eli-writes-sometimes

[eli-writes-sometimes]

The character of your choice for the playlist game!

Thanks for the ask! :D

Tor's playlist would include a lot of old rock or emo music, but three key ones would probably be Famous Last Words and Mama by My Chemical Romance, and Centuries by Fall Out Boy

[eli-writes-sometimes]

Terminal Playlist

Send a character name and the word 'playlist' and I’ll list three songs that would be on their airport waiting playlist.

[eli-writes-sometimes]

Rahhh this was so much fun!! I used it to practise Lex and Tor's characterisation, and threw in a couple of familiar characters for them to talk to!

"Lex... where the fuck are we?"  "What?" His eyes are still half-closed after his nap on the plane, and I get the feeling that he's not fully clocked where we are yet. "Aren't we in London?"  "Yeah, that's where we're supposed to be. Does this look like Heathrow Terminal 3 to you?" 

His eyes finally snap open, and he stares at our surroundings. 

The walls around us should be plastered with adverts about sightseeing, about what to do in the capital, about anything, but there's nothing in the vast terminal building except beige walls and a vague hint of old mould. 

Our fellow passengers seem just as confused as we are, and I see another young couple that were sitting behind us hurriedly looking around in panic. 

"Maybe they're renovating it? I do remember hearing about an expansion happening-" "Lex. Shut up, this is not Heathrow." "Where are we then?" 

I shrug. "How the hell should I know?" "You were awake when we were on the plane, did you hear them make an announcement or anything? Did they say that we were getting diverted anywhere?" I pick up a hint of distress behind his words, and I try to make mine as slow and calm as possible.  "They didn't say anything... I- I guess we could be in Luton or something. Would explain the air of death about the place." 

He doesn't find the joke as funny as I do. 

Lex stares at the wall for a minute, and I look back to where we came from. The double doors that we entered through from the runway have been shut with a wrighty click, barring the only visible exit from this hall, and it looms like everyone from the plane is now in here. I guess it's a consolation that we didn't lose anyone, but it does mean that it's now incredibly crowded in here, and I don't do well in crowds. 

"Lex, what do we do?" I nudge his shoulder slightly, and he gently runs a hand through my hair.  "The only thing that we can do. We just have to wait. Someone will tell us something eventually." "I want to get out of here." My words are just a murmur, but he nods sympathetically anyway.  "I know, I know. And we will, we'll be out of here before we know it. Trust me." "Okay..." 

I do trust him, I really do, but I also know that, deep down, he's just as stressed as I am. I don't know what to say, he barely knows either, so we do exactly what he said; we just wait. 

I don't know how long we stand there - could be four minutes, could have been forty. We just stand, my head resting on Lex's shoulder and his hand in mine. This building doesn't have any windows, so there's no way to know how much time has passed, but I do notice that the rain beating down on the roof hasn't relented; at least that's a sign that we might be in the UK, which is a small mercy. 

At one point, I have an idea. 

"Lex, is there signal in here? Get Google Maps up, see where the hell we are."

His eyes light up, and he rummages in his bag for his phone. He holds the power button down, waiting for it to light up, and- nothing happens. 

"It's dead." "Ugh. Great." "Try yours, you weren't using it, were you?" 

Mine has the decency to actually turn on, but when I open the Maps app, nothing greets me but the whirling circle of doom. 

"No signal," I groan.  "Are you kidding me?" He runs his fingers through his hair, teasing a strand back and forth as his breathing quickens.  "Back to waiting then?" "What else can we do?"

Just before my hope runs out completely, a speaker hidden somewhere in the room crackles to life. Lex and I both start, and we, along with the rest of the room, turn our attention to the dusty ceiling. 

After the jarring notes of an announcement tone finish echoing, words begin to spill from the loudspeaker. At least, I think they're words? I can't make any of them out, and from the confusion on Lex's face, he hasn't got a clue either. 

"Lex..." "I know, I know, we're not in England." "What language is that?" "I- Tor, I don't know, I'm sorry."

Of course he doesn't. "No, no, it's fine. We'll figure it out." 

Groups of strangers have began to talk to each other, to collaborate to try and work out where the hell we are, but it sounds like everyone's come up empty. 

The words sound vaguely familiar, as if I've heard the accent somewhere before, but their meanings are just out of reach; my mind brushes them, but I just can't get them to connect. They don't match with any of my - admittedly limited - knowledge of Romance languages, and Lex's knowledge of languages from Eastern Europe isn't helping either, so attempting to decipher their meaning from cognates is out of the question. 

Once again, we can do nothing but wait. 

An hour in by my phone's clock, the younger couple I saw earlier come up to us. They introduce themselves as Kai and Phoenix, and they ask if we have any idea what's going on. 

"No, I'm sorry." Lex shakes his head. "I wish that I could tell you guys something, but we're just as lost as you are." "We were meant to be going to London to meet my parents," Kai sighs, "Phoenix here has never been before, I wanted to show them the city I grew up in."  "I was so excited." Phoenix sounds close to tears, their thick New York accent grating against their boyfriend's south-east London voice, uncannily similar to my own. "But now we're never gettin' out of here, are we?" "No, no, don't say that." Both Lex and Kai have the same response. 

I reach out a hand to gently touch their wrist, and they lean slightly into the touch. 

"I- I'm sure that we're going to get out of here as soon as possible, it- it's probably just technical difficulties or something, it's fine." I'm not good at comforting people, but Phoenix seems to appreciate it.  "Thanks-" They wipe their eye. "I- I appreciate it, friend."  "It's- it's okay mate. It's all going to be fine." 

I hope they believe it. I'm not so sure I do. 

My phone tells me that it's been three hours. Lex tells me that we haven't been here that long, that it's all fine. My internal clock tells me that it's been a century. We finally hear a noise - the jarring tones of an announcement. I groan, waiting for more unintelligable words to wash over me, rinsing the last of my sanity from my tired brain. 

Good afternoon, travellers, on behalf of us all here at Ryanair we would like to apologise for the delay in your journey today. 

Well. That's not uninteligable. 

The whole room stands to attention, some sense of progress finally appearing. 

We understand that this has been a confusing experience with very little information from us, so let me set the record straight for everyone. Your flight today to Heathrow was delayed due to adverse weather conditions, and we have been forced to land early at a disused airport in outside Dublin. 

We have heard your complaints about the earlier announcement, and we realise now that they were done in Gaelic by a confused employee who did not realise that your flight was headed to London.

I hope that this inconvenience has not disrupted your day too much, and I am happy to inform you that you will be able to board the plane again in the next few minutes. Please try to make your way to your allocated seats, and we will aim to be in the air again as soon as we can. 

Apologies again for the inconvenience. 

And then the voice is gone. 

"Oh, it was Gaelic!" appears to be all that Lex can think to say. "Of course!"  "Yeah... of course..." I laugh slowly, shaking my head. "It was... so obvious."

His hand grasps mine, and I squeeze back. 

"I told you we'd be fine, my love. We're going home." 

Summerfest Writing Prompt!

Your character's flight is redirected to a terminal not listed on any map. Inside, there are no windows, and the announcements are in a language no one can identify.

Write a story of any length inspired by this prompt!

[eli-writes-sometimes]

Answering with the two main characters from Face the Music!

Tor can't go anywhere without his noise-cancelling headphones and sunglasses to deal with the sensory hell that is an airport, and he's also got snacks and gallons of water (after security) to reduce any risks of getting stressed out. His bag is also bursting with hoodies and coats, since he layers his clothes to hell and back in an unpredictable environment like an airport, and the zips sometimes struggle to contain it. He also has a small stuffed bear that he's had for as long as he can remember, but it's near the bottom of his bag since he's terrified of losing it.

Lex, on the other hand, would have a couple of books and a notebook to document his experiences, plus a wallet with all the boarding information and passports for everyone in the group, since Tor is too anxious about losing them to carry his own. He also has enough water to sustain a family of four for a week and ibuprofen to ensure that he and everyone that he's travelling with is okay.

Character Asks: Airport Addition

What’s in their carry-on? Open the bag. Tell us what’s the most surprising, sentimental, or suspicious thing inside? What's the most mundane? What can't they travel without?

[eli-writes-sometimes]

Writeblr Summerfest - Moodboard Layover

This challenge was to make a moodboard showing off my main character's style, so here's two showing off the differece between Victor's 16 year old style and Tor's style five years later!

@writeblrsummerfest :D

[eli-writes-sometimes]

Moodboard Layover

Today we're going to focus on your main character's style!

Give your MC the Pinterest closet of their dreams by making a killer moodboard showing off their sense of style.

Tag the blog so we can share your creation!

[eli-writes-sometimes]

WIP Intro - Face the Music

Keen-eyed viewers may notice that this is the second story I've written with this title, but this is a brand new one - the only similiarity is the title, that old one isn't a thing anymore!

Sixteen year-old trans boy Victor Fleming just wants to get through his youth orchestra career flying as low under the radar as he can; all that changes when he meets Alexander Eldridge, an irresistibly cool and effortlessly masculine oboist who threatens to break down all the walls that Victor has tried to build.  But, no matter how hard he tries, Victor just can't keep hold of the object of his fascination for too long — one day he looks around and realises that Alexander is gone, never to return.  Five years later, Tor Fleming has it all; he's the lead singer of a band, he's nearly graduated university, and he's moved on with his life, his teenage anxiety all but gone. He has it all, until he's introduced to an irresistibly familiar man who ignites a feeling inside him that he hasn't felt in half a decade, for a boy that he thought he had forgotten.  This time, Tor knows he won't waste his chance. 

Genre - Romance

Status - Planning/first draft

Tags - #face the music

More info below the cut:

Characters:

Victor "Tor" Fleming - He/him, trans - Focal character, narrates half the story - Gay ace - Sings and plays the flute

Alexander "Lex" Eldridge - He/him - Love interest, narrates the other half of the story - Bi - Oboe player

Ripley Holmes - They/them - Victor's best friend and knows Alexander through a uni event - Studying Aerospace Systems at uni

[eli-writes-sometimes]

Hi! I'm Eli! I'm a couple of days late to this, but I'd love to take part!

I'm a trans teen writer trying to get back into the habit of writing more, since it's the summer holidays for me right now.

I've primarilty written urban fantasy in the past, including the Five Man Band universe which has a lot of interlinked projects that I enjoy working on from time to time, but I also have a more self-indulgent romance side project that might appear from time to time! I also write fanfics, but not as frequently as my original works.

I'm really excited to be involved in this! :D

Introductions!

Take the time to tell us about who you are and what your wip is. Say hello to the community! Reblogs and comments are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED!

[eli-writes-sometimes]

Finding the Write Time - "Can you feel that?"

This is part of @did-i-do-this-write's monthly Writblr challenge, Finding the Write Time!

Now, this is technically July's prompt, but I've been really busy all month and thought that late was better than never, so here's a very quickly thrown together piece about Phoenix and Kai!

( @meteorify a little bit of fmb content for you! :D)

---

"I told you not to get yourself killed." 

Phoenix looks down at me from where he stands, shaking his head as I strain mine to see him. From where I'm lying on the table below him, I can only catch a glimpse of his expression, but a moment is all I need. He's not happy.

"Technically, I didn't-"  "Don't give me that shit, if Riley hadn't literally pulled you out of there then we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?" 

He's got a point. "Fine. Yes. I'm sorry." 

He shaks his head again, before bending down. His eyes are level with mine, and I blink quickly, trying to look anywhere but those electric blue spheres boring a hole in my skull. 

"Look, just give me a couple of hours, I'll be fine," I say in a half-arsed effort to try to get him to leave me alone. It doesn't work.  "No, no, you've done yourself some proper damage." He pulls himself off and looks at my back. 

I haven't had the strength to twist my neck around and check how bad the damage is back there, but from the fact that even thinking about moving my wings is enough to send a jet of pain streaming through my body, I can imagine that it's not too pretty behind me. 

"Right, you know I'm not an expert in these things, but I'm going to take a look at your wings."  "Fine, just don't- don't break them any more than they are already." I try not to sound too scared. "I'll try my best." I think he might be scared too. 

I feel him tentatively reach a hand out before he makes contact with my wing - he touches a bone, a bone that is definitely damaged. 

"Can you feel that?"  "AGH- Yes! Yes! Almighty, that hurts-" I choke back a scream, and he quickly pulls his hand back.  "Well. You're not paralysed, there's that."  "Was- ow-" I try to look at him. "-was that someting that we were worried about?" "It was something that we didn't want to rule out too quickly." "Oh." Do I look that bad? "But the good news is that we can rule it out!" His voice brightens, but all I can do is groan. "Have you looked me over enough to confirm that I do need proper medical attention? It's not that I don't enjoy you touching me, but I would really like to talk to someone who knows what they're on about-" Another jolt of pain cuts me off mid-sentence, and Phoenix quickly starts talking where I left off. 

"Yes, yeah, of course, they're coming, I just wanted-" He sighs. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."  "Am I?"  "Absolutely not. But you will be." "Well. I guess that's all that matters." 

I can hear his eye roll. "As long as this. Never. Happens. Again. You understand me, Allen?"  "Sir, yes, sir." He means business, and I'm not one to take this away from him.  "Good. I love you." "I love you too." 

[eli-writes-sometimes]

TRUTH. What you need is imagination, and you don’t need to go anywhere to use it.

[eli-writes-sometimes]

I've been really busy this month so I won't be able to do finding the write time within July but im going to try and get it done before the next prompt is posted

it's annoying but I don't have much of a choice, life's been hectic

[eli-writes-sometimes]

A Complete Character Development Profile (redo)

- When filling out my own character template for my oc, I realised there was so much I missed, so I did a redo

Section 1: Basic Identity

Personal Information

Full Legal Name:

Stage/Preferred Name:

Aliases/Online Personas:

Name Origins and feelings

Did they choose or inherit their name:

Meaning (linguistically, cultural, familial):

Do they feel like fit their name:

Any resentment or pride around their name?

Do they hesitate before introducing themselves? Why?:

Nicknames and Titles

Current nicknames:

Who uses them and in what tone:

Nickname they hate but tolerate:

Nickname they miss hearing:

Professional titles or honorific’s:

Age Profile

Chronological age:

Mental age:

Emotional age:

Age they appear:

Age they feel:

Age related feelings

DO they feel behind or ahead of peers?:

How do they relate to others their age?:

Do they lie about their age? Why?:

Gender identity

Assigned at birth:

Current identity:

How they embody their gender:

Have they explored or questioned it?:

Do they surprise aspects of their gender:

Do they correct misperceptions? How:

How do others perceive their gender:

Sexual Orientation

How they identity:

Are they open about this:

Are any internal conflicts or journeys of discovery:

Current living situations

Where they live:

Type of dwelling:

Who they live with:

How long they’ve been there:

Environmental impact

What their space smells like:

Soundscape of their area:

How the environment has shaped them:

Do they know the shortcuts and hidden sports:

Do they feel connected or displaced:

Dream living situation:

Birthday and celebrations

Birthday:

Zodiac sign:

Do they believe in astrology:

Birthday feelings and traditions

How they celebrate:

Do they dread or enjoy birthdays?

first birthday they remember:

Worst birthday experience:

Do they tell people hen their birthday is?

How they feel about surprise celebrations:

Section 2: Personality Deep Dive

Internal Srengths

Primary strengths:

How it manifests:

Do they recognise it as a strengths:

External strengths

Primary strengths:

How it manifests:

Has this strengths ever backfired on them? How:

Hidden strengths (ones they don’t recognise in themselves)

Primary weaknesses

What is it:

Is it a flaw or defence mechanism:

How to they hide it:

How their weakness effects others

How their behaviour Echoes in a room:

Are others protective or exploitive of their weaknesses:

Psychological Profile

MBTI Type:

Enneagram type:

Core childhood wound:

How this derived their behaviour:

How it manifests in

Conflict:

Decision-making:

Daily Routine:

Big 5 Personality traits each on a 1-5 scale)

Openness:

Conscientiousness:

Extraversion:

Agreeableness:

Neuroticism:

Do any traits clash with each other?:

Character Archetype

Which archetype do you think they are:

Which archetype would they think they are:

Emotional Landscape

Attatchment style:

How it manifests

In conflict:

When needing others:

Do they test people of cut them off quickly:

Primary fears (physical)

What is it:

Triggers:

Physical responses:

Primary fears (Emotional)

What is it:

Specific triggers:

Physical response:

How they rationalise this fear:

Core memories: Happy

What happened:

Associated textures/smells/songs

Would they share this with others:

Core memories: Sad

What happened:

How it shows up in dreams/habits/reactions today:

Would they rewrite it or cling to is as part of their identity:

Object of significance

What is it:

Condition of the object:

What this condition represents:

Associated memory or person:

Beliefs and philosophy

Core beliefs:

How they justify their morals:

Do they act in line with their beliefs or just speak them:

Do they believe in fate:

If not, how do they explain the unexplainable:

Confidence and self perfection

Where their confidence is real:

Where their confidence is armour:

Do they crumble when unseen or rejected:

How they see themselves vs how others see them:

Section 3: Goals dreams and motivations

Current goals

Surface level goal:

What it’s really about:

Obstacles in their way:

What they’re willing to sacrifice for it:

Long term dreams

Big dream they’ve never spoken aloud:What haven’t they shared it:

Is this dream inherited or self born:

What would achieving it mean to them:

Shame and pride

What they’re embarrassed to tell others:

Why is this shameful to them:

Source of pride:

What accomplishment do they cling to when feeling worthless:

Do they overplay or minimise their accomplishments:

Regrets and pain points

Petty regrets:

Large scale regrets:

Which ones keep them up at night:

Source of misery (the unscratchable itch in their soul)

Admiration and envy

What they admire above all else:

Person who embodies their unmet potential:

Trait they mock in others but secretly envy:

Section 4: Mental Health and coping

Mental health

Diagnosed conditions:

Undiagnosed conditions they might have:

How long diagnosed/untreated:

Do they deny it or medicate it:

How it manifests for them specifically:

Coping mechanisms

Healthy coping strategies:

Unhealthy coping strategies:

Crisis response:

Who they call in a crisis:

Intelligence and emotional processing

IQ (estimated):

EQ (estimated):

How they intelligence isolates or connects them:

Do they weaponise their emotional intelligence:

Humour style

What makes them laugh when no one else does:

What humour makes them uncomfortable:

Do they use humour as a defense mechanism:

Section 5: Behavioural Patterns and Habits

Daily habits and routines

Morning routine:

Evening routine:

Work/productivity habits:

Self care habits:

Bad habits

Sensory tics:

Toxic coping:

Avoidance ritual:

When do they allow these habits in front of others:

Behavioural tells

When stressed:

When content:

When scared:

Normal state:

Verbal Mannerisms

Do they use rhetorical questions!

Sarcasm level:

Do they complete sentence or often drift off in thought:

Precise or vague in speech:

Do they often mirror others:

What they say vs what they don’t

Truth they always avoid:

What they overstate to distract:

Are they brutally honest or do they sugar coat:

Physical presence

How they move across a room:

How much space they take up:

Are they aware of their physical presence:

Posture and body language:

Expressions of love and care

How they show love:

Do they know their actions make others feel loved:

What they need to feel loved:

Section 6: Hobbies and Interests

Current hobbies

Public hobbies (ones they don’t hide):

Secret hobbies (tell few to no people):

Hobbies they wish they had more time for:

How they feel whilst doing hobbies:

Skills and talents

Natural talents:

Learned skills:

Skills they’re working on:

Skills they’ve abandoned:

Section 7: Physical Appearance

Defining features

What a police sketch would capture:

Parts of their body they highlight:

Parts of their body they hide:

Facial features

Face shape:

Nose shape:

Eye shape:

Eye colour:

Lip shape:

Eyebrow shape:

Eyelash length/thickness:

Body details

Height:

Weight:

Body type/shape:

Skin tone:

Skin details:

Tattoos:

Piercings:

Facial hair:

Body hair:

Style and presentation

Clothing style:

Signature detail:

How much effort they put into their appearance:

What’s habit vs performance:

Personal preference vs societal pressure:

Self perception and others reactions

Why do they dress (to disappear, seduce, intimidate etc)

Their opinion of their appearance:

Their most attractive feature in their opinion:

Body part the obsess over:

Are they conventionally attractive:

How they handle compliments:

How they handle stares:

The vibe they give off

What music would play when they’re introduced in a movie:

What do people assume about them based on looks:

Are those assumptions correct:

What type of people are drawn to their vibe:

How do they react to that attention:

Section 8: Relationships and social connections

Trust and loyalty

Person they trust most:

Why they trust them:

Was this trust earned or given easily:

How they test trust:

What they wish they could to for this person:

What’s holding them back:

Conflict and animosity

Person they hate the most:

What they wish they could do to them:

How this hatred affects their daily life:

Family dynamics

Biological family structure:

Relationship with parents/guardians

Mother/maternal figure:

Father/paternal figure

Quality of relationship:

Siblings

Number and ages:

Relationship quality:

Birth order effects:

Extended family

Family members they avoid:

Family secrets or dynamics!

Chosen family:

How their chosen family differs from biological:

Friendships

Best friend:

How they met:

What they value in this friendship:

Friend group dynamics

Size of social circle:

Role they play in the group:

Group activities:

Childhood friends still in their life:

Friends they’ve lost and why:

How they make new friends:

What they need from friendships:

Professional relationships

Work/school relationships:

Mentors:

People who believe in the

Professional reputation:

Romantic relationships

Current relationship status:

Relationship history:

What they seek in a partner:

What they believe love should look like:

Relationship patterns:

How they behave when in love:

How they handle breakups:

Deal breakers in relationships:

Social expectations and roles

What others expect of them:

Roles they’ve earned vs inherited vs resent:

Where they belong:

Where they pretend to belong:

Non human bonds

Relationship with animals:

Significant objects:

Connection to places:

Spiritual or supernatural beliefs:

Section 9: Background and history

Childhood and upbringing

Where they grew up:

Type of community:

Socioeconomic background:

Families reputation in the community:

Were they known, invisible, praised or feared:

Childhood environment

Sensory memories:

Neighbourhood dynamics:

Safety level:

Cultural influences:

Defining incidence

Stories they retell:

Stories they never tell:

Pivotal childhood moments

When they realised something was wrong in the world:

When they realised there is good in the world:

First time they felt truly seen:

First major disappointment:

Education and development

Educational background:

Academic performance:

Favourite subjects:

Teachers who influenced them:

Extracurricular activities:

Notable people from their past

Person who made them feel they could become something:

Person who made them feel small:

First crush:

Childhood hero:

Early role models:

Major accomplishment

What they minimise:

What they overplay:

Trauma and loss

How they carry it:

Do they use it as a weapon, warning or wound:

How it’s shaped their worldview:

Life changing moments:

Biggest regrets:

Moments of triumph:

Current life context

How they view their past:

What they’ve learned about themselves:

What they’re still learning:

Section 10: current life and daily reality

Living situation

Current home:

How they feel about their space:

Personal belonging that matter most:

How they maintain their space:

Financial reality

Current financial situation:

How money shapes their decisions:

How they treat expensive things:

Financial goals or fears:

Relationship with money:

Daily life and routine

Typical structure:

Morning person or night own:

How they spend free time:

Daily stressors:

Daily joys:

Current challenges

Biggest current problem:

What they’re working on improving:

What they’re avoiding dealing with:

Support systems they have:

Support systems they need:

Future outlook

Where they see themselves in 5 years:

What they’re most excited about:

What they’re most worried about:

Changed they want to make:

What’s holding them back from change:

[eli-writes-sometimes]

a comment a day keeps the insanity at bay

[eli-writes-sometimes]

i'm working on a little self-indulgent story to cope with the weight of the world and creating this fake little band is so much fun

[eli-writes-sometimes]

[eli-writes-sometimes]

writing tip #3827:

start

[eli-writes-sometimes]

affirmations for writers: i know how to write. i have seen sentences before, and i know how to make one. i can identify up to several words and their meanings. i am not afraid of semicolons.