WIP Weekend
Mar. 23rd, 2024 01:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
languajixI'd like to make a post every weekend, maybe every other weekend, just sharing a snippet of some of the stuff I'm working on, celebrating progress if there is any.
One of the WIPs I would really like to make some progress on this week is the Leo-centric oneshot in the Hold Every Memory series.
I'm still struggling to get 2k3 Leo's character down, and not only that, but I have to extrapolate out ten years into the SAINW apocalypse at the same time. Eugh boy.
Here's one scene where I feel like I'm starting to move in the right direction with semi-apocalyptic 2k3 Leo, though:
Warnings for this snippet: intent to harm self, mentions of blood
---
The words kept trying to come out, but every time Donnie tried to open his mouth to let them free, they tangled up on his tongue and slammed his lips shut.
Leo finally seemed to notice, this time, because he frowned. Are you okay, Donnie?
That was the last little prybar he needed to croak out: Can I borrow one of your katana?
Leo actually glanced around for a second as if to try to divine what Donnie wanted to slice apart with his deadly weapon. There was nothing, as usual, because the space of the Astral Plane was a blank slate that stretched endlessly in all directions. ...sure?
Leo pulled one of his katana out of its sheath and spun it around in his grip with a practiced flourish, offering it to Donnie by the hilt, with the blade cutting straight through the space between them.
Donnie allowed his hand to hover over the grip without quite touching. You're not going to ask what I want it for?
As far as I'm concerned, you can take it and keep it, if the weird magic from the other dimension will let you, Leo said honestly. Whatever I have the power to give you is yours, Donnie. You don't even have to ask.
It was all terribly dramatic, but that was Leo, trying to be sincere. Donnie hated to crush it. This whole thing was a bad idea that would hurt them both, but he couldn't help his wanting. I think you should probably hear what I plan to do with it first. You may not want that kind of history on your blade.
Leo's arm remained stubbornly outstretched. Whatever you need.
I want to cut myself with it, Donnie said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.
It still caused Leo to flinch. He glanced down at Donnie's reflection across the blade with wide eyes as though the idea of his brothers wanting to hurt themselves with his weapons was unthinkable. ...can I ask why?
Because bruises fade.
The first time Donnie had been bruised in the astral plane, he'd spent the whole night observing the colors slowly blooming under his skin with rapt fascination and a thudding pulse in his throat. He'd taken a hundred photos. For almost five hours, he was living proof that Raph had touched him. That his brothers were real. Then his accelerated healing had finally started wiping it all away and all he could think about was how he was going to collect the next one.
This was a healthier solution, for all that it didn't feel like one in the moment.
I'm going to give myself a scar. Three horizontal lines, right here, he touched his left bicep. So that I never have reason to doubt that I carry you all with me.
He had a lot of scars. It would be nice to have a set he chose, this time.
The blade between them wavered. Leo switched his grip and flipped it in a beautiful arc, their reflections spinning across the polished surface, catching it by the hilt. Okay. I assume you have medical supplies ready?
I don't plan on going that deep. I know how to force things to scar. But yes.
The sword fell to point at the floor as Leo reached out to run his fingertips gently across Donnie's bicep, leaving prickling trails of unease across his skin. Three lines. Right here? How spaced out are you thinking?
Donnie hesitated.
I didn't want to put that on you.
Leo sighed. Too bad. It's my weapon, it's my hands either way. He didn't sound happy, but Donnie knew the steel in his voice meant there would be no talking him out of it.
He wasn't alone anymore. He didn't have to do everything himself. Every time the realization hit him anew, he went breathless with it.
He traced out the lines for Leo, the length and the spacing, felt the sword slip cleanly and quickly through his skin, and watched the resultant blood welling up in the cuts as if from a distance. As though this was happening to some other turtle mutant in some other astral plane.
Leo's mouth was pressed into a pale thin line, his eyes narrowed. He really wasn't happy. Go, Don. Take care of them. He vanished.
Don blinked. Right. He slipped back into his physical self and lifted the sterile gauze to his shoulder.
If anyone who sees this would like to share a sentence, a snippet, a photo, etc. of their own WIPs (doesn't have to be writing - crafts or other things are totally fine!), I'd be happy to cheer you on in the comments.
One of the WIPs I would really like to make some progress on this week is the Leo-centric oneshot in the Hold Every Memory series.
I'm still struggling to get 2k3 Leo's character down, and not only that, but I have to extrapolate out ten years into the SAINW apocalypse at the same time. Eugh boy.
Here's one scene where I feel like I'm starting to move in the right direction with semi-apocalyptic 2k3 Leo, though:
Warnings for this snippet: intent to harm self, mentions of blood
---
The words kept trying to come out, but every time Donnie tried to open his mouth to let them free, they tangled up on his tongue and slammed his lips shut.
Leo finally seemed to notice, this time, because he frowned. Are you okay, Donnie?
That was the last little prybar he needed to croak out: Can I borrow one of your katana?
Leo actually glanced around for a second as if to try to divine what Donnie wanted to slice apart with his deadly weapon. There was nothing, as usual, because the space of the Astral Plane was a blank slate that stretched endlessly in all directions. ...sure?
Leo pulled one of his katana out of its sheath and spun it around in his grip with a practiced flourish, offering it to Donnie by the hilt, with the blade cutting straight through the space between them.
Donnie allowed his hand to hover over the grip without quite touching. You're not going to ask what I want it for?
As far as I'm concerned, you can take it and keep it, if the weird magic from the other dimension will let you, Leo said honestly. Whatever I have the power to give you is yours, Donnie. You don't even have to ask.
It was all terribly dramatic, but that was Leo, trying to be sincere. Donnie hated to crush it. This whole thing was a bad idea that would hurt them both, but he couldn't help his wanting. I think you should probably hear what I plan to do with it first. You may not want that kind of history on your blade.
Leo's arm remained stubbornly outstretched. Whatever you need.
I want to cut myself with it, Donnie said, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.
It still caused Leo to flinch. He glanced down at Donnie's reflection across the blade with wide eyes as though the idea of his brothers wanting to hurt themselves with his weapons was unthinkable. ...can I ask why?
Because bruises fade.
The first time Donnie had been bruised in the astral plane, he'd spent the whole night observing the colors slowly blooming under his skin with rapt fascination and a thudding pulse in his throat. He'd taken a hundred photos. For almost five hours, he was living proof that Raph had touched him. That his brothers were real. Then his accelerated healing had finally started wiping it all away and all he could think about was how he was going to collect the next one.
This was a healthier solution, for all that it didn't feel like one in the moment.
I'm going to give myself a scar. Three horizontal lines, right here, he touched his left bicep. So that I never have reason to doubt that I carry you all with me.
He had a lot of scars. It would be nice to have a set he chose, this time.
The blade between them wavered. Leo switched his grip and flipped it in a beautiful arc, their reflections spinning across the polished surface, catching it by the hilt. Okay. I assume you have medical supplies ready?
I don't plan on going that deep. I know how to force things to scar. But yes.
The sword fell to point at the floor as Leo reached out to run his fingertips gently across Donnie's bicep, leaving prickling trails of unease across his skin. Three lines. Right here? How spaced out are you thinking?
Donnie hesitated.
I didn't want to put that on you.
Leo sighed. Too bad. It's my weapon, it's my hands either way. He didn't sound happy, but Donnie knew the steel in his voice meant there would be no talking him out of it.
He wasn't alone anymore. He didn't have to do everything himself. Every time the realization hit him anew, he went breathless with it.
He traced out the lines for Leo, the length and the spacing, felt the sword slip cleanly and quickly through his skin, and watched the resultant blood welling up in the cuts as if from a distance. As though this was happening to some other turtle mutant in some other astral plane.
Leo's mouth was pressed into a pale thin line, his eyes narrowed. He really wasn't happy. Go, Don. Take care of them. He vanished.
Don blinked. Right. He slipped back into his physical self and lifted the sterile gauze to his shoulder.
If anyone who sees this would like to share a sentence, a snippet, a photo, etc. of their own WIPs (doesn't have to be writing - crafts or other things are totally fine!), I'd be happy to cheer you on in the comments.
no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 12:11 am (UTC)My WIP from an SGA story I'm collaborating on. It takes place right after the episode "Adrift" where Rodney refused to shut down the replicator nanites in Elizabeth. The fight between John and Rodney in that episode always gets to my muse:
“I don’t understand. You were so upset that I wasn’t really sorry! So now I’m trying to make things right and you’re pissed about that, too! Seriously, just give me the reprimand so we can go back to normal.”
John winced at Rodney’s increasingly agitated voice, keenly aware of the many people outside his office, pretending to work, as though they weren’t curious about their closed-door conversation. His throat tightened and he sensed that the conversation was on the verge of running away from him. Uneasily, he leaned back in his chair and deliberately switched to a more casual demeanor. He'd be damned if he was going to put on a show for people.
“Look,” he drawled, trying to calm down the atmosphere, “I’m not saying I don’t appreciate what you’re doing here, okay? I do. This isn’t about us. We are still friends—” Suddenly, his voice failed him, because after everything they went through, “friends” really wasn’t the word that came even close to encompassing what he felt about Rodney, but their relationship seemed to transcend any reasonable words his brain could grasp.
Rodney visibly relaxed at this. “Oh thank god, because I don’t know–”
“Neither of us is big on doing things by the book or dealing with authority,” John interrupted him, not wanting to let the conversation be taken out of his hands, “But I still have to know that when push comes to shove you’ll follow my lead. This time, you pushed things too far.”
“I know.”
“They were replicators, Rodney. Replicators!”
“Nanites! They weren’t—.”
“Same difference. This sucks, okay. I hate this. I had to deal with the black mark when I disobeyed orders and it nearly ruined my career and my life. I don’t want you to be hurt the way I was hurt.”
“I’m not military. It’s not at all the same thing.”
“Maybe not, but the folks back home aren’t always the most understanding. Plus, we work out on the field daily, risking our lives and sometimes the entire galaxy. We have to be on the same page.”
“So stop being ridiculous and give me that damn reprimand already. I’m not going to fight it.”
“I don’t want to do this.” John threw at him, stressing every word.
“What are you, two? Arguing about how you don’t want to eat your veggies?” Rodney mocked and rolled his eyes, waiting for John to give back as good as he got but nothing like that happened. After an awkward moment of silence, he folded his arms defensively and fixated on John.
“Look, you have to! I won’t let you take the fall if any of this blows up in our faces later. Stop being stubborn and just let me take responsibility.”
“Damn it, Rodney, you still don’t get it! They’re going to want to know how I handled it. The form asks for my disciplinary response and it has to be good enough that the IOA doesn’t come knocking on your door after that report you sent them! Do you have any idea how stupid that was?!?”
“Hey, this is me, I’m not stupid. You wouldn’t have let me fix this! I knew that!”
John narrowed his eyes at that.“So you forced my hand. Now what? What do I write as the disciplinary response?”
“How am I supposed to know? Isn’t that your job to figure out?” Rodney threw his arms into the air in real desperation.
John gritted his teeth and his voice hardened. “You put me in this position. You write it. I sign it.”
Frustrated, John pulled up the proper form and then shoved the laptop in Rodney’s direction, completely failing to quell his anger.
Rodney flinched back, his blue eyes growing wide and panicked, clearly unsure how to handle John’s outburst.
John lowered his voice, trying to get it under control again. “If you know how to do better, then just get on with it because I can’t. I just can’t.”
no subject
Date: 2024-03-24 02:10 am (UTC)Oh man, that was intense. You have such a good handle on the cadence of the conversation, the building tension between them, right up until John dumps it all in Rodney's lap to deal with.
"Suddenly, his voice failed him, because after everything they went through, “friends” really wasn’t the word that came even close to encompassing what he felt about Rodney, but their relationship seemed to transcend any reasonable words his brain could grasp." This sentence in particular! What a great description of their relationship from John's point of view, how close they are, how far he is from being able to articulate it.
Thank you for sharing! Good luck on wherever this WIP takes you and your collaborator next. :D