#and i haven't revised their stories in a hot second...

[steelthroat]

Very important question for you ab any OCS you have: do you have a top 3 + reasons for their ranking?

Oh hello hello and thanks for the ask

Loaded question, because I love my Ocs but also... I do have some favorites (don't tell them). I will do a couple of rankings because there is a difference between my tf ocs and my main stories' ocs

So:

Tf ocs:

Flange: (decepticon but it's not that deep) first one I made, hot design, nice personality

Recoil: (decepticon but it's complicated) she is cool, short little angry demon that likes competent people

Abode/Wheelpad: his alt mode is a car I really care about and he's very cute

Ocs from the rest of my universe

Argo: I am insane about him. Idk how it happened or why, but I am straight-up insane about that guy. He is also the strongest or the second most powerful oc I have... so yeah. Since his... multiversal nature he appears in most of my stories

Aro: his story needs some updates, but he's pretty much what ties 70% of my universe together, also appears in several stories, in some he's just a background character/legend but that guy is important. Also I like him so yeah. Go Aro go! Started from nothing and now you're more than a Deity, helle ye

[Name I have yet to choose]: she is one of my favorite characters ever. She doesn't have a name because I care too much about her, and until i find something that suits her, I can not do her any wrong. I recently revised her story, and she was really such an interesting one. She had such a cool arc that I should take that story back in my hands because I had some okay/good ideas hmmmm. Also, when she lost control of her powers and went batshit for a couple of times, it was cool. I'm sorry I made her an orphan around 3/4 of the story, she was one of the few ocs I had that had to "struggle" between what she had to do thanks to her powers and her loving family and friends. Taking that away from her was a dangerous move, but it was necessary for the entire plot. But the next arc with the new guy was too much fun, so in the end, I really have a few to none regrets.

Honorable mentions:

Fera: made as a dnd oc, plague doctor I love them very much, they need a hug.

The three fellas in a polycyle. They were cute, their story was wholesome and they were very nice with nice arcs. Not the greatest by any means, but I really liked them. They weren't even supposed to be in a polycyle. It just happened

[Redacted] my worst villain yet, I cannot say his name but he'sm he's something. Bastard but I gave him a cool design

[Forgot her name] I swear I have female characters with names, it's just been too many years for this one. Btw she's like the second/third most powerful oc i have ever made, cool as fuck narrative arc and cool wings so she will forgive me... also because I wasn't good at finding names whenni was 12. Whatever i gave ger was not good

Steve: a magical mathematician.

Arys: she is... I have thoughts about her but it's too much. I must finish her story. Fuuuuck.

That one pirate queen with cool ship that turned into a giant woman and a secret city for the resistance. She was cool, she should have bever been a side character. I will give her a story

[saessenach]

3 & 20 📚

hiiiiiii so I actually had a mini essay all typed out for this and tumblr decided to eat it up, which means that it took me a hot second to type it all again 🥹

3. What were your top five books of the year?

Tied for first place, it'll have to be Ursula K. Le Guin's Space Crone, and Jane Austen's Persuasion. Both were deeply impactful for me and had me sobbing like a child, and I couldn't choose between them with a gun to my head.

Space Crone dug its claws into me from the first and titular essay, and Le Guin's writing was utterly fascinating - incisive, reflective and yet so kind. She's got such a sharp voice, and I could read and reread her articles and essays and learn something new everytime. Seeing her inquiries into aging, gender and societal issues evolve throughout the years was so special, and I particularly loved that she was fearless about changing and revising her opinions. I can't thank @missmungoe enough for the rec, because it was life-altering literature.

Persuasion was a book I had been waiting to read and I think this year was precisely the right time for it. From the characterisation, to the social commentary, to the slow journey of Anne finally allowing herself to see the world and be seen by those around her in return, Persuasion had me in a chokehold. I get inordinately emotional while thinking about it, especially in the context of when it was written in Austen's life, and I don't think I'll ever recover from The Letter.

Second to them was This is How You Lose the Time War, by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar. You have to understand - I love my SF with a hearty dose of worldbuilding and my enemies-to-lovers romances as smaller pieces set in a wide, wide world. This book has neither, and yet I fell deeply in love with it. The letters between Red and Blue are so honest, the candour between them fucking heart-melting. The ending had me sobbing, and this truly was the year of love letters for me!!

After that, it's Joanna Glenn's All my Mothers, which took its time charming me, but once it did, I was a goner. It was such an interesting meditation on motherhood and identity, and incredibly complex relationships between women. The story was also deeply anchored in its locations, and I was left with an incredibly strong urge to visit Córdoba - love for that city was pouring off the page, and it's strange to be half-in-love with a place you've never seen before but alas!!! Also, this was an audiobook for me, so please picture me having an emotional menty b in the vegetable aisle at the shops. fun times!

Now it all gets a bit muddy because I am shite at picking only five things at once and leaving out any of these books feels plain wrong, as they each scratched a very different itch in my brain:

Daniel Keynes' Flowers for Algernon came out of left field for me, bc I read it a decade ago and hated it to bits, only to find it ridiculosuly compelling on my reread this year. My book club had a deliciously in-depth discussion about it, and it was so refreshing to find that I can not only change my mind, but also find new things to appreciate in unlikely places.

Both of Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde books were an utter delight - they left me giggling like a loon, and the characters charmed my socks off. The visuals were so lovely that my fingers were itching to pick up a pen and draw (which is rare and wonderful for me) - I haven't gotten to that yet, but they're always in the back of my mind, so I can only hope inspiration will be kind to me soon! Maybe when I reread them this winter hmmm

Finally (this time for real), I need to yell a second about Emily Wilson's Odyssey, because it was captivanting and gorgeous and I rotate verses and images from it in my head far too much for it to be healthy. It was so lovely to revisit my childhood love of Greek myths, but this time with the real deal! Can't wait to get my hands on her Illiad as well, hopefully next year!

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

So I haven't been following that many series recently?? But the only release I'd been waiting for was Mimi Matthews' new Belles of London installment, and The Lily of Ludgate Hill was everything I hoped it would be! I love this romance series, they are incredibly lovely and comforting, and strongly rooted in that time period. There's a delicious amount of historical research that goes into establishing the world and the way the heroines occupy it. The books follow a group of friends who are all on the outskirts of polite society, for various reasons - they're all distinctive and fun and their respective romances are delightful. I can only say, Bridgerton wishes it was this series, and I'm always up for a reread. I think the final book in the series will come out soon and I can't wait to read it hehe

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to ramble about books I loved !! And sorry for taking so long to get to it ahh 🫶

end-of-the-year book ask meme here

[eskawrites]

For both Elden Ring AUs, please: 3, 6, 13, 18, 25

you are indulging me and i love you for it

3. Did the idea change at all by the time the fic was complete?

For the first elden ring au, there wasn't really an outline (which is something i never do) because I was kinda just writing it off and on as I played? and the ideas were simply 'badass nancy and broken fantasy world vibes' which stayed the same throughout. nothing really changed until the very end after i beat the game and realized I should have made Robin Melina, which of course led to the second elden ring au, and since that follows the frenzied flame storyline it also didn't change much lol

6. How did you decide what tense and POV(s) to use?

tense is weird because I always write in present tense now but that was like a subconscious shift I made several years back? when I first started writing fic it was all in past tense. I experimented with present tense once in a while for like drabbles and stuff, but didn't think much of it beyond practicing something different until a fandom friend pointed out that any time i wrote in present tense, the story was deeply rooted in emotional angst. and over time most of my stories became more deeply rooted in the emotional side of it all, and that trend sort of just took over until one day i looked around and realized everything i wrote was in present tense

as for pov, it was really just a natural decision for both? since Nancy is the tarnished she's the main character so of course it's her pov (I did consider having more Robin pov in the elden ring au ii for a hot second, but that was a beast enough as it is to write and tbh I don't know what Melina is doing whenever she's not hanging out with the tarnished! I do not understand enough of her lore (read: there is not enough clear lore on her) to really delve into her pov, so it stayed as nancy pov until the lil epilogue bit

13. Did you write any of the fic by hand? If yes, which parts? Do you find you write differently by hand vs typing?

lol no, i haven't handwritten any pieces of fic since college, when i would scrawl scenes and ideas into my notebooks instead of paying attention in bio 101. there were a lot of things put on my phone though since a lot of scene ideas for both these fics came from experiences during my own playthroughs of the game

18. Talk about your editing and revision process

honestly my editing process really just consists of re-reading and then re-reading again (and then re-reading again, and sometimes re-reading again). but i guess for the elden ring aus there was also a lot more cross-referencing with wikis and stuff to make sure i was staying true to the lore while also trying not to get too much into it. most of the big edits when i write though happen when i'm copying rough drafts of scenes from my notes doc or my phone into the actual story

25. Share your favorite line

for elden ring au i: it's a paragraph but

Her words sink warmly into Nancy’s chest, but they settle heavily. She thinks, almost desperately, that it would have been easier if Robin wanted the blade between her ribs.

something-something nancy learning never to trust anyone and robin letting her let her guard down for once, and somehow that's even more dangerous

for elden ring au ii: also a few lines but

It isn’t Robin. Nancy has saved her. That’s worth burning for. She’s doing the right thing. She’s doing the right thing. She’s doing the right thing. She’s doing the right—

this was the closest i could get to mimicking the feeling of a hard cut to black after an emotional cutscene. idk if it worked for anyone else, but i'm proud of it

(fic ask!)

[renegadeknight]

Can I be super obnoxious about the ask game? ‘Cause I’m gonna.

2, 4, 17, 18

If you only want to answer one… 17 or 18. (You know I’m a whore for the snips.)

love that for me 💙

2. a character whose POV you're currently exploring

I'm actually currently trying to wrangle some Tommy POV, which has been harder than I thought it would be 😅

4. a story idea you haven't written yet

Ugh so many but one I'm really excited to get to eventually is another alt meet au where Joel finds an injured Ellie in the woods while he's on a remote-ish Jackson patrol and then he has to deal with the fallout when some raiders/fireflies come looking to take her back

17 got a little long so I put it under the cut with 18, thank you for the ask!

fic writer ask game!

17. talk about your writing and editing process

it feels like a chaotic mess to me but I usually start with a very rough just bare bones draft of something, I usually call this "word vomit" cause that helps me combat the perfectionism and just get shit on the page. some parts will be more fleshed out than others on this initial pass if a certain scene/moment strikes me, but sometimes it's literally just "Ellie says something that makes Tommy want to walk in front of a train" like vibes and what I want are easier to jot down at first even if I don't know how it's going to play out quite yet then I go back through for a second pass and try to flesh out the structure of the scene, what's my goal and who goes where and does what to achieve that goal. this can be more or less polished depending on how many mental drafts I've done of the scene. sometimes if it's a lot of convo I'll cut that to another document to work on just the dialog with no narrative distractions and then cut it back in to work out the body language interactions etc. but I still sometimes leave carrots like "<something something he asks one more question and she snaps something back" and leave it for future me to figure out and then the third pass is where I start to finalize things and paying more attention to how I'm saying things instead of what I'm saying. I try to work out all the carrots that I left behind and make sure I've hit all the story beats I was aiming for. if I'm not completely done with it after that, I'll read through one more time just for a flow/vibe check, pick up some typos if I'm paying close enough attention and then post it immediately because if I don't then I will keep picking at it until my eyes bleed

18. if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

This was some very early drafting for Stubborn Love where I thought Joel might push for Ellie to get a say that first time Tess came to take her to a permanent placement, and then Ellie promptly disappeared from said placement. Obviously I ended up going a different way with it, cause I felt like it was too early in the game for her to be running away and Joel to know exactly where she went. So I used that later 😉

And this was also very early SL drafting of the "not your dad/not my daughter" conversation where initially I had this idea that Ellie thought Joel was just estranged/ghosted Sarah and so she sort of stepped in it a bit. Ultimately I decided to let Ellie figure that out before this conversation cause it felt like she would piece that together. (also an example of mostly keeping to the dialog in early drafting, and "Silence for a hot second" would defs get revised to something more eloquent lol)

[profblahson]

Finlandia

Figured that I’d look into a piece of music that never fails to

A) Make me cry

B) Fill me with hope and determination

(The video unfortunately does in fact have some audio artifacts, but the performance with the full choir is, in my opinion, the best one available on YouTube)

History

1899: The Grand Duchy of Finland is experiencing a tightening grip by the Russian Empire. The Grand Duchy wouldn’t become independent until 1917, and Russification - the Empire’s process of limiting the Duchy’s status and working to abolish its political powers altogether - was in full effect. The Russian Empire began to declare Russian Law as law of the land, and the Duchy must pledge their allegiance, effectively downgrading from Duchy to a state, ignoring any attempts at autonomy.

The Finnish people were, naturally, angry. They began to push back. They had already begun a nationalistic cultural movement in the 1830s known as the Fennoman Movement, where Finns aimed to expand and raise their culture to a national level (a huge part of the movement was the study and spread of Finnish as a language, instead of Swedish or Russian).

By the 1890s, Jean Sibelius had established himself as a renowned Finnish composer in his homeland. He was approached to provide some music for a demonstration in Helsinki. The original title, Finland Awakes, debuted at this event in 1899, as the final movement of a suite. This suite was itself a commentary and story of the struggles of the Finnish under Russian rule. The final movement we now know as Finlandia aimed to describe Finland rising up and becoming independent. Sibelius later reworked this movement into a standalone piece, and a chorus was added as late as 1948. Below is a screen grab of the translated lyrics, from Finland.fi

The continuous interest and performance of the piece between its premiere in 1899, revisions, and addition of the chorus really speaks to how powerful the composition resonated with the people of Finland (Sibelius himself became exhausted with its popularity!).

The tone poem has become a symbol of Finnish nationalism and freedom from the Russian Empire. Let’s dive into the actual music!

The Music

Dark, cloudy, and loud brass chords start off, punctuated by tumultuous timpani rolls. The storm continues.

The upper woodwinds respond, attempting to pierce the sky with some hope, brought back down by the strings.

An ascending bass line leads into a short repeated call and response by the strings and winds. The second time, an octave higher, stretches even further up, again trying to breach the sky.

The storm returns, launching into a brass fanfare announcing the coming strife. The timpani murmurs trade off. This figure returns several times throughout the remainder of the piece.

When the strings return, they’re chaotic and unruly.

The celli state a transition that fights against the time signature, and launch us into one of the most iconic heroic themes written (I don’t think it’s any coincidence that so much of the music for the piece uses ascending melodies, and this heroic theme sounds like a call to action).

The heroic section is repeated - then the brassy storm and frantic strings return. As the music takes us through, the clouds finally fully part.

Enter the chorale. Calming, joyous, full of hope. Even without words, the melody sings, brings one to tears. Woodwinds make the first statement of the chorale, contrasting with the tumultuous strings and brass that led us here. The strings murmur underneath the entire time, and eventually echo the winds for the second verse.

(Below, I've roughly analyzed the Chorale. I haven't done this in a hot minute, so stuff might be off, be gentle)

Low strings restate their fight against time to send us into the final sections of the music. Everything comes together: brass fanfare, the ascending flight, ending in an extended version of the chorale stated by the brass and winds while the strings fly high above! The final resolution is loud and full of passion for the coming liberation of Finland!

The Chorale

I took the first verse in the woodwinds and condensed them to a simple four-part score for easier analysis. It's surprisingly simple, seeming to function primarily in Ab Major, dipping briefly into the relative f minor (the original home key), before resolving in Ab Major.

I did find the use of a minor vi chord for the climax of the chorale, as we usually expect something strong like a Major V or I chord here. To me, this signifies the turmoil of the Finnish, reaching for their freedom. The lyrics at these chords are "The skylark calls" in the first verse, and "Finland, Arise" in the second, being very literal in their purpose - the lyrics are about going up, the music is literal ascending.

There's a lot of using inversions in this voicing, which adds to the lack of stability. (There's more nuance than I can put in words in a Tumblr post, but generally this seems to be the case in the chorale.) (I intentionally made the final chord I instead of its voiced first inversion, as that's its purpose, it does seem to actually be voiced inverted, however, and I might be wrong to call it I as such. I digress.)

Closing Thoughts

Finlandia is one of those pieces that I am always able to come back to (and regularly do - it’s on a playlist I shuffle for work) that will always make me feel emotional. The burning desire for liberty and independence! The perseverance against strife! (I’m a sucker for stories that are about overcoming odds or staying strong in the face of adversity.) This tone poem beautifully captures the struggle of the Finnish against the Russian Empire, as well as their determination for freedom.

And the message resonated with the people of Finland. The national orchestra of the time took a revised version on tour in the early 1900s, spreading the name Sibelius around the world. As mentioned, even he was surprised and a bit annoyed at how popular the work was - he was afraid of it overshadowing his larger works! But the accessibility of the music, with such a powerful message, I believe is credit to its success and longevity.

—————————————————

Thanks for reading! Feel free to provide feedback or don’t, I’m a doofus just gushing about music he likes. It was fun for me to research the history of the music and do some analysis!

I have other pieces in mind I want to explore, but if there’s anything you want to share with me, please feel free! I love finding and exploring new music!

Thanks for your time.

[katsus-world]

How bakugou and kirishima would react if they walked in on you crying cause of a show.

umm totally not self-indulged

Genre: fluff, not really angst, hc's

Also these are kinda long

It's 6pm and bakugou is getting back to the dorms from the gym with his read head pal.

He's annoyed at you to say the least.

You haven't answered his texts. And hes worried bro

(Not that he'll ever admit it tho)

Anyways Kiri and him get to the dorms smelling like sweat

That's just Kiri

But bakugou left the red head behind when the blonde checked his phone

he was about to send u another angry text But he saw that you left him on read.

Lmao ╰_╯he does that face and goes storming up to your room.

When he noticed that the doors locked his first instinct is to blow the door

But he stops himself when he hears muffled sniffs

Bakubaby would stay at the door for a couple of seconds thinking if he did something to upset you

But then his thoughts go to the opposite direction

What if someone did something to you.

Just the thought if someone hurting you made his heart hurt and his blood boil at the same time.

Finally returning to his senses he knocks on the door hard.

Hearing a small scream come from your room and the cracking of your floor board, you open the door.

Puffy red eyes and pouty lips look back at him as you stare at you boyfriend.

Quickly he hugs you.

"Who the fuck did this? Huh, I'll kill them!" his own way of caring you laugh slightly.

"Nobody did anything, calm down Kat."

His face goes (｀o´)? For a moment and pulls away

"Then why the hell are you cryin'?" you push him inside your room and close the door.

you shuffle your way to your bed feeling his red eyes follow your figure. You clear your throat as you explain what happened.

"So the mc lost ANOTHER person Kat! They've gone through so much! And I really like [character name]!" your glossy eyes look back at your bf who at the moment looks stunned.

"Wait let me get this straight. Your cryin' over a fucking show?! Dumbass, come here."

You quickly made your way in his arms and he patted your back trying to make you feel better.

The next morning you go to kaminari and you both talk about the show and kami would get emotional too.

He told you to watch it so you both can talk about it

It's the weekend and Kirishima just woke up

It's like 9:35 and the first thing he does is grab his phone.

Mans would send you a good morning text but he found it odd that you didn't respond.

Lmao but then he remembers it's Sunday and you probably just wanted to sleep in

He goes down stairs and makes himself some all might cereal.

Don't come at me 😭

After that he goes to train with the Bakusquad and sero asks if your not awake.

"They're probably asleep bro, Ill check up in them later." he gives sero a toothy smile and make their way to the gym.

Meanwhile your at your dorm.

Your computer open and snacks around you.

Being the s/o of Kiri ment being friends with bakugou lmao

You two rarely talk only when he's screaming at you to fight him

Anywaysss you and Kiri were in baku's dorm studying. Not really he was just yelling at Kiri to focus.

Long story short Kiri went out for snacks and bc he trusts you to stay in the room with another dude and not do anything he left u and Baku.

Taking out your phone baku snatches it and tosses it with your sharky boyfriends on his bed.

"Focus on the homework!" not paying attention to what he said, something caught your eye.

Behind him was a shelf of romance manga, your lock eye with the blonde and laugh your ass off.

"Damn bakugou I didn't know you were into that stuff!"

"Shut up extra! I'll kill yo-" cutting him off you got up.

"Are any of them good?" he rolled his eyes and slumped in the floor.

"Why?" again you locked eyes with the blonde and sighed.

" I just finished a show an I need something else to watch, are any of these good?" you repeated yourself as you saw the angry blonde point at one of the mangas

"Tch, this one is good." a devilish smirk spread across his face as you turned around.

That was the saddest one he had in his shelf.

Back to present time, you still haven't answered the phone and it was 1:15 pm

You don't ever sleep this late. Walking back to the dorms he made his way to your room.

Completely forgetting that he smelled like sweat, very faintly tho.

Ax Body Spray that's all I have to say

When he opened the door, there you where lying on your bed, tissues crumbled up in your hands as you stared at your laptop screen.

Sniffles caught his attention, you not even fazed that the door opened.

He ran to you to see what's wrong.

"Hey baby! What's wrong? Why are you crying? Did somethi-" your hand placed on his lips as your glossy eyes stayed in the screen.

"Nishimiya!" the screen echoed across the room as hot tears spilled out of your eyes.

"Y/n!-" you shushed him very quickly as you pulled him on your bed. Your eyes never falling off the screen.

His arms wrap behind you as he looks too.

You gasp as the mc hits a table, his eyes widened as he calls the other girl by her first name.

Suddenly the girl falls, the mc running to save her, catching her by the wrist.

You cry out as you see nishimiya look at mc.

Tears gather in your boyfriend's eyes as he holds you tighter.

After finishing the whole movie, kirishima looks at you with puffy eyes.

"So that's why you were crying? Heh, I see why." you apologize for shushing him and pepper his face with kisses.

Later that day, you see bakugou at dinner and he obviously sees that you've been crying, a large smirk as he sees you walk towards him.

"I hate you." His smirk wideneds and replies,

"Don't go snooping in my shit then."

(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T)(T_T

Lmao this was originally supposed to have todoroki too but I got lazy sorry (◞‸◟ㆀ).

Anyways have y'all seen euphoria? Well yeah I finished that and it left me in tears 😔🖐.

Un revised so sorry about any spelling errors 😅

[jaaswolfen]

Our Meetings

Alright, so this is the revised version of “Our Meetings”. Any short stories regarding this two will be put here. Take it as an Insight on the actions that led to Format. If you haven't read that before, please be sure to do and give me your opinion!

Read my other fic Format / AO3

Read it on AO3

“I didn’t think anyone would actually come here. Let alone you from all people.” She said. Sombra didn’t even had to turn around. She had heard those engines hundreds of times. It was a comforting sound on the battlefield. The next sound would become familiar one, as the pilot left the cockpit and stood aside her mech.

“Well… I’m always up for a good easter egg hunt.” She answers.

“Huh.” She paused. “Don’t you think you are taking the bunny thing way too far? Should I call you the Easter Bunny then?”

“Hey! Bunnies are great! And I don’t know what you are talking about!” She answered jokingly. This felt nice. The teasing, the back and forth around nonsense. The heated answers and the cool, calculated questions. This was their own special game. But even from time to time one needs a break from playing. From taking the hero’s sword or the villain’s crown. They played their own little games, and they were the best. But that didn’t mean they always liked it.

Sombra’s gaze never left the horizon as the Korean took a seat beside her. Dorado’s rooftops were plenty and desolated. The perfect place for someone who wanted both privacy and peace. Or to park an obnoxiously bright pink mech while attracting the least amount of armed forces possible. It was peculiar sight. The two enemies. Friends. Something in between or something else entirely. The two of them were not subtle, in or outside of the battlefield. One sneaked her way through, only to make herself know in the flashiest way possible, scrapping you of everything. While the other paraded without fear or shame. Destroying anything in her path, both sword and shield. And when it came to the end, to do or die, she would give it all for the victory and the boom.

And yet, here they are. Beacons. Icons. Stars. Silent as the night itself, enjoying the unspoken trust they seemed to have. Completely devoid of the world that venerated or despised them. Only when the curiosity got the better of her did Hana spoke up.

“You knew I would find the message.” She stated.

“Yep.”

“No hacking my stream. No flashing lights. No mech acting up.” She once again stated.

“Yep.

She waited for her to elaborate, but Sombra kept her eyes forward, while Hana turned to see her face.

“Why did you call me here?”

She waited for a moment, but no reply came. Just as she gazed to the sun setting in the horizon, she replied.

“Have you ever been tired? Of all of this, I mean.” The hacker asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Of this,” she gestured at themselves. “The acting? The fighting? The lying?” She shook her head. “Aren’t you tired of being “D.va”?” She turned to look at Hana. Taking a moment to appreciate the sunset, she slowly turned to the Mexican. As she took a deep breath, her eyes spoke volumes. The smile which she wore proudly disappeared, and her posture dropped drastically, stiffness painfully obvious appeared in her shoulders.

“Yep.” She imitated. This got a laugh out of the Hacker, which too let her guard down. She stretched her whole body as a loud crack came from her neck. Only now were the bags under her eyes visible to the Korean, but she made no further comment. Instead, she elaborated. “Of course I’m tired. I’m tired of perverted fans and 12-hour streams. I’m tired of being underestimated and undermined. I’m tired of not having any damn lore.” (I’m still waiting, Chu.) A smile escaped her lips as she asked. “And you? Finally tired of being “Sombra”?”

A smile of her own appeared on the Hacker, as she suppressed the urge to tease back. “I guess you could say that. Girl need her breaks, you know?” She laughed, and Hana laughed right back. “Still got it better than you thou. The only ones I have to worry about are the ones who want to kill me! And if anyone steps the line… Bam!” She punched the air. “Always with someone expecting something outta you… Dunno how you can deal with it.” She finally said.

Hanna stared for a second, searching for an indication on Sombra’s face. But then her mind wandered into her past. How she started winning. How she started streaming. The first contract, the first championship.

The first mission. The first death.

And just when she was about to stop, a figure appeared in her mind. Her mother, her father. Dr. Ziegler. Cpt. Amari. Dr. Zhou and Winston. Lucio, Grandpa, Genji.

“I think…” she started. “I think that’s because I’m not alone. Yeah, sure, people are assholes. But I also have people to fall back to when I really need to.” She said. Then it occurred to her. “Don’t you have anyone like that?” She asked, perhaps a bit naively. The flash of pain in Sombra’s face was an answer on its own, but she still wanted to amuse the gamer with a real answer. Her mind wandered to her own family, years back, before the war. Then to the gang, but no names. Then to Talon. To Gabe, to Widow, to the strange truce they had formed. The companionship between them. Their own little squad where none asked questions. To the unique moments where one of them actually needed assistance, when they were there for each other. But those were Reaper, Widow and Sombra. Not Gabriel, Amelie and Olivia. It felt weird. It felt cold. “They are a special bunch.” She finally answered. “We are a special bunch. Love ‘em to bits, but its… Delicate. How much they know.” How much they need to know. She spoke to herself. “Not exactly what you guys have there at Overwatch.”

D.va tried not to look too surprised, but deep inside she knew someone like her could never understand Sombra. She only heard bits and pieces, and none of them ended with a happy ending. Unconsciously, she brought a hand to the Hacker’s shoulder, as the later turned around to find a single tear on the Korean’s face. “I’m here now, ‘kay?” She said with a breaking voice. Why was she crying? Why did she felt like she understood? She knew next to nothing and yet, she couldn’t stop herself. Sombra’s face on the other hand bore a surprised expression, if only for a moment. Before turning into a sad smile, and finally letting free a tear from her eyes. “Geez chica, you’re gonna make me ruin my make up.” She said as they both laughed. Sombra raised a hand, perhaps unaware, on top of Hana’s. She didn’t take it back. She doubted the could even if wanted to. It felt warm in the cold of the twilight. They stayed like this until the last ray of sun touched the earth, and the stars covered the sky, at which Hana stood up. Sombra debated herself if she should stop her, but as she resigned herself to the lack of warmth from the gamer, the sound of dropping clothes caught her attention. Her mind raced as she turned around, only to find the Korean, now in civilian clothes, offering her hand to the Hacker.

“They won’t expect me to be back until tomorrow. And my butt’s getting cold.” She announced. “I’m sure we can get a cup of hot cocoa somewhere around here. The Mexican shook her head as a smile escaped her lips. Her eyes recorded the beautiful smile of the girl before her, before retreating to her all to well teases.

“I don’t know if having a world-loved gamer hanging out with a world-wanted criminal is the best way to enjoy the night.” Still, Hana did not retreat her hand. Her smile growing bigger as she spoke.

“I have no idea what are you talking about!” She laughed. “Right now, the only ones here are Hana and…” She stopped, realizing what she was saying. Maybe she was pushing it too far. It never occurred to her the real name of the hacker. How personal and private might that be. Dangerous, even. So just before she could apologize, a hand took hers, bringing her back from the storm of her mind to reality. A reality in which the girl before her let her hair flow in both sides of her head. And the glow from her body disappeared, only to give another type of enchantment altogether. A small blush creeped in Hana’s cheeks.

“Olivia.” She finally said. A blush of her own decorated her cheeks.

Maybe she didn’t have to be alone anymore.

“My name is Olivia.”

[dwdproduction]

Scripting Episode 3

I started Episode 3 by thumbnailing all the episode visually before i scripted, working just from the outline. This felt less restricting and i was able to get down a lot of different ideas. I haven't used all of these ideas and a lot has changed but it definitely helped me link together scenes better, and come up with more interesting ways i can show the episode’s story.

I've now begun scripting episode 3 and am now formatting it and changing some scenes according to some feedback I've been given.

I struggled with the scene where Lucas is at Daniels house for the revision session and has to rush home to check on his sister. Originally i wasn't sure what could make him need to go home. In the very beginning, Lucas simply arrived home from school to find her murdered, however this caused issues with the timeline of when Luna is killed. She is killed later in the evening when there is less people around so if Lucas finishes school at 3 he would need to be somewhere until about 9 pm, so adding in the revision session was for this reason, it also really helped establish the friendship between Lucas and Daniel and it was necessary to show the ‘good times’ before the bad vibes started between them.

 I then needed to figure out why he needed to rush home from the revision session at about 9 pm, at first, Lucas just has ‘a bad feeling’ being a type of psychic this wouldn't be unusual for the character, however i wanted it to feel less random, so i instead played on the characters personalities a little. For example Lucas is a rather reckless and unmotivated as an individual and just wants to play games rather than revise for the final exam, so if Lucas was distracted by games and ignored a call or a message from his sister by accident and then Lucas is unable to get a hold of Luna when he rings her, he would then have to rush home, to make sure she's ok. Then i tried to tie in the sisters personality as well, her being rather feisty and hot headed but also very endearing towards her brother, meant that she could tell Lucas to send her ‘photo evidence’ to prove he's actually revising, as she knows Lucas would rather play games. When he doesn't send the photo’s Luna gets worried and sends a few different messages, all of which Lucas doesn't get as he's playing the games he promised he wouldn't, I feel like this also may make him blame himself more for Luna’s Death, making his depression in the second episode leading to his suicide a bit more understandable.

When he then rushes home Daniel will accompany him, as i realised Daniels personality being rather responsible, would definitely go with him, and he also would be worried about Luna. Then when Lucas and Daniel discover the police outside the sister shop, and a body being carted out on a trolley, then Daniels Father being escorted out of the shop with handcuffs, everything links together well and even though a lot is happening in one scene, it makes Lucas behaviour in the 1st 2 episodes make sense, so this would be a moment the audience would start to sympathise with the character instead of disliking him. 

I'm still drafting the last scene, the part where Lucas finds out Luna has been killed, i feel like it may be over dramatic, but then, i want it to be dramatic to a degree because of the heaviness of that particular scene. I will try cutting out some dialogue and just having quick flashes of the images, like for example, 1 panel can be Lucas expression of shock, which can then cut to a close up of some police tape and a body being taken out of the shop in the background, then to Lucas trying to rush forward, being stopped by Daniel or police man, then Daniel father being taken out of the shop in handcuffs, then Lucas expression of anger. I can use quicker flashes of this moment instead of detailing it so much. kind of like this? (excuse very rough thumbnails)

It also can then link to his mental state in that moment, memories would be fragmented and hard to remember due to the trauma, I don't think you would remember everything, so having flashes of moments would make sense.

[thatsjustsupergirl]

Saved this for sunshine Sunday: fun/random headcanons you haven't shared yet? If you want more specific, how about driving/road trip Danvers sisters headcanons before the episode airs?

Oooo, man, it’s like you knew I was thinking of finally responding to the prompts I got at the end of last season. XD

This isn’t those (yet), but it’s been my plan for ages to do a full series inspired by this album called Go Back Home – the fic I have on AO3 is named off the title track – and I have two more pieces in this set waiting around for revision, but it’s unlikely I’ll finish either by tomorrow, and they will probably cover ground similar to 3x06.

The first one is called “sometimes it’s lonely” and is inspired by track #2, which is about a young girl longing for her mom. It’s a fill-in for the end of 2x15 and has Kara flying off to see Eliza and sort out her feelings about her fight with Alex & the fact that her dumb sister almost got catapulted into space before they could apologize to each other. Hot cocoa and cookies are involved.

The second one is a young!sisters fic set several months after Jeremiah’s death. It involves Harry Potter movie marathoning, a house party, Kara taking one for the team on the public embarrassment front to get Alex out of an awkward situation, and then teenagers thinking they can outsmart their parent when it comes to cover stories (rarely a good idea).

As for road trip headcanons … Alex claims to hate Kara’s taste in music, but she will still let her dominate the playlist choices in the car – and Kara knows she’s lying, because she can totally hear Alex singing along even if Alex thinks she’s just mouthing the words with her face turned out of sight.

Also, Kara gets to drive because she’s actually the least suspicious of the two of them when it comes to following road regulations.