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#(and i don't have to figure out where the Many Many out-of-focus major characters ended up after the 20-ish year timeskip)
duckapus · 4 months
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Had an interesting idea. You may have noticed that in this post I implied that there may be at least one non-game-based living Character-Level server somewhere out in the digital multiverse that nobody knows about yet because they think it's impossible for one to form without outside influence. Well, I figured out which one it is: A universe made from a pirated collection of every official episode, movie, short, music video, and even scans of the dubiously canon IDW comics run of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, along with any other official media I can't think of at the moment. Because I can. Whoever owns the collection doesn't know that they have a real live Equestria at their fingertips because the actual media storage is a layer above the living universe (or universes, what with Starswirl's Mirror Portals), so watching/reading the stuff doesn't affect what's happening down there or vice-versa, and the characters also don't know that they're digital beings brought to life by the love of a fan.
If anyone, be they Program, Virus, Anomaly, or Character, were to go there they'd be changed into a form that fits the universe (so a pony/dragon/griffon/etc. choose whatever fits best in the main world, a human with the same color scheme as their Equestria form in the Canterlot High world) Because Mirror Portal Magic, though Code-Level entities can change back to their usual form if they prefer. When they leave they go back to normal. If any locals ever managed to go to other digital universes they'd stay in their usual forms because Most Universes Don't Do That. It's similar to the Enforced Art Styles of the Cats are Liquid and Fairly Oddparents universes, though FiM and CaL are obviously more drastic than FOP.
The first major characters to find out about this are Ozymandias and Garyboy, who stumble upon it at some point post-release and decide to use it as a base of operations, on the grounds that 1) Nobody else knows this world exists, 2) if anyone else did find it they'd never expect those two to be living there, and 3) the whole transformation thing means they can hide in plain sight. When they're there Garyboy is a purple-and-green pegasus with a black-cupped plunger for a cutie mark, while Ozzy is a vaguely serpentine dragon and his maneuver form is a Kirin. They later find out that prolonged exposure to Equestria's magic has had side-effects, namely that they can now use their Equestrian Form abilities (weather magic for Gary, fire breath, flaming rage form and unicorn magic for Ozzy) in their normal forms. That'll be fun to show off to their enemies.
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queenendless · 7 months
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😷🤒Sick Day(Adult!SatoSugu x Sick!Fem!Reader)🤒😷
A/N: Yep this is part of that SatoSugu Teacher AU alongside Moving Day and Nights.
Also, announcement. I have smut writing fatigue after just putting out one and I'm down with a cold right now. So that vampire AU gang bang piece is happening next month. I'm so sorry for this yall. Thanks though to everyone who commented on that and helped me decide.
But I will hopefully be posting a JJK Halloween piece to make up for it. A headcannon/ imagined scenario where the JJK cast celebrate Halloween with my ideal fave pairings in couples costumes and such in this what if AU. And yas it gonna be SatoSugu x Fem or GN reader, idk on that part yet.
All credit for JJK and its characters goes to the madman that is Gege.
* Please DON'T plagarize, translate, or repost my FANFIC content. Reblog, like, and follow instead.
I hope you enjoy!
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Your throat feels raw.
Your nose feels stuffy.
And you kept coughing every few minutes.
You should have figured spotting a curse forming from a virus epidemic happening in the hotel across the street would pose a high ass risk of getting infected yourself.
But as a Window, it was your job, as life risking as it was.
The more people inside and around the building got infected, the Grade 4 grew closer to Grade 3. If it kept up, dozens upon hundreds would die.
"Ijichi-san. Disease curse. Transitioning from Grade 4 to Grade 3. Requesting sorcerer help here immediately." You struggled speaking over the phone as you kept coughing, dispatching the address to him, seeing the revolting curse grow in size as its toxic presence spilled, tripping as you tried keeping your distance.
Your head was pounding and you could barely focus as Ijichi-san panicked on his end.
"L/n-san!? L/N-SAN!"
In a moment of ailment, you dropped your phone, causing it to disconnect from the impact.
You were barely able to keep a grip on your phone or walk without faltering as you felt more drained with each passing moment. You blinked a lot as you tried staying alert, stumbling before collapsing against a parked empty vehicle on the street, sliding down to your bum just to rest your aching head against your knees, hugging your legs to your chest.
That curse's smogs began spreading down the streets, into traffic, and nearby occupied establishments.
Believing help wouldn't get here in time through the systematic process, you opted for your wild card, shakily picking up your now cracked screen device.
"Toru. Curse problem. Get here ASAP. Please." Texting the address in your feverish haste, you pressed send before curling in on yourself, welcoming sleep to rest your aching self.
In just under the next few minutes — more like moments — you felt a boom in the cursed energy atmosphere, that curse no longer being sensed. At last, it was done.
The shift from freezing metal to cozy soft fabric stirred you awake a bit. Along with the feel of solid warm arms draped around your shoulders and under your knees. Those big smooth hands squeezing your shoulder and your kneecap had you tugging weakly on the front of that top, pressing your face against your makeshift pillow, struggling to open your eyes as your hearing painted the picture for you in the meantime.
"A majority will spend weeks recuperating. The ones closest to the cause will spend months in the hospital at best. Still though, no casualties. Thank you for the help." High chances it was one of the many medics on site for post cleanup.
"You can thank the young woman here for that. She was the first responder, after all. I'll tend to her recovery myself. Sayonara." You know that voice right away, even when he was muffled, relaxing further in his hold.
"This cold isn't going away anytime soon. Too bad reversed cursed techniques don't make the common cold go away." Your half lidded eyes still had him swooning at how frail and precious you were in his arms.
You murmured, noticing him in his black long sleeved top, matching sweatpants, and face mask with the blindfold. "Blindfolded giant." That's when you realized a face mask was put on you as well, your muffled coughs hitting cloth.
You could already picture him beaming, grinning, as he laughed a bit.
"Correction. Your blindfolded giant, darling~ Now then, let's get you home."
°•○•°•○•°•○•°
Geto typing away on his computer, working on his latest reports.
Gojo straddling his lap, hugging him as he napped against his dear best friend slash hubbie.
The former smiling fondly at the motion before picking up where he left off was their situation before both men's phones began vibrating and ringing.
"Geto-san! L/n-san has reported a disease curse spotting! But she was cut off before I could get further details!"
"She just texted me the location." The sleepiness was wiped away, replaced with firm seriousness, as Gojo started getting off of him to get some shoes on.
"Ijichi-san, do not fret. Satoru will handle the curse." Geto calmly responded over the phone before speaking concerningly to his snowy-haired hubbie. "Toru, bring a face mask in case the affected area reaches where you land post teleport."
Said man smooched his hubbie in kind before slipping on the black face mask to match his current apparel. "Wait up for us, Sugu~"
Seeing you both back, teleporting into your home office, Suguru smooched Satoru the moment he took that face mask right off. Pressing the back of his palm against your forehead to double check for a fever, Suguru's dismay was warranted.
So being there when you awoke from your fever dream tucked in the middle of your guys' giant bed meant Suguru patting your now sweating forehead with a wet rag, you trembling from chills raking your skin followed by feeling warmer the next minute as you coughed into a tissue he handed to you.
"Well dearest, you've got yourself a nasty cold here." Suguru noted with a gray face mask on as well, seated by you on his side of the bed.
"Ah bah." Your raspy spat earned you a cough into your fist before you were offered a filled up water bottle by Satoru who was sitting behind you on his side; blindfold off but face mask back on.
"Welp, I exorcized the curse and brought your cute self back here. Plus I got that report to work on in your precious stead. So you're welcome." He gently ran his fingers through your hair to ease you in whatever way he could.
"Thank you Toru." You slowly sat up and were then handed some cold pills by Suguru to down some water with. "Thank you Sugu."
"Now that we've made our home Ground Zero, you are hereby confined to this room. Drink plenty of fluids. Take your medicine. Get lots of rest. Do you hear me, young lady?" Suguru's smart ass tone made you pout.
"Yes mom." You murmured raspy.
Satoru snorted behind his face mask to which Suguru whacked him in the shoulder across from him with narrowed eyes. "At least Megumi and the twins are living in the dorms now and Tsumiki was able to convince her classmate to stay at her place for a while. Meaning we three have the place to ourselves~"
"Does that mean … I have to sleep by myself?" You whimpered, cracking their resolve. "Neither the Gojo Geto bears, nor the Gojo Geto cats, not even the Gojo Geto giant round plushies can substitute for the real deal." You moped, pointing at said custom made toys lined up on the window seat on the far side of the room.
"Aww, Suguru, how can we deny our lovely sweetheart the company of her valiant handsome knights in the flesh, huh~!?" Satoru dramatized his own cries, muffled though.
Suguru sighed, consigning. "At least one of us should. Who else will be teaching the first years in the meantime?"
"Round robin, then? Last one left standing tends to that noble martyr and gets our dear sweetheart to be their own personal nurse in the end … huh …" That hum and those inquiring eyes could only bode mischief. "I volunteer Suguru to go first!"
"Not gonna happen, Satoru." He immediately denied.
"But to be fed by, bathed by and be doted on by our angel is heaven sent~!" Satoru gushed.
"Which is why you shouldn't be the only one getting that special treatment!" Suguru being jealous at possibly being left out on that.
"Hey!" Your strained shout ends in a coughing fit, curled up in bed, sniffling to which Suguru hands you a big enough tissue to blow your nose in. "I'm dying here."
"Hmm … Yu could fill in." Satoru suggested.
"He is working as a teaching aid part time. And he did say he could help out whenever we needed it." Suguru added.
"Plus Nanamin is on a business trip for the week~ He'll need something to do while waiting for his beloved's return~!" Satoru teased.
"That settles it then." Suguru was smirking behind that mask, you could just tell.
"How lucky you are, darling, to have the strongest duo be your own personal nurses~" Satoru was so smirking his ass off.
"Even though you'll literally get sick of me?" You shyly asked, squeezing your bottle, apprehensive.
"We have strong ass immune systems, Y/n. Comes with over a decade of immense training." Satoru prided on, kissing your flushed cheek.
"If we can risk ourselves in the face of death as sorcerers, this is nothing." Suguru assured, kissing your other flushed cheek. "I'll call Haibara."
"I'll start up a bath for us all. Thank you big ass bathtubs." Satoru clapped to that.
"What do I do?" Even when sick, tilting your head and batting those eyes made the duo smooch your lips at once.
"Just be a good little patient for us, alright, honey?" God that wink of Suguru's left you more hot than usual as he walked off to make that call.
"Besides, being sick with you means being granted a sick leave and getting paid for it! Ah, thank you, my darling sweetheart~!" Satoru did hug you, nuzzle his face in your hair, and left you a wheezing mess.
"Y - You're w - welcome!"
Well, on the bright side, at least you'll all be sick together.
Snuggled in bed, among discarded tissues, wrappers of cough drops, and smooshed in one big embrace of entangled limbs while binging nothing but sitcoms, movies, and anime.
You would eventually get better in a week's time then later tend to your two enamored, affectionate partners and get them back into tip top shape.
But until then, being in their cozy arms, sleeping smack dabbed in between them, that might as well be the key on your quick road to recovery.
The SatoSugu cure, indeed!
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cupcakeslushie · 7 months
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Okay. I've been tip-toeing around this AU for a while now, but I just got caught up, and now I think I have a (decent) grasp on what's going on. So I wanna go over everything I know so far to see if I'm right or wrong on anything. Don't know if you'd be willing to correct me or not. Either way, I hope my mistakes can help you understand what to clarify to other fans like me. But, I also have some questions. You probably won't be able to answer most of them, but it's at least worth a shot.
First, where's Venus? Like, why is she not in your comics that are (sort of) separate frome the canon now story. The ones that skip to the future way after all the turtles reunite. Did she die? Did she escape? Is it because she wasn't introduced yet when you made those comics?
Two, why do you keep on making references to the future timeline? I know you're planning on possibly making your own stuff leading up to the events of the movie. It just gives me a jumpscare when I see certain...imagery in those comics. I guess you're hinting at what your version of the future apocalypse would look like, but it just hurts to see. Specifically in the comic explaining both the events and aftermath of the movie and the bad future timeline. It's starting to really confuse my brain as to where this story is headed. What's meant to be the main focus? The Hamto's reuniting? The aftermath? Or the future?
Third, did you make all those min-comics before you started the actual AU? Or did you do them during?
Fourth, are any of those mini-comics relevant to the actual story now? Or have you changed your mind on a few things? It's just that everything is so all over the place, I don't really know whether to trust if they're accurate. I know most of them are just there for funzies, but the longer ones concern me. I guess I'm just not used to the storyteller doing sequel, start, prequel, start, sequel, prequel, prequel, sequel, and then end. Or maybe it's just me, and I'm sleep deprived.
My little observation speech is gonna take a while for me to get out in your asks because when I get theoretical, my speech gets long, and my proper English goes down the drain. So I'll be back. I appreciate your work very much. Despite the pain it causes me, it's still amazing.
I’ll try my best to clear up what confusion I can!
1. As far as Venus. The answer is kind of a mix of, I was still figuring out her design and backstory while coming out with some of those early comics, and then, once I had that down, I wanted the boys to grow strong bonds as a main cast. That’s why a lot of the side characters are only making small appearances in the Sep!AU Life stories, as those are mainly for the boys reconnecting. (Usagi shows up the most because I love him and am totally biased towards him).
This maybe hasn’t been stated outright, but I wasn’t really expecting so many ppl to like Vee as much as they do, and now im trying not to spoil too much of her story. It’ll unfortunately just take us a while to get to the meat of it. Since the boys reconnecting takes up a lot of the early s1s2 story, Im trying to follow the familiar Rise blueprint of Draxum, Shredder, Krang, and then in s3 we’ll have crazy fun new stories with the extra characters.
Ive also decided to take this little nugget from one of the Q&As, and use it for Venus instead of Jennika. It was a much needed bit of inspiration to explain why Venus sorta disappears for a while and will go through some major physical changes (not yet revealed) before the family can figure out a way to reach her.
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2. I’m not sure if you mean jump scared in a bad/triggering or neutral way, but if you need me to tag anything on those posts please let me know!
The glimpses of the future timeline, are being scattered throughout wherever they parallel the present story in little ways, but that’s only for now. As we get closer to the movie plot, bigger chunks of the future will be revealed, because the future versions of the boys will have a larger role to play in the present timeline. So we will need more backstory than what the canon got. And also I just enjoy drawing my future versions so sometimes I don’t think too hard on a reason. I just like throwing them at ppl with no warning or reason.
When s2 ends, I plan on collecting all the future related stuff that’s been released, and recapping it for easier reading. Right now, it’s just little sprinkles of foreshadowing to give ppl an idea that, ‘oh crap. The doomed timeline is a bummer’. In my mind, I guess i thought it’d be kinda like a fun scavenger hunt for clues, but maybe ppl don’t like that 😅
3. All of the side-stories were written as the main comic was/is being released. A lot of them resulted from asks that just spawned the need to expand on certain ideas, or a desire to give all the turtles their time to shine.
For instance, when I was doing Donnie’s section of the main comic, it was a good few months where we hardly saw anyone but him and Venus. I wanted to just mix it up, and give Raph some love with his ‘Raph Time’ short. When Leo was front and center in the main, we hardly saw the others, so Mikey and Donnie got their little ‘Secrets’ short (and it was also I fun thank you for EW making it so far in the tmnt sep competition).
4. Anything that has been reworked/revised or just plain dropped should have an ‘Edit’ note because yes—I have gone back and changed some things, but more so from the asks i got in the early days, and some movie idea drafts.
All the short comics done in the last year, especially the ones that are listed in my pinned post, are canon and fall somewhere in the timeline. They’re like supplemental reading though—extra meat to give the world and the characters more personality. They do have particular backstory plot and important info in them, but nothing that shouldn’t eventually be re-visited/repeated in the main story.
um I hope that cleared up some things! I know it’s kind of a crazy amount of lore. I’ve tried my best to organize it in the pinned post, huge timeline, and search bar tags, but I know it’s getting harder and harder for newer ppl to jump in as it just get bigger. Thanks for reading regardless!
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cuephrase · 23 days
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as someone who knows nothing about dc/batfam besides bare basics where do I even start with the comics? please send help its so confusing and sm to go through 😭🧎‍♀️
help has arrived!! my sincerest apologies for the delay, i started writing and somehow 2.5 days had passed.
full transparency, for a second i was like, "oh idk if i'm the best person to ask, i haven't been reading comics for years" and then i realized i figured my way into comics with like essentially zero prior experience so maybe i am uniquely qualified to help! that being said, if this doesn't work or you see a post from a comic veteran that looks more helpful, by all means ignore me.
first things first- it is super confusing!! there's all these big events, DC is obsessed with the word "Crisis", some labels are mainline and others aren't- don't worry about any of that. ignore the vast forest that is Comics and focus on one tree.
and by that i mean, pick one character to start with.
this post ended up turning into a behemoth when i wasn't looking so everything else is going to go under the cut!
alright, now that you have your character of choice, it's time to choose which era of comics you want to start in. there are basically 4 different eras, and you may have heard their names tossed around.
PRE-CRISIS: this is where Comics begin. this era covers comics from when they began being published up until 1985. most of this is no longer canon, but like when they hit the reboot button in '85, they didn't restart from the very beginning. so like, 90% of robin!dick comics is Pre-Crisis. some comics kept a few Pre-Crisis storylines canon, like The New Teen Titans starts before the reboot, but the pre-boot storylines are still canon. i personally have not read very many Pre-Crisis comics, i cherry-picked what looked interesting to me. unless you want to like dive in chronologically and begin at the Beginning, i wouldn't recommend hopping in here bc you'll probably get super fatigued, but yk, it is ultimately up to you. most important takeaway here is that whenever people mention Pre-Crisis, they mean old comics.
POST-CRISIS: 1985-2011. this is where most comics veterans started reading comics/what they grew up with. these are the comics that a decent amount of current comics writers/artists grew up reading/what got them into comics. there is a lot of love + nostalgia for this era, with good reason!! i do think some people who favor this era have a tendency to be close-minded in regards to current comics but re:nostalgia and there have been some dumb decisions so i get it!
NEW 52: aka, Post-Flashpoint, N52. 2011-2016 dc gets new management. they more or less decided to toss all pre-existing canon out the window and re-start in the middle. honestly, it was like they just started making fanfiction. and i don't mean that negatively, i mean like, even though they "restarted" and "anyone" should be able to jump in on an #1 in n52...the comics still assumed you had some working knowledge about the characters. which. i mean, i understand that a total restart was not plausible, (lmao imagine just snapping the vast majority of characters out of existence. they did snap some but like, a full restart would have axed even Dick technically.) i started reading comics here bc when i asked my brother-in-law (who grew up reading comics, with a dad who grew up reading comics), he was like, "omg!! start here, it'll be perfect!!" and i was like "okay!!" and then...i found myself googling. a lot. which is fine!! but idk maybe not as beginner-friendly as advertised? also, notice how this era only lasts for 4 years. it's not that none of it is relevant now, but it was a) not very well received, and b) while some of it is def still canon/referenced, a lot of it contradicts with Post-Crisis, and our fourth and final era reboots so that most of Post-Crisis is canon again. you will see a lot of hatred/dislike for comics in this era/concepts introduced here.
REBIRTH: 2016-present day. DC decided to rollback their extreme changes and soft-reboot to basically try and meld Post-Crisis and N52 timelines/continuities into one cohesive continuity. which. is a lil like trying to mix oil and water, but it is an improvement imo. all the runs restart at #1.
other people might disagree with me, but i honestly don't think it matters which era you start with. unless you start from the very beginning, you're going to have some questions. if you start in Post-Crisis, you're going to have questions when you get to N52/Rebirth, and vice-versa. and that's okay!! don't be ever be embarrased/discouraged because you have a question. google is your friend. also, odds are, if you end up enjoying comics, you'll read from all the eras. timelines will always be confusing. if you read arcs/events out of order, you'll sort stuff out. as long as you're reading what sounds interesting, you can't really go wrong. you might laugh at your decisions later, but that's okay!!
for example, personal experience, this was my intro reading order: N52 Nightwing, A Death in the Family (Post-Crisis), Under the Red Hood (Post-Crisis), Joker War (Rebirth), Robin 1994 (Post-Crisis) until like issue #11?, Rebirth Nightwing to most current release, back to Robin 1994.
clearly, I had no clue what the hell i was doing from one perspective. but in the moment, i was having a grand ole time. i read N52 Nightwing, had my mind blown at the existence of FOUR Robins, couldn't believe they KILLED one, had to see that for myself, then i had to see how his return played out, and when I was buying the UTRH trade the Joker War trade had a lil rec note from an employee, i flipped through it, thought the art was sick, was confused AF when i read it but googled for some clarity and just rolled it with it, thought Tim was neat, decided to check him out, had a rough time adjusting to the older art style, bounced back to modern comics with Dick, and then ultimately decided I could handle the art change (which, ngl, very useful skill for comics reading) and the rest is history.
even once i got more well-versed in comics, sometimes i knowingly read out of order because i just wanted to see a specific event and didn't feel like reading a ton of comics to get there. legit, read City of Bane, did not understand why Dick was not there but just accepted it and then months later was like OH!! HE WAS RIC THEN.
point is, if you're having fun, you're not making mistakes imo. am i going to recommend anyone follow my initial reading path to the T? no way!! but it worked for me.
but okay! so now, you've got your character and your era, and surprisingly the rest is really simple!! i have compiled a list for you that attempts to cover the trickier batfam entry points, but for almost any character the hopping on point is literally whichever run they're lead in: #1. for some, as you'll see with Batman, it won't be #1 in Post-Crisis but you can google, "where to start reading Action Comics Post-Crisis" and there you go. If there is a #0 issue, I would personally not recommend starting there, I would still start with #1 and then read the #0 issue when it would've come out, so like if it came out after #10, read it then. oh also, i'm sorry, i cannot offer personalized help with Barbara Gordon/Babs/Batgirl No. 1/Oracle, as of rn, i have only read her when she shows up in events/other people's runs. my best guess would be Batgirl/Bird of Prey.
now, before we get to the lists, may i present you with
MISCELLANEOUS ADVICE
there are a handful of mindsets that i think will be super helpful for breaking into comics, but the most important, especially starting out, is to make sure you're reading what interests you and that you're having fun. you can worry about slogging through significant runs later, once you've cut your teeth a bit, or never.
i would honestly ignore "best of/top rec" lists. most of those are made up of comics that hit bc they're building on a foundation. if you're brand-new, you don't have a foundation. focus on that first, rather than reading the "right" runs. comic readers, veterans and casuals and newbies- they do not all agree on what the "right" runs are. and that's bc there are so many different writers/artists. bookmark these for later, when you feel more solid in your understanding of the character and maybe want to experiment.
characters, imo, can totally be written OOC. but one of the really beautiful things about comics in my experience is that getting to see characters written by different writers really adds so much depth and dimension to them, bc diff writers are going to have different angles they want to explore. will you like all these different angles? probably not! but that's okay. you'll develop your own taste for which stories you like/what takes resonate with you the most. sometimes you might find yourself in agreement with the popular opinion, other times you might find that you loved something it seems a lot of people hate. great! there is no test, you'll like what you like and that will be perfectly valid even if no else agrees.
with that in mind, be open-minded. adjusting to older art styles can be really hard! that's totally valid! but if you try it out here and there, you'll probably be able to get used to it. you're not always going to love the art in any era. sometimes not even in the same run. i think acknowledging that you dislike it is better than trying to force yourself to like it. my rule of thumb was, if i didn't like the art style, give it 3 comics. bc by then, i'd either adjust to it (which is not the same as liking it)/or get sucked into the story and not care so much, or i would know, yeah this really isn't working for me. and then i had a decision to make: power through or drop it. sometimes you can knuckle down. other times, i've found that giving myself a break and returning to a difficult comic once i've recharged is better.
mostly the same advice for writers. although, i have learned that just because i dislike an author in X run, doesn't mean i'll dislike them in Y run, or even in the next arc they write in X run. as you go through comics, keep in mind that most storylines within a run are six issue arcs. if you're not vibing with the current arc, try skipping ahead to the next one. skimming is okay. obvs, yk, don't skim every comic you read, but if you find yourself not super interested, but feeling like there's some important stuff so you don't want to have to backtrack later, skim. again, the goal is to have fun!
other things that might trip you up-
terminology: wtf is a volume anyways?
i'm so glad you asked!! answer: it depends. so okay, if like you google a reading order list, you might see Batman (Vol. 1) #1-100, or something like that. in this case a volume is a whole entire run from start to finish. Batman Vol 1, in this example, would be synonymous with Batman (1937-2011), which includes both Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis.
however, if you're looking at collected editions, or trades, a volume will be more like a volume of manga, where volume refers to that set of issues.
trades: this is when the publisher collects a run or event into a book that would be sold somewhere like Barnes & Noble, it can be hardback or paperback. single issues are not trades.
events: these are crossover storylines! sometimes they cross houses, so you could have issues from Batman and say, Green Lantern, but usually they're contained within a house. events that effect the whole universe are usually their own "run", like Infinite Crisis had tie-in issues from most (all) on-goings, but the core issues were Infinite Crisis #1, and so on. they range widely in scale, clearly.
on-goings: can refer to currently running comics, for example rn, Zdarsky's Batman and Tom Taylor's Nightwing are on-goings. Jason and Tim are not leading any on-goings rn. or, it can be used to refer to comics that were on-going at the time of whatever is being discussed.
variant: this has nothing to do with the comics content itself, it relates purely to the covers. most current comics have their standard cover, and then a variant or two or four. any ratio, so for instance 1:25 variant, just means that for every 25 standard copies, there is 1 of that variant. that kind of variant is usually a store incentive, so that they'll buy a certain amount of copies to sell. not all variants are rare though!
facsimile: this is when they reprint an old comic. not as a trade, just as single issue.
black label/elseworld: these are comics that are published by DC, but not part of the mainline comics' canon continuity. sometimes they'll sort of fold in black label stuff, but like, it's essentially licensed fanfic.
events: ahh!! the last page says the story continues in a different run!!
2 options:
1) ignore it, stay in your run. there'll be a couple gaps but you'll live, and google is free.
2) google "event-name-here reading order". this will give you lists that will tell you which comics to read in which order. sometimes the order they came out in is not the best reading order. some events flow better than others. also, there will be "core" issues and "tie-ins". core issues are the Main Storyline, not skippable, (if you don't want to be confused). tie-ins are character-specific, so important for that character but if you don't care about them, those issues will be skippable.
there is no wrong choice. you can change your mind, decide you want to read the event, or lose interest in the event and stick with your current run.
concurrent runs: what should you do if there are multiple runs you want to read that came out at the same time while they were being published?
again, two options.
1) read them in the order they were released. the easiest way to do this is to read month by month, so read all the issues that came out in May of X year, then June, so forth. you'll basically be simulating keeping up with current comics as they release.
2) pick a title, read it to the end, start the next one. this will have you essentially cycling through the same period from start to finish a few times, but honestly there's a lot going on in comics and outside of events where they cross-over, there isn't too much overlap, so it doesn't feel super repetitive. at least to me. plus, if you've read the event, you don't need to re-read it every time you hit it, imo. this is how i do it actually. i mean, current comics, i read the runs i'm following as they release, but for backlog, i stick to one title at a time. if i'm feeling fancy, i might read one run up to a certain point, then switch titles, then switch back, but i am max switching between 2. an example of this is actually what i'm doing rn. i read batgirl 2000 up to issue #11 (or 12?) and then switched to Batman: Gotham Knights, which is what I'm currently reading. why? B:GK starts after B2000, and i couldn't pick, so i split the difference and went semi-chronological.
finally, there's no pressure. by which i mean, you don't need to speed run. especially if you don't have a ton of free time, don't worry about being the most efficient reader, always reading runs that'll give you the most bang for your buck according to other people, etc. i mean also, there is just. so. much. content. you cannot sprint your way through, this is a marathon at best, a leisurely jog, ideally.
looking at the sheer amount of content out there was super overwhelming to me, even though i wanted to read it. it's not a quick task, so it felt impossible. like even if i finished one run, well, that was just a drop in the bucket, i'd made barely any progress in the grand scheme of things. that was paralyzing.
i ended up mocking up a list for myself of what i thought of as "key" runs. this was still an ambitious list, but like tailored to my interests. as i read/saw posts, if a title not on this list sounded interesting, i stuck it on my tbrl list. (to be read later). that was essentially me going, 'hey, this looks interesting, but my plate is full rn, so i'll save it for later.' i didn't add runs from my tbrl to my key list as i went, i focused on working through my keys first.
within my keys, i just bounced all over the place. the order made sense to me, lmao, and probably no one else. it was a very loose, "follow this character chronologically". except for dick i read him all wonky, mainly bc i started with N52, skipped some N52 to get to Rebirth, skipped some Rebirth (*cough* Ric era *cough*), switched characters, then came back to Dick, bounced to NTT, practically bounced right back off it bc the transistion from modern to 80's comic was ROUGH, went and Grayson (N52), forced myself to adjust to older comics, then went through chronologically until i hit dick!bats era bc i'd read a solid chunk of it between reading for Tim and Damian. i share all this only to say, you can read however, it'll work out.
if you're curious, it took me six months to read my whole "key" list. almost to the day, funnily enough. i don't remember the exact number, but i think it was like north of 700+ comics at least? tbh, i didn't feel like i'd read all that many comics but based off some conversations i've had, maybe it is? i have no frame of reference. operating under the assumption that that is a lot of comics, i feel like it's important that you know a) i have a ton of free time, and b) i read very fast.
set zero expectations for yourself time-wise. it's not a race, no one is judging you. don't be an idiot like me and try to calculate how long it will take you to read X amount of comics either, okay HAHA. context: when i started Robin 1993, the fact that it was 195 issues was massively intimidating. the longest run i'd read so far was 30. i averaged out my comics per day, lowballed to give myself breathing room and nearly cried bc it was going to take me 20 days (3 whole weeks!!!) to read the whole thing and that felt like an eternity. i ended up reading it in 5 days. (i was HOOKED.) on the complete opposite end of things, i started Batman: Gotham Knights...a month ago? maybe two. i'm still on #18, bc life got busy.
bottom line, you've no real idea how long it will take you to read anything, let alone your whole wish list, and it really doesn't matter how long it takes you, as long as, say it with me, you're having fun!!
god i feel annoying.
okie dokie!! i think that covers all the dilemmas i remember having, but if i missed anything, feel free to send in another ask!
BRUCE WAYNE:
Post-Crisis only bc everywhere else is just #1
Batman 1940 #404
Detective Comics 1937 #568.
DICK GRAYSON:
Dick's og robin days are allllll Pre-Crisis. i'm not sure which issues he comes in tbh. if you don't read want to start in Pre-Crisis, (valid, wise imo), most robin!Dick content is going to come from flashback storylines. but there are some robin!Dick comics that are solid, contained stories that are not Pre-crisis. not an exhaustive list but:
Robin: Year One
Batman Chronicles: The Gauntlet
Batman- One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze
and then for Dick as Nightwing, it's a lil tricky bc technically that starts in The New Teen Titans 1980. You could start at #1, or #42, which is the Judas Contract storyline where Nightwing debuts. (The title's name switches to Tales of the Teen Titans, it's the same run.)
However, if you're not interested in reading a team book, valid, then you have:
Nightwing 1995 (technically comes before the main run, this was a 4 issue prequel mini)
Nightwing 1996, start at #1. Now, if you stick with this run, there are 2 stories that are part of it but were done separately as minis so for whatever reason, on DCUI at least, they're not in the order, but you'd read Nightwing/Huntress after Nightwing #18, and then Nightwing: The Target after Nightwing #60 i believe.
Or, Nightwing: Year One. This is part of the Nightwing 1996 run, but has been collected separately, so you could start here, i suppose.
JASON TODD
okay so technically, he does not lead a title until N52. but obvs, he has relevant comics before that.
i would not personally recommend starting with UTRH. like, if that's what you want to read, valid, do what you want. but also, if you're willing to read 9-23 comics beforehand, i truly think you will appreciate/enjoy UTRH way more. bc like they just make the overall drama/angst that much more, yk? like okay if UTRH is chicken breast, you could just cook it as is and eat it. but unseasoned chicken just does not hit the way it could. add a lil salt + pepper, bam, big diff. add some legit seasoning?! now you're cooking. does that make sense?
actually okay hmm. i loathe to be prescriptive and give orders, but here, i'll lay out what i consider to be the Bare Minimum (salt and pepper) + the Crash Course (legit seasoning). no wrong choice!
Bare Minimum (9 Comics before you read UTRH):
A Death in the Family
A Lonely Place of Dying
Crash Course (23 Comics before you read UTRH):
Batman #408- 409
Detective Comics #569-571, 573-574
Batman #416, 424-425
A Death in the Family
New Teen Titans #55
A Lonely Place of Dying
Batman: Gotham Knights #43-45 (45 is the important one imo, but like it will make a lil more sense if you start at 43)
if you want to read the entirety of his og run as Robin, that would be Batman #408-425, and Detective Comics #568-#582. if you want like a whole ass breakdown of all his appearances in chronological order, check this godsend of a resource out.
and again, not to tell you what to do, but New52 Red Hood and the Outlaws is um. i'll be nice. i did not enjoy it. is it worth reading if you love Jason? honestly yeah. but i wouldn't start there, that's all i'm saying.
CASSANDRA CAIN:
Very simple!! She first appears in Batman, during the No Man's Land arc, so her issues there would be Batman #567-569, and then Batgirl 2000.
she gets deleted in the New 52 launch, (boo tomato, tomato), and isn't brought back until Batman and Robin: Eternal. then she co-lead a recent (Rebirth) Batgirls run with Steph. lots going on in B&R:E, would not recommend as a starting point.
TIM DRAKE:
Alright, honestly, with Tim all your best jumping on points are Post-Crisis. N52 Teen Titans is whack, I have yet to revisit it and power through, and if you've seen my other rec list, yk I'm not a fan of any modern runs he's lead, so i cannot in good conscience, rec those as starting points. Detective Comics Rebirth, i've heard, is solid, but a) i still haven't read it yet unfortunately, and b) he like dies. "dies". not very far in. and then, consequentially, is not present for a hot minute. so.
but anyways! you do have options in Post-Crisis!!
A Lonely Place of Dying. his intro!!
his official like debut as Robin is Batman #457, but he is in Batman comics that take place between aLPoD and #457.
Robin 1991. this is the first of 3 mini-series that take place before Tim's main run. i accidentally skipped them bc i didn't know they existed whoops
Robin 1993. his main run! the longest Robin title to run so far.
technically, Young Justice 1998 is also an option, if you're interested in the team. I started reading this after Robin #120, read the whole run, then went back to Robin. see advice on concurrent runs below.
Stephanie Brown:
tbh, not a great starting character. not because she isn't great!! she's just very much so a side character until she gets her own run, Batgirl 2009, but there is so much going on in that time-period (Bruce is dead, Dick is Batman, etc.), that like it's not super beginner friendly imo. and then they delete her when they do New 52, she gets brought back in Batman Eternal if i'm remembering correctly? And then she and Cass lead a recent (Rebirth) Batgirls run.
ik her first appearance is in Batman, although i don't know exactly which issue. she's in Robin 1993 a lot, ofc. she's also in Batgirl 2000 here and there. basically, you'll have to do some hunting and moving around if you just want to follow Steph. i do not know those issues by heart, someone somewhere has probably listed them. re: google is your friend!!
Duke Thomas:
okay so. ik he first appears at some point in the N52 Batman run, don't know the exact issue, but i'm pretty positive it's an event of some kind, could be wrong. then he is the main in a team book, We Are Robin. then i think he's a side character in Batman/Detective Comics mainly? he has a mini-series, Batman and The Signal.
i have not read his first appearance yet, i have read We Are Robin. i hesitate to say that he's not a great character to start with bc i'm pretty sure DC created him to like attract new readers, which should imply that he's a good starting character?? but like stuff is weiiiird where he comes in, Bruce is not Batman bc he doesn't have his memories (idk why yet, haven't read yet), Jim Gordon is Robo-Batman- weird. very confusing place to start, i would imagine. which is a bummer bc like, Duke is fantastic. love him. cannot wait to read more. unfortunately, there are just some characters who's existence necessitates a lot of context. i like to think they're worth the wait, though!
Damian Wayne:
he is the trickiest to hop in on imo, out of the "main" members. he is also a character who's existence necessitates context. you can def crash course him though, to an extent. honestly, with any characters that came in towards the end of Post-Crisis or later, being okay with confusion is like extra important, if you want to start with them.
2/3 of Damian's first 3 major appearances are events. i read Dami later on in my comics journey, so by then i was like, pshh, event nbd. i also read him chronologically, so i could be biased, but i do think that is best. however, yk, go for what interests you.
Post Crisis:
Batman #655-658, then The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, then Battle for the Cowl.
Batman and Robin: Batman Reborn. Dick!Bats + officially Robin Damian
New 52:
Batman and Robin. He's going to die. He will be resurrected. Then, Robin: Son of Batman.
Rebirth:
Super Sons
Robin
ofc, this doesn't cover everyone, but i hope this is enough to get you started!! i realize that this is long-ass post, i'm sorry i couldn't be more concise. i sincerely hope this was helpful/made stuff less intimidating, and if i failed in that regard, i'm so sorry.
i hope you have so much fun!! my ask box will always be open, and so are my dms if you have any more questions or want to freak out about comics :)
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writtenbyaris · 5 months
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my creative writing process as a planner 🌟
the idea:
story ideas come to me at the most random and inconvenient of times. right before i fall asleep, when i'm in the shower, during my classes, etcetera. my main rule is to always write them down, whether it's in my notes app or a slip of paper or a journal... i'll forget it if i don't.
i try keeping it simple at this stage and not thinking too deeply about it, otherwise it becomes quite overwhelming. sometimes ¡'ll make a pinterest board depending on what the idea is. if it's more of an aesthetic, then i can make a moodboard out of it to help inspire me more. however, if the idea is a plot of some sort, that can be a bit more difficult.
character and world building:
this is my favorite part. once i have an idea set in stone and i'm ready to work on it, i begin building the characters and the world around it. i figure out the mechanics of the idea and how it can relate to characters and the world they're in.
at this point, i'm definitely making pinterest boards, playlists, and picrews to feel more immersed in the skeleton of the story.
i still keep it as simple as possible, and try to enjoy it. when i try juggling too many things at once, i end up wanting to abandon the project. slow and steady is the key for me :)
creating the story:
now we get down to what being a writer actually is.. transforming the idea into a story. i have to at least come up with one major plotline to start. i usually write in my journal during this stage, but sometimes i'll use notion to organize everything and keep track of it all.
oftentimes, the main plot will come to me when i'm working on character and world building. sometimes it's even the idea that first popped into my head. the story is usually influenced by dreams i've had, my own every day experiences, and other media i consume.
arcs, subplots, themes, etc:
this stage is for the smaller details that are vital for the story to flow and actually work. it's like a puzzle that's finally coming together.
for me, a story isn't a good one without arcs and themes, so those are of utmost importance. subplots are necessary to make the world more immersive, give readers insight on the characters, and keep the story naturally flowing. everything has to be woven back in to the main plot or idea, though.
i will say, this is the stage that tends to give me the biggest headache :P
zero draft:
jumping into a first draft as a heavy planner is too scary for me. so i came up with the idea of a zero draft. basically- zero expectations.
this is the backbone of my story. in this stage, i'm basically just taking myself through the steps of the story. i organize the plot and subplots into chapters, and with each chapter i go through all the beats of each scene. literally every. single. thing. that happens.
i don't usually include dialogue in this phase, but i do mention when a character will be in a conversation. all the focus should be on putting a needle and thread through the story and tying it all together.
first draft:
the first draft is somewhat easier for me because i do a zero draft. so, i know everything that will happen in a chapter and just have to utilize my writing abilities to make it rhythmic.
this is the first stage where i write dialogue, so it tends to be corny. a lot of my writing can be cliche and basic as well. that's what editing is for though!
i usually stress the most when writing my first draft, because it's the first time the story is actually being written in the format of a novel. by the end, it's not always very good either. but i do not look back at all, which means absolutely no editing until the first draft is finished.
and so on…
once the first draft is finished, then comes draft two. it's enjoyable to be able to read your own work all over again, though it's sometimes embarrassing as writing does improve with practice.
i focus on one chapter at a time-reading slowly, editing, filling in plot holes, fixing anything that changed later in the story. i try to catch as many details as i can.
usually, after as many rounds of editing one likes, the draft would be sent to an editor and beta readers. then i'd look into publishing companies (can you tell i haven't gotten to that point yet? lol)
are you a planner or a pantser?
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dipplinduo · 3 months
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So, I'm really looking to write a Dipplinshipping series myself and I really love the depth that you go into for S&D Dipplins (and its related spinoffs, I am very up to date).
Do you have any tips for keeping up with/writing longer works? I think my idea may take at least 10 chapters, but I've never been able to finish anything but oneshots before... I admire your consistency with the quality of your work (there has not been a single miss, not a one) and I hope to be able write like you one day.
No pressure to come up with anything if you don't know what to say. Regardless of anything, I hope this message reaches you well and that you have a fantastic day!
Omg I love writing talk asks and I'm so touched that you thought to ask me this question!
I'm gonna share stuff I found helpful to keep in mind:
- Take your time with storytelling. The advantage of having more chapters is that you can reallllyyyy enjoy your pacing. One way I do this is through gradual hints and breadcrumbs that build to the major plot points. It's a fun way to develop your story over time while keeping readers interested and theorizing. And when you're not focusing on the main plot, you can focus on other aspects of the story.
- Outlines and general note pages for your fic as a whole are your best friends. They will do the work of keeping track of different story elements for you.
- Listen to your readers. Their feedback is invaluable. If you get a lot of comments about something people seem to be enjoying, this may suggest that it's part of the voice of your fic. It can help you figure out what you'd want to emphasize more down the line - whether it be through side stories or through the main plot.
- Switch up some dynamics overtime. If you find yourself feeling stuck because you feel like you're trying to write similar kinds of moments, thoughts, or dialogues, this is a sign that it's time for you to move on and shake things up. I've done this with Kieran & Juliana in S&S D after I felt I have described Kieran seeing Juliana as a witch (who he has a hard time resisting lmao) so many times.
- Flush out the roles of supporting characters. They don't need their own character arcs, and they don't need to be focal points of the story. But they can influence some events, and it can help with the movement of your fic. (E.g. I often use Drayton to instigate moments one way or another, and this suits his character given that hes relatively chaotic neutral).
- Focus on the quality of telling your story first and foremost; you do not need the permission of certain chapter "markers" to progress. You don't need to wait for Chapter 10 or 15 or whatever to have a big moment happen. If everything is set up and ready to go, just do it. This is why a big moment of S&S D happens in Chapter 9 rather than Chapter 10; there was enough in place and I felt dragging it out would've diminished the moment. No one's really gonna care that much about how things line up to a chapter number. They're gonna be happy they got a big moment, and if anything, your ability to break this norm can keep readers on their toes.
- On the opposing ends of things, know when you have enough in a chapter to stop even if you know where you're going next. If you flushed out descriptions of someone's feelings or some scenery or whatever, and you feel you have enough? It's okay to stop writing and publish. Giving yourself more time to soak on ideas can improve the way you're going to pick up where you left off. I personally don't have a hard rule around this, but I tend to cut things off at the 15-20 page mark for a chapter of S&S D.
- If you feel like you're writing a filler chapter, think of ways it can build to your overarching story. You really don't need filler chapters if you think about it - even if you want to delay going somewhere specific. So if your work could be summed up when completed, what would you want someone to say? Think of ways you can slip in gradual storytelling from multiple angles - whether it be through plot or through some of the lighter moments (that may build to the heart of the fic like found family or dorm life or whatever). This can help breathe life into any chapter update.
- Remember that by taking your time, you're actually developing the voice of your writing and of the story. My original conception of S&S D and where it's at now are wildly different, and that's because there's no rushed time table. That goes for the storyline, the characters, the plot points - everything. LMAOOO, even the beach episode content is going to be very different because I gave myself permission to delay it until I figured out the exact roles I want Paldean Squad to play! It was a better decision that will lead to better characterization (even though I'm nonetheless very grateful for people's patience).
- Write on your timetable, not anyone else's. I occasionally put due dates on myself to get me going (e.g. by teasing a chapter update), but I never promise that I'll have chapters out on a weekly basis or whatnot for anything I write - S&S D related or not. This is deliberate. Life happens and the last thing you need is to write for the sake of writing and nothing else. I feel it's the easiest way to kill your passion if it becomes stressful for you.
- Lean into what inspires you. I find a LOT of motivation through comments, reactions, asks, fanart, etc., so I make it a point to respond to every comment on AO3 and engage continuously with the community on here and whatnot. I've also been loosely inspired by art pieces that have nothing to do with my work. This is just what works for me, though. Sometimes you might be inspired by other media, or maybe by things that you've seen or experienced in your own life. Whatever it is, draw from it.
Hmmm that's what comes to mind for now. Happy to give more later if they come up, & hope this helps! Best of luck with writing YOU GOT THISSSSS 🤗💛
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authoralexharvey · 8 days
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INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @vsnotresponding
Who You Are:
V || They/she
Born and raised in a town in Catalonia, Spain. I always had an interest for stories and storytelling, and art in general, as well as math. I wrote my first book at 17 as my project to graduate high school. I'm currently majoring in math, translating said book, and plotting another one.
What You Write:
What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?
Fantasy, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Tragedy. Young and New Adult
What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?
fantasy, mainly because i love worldbuilding and i often focus on religions or magic systems
What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?
i don't think i could ever write a purely romance book. my aroaceness makes it very hard for me to write romance in general.
Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?
i'm not really sure. i write mostly for me. probably just soft fantasy readers? i think people that enjoy worldbuilding and lore might enjoy my stories too. i think anyone could get something out of my books. the setting is just an excuse to write about other things at the end of the day
What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?
grief and circular time appeal the most to me, also main characters struggling with mental health, feeling displaced and out of place. as for tropes, found family and people who dislike each other forced to work together. i don't know why grief comes up that much in my stories. i am obsessed with thinking about circular time, tho. and the mental health issues of my main characters is mostly projecting. as for the tropes, it's all about finding your people whom you feel like yourself with.
What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?
i can deal with pretty much any trope as long as it's entertaining. certain styles of writing is what ultimately turn me off when reading.
What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?
i'm currently translating and posting púlsar, i book i wrote when i was 17. i've been translating for three months, and posting for one. i'm also working on untitled project (that's the actual name for the wip), figuring out plot details and that kinda things. i've been doing that since 2019, when UP was born
Why do you write? What keeps you writing?
i write because i am my own target audience, and because i want to tell my ocs' stories. that's what keeps me going too. i can't just be rid of them, they live rent free in my brain
How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?
since forever, i guess. i remember writing stories as a kid. i was also an avid reader, and a lonely only child that was left alone to their own devices too often, so i found ways to entertain myself
Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?
from my daily life, i guess. púlsar doesn't have that many sources of inspiration that i'm aware of, but UP has lots of influences from my philosophy classes from back in high school. in general, music helps a lot with how i approach my writing.
What work of yours are you most proud of? Why?
some short stories i wrote in high school. they are all writing assignments, but i went so hard on them they are still one of the bests things i've ever written. also my answer to a question in my philosophy final, which i later turned into a short story. circular time, man, i told you
Have you published anything? Do you want to?
i haven't, but i'd like to. i just want to share my worlds and characters with other people
What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?
the sharing, but i also think it's very stressful
What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?
putting it all together. i love finding out how i've unintentionally set up scenes i hadn't even thought about, or how unimportant details turn vital when i add a new scene
Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.
oh boy. my writing process is a mess. it's mostly non linear, and i sit with my stories for a long long time before ever starting to write. i also pull from my drawings. sometimes i'll randomly draw one oc doing something completely arbitrary, and then see that it actually fits with the plot so why not add it. generally, i have a very rough direction of where i want to go, 2 or 3 key scenes i know for sure have to happen, then i put the characters in A Situation and let them take the reins from there. because i've sit with them for so long before actually writing, i'm confident enough in my knowledge of them so i never doubt where they are going, they just go. usually i plan ahead for two or three chapters, mostly a bullet point summary or an explanation of events for UP it's been way more complicated because of the nature of the story and its non linearity
Your Thoughts on Writeblr:
How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?
i joined four months ago. i just wanted to share my work with other like minded people, and i'm honestly glad i did. i've met so many wonderful people in such a short amount of time, and the community is wonderful
Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?
i recently started following @mjjune. i simply fell in love with their now betaing twtr and their general vibes @moondust-bard has also created a bunch of writblr initiatives like a tag game list, and other ongoing projects and i have to mention @my-cursed-prince. she asked me a lot of questions about circular time, and then i checked out her wips and adopted her ocs on the spot
What is your favorite part about writeblr?
tag/asks games, and in general the community. i like sharing, sure, but it's also nice to be able to talk about worlbuilding and lore and how annoying ocs sometimes are with people that get it
What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?
huh, i'm not sure. more interaction with actual written stuff would be great, but everyone's busy with their lives outside of here so we can't ask of everyone to read everything that comes across their dashboards every day. it'd be great to have an easy to access place to check old and new writing without having to go to an individual blog every time, but that's also a time consuming project to manage
How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?
if i see someone asking for asks i always send one. i also try to be encouraging of others as much as i can. i do think i could be doing much more. for starters, i'd like to engage more with written content from other writblrs more, but i can't due to time constraints
What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?
anything that strikes my fancy. i enjoy posts about the writing process struggles people have, or little thoughts they have as they write or plot
What kind of posts do you most like to make?
i love rambling when someone asks me a question. and also posting púlsar
Finally, anywhere else online we may be able to find you?
i have a half abandoned instagram art account with the same handle (vsnotresponding), and my main tumblr blog @iwrotemyowndeliverancesblog (i talk about maths and complain about life)
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lolliputian · 1 month
Text
Figuring out Dammon in the story.
Been mulling this over in my head since I started writing the recent chapter of Time and Again. It was out of sight, out of mind until the resurrection ritual for Reasons. But, now that I'm at the point where Heartforge is happening, I'm having second thoughts.
In the end I have my decision for how I'm handling it, but I need to word vomit some feelings about the whole thing. Spoiler warning for the fic and cw: Fr*zer.
We're a bit away from the blowup with Fr*zer. A lot of the fandom's heavy focus on Dammon has moved on, as it does, but the impact of what FB's said and done still lingers, as it also does.
I'll be upfront here: My enjoyment of Dammon as a character has always been that he was a vehicle for Karlach and HER story. And I was okay with that, because, damn, I LIKED that the female character was the important one and a male character was her prop. How often does that happen? And, although I loved Heartforge a lot, liking that ship was ALSO because of Karlach. In Dammon, we have a character whose function in the game is to further Karlach's story; without his involvement, he might as well be any of the other Tiefling refugees who fade into the background for the majority of players. (And, if Twitter is to believed, DID despite him being the reason Karlach's engine worked the way it did.)
I've said to people before that I didn't care much for Dammon until I started writing him, and then I liked the voice I came up with for him. I liked the angle of someone going through the stages of grief over the potential of a person. It led to some fun moments and more that were slotted into a "let's write this later as a companion piece to the main story." I like him developing a friendships with Rolan and Zevlor, and the mostly off screen friendship with Lyric. I really liked my voice for Dammon, and, frankly, getting to explore feelings I don't often get to in writing.
Now, to sidebar slightly: Fr*zer. If you've looked at his social media or Cameos at all, you'd know how heavily he pushed for Heartforge, and how much he DIDN'T want Dammon in other ships. Heartforge was very much the actor endorsed ship, which, at the time, didn't really bother me, since I liked it.
But then, of course, everything came out. And, although many people can still enjoy the character outside of Fr*zer's involvement, many others had trouble with Dammon despite that, and even more so in their ships. At the time, I was more focused on what was happening with the community rather than addressing him in my own writing, and so I put it out of my mind.
Then, of course, we reach the chapter with the resurrection ritual, which I had been building up to for months. And, as I was writing it, I realized a few things:
To me specifically, writing Heartforge felt like it was ultimately rewarding Fr*zer. And, while I have the capacity to write it in such a way that would make it work still, I don't like the ship enough to put effort into it. I'd rather spend that effort on the ships I love in the fic.
The way I had written Dammon's reaction to Karlach's death and his focus on her in his grief sets him up for having very high and potentially unrealistic expectations for her and the relationship. Same with her in response: They built up this idealized version of each other in their heads, and now they have to face who the other person is.
Fr*zer's weird obsession with Heartforge can be translated pretty easily to Dammon having a weird obsession with Karlach.
And, at the end of the day, I'm much more interested in writing things I feel that others aren't exploring. Writing an awkward breakup and figuring out how to navigate that sounds both fun as a writer and cathartic for me personally (to let me sort out my own feelings). It may not make me popular with Heartforge fans, but, let's be real: Fans of Time and Again aren't reading it for Heartforge. ;)
So, Dammon's strange feelings that something was off and the fact that Karlach thinking about returning and not immediately focusing on Dammon were purposeful decisions, and I'm excited to write where that leads.
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destinyc1020 · 4 months
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I agree with your take on marvel and the MCU and how the focus on cameos and creating an interconnected universe while fun and makes for great event cinema but from a narrative and character development level it was also major hindrance. I personally think one problem is this spiderman felt a little unrelatable and placed more emphasis on big intergalactic set pieces and neglecting the fact that spiderman was about the neighbourhood. Like the earlier films particularly sam raimi films, peter was this dude struggling to pay rent, working multiple jobs to help is aunt, balancing school and spiderman and failing, battling with anxiety like that shit was so real and relatable. Instead of playing into a younger peter parker who has deal with high school things/ issues they kinda ignored all the things that made him so relatable and focused on tony stark mentorship of peter parker where everything was kinda given to him. NYC never became its own character like in the raimi films. Aunt may, mj were given substance none of which exist in the MCU. Peters day to day realities was sort of pushed to the side, so we can focus on him being an avenger. Peter parker is so beloved b/c of how grounded he had always been but also because it was someone with overly insane strength or superpowers but some who needed to find a balance in his lofe and find ways to overcome villans with his agility and intellegence.
Marvel really dropped the ball, those movies are fun dont get me wrong but I never really felt connected to the character despite how amazing tom is as spiderman/ peter parker
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You hit the nail on the head Anon!
I've been saying this stuff (EVERYTHING you listed) since day 1 when HOCO came out.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVED HOCO, and I love Tom's Spiderman films. But one of the things I noticed right from the outset was that we don't really get to know much about PETER in them.
There's barely any character development for him, let alone his friends.... And he's barely in NYC half the time lol.
One of the things that made the Spiderman character so great (like you mentioned) was the fact that he was the "every day hero". He wasn't wealthy at all, he was an orphan, he was self-made, he struggled, he had to find a good balance btwn his crime-fighting life and his love life, etc.
But when you have Peter being handed everything to him, thanks to Tony Stark, you don't really feel the relatable feeling towards him that most fans felt with the OG films, and the type of relatability that made the Spiderman character so beloved and GREAT! 😁
Granted, as much as I loved the Tobey/Raimi films, I'm sure fans don't want just a remake or a Raimi 2.0 film with Tom's Spiderman lol 😆, but I think in trying to make him do different from the other two Spider MEN, Marvel ended up removing so many things that actually made the Spiderman character so awesome for fans. 😩😓
That's why, when I saw those scenes at the end of NWH, and saw Peter finally in his own crappy apartment lol, with his GE books, and sewing his own Spiderman costume, I immediately felt like, "Ahhhh.... Now we can FINALLY get back to the Spiderman character I know and love, who's just an everyday man, no bells, no whistles, no Avengers, no rich Surrogate Father figure to provide him with everything lol 😆
Those few little minutes were so relatable and grounded, that I can only imagine how awesome a full movie would be with everything like that. 👍🏾
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transhawks · 1 year
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your last meta abt enji is very interesting and nuanced. i think its the closest one to what hori is trying to say that ive ever read. im one of those ppl that can relate to touya and dabis anger so i dont relate to whats going on with endeavor. like in the beginning his atonement felt to me like humiliating shoutos, reis and eventually dabis characters, and i still cant find myself caring for enji. but tbh so far theres no malice in the way hori writes it so lets see where it goes.
Thank you.
I just think there's a lot of resistance to the idea Touya might love/want his father. It's definitely not the... idea we had years back. The Dabi reveal(s) threw a lot of fanon out the window as to Touya's backstory and motivations and I think a lot of people have trouble moving past that too because it also means looking at Enji a little more.
But also, and I want to be clear - the vast majority of people opposed to Enjidemption and anything that goes with it are people who are abuse victims. That's why I respect that so many people are upset by this narrative. It upset me too. I have a very complex relationship with my own folks, and come from a culture with an enormous amount of mandated familial closeness (divine-ordered) and guilt/shame if you don't follow through on it, so I get the emphasis on ties with your parents being important no matter what that certain cultures like to impose. I understand wishing, wanting, some reassurance that our reactions to our abusers are fine - that we don't need to allow them back into our lives if we so choose.
But I also think it's important to note that the Todoroki family is complex! Not everyone has the same reaction to the abuse! I'm pretty sure if Natsuo hadn't been pressured by Fuyumi he might have cut off Enji completely!
Victims do not all think the same (which MHA does do well in showing), do not all want the same things, do not all have the same feelings in regards to their abusers. It kind of hurts when I see people take an extremely severe stance on this because as much as I can hate Endeavor-defending, a lot of time when it turns to criticizing Horikoshi's choices, it skews or nears hating on victims who choose to have contact with their abusers or complicated relationships with them despite admitting to the abuse. Or to those who, despite everything, still feel some love for their abusers (aware we are, that the love we get back is a conditional mimicry of the love we wanted). It goes into victim-blaming; "if you were strong and correct you'd cut contact and condemn them." or "if you really genuinely were abused you wouldn't still be there".
Again, I acknowledge that those of us who don't personally favor reconciling with abusive family have the short end of the stick when it comes to societal views. And there's nuance; some of us love our parents but cannot have them in our lives.
Abuse is complicated! Trauma makes for irrationality and inconsistency in thoughts and feelings, heck, just mere human existence does that too!
But yes, I don't think it's malicious on Horikoshi's part or him "misunderstanding" abuse as I've seen said for years on here. That charge never sat right with me given the consistent theme of child abuse, especially the focus on over-bearing patriarchal figures throughout this work and in Horikoshi's other works, I think we should also acknowledge all of that is coming not from Horikoshi misunderstanding abuse, but forming his own interpretation through likely his own experiences of it.
So, yeah. Shit's complicated and didn't go the way many of us hoped - but we can still sympathize with the anger at being rejected and discarded by a love one, even if we won't like the ending to this story.
Edit: I wrote this a few years back, but there's no shame in dropping BNHA if the Todoroki narrative and likely resolution are too triggering to you as a victim of child abuse or survivor of sexual assault. Take care of yourselves first.
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bonesandthebees · 7 months
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i loved starman SO much . you did an incredible job writing the atmosphere and rising tension for it and it's still my favorite horror fic in the fandom. what was the inspiration behind it? what're your tips for writing the atmosphere of your work? :0
aaaa thank you so much that makes me so happy to hear!! I'm so proud of starman so I'm so happy that there are people who still enjoy it :)
the inspiration behind starman was partly that it was originally posted as part of a challenge/prompt event we did in a discord server I'm in. it was supposed to be a horror fic and we used a randomizer to figure out which characters it had to focus on, and by sheer chance the randomizer spit out wilbur, tommy, and dreamXD. so I knew right off the bat I was doing an eldritch/cosmic horror kind of thing with dreamXD being involved.
along with that, a few years before I participated in this challenge I had taken a trip to visit family in oklahoma. now I'd been to oklahoma several times before, but it'd been many years and it was my first time going there as an adult. the first thing I noticed while I was there was how unsettling it was to be in such an endlessly flat landscape after having grown up surrounded by mountains and hills my entire life. it made me feel like i was being watched. since I was really into cosmic horror at the time, I ended up spending that trip writing an original horror story about a giant eye watching over a small oklahoma town. so then fast forward several years to the randomizer throwing out crimeboys + dreamXD as a prompt, and I immediately thought back to that original short horror story I'd written during my oklahoma trip and decided to rewrite it as a fic.
of course there's inspiration from annihilation with the colors and the weird blood and all that. also there's the obvious inspiration from house of leaves with the formatting towards the end. I got the idea while I was in the middle of writing the fic, and while my immediate reaction was "I don't think I can actually do that on ao3" I then thought about it some more I was like "wait holy shit I might be able to make that work" and I'm so happy I did.
so that's where I came up with the idea! as far as tips for the atmosphere, I tried to focus on making the town feel restrictive and small. even though we go to several locations (wilbur's house, the gas station he works at, the cow pasture, the field he and tommy lay down in) it all circles back to the church. and I had a very specific color palette in my head while I was writing it, with the town itself mostly being described in shades of green/yellow grass, blue and white skies, and brown dirt roads. this was to contrast with all the bright unnatural colors associated with the eye to make it feel even more jarring and wrong. but to be fair a tool like that would be far more effective in a visual format rather than written format lol
there was also the game of being very careful with where I chose to fuck up the formatting. the formatting itself helped a LOT with the atmosphere because a jarring format shift like that can really fuck with a readers head. I had silent rules for myself about how I would integrate it more and more as the fic went on, and what kinds of descriptions would lead to a format shift. I wanted it to be gradual to give the readers that sense of looming dread as it became more and more common, because then they knew the end was near
overall I just tried to describe things in a way that emphasized the isolation wilbur felt from everyone around him (besides tommy). he'd grown up being the only person who could see the eye, and that alienated him from everyone else. that was one of the major things I tried to focus on, although keep in mind I wrote this in february of 2022 so I barely remember what my thoughts were while I was writing it. I wish I could give more specific advice but yeah it's just been a long time. hope that helps though!
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asoulwithadream · 8 months
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hear me out here because i have this idea, and i've been thinking about it for only hour now, and it's almost midnight and i have two major assignments due tomorrow morning but this takes precedence
so buckle up guys, cos sherlock bbc......... but doctor who bbc (this will all make sense in a moment)
I. the characters are absolutely perfect for all the relevant roles, and im sure there are tons of others which i just haven't thought of yet:
sherlock as the doctor: he has the intelligence, the deduction, the spontaneity, the trauma, and some of the humour (current work in progress). i'll admit his charisma can be better but we've seen a few awkward reiterations of the doctor in the past, so i'll let it slide. it'll give him character. his little quirk of knowing the most useless stuff about the most useless things to solve the most important cases but in space could be such an interesting perspective to see, and look at what the writers come up with surrounding the details of the galactic environments. and to be honest, the doctor themselves are already essentially a consulting detective, the only difference being that they hire themselves. plus, i feel like he would be oddly extremely attached to his tardis, and maybe his screwdriver could have like a collapsable magnifying glass at the other end, just for shits and giggles. he'd also remind me of twelve a bit, and not just because of the cheekbones.dr
john watson as the companion: he has the morals which the doctor sometimes lacks, the rational thinking, he's the emotional support for the over-the-top doctor, he essentially fulfils every role of a companion. we can see how it fits in with his sherlock bbc character too: as many of the doctor's companions, he learns over time and actually becomes higher-than-averagely adept at working out solutions for problems. hes so wonderfully human, and it would fit well with the alien/human dynamic between the doctor and his companion. and i feel like john would have big rory energy. we haven't even taken in the consideration of the "the doctor. which one?" jokes.
jim moriarty as the master: don't tell me you can't see it, because you know deep down that i am right. both the master and moriarty are chaos loving antagonistic figures, charming and charismatic, full of ambition to control whatever they can and whoever they want, yet they focus on what they may consider their homoerotic arch-rival. plus, they're commonly referred to with a name beginning with the letter "m" (which is literally just bonus points!) and just imagine the possibilities of a female moriarty. like fuck off that's too much for my blood pressure. (eurus?????)
irene adler as river song: it's the vibe, it's the attitude, it's the intelligence. irene would be such a good river: she's independent, a borderline criminal, and witty beyond anyones comprehension. however, in this case irene would be a mix of both the irene from the book and from the show, since she's substantially smarter in terms of "who has the biggest brains" in the books rather than the tv series. nevertheless, i would still like to have her as not a love-interest but a love possibility, edging on that with the maximum being flirts, and obviously john in the background going full rory mode (as mentioned earlier). i just think it would be so neat.
greg lestrade as kate stewart: police/chief officer on earth, usually the one to contact the doctor when the planet is in danger? has some form of kind of stale yet wholesome but confusing friendship with the doctor, where they know both a lot and absolutely nothing about him? i think it fits the criteria for greg lestrade perfectly, and i love that it adds the possibility of banter between sherlock's doctor and chief greg of unit.
mycroft holmes as a member of the high gallifreyan council: what could the doctor consider to be the greatest nuisance, and what has recordedly tampered with his relationships and plans and life in the past? the council of his home planet, which could realistically allow for one of the doctor's brothers to be part of the council, and possibly even be it's leader. however, a cool dynamic which i think could be explored is that mycroft wouldn't be the head of the council but rather a side yet very important member, who can slightly interefere with the council's plan to assist his brother sometimes, only sticking by the rules if he disagrees entirely with the doctor. what his time-lord name could be? the officer, the official (something like that), though i'd appreciate name ideas
mrs hudson as sarah jane smith: this was a bit hard to decide on, but i think this is by far the most interesting idea i've had for mrs hudson after a solid 5 minutes of looking up characters. i can see mrs hudson, or martha as she'd be called then, act as a companion for the doctor in a previous reincarnation many years ago, like in the 70s or 80s, otherwise staying at home at 221a baker street, working on a computer and serving cuppas should the doctor and john ever stop by. could give a more alien context to her drug dealing husband; maybe he was caught up in an otherwordly drug scandal, and that's how the doctor and mrs hudson ended up meeting. additionally, i think that she'd also have k9, but he'd be shaped a bit like a bull-dog after the bull pup which john has in the books.
II. the tardis. there are so many ideas for the tardis itself, and i can imagine that she'd kind of resemble a hybrid child of eleven's tardis and the interior of the 221b flat. plus, she could have an address this time: 221b, anywhere. i know it sounds a bit corny, but i wanted to find a way to weave in the famous address into this narrative.
III. wholock.
i just think this is a super neat idea. do reblog with ideas
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yloiseconeillants · 1 year
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15 Questions!~
1. Are you named after anyone?
Yes! My mother named both me and my sister after Very Popular Characters on her Very Popular Late 1980s Daytime Soap Opera. Then she named my brother after MacGyver.
2. When was the last time you cried?
bachelor party mushroom trip bath time last weekend (it was a joyous cry)
3. Do you have kids?
No, and no interest personally. I have two nieces and a nephew. My partner and I are considering fostering older kids/teens when we're in our 40s/50s but that remains to be seen.
4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Not often, and when I do it's almost exclusively purposely meant to fall Very Flat (I have been told I have some sort of sense of humor by my friends but none of us can figure it out).
5. What sports do you play/have you played?
My grandfather was convinced that since I was tall for a preschooler that I would end up as a basketball player and tried to encourage me and my sister to take up basketball as children (taking us to college games, playing with us at the local park, etc) but I ended up more of a 'scrambling through creeks before spending hours being weird at the library' kind of kid. In high school, I did enjoy dance, badminton, and field hockey when forced to do so through p.e. classes, but I'm. not sports.
6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?
Oh yikes, it depends on the circumstances? If I'm meeting someone new at a familiar place among familiar people, usually how they interact with people that I know? What their body language conveys about a relationship or acquaintanceship, I guess. If it's an entirely new person in a neutral environment, like at work, probably still body language, but I'd be checking more for like, how nervous they are to determine what kind of tone to take with them (I worked in a government office for Official Technical Stuff and there's a lot of people who are Very Unsure about what they ~should be doing).
7. Scary movies or happy endings?
Oh, scary movies. Happy endings are great but I tend to prefer media that just coincidentally doesn't have them? (so when I *am* enjoying something that *does* have a happy ending, it's so much sweeter). However, I love being spooked and I am *very* easily spooked so like, you can find me watching horror movies from a distance in my kitchen with all the lights on, and the sound turned off during the really scary bits and I'll be like, making food to combat the terrors - having a fucking fantastic time actually.
8. Any special talents?
Good memory for things I have written down.
9. Where were you born?
California, baby!
10. What are your hobbies?
playing barbies and falling into research holes
11. Do you have any pets?
I have two cats :) They are Very Neurotic.
12. How tall are you?
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13. Fave subject in school?
I mean, I really enjoyed majoring in community development (focus on urban planning, but the public engagement bits of that were really fun), but if we're talking like, high school, definitely drama. Like, yes, it was mostly just my friends and I fucking around for an hour during school and however many hours after school, but I genuinely enjoyed the academic bits of it when my teacher still pretended to give at least somewhat of a fuck before she checked out entirely in my last two years in it. Language and literature classes were usually pretty fun, especially in community college (shout out to my Russian lit course for being Wild and to that time that I took a required English class that was taught by a teacher whose background was poetry). OH AND THIS INSTITUTIONAL ECON CLASS I TOOK-
14. Dream job?
Don't believe in 'dream' jobs but in a situation where I was still forced to rely on working to survive but I could do whatever I wanted, I'd love to like just wear a bright vest and hang out on public transportation and give people information on transit routes and destinations. Please let me help the tourists. They need help.
15. Eye colour?
that fucky 'grey' color which means I can't fucking see shit when it's bright out because i'm squinting too much
Tagged by @mirrim-the-moonfaerie and @sundered-souls
Tagging: whoever wants a tag!!
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nattyontherun · 1 month
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🦷 Is there a chapter, scene, or WIP you're dreading to write (but is necessary to your plot)? Share a snippet or tell us about it!
ohh fun question! i have a bunch of WIPs lying around ngl, though since I've become busy with work, a lot of them I've put on the "back burner" save for like... two. Anyways!
Since ik you follow me mostly for my KKSS fic, we can focus on that!!
When it comes to writing, although I do make "skeletons" of my fics, so a very summarized bullet point list of what I want to happen, I actually plan out chapters as they happen? The minutiae is all very up in the air as far as planning goes, all I know, really, is the ending and the major shakeup's I wanna incorporate.
In the case of To Oblivion, my current (and very definitely LONGEST) WIP in the docket, I kinda have a very specific but ultimately small... anxiousness... towards a scene i've planned for the next chapter, and a much, much broader, definitely more potent dread towards the fic as a whole.
In terms of specifics? I have this scene planned where I'm going to introduce two "new" characters, one of whom will be important to the plot, from a perspective of a canon character I don't actually know (as is, and how to write) that well. I'm not sure that I can pull it off exactly correctly, and my refusal (and really, lack of time) to go cavern crawling through canon to figure things out isn't doing me any favors. Considering I could very much say the same for Sai, and that worked out okay-ish last time? Well, it's an AU anyways so!! I'll figure it out!!!
As for the broader dread... I cannot overstate this: to oblivion is NOT kind. HF is like the best most squeaky clean fixer upper version of this "AU" that i coulda come up with and to oblivion is far and away from that.
I'm gonna be blunt, I have a very certain view of the world and my views reflect very much in the way I write whether I intend it to or not,,,, so I'm kinda leaning into that for this fic, really allowing my thought process to shine through. I'm not interested on making the characters sympathetic so much as believable in how they act and react to the story as it unfolds.
Part of this dread, I'll admit, is simply because I'm not really good at plots? Actually I'm awful at them lmaooo, I don't do the /overarching and makes sense/ sorta narratives, I've just never found the inspiration to go at those so long when all I really wanna do is throw characters at each other so they can cry dramatically about their lives or whatever.
The other part is just that Naruto is a very old IP with a very old fandom and it's because of this that many of us here have a very fixed view of how characters are like, whether that's canon or simply our interpretation of them. I don't think I'm gonna be making a lot of people happy with how I plan to let the story play out - in fact, I restricted the comments from chapter one FOR A REASON! I just... I do not see a world where we finally get to the crux of why I even wrote this fic, and everybody reading will just be fine and dandy with how I make things play out.
If you think that one Shisui-POV fic /Like Stars/ is challenging and frustrating,,,, to oblivion will set your eyes on fire :\
I say this not to scare of readership but I really don't want ppl coming into the fic thinking I'm deadset on a warm, hopeful ending like I was with HF. While we're not heading towards an unhappy or even Bad ending, I just feel like it's important to set the expectation that I wrote this fic not just to challenge myself and the characters but also those who decide to read it to see my perspective of where canon went wrong with the framework of the Uchiha massacre and Konoha's handling of it. It's gonna be very hard on not just Sasuke and Shisui but Kakashi as Hokage, Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, Sai and basically everyone who'll end up showing their faces in the fic.
Hopefully it's digestible?????????
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I've been wanting to get into the SWEU, specifically with the Rogue Squadron and all their stories, but I have no idea where to start. What books/comics should I read to get into it, and what do you reccomend in general?
Hoo boy, this ended up being a more complicated explanation than I expected. The long and short of it is read the X-Wing series in terms of books and the Rogue Squadron series in terms of comics, but there's a more detailed recommendation below.
First and foremost, I have this post that gives a general overview of where I think new SWEU readers should start (the Thrawn Trilogy, always) and then tips for where they should go from there.
For comic content, I'll be honest and say I haven't read too many old EU comics. I know for sure that the X-Wing: Rogue Squadron comic series follows Rogue Squadron and sets up a lot of the main character dynamics (Wedge, Tycho, Wes, and Hobbie's friendship came from this series) and that people tend to like it, but I've personally only read an issue or two, so I can't tell you much more than that.
For books, however, I can get into more depth.
If you want to get into Rogue Squadron, start with the X-Wing books. X-Wing is a ten book series that focuses on the pilots of the New Republic and spans a lot of the EU timeline. It's a lot of books, but it's fun and gives you a good overview of the Squadron! If you don't want to be scared off by my complicated reading suggestions, ignore everything below and start here!
If you don't mind getting a little complicated, I have a few notes about reading the X-Wing series:
It follows two squadrons: Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron. I'd suggest reading all the books, even the ones about Wraith Squadron, because those are really good, but if you're serious about focusing on the Rogues, then you're looking for Books 1 - 4 and Book 8. There's also Book 9, Starfighters of Adumar which technically follows Wedge, Tcyho, Wes, and Hobbie on a sidequest. I'd suggest reading it too, but know that it's not "Rogue Squadron."
There's two authors. Michael A. Stackpole handles all the Rogue books, so if you're only reading 1 - 4 & 8, don't worry about it, but the others are written by Aaron Allston. Stackpole and Allston have different writing styles and like to focus on different characters, so keep that in mind.
It spans a lot of the timeline, and some of the later books expect that you're reading the rest of the EU. This isn't a worry you should have about Books 1 - 7, but know that Book 8 expects you to have read the Thrawn Trilogy, Book 9 expects you to have a rudimentary knowledge of the events of the Jedi Academy Trilogy, and Book 10 expects that you've read New Jedi Order and Legacy of the Force.
This is controversial, but if you pick up Books 1 - 4 and find that you're not liking them, skip to the Wraith arc (5 - 7). Yeah, it's not Rogue Squadron, but Stackpole's writing style is definitely not for everyone, and I think Allston's books are a bit more accessible (and really good!).
Other than that, go ham! The X-Wing series is definitely the best place to start for the Rogues- it explains everything, introduces major players, and has some fun adventures (also please read the Wraith books, the Wraiths are great).
If you finish with that and want more, there's a few individual books / arcs that follow the Rogues and the Wraiths:
If you've read the X-Wing books, and you find that you like Corran Horn (he's a polarizing figure so this might not happen), check out I, Jedi. It follows some of his adventures around the time of the Jedi Academy Trilogy.
If you want more Rogue and Wraith content, both squadrons are spotlighted in several NJO books. Because of the nature of that series, however, you wouldn't be able to jump in and read those books without the full context of the series, and New Jedi Order is quite long (19 books!!!). If you're willing to commit though, go for it!
All of that's just the stories that focus on them. Past that, Rogue Squadron shows up randomly all over the EU, so if you start reading the EU at large, you'll definitely see more of them!
That's pretty much it! I'm one person, so my recommendations contain my own preferences and are definitely not the final say on the matter, so if anyone has other pointers/recs put them in here! Also, if you want more in-depth reasoning for some of my recs (can't imagine why you would) just ask and I'll go ham. I love talking about the Rogues and the Wraiths.
boy this got long. Hope this helps!
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I woke up a couple hours before my alarm this reason for absolutely no reason and ended up contemplating, what else, story things and writing things.
(I have a one track mind. The only song it knows is "Writing?")
I've been editing this current draft since my CP got me notes back in March, and then picked up the editing when I got back from Japan in April. I'm almost done, but it has been taking the vast majority of the brain space I have for writing at the moment because I'm working so intensively on fixing things.
But while I was waiting for notes back, I was at loose ends with nothing else to work on, so I drafted about 25k words of the Next Thing (Avel's book). I’m very excited for it, but I’ve reached a point where I needed to unknot some things to continue in a useful way (instead of just wasting time writing junk that will never contribute to the story and just gets cut later anyway), and I don’t have tons of capacity to unknot what I have of that book when I'm trying to unknot a completely different story with different characters in a different subgenre with a different setting about different things and, well. Yeah.
But despite that, I still mull over it occasionally without assigning tons of brain power to it, and I realized this might end up helping before I get back to it, because I’m really thinking about what things excite me about this project and thus what things to focus on and what plot choices will emphasize and show those off best. What kinds of things will actually contribute to the story arc.
Still not outlining, but brainstorming slowly because I’m not just working at it in an excited rush, and it seems to be working on. Like “hm maybe that bit should go because if I want the story to be about passion and sacrifice and what is worth doing what you love that part was going on a different tact. Or I could make that bit go like this and it could fit in better?” Etc.
YuuMori has actually been exactly what I've needed in this regard: it's a very focused story. It knew from the start what it wanted to be about and what it wanted to say about what, and it really committed to that in a very clear way very fiercely without too much meandering or wandering off in other directions.
And as I was considering that...well...doesn't that structure really reflect William, in many ways? He's so focused on his goal and his plan that he has very little time for other things, like...figuring out who he is. Obviously YuuMori is more expansive than he and really digs in and does several things at once at all times, but the focus, the goal, that reminds me of him in some ways.
Compared to something like JR, which I also love dearly, but is very slow and meandering and wanders off and discusses ten different things in one short story, it feels very different. But JR is also lead by Seigi, and Seigi's arc is learning about the world and exploring it and himself, and the exploratory meandering also suits that and the kind of story that JR is.
But I've always had a problem with pacing and meandering and never getting to the point. I don't need JR's help with that. But this draft I'm editing now is the first time I've ever gotten notes back that aren't about the f'king pacing and meandering, so even though getting there wound up with 100k words in my Scrivener trash, I have gotten better at it.
And I know it's because I spend so much time thinking about the way YuuMori does it (and talking about it).
Anyway, perhaps this overlap and break from Avel's book means I won't end up with 100k words in the trash because I'll have better focus and a better ability to execute because I've thought through options in advance.
We'll see how it goes.
Thanks for listening to this morning's writing rambles.
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