#but sometimes the inspiration to make a gifset just hits you and you have to follow it before you lose motivation again | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eddiediaaz · 6 months

Note

hi lovely!! do you have any tips on making cool fun and sexy typography?

hey joanna!! this made me giggle haha, i'm not quiiiite sure how to answer that, but here are some tips i keep in my when i do typography, and some examples:

FONTS

don't be afraid to "shop" for fonts and try funky fonts you've never used/seen. i often try so many before settling. i almost always use at least 2 different font for gifsets, even 3 sometimes. i think a good font pairing can do a lot for a gif. it's usually something like:

serif + cursive/funky fonts (example)

sans serif + cursive/funky fonts (example)

serif + sans serif fonts (example)

two different cursive/funky fonts (example)

or even simply the same font but all caps + all lowercase (example)

in case you're unsure where too start or want inspiration, here's a great resource: usergif's font pairing guide and its fonts page

BLEND MODES & LAYER STYLES

i think playing around with different blend modes and layer styles will always elevate your typography game, in my opinion. it's usually a bit more dynamic than just an opaque color. tho this minimalist typography can also be really good.

when you double click on a text layer, you get all the layer style options, as well as the blend modes. a very popular layer style is setting the layer's blending option to difference, paired with a color and/or gradient overlay (often set to multiply/color dodge). a drop shadow is also important so the text is more easily readable. we often see a black soft drop shadow, but don't hesitate to be creative with it, for example a thick, hard line, colorful drop shadow.

i feel like this step often takes the most time for me because the possibilities are endless. definitely play around with layer styles, especially drop shadow, color overlay, gradient overlay, stroke. and also try different blending modes for these settings.

as for the layer's blend mode, also definitely play around with them. and keep in mind that the text's color will also give a different result, it doesn't have to be white + blend mode set to difference, even tho this is a classic that works well.

TEXT WRAPING & POSITION

a great feature on photoshop is definitely the text warping tool. to access it, right click on a text layer and go "warp text". from there you'll get a few different styles and setting sliders. my favorites are flag and wave (example). you can always go back to edit these settings once they're done by right clicking again. and you can even keyframe/animate these settings!

typography doesn't always have to be centered and straight, i often prefer it on a side and rotated a little. you can easily rotate typography by selecting the layer(s) and hitting ctrl + T. you can also play with the skew and pespective after hitting ctrl + T by right clicking the canvas and clicking on either. these will give different ways to move your text.

SIZING

i love playing around with different font sizes, it makes the typography more interesting in my opinion, and it's a way to emphasize some words.

so for that reason i usually put each word on a different layer so i can edit each word separately. sometimes i will also put each letter on a different layer, because it can be interesting to offset/rotate some letters sometimes (example) (another example).

i often pair a quite small serif or sans serif font with a much bigger funky font (example). and often that bigger font will also have different sized words (example). i play around a lot with this!

ADDED EFFECTS

there are some things than can be done to enhance typography:

adding a colorful rectangle block behind the text (example)

using text symbols such as quotation marks or backets (example)

using lines around the text (example) (another example)

these can definitely bring typography to a different level

MORE RESOURCES

great font website

usergif's typography tag

my fonts tag

this is all i can think of right now, i hope it helps :D if you have any question on a specific text effect let me know, i can definitely make a tutorial!

#alie replies #silversmists #typography #photoshop #*ps help #resource #completeresources #allresources #resourcemarket #usercats #userabs #userpjo

170 notes · View notes

callivich · 8 months

Note

hi do you have any tips for writing?

Hi! I’m flattered you’ve asked me. I enjoy writing a lot but I always feel like i’m still learning so an ask like this is a bit of a surprise in a way because I’m so in awe of so many other writers that I don’t feel qualified to give advice. But here are some random thoughts and I hope they are inspiring:

Write. That probably seems really obvious. But just write. You don’t have to post it. Just write dialogue or random paragraphs or interesting thoughts. Just write. Anything you feel is good, stick it in your drafts.

Edit it and focus on spelling and grammar. But don’t worry about it so much that you feel you can’t post it. Chances are, if you’re worried about a minor plot point or a weird sentence, your readers will either not notice or love it.

I first started reading fandom years and years ago and I didn’t write at all because I was so nervous and anxious and worried about what I might write. It was an utter waste of time. I could have been writing for years and I didn’t. I regret it.

If you want to share your work - go for it. The Gallavich fandom is an especially kind and supportive place. So all those worries you might have? They’re probably bullshit because everyone here is so welcoming.

Try @galladrabbles - it’s such a wonderful challenge because you can just try sharing a short piece of writing and see how you feel. 100 words is very easy and each weekly prompt is very inspiring.

Read. Read everything and anything. Articles/newspapers, non fiction, fiction of all genres, fanfiction - recent and old, from any fandom. Read and reread, any type of writing. It’ll be useful and interesting and you’ll learn a lot in terms of style, narration, dialogue, plotting, words and ideas.

Make comments on fanfic you’ve enjoyed. I always find this is useful in terms of leaving feedback which is always nice for the author but also in terms of clarifying to yourself what has been especially enjoyable. Did you like the plot or the dialogue or the overall feel of the story? Think about it and share it with the author. It’ll be great for them but it will also allow you to realise what you like in a story.

Remember that no one starts out as a fantastic author with millions of comments and kudos and hits. Everyone starts out as a beginner. And they were just as nervous or lost as you might feel. And probably still are when it comes to sharing new work sometimes.

Practice is important. And that means writing when you can and as often as you are able. Try different genres or tropes or writing styles. Find out what works for you and what doesn’t. Experiment in your drafts or take part in challenges.

Get silly and indulgent with fandom on tumblr (or other social media) because interacting with fellow fans on here is always inspiring. Whether it’s reading/making comments on posts or having ideas because of gifsets or edits or headcanons or just engaging with meta that allows you to see certain moments in canon in a new way - this is a great place to find inspiration.

Ultimately, just have fun. Play around with writing and storytelling. You asked for writing tips and I’m assuming you meant fandom writing. So just go for it, write and share your work. I was scared and intimidated for years about writing. It was a waste of time. Now I love writing. It’s such a great hobby and I’m so glad I jumped in and did it.

And take care of yourself, write when you want to and share when you want to. Writing in fandom should be a fun hobby for you.

If anyone else would like to reblog this and add their thoughts or encouragement, please do! 💖

#calli talks

12 notes · View notes

inacatastrophicmind · 9 months

Note

i just finished reading all that's left is hurt and what a brilliant story. all the pain and heartbreak you put me through was so worth it, so thank you for all the hard work you put into the story.

so i've got a small question because i really want to write my own destiel fic, and i hope my question doesn't come as mean, and i was wondering, how do you deal with your fics not being popular enough? your fic is amazing and it has less that 10k hits, so like, how do you find the motivation to put so much work when you see that you're not getting many hits? i know it's not the most important thing when it comes to writting, but knowing that what i write will probably flop kind of fills me with dread, so how do you find the motivation to keep writting even when your fic is not as popular and you might've hoped it to be?

i would really like to know your thoughts on this (and i really hope i didn't offend you)

First of all, you didn't offend me, anon, so don't worry. And second of all, I'm glad you enjoyed my fic :')

Okay, so to your questions. I would be lying if I said that I don't sometimes get disappointed when I see any of my stories aren't as popular as I hoped them to be. When I started writing Destiel fics and publishing them, I was always so jealous of those other fics that got so damn popular and people talked about them, because I wanted to create a story that made people talk about it, I wanted my story to be one of those that you see everyone recommend on Tumblr, a story that people think about 24/7, a story that inspires people to create fanart. Hell, I still want that, because as a writer, I want my stories to impact people in some way, just like my favorite Destiel fics have also impacted me in a way.

But as I've gotten older, I've realized that my stories impact people. Maybe it's not the kind of stuff that makes people create posts, or gifsets, or fanart, it's not a fic that everyone recognizes by name alone, but it impacts them to leave kudos, to leave some comments and to subscribe to my story because they're invested in it and want to know how it ends. And yeah, maybe it's just only 10 people or maybe it's 500 people instead of thousands of people as it happens with a lot of other stories, but even if it's just 1 single person who it's moved by my story, it's still fucking awesome. Something I created got an impact on someone. Someone, out there, enjoyed what I did.

And yeah, maybe sometimes you spend so much time and do a lot of hard work to write something and it can be heartbreaking to see that your craft doesn't connect with people. Sometimes life is like that, unfortunately. You put all your heart and work into something and it is still not enough. But I can tell you that it will be enough for at least one person, and I've learnt that even when it's only one person who comments on your story, who praises it, it's more than enough. There was one story that I wrote that I only showed to one person, and every comment he gave me about it was a boost of serotonin for me.

So yeah, writing is scary and hard. You pour so much of your heart into that craft, so it can be heartbreaking to see that barely anyone reads it or likes it, but I promise you that writing also can feel amazing. I still love writing about Dean and Cas after 10 years doing so. I still love the process, even if sometimes it can be scary. But I love writing so damn much. I feel free when I write. So if you also feel that way, I highly encourage you to write your fic and post it. It might be scary and difficult sometimes, but I promise you that the moment you see just one person leaving you a comment, even if it just consists on exclamation points, you'll find yourself smiling and you'll know that maybe you're not the most popular author, but you're still good enough.

#anonymous #my answers

11 notes · View notes

margridarnauds · 1 month

Note

fanfic writer emoji ask: ✍ 🎢 👀

✍ Do you have a beta reader?

For a while, I did, and they were and are great (we have not had a falling out! We are still friends!), but real life kind of got in the way for both of us, and that's fine. Sometimes, I do miss having someone look over my stuff so that I know I don't sound insane, but it's fine.

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

I feel like "wildest ride" could mean so many different things. Like, content wise, just on the basis of it existing? ABSOLUTELY A Soft October Night, mainly because I don't think I'd ever gone as far as "Incest Murder Threesome" before. (I will make no promises that I won't do so AGAIN, but it definitely is a shocker from the usual.)

Though this is ALSO from the same creative team that brought you "Romeo has sex with the personification of Death on a crucifix" and "Ronan and Lazare have sex on a printing press" (which seems MUCH tamer compared to the other two), so, really, you can pick your poison.

As far as plot? Either The Midnight Mass or Pour la Peine, depending on if you think "Ronan discovers his old friends are zombies that want to kill him" or "The Thing that happens in Pour la Peine that changes the whole plot" is more shocking. (Personally, I am still REALLY proud of that twist in PLP, since I'd sat on that for years.)

If you're talking about in a crackficky sense? ...I mean. Goosefic. Goosefic. The fic that solidified my reputation in the 1789 fandom. If I say so myself, every single fic I've listed before that has some larger motivation for why it's Like That. Goosefic was just me reading a writing prompt and thinking "I want Lazare to get chased by a pissed off goose." And it is beautiful.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I don't think it's a SECRET I'm working on writing out my playthrough of BG3, or at least. Key parts of it. (I am NOT. Novelizing. An 125 hour playthrough. Yet.) I have about 11k words into it at the moment, but I'm not publishing a word of it until it's in a place where I know I can very likely finish it, or at least make a dent. We are NOT doing that thing where I just publish one chapter, hit a major bout of writer's block, and can't go through with it. (I can't make any promises for AFTER one chapter.)

It deals, primarily, with Kitrye's Happy Fun Times in the game, her ongoing verbal game of cat and mouse with Raphael, her relationship with her sister, and her relationship with her culture, as well as her overall development during the course of the game. (I don't really consider it a spoiler, given I put it in an actual gifset, that Kitrye breaks her oath as a paladin at one point -- there is a LOT dedicated to the circumstances around that and how it changes the game, even though that's a late development.) A spoiler that literally only you and a couple of people will understand and so I can give without any worry is:

"Ich will dich nicht, ich brauch' dich nicht. GEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."

(Honestly, thus far, it's looking like how I'm writing out every act is taking inspiration from something else. Like, if Pour la Peine and its related stories drew a lot of inspiration from the Evilious Chronicles, I would say that the third act in particular is very, very Elisabeth tinted if you know where to look; second act is looking to have at least one scene inspired by a very memorable moment from one of the branches of the Mabinogi; and the first act, which is still the roughest, is a little bit more up in the air, with all of them borrowing at least a LITTLE bit from The Last Trial.)

Of course. It would be much easier to work on it. IF I HAD MY GAMING PC THAT COULD RUN THE GAME SO I COULD DOUBLE CHECK MY FILES. MY CUSTOM MADE GAMING PC THAT I CHOSE EVERY SINGLE PART FOR SO THAT IT COULD BE A MONSTER AT RUNNING GAMES.

(I'm cool, I'm chill, I'm fine.)

Anyway, have the Symryvvin girls, out of context. (Malla 🤝 Raphael: Being in an eternal state of Done.)

2 notes · View notes

kald-dal-art · 1 year

Note

where do you get your inspiration/ideas? anytime i have the energy or motivation to draw, i never have the inspiration. does this happen to you?

Yeah that definitely happens to me as well, but here are some of the tips I usually do to get out out of an "Creative block" as I put it.

Sometimes you just got to draw. Just mindlessly draw stuff on a piece of paper for example. They don't have to be masterpieces, just get to drawing. Sometimes you start doodling something you legit like or you come up with something while doodling. Sometimes you can't just wait for inspiration/motivation to hit you, sometimes you have to just make it yourself, which is a very useful skill to train up.

Start a project. Doesn't have to be a project you are ever ever gonna share with anyone, but having something that you can just work on is just something that I found helped me a lot. When I decided to work more on stories around OCs I felt so much more inspired and drew a lot more. If I didn't know what to draw, I just draw stuff around that one big project I want to do one day. Doesn't need to be a project you ever have plans to finish, but it's something you can always work on.

Do studies if you have no inspiration on what to draw, but you want to draw, do studies. Draw the stuff around you, draw from pictures, draw dynamic poses (Lineofaction is a great website for that),practising drawing things you are not good at drawing, Etc... Use the motivation and energy to get better at your craft isn't a bad idea. Revisit stuff that inspires you. Stuff likes movies, tv shows, comics, videogames, artists you like etc. Any visual medium that makes you inspired or has inspired you in the past. Of course you don't necessarily need to rewatch it. Sometimes I just look at gifsets on Tumblr to get inspired by those things again. I also find watching behind the scenes on how movies and such are made really inspires me ("Arcane: bridging the rift" is a super good one if you have watched Arcane and it is free on youtube)

Just go outside Sometimes you just have to take a break from drawing. If you felt like you haven't really left your house or broken your routine outside of that. Just going outside, take a walk, visit a new place. Sometimes taking a break from trying to get inspired is what you actually need to get inspired.

#not art #eva answers stuff #art tips #hope these helps

16 notes · View notes

inceptionart · 2 years

Photo

Alicia @halfofawhole is our artist highlight for today! Read on for her thoughts on art, and you can find all of her artwork here and here!

🎨 When did you start creating art for the Inception fandom, and what is your inspiration?

I will have to fully credit Tenet for bringing me to the Inception fandom—both with their emotional love stories and tender connections, amidst the chaos and mayhem across space and time—it just moves me so much, I can’t help but be inspired to be a part of such a poignant portrayal of the human heart and mind.

During my time in the Tenet fandom, some of my mutuals and I talked a lot about the comparisons between Mal/Cobb and Protagoneil, but it’s not until I had a full Inception rewatch sometime in June 2021 that it hits me just how much they parallel each other, and I love parallels. I started with simple screenshot edits, and then with coloring and fonts, and now I’m creating gifs as well. Thank you Nolan for motivating me to learn Photoshop, so I can finally pour out my feelings for your movies lol.

🎨 Tell us about your creative process, and which part do you enjoy the most about it?

As mentioned, I’m wholly obsessed with visual and textual parallels, and Nolan’s timey wimey movies are such a treasure trove of those. Also, not just with each other but with other media sources as well! I get such a rush whenever my brain is able to catch on an instance of it. So most of the time, it’s really about quickly jotting down the parallel descriptions as soon I’ve thought about it so I won’t forget, their corresponding movie scenes and where they’re located in the movie. After that, it’s a matter of extracting out the screencaps and starting the editing or giffing process.

My favorite part of all this is definitely seeing it all come together at the end, to see the gifs and edits come out exactly how I’ve pictured it in my mind. They are my outlet to capture all the moments that fascinate and resonate with me—kind of an emotional distillation, if you will. I also love listening to music to help me to focus, and most of the time the lyrics will end up as captions for the art itself ahaha

🎨 Link us to your first and latest artwork, and how your style has evolved since then?

Ooo this is a tricky one! All of my early Inception artworks were combined with Tenet and/or Interstellar (the whole thing with parallels asdkfgk), so there’s a lot of them in my Tenet blog here.

But for purely Inception works, my first edit is here (made for the Inception 30-Day Challenge) and my latest one is here (made for the Inception Big Bang 2022, inspired by @rayelovesgreen‘s beautiful story). As for gifs, this is my first one (Sobb!) and this is my latest (elevator Arthur!).

I don’t know if I have any style, but I guess the improvement would be simply not to make the gifs look extremely grainy or twitchy while still keeping within the tumblr gif size limit lol. The edits are much easier to work with, but I love learning how to go from simple coloring to using textures and layer styles.

🎨 What is your absolute favorite piece of art that you've made, and why?

Another tricky one! I love all my artworks for different reasons, they all have their own stories to tell on how they came to be. But I really have to choose, it will be this Inception team name edit (which is also directly inspired from an earlier Nolan movie parallel edit here). It involves a bit of head-cracking to get the name origins/meanings which are most suited to each of the characters, and it’s very fun and satisfying to see them all put together like that.

For gifs, my favorites would be these Ariadne/Beth Harmon and Cobb/Saito parallels. The former is my very first fic-inspired gifset, and the absolute visual and emotional contrast in the latter is just so lovely to me.

🎨 What is something about Inception that you really want to make art for someday, and why?

I’m in constant awe of all those super fancy and shiny gifs and edits out there with all those effects and coloring, and I hope someday I can learn how to make those for my own Inception stuff too! And I also want to make a lot more art for Yusuf, Robert and Ariadne, they deserve all the love!

🎨 Give a shoutout to your favorite Inception artists here!

Oh gosh, so many of you! Definitely Rusty @oceans-foundfamily hitting the feels all the time! Meg @megofnuts with her exquisite, dreamy colors. Mizu @mizunoir for her endlessly glorious, emotional art (I want to commission art from you forever!). Immensely talented Ash @mister-eames (gifs, edits, art... what can’t you do??). Flos @flosculatory and her sublime edits. @rayelovesgreen @of-fluxions and their stunning vids. @youcantsaymylastname @silverbrume and their adorably tender drawings! Lemon @lemon-yellow, for art with so much depth and love. And shoutout to @iamanonniemouse @stormofsharpthings for writing stories so gorgeous and brilliant that I can always vividly picture them in my mind.

🎨 Anything else you'd like to talk about art and the Inception fandom in general ❤

Where to even start? 😭 It’s the best fandom, hands down. Talent and kindness abound from everyone here, and I definitely owe almost everything, if not all of my art progress here to the Inception fandom. My fellow artists constantly inspire me! And even beyond art itself, this fandom feels like a second home to me apart from real life and I’m just so grateful and thankful for everyone who has made this space such a lovely, welcoming one all the time. Nothing but love for all of you, and thank you for being here. 💖

#inception artist highlight #inceptiversary #inception #halfofawhole

34 notes · View notes

leqclerc · 6 months

Note

I know sebchal is your main ship but have any others that you like?

Hello! 👋🏻

This is always a tricky question because I’m the type of person that gets ride or die invested in one particular thing that becomes a hyperfixation and then it consumes me and it’s all I think about day and night. And that’s Sebchal for me (still, even with how everything’s changed and how little content there is and how it’s probably heading towards a natural decline in terms of their product life cycle.)

The only F1 pairing that came close to that feeling for me was Brocedes between like 2015-2017. They were my first ship in this fandom, my gateway into RPF, and generally my biggest hyperfixation (until Sebchal). These days it kind of feels like that chapter is closed, like their story has sort of arrived at an organic conclusion (at least until there’s another Significant Moment that can be woven into the Tapestry of Lore) and that there’s not really anything new to add or explore through writing for example. But I do like to revisit old fics sometimes, especially the ones that were really significant for me (both my own writing as well as beloved fics by other authors). A lot of them stuck with me through the years, to the point where I will vaguely remember the plot or a very specific line from the fic or something. It was a time in this fandom that I look back on fondly. ❤️ Also shout-out to Hulkenrez 😭😭😭 This one feels very retro, most people probably don’t even remember their teammate days anymore, but that was a fun one!

Then there’s the “I like them but not necessarily romantically/not as an endgame pairing” tier. That would be Charles and Alex, Charles and Daniel, Sebastian and Daniel, and Charles and Pierre. Pretty self-explanatory, they’re intriguing options to explore but I don’t have it in me to be a multishipper (as in, shipping one character/driver with more than one person as an OTP) so to me they’re kind of interesting side options but not what I want in the long-term. If that makes sense? They’re not my first option but for example I wouldn’t mind getting gifted a fic/gifset/edit centered around them if someone really wasn’t vibing with Sebchal. That’s kind of where I’m at with these.

Followed by “I don’t ship really them but I totally get the appeal and will occasionally read fics about them if the writing floors me (affectionate)” and this tier features some surprises, including Carlos and Lando and Max and Daniel. I’m not up to date with the lore, I don’t necessarily go down rabbit holes, I probably can’t name Significant Moments off the top of my head, but I’m like, I get it. I’ve read fics about them and probably enjoyed them. It’s about as close to shipping as I can get ajsdkf

Honestly, most of the pairings for me fit into this category of like “no strong opinions either way.” They exist, I don’t really think about them all that often, maybe I will read a fic here or there if it’s really hitting for me, but they don’t rock my world, I probably don’t go looking for content/fics about them on purpose, but I won’t like die if I do come across them/engage with them.

No official tier for this one but I love a good rarepair!! Like if you wrote a Charles/Xavi fic (that doesn’t bash the other party obviously) I would be 👀 Mia/Britta?? Sure, why not!! Charles/Robert Lewandowski?? They do have reverse flags and this mf has been to F1 races in the past. I know Charles/Joris has been tentatively on the rise. Again, why not. Maurizio/Toto??? Hell I have written about them before, we love old men in love. 😤 They’re like fun little side quests or spin-offs from the main story. In conclusion: ✨Rarepairs✨

I started typing out this reply last night actually, but then you inspired me to actually try and coherently explain this via a visual medium, so I made a tier list absolutely no one asked for 😭🙈

TL;DR:

~check under the cut for the stuff I don’t like~

And finally. The lowest tier. The stuff I just can’t get on board with at all and probably have their tags filtered. And currently the main NOTP for me is Charles and Carlos.

I wasn’t really sure where to place Charles and Max, because they’re not quite on a Charles/Carlos level for me, but at the same time I don’t really vibe with it either? Although over the past year or so I’ve found one-sided unrequited Charles/Max (from Max’s side) might be my guilty pleasure. So they’re going a tier up because I can kind of work with it, while the NOTP is giving me nothing but negative feelings ajsdkfg

#replies #anonymous #about me #im so sorry for getting carried away with this 😭😭😭#as a general rule i dislike all those 'rate this ship' and 'what do you think about this ship' things when they get overly negative #so i tried to rein the haterism in here and just talk about my opinions and thoughts without judging or being too negative #idk i hope this makes sense

3 notes · View notes

television-overload · 8 months

Note

Get to know your fic writer (no pressure):

1, 4, 13, 16, 22, 25 (add link if you want), 40, 54, 56

Ooh yay! Thanks for the ask! I think I copied these all over correctly. I was bored so I went in-depth 😂 Here we go:

1. Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

I've been sitting here for like 5 minutes trying to figure out which I prefer 😂. I find myself coming up with multi-chapter ideas more often I think, really grand plots that I definitely don't have time to devote attention to. I also run into the problem of not knowing how to fill in between the parts that I do I have ideas for, so true multi-chapter fics are a rarity. I've had a few times where a one-shot turned into a multi chap, and THOSE tend to work better and are way more cohesive. One of my favorites is one I wrote for Star Wars (wrong blog, oops 😅) but both chapters were a lot stronger than my usual stuff, and it performed way better on AO3 which was really gratifying.

I've always wanted to write a true masterpiece where readers are anxiously awaiting the next chapter, like so many I've read, but I don't know if I've ever gotten there yet. Maybe a few when I used to write NCIS stuff on fanfiction.net.

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Songs, a lot of times. They hit me in the feels. Sometimes a line in a fic I'm reading will spark an idea, something I haven't thought about, a new interpretation of an existing scene from the source material. Gifsets, Tumblr meta analysis, movies I'm watching. So many places. I feel like half of them come to me when I'm at work, which is very inconvenient. The aforementioned Star Wars two-shot was half written on the bus ride home from work in the notes app on my phone. I've written several in the aftermath of particularly good or bad episodes/movies. Fix-it fanfic is always great, I feel like I need to write more of it.

13. What’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

I haven't done this for very long, but lately in my adulthood (as opposed to my teenage fics *shudders*) I've actually been pretty good about writing out an outline and going back to edit later. I used to just spew everything in a word doc and barely go through it before posting, but now I reread it to death, mostly to make sure it flows well. My outlines are, shall we say, extensive. The Star Wars fic I'm working on now had 20 chapters outlined and it totaled over 20,000 words. I've basically storyboarded the whole thing and then I go through and convert that to actual scenes. Important dialogue moments I want to hit are included, cause I know I'll forget them if I don't write them as they come to me. It helps me to be able to see the big picture, so that I don't give up on the project halfway through. But for spur of the moment fics or most one-shots, I still mostly write as I go. Occasionally if I have a thought that I want to make sure to include in a later scene, I'll just tack it on at the bottom of the doc and delete it once I get to that point and I put it in writing.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them.

They're scattered all over the place so that's a good question that God probably only knows the answer to. Some are barely even ideas but take up a line or two in my notes app on my phone. Some probably live only in my brain, forgotten until something triggers me to remember that I was thinking of writing it 😅.

I'd love to do something with @irish-trish 's prompt to fill in the scene from NCIS "She mentioned you at the funeral, I could see what she felt." It sounds right up my alley, but there's a Star Wars fic week coming up in September that I want to actually do on time this year, so I can't allow myself to shift focus to NCIS quite yet 😭

Other than that, I want to write a second chapter to my X-Files fic "Field of Dreams" where Mulder gets to play catch with his son. I really loved writing that fic.

22. Are there certain types of writing you won’t do? (style, pov, genre, tropes, etc)

Nothing spicy. I don't think I'd ever write in first person unless it was in the form of a letter. Other than that, I think I'd do pretty much whatever. It's just a matter of what I have the skills for I think 😂

Not a fan of AUs, except canon divergence, obviously. To me, the way the characters meet is so integral to who they are that it can't be changed much or it just doesn't feel like them. I've read maybe one fic that changed how characters met (Mulder and Scully) but that was the result of time travel and all sorts of things that warmed me up to the idea, plus the characters as we know them were still there. Alternate universe in the truest sense. I got distracted, what were we talking about?

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

The two fics I think of as my comfort fics, ones I found really peaceful and natural to write, would have been nice to see get more attention. I've been writing on and off for like a decade now (😳) and I've only ever really had one fic truly pop off in terms of kudos and comments. Which are literally my life blood 😂. But a lot of my older stuff I look back on and I'm like, yeah, that wasn't that great.

My Star Wars (Obi-Wan and Satine) one shot "this could be such a dream" I found really emotional and relaxing to write. I was kind of surprised it didn't go very far, but it was part of a weekly challenge thing so I suppose it makes sense in a way.

To get back to the TV shows I write for, though (since that's the focus or THIS blog), I really really loved my X-Files fic "Field of Dreams", in large part because I love that movie which inspired it, and I love a domestic, peaceful and content-if-not-happy happily ever after for Mulder and Scully. The movie itself makes me cry and feel so many feels, and I thought the connection to Fox Mulder was a really good one.

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

I would welcome anythinggggg, that is my dream!! I haven't really written anything I'm super proud of yet in the NCIS fandom that I feel would warrant art, but maybe someday! I'm working on a Star Wars "Sound of Music" type looooong fic rn and boy, the amount of work I've put in, I would die if someone were engaged enough to be inspired by it.

54. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Honestly, I get so excited to post it. I hope people will enjoy what I've written. I've read so much great fanfic, that I just want to contribute my 2 cents to the fandoms. Getting comments (as rare as it often is) literally makes my day and makes it all worthwhile to me. Any form of engagement, interaction here on Tumblr, that's what I strive for. But I also write for me. Exploring ideas I've never seen done before, filling in gaps in the fandom, I love it. Those comfort fics I was talking about, I love to just go back and read. It doesn't really matter, in the end, if they touched other people like they do me. I like them and that's what matters. The fics I'm not so proud of? I've been transferring them over from Tumblr and fanfiction.net anyway because some of them have received really lovely comments and people might enjoy them despite how I feel.

56. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

I hope I'm improving on descriptive language. I want to bring out emotions in my writing, and I think there's been definite improvement since I started. I'm also thankful that I have a grasp on grammar and spelling and all the typical writing conventions. That can be a turn off to a lot of readers if it's a complete mess, so luckily I was always a pretty harsh editor throughout my schooling 😅

Get to know your fic writer

#asks #askbox #get to know your fic writer #get to know me #fanfic writing #my fanfic #fanfiction

2 notes · View notes

sophsun1 · 11 months

Note

Hey. What would you do if you had an idea (a good one) but then thought it wasn't good enough?

Hey anon!

I'm assuming you mean in regards to gifmaking?

My rule has always been to first and foremost create for me. If it's an idea that makes me happy, that I've been inspired to put into action then that's what matters. I am my own target audience.

Of course you want other people to enjoy your work, but if you get lost in thinking "Is it good enough for them? Will people think it's lame?" etc you'll just get bogged down in insecurity and nothing would ever get made. That's not to say I haven't done that before, let me tell you anon, every content creator be that fic writer, gif maker, moodboards/aesthetics blog etc has had that exact thought "What if my idea sucks?"

I go through that every time I make a gifset or come up with an idea, right up until the moment I hit post. I'm going through it right now with my own content. I can't tell you the amount of gifsets I've made and then ended up deleting but it's part and parcel of creation.

My advice would be and I do this myself, is to make it. You initially came up with it and thought it was a good idea, so go back to that feeling and trust it. Remember we create for free, it's supposed to be fun, you are your own boss lol. Then keep it in your drafts, take a break from it and go back to it a while later and sometimes looking at it with fresh eyes can change your perspective on it.

Ultimately you may decide you're not happy with it and that's okay you don't have to post it, you might even end up being inspired to look at it from a different angle and a new idea can form. In my case one of the fandoms I create for is dead. I am the only gifmaker, my sets don't hit the heights of thousands of notes and reblogs (likes vs reblog ratio in general is another story, support your content creators pls!) but I keep making them because ultimately I enjoy it and I always love seeing people create, it's not about the shiniest, brightest or most popular content for me. It's knowing someone went out of their way to make something related to their hyper fixation out of love and that will always make me smile ☺

#soph asks #i hope this what you meant lol #good luck with your idea #i believe in you anon #take your own advice @ self

2 notes · View notes

musingmixtape · 1 year

Text

☆ guidelines !!

general:

this blog is +21. there will be usfw and triggering content. minors do not interact. usfw content & triggering topics will not be tagged because a lot of my threads and wanted plots/dynamics involve them.

my discord is available to mutuals upon request if you want to plot, chat or write there. same applies to my smut sideblog.

my activity is low (can post a reply in one hour, can post it in one month).

i’m highly selective but not mutual exclusive. i’ll answer first to the threads i’m most inspired by.

sometimes i’ll drop threads if i don’t have muse for them after waiting for a couple of weeks trying to get inspiration to write a reply. this is not personal at all. on the same note, there will never be any hard feelings about you dropping our threads.

interactions:

if you want to write with one of my muses, you see a plot on my blog that you like or you just feel like we could be a good fit writing together, send me a message! i’m probably going to be very happy about it. if we write together, you’ll probably get headcanons, gifsets and that kind of content from me. i love to talk about our pairings and plots so don’t be shy to do the same if you want! if this is something you don’t enjoy, just let me know, i’m extremely respectful of other people’s boundaries.

if you’re rude to me, harass me for replies or make me feel uncomfortable, i’ll block you. we’re responsible for our online experience.

don’t godmode, if you feel inclined to write something that feels like it, just hit me up, we’ll talk about it and on 90% of the cases i’ll be okay with it.

blog content:

while this is not a usfw only rp blog, i do love writing smut. if you prefer to fade to black, i understand! so please tell me and that way we can be on the same page. communication is the main thing to avoid anyone feeling uncomfortable in a space that should be safe.

i will not write incest / stepcest, sexual assault, domestic abuse and underage characters. this is not an exhaustive list so i reserve the right to tell you if there’s a particular theme i’m not comfortable with.

i use small or medium gifs and small text.

please gimme a heads up if you're going to use the death of a parent (or both) as a part of your muse's past if it's not listed in their background on your page. same thing applies with sexual assault. this is a triggering subject for me and most of the time i prefer not to go there.

banned fcs:

the basics really, controversial celebrities, known abusers, deceased people, people who have stated they don’t want to be used as fcs, anyone underage, etc.

this is not an exhaustive list but: amber heard, armie hammer, percy hynes white, johnny depp, brad pitt, chris pratt, justin bieber, hailey bieber, the kardashians/jenners, taylor swift (only bc i can only see her as herself, you know?), demi lovato, ansel elgort, zachary levi, matty healy.

3 notes · View notes

raiderlucy · 2 years

Text

Hey guys, just wanted to pop by and say thanks to everyone who participated in my 2.5k celebration, i’ve finished all my requests that were given to me (you can find them all here) they’ve all been real fun to make, made me try new things that turned out really nice, gave me some more ideas for other gifsets i’ve got in the back of my mind for the future.

With that to say just because the celebration over doesn't mean i’ll stop taking requests, my requests door is always open (might sometimes take me few days to reply or make due to work but yeah always open), always looking for inspiration for new gifsets so yeah if you have anything in mind hit me up.

Like i said above i’ve got some ideas in my mind for gifsets too, an Eddie gifset springs to mind, possibly a Max one too as i’m listening to an MCR song with some lyrics that kinda fit her in season 4, there’s also a series i want to do revolving around my new stranger things themed tarot deck that i got last month, so yeah, i got ideas spirally in my mind right now. That’s not to mention i also wanna make some headers for you guys too, just don’t know where to start with those haha.

But yeah, just again wanted to say thanks to everyone, and if you’re reading this, have a nice day,

peace out bitches 😎

#aimz talks

3 notes · View notes

ruanbaijie · 9 months

Note

Hello Hanyi how are you? Hope that everything is okay and that your days are happy 🩷 You are a huge inspiration to me and I admire you so much. I wanted to ask for your advice or maybe for you to just read this, i need to tell this. How do you find inspiration for a new project (gifset)? Where do you usually find it and what things motivate you? I'm feeling really sad and unmotivated because my sets have less notes every time 😿 the last few reblogs on my sets are self reblogs. I know not everybody has to like what I do, and that I should do it for myself. But one of the main reasons I do gifs is to share, and for the other people to enjoy too. But my last three sets haven't reach 200 notes, the last ones not even 100. It's been weeks since someone reblogged from me, i'm just so sad, gifs is the way i found to express myself and I don't wanna lose that.

hello! I'm doing okay! questioning my life and what I'm doing with it, but what's new (ノ= ⩊ = )ノ

I don't know what to say besides thank you; I'm hardly the most encouraging or talented or patient person around here, and I'd never think I'd be a source of inspiration or admiration for anyone. it really made my day when I saw that!

a lot of (if not most of) the time, I get inspired by other creations I see here! I tag things that inspire me in different ways (layout, concept, typography, quote, etc.), and sometimes when I know I want (or need) to make something but have no idea what to do, I just go back to those tags and trawl around and pray something hits me ∠( ᐛ 」∠)_ a lot of people here are unbelievably talented and I'd kill for even an ounce of that (tbvh it's kind of embarrassing the extent to which I learn from and get inspired by other people, really most of the stuff I make aren't original original)

please, please don't get discouraged! I definitely feel that tumblr in recent days has gotten a lot more... disheartening, in terms of response. when I first started making gifsets a couple of years back in the thick of the plague, it was so much easier to get a really good response and a high note count even though the quality of my stuff back then was absolute trash. these days, getting even over 100 seems like a miracle, let alone 200. it's all the tougher since I rarely do scene-only gifsets as shows air (it bores and stresses me out at the same time), and it's painful and disheartening that complicated edits tend to do worse than scene-only sets, even though they take a lot more time and effort to do.

and you're right! at this point, despite this, I'm doing it mostly for myself too, and I've learned to brush it off and not check back at the notes at all. these days, it kinda feels like I'm tossing my posts into the wide world and after I schedule my self-reblogs, they're just out there fending for themselves (ノ°∀°)ノ⌒･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*☆

I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me, because it did, and sometimes, it still does. but I try to focus more on the few people who appreciate and enjoy the things I make, no matter how few they are in number, and it really, really makes my day when they leave nice comments in the tags, no matter how few notes that set gets ( ´ ꒳ ` )

I don't regret learning how to make and edit gifs, because it has been an outlet for me to express myself as well and I've met a lot of new people through it. but as much as I'd love to encourage you to continue pushing yourself and learning new skills, it's good to also take a break for a little while if the responses gets too disheartening; I'm trying to slow down as well (I haven't been getting much response these days either anyway) and take the chance to spend some of my life outside tumblr and photoshop. maybe, it would help and be a little breather, instead of abandoning this hobby completely just because of the poor response you're getting, which I really hope you wouldn't do especially if it's something that you enjoy and find meaning in

I'm not sure if this will help in any way, but I hope it does give you some solace that what you're experiencing is not something that's happening to you alone; I've seen so many posts by content creators here (gifmakers and editors alike) about how response is getting more and more lacklustre despite all their effort, and the general lack of motivation >_< as disheartening as it is, it makes me all the more appreciative of the things that the people who remain do and the communities that we've fostered here.

if anything, please feel free to tag me in the things you make and I'll be happy to help reblog them (though it might take a while because I run on a queue and it usually takes ~10 days to show), and hopefully that might help give a little boost to your sets └(＾＾)┐ press on! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

#*replies

0 notes

saw-x · 2 years

Text

Hi everyone I just hit 2k followers which is unbelievable. I want to say thank you to everyone who follows this chaotic mess of a blog. I love and appreciate you all and sometimes reading nice comments from you can make my day 💖

I am pretty excited about the milestone so I wanted to do a little celebration for you all. It's going to be fairly similar to my first celebration as I feel that went pretty well and I had fun doing it 😊

THE CELEBRATION

Basically send me any of the following emojis for your request. You can send me multiple emojis if you would like but if possible could you please send them in a separate ask.

💎 - for a make me choose request

📺 + a year - for a gifset of my favourite thing movie, song/album, tv show/episode from that year (shout out to drea for inspiring this idea)

⭐ - for a blog compliment (MUTUALS ONLY)

🎁 - for a surprise gift (MUTUALS ONLY)

Please keep in mind that it may take me a little while to get through the requests as I have quite a lot of assignments at the moment 😅. That being said do not hesititate to send something in. I’m eager to make your requests because I find it fun, plus I promise to do everything that gets sent to me 😊

I will be reblogging this post a few times so if you don’t want to see it black list ‘nat2kcel’

tagging some mutuals below the cut 💕 (I’m not doing a full follow forever this time but know that if we are mutuals I love you and your blog even if you’re not tagged here)

@dafoes @magnusedom @sashafierce @andrewgrfields @villanselle @milesgmorales @bettycoops @mseloisebridgerton @wongkarwaii @danieljradcliffe @laffertys @leojfitz @userbarchie @userbatmans @dcredhood @leather-face @brandon-lee @userkhonshu @prideandprejudice @charismascarpenter @usergamora @lizzimcguire @fionacoynes @fionagallaqher @monroe-marilyn @after-glow @sonyarebecchi @planet-her @mulderscully @gownegirl @torranceshipman @tevinwakefield @yasmin-finney @jacktharlow @ferrisbuellers @starcatching @buckybarness @stydixa @esterexpositio @carpenter-sabrina @orla-mcool @fayanas @william-byers @madeline-kahn @blacksvenom @queencalanthes @henry-cavill @gina-porters @ed-skreins @sharpesjoy @sharpay @nowayhome @concepts @moonlight @tyrone-power @natasharomanovf @kayascodelorio @stevensgrant @tabithatate @madscline @lizzies @chonis @ritahayworrth @deforest @jakegyllenhals @cantfightfatetoo

#nat2k #no pressure to sb if you don't want to

202 notes · View notes

swinging-stars-from-satellites · 2 years

Text

til the hospital or American embassy

Blood drips onto the paper and Scully tenses, her hand flying to her nose as she becomes acutely aware of the buzzing, throbbing pain behind her eyes.

"Oh, Scully..." Mulder's voice is painfully gentle, he's leaning over her shoulder to peer into her face and she wants to lean back, prop her shoulder against his side, but her heartrate has just picked up pace and that's not helping with the amount of blood pouring from her nose and she thinks her hands might start shaking if he touches her or if she dares to touch him. He'd briefly tucked her under his arm earlier to show her the words scratched in floor wax, she is me, and it had been too close for comfort.

"Yeah, it's- it's okay," she says quickly, swiping under her nose but unable to stop the terrible, terrifying flow of blood.

Mulder watches her with soft eyes, that look she knows is begging her to let him care for her. "You sure?" He asks, and she can feel how close he is to touching her, and she can feel herself panicking, and she can feel blood running the wrong way down the back of her throat, and she looks away before he can see all that.

"Yeah," she replies. "I'm fine. Um, I just need to find a washroom." She fumbles a little bit, trying to keep her nose covered, like by hiding the blood she can hide the fact that she's dying so they won't have to deal with it, and moves to stand.

She knows she'd seen a restroom somewhere down the hall, and all she needs is enough time for the bleeding to stop and her galloping heartrate to slow and to compose herself somewhere Mulder can't see her falling apart at the reminder of her own mortality. He's standing too close, too much concern and devastation written in his gaze, and the gentleness makes her feel irrationally lightheaded.

Or, as it turns out, she's just generally lightheaded. The room spins as soon as she raises herself to her full height and the only thing that keeps her from hitting the floor full-force is Mulder. Scully feels herself stumble into him, his hands instinctively raising to her shoulders to steady her, then her knees buckle and she fully passes out. Her last thought as her vision goes spotty and dark is some fuzzy, incorporeal idea that if she's dying anyway, it would be nice for her last sensation to be Mulder's arms around her.

She blinks back to consciousness, albeit foggy and painful, much the same as she'd exited it: dizzy, with Mulder supporting her. Her legs are folded awkwardly beneath her and she's leaning sideways against his torso. She still tastes blood.

"Mulder?" She mumbles, feeling foolish and still, somehow, a little scared. He has one arm behind her back and the other loosely wrapped around her waist, holding a bloodied tissue in his hand.

"The bleeding stopped," he says shakily. "You were out for," he pauses. "Just a couple minutes. Scully-" he breathes her name and she feels the movement against her hair, and the way his arms tighten around her.

She shifts herself in his grip, not pulling away, just unfolding her legs so she can stop thinking about the way her foot is tingling as it falls asleep. Her head rests comfortably now in the crook of Mulder's neck. "Tell me you didn't call an ambulance," she says quietly. She can't stomach the idea of taking that ride, or maybe that's the cancer-borne migraine making her nauseous — sometimes she can't tell, these days.

"No," Mulder says. "I didn't call an ambulance. But I'm still taking you to the hospital," he adds quietly. He's scared. She's scared, too. She can't even argue at this point.

"Okay," she whispers. "But," she starts to try and untangle herself from him, "Let me..." she gestures at her face, indicating the drying blood on her upper lip. Mulder nods, then helps her up. He doesn't let go of her arms until she stops swaying on her feet, and even then, he keeps a warm hand on her back and guides her to the washroom she'd planned to escape to before.

"Has this happened before?" He asks from the doorway as Scully leans over the bathroom sink and scrubs at her face with a small wad of wet paper towels.

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye and regrets the action when it causes a spike of pain. "Passing out like that? No," she answers honestly — as long as they don't count the time she'd gotten so dizzy she had to sit down on her kitchen floor while doing dishes, or the near-debilitating migraine that had taken her by surprise in its intensity when it hit her last Saturday, she's telling the truth. She hasn't collapsed like this before; the fact that it's just happened is chilling.

She looks in the mirror again to check her face — she's smudged some of her makeup, but that's the least of her worries anymore — and chokes on a cry of shock. The words SHE IS ME, bold in the same color red she's just washed off herself, goad her from the glass of the mirror, and when she averts her gaze, she thinks she's going to pass out again.

There is no way to describe it but as a ghost, a spectre of life lost, or about to be lost, and a harbinger of her own doom. The bloodied young woman stares back at her and Scully stops breathing for a moment, her mind reaching out in a desperate plea: please, I don't want to die, God- before Mulder is in her field of vision again, leaning down and frantically asking what's wrong.

"Didn't you-" No, of course he wouldn't have, he's not the one dying. "It was one of the..." The only word she can come up with is elegy, some kind of sad, funerial poetry in the appearance of a dead woman to a dead woman walking. "What the bowling alley owner saw," she manages, and watches as understanding breaks across Mulder's face.

He's looking at her now with more desperation, his mouth formed into the shape of the word no, and he reaches up and just for a moment brushes his fingers against her cheek. "Oh, God," he breathes. If Scully didn't know him so well, she might think it was a prayer.

Scully does not believe in ghosts, she barely believes in premonitions of any sort. But she can't shake the feeling, now, and as she shuffles quietly and shakily to the car and sits in the passenger seat, that the death sentence she was given months ago has just been confirmed. Mulder believes that there's a way to save her, cure the cancer that's threading through her sinuses before it takes all of her. Much as she tries not to hold too tightly to that hope, much as she tries instead to hold onto realism, a part of Scully has believed it too. Maybe what she should be holding onto instead is Mulder.

If his theory is sound, if she concedes that these visions, hallucinations are truly warnings of death to come, she has to question: how long does she have? Will she appear to someone else and carry on the chain? She doesn't believe in these things, but in a way she thinks that when she dies, she'll haunt Mulder. She would rather believe that the visions, including what she'd just seen in the restroom, are the power of suggestion and of fear; she had seen what she had because she had been thinking about it, about the case and death and blood. There doesn't need to be anything paranormal about it; she isn't going to die yet.

She sits with her hands folded in her lap until they arrive at the hospital, and then she sits with her hands folded in her lap as she waits for the doctor to see her. She'd said yes, impulsively, when the nurse asked if Mulder was her significant other. He wore a look of shock after that, but went along with it; he wants to be with her as much as she wants him to be and this is the simplest way to make that happen. The case they're on has to do with ghosts — Scully can feel the ghost of where he had been holding her, and she wishes against her own will that she'd let him do it sooner.

The doctor draws her blood, a much more familiar, comforting version of the red she's been seeing so much lately, and when she returns to the room, Scully stops breathing for a moment. There's a look on the woman's face that she knows all too well — she's worn it, herself, plenty of times; it's the look of someone about to deliver bad news. Scully lifts her chin, like that little motion can give her more strength. The word metastasis hits like a blow. Her hands are still folded in her lap and her knuckles are white.

She's reaching for Mulder before she knows it, and he reaches back and she realizes now how cold her hands are compared to his. She's shaking; she can feel him shaking, too. There is no coming back from this, she thinks: she's dying, inevitably, yes — but also, she can't try anymore to hide it, can't keep Mulder at a distance any longer. She's terrified, and so is he, and maybe the only way to survive it leading up to her death is together.

"I'm not backing off this case," she says, in the passenger seat of his car again. "I want to finish this." This: the case, her life, as much work in it as she can before the end. She needs that purpose, that structure. She's not going to sit at home and rot at the first sounding of the words palliative care.

Mulder looks over at her. "Okay." He seems to understand, and Scully is grateful for that. "Scully?"

"Yes?"

He takes a breath. "You told them-" he breaks off, casting her a glance with a pained question carried in it. She told them that they were a couple.

Scully ducks her still-throbbing head. She has pain medication, the strong stuff, in her cabinet at home; maybe it's time to start packing it when they go out on cases. She starts to say, I wanted you with me, but all that comes out is, "I want-" and she can't finish it.

She wants. Wants the feeling of his arms around her. Wants the security she feels when she can hear his heart beating and feel the rise and fall of his breathing as a counterpoint to her own. Wants whatever they have between them; maybe the not-so-small lie of calling him something more to her carries more weight than she intended. She wants more time. She wants Mulder close.

When she'd been at the hospital in Pennsylvania, after Penny Northern died, the safest she felt before — or, if she's honest, since — was standing in that hallway with Mulder holding her. She'd almost expected him to kiss her, then, after his lips left her forehead, but he didn't. She wonders if they aren't both equally afraid.

Mulder doesn't press her to finish the sentence. He only reaches across to her, offering his hand, and Scully takes it in both of hers. It creates a somewhat awkward position for her, sitting diagonally across the seat so she can grip his hand that way, but she can't bring herself to mind. She twists their fingers together, absently rubbing at his palm with one thumb, and she doesn't even realize at first that she is more relaxed than she's been in a very long time.

Mulder walks her up when they finally reach her apartment complex. He stands, awkwardly, just outside her door, and doesn't seem able to take his eyes off her. Scully puts one hand on the doorframe and looks up at him expectantly. She half wants him to try and kiss her, half wants to do it herself in a moment of wild impulse born of grief; the other half knows that it would make the impact of her death so much worse. She doesn't want to destroy him.

"Are you-" Mulder clenches his jaw and looks away.

"I'm fine, Mulder," Scully says out of habit. It's not true, obviously, both because of what the doctor has just told them and by virtue of the migraine she's still trying to ignore. She sighs, steps closer, touches his arm to make him look at her again. Her pulse quickens again, this time more with nervousness than terror.

This is foreign to her, a new kind of openness that she doesn't have enough time to really learn. She just thinks of Mulder catching her when she collapsed, holding her and wiping blood from her face and whispering so she wouldn't hear his voice shaking. She thinks she'll have nightmares tonight, of blood on a mirror and a life lost too early. She doesn't want to be alone anymore.

"Please," she says. "Please stay."

#i stuck this in my drafts and then went and rewatched elegy just to factcheck myself ajdmfndksms #idk i just noticed in that gifset that her expression reads as vaguely stunned/dizzy and like. this happened #also as a hypochondriac i have DEFINITELY had a moment or two of panicked ''God i don't wanna die please''#so like... yeah #she's just a mess and terrified and so is mulder but at least it's a little better if they can be messes together #Lu rambles #Lu writes #txf #the x files #txf s4 #cancer arc my beloved #msr #mulder and scully #mulder x scully #msr fanfic #todayinfic #userscully #bc you also have been on a cancer arc kick lately! much inspiration coming from all corners #this got progressively more self-indulgent as i went and now I'm going to bed

53 notes · View notes

bleulone · 3 years

Note

i love your analysis so much! i have a question as well, like, how do you envision polin's sex scenes ? thanks for your answer (:

Hey! Thank you very much :)) I have no idea if they are that even good but I’m happy you like them. It’s just my brain tending to produce some iNsIGhiTfUL analyses though they usually end up drowned under a huge wave of stupidity and horrid spelling/grammatical mistakes XD. So, about Penelope and Colin’ sex scenes, I guess we’re getting spicy in this house 🌶. I mean, I don’t blame you. Who’s not hot for Polin ?! The steamy Polin hours have already begun and they’re legit challenging my patience. (Be still my Polin heart, be still).

Okay, without further ado, let’s talk about sex baby, shall we ? It’s a pretty long answer/meta so bear with me.

I don’t know if you’ve read Romancing Mister Bridgerton, but a quick reminder (for those who haven’t... yet), there are a bunch of iconic steamy scenes that I’m dying to watch on screen. First we have the famous “thank you” scene where Penelope, now a 28 year-old spinster, asks Colin to kiss her because she doesn’t want to die without having been kissed... then ends up thanking him— which happens to be humiliating for our 33 year-old boy because he thinks that she thinks he did it out of pity while he absolutely did not. The man definitely felt butterflies in his stomach... and in other places as well lol. We also have the ICONIC carriage scene where Colin gives Pen’s generous bosoms™ the attention they deserve. This is followed by his proposal. Later on, after the announcement of their engagement, there’s a pretty hot make-out scene on Lady Violet’s sofa. Finally, we have their first time in Colin’s bedroom, after sneaking out of their own engagement party... which leads Colin to push the wedding date forward. At this point, I just love their horniness, especially Colin’s who’s just so freaking amazed by Penelope for more than 300 pages straight (duh! who isn’t ???).

When you say envision, I suppose you mainly refer to the way those scenes will be filmed right ? I’m afraid I don’t have an advanced knowledge in film-making but let me start by telling you what elements need to be depicted. I would love Shonda and Chris to capture the real essence of our boos’ feelings : the yearning, the love, the respect and the guilt (specifically on Colin’s side) in their eyes. The more we move forward throughout the seasons, the more we see different layers of the perceptions of they have of each other, going from a childish idealization/immature ignorance to a sudden realization. A mature one. Penelope goes beyond the facade of the charming devil-may-care guy to meet the seriousness and temper of her significant other. Meanwhile Colin discovers how confident, powerful and attractive this woman is and always has been. It echoes what I’ve written about the importance of the gaze in Polin’s love story in this meta. By the time season 4 hits, man... their heart eyes and eye-fucking will jump OUT XD, all fibers of their beings, burning with need. The fact that this evolution took literally years is very emotionally painful, which is why I find it important to keep the slowness aspect of their relationship before and during their love making. I’m really looking forward a slow build-up toward their intimacy. It would differ from Daphne and Simon who merely shared one hell of a kiss in Lady Trowbridge’s garden then shared their sexy times after they married or Anthony and Siena’s rough sex... In fact, there’s a certain (sweet) ardent tenderness in Polin I like due to the fact that they’re slowly (re)discovering each other, as adults. Since they were both introduced in season 1, the audience will have all the time in the world to notice numerous evidences of the many natures of love they have for one another : from an affectionate and friendly love to a more carnal and enduring one.

Okay so, in terms of filming, with Netflix’s Bridgerton being a show which promotes the female gaze, it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise watching those sex scenes being shot from Penelope’s perspective, like it was the case with Daphne in the first installment of the series. Most of the time, sex scenes in Historical Romance are not gratuitous. Their presence serve an important purpose in a hero/heroine’s journey. In Penelope’s case, they’re here to help her learn to embrace and love herself. In other words, sexuality is synonym of freedom. I don’t know if they’ll show a lot of skin, but I won’t be complaining considering the fact that we’ll have the chance to get a chief kiss treat on screen : a plus size woman in a major successful Netflix period drama getting a love story as romantic and steamy as other more “fit” female characters. No, your weight doesn’t prevent you from being desirable at all. As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t watched a plus-size female character portrayed as an attractive protagonist in a period drama (please if you have, let me know, I can be wrong). Having a beautiful half bare curvy body like Nicola’s being equally filmed like numerous slim actresses will be so inspiring and powerful to watch, especially for (young) women who struggle, like Penelope, to love their body shape which, to them, doesn’t “fit” the “beauty standards”. By showing her female gaze and portraying her as seductive, Pen’s “supposed” imperfections transform themselves into mighty assets, loved and worshipped by our dashing Mister Bridgerton. That’s body positivity at its finest darling ;).

It will be deliciously erotic watching the undressing process being exquisitely slow, garment by garment, while their gaze are all heated and hungry. Their sex/make-out scenes should be tender and passionate, sweet and raw. The lightning, colored by a dark blood orange yellow or a blue depending the locations^^. Moreover, the depiction of the exploration of Penelope’s desire can translate itself thanks to multiple close ups. For instance, I can imagine a few ones on Pen’s fingers gently roaming over the smooth skin of Colin’s firm chest and back/touching his hair right after he removed his shirt. And a disheveled Colin letting his hands and lips making a journey of their own, mapping, conquering the alluring unknown territory that is her gorgeous voluptuous body... kissing her on the places he knows oh too well will give her pleasure (is this me wanting him to go down on her?— um yeah I sure hope it IS! If he doesn’t, trust me imma riot... AGAIN). Even a close up on her face while Colin is performing his addictively pleasing torment will be a marvelous proof of the female gaze. By the way, why not even adding a post-coital scene after their first time ? I can picture Penelope waking up first and contemplate her handsome soon-to-be husband. She’d bring her hand to his face and let it travel all around his forehead, his cheeks, his lips, his neck and let it rest on his heart— making sure that what she’s just experience was real... obviously, Colin will wake up in the process and he’ll take this as his cue to go for another round of sexy times under the sheets.

Showing Pen reaction is essential according to me because she was stuck with the idea that she would never experience the luxury of being loved, giving pleasure nor receiving it... she ended up being happily wrong. Throughout her multiple intimate encounters with Colin, I want her to progressively realizes that she can be an active partner. In the carriage, she knew she had an effect on him, but it’s not until their first time that she actually realizes it. Hence the reason why I WANT the mirror’s introduction in one of their sex scenes. Here’s as a little reminder an excerpt from chapter 18 :

“I want to see you sitting up," he groaned, "so I can see them full and lovely and large [about Pen’s breasts]. And then I want to crawl behind you and cup you." His lips found her ear and his voice dropped to a whisper. "And I want to do it in front of a mirror."

“Now?” she squeaked.

He seemed to consider that for a moment, then shook his head. "Later," he said, and then repeated it in a rather resolute tone. "Later.”

It would be such a shame if the show doesn’t use the incredible potential of this object (/kink). I mean, the symbolism is pretty clear. Penelope has always fled her “ugly” reflection but it seems like Colin wants to show the real her, the beauty that holds every single inch her alabaster skin and the effects they have on him. Thus, I would love to watch a scene where Colin just praises the alluring goddess and siren that is Penelope Featherington. Just imagine! Just IMAGINE the power of this scene : a shirtless Colin sitting behind her on a bed, meeting her gaze in the mirror, his lips touching her right ear, biting and licking the lobe sometimes, whispering all kinda of dirty yet poetic words to her while letting his hands caress her thighs, her hips, her arms, her lovely bosoms™... oof. At the same time, a wonderful and harmonic instrumental music will play in the background and match the melodic partition of shudders, breathes and moans let out by our lovers. I can imagine Luke inspiring himself from his performance in the 2019 short film, Youth In Bed. The way he conveyed the awe and the yearning on his face, in his eyes with his mouth slightly open when he knelt before his partner Shun Yin was just captivating and— and so Colin! I cannot help but bring myself to picture Ethan, the character he played in YIB, in a Polin steamy scene. I cannot unsee this anymore jsksk. I mean, all this gifset radiates this book4chapter18!Colin, you cannot tell me otherwise!

Also, I would love Shonda and Chris to keep Pen and Colin’s cute/emotional pillow talk. One thing I really love in JQ’s books is the concern she gives to her male protagonists about potentially hurting their partner during the act of penetration. Colin is a rake, and what his experience with women taught him is that he needs to be very gentle with the love of his life. It was so adorable seeing him not wanting to harm her and asking her to tell him if he does anything she doesn’t like 🥺. Plus, before actually doing it, Colin and Penelope shared a few kisses and just laid down side by side, confessing their love. Though our boy kept feeling guilty about not returning her love after all these years. He desires nothing but to make up for the lost time and show his love and desire during this special intimate moment. I hope they’ll keep all of chapter 18’s dialogue. It’s just so telling of our boos’ feelings, you see.

All in all, I can’t wait to watch those Polin steamy scenes. As much as I may sound crazy, I want them after two other seasons of pure pining and yearning in order to have a very good payoff. I’m not an expert on depicting intimacy on screen, but I loved so far what Lizzy Talbot, the intimacy coordinator who worked on the show, have done in season 1. Sex scenes in Bridgerton seem very real and dive you in the intimacy of the moment, leaving you all flustered and hot. So probs to her! I have faith in her work and have no doubts about what her and the directors will serve us in future seasons. Though, in the end, I think it’s mostly up to the actors, Nicola and Luke, to see if they’re comfortable filming sex scenes.

If you guys have any suggestions or wishes for those steamy polin scenes, please do share them :) by commenting on this post or by sending me asks! I’d love reading your thoughts/take on this very important matter ;))

#bleulone answers #meta and gush #polin #colin x penelope #bridgerton #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington #polin meta #ask #anon #luke newton #julia quinn #nicola coughlan

122 notes · View notes