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scary-monsters · 7 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @crown-of-winterthorne, thank you friend!!! 🧡🧡🫶🏻

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 33 total! i've got 8 for jjba, 25 for haikyuu

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 473,497 🤯🤯🤯

3. What fandoms do you write for? currently only jjba, i don't anticipate anything else for a long time since my major interests tend to last for years

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? unsurprisingly they're all ushiten 😭 i won't link them but: "i'm a house with no windows" (200k friends-to-lovers), "shuffle" (fake dating/only one bed tropes), "fascinating facts about geckos" (high school teachers au), "on display" (nsfw oneshot), and "morning routine" (my very first fic ever posted :')) aw)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? i try to!!!! sometimes i get really behind (like i am right now ugh) and that's either because i'm busy or i can't properly put my gratitude into words 😔 but i think i get to most of them eventually. i don't really reply to the ushiten ones anymore, but they still mean a lot to me.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? i.. don't think i have any?? i love writing angst but i really cannot handle sad endings.. i'm a sappy little romance-obsessed fool, i fear i'm incapable of anything but sweet and fulfilling endings

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? i mean it's gotta be "i'm a house with no windows".... they literally grew up together and got married and then visited their hometown as middle-aged men.. i don't know if i can out-do that. but if we're talking jjba then probably my most recent diego fic, "ritz to the rubble"

8. Do you get hate on fics? i have before LMAO, nothing too horrible but honestly i just shrug it off. i like my writing and i know lots of other people do too so i can't be bothered

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? ummmmmm yes.. i write a lot of it HFDSKLHGKLS.. i won't detail that here bc this isn't a nsfw blog but my ao3 speaks for itself.

10. Do you write crossovers? nope! the idea hasn't ever even crossed my mind

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? i feel like.. i remember someone telling me that one of my ushiten fics was on wattpad at one point but i never saw it myself and that was years ago so ??? MAYBE?? i truly don't know

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? i couldn't find evidence of it but i remember someone requesting to translate a fic of mine to chinese?? and i had no problem with it but AGAIN LOL these things happened in like 2016 or 2017 so it's been a hot minute and my memory is garbage

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? not really, i attempted to collab with a couple friends in the past but it really didn't work out very well.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? diego and me (im kidding. kind of.), i mean currently it's dinopants and dinoballs. i love diejoni as well but the other two reeeeaaally hit that sweet spot for me. i like ushiten in a way that's like... aww.. those were my boys and now they're grown up and moved out ?? they are cute but they aren't My Guys anymore

15. What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? UGH I HAD a dinopants university au that i started over a year ago but i ended up using one of the previously written scenes for my recent fic so i doubt i'd ever finish the original one. for the most part i finish what i start, though.

16. What are your writing strengths? DIALOGUE !!! at least to me, anyway. i think i'm really good at getting into a character's head and analyzing them and how they'd handle social situations, which is funny bc i have trash social skills. i fucking love character analysis in general

17. What are your writing weaknesses? i think i tend to overuse words sometimes... maybe lean too heavily into dialogue.. i'm always always always trying to get better, so in a way i think i look at everything as a weakness that i'm constantly working to improve

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? i've tossed in little fragments of Italian when i write gyro but other than that i don't think i'd personally do it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? realistically? naruto 💀 my original old-ass clunky desktop had several word docs of deidara fic, i'm like 99% sure. too bad limewire and heaps of viruses killed the damn thing

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? atm i think it's gotta be extra hot, well stirred, light foam :')) i was so iffy about it while writing but i think it's such a perfect balance of funny and sexy and i'm quite proud of it. it would make sense to say a fic from a while ago but i don't like my writing from back then.. i just think i've gotten so so so much better

IM TAGGINGGG @reclusiverisottonero @swallowed-teeth @hammerofspace @penny-lane-123 @phvntom-limbs but no pressure, lovingly patting y'all on the head regardless 🧡

#EEEEE i love tag games 🧡 and i love my writer friends and i wanna see their answers

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thursdayinspace · 1 month

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twenty questions for fanfic writers

I was tagged by the amazing @oohnotvery, thank you!! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

10, but I orphaned my old account several years ago when I left fandom for a bit. I don't know how many I had back then, over 100 for sure.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

37.724

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The X-Files. There's most likely going to be some Star Trek in there eventually, and I ventured into other realms in the past, but right now, exclusively The X-Files.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

under construction (Torchwood)

wild side (The X-Files)

in conclusion (The X-Files)

the ghost circle (Torchwood)

the physics of being alive (Torchwood)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes. If I ever forget, I'm sorry! I love every comment and it's important to me to say thank you.

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

held safely in the dark (Torchwood). It's not even all that angsty by that fandom's standards, I suppose.

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

Good question. I rarely ever write unhappy endings. Fanfic is my happy place. But I think the one I most enjoyed writing because there was NO angst at all was in conclusion (The X-Files).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Ohhhh my god one time in a different fandom on my old AO3, somebody left a scathing, vitriolic comment on one of my fics, but obviously meant to do it anonymously -- only they forgot to log out first. By the time I read it they had deleted their entire account. That made the whole thing actually funny in context.

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

Yes, I do. What kind? Hmm. Mostly pretty plain and boring. It's all about the feeeeeelings.

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

I used to. Back in the good old livejournal days I loved a good crossover. I wrote a Stargate Atlantis/Firefly crossover once, that might have been the craziest.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I'm...not sure? I think so? But that would have been like 15 years ago, I'm not sure anymore whether that actually happened or not.

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

Yes!! And it's so much fun. I've had a few co-writers over the years. Once life is less crazy, I might be tempted to give it another shot.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Mulder and Scully. There's a reason my tag for them is "the ship of all time."

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

None, currently. ...I'm. Hold on. That can't be true. But I truly can't think of a single one. I can't remember the last time that happened. This doesn't happen. But no, not one.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue. Because it's fun, and through years and years of practice. One of my first betas drilled "show, don't tell" into my head to the point where I feel it's permanently tattooed onto the backs of my eyelids and I see it every time I blink when I'm writing. And in my very specific case, that meant learning to make people use their words. BUT it has helped me getting rid of unnecessary exposition, which at the same time made me get a lot of practice with dialogue instead. (Let's ignore the fact that I literally just posted a fic that has almost no dialogue at all...)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action. I can't do it, I'm sorry. Whose hand goes where when? Does this guy need three arms to do what I just told him to? Wait, you were just over there, how did you get here suddenly? Anyone who can write action scenes has powerful magic and I envy you and please teach me.

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

I'm bilingual, so I could do that, I suppose? The need for it has never come up. Sounds fun though.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stargate Atlantis!! I still miss that fandom. Ahh the livejournal nostalgia is strong tonight...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

It's usually always the last one I posted, but I'm gonna say in conclusion. I'm very fond of that one.

Tagging...I don't know who has done this and who hasn't! @mr-iskender if you want to?

#this was fun!

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boltlightning · 1 month

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20 questions for fic writers

tagged by the wonderful @starsuncounted; thank you muchly <3

1. how many total works do you have on ao3? 54!

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 362,814. oy vey

3. what fandoms do you write for? these days, potc and final fantasy and assassin's creed now and then, though i generally write for whatever grabs my attention. remember when i wrote a fallout fic? wild

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos? oh dear. let’s see:

a house, a hearth, a (s)holmes — the great ace attorney, 6k. a collection of missing scenes about iris watson and her silly little family.

good company — fullmetal alchemist, 9k. pre-canon, roy mustang recruits people for his team. (i wrote this when i was 19 and there's still a lot i like about it, but boy is it humbling to reread.)

benchfellows — final fantasy vii remake, >1k. a drabble about cloud and aerith fighting in the wall market colosseum.

heart & home — fullmetal alchemist, 5k. roy and riza visits roy's home both pre-ishval and post-canon.

sun hits the water — potc, 8k. james and elizabeth get married after the fact, and fall in love some. at the time of writing this post it's got these beautiful round numbers i am SO pleased

5. do you respond to comments? almost certainly. sometimes i won't on really old pieces or comments that don't really necessitate a reply, but i do my best :—)

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? i trend more bittersweet than angsty; o sleeper (ff7, cloud/aerith) is one of the only ones i'd classify as TRULY angsty, everything else ends much higher.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? showing their versatility: slowly (ff7, also cloud/aerith) ends a little bittersweetly but the climax of this fic remains the sappiest, gushiest thing i've ever written

8. do you get hate on fics? i don't think i've gotten hate since the ff.net days and i'm grateful for it

9. do you write smut? a little, but nothing wild or worth posting. otherwise we're always fading to black or describing sex vaguely babey

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written? it's not my forte, per se, but the potc/temeraire universe is over 50k words and still will not let me go, so you could say i've dabbled.

11. have you had a fic stolen? / 12. have you had a fic translated? / 13. have you ever co-written a fic? no to all the above 🤪 (or...at least i hope, in the case of 11)

14. what's your all-time favorite ship? 8-year-old me was really onto something when she latched onto cloud/aerith with passion unrivaled to be honest. there is no use denying it

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i have been working on a written version of the trespasser DLC for one of my dragon age characters for like.............three years now and it will never evolved past the five scenes i have scribbled down i'm afraid. the quarantine brainrot was real but it did not last

16. what are your writing strengths? i like to fancy myself good at description! and i'm very particular about flow and tone. there's nothing i won't do to maintain tone, even if it hurts to cut segments that don't fit

17. what are your writing weaknesses? alas, describing shit well means that i am terrible at stepping back and letting a scene breathe. i feel the need to explain stuff that doesn't need it, to my own detriment. and lately i just Cannot thread the needle with any transitions between scenes. someone come cure my yips it's extremely annoying balking at this

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? it CAN work but the only time i'm ever using it is if 1) i know someone who speaks the language, so i'm not making an ass of myself, or 2) it adds to the confusion of a scene in a meaningful way. rarely does it come up and rarely do i employ it

19. first fandom you wrote for? i'm sure it was kingdom hearts. the more things change, etc.

20. favorite fic you've written? the aforementioned potc/temeraire crossover aside...i could play coy here, but you KNOW it's steadfast & dependable (6k, potc, norribeth. but. it's complicated). she is my beautiful girlfriend and the concept continues to compel me on rereads

tagging @johnbly @thesumdancekid @graysongraysoff @antique-romantic if you're feelin it??? and also 🫵 you, the girl reading this

#thank you bud!!! i love this one <3 #tag game #i want it to be clear i wrote benchfellows in like 30 minutes at 2am and posted it on a whim without editing #that is still like. THE most exponential and baffling response i've ever received on a fic. truly right place/right time type shit

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quelsentiment · 4 months

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🌳 2023 writing year in review 🌳

Thanks @feeisamarshmallow for tagging me!!

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 10

2. Word count posted for the year: 172,831

3. Fandoms I wrote for: Video blogging RPF (Dream Team) and One Direction

4. Pairings:

dteam: every combination of dnn (both romantically and platonically) but with a preference for snf; dream & callahan

1d: zayn/louis

5. Story with the most:

Kudos: Wild Card (641)

Bookmarks: Wild Card (345)

Comment threads: Wild Card (77)

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why):

It's probably a tie between Wild Card and In Bloom. The first one because I managed to go past my insecurities and write whatever the hell I wanted to write even if it meant that the characters weren't always likeable, and the second one because I think it contains some of my favourite writing, especially in the first chapter, and I think it's one of my most memorable and personal stories

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

Maybe my Zouis fic because it's a band AU and I would have wanted it to be longer and more intricate, but at that point I had lost most of my interest in the fandom so I just did what I could then called it a day :/ I don't really know if I'll ever write for 1d again, although Zayn will always be close to my heart and I suspect I might still get a Zouis brainrot at some point, so who knows

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

I was so lucky to get a lot of lovely comments this year, and have people connect with my stories even though I'm new to the dteam fandom. Some of them were really meaningful and honestly made my day. On the lighter side of things, one of my favourite things that happened was someone bookmarking my fic In Bloom with the note 'trees', and also people losing their shit in the comments after I posted chapter 5 of Wild Card

9. A time when writing was really, really hard:

... over the past few weeks. tbh I haven't even tried writing because I've been too busy dealing with chronic illness and anxiety + the holidays. Hoping that it gets better progressively and I'm able to get back to it.

Otherwise I wrote pretty consistently and productively throughout 2023, with a break in August when I spent time with family.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

In general, writing Wild Card was a kind of epiphany because it was my first time writing from Sapnap's POV and it made me realize how fun it was for me. I guess he's really impulsive and proud while also being loving and kind of shy, and I just love that combination.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

From In Bloom:

“But you loved him?”

George turns to look at him but Sapnap is still staring at the view, acting like he didn’t just ask that incredibly personal question. George guesses they’re past that anyway. There’s something about today that just doesn’t make sense, like their meeting is an anomaly that shouldn’t have even happened, and this is probably what makes it easier to share some things that George usually keeps close to his chest. That, plus the fact that Sapnap will disappear tomorrow along with the last remnants of winter.

“I did love him,” George says quietly as he sits down on the floor, soon followed by Sapnap. “I loved him the way someone loves their first boyfriend or girlfriend, you know? Thinking it’ll last forever and all that, even when all signs pointed to the fact that it wouldn’t. But he made me feel grown-up, like I had my life together or something, which is pretty dumb because we were only nineteen when we got together. It’s weird, though, because I feel much more like a kid now than I did back then.”

He lights up another cigarette and offers Sapnap the first puff, a cheap excuse to feel the cold tip of his fingers again.

“So from what I’m understanding, you’re regressing,” Sapnap says. The smoke surrounds him like a halo before the wind makes it fade into the city below.

“Yeah, exactly. God, I need a job or something. Like, an actual job. Maybe then I’ll feel like an adult.”

He extends his hand, wanting the cigarette back, but Sapnap holds onto it. Maybe he is addicted already.

“But what about trees, though?” Sapnap says, taking another puff. “You can’t give up on trees.”

“No, you’re right, I can’t,” George sighs dramatically. “That’s the tragedy.”

Sapnap finally gives him the cig back and they fall into silence for a while, just enjoying the distant rumbling of the streets below, and the quiet sound of their breathing.

For the first time since they locked eyes in Kensington Gardens, Sapnap suddenly removes his cap so he can run a hand through his hair. The hat is back on before George can even process it, and he curses himself for not having been able to take a mental photograph of how Sapnap looked without that shield of his.

He offers the cigarette again. This time, Sapnap’s fingers linger on his for half a second longer.

“I’ve been in love for a long time, and it’s never made me feel like I was an adult,” Sapnap says, breaking the silence. “More like the opposite, actually. Sometimes I feel like a little kid who won’t take no for an answer, who clings on to the idea that maybe if I ask in the right way just once, he’ll change his mind.”

12. How did you grow as a writer this year:

I think one of my goals last year was to explore darker themes, and I think I kind of did that by having morally grey characters who sometimes act like assholes and act in questionable ways, particularly in Wild Card, Light The Fuse, Fade Away and an anon fic. Also I'm still on my way to getting more and more comfortable with writing (semi-)explicit scenes, and it's been fun to work on that again this year.

13. How do you hope to grow next year:

I don't really know. Things have been pretty hard lately so all I want is to be able to go back to writing and have fun with it.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

In terms of other writers, definitely Selvish (I'm too awkward to tag him lol). I think we kind of have similar writing styles which is very comforting for me, and I just love how much thought he puts into the characters and their actions, and writes about stuff that's quite unique in the fandom, without shying away from darker themes

Other sources of inspiration were nature, especially trees, music as always (a lot of Susanne Sundfør and Paramore), films (Before Sunrise, Past Lives, That Summer Feeling) and tv (BBC Merlin and Bridgerton), plus probably other stuff that I'm forgetting about

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

Yes!! As I said In Bloom is very personal, and a lot of the thoughts George has regarding his degree and his uncertainty about where his life is going were directly inspired by what I felt (also the fact that he goes on exchange in America). On top of that, some of the chapters of this fic are named after some of my favourite trees I encountered in the Pacific Northwest, and the first sentence about walking home from the library came to me as I walked home from the library

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

Something that I already knew but was definitely reinforced this year was that it's impossible and useless to try and predict how 'popular' your fic is going to be in terms of stats. Like Wild Card kind of blew up (in my standards lol) and I genuinely didn't expect it to because I thought that pairing was pretty unpopular. And then I thought a fic like Fade Away would get much more engagement because of the exes to lovers trope, but it didn't happen. So in the end, even though stats didn't influence me that much to begin with, now I'm just like 'whatever, I'll write what I'll write and see what happens'

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

I have one snf wip that I'm hoping to get back to soon. Otherwise we'll see where the year takes me

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

If you see this and want to do it please do!

#tag #overall a very good writing year for me - definitely better than 2022 so that's a win

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captainskyson · 4 months

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Fic Writer

Wanted to do ficwip's year in review questions for my own sort of journaling :-) I answered a couple of these over on Twitter/X, but wanted to track for myself all 30 questions. So, I've put my answers below a cut to keep everyone's feed a little more tidy:

1. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again? Explored writing a true narcissist and not redeeming him or the relationship with the main character by the end of the fic. I would do it again - and in fact am, though this 2nd one may never be public. It was/is very cathartic though.

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!) I'm only counting what was published in 2023, because I've dabbled on probably 50 others. I added 6 or so chapters (~90.000 words) to my longfic (Guesstimation judging from emails...I should start keeping better stats of that process, maybe), of which I only include the word count because there were only 4 other fics, 1 drabble, & 1 drabble set. For me, that's a big drop as far as amount of completely separate fics, compared to past years.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer? Alongside question #2 - When I can't post as often on my longfic, I put more time into posting longer chapters. Too long. And I need to stop that. (One of my biggest chapters last year was over 25.000 words. I'm so sorry to my readers, especially those using phones.😶‍🌫️)

4. What piece of media inspired you the most? Music in general. Also notable Buffy's perpetually wandering eyes, and Giles' ruggedly handsome face and his hearteyes.

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year? Mostly Buffy, and I've only posted Buffy (and one Ted Lasso fic), but I did feel nostalgic at times and opened up a few of my old Daisy x Mace Agents of SHIELD fics and dabbled a little bit.

6. What ship(s) captured your heart? Nothing new, but Buffy/Giles always. ❤️

7. What character(s) captured your heart? I was never a Dawn-hater, more indifferent really, but watching her scenes with a more thoughtful eye and writing her has caused her to grow on me quite a bit.

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year? Yes, my fic mentioned in #1 was Rupert/Rebecca from Ted Lasso. Definitely a new type of fic for me in nearly every way, especially considering it's a "ship" I don't "ship" canonically at all.

9. What fic meant the most to you to write? Our Souls, They Blend. A hurt/comfort fic brainstormed with one of my best mates the last time I was in England, and I finally finished it satisfied for posting this year.

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? Bad Idea; I've reached the point where I've diverted from canon timeline quite a bit, so it's always so satisfying when a canon quote or scene ends up weaving into my story really well.

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing? The Trouble With Wanting; it was a wip for a couple of years due to just one or two scenes that wouldn't quite find themselves, and the song itself was in my "inspiration playlist" for even longer prior to that.

12. What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it? Out of all my wip's I dabbled on, overall I'd pick Bad Idea. By the end of the year I started getting into my stride again, but it's been incredibly difficult working out the plot where I want it to go, and try to keep everything "logical" with as few holes as possible as I near the climax and end of the story.

13. What fic was the easiest to write? Wips: I'm surprised to say my Tabula Rasa rewrite (to be published soon 😉). I had a general idea but once I saw a specific image the fic just flowed. Published fics: my Kinktober drabble series, despite my normal struggle to keep anything short. I found myself able to knock out each drabble almost every morning before I even went into work.

14. What were your shortest and longest fics this year? Longest: additions to Bad Idea, previously mentioned. Shortest: a single drabble added into my "Laughter drabbles" series.

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023 The only 2023 one I haven't mentioned yet, a collab with another dear friend! A fluffy, funny, first-dates exploration that ended up including a lot of real life inspiration.

16. What were you go-to writing songs? Too many to list, but some notables: The Devil You Know by Kovacs, The Trouble With Wanting by Joy Williams, Dirty Little Secret by Alex Who?, Can't Pretend by Tom Odell, and pretty much everything Dermot Kennedy does.

17. What were your go-to writing snacks? Snacks? I usually forget to eat at all.

18. What was the hardest fic to title? The collab mentioned in #15 Third Time's the Charm, which wasn't really that difficult but it was one of the few that wasn't inspired by music. 😂 I often make it too easy on myself for titling when I've got song lyrics to pick and choose from.

19. Share your favorite opening line Out of what I've posted, Bad Idea Chapter 41 (Blood Ties, All the Way): “Have you noticed that every time we talk about moving past the honeymoon phase, we end up finding ourselves in situations like this?” Buffy commented, slightly breathless.

20. Share your favorite ending line “There won’t be another test.” Giles assured her firmly. [iykyk hahaha]

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue "Santa can bugger off and have the mince pie." [unashamedly stolen from a convo w/ my friend: thank you, dear, for that]

22. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene Classic American vs. Brit tea scene: “You don’t trust my tea-making skills!” Buffy exclaimed, even more indignant than he had been, and he gave her a look. “And what in our most recent history should make me assume otherwise?” “Don’t be snarky.” She huffed, and straightened. “I’ve been watching you make it for years. It’s not that complicated.” “Oh, God,” He mumbled in sure dismay, resting his arm across his eyes.

23. Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out? Not so much a single paragraph as it was an idea - how to create and then solve Buffy's problems in Bad Idea's version of "Life Serial", as the Trio and their dumb curses don't exist in the fic. Luckily (and humorously, to me anyway) an ol' song came on the radio and gave me inspiration... sometimes the simplest solution works. And in this case, it was parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.

24. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story? Buffy's third "time test" in the Life Serial chapter being another run through the Cruciamentum. I didn't originally plan that and it sort of just happened organically. It didn't change the end outcome of the chapter, but it did provide me a little moment to do an almost AU of my AU, which was interesting.

25. What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.) Paper & felt-tip pen for notetaking, Google Docs for my meatier fics, Apple Pages for the rest.

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? When I had Rebecca tell Rupert to his face: "I warned you that I was going to make you crawl."

27. Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? Started the next one.

28. How did you recharge between fics? I read fic, or I watch something completely non-Buffy related. (As it's most often only Buffy, these days.) Spend some time walking or kayaking. Go see a show. Something creatively filling, because I long ago learned the hard way about not being able to pour from an empty cup.

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank? Tony Head's parents. 😄 Really though, my two sisters. ("What have you been reading?!" 😉) The orchestra would play me off the stage before I finished talking about all the ways I'm grateful for them.

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024? I never ever thought the day would come, but I've actually got a couple of different ideas involving a little bit of that silly de-aged comic plot with Giles. (Both fix-its in their own ways, of course.) I've been having a lot of fun with both of them; one for the research, and the other for... the fun. Haha. x

#skyson answers #fanfiction #writing #2023 year in review #q and a #ask skyson

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bereft-of-frogs · 8 months

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hello friends, it is October 1, I am at my PEAK spooky bitch, in honor of this have a list of bad summaries of everything I'm working on for whumptober (and a reminder that I have been flaunting the 'rules' of whumptober for 5 years, not planning on changing now, won't start posting until Halloween 🎃)

Day 1 (safety net, swooning, 'how many fingers am I holding up'): unlikely hero deeply resents being forced to save everyone (status: outline only, eehh sort of lower on the priority list, probably won't get finished tbh)

Day 2 (delirium, 'they don't care about you'): dude just really fucking hates a teenager for no reason; bad vibes are infectious (status: I have 332 words, should be able to finish)

Day 3 (journal, solitary confinement): I once again attempt to make found footage happen ('stop trying to make found footage happen, it's not going to happen--') (it's going to happen) (status: I'm obsessed with this, it's at 1.2k, I think I can get this done)

Day 8 (overcrowded ER): ack crowds (status: 299 words, but it's an old draft so finishing will mean getting over the cringe factor)

Day 11 (animal trap, captivity): yet another character who was definitely supposed to be dead is in fact not and is going to make that everyone's problem (status: barely an outline, I've been kicking this one around for ages but I'm sort of torn on how deep to go into the disturbing content, so...we'll see. if anything it will probably be just the first chapter of a wip)

Day 12 (red, insomnia): second chapter to a currently posting WIP in which our characters play detective, make an ill-advised, true-crime-obsessed friend, and debate the nature of ghosts (status: first draft done! needs second, currently at 7.4k, posting this one on Halloween)

Day 13 (cold compress, infection, 'I don't feel so good'): first chapter of a future WIP (I'm embracing the serialized nature of fandom) in which there are concussions, dreams, and deeply held headcanons (status: 272 words...I think I can finish it? the outline is extensive)

Day 14 (flare, water inhalation): :) big water = bad (status: 434 words, but also there are more because I'm kidnapping a cut dream from the dark ocean duology. the dreams in that got a little out of hand, but some of the cut ones were really fun so I'm glad I found this one a home)

Day 15 (suppressed suffering): deeply unfair consequences (status: first draft done, 3.2k)

Day 19 (psychological): you can't convince me that consultants aren't evil geniuses (status: 2.5k, there is 0% chance of this being finished, because it's going to be long - this is the outline that I wrote at work last week that made my hand go numb - but using the prompt as a springboard to work on it. this took over my life for a couple days last week)

Day 21 (vows, restraints, 'don't move'): folk horror #1 (yes there are two) (status: vague outline only, unlikely to be finished)

Day 23 (shadows, stalking): literally my worst nightmare (status: so this is actually excerpts from my nanowrimo project, because I need a little push to get it started and not just re-outline it again. I have one scene written in a notebook, so we're starting to chip away at that barrier)

Day 25 (storm, buried alive): HAUNTED HOUSE!!! 👻💀👻💀 HARVEST FESTIVAL!!!!!!! 🍂🎃🍂🎃STORM!!!!!!!!! ⛈️🪦⛈️🪦YEAAAAAAAAHHHHH-- (status: 269 words, this one is a late addition idea but I'm moving it up in the priority because it is the spookiest, I'm obsessed)

Day 28 (bloody knife, sacrifice): folk horror #2. this one came to me in a dream. (status: there's an older draft that has like 2.7k in it but like Day 19, I want to be able to do it justice, so I doubt it will be finished, but it's a good springboard)

Day 29 (troubled past resurfacing): a little interaction I have absolutely no business writing (status: done, 1.1k, debating moving to Day 6 (recording))

Day 30 (bridal carry): literal. babies. (status: I have about a thousand words here but I don't...love them. I really want to finish it though. I did math for this. Sort of stretching the prompt on this one.)

Alt Prompt 10 (shaking): SADNESS. 🥲 (status: first draft done, currently at 2.4k, manifestation of my denial)

'hey, you said there were 15 ideas, why are there 17 here--' shutup

laying them all out like this is slightly stressful, especially because I've become a two-draft minimum person, but I have a plan. I think I'm going to focus on first drafts until the weekend of October 14-15, when I'm going up to dogsit for my parents, then after that shift priority to the second drafts of what I have finished. I think that's...doable...? we shall see!

#whumptober 2023 progress #wips

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stevethehairington · 2 years

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ALWAYS got questions for you 💞💞 (for the questions for fic writers game)

2, 4 (for if you have a minute), 10, 12, 17, 34, 45

(OH NO THERE ARE SO MANY OF THESE I WANT TO ASK YOU)

slkdgsd HI THANK YOU FOR THESE!!! 💞💞 SO sorry it took me so long to reply, i was not online very much this past weekend! BUT!

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?

1. fluff 2. first kiss 3. alternate universe - modern setting 4. love confessions 5. smut

i absolutely think these accurately represent my writing habits haha. i am alllllllll about writing those soft, sweet, tooth-rottingly fluffy moments so yeah that FITS that it's my number one tag. and i do feel like i write a LOT of first kiss/love confession fics so that also makes sense that it makes the top 5! the alternate universe - modern setting tag i know for certain comes from the fact that i wrote a TON of fics for stucky and i even though i did like writing pre-war stucky fics, my favorite thing to do was to play outside of canon more with them, so most of my fics ended up being like no serum/powers and set in current times, so that's why that tag was used so much. i will say that i am surprised that the smut tag makes the top 5 lol. i feel like i don't write that much smut?? but i guess maybe i do? granted, it's only listed as being used 11 times out of my 94 fics so yeah that really isn't a lot lol. but yeah! i guess tha's a thing!

4. What detail in if you have a minute are you really proud of?

ooh, okay. there were a few lines in particular in this fic that i really really loved and am really partial to, BUT i have to say that i am actually really proud of how i managed to make the screaming at the lake part not give off that like hide-your-face-in-your-hands second hand embarrassment kind of cringe vibe. (at least i don't think i did LOL). it would be very easy, in my opinion, to tip over into that second hand embarrassment kind of side of things with a scene like that, and i think i did a good job of like not going there, and making it more serious even if it is still a little goofy to be just shouting at a lake. i like to think that that scene ended up being very cathartic (it certainly felt that way to write!) so i'm pretty proud that i was able to put that down into words and elicit that feeling.

10. How do you decide what to write?

honestly, i don't really pick what to write — what i'm going to write picks me lol.

but it's usually just based on whatever ideas i have floating around my head when i'm wanting to write. the ideas can be inspired by a post i see, a song, someone's art, something that happens to me irl, another piece of media, something someone else says, a random thought i have, anything really.

if it's an idea i like, that i feel energetic about and am vibing with then i'll roll with it and try to write it. if i have multiple ideas at once (which like. is often lol) then i just go with whichever feels easiest to work on at the moment.

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

hmmm, i think maybe soulmate aus? i didn't used to like those a whole lot, never thought i'd ever write one, but over the years i've started to read more of them, and funny enough, my favorite spierfeld fic that i wrote ended up being a soulmate au. i'm still not like the biggest reader of them, but i won't rule them out, and if they're done right (and bonus points for if they're done in a way that is different from all the rest!!) then they can be very good!

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

okay so i don't think this necessarily falls under the "you might be the only person to appreciate it" part of the question because i really don't think i would be the only person to appreciate it, BUT it is a highly specific au that i have been DREAMING about writing for literally years. i call it my "fake bbq master husband kidfic au" skjdflds.

idk if you've ever seen it but there's a post floating out there about these like 17 year olds who posted an ad on like craigslist or something looking for a "generic father figure for backyard bbq" aka someone to pretend to be their dad who likes to bbq and talk about "dad" things and such.

well. i saw this post whilst in the midst of my stucky era, and immediately thought of a fic where steve is a single dad, and he moves into this new neighborhood and he like meets some of his neighbors and panic invites them to a bbq at his house (despite being a shit cook and not knowing how to bbq) so they can all get to know each other and he makes the mistake of saying that he has a husband when, in fact, he does not. cue steve hitting up craigslist with this ad looking for someone to pretend to be his husband who knows how to grill and wants to do him a solid. enter: bucky barnes.

this fic really had it all. it had peggy being the mother of steve's child, but they amicably split and now peggy is with angie martinelli, and steve has full custody but they're still very involved with raising the daughter (ellie!); it had natasha and clint as neighbors, tony and pepper and their daughter morgan as neighbors (and also morgan ends up on the same soccer team as ellie); sam and riley as a couple + steve's friends before the move; carol and maria and their daughter monica. (and, like, most everyone is gay, if you can't tell LOL).

and yeah basically bucky responds to the ad, comes over to help with this bbq party, and ends up sweeping steve, his daughter, and all their neighbors/friends off of their feet, and he keeps finding excuses to come over and hang out with steve and ellie, and this fake relationship they crafted starts to turn into something real.

i still desperately want to one day write this fic, i think about it ALL the time, no joke. (or like tbh, it's au enough that i could even maybe turn it into an original fiction type of deal? but yeah who knows!! all i know is i really really want to write it one day!!)

34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?

ooh. well. DEFINITELY 100% the amount of yearning that is infused into my fics LOL. i am one Yearny Bitch™ so that is definitely a reflection of me. and like. i also crave domesticity ksngls so i tend to write a lot of that because if i can't get it anywhere else i know i can get it from my blorbos amiright? sdlkfsdf.

but also i did write several fics (i think most ended up being in my stucky era) that were directly inspired by my life. like, i wrote a whole entire fic based on the very real social experiment i ran in my psychology of law lab in college LOL.

45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?

i mean, i've been doing this for 6+ years so i really do feel like everything has improved. but that answer feels like cheating lol sooo i guess i'll be specific.

but. i do think i've gotten better at like writing more of the introspective stuff? like, i feel like a lot of my early fics were more focused on the actions and like the characters being like What Is Going On Around Me rather than What Is Going On In My Head. and i think now i can do the writing a character's thoughts and feelings much better and i can get pretty deep with it, too, if i want to take it that way. those kinds of things can really add to a fic too, so i'm glad that i've gotten better at writing them!

📝 questions for fic writers

#asks #toburnup

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bougenvilleeaa · 2 years

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Brother Moments in Nightwing Annual 2021

pt. 2

(spoiler alert, duh.)

8. Feel free to hit me hard.

First of all, I love the tribute/shout out to Nightwing's current main team from Tom Taylor. The current Nightwing is written by Tom Taylor with art by Bruno Redondo and colors by Adriano Lucas.

Taylor is also the writer for this year's Nightwing Annual and it seems he slipped in a tribute to the rest of his main team in Oracle's dialogue when she made a report to Nightwing.

That aside, let's talk about the scene itself. I think it's pretty funny how they're both adults now but Dick still won't let Jason drive (for now, at least).

And I feel like this scene symbolises Jason's inner turmoil which tends to punish himself over the things he's done in the past. But I might be reading too much into this lmao.

Ramming into Clayface with the Batmobile is a pretty cool entrance made by the two oldest Batbros though.

9. Clayface grabs Dick.

Jason really came to Dick's defense here.

Jason: put my damn brother down, bitch

And Clayface really underestimated Jason's daddy issues, huh.

It's a pretty funny scene though. I don't know why Clayface thought it'd be a good idea to morph into Batman of people.

There isn't much to talk about in this scene but I included it because I think it's amusing.

10. Jason gets to drive.

See, Jason, this is exactly why Dick never lets you drive.

And the one time he did let Jason drive, he wrecks the Batmobile.

I guess Dick handing the keys over to Jason symbolises letting him take over the mission, too. Since Jason is personally involved with this case now (his mother overdosed from drugs supplied by Wolfgang Blysma, aka the villain who hired Clayface).

who knew he'd end up wrecking their dad's car tho lmao

11. Epic entrance.

Not much to talk about here, just a super epic entrance by the Batbros.

Also, I consider it canon that Jason grew to be taller than Dick (most fanart also depict Jason as taller than Dick). So I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't integrated into this issue (it's a personal preference, though).

12. Conclusion of the story.

I like their friendly banter here, it's rather cute.

I'm glad Jason is satisfied with seeing criminals getting justice. After all, there was a time when violence seemed to be the only way out for him. He's learning to control his violence better, and we're all so proud of you.

It's funny how they both agree not to tell Dad that they took his car out for a joyride (and wrecked it).

This issue seems to tie a lot of the current events to past events, back when Jason was Robin. It fits so well and the story is thoroughly wholesome.

What a great story, definitely one of my favourite Dick and Jason team-ups.

Bonus: Good Brother!Dick dialogue.

I personally love the fact that Dick told Jason that he's proud of him, even mentioning that Bruce probably is, too.

They're a pretty troubled family, but they sure do love each other, don't they?

that concludes all i've got for everyone today, see u in the post! don't forget to read the current Nightwing run, it's reallt good!

<- part 1

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larryyouknow · 2 years

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Annual Writing Self Evaluation 2021

Thank you @boosbabycakes28 and @stylesthebrave for the tag :) it was fun to read yours and good to think about my writing year. 💙

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 6

2. Word count posted for the year: 128,833

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction

4. Pairings: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson (some side Ziam here and there)

5. Story with the most Kudos/Bookmarks/Comments: Letters to June

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): probably Letters to June because I put so much into it and I don't even mean the research but emotions - I wanted readers to feel them and according to the feedback, they are really there to be lived through and that makes me really proud

more below the cut

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): hmm, I don't know, probably some of the short ones, because I tend to be less attached to stories which didn't cost me that much time (and soul) to write, maybe Three Hundred Cupcakes later, I had a massive writers block and I tried to break through with this one

8. Share or describe a favourite review you received: honestly, every kind comment is so caressing, my heart skips every time. Just yesterday I received a little nod (laughing emoji) to one silly joke in my Big Bang fic and it made my day. The biggest honour was when someone shared with me that they have re-read my story.

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: I had troubles during the summer, I had less time than I've thought and three promised fics with deadline ahead of me, all very different ones

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: hmm, in Passing By there is the scene broken in two chapters because of POV change, where Louis just goes all "fuck it" and then in next chapter Harry has to deal with aftermath of it and is in panic and I think the scene is full of thrill and fear and adrenaline and action and I don't usually write like this but still, I think it works really well

11. A favourite excerpt of your writing: I have many I still come back to. This one is from my Victorian fic I did for Reverse bang, not many read the fic, but I like the story anyway.

“It was someone you know, an artist. He explained to me that when he paints, he often messes up or simply changes his mind about what he wants to see on the canvas, but never throws the painting away. He loves that every previous stroke of the brush stays underneath whatever he paints over it. He didn’t mean to, but he gave me great advice in his little speech. Because in life, it’s never a blank canvas either. All that matters is what you choose to do with what you have been given in life. I realised that I can’t ever wash away what I’ve done in the past, because it’s what has shaped me. It’s important regardless of the fact whether it was good or bad.”

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I hope I did. I see a difference, improvement. I went out of my comfort zone and wrote stories which aren't set in todays world. With every fic I want to try something a bit different, something new.

13. How do you hope to grow next year: My hopes are big, I would like to keep writing and overcome my insecurities... will see

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc): I have an amazing experience with artist I worked with @moon-sun-thyme, @hazsocks, @fallinglikethis or @thelouandi. They own creativity fuelled mine and helped me finding worth in what I do as well.

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: There is a piece of me in what I write. I feel like it's all me, but I don't want to sound messed up. I think that every story I have written evolved around emotion I wanted to share.

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: I write only for a little over year, I am probably not that wise to advise. Maybe only to keep in mind that you can only expect things from yourself, other things aren't under your control. It can spare a lot of disappointment.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: I will beta @larryislove fic for Big Bang and I am so excited for it. And as for my writing I started a Tolkien-inspired story set in Middle Earth. So I would like to transfer the story from my head onto paper.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read: @fallinglikethis, @alltheselights, @allwaswell16, @greenblueish, @larryislove, @jacaranda-bloom, @lululawrence, @zanniscaramouche, @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed and literally every writer's because I love to read backstories to the fics I like.

You all probably have this already up so I'm gonna look for your posts. 💕

#annual evaluation #tag games #about writing #writing stuff

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linz33y · 2 years

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Fic Writer Review

@veraynes-blog, you tagged me in this months ago, and I kept telling myself I would fill it out once I got back into posting on AO3. Welp, nature is healing and apparently so is my brain, because that time is now 😁

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

110,947

3. How many fandoms have you written for?

Published to AO3? 5.

Counting my WIPs? 10.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos?

You've Got a Funny Way of Making Friends (Good Omens)

One of a Million (Good Omens)

Sleeping Arrangements (Doctor Who)

Might I Tempt You? (Good Omens)

Long Time, No See (Good Omens)

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

Doesn't matter if it's a single word, an emoji smash, or paragraphs of text: if I ever *don't* respond to a comment, please assume AO3 borked and didn't notify me, or I'm dead. Seriously, the immediate serotonin boost I get from seeing a comment notification makes me so, so excited that I have to share some of that joy with a response. I also try to leave comments on other people's fics as often as possible. Gotta pay the love forward <3

6. A fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don't normally write angst, but this Doctor Who drabble probably fits the bill. (I swear the rest of that drabble series is fluff and humor! 😅)

7. Do you write crossovers?

I don't currently have any published, but I swear to god @veraynes-blog, I have not forgotten about that Hannibal/Venom crossover one-shot that we've discussed on-and-off over the last year. I am determined to finish editing it one of these days 😁🙏

8. Ever received hate on a fic?

No, thank god.

9. Do you write smut?

I wish I could write smut, but alas, it is outside of my wheelhouse.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

11. Ever had a fic translated?

Yes, a couple of my Doctor Who fics have been translated! In fact, AO3 user Clara1998 read the translated version of The Locksmith, and wrote a follow up: 一个The Locksmith的续写 (roughly, A Continuation of the Locksmith). I had to paste it line by line into google translate to read it, but it made me very happy :')

In case anyone wanted to know, my transformative works policy is in my profile on AO3, and I welcome anyone to translate my fics as long as you link back to the original.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Closest thing I've done to a collab was the Masterversary Big Bang, with @mushigo-palm-spores illustrating my fic, Saxon and Jones.

13. All time fav ship?

Oh lord, it changes so often that it's impossible to answer this. Although I will say that I have a special place in my heart for Ineffable Husbands, seeing as the Good Omens series is responsible for my first post on AO3. When season 2 comes out, they'll probably be my fave again for a time 😊.

14. WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I can't think of one? If I want to finish a fic, it lives in my head until I figure out how to execute it, or until I decide I don't want to finish it anymore, at which point it wouldn't fit this category.

15. Writing strengths?

Humor and snappy dialogue. The first draft of my fics are basically screen plays: 90% dialogue, 10% screen direction. Then I spent the next several drafts slamming my head against my keyboard, attempting to fill in the actual scenes.

16. Writing weaknesses?

I definitely struggle with writing serious, emotional scenes. (For someone who finds herself in a puddle of tears near constantly, I am horrible at actually putting ernest expression into words 😂)

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I'm pretty sure I've only ever written made-up alien dialogue, but I'm not against it. However, I'd have to narrow the language options down based on whether or not I know a fluent speaker who could help with translations.

Although, now that I think about it, even though it's not technically fic, @mushigo-palm-spores did help me with the German in this Ace Attorney comic I made a while back. Only the best for Franziska Von Karma <3

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Good Omens was the first that I actually published fic for.

19. What’s your fav fic you’ve written so far?

Unsuprisingly, it's my most recent. So, backstory: the pandemic made it really, really, really hard to write anything that I didn't immediately scrap in a bout of frustration. It's also the reason I have twice as many fandoms with WIPs than I do with published fics lol. It wasn't until around this past July that I got the idea for a little Fullmetal Alchemist multi-chap. It refused to give up on me, even after the first draft collected dust for a few months, and I finally finished editing/started posting chapters last week. Not only did it feel like a massive accomplishment (like, I actually finished! a thing! for the first time in like! a year!!), but I also got such a lovely comment on the first chapter that I cried. I've re-read that comment every day since, and it's been a huge motivator to keep on writing :')

There are still two more chapters that I'll post in the next week or two, but here's the first half of What's Yours is Mine (and What's Mine is Mine) ^_^

20. Tag!

@echospool (but I know you're still recovering from Nano, so no pressure) and anyone else that wants to fill this out <3

#my fanfic #tag game #long post

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misstrashchan · 4 years

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The Man With Two Souls, Pt. 2

Okay, so this ended up being a fucking long part 2 to my previous meta post. There was a lot I wanted to get down, and if it doesn't make sense or you don't agree with it, that's fine, I'd just be happy if you read it. Now I can rest until the finale comes and beats me up.

So, there's a few more Salem and Adam parallels to start off with like

(8) Having the same reaction to hearing someone mention Blake and Oz and the possibility of them getting the upper hand against them

(9) Chronologically after this happens (we see Adam destroy the throne room in Volume 6 episode 2, but we see him lose his mask at the end of the Adam trailer) deciding to go after Blake on his own while Salem creates the winged Beringel grimm and plans to go to Atlas herself, presumably to go after Oscar/Ozpin so he doesn't get in the way of her plans (as well as Ruby since she clearly needs her as well)

"If you want something done right, you do it yourself" - Volume 6 Chapter 13

(10) Adam and Salem telling Blake and Oz about how they're going to destroy them and those around them

"The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why I will focus all of my effort to snuff it out. How does it feel? Knowing that all your time and effort has been for nothing. That your guardians have failed you. That everything you've built will be torn down before your very eyes."

"So you send your guardians, your huntsman and huntresses. And when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same pitiful demise. This is the beginning of the end, Ozpin. And I can't wait to watch you burn." - Salem, Volume 3 Chapter 12

"What you want is impossible! But I understand. Because all I want is you, Blake. And as I set out and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love. Starting with her." - Adam, Volume 3 Chapter 11

(11) Salem and Adam's perception of Oz and Blake affecting their perspective of themselves... and the audience.

Okay, this one's honestly kind of weird. For so, so long there were a lot of people who bought into the idea that Ozpin was secretly evil or somehow worse than Salem, or that he'd done something terrible and unforgivable to Salem. I fully admit, I was one of those people. I mean, I didn't think he was evil, but the way Salem talked to him at the end of volume 3, listening to the song Divide, I thought, he must have done something bad to Salem, right? How could she hate him so much otherwise?

And the worst thing he did... was leave her. When he couldn't go along with being a genocidal dictator of the whole world alongside Salem, and didn't want their children to be a part of that either.

And as for Adam, he tells Blake that she hurt him more than anybody because she left him.

"All sorts of people hurt me in all sorts of different ways. But no one hurt me quite like you, Blake. You didn't leave scars. You just left me alone." - Adam, Volume 6 Chapter 12

And Salem would also have been hurt from Ozma trying to leave her. Especially when you think about her backstory, how she was kept isolated in a tower, and instead of finding freedom in the outside world, found it in Ozma. And then he died, and she was alone again. And then the Gods destroyed humanity, and Salem is left alone one again for god knows how long.

"Once again, Salem was alone." - Volume 6 Chapter 3

And weirdly, similar to Ozpin there were people who bought into Adam's false perception of Blake too. That Blake is somehow the one who hurt Adam more than he hurt her (which is, completely insane).

And Salem and Adam want Oz and Blake to feel that way. To be paralyzed with self hatred and doubt, to be stuck in the past, and feel as if everything is their fault. That Salem and Adam are their responsibility, at first to save them, and then to stop them.

You see it with Adam's gaslighting, trying to paint her as an unfaithful coward. And I mean, just listen to the song Divide. The whole song is Salem trying to make out Ozpin to be the villain, that she's killing people but the real murderer is him for trying to give people hope, even if it was hope based on a desperate lie.

"It was you who ended their lives! Made them to dig their own graves! With your dark, sick, cruel design, convinced them their world could be saved." - Divide

And there were a lot of people convinced by Salem's song Divide that Ozpin was far worse than he really was, to the point it was surprising that he hadn't wronged Salem in some way like most people were expecting.

And Adam tries to make Blake believe that she's a coward, that she's selfish and weak, that running away from her problems is all she knows how to do.

And for a long while, Blake believed he was right. That she was toxic to the people around her, that she made things worse for them. And there were some people in the fandom who thought that she really was this toxic person.

It's actually kind of scary, but Salem and Adam managed to manipulate not only Blake and Oz's perception of themselves, but also the audience as well in how they saw them.

I don't doubt for a moment this is going to extend to Oscar as well if she meets him, that she'll likely try to convince him that he's just Ozpin and that he, Oscar, doesn't matter, and he'll fail and make the same mistakes as their past lives. Which undoubtedly parts of the fandom are going to take Salem's false perception of Oscar to heart as well and believe her.

Which brings me to move on from Blake's parallels with her first "soul" and Ozpin, to her second "soul" and Oscar.

Now Blake alluding to the Man with Two Souls is metaphorical, while in Oscar's case it's very literal, and it's no coincidence she's the one who first introduces us to the concept to us with the book she's reading during the Shining Beacon.

"...It's about a man with two souls. Each fighting for control over his body"

(It's important to note that the conflict between the two souls is not one of Good vs Evil)

Blake's conflict of her two metaphorical souls fighting for control, is the false perception Adam had of Blake and who she used to be with him, her past that she can't escape, and the struggle for her smaller, more honest soul, trying to define herself and decide who she wants to be. And for Oscar, he's struggling to define himself and decide who he wants to be, because of the merge with Ozpin, and that his past will become Oscar's too.

Both of them want to do the right thing and rise to their challenges, but it seems like such an impossible task to them that they're afraid to meet it.

"I'm... scared. I'm more scared than I've ever been. Than I ever thought was possible. I always knew I wanted to be more than a farmhand. But this? Who would ask for this?" - Oscar, Volume 5 Chapter 5

"I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsman and Huntresses were regarded as the most noble warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy what will I... How can I undo so many years of hate?" - Blake, Volume 2, Chapter 10

But the person who sees Blake's "other soul" the person she's truly capable of being, who she really is, even when she can't herself, is Yang.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. You're not one to back down from a challenge Blake." - Yang, Volume 2 Chapter 10

And the one who sees Oscar and who he's capable of being even when he can't himself, is Ruby.

"Hey Oscar? I know this isn't going to be easy. But the fact that you're trying says a lot about you. You're braver than you think." - Ruby, Volume 5 Chapter 5

Blake and Oscar are also the first people we see Yang and Ruby open up to about their past trauma. The difference between the two being that in the Burning the Candle scene Yang is more willing to be vulnerable around Blake, to let her guard down and open up to her about her abandonment issues and how they've affected her.

Because as a more emotionally mature character she understands she needs to do that in order to properly relate to Blake so she can offer her support. She gets frustrated however when Blake still refuses her support, and so she has to give her a push to accept it.

Ruby, however, isn't as emotionally mature as Yang, and doesn't find it easy to let down her guard and talk about her emotions. Her mentality being described as "I don't have time for my emotions, I've got to make sure everybody else is okay" - RWBY Rewind: Ruby Rose Rewinds With Us

She feels like she constantly needs to be a pillar of strength and support for everyone around her as a leader. She has a hard time opening up about her own feelings and being vulnerable around others. For her, it seems much more natural to internalize those feelings rather than face them head on. As a leader, she feels she isn't supposed to show fear or doubt. If she admits how she's hurting or how scared she is, she'd be afraid of those around her losing faith.

Ironically, it's Ozpin's words of advice to her that enforce this mentality

"But if you aren't constantly performing at your best, what reason do you give others to follow you?"

So even though only a minute ago Oscar saw that Ruby was clearly upset over something (being reminded of Penny's death)

Ruby then goes on to act like nothing's wrong when she then attempts to reassure Oscar. And it feels like a performance, and though Ruby genuinely does want to reassure him, it comes across as insincere to him. He's frustrated because Ruby isn't being honest about how she's feeling, and is only concerned with his feelings.

So in the Dojo scene we have Oscar start to push Ruby past that flawed mentality that Ozpin enforced, to be more honest about how she's feeling, to talk about how the Fall of Beacon and the loss of Phyrra and Penny affected her, how she's afraid of Salem killing people she cares about, and that she'd kill anyone regardless.

And with both Ruby and Yang opening up about their past experiences they can relate to Blake and Oscar's own fears, doubts and insecurities. Blake's need for answers and Oscar's fear of the fight with Salem, and Yang's need for answers and Ruby's fear of the fight with Salem.

"I told you! I'm not telling you to stop! I haven't. To this day I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me. But I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process what good are we?" - Yang, Volume 2 Chapter 6

"I am scared! But not just for me. What happened at Beacon shows that Salem doesn't care if you're standing against her or not. She'll kill anybody. And that, scares me most of all. Phyrra... Penny... I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. That I didn't think about them every day since I lost them. That I didn't wish I had spent more time with them. If it had been me instead, I know they would have kept fighting too. No matter how dangerous it was. So that's what I choose to do. To keep moving forward." - Ruby, Volume 5 Chapter 5

And by demonstrating their own resolve, as well as their belief in the kind of people Blake and Oscar are capable of being that inspires them to be that person.

"I'm. Not. Running."

"You. Will." - Blake and Adam, Volume 3 Chapter 11

"She made a choice. To put others before herself. And so do I."

"Then you've chosen death." - Oscar and Hazel, Volume 5 Chapter 12

There's also Blake expressing her doubt in Yang during volume 3 after she attacked Mecury, causing Yang to question her own judgement.

She compares it to how Adam used to attack people, and of course she knows Yang wouldn't do something like that without good reason, but she can't but feel like the situation is very familiar. And Blake knows Yang isn't Adam, and makes it clear that she's decided to trust Yang.

"I want to trust you. I will trust you." - Volume 3 Chapter 8

But despite that, Blake's words do still weigh on her mind even when she's alone, where Qrow comes to talk to her about what happened and reassure her, and then they end up talking about her mum.

And then with Ruby in volume 7, Oscar expresses his doubt in Ruby in her decision to lie and hide the truth from Ironwood, comparing it to how Ozpin did the same to them, which, similar to Yang, causes Ruby to question her own judgement. And obviously he knows Ruby isn't Ozpin, that she probably had a good reason for lying. But again, the situation just feels so familiar.

But ultimately he decides to put his trust in Ruby, even before Ironwood.

"I do believe in you. But not only you." - Volume 7 Chapter 7

And by episode 9 they're both on the same page in deciding to choose the truth over fear. (if only James could have stayed on that page too)

Similarly to Yang, we see Ruby alone in episode 4 of volume 7, and you can tell Oscar's words are still weighing on her mind, as Qrow comes over to talk to her and she asks him if she is like Ozpin, and he reassures her that she's not, and then they end up talking about her mother.

Okay, so I'm going to go out on a limb here, and you can call me out on my bullshit if you like, but I'm making a prediction (like, 12 hours from the finale, but hey, it might happen later in the series for all I know)

If we're going full in on the parallels here, remember how Yang lost an arm trying to protect Blake from Adam, and afterwards Blake ends up leaving Yang like Raven, believing she'd be better off without her?

And how Salem is on her way to Atlas after hearing Ozpin had reincarnated, the foreshadowing for Ruby losing an eye and them bringing up her trauma around Summer in Chapter 11?

On top of her wanting Ruby alive?

I'm gonna guess Ruby loses an eye trying to protect Oscar, and then afterwards either Oscar or Ruby tries to sacrifice and give themselves up to Salem, except it ends up being a hollow sacrifice like Summer's

"I didn't have a choice I did what I had to do I made a sacrifice but forced a bigger sacrifice on you!" - Red like Roses Part 2

Because Salem would end up taking both of them either way. I actually can't imagine a scenario where she doesn't, because she needs both of them. But one of them has a worse fate, a "bigger sacrifice" in store for them when they reach Evernight (which I'm still thinking is Ruby)

#rwby #ozpin #oscar pine #yang xiao long #ruby rose #salem #blake belladona #adam taurus #trash meta #thank FUCK I can finally sleep #thanks to anyone who read this to the end #I don't think I'm any good at this but it feels good to just waffle sometimes

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