A nerd like any other...

You know what that means?

PROMPTS POST!

Give me a character or two (optional), a canon or RP I know, and a prompt. I will write whatever comes to mind, be it a fic, a drabble, a poem, whatever. Please note that I may ask you to change one of these if I'm not familiar enough with the variable in question.

Stolen from zekkass

Pick one of my fics, and I'll give you three details that didn't make it into the fic. Background canon, deleted scenes, or a look into the future. My choice, but if you have a specific question you can ask it in your request.

All my fics are on the fic tag!

Comment with "bring it on!" and:
• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions (but only if you want to).

So if I didn't give you questions before, now's your chance! knuddleluff asked me these:



1. What is your favorite SMT demon (that is not an angel)?

Kurama Tengu! I love tengu in general, and Kurama was one of my constant companions throughout the endgame of DSRK1.

2. What is your favorite MegaMan game and/or series?

I'm partial to the Classic series, but overall my favorite games are:
Classic: 7
X: 4
Battle Network: 3

3. Name at least three personal items that you would use to decorate your bedroom.

My Nook (more it's cover, really), my DS, and my laptop (or its case). End result would probably be a floral/earthy thing since the main colors for those three wind up being brown, pink, and green(if we use the laptop case).

4. Other than gaming and reading, what would you consider your hobby?

Writing!

5. What do you consider your greatest achievement in life so far?

Submitting three pieces to the school's creative writing journal, judged by the creative writing instructors. Two of them were slice-of-life stories, one was a fantasy piece (if you don't know, creative writing instructors tend to disallow fantasy and sci-fi on principle because bad writers tend to hide their bad writing behind the fantasy and sci-fi ideas.). My creative writing instructor knows me and my fantasy and has allowed it (!), but he wasn't on the judging panel that year.

Guess which piece of the three made it in, with a panel of complete strangers? :3

Title: don't have one yet! I'm thinking "Disillusioned", "Bad Habits", "Miscolored", or "Chronic Absentee". Suggest titles (even one of your own) in the comments please!
Fandom: Neopets(!)
Rating: G. I do plan to submit this to the NT, after all!
Summary: A longtime owner returns with yet another new account. But there's something from her previous "life" there she wants.
Notes: If there is anyone who is hard to write as a believable, flawed character, it's oneself. So critique me please! It's hard to write myself without help! I don't have to shoot for absolute professional quality given the stories at the Neopian Times, but the less I settle for second best, the better my chances of getting in!


( under here. )

Title: Negotiations
Source: SMT2
Characters: Law!Aleph, Ghoulette, Angel, Dark Elf
Rating: G
Warnings: None?
Notes: Based on an actual negotiation. It happened immediately after I recruited Angel, so I just had to wonder what she was thinking when Aleph did that.



Angel wasn't quite certain what she'd gotten herself into. She'd certainly been impressed with Aleph's bravado and commanding voice, but what kind of Messiah would approach the undead for conversation?

"Hello there," Aleph said, smile as friendly as the one he'd approached her with.

The Ghoulette looked at him with a wistful stare. "Ahh...you remind me of..." she trailed off with a dreamy sigh. "...will...will you dance with me the way I used to?"

"Sure," Aleph said, putting away his weapons.

"Master Aleph!" Angel cried, unable to stop herself.

The Ghoulette put her hand on Aleph's shoulder.

Angel watched in mute horror, sure their master's kindness had cost them the initiative.

But Aleph put his arms around the living corpse in return. Ghoulette smiled and moved one hand to his waist, taking the other in her own.

And, without threat, they began to dance.

It didn't take long before the pair were enveloped in a soft white light. The Divine drew a slow breath, recognizing the anguished soul given rest.

The light cleared, leaving Aleph alone.

"Truly a Messiah," Angel breathed.

"Don't become too enthralled," said Dark Elf beside her. "The other one will not be swayed that easily. We have a battle to complete."

Title: The Casting of Pawns
Source: SJ, mythology, SMTDR
Characters: Zelenin(secular_saint) (framing device), Mastema(adarkerangel)
Rating: ...PG?
Summary: Mastema recounts, through a letter to Zelenin, the moment he lost empathy for humankind.

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( Under the cut, if I can get this thing to behave. )

So, I read through the RP Anon Comm post and noticed someone was a little...concerned about what we mean when we say things like "Character X is quiet".

It kind of makes me sad that this person, presumably a fellow RPer, has never internalized a voice before.

I'm gonna use a bad example but bear with me.

When Stephenie Meyer said her cast was like people living in her head, she was most certainly not telling the truth, but it was something a "good" writer should say. I'm certain she heard it somewhere and felt it could help her image. (Incidentally, I do believe her when she said Jacob was her first character that "came to life" for her. He felt real and believable in those segments, but more on that later, maybe.)

See, when we write for a character, we're basically predicting what they do in certain situations. If you do this enough with a single character, it becomes effortless ("enough" varies among characters and writers. Some come to life in a single day, others take years. Some never do.). We don't have to think about it consciously. So it feels like they're a separate entity, which is why we call this "coming to life".

At this point, it is still possible to be OOC. After all, you're still the one writing, and it's entirely possible to misunderstand the muse (or in more mundane terms, your intuition regarding the character), inadvertently "filter" what's happening, or, if the writer is particularly immature, plain not like where they're headed and deliberately derail them, even if this is just as unconscious as writing for the character has become. (As Meyer did with Jacob. He was becoming entirely too likable, and had too real a chemistry with Bella, and she didn't want anything in the way of her precious OTP.)

I understand that on the internet, a distinction must be made because there are crazies out there who actually think they're bonded to or are the "real" character on the astral plane or something (I wonder how they handle someone else playing the same character!), but nitpicking over our phrasing is not the way to make that distinction. I'm sure a person can tell for themselves if someone is crazy or not.

When we say a muse is quiet, it means that we are not inspired for them or that our subconscious hold on their voice is slipping and we're not putting forth the effort (not that making an extra effort usually helps in these situations because it's usually due to a lack of inspiration and "forcing" a voice can all too often end in suck).

When I say a muse "pings"...well. I don't know about the rest of you. But what I do when I RP - when I predict what they'll do - I do in real life. Constantly. I always have a muse or two "watching" me so I keep a feel for their voice fresh in my mind. So since I have muses constantly watching what I'm doing in meta, basically, they indicate that something will happen or that they are interested. Or, in practical terms, I predict that they predict they will be affected or interested. Confused yet? It's a bit confusing to relate.

In short, we writers may say they're like people living in our heads, but the operative word there is like. We may or may not omit that word, but it is always implied. We realize they're fictional, and treat them as such. All we mean by that is that we have gained an understanding of them to the point that we no longer have to consciously think about what they would want or do, so they seem autonomous.

But this was a fun quiz.

( I would have switched Jordan and Rowling, since I actually like her work better than his but whatever. )

First, the meme:

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And now the fic:

Title: Mementos
Rating: G
Category: Gen
Source: Imagine/smtdressingroom
Characters: Izumi
Warnings: Rambling stream of consciousness, angst.

( When dealing with matters of Izumi's family, angst is unavoidable. )

So, this is a little mini...midquel to Off-Alignment. It has no title because I got the idea for this little scene in the middle of the dungeon and I really want to get back to the game. Warning for, uh...I guess there aren't any warnings?



( cut just because. It's not that long. )