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#bc i lose interest and/or focus and then get inspired to work on something else
birdietrait · 5 months
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ot3 · 2 years
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hey, any tips for staying in love with a series youre making? youve been working on quantum merit for 2 years now i think? any time i get an idea i just have it in the back of my mind that in a couple weeks im going to lose interest, let alone actually go through and start working on it. finishing soemthing is a distant dream. your art is amazing and a huge inspiration for me (is creativity infectious? bc thats how i feel whenever i read qm) so i was hoping maybe you had some insight. thanks <3
over two and a half years at this point actually! crazy! lacking the ability to follow through is a problem i've long had in life. i started drawing QM to try and curtail this. the trick isn't actually to stay in love with a series you're making, the trick is to learn to make things when you don't necessarily love it.
for me, the entire point of doing something operating on this level of self indulgence and experimental technique was to enable myself to churn stuff out even when i think everything i am doing is absolute shit, which is extremely extremely frequently. for long-haul projects you have to be willing and able to work on them even when you think all of your ideas are bad and all of your work is bad and not only is this the worst thing you have ever made, it is the worst thing anyone has ever made. the way i try and get through working on stuff when this is how i feel is that i remind myself i am not special in any way shape or form. everyone else in human history has had to make a lot of bad stuff before they get the privilege of making good stuff. this is allowed to be mine.
another thing that really helps is making sure that the process can be enjoyable even without good results. sometimes even when i hate everything i'm doing in terms of Substance, the act of just getting to draw something feels satisfying enough that i can make myself do it. this goes for all art, i think, not just long projects. if the Process is something you force yourself to sit through waiting for the end reward of a finished product, you're probably never going to be a functional artist. if you don't love Making art and you only love Finishing art you'll quickly find you don't make or finish much of anything.
additionally, i think an important part with long hauls like this is to never, ever look at the finish line. if i keep drawing the amount of stuff i have planned at the rate i have been drawing it, i will be at this for several more years minimum. thats an entirely overwhelming and terrifying thing to think about, and dwelling on it makes me freeze up and want to quit while i'm ahead. so i try not to ever think about actually finishing it. i have no idea if ill finish it i dont even have the slightest fucking clue what my life would even look like in the five years this could take to finish because it already looks nothing like it looked like three years ago. so instead focus on progress. if you think about finishing something you'll never do anything, if you think about just making a little bit of progress you can look back and suddenly you have over 100 full color pages. one foot in front of the other
i would also feel completely insincere if i did not mention how much all of the kind words people have had for my comic have helped me in finding the motivation to continue! seriously, it means so much to me that people like it. external motivation is not the be-all end-all of anything, but i suggest finding at least one friend who is willing to be your hype man and make them talk you out of being insane when you hate everything youre working on. when i reach the point where i literally like can't even tell what the pages im working on look like anymore i send them to my friends and make them all tell me that these are very normal looking drawings.
best of luck with your future endeavors anon i hope any of this is helpful! its an honor to be considered inspiring in any way
#Qm
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dottores · 1 year
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AHHHHHHHH screamed and sobbed into my pillow when I came home to read the new chapter of Heliotropes. I fought every inner demon afterwards I’m not even gonna lie to you.
I’m the commenter from ao3 of the color purple, and I saw your response to my comment and cried even harder bro. I know it’s only been four chapters (and a segment data page!), but I’m already so attached. The ending of the new chapter hand me audibly going “no nO NOOO”. Arggggg darn you, your angsty ideas, and how well you execute them.
I’m so happy that I was right about how much Dottore has influenced her, even more than we had been originally lead to believe. However all your hints of future fights has me sweating in my seat, but excited nonetheless!! It’s interesting for me to think about how sneaky Ms. Purple must have become over the years. Being a good secret keeper and staying under the radar must be hard, and she’s definitely learned a thing or two, I’m sure.
Seeing how conflicted Ms. Purple is with her family is so interesting, especially since we already know that Dottore probably wouldn’t care for her family no matter how wonderful they are. I love him, but I fear he might take advantage of her distance from them by making it worse or manipulating the situation. She cares for them, and you can’t just stop loving someone, even if they hurt you again and again. This is something I doubt Dottore would be able to understand, since emotions aren’t something he can typically rationalize.
ALSO IM SO HLAD YOU DIDNT MAKE MS. PURPLE A COOKIE CUTTER THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I’m so happy you’ve become invested in this fic, as I can see just how much it’s helping you explore both yourself and your talents.
When I went back to reread The Color Purple again, I realized how close Delta and Iota must be to her. On top of that, Dottore had already threatened to send Theata to work with Delta. I was thinking about how funny that was, as those three would be the most problematic for Dottore if they found his (their? Technically) soulmate first.
Also I already suspected Brighella of something bad, BUT NOW IM THOROUGHLY CONVINCED HES THE SPY. Which would be so SO bad for arlecchino since she brought him in (yikes).
All of this is making me wonder about possibilities and routes. I’m curious to find out what Ms. Purple will do to earn Dottore’s respect, because even if he does care about her as she’s his soulmate, that doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t really want her there. The plot thickens.
NO WORRIES ABOUT THE COMMENT BTW!! I’m surprised you even responded, it really made my day <33 Your work inspires me, and I’ll never shut up about how great you are in expressing exactly what the characters are feeling or doing without losing the audience’s focus. I’ve yet to read any of your stories and feel uninterested, even on characters I don’t particularly care for. Thank you so much for your time and efforts, I promise you me and hundreds of others are always thrilled to see that you’ve updated.
Best of luck on your future works!!
STOPPPPP YOURE THE AO3 COMMENTER ????? I LITERALLY LOVE YOU SO MUCH WHAT YOUR COMMENT STRAIGHT UP MADE ME CRY SEVERAL TIMES IT WAS THE SWEETEST THING EVER. YOURE SO BELOVED TO ME, LET ME SMOOCH YOUR FOREHEAD SOBSSSS
ok hehe rest below the cut
GDJHSDHJSJDHSH i actually wasn’t going to end the chapter with that, bc i usually like leaving it at 4 scenes BUT I HAD THE IDEA AND COULDNT LET IT SLIP BY HAHAHAHHA it would be just his luck to get THAT as his word right after all that LMAOOO and yk damn well he’s gonna take it the wrong way
🤭🤭🤭 the sneakiness and having to hide it is something else that it’s gonna be explored more in chapter 5 & 6. i just planned chapter 5 and i’m gonna start writing it friday i’m rlly excited for it, i think it’s the chapter i’m most excited for thus far.
the conflict between her and dottore when it comes to family is gonna be a BIG ONE, djsjdjjsjd i actually literally changed the whole original fic at chapter 2 to center around this conflict. without too much spoilers, i got the idea from the tik tok audio that goes “if i betray you, i betray myself. but if i betray them, i betray my country. my country is very dear to me.” “dearer than i?” “no, not dearer than you” HAHAHHAHA i’m rlly excited to get to that point too
DELTA AND IOTA WERE LITERALLY A TOWN OR TWO OVER FROM HER BEFORE SHE LEFT TO LIVE IN THE CITY. when iota finds out, he cries LMAO. if they had found her first, it would be the end of all things for dottore LMAOO he would be miserable 💀💀💀 the only thing that would’ve made it worse if gamma was there too. he hasn’t been introduced in the fic yet.
SOBS ILYSM 🥹🥹🥹🥹 that rlly might’ve been the sweetest thing anyone’s said to me i’m quite literally about to cry, i wish i could give you the biggest hug. i love asks and comments, theyve deadass been what’s pulled me out of writers block like dozens of times. i think i told you in the ao3 comment but ur comment there saved my ass like three times HAHAH. i showed my bf and i was like “if i ever start complaining about being stuck, send me this” and he DID and it worked like a charm every time LMAO. i always try to respond but sometimes it just takes me half an eternity because i’m swamped with work and drained SOBS. so i’m sorry if it ever feels like i’m not responding bc i promise i try to get to it at a decent time but i just get so overwhelmed and then i crash for a few days.
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improbable-outset · 2 years
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𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲
Jebediah Christoff x gn!Reader
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1k
MadCom Masterlist | AO3 | 🅿️laylist
𝐓𝐖 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐖: Established relationship, possessiveness and slightly yandere towards the end. In addition to that terrible joke in the first paragraph.
𝐀/𝐍: Again, inspiration from @saltymongoose hcs from here in addition to @madness-in-the-flesh jeb fic here and @yanderes-galore fic here. I got some inspo from this fic too (smut warning), very talented author but I won’t tag her bc it’s a completely diff fandom. I really really love @distressedwalnut art especially their MadCom self insert stuff. Wholesomeness and dat innit. Listen… older, holy man 🤌🏽 plsss!!! And this song chosen is so so so fitting!! The lyrics and the THEMES🥹🥹. Also, new colour scheme and header girlie! I did receive a few MadCom requests and I’ll get to them eventually.
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Living in a God-forsaken land like Nevada, anyone will naturally preserve any blessings and nice things that has bestowed upon them - including Jebediah; which is why he is so inclined in you staying in his life.
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‘And if death is the last appointment, then we’re all just sitting in the waiting room’
~
Love: a powerful emotion that brings people together. This is only a generic description of love without specifying what type it is, whether it is platonic or romantic. Though, a lot of people do struggle with the latter. To many, the initial feeling of falling in love can feel magical, especially if it’s your first time. Those butterflies in your stomach that people always talk about are there and your whole body just seems to heat up whenever your love interest is around. However, too much of a good thing can be dangerous if you’re not careful and you can easily lose yourself or your self respect. Yes, those tingling sensation you feel could just be your common senses leaving your body.
For Jebediah Christoff, falling in love seemed like a waste of time and emotions. Why would you emotionally invest yourself into someone in such a dire time like this, where you have to watch your back every two seconds? Shouldn’t you focus on surviving? The term ‘romance’ hardly ever crossed his mind, especially being preoccupied with his heavy workload from the Nexus Project. For the longest time, Jebus has convinced himself that love will never find him, whether he actually chooses to avoid it or not.
But much like everything else in life, people’s perspectives can change, and the tables can turn without you even noticing. It could be from a change of circumstances or from a specific event that teaches you to respond to situations differently. For Jeb, it was when you came into his life. You were working for the same organisation at one point - an apprentice working your way up to being a full time scientist. He didn’t see you often, since he was one of the highest up scientists but whenever he did come across you, he became more alert and, surprisingly, hyperaware with not only his presence but the way he talked to you. These feelings were so foreign to him yet he willingly welcomed them.
He didn’t know why he felt like this - with you particularly. Perhaps it was because you were just a breath of fresh air with such a fervent character, while his other coworkers were on autopilot mode and only talking about the project itself. There was so much about you that piqued his interest, so much that he wanted to unpack and watch you unravel for him. You were sweet, caring and always seemed to know exactly what to say. He found himself smiling at a few of your remarks. Genuinely smiling. Something he hasn’t done in years. The more you learned about you, the more refreshing everything felt.
You did, however, leave the organisation eventually due to its immoral practices. Fortunately for Jeb, he didn’t have to worry about the other scientists getting too close to you or worse, tainting your innocence and corrupting you - though working under Nexus Core, you’ve probably already been scarred from your experience. To make things even better for Jeb, you both stayed in touch and he would visit you occasionally.
“It’s finally nice seeing you outside of work Dr Christoff,” you chirped. The only thing that was highlighted in that sentence was the way you addressed him. There was no need for you to still use formalities like that with him now.
“Please, just call me Jeb,”
Your chemistry slowly started to escalate. The flame of attraction towards you now turned into a wildfire. There was a whole inferno burning in his heart and gut with the heat continuously licking him. Surely, you must feel the same, no? You wouldn’t allow him to visit you regularly if there wasn’t something special between the two of you. As much as he wanted to protect his pride, your charms were just too irresistible to ignore at this point.
He was grateful that you’ve left Nexus Core now, since he didn’t have to worry about breaching employee regulations when things got even further between the two of you romantically. He can already predict that you will be happy together.
~
A good number of years has passed and Nexus City only continues to deteriorate as each passing daylight burns. Almost every building is abandoned and the population has died down drastically. Every corner just feels booky with the lingering feeling of being gnawed. Jeb has witnessed the worst imaginable not only in the Nexus organisation but throughout the whole city. Watching other grunts' flesh being ripped open or blown up to smithereens and experiments going horribly wrong all while holding the ‘Saviour’ title.
But there’s only so much one can take. The only light that is at the end of this hellish tunnel is Jeb’s relationship with you. Things were flourishing exponentially with your relationship. It’s almost impossible to have a traditional wedding in the state that Nevada is in, but you managed to improvise and sealed your vows.
You don’t know how much you keep him grounded, how you keep him from going insane. Probably because he doesn’t show too much of his broken side to you. He comes home everyday to you, closing any space between the two of you in an embrace. “Jeb?” he tucks his face in the crook of your neck, completely engulfing your form with his and inhaling your scent which gives his serenity. “Oh, Jeb-” you whine, while he is utterly lost in the sweetness of your voice. He just doesn’t want anything to change with you or your relationship. He can’t stand the idea of you being hurt.
Which is why he keeps you inside, locked away from the chaos outside. He’s not going to allow the world's cruelty to get to you. Absolutely not! He just can’t risk your innocent demeanour being crushed or, God forbid, someone taking you away from him. He’s not going to be so merciful if that does happen.
You only deserve good in your life and right now, that is his unflinching faithfulness and love for you. And this will continue till one of you is taken to the grave.
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Feedback is appreciated always
Listen, I didn’t know how else to expand this but the maths isn’t mathing, my brain isn’t braining and it’s just blank. There’s so much more I wanted to add and I couldn’t put it to words, you know??
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mythiccheroacademia · 4 years
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Single-Parent!Headcanons
Characters: Kirishima Eijirou, Kaminari Denki, and Bakugo Katsuki
A/N: Inspired by y’all. Enjoy <3
Warnings: fluff overload? one tiny curse word
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Kirishima Eijirou:
the day his son was born was both the worst and best day of his life
his wife died upon delivery and he almost fainted when he heard the news, bakugo caught him before he could hit the floor
it took him 24 hours before he could gather the courage to go to the nursery and see his baby. he thought he wouldn’t be able to stomach the reminder of losing the love of his life
but when he held the small boy, who instantly nuzzled into his father’s chest, sighing with relief, kirishima was hooked for life
he just continued to hold his son into his chest and cry until he couldn’t anymore
from that day on, he swore he’d be the best parent he could be for his wife and his child’s sake
bc kiri is such a youthful and loving person, taking care of his son was easy, fun, and rewarding
ofc there were hard days, but it was all worth it when his baby would wake up with an adorable laugh, smiling up at him like he was his entire world
they’re two peas in a pod
he and his son are just the cutest pair
he takes his son everywhere, strapping him on his chest with a baby carrier
you bet your ass he’s taken him on (a safe) patrol around the block
kirishima is the kind of dad that puts his kid in a laundry basket, sits them in front of the tv, and acts out rollercoaster sounds
he lives for that loud laugh of his son’s
blows raspberries into the kid’s stomach whenever he starts getting cranky
his son’s first word was “manly” and kirishima spent the entire day bothering the bakusquad about it
everyone has 12 different copies of the video—y’know...just in case
when he takes his first steps, kiri’s swinging him around the house and giving him so many kisses on his chubby cheeks
when he saw his son had one spiky tooth growing in, he almost drowned from the cuteness
the kid gets himself into a lot of trouble tho. he’s always crawling towards the edge of something and putting his hand in things that could totally cut it off. kiri has a heart attack at least once a week
calls him, “son” “bud” and “buddy”
I hc that even though he’s lively around his dad, his son is very shy with new people and in new environments so school is kind of tough for him
but kirishima is always understanding of his troubles and tries his best to let him know that as long as he’s his son, he’ll always be his biggest supporter
if that doesn’t work, they go buy their fav meats and have a random bbq (kirishima just looks like the bbq dad™️ lmao). that always seems to do the trick
when his son enrolls in U.A., he’s there with a banner, his fav meat, and a bunch of tears when he sends him off
his son wears their matching crocs only to cheer up his dad. nothing else
aka he lowkey likes them but you didn’t hear that from me!
kirishima always has the urge to ft his kid, like, every hour. but he won’t bc he knows he’s busy training to be a hero
but he does send him uplifting snapchat videos from time to time
his son still wonders how in the world his dad even knows about snapchat
he makes sure nobody knows about this
when his son calls him about his insecurities, comparing himself to his classmates, kirishima is right there to lift him up. he also dealed with those same issues and tells his son that even on his worst days, he’s strong for just facing the day and he needs to believe in himself before others can believe in him
the next day, the bakusquad is watching the tournament together
kirishima has manly tears in his eyes as his little boy places second place in the sports festival
bakugo is threatening to kill him if he ruins his shirt
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Kaminari Denki:
denki becomes a dad from adopting a pair of four year old twins (one boy, one girl) that were left homeless and without parents after a villain attack
he kinda knew the parents from hero work and felt it was an obligation to at least make sure their children were okay
he wasn’t planning on necessarily adopting them. he was young and inexperienced with children. how could someone like him raise a kid when he could barely raise himself?
but after two visits to the orphanage and seeing how miserable they looked, he couldn’t leave the building without signing the papers
the transition was awkward. the twins were not only traumatized, but distrusting and scared. they didn’t really know kaminari and now he was suddenly their adoptive parent
kaminari tried everything from ice cream, to late night movie snacks, to hide n seek to get them to relax but it wouldn’t work
he almost gave up hope, and thought maybe it was a better idea to take them back to the orphanage. but that was before the night he woke up to them crawling into his bed, scared from the thunder storm that rumbled on outside
kaminari froze, scared that he’d frighten them away with any sudden movement, but he soon relaxed and hugged them close to his chest when they snuggled into his sides. he sleeps with a peaceful mind that night
although, he’s awoken to them bawling their eyes out over the nightmares they had. he panics but takes comfort in how they still grip to his shirt, face in his chest, seeking his comfort
therapy becomes a regular thing after that
kaminari finds more focus in his life
and as those helpful sessions go on, kaminari finds the twins beginning to open up more and more
they all sleep together now bc cuddle piles always scare the bad dreams away
the boy starts asking for kaminari to help him pick out his outfits
and the girl starts asking him about his quirk
it’s small things like that that lead up to things like this:
they’re in the midst of playing tickle monster when they scream with laughter, “stop! stop, daddy, you caught us!”
the twins stare at him in confusion (and slight worry) when he scoops them up and cries like he broke his leg or something
they got two huge scoops of ice cream that night so they don’t question it
dad jokes are a must
he wears typical dad outfits like hawaiian shirts, cargo shorts, and flip flops
he calls them his “little rockstars” and yes, it’s still embarrassing
kaminari is a playful dad who doesn’t really take things too seriously
his children are always laughing at his dumb jokes and are never afraid to talk to him about anything that crosses their minds
although, they won’t talk to him about love interests bc he likes to play match maker
the last time his daughter told him about some girl she was crushing on, she found out she left her a personally signed chargebolt poster for the girl in her name
kaminari called it a little boost in spirit
her brother found it funny
she was horrified
kaminari swears up and down he’s the cool dad. his kids think otherwise, but their friends LOVE how much of a jokester he is. and he lets them stay up at sleepovers
plus, he’s literally chargebolt
how could they not love him?
denki has a little trouble being serious when he needs to be, but he has good kids so it’s not that much of a problem
there was that one time his son tried to help him during a villain attack. even though kaminari ordered him to get to safety, he didn’t and ended up getting hurt
the twins had never seen their father so angry. it was kind of scary. however, in the next moment, he gathered them up in a big hug and made them swear not to scare him like that again
overall, kaminari is the sweet, fun loving, dad that everyone wishes they had
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Bakugo Katsuki:
katsuki became a father the day he found a baby and a note at his doorstep
the note read: “surprise! you’re a dad. i gave you all the legal rights, but you can place her up for adoption if you want.”
least to say, bakugo was pissed
he was even more pissed at himself for getting someone so cold and unloving pregnant
however, he decides to put the baby up for adoption. he cant take care of a baby! he’s at the height of his career. he can basically taste the number one hero spot on his tongue
he’s dead set w the decision, but as he stands outside of the orphanage, he freezes. he just can’t move
bakugo looks down at his daughter as she opens her eyes for the first time. he sees an identical pair of red eyes that make his chest tight with a feeling he hasn’t experienced in a long time
he turns back around and heads back home. it’s easily the best decision he’s ever made in his life
ngl though, growing into the dad role for bakugo was tough
before the girl, he only ever had to think of himself. he was still used to doing everything on his own time and for his own benefit. so being forced to put 100% of his attention to a small helpless human being was not easy
katsuki admits that the first couple of years weren’t his proudest. he was still short tempered, angry with the world, and frustrated bc he felt like his life was ruined
one time, the frustration and sleep deprivation would hit him all at once and he’d just start going off at the baby to just “shut the hell up!” before breaking down and crying with her
it was a dark moment for him, and yet, even after that, his little girl still curled up in his arms to rest when the tears tired her out
it had been a while since he felt unconditional love like that, and so he decided to change for the baby’s sake
you cant tell me that little girl isn’t spoiled rotten
bakugo is a hardass, but he’s all bark no bite. no matter what, he just can’t resist his little girl’s puppy dog eyes
he’s a girl dad to the t
yes he played the princess that needed saving from the big bad dragon. what about it?
his daughter is a firecracker. she started sassing him as soon as she could gargle
he pretends he hates it but his daughter is lowkey funny asl
they go at it when they fight. bakugo’s learned to be a little more patient, but he still has a bit of a temper and it doesn’t mix well when his mini-me has the same explosive anger
is the kind of dad that says sorry by asking her what she wants for dinner
they totally talk mess about other heroes together. he ignores the fact that she admires deku as long as she keeps it to herself
emotional talks are...awkward, but he forces himself through it
she finds it embarrassing (yet oddly endearing) that he got kicked out of a PTA club meeting for threatening to light up some mom for saying the art program didn’t matter
his daughter absolutely won’t talk to him about potential love interests unless she wants them coming up missing
bakugo won’t admit to watching baby videos of his daughter when he sends her off to U.A. and no, he didn’t cry, he got dust in his eye
doesn’t bother her too much, but jumps for his phone when he hears her ringtone
kirishima says he getting soft, but that’s just his little princess
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funkin-news · 3 years
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ninjamuffin ama summary - 9/28/2021
you know the drill, purple text is me paraphrasing, everything else is direct (or almost direct) quote, FNF-related stuff only
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Q: What is one common misconception about FNF or its development that you wanna clear up?
A: im not the sole creator, im not some sole director. Each of the boys have very important roles with the game. This isn't just 1 dude having tunnel vision about a game, its generally all us coming to similar conclusions on where we want to take the game and what we wanna do wit it
Q: why
A: because I love video games and I love newgrounds
Q: Do you or the team plan to go back and make the older weeks higher quality?
A: that will definitely happen. both for general polish, and things leading up into future weeks / story or whatever
Q: Why did everyone think Week 8 was gonna come out on the 22nd?
A: accidental "teases" (Dave's MC-related doodle), madness day, general anxiousness bc the devs haven't been sharing much
Q: What kind of QOL changes are being added in the future?
A: charting editor improvements is one
Q: What is the most insane, most likely impossible to happen person you would like to collaborate with, could be Funkin related, could be just a personal project
A: the girl reading this
Q: Is Cassette Girl week 8?
A: no
Q: Is there concept art for the characters, or did they look the same during development?
A: GF looks exactly the same as the first ever drawing PhantomArcade did. There's a few small lil variations for a good chunk the other MAIN characters, one day u will see all them
R: can you explain the old bf icon? or is it just a dumb placeholder?
A: just a cool ass lil icon evilsk8r did during the game jam weekend
Q: Are you letting yourself getting inspired by more different genres of music for future weeks?
A: i think that more a Q for kawaisprite, but that man loves music, and can and does get inspired by anything he listens to in regards to music
Q: Why has the team been so silent about update progress?
A: They do better working in silence than hyping things up; when Week 6 was teased working on it became really stressful for them. Also, element of surprise
R: but youve been silent abt week7 on desktop for months, half a year. & week 8 is like….. nonexistant
A: week 8 isnt nonexistant, we just absolutely do not want to talk about it whatsoever. i said all the week 7 stuff will come with week 8 update
Q: what do you genuinely think about the people thinking you guys scammed people out of $2 million? just curious is all, i’ve seen lots of people talking about it rn
A: i think people are a bit wary about kickstarter, and makes sense when people's coin is on the line. if u want a breakdown of what we used KS coin so far, we spent maybe 2K of it on some development stuff we needed, most other expenses been paid from our savings / donations, etc.
Q: When does the OST come to the backers?
A: Kickstarter vinyl OSTs still need to be manufactured, which would take at least 6 months because of a global PVC shortage, completely out of our control. what is in our control is that we also still need to finish up and finalize artwork for it, the boys wanna make it all perfect. Same goes for CDs, but those should be done way sooner
Q: You got a date range of when Tshirt / Poster / or Pin surveys will be out by any chance? 👀
A: kickstarter tshirts / poster / pin stuff have been coming along nicely and hopefully those surveys should be coming soon, prob next few weeks
Q: Do you guys think you'll experiment with other artstyles in future weeks?
A: yes, cuz we've already done that (week 6) theres a lot more where that came from
Q: if you could isolate one part of the game and say it’s your favorite what would it be
A: the fact that FNF is our pure creative vision, with absolutely nothing getting in the way of that. Open source free Newgrounds rhythm game with crazy zany kawaisprite music, and stylish and charismatic animation and art style. and game been successful because of all of that.
Q: what do you think about people compiling the full ass game and playing it without paying anything
A: that makes me happy
Q: what do you think of all the mods and stuff people has made about your game
A: mods make me happy
Q: any inspiration from doki doki literature club for the weird stuff in week 6?
A: no, but some of the cool lil programming things DDLC did do interest me
Q: How do we know you're working on the game
A: you don't, and really it doesnt matter all too much. we being productive and things are moving forward, and people not believing that doesnt change that
And now, a speech:
i think trying to focus on keeping hype and keeping game popular can very easily be hollow. We have no worry about trying to keep hype or relevancy or anything like that. If FNF popularity shrunk to 0.1% of it's size, we'd be content, cuz that's still like 1000% more than before
"before" referring to anything we did before FNF.
you can lose success just as easily as you got it, and for FNF, it got successful INCREDIBLEY fast. With that in mind, it's just the nature of things if it all loses relevancy.
So far FNF doing good through the year, but if it wasn't, it's no real sweat off our back.
Although it's uhhh easy to look at it that way from our perspective. Get back to me and see if my thoughts on this has changed if FNF is forgotten from all memory.
Q: will there be a sequel to the full ass game? Like 'the full a2s game' or something clever like fast & furious movies do
A: friday night funkin: tokyo drift
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wtf-yoongi · 4 years
Text
Flawless.
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pairing | taehyung x reader
summary | you’ve lost count of how many notes you’ve left in between tae’s textbooks, from the silliest to the most profound, loving ones. and yet, even after all these months, taehyung doesn’t seem to have noticed any of them
genre/warnings | university fluff bc y’all whipped by university student!tae am i right
words | 3,070
note | this concept was inspired by a plot line in romance is a bonus book (which you can and should stream on netflix). also: for some reason i didn’t know but found out while writing this that i would do anything for kim taehyung and that’s just a fact
You don’t know how that even started.
It sounds like the kind of thing people who lose bets would be forced to do. If you lose, you’ll have to write a silly letter confessing your love to a friend. It would be funny, a story worthy of being shared with friends in between bottles of beer and other tales from college years.
But it really isn’t like that. Definitely not as funny or entertaining – just you being bored one day and then too into it to stop it.
You don’t know what had gotten into you the first time you did it. You arrived a little early at the apartment Taehyung shared with Jimin. Tae was still taking a shower. Jimin let you in and apologized for having to leave you alone because he was working on a paper due only a couple of days later. You sat down in the small living room area. Looked around for a while. Picked a thinning stack of sticky notes from your backpack. Wrote something silly on one of them. Added a little #1 to it. Entered Taehyung’s room. Picked a book out of his shelves. Opened it on a random page. Sticked the yellow note there. Closed the book. Left it alone. That was it.
After that, it was like an addiction. Maybe it was the thrill of getting caught someday – eventually, as you thought – and having a good laugh with your friends about it. You could actually picture it: Jimin and you cracking up in the kitchen after Taehyung shows up with a handful of notes you’ve written. You tell them you’ve been doing it for weeks and leaving them everywhere. Jimin jokes about Tae not even opening a textbook to pretend he’s studying. Tae eventually joins, giggling and shaking his head.
//
“Hey, what’s up?”
You blink quickly to focus your mind again, looking up to see Taehyung free his shoulder from the weight of his bag and place a bottle of water on the table you are now sharing. He looks relaxed despite the craziness of the end of the semester, smiling and waving at a known face two tables away before sitting down.
“You good?” He asks again and bumps his elbow against yours to coax an answer out of you. “You look too serious.”
“I was…” You start and look down at the scattered pieces of paper in front of you, trying to make any sense of them. You pile it all to at least appear a bit more put together – the papers and yourself. “I was in the library, but the tension was too much to handle, so I moved in here.”
“It’s noisy.”
Well, yes, it’s a common area filled with students doing anything but studying. You wish to feel at ease like these people. Are they done with the semester or what?
“Don’t you think it’s a little bit too noisy to study?”
“Yeah, but there’s a whole lot of people talking and I can’t tell them apart, so it doesn’t bother me,” you answer, maybe a little too quickly after a few beats of silence. You decide to add something else, something to not end it on a bad note. “It’s oddly calming.”
“Well, if you think so.” Taehyung raises his shoulders and flashes you a simple and toothless smile. 
You don’t know how that even started. Liking him like the way you do.
It sounds like the kind of thing you would hear from someone else. I think I’m in love with a friend, what should I do? It would be funny, giving them advice on this sort of thing, but it only happened in movies, right?
But it really isn’t like that. It’s real. And it’s not as funny or entertaining. It kind of hurts, actually, but you can’t stop feeling those feelings and it drives you crazy sometimes. 
More than often you had found yourself thinking about this before going to sleep at night – and sometimes losing sleep over it as well. It definitely wasn’t like a switch, but it sure felt like it. You gradually fell in love, but only realized it when Taehyung came running down the stairs at the Art Department to meet you. 
There was nothing special about him that day – it was just the same old Tae –, but it wasn’t the art that had changed. It was the artist’s eye. You knew the second he made eye contact that something was up, but didn’t immediately jump to any conclusions, no. Love was something that came to you much later. At first, you thought maybe he had his hair done differently or the sweater he was wearing just fitted him too perfectly, the color matching everything else flawlessly.
But you had never used the word flawless to describe Kim Taehyung up until then. That’s when you realized you were the one looking at him in a different way. And that’s also when you started to wonder if that would ever happen the other way around, too.
//
But, of course, that never happens. He never finds out. Maybe the books you were picking up were way too random or hiding the notes inside just made it too hard for him to find them, so you decided to stick a note to a cover for once. 
You could feel the adrenaline rush as you did it, almost as if you were committing a crime. What you wrote is far from incriminating, though. #19 this is a test to see if you’re truly that clueless about your own stuff. you tedious friend, you were supposed to find these. what’s the joke in me leaving them if you don’t?
After that audacious move, you were a little apprehensive for a few days. You couldn’t stop looking at your phone, waiting for it to light up with a new message. At any moment now, you thought to yourself – and it did come, the message, but it wasn’t what you were expecting. It was just a you up? I need help with an Impressionism piece and this is more your thing.
//
“This is your last one, right?” Taehyung asks after a few minutes. “Last test?”
You blow a strand of hair that has fallen in front of your eyes. “Yeah, this and a project due tomorrow, but I’m done with that already.”
“Oh, the one you were working on last week when I asked you to come over and you said you couldn’t?”
“Yup, exactly.”
When you disconnect your eyes from the words in front of you to look at him again, he’s calmly playing with the water bottle with a subtle smile on his lips.
“I wish you could’ve come that day.”
//
You had sticked a note on his only book on Impressionism just a few days before.
To be honest, you were disappointed. Over the months, you had found yourself wanting more and more for him to find the notes – and not just the ones that had jokes on them, but also the ones that ask about the weather, about how he’s feeling, apologizing for that day two years prior when you bought spicy snacks instead of the regular ones, praising his photography skills and everything else that was on your mind. 
Taehyung not noticing anything gave you a more whatever attitude to it, almost as if you knew for a fact that he would never ever find them. That’s when you started to write deeper ones that sounded a little bit too much like a confession. You were talking about your fear of the future, the pressure your parents put on you, the pain of being the second child after a perfect one, how you were scared of failing in life and all the stuff you were too much of a wimp to say out loud. So many you ended up losing count and they no longer had a tiny number written in the corner.
At this point, you were running out of books. Taehyung had a good collection on his desk and shelves, piled one on top of the other without any order – but not enough for the rate you were going at. You left a note every single time you were there and able to sneak into his bedroom and caught yourself finding reasons why you had to visit just to leave another one. It was the safest way to get something out of your chest. Tae wouldn’t see it and, honestly, if he ever did, it was also ok.
//
“Hey!”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“What do you mean what’s up? You’re the one who called.”
Taehyung laughs.
 “Actually, you never call. What is up?”
“How did the test go?”
“Did you really call just to ask how I did?”
“I wanted to know if your semester’s finally over… And if you’re free.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, right now.”
“I guess I am… I have some books to return, but that’s it.”
“Can you come over after that?”
“Sure. Do you need anything I can pick up on my way? I think I’m stopping at the convenience store for some much needed and deserved alcohol.”
He laughs again.
“You’re right, you deserve it. In that case, can you get those potato sticks I like?”
//
Only it wasn’t ok anymore if he saw it. Not after you wrote that one. 
A whole month had passed after that day at the Art Department. You thought you had had enough time to understand what was going on – what you felt. And even after that, it was still hard to comprehend how you could let yourself fall like that.
It wasn’t like Taehyung was paying any special attention to you. He really wasn’t. He treated you just like any other friend – maybe a closer one, yes, but not that much closer. It was hard to distinguish, though. He was friendly towards everyone, always looking for ways to help. 
You racked your brain. Had he ever offered to help you with something you didn’t think he would do for anyone else? Had he ever shown interest in any way? What the hell was it that made you feel this?
Maybe it was just him. Effortlessly. Just like that.
That day, instead of going with something that popped into your head right there and then, you had a plan for once. You had imagined something a little bit longer, organized the structure of it all inside your head – sentence after sentence –, but couldn’t bring yourself to write the right words even after your third try.
That was when you decided to settle for I think I’m in love with you, you idiot. You’re driving me insane. Stop that now.
//
“Your beloved potato,” you say to Taehyung, handing him the children’s snack as soon as he opens the door. “Can I get a thank you, you’re the best or what?”
“Thank you, you’re the best,” he repeats your words with a small smile on his lips. Inside, the butterflies want to start fluttering everywhere, but you beg them to keep quiet and still.
You smile back at him, soon entering the small living room and leaving your much lighter backpack on the floor. “Is Jimin home? I bought him some as well.”
“No, but you can leave it in the kitchen and I’ll…”
“I don’t trust you, traitor,” you interrupt, hand immediately raising to point a finger at him, eyes squeezed in suspicion as you pick the round package and start walking again. “I’ll take this to his room and hide it somewhere. Don’t you dare look for it!”
There’s a moment of silence after you move into Jimin’s slightly messy room, looking for a spot to hide the chips and soon picking up your phone from your back pocket to let him know exactly where to find them later. When you walk towards the living room again, Taehyung is seated on the sofa with his back to you, slowly moving his hand through his growing hair.
Nothing sounds out of place or any less than completely peaceful until he opens his mouth again. He waits for you – for you to be seated and comfortable and fully focused, phone forgotten inside of your back pocket.
“Why did you stop numbering them?”
You freeze.
“What?”
Your first reaction is almost immediate. Your whole body tenses, going into panic mode with the force and speed of an electric shock. Somehow, you can’t seem to disconnect your eyes from his serene ones – a complete opposite from yours. 
Your brain, on the other hand, is running a million miles per hour. It wants to know and it has so many questions. When did he find out? Did he read every single note? Did he notice you had left one inside almost every book – sometimes even two or three? Where were they now?
But, most of all, had he read that one?
“Why did you stop numbering them? The notes, I mean,” Taehyung calmly asks again. He’s so composed and gentle you start to wonder what he is thinking about you now and what conclusions he has jumped to from reading all of that. “I know the exact order you left them up to a point and then I’m lost. It kind of bothers me, you were telling a good story.”
He smiles again and an invisible hand clenches your heart.
“I just…” You struggle to find the words and, when they do come, your throat feels dry and tight and like it doesn’t want to make a sound at all. You can’t face him anymore. “I lost count one day.”
“Too bad,” he admits with the same tender tone. “I was really enjoying it, you know? Your story. There are sixty-four notes in total, so I’m guessing you’ve been doing this for a long time.”
So he has read all of them.
Your palms start to sweat and your whole body grows cold all of a sudden. You let out a small cough, but your words still come out a bit too raspy. “Kind of, yeah.”
“I’m really sorry to be this blunt, but I just got to know,” Taehyung’s voice loses its cool a little and you can see his whole body reflect that, agitated, while he turns to you. His hands reach out a little, but end up halfway, resting on the sofa. 
Then, his words come out like he has finally opened his brain’s tap. 
“I just have to know since when you’re feeling like this. Are you still feeling like this? You wrote me a note saying you’re in love with me and I don’t know when that happened. How could you not tell me that? God, I’m so selfish. You wrote a bunch of things about feeling like you’re not enough and being scared of the future and all I can focus on is this one thing.”
You swallow, but your mouth and throat don’t become any less tight. “It’s usually a one-time thing, I don’t always feel like that. We’re all worried about the future, it’s fine.”
“Are you sure?” You nod. He lets out a long and staggered breath and shifts his hands impatiently. He wants to move them closer, but doesn’t know if the timing is right. “You didn’t answer my first question, though.”
You freeze again.
“It was a…” You take one deep breath, your voice as small as it has ever been, but still somewhat audible. “It was a few months ago.”
“A few months?” He repeats, voice escalating in tone, and you simply nod once again. “You should have said something. You know you should have said something, right? I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t reject you.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I got scared.”
Wait. He said what?
“What did you just say?” You repeat the words screaming inside your head.
Taehyung laughs, his easy-going demeanor back again. “You should look at yourself right now, your face is priceless.”
You really have no words. If the circumstances were any sort of normal, this would be the time you would raise your hand to pinch or straight up hit Taehyung, striking wherever part of him was closest to you. But this isn’t anywhere close to normal, so you just let your jaw hang open, your brain struggling to process the information.
“I’m going to tell you a secret, I truly never told this to anyone,” Taehyung starts, smile still plastered on his silly and flawless face. “I had a crush on you a long time ago, I think it was when we first started talking. I got over that quickly, actually, because you seemed so dead focused on being the best student and showed no interest at all. I thought it was ok, you know? At least I had you as a friend, you were a nice person to have around and I wanted to keep your company.”
And I was fine about it. Really, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t your friend just because I wanted something more, I really love being your friend. And I was ok for a long time until I found a sticky note and then another and another and another. I couldn’t believe you left so many and I never noticed it, like, how stupid am I? I should get a prize for being this slow.”
And then there was that one note. The one you wrote about being in love with me. I swear, I… I didn’t know what to think and then it hit me like a thousand bricks and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was nervous around you again, I wanted to impress you so hard, I wanted to make you smile and happy. I honestly don’t even know how I’m still going at this without stopping, probably because I practiced. Yeah, I did.”
A few moments of silence pass before Taehyung is speaking again. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
Your dropped jaw turns into some sort of awkward smile. “Did you really practice?”
“Really?” Tae asks with an overdramatic expression. “I just said all of that and you’re asking me if I really practiced?”
You shrug. “I thought that was cute.”
“My God,” he overreacts, throwing his whole upper body towards you on the sofa. His voice comes out muffled now, but as playful as ever. “This thing only started and somehow I already know I’m doomed.”
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drabbles-of-writing · 4 years
Note
Okay now you have to tell us what the siblings did to the Blight manor.
SOMEONE ASKED!!
well, first of all, they tear that bitch to the GROUND. it was during the first four years when they raid the place to grab Amity’s stuff and Dip Out. whole family was there while the parents were out at some meeting. came back to rooms on fire and over half of their belongings missing. they fixed it all up, obviously, but it was a HUGE talk for a while.
but what I really meant was when the twins inherited the manor. Something happens to the Blight parents, haven’t decided on if the bitches just died or moved away, and they suddenly own their old home. They rip out anything that has anything to do with their parents, change color schemes, furniture, all that and either chuck it in the trash or the darkest depths of the basement and set it ablaze. Burning the past away motherfuckers. And then, when all that’s done, they change the name. They thought about it for a while and eventually decided on the name; the Raven House. It was a joke between them, and also to tick off Lilith, but the name stuck. They even gave her a tiny picture above the door to solidify it. Eda still insists the Owl House is better than any big manor.
Once everything is finished and the manor is re-made, the ex-Blight’s all come to an agreement on what to do with it, since they all already had their own places and didn’t feel like moving into the house they were abused in. They say a final ‘fuck you��� to their parents and make it one big safehouse. By which I mean it’s like a shelter. Kids or young witches and humans alike (though the humans are just kids wandering by after getting in a fight with a monster or the older graduated kids when they need a little assistance) can come and stay in the Raven House to be safe and secured for however long they need.
Barcus is in charge of the place, and he looks after any kids who come along no matter the background. Some kids only stay for 24 hours, others stay for months, sometimes a few years, on end.  These are typically kids who have nowhere else to go or are on the run. We’ve got kids from the Isles, stowaways from other islands and even The Mainland, kids escaping abusive homes, orphans, kids who just need a break after getting lost/hurt nearby, the works. It’s a well-known place that’s completely free, since the Blight’s and even Lilith on occasion pay the taxes for it. It’s sweet for Barcus because he’s supplied with everything for free, but also hell because he has to deal with a bunch of kids on a daily basis. Luckily for him, he likes kids.
Course some witches or humans don’t understand Barcus, so he always has a chalkboard and chalk around his neck that he can hover in the air with his magic to write to the kids and help them learn how to understand him. If they can’t read, he usually has to call in one of the other kids in the House to help him out. No matter how long a kid stays, they are asked to carve their names on a large stone outside the manor. It used to be a statue in the front lawn the ex-Blight kids knocked over and left there, but it was repurposed. It’s littered with names and it’s not uncommon to find Barcus staring at the names or teaching some kids to read by having them read the names off the stone.
Now, the manor is big. It can easily house multiple packs of kids. But the thing is, it only has 6 bedrooms, and Barcus uses one of the smaller ones. Of course multiple kids could live in the same room, but there are some that need it more than others and aren’t comfortable with other kids. So the bigger bedrooms are saved for those kids (unless there’s an open spare one in which case it gets SWARMED) or Barcus asks the new kid to set up their stuff anywhere in the house, so long it didn’t interfere with others. Which leads to kids sleeping and hanging out in....interesting places. There’s always someone living in one of the bathrooms, three kids minimum at all times squirreling away in the closets (small and large), there’s a pile of pillows and blankets in the second dining room where kids hang out under the table, the big hallways have sleeping bags in them, some kid hid in one of the larger kitchen cabinets just because she could, there are SO MANY in the basement and attic, the library has all the nerds vibing on the bolted-down wall shelves and balconies, and one madlad set up a hut on the roof. Barcus isn’t happy with any of these but he supposes so long they don’t hurt themselves or own up to it being a bad idea later, he’ll deal with it. 
They also offer to send plenty of these kids to school (usually Hexside but sometimes others), but there are a few who refuse it and Barcus homeschools them. The rule of thumb with anyone who stays in the Raven House is that you WILL be smothered in an intense amount of Found Family and you CANNOT stop them. It’s a mad house and it’s glorious. They have their own kinds of memes and vines in that house and it’s law that if someone says “pubby” then EVERYONE in the vicinity has to tackle Barcus in a cuddle pile.
Others of the Owl Family often drop by as well. The first few times were a mess cause Barcus had to explain this was his family and no you don’t have to come down and say hi if you’re uncomfortable but please stop losing it every time Edric comes by we know he’s a fashion extraordinaire please- Camilia is one of the most common visitors, and the kids call her Aunt Camilia (a name she would vividly remember from her time in the human realm) and she teaches them all how to cook and tell them stories from the human realm. Barcus is very thankful because he needs one stable adult to help him with these kids. All the ex-Blights visit as well, though Amity slightly less because she’s so busy. Edric arrives just to show off, and Emira is a lot more refined n checks in on the kids, since her job is a children’s health care worker. Granted, Barcus does a pretty good job of being their therapist, he got a degree for a reason. Amity is a treat visit, because there’s always someone who knows she’s the Empress’s advisor and they all gawk at her for a minute before realizing she’s a shy dork n have fun info dumping on her bc she listens to them with rapt interest. Gus is a fun show, often taking down notes of the theatre kids and showing off his illusion magic, acting as his own little inspiration to them by being one of the best in his grade despite being significantly younger. He also tells his theories of the human realm which are still off and need to be corrected by Camilia. Willow is a lot more sweeter n is like the grandma who gives you too much candy but is also not afraid to beat someones ass. She’s one of the few adults All the kids respect. Luz is fun because she gives adventures and shows off a lot. And kids are always in awe at her tattoos and scars. Of course, Luz still has dumbass ideas every once in a while and ends up getting kicked out early in her visit on occasion. She showed kids how to swallow a light spell. Lilith shows up at least once a month for a little bit, and the kids always LOSE IT. At first it was genuine shock but eventually they just did it for fun because they knew it made Lilith embarrassed. Eda...god Eda is a visit kids are either excited for or dreading, depends if you can put up with her energy. Eda usually shows up when she’s bored, hiding from the cops or needs to steal something from the Raven House. She’s the weird eccentric grandma of everyone and she adores the kids. Her showing up often either ends in something catching on fire or a couple of kids getting in trouble with the law, which Eda or Barcus can easily snatch them out of. Y’all know of the Life Changing Field Trip With Zuko? Eda has a very similar thing where she grabs a gaggle of kids and takes them on an adventure, but it usually ends up looking like chores. Either way it ends up in either giving the kid some Advice they needed or just changing a way they think based on the adventures they get up to. When she gets much older and crankier, she slows down a bit but never stops having bad ideas or advice, but it’s a lot easier for the calmer kids to talk to her.
Barcus keeps all the trinkets the kids give him and holds them in a special room only he can access, like the passageways in Hexside. He cares about all the kids who come to the Raven House, even if its only for a little while. He’s still a dog at heart. A lot of kids he hears from a few months or years after they leave. They’ll call or show up and tell him how they are. And whenever they do he makes time to sit down with them with tea and listen to all they have to say. Even if they only visit once, he’s glad to see them. But, of course, there are the kids he never hears from. The ones who don’t want to, the ones who are too busy, the ones who moved off the Isle and elsewhere, the ones who get lost out there in the world, and the ones who have died. But Barcus almost never learns what their fate was. He’ll have nights where he sits in his room filled with trinkets or by the rock with names and wonder what happened to them, and hoping that they’re okay and happy. But he doesn’t have time to think about that. He has new kids coming in all the time, he should focus on them, not the past. That’s what he tells himself.
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watchmegetobsessed · 3 years
Note
hi! i was just wondering: you always have so many fics planned and ones that you put out. most of the time they’re thousands of words as well and im just wondering how you do it? how do you come up with all these unique and incredibly thought out ideas without feeling drained or lose interest? i love writing but find it so hard sometimes to come up with ideas (especially as specific and drawn out as yours) and when i do it can be hard to think of the little bits that make up a whole fic, or to not lose interest in the middle of writing one. i just wanted to know how you make up your ideas and stay consistent with it?
ahh this message made me feel like i have my shit together but its like the total opposite!😄
truth is that im not at all consistent with my work, i don't plan ahead and my inspiration is like a rollercoaster most of the time! the only reason im able to write thousands of words a day currently is bc im only working part time and even when im at work i can easily sneak in some writing next to my tasks. i write very impulsively, if i have an idea stuck on my mind i basically have to get around and find the time to write it bc it would drive me insane otherwise, it would be on my mind 24/7 until i just can't take it anymore and type out 6k words in one sitting. i can't just schedule my time and decide when im gonna write, it doesn't work like that for me, bc its based on my mood and my motivation that can't be just brought out whenever i feel like it.
i struggle a lot with keeping up my interest in a story especially when its a longer one, like a series or something thats over 10k words, bc it takes me way longer to write than the speed my mind thinks the story out, plans it and moves with it and often im still in the middle of a story when im already thinking of a next one which is such a pain in the ass and im still to find a way to fight that. i try to focus on one story at a time and try to work as fast as possible to avoid neglecting it and starting a new one but i dont always succeed, that makes me feel like a failure. sometimes i just put the story aside, write the one that broke my train of thoughts and try to get back to it, it all depends on my mood and how im feeling at that time. believe me, im probably the least consistent writer around here, im a mess with so many stories on my computer that were put aside for some reason, you wouldn't even believe! you just have to try and see what method works best for you, for me, impulsive and fast writing is my thing, i have a guess that its got something to do with some issues in me, i've been thinking about getting checked out by a doctor bc i've been showing possible symptoms of adhd and it's been getting worse the past years. the way i write might also be very much connected to that, the way i can't even function if i don't sit down and write a story when im really stuck on it, it sometimes feels worrying. it allows me to post often and very long stories, but im telling you it's not normal, how i just in some cases can't even focus on the tiniest task because in my head i have the story on repeat and im like obsessively stuck on it until i can get it out. hope yall won't think im crazy after reading this lol i promise im gonna get help when i have the money for it!
as for the ideas... i always thought i have so many ideas because im the kidn of person who likes to think about the 'what if' situations, whether its about my life or someone else's, i just like to get into scenarios that might never happen to me, but i live them through my writing. i can get inspired from the most random things, i can't really give you advice on this one, it's just something that's been always part of me.
i follow a lot of writers around here and i know for a fact we all work differently, you have to go through the process, find what fits you the best, what works for you and what doesn't. the only advice i can give you is to be patient with yourself, which is a hard task, something i can't do myself all the time either, but you'll get around and you'll get better in it, i promise!
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diminished-fish · 4 years
Text
References for “A Portrait in Synesthesia”
This fic is COMPLETE now, so anyone who might have been hesitant to follow a wip, here you go! The whole synesthetic package, wrapped up with a nice lil bow on top. :3
For those who might have missed the masterpost: the fic was my contribution to the good omens big bang and is a sweeping, canon-compliant romp through history, told in (almost) all original scenes, with lots of nature imagery and T.S. Eliot. Kind of my own cold open, but with way more feelings and flowers. Also the sea. And an emotionally significant comet.
I had the opportunity to throw all of myself at this project and really enjoyed making it an intense focus for a while. In a way, it was an experiment to see how much I was capable of, which as it turns out, is more than I thought! (there’s a lesson here, probably...). Going this deep with the research and worldbuilding is not something I will likely be doing often for fic writing, but since I did with this one, I figured I’d share a bit of the process.
Under the cut are major spoilers for the timeline, story, and historic events in my recent fic, A Portrait in Synesthesia. I had originally planned to post this information in the end notes of the fic, but at some point, the list got way too long and posting it here became the sensible choice. There is a link to this post in the end notes of the fic, so it will be easy to find your way back here if you get to the end and want to know a bit more about the writing and research process. 
The Title:
Putting this bit at the top because I don’t know where else to put it: The working title for this fic throughout the entire writing process was “In Synesthesia.” I almost changed the final title in the eleventh hour to “The Still Point of the Turning World” because of what a prevalent theme Eliot became (that line was also slipped into the story three times at important moments — once for each POV character). I also briefly considered “Always, We Were Enough” as a title, since the conversation with Adrielle at the lighthouse kind of... accidentally became the thesis of the whole story, but that was a bit too sappy even for me, a Confirmed Sap. 
And while I’ll be questioning my choice of title for the rest of forever (titling things is hard, y’all), I ultimately thought the more descriptive title was best, and wanted to keep the nod to the song that inspired it all.
Speaking of the song... have you listened to it yet?? It’s great, I promise!
youtube
Synesthesia:
This was my research starting point. Before I dug into any of the historical or astronomical research or even started any serious plotting, I started reading about synesthesia, or, as Psychology Today defines it: the neurological condition in which the stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway (for example, hearing) leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway (such as vision).
Full disclosure: I do not have synesthesia. I spent a LOT of time researching it for this fic and did my best to portray it accurately, in spite of the fantastical elements I added. If I’ve overstepped or gotten something wrong and there are any synesthetes out there who would like to talk about it, I am very open to those discussions. The AO3 comments are always open to that, or you can message me/send me an ask here if you would like a less public forum.
I probably read r/Synesthesia in its entirety, but this thread of first-hand accounts was one of the most interesting to me and provided a lot of the inspiration for how I used the emotional synesthesia imagery. 
Besides everyone’s favorite research staring point of Wikipedia, this link is one I got from Boston University’s Synesthesia Project, and it is a pretty exhaustive list of research and books, as well as art and poetry about synesthesia. I have also been working my way through The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales, by Oliver Sacks which is the book that came most frequently recommended to me in my search. It’s an extremely approachable and interesting look at neurological conditions, synesthesia among them.
As it appears in the fic:
In a broad, generalized sense, Aziraphale and Crowley have a few types of synesthesia in this story. Obviously, I gave it a supernatural/celestial twist and a healthy glug of magical realism, but I did try to keep it firmly rooted in the actual condition. The types of synesthesia they have are:
Chromesthesia: they both have this. Sounds, specifically each other’s voices, have a color association
Lexical-gustatory synesthesia/emotion-flavor synesthesia: Aziraphale has this. Words (in this case, emotions, specifically Crowley’s emotional state) have a taste.
Odor-color synesthesia/emotion-odor synesthesia: Crowley has this. Words (again, emotions, specifically Aziraphale’s emotional state) have a smell.
One of the defining characteristics of synesthesia is that it is constant. If a synesthete connects the number 9 with the color blue, for example, then they will always connect them in this way. This was the major difference between real synesthesia and the fantasy synesthesia in this fic. The sensory/emotion connections for Aziraphale and Crowley changed in subtle ways as their relationship evolved through the ages.
The “binding thread” also had nothing to do with synesthesia. That was me wanting to make the spool analogy work for the body swap, baking it into the entire fic because I liked how the imagery fit with the synesthesia, and then leaning into the magic and the soul memory so hard that I fell flat on my face into magical realism. (A True Fact: I have spent a fair amount of time lying on the floor in the past 6 months, shaking my fist at the cute little plot bunny who grew fangs and claws and dragged me down a rabbit hole that ended up being 100k words deep). 
Anyway! Research!
Before I get into space and history and flowers... Yes, I admit to absolutely making up some wacky shit about Europa for the sake of fun banter and making a metaphor work. All those pre-Fall scenes on abandoned Earths are 100% a fantasy setting and I exercised the super fun right of a fantasy writer and embraced the worldbuilding (moonbuilding?). I also just thought Crowley would have delighted in tying a moon’s guts in knots, and Aziraphale would have delighted in the idea of whimsy-for-whimsy’s-sake. Please don’t lose sleep over the scientific inaccuracies.
Halley’s comet:
I promise not to bog this down with a billion comet facts, but there were a few particular things about Halley’s comet that had me gasping dramatically about how it’s “A.J. Crowley, but a comet!!” Specifically, it’s orbit and it’s structure. 
Halley’s retrograde orbit gives it one of the fastest velocities (relative to Earth) of any object in the solar system. I never explicitly worked the “you go too fast for me” line into the fic because I was trying to do original scenes (this particular story lived between the lines), but... just know that tidbit is there and join me in these emotional dire straits. If you like.
The comet’s structure is what is known as a “rubble pile”, meaning it’s made up of a bunch of smaller rocks held together by gravity (read: a hot god damn mess held together by stubbornness). 
As it appears in the fic:
The nucleus of Halley’s comet is shaped like a weird lopsided peanut. In fact, one could almost look at it and say it resembles a contact binary star, if such a thing could be a shriveled, misshapen pile of rubble.
Officially, Halley’s comet might have been recorded as early as 467 BC (a comet was recorded in Greece that year— unclear if it was Halley’s, but the timing and the fact that it was visible to the naked eye suggests that it probably was). This was the year I had Aziraphale making the scroll that causes Crowley’s panic in Athens (390 BC). I like to think that some human, at some point, caught a glimpse of it and tried to bring it to light, only to be written off as a crazed conspiracy theorist.
The apocalyptic depiction of Halley’s comet in chapter 9 (Bithynia) is actually based in fact. The comet made its closest approach to Earth (in human memory) in 837 AD, passing within 5 million kilometers. Its tail stretched halfway across the sky and it appeared as bright as Venus to the naked eye.
1910 Halley’s Comet panic. Bonus: c o m e t  p i l l s
Where 1910′s appearance was a spectacular sight and one of the closest approaches on record (coming within 22 million kilometers of Earth), 1986′s was the worst viewing conditions in 2,000 years. The comet passed within 63 million kilometers at its closest approach, and had the sun positioned between it and Earth, making it impossible to see from areas with any amount of light pollution, and almost invisible to all of the northern hemisphere. 
Historic events and settings:
Chapter 6 (Ostia): This was one of the chapters that I did a bunch of arguably unnecessary research for, since the history and the meat of the setting faded into the backdrop as the scene itself focused on dialogue and train of thought. The port town of Ostia was incredibly engrossing to read about, and between wikipedia’s ever-branching paths, ostia-antica.org, and ancient history encyclopedia’s entry, it ended up being one of the deeper rabbit holes I went down. My original intent for Aziraphale being in town was as a response to pirates sacking Ostia in 68 BC. I had him stationed there to guard against further attacks as the town rebuilt, and had him lingering because he was swept away by the romanticism of the art and the sea and the constant ebb & flow of people. I never found a way to work this in that didn’t feel super awkward and expository since the chapter was Crowley POV, so it was just left it as background noise.
Chapter 6 (pyramid of Cestius): Beyond being a magistrate of one of the four great religious corporations in ancient Rome (the Septemviri Epulonum), little is known about who Gaius Cestius actually was. As the city expanded, his lavish tomb was absorbed into the city walls (circa 3rd century AD), where it remains what he is remembered for to this day. I took most of my information from here (cross referenced with our lord and savior, Wikipedia) and had a chuckle at this poem by Thomas Hardy.
Chapter 8 (Plague of Justinian): The Yersinia pestis bacterium leaves no indicator on skeletal remains, meaning we rely on written records to track its path through history. The 6th century plague pandemic is the first recorded outbreak of bubonic plague, and for the purpose of our story, a certain distraught chronicler was the one on site, writing that history.
A note/cw: I wrote chapters 8 and 12 in October and November, respectively, and did much of my research for them over the summer. I imagine, given the current covid-19 pandemic, these sources would be less fun to follow up on now. Please be aware that the podcast episodes linked here, and the book cited in the miscellaneous refs section, get into pretty grisly details about illness and pandemics.
Chapters 8 and 12 (bubonic plague/The Black Death): I took a fair amount of my notes on bubonic/pnuemonic plague, specifically it’s path of destruction through Europe in the 14th century, from the two plague episodes of This Podcast Will Kill You. It’s pretty fascinating stuff and the Erins are great hosts, so check it out if you’re into delightful nerds bantering about epidemiology! 
Chapter 9 (the death of Peter of Atroa): Peter of Atroa was an abbot whose fame as a miracle-worker landed him in a scandal accusing him of exorcising demons by the power of Beelzebub, rather than God. Theodore the Studite’s letter cleared his name enough to avoid execution, but his reputation didn’t fully recover until after his death in 837 AD, when he was canonized as a saint. Peter and Theodore were tough to find extensive information on without passing through a paywall, so I took these scraps and ran a mile with them.
Chapter 13 (Tlatelolco, the Aztec Empire, the Feast of the Dead): I used this site as the source and starting point on much of my research on the Aztec Empire. And listen… I know it looks like a website for babies, and yes, I’m aware that a lot of the articles are literally written for a pre-teen audience, but it’s also one of the most concise, thorough, well-researched, and — perhaps most importantly — easily-searchable sources I found. Most of the pages cite papers and archaeological journals and I was able to jump to SO many other great sources of information. Mexicolore has my undying love and devotion for making my research process easy and fun and also having lots of pretty pictures.
Most of the physical descriptions for Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco (surrounding landscape, canals and causeways, chinampas, etc.) started here.
Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco were independent cities, but shared a border (kind of like a city and a suburb) and the small island on Lake Texcoco (located where present day Mexico City is). Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the Aztec Empire, and besides cross-referencing Mexicorlore, the link in the previous bullet point, and Wikipedia, I got a fair bit of information from these essays. 
Tlatelolco’s market was the major hub of trade and commerce, and saw 20-40,000 people trading PER DAY. Research on the market started here.
Chapter 14 (Terschelling and the Brandaris lighthouse): While I strove for historical accuracy as much as possible in this fic, I did take some liberties— especially with the island of Terschelling and the Brandaris lighthouse (yes, it’s real!) circa 1350-1435. 
The village of Brandarius is based on present day West Terschelling— a settlement founded as a direct result of the lighthouse. In the middle ages, both the village and the lighthouse were named after Saint Brandarius (or Brendan of Clonfert: ‘The Navigator’, ‘The Voyager’, ‘The Anchorite’, ‘The Bold’; patron saint of divers, mariners, and travellers). It’s still a relatively small village today, and it was a surprisingly difficult task to find historical records for Brandarius/West Terschelling dating back to the 14th century that say much beyond “it existed.” I loosely based the village off information found here, and named it “Brandarius” instead of “West Terschelling” based on the information found here. 
The original lighthouse was built in 1323, destroyed by the sea in 1570, and rebuilt in 1594. Since there were no records (that I could find) of what the original lighthouse looked like, I loosely based the height and floor plan on the current tower, and made up everything everything else about the interior. The interior was based on information about other live-in lighthouses, specifically this one which is roughly the same height as the Brandaris.
The present day Brandaris lighthouse sits directly in the middle of West Terschelling. For the sake of that sweet Self-Imposed Exile + Cryptid Lighthouse Keeper drama, I took the liberty of making my fictional village of Brandarius teeny tiny and setting it slightly apart from the lighthouse. 
Miscellaneous references:
In addition to the podcast, details about plague in chapters 8 and 12 were gleaned from the book The Great Mortality by John Kelly. It’s a cool read if you’re into nonfiction that reads like fiction, but does have some rather graphic passages so proceed with caution.
Yaretzi’s maquizcóatl/Aziraphale’s memento. To clarify, they were NOT the same item. I pictured Aziraphale cherishing the memory of the day by the lake with Yaretzi so much, that once he acquired the bookshop and had a place for all his kitsch, he hunted down a bad luck dragon of his own.
Here is the Aztec creation story about sun cycles and Earth’s rebirths that Yaretzi told Aziraphale. Another version of it.
In the scene in Mexico where Aziraphale briefly remembers, I used an analogy about a moment that hovers and flits away as “quick as a hummingbird.” Besides just liking the words, this was a nod to the legend of the cempasuchil flower. I originally had Yaretzi telling Aziraphale that story too, but the chapter was just way too long and something had to go.
In my very first outline, I had Aziraphale’s grief and personal growth chapter taking place at a Día de Muertos festival in Mexico. When the plot and the timeline finally got ironed out and I realized only half of that story was going to take place on Earth, I ended up focusing on Aziraphale’s brief relationship with Yaretzi instead of the festival itself (she was always the important bit). I also found myself married to the idea of that chapter happening in the 14th and 15th centuries, which meant the scenes in Mexico take place before Spain invaded and the festival was based solely on its Aztec roots. Because the plot shifted in this way, a lot of research went on behind the scenes that never made it into the fic, but for anyone interested in the Aztec Feast of the Dead, Mexicolore was my starting place again. From there, I found my way to reading about Mictecacíhuatl, the Aztec goddess of death, who was the main focus of the festival.
This isn’t research, but it might interest, like… three of you, so here you go. The scenes in Heaven (Aziraphale’s solo chapter in general tbh) were hard to write. One of those walls you hit with writing where you kick and punch and bang your head against it for months (literal months, I started wrestling with it in August and it didn’t come together until the end of January) but can’t seem to make any breakthroughs. Inspiration truly comes from unexpected places though, and when @gottagobuycheese sent me this Gregorian chant generator it actually… worked? I cranked that hum slider up to 100 and left it there for a few days (to the chagrin of my spouse) and lo— Zophiel.
There’s a cool legend about Saint Brendan of Clonfert’s sea-faring journey in search of the Garden of Eden that has nothing to do with this fic beyond being neat parallel. If that happens to be anyone’s cup of tea, the story is here. The tl;dr version is here. My original vision for the lighthouse included carved whales (St Brendan’s attribute) over the front door, and images from this story (the island of sheep, the Christmas island, the paradise island of birds) drawn on the walls of one of the bedrooms used by previous keepers’ children. Continuing the theme of “how stories echo” if you will. It felt really awkward and out of place once I wrote it in though, and that chapter was already so long once I got through all the plot bits I wanted, so it was left on the cutting room floor. 
Speaking of taking liberties with the 14th century, I did fudge the timing a bit on the art created by Crowley and Adrielle. Drawings, especially pencil sketches, have their historical roots in the late 15th century, and I’m chalking this one up to the fantastical setting of the Good Omens universe. In a fantasy world where angels and demons walk among us and the earth is literally 6,000 years old, I feel like inventing pencils 100 years early is small potatoes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
This is the edition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that Crowley nicked in Norwich. There are some really wonderful illustrations and scans of full pages under that link. I may or may not have lost a few hours down that research rabbit hole for a few throwaway lines (no regrets, I fall like Crowley). 
One last rabbit hole...
I saved this bit for the end of the post since it’s not really research and I don’t know how interested people will be in this kind of thing. Also... this is a lot more emotional and personal than the historical aspects of the fic. This is just what I was feeling and thinking while I was writing, and this story is absolutely the kind of thing I expect everyone to take something different away from. If you read the fic, took your own meaning from it, and want to keep that meaning without me tarnishing it by babbling about symbolism (first of all, high five, I love you, thank you for hanging out with me and my stories), then feel free to skip the rest of this post. <3
But! For anyone who wants to know more about what I had in mind with the flowers and nature metaphors I worked into the story, read on!
The tag “it’s an OT3 where Earth is the third” is something I really worked to pull to center stage. In my mind, Earth was a fully formed character who also spent the pre-Fall storyline being jerked around by God and having its memory wiped. It experienced transformations, pain, heartbreak, joy, and love just like Aziraphale and Crowley did, and I wrote it as falling in love with the two of them over the course of the Earth Project, then remaining very much in love for the entirety of iteration 23 (the current iteration). “Memories that are buried in places deeper than the mind” referred to the soul imprints being formed, but also Earth’s buried memories— seeping through the cracks to connect them via synesthesia in emotionally charged moments, allowing them to find each other from orbit in iterations 20 and 21 (music and the sea), and pulling them together in moments of distress like Constantinople and Barcelona.
In the vein of “Earth as a character,” I used plants (mainly flowers), topography, and weather as Earth’s “voice” in the grief chapters when Crowley and Aziraphale were separated from each other and going through their individual arcs. I’m not sure it technically counts as flower language, since all the flowers featured in the fic were wild and growing in nature, but (almost) all of them served a metaphorical purpose.
Flowers:
Jasmine (for the moon): Aziraphale’s flower. Love, beauty, sensuality, good luck, purity. The rational hedonist.
Marigolds (for the sun): Crowley’s flower. Grief and remembrance of the dead, lost love, the fragility of life, creativity, winning the affections of someone through hard work. The fallen artist.
Purple Hyacinth: Earth’s flower. Regret, sorrow, a desire for forgiveness. The witness. These were the wildflowers that grew in the orchard/vineyard on the penultimate Earth, where Aziraphale and Crowley managed to work out the differences they couldn’t by the sea. Hyacinths are also the hazy images they would see in those moments of vulnerability, compassion, and compromise. 
A fun aside! In very early drafts, the placeholder name I was using for angel Crowley was Jacinto, which is a Spanish/Portuguese name meaning “Hyacinth.” It was meant to be a reference to both the flower and the Greek myth of Apollo and Hyacinth, but my brain absolutely could not disconnect it from Manny Jacinto (and kept insisting on imagining Crowley calling Aziraphale homie and calling everything dope). Eventually I leaned into the Latin and landed on Joriel, then attached my banner to the Achilles and Patroclus myth instead of Apollo and Hyacinth, but the name Jacinto still makes me think of starmakers.
Honeysuckle & morning glory, climbing the oak tree: Aziraphale + Crowley + Earth. Seen in chapter 10, when Aziraphale and Crowley shake hands on the Arrangement. Two plants whose vines grow in opposing spirals. In nature, they have a symbiotic relationship, twining around each other in order to climb trees, walls, and fences, allowing both of them to grow higher than they could alone. 
Or: local woman sees this tweet, hasn’t known peace since.
The deasilwise / widdershins (clockwise / anticlockwise) thing got sprinkled throughout the story, with deasilwise being the “angel direction” and widdershins being the “demon direction.” Halley’s comet, with its backwards orbit, orbits the sun deasilwise, even after Crowley becomes widdershins.
Amaranth: Immortality, unfading affection, finding beauty in inaccessible places. 
The garden in the dunes and Petya’s travelling garden:
Where Aziraphale took a methodical, Kubler-Ross approach to dealing with loss, Crowley’s process was meandering and chaotic. The garden in the dunes was where it all came to a head— his way of throwing all of his emotions on the ground like a big jumbled pile of pick-up sticks, then slowly sorting through them and putting himself back together. There was a whole lot of Earth/flower speech going on in those scenes.
With the exception of zinnias, the garden was made up of perennials or self-sowing flowers. This happened “off-screen” as I could never find a decent way to work it in, but... the zinnias which Crowley bullied into being perennials returned to being annuals and died off after he left Terschelling and sometimes I still cry in the shower about it. 
Zinnias: Adrielle’s flower. Endurance, lasting friendship (especially friendships lasting through absence), goodness, daily remembrance. This one is also a small self-indulgence on my part since Adrielle was something of a self-insert. My mother loves zinnias and, growing up, our house was absolutely surrounded by them in the summer. Anywhere there was a free patch of dirt, Mom planted zinnias. They’re a scrappy, weird looking flower that doesn’t have a smell and a lot of people find rather ugly... and I love them with my entire heart. There is no flower on this earth that fills me with more whimsy, nostalgia, or childlike contentment. Also butterflies love them.
Chamomile: Patience. Fresh chamomile flowers are very aromatic and smell like apples.
Daisies: Transformation. Also simplicity, loyalty, and new beginnings.
Poppies: Restful sleep or recovery, peace in death, remembrance.
Tulips: Each tulip color has its own meaning, but the most common thing they symbolize is deep love. That said, I mainly chose this one for their prevalence in the Netherlands, as well as being very colorful perennials.
Pansies: The love or admiration that one person holds for another, free thinking, remembrance.
Lily of the valley: Rebirth, the return of happiness. They also have a very strong, very sweet smell and can grow in cool climates. These were the main reasons I chose it, rather than any of the religious connotations.
Lavender: Silence, devotion, serenity, grace.
Orchids: There’s... actually no deep symbolism with this one. Nothing intended anyway. Orchids, lavender, and cranberries are the dominant native plants on the island of Terschelling. I thought they’d be pretty in the dunes.
I am also a music-must-be-playing-at-all-times kind of person and I came out the other end of this project with FIFTEEN (15) playlists. Some of them are all instrumental playlists that I used to set the mood while I wrote certain scenes/segments, others are lyrical and tell a story or helped me sort out the story, some chapters got entire playlists all to themselves (looking at you, 14th century). The main playlists are linked in the notes on AO3, but I may collect them all in a tumblr post at some point if there’s an interest.
This entire project was an enormous labor of love that took up pretty much all of my free time for six months. So, if you read this far... thank you for coming on such a long journey with me!! Truly, deeply, and from every corner of my heart, thank you for reading. <3
19 notes · View notes
rocketfool · 4 years
Note
fawks - 62, 64, 52, 40, 15 | kass - 8, 16, 36, 42, 66 "rainy that's ten questions" "yes :)"
putting these behind a read more to spare people who are not interested in all of this because whoops it got long! 
FAWKS
62. Who does your character think is the most put together in the party?
THIS DEPENDS ON THE PARTY. of the main party, it’s definitely pierce. like sure he has some anxiety but he has not put goo in his mouth unprompted. so that pulls him ahead of fyn, who would be the second choice. of the surface party...probably valytra! like sure she collects souls in her necklace but she seems Polite and like she was a Pleasure to Have in Class, plus you have to have your shit together to be a spy (theoretically). kidar is...put together in that she’s extremely confident in who she is and assured of her own place in the world, but not the typical standard for “put together,” and fyn has put goo in her mouth, so. valytra wins. 
64. What is one thing they want each party member to know?
I’m going to do main party, and out of character! 
pierce: you’re so much braver and more heroic than you give yourself credit for. you deserve your place here just as much as anyone, and have personally inspired me to be a better person. but stop side eying me about scully I am WORKING on having a realization about this!! I’ll get there maybe!
jolene: we both put up such aggressive fronts to hide our vulnerabilities, but I’m discovering it is actually helpful to let people in and care for them, even if it makes you feel exposed. I hope you’re also coming to that realization and maybe one day (IN THE VERY DISTANT FUTURE) we’ll be more honest in our own friendship but for now lmao what is going on with blacksmith girl huh. I would like an update.
fyn: you’re the most optimistic and good-hearted person I know, and I hope you can see what an effect you have on the party. I’m very glad I’ve had you at my side for pursuing the black dragon wyrmspeaker, because I don’t know how I would’ve done it alone. also please stop putting goo in your mouth, we have enough money for quiche and lavender lemonade PLEASE. 
52. If your character was under quarantine, what type of quarantine person would they be? (Productive? Hobbyist? Lazy?)
oh my god fawks in quarantine is off the rails immediately, she cannot be left unsupervised. I think she starts her own youtube channel that people LEGITIMATELY think is supposed to be like a ~found footage narrative fiction channel or other creative project but...it’s never been stated to be and she just keeps appearing in videos to talk very urgently about cryptids and show everyone how she’s converted her kitchen to include a PROPER, homemade fumigation hood. so it’s very unclear. on that note, the vlog probably comes to an end bc she either 1) blows up her kitchen with her own experiments because it is NOT a lab, or 2) breaks into someplace she shouldn’t be and isn’t caught but then uploads the footage to ye olde youtube and it’s like...okay so this is you running around fantasy area 51 right? knock it off. 
40. Describe a corruption/redemption arc version of your character.
OKAY corruption arc fawks...like we all know fawks is very, very motivated by ~discovery and has a black and white way of thinking, she’s always poised on a precipice of discovering one powerful magic artifact that makes her risk it all LOL. she’s doing some character development in that area but I think there some very clear seeds of a corruption arc there--her connection to people (such as the party) is what keeps her on the...generally okay if not exactly the Right Path, so I think something awful befalling the party/people she loves where they are all killed would push her firmly into the dark side. I can see her getting lost in pursuing a way to “undo” whatever happened with time travel magic (wow like a certain tower we encountered) instead of reconciling it, and being willing to do whatever it takes to get her way. would prioritize herself and her mission above everything and everyone else, even if it threatens to rip the universe apart or results in killing people because she knows once she discovers this magic it will set things right, not just for her but its uses for the world at large...yeah it’d be bad. :/
REDEMPTION ARC is kind of what she’s on now. she’s discovering she has worth outside of what she produces for science/magic/etc! she’s figuring out she can open up to people and ask for help sometimes! she’s putting things right for her family! things are slowly coming up fawks...maybe.
15. Describe their ideal date. 
OH BOY. fawks is not really uh...into traditional expressions of romance. like she’ll make an effort for the right person but her preference is never going to be a fancy dinner and candlelight. honestly I think the ideal date would start off in the late evening (AFTER A LONG DAY OF SCIENCE), going to a museum of curiosities or for cryptids/the arcane, where she’s allowed to really go in deep with her date on the history of various items/the theories behind everything and listen eagerly to what her date has to say too (in any world where fawks is dating, that person has to have Opinions on this type of thing). they’d stay until close and then head to a food truck to grab something to go while fawks leads the date to a rooftop of an abandoned building she likely discovered cryptid hunting but realized has an amazing view. they’d sit out under the stars and eat together, chatting inevitably about how fawks found the building, maybe do some exploring of it together. and then they head to a 24 hour diner for milkshakes as dessert! 
KASS
8. What is something they cannot resist?
OOOH this is fun because there are a lot of ways to interpret the question. I think kass can never resist a bustling marketplace in whatever city he ends up in--he loves travel and finding out about the local culture, is always curious to see what’s for sale and what the gossip is about town from the merchants he meets there. he spent a lot of time in marketplaces growing up so they’re nostalgic for him--he also loves purchasing trinkets from them anytime he lands somewhere new, particularly if those trinkets are fancy scarves/boots/etc. foodwise, he’s a sucker for baklava and good red wine--he enjoys wine shops/bars over taverns because he’s bougie lmao. oh and if dancing is happening and he’s not the one playing the music, kass is involving himself as is his right as a bard. he can’t resist a good opportunity dance when he has the chance!
16. What keeps them going?
OH BOY a good question. I think kass is a realist in a lot of ways, but has held onto some amount of idealism. he keeps moving forward with the idea that he’s in a losing situation right now, but he’s patient enough to watch and see what way the winds will blow. he justifies his work with the understanding that he has a certain moral code for his behavior when he can make choices, versus when his hands are tied by the zhents. always is keeping one eye out for an opportunity to slip out of those binds completely. 
36. What makes them blush?
HMMMM I don’t think kass gets too worked up over flirting--sometimes it’s literally just part of his job, and in general he’s just confident in himself. and listen he’s been in plenty of seedy taverns and courts rifled with intrigue, so not a lot makes kass bat an eyelash at this point. the things that would make him blush would probably be genuine romantic gestures? he doesn’t have a lot of experience with them so someone doing something very sweet and thoughtful for him would catch him completely off guard. like even getting flowers from the right person, kass is just not used to that type of attention! 
42. Is there something your character isn’t very good at, but enjoys doing nonetheless?
kass would LOVE crossword puzzles I think. he’s been doing them since he was a kid and could filch a newspaper every once in a while, but he’s not super good at them. just enjoys having something to sit back and focus on while drinking his coffee in the mornings. I also don’t think he’s very good at cooking, but he enjoys trying out new recipes!
66. Outward Passion or Quiet Rebellion?
this is hard because I think kass feels pulled between the two very frequently. I think he’d much prefer outward passion, throwing himself heart first into a cause, but he definitely is more likely to commit quiet rebellion and does so frequently. like what the zhents don’t know won’t hurt...him. again, where he has the ability to, kass follows his own heart so he’s willing to work quietly to do some good. but he’d much prefer to be bolder, in the grand scheme of things. 
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bladengineer · 5 years
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Bladebreakers: College Edition
anyone who’s already read my fics knows exactly what i’m about, so lets get straight to business about the college headcanons im about to slap yall with
also all under the cut bc this went way too long lmfao Hilary and Kenny should follow shortly bc it got really long and im just. oops
Kai is the first to go which is like. logical considering he’s the oldest and most driven out of all of them
not to mention he had the entirety of Hiwatari Corp. about to be put into his name as soon as he reached 18 and he’s just like aw man here we go
to be honest? he’s not keen on taking over the company, never has been (excluding the time where he felt obligated to under his grandfather’s influence) and the thought of actually having too just kinda. embitters him
so he gets himself sucked into the whole Business classes to get himself the necessary qualifications – and despite being bitter, he doesn’t half-ass shit so he studies on the regular
it isn't until Max wrangles him into finally giving his own interests a go and he changes his path to a History Major with a Minor in Business
he is so much happier
History, specifically Ancient History, had always been an avid interest in Kai’s books so he basically dives into his new studies with his own brand of stoic enthusiasm
its also the sole reason why he’s been amassing so many books in his personal collection at home, Hilary had implored him to buy bigger shelves after Max nearly broke his neck tripping over a loose pile
Kai likes to study alone, preferably in his private study (Tyson keeps making fun of him for having a private study at the age of 18, what are you, a grandpa? damn rich kid lmao) with soft instrumental music playing – he’s especially fond of rainy ambience music
of course, Kai is often seated at the back of the classes, but is indisputably one of the best students with very insightful and well-researched essays, naturally, most of his professors adore him
except a select few traditional-minded professors – they’re still bitter that Kai stood his ground when they had overlooked Cleopatra’s history and reduced her to the Ancient Sex Symbol and Kai was ready to cut a bitch at the blatant disrespect towards an Ancient Political Mastermind
the majority in his class has a fat crush on him but thats nothing new
Max, for a long time, had a bit of a dilemma as his parents urge him to start choosing his preferred path; was it going to be Engineering like his Mother or Mechanics like his Father, and honestly? the poor boy was so torn
in the end, he confessed he wanted to do neither – he loved Beyblade but it wasn’t something he wanted to dedicate his life to forever
instead, his heart had always belonged to the ocean and he dreams of being a Marine Biologist
his father was very supportive, while Judy had her doubts so it took a little convincing – in the end, her son’s joy was more important to her and she too gave her blessing for him to pursue his dream
Max goes on to major Zoology, directed towards marine animals, and takes up a minor in Engineering because hey, it pretty much runs in his family and it stayed an avid interest of his
his university wasn’t too far of from Kai’s own, so sometimes when he stays over at Kai’s he gets a free ride to class
he returns the gesture by always providing the best butter croissants for breakfast (they’re still warm too!)
Max usually studies in the campus library, noise-cancelling headphones on, bopping silently to whatever music he’s listening to as he reviews his notes for the next exam
he researches a lot for his topics and has collected so much trivia about the ocean and its inhabitants in general
Max: did you know jellyfishes have no brain? Kai: Max don’t bully Tyson Tyson: excuse me?
the professors love Max tbh, he’s always fully engaged within class so they usually let him get away with things mainly bc he’s just their Favourite
pretty sure half of the university knows of Max in some way or another, being a social butterfly and all and maybe having flooded the campus once by accident
Ray also had a hard time deciding what to do and what to study; being from a rural village with traditions certainly made him question wether he should pursue a modern career or stay within his community
the White Tigers were quick to kick his ass over it however, booting him straight to Kai’s doorstep and telling him to do what he feels was right for him
now, he’s managed to get himself applied to one of the prestigious university for culinary arts – he’s not too sure yet which path he wants to take in terms of culinary skill
he loves cooking and working in a kitchen, however after many work experiences he has found that working at the command of someone else wasn't exactly to his tastes, not to mention, he’d like to dabble in more traditional culinary arts
as of now, Ray particularly enjoys the sweeter side of cooking, preferring to create intricate pastries and confectionaries, often stemming from his chinese roots but also applying his skill within the japanese side of things
his homemade mooncakes are honestly to die for
next to his obvious passion for cooking, he’s also taken up classes in horticulture, mainly bc he’d love to grow his own ingredients and create his own sets of spices and various artisan products
since his career path is very labour focused, he often practices at home and takes inspiration from various chefs all around the world. his bookshelves are full of recipe books and general insightful cookbooks
Max had suggested to him to make videos of his dishes, mainly for self-improvement, but also being able to put them online to start a crowd interest for his work
its going pretty well actually, his videos have become quite popular since they are aesthetically pleasing, the food looks tasty as hell and also a wide crowd of older people have voiced their joy in seeing more traditional confectionary being made
his friends secretly love their birthdays nowadays bc without fail, Ray always gifts them homemade foods, from neat boxes of handcrafted chocolates to cute jars of sweet jams
he knows, he always takes time to create flavours he knows they will appreciate
Tyson, surprisingly, knew exactly what he wanted to do, and it wasn’t anything to do with Beyblade
Hilary: WHAT ARE YOU SICK Tyson: i- no? i just– Ray: hold on maybe he’s running a fever Tyson: would yOU GUYS JUST LISTEN–
look, he loves Beyblade, it’s something he’ll treasure all his life, something he’ll still pursue in the future, but
it won’t be what he wants to do full time
instead, he majors in Anthropology in order to pave his way into Archeology and everyone is so proud they start crying
next to his Major, he also minors in Business, mainly due to his longstanding position within the BBA, with whom he stays as a particular poster boy and star
next to his work with the BBA, he occasionally helps out in the Dojo and everyone kinda realises? that this guy is literally holding down two (2) whole jobs while also studying and if that isn't hardcore my dudes i don’t know
then again, he’s grown a lot and his interest in his father’s career had always accompanied him since he was a kid – however, his studying habits are still all kinds of atrocious and the only reason why he can even halfway ace his exams is bc he refuses to go down quietly, actually is really critical and analytical is he puts his head into it, and the fact that he employs Hilary to stand vigil with a rolled up magazine to smack him back into focus should he slack off
otherwise, he’s friends with most people in his class and regularly exchanges notes with them and even has become a favourite with a select few of his professors
most just find him exhausting but can’t refute his elaborate essays, which are both thoughtful as eyebrow raising
he attends the same university as Kai (much to his chagrin) and they stick together just as much as they bicker (one-sidedly) just like old times – however, they are both ancient history buffs and its one of the very few topics that they can be heard talking about in actual peace without Tyson going apeshit when Kai loses interest in the conversation
Tyson and Kai are also those college students who pull ridiculous all nighters to study
Max once got so nervous for an exam he made a terrifying concoction of Red Bull and Instant Coffee to stay up and study
he aced the exam but he cannot for the life of him remember what he did in those 24hours bc as soon as he went home he crashed for nearly 32hours straight
Tyson and Ray who were present at the time refuse to speak about it and when asked about it, they kinda just. disassociate for a minute at the sheer horror they had witnessed
Kai rarely ever communicates with classmates yet somehow gets always invited to all the frat parties
who are those people? he doesn’t know
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celesecretsanta · 5 years
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@froggystyles
hello!! YES I'M VERY HAPPY ABT ITTT ahhh don't give me too much credit, i saw someone else doing and thought: hmm . i talk too much . might as well make a blog for itjdfhsdkj
oH mY GOD that is a mood!!!!!!!!!!!! randomly thinking abt girls . yeah . and ahhh the christmas rush, that's A Lot 
YOOO  moment of silence for all the work i do on word and just . don't save it . 
AHHH YESSS so dec 13 was the day of my econ final may she rest in peace and there was No Way i could focus on econ, so i tried to find every leak link i could and did! on dec 11, around midnight, i listened to fine line the album and lost my shit and descended to an astral plane. and i'm never coming back dOoOWn and sunflower is 110% abt the desire for gay domesticity lbr 😔 BUt ALSO!!1 listening to the album in full, not on shuffle is so hard?? like. going for tpwk to fine line is an EMOTIONAL BURDENNNNNN
ahHHh it's good, no pressure!!!!! i'm currently watching hsm: the series bc . i need simulationnn
aww, 💝💞💕💖💘 you! deserve! all! the! appreciationnnn!!!!!! i don't draw, but i write and it's very hard to keep on it :/ sometimes, i won't have motivation, but other times, i'll pick out every flaw, buT!!!!!!! talking my characters out with someone always helps! or if i go back to the source of inspiration (like my current piece is basically ya dystopia, and i just rewatched the maze runner series with my sisters (*speaking of whichhh, do you have siblings), and i have 485378 new ideas!!) 
oH i get that omg, it's currently 1:48am and i have No PLans to sleep soon,,, (edit: so i finished writing this and it’s 4:14am, this is @ the tv i decided to binge) i thiNK i like staying up so late bc that's when everyone else is asleep and i finally get to be , me . 
dskjhs a banana peel?? in water?? and i drink it?? no matter how much . that idea doesn't interest me, I wiLL ~keep it in the back burner~ for the n*xt s*mester!!!
and there's so! many! things you can do with brownies?? caramel, dark chocolate, peanut butter,,,,the possibilities are endless ... too bad i don't bake . or cook sdfkljs (do you bake/cook? i feel like i should but . i'm not moving out anytime soon so. i can get away w/ being a useless kitchen gay)
ahh!!! it was cute, it had little santas and the other one was snow flakes!! (speaking of: every winter, i take out my bed sheet that's grey and has snow flakes bc . why not . also i love my bed and it has to look great always . in fact, i'm sitting on my bed right now. basically: "[michael scott voice] i love sleep. i'd love to get some one day")
ahHH good omens!!!! i'm in a ficless point rn, but!!! i neve considered good omens fics!!! thank you for the Motivation!!!!!!!!
oH so i haven't gone to a concert... or bought tickets to a show aka who am i??? but i thought it was electronic?? but dsfkjh losing them would 110% something i would do omg
i would say keep them in one place, bUT that wouldn't work for me either oof
we ReALLY DOOO!!! shoutout to christmas for existing!
ahHH i rmbr when he cut it, there was chaos everywhere and!!! the dunkirk content!!!! he looked so different!!!! my fave is the 2014/5 harry look tbhhh and jdkfhksj i didn't like harry's short hair at first . but 🥺 it's grown on me 
YESSSS LIVE FOREVER IS SO GOOD i wish the promo was done well . but uH liam's team b wack wbk :))))))))
okay yes!! she!!! i'm so proud of harry's journey!!!! and he's confident!!!!!!! and sO much more open than when he started in the band 🥺🥺 but the real special-place-in-my-heart-song has to be tbsl bc. we single!!!!!!! skjfhksdj
yes!!!!! we love that growth!!!! and self-realization!!!!! rooting for youuuu 🎉💝💛 my 6th grade teacher had us write something to our senior-self but i switched schools so i never read it :/ i'm pretty sureeeee i wrote stuff abt 4.0 GPAs and ivy league colleges oofhdskjffh but yes!! taking care of ourselves is important bc it's how we learn to be better versions of our present selves <3 i think writing would be be very . healing hmm. perhaps i'll write one as well,, ⚡💝
aHH so my family & i lived in some apartments that had these bEAUTIFUL, big, flowing willow trees, but then one day our landlord thought them to be too big and cut them down :/ but i'm definitely more of a greenery person 🍃🌿🍀🌿☘🌲🌾🌿🍃
uhhH there isn't an emoji, so here are some links !! to brighten your day, here's a bouquet!!!!
oh!! now that's a style i can get behind 🌟⭐🌟
and it's fun!!! reading this made go 🥰💕✨🎇🥰💓🎇💕🥰✨💞💗💫💓🥰✨ and :') in caps so ily for that
bUT YOU HAVE A CAT AHHHDSJH pls give them all my l💖ve!!!! 
okay! so! last couple things! as poc/minority kiddos, we have a Limited option of representation in the media, so my question is: who was the person you looked up to as a kid? and! do you decorate your room? or is it almost impersonal? 
ily, you deserve everything that's right in the world, and i think you're the most amazing, most patient, most understanding, most kind person i've known. that's what i think when i think of you <3 💖
may the wind whisper what you need to hear, ✨
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purgatoryandme · 4 years
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(Sorry this is gonna be long) I went through your entire letter by the water tag (sorry for spamming your notifs) and you have me blown away!!! The contrast between the realism of it being set during WW2 and the mystical, fantasy-horror of Ophelia, merchant of death, extremis etc. You mix the fantastical so so well with the nitty gritty of war with the bad bad mental health of all included, the intrigue, the mystery of it kills me.
(continued) the dynamics between Tony and bucky, peggy and Steve are just so realistic and the the way the howlies w stevetony are this figures of hope? During a time of revolution and change and violence as they carry pieces (The significance of art here kills me) of people's soul to show that they existed! Lw reminds me of IM, the intensity of your writing and the pacing n layering makes it read like an epic (w one definitive goal but small stories dozens of layers). It's, just, vey good (3/3) I won't even start about the plot n else bc that would actually kill me but also if you decide to not work on Lw is there any way you can collect the snippets on tumblr n post it on ao3 bc tumblr is finnicky at best and I don't wanna loose what you've created!! Thanks for being you and creating something literally so amazing!! I'm really sorry for the long ask and my English (it's not my first language)
Woah, thank you! Never be sorry about long messages! God, yeah, I fucking love the contrast between realism and fantasy in LW and it’s why it’s pretty much my favourite AU. WWII is such a heavily explored topic that like...often lacks any real introspection into the human element of both the suffering and LIFE that occurred during it (with obvious exceptions - a lot of biographies get into it, as do Jewish authors, but by and large published works tend to focus on the military elements and sheer scale/horror of things in a way that reads as voyeuristic or oddly detached). I was reading a really great historical fantasy book that dealt with a post-WWII Europe that was being torn apart between Japan and Germany with these magical elements that really...idk, allowed the true humanism of events to shine through with symbolism and ideas that are easier to connect to than just sheer grit?? And then two months later I was thinking on Civil War and a bunch of Tony meta and techno-fantasy (Extremmmmiiiiiiisssssssss), then boom! Letter by the Water just took me over for a few months.  Tony being a child in it wasn’t even the original intent, but once the idea blindsided me I just couldn’t let it go. Getting back into those blurring lines between realism and fantasy, SO MANY children were involved in war in ways that are intensely difficult to grasp - in a way, they were all forced to become adults (either through work, through losing parents, or simply living under martial law). Tony being a living breathing symbol of that? Tony HATING that? It literally being a symbol of his regression? AHHHHHH. Genuinely an element that blew my mind and I never would have thought of if not for Guilt For Dreaming by Vetinari on AO3 (this fic has time travel Tony with like...a lot of genuine limitations of being a child and magical realism and oihdiuashjdnasjk - it’s a VERY GOOD Tony fic). Ophelia is his foil in so many ways and I absolutely adore her being a teenager - hanging just on the cusp of adulthood but never EVER making it there despite being (maybe) older than them all.  I find the Howlies endlessly fascinating and am really disappointed that Marvel never went further with them. They’re this mixed race, mixed country regiment with wildly different skillsets and that’s ???? so interesting? They are normal men (and women bc Peggy ALWAYS should’ve been more involved with them) who kept up with Captain America!!!! They literally represented no country (despite Steve’s hero name) and were just this symbol of liberation - screw the system, screw orders, screw WAITING for help to come. Bucky complicates their whole dynamic in such interesting ways if you assume people KNOW Hydra took a special interest in him or that he survived their experiments, which presumably people /do/ know. They would’ve given people on the frontlines SO MUCH to gossip about!!! This is what I mean about the human elements of WWII - people are people, and they are going to hunger for stories and heroes in times of strife. The thing about art in wartime is that it WAS a huge thing in WWII. Art was specifically targeted and destroyed (museums, libraries, religious symbols), it was specifically commissioned by oppressive powers (the Nazi uniform is a HUGE example of that, as are the flags), and it became symbolic of resistance and propaganda both! Art permeated the ghettos, with little homemade theatres putting on plays and tiny paper strips containing poetry no one would ever see in concentration camps or shipped out in furniture the original owners will never touch again. Art was such bittersweet resistance, allowed for contemplation on religion, both could (through destruction) and could not be taken away (through never ending creation)...ugh. It’s such a huge element of how humans express themselves when all else is taken away. Ghetto poetry was a massive inspiration for this, but then the idea of audio caught me by the goddamn throat and refused to let go once I was going through historical resources and rediscovered the story of the Cellist of Sarajevo.  LW is very much so meant to read like an epic (rather specifically the seafaring kind, because it deals so heavily in time and the unknown and blue blue blue). I’m really happy so many people FEEL that in it. It’s such a massive idea that I don’t know if I’ll ever actually be able to write it in full, though I certainly want to try. I’ll totally post the snippets eventually. My transition into proper adulthood just keeps stopping me from actually sitting down and just writing - what with going back to school, looking for a job, getting a job, moving across the country - it’s been a lot. But soon! I definitely want to go back to work on CBT and Charybdis.
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fatedfuturist · 5 years
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things about my interpretation of tony stark. updated june 07, 2020.
here’s my exhaustive explanation for how i am not canon-compliant with the events and characterization of the mcu.
the reason for this is… well, there are several reasons, but i don’t want to stir shit up or just, in general, stomp on anyone else’s love for the mcu. and don’t get me wrong— i do love the mcu! but there are parts i’m critical of for personal reason, as we all have opinions on certain things. bc, yeah, you can love something, or someone, and still be logically critical about it or them.
anyway, here’s where my interpretation differs…
as per stated on my rules: i take inspiration for tony from multiple sources, including the mcu, marvel comics, the television show: avengers assemble, and my own personal headcanons. TONY IS ALSO ASIAN (SPECIFICALLY CHINESE) AMERICAN!!
i will admit that saying this isn’t particularly helpful if people don’t know, specifically, where i differ in terms of my interpretation of our dumbass genius. some of this info is scattered about on my blog, but here, it’s all consolidated into one post.
chen kun is my face claim, and i do use stuff from tony’s story from the mcu as a base. however, there are events and moments from the movies, that i selectively ignore due to personal preference; and then i build on top of my foundation with ideas, themes, and/or events from other sources such as the aforementioned sources listed above.
throwing this all under a read more because, like i said: exhaustive list. very. very. very fucking long. i’m serious– read at your own risk.
howard stark was an extremely abusive and absent father for all of tony’s childhood; tony did actively seek attention and approval from howard because he was rather aware of how famous he was and wanted the acceptance and validation from his dad; there wasn’t much shown in the mcu regarding his relationship with his father, but my inspiration for his father-son relationship comes from the comics;
an example of his verbal abuse: “you don’t want to be a sissy, now do you? stark men are made of iron!” (Iron Man, 1968);
an example of early exposure to alcohol: at age five, howard forced a drink into tony’s hand (which he did drink), stating that it would teach him “to be a man,” and that it’d “put hair on your chest” (Iron Man, 1968);
yes, this means that tony ‘forgiving’ howard in endgame is completely chucked out the window;
tony loses his parents the night of december 16, 1996 (not 12/16/1991), at the age of seventeen;
jarvis, the family butler, was more of a father to tony than howard ever was, and yes, this is why he names his first fully-functioning AI system jarvis;
tony was close with his mother, maria; she was his safehouse, and she taught him to be gentle and loving, and she also taught him the piano, which tony still periodically practices during his own time in private. in an avengers assemble episode, there is a piano in the tower that tony protects twice, which i reckon is because it has connections to his past with maria;
tony ain’t an old grandpa. i don’t see him being older than, like, 35–40 in the present time for my writing (chen kun is 44). this comes from comic and avengers assemble inspiration, which has been fairly ambiguous since they never mention his age. for plotting purposes in the mcu though, yes, he can be like 42–52 if needed.
tony is, by default, single unless otherwise stated. the reason for this is simply because i’m not big on tony / pepper in the mcu, and it’s not because i don’t like pepper (i love her as a character as an individual), but i just saw that the way they were written (so, this, yes, blames the mcu writers) was completely trash; they sort of redeemed it in endgame, but... in general, they had a lot of potential but then some writing choices pretty much ruined the ship for me;
this means that morgan does not exist unless otherwise specified and discussed, though i do enjoy the concert of tony being a dad to his own kid and breaking that cycle of howard’s shitty parenting;
i’m going to be as honest and transparent as i can: i do, for certain, love writing stevetony. they’re my primary ship. not simply in mcu dynamics, but from the comics and avengers assemble. however, like some can attest to, i will never force a ship on anyone. if you express no interest in them romantically? that’s fine. we can write them simply as good friends and comrades. i won’t stop writing or plotting with you if you don’t like them in a romantic dynamic. if you do like it that way? cool. i know it might be intimidating to discuss this given i look like complete trash for them, but i never choose who i will/will not write with based on whether we ship or not;
tony, publicly, hints toward being bisexual and biromantic a lot of the time as he’ll practically flirt with anyone at all times, but he never really openly admits it due to his oh-so ancient internalized homophobia (thank you for that one, howard and societal expectations of the time);
justin hammer is a long time rival in the industry, and often meddles with tony and his work all the time. it’s nothing new. the lack of foundation established in IM2 doesn’t provide much insight into their relationship. long story short (taken from avengers assemble): hammer is a punk bitch who’s jealous and tony is tired of him and will gladly beat his ass any day of the week whenever he drives a tank into his front door (which happens more often than not).
tony is fantastic with children. he loves getting to interact with children because he knows how excited they are to see him and/or iron man (seen in both the mcu and in the comics). this type of attention he’s okay about. if he can inspire children to do good things and be good people and be heroes in their own right, then he’s doing his job;
tony fosters the intelligence and dreams of bright individuals all the time by offering scholarships for high school graduates and post-secondary students, and also provides internship opportunities (equal opportunities regardless of race, sex, gender, religion, disability status, age, etc.)
we only see this occur with peter and harley in the mcu, but there are other kids— like riri williams! tony sees these kids for the bright minds that they have and he wants to help them and keep them safe as he knows these are the brains of the future.
let me run over iron man 3. like i said, i ignore some shit from the movies. tony doesn’t initiate the clean slate protocol, he doesn’t throw the arc reactor into the ocean, and he doesn’t remove the arc reactor from his chest. he will get surgery to get the shrapnel removed because if i were the follow the pain that comes with the comics, tony would literally be always on the verge of death at all times, requiring a chest plate to be recharged constantly to make sure the shrapnel doesn’t get closer– see? that’s a lot and i’m... lazy.
the reason for those choices are simple: clean slate protocol undoes his character progression;
the arc reactor is just a part of him as a person, stands as his heart;
avengers movie nights, (video/board) game nights, and training days exist and you will never be able to pry that out of my hands. tony always shows up fashionably late with coffee and pays for when shit gets broken by thor. team building exercises exist plenty within avengers assemble, including the fact that they share chores and decides who gets to do the next load of laundry from whoever chooses the short stick from the bunch.
tony has had anxiety and depression since he was a child. it just didn’t really flare up and get identified as a real, tangible mess of emotions and thoughts until he’d been kidnapped (and nearly died, at that). it got worse when he failed to address it until after IM3. into the present-day, tony deals with anxiety, depression, and PTSD all the time, but has improved (…sort of) when it comes to handling all of it, and certainly has grown to recognize similar symptoms in the people he cares about;
on another hand, tony has displayed symptoms of ADHD, but it’s not officially diagnosed, and some of these symptoms include, but are not limited to: hyperactivity (staying awake for days on end) and hyperfocus (hyper-focus on work), distractible (easily distracted when he’s not focused on something), rambling (talks a lot and often makes rather intuitive connections due to how busy his brain functions), impulsivity and recklessness (self explanatory), constant need to move around and/or do something (in meetings, he will be moving somehow, whether it’s tapping fingers or feet, or shifting around in his seat);
there are days where he feels inferior due to how human he knows he is (in comparison to most of his team), and other days, he feels as though he’s more machine than he is man. these feelings fluctuate depending on how he’s doing with his mental health, and/or if he hears and/or sees anything about him that points toward either idea;
there is always overwhelming guilt for those he can’t keep safe or people that die; tony doesn’t like to kill anybody (unless it’s robots, because… they’re robots, not human lives); though, if pushed far enough with no other choice, he will throw conventional morality out the window for the sake of protecting all that he believes to be for the good of the world;
tony isn’t jacked. he isn’t captain america fit, but he isn’t particularly thin, either. his body is sort of like a runner’s build (for visuals, refer to valerio schiti’s comic art of tony). i interpret tony’s body as a slight bit slimmer. he exercises, and being in the suit also is its own form of exercise. god forbid we discuss his eating habits, though. and–– he also isn’t short short, but he isn’t tall, either. he sits at 5’10”, which might be a little below the average male, but that’s about it.
speaking of eating habits, simply put: tony can’t cook for shit and that’s it. he’ll try to cook for his significant others’ on the occasion, but he can’t be blamed if he burns everything.
tony isn’t ‘woke’ or perfect, as it’s imperative to remember he grew up as rich and with financial and some social class privilege (since he was rich), despite the abuse and harassment he experienced during his youth. it’s taken him time to recognize this, and he realizes it really doesn’t cost anything to be a better person, which is why he tries to be better when it comes to his tone of voice when discussing certain topics he has no authority to be speaking of, and by taking action with simple manual labour when it comes to chores (so he doesn’t hire other people to do shit for him). he also knows he can’t be a man of ‘all bark and no bite’ when it comes to supporting people and causes, hence why he actively advocates for female and youth empowerment through both words and actions.
in regards to ca:cw events, i would prefer to ignore them. for specific-plotting purposes, this can be dropped, but i prefer the events of avengers assemble when it comes to ‘civil war’. it’s actually really simple:
tony was not honest about his intentions with the team regarding a robot that was initially made for him by howard, which ended up with an ultron reboot that nearly risked loads of civilian lives and the team’s lives;
steve confronted tony about it when they returned back to avengers tower. with tony’s insistence that everything was now fine, steve decided to resign due to tony’s dishonesty and lack of trust in the team;
this splits the team in half, where steve takes— well, they decided to leave since they didn't like tony's lack of honesty— natasha, the hulk, and the falcon to work under SHIELD as the ‘secret avengers,’ and tony, clint, and thor remain as leftover avengers (later with the addition of ant-man and temporarily, spider-man, in some missions);
in the end, they all join back together after learning to appreciate their differences and reconciling under the fact that there wouldn’t be any more secrets that could risk the world, and the team’s safety;
if i am to follow the events of the mcu— between ca:cw and infinity war, he develops nanotech for his armour, which is embedded into his very skin to accommodate for nanobots, which interacts via neural transmissions (visuals here);
tony recognizes that he lost his temper and let his emotions get to him in the moment, which fucked up shit that could’ve been talked through and fixed;
tony is an alcoholic. he recognizes that he always will be, though he’s always working toward sobriety. he certainly relapses every so often when things are rough and he feels as if he has no other options, but he’s aware that relapsing is part of the process of recovery. he has attended AA meetings (alcoholics anonymous), and has been AA sponsors for people in the past;
to skim through the events of infinity war and endgame should these be part of the things you’re curious about (this is getting really long and i’m sure you’re tired of reading this—how have you gotten this far?):
after returning from space, tony took a few months (~ five) to recover from those three months of malnutrition, dehydration, and the wound of thanos’ stab. tony sealed the front of his injury, but he sure as hell wasn’t seen dealing with the back end. during this time, he’s able to regain some muscle mass;
he lives on his own, retreating to the cabin to escape from the responsibilities of being a fallen hero who ultimately failed the people he was supposed to protect.
during the five year gap, he keeps in contact with the other avengers, but very rarely. they’re the only ones who know where he lives;
like i said— tony does not say any of that forgiving bullcrap to howard. victims of abuse don’t have to forgive their abuser, parent or not. let’s just imagine the entire interaction didn’t happen at all;
tony doesn’t die;
he used the infinity stones; but, to maintain consistency with what the mcu established w/ thanos: he sustained significant damage to his right arm, up to the shoulder and neck. it’s gravely scarred. the overall function of that arm also diminished greatly. vision out of his right eye is not as sharp as it once was, either;
a year of recovery and physiotherapy later, tony decides to amputate and go for a prosthetic. he works with shuri and wakandan tech to build an arm;
despite the end of the looming, world-ending thread, tony still battles resurfacing trauma. not every day is happy, but he is working toward recovery. there are days he doesn’t remember chunks of what happened due to the power of the infinity stones; sometimes, he doesn’t even want to remember it, anyway;
tony retires. sort of. for the most part. if the world really needs iron man, he’ll be there;
tony may have handed CEO-ship to pepper, but he still handles a lot of work for stark industries, and that’s what he primarily does post-endgame.
the multiverse and realm-traveling happens a-fucking-lot 
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gg-astrology · 6 years
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hi! can you describe aries sun/sag moon? :)
Hi there!! 💕Sorry for the wait but here u go!! 💕💕
[Below Cut: Aries Sun - Sagittarius Moon 🍫]
Always Moving!!! Innocent!!!!
Probably has one of those..shake legs or tap fingers tic and an open-honest approach to new interests/things/sometimes people (*depends on the person and if they’ve been hurt or not)
You know how we usually describe Gemini?? Well Maybe Its Like That With Them Here
Sagittarius Makes them wanna gO (impulsive fire x fire combo esp. with a mutable moon) 
LEAVE and maybe DO STUFF (*or nothing at all, but just LEAVE still!!!)
sometimes it makes them wanna be alone
And Aries is like ‘alright ok as long as I’m supervising you’
So you have this super enthusiastic dog sniffing/yanking the leash and the owner getting pulled/trying to let them do their own thing but also keep control
Night walks might be common tbh
Once they set on an idea they just– they cannot escape it, esp if that idea has to do with changing their immediate environment
Like they just want to be Surrounded by Different Environment Now 
Can’t Help Their Day-Dreams– when they’re Out of Focus they’re Out of Focus
(Sagittarius – adaptive/changeability and  idealistic  + Aries- impulsive/strong wants and needs) 
Don’t try getting them to work when they’re exhausted/emotions are fraught 
Operate on their own time and in their own term
Not only them…can control them
These Aries/Sagittarius people DO know ways to trick themselves into being productive
Really roundabout with themselves/their own self-motivation, set up traps so they KNOW they’ll work bc THIS is a ‘cool neat fun thing you want!!’ (as like a coincidental ‘whoops! congrats you luckily achieve this as well!’)
Or that they want That so they have to do THIS and it coincides with something other people expect/want/asked them to do too! (haha would u look at that….yes totally expected it thank u)
Like…..They Learn How To Set Up Traps To Trick Themselves Into Doing Stuff ( that are productive/good for them or socially expected of them to do)
Would probably he good hunters or herders tbh
Socially– these people are Generous
They base other’s integrity off of their own, so they’re always strongly loyal and dedicated friends. Yet they may be surprised with how others differentiate from them (in terms of morals/principality)
The type who would go after someone dramatically like ‘no you aren’t like that!! come back, its ok I believe in you-- I trust you, even if no one else will!!’ and get rebuffed with stuff like---- ‘you don’t know me at all!! you never knew me!!’
In a way maybe they know that they can’t ‘be’ others or get where they’re coming from completely…
But they strongly believe– in the common goodness of human nature and integrity to themselves/others that ‘people’ in general must have as well 
Would be an anime protagonist….definitely a Deku from BNHA type of person (with less…y know, panic)
If they have been hurt….betrayed or ‘taught’ that others aren’t all as good as nice as they are….they may be guarded, suspicious and cynical of others instead.
On the other hand…these people make great teachers bc of their natural enthusiasm for teaching/interests in things. They are openly passionate about stuff, no hiding or trying to hide their love??
If they are happy and inspired by something, if they are into the subject. They have a very sincere and honest appeal in motivationally talking others into seeing it too. Even if that’s not what they intended to do.
Vivid and very expressive, people are drawn to them because they don’t ‘hide’ themselves away. Even their emotionality and their love for others, they are often people who don’t see the point in trying to ‘look’ or ‘be’ a certain way— because they believe others see their worth by just being confident in their own ‘sincere integrity’.
One of the point of contention may be in their superficiality – these people know they can get hyped about something and then lose interest just as quickly — feel like they aren’t as ‘dedicated’ or purposeful in it as their friends/people around them are 
Thus they may try to wander to find a sense of purpose, something that’ll motivate them. Understand that, in your idealistic nature you are somewhat always reluctant to receive ‘reality’– and sometimes because you lack the weight of ‘reality’ – you tend to not understand what it is you’re ‘missing’
Confronting that is the hardest part…because both your Aries egoism and Sagittarius idealism will put up a fight. It will want to be flighty/live in it’s own perspective– but the point here is that ‘realism’ will help you expand/broaden and understand/live in other people’s shoes better.
Your innocence and purity is admirable, but for your own development too– you’ll have to learn how to take lessons from Libra/Pisces/Gemini in order to be more connected to others
I hope this is good!! 
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