#between all my notes and all the scenes i've tentatively written out

[phantomrose96]

So I'm one of those people who had to take a break reading ABoT. Part way through reading I thought of that writing advice that goes something like "look at the current scenario and figure out how things can get worse" and decided ABoT was applying that advice with both fervor and finesse. It had me hooked through multiple all nighters and it wasn't until, ironically, the ending of chapter 37 where Reigen is standing in the remains of the Mogami house that I stared at the next chapter button and realized I would absolutely not be able to handle more, mentally or emotionally, if this fic kept following the previous advice. So I set it aside for a month to recover, tentatively poked into the next chapter tense and ready for things to continue spiraling, and gradually started to relax and unravel until...well, you know. I remember having to put my phone down and take a walk with the reveal of everything that Ritsu had incidentally caused (even if the blame can be pinned on basically everyone in some measure, but that's a whole other essay in my notes).

When I reached the current cliffhanger, I waited a scant day before starting all over, this time slower, more careful, and with a more analytical eye. Not for critique, but because I was confused. That writing advice from before, I'd seen it implemented both poorly and skillfully, and ABoT used it with a finesse I've yet to see anywhere else, and I had to figure out how. What made what can be boiled down to a high stakes wild goose chase so compelling? Why couldn't I put this story down until my emotional limit couldn't handle any more? How could I learn from this and make my own writing better? What did this have that I clearly lacked?

I don't think it was until after Teru's and Ritsu's first fight that it clicked for me. I stared at that scene, then my own characters, and realized I'd written two of my own meeting in a similar fight and had neglected any form of consequences. My characters became friends because of a mutual friend. Because that was the end goal I wanted. I had that omniscient knowledge; I knew I wanted them to end up as friends, so I wrote the most objectively logical decision to make.

Except. These characters aren't objectively logical. They make the decisions that look the best to them in the moment, even if those decisions are bad, or horrible. A character who's been soundly beaten into the ground by another won't so easily become their friend, even if their opponent is the nicest person ever. There's distrust and fear. They're going to make bad decisions. Things weren't getting worse for the sake of getting worse. They got worse because of the direct (bad) decisions of the characters.

Once I realized that, I was struck with such violent inspiration I wrote something like 11k words worth of scenes and revitalized my own love of writing in a day. I was so stuck on the end goals I forgot about the struggles in between. I had gotten so focused on grand, overarching conflict, I forgot how compelling it can be to just have two characters punch each other in the face. Too much of my writing had stuff happening around the characters instead of happening TO or BECAUSE of them. I had forgotten character conflict, and when I started writing those flaws, I couldn't stop. I was having too much fun!

Sorry for rambling about my own stuff, I just wanted to convey how much impact you and ABoT have had on my own creative endeavors. I've been inundated with too many stories, fics, movies that occur on such big planet-wide scales with dire, multiverse threatening levels of conflict, that when presented with a long form tale of a kid desperate for his missing brother, told from the perspectives of a small, well developed and spectacularly characterized cast, in a single city, told with stakes that made me care more than any threat to the world, it was like a breath of fresh air. So I guess this is a thank you for ABoT as a whole and a thank you for writing Ritsu the way you do.

Unfortunately for him, he's an inspiration.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YES YOU GET IT YOU GET IT YOU GET IT

ABoT, if nothing else, is a story about its characters. Everything that happens with consequence to the plot can be traced back to a character's own decisions. The characters' wants and needs and actions and faults all come first, and the plot follows accordingly.

(And maybe that sounds obvious.) Aren't stories about characters? But there are so many stories where the characters are just kinda... there. They're blank slates to receive the plot happening around them. Many things they try to do have no consequence. They'll try to take action and the plot will carry on exactly the same as though they'd never even tried, because the writer doesn't want to figure out how that character action might matter. Or a character will do something awful and the plot will just brush past and forget, no consequences or continuity, because the writer had their fun in the moments but now they care about getting the plot back on track, and that would be annoying to work around. They create stories where you can't put your excitement and investment in the characters cuz you just... can't trust they'll matter.

The most important thing about ABoT, to me, is that the characters are making it happen. The good, the bad, can all be traced back to decisions characters had the active choice in making.

I have plenty of fun joking that ABoT is one of those "oh my god it keeps getting worse!!!" stories, but I never ever do that by just dropping random terrible things from the sky. It's always the characters. It's them and it's their consequences of everything they've set in motion, or fought against, or allowed to happen. It's always a thread, thoroughly traceable, spawning from character actions which drives everything both good and terrible (and SUPREMELY terrible) that happens. It will always be the characters.

And I really, truly believe this is what I'm doing to make what is ultimately a wild goose chase featuring less than a dozen people worth reading. When Ritsu fucks up, it's worth caring about because you know this will impact the course of the story. When Reigen succeeds, it matters because he does have a grip on the reigns of the plot and has the chance to better this for everyone. When a character does anything, it matters because is about them, and what they're desperately trying to achieve.

And when a scene isn't about "an action with a consequence", it's still a scene with a point. For any scene I write I always make sure I can answer "what's the point of this scene?" Mob and Reigen reopening Spirits and Such isn't about to barrel the plot forward, but it's hearty and important character development for them. It's the "why should I care about this future being snatched from their grip" when everything goes wrong.

When everything went bad bad around chapter 32, and tumbled worse for many chapters to come, it was me finally tipping over the first domino in a chain of dominoes the characters themselves have been setting up since the start. It went bad not because I arbitrarily decided to fuck with them, but because everyone's actions carried consequences.

Even with ABoT's WORST possible outcome, where Mogami comes out the victor with everything he wants, all others crushed beneath him, this will mean the ruination or death of about... 10 people. A blip on the news. An "oh isn't that sad?" when a second kidnapped son never makes it home, when a conman goes missing (not noticed until a month later when the rent comes due), when a police officer kills his wife and himself, when an orphan kid vanishes off the map from Black Vinegar mid. And life would carry on. And the sun would still rise every day. And no part of this would end the world.

But if I'm doing this right, I want that outcome to feel like the end of the world. I want it to feel worse than that, given what a quiet and unsung tragedy it would be for all these personal efforts and struggles and desperate reaches for betterment are snuffed where they stand. Because they tried and it mattered and they failed anyway.

It IS just a wild goose chase centering around a kid who wants to have his kidnapped brother back, and it's 350k+ words to me.

dfjkdfnkjdf so anyway, I am very clearly super thrilled you were able to see this! It all ties back to character weaknesses and strengths, consequences of actions, irrational responses to situations fueled by character, and not by logic, and the audience knowing that what these characters do will matter. I love stories where humans are messy. I love stories where the tragedy happened because of them, where you can trace the thread back and find exactly how it all went wrong. I love clashing personalities. I love character spirals you can see a mile away and yet you know exactly why the character did that. I love yelling at the pages while knowing that realistically, this character wasn't going to do any better than that. I love knowing exactly how things could have been avoided, and knowing exactly why they happened anyway. I love seeing consequences stick. I love seeing characters matter. And I'm goddamn thrilled you feel that way too and that ABoT could make you find the way to do that in your own characters!!!

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

Now that The Hedgehog's Dilemma is officially complete and posted, it's time for some housekeeping! List of sections under the read more because it turned out very long:

the sappy bit where I say thank you

overview of part 2, aka the fluffy sequel

side stories in the same universe (you can make a request!)

tagging, updates, and extremely tentative timeline

Also: to the person who sent a rose to my inbox a few days ago — I do accept them and you'll be getting the inaugural rose snippet for the sequel!

1: The Sappy Bit Where I Say Thank You

As I've alluded to before, writing THD was a new experience in a lot of ways: it's my first and (currently) only fanfic, but also the first time I've written a character study or anything with such a focus on hurt/comfort and interpersonal relationships. It's also the first time I've written something that has a real audience — I come from the wilds of writing plotty fantasy/sci-fi original fic — and posting something that I knew would probably get some kind of reception was both exciting and terrifying. I appreciate everyone who has read, kudos'd, commented on, sent asks about, or otherwise interacted with the fic so much; you've all been lovely and I hope you enjoyed reading THD as much as I enjoyed writing it.

2: Flightless Birds (aka the Fluffy Sequel)

Flightless Birds, the second fic in the series Symbiosis, is set during the off-season between season 1 and season 2. Here's an overview of the main character arcs/plot threads (no spoilers for chapter 6):

Jamie: our boy is going through it slightly less than in part 1! With the James Tartt Sr. situation resolved, he spends the fic processing his trauma without the looming specter of his father's reappearance, which basically takes the form of 1) therapy, 2) looking after Roy post-injury, 3) extensive platonic cuddling (fun fact: I hadn't really written any cuddling scenes before THD and am not at all a cuddler in real life, so hopefully those bits are like. at least somewhat plausible), and 4) visiting his mom and Simon.

Roy: our boy is going through it slightly more than in part 1! (sorry, Roy) Like in canon, he's recovering physically from his knee injury and processing the end of his career, which is not great for those underlying self-worth issues. In addition to experiencing the mortifying ordeal of letting himself be cared for, he's also experiencing the mortifying (and for him, more upsetting) ordeal of not being able to care for others the way he wants to — the worst of his physical recovery coincides with the point where Jamie's very shaken and vulnerable from the events of chapter 6, and he basically has to contend with the fact that he not only needs to expand his own support network but that he can't be the entirety of Jamie's support network.

Keeley: our girl has been upgraded to main character! She moves in with Roy — and by extension, Jamie — and, as the only one of the three who's not freshly injured and/or traumatized, initially ends up with a lot of the caretaking work. This is a problem because a) Keeley needs her space and has trouble expressing her needs at the best of times, and b) doesn't strike me as someone who has a particular inclination towards what I guess I'd call protracted caretaking — she can be really good at comforting people in the moment, but I think she panics a bit when it's a more serious situation that she doesn't know how to solve (like with Jamie's depressive spiral in 3x11) and prefers relationships — both romantic and platonic — where there's a decent degree of autonomy: everyone likes spending time together, but they can all also do their own thing. This is part of the catalyst for the aforementioned expanding of support networks.

A note on relationships: Roy and Keeley are technically dating but I'm very aromantic and have like. sub-zero interest in or knowledge of how to write romantic relationships, so in a reverse-shipper move, I'm going to write it as platonic. Whether or not the fact that I've hit everyone with the aro beam will be discussed in-text remains to be seen.

3: Side Stories

There are some POVs and events that happened off-screen and/or during the time skips that didn't make it into THD for a variety of reasons. I have vague plans to turn some of these into fics, such as: Ted's POV of the first couple of chapters before he became a main character; Nate's extremely complex feelings about the intersection of his and Jamie's trauma, his relationship with Ted, and the evolution of AFC Richmond that I couldn't figure out how to include in the main fic without making the whole thing feel a bit unfocused; and Jamie's probationary period with the team during the time skip between chapters 2 and 3. If there's anything you'd like me to write about in this universe, feel free to make a request!

4: Tagging, Updates, and Timeline

Posts about the series, including the individual fics, will be tagged as series: symbiosis (I am planning to go through my THD posts to add this tag, but no promises as to when that will happen)

Posts about individual fics will be tagged as fic: title; e.g. fic: the hedgehog's dilemma or fic: flightless birds

Timeline: I'm going to plot out all of part 2 before I start writing, which probably won't take a hugely long time. However, November is a bit of a busy month and I'm going to be fiddling around with different strategies for working on multiple fics at once — I'm excited to get started on part 2 but I also miss working on my original fiction project — so it might be a bit of a wait before I get that done. (If anyone has advice or techniques for doing this, send it my way! (only if you feel like it, of course))

Updates: I'll continue posting writing updates when I have them, and of course I'm always happy to answer asks or otherwise chat with people about the fic (or anything else)

[autumnalwalker]

7 Snippets 7 People (Part 2)

Thank you for the tag, @blind-the-winds.

I've actually had two of this tag game sitting in my Drafts for a while now, and given what I just wrote last night for Chapter 21 of Empty Names I thought it might be fun to combine them a bit. This most recently written bit was basically one long sequence of Eris tripping out and losing her sense of self due to exposure to a Lovecraftian eldritch entity and experiencing warped hallucinatory versions of old memories that have either happened or been referenced earlier in the story.

So I thought it would be fun to put all those scenes back-to-back with the earlier parts that they're referencing.

But before I get started, softly passing the tag to @sarahlizziewrites, @writernopal, @nettleandthorne, @void-botanist, @sleepyowlwrites, @the-down-upside-finch, @kaiusvnoir, and the usual open tag for anyone else who wants it.

(And here's the link to Part 1. The first snippet in that one gets referenced multiple times throughout here.)

(Content Warning for some violence and mild body horror.)

Now then, let us pick up where this hallucinatory nightmare left off, with a warped version of Eris's character introduction from Chapter 3...

Moonlight reflects off the lake and into the whispering of the trees that brushes against her cheek to welcome her home with the scent of blood in her mouth.  Smell and taste blur together as her senses begin feeding into one another until the whole world seems more.  Was she really even alive before this?

Her oldest dance partner rises from the lake to greet her on the shore.  The one who tried to hunt her and in failing to do so taught her the joy of being the predator rather than prey.  Their dance begins again.  As it always has.  As it ever will.  Her dance partner is a gaunt and stretched out figure of tongues and teeth that still resembles a man.  Her dance partner is a beast of scale and shell with jaws that bite and claws that catch.  Her dance partner is a cacophonous evolution of forms between as the two of them drive one another to learn and adapt with each dance.

Her dance partner is a mere shadow, frozen in a block of ice and thrown into the back of her van to be stowed away and forgotten.  She has long since grown beyond it.  She slams the rear doors of the van shut.

And yet still the hunt always cycles anew.  She is always hunting.

Do you recall a certain encounter with a spider in Chapter 14?

The spider gives her an eightfold eyeing up and down, takes a tentative step forward, and then begins tapping out a pattern on the ground.

“I don’t know what that means, but…” Eris crouches down and raps on the cavern floor with a curled fist, imitating the pattern as best she can. 

The spider stops abruptly in what Eris can only assume is surprise, and then taps out another pattern that she once again copies.

“I probably sound like a real idiot to you right now, just repeating back whatever you say, huh?”  Can they even hear her, Eris wonders?  Spiders don’t have ears after all.  She makes a mental note to look that up later.  For now though, she sits back down in what she hopes will come across as a sign of nonaggression and watches the spider retrieve a small cocooned offering from one of their baskets and place it on the shrine’s altar dish.  This offering too is devoured by the fungus.  Perhaps it was not so forgotten a god as she thought.

Local deity appeased, the spider begins extruding thread from their spinnerets and curling up on themself in a complicated motion that spills one of the candles from its basket.  

Eris lunges forward and catches the errant candle before it can roll into the lake.  Walking over to the suddenly-still spider, Eris offers the candle back.

After a moment’s hesitation, the spider uncurls, rights themself, and leans to one side to tilt the candle basket toward Eris.  Taking the final step closer, Eris returns the candle and sees that the spider’s been attempting unsuccessfully and messily to bandage their own leg.

Slowly, and keeping her hands in view the whole time, Eris unzips another pouch and retrieves a compressed roll of elastic bandage.  She points once at the spider’s wound leg and then at her own arm before wrapping herself up by way of demonstration.  After a moment of holding the pose, she unwraps the bandage and stretches it out, proffering it toward the spider.  When the spider turns themself to expose the injured leg, Eris takes that as permission and begins wrapping.  Once that’s secure she scoops a palmful of cold, clear water from the lake and sprinkles it over the bandage to activate the infused alchemical agents, stiffening it enough to alleviate the need for a splint and accelerating the healing process.  If it works anywhere near as well on giant spiders as it does humans, they should be better in several hours.

“There you go, all better” Eris says, flicking the last bits of water and misapplied webbing from her hands.  “Now, on the off chance that you’re psychic or something and can understand what I’m saying, I’m gonna put it out there that the thing I’m hunting is probably the same thing that did that to you.  Don’t suppose you can lead me back to it?”

The spider taps out another pattern in response.

“Still can’t understand you,” Eris replies with a shrug, but copies the pattern of taps once more anyway.

If you don't, that's fine. Eris doesn't seem to be remembering it correctly either.

The air in the candlelit cavern smothers like a damp blanket.  A drop of blood trails down the back of her hand, catches on the tiny hairs, leaves bits of itself gathered in the pores and creases, and falls from her fingertip into the crystal clear pool the same as any other drop from the cavern’s stalactites.  It seems the shadow of her old dance partner left her with a final parting gift.

She approaches the cavern’s shrine and the wounded shadow praying at its moldy offering plate skitters away.  She weighs whether it is worth pursuing but is distracted by a shambling pile of bones.  The bones snap and crunch so pleasingly and the soft shadow beneath rips apart so delightfully.  But when the bones are ground to dust and the shadow they failed to protect are gone she is still hungry.

The wounded shadow taps a pattern on the ground.  Its eight eyes are not human at all but they hold fear all the same.

There’s a kindness Eris should offer at this part.  She doesn’t, but what does it matter?  It’s just a beast.

Still not satisfied, she turns her attention to the shrine and the small, forgotten god it venerates.  

Blood and hearts and bones and stone and ichor and mold.  What would a god taste like?

A memory from Chapter 18 that was lost and then came back all at once...

Sun hot enough to cook eggs on the dashboard.  An Arizona truck stop.  Rumors of a big cat prowling the desert and attacking truckers and tourists who stop there too late at night.  Killing time waiting for nightfall by practicing along with a language learning CD snagged from a clearance bin.  An empty parking lot beneath a moonless night sky.  Climbing out of the cab and watching the desert.  Feeling the temperature drop.  The feeling of being the only person on Earth.  Lingering in a space only ever meant to be passed through.  The howl of an almost-human voice that almost sounds like a song.  The weight of a tire iron in her hand.  Stepping out beyond the edge of the pavement.   Stopping just at the edge of the furthest lamplight.  The twilight border between known and unknown.  A whistled tune to announce her presence.  Eyes in the dark.  A growl that almost sounds like words.  Circling.  Blurring the line between predator and prey.  Claws and teeth.  The crack of a tire iron against a skull that almost looks human.  A whipcord whistling sound through the air.  A step too slow.  Blooming pain.  The feeling of veins replaced by rose vines with vibrating thorns.  An inhuman growl from a human throat.  Hands preventing a tail from ripping a stinger free.  A slow extraction from a chest.  A quick insertion into a neck.  The loss of a tire iron.  Seven minutes slumped against a door, trying to work up the strength to open it.  Three days in the bed in the back of a truck cabin.  Angry voicemails threatening unemployment.  Coughing up blood.  Engine noise going quiet.  AC cutting out.  Sips of hot water.  Knocking on the door from a concerned stranger.  A declined offer of a ride to the hospital.  A request to siphon gas.  The passing of years.  An impossible city.  A new job.  A kindred spirit.  A wonderfully wicked smile beneath golden eyes.  The feeling of another’s hands tracing a familiar shape.  The comparison to a flower.

Now recalled and reprised in a different key...

The air in the desert tries and fails to sap the moisture from her body.  Neither the heat of day nor the chill of night can touch her through the craving.

Feeling like the only person in the world, she lingers in a space only ever meant to be passed through until she hears the howl of an almost-human voice that almost sounds like a song.  Feeling the weight of her spear fall from her hand, she steps out beyond the edge of the parking lot pavement to the edge of the edge of the furthest lamplight, that twilight border between known and unknown.  Feeling no need to announce her presence, she locks eyes in the dark with a shadow and utters a growl that almost sounds like words as she circles her prey and blurs the line between beast and self.  

There are only claws and teeth for the thing whose face is almost human.  A stinger strikes through the air with a whipcord whistling but is a step too slow.  An inhuman growl from a once-human throat accompanies the tearing sound of a sting ripped free from its tail and plunged into its owner’s neck.    Deed done, she retrieves her spear and walks back to the truck whose cargo has been her excuse to travel the land’s liminal spaces for prey like this.

She opens the door to the sleeper cab and finds herself face to face with a squawking peacock.  

The avian incongruity leaves Eris shocked enough for the bird to shuffle out past her and take to the wing.  She blinks.  Waking up to find a peacock in her cab wasn’t even the same year as hunting the manticore. That happened in Vermont and this was in Arizona.  Why are those two memories mixed together?

Wait.  Memories?

Cautiously, she climbs into the cab.  Something about it feels too small, but otherwise all is as it should be.  Neatly made bed in the back, movie poster from her old bedroom on the ceiling, glowing dreamcatcher hanging from the rearview mirror…  The mirror!  Her reflection!  Her eyes!  She turns and flees into the dark tunnel in the back of the cab until she can no longer feel that awful piece of glass staring at her.

No.  This isn’t right.  She’s not…

In Chapter 15, Eris saved Ashan from an explosion conjured by another wizard. While she's since repressed the memory of what came after, Ashan bore witness:

The first thing Ashan hears upon regaining a tenuous consciousness is a repeating heavy, wet, crunching sound.

The ground he is lying on is warm and slightly damp, and after a struggle to open leaden eyelids he sees vapor rising up from the earth around him.  A white flake floats down and lands on the back of his hand.  He forces a blink, trying to focus.  It is ash.

There is a voice accompanying those wet, thudding, crunches.  He cannot quite make out the words.  Or is it only growling?

He tries to shift his position but finds the calf of one cold, numb, and immovable.  Oh right, the spear.  He stretches out an arm to find that the ground mere inches further away from where the hand had lain is intolerably hot.  The reflex of jerking his hand back is enough to tire him.

The sound continues.  He smells something burning.

Pushing himself up onto his elbows is a trial that he surprises himself in passing.  Lifting his head enough to look forward while keeping his fully unbound hair out of his eyes is hardly easier.  The urge to go back to sleep is treacherous and so he quashes it.

He is lying at the edge of a small crater, maybe about as wide across as he is tall.  Hard to judge with the smoke, ash, dust, and steam all swirling together in and around it.  On the other side of that blasted pit a hulking, demonic figure with fire for hair that flows down over the black-and-red carapace of its shoulders and back is repeatedly stomping something obscured by the low-hanging steam.  Its lips are pulled back nearly to its ears is what might just as easily be a snarl or a grin but either way is all teeth.

Amidst the creature’s slew of invectives and vocalizations more beast than human, Ashan manages to pick out the phrase “slaving piece of human garbage,” as one of the few intelligible mutterings directed at whatever it is crushing.

Unfortunately, this is not a place where she is allowed to forget...

Rage.  

There has ever been constant knowledge of how good the climax of the hunt feels.  Has felt.  Will feel next time.  And few things have had are having will have a death so sweet as the pile of garbage before her that calls itself a man.  It is not even fit to be prey, but the righteousness of ending it will more than make up for that.  It has captured, enslaved, and sold the innocent.  It has hurt one of her own.  It has arrogantly tried to summon the sun itself.

She swallows that sun.  Lets it burn away that which is not needed and bring light to what remains.  Its fire erupts from her scalp to become her hair and tumble down past her shoulders.  Its core melts down the flimsy scraps of armor and becomes her carapace.  Its hunger welds with hers and becomes yet more fuel for the hunt.

Her charred lips pull back nearly to her ears in what is both a snarl and a grin and in any case is all teeth.

The flash of her brilliant metamorphosis alone was nearly enough to dispose of the garbage, but not quite.  What is left of it continues to cough and twitch on the steaming ground.  She walks over to it and raises a foot in anticipation of a heavy, wet, crunching sound repeating over and over.

No!

This is not her!

This has never been her!

This can never be her!

[knickynoo]

Fic Author Self-Rec

Share five of your personal favorite works, then tag five authors to do the same. Thanks to @bg-sparrow for the tag!

Harborage

Harborage: shelter; refuge Marty spends the weekend with the Browns, who have settled permanently in early 1986. While there, he's forced to deal with the impact of his travels through time.

I have a feeling that no matter how many fics I write, this one will always be the most special to me. It started out with one scene I had stuck in my head (which was written out long before I worked out the actual plot and specifics) and turned into a ten-chapter story that garnered more attention and kind comments than I ever could have imagined. I loved crafting this little post-trilogy world and exploring the time-travel baggage Marty is left with after his adventures. I had a particularly fun time working Clara, Jules, and Verne into it.

2. Despite the Distance

On October 2nd, 1982, Doc entered his garage to find a trespasser who ended up becoming his best friend. But when a mishap with a new invention lands him in an altered 1986 where that meeting never occurred, he's faced not only with figuring out how to set the timeline right but also with the reality of the influence his friendship had on Marty.

A nearly 60,000 word, 17-chapter fic that spawned from this ask I'd gotten about how a BTTF version of "It's a Wonderful Life" would go. I didn't even have anything of value to say to that ask, but it caused the concept to stick in my head, where I continued to roll it around for several weeks. And while it ended up branching away from the initial "It's a Wonderful Life" concept, it did end up being a story where Doc gets to see what Marty's life is like without him.

Creating this altered, "tougher" version of Marty was my favorite part of the whole process, and getting to see him form a tentative friendship with Doc in such different circumstances was such a fun thing to tackle. I still have no idea who sent me that ask, but if you see this post: thank you. This story was challenging and emotional and a blast to write, and I'm so pleased at the way it's connected with people.

3. So, Your Brother's Befriended a Mad Scientist

Working as assistant for the town's most mysterious inventor isn't exactly a job Dave would've expected Marty to get, but it sure is an interesting one.

My most recent fic! Have you ever wanted to see a fic about Doc and Marty's friendship written entirely from Dave McFly's point of view? No? Well, I wrote it anyway. And I loved every second of it. Dave is a wonderful big brother, and I'm already looking forward to utilizing him more in the future.

4. In Case of Emergency

Who else is a kid supposed to call for a late-night rescue?

Perhaps my laziest summary, but one of my favorite one-shots. A little slice of life in which Marty decides to go to a party, immediately decides "this is bogus," and calls Doc to come pick him up. A lovely little look at their dynamic and the trust Marty places in his best friend. Also featuring: Doc having an entire conversation with his dog.

5. The Real You

Alex gets ready for a date with Ellen and, in typical fashion, is a nervous wreck. Good thing Mallory is there to provide some words of wisdom.

I really struggled with what to put in this final spot, but I'm going with my one and only (for now) Family Ties fic. Writing Alex is intimidating, but I enjoyed putting this together and being able to include some nice sibling relationship moments between him and Mallory. I've got a bunch of notes on additional FT one-shots that I want to write at some point. I'm so used to writing Doc and Marty at this point, and it's nice to have all these other characters to write about and Put In Situations.

I'm going to leave this open to anyone who wants to take the opportunity to talk about some of their favorite fics they've written :)

[jeremy-queere]

Oh wow - I just realized I should be advertising these here.

So, a friend Venus (aka V aka @nyx-bait) and I have been roleplaying for several years now. I got permission to post our RP logs on ao3 for archival purposes. But if anyone else is interested, it is Good Readin'.

The plot is a crossover between Be More Chill and a mobile game called Uta no Prince-sama - a rhythm game about Japanese pop idols. We wrote a scene of Jeremy meeting Ai, an android created to be an idol, at one of Ai's group's internationally-touring concerts. We weren't sure if they would get along or not.

But... they turned out to have the best chemistry of any couple I've ever written. So we kept writing. And writing. And writing some more.

The first chapter of the first fic about these two has an explanation on how to read roleplay logs if you're unfamiliar, as well as clarifying expectations.

For the most part, we've written Jeremy/Ai in that original universe discussed above. But we've also messed around with some AUs, including "Jeremy, an undergrad exchange student working as an intern, comes across Ai in his early-development stage as an AI" (coming soon) and "Ai's creators want to investigate this illicit tech on the market, sending Ai undercover as a high schooler in New Jersey to catch Jeremy, fully SQUIPped and spreading the pills as quickly as he can."

For those of you who enjoy my writing of Jeremy, Michael, and the SQUIP, I encourage you to check out "Is It Weird to Date the Evil Robotyrant in a Nerd's Body." (Venus is solely responsible for these great titles.) Like most RP logs, it's an unfinished story. But like I wrote in the intro notes, I really think it's worth reading for some fun asshole brainwashed Jeremy, undercover detective Ai, and SQUIP-truther Michael. Here's a taste:

Pay attention, the SQUIP snaps.

Jeremy takes a shaky breath and tears his gaze away from the guy he's been staring at intermittently for the last ten minutes of homeroom. It's not his fault, he thinks. That bright blue hair would capture anyone's attention. It's a good thing, too. Jeremy is relieved at anything that gets the school's focus off of him. What are the odds that this random high school in Newark would get two brand-new transfer students on the same day? Pretty low, Jeremy figures. It's even weirder that they'd both be drop-dead hot. 

Jeremy can think that about himself now. It's not even an ego thing. It's an objective fact. The SQUIP has gone through every square inch of Jeremy's physical appearance, restructuring it from the bottom up and eliminating as many imperfections as is physically possible. Jeremy's hair is conditioned and gelled, his skin blemish-free, and the SQUIP gives him a little shock whenever he smiles crookedly. He's been trained to give a movie-star smile instead, one that shows off his bright white teeth. 

This other student, though? He definitely doesn't have a SQUIP or they would have synced up the moment the guy stepped into the classroom. Either he was born with those good looks or he's got some amazing beauty-routine tricks up his sleeve. He's not even basking in the attention that he's earned, either. His thick lashes are brushing heavily against his cheek with every blink, his chin resting on a hand as he watches the teacher at the front of the classroom. He scans the room every now and again, and he's definitely locked eyes with Jeremy at least once. The SQUIP had Jeremy tilt his head with a devilish little smile instead of averting his eyes with a blush like he was inclined to do. It's a social faux pas to keep staring, but... damn.

Jeremy is sure it's the bright blue hair cascading down on one side of the guy's head with all the unchecked wild beauty of a waterfall that keeps distracting him. What else could it be?

Stand up and wave. Offer a tentative smile, but keep your back straight and your shoulders back so you look confident. The SQUIP's order seems to come out of nowhere, but Jeremy knows better than to question it. He obeys immediately, actually tuning in to the teacher as he stands. 

"And our other transfer, Ai Mikaze," the teacher is saying with a gesture at the hot guy.

Sit, the SQUIP says. Like a dog hearing a command, Jeremy sits. He almost turns his head to look at Ai again, but his neck doesn't turn like he expects it to. The girl beside you is interested in you already and she's a valuable social contact here. Think of her like the Newark version of Jenna Rolan. Remember Jenna? You're going to want to sleep with her. Once upon a time, Jeremy would have gotten flustered at hearing the SQUIP say that. Now it just feels routine. Initiate meet-cute flirt protocol. 

Make eye contact fleetingly, give her a cocky smile when he catches her staring, drop his pencil at the SQUIP's command, brush up against her hand when she reaches to pick it up for him. Yeah, he knows the drill. It's as easy as breathing nowadays and twice as boring.

Jeremy, the SQUIP says in irritation. He blinks at Ai dumbly before he remembers that if he's looking at Ai, he's not looking at the new girl. Ugh. He's somehow still so bad at this.

[justfor2am]

hi my interview has been rescheduled once again because of course it is ^_^ nothing wants me to be interviewed ig ^_^ anyways 🥺😈🛒🎢✨💋🎶⛔🍦🌞💖💌❌🧐🦅👀🤗💞🧠🤩🤯💔🤭 for the fanfic writer asks or wtevr they're called??? didn't realize until just now u even rbed an ask game so apologies 🫡 side note the 💥 emoji is so fun . its just like 💥💥💥💥💥 yk??? also feel free to skip any of those i just threw down the ones i think would be most interesting but as usual there r many

i am manifesting an interview AND a job for u, get that bag king!!!

also waough ty for giving me an excuse to talk abt my blorbos 🥺🥺🥺

and ya 💥 feels like ur comboing someone really well in a fighting game, like 💥💥💥 K.O. yanno?

this is def gonna be a long one tho soooo the rest underneath the cut this goes lmao

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

Anything having to do with touch. I'm a sucker for physical gestures, so anything that involves details like brushing someone's hair out of their eyes, hooking a tentative pinky around someone else's hand, it doesn't need to be overt to get me in my feels every single time.

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

Yes! I threatened a major character death in [though I've closed my eyes, I know who you pretend I am] late in the final (12th) chapter lmao

I knew that being that late into the fic most people would've forgotten what the specific tags were and even less would be willing to scrolling all the way back up to check lol

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

Like I said in the first Q, touch is a big thing for me. Eyes and anything having to do with vision also tends to be a big one, if you read a fic with both of those elements there's a decent chance I wrote it.

As far as overarching things, I prefer to write scenery over dialogue, and put a heavy emphasis on describing what the characters are feeling/thinking over having them verbally express it.

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

I wanna say my [detroit become human au] has shit hit the fan pretty quickly. The fic opens with the conflict and it takes a few chapters for the reader to get any context, but once you've got it, going back to the start just makes your heart break.

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

booo hiss grrr

no but actually uhhhhhh... I will say that when I've got a good idea rattling around in my head, I can churn out a fic for that premise very quickly. to the point that i accidentally wrote three chapters for one of my fics all within a day, because I'm unhinged like that

💋 First kiss fics. Love em or hate em?

LOVE but only if they're done right. I appreciate first kiss fics that aren't perfect or a little clumsy, but also i'm a sucker for those picture perfect moments too

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

YA i do my best writing with some music on. I've been listening to a mix of things lately (Love from the Other Side by FOB, that new Shakira collab, and Flowers by Miley Cyrus) but i've also been looping my 14+ hour long exo playlist

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

I had a sculk!Grian fic from like, I wanna say October last year that I was 1k words into that just. Disappeared. No clue where it went or how I lost but, but in hindsight, it wasn't my best work.

I'm still a bit sad to have lost it, but considerably more proud of the things I've written since.

🍦 What’s the sweetest fic you’ve created so far?

I have come to the realization that I am horrible at writing fluff without some level of conflict within the fic. Whoops! Closest I've got is a [scarian sick fic] that I wrote recently lmao

🌞 Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

Either while I'm at work when it's dead during the day time, or frantically at like, 11 o'clock p.m., there is no in between.

💖 What made you start writing?

Wayyyyy back when I was 12/13 I used to be big into rp, and I came into the realization that the rps I was doing could just as easily be formatting into fics.

None of those fics were ever published, but getting to learn how to edit and rewrite scenes that had been planned out with another person made me want to start creating stories of my own.

💌 How do you feel about comments and feedback?

Love love LOVE comments and feedback. Literally getting a comment is like a serotonin boost directly into my veins to write more, esp comments that'll point out specific scenes or moments/lines they liked.

someone pointed out that they liked the way I described fresh hickeys like blooming violets and I haven't been able to stop thinking about that comment ever since.

❌ What’s a trope you will never write?

That's a good question.... I'm trying to think of one that isn't like, a blatantly obvious icky trope.

I'm not sure if it counts as a trope, but Y/N fics. Not only are their primary function to act as fan service, they end up coming off very RPF to me which I'm not a fan of.

Oh, also RPF. Any fic i write has to do 100% with the characters those people portray, not the real person.

🧐 Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

Depends on the fic! For my [actor au] I've just been kinda flying by the seat of my pants, doing the occasional googling but not much. The opposite of this would be my [detroit become human au] where I literally rewatched jacksepticeye's d:bh playthrough and scoured wikis to make sure i'm describing androids correctly.

tl;dr: generally no, only as needed unless I get fixated on it.

🦅 Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

Fly by the seat of my pants, but i'm trying to change this! For my multi-chaptered fics I've started actually planning out future events, and even for this one big one shot im working on, i've got an outline in the works.

...though generally, i don't plan. it's a bad habit.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

GLADLY so speaking of that big one shot, it's going to be a boatem superhero au, i've started outlining it and getting my concepts together, i'm very excited for it!

here's a snippet:

It was fairly obvious that the Mayor had pulled some strings to get Scar to this stage; once a nobody vigilante who seemed more preoccupied with dazzling the camera over saving lives, Scar's public image had taken a hard left turn during the past few campaigning months.

The situation was more of an open secret— it was all too convenient for Scar, who practically lived in the Mayor's pocket, to be joining the city's most elite crime-fighting team.

it's VERY early in development so don't expect this one for a while tho

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

I'd say figure out your character's voice is a big one. It's easy to fall into fanon tropes and while they're fun, they can cause lots of warping in the way you write your own fics, which might make them sound off.

So look out for fanon tropes! Personally I've run into people who make Scar very sweet and innocent, to the point of dusting his hands clean of blame. It's an easy hole to fall into, and no one should fault a writer for falling into tropes.

There's a line to walk, and I find that watching content relating to that character really helps shaping that "inner voice".

Also, get someone to proof read your work who is willing to point out your mistakes. Editing/betaing is never meant to be a personal attack, but rather to make sure that the fic you present to the rest of the world is cohesive and clear.

💞 Who’s your comfort character?

Scar! He just gets me fr. He's one of my favorite guys to write because of how versatile and how much variety he has. He could be a silly salesman one minute, and a quietly scary assassin the next. Whatever the bit or joke is, he fully commits to it, often to the detriment of himself, but god does it make for good content.

Also he has a really good narration voice ok

🧠 Pick a character, and I’ll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

(ty for the speedy discord reply lol)

Grian! my darling baby boy who has every mental illness ever

no but actually, i'd say my favorite grian head canon is anything having to do with him being an alchemist. i want that man brewing potions, getting blown up, and curing all his friends ailments with the most illegal looking brew you've ever seen in your life.

🤩 Who is your favorite character to write?

Grian, mostly because he comes easiest to me! There's such a sense of endless potential when I get ready to write him, and like, idk what it is, but longing too?

We've been getting it pretty heavy w/ his whole "I Miss Mumbo" campaign but like, grian to me feels like someone who's always thinking about reaching a hand out, and pulls it back at the last second. It's very relatable.

🤯 What’s a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

Weirdly enough, it's fluff. I always feel compelled to write stories with some level of conflict or it's not "satisfying" to me. I love reading the genre, but for whatever reason when I write it, I get in my head about if it's "good enough" or not without conflict. I'm working on that lol

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

EDIT: so i misread this, you get fic recs as a bonus. my proper answer is: [my bad ending fae two shot], it will shatter you as it did me </3

i'm going to give two because i do what i want. the first being [It's Only Logical by TSTrashCaptain] which is a sanders sides fic that to this day, i can only dream of writing something so good. tw for themes of abuse and nsfw at times, but god. just reading the title again puts a knot in my heart in the best way possible.

now, this fic. [your heart rots in my hands by thepigeoncat]. this fic slaughtered me the first time i read it. i left a long ass comment on it. tw for major character death, but this is the perfect last life scarian fic.

it's beautiful, and tragic, and it makes me feel as though the world has truly ended /pos. please go read it.

🤭 Do you have a favorite tag to use when posting your works?

my favorite tag for when i post unbetaed work is "no beta we die like scar to the boatem hole"

as far as a REAL tag, hurt/comfort >:))

and my favorite one off funny tag is "i cannot emphasis to you enough how much blood is in this fic"

[fanfic writer emoji asks!]

[shinigamiplayroom]

Chapter One: Grief

Takashi Mitsuya x OC/Reader

Next Chapter | WFR Masterlist

cw/tw: major character death, angst, tr spoilers

wc: 799

warning: lengthy author's note ahead

a/n: this is the first thing I've written in a very long time. I wrote this for myself and it will have other parts but everything is tentative in my life and headspace rn. this part is sfw but there will be nsfw parts as the story continues, which is why I do not want minors interacting with this piece along with any of my other works.

This is the first time I've written for TR because it is very important to me and it's honestly intimidated me for a long time. This is also the introduction to Saori, my TR OC. This piece reads like a "character x reader" but Saori's name is used instead of "y/n."

Timeline wise everything is pushed up by 5 years. The major event in the story is the same but they're older. Which means all characters are adults. Please remember this is fiction and I have no desire or need to write about anyone under adult age in this manner. I'm going to say this once more...this piece is centered around a major TR spoiler. If you're not up to chapter 221 do not read this unless you don't care about the story being spoiled for you.

This song inspired the title and represents this scene: Waiting for the Snow

The bitter smell of incense clouds your senses. Your eyes hover on the drifting smoke from the slender sticks resting in front of his picture. He’s smiling, the kind of smile that stops time, like nothing in the world could go wrong in that moment. His hair pulled back, the tip of his braid grazing the shoulder of his favorite white t-shirt. The memory punches you in the space between your ribs burrowing itself in your gut like a pill that was too big to swallow. Your breaths feel heavy, as if your body would rather just stop breathing to try to dull the pain in your chest. The priests’ low voice is hollow and distant in your ears reminding you where you are.

Ken’s funeral, a place in time you only saw on the nights you would wake up in a cold sweat, reaching for him in your shared bed, afraid your fingertips would only feel the cold sheets where his warmth should have been. Relief flooded your system when he turned toward you, pulling you into him as he wrapped his arms around you. He’d kiss the top of your head while your lungs tried to settle back into reality, his touch washing away the fear that had seeped in through your nightmare.

“I’m here baby girl. I’m right here.”

His voice still lingered in your mind, pulling at you like fingertips tugging on flower petals, the softest pieces of you left scattered and lost. You wrap your arms around your center, still standing as the priest closes the ceremony and the distinct shuffle of sandaled footsteps echo from somewhere beside you. They’re too familiar not to know who they belong to and you feel that aching tug again.

Counting the number of times you’ve heard those footsteps when you and Ken were together would be impossible, there were too many instances to count. You watched Mikey walk toward the altar, his shoulders pulled down with the weight of losing the man he called his brother. You didn’t have to look around you to know that everyone in the room was watching him. The breath caught in your throat as he took his clenched fists out of his pockets and dropped to his knees. The tension in his body straining the veins in his neck and hands as he fought choking sobs.

“Keep it together, you’ve got to keep it together,” your thoughts are barely a whisper amongst the scream of emotions warring inside you, but if you start crying now, you don’t know if you’ll be able to stop.

***

You stand empty at the edge of the cold steel platform in the center of the small dimly lit room. Hollow and heavy with the weight of the task you were there to fulfill. You stood at the edge of the table that held what remained of the man you loved. Nothing about this felt real, but that is what hurt the most, another twist of the knife in your chest letting the grief bleed out of you. But you were there to do the final task of the funeral ceremony, and you would not let your weakness keep you from following through.

Weakness. He was my weakness…he was my strength…my everything…

“Saori…”

You hear your name but your body is too numb to acknowledge it. It’s not Ken’s voice…why isn’t it Ken’s voice? Why can’t it be his? Why did they have to take him? He was yours. You were his. This…this wasn’t supposed to happen. A calloused hand rests on your shoulder before you hear your name again. It’s not Ken…it’s not-

“Saori.”

Your shoulders give a weak jump, the tears leaving streaks down your face as your eyes readjust. Your head bowed in the direction of ash and bones laid before you before you turned your head toward the voice that was calling your name.

“Mitsuya…” your voice cracks, choking back a sob as you look at one of yours and Ken’s closest friends. His hand grips your shoulder tighter, as he turns you just enough to face him.

Deep violet eyes, glassy with tears meet your own, determined to keep his tears at bay in your presence. You can feel the cracks forming in the wall you’ve been frantically building inside of you; the dam keeping the pain at bay.

“He would want to be with you.”

His voice is thick, strained at the edges as if it might shred in his next breath. You meet his eyes, searching for the familiar reassuring glint they always held but the feeling of warm hands clasping around yours pulls your eyes away.

Mitsuya places the chopsticks in your hand, closing your shaking fingers around them. You don’t think you’ve held anything heavier in your life.

tagging: @tokyometronetwork | @downtown-roponggi

[rexisan]

Dear lord when was the last time I wrote or posted my writing. Well.. I've been obsessed with a new oc named Exi. Here y'all go I guess. Tbh I'm just proud of this.

Exi's Wings.

How does one come to terms with the fact that their heritage is something most magical beings fear? I look upon others of my species and feel the disconnect between us. It is no fault of my parents. They have raised me well, taken my strangeness in stride even if I see their brows quirk in a questioning way, they do accept me.

However, during the nights I lay in my own bed. The feeling of restlessness and wrongness crawls from my bones, I am not meant to be contained. Sheets once so soft are wrong, they smell of home and family but it's not what I crave. Everything is too open and even in the darkness of night it is too bright. I cannot be contained. I shouldn’t be contained. I have to go, I have to.

With shaky hands a familiar note is written and taped on the headboard. Silence comforts me as I leave the tents I have run between my entire childhood and I run. Hooved feet put to use as they were meant to be, springing from spot to spot following my nose, following the ache in my bones.

The scents of the night wash over my tongue headier than any liquor Dida drinks. I can feel my nerves singing, my muscles loosen and the darkness grows darker. I can feel its call, my eyes begin to glow and so do my freckles. Here my body screams and I skid to a stop. Here everything in my body seems to sigh and relax.

The cave is small but it is so lovely, darkness seemed to drip from its entrance and it couldn’t have been more right. I slowly climb in and am enveloped in darkness, the scent of moss and dirt relaxes me even more. My glow seems to brighten, I know it’s watching, I know it called me here.

Without fear I reach out to it, my own power reconnecting with its source. The euphoria is intoxicating, from both sides. It gets a chance to feel and I gain more. It always desires to give me more. Perhaps because it devoured the one who birthed my body, or because it is greedy much like I am at times like this. It’s hard not to want more, to not want this power as terrifying as it is. It consumes me like black fire burning away the parts of me that label me as faun and recreating me in the image it prefers. Or perhaps, I prefer. It’s hard to tell.

More. I can feel the echo, was it from me? Or from it? Or both?

More! My bones begin to ache. But I still crave.

More! The feeling of power crashes through my body. It hurts but I need it.

MORE! I can do nothing but accept it. This is what I deserve for indulging my wildness.

I scream, but it is swallowed by the blackness that made me, that shall continue to remake me. I need it. I am this, and this is me.

Taken apart my voice is no longer my own, swallowed by the silence that this power only has. I hear myself speak in languages long dead, conort in ways I wasn’t aware I could make. I feel my body dissolve and my eyes see things from a perspective I never thought possible. Thousands of eyes, in thousands of places. I can feel a barrier that I never knew existed. And deep down I feel a hunger for change that has always laid between my synapses that I always ignored.

I never knew how much I needed more. Or did I? Haven’t I always been striving for something unnameable? Some deep seated instinct telling me to go farther to experience it all?

Who knew I was capable of such yearning? Is it mine? Or is it this devourers? In the end does it matter? It's so much easier to let it devour me.

It seems to relax at my capitulation. My eyes see softer scenes rather than everything, meteor showers, flowers from a time long past, stars in places I never knew they were in. Words from my mouth take a sweeter edge, lullabies, poems.

Still there is pain, but it’s tinged with perhaps love? It’s hard to tell. I don’t have to analyze. It and I wish to experience so much. It desires to give me more. New experiences, new powers. It craves. I crave. I am this and this is me.

Light begins to filter in and the darkness drops me on a bed of moss. Damp earth and lichen fill my nose. My body trembles from too much of everything. The blackness sinks into the earth with what I think is remorse, to leave me? Or to leave behind a vessel of experiences. Or maybe I’m projecting.

I paw at the moss and leaves, bringing them closer and slowly stretch my tired muscles, new muscles pulling uncomfortably. My makeshift nest supplemented with my torn nightshirt. I curl up thinking of sheets and how they don’t compare to this. Could anything truly compare to the feeling of moss on my fur and wind in my hair? New wings curl around me to keep me warm through the rest of the night. My last thought before dreams take me, is how I cannot wait to show my parents and see their faces.  New experiences indeed.

[buddha-in-disguise]

Weariness and cynicism is deadly.

When we were growing up, I remember my paternal grandfather once said to me: Weariness and cynicism is deadly.

At the time I didn't really understand the comment, but as I got older, it was something that I've kept in the back of my mind, in part because I would hate for me to become weary & cynical in life.

The last few episodes of Supergirl have had this line come roaring to the forefront with me.

Right now, weariness and cynicism within the Supergirl fandom (and not just a ship), has now shown in ratings.

You could argue as to why the ratings have dropped, and there are certainly going to be a few reasons for it. After all, in any season of a show you get peaks and troughs on the figures.

With Supergirl though, it has been a steep hit, then a steady decline afterwards. 

I've been writing this over a few days, and yesterday the synopsis for 5.19 dropped.

Now you can tell this was written before they planned on merging some of 5.20 into 5.19 and it became the finale, and this is given away by the 'penultimate episode,' wording. That is true, so knowing elements of 5.20 will be merged into it, means there is likely a divergence to this synopsis on some level. If there is, once again the marketing has failed to adapt with these changes. 

However, the synopsis also has people absolutely at the end of their tether over Kara and Lena. Why? The 1st segment:

'Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) realizes that in order to stop Lex (guest star Jon Cryer) and Leviathan she must work with the one person she never thought she’d trust again – Lena (Katie McGrath).' 

I have issue with this for more than one reason, but the biggest for me is simply this.

Honestly the situation should be sorted by now in far better ways. If this goes on through to S6 unresolved, then it is beyond a joke.

19 episodes of this is utterly unacceptable. Even if they'd carried on resolution into the 20th episode, that's still far too long. 

I can't speak for other fans, but personally I was hoping (& expecting) that once Crisis was over, Kara and Lena would actually begin to talk. If not Lena and Kara, Lena and Alex. Because remember how Lena spoke to Alex when Alex asked for her help during Crisis? Here are the lines most relevant (I'm including the clip for the whole interaction).

"I am sorry that I lied to you. And not just me. Not just Kara. J'onn, and Brainy, and Nia."

"You know, you actually had me believe that you hated Supergirl."

"I wasn't pretending about that, but that is a long story."

This was 10 episodes ago once 5.19 hits, & has never been broached again, nor looks likely to be. Why even bring it up if you're going to ignore it? Lena & Alex were friends by S4 end. If Kara couldn't talk to Lena, why hasn't Alex tried? Or Brainy? Nia. Even Kelly, who genuinely hadn't lied to Lena - although that could've been awkward if Lena said it was about Kara lying being Supergirl and Kelly didn't know. But you know, I would've loved to have seen it play out that way, because Kelly's surprise wouldn't be faked, and Lena, despite it all, would probably recognise that.

Have Lena working with Lex, but also using Kelly to help her with the lenses, to placate Lex, but to be actively working with the Superfriends (Kelly as the intermediary) to bring Lex down. That way, Kelly gets screen time she deserves, Lena slowly works through her issues, even if it isn't directly with Kara yet. Alex really uses the Tower to investigate and help Kelly and Lena. But we have had nothing of note.

Out of the two Winn episodes, we had one episode of Winn's own psychopathic father getting his redemption, (which sorry, was too far fetched for me). What was the purpose of this? It apparently serves none. This episode should've been a redemption arc starting for Lena in my opinion, even if Kara wasn't involved (so the 100th still could've gone ahead as planned). It could've been Brainy for example tentatively reaching out to Lena. Or as I say, Lena seeing how Lex was working, and reaching out to Kelly. It wouldn't have to be a noticable or big thing, but the beginnings of some reconciliation with someone. 

Yet Lena, who time and time again has tried to do the right thing, has been lied to, has been abused by her family since she was 4, has been left to her own devices for 19 episodes! By people who say they are her friends. This is more than about Kara. This is about a whole group of people who seemingly have washed their hands of Lena. That sure as hell isn't any kind of friendship I know, or agree with. 

This is why as a general audience people are now weary and cynical. When the hard core fans, not ship fans, but the ones who tune in religiously, are screaming enough, then a more general audience will simply drift away. Sadly the viewing figures suggest this is exactly what has happened. 

If they're suddenly best friends again from 5.19, then it will be as bad because nothing is talked about! Even if they carry on the redemption arc into S6, will the general audience - or even the main hard core group of fans - wait potentially 9 to 12 months before it starts again, not knowing if they plan to maintain the push and pull between Lena, Kara and the Superfriends, or actually are going to rebuild the friendships?

We also have the question of why did Kara find the tape that Mxyzptlk left? I'm including a screen capture for this.  

There were a couple of things at the time that I wondered about.

Why make it so obvious that was the video tape left? It then immediately led off to Kara confronting Lena, which while harsh wasn't really too OOC until that last line. No, she didn't call Lena a villain (ugh also continuity in 5.17, hello Kara, you didn't call her a villain). But Kara knows that Lena has always wanted to be seen as being different to her family, but especially Lex. Instead of going to Lena as Supergirl, go to her as Kara! Make her see the person not the cape. Of course being Supergirl is important to Kara, but knowing that Lena has always had a more volatile relationship with Supergirl, it seems utterly inconceivable to me that at some stage Kara wouldn't go to try and talk to her simply as Kara. Or was it Mxy as Supergirl, who hesitated moving from the balcony because he needed to be invited inside by Lena? Supergirl took a step forward, but doesn't appear to actually enter Lena's apartment. 

So yes. That whole scene has always bugged me.

I also always questioned why did Mxy hang around watching through Kara's loft window? What was it he needed to see? By all accounts his mission there was accomplished. Why hang around?

So it begs the question, are we seeing how the tape plays out? Is this the 'nothing is as it seems' and the 'Black mirror season,' they touted before the season began. If this refers to how Lex has played his part, then that is nowhere near good enough.

If it is because of Mxy, it is just an awful way to go about it. It has left most fans weary, jaded and honestly not trusting of how they will carry on writing for the show.

Let's not forget, Kara told the whole world her identity to save Lena. 

Lena tried to save Kara from the Kryptonite in the air, but failed because she was too far away in Metropolis. 

Lena took to heart the pleas from Kara not to use Kryptonite, and so devised another way to subdue Reign, only to die in Kara's arms (and remember Kara literally crumpled as Lena fell into her arms. This is a Kryptonian with Super human strength, but her knees gave way). 

The only time Lena did turn evil was when Supergirl didn't save her. But even then, watch her face carefully as she hits with Kara with the Kryptonite. That stotic mask falls just fractionally. 

However this plays out in the last two episodes, quite honestly I can't see how it is going to be enough to pacify the distrust and anger over vast aspects of the season. How a lot of what has gone on can only be called queerbaiting, and if (& it's a big if) they even lent into Supercorp (I highly doubt it), then it needed to come far quicker. When you lose the trust of a big part of your audience, it is extremely difficult to get that trust back. When you have to try and achieve that with only 2 episodes left? Pretty much impossible. 

When that weariness and cynicism has months to fester in a fandom, it is deadly.

[emma-what-son]

(Echee post) Emma Watson says J.K Rowling's quote about Hermione ending up with Harry was taken out of context and it was a joke

Posted March 6, 2014

From mtv.com/news may 2014, "Watson also seemed somewhat pessimistic about the longevity of the popular pairing, sharing at the time, "I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy." But Watson's tune may have changed just a bit, as the starlet took to the red carpet at tonight's Oscars (her first time attending the big show, if you can believe it) and told MTV's own Josh Horowitz, "It was a real shame, because the quote that she gave was completely taken out of context." Emma change her tune? Noooooo way she would never do that!! =)~ MTV left out the part where she said it was just a joke From ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com March 2014, "It was a real shame, because the quote that she gave was completely taken out of context, and if you read the whole interview it was completely not how it was framed but it was actually kind of a joke." You know the funny part is? This is the Wonderland Magazine that Emma herself guest edited and Emma herself conducted the interview with J.K. Rowling. How could it be possibly taken out of context or even be considered a joke? There is nothing in the writing that suggests it's a joke. Maybe if the interview was conducted by video you could see their facial expressions that would tip you off that they were joking. This is typical Emma changing her tune but only because the HP fandom lost their shit over fictional characters. JK and Emma are back tracking now. I don't really care because to me it's a book made into a movie but this is Emma deceiving others as usual.

Actually I read the entire interview and what is being taken out of context and where is the punch line? Here is the part of the interview with JK about Hermione ending up with harry instead of Ron. From ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com Feb 2014 Emma: I thought we should discuss Hermione... I'm sure you've heard this a million times but now that you have written the books, do you have a new perspective on how you relate to Hermione and the relationship you have with her or had with her? JK: I know that Hermione is incredibly recognizable to a lot of readers and yet you don't see a lot of Hermione's in film or on TV except to be laughed at. I mean that the intense, clever, in some ways not terribly self-aware, girl is rarely the heroine and I really wanted her to be the heroine. She is part of me, although she is not wholly me. I think that is how I might have appeared to people when I was younger, but that is not really how I was inside. What I will say is that I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That's how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione with Ron. Emma: Ah. JK: I know, I'm sorry, I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I'm absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people's hearts by saying this? I hope not. Emma: I don't know. I think there are fans out there who know that too and who wonder whether Ron would have really been able to make her happy. JK: Yes exactly. Emma: And vice versa. JK: It was a young relationship. I think the attraction itself is plausible but the combative side of it... I'm not sure you could have got over that in an adult relationship, there was too much fundamental incompatibility. I can't believe we are saying all of this – this is Potter heresy! Emma: I know, it is heresy. JK: In some ways Hermione and Harry are a better fit and I'll tell you something very strange. When I wrote Hallows, I felt this quite strongly when I had Hermione and Harry together in the tent! I hadn't told [Steve] Kloves that and when he wrote the script he felt exactly the same thing at exactly the same point. Emma: That is just so interesting because when I was doing the scene I said to David [Heyman]: "This isn't in the book, she didn't write this". I'm not sure I am comfortable insinuating something however subtle it is! JK: Yes, but David and Steve – they felt what I felt when writing it. Emma: That is so strange. JK: And actually I liked that scene in the film, because it was articulating something I hadn't said but I had felt. I really liked it and I thought that it was right. I think you do feel the ghost of what could have been in that scene. Emma: It's a really haunting scene. It's funny because it really divided people. Some people loved that scene and some people really didn't. JK: Yes, some people utterly hated it. But that is true of so many really good scenes in books and films; they evoke that strong positive/negative feeling. I was fine with it, I liked it. Emma: I remember really loving shooting those scenes that don't have any dialogue, where you are just kind of trying to express a moment in time and a feeling without saying anything. It was just Dan and I spontaneously sort of trying to convey an idea and it was really fun. JK: And you got it perfectly, you got perfectly the sort of mixture of awkwardness and genuine emotion, because it teeters on the edge of "what are we doing? Oh come on let's do it anyway", which I thought was just right for that time. Emma: I think it was just the sense that in the moment they needed to be together and be kids and raise each other's morale. JK: That is just it, you are so right. All this says something very powerful about the character of Hermione as well. Hermione was the one that

stuck with Harry all the way through that last installment, that very last part of the adventure. It wasn't Ron, which also says something very powerful about Ron. He was injured in a way, in his self-esteem, from the start of the series. He always knew he came second to fourth best, and then had to make friends with the hero of it all and that's a hell of a position to be in, eternally overshadowed. So Ron had to act out in that way at some point. But Hermione's always there for Harry. I remember you sent me a note after you read Hallows and before you started shooting, and said something about that, because it was Hermione's journey as much as Harry's at the end. Emma: I completely agree and the fact that they were true equals and the fact that she really said goodbye to her family makes it her sacrifice too. JK: Yes, her sacrifice was massive, completely. A very calculated act of bravery. That is not an 'in the moment' act of bravery where emotion carries you through, that is a deliberate choice. Emma: Exactly. I love Hermione. JK: I love her too. Oh, maybe she and Ron will be alright with a bit of counseling, you know. I wonder what happens at wizard marriage counseling? They'll probably be fine. He needs to work on his self-esteem issues and she needs to work on being a little less critical. Emma: I think it makes sense to me that Ron would make friends with the most famous wizard in the school because I think life presents to you over and over again your biggest and most painful fear – until you conquer it. It just keeps coming up. JK: That is so true, it has happened in my own life. The issue keeps coming up because you are drawn to it and you are putting yourself in front of it all the time. At a certain point you have to choose what to do about it and sometimes conquering it is choosing to say: I don't want that anymore, I'm going to stop walking up to you because there is nothing there for me. But yes, you're so right, that's very insightful! Ron's used to playing second fiddle. I think that's a comfortable role for him, but at a certain point he has to be his own man, doesn't he? Emma: Yes and until he does it is unresolved. It is unfinished business. So maybe life presented this to him enough times until he had to make a choice and become the man that Hermione needs. JK: Just like her creator, she has a real weakness for a funny man. These uptight girls, they do like them funny. Emma: They do like them funny, they need them funny. JK: It's such a relief from being so intense yourself – you need someone who takes life, or appears to take life, a little more light heartedly.

^This post made Ron cry, lol I really don't care who ended up with who because it's a movie. I lost no sleep over it or thought about it much until I read the quote of Emma changing her tune as MTV pointed out. I will say this. In the Half Blood Prince when Ron was in the Hospital after mistakenly consuming a love potion meant for Harry there was an exchange between Hermione and Lavender Brown where Hermione said, "I've always found him interesting" meaning Ron. There was also that scene in DH2 where Hermione said she couldn't destroy the horocrux and it took Ron to coach her up to do it. There was that scene after that where they were looking for Harry using the marauders map and Ron remembered what Hermione told him about the room of requirement not being on the map and she was surprised he remembered. Then there was the Order of the Phoenix when Ron tricked Malfoy and the rest of them (with a spell of which I forget) and they got away while Hermione and Harry lead Umbridge into the Forrest. When Hermione came back she was impressed by him. I think Ron and Hermione would be just fine if they were real. They actually compliment each other by being total opposites. I'm sure true Potter fans have better examples for Ron and Hermione. Btw Emma was about Ron and Hermione for years and years. I'd post the quotes but I think true Potter fans know this to be true so there would be no argument there. It's something me and Emma fans probably agree on. I think hell just froze over. As for what Emma said about Ron making Hermione happy and stuff. In my opinion she's purely speaking from her own taste in men since she goes for the Viktor Krum's (Matt Janney/Tom Ducker) and Cormac McLaggen's (Will Adamowicz/Jay Barrymore). Emma is more of  mix of Sam (Perks) and Nicki (TBR) than she was ever Hermione. Emma would never date a Ron Weasley in real life. It's beneath her and there would be a reality gap between them since Emma lives in her own head and is out of touch with normal people. So really that statement is a full on Emmione moment where she's doing her thinking for a fictional character that is totally different from "the real Emma Watson". I've said this numerous times. If Hermione were real she would not think too kindly of Emma. Shy and introverted post is coming one of these days. I keep on saying that but it is. I put this post together in 15 minutes. I've been working on the other one for two weeks on and off by procrastinating with it mostly. It's not that complicated I'm just being lazy getting all the photos and quotes together I need. And while were on this shipping business

She supposedly interviewed JGL in Wonderland Magazine but it was not formatted like her other Interviews where she talked just as much as the person she was interviewing so this leads to believe she actually didn’t interview JGL. It was a straight Q&A without it reading like a conversation between two people in the same room like the others. And JGL has done Wonderland a few times in the past so I don’t think this was Emma’s request. Then they presented together at the Oscars. Coincidence or more Hollywood smoke and mirrors? Fans are shipping (weirdo movement) these two and it was all for show. Ok I’m going to join this weirdo movement of shipping! JGL and Dan forever!!

[yayninjabob]

Author Commentary

Ramblings from Yay Ninja Bob about her monstrous creation~

Besides working on my fic, I personally try to journal every day, and I realized that a lot of my journaling has become me pretty much rambling about the process of writing this damn fic lol.  So I thought I'd share some of that for those who may want to know more behind my chapters from my author's perspective. 

It's certainly not everything I can say, but it is a lot haha..

Chapter 1 - Thirteen

Behind the title:

    Well, when I first began writing VillainR, I hadn't planned on having chapter titles at all.  Mainly because coming up with chapter titles (or titles for stories in general) has always been something I struggle with personally.  Anywho after I decided I wanted to challenge myself with chapter titles, I went back and named chapter 1 "Thirteen."  Why?  Well, it is the PpG's thirteenth birthday, of course there is that.  VillainR as a whole is many things, but one major thing is it is a coming of age story for Buttercup/Joey/Jojo, as well as a story of self-discovery.   There's a few important ages I wanted to cover and 13 is around the age where many kids start to "develop" and being a super-powered kid,  Buttercup finally begins to develop her own "special power" at this age.  I wanted this "growing pain" to be the catalyst for the events of Part One.  So, I gave the chapter the title of "Thirteen" to try to highlight the significance of that age for Buttercup. The self-discovery made at this age is that special power (although they are unaware of it at this point).  It's considered an unlucky number, and as it turns out, it is an unlucky year for our main character.

During the writing process:

     First draft was written on Halloween night 2019 and pretty much all of it was completely scrapped haha. 

     I started writing it in first person, like the original Villain, in Buttercup's POV.   I kept the events but approached it again in third person and liked it so much better that way.  One major thing I wanted to improve on with the rewrite was character development which is pretty hard to achieve when writing in a limited POV of a character who eventually loses sight of much around them.  I debated briefly on maybe doing alternating POVs between Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, but then I felt like it would still exclude a lot for other major characters like Mojo and Princess.  I could add them too but I thought alternating too many POVs would be overwhelmingly difficult (for me as the author for sure but I imagine for the reader too)  Third person seemed to be the best way to handle everything and really my only challenge with that was tweaking the whole "unreliable narrator" trope which I will be honest is my favorite trope ever. It is a challenge to try to recreate the same effect in third person, but I decided that a close third person was the best way to 1) tell a broader story and 2) still set limits on the reader's perspective, and control when and how I drop information and attempt to recreate a similar experience in an entirely new way I've never tried before heh.  (I guess I will spend more time on this on my notes for Chapter 6)

     Second draft I scribbled out in another few days with this new approach.  It began at the start of the carnival and ended where it ends.   Simultaneously I was reworking my overall outline for the fic and began to narrow down all the characters I wanted to be my key players for this epic.  Once my outline was expanded to include everyone, I added the scene with Mojo and Him.  For me, that's when I was like "Ayyy it's all coming together 👍👍" haha.

     Another thing I wanted to improve on was setting and world-building.  So final draft I decided to include some "history" behind Townsville and that's when I worked out the final draft.

    This chapter definitely had the most trial and error during the writing process than any other chapter other than 5 so far.

Inspirations:

     Townsville world-building/history - much of it is inspired by the city I grew up in (for the most part) which is Los Angeles. I mean it has all the sort of settings we've seen in the show which are all pretty diverse right?  Townville had to have a diverse cityscape ranging from a busy downtown setting to quite suburbs to upperclass mansions, beaches, an island, forests, etc.  Well I knew LA had all that and so I tried to re-imagine Townsville as basically an alternate universe LA lol. Monster Isle, I based on research I did on Catalina Island.  I imagined the Utonium household was in a middle class neighborhood like Pasadena- close to the heart of LA but still a relatively "calmer" part of the city.  Morbucks Manor would be in the Hills like Beverly Hills.  Downtown was the heart of the city like Downtown LA.  I debated briefly whether or not to have the Gangreen Gang be from an area modeled after South Central or East LA, but eventually I went with East LA because TBH I am just more familiar with it since that's where my mom's side is from and where I grew up early on in life.  PLUS East LA actually has a pretty big punk scene so that fit the story too with Ace being in a punk band and all that. 

1998 PpG Show References:

     "Oh my gosh they have giant Bunny-Bunny's at the prize tent!"

    (Super Zeroes)

Pop Culture References:

   (OK most of my pop culture refs are just punk references lets be honest lol.  Why Punk?? - because it is rebellion and rebellion is the heart of this fic)

     The Clash - OK in original Villain I established that this was Buttercup's favorite band so I HAD to have that back for the redux. Here's all the refs I crammed into chapter 1 lol:

   "Oh, Man! It's so hard to choose, like, I love literally everything by them. But I gotta say it's a tie probably between their first album and London Calling."

"Hell yeah. Jimmy Jazz is my jam."

"You know, my band does a cover of White Riot," Ace continued to talk music with the teenager as he lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. He held the smoke in his lungs as he continued, "Only we call our version Green Riot."

Blondie:

     The one artist Buttercup had introduced Robin to that she instantly obsessed over was Blondie.

(Some) Symbolism:

     - Blossom is 5'9" and Buttercup is 5'8" - Buttercup is always falling one step behind Blossom.

     - Bumper Car scene - has some foreshadowing and well...

Blossom sat behind the wheel of a red bumper car at the opposite end of the metal floored rink. Buttercup crossed her arms in protest, "No way. I'm driving." she demanded.

Blossom also crossed her arms from where she sat behind the metal wheel. "So you can just rampage and crash into everybody here? No way." She fastened her seat belt with a quick snap and placed her hands firmly on the steering wheel again.

"Ugh. That's the whole point of bumper cars! It's to bump the other cars! You're supposed to try and bump everyone before the times up!"

"You always take it too far, Buttercup. I'm driving, so get in." The redhead grasped the steering wheel in her hands firmly, and refused to move.

And...

"You drive like an old lady," Buttercup shook her head in disbelief as her sister managed to avoid yet another collision.

"Well, that's your opinion," she shrugged off the insult, "Personally, I think it takes just as much skill to avoid every single car in here, as it does to hit every single car," she smiled at her sister.

And finally a brief allusion to the OG Villain lol...

"Blossom!" Buttercup shouted louder so she could get her sister's attention. She pointed at the fast approaching purple car that zoomed towards them from their right side. Behind the wheel of that car was Bubbles who wore a rather determined look on her face as Robin cheered for her.

Blossom saw, but by then it was too late. Bubbles and Robin's car slammed into Buttercup and Blossom's car at full force, spinning Buttercup and Blossom's car into the wall of the arena. The loud buzz which signified the end of the ride then sounded.

    - the roller coaster is Buttercup's ideal carnival attraction; it's got the thrills, twists, turns, ups and downs.  And makes Bubbles sick.

     - the Ferris Wheel is Blossom's ideal carnival attraction; it's a staple of any fair, grand and big, overlooks everything, and traditionally romantic

YNB's favorite scene:

     Personally, I loved writing the whole exchange between Buttercup and Blossom in the car.  Establishing their rivalry, Buttercup's jealousy over Blossom's special power and heroism, Blossom's projection of her own insecurities, their differences, and their commonality. 

Final thoughts on the chapter:

     I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out but I did wait to post it until I had a decent headstart on chapter 2.  I was pretty nervous about whether or not I could stay personally committed to writing this fic so I just wanted to make sure I was really feeling it first, lol.  It had been so long since I'd written fanfic so I just needed to be sure.

     When I outlined everything I estimated the chapter length to be around 6-7k words... And I was surprised that it was double that at about 12k.  Which was wild because on my outline each opening chapter for Part 1, 2 and 3 were supposed to be shorter and more like preludes to everything else.  Well, I guess they ARE shorter chapters but STILL definitely longer than any chapter I used to write for my multichaptered stories.   At the time I thought "Ok obviously my writing has changed but surely I wont go much longer than 12k for future chapters...."  Hurr hurr.

     Personally, I was pretty proud of myself for spending so much time on it and rewriting it over and over and all that.  In the past, TBH whatever was my first draft was pretty much also my last draft haha.  I cranked out a chapter in one sitting usually and edited it mayyyybeee lol.  I just wanted to get it posted so I could move on and get to that next point in the story.   But I suppose now that I'm older and a bit more self aware, I realize a lot of my own anxieties manifest a lot in my writing though and I can recognize it in my old works like the OG Villain where I JUST WANNA GET TO WHAT I WANT TO WRITE RIGHT NOW OK??  I forced myself to slow the hell down this time, take it one scene at a time, and when things felt off I took breaks, slept on it for a few days and came back with new approaches or ideas.   And so far that's how I continue to work on it.

   Also, CHVRCHES.  I listened to a ton of that band while working on this chapter especially.

[lizzybeth1986]

Oh wow, I'll be sure to keep those in mind as I play through! I've never replayed these books before, so it'll be interesting to go through them knowing everything we know now. I did see that you have ideas even if you're not going to start writing, and I was wondering if you'd share them 👀 also, I feel like I should end these with a special signature so that you'll know it's me xD

Oooh I have a suggestion for the code name! Since this lovely exchange began with talking about Madeleine (and largely spoke of Hana's treatment), then we ended up exploring more about Kiara and Penelope...maybe we should call you the Courtly Ladies Anon!! 😁 What say?

Replays are amazing! So much jumps out at you that you miss the first time around, and even though PB did Hana so dirty, I honestly found her such a delight to romance!

Okay so...I have two fic series ideas I'm seriously planning for - both revolving around Kiara x Hana because I developed a new appreciation for that pair once the series ended.

The first idea is actually a continuation of a 4 part series I'd been working on last year! It's called That Old Grape Juice - supposed to feature two pairs of people in two different kinds of relationships, and the common thread between them all would be wine. So every chapter would feature, and be named after, different wines.

The first two chapters of it I'd written last year (they were centered around Liam and Olivia's friendship, and were set during the Lythikos leg of the social season. You can read them here: Part 1, Part 2). The third and fourth were going to be in Castelserraillian, during the time the group visits Kiara's estate. I seriously wanted to highlight there what she must have been going through when the group was just swooping in on her to get support, and have someone from the group at least get an insight into what was happening to her. Originally it was going to be Drake, but once the Book 3 Lythikos sections happened I could never quite look at that pair the same way again.

Eventually a friend of mine (@pixieferry! Who is awesome 😀) suggested Hana! And while initially I was afraid of how much of the story I'd need to change, I realized that it was in fact a way, way better idea. Hana is naturally a more empathetic person, and has had struggles of her own in that estate. So an exchange between them wouldn't simply revolve around just her, but also aim to give Kiara some measure of comfort as well.

The second idea...mostly...came out of this one, because once I started making my notes I found myself imagining other aspects of their story! In terms of the timeline of their romance (in this fic universe), That Old Grape Juice really happens at the midpoint of their story. So I wanted to do a whole series on them falling in love with each other! The plan is to set it in the beginning around the time of the Engagement Tour (so I can address/chamge around some of the bullshit that happened there too), and then move towards them realizing their feelings, then each other's feelings, then tentatively navigating that romance through the second half of the Unity Tour (I've only conceptualized till that point haha I'm still doing my reading up 😅). So that is going to be a whole series! Not just two chapters like That Old Grape Juice.

Some other ideas I have...hmmm....I did have an idea for a rewrite of Sloane's scene in her mom's house in Washington, featuring only her and her MC. I also wanted to do a short series maybe about Hayden's first days staying with Sloane. There were also a couple Liam x MC and Hayden x MC one-shots I had in mind, and a Scarlett x Kate (VoS) series. But rn the Kiara x Hana one is on the top of my mind and I really want to take the time to sit down and write it!!

[themagiciansreccenter]

The Great Blank Spot @ohmarqueliot​

So much goes into creating fanfiction even before the first words hit the paper. And in-depth spotlight on our writers and the process behind their work.

Tell us about your current project.

I’m currently working on my fic for The 39 Graves Project, for which I was allocated Timeline 24, which I've tentatively titled "All For One". The stipulations I was given related to Penny and the Library, so I’ve chosen to focus on Penny, Julia and Quentin as my main characters. In my timeline, I decided to have Penny grow up side by side with Quentin and Julia, and exploring how that change alters the events of season one has been an interesting exercise.

What is your current word count?

I’m just under 35k so far.

Do you try to write daily? Do you have word count or other goals you try to hit for each writing session?

Ideally I try to write daily, but the last few weeks have been a bit of a mess for me between work and real life responsibilities. I’m hoping to get back into the swing of it now. My word count per session tends to vary quite a bit depending on which characters I’m writing and what type of scene it is, and since this fic is focused on characters that I haven’t written as much, I’m trying to be more flexible with my expectations on word counts.

What was the inspiration for this fic?

This project is a different scenario for me, because I was initially led by the stipulations I was given. Since my stipulation was Penny-centric I worked backwards from that in order to give Penny the motivations he needed to get to that scene, and once I realised what those motivations were I had my set up for the timeline.

Did this fic require any research? How much research do you typically do for you fics?

Mostly just a hell of a lot of rewatching season one. Lately I’ve been focusing on Penny’s scenes with Victoria, but I’ve also spent a bit of time going over the niffin details. I also did a bit of research at the start about how the foster system works for how Penny ends up in New York.

How do you stay motivated between chapters/stories?

In what is a big surprise to me, I’ve actually stayed pretty motivated on my own so far! The support of the other people in The 39 Graves discord as well as the other mods has definitely helped.

Do you typically write ahead or post as you go?

Usually I post as I go because I crave validation that what I’m doing doesn’t suck, so I was expecting to struggle without feedback along the way. Somehow, though, I’m still powering through it and enjoying what I’m writing, which has actually increased my confidence in my ability to write without constant feedback.

How much planning and outlining did you do before you started putting words on paper?

I planned out the whole thing before I started writing. My outline has grown as I’ve fleshed things out, but I think it was originally about 2k words. Some chapter notes were just a brief mention of what was going to happen, others were listed in more specific detail, but I knew what I wanted from every scene before I started writing.

Has it been pretty smooth sailing or rough waters? When things get rocky, how do you handle needing to rewrite sections or scrap scenes entirely?

Mostly it’s been smooth sailing. I’ve mostly managed to stick with what I wanted to write and haven’t had to scrap anything entirely so far, although I’ve had to rework a few things when I realised canon things I still had to include but had forgotten about.

Excerpt

“If we’re bothering you so much, we can go,” she said, holding her free hand over her heart to show him just how sorry she was for having fun her own way. She leaned forward, tapping Quentin’s arm before making to rise from the couch. “Come on, Q, we better go brood somewhere else.”

“No – no, don’t, hmm,” Quentin said, stumbling over his words as he held his hand up to get her to stop getting up. Penny snorted on Julia’s other side. “We’re fine. This is a great party,” he added to Eliot. Julia tried to not roll her eyes.

“Of course it’s a great party,” Eliot said lightly. “We don’t throw sub-par parties.” His eyes never left Julia, watching her consideringly, and after a few seconds his lips stretched into a delighted smile. She wasn’t sure what he’d seen in her, and didn’t know if that smile was a good thing or not. That only sought to irritate her further. “Have fun, brooders,” he said, tucking the tray under his arm and waggling his fingers at them before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

“So he’s modest,” Penny said dryly.

The Great Blank Spot is an in-depth spotlight focusing on the writing process and previewing in-progress fics for our fandom. It is meant to be an organic, ever-evolving feature. Previously interviewed fic writers can reach out to us here, to have a specific work featured. If you’d like to have a work featured but haven’t done the author spotlight, reach out to us to get started. If you have suggestions for questions you’d like to see answered, shoot us an ask!

[lubdubsworld]

Veritas ( Jung kook x Oc)

Author’s Notes : 

this may not be everyone’s cup of tea. i just feel like I've written enough soft stuff and my stories all sound the same to me, to be honest ..... so i want to venture into something different and some hardcore stuff. 

The female character isn’t necessarily bi, but she has sex with her roommate. if you’re not into that then maybe you shouldn’t read this. i have this picture in my head about how this story should turn out and i’m just going to try and write it that way. it may not work out, so i apologize in advance in case it doesn’t. 

Warnings : Prostitution, Dubious consent, Hard drugs, Violence. implied suicide attempts. Lot of really dark stuff . Please , if you have any remotely serious issues of trauma, steer clear of my writing. i do not sugar-coat. 

Rating : 19 +

Chapter One. 

December 24, 2019. 

“You won’t be coming home tonight either, then, Milan” , Reina  said, her eyes wide and dead as she stood in front of the full length mirror, thick black kohl smudged around her fingers as she traced her  waterline , painting her eyes . 

Her lips looked red, under the dim lighting over head and she was pouting a little, wet tongue poking out in a way that was vaguely erotic. She was wearing a purple baby doll, the top of her soft breasts lined with silvery white fur and the hips flaring out in a wavy pleats. The shimmery fabric fell around her in waves, like flowing water and i felt my breath catch because it was all so alluring. So magical. 

I stared at her , mildly aroused. Not because of the way her breasts filled out her bodice, or the way her hips curved into hourglass perfection, or because of how smooth her longs looked, ankles encased in strappy peep toe heels. I was aroused because I was still a little riled up from the little bit of molly i had taken earlier and i knew just how her lips tasted, like peppermint and gin and strawberry lip balm. 

My body wanted release. And I preferred her, to the ugly, panting men who smothered me into stained mattresses, hairy thighs and meaty arms holding me down and taking, taking, taking when there was nothing left to take anyway. 

I wanted to move closer and hug her, wrap an arm around her and drag her into the bed. 

She was so good at making me feel loved. So gentle and so careful. I loved her fingers inside me, because they were soft and long and kind. Soothing in a way not a lot of things in my life were. 

 I loved her.

It wasn’t a romantic feeling, but something that went far beyond it.

“I don’t know... it’s some famous guy...” I slurred, turning back to stare at my own reflection. 

Reina had done my make up today and i looked almost exotic, my chestnut hair styled to lie half up and half down, the loose strands curling into shiny tendrils, thick and glossy over my bare shoulders. My lips looked shiny and slick, perfect to wrap around a nice pink cock, or so it would look to a potential client. 

But it wasn’t just some potential john  tonight. 

it was a high profile client, an idol actor, some one who had a lot of money and a lot of clout. Someone important. And my boss had been adamant about either Reina or me taking the guy. Apparently, it was his first time with our company, and he wanted the highest rated whores in the place, ergo us. After three years, Reina and i had built a reputation for ourselves. We were good, still relatively young .

More importnatly, we were intelligent. We spoke english. We knew about the political scene in some obscure country and we could wear cocktail gowns and pass off for college educated professionals. Some men thought that soliciting an educated, smart girl made them better. 

Yes, i paid a woman to let me in between her thighs, but you know what, she was smart. 

“ oh, you better do well then. We can’t afford to piss them off.” She said with a little smile.

 No, i couldn’t. My heart was pounding. Three consecutive beats.

Lub dub. Lub Dub. Lub Dub. 

Jung Kook. Jung Kook. Jung Kook. 

 i felt sick, bile collecting at the back of my throat and a pain starting up at the base of my skull. Just the thought of him triggered nausea. Just the thought of his name... was all it took for me to want to reach the nearest sharp object, point it right at my wrist, slice through the skin , flesh and the veins till he fucking bled out of me for good. 

Too bad it didn’t really work. i’d tried enough times to know. 

“Milan.... hey!” Reina was saying something but I was done. If i was starting to think about Jung Kook, it was time to get distracted again. Keep my mind off him. it was the only way I could survive. 

As i swayed a little, reaching for the little purse with the condoms and used a spritz of some spraymint on myself before slipping into some high heels, watching my blood red nails peek out of the peep-toe shoes, stark against the black leather.

“i’m meeting Han in the Hyatt. Later.” She grinned. 

I hummed. 

Reina had another client for the night, some Chinese businessman called Mr. Han who visited us twice a month, a handsome guy that Reina had always crushed hard on and I didn’t want to take away that little bit of happiness from her. 

The man was married , would never do something as risky as leave his family for her , but for the duration of a few hours, she was allowed to dream. Allowed to imagine. 

So I had agreed to take this  client instead.

“You seem wobbly, Milan...” Reina said suddenly, fingers curving on my upper arm. “ Are you okay?”

i shook my head to clear the haze. 

“I’m fine.” i said softly, reaching for the glass pot full of  strong black coffee before pouring myself a glass and chugging it down. it would probably help a bit in sobering me up, by the time i reached the lounge downstairs where my supposed client was waiting. It wasn’t safe, being high when meeting a new client. 

I kissed Reina sloppily on the cheek, before moving to the door and out into the carpeted hallway. I’d walked this path a million times, so my body was almost on auto pilot, and i fumbled with the zipper of my purse, awkwardly pulling out the little eye mask and putting it on. It had been a part of the instruction and i’d almost forgotten. i tied it at the back of my head, walking slowly tot he elevator. The coffee did help and by the time i pushed in the door of the loungue, i was slightly more sober. 

I took one look at the three men gathered around the huge table and I felt a little bit of a foreboding. I was supposed to meet just one of them. 

 I stared at them , confused and slightly thrown, wondering if I’d conjured them up out of my conscience.

 it wouldn’t be the first time , after all. 

But they weren’t even looking at me and the man on the left , slightly younger than the other two and with a handsome face and a rough voice, gave me a smile and tugged on my arm. 

“Come sit here, baby...” He drawled softly, patting my thigh as i sank into the plush velvet seat next to him. He went back to laughing with his friends and i found myself staring at the man next to him, still unsure where this was leading. 

“I’m Mingyu, by the way. hang on for a while, okay? We’ll head up to the suite in a  few minutes. ” He said suddenly, reaching out and gripping my chin, before kissing me on the lips. 

i nodded softly, before voicing a tentative hello. 

I drifted off afterwards, vaguely listening to the conversation and trying hard to sober up.

 When his hand slipped up my skirt, i switched my mind off with practiced ease, letting him collect on the 300,000 Won he had paid for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, photos of Kim Mingyu exiting a supposed massage parlor which was notorious for prostitution scandals, were plastered all over the internet . 

and somehow, I was the one under fire. 

��I don’t understand.... someone leaked information about your client being involved with a prostitute in a massage parlor and this idiot thinks it’s you...”

I groaned in disbelief. 

“apparently, he’d been talking about sleeping with that woman during the ... drinks thing that I met him at.. he was with a couple of guys and i swear, i didn’t even pay any attention to what any of them were saying.....but he thinks that i overheard whatever he’d said about the whole ‘ massage parlor’ thing he’d gone to and now.. it’s out on the news and his career is on the line, so he wants to raise hell over this....”

“Look... Mrs Lee knows about you... And i think he signs a contract too, before paying us. It’s not going to even be worth it. “

I shrugged.

“it’s still bad publicity, when you think about it. No one’s going to want to risk it, if this idiot goes around telling people that we give out private information.”

Reina sighed. 

“What’s Mrs. Lee saying....” she said softly. 

i shrugged. 

“She wanted to talk it out with the guy. Hopefully, she’ll be able to offer him something or somehow convince him that i wouldn’t do stuff like that...” 

“This sucks.”

I groaned.

“it sure does...”

“You wanna make out? “ She rubbed circles on my back and i smiled a little, moving to press my lips to her cheek. 

“I’m sorry baby....i need to go the shelter. “ I said apologetically. Reina smiled, and brushed the hair off my face, her hands soft and gentle against my skin. 

“You’re so good. I hate that something like you exists in a world like this...” She whispered and i laughed.

“I’m no saint, Rei.... Can i borrow your red muffler?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The shelter was located somewhere near itaewon, and i took the bus, taking care to keep most of my face hidden underneath the muffler and the upturned collar of my fur coat. Over the past three years, I’d managed to fade out of memory. I stopped being ‘ the stalker who followed jung Kook to private party in HK’ and became just another, nameless faceless girl int he crowd of Seoul. But the fear was still there. 

What if someone took a look at me and recognized me?

Jung Kook’s fans were scary.

 My apartment broken into. My clothes ripped to shreds. Pigs blood smeared over everything i’d owned. Fired from my job. Kicked out of my home. 

I swallowed. I had been an idiot. 

And idiot in love. 

And it had cost me  everything. 

The memories still burned bright beneath the surface though, just waiting to come barreling into my conscience. Those awful , awful moments as i stood there in a sea full of strangers , staring at the boy who had literally emant the tnitire world to me. The only thing that had mattered to me. the boy, i had spent the better part of a decade on. 

 “ Why on earth would I want something like you, when I can have any of these women, So Eun? You’re not beautiful. you’re not famous. You’re not even in the same league as me. Why the fuck would i like something you?? ” 

I swallowed. I’d repeated those words to myself , over and over again . a million times. a zillion times. I thought , over time they would lose their venom. Someday they would lose all meaning become just words. you know, syllables strung together by a drunk nineteen year old who probably didn’t know what he was saying. 

But they hadn’t. 

instead they had just festered , like some untreated wound, oozing pus and attracting flies, giving out the sickening stench of rotting flesh and making me want to empty my insides . And they were still there, i thought bitterly. those words were still there, carved on the inside of my skull, 

“Miss!! Careful.!!” someone’s  hand closed over my arm , yanking me to the side and i gasped, surprised. It took me a second to realize , i’s almost veered dangerously into oncoming traffic. Bowing in apology and gratitude, I pulled my scarf closer and walked quicker, aware that a light rain had started. 

The shelter was closed today and i called my friend on her phone, waiting as she came around the building to let me in. 

Jieun lived in the building , and she took care of the pups in her custody like a mother would. I smiled wide as she bought the familiar mutt, curled happily into her arms.

“Hello Gureum!! hi unnie... ” I said , laughing as he growled, under-bite sticking out in a way that at first glance was slightly terrifying. I smiled, happy that i had finally found time to visit him.

 Nearly a decade ago, when  jung kook had left for Seoul, his parents had turned the poor puppy out of the house. 

I had found him whimpering in a ditch and I had taken him in. But when I’d followed Jung kook to the city, it had been difficult to take care of him. but jieun had been running a shelter even back then and she had taken him in .  

for the past Seven years she had taken care of him.i visited every week or even twice or thrice when i could spare some time.

 But sometimes , I couldn’t come. i regretted that. Gureum was family after all. 

Shaking my head, i took the dog into my arms, reaching into my bag for the dog treats and the small leather leash. 

“Ready to go the park , buddy?” 

As we walked down the streets to the park, the familiar streets, wet with falling rain and the fresh scent of damp earth, i felt daring enough to unwind the muffler from my face. the icy air hit me like a spray and I shivered, in a good way. 

Gureum yanked on the leash, yipping loud , all of a sudden and i turned surprised. I went stiff when i saw the huge poster , stuck to the back of the bus stop. 

It was Jung Kook. 

“That’s... That’s just a picture buddy... that’s not your hyung...” I said stupidly, reaching down to pick up the excited little dog. “but don’t worry. He’s happy. He really is...Gureum.... wait...”

Gureum struggled a bit more, intending to run to the poster and it took me a minute to calm him down.

“it’s okay....” i said over and over again and I almost believed iot myself. 

It was okay, I thought, once again , after he had quieted down and we had reached the park. I sat down on a grassy knoll, overlooking the little bit of the city and I un-clipped his leash , letting him roll around on the damp lawn. 

“ It’s okay.” i said out loud, with a deep shuddering breath. 

it would all be okay. 

[suudonym]

So, I have to write a 15 page short story for Advanced Creative Writing, and I've got an idea but not quite sure how to flesh it out beyond that? I was just wondering what you do to come up with the in-betweens of the story beyond the initial concept

I was gonna say “hoo boy anon sorry to say that you definitely have come to the wrong person for advice” because I pretty much just run with the initial concept and let it come together on its own but then! I remembered that that’s like, a legitimate manner of writing? I’m pretty much parroting something I read somewhere else once but there’s essentially two types of authors: the gardener and the architect

and this wound up as yet another post that is probably longer than it needs to be so obligatory readmore

me, I am a gardener. I have my initial idea and I know a handful of plot points and a rough direction so I just jump in and start writing. I imagine my characters as actors performing my story, and I the author am just writing down what it is that they do and say. I guide them gently and influence them when I can but generally they have their own thoughts and feelings and motivations and the story “grows” through them. usually at about the halfway point things have grown to a point at which I can start tying off connections between scenes and plot points - which might be kind of late in the game to START connecting stuff but hey, that’s what editing is for

(unless you’re writing fanfiction in which case you just go for it while laughing nervously and hoping no one catches on)

on the other side is the architects, which I am not and have tried and failed to be so my grasp is a bit tentative but my understanding is that you come up with a clear and detailed plan of what you want to happen. you figure out exactly where you want to go and how you want to get there and you outline pretty much every step of the way. it takes more work initially but saves time later because you never get tied up wondering what to do with the next scene or where to start the next chapter (not that chapters are super relevant to short stories) etc.

architect style of writing probably benefits a lot from physical planning, like making an outline document or sticking post-its to the wall in the form of a flow chart or keeping a notebook for easy reference with all your notes. for me, gardener style means having a loose mental plan and writing down notes for the future as the future begins to reveal itself in what I’ve written. like it wasn’t until a couple days ago that I finalized exactly what I want to do in the next several chapters of tata, it just suddenly occurred to me how things would fit together

I’m... suddenly not sure I’m really saying anything that you don’t already know, so let me try to like actually be helpful. I’m a strong believe in characters as actors. a good character will have thoughts and feelings and habits and tendencies and if you’re ever stumped on what happens next, sometimes the solution is as simple as asking the character what they want to do. not all the time, of course, since there will often be outside forces acting on your character, but sometimes

also useful: the phrase “what if.” it is 100% fine to fill your story with plot points that you personally think are cool and just really wanted to write. bouncing what-ifs with a friend is a great way for things to spiral completely out of control very quickly, and then you can pick and glean the parts of the discussion that you like and shove them in there

also also useful: cottage cheese. I’m sorry it’s almost 1:30am right now and I’m losing my wits but I am going somewhere with this. when I was studying graphic design a professor once said that the most important part of the brainstorming stage is to get all of your surface level ideas out of your head. so if cottage cheese is your kneejerk reaction you write it down as an option, even if you know it’s stupid. if you don’t write it down it sits in your head and hinders your other thoughts (which is why I’m always making posts like “just to get this out of my head” and stuff). so, write down ALL YOUR THOUGHTS. every single one of them, each and every half-baked concept you got in your noggin. once you start clearing out the light and buoyant stuff that floats to the top first, then you get to the deeper, richer, more flavorful ideas

.....I may still be thinking about cottage cheese, just a little bit

BUT YES. that was a lot of words that I’m not entirely sure will be useful to you but I wish you all luck!! creative writing class is a lot work but also a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy it bunches and get a whole lot out of it ♡