#WrINo

[author-a-holmes]

Hello there!

Sorry for the random ask, but. I just saw the post you reblogged about NaNo going with AI. I tried to delete my account (breaks my heart, but here we are), but it won't let me? I just wanted to ask, have you managed to do it? Because if so, its a technical issue somewhere, if not, two's a pattern.

I hope you have a great day and don't let this BS get you down.

Internet rando greetings!

~hojetsala

Hello hun! Random asks are always welcome, no worries <3

I haven't deleted my Nano account YET, because I'm trying to save all my historical data/transfer it into a spreadsheet. (And there is a lot of it. I have projects going back to 2011, with multiple tracking data sessions within each project)

However, I have dug up a "how to" post someone else made, to make sure you're not missing a step. (From what I can see they send a confirmation email, and some people aren't getting them? But don't quote me on that) The post I dug up is HERE, all credit to OP.

If you're looking for a new spot to track your writing, I've previously used Pacemaker.press and Mywriteclub. And it looks like there's already a replacement Writing Month Event being created with a website they're in the process of coding into creation right now.

So although the Nanowrimo Organization has let us down, the writing community still has our backs. Which is as it should be ^_^

[sniperct]

So this appears to be a good alternative to NaNo for the purposes of visualizing your word count and words per day. Its available for Windows and Linux and even has a portable version requiring no installation, so you could keep it on a thumbdrive or even a dropbox folder. It seems to do exactly what I personally liked about NaNo's website, and appears to be open source.

It also lets you track progress on multiple projects at once.

Couple of friends have taken to renaming NaNo to WriNo (for write in november) which I'm going to adopt.

[author-a-holmes]

I have tried Pacemaker.Press, Mywriteclub, and 4thewords. All of them are good, depending on what you're looking for in terms of functionality.

Personally, 4thewords is my goto, and I'll be purchasing their lifetime membership next year, when my currently accrued membership time expires, but I still maintain free accounts on Pacemaker and Mywriteclub.

Since the above list are screenshots from Twitter, have some handy, dandy, direct links to each of these platforms;

Trackbear

MyWriteClub

WriteTrack.Cloud

Pacemaker.Press

4theWords

I'd also like to mention that WritingMonth.Org is in the process of being built, specifically for people looking for somewhere other than Nanowrimo as well. The developer hopes to have the website coded and functioning by the end of September 2024, so it's another one worth keeping an eye on.

WritingMonth.org

Re-sharing this post I found on Twitter for people looking for alternatives to NaNo. I haven't tried any of these sites but they might be worth looking into.

[the-wip-project]

SloMo WriNo: The Writing Habit

You’re going to get tired of hearing me say this, but when it comes to finishing your writing (or getting pretty much any long term project accomplished) habit is everything.

A solid writing habit will get you through those days when writing feels boring, when you’re tired, uninspired, lost. Habit is the magic that makes the writing train go— more often than most people want to admit.

That said, establishing a new habit can be fiendishly difficult— especially if you have a neurodivergent brain. (This is coming from personal experience, as someone who took literal years to establish the habit of brushing my teeth before bed. (I still frequently have agonies about washing my face at the same time.))

So. How to establish a solid writing habit?

Step one is finding the time.

Your writing does not require large blocks of time. You can write productively in as little as fifteen minutes a day (yes, really!) but the only way that gets accomplished is by making it fast and simple to get into your writing headspace.

How though?

By making it a routine at a similar time and place each day, by creating rituals that cue you that it’s writing time, or by attaching your writing to another established habit. Ideally your writing habit will combine all three.

Yes, flexibility is important, because every routine has variations in it, so being able to write even when you don’t have everything just right is important. But if in the past you’ve struggled to keep writing as a consistent part of your life, then creating a routine is the best first step to creating a habit.

Connecting your writing to another, enjoyable habit is good first step. Writing while you take your morning coffee break, or during your headphones on commute time, or along side your lunchtime treat might be all you need to create a positive association. You want writing time to be something you look forward to, not dread.

By keeping the session short (Somehow setting a timer for a number less than thirty makes even the most scary tasks feel approachable for me.) and adding something pleasant and relaxing to the mix you can start to build that positivity. I think this is why so many writers like to write with a cup of tea, or in coffee shops. Adding a delicious beverage habit cues your mind that this is writing time, and what’s more, that writing is a pleasant time taken just for one’s self.

It also makes a huge difference to write at a time when your brain feels good.

I have tried writing later in the evening, and every moment feels like work. My brain is tired, and all I want to do is relax, not think. It feels like I’ve already used up all my energy and motivation.

Instead I like to wake early to write. This might sound like torture for all you night owls, but for me, (and plenty of other people) writing has become a keystone to healthy morning habits. Knowing that I’m going to wake by 5am in order to write is an incentive for me to be in bed by 9:30, (instead of staying up late to doom scroll, eat junk food and make other poor decisions) which helps me wake up with the right level of brain activity to write, which then makes me energetic enough to head out on my morning run directly after writing. Which means all the ideas from my writing session float around in my head in a pleasant soup, distracting me from the monotony of feet hitting ground. It’s a string of positive associations that keeps me happy and healthy.

For you the opposite might be true. Perhaps you find yourself in a peaceful writerly head space after the rest of your household is asleep, or while taking a break at work or school. The key is to find a time and/or place that’s low friction, when the obstacles to writing are less, when getting to your keyboard (or notebook if you’re old-school) feels less like work and maybe even like a reward, and then build out other positive associations around it.

If you’re used to viewing writing as something painful and difficult this might seem alien to you. So let me just add this: your words are not worth more because you were miserable when writing them. It’s not only okay to enjoy your writing time, it’s preferable. Sure you’ll connect a bit less to the writing is misery memes, but it’s worth it, I promise!

So, here is your assignment for the week: Take a look at your schedule and figure out what times might be convenient for regularly scheduled writing. And then try them out and see if you can find a time and place where writing feels good. You might have to move some other activities around to find that sweet spot, (like me, moving my bed time to allow morning writing time) and expect some stalls, some fails and lack of consistency. It’s not going to feel good all the time immediately, and you will need to will power your way through at times. But overall, once you can start forming that positive habit, the writing will become far easier to get to. And much more enjoyable when you do.

—Maree

Subscribe to my substack to make sure you don't miss a post, chat with me on the WIP Project discord, and tag any posts you make about the challenge with #slomowrino if you want me to see them!

[mareebrittenford]

SloMo WriNo: Failure Proofing Your Goals

A Novel in one year.

So, what are the numbers for that?

If you’re so inclined, you’ve probably already done the math, and come up with some numbers for yourself.

Numbers like projected length of novel (I’m going to use 80k for this, but don’t get married to that, once you get into it the work with find it’s own length) and how many words a day you would need to write to hit that goal. (220)

That’s all very nice, but the problem with word count goals, is that you can create a situation where your writing becomes a pass/fail situation.

A situation where if you perceive yourself as failing (did I meet my word count goal this week? No? I AM A FAILURE!) and the pressure rises, it starts to feel safer to simply quit, rather than face repeated failures.

I’m against that sort of thing. (The quitting and also the negative self talk.)

So how does one measure progress without creating that sort of situation? How can you win the psychology game of getting words on the page?

Of course everyone is different. But here’s two methods (tricks? hacks?) that work for me at various times.

Low Goal, High Results. (The Min-Max zone)

The idea with this is to set a daily, or per session word count goal that feels too easy.

By now I hope you’ve figured out a good time and place to write. So go there, at that time, and do a timed 15 minute sprint. However many words you got, halve it. Repeat this exercise a few times to make sure you’ve got a good average.

Unless you’re a power writer, you will most likely end up with a number that is below that 220 we mathed out earlier, DON’T PANIC. In fact, for this example lets say that you managed to write an average of 200 words in your 15 minute sessions. Which means that your daily goal is now 100 words.

Of course with that number, even if you write every single day for a year that will only give you 36 500 words. Not a novel. Barely a novella!

The point here is not to write only 100 words a day. It’s making the daily task of writing feel easy and approachable. Not scary. If you know you only need to write 100 words, and you know you can get that done easily in less than 15 minutes, then why not do it? And once you’re writing, writing a little more generally happens easily enough. If getting started is the hard part, this should really help.

It’s a common psychological trick. But it’s common for a reason. It works!

Once you’ve set your (very easy) minimum goal, I also encourage you to set a maximum daily goal too. Especially if you’re the type of person who tends to go on 10k writing binges and then not write again for two months. Set your maximum at what you can comfortably write in 1.5-2 hours. So let’s say that’s 1000 words. Meaning your goal is to write 100-1000 words every time you sit down to write, and consider everything, from barely getting 102 to maxing out at 1002 an awesome, winning, writing day.

What does that look like? On a bad day, a day you don’t fee like writing at all, it means you tell yourself that all you need to do is write for ten minutes. Just get down 100 words (or whatever your minimum goal is.) And then if you haven’t found your mojo, you stop. No guilt or regret. You’ve met your goal, even though you’re having a bad day. You’re doing awesome!

On a power day, when you feel almost possessed by the muses, it means that when your timer beeps, or you see that number on the bottom of the screen hit 1000 (or whatever your number is), you make yourself stop. Yes. Stop mid flow. (It’s painful, I know! But please try!) Why stop? Because you’re learning how to have a healthy long term writing habit.

Write yourself some notes, and come at it fresh tomorrow. The goal is teach yourself that your creativity isn’t actually a unreliable muse. You are not subject to it’s whim. With time and practice your creativity will be there whenever you reach for it.

This is the method that I use most of the time, and I strongly recommend you give it a decent try (6 weeks at least.)

However perhaps you’re really just convinced that particular kind of psychological trickery just won’t work for you, or perhaps you’ve tried it in the past without success. Maybe it creates the opposite effect for you, and you find daily writing skippable because the minimum goal feels so low that you think you can make it up later (you won’t, but ahem, brains are weird.) So here is an alternative method that is also quite effective.

Higher Goals to Plan For Misses

Instead of setting your goal ridiculously low, you can try setting it high enough that you can miss writing days while still staying on track.

This will only work if you’ve been able to carve out a larger chunk of time for daily writing, thirty minutes to an hour.

So, lets run the example numbers. Using the 80k novel template, we already know that it would take 220 words a day if you write every single day, and never delete anything.

Writing every day is almost impossible, so you’re setting yourself up to fail if you set 220 as your goal.

So instead you plan for writing 6 days a week. Perhaps you intend to take Mondays off. They suck and you know you usually don’t feel like writing then anyway. Awesome. Let’s make that our schedule. Writing 312 days a year means a daily target of 257 words.

But still, that leaves no margin for error. No time for bad days, illness, that one scene you have to cut because it wasn’t working, etc.

So we double it. Your goal, with a plan of writing 6 days a week, is 500 words a day. And also (and this is the important bit) 2000 words a week.

Wait! That’s 4 days, not 6! Yes. That’s the point. It allows room for misses. To allow you to fail without failing. For days when you can’t reach 500, for days when you don’t have time (and with a larger daily goal like this, that’s a lot more possible.) For days when you just can’t.

Of course if you can only count on writing 5 days a week, or 4, or whatever your life situation calls for, adjust your goals accordingly. Always keep your goal word count about 1/3 higher than needed, to give yourself that cushion. If the numbers gets too large to manage, then it’s time to change the long term goal.

Yes. Really. Change it. Setting a goal that you’re bound to fail at is not going to help you.

Perhaps it’s more feasible for you personally to write your novel in 18 months, or two years. As always, your health is more important than an arbitrary time line, and you’ll still be awesome if you write your novel a little slower.

But what if both of those methods still stress you out, or if focusing on the numbers like that kills your joy?

Here’s a bonus method, that I personally use when things get to be a real struggle.

Gold Stars

This is for the times when the thought of tracking word count is just one step too many, and becomes an obstacle for writing at all. However when you abandon tracking completely, it’s often a way to abandon writing too.

So having some sort of way to confirm that yes, you’ve written for the day still helps, whether that’s putting a gold star, or an X on a calendar (you can find printable month/page calendars online for free, or you can buy those little book calendars very cheap), creating an art or craft piece (one time I wrote an entire novel assisted by a scarf where I only got to crochet a row after I’d written for the day), or whatever other way you can think of to mark that you wrote. Having a way to look back at your week or month and confirm that yes, you’ve written most days, is often enough keep you honest (with yourself.) As long as it’s something that feels like a reward and not additional work.

So there you have it. 3 methods for setting word count goals and tracking what you’re accomplishing.

Let me know what you’re going to try, or what sort of tricks work for you!

—Maree

Subscribe to my substack to make sure you don't miss a post, chat with me on the WIP Project discord, and tag any posts you make about the challenge with #slomowrino if you want me to see them!

[wrin-derspaten]

★★★★★ Morgana friendo

Wrino friendo!

"Thx for the glowing stars, I will adjust them on my walls."

[barbex]

We're doing something like that here, with the SloMoWriNo Challenge.

absolutely no way that I'm going to do nano this year (or possibly ever again slkfjsdlfk we'll see) but I think I am going to set a very modest goal of 200 words a day and see if I can keep that. at the very least it will keep me writing/in the habit of it, and perhaps that will get these rusty wheels turning again

or else it'll scare the writing off and I'll have nothing again but here's hoping it's the first one

[e-c-thorn]

Day 22 of the #writerslifeigjune #instagramchallenge by @madetowrite #shelfie Soooo, it was mentioned previously that my book are stored away. I found an old picture though, lucky me. I really wish I could display them safely but right now it's just not possible. I'm really starting to miss having an actual book in my hands. What I don't miss? Dropping heavy books on my face in bed from being too tired to hold them up while late night reading. 😂 #ecthorn #wrino #writer #author #writerslife #books #reading #bookstagram #writersoftumblr #writersofig #writersofinstagram #blogging #blogger

[m-s-harris]

Hello hello? Is this thing on? *taps invisible microphone* Haven't done this in a while. Plis bear with me. New month new me and that kinda thing :> 🌵 ° ° #blogger #wrinos #msharris #writer #author #writerslife #brainstorming #worldbuilding #amplanning #amwritingfantasy #books #bulletjournal #bookstagram #writersoftumblr #writersofig #writersofinstagram #bujo https://www.instagram.com/p/CEm2VFiA_ow/?igshid=1ra2j02g4466t

[krmyexchange]

love to see me from your point of view

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28056426

Giftee: Ivy @wrino 

Gifter: em

Summary: Dance student Miyuki Kazuya sits in as a model for painting student Kuramochi Youichi's class.

Tags: AU - Art School, Mutual Pining

[brianmostcertainlymay]

I'm sure there are other -WriMo derivatives out there, but these are the ones I've seen going around tumblr. If the traditional NaNo 50,000-words-in-30-days experience isn't doing it for you, try:

CalmWriMo: "If you want to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) but a 50k word goal doesn't work for you, you're invited to join me in CalmWriMo 2023 on Tumblr for a chilled-out creative experience this November."

JanNoWriMo: "This year, some other crazy people and I have settled on a solution: JanNoWriMo! We'll do the thing in January, when academic obligations are lighter than usual, as opposed to in November, when they hit their peak level of wretchedness."

SloMoWriNo: "SloMo WriNo is the ongoing writing challenge that we've been hosting here. The goal? Write a novel over the course of a year, in a way that's accepting of limits and focused on progress and self acceptance."

And for an even more alternative alternative:

Novelember (my beloved): "Novelember is completing 1 writing task/day. It can be anything: idea generation, research, worldbuilding, etc. There is 0 pressure. 0 judgement. Novelember is about having fun with writing. Celebrating each part of the process. Enjoying the exploration of your world and characters."

we need more representation for the people who want to be a part of nanowrimo so bad but do not have the capacity for it. bc personally trying to balance being a full-time student, mental health, a job, and writing over 1,000 words a day is rlly difficult and i have tried for three years to participate but can't ever finish it.

[tsukishima-tadashi]

Tag Game

Tagged by @inspireigen! Answers under the cut so i don’t clog no dashes.

1. why’d you pick your url to be your url?

Because I can’t wait for tsukkiyama to get married!! 

2. what is…. The song for you. THE song. like it means a ton to you, it reached through your headphones and changed your life. or you just really like it! what is that for you?

Oh god... see, I do that thing where I listen to a song over and over again until it loses it appeal. BUT Primadonna by Marina and the Diamonds will always be special to me. I first heard it during a really bad time in my life, where I was really down on myself, so hearing this song (and the rest from the Electra Heart album) where someone just... unapologetically loves themself first and foremost was... amazing. I get that it wasn’t the point of the song series, that Electra Heart is actually kind of miserable, but it still helped me get hooked on narcissism. 

3. please share a random controversial opinion.

Oh gee. 

Vo/tron..... is overrated and I’m tired of seeing it. Especially since it seems like 90% of the fandom is involved in shipping discourse bullcrap. 

4. what’s the last thing that happened to you that made you go “damn. people are nice”?

Being asked the next question.

5. this is a nice question so i will steal it. what’s something you like about yourself?

My hair. It’s so long and soft.

6. what’s the last movie you saw in theaters and was it worth the money?

I... honestly don’t remember on either count.

7. what book/movie/tv series/band/animanga/ship is Your thing?

You know DAMN WELL it’s haikyuu. 

8. first fandom?

Earthbound! Back when I was like, 11 lol. I frequented a forum and everything.

9. are you working on anything right now or planning to work on something? what is it?

Omegaverse bullcrap centering around Yamaguchi/tsukkiyama. Also I’m pondering a tsukkiyama drag au. 

10. if you had an rpg class (warrior, black/white mage, rogue, etc) which would it be? (for preference, not like your physical skills or anything)

Black mage, definitely. I wanna be able to fuck ppl up with a flick of my wrist. 

Now I gotta tag ten people and ask ten more questions!

I tag....... @cincosechzehn, @wakan-nai,  @noyasun, @deanpendragon, @sleepymothprince, @wrino, @taniushka12, @glalitites, @faerylife, @kageyama-shoyo (like she’s even going to see this, get ur ass in gear about using tumblr, Trace)

As usual, only do this if you want to!

1. What are some fandoms you never really reblog/talk about?

2. For any of your fandoms, are there any minor characters you like more than the main cast?

3. What are some rarepairs you enjoy? 

4. Do you have a favorite breed of cat/dog? 

5. Are there any unpopular/hated characters you really like? 

6. Do you have any anime/manga you’d recommend to me? 

7. Convince me why I should ship your OTP. Or, if you’re up for it, why I shouldn't ship your NOTP. 

8. Are there any qualities all of your favorite characters share? Basically, do you have a type when it comes to characters you stan?

9. What’s the pettiest reason you’ve ever unfollowed someone for?

10. Are there any minor details that can completely ruin an otherwise promising fanfic for you? Conflicting headcanons and such. (Example: I instantly exit any fanfic that mentions Yamaguchi being bad at baking because it conflicts so heavily with my image of him.)

Have fun!

[the-wip-project]

SloMo WriNo Update: Write your novel in 2024

In October, without a lot of planning or intention (ha, sound familiar?) I suggested an alternative to Nanowrimo, which I dubbed SloMo WriNo, or a Slower Method for Writing a Novel.

And via writing about my writing process I was able to help people develop some new skills and make progress with their writing.

After some actual consideration I’m ready to take this thing through a full year, with posts about each stage of the writing process, encouragement, updates on my own writing progress (I will be holding myself to the same kind of goals that I encourage everyone else to set) and responses to any questions anyone wants to ask.

Yes, you should expect that it will take a year to write your novel, and that’s a long time. But as the famous tumblr post says: the time will pass anyway.

Do you want to write a novel, in a way that's kinder to yourself, and lower stress? Then join me in writing slomo.

—Maree

You can find my posts here on tumblr (Follow the tag #slomowrino)

You can also Subscribe to my substack to make sure you don't miss a post,

I'm also around on the WIP Project discord, or you can message me directly on my personal blog mareebrittenford

[lawariano]

Lawariano

wrino

Imma do this because I’m fucking bored.

What’s your url?

Now take away any and all numbers (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0), take away the letters F, Z, M, Q, L, H, B, T, P, E, A, Y, S, B, D, and X, take away all dashes (-),

What’s your new fucked up version of your url?

crustycreature

crucrur

[nanteyuuno]

Tsukkiyama Month 2017, day 20: Space/Astronomy.

“I’ve thought about you every cycle since I met you.”

interstellar border control by @wrino.

[thirteenthousandcrocodiles]

Haikyuu Secret Santa: TsukkiYama Fake Dating prompt

for: @wrino (I’m your secret santa)

1k words (sorry it’s short, I’ve been caught up in school)

Fanciful Facade

              Kei knew this was a mistake. He glanced over at Tadashi, who was looking through a frosted window, pondering whether he should buy something from the display. He sighed, before walking over to him and tapping his shoulder, prompting him to carry on walking.

               As they did, Tadashi subtly slid his hand into Kei’s, grasping it softly. A dusting of red masked the blonde’s face, and he squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, reminding himself yet again that this wasn’t real. He forced a smile, but inside he felt as if he was being mocked, taunted, ridiculed. This exact scenario - the wind wrapping the falling snow around them, the bright festive lights that seem almost compulsory around this time of year, the long scarf Tadashi had wrapped around them both, his scent clinging to it – was something Kei had longed for since he was about twelve. But now it was bittersweet, and it bit into him more than the icy weather.

               He wanted to rip his hand away from Tadashi, push him aside as he ran away far off into the crowds, yet simultaneously pull him into a crushing embrace, cup his warm face in his freezing hands and kiss him. Either one would make things worse. Tadashi leant into him, a soft smile gracing his face. Kei wondered why he was suddenly becoming even more affectionate, when he noticed the person standing a little way off from them, staring at Tadashi with an unfathomable expression.

               After some hesitation, the guy watching them approached them cautiously, eyes flickering from Tadashi to Kei and back as if he were watching a tennis match. He stuck his hand out, before uttering a slightly awkward “Hi” to Tadashi.

               “Hey, Kaichi” the brunette replied, still smiling.

“You, er, you look well,” Kaichi commented. That one phrase caused the penny to drop for Kei, as he realised who this ‘Kaichi’ was – Tadashi’s ex.

As the other two spoke, Kei’s blood began to boil. This was the guy Tadashi had been upset about for weeks? This was the guy who had broken Tadashi’s heart? This was the guy Kei was doing all of this because of?

               A sudden tug on Kei’s arm brought him back to reality as he realised he was being dragged away by a smug looking Tadashi, causing him to pull him back. “You’re going too fast, I’m going to slip!”

               “Sorry, Tsukki, I just wanted to make a dramatic exit!”

Kei smiled, before catching himself and quickly stopping. “Okay, so you’ve made your ex jealous. Now what? Do we carry on, or do you want to drop the pretence? Because personally, I don’t see the point of us pretending to date if you’ve accomplished what you set out to do. This is a waste of both of our times, and it’s annoying having to pretend that we like each other when we’re just friends.”

               Just friends. Two words that Kei cursed every waking moment, wishing it was a phrase that had never been created, since it was clearly created to scorn those who had fallen into the trap of unrequited love.

               Tadashi was silent for a moment, contemplating what he’d just been asked. Kei looked at him half exasperatedly, half nervously, dreading the answer although he could easily guess what it would be.

               “Yeah, you’re right I guess,” Tadashi awkwardly laughed out, “Back to friends it is then.”

               Kei nodded, before muttering a rushed goodbye and walking off, head held low and eyes stinging. Tadashi looked after him, confused as to whether Kei was upset about something or simply acting his usual grumpy self. He waved at the retreating figure and left.

               Kei lay on his bed, staring at his phone. On one hand he was pleased, because he didn’t have to endure the pain of pretending he loved Tadashi when he didn’t when he did, but on the other hand it felt so much worse because before, at least, he could pretend they really were together, and he could allow himself to dream a little more than usual without feeling hurt. He didn’t know how to feel or what to do except stare at his phone, hoping for a notification from Tadashi.

               Mustering up the courage after hours of deliberation, Kei unlocked his phone and typed out a lengthy message to Tadashi explaining everything. How he’d had a crush on him since they were twelve, how he felt like a better person around him, how he hated being friends when he wanted more. Kei’s thumb hovered over the send button momentarily, before taking a deep breath, pressing it and throwing his phone across the bed. He fell backwards onto the bed and sighed heavily, pulling his glasses off and rubbing his eyes, wondering if he’d just made a huge mistake or not.

               Eventually, Kei fell asleep, unaware of the tiny ping of his phone notifying him of a short message from Tadashi not long after. When he did read it, his heart leapt and then plummeted. Biting his lip, his eyes scanned the message over and over, glasses slipping down his nose from the few tears slipping from his eyes.

               “Hi Kei…I’m surprised at your message – I never expected you to be the type to confess! Honestly, if you’d said this a year ago I would have celebrated, since I really really liked you back then. But I don’t know if I do anymore….the fake dating thing was partly for me to see if I still hold romantic feelings for you, and honestly…I’m not sure if I do. I’m sorry, Kei. I like you, but I don’t know if I like you more as a friend or a partner.”

               Kei managed to type out a brief reply through his stained lenses of “Okay then” before switching his phone off, and after cleaning himself up he walked downstairs to distract himself with some mind-numbing television.

               He would later see a reply that would bring a sorrowful smile to break his apathetic expression.

               “I’m still willing to try.”