#for PLOT-RELEVANT REASONS that i DO NOT KNOW

[chiscribbs]

Asking some writers/artists I follow:

Is there anything in your fic/comic that you as the author know about, but won't end up in the actual story?

Hmmmm... I have a lot of little moments from the Grown Apart cast's individual upbringings that are kinda floating around in my head, but I have no idea yet if they'll make it into the comics. So, I'm not sure if those count. There are a few little canon details that I haven't figured out how to include in the comics just yet, though. Such as:

Donnie speaking in a posh English accent...but only some of the time - mostly when he's not with his family or if he's trying to impress someone. Reason being: Donnie doesn't naturally talk like Big Mama (though he may have adopted a tinge of her inflection with certain words or vowels), it's mostly something he puts on intentionally to sound more...closely related to her? It's become a habit, and he doesn't always realize when he's doing it anymore, unless the others point it out. But it disappears the moment he gets too worked-up/excited about something.

Because Mikey spent so much time looking for ways to occupy himself while Leo was off causing mischief with his friends, he has a wide range of obscure talents & skills, many of which I'll probably never end up showing in canon because they're not particularly relevant to the plot. For example: - Guitar playing - Card stacking - Cup stacking - Solving a rubix cube in under 3 minutes - Painting/writing with his toes - Ballet (beginner level, but he's working on it) - Making music with water glasses - Yo-yo tricks - Acrobatics - Silk flying - The ancient art of the Japanese tea ceremony - Crochet - Playing Chopsticks on his shell (with chopsticks)

That's all I've got off the top of my head right now. Unless you're referring to things like "ideas that were originally going to be part of the canon, but got scrapped somewhere along the way." There's a LOT of those, lol. Some of which I might still end up sharing at some point, because I illustrated a few of them early on when I was doing story beats, and I like the illustrations despite them not being accurate anymore.

Others, I don't necessarily want to expose just yet, because they might still end up getting used somewhere? Maybe in this story or maybe in a different one entirely, who knows. I like to keep "scrapped" ideas in my back pocket just in case I decide to come back to them later down the line.

#You have no idea how badly I've been wanting to make that thing about Donnie's accent known but could NOT figure out how for the life of me #Like - it's a detail that I personally love but how do I show it in comic format without the dialogue sounding clunky??? Asdfghj #grown apart au (rottmnt) #rottmnt #rottmnt au #asked and answered #friendlyneighborhoodterrapin #artistnotes #donatello hamato #rottmnt donnie #michelangelo hamato #rottmnt mikey

[transformers-bold-bright-brisk]

Oh yeah! Did I forget to mention i totally ship Starclaw?… Sharpdrive??… Sharpstar???… Clawdrive????

There are just so many possibilities, like you wouldn’t believe…

#sphny arts (𖦹w𖦹)•*°⊹ #sphny alternates universe (𖦹ㅁ𖦹)•*°⊹ #tf fan continuity #transformers bold bright brisk #transformers #maccadam #maccadams #transformers reach out to reassemble #transformers reach out to reassemble sharpclaw #transformers reach out to reassemble stardrive #also yes. sharpclaw is most definitely a freak for stardrive’s….. hidden extremities #she wants to be pulverized by her crush’s massive butch arms until her spark has ascended into the allspark #I’ll definitely do my own take on stardrive’s wraith form in the future but right know it’s not too plot relevant #the way they ‘get together’ is that sharpie was already gonna ask out stardy before she revealed her wraith mode #if anything she fell in love all over again after witnessing the raw power this women before her has been in possession of this whole time #AAAND another hc is that sharpie’s inner monologue is the broadway version of ‘Stupid With Love’ while stardy’s is the movie musical vine #and yes I like them both for this VERY REASON

[maaaxx]

dont get me wrong i am more excited for this atla remake and the inevitable renaissance part 2 than i have ever been for anything in my life. however im also terrified of what changes this is going to bring to the fandom. Obviously the 2020 renaissance brought a lot of new and good things (zukka, a ton of amazing fics, etc). But more people joining the fandom means new people joining ao3 and interacting with fics and authors and artists too. Even in the few years that i've been active in fandom i've noticed a dramatic shift in how people interact with artists and authors especially. And I can't see this not getting worse as more people whose main social media experiences include tik tok and instagram coming to ao3 and tumblr. Like these people are used to content creators who revolve their content around what their audience wants because its their job, and I know this isnt going to translate well to the culture around ao3 writers especially when unconsolidated comments and 'advise' is already a problem for a ton of authors. And for people who dont understand that fics and fanart are supposed be transactional in the sense that you need to leave comments and kudos and reblog stuff when they're used to simply liking something *maybe* being enough. Idk whats going on with other fandoms, but I do know that these things have been an ongoing issue for the atla fandom and like I said, I can't imagine having another 'renaissance' and this stuff not getting worse.

#ive been plotting out new fics to post soon with the same energy as someone trying to start a business during a recession #but like i said idk if this is an issue with other fandoms because the atla fandom is the only one im active in #but i *know* that this is an issue for the atla fandom #Like people are commenting less and less on fics but demanding more frequent chapters #and people want to leave critism that the authors didnt ask for while also not leaving an ounce of praise #like there has been an influx of people just being so shitty to authors #and im not sure if its because of ignorance and people genuinely not knowing how fandom works #or if its entitlement and people are expecting the same thing from fandom creators that they do from influencers or book authors #like fandom has been so weird recently and it is a huge reason of why i havent been updating fics and stuff #when i started posting i wanted a community of people who shared my interests #not people who look at me like a celebrity who they can critisize like theyre leaving a review on rotten tomatoes #idk people have gotten a lot more hostile and its not as fun as it used to be and im scared that another flood of people #joining the fandom is going to make in unbearable #this feels kind of whiney but i am curious if anyone else has noticed it #fandom #ao3 #zukka #atla #max thinks shes relevant

[sonknuxadow]

i assume the filmmakers listened to the criticisms of the wedding subplot and that’s why they seem fine with filming the third movie without human actors right now, as they’ve probably cut back on the humans’ screentime even more

yeah thats another thing i considered, that the human characters might get much less screentime in this movie which is why they feel comfortable starting without any actors.. but surely theyre gonna need human actors at SOME point, like didnt they already say that agent stone is gonna be a major character in the third movie. and we can also assume that tom and maddie are gonna be in it too. and a bunch of unnamed human background characters.

#personally i didnt mind the wedding subplot i think it had some fun moments #and its not just stuck in there for no reason. because it does eventually tie into what sonic and tails are doing #and it helped set up sonic being home alone when robotnik shows up and also helped introduce gun #and it also gave maddie and rachel more plot relevance and involvement with the action stuff #which i know a lot of people would probably consider that a downside because theyre human characters made for the movies #but considering those two are the only female characters in the main cast i think it was kinda necessary #asks #i dont really mind human characters made for the movies in general #but sonic tails knuckles eggman etc should always be the main event and not be overshadowed by the movie exclusive characters

[trensu]

So curious about Hawkins Home Steve - does he have a tragic backstory? Steve + head trauma = him not really thinking twice about headaches or foggy memories, but also siren song tends to do that anyway! I love how the kids are already essentially in love w Steve and are trying to get him back. Dying to read Eddie's reaction to him being wrong about Steve! Need to know what's going on in that angsty head of his... love the bits of backstory about his apprehension towards humans, the heartbreak of letting something slip through to hurt the kids... him really trying to not let Steve in (physically and emotionally) There's also something particularly tasty in fics when Steve's finally acknowledged as a Good Guy (also give the man a hug... both of them honestly.) Chomping at the bit to know more about Billy and if he comes back... i love how Billy v Steve showdowns + steve protecting the kids manifest in AUs and i'm so so intrigued at how much you've set up, especially from an outsider POV. Also wondering if Steve would be upset about the memory wipes, though i expect he would immediately understanding given the safety of the kids, but I also feel like this is a lot of fodder for angst between those two .... 👀 (also I peep eddie's power over steve waning - and if there's a limit on how often you can use it before stuff starts to slip through...) Sorry for the long ask - and feel free to ignore since I know there are more parts in the works. In love with the concept of this AU!

Anon, i'm LOVING your ask! It makes me so happy to see people, like, ENGAGING with stories in general, but seeing it happen with my silly writings specifically? i'm ECSTATIC!!

i'm not gonna say much because 1) they're mostly just little scenes percolating in my brain that may never actually get put to (virtual) paper and 2) if they miraculously DO get written, i don't want to spoil anything. that being said i'll give you that a) there is LORE i've made up regarding Eddy's siren genetics and b) ooooh, boy do I have a billy appearance/scene/possible oneshot for this 'verse already half written that i think you'll enjoy

one concrete thing i'll give you, because i don't think i'll write it, like, directly into the fic, is that the reason steve is able keep fragments of things so far is twofold.

firstly, the human brain doesn't like gaps in perception and will straight up make up stuff in order to make things make sense so steve's mind is keeping bits to keep his memories somewhat linear even though they've been scrubbed of any intricate detail. secondly, steve just really really wants to be a dad. i've always liked the concept of a goal or ideal being so important to someone, emotionally and mentally, that it can overcome seemingly impossible odds. so steve wants to be a family man so much that even magic can't take it away from him because his very heart is clinging to any scrap of hope for that dream to come true.

#trensu replies #anonymous #hawkins halfway house for homeless horrors #not plot relevant but half the reason i wanted to write any of this is because i sincerely do not relate to steve's desire for parenthood #like #i like kids #but you could not pay me enough to become a parent #though i do know people who genuinely dream of having kids some day #so this is kind of an exercise to see things from that perspective #apparently the concept is too bizarre for me to contemplate unless i include literal monsters lol #idk what that says about me as a person #but it's probably nothing flattering XD

[set-phasers-to-whump]

Day 3: Creation Prompt - Stitches & Bandages

whumpee: illya kuryakin

fandom: the man from uncle

hi everyone! here's my first fic for the month :) i imagine this as ot3 (or pre ot3) and it takes place a year or two after the movie. also i cannot decide whether i like this or hate it, i was traveling for most of the day so it's like, a little messy lol.

Illya is sitting on the edge of an exam table in a Viennese hospital, his ridiculously long legs nevertheless not touching the floor. He looks calm, if a bit annoyed, but beneath this Napoleon can see how tense he is. 

He doesn’t blame Illya. Hell, he’s tense, too. And from the way Gaby’s tapping her foot, that makes three of them. 

They don’t do hospitals. They do stitches in hotel bathrooms and, if it’s serious enough, get checked over by UNCLE doctors when their mission is complete. 

But not this time. Because this time, there had been several witnesses to the incident, including a cab driver who had absolutely insisted upon giving the three of them a ride to the nearest hospital, free of charge. 

It had fit their cover, Napoleon has to admit. Three Americans on vacation in the Austrian capital are not exactly the type of people to refuse medical help from a kind stranger. 

It had all been rather stupid, he reflects, as the three of them wait for a nurse to arrive. They’d been browsing in a high-end jewelry store, establishing their cover as a trio of wealthy American cousins out to see the sights of Europe. Napoleon and Illya had played the parts of dutiful (if bored) older relatives to Gaby, who’d dragged them through the store, pointing out every single item that caught her eye (or, rather, the eye of the young, extravagant wedding planner she was meant to be).

It’d been crowded, stuffy. Napoleon had been sweating through his light shirt, silently hoping for time to speed up. He and Illya had been bent over a counter at Gaby’s insistence, peering with feigned feigned interest at a frankly ridiculous-looking necklace when, from Napoleon’s perspective, Illya had suddenly decided to smash through the glass jewelry case with his head. 

Of course, this had turned out to not be the case. Illya, it seemed, had merely been a distraction - while everyone else in the store had been caught off guard, two men who had been browsing through the wedding rings had begun smashing the other jewelry cases, and suddenly the store had found itself in the middle of a robbery. 

It was clearly an amateur job, and it had ended very quickly - evidently, the robbers hadn’t planned on the glass cases being alarmed. They’d run off quite quickly after their initial smashings, strings of pearls and diamonds jumbled together in their hands, and that had been that. 

Illya had been fine, really. His forehead had collided with a metal edge and the cut had bled profusely - in fact, is still bleeding beneath the towel he’s pressing to it - and various shards of glass had cut up his face and hands, but nothing major. No concussion, nothing broken. Just blood. 

Blood had been more than enough to worry everyone else in the store, which was when the cab driver - incredibly kind fellow, really - had insisted upon offering his services. And so the three of them had climbed reluctantly into a car far too small for four grown adults, and they’d been taken to the hospital, free of charge. 

And it wasn’t like they could’ve left then, either. The cab driver had stayed parked in front of the entrance until they’d gone inside, giving them a cheerful wave farewell before going off to find another fare.

And now they’re here. The nurse arrives at last and immediately gets down to business, examining Illya’s face and then asking him whether he has ever had stitches before. 

Illya nods in the affirmative, and the nurse asks whether he’d been awake. 

Napoleon answers for him: “He was unconscious. Had his appendix out when we were in college.” This is not technically true, but Illya does have a scar in roughly the right location. It’s from a bullet, not a surgeon’s knife, but it’s not like the nurse is going to check. 

“Excuse me, but I was asking your…”

“Cousin,” Napoleon fills in. “And you won’t get much out of him. He’s mute.”

“Oh,” the nurse replies, looking between the two of them. “But he can hear?”

Napoleon nods. Illya had been given this aspect of his cover the second Waverly had heard his attempt at an American accent. Napoleon had teased him relentlessly for a day or two - turns out even the KGB’s best has an Achilles’ heel. 

It’s actually come in handy, though. The three of them have learned, quite quickly, that Illya’s total silence makes people more likely to speak in his presence about things they perhaps shouldn’t speak about. He’s gathered some valuable intel this way, but at the moment is experiencing no particular advantage. 

“I have to warn you, this will be much different. You will be numb, but awake.” 

Illya nods against the cloth still pressed to his forehead. Napoleon imagines he’d like to say something like, just do it and stop talking, but he’s trapped as the nurse rattles on. 

Eventually, though, he does get on with it. Napoleon and Gaby are shooed away from the table and have to watch from a corner as the nurse wipes away the bright red blood and then pushes a needle of anesthetic into Illya’s forehead. Gaby stiffens slightly. Napoleon can guess how she feels. There is something very different about this. About watching someone else, someone unknown, have this kind of access to their partner. 

“Can you feel this?” the nurse asks, poking at Illya’s forehead. When Illya shakes his head no, the nurse moves in with a needle and thread. 

At least, Napoleon thinks, these medical supplies are completely sterile. They’re not from an ancient first-aid kit found in the basement of a safehouse, not from the emergency sewing kit they’d stolen from a woman’s purse that once. Illya is in good hands, Napoleon tells himself. It’s fine. 

Except it’s not fine. It’s not them. He sees the tension in Illya’s shoulders and knows that if it was him doing the stitching, Illya would be more relaxed. He watches Illya stiffen as the nurse ties off the thread and knows that Gaby would’ve been there to squeeze his hand and distract him from that most unpleasant sensation. 

The nurse finishes with the needle and thread, applies an antibiotic cream, pastes a bandage over the fresh stitches. And then he grabs a cotton ball and rubbing alcohol and starts cleaning and bandaging the little cuts on Illya’s face and hands, the ones that have already stopped bleeding, and Napoleon actually feels something in his chest tighten. 

He should be doing this. It should be him tilting Illya’s face gently up towards himself, one of the only times that their relative heights are reversed. It should be him deftly but gently wiping away the blood, giving Illya the care that they both know he doesn’t need. And it should be Gaby’s fingers on Illya’s hands, scraping blood from under his nails and holding his hands so, so lightly because they both know he won’t pull away. 

But it's not.

The nurse finishes with Illya. “Come back in a week, and I will remove these. In the meantime, keep everything clean, and you should be fine.”

And just like that, they’re standing outside of the hospital and simultaneously realizing that there is no obvious method of getting back to their hotel. And then they’re crammed into another cab that’s too small for four fully-grown adults. And then they’re back in their hotel and they’ve all got separate rooms but Gaby and Napoleon hadn’t even hesitated before inviting themselves directly into Illya’s room. 

Illya…doesn’t mind. Napoleon had kind of expected him to mind. He’d expected Illya to say I am fine, I am hurt worse than this all of the time. 

But he’s quiet, like he’s still playing his role even though it’s just the three of them now. He’s pliant. He lets them check him over, their fingers ghosting over bandages he’d usually have ripped off by now. 

When they’ve satisfied themselves, somewhat reluctantly, with the nurse’s job, both Napoleon and Gaby join Illya’s silence. They’re sitting together on the couch, Napoleon and Gaby bracketing Illya between them, and by silent communication they both move closer, until they’re all three tangled together, a mess of limbs that shouldn’t be as comfortable as it is. 

“Thank you,” Illya says softly, after a very long time. 

Napoleon doesn’t feel that they deserve his thanks. Not for this. Not for today. Not when all that they did was stand there. 

“Why?” he whispers back, half afraid of the answer. 

Illya shrugs, a movement Napoleon feels rather than sees. “You are here,” he says, like that’s all that matters in the world. 

And maybe it is. 

thanks for reading!! hope you liked it, love u all <3

#whumpmasinjuly2023 #wij23day3 #the man from uncle #illya kuryakin #stitches #bandages #medical #i say things #my writing #idk i love the thought of like. they can help him they can touch him like this but no one else can #except what if someone else had to #yknow? #idk. it's about the trust bro. #also google docs kept being like 'you put two feigneds there' i KNOW they are faking their fake interest!! there's layers bitch #also i wasn't sure whether the muteness point was like. relevant but i wanted them as americans for some reason (was imagining this fic in #my head on a car ride) and in my mind illya absolutely Cannot do an american accent he just can't do it. and so the plot point was born #idk. anyways. goodnight!!

[niuxita21]

Sorry. I got carried away with the gay stereotypes. I too have a lot to learn. And I went a bit too far sending Elena to kidnap you. I’m sorry. Ana, you and I are a team and complement each other perfectly. And you’ve taught me a lot about the business world, but I know other things as well that I can teach you.

Bonus: Ana’s reaction to Mariana saying she could teach her other things... 

#madre solo hay dos #ana servín #mariana herrera #shitty screencap posts (TM) #buckle up here's a numbered list of all the things I loved about this scene and them in this episode #1) the fact that they weren't even pretending here #they were just hashing things out being their usual cute supportive selves with each other #and it's still indistinguishable from them acting like a couple to the point that the driver himself was like 'naww y'all are so cute' :))) #2) the fact that aside from the characters who need to be against them being a couple for plot reasons #they're having random characters be outed as straight-up shippers (first ceci and now the driver apparently) idk it tickles me #3) the fact that what this scene is aluding to is mariana knowing more about being lgbt than ana #I really appreciate them not only not forgetting that mariana is bi but actually leaning into it and bringing it up very matter-of-factly #in a context where it was very much relevant idk why I wasn't expecting it but it's really great to see #4) the fact that even though mariana is fully intent on keeping ferrán on as a sidepiece (lol) #her scenes with ana even when they're not having to pretend don't feel like she's just counting down the minutes to see ferrán again #especially here like the way the 'we complement each other perfectly we're a team you've taught me sooo much' just comes so effortlessly #it doesn't feel like she's saying it to keep up the couple charade for the driver's benefit bc a) we know what she sounds like when she acts #and b) it only seems to occur to them that the driver is listening and that they may have to continue pretending AFTER they say all that #so this is really just mariana wanting to gently assert herself to ana and try to resolve the issue they've been having #and her way of doing that is to praise her and talk about how great they are together becase that's what comes naturally to her #idk idk I'm rambling the point is that that earlier scene at the restaurant with the forced handhold made me a wee bit apprehensive #like maybe ana would go overboard with the pretending and mariana would act uncomfortable every time they had scenes together #esp knowing that she would rather be kissing ferrán at the moment #so this was nice to see and once again I like how they are choosing to frame this storyline and their scenes together #especially considering the radically different places they both are at emotionally

[gideonisms]

going on a sister in laws outing tomorrow! speaking of outing I'm not out to her. should we place bets on how long I can go without saying something homosexual

#my bet? 3 hours #my sister is coming too but like i'm out to my siblings #at this point it is getting weird that i'm not out to my sister in law #this also isn't a great weekend to bring it up either tho. and i'm not sure she understands bi people exist? #like i might have to explain you can be into women and men and etc #not sure how strict her church is about these things #my family basically just sees it as like a flaw i will eventually fix when i come back to the faith or whatever #kinda like if i was smoking weed or committing really minor crimes #it's like they aren't going to say stop being bisexual but they are thinking it! #always awkward to come out to people who love you and expect it to be a confession of something you struggle with #when it's actually like. this characteristic of mine isn't plot relevant atm but i need y'all to know it is one of my better qualities #they do think i should get help bc they care about me and they're right but definitely not for that reason!

[cacaitos]

the girl from the other side is just superior mahoutsukai no yome, it’s like if mahoutsukai was normal.

#txt #the dark ageless monster guy that gets humanized through his bond w this estranged girl (thats probs mortally cursed or smth) #except one is not intending to marry someone that belongs in a highschool #like ive had my fare share of weird shojo tropes but it makes me so much mad when what an appropriate relationship is literally just #more functionally sound/textually acknowledged. like oh so you know. literally whats the reason of you deciding to be weird instead. why. #like the series is aware she's young (bc it's also relevant that shes dying young) #like ok freeing (buying) a girl thats being sold to magic slavery. training her magic for when he's not around (i.e. most of time) and #passing down your knowledge bc you're dying soon or smth and for her to at least learn to appreciate life/her potential bc see prev point #and in the process he finds acceptance as not a terrifying monster and a grounding 'home' #like. what about that necessitates her being his bride. #he spends more of the series away or like half the time theyre together is about magic something that has v few to do w it couple behaviour #but also if you stated it was more of a father-daughter rel or strictly master-apprentice but kept a good chunk of scenes the same #i would argue would be (if not more) weird bc it does not commit in either direction and it annoys me #it's distant enough w enough time for it to be better spent in lit any other kind of relationship but is also aware that it's kinda (very) #uncomfortable for at least chise at the very least at the beginning (and those were some weird jokes mate) #like a lot imo becomes a waste bc of this bc again *most* of the plot has nothing intrinsecally attached to her being his *bride* so. why. #why. why.

[yume-fanfare]

decided to check the # for the newest hanako chapter on twitter none of you get itttt

#but it's really funny to see so! #cannibalism has been a running theme in the manga guys cmon #person w rhythm game guy pfp like 'i don't know why they thought this would be a good idea' brother this is a horror manga? #its also not the first time something like this happened c'mon #'aidairo wouldn't' have you read the hell of mirrors arc #'they shouldve clarified that this love could not happen or just make it really clear that it wasnt romantic' 😭😭😭 #i don't 'ship' them either lol but if you wanted nice unproblematic stuff you should've dropped this manga on like chapter 3 #like everyone else did #people calling it irredeemable media is already funny on its own but the way the fanbase is also Like This is so wild to me #every time i see some kid on the tag being like omg amane is so handsome 😍 im like i don't know you but you probably can do better #'remember when this was a manga about a girl trying to get her crush to like her back' IM IN TEARSSSS #that was....... literally only in chapter 1........... #in which she realizes she doesn't really like said crush............... #like i'd say it gets Serious as early as chapter 9??? #(funnily enough id say that's where kou's conflict truly starts. a protagonist) #there is a homophobic hate crime in chapter 19??? it shouldn't take you too long to realize this is not a comedy help me #but like yeah help there Is a reason why all the cutesy romance moments that people redraw for aus n stuff happen during chapters 1 to 8 #because the rest is Plot Relevant #ok ending my rant here ♥ #if u read til here ily #i used to think hanako fans should take a reading comprehension test beforehand but at this point ive accepted its a lost cause #jbksh #mar's midnight rambles

[tastycitrus]

Q: Who taught you how to fight?

Hero, Paladin, Dark Knight, Dawn Warrior, and Blaster, looking over their shoulders at nothing because their teachers never show up for anything: ...

Hero: We were self-taught, I guess.

Blaster: Yeah.

Dawn Warrior: Man, I don't even share the same skills as my Chief Knight...

#maplestory #did you know that in the cygnus knights remaster they made it official that mihile and DW have different skills for a reason #as in they straight up deal with different domains of the light element #only mihile actually utilizes the power of light while all his students instead use the power of soul #except suddenly dawn warrior is space woman now. why did they send her to space #anyway i made a joke like this before but this is about how the warrior instructors do fuck all in the plot #dances with balrog doesn't appear in the alliance for some reason #elex doesn't appear in story stuff even though the other resistance instructors do #despite being a playable class mihile is a meme and also ends up being absent in cutscenes to avoid the issue of the player being mihile #even namu wiki pointed it out on dances with balrog's article page #''despite being the instructor for explorer warriors he has no story relevance'' #''(actually mihile and elex also have no story presence)''

[mylordshesacactus]

So my family has a Gay Pirate Plate.

Stay with me.

We do not know how the hell the Gay Pirate Plate was first acquired. This being a point of contention is actually pretty plot-relevant; the saga of the Gay Pirate Plate began with my grandmother and her sister, who, for some ungodly reason, both BADLY wanted the Gay Pirate Plate and believed it to be rightfully theirs.

I should back up, firstly, to establish: The Gay Pirate Plate is the cheapest, tackiest, ugliest plate in existence.

It is in no way a collector’s item. It is physically impossible for it to complement anyone’s decor, because the colors in it are garish. It’s just a ceramic plate with a gay pirate painted on it, and the painting is, this cannot be emphasized enough, extremely bad.

(How do we know the pirate is gay if he’s just posing on a plate? Listen. Fully 100% to stereotype, but he is. He is gay. There’s an energy. That pirate is a flaming homosexual. That pirate has sex with men and does it frequently. That pirate is fucking gay, all right, he just is.)

Anyway. The point is that this is an extremely cheap and ugly plate with a poorly-executed painting of pirate on it who is like a nine on the Kinsey scale.

My grandmother and her sister fought a blood feud over this plate for their entire lives. It would be on the wall in my grandma’s house, and then her sister would visit, and then it would be gone. She’d visit her sister and the plate would be on the wall and her sister would pretend it had always been there. She would steal it back, hang it up, and, when her sister visited, pretend it had always been there. This continued for DECADES.

When the sister died, the Gay Pirate Plate lived triumphantly in my grandmother’s house. And then my grandmother died. And my aunt, who had lived with her and been her carer throughout her life, rightfully inherited their house.

We visit my aunt after the funeral and stay with her for a week or two.

Me, my sister, and our dad. Her brother.

The three of us look at each other. We don’t say anything. We studiously avoid making eye contact with the Gay Pirate Plate mounted proud and ugly on the wall. We notice one another studiously avoiding looking at it. We notice one another noticing. We say nothing. We come to a silent consensus. We pack up to leave. We get in the van. Our aunt comes out to say goodbye. I loudly announce I need to use the restroom before we leave. She obviously stays outside to continue talking to my dad.

I take down the Gay Pirate Plate, stuff it under my oversized sweatshirt, go outside, and get in the van. She happily waves goodbye as we drive off.

Two days later my dad gets a phone call that opens with hysterical laughter and “You FUCKING ASSHOLE did you seriously STEAL THE PLATE--”

Anyway. The gay pirate plate lives in my dad’s house currently.

But he’s trying to get me and my sister out to visit him. And plate mounts are cheap.

#gay pirate plate #GOD i wish I had a picture #y'all are not prepared for the gay pirate plate #anyway we don't think my dad should have to miss out on our hijinks #we think he would much prefer to be alive to witness the nonsense #than for us to morbidly wait until he dies to begin the third generation of Gay Pirate Plate

[little-hermit-crab56]

I've been writing for a while so I thought I'd share some writing tips I've learned along the way.

1. Never sacrifice the flow for a quirky line.

That bit of dialogue or flowery paragraph you really like but it kinda disrupts the flow? Scrap it. I know it hurts, but you need to. If you really want to keep it, find somewhere else to put it where it actually fits in.

2. Dialogue is a dance.

Dialogue should go at the pace of an actual conversation, back and forth with little breaks and pauses. Add as little dialogue tags as possible while still making it clear who is speaking. You can also describe what is happening during a pause in the conversation rather than saying they paused, unless the pause is important.

3. Show don't tell is a guideline, not a rule.

Show don't tell is a very useful guideline, but if you're ALWAYS showing it can get exhausting to read. Skip the boring bits and just tell us what happened, then we can get to the good stuff.

4. If it's boring to write, it's probably boring to read.

If you can cut out a whole scene with little consequence to the story, you probably should. As I said before, you don't always have to show us, you can always tell us.

5. Everything needs to have a purpose.

I know there are probably lots of interesting or cute scenes where your characters are just fucking around, but if it doesn't develop character, relations, conflict, or plot, why should we care? Definitely still write them if they make you happy, but if you're gonna add it to your final draft, make sure it matters.

6. You don't need to explain everything all at once.

I know it feels tempting to put all the lore, and all the character's intentions, and reasonings into the first few chapters, but please refrain, you can reserve that for your character and worldbuilding sheets. Instead, take the time to let us get to know the characters, and the world, in the same way we'd get to know a real person. Make your exposition as seamless and natural as possible. It will take practice to know when to reveal information and when to let us wonder, but you'll get there.

7. Write in a way that comes naturally.

I know you probably have an author you wanna write just like, but that is unlikely to happen. Embrace your natural writing style and perfect it, rather than trying to be something you're not. Writing is an art, you need to find your own style and polish it as best you can.

8. Try to make us feel connected by cutting out certain words like "felt".

"Chad felt like a glass of water." Can be replaced with, "Chad was thirsty, so he reached for a glass of water." Both sentences tell us Chad wants a glass of water, but one makes us feel more connected to Chad than the other. Though both sentences have their time and place, you want to make your audience feel as close to their protagonist as possible. Make them feel like they're there, rather than just an onlooker.

9. We don't need to know every physical detail of your character.

I know you probably spent ages creating the perfect characters and you want to give us the perfect image of what they look like, but it can get monotonous and boring, why do we care that your character has brown eyes unless the colour has some sort of significance? Try to list off only the most notable features of your character and put focus only on the relevant details. Sometimes you can even not describe them at all and throw in little bits of information about their appearance for the audience to put together. We read to imagine, not to have a perfect image painted for us when we could be getting to the plot.

10. You're allowed to be vague.

Allow your audience to assume things, with some things you can just be lazy and let your audience's imagination do the work for you. Of course, don't do this with important things, but you can save so much time you might've spent researching an irrelevant topic when you can just be vague about it. You don't have to know everything you're writing about, so long as you know the bits that matter.

11. Writing is a skill that takes practice.

Don't be so hard on yourself if your writing is a bit cringe, we've all been there. The important part is that you research how to get better and keep writing those super cringe chapters. One day you'll reread something from a while ago and realize you're actually not as bad as you thought.

12. Leave your work to rest.

I know you wanna start editing right away, but once you've finished, leave it for at least a month. The longer you leave it the better, but that depends on your attention span. A month to six months is good if you're really impatient but want a good result. If you keep writing in that time your skills will continue to improve, then you'll be editing that draft with fresh eyes and fresh skills.

And if you're a fanfic author, I usually leave my chapters for a week before editing and posting.

Hope this helps anyone struggling, I thought this might be especially relevant now with nanowrimo.

I recently realized how much knowledge I've been accumulating over the years, I definitely have more but this is all I can think of for now.

I'm no writing guru, but if anyone has anything they're struggling with, I can do my best to help you out, so dont hesitate to ask questions.

#writing tips #nanowrimo #story writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writerscommunity #writing #writer

[twilightcitysky]

Everything Is Meant (long S2 analysis, part 1)

I cannot figure out for the life of me how to make gifs so this will have to be a gif-less essay. If anyone more tech savvy than me wants to reblog with relevant media, please do!

I've seen a lot of people saying how Aziraphale's actions in the final ten minutes come out of left field and are OOC, and when I first watched the episode I felt the same, but now I think I couldn't have been more wrong. And I don't think Aziraphale is being controlled... I think the entire season showed us exactly what was going to happen.

On first watch, what struck me was the number of plot points that seemed disconnected. I couldn't figure out how Job related to the present, or the Victorian era, or the Nazi zombies (still at sea on the zombies part tbh). I didn't know where the Maggie/ Nina subplot was going, or why we were bothering with it. Then I put my "psych hat" on and it was like seeing one of those 3D pictures come into focus. It's a psychological networking rather than a plot-driven one, which is what Neil told us to expect.

Detailed analysis under the cut, with spoilers:

I went back through the season in my head and started asking myself: why is this element there? What does it contribute?

1. Start with scene one. Why include it? Does it matter for the climax that Az knew Crowley as an angel? YES. It's actually huge. Angel Crowley was joyful, he was bursting with delight at creation, he was idealistic. He wanted to be a part of everything rather than run away from it, and that's still how Aziraphale feels. He loves being a part of things. He's a joiner. He's a landlord. He dances at clubs and he makes human friends and he learns magic. Crowley the demon doesn't seem to want any of that, and I think that's hard for Az. He wants Crowley to be free of the cynicism he thinks prevents him from enjoying life now. At some level, I think he senses that Crowley is depressed (empathy's not his strong suit but I'm sure he's aware that Crowley's in a "what's the point of it all" kind of mood; see the eccles cakes scene). He wants to fix it. Aziraphale is a fixer. Metatron offers him a chance to do that.

Another thing is that Aziraphale knows Crowley ended up Falling just for asking questions that seemed innocent. That's not okay with him. He thinks that with the two of them in charge they can actually MAKE the changes that Crowley wanted to see way back at the beginning, starting with a suggestion box.

2. Okay, now Jim. Obviously Gabriel/ Jim is the central mystery, but why does he matter? First and foremost: he's there to show Aziraphale that angels can CHANGE. Gabriel terrorized and threatened Aziraphale. Az has been terrified of him. He ordered Aziraphale's execution. And now here he is, drinking hot chocolate, doing noble self-sacrificing things, with morals that suddenly align with Aziraphale's. What an absolute game-changer that must have been! He thought Heaven was unfixable, but here's Gabriel in his shop for weeks, slowly convincing him otherwise.

Then two other things happen. First, they find out that this all happened to Gabriel essentially because he fell in love. He was fired and his memories were stolen and the only reason he recovered was because Beelzebub happened to give him the one thing that could save him. That must have seemed like incredible luck. Now, how does Aziraphale feel about memories? He lives in a bookshop that is stuffed to bursting with the records of all of human history, essentially. His memories of his time with Crowley are incredibly precious. He sees, there at the end, that everything he is can be taken from him as a punishment for falling in love. Aziraphale doesn't have a magic fly container. He'd be forever robbed of Crowley, his life, himself. It's a very real threat in his mind when Metatron intervenes.

Which brings us to the second thing. Metatron saves Gabriel. Not only that, he prevents him from being punished for loving Beelzebub and lets them both go. What better way to win currency with Aziraphale? HE doesn't want to go off to Alpha Centauri, he never has, but suddenly he sees that Metatron might protect his relationship. And he's probably the only entity with the power to do so.

So we come to two conclusions: Aziraphale, when he goes off to talk with Metatron, is feeling like maybe it's not intrinsically bad to be an angel. He believed all the angels sucked, and only God was good... but now he sees that even Gabriel can change. He met Muriel, and he likes them. (He also had a huge crush on angel Crowley, which is neither here nor there but he loves Crowley in all his forms.) So if Crowley became an angel again, would that really be so bad? In his mind, it wouldn't change who Crowley is. It would just make them both safer and allow them to be together. (He's wrong! And Crowley doesn't see it that way! But this is a key miscommunication. Aziraphale doesn't really believe that becoming a demon changed Crowley. Back to the first scene, which Aziraphale references during the Job minisode. In his eyes, Crowley is the same person (just more cynical because of what's happened to him)-- so why would it matter if he's an angel again? I truly don't think he was trying to save Crowley, or saying that Crowley would be Better as an angel. To him, it doesn't matter what Crowley is. Which is reductive and harmful, but not the same as thinking Crowley needs rescuing from himself.)

Second conclusion: he sees that an angel and demon can be in love, but they have to run away to be together. Gabe and Beelz couldn't go home again. Earth is Aziraphale's home, but after the attack on the bookshop he learned that without Heaven's protection he can't really keep them safe there. Metatron says: "Come with me, do this thing, and you can have guaranteed safety AND be with the love of your life". Poor Aziraphale wants this with every fiber of his being. All he's ever wanted was for Crowley to be safe. He's never been able to offer it. Over the past four years, he thought they were safe, but he's just learned that he was wrong.

This is getting long. Continued in Part Two!

#good omens #good omens analysis #good omens meta #good omens season 2 #good omens season 2 spoilers #gos2 spoilers #everything is meant #the psychology of it all #forumulating a TV show in my spare time what can I say #crowley #aziraphale #character analysis #putting the pieces together

[paigemathews]

Me: I am absolutely a totally normal human being.

Me whenever I think about the next gen in the unchanged future and the ramifications in the changed future: ahhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

#abi speaks #just. unholy shrieking i am so feral about it #this mental daydream is like two seconds from getting a real ass plot #solely so that i can have bianca casually ask chris if they're starting another revolution #like. the uf warrens are just. ahhhhh #most of them are dead yes by the time chris goes back in time but like. that Does Not Mean that they did not make it a fucking challenge #i have so many headcanons about the unchanged future and absolutely no fucking where to put it #bc even in my fics most of this isn't going to be like. i don't wanna say relevant but that's probably the best word for it bc like #it's gone. it's destroyed. chris doesn't remember in the main series and sure af isn't talking about it in the alt one #but also it's kind of depressing as fuck to just. write an entire series in the uf when we all know how it ends #but like. fucking hell if it isn't a story. #especially mel (bc ofc i decided that mel exists in the uf for some reason) and uf!mel is just. a damn icon like i love her so much #and i have!! no where!! to put this information!! or justification!! in a fic!!! #i need to stop listening to my badass playlists bc it gets me hyped up #and i was MEANT to be doing laundry #there are sheets in the washer. that is as far as we've gotten bc i got ~distracted~

[son1c]

i had another "plot" dream last night and it was kind of insane? like, first of all, starline was in it. and, basically, in my dream, he was still alive but instead of creating surge and kit to kill sonic and tails, he had a different plan. and it was kind of... a lot LOL like it was very much giving "guy with way too much time on his hands".

what starline did was basically create this like, dollhouse of a town in a very remote part of the world (it was specifically a snowy mountain, this will be relevant later). and he altered the memories of the people living there so they didn't remember sonic as the world hero(TM), but rather Their Small Town Hero who just so happened to live there and be awesome. the vibe was very... hallmark meets horror.

cuz starline ALSO kidnapped sonic, but i guess he knew he wouldn't be able to kill him? so in order to "get him out of the way" he just used the warp topaz to make him think he lived in this mountain town and also he reallyyyyy loved snowboarding (not a difficult thing to do, since he DOES love extreme sports and going fast down a snowy cliffside already agrees with his personality).

so like, months go by and no one can fucking find sonic right. he's just dropped off the face of the earth. and his friends are starting to get worried because yeah, sonic disappears sometimes. but never for this long and never without letting at least tails know he's alright. and it's especially bad because with sonic gone, now eggman is causing trouble, and it's exactly what starline wants. he is Winning.

BUT! eventually shadow is able to track down sonic ??? somehow. i think he was able to get information from rouge via her connection to g.u.n. about the town. anyway. when shadow finds sonic, sonic has no fucking idea what he's talking about, and he's also annoyed because there's gonna be a snowboarding competition soon, and he's totally icing the vibe, man. so the only way shadow can get sonic to listen to him is if he beats him in a snowboarding competition ???

like i said it felt VERY hallmark LOL. also something was sonic was talking in a british accent for some reason ??? i think it's cuz when he lost his memory in idw, he had that strange posh accent for some reason. it was very silly. anyway

#text heavy #what if it was all just a dream (it was)