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yarrowleef · 1 year

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mmm somethings been rattling around inside my brain about queerness in xenofiction (warrior cats centric cause that's obviously mostly what people are talking about in my internet circles) and I know around here I am preaching to the choir but w/e. I feel like i may have made this post before but i’ll do it again until i feel like i’ve crafted all of my thoughts correctly

everyone knows there’s always like. some shmuck on twitter or youtube comment sections, complaining about how gay cats just don’t make sense ~realistically~

and the common argument back is always something along the lines of “these cats have complex society and religion and talk to ghosts and sometimes have magic powers, and being gay is where you draw the line? it doesn’t have to be realistic”

and something just rubs me the wrong way about that argument, not that it’s WRONG, it’s not wrong, xenofiction by definition is all super super unrealistic. I think it’s more like, it oversimplifies it. because honestly when I make critiques about the warriors world building not making sense, I don’t tend to like the argument beginning and ending at “well it doesn’t have to be realistic” because no it doesn’t but it’s still supposed to feel believable.

i think i don’t like that the argument seems to imply that gay animal characters are at all on par with other fantasy things like talking to ghosts and having powers or complex religion. I also don’t like it when people who are being fake-supportive can condescendingly say “well the gay couple may be completely absurd and unrealistic but I guess it’s ok because its just a silly fantasy :) ” cause like. Like its not unrealistic tho. i don’t like the implication that it’s uniquely unrealistic, if this was a grounded story with no magic or religion and the cat social groups were more inspired by real feral cats, it would still be illogical for some queer cats not to exist.

I feel like it is a more effective argument to point out that straight cats are just as unrealistic, in fact more unrealistic and silly

“cats lovingly and monogamously married-for-life and raising kids together” is the absurdity it should be compared to, rather then the magic elements. Because then the complainers have to contend with the fact that they aren’t bothered by unrealistic relationships between cat characters, they are just uniquely bothered by gay ones.

I mean...not to get tmi but it seems obvious to me this knee jerk reaction people have to rolling their eyes and scoffing when “gay” and “animal character” are placed in the same sentence is based on their insistence on equating the breeding behavior of animals to the romantic relationships of humans. Y'know, they're assuming that when people talk about romantic couples between anthro characters, that that is the sort of thing they are drawing from. When, certainly when it comes to cats, that is a very very poor equivalent. Cat mating behaviors are not affectionate or long lasting--they actually seem quite stressful, and then the father runs off to find more girls and probably never calls his one-night-stand again.

this is why I am really not fond of “mate” being used at the go-to replacement for husband/wife in xenofiction. Consider just coming up with a brand new word for your animal character’s version of romance! maybe they have types of relationships and words for them that humans don’t even have! but “mate” feels like. an action, nothing more. It doesn’t inherently imply love. frankly I think more people should be anthropomorphizing mates as simply Business Partnerships where the business is in desiring offspring, as opposed to husband/wife.

Just like....ok if you’re going to use the real behavior of animals as at least the loose inspiration for your anthropomorphic character’s behavior, surely pair bonding would be a smoother translation to what we view as a romantic couple?? not mating?? because pair bonded animals are the ones having consistent pleasant interactions, and being physically affectionate, and working together in life, sometimes even raising each others kids together.

And keeping that in mind, frankly you could argue that gay-coded cats should be the norm. (not that I think pair bonded creatures should always be interpreted as a romantic coded relationship, you could interpret some as platonic or familial or simply allies needing to survive. The point is no matter what route you go, you are projecting some human experience onto animals who’s minds and feelings we cannot ever actually understand. So to make it coded as a gay romance is just as reasonable as making it an adopted found-family sort of affection. You can go any route and be the same amount of unrealistic.)

If these losers actually want reasonable cat fiction, no one should have romantic affection for anyone! and if two cats have kittens together, it should be treated more like a short-lived antagonistic business partnership where you part ways immediately after. If you only criticize one type of romance for being “unbelievable and silly because these are CATS for crying out loud 🙄” but you don't feel “distracted” or “taken out of the story” about the other type of romance, then this aint about realism my guy, sounds like you just have some baggage to unpack.

I am beating people over the head with a very big sign that reads “Whether you’re writing about cats or birds or aliens or fantasy people or whatever, you cannot grant any creature the ability to love without all the variety and complexity that **naturally** goes hand in hand with those messy emotions. If the creatures can fall in love at all, then there must exist the possibility for some of them to be queer about it. And if you view queerness as unnatural, then we don’t have a writing disagreement, we have a fundamental moral disagreement about life. And I can’t help you there, that’s your problem! But I refuse to let people benignly hide behind a “simple desire for more realistic-feeling fiction uwu” as a defense!! (gay people are real. It’s true! I checked!!)”

#i have to think about this a lot bc someday i am going to hopefully publish an original cat story with a lesbian protag #and then i am going to have to listen to some version of these arguments for the Rest Of My Life #i feel like someday i could write a thesis on queerness in xenofiction and how the whole sentiment of 'the natural' has been distorted #-by shitty political agendas since forever. The Natural became an unquestionable bludgeon bigots use against anything that feels 'icky'#and those sentiments have of course leaked into the general publics perception #and of course it crops up in Xenofiction first!!! the genre that is peoples attempt to rationalize the animal world #and lazy xenofiction writers just regurgitate this sanded down unscientific limited perspective of what ~natural~ behaviors look like #WHERE is that quote Ursula made about watership down #and like and like. look it SNOWBALLS and we live in a SOCIETY--#*grabs the youtube comment section goers by the lapels and shakes them around*#DO YOU THINK IT IS TRULY **NATURAL** THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS KNEE JERK REACTION AGAINST QUEERNESS IN FANTASY #BECAUSE SOME PART OF THEM HAS BEEN LED TO BELEIVE THAT BIGOTRY IS THE NATURAL STATE OF THINGS #AND QUEERNESS AND DIVERSITY EXISTING IS JUST SOME QUIRK OF MODERN SOCIETY #THAT IS OUT OF PLACE AND '''''UNREALISTIC'''' IN ANY FICTIONAL SOCIETY THAT IS MEANT TO BE CLOSER TO THE ~NATURAL WORLD~#you think YOU'RE THE ONE WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT REALISM AND RATIONALITY IN THIS CONVERSATION I AM BITING YOUR KNEE CAPS RN #yarrow speaks #long post #warrior cats #technically but again this broadly applies to xenofiction As A Whole animal and humanoid fantasy species alike

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partystoragechest · 6 months

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A story of romance, drama, and politics which neither Trevelyan nor Cullen wish to be in.

Canon divergent fic in which Josephine solves the matter of post-Wicked Hearts attention by inviting four noblewomen to compete for Cullen's affections. In this chapter, there are fireworks. Sort of.

(Masterpost. Beginning. Previous entry. Next entry. Words: 2,767. Rating: all audiences.)

Chapter 22: Hardly Working

The Inquisition’s red lyrium sample was kept far, far below.

Far below the Undercroft, where Trevelyan and Dagna prepared for their descent. Far below the dungeons, where two guards escorted them further down. Far below the sounds of people and life. Far, far below.

Door after door barred their path, each more fortified than the last. The keys were old and rusted, having existed much longer than the castle’s current occupants. Passages beyond were long and winding. One was not supposed to know the way. The stone of the stairs they descended appeared as if new. Few feet had ever trespassed here.

Trevelyan could not help but wonder for what this place had originally been built to contain.

Lower still they went. The darkness that had settled upon these steps was cast aside by the light of a torch, held aloft in the hand of one of their guides. Trevelyan felt its warmth in the air, and glanced nervously at the small chest Dagna carried. Their device lay inside—insulated, inert. But it was still within Trevelyan to worry.

The long stairwell curved, the end at last coming into sight, a chamber door revealed. Daylight—somehow, daylight—poured through its barred window, casting a slotted shadow upon the floor. Had they come so far as to breach the bottom of the mountain?

“Here we are,” said a guard, producing the largest, oldest, and most complex key yet. “Be careful, Arcanist; your Ladyship.”

He opened the door. Breath escaped Trevelyan’s body.

The cavern beyond was thrice the size of the Undercroft, in both height and depth. And like the Undercroft, it, too, had a maw: a narrow fissure running high across the back wall, like the slash of a gigas claw, through which light spilled in its gallons.

This, however, was not the central feature of the space. Indeed, it was only there to light the central feature of the space. For in this chamber, suspended by the strength of three large chains, was a small stone chest. Red.

The size of the cavern was such that, in the doorway as they were, Trevelyan and Dagna still stood a good sixty feet from it. But its glow was evident. Cracks in the stone, where the red lyrium had broken its bonds, pulsated with that eerie colour. Trevelyan felt she should step no closer.

“Smart to keep it off the ground,” she commented.

“Have to,” Dagna replied. “Grows fast! We change the casket every three weeks—sometimes the chains, too, if it’s gotten a little enthusiastic.”

“I take it that’s why it’s made of stone?”

“Yeah! Grows through it slower than metal or wood—especially wood. It loves organic material! But for stone, I think it… respects it, kind of? Like it remembers where it comes from, almost… Anyway! Let’s get to it!”

With brazen confidence, Dagna marched beyond the threshold. Trevelyan remained reluctant to follow. Little wonder she was being paid so well.

Swallowing her unease, she left the guards posted at the door, and entered the room. But as soon as she did, she could feel it.

She had been near lyrium, before. The Formari in her Circle used it, and she would sometimes have to visit their workshops in the midst of her storeroom duties. Dagna employed it quiet frequently, too, but Trevelyan would keep to the other side of the Undercroft, or run errands. She didn’t like it, particularly. It made her dizzy.

Red lyrium was worse. Only a few feet closer, and a hum entered her mind. A constant, droning hum. There was pressure on her head, too—like a hand, pushing down with all its might. Trevelyan tried not to give it her attention.

“All right,” Dagna said, setting down her chest about forty feet from the casket, “let’s activate!”

Slow and careful, she lifted the lid. Trevelyan held her breath.

But as their device was revealed, the world remained still—and Trevelyan was grateful for it. Though it did not look one, this thing they had created was better called a bomb.

Dagna reached in, and lifted it out. A small, but thick, metal disc, held best and most carefully in two hands. Trevelyan’s eyes searched the surface for any change. But the runes inscribed onto it—runes of her own design—maintained a faint glow. Safe.

The moment it touched the ground, Dagna whipped out her toolbelt. Trevelyan took up her usual position, ready and willing to do or hold anything that Dagna instructed her to. Theory was more her domain. The practical—this—was best left to Dagna.

And so she tinkered away, runes beginning to brighten. The buzz of its growing magic competed for space in Trevelyan’s mind. She began to gather Fade energy around her fingers. Just… in… case...

“Ooh, shiny!”

Trevelyan startled, and whirled. Dorian Pavus stood beside her, gazing down on Dagna’s work. He noticed Trevelyan’s stare, and smiled.

“Dorian?”

“Don’t mind me”—he winked—“just came to see the show.”

Though Trevelyan rolled her eyes, she could not help but smile. “Very well,” she said, and returned her focus to Dagna.

Dorian did the same. He even managed to stay quiet for some number of seconds—though it seemed the banality of observation could not satisfy his ever-operational mind for long. Whilst Trevelyan handed Dagna a precise-looking implement, Dorian asked:

“Will you be attending the banquet?”

Maker, that thing kept slipping her mind. Trevelyan would have to make certain her gown was ready.

“Yes,” she told him, “will you?”

“Physically, yes. Mentally? No.”

Trevelyan laughed. “Likewise.”

“...Have you seen the guest list?”

Trevelyan gave him an exasperated look, but answered regardless: “I have. Though I fear I recognise very few of the names, and know only their characters from the descriptions given to me by the other Ladies.”

“Oh,” Dorian chuckled. “Then you are in for quite the evening! I met some of these people at the Winter Palace. I also met some demons. Completely indistinguishable.”

“Which did you prefer?”

“Oh, I think you know. After all, it’s at least socially acceptable to strike demons with lightning.”

Trevelyan laughed. “The more I hear, the more I wonder why they have all been invited in the first place.”

“Because ‘keeping the peace’, something like that.”

“But why are we all to be involved?” Trevelyan complained.

Dorian smiled. “I hardly know. But far be it from anyone to refuse our lovely Ambassador.”

A flare of magic stole Trevelyan’s attention. She looked back to Dagna, whose grinning face reflected a blue glow. The device below her pulsated, lyrium energy blooming from its carved runes.

“There we go!” she sang. “Activated. How’s that magic amplification feeling?”

“I can certainly feel it!” answered Trevelyan. “I just hope it’s enough to bypass the anti-magic effects.”

Dagna hauled the device into her arms. “So do I, because I added a little extra oomph. Just in case!”

Trevelyan’s eyes widened. “Are you sure that’s a good—!?”

Dagna punted the device towards the red lyrium casket. Trevelyan barely had time to draw breath.

It was like a clap of thunder. Booming sound and blinding light plunged them into darkness. Smoke and dust and falling debris. Reverberations rumbled through the stone around them. Clanging of chains. Whining in the ears. All of Skyhold shuddered, and then fell to silence.

When Trevelyan dared open her firm-shut eyes, a dark and burning haze surrounded her. Yet, it did not touch her. Her arms were outstretched, energy cocooned her. Smoke shifted and moved against the shimmering surface of a protective barrier. She’d got it up just in time.

A quick glance to either side. Dagna was all right, thanks to the magical shield. Seemingly unfazed by the explosion, she looked with shining eyes into the cloud of dust from whence it had come.

Dorian, meanwhile, had had the same idea as Trevelyan. He met her gaze.

“Great minds!” he said, his levity not quite masking the shake in his voice. “Would you like to do the honours”—he nodded towards the smoke—“or shall I?”

“You,” Trevelyan told him, “I’ll hold.”

“Very well. In three, two, one—” Dorian dropped his share of the barrier. Trevelyan held firm.

With her protection, he began to twist his hands. She felt a pull, as he put out his call, and summoned the Fade to their aid.

One of his fists balled up tight, a gathering of energy thickening within. He raised this hand to his face, fingers unfurling before his mouth. With one deep and powerful exhalation, he blew.

His breath turned to a hurricane wind, and blasted forth through the chamber, unimpeded by Trevelyan’s barrier. The smoke and dust was thrown aside. Light poured in once more.

“Wow…” breathed Dagna.

Wow, indeed.

The scene before them had changed entirely. The chains that once suspended the red lyrium chest hung loose, half-extant, against the stone walls. They rattled in the breeze of Dorian’s spell.

The casket they had held? Gone. All that remained in its wake was a large, circular scorch mark, burnt into the floor.

Trevelyan dropped her barrier. “Oh Maker, it worked!”

“Yes!” cheered Dagna, pumping a fist into the air. “It worked! Though, I guess the bad news is, we lost our red lyrium sample!”

Dorian grinned. “Rather the point, wasn’t it?”

“Are you all well?” called one of the guards, from the doorway. Trevelyan had just been about to ask the same of them.

“We’re well!” she replied.

“Mainly because of that barrier of yours,” Dorian muttered. “Good form. Strong. I know very few mages who could create one so stable without a focus—other than myself, of course.”

Trevelyan chuckled. “It was only a barrier.”

“True, but I’ve seen very little magic of yours, and I feel I should like to see more. You’ve got more power than you’re letting on.”

There was a good reason for that: “I suppose I got accustomed to not practicing it. My parents weren’t exactly keen on my using magic around the house.”

Dorian laughed. “We had very different upbringings! But—anyway, you aren’t under the thumb of your parents now. You ought to be loosing fireballs upon the sky.”

“Or causing large explosions?” Trevelyan suggested, gesturing to where Dagna prowled the scorch-circle.

“Fair point.”

Dagna interrupted: “Your Ladyship, we should get started on sweeping the room for trace remains. I want to know if anything was left at all.”

“Absolutely,” said Trevelyan, curious of that herself. She had noticed that the head-pressure was gone—but that did not mean every shard of red lyrium was.

Dorian, meanwhile, took a step back. “Well, you have my congratulations, both of you—but I am leaving before someone asks me to help clean up.”

“I don’t think she meant that kind of sweeping,” said Trevelyan.

“I heard the word ‘sweeping’, I’m leaving,” insisted Dorian. “Best of luck.”

They gave him their farewells and waved him off. Trevelyan watched him as far as the door, then turned away as he disappeared up the stairs. Her eyes were needed on the floor.

But her mind lingered elsewhere.

“Dagna, I’ll be just a moment,” she said, “I need Dorian to pass a message along.”

Dagna gave her leave, and Trevelyan hurried away. With any luck, the sheer amount of stairs would have slowed Dorian down.

And indeed she found him, halfway up. Nearly out of breath, she managed to call:

“Dorian, wait!”

He stopped and waited, sure enough—probably glad of the break. “Miss me already?”

“Naturally, but that is not why I came,” she said, taking a moment. “I wanted to ask, will you tell the Commander we’ve succeeded? He’ll have likely heard the explosion—most of Skyhold will, and I want him to know it’s all right.”

Dorian folded his arms. “And when exactly did I become your messenger boy?”

“I know this is far beneath your standards, but I think he would better see a friend right now, than a... suitor. Given his, ah, current circumstances.”

A sly little chuckle spilled from Dorian’s mouth. “Oh, I think he’d much prefer to see you than I, on any given day. But if you think it best, I shall go and take your glory.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the trouble.”

She expected him to take the message and dart off, but Dorian seemed to settle himself upon the step on which he stood, and fixed her with a stare.

“Are you all right?” he asked, soft.

“Why would I not be?”

“Cullen—the Commander—believed you weren’t, the last we spoke. He mentioned you found him…. you know.”

So Dorian knew. Of course he would, given his friendship with the Commander. Trevelyan did not blame him for not telling her of the circumstances. Such closeness required confidence.

Regardless, she sighed. “I told him yesterday I was fine. Several times.”

Dorian laughed, and moved down a step so that he might join her on hers, and talk more quietly. Those guards were still down there, somewhere. “He is something of a worrywart. You seem all right to me.”

Trevelyan nodded, leaning her back against the wall of the passage. Maker, the stone was cold. “Have you ever seen him like that?”

“No. Though as I understand it, it’s a rare occurrence, for him,” Dorian explained. “The Inquisitor’s seen it, though. Cullen once threw something at our dear Herald’s head!”

Trevelyan’s eyes widened. Dorian must have noticed, for he immediately followed with:

“Well, not at the Inquisitor; the Inquisitor just so happened to walk in at precisely the wrong moment. A habit. Cullen was throwing it at the door, in anger, unaware someone was about to walk through. We all joke about it—it’s how we know he isn’t a spy for Corypheus. If he was, he wouldn’t have missed.”

Trevelyan smiled. She could hardly judge the Commander for acting upon his anger whilst believing himself to be alone. One needed to, sometimes. She’d set some things on fire in private moments. Most recently being yesterday.

Dorian sighed, and shook his head. “I thought he was on the up, you know. He said this one was bad—though you, especially, are already aware of that. Peaks and troughs, I suppose, and you can’t predict when one will follow the other.”

“It is impossible to know,” commiserated Trevelyan. “No one has managed to survive it, to my knowledge. It’s like the Grey Wardens. Departure comes only through death.”

The mention of the latter word seemed to light a fire in Dorian. “Well, let’s hope that’s not the case, shall we? I’m sure it’ll all shake out. After all, the Inquisition’s best boffins are on it—Dagna included! And it’s more than the Chantry’s ever done—though the southern Chantry is not particularly known for doing much…”

Yet another person Trevelyan was now convinced that Baroness Touledy could have a scintillating conversation with. She would merely need an opportunity for introduction. Banquet, perhaps?

“Anyway, I best be off to deliver your message,” he continued. “Though, if I am to do so, I’ll no doubt be asked if I doubled-checked: are you sure you’re all right?”

“Of course,” Trevelyan confirmed. “Is he?”

“Peaks and troughs.”

“I see. Do you think he will attend the banquet?”

Dorian laughed. “I hope not. His table manners are very Fereldan.”

She knew the joke was to make her smile, but she could barely manage it. Her worries were too overpowering. “It’s hardly going to be good for him,” she muttered, continuing—without thinking—to say: “Having us suitors running around after him is pain enough.”

Dorian’s lip quirked upward. “Oh, if you want to talk the ethics of this little competition of yours, it goes far deeper than that.”

The comment pulled Trevelyan from her own mind. “Oh?”

He shrugged. “Well, I’ve not quite put my finger on it yet, but… it all feels rather sordid. Not quite right. Not quite right at all.”

Trevelyan was at once reminded of the argument she overheard between the Commander and Lady Montilyet. Just what had that been about, truly?

“Have you spoken to the Commander about it?”

Dorian laughed. “Oh, you have no idea of what we talk about. You come up quite frequently.”

Trevelyan did not know how to feel about that. Though she was certainly feeling something.

“Ergo,” continued Dorian, “I have. But the man is obstinate, and I feel there may be powers at play that I cannot interfere with.”

“Whose?” asked Trevelyan.

Dorian smiled. “Oh, it’s as I say: far be it from anyone to refuse our lovely Ambassador.”

#unwanted #unwanted fic #look i am more natural with dialogue than description this i know why do u think i chose to write a genre where its people talking a lot #but i reeeeeally wanted the description of the red lyrium chamber to be mission status: sick as hell #i wrote it while fully awake and raring to go #and wrote the rest when i was tired and barely had time #and would you BELIEVE which part i ended up rewriting every day for five days on the trot #SPOILER: IT WASN'T THE PART I WROTE WHILE HALF-ASLEEP #this was my first instance of writer's block for a while and it suuuuuuuucked!!!!! almost in tears!!!! wtf!!!! its just silly words!!!#anyway thats enough complaining enjoy goodnight i am out!!!

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mariocki · 8 months

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The Quatermass Experiment (BBC, 1953)

"One morning, two hours after dawn, the first manned rocket in the history of the world takes off from the Tarooma range, Australia. The three observers see on their scanning screens a quickly receding Earth. The rocket is guided from the ground by remote control as they rise through the ozone layer, the stratosphere, the ionosphere, beyond the air. They are to reach a height of 1,500 miles above the Earth and there learn...what is to be learnt.

For an experiment is an operation designed to discover some unknown truth. It is also a risk..."

#the quatermass experiment #quatermass #bbc #nigel kneale #rudolph cartier #1953 #reginald tate #duncan lamont #isabel dean #paul whitsun jones #hugh kelly #john glen #ian colin #frank hawkins #moray watson #katie johnson #i recently acquired (very cheap) the blu ray upscale of Quatermass and the Pit and it's been calling to me ever since.. a long time since i #watched any Quatermass‚ a minor obsession of my misspent youth; so i decided to go back and rewatch the og trilogy #there's no end of academic writing and popular appraisal of TQE‚ celebrating both its almost immeasurable impact both on the very #genre of sci fi as well as its broader legacy in the actual nature of tv production (one of the first real not documentary tv events‚ the #serial completely changed the way popular television was perceived‚ stands as the earliest surviving example of a muti episode #british tv production and quite frankly is a uniquely vital document in brit tv history and wider culture): all that has been said so #instead I'll make a few notes of things I'd forgotten about in the years since i last saw these two surviving episodes. firstly it's #remarkable just how cynical Kneale was right from the beginning of his career; Tate's Quatermass is hard‚ even cold at times‚ and capable #of ruthlessness. the police are obstinate and difficult‚ the press amoral and unethical‚ and the interference of government officials met #with pure contempt. it's a remarkably dark plot‚ with an emphasis on implied body horror that pushes boundaries for the era #there's also a clear anti war sentiment: the rocket crash landing is widely assumed to be an attack by a foreign power‚ there are allusions #made to nuclear weapons‚ but there's also hints that some of the public suspect the weapon could be british in origin and Kneale is #adamantly not taking sides (the rocket crew also includes a german born member‚ perhaps a nod to Cartier‚ an Austrian who had fled Nazi #Berlin before the war). considering the age and the quality of the recordings these eps stand up incredibly strongly today

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greenerteacups · 11 months

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hello!!! i wanted to ask if Lionheart will mirror canon so there will be 7 books, or if you’ll extend the story to eighth year and their early careers!!! also, would you be ok with sharing if Lionheart will be a HEA or nah? 😭 i love you, i love your work 💖

Ah, thank you, you're so sweet! As of right now, my plan is to cover seven books, ending with the conclusion of the Second Wizarding War (whatever that looks like). The summary sort of tells you up front: Draco Malfoy meets a girl on a train, and then he ends a war. That's it, that's the story.

#i am trying to decide how to approach the HEA question #on the one hand: I don't want to spoil the later books #on the other hand: some people don't read non-HEAs and probably would not read something knowing it's not #so it's like. I consider it mildly against etiquette not to tell someone if your story's going to be a tragedy #at the same time — I think genre makes promises by nature. fantasy usually promises not to be a tragedy #lord of the rings promises to be a story about the triumph of good over evil. but it's COMPLICATED #i think harry potter makes essentially the same promise... and it's supposed to be complicated #i guess i'll put it this way: i'm not interested in writing game of thrones here #and at the same time: just because a work is not a tragedy does not mean tragedies do not happen in it #this is a very pretentious way to answer your question. i am aware #basically: i promise not to punt draco off a cliff in chapter 3 of book seven and finish the fic with 80k words from neville's POV #i also promise to write an ending that will feel capital-R Right for people who love the story.#the ending will be written with great respect and love for the readers who have made the incredible commitment to stick around #i fucking hate shock value endings they're gross and condescending. they're outlawed here

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anulithots · 3 months

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The characters who are so used to feeling/being awful that the moment someone gives them a little compliment/start feeling just a little nice, they immediately cling to that person.

... Anywho this is Kamari.

Ankh told faer that fae should sing more and that phrase will never leave Kamari's head.

Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list! <3

@waitingforthesunrise @sm-writes-chaos @holdmyteaplease @full-on-sam @osbob-the-existent @awleeofficial @clearcloudlesssky @gummybugg

#writeblr #characters #creative writing #take care of yourself #fiction #character creation #nature fantasy #<-- is this a thing yet?#It's so hard to figure out the genre for the #land of the fallen fairies #because yes they are nature fairies #(which is like fantasy)#but 90% of the plant science that they run on is based on scienc e #(so now its science nature fantasy)#but we also got bits and pieces about the world that once was and how its progressively getting worse #(humans are never mentioned #they are more of a nucience than anything else #like pests #but the fact that they caused soil to degrade triggered the whole pixie crisis #)#so now its something #science nature fantasy with hints of distopian #which is acutally misleading #because it's very character driven #so if you're expecting a whole adventure #it's more like the stakes and vibes of a realistic fiction in this fantasy but down to earth forest-y world #with one character being inattentive adhd and stream of conciousness... so there's so many thoughts #90% of faer POV is thoughts and plot happens in the background #and the other is litteraly a dark slice of life where Kamari makes faer first friend and learns to enjoy faerself #before faer life starts getting progressively worse again.

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babylon5 · 1 year

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some people on here are so fucking vile to beginning writers especially younger ones and i hate it. contrary to popular opinion no one exits the womb with a perfect understanding of creative writing (actually the concept of this is highly subjective anyway but!!) or grammatical structures. it takes Time to build these things!!!! i love being a hater but when you're hating on, like, traumatized teenagers writing about icarus or whatever because they don't know how else to put what they're going through into words, that's just being an asshole i think lol

#dr pepper.txt #if u were concerned with the quality of their work youd encourage them to keep writing instead of belittling what they've made lol #very rarely do people actually have a natural ability to do something. writing is easier for some ppl and not easy for others obviously #but 99% of the time the 'cringey' icarus poem you're reading?#in a few years with proper practice and encouragement and determination you'll probably reread their new work and enjoy it #like. i feel weird because every other writer i've seen has major opinions on WHAT is ''real writing''#what is 'good writing' what is bad writing and what genres or forms #or approaches to writing are ''valid''#and yeah there are a lot of criticisms that need to be made of these things! because some of them #ARE harmful portrayals and methods!!! but 99% of the time when ppl talk about it #like people who are writers with relatively big social media platforms i mean not like. bloggers making genuine criticism posts btw #i want to make that clear because tumblr is weird about jumping to conclusions lmao #but like these writers..#....they're not making any real points. they're saying ''i personally hate xyz even if it is harmless so i am going to call anyone who does #-xyz cringe and lame''#which like - how does this help your creative process at all #this post just turned into a ramble about just writing community frustrations in general lmao sorry

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silvensei · 2 years

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For your consideration:

- Despite having a fully-grown consciousness, Martin's child-self has trouble controlling his emotions and this is specially troubling if you're a Lonely avatar.

- He once experienced a tantrum/panic attack/ptsd flashback and accidentally vanishes several people within a 10 meter radius

- This event lands in a statement about a boy crying and multiple missing persons reports on the same day

Other things for your consideration:

- Annabelle and Martin meeting Gerry 😳

- Annabelle and Martin starting their own cult

- Annabelle and Martin being manipulative little bastards and other avatars increasingly growing wary of them

I gotchu, we're on the same wavelength wrt Statements 😎😎

Then on the complete flip side! Gerry!! I abandoned my boy! I had considered him but then thought "nah, he's in America, that's too much of a stretch for little kid travel," but I was being a big dumb! Not even remembering the 20-year timeline of events, how could I...

#fixing that right away thank you <3 #👍👍#I'm still a little unsure on how to play this story as a whole #normally I'm a humorist: I like writing whatever and finding the punchlines that naturally arise #so manipulative little bastards with a cult? Comedy gold. I could have a field day with that #but I was thinking of trying something more serious or even angsty with this #Finally being not alone and almost not-depressed and then suddenly losing that and tossed into grade school again? Redoing 20 years??#Horror show #Could do both #but it might lessen the effect of both to oscillate between genres #What will probably end up happening is frontloading the serious until they settle in to Life 2 and then get to the silly #so many ideas so little time aaaaaa #inquiry #Take the Long Way Home #starfleetrambo

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pastafossa · 2 years

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Hi pasta!

Good luck with the storm and also fingers crossed your fiberglass nightmare ends soon <3

I wanted to start writing some matt x reader one shots, but I’m kinda new to writing. Do you have any tips on how to start and actually finish anything?

Ty! I know the room will be worth it in the end because it desperately needed some insulation, but damnnn this is just a nightmare that I'd like to be over LOL.

I can give some tips on starting and finishing, absolutely!

Remember that there's no real pressure with fanfic - it's either for fun or something you can use to hone your skills. This means that either way, it's ok if it's not perfect. You win just by writing, learning something new, or enjoying yourself, so try to remember that if the anxiety monster grabs hold and wants you to give up.

There will be a point while you're writing where you'll likely think what you're writing sucks and should be burned. This happens with every art form, whether it's painting or writing or wood carving. Just shove the screaming voice in a box and tell yourself you can fix it in editing (truth).

Tropes are fun for a reason, so my advice is to start small and pick a beloved trope you can do a fun little drabble on where there's an obvious endpoint. Think Matt having the sniffles and needing care, or him and reader trying to bake Christmas cookies (flirtations and smut optional). These have the benefits of having a clear end which can help when you're worried about finishing. The cookies get baked, or Matt starts feeling better, so there's always this neat little finish line you can direct yourself towards.

You can also grab something from a prompt list! It can be a kiss prompt list, or a hurt/comfort one, smut, fluff, etc. Things with action generally work nicely for one-shots; quotes can be a little harder, but don't be afraid to look at those if you want to try!

If you can't figure out how to start, consider trying this: skip a lot of the initial stuff. If they're baking cookies, you can jump right into, say, Matt coming home to Reader who's already got the ingredients out and ready to mix, and the oven turned on. It'll be made pretty clear in the scene and via dialogue what's happening, so you don't need to include grocery shopping and deciding and finding the recipe, etc etc. This way you can jump right to the fun stuff.

Don't worry about wordcount. When you're new to something, it's alright if it's short, although you might end up going longer!. If you were playing a game and starting at a low level, smacking at a dragon with 50k hitpoints doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You start with rats you can easily shank in 3 hits as you level up. If you have a clear end point (boom, cookies), and a topic you know you can kill, then all you have to focus on is getting there.

When you're writing, just try to write. Let it all flow, get the words out, run with your story idea. I know some people argue about editing as they go, but in my experience, this doesn't work. Editing as you go slows you down, it makes you second guess yourself, and you begin to doubt what you're writing. You're way more likely to stop writing. What you want is word vomit, because absolutely everything can be fixed in editing. This is what I do for TRT and one shots, and it's served me well. Spelling errors? Ignore them. Clumsy sentences? Fix them later. Get your idea out while the muse is hot and save editing for the next day after everything is done.

I hope these tips help! The biggest thing is honestly to just jump. When I first started writing fic as a preteen, my stuff was about the quality level you'd expect, but that's just because I was new to it, and I'd never have gotten to where I am if I'd stopped. Just takes some learning and leveling up. <3

#ask response #writing tips #writing is like leveling in a game #you start at level one and you stab rats 50k times #and eventually you can stab a dragon #but you gotta stab the rats first #so don't be afraid to pull your writing knife out and shank every gd one you see #TRY ALL THE TROPES #try all the genres!#try prompts and short scenes and moods #whatever you think might interest you #figure out what *you* like to write and what you're naturally drawn to #fanfic is the absolute best place to cut your teeth on writing to see if you like doing it #so go for it and word vomit your ideas onto a page #and then read it over a few times for editing and see what happens #maybe it looks like a rat #but that's ok cause i can assure you rats become spiders become bears become lions become ogres become dragons #or you may decide you like sudoku or animal crossing better #and that's ok too

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