spiral by crimson quill

[Archer Rose]

welcome to spiral

this story is the follow up to warpaint, it's a spin-off rather than a sequel though.

lou griezmann and james potter will take centre stage as dual narrators for this piece. 

it's post hogwarts so it takes place about four years after warpaint. 

things aren't going too well for the duo when we meet them either, both of them struggling at being who they thought they would be.

 

my goal:  just sound out this project, i have the ideas for it but i wanted to find out if i'm going to write it properly. it would need to be post after i had finished warpaint bc spoilers obviously. i love the idea of the project but i'm not convinced yet. i'm hoping to get inspired, i'll probably just be writing random scenes that i have in my head etc. also i may start chapter 10 of warpaint 

 

 

james/oc    lou/james   lou/oc 

picspam by @something wicked

 

 

so ask me questions or just thoughts etc. 

let's get excited. 

[something wicked]

i can't wait for thissss!! i've been saying from the start lou needs more love so in love with ehr getting her own fic  what are you most looking forward to writing? most looking forward to exploring about her character?

[grumpy cat]

i have to catch up on warpaint (damnation, so many awesome fics to catch up on and i mean damnation in the best possible way) but i love it when people write spinoffs from their own fics

do you have ideas on what they both do after hogwarts and how much they've changed since their school days?

[abhorsen.]

i saw the title and was like "no warpaint??? the cliffhanger is killing me!! well, i love everything abbi writes, so i'll stop in anyway."

and omggg i'm so psyched!

[Aphoride]

ABBI I'm so excited for Lou getting her own fic ahhhh it's gonna be so good  

I have so many questions!

1. How likely is it that this story will make me fall in love with Lou and/or James? 

2. Will Bee and Albus turn up in the story or is that a ~spoiler?  

3. Lou is such a complicated character - will we see more of her background and more of what drives her to do the things she does? 

4. Will Lou and James still be in their on-again-off-again cycle - or, I suppose, where will they start at the beginning of the story? 

5. I lovelovelove the way you write the Potters - will we get more Potters? And more Potter-issues? (Like Harry's screaming in his sleep and Harry and Ginny not really dealing with it or accepting help themselves)

6. Will it have a happy ending? (Please?)

[Archer Rose]

23 hours ago, something wicked said:

i can't wait for thissss!! i've been saying from the start lou needs more love so in love with ehr getting her own fic  what are you most looking forward to writing? most looking forward to exploring about her character?

thank you love! i'm looking forward to getting inside lou's head, i'm trying to see if i can get the audience to love her like i do. she's not the nicest character ever but i think exploring the way she views herself and how the effect everything else will be really interesting!

 

23 hours ago, grumpy cat said:

i have to catch up on warpaint (damnation, so many awesome fics to catch up on and i mean damnation in the best possible way) but i love it when people write spinoffs from their own fics

do you have ideas on what they both do after hogwarts and how much they've changed since their school days?

thankssss! yes, i have ideas about what they'll be doing. they're not as successful as their sixth/seven year hogwarts asses might have thought. they are both struggling to adapt in the outside world if truth be told but they do have jobs.

22 hours ago, abhorsen. said:

i saw the title and was like "no warpaint??? the cliffhanger is killing me!! well, i love everything abbi writes, so i'll stop in anyway."

and omggg i'm so psyched!

warpaint is still on my mind, don't worry!

 

[Archer Rose]

@Aphoride

1. How likely is it that this story will make me fall in love with Lou and/or James? 

i guess that's the aim? i think i wanted to test myself to see if i could make a crazy secondary character into a fleshed out main character. lou is complicated person. there is probably some redemption aspects in the fic. lou does get a lot more page time in warpaint over at next few chapters so i think at the end of warpaint, there will be more understanding to her character and spiral will follow on that development.  

2. Will Bee and Albus turn up in the story or is that a ~spoiler?  

the current idea is that they'll be appearing but they won't be playing any major role in spiral.

3. Lou is such a complicated character - will we see more of her background and more of what drives her to do the things she does? 

yes! so there is a mini arch which is just for lou and james in warpaint which i guess is a springboard into this spin off. you've been able to see much more of lou's character, who she is and what influences she has in her life. a lot of character development for her will happen. 

4. Will Lou and James still be in their on-again-off-again cycle - or, I suppose, where will they start at the beginning of the story? 

lou and james have a super intense kinda relationship. it's always going to be a messy and never easy one but i think this story will cover an on/off aspect, it'll look at their relationship a lot and have themselves asking 'is this happiness?'', there is a lot of growth for both characters to be had. they'll have other love interests as part of this story. they'll get to explore a lot. in the beginning of this fic, they start from a place of friendship which is interesting dynamic for them. 

5. I lovelovelove the way you write the Potters - will we get more Potters? And more Potter-issues? (Like Harry's screaming in his sleep and Harry and Ginny not really dealing with it or accepting help themselves)

thank you so much! yes, there'll be more content like this to come in warpaint, that's thread that will be play upon in coming chapters of warpaint but it'll come across to spiral too, family is a big part of james' life so they're a natural part of the story. 

6. Will it have a happy ending? (Please?)

i don't have a firm idea for the ending yet but i'm not a writer that goes for out and out angsty endings so there will be some happiness. yet to be decided quite how it'll play out yet. 

[nott theodore]

Abbi!  You already know how excited I am for this story (and basically anything you write) but I'm here with some questions for encouragement!

 

1. You've already done such an amazing job on Bee's character arc in Warpaint - are you excited for the challenge of giving Lou the same chance at redemption?

2. You've said Lou and James are going to narrate this story - is it going to be in first or third person?

3. If you had to give three words to sum up Lou's character, what would they be?

4. And the same for James?

5. What made you want to set this story so long after the end of Warpaint?  Four years is quite a while - are you looking forward to writing more grown-up characters?

6. What do you see as being the biggest challenge that adulthood brings for Lou and James?  (I realise that might be a spoiler, oops)

7. What are you most excited about with this story?

8. Do you have any music you're listening to for inspiration for spiral?

[Archer Rose]

Sian!!

thank you so much for the support and lovely questions! I'll do my best to answer them for you!

1. You've already done such an amazing job on Bee's character arc in Warpaint - are you excited for the challenge of giving Lou the same chance at redemption?

thank you so much! I'm glad that you enjoy Bee! I'm excited about getting to write Lou as a main character, she's a fun character to write as secondary character but doing her main character is a big challenge. she's going to be a pretty rough ride of it in warpaint, a lot of her issues can be explored more deeply in spiral. i wanted the audience to also love her character and not think she is totally awful (very likely at the end of warpaint). i got the idea because i thought her character had a lot more to give and explore. 

2. You've said Lou and James are going to narrate this story - is it going to be in first or third person?

it'll be in first person so like warpaint. 

3. If you had to give three words to sum up Lou's character, what would they be?

these questions are always so tricky, i'm going to go with vivacious, insecure and misunderstood 

4. And the same for James?

sensitive, loyal, cynical 

5. What made you want to set this story so long after the end of Warpaint?  Four years is quite a while - are you looking forward to writing more grown-up characters?

bee/albus' story was about them at school, i didn't feel like i wanted to do another hogwarts story with james/lou. i didn't think there was a proper story to tell while they were at school but post hogwarts opened a lot more options for storylines and a bit more freedom with how to work things. it'll be nice to explore a bit more of the world than just hogwarts which is what we see for a lot of time in warpaint. 

6. What do you see as being the biggest challenge that adulthood brings for Lou and James?  (I realise that might be a spoiler, oops)

spiral is based around 'not being who you thought you were'. james and lou don't really know how to be adults, kinda stuck in their hogwarts fame which doesn't mean quite what they thought it would on the outside. 

7. What are you most excited about with this story?

getting to explore more lou!

8. Do you have any music you're listening to for inspiration for spiral?

honestly music isn't really part of my progress so nothing is coming to mind at the moment. 

[victoria_anne]

Hi Abbi! When I didn't recognise the title of this story I got really excited about new content from you, but to learn that it's a spin-off of Warpaint? Ahh!  And your novel nest is so pretty! It sounds so great already, and I hope July is successful for you and you get the story rolling! Good luck, my dear 

[Archer Rose]

18 hours ago, victoria_anne said:

Hi Abbi! When I didn't recognise the title of this story I got really excited about new content from you, but to learn that it's a spin-off of Warpaint? Ahh!  And your novel nest is so pretty! It sounds so great already, and I hope July is successful for you and you get the story rolling! Good luck, my dear 

thank you so much darling!! 

[Ravenclaw_scientist]

Hey penpal!

I'm in the process of reading Warpaint so don't want to spoil myself by asking too many questions but I'm very excited to be paired up with a fellow next-gen writer. I can't wait for many James Sirius chats. I have a few questions:

1. Why is your version of Albus in Slytherin? 

2. What has motivated you to write a spin-off? 

Can't wait to keep reading!

[starlitcastles]

Hello there!

I have read the first chapter of War Paint and I remember enjoy it yet still need to leave a proper review to it! ;w;   But anyway, it's cool that you're writing a spin off for it and that the story will be focused on two different characters!  Don't think I know much about them though although I'm guessing James is James Sirius Potter II since my mind somehow went to the Marauders era instead of the Next Gen.  The story premise seems kind of interesting since there's not much revealed and it's a relationship between these two would be interesting considering they have different struggles that is yet to be revealed which definitely piques my interest.  I also really like the moodboard for the story as well and that's cool that Dove Cameron (?) is your vision of Lou I think from what I'm seeing?  

Here are some questions for the story as well:

1.  Since this a James x Lou story,  has there been any quote, song, picture, movie/television show/animated film and or show/book/anything else in the media that reminds you of them in a sense? Like you could look at a picture and associate them with?  Something that is telling or hinting of their relationship with each other per se? If that makes sense? 

2.  Going to probably be asking people this and or have asked it but the question was inspired by a song that I heard on Youtube called What's Your Color by Stella Jang and I'm wondering what color would Lou be? Also what color would James be?  Also by colors, it's just what color describes or defines them and not just aesthetic wise. Hope that makes sense!

3.  What's one writing advice that you've gotten that you'll either never be able to forget,  helps you keep on writing, and or is just very inspirational? Why?

Questions aside,  I hope that you'll be able to reach your word count goals, be able to write the story, and or just at least put those ideas on paper or document some how at the very least!  Sending you many well wishes, tons of good luck as well as motivation and encouragement!  You can do it! You got this!  

[dreamshadow]

abbi!! i'm a sucker for spin-off stories, so even though i'm (way too far) behind on warpaint, i'm excited to see where this is going to go!!

some questions for you

• what's bee and lou's relationship like in the spinoff? are they friends, frenemies, strangers? 
• what made you decide to do a spin-off rather than a sequel?
• will we be seeing any potter siblings bonding or fighting? 
• where are james and lou living, now that they're out of hogwarts?
• is there any scene you're specifically excited to write? 

hope things are going well after your first week of julno!! you've got this 

[Archer Rose]

On 7/5/2020 at 2:50 PM, Ravenclaw_scientist said:

Hey penpal!

I'm in the process of reading Warpaint so don't want to spoil myself by asking too many questions but I'm very excited to be paired up with a fellow next-gen writer. I can't wait for many James Sirius chats. I have a few questions:

1. Why is your version of Albus in Slytherin? 

2. What has motivated you to write a spin-off? 

Can't wait to keep reading!

heyyy! thanks for the questions!

1. Why is your version of Albus in Slytherin?  

I think since the epilogue that i've always viewed albus as a slytherin and cursed child confirmed it for me. i think part of my characterisation is inspired by elements of albus that we see in cursed child. i think in this story, albus is probably more a burnt hufflepuff than out and out slytherin primary. he kind holds the ideals of hufflepuff but it doesn't work so much in reality for him. i think albus quite introvert as a character, he's interested in his own people, rose and scorpius (also bee) and he is quite into self preservation. I think meeting Bee as made him shift towards being more open and putting himself out there. 

2. What has motivated you to write a spin-off? 

I always said that I wouldn't write a sequel because i felt that warpaint would perfectly captured bee and albus' story so there wouldn't be that much space to continue with them as main characters. someone asked me about a sequel and i said no for those reasons but i think the idea for spin-off caught me then. i love the universe and wouldn't mind continuing with it if i felt there was a new story to tell. the idea to expand lou and james came quite organically. lou has a lot going on in warpaint, a lot of issues, they're explored some what in warpaint but after all their only explored in a way that really affects bee and albus as it's their story. james will remain somewhat of a mystery in warpaint, he'll get more development but there is more to be done with him in my mind. 

 

On 7/7/2020 at 3:11 AM, starlitcastles said:

Hello there!

I have read the first chapter of War Paint and I remember enjoy it yet still need to leave a proper review to it! ;w;   But anyway, it's cool that you're writing a spin off for it and that the story will be focused on two different characters!  Don't think I know much about them though although I'm guessing James is James Sirius Potter II since my mind somehow went to the Marauders era instead of the Next Gen.  The story premise seems kind of interesting since there's not much revealed and it's a relationship between these two would be interesting considering they have different struggles that is yet to be revealed which definitely piques my interest.  I also really like the moodboard for the story as well and that's cool that Dove Cameron (?) is your vision of Lou I think from what I'm seeing?  

Here are some questions for the story as well:

1.  Since this a James x Lou story,  has there been any quote, song, picture, movie/television show/animated film and or show/book/anything else in the media that reminds you of them in a sense? Like you could look at a picture and associate them with?  Something that is telling or hinting of their relationship with each other per se? If that makes sense? 

2.  Going to probably be asking people this and or have asked it but the question was inspired by a song that I heard on Youtube called What's Your Color by Stella Jang and I'm wondering what color would Lou be? Also what color would James be?  Also by colors, it's just what color describes or defines them and not just aesthetic wise. Hope that makes sense!

3.  What's one writing advice that you've gotten that you'll either never be able to forget,  helps you keep on writing, and or is just very inspirational? Why?

Questions aside,  I hope that you'll be able to reach your word count goals, be able to write the story, and or just at least put those ideas on paper or document some how at the very least!  Sending you many well wishes, tons of good luck as well as motivation and encouragement!  You can do it! You got this!  

 

1. so there is only a few things that come to mind but their relationship is interesting and a bit complex. there is elements of gossip girl/mean girls in this story because it is about high school/mean girl dynamic (at least it is in warpaint). lou and james kinda treat each other as prizes somewhat. a song that reminds me of that is 'back to you' by louis tomlinson. this story will fully explore them with other pairings too. 

2. lou would be pink, lou as a character is very traditionally feminine as a character which is what pink is associated with. pink is great because it has so many different tones in, like lou can very sweet and cute like baby pink but she is also bold and vivid like those bright/loud shades.  james would be a darker colour, maybe blue or red. 

3. i don't think anything really sticks out for me as a really influential, writing is something that needs to be natural for me, i can't ever really force myself to do it sometimes i get stuck in holes because of that but that's just me.

thank youuuu so much for your support!!

 

15 hours ago, dreamshadow said:

abbi!! i'm a sucker for spin-off stories, so even though i'm (way too far) behind on warpaint, i'm excited to see where this is going to go!!

some questions for you

• what's bee and lou's relationship like in the spinoff? are they friends, frenemies, strangers? 
• what made you decide to do a spin-off rather than a sequel?
• will we be seeing any potter siblings bonding or fighting? 
• where are james and lou living, now that they're out of hogwarts?
• is there any scene you're specifically excited to write? 

hope things are going well after your first week of julno!! you've got this 

 1.what's bee and lou's relationship like in the spinoff? are they friends, frenemies, strangers? 

that's a big question, they'll still in each other's lives, they're both heavily involved in the potter's dynamic so they're in each other lives. i don't plan for bee to be playing a huge role within the story but they'll be interacting with each other still. there will be a bit more context to this at end of warpaint/in spiral 

2. what made you decide to do a spin-off rather than a sequel?

i've kinda addressed in another question but it was my belief that warpaint is very much bee and albus' story, i wanted to explore that journey for them as teenagers, that story felt important. i didn't think that i had a story to tell with them for after hogwarts but lou and james felt like they had a lot more to give, i kinda just formed story lines from there. 

3. will we be seeing any potter siblings bonding or fighting? 

some of this will be focused on in warpaint, you'll see if/when you get to further chapters how this is going to develop but the potters story will arch across between the two stories, james' family is an important part of his story. 

4. where are james and lou living, now that they're out of hogwarts?

they'll live in central london in the beginning of the story but there is a bit of moving around so you'll see!

5. is there any scene you're specifically excited to write? 

it's more a general thing about exploring their relationship, can i make the reader like them??

 

thank you so much for the questions and encouragement!! 

[nott theodore]

Dropping off this Lou picspam for you