Dual-Sided Coin

~In A Tight Spot~

Bad things happened to heroes. That wasn’t news. Steph had been threatened, beaten up, and kidnapped (once by her own dad), and a couple times the bad guys had tried to kill her. None had succeeded, and even during the other stuff she hadn’t felt like she was in a huge amount of danger. Well, not most of the time. There was always Batman or Batgirl or Robin on the way. Plus the people who tried to hurt her often underestimated her, and that worked to Steph’s advantage. Especially as Robin—the bad guys were too busy laughing at a blonde Robin with boobs, and they let down their guard enough for her to get her licks in.

Now, though, she was scared. After standing up and moving her arms rhythmically within the limits of the cuffs, she got enough feeling back to try working on escaping. First she took stock of her situation. The cuffs were welded to a chain that ran up to a high ceiling somewhere in the darkness overheard. She was nauseous from the blow to her head, and aching all over from the fight earlier and hanging unconscious by her wrists. Her kit was gone, including the lock-picks normally stashed in her gauntlets. She just had her costume itself and her wits.

After a few moments, Steph realized why this situation frightened her so much. It wasn’t being held captive, it wasn’t waking up alone in a big dark room and having to wonder what the bad guys wanted. It was a small detail: the welded cuffs. Someone had taken the time and trouble to weld a set of steel handcuffs to a chain. That meant they used this setup a lot, and didn’t want any chance of someone slipping away.

It meant this might’ve been an unplanned capture, but whoever had her had done this before.

~Love and Other Headaches:
Won't See Me Closing In
[Chapter Thirty-Three]

Enter The Joy That Is Fandom

March 2019

A Minute Ago | | A Minute From Now

kalalanekent

11 April 2009 @ 01:06 am

Dual-Sided Coin

On the good side, I survived the week. Eventhough tonight was a nightmare from hell with no help and lots to do.

On the bad side, you know that moment when you start to wonder if your time as a decent writer has run out? I'm there. Starting wonder if I should hold the chapter a few more days. Maybe I'm starting to believe the hype. *headdesk*

Tags: heirs progress report, the authors in rl

On the Verge of:

distressed

7 comments | Notes To The Assistant Editor

7 comments —

( 7 comments — Notes To The Assistant Editor )

saavikam77 on April 11th, 2009 05:30 am (UTC)

Whoa there! Back the truck up. Every writer has their good days and bad days. I just spent nearly 2 months with no mojo whatsoever, and the stuff I just put out hasn't exactly been up to par. But I know I'll get my groove back soon enough. You just wrote a huge chapter during a hellish week. No one expects perfection under those conditions. Well, except fools who don't know the first thing about writing. You've got nothing to worry about, I assure you. Besides, every writer needs a good dose of humility every once in a while. And I've been learning how to be a better beta... *cough* *shifty eyes*

*snuggles*

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

kalalanekent on April 11th, 2009 05:38 am (UTC)

It's not you; it's me. I'm starting to worry that I'm not explaining enough of what the four of them are going through, especially Lois. We deliberately held off writing oneshots that were set within the five years just before Heirs, so no one has seen what she went through with the forming of the League (it'll be mentioned more in Heirs as time goes on). And I get this feeling that that's why she sounds the way she does.

And I guess we're being a little too real with Big K. And no, that wasn't what we were going for. But that was fixed easily enough. It might be a day last, though, while we fix and add. It's a good thing that we're 2,000 words into the next one.

And it's not you as far as the beta goes. You're doing exactly what you should be doing. That's what we need, especially in the more DCU-involved sections. It's more that we thought that we were doing pretty well at the characterizations, but we're still getting used to the League. I get this feeling this weekend will be spent reading more of the trades. Never doubt that you've been awesome. *snuggles back*

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

saavikam77 on April 11th, 2009 05:51 am (UTC)

Thanks, hon. I was a little worried that my more heavy-handed beta might come off wrong. Glad that it's useful, though. :)

As for the League - don't worry too much about it! It took me a long time to get used to writing them as a team, or writing *any* team, for that matter, especially with so many character details to remember. You might try watching the JLU cartoon for reference. Lots of good stuff there, and you can always pick and choose which bits you want to use for LS/Heirs canon.

And I'm glad the Kala stuff was easy to fix. I sort of wanted to smack her upside the head for being a predictable teenager, and then had to wonder if I was losing touch with what being a teenager was like. O_o I don't think I was ever that naive. Sadly.

I'm guessing that the Lois stuff has a firm root in the League formation, too? Diana? Fits of jealousy? You've shown a few glimpses of that already... Of course, my mind automatically to Clark and Bruce being entirely too close for Lois's comfort. ^_~ But that's only my fantasy head-canon. :p

*snuggles you some more*

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

kalalanekent on April 12th, 2009 05:08 pm (UTC)

Actually, as much as the beta was a little stronger than we're used to, it was exactly what we needed. And the reality check on some of it was extremely helpful. You'll see it when you get a chance to read. There are whole sections that changed. And I finally decided to write the Lois section I was avoiding. Kala, on the other hand, is going to screw up here, but I think she spends the rest of the story making up for one dumb decision.

Planning on researching the hell out of the League tonight and I have the JLU animated series recording for the next couple of weeks. *crosses fingers*

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

saavikam77 on April 12th, 2009 07:38 pm (UTC)

I'm so glad my beta on this chapter was helpful. Like I said in my last notes, I think it came out much stronger after the changes. :)

Have fun watching JLU! It's an awesome series. ^_^

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

repmetsyrrah on April 11th, 2009 05:48 am (UTC)

*hugs*

(Reply) (Thread) (Link)

kalalanekent on April 12th, 2009 05:09 pm (UTC)

*hugs back*

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread) (Link)

					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Log in