#Writing about Hurdles

[writersbeware]

Hurdles

Life is a series of hurdles that we have to jump. Or at least attempt to jump. The problem is that some hurdles are more challenging than others, some more pleasant than others to achieve. In track, of course, there is an event involving hurdles. Athletes run at incredibly fast speeds, clearing a series of metal hurdles along the way. That’s something I could never have done for two reasons: my…

[aroaceleovaldez]

full on feel like pjo tv s2 is not gonna hold up so they need to drag as much attention to the series as they can by using nico as a sock puppet w tsats2

im fully expecting the show to go the way of the movies. it doesnt help Sea of Monsters is almost unanimously the least favorite book of the first series. People frequently forget it even exists or what happens in it, especially more casual fans.

Heck, just look at how little fanfare the second season has gotten so far as compared to the build up to s1. I wouldn't be surprised if s2 totally flops. It would be a little funny.

[reachexceedinggrasp]

The very first set photos are feeding my delusions hopes

[fatedroses]

Zenos viator Galvus and him trying to deal with actually feeling things for once (Even if he doesn't really understand how to handle the comfort he receives from others for it)

I am also giving this man a dad that actually cares, because this brainworm have gotten me and there is no saving me from them.

[inarmes]

continually infuriated with SC for her portrayals of black people and district 11 and i'm again going to touch on her portrayal of thresh, very specifically how he talks/his speech & some other tidbits. (as a black person, because i fear that has to be made clear.)

let's take a look at these. if you've read my post on my issues with d11, you'll recognize that they were also in that post and explained upon.

it is so redundant to have a black character whom in which is already a stereotype in and of itself to be further stereotypical. thresh is a "physical wonder," made out as if he's more of a beast than a person despite being an outlier & not trained like a career. he's made to seem intimidating and imposing and all around terrifying for someone like katniss, who differs in statute and mass. that's strike one. in most media, black = intimidating. which is not only harmful but just endlessly racist. now, for the extracts above, his speech.

SC has managed to imply a lack of education or a lack of understanding of speech, just from how thresh speaks alone. (“you kill her?” / “i let you go.”) he lacks the typical “did you” or “i'll let you” in both those phrases, with the words shortened to impose the idea that he isn't very grammatical. i don't have to explain to you why that's problematic. we could go through the slavery talk and how black people were discouraged from any level of education when possible, as their jobs were simply to work on the fields/plantations. SC imposes an impression that the people of 11 are not entirely grammatically educated from thresh's speech alone. yes, there's rue in comparison — who seems to speak fine despite being younger than thresh, which is a very specific thing that sticks out. you have thresh being quiet, reserved and only physically imposing. you add his level of speech to it, and it paints a very shitty picture which shows that she doesn't really know what she's doing and she's basing him off of an idea of a black person and not ... an actual black person.

thresh spares katniss, but at the same time acts out in a very brutal sort of violence prior in which is almost primitive with how it's portrayed — he's one of the only tributes that doesn't use a weapon such as a knife, bow, sword, etc. he picks up something from his environment. to me, SC characterizes him as something closer to a caveman, rather than a terrified teenager running on justice and a need to survive. she draws back to the old racist beliefs of black people (and by extension, black men) as being capable of only abhorrent violence, uneducated and worse, near uncivilized. it's a death game, people are going to be out of their usual selves in order to vie for the spot of victor, which is understandable, but it does not look good for him. it just doesn't look like she understood the drawbacks to writing thresh in such a loaded way (loaded being microagressive and heavily stigmatized.)

peeta (equally physically imposing) literally joins the careers, the brainwashed, bloodthirsty bunch of teens that thrive on murder in order to bring glory to their district, but thresh is the significantly physically imposing one and gets to be painted in such a harsh and violent light despite intention and circumstance. yesss. very telling. thresh does one good deed & shows himself to be a thoughtful and understanding person despite his traits and suddenly we all think that means that SC understands how to write a black person positively. nooooo. unfortunately not.

[shepscapades]

Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hiya what is your creative process your art is so beautifdul nausdjkj ppea plas pleas eplease please please please please please pleasepl

Ggjdfgbkcghnm hiiii well, I do art streams! I tried to start up a “every Thursday night” thing but life’s been crazy lately so I haven’t been super active—I might try to go live sometime this week tho! that’s the best place to hang out while I do art, see the process, all of that!! i struggle sitting down to write out my process in a lot of detail, but I love yapping on stream about art and the process! :]

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

me waiting for my writer’s block to fuck off and leave me alone so i can finish this chapter:

[celestialvoid-fanfiction]

I’ve got the sterek Camp Cretaceous AU cooking in my head and now that Chaos Theory is out and I’ve watched it (don’t worry, this is spoiler free), I don’t know how I would write the spin off. If Stiles fits Darius’s role, I cannot think of a single reason he wouldn’t have been there that night. Stiles would move heaven and earth to be there, I mean he crashed his Jeep in a storm and fell into unconsciousness and still managed to make it to the place where his dad, Melissa and Chris were being held in time to save them, head bleeding and baseball bat in hand.

So it has me completly stumped. I cannot think of a single reason why Stiles wouldn’t be there that night.

[nemaliwrites]

have a lil snippet from the siren AU! changing up my writing process for this piece - I'm drafting this one in prose rather than my usual zero-drafty style, so we'll see how that changes things!

The first thing your uncle says to you when he picks you up from the station is: "Stay away from the water."

You pause halfway in the front seat, mouth still poised to shape the syllables of, Fine, how are you?

If this were coming from anyone else, you would have written it off as a joke. You may not know your uncle very well - you wouldn't even have recognized him if not for your mother showing you his picture before you got on the train. The crease between his eyebrows, though, tells you that this is not a man who smiles very often, let alone laughs.

"...What?" you ask warily, car door still open as though leaving yourself the chance to bolt right back onto the next train home.

"The ocean," Dojima clarifies. "You've never been, right?"

You shake your head. If you're being honest, there isn't much you're looking forward to about this trip - a city boy through and through, you're far too familiar with all of the horror stories about the countryside - but the one exception to that is the ocean.

It's one thing to know that you live on an island, to know that Japan is surrounded by water: the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the crown jewel, the Pacific Ocean. But picturing it is something you've never managed to do. Sure, you've seen pictures of the ocean before - but where does it end? What must it feel like, to be faced with that much raw power? To gaze out at that endless expanse of blue, and see no end in sight?

[herssian]

i've said this on twitter multiple times but to have it on here too: don't feel pressured to be formal with me on email when you're commissioning me. if that's not your thing, if you get too tired overthinking every little word that has to sound proper and professional, you're free to just send me a meme reaction image with your reply on it. anything goes as long as we're both respectful & understanding to each other. i've had clients send me their request in the form of a supermarket grocery list. be free like a businessman that got isekai'd into a baby fantasy princess

[lululeighsworld]

and for Gunter's birthday fic this year I finally ended up writing Leigh's love confession to him; I promise his birthday is relevant!! 💜❤️

Read the story here on AO3

[the-kipsabian]

hey. immortal fears

on the sideblog

on ao3

[let-me-call-myself-olga]

Hello, Ace's shuffle unit au(a while back now cause I've been writing this on and off) really got me pumped up, so I'll be sharing my own!!!

The band: Shiho, Akito, Minori, Nene - More/Gas

Working away at the live house, Shiho gets the chance to see Akito perform and is impressed by his abilities. She makes it so that the two of them can speak privately and they realise that they are quite similar in character, as well as their personal goals. Shiho tries to recruit him for her band, but seeing that he isn't really interested due to his own goals she makes a proposal: combine their respective skillsets and throw the greatest concert ever known, therefore beating RAD WEEKEND and guaranteeing going pro. Akito, seeing that he has nothing to lose from this, accepts.

Just as the two of them get ready to leave, Shiho realises that a new song has been added to her playlist. Not knowing where her confusion stems from, Akito tries to approach her, but the two get enveloped in a curtain of bright light. Once their vision comes back, the two find themselves in a somewhat familiar place: the backstage area of a live house, although the two of them have been conversing outside. Their revelation is interrupted by the sound of footsteps as a new character comes into view: Hatsune Miku*insert Akito's reaction to SEKAI*

The green haired girl introduces herself and explains to the two the concept of SEKAI, revealing that this SEKAI came to life from their mutual passion and perseverence and that they have to find the feeling which is the root of this fiery spirit and transform it into a song. With each passing moment of the explanation Shiho gets more and more aggresive, Akito's nice facade starting to break as well. Seeing that she doesn't have anyone to work it, Miku excuses herself and tells them how to leave. The two finally get back as she wishes to soon see them again. Although a bit shaken up by all that happened, Shiho and Akito decide to work together.

*****

Minori was one of the very few people who didn't have any prejudice of Shiho, a great friendship being able to bloom between the two and Minori's closest friend, Kohane. She was very happy about the progress her friend has made to achieve her goal and unintentionally starts lamenting over her own dream of becoming an idol. Even though it hasn't been fully drained, her hope of becoming an idol has been a bit diminished by the sudden end of her own idol's career. Even though Shiho doesn't want to intervene, she can't stand to watch her friend sulking, so she tries to give Minori alternatives, painting it as "something Haruka would do", which reroutes Minori's journey, now the girl having to find ways to hone her skill.

*****

Akito goes to the rooftop in search of a certain blue haired girl only to be stopped by the quiet humming coming from a nearby bench. The hums end up forming words and the angelic voice that offers them life along with the well known music style make Akito realise that he hit the jackpot coming there. The voice belongs to none other than Nene, who profusely apologises once Akito makes his presence known. As she tries to leave he compliments her singing and expresses sadness at the idea of wasting such talent. A disgruntled Nene is only able to give a tired look as Akito gets to his main point: that she would benefit from joining his group. Even though she is a bit reluctant, she ends up asking for more details. Once she is given said details, Nene decides to meet with Akito and his mysterious partner sometime during the weekend, with the one condition that the area is secluded.

Weekend comes and drags along the chosen day, Nene making her way to what appears to be a live house. After being introduced to Shiho, she makes sure that something is clear: there is a good chance that they might get nothing out of this, so they shouldn't have their hopes up.

Once a music sheet with lyrics is given to her and everyone is ready, the instrumental kicks in. Seeing how much they are putting into the performance, Nene let's herself free and she is finally able to say that she is confident in front of an audience, albeit small. She ends up getting praised for her own efforts and it is decided that she's part of the band. Shiho and Akito end up leaving earlier than planned and as Nene is about to leave, a thought infiltrates her mind: is she doing enough for the band by just singing?

*****

After school, Minori is delighted about Shiho's progress but her energy dampens as she gets asked about her own progress. It is then revealed that Minori didn't have as much luck, her attempts of perfecting her choreography being the only ones to get better. Kohane suggests to look at her singing from a similar perspective as her dancing. Thinking a bit about it, Shiho comments that her problem could be solved by trying to associate the lyrics to the rhythm. Curious, Minori asks her if she knows methods that could make her better and she advises that Honami could help with that problem, as she used to be the drummer of her childhood band. Minori thanks Shiho for the help and starts to search for Honami. The other two decide to let her be.

That same day Akito and Nene are just finishing the band practice schedule when Akito suddenly asks if Nene is going to trust him. Even if she is a bit suspicious of him, Nene ends up agreeing and before she knows it the scenery changes with a flash and the two of them are in this seemingly abandoned live house. She starts freaking out and demands an explanation, but before he is able to say anything someone decides to interrupt: Kagamine Rin. After everyone calms down, the newcomer introduces herself and describes what SEKAI is. Not yet warmed up to her, Nene can only sit there and watch her as she goes on stage, a hand asking the girl to come join her. She ends up agreeing, although it is pretty clear that she feels a bit forced.

This little improv ends up working well, but Rin notices that Nene had a bit of a problem keeping up. She reveals that Miku told her about their other band member, much to Nene's surprise, and advice them to go look for "their beat". The two are soon to leave as they find nothing else worth talking about.

*****

During their next practice session, Shiho reveals that she was able to get for them a slot for next month, but the two are soon to cut her off as they talk about their encounter in SEKAI. Even though surprised by the new face, Shiho is able to assure the two, her childhood friend Homani having offered to help. The only problem left for them was to find a lyricist.

*****

Minori is seen in her room, practising with a simple drumset given by Honami. Even though her skill isn't the greatest, her singing has improved by a lot and she is pretty capable of keeping the rhythm. Once the song finishes she stretches and goes to grab a water bottle, a small vibration right next to it startling her. Upon unlocking her phone, she finds a few messages from Shiho, who was updating her about her progress. A smile appears on Minori's face as she congratulates her, now finally being able to respond with her own development. Her expression suddenly changes into one of confusion as a new message appears, asking her if she is good at coming up with lyrics. Thinking about it as something Haruka would do if she was in her place, she takes on the challenge, questioning Shiho about the type of lyrics she wants, she is only able to get the personalities of the other bandmates în order to make a song that fits all of them. The two end up agreeing on getting the four to meet so that Minori can get a better idea of they really are.

*****

After Shiho is able to coerce the other two into accepting her invitation, the four end up meeting at Weekend Garage. After An takes their order and makes a small comment on Akito(which amuses Nene), Minori introduces herself and presents the two on the other side of the table a questionaire. Although perplexed, the two end up taking it as the girls message each other, Shiho asking if it was necesary to go this far.

Getting to talk with each other, Minori makes it clear that this will be the first of two official hangouts, as she wishes to spend the rest of their day with each one of them. They begrudgingly agree and it is established that she would be sending her time with Nene after the meeting is over.

*****

A few nights later Shiho gets the lyrics from Minori and is surprised to see how good she proved to be. With every new word read she could see a contour of herself and the others appearing in her mind. By the end of her read she asks Minori if she could meet with the others again to establish a melody, with which she agrees.

Now curious, Shiho starts searching up idol songs to see what Minori's inspiration could have been. It soon sinks in with her just how different the two piece are in terms of content. A rather sad Shiho tells Minori good night as she herself gets ready to sleep.

*****

Now that all five of them were together, Minori instructs Honami on the beat and is soon to start humming the melody. As the 'demo' is finished, Nene finds herself bringing up a lot of suggestions that the group ends up testing. Nene's remarks are able to creat a proper melody, Minori cheering and the finale of the performance, praising Nene's voice, to which she becomes bashful. The two of them end up e changing phone numbers to make later collaborations easier.

Now that their first song is finally finished the five decide to celebrate at Weekend Garage, Shiho reminding them that after they will have to work every day from then on.

*****

It is a week before they show their hard work to the world and terrible news hit the group: Honami is unable of making it to the concert due to personal reasons. Akito quickly proposes that they ask Minori since she seems to know how to play the drums and she has already been helping them with the lyrics. Shiho protests, stating that she already asked her, but it was clear to the other to that it wasn't the case. Wondering what could be her reason for doing that, the two start to question her about her relationship with Minori to the point where she ends up breaking into years and running away.

The pair ends up leaving the cafe soon after, disgruntled by their sudden problem. Nene takes initiative, calling Minori and telling her to get to their location as soon as possible. As the phone call is done, Nene proposes that they should let Minori know about SEKAI, but Akito is against it as they don't know if she is really going to be their drummer, but she refutes by pointing out that she is already their lyricist. As he is left no other choice, Akito ends up agreeing.

*****

Minori is out of breath as she gets to the two bandmates, questions coming one after the other. They tell her that first they need a private place to hold their conversation and before she could make any suggestions a mist of white blocks her vision.

She suddenly wakes up in a strange place similar to a somewhat familiar backstage scenery. She is about to scream as Nene covers her mouth, finally starting to explain the situation. Minori is left flabbergasted by the news, but is soon to recover as she procceses the information. She says that she was on good terms with Shiho so she doesn't have much of an idea about her sudden outburst.

Their discussion is interrupted by both Miku and Rin as they go to get a snack, Minori debating in her head that this is just a weird dream, but she is soon taken out of her thoughts as Rin hugs her, happy that they finally found "their beat". Upon further questioning, Miku reveals that this SEKAI was founded from the mutual feelings of the four and now that they are together they can finally turn their emotions into a song.

Seeing that the three aren't as joyous, the girls asked them if something happened with them. After a small sumarry of the situation, Rin asks Minori what she wants to do next, to which Minori answers that she wants to talk things out with Shiho. Understanding where she was trying to get to, Miku asks the girl what she'll do after that, what she'll do for the long run.

Surprised by the question, Minori replies that she will find out when the time comes. Happy with her answer, the two songstresses wish them the best of luck in getting to Shiho and, as soon as they got there, the trio was gone.

*****

Now making her way out of school, Shiho is surprised by the sight of Minori in front of her bandmates and braces herself for the worst. It all starts off with a simple question: "Is there something wrong, Shiho?"

Not wanting to drag this any longer, Shiho recognizes her true reason for running away. The three are shocked to find out that Shiho felt like she was driving Minori away from her true goal of becoming an idol, therefore making her want to cut contact with her as to not hurt her in the long run.

Shiho is then startled by a pair of arms wrapping around her as Minori embraces her, recognizing that even though she is deviating quite a bit from her path as an idol, it wasn't the career itself that attracted her, but the feeling that with hard work she could spread hope just like how she experienced and that if becoming part of the band meant that she could give that hope to Shiho, then she would be happy.

*****

The four of them are all on stage. They give each other a few glances before Minori gives the signal and they start with their song. It goes well and the four of them end up laying exhausted on a couch as they are approached by two figures.

Miku and Rin appreciate the little iteration of their experience and congratulate the band for their big succes.

Before they can leave Miku tells them that they have found their true feeling and that a song can now florish from them. The group looks at each other before getting up and grabbing their respective instruments.

[dravidious]

You're more amazing than rules

Working on Modified Set 2.0! I've made some commons today and the ally-color archetypes are:

Auras

Modified

Equipment

Supplies

And Enchantments

A lot of these probably really need the context of the enemy-color archetypes to make sense, but this post is already long. One little hint: Red also gets Resonance creatures, but Differently.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

How many times do I have to learn the lesson that I should start the story when the story starts instead of trying to tack on introductory worldbuilding?

Seriously. My instincts about when to start the story are almost never wrong. But I always assume the first scene in my imagination requires set-up that people outside of my imagination don't have. So I tack on an intro to set the mood and to set up the plot and characters and world. And it's boring. When I should have just started where I wanted to start so I could weave explanations into a scene where things are actually happening.

[you-are-my-neverland]

novelember was not even on my mind until i saw a post yesterday, and the week was so bad all things considered that i was just like 🫠 welp guess that’s not happening BUT had a really good day, including writing, today so are we back on or what??