#julia is such a writer's pet and it's Not Even Fun. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

half-giant · 1 year

Text

So I finished that new Wednesday TV show, and I have thoughts about it. But, in short: it wasn’t bad, just disappointing. Spoilers throughout this post if you care.

I’ll start with what I liked:

The casting, particularly for the Addams themselves, was fantastic. Luis Guzmán played Gomez, and was practically on par with Raul Julia. I can see him doing the Mamushka. Catherine Zeta-Jones is a lovely Morticia. She’s a little more lighthearted than I expected, but she makes it feel authentic. And Fred Armisen makes for a both creepy and kooky Uncle Fester.

And the other cast were fun as well. You can tell they had a good time making the show. They come across as a little Riverdaley at times, but that comes down to the writing (which I’ll be getting to).

And I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about Jenna Ortega as Wednesday. She is THE highlight of the show, delivering her lines perfectly, and capturing the feel of a girl from a family of lovable psychopaths. Even when everything else seemed bad, I enjoyed her as Wednesday.

Also Thing. I don’t think this counts as casting, but Thing was done very well. Incredibly expressive given that Thing is just a hand. I think my favorite moment was in episode one when he curls down two of his fingers to simulate bending the knee in submission.

The set design and costuming were also done very well. The school uniforms gave a cohesive aesthetic to most of the cast, while still allowing characterization through the minor customization of done by individuals. The scenes were mostly kept to a few key sets: Wednesday and Enid’s room, The Conservatory (where all two or three classes we see are held), The Weathervane (a café), and Principal Weems office, as well as the woods. And those sets look very pretty, as are the one or two off sets, even if they’re less complex.

The quips, for the most part, were actually funny, and the show let itself sit in emotional moments without feeling a need to undercut them. That’s a low bar to clear, sure, but I’ve seen enough Marvel movies that it feels refreshing.

The moment in particular that most impressed me was when Thing was stabbed and Wednesday thought he was dead. She’s on the verge of tears (we know she hasn’t cried since her pet was killed as a child) and Uncle Fester is shocking him to try to resuscitate him or something. Here she tries to make a quip, but it doesn’t come off as funny. It comes off like a scared girl who’s afraid of losing her friend, who’s afraid it’s already too late. (I don’t know whether this was something the writers intended or just something Ortega interpreted herself, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt given how well it turned out)

Now onto the stuff I thought wasn’t so good. Which I think I shall divide into questions I asked multiple times while watching:

Why do they call themselves that? The show makes it clear pretty early on that in this world vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of other monsters not only exist but are known by the world at large. Nevermore Academy is a place for all those freaks and weirdos (affectionate) to gather. And they call them “outcasts”, which is used as a technical term and comes off a bit stilted (particularly when Wednesday has a psychic vision where a bunch of New England puritans say it).

It’s much weirder, however, when everyone who isn’t an outcast is called a “normie.” Now, if this were a thing the students used it wouldn’t be so bad (and for the 3/4 of an episode it’s used that way I liked it), but it seems to also be the technical term (it’s used by the principal, the mayor, and the sheriff). I feel like I’m 16 again the number of times I heard normie used. I would rather die than be 16 again.

Why weren’t they in college? This is a question I have for most every show set in a high school, and Wednesday fails to give a satisfactory answer. The characters seem to spend more time out of class than in it. They are constantly off campus. One of the characters, Tyler (who I presume is also in high school), seems to spend every moment not at home working at the local cafe, morning and evening.

Why are the Addams family so adverse to murder? Wednesday seems appalled by the idea her father could be a murderer. And her Mother is appalled that Wednesday believes her father is a murderer. Tied into this, in a flashback, we see Gomez get his ass handed to him by some rando (not actually a rando but he kinda is) and seem unable to fight. Morticia too, seemed to not understand how to hold a sword, despite being the captain of the fencing team.

In The Addams Family (1991), Morticia and Gomez discuss meeting at Gomez’s cousin’s funeral when he was “Still a suspect.” Then in Addams Family Values, Gomez accidentally cooks a stripper in a cake for his brother’s bachelor party. It’s pretty sexist, but it shows the family’s attitude towards manslaughter and murder. Nonchalance.

And in Wednesday, they have this attitude 90% of the time, but then actual murder happens and suddenly it’s “Your father is innocent.” I wish he had murdered that dude, it would have been cooler.

Wait, why did no one comment on the bad guys (One of whom is an actual Puritan witchhunter) using magic? Isn’t that, like, super hypocritical? Asking this question almost worries me that I’m asking to have my hand held and be spoonfed my morality, but I honestly don’t think the writers even realized the contradiction here. I figured someone would have said even a throw-away line about this. But no, everyone just accepts that the bad guys use magic. I’m not surprised the bad guys are hypocrites, but you’d think that someone would at least use that to make a point.

If Wednesday is so woke, why does she act like the cops are the good guys? This could be better phrased as “Why isn’t this show subversive when it clearly wants to be?” I actually think I have a good answer for this one, Tim Burton. He likes the aesthetics of transgression, but doesn’t actually like transgressing. His characters look like freaks but aren’t. The word for this where I came from is poser.

Wednesday works as a detective and constantly tries to collaborate with the sheriff despite knowing that he hates her, thinks her father is a murderer, and also doesn’t want her around. The end of the season shows that he’s corrupt (he at the very least suspected his son was a monster), but she insists on doing it through proper channels or whatever.

In addition, the show uses “woke” language a lot, and it makes me cringe every time. I don’t mind that it wants to be woke, I’m not some chud. In fact I encourage it. You might even call me a feminist. The problem with Wednesday (2022)��s language is that it merely comes across like early 2010′s pop feminism, without actually saying anything. A character says “There’s no patriarchy in the [bee]hive.” I think that sentence alone encompasses everything I mean.

Do you think this could have used a rewrite? That’s a bad way to use my framing device, but I don’t know how else to say it. A lot of the show has good ideas, but it needs rewritten to actually be good. Whether this is a dialogue, or characters, or plotting, or just factual information. We establish that Wednesday is smart. I like this a lot. I love it when a girl gets to be smart in media. I wish she sounded smart. I wish anyone sounded smart. No one sounds stupid luckily, but there wasn’t enough time spent refining the script. Instead we just get glimpses of what it could have been. Maybe I have too high a standard for TV, or media in general ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Most importantly, why wasn’t it gay? I was properly queerbaited by the marketing for this show, and I want to complain about how ungay this show is. Despite making a poster for the show with the text “Wednesgay,” there are only two queer characters in the show. They are the mothers of Eugene and are in maybe three scenes with maybe 10 lines between the two of them. This damn show promised me a gay Wednesday Addams, and instead I got her stuck in the world’s shittiest love triangle between the guy we’re supposed to think is the murderer and the actual murderer (who are both the most CW characters in the show). For that alone I must give this show a 0/10.

I will watch season two but I will be frowning and shaking my head throughout.

#Wednesday (2022)#wednesday spoilers #I would say I actually liked it quite a lot #Just please let it be gay next time

1 note · View note

kita-lavellan · 4 years

Text

Beyond The Veil OC Question Time September-October

QUESTION TIME for September 25th - October 25th

Within our Dragon Age discord Beyond the Veil, we have a place dedicated to original character development and OC questions – so we figured we’d bring QUESTION TIME to tumblr too, for both our members & whoever may wish to join in with us!

HOW IT WORKS Feel free to answer/use the question-list in this post however you please, though the idea is that you send at least one question to the askbox of each member on the pinglist as and when you can, creating a hub of OC talk and activity. That way, everyone is able to answer questions and share their Dragon Age characters with the fandom community. Feel free to keep the question train going for as long as you like! Answer for one or all of your OCs – answer as simply or as detailed as you feel! Most of all, enjoy and have fun!

To be added to the pinglist for next month, drop me a message or check out the pinned googledoc in the OC-Question-Time channel in the Beyond The Veil Discord.

PINGLIST for this month:

Some users are also willing to be contacted via Discord DM. Please check the pinned spreadsheet in the OC Question Time Channel for these users. ~

ORIGINAL CHARACTER QUESTIONS

Between your character, and their Love Interest, which of them can't seem to keep their hands to themselves?

Describe their ideal bedroom.

Describe your characters perfect home, if they were to build and design it themselves.

Do your character and their Love Interest have pet names/nicknames for each other?

Does your character care what strangers think of them or do they not place any value on strangers opinions? Does this change when it comes to the opinions of their friends?

Does your character enjoy hugs?

Does your character have an tattoo's? (Other than Vallaslin)

Does your character have any distinguishing physical features?

Does your character have any scars? How did they get them?

Does your character know how to dance? Are they a good dancer?

Does your character prefer sunrises or sunsets?

Has your character ever had their heart broken?

How does your character deal with emotional pain?

How does your character feel about marriage? Is it something they want for themselves?

How does your character react to thunderstorms?

How well does your character accept help and assistance from others?

How would your character describe their Love Interest?

How would your character react to their Love Interest resting their hand on your characters thigh/gently stroking their inner thigh, under the table at a formal dinner? Would they be able to keep their cool, or would they be blushing and stumbling over their words?

If your character could be remembered for something, what do they want the history books to remember them for?

Is there something in their past that they would change no matter what? Even if the consequences on the timeline were unknowable/unpredictable?

Is your character more likely to hide an injury, or let people know they need healing? Why? If they are hiding an injury, do they have any tells that their friends might be able to pick up on?

It's early morning. The sun is just beginning to slide rays of light through the windows of your characters bedroom. What are they doing/what is their reaction?

Tell me about your characters favourite childhood memory.

Tell me something that is guaranteed to make your character angry?

What about your character makes them most memorable to other people?

What are some of your characters favourite things? Tell me as many as you can think of, and why!

What are your characters emotional or moral weak points?

What does your character do as a sign of affection amongst their friends? Their family? Their Love Interest?

What is your character's drink of choice?

What is your character's least favourite weather?

Dealer's Choice; Pick your favourite question that no one has asked you yet, and answer it for me!

#Beyond the Veil #Beyond The Veil Discord #BTV #BTV Discord #OC Questions #OC Question Time #Original Character Questions #OC Asks #Original Character Asks #Beyond The Veil OC Question Time #Beyond The Veil Original Character Question Time #BTV OC Asks #Beyond The Veil Original Character Asks #Dragon Age #Dragon Age Discord

27 notes · View notes

anakinlove · 3 years

Note

Hi!! I was wondering if you have any advice,,, I know that in order to become a better writer, I need to write. However, I'm afraid that what I write will turn out not-so-great, and it's keeping me from writing :'( Do you have any thoughts on this? (& sorry for bothering you!)

Hey! Sorry for the late reply, I’ve just been thinking about this all day to actually try to give advice and not just go “oof couldnt be me”

I know that it is scary to think about your work being out where anyone can see it. I struggle with it myself. I worry that the fic I spent 8 hours on will get hate or quite frankly worse, not get read. But I PROMISE YOU there is always going to be at least one person that loves it. Hopefully enough to leave a comment on it, but I know that there are fics I think about that I read when I was 13 and was too young and dumb to comment on.

My main advice would be to never let anything keep you from writing. If I had stopped writing the second I had gotten hate for it I would only have one fic. But I didn’t. I kept writing because I love it, and I know there are other people that like reading my fics too! There are going to be people that love reading yours.

If you want, I will show you what my earliest writing looks like. It’s bad. It’s gross. It’s definitely awful, but if I had stopped when I was 14 then I wouldn’t have learned what I have. Just keep writing and eventually you’ll write something you’re so proud of you could burst. I was so proud of my very first Percabeth fic that I cried when I posted it. There’s no better feeling. Set It Free (my reader breaking up with anakin fic) is literally one of my proudest achievements bc like, I did that!! It’s mine!!!!

Overall: don’t let anything keep you from writing. Just don’t. It’s not worth it, when writing is so fun! Same goes for anything else in your life, be it art or something else. ALSO???? TAG ME IN YOUR FIC BABE LIKE DAMN I’M ALWAYS IN THE MOOD TO READ SOMETHING NEW

Ily anon thanks for stopping in💖

But if you would like some ~pointers~ from a non-professsional writer I have written some down here below the cut:

I just want you to know that I am absolutely not a professional and quite frankly most of these are probably my opinions, but if they help you/ you have more questions please let me know, I’m always happy to help! Some of these might suck to hear but they are all the truth to me.

Honestly I think one way to get better is to make sure to always try to write longer fics. I find that having more time to play with the characters, more opportunities for different types of characters, and more descriptions for your scenes are always great ways to improve, because you might google more words that you didn’t know existed, or find new ways to describe something. If you always write a clear blue sky try writing a dark and stormy one!

Don’t be afraid to put actions in the middle of dialogue. For example:

“You’re so cute,” I smiled, laughing softly, “I wish I could be more like you.”

you can even do something like:

“May I...” he whispers hoarsely, sounding desperate. Like he needs something. “May I hold you?”

It breaks apart your paragraphs better rather than “Dialogue.” Description. Like yes absolutely use that, but test new waters! Go to new lands with your writing!

I know a lot of people that don’t do outlines for their fics, but I do! It gives me a clear set of directions for what I want to happen. Here is an example of one for an up-and-coming fic:

This one is VERY in depth, mostly because I have a lot things I want to happen and I’m practically writing the story within the outline. I’ve also seen some that are

“He kisses her here, smooch smooch.

time to do the deed here

end with snuggles!”

(I’m looking at you Julia)

It’s just an easy way to know what you want to happen, and it prevents getting offtrack, or rambling.

I know this is going to sound stupid, but not every sentence in a fic has to be poetry. Unless you are specifically going for a poetic fic, you don’t have to spend four sentences describing the shade of brown of your character. It can be just brown. A honey brown works too! Small descriptives in-between large ones are always my go-to. If you want to spend four sentences describing the hair, then only spend one describing their clothes, or something else. Poetic fics can be beautiful when you’re specifically going for that style. There are plenty of writing styles. Find yours! Experiment!

Try not to switch point-of-views. If you are writing in the third person, then please stay third person for that fic. Same goes for second and first. Switch between characters if it fits the scene for sure! But one of my huge pet peeves is seeing:

She stood at the edge of the water, overlooking the lake surrounded by treews.

“It’s so pretty” I said to no one. I looked around and noticed to my left that there was a very large tree.

It seemed pretty easy to climb, you thought. So you climbed it all the way to the top.

It just breaks the story apart. It sounds like three different people are narrating it. Try to stick with one! Feel free to do one fic in third-person and another in second, but don’t switch during a fic.

If anyone wants more un-professional advice by someone who should definitely not be giving advice lmk. Or if anyone has questions, comments, or concerns also lmk.

#lili answers asks

4 notes · View notes

prettyboysdontlookatexplosions · 4 years

Note

Hi! Your dialogue has always been amazing, but it stood out to me even more in the latest chapter -- I think because we got to see Alice, and Eliot, AND Quentin, and new characters Luisa and the Selkie... If you feel like talking about it (no pressure), what's your process for this like? How do you nail characters' voices so well? They all come off as having different patterns of dialogue, tone, HOW they say whatever they're going to say.... I love it :D

omg anon this is such a flattering ask!!! i feel like this is an annoying thing to say but it does feel like i should mention up front that dialogue is probably the aspect of writing i do least consciously - like there are lines i could probably peel back and determine why i felt like writing them that way was right for a particular character, but i likely didn’t put any of that into words at the time. this is extra the case when doing something like writing fic for a television show - if there’s dialogue i’m basically always hearing the voices of the actors performing it, and that kind of steers what comes out. (one of the reasons the magicians is a lot of fun to write for is that the characters all have very distinct and well-defined voices; also i am lucky in that, as i have mentioned before, quentin and julia in particular are like the most demographically similar characters i’ve ever seen on screen to me and my oldest friends, so they especially feel very intuitive for me, haha.)

in terms of process, honestly a lot of scenes/fics start basically as more grown up versions of the daydreams i would have on long car rides as a kid where i’d make up a new episode of sailor moon in my head or whatever, and the narrative etc. fills in around that. one thing i’ve done differently in this series which particularly in the first part is so dialogue-heavy is that when i’ve had a scene really stuck in my head i’ve gone ahead and jotted it down as just a transcription of lines back and forth until i run out of steam, and then when i came to it in the actual drafting process i sort of tidied it up/built from there (a bunch of julia & quentin’s exchanges on the road, and most of the phone calls with eliot, started out that way). so that has been fun and part of a general effort to remind myself that you get to the good stuff by writing down whatever you think of on the way, and that part of it is really like playing, or daydreaming. and then for actually writing out a dialogue scene, my focus will be on like, getting everyone to say what i want them to say, more than on how it sounds, which kind of arises organically.

a couple other dialogue thoughts...

—my high school theater teacher told us once that actors doing an accent will sometimes ground themselves by picking key words/sounds to really get right, which is a principle that you can kind of apply to dialogue, too, either in terms of particular verbal tics, phrasings or constructions they tend to favor, the types of comparisons they make, etc.

—a weird amount of how i think about the world comes from high school theater, lmao... anyway my high school PLAYWRITING teacher once gave me some feedback on a scene which was that you can establish characters as people who swear a lot by having them swear a lot at the beginning, and then backing off and being more selective so your audience doesn’t get tired of/numb to it - the audience will still feel like the characters are swearing a lot, because they’ve decided the characters swear a lot so they sort of fill that in subconsciously, but the actual swearing can have more of an impact/be less cluttered. that’s not a universal rule ofc and for swearing in particular i don’t rly follow it for the magicians because the writers of the show clearly don’t either lmao, BUT - i think you can generalize this to, “if you’re clever about how you establish that something is normal, you can use way less of it than you might initially think you need to get the same effect.” i will for example sometimes go back if i’ve had a character say something paragraph length and take out a couple “likes” and other kind of naturalism-markers, because you don’t need to use them as much as people do in real life for the reader to feel like it’s realistic.

—kind of related to that, a while ago @yeats-infection said something like, “you’ll never be able to capture the full complexities of human speech on a page, so it’s better to choose how you’re stylizing and commit to it!” which is IMO great advice that i have been trying to really internalize. damage control in particular absolutely does not have “realistic” dialogue but it (hopefully at least! haha) scans as authentic / doesn’t pop as non-realistic because it’s all taking place in a story with a particular heightened, exaggerated, go-for-broke tone, so it feels real *within* the fabric of that universe. (wreck my days is kind of the opposite - a story with very sparse, almost colorless dialogue, where the characters say pretty much as little as i could get away with to tell the story, which works because it’s a story about silences papering over this churn of emotions behind them.)

—also related from that, i think a LOT, like a LOOOOT, about rob thomas once describing the dialogue on veronica mars as “how teenagers would talk if they had 24 hours to think about it”... first of all that’s a great description of the great dialogue on that great show... but second of all i feel like it points both to how much fun and liberty you can actually have while still being believable, AND what you need to do to make it work, which is the same thing you have to do for every other thing, namely: keep it rooted in character. this is to me the difference between rob thomas and someone like aaron sorkin or joss whedon — all three of them have created work with dialogue you could say is “artificially clever,” but in something like veronica mars, the dialogue all feels like the smartest and cleverest version of the specific character who is saying it, as opposed to the other dudes’ stuff, which often (to me at least!) feels like... generically clever, interchangeably clever, like any of a number of characters could say it. so like a huge part of my M. O. in writing damage control was absolutely like, “what is the meanest/funniest/most fucked up thing quentin could say in this moment,” and like, that works as an M. O. for that story because going to those extremes is, i mean, to be clear, extremely entertaining to me personally which is always my #1 reason for writing fanfiction and should be yours also, BUT, also, because leaning into those extremes is a way of illustrating how wildly disconnected quentin is from his own interiority, as well as being (particularly with eliot) one of the things he’s doing to try to feel slightly less dead inside. and also, it works because none of the things he says would really make sense or have the same effect coming from anyone else.... specificity is always the name of the game!

—related to that, it helps to listen closely to e.g. canon if you’re writing fic for a show, but it also helps to pay attention to authors whose dialogue you like to expand your toolbox for “tricking” the reader into feeling like what they’re reading is “natural.”

—two fic-specific things that are sort of peeves of mine, which, if they are not peeves if yours ignore this!!!! fic is for fun!!!! but: (1) no one on earth and no characters on the magicians use pet names with anywhere near the frequency of characters in fic especially not when they have such perfectly good affectionate and non-cheesy nicknames for each other in canon (2) i have read many a fic in my time (truly like across years and fandoms, this is not remotely magicians specific at all and in fact might even be less prominent here than i’ve usually seen) that was good and fun and well-written and well-characterized and the dialogue felt like the made-up people i knew and liked..... UNTIL it got to the sex scene and absolutely everything they said could have come from a porn dialogue generator. bonerkiller! obvs if you’re writing something where like the whole point is to write erotic content about [throws dart] quentin coldwater getting off on sucking dick while dressed as a french maid or whatever, i mean, ultimately as always do what serves the story! but if the sex scene is PART of a story rather than the whole point, imo it is sexier to have characters sound like themselves even if that means saying fewer very explicit things, or saying them more awkwardly or less “sexily,” than to go from zero to “want your huge cock in me baby, gonna fuck me so good” etc etc regardless of who’s boning. (i feel like this trend has died down a bit but there was a while where i felt like every sex scene in fic showed extreme arousal by having the characters too turned on to use the pronoun “i”... like a lot of “wanna suck your dick” “want you inside me” etc... possibly all of you are doing this in bed all the time and i am embarrassing myself by acting like it is not a universal symptom of acute horniness, but like really it struck me so odd to act like this happens every time people have sex that it started taking me out of the scene whenever i read it...)

#thank u for this anon it was an extremely fun way to procrastinate on writing this sleepy saturday afternoon #and also i feel like trying to actually think through this more than i usually do was helpful!#also i always feel like talking about this kind of thing #bc i like all writers am insanely narcissistic about writing and love getting permission to do so #askbox

12 notes · View notes

let-it-raines · 5 years

Text

Catch Me If You Can (12/?)

298 days. That’s how long Killian Jones was away from a baseball field. It’s less than a year, only part of a season for him, but it might as well have lasted a decade as he alternated between physical therapy and spending an excessive amount of time sitting on his couch.

But then he came back and won the World Series.

It’s something no one saw coming, and it’s certainly not something anyone who knows about his arm would predict. Now it’s a new season with new possibilities, and anything could happen. On-field reporter Emma Swan will be there to cover it all even if she is not his biggest fan right now.

Asking her out live on-air will do that.

Rating: Mature

A/N: Sorry not sorry for giving my main man Rafa’s ass a shoutout in this chapter. Can you guys tell that the summer tennis season was in full swing when I was writing this? 🎾

Thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke for reading through a massive amount of words and saying positive things about them to feed my ego.

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |

Tag list: @eala-captian @mariakov81 @ultraluckycatnd @royalswan @shey-starsfury @sals86 @iam2307 @ashley-knightingale @karenfrommisthaven @skyewardolicitycloisdelena91 @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @ultimiflos @jamif @idristardis @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @wellhellotragic @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @captainsjedi @teamhook @notoriouscs @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @cs-forlife @andiirivera @jonirobinson64 @galaxyzxstark @qualitycoffeethings @thejollyroger-writer

-/-

Emma: Can you do me a favor?

Killian: I feel like I need to know the favor before I say yes to that.

Emma: You’re no fun.

Killian: I have been reliably informed by my nieces that I am fun.

Emma: It’s great that you mention your nieces, because the favor is for my nephew.

Killian: Well, you should have said that first.

Emma: You’re the worst.

Killian: What do you need, Swan?

Emma: Like a month ago, I told Leo that I could get you to sign a hat for him, and I was just reminded that I haven’t done that yet.

Killian: Ah, so now I know why you’re really dating me.

Emma: Exactly.

Killian: I can most definitely get your nephew a signed hat. I’ll give it to you tonight?

Emma: Perfect. I can’t thank you enough.

Killian: You could come over on our off day tomorrow?

Emma: I like that idea. We’ve pretty much only texted for two weeks.

Killian: Or talked with a camera in our faces.

Emma: Exactly. See you tonight. I hope you have fun sitting in the dugout the entire time.

Killian: I’ve had a pretty woman sitting next to me the last few games, so it’s enjoyable.

Emma: Julia Roberts????

Emma: Okay, I really have to go, but don’t forget about the signed hat. It’s the only way that I’m going to come over tomorrow.

Killian chuckles at Emma’s last text before closing out his phone and placing it in the front pocket of his sweatpants as thunder roars to life outside, shaking the glass panes of his window as rain starts to fall from above. It’s a light sprinkling for about thirty seconds before a torrential downpour starts taking place, the sounds of the city drowned out by the late May storm that’s happening outside. He knew there was a chance that it was coming, has checked the weather obsessively as he tends to do whenever there’s the possibility of rain, and all he can do is hope that it’s a quick summer storm that dissipates long before tonight’s game so that the field can dry enough for them to play.

If this thunder and lightning continues, however, he doesn’t think that anyone will be stepping onto the field tonight.

Humming to himself, he steps away from his window and walks the few steps to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to find the ingredients he wants for an omelet and setting them out on the countertops. It takes him but a few moments to piddle around and start cooking himself a late breakfast, his coffee maker brewing behind him as the smell of coffee fills his nose, and soon enough, he’s raking his fork through his omelet so that metal scratches against glass as the rain continues to pour down outside, the sky only lightened by the occasional flash of light. It’s been a good while since it stormed like this, and oddly, he finds it relaxing.

Likely, it helps that he’s in the safety of his apartment and not currently wandering the streets of Manhattan trying to find somewhere to wait this thing out like so many others are.

When he’s finished eating his food, he settles back down on the couch and continues to watch the tennis match that’s playing, idly following along with the tournament as he scrolls through his phone and Instagram. He doesn’t follow that many people, mostly only his family and work-related things, so he sees a picture of Will and Belle smiling at the camera from the date that he knows they went on the other night, another photo of Elsa and the girls on Addy’s last day of kindergarten (how is his niece old enough to be finished with kindergarten?), and then one of Emma sitting with Ruby, the brightest smiles on their faces. They went out last night to celebrate Ruby’s boyfriend getting a raise, and while he hasn’t asked how the night went, it looks like it was a nice time.

And Emma is up early this morning, so she must not be too hungover. He’s both interested and terrified to know what his girlfriend would be like hungover.

His girlfriend.

They didn’t explicitly say the words, but they aren’t dating anyone else, aren’t planning on dating anyone else, so that’s what Emma is to him, right? It sounds childish and juvenile in a way, but it’s also…exhilarating. He never planned on feeling this way about a woman again, never planned on wanting to receive texts and have late-night phone conversations or hushed rendezvous in this little secluded corner outside of the clubhouse.

He’s really starting to like that secluded corner.

He’s most definitely starting to fall in love with Emma. He’s not…he’s not quite there yet, but he knows that it’s coming.

Terrifying. Exhilarating. Wonderful. Every feeling all at once.

His phone buzzes in his hand, Ariel’s contact popping up at the top of the screen.

Ariel: Game is cancelled for tonight. You have three days off now, but don’t just sit on your ass. Do some exercises.Get Will or Robin to practice some pitches with you. Work out that arm.I’m sure Al will text you in a minute.

Killian: I was thinking about living a sedentary life, actually. I’d like to really screw the team over again whenwe’re currently leading the AL East and have another home series against the Sox coming up.

Ariel: Don’t be an ass.

Killian: I promise that I will exercise. I already did my run this morning.

Ariel: Good boy.

Killian: I am not your dog.

Ariel: That’s debatable. You and Max are similar. I’ll talk to you later. I think Eric and I are finally going to repaint the living room.

He’s just about to close his phone when another message pops up, this time one he’s definitely not going to ignore.

Elsa: I heard the game is cancelled tonight, and that means you’re coming over for dinner. No questions asked. We changed Sunday night dinner since you’re pitching against the Sox that night and we can’t miss that. Liam insisted.

Elsa: And Anna is cooking tonight.

Elsa Jones knows all, and he loves her for it.

-/-

“Look at the paper that Mrs. Johnson gave me,” Addy tells him as she stacks a certificate on top of the toys already sitting in his lap, several things from Lucy but mostly arts and crafts that Addy has decided she must show off by drowning him with them. It’s this or drown in the rain that’s still going on outside. “It’s because I’m smart.”

“I can see that. I think you get that from me.”

“I get it from Mommy.”

“Well, that too,” he chuckles, flexing his toes in his sneakers so that his feet don’t fall asleep, the slight tingling sensation already appearing.

“Killian,” Lucy whispers, coming up to him with a stuffed giraffe that’s bigger than she is and placing it next to him, “I have a giraffe.”

“I don’t think that’s smelly enough to be a giraffe, little love.”

“I gave her a bath.”

“Ah,” he sighs, Lucy very obviously not getting his joke. He’s still trying to figure her out, her seriousness extremely unlike Addy’s loud and boisterous personality, but he gets that. She’s likely overpowered by her older sister, and he can understand that. So, the younger siblings very obviously have to stick together. It’s in all of the unwritten rules. “Did you use soap?”

“Yep.” “What about water?”

“Uh huh.”

“Hmm, okay.” He taps his chin as he thinks before reaching forward and bopping her nose so that it scrunches up on her face. “What about peanut butter?”

“No,” she giggles, her smile lighting up her face as she pets the giraffe before pressing it forward so that it’s giving him kisses. At least, that’s what she’s told him before, so he assumes that’s what is happening now. “Peanut butter is too sticky.”

“And it’s for eating,” Addison says before she’s placing yet another drawing on top of his lap. Where does the kid get the supplies for this? There’s no way it’s all coming from her school.

“Speaking of that, what do the two of you say about us leaving your playroom and going down to the kitchen to see when I can get some food in my belly. I’m a growing boy. I need my food.”

“You’re not growing anymore because you’re an adult.”

He winks at Addy, amusement running over every inch of him. “That’s what you think, sweetheart.”

Carefully, he starts undoing the pile that’s been covering him, making sure not to rip any of the papers or stack the stuffed animals in the wrong way, before he stands from the ground, his knees popping the slightest bit. That was an awkward position for him to sit in for a long time, hence the feet that fell asleep, and he definitely doesn’t need to be hurting himself in unconventional ways when he’s already prone to injury. His arm has felt fine since Florida, all of his games pitched until the fourth or fifth inning, and he’s convinced himself that it was simply a one-time thing. It’s not going to get that bad again.

He won’t let it.

He can’t. He won’t miss any other physical therapy sessions with Archie, and he’s not going to overdo it.

“Alright,” he laughs, leaning down and scooping each girl up over his shoulders to the sound of their giggles, “let’s go find out what your Aunt Anna is cooking for dinner.”

They’re still so small right now, but with Addy turning six at the end of June, he’s not sure how long he’s going to be able to hold both of them at once as he walks down the stairs of the townhome from their playroom to the kitchen where he can already hear everyone who wasn’t pawned off onto the kids talking.

“Killian,” Elsa scolds the moment she sees him, “put them down. Your shoulder.”

“It’s fine, Els,” he huffs even as he puts them on the ground, a slight bit of relief running through his body. “I can pick my nieces up.”

“But – ”

“I am fine,” he promises, stepping into the room to brush his lips over Elsa’s temple. “It smells good in here. What are we eating?”

“Stuffed shells,” Anna answers as she chops up a cucumber, hopefully for a salad and not the stuffed shells. “I had some leftover marinara sauce and wanted to use it.”

“Bless you,” he sighs, resting his elbows against the countertop. “Are your parents coming tonight?”

“They are stubborn and refuse to come to Sunday dinners when it’s not on a Sunday,” Anna tells him as she presses up on her toes to check in the oven. “They do not understand baseball in the way that we understand it.”

“To be fair, it’s not like someone they’re related to is a player,” Kris says.

“Hey, I am a not-so-distant relative by marriage, thank you very much.”

“I’m their son-in-law,” Kris adds, a slight roll of his eyes as he eats a roll, “and sometimes they don’t even acknowledge me.”

“Well, that’s just because they don’t think your job is a real job, sweetie.”

“Someone has to decorate the city for Christmas! It’s real! Killian plays a sport for a living!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Killian playfully scoffs, cutting his toward Kris, “we don’t have to shit on my job to build yours up.”

“Language,” Liam warns before he takes a sip of his beer. All of them look over to the girls only to find that neither are paying any attention to them. Good. he doesn’t want to be the reason they start cursing. That is not something he’s going to have blamed on him. “And we all love the Karlssons, but they are definitely a little more old-fashioned on things. I’m a doctor, though, so I don’t have to worry about any of their judgment.”

Elsa chuckles before she slaps Liam’s shoulder, her eyes practically rolling to the back of her head. “Don’t be a jerk when you are far too invested in your brother’s career and have Kris come and decorate the house every year. A job is a job, and they have two really cool ones.”

“I was kidding, darling.” He leans in and presses his lips against Elsa’s, lingering a little too long, but that’s how they are sometimes. It’s sweet and awful all at once, and it makes him wish that he could bring Emma along to things like this instead of being the fifth wheel, seventh if Addy and Lucy can be considered a pair. “Killian, how are you handling having so many unexpected days off? I’m surprised you can even sit still when you’re so used to having something to do.”

Killian shrugs his shoulders, his nails tapping against the countertop as he feels four pairs of eyes staring at him and waiting for him to answer. “I mean, I wasn’t playing any of these days anyways, so I did my workouts at home today instead of going into work. Tomorrow will be the same, and then we’ll have games again.”

“Oh. You have tomorrow off?” Elsa asks, her eyes lighting up.

“Uh, yeah, I should. I’ve just got to do some weight training exercises and do my shoulder exercises. Why?”

“Do you want to watch the girls?”

Oh.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Reaching up to scratch behind his ears, he tries to think of an excuse, any excuse, but is coming up all kinds of short. Dammit.

(He’s probably going to be the reason Addy and Lucy start cursing.)

“I’m a little busy, love.”

“It’s your off day. What could you possibly be doing?”

“Doctor’s appointment and then a few errands,” he lies, enough guilt festering in his stomach that he may as well go ahead and schedule an appointment for his stomach. Then he won’t have really lied, right? “By the time I get everything done, you’ll practically be off work. I can spend another day with them, though. I’ll take them out to eat or to the park or even the zoo.”

“What kind of doctor’s appointment? Everything okay?”

“Just a normal check-up.” He clicks his tongue, his toes bouncing him up and down on the floor. “So, everyone’s coming on Sunday, right? Let me know where you want to sit, and I’ll get Ariel to arrange everything.”

It’s the most obvious change in conversation that he can think of, but it’s also literally all he can think of. He’s an asshole for telling Elsa he can’t spend time with the girls, but he was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place there. It’s either disappoint his nieces or disappoint Emma, and while he’d like to disappoint no one, that’s not really an option. He had plans with Emma first, and that’s what he’s going to stick to. Maybe one day they’ll be in a situation where he can take the girls with him, and all four of them can do something without him having to lie to his family.

Today is not that day.

They’ll figure it all out.

There’s another loud crash of thunder outside, and his head turns to the side to look at the darkness outside. He’s not sure if this rain is every going to stop, and he’s really kind of dreading going home in this weather.

“Do you remember when we were younger, and you used to try to get struck by lightning?”

“Because I’m an idiot,” Killian chuckles to Liam, leaning back from the countertop and pulling a barstool out to sit on. “I thought I’d be Thor or something if I got struck by lightning.”

“That’s pretty cute, actually,” Anna gushes. “Elsa used to think that she could control the snow because she’d ask for it to snow and it usually would.”

“Anna,” Elsa laughs as she buries her face in her hands, “why are you always sharing such weird things about me?”

“Because Liam was sharing weird things about Killian, and I thought it would be funny.”

“Growing up, you guys spent December in Norway,” Liam points out while he rubs his wife’s back. “It snowed all the time. Of course you thought you could control the snow. That’s cute, sweetheart. You and Killian think you can control the weather.”

“Els, are you feeling attacked right now?” he asks.

“Absolutely.”

“I think we should get more food than everyone else for this torture.”

Elsa peeks through her fingers with a smile. “I like the way you think.”

-/-

“A signed hat, just as you requested, milady.” Killian holds the hat he signed for Leo out to Emma as he mockingly bows down in front of her while motioning her into his apartment.

“You’re so dramatic,” she laughs even as she takes the hat, placing it between her fingers before she’s wrapping her arms around his neck and slowly sliding her lips over his, her teeth already nibbling as his hands find her hips, tugging them closer to his. Bloody hell has he missed being able to do this and feeling the warmth of Emma even if she is chilled by the rain. “Thank you for that hat.”

“No problem,” he murmurs against her mouth before he closes the door with his foot and backs Emma up against it so that their bodies can press further together, her mouth opening for him as their tongues curl together in a slow, warm heat that’s simmering over every inch of him. Emma’s fingers are nimble against the back of his neck, and when she cants her hips up, brushing where he’s already half-hard against her, he groans into her mouth, weeks and months of wanting starting to boil within him. It’s hungry and rough, and he has to stop himself from stripping them out of their clothes right then and there by pecking her mouth two times before resting his forehead against hers and inhaling a sharp breath. “Hi, Swan.”

“Hi,” she sighs as her hand falls from his hair to rest on his chest, right over his wildly beating heart. She can likely feel it. “We probably should have said that first.”

“Eh, I liked our greeting better.”

She blinks up at him, her face bare of makeup so that her lashes are blonde, and her freckles are showing, before she smiles a smile so bright that he figures that happiness can be tasted on her tongue.

“It was a good greeting. I approve.”

“Me – ” he presses the inch forward to kiss the smile, “ – too. Have you eaten?”

“It’s seven in the morning. No, I haven’t eaten.”

“That’s what I figured. You want to order in, or do you want me to make you something?”

Emma hums, her bottom lips pulled between her teeth as she thinks. “You can cook. I’m here to use you for your autograph skills, your cooking, and your cable.”

“What about me?”

“You’re on the list somewhere.” Emma giggles when he runs his fingers against the skin above her shorts, and he catalogs that spot away in the back of his mind because he can most definitely use that in the future. “I’m going to get to the TV part first, though, because Roland Garros is on, and there are some matches I want to watch.”

“It’s already on.”

“I like the way that you roll, twenty-nine.”

She pushes off of him and walks the few feet into his living room, flopping down on the couch and immediately resting her feet up on his coffee table. It’s a comfortable move, and he likes that Emma feels comfortable in his home. He’ll never quite get over that. All of their private moments are here or in one of their hotel rooms when they’re on the road, and as much as he sometimes loves those rooms, nothing compares to this.

He ate too much yesterday, Anna’s stuffed shells and rolls still residing in his stomach, so he only bothers to make enough batter to make Emma a waffle since she never said what she wanted, even when he just prodded her for more information. He knows that she likes them considering she’s always eating them in the hotel dining rooms, and since the other option that came to him was a grilled cheese sandwich at seven in the morning, he figures a waffle will have to do. He very much doubts Emma is going to complain when he’s found that the way to her heart is most definitely food.

Junk food specifically.

When the waffle maker beeps several minutes later, he opens it up and plates Emma’s food, grabbing some fruit out of the fridge and topping it. He most definitely sneaks away a few of her blackberries, but, really, he deserves that. He cooked after all.

(And this is his apartment.)

“Thank you,” Emma says when he places it in her lap before sitting down next to her on the couch, their shoulders hitting together before he wraps his arm over the back of the couch, his fingers tapping against her shoulder. She leans to the side and presses a kiss to his cheek. “You’re sweet.”

“Oh, I most definitely know.”

Her eyes roll. “You didn’t want to eat?”

He groans at the thought. He’s already gotten up and done some of his stretches, drinking a protein shake, and he probably won’t eat anything else serious until tonight. “I ate too much yesterday, and I’ve had this really bad influence on me lately for how I’m eating so I’m trying to be better.”

“Sorry not sorry,” she mumbles, her cheeks puffed out with waffles inside. Did she just stuff the entire thing in there? There’s a thwack of a tennis ball against a racket on his television screen, and he turns his attention from Emma chewing to watch Rafael Nadal slide against red clay, making it all look effortless even when Killian knows that nothing about being an athlete is effortless, not even natural talent. “Damn,” Emma sighs, “that is one good ass.”

If he was eating, he’d choke on his food.

“W-what?” he sputters out, looking between the TV and Emma.

She pokes her fork at the screen, waving it in the air. “Rafa’s ass. That’s, like, a dream ass. Just look at it.”

His mouth is gaping open as he looks between Emma putting her plate of food on the coffee table and the television screen, his eyes taking in another man’s ass like this is the most normal conversation for him to be having before eight in the morning. But then again, when is anything about his relationship with Emma normal?

“I mean, it’s okay,” he lies, sinking down a little further in the couch as a ball launches into the air. “I’ve been told time and time again that my ass is pretty good too.”

Why in the world did he say that? What is wrong with him?

“I mean, you have a good ass that I very much appreciate, but no one has an ass like…that. It’s insane.”

“Should I feel insecure about the fact that you’re admiring another man’s ass?”

“No,” she promises, not even bothering to look at him as she pats his thigh, her hand likely a little higher than she intended as he grits his teeth at the touch, “but you should admire this man’s body. And his tan. People would pay a lot of money for a tan like that.” She twists her head to the side to look at him, quirking her brow. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” he laughs as he reaches down to her hand and threads their fingers together, bringing her knuckles up to his lips to brush a kiss there, “I’m simply coming to the realization that my girlfriend as a thing for other athletes.”

“Step up your game, Jones.”

“I’ll try, I’ll try. I didn’t know I had any competition, so I was unprepared.”

“That is shame. I look forward to seeing how you make up for it.”

“I’ll start thinking.”

They lapse into easy conversation like they always do when they’re together, and despite all of their early complications and some of the complications that they still have, that’s what this relationship is…easy. He’s got no clue why Emma agreed to his crazy plan, but she did. That’s all that matters. As the rain continues to pour down outside for the second day in a row, he tells her about his day yesterday and how ridiculous his family is in their group meals and constant conversation. He loves them, but he imagines that to anyone else, it would be overwhelming to come into that environment. Emma shares that she spent her morning with David yesterday, hence the reminder of the autographed hat, and tells him that Ruth is planning on coming into town sometime in June. He can’t tell if she’s happy or nervous about that, but he imagines it’s somewhere in between for how Emma feels about her foster mother and the distance there.

Families and almost-families and non-families are all so damn complicated, and as fucked up as his past family life is, it makes him thankful for what he has now. They’ve gotten him through some of his darkest times, and very few people make him smile in the way that they do.

Emma.

Emma makes him smile like that.

As the morning passes, tennis ending and Netflix being switched on instead, Emma relaxes further into him, and he finds that under the dull roll of rain, nothing and no one else exists outside of the two of them. His fingers trace the skin of her upper thigh, an absentminded motion that becomes more focused when he sees small little bumps rising over her pale skin. He never thought he could enjoy the sight of pale skin so much until he saw the way Emma’s thighs look in these shorts.

She is exquisite.

“Killian,” she gasps when his nails move to her inner thigh, and when he looks over to her with a smirk, he can see the blush rising on her cheeks as her lips part and her eyes blacken with desire.

He’s wanted this for far too long, even with the short time that they’ve been together, and it’s what has him leaning into her and cupping her cheek with his palm, his thumb pressing into her bottom lip to open her up into him so that he can lick into her mouth with absolutely no hesitation, another warm, toe-curling slide that has Emma sighing into him as her hands grapple to grab onto his shirt.

It’s a quick escalation, something he can’t quite keep track of with the way that she feels under him, moving against him, and the only coherent thought that he has is the fact that this couch must be damn lucky for everything that’s happened on it.

Which is a ridiculous thought.

Desire continues to run through him, vibrations moving down each of his vertebrae and to the base of his spine, and the little sounds that Emma is making are nearly driving him into madness at the thought of sliding into her, feeling the slick heat and tight walls and…

“Ah fuck,” he murmurs into Emma’s neck, physically and mentally cursing himself.

“What?” she gasps, still rolling her hips up as her nails scratch across his biceps.

“I don’t have any condoms.”

“Oh? I – ”

“I can go buy some from the Duane Reade right across the street. It won’t be any problem, love.” He pulls back from Emma with a hiss, his pants incredibly tight despite the elastic band, only for her to yank him back down, their bodies melding together. “W-what?”

“Later,” she speaks against his lips, and it’s only now that he sees the utter darkness in her eyes, hears the deep desire in her voice. “We’ll get condoms later. We can do other things until then.”

Well those words go straight to his groin.

He arches a brow as he rolls his hips into Emma’s, his hardness meeting her softness through clothes, and she lets out a moan that he wants to memorize for all of eternity. “Yeah? Like what?”

Emma rolls her eyes, but there’s still the slightest bit of a smile on her face. “You’re a baseball player. Don’t you know about all of the bases? I feel like we’ve talked about this before.”

Killian has to press his mouth into the skin of her collarbone, his laugh muffled and the vibrations of it working their way through Emma as his fingers trace the hem of her shorts, dipping just below the elastic waist so that he can feel the edges of her underwear.

Fucking hell.

“I hate you for making that joke,” he sighs against her. His left hand keeps getting lower as his right moves higher and higher until his fingertips are ghosting over the soft swell of her breast. “You are ridiculous.”

“But you like it.”

“And I imagine,” he whispers as he bites down onto her collarbone and readjusts himself so that his knee is between her thighs and that his fingers are brushing against her clit, “that you like this.”

Emma lets out a sharp gasp, and he looks up to see her practically panting at his touch and at the slow circles that he’s working to build her up all the while he palms her breast, her nipple pressed between his thumb and forefinger. It may have been some time, but he knows that it’s not a lot of pressure, just a simple up and down motion between her bundle of nerves and her opening, but from the sounds Emma is making and the way her body is moving, he knows that he’s got a pretty good rhythm going on.

“So, you like that?” he murmurs into her neck as his fingers slip inside of her, curling the slightest bit.

“Oh, fuck yes.”

“That’s a good girl then.”

It’s almost overwhelming for him to see Emma like this, to see her lose her composure, her careful words and guarded heart, and he rather likes the way that he’s making her fall apart and under his touch, several curses and mutterings escaping her kiss-swollen lips as he tests out what she likes and what she doesn’t, letting her instruct him when she needs to.

Emma Swan sprawled out on his couch coming apart under his touch is something he always knew would be so damn wonderful but that he never thought would happen. It seemed to be too much of a dream.

With two more thrusts of his fingers and one circle around her clit, she goes quiet, her eyelids pressing together and her lips parting, and he presses up to cover her mouth with his, capturing the gentle moan himself as he works her through her orgasm, maybe even riling her up some more as his hips rolls against her thigh, desperately seeking some kind of friction.

This is like some kind of pleasant torture for him, and he wants both to stay like this forever but also needs more.

“I knew you knew the bases,” is the first thing she mutters afterwards, and he drops his forehead against hers, his nose pressing into her cheek so that he can breathe her on while he tries to regulate his breathing and his pounding heart.

“No more jokes about my job, love. They’re cheesy as hell, and if we’re not careful, I’m going to have an erection while on the mound.”

“Oh my God…there’s about five opportunities for a dirty joke right there.”

“I know, I know,” he chuckles, softly kissing her as he starts to focus on their surroundings and the reality of the step forward in their relationship that they just took hitting him. “You okay, Emma?”

“Yeah,” she promises, nodding her head and cupping his cheeks as she smiles that beautiful smile, this time a little more sated than usual. “I’m more than okay.”

His phone buzzes in his pocket, and he pulls it out so that he can turn it off only to see a text from Al pop up.

Al Dalton: I’m calling a mandatory practice in an hour. Be there.

“What?” Emma questions when he groans. Instead of answering, he simply hands his phone to her, letting her read the message. “Oh, that really sucks.”

“You’re telling me. I was having a much better time here.”

Emma adjusts herself under him so that he’s no longer covering her body, and he sits down against the couch, adjusting his joggers and thinking of every boner killer that he can possibly think of. He probably just needs a cold, bracing shower.

“Go to practice,” Emma sighs, a slight smile on her face, as she makes an attempt at fixing her hair. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? You’ve got to kick some Boston ass. And then maybe when that’s all over, we can continue what we started.”

“You have no idea how much I’d like that.”

She nods to his crotch with a smirk. “I think I do.”

#catch me if you can #cs fic #cs ff #captain swan fic #captain swan

93 notes · View notes

woodywenman-hyde-blog · 4 years

Text

Dominique and Me: One Recipe at a Time/BLIMEY, am I actually gonna do this??

BLIMEY, am I actually gonna do this??

Dominique and Me: One Recipe At A Time is almost my love letter to the king of pastry. Dominique Ansel is the biggest innovator to ever touch the surface of sugar, and is single-handedly changing the way we eat desserts. Most well known for the much-beloved Cronut (voted one of the best inventions of 2013), Dominique has since opened shops globally, including two right here in the UK (London).

This blog series (?), will involve me creating every single one of the recipes from his book; ‘Dominique Ansel: Secrets From The World Famous Bakery’, from beginner all the way to advanced (and trust me some of the advanced ones are pretty damn scary). Each blog post will involve a different recipe and my various meltdowns along the way. ;)

If you’re reading this and thinking “Wait a second, this concept sounds awfully familiar!”, you’re not having an acid dream (at least I hope not)! I am taking inspiration from Julie Powell, the woman behind Julie and Julia (much beloved blog, turned book, turned movie starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep). Using Julia Childs ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’, Julie Powell worked through the book making one recipe a day (unfortunately, I’m not quite that dedicated and will be working to a far more forgiving schedule). Therefore, I’m kind of calling this my ‘Julie and Julia pilgrimage’ (yesss, I’m a bit of a nerd).

I have been fortunate to visit both of Dominique Ansel’s bakeries in London (the flagship ‘Dominique Ansel Bakery London’ and the newly opened ‘Dominique Ansel Treehouse’), and his creativity, genius and flair never cease to amaze me. He is a French pastry-chef who began his career by apprenticing in restaurants local to him in France, before working in a Two-Michelin starred restaurant in NYC (I mean he’s French so its basically his god given right to be a pastry wizard, right?). Since then, Ansel has become the youngest ever to be named the ‘Worlds Best Pastry Chef’, which basically means he is the Beyoncé of pastry.

Obviously, Ansel is the creator of the world-famous Cronut. A doughnut/croissant hybrid which practically broke the internet upon its release. If you’re unfamiliar with the product; 1) Have you been living in a cave (I mean, it even gets referenced in Gilmore Girls THERES NO ESCAPING IT), and 2) Stop what you’re doing and Google it now! You’re bound to find a Tastemade video after a few clicks ;). However, that isn’t Ansel’s only viral product, he is also known for; the Frozen Smore, Watermelon Ice Cream Sandwich, Blossoming Hot Chocolate (and that’s just off the top of my head), the list would go on and on.

I certainly wouldn’t call myself a pastry chef, and that could be one of the reasons I’m so daunted by this project that I am about to undertake. Reading this so far, you’re probably thinking this writer is a middle-aged loser/pastry chef nerd with no social life and about a dozen pets. And, you wouldn’t be all wrong ;). I am 17 years old, and currently studying a Professional Cookery course at college (but trust me I have ZERO aspirations to be a chef, I swear to god if I have to butcher one more chicken I might just have a meltdown). Instead, I want to work in bakery and confectionary, most significantly cake design/decorating. From the age of 16, I have been running my own registered cake design business in my local area and can only hope to expand upon this in the future.

Okay, so now that I’ve kinda set the scene I think its about time to get the blog series started. Without sounding WAY too needy, I could really do with some of your help (I know, it comes off as really needy). It is super important that y’all stay engaged with this blog (please don’t let me be the blogger who’s only ready is their own mother, that’s not cool), and there are a whole multitude of ways to stay up to date. FIRSTLY, follow me on social media (@woodysbakes on Facebook/Instagram and @curtaincallcakes Instagram), plus you’ll get to see a whole load of other fun content (what could go wrong?). Also, make sure you subscribe to my email newsletter on my website, www.woodysbakes.com ! This way you will ALWAYS be the first to know when a new blog post has been published (usually in the very early hours of the morning when I should be sleeping ;)), surely that’s a win-win.

Lastly, I’d always love to hear your thoughts. Surely I’m not the only one to ever visit one of Ansel’s shops, if you’ve visited let me know what you thought! If you have any words of advice (trust me, the advice is NEEDED) pleaseeee comment down below, any help is always appreciated. Likewise, if you’ve tried some of these recipes and am sure that I’m going to big time fail, crush my heart with that news too ;).

I am planning to produce the first recipes in the next few days, meaning that there is hardly any wait until the first blog posts (woohoo) so I guess I better get back into the kitchen!

Kind Regards,

Woody.

1 note · View note

prettylittlelyres · 5 years

Photo

Inside the Writing Process - Part 5

I’ve been so excited about the ideas this chart has given me for Violins and Violets, so I’m making this fifth “Inside the Writing Process” post about it. It’s immensely useful for...

Expanding a Story into a Series

OK, so I’m sure a lot of people with ADHD have seen this going around and related to it a lot, but I think a lot of writers could relate to it as well in terms of things that can distract us from the main points of our WIPs (and of course some writers have ADHD anyway).

I saw a copy of this chart on Facebook yesterday, and it got me thinking. Disclaimer: I don’t know if I have ADHD (I have executive dysfunction and a lot of trouble concentrating, but I don’t know why, and don’t have time or energy to get it looked into), but it did get me thinking.

It made me think about how to organise my expansions of the world around my WIP Violins and Violets (currently seeking beta readers), because I wanted to address a lot of things in the book that just weren’t practical to address (because there’s only so much you can put in a book without it become completely unreadable. This is why I’ve never finished Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey, even though I love it, especially all the beautiful world building... it’s just too much to hold in my head). It was always in my mind that I could solve this problem (too many ideas for one book) quite simply, by writing more books.

This is a really long post, I know, but if you want to learn a fun way to come up with ideas for prequels, sequels and companion books for your story, keep reading! It’s a little bit like the snowflake method, and of course you can then use that to expand each individual idea that you have. It’s also available in shorter form here.

I’d been letting ideas for storylines involving other characters rustle around in my head since I finished the first draft of Violins and Violets in August... and then I saw this yesterday, and realised it would be a pretty good place to start thinking about the ideas that I do have, and listing them in relation to the main storyline of Violins and Violets. I spent about an hour writing down everything, just letting it all spill from my head, and this is what came up.

(Side note: I really do adore Pukka Pads Irlen refill pads. Another thing I may or may not have is Irlen syndrome, which would explain why I can’t read off white backgrounds for very long, and why my eyes hurt if I try. All I know for sure is that these pads help me so, so much, and they come in very gorgeous colours! These pages are from the “rose” pad, but I use “lavender” ones as well, a very soft and relaxing pale purple.)

Expanding Violins and Violets

Pre-Story Prologue for “Context”

Write down all ideas about character backstories to help you develop a prequel (or set of prequels) by exploring those.

Magdalena’s upbringing and Conservatory training with Dorota and Maja (these characters also never appear in Violins and Violets (with the exception of Magdalena) but I really want to explore their lives, going into more detail about Dorota and Maja’s relationship, how they raised Magdalena as their daughter, how they met, and Dorota’s fight to get Magdalena an education).

Käthe and Hansi touring Europe with their music. I’d be missing out on the opportunity to portray a fun sibling dynamic like the Mozart siblings had if I didn’t write this story. However, I do feel it might be better suited to a series of short stories, a collection of small standalone pieces, than a full-length novel, but it’s early days, and I have a lot else to do for this project in the meantime.

Franz and Julia’s early marriage/courtship, particularly how it really only happened once they were married; it would go a long way to explaining why Katharina’s parents are so relaxed about her having an arranged marriage; they genuinely believe it’ll work for her, like it worked for them (and they’re not entirely wrong, but that’s quite literally another story).

Start of Story

Consider all the characters involved in the main story, and ask yourself what’s going on in their lives that the protagonist doesn’t see. If a character only appears partway through the story, ask them what they were doing before.

Katharina goes to Prague (which is of course the main story of Violins and Violets).

Hans tours Europe with a comically large and ever-increasing pet entourage (this post goes into that in proper detail!).

Renée finds her way to Malá Strana and makes friends with Magdalena. Not for a second does she realise that a) Magdalena is with Katharina or b) that she, Renée, is in love with both of them. And then she meets the man who becomes her husband, also a big bi disaster, and Realises™.

Johann and Wilhelm meet at university; they’re both Law students. This would be a fun opportunity to take a step into the Dark Academia genre, but I’m not exactly sure what I’d do with them. Perhaps a poetic treasure hunt sort of mystery love confession? (I know already that this will be tricky because I manage to write about two proper poems a year and I’ve already written one in 2019, for Violins and Violets. I may have to put this off for a while.)

Semi-related side-story

Now think about the characters who come and go in the story and think about why that happens. Develop the stories of what they do after they leave.

Herr Benes and his boyfriend have a marvellous time in Budapest, enjoying their retirement away from the scrutiny Benes faces in the Malá Strana Opera House in Prague.

Herr Havelka is a devious and sacriligeous boi, also a sneaky bastard, but why is that? What other yuck things does he do after he leaves the Malá Strana? What is the origin of his malice?

Herr Janda retires and leaves Katharina (or Sebastian) in charge of the Malá Strana Opera House, but how does he spend his retirement? What does he think of Katharina’s continued work after she’s discovered? He’s a composer, himself, so I want to explore the compositions he works on, later in life. Maybe he’s quite inspired by Katharina both in terms of technique and ideas for music to compose in her honour.

Magdalena’s husband, Bartolomeǰ, runs a bookshop, and this is how they meet. He’s a big fan of Katharina’s music, and gets to know a lot of his regular customers. What are their stories? Who are his friends? What do they think of Magdalena? What do they think of Katharina?

Wait, OK, back to the main story

If you’re a fan of time-jumps, then a) Violins and Violets might be right up your street because it has a massive one, and b) this is probably a good and useful step for you. If not, maybe not. But ask what happens in the time-jump and then write about it. What stories can you tell about the space in between one part of your story and the other?

I want to explore Katharina's life in Salzburg, her friendship with Johann, Wilhlem, Lulu and her family, and her reconciliation with her parents after so many years apart. They're not angry at her, nor she at them, but things aren’t perfect between them, especially while they’re grieving Hans, and I want to look at that.

Something I just now remembered

Do you ever get deep down a rabbit hole, thinking about your story, and realise part of it you’d never thought about particularly deeply is actually very sad or very happy or makes you angry? Go into detail about it.

Magdalena and Bartolomeǰ never have any children born to them, but they're everyone’s Cool Aunt and Cool Uncle, and are basically extra parents to Evžen after Bartolomeǰ took him on as an apprentice.

Magdalena and Renée never lose touch after Renée leaves to marry, and Magdalena also stays in touch with Herr Benes, and they each eventually figure out the other is bi (Magdalena) and gay (Herr Benes), and have many fun letter exchanges not dissimilar to meetings in a Lesbian Crying Cupboard. I love their friendships and I want to dive into them more than I could from Katharina’s perspective alone. Imagine something like Lemony Snicket’s The Beatrice Letters, and you have some idea of the absolutely delicious format I’d want for this--because it wouldn’t be a traditional prose novel; it would be mostly epistolary, and for that, I need something a little different--all the letters bound together in a collection along with diary entries from the characters, ticket stubs from operas, playbills, pictures of gifts they send each other over the years, absolutely everything. A treasure trove and a mammoth project, but I am so entranced by this idea! The Baroque/Rococo aesthetic of the late 18th century is right up my street.

Wrap up story and finally get to the point/end of story

I’m, uh... not excellent at fully understanding the sentiment of instructions, but I feel less bad about (deliberately) misinterpreting this one, because I do so to have it mean “create an epilogue/a sequel”. Write down any ideas you have to that end.

Lulu’s children all grow up to follow careers in music. Hanna becomes an opera singer following help from Katharina and Magdalena to get her into a Conservatory in Berlin. Minna becomes a highly renowned composer (arguably a successor to Katharina), and Theo... well, I’m not exactly sure what he does, but that’s the point. I don’t have to know just yet. All I need to know is that I want to find out.

After grieving Johann, Wilhelm finds happiness and new love. Perhaps he brings his new partner to Prague, or perhaps he meets him there. That’s something I want to explore, as is...

...Herr Benes’ return to Prague with his boyfriend, meeting Wilhelm and his boyfriend (boyfriends for everyone. In this house we write gay joy or we write nothing (or we write angst)). Maybe there follow some nice rag-tag-band-of-elders adventures (quite literally a band, too, since they’ll all be musicians) and/or shenanigans. Do they all--with Katharina and Magdalena, of course--go on a fun trip to Salzburg and Eggwald together? That would be rather lovely. Some kind of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel story. Happiness.

Too many details/lose train of thought

Now’s your chance to get away from the main story! Ah, the guilty pleasure of AUs. Ah, the even more fun version of AU-related guilty pleasure where you get to write AUs of your very own novel! Go on. You deserve it, because you wrote a whole novel and you’ve read it at least as many times as you’ve drafted it... but you still want more content. You want to see how these characters that you love will cope in different worlds, different situations, different everything. Go for it. And if you have any details about the far-flung prelude or coda to the story (music terminology drop? Who’s that? I don’t know her), get into those, too. You know the ones I mean. The ones where you discuss the impact of the storyline on people centuries later, or get into the creation story of the world your characters live in.

I was fool enough to start thinking about a Vampire!AU of Violins and Violets before I had finished the first draft of the actual book. But that’s going on this list, because I have already written a slightly-related one-shot, Daughter, and I certainly don’t plan for that to be the only thing I ever make for it.

Violins and Violets and Varsity - a high school AU I’ve been thinking about since December 2018 - drawing on my experiences playing Swing Band and Pit Band in secondary school. It would be set in the UK, though, and characters would have more Anglophone-sounding names. I have some ideas for this written down somewhere in my computer, but, for now, I’m just going to leave you with the names, because I’m not certain I’m super happy about the current premise for the plot.

Katharina - Kate

Magdalena - Maddie

Hans - Henry

Bartolomeǰ - Bart

Renée - Rena

Going back to the dark academia mentioned earlier, I think it could be interesting to explore--not a modern AU, but in the modern day--how people now would look back on the lives of the characters from Violins and Violets had they really existed. I grew up not far from Reading, where an original handwritten manuscript of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was found in a charity shop in 2011, and I want to take that idea and run so, so far with it. I adore dark academia, as my followers will know, and it seems like a perfect chance to combine my knowledge of Music History and Music Theory with my current studies of Sociolinguistics. Here’s what I’m thinking:

Music History students team up with Sociolinguistics students to study the letters exchanged between the characters and coming to realise that everyone involved was a big and lovely Queer Disaster in some way or other, and that Katharina and Magdalena, as Johann and Wilhelm, were in love. And then all the students fall in love, too, because dark academia plus romance is my downfall (hence my current WIP, She Has No Name).

Steps I missed out of this process, I missed out because I couldn’t think of ways to relate them to my storyline. Those are:

What was I talking about?

Realise I’ve been talking too long.

Apologise.

If you can think of ideas to go along with those steps (although I’m hesitant to encourage anyone to apologise for what they write), too, go for it, and please let me know! I love hearing about everything you write! Now I dare you to have a go at this process for planning expansions of your story.

60 notes · View notes

themagiciansreccenter · 5 years

Text

Five@Five: @quellthefire

As a part of our author spotlight, we’ve asked each writer to highlight 5 fics and tell us a little about their experience writing (or reading) them.

So It May As Well Be Me, by achray

“Whereas Quentin, like now, found it virtually impossible to shut off his brain. Eliot was inches away from him, curled on his side, facing the wall. Quentin could feel the heat from his body. If he reached out even a little he would be touching Eliot’s naked back. If he turned on his side, slung an arm over Eliot, what would Eliot do? Would he shift to tug Quentin closer, sleepily? Would he turn towards Quentin, pulling their mouths together, their legs tangling? Eliot was bigger than Quentin, and for all that he was thin, he was strong; if he wanted to, he could roll on top of Quentin, brace himself there, holding Quentin trapped, as Quentin tried to rise up to meet him.”

This story absolutely blew my mind because it was so meta about fanfic tropes and was truly a celebration of the weird culture we all share. It was smutty and fun and just opened my mind to the fun to be had with leaning into tropes.

Modified Aspect Ratio, by @sabrinachill

“Days blur and grow hazy like a book dropped into a bathtub, the ink running and the pages dissolving into an indistinguishable pulpy mass. Quentin tries to hold it together, he really does. But the reality jumps stay unpredictably random - they’ll spend weeks in one place and only hours in others - so there’s no way to develop a routine or become comfortable. And it Just. Never. Stops. The world swirls around them like an ever-turning kaleidoscope, and the only constant, the only thing they can cling to, is one another.”

This is one of the first 75k+ fics I ever read fully, and completely changed my viewpoint on what a long fic can be. The way they utilized different genres to explore Quentin and Eliot’s relationship, as well as the role the Monster plays in this is just gorgeous and everyone needs to read it.

oh my god they were roommates, by @sadlittlenerdking

“Margo nods, tilting her head to the side, “You might just be right.” She clicks her tongue, “Come on, Q. Let’s eat, then you and Eliot can go on with pretending to be roommmates that aren’t in love with each other–”

“I thought we agreed not to bring that up?” Penny asks, though it’s all bluster, and Quentin’s going to jail, because it’s a crime of passion and he can’t even think of how to dispose of the evidence. They’re all going to die and he’s going to prison.

“Mmm,” Margo hums, pointing a finger at him, “Damn, you’re right. Sorry, Q. You and Eliot are definitely not secretly in love with each other, and aren’t going to cuddle up on this couch the second we leave and watch crappy romance movies!”

I’m a sucker for a roommates AU, and I loved how sweet Eliot and Q are together. Plus the fact that everyone else knows is just perfection.

Happy Together by @quellthefire

“At first, it had taken Quentin weeks to convince Eliot to let them get a dog. He’d gotten the idea one night when they were over at Julia and Penny’s for dinner, and Julia introduced their new beagle, Molly. Quentin had immediately fallen in love with her, nuzzling into her short, soft fur. He’d spent all night with his legs crossed on the floor, petting her and sending very pointed looks to Eliot, who pretended to be way more interested in his wine and the stories Julia recounted about her 1st-year grad students than he’d ever been before.”

This started as a Tumblr prompt ask and was supposed to be a drabble. It ended up as a 1700+ word fluff piece that was so much fun to write. I started it before 4x05 happened, as a way to console myself with the pain I was certain would come this season.

Open Secrets by @quellthefire

“He was about to round the corner into the living room when he heard Quentin’s voice.

"I like him. That’s the answer. I like Eliot. A lot. And I want to kiss him."

Eliot’s breath caught and he froze in place. He knew he shouldn’t be listening in, but how could he not? He’d never been very good at not prying when things involved him. And this was a motherfucking revelation.”

I really had a fun time writing the two perspectives of this same scene. Eliot and Quentin are so often experiencing the same things from such different viewpoints, that I wanted to make that a major plot point. Plus the idea of Eliot getting himself off to Quentin’s love confession was ridiculously hot to me.

#the magicians #the magicians rec center #five@five #author spotlight #author: quellthefire

32 notes · View notes

camcantarella · 6 years

Text

20 Questions Tag Game - Writers Edition

I was tagged by the ever so amazing @alanakusumastan. Thanks Julia! 💗💗💗 (this is really late lol I kept forgetting about it in my drafts)

Respond to the following writing questions and tag me in your response! I look forward to hearing your answers as I’ve always been curious about these!

1) When/what age did you start writing?

I started writing during the twitter fic era! What was the actual name of that site? It was an extension (basically) of twitter. Not twitlonger but? idk I dont remember lol

2) What inspired you to start?

I was in my Justin Bieber phase and saw a bunch of people writing fics about him on that site and decided to give it a shot lol

3) Where and when does inspiration usually strike you?

Watching a lifetime movie, sleeping, seeing a picture, my nonexistent love life, etc lol so like literally anything

4) Where and when do you usually write? Morning? Late at night? On the bus? In bed?

At night, but like early early in the morning is when I write my best content! So like 1-4 am I can write an AMAZING fluff piece.

5) Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what genre/playlist?

ALWAYS. I don’t think I can actually write without it? I create a playlist for every fic occasion. Each song is usually a love song but t create my playlists according to the vibe. Like if it was created as a love song but if I find a slow, slightly creepy cover of it you better believe it’s going into my stalker fic playlists

6) Which category do you like best? Angst? Fluff? NSFW? Other?

FLUFF. It’s the easiest thing for me to write despite the fact that I’m 100% inexperienced in the subject lmao

7) Which category do you find most challenging to write?

Angst, okay wait no... NSFW. Definitely. Like I can write a fight scene and “kill” my fave OC, but sex? How does one even gain enough courage or words to write that??? (big props to nsfw writers like i have so much respect for yall)

8) If you had to pick your favorite Choices book, which one would it be and why?

Um.... I have no idea honestly? I’m pretty neutral to all the books at this point. But I’ll always be a sucker for ILITW bc I was proven wrong in canon about some aspects of the book and i eat that kind of thing up. I love being proven wrong! Sometimes.

9) If your Choices LIs were real, which one (and only one) would you personally want to be with?

Well shit lol um irl I’d probs say Liam bc hot af, royal af, sweet af, generous af, protective af, lovable af

10) Do you share any physical characteristics with your Choices MCs? Pics/Selfies optional 😊

Nope! none. um... dark hair?

11) Which MC do you share the most personality traits with?

None, not really. Like... I’d say TF mc but I’m not much of a fan of her so like lol no

12) Which Choices character do you feel you have the best grasp of in terms of personality?

I’d probs say Flynn but I’m not totally sure until I try to write him. Or Liam bc I feel like in some aspects I AM Liam

13) What’s your favorite Choices pairing to write for?

I don’t write for any actual choices pairings! In each of the 2 fics I’m working on I’m pairing canon characters with original characters

14) What is a pairing(s) you hope to start writing for?

I’d like to FINALLY write flynn x mc. ALSO. my oc Kaden Cantarella (he’s set in the VOS universe) with ya know... me lol bc I’m in love with him

15) What do you hope to improve in your writing?

I need to be a lot more descriptive. I’m not good with like proper use of adjectives or anything. Like in chapter 1 of my stalker grant fic I said that grant threw a picture frame at Walsh. But I didn’t explain what had actually happened ya know, so like initially it wasn’t clear whether Walsh had actually been hit or where grant threw it, stuff like that.

16) Any pet peeves related to writing?

Everything, like I like writing, but I hate writing. Does that even make sense?

17) Are you inspired by any IRL experiences when you write? Care to share?

YES!!! Back in the marrish fandom sometimes I used to write based on things that had actually happened in my life or things I’d witnessed. Or like I’d take little bits of myself and insert them into the OCs

18) Is there any particular piece of work you consider to be your ultimate writing goal? Something so amazing you hope one day you’ll be up to that standard?

Ugh my unpublished, unnamed royal marrish au. I didn’t finish that one but it was coming along amaaaaazing. Also Thinking Out Loud (also marrish bc all my fics outside of this fandom have been marrish), like that was the first fic I wrote that I LOVED. I’d never liked my writing before then (still dont, not really, but I do it anyway)

19) Did/do you write for any other fandoms? If so which ones?

marrish!! (teen wolf, who?) once i feel comfortable enough with my writing again I’m gonna finish all those unpublished fics I was working on before my extreme case writer’s block started early last year (literally couldn’t write a paragraph again til a couple months ago)

20) In your spare time (when you’re not writing) what other hobbies do you pursue?

what even are hobbies anymore. All I’ve been doing lately has been fighting off anxiety attacks. um I love discovering new music though like that’s always been a fave!! oh and shipping myself with people I have no chance with lol that’s always fun

Tagging: okay so tbh idk about [m]any writers in this fandom and anyone I’m following has probs already been tagged so if you’re a writer and havent been yet, consider this official notice of me tagging you! 💗

#choicesgallery #tag games

2 notes · View notes

theofficialimaginariumblog · 3 years

Text

Dramatis Personae (film version)

Blake Trujillo: The main protagonist. 15 years old. The responsible sibling, with a fun-loving side to him. Sometimes has to keep his sister out of trouble.

Elly Trujillo: Blake’s little sister. 10 years old. Curious and energetic, with an understanding side to her. At the beginning of the story, she can’t imagine what it’s like to grow up.

Summer Knight: African-American girl. 14 years old. Is a smart and skilled girl. Lives in the flat next to the Trujillos.

Franklin Case: Also 14 years old. A bit of a jerk to even his own sister, though he does care for her. His father passed away when he and Tanner were younger.

Tanner Case: Franklin’s younger sister. 13 years old. Sticks by her brother like glue. Is slightly more soft-hearted than him. Sometimes the voice of reason. Both siblings are raised by a single mother in the flat on the ground floor.

Ambrose: Elly’s pet rat. Though none of the kids can speak the rodent language, he has a lot to say.

Karina Berry: Leader of a group of children the protagonists meet in the Imaginarium. Seemingly 12 years old. Carries around and protects a strange marionette with the strings clipped which she calls “Julia”.

Liam Watkins: Karina’s sidekick. Seemingly 8 years old. Is more sympathetic to the protagonists’ situation.

Morgan and Megan Hendrix: African-American twins. Seemingly 11 years old. Both follow Karina without question.

Liz Merritt: Oakden’s landlady. 67 years old. Her friends vanished when she was 7 years old.

CeeCee Knight: Summer’s little brother. 6 years old. The only one of the group who doesn’t accompany the kids to the Imaginarium.

Gabe Lamb: Young writer of a journal found in the Imaginarium.

Miss Hermia Riddle: The mysterious ruler and proprietor of the Imaginarium.

Bonko: Miss Riddle’s doll-like assistant. Childlike and clownish. Introduces the kids to the Imaginarium.

Guide: The guide of the Imaginarium. Provides helpful directions to the kids. There appear to be more than one guide, but this is left ambiguous.

Tum and Tuy: The Siamese Sisters of Freak’s Town’s Dilemma Doorway. One always tells the truth, while the other always lies.

0 notes

luckydogsolutions · 4 years

Text

A Goodbye Letter for Baxter

At the beginning of July I have a practice of writing a letter to Baxter to commemorate his Gotcha Day. This year it’s a letter of goodbye. Baxter passed away at the end of May. I can’t create this letter without talking regarding another fatality that I have not shared right here. My husband, Matt, died in November.

That Mutt is an internet site. Yet it is additionally an area of caring, handy people. I appreciate exactly how many of you have checked out along, shared your own experiences as well as supplied recommendations as I’ve published updates concerning Baxter and also our family. Thank you for joining me in saying goodbye to him today. — Julia

Dear Baxter, You joined our family July 7, 2013. You are constantly an unique, special part of our family, even if you are not below literally. I value a lot every one of the important things we reached do, from walkings to functioning

outside at the farm to quiet evenings in front of the TELEVISION. We had fun as well as delighted in being with each other. As I was considering this letter and also recalling over our virtually seven years together, I considered all of the important things you taught me.

First is toe nails. Not exactly how to cut your nails. That part was simple. Exactly how to reveal you it was okay for me

to reduce your toenails. That was hard. There were times that I believed I would certainly never ever have the ability to reduce your nails without stressing us both out. However we figured it out and also grew to trust each other.

You educated me to not doubt others, to be person, work hard and that there are no limits to what we are capable of. I never believed you ‘d have the ability to be off chain. After that off-leash hiking turned into one of our preferred things to do. You absolutely had a huge comfort zone and also made me anxious occasionally, but I relied on that you would certainly discover me.

I never ever thought you would certainly fit around Ellie. Even when she was first born and also you weren’t certain concerning her, you recognized she was essential as well as you kept an eye out for her. As well as you improved that till you had the ability to go along with whatever was occurring. The lessons you showed her are important. Her love of animals, her meekness with them is because of you.

The greatest thing you taught me was approval. Whatever we were doing, you came along. You were person if you had to wait for our stroll or play. You were forgiving if it was loud as well as hectic. You were very easy as well as tranquil in all circumstances, and we got to do so many points together since

of that. I attempt to bear in mind to be open to different experiences since the experience itself might be important.

Your approval reached a brand-new level throughout Matt’s illness. I recognize you really did not like the long days when we were far from house and also other people were right here with you and also Ellie, but you didn’t make it difficult for any individual. Regardless of exactly how exhausted I was, it was always great to take a moment outside with you when we lastly obtained residence. When we were alone late at night helped me, and also having your cozy hairy neck to weep into. I can constantly talk to you when I couldn’t talk with anybody else.

I’m so, so grateful that I was able to bring him house at the end for you. I wanted you to see him and try to assist you recognize. I recognize you understood. Thanks for all of the evenings you invested monitoring him. Your love for him is special, and also I’m so thankful to consider both of you together currently. I envision exactly how happy you were when you saw him again, which gives me a great deal of tranquility.

The final lesson that you showed me, Bax, is that I’m a pet dog person. You were my first canine. And also I understand you will not be my last. You will certainly constantly be special. I understand that love lives on and it’s larger than any type of one of us.

Love is what obtained us via nail cuttings, a baby … who developed into a young child, cancer malignancy, lengthy days, late nights, mornings, hand feedings, 3am restroom breaks … as well as 4am and 5am– all of the difficult, the great, the regular and also the unusual. With each other, they are all special. Thanks.

Love permanently, Julia

Previous gotcha letters:

Julia Preston writes for That Mutt regarding pet actions and training, functioning dogs and life on her ranch in Ontario, Canada. She has a sweet, easygoing boxer mix called Baxter. She is additionally a blog writer at Home on 129 Acres where she discusses her journeys of country living and also DIY refurbishing.

from Lucky Dog Solutions http://www.luckydogsolutions.com/a-goodbye-letter-for-baxter/

0 notes

hiptolazed · 7 years

Photo

So you’re new to the Hippo Campus fandom...welcome!! Chances are you’re here because you heard the latest singles “Western Kids” or “Way It Goes”. Maybe you heard “Monsoon” playing in Starbucks or just wanna know who those guys people are posting pictures of are! Either way, you’re here, you like HC, and you wanna know more about them. Here’s way too much information who Hippo Campus is.

(disclaimer: I’m sure this isn’t everything but it’s damn near close and a good start. If you have time, watch all the interviews & Hippo related videos on YouTube and read whatever interviews are just floating around on google!)

Hippo Campus (@/thehalocline / hippocampusband.com) is an alternative/indie/pop/rock band hailing from the Twin Cities in Minnesota comprised of four members...

who all attended the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts. Hippo has been around since about summer 2013, after the majority of its members (everyone but Zach) graduated high school. Zach & Jake both went on to study at the University of Minnesota for a short period before leaving to tour full-time with the band. The four piece currently (as of fall 2017) has released three EPs and one debut album, with new music already in the works. Here’s more about all of that.

THE MEMBERS:

Whistler Allen aka Beans (Drums, vocals)

Birthday - March 13, 1995 (Pisces)

Height: like 5′7-5′8

Known for his love of donuts which many fans brought to him at a show. Currently is not looking for more donuts, but it doesn’t hurt to tweet him & see!!

Best at replying to fans on twitter.

Can be shy & timid in person, but a total sweetie and easy to talk with.

Really good painter (channeling his namesake?). Check out his stuff on his instagram!!

@/whistler_isaiah on twitter; @/whistlerisaiah on instagram & snapchat.

Jake Luppen aka Turntan (lead vocals, guitar)

Birthday - May 20, 1995 (Taurus)

Height: over 6′0

Lanky sweetheart.

Has a wonderful girlfriend, Katya...

with whom he has two pet rabbits

was classically trained in opera (so yes, there kinda is a reason his voice is that outlandishly good)

@/theturntan on twitter; instagram was deleted in March 2017

Nathan Stocker aka Stitches (Guitar, vocals)

Birthday - July 4, 1994 (Cancer)

Height: like 5′6-5′7

Makes solo music under the name brotherkenzie. Not public as of July 2017.

If you’re lookin’ for someone to talk to about life and all that jazz, catch Nathan after a show.

Behind most of the social media posts on the band accounts

used to be very present on socials, doesn’t like it as much now (actually is quite against it)

@/brotherkenzie on twitter, but very, very, very silent (occasionally likes some tweets about the shows!!)

Zach Sutton aka Espo (Bass, vocals)

Birthday - February 19, 1996 (Pisces)

Height: over 6′0

Can be very sarcastic and sassy, or very sweet and caring. Sometimes both.

Active on twitter: always likes, rarely replies.

Pretty cheeky. Rarely ever answers seriously if you catch him when he’s sarcastic so, like, don’t ask about when new music will be released.

@/espocampus on twitter & instagram.

I’ve had the privilege of meeting & talking to all four of the guys and I touch on that more in depth here!!

Wait. Did you say Beans, Turntan, Stitches, and Espo?

Back in the day the guys went purely by those nicknames. They’ve sort of faded by now, with only Jake & Zach’s still existing in social media handles; as well as Zach being the last one to sign with his nickname.

This interview explains the nicknames!!

Okay, okay the members are all super awesome guys but what about the amazing music they create and, ya know, the reason we like the band?

...

Chronologically:

Tarzan Reject EP (2013)

St. Paul Roofs

I (Oh I)

Sula

South (2013 Version)

Little Grace (2013 Version)

ALL SONGS HERE!!

Tarzan Reject is the first unreleased EP by Hippo Campus, dug up by people on the internet. That’s really all that’s known about it that’s, like, official.

The fandom collectively loves Sula. Hippo rarely plays Sula. But when they do, it goes hard.

Bashful Creatures EP (2014)

(see: this weird, iconic video announcing/promoting it)

Sophie So

Little Grace

Souls

Suicide Saturday

Opportunistic

Bashful Creatures

ALL SONGS HERE!! (& Spotify, iTunes, etc)

Official Music Videos from Bashful:

Little Grace. Simple, yet odd video. First music video, filmed for a friend in a local project. The video which created the fruit motifs, as seen on the Fruit Tee, and again briefly in Souls.

Souls. Second video, where the band really got to explore their own idea and have fun with it.

Suicide Saturday. Just the band running around in paint? I wouldn’t put it past them. They’re fun kids. Suicide is one of the songs that really boosted HC. They performed it on Conan (video no longer available, sadly) after being approached at their first SXSW.

South EP (2015)

Close To Gold

Dollar Bill

South

Violet

The Halocline

ALL SONGS HERE!! (& Spotify, iTunes, etc)

Official Music Videos from South:

South. Interesting, aesthetically pleasing video. Nathan has a solo during “go down south...”!!

Violet. This video is what a lot of people first know of the band. Simple, yet iconic. Violet is generally what they play for an encore. Also goes hard. Whistler has a solo toward the end (”oh violet”)!!

(sidenote: you may notice that the outro of Dollar Bill sounds eerily similar to that of Sula. I don’t know why they did that but I love it.)

Pause. What even is a “halocline” anyway?

Jake explains the meaning of that here!! @/thehalocline is their handle on socials, “The Halocline EPs” is the collective title of both Bashful & South, overall huge symbol for the band, their ideals, their music. A concept that the fans hold dear, as well.

landmark (2017)

(Making of landmark)

(performed in its entirety for Minnesota radio station The Current)

(full acoustic performance for YouTube Space NY; livestream)

Cover is based off their writing space (Zach’s basement) with each song corresponding to an object on it!!

sun veins (the paint can/paint on the wall)

way it goes (doc martens/pavement record)

vines (grapes)

epitaph (record player)

simple season (window & moon seen from it)

tuesday (box of wine)

western kids (phone)

poems (collared shirt & the armchair it’s on)

monsoon (calendar)

vacation (plant)

boyish (apricot tree)

interlude (clock)

buttercup (boxing gloves)

ALL SONGS HERE!! (& Spotify, iTunes, etc)

Official Music Videos from landmark:

way it goes. Features the band and some of their friends just havin’ a good time.

simple season. Official live video!!

western kids. Yeah...even I can’t explain this one. (Kidding. Mainly symbolic for the meaning behind the song, how people get sucked into social media/the internet/technology.)

monsoon. Lyric video. Yes, Nathan wrote it about the passing of his sister, read what he said about that here.

boyish. Boyish is about divorce & family difficulties, so I interpret this video as what seems to be a picture family actually fighting a lot. as simple as that gets.

warm glow EP (2017)

baseball

traveler

warm glow

ALL SONGS HERE!! (& Spotify, iTunes, etc)

warm glow has three songs that were written around the same time as/originally written for landmark. “baseball” has been played live for a while, and a fan favorite. “traveler” was debuted at the August Lolla aftershow in Chicago. a few seconds of “warm glow” can be heard in the aforementioned “making of landmark” video, and debuted at the first MN State Fair show in September.

And there’s a bunch of unreleased songs they’ve played live!!!

check out their Genius page for all the lyrics & more info about the songs!! Exciting and interesting to take some time and dive into.

also watch the ENTIRE concert in Boston on the Landmark Tour!!

What’s a concert like?

The most fun you will ever have (I might be biased). Highly energetic, the lighting design design is gorgeous, the band sounds even better live than in studio (I know it doesn’t seem possible but it really is!!)

They have VIP upgrades for many shows, of which perks will include a lot for their 2017 fall tour. As for their past Landmark Tour, at least a couple of the boys came out to meet fans and talk afterwards. They are the easiest people to talk with. Getting a bit “fangirly” is completely understandable!! Just know that they’re relatively young guys and deserve as much respect and calmness as anyone. As they gain more popularity, sure things will change in that area, but no matter how famous someone is, try your best to not freak out and most importantly: not freak the band out!! They love you so much and love talking to you. Also bringing them little gifts & letters is greatly appreciated!

(see if they’re coming to a city near you!!)

Okay, I get the band now, but who’s x person that I saw post a picture of them?

People associated with Hippo Campus that you will more than likely come across:

DeCarlo Jackson - plays trumpet with HC at some shows!! Friend from high school. Super cool, crazily talented guy. Featured in the way it goes mv.

Julia Kindall - Best friends with the band. Friend from high school. Amazing writer. Wrote a biography to preface a limited edition of the landmark vinyl. Occasionally accompanies the band on tour and helps run merch and the meet & greets. Sweet, sweet soul. Has a podcast with friend, Hanna, called The Pussys, which Whistler & Zach have been featured as guests on! Featured in the way it goes mv.

Katya Vorokhobova - Jake’s girlfriend. Just so ya know who she is.

Madeline Stocker - Nathan’s sister. Total sweetheart. Great singer, too!

Holly Ann Latcham aka Boots - Hippo’s tour manager. Dedicated to her job and making the shows run smoothly. Definitely underappreciated; if you see her after the show chat with her if you can and thank her for all the hard work she does!! She & the band are featured in a documentary on “real life roadies”, it’s a really good piece that gives great insight on this part of the industry (as well as some nice moments of the band).

Evan J Myers - Hippo’s merch manager. Cool, nice dude. Chat with him when you buy some merch!! Fun & easy to talk with, and super helpful at shows (and on social media most of the time!!)

David Kramer - graphic designer who is responsible for the beauties that are Hippo’s cover art. Occasionally travels with the band to photograph/film them.

Connor Siedow - Photographer that frequently hangs with the band and sometimes shoots their shows

Bands associated with Hippo Campus:

Remo Drive - played a few shows w/ HC; opening on the 2017 fall tour. check out “Crash Test Rating”!

The Happy Children - played some shows w/ HC; all went to high school together. check out “Honest Boy” (you might see some...familiar faces)! (Caleb runs Normal Parents, clothing company/movement that Hippo wears a lot!!) (Mitchell is Whistler’s roomate, jsyk)

Early Eyes - played a few shows with HC; cool kids who make groovy music that is somewhat influenced by HC. check out “Take You”!

MISCELLANEOUS

Old Bands:

Blatant Youth - Jake & Zach. Also Sam from Remo.

Whistle Kid - Jake & Zach.

Northern aka Danger Will Robinson - Whistler & Nathan. Also DeCarlo.

Still need more info?

Hippo Updating @hippoupdating does a fantastic job at keeping everyone updated with the latest on the band!!

Here is a new fan tag full of FAQs about the band!!

Okay, but HOW do I really get into this fandom?

Join us on tumblr, talk to me and everyone else on here, make dumb posts about the band like we do!!

Go to twitter!! There’s a lot of Hippo fans over there, follow some, retweet some, tweet the band... Twitter is pretty easy to get into, I think.

Start a fan account on instagram!! Zach likes posts pretty frequently, sometimes the band account does too.

You might come across some drama, sadly, because it exists and is inevitable. It can be pretty easy to avoid. Keep your head right, stay nice & respectful, and everything will go swimmingly!! This fandom is still relatively small, but as it grows, stuff like drama will just grow as well. Again, that’s inevitable. But do whatever you can as a new fan to stay out of it and keep things sane. This community of people who all like Hippo Campus should stay a good place for every fan involved, as much as we can.

Welcome to the fanbase.♥

#hippo campus #whistler allen #jake luppen #nathan stocker #zach sutton #m #i apologize if i messed anything up or missed anything i made this from midnight-4 am #please message me if you catch anything wrong or want me to add something!!

231 notes · View notes

br0ther-theloops · 7 years

Text

a “should we know us a little better” tag 🌸

RULES: you must answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people (i’m not going to tag twenty people are you insane)

Tagged by @hobisol thank you so much for tagging me!! 💕 💕

THE LAST:

1. Drink: water because we have nothing else in my apartment...

2. Phone call: UMMMMM my mom i think???

3. Text message: a group chat between @bangtanboysboo, @lol-hobi, @vrlskaserket, @bubblegumlookinass, and myself and it’s just me talking to myself rn UPDATE: we’re talking about teens making out in a line at cedar point lmao

4. Song you listened to: blackpink’s NEW SONG BECAUSE I FFHUEIWKFHWEukhjgwK

5. Time you cried: i answered this in an ask yesterday but i remember now that the last time i cried was like monday and it was because i was looking up pictures of corgi pups

6. Dated someone twice: nope~

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: oh yeah, for sure, it’s what i would like to call, my first year of college 😬😬😬

8. Been cheated on: lmao yeah

9. Lost someone special: yep

10. Been depressed: 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: yeah the first and only real time was the saturday right before finals and my friends tucked me in and let me sleep on the bathroom floor 👌👌

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12-14: mint green/tiffany blue, pale pink, and either burnt orange or dark magenta

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: yes yes yes~~~ i made some of my best friends this past year ❤️💞💘💝💖💜

16. Fallen out of love: oh yeah

17. Laughed until you cried: yeah probably

18. Found out someone was talking about you: ....have i really not?? well damn, either people really like me or im just great at being completely oblivious

19. Met someone who changed you: definitely!

20. Found out who your friends are: i mean, everyone’s my friend. i get the context and meaning of this question, but it’s okay to have friends who you’re not super close with that’s fine.

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: i mean yeah

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: i don’t give out my facebook to people i don’t know irl because it’s used for school and family.

23. Do you have any pets: i don’t have any pets and it makes me so sad ☹️

24. Do you want to change your name: it has taken me a really long time to like my name, so no

25. What did you do for your last Birthday: i got lunch with my family and my boyfriend at the time and then i had practice and did homework because my last birthday was on a sunday

26. What time did you wake up: around 10 but i didn’t get out of bed until almost 11 so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: what was i doing uhhhhh reading i think

28. Name something you can’t wait for: my life to finally seem put together lmao

29. When was the last time you saw your mom: my biological mom; it’s been almost a year in a half i believe? and then i saw my step mom a couple weekends ago lol

30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: i want people to be loved for who they are and how they choose to present themselves and not be afraid of being harmed because of that. on a more personal level, i want to be better at saving money lol ooo or to love myself more

31. What are you listening right now: the ac unit in my wall. i rarely have music on as background noise when i’m writing or typing something up

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yeah when i was like seventeen or smth

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: uhhhhhhh the fact that it’s so humid in my apartment and the one ac unit is in the wall in my kitchen, which is closed in so the only place getting cooler in my apartment is the kitchen

34. Most visited Website: tumblr lmao rip

35. Mole/s: i have only one mole and it’s on my thigh kind of near my butt! it’s in the shape of an upside down heart!

36. Mark/s: listen, i have a lot of scars because i’m a delicate baby that accidentally hurts themself a lot, but as of what i know i have right off the top of my head: three scars on my forehead, one on my right knee, one of my left shin, one on my right thumb that looks like a crescent moon, two on my left arm which were the result of my clothing hating me, and i think that’s it? oh! and i have a bruise on my side that i’ve had since i ran into a dresser when i was younger.

37. Childhood dream: i wanted to be a singer!🎤

38. Hair color: right now, a brownish, reddish, dirty blonde, but naturally, dark red!

39. Long or short hair: long. it’s down to my nipples. i haven’t had hair this long since high school.

40. Do you have a crush on someone: not really anymore i don’t think ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

41. What do you like about yourself: i like...my eyes and my ability to not take myself seriously all the time. i also like that i usually see and understand both sides of a situation!

42. Piercings: three on my nose

43. Bloodtype: O

44. Nickname: most people just call me ashley, but sometimes people refer to me as ash (but like, please ask me first because i do like being called ashley and being called ash without permission makes me super uncomfortable. also ashley is p gender neutral!). my mom calls me ash ketchum, and my family calls me ashley lynn.

45. Relationship status: 😬 no one likes me so lol

46. Zodiac: libra and i’m three days younger than jimin!

47. Pronouns: they/them/she/her. i don’t mind either!

48. Favorite TV Show: UMMMM i don’t really watch tv but i like steven universe and gravity falls and chopped and anything on the food network tbhhhhhh also stuff like hoarders and my strange addiction hold my attention like no one’s business

49. Tattoos: i have one!

50. Right or left hand: right handed

51. Surgery: ummm i had two teeth removed and a root canal so do those count? i also had to get stitches twice for cut because i was young and an idiot

52. Piercings: two on my left nostril, and one on my right

53. Sports: the only sports i have ever done is track and that was for like two years. i dance for fun and perform dance covers with my club!

55. Vacation: i haven’t been on an actual vacation since i was sixteen.

56. Pair of trainers: like the shoes? um, i have one pair of adidas.

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: i was just chewing some gum, but hard boiled eggs?

58. Drinking: water

59. I’m about to: probably make dinner or write, who knows.

61. Waiting for: my ask-kimdaily stuff to come in the mail ;;;;

62. Want: pizza, but a lot of things

63. Get married: idk if i really want to get married, i just want to live with a partner for a while and be domestic and shit because that stuff 👌👌👌

64. Career: a writer or smth who knows

WHICH IS BETTER?:

65. Hugs or kisses: both?

66. Lips or eyes: i really like looking into people’s eyes, but i also have a slight eye phobia so

67. Shorter or taller: both? it’s not that hard to be taller than me, though

68. Older or younger: a majority of my friends are younger than me, but both is fine

70. Nice arms or nice stomach: both??

71. Sensitive or loud: you can be both tho i’m so confused

72. Hook up or relationship: i mean both have their ups and downs

73. Troublemaker or hesitant: what is this even asking fam

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: surprisingly, no

75. Drank hard liquor: i’m an actual adult and a college student not to make generalizations but like yeah.

76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: i lose my glasses every day of my life hekwjfhwilukgjr

77. Turned someone down: yeah a few times

78. Sex in the first date: yes

79. Broken someones heart: yeahhhhh....

80. Had your heart broken: lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

81. Been arrested: nope but i have been frisked by a cop when i was 13 because someone thought i stole smth and i cried

82. Cried when someone died: yep

83. Fallen for a friend: lmaoooooooooooooo rip me

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: is this some naruto stuff or what

85. Miracles: sure

86. Love at first sight: i mean, it was love at first sight when i saw min yoonji so i guess you could say so

87. Santa Claus: not any more. i don’t think i was ever told he wasn’t real, but i just had a realize and was okay with it

88. Kiss in the first date: fam i’ve slept with someone of the first date i think we know what i think--you should only do something, like kiss someone, or even have sex with someone, when you are completely comfortable with the situation and are able to give full consent and are okay with it.

89. Angels: i think so? i’m not sure lmao

OTHER:

90. Current best friends name: names lmao bethany, becca, erin, julia

91. Eyecolor: hazel/green blue/sometimes they look gray

92. Favorite movie: this is constantly changing but spirited away, moana, phantom of the opera, ooo zootopia, harry potter and the chamber of secrets, and more!

do not feel obligated to do this, this took a long time even with minimal distractions but i tag: @minminyoongi @ahoneyyboy @nochucametru @otpvmin @giveemhelllex @1995winemom @blushguk @chocoulat @lqhani

#rip me #personal #very very personal #probably more about me than you all ever wanted to know.....#i'm tired now i want to talk a nap #jiaerkjhgkaeuhg #mutuals

5 notes · View notes

magicalworldweb · 5 years

Text

Welcome to another installment of Interview with the Author! This week I’d like to introduce you to Julia Schmeelk. I met Julia on Twitter months ago, and we’ve more recently connected on Facebook. She’s got this amazing, passionate heart that’s reflected in her fantastic utopian fantasy series. And ya’ll, it’s got lots of books already out, and lots more being worked on. Score a big one for lovers of dragons and peace!

So here are the books in her NewEarth Series. I’ve read Gordon’s Pride and Heron’s Bonds, which both focus on human romances within a human/dragon community. The stories have a great blend of character centered plots, pioneer homesteading and adventures, and a great sense of community. Her dragons are unique and fun to get to know. (and so are the humans!)

The Hunter will be released on January 10th!

I want to thank Julia for interviewing with me. Ya’ll, she answered these in the middle of moving. #LikeABoss I was entirely glad to get to know her better, and happy to invite you to get to know her and her books, too!

Introduce yourself. Name. Nickname. Julie, Jules, people call me any number of things. I write under my legal name- Julia Schmeelk.

If your Wi-Fi name was a reflection of you, what would it be? Humanadvocate1 For 30 years my career choice was as a special education teacher.

What personality trait has gotten you into the most trouble? When I am afraid- I either laugh or confront, I am incapable of cowering. Yelling at the man with the gun is never a good idea. I was lucky I survived. When my husband and I were running from a big brown Kodiak Bear, we were laughing… no sense, but we would have died happy.

What genre (of collection) do you write in and why? All of my books are Utopian. By that they have the common themes of hope and life can be better. I write psychic supernatural, epic fantasy romance, contemporary romance and general mainstream fiction. All Utopian, but the NewEarth Series, my latest and favorite is epic fantasy romance.

Who is important to you? My husband first. Then my parents I am really fortunate they are still with us and doing so well. Then my brothers and their families. I am fortunate to have kids in the family and the two we helped raise, by fostering for a short time.

Where do you call home? Home is where we set it up. Alaska was fabulous, and will always hold a part of my heart. On the other hand this new house is very exciting in northern Illinois and we have made some wonderful memories here in Missouri. I think I transplant well and so does my husband, we are fortunate that way.

What books are/have you written? I have a total of over fifty written in various stages of draft, but my NewEarth Series is what I am currently publishing. Book7 of the NewEarth Series The Hunter is coming out in January. Gordon’s Pride was the first, I published at the end of October 2017. The second is Heron’s Bonds that came out in January. Then The Heartsinger came out in March. Healing came out in May. Grabon’s Nest was released in July and Acceptance came out at the beginning of October. It has been a busy year for me.

If you are having a rotten day, what do you do to conquer that?I have a number of ways. Chocolate, fancy teas and coffee, talking with friends and paging through my feel good file. That is a written collection filled with notes and reviews and things I have collected to beat back the negative voices.

If you were invisible for a day, what would you do?Huh, invisible would be interesting. I think I would go people watching.

Your life is made into a musical. What is the title of at least one of the songs? Singing With The Animals

What are your sleeping habits? I tend to sleep short hours, get up work for 2-5 hours than sleep again until I clock in my eight and get up and go.

What would you name your boat? I would want to take out the Best of Days.

What’s your biggest kitchen disaster? Salmon Goo, boiling water on a fuel oil stove is almost impossible and I tried to cook the pasta without boiling. Bad mistake. Even the wild dogs wouldn’t eat it and I swear the bears kept a safe distance when I threw it in the yard.

Tell me about one of your characters. Would you get along in real life? Grabon, the territory dragon, and we would be great friends.

If you were arrested with no explanation, what would your friends and family assume you had done? They would decide I had beaten someone to a bloody pulp. Probably a child abuser.

What are your favorite clothes to wear? Tunics and skirts that go down to the floor. They are comfy and I always look ready to go out.

If someone asked to be your apprentice and learn all that you know, what would they end up learning? How to type, cook, clean, plan, schedule, shop, caretaking, how to embrace their inner peace, find their humor and live inside their imagination and share bits of it with the world.

What are your future writing plans? To publish more books. I am currently writing book 14 of the NewEarth Series, but I have been too busy lately to work much on it.

What’s one thing you absolutely adore in life? I have two. My husband, he’s my best friend and companion for everything. The second thing it sharing stories with him. He tells the best stories in a thick southern accent.

What is one of your pet peeves? I do not tolerate hate, bigotry and putting people down. I worked for many years with victims of violence and I have been a minority myself, so I have faced a bit of that from time to time.

You’re in the middle of a wizarding duel. What animal do you transfigure into? A lioness, I have always admired the big cats.

Would you survive if you were a character in your own books? I would because I have many skills, not the least of which is knowing how to make friends with people in positions of power. But seriously I can cut wood, haul water, cook on a fire and live pretty simply.

You are putting on a dinner party. What do you serve and who do you invite? I would serve a turkey, dressing, potatoes, green beans and fruit compote. I would invite other writers and creative people and see what topics of conversation came up.

Would you rather relive the same day for 365 days or lose a year of your life? I’d lose a year, but that would be sad.

You are transported to one of your favorite books. Where are you? I would visit Pern, from the Dragon Riders of a Pern.

I found this lovely picture on her website and I adore it because it looks like she’s about to go visit her dragons!

Ready to fly with the dragons? Julia is awesome at getting her books out there for free, so I highly recommend following her somewhere on social media to snag them. Check out Julia’s website for more gorgeous art from her books, as well as links to buy her books (I also highly recommend supporting artists.)

Thanks for joining in this week, and see you next week!

Live Bravely, Love Strongly, AEM

Interview with the Author: Julia Schmeelk Welcome to another installment of Interview with the Author! This week I'd like to introduce you to Julia Schmeelk.

#books #bookseries #community #dragons #fantasy #peace #pioneer #romance #utopian

0 notes