#writer's commentary

[not-poignant]

Working on chapter commentaries for Patreon and I am going so deep into like... Gary's character and I just love him so much as a character. But I'm doing a commentary on the chapter where Temsen first calls Gary and I just wrote:

‘Yes, well, you know how it is. I flew back in last night, and then it turned out when I charged my work phone I had all these messages and voice messages from Kent, and Anton, and Augus, and Enris, but…none from you? I hear you’ve been having quite the time, Gary.’ I like to imagine that Kent sent Temsen SO many voice messages, like:  'Dr Temsen, I think I have to quit. Call me back.' 'Dr Temsen, you'll not believe what I was asked to do today. When I signed up to Hillview it was to help omegas, not torture them. Dr Gary is out of his- Ah. /dial tone.' 'Dr Temsen, I've just realised you might not have your work phone with you. (Explains what happened). What do I do? This is wrong, isn't it?'  And then like... just... many many more exactly like this. And text messages. Things like 'what's the severance Hillview would offer if I quit?' alongside 'I don't like feeling like a rapist, I don't want to be a rapist, this is exactly what I didn't want to be when I joined here, I don't support this, I don't support this' alongside 'he was just crying, he was terrified the whole time, but his fear was so spiked from the beginning we didn't realise. I hope Dr Gary didn't realise. How could he not realise? You would have realised. I'm not cut out for this job' alongside 'I don't think that boy should be with Dr Gary' alongside 'you chose a hell of a time to go on holiday.'  And in the meantime just a laconic message from Augus like: 'Well, I certainly hope you've been finding time to enjoy the food at the very least, since I well remember that you're a bit of a gourmand. But I thought I'd advise you that there's been an attempted murder and Gary is currently living with the criminal and I think they might be sharing a bed? That sounds normal, doesn't it? Mm. I don't like soap operas as a general rule, so please come back. I think Gary needs - at the very least - some advice.' 

#underline the black #ohlo ohlo temsen #chapter commentary #writer's commentary #dr gary konowalous #underline the rainbow #Kent had a giant crisis of absolutely everything #after that appointment with Gary and Efnisien #and the internal exam dsalkfjdsa

[a-land-lacking-sleep]

Electric Trains Chapter 18 Outline

I wrote the first two paragraphs of this chapter at the end of Chapter 17, then wrote Novembmas Snippets for a month and didn't touch this at all. All in all, I basically kept to the outline and simply embellished from there, there weren't really any major deviations. I edited the Blorbo joke slightly, and leaned into Kamado's accent slipping when he's flat-footed, mostly because I've been playing a lot of Yakuza/LAD recently and I felt another good way of showing how overly formal Kamado can be was the use of "-san/-han" as an honorific (and let me play with Emmet being half-Johtoan).

Oh, except for Akari's Team! That wasn't in the outline and I showed them all in this chapter! I already showed Ember the Typhlosion, Iona the Gardevoir, and Skylar the Staraptor in previous chapters, and had them in the outline elsewhere. But now I've also shown Yama the shiny Snorlax, Oroshi the Alpha Gyrados, and Kuu-chan the Ursaring! I'll probably do a different post down the line to go in-depth on her team, probably after I finalize her Sinnoh-era team.

The next chapter is 19... Except it's not. I have two Chapter 19s in my outline, because I had to fill in a chapter to make sure I hit 25, since I messed up my outline. So next chapter is a breather, with a different focus than usual! A break from Ingo being hurt, from the drive to find family, and from Akari being a gremlin. I hear a certain red head will be joining the group...

#submas #submas fic #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon legends arceus fic #electric trains fic #my writing #the trains have eaten me #writer's commentary #fic outline

[dontcallmecarrie]

For anyone wondering what’s going on with BDEL, Darth Calamity and...basically 99% of my AUs: every time I write, stuff going on in my life keeps coming out. Which normally isn’t bad, but we’re talking soap opera levels here. Like, ‘any more and I might as well write a biography’, and that’s Not Fun on a number of levels.

So, status update/ my internal narration on what keeps running through my head on the AUs you guys may or may not be wanting to hear about. Heads up for some minor spoilers, but way less than the outlines linked on my pinned post.

By Dawn’s Early Light:

...I have all of one (1) scene I’m eager to see, and that’s Howard Stark getting punched by Bucky in front of Steve Rogers. And maybe reassess how realistic this AU is, but tbh that feels more like something to tackle in the Coding Nightmare Fic I Have Yet To Finish because like hell I’m rewriting this fic.

By Myself But Not Alone:

look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair! Sing, oh muse, of the hubris of the fool who thought they could make their overly-complicated vision into a reality while only knowing the bare-bones basics of HTML.

...okay, but really, my main problem is that I’ve got several dozen pages of handwritten notes and outlines of potential Bad Endings to spice things up, but. Completely and utterly blocked on actually writing it out. Kinda debating on just posting what I’ve got and calling it a day because my brain refuses to expand on anything right now.

Live Through The Rain AU:

First off, I really want to brush up on Welcome to Night Vale to make sure I’ve got the tone right. Secondly, this one’s slated for Howard Stark redemption/character development boot camp via ‘yeah your world was just completely upended by one of the people you trusted most, no, that was just the first of many curveballs coming your way’, which I write when I’m trying to tackle a sympathetic and nuanced perspective of a very, very complicated man with a lot of issues.

...which means I have to be in the frame of mind to be sympathetic. Which, right now, I am not.

Incidentally, if you’ve noticed a sharp uptick in the levels of family drama in NHDD, this is why. Justin’s father is what happens when I am not inclined towards trying to be sympathetic towards parents who don’t have their shit together and insist on dragging everyone else down with them, Howard Stark is what happens when I’m not venting my issues onto fictional characters. [...apologies, btw, for anyone reading this. I try to keep personal stuff personal, but. This stuff keeps leaking into everything I touch, no matter how hard I try.]

Blurred Lines:

...this was my first fanfic, really. I’m kinda torn on how to approach it, really, because I started it out as an exhausted aspiring pre-med student who was not in a great place.

It’s been years since then; I am not where I’d once expected to be. It’s been over a decade since I’ve been up to date on what’s going on in Doctor Who, and noped out of Sherlock after the hot mess that happened after Season 2. On top of that, my writing’s all over the place because my teenage self had a long way to go when it came to storytelling, and part of me wants to go back and edit but the rest of me can’t help but think, ‘no, this fic has literally grown with you,’ even if it sounds cheesy as all get out.

All I know is, I want to finish this fic. I have a bullet point outline, next to no knowledge of Doctor Who lore and probably need to do a lot of research to do it, but it is going to happen. Eventually.

Ere The World Falls/The Lullaby of Obliteration:

Writer’s block hit me like a battering ram because ETWF was supposed to be finished in a week.

Look, this is what happens when all you have is a single scene you desperately want in the next chapter, but absolutely nothing else. Specifically, this snippet:

“Oh, I like you,” Hela laughed, something as cold and sharp as the rest of her and Tony didn’t know if he was imagining the goosebumps he felt right now.

Also, ETWF’s meant to be chaos incarnate and found family and end with hope for a better future for everyone, but... I kinda wrote myself into a corner on some things, and found a great way to tie Norse mythology and Marvel comics lore that would require either a lot of heavy editing, or a grimdark remix that I don’t actually have the energy to tackle, because I really kinda need happy endings right now.

Darth Calamity/The Man Who Sold The World:

you know what? I’ve been up to my ears in rl family drama, I am not up to writing fictional angst right now. The remix with more identity shenanigans? Maybe, but first I have to wade through Skywalker family drama to get there. Hmm. Where’s inspiration when you need it?

No Hero [Downward Descending]:

yes, I know Justin Hammer doesn’t come across as being good at this supervillain thing. No, I don’t know how we got here either, this was supposed to be my stab at writing a SI-OC [emphasis on the OC] that got a tad bit out of hand. Especially when it came to the family drama, because I originally had zero intention of expanding on it beyond ‘Justin’s life went on Hard Mode from an early age, and it’s part of why they are Like That now��, but turns out Hammer Senior is a great heat sink for some things. Apologies for that, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ turns out I really needed to vent.

...in retrospect, I missed a golden opportunity for said OC to make a comment about vaguely expecting to see everyone running around in spandex, and that is one of the few regrets I have. Just as a metacommentary on how desaturated the movies got later on, compared to what little I know of the comics.

Beyond that, though, I’m having a lot of fun with a protagonist who accidentally weaponized the power of friendship.

The War is Far From Over Now AU:

Main fic’s finished, still too burned out to consider tackling the sidefic.

The plan currently is to take all the ‘Stuff I Couldn’t Quite Fit In’ posts I made- aka all the plot points that ended up getting cut for my sanity, because my heart had been set on finishing TWiFFON before graduating undergrad and even that ended up going sideways- and playing by ear from there.

Specific plot points I’d once been eager to tackle had included stuff like ‘The Curious Case of James ‘Bucky’ Barnes’ [aka SI Legal’s freakout over the files they end up having to sort through in the aftermath of the Civil War arc], and ‘Vision’s Adventures In Trying To Become a Psychiatrist’ because multiple commenters basically went ‘wow JARVIS really needs therapy, and no one on Earth really is equipped to help Skynet here’ and I remember thinking, “lol yeah, that’s kinda the point, but also that’s a great idea!!!” and had been planning to write something to that effect. Only, things hit the fan in my life not long after, and then burnout on top of that, and next thing I know it’s been years since I last touched this AU but still feel no inclination to do so.

#Naught rambles #thinking aloud #by myself but not alone #By Dawn's Early Light #Live Through The Rain #blurred lines #Ere the world falls #The Rise of Darth Calamity #The Man Who Sold The World #No Hero [Downward Descending] #3 am musings #writer's commentary

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

Do you have any director's commentary about what happened with the cracks during the big blowup argument between Bruno and Alma?

Ooh man, it took ages to decide how far to take the cracks! I knew I wanted the mountains to open, but did I want Casita to fall too? All I knew for sure was that the courtyard still needed that dramatic crack in the centre and it still needed to stem from Alma. Eventually, I decided to keep poor Casita standing; after all the stress I've put that sentient house through in this story, I owed them a break

I knew I wanted the "final" argument to be between Alma and Bruno, but I also debated having Pepa or Julieta step in. In the end, it felt more fitting to let Bruno have his say by himself. It's one more misunderstanding, one more crack so to speak; Alma and Bruno once more not understanding each other. It's the moment Alma finally understands that she has to confront her own trauma, because she's hurting her loved ones by lashing out. Pepa and Julieta have both asked her for explanations that she wasn't ready to provide, but this? Nearly losing her home and the mountains opening? Bruno blaming himself and Mirabel blaming herself? It was the wake-up call that Alma needed.

The crack in the courtyard is still there! It is clumsily hidden under a rug while they try to patch it 😂 Currently, no one but the Madrigals are meant to be allowed into Casita, lest they comment on it (besides the Rojas's of course, because they wouldn't know to question it and the Madrigals are best suited to help them) The crack(s) will be discussed again in the next chapter! We're nearing the end of the story after all; the cracks have to heal somehow 👀👀

#answers #asks #writer's commentary #director's cut #ask game #how bright you burn (how brave you've been) #encanto fanfic #my writing #la familia madrigal

[crackinglamb]

I haven’t read your DAI stuff so (no dunk on you, I just can’t get into the game) pick out a piece of a favourite scene and give me a break down!

🥰 I know you're not a fan of the games, and therefore probably not a fan of Solas. So I very much appreciate the ask. Thank you so much. I'll keep as much of the shippy-ness out of this as possible but it is the lens I dissect him under, so to speak. Hope you're strapped in and/or reasonably comfortable. This is long.

I picked a very short snippet for a little context and setup:

“Can you walk?” she asked. He nodded once, pushing on the wall to use its leverage to gain his feet. He wavered there until she sighed and wrapped her arm around his waist. She didn't speak again until she'd half dragged, half led him back across the courtyard to an unassuming wooden door, crooked on its hinges. She kicked it behind her once they were through it, and turned to him, a stern expression on her face. “I shouldn't let you in.”

“No, you shouldn't,” he rasped out. “You cannot know what danger I have brought to you.”

Lark lifted a sardonic eyebrow at him, then huffed in exasperation. She hauled his arm back over her shoulders and led him deeper into what remained of the compound. “Foolish wolf.” (From A Fallow Season)

So...first of all, I never intended to go down this rabbit hole. I know I say it a lot, but it's still true. Before I played the game, all I knew of Solas was some spoilers and fanon. It painted a very polarized picture. It wasn't until I did some research (for another DA fic) that I discovered why. He's trying to fix a mistake. He's doing it completely the wrong way, with a head full of pedantic arrogance and misguided ideals. He's a disaster on legs. But at his core, this is who he is: a man trying to atone for something he did.

And suddenly I was fascinated. I do understand why people dislike him, especially on a surface level. I have Opinions about it, but that's not what you're asking for. I wanted to know, what makes him tick? What possible inducement could get him to not destroy the world?

After writing hundreds of thousands of words on the subject, I got deeper into the lore and history of Thedas and started wondering if there was another perspective to bring into play other than my usual Modern Girl In Thedas. Thus, Lark Cadash was born. Dwarves in Thedas are interesting in that they are depicted as a dwindling race, not from their own doing, but by the doings of others. Leaving out MUCH of the endemic problems BW has with trying to create races other than humans, dwarves are equally as fascinating to me.

They've lost almost all of their culture too, just like elves. They're divided as a people. They have long memories. Lark was designed to defenestrate canon (my specialty), and be one of those that was trained to keep the history of her people alive rather than just be a Plot Relevant Thug(tm). I mean, she is that too, just reluctantly. In brief, she and Solas find they're very alike, actually want the same thing, although by different means, and they knowingly fall in doomed love. (As far as they know. Since I'm the author, I know what will actually happen at the end.) Someday I'll get the longfic finished.

This fic takes place at some vague future date when he's 'succeeded' at his plans. It's the classic 'I had nowhere else to go' protag/antag dynamic. It was both a chance to dig into what might happen down the line and to bring two old lovers back together a final time before it ends in tragedy. It's a favorite because it came out of my head as this almost lyrical series of scenes building towards a climax of mutual sacrifice. 'All is lost, but for one moment, we had each other.'

That's not normally my cup of tea, I like happy endings. But every now and then I get in a mood where I just want something angsty. I tend to keep it in oneshots, where it's over pretty quickly. 😆

The prompt it came from was 'they are together, but only for the winter'. And it grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go. It's both beautiful and despairing. It exists in a time of bleakness, on many levels. Originally it was roughly 300 words long, very direct and to the point. I kept getting more and more details and ideas for it, though, so I just started writing them. There's a bit of stream of consciousness in its layout that still bugs me a little, but otherwise I'm happy with it.

One of the things I've discovered about Solas as a character/narrative foil is that who he is set against brings out a lot of different facets to him. Like I said, I get why some people don't like him. He's incredibly complex and for the most part well written. It's fun to deep dive into his psyche. Ultimately it's what keeps me writing about him. And if you read this far, thank you. 😊

From this post. Askbox is still open.

#asks #writer's commentary #a fallow season #lark cadash #solas

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Another kind of diversity we need in writing is protagonists without love interests. Give me adults with full-fledged stories that don't include falling in love.

#writing ideas #writing #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writers of tumblr #writing inspiration #writing encouragement #writing community #writing commentary #creative writing #spilled ink

[did-i-do-this-write]

How to Support Writers During the Scourge of A.I. Bullshit

Do

Interact with us. Talk to us. Reach out to us. Many writers physically write for themselves, but they share for others. To build a community and connect with someone, to learn from them, and to make a genuine connection through something they've created. Comments, questions, rambling tags, they all mean that our writing reached someone who genuinely enjoyed it.

Share our work. This does not mean repost, this means reblog and/or send the link to friends and other potential readers. Some writers may have negative experiences with their work being shared on other platforms (such as discord), but reblogging is almost always appreciated so we can reach a wider audience. Even if you don't have anything to say or comment, it will help.

Ask questions. Many writers are dying to talk about the creative choices they made, the word choice they fought with until they got it just right, the details they added just HOPING someone would notice it. If you wish you could get more context/detail about a piece, odds are all you have to do is ask!

Treat us like humans (because we are). Crazy concept, right? The thing that terrifies me the most about all this is the potential that we take humanity out of the arts. We replace it with A.I. until human creativity becomes irrelevant because it's more convenient and more profitable.

We are not robots making content for your entertainment, we are people sharing stories to make genuine human connections and share our passions. Stories that take hours, days, months, even years of our lives to properly craft. We practice and study and learn so that we can express ourselves skillfully. Even when done as a hobby for fun, there is heart and energy and time put into the final draft.

And finally, Don't

Use A.I. for anything. Because the more it's used, the more advanced it becomes. The more advanced it becomes, the harder it will be to discern a genuine human touch between an A.I. regurgitating what it's been taught.

In the end, this is a plea. I'm begging you. Do not give A.I. the ability to replace us.

#writing #writeblr #writers on tumblr #anti ai writing #anti ai #writing community #writing commentary #zac speaks #rage against the (ai) machine

[homestuckteam]

January's Patreon posts (including writers and artists' commentary, bonus comics, and the monthly illustration) are all now available to view for the public!

In addition, a lil' extra treat for March... this month's writer's commentary is available now for EVERYONE to view!

There's still plenty extra of goodies waiting for you behind the Patreon, and if you'd like to check 'em out now before it's released, become a supporter today at https://www.patreon.com/homestuck!

#Writer Commentary #Artist Commentary #Homestuck: Beyond Canon

[anna-scribbles]

pov i’m planning season 5

#ml #ml s5 #yes this is about that writers commentary #anna rambles #i feel cool and great and fine about everything forever🫶🫶🫶🫶

[drchucktingle]

perfect tingler after todays discussion

----

Mumblo Peeps has one last presentation to give if he wants his master’s degree, but to finish it on time would be nearly impossible. Mumblo just doesn’t have it in him. Fortunately, Mumblo’s friend Jordon is also giving a final presentation, which just so happens to be about the works of erotica author Chuck Tingle. Mumblo is confused on how his friend intends to fill an entire project, since Chuck Tingle just creates fake books covers, only to realize that Chuck Tingle books are, in fact, real. Now Mumblo is locked into a passionate tryst with the physical manifestation of his bizarre assumption that Chuck Tingle books are just covers and not actual books, teaching Mumblo that anything is possible if you just put your butt into it.

POUNDED IN THE BUTT BY MY BIZARRE ASSUMPTION THAT CHUCK TINGLE BOOKS ARE JUST COVERS AND NOT ACTUAL BOOKS

#chuck tingle #tingleverse #love is real #queer #meta #art theory #commentary #fake books #writers of tumblr #gay #LGBTQIA #LGBT

[fandom-trash-goblin]

It's Crazy About ORV hours (once more)

listen i'm actually collecting this stuff now, and i've started using polls because wow some of them are spot on. cheers to me. dedicated to @chocolatemalt (my darling you've been summoned) and @yeetsintotheabyss (hi! it's indeed our orv audience)

link to part 1, part 2, part 3 and a webweave i made out of story snippets that is yoo joonghyuk centric

also, poll images 1,2, poll image 3, poll image 4,5, poll image 6,7

#kim dokja #orv #omniscient reader's viewpoint #yoo joonghyuk #han sooyoung #yoohankim #joongdok #kimcom #webweaving #webweave #web weaving #literature #tumblr quotes #richard siken #poetry #*mine: graphics #tropes #listen okay i remember kim dokja saying he'd love to live in a big house #its cannon #kim dokja company #omniscent reader #tropes galore #also see that poll so close. for semantics sake assume it's 49-51. i wanted the symbolism (no it's not actually 49-51 but can't you imagine #it would have been perfect. hence i cut out the result. oops #poems and quotes #if a writer falls in love with you; you can never die #goddamn #that quote was written for kdj i couldn't no include it #okay commentary over

[a-land-lacking-sleep]

Electric Trains Chapter 17 Outline

Back to the actual chapter count! For now... You may remember my post from a few months ago about miscounting chapters.

But this is the reunion! The reunion ass reunion, not the fake out from the chapter before! I had always seen the reunion in my head not as a big momentous event that is the climax (which is a valid way to write it, I certainly still love those scenes!), but instead essentially like the two of them coming off of separate trains and celebrating the timing of getting to meet up between their lines. It's exciting, it's goofy, and it's just two brother's being brothers, while still being emotional. The people that I showed it before the chapter went up all were happy with it, so I'm glad I went that route.

I added the talk about the coffee shops because I found out about a place called "Third Rail Coffee" in New York, and even incorporated it's closure into the fic (I'll post the accompanying picture at the bottom). It also gave me a reason to move Akari and Elesa from the scene, and then expand on the talk between Emmet, Elio, and Ingo. Said expansion also gave a much better transition into the closing of the chapter instead of Ingo just... Getting angry and passing out. Now he's irritated, but goes back to sleep naturally.

Overall, I really enjoyed this chapter! The talks between Ingo and Emmet and then Ingo and Elio were fun, and the subtle threats of Pesselle were good.

And, of course, the Third Rail Coffee closure! RIP Third Rail East Village, I never would've visited but the environmental storytelling is primo.

#submas #submas fic #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon legends arceus fic #electric trains fic #my writing #writer's commentary #fic outline #the trains have eaten me

[lord-squiggletits]

It's hilarious to me that someone actually asked/JRO actually confirmed via word of god that Tarn tortured Pharma while he was at Delphi bc like. Fucking yeah??? How else do you think Pharma went from "for most of his life, he was a good doctor" to stark raving mad? What else did people think Tarn, fanatical Decepticon who leads a group of professional murderers, would do to Pharma, Autobot stationed on DJD territory, to make him comply with the deal?

I get that sometimes people just want confirmation from the author for them to go "no yeah your theories are right" but on the other hand I don't understand asking for word of god confirmation on things that are obviously canon if you just think about it for a little bit

#squiggposting #pharma apologism #tho truthfully i dont like word of god in general for anytging besides like. trivia #if it was important to the text it wouldve been included in the text #and im not gonna trawl interviews and supplementary materials to figure out what the author actually meant #if word of god agrees with the text then the facts are already present in the text with no confirmation needed #if word of god contradicts the text then word of god is wrong bc text > retroactive writer commentary #and also i think its more fun to make theories and speculate #than to ask the author what is actually correct

[tumbly-s]

Trigun body horror week day 3 — LUNGS

#trigun #trigun maximum #nicholas d. wolfwood #trigunbodyhorrorweek #trigun stampede #tumblysart #your lungs so full - with no joy or laughter #but full of smoke billowing inside #a broken cigarette your loyal companion #infecting your body with addictive parasite #idk i started writing rhyming commentary here and here we are now with captions in the tags #im no poet nor a writer but every so often WRITING IS MY PASSION 3D logo graphic starts turning in my head like a lightbulb and we get this

[crackinglamb]

Passage from chp. 63 of Wicked Game:

A thin waterfall fell from somewhere in the darkness above their heads, filling in a nearly perfect bowl shaped pool at the bottom. It steamed faintly like a hot spring, filling the area with a gentle fog. Clear glass globes were set into the rocks that he brought to life with a wave of his hand. In the farthest reach of the cave, she saw a shattered Eluvian, the frame now overgrown with moss. This wasn't just a safehouse, this was a remnant of Elvhenan lost to time just like so much else.

“Oh, Solas,” she breathed. He stood at her side with his jaw clenched as he looked over the space. Once it must have been beautiful, a tiny hidden grotto. She could see where plants must have grown, where the walls were once decorated. The images were so faded that she couldn't even pick out what they might have been. The Eluvian frame was small, just the right size to let people walk through it from wherever it originated. “What was it for?”

*bonk bonk* 😘

*bonk bonk* 😘 Oh, this scene...

(Let's see, it was posted in Nov '21, the headspace was very different than it is now.)

There are a lot of times when I remark that I'm not the one in charge of this story, I'm just the narrator. This was one of them. I wanted to set a scene up for Imogen and Solas where they could relate to each other, in terms of grief for things lost.

There's a lot happening in this section of WG - preparing for WEWH, a recent brush with the reality of what she's gotten herself into with Solas, all the sidequests between big Main Plotline Arcs - and tbh, I'd almost forgotten entirely that the Inq has to go to Crestwood to meet up with Hawke and the Warden contact. It was getting lost in the shuffle and I scrambled a bit to make this fit.

It actually started with Solas's network. All the nitty gritty of spies and agents and keeping them hidden in plain sight. (Thus the earlier bit with the literal cloak and daggers.) A natural progression of the worldbuilding was using the available terrain for safehouses/hiding spots, since there are few actual structures in that map that are still standing or aren't already inhabited by humans. But that area is riddled with caves. Huzzah! The setting!

Then to put a painful twist on it. Keeping in mind that Solas woke from uthenera, then immediately threw himself into his plans and then the Conclave explosion...he hasn't seen much of his current network in person. He doesn't know how much it's changed. He's still coming to terms with how much the world has changed. I wanted the reveal to be a shock to him. And of course, being in Imogen's POV, the reader sees it through her eyes first. She still sees the beauty in it, the fall from grace that nevertheless shows the backbone that went into it originally. But she's fully aware that to him, it's broken. A ruin. A reminder of everything he did and what it cost.

And Imogen is in an adjacent boat (as opposed to the same one). She is also cut off from the world she knew, the people, the comforts. She can't go back either. She must live on in the full knowledge that her life will never be the same again. In this respect, she's more resilient than he is. Then again, she's only 32 compared to his [redacted]. So while he's stupefied with guilt and grief, she's already figuring out how to show him a different perspective, to make a new set of memories that are far happier.

There were like, four layers of symbolism and metaphor here. And at least one layer of irony (did you contemplate the cycle of change here, Solas? Did you?). And very deliberately so. I wanted this part to gut punch. Although for me, the real gut punch comes with the story she tells him of Earth.

Then it was just a matter of how to set the stage, as it were. Imogen wanted a shower, so a waterfall it was. Old magic and blending into the natural landscape and the sense of timelessness all came together in that grotto. The rest wrote itself.

From this post. Askbox is still open.

#asks #writer's commentary #what a wicked game to play #imogen mclean #solas

[junos-office-drama]

Love that fic, but having trouble expressing that love in a comment? Worried that you're leaving the same comments over and over?

Here are 40 comment ideas!

Keyboard Smash. Bonus points for a mix of uppercase and lowercase. End with a brief compliment: "Love it!" "So good!" "Amazing!" "This is my everything!"

Emoji string. Go as long as you feel appropriate. Throw in some 🔥 for good measure.

Quote a phrase, sentence, or passage that resonated with you, and explain why. "I love this description." "This is such beautiful language." "This metaphor is so brilliant." "This is the perfect way to describe [character/thing]."

Ask the author what inspired them to write such an incredible story. (Most authors dream of these types of comments.)

Share how the fic made you feel as you read it. Were you scared for a character? Were you cheering on your favorite? Did that smut make you all hot and bothered?

Thank the author. Bonus if you can thank them for something specific: Sharing this amazing work, introducing this awesome character, creating this cool AU, etc.

Identify your favorite character in the fic, and explain why they're your favorite.

Any indication that you're so in love with a work you literally want to eat it. My personal favorite that I've received is "I want to shove this in my mouth like an entire oreo," but "I want to print this out and stuff it in my face" and "This fic is like an amazing five-course meal, every bite is delicious!" are also winners.

For a multi-chapter fic, any version of "Wow, this keeps getting better and better!" This can really help keep an author motivated, especially if they've been focused on one longfic for a while. Longfics tend to have diminishing engagement over time, so commenting on later chapters is especially meaningful.

Tell the author that something in their fic is your "emotional support [thing]." Bob is my emotional support character, this is my emotional support fic, etc.

Tag it as if it were a social post, with all the hashtags it makes you think of. #myfavoritefic #incrediblewriting #truelove

Did you do something maybe a little dumb while reading the fic? Stay up all night reading? Nearly walk into a wall because you were reading while walking? Show up late to class because you couldn't put it down? Share your dumb thing!

Make predictions on what you think will happen next, and explain why. End your comment with something along the lines of "I can't wait to find out if I'm right or wrong!" Note: Be sure to phrase your comment as to what you predict will happen, not what you think SHOULD happen.

Did the fic make you discover a new side or facet to a character? Talk about that. "I never noticed how [trait] [character] is until I read your work!" Example: "I never noticed how creative Eric was until you brought it out in this fic, but it's absolutely true!"

Have you re-read a work (especially multiple times)? "I'm re-reading this for the third time because I love it so much."

"This is my second kudos!" Repeat as many times as you want. Third, fourth, fortieth, it's all good.

Are you a new subscriber? "Loved this so much that I subscribed!"

Are you an existing subscriber? "Every time I see an update in my inbox, I get so excited and rush to read it!"

Is there an Original Character (OC) in the fic? Ask about the OC! Ask what inspired the author to create the OC. Ask for more information about the OC's background. Ask if the OC is based on any particular character or idea. Ask how they came up with the name, and if it has any special meaning. Seriously, just ask the author about their original creation.

Tell the author how attached you're growing to their story or their characters.

"It was so [emotion] when [character] did [thing]." For example, "It was so scary when Eddie charged off on his own, I was so worried for his safety!"

Having a tough time in the real world? Let the author know if their fic or characters are a much-needed bright spot in your day.

Is the fic something you normally don't read? "Normally I'm not into [thing], but this fic is so good it's changed my mind!"

Did the author portray a complex topic well, with understanding and nuance? For example: surviving domestic abuse, coming out in a non-supportive environment, dealing with trauma, etc. Tell the author! "I can really tell you did your research. You handled [topic] so well!"

Can you personally relate to a scenario or a character in the fic? Did it touch you on a personal level? Say so!

Is it an older story? COMMENT ON THE OLDER STORY! Tell the author that it still has meaning and relevance, and that readers are still enjoying it today.

Does the fic present a pairing (or relationship) you never considered or never liked before, but now you adore? "This fic has made [pairing] my new favorite ship!" or "I was never really into [relationship] before, but this fic is so well done, I've fallen in love with them!"

A string of heart emojis (or the simple <3 ). As many as you feel appropriate. (One is appropriate. So is one hundred. You decide!) Make a rainbow if you want! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Did the fic make you look at the source material in a new way? Share. "I never noticed [thing] about [source material], but your writing really brought it out!"

Screaming about the pain and agony you're in, especially on whump, hurt/comfort, hurt/no comfort, and similar fics. Some authors are sadists. Let them know you're suffering (in that "oh hell it's so good it hurts" kind of way).

For chapters that end on a cliffhanger: Any screaming about how much the suspense is killing you and you can't wait for the next chapter. (Just remember not to demand the next chapter. "I'm so excited for the next chapter" = good / "You have to update right now or else" = bad.)

Is the fic now part of your official headcanon, right along with the source material? "From now own, this is as official canon to me as the original [book/show/movie]!"

Is the fic's title obvious, or is it a little mysterious? Ask if there's a secret meaning behind the title, or how the author decided on the title.

Ask the author if they have a favorite character, scene, chapter, etc. Depending on the fandom, this can be very specific (favorite weapon, attack, transformation, vehicle, horse, monster, etc.).

Is it smut? Did it make you hot? Trust me, smut authors want to know.

"This [chapter/fic] was so good, I feel like I need a smoke after it."

Is there a mystery that's absolutely boggling your brain? Share your theories! (YES: "Oh, what if Prince Smidgeon is actually killer?"). Just remember to never cross the line into telling the author what to do (NO: "You should make it so Prince Smidgeon is the killer.")

"I wish I could give you a kudos for each word in this [fic/chapter], it's just that good!"

Do you like making art? Ask the author if you can make fanart of their fic!

IF, and ONLY IF, the author has very clearly requested concrit (constructive criticism), then role up your sleeves and get to work putting together truly helpful, supportive criticism. Get started with this guide here.

Do you have other suggestions for this list?

Reblog with your favorite comments to give or receive!

(Tumblr insists on re-starting the list at 1 after the cut and I have no idea how to fix it??? It really is 40, I promise.)

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