#ace-malarky

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hallo happy sts! How are your guys dealing with being sick? Are they dramatic about a minor cold or attempting to walk off a fever?

Happy STS! Ooh, I'm gonna answer this one for the necromancer WIP.

Andromeda is being very dramatic as is her right as a princess: she's lying with her arm over her face and declaring she might not live through the night, but she's generally so good natured that no one minds

Miriam is a tough cookie, so she's up and about trying to be normal until she keels over and has to be stuck in bed and sat on so she doesn't move. Oldest daughter of five, what can you expect 🙄

Nikolaos is used to being scraped off the floor, and he's also very pitiful, so he's full on hallucinating, probably, so sick he can't move, and he won't remember about half of it. He'll argue right to everyone's face that he doesn't get that sick

Quintus definitely walks off a fever as long as he can. He's the worst, because he knows all the symptoms and the best remedies, and he just. won't take care of himself. I love him

[incandescent-creativity]

8 & 18 for River and Aspen?

8. Do they have a nickname? who gave it to them? if it's not derived from their real name, what's the story behind it?

“River” is pretty hard to make nicknames out of, I don’t think I’ve ever come up with one for her that I use in the book.

Those closest to Aspen (ie River and Venus) do occasionally call her some variation of the last syllable of her name: Spinny, Spinner, Spins. That will make it into canon, I just have to find where.

No real story behind where it came from, just the natural result of wanting to call her a cute nickname! It’s just that Venus and River are the only ones close enough to think of it + get away with it.

18. Their opinion on lying, stealing, and killing?

River has what I think is a very average opinion, which is that lying and stealing are “bad” but she quietly knows she has definitely lied before and would steal if she needed to. Killing and death horrify her though.

Aspen abhors all three because all three are extremely antithetical to the “teamwork for survival” effort on this alien ocean that she’s doing her best to hold together. She hates keeping secrets and lying about having secrets, or lying to maintain them. It’s counterproductive and would destroy the trust her crew has in her and her reputation (take a guess about certain plot points…). There’s only been one thief in FLOAT-world history, and she hates what he did, too. Killing is never something she’ll endorse, because everybody should be fighting to endure and survive so they can get home.

And then the plot sees these resolute beliefs and cracks them open like an egg

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🌹!!

Thanks for stopping by, friend! <3 Have some Bent Nails or Something WIP :)

Sutton trotted down the steps and over to the truck. “I love how you didn’t even ask me if I’m into sports. Why are guys all the same.” “I’m not into sports,” Michael said, appalled, turning on the ignition. “Doesn’t mean we can’t watch. Hell, all sports are is trying to grab the ball or trying to get it the hell away from you. The rest is all chuff.” “If you say so,” Sutton said, watching the fields outside her window. “Why are we going to the post office?”

1 🌹 = 1 snippet from a random WIP!

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Hey, happy STS! What sort of advice/cryptic message would your end-story OCs give to themselves at the start? Would they be inclined to listen?

This is an awesome question, Happy STS to you too! Thanks for the ask! <3

Oh boy. None of them would listen AT ALL, but here's the advice they'd give.

Velia: "...your life is about to be changed. Don't fight it so hard." Antonio: "People are tricky. Keep at it. It's worth it in the end!" Paris: "Loneliness isn't always a shield. Sometimes it's shooting yourself in the foot. Don't forget to give Velia that drawing."

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Happy STS! What was the trickiest piece of writing to work out/write and how satisfying was it to see it click? (Bonus round; any takeaways from the process to share or do we simply have to struggle through it anew each time?)

Oh gosh, this is such a tough question. I usually struggle a lot with plot/pacing, and can get stalled for weeks at times where I just don't understand how to fix the hole I've fallen into.

I think so far I've learned that distance can be a good thing, and sometimes I have to skip over that particular bump in the road and tackle it once I know the overall direction of the story better. Sometimes, after that, it really can click, and you can just TELL what needs to be streamlined or cut, or expanded to make the story exactly what you want it to be.

Thanks so much for the ask, friend!! Happy new year to you!

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happy STS!! what's your OCs preferred method for holidays? are they travelling far or hiding at home rotting or hanging out with friends?

Firstly, happy late late STS, also known as storytelling...Monday! 🤦🏽‍♂️

Secondly, good question! If I were to answer for the Stars and Ships crew, they would probably spend the day celebrating in kind with the natives of whatever planet they happened to be upon -- half the fun being trying to figure out the local traditions without giving away that they're tourists.

And then they'd end up back on their ship with sparkling juice and if they're lucky a real hot meal and stay up way too late talking and goofing around. :) Selene braids hair and gives makeovers, Sepia and Thresh tell stories, Aaliyah and Vi fall asleep pillowed on the others, and Jax, Quin, and Aakov get way too invested in card games. They all sleep past noon the next day.

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happy STS! which of your OCs is most likely to help out with the dishes/cooking/cleaning? Do they all chip in without thinking or do they have to be asked?

Happy STS, friend! This is a fun question :D

Antonio definitely made dinner, but he'd be happy to keep up the conversation while washing the pots. Especially if it's his kitchen (and it most likely is), he knows where everything goes and how to clean it up.

Velia would offer to help but she'd be sooo bad at it. Water everywhere, drying one plate for ten minutes while she gets distracted...usually they have her be in charge of making the after dinner tea.

Paris gets the kettle off the stove when Velia forgets about it and wipes down the tables and counters. He loves making things orderly, and would be that person who leaves the kitchen in waaay better condition than it was before.

Lewis would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to help, and Fynn isn't much better. Both of them are used to living alone, but they own one cup, and eat/drink everything out of it because they're lunatics. They can clean up after themselves, but that's about it.

[incandescent-creativity]

12 & 15 of the end of year writers asks?

12. if your characters) had their own new years resolutions, what would those be?

Well since the below answer has an Ash and Zach excerpt…

I think Ash’s resolution would be to read X amount of books and/or run X amount of miles. She’s very productivity focused and having a concrete number to track would fit her.

Zach’s resolution would probably be the opposite, something not concrete at all like “have more fun” or “eat better food!” It would be unclear whether he means “better” as in healthier or “better” as in tastier. He’d be so eager to hear about yours that you don’t get the chance to question him.

15. time for shameless self-promotion! answer with a piece of writing you want others to see/read!

Okay the post I found is from May but these are end of year asks! I wrote it this year and it counts.

It’s about Ash realizing that Zach is Special ™ and I quite like the way I wrote it :D