#and step 1 was 'open the document and reread it'

[nyrobnua8983]

SCP staff reaction to you [1/2]

Female Gender Reader, She/Her

A girl, of average height, walked into a fairly warm room through large iron-gray doors, which, as always, were guarded by 4–6 security personnel for the safety of the newly built zone with 8 floors, located deep in a forest and far from any village or something similar. Y/N was wearing only a small robe with the SCP Foundation emblem, a black shirt, and light jeans. A colorful ribbon adorned her neck, holding an old barcode with information about her and her photo. As she quickly stepped into the cafeteria, almost everyone turned to look at her. And so her story began...

Dr. Clef

Perhaps he was the first to notice you or pay attention, but he certainly won't be the first to approach you and get to know you better. Initially, he will observe you, your behavior, your social interactions, and your daily habits. Clef had already heard about the incident at the zone where you worked, so he will approach and introduce himself to you, God willing, 2–3 weeks after you arrive here. Here's how it will happen:During lunch, you, as usual, sat at a separate and empty table to eat without unnecessary conversation and not disturb anyone, be it with their work or just your presence. But Clef thought otherwise and invited you to join a table with Kondraki, Iceberg, Brother, and a few others. Since his reputation wasn't the best in this place, you started to decline, but over time, you agreed and joined them.

*Conclusion*: "She's too timid! Like a little bear cornered and told she's about to be killed. I even like it. We can scare her well with Bright and see how she reacts."

Dr. Kondraki

Since your old pass didn’t work in the new zone and you couldn't open doors or anything like that with it, you were sent to Dr. Kondraki to get a new one.When you entered his office, you immediately noticed the various butterflies that were initially flying around the guy at the table but then flew up to you and began to hover around, studying you."Alright, let's do this quickly, and then we can get back to our business.""Uh-huh."Sitting down on one of the chairs and making a serious face, Kondraki took all the necessary photos, and finally, Y/N received a new pass.

*Conclusion*: "She's just a regular girl. Maybe we'll start talking, but it's unlikely since she's too skittish."

Dr. Glass

Your acquaintance happened when you first entered the cafeteria for Foundation staff, where all the scientists were sitting at that time. Your first task was to give Dr. Glass your character profile and a psychological report from your previous zone. It seemed simple, but Y/N couldn’t figure out where he was among everyone! A small panic ran through your body, but you had to keep it together. Quickly scanning the room, you still didn’t know who you were looking for, so you started praying and rereading the documents in your hands, waiting for a miracle.And then it happened! Dr. Glass approached you."As I understand it, you’re Y/N. I’m Dr. Glass, nice to meet you! According to the plan, you need to give me some documents," said the blond guy quite kindly and calmly, which made you smile involuntarily as you silently handed him everything he asked for."It’s clear what we’ll need to work on, but we’ll manage, won’t we, Y/N?"You awkwardly nodded in agreement and started listening to what he had to say.

*Conclusion*: "Well, Y/N is a sweet girl, but she was too frightened and didn’t speak when I approached her. Maybe it’s the result of the incident at zone XXX?"

Dr. Bright

Remember how Clef mentioned he might scare you along with Bright? I’m sorry to say, that thought will become a reality and be the reason for your frequent visits to the medical wing for tranquilizers. In his defense, Bright will say there’s no rule against "scaring or joking around with Dr. Y/N." But don’t worry, Dr. Glass will calm you down, and Dr. Gears, if possible, will protect you from any prank and might even punish Bright. By the way, regarding the rules... they might add something concerning you, but that’s not for sure.Your introduction, as one might expect, didn’t go smoothly. Bright intended to splash Dr. Kondraki with water, but you were the first to walk through the door, holding completed documents in your hands. All the work you had put in went down the drain, and on top of that, you had to go change into new clothes. To your surprise, you didn’t have any extra lab coats yet! They just hadn’t issued you a spare one yet, so you walked around without it and got a minor reprimand and a ruined mood for the rest of the day.

*Conclusion*: "I can’t help but laugh at her reactions to my jokes! You should’ve seen her teary eyes when a bucket of cold water was dumped on her."

Dr. Gears

A kind uncle who saves you from Bright and Clef's "funny and not-so-funny" jokes, Gears can warn you in advance of their plans if he finds out, or after the prank, he’ll help you recover or stand up if he’s nearby. If not, then you’re [CENSORED].The most he can do is talk to them or try to punish them if possible.Even if he doesn’t show his concern or sympathy for you, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel it deep inside. He’s really fed up with those two and their stupid and ridiculous ideas, but unfortunately, there’s nothing he can do about it.

*Conclusion*: "I always save her and help her avoid pranks in advance, and if I’m not around, I talk to Bright later, and we quickly resolve the issue."

[drbtinglecannon]

Hello, friend!!! I hope things have gotten at least a little better for you 💖

Meanwhile, for the fanfic writing asks: 1, 7, 10, 22, 29, 37, 72 (the questions are truly so good, haha, stopping now)

Thanks pal, I had a couple days off which was nice! Unfortunately I had to go to the vet again lol

(there are so many good questions haha!)

1. Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the idea strikes?

I do both, but I will say going for it as soon as the idea strikes yields more finished projects than when I spend a lot of time daydreaming about it because sometimes it's like, so vivid I end up not writing anything because I got to "read" the fic already haha

7. Post a snippet from a wip

I gotta be honest all the wips I've been working on the last couple weeks are smut lol, but I did really enjoy this bit! (completely sfw)

The man had a pep to his step as he kicked the door shut behind them and led Genshin into the messy living space, knowingly stepping over every pile of miscellaneous items littering the floor without sparing any of them a passing glance.

Mikotoba had the patience of an angel to deal with such clutter.

“You can lay him down here," Sholmes gestured to a pink chaise lounge. It had a dark stain on one cushion and singe marks down the front legs. “Coffee, and a tiny – nay, miniscule – fire, neither a thing to worry about." Sholmes explained without prompting while gesturing with wide hand movements the entire time.

10. Do you work on multiple wips or stick to one fic at a time?

I typically jump around between ideas, but if I'm trying really hard to focus on something I will only work on it for as long as I can until it's finished or I get distracted

22. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

This one really fluctuates and is partially dependent on if I have a brand new document open or if I'm just adding onto a LONG document full of miscellaneous ideas and wips. It's so chaotic but that's usually what I do when I first get into something so I can just pump out all my thoughts as quickly as possible and focus on the ideas I really like haha. Brand new documents I need to title otherwise it annoys me to see "untitled document" in my list

Sometimes I have the title before I have anything written (and sometimes that results in the title changing), sometimes I come with it while writing and immediately title the document/section of long ass document as such, and sometimes I'm staring at the AO3 page like "oh yeah I forgot to come up with a title"

Fic titles aren't difficult for me tho, I really love coming up with them! They are usually play on words around the fic premise, or just puns or references haha, and occasionally I'll do song lyrics titles. But yeah titling fics is no problem for me, it's titling original content that I can never think of anything

29. What's something about your writing that you're proud of?

37. What fic has been the hardest for you to write?

Honestly I'm just proud of ever writing at all haha. For the most part I really enjoy rereading my own writing and it's just a nice sense of accomplishment when I finish an idea since honestly I finish like <5% of my wips. So many ideas end up just being a title/summary/a few paragraphs written down before it's unfortunately abandoned for presumably forever haha

So yeah I'm proud of ever finishing stuff

Definitely "The extension of your soul in my unworthy hands" oh man writing fight scenes is difficult lol. I was pretty proud of that fic at the time despite the difficulties writing, but I haven't reread it in a while so idk how well it held up to my standards

72. What's your favorite writing compliment you've gotten?

I have been lucky to receive a lot of beautiful and sweet comments on my writing (that I unfortunately am. So bad at responding to and I'm looking at the timestamps screaming from how long they've been....) but one that stands out was a mutual telling me that my prose is straightforward and emotional but doesn't linger for longer than usual and I about died receiving such a professional critique.

I.. want to respond to old comments so so badly but I'm afraid haha, especially since I'll have to apologize in all of them oTL

[crimeronan]

hi!! sorry if this has been asked before but i wanted to know if u had a specific editing process? ive read before that u edited ur fics for 6-8 hours and wanted to know what those hours consisted of, technically speaking, if its not too much trouble!!

hello!!

this is a really good question. i want to do it justice but breaking down every single detail of my editing process would take a VEEEERY long time. so i'll give more of an overview

some fics have a Much more involved editing process than others. so i can walk you through what both "processes" look like, step-wise. my most involved process produces the best work but is also the most time-consuming and exhausting.

to start, though: you gotta understand my first draft process. because whenever i tell other writers about how i draft, their responses range from "that's insane" to "that's so smart" to "that's insane. again."

i don't reread anything when i draft.

and i mean Anything. i don't reread a single sentence. i don't reread my phrasing as i'm writing it. i don't even check to make sure that my sentences make sense.

i just write out the entire story as i'm hearing / imagining it in my head. whatever moments, beats, dialogue, Whatever is most important to me. i don't edit as i go, i don't look back. if i can't think of details or lose my flow, i put [add X here] and keep going.

i usually have a bullet-point outline before i draft -- that's my scribbled concept sketch. my first draft is the equivalent to the slightly less scribbly concept sketch. it takes a MAXIMUM of one-third of my entire writing time.

the other two-thirds (or more!) are editing.

so basically. editing is where i reread what i wrote, identify weak spots and pacing issues, revise my dialogue, improve my metaphors, bulk up my imagery..... it's like doing all of the painstaking lining and coloring and shading of a very involved art project.

with my Most involved editing process, i open a new document beside the first draft. i write an entire second draft from scratch, using my first document as reference. that lets me keep all the important beats, rearrange stuff, go more in-depth with detail, etc. THEN i reread that second draft and do all of my fussing.

with my less involved editing process, i just reread and edit the first draft instead of creating an entire second draft. i also do fewer editing passes.

(the involved process includes editing the whole document once, putting it down for a few hours, then starting over from the beginning and editing the Edited Version all over again.)

it might be easier for me to show you the differences in fic quality, for you to get a sense of how the editing process affects things.... rather than trying to describe exactly what i look for / change / do / etc.

so. here's three recent (ish) toh fics

humans are friends. AND food - no editing.

why did love put a gun in my hand (and all other parts of this series) - basic first draft editing.

what we are is the sum of a thousand lies - 2 to 3 full drafts per chapter, 3 to 5 editing passes per chapter, ~30,000 words of outtakes beyond that.

with that vampire AU fic (#1), you can see that it's short, it's quick, it's silly and fun. it's not emotionally deep. it doesn't make much sense. it's very clearly based on Vibes instead of a fully considered story.

the princess luz fic (#2) is Significantly more involved. the increased detail here is partially because this is a horror series instead of a stupid humor romp, but the principle is the same.

all of luz's internal narration about her fear, the pacing of her interactions and confrontations with belos n hunter alike, the ugly body horror and the way she comforted the dying grimwalker... that's all from the editing process. the bare bones were there in my first draft, but my edits were where i got to make things Effective.

basically, i wrote the horror story the way i saw it in my mind. and then during the edit, i could ask questions like - what would make this worse? what is she really afraid of? what is the most LUZ reaction that she could have in this situation? what's the most effective way to show the differences between this luz and canon luz, and the similarities? etc etc etc. all those little details!

then you have wwaitsoatl. which is by Far the most energy-intensive fic i've ever written. that's part of why updates are so sporadic despite there being well over a thousand subscribers at the moment (FAR more than any of my other fics have ever had).

the reason that this fic requires so many drafts and editing passes is because of the sheer complexity of the characterization. the plot is pretty generic, as toh fics go - hunter gets kidnapped away from the castle and learns how to be loved, this fic has been written 100000 times before in 100000 different ways by 100000 different authors.

BUT. every single one of the four narrators in this particular story is unreliable in different ways. every single one has different priorities, motivations, baggage, feelings, levels of emotional intelligence. all four of them are in massive conflict with one another.

the conflicts Between the characters are similarly complicated, so i have to spend a LOOOONG time on all of the dialogue & interactions. these guys do a LOT of projecting, and arguing, and talking at cross-purposes, and making incorrect assumptions, and lying, and obfuscating, and on and on and on. clear communication is basically impossible.

the internal narration also requires a similar level of care. hunter and darius in particular have incredibly challenging POVs to write because all of their narration is tied up in denial, self-delusion, and facades.

hunter's nightmares, cognitive dissonance, and slow breakdowns take Hours And Hours And Hours to get right. same goes for darius's feelings and the things he says and the things he Doesn't say. i literally study every single individual sentence and rewrite it like 15 times, then study every individual paragraph and rewrite and rearrange them like 15 times. and if a scene isn't working, i cut it entirely, even when that adds up to 30,000 words of outtakes.

it's my most ambitious fic by a longshot and i'm confident in saying it's my best work to date. but hoo boy, it is WORK.

so. that's my editing process, basically! and how my editing process changes my final product.

[write-to-tell-your-story]

Many posts on this blog encourage writers to focus on helpful advice, while ignoring unhelpful advice. This post offers a method to help new writers distinguish the good advice from the bad for themselves.

The very first step, whenever you go looking for writing advice, is to have a writing goal in mind*. This goal will narrow down your initial search direction, so that you aren't just slogging through weeds with no clear destination in mind. It can be as vague as, "I want to write a novel, but I'm not sure where to begin," as fine-grained as, "I'd like to establish a dark, creepy mood for my horror short story solely through the use of dialogue," to anything in between. The point is that you are presumably seeking advice because you've got a piece of writing you want to improve upon or a writing objective you want to achieve.

(*Otherwise, you're just collecting advice for its own sake, and there's no use asking the question of whether it'll be helpful or not if there's no writing that needs any help in the first place.)

Once you've identified a goal, you can hasten progress right away by ignoring anything clearly unrelated to your objective.

Even with a very clear goal in mind, however, you'll probably still encounter a lot of muck to wade through the moment you go looking. To make things easier, I like to sort new writing advice into 3 categories as I find it:

Ick, I hate that!

Oh, I love that!

Uncertain

(Groups 1 & 2 are based on gut reaction. If you don't know which group something belongs to by the time you reach the end of it, then it belongs in Group 3.)

Group 1: Ignore this advice - even if there are some helpful tidbits buried in the muck, the negative feelings engendered by the advice overall will make any good bits that much harder to dredge out and implement. The internet is full of writing advice. Don't waste time struggling through the stuff you hated on sight.

Group 2: Save this advice! Whether or not it's applicable to your current goal, this stuff resonated with you on a deep enough level that there's a good chance you'll find it useful at some point in your writing. Even if you don't, rereading this advice can still reignite inspiration whenever you're struggling to find your own writing voice.

Group 3: Everything else**, which you can now assess the with some good old fashioned trial and error. Try to implement this advice as opportunities arise, and decide for yourself whether or not you like the results - whether or not you think your writing improves - over time. With practice, you'll be able to move things over to Groups 1 or 2 as applicable, and it will become easier to sort new advice more quickly.

--

**One pitfall for new writers to avoid is excessive advice hunting. If you're exhausting all your energy looking up writing advice but you never actually start writing, then it's time to close the advice book or internet browser, open a document, and start putting that advice into practice with some words of your own.

[hsvh-hp]

Do you reread each Harry Potter book while writing the Draco-centric companions?

I do! A full process has developed since I started writing the series a year and a half ago, which is almost embarrassing with how intricate and systematic it's become, lol. But I think for a project this size, especially a canon-compliant one where I'm doing my damndest not to just rehash canon, it was necessary.

I'll write out what the process has been so far on writing 4th year, since I think the first 3 years were where I honed it. I'll note here that I've read the HP books so many times that I'm pretty intimately familiar with them. It's the fine details and wrenching the narrative away from Harry that makes most of the work.

Reread the 3 previous works in my series and make note of what character/plot points will be either resolved or continued in the 4th part.

Reread Goblet of Fire and use post-it notes to mark Draco's stations of canon. Open a document in the 4th year Scrivener project to jot down general ideas of what could be going on in between those stations. Make note of things that happen in Goblet of Fire that I could use to start foreshadowing for the later years.

Reread Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows and make note of anything I want to prelude in the 4th part of my series.

Go over all the notes and see how they all jive together in a single narrative. Copy over the Character Information document from 3rd year and update it (this is things like birthdays, years of other students, character backstories/special notes, etc). I'll note here that I also have a Class Schedule doc for seven years worth of Slytherin lessons, because I'm extra like that. 🙃

Create Timeline and Outline documents. Canon events on the Timeline doc are in blue to give them special attention. Make note of Goblet of Fire word count and average chapter word count as something to aim for, for pacing purposes.

My inner gardener takes over here. I write the outline as I go. Outline chapter 1, write chapter 1. Update Timeline doc and mark which things from steps 1, 2, and 3 above have been incorporated. Expand on them for later, if applicable.

Finish first draft.

Do what I call a chronological reread. I'll read the fic alongside Goblet of Fire in chronological order of chapters to make sure I haven't missed any tiny details. For example, here's the chronological reread order of Philosopher's Stone/Boy Who Lived: HP1, HP2, DM1, HP3, HP4, HP5, DM2, DM3, HP6, DM4, HP7, DM5, HP8, DM6, DM7, DM8, HP9, DM9, HP10, DM10, HP11, DM11, DM12, HP12, DM13, DM14, HP13, DM15, HP14, DM16, HP15, DM17, HP16, HP17, DM18.

Edit, edit, edit. I cut mercilessly, since I tend to overwrite in first drafts. Will to Power, for example, had an initial word count of 137,000. Its final word count now sits under 114,000.

Start posting in weekly increments, and move on to the next one!

[priyankiamroliwala]

Tips for Permanent Dental Staffing Success

The critical commercial problem facing dentistry practices today is locating and keeping rock-star talent. A dental office must invest a lot of time and effort into managing its human resources, which is a very intricate procedure. In the past, there was a good chance of success for a dentist who wanted to establish a practice. That is wildly inaccurate in the world of today. The staff you have put together will play a key role in your dental practice's success today. For your benefit, we've compiled some advice on how to hire successful permanent Dental Recruitment staff.

 •       Focus on Clarity

 A clear job description is the first step in preventing turnover and discontent among employees at a dental office. A complete and concise job description is crucial to avoiding staff churn. For each of your open roles, draught the ideal employee description. To avoid grammar and spelling issues, have a second person evaluate and edit the document. Reread it once again and make any required adjustments to ensure that it accurately conveys every facet of the position in a clear, structured, and precise manner. Remember to include prerequisites for education and employment background to ensure every application is a fantastic fit for your dental business.

 •       Genuinely Interviewed for the Position

 Following a resume search, interviews are planned with a select few candidates who appear to be a good fit for the position. Make up a list of interview questions before speaking with any potential subject. Generic interview questions won't give you the information you need to hire the candidate with the competencies and skills you're looking for or to make an informed decision. Candidates for dental staff positions are asked questions of a behavioral nature during interviews, and they are expected to share examples of how they overcame difficulties relating to the skill sets needed for the role.

 Determine the first thing about the new employee's strengths. Second, create behavioral-style interview questions to elucidate a qualified applicant's past performance concerning the qualifications and abilities you identified for the "open" post. Make sure to incorporate a few inquiries around task management, delegation, and priority. Your ability to make an informed hiring decision depends on understanding the interviewee's responses.

 •       Test the applicant if in doubt

 Not any psychological testing, mind you. To determine each interviewee's level of proficiency with the necessary skill sets and distinctive personality qualities that would fit in the office well, create and administer skill tests that they must all pass. Using tests highlighting the skills needed for the position, you can determine whether a candidate would fit in nicely with your dental office or needs more training.

 •       Always make reference calls.

 The importance of references on a resume is frequently underrated. To get thorough descriptions of any applicant's work and skills, it is always a good idea to call the authorities. You can make the finest permanent placement decision by using this additional viewpoint on your applicant.

 Make a list of common inquiries you may use to get information from all references you might have overlooked during the interview. This list will be helpful to ask them all. Asking the referee how they would grade the employee's overall performance on a scale of 1 to 10, with ten being the best, is a terrific way to end a reference call. What would make them a "10?" should be followed up on if the referral source says anything less than a "10". You'll be astonished by how much more knowledge you learn from these two simple questions alone.

 For dental Healthcare Recruitment to run as profitably and productively as possible, the appropriate employee is essential. There is too much at stake for it to be left up to chance or to settle for "good enough."

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

Oooh is it a typewriter that does the DING! every time you go to a new line? Because I love that, but I could never use it myself, too distracting.

———————————————————————

Okay so the easy answer for how I write is pen and paper, but I have a long answer for you because why not.

My first/second drafts (take the word “draft” loosely btw) are nearly always on paper. Usually I write out my idea for a scene first in pen (mostly in [brackets] like you said you do, with specific lines of dialogue I want to hit), tab it (orange or yellow usually, depending on how much work is to be done [I have a whole system 💀]) and there’s my first draft. For my second draft I write it out longhand (again in pen) getting in as much of the final detail as I can. Usually I have the first draft in one notebook and write out the second in another—sometimes, if I’m feeling really inspired, I write it out without having to do that first rough sketch of a first draft. These always end up being a lot cleaner (somehow), so it’s what I aim for if I can. I tag these pink once they’re done.

[I have 5?? Notebooks for BDOR, another 2 for my Nano this year (neither full (sigh)), and another for random few for random ideas (that has also been slowly consumed by Linked Universe XD). Gimme a minute and I’ll send a picture lol]

3rd draft! Digitize! There are some apps I’ve seen that claim to be able to take a picture of your handwritten stuff and digitize, but I have not found one for my awful mix of cursive and print, so I just type it all again. I specifically use the app Danger Notes for this so I don’t try to edit and get hung up. Once the whole thing is down, only then do I go back through the document. Here is where I (briefly) look for spelling errors, tense errors, typos, etc. If there are any brackets left at this point (such as you use them, @needfantasticstories ), I flesh them out here, and if there are any big changes I want to make, I do so here as well. This step has helped with my typing speed tremendously over the years XD.

4th draft! I cut each chapter into 200-300 word bits (usually following specific character interactions, descriptions, general vibes) and put them into their own separate pages documents (I have 250 some at my last count for BDOR). I put this nifty little thing \/\/\/

———————————————————————

which I have saved on my phone and computer as /line underneath those words and completely rewrite. I copy and paste what I have exactly as I want it to be, edit what I don’t, until everything is under the line. This edit focuses more on style.

5th draft! Once all those little pieces are rewritten how I want them to be, I take them all into one pages document! Then I reread and make sure that every bit I isolated actually makes sense in context, again look for typos, etc. Basically finalize the chapter as a whole.

6th draft! Paste it into my final document (splitting between arc 1 and arc 2) (im on pages rn but I may switch to google docs, it’s so much more convenient) and then reread again and go analyze with my idiotically complicated detail/subplot tracker document. Skip, you’ve already seen this monstrosity, but if anyone else wants to see it too let me know XD, it does contain slight spoilers. Whatever things I find that I want to add or edit from that document I change, and then whoop de doo we’re done!

Idk, it’s what I like to do. I realize it’s a bit backwards (going little details to large instead of vise versa on editing leaves me open to dumb typos or having to trash work I’ve put a lot of effort into after I realize it doesn’t fit) but it works for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Through what medium do you primarily write? (Pencil, computer, voice to type, old timer typewriter, what?)

I do have a typewriter, but I have no idea how it works. Got it cheap at a yard sale.

I use Google Docs. I turn the page black and write in white text, put individual ideas in brackets, add mood pictures, and go. I’m comfortable with the formatting options, and it’s faster than Word for me. Plus, if I lose my hands or something I can always dictate into it.

How about you?

[perigelion]

i was Going to do a thing i even wrote a simple 5-step plan to doing the thing but consider this: the thing gives me anxiety so i started doing something else after completing step 1

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: Main Story 7-34 Translation

Translation Masterlist | Video

Chapter 7 – Rains of Monte Cristo: 7-1 / 7-3 / 7-5 / 7-7 / 7-9 / 7-11 / 7-13 / 7-15 / 7-17 / 7-19  ♦️ ♦️  7-20 / 7-22 / 7-24 / 7-26 / 7-28 / 7-30 / 7-32 / 7-34 / 7-35

Content Warning: This section contains topics that may be uncomfortable to some readers (mentions of abuse). Please proceed with discretion.

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

After we left Hang Jiahe’s place, Xu Yin hastened off. No one knew what she was thinking, and all she left was a staggering silhouette.

When we returned to Marius’ car, we hadn’t recovered from the confrontation with Hang Jiahe either, so we sunk into silence. I subconsciously realized that Marius seemed… somewhat sad?

MC: Marius, are you okay?

Marius: … You noticed.

MC: If something’s troubling you, tell me. Don’t keep it pent up inside.

Marius: …

Marius: I keep thinking back these days on what Wang Chunchong said to me…

Marius: When I heard Hang Jiahe’s story, I suddenly… felt a little scared…

MC: Scared?

Marius: Yeah. I live in the same world as Xu Yin, Wang Chunchong, and Hang Jiahe.

Marius: But I’m luckier than them, as my brother and dad both love me – so I’ve got a happy family overall.

Marius: So I don’t have to climb up, step by step the way Xu Yin and Wang Chunchong have to, just to live.

Marius: And I definitely am not like Hang Jiahe, who couldn’t even choose her own life.

Marius: But all of what I have right now is built on the foundation of Pax and the von Hagen family.

Marius: As the von Hagen stands at the very summit, we have no problems whatsoever.

Marius: But if one day, all of this were gone, could I still be this happy?

Marius: Would my day still come?

MC: Of course it will.

Marius: Why?

MC: Because whether day comes or not isn’t determined solely by the outside world.

MC: Like this.

I took out my phone and turned on the flashlight.

Instantly, a thin white light cut through the air, lighting up the dark interior of the car.

MC: Even if one is in the middle of the darkness, if you can find a light, even if it’s the thinnest, weakest sliver…

MC: It can still light up the darkness.

MC: Hang Jiahe’s story is a tragedy from top to bottom. No one could find the light to save themselves in the darkness.

MC: But unlike them, you are a light yourself.

MC: Even if you discard the halo of Pax and the von Hagen family, your own light can illuminate darkness.

Marius: …

Marius looked at me quietly, his eyes glittering in the weak light.

Marius: Jiejie, you’re right, but… not completely right.

MC: What?

Marius: Not only can I emit light, but I’ve also found the light that can illuminate me.

MC: !!!

MC: …

Marius: …

MC: … A-anyways, Marius, about what Hang Jiahe said at the end…

Seeing the atmosphere in the car get stranger and stranger, I rushed to change the topic.

Marius: Though I don’t want to admit it, I do think she’s right.

Marius: It’s impossible for us to incriminate her with the evidence we have now.

MC: But the police haven’t found out anything, and Hang Jiahe wears gloves, so she wouldn’t have left fingerprints…

MC: There’s no way for us to prove that she was the one to use the hammer…

Marius: …

Marius: No, we might have a way.

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Waiting Room

Very appropriately, it was raining in Stellis on the day of the trial for Hang Fei and Qi Yu’s case. I arrived at the meeting room early, preparing to reread all my materials, so I could better face this trial where odds were winning were pretty low.

MC: (Only Marius would have come up with this method…)

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

[Flashback]

Darius Morgan: You want Hang Jiahe herself to admit everything she did in court?

Marius: Yes, that’s the most effective method I can think of right now.

MC: But… how does that work…

MC: …

MC: Are you thinking of imitating the psychological tactics I used against Fannie before in court?

Marius nodded.

MC: But Hang Jiahe’s not like Fannie, so how do we get at her?

Marius: About that… do you remember what we went to her house and you noticed that her glove had broken?

MC: “Looks like this glove design quality isn’t that great either, since it broke on me without me realizing…”

MC: “I’ll look for more durable designs.”

MC: You mean that Hang Jiahe might have accidentally left fingerprints or other clues?

Marius: Yes.

MC: That is possible, but this might not necessarily be of any use against her.

Marius: I got in touch with the production factory of that toolbox. Though the number’s carved on the hammer’s iron core…

Marius: The same number is also secretly carved on the handle, and only the factory itself can identify it.

Marius: They did this to prevent people from making fakes – kind of a trade secret.

Marius: I found out about it thanks to some connections.

MC: Thanks for your hard work.

Marius: No big deal – anyways, back on topic.

Marius: We can send the murder weapon to the factory for confirmation. If all goes as planned…

Marius: Assuming that the number on the core and the handle don’t match, Captain Morgan, we’ll have to trouble you to re-examine the murder weapon again.

Marius: Though this time, what we need to identify are any residues or biological indices on it.

MC: You suspect that there are Hang Jiahe’s fingerprints on the murder weapon?

Marius: Yes.

Darius Morgan: But, Marius, putting aside whether we can even get this examination in before trial…

Darius Morgan: With how much time has passed, it’s highly unlikely that any residues are left, even if they existed back then.

Marius: I know. It’s just…

MC: Captain Morgan… we can only stake our bets on this.

Darius Morgan: And what if we come up empty?

MC: Then I will still confront Hang Jiahe in court with all the truths I have until the final moment.

Darius Morgan: You probably understand that if you fail, we might never catch Hang Jiahe again.

MC: I understand, but I’m sure our effort will display results. I will not give up if we haven’t reached the end yet.

Marius: Captain Morgan, I’m also requesting this of you.

Darius Morgan: … I understand.

Darius Morgan: Within the scope of law, I will do my best to have Wang Chunchong stand in court as the suspect. As for the rest…

He smiled at me.

Darius Morgan: It’s all on you.

[Flashback end]

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

As he promised, Darius dealt with everything after.

MC: (My emotions are a mess… I don’t even know what to say right now…)

MC: (I’ll go through the files again.)

I sunk back into case-file reading. In the middle of that, Marius pushed open the door with a bag full of breakfast.

Marius: You arrived so early.

MC: Yeah, I wanted to go through the information once more before appearing in court, just to ensure that I’m fully prepared.

Marius: Don’t be so nervous, eat your breakfast first.

MC: Thanks.

Marius: No problem. Oh, right, Captain Morgan had me give you this.

Marius handed me a document.

Marius: This is the information Captain Morgan got when they were investigating Hang Jiahe’s alibi.

Marius: There are blind spots in the villa’s surveillance – Hang Jiahe probably used them to come and go from it.

Marius: The police are currently looking for any witnesses around that area.

Marius: Aside from that, the two identical toolboxes were ones that Hang Jiahe bought around January 25th.

Marius: Wang Chunchong was also in the apartment during then. She probably used the opportunity when she said she returned home to get clothes…

Marius: To get the hammer handle with Wang Chunchong’s fingerprints.

MC: Understood.

[Obtained Police’s Investigation Report]

Marius: Also, this is the examination report that the police currently have on the murder weapon.

Marius: The factory confirmed that the murder weapon’s handle is indeed from set No. 22, and the other thing we guessed…

Marius flipped to the second page of the report, where it was clearly written “No results currently regarding residues or biological indices.”

MC: (Looks like we can’t tell whether there are fingerprints on it for now…)

MC: …

Marius: Hold onto this report.

MC: Okay.

Marius: Alrighty, take your time eating, then. I won’t bug you anymore.

Marius: In court, just do what you want – don’t be too nervous.

Marius: Everything will go well.

MC: Yep.

Marius left with a smile. I looked at that examination report, making a silent decision.

MC: (I’ll proceed with all I have!)

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

CRIMINAL COURT

10:00 AM

Judge: Court is in session. The court calls the People of Stellis versus suspect Wang Chunchong for the homicide case of Hang Fei and Qi Yu.

Judge: First, may the prosecution give their opening statement.

Prosecutor: I represent the People of Stellis against Wang Chunchong.

Prosecutor: On the night of January 28th, Hang Fei and Qi Yu, residents of Yaofu Community, were murdered at home. Their corpses were found not long ago.

Prosecutor: Investigation revealed that Wang Chunchong had severe conflicts with the victims due to a betrothal gift issue.

Prosecutor: That night, Wang Chunchong took food items laced with special drug G24D into the victims’ house under the pretext of apologizing.

Prosecutor: After he led the victims to eat the food, Hang Fei and Qi Yu fell unconscious due to the drug.

Prosecutor: The suspect took this opportunity to move the victims to the floor and used a hammer in the room to deal lethal blows to their heads.

Prosecutor: After, the suspect brought the bodies to his home using the apartment’s special fire escape route and placed them inside suitcases.

Prosecutor: After the suspect went to the natural park’s back mountain, then buried the bodies and the murder weapon.

Prosecutor: Investigation revealed Wang Chunchong’s fingerprints on the murder weapon, as well as the DNA of the victims in the suitcases in his home.

Prosecutor: The surveillance cameras where the burial location was clearly recorded Wang Chunchong’s entrance and exit.

Prosecutor: Thus, the prosecution believes that Wang Chunchong had full motive for the crime and that the evidence is conclusive.

Judge: Does the defendant have any objections regarding the prosecution’s statement?

Wang Chunchong: I didn’t kill Hang Fei and Qi Yu! It wasn’t me!

MC: I believe that there are major flaws in the prosecution’s evidence chain. The true culprit of this case is Hang Jiahe, not Wang Chunchong!

MC: First, the natural park’s surveillance footage only recorded Wang Chunchong’s movements at the park’s front door.

MC: It is impossible to judge where he went after entering the park. Thus, this evidence is untenable.

 PROSECUTION OBJECTION

Prosecutor: Objection! As the defense lawyer believes that it is impossible to determine that Wang Chunchong went to bury the bodies based on the natural park door’s surveillance…

Prosecutor: The prosecution also believes that it is impossible to determine that Wang Chunchong did not bury the bodies.

Prosecutor: Thus, the prosecution believes that Wang Chunchong is still highly suspect of performing post-murder corpse disposal.

 OBJECTION

MC: Objection! The defense has evidence to prove that Wang Chunchong did not go to bury bodies that night.

 Select: Recording of Simon’s murder

MC: That night, Wang Chunchong went to the natural park to meet Simon on the north mountain.

MC: This recording indicates when Wang Chunchong murdered Simon, which is the same time as what happened in the park.

MC: Thus, Wang Chunchong could not have been simultaneously discarding the corpses at the same time at the foot of the mountain.

MC: Simon’s murder case is an essential part of this case.

MC: Hang Jiahe knew of Wang Chunchong’s plan to murder Simon, and thus chose the same day to murder Hang Fei and Qi Yu.

MC: Only in this way could she successfully frame Wang Chunchong.

Prosecutor: Defense lawyer, what evidence do you have that proves that Hang Jiahe knew of Wang Chunchong’s plan?

 Select: Wang Chunchong’s Recording Pen

MC: Wang Chunchong murdered Simon because Tyson requested it of him.

MC: And Hang Jiahe was the one who introduced Wang Chunchong to Tyson.

MC: Hang Jiahe, Tyson, and Wang Chunchong were all aware of when and where Simon was to be murdered.

 PROSECUTION OBJECTION

Prosecutor: Objection! The defense lawyer claims that Hang Jiahe was the one who murdered Hang Fei and Qi Yu.

Prosecutor: But according to investigation, Hang Jiahe, Hang Fei, and Qi Yu were a happy family.

Prosecutor: And the relationships that Hang Jiahe had with her adoptive parents were excellent.

Prosecutor: She has no motive to commit the crime.

 OBJECTION

MC: Objection! Hang Jiahe does have motive to commit the crime, and it is stronger than Wang Chunchong’s.

 Select: Hang Jiahe’s Hidden Video Records

MC: During the ten-plus years Hang Jiahe was fostered in the Hang family, she suffered inhuman abuse at the hands of her foster father.

MC: This damaged her physiological health and ruined her life.

MC: Thus, Hang Jiahe hates all those who pushed her into the depths.

MC: This does not only include Hang Fei and Qi Yu, but it also includes her biological parents Xu Yin and Tyson, as well as her fiancé Wang Chunchong.

MC: Judge, I request Hang Jiahe’s appearance in court.

Judge: A reasonable request. Summon Hang Jiahe to court.

Hang Jiahe: I did hate those people who made living even worse than death for me, but I never murdered anyone.

Hang Jiahe: Also, when the murder occurred, I was not in the apartment. I have an alibi.

 OBJECTION

MC: Objection! Within the time that the crime occurred, you did return to the apartment.

Hang Jiahe: Oh? Do you have proof?

Select: January 28 Apartment Full-Day Surveillance Footage

MC: This is the full-day surveillance footage the day the crime happened.

MC: Based on big data lab analysis, comparison, and person-eye identification, Hang Jiahe appeared for a total of 6 times in the footage.

MC: Individually, these times are: 12pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 9:45pm, and 10:15pm.

MC: The reason why she was repeatedly entering and exiting the apartment was to complete her alibi.

 PROSECUTION OBJECTION

Prosecutor: Objection! According to the forensics identification results, Hang Fei and Qi Yu died on the 28th after 10pm.

Prosecutor: With Hang Jiahe’s physique and strength, it would be impossible to have moved and struck the bodies, then cleaned the scene, within 15 minutes.

 OBJECTION

MC: Objection! Hang Fei and Qi Yu did not die on the 28th after 10pm.

MC: They died after 12:30pm that day.

 PROSECUTION OBJECTION

Prosecutor: Objection! The victims’ surmised time of death was determined by forensics experts. Defense lawyer, do not speak without grounds.

 OBJECTION

MC: Objection! The bodies of Hang Fei and Qi Yu had undergone severe decay. When forensics determined the time of death, aside from basing it on the corpses’ anatomical analysis…

MC: They also based it on the victims’ final movements and the surveillance footage of the apartment on the 28th.

MC: In the footage, Qi Yu last appeared at 9:45pm, but the Qi Yu that appeared was not the real Qi Yu.

MC: Instead, it was Hang Jiahe in disguise.

 PROSECUTION OBJECTION

Prosecutor: Objection! A security guard saw Qi Yu who appeared in the grand lobby at 9:45pm, so she could not have been another person in disguise.

 OBJECTION

MC: Objection! The Qi Yu that the security guard saw was wearing a face mask and hat, so he could not have seen her full face.

Prosecutor: Even so, the hammer responsible for the murder of Hang Fei and Qi Yu had Wang Chunchong’s fingerprints on them. Defense lawyer, how do you explain this?

MC: That was because Hang Jiahe had switched out a part of the murder weapon.

Prosecutor: Defense lawyer, what proof do you have?

 Select: Hammer Photo

MC: The hammer that served as the murder weapon is a dual-purpose hammer.

MC: With similar models, one can switch out the handle while leaving the iron core.

MC: Hang Jiahe used this fact, switching the handle she owned with Wang Chunchong’s fingerprints on them onto the murder weapon.

 PROSECUTION OBJECTION

Prosecution: Objection! All mentioned methods are merely the defense lawyer’s conjectures, with no evidence to support them.

 OBJECTION

MC: Objection! I do have evidence!

 Select: Police’s Examination Report

MC: According to investigation, the set No.22 toolbox in Hang Jiahe’s house and the set No.21 toolbox in Room 1001…

MC: Were both purchased by Hang Jiahe.

MC: Why else would she buy two of the same toolboxes, if not to switch the hammer handles?

Hang Jiahe: You’ve spoken so much, but do you have any evidence that directly proves that I killed them?

Hang Jiahe: If not, then everything you’ve said is just a made-up story.

MC: I do…

I looked at Hang Jiahe, sighing deeply. This moment had finally come.

MC: Just in case, we applied for another examination of the murder weapon, especially the handle portion.

MC: This is the examination report that the police gave.

I took out the last examination report that Marius gave me, showing it for all in court to see.

MC: In this report, we noticed a vital piece of evidence.

Hang Jiahe: What evidence?

MC: The production factory confirmed that the No.21 hammer, the murder weapon, had the forgery-preventing No.22 carved in its handle.

MC: Based on this, we requested that any residues and biological indices on the murder weapon to be examined, and…

I stopped speaking and looked towards Hang Jiahe.

Hang Jiahe: What are you looking at?

MC: Miss Hang, are your gloves alright today? They haven’t split again, have they?

Hang Jiahe: W-what are you saying this for?

MC: No major reason. It’s just that you seemed somewhat troubled about this when we met before.

Hang Jiahe: Of course I’d get angry over my gloves breaking. Can’t I?

MC: Of course you can. But, Miss Hang, have you experienced your gloves breaking on you before?

Hang Jiahe: W-what are you trying to say?

Hang Jiahe’s originally calm face grew agitated, and a bead of sweat slid down her neck.

MC: Nothing, I’m just asking a question. This shouldn’t be a hard-to-answer question.

Hang Jiahe: Whether it has or hasn’t, does this have anything to do with the case?

MC: Whether it has or hasn’t isn’t for you to decide.

MC: But since you’ve said this, I’ll ask you some questions that are more related to the case.

I grasped the file in my hand tight, looked straight at Hang Jiahe, and added some emphasis to my words.

MC: Miss Hang, why did you return so many times to the apartment on the night of the crime?

MC: Why did you buy toolboxes of the same model before the murder?

Hang Jiahe: I… I…

MC: Also, why did these toolboxes just happen to appear in yours and the victims’ homes?

MC: Why are so many coincidences tied to you?

MC: Hang Jiahe, how do you explain this?

Hang Jiahe: No… no way, my fingerprints couldn’t have been on the hammer!

Hang Jiahe looked at me, her eyes gradually growing fiercer.

Hang Jiahe: I clearly confirmed it so many times when I was switching the handle and killing those two beasts.

Hang Jiahe: I shouldn’t have gotten anything wrong, so why did something still slip through?

MC: So, Hang Jiahe, you admit that you did murder Hang Fei and Qi Yu?

Hang Jiahe: So what if I did? It’s Hang Fei’s fault for running into my room that night and raising a hand against me again!

Hang Jiahe: I’ve had enough! I won’t give him another chance to humiliate me as he pleases!

MC: Then why did you murder Qi Yu?

MC: She never stopped Hang Fei? Before, she clearly…

Hang Jiahe: Qi Yu… hah, she did try to stop him that night, but she should have tried long ago!

Hang Jiahe: She’s been a bystander for so many years!

Hang Jiahe: They should both go to hell together!

✼ ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ ✼

Judge: Per court trial, the prosecution’s accusations against Wang Chunchong lack evidence and are untenable.

Judge: Simultaneously, multiple pieces of evidence indicate high suspicion against Hang Jiahe in this case.

Judge: Defense lawyer, it seems that your guesses were all correct, and the risks you took this time were all quite interesting.

Judge: Leave the rest of the work to the criminal investigation department.

Judge: Court is adjourned!

[wolfish-trickster]

A block

Loki x reader

Word count: 1 548

Summary: when a writer's block hits you, your amazing boyfriend is there for you

Warnings: angst, implied smut (teeny tiny bit) and besides that just good old fluff

A/N: kinda messy oneshot, possible typos and grammar mistakes, enjoy <3

You were lying in your bed. Raindrops were softly tapping on the nearby window, lulling you. Light from your opened laptop was illuminating your bedroom, keeping you from falling asleep.

Not the light, rather the opened tab. Word document. Empty. Not a single word. You turned your body towards wall and hid your head under a pillow.

It has been like this for at least two weeks. You used to have so many ideas, so many stories that begged to be let out of your head onto the paper. Or a computer screen.

That was a long time ago. Your head was empty now. No idea. No new adventure. No nothing.

You tried anything. Meditating, reading books and watching movies for inspiration, even writing down some of your dreams right after you woke up only to realise they make absolutely no sense.

You wanted to write again. You wanted to create. But you just couldn't anymore.

'It will pass,' you told yourself. 'It will pass and soon I'll create again. Just like before.'

~~

It didn't pass. Not one bit. You don't even check tumblr anymore. You felt miserable even without seeing all those beautifully crafted stories written by people who actually do something instead of lazying around, like you are doing now. Curled up on your couch, watching a movie you don't even pay attention to.

You felt like the laziest piece of garbage in the world. Like, how can writing be so hard? Just sit down, hit bunch of keys and create senteces. That's it. It's THAT easy. So why does it feel like the most difficult thing to do?

You groaned and hit your face with a throw pillow. 'You're stupid. So stupid. Lazy, stupid, illiterate-'

"Darling? I'm back," Loki's voice called for you, stopping your negative train of thoughts.

You stood up and ran to hug him. You could've knocked him down with the force you collided with him, if it wasn't for his godly strength. You nuzzled his neck and murmured. "I missed you. I'm so glad you're here."

Loki wrapped his arms around you and brought you close. "I missed you as well. How have you been without me?"

You smiled at him. "It doesn't matter. I'm better now, when you're with me," you stood on your toes and softly brushed your lips along his thin soft ones in a loving tender kiss.

You felt his big hand cup your left cheek, turning your face slightly to the side and deepening the kiss. His tongue met yours in a passionate dance only you two knew steps of and danced only when you were all alone. His hand slowly slid down to the back of your neck, pulling you even closer. Your fingers got lost in his coal black hair, tugging here and there, making him moan into your mouth.

You loved moments like this. When you reunited after a long separation and it was just the two of you again, two people who simply love eachother. These moments make you forget everything that troubles you. *He* makes you forget everything that troubles you. The pain and guilt over your laziness in your chest disappeares, beeing replaced by a warm love Loki was pouring into you.

After your mouths separated with a wet pop you stood there, forheads touching, eyes closed, smile playing on both of your faces.

Loki's quiet voice broke the silence. "You said you are better now, which means you were unwell before. What happened?"

You shook your head. You wanted that pain away from your chest for a little while longer. "I don't really want to talk about it. Not now."

Loki's hands moved from your waist to your hips, drawing small circles with his thumbs. "Alright. I won't pressure you. You will tell me when you are ready. I can take your mind elsewhere. Much more-," he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the side of your neck, "-pleasurable place. If you allow me."

Of course you did. You didn't want to think about anything other than him tonight.

~~

Loki's heartbeat under your right ear slowly woke you from your dream. His arm was wrapped around your waist, his naked legs tangled with your own under your sheets.

Loki's affections took your mind off your misery, but it soon returned. It's only a matter of time till Loki asks if you'd written anything new. He always asked about your creations. His disappointed face after telling him you haven't written a word for nearly 2 months haunted you in your dreams.

It started to dawn. Loki was a morning person and with every new ray of sunlight a new wave of anxiety washed over you. What if it's the first thing he asks? What would he, a skilled poet and story writer, say about you and your inability to write even a small drabble?

"Mhm, mornin' darlin'," he mumbled with extremely raspy voice and the deepest british accent you ever heard and pressed a small kiss to your temple. You snuggled into his chest and mumbled a quiet 'morning'.

"Do you want some breakfast?"

You felt his fingers run up and down your spine. "Right now?"

"Right now."

"But I wanna cuddle with you..." you pouted at him.

Loki chuckled and pecked your pouting lips. "Tell you what my love, I'll go make a quick breakfast, then we can lazy around in our bed the whole day. What do you think? Besides, I think you need it, you are working so hard all the time the word 'lazy' and 'break' probably left your dictionary."

And there it was again. The guilt. You didn't think you worked hard at all. If you did, you'd have finished all your drafts and WIPs while he was away.

You were so grateful he had closed eyes, he didn't see the sadness crawling back on your face. You forced some strength into your voice. "That sounds lovely."

Loki then stood up, put on his favourite sweatpants and padded barefoot into kitchen. You pulled his pillow to your chest and inhaled the smell of him. It calmed you down a little. But the thought of other people being productive and you just lying in your bed being SO LAZY to even make yourself a breakfast didn't leave your head.

'I can at least reread my story ideas, maybe that will start my creativity' You sat up, your eyes fell on your table where your laptop is. Where it usually is. But its place is empty.

'Fuck'

You started to panic. You remembered you left it in the kitchen. OPENED. UNLOCKED. LOKI WILL FIND IT. HE WILL SEE.

In the speed of lightning you put on some clothes and ran to kitchen.

You were late.

Loki was sitting at the table, your laptop opened infront of him. His face was the epitome of poker face. He lifted his head and looked at you standing in the doorway. "Sorry dear, I didn't mean to look through your laptop. I was just curious if you have written anything new and- are you okay?"

You didn't realize tears were running down your cheeks until he brought you back to reality.

"I'm sorry Loki," you wiped your tears.

"Why are you sorry? Writing is your hobby, not your work. You don't have to write all the time," he walked to you and cupped your left cheek, his thumb wiping new tear away.

"I know, but.... Everyone is still writing and I'm not. I mean- writing is so easy and I can't even do that anymore! I'm just lazy a-and out of imagination and m-my grammar is horrib-" Loki stopped your rambling with a single finger against your lips, making you look into his face.

"My love, whoever told you writing is easy is a filthy liar. Nothing about creating a whole world using only your words is easy. And while you can have grammar mistakes and typos here and there, I always get lost in the story I barely notice them at all. You are not lazy for taking a break."

"But this is not a break," you hid your face in his chest, hugging him to you. "I don't have any ideas. I want to write, but I don't know what about," you felt his fingers thread through your hair, caressing you.

"Then start out slowly. Write about your memories. Small parts of your life that make you smile. They are all little stories only you know and can share with the world. And sooner than you notice, inspiration will hit you again and you will write just like before. But for now, my darling, baby steps."

His words helped you, a lot. You still kept your face pressed to his chest, listening to his breath, his heart. His fingers were gently scratching your head in a calming rhythm, his other hand kept your torso pressed to him.

"I love you Loki, thank you for helping me," you stood on your toes and kissed his cheek.

"Always my dear," he kissed your forhead. "Always."

[hitsuackerman]

Unpredictable (Overhaul x Reader) pt.28

a/n: aye have mixture of fluff and angst~ sorry for uploading late :c MY SCHEDULE IS SUCH A KILLER I CANNOT STRESS IT ENOUGH huhuhu

warnings: this cannot be read solo

Links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19, part 20, part 21, part 22, part 22, part 23, part 23.5, part 24, part 25, part 26, part 27, part 29

Masterlist to my other fics: here :) (that has not been updated for how many months now... proceed with caution~)

“Is that really you, Inspector (l/n)?” The hero asked. With each step she took, you made sure Chisaki’s face wouldn’t be seen. “It’s late.”

“Hey, Enigma~” Lowering his head to rest on your shoulder, you smiled at the small quiet hero. “It is late~ We’re not causing a disturbance are we?”

“Of course not! But I don’t think this is the place to be…” She scratched her cheek and avoided your eye contact. “You know…”

“I know~ I apologize. He’s typically busy and we don’t get to hang out much.” You patted his back and continued. “He’s also very shy and doesn’t like to be seen in public.”

“Oh! I’m very sorry! But, if you don’t mind, would it be alright if the both of you continued elsewhere?”

“It’s fine! We were just going separate ways.” You consoled her and knew that her reaction was safe enough. At least you were fast enough to cover his face. “I told you, Shinoda-san. Heroes patrol these times of the night.”

“Forgive my rash decision.” He rested his head on your shoulder. Embarrassed that he had been this close to kissing you. Disappointed that it was barely a few centimeters and yet even such trivial things like these, the heroes would always disturb him. For now, all he could do was to wrap his arms around your body.

“Don’t wear your mask.” You whispered to him. He merely hummed. Gliding your hands on to his chest, he looked at you with cautiously eager eyes. Feeling how you pushed him he let you lead the way till the hood of his car hit thighs. “Enigma’s gone. You can turn around now.”

“I apologize for my actions.” Overhaul said as he took out his mask and wore it. “I was not expecting those bastards to roam this area at night.”

“You come here often?”

“Many years back. That apartment building, the third one.” He pointed it out. “Before the Shie Hassaikai was established, Kurono and I used to live there.”

“Wait, wait, wait… You and Chrono were roomies?” You stared at your companion, to the building, and back at him. A small pang of pain hit your forehead just as he had overhauled his glove back. “Well, no need to flick me, Chisaki.”

“Whatever it is your mind was thinking, no. We weren’t roomies.” He pinched your cheek and leaned on to the hood. “Neighbors. Pops owns that building. It’s one of the properties not involved with my business.”

“You know, I’d ask but perhaps we can schedule another meeting for that.” You took the vacant area beside him. With a bit of space in between, you placed your hand beside his. Just a reminder that the invitation still remains open.

“Of course.” Looking at your figure beside him, he furrowed his brows and shook his thoughts away. “Then again, we really should go separate ways. I hate having to take my mask off.”

“You know, you don’t have to take it off when you’re with me.” Elbowing him gently, you chuckled. “Don’t get me wrong, though. I like looking at your face. I just don’t want people to see you. Especially not with how things are going.”

“Nah.” Not expecting that word to come out of his mouth, the both of you met eyes at the same time. Adjusting the cloth, he tried to hide the slowly creeping heat on his cheeks. “You’re rubbing off on me, (y/n). That aside, it isn’t really bothersome if I take it off when you’re around. Your expressions are worth breathing the horrid air.”

“Ugh. Smooth talker.” You pouted. Taking a peak at your watch, the time was now quarter to one. As much as you wanted to stay and get to know more of the man behind the name, he was right. Flinching at the sudden weight on your hand, you looked down and found his on top of yours.

The kiss may not have happened but if it were compensated with this small act of intimacy then perhaps it wasn’t that bad. Carefully interlacing your fingers, you were more than relieved when he moved along and held on to your hand tightly. Maybe it was fine if you were to lean on to his arm and rest your head on his shoulder?

Just as you were about to attempt, Chisaki pulled you closer to him.

“You’re too obvious…” He said as he rested his head on yours. “We already have to leave in a few minutes. If you won’t do it then I will.”

“I swear this feels like a fever dream…” You commented earning a ruffle to the hair with his free hand. “Alright, alright. It’s real. You better not bug me Chisaki or I swear I will block you.”

“Well, now that this has happened, shall we take our leave now?”

“Is it bad to say that I’d rather stay here?”

“Are you suggesting we sleep in the car?” He poked your cheek.

“And have you drowned in your car’s germs? I’d rather not.” Standing up straight, you took a few steps and only then realized he still had not let go of your hand. “If you don’t let go, I’ll have to rethink sleeping in the car. And frankly speaking, sleeping in cars is not the most comfortable experience.”

“Right again.” Letting go of your hand, he too stood up. “In that case, I shall send a message when I get back to the base.”

“And I’ll message you when I arrive home.”

“Fair trade.”

To which you did not. Right after both your cars went separate ways, your phone vibrated with a message from Tsukuachi. Parking at the nearest allowable area, you grabbed your device and read the message. Rereading the text, you clicked dial.

“Are you for real?”

“I wasn’t expecting you to read it now.” He stifled a yawn and continued. “Unfortunately yes. If you can drop by the precinct, I can hand them over to you so you can get a head start.”

“Nao, it’s 1am.”

“And yet here we are, talking on the phone like the rats we are.”

Letting out a sigh, you ended the call. Rubbing your face, you leaned your head on the steering wheel and stared at your hand. Chewing on your lip, you began to recall the moment that had happened a mere minutes ago. Being able to hold his hand out in public had a different tingle.

Not long after, you were now seated beside Tsukauchi. Accepting the small cup of coffee, you waited as he filed through some documents. Taking small peaks at some of the letters, you saw how some names of villains you knew of were written down and crossed out. When Tsukauchi stopped at a particular piece of paper, he handed it over.

“Damn. It really is happening.” You set the paper aside and took a sip of your now cold beverage. “Do you need any help for the preparations? I can pull an all nighter if needed.”

“Would it be alright? It’s bad enough the schedule keeps changing.” Glancing at the paper and to the calendar, Tsukauchi stared at your tired eyes. “With this, the Fukuo Kai case will commence a week from now. Are you ready to focus on Nighteye’s?”

“From the middle, I have been focusing on their case. I just didn’t expect it to happen too soon.” Playing with the hems of your sweater, you rested your elbows on your knees and covered your face. “Wanna go to the rooftop?”

“Not thinking of bailing now, are you?” Tsukauchi said as he began to clear his desk and stand up. “What’s on your mind, hmm?”

“I just met with 2 people I shouldn’t have any business with.” You weakly chuckle as you lead the way to the rooftop. Opening the doors, you felt your breathing grow heavy. The sudden claminess of the narrow pathway was not good for your running mind. Holding onto Tsukauchi’s sleeve, you were more than thankful he was willing to listen.

Taking the final step, Tsukauchi unlocked the hatch and granted access to the rooftop. The night sky was still dark and barely held any stars. Light pollution framed the horizon while the street lamps casted a yellow-orange glow to the roads below.

“What happened?”

“Levi specifically told the heroes not to mess with my work.” You began. “It went well but not for long. I had to bug the Shie Hassaikai after a few days Levi left. Only an idiot would refuse knowing my stance with the two parties.”

“Was it successful?”

“It was. The anon tip we had from before was Chronostasis. He gave me Overhaul’s sim card and I kinda just took the opportunity to let him plant the chip for me. It was going smoothly till a few hours ago. Nighteye told me that they were still getting feedback even though Chrono destroyed the device.”

“Where did things go wrong? It just seems like a loyalty test to me.”

“I don’t even know if I passed at this point.” Taking your phone out, you opened the gallery and showed him the picture of the hidden camera. “They bugged me. I’m not certain if they saw what went on inside my unit but the fact that they saw him entering and exiting as he pleases makes my blood boil.”

“Then it means they saw his face?” His eyes widened.

“As far as I know, he only took his mask off around the living room area, his room, or mine.” Trying to recall, each time he entered the kitchen he used the other door connecting to the living room. Thank the quirk gods your apartment was designed that way. “I don’t even know if it transmits audio.”

Squatting on the floor you rubbed your face once more and raked your fingers through your hair. Pulling on the clumps a bit, you released a small shaky sigh.

“I’m guessing the second person you met was the reason for all this?” Tsukauchi took the initiative and sat on the empty space beside you. “What happened with him?”

“He knew about Chrono helping me and about the other bug running around. Told me that heroes needed to have fun too. Bastard.” No matter how much you twisted your views, Chisaki Kai was always Overhaul first. “I… I just don’t know what to do anymore, Nao.”

Closing your eyes, a small whimper left your mouth as tears began to fall.

“Things are just so fucking complicated that I… I don’t even know what step I should do next. I want justice to prevail but no matter what I do…”

“You’ve really fallen down the rabbithole, huh?” Tsukauchi commented as he gave soft pats on your back. “Then again, who wouldn’t? You’re literally stuck in the middle and have to be on edge more than usual. Other than that, you held up pretty well.”

“I can’t even clear my name at this point. If things ever go wrong in the Shie Hassaikai raid, my name will definitely make it into the possible accomplice list.” You bit your lip and clenched your fists. “Gods I hate this so fucking much. I told him I had it under control when in reality I’m as stuck as a rat on a glue board.”

“Don’t go using that analogy.” Tsukauchi still continued to pat your back. “Think of us as hamsters. We’re pretty cute and intelligent. Just give it a bit of time and I’m sure you’ll think of something. I bet you wouldn’t want your dad to partake in any of your problems so best not to pop up in your estate.”

“I know it’s a law for heroes not to kill but what if…”

“I doubt he’ll die in battle. Overhaul is a B-Rank villain. The most that’ll happen would be for him to be knocked out unconscious or bloody at the end of the day.” Yet even as he said those words, Tsukauchi wasn’t too confident. It would be a lie on his part if he said things would be fine. “Who knows? He might have some sort of magical epiphany and surrender to lessen his charges.”

“Now that you mention it,” You wiped your tears away and sat down properly. “I’ve never really read what happens to higher rank villains after they get captured. The highest I’ve handled was just D-ranked ones.”

“Hmmm…” Now that the topic was open, he too hadn’t really thought too much about it knowing his and your department weren’t incharge of what happens after the dirty work. “Standard procedures. They’ll search the area once more and take proper inventory. Say that Overhaul is merely strained, they would pat him down and once he’s clear and in the precinct or designated area, he’ll have to sign a document signifying that the given list is all that he owns. He’ll be then taken to a private area to have his fingerprints, mug shot, and other necessary information.”

“He probably won’t get a hearing.”

“Right you are. He’ll most likely be sent to Tartarus if that’s what you’re asking.”

“If he does, who do you think would handle it? The HPSC?”

“Most likely. Still, they have a lot on their hands so his case would surely collect dust.” He paused and let out a yawn. “If it were you, would you grant him a second chance in life?”

“Heh, If it were up to me...” Looking at the now starless skies, you felt a chill run down your spine. “Personal emotions aside, of course not.”

“But?”

“You really think I’d break into Tartarus just to save one villain and give him a better life?” You smirked and stood up.

“Of course not.” He chuckled and stood up as well. “Even the dumbest person knows that’s suicide. Go home and get some rest, (y/n). We’ll handle this later in the day.”

Giving you some privacy, Tsukauchi excused himself first. Hearing the door latch click, you took your phone out and dialed a number. It only took 3 rings before the other line picked up.

“Well now,” The cheeky voice said. “What can I help you with dove?”

- - - - -

Overhaul’s waiting list: @jjk-biased @infinite-universe-love @dirtypride @blackymomo03 @azzie @purple-rabanito​ @meximorrita @awesomeee19​​ @celestial-kanzakii​ @laure-lo​ @team-wang-puppy​ @aydience-world​ @choros-main-hoe​ @colorseeingchick​ @franko-pop​ @o-dragon05 @but-kairis-not-that-smart (i cant seem to tag again :( hope this lands in your timelines!)

I hope yall liked this chapter annnd if you want to be tagged feel free to comment :’) your comments make my day and make me happy huhu <3

[iliumheightnights]

How Tony met Daniel | Tony Stark & Daniel Stark

Tony Stark had been called lots of things. Billionaire, Genius, playboy, idiot...but father was never one of them. He hoped he would never be called that, not for a long time at least. But the day was still young and Tony had slept with lots of people.

Tony was woken up from his deep slumber by the silky voice of his favorite AI. Jarvis. “Sir it’s almost 1:30 in the afternoon. You may want to get up if you do not wish to mess up your sleep schedule even more.”

Tony didn’t even move an inch.

“Sir. Miss Potts is currently on her way up. You have about five minutes to get up and get presentable before she arrives.”

“Nnuugghh.” With that Tony pushed himself off of his bed and quickly put on some sweatpants and a t-shirt that had been left on his floor.

“We didn’t have anything scheduled today right? I didn’t think so.”

“No sir, but it appears something has come up and she’s on her way to get you.”

Tony sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Is it something I’m going to need a drink for?”

“Perhaps.”

Tony let out a groan and left his room. He ended up walking out to the living room the same time Pepper had arrived.

“Tony! Good…” She hurried over, her iPad in her hand and a frantic look on her face. Leaning in close she whispered in his ear. “We have an issue.”

At that moment another woman came in. She was dressed in a fancy light grey pant suit. She held a clipboard and iPad in her hands. Her face was gentle, yet she held an authoritative presence. Of course that didn’t stop Tony as he moved passed Pepper and put on his signature smile.

“Why hello there. How can I help a gorgeous woman like yourself today?”

The woman smiled at him as she pulled out an ID. “Jennifer Henson. Social Services.”

And just like that Tony’s flirty smile fell from his face. Social Services. Why the hell was Social Services here talking to him? “Ah. What can I do for you Mrs.Henson?” He had an idea for why she was there and he didn’t like it.

“Well Mr.Stark, a very special person brings me here. Daniel you can come in here now.”

Tony watched as a man, another social worker, brought a young boy with dark hair and blue eyes came around the corner. He couldn’t have been older than 5 or 6. Tony didn’t need any proof to know, that was his son.

“I...uh…” Tony wasn’t sure what to say. He was staring at this small child, HIS small child and not sure what to do.

“Mr.Stark. I think you should read this. His mother left it for you.” Mrs.Henson handed him an envelope that was nicely sealed and had lovely writing on the front with his name on it.

Tony looked at the boy who was just staring at him. He could tell the boy was confused, sad, not sure how to feel. But Tony couldn’t help but notice how there also seemed to be a sort of intelligence behind his eyes, not a regular intelligence like any other kids...but something more. 

He turned back to Jennifer and leaned in to whisper. “His mom? Is she?”

“We don’t know. He just showed up one day with the note and a locked chest only he can open.”

Tony nodded before squatting down in front of Daniel. He put on a smile that he wasn’t sure was fooling anyone, not even himself. “Hey bud. I’m Tony. I’m your dad. What’s your name?” Tony of course already knew his name, he heard it but...he wanted to try and connect with his son.

For a while the boy didn’t say anything just looking shyly at him. “D-Daniel.”

“Daniel. That’s a great name, one of the best I’ve ever heard. Goes perfect with Tony. So bud, I have to read this letter real fast and Miss Potts here…” He gestures to Pepper who quickly steps up, waving with a smile. “Is going to stay here with you and these fine people while I take a quick gander. Is that okay?”

Daniel seemed to think about it, looking around at the other adults but eventually nodded. Tony took notice of how the boy seemed to have gotten closer to him.

“Alright good. I’ll just be right over there and if you need me just call out okay?”

“O-ok.”

Tony smiled and stood up. He moved over to the kitchen and away from the prying eyes. He opened the letter and began reading.

Tony,

If you’re reading this then Daniel is safe with you...and I’m gone. I’m sorry I never told you about him and I’m sorry for springing him on you now.

He continued to read the letter and when he finished he reread it. Then again, and again. Daniel really was his son and not only that...but his mother claimed he had special abilities. Tony thought perhaps she had been high writing this based on some of the things she was saying. Eventually he put his head in his hands.

“Are you really my daddy?” The voice was quiet but Tony heard him. Turning he saw Daniel peaking into the kitchen. He seemed both curious yet shy about intruding on something. Tony couldn’t help but smile. 

“Yes. Yes I’m actually you’re daddy.” Honestly Tony was still trying to process that himself.

Daniel still seemed rather timid but walked closer and climbed onto a stool next to Tony. The entire time Tony couldn’t help but watch him. This kid, this tiny human being, was his son. 

He had never thought he’d be a dad, he never wanted to be one after Howard. Then he started to panic a bit...what if he ended up being exactly like Howard? No. No he vowed that he would never be like Howard. Tony hated admitting it but at first he thought about sending Daniel to a nice family who could actually take care of him but...not now. As he looked into those piercing blue eyes, Tony could feel his heart being pulled from him. He wasn’t going to let anything or anyone hurt his son.

“What happens now?” Daniel had laid his head on the counter.

“Now? Now you’re going to live with me and I’m going to take care of you.”

Tony came back with Daniel in his arms to find Pepper helping fill out some papers. He saw how Pepper was smirking at him and giving him a knowing look. He’d have to remember to talk to her about that...and give her a raise.

“Alright Mr.Stark.” Jennifer stood up and moved her iPad over to Tony. “I just need you to sign right here and everything will be taken care of. Daniel will officially be released into your custody.”

Tony felt Daniel’s grip around him tighten as he snuggled in closer. He gave another look at Pepper who was grinning. Tony rolled his eyes at her before smirking at Jennifer and using the stylus to sign the document.

With the stroke of the stylus, Tony’s life had been forever changed.

[relatablegenzwriter]

my oddly specific short story editing routine!

One of my short stories made it into the editing stage, a rare feat for anything I write. I’ve been asked for editing advice before and didn’t have a good answer, so I’m hoping I can be of more help now.

disclaimer: this is the method I’m currently using to edit a short story, and it’s working very well. This exact method might not (probably won’t) work the same for novels. It’s also very specific and strange. It’s worked for me so far, but like all things it might not work for everyone!

1. Take a break. If you’ve just finished a piece, chances are it’s gonna be in your head for a while. You’ll want to take a significant period of time away from it, and this can vary from person to person– a week might be enough for some, others might have to wait a month, a few months, or even a year. Or maybe you want to edit a piece you drafted a while ago and then left alone. Either way, this break is going to be important in letting your brain rest and experience things outside of this story.

2. Once you’ve put it out of your mind, reread your story. Read it once without making any tweaks; don’t even fix grammatical errors. Just perceive this story as if you’re reading it for the first time. Make note of what is confusing, what worked well, and any questions you would have as a reader.

      2a. Optional: have someone else read over it and give some feedback. This        will give you a good starting place. If you skip this step, take extra care to          read your story as if you were reviewing someone else’s for feedback.

3. Make a list of big questions. This is either stuff you got from feedback or questions that came up when you were reading it as if you had never read it before. Common examples include: “What is character A’s motivation? It’s hard to tell in the story” or “the relationship between these two is confusing” or “Why did so-and-so do this when they would normally do that?” Often times many questions will overlap into a single topic, so you might be able to narrow it down to just a few categories.

4. (this is where it gets a little weird) Pick one of the categories you just generated, and pick a timeframe. I usually do a week, but you can go shorter or longer depending on your availability, writing routine, and deadline. In this timeframe, you’ll be revising your piece around that specific category.

       4a. I like to spend a day or two brainstorming and freewriting about that             topic. Sometimes I’ll do character questionnaires or plot worksheets (some         of my favorites here), and sometimes I’ll just write what’s in my head.

5. Print it. If you have access to a printer, this is going to be EXTREMELY helpful. Go back and read it again, this time marking up the margins. Be as picky as you want here. Highlight every phrase that annoys you, change every typo, and write in things you missed the first time around. Also add in details from the category you’re focused on that week, like places you can add more detail or sections you want to cut.

6. Open a new document and retype the story using your printed manuscript as a reference. No copy-and-pasting from the original document! This tricks your brain in two ways: it’ll make you feel more productive since you’re physically typing more words, and it makes you more likely to catch errors or notice any additional details you want to change.

7. Repeat 4a.-6. with the other categories you want to focus on.

8. Print one last copy, and use a final timeframe to work out anything you might have missed the first time around.

Where you go from here will vary. You might feel done, and that’s great! You might also find something completely new that you want to change about your story, or you might want to show it to someone else to get more feedback, and that’s totally fine too. And a couple takeaways: is editing a pain in the ass? yes. is it the reason i’ve abandoned nearly all of my projects at one point or another? yes. is it worth having a finished piece you’re proud of? yes. are you capable of doing it? yes!!

[thereaderstea]

Hello tor-mon!

I just saw your response and honestly you flatter me too much, you re-read it ten times? This is the highest form of praise!

Secondly, I was wondering what things you personally like to see in the horror/yandere genre? I have been trying to come up with ideas for my next fic and am a little stumped. So, I figured who better to ask than my favorite reviewer in the whole world?

What is a fic you always wanted to read in this genre? AUs you don't see too often? Something you just really want to see! I'd love to hear your thoughts 💜💜💜

Merry meet, deliciae! Of course! Your writing is the perfect material to reread! I reread your fics all the time, and your writing never loses its effect! True beauty!

First, I’m honored 🥺 And second, I’ve got you, deliciae! A lot of these ideas are supernatural/paranormal/magical because that’s my usual realm and I am wholly unoriginal and empty-headed when it comes to the Normal world 😅

Yandere AUs

Among Us au: I believe this is a potent au filled with lots of possibilities, especially with the addition of the Town of Us roles (Imposter Lovers immediately screamed yandere at me). The two possibilities that stuck out to me was 1) the classic yandere is the imposter and mc is a crewmate (and mayhap the crew think the mc is sus 🤭), and 2) the mc is the imposter with a yandere crewmate (i.e. the yandere!crewmate simps for the mc). 

Battle Royale au: I remember you mentioning a long while back about starting your blog in part because of chinkbihh’s Quarter Quell but wasn’t sure what else to bring to the table? I have a singular idea and some alternate settings that employ a similar taste of the Hunger Games (because I, too, love chinkbihh’s yandere Hunger Games idea):

Hunger Games: game designer and hunger games survivor. The yandere is on the game’s designing team and the mc is a survivor in the games. The yandere does all they can to ensure the mc’s safety and victory in the games, and well, the mc may escape the games unscathed but they can’t escape the yandere’s clutches. 

S.O.S.: This is a game on Steam. You’re on La Cuna island, where you have to fight monsters, avoid becoming infected by the monsters, yoink a crystal on the island before other players do, call in the helicopter, and secure your spot home. There are thirty-two players, only three seats home, and you definitely didn’t sign up for this fight to the death 😅

Dead by Daylight: This is a game on Steam. There’s one killer and four survivors (but who says it has to be those numbers?). The survivors have to fix the generators to open the gates and escape, and the killer is having fun chasing the survivors, messing with them using their special abilities, taking them down, throwing them on hooks, and sacrificing them to the Entity. It’s ten times more terrifying to play with friends, and while I love the teaming up, I love a shameless, no-regrets betrayal between good friends more 🙂 (sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice)

Witch au: I believe there are a few aspects of the witch-y world that could be brewed with yandere, namely:

love potions

curses, hexes: anyone who tries to get between the mc and the yandere is cursed

a case of an accidental summoning of a djinn, demon, or some other being who becomes rather fond (and possessive) of the witch (or vice versa!)

empathy (specifically feeling others’ emotions): this could create some good internal conflict. If the mc is an empath, then what if they feel the yandere’s ‘love’; would the mc also become a yandere? 

fortune telling/scrying/clairvoyance or claircognizance/psychometry: you’ve actually hinted at this concept in Solar Eclipse and it’s such an intriguing concept, so here’s another version

dream walking/lucid dreaming/astral projecting: I read a book where the mc dreams of a town and her duty is to protect the town from the djinn. She loses her brother and so when the djinn approaches her in her dreams she makes a deal with a djinn to get him back (sort of like Persephone :D), but she didn’t think it was a real deal until she woke up. The interesting part was that she was chained to the djinn, and the djinn could use those chains to summon her to him, even across dimensions.

Tuatha Dé Danann/Sidhe/Fae au: besides the Unseelie being cool candidates for yanderes (glamour, master manipulators, and typically violent? perfect grounds to make a yandere), there are aspects of Fae folklore that I love and think would be pretty cool in yandere:

names: names hold power and if you tell a Faerie your name (specifically your full, true name), they hold power over you. the Fae are tricky, so it can be easy to literally hand your name over to them. 

faerie rings: if you step in a faerie ring, you’re trapped until the Faerie who created the ring comes to collect their trappings. But faerie rings are also rumored to be portals into the Fae realm

selkie: in folklore, men would convince a selkie to marry them and hide their seal skin as a means to trap the selkie with them. if the selkie ever finds her seal skin, she’ll dip on the man and return to the ocean.

Slaugh Sidhe, or the Wild Host/Wild Hunt: the Slaugh Sidhe are hosts of restless, unforgiven dead, sometimes rumored to be Fallen Angels. I believe the Headless Horseman is in the Hunt as well. They roam the Earth on Samhain and hunt during the night; they prey on humans and will steal their souls. You can also inadvertently call the Slaugh to you by saying their name during nightfall or feeling hopeless (they prey on sadness, broken hearts, and the depressed). 

each-uisce, or each-uisge: a shapeshifting water-horse; it typically takes the form of a man on land and a horse in water. Though if in the form of a horse on land, a human mounts them, and they smell water, the uisce will drag the human down into the water and eat them

zombie apocalypse au: I haven’t seen too many yanderes in the zombie apocalypse, but it sounds pretty cool (way I see it, the yandere is prepared to keep mc alive and the mc gets to kick some zombie booty! win-win!)

Yandere Situations

Storyteller: this is the perfect place to crack out fairytales! the Storyteller forces the character to live out retellings of fairytales (best if used with people the character knows). 

Shapeshifter: the yandere!shapeshifter shifts into a new person every time their relationship with the mc goes wrong. Doesn’t matter how many times it takes, the shapeshifter can become as many people as they have to be to end up with the mc :)

Resurrection: the mc kills the yandere plenty of times, but the yandere resurrects themselves every time. In the time it takes for the yandere to resurrect themselves, the mc runs/escapes, trying to get as far as they can away from the yandere. The yandere is rather amused with the game of cat and mouse; how far will the mc get this time?

Necromancy: the yandere is a necromancer and perhaps didn’t get to save the mc in time (or killed the mc themselves) and so they reanimated the mc. Maybe the mc loses a little bit of their soul with every revival, maybe they don’t, but one thing’s for sure: death isn’t an escape :)

Phasmophobia: this is another game on Steam. you are on a team a paranormal investigators, and you’re trying to document what type of ghost is haunting a location. This time may be your biggest break yet, but your latest ghost is a huge puzzle and also rather keen on keeping you...

Yandere Pairings/Characters

human and angel (bonus if there are clipped wings ☺)

witch and familiar

serial killer and grim reaper

forgotten deity and lone follower

thief and detective

time traveler and immortal

~*~

I hope this helps spark something even if you don’t use any of them, and lmk if I should clarify something or if you need more assistance! I’m happy to help ☺

Blessed be, deliciae! and may writer’s block not plague you!

your lil monster delight, tor-mon 🖤

[the-final-sif]

Okay holy shit can you give all the advice ever???? I’ve spent the better part of the day crying because I have two quizzes overdue and haven’t even looked at work for another class because the professor accused me of essentially being lazy because I asked for extensions early knowing I would need them (abusive household stuck bc quarantine) and it weirdly was super refreshing to hear someone say be as gentle with yourself as you would with someone else. Being home is a nightmare (1/?)

I have zero support system and I’m just trying not to fail double majoring with a teaching certification. You already inspire me because of your writing and your mind (seriously those theories!? The HEADCANONS! I literally reread everything you write all the time)  but now my respect for you is through the roof. Taking the time to write that and remind us all like just take a breath and find a solution… ugh just thank you thank you thank you. Gonna take this and try to find the path now!(2/2) 

I’m glad my advice was helpful! It’s stuff I’ve learned over time and that I’m still having to remind myself and practice regularly.

While I can’t really offer much beyond my sympathy for your home situation, and a soft reminder that even in these trying times there are organizations that offer support for people in abusive situations, I can give some advice for handling the homework side of things, in the form of an instructional list:

There’s a nasty cycle of “Assignment/Thing makes you anxious” -> “You avoid the assignment/thing” -> “Avoidance makes the situation worse, which makes you more anxious” -> “Repeat in an ever growing spiral”.

You need to break this cycle.

It’s hard, but stop, take a deep breath and do not let fear overtake you.

You are okay.

You do not have to go complete the entire assignment. Do not let your mind warp outwards and twist monsters out of proportion.

All you need to do is break the cycle, in any small way you can.

Try to take this in steps of “something I can do in 1 minute or less”.

Maybe it needs to be less than a minute. Maybe it needs to be something you can do in 30 seconds or less. That’s okay. Make the steps smaller until your first step is so small it cannot overwhelm you.

Do not look ahead at all the other steps. Look at your first step.

Completely valid first steps:

Log in to your school’s website.

Open up the assignment list (if you already have the website open)

Open up one of the assignments you need to work on.

Get yourself a pen/paper/other supplies

Any first step counts as long as you take it.

Once you’ve finished your first step, you have already started to break the cycle.

Take a deep breath.

Again, you do not need to do everything. You do not need to conquer every monster on a singular quest. Do what you can do, and it will be far better than having done nothing.

Get a list together, if you can, of the things you need to do.

This list does not need to be everything. In fact, if you are feeling overwhelmed, I recommend it not be.

We are not trying to do everything here.

We are getting done what we can, and we are breaking the cycle.

If the list cannot be complete, then pick 5 things to put on it.

If you have things that are time sensitive, you may want to pick them, but do not pick the 5 hardest things. Make at least 1 of them relatively easy. Ideally 2.

Now we have our list, which is a part of breaking the cycle, pick one item on it that is something you know you can do.

When you have that one item, ask yourself how you feel about it.

Does it make you anxious still? Does it make you want to go do something else?

Take a deep breath.

Break the item down into steps.

Again, the steps can be whatever size you need them to be.

The point of these steps is to break down your monster until it’s so small you cannot possibly be scared of it.

It’s okay if your step 1 is “open a document”, step 2 is “make a header”, step 3 is “read over the assignment guidelines”, step 4 is “create a quick bullet point list of what I need to focus on”, etc.

Once you have reduced your monster to steps small enough that you can walk up them with ease, get started with that step one.

Work as you can. Do not work yourself to burn out. I know breaking your work flow can be uncomfortable, but try to take breaks. You are allowed to take breaks. Be kind to yourself.

As you are able to make progress, do not let anxiety steal that progress from you.

If you are only able to get one easier item on the list done, do not let anxiety rear up and call this a failure. It is not failure. It’s progress.

Remember, we did not set out to complete everything. We set out to complete what we could.

Any progress made is better than none.

Try to set yourself in the future up for success too. Maybe you can’t complete all 5 items on that list you made right now, and that’s okay. But if you have the energy for it, see if you can do a little bit of them for your future self.

Even if it’s just reading over the assignment guidelines and mentally breaking down the assignment into steps, that’s progress. That’s useful. That will help you in the future.

Collecting useful links/sources, copying the assignment’s questions, downloading or getting out the reading you need, etc. All that counts as progress.

It’s okay if you can’t finish them. You do not have to finish the task. Just do what you can for now. That’s all you need to do.

Take a deep breath.

Be proud of yourself for what you were able to get done. Focus on what you did do rather than what you didn’t.

You are allowed to be proud of things, even if they are not perfect, even if they are not complete. You have made progress, and that is worth being proud of.

By this point, you will have hopefully broken down at least part of the cycle of anxiety. It may try to return. Be on guard.

If it does come back, go back to the start of the list and start again. I know that this seems like a lot, it seems overwhelming, but it’s okay.

It’s harder at first, but the more you do it, the more this will become second nature. Practice will make it easier, and soon enough you will be able to recognize the anxiety cycle and you will know how to break it.

It’s okay if you struggle with it. I still do.

You do not need to defeat it completely, never to fall into it’s clutches again.

Just learn how to recognize it, learn how to take a step back, take a deep breath, and reduce the monsters it creates until you can step forward again.

You are okay. You are making progress. Take pride in yourself, in your progress, and keep going.

[merlucito-booksandstories]

My method (2020 update)

I still get notifications from this post that it was a year ago and... well, I went and reread and I noticed that my method has changed a bit. So, here’s the update!

Characters

In last year’s post I didn’t talk about characters, so... here it goes. This is all after I have an idea of what the story is going to be about (and ofc after I decided what kind of character I want for protagonist). 

Usually I think about my characters when I’m doing something else, so when I sit to write their profiles I already have a global concept of them. 

First, I complete the character profile. What do I have there? These things:

Name

Physical description

Place of birth

Birthdate

Age (at the start of the story and at the end if it takes place over several years)

Personality type (I use the 16 personalities types)

Biggest fear

Top three thing they value more in life

Occupation

Sexual orientation

Family

Whatever specifics about the story. Like, if is a fantasy, type of magic

Backstory (this I don’t always fill, sometimes I just put some notes to not forget certain things and that’s it)

Then I make a chart with all the important characters where I put this:

Want: pretty obvious; this is what they want, what push them forward in life and the story, what they think they’ll need to be happy 

Need: this is what they actually need, and is usually different from the want, because they don’t know that they need it, this is something I know they need to be happy

Lie: this is something they believe about themselves or the world that is somehow not true. It can be literally anything and is often what makes them believe that they want something that they don’t actually need

Truth: this is what they’ll find out at the end of the story (or near the end), what they’ll discover when they stop trying to get what they want and get what they need, that thing that I as the author want the reader to get of my story... like, to use some cliché thing, the true power of love (?)

Plot

After I have my characters, I take the lie and truth of the protagonist and think about the “steps” they’ll have to take to go from the lie to the truth, and so I write that down. 

And that’s the skeleton of the story, the basic plot points that need to happen. But that’s not the complete story, because there’s more that one character, so I do the same for the other important ones. I usually have three or four important characters, so I end up with three or four “timelines” of events. 

Then, it’s time to join all those events together and that’s where I order them all in a (kind of) coherent outline. What I do to order them to make sense is think about the cause and effect law. We all here the famous phrase “for every action there’s an equal opposite reaction”. It’s about physics but I apply it to stories as well because is complete true. Everything that the characters do or experience has a cause and an effect and when you have in mind those concepts is a lot easier to order the events.

For example, if I want a character to learn that they need to tell the truth to their friends, first I need them to experience what lies can do to friendship. The cause might be that their friend gets hurt by a lie they tell, the effect is that they realize how bad lying is. Of course, their friend getting hurt is also the effect of another cause (them saying the lie) and so on...

After that, I usually have a good solid outline, but I like to compare it to the three act story structure, just to make sure the flow is good or that the tension is in good places. So I get the structure template and I start putting the events in every story bit. If some story bits end up empty or some events are together it doesn’t matter, because it’s a template, it’s not a solid thing and it can be blend to the kind of story you’re telling.

Timeline and chapters

And then it comes the fun part (not really). I took that outline of events, I too Aeon Timeline and start to put those events in the timeline, I assign them a date, a place, a type and the participans. I like to use Aeon because is designed for writers and it had a lot of fun stuff to put, you can create character profiles, places profiles, arcs and link them to the events. I like to use the colors to indicate if the event is a personal thing, a military thing, something global, local and that, but I’ve seen people use the colors to indicate the acts of the three acts story structure. Is a very flexible tool.

The best part tho, is that it can be synchronized with scrivener. And honestly it saves so much time. I synchronize with the project and just put every event in there to be a chapter. The date, the characters, the place, everything gets into the metadata of the scrivener text files. And so when I open scrivener again, I have every chapter of my novel in place with all the information I need!

That last part is the only thing that stayed the same from last year, I think lol

The last thing I do is when I’m not sure how to write some chapters, I write a mini outline in the document notes of scrivener so I know what to write. But I don’t do it for every chapter, usually only when I stuck or when is a fight scene and I feel kind of overwhelmed by it.

And… I think that’s it. That’s how I outline now.

I like to do this posts so I can see how my method changes over time and so if it’s helpful for someone, here it is!

Here’s my posts about worldbuilding, which I do… well, kind of all the time? I usually start after I get the idea for the world and keep doing it even when I’m writing.

Worldbuilding part 1

Worldbuilding part 2

Resources:

Hello future me (youtube channel)

Brandon Sanderson (youtube channel)

Abbie Emmons (youtube channel)

Start with this (podcast)