Out of Context WIPs

Pick a bunch of your WIPs and summarize them as badly as possible, then ask your followers to vote on which one they'd be most likely to read. Multiple/all/none options are completely optional.

Thank you for the tag @bittersweetresilience! I think I did this not too long ago but these are always fun so here I go again!

No pressure tagging @trishacollins @ninadove @coffeebanana and anyone else who would like to do this!

🎥⛲️

(lol as if i don’t already listen to your playlist for it on repeat)

Hi wafaa!! 🥰

🎥 Pick a fic and I'll tell you the song I imagine playing during its movie trailer.

Ohhh that's a hard one since I do have a full playlist for Citrus and Lavender 😂

I guess picking one for a movie trailer.... I'd go with "Something Just Like This" by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay

[Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask Game]

has anyone else ever had a fanfic that just... haunts them? like it's been months and maybe even years since you read it, but it just lingers with you and you can never truly leave behind the imprint it made on you? and maybe it's just a single line, one sentence that you can't shake off, that takes up residence in your mind and stays there, feeding into your psyche and subtly influencing your brainspace and maybe even your writing or other works?

WIP Game

Thanks @coffeebanana and @rosie-b for the tag, and thank you @kasienda for coming up with this new game!

List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)

An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing

Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!

Then tag 10 writer friends!

WIP TITLES

So I'm kind of cheating a bit with my choices here I guess since I have a lot of ideas but not so many actual active WiPs. So some of these aren't actually stuff that has been posted (or not posted in fic form) but they're all what my rodent brain is rotating right now.

Bell the Cat - Ladyblanc Knight AU. Enemies to Reluctant Allies to Lovers. Plenty of angst and trauma to be had in this one!

2. Sad Machine - Not currently available. I'm attempting aiming to have the fic more or less completed before I start posting. Futurist/Cyberpunk-type AU. No Miraculous but there's a dash of vigilantism and mysterious happenings to solve. And some questionable ethics (thanks Gabe).

3. Porceline Girl - Emonette and Badrien (post Paris Special) Oneshot that I'm hoping to finish soon. They're just angsty teens trying to figure out what is love how to be around each other.

4. Kaleidoscope - (not currently a posted fic so link leads to my tumblr tag) Kwami Swap AU with a dose of amnesia! Love Square is a mess in this with a Reunioned Ghostbug trying to solve all the problems. Adrien needs a coffee and a nap. Tikki needs a drink.

5. Citrus and Lavender - Enemies to Lovers AU with Chat Noir being deceived into being on Hawk Moth's side from the very beginning. The kids need therapy and Gabriel needs jail.

UPCOMING

There's is so much I'm looking forward to with Bell the Cat, but with the upcoming chapters I'm excited about introducing some more characters into this world! And of course all the Ladyblanc banter to be had!

2. This is my little pet project at the moment that I am slow roasting in the microwave. There are so many things that I am foaming at the mouth for that I want to just spit the fic out onto ao3 already but I'm trying to go slow with this one.

3. I'm just excited to feed myself more Toxigriffe, even if its in Adrinette form. I have so many ideas for these two but this oneshot is the closest to being finished. I'm excited to have it done (soon! hopefully!)!

4. Another one that's been slow roasting for a bit. I'll admit I'm still undecided with how I want to post this - do I go full fanfic on ao3 with it? Or a webcomic-style on tumblr? Perhaps a hybrid of both? I normally go with writing for longer stories, but this AU really got its interest and following through my random comics of it. It's exciting to think about my options as I could really challenge myself with it (even if opting for a more webcomic style is terrifying in its own way).

5. We're finally reaching the point in the story where Ladynoir are trying to transition from stalwart enemies to shy and unsure partners. All sides of the love square are standing on bambi legs right now as things are very new and scary - but at least they'll slowly learn they have each other to lean on!

I think most of my usual victims have been tagged already - so consider this an open invitation to anyone who wants to do it! I'm tagging you! Yes, you!

guy who is definitely not about to fall into a surprise midday nap with an aftermath worse than a hangover: it seems like a really good idea to lay in bed and get cozy under the blanket as part of my plan not to fall asleep. I do not know why.

fave quotes from Chapter 2

Reading Citrus and Lavender (again)

a conversation between two ultra fans @wackus-bonkus-maximus and @redundant-lava

This fic is my Roman Empire

has anyone else ever had a fanfic that just... haunts them? like it's been months and maybe even years since you read it, but it just lingers with you and you can never truly leave behind the imprint it made on you? and maybe it's just a single line, one sentence that you can't shake off, that takes up residence in your mind and stays there, feeding into your psyche and subtly influencing your brainspace and maybe even your writing or other works?

OFFICIAL C&L Playlist

Compiled by the author @heartfulselkie

OFFICIAL C&L Playlist

Compiled by the author @heartfulselkie

hey, first things first I just gotta say that I love your writing and your art

anyway, I was wondering how you come up with chapter titles? I was just looking through Citrus and Lavender and the chapter titles all seem very poetic or like quotes from a song or smth

sincerely, someone who sucks at naming things

Thank you!! 💕

For the chapter titles in Citrus and Lavender - you're right! They all come from song lyrics (either direct quotes or paraphrasing lyrics).

I listen to a lot of music when planning out my fics as well as writing them. Sometimes a particular song or specific line just sticks with me.

I also suck at naming things lol. That's why each of my multichapter fics so far have had some kind of theme to help me name the chapters. Citrus and Lavender's come from song lyrics. Penumbra's come from wwrds relating to dance and music (with some exceptions). And Bell the Cat's chapter titles come from proverbs.

Below is a section from chapter 29 of Citrus and Lavender. I would love to hear what was going through your head writing it for the ask game!

{Failure .

She was just an ordinary girl. What business did she have trying to play hero?

Shoulders shaking, she pressed her face to her knees and continued to rasp through her broken breaths as tears kept falling.

“Is someone there?”

Ladybug flinched at the sound of a voice calling out. She didn’t want to answer whoever it was and let them find her. But she couldn’t stop crying either. She curled up tighter as though she could somehow shield herself against the world. But she could still hear the sound of hesitant footsteps approaching.

“Ladybug?” the voice gasped. It was distinctly male, but so soft and gentle and somehow familiar. But she couldn’t place it.

“Go away,” she hissed childishly as she hugged her knees tighter. And she did feel like a child. A child wearing some stupid costume as they played make-believe.

The other person went silent, but she knew they were still there as she could hear them scuffing their shoes as they awkwardly stood in place.

“What about the…the akuma?” he whispered.

Her shoulders heaved as she fought back another sob. “What does it matter? Everyone’s right. I screwed up. I failed and now things are worse.” A whimper escaped her and she screwed her eyes shut. “I knew I wasn’t the right one for this.”

She expected the other person to laugh at her, to tell her to leave it to people who knew better. But he remained quiet for a time. Ladybug almost looked up from the defensive shell she’d turned herself into to see who was standing there, but she was far too ashamed to try.

And then his voice came again, quiet and gentle but so warm in its reassurance. “They’re all wrong. They’re not the ones who stopped the attack yesterday or saved Chloe Bourgeois today. Without you, they won’t make it. You just have to prove it to them. So what if you’ve never been a hero before? So what if it’s all sort of new to you?” He paused and then whispered sadly, “You can still try.”

Ladybug didn’t respond. She didn’t know what to do with the comforting encouragement a stranger was giving her - one she was too embarrassed to look at with her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. But she felt that agonising terror that had taken root in her chest shift a little. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“I believe you still can - that there’s still a chance, ” the boy added, his tone almost reflective.

Her heart was hammering hard in her chest, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Compared to the restrictive vice she had felt earlier crushing into her lungs, this felt light and lively. It was as though her heart had become a hummingbird and was doing delighted swoops within her chest.}

[Ask Game]

Given that Citrus and Lavender is an enemies au fic with Adrien being coerced into Hawk Moth's ranks from the start, there's obviously going to be a lot of differences between the events that happen here and what occurs in canon.

Some of these differences can be glossed over, but something I wanted to draw attention and give detail to is the events of origins - specifically the LadyNoir side of it.

Ladybug starts out very insecure in herself. She doesn't believe she's up to the task. And finding that her would-be partner has defected immediately is a devastating blow from the get go. Like her canon self she wants to give up. She believes that this is not a role she can fill because she cannot see what she still managed to achieve on her first day. She can only hear all that's gone wrong.

In the events of canon, Alya helps Marinette see that there are some people who are excited for Ladybug's appearance. This is also true in the fic. But this is a very impersonal viewpoint. Alya thinks Ladybug is cool because superheroes in general are cool! She doesn't know Ladybug well enough yet to give a well-formed perspective.

But you know who did grow close to Ladybug during those first trying hours in the events of Origins? Chat Noir.

Sure he went in head first and full of himself - but he was right there with Ladybug and saw in real time how she went from a nervous, shaking girl to a defiant and unshakeable heroine!

In Citrus and Lavender - even if he's on the other side of the fight, Chat Noir still sees this change in Ladybug very clearly too. And he's enamoured by it! Though it does take him a lot longer to wholly admit how much his feelings were shaken up by her.

Ladybug still needed that closer interaction though. Without it, it's very hard to see her evolve into the hero that she is. She needed that moment of someone caring about her. Not as a superhero, but as a person. Someone to tell her to have faith because what she's accomplished already is outstanding!

I knew I had to include the exchange LadyNoir have in Origins: Part 2, when they stand beneath the Eiffel Tower and Chat Noir gently reassures her. But I couldn't do it in the same way in canon.

So instead for Citrus and Lavender, we have Ladybug running and hiding. She just can't take it. But then she's approached by someone - someone that she later becomes certain is Adrien - and they give her the comfort and confidence she so desperately needed.

Ladybug/Marinette and Chat Noir/Adrien both know this event happened, but they both have slightly differing viewpoints of it. Surely that isn't going to cause identity shenanigans later on...

Below is a section from chapter 29 of Citrus and Lavender. I would love to hear what was going through your head writing it for the ask game!

{Failure .

She was just an ordinary girl. What business did she have trying to play hero?

Shoulders shaking, she pressed her face to her knees and continued to rasp through her broken breaths as tears kept falling.

“Is someone there?”

Ladybug flinched at the sound of a voice calling out. She didn’t want to answer whoever it was and let them find her. But she couldn’t stop crying either. She curled up tighter as though she could somehow shield herself against the world. But she could still hear the sound of hesitant footsteps approaching.

“Ladybug?” the voice gasped. It was distinctly male, but so soft and gentle and somehow familiar. But she couldn’t place it.

“Go away,” she hissed childishly as she hugged her knees tighter. And she did feel like a child. A child wearing some stupid costume as they played make-believe.

The other person went silent, but she knew they were still there as she could hear them scuffing their shoes as they awkwardly stood in place.

“What about the…the akuma?” he whispered.

Her shoulders heaved as she fought back another sob. “What does it matter? Everyone’s right. I screwed up. I failed and now things are worse.” A whimper escaped her and she screwed her eyes shut. “I knew I wasn’t the right one for this.”

She expected the other person to laugh at her, to tell her to leave it to people who knew better. But he remained quiet for a time. Ladybug almost looked up from the defensive shell she’d turned herself into to see who was standing there, but she was far too ashamed to try.

And then his voice came again, quiet and gentle but so warm in its reassurance. “They’re all wrong. They’re not the ones who stopped the attack yesterday or saved Chloe Bourgeois today. Without you, they won’t make it. You just have to prove it to them. So what if you’ve never been a hero before? So what if it’s all sort of new to you?” He paused and then whispered sadly, “You can still try.”

Ladybug didn’t respond. She didn’t know what to do with the comforting encouragement a stranger was giving her - one she was too embarrassed to look at with her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. But she felt that agonising terror that had taken root in her chest shift a little. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“I believe you still can - that there’s still a chance, ” the boy added, his tone almost reflective.

Her heart was hammering hard in her chest, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Compared to the restrictive vice she had felt earlier crushing into her lungs, this felt light and lively. It was as though her heart had become a hummingbird and was doing delighted swoops within her chest.}

[Ask Game]

Given that Citrus and Lavender is an enemies au fic with Adrien being coerced into Hawk Moth's ranks from the start, there's obviously going to be a lot of differences between the events that happen here and what occurs in canon.

Some of these differences can be glossed over, but something I wanted to draw attention and give detail to is the events of origins - specifically the LadyNoir side of it.

Ladybug starts out very insecure in herself. She doesn't believe she's up to the task. And finding that her would-be partner has defected immediately is a devastating blow from the get go. Like her canon self she wants to give up. She believes that this is not a role she can fill because she cannot see what she still managed to achieve on her first day. She can only hear all that's gone wrong.

In the events of canon, Alya helps Marinette see that there are some people who are excited for Ladybug's appearance. This is also true in the fic. But this is a very impersonal viewpoint. Alya thinks Ladybug is cool because superheroes in general are cool! She doesn't know Ladybug well enough yet to give a well-formed perspective.

But you know who did grow close to Ladybug during those first trying hours in the events of Origins? Chat Noir.

Sure he went in head first and full of himself - but he was right there with Ladybug and saw in real time how she went from a nervous, shaking girl to a defiant and unshakeable heroine!

In Citrus and Lavender - even if he's on the other side of the fight, Chat Noir still sees this change in Ladybug very clearly too. And he's enamoured by it! Though it does take him a lot longer to wholly admit how much his feelings were shaken up by her.

Ladybug still needed that closer interaction though. Without it, it's very hard to see her evolve into the hero that she is. She needed that moment of someone caring about her. Not as a superhero, but as a person. Someone to tell her to have faith because what she's accomplished already is outstanding!

I knew I had to include the exchange LadyNoir have in Origins: Part 2, when they stand beneath the Eiffel Tower and Chat Noir gently reassures her. But I couldn't do it in the same way in canon.

So instead for Citrus and Lavender, we have Ladybug running and hiding. She just can't take it. But then she's approached by someone - someone that she later becomes certain is Adrien - and they give her the comfort and confidence she so desperately needed.

Ladybug/Marinette and Chat Noir/Adrien both know this event happened, but they both have slightly differing viewpoints of it. Surely that isn't going to cause identity shenanigans later on...

you know what i’m here for 😭😩 ⛲️🚗

[Ask Game]

Oh, yes! Your favourite scene 😌💖

The fountain’s base was nowhere near deep enough for the water to be of any real threat. But there was enough water for it to come as a shock. So much so that Adrien’s response was delayed. For a beat he lay in the water, before slowly sitting up to figure out what had just happened.  His clothes were soaked and his dripping hair clung around his face. When he turned to where the other kids had been, he saw that all of them were running clear of the area. Evidently none of them wanted to be caught up in the situation and potentially blamed for what had happened. It was understandable, as the next thing Adrien knew he was being hauled out of the water by his arm. “What are you doing?” Gabriel hissed as he harshly pulled Adrien from the shallow water. Adrien stumbled onto his feet. His sodden clothes started to drip onto the gravel beneath him. “I-I was…” he stammered out, but it was all he could manage. Nathalie quickly appeared behind Gabriel, looking markedly concerned. “Is he okay?” For a moment Gabriel said nothing. He only stared down at Adrien, his eyes fierce and a disdainful curl on his lips. Then he started to drag Adrien along by the arm. “He’s fine,” Gabriel clipped. “Give us a moment, Nathalie.” With his arm locked into his father’s iron grip, Adrien had no choice but to follow. He was pulled to the edge of the park and through a gate that led to a side road. “An embarrassment,” Gabriel muttered under his breath as he dragged Adrien along the footpath. “After all that, you just had to embarrass me.” “I-I’m sorry,” Adrien whimpered. “It was an accident.” Gabriel came to an abrupt stop then. With a rough movement, he let go of Adrien’s arm and turned away to where a car was parked. Adrien recognised the black sedan easily as the one they’d arrived in. His heart sank at the thought that he was now being taken home, but there was also a small relief. His soaked clothing felt absolutely freezing on him now. It left him shivering uncontrollably despite the afternoon’s warm sun. Adrien stood where his father had left him on the pavement. He watched, trembling on the spot as Gabriel unlocked the car. But instead of going for the back seat as expected, he walked to the rear of the vehicle and opened the trunk. Gabriel’s glare then turned on Adrien. “Get in,” he commanded. Adrien could only look at his father in alarm. “B-But that’s-!” “Get,” Gabriel spat as he grabbed Adrien and dragged him towards the car, “in.”

Citrus and Lavender, Ch. 35

I really had no idea how iconic this scene would become (for you and @wackus-bonkus-maximus anyway 😂)

This scene takes place as a sort of flashback-dream sequence. It follows Adrien and Gabriel's relationship reaching a critically dire point for Adrien, so in his unconscious state a lot of old memories are resurfacing.

Gabriel was a bad parent and awful person long before the events of this fic. It's unfortunately something Adrien has grown up with and therefore had to adapt to. Adrien assumes the blame - even for things that were not in any way his fault! - because that's a behaviour his parents encouraged in him. Gabriel is just more upfront and physical about it in his actions.

These scenes are also starting to layer more hints at how brittle and detached their father-son relationship is. It's incredibly one-sided. Adrien loves and looks up to his father - even if he finds the man terrifying - because Adrien loves his parents. Meanwhile Gabriel sees Adrien as a prop or tool at best, while at worst he views his son as a nuisance and a parasite.

It's a little canon divergent, since we do know that Gabriel does at least care about Adrien to certain extent in the show. He just cares about Emilie more.

In this fic, that difference is even wider. In C&L, Emilie is Gabriel's whole world and reason of being. He doesn't want to share her with anyone, even "their child".

Sadly, its because of this that there is nothing Adrien can do to really build a somewhat normal relationship with his father. Any 'misbehaviour' that Adrien does, accidental or not, is something that Gabriel will always view as a personal attack. Really, since he could never stop Emilie from doting on Adrien according to her whims, Gabriel doesn't stop himself from punishing Adrien on a whim either. And since Gabriel doesn't want to share a space with the other person vying for Emilie's affection, he tends to favour punishments that force Adrien out of sight.

Do I need to pick one? Because everything you write is so awesome, I can't pick only one. o(TヘTo)

Currently it's tied between Bell the Cat (Because I love the fluffy feral cat), Citrus & Lavender (ANGST MY BELOVED) and If we Run, We Run Together. ...but I guess fluffy Chat Blanc win, because the combi between his fluffy tail and angst just killed me twice over. (ಡ‸ಡ)

Bell the Cat it is!

Ehehehe thank you! 😊

Chat Blanc has some very fluffy ears and a fluffy tail, but also pointy teeth and claws - pet at your own risk!

[Bell The Cat]

Let me know which of my fics is your favourite!