#shadowstalkers

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

2 truths and a lie for ShadowStalkers?

1. Blinky is Jim’s biological father.

2. Morgana herself will show up at some point.

3. Gunmar is human.

(ShadowStalkers Link)

(Two Truths and a Lie Game)

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

💟

💟: how is your style different in this work compared to previous ones? has it more shifted for the story or just developed in general?

Over my time in fandom, my writing has gotten a lot better, I think -  largely due to the fact I write far more often than I did before fandom.  I’ve improved at editing, at experimenting with present tense in addition to past, and at exploring narrative in ways I don’t think I would have ever tried before.

I’ve gained a lot of perspective on my writing too, especially from my experiences working on my longer wips.

In many ways, I feel like Pieces is the successor to both my previous projects, ShadowStalkers and Final Fall of the Pale Lady.  Not because they share plot lines or aus, but because of what I’ve gained from the former two and how I’m applying all that to Pieces.

Though I love the Amulet of Metamorphosis AU, which Stalkers is set in, I have far more world-building done for it than actual plot.  In terms of writing, that caused the story to feel unwieldy and overwhelming to work on.  I had ten thousand different ideas of how I wanted things to go, but I struggled over and over again with tying them together cohesively.  Eventually, it became too much and I gave up.

Pale Lady had the exact opposite issue.  I realized the problems I was having with Stalkers and decided to solve them by writing a story with a far narrower, more focused narrative (as a way to teach myself to be able to handle writing long fics better).  However, solely having one POV character wasn’t something I was happy with either.  Instead of having too much plot, I had too little.  I found I couldn’t come up with enough content to make each chapter feel like a chapter.  It didn’t help that my interest in Morgana herself faded.  Since she was the entire focus of the fic, I lost a lot of enthusiasm for it.

I build off the lessons I’ve learned from both Stalkers and Pale Lady when I work on Pieces.  

From the former, I’ve taken my interest in creating a complex narrative with multiple character POVs (all who have a different effect on the plot based on their motivations).

From the later, I’ve kept in mind how to focus on one character at a time and how to keep things on a solid trajectory.

Subsequently, Pieces has ended up my most successful ongoing WIP to date.  It has scenes from numerous character perspectives (Jim, Blinky, Aja, Barbara, Dictatious…), but they all work towards the same end goals.  Thus, it doesn’t feel too overwhelming to work nor do I feel too constricted by its parameters.

Overall, because of what I know now after working on Stalkers and Pale Lady, Pieces has been a super fun project.

(there’s also a few plot elements I’m seeing if I can borrow from my previous projects too in Pieces, but I’m not going to go into detail about those 😉).

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

For the 5+ headcanons thing, how about an AU of ShadowStalkers where Babrara doesn't abandon Jim?

So, I’ve been debating how I want to go about answering this one, bc that change-up would have a massive effect on events as they would have happened.

I’m putting my answer beneath a cut.  Due to massive spoilers/reveals for ShadowStalkers, I want seeing those facts to be a choice.  Yes, I originally intended to reveal these things within the plot itself, but I don’t know when or if I’ll get back to Stalkers.

I like to think I will, because it’s a project that still means a lot to me.  But, realistically, I don’t think it’s going to happen.  ShadowStalkers was started at a time when I was way more invested in Trollhunters.  Though I still love Stalkers, I don’t currently really want to engage with ToA canon to the extent I’d need to do a series rewrite of it (which Stalkers is).

idek I just don’t have the enthusiasm for the source material that would be needed to carry Stalkers as a massive, ongoing project anymore.  Like I still enjoy the Tales of Arcadia as a whole and I’ll watch Wizards when it comes out, but I don’t see myself digging into it the way I did with Trollhunters last year.

1. Back to that two truths and a lie game, the lie was #2, meaning Blinky being Jim’s bio dad is true.  He and Barbara met while they were both pretending to be human.  When they found out they were going to be parents, Blinky revealed himself as a troll (and not a human named ‘Ben’), but Barbara didn’t do the same for her changeling-ness.  It was when Blinky accidentally found out that she was a changeling a couple years later that Barbara took Jim and fled.  She didn’t continue her search for Jim after that one night because she felt it was for the best that her half-troll son was gone, taking evidence of her secret relationship with a troll with him.

2.  So, in a version of the story where Barbara never abandoned Jim, she’d likely calm down and return to their home (and Blinky) with him.  She’d explain herself to Blinky (and her fears about what he’d think of her being a changeling).  They’d recover and quietly decide to deceive both their worlds to stay together in order to raise Jim.

3.  Jim would grow up with some understanding that his very existence is forbidden (instead of learning that truth as a teenager), and that he’s effectively caught between three worlds; the human world he was raised in, the troll world of his father, and the changeling world of his mother.  That would weigh on him a lot.

(one of the reasons I originally had for the Morpho Amulet choose him was that he’s in a unique position to bring peace finally to these three worlds, as he has a foot in each.)

4. Barbara would teach Jim how to use his polymorph abilities.  I forget whether or not that was a skill that was going to be given by the amulet or by his heritage from her, but in Stalkers, he was going to have that ability.  Barbara was going to be forced to become his teacher bc there literally was no other polymorph available (also, even tho Barbara recognized Jim as her son when he arrived at the Janus Order, she tried very hard to distance herself from him).

(like a foundation of this au is that Morpho!Barbara isn’t exactly a good person).

5.  Eventually, Jim would bring peace.  Blinky and Barbara would stay together and their relationship would come to light.  Their bond would forge an alliance between the troll and changeling worlds.  Meanwhile, the human world continues to be oblivious.

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

your notable au characters react to anomaly 42 GO

*cracks knuckles* here we go!

Vraxel: would legit believe that the Earth is being invaded and would fight against it.  He wouldn’t consider the possibility of Toby until it’s too late and that revelation would potentially break him because that’s his grandson and he didn’t know and he didn’t save him, he should have saved him.  Needless to say, it would hit Vraxel hard.

Zelda and Otto (of my Familiars AU): would be hit hard by the kidnapping of Enrique.  They’d try to run away (and steal a spaceship or smth to save him), but get caught and then have a ton of emotions that they weren’t able to go after their friend.

Aspen (of ShadowStalkers): would probably just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  and accept this new reality.

Megara (of Pieces): would give up all hope and just recklessly start causing chaos and destruction gleefully.

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

ShadowStalkers - Character Roles & Relations

I created a google doc for (most) all of my old notes for my fic, ShadowStalkers, and its related Morpho AU:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GHnDvj6zurPtomsx7ZNp7F5e-NyxLj6EEX3at4B8xhU/edit?usp=sharing (view only)

I will always love the au, I believe, but it is a rewrite of the Trollhunters series.  I just don’t want to engage with the source material on the level I’d need to to do it justice anymore.

I have one other, ongoing ToA project (Pieces) that I’m content to have be my only continuous story set with these characters.

If you have any questions about the Morpho AU, please don’t hesitate in sending in an ask.

This is NOT permission for anyone else to take my work and do whatever they please with it.  I share these notes for those who once followed the story and may still be curious about it only.  No other reason.

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

5, 15, 25 for WIP ask game

5. Where did you draw inspiration from?

Both ShadowStalkers and Pale Lady were influenced by the Tales of Arcadia fandom.

In the case of Stalkers, the concept originated in an ask post I answered last fall, and developed more in a post here.  I started writing scenes soon after.  The ShadowStalkers story itself kind of happened when the idea of ‘what if Morgana created the amulet?’ collided with a ‘roleswap Barbara/Nomura’ I’d done around the same time and the result turned into a series rewrite-type dealio.

Pale Lady was inspired by some Morgana/Barbara stories I read back during Rarepairs Week.  They got me intrigued about the concept of ‘what if Morgana comes back powerless and Barbara takes care of her?’.

I wrote a short piece toward the end of Rarepairs Week to dabble in the idea myself and then, after receiving asks both here and on the blog that became the Femslash Week blog, wrote a few more stories.

Eventually, the ideas (Morgana getting a modern prosthetic, Barbara taking her grocery shopping/introducing her to modernity, etc), that emerged during the asks and my short stories formed into a greater narrative I now have outlined in a bright green binder.  That narrative is the Final Fall of the Pale Lady story.

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15. Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

I don’t have anything new going for either Stalkers or Pale Lady atm (something I’m trying to change :P) but I do have a short RWBY arkos au piece that’s been sitting in my wips folder, so I’ll do that one.

(for reference, this takes place in the same au I made back in May, where Pyrrha lives, she and Jaune start a family, but Pyrrha is separated them for years due to a Huntress job she takes and struggles to adjust when she returns to them.)

Pyrrha wakes to the pit-patter of nearby footsteps.  She tenses, reaches for her weapon.  Prepares to spring into action.

The footsteps aren’t a thunder, so it’s not an attacking bandit group.  They don’t sound like Grimm, but one can never be too sure.

Her wrist is grabbed.  Pyrrha jumps, nearly tumbles out of bed, but she’s caught before she can truly fall.

Jaune doesn’t let go of her.  Rather, he pulls Pyrrha in close.  “It’s just Saph going to make herself some cereal,” he reassures her.  He yawns.

(I know that’s more than a line, but I’m hoping to at least intrigue you guys so you’ll ask more about it and I’ll get inspired to finish it)

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25. What authors and books have inspired you to write your work?

I’d say Diana Wynne Jones (writer of Howl’s Moving Castle, its sequels, and numerous other favorites of mine) has had a massive influence on my writing.

Also Neil Gaiman and Maggie Stiefvater are authors I feel like I’ve soaked up more from, or at least paid closer attention to the writing styles of because I enjoyed their work quite a bit.

WIP Ask Game

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Hey everyone, remember SHADOWSTALKERS??

Well, I updated it.

I hope you enjoy.

and if you find you have the urge to yell at me about it, my ask box is open.

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

💜😳

😳- your scariest line

“Now, Dr. Lake, I am a kind man.  I will give you one last chance.  Tell me what you know or I’m afraid I’ll be forced to do something awful.”

From the interrogation scene in ‘Rescue Mission’ - which remains one of the most chilling things I’ve written I think.

💜- top 3 favorite lines

1. “She’s my MOTHER!”  Jim yelled.  He heaved a breath.  His grip tightened on his staff.  He risked a glance back at Ms. Lake.  “Yeah, I don’t really know her and honestly?  I’m not sure I want to.”  He turned back toward Mr. Galadrigal and Draal with a determined expression on his face.  “But I’m not going to let you or anyone else steal my chance to get answers, so back the fuck off.” 

(from ShadowStalkers Chapter 3)

I realize that’s technically more than one line, but I think it’s one of my best written dialogues.  In Stalkers, Jim’s feelings about Barbara are complicated (to say the least and yeah that’s just going to get worse once he actually gets to hold a conversation with her).  I wanted him to defend her life in this scene, but also still have it be clear he hasn’t completely sided with her, so it was tricky dialogue to figure out.

Also it was great fun to have Jim say ‘fuck’.

2. Nancy promised herself, on the day she’d learned of the horrible, horrible news, that she would not depart this world until little Tobias was grown and going off to college.  Her grandson had just lost the two most important people in his life.  He would not lose her too.  Not yet.

(from Forget-Me-Not)

I just, I really loved writing Nana be introspective in this one.

3. “I think,” he told his new best friend, Toby, one day while working on an arts and crafts project, “My mom and Ms. Nomura are supposed to be in love, like a fairy tale.”

(from Some Might Call It True Love)

Cause writing kid troll!Jim is the freaking best.