Scribbles and Stories

She/Her. Writing sideblog. Zombubble on AO3, bluesky, and pillowfort. Icon by me. || MDZS || YOI ||

[zombubble]

new imit summary idea:

this shitpost (affectionate) thanks to an off-the-cuff and entirely unserious comment by @thewalrus-said in our dms a few days ago, and also my unmedicated adhd

[to the tune of "i'll be there for you" by the rembrandts (friends theme song)]

[verse 1] well, no one told him death was gonna be this way 👏👏👏👏 a corpse and then a god, for years staying away but now the realm of gods is under threat and it's wei wuxian best for the job, 'cause all these people, he's met, and [chorus] he has work to doooooo (and then there's a ghost) he has work to doooo (and he's doing the most) he has work to doooooooo (but lan zhan's with him tooo) [verse 2] down in the mortal realm with no clue where to start with only foes, no friends, he'll keep himself apart but then a prayer is whispered in his ear the very first a mortal's said, to him in over ten yearss so [chorus] he has work to doooooo (and then there's a ghost) he has work to doooo (and he's doing the most) he has work to doooooooo (but lan zhan's with him tooo) [bridge] a mystery, maybe murder him searching, pushing further his memory loathed by every one (or so he believes) a disguise he wears always, due to this, lan wangji stays, surely they've nothing to say, (except they really, really dooo) [instrumental break] [pre-chorus] but now the threat is only closing in, it's up to wei wuxian and friends to keep the world from its end, so [chorus] he has work to doooooo (and then there's a ghost) he has work to doooo (and he's doing the most) he has work to doooooooo (but lan zhan's with him tooo) [outro] he has work to doooooo he has work to doooo he has work to doooooooo (but lan zhan's with him tooo)

[xiaq]

One of the best things about being a writer is thinking of something small you can add to your work that’s just. Devastating. Like you’re sitting there going. Oh. That would be diabolical. People would get really riled up about that. Exquisite. Let’s do it.

[transformativeworks]

AO3 is Exiting Open Beta!

AO3 is exiting open beta! Learn more about how far we've come since launching open beta, our future plans for improvement, and what you can do to contribute at https://otw-news.org/4w2dn3tc 

[ao3commentoftheday]

[zombubble]

new imit summary idea:

this shitpost (affectionate) thanks to an off-the-cuff and entirely unserious comment by @thewalrus-said in our dms a few days ago, and also my unmedicated adhd

[to the tune of "i'll be there for you" by the rembrandts (friends theme song)]

[verse 1] well, no one told him death was gonna be this way 👏👏👏👏 a corpse and then a god, for years staying away but now the realm of gods is under threat and it's wei wuxian best for the job, 'cause all these people, he's met, and [chorus] he has work to doooooo (and then there's a ghost) he has work to doooo (and he's doing the most) he has work to doooooooo (but lan zhan's with him tooo) [verse 2] down in the mortal realm with no clue where to start with only foes, no friends, he'll keep himself apart but then a prayer is whispered in his ear the very first a mortal's said, to him in over ten yearss so [chorus] he has work to doooooo (and then there's a ghost) he has work to doooo (and he's doing the most) he has work to doooooooo (but lan zhan's with him tooo) [bridge] a mystery, maybe murder him searching, pushing further his memory loathed by every one (or so he believes) a disguise he wears always, due to this, lan wangji stays, surely they've nothing to say, (except they really, really dooo) [instrumental break] [pre-chorus] but now the threat is only closing in, it's up to wei wuxian and friends to keep the world from its end, so [chorus] he has work to doooooo (and then there's a ghost) he has work to doooo (and he's doing the most) he has work to doooooooo (but lan zhan's with him tooo) [outro] he has work to doooooo he has work to doooo he has work to doooooooo (but lan zhan's with him tooo)

[zombubble]

Hi. I return once again, on my fifth reread of TNoT. Yes, I have Problems in Life and this fic is fixing them all.

I had a quick question tho - how did you come up with the name Akitsushima for Hasetsu and all? I keep thinking about it every time I read, and then I forget to ask, so, just tossing it out there. Because I am also incredibly fascinated by the world building and the blending of Asian and European Royalty Standards to create this little island.

Heya!! I am pleased it's there to help you fix problems; it did that for me while I was writing it uwu.

So the thing is, I don't remember how exactly I settled on Akitsushima as a name, however!!! I didn't come up with it on my own!

Akitsushima (written 秋津島) is an old, archaic name for Japan!! When the characters are translated individually, aki means "autumn", tsu means "harbor" (but could also be a fossilized case suffix -つ (tsu)), and shima means "island", but!! Akitsu (or akitu/akidu) is an archaic (akitsu) or dialectical (akitu/akidu) word for dragonfly, so it can also be interpreted as "Dragonfly Island", which is the interpretation I have in my head for the land Yuuri's from.

Dragonflies in Japan symbolize agility, determinedness and victory for samurai warriors, whose armor was often covered with dragonfly motifs. They're also considered protectors of children, as they eat mosquitos that may carry disease. These are traits Yuuri's family (and nation) pride themselves on and wish to emulate, so they seemed very fitting.

I cannot recall if it caught my eye because I was using dragonfly symbology already, or if in my research I saw the dragonfly meaning, looked up the symbolism, and used it for that reason, but either way, it was the only name I wanted to use in the end, and thus... Akitsushima it was. (A friend and I tossed around bastardized versions of the name as it might have been misheard by foreigners, which is how Sachima became the foreign name for Akitsushima.)

Thanks for the ask, and sorry about any delay!! I've been sorting and moving things around the house and away from my computer.

[ataraxetta]

DID YOU KNOW that sometimes characters lie. out loud to others and internally to themselves, and it'll happen right there on the page. other times they are just flat out wrong and don't know it. oftentimes they don't ever find that out. a sizable portion of any story is decidedly not cold hard fact.

[zombubble]

we're zooming??

at least, right now we are. i've edited five chapters in the last few days, which is encouraging!! but the bulk of the more complicated rewrites are yet to come 😭

it's ok tho we're over 1/4 of the way through (by chapter count, which is liable to change) and have more motivation than i've had in ages, so i hope to keep a good pace (and that the rewrites don't slow me down)

honestly, though, i'm liking what's here so far and like... once i get all of the stuff fixed later on, i think that Might be the final draft, and i can go on to editing and then....

publishing

current publishing goal is to have the first chapter out by june but don't hold me to that, my brain is fickle and my energy is lacking.

still i would really, really like to make that goal

here's hoping uwu

[zombubble]

So I'm. Almost done moving. Things are mostly at the unpacking and organizing point. I haven't had my computer in four days though D: not sure how I've survived

Hopefully soon I'll have it back and can resume writing again.... I was making so much progress....

Also the stress sucks and once I have money and stability again I should start feeling better

[zombubble]

somehow, i've caught up???? already??? before The Other Hyperfixations hit (as well as irl, as well as other stuff lmao did y'all know my adhd meds are Not working and i'm going to need to try a different one) i was most of the way through editing chapter six.

now, in the time since, but before i was able to actually write again, i did manage some editing, but not a lot. so when i realized i could actually work on this effectively again, i went back to chapter one, but. i've already caught up to where i was--and even finished--chapter six. on to seven tonight.

feels good. feels organic. few more chapters and i'll be a quarter of the way through, as far as (current) chapter count goes, but i heavily suspect at least a few chapters will need to be split (or split differently than they are) given what all i'm changing

but that's okay that's what the whole editing process is for

currently the fic is planned for 40 chapters and 1 epilogue (for a total of 41 chapters on ao3) but... i could see 50 chapters of story, easy, depending on how i divide it. no one tell @thewalrus-said, or they might realize they're probably going to win a bet we have going regarding just how long this fic is going to get

[zombubble]

we are so back

ngl I have been in hades (supergiant game) hyperfixation hell for months, maybe even [redacted], so work on imit had been slow going despite attempts to remedy that (I love the story and really really really want to share it 😭)

but the wheel has turned and the hades hyperfixation is fading enough that I've been able to *write* again and it feels so so good

Im editing a few things that I decided I needed to change while I wasn't able to write, but I'm quickly catching up to where I was before and am so excited to keep going

Ty all for being patient

Snippets stopped both because I got to the point where I only had spoilers available, and because a lot of stuff got altered while I was editing before, and also because my hard drive crashed and that was stressful as hell (I have lost so much but luckily not my writing. Back up your shit, friends). I hope to resume snippets and/or word games once I've got stuff fixed, but hopefully there won't be too long after that before publication begins.

For now, hit me with questions, comments, concerns, what have you. The more entrenched in this i can keep myself, the easier it will be for me to keep making progress

[heymeowmao]

暗河传 | Blood River E19 ° Gong Jun as Su Muyu

[zombubble]

One of the big things I'm going to have to do after I get the second draft of IMIT done is reorganize my chapters. I tend to do long chapters to begin with, but I have added so much in some places and took stuff in others and now it's all wonky lol.

Im not going for the same exact word count in all of them, but I would like to keep from having the same disparity as TNOT's chapters, which range from like. 5k to 30k+ or something like that.

So working that out will come but I've got to like... write all of the new stuff and stick it in there.

And the new stuff is so much but it's so good.

I tend to be clumsy in my first drafts. I over-explain, repeat things, go with the Dramatic Versions, and generally am also too nice about everything. People talk too well and I simply cannot have that.

Especially not with Wangxian.

(Don't worry, things are fine.)

So this is... refining the narrative and making it more subtle in some ways and a bit... more visceral in others.

Anyway, I'm having fun and once I get a few more chapters down, I hope to be up to doing more WIP Wednesday posts and word games and whatnot.

Though I suppose I can do word games whenever.

I'm on chapter six for main edits but also working in chapter two because reasons.

Feel free to send in asks or sth because I have jury duty tomorrow morning and I will be spending a lot of time waiting.

[zombubble]

So IMIT's first draft is entirely done. I was extremely optimistic when I started to edit everything. However, I also tend to do my best thinking and writing whilst editing.

Suffice to say, this round of edits is more of a re-write, but honestly a lot better for it. My first drafts tend towards clumsiness since I'm just trying to get the story on paper, so to speak, and this one is taking more refining than anticipated.

Worth it, though.

A lot of it is trying to make Wei Wuxian feel a little less human.... a little more godly....

Another lot of it is... I had Ideas that punched harder, so to speak, and I am gleefully splicing them into the existing narrative.

I'm also debating reblogging clothing and outfit inspo to this blog? Not sure, how do we feel about this?

[zombubble]

Hi I hope you’re doing okay 💜 I’ve missed seeing your writing updates, it is always so interesting to see an author’s progress and process!

Hi!! Sorry for the late response, I've been using tumblr on mobile a lot and I cannot for the life of me find my inbox on that app D:

I've missed being able to post them! Health I was getting to the end so everything would be spoilery, and then I went to edit and. Well.

Things changed lmao.

So I'm doing a lot of rewriting right now, and that's been keeping me from posting because I want to get closer to the final product before doing snippets again. It's also taking longer because hashtag medical crap so that's working against me, too.

But also I do miss talking about it.... I should try to post on here more often again. The story is evolving and I'm having a lot of fun twisting things around and adding subtlety, nuance.... other fun ideas to up the emotional impact... Just gotta figure out How to talk about it without getting too too tooooo spoilery, unless people are into that lol.

Thanks for checking in, though, it means a lot! 💜

[hypnotisedfireflies]

Artist and Fic Writer EOY Asks

Describe your journey this year in three words

A piece you're proud of and why

A fic or artwork you enjoyed

Creator you'd like to see more from

A scene you enjoyed creating

A scene you struggled with

Comfort character to create for

Most challenging character to write or draw

A work from another creator you keep coming back to

Fandom you created most for this year

Fandom you'd like to create more for next year

A concept you'd like to develop next year

A fic or artwork by another creator that made you happy

Something new you tried this year

An area of your art you feel you improved upon

Something interesting you researched as part of the process

The creation that took the least amount of time

The creation that took the most amount of time

A new genre or style you tried

Something that made you laugh

Something that made you emotional

An idea you had that didn't make the cut

Rec another creator's fic you wish more people would read

Rec another creator's artwork you wish more people would see

A scene or image that lives rent-free in your head

Something that inspired you this year

Shout-out to a commenter/reblogger who encourages you

A song that relates to one of your creations

Shout-out someone who inspires you

Advice to yourself (and maybe others) for the new year

Don't forget to tag!

[appleslightning]

inbox open c:!

[zombubble]

From In Memory; In Truth chapter 30

Sorry it's so late, real life is kicking me around. However. I am also running out of chapters. D: Gotta edit faster. Still, have this bit, one of the few bits that didn't have very many spoilers (and don't worry; everyone's okay at this point, and the only character death(s) are from canon. Never fear.)

Lan Xichen stops feeding spiritual power into Jin Guangyao’s injured hand and wraps it carefully in his handkerchief. Once it’s tied, he looks up into a-Yao’s big brown eyes (admiration. It’s admiration and always has been) and smiles. “Feeling any better?” he asks. “Of course,” Jin Guangyao says, pulling his hand back and rubbing gingerly near the burn. “Thank you.” “Any time.” Lan Xichen smiles. “Do you have a date for your… conference?” he asks. “A bit over a week,” Jin Guangyao replies. Taking a breath, he gestures at a servant to come get the forgotten teapot and turn back towards his residence. “I’ve sent out missives,” he says as they walk, “but imagine you likely missed yours, and Huaisang his.” “It’s no matter,” Lan Xichen says, smiling. “If we could inconvenience you for a few extra days, I’m sure Huaisang would appreciate the time with Mo-gongzi.” “What inconvenience would it be?” Jin Guangyao asks with a broad, genuine smile. “Er-ge is always welcome in Jinlintai, for as long as he likes.” Smiling, Lan Xichen nods. “So, tell me. How are preparations going? Is there anything I can help with?” Jin Guangyao sighs fondly and shakes his head. “A great many things. This a-Yao will have to beg Zewu-jun’s assistance and be an inconvenience.” “What inconvenience?” Lan Xichen asks, teasing a-Yao some. Chuckling, Jin Guangyao nods. “Very well. Come, I’ll get us new tea and tell you what’s going on.” Not once has he mentioned Jin Ling.

Like I said, don't worry!

Anyways, here's this week's snippet. I'll try to remember next week's in a more timely manner uwu.

[zombubble]

From In Memory; In Truth chapter 29

Hey!! It's been a while!! Hectic here, and I was in no way up to posting this immediately post (US) election, and last week was ridiculous. But I'm back, and have for you a snippet from chapter 29. The only viable snippet. Everything else had so many spoilers it's unbelievable laksdjf.

Without further ado, enjoy!!

Breathing deep of sandalwood, Wei Wuxian closes his eyes. Lets his mind drift. It’s as if there’s a current, something pulling him in a certain direction. Curious. Unusual. He follows it. Whatever this is doesn’t feel malicious. No, it feels like longing. Like yearning. Someone calling out to him if not with their voice, with their heart. As he approaches the current’s source, it strengthens, pulls him in. He finds himself disoriented, as if he’s moving in every direction at once with the result being total stillness. An absence of movement. Blinking, he sees in front of him a river. Within it, lotus in bloom, glowing in the light of an impossible sun. The sky is five shades of blue at once, undulating, unclear. The water is clearer than it’s ever been, though, and moving swiftly with a perfect breeze. Turning, he sees trees. Woodland. There are voices within—loud, exuberant, carefree. Familiar. Coming through the tree line he sees a large pond, wreathed in trees, with smatterings of lotus here and there. The waters are calm, rippling rainbows in the sun. In the center of the pond is an overturned boat, and on that boat… Wei Wuxian laughs. He remembers this well. Not wanting to lose their swords, they’d left them on the beach and found a pair of sticks, and then decided to work on their balance training. Specifically, by clobbering each other on the bottom of an overturned boat until one of them fell in the water. In this memory, Wei Wuxian wins, knocking Jiang Cheng off with a sweep of his stick as he whirls around. At thirteen, Jiang Cheng’s petulant scowl is softened by the fat on his cheeks, the way he hasn’t grown into his facial structure entirely. Climbing back on the boat, he shoves Wei Wuxian with both hands, too slow pulling one back not to be pulled right back in with Wei Wuxian when he fell. They resurface, laughing, and Wei Wuxian helps Jiang Cheng back onto the boat before climbing on himself. Crossing his arms, his armor clinking with his movements, Wei Wuxian smiles. Their dream selves are teasing each other, hands on shoulders and fond eyerolls and it… “It was so much simpler back then, wasn’t it?” Jiang Cheng—the adult Jiang Cheng—asks next to him. Wei Wuxian turns to see his brother in all of his sect leader finery. This is how he sees himself; a force of nature, a lightning bolt, dressed in shimmering dark purples and blues. “You know I’m not part of your dream?” “Dressed like that? Absolutely not.” Walking over to the pond, Wei Wuxian leans over, looking at his reflection. The silver guan on his head, with licks of flame to either side, draped with red ribbon. His armor, his billowing black robes, layers of sheer fabric adding an ethereal sort of look to him. Definitely in his true form then, which… given this is within a dream, is to be expected. Looking back up, Wei Wuxian sees the pond empty. Cold. Jiang Cheng is still next to him, though, arms crossed. “What… brought you here?” he asks. “You pulled me in. Not forcibly, but you were pulling, I followed and ended up… here. With you.” Wei Wuxian looks at him. “I’ll go, if you like. It just felt like you needed something.” Jiang Cheng looks him over, top to bottom, and closes his eyes with a sigh. A jerk of his chin, and he’s walking away, expecting Wei Wuxian to follow him. Of course, Wei Wuxian obliges.

Yunmeng Shuangjie.... I love the two of them, and this fic had ways to bring them together naturally that I've really enjoyed writing! I can't wait to share the fic itself... I've been working hard on the edits and it's coming along very nicely.

Even if I've ended up scrapping a couple of the scenes I've already posted as snippets, rip. But yknow. That's writing. Kill your darlings and all, and the story is better for it in my opinion.

See you next week!