Trying My Best

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See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna

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I’ve decided to take a page out of the books of my peers and create a masterpost of links to my various writing projects, as well as a display for ongoing WIPs (as always, pay attention to any content warnings given in the writing before or in the tags of each individual work before reading them). Here we have:

Standalone Oneshots

Long-form Works
Collision Course
A rewrite of the MMX series that is based around certain changes such as Axl being introduced in X1, Zero having memories of Dr. Wily and various other Wilybots, and X having a brother.

  • First Impact - The first in the series. A complete rewrite of X1.
  • Second Strike - The second installment in the series. An ongoing rewrite of X2.
  • Third Fissure - (COMING EVENTUALLY)
  • A Trip to the Beach - A canon oneshot written in response to a prompt. Takes place prior to First Impact, during Zero’s time with the Wilybots. Features various struggles involving a sand flea.

Convergence
An OC-based spin-off of Collison Course that takes place in an alternate timeline where the Elf Wars and MMZ series occur. Based around what might happen if reploids from 21XX-25XX were resurrected and had to get used to life in 56XX (Mega Man Legends Era). Please note that any specific OC-tober response without an asterisk next to its title (such as Day 3 of 2024/2025) is not canon to this AU (but may be to another one).

All in the Neighborhood
A Mega Man human AU mainly based around certain Wilybots and their high school and neighborhood-related adventures.

  • To Observe - A oneshot in which Shadow Man takes note of some new neighbors that have moved in across the street - and how he helps them on several occasions, despite his efforts to mind his own business.
  • Honors Student - (COMING EVENTUALLY)
  • Day 3 of 2024/2025’s OC-tober prompt responses - A oneshot where Palice waits out some rain with Wren, and notices a few things that are cause for concern. Takes place at least a decade after AitN’s main story, and is not outright connected to it.
  • Day 19 of 2024/2025’s OC-tober prompt response - The sequel to Day 3’s response. Idalia invites Wren to a party, and various shenanigans ensue.

We Are the Dead
A Mega Man zombie apocalypse/human AU in which some children are NOT Quite Right due to experimentation and other mishaps, much to the chagrin of the humans who love them. But they are less Not Quite Right than the Infected who populate the world they live in.

  • Headlock - (COMING EVENTUALLY)
  • Red and the Kid - (COMING EVENTUALLY)
  • Compromised Shelter - A oneshot written in response to a prompt. Shadow Man keeps finding mysterious notes in his house, of which neither he nor Zero, the adolescent boy he’s taken it upon himself to look after, have written. It soon becomes clear that some tomfoolery on the part of outsiders is at work.
  • Early Frost - (COMING EVENTUALLY)
  • Day Fishing - (COMING EVENTUALLY)
  • Day 30 of 2024/2025’s OC-tober responses - A oneshot where Newbert and Katherine go out to look for supplies, only to end up getting much more than they bargained for after an unexpected meeting with another family.

Trial and Error
An Umamusme AU where Oguri Cap and Agnes Tachyon work together to fufill the latter’s goals of finding and breaking the limits of umakind. Partially based in the idea that Oguri quit racing after her third loss in the Japan Cup, while Tachyon was able to win the Classic Triple Crown and stopped racing after doing so.

  • Parents’ Day - A oneshot that serves as a prologue. The family and friends of the students of Tracen Academy visit the school - and that includes Oguri Cap’s younger sister, Oguri Roman. Chaos ensues when the latter goes missing.
  • Home Economics and Other Farces - (COMING EVENTUALLY)

Gift Fics
Stories written for my friends.

Essays
Long posts that were written for one reason or another. Usually because I had something I felt I needed to talk about.

Responses to asks can be found under #questions, while most of my various ramblings can be found under #opal speaks. Original writing is under #opal writes, while most artwork I have made is under #opal draws. Writing written by other people that I have reblogged or talked about can be found under #the writing of another. Artwork created by others that I have reblogged can be found under #the art of another.

Pinned Post opal speaks opal writes opal draws long post
forestlingincorporated
forestlingincorporated

Y'all know those AI scams targeting fanfiction authors that scan the work/comments to praise them and then try to get you to pay them to allegedly make a commission of your work?

Well, I'm currently in the process of writing a book (nonfiction for my professional field, not a fun book, don't get excited) and my agent sent out a warning that this type of scam has crossed into published spaces.

AI comments allegedly from Big 5 editors, book publicists, book clubs, etc. praising authors for their work before hitting them up for money or personal information for things like alleged podcast appearances and the like.

If anyone's written a book and you receive comments like this, contact your agent. Have them vet the opportunity first.

monsoon-of-art
prawnlegs

I'm always seeing this sentiment of "I have got to make my art weirder" or people begging for weirder art but here's the thing, Weird is not a brand. You cannot rack your brains trying to figure out the "Weird" formula. You don't get weird art by artificially forcing whatever you think is "weird."

You get weird art (and I think "weird" is sometimes people groping for a way of saying non-corporatized) by figuring out what you like, deep down, even (especially) if you think it's embarrassing

and wallowing in it like a pig

this goes for writing too sometimes the best thing one can do creatively is to be blatantly and unapologetically self-indulgent (/gen)
applehopshonor
bacteriumphage

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You guys are so close to getting it

bacteriumphage

I'm adding onto this by saying that it's OK to dislike an animal! It's OK to say that an animal scares you or that you generally do not like being around them!! What ISN'T ok is trying to justify your hatred towards them by claiming they are some kind of mass murdering evil super villain that should go extinct because of their natural behaviour or appearance, because if you do that you are an asshole and i think you should educate yourself

wibtown

From a Discussion 🐝

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Just because you hate something doesn’t mean you can’t respect them.

nohoperadio
nohoperadio

just saw a pigeon doing the puffed up courtship dance thing to another pigeon, and as he was strutting around he suddenly stopped for a split second to do a very brief preen-peck at his own side, then returned to the strutting around. and i surprised myself by instantly losing respect for the male pigeon in that moment, like come on man i appreciate you had an itch or whatever but how is she supposed to feel special when you're getting distracted by bullshit like that? which on reflection i don't endorse, i mean those are pretty harsh dating norms i'm imposing on these pigeons, from a total outsider perspective, for no reason. probably not all girl pigeons are as uptight about that sort of thing as i would apparently be if i was a girl pigeon, maybe she even found it endearing who knows, i don't know her. it's none of my business really. sorry pigeons.

pale-opal

@bruggle

Brook with Hobble at some point, perhaps-

a-weirdo-works
strawberry-souffle

PSA: stuttering in fics

as someone with a speech impediment, all of the people saying that only one type of stuttering is valid are wrong.

stuttering CAN look like this: "t-this is a-an example s-s-sentence"

OR this: "this-this is an example sen-sentence."

OR this: "t-t-t-th-..t-ttttthis is an example sentence."

OR this: "this is, uhm, an example, uh, sentence."

OR this: "this is an example sssssss-sentence."

OR this: "this is an examp-...this an example sentence."

sometimes the sentence won't even come out of your mouth at all.

there are probably many examples i'm forgetting, but that's the point! it usually is a mix of a few of these, but some people do one of them more often than others! some people with speech impediments have certain sounds that they almost consistently have trouble with (for me it's "st").

people with speech impediments also rarely-if ever-stutter whilst they're singing or whispering.

most importantly!!!! people with speech impediments are capable of saying a sentence without stuttering!! it can just be a gamble sometimes.

and if more people could portray the frustration that comes with stuttering and not being able to get words out, i'd be a very happy girl.

(fun fact: sometimes when my mouth won't let me say what i want to say, i get so annoyed that i just yell or grumble out "WORDS.")

this was your speech impediment PSA!!!!

waythroughtheice
what-even-is-thiss

You know the Grimm version of Snow White makes more sense than most versions if only because in that version Snow White was like 7 years old.

what-even-is-thiss

Like imagine you find a 7 year old in the woods and she’s like my mom is gonna kill me because I’m prettier than her and she’s not kidding. You know this queen is that sort of person. So you and your roommates adopt the kid and tell her don’t talk to strangers. And she keeps talking to strangers and getting poison combs stuck in her hair and whatnot.

Like yeah that’s kinda stupid but also she’s seven. She likes apples.

what-even-is-thiss

Also imagine it from the hunter’s perspective. The queen tells you this bitch is prettier than me I need you to take her out in the woods and kill her. And then you see who you’re supposed to kill and it’s a 2nd grader. Like how are you supposed to react to that sort of situation? Kill a human child? No. Because you’re not a brainless evil minion you’re just some guy dealing with a cartoonishly evil monarch. Of course you let her go.

what-even-is-thiss

Bad look for the Prince of course. Even if she did age while she was in that glass case. He saw a dead woman and just decided to keep her. And once she stopped being dead he was like we’re married now

He did cause the evil queen to dance to death in red hot shoes though. That was kinda cool.

thedupshadove

With the acknowledgement that I'm grasping at straws, is it ever directly confirmed that the Prince wasn't also 7?

thedupshadove

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See, I think that still works.

You are the guardsman assigned to protect the eight-year-old Prince. You are currently in the middle of the forest because he absolutely had his heart set on "going hunting", and the royal second-grader should definitely not be traipsing around the woods on his own. You let him go a little on ahead and he comes running back talking about how there's a dead girl in the clearing and there's no-one else around and he wants to take her home because she's really pretty, Hans, and she's all alone!

You let him drag you to said clearing and okay, that is one angelic-looking dead child alright, and on the one hand the quality of her clothes and the craftsmanship on the coffin (who builds a see-through coffin?) speak to potential Consequences if you simply carry her off, but also for the amount of vines that have grown on the coffin she looks extraordinarily un-decayed, so you should probably get the court alchemist's opinion on that, and there's no way he's going to come all the way out here in his embroidered velvet curly-shoes. And also this kid is technically assigned by God as your natural superior, or something.

So fine. You hoist the coffin onto your shoulder (it's not like the Prince can do it. He's eight.) and head back toward the castle, Prince chattering blithely all the way. And then you turn your ankle on a rock and suddenly there's a thump and a cough and a lot of shouting from inside the coffin and you have now become a key player in a tense political incident with the next kingdom over.

You should probably ask for a raise.

littlecofiegirl

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radioactivepeasant

This is my new favorite version of Snow White

the-othered-one
nolaplantdaddy

I love when people ask "how did you learn this skill?" I just started, there's no secret. that's it. a vast majority of the time the only thing holding you back is your trepidation to start.

noegrets

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rosslynpaladin

90% of being good at ANYTHING

is the ability to not quit when you're not instantly good at it.

And the ability to be BAD at something where other people might SEE.

Talent counts for jack all if you're attacking yourself the moment you start for not being perfect and then quitting to punish yourself.