and everything else

we got some trauma

some prideyear (the first card is called "the friendly couple")

some pretty funny ones

the "my heart" ones (BUSTER MENTION)

and imo the best one of the set

I just want to say, I really like your "Aftershocks" fic (https://archiveofourown.org/works/60157852)! It's a rare piece of TS fic, which features Buzz in a real, very believable and very justified distress. Seeing this stoic guy in such a mess is truly haunting. I also love how in-character everyone are!

Would you be willing to provide any commentary on behind-the-scenes of this fic? Like, how have you gotten the idea, if there were any cut scenes, what were you thinking about in the process, or anything else you'd want to share? Anything would be awesome!

(if you don't want to do it, it's okay, no problem at all <3)

this has been sitting in my inbox for so long shfhjgjk apologies

It's a rare piece of TS fic, which features Buzz in a real, very believable and very justified distress. Seeing this stoic guy in such a mess is truly haunting. I also love how in-character everyone are!

Thank you so much <3 Yes, Buzz can be a trickier character to show a more vulnerable side of; I think he keeps his emotions in check better than someone like Woody or Jessie. The most despair we ever see from him is when he realizes the truth about his nature of being a toy and pretty much has a break from reality. An altered mental state such as that, or battery issues, is a good way to display hidden insecurities and deeper issues. And of course, having it happen so suddenly out of the blue adds to the shock and poignancy. It still needs to be believable, however, so I'm glad you felt everyone was in-character, particularly Buzz.

how have you gotten the idea

I'm pretty sure it came about during discussions on the TS server. Mostly what would develop into the scene of the story where they're finally putting the batteries in and Buzz is suddenly reminded of what Lotso did to him, and how his friends would try to help him through that moment. Which led to @forlovewithyou's lovely piece of art depicting that scene. From there I thought about it more and more, really considered how it would get to that point of Buzz needing batteries but it getting interrupted and what would happen, and then I started to write it out in full.

if there were any cut scenes

Hmm, I wouldn't say so, maybe a few cut lines that weren't working. Overall the story came together without too much fuss, it was just the writing itself that took a little time.

what were you thinking about in the process

One of the first things was making sure Bonnie was the one to change his batteries and not her parents because a) her parents would get it done no problem in like 20 seconds and b) her not having great dexterity at her age draws out the tension because it takes longer. Also, having Bonnie do it in her room allows the other toys to be part of the experience to a degree, which is especially important because the story is told from Woody's POV. So I just went with the idea that Bonnie specifically wants to do it to "take care" of Buzz and that's why her parents let her.

And ofc then she gets interrupted so the story can happen. It was important that Buzz only had one new battery in and not both: with two he'd be fine and with none, well, he'd be stuck in toy mode (which is how I write him without batteries, at least for this fic). One battery is enough for him to come alive, but he's running on half the energy he should and it really affects his emotional and cognitive stability. Add that he was already nervous + a triggering situation = lashing out, panicked reactions.

I also considered whether Bonnie's original toys would know everything that went down in Sunnyside or not. I decided that they got an edited version from the toys because they wanted to protect him from the potential fallout of something that really wasn't his fault. I think it would be very sweet for them all to look out for him like that, esp with Potato Head who probably would grouch about it otherwise lol

anything else you'd want to share?