#and that conclude's the mods thoughts lmao

[dailynoodlezz24]

Ok, i had the thought (since i love werewolves and vampire stuff, liches, all that-- I blame Skyrim and its unhealthy amount of beautiful mods-- and Dungeon Meshi just seems so perfect about it with its races and stuff) what if Marcille's a dhampir, basically a human vampire crossbreed, who seeks to become fully vampiric in order to be able to sire in lieu of the dungeon lord/universal longevity plot. (Spoilers: she still doesn't get it in the end lmao) Falin is a longtime friend of hers through a backstory I still haven't made up yet, and Marcille's introduced as a new addition to the main cast, who are a party of hikers (or for some sort of venturing activity). Month in, Falin's gone and had herself eaten by some weird dog described in only folklore, which Laios would later excitedly incite as a "lycanthrope". (They tried to call emergencies for a missing person, but they came up with nothing. Everyone thinks Laios is going insane when he concludes that the sight they saw after Falin became officially missing, blood trails and offly wolfish tracks fading off to somewhere, was the work of a wolfman, or a werewolf, and suggested going to search for Falin themselves. Namari and Toshiro leave promptly) Chillchuck and Marcille stay with him, one determined with his navigational skills and the other fully believing in this supernatural theory. They decide it's best they start camping in the forest, deeper and closer to the wilderness, prompting them the idea: hunt for their share. Which may or may not be illegal :shrug They meet Senshi, one hell of a wildchef man. (Marcille's total disgust with the idea of eating out in the wild stems from the fact she doesn't want to survive off of squirrels again. But this food is pretty good, and she's eating other animals than small rodents this time. Chillchuck just doesn't want to hear about the weird ass facts about how skinwalkers might be related to humans and their horrific hunting tendencies while eating.) The deeper they go, the more strange and bizarre this forest becomes. First normal, unassuming, then the ravens start speaking and the rabbits have horns. And if you peer into it close enough, your eyes might just find company in where the campfire doesn't reach. So on and so on, they find Falin's bones in the corpse of the creature, and suddenly there's a little guy with white hair and crazed, purple eyes(thistle), who beats them all off with a stick(not actually lmao). Last they see is Falin's remains being reanimated with the dripping blood of the stranger. (Marcille had tried in desperate attempt to revive Falin with her own blood/bite, but to no avail, revealing herself in the process. The only thing she can note is the awful taste of something doglike, aka the lycanthrope disease circulating in Falin's bones-- since they were chomped before she died RIP.) Now they're against a highly aggressive abomination under the servitude of someone out to get them. And the opps are on them(canaries) Now I'm just thinking abt whether or not to make Marcille also a werepyre? Considering it would make sense for her to also get her human-half infected into something "full-fledged" in the way she hadn't intended, and still come up without the ability to sire(she wants to make a cauldron for company, a cauldron being like a vampire made family, due to the same motives of keeping her loved ones). Thank you for reading my ramblings, I am brimming with ideas for this AU.

[unibrowzz]

My 2020 reviews

All the cool kids were doing these so now I finally dragged my ass into doing them too lmao. 

Albania- Fall from the Sky

A song I swear cursed this whole contest from the moment it won Festivali i Këngës. Like with the shitshow this song caused I just knew the whole year was fucked. With half the fandom whining they didn’t get their first club song of the year to the other half smugly shoving it as their winner despite no other songs being around to compare it to, the whole fiasco just left me knowing that 2020 would end in tears, just hopefully not my own. As for the song, it’s lame. It’s a standard ballad with OBSCENE amounts of autotune, which is weird because the girl can actually sing pretty decently without it, so why they decided to make her sound like a damn computer is beyond me. And WHY did they translate it, haven't the past few years proven that Albania's better off leaving their songs in Albanian? 

Armenia- Chains on You

A bootleg Ariana Grande song, and a really shit one at that. The kind of song only people who think being young, gay and mean counts as having a personality would say is good.

Australia- Don’t Break Me

One of the few decent Australian entries (but that REALLY isn’t saying much coming from me, I barely care they’re in the contest by this point) but marred by a horribly untidy performance and lacklustre lyrics. At least it’s not fucking pop-opera, that’s all I can say. I’d rather listen to the sound of my face being dragged down the runway at Heathrow airport than be subjected to another Zero Gravity.

Austria- Alive

One of those pseudo-jazz dance songs, á la Olly Murs or Bruno Mars (I swear there’s a song like this in every recent contest). I mean, it’s good, but it’s just kinda meh since I’m kinda getting tired of this genre rearing its fedora-wearing head every time a new lineup rolls in.

Azerbaijan- Cleopatra

One of the “better” trashy entries this year, comprised of about five different musical genres, six ancient cultures being appropriated and absolutely zero class. Probably sounds at least 50% better when you’re absolutely steaming drunk and face down on the floor in the middle of a gay bar.

Belarus- Da Vidna

Somehow, this song sounds both very unique and original yet trite and average at the same time. I couldn’t decide whether listening to it was a new experience or if I’d heard it a million times before.

Belgium- Release Me

A song which just drones on till it ends. I would say it’s ripping off the song that won last year, but it forgot that having a chorus stops your song from being three minutes of snooze.

Bulgaria- Tears Getting Sober

A typical breathy mumble-girl song, AKA a genre I can’t fucking stand. Really don’t see the hype with this one, the melody is pretty but the vocals are out for lunch and it’s otherwise completely and utterly boring.

Croatia- Divlji Vjetre

One of the token big dramatic ballads you listen to once, enjoy, then forget about until Darius in the Discord server plays it one night whilst you’re hitting up the radio bot with requests. You’ll find that “nice, but forgettable” is a common theme for this year.

Cyprus- Running

Ironically Cyprus didn’t send a crappy Fuego knockoff for 2020, and I say ironically because a crappy Fuego knockoff would’ve actually stood out this year, and I say crappy because honestly Fuego wasn’t even all that great to begin with. "Running” itself is just one of those edgy tortured soul pop songs which, let’s be honest, would have been paired with an impressive performance which would’ve overshadowed how bland it is. Kind of like “You’re the Only One”. Or even Fuego for that matter.

Czech Republic- Kemama

Standard Afro-pop, a genre we don't often see at the contest so I'll let it pass. I feel like this is the kind of song that’s infinitely better live, and that it would’ve been one of those songs that suddenly became a frontrunner after the semi finals, but I guess we’ll never know eh?

Denmark- Yes 

The quintessential mid-10s Eurovision song. It's got guitars, happy people, Scandinavian origins… it’s just a typical radio guitar song, nothing special.

Estonia- What Love Is

I mean it's better than La Forza. Granted, the sound of someone pissing directly onto a microphone installed in the bowl of a toilet would sound better than La Forza but still. Going back to this song, it’s just... a standard Eastern-ballad with some very desperate lyrics. It feels kind of outdated, if I’m honest. Like something about this just reeks of 2011.

Finland- Looking Back

Yet another dreary, forgettable ballad. It comes to something when the best song they COULD have sent was a party song which sounded like it was from the mid 90s. At least that song was memorable. That said, this one at least has some decent lyrics. Bravo for that I guess.

France- Mon Alliée

France decides to say “fuck it” to being an underground fan-favourite and takes a leaf out of the UKs book by sending the same rent-a-Swede schlock they’ve been sending since 2015. I’m just confused as to why anyone in their right mind would choose to follow the UKs example but you do you France.

Germany- Violent Thing

A rehash of Sweden's entry from two years ago, but this time sung by Justin Bieber circa 2008. Kind of alright if you can stomach the singer's whiny voice, but otherwise pretty dull and kinda forgettable.

Greece- Superg!rl

Hello fellow kidz, we are hearing you like the girl power? The super heroes? The t3xt $p3ech? We made you song, please give us the votes *dabs*

Georgia- Take me as I Am

I mean… this sure is a choice. This feels like one of those songs that everyone memes on because the lyrics are kinda janky and the singer’s voice (and accent) take a bit of getting used to, but other than that it’s just one of those NQ songs for hipster fans to declare as their unironic winner at a later date. All in all this just feels like the male equivalent of one of those mid-10s fat acceptance women’s songs, only a lot shoutier and this time he has more flaws than not being skinny.

Iceland- Think About Things 

A bootleg George Ezra song, performed by a load of disinterested tumblr users in their pyjamas. Because if there’s one thing that sells me on a song, it’s being given the evils by a bunch of nerds who look like they’ll send me death threats for not agreeing with their Pokémon headcanons. To be fair, the song is kind of groovy since it sounds so 70s, but the performance is very off-putting to people who aren’t in the Eurovision loop. And also people who are, because I sure as Hell don’t see the appeal in this myself and this whole performance just feels like Save Your Kisses for Me without the charm. I feel like this would’ve come second or third, definitely with a lot of televotes but either the jury would’ve dragged it down or it wouldn’t have scored enough televotes to win.

Ireland- Story of my Life

A song that’s at LEAST ten years out of date by this point, think like an early Katy Perry, Jessie J or Avril Lavigne song. I’ll forgive it because even though it sounds like it should’ve been entered in 2013 (at the latest), it at least evokes some nostalgic memories of shitty school discos and holiday parks.

Israel- Feker Libi

The female equivalent of the Czech song. Unsurprisingly, people went wild for it when it was released. I guess only women are allowed to sing Afro-pop at this contest. Like with the Czech song, I’ll forgive it since Afro-pop is a cool genre anyway, and even though this is just another club song I can at least see myself dancing to it.

Italy- Fai Rumore

Well, at least my wish of “Italy sends a typical power ballad devoid of anything the mainstream fandom likes” finally came true. It was pretty refreshing to have a year where people weren’t shoving Italy’s entry up my nose left right and centre. In terms of my actual thoughts I can’t deny that the guy has a tremendous voice, but for some reason the song just doesn’t… click with me. I guess I like my male Italian singers a little more gruff and raspy, if you know what I mean. They gotta sound like they smoke at LEAST five packets of cigarettes a day for me to take notice.

Malta- All of my Love

Listen I am 100% rooting for Destiny Chukunyere to win this contest some day but man was this song a disappointment. It feels so… un-special and generic, like it gets the job done and that’s it. It’s not the stand-up-and-belt-it-out soul anthem I’d hoped for, it’s just… there.

Moldova- Prison

All I remember about this song is that it vaguely reminds me of that one Meccano song about the gypsy who makes a deal with the moon or something. And I’ve TRIED to remember more about what it sounds like, trust me.

Latvia- Still Breathing

The one horrible weird song you get every year which overuses strobe effects to the point it comes with an epilepsy warning. Would be bearable if it wasn't for the singer’s insistence that this is actually some feminist masterpiece when it's really just a self-empowerment club song about the singer fingerbanging herself over the fact she writes music.

Lithuania- On Fire

One of the songs everyone thought was going to win at one point, even though it seems like a surefire non-qualifier to me. It’s one of those weird entries, but not the kind of over the top, batshit insane, you’d-have-to-be-drunk-to-enjoy-it weird, the kind of subdued surreal weird. Like this is weed instead of LSD or cocaine weird. Granted my mom, who I consider to be a "typical" Eurofan, actually really liked this song when she saw it in the recaps, so who knows maybe this would have done well with televoters after all.

Netherlands- Grow

I appreciate this song for how artsy and clever it is with its structure, since it starts off acapella and the instrumental builds up with the song until it stops suddenly, symbolising a person’s growth from a child into an adult, and ending suddenly with their death (Geddit? The song’s called “Grow”). But it feels like the kind of song that would be lost on a Eurovision audience. The juries would have taken note, for sure, but the televote… let’s be honest, they’d have been too busy drunk voting for Russia to care about anything else.

North Macedonia- You

Well, it's better than the miserable dirge they sent last year, but given how I'd rather pleasure myself with a steak knife than listen to that song, that really isn't saying much. Going back to “You”, it really just feels like a diet version of Switzerland’s entry from last year, combined with Sweden’s song from 2018. What I’m saying is it’s your average “I’m a man in a club and I want to dance with and probably fuck this hot girl I just met” song, which I a new genre I just made up. You’re welcome.

Norway- Attention 

One of those songs you appreciate because it sounds nice and the singer has a good voice, but instantly forget because it’s really not all that interesting. If I sound like I'm repeating myself, welcome to Eurovision 2020.

Poland- Empires

“Rise Like a Phoenix” but sung by a wannabe Adele and not a mascara-wearing Jesus in a dress. Like a lot of other songs on this list, it’s just average across the board, likeable when it’s on, but instantly forgettable as soon as the next song comes on.

Portugal: Medo de Sentir

Pretty, but also similar to their ill-fated 2018 entry, only with a bit more energy and less pink hair. What I’m saying is this would have been another NQ unless the crowd who enjoy subtle ambience music come in to save it like they did with Slovenia's entry last year.

Romania- Alcohol You

See Bulgaria, because this is practically the same song. It’s just as dreary, just as badly sung (if not worse because holy shit this girl sounds like she’s being suffocated), and I suppose you COULD excuse that by saying she’s drunk or hungover… but I don’t want to listen to someone ungracefully mumble into a microphone for three minutes.

Russia- Uno

A classic big camp party song, the kind of song people who haven’t watched Eurovision since 2003 think wins on the regular. I can see why people would like it (especially in this boring year lmao, I applaud Russia for taking the opportunity to loosen their corset and just send a complete mess instead of their usual clinical vote grabs), but it’s just not something I enjoy. It's the song that plays into the misconception that Eurovision is just a clown show for drunk people, like this is just here to be that one flash-in-the-pan meme song that only entertains people who don’t really care about Eurovision until the day before it airs. Kind of like the old ladies they sent in 2012 (remember them?).

San Marino- Freaky!

San Marino, in true Sammarinese fashion, have yet again sent a decade-ambiguous song which sounds like it was either released in 1978 or 2003. I feel like this would have been one of those songs which could have surprised us if it had a really wacky, creative performance (think like Moldova in 2018), but this is San Marino so you know that would never happen.

Serbia- Hasta la Vista

Insert unoriginal joke about a decade wanting their shitty trend back right here. Okay maybe that’s a bit harsh, especially considering how this song is actually, yanno, unique in comparison to the rest of this year. But it still feels weirdly dated, in a way where I can’t decide whether it sounds like it belongs in 1998 or 2018. I suppose girl power ages a song regardless of when it was released.

Slovenia- Voda

Yet another standard Balkan-European power ballad which you appreciate because it’s well sung, but forget the moment it ends because it’s kinda boring. … Does anyone else have a bit of deja vu?

Spain- Universo

For some reason I feel like this song is shilling itself out to someone but I have no idea who. Aside from the horny people voting solely because the singer is moderately attractive even with that wretched Jedward haircut.

Sweden- Move

Imagine soul but… boring.

Switzerland- Répondez Moi

Imagine Arcade but… in French.

United Kingdom- My last Breath

Not the best the UK could have done, but it’s at least a modern offering unlike the residual dregs of the mid-90s that we sent throughout the 2010s. It’s definitely a bit too generic to have done any better than maybe 15th, but hey at least the cancellation means we won’t have to see it not do as well as the BBC thinks it’s entitled to do, prompting a billion clickbait articles about how Brexit somehow affected our performance.

Ukraine- Solovey

At long last we come to something you probably weren't expecting: a song I actually really like. Which is weird because I usually don't care for or don't like whatever Ukraine vomits into the contest, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a song I liked from them in such a weak year. This song isn’t for everyone, it’s white noise singing which is a very acquired taste, but this is honestly the only 2020 song I find myself coming back to over and over. And it’s in Ukrainian too, so you don’t have to put up with their usual mangled English offerings.

[genshingarbage]

hoii, is it okay if I request something with Diluc and Kaeya ? like, gn!reader feels very alone and unloved, because they can't make/keep friends and their family doesn't pay much attention to them ?

and if it's not too much, can the men be like big brother or father figures to the reader ?

it's okie if you don't want to write it!

have a good day/night ♡

This is too cute. Bless. Both I and Mod Kaeya worked together on this one, take a guess who wrote for who lmao hope this is okay sweetie! - Mod Diluc

I'll Always Care.

|| One - Shot ||

Kaeya / Diluc

Diluc

The sun was beating down like normal, the heat was unbearable and it was making you itch and sweat like nobodies business. You felt stuffy and so uncomfortable, but maybe you could give the sun a break from your insults; because deep down it wasn't the sun making you feel like utter nothingness right now. It was the fact you yet again were reminded of the harsh fact that no one cares for you, not even your own mother can pretend to wear a smile around you.

First your mother sighed and brushed you off this morning like a pestering bug, and to rub insult to injury your small group of friends (if you could even call them that.) Had conveniently forgotten to secure a place for you to go with them all on their expedition today. So here you were alone, curled up with your knees pressed against your chest and your eyes closed as to try prevent the threat of tears: despite you trying to convince yourself it's just to block the sunlight, even though you're under a tree that's already blocking the sun indefinitely.

You felt the pain sinking further inside you now and it just stung worse and worse. Why? Why do you always get forgotten about... why do they never care how you're feeling? No one seems to understand you ever. Was this world even meant for someone like you? You debated it sometimes, but all it ever did was work you up more into a crying mess because even if you'd conclude you're better off dead- you'd never have the guts to kill yourself; and you'd be way too terrified to let someone or something else do it for you.

Your head sunk further into your arms that coiled round your frail frame as you began to sniffle and sob softly. Your ears were ringing and your head was hurting so much from how much you'd been on and off crying the past two hours by yourself, nothing but the breeze and butterflies to keep you company in your own misery. Life was cruel, and you were starting to resent it in a whole. But all you could so was curl up and cry like you always do, why can you never fix yourself? Stupid.

You practically leaped out your skin however, shooting your head up fast, almost giving yourself whiplash from the force you done it at. The squeeze on your shoulder was most unexpected and most definitely an understatement to how shaken up you were. You felt the scream aching in your throat about to fly out your lips when you saw who it was, Diluc. His crimson eyes staring down at you, the matching hair tied neatly into a ponytail behind him. His claymore resting on his shoulder effortlessly.

"Why are you crying Y/N?" He spoke sternly, but under that tone you could hear the concern in his voice; as poorly as he was at showing his emotions on a day to day basis. You sniffed hard, an involuntarily rub of your eyes and nose following behind as you blinked away the tears quickly. "I- I'm not. Just resting is all." You wanted to cringe at your poor excuse there yourself, your voice was wavering in tone and cracking so badly, why did you even bother to lie?

He let out a deep sigh before slipping his claymore off his shoulder and swinging it in a circle before letting it peirce into the dirt, securing its position he let it go and stepped next to you, bending down and taking a seat beside you now. Inviting himself into your private affairs had become common ground for you now, then it hit you. He is always around when you feel at your lowest. You looked at him with a bewildered expression, eyebrow raised. The look of utter confusion evident on your face.

Finally he turned his head to you and then looked forward again, one of his knees lifting up for him to rest his arm on, the other sliding round the back of your neck and gently pulling you into his chest. You were confused at first, but then it hit you, he was hugging you and comforting you, in his best efforts at least. You laid there against him, cuddled up to him, your head pounding, your throat sore from crying, your eyes stinging. Face flushed red from your inner rage. You really looked like a mess right now.

"Rest. You need it. When someone's cried at lot it helps to get rest after." He spoke matter of fact like to you. You lifted your head ever so slightly about to attempt another pitiful protest, but his hand came up to your head and softly stroked through your hair. "Rest." He added. That silenced you and simply closed your eyes, feeling not so alone anymore and at actually at ease. He always helps you feel better, no matter how small of an action it was.

He always makes you feel loved and cared for, if you could describe Diluc in one word, it would be big brother. He really was like a big brother to you, always there to cheer you up and make you feel better, always there to remind you that you're not as alone as you always think you are. He's always kept you safe and always put you first before himself even sometimes. A smile crept onto your face ever so slightly when all of this was resurfaced in your mind.

You truly were grateful to have a friend like Diluc, even if you have no one else that's by your side, he is, and he always will be. "Thank you." You muttered the words ever so softly and breath like, as you'd mutter them out in your sleep, while your head rested against his chest. His eyes slowly trailed to the side, looking down at your peaceful sleeping state. His hand still stroking through your hair as it kept you huddled up to him. Not that you'd ever see it or know of it, a small smile made its way onto his lips too.

"Sweet dreams, Y/N".

Kaeya

The lanky man found you in his guest bedroom, knees tucked under you chin with a cloak of thick duvets framing your clearly exhausted face. He sighed softly before beginning to  pat over to you, chocolate milk in hand and heart on his sleeve.

Once you’d noticed him making his way over you shifted under the blankets to let him crawl into the little cave you’d constructed yourself. He placed the glass onto the night stand, interrupting the somber silence of the room with a gentle clink of glass against hardwood, then turned to you in order to pull you into his broad chest. He gently rubbed your back as his icy eyes observed the room with it’s askew drawers and new adornments of thrown pillows and tossed weapons or tools. The gentle moonlight pouring in from the still open curtain, tarnishing the peachy walls a soft periwinkle blue only telling him of the sadness you were feeling.

“You can stay here as long as you need.”

“I know Sir Kaeya.”

Your sniffles broke his heart a little, the way you buried your head into his nightshirt even more so. You were some sort of enigma to him. Like a puzzle he couldn’t solve yet was made of pieces of a mirror he had shattered.

You reminded him so much of how he was after Diluc had…well…

The blue haired man pulled you closer to him to bury his nose in your hair, beginning to frown, “Will you tell me what happened?”

“It is not really what has happened and more what keeps happening honestly.” Your voice was muffled slightly but he could still hear it clearly through your tight words forcing their way out of your throat. You didn’t really have the heart to tell him that since you became an adventurer your parents had all but kicked you out because they didn’t want to deal with the likely chance you wouldn’t be making any sort of money with your dream job. Your friends had began to leave one by one with teasing remarks about joining your adventure team or horrific monsters, leaving to study in far off corners of the world.

You were completely and utterly alone, with only Kaeya at your side. It didn’t take the feeling of his arms tightening around you to tell you he could already sense what you were thinking about.

“They weren’t your family or friends if they simply tossed you aside y’know? You should not spare them another thought.” He muttered this softly into your hair, hoping you could somehow find comfort in his backwards way of thinking. As much as he wanted to toughen you up…he didn’t want you to become him.

He’s well aware of your plights, has been since you were a kid and he was a fresh young face in the knights even if he doesn’t necessarily know what happened today to cause you to spiral into such a state. Maybe that’s why he took you in. He’d ponder over it as he tucked you in, brushing your hair out of your face afore lightly stepping out of the room to leave you to sleep finally.

[sparkingstoryinspiration]

Outlining and plot development

Wherever you fall on the spectrum of pantser to plotter to throwing pens at your computer and hoping your story will write itself (that’s a self callout) here is a guide (that no one asked for!) to plotting your story! 

Is this going to be an exhaustive list of everything you have to do to write the next NYT bestseller? no. This is, like everything else on this blog, a summary of ideas. They won’t all apply, they won’t all work for everyone, they won’t cover everything, but it’s a start. That’s the best part of the writing prompt business, you supply the inspiration and other people do the hard work! 

Okay, let’s get into it 

1. What story are you telling? 

Now, I’m going to be really honest with you here. If you don’t know this, you have a lot of work to do. And that’s okay! 

Take some time to flesh out your idea. Wherever you start, I promise you there’s more in your head waiting to be discovered. Take out a piece of paper, open up a new document, write it on your walls! (we will NOT be covering lost security deposits!) and do some brainstorming. 

The basic elements of a story are 

- characters 

- conflict 

- resolution 

- plot twist(s) 

- setting/background (think physical setting where the story takes place and informational setting, worldbuilding, context, etc) 

We have a post on developing characters here and posts on the other elements are in the works! I wish I could say they’ll be posted in a timely manner but . . . they won’t, they just won’t lmao I’m sorry 

You don’t have to have all of these points completely figured out before you move onto plotting! In fact, you shouldn’t! Or, if you think you do, be open to change because it’s important to remember that all these points, especially characters, are heavily affected by the plot! 

2. How are you telling this story? 

This is for the technical stuff. 

What does the formatting look like? Are you breaking it up into chapters? Parts? Not everyone writes drafts like this so that’s okay, maybe you’re going to write out of order, maybe you’ll break it up after, whatever works for you though I highly encourage you to switch it up every now and then and see if anything works better for you than what you’ve been doing. 

3. Consider the usual structure of a story 

There are a lot of these, try not to get overwhelmed or too snagged on any of them but here are two interesting ones! 

The first is the three act structure, we’re all pretty familiar with this. 

Think of an action movie, it starts with a small introduction, it introduces a main character, side characters, stakes, a setting. Then the conflict happens! 

BAM! the beloved spy is thought to be a traitor, their family is being held hostage and they have to betray everyone they work with to save them, they have a horrible secret that’s coming back to bite them in the ass. Whatever it is, this moves us into the second act, the journey, the trials, whatever you want to call them. 

This is the largest part of the story and the tension continues to build until we reach the climax of the story. They save they world, or their family, or themselves, or they don’t. Whatever it is, this results in the final act where the action falls, everything is resolved, and the story is over (unless a sequel is set up but that’s a whole other issue), you get the idea. 

(image found here) 

Another popular structure is the hero cycle which echoes the three act structure but focuses particularly on, you guessed it! Heroes! 

(image found here) 

Let’s take a popular storybook hero as an example here, Percy Jackson. (Needless to say, there will be spoilers if you, for some terrible reason, have not read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief) 

All of these milestones are a little debatable but I’ll pick a few to use as examples. 

Percy begins his story, he is introduced as a character, I could write a whole essay on Percy’s development and the incredible writing of Rick Riordan (lmao, I have) but I’ll try to keep this brief. 

When his mother is kidnapped, he has a call to action, a goal: to save his mother. 

He crosses a very literal threshold into Camp Half Blood and his story begins. 

He goes through many trials and tests, Medusa, St. Louis, Waterland, the Lotus Hotel, and so on. 

It’s called abyss here but I learned it as the final battle, in PJO Percy faces Ares. This is very similar to the climax and falling action of the three act structure. Following this, loose ends are tied up, characters complete their journeys and their arcs, and the hero returns. 

It’s very fascinating, I highly recommend reading up on it. Again, you’ll find many many stories you read follow this structure. 

There are literally so many of these and if you’re interested, here’s a link to some more. Keep in mind, your story doesn’t have to fit these perfectly but even if you’ve planned out a story without these in mind, you’ll probably find most, if not all of it, fits pretty well within these lines. They can also help with pacing, if your first act is most of your story, you may need to move your conflict and stakes up earlier in the story to maintain interest. 

4. Now you outline 

Obviously not everyone outlines. Personally, I cannot understand this at all. Now, since this entire post is about plotting and outlining, we’re not really going to talk about pantsing because . . . that kind of defeats the point of this post. But! If you have anything to say about pantsing, tips, tricks, personal experiences, by all means, reblog this and add them! I don’t have any experience with pantsing so I really don’t have much to say on the topic. 

There are lots of different ways to outline a story. Personally, I recommend starting big. Think acts and parts, find your conflict and your stakes, you know you have to introduce your character and the world, how are you going to do that? That goes first, then stakes, so we care and then conflict, so the thing we care about is, well, at stake. 

Chronologically, you have the journey now, but let’s take a minute to talk about the end. 

4.5. How does it end? 

Even if you’re a pantser, I really, really recommend that you know how your story ends. Having a point you want to get to can make a world of difference in the process of planning and writing a story. Sure, you can run a marathon without setting an end point, but it’ll slow you down if you’re always checking to see what mile you’re on. 

So how does it end? Happy? Sad? Who is there? Logically speaking, your antagonist and protagonist should usually be present, supporting characters? How does it end, does the protagonist prevail and save the day? Is it a cliff hanger? If it’s a race to an end, who gets there first and what does it mean? 

Find your ending, and then work on your middle. 

5. The smaller picture 

If you have the main points (a beginning and an ending, the conflict and the stakes, your characters), now you can start thinking about the smaller details. 

You have an ending so what needs to happen to get your character(s) there? Consider your minor characters, where do they come in? Make sure they have a purpose! 

Keep in mind, in the first draft and even the second and for as long as you need it to be, your outline is fluid. You may very well be writing your project and realize the pacing isn’t right, or that something needs to happen later in the story, or that you need to add a scene. Then, when it comes to editing and redrafting, it’s likely that you’ll change it even more. 

Try not to get caught up in it being perfect, that’s not what first drafts are for. Make it workable and approach it with an open mind, things are going to change, that’s a given. 

6. Write your story! 

A few notes on this. As one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman says, “the process of doing your second draft is the process of making it look like you knew what you were doing all along.” 

So once you’re done with your first draft and the time comes to redraft it and you’re working on your outline, now is the perfect time to add your foreshadowing and rework your plot twists. This isn’t to say they don’t have a place in your first draft, they do, give it your best shot! But your story is fluid and your outline and plans are bound to have changed and your editing stages are the best stages to really make sure foreshadowing, plot twists, and all or acts or hero cycle, or whatever you want to call it, works together. 

And this concludes another guide that no one asked for. I hope you enjoyed it and if you have any suggestions for ones you’d like to see we currently have plot twists, endings, motivation, and more in the works! 

Happy writing! 

- Mod S 

p.s. these can be found on our blog under the tag story development series! 

[krakenator]

CHAPTER 7 aka “Blighterpoop”

SPOILERS are sprinkled around extremely liberally for The Property of Hate

Masterpost here

POV, short of Point of View, is about perspectives. Makes sense for a chapter that’s one big fight and chase scene through a tree

Bruh you can actually see exactly the branch that Hero will spear herself on on the title page. also what looks like a deer head on the direct opposite side of it

We actually see the moment RGB’s color pallet resolves itself into his new Look of the Day. Suit counter = 4

Yo those… those are veins on the tree. Nice hint that this thing is also a heart

Hero singing that Gonzo song from the Muppet movie is not ok

Hewwo? Assowk? OwO

Mad applause once again to mod for the speechboxes bc goddamn. It sets such a tone for character voice. Assok’s voice is pink tinged with Hero’s orange, since they’re copying Hero’s words- it so very neatly establishes that Assok’s voice is a garbled combination of their own, original pink sound and Hero’s orange cadence. When they parrot RGB is in just a few pages, that pink is mixed with RGB’s white text!

And! Hero’s speechbubble visually cracking alongside her voice! Like, that’s motherfucking genius but also NOT OKAY

Hero, seeing her first friendly face after having a big argument with TV Dad and seeing Scary Dad wear his skin and eviscerate enemies with extreme prejudice: oh thank god

I didn’t actually get that Hero was mimicking Negative’s face/eye here until now. Even more interestingly, Assok doesn’t recognize it- Assok’s never met Neggy Boi. This might add substance to the “Negative is a recent development, split from RGB when he was speared by Fears in Ch. 2” school of thought

That’s just the foreshadowing babey dont worry ‘bout it

ASSOK DOES THE KERMIT :S FACE

Interestingly, RGB recognizes Assok immediately and is. Very contrite. Lookit that awkward hat fiddling. Gotta wonder who the last Hero before our Hero was. Gotta wonder if it was Assok

Assok is having too much fun with this. Look at that smirk. That’s a smirk of pure glee. Of mischief and cahoots

Okay I am. In love with the page composition of 120.

Ey, the first time RGB fiddles with his volume

That’s… a very specific pose there mod. A hanged man sort of pose. A sacrificial sort of symbolism

AND THUS BEGINS MY FAVORITE SET OF RGB MOVEMENTS: FRUSTRATION PARKOUR

Which really just smacks you in the face with a certain reality: RGB is FIT as FUCK in many senses of the word. I’ve already mentioned he STRONK but look. Look at him monkeying around the tree in this chapter. Take it from me that he moves like a rock climber here. Like, a confident one. This pose right here? Goddamn. He’s one of those people that makes the sport look easy damn him

Would he have muscles if he wasn’t invisible? Will we ever get a glimpse of skin RGB and just get whacked in the eyeballs with an athlete of a man?

I heard RGB has an 8 pack. Heard that he’s shredded

Wow Hero knows some BAD WORDS for a six year old. Who taught this girl to say dumbass?!

Even beyond the hilarity of Assok’s garbled contributions, lookit the colors- not a trace of pink in there. It’s only white and orange, a mixture of RGB and Hero’s namecalling without Assok’s own voice in there and… oh come on. the shapes that make up the speech are white squares and orange circles.

And looking back, Assok repeating Hero words are in orangey-pink circles that gather into a roughly oval-shaped speech, and RGB phrases are in pinkish-white squares that gather into more rectangular shaped speechboxes.

the power of laughter prevails! the argument isn’t over, but they’ve definitely reached a ceasefire

Aaaaand cue the second stabbing! Can’t believe she went a broke her promise to Madras like that

I guess that’s it everyone! Hero’s dead, journey’s over, time to start a new Hero! Thanks for tuning in, see you next time when RGB shows up in my room to take me on a magical adventure where I inevitably end up being turned into, like, an ink creature

New TPoH art challenge, draw your Hero-self after RGB’s gone and fucked it all up

But on that life-saving schism though… going back, we can actually see it opening up over the course of the last 15 or so pages! We first get a look at Hero’s shirt on page 110 when she takes off the Doubtified raincoat. No visible schism

Between pages 110-126 we actually see it re-appear! Super neat!

Check it: page 115: no schism

page 120: we get our first clear look at Hero’s shirt since climbing the tree and- ah.

it only seems to get longer and, uh, open-er as their fight continues; here’s page 123 shortly before Hero takes her tumble

So why did Hero’s schism come back like a bunch of ripped stitches, but RGB’s own stab wound is never seen again? Is it because she got nightmare-gassed on top of the trauma? it is to do with doubts?

RGB hasn’t actually said “I’m sorry” in this chapter that we’ve seen… for Assok to be using it, he’s either used it in the minor timeskip that’s implied between pages 127-128 where RGB has a “I wasn’t attached” breakdown, or Assok heard it when Assok was the Hero… who wants to bet they heard it when their own Hero’s Journey forcibly and tragically ended?

Y’know, I thought the first go around that RGB was just reassuring himself, but looking closer… he’s petting Assok while Assok cries that they’re sorry. He’s saying it to Assok.

Which isn’t to say that RGB isn’t also feeling horrible, he absolutely is, but realizing that it’s not two characters having two separate meltdowns but RGB comforting Assok while having his own meltdown… that’s some Good Shit right there.

Another note of interest is that there is very little pink in Assok’s cries here; this is almost solely RGB’s voice they’re using, in contrast to another time they’ve used RGB’s voice:

“what in heavens name are you MADE of?!” sterling stuff, RGB. Sterling stuff. But seriously… this is the second of at least three times Hero’s been noted to be particularly resilient

Additionally, everything is made of Stuff here, not just the trees. Hero didn’t make that statement with a literal intent but… it probably is literal, now

So, the schism opens when Hero experiences, what, anger? Resentment? Or hate perhaps? Also, check out the, like… fear residue she leaves behind in the tree??

“just this once” lmao ok RGB you keep telling yourself that

He’s siiiinging in the rain

RGB dips out of panel boundaries constantly but this is a big one.  he breaks the laws of space to point accusingly at Hero’s face from both four inches and 2 meters away

Whoof, even the MEMORY of Negative glitches the page what fierce. Jeebs you’re gonna give this child nightmares

?? what’s Assok looking a-

Hold the fu. Hold the fuck on. hold the. That shadow. That’s- is that the butterfly?

I gotta tell ya, I am getting DISTINCT flowey vibes right now.

And thus we conclude Day 3 as the tree begins to thaw... better go find out how that turns out next chapter

[krakenator]

CHAPTER 19 aka “Time Out”

SPOILERS are sprinkled around extremely liberally for The Property of Hate

Masterpost here

Dude, Hero’s schism got fucked WIDE open my god. Then again, running directly into a storm of Nothing can’t have done anything good for it

Clever girl solves the equation. Immediately sets out to test it despite fears because it is GOOD SCIENCE

But chickens out when source of experiment shows signs of vague consciousness. Fair enough

BUT- turning his dial to TV mode is supposed to knock him the fuck out ENTIRELY. RGB is supposed to JUST be a TV and nothing more. Negative once again out there breaking all the set rules, like the menace he is. Even if its just sleep-talking

Aww- the amour took a real beating, but it did a MARVELOUS job protecting her- the bottom half of her face is pretty much 100% fine! Thank god for turtlenecks

More speechbubbles directly from the mystery man himself! So, Negative’s text is white and his bubbles are rectangular static

And once again… the flower dies once it has fulfilled its purpose

the actual petals are sticking around this time... this is gonna be one heckuva beautiful but incredibly weird ruin people come across. that the Idea and snail will come across

WHY IS the Idea following them, anyway???

Hero you precious bean I would kill and die for you

But YIKES her voice. Don’t do Nothing, kids

Lovin’ these parallels. Both times RGB’s finished being Negative Hero’s had to drag him places, sings, and wears his hat. Last time it was sad, this time its funny

Look at how tall the fence is. LOOK AT IT. I don’t CARE how much we’ve established that RGB is a secret muscle boy, how the FUCK did he throw her 50 feet in the air

I mean its possible the Nothing shifted around the sand bordering the fence so much that sea level dropped a bunch but STILL. HECKUVA YEET

About this door though… was it always here? Did it just... appear for them? It’s also the only one here. Back when first entering, the door RGB used was amongst a bunch of them. Time’s hangout also has a bunch of these doors. 

having said that... hold on. hold the fuck on

its the same goddamn place. we’ve come full circle, baby! and, even MORE evidence-

same doors! 

Oh, OH! New suit!

PAN FLAG PAN FLAG PAN FLAG

WE STAN ONE DISASTER PANSEXUAL ON THIS BLOG

RGB thinks he’s a distinguished pan but we all know the truth

Have I mentioned before loving how Hero’s thoughts are shown as a kids drawing? If so I’ll say it again, because I love it

Something tells me RGB’s gonna reach for the nightmare Hero just threw about willynilly and find it missing at a super unfortunate moment. it’s basically got it’s own panel, this si gonna come back to bite us

Are you ever LATE to anything if you’re literally Time? Asking for a certain white rabbit

Interesting that fire in this story has so far only been a destructive force- the sun’s scorching nature and its association with light, the burning iron to RGB’s face that killed him, how Nothing is reminiscent of a forest fire; and yet here, to burn Hero’s tongue is to restore her voice

TIME’S DESIGN THOUGH

I love how he’s basically three people/perspectives jammed into one body all interacting with each other. It’s bonkers

How he interacts with himself across pages

His speech is black box, echoing white text (so, kinda the inverse of RGB) and I love how clock hands act as tails, joining boxes from one to the other to easier follow the flow of his speech

His domain is apparently outside of the Make Believe? like, in this weird inbetween-

motherfucker

THE CHAPTER TITLE IS “INBETWEEN” GOD DAMNIT

HIS THORAX IS AN HOURGLASS

Time is helping them, giving Hero back some color and draining RGB of some festering emotion. Time heals all wounds

Time’s candle’s are also growing throughout the entire interaction- they begin as uneven stubs on page 364... and finish as full antlers

BUT BACK ON TIME’S HANGOUT BEING INBETWEEN WORLDS- Hate’s hangout is also like this. we enter/exit the Make Believe through these golden doors, Dial ALSO exits the comic by walking through a door. a far more hidden one, but same principle. Makes you wonder if Time also has a method of cutting you out of the story like Hate did to Jules and Melody

Is Time literally telling me that the reason RGB bleeds out of his face is because he is emotionally constipated on a chronic level? That’s amazing. That’s incredibly on brand for RGB

So, honestly, paying for Madras’ wares with pints of color is probably kinda good for him. Let out your feelings a little

BLOODLETTING IS A LEGIT MEDICAL PRACTISE, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST FOLKS!!!

But back on that joke way back where music lesbians were ragging on RGB about what he tastes like; considering it’s literally an almost incomprehensible mashup of his bottled up emotions, “sharp”, “sour”, and “cheesy” are probably real, literal, and canon

The canonical answer is “awful”

Color restoration, go!

Time’s heating up the colors using one of his candle flames- distilling it? And what’s getting sprinkled in there?

i think the crunched up stuff is the star he pulls down on page 367?

CONFIRMED on next page: the medicine was ‘starlight, feelings, and regret’

So if they had’t run into Time and RGB had woken up, do you think he would have solved Hero’s coloring dilemma the same way? “Here, Hero, come now, drink up. It’s only my blood”

Huh- so acknowledging the contradiction of the fire to heal Hero. And flame is used once again to heat up the sand sprinkled into the drink so it wasn’t frozen

So RGB is never fully dead. Interesting.

eeeey, Hero’s schism has also knitted back together a bit- we’re back to what is, at this point tbh, the usual baseline of schism

Y O we’re gonna see Madras again!! yes!!!! now the question is- is Time just saying “yeah you’ll run into her again soon” or “i personally will expedite things so you run into her soon. its juts a lil time travel”

Hate took/will take Time’s eye? Bruh. At least my exes never poked out my eyes. Are we getting set up for an eye for an eye pun here mod? Are we? Did Time poke out one of Hers first or are we gonna get to see Time come in later to exact equivalent revenge?

alternatively, ‘she’ is Madras. after all, we can’t tell if Time is speaking with with capitalization here, since ‘she’ only appears at the beginning of sentences. either way, it’s looking like we’l be going back (or forward?) to the House of Paint!

this is also a super neat example of using page composition to tell us which Time is speaking, and using the growth state of antlers as another visual cue.

Time is... a hare...... has antlers....... that’s a fucking jackalope

ADDITIONALLY the antlers are candles, which......... JACK O’ LANTERN? REALLY MOD?? I LOVE THIS

She loses WHAT

MOD? HELLO? WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU PLANNING FOR MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER HUH

More exposition on why Hero entering the Make Believe kills her “waking” identity

(dreamy sigh) mod, I know I’ve yelled at you a lot throughout this entire reading but please now it is out of deep, reverent love for the story and worldbuilding because mod, modmad, uncle mod, sarah jolley- you are hitting exactly on all my favorite story setting tropes. Hero’s out of her mind. God. Fuck. I love it. this might be my favorite page

i f uckign- love this panel? reinforcing that Hero’s home is so close, and yet so far- it’s under their feet, but unattainable. she can’t go back, and ‘home’ is looking far more like her thoughts and scribbling than it is a tangile reality. she’s just. in the clouds n-

her head is in the clouds >:(

TIME PLEASE. DON’T BLAME ME FOR HERO’S PREDICAMENT BY STARING OUT AT ME WITH THEM BEADY EYES

Time, snidely: They know who They are

I love the full antlers. how far we’ve come in just like... jesus christ, did all this manage to happen in just 9 PAGES? this has been........ a lot lmao

Dgsafjkghf Time LITERALLY ROCKS HER TO SLEEP that’s amazing

Time wtf the fuck do you mean that’s the same word twi-

...I gotcha

RGB is going to wake up so confused. Where did this weird glass boat thing come from? Why are all the tricks up his sleeve littered all over the floor what the hell. HERO WHY ARE YOU COLORS FADED. WHAT DID YOU DO. Damn, at least I’m in my swankiest suit of all

The moon starts to wane as Time spins it! Neat detail

well that only took forever! we’re caught up to the comic at this point in time- I mean, chapter 20 is like 5 pages underway but I kinda like the format of just doing it all in ONE BIG GO, so I guess we can expect the next one’a these to be when Cut To concludes. that’ll be a while, but hey, good to marinate on stuff for a while

there’s already so much going on in chapter 20 oh god thINGS ARE HAPPENIIIIIING

Next time on TPoH we’re checking in on all those other cool cats of the comic