#( this is your local trash speaking; ooc. )

[inkybloom-luv]

Words Unsaid 4, housing arrangements suck

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Hello hello everyone who's been reading this series!! Part 4 is here! I hope you enjoy the series as much as I do!

Characters may be a bit ooc in this but this also includes some personal headcanons about Kalim and some stuff that'll be resolved in the next chapters

Some more spoilers from ch.4 so be aware

Again, can be read as x reader but I have been mentioning my prefect's name more in this chapter so be aware of that.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Tw: injuries, absolutely abysmal and disgusting living situation, Crowley being a bad headmage

1.6+k words

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Have I ever told you your hair looked pretty the way you wear it? The way you tie that beaten up black bandana around your dark hair that only barely differs in colour enough to differentiate? The blue in it makes it easier perhaps, but it's a recent change, from what I'd seen. Has the headmage decided to pay for a visit to the local hairdresser? I can't help but think you look nice, though your messy hair from before had its charm.

I digress. Your hair is not why I'm writing this, though I could go on about yours. I wanted to apologize to you. I want you to know that I regret nothing more than treating you the way I did. I took advantage of the way it seemed you could look only me in the eyes when speaking to someone. I betrayed Kalim. But that didn't hurt me as much as it did to betray you.

I found one of them, your letters. I wonder how many more there are. I wonder if any of them describe how much I'd hurt you. When I read it my heart ached and cracked and broke. It bled. I wish I'd known sooner. I wish I'd known about the incident with Azul. I wish I hadn't turned your dream, your desert mirage into a walking nightmare.

No, that wouldn't do. It didn't feel right. It felt.. Jamil didn't know what it felt like. He crumpled this paper too, throwing it way towards a trash can. He'd set up in his room, ducking away from prying eyes. But no matter how many papers he wrote, nothing felt right, felt good. It just wouldn't compare to the words she'd written about him. For once in his life he was at a loss. He had no plan, he didn't know what to do.

To make matters worse a knock sounded. Kalim. He was asking for tea once Jamil was free, but really, Jamil needed a break. He sighed a frustrated sigh and opened the door. He told Kalim he'd make him the tea, not noticing he'd kicked a ball of paper into the hallway. The most recent letter he'd thrown away. Kalim noticed it only after Jamil had left it. Picked it up and read it too. Kalim was a lot of things, though he acted carefree, dense and yes, kind of stupid, he was observant. He knew people. He knew Jamil. And he knew who this letter was addressed to. Even if it has been weeks since then, almost a month even. Sure, Jamil had thrown this letter out, but it was something Jamil had been doing for those weeks. Shutting himself in his room for at least an hour and especially at night the light from there would keep burning. And Kalim had had enough. He decided to help.

And that he did. He took the letter and headed straight for Ramshackle. It was pouring rain on campus. Ramshackle wasn't much better, seeing as it was an old building. Heck, he'd met the prefect a while back and they looked exhausted and slightly injured.

Kalim knew the dorm needed renovations but.. when he got there it was worse than he expected. Sure some areas were fixed up but the stairs had holes and the roof leaked, judging by the bowls and buckets all over the floor. The old couch was a bit uncomfortable but it was better than the creaky floor. It was cold too, so much so that the prefect wore a jacket. But with a broken window, courtesy of some Savanaclaw students who had been ostracized and punished well enough by Leona according to the prefect, everyone would be cold. The prefect wrapped a blanket around kalim, seemingly the only nice one. The one from their room which they'd struggled to move down the stairs that were obviously breaking more and more under anyone's step, no matter how light.

The prefect, or, as he knew her better, Inky, had gotten injured fighting Jamil. A bandage around their arm indicated that. Their shirt had a sleeve lifted to accommodate. One of the snakes in Jamil's hair had bitten her there, ripping out a bit of skin. But that was the only injury she'd really gotten. The other bandages and bandaids were from the poor condition of their living quarters. She twisted her ankle going up stairs as one of the boards gave way, the floorboards made her trip and bruise, the large shards of the broken window had cut her hands. And still Crowley was running this girl dry. He'd talk to Crowley afterwards. He finished drying his hair off with one of the few nice towels the prefect did have. he'd gotten it before the blanket.

No more time should be wasted. He spoke. "Jamil is upset. Stressed. He shuts himself in his room for an hour at least almost every day. His light burns into the night. I wanted to know what he's doing. I found this in the hallway and it's.. addressed to you as far as I know. I don't think he wanted you to see this. But if he keeps this up he'll never say what he wants." Kalim was worried. More than. The prefect skimmed the letter. She sighed, her lips pressing together. She should tell Kalim.. and she did. Because her letters couldn't stay hidden anymore. Jamil mentioned them in his writing.

"I write letters to Jamil about my encounters or thoughts of him. I didn't think he knew. But I must've dropped the one I was writing at the time in Scarabia.", she explained, her gaze pointed at the letter in her hands, tears welling up in her eyes now as she continued, her voice breaking as she spoke as steady as she could,

"I miss him. I thought he hated me. I'm.. I'm not good at reading people. I can't look people in the eyes but it was so easy with him. I'm scared to try again. But- But I want to. I've just been.. far too busy. The storm that's been plaguing the island has been causing trouble. The other students have been causing trouble. Everything is loud all the time and I can't take it..! I want to see Jamil. But I can't. I have too much to do. This dorm is falling apart. Someone needs to fix it and Crowley sure as hell isn't doing it. I can't leave here right now."

Kalim nodded his white haired head. He sighed. This was harder than he thought. So Jamil wants to apologize but cannot bring himself to do it in person in fear of Inky being.. scared of him. And Inky.. is way too busy to do much of anything and the storm outside is destroying the old dorm she lives in. No wonder she's hardly been seen, she's constantly repairing her home here. And she could barely keep up much of anything. Everything costs way too much for the little amount of money she gets.

That was an hour ago. Kalim was sitting in the common room, drying off and being oddly quiet. He was thinking. He should.. oh.. he doesn't know what he should do. He should tell Jamil though. Tell Jamil the prefect wants to see him again, but is struggling to make time for anything. When he passed Kalim, the latter called out to him.

"Jamil..! I visited Inky..! Apparently she's really busy.. and she looked hurt all over! I'm worried about her..!" He said in a slightly overdramatic tone. Jamil's face held a look of concern, genuine worry even for only a split second.

"What's happened to the prefect? Why were you visiting her in this storm anyway?", the long haired desert dweller asked.

"Well..! We haven't heard from her at all and I got worried..! You won't believe the condition she's living in, it's terrible Jamil..! She's freezing because of broken windows and the creaky floor is made of tripping hazards..! She almost fell so many times..! And the stairs too, they're so old they have holes and they almost break when anything with any weight lands on it..! The roof is leaking too! It's terrible Jamil!" Kalim had to take a short breather after that. There was no way he could keep talking out of breath. Even all that was enough to send dread to the pit of Jamil's stomach. Was it really that terrible in ramshackle?

"Their roof is leaking too! They can barely keep up with replacing the buckets and bowls and her ankle twisted funny the other day..! She looked so tired.. I want to cheer her up.. but I don't know what to do..! Even I can tell how unsafe it is in there..!"

Now that had Jamil actually shocked. The prefect had been living in that the whole time? How could anyone even- he couldn't believe it. His mouth spoke before his head could react. "Put her up in Scarabia. Get her to stay here-"

And that was what Kalim was hoping for. He may not be good in school or anything like that and rely on Jamil a lot. But. He could think for himself. He could make his own plan. And he did. And it worked.

"You know what Jamil? That's a great idea! I should have my parents donate some money to renovate Ramshackle.. can you tell the principal to tell the prefect?"

Who would've thought Kalim would manipulate someone, and so well too. Not that it was big. But it went very well. Jamil didn't protest. He left. He went to go see the headmage to tell him what happened. What would happen. And while he did that Kalim called his parents. He told them the same thing. Told them about the living condition of the prefect. Ramshackle would most definitely get renovated, even if it would take quite some time. Funds were no issue after all.

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@leonistic

@cy-inky

@azulashengrottospiano

@dove-da-birb

@krenenbaker

If anyone else wants to be tagged, send me an ask!

[kiiingdomcome-blog]

also here’s a starter call !!

[killedpeople]

  like for a starter, please?

[nomazee]

Komorebi (2)

komorebi, p.2

synopsis: Tsukishima dislikes the amount of parallels there are with you and Hinata. He dislikes the way you’re so energetic and exuberant when you want to be, and the way you can get along so well with people. He dislikes the way that people are naturally drawn to you, and the way you’re so willing to put time into your dumb gifts and snacks and treats for a team of boys you barely know.

But Tsukishima does not dislike you. And he supposes that’s part of the problem.

series content: developing relationship, (sort of) ooc tsukishima, strangers to (sort of) friends to lovers, angst, fluff, slow burn

part one | part two | part three | part four | part five | part six

(alright!! here’s p2 of this whole mess!! i’m sorry for taking so long to get this out, the week’s been a bit stressful what with school coming up soon. 

this chapter is short, and so was my last one and every other chapter i post is probably gonna be as short as this—i mainly want this whole story to be written in these short snippets that contain specific scenes between characters that push how the story progresses, so in a way it’s sort of a collection of thoughts/scenes?? but very....concept/plot-driven. that doesn’t make any sense i’m just spewing words here LMAOA

but tl;dr chapters are gonna be short but for a reason!!! writer individuality or something like that !!! 

i hope you guys like this!! thank you for all the support, and happy reading <3)

☾.:°∗★.:☆:.★∗°:.☽

Against Tsukishima’s wordless wishes, you become an annoying constant in his day-to-day life. 

While you don’t show up to every practice that the volleyball team has, you make a valiant effort to make an appearance at as many practices possible. You never stay for long, twenty minutes at most, and make sure to stay out of everyone’s way if need be. (Though, Tsukishima would argue that that’s still not enough and it’d be best for you to stay out of the gym entirely.) 

On the days that you don’t come to practice, in the morning or afternoon, Tsukishima still catches glimpses of you throughout his day despite not being in the same class as you. You’re friends with Hinata—he knows this already—and it seems that you two are loud enough to catch his eye whenever he walks in the hallway. 

He makes it a subconscious habit to scoff under his breath and roll his eyes at the sight of you interacting—you know, as friends do—and he doesn’t miss the knowing looks Yamaguchi sends him when he does so. Tsukishima wonders what Yamaguchi knows that he doesn’t know, himself. There’s not much information that fits in that category, to be honest.

Not only do you bake, he learns, but you like making gifts in other forms. It’s annoying how persistent you are with giving these things out—friendship bracelets in painfully bright colors, little canvases of suspiciously similar-looking landscapes that you cover in glitter varnish to make it “prettier” (your words, not his), and even scarves—yes, plural—that you’ve managed to knit neatly and hand out to multiple members of the team (not all of them, as that would be difficult to manage with the yarn that’s in stock at your local craft store and the amount of time that you have on your hands. But Tsukishima is slowly starting to wonder if you’re able to alter the concept of time in an attempt to make as many useless crafts as possible). 

He knows that you’re not directly bothering him—which is probably intentional, and influenced by Hinata mindlessly chattering about the tall middle blocker and telling you all about his emotionless disposition—but he still can’t help but be annoyed at all the attention you manage to grab from the team, during practice, no less. He doesn’t care about the sport, he assures himself, but he cares about maintaining some kind of order in an already order-less team of boys. 

Tsukishima finds that your presence lingers with all the gifts you decide to give out—he catches colorful bands around the wrists of many of his teammates, which couldn’t not be yours, necklaces around some of the first years’ necks that have been tucked snugly into their uniforms, glittery earrings that Yachi and even Kiyoko have decided to wear with an odd sort of pride. 

At the sight of a navy and orange chevron bracelet tied tightly around Yamaguchi’s wrist as they walk home, Tsukishima scoffs habitually. His friend glances up from beside him, brows furrowed in curiosity. Before the boy could ask anything himself, Tsukishima took the initiative to make a snarky comment. 

“You’re really wearing that dumb thing she made? Really?” He pauses to avert his eyes from Yamaguchi’s slowly growing smile of amusement, then, “She makes so many childish gifts all the time. It’s getting annoying.” 

Yamaguchi hums, smile still persistent on his face. “Maybe you’re just upset that she hasn’t given you anything personal yet.” 

The blonde wants to scoff at that, but feels like he’s been doing too much of that so he rolls his eyes instead. “Yeah, sure. Very accurate, Yamaguchi.” 

“I’m serious!” His friend responds, the knowing look in his expression returning. “Think about it. Everyone has gotten a gift except you. Maybe you’re just getting angry about that.” 

“I’m not a child.” 

“I mean, you’re fifteen. I think that’s still a child, technically.” 

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.” 

“Sorry, Tsukki.” 

The two walk in silence for a minute, which Tsukishima thoroughly enjoys until the quiet is once again breached by Yamaguchi’s comments. 

“Well, if it makes you feel any better,” he starts, “she asked me what your favorite color is. I think she’s making you a scarf now.” 

Tsukishima lets out a sigh of mild aggravation. “Great. Now I know to keep my trash can empty so it’ll fit in there.” 

Yamaguchi returns his friend’s previous sigh, a tone of resignation hidden in the exhale. The rest of the walk was quiet, save for the loud music playing from Tsukishima’s headphones in an attempt to block out any other potential comments. 

———

Within a week, Yamaguchi’s guess about your upcoming gift is proven correct. You catch them both right before they enter the gym for practice, shouting their names in glee as you sprint towards them, a sky blue bundle in your hands. 

Tsukishima forces himself to turn around and face you, seeing as Yamaguchi does so. The shorter boy greets you with a smile and a wave, while the blonde stubbornly remains silent. 

You look up, the upturn of your lips remaining even when faced with Tsukishima’s disdainful mien. You extend the object in your hand, tassels and all, and Tsukishima thinks, ‘Oh, God. It really is a scarf.’

“I made this for you!” You exclaim, followed by a stupid giggle that tightens the strings in Tsukishima’s lungs for some reason he’d rather not get into. "It’s your favorite color— or, at least, according to Yamaguchi. I hope he wouldn’t lie to me…?” You send a playfully suspicious look at said boy, and he laughs along with you before your attention is drawn back to the still-silent blonde in front of you. 

He hasn’t made a move to take it yet, but you’re steadfast in your resolve and pester him again. “Here! You can take it. I used this super soft yarn for this, it was a bit more pricey, but I think it was worth it. My mom helped me pick it out. You know, I almost dropped a few stitches by accident, but I’m thankful it didn’t unravel completely! I think I would’ve cried if it did.” 

You ramble on and on about this stupid blue scarf for minutes and Tsukishima wonders why he hasn’t tuned out your voice yet. It rings steadily in his ears, and while he wants to compare it to the annoying chime of an American school bell, he can’t seem to make that connection without feeling as if it’s off. 

He interrupts you in the middle of a rant about stockinette stitches. “It’s spring,” his tone is dry and blunt, and he doesn’t look in your eyes as he speaks. “I don’t need this.” 

Your smile wavers. Tsukishima is the slightest bit shocked at that—at the falter in your ever-positive demeanor, but doesn’t say anything as you give a laugh (stiffer than before, he notes dizzily) and thrust the scarf at him yet again. 

“Yeah, well, it’s for the future! Never too early to start stocking up for winter, you know?” 

His eyes finally flit up to meet yours, and for a moment he regrets it. The sun is high, and casts gold glitter in your irises that moves like shimmering fabric with each slight movement of your eyes. You blink up at him owlishly as you wait for a response, whether verbal or in action, and he’s snapped back to the present as soon as your brow furrows. 

“That’s stupid,” he says, but a hand hesitantly reaches out to take the scarf from you regardless. He hears Yamaguchi take in a sharp breath of air, and your expression falls completely. 

Your eyes fall to the side, a little ways away where a lone white flower sits among a patch of grass. “Right. Sorry.” 

Tsukishima doesn’t find any pleasure in seeing your attitude change so quickly. He thinks it’s because he wasn’t expecting a change at all—at least, not in this way. You’re just like Hinata, he keeps telling himself, and Hinata doesn’t get upset over his comments, not sad. He gets annoyed, which is what makes his reaction so funny in the first place. 

Why aren’t you getting annoyed? Why aren’t you saying anything back? 

“I’ll see you later, Yamaguchi!” You walk off before he can say anything else. Yamaguchi gives you a hesitant wave as you turn around and leave, and only then is Tsukishima aware of the fact that you hadn’t bothered to say bye to him. 

Whatever, he tells himself. Doesn’t matter that much. Practice starts soon, he should be getting dressed already. He relays this to Yamaguchi, who gives him a look that borders on concern before letting out a sigh and shaking his head at his blonde friend. 

A voice in the back of Tsukishima’s head tells him to apologize the next time he sees you. His conscious mind argues that there’s nothing to apologize for, and he forgets about the entire conflict by the time practice begins.

[senshounen-blog]

  ( hey, guys. this is britt and i made a soft cinnamon roll boi

[atinykidult]

Guilt Was an Ugly, Ugly Emotion — Kwon Soonyoung

[angst] — 1,777 words [summary] — Cheater!Soonyoung owns up to what he’s done. Y/N and he deal with the ramifications. Featuring: Old college BFFs!96-line, potential OOC-ness (or, just dramatic Soonyoung, not so OOC imo), and, yeah. This is angst-y. TW: Cussing (Thank you for reading!) [playlist] — Falling by Harry Styles, Hopes for Tomorrow by Sejeong

Soonyoung knocked on your apartment door, even though it was his as much as it was yours.

When you opened it, wondering who would be knocking this late, you found a mess of a man in front of you.

"I fucked up, Y/N."

It was a reverse big bang: Everything dissolved into nothingness in a blink.

"And I've been fucking up for a month now."

He smelled like alcohol and sex and awful, awful regret.

"I understand if you want me to leave." He couldn't look you in the eyes. "I'll pack my bags this very second."

You couldn't tell if you felt hot or cold as you opened the door wider, letting him step inside. You couldn't feel anything in your body at all, even as tears gathered in your eyes. You could feel them, heartbroken and distressed things that they were.

He slept on the couch.

You laid awake all night, alone in your bedroom.

"Maybe you should give him a second chance," commented Wonwoo, who loved you and Soonyoung equally. He nudged you to take a bite of the waffle in front of you. "What he did was wrong, entirely and unequivocally, but you two have always just been so good together."

You pictured your first date, when you had gone to an escape room. Stuck with a group of elementary schoolers and disinterested mothers, it'd fallen to the two of you to escape. Yelling at each other, laughing when you made breakthroughs, you'd made it out in record team. As you unlocked the final door, Soonyoung had grinned at you so triumphantly; you had hugged him so tightly.

You and me — we're a pretty epic team.

"Each of you is impressive, just by yourself," mused Wonwoo. "But together... You're like superheroes from books. Maybe I'm superimposing my poetic understanding of you onto your real-life relationship, but... but you two are always happiest when you're holding onto each other." He took a sip of his coffee, eyes sad and thoughtful. "I truly don't want you to lose that."

Soonyoung spent the day sitting on the floor.

He didn't deserve the kitchen bar, where you had spent so many mornings together, sharing cereal or doing dishes together.

He didn't deserve the living room, where you had watched so many movie nights with him and your friends.

He certainly didn't deserve the bedroom, which he hadn't been inside since yesterday morning.

So he took a seat on the floor, eyes empty, keeping watch of the door you'd slipped out of this morning.

As you'd left, you'd taken the best parts of his heart with you.

"Dump him," spat Jihoon, who loved Soonyoung more than you. There was a fire in his eyes as he glared at his burger. "Always dump cheaters, especially when they're people that know — fucking know — better."

In college, the arts program had had five premier students, all from the same year: The composing genius Woozi, the gorgeous actor Jun, the playwright-brilliant Wonwoo, the passionate, golden dancer Hoshi, and the equally golden Y/N. They had all drifted into each other's lives, taken root together, and made the art program something damn special. So much so that when they graduated, the local paper had written a piece on them: "The five students who changed everything... Embodying their school's values of creativity, passion, and integrity..."

Integrity.

For his strong assertations, Jihoon looked devastated.

"How could he do that?" he whispered.

Hands pulling at his hair, Soonyoung cursed alcohol for the millionth time. If not for being drunk the first time, he might not have kissed the girl at the bar, might not have followed her home once — and not all those other times...

No.

Needing to punish himself, he pinched his forearm forcefully and hissed at the pain. With no little fat as a buffer, it stung. Good.

He had cheated on you.

He had cheated on you.

And he had cheated on you fully aware of what he was doing.

His fingers wandered to the hickey right above his collarbone, given by a cheap mouth in a cheap bar on a cheap person.

He didn't deserve you.

But, dammit, his mind kept racing back to ways he could try to make it up to you.

"You've decided what you're going to do, haven't you?" asked Jun, who would claim he loved you and Soonyoung equally but always favored you.

You buried your face against his shoulder, watching your unshed tears rub against his shirt.

"I have." You knew you were about to start sobbing, but you still forced the words out. "I'm giving him a second chance."

With those heavy words in the air, you let out a wet sob. "Junnie, I'm giving him that second chance."

"I fully, entirely, one hundred percent support you." Jun ran a comforting hand along your shoulders. "Just, you know, as your best friend... Gotta remind you that you're not obligated to or anything." His voice grew softer as he added: "Cheaters don't deserve second chances, college love story or not."

"I know," you gasped.

"Even if they're Soonyoung."

You sniffled. "I know, Junnie."

When you came home, you decided to knock on the door; it would be Soonyoung's choice to face you or not.

(Even though you knew he would open it.)

To your surprise, it took him a minute. You could almost picture the self-loathing on his face.

(Damn, it had been knives in the heart to see his broken expression last night. Even though it had hurt almost as much to know why.)

"Y/N," his raspy voice greeted you. "I—"

You raised your eyebrows, cringing inside due because you knew your eyes must look like hard, distant things.

He faltered, opened the door, and swept his hand through his hair: The picture of discomfort.

"First, dinner," you announced, walking straight to the kitchen bar and setting down the takeout bag.

The entire meal was silent.

But, neither of you bolted.

Neither of you looked at each other.

You just separately braced yourself.

Because, last night, Soonyoung had essentially turned himself in.

He had given the verdict of your relationship... to you.

To you alone.

Just glancing at him, you could see his nervousness.

Thus, the second you had thrown the bag into the trash, you took a deep breath and asked.

"Do you want us to stay together?"

You wanted to know because, even as in the wrong as he was, he had come clean and saved you the heartache of discovering his disloyalty yourself.

"I do," he replied slowly, voice soft and full of a thousand, regret-tinged, apology-filled emotions. 

A minute of silence passed before he met your eyes for the first time that day.

"Do you?" he asked.

His eyes were mostly terrified and desolate, but you could see that glimmer of hard hope, the hope that had no reason to exist besides sheer audacity.

"I do, too," you told him.

At this, Soonyoung audibly sucked in a breath, eyes squeezing shut. His mouth trembled as he looked like he was preparing to speak.

You spoke first.

"What you did was wrong," you said firmly. "And I know that if Jun or Jihoon or Wonwoo were in my position, I would be very, very angry for them. But it's only me in this position. And I'm very sad, but I'm not angry."

At this, Soonyoung looked ready to fight you.

You knew him too well; you knew how much rage he must be feeling toward himself.

You knew he probably wanted you to hate him.

Guilt was an ugly, ugly emotion.

"I'm not angry," you repeated. "And I love you and know you well enough that I would like to think that, that you would give a second chance at our relationship your everything."

You looked at him, hoping that your eyes could convey everything in your heart:

Asking him to prove you right.

Asking him to love you, too.

Asking him to be a better person for you, for himself.

Telling him that you were only giving him the chance you knew he would offer you if you traded positions.

Telling him that you hadn't forgiven him, but that it wouldn't be impossible to.

"Soonyoung." You swallowed and took the deepest breath you could muster. "If I tell you that I love you — right this second — and if I ask you to promise me it won't happen again, what would you do?"

Everything in you — your heart, your mind, your body — was shaking as you waited for his answer.

He wet his lips and shakily replied: "I would get on my knees and tell you that I am so, so sorry. That I don't deserve your love or deserve the love I feel for you."

The broken hope in his eyes seemed to have grown into something better with your words. Moving to kneel on the floor, he looked up at you with an expression of pure guilt and pure hope and pure sincerity.

"I would tell you that I would do absolutely anything to even have the chance to make it up to you."

You exhaled a rattly breath and gently took his hands in yours.

"Okay," you murmured.

Wonder took over his expression.

"Okay?" he repeated.

"I'm giving you a second chance, Soonyoung."

You pulled him into a standing position.

"I don't deserve it, Y/N; I don't deserve you."

Not many people would kneel on the floor to apologize.

"I know, but I think that makes you much closer to deserving it than you think."

You could feel his hands shaking slightly.

"How can I even start making this up to you?" he asked. "How can I even start deserving you again?"

"I'm not really sure." Something relieved and hopeful awoke in your chest: You truly believed he would go to the ends of the earth if it meant making it up to you. "I think we're going to have to figure this out together."

"How about, as the first thing, I'm never going to drink without you ever again."

His eyes bore into yours, still looking full of wonder, but also full of resolute promises.

"That's a good start," you replied, squeezing his hands in yours.

"Can I hug you?" he asked, voice unsure.

You pulled him down to you, wrapping your arms around his familiar frame. It was full of warmth, and it was almost terrifying how you melted into each other, as though the past conversation was just a bad dream. (It wasn't just a dream, but maybe it also wasn't just bad.)

"This is a good second step."

[wiredprick-blog]

  hi hello i am here, and jumping between here, rick, and vader.

[swamp-spirit]

So! A lot of people have trouble with fic summaries, and, to be honest, a lot of fanfics lose me at the summary, so I thought I'd offer my (biased by my personal taste) tips. Fic is for fun, so if you're not worried about it, don't, but if you're looking to bring in readers, a good sumary is your first date.

The type of summary you need is based on genre. A 40K drama has different needs than a 1K fluff.

But, in my opinion, here's the basic ingredients of a summary:

WHAT A SUMMARY SHOULD TELL ME

What type of fic is this?

Fluffy, steamy, horrific? The summary should set the tone. I don't want to see plot summaries about A and B's complex emotional tension when the tags make it clear it's all smut (or vice-versa). Your summary should give me a good idea what kind of tone you're setting.

What is this fic about?

This seems like it should be the basic of any summary, but I'm amazed how many fics miss it. You don't need to summarize the entire plot, but give me the basics of who is there and what sort of thing they're doing. Don't make me go to the tags to get the most basic details Word definition summaries and quote summaries are a common “okay, but what is this fic actually about”, but even things that try and touch on plot... don't. Think the statement paragraphs you probably had to use for essays. There are a whole lot of ways to say a lot without actually saying anything.

'A tries to save the world, but everyone tries to stop them' – What is A trying to do? Who's trying to stop them? How?

Again, this might not mean getting into details. For example, “A joins the school, but things aren't what they seem” sets a bit of a tone, but “A joins the school, but the teachers seem to be hiding something. Why won't anybody talk about the missing student?” pulls me in more.

For a fluff, this might be as simple as “A and B get groceries and run into an old friend from school”

What makes it special?

Big fandoms tend to have trends. Criminal AU or Coffeshop AU, it's often safe to assume your reader has already read 20. Your summary should make yours stand out. There are some bad ways to do this (see 'breaking the 4th wall' below), but put something in the summary that shows your special flavor.

Imagine your reader has read twenty 'A and B work in a coffeeshop' fics. They are probably happy to read 20 more, but if your summary just gives that, you'll look like a watered down version of something they've already read.

Like adding a little pop of color to a dull outfit, this doesn't need to be a plot shattering twist. The little details can make all the difference. Is B working at a coffeeshop to pay their way through beauty school, or do they hope to own the cafe someday? Is it a soulless churn of a job, or a friendly local atmosphere?

What's the hook?

1K fluff is exempt, but this is one of the biggest things a lot of summaries miss for me.

What is the tension? What are the obstacles? This is part of what gets your reader in. How will they defeat the giant lizard beast without their weapons? How do they convince their warring kingdoms to let them marry? How can they learn to love themselves when the world around them treats them like trash? And why in the world is their soulmate tattoo a squid crushing a watermelon?

SOME THINGS NOT TO DO (in my opinion)

“Basically”

Starting your summary off with a nervous conversational filler is not a strong way to go.

Typos

You already know typos are bad. As a reader, I'm actually pretty chill about typos, but the summary is your chance to pull me in. If it's riddled with obvious typos, it gives me two warnings A) This fic might be unreadable B) This author hasn't put in much effort

If you're like me, it can be hard to find typos in your own work, so I recommend showing it to a friend. If you're writing in your second language, ask a native speaker to take a look. Summaries are short, so it's a smaller ask than looking for a beta, and it can really make a difference.

Apologies

“I'm not very good at summaries” is a pretty famous way to tell your readers not to read your fic. Even if the fic really is amazing, almost nobody is going to take your word for it, and a bad summary will always get more eyes than just telling people summaries are too hard. (Not to say you should never complain about summaries being hard. They are. Just don't do it in your summary)

I understand the anxious impulse to warn the reader so they won't laugh at you, but hold is back. No “B might be kinda OOC”. Definetly no “this isn't very good, I'm sorry”. I'd even avoid “this is my first fic/fic in this fandom/long fic, please be nice”, at least in your summary. This is your pitch to the reader! Don't start it trying to lower their expectations!

On the flipside, your summary is also a bad place to get aggressive with potential haters.

And no, don't shuffle your apologies to your tags either.

Breaking the 4th wall

I 100% violate this in one of my fic summaries, shhhh, but keep the summary about the story, not the kind of stuff you'd talk about in an author interview. This includes

-What inspired you (“based on a dream I had”, “based on an RP”, “wrote this while bored”) Exception: It can be good to nod what works your fic is based on -Your various beefs with canon and other fics (“made this character less of a wimp”, “wrote this because not enough people ship it”)

Ending questions

This is the most personal taste thing, but I tend to find a lot of “end on a question types” really cheesy, especially when it's an easily answered question. Questions should pose the mysteries and struggles of the story, not read like a clickbait headline. Here's some examples by genre.

Romance -

Makes me read - “What future is there for a spaceship in love with it's pilot?” Makes me skip - “Will they be able to find love?”

Makes me read - “Why does nobody else seem to see the ticking box on floor five?” Makes me skip - “And what's with that mystery box?”

Makes me read – “What chance does she have against an entire school with powers?” Makes me skip - “How will she show everybody she's the best?”

The clickbaitiest is ones that ask not the concerns of the story or character, but 'what will happen' (ex: “How does he prove to everyone he's the best? You'll see.”) Not a question, but imperitives to read also hit this nerve. I click away extra fast for anything that ends in “read to find out”. But maybe that's just me???

ON USING QUOTES

For lots of fic writers, a chunk of text from the fic itself is a good way to ease into a summary. I don't think this is a bad idea, but it follows the same rules as any other summary.

Chatfics are especially bad about choosing a random section of text the author finds insightful or funny for the summary without paying attention to if it actually matches the tone, themes, or even the characters the fic focuses on.

“I'm not sure we can make this work,” said X. “I thought we were doing okay, but when was the last time we actually enjoyed one of our dates?”

“So we're just giving up?” asked Y.

“I don't know.”

Tells me what the fic is about. I can expect a dramatic interpersonal fic about the relationship strain between X and Y. I have tone, plot, main characters, and a plot hook.

So, in short, if you use a quote:

-Can I tell who is speaking/thinking?

-Is the speaker or subject the characters I should be focusing on?

-Does the quote give a clear idea of the themes, tone, and/or tension of the story?

[pcritia]

i'll be moving this blog / yuuri to my multi-muse !

[undomiiiel-blog]

like for a starter?

[jadevndermeer]

( dua lipa. 24. cisfemale. she/her. ) ❛ jade vandermeer, an aries from seattle, washington, moved into holloway three years ago. they are a musician that lives in apartment 5d here and their neighbors don’t particularly mind them. some say they can be volatile and impulsive but others say they’re bold and magnetic. anyways, one thing is for sure: you hear tongue tied by grouplove, it’s jadey-v blasting it.

INTRODUCTION : JADE VANDERMEER

hey! it’s ya girl jess & i’m here with my girl, jade. a little about me, in case you didn’t see my lil ooc intro in the discord – i’m 22 and in the bst timezone. i’m ur local bisexual aries disaster who is indie band trash & resides in rainy england. i played johnny before the revamp ( the nico mirallegro fc! ) and was also an admin for a lil bit. without further ado, here’s my babe!

my d*iscord is @ soft aries#7087 & i prefer to plot there over IMs!

jade’s pinterest board can be found here!

BACKGROUND

jade is the daughter of two business-people. the pair of them strict & straight as a line for her whole childhood. she was born in seattle, but since her father is dutch (hence her last name) and her mother is albanian, the family spent a lot of time travelling to their respective homelands, which was just about the most fun she had as a child. when at home in baltimore, she was kept under close supervision as her parents were the typical snobby, superficial semi-wealthy types and way too overprotective.

leaving the states for long periods at a time made it somewhat hard for jade to keep a friendship group, so she found fun in things that she could do alone like songwriting, singing and learning to play bass guitar. these were just hobbies at first until she entered her mid-teen years and began to take it more seriously, knowing she had the talent to do so. 

music forced her to come out of her shell massively. it gave her the confidence to. kids at school would want to hear her play all the time, and she was happy to show off her talents to others, which helped her to make friends

of course, around this time is when she developed a taste for fun. she wanted to hang out and go to parties and stuff like a normal teenager but again, her parents were still being way too strict & sheltering her

so she had to make do with sneaking out when she could, and when she couldn’t go have fun she continued to refine her passion as a musician, starting to post covers & original songs to youtube and bandcamp & even managing to get quite a substantial fanbase

however, her parents weren’t happy with this. they thought that music wasn’t a real job and that she needed to follow in the family footsteps and work towards being employed by their business. so, they made sure to only extend the offer of financial support through college if she promised to study business, marketing or something similar. and so, she had no choice but to agree to their ultimatum

she began studying at a university in new york, with a degree in business management. of course — she hated it. her studies didn’t align with her passion and so, to the dismay of her parents, she dropped out only a year and a half in. 

it was around this time that jade’s parents figured out that she was going to pursue the music thing no matter what and she wouldn’t be working for the family business. their ultimatum had technically failed, and jade was worried about potential problems between herself and her parents if she were to go back to seattle. and so, the search for a roommate in new york started. she moved into holloway as a matter of urgency

she could finally focus on being herself and taking up music as her full-time focus. there was an issue though, she needed a band. though, that issue was solved when she got together with some fellow holloway residents to form the indie rock band solar eclipse. with jade on bass, of course !!

jade worked as a barista and spent any free time she had working on music with solar eclipse. over the past few years, they’ve managed to take off quite a bit — they’ve signed to a record label, so jade quit her barista job and the band started to work on an album! everything seems to be falling into place.

PERSONALITY

fiery aries lady. aka charismatic and magnetic but do not cross her bad side sksksk

comes across kind of self-centred / vain but really she’s just super proud of herself and has a lot of self-confidence?

very all or nothing. doesn’t like to half-ass things. v determined and inspired at all times

can be a lil intense but is high-key lovely, v sweet and loyal, cares about her friends so much

she has a very strong personality and can be a bit of a liability. does a lot of things she regrets. doesn’t always think before she speaks

impulsive and unpredictable, she’s one of those extroverts that can become draining to be around after a while. she’s so talkative and excitable, a little too much. your muse may find her annoying or endearing depending on what they’re like

a bicon ( shocker.... not )

hopeless romantic, idealist / optimist, quixotic type.

aesthetics: yellow, converse high tops, vinyl pressings of all great indie records, denim mini skirts, mischievous grins, gold glitter

i’m gonna stop here bc i reallllly wanna jump into some plotting !

SUGGESTED CONNECTIONS

best friend(s) — it’s probably a given that this is taken up by her bandmates but i’m open for her to have more too! only requirement for this is that they vibe well with her personality!

past college friend(s) — friends she met at college before she dropped out. maybe they drifted after she left & now they’ve graduated and their friendship will rekindle in holloway?

bad influence — jade is a mischievous little binch. loves to party, go on wild spontaneous adventures, still has a rebellious streak thanks to growing up with strict parents. this person is a bit of a partner in crime for jade, always convincing her to join them in doing dumb shit

good influence — maybe another musician who mentors her as well, but this isn’t required? basically just anyone who can keep her grounded when her [ jenna marbles vc: ARIES ] energy causes her to wild out 

exes (on good or bad terms) — i love angst k thanks. if they’re on good terms, maybe they stayed friends & they’re still in love w jade but she doesn’t know ? if it’s bad terms maybe the relationship ended rly messily or they cheated on her and now they can’t stand each other, idc just gimme angst

a slow burn love interest — i’m not a fan of ship plots that happen right away like??? i like a cute plot that can build and develop for a while !! gimme a lil somethin somethin. our characters have to really work together for this tho so ig i’ll be picky when it comes to this plot

anything honestly!! hmu and if none of these appeal to you we can brainstorm!

[kiiingdomcome-blog]

  LIKE THIS FOR A STARTER  !!

[scamanderxtc]

hola, mis amores; its mara aka maru and this is emerson scamander amsberg, prince of croatia. he is my son and the resident poet/ writer around buckingham- to be honest this is a simple character stat; if you wish to plot with her like this and i will come to you. 

- ̗̀✰ •【 LOGAN LERMAN / MALE / 28 】announcing the arrival of his royal highness, ( EMERSON SCAMANDER AMSBERG ), the ( PRINCE ) of ( CROATIA). I’ve heard that he is ( COMPETITIVE ) & ( CYNICAL ) but can also be (GENEROUS ) & (RESILIENT ). ( EMERSON) is arranged to marry ( CHARLOTTE AINSWORTH). Rumor has it (HE PUBLISHES NOVELS UNDER A FEMALE ALIAS). We hope you enjoy your stay at London!【 OOC: mara aka maru 】

he’s the guy who would take you on a date to an art museum or something.  he’d be too busy admiring and explaing the artwork/architecture honestly and probably lose track of time.

it’s pretty clear how loyal & how much he loves the royal family.  i mean with out them who knows where he’d be. his siblings mean everything to be,  he has no reason to be against his birthright + family + country, etc

love his country to death which is why he is known as the prince of the people, he probably spent most of his time at local establishments  and promoting them. not to mention he loves to spend with children so you can always find him at the local library or orphanage lending a hand. 

he feels at ease when he is near the sea, he loves sailing.  growing up this was the only sport he actually was skilled at and take great interest in. 

 he had a faze as the rowdy trash child … but as adult he’s not as bad as he was when he was a teen, emerson is still down to party.

emerson is actually pansexual / panromantic he is really open about sexuality + intimacy things

HE’S HONESTLY A GOOD GUY AT HEART even A GOOFBALL.  hes AN ART & LITERATURE LOVER  but if he doesn’t like you there is a 90% chance he’s gonna be fake af smh. probably even plot your demise.

though that being said it takes kind of a lot for him to HATE-HATE someone .. like he’s pretty tolerant. Like you gotta do something that’s real fucked up

Once upon a time he definitely the type to have a lot of flings / one night stands yet due to the engagement he is trying to change his ways and at the same time trying to prove the media wrong.

so he is on this new path of taking things quite seriously.

 he’s s hedonistic at times but at the same time very humble. once you gte to know him  everything will make sense.  

when it comes to money he actually donates it to charities and projects. 

there was literally a time as a child when he refused to speak english bc he’ll always want to learn other languages so this man knows pretty much croatian, italian, spanish, french, arabic fluently  but he got over that as he got older

secret: growing up he had always been a lover of knowledge, words, poetry and books. his parents granted him private turoring in such areas where he slowly but surely became a skilled writer. however being the second oldest meant that he had an image to maintain and a job to fulfill. when he told his father he wanted to become a full time author - the king said no. the crown always go firist, they spoke about the image and how important the public image of the family would be intact. so his best friend and publisher suggested emerson to publish his name under an alias. he decided to go for a female name, since most woman back in the old days would use male names to get their stories to publish. he is a well-known poet and novelist, under the name of rosemary g. novak.  .

[killedpeople]

  let’s call this a brand new starter call, this time i’m gonna make myself do these, you hit that like button, and i’ll eventually write something up.

[acuppellarp]

Welcome (again) to A Cup-pella, Kai! We’re excited to have you and Lara James in the game! Please go through the checklist to make sure you’re ready to go and send in your account within the next 24 hours. 

OOC INFO

Name + pronouns: Kai + she/her Age: 25 Timezone: EST Ships: LJ + an NSA-less world Anti-Ships: LJ + unhappiness

IC INFO

Full Name: Lara “LJ” Rae James Face Claim: Hayley Kiyoko Age/Birthday: January 28 / 25 Occupation: Member of Geek Squad at Best Buy + Full time student at NYU Personality: adaptable, charismatic, impulsive, extroverted, creative, clumsy Hometown: New York City, New York Bio: To say that Lara James’ childhood was a mess and a half would be speaking politely. From the moment that Lara was born, her parents struggled. Her mother was a waitress for a small diner located in the heart of Manhattan and her father was a handyman for an apartment building that liked to pay him under the table. While it was nice to not have to deal with the taxes taking money from his paychecks, it meant that sometimes, the main provider of the house was not bringing home enough money for the family to live comfortably. There were many times throughout Lara’s childhood that she remembered the lights flickering before going out for days on end. This was something that typically brought on hours of screaming and bickering between her parents about all issues surrounding money and the unhappiness that it brought to them. While Calvin and Melissa James always strived to bring the best for their daughter, sometimes their money situation could not even provide a well balanced dinner for their daughter for weeks on end. It was something that Lara always thought to be normal and casual amongst the children of her neighborhood, but after being labeled a few horrific names from her classmates, she knew that wasn’t the case.

As she grew, things never really got better. Her father kept losing job after job, stress taking over his life, and turning him into a man that was filled with anger instead of the happy, bubbly man that she always loved and adored. Her mother had lingering eyes for every male that came into the diner, always wondering what life would be like if she wasn’t strapped down by the suffocating lack of funds in her family. In fact, when Lara was just seven years old, her mother’s lingering eye is what took her away from her family. One night, Lara heard shuffling outside of her bedroom door and before she was able to investigate what was going on, her mother was gone. She had packed her few belongings and left Lara and her father to their own devices. Later on, Lara would find out that she had met a wealthy man who was capable of giving her more monetary happiness than her own flesh and blood ever could. It was something that made Lara see that the world was not always as kind and forgiving as she thought it was.

It took her mother’s departure from their lives for things to turn around for Calvin and Lara, however. Once there was no other means of money and income coming into the apartment, Calvin started working harder to get jobs that were well paying and reliable for work. He started looking in construction, quickly becoming employed with a company that actually made him fill out a W-2 and do things by the book. The money started coming in more readily, and Lara was seeing things that she never had before: birthday presents, dinner on the table every single night, random gifts of appreciation from her father, etc. While they didn’t have much, there wasn’t a single day in which the lights went out in their home.

It wasn’t until her fourteenth birthday that Lara received a gift from her father that opened a door in her life that she had never been prepared for: a personal laptop. There was not a lot of extra money lying around, but the hefty priced gift was something that was met with a beaming Lara and a very smitten Calvin that he had done so well by her. For that next coming years, Lara spent her life on her laptop. She researched everything she could find, downloaded all the free video games that she could come across, and taught herself everything the Internet could teach her about coding (which was a lot). Her research and fooling around online quickly came to a staggering halt the moment she turned sixteen whenever she thrusted herself into a job. While she was just working at Best Buy as a cashier, it was something that helped her father out in little ways whenever it came to bills and purchasing groceries. He was constantly protesting her from working as much as she did, but Lara liked that she was finally pulling her own around the house.

Once Lara graduated from high school (fourth in a class of a few hundred), she focused on working and nothing more. She had always dreamed of attending college, but dreams did not pay the bills at home and Lara was terrified of racking up a bill with student loan programs. She was happy though. She climbed the ranks at her local Best Buy and soon enough, she was partaking in the program of Geek Squad. She got to spend time doing what she loved most, handling technology, and was getting paid in the meantime. It only took a couple of years and soon enough, Lara had padded her savings account enough to fly from her nest of a home. It was something that Calvin struggled with, but she was only living a subway trip away from his clutches.

Living on her own was something that Lara quickly found to be a lot more complicated than she had thought. She wanted to be the independent individual she always knew she was, but rent was hard to make every single month. Because of such a thing, Lara was quick to look for roommates. After a few duds came into her life, she came across Evie Miller. She was everything that Lara found annoying in a person, but for the sole purpose of wanting entertainment around her apartment, she decided to sign the lease with allowing her to move in. While it may have taken a couple of months, Lara and Evie soon became inseparable. Not to mention, Evie was the person who inspired and encouraged Lara to start following her dreams and enroll in college. Lara isn’t shy to tell anyone that her roommate is the reason behind her college success, but she keeps it under wraps that while she is attending school for a Computer Science degree, she’s also enrolled in a full time honor’s program. Pets: N/A Relationships:

Evie Miller: At first meeting, Evie was the opposite of the kind of person that LJ wanted to associate herself with. She was the happy-go-lucky type that was constantly barging into her room with her wide smile and multitude of stories, which always made Lara question her decisions about agreeing to be her roommate. However, as time has passed, Lara has considered Evie to be one of her closest friends in life. She’s the epitome of a ‘ride or die’ for Lara.

Matt Solis: For a person that runs the other way from love and actively states that it does not exist, she fell rather hard for Matt. They got along from the very beginning of meeting, and from the moment they kissed, Lara knew that she was screwed. She was wrapped around Matt’s pinky finger up until the moment that things weren’t what fairytales were made of. Somedays, Lara blames herself for being too flaky whenever things got closer and closer to true love. Other days, she blames Matt. While she isn’t entirely sure why she blames her, it’s sometimes easier doing such.

ACup baristas: Since Lara was heavily involved with one of the baristas, Lara spent a lot of time at the establishment. She even made sure to keep her menu hacking skills to a minimum whenever it came to being part of the customer sea.

EXTRA INFO

MON$TA LJ / @laranotcroft/description: sometimes i legitimately believe i might be the love child of a trash can and steve buscemi

Five latest tweets:

@laranotcroft: my top 5 best life moments is still when Smash Mouth RT’d me thats when i truly became an all star @laranotcroft: anyone gotta dollar ??? my bank account would be at $69 then and lemme tell you that would be delish @laranotcroft: ariana grande releasing new music every 6 months is why i’m gay as fuck @laranotcroft: im only a heaux whenever melted cheese is in the pic <3 @laranotcroft: FUCK U @NSA FIRST YOU LET ME INTO CANADA AND THEN YOU LET ME RUN AMUCK IN SINGAPORE ???? IDIOTS shoutout to cousin jay tho ur new wife is hot and its a hella good thing i’m back in america bitch <3

[senshounen-blog]

  Like for a small starter!