for the wip ask game, i can’t pick. so just tell me something about one of them that you’re really proud of
I can always rely on some people on my dash to cheer me up <3. All the X-Men stuff I'm currently working on is still in early stages and I tend to be more proud of works in their entirety, so I think I'd like to talk a bit about my She-Ra project, not least because once I'm done with Weathered II, I think I want to go back to that, and some people on my dash (looking at you @kintatsujo :D) have been interested in it occasionally.
Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with the Netflix Princesses of Power show since I hate it. Not gonna elaborate on that. I've dealt with anti hate for that fact before so anyone reads this and feels like pissing me off in my inbox: You're 4 years too late, move on.
Nah, what I'm doing with “Terra Exit” is basically translate the original She-Ra series into an adult setting and try to finish that series and Adora's story in that old Filmation verse. I'm starting with the events of “The Secret of the Sword” and write myself along the actual series episodes (not writing them but adding missing scenes and quickly brush over/mention what's happening in them), and after the last franchise episode, I move the series on to what the creators could never get around to do. Meaning, writing out the Rebellion's last stand against the Horde. That's a monster project where we're easily talking a million words once more, so depending on how burnt out I am by the point I get there, I'll have to see how to go from there. The vague idea is to get Adora home to Eternia then where she belongs finally, give her a bit of soft time before Horde Prime moves the war there and He-Man and her have to work together to defeat him once and for all. So that would be de definite ending of that huge project. I'll see in 10 years or so if I ever got there, I guess :D.
What motivates me for this is that She-Ra has been my childhood heroine, saving my life in years of bullying in school, that the series was my first anchor when I got on the internet and learned how to handle online life and got my first friends in oversee fandoms, and the wish to translate one of my favorite childhood series into a mature setting. For a child's series, this franchise has some surprisingly, chilling themes like child soldiers, separation, making the hard choice between family and duty, fighting fascism, defecting from the army, brainwashing etc. This whole franchise has great potential to be a gripping, gritty sci fi/fantasy stories for adults when translated into a mature style, so that's what I want to do (In a way, the more recent He-Man comics did this in some alternate universe already when they pulled She-Ra in, with Adora being a still brainwashed killing machine, so I'm not far off the mark or original here). I'm not pulling any punches here; this is going full drama and Explicit rated in terms of violence and a little bit of romance. And honestly, whenever I think about it, I am very excited and have to stifle back all that impatience to remember, one big project at a time. But I definitely never get tired talking about it :D.
That said, here's a little snippet (no rating) from the current series part where I stopped writing before diving back into Tolkien and X-Men. Takes place at the end of the canon episode "Bow's Farewell".
"Thank you." It wasn't until she remembered how to breathe again that she realized she'd slumped down on the floor, on her knees, Swift Wind's soft nose reassuringly nudging her back. "I'm okay. I'd better fly to Bright Moon Castle right away."
"Everything's fine there. Just a few ruined walls, half-collapsed ceilings, and overturned furniture. No one has been seriously hurt. No casualties," Light Hope ridded her off her worst concern.
"Stay for a moment. I can sense you're upset."
She-Ra did, mostly because she remembered Light Hope's request to spend time here as often as possible, even if she didn't need anything. To spend time with him. That way, she didn't have to face the next interrogation right away, either. "I'll be fine. There hasn't been much time to rest recently. And even less to be with the ones I love. No wonder everyone thinks I need therapy when they hardly see me."
"Don't be angry with your brother and friends for worrying about you, She-Ra." Of course, she didn't need to reveal the details of her anger to Light Hope first. It would have surprised her if he hadn't known exactly what this was about.
At least that gave her a chance to ask him something she hadn't been able to get out of her mind since that conversation not exactly overheard by accident. "Is Adam right, Light Hope? Do I need to remember?"
"I can't make that decision for you, She-Ra." Light Hope's form melted back into its usual shape, that massive column, as if he wanted to pull back from her a bit. "Your soul would be shaken to the core, that much is for sure."
"So you know what happened back then," she found, wearily rubbing over her elbow where a slight twinge had started to throb, something she usually only felt when the weather changed. Something she had always blamed on some old muscle damage until now, from her constant training battles in the Fright Zone. Except that her medical records on Eternia knew better. Everyone seemed to know better than she did, which particularly bad encounter in her youth had left her with multiple broken bones, and apparently something even worse. Only nobody wanted to talk to her about it. And still She-Ra didn't know if that wasn't for the best.
"I wish I didn't, believe me. But there aren't many secrets you can keep from me," Light Hope explained with a distinctly sad tone. "Very little of this planet's past or present is hidden from me in general. That is my curse, as yours is the brokenness of your heart. The future, however, I can only predict extremely vaguely. All I know is that Hordak wants to hurt Adora very badly, and that you must take care of yourself."
She-Ra nodded briefly. "To know that, I don't need to remember something that my subconsciousness has obviously decided I'm better off without. I'll wait and see. For now."
"If you change your mind, I'm here for you." Light Hope said goodbye with the usual respectful flicker in his silhouette before retreating back into his pool.
- Terra Exit: SHOW THE WIND HOW TO FLY (#5)
