildflowerteas]

20 questions for fic writers!

thank you to vik @minusboy for the tag <3 <3 <3 i missed seeing you on my dash.

how many works do you have on ao3?

. . . 2

what's your total ao3 word count?

503,872. (⊙ _ ⊙)

what fandoms do you write for?

just bsd! i try to work on original stuff in my down time, and I've considered writing for hannibal, sw, dune, etc... before however I've found i enjoy reading fics more for those fandoms.

what are your top five fics by kudos?

i don't have enough fics for this ;_; 1. when i awake 2. the second perspective

do you respond to comments? why or why not?

i try!! i have a huge backlog because i was gone for so long but i'm slowly slowly working through them ( 180+ )

what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

when i awake's ending is definitely bittersweet, but sometimes death really is just the ending that provides the best narrative fulfillment for a character. however considering the ending I have planned for tsp... ugh. i actually think when i awake might be angstier

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

see above.

do you get hate on fics?

apparently~ not much, though, thank god. i have seen people talk about my writing in passing on twitter when they didn't know it was me they were replying to, or they think i don't check the qrts on my posts, but it's mostly harmless stuff about my writing not matching their preferences which is alright <3

do you write smut?

yes, only very recently though

do you write crossovers?

i'm thinking about it... mostly because i think an altered carbon bsd au could go CRAZY

have you ever had a fic stolen?

no!

have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had people ask to! but nothing has come out of it just yet ( or maybe I haven't looked hard enough )

have you ever cowritten a fic before?

i'm hoping i can...i just have huge issues with creative control so it's going to be a big thing for me.

what's your all time favourite ship?

Hannigram or destiel

what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

with the way things are going right now it might be TSP. but in all seriousness, there's a BEAST AU skk thing sitting in my drafts waiting for a better outline...and all I do is stare at it longingly. lots of little snippets of it exist in a nebulous plot cloud ( my notes app ) alongside the synopsis of a soukoku actors au

what are your writing strengths?

i think the thing i do best is probably symbolism or the like... bringing moments back full-circle, weaving bits of the real-life authors' or bsd canon and meta-canon into the fic is where i find myself most satisfied with what I've done. also--since TSP is so noir-inspired--adding references to some of my favorite films hehe.

what are your writing weaknesses?

i'm awful at dialogue ( banter ), action sequences, and planning.

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i don't do it in languages i don't know unless i have a team of people willing to check it for me. i just write it in the same language as the rest of the fic and add a dialogue tag specifying it's being translated...

first fandom you wrote for?

you'll never find it but i did write destiel way back when

favourite fic you've ever written?

it WILL be TSP... when i finish it.

tags!!! no pressure to continue <3

@booksandpaperss @nyxi-pixie @saoirseyun <3

[fears-for-your-ears]

Ghost Wax

Official Website Listen on Spotify Created by: R.J. Knutson and Aaron Schoenrock, Far and Tall Tales Aired: 2022 - present (currently making season 2) Episodes: 45 (plus a patreon prequel)

Ghost Wax is a horror fiction podcast following the work of the last “reclaimer”, investigating a series of unnatural killings by raising the dead and committing their final statements to wax cylinder.

Very similar in format to TMA, Ghost Wax is a found audio podcast following Voncid, the only living person left who can communicate openly with the dead. Each episode features a new subject for him to interview, with a meta plot that kicks in fairly early and weaves through the different tales (some connected, some not).

Perfect for fans coming off TMA looking for something similar, with a wide variety of inventive horror and great character dynamics.

[very-gay-poet]

someone check up on me

im making up worldbuiding from the ground up to reflect today

im making up an entire species

im writing an entire government into existance

I'm making a B plot weaving throughout to (1.) help the reader calm down after an angsty chapter and (2.) to hightlight the shittness of the main characters lives and how THIS IS NOT NORMAL FOR CHILDREN TO BE GOING THROUGH by re-making the entire cast but "in a differnt life" where they're actually happy and what THEY SHOULD BE DOING. this other group is given arcs and gets weaved into the A plot story to come in near the end/ a few cameos here and there

made up and entire currancy (given meta and in world meaning to the names and prints)

put in shit that I eat every time from other fandoms I'm in/ things I loved reading from books I've read/ putting in references to other content that I love/has relevance

love interest is given a sword, beheads someone, fights their love interest bc they dont know they've returned, realises its them (the other was smiling the entire time even though they havent had a reason to smile in months) then they slow dance even though they both got blood on their hands (they used to gag at the sight/smell of it but now bc of war and the loss of their innocence they became used to it) to a song (that they're humming) that is fucking haunting in this context bc they've danced to it before the war and had messed about when they would destory the world for one more dance (one of them will be dead by the time the night ends)

ANOTHER group of people execpt its for context and expostion that the main squad can't give us (and to provide differnt angles bc everyones bored of the same opinions again and again

giving back story, conflict, and reasoning for actions to a character that appears in like one (1) chapter in the first "book" but has an impact LONG after appearance

put in "...rightfully hand it over to those who had it first (made it) [as what the British Museum should do lmao]." in my notes for planning chapters and that HAVING A BUTTERFLY EFFECT IN HELPING THEM DEFEAT THE BIG BAD

put in my interests and made them part of the story (greek myth, history)

FOR A FANFIC. A FANFIC. SEND HELP FUCKING HELL.

like I still have to write it FUCK knows what else ima come up with

[freyholland]

Until Dawn Movie Review

This started as a shitpost and then got suuuper long, lmao.

tl;dr the Until Dawn movie was absolutely insane and ridiculous and definitely doesn't need to exist. but I actually liked it more than I thought I would lol

Full review (SPOILER WARNING) under the cut:

Let me start by saying that I’m someone who was fixated on Until Dawn for about a year when it first came out. I don’t consider myself one of its “biggest fans ever”, but I have published over 100k words of fanfiction about it, in addition to countless hours spent crafting edits, metas, playlists, etc - so I think that gives my opinion on the franchise at least Some weight.

Until Dawn is a game that’s basically a movie already. My opinion right along has been that a direct adaptation of UD would have been completely redundant. When this movie was announced, I felt that way. Then we learned that the plot would be different - and suddenly, I was interested. They weren’t taking the easiest and most obvious route. They were trying something new. For better or worse, I was intrigued.

As a writer, changing ANYTHING in a story creates a huge fucking, well, butterfly effect, so naturally things in the movie turn out very different. And yes, I do question some of the decisions, like taking it out of the snowy mountain setting. I assume that was done to differentiate the two stories but then there are so many similarities that it’s impossible not to compare the plots, lol. I do applaud their attempt at creativity instead of mindless translation, even though I don’t think all of it worked. The end product is, at the very least, entertaining, which is really all you can ask of a B-movie horror flick shot on a $15m budget.

The original game, on paper, is cluttered as FUCK. When I first played it back in 2015, I recall turning to my brother at one point and saying “So you’re telling me there just so happens to be a cabin in the woods next to an abandoned mineshaft next to a fucking sanitarium?!” The fact that the movie managed to weave in SO many of these things from that crowded-ass setting while still producing something new and different was really impressive to me. Yes, not all of it was done well - some (like “the masked murderer”) felt like they were just there to tick a box. But a time loop plot allowed for a lot of exploration of these multitudes of different things. And there are so many tiny references! It was fun to spot them all.

I didn’t expect them to work in stuff from the other Supermassive games (notably Little Hope and The Quarry). Oh my god, the way the theater ERUPTED [negative] during the fucking. The fucking. SPONTANEOUS EXPLOSION scenes. I THINK THEY WERE REFERENCING THE QUARRY TRANSFORMATIONS SINCE THEY SHOWED WEREWOLF SKETCHES SHORTLY BEFORE…. BUT LIKE. OF ALL THE THINGS TO USE FROM THAT GAME MFJDKDKDA

And the bear trap with chain thing was from Little Hope, wasn’t it? Or was that from The Quarry, too? I know I remember it from one of the games. Anyway, I was surprised to see that stuff sneak in. Also, them making Dr. Hill the villain was…an interesting choice. Not sure how I feel about it tbh - especially since he seemed like a totally normal guy outside of Josh’s hallucinations (and his explanation for what was happening in the film made no gd sense lmao - how was he able to keep bringing people back to life like that…he outright says it’s real and not in Clover’s mind, so…wtf, is Dr. Hill a necromancer or something). Peter Stormare did an excellent job, though, and he’s probably the closest UD has to a “mascot” character, so I’m willing to be a bit lenient with his inclusion.

I’ll be honest, my working theory prior to seeing the film was that they were making so many changes because they were getting rid of the you-know-whats, or at least changing them into Generic Nameless Creatures, since they look so little like you-know-whats to begin with. Was very disappointed that they not only used the name, but went even farther in stripping them of any cultural connection or significance. The game belly flopped with their handling of Indigenous folklore, but at least they acknowledged it was Indigenous folklore. This was just pure “they’re movie monsters”. Did not like, the movie lost probably a whole grade in my book for pulling that.

Other notes: Loved the use of practical effects! The acting was also solid and I felt like most of the jokes landed. The majority of the humor came from the banter between a bunch of stupid teenagers (?), like in the game, and while the characters themselves weren't as memorable (to be expected in a movie that's about 1/5th the length of the game), I did like them well enough. I actually liked Nina a lot and wish we could have learned more about her. A canon bicon in my adaptation of an oppressively heterosexual game? More likely than you think, apparently

Changing the “final girl” to be the surviving twin also added some juicy emotional stuff we never got in the game, since we don’t get to see much of Josh processing what happened to Hannah. Reminds me of those “Beth lives” fics people used to write, where she’d help take Hannah down. I also enjoyed that they (purposely?) cast a girl who looks like Ella Lentini. (And her actress name is actually Ella, too! Ella Rubin). I liked that choice a lot.

So in the ongoing debate of “Should this film have been given the Until Dawn name?”, I’m honestly torn. Yes, parts of it do feel like they were recycled from other scripts that probably couldn’t get greenlit on their own. But there is SO much UD DNA woven throughout, it’s pretty undeniably An Until Dawn Movie. When I was discussing it with my brother afterward, his opinion was that he would have called it “Until Dawn: [some subtitle]” to differentiate it, and I found myself agreeing with that. Calling it something like Until Dawn: 13 Nights (or anything like that) might have alleviated some fan outrage - though that would have come with the tradeoff of casual horror viewers thinking it was a sequel and possibly skipping it…so I’m not sure what would have truly been the best move here. I think it was kind of a lose-lose either way, which is a risk you always run with these sorts of adaptations.

Ultimately, did Until Dawn (2025) need to exist? No. Is it better than the game? No. Is it a fun time for fans of the game who are curious about its subject matter being explored in a different way? Yeah, definitely. It's not going to win any awards, but I don't regret seeing it.

Rating: 6/10

[turbulenthandholding]

Richie as Director Avatar and Taylor Swift

I was talking with @thoughtfulchaos773 earlier today and something occurred to me about Richie singing Love Story in Forks. There has been a lot of really wonderful meta lately touching on Richie's role in the show. There's @currymanganese's excellent point that Richie is Storer's avatar as well as all of @thoughtfulchaos773's posts about Filmmaking and Season 3/Richie as Director (Part 1 / Part 2).

Anyway, previously I hadn't thought much about Love Story being the Taylor Swift song that they had Richie sing. It's well known, it's a song that would make sense that his young daughter would gravitate towards and would have exposed him to. There's a purity and joy to it that fits with the earnestness he gains in his journey throughout the action of Forks. However, with the context of all of the other great meta out there, it occurred to me that if we think of Richie as Director and Observer of Carmy's Love Life (as thoughtfulchaos773 called him in Filmmaking Meta Part 1), the choice of Love Story as the song is a LOT more significant. Richie is telling viewers what the story of The Bear is...it's a love story. And it's a love story with Sydney as opposed to the horror/haunting story that's being laid out with Claire (here and here and probably others I'm not finding right now).

I've also been trying to make sense of the use of Long Live, which plays in the background of the conversation that Richie has with Frank in Violet. I was expecting to get another Taylor Swift song in Season 3, but all of the guesses I had made were more directly tied to Richie's plot and story (This is Me Trying was my main prediction). So I was very surprised that the song they picked was Long Live. But in considering Richie as Director Surrogate, this choice starts to make a lot of sense.

I don't think the choice of song is trying to say anything about Richie and Tiff's relationship, or Richie getting over her, or his maturity in handling the conversation with Frank. Long Live is a song that Taylor Swift wrote for her band, in celebration of her first headlining tour (for Fearless). In our chat, @thoughtfulchaos773 suggested that Long Live is a reference to Richie's looking back and reflecting at The Beef (and contrasting the experience of working at The Beef with the experience of working at The Bear) and hoping that sense of comradery and joy is able to be found at The Bear eventually -- and I think that makes a lot of sense.

I said remember this feeling I passed the pictures around Of all the years that we stood there on the sidelines Wishing for right now We are the kings and the queens You traded your baseball cap for a crown When they gave us our trophies And we held them up for our town And the cynics were outraged Screaming, "This is absurd" 'Cause for a moment, a band of thieves In ripped up jeans got to rule the world

There are a couple of other things that stand out to me in the song:

I was screaming, "Long live all the magic we made" And bring on all the pretenders, I'm not afraid

Magic and sleight-of-hand are themes that come up in Season 3, and it may be because I have Unreasonable Hospitality on the brain, but it is important to Richie, who lists the dream weave as one of his non-negotiables. Will Guidara writes in UH that for a while at Eleven Madison Park, they used a literal magic trick to reveal dessert to guests during one of their courses. And EMP also employed an entire team of Dreamweavers whose sole responsibility was to make hospitality personal and special for their guests (seen in Season 3 in the scene with the Surprise with the cake and Richie singing happy birthday in Spanish). I don't necessarily think they picked the song to make this reference but there is a through line there, even if unintended -- and I do think that, dropped fork notwithstanding, Richie's journey towards Unreasonable Hospitality genuinely has become his purpose.

The second thing that stands out to me, which might well be more of an intentional reference, comes from the last verse (which plays as Richie asks Frank about how he got his house):

Will you take a moment? Promise me this That you'll stand by me forever But if, God forbid, fate should step in And force us into a goodbye If you have children someday When they point to the pictures Please tell them my name Tell them how the crowds went wild Tell them how I hope they shine

I am reminded of this very excellent meta of @currymanganese's which posits the name of the restaurant Fairest Creatures alludes to one of Shakespeare's procreation sonnets. I think this verse alludes to (or directs our attention towards):

Season 3's theme of legacy

The hope of reconciliation between Richie and Carmy

An allusion to Carmy's future children and sharing the legacy of The Beef/The Bear with them

[gravesung]

WHILE I PLUG AWAY at yuji starters (they're in my drafts i swear), i'd like to toss in some fresh things to break up the monotony! chiaki's muse has been so high lately, i have some memes for her in the inbox but i really like plotting and writing starters <3 especially since there are some new folks around here!

quick primer for those who don't know her yet: chiaki is a jjk oc (first-grade sorcerer, either teacher, independent curse user or member of geto's cult), but has several modern verses including idol, model, bartender (at a yakuza bar), and probably more to come haha.

technique: her general conceit in main-verse is that she can see the cursed energy around her in the form of threads. the cursed energy possessed by a person or object appears in the form of a particular weave, not exactly a flat tapestry but comparable in that each one is unique. she can then manipulate these threads! the higher-grade the user, the harder it is to pull on their weave. this allows her to move objects and environments around (which is her primary focus in battle, given that her body is not naturally strong. she's support, by way of battlefield/environment control.) at her absolute most desperate, sometimes, she's able to puppeteer a curse or curse user by manipulating the threads in their body (bloodbending-esque). very very very occasionally. at best, most days, she can puppet one limb or extremity of a curse's body to keep it from hitting her.

she's also got a heian era silk weaver & seamstress verse, though i haven't developed that one out very much just yet.

her info/bio is here. pinterest board here. meta posts here. (lots more on the old blog.)

[becauseplot]

90 Seconds to Midnight: An Ordem Paranormal AU Masterpost

Figured I should make one of these so I can keep track of my own posts lmao. Will be edited with new entries as they come but don't expect toooooo much content. Spoilers through OSNF finale and OPD 6. Asks are always open for the AU!

90 Seconds to Midnight is an AU where Thiago survives Santo Berço, but he doesn't quite escape the Symbol. After all, anything that is touched by Death cannot ever go back to the way it was. (Liz+Thiago-centric.)

FANFICS

Full fanfics that I (or others!) have written and posted in regards to this AU. All main links eventually lead to Ao3, if an Ao3 version of them exists.

Still Feel (Original fic where I made up the basic premise of how Thiago survives Santo Berço. This was written BEFORE I decided to make the AU angsty lol. You can definitely read this as standalone and pretend the rest of the AU's storyline doesn't exist.)

Unusual (A fic about the uncanniness of Liz and Thiago's growing comfort with each other. Codependency? Shared trauma? Paranormal influence? It's impossible to say. Featuring a fun new concept: Platonic Cuddling (But Evil))

almost midnight by rabbit-harpist (A fic written by a friend of mine who is also crazy about Liz and Thiago. Very good writing with amazing atmosphere! Explores Liz's side of their downward spiral as things start to slip.)

The Event Horizon (A fic written exploring a scene touched on Post 5 (see Tumblr Posts below). Many months after the burning of Santo Berço, as the Symbol is pulling apart what remains of his mind, Thiago follows Liz to the New Dawn Apartments in the hopes of saving her from herself.)

MORTE (One-off I wrote for Inktordem. Towards the end of the AU's storyline. One of my reblogs on the original tumblr post has extra meta info about it, but the explanation contains spoilers for OPD 19, so be warned!)

MY TUMBLR POSTS

Posts where I've written/rambled/drawn things that happen in the AU: setting, what the characters are going through, major plot points, etc. They're listed in the order I posted them and not necessarily in chronological order story-wise.

Post 1 (Self-indulgent rambles and Liz and Thiago's living situation. Secret-third-thing Liz+Thiago my beloved.)

Post 2 (First explanation of how Thiago's situation starts to take a turn for the worse.)

Post 3 (How Thiago initially tries to cope with the nightmares.)

Post 4 (Toying with ideas concerning Thiago and Liz's entwined decent.)

Post 5 (Ending of the AU's storyline.)

Post 6 (Epilogue!)

Post 7 (The entanglement of their love, their trauma, and paranormal influence.)

Post 8 (Liz's nightmares. Can't believe I haven't talked about Liz's nightmares yet.)

Post 9 (Some art about Thiago's sinking feeling of running out of time, inspired by the song All the Time in the World by Kiltro)

MY TAGGED POSTS

These are posts I've reblogged that I think fit with the "vibe" of the AU. Consider this list something like a deconstructed web weave.

Post A (Textpost)

Post B (Textpost)

Post C (Gifset) (God it's so pretty)

Post D (Song lyrics)

Post E (Textpost ft. my buddy calling me out)

Post F (Screenshot) (Contains OPC 8 spoilers)

Post G (Screenshot)

OTHER STUFF

Some wonderful art made by the lovely @rabbit-harpist! Please go look at this it's amazing it's incredible I love it so so much.

HEY LOOK AT THAT I MADE A SPOTIFY PLAYLIST :D