#friend tag: treena

[deadringers2023]

tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

tagged by treena @rosamndpike, ty <33

list 3 ships you like: i had to think on this for a minute because i tune out shipping sometimes for plot but uhhhh bobby x athena, geto x gojo, kate x may (monarch lom)

first ship ever: ................bamon. i was garbage for damon and bonnie season 6 and beyond. honestly, if damon didn't start out that way, i really think he and bonnie could've been really good for each other

last song you heard: ready or not by the fugees

favorite childhood book: idk if it's a childhood book but i really did love fahrenheit 451 back as a freshman in high school

currently reading: like three books rn LOL but take my hand by dolen perkins-valdez, tender is the flesh by agustina bazterrica, and giovanni's room by james baldwin

currently watching: always catching up on 911 (i'm a new watcher), tuesday night is fbi night, thursday is law and order night, black sails, house of the dragon (rewatch/actually finishing it lol), made in abyss, spy x family (rewatch), slow horses (starting s3),

currently consuming: a lot of iced tea whether sweet, peach, pomegranate, just A LOT of tea (i'm trying to phase a lot of soda out of my life)

currently craving: a riceless sushi roll, a coke (see above rip), and a best friend

tagging @kimdokjas @torturedpoets @katherines @pascow @kizzyedgelll @bladesrunner @connie-rubirosa

[spookyblackwidow]

I was tagged by my love @lauraderns 💜💜💜

Tagging: @vcdanvers @danvercarols @clintashaotp @doralupin01 @unsociable-hobbit and anyone else that wants to do it!! (feel free to say I tagged you!)

[taliasburns]

cobie smulders or brie larson xoxo

i ..... uh .... first of all fuck u....... secondly..... cobie

put two celebrities in my asks and i’ll tell you which i think is hotter

[steveroger]

Content creator 2021 Wrapped Tag Game

Cut this into what works for you. Want to do only one instead of five? Do it. Tag 2 people? Do it. This game is not your mum or the Apple App store to tell you what to do. But there are a couple of rules:

RULE 1: Review your creations over 2021. Tag some gifmakers/creators, friends and strangers to get them to do the same.

RULE 2: Link to the content, commentary optional.

Sarah @usermurdocks thank you for tagging me! I was thinking of doing a wrapped post but this was a little different and more interesting to do.

5 (or more!) creations from others that made you smash the reblog button hard, closely followed by your ‘insp’ tag or ‘fave tag’. Link to sets that started conversations, outstanding composition, colouring, etc.

Marvel Heroes by @sersi - Absolutely, without a doubt, one of my favourite edits I’ve seen this year. The detail and the composition blew my mind! The quote tops it off by pulling at my heartstrings. Other favourites by Elysia are this and this Captain America edits. 

The Mandalorian by @usergeralt -  The colours? The blending? The typography? It’s just so beautiful. I am such a sucker for gentle colour gradients and that second gif just speaks to me. All of Annie’s Mando Week sets are really lovely!

The Witcher by @katherineebishop - This edit is burned into my memory. It’s so vibrant and elegant and the composition is so beautiful! Doing this meme I just noticed Laura has a tag called spacegifs and wow, I’m in love with her sets all over again!

The Expanse by @cara-gee - The Expanse Appreciation Week was a super fun event, particularly because it’s a smaller fandom than what I’m used to and the quality of sets was top notch. This is hands down my favourite set from that event. Treena makes such beautiful rainbow sets like these and those, I’m in love.

Steve Rogers by @userachilles - Everything Emma has made is beautiful and this is one of my many favourites!! I am absolutely weak for my captain and that colour combination and the blending omfg??? Just brilliant. Emma I know you’re up to your armpits in Hades but I will still love your beautiful Steve gifs. 

The Falcon Captain America and the Winter Soldier by @jackarthurdavenport - This is just SO well done? The blending is perfect and the red and blue contrasted with the monochrome is so lovely!! Also Elle I miss you 💕

Black Panther by @sith-maul - do I need to explain!? Just incredible. The vibrancy of that purple and the blending and typography is all god tier editing. I love all of Nik’s work but this is a strong fave.

I have a very long list of favourite posts in my #inspo tag that I could not possibly list them all here. Lmao this list is way more than 5.

4 creations of which you’re proud. These are goals you scored. Nothing to do with notes.

The Mandalorian picspam - this is probably my most prized edit from that year! To be completely honest it was the result of an attempt of making some fancy gif edit but I got frustrated and realised I could make a picspam AND include so many more screenshots of my favourite parts of the series. 

Steve Rogers - this set was one of those ‘well I have this vague idea but let’s see what happens’. The magic of the second gif happened by accident, I duplicated a layer into the wrong file and ended up with something really cool and I’m so proud of. I’d redo the last gif tho sldkfjsdf let’s ignore that one

Pedro Pascal birthday set - I LOVE THIS WORK. I am so proud of it. It felt so simple at first but of course I naturally gravitate towards colourful gifs, and I couldn’t figure out a red colour. That Triple Frontier gif really went off, I’m so proud and honestly have no idea how I managed to achieve that.

Narcos Javier Pena - I’m so glad Astrid suggested this playlist for inspo because everything just worked seamlessly. I can’t think of a better song that speaks to Javier’s character. I really played with fade-ins and blending to suit the mood for each gif.  

3 creations others loved. Include the one that one that got most notes, great comments, or the classic ‘how dare you!’

TFATWS John Walker DIY tutorial - lmao this was SO FUN to make. Don’t ask me to do it again though because I have no idea lol I was so high on the serotonin of the idea of this and it’s my most reblogged gifset this year 

The Mandalorian x tumblr banned tags part 1 and part 2 - lmao I just love how Tumblr users respond to these situations. I also love these sets from other fandoms!

Simu Liu on Shang Chi - I made this edit because these sentences spoke to me so strongly, and I read so much feedback in tags and comments about people who feel the same way! I love Simu for understanding the weight of his role and how much his story means to the Asian community. Not much in terms of editing, but this edit means a lot.

2 creations that stretched you as a creator: style, colouring, blending, text, etc. include the one that should have got more notes.

Natasha Romanoff - yeah I tried really hard on this and it didn’t go off the way I hoped. I had done a similar colour edit for Steve which did quite well. I worked 10x harder for Natasha’s and I really wish it picked up more notes :(

Marcus Moreno - the colouring is definitely something I haven’t dared to do before - it’s almost fluorescent. Kinda wanna redo it. 

1 creation of yours that you find most aesthetically pleasing to the eye and self AND 1 creation that broke and (maybe remade you) as a creator – we all have that one.

Chris Evans birthday edit - unfortunately this was a day late but I still like how I pulled this off. Navy is a colour that looks so good on him!!

If Beale St Could Talk - so colouring this broke me lol I’m still not 100% happy with it, but I did the best I could. Also, this movie broke me into a million pieces.

0 the creation that never was because nothing was working that day.

sdfsjdlfsjdf OKAY WELL I really liked the cyberpunk aesthetic of Madripoor in TFATWS and I tried to do some cool colouring thing but it sucked and everyone else had much + much + much + much prettier edits than me so I gave up lol

Tagging: (feel free to ignore if you’ve done it/don’t want to)

@trashcora / @pedrorascal / @sith-maul / @djarsdin​ / @aandrewgarfield​ / @katherineebishop​ / @sersi​ / @star-wars​ / @chris-hargreeves​ / @vibroblade​ / @amandaseyfried​

[bookenders]

I’m Back!

Well, mostly! 

(Also, hi tag list! I missed you!)

I finished my first year of graduate school last week (hooray!) so I’ll be starting to post again real soon! I have free time now! What a concept!

Congrats to all the college and high school and grad school and PhD graduates! You’ve done amazing work! And you conquered Hell Semester! WOO!

A little list of personal updates from your formerly hiatused writing pal, because sometimes we gotta share the joy:

My friend got me into plants. Right now I have 5 in my house (plus 4 lemon tree seeds I just planted) and 2 stuck in New York because of the lockdown, which my roommate has adopted. I have named them all after rad writers and stories.

I will be posting/updating my fanfic soon (continuing TND and debuting The Knight and the Rose!), since I finally have time to write now! And maybe I’ll even make some progress on Heart to Heart! It feels more important to write that one right now because it’s soft and low stakes and warm. And I don’t know about y’all, but I could really go for some of that right about now.

I have done all of the quarantine hobbies like I’m checking off a bingo card. My hair is now purple. I am knitting a scarf. I have a mile high pile of to-read books. I baked some cookies. I got super into even more podcasts. I have houseplants. I’m gonna garden. I am become your lesbian aunt.

I got a very competitive fellowship in my program! I start this summer! It’s rad as heck! I’m super excited!! I’m doing a summer internship, too, which is neat.

Speaking of school, I found out there’s a book coming out that is perfect for my thesis topic and I will be vibrating with excitement until I can get my hands on it.

I love Stardew Valley now. 

And if anyone is interested, here’s my To-Be-Read Pile of Books:

Satellite by Nick Lake

Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (also Her Body and Other Parties)

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

A Tree or a Person or a Wall by Matt Bell

Loki by Mackenzie Lee

The Wicked Deep by Ernshaw

Krik? Krak! by Edwige Danticat

Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien (it’s been sitting on my nightstand for like a whole year. I pick it up and read a few pages every once in a while for the #feels but I haven’t read all the way through it yet)

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T. Kira Madden

Angels in America by Tony Kushner

How to Be Both by Ali Smith

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings - Anthology

Sorry to Disrupt the Peace by Patti Yumi Cottrell

How is everyone doing????? I’ve missed you all! 

Tell me about the bright spots in your life! Let’s dwell on some joy!

[Tag Lists under the cut:]

HEART TO HEART

WIP Intro Post | H2H WIP Tag | Character Page | WIP Page | PowerPoint Intro

Character Tags: Gemma | Mel | The Ladies | Fred Coriander | Officer Oz

OC Intros: Harry | Mary | Oz | Jill | Treena | Fred | Gemma | Mel

@katekyo-bitch-reborn, @cawolters, @wasting-ink-not-youth, @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @mvcreates, @writeness, @half-explored, @dcdarrells, @asherscribbles, @mushwrites, @purpleshadows1989, @royalbounties, @waterfallwritings, @the-clockwork-anything, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @abalonetea, @timefirewrites, @tricksexual, @introspective-outreach, @alternativeforensicscientist, @sumoranges, @hermiones-writeblrr, @timefire25, @sunlight-and-starskies, @typewriter-jade, @evelyns-spilled-tea

SHORT FICTION AND ORIGINALS

Want more original fiction?  Take a gander at my original writing tag and my short stories tag!

For writing advice and observations, check out my advice tag.

Want info on my WIPs? Have a look-see at my WIP page!

Do you like the way I put words together? Consider buying me a Ko-Fi! (Link in my blog description!)

Want to be added to my original fiction tag or my WIP tags? Let me know! 😊

@piratequeenofpixies, @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @half-explored, @purpleshadows1989, @ofvisitorsthefairest, @theevolutionofledarose, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @waterfallwritings, @abalonetea, @timefire25, @metaphors-and-melodrama

THE NEITHER DAYS

Link to Story | Story Tag | The Playlist

TND Tag List: @every-book-has-a-secret, @at-thezenith, @ofinkblotsandscript, @alternativeforensicscientist, @abalonetea

[elizabetholsens]

hi i was tagged by treena @natashasromanofff!! 

Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions, don’t cheat. Tag 10 (or however many) people.

1. Riverdale

2. Euphoria

3. Pushing Daisies

4. Parks and Rec

5. The Good Place

1. Who is your favourite character in 2?

Maddy Perez i would die for her

2. Who is your least favourite character in 1?

probably any of the boys lmao or Cheryl’s mom

3. What is your favourite episode of 4?

The snake juice episode

4. What is your favourite season of 5?

asdlkj uhhh probably season one just bc it’s so pure and the twist is one of the best things i’ve ever watched

5. Who is your favourite couple in 3?

obviously ned and chuck

6. Who is your favourite couple in 2?

honestly kat and ethan or whatever his name is. i love rue and jules but they unhealthy

7. What is your favourite episode of 1?

whichever episode it is where cheryl and toni fuck in veronica’s illegal casino

8. What is your favourite episode of 5?

wow i have no idea lmao maybe the most recent season finale

9. What is your favourite season of 2?

there’s only been one so

10. How long have you watched 1?

since it started but i stopped at the beginning of season 3 i think?? and then once cheryl was really truly a lesbian i started again for her

11. How did you become interested in 3?

a friend in high school told me about it although i’m not sure how i watched it back then since it was like 2007? were things online then? 

12. Who is your favourite actor in 4?

megan mullally probably

13. Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?

right now 2, euphoria

14. Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3 ?

more episodes of riverdale exist at all and i’ve seen all of them but i WISH more of pushing daisies existed

15. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

i think i’d be kristen bell bc she’s cute and funny and in love

16. Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work?

i guess some of the parks department could go to the pie hole? leslie would probably adore the darling mermaid darlings and she would for sure love to eat a lot of dessert so i’m going to say yes

17. Pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?

cheryl and any of the girls lol

18. Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

i am always going to say pushing daisies no matter what

19. Which has the better theme music, 2 or 4?

euphoria for sure has the superior music

i never know who to tag in these things asdklgj but hi @sabrinacarpunter @becamitchell @beardychris @inejwraithh

[spookyblackwidow]

I was tagged by the absolute gem @lauraderns 💜

1. Do you make your bed?

Tbh depends on the morning and my mood. I prefer my entire room to be neat, but sometimes life has other plans

2. What’s your favorite number?

2! Big fan of even numbers

3. What’s your job?

Currently looking for some sort of research position in a lab, but I used to be a teacher in an infant room

4. Can you parallel park?

I haven’t done it in a while, but yes

5. A job you had which would surprise people?

Ummmm I worked at a tutoring place, a Mongolian grill, a daycare, and as a lab teaching assistant, idk if any are particularly surprising??

6. Do you think aliens are real?

The universe is so vast, believing we’re the only life is absurd (so yes)

7. Can you drive a manual car?

Never tried, sounds too stressful 😂

8. What’s your guilty pleasure?

I don’t exactly feel guilty about the things I enjoy, but I also don’t usually tell people how many times I’ve watched Criminal Minds (tbh I’ve lost count)

9. Tattoos?

Ugh I’m too indecisive to be able to get one right now (plus my mom wouldn’t be happy)

10. Favorite color?

Blue, but also green and purple 💙💚💜

11. Things people do that drive you crazy?

Being inconsiderate! I’m fairly tolerant of most things, but I can’t stand egocentric and rude people

12. Any phobias?

Lol good luck separating those from my anxiety, probably heights

13. Favorite childhood sport?

Softball and soccer

14. Do you talk to yourself?

Yes, it’s a GREAT way to solve things, it helps me think

15. What movies do you adore?

Oh no, ummmm Mulan, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Wizard of Oz, The Conjuring, Silence of the Lambs, probably Black Widow (2020), just the weirdest mix of so many things, idk I can’t think 😅

16. Do you like puzzles?

YES!!!! Literally my favorite thing, give me puzzles of any type! I did a Mulan jigsaw puzzles last week, I do daily crosswords, sudoku, I just LOVE SOLVING THINGS

17. Favorite kind of music?

Classic rock and musicals

18. Tea or coffee?

Tea!!!

19. What’s the first thing you remember you wanted to be when you grew up?

An artist or a veterinarian!

I’m tagging @vcdanvers @clintashaotp @unsociable-hobbit @better-life-through-wine @danvercarols and any one else that wants to do it!!

(Feel free to ignore 😂)

[bookenders]

10 Questions Tag!

Tagged by @ettawritesnstudies! (Here’s their post!) Thanks! These are so fun.

(I’m tagging a bunch of people because #norules.)

Bilbo Taggins: @thelordgreen, @shirasade, @abalonetea, @quilloftheclouds, @quillwritten, @waterfallwritings, @writingwitherebus, @writing-with-melon, @lukes-writing, @radiowrites, @one-voice-rising, @reininginthefirewriting, @pheita, @cluelessbuttercup, @holotones, @mercutioswriting, @metaphors-and-melodrama, @adayforducks, @corsairesque​

My questions for y’all:

1. Is there a story you just can’t stand? What is it and why?

2. What’s your favorite cliche? What’s your favorite way to twist it?

3. What are your favorite tings to do as self-care?

4. What’s the softest thing you’ve ever written?

5. Is there a story/book/essay you’d 100% recommend?

6. What’s your fondest writing memory?

7. Who’s your favorite artist? Are you inspired by any other forms of art?

8. Do you have a favorite kind of pen (or other writing utensil)?

9. How often do you write for yourself? For others?

10. What about your writing are you most proud of?

My answers under the cut:

1. How did you come up with your WIP’s title? What does it mean in relation to the story? Heart to Heart is a pun with many many layers. Because everything I do has to be a pun. It references the emotional connection, the literal physical connection, a pseudo-metaphorical thing that happens, and the big emotional climax of the story. Fish Food is a weird joke that I made and thought it was so great it had to be the title. The story started off as a single scene, which involved the classic “dangle hero over pit of hungry fish” thing where the hero was “fish food,” and then it evolved into something that kinda turned all the characters into metaphorical fish food. 

For my short stories, it’s usually something that fits the #aesthetic. Or a pun. I can’t help it, it just happens sometimes. 2. Do you title your chapters? If so, what’s your favorite? I’ve never really written anything long enough to have chapters before. I do title my fanfic chapters, because it’s fun and it makes it easier to remember where you were when reading on AO3.  My chapter titles for The Neither Days are excellent, if I do say so myself. Each one is a pun. My favorite so far is “Stakes, Medium Rare.” Because the stakes get raised, and they visit a medium.  3. What’s a recent line you really like? I haven’t written much lately (yay grad school), but here’s a little something from a short story I’m writing for my friend. It’s about wives.

“They fish, sometimes, some early dawns and evenings, poles light in their palms, feet brushing the gentle sea. They wrap their hands in fishing wire and cast the lines beyond their reach. They peel the scales with their fingers, mindful of how they stick and stay. They set the bones aside. They drink white wine, which is far more romantic than red. They dine together by candlelight once the sun shuts its eyes. Their stars sing them to sleep.”

Okay, more than a line. I like this section. Needs some editing, but there’s some cool stuff there.  4. Are there any writing-related quotes you really like?

The entirety of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. 

5. Do you have an idea for cover design for your story? Nope! But my good bud @denaramor / @dc-writes / @dcdarrells made some covers for me!! Look at their glory:

6. What sort of AU can you imagine your story being?

I can see H2H being a sci-fi space AU, definitely. Oh wow, that’d be really cool and interesting. Gemma as the expedition’s doctor, Mel as a stranger they meet when they rescue a drifting vessel, Oz as the “commander...” 

Ugh, now I wanna write it. 

7. Which OC would be the most angry with you as the writer?

Hm. Probably Iron Will, to be honest. He starts off in a pretty rough place in Fish Food. Sorry, bud. 

8. If you had to tell the story from a different POV, which character would you choose?

I’m planning a prequel of sorts of H2H from Treena’s perspective, but if it had to be the current story... I’d say Mel. There’d be enough mystery on her end to keep it interesting.

FF would be from Nightmare’s point of view, maybe. That’d be super weird. Following the main villain as the heroes try to convince her that she isn’t serving the purpose her organization makes her think she is. 

9. What would be your OC’s taste in music if they lived in our world?

Here’s an ask I answered about the H2H cast’s music tastes!

For FF:

Overseer: pop punk, Billy Joel, AC/DC, top 40

Iron Will: country, mashups, classic rock, post-rock

Lithium: 80s hair bands, David Bowie, R&B, protest rock

Bablyon: musical scores and soundtracks

10. What’s one personal goal you want to achieve by the end of the story?

H2H: Get better at writing soft things.

FF: Figure out how to plot a mystery!’

[bookenders]

Storyteller Saturday once again, my charming 🌵 friend! So, if your characters were to be a host of a show (or podcast, etc.), what do you think the show would be about? Do you think they would actually be good at being the host?

Storyteller Saturday!

I, uh… Got a little carried away.

Here are some AU podcasts:

FRED

A podcast about what life was like in medieval England and France! You might’ve read the blog, but now you can hear the podcast! Join host Fred Coriander as he takes a walk through history and tells you everything history books won’t.

Fred would be a great host! He loves to ramble about things he likes. Of course, he’d have to hire someone to edit the episodes. Best to keep the oops risk factor at a minimum. It would have some kind of structure that would be solid for the first five minutes before he hits a tangent and gets distracted.

GEMMA

Wonky magic got you down? Cary’s here to help! Once an anonymous forum-cryptid, this wickedly talented alchemist knows all the tips and tricks to turn your notions into potions and keep your mage grades up.

Gemma’s show would be posted under her pseudonym to avoid all that annoying legal business. It’s an advice show/case study program that does listener questions for the first half and a recipe explanation/walk through for the second half. She’s an excellent teacher and has photo references for her experiments. It’s sort of like her science journal.

And she’d totally use mimic philters to alter her voice for recording.

MEL

Subject-assisted surgery, fully organic prosthetics, all-natural spell-free permanent hair-dye - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Fae-expert and self-proclaimed master of all things weird Mel will take you on a journey into the not-so-distant future as she highlights the wildest things science has to offer. 

So, this one might be a bit of a surprise, but Mel is a huge nerd for weird science. Especially weird medical science. She might not be the best host, but she has the best info. If she gets on a topic she knows a lot about, she goes a little too fast for most people to keep up with, and if there’s a boring bit she usually skims over it or skips it entirely. Which would lead to a lot of confusion.

RYAN

Join Ryan Sinclair as he breaks down your screw ups and spills the tea on the world of modern tech! From high-brow corporate device schemes to how to power your home off the grid, Ryan and the occasional guest expert unravel what’s really going on behind the curtain.

Surprise surprise, Ryan would not be the best host. He stutters and has a lot of dead air, so he relies on guests to fill time and help him out. He’s got the know-how, just not the presenter skills to share it. So he brings on people like Andy and Jamie to make everything engaging and coherent.

[Throwing my tag lists on here because this one’s fun:]

H2H

WIP Intro Post | H2H WIP Tag | Character Page | WIP Page | PowerPoint Intro

Character Tags: Gemma | Mel | The Ladies | Fred Coriander | Officer Oz

OC Intros: Harry | Mary | Oz | Jill | Treena | Fred | Gemma | Mel

H2H Tag List: @katekyo-bitch-reborn, @cawolters, @wasting-ink-not-youth, @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @mvcreates, @writeness, @half-explored, @dcdarrells, @aslanwrites, @minusfractions, @purpleshadows1989, @royalbounties, @waterfallwritings, @the-clockwork-anything, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @abalonetea, @timefirewrites, @tricksexual, @introspective-outreach, @alternativeforensicscientist, @sumoranges

[Let me know if you want to be added or removed!]

_____

FISH FOOD

WIP Intro Post | FF WIP Tag | WIP Page | PowerPoint Intro

Character Tags: Iron Will | Overseer | Lithium | Babylon | Nightmare | Sparkplug

OC Intro Post:  Phase 1 | Phase 2

Individual Intros:

Phase 1 (Main Cast): Iron Will | Overseer | Lithium |  Babylon | Nightmare

Phase 2 (Supporting Cast): Sparkplug | Battalion | Ferro

***

[Let me know if you want to be added or removed!]

Fish Food Tag List:  @theevolutionofledarose, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @quilloftheclouds, @waterfallwritings, @dontwritethatone, @aeschknight, @abalonetea, @ladywithalamp, @writevevo, @danger-writes, @anika-writes-things, @sunlight-and-starskies, @writing-every-other-star, @shadeshadow234, @jaimistoryteller, @leave-her-a-tome, @dowings, @alternativeforensicscientist, @sumoranges, @notanalien51

[bookenders]

Storyteller saturday! What was the first thing you knew that /had to be/ included in your wips? What's special about it? What is giving your motivation to work on your current projects? What's a neat worldbuilding thing you came up with?

Storyteller Saturday!

Hey hey @timefire25! Thanks so much for the asks, friend!

I’m gonna tackle these fantastic questions in order: 

[H2H = Heart to Heart

FF = Fish Food

AOPC = All Our Painted Colors

TND = The Neither Days]

1.  What was the first thing you knew that /had to be/ included in your wips?

H2H: Lesbians. Happy, live-beyond-the-end-of-the-story lesbians who can do magic and are ridiculously wholesome. Also: a strong, loving community; social commentary; enough fluff to stuff a whole set of pillows; cool science stuff.

FF: Humor! Without it, this story would be super duper way too dark. Also, lots of social commentary on… *checks notes*

That. And legit depictions of mental health issues.

AOPC: A culture centered around ART. I love art. And stories.

TND: Okay so there’s this one scene coming up that’s super rad and I’m really excited about it. It’s been in my head since the beginning and it’s like, the second scene I thought up. I love the imagery and the symbolism and the feelings. It’s great.

2. What’s special about it?

H2H: Sometimes you need to read something that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Fluff makes the world go ‘round, ya know? And lesbians gotta survive. Also, I’m passionate about found families, which is why the story has one at its very center. I love writing stories about people who don’t feel at home somewhere, so they find with other people who feel the same and call a new place theirs. It’s an important thing to learn: there’s always somewhere for you, and always someone out there who can catch your drift. 

FF: Stories like this one are ways to see the truth of reality. Okay, that sounded super intense. What I mean is that this is a story about a group of people who have been used coming together to fight back against a system that’s doing its best to tear them down. Including accurate and respectful depictions of mental health in this story is important to me, too. I feel like this genre is a great place to explore that. 

Also, I need to work on my humor writing so that’s pretty special, I guess. 

AOPC: I loved the idea of a culture based on art. What do they value? How to they keep records of events and their history? How do they share information? What do they hold dear? It’s sort of my own version of the Legato Conservatory, for those who listen to TAZ. I don’t know of any other fantasy cultures 100% centered on art, either. It’s a story about storytelling and all the ways you can use it. And I think that’s pretty special.

TND: The metaphor and the symbolism, with the context of the canon, is so full of feels it makes my heart clench. It’s an unexpected coming together, a reaching out of two hands that meet in the middle while the world spins off-kilter around them. It’s an oh and a gasp in the same breath. It’s a fall that feels like flying.

That’s about as poetic as I can get without spoilers.

3.  What is giving your motivation to work on your current projects?

Right now, not much, to be honest. It’s midterms time and I’m a grad student, so life is pretty much study hell right now. But my stories are my creative therapy, so I expect I’ll start writing again pretty soon after all my business chills out. 

But on the regular: I really want to tell everyone about the big giant spoilers and how they happen in H2H, and one of the big confrontation scenes in FF (seriously, it’s a huge twist I don’t think a lot of people will see coming - one of them anyway 😉), and I want to figure out what the hell happens next in AOPC, and in TND, I really want to get to the switched POV chapter because it’s full of mutual pining and it offers a lot of really good insight into one character’s head (it’s my motivation to finish this transition chapter too because it’s taking forever).

4.  What’s a neat worldbuilding thing you came up with?

H2H: The magic types I developed are pretty cool! Astromancy, Totem Magic, Sigilcrafting, and Pact Magic. There are a few others, but that’d be spoilers, my friend. Making these info posts was also very fun. I got to do nerdy research about magic and science! 

And something I haven’t mentioned yet: liminal spaces are very important in this story! The town of Linsay is a liminal space. Gemma’s house is a liminal space. The police station is a liminal space for Oz. The lake is a liminal space. This is important: transformation takes place at liminal places. Magic is strongest there. The old is left behind and the new is just ahead. And the fae inhabit liminal spaces.

FF: I made a WIP page that mimics the Coalition of Heroes’ database! It took forever and it was really hard but I did it! And I think it looks rad. 

In-world, hmm… I really like Lithium’s bar. It’s a place that’s like a hero-themed TGI Friday’s or Red Robin, and it’s also the hangout for off-duty heroes. They all chill there like it’s a cop bar for officers who are all undercover. It’s great. None of the civilians who go there know that they’re sitting next to high level super heroes. And Lithium thinks it’s hilarious.

AOPC: There are so many cool worldbuilding things in this story. One is the marriage ceremony I made up. The couple stands before the Namestone and the most senior Elder binds the bride’s left hand to the groom’s right. Then the men of the tribe line up behind the groom, and the women line up behind the bride. They’re ordered so the people closest to them, like family and lifelong friends, are first. One by one, the women dip their right hands in purple paint and mark the bride’s back with their hand print. The men do the same with green paint on the groom’s back.

After everyone’s marked the bride and groom, the Elder blesses the couple, holds their foreheads together, and then they turn around and press their backs together, mixing the paint and blending the colors together. The party starts as soon as their hands are unbound. 

TND: Since most of the worldbuilding for this has already been done by the canon, here are a few recurring story threads I’m working with: Crowley vs. ducks, liminal spaces being the most comfortable and calming, “a good shock to loosen the tongue,” and the kinds of miracles that don’t work. 

Thank you so much for these awesome questions!! 💜

I’ll add my tag lists since there’s a lot of information worth tagging about:

H2H

WIP Intro Post | H2H WIP Tag | Character Page | WIP Page | PowerPoint Intro

Character Tags: Gemma | Mel | The Ladies | Fred Coriander | Officer Oz

OC Intros: Harry | Mary | Oz | Jill | Treena | Fred | Gemma | Mel

H2H Tag List: @katekyo-bitch-reborn, @cawolters, @wasting-ink-not-youth, @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @mvcreates, @writeness, @half-explored, @dcdarrells, @aslanwrites, @minusfractions, @purpleshadows1989, @royalbounties, @waterfallwritings, @the-clockwork-anything, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @abalonetea, @timefirewrites, @tricksexual, @introspective-outreach, @alternativeforensicscientist, @sumoranges, @hermiones-writeblrr

[Let me know if you want to be added or removed!]

AOPC

AOPC Tag List: @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @half-explored, @chemistwriter, @purpleshadows1989, @waterfallwritings, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @abalonetea, @alternativeforensicscientist, @hermiones-writeblrr

FF

WIP Intro Post | FF WIP Tag | WIP Page | PowerPoint Intro

Character Tags: Iron Will | Overseer | Lithium | Babylon | Nightmare | Sparkplug

OC Intro Post:  Phase 1 | Phase 2

Individual Intros:

Phase 1 (Main Cast): Iron Will | Overseer | Lithium |  Babylon | Nightmare

Phase 2 (Supporting Cast): Sparkplug | Battalion | Ferro

***

[Let me know if you want to be added or removed!]

Fish Food Tag List:  @theevolutionofledarose, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @quilloftheclouds, @waterfallwritings, @dontwritethatone, @aeschknight, @abalonetea, @ladywithalamp, @writevevo, @danger-writes, @anika-writes-things, @sunlight-and-starskies, @writing-every-other-star, @shadeshadow234, @jaimistoryteller, @leave-her-a-tome, @dowings, @alternativeforensicscientist, @sumoranges, @notanalien51, @hermiones-writeblrr​

TND

Link to Story | Story Tag

TND Tag List: @every-book-has-a-secret, @at-thezenith, @ofinkblotsandscript, @alternativeforensicscientist, @abalonetea

[bookenders]

🖊!!! (would love to hear something about your favourite OC)

My favorite?? It changes all the time, my friend!

Today, since I’m writing one of his big scenes, it’s Oz!

🌵

Oz is a cactus. But he is also an onion. He’s got layers, yo! Layers he has cultivated after being a police officer for a long time, a family man, a runaway, a best friend, a boss, a subordinate, an investigator, and a dad-ish person. 

I love that he is a gruff butthead until someone manages to annoy him enough to make him let down one of his walls so you can see that he cares a whole bunch. The best part is that he doesn’t put up a front at all. That prickly exterior is how he is. Like a turtle. Turtles don’t find their shells, they grow with the turtle as it gets older. Oz didn’t decide to be a grumpy stickler, he was born that way. 

He is not the cool uncle with his nieces. He’s the uncle who used to be a big deal and now he’s like a mythic figure who gives you candy when your parents aren’t looking.

When he’s embarrassed, he puts everyone else first. It’s his way of diverting attention away from himself.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that while Oz may not be the smartest grape in the bunch, he’s incredibly insightful. He can see through anyone’s BS. It’s made him a very good cop and a very good friend. 

[Wanna hear more about my OCs?]

H2H tag list under the cut!

WIP Intro Post | H2H WIP Tag | Character Page | WIP Page

Character Tags: Gemma | Mel | The Ladies | Fred Coriander | Officer Oz

OC Intros: Harry | Mary | Oz | Jill | Treena | Fred | Gemma | Mel

(Let me know if you want to be added or removed!)

Tag List: @katekyo-bitch-reborn, @cawolters, @wasting-ink-not-youth, @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @mvcreates

[bookenders]

11/11/11 Tag Game: 16/17/18?

Back again to spill the tea about myself for all you lovely people.Thanks @cataclysmic-writer, @maybeillwriteit and @aurisadventure for the tags!

My answers are under the cut. 😊

Rules: Answer the 11 questions of the person who tagged you, make up 11 questions, then tag 11 people to answer them. 

Bilbo Taggins: @brittanyisart, @quilloftheclouds, @brittanyisart, @brynwrites, @creatvrae, @elisabethrosewrites, @elizabethsyson, @ren-c-leyn, @yetmorestories, @pinespittinink, @timefire25

My Questions:

What are your thoughts on throw pillows?

Do you have any podcast recommendations? How about TV shows?

What month would you be on a calendar, and what would the picture be?

What is one book that you absolutely love, no matter what anyone else has to say about it? 

What’s your favorite kind of scented candle?

What’s your favorite urban legend?

Would you ever go on an arctic expedition?

What’s the furthest from home you’ve ever been?

What is the best snack?

How purple do you allow your prose to be/get? What’s your purple limit? Is there one?

What’s one word/line/scene/character that you want to put in a story, but you haven’t found the right place for yet?

@cataclysmic-writer‘s questions:

What do you eat or drink while writing? It varies depending on how I’m feelin’. Usually a big giant glass of water. I used to have coffee and/or tea, but it always got cold because I forgot about it. That’s actually how I used to measure my progress, by how cold the drink was.  And coffee got me too jazzed to sit still, so I stopped drinking while writing. Good for academic papers, though.

Best piece of advice you ever received? Like... ever? Okay. People are more interested in themselves/absorbed with themselves to really care what you’re doing. Very empowering for someone with real bad social anxiety (like myself heyooo).

Which book inspired you to write the most? I’ve talked about Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls before, and I’m gonna mention it again. And that I went to a signing for her new book Shout and I got to thank her and my life has been enriched a thousand-fold.

Which author do you try to emulate when you write? Oh, man, I do not do this at all. Okay, well, not at all, because I find it to be a valuable writing exercise to practice with. But I super don’t. I’ve done projects where I’ve emulated Walt Whitman, Philip Levine, Tolkien, Dostoevsky, Poe (eugh), and Anne Valente. Those were super fun. I like imitating styles and I’ve gotten pretty darn good at it. Sometimes I tell myself to put a Gaiman-like twist on a section, though, or describe something like another author if it fits the tone for funsies. But I like writing like me! 

Where did you get the idea for your current wip? I’ve already talked about Heart to Heart, so I’ll talk about “Fish Food!” This one happened when I was pondering superheroes, James Bond, tropes, evil monologues, and the like. I had the image of a hero tied up and dangling over a pit of piranhas while the villain detailed his evil plan. But the hero didn’t follow the script. And then, like every one of my short stories, it spun way out of control. I started to think of what heroes would inhabit this world that erupted from the fertile soil of my brain and suddenly I had a big complicated story that I was excited about. And it was funny, which is a change for me.

Do you have a go-to beta reader/writing buddy you bounce ideas off of? I do! One of my goodest friends is a fellow writer and she’s my spaghetti wall if I need assistance. We went through the same creative writing program one year apart and had different teachers, so we offer each other pretty different advice, and it’s great. She’s super into fae lore, too, which is ridiculously helpful for me, a nerd who is writing a light fantasy story with fae in it. We operate in different styles and genres, though, so sometimes idea-bouncing is a little tricky.

Which of your WIPs is your favorite? Of the ones I’m working on right now? Probably “Incarnate.” Partly because it’s closer to my usual writing fare, partly because it’s weird and disturbing in my favorite ways, partly because the ending is really cool and surprising in a way that hits you long after you finish it. I also like it because it’s hard for me to write. Yay, challenges!

Tea, coffee, or soda? Tea for chillin’, coffee for workin’, soda for pizza times.

If you could have any fantasy creature as a pet, which would you have? A brownie to clean my house, or a domovoi to act as a weird home security system would be neat. For non-practical purposes, I’d also say a pegasus. I can ride pretty well and it’d be so convenient to just fly everywhere on my awesome horse buddy.

Do you like creepy/scary movies? NOPE. I am a big chicken shit when it comes to spooky things. As a kid, I was terrified of E.T. That’s how bad it was. 

What genre do you have yet to write in, but want to write soon? Hm. Maybe historical fiction? I already play with it a little bit without actually going into the history part of it too deeply. Maybe I’ll give it a shot in the future.  I’ve always wanted to give magical realism a good try, though. It’s always been hard for me to write. 

________________________________________

@aurisadventure​‘s questions:

1. Who is your favorite oc? Why?

Right now, it’s Lithium from “Fish Food.” She’s just so fun. I also just figured out a big part of Jill’s character that I’m excited to add to H2H!

2. What is your favorite thing to do when you’re not writing?

I got into cooking a while ago, and that’s pretty fun. I do yoga sometimes. I read a bunch. I also like putting things together. Honestly, I’m a big giant nerd who likes learning in their spare time.

3. What is your least favoured genre?

Hard sci-fi is really hard for me to get into. And some contemporary stuff, but it’s not as bad as hard sci-fi.

4. Top three favorite video games? (Any console)

DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS (with Awakening DLC, obvs) (except for the goddamn Mage Circle Fade part I hate it and it deserves to burn in hell)

Ori and the Blind Forest (I’m stuck on the last stupid fire volcano level and I’m so mad because it’s hard but this game is beautiful)

To The Moon (so many tears, such good story)

Honorable mention to Assassin’s Creed 2. 

(I love RPGs.)

5. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for inspiration?

Hm. I don’t really go out and seek inspiration like this. I just consume a whole lot of art in varying mediums. 

I went to a poetry slam one time. Does that count?

6. Buggy or Cart?

Horses, buggy. Oxen, cart. As much as I’d like to be Gandalf...

7. Have you finished any of your wips?

I am so goddamn close to finishing “When Your Song is Over and Done” I can taste it. I’m hoping to write that last stupid scene this week. It’s been the one WIP that’s been kicking my ass lately. How rude.

I’m a short story writer, so I finish a lot of my WIPs. It’s kinda nice. That’s also why longer projects scare me.

8. But like… can I read it?

😉

In the meantime, you can read these!

9. What is your favorite animal? Why?

Highland Cows! Just look at them. 

I’m sure I have a more interesting answer for this, but honestly, cows are all I can think of. I love cows. 

10. Name one place you want to visit more than anything.

Norway! Not sure why. Seems like a really cool place to be.

(I lied I love space and want to go to the observatories.)

11. What is your most cherished childhood memory?

Saturday mornings curled up in my grandfather’s armchair watching TV and eating Burger King before we go visit the animals at the farm.

________________________________________

@maybeillwriteit‘s questions:

1. Which oc would you most like to go for a drink with?

I don’t drink, but I think Treena would be an excellent conversation partner. 

2. Where do you like to write? Bed? Desk? Cafe? etc etc

I have a desk in my room. Not that I usually write at it. I’m good anywhere I can sit up straight and rest my arms.

3. Which of your ocs do you think people are most likely to make fanart for?

Eventually, I hope Mel. I love her character design. Or the superheroes and villains from “Fish Food.” They all have really distinct appearances and cool costumes/uniforms.

4. Favourite piece of writing advice you’ve received?

Probably the time my mentor also admitted he hated writing dialogue, but that sometimes you just gotta. 

5. Which place in your stories would you like to live? (i’ve read this sentence ten times and i ain’t convinced it’s grammatically correct lol)

(maybe: In which place/where in your stories would you most like to live? I dunno this one’s freaking my brain.)

Linsay would be the best place to live, I think. A very chill small town that has everything you need, very supportive soon-to-be friends, an apothecary on stand-by, and lovely weather. Its residents are fiercely protective and are very willing to look the other way where the law is concerned if it helps someone.

6. Do any authors/books influence your writing? Which ones?

Oh, tons. Jim Butcher, Laurie Halse Anderson, George Saunders, Anne Valente, Tolkien, Gaiman, Matt Bell, Aimee Bender, and a whole bunch more authors. And, if you wanna get all heartfelt about it, every single book I’ve read has influenced my writing, whether it’s learning how to do something, learning how not to do something, or finding a new technique that jives with my style.

7. Pick one song that represents your wip.

I’ve done a bunch of song stuff with H2H, so this is for “Fish Food:”

Honestly, my first instinct is “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” from Next to Normal. But it’s not quite right.

I also wanna say “Super Friends” from Holy Musical B@man. 

But in my heart, I know the true answer is “Under Pressure.” How could it not be?

8. Favourite thing about being a writer?

The feels! I love writing things and getting my own feels out, then making other people feel things. It’s so satisfying. 

9. Characters or plot, what came first?

Characters! Oh my God, always characters. And before characters, concept and theme(s). Sometimes a scene just pops into my head and I have to figure out who these people are and why they’re there.

10. Do you like writing prompts?

I do indeedy. They’re pretty helpful when I’m stuck. I only write for the ones that instantly spark an idea in my brain, though. All the ones I’m getting for my 800 followers celebration are insanely good. 

11. Part of your wip that you’re most excited to write?

Oh, man! So many!

H2H: The climax! Well, one of them. The one of the magic incidents and Mel and Gemma’s relationship, to be specific.

Fish Food: When my main two dudes meet Lithium! And figure out what’s going on with her. Or anything about Lithium’s real life. Her story is wild.

WYSiOaD: The goddamn rooftop scene that’s been kicking my ass for a month. It’s gonna be so emotional and poignant and great and I can’t wait for it to be over.

[imogens-temult]

I was tagged by the lil hun @wandaomanov

Nickname: treena is technically a nickname, also go by treen, or tree, or t.

Gender: female

Astrological Sign: cancer

Height: 5′4″ 

Sexuality: bisexual

Hogwarts House: ravenclaw

Favorite Animal(s): sheep

Number of blankets: a duvet, almost always a thick one.

Where I’m from: wales

Dream trip: theatre binge around nyc

When I created this account: 2010

Why I created this account: doctor who, torchwood and ashes to ashes fangirling, and then it spiraled into grey’s anatomy and i made some amazing friends and stayed.

i tag: @iwatchforher @chrisheavans​ @chylerleigh​ @leilaorgana​ @inconspicyous @antmanandthewasp @caroldnvers @redspiderling @danyqueentargaryen if you waaaanna do it !!!

[bookenders]

11/11/11 Tag Game: Round 19!

Yeah, I lied when I said I wasn’t gonna keep numbering them.

Thanks to @maybeillwriteit for the tag!

Rules: Answer the 11 questions of the person who tagged you, make up 11 questions, then tag 11 people to answer them.

Bilbo Taggins: @sleepy-space-dragon, @katekyo-bitch-reborn, @candlelitwriting, @waterfallwritings, @aslanwrites, @writingonesdreams, @abalonetea, @brokenflashbackgypsy, @otters-holding-hands, @cataclysmic-writer, @ofinscriptions

My Questions:

How aware are you of sentence length/structure/variation while you’re writing? Or is it something you mainly focus on in editing?

What’s your favorite technical thing you do in your writing? 

Who’s your favorite poet? And/or what’s your favorite poem?

What’s your favorite thing about your least favorite story?

When you read books, what happens more often: You reading as a writer or as a reader? Or, do you find yourself doing close reads of books more often than not?

Do you focus on the acoustics of your writing as you write? 

What would turn your OC into a conspiracy theorist?

Does your voice change with each story you write, or does it mostly stay the same?

What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?

Finish the sentence: The sun rose ____

What’s your favorite kind of sauce?

1. Least favourite oc to write?

Mel is so difficult to write. I have to go back through all her scenes to make sure her double-speak makes sense with and without new information. And she’s a very complicated person.

2. If you get published, who will you dedicate your work to?

My family and everyone who never told me I couldn’t do it. 😊

3. Which of your ocs would want a big white wedding?

Well, one of my stories has a big white wedding! Or as big and white as a fantasy wedding can be. 

Jill had a big white wedding and it was an absolute blast. Oz would, too, I think. And Nightmare.

4. Sort your ocs into hogwarts houses!!

Oh Lordy, alright, let’s do this.

Griffindor: Harry, Mary, Iron Will, Lithium (or Slytherin, either works for her)

Hufflepuff: Gemma, Oz, Fred, The Overseer

Ravenclaw: Treena, Nightmare, Sparkplug

Slytherin: Jill, Mel, Babylon

5. Favourite literary device?

Extended metaphor, bay-beeee. I use ‘em all the time.

6. Do any of your ocs resemble people you know in real life?

Yep! Mary and Harry are my not-aunt and my best friend-ish. And I guess Jill’s personality borrows from my mom’s a bit.

7. Which oc was the cutest baby?

Oh MAN. I mean, Gemma was pretty darn cute. And little baby Oz? He was a chubby baby, very round.

8. Favourite mythical creature?

Thunderbirds are pretty awesome.

9. Favourite line you’re written?

But there are so many!

Here’s one: “The models that followed blasted through the atmosphere, every trip a bruise set to tear the sky.”

Or the version of it that I actually posted:  “The models that followed, each curved in all the optimal places, balanced for the perfect flight, and painted with a rainbow of nations, blasted through the atmosphere, every trip a bruise set to tear the sky.”

10. Where did you get the idea for your current wip?

“Fish Food” came about when I was pondering old spy movies and superhero tropes. And then I had the image of a hero tied up and hanging above a piranha pit while the villain monologues. Then I thought: what if the hero didn’t follow the script? 

And away my brain went!

11. What are you reading right now?

I just started Hot Dog Girl and I am very excited about it.

[bookenders]

scenario: your ocs are stuck in a snow storm. "Oh well, guess we gotta cuddle for warmth" one says. The other is disgusted by the thought and absolutely refuses.

Did someone say Harry and Oz? Because I heard Harry and Oz.

Here’s a little snippet of Harry and Oz stuck in a car. 

“I told you the weatherman was a liar,” Harry said ten minutes after they had to pull over to the side of the road as their visibility dwindled to a thick snowy nothing.

“It’s not my fault,” Oz grumbled, tightening his scarf around his neck near to choking.

“Forgot you weren’t God for a sec, there, huh?”

“Are you really gonna do this right now?”

“You can’t run away from me. So, yes.”

“I quit.”

“You can’t quit a conversation, Ozymandias.”

“Watch me.”

________

20 minutes later…

“Do you have tapes that aren’t Billy Joel in your car, old man?”

“You’re 10 years older than me, woman,” Oz said, rubbing his hands together to try and generate at least a tiny spark of warmth.

“You look cold,” Harry mused.

“Really. Wonder why.”

“I’m cold, too.” Harry crawled into the backseat. It was not effortless, nor was it graceful. Oz received a lovely boot to the face in the process.

“The hell are you doing?”

“Your back seat is roomier than the front,” Harry said, leaning over to rest her head on Oz’s seat back. “Actually, I think we could fit two whole people back here.”

“Good to know,” Oz said, fiddling with the radio knob on the console.

“Oz.”

“Nope.”

“But-”

“Not a chance in hell,” Oz grumbled. He pulled his hood over his head and scrunched down in his seat.

“Penguins do it all the time,” Harry said.

“Good for them.”

“You love penguins.”

“I am not spooning you for warmth.”

Harry scoffed and held up a mittened hand. “One, I’m married. Two,” she said, tapping the top of her mitten where her second finger would be, “you’re gross. Three, it’s cuddling, not spooning, weirdo.” She stared out the window at the shifting curtain of snow falling from an invisible sky. “And four, we might be here for a while and I don’t want either of us to lose any toes.”

“Toes?”

“Frostbite.”

“Jesus,” Oz huffed.

________

10 minutes later…

“You swear to not make this weird?”

“No,” Harry said. “It will definitely be weird. But don’t worry, I won’t make any moves on you. Your chastity will be safe with me.”

“My chastity thanks you.”

“Tell your chastity it is most welcome.”

“I’m not climbing into the back seat.”

“It’s your car,” Harry argued.

“And I’d rather not get my shoes all over it, thank you very much,” Oz said, aiming a glare at Harry, who was perched in the middle of the back seat, sitting on her hands and rolling her eyes.

“I barely tapped your face.”

“Was more than a tap, woman. You damn near kicked me in the head,” Oz shot back.

“Just get in the back seat already,” Harry said, Mom Voice in full effect.

But Oz had a weapon of his own. “Do not use that tone with me,” he countered in the rumbling baritone of his Dad Voice.

“You’re getting good at that,” Harry said with a proud grin.

“Don’t try to change the subject.”

“Who said I didn’t want to be yelled at by my best friend?”

“Harry.”

“Come on, Oz,” she said. “I don’t want you to lose your toes. I’m being nice.”

“I wish you wouldn’t,” Oz grumbled, and crawled into the back seat to plop down next to Harry.

She was about to speak when he held a freezing cold hand in front of her face.

“No lying down, no skin contact, no speaking,” he said, and wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders, tucking her into the side of his chest. He reached up to pull her sock hat further down so her ears were fully covered.

“Roger that, Sheriff.”

[Putting my tag list under the cut because why not.]

WIP Intro Post | H2H WIP Tag | Character Page | WIP Page

Character Tags: Gemma | Mel | The Ladies | Fred Coriander | Officer Oz

OC Intros: Harry | Mary | Oz | Jill | Treena | Fred | Gemma | Mel

[Tag List under the cut: (let me know if you want to be added or removed!)]

Tag List: @katekyo-bitch-reborn, @cawolters, @wasting-ink-not-youth, @quilloftheclouds

[bookenders]

11/11/11 Tag Game: Round... uh... 5, 6, & 7?

I got tagged by a bunch of people ( @quilloftheclouds is this how your 77 question one felt??) so here are a bunch of answers! I think this is the most I’ve ever talked about myself in my life. 

Good gracious, you’re all so nice and have such good questions.

Tagged by: @surroundedbypearls, @waterfallwritings, @bigmoodword, @sundaynightnovels

Rules: answer 11 questions, tag 11 people, give them 11 new questions!

[I’ve done this enough to be able to break the tag rules. Fight me.]

44 questions and answers below the cut!

But I’ll be nice and put my questions right here:

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

When do you title your WIPs? It is the first thing you do? The last? Does it come to you during drafting?

How many inside jokes do you put in your WIP(s)?

Your WIP’s antagonist is now The Riddler. How do your OCs handle that?

Do you use sticky notes?

Laptop or desktop?

Your OC is a wrestler. What’s their hype music?

Do you own any craft books/books on writing?

What’s your favorite book cover?

How many unread books do you have sitting around right now? Which are you most excited to maybe get to eventually some time?

How committed are you to your outline(s)?

Bilbo Taggins: Literally anyone, but also @francestroublr, @sahados-shadow, @a-story-im-writing, @bethkerring, @citruschickadee, @bos-ingit

If I’ve tagged you before, you can totally ignore this. In fact, I encourage you to.

From @surroundedbypearls:

What’s your favourite genre to write in and why? Literary fiction! It’s what I learned in university and the one that fits my themes best. Sci-fi is hard, I’m just getting into writing fantasy stuff, I can’t do thrillers, romance is hard for me, and historical is too much work.

Do you think you have a style/voice that you use more often in your writing? When did you develop that style? If you’ve read one of my stories, you know exactly how my writing voice sounds. It doesn’t change too much. I write like I talk, but if I had a lot more gravitas and charisma. Honestly, I’ve always had that kind of style, but it really developed in high school. It’s been getting stronger since then. It’s one of the things I always got comments about from my teachers and fellow workshop writers. “Your voice is so strong!” Yep. It’s mah thang.

Do you play video games? What’s your favourite? YES I DO. It’s hard to pick faves, but I’ve played Dragon Age: Origins too many times. 

If you were going to do a WIP crossover, which OCs would be most interesting together? (If you’ve only got one WIP crossover with something else) A crossover between H2H and AOPC? Interesting. I think Mel and Keema would get along the best, Oz would have some fightin’ words for Elder Sanga, and Gemma and Teva would be a force to be reckoned with, my god. Two stubborn nerds who believe totally different things but are also very determined to be very good at what they want to do and love their communities to a fault? Fear them.

Do you prefer to plan WIPs in a document or through handwritten notes? I used to do it by hand but I couldn’t read it because my handwriting is terrible and I kept losing papers. I do it in docs now. Much easier to organize and incredibly legible.

Do you multiple languages exist in your WIP? If so how do you address that in the story? H2H is set in the “real world,” so yep. It hasn’t been addressed too much yet, but I have a way for tackling languages. I’ve written multilingual-ish stories before. I never write phonetically and use hella context clues so the reader knows the gist of what was said if another character doesn’t translate.

What’s your favourite animated film that’s not Disney or Pixar? AN AMERICAN TAIL. All of them. It’s on Netflix go watch it and marvel at the way a kids movie talks about Jewish immigration, poverty, and cultural oppression via mice. As a young Jewish child, this movie was my jam. It’s very dark, though.

Do your real-life surroundings influence your WIP’s settings? Nope! One time I tried to write a story set in the same area where I lived and I couldn’t do it. Too weird. Sometimes I’ll write in an item I see near me, or like, a painting or poster on the wall if I need some set decoration, but that’s about it.

Which OCs would be most likely to break the fourth wall? Oz. Lookin’ at the camera like he’s in The Office.

How do you work out your OCs’ personalities? Hm. I look at the story I’m trying to write and make a protagonist that would have the most interesting experience in that narrative. For H2H, I wanted someone who would be loyal as heck to the people they loved while still being experimental enough to try new things and get into shenanigans. The story called for someone like that, and there she was. Mel came about my thinking of someone who would compliment other characters in the story while still being their own person. If that makes sense. I think of dynamics and interactions with the story world in relation to the theme(s). Most of the time they just happen, though.

Do you prefer worldbuilding or character building? Character building! As much as I like making stories about places, making characters is more fun for me, and more interesting. You should see all the DnD character sheets I have. 

From @waterfallwritings:

1. How do you come up with ideas for your WIPs?

At random. Seriously. It’s like my brain has to be running something in the background to function normally, and usually that something is whatever story I happen to be working on. Or I’ll look at a thing and go “huh.” My brain also likes to twist normal things to be a little bit different.

2. How do you get past gaps in the plot?

No idea, man. It’s like throwing spaghetti at a wall. I like to work backwards. If this is what I want to happen, what needs to happen before that to ensure that it occurs? I look at all the elements currently in the story and see if one can be manipulated to fill in the hole.

3. What motivates you to keep writing?

If I don’t, my brain gets all constipated and angry until I write something down. Like, seriously, I get grumpy and frustrated like I’m hangry or something. Aside from physical need, I love writing. I love word puzzles and feelings puzzles and figuring them out. Sometimes I think of how my stories could help someone, or make them feel something that they enjoy. 

4. Do you do any other kind of creative writing?

Oh, man, I’ve done it all. Screenwriting, playwriting, poetry, video game-ish writing, interactive storytelling, short stories, flash fiction, proposals, essays, DnD campaigns, monologues... You name it, I’ve probably tried it. I tend to stick to prose and poetry these days.

5. Do you have any other creative hobbies besides writing?

I’ve gotten into graphic design a little bit. I kind of wanna learn how to knit again. I’m not really very crafty. 

6. What do you do when you’re stuck on a scene and don’t know how to get it out / write it?

Write a different scene, stare at the screen in frustration until I give up and go to sleep, meditate for a few minutes, go do something else to get my mind off of it, clean, work on a different project.

7. How do you decide how to end your WIP?

I mean, see the next question for part of my answer. How did I decide to end H2H? My friend, that’s a big ‘ole spoiler. But I decided to end it at a place where everything, and everyone, comes together.

8. When in the process of writing do you decide how its going to end? Or do you kind of just wait til you get there?

Right at the beginning. If I don’t know where it’ll end, I have a hard time writing the arc. I work backwards: start with the idea, then think of where I want it to end up, then work back to the beginning until I know where its going, then start writing.

9. Why did you decide to join writeblr?

My reasons are pretty personal, but the least personal is that I needed some accountability and motivation. And I missed being in a good writing community.

10. What’s your favourite food?

Pasta! I’m eating spaghetti right now.

11. If you had to kill off a character in your WIP, who would it be and why?

Oz would be the most tragic. Treena would be the most logical. 

From @bigmoodword:

1. using one sentence summaries, can you tell me about your wips?

Nerdy potion woman meets cute odd stranger who helps her solve magic mysteries in their quirky small town.

2. what inspired them?

I saw a zine accepting submissions for magic stories, then an open call for queer shifter stories, and thought “what if wholesome magical lesbians?”

3. which of your ocs do you most identify with?

Gemma!

4. if you’ve ever cried while reading, which book cued the waterworks?

THE SONG OF ACHILLES.  My God, my soul was weeping. Honestly, it still is. Doesn’t matter that I knew the story from the Iliad. Madeline Miller is a feelings wizard.

5. how do you conduct research for your wips and what’s the most interesting thing you’ve discovered in said research?

On an as-needed basis. I used to do way too much research to avoid actually writing the damn thing, so now I only do it when I actually run into a problem that can be solved by Google.

6. thus far, which scene has been the most difficult to write?

The ones that aren’t hugely emotional. Which is... unfortunate.

7. which of your ocs do you like the least?

Rude. On a personal level, Jill. I love her, but I would not be friends with her. We wouldn’t mesh at all.

8. which pov and tense do you prefer to write in?

Third person limited present tense! To the bane of everyone who’s ever edited my work.

9. do you write poetry?

I do! Not often, though.

10. who is your writing role model?

My freakin’ writing professor from college. He is crazy disciplined.

11. if you could give your younger writer self some advice, what would it be?

Hey, you know those people who say your writing is too dark? Yeah, they suck and they’re wrong. They just want kids to live up to their expectations and write happy sunshiny stories about unicorns and dinosaurs having ice cream. And you’re not depressed because you wrote that one sad poem one time and someone asked if you were depressed. What you have is called feelings and they’re very useful for a writer, nay, a human, to have.

From @sundaynightnovels:

Who is your biggest role model? Okay, so I got crap all the time in grade school for never having a role model, and I still don’t have one. The teachers were concerned about me. But my reasoning was, “why should I want to live someone else’s life?” Yeah. They didn’t really know what to do with that...

What are your OCs favorite foods? Sort of answered here!

Which OC is most afraid of the dark? Oz and Mary!

What made you want to start a writing blog/participate in the writeblr community? Answered above!

Did you sleep with a stuffed animal as a kid? Do you still? I did, indeed. I don’t anymore, but I have two that I shuffle around my room when they get in the way. One is a highland cow I got in Scotland (he has a plaid hat), the other is a blue whale I got at the Museum of Natural History in NY.

Do you like donuts? I love donuts. Especially jelly filled ones. Mmm.

Do/would your OCs like donuts? All of my OCs like donuts. I don’t think Mel has ever had a modern one, though.

What is your least favorite food? Cauliflower? I’m the household taste-tester, so there’s been a lot of stuff I don’t like.  ( @sundaynightnovels I hate sparkling water, too, you’re not alone!)

What is your ideal writing environment? Comfy seating, a chair with no arms (stupid elbows), alone, plenty of chosen beverage within reach, headphones.

Favorite line from your WIP? So far, it’s this one!

Favorite quote from a book? Oh, man. There are so many. From recent memory, here are a few: “’Give it time,’ she replies. ‘It won’t be a story forever.’“  and “Everyone has heard stories of women like us, and now we will make more of them.” (both from The Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy) “When he smiled, the skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled like a leaf held to flame.” and “I lean forward and our lips land clumsily on each other. They are like the fat bodies of bees, soft and round and giddy with pollen.” (I could write a goddamn essay about the imagery in this scene.) (It is quite possibly my favorite description of a kiss ever. And the metaphor extends through the rest of the scene so artfully ugh.) (both from The Song of Achilles) “The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine to make spirits in the head.” (from The Things They Carried)