#I guess because I've had this scene stuck in my mind since I read it

[unniekiwi]

𝗝𝗶𝗺 𝗛𝗮𝘄𝗸𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘅 𝗚𝗡! 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿. 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥.

This one-shot was not created by me, all credit to the respective author, which is AkiraDubs, so let's separate his work from what he has done... Which was terrible, but I did this work when nothing had happened yet…¿? anyway, he deleted the video from his channel.

Feel free to change the gender of Y/N. In principle, it's ideally created for women but everyone is free to read whatever they want, about whatever they want. <3

Since Treasure Planet is my favorite Disney movie and didn't get the love it deserved, I decided to write this translation, which I've really enjoyed writing, since I ✨ADORE✨ Jim.

✨let your imagination create a scene next to a real Jim.✨

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

You have just arrived on a planet where the weather was not… the best… Don't get it wrong, you love the rain, but it is very dangerous to go boating while the storm is raging, meanwhile, you and your cadet friend Jim were inside the big hull, sitting in a sailboat. Jim was very upset since he warned Captain Amelia and Silver that it would be a bad idea to come to this planet. They ignored him. And you understand their anger.

-Well, here we go again. - he pronounces annoyed for the fourth time that day.

-What did I tell you? I knew it would be a bad idea to come to this planet. And what happened? A storm. - He sighs trying to calm down. - I told them already, if only they would listen to me! - he growls angrily as he walks.

-We wouldn't be in this situation if they would just listen to me. - he sighs again. - But they won't. Because they only see me as a child, that's what I'll be to them, a child. - He says indignantly and sulkily as he sits down abruptly on the sailboat.

-Well… I don't see you as a child. You're smarter than you look. - you say with a smile as you delicately sit down in front of him.

-Thank you, I appreciate it. You're probably the only one who thinks that way about me. - he says smiling the same way you do.

-The only one? No one else? - You ask laughing as you shake your head at the second question.

-Yes. - He says looking at you while you are surprised. - I mean, my mother, don't get me wrong! I love her…but… I feel like she doesn't trust me…. - he says pausing for a moment.

-You know, I can't do anything without her worrying, and yeah. That's what a mother would do, isn't it? I mean…I'm her only child but…I just…I want to explore the world and stuff. I know how fast and gigantic the universe is… I just want to see every part of it. - looks up at you to let out a sigh. There was a slightly awkward silence for a few moments, but Jim continued the conversation.

-I never thought I'd be on an adventure like this. - he says, trying to defuse the situation.

-I probably didn't think I'd be on this adventure either. - you look amused, laughing a little.

-You too? - he says answering surprised, laughing softly.

-That makes two of us. I'm glad we can relate to each other in some way. - he says, laughing with you. But now he brings up another topic of conversation.

-So. What are we going to do now that this storm is happening? - He asks you to answer honestly.

-Whatever shit Silver's got on his mind- you end up saying, scratching your head.

-Yeah… Silver has no good idea. - replies to the comment about the old cyborg.

-What do you think he's going to do? I mean I'd love to know your opinion. - you ask with a mischievous grin.

-My guess? - he says looking at you with his arms behind his head, as you nod your head. - He's probably going to try to make us wait until he's finished. I don't think this is going to clear up for the next few days. - he replies leaning back with his eyes closed.

-What do you mean? - you ask in a confused and frightened tone, nothing good is going through that old cyborg's head. He opens his eyes slowly and stands upright again.

-What, what am I trying to say? Oh, that we're stuck here, tch. If the storm doesn't clear up…. - he thinks and proceeds to close his eyes, he was really tired. - I don't think it will clear up for a while at least, so we could just relax, and make ourselves comfortable, with nothing else to do. - He replies.

-Sounds good to me. - You smile since Silver has been blowing you guys up since day one, a little rest is appreciated. But you change your mind to ask him something that has been on your mind since this morning, he's not usually so loose, something's wrong with him? It seems as if he is thinking about something. So you worry about him and ask him.

-Jim? - he opens only one eye and looks at you.

-How have you been feeling lately? - you ask, looking at him seriously but with affection and understanding.

-How have I been feeling? I don't know, some days I feel good… and other days I feel trapped… - he says as he looks down at his hands.

-I feel like even if I wanted to take over the ship… I wouldn't even know where to go. - He looks into your eyes with confidence but it reflects how broken he is inside.

-I want to do the right thing and I want to make the right decision. I mean, I don't want to hurt anyone… I don't want to disappoint anyone either, I just feel like I've been a big disappointment. - He says sadly looking away, you nod understanding his feelings and how he feels.

-I can't make him happy. I can't make her happy. I can't make anyone happy. I can't even make myself happy. - already as he finishes he looks at you sadly. You felt horrible for knowing how he feels, but you really appreciate that he's confident enough to tell you what he's going through. - So… here I am… Just here. - To break your heart even more, he puts on a sad smile as he plays with his fingers to calm the anxiety.

-You know… - he looks you in the eyes and you walk over to the side he's sitting on. - You really do. You make me very happy. - you sit down next to him and now smiling next to him.

-Do I make you happy? - he says now with a little lift in his spirits. - Oh come on, you don't have to say that. - he laughs a little, looking away to hide the rosy color on his cheeks.

You just nod your head, you really weren't lying, you've learned so much and had so much fun with him that how could you not be fond of him?

-Really? - he asks you again to make sure. And you nod again.

-Yes? - He asks again, to which you say YES again. -Okay. Well… You make me happy too. - he confesses looking at you with his blue orbs and smiling with a blush on his cheeks.

- Really? - you ask surprised, excited, smiling, and blushing. You are thrilled that the feeling is mutual.

-Yes, you do. - he says laughing a little at your reaction. - I mean. - He takes a breath and calms down. - Sometimes you can be a little bossy …and… you always want to be right. - he finishes intuiting what you were going to say annoyed.

-That's a lie. - you jump at him while crossing your arms.

- Yes! You always want to be right. - he says again, stinging you and being sincere.

- That's not true. - Indignant, you look at him angrily.

- Yeah. Right. Whatever helps you sleep at night - He says resignedly with his shoulders. Now you could only hear the sound of loud lightning and rain, the atmosphere was quite nice, if you can describe it that way. Jim stares at you for a few moments and while smiling, opens his left arm in welcoming mode.

-Come here. - He welcomes you warmly in his arms and you settle your head on his shoulder, he imitates you and rests his head on yours. You felt a feeling that you missed… Feeling at home. His embrace gave so many appreciative vibes to your being, you just smiled along with him. His vanilla and coconut smell was comforting like eating something warm on a cold day, that made you relax enough to settle more into him.

-Thank you. - he says smiling while stroking your hair. - I needed to hear that. It's just… sometimes I get stuck in my mind and I don't know who I am. -

- It's normal to feel that way. I understand. - You comfort him as you nod and he continues talking, running his hand through your hair.

- But, what I do know is that… as long as you're here, maybe one day… everything will make sense, you know…? - he sighs looking at your e/c eyes and you smile at him.

-Of course it will Jimbo. -

-Yeah, someday. -

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

#jim hawkins x reader #jim x reader #treasure planet #headcanon #disney #comfort

[mejomonster]

Okay so hello friends I discovered this site today, when trying to find an app/place to write with low distractions:

So its got: dark mode, light mode, you can set a timer (good for a writing sprint), you can set a word goal, it shows just your writing and word count at the bottom, it has a tool to export your writing as a txt file when done. Its features appear the same on laptop or phone, useful if you're like me and sometimes type on the phone.

Of particular note: you can only backspace through a word, not further. I'd suggest trying to write for a while before deciding how you feel about it. I was initially annoyed, since I couldn't delete a sentence I disliked and could only really fix small scale initial typos. But I just started typing // when I didn't like a prior line so I could just go delete it later in editing, then I continued writing the sentence I'd want instead. After the first several minutes, I decided I kind of like this feature. Why? Because it got me to WRITE. I couldn't really second guess myself much, because re-reading and editing wasn't an option during writing. It will be an option LATER, but not during this writing sprint. Justwrite as another feature, doesn't really let you scroll up. Annoying to me, somewhat, since I couldn't scroll up and double check I was remembering certain details right. But it makes up for it again in getting me TO WRITE. I wrote 3000 words an hour in Justwrite. Just because I HAD to move forward and just tell the fucking story. A lot of what I wrote was good stuff! And I left myself little // to find and fix bits I wanted to work on more. And maybe useful in a story sense, I found my scenes felt they were flowing in pacing better. Possibly because I had to write them timely enough to remember what I was writing ToT (I don't have the best detail memory) so scenes couldn't dawdle long enough to get super stuck or linger on something for an amount of time that would start getting a reader lost or bored. In summary: the particular quirks of not allowing much backspacing and not much upscrolling? Make for faster writing, and a bit more of an incentive to keep a writing flow going while its fresh in your mind.

Anyway I wrote 7000 words today thanks to this site (and the app version on my tablet).

I really appreciate Low Distraction writing tools since seeing even just words underlined or editing tabs above a document quickly gets me distracted. Some current favorites: justwrite (site and app), https://novellla.web.app/ (I like this but I prefer the computer version as the phone version has no night mode), Writer Lite (a phone app I love for organizing writing as it works very minimal distraction but lets me change fonts and organize chapters and notes and projects and check word counts by project/chapter/entire directory - in that app I've written 192,000 words this year, it backs up to google drive and I have not explored exporting options yet but its definitely my favorite phone app for writing project organizing), notepad (when Im om my computer Im not kidding - the lower the distractions the more likely I'm going to use the tool), and honorable mention app.gethermit.com (its a useful site for sharing writing to someone to look at with password protection, and its also got projects/chapters organization, I both appreciate that it includes spellcheck and also hate that it's spell check means I NEVER write on the site I just use it to quickly store a copy paste writing backup online so I can open it up on another device).

#rant #justwrite #reference #writing resources #writing app #anyway its a free site im gonna HIGHLY recommend

[nosafeharbour]

Encyclopedia Eorzea III: Werlyt thoughts

How is this the second Werlyt thoughts/reactions post I've written in 2023. The Sorrow of Werlyt ended over 2 years ago

This is literally just Werlyt (so also Gaius and Raen) musings, I'll actually finish reading the rest of the book later...

It's beautiful. I've looked at this for 24 hours now

Holy shit, all this Werlyt lore… Gaius was viceroy of Werlyt for TWENTY YEARS?? In-game it sounded like he led the invasion during the epidemic 10 years ago, when you see him adopt the Raen kids, but otherwise wasn’t too deeply involved... but it was under Garlean control since the very start of the Empire? Gaius came into the picture midway through, after it briefly rebelled.

"A young Gaius van Baelsar" capturing Werlyt when he was 30... I guess him being legatus in his thirties makes complete sense with the timeframe of Ala Mhigo, but having it spelled out so plainly… wow

Thinking about the memory of Gaius in the Emerald Weapon trial being a 30 year old is so funny. You jumped-up little shit

It’s hard to pin down dates because everything is measured in years after Werlyt was taken, without it ever giving a starting date, but you can work backwards… the rebellion 30 years post conquering + 20 years of Gaius as viceroy + 5 years before ARR when Gaius begins advance on Eorzea in 1.0 = 55 years ago. The Empire is also 55 years old, which lines up:

Between 55 and 455 years ago: Werlyt is founded (happens after Gyr Abania is unified, but Werlyt is still described as “newly formed” when it was conquered, so definitely closer on the scale to 55)

55 years ago: Werlyt falls under the Empire

25 years ago: While the Empire is stretched thin conquering the Far East, the Werlytians stage a revolt and retake the province. Gaius comes in to quell it, and becomes viceroy after the previous one is killed (Gaius is 31 yrs old) (This is also the year Doma is conquered, so that also lines up)

20 years ago: Ala Mhigo is conquered, Gaius is also made viceroy there

15 years ago: Gaius’s fuckup at the Battle of Silvertear, and when he starts to lose favour in Garlemald

10 years ago: The epidemic, when the Raen kids are orphaned

5 years ago: Gaius leaves for the invasion of Eorzea (1.0), which eventually leaves Valens as viceroy after the events at the Praetorium

Did the epidemic happen under his watch? The flashback of him first reaching out to Allie and Alfonse makes sense to be 10 years ago, but the energy of that scene was very much “arriving to a situation” and not that… it was already under his jurisdiction…

I don’t know how I feel about the change of context here, at least in my understanding of it. It honestly feels a bit of a shock that Werlyt has been under the Empire for 50 years? They never stated any specific years, but I always read it as a decade or so? Long enough for it to become their new lives, short enough that people still remember life before. Gaius coming in to “save” Werlyt from the epidemic by way of conquering it was this mixed bag that ultimately did build towards his character thesis of “good intentions stuck in a bad system”. To think the epidemic technically happened under his watch is new and strange, I dunno. I need to replay it with this in mind to see if it checks out

Especially with that one post-Emerald scene where Gaius is all “Things were shit in MY legion? But I ran a tight ship” lmao… I know a lot of people take the piss out of that scene thinking that he was only discovering racism for the first time in his life (he literally has scenes in ARR about stamping out discrimination in his Legion), but I always read it as his ego meaning he believed that his influence and word over his Legion was immovable, that nobody would behave that way because he told them not to. It complements his view that he always thought he was doing good, but not yet having had the blinders of being a cog in the fascist system removed. These things will always still happen. It would be good to see that scene again, with all this context of the epidemic happening during his time as viceroy... If the times are all correct, I feel like him being stretched thin between Ala Mhigo and Werlyt is a part of this

The “all the good Gaius had achieved” line in regards to him building up Werlyt as viceroy makes me wince, while I do like engaging with Gaius having good intentions, just talking about all the good he did and not the fact it was still a conquered territory + the epidemic? Even I’m balking at that, and I’m a Gaius enjoyer. Slow down here. I’m looking at the artwork of destroyed Werlyt from when he re-conquered it right below this paragraph LOL

The Raen of Werlyt migrating there directly from Corvos, to the point that their religion and food is still Corvosi-inspired... seeing it spelled out so plainly after this incredibly fleeting and brief image from FanFest... wow. I get to feel even more insane over Corvos, now

Really curious about the timeframes, still. If Raen only arrived in Werlyt a little over 50 years ago, in one fell swoop they have turned Albi's Welytian grandmother into a Corvosi grandmother

Werlyt religion being polytheistic, seemingly a fusion of the Twelve and Corvosi religion… I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORVOS…

I love the kind of demographics you get from these books:

Werlyt currently undergoing negotiations with Ul’dah for ceruleum, so they can continue mining… Gaius overseeing said negotiations in Ul’dah, Ul’dah is Albi’s turf... Thinking about them in Ul’dah together. It’s actually so fun thinking about Gaius visiting so many Eorzean city states as an envoy. He’s helping, but also he’s keeping his god damn head down (or in a chicken suit)

Werlyt’s main food being stewed dishes is just another thing that lines up with what I imagined, mostly just because it’s what I figured Albi and Gaius would eat a lot (both from cold places, they both know how to cook simple stuff but aren’t master culinarians)

Cheese being a major export to Garlemald, and there being a major cheese presence in Garlemald already (via Ovibos milk, so native to Garlemald itself and not all imported)... cheese lore

There’s way too much dairy talk in here, “dairy enthusiasts” pleeeeasseeee stop making my favourite place like this when I’m lactose intolerent

After The Sorrow of Werlyt says that Terncliff is too high above the ocean to fish, but then Tataru’s Grand Endeavour had orphans collecting seashells, I was so confused on whether or not Werlyt has beaches or not. I’m glad they clarified that there are a few harbours amongst the cliffs.

All of this geography and agriculture lore is neat just in that it’s showing that Werlyt is really quite big. You never really get a full sense of scale in-game, between Terncliff and what we see of the main Werlyt town (?) during Emerald trial/post-Diamond

We have three Werlytian surnames – Hunte, Souther, and Horne!

Severa Souther and Valdeaulin Ganathain… I care them. Severa is only 23, bless her heart. Valdeaulin being 48 is just exactly what I’d assumed/hoped.

The leader of the interim government is Talbot Hunte. Have we seen him..? I’m picturing the Revolutionary Commander in my mind when I read that, but I don't think he was ever named

All of these Werlytian names (surnames, and Hyur first names) have a Germanic feel, while Severa and the Raen kids have Latin-based names. The Raen in Werlyt originate from Corvos, so I am hoping it’s because they are sticking to Corvos being the root of the Latin-based Garlean language, as it should be? Severa had a Garlean parent? Hmm

Bereft at the casual mention of “the bravery of the Baelsars and the Warrior of Light”… THE BAELSARS

Kind of sad they straight-coded Milisandia by giving her a crush on Alfonse. That lizard was one of the gay ones :/

I think Gaius is possibly the first character to get a second Encyclopedia Eorzea entry. I was hoping he would, but had low expectations bc they've never given any other recurring characters new entries... but they did this, for me

“... and though his quest for vengeance would claim the masks of Altima and Deudalaphon, the hunt for Ascians was quickly set aside when he learned of the Empire’s plans to produce the noxious weapon Black Rose” – Black Rose is important and thematic, but seeing the Ascian plot dropped so abruptly even in this book is breaking my heart all over again LMAO

So extremely cool that there are 6 pages just about the Ultima Weapons!! Including the Allagan iterations, the original ARR project, and the second project during Werlyt

I do like the line “According to the testimony of Gaius Baelsar…” in the section about the Ultima Weapon, about how Lahabrea guided them to it. Gaius sat and gave testimony to the Alliance about a lot of things, huh!

I also like the confirmation that Proto-Ultima is the last iteration the Allagans made, and that all the visuals of the Ultima Weapon are magitek and Garlean-made. It’s hard to tell, since the earlier Ultima Warrior has them too, but the fact that Ultima Weapon’s horns look like Gaius’s helmet means it was done on purpose… kinda moe. Nero trying to impress his legatus

Interesting that the Heart of Sabik is mentioned so clearly, and that Valens knew he couldn’t recreate it… but still acquired a piece of Ivalician auracite to base the Oversoul system on. Reading this all post-Pandaemonium is enlightening

Seems that the “third eye” looking chestpiece on the cuirass of legatus armour is the synthetic auracite they used for the same purpose as soul crystals! Having a visual on that is neat

Another extremely obvious hint that Nero made the second (red) G-Savior, which only makes Gaius not finding out he was still alive until Tataru’s Grand Endeavour so funny/weird. Nero literally must have been in Werlyt!! The Ironworks were talking about him constantly! Gaius, are you stupid! (yeah)

#lore #the sorrow of werlyt #reactions

[bellybiologist]

Don't Mind me. Reminiscing~

Really fucking enjoying the Super Mario RPG remake, and it's really making me think about to how influential it truly was.

I lived in Maryland and was 6 years old when I first played Super Mario RPG for the SNES. My parents rented it for me from fucking Blockbuster.

See, I didn't know how to read at the time, and my parents picked it up because they were like "hey, this is a Mario Game," recognizing it because both have played and are familiar with arcade stuff. My late mother LOVED tetris, atari games, galaga, etc and i remembered fondly when I was age ~3-4 where I played co-op Ms. Pacman with her on our Sega Genesis. And I spent those ages playing Sonic the Hedgehog games and the Gameboy Donkey Kong on this:

However, JRPGs werent really a thing anyone except my uncle played at the time. But yes, my unable-to-read ass played this game and didnt know what the fuck was going on. The game had an approx. 75% complete file on it already (People didnt always erase their files on rented games), and i just fucked around on that. Didnt know what i was doing, BUT Super Mario Rpg was a very easy game and baby trans-girl verzi was 10000% enamored with ANY game that allowed The Princess to be a playable, and BOWSER too???? holy shit!! UNprecedented. WHY WAS HE A GOOD GUY??? IDK who the fluffy guy is, but I fell in love with the Cool Blue Dude Too. He had lasers and made Cool Rainbow Beams Smash down from the sky.

But alas, we only kept it for a couple days, and my dad returned it. I had him re-rent it later, but!! it was a different copy!!! It had NO save files, so I was forced to do a new one.

Needless to say, I had a rough time. I had to guess which decisions were the right ones cuz Couldn't Read, so i got stuck in Toad's explanation loop for a while. and my inability to reliably get the action commands meant I kept getting killed by THIS fucker.

Alas, I never got past the first area, and baby verzi was MAD cuz i wanted to use the PRINCESS and throw BOMBS at people with her. So!!! Baby Verzi used this drive to learn how to fucking READ. She asked her parents to buy this game (and they did) and she learned her reading, finally learning how to PLAY THIS GAME. With newfound Literacy, I was able to figure who Mallow was, and learned that Geno was a Cool Star Dude possessing a Doll which was incredibly rad to me at the time. His intro scene is burned in my brain, and seeing it in 3d today was incredible. I've beaten this game so many times that I know exactly what's happening when and where.

It really set the bar for me when it came to JRPGs, since it was legit my first one. My 2nd ever JRPG, Breath of Fire also for the SNES, had me baffled cuz why COULDNT I do more damage if I timed my attacks??? wtf. (Love that series too. BoF4 was also another Formative Verzi Game).

This game meant/means a lot to me and I'm a sucker for any media that referenced it, or built off of the groundwork it set (like the paper mario and Mario&Luigi games, and hell, Sea of Stars!!! It has!!! SO MANY MARIO RPG REFERENCES). So I just wanted to ramble a bit as I dug up memories, as we old folks are won't to do.~

#verzi rambles

[berryunho]

Not you and Bee updating your fics the same day when just yesterday I was going through both fics again because I missed them dearly. You people are gonna kill me, the adrenaline that shot through me hit so hard when I saw The Answer and Wonderwall had updated that I almost spooked myself and fell from my bed.

Anyways HELLO! Good to see you again <3

Hope you're having a good 2024 so far.

Here we go on another one of my unnecessarily long ass comments about the fic, sure hope I haven't overstayed my welcome with them just yet lmao (let me know if I do end up overdoing it at some point please, I will gladly tone it down if it becomes a problem).

FIRST OF ALL: I THINK I'M GOING INSANE.

Maybe its the hj brainrot that I've been stuck on for the last few months, maybe it's the fact that the ateez hyperfixation is hitting harder than usual since the comeback but him throwing a tantrum yelling "you will not take her from me"? Butterflies. Got me giggling and kicking my feet. I was rolling around on my bed as I read that.

Maybe it's the absence making the heart grow fonder and all that.

That being said, my misplaced fondness for this clown did die down once he hit us with the whole "she should be begging me for her life", if the cult thing wasn't enough of an ick I guess that did the job. Like, sir you had me for a sec there with the possessiveness (*tucks my hair like debbie ryan*) why did you have to remind me of your actual personality?

But yeah, catch me slowly being dragged down against my will to join the TheAnswer!HJ simps, though I guess that's what's gonna happen to mc soon enough too, I really am along for the ride with her. Me and mc peering down the edge into the abyss where they lay, the abyss stares right back at us. Damn. People are right, we are not immune to cult propaganda. Tragic.

I really wanted to point out that this chapter had me extra paranoid than the last one tbh, you mentioned in the notes that this was shorter and that you felt like it was lackluster, but I seriously didn't feel it at all because of how on edge I was at times, not as much as let's say during her escape attempt in the corn field sure, but I was still wary and uneasy while reading. I know we had the whole circus with the Guardian thing last time, but san being so urgent in his claims that they have to leave and us getting to hear about how pissed off hj got because of mc's "unsatisfying" reaction to his little scheme? I am dead serious when I tell you I was bracing for the absolute worst, got me shaking in my little tinfoil hat.

The part about the machine harvesting the field? With mc saying she wouldn't want to be caught in it? (ALSO I SEE THAT SHORT YEOSANG MOMENT, I SEE YOU LEAVING A TRAIL OF BREAD CRUMBS FOR HIM 👁👁 <- EYES THAT SEE)

My 2 braincells immediately went "oh em gee, foreshadowing?", like I am certain to my core that someone's gonna fucking die to that or be horrifically injured, its just a matter of: whom? 🤨 I'm gonna save my guess as to who it could be in case that does happen, but I will come back here to yell on another ask about it if that comes up in the future.

Then the scene with hj and hwa talking to mc about her questions, and she hits them with the "oh what can I do if I'm alone?" and hwa is desperately trying to get her to stfu (me too man, me too) while hj smiles at her. You know, like a cryptic weirdo.

Now, I am more than willing to say that what came to mind for me in that moment was probably due to my very *rational* fear of TheAnswer!HJ, but ignore the fact that I am losing myself to his mind games and hear me out for a bit: I kid you not, for a second, I legit thought that he may suggest to or even outright attempt to like "mark" mc with the Sign.

In what way? I don't fucking know but there are many options and he is twisted enough to think of that, we all know it and the sirens were blaring in my head about that when he said the Sign would protect her as long as she had it in her, like "mc girl, I dread to say this but I feel like we should trust mr lapdog on this one, I fear you may be poking the modern day moses a bit too much and we all know he is having a diva moment today", because for hwa to be so concerned over it while hj reacts somewhat positively? Yeah, something wicked this way comes. And on that note, it seemed to me that hwa wasn't just trying to get her to steer from upsetting hj, he seems like he was trying to keep the peace between them in more ways than just that (more on that in a separate ask cause I feel like this is getting too long and its probably a pain for people to scroll past it LMAO I'M SO SORRY).

You clarified for me last time that mc will find out eventually about what happened to her bff (thank you by the way <33) and given how much it was brought up this chapter, I do think he is gonna wait out a while to use the haseul card (haseul girl you will always be remembered as the ride or die friend that you were, more on the die side but it's not your fault girlie, we love you), because while he is clearly prone to emotional outbursts, he is also smart as hell and just as cruel, we are yet to see him mess up big time just out of losing his cool (or maybe the consequences just haven't quite caught up to him just yet but I'd argue he is still ahead in that case), so I imagine that the threat of doing it is very much real but he will play it right for his own advantage.

The man is a diva but he is a cunning one, he more so seems to bring it up because he knows that the idea of devastating mc in that way is a threat in and of itself to everyone else that is also vying for her attention, which is 100/10 writing, author you are amazing (if the way that the fic is eating away at my brain wasn't clear indication of that).

I am also once again proud of our mc for *once again* poking holes in his little bible lore, yes bestie you are correct, wtf does it mean for a Guardian to kidnap someone? A question that I personally had when I read his explanation is: if the Guardians can kidnap people across dimensions then why tf can't the cult members or him, the big powerful prophet himself, also do something like that? Wouldn't that be way more helpful than sending uber eats across dimensions to the Others through sacrifices?? He says they need mc to do that but the Guardians have no issue going "yoink :3" over to our dimension to spirit away his followers and at the same time he also wants us to believe that the same Guardians are afraid of him? Sir. Pick a side, you can't have it both ways. Either they are clearly stronger than you and that's why we are all struggling with mc being a non believer or you are the op big shot of this religion whom everyone grovels under, make it make sense ! !

(Also this isn't me trying to point plot holes in your story pls lol I don't think his religion's lack of consistency is a reflection of your writing ever, in fact I think it's really cool cause it adds to the mystery of it all along with making us question him even more, I just have a lot of fun dissecting the snippets of it we do get out of spite for him lmao).

I have some more things I wanted to add but I'll throw them into another ask cause, again, I feel like this is already gonna be annoying to scroll past lmao, so sorry for anyone seeing this, apologies everyone.

But these were my general takes on the chapter, I really enjoyed it as always so thanks for another update Lauren <333 wish you well!!

- 👁👁

LKSJLFKJASDF OMG HI!!!! <33333

First of all let me just say that you will never annoy me w these comments like this is seriously my dream feedback i could cry honestly im so touched that you care so much to type all of this out and that you clearly spend so much time thinking about the answer and really appreciating it and like. YEAH ILY SM DO NOT WORRY !!!!! 

Fun fact about bee and me updating at the same time . we didnt plan it this time . it was in fact random . but there was a time in like… i wanna say december 2022 when bee was writing claire de lune and her and caly and i all conspired to update on the same day and im pretty sure we did and i cant even imagine what it wouldve been like to be a claire de lune/mists of celeste/the answer reader on that day LMFAO

ANYWAYS INTO THE MEAT AAAAAAAAAAA pls these reactions to hj are so real like sometimes ill write something a little bit too … cute ? and then ive gotta reel it back real quick we gotta remember who we’re talking about we gotta stay strong even if he is hot and obsessed 

TY for saying you felt that the chapter was still interesting hehe i guess i felt like people would be expecting a lot from this chapter and i knew it wasnt going to be What Was Expected or like that it wasnt going to go right into the escape attempt like i think some people probably thought SO im glad that the chapter was still … paranoia inducing LMFAO 

No fun fact idk if this is like obvious or not but my grandparents are/were corn farmers so like. Obvs i have spent a lot of time on a corn field. Planting harvesting running around etc. and i was always so freaked out by combine machines theyre literally fucking ENORMOUS like easily 15 feet tall but the good news is they go like. 10mph. But i still wouldnt want to find myself in the path of one AHAHAH !!!!!! ANYWAYS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

eheheheeh yeah the whole scene w the unholy trinity really …. Ooooooo was it fun to write hehe yes the whole situation w haseul is really a big opportunity for hj to keep manipulating mc and something for him to hold over her head and i hope the dramatic irony is coming through w the fact that we obvs know she’s dead but mc has no idea bc i lovvveeeeeee that tension in a story like just waiting and waiting and waiting for mc to find out … ehehe and i like how you point out that hj hasnt really messed up big time or lost his cool bc youre … right … but he’s almost almost getting there and i just love him being unhinged and ………… yeah ill be quiet now heh

UBER EATS SACRIFICES ACROSS DIMENSIONS SENT MEEEEEE LAKDJFL;ASKJDFL;KJA;DFKJ youre so real for these questions and like yes this is exactly the type of thing i want you to be thinking … hehehe keep yourself in mc’s shoes yk … i def get that you’re not trying to point out plot holes hehe dw dw thank you for your compliments hehe

I WILL ANSWER YOUR SECOND ASK NEXT !!! TYSM AGAIN I LOVE YOU MWAH MWAH MWAH i hope you are WELL !!! <3333

#👁👁 anon #answered #the answer spoilers #feedback

[throped]

Never Glory - Chapter 1

Tom riddle x reader

TW : blood, death gore and all that stuff

My breath quickened and my heartbeat rose as I suddenly jolted awake, feeling not in the slightest mood to get up. You see, I've been having these nightmares? One would call it nightmares but I consider them as visions. They somehow predict the future and tell me what is going to happen next. The weird part is that I haven't had visions like this since the year 1900 when Grindelwald rose to power. Quite infuriating really, I couldn't help anyone from death because my stupid self didn't know whether they were reliable or not. 

If I went into graphic detail as to what series of events exactly occurred in my 'visions', one would be horrified. The scene of blood, gore and death appeared right in the back of my mind and it was hard to believe that this was my life.

I swear on the gods that Salazar Slytherin had something to do with this. That pathetic excuse of a wizard cursed me for eternity in hell just because I didn't follow a few of his rules. Slytherin should of died before he ever even laid eyes on muggleborns.

Oh well, I can't really do much about it now, especially since it's been centuries since he died. I'm alive and well but it just seems as though I'm here for a reason, not just because Slytherin cursed me. 

I got up as the bed creaked underneath me. Mental note to myself about getting a new bed. The fact that I had a dream about someone killing a boy with a scar on his head. I wouldn't necessarily say 'someone' though.... He was more of a monster with only his body shape making him look the slightest bit human. I looked beside me to see the newspaper, 'Hogwarts: School for young witches and wizards'.

I had been to Hogwarts once and it wasn't the best experience but definitely not the worst either, I just didn't feel the need to re-make new stories about how my parents died and how I was born and where I was born. I couldn't risk being revealed to be immortal. They would throw me into Azkaban and make me rot there. 

If I however did go there, I would get amazing grades and top the class, considering me being centuries years old but still looking young. It would be quite the win-win situation if you really thought about it. 

I may even be able to make a future for myself, not being stuck as an auror for the rest of my life. 

I felt as if I needed to go back to Hogwarts. It may even be different for me, I might be able to find someone to love me if I failed at the prevention of that monster I saw in my dreams. Oh! And not to mention my changing of identity tomorrow! Happens ever 40 years, I reset to the age of 15, looking like a child but having the knowledge of a wise wizard. 

"Alrighty, so it's set. Y/N, your heading straight to Hogwarts!" I said to myself. I must admit, I didn't have many to talk to so it was quite the habit of mine to talk to myself at times. I grabbed some papers and started filling out my new identity for tomorrow's change. 

"Hmm, Daena is a nice name. And L/N sounds promising...." I said to myself, "that's it then,

Daena L/N."

Quite a pureblood name in fact. I indeed am a pureblood, born to my mother and father which of whom I never knew the names of. Saddening really. You're probably thinking about how I'm going to get into Hogwarts. Well, you know Dumbledore, that professor at Hogwarts? Well, he knows about my existence and knows how I've been hexed by Slytherin as I had trouble lying to him at a time we met at Three Broomsticks. He agreed to put a good word about my application and let me join the school whenever I wanted. I'm not exactly quite sure why he would help me out but I guess I might be saving him in the future or something. 

Who am I kidding though? No seriously. That old man knows quite a lot and just maybe I might play part to whatever he's planning. 

-----------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading so far, I have pretty inconsistent posting times so I post whenever I can lol. Oh and also, that monster you dreamed of? Yeah, that's Voldemort if you didn't get the references! 

#voldemort #tom riddle x reader #tom riddle #fem reader #lily potter #lily evans #harry potter #james potter

[naivesilver]

I'M LATE TO THIS BECAUSE I WAS PLAYING ONLINE MINI GOLF SORRY

Anyway, an ask that allows me to gush about your fic????? sign me the FUCK up <3

My favourite fic of yours:

WHERE do I even begin with this, seriously??? I think that, technically speaking, your 25k Lampwick fic is your best fic (or, at least, your best pinocchio-adjacent fic, because sadly I do not read anything that isn't related to him in some capacity, but I have no doubt that your other works are just as high quality 💕). The premise...the pacing... the care taken to properly explore him as a character........fuck, it's SO good.

Two Stars will also obviously hold a very special place in my heart (SO so beloved).

However, I still think that 'to love (with little to your name)' is, well, unbeatable here. It truly is one of your best works. Eugene's chapter within this fic had me bouncing off the walls and gnawing at table legs. (It was also THEE chapter that really re-wired my brain when it came to Eugene and I have been Not Normal about the square boy ever since, as you're well aware.

BUT not ONLY does it have a Eugene chapter, it also has the Scalawags (THEE first chapter of the fic and I KNEW it was gonna be good when we started with that, holy shit) and Leona?? Leona my BELOVED HELLO???? This fic just means so much to me. It's made me laugh pretty hard from time to time (thank you Pierrot and Mignon in particular for that (ALSO I NEARLY FORGOT THAT THE CHAT FIC WAS PART OF THIS???? BELOVED HELLO?????) and it's also made me want to chew my own arm off (affectionate).

What I'm saying is, thank you for this verse in general, but particularly for this fic within the thousand problems series 💖 It has affected my brain permanently.

3. The best character you've written for:

SO, I would argue that the Scalawags (yes, all three) could take this crown. Because?? how the HELL do you take something as awful (for a multitude of reasons) as EotN and transform these characters into such likeable and three dimensional people with these incredibly well thought out backstories. It blows my mind!!!!!

I also love the way you write Lampwick. And also Eugene but DUH I could talk all day about the way you write Eugene because I am mentally unwell about him.

If we're talking about characters that aren't technically OCs? Then I've gotta say that I love the way you write Regina 💖 You do a fabulous job with her, truly.

6. Something I remember vividly from reading one of your fics:

A lot of your imagery in your fic has stuck with me (things like the green description of the chapel in eyeteeth), but I guess that there are just loads of general little details and snippets from various fics here and there that still cross my mind without warning. I still remember the opening scene of choice on the beach really well for some reason. The patchwork quilt. The little handstand that Igor did to make Twinkle laugh. Pierrot's 'nun of my business' joke. idk I've told you this a million times before but....It's the little character details that fuck me up the most and that make your fics so damned enjoyable to read.

7. What made me the most emotional after reading

'when you know the makers hand'. That fic fUCKS ME UP, okay???? Because of course it does!!!! Also, spell of shattered sight fic fucks me up in a similar way (it's about.......August and his relationship with his father........). Lose my mind every time I read either of them.

13. If i've ever shared/talked about your fic to someone else

well DUH. I'm abnormal about your little guys ofc I have to talk to other people about them every now and then <3

💗💗💗💕💕💕

LIBBY SHUT UP 😭😭😭💓💓💓 I saw you play golf but really, you could have stayed playing - I wouldn't even have been bad, you're already too good to me during normal chats, you COULD have skipped that. But since you're here now!!!! Let's go 😏😏😏

Fanfic Asks (For The Askers)

1.My favourite fic of yours

Did I expect this? Yes. Did it STILL make me emotional? ALSO YES!!!! The big Lampwick fic started an avalanche of content that to this day fills me with EXTREME joy, and Two Stars is the one thing I was still shy about gifting to you (because WOW COOL WRITER IS GOING BRRRR WITH ME WHAT DO I DO), but the kids! The kids!!!!!! I'm so happy about this world that has blossomed to life and expanded into something ginormous, and it was a blessing to plant the seed with you 💖

3.The best character you've written for

You think my Regina is good? 🥺🥺🥺I will melt jsyk

Also you know what motivates me? Anger and spite. EOTN made me so fucking mad I couldn't NOT make it better (and it wasn't that hard to do, ngl). Justice for the weird little kids! They're so much more than love interests!!!!!

6.Something I remember vividly from reading one of your fics

Not much to say here, just that a lot of those scenes get rolled around my brain like a pinball marble for ages before AND after I write them, and it means the world to me that they stuck with you too 🥰🥰🥰

7.What made me the most emotional after reading

MAKER'S HAND!!!! Wow we never talk about that anymore - we do love making that man sad, don't we? Sopping wet puppet guy smh

Spell of Shattered Sight moment will be brought up again btw so don't get mad at me when it happens I warNED YOU

13.If i've ever shared/talked about your fic to someone else

YOU STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!!! And you freak out when I go on rants about your Lampwick 😡😡😡💗💗💗

#lizardthelizard #ask meme #misty eyed while writing all this shit fuck you

[a-flaming-idiot]

2023 AO3 Wrapped

Made by @floydsin

How many words have you written this year?  189,786 words! GODDAMN!! I didn't know I had that in me.

How many works did you publish this year? 11 fics.

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?  Titan Spawn. It is my most popular but I think that comes from the passion I've put into it. It's been a lot of fun and a huge crowing experience that I hope to continue into the New Year.

What work of yours has the most hits?  Titan Spawn

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?  Again, I gotta say Titan Spawn. My friends will tell you the same, it was meant to just be a silly twoshot to get me out of my winter funk. Then everyone's love for it turned it into what it is now.

Favorite title you used? Caught In A Multimouse Trap. It's simple and cute.

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? I didn't really use any song lyrics. And even the ones I did were really just random and sporatic with no trend to them.

Pairing you wrote the most for this year?  I guess either Willuz or Alyanette. Willuz because technically all of Titan Spawn is considered Willuz even though they've had little screentime. And Alyanette has featured in like 2 1/2 of my fics. Though except for one it's mostly a background thing again. I don't do much shipping anymore.

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?  Amivee since it's so out of left field but works very well in Titan Spawn.

What work was the quickest to write?  A Kitten's Responsibility. Wrote it in an afternoon in between my family's Christmas Eve-Eve party.

What work took you the longest to write?  I'd say chapters 10-11 of Titan Spawn. They were meant to be one chapter but split off into two due to their raw size. Took me most of the summer and over 30K words.

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?  Three I still intend to finish. A BNA Swap AU I'm mostly done with, just haven't found it in me to get past the festival scene. A miraculous fic where Adrien/Chat Noir thinks Ladybug and Marinette are dating. Just stuck on the specifics of one scene but I intend to finish. And another one with Gabriel mentoring Marinette back from September I similarly just haven't found it in me to finish despite being 75% done.

What’s your longest work of the year?  Titan Spawn again... 145,769 words.

What’s your shortest work of the year?  Hush Little Tanuki. Makes sense. It was originally gonna be a chapter of another larger fic that went belly up.

What WIP are you taking into next year with you? See 12.

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?  "Hurt/Comfort"... honestly I shouldn't be surprised.

Your favorite character to write this year?  Definitely Vee. Specifically in Titan Spawn. She got so little screen time in the show but was so fun to make her even sassier and have her be more of the older sister to Luz and King. But Titan Spawn Luz was fun with all her quirks and I was happy to write Multimosue right at the finish line.

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?  I'mma say most of the kwamis. They all have really vague personalities that were hard to really get while writing. Especially when I was new to the fandom. (Still kinda am.)

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?  I guess Amivee just because it's rare and funny. But again, not really going into the year with shipping on the mind.

Which work of yours have you reread the most?  Titan Spawn since it's so long and I do like to occasionally look back at older chapters. But by the end it felt like Caught In A Multimouse Trap. I kinda skimped out on editing near the end just because I was frustrated with having read it so much both for editing and just catching myself up after breaks.

How many kudos in total did you get this year?  1,275 Kudos.

Which work has the most comments?  Titan Spawn. Obviously the biggest and caught everyone right at the peak of the TOH fandom near the finale.

Did you do any collaborative works this year? Yes. @sashonya helped me a lot with Titan Spawn and we collaborated on Beast Or Man? (How Should I Know?) & No Sight, All Heart. plus Beta reading and helping to brainstorm Heart Of Aspiration.

Did you write any gifts this year?  No Really.

Did you receive any gifts this year?  No

What’s your most common category?  Gen with a few Teen.

What do you listen to while writing?  Not much really. Sometimes I listen to whatever music is hitting my fancy at the time or like a video essay, but I regularly pause or tune it out when I get into the motions.

Favorite work you wrote this year? That is near impossible to choose. I love all my wretched children! (Otherwise I don't finish making them) But if forced to choose, probably Titan Spawn and Caught In A Multimosue Trap. Though maybe that last one was just cause it's so recent. But I really love Multimouse and had fun writing her tiny and cute.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?  I have written way too much to choose. I really do like most of what I made.

Biggest surprise while writing this year?  Titan Spawn taking off. Really I meant for it to just be a quick peak into a possible AU since I was in my winter funk. But people loved it so much and Sash really inspired me to add more to it. And now we have the goliath we got now.

#the owl house #bna #miraculous ladybug #ao3 #archive of our own #ao3 wrapped #ao3 wrapped 2023 #fanfic #fanfiction #titan spawn #flame writes

[yurinullification]

You know the funny thing about being excited for this kojima project is i just, can't handle horror, whatsoever. I watched NOPE like this summer and it's genuinely an amazing movie but that scene where the alien sucks up a bunch of people and they get digested is still stuck in my head months later. And that kinda ruins the whole fun of it. At a certain point of repetition it just becomes awful. I can and could handle it in the moment but not in the long run. Same goes for that one momo thing. Never left my head. I've had the groke permanently stuck in my head since childhood. I've been unable to sleep for the last 2 hours because whenever I close my eyes I think of this random red internet horror post I read on here years ago. I had a nightmare about Ganesha when I was around 8 and i still think about it. Around the same time I read about some tapir cryptid in a book that ate your dreams and guess what it's still fucking there. In my mind. Constantly. I hate all of it so fucking much but it seems like I'm literally never going to learn my lesson about this shit

[blairsanne]

Writing Questions Tag Game:

Thanks for tagging me @residentdormouse ♥

What is your absolute all-time favorite idea you’ve ever had?

Um, so the two favourite ideas of mine are not things I can link you to because the first one, which is a faerie story about (among other characters) the fae prince of Winter, is a story I'm writing (I guess it's on hiatus) with my irl bff and it's not finished or available to the public. I don't know how much I should share tbh, but I love all the characters and the world we've built so much.

The other is just my special daydream OC character whose story I will never actually write because it's a mashup of various fandom lores and very complicated and while fun to daydream doesn't sound fun to write. She's a priestess who gets murdered on the altar of her world's gods by her bff and they revive her to kill him (he was a priest who took the power of the gods and then proceeded to basically demolish the world around him). She does so, but is essentially left alone in her world and becomes a guardian of sorts. Her role is to link herself to one person (anchor) in every one of the worlds/dimensions/realities that the collection of souls her gods watch over reincarnate into. She can call on power from the other realities to protect them from outside threats (basically, if the gods were creator beings, there are destroyer beings who want to devour the souls/realities). She ends up being kind of a tragic character though, since she's stuck between a bunch of "lives" so to speak and beholden to different people in different worlds but never able to settle down and be done. She keeps getting revived by the gods when she dies (with all her memories, instead of reincarnating), and she struggles with grief. Why is this my favourite idea? IDK but I keep thinking about it.

Is there a question you’ve been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

Well one time someone on anon complained that I wrote a self-indulgent mary sue oc into my fanfic and asked "who asked for [that]". To which I replied that I did. Because, you know, I write shit for myself first. As a fun hobby. I'm in no way saying that I write anything great, and if you think my writing is cringe, like, okay, you're right? Die mad about it, I guess? Get a life? Idk. I'm just having fun playing pretend with these fictional worlds.

What is your favorite part of being a writer?

Re-reading finished things because I write the type of stories I like to read, so it's really satisfying to get to reread them later. Close second is when someone else likes what I've written, that's pretty cool. ♥

What parts could you take or leave?

The agony of the time between posting something online and that first bit of feedback on it. Now that I actually have people looking at my stuff there's a little bit of like "well I hope at least one person does end up reading and enjoying this" and like... if not then it feels like why bother posting it online? (Honestly I started posting my BWOC fic in 2013 just so my irl bff could read it. I started posting my newer fics on tumblr in 2021 just so I'd move on and finish the missing parts of the story I had been writing... which hasn't worked, in case anyone wondered haha.)

What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

I am constantly coming up with stories in my head. There's something about writing them down and crafting them into something I can read again later that lets me put them down, if that makes sense. Like a brain dump. I don't need to remember just how that scene went or why that was happening in this plot, because it's written down now. I can revisit it later if I like. Or never.

Second-biggest motivation is when I'm writing a fic with someone else in mind, like a request or gift, or for an event, or just something I know that one person in particular will like. In the hopes I contribute something good to their day. (Even if it's smut.)

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

I've honestly been writing since I was a child, so I wish I could tell you. XD

What I would say to someone new to writing is this: You get better at every skill by doing it. So, if you want to write, you're better off writing a ton of stories, badly at first and reworking, refining, revising, etc. than to wait until you're "good enough" to write the story you want to write. You can always write a version two or twenty-five, months or years later. Done is better than perfect, and shitty-first-drafts are better than forgotten ideas.

What is your favorite story you’ve written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you’d like and can!

Probably Homecoming, a smut-fic for Bofur in the Durin's Garage AU. Mostly because I haven't written most of my stories to completion, but also I love that fic.

What is your favorite out-of-the-box quote?

"If anyone can do it, so can you."

Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

In one of my original fiction stories, one of the characters is an emperor who is basically taking over the world bit by bit, and has zero remorse about it. He believes that nobody can love him (for good reason unrelated to his status/warring) and has decided not to love anyone or anything either. At one point, frustrated with how passive his stolen fiancee is, he orders his brother to strangle her to death in front of him and then gets mad at her when she doesn't fight back (he orders the brother to stop, it was just like... a test?). He's very aggressive and believes that everyone only looks out for themselves, etc. so he does the same. (So her passivity sort of challenges him in a way. It's complicated.) It think it's a very toxic but easy-to-fall into worldview when someone thinks that the world is cruel to them, to decide to be cruel back. That's probably the most controversial mindset of my OCs, but that's sort of the point. Obviously I think he's wrong, and eventually things happen to change him.

If you, when you first started writing, met you now, what would younger you think?

She'd probably be confused why we stopped doing forum-RPing and be completely amazed that a single stranger anywhere in the world had read and enjoyed something we wrote all on our own. Honestly I think little me would think I was pretty cool and living the dream. Maybe I should remind myself that more often.

I really value the community in fandom spaces, which I think is why fanfiction is so appealing. We all get to play with the same dolls in different ways and go "ah yes, that's a cool way you played" and learn from each other and grow, and it's all around a shared love of stories. Storytelling is how humans make sense of the world, and community is what makes life feel like it has meaning to me. So this is a pretty cool place to be.

No pressure tags: @laurfilijames @i-did-not-mean-to @i-am-still-bb @silvermoon-scrolls @sotwk @middleearthpixie @sketch-and-write-lover @enchantzz @lordoftherazzles and OPEN TAG to anyone who wants to do it. :)

#tag game #writing stuff

[novelmonger]

Thoughts on Jedi Apprentice 1: The Rising Force

Star Wars was my first fandom. I was introduced to the original trilogy when I was 8, and immediately fell head-over-heels in love with the story - particularly because Episode I came out shortly after. I'm one of that rare breed of Star Wars fans whose favorite movie is Episode I (it's neck-and-neck with Rogue One, but overall I think The Phantom Menace still pulls ahead). The only Star Wars poster I have in my room is from The Phantom Menace, I was overjoyed when I got a Jar-Jar Binks cake for my ninth birthday, my favorite lightsaber battle by far is Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul, I love the Duel of the Fates and Trade Federation theme music....

So it should come as no surprise that, when I discovered the Jedi Apprentice series that covers Obi-Wan's apprenticeship with Qui-Gon, I snapped it right up. From the very first scene of TPM, I fell in love with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's relationship, and I was devastated when Qui-Gon died and I realized we'd never get to see any more of it. Thankfully, there's a whole 18-book series targeted at young adolescent readers featuring that exact relationship! I was smack-dab in the target demographic, and for years (basically, until I discovered LotR and HP when I was 11), that was the only thing I wanted to read, think about, or talk about. When I wasn't doing school, playing Pokemon Yellow, or watching a Star Wars movie for the 10000000000000th time, I was reading these books.

Watching the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries has awakened so many feels, old and new, for my favorite character in the saga ;A; While I wait for the last couple episodes to come out (and for my heart to repair itself after Ewan McGregor has trampled all over it in the best possible way), I've decided to reread these old favorites. I haven't read them since my teenage years, but I still have so many fond memories of them. I'm really excited to see what new thoughts I may have, some 20-odd years after that rainy day I wandered into the back corner of the library to see what kind of Star Wars books they might have....

Jedi Apprentice #1: The Rising Force by Dave Wolverton

This is long and rambly, so I'm going to break it up into chapters, so as not to just leave a giant wall of unbroken text - or less so, anyway. (And...for if you want to read along, I guess, though I can't imagine anyone's going to do that.) I don't think I'll necessarily have thoughts for every chapter, but I guess we'll see....

Chapter 1

The book opens with Obi-Wan sparring with another youngling...whose lightsaber is red??? Who missed the memo that only bad guys can use red lightsabers? XD

"Because he was tall and strong for a twelve-year-old..." - Let's...just keep this in mind for later, shall we?

Obi-Wan's opponent in the training exercise is a boy named Bruck Chun. Poor kid. With a name like that, you're going to be relegated to being a bully forever, aren't you?

"Bruck also held grudges. A year ago, Obi-Wan had stumbled in a Temple corridor, tripping Bruck, who had fallen. ... He'd called Obi-Wan an oaf then--Oafy-Wan. The name had stuck." - Okay, that's actually a pretty clever insult for an eleven-year-old *clap clap*

Wolverton's writing of Yoda's speech quirks is...inconsistent. Take this as an example: "To defeat an enemy, you do not have to kill. Defeat the rage that burns in him, and he is your enemy no longer. Rage the true enemy is." Odd. I don't think I really noticed that before.

Chapter 2

"Obi-Wan threw himself back on his sleep-couch. He had let Master Yoda down. He had thrown away his one last chance by letting anger cloud his mind. Now his worst fear had come true. After all his years of training, he was not good enough to be a Jedi Knight." - This hits different, reading it as an adult. Obi-Wan is a month away from his thirteenth birthday, and because no one has chosen him as a Padawan, and because Bruck made it look like Obi-Wan beat him up in anger, unprovoked, he's getting kicked out of the Temple and sent off to a planet in the Outer Rim to be a farmer. Like...I get why they want Padawans to start off early; they need to be teachable, moldable. This is also the age at which children would be sent off to apprenticeships in times past. But...Obi-Wan is twelve. And, when the Temple has a child on their hands who can't make the cut, instead of sending them back to their families (and I happen to remember that he's not an orphan, even in this not-exactly-canon-anymore series written 23 years before the miniseries), they ship him off on his own to become a farmer in the far reaches of space. Beyond being extremely cold-hearted behavior towards a literal child, it's just...irresponsible??? They're sending a Force-sensitive kid to the Outer Rim without supervision because he couldn't control his anger. Uh...Jedi Council, do you want him to turn to the Dark Side????

Bant! I've always loved Bant, though we don't get much of her in this book. She's Obi-Wan's Mon Calamarian best friend in the Temple, and even though I've never found Calamarians particularly attractive to look at, I've always imagined her being...pretty. I think it's because her gentle soul shines through her fishy appearance :3 And she cries when hugging Obi-Wan goodbye :'c

Chapter 4

Okay, so let me get this straight.... At the tail end of Chapter 3, Yoda and Mace Windu are arguing about whether they should give Obi-Wan another chance at being a Padawan. Not a guarantee, just a chance for potential Masters to see him fight and pick him. What decides the argument is a referee droid telling them that Bruck was the one who started the fight that got Obi-Wan in trouble. So...they had a droid watching the entire time...and they took Bruck's story at his word, arranged a job and a transport for Obi-Wan overnight, crushed his hopes and dreams, potentially set him on the path to the Dark Side out of bitterness and anger...before they even checked the evidence?! I mean, what if Bruck had just burned and bruised himself and then went limping to cry wolf, and there had never even been a fight at all? Guys...this is why Palpatine was able to exterminate you. Because you're all as incompetent as a bunch of beetles >:(

"As a child, Obi-Wan had learned by fighting older students to avoid flashy attacks that wasted energy. Instead, he'd been trained to fight defensively, to block blows with small movements, or to avoid them." - Getting "It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!" vibes here :P

"[Qui-Gon Jinn] was a rebel and a loner, and Obi-Wan wanted to be seen as a rebel, too." - Awww, babbie.... ( ∩ˇωˇ∩)♡

"Qui-Gon shook his head sadly. 'It is better not to train a boy to become a Knight if he has so much anger. There is the risk he will turn to the dark side.'" - Oooh, foreshadowing! Foreshadowing of when Qui-Gon will ask Obi-Wan to train a boy with a lot of anger who will turn to the dark side!

Chapter 5

"'But why send the boy to Bandomeer?' Qui-Gon asked. 'It's a brutal world. If the weather doesn't kill him, the predators will. He'll need all of his skill just to stay alive--never mind the Agri-Corps!'" - THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!!!!

And in response to that, Yoda just laughs and says that he has faith in Obi-Wan's abilities and that it's a good situation for a young Jedi to grow. Okay, okay, so Yoda has a premonition that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are destined for each other, and this isn't the end of Obi-Wan's Jedi career...but come on. Sending a twelve-year-old boy to Bandomeer all on his own is child endangerment, Force or no Force!

Chapter 6

The main event of this chapter is Obi-Wan wandering around the ship taking him to Bandomeer, and he runs into a Hutt who unceremoniously throws him against a wall, chokes him, and then punches his lights out. And his cronies wonder aloud if Obi-Wan is carrying bombs in his luggage. OBI-WAN IS TWELVE HE PROBABLY STILL HAS BABY FAT AND WE FIND OUT LATER THAT HIS VOICE STILL CRACKS WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM ;A;

Also...oh my goodness. You have to understand, as much as I love Star Wars, I got into it at a time before I had ready access to much of the EU, and I'm not sure I really had an understanding of what the internet was or what one can do with it. (Besides, I was reading these books several years before Wookiepedia even existed.) So with a few exceptions of species named in the movies like Wookies or immediately-recognizable ones like Twi'leks, I had no idea what any of the species named in these books actually looked like, beyond the brief descriptions that might be provided in the text. This time through, I've been looking up any alien species I'm not familiar with...and this chapter mentions Arconans. This is one of the species that gets a close-up in the cantina scene, but I had no idea what they were called, so I didn't know that. The book describes them as "tall ... with triangular heads and glittering eyes." And...yup, that's what that one dude looks like in the cantina. But because I didn't know that was an Arconan, my nine-year-old brain had to come up with my own visual to latch onto - particularly because a character featured pretty prominently in this book is an Arconan. And I can still vividly remember what my brain cooked up - tall, spindly bodies supporting a huge flat triangle with a face on it! Real Arconans' faces are sort of vaguely shaped like a downward-pointing triangle, but I imagined them as upward-pointing triangles. And their eyes had irises and pupils, unlike real Arconans; they were just...super shiny, like anime eyes. Aww, now I have to shift my mental image....

Chapter 7

"He had to accept the pain, respect it, not fight it. Then he'd have to ask his body to begin to heal." - You know...I think these books went a long way towards preparing me for a life of physical pain. I've been told I have a high pain tolerance, and while I'm sure part of that is just the way my body is and what I'm used to, part of it is also mental. I used to pretend I was a Jedi when I hurt in some way, and I would try to do what's described over and over again in these books: Thank your body for letting you know something's wrong so you can fix it.

Okay, I could almost buy it if the Hutts and Whiphids on board weren't surprised by a twelve-year-old joining a mining operation, because maybe they just find it hard to gauge a Human's age on sight. But now there's a Human woman, Clat'Ha, who's like, "Oh, you must have stumbled on board looking for a job, yep, that's the most believable reason I'm sitting here looking at an actual child...." I guess there were no child labor laws a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

My assessment of Obi-Wan as a Gryffindor Primary is looking pretty solid: "But he still struggled against Clat'Ha's acceptance of the injustice. He didn't understand it. He had grown up in a world where disputes were mediated and resolved. No obvious injustice was allowed to stand."

Chapter 8

Obi-Wan wakes up all weak and feverish, with Qui-Gon by his bedside, feeling his forehead. "'Is it really you?' Obi-Wan asked, struggling to clear his clouded brain. Qui-Gon smiled. It was the first time Obi-Wan had seen him smile, and he realized that Qui-Gon was not all coolness and judgment. 'Yes, it's really me,' he said." - <3 Exactly the kind of fluff I'm here for :')

And in walks Si Treemba! This is the Arconan character I was talking about, and I love him, even if my initial imagination of his face was...well, pretty cartoony, if we're honest, and now I have to picture him like the guy in the cantina. But Si Treemba is great. Rather timid, but a good friend when Obi-Wan has none, and fun to read because of the Arconans' habit of speaking only in the first-person plural because they have very little sense of individuality. Also, this introduction scene is doubly fun because Si Treemba hero-worships Obi-Wan for standing up to a Hutt, and Qui-Gon is laughing up his sleeve at Obi-Wan's discomfiture ^_^

Confirmation that Obi-Wan is fluent in Huttese. Not surprising; Huttese is a pretty widely spoken language, but still. Good to know.

"No doubt Qui-Gon thought him unworthy of the task ahead. But Qui-Gon's hesitations paled next to the Jedi principles. Justice must be sought out." - GRYFFINDOR!

Chapter 11

Okay, so Obi-Wan and Si Treemba go to investigate some sabotaged mining equipment that's making tensions rise between the two mining companies on board the transport. Si Treemba gets caught trespassing, and Obi-Wan turns back to rescue him from the Hutts. And in the middle of the night, Qui-Gon wakes up with the sense that Obi-Wan is in danger! Even though he's not his Padawan yet! I forgot that happened. It's ~destiny~ <3

"Sorry to break up your game." - I'm seeing the beginnings of Obi-Wan's dry wit. It's not super witty yet, but then, he's just a kid. The sarcastic zingers will come in time. (And granted, "Hello there" isn't exactly Shakespeare either....)

Chapter 12

Qui-Gon and Clat'Ha are at the bar drinking "juice." There's consumption of alcohol in the movies, so I don't see why the books need to be squeamish about it. I mean, I could maybe see a Jedi not wanting to get intoxicated, but Clat'Ha? I'm going to keep my eyes open to see if this is a trend in the series.

Aaaaaagh, Qui-Gon's upset with Obi-Wan meddling, fighting a Hutt, and making the tensions worse. "He had hoped to win the Jedi's respect. Instead, he was looked at as a pest, not even worthy of great anger." TAT But before things can get too tense between them...pirates attack! 8D

Chapter 13

Hee hee. Transparisteel. I love sci-fi technological terms :B

"Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan sprinted toward the bridge with Si Treemba behind him. Suddenly, the boy looked so young...." - Oh, NOW he looks young, does he?!

"The last of the pirates blasted off into hyperspace, never guessing that they'd been bested by a twelve-year-old boy." - WOOHOO!!!! YEAH!!! GO, OBI-WAN!!!!! ✽-(^▽^)/✽

Chapter 14

Hmm. There's some head-hopping in this book, which seems to get worse the closer to the end it gets. It's a pet peeve of mine, but I'll let it slide. Better authors than Dave Wolverton have been guilty of it.

Before starting this project, I took a stab at Sorting Qui-Gon. My best guess was that he's a Slytherin Primary (jury's still out on both of their Secondaries at this point), and his thoughts in this chapter seem in keeping with that. He thinks broodingly of his angsty backstory with his previous Padawan, whom he lost to the Dark Side. That hinders his ability to trust Obi-Wan or connect with him, because what if he opens his heart to an apprentice who will only break it all over again? So he holds back from Obi-Wan, who's confused and hurt and would really like even just a single word of praise from the Jedi Knight he looks up to. This seems like a Petrified Slytherin to me - his old Padawan was one of the few people he let into his inner circle, and such a pain-filled loss makes it so hard for him to let anyone in again. Can't wait for the un-Petrifying we all know he has to go through :3

Chapter 15

"Jemba shook in amusement like a giant gray worm." - Jemba is a Hutt. He is a giant gray worm.

"Sometimes, the force of friendship could work where the Force could not." - Oooh, I like that.

You know, I really like how the Arconans play into the plot of the story. Jemba swindles the lot of them into working for him by stealing their food source, and because their culture is a strongly communal one (to the point where they don't even use the word "I"), they go along with it because it's what seems to be for the greater good, because it means their people will survive, even if they end up losing their freedom to a cruel master. But then, because Obi-Wan has befriended and helped Si Treemba, he basically can call all of them his friends. Their loyalty to each other extends to him now. And I really like that, as young as Obi-Wan is, he's doing his best to understand where they're coming from and how their culture and life on their planet affects the way they interact with others. He doesn't judge them for being different from him, he just tries to understand. That's the makings of a good ambassador, I think.

Chapter 16

I really like this chapter. It's a quiet moment, a chance for the characters to process and discuss the showdown that just happened. Obi-Wan makes sure Qui-Gon (who was gravely wounded in the battle with the pirates) makes it back to his quarters, and they discuss what they should do next. Obi-Wan is ready to go kill Jemba right then and there, but Qui-Gon cautions him, giving him some good advice and helping him put things in perspective. There's something deep inside him that can't help advising and training Obi-Wan, even though he's trying with everything he has to slam on the brakes and not entertain the thought that maybe this could be his Padawan.

"His heart cried out that Jemba was evil, and that evil had spread to enslave innocent victims. If anyone deserved to meet a bitter fate, it was the Hutt. But he would listen to Qui-Gon." - Further proof that Obi-Wan's a Gryffindor! Also that he learns from his mistakes. He got in trouble before when he went off on his own against Qui-Gon's advice. Now, even though he's itching to do something to solve the problem immediately, he knows better than to disobey Qui-Gon's direct orders again.

"You can't force people to be just and decent. Such qualities must arise from within--they cannot be forced from without. ... I have [killed before] when there was no other choice. But when I kill, I only win a fight. It's a small, small victory. There are greater battles to be won--battles of the heart. Sometimes, with patience and reason and by setting a good example, I have won more than a fight--I have turned my adversary into a friend." - This is why I love Qui-Gon.

"Qui-Gon could see no glistening sign of tears. Instead, he saw the worst kind of defeat. It stung him. After all his noble talk of winning the hearts of enemies, he realized that he had just crushed the heart of a boy who only hoped to become his ally." - ༼☯﹏☯༽

Chapter 17

"It's as if a burden has been lifted from me. Perhaps I could be a good farmer. And to be good...to be a good person is more important than being a Jedi." - This chapter is basically just about Obi-Wan articulating this realization. And what an important, mature realization for such a young boy to come to....

Chapter 23

The climax of this book is so exciting, it's impossible to put it down to write down any thoughts! After an emergency landing on an unknown planet to repair the damage the pirates did to the ship, they take to the hills for fear the rising tide will engulf the ship. Instead, they end up putting themselves in greater danger from these pterodactyl-like creatures roosting on the island. To make matters worse, the Hutts have stolen all of the Arconans' special mineral they need to eat to survive. So Qui-Gon sets out to get it back, climbing a cliff face even though his shoulder is still seriously injured, getting shot at by Hutts and Whiphids and then attacked by the flying creatures, escaping only by jumping onto the back of one. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan is almost single-handedly defending the mouth of the cave where everyone is holed up, fighting scores upon scores of the ferocious creatures.

I still vividly remember the first time I read this book. I remember sitting on the couch in the living room, devouring the whole thing in one sitting. By the time I got to that epic battle in the cave mouth, I was shaking with excitement, oblivious to everything around me. I could see it all so vividly, it's like I was there. I could feel the rain on my skin, I could hear the creatures' cries, I could feel my muscles burning every time Obi-Wan raised his lightsaber. And when I finally put the book down, I was really disappointed that I hadn't checked out any of the other books, and I'd have to wait till the next time we went to the library! Few books can affect me that strongly anymore. I miss that reckless abandon, that ultimate trust in a story to carry me through, to the point that I'm hardly even myself anymore....

The other thing I love about this climax is that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan reach out to each other with the Force and forge a connection, even though they've both accepted at this point that they're not going to be master and apprentice. It's a connection born of desperate necessity, but also a soul-deep understanding that goes deeper than conscious thought.

"Together, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn fought side by side. The Force pulsed between them. They knew without speaking where the other would move, when the other would strike. When Qui-Gon moved forward, Obi-Wan sprang back to protect his flank. When Obi-Wan leaped to the right, Qui-Gon made sure he was covered to the left." - \ TToTT /

Chapter 24

And here we are at the end. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan have been through a crazy adventure together, but Qui-Gon is still reluctant to ask Obi-Wan to be his Padawan. They have a quiet moment together, talking about Obi-Wan's first experience of letting the Force guide him so completely in such a critical moment, the first time he's been in a life-or-death situation like this. But as Qui-Gon thinks to himself, "The boy would have to be strong to dispel the shadow of the one who had come before."

And I'll close it out with this lovely foreshadowing of things to come: "It was not a simple thing for one Jedi to touch the mind of another. It was an intimate thing, the kind of thing usually done between closest friends. Or between a Knight and his Padawan."

#star wars #jedi apprentice #the rising force #obi-wan #obi-wan kenobi #qui-gon #qui-gon jinn #book thoughts #really long and rambly thoughts at that #join me on this trip down memory lane

[coffeebanana]

👀

✍️

And this one!! (I didn’t know the emoji shortcut) - A fic you like writing more than other fics.

(From this fic writer ask game) 👀 What’s an idea you had for a fic that you never did anything with?

I have very vague ideas for a poly fic with the core four? Because a lot of the poly fics I've read in this fandom are very much along the lines of "let's sit down and all mutually decide to date together". And I enjoy those--they're usually really sweet!--but I want more poly fics where getting there is a bit of a mess! Not a mess like they're hurting each other, but a mess where they don't all figure things out at the same time and they have to explore what works best for them at each stage along the way. But that's on the backburner because honestly I find it difficult to balance more than two characters with equal story time even when they're not all dating each other. And because I'm still stuck on chapter two of the Adrigaminette fic I started almost a year ago so...writing poly fics is challenging. Mostly because I want to do them justice and I have particular ideas about how I want to do that I suppose.

✍🏽 How much do you plan your fics beforehand?

It definitely depends on the length of the fic, but I'll just answer this for long fics since anything shorter is just a scaled-down (or less-detailed) version of that process really. (Unless it's only one scene/less than a few thousand words, in which case I can sometimes sit down and write with very little to no plan.)

I think Probably Not The Best Idea is the perfect example of how my process goes, because for that I really said to myself, "Why don't I just try writing this without a plan?" Well, uh...that lasted like ONE chapter ahaha.

Typically, I can write the first few chapters of a long fic without much of a plan, though I usually have a handful of future scenes in mind and probably at least a vague idea of how I want it to end. But after those first few chapters I have to sit down and link everything together. I tend to go chapter by chapter, asking myself both "what would the characters do next?" and "what needs to happen to get me to the scenes I've already imagined?" It's usually a pretty vague outline at first, just a few bullet points for each chapter. Then as I write I learn more about the characters motivations/thoughts/etc..., so I adapt as needed. As I move through the fic, I tend to flesh out the next few chapters I have to write in more detail, focusing more on how the characters are feeling and how that might influence their actions. So I guess to summarize, I have to have a specific plan for where I'm going in the near future (though that's subject to change when I actually write those parts), and at least some idea of the end goals.

A fic you like writing more than other fics?

Aaaah. I don't know if I have an answer for that one? Like most people I think, I enjoy writing most whenever it's actually working 😂. But that's not specific to any one of my fics. And it changes over time. Like right now I could probably say Say Something, but a couple months ago I might have said anything but that. I think I have a biased view of things in hindsight, too. Because half the fics I'm thinking of right now I'm just picking because I'm very happy with how they turned out in the end. But if I think back to actually writing those fics...lots of them were a struggle at some point. So I'm really not sure?

Thanks for the ask! 💜

#ask response

[scribbleseas]

Hi!! Hope ur having a nice day/night so far! <3

I honestly just wanted to say how I absolutely love ur work- I CANT EVEN FIND WORDS TO EXPRESS IMY LOVE FOR IT PROPERLY- BUT I'LL TRY MY BESTT-😭😭

At first I was just going thru the black butler fandom tags to find a good fanfic, when I stumbled upon ur work. At first glance it was intimidating to jump into a whole new famfic with multiple chapters, but honestly I'm *SOO* glad I did!

I haven't been caught up with any new chapters since I've last read it but, nonetheless all I can say is that ur work/writing is a whole *experience*🤌✨. And I mean it in every sense. Even tho it's been well over a month or so since I've read it I can still remember the scenes that play out; coupled with your beautiful writing that genuinely makes it seem like I'm transported into ur story ur telling. All the feels, the scenarios are still stuck in my mind when I think back to your work and honestly I don't think I'll ever find anything else which could even come close to replicating what I felt when I read ur work.

I cannot ever find the exact words or thank you enough for how you've been able to help me find an escapism in ur heavenly writing that should really be called an art form. (Srsly I'm not even joking-). And I definitelyy plan to re-read all ur chapters from start to finish during my holidays.

I honestly really reallyyy admire how ur able to articulate things so well with ur words. Once I started reading, I was sucked in and I couldn't stop reading, to the point that I think I just binge read ur chapters in one day. Honestly I might have gotten up the next day just to read what happens next.

So sorry for the long letter of sorts, I guess I just had a lot to say once I started writing and I hope you've been taking care of urself, mental and physical health as well! Sending u all the love and support in whatever u do and wherever u are <33

(P.S. it's my first time ever writing anything to the author and I honestly hope it didn't come off as weird or creepy or anything-)

- .⁺‧₊✧

Hi, .⁺‧₊✧ Anon!!

Let me just say, oh my god!!

I literally almost cried the first time I read this. I can’t believe you would take the time to sit down and write me such a kind message. I’m so touched that I’m struggling to convey how grateful I am, like I can’t believe you like it so much and I’m absolutely over the moon that you do. I really can’t thank you enough for this ask. All of it. Every syllable, letter, and emoji, lol.

I’m also going to be real: you sent this at the perfect time because I’ve been really struggling with motivation to work on the next chapter. I’ve felt both uninspired and overwhelmed as a first-year in college atm. (Especially because it’s midterm season, gross.) This kind of message was exactly what I needed to help me feel like my work is really there for people, and it’s the quality that I work so hard to make it. I feel much more inspired to pick up my fic outline and my chapter 17 Google Doc and actually get to work. I’ve been putting it off because I hate forcing myself to write— it never comes out good.

But this was exactly what I needed to feel refreshed and ready to start tackling the problems/roadblocks that I’ve run into while I (more intricately) plan out the last 2 chapters in this fic. Who knew, it’s actually pretty tough to wrap up a story!

It means so much that this storyline and its characters are resonating with you, too! I love that TIP is a story that youn can think about when you need a little bit of escapism. That’s literally me, like all the time— that’s where a lot of the ideas for this story came from!!

I’m really so choked up over your whole message, before I sat down to write this message, I came back to re-read it easily five times before I thought I could properly write about the happy tap-dance my heart does when I read it. You didn’t come off as weird or creepy at all, just extremely kind and just amazingly supportive. I’m really grateful that my writing has garnered such sweet and amazing people like you to read it and give me such lovely and well thought out feedback. It’s not something I expected, at all, being a novice fic writer with a brand-new Tumblr, and a slowburn Black Butler fic. And it’s certainly nothing I expected when I first thought of this plot like…six years ago! In middle school!

Anyways, I write for all of you, and feedback like this just warms my heart.

Thank you so much for your love, support, and faith in me. I’m so honored <3

- Dan

#the indignant pawn #dear sweet anon #crying in the club #black butler fanfic #answered

[minjeonpark]

A ramble about life🧘, work🧑‍💻, writing🖋️ and everything else.

Hello!👋 I feel like it's been ages since I opened Tumblr. I've been meaning to answer all of your comments, but several things happened this week that literally changed everything in my life.🙃

For starters, I got covid. Not fun at all, experienced headaches and body aches that turned me into a potato, and now I'm almost out and back to full health...I just need to endure a sore body for two more days. ✌️😭

Also.... I was fired....? *Insert yoongi's iconic confused face*😐😂

Lmao it came as a shock to me too --to everyone in my department since we all got fired. It stranded a lot of us because the news came as a work email at 9 am when everyone was home bound dealing with covid. No one expected it because we had just come back from a successful work trip to acquire a new client for the company. Now looking back, I should have paid more attention because just last month, half of the HR department was fired👀 and if you're a victim of capitalism and a slave of the work force you know HR is the last to go, like they're untouchable when the company is purging their payroll. HR, the last standing soldier, the one that sees you off...welp. 🤦

I wanted to leave an angry rant here the moment it happened, but I needed to keep moving and not let the fear of an uncertain future drown me. I know I'm still young and there are a lot of opportunities out there (I would like to think that way) but in a world where the timeline of how your life should play out is set and everyone around you is following it you can't help but feel like a failure when these things happen. Like, I don't want to get married and have a child in two years, you know. And I don't want to be frowned upon if I don't have a job that makes six figures by the time I get married. Cause everyone around me is doing that. I want to enjoy life at my own pace, and maybe getting fired from this important office job is a sign to follow the creative path I always wanted...I don't know. I have a job interview in two hours, so I guess this is me nervous rambling. 😬🥴

I was also considering putting my writing hobby on a Hiatus, but immediately backtracked because I don't want this hobby of mine to be tainted by the pressures of adult life. So I'm still going to write the shit out of my imagination because like many of you have said, it is an escape from reality. Chapter 22 is fully drafted, I actually added more scenes because when I first read the draft it felt like it lacked some important scenes, so that's where I'm at with the next update. I hope to give you teasers this Wednesday and post this weekend.

Let me end this rambling with something that I want to tell you all that my dad actually tells me every time I'm stuck. Whatever you chose to do, don't think of it as something you have to do for the rest of your life. It sounds hard, and it is hard to make the decision to change career paths, but sometimes you just need that push towards what will eventually make you happy. So here I am telling you that even if we don't know each other, just know that I will cheer you on. Whatever change you're too scared to make but that you know it will make you ten times happier than what you're doing right now, picture me telling you to go for it. My dad always says to not be scared of failure because out of everything you can learn in life, Failure is the biggest learning lesson you can get.

With that in mind, let me go apply for jobs that I'm under qualified for while I figure out what in the hell I'm gonna do next. 🤔

Also, I'm gonna start editing past chapters of Days Since I Met You with the lovely Sybil @sybilinthehollow. It's just grammar and stuff, nothing of the plot will be changed. So you don't have to worry about reading back. Everything for a better reading experience! 😏🤣🤭

Without further ado, I'll go study for my job interview, and I'll maybe see you tonight as I write Chapter 22? 🤞✌️

[wander-over-the-words]

1, 5, 6, 10, 13, 22, and 35 for the weird writing ask game!

Weird Questions for Writers (because writers are weird)

(under cut cause lots of numbers and I got a little rambly a couple of times lmao)

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

Times New Roman, size 12. Nothing else is acceptable to mine eyes lmao

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

Scratches chin

I don't think I do, no. I am a huge perfectionist when it comes to writing (especially if it deals with an actual canon and such), but I don't think I have any superstitions about it.

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

Pretty much all the fears I have regarding writing are, in the moment, pretty severe, but in hindsight, are probably quite trivial. The sort of things writing blogs make posts about, like how "we should write for ourselves so who cares about notes" and whatnot. How a fic might not get attention even after the amount of time I've spent on it (though, to be fair, that's sometimes just Tumblr's fault for locking me out of tags huff puff).

The only real dark fears I've had about writing are intrusive thoughts about like. which fic will be my last. In that, which fic will be the last posted before something happens to me or some such. My greatest fear in life is dying before I get to do everything I want to do, and sharing the millions of stories in my head is part of that.

But like I said, those are just dumb intrusive thoughts that my brain likes to shove in my mind every so often. Keeps me on my toes, I guess.

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

I've certainly read things in the past that stuck with me for a long time! Been a while since I've read a fanfic that's done that, but I read a mystery/psychological sort of novel toward the beginning of the year that had a helluva twist, where I just kinda went "woah" and then immediately went to my mama like "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS" lmao

As for my own writing - ehhhh. Sort of. My own writing 'haunting' me is more like. I put too many expectations on myself for things. So I guess it's not 'haunting' so much as 'taunting', heh. The current one is Part 3 of Wherever Life Takes You and whether or not it'll be a satisfying sequel to a fic that I. did not expect to get as popular as it did. It's got bigger shoes to fill than I thought would be the case and so it's on my mind more than I'd like.

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

Eeehhh. Death, mostly (or rather, the aftermath of somebody's death). Hits too close to home. And obviously any sort of discrimination stuff, especially any I relate to. Makes me feel disgusting afterwards. I have to put myself in a specific mood to write about either of those things, and sometimes it just leads to me accidentally unlocking a depression episode cause my brain becomes too loud.

One that's kind of both easy and difficult is the topic of guilt. Like, it's hard because I relate a little too much to it (thanks to a high level of empathy and a guilt complex), but it means I can just fly through descriptions of it cause. I get it. I understand why a character's doing something out of guilt. I've been there.

One that's easy is - funnily enough - violence lmao. I don't get to write fight scenes often, but I tend to fly through them when I do.

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

Not as organised as I'd like lmao

I have a shit ton of notes on my phone of random bits of dialogue and facts to remember. If I'm in bed and can't be bothered to roll over and grab my phone, I write said thing on the back of my hand and just have to remember to write it down properly the next day lmao.

Recently, I did move the notes from my phone to my Google Docs, where everything else is (shoutout to the BioShock fic notes that came out at over two hundred pages! y'all were slowing my fuckin phone down). Different drafts of things get different documents (and are usually just named [fic name] and (whatever number of draft it is)), I have a 'graveyard' document dedicated to having bits I deleted that I might be able to use later or that I just liked a lot. Multi-chap fics tend to have a doc dedicated to just their plans. That kind of thing.

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Favourite has got to be my little trick of removing (most) punctuation from scenes where the character(s) is panicking, in order to make the reader's 'reading voice' speed up and match the character's racing thoughts (think the most recent time I did it was Here Comes Frankenstein, with Delta in That Scene; in posted stuff, anyway). I know doing that would probably piss off most of my old English teachers, but hey. it does what I want it to do so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm usually a wee bit of a snob when it comes to grammar, but there are some rules that I just. don't care about. Like. I know there're specific rules on how to structure a sentence when somebody's speech is interrupted, like whether the - goes before or after the speech marks, and I'm sure I've done it wrong pretty much every time, but it's because I just. don't give a fuck nrnrng Like maybe I'll care when I actually publish something but like. y'all know they were interrupted, and that's all I need you to know.

My English teachers used to tell me I should never 'list' during descriptions in writing (e.g. don't have a paragraph dedicated to what a character looks like), but like. how the fuck are y'all supposed to know this shit otherwise? I'd much rather a writer just give me some list of what their character or setting looks like rather than pick up clues along the way, like my old teachers used to make me do (they would have me do shit like "instead of just saying she has blonde hair, just mention it when she eventually touches her hair" or some shit. or I'd have to implant a scene where a character happens to see their reflection just to give me an excuse to be like "LOOK HERE'S WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. THEY'RE THINKING ABOUT IT SO THIS IS JUSTIFIED."). I'd rather have something to consult in case I forget rather than have to fine-tooth-comb the text to find out if this gal is blonde or not. fuckin wait for her to touch her damn hair just so I can know what colour it is. Obviously, yes, don't be too rambly with it, and show, don't tell their personality, but what they look like? Yes, please, just fuckin tell me. Let me have a picture in my mind rather than a bunch of puzzle pieces that I have put together over the span of reading this entire book.

Also, I’m aware some people don’t like it when writers actually write out accents, but fuck that (except if it makes the text legit hard to read). Y’all can pry especially Southern accents from my cold dead hands.

And hey, yeah, sometimes I structure stuff more on how it looks rather than writing rules, or how easily I think it reads. I'm in no way perfect ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#answering #reply #long post #thanks for sending this in! #Sorry for rambling too much haha ^^'

[canardroublard]

Fic authors self-rec! ✨ When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers (if you would like to)!

Hmm tough question! Let's see...

So give me a line and take me home is my magnum opus for TMFU so far. The writing of it has been slow and I've made mistakes along the way, and it is of course incomplete (working on it!). After I finish the last chapter, I think I want to go back and redo a bunch of stuff. Despite that messiness, I love it. I like stories about people getting stuff wrong before they get things right; stories where people have to make the best choice out of bad options; stories where people make bad choices out of good options because they're scared or fucked up. And this is that.

Don't talk, just hold me closer and nor made me feel so sweet are going as one entry here, because in my mind they are two halves of the same story. One of the things that bugs me in some fandom and shipping is the prevailing attitude that relationships need to be "forever" or "one true love" to be worth writing about (or reading). This is a story about a relationship that is not those things and will never be those things, yet is still a relationship that was worth having for everyone involved. (Plus this duo includes one of my favourite paragraphs I've ever written).

Trompe l'oreille is probably my favourite of the 500 word exactly oneshots I did one year for fictober. The overwhelming majority of Atomic Blonde fics that I've seen are fix-its, which is entirely fair, but I wanted a take that wasn't that, one in which Lorraine had to live with what happened and her choices. It's sparse, choppy, and melancholy, which is exactly how I wanted it to go.

On breath of air was me trying to do something different. About a year before the exchange that spawned it, I'd read Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey, and wanted to capture some of the feel of it, some of the "heightened" elements like alliteration and the characters' titles. I almost tried to write the fic in verse. Kathi's basic premise (TMFU Icarus au) had stuck with me in the years since she first mentioned it, and I was glad to have my go.

Final slot was a tough choice between jolie laide and the pegging fic (how has that become my legacy in this fandom lmao) but jolie laide won. I'm proud of the world I made for it, with all the research that went into capturing the NYC fashion scene of the 1960s in its gaudy nuance. And I'm proud, too, of the character work, especially the history between Napoleon and Illya, how even love and good intentions sometimes isn't enough to save someone who isn't ready, but also how no one is beyond hope.

I'm going to guess you already sent this to people in the saline squad but if there's anyone who didn't get it from you, consider yourselves asked!

#ask meme