#this has been my favorite original chapter in like 2 years tbh

[kcamberart]

i love that pretty much every match i've played for the last week has just been three Sables and their designated Mikaela (and ✨me✨)

#dead by daylight #dbd #sable ward #mikaela reid #the unknown #this has been my favorite original chapter in like 2 years tbh #body horror

[biconickyoshi]

So I'm about to post the next chapter of The Avatar and the Fire Prince (which is going to be The Siege of the North, Part 2) and I thought it would be nice to post this as a little sneak peak for Book 3: Earth since that will be starting very soon :)

I'm planning on Book 3 starting in the late spring of 98 AG, and it will likely span until summer of 99 AG, one year before Sozin's Comet arrives. This is how I imagine Zuko and Aang look about halfway into the Book, so the former is 15, and the latter is 14.

I wasn't sure what to do with Zuko's hairstyle initially, because even by the start of this Book, it will have been a year and a half since he first cut off his ponytail. For reference, as of the end of Book 2: Water, he basically has his canon Book 3 hair (actually probably a bit longer). I ended up giving him a nice little half up-do (kinda Rangi-inspired, but more Earth Kingdom) for this Book since I think it's a pretty realistic style for what his hair length would be at this point.

For Aang, I wanted to give him a new outfit as well, and ended up just slapping the earthebending clothes he gets from Master Yu's academy but recoloring them orange lol. I really like how it turned out tbh!

I keep saying this in the notes of my most recent chapters, but I literally cannot overstate just how excited I am to get into Book 3: Earth lol. Book 2 is my absolute favorite Book in the original show (probably because that's when I started watching it), and there's so many fun plot points and twists that I have planned (including Zukaang developments, of course). I think a lot of y'all are going to enjoy it :)

#atla #avatar the last airbender #my art #the avatar and the fire prince #atla au #taatfp #zukaang #zuko #aang #zukaang au #zukaang fanfic #atla fan art #avatar fanart #avatar fanfiction #avatar the last airbender au #atla fanart #zuko x aang #aang x zuko

[galvanizedfriend]

Hi Yokan 👋

I have questions

First question - how’re you doing? Hope life hasn’t been too stressful for you!

Second question - have you been reading anything that has really resonated with you in the last couple of weeks/months.

Third (and most weird) question - if you could choose a superpower what would you choose? (Dumb question I know😂)

Fourth question - most proud moment in your writing career.

And final question - how’s writing going with the Wolf? Hope you’ve not struggled too much in starting it!

hope your doing okay! ❤️

Hi, friend! How's it going?

Can I just say, it's so lovely to get all these questions! ✨ I love this so much, thank you! 💝

First: I'm ok! Work is always stressful these days, I don't think it's going to give me a break until at least September. 😂 But it's not the worst right now. Tomorrow is my birthday and I just the best piece of chocolate cake humanity has to offer, so I'm cool right now. 😇 Just wish tomorrow wasn't Monday. 🥲

Second: I have read 7 books this year so far, but nothing that's stood out as being great, sadly. :( Still haven't had a 5 stars. I finished a thriller called None of This is True by Lisa Jewell which was pretty good, if you're into thrillers. 4 stars, maybe.

In terms of fanfiction, I've have been reading random pieces of non-Kc fic, as per usual 😂 But I have also read The Little Wolf by @morningstargirl666, which is absolutely fantastic, if you haven't read it yet. It's a retelling of the show's canon about the Original family and how they were turned into vampires, with special focus on Klaus' werewolf heritage, and it's so, so, so good! And so much better than canon! It actually gives depth to the siblings' relationships, and it has so many little nods to what we know of them in the future. Beautifully woven! I have also read Till I Tasted You by @kirythestitchwitch, which is a canon divergent AU where a spell goes wrong and Caroline ends up finding out Klaus is her soulmate. It's hot, it has absolutely nom-nom-able dialogues and A+++ interactions between KC, it features Damon getting his ass kicked! I don't know, it's just the whole package. 🤌

Third: This would be a very weird question if I hadn't spent an irrational amount of time thinking about that. 😂 I guess it really depends on what kind of universe you mean, because it varies. But I would very much like to have telekinesis like Prue in Charmed.

Fourth: That's a tough one. I'm an extremely critical person of my own writing, so it's hard for me to feel proud of stuff I've done tbh. 😂 But I think I was pretty proud when I finished The Wolf 2. It's not my personal favorite thing I've ever written, but I think it's probably my best written story. I really like the final part of that story, the way I managed to tie it back to TVD, I think it was very full circle and made the story a lot more unique. I also had a lot of fun writing the Mikaelsons and Caroline back in Mystic Falls after the time they spent in Nola. 😂 So maybe that.

Final: It's... going. 🥲 I took a pause after writing two chapters back to back, tried to work on some other stuff, and then I circled back to it. I've actually just started the next chapter, have a couple of scenes. I don't think this first chapter will be a long one, but I think it will take a lot of editing tbh. 😂 I haven't been at most inspired right now, so not sure how much of what I've written will stand the test of a re-read. I had plans to get a chapter out before the end of the month, but I'm not sure I'll manage it. 🥲 We'll see how this week goes. Pray for me.

Thanks for the questions, friend! I hope you have a wonderful week! ✨

#yokan answers #marginally-accurate #nice people being nice

[wifiwuxians]

20 questions writer meme.

tagged by @heyholmesletsgo THANK YOUUU

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

not counting things i'd rather remained anonymous, 21!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

513,621 lol

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mdzs, vaguely tgcf, hotline miami (though mostly past tense) and we'll see about the future

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Wei Wuxian's Super Special Super Secret Book Club still reigns supreme with 1229 kudos, and will most likely be my legacy despite it being the second fic i ever wrote for the fandom (i think?)

If You're Reading This, It's Too Late with 513, one would think i'd still be messing around with this AU but i'm happy to leave it where it is and just keep messing around with the crackship

Dawn Chorus, my most precious baby, at 251 by some miracle despite being oc/canon. you guys spoiled me with the love for this one tbh. none of my other xue yang centric works got anywhere near this close and i'm at peace with that because he's bonking my oc in this one and they have a kid.

The Book Club Extras at 232, which is hilarious when compared to the original but at least new readers will see there's more and maybe in the year 2055 i will publish them for fun

Frozen Pond with 156 at the end of the list, written for my friend @petitjams and taking place in a silly AU we made together (wen chao stays winning on here which is very funny)

i'm attributing the popularity of the first two to mostly being centered around super popular characters, because my later stuff is naturally better yet struggling haha

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

always unless they're like just emoji, because i like conversation! though i may also reply with a little heart hehe

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i wouldn't call it angstiest ending, it's bittersweet, but the threads that bind us is my top pick. and it also needs more readers so go read it. your hands and mine has a bit of an 'angsty' ending but only for song lan. xue yang had it coming :p 💖

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

excluding the two above, so far they all have a happy ending, or at least neutral??? i'd say Book Club, though, because that's the massive 'everybody lives!!' silly fixit fic

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nope. i hope i didn't just jinx it. i get hate on art and through anon though! woo! (not anymore on here tho thank god)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do and i feel like it sucks so i almost always end up fading to black LMAO my actual explicit stuff remains private... it's like too embarrassing for me. i got judged for it as an 18 year old and 10 years later haven't gotten over it. i like bondage and bdsm though and that seems to crop up in private 😏

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i do on occasion! i love roleplaying them, but the only one i have out there is The Way To His Heart Is Through His Stomach (Oh God Please Don't Eat Me), which mixes mdzs and tgcf characters in a unique setting :3

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge, but i've had art stolen plenty so i wouldn't even be surprised

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes, a few have been translated into russian!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

NOT YET BUT IT'S IN THE CARDS

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

all time? jeez. somebody tell me why i always freeze up and go blank when asked these simple questions? it's like i forget who the fuck i am. i feel like i should also say songxiao? but they're relatively new so it doesn't seem correct. fuck it. my all time favorite ship is [DATA MISSING OR CORRUPTED-- PLEASE PROCEED TO NEXT QUESTION]

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

haha... (looks at my abandoned hlm fic with the seventh chapter halfway written) haha...

16. What are your writing strengths?

i'd definitely say dialog. it makes sense, since the stuff i'm most used to doing is drawing silly comics. i also like to ping-pong emotions around and feel like i'm pretty good at that too

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

using the same words over and over and feeling like i never write Enough, like everything is always light and never in depth. i don't like making scenes too heavy with padding but i also feel like i need to find a balance

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i'll do it only if it's a language i speak!!! this doesn't apply to peppering words like gege and stuff just for funsies. i think the best way to go about it is to just tell the audience what language they're speaking in that moment

19. First fandom you wrote for?

we're gonna have to go back to when i was 10 years old here lol... i think it was tokyo mew mew in terms of stuff i put online (oh god)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

it's hard to pick favorites, but i once again must say the threads that bind us in terms of work i'm most proud of.

i tag whoever sees it, plus @sugarapplebaby because ily

#thank you! #my fic #mdzs #i write fic but overall it doesnt really get read as much #so im always glad to advertise hehe thank you!! #i think people generally just want a lot of the same or like very specific ships so its really hard to break through #BUT I STAY SILLY! i love writing and i LOVE when people enjoy what i do #so thank you all

[adhd-merlin]

2023 WRITING REVIEW

I really don't write much but it's the second time @eeverlark tags me in a writing meme (I think) soooo alright lys I'll do it. for you 🫶🏻

1. number of stories posted to ao3: 4, and yes I'm counting the fic I updated in early January because 7 out of 8 chapters were written in 2023

2. number of words posted last year: 49k

3. fandoms i wrote for: only Merlin I'm monogamous 💛

4. pairings: Merwenthur; Merwaine; background Arwen in an Arthur & Merlin fic if that counts

5. stories with the most:

KUDOS || BOOKMARKS: Call It Anything We Want (281 | 48)

COMMENT THREADS: my merwenthur vignettes have 31 threads (excluding the chapter posted in January 2024). makes sense given every chapter is basically a self-contained ficlet

6. work i'm most proud of (and why): every fic I write is simultaneously the best and the worst I've ever written and it remains so until I post a new one.

Honestly though every fic(let) has some things I like and some I think I could've done better.

Having said that, Call It Anything We Want is the first fic I posted on ao3 after a long writing hiatus so. I'm proud of that and of the amount of time I've put into this story as a whole.

7. work i'm least proud of (and why): hmmm see previous answer.

there's a ficlet called The Hunting Trip that I think I could have done better – mainly the conversation Arthur and Merlin have about Uther – but I just wanted to get it done tbh. I do like how it starts though. And Cavall the dog :)

8. share or describe a favorite review you received: I absolutely love any time someone says they liked my characterisation. for example:

your characterization is insane i am so obsessed. its so so good. like. idk how to describe it you just write relationships meshing so well together and not in like. an unrealistically flawless way but in a warm and familiar way. im in awe.

or

I love this story, your writing, this relationship, this dynamic, your details, your characterization, your everything and I’ve been meaning to tell you for a very long time. I’m sorry for not expressing this earlier. Your continuation of the original story was incredibly, believably, wondrously fantastic.

Comments like these give me life 🥺

9. a time when writing was really, really hard: 99% of the time if I'm being honest

10. a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: I wrote a ficlet that was supposed to be magically genderbent!Merlin x Arthur smut but it ended up being fem!Merlin x Gwen instead because Arthur wasn't cooperating

11. a favorite excerpt of your writing:

“Ah, the court sorcerer himself!” Gwaine exclaims, spreading his arms wide, and some wine sloshes out of his goblet and spills on the floor. He claps one hand on Merlin's shoulder. “Congratulations, Master Merlin.” “I told you to stop calling me that.” Gwaine just looks at him. Head to toe, with a grin that does nothing to hide what he's thinking, and must therefore come across as incredibly lewd. “You look good in green,” is all he says. Merlin raises an eyebrow. “You think I look good in anything.” Gwaine leans closer; close enough to purr in Merlin’s ear: “And even better in nothing at all.” Mainly for the pleasure of watching the tips of Merlin’s ears flush pink. — UNWAVERING

12. how did you grow as a writer last year: well I actually wrote something which is a good starting point

13. how do you hope to grow this year: I'd love to write a multi-chapter fic with an actual plot someday. also get better at titling things

14. who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): I think all the lovely people that left me some feedback made me push myself a tiny bit harder to keep writing and posting. a special shout-out to @castelled-away for writing whole essays about my merwenthur ficlets, I've loved every single comment 💛

15. anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: nothing apart from my desire to kiss Colin Morgan on the mouth

16. any new wisdom you can share with other writers: sometimes done is better than perfect. just get it done and move on it's fine if it's not a masterpiece. at least that's what I often have to tell myself but also I suspect I have adhd

17. any projects you're looking to starting (or finishing) this year: I would like to finish my Sefa-centric WIP, I wrote like 8k words but I'm not sure where it's going

#eeverlark #userlys #tag game #I wrote most of this last night at 2 am I hope it makes sense #*

[goldiipond]

watched the promised neverland

what is s2 and why does everyone hate it

OHHHHHH OH YOU WATCHED IT??? LETS FUCKING GOOOOO IHOPE YOU LIKED IT!!!!!!

also thats a quastion with sooooooo many answers i'll try to be brief but. there is so much and i am very passionate abt it <3 heres a general summary of everything i can think of that sucks ass by your best friend skye:

-the biggest one is easily the amount of manga content that is changed/just outright cut altogether. s1 was a wonderful, faithful adaptation of the first 37 chapters of the manga. this manga has 181 chapters and had been finished for a while by the time of s2's release. essentially they tried to squeeze the framework of the remaining 144 chapters into one 11 episode season and it went about as well as you'd expect

-the decision to cut what is easily at least 80% of characters introduced after the escape arc. this includes a character who is, in my opinion, one of the funniest and most well-written characters in the series and a huge fan favorite in general

-the decision to cut literally the entire goldy pond arc, which is widely considered to be the best arc in the manga. every character that comes with it also gets the axe. haha goldy pond reference

-several major plot points and entire chunks of other arcs are also cut out, leaving a messy and frankly sad skeleton of a plot that they try to salvage with original plot points that only serve to make an even bigger mess of this story or to make a setup to what could be a really cool new plot direction and immediately disappoint you. i watched s2 before reading the manga and can count at least 3 separate instances where i went oh youre fucking joking

-i cannot stress how bad this gets. the final episode ends with what is quite literally a glorified powerpoint presentation in an attempt to wrap up an obscene amount of plot before they hit the episode length limit. i said 'this is bullshit' aloud to my sister on my first watch and coming back after reading the manga it was frankly insulting. a character fucking meets god and makes a deal that changes the laws of the world itself and in the anime this is told through a singular still frame that is onscreen for about 8 seconds. it is so bad

-this season fucking gutted pretty much every female character (and every character in general tbh) and turned a series with an amazing emphasis on freedom of expression and defying gender roles into another generic shonen misogyny fest. the significance of emma refusing to wear a skirt after escaping gracefield's oppressive environment is thrown out by putting her back into a skirt by the 3rd or 4th episode, literally every post-escape female character besides 2 are cut, including but not limited to an androgynous girl who kicks ass and is never treated like a joke and a girl who shoots a rich scumbag point-blank in the face to avenge her sister

-i dont see much talk about the racism but god its soo racist. every post-escape character of color is cut with the exception of one, a black guy who is given a 'ooooh hes secretly a villain' cliffhanger at the end of an episode that is entirely non-existent in the manga. they dont even commit to it and he's revealed to Still Be A Good Guy Actually at the start of the next episode, they literally had no reason to do this. at one point they have don tell a terrified 5 year-old not to cry because 'boys don't cry'. don cries more than literally any other guy in the manga and most of the girls as well, and he is never ashamed of this. i am greatly downplaying the amount of rage that line makes me feel

-they cut 4 canonically disabled characters, 2 of which are disabled by the time they're introduced and 2 of which end up disabled after events in the story, all of which are treated with nothing but respect in the manga

i could probably go on but im running out of brain juice so. heres the gist of it <3 in short, season one was for the most part a beautiful adaptation of the first arc and in a lot of aspects i even like it better than the manga, with my only major complaint being the addition of that weird doll krone talks to and the amount of times she's drawn as a caricature even after being toned down compared to the manga. s1 was made with so much love by people who clearly cared abt the story they were adapting, and s2 is a frankly heinous attempt at finishing it up in a very short amount of time. it is so impressively bad that literally no one, from the entire team that worked on the last 2 episodes to THE GODDAMN CREATORS OF THE SERIES wanted to take any credit for those 2 episodes. thank you <3

#skye's ramblings #I DID NOT MEAN FOR IT TO BE THIS LONG BUT UH. I AM VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS. HEART EMOJI #this anime was huge and the release of s2 pretty much singlehandedly destroyed almost the entire fandom. i hate it so much #BUT IN OTHER NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WATCHED TPN!!!!!!!! JUMPS AROUND #what did you think of it!!!!!!! what did you think of ray. my best friend ray <3 if you have any thoughts id love to hear them #that genuinely makes me soo happy tht you watched it. life is beautiful #bowIetta #shrimps squad #also love this little beast image you have attached. okbye

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

CAP I FORGOT TO READ CHAPTER 73.

I WROTE SHIT ABOTU IT HERE YOU GO IT'S MOSTLY JUST ME FREAKING OTU

SPOILERS BELOW AND ALL THAT

Balad to cap

Ok so why didn’t i ever read chapter 73. I forgot about it? I have zero clue why that happened.

Its a very fun chapter too, it feels quite chill and is a good transition alongside tying up loose ends

I’m glad it talks about Alya being like “why tf are they over there” 

God I’m still so curious about the seeds planted of clues for Juleka’s identity, plus idk why but I’m still 90% certain adrien will randomly find out

I know he won’t but my brain is convinced

Help genderfluid Anarka i love her to pieces she’s such a terror (and i adore when you make her speak in a scottish accent, it’s so dear to me)

Interesting.. Luka teaches Kim guitar? I’m curious about Luka’s totally normal life aside from the furry for a sister, he tries so hard…

Oh. 

Now thats an interesting tidbit

Luka can tell how in her own head Juleka is? Very intriguing for him to call them delusions… I wonder how different pieces of this fic would be if they were from another perspective, especially the sheer level of danger the characters are in and how monstrous Juleka sees herself vs the reality of her protecting herself 

My thoughts are going to when she Prince Shining (that was his name right?) It’s one of my favorite original Akumas behind Wicket Witch and Little Red (which I am realising now is because of the background to them… Akuma hit harder when there is a buildup, huh. Something to keep in mind for my own writing.) That was fun to see, how worried the class was vs how confused that made Juleka

How people perceive others and myself has always been interesting to me, so this is right up my alley

Back to Luka

Oh curious, of course Luka would want to protect Juleka… I wonder if Marinette will try to make him a holder as well, I’m not sure if that secret identity would last the hour to be honest

The fact that we still don’t have much model Juleka content (aside from a piece of art you did a few years ago, or maybe that was someone else) makes me feel crazy! It’s an aspect of her that I’m really curious to see how you write it

I’ve got fun concepts for her in my own shit, and ANYWAY! Ui brought it up because Anarka was talking about sending Juleka there. 

Sorry, I’m both making notes on like 2 pieces of writing, writing 2 different scenes in totally different chapters and writing this and reading chapter 73 and cooking dinner. Can you tell I am diagnosed with ADHD? 

Woohoo for Fei saving people

Fei being scared and unsettled by Juleka is so funny help-

Aww, Juleka giving Fei interview practice is adorable

I need to reread at some point to see if we get to see how marinette sees Juleka compared to Panthera (hey, it’s me being obsessed with how people perceive others again, tbh that’s prolly why I am so excited to write my miraculous thing, there are some… extra layers that should make it funny) 

Sure you dont have a concussion Juleka, like I’ll believe that

MODEL LORE?? AUWG>/?

WOOO

MODEL SHIT IS HAPPENING I TAKE BACK ALL MY IMPATIENCE CAP I APOLOGISE

AND HER DRESS IS BASED OFF OF DUSSUU OR HOWEVER YOU SPELL IT???

CRAY=ZY.

HOYL SHIT]I THOUGT]F

ROSE WAS BEING A SAP. ACCEPTABLE. 

BUT.

SO YOU DO WORK WITH THE HEORES>545FRUNEIODWS

DUED

Oh my god if eel insane 

Help

Not Juleka slagging off herself to Rose she is so insane 

Wait

WHAT.

GABRIEL HAS TRIED TO AKUMATISE JULEKA A LOT? HOLY SHIT

This chapter is full of revaltions

Insane about everything her what the fuck

this is mostly me freakign out, sozzles its also really short. time for chapter 74!

this was a really good chapter i feel insane that i forgot to read it

YAYYYYY IM SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED!!!!!

i wanted to set up the mood for season 3- i hope it makes you excited!!!!!

#sneak a cat

[spectrum-color]

So. The original A Song of Ice and Fire outline. This has been rehashed to death but I find it extremely interesting because GRRM has always been clear that while the journey changes and he adds lots of minor and secondary characters and changes details, the major characters and the broad strokes of their story have always been there and he’s always had the same destination in mind. I think we can glean a lot about how things will shake out from this, which is good because I’m skeptical the series will ever really be finished and it’s nice to have a sense of where it’s going. The major points:

1. This was envisioned as a 3 act trilogy over the course of a number of years. It would start with a longer war between the Starks and Lannisters, then Dany would land in Westeros, and finally the Others would invade and the War for the Dawn would begin. tbh I think he should have stuck with this; the drastic slowdown in pacing and huge explosion of tertiary storylines and characters in books 4 and 5 has really hurt the series and is probably a large part of why he’s struggling to continue imo. The Others especially have come to feel like an aside compared to the scheming about who ends up on the throne, which feels contradictory to the original idea that the Long Night was the real threat. I also think the events happening over a longer span of time makes sense: the kid characters get to grow up more (Arya, Bran, Jon, Sansa, and Dany all act like they have anyway,) events are given more room to breathe (Theon being totally broken by Ramsay and Cerseis downward spiral are both things I think would make more sense taking place over the course of a few years,) and some of the political plots would feel less rushed (like the chaotic power struggles in Kings Landing, Dany coming into her own as a leader and gathering her army, or Jon rising through the ranks of the Nights Watch and struggling to fix its many problems as troubling reports of the Others become more and more frequent.)

2. The central characters seem to be largely the same. Tyrion, Daenerys, Jon, and Arya are all clearly main protagonists. Bran though has surprisingly few chapters compared to them given that the outline calls him a key player, and it implies that Jaime is the main antagonist of the War of the Roses expy, which was altered somewhat in the series we got by greatly expanding Cerseis role and turning Jaime into something of an antihero. I am not the biggest Jaime sympathizer (I still think he’s a narcissist,) but I think Cersei is a great villain who is used to explore the way women in patriarchal societies can sink under their bitterness so I am pleased we got her out of this. Interestingly, there is no mention of Slavers Bay, and it’s pretty much outright stated Dany goes straight from the Dothraki Sea to Westeros, a change I would have liked to see.

3. Ned still dies in the same way, but Robb is killed in battle (less dramatic and doesn’t have as much potential to fuel future conflict as the Red Wedding so I’m glad that was changed) and Catelyns whole arc turns out quite differently. She goes to and eventually beyond the Wall with (still crippled, still magic) Bran and Arya to escape the Lannisters and is killed by the Others. I am of two minds about this: it makes the Others way scarier if they knock off a major character, and it is a much cooler storyline for Cat than what we got, but Aryas time posing as a commoner and showing how devastating the war is for average people is one of my favorite arcs and it would be a huge loss. Interestingly, Bran and Jon become bitter enemies over something that happens when he denies them refuge at the Wall in an attempt to honor his Nights Watch vows. This conflict I think could have a lot of potential to come true in the main story Bloodraven is evil or part of the same force that controls the Others. I really like the idea of Bran being unwittingly manipulated into dark magic because of his inexperience; his time in the cave has had a strange sinister undertone to me and I think that’s deliberate. I don’t think the Stark kids will necessarily be all smiles and hugs in any case if they do reunite. GRRM enjoys interpersonal conflict too much, to the point where he created Sansa to introduce some friction in the family.

3. Sansa chooses the Lannisters, and marries Joffrey and has a son with him. The outline says she comes to “bitterly regret” her choice and that Joffrey has the same characterization he he does in canon, so I imagine it plays out similarly to what we got, only instead of her forced marriage to Tyrion, Joffrey is still the groom. I think the bones of this still existed in the first book and that’s why Sansa warned Cersei about Neds plan to flee the capitol. I think Theon was eventually created from this arc, possibly because GRRM decided not to make Sansa an outright antagonist and had to find another kid in Winterfell who isn’t a family member but is close with them. In any case, her and her son are both killed by Jaime to secure his position, and I can state with confidence that Sansa being murdered by him is probably not going to be a plot point that carries over. I would be surprised if Sansa dies at all, though Theon probably will.

4. Tyrion is pretty different. He is still a major political player, and actually sacks Winterfell (a role later given to the Boltons.) He ends up assassinating Joffrey for his cruelty, and then Jaime wipes out everyone else before him in the line of succession and pins it on Tyrion who is sent into exile. This is similar to what happens in canon (though obviously there Tyrion never harms Joffrey and Cersei rather than Jaime is the one who blames him and takes power for herself as Tommens regent.) The next part could be a hint about Tyrion’s future. He ends up in exile, implied to be beyond the Wall, and switches sides. There is a fair amount of foreshadowing in the first book about him ending up with the Nights Watch, and I do think that might end up coming true.

5. A love triangle develops between Jon (R+L=J still in this,) Arya, and Tyrion at this point. There are two directions this could go. The first is that Tyrion was reworked into Ramsay in this scenario. Like Tyrion in the outline, Ramsay destroys Winterfell. He also marries “Arya Stark,” who we as the reader know is poor Jeyne Poole impersonating her but most people in Westeros (including Jon) assume is the real Arya. Jon famously goes nuclear and breaks his vows to the Nights Watch to march and battle Ramsay when he writes him a taunting letter saying fArya has gone missing and demanding her return. It does make for a twisted sort of love triangle and play into the angst described in the outline where Jon’s vows conflict with his love for Arya. The second scenario is that Arya became Daenerys in this situation. There is a fair amount of foreshadowing for a possible Jon/Dany romance (especially the “bride of fire” prophecy in the House of the Undying,) and of course Tyrion is on his way to her right now and with the way he talks about her already I could see him falling in love with her when they do meet.

6. I haven’t really mentioned Dany because her arc is pretty separate in this outline but is much more streamlined. The setup of her being sold as a bride to Khal Drogo is kept the same, but he never budges on invading Westeros and kills Viserys for pushing it. Dany and Viserys are implied to have a better relationship here (which would have had a knock on effect I think because the lifetime of abuse she faced from her brother was imo a key part of her character) as she is extremely upset by his murder and ends up killing Drogo to avenge him and fleeing into the wilderness, where she finds a baby dragon who she uses to invade the Seven Kingdoms. tbh this is a lot less creepy than her “falling in love” with the 30+ year old warlord she was sold to and gets her to Westeros faster so I can get behind it. As awesome as Danys anti slavery crusade is it really pushed back her joining the main story.

7. The end is blacked out, but there are some bits people have made out. Bran ends up in a “seat” that he finds uncomfortable (maybe the throne, and the controversial King Bran was always part of the plan,) and Jon is his enemy in the North (King in the North confirmed?) He also said the truth about Jons parentage eventually comes out and is a game changer with him and Arya, though I imagine it has a way bigger impact than that. It also implies Jaimes death, which imo is a given for the final series, along with Cerseis. The only Lannister sibling who has a shot is Tyrion.

Overall? I would def have loved to read this and I do think a lot of this will come true. I think the story would have benefit from a tighter focus on the core plot lines and a three act structure.

#a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #catelyn stark #ned stark #bran stark #arya stark #jon snow #daenerys targaryen #sansa stark #jaime lannister #tyrion lannister #god please give me dark wizard bran #I know it probably won’t happen #but it would be so cool #also this is proof grrm doesn’t hate fantasy tropes like people say #tbf the actual books are also proof of this #theon greyjoy

[slightecho]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

I got tagged by @daydreams-and-honeybees and @halcyonhue (it won’t let me tag you and idk why! 😭)

This is gonna be very interesting and silly bc I have written much and posted little!! 🤣

TAGGING: @silvvergears if you havent done this before and…… actually idk who among my fic writing friends has or hasn’t done this one bc I’ve seen it going around a few times, so if you are a fic writer and want to do it, i’m tagging you!! 😆

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

LMFAO only 4

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

481,043 words jfc 😨

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I used to dabble in writing voltron fic years ago, and that makes up the majority of works on my ao3 but currently writing for The Owl House and I’m hoping to outnumber the Voltron fics on my account with other fandoms 😎

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Lmao uhhhh since I only have 4 published, I’m just gonna say the top two tbh 😅😅😅

Ashes takes the number one, with Crowd of Thousands as my second most kudos on a fic

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes!! I love responding to comments! I want to discuss things with people reading my fics and (especially in the case of Ashes), I wanna see what my readers theories are on what’s going to happen. It’s one of my favorite parts of having people who read what I write!!

If you’ve ever left me a comment and I haven’t responded, don’t be discouraged. Sometimes I just don’t know what to say beyond a giant thanks for reading. 😅 And sometimes I won’t reply if my last reply was a teaser

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uhhhh so if I had finished it, it WOULD have been the untitled Bungo Stray Dogs Heathers AU fic I got like 75% of the way done writing and then abandoned.

But other than that I don’t have any with an angsty ending—oh wait no ¡Viva La Gloria! is technically a published fic in my ao3 isn’t it?

Yeah it’s ¡Viva La Gloria! then lmao

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Crowd of Thousands currently.

Ashes by the time it’s done.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Haven’t yet ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Pls don’t send me hate I’ll cry

Criticism and critique are fine. Just don’t be mean to meeeee pls 😊

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I have.

Nothing published anywhere.

I’m not very good at it

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not really. I don’t really read them either tbh

I’m kind of the kid who doesn’t want their foods to touch on their plate when it comes to entire fandoms in fics it’s just not my thing

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not yet, or at least not to my knowledge.

Knocking on wood now

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Somewhat?

The planned Elowyn piece I have is something my girlfriend and I came up with together. So I have co-authored concepts

The first two or three chapter of Ashes, besides the prologue, there was a LOT taken from the discord RP that I’d originally come up with the plot of Ashes for. I had permission from that friend to use them. And I heavily, HEAVILY took out and then rewrote their portions (namely the Raine parts of the chapters “Moving Day” and “Hexside” bc the rest at the time were my characters). Their original writing has been scrubbed and a lot of Raine’s character and story arc has transformed into something else entirely. Pretty much all that remains is that they were the one who came up with the idea that Raine was Manny’s sibling. If they read it, they could probably still see the bones of what they wrote if they squint. But by the time Luz hits Eda with the door in “Hexside,” they’d already moved on from the rp. So it was very easy to rewrite around their parts and just reuse the posts I that I had written for those chapters.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

That’s too hard a question how dare you

I like too many ships

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Oh jeez.

Either the untitled Bungo Stray Dogs Heathers AU that was never posted anywhere, or The First Golden Guard.

Pretty much The First Golden Guard i have just notes scribbled out of the plot, what I think the first chapter is, and some various bits of dialogue from different moments in the fic. But then I started writing Ashes and that took over my life, and now I really want to write The Caleb Files, and the bonus stuff that got cut from Ashes. Plus the Elowyn fic. so I just don’t know if it will ever get written now

16. What are your writing strengths?

Description and voice.

I really love getting a little flowery when describing action or setting while writing. And in the case of setting in particular, I think I have a more natural ability.

I also really strive to make sure each character’s own unique way of talking comes through in their dialogue. Maybe not always when the narration makes the reader privy to their thoughts and emotions, but at the very least, their dialogue does.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Bro just cannot stop yapping!!

I actually genuinely do believe my greatest weakness is my inability to shut up sometimes. I’m sure if I go back and reread Ashes from the beginning, I’ve said the same shit multiple times.

Also sometimes I just get repetitive!! And I use certain colloquialisms like “just,” “after all,” and “as if” FAR too often.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

sigh.

I am a latinx person who lived through the VLD fandom… I have a LOT of opinions… and I have seen some bad Spanish dialogue written by non-Spanish speakers… the kind of shit that stands out to even me, when I have little verbal fluency.

Here’s the thing: I am not AGAINST anyone writing another language of dialogue into their fics. I actually do think it’s a good thing.

HOWEVER!!!

If you are a person who only speaks one language—if you’re a person who kind of doesn’t know what I’m talking about when I say ‘code switching’ or only understands the basic definition of code switching—I am BEGGING you to try and have someone with more experience in that language than you to proofread those dialogue sections.

The amount of times I’ve seen weird moments where the code switching didn’t make logical or emotional sense for the character beyond the author’s “I want to include Spanish here” is innumerable. And that’s not to say code switching needs to have a deep, profound reason all the time—sometimes code switching happens bc there’s no word or phrase in one language that directly translates from the concept or emotion you know how to describe in another! But from what I’ve found, there are a lot of people who understand code switching in concept (and that it’s important for representation) but not in practice bc they simply have no firsthand experience with it. I don’t blame them, though! It’s a hard thing to understand on description alone! Unless you’ve experienced it before, I don’t think it’s something you can fully comprehend. And it can stand out. You can even think you’ve done it right on technicality, but it falls flat.

A tiktok in how to spot AI images I once saw said “AI understands that a mirror, or stairs, or chair legs have to be there there, but it doesn’t understand why it functionally exists or what purpose it serves” and therefore it makes mistakes by adding twelve stairs on the right and fourteen on the left, or five legs on two chairs that are somehow sharing them, or mirrors won’t show the correct items reflected back. I’ve seen many well-meaning fic writers (and published authors!!!) do the exact same thing with language switching. They understand that it should be there, but not functionally why.

Also a basic “don’t rely on google translate” here….. but also a less basic one: different cultures of a shared language are gonna have different turns of phrase and different slang. I’ve also seen a lot of fics that have Lance (a Cuban character) using Mexican slang or words. That’s always awkward.

There’s just a lot. I could go on about this forever but I think I pretty much covered it all.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ever?! Lmfao Harry Potter when I was a young teen. I didn’t understand what I was doing at all and only did it because my older friend who knew I liked writing my original stories at the time said that I should try writing fic.

I didn’t even have a plot or anything. I just genuinely thiugh fanfic was writing your little self insert OCs and perpetually playing with them in a dollhouse made of your favorite thing 🤡🤡🤡

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Wholly and completely, without a shadow of a doubt

Ashes

It’s genuinely the first fic I’ve ever written where I have actually wondered if I was better off writing it as an original story and going the publishing route. Unfortunately for future me and fortunately for you all, I’m way too attached to the characters as their original names and incarnations to do that 🤣

It’s also the first fic I’ve ever written where I went into it already knowing every piece of the puzzle and having all the clues laid out to perfectly set them up ahead of time. I’m very proud of that and I long for the day where someone rereads Ashes after it’s over and discovers the tiny things in the extremely early chapters that were hints towards the end.

#toh ashes au #echo writes #echo tags #20 questions #tag game

[https-hunter]

Fanwork creators self rec! When you get this, reply with your three best and/or favorite fanarts/fanfics/moodboards/whatever that you've made, then pass on to others. No self-deprecation allowed! Let's get this self-love going ON!

Omg yeah!! I’ll take any chance to talk about my stuff

I’m definitely more known for my fanfics, so I’ll go with that. Who knows? Maybe tinimmy week will establish me as a fan artist as well

1. My baby is my breakfast club Monday after fic, so on monday, what happens? My magnum opus. It’s almost at 50k words. I started the google doc on March 23, 2020. I’d definitely change some things and this bad boy has been through various writing style changes, so I don’t like to go back and read what 16-year-old me wrote. I’m working on the last chapter, although it is a bit on a back burner. I want to get that out before my birthday so I don’t carry this fic into my 20s with me

2. I absolutely adore my bob’s burgers au, wagstaff side story. It’s like of you took out all of the tragedy of the original west side story and replaced it with camp and funny little references. I’m genuinely having so much fun with this au, it just makes me really happy. By the way, you should totally check out this epic and cool fanart by @drawthething !!

3. Some of you know me for my stash of ride the cyclone fics. I was truly pumping the nischa fics out like crazy. I think my favorite one that I ever wrote was something happens and i’m head over heels. I guess you could call it an au? Basically nischa gets their ferris wheel kiss. This was the first rtc fic I ever wrote, and honestly, sometimes I reread it and I can’t believe that I wrote that. Tbh my waitress fic is also really good, I think they’re tied

#I truly will take any chance to talk about my fics #I’m like a proud parent #ride the cyclone #rtc #bob's burgers #the breakfast club #fanfiction #fanfic #my fics #hunter’s silly little fics #ask #asks #inbox

[vacantgodling]

🖋️,❤️, and😭 !! Don't have a specific wip in mind, so you get to decide !!

thank youuuuu 🥺💛 i can talk about the liminal space series for these lol :3

🖋️"what inspired you to write your WIPs?"

donut wip was inspired by my frustration at not being able to finish a story, and i thought if i just plotted out an easy, straight to the point, horror novel (cuz whoops donut wip is straight horror p much) that i’d be able to finish it. i wrote like 15 chapters in 2 weeks and then burned myself out when i started a new job in 2021 BUT as i was thinking about it, more and more could i see it fitting into the universe that already existed in jenna the reaper. but… there was no bridge from point a (college horror) to point b (high school supernatural horror literally across the country)

this is where the inspo for noi, alone came in. i’d had noi as a character in some form, for about as many years as i’ve had jenna but i never knew what to DO with them. but it seemed so perfect to make them the bridge between juls and jenna’s stories, even if they must also go through the horrors 😔 them having a demon entity thing in their eye was always a thing so that makes the transition even better (well, worse for them but better for plot)

and then jenna… tbh i never “had” inspiration for jenna. i was literally chilling at my ex’s house in hs when all of a sudden jenna just knocked on the door of my brain like “hey yeah i’m here now.” with all her plot already figured out LMAO. 💀💀 so in case you were wondering she’s always been like this. all i’ve really done is just tweak it and fit it better into the world with the other two wips, and add stuff on etc etc.

mason at the airport sort of came about from me wanting to take a slightly different direction with liminal spaces, like explore different kinds?? so mason’s story, while it’s in the universe it is Slightly different than the rest of them just cuz i wanted to try something new and LESS horrific lmao

❤️"what are your favorite scenes from your WIPs?"

donut wip (gasp that i’m actually willing to talk about Some spoilers lol):

the donut sharing scene is the most important scene To Me

the elevator flashback that talks about juls’s past & trauma around elevators

when juls and joaquin kiss (even tho the poly is alive and well in my head, this relationship is kind of the only one that gets enough time but it’s something i wanna change when i try to write draft 2)

also a particular scene involving news anchors that i don’t wanna spoil but i LOVE it

noi, alone:

tbh i haven’t plotted this one out that well but when noi meets seph is gonna be soooooo funny bc they’re lowkey attracted to him Immediately and lilly loves making fun of them about it. secondly, when the three of them break into the dorm i want it to be kind of messy

jenna the reaper / jenna the witch king:

the scene where noi reveals their demon

the scene with vega that is sad……. ough……

the scene where jenna tells carlos about frankenstein, i actually have that written out lol

the scene where jenna and yehna merge is gonna be OOF

mason at the airport:

i also don’t have much planned yet but i’m excited to write the beginning when mason realizes that there’s something Wrong with the airport and that he’s Alone (or is he)

😭"what are the biggest challenges writing your WIPs?"

honestly for all of these wips it’s just attention span. i enjoy all these stories but sitting down and writing them since 2021 and i burned myself out on donut wip has been a challenge. i’m hoping i can come back around to wanting to write them, but it’s probably gonna be a Long while (cuz i’m projecting in terms of original projects, i’ll write paramour then vampires don’t take road trips and then perhaps after i’ll come back to these)

#s: donut wip #s: jenna the reaper #s: noi alone #s: jenna the witch king #s: mason at the airport #ask games 2024

[not-close-to-straight]

Do you think that you will ever go back to writing new Marvel fics, apart from the two ongoing ones that you started before getting into Stranger Things content?

Ummmmm

Honestly probably not.

I'm burnt out on Marvel, all my favorite characters are dead and the ones that aren't are involved in projects that I just don't care about. My fan fics have gotten so intensely AU that they are barely fan fiction anymore, like I'm just borrowing the names and then creating all the other stuff so I'm sort of like... at that point, maybe I should just switch to original fiction?

Not to mention the fandom feels like it's changed, and I know that makes me sound like a thousand years old but like.. .the engagement is super far down, I went from averaging over 50 comments on pretty much every chapter posted to being lucky to get ten, 25 asks in my box to maybe 2 or 3. Between Endgame in 2019 and the pandemic affecting so many people, readership and users is wayyyyyy down and it's difficult to create for a fandom that has moved on from all my favorite parts of it (infinity saga, for the most part)

Also? I feel like I've written all my good ideas. I've done huge historical au's and sweeping epic royalty ones and westerns and indepth angsty time travel ones and holiday themed and wings and canon fix its and rewrites and super intense Omegaverse and literally hundreds of short stories...like 5 million words worth of Marvel. Now whenever I get a new idea, it's more like "oh we already tried that"

Feel like maybe it's time to move on. I'm excited about alot of the upcoming things in MAMC and Codependent is such a fun story but beyond that... meh.

But of course that being said, I had to cancel like 6 commissions this year because I was so sick for so long and couldn't promise I'd get to them, so there are a few stories I was really looking forward to writing that I might get to next year.

I didn't expect to fall so far into Stranger Things, tbh. But before I got into it, I was really starting to feel like I was pretty much done writing. Like I was going to finish MAMC and Codependent and then I didn't really know if I had anything else left to write.

But then seriously, I got a text from one of my readers asking "hey do you watch ST" and I was like, well yeah, why?

And things just... spiraled...from there. I really clicked into the Winteriron-eque dynamic of Steddie and the Spideypool vibe dynamic of BillySteve so some of my lingering Marvel ideas I switched over to ST and IMMEDIATELY I was 1000% more excited for it, I love the "newness" of the characters as in, they haven't lived even most of their lives yet so the amount of stories that can be told are ENDLESS... I have dozens of pages of ideas for them and I can't wait to get into it.

Thankfully, alot of my readers have been willing to read my ST things too and I'm so grateful for the ones that follow me over to that fandom for sure.

[obsequence]

hi i hope this isn't weird askdjfksdksl, you seem to be much more active on twitter but i REFUSE to make an account on that website BUT a mutual of mine just said something to me about the idea of an au where the rattlers run like. an apocalypse gladiator ring instead and ellie eventually gets caught and stuck there with abby and this is just actually insane we can't believe no one else seems to have had this idea yet??????? my first thought was tell the only ellabs person i know of who is in any way active on social media idk you can tell twitter about this or whatever i just think you need to know. i think ellabs nation (ellabs village really lol) needs to consider the possibilities

1) come to twitter i promise it’s like not that bad i just get into fights a lot 😭

2) i have a new tumblr but it’s under a pseudonym because i’m literally writing x readers and i know people will clown me and think i’m doing it in the “y/n” way (nothing wrong with that) and not the “x readers are a great way to character study without making whole ocs and you’re able to share them with a large audience” way

3) honestly , i really hate fics that have like . anything to do with the rattlers . because they’re just , like , EXTREMELY miserable (hypocritical coming from me , i know) and i deserve a speck of dopamine every now and then . but i will spread the idea ! because tbh it’s pretty good and not done before . just not my thing

4) i’m going to take this as an opportunity to explain why the fuck tl2 isn’t out yet , but it’s going to be a very longwinded self-psychoanalytical bananza , sooo . .

so , tl2 isn’t going to be a multichapter , if it ever gets put out . it’s gonna be a really long oneshot , because if i post it , i want it to be FINISHED so i don’t leave anyone waiting again .

the reason why i have a mental block against writing it right now is because i’m really unhappy about where tl1 left off . i never really liked it honestly , i just felt a bit pressured to get it out asap so i could be done . i reread the first few chapters all the time , and i really consider that its peak , because it started to feel like a chore after chapter six .

it’s hard to write the sequel to something you don’t like . it feels like you can only disappoint (if not others , yourself) and expand on its horribleness , which sounds so melancholy , i know , lol , but it’s the truth . like , how do you fix what’s broken on something you can’t touch ? by adding more that’s broken ? nuh uh . it’s a lot of stress .

also , i just . . need a creative recharge . “spencer , it’s been like five months since you finished tl !!” no i mean like . a year . before i even poke it with a ten foor pole again . LOL it’s that bad . this might change , but that’s how i feel right now .

i’ve been really insecure about my work lately , and i’ve never been able to read original novels or other fics without feeling incredibly envious of others’ talent , and it has sowed a lot of discontent inside of me . so i stopped consuming others’ work for a bit , but that just left me uninspired and in an echo chamber of my own writing without any improvement , so it became hyper-stylized and odd to read , especially months later . i don’t even know what i was trying to accomplish at some points ?? it’s all very odd and tryhard and makes me cringe .

so , right now , my goal is to read more published work lol . i’m reading my childhood favorite “daughter of smoke and bone” right now , and it’s even better than i remember . highly recommend

but yeahhh that’s why tl2 isn’t out sorry 🌸🩷🩷💕🥺🥺🥺

(but like fr i am incredibly sorry)

#asks #my writing #ellabs

[anonymeqaupdates]

Chapter 38 thoughts

Man I been waiting for this chapter for so long and it is worth and can't for the next one. No wonder why it took long, I assume it is because of work but I love the chapter right now.

Ruggie is lucky majority of them forgive him, he would have deal with his entire school year being the one to causes this. (Although i hope Jamil gets his comeuppance) Hope Ruggie is okay given that he is crucial to stopping Azul in chapter 3.

Okay Deuce dealing with his friends is both hilarious and sad. The fact majority of thinking it is perverted thing to do (which it is) led to many misunderstanding. I wonder how the Savanaclaw wrap up arc will end given how the situation is still conflicted.

Man Azul has been through alot that I am looking forward for chapter 3 especially how Jamil will be more involved in him. I can imagine Azul will be more unhinged than last time as he is showing more distrust to everyone and being paranoid, even he couldn't tell what Jamil is up in his head. Tweels needed to tell the impenending doom group (I forgot the name) about Azul before it is too late (Although unlikely) I get they are trying to stop his overblot but they are doing what Leona did by not telling them which will lead to someone getting an overblot.

I also think of any suspects of who will get poisoned: Tweels (the people that Azul hurts the most when they kept secrets), Yuu, Kalim, Ruggie, Leona, Riddle.

Speaking of, it seems you add the fact about Ursula having a sister. Since you took influence on the Lion Guard and Lion King 2, I can tell there some references on Little Mermaid sequels in his chapter.

Jamil will one day get his comeuppance and needed help as the more time goes, the more he is getting worst. I have a theory that chapter 3 will be where he got expose before Azul got overblot, but it is also the revelation of time traveling come to light. Azul having a breakdown about betrayals, secrets, and many more that led to his overblot. Kalim really needs Azul and the Tweels since they are major parts of chapter 4.

So what to expect for chapter 3? There's already a study group in the lounge and I can Ace and Deuce will be involved but I am curious on Kalim's magic training in the ramshackle dorm,I want to see many of them being impress on his magic. I also looking forward for Pomeferio and Ignihyde to be involved since they are the least to be involved especially you mentioned Ortho and Epel being involved, I do want Idia to be involved on the overblot process especially him possibility on monitoring Ruggie.

I do like you add details on Vil and Rook dating and how Vil used to date Jack, and love the insight on Cater and Trey dating. Seems you shipped most of them.

Also agree that everyone came for Jamikal, only to be involved on crazy second chance with angst.

-🧋

Actually it took so long because I was sick as a skunk the last two weeks of November and I was also desperately trying to finish book 6 in time for book 7 with varying degrees of successes. 😭😭😭 you can all thanks Epel robe card or I’ll be still stuck on that god forsaken earth titan boss!

I’m planning to let Ruggie suffer just a little more but don’t worry he’ll have his kick back moment to compensate! As for Jamil that whole poison business is this karmic comeuppance.

As for Deuce’s friends, they have a visit by the Trey, I mean the Tooth fairy planned. However their involvement to Savanaclaw resolution ends in chapter 38. They sadly did their part in making the situation worse.

Azul is going to be so unhinged they’re won’t be any doors left in Octavinelle. However you’re way off on your potential victim list even if the aim is indeed to hurt the Tweels!

I loved the little mermaid 2 as a child! It was one of our favorite movies with my sister. TBH we watched the sequels of Aladdin, the Lion King and The little Mermaid more than the originals! However The little Mermaid 2 unlike with the Lion King 2 can’t really be fitted in my plans for book 3 except for one traumatizing scene. If you know, you know. Also congrats on catchin on the Lion Guard reference! I really liked the Hyenas in this show, so I named Ruggie’s uncle after them! He’s not dead btw, it’s just Ruggie’s parents whose gone.

For Book 3 the one braincell trip will still get scammed but not in the same way as before. Azul can’t rely on the Tweels anymore so he’ll have to improvise. Also there’s going to be some FloRid getting involved but something might poison the whole dynamic. As for Jamil…

#fixing it before it broke #twst fanfic #thanks anon!

[oscartwofoxtrot]

[kicks down the door like the kool-aid man]: hi oscar talk to me about your favorite scene that you’ve written?

Sorry this took so long to answer, I was, apparently, writing an entire thesis. You Have Been Warned.

Oh my god uhhh. My favourite scene…okay, if I had to go with one, it’d probably be the scene from The Valiant Never Taste of Death I unofficially refer to as ‘Everybody’s dying bitch, let’s get you some peanut butter’. This comes about a quarter of the way through the second (proper) chapter, Requiem (NB: if we’re going by AO3 numbers then it’s Chapter 3, since there’s a Prologue chapter as well, but I don’t tend to count that numerically), and it’s the bit where Nate gently bullies Brad into sitting down and having a snack. And then uno reverse-cards him into talking about his childhood trauma. [Slaps scene] This bad boy can fit so many emotions in it!

For those unfamiliar with Halo 4 (which in all likelihood is most if not all of you), you should know that for the most part, I tend to hew fairly closely to the story and plot structure of the game when writing Valiant. But linear first person shooters don’t offer the characters a lot of opportunities to sit down and talk about their feelings, so this scene is an oscartwofoxtrot original! Sure, the action scenes can be fun, but there’s nothing I love more than getting to write Brad and Nate in their quiet moments, and I crowbarred this one in here to really dig into that Deep Halo Lore and hopefully use it to get at some of the complexities of their dynamic in this AU.

Speaking of complexities, you ask me anything at all about Valiant and I am not so much going to unpack the suitcase as start pulling hat stands and potted plants out of it Mary Poppins-style, so…this shit’s gonna need an itemised list.

1. Nate: [Basically refuses to acknowledge his own mortality, but you better believe he makes sure Brad remembers to eat and take a break every once in a while]. Also, Brad displaying just how whipped he really is. They may not have the same relationship dynamic as canon, but Brad pretty much lets Nate tell him what to do most of the time. tbh I think he likes it.

2. We get another hint at the circumstances surrounding Nate’s capture by the Gravemind. I alluded to this event in the prologue but have thus far avoided going into too much detail about it, so you’d better believe it’s a Surprise Tool That Will Help Us Later. One of the biggest challenges of writing an AU based on the fourth game in a series is finding the Goldilocks Zone of exposition – too much and you lose the current plot thread as well as the attention of literally everyone reading; not enough and the whole thing is virtually incomprehensible to normal people who don’t spend all their time on Halopedia. Trying to get that balance right is, shall we say, an ongoing struggle.

That said, I have been having way too much fun throwing out passing references to stuff like this – and this particular occurrence is a Big Deal in the world of Brad and Nate, because I think it may be the only time they’d been apart for more than like 24 hours since they started working together. (The backstory of their first meeting is a whole other essay in its own right, so I’ll just slap a sticker on this that says ‘Ask Me About My Canon Timeline In The Very Unlikely Event That You Are Interested’). Nate had become such a permanent fixture in Brad’s life, I doubt Brad understood what it would even feel like to miss him until he was gone.

And now that Nate’s life is in danger again, Brad has a very clear understanding of the stakes involved. Almost losing him the first time…it wasn’t The Moment of Realisation (more on that later), but it certainly did crystallise some deeper level of awareness on just how important Nate is to him. Of course, last time, the problem was one of distance – Brad was light-years away and couldn’t immediately get back to Nate, but there was a fortress to storm and a dragon to slay so he could save him. This time, Brad is right there, and he can see Nate suffering, and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it.

3. Couldn’t resist throwing in a version of the Peanut Butter MRE Temper Tantrum lol. I am at heart a giant sap and I do love writing them joking around and just being incredibly fond of each other. Because there’s no officer-enlisted divide here, it gives them more room to develop the casual familiarity and vaguely flirtatious banter we see hints of in the show. The spectre of Nate’s Rampancy does cast a pall over the whole thing, but it wouldn’t be Generation Kill without some serious mood whiplash. Speaking of which…

4. Hello and welcome to my impromptu TED Talk on the Insane Fucking Lore behind the SPARTAN-II program! (On all levels except physical I am this Brian David Gilbert Unraveled video). That’s right: the Spartan-IIs were kidnapped from their families at the age of six and, to avoid suspicion, replaced by clones implanted with their memories who would die within months due to congenital health issues caused by the cloning process. And as Nate points out, the UNSC didn’t even have the justification of the Covenant War, because that hadn’t started yet! They did this shit because various colony worlds wanted independence from the United Earth Government – but that would negatively affect the economy, so apparently the only two options available were ‘bloody civil war costing billions of human lives’ or ‘covert military operations to quash nascent insurrectionist uprisings, carried out by fucking child soldiers who we put through brutal training and experimental bio-augmentations that killed or permanently maimed like half of them’.

So, uh. That’s fucked! And what’s wild is that even though this has been a feature of the expanded universe since the beginning, it’s something that’s barely ever touched on in the games. Nate only knows about it because he went snooping for Brad’s unredacted file not long after they met for the first time (based on Cortana doing the same in the Halo prequel novel The Fall of Reach). For what it’s worth, Brad’s stated mindset is pretty typical of how the Spartans themselves feel about the whole thing: it’s been normalised for them because it’s the only life they know.

Nate, meanwhile, is understandably horrified, and it’s clear they both recognise the parallels between their experiences – the UNSC took away Nate’s autonomy too, by the very act of his creation. In between the Gravemind and the Rampancy, it’s something he’s been increasingly struggling with: that he was brought into being as a fully-formed person to serve a specific purpose, with the knowledge that he’d only have an operational lifespan of seven years before his systems started to decay irreparably. I can’t put it better than the Gravemind did (courtesy of the Halo short story Human Weakness by Karen Traviss): “Your creators made you separate. They placed a barrier between you and the beings that you would be encouraged to protect, a wall you could never breach. They even gave you a human to centre your existence upon, a human to care about, yet never considered how you might feel at never being able to simply touch him. Or how he might feel about outliving you.”

Damn are you guys seeing this shit? This is fucking crazy! Anyway I’m Rod Serling

5. Rule number one of Valiant: Brad does not know that he’s in love with Nate. Ya boi is pining without even realising that he’s pining. This isn’t a reflection of how I most commonly interpret canon – I look at show!Brad and I’m like ‘yeah, there’s a guy who’s 100% self-aware that he’s simping for his platoon commander’ – but in this AU, the Spartans’ lack of normal human socialisation has left him without any practical life experience of things like romance, so he’s just not quite able to put a name to those feelings. Yet, anyway.

As for Nate? I’ve been writing under the assumption that he is aware of his own feelings, but isn’t totally sure of Brad’s. I reckon he probably has a good enough read on Brad to at least suspect that Brad might reciprocate if made aware of the situation, but without any way to be certain, Nate’s unlikely to bring it up. Even I’m not fully decided on when Nate’s Moment of Realisation was. I do have a few ideas, but it’s not a detail that’s ever specifically relevant to the fic, so feel free to speculate.

In conclusion: …idk man, it’s been a year since I wrote this and I don’t completely hate it yet so. that’s probably a good sign, right? sorry for rambling it will happen again

#me 🤝 jen -> answering these like four days late #on the other hand it’s taken so long that ao3 is back up now. meaning interested parties can actually refer back to the fic #and (maybe. hopefully) figure out wtf oscar’s rambling about this time #thanks for enabling me though! i appreciate any opportunity to be completely incoherent #asks #oscar writes fic #valiant tag

[hoseokmoons]

jeon jeongguk, demisexual, cismale + he/him ― hey look, it’s moon hoseok! he's twenty-four years old, he's lived in shrike heights for three years, and he's currently working at a new chapter. i heard he's pretty isolated, but i think he's so creative at the same time. can he make it out alive?

so this kid is very close to my heart, like more than most of my other muses that i have ever written. i bully him, but he’s my precious boy and i will fight for him, okay? fghjk

this is to keep you guys busy until i finish writing up his bio (i will leave out anything that would warrant a tw from this one for those who just want a more casual overview)

> in this house we only wear black. he looks he’s up to no good - almost exclusively wears black hoodies, so people might think he never changes outfits, but he just always looks the same tbh fghjk. fashion is effort he does not have the energy for. he’s also got a bunch of piercings in his ears and has recently started getting tattoos on his arms. so he looks a little intimidating to most people at first, especially because his general expression is pretty stoic and he can sit still for way too long, so ppl who don’t know him might get uncomfortable around him.

> in reality tho he’s a soft boy who has struggled with depression for at least 10 years. he’s got ASD as well as an avoidant personality disorder, so socializing with strangers is a very rough task for him. he’s on meds to help with his anxiety, but they make him slightly numb as a side effect, hence him being a little expressionless sometimes. > he was adopted at the age of 13, after his father was sent to prison and his mother was unable to take care of him due to her own issues. though he originally grew up in busan in south korea, he was adopted by a family in the states. adapting to this wasn’t any easier or harder than anything else he’s ever had to push himself to do, but losing both his parents in such a short amount of time has been quite traumatic.

> ever since he was young, reading has been his favorite hobby. he would be up all night, secretly finishing the latest book he had found himself invested in. other major interests of his are movies (especially scary ones) and music (primarily rock and metal). fantasy has always been a welcome escape for him and he prefers it over the real world, almost to an unhealthy degree where he will neglect himself or his friends if he gets sucked in too far. > at the age of 4 he suddenly stopped talking and was a full mute for almost 2 years. after that he gradually started speaking again but only to very select people. nowadays he’s a little better at answering people’s questions as long as his anxiety doesn’t make him completely shut down. he still has a stutter when speaking to people he doesn’t fully trust and sometimes accidentally throws korean words into his sentences when he’s nervous rambling and his brain can’t keep up. this also happens when he gets too enthusiastic about things.

> demisexual & panromantic - he’s very closed off and not the biggest fan of intimacy in general. he likes holding hands and hugs, but there needs to be an insane amount of trust to get more out of him. > he’s smart, even though he won’t ever admit it. he’s pretty funny too, once he’s comfortable enough to show that side of himself. the best version you can get is when you’re one on one with him tbh

there’s a pinterest board HERE but please do keep in mind that this has some of the tw stuff in here, they are tagged in the board description, although the last one isn’t super present, it’s kinda referenced/implied so it’s tagged just in case!!

ahem anyway pls mssg me if you want more info or wanna plot stuff xx

#shrikeintro