#but stressed brain had other plans and I now have a three pages document with prompts as well as a sad total of 4h of sleep

[emylilas]

For writing purpose, do you think Jillian is more a cat or dog person?

[firstkanaphans]

hi! if you don't mind me asking, i was wondering if i could ask you about how you're able to write at the speed/output that you are able? i'm always so impressed with the rate at which you're able to update and was hoping to ask for advice 😅

because one of the hardest things for me is speed...i write soooo slowly, and so as much as i want to write multichapter fics, i feel like it would take me months between updates because of how slow i write. i think one of the reasons is that i am also constantly live editing as i write maybe? which really does slow me down, but i'm not sure how to bypass that.

i was curious if you had any tips/advice for how to write at a steady pace? do you set aside time every day to write regularly, or only when the mood "hits"? and how do you tackle those scenes where you just have no idea what to write (if that's something if you've experienced?)

of course no need to answer any of these questions - i hope i didn't overwhelm! i'm just always so impressed with your writing output that i'd love to hear any advice if you had any. thank you and can't wait for the next update of BLP 🫶

This probably isn’t the answer you want to hear, but the honest truth is that I just have a very easy day job. There are probably only about three days a month where I have to put in an eight-hour work day. The rest of the time, I use any excess work time I have to write.

It wasn’t always like this for me, though, so I understand the frustration of working a full-time job and then coming home exhausted. The last thing you want to do is write because as much as we try to pretend like it’s fun, it’s still work. It’s not mind-numbing. You can’t do it if your tank is already empty. The main reason I’m able to write quickly is simply that I have the time and the mental energy to do so.

Like you said, one of the biggest tips I can give you when trying to write faster is to turn off your inner editor while writing your first draft. It took me a long time to learn how to do this, but it has been immensely helpful. I will obviously correct typos while I’m writing, but other than that, I really don’t go back and edit anything until the whole first draft is complete. The only exception would be if I get halfway through a chapter and just know something’s not working. At that point I will stop and at least figure out what the problem is so that I don’t waste time writing scenes that may need to be cut depending on what I have to change. But other than that, I largely ignore correct grammar and even good writing in favor of just getting words down on the page.

If you’re a perfectionist like me and the thought of doing that is just completely off-putting, I’ll sometimes trick myself by pretending I’m not writing anything important. In all of my documents, I put the word START where I’m meant to start writing for the day. If I know I’m going to be writing really rough, I just don’t move the START from where it is and that tricks my brain into letting me write bad because I know the next day I’ll start from that same place. So essentially, I’m writing very badly one day and then going back to edit it into something readable the next. I cannot stress enough how much difference even just a day makes in your ability to edit more objectively. I never post chapters on the same day I finish them because I want to give my brain at least 24-hours to mull it over before I start editing.

As for writer’s block, I have pretty much eradicated that from my life simply because I outline everything so thoroughly beforehand. For instance, today I’ve been going through my outline for Chapter 4 of Best Laid Plans so that I can start writing it. One of the bullet points says, “Akk, Aye, Kan, Wat, and Thua eat lunch together.” My job today is to figure out what they’re going to talk about during that lunch so that when I get to that scene, I won’t draw a blank and spend days trying to figure it out instead of actually writing.

Now, that’s not to say that there aren’t days where I just don’t want to write, but for me, those days are few and far between. I don’t, however, believe in forcing yourself to write even when you don’t want to because your output is going to show your frustration with the task. I would never encourage someone to set a goal to write every day because I believe that’s just setting them up for failure. In the end, this really is just a hobby and you should work at your own pace and comfort level. If you’re bored with a multi-chapter fic you’re writing, take a break to write a one-shot. Or add something to your outline to spice up the next scene so that it re-energizes you.

It’s funny because I think output numbers get wildly skewed in fandom because some of us are actually insane. It’s not odd to see 20K-word chapter updates or fics literally longer than the Bible (773K words). If you write 1000 words a week (less than 150 words a day), that’s 52K words in a year, which is very nearly novel-length—and longer than any multi-chapter fic I’ve written. You would never expect a published author to write more than one novel a year, so don’t expect that from yourself either.

[atlabeth]

night owl - sokka x fem!reader

summary: when things get too overwhelming, your boyfriend is always there to pull you back, no matter how forcefully he has to do it.

a/n: this is for @missmorosis​​‘s 400 follower event!! go follow her and check it out if you’re a writer as well:-) ngl this is kinda self indulgent because im also dying of school rn i need a sokka of my own. also i did not proofread this, i think it adds some spice to life not knowing if this is coherent or not

wc: 907 

warning(s): stress over school and one (1) curse, but other than that it’s pure fluff 

“Why aren’t you asleep?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You considered yourself a fairly smart person. 

You had earned a scholarship to get here, you took hard classes, and your friends came to you for help from everything to school problems to just general every day things.

But for a “fairly smart person”, you made a lot of bad decisions. 

You knew that taking on a part time job wasn’t a good idea when you already had so much going on. You knew that taking 8am’s wasn’t a good idea when you were already a night owl. You knew that saying yes to that night out with your friends wasn’t a good idea when you had a huge paper due in two days.

(It was worth it, though.) 

You knew all of this before you decided to take on the world, but dammit, you were still allowed to complain. Besides, getting anywhere in the world required sacrifice — if your sacrifice entailed having more caffeine flowing through your veins than blood, then so be it. 

Making up for your mistake of wanting a social life was proving to be much more difficult than you planned — you were on page seventeen of a twenty page paper, and you were stuck in a rut. You had written and rewritten the same sentence more than twelve times; it was like your brain was going on strike in protest of what you had put it through. 

The lights in your room suddenly flicked on and you blinked rapidly to get used to the sudden onslaught on your eyes. You had been staring at your computer screen for so long that you were sure the document was burned into your irises, and this extra brightness was not helping. You squinted and looked to the doorway to see who the perpetrator was, and despite the mix of sleep deprivation and deliriousness you were experiencing right now, the corners of your lips quirked up in a small smile.

It was none other than your boyfriend. You were a bit surprised to see Sokka up at this hour — he took hard classes as well, but he was better at managing his time than you were — but just seeing him made you feel ten times better. 

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Sokka asked as he leaned against the doorframe.

“Work. This paper is due tomorrow, and I only have a couple pages left until I’m done. Why are you awake?” You countered playfully. 

“‘I’m awake because my girlfriend doesn’t know what a proper work-life balance is,” he answered, though there was real concern in his voice. “How long have you been working on this for? It’s three thirty, you have to be up in four hours.” 

“All day,” you managed through a yawn. “I’m almost done, but I’m just- I’m stuck on this one part, and it’s infuriating.” 

He hummed in acknowledgement and walked over to you, draping his arms around your shoulders and giving you a light kiss on your temple. “Have you ever thought that you can’t focus because you’ve been staring at this screen for eight hours?”

You closed your eyes and leaned into his embrace, feeling the most at peace that you had this whole week. “I mean- it has crossed my mind, but I’m fine! As soon as I get past this sentence, it’ll be smooth sailing. I only have three pages left, I can survive off of four hours of sleep.” 

“Alright,” he sighed. You thought that Sokka had conceded until you felt his arms around you, and you squealed as he lifted you out of your chair. 

“Sokka!” You laughed, swatting his arm in a very low effort attempt to get free. “What in the world are you doing?” You tried as hard as you could to inject some form of anger into your voice, but you couldn’t be mad at him in such a ridiculous situation.

“Sometimes I need to take things out of your hands, and apparently your sleep schedule is one of them,” he grinned. He was carrying you bridal style through your apartment, your arms now looped around his neck for support. 

“Excuse me? I am perfectly capable of maintaining—” your own claim was foiled with the interruption of a yawn; even your body was against you at this point, “— a proper sleep schedule.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” By now, the two of you had reached your room and Sokka gently set you down on the bed before climbing in next to you. You turned your head slightly to meet his eyes — you were always captivated by the oceans that were held in them. “Just trust me. You trust me, right?” “Of course.” 

“Then believe me when I say that not being sleep deprived does wonders for the mind,” he chuckled. You leaned forward the slightest bit and pressed a kiss to his lips, already finding your way into his embrace. 

“Okay,” you murmured, nestling your head into pillows and humming contentedly at the warmth he brought you. “Just this once.” 

And laying there, together with Sokka, it didn’t take too long for you to fall asleep. Just before you drifted off, you felt him press another kiss to your hairline, and you smiled unconsciously. Your mind couldn’t be farther away from the task that you had been so feverishly working on just minutes prior. 

That paper could wait until the morning. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

perm taglist: @dv0412 (i can’t tag you for some reason) @siriuslyslyslytherin​ 

send an ask if you want to be added to any of my tag lists! 

[wonderstvrs]

2 AM Essays | Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

In which Reader stays up to finish an essay, but Bakugou steps in.

WORD COUNT: 1,375 words

WARNINGS: Explicit Swearing, Reader is Gender Neutral

You really hated being such a chronic procrastinator. You’d think that after how stressful your first year at UA was for you that you’d learn how to stop putting off your schoolwork until the last minute. But here you were at 2 AM, frantically trying to finish a five-page essay. 

It didn’t help that you were exhausted from your work-study. There had been an incident during patrol that required your intervention. By the end of it, you were sore and—judging from the pounding in your head—had overused your Quirk. You should be resting—as your mentor had strictly ordered you to do—but this essay had other plans for you.

Right now, it was being a brat and refusing to cooperate. You stare at the document in front of you, eyes bleary, and threatening to droop. You’ve been writing for hours, that was at least three pages, right? You check your word count: 2 ½ pages. 

 You let your head fall back into the couch cushion and groan in frustration. At this point, you’re not even sure if you can even form a coherent thought, let alone write another sentence about some Pre-Quirk war. 

“What the hell are you doing up, dumbass?” 

You pause the curse you were sending whoever invented essays to turn your heard to the direction of the voice. Bakugou Katsuki stood at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed, and a scowl on his face. Even in your sleep-deprived state, you couldn’t help but ogle at his arms. Thank the gods for this man’s obsession with tank-tops. 

“Oh, hey, Bakugou.” You manage to tear your eyes away from his bulging biceps to greet him. “What—” 

Your brain short circuits. You have no idea what you were going to say, but you don’t really care because Bakugou had bed hair. You didn’t think your embarrassing crush on him could get any stronger. But, here he was, standing in front of you with bed hair and the most endearing scowl on his face. 

“Spit it out, dumbass,” he snaps at you. You blink at him, which only seems to irritate him further. “What the hell are you doing being loud at 2 AM?”

Damn, so you did wake him up. 

“Sorry.” You lift your laptop into his view. “Trying to finish Snipe’s World War I essay.” 

He’s quiet for a moment. You’ve been friends with him long enough to know that he’s trying to think of the words to say. You marvel at how much he’s changed over the past year. While he was still the same crude and short-tempered Bakugou that you met in 1st year, the months he spent in therapy following the fight with Shigaraki had mellowed him out. He now thought twice before he spoke and took the time to formulate thoughtful responses to delicate situations.

“You’re a fucking idiot.”

And then sometimes he says shit like that. You scowl at him, mood even worse than before. 

“Thanks, you didn’t have to remind me.” You turn back around, focusing your eyes on your laptop. Crush or not, he really pissed you off sometimes. “You can go back to bed. I promise I’ll be quiet.”

You stare at the last sentence that you wrote, not comprehending anything. You’re contemplating just pressing random keys and hoping they form a sentence when Bakugou pulls the laptop away from you. What the hell? When did he get there? And also—

“Hey! Give it back!” You stand up, trying to take the laptop back from him. You’re a little sluggish, probably because of the lack of sleep, which leaves you helpless as he saves your work and turns off your laptop. “Bakugou, that’s due tomorrow!”

“Yeah, in 5th period, which is after lunch. You can do it then,” he says. He keeps the laptop away from your each. His other hand comes up to flick your forehead.

“You can’t get any work done fucking sleep-deprived, idiot.”

You pull a face, rubbing your forehead, “You’re so mean.”

He rolls his eyes at you, “That’s because you’re a fucking dumbass. Let’s go. It’s too fucking early for this.”

He turns away, heading up the stairs. You watch his retreating back, a warm feeling in your chest. Ugh, and just as you were telling yourself to get over him, he pulls shit like this.

“Are you fucking coming, or are you just gonna stand there like an idiot?” He calls from the top of the stairs. 

“Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses.” 

You gather the papers spread across the coffee table and follow him up. The elevator ride up to your floor is silent. You find that you don’t mind and take the opportunity to steal glances at him. You knew that he had just turned seventeen in April, but you could already see the traces of young adulthood in his face.

He had stubble growing in, barely noticeable because of how light his hair is, but there nonetheless. His jaw was so sharp that it could probably cut someone, and his face was becoming more defined. He must have noticed you staring because he looked over at you.

“What?” He asked. He looked just as tired as you did, which made sense. Of all the people that you knew, Bakugou was the only one who slept at 8 PM. Even Iida, their resident goody-goody, slept at 10 PM. 

“Nothing,” you answered. He didn’t look like he believed you, but was probably too tired to push it. 

He walks you to your door (you’re definitely gonna scream about this to Ochaco later), your laptop still under his arm. He doesn’t hand it to you even when you stop in front of your room.

“So, are you ever going to give my laptop back, or what?” You ask when he just stands there. 

He doesn’t respond, looking like he wanted to say something, but he needed to think of the words first. You waited patiently, even if you wanted nothing more than to crash on your bed. 

“You’re finishing this during lunch,” he finally says. You nod, trying to follow his train of thought.

“At the table,” he continues. You nod again. “With me.”

“Yes, Bakugou, of course. We sit at the same table.” You really don’t know where this conversation was going. He looked at you in exasperation, like he expected you to get what he was saying already. 

“No, not with the other extras. With me, like alone. On another table.”

You blink. Your brain, running on its last battery percentage, is trying to process what he just said. He wanted you to finish the essay with him, on a table different from your usual, alone. Did he? Wait, oh my god. Did he mean like a study date?

Your face feels warm as the thought finally dawns on you. Oh my god, Bakugou wanted to have a study date with you. He must have seen the look of realization on your face because he turned red. He looked away pushing the laptop into your hand.

“Whatever. See you at lunch tomorrow, or not. I don’t care.” He put his hands into the pockets of his chairs and turns away, heading back to the elevator to head up to his room. Your brain is screaming at you to tell him something, but your mouth is a little slow on the uptake.

“Bakugou!” You call out. He stops but doesn’t turn. You feel the smile creeping up on your face, so wide that it threatens to split it in two, “I’d love to have a study date with you.”

You can’t see his face, but from the way the tips of his ears turn red, you know that he’s red again. 

“Whatever,” he says before he walks briskly down the hallway. You don’t enter your room until you hear the elevator doors close. You can’t help the scream you let out in your pillow or the fast beating of your heart.

Bakugou just asked you out on a study date. It didn’t matter that he didn’t say it in those exact words, you knew from his reaction that he meant it.

As you drifted off to sleep, you thought, ‘Thank you whoever invented essays. I will never curse your name ever again.’

I finished writing this at 4:53 A.M. lmfaooo. Inspiration strikes at the weirdest times, I swear. Feel free to hmu if you want me to write something hehe.

[whipped-cream-writings]

Midnight Coffee

In which you say something that you think no one will hear. Unfortunately for you, someone does. And that someone happens to be Akaashi.

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: None

A/N: Tumblr just keep it in the tags!! I’m not a bot I’m just super annoyed at this point >:(

Anyway, thank you @poccosticks​ and @emmicchi​ for being wonderful and helping me out with this!! Go give them lots of love! And thank you to my followers who have to deal with this. I’m so sorry but this is the last time I’m reposting!! 

You should not be drinking coffee at 1AM.

But was it really your fault? There was so much homework. There was a test tomorrow and an essay that’s due at eight AM that was worth 100 points. It wasn’t your fault that you were doing it now, either - it was assigned two days ago and it had to be at least seven pages.

“Focus.” A soft voice reminds you. “The faster you finish, the sooner we can go to bed.”

“We?” You echo. You dragged your gaze from your bright computer screen to see him sitting cross-legged on your bed, a book on his lap.

“As in you’ll go to sleep in your bed, and I’ll go home and sleep in mine.” Akaashi’s smile is crooked as he looks up from his book. “But I wouldn’t mind either way.”

The shock you feel is just as effective as coffee. “Huh?”

“I sleep at Bokuto’s house all the time. Sometimes I even carry a pillow and blanket in my bag just in case.”

You can’t tell if that strange feeling in your stomach is relief or disappointment. You don’t have enough time to acknowledge it. Acknowledging it leads to thinking about it and that leads to thinking about him and-

“Oh. Must be tiring.” You respond, cutting yourself off.

“I’ve gotten used to it.” He sighs, laying on his back as he turns the page once again.

You turn back to the blank document in front of you and start to type up your paper. Will it be obvious that you’re typing up the paper six hours before it’s due? Maybe, but you don’t really care at this point. As long as you get a grade that’s higher than a D, then it’s fine.

You feel like someone is staring at you after page one is complete. A prickly feeling spreads all over your back and you turn to look at him.

“Do you need something?” You wonder aloud. Why was he staring at you? Not that you were mad about it, but-

“I think your formatting’s off.” He blurts, standing up from his spot on your bed and walking over to your desk.

You rub your stinging eyes and ask, “How so?”

“It’s MLA, right?” You nod, “Remove the empty line in between the paragraph and title.” He gestures to the gaps and hits delete before your brain even registered what he said.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.” He gives you a small smile and walks back to where he left his book. You look at him for a moment longer before kicking yourself mentally and typing away.

It’s been about three years since you’ve met Akaashi, and you’ve been friends with him for two and a half. A year ago, your perception of him changed drastically. You don’t know what did it. Was it because of his willingness to help anyone at his own expense? Or was it his dedication and how responsible he was? You weren’t sure.

But you did know that you were smitten with him. Did he know that too? Maybe, but he’d never show that. A small part of you hoped he didn’t know and that he’d never find out. That would ruin the friendship, wouldn’t it? Even if it did work out, then how long would you two last? Would it end in a way that would make you two hate each other?

No, you told yourself. You had an essay to finish. You can think about that later, when he’s not reading in your bedroom.

You’re making fast progress. That coffee must’ve helped a lot more than you thought it did. Sure, your leg is shaking uncontrollably under the desk, but it’s a small price to pay for a passing grade.

The words are coming easy and your thoughts are organized just enough for it to make sense. The bottom of page three is so close, and it’s only been an hour! Or maybe two? You’re not sure, but checking the time will stress you out, so you keep going.

You put in earbuds once you get to page four. Three more pages and then you can go to bed.

Well, that’s assuming the coffee will let you sleep.

It’s now 4AM.

And your essay is done. You skim through it and hit submit once it’s ready, letting out a long sigh of relief. You turn to your bed, tempted to just flop down, but something stops you.

He’s still here.

The book is covering his face, but you can hear the smallest, quietest snores coming from under the book. His hand is dangling off the edge of the bed.

He’s asleep.

If your heart could burst out of your chest, it probably just did.

How long has he been here? Is he cold? You delicately take the book off of his face.

He looks so peaceful like this. It’s… really nice to see, actually. Today he looked stressed to you, so now, seeing him relax, it made your insides all warm and fuzzy.

You stop staring (after realizing that it’s kind of creepy) and place the blanket over him. You’ll have to sleep on the floor tonight, but you don’t mind.

You grab an extra blanket and pillow and place it on the floor. It makes your back hurt but it’s fine.

You sigh and try to get as comfortable as you can.

The thoughts come rushing back instantly. It’s hard for them not to, since he’s less than a foot away from you and he’s asleep. Maybe… maybe saying your thoughts would make you feel better. Maybe it wouldn’t feel so suffocating if you just said the words.

You hold his hand and take a deep breath. Why did it feel so hard? He was asleep and he wouldn’t know. He would never know. That was the plan.

So you say the words.

“I love you.”

It’s barely a murmur. It sounded light, partially because it was a whisper, but it contained all of the emotions that you’d been holding in for so, so long.

You let go of his hand. Yeah, you’re feeling a lot better. Now all you need is a good night’s-

Something grabs your hand in the darkness.

And it squeezes your hand gingerly, like you might break.

No.

This isn’t real, this can’t be real.

This is some sort of nightmare.

You look up and in the faint moonlight streaming through the window, you can see eyes. In particular, there are sapphire eyes staring down at you.

“I’m glad.” He whispers, voice raspy from just waking up. “Because I love you too.”

You’re silent. How are you supposed to respond? If a brain could melt, yours was. Yours had melted as soon as he grabbed your hand.

Words died on your tongue and you stared at him with a dumbfounded look. He laughed a little and a small smile blossomed on his face.

The moonlight is blocked by him and you don’t have time to say anything.

Because he’s kissing you.

His movements are delicate, his thumb rubbing your knuckles tenderly. His lips are a little chapped but you find that you don't mind. You close your eyes, letting yourself enjoy the sensation. You feel his free hand tilt your chin up just a little more.

But it gets to a point when neither of you can breathe, and break away, with barely enough space for your heavy breaths.

“Were you actually asleep?”

“I heard you moving around a little and it woke me up.” He admits. You try to apologize when he shakes his head. “I didn’t mind one bit.”

“Thank you.” He nods a little and lays back down.

“We can talk in the morning.” He notices your sleeping area and moves back, making space for you as well.

There are no more words spoken for the rest of the night. There’s only you, Akaashi, and your hearts beating in unison.

Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate everything you guys do! My requests are open so feel free to request anything you’d like! I hope you have a wonderful day 💕

[bellesque]

Sweet Dreams (Loki x Reader)

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3.1K Warnings/Tags: Incubus Loki, Smut (or at least it’s leading up to it) Summary: It’s your first free weekend in what feels like forever and you plan on snoozing through it without any interruptions. Someone has other plans.

A/N: I really just wanted an excuse to write some smut, huh? It’s okay. This was a little smut-writing exercise. You can also read this on my AO3.

YOU AREN’T SURE of three things.

The first one being that you don’t know when exactly it starts.

Things are a whirlwind, a blur of deadlines and details that don’t seem to fit together. You’re busy, that’s for sure, just barely surviving; your concept of time is distorted with how much you have to get done and stay on top of that once you’re home you have just enough energy to take a quick shower and knock right out. Work, survive, sleep, repeat. Your favorite part of the routine? Definitely the sleep.

You aren’t sure when your nights start becoming more restful. It’s strange, you think, since you barely get even a good five hours yet you wake up refreshed every morning. Or at least ready to face the day.

You tell yourself it’s your circadian rhythm getting used to your messed up workaholic schedule.

The second thing you aren’t sure of is why you start having dreams.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to you—you’ve had dreams before. Only with how much time you spend awake versus how much time you spend resting, dreams don’t come easy. At least, they shouldn’t. You read somewhere that the more active your brain is, the more likely you are to have dreams. Or is it the opposite? You press a hand to your eyes, rolling your neck before you continue with the document you’re currently typing.

They aren’t weird dreams by any means. Sometimes you remember them, sometimes you don’t. You remember one where you screamed at an ex-friend until your lungs gave out, throat hoarse, and that day you woke up feeling closure you never actually got. Another time, you dreamed that you missed a deadline, and woke up so paranoid that you showed up two hours early for work. And more recently, you admit with a tinge of embarrassment, a wet dream.

You’re sure it’s from the novel you had to proofread the other day. Page after page was filth after filth and it left your heart racing, your mind wandering, and a certain part of you wanting.

Goodness, how long has it been since you last…

You shake your head and will yourself to focus.

The sooner you can get this done, the sooner you can go home.

It’s been a pretty shitty day.

You’re practically ready to call it a day; today your boss yelled at you for being incompetent (you aren’t) and your coworker Salome took credit for your work in today’s meeting (she’s a little bitch). You just need a break, damn it.

Thankfully this is your first weekend off after what feels like years. You love your job, but you also don’t want to live-eat-breathe it. Any more time in that office and you’d probably reach your breaking point, exploding into an angry string of expletives and fired notices.

Your night of unwinding and de-stressing goes exactly how you plan it, and you think you can finally get a good nine hours of sleep in. You’re definitely sleeping in tonight. If anyone even tries to wake you up before seven you swear you’ll kill them on sight come Monday morning.

A friend of yours recommends this audio thing for you to listen to. Supposed to help you relax, so she says. So you decide why the hell not, you’re already pretty drowsy, why not conk out two minutes quicker?

You settle in under the covers, getting into the position you’re most comfortable in, and hit play. It’s an audiobook, you realize, narrated by a man with a gorgeously full voice. You allow yourself to get lost in the timbre of his voice. It’s almost hypnotic, entrancing, how musical it sounds. You notice the way his words sound together, how he pronounces his the and said, not paying attention to the story itself, until he becomes background noise.

In less than five minutes, you’re fast asleep.

The last thing you aren’t sure of is what you’re dreaming of before you see it.

It, or him?

The shift in emotion you feel is so quick, so drastic, that you almost wake up. You do. Or you don’t? You’re not sure, and it’s freaking you out. Well, your eyes are open—does that mean you’re awake? You try to regain your bearings—what does that even mean, you are—were?—sleeping in your own bed for fuck’s sake—

“Relax.”

There it is, a silhouette, just by the foot of your bed. Or is it just a shadow? Your heart beats loudly in your ears, and you want to be sleeping peacefully—aren’t you sleeping peacefully?—or just wake up from whatever this is—

“Still your thoughts, pet, I’m not going to hurt you. Unless you want me to. But first, please—rest… relax.”

You feel a gentle pressure around your body as your blanket comes up around you, almost like you’re being tucked in like a child who’s just woken up from a nightmare. Is this a nightmare? Are you awake or dreaming? You aren’t sure.

The voice laughs, silky and altogether mysterious, and for some reason it automatically makes you think of dark chocolate. Sinful, rich, and decadent. He hasn’t stepped out of the shadows, but no matter how lovely his voice is you’re not sure you want to see him. It’s instinct. So you shut your eyes tight.

“I’m scared,” you blurt out without thinking.

“I can see that,” the voice answers swiftly. You can feel your hair being brushed away from your forehead. A gentle, comforting gesture. “Although I hope in a few nights you won’t be.”

“What does that mean?” Your question comes out soft and weak, the kind that signals your consciousness is slipping away. What, are you being lulled back into sleep already? So easily?

The voice hums thoughtfully. “Names are power. Shall I give you the power of mine so that you’ll be well-acquainted with me?”

“Who are you?”

“I may have misled you a little, pet.” He chuckles, and it surprises you how warm it sounds. Inviting. “What am I would be a better start now, wouldn’t it?”

You’re jolted back to alertness. Not a person, but… something else? He sounds human. He probably feels human as well. “What are you?” you all but demand.

“Oh, there’s fire in this one,” he remarks. “I quite like that. Well then, sweet, I’ll tell you, since you asked so nicely. I am what your kind know as an incubus—you can look it up when you awaken, but, I’ll give you the short version: I feed on passion. Desire. Lust. Sex.” The way he says the last word makes your skin shiver, and you unconsciously suck in a breath. “But only in dreams. Only in your dreams. Your deepest, darkest fantasies come to life. Everything you want, I can give. Now tell me, isn’t that exhilarating?”

Damn, your head is spinning. The world is spinning. This handsome voice only wants to have sex?

How long has it been again since you last…

“How do I know if I can trust you?” you ask.

His motions pause, and then he resumes with a touch that mesmerizes you into a state of pliancy. And gentle, oh so gentle—your eyelids are heavy, a stark contrast to your body that is on high alert.

“I’ve told you what I am. I wouldn’t want to deceive you to get what I want. It’s always more delightful when an incubus has a willing partner.” A wanton shiver slides down your spine, slow and deliberate, matching the rhythm of the strokes of his hands. “I won’t do anything you wouldn’t want me to. But oh, sweet pet, the things I want to do.” You feel his voice at your ear, his breath coming in light puffs, and hell, it makes you want him with each passing second. “You’d enjoy it all, I’m sure. I only want to see you come undone. To bring you high into your personal precipice of ecstasy. And I want to watch it all unfold.” You gasp when you feel his teeth nip at your earlobe, your clit pulsing once, in time with the pang of pain and pleasure.

“Will you let me show you what I can offer, sweet?”

The fact that you can feel the gush of heat pooling into your center makes you slightly embarrassed, but it only affirms how much you want this. It’s been too long, and if the both of you can get off then the better.

His nose is running across the side of your face, and you crane your neck as he trails downward, towards the vein in your neck, where he ultimately will know just how affected you are. He skims the tip of his nose along your pulse point, inhaling deeply, before climbing up so his face is level with yours.

“Just say yes,” he murmurs, low and seductive and lulling you into a deeper place of desire, “if you want this as bad as I want you.”

“Yes,” you breathe, a sigh riding on the last sound of the word. “Please, yes.”

The pressure around you lifts, and you briefly wonder if the dream is over. Only it isn’t. This is real, and this is happening.

“Open your eyes first,” he says. “I want you to see me.”

Battling some degree of difficulty (your eyes have been pretty heavy up to this point), you comply. Standing before you is a gorgeous man, lithe and lean, clad in black (is that a suit?) and immediately you know his voice of velvet seduction matches his appearance perfectly. Your eyes rake over this mystery man, his black hair falling in decadent curls and grazing the tops of his shoulders, his features sharp and masculine, and your gaze travels downwards and lingers for a second too long on his…

“I’m glad I could elicit such a positive reaction when I haven’t done anything to pleasure you yet.” There’s a teasing lilt in his voice as he appraises you with a look of equal desire. Has he been looking at you like that all this time? The idea that he has floods your veins with delicious fire, your excitement boiling in the pits of your deepest parts.

“Now close your eyes again, sweet,” he says, gently placing his fingers on your eyelids and guiding them shut. “I want you to focus on what I’m doing.”

The heat pooling between your legs is undeniable now, and you wait with bated breath for anything, literally anything. All you can hear is the sound of your own breathing, shallow and rapid, as you wait in anticipation. There is no contact between you, and yet the electrifying tension in the air winds you up like a string that’s pulled taut.

And then finally, he touches you. It’s not what you expect, a gentle cupping of your cheek, but the tenderness is not lost on you. He drags a single finger over your nose, running it along your jawline, then down to your neck. Your breathing picks up as the lightest pressure of his finger brushes against your collarbone, going over the hollow where neck meets shoulder once, twice, and then he slowly, excruciatingly slowly, travels down and boldly trails his finger around your breast.

“Gorgeous,” he comments, and it amazes you how you want more. He’s only using a single finger and already you are putty in his hands. “And I would love to see how exquisite your skin is underneath. May I, sweet?”

You sigh, and it sounds more shameless than you want to admit. “Yes. Please.”

“Alright.”

You’re aware of your sudden lack of clothing. At least it feels that way, what with the cool air caressing your curves and the goosebumps that rise on the surface of your skin. You’re topless in front of him. Your first instinct is to cover up, although your hands seem to be pinned to your sides as you lay flat on your back.

He’s silent, the only sounds now both your breathing, yours light as air and his even and level. The air is thick and hot and heavy and you want to do something. Anything, to relieve the delicious ache between your legs.

“May I touch you, sweet?” His pure seduction of a voice cuts through the night air, a few tones lower and ten times more sensual.

Your throat is closed up from the anticipation you’re feeling, and you nod dumbly. Yes, please touch me, you want to say, but the words never come out. The nod, for now, will suffice.

He continues to use a single finger to trace across the mounds of your breast, circling the right from base to areola and then moving to the left until his finger rests on the nipple. You vaguely register the breathy sound you make when he brushes against it—the firm pad of his finger against your nipple causes a delicious friction that makes you think Yes please and something warm settles in the pit of your belly. Your mind is going into overdrive, probably from the sex drought you’ve been experiencing for the past few months.

“So responsive.” His voice is husky, and his praise makes your folds even wetter that you press your thighs together to relieve some of the ache.

And then he’s repeating the motion with more vigor this time, one hand on each breast as he inflicts intoxicating little flicks against your nipples, and you feel like you’re about to see stars. Your mouth hangs open in awe because fuck, never has something this simple turned you on this much.

You let out a full on moan when he squeezes your breasts in his hands, briefly, and then he’s sliding his cool fingers up to cup your jaw and then tracing down the curves of your waist and then settling his hands on your hips.

“You’re so soft,” he whispers, his fingers a feather-light touch against your skin, leaving sparks of fire in their wake. It can’t be humanly possible to feel this much, can it?

They’re just hands, you tell yourself in the midst of your hazy, lust-ridden thoughts. How the hell are you feeling this way?

“May I taste your skin, sweet?” His voice is practically a purr. You nod, frantic to receive whatever he has to give.

You don’t think it can get any better but then fuck, you feel something warm and wet close around your nipple and your legs snap open by their own accord. Your underwear feels soaked through and part of you thinks this is obscene but hell you don’t want it to end.

His mouth is doing wicked things now, nipping and sucking and then gently biting at your nipple. It’s mind-numbing, the way he deftly swirls his tongue around your nipple before sucking and biting while his other hand caresses the other. He showers the rest of the skin around your breast with the same treatment until you’re whimpering beneath him, writhing for release—any kind of release at this point—that you know he can give and senses that you need.

“Legs up, sweet,” he purrs, his voice is thick with desire. Hearing it only makes your libido kick up three notches higher, and you eagerly lift up your legs in a V position. He catches you by the ankles, rubbing his thumbs in circles on the insides of each, every action traveling up the nerves that connect to your pussy, electrifyingly delicious and making your walls clench in anticipation. Hell, you want him to touch you. In all the places. You’re just about ready to beg.

He takes you by surprise as he hooks one leg over his shoulder, using his body to shift you until you’re lying on your side. It’s a little unexpected, but you aren’t uncomfortable. Your legs are spread wide, one on his shoulder and the other on the bed seemingly between his knees. It’s probably enough for him to see just exactly how turned on you are.

“My, my, sweet.” If it’s possible, his voice takes on a fuller, darker, ultimately more seductive tone and fuck if you don’t orgasm even once tonight—

“I would like to touch you. Right here, if you’ll let me.” He brushes a finger against your (apparently naked!) mound. “May I, sweet?”

“Fuck, yes please.” You don’t care how needy your voice is; if anything, it’s a reflection of how much you’re craving this. How you want this.

He places his palm flat on your pussy and both of you hiss. Your back arches as you try to grind on his hand, desperate for friction, and he chuckles.

“So eager,” he says, his fingers now rubbing steady circles around your clit. “Would you prefer it if I gave you my cock already?”

You let out a strangled noise because how could he ask such a stupid question of course you want it. You buck against his hand, whining when he withdraws it. It almost hurts how aroused you are, your cunt thrumming with the promise of an orgasm.

“I would love to give it to you already, sweet, but I’m afraid that’s going to have to wait a while.” You can feel your clothes coming back on. “But, since you’ve been so good, allow me to give you a parting gift…”

You’re almost face-down on the mattress, but you’re still mostly on your side. The bed shifts with weight as you feel—you can only guess—him kneeling behind you.

And your world comes to a complete standstill, a wave of pleasure overcoming you and washing over you like a tidal wave, as you feel him just griiiiind his erection into your wanting core.

“Oh, yes, just like that,” you say breathlessly. He has complete control, a gentle yet firm grip on your hips as he presses hard into your clothed wetness, his erection strong and unyielding. He alternates between lowering himself slooowly on you, pressing you down into the mattress with long, even, fluid motions, and then grinding in slow circles in that intensity, before relieving the pressure and humping you in that slow and steady manner again and again until he’s bringing you to the brink of orgasm.

And then he gives one hard long push, grinding into you, his cock as close to your cunt as you can possibly have it, as he whispers in your ear, “Until the next night of ours, sweet.”

And then, just like that, he’s gone. It’s over.

You wake with your clit throbbing and your pajamas sticking to your skin. You’re lying on your back. Not on your side.

You sit up, dizzy and distracted because what the hell was that?

So you sit there, a little dazed from the ordeal (did you orgasm? You’re not sure), and it hits you that you don’t even know his name.

[lilikags]

Serendipity (Kageyama Tobio)

ೃ‧₊› a b o u t  t h i s  p o s t° ➮ Pairing: Kageyama Tobio x reader ➮ Oneshot ➮ Tags: college au, fluff ➮ Word Count: 2106

Serendipity- finding something without looking for it

College- high school was one thing, but college was another. It’s not like one or the other would be harder; well, it all depended on the person. For some people, college was much easier. For others, harder. In either case, it was a different experience, to say the least. You were nervous about that, and you hoped you could survive this semester without screwing up. Not knowing is scary, people would say, and that would describe your situation. Your cousins told you that college was fine and you’d survive just fine, but hearing it from someone else and actually experiencing it was something else. 

It was still kind of early in the morning; It was just around 8:45; you arrived at your English lecture hall a bit early. You settled in the back somewhere, since the front was already semi-filled with some clusters of friends who were chatting away. You missed your friends- they had gone to different colleges than you, and all of you respected your individual reasons for going to the college they decided to go to. You all still talked, but being in different colleges did loosen the tight bond you had formed in high school just a little. It just wasn’t being the same- attending different schools. Nonetheless, there was nothing you could do about it. You figured you should probably make some friends, but perhaps you should get yourself settled first. 

Just as class was about to start, a young man your age sat in the seat next to you, all sweaty from running, you assumed. As the professor started his lesson, he stared at his empty document, with a confused expression on his face. He had absolutely nothing typed, while you had almost a full page down. You sort of watched him as the lesson went on, and as it went on, the more and more you felt bad for him. 

“Uhm- if you want, you could copy my notes,” you offered, turning the laptop a little towards him so he could see a little better. He muttered a “thanks” and started copying your notes down, word for word. The way he typed was cute; he fumbled with his hands a little. While they looked really taken care of, his typing skills weren’t that great. It was kinda cute- the way he typed. 

Before long, midterms rolled around. You had made a couple of friends, not too many, but the three of you made a good duo. Your high school group chat kinda died, and it only came alive when it was someone’s birthday or it was some holiday or something absolutely wonderful happened. You actually became friends with the guy who sat next to you in English; you found out his name was Kageyama and he played volleyball. You never had the time to attend his games, but you promised you’d attend whenever you could. 

You and the friends you made this year often studied together, either at the library or at one of your apartments. It was during the afternoon, and it was actually great. You worked on quizzing each other on the concepts and material, and you explained to each other something if you didn’t understand. You were all in the same major, so it was really convenient that you got to help each other with the assignments as well. When no one understood what was happening, you’d play rock-paper-scissors and whoever lost had to email the professor for an explanation. 

With studying all the time, you felt that you were on a great track to doing well on the midterms. From everyone else’s experience, cramming was not a good idea and you decided, well, not to do that, which you were quite proud of. Cramming was something most people, including you, did in high school and got away with, but this time, things are different, so you were going to do things differently. 

“Uhm, (y/n)-san, could you teach me English for the midterms?” you heard Kageyama ask, after the lecture had ended. There was about a week to the midterms, and since today was supposed to be a free day and you didn’t have much planned, you accepted, “Sure!” 

“Are you failing any subjects besides English right now?” you asked, dead serious. 

“Uh-” Kageyama turned to the side, “Math…” You nodded slowly. “History…” You nodded again, as he went on with the subjects he was failing. You were barely surprised; he definitely wasn’t an academic person. You knew he was smart; he was great at reading people and distance between objects, but you definitely knew he wasn’t as good at school. Sighing, you offered to help him study for those subjects too- perhaps you dreaded studying on your own for your own midterms and would rather do just about anything else, or maybe you were just feeling really nice. 

“What…” he stares at the next page.

“Kageyama, you’re literally giving up the moment the next topic comes up.” “Uhhhhh…”

“It means that he and his men escaped the cyclops, but then he taunted the cyclops who  cursed them afterwards.” Kageyama scratched his head.

“Odysseus the main character and his soldiers escaped the cave, but then he yelled basically ‘Haha, loser!’ to the cyclops, so the cyclops got mad and cursed them.” “OHHHH.”

It went on for a very long time, and it was both tiring and interesting at the same time. You got to see Kageyama with like 15 different confused expressions, which was pretty funny. Though, you did have to explain it twice a lot of the time, in two different ways, just to get him to process it. It was like the first time, his brain almost refused to acknowledge it, and the second time, he got it as soon as he got a revelation- and no, there was absolutely nothing wrong with either of the explanations. 

In any outcome, this was good for you too, since you got to think about and analyze the topics yourself, making sure you knew them to the smallest details and figuring out stuff as you went so you could teach him about it. After this, you felt like a super tutor- being able to tutor Kageyama just does that to people.

When you got your midterm scores, the result wasn’t shocking, nor exactly what you expected. Nonetheless, it was still a good enough score for you, and you were satisfied. You sighed in relief; at least you didn’t do bad and it wasn’t a bad start to your college life. As the stress from the exams faded, you decided you deserved a day off. Kageyama had a game today, and so you decided to watch it. It was about to start as soon as you arrived, and you got a pretty decent seat with a good view of the Adler’s side of the court. You instantly noticed Kageyama, with definitely a different aura than the one you knew. The perplexed airhead was suddenly a confident master of the court, and it definitely was impressive.

You didn’t know too much about volleyball, besides Kageyama’s usually incoherent ramblings about the sport, so as someone who had no idea how things worked, you were amazed by everyone’s skill. You were amazed at how fast the ball zoomed from one side to the other, the sound it made when it forcefully slammed onto the floor, when the crowds cheered so dynamically; it enchanted you. You never knew how enjoyable it was to watch a volleyball game- and you were glad to see this. 

“Oh my god Kageyama!” you waved out to him as he was leaving. “You were so cool out there!” “Oh, t-thanks,” he replied. 

“The ball zoomed super fast all the time- I had a hard time keeping up with it! I’m really amazed at how you were able to get it to your teammates so well. Well, I guess you are a top player!” you giggled. “Oh, by the way, how did you do on your midterms?”

“Oh, I uh didn’t check it yet.”

“Then go check it now bakageayma.”

“I- okay.”

He opened his phone and fumbled around with it; he still wasn’t the fastest at keeping up with some technology. That was fine though; it was kind of quirky and cute to you. You looked along with him, curious of what he got. He didn’t mind though; he knew that you knew exactly how well he knew the material. 

“A-” he froze. You froze. 

“I- I passed…” he stared blankly at the C grade displayed on the screen. 

“... grats…” 

It wasn’t long before Finals came around, and you and everyone else was studying like nuts. Meanwhile, Kageyama was more focused on volleyball. 

“Hey Kags don’t you think you should be studying for finals-”

“Finals-” he froze. 

“Don’t tell me you forgot.”

He looked away, and you sighed. 

One week to finals. 

“Okay, Mr. Kageyama Tobio, I’m going to make sure you don’t fail your classes. And I mean it.” you told him, the two of you at your apartment. You took this opportunity to strengthen your knowledge of the subject, while also allowing him to pass- if he didn’t, who knows what would happen to him. You didn’t want to know, nor did he. (Though one could probably speculate.) The two of you set to work, you quizzing him on the topics and looking at him seriously, telling him, “Listen to me. Look me in the eyes. The formula for…” 

When the results for finals came around, you were the most nervous you’ve been all year- though it’s only been a semester. You fidgeted the entire day, looking at your scores as soon as you could; the refresh button probably broke. You passed with a score you would show your parents, and you were very proud of that. Perhaps tutoring Kageyama helped you understand so much better. Happy with your scores, you went to inquire how Kageyama did. 

Y/N: hey kags how’d you do on finals?

Kageyama Tobio: Huh- oh I didn’t check uh-

Y/N: Pfffft how’d you forget- was your mind filled with just volleyball again?

Y/N: rhetorical question you literally don’t need to answer the question lol

Kageyama Tobio: Y/N…

Y/N: yes?

Kageyama Tobio: YOU’RE A GENIUS I GOT A B. 

Y/N: whoohooooo let’s hold a partyyyyyyyyyy

Y/N: yes i’m so smart i even got you to get a B let’s goooooooooooooooooooo

Three semesters. And another three years. That’s how much longer you went through college. That was pretty normal, but you wouldn’t say you had a normal college life. Well, anyone could say that, but being close to one of the most popular volleyball players in the entire country really put you in a spot. Kageyama had even gotten a following over his time with the Adlers, and as closest friend outside of volleyball, the entire fanclub had their eyes on you. You had to say that Kageyama was excellent at not minding the fanclub- even to the point where he almost forgot it existed sometimes. Though, you were the one who had to tell them when they went too far and had to stop at a line. They definitely didn’t listen to you but to Kageyama when he told them, with his glaring face, to stop. (It was definitely scary, you decided you did not want to be on the receiving end of the glare) 

Anywho, during that time, you and Kageyama were study buddies. Well, not really, considering the fact that you were teaching him the material and he was learning it. You were more like a tutor per say, rather than a study buddy. Honestly you could’ve charged money for that and you bet he would be paying, but you weren’t going to do that to him; that was just mean, honestly. Kageyama would always tell you that if you did bad, you didn’t do worse than him, so it was alright. 

It was the day of graduation, the day you had been waiting for for years of schooling, but there were its ups and downs to it. On any occasion though, it was a day to be celebrated, and you were happy. After the sort of boring ceremony, you went to find Kageyama, who was probably standing awkwardly. He wasn’t hard to find; he was one of the taller people in the vicinity. 

“Hey Kags, grats on graduating! You actually passed.” “You too,” he said, looking away from you. “Well, uh-”

“Yeah?”

“Y/N!” 

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“Will- will you go out wit- with me?”

“Sure, Tobio.” you giggled.

『••✎••』 Extra Info * ˚ ✦ ⇢ If you would like to read some of my other works, find them here! * ˚ ✦ ⇢ Taglist: @serowotonin​ @luna-la-ley​ // send me an ask if you would like to be added!

A/N: LMAO THIS TOOK FOREVER i”ll be working on either the next ch of puppet queen or a diluc x reader i decided i’m doing

[tcheschirewrites]

Hey, are you participating in NaNoWriMo? Have you ever? And what was your experience like? I'm considering it but I feel so intimidated because I know I won't be able to commit to it wholeheartedly. Lowering my expectations and pacing myself would seem like the perfect solution but work kills my creative brain cells by the seconds. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of November I've only written half of page of alien language. Any advice? Also does Nano have to be a new project?

Oh man, Nano. I’m well familiar with Nano, and I’ve participated a few times (to varying degrees of success). This got very long, so I’m putting a cut.

The first time I attempted Nano was in 2006 for my novel Seerking. I had heard about it from a friend who was in an LJRP I was in, and she encouraged me to try it. I was still in high school at the time, and very frankly I did not have the dedication necessary to complete it. I got a lot of worldbuilding complete, but very little writing. I got about two pages of prose, and three notebooks of character and setting history, as well as a fairly detailed outline. I still have all of this.

The second time I attempted was in 2009, for a story that is based heavily on the Iron&Wine song ‘Boy With a Coin’. I got a little bit further, but I got stuck in a few places. I think it’s because my idea was bigger than my life experience, and I also got stuck in a lot of small details. Additionally, my first Word document (where I got about two chapters in?) was destroyed when my laptop’s hard drive just straight gave up on life - I did buck up and rewrite quite a bit, though it didn’t sing quite the same notes, and I have this handwritten copy still. (It’s possible I tried again with this same project the year after? I don’t remember tbvh)

My third attempt was in 2011, about a goverment operative and a faun. This one I got the furthest, and I still have the original handwritten draft and the typed copy. I pantsed this one, 100%. To this day, I still don’t know how this story ends, but I’d love to attempt a rewrite someday.

Then, unfortunately, from around 2012 until Fall of last year, I stopped writing period. I was in a real bad situation, and just didn’t have the energy for anything, let alone a novel. My most recent experience with Nano as an organization was Camp Nano, which is a much looser structure, and it is in May and July. Rather than the hard and fast 50k, you set your own goal when you announce your project.

I can understand your hesitance to participate, honestly. Nano is a beast of a project – to reach the minimum goal of 50k in the 30 allotted days, you have to produce 1667 words of new content every single day. This is approximately 3 pages, maybe a little more – which is a lot when you’re already stressed! And if you miss a day you have to adjust your daily totals for every following day, and the pressure starts to mount! It’s a lot, even if it is only meant to be a neat little challenge (mostly, I’ll cover benefits a bit later).

Now, my recommendations are going to follow two paths: planning, and pantsing. If you are naturally a planner – that is, you like having rough outlines, refined outlines, you like having character data, history, etc – then I recommend you have as much of your novel planned ahead of time before November 1st hits. Whatever notes or files you need to have set aside before you begin writing those first words, have them ready – read over them, refine them, and have them memorized front to back so that you know what your story is meant to be. If you are a natural planner, and you have not done this by today’s date (it’s 30 October where I am), then I do not recommend participating this year because it will stress you the fuck out and you might even make yourself sick.

The other popular option is called pantsing – essentially, you have a rough idea, and you’re flying by the seat of your pants. (This is literally what it is called on the Nano website, by the by – there are badges for it and everything.) If you are a pantser, then I still recommend a little preparation, but of a wildly different degree and type: find your story’s ambiance. If you are a pantser, think about what sparked the idea for your story? Try to put yourself back in the place (emotionally or physically) where you had the most intense version of the idea, and hang onto that feeling with both hands. This is incredibly important, because it will allow you to harken back to that feeling without chasing the high of first being hit by that feeling. If you are a pantser, focus heavily on the feelings you want to evoke with your story, and let your heart guide you.

Now the third option (I know what I said, I lied all right) is if you are a combination planner-pantser; you don’t want to have the rigidity of the outline, but you also like having a little bit of structure, or at least a direction to go in. If you are a combination planner-pantser, I recommend doing very soft preparation for yourself in the week leading up to Nano. So things like building yourself a playlist, maybe doodle what your main looks like in your head, or small details like character names and short dossiers. If you’re able, I recommend coming up with an ending, so you know what the end-goal looks like and you are able to track your story’s completion in your head.

For all three, I would recommend deciding ahead of time how you want to write your novel – are you going to type it up in a word processor (please make so many backups, do not live the heartache that I had to)? Are you going old school and hand writing it? Are you feeling like a boss that day and maybe want to dictate it into an app on your phone? Pick one, and make a dedicated space for your novel. You can mix them up, certainly, but make sure that you are able to consolidate effectively or you’re going to stress yourself out.

Now, you asked whether or not it has to be a “new” project. There are actually a few answers to this, depending on what you mean. Now, if we are to assume that “new” strictly means a brand new, fresh idea that you have just come up with specifically for National Novel Writer’s Month 2020, then the answer is no; it does not. Back in the day, there were a few purists that insisted you had to have a designated project every year, but like most purists, they’re just being assholes about it.

As a matter of fact, it does not even have to be a brand new project that you have not written any words for at all – however, if you do have an idea that you have already written for, you are not permitted to use any of your previous word count toward your goal. This is definitely a no-no. Personally, I’ve tried this, and I found it rough – I liked having the designated project, and I liked the buildup to it.

If you have, though, an idea that you’ve worked over and you are simply ready to start putting words on a page, this, I think, is Nano’s sweet spot.

Now, I know most of this 1000+ answer has been cautioning and reminders that Nano is tough – because, well, it is. It is a huge undertaking, and I feel like every participant has their horror stories to tell about their experience. But I want to reassure you that it isn’t 100% a hard slog to a dreary end; there are so many tools that Nano themselves provide you, as well as user-run communities and workshops, and even some benefits after the fact. These are the things I want to wrap this post up with.

Firstly, no matter how tired or stressed you are, if you register for nanowrimo.org, you’ll begin receiving daily emails from published authors and past participants. These range from silly and tedious, to incredibly comforting. My favorite one, which I cannot remember a lot of specifics from, was from a man who detailed his experience and reassured everyone that the work doesn’t have to be good – it just has to be 50k words. That’s it. You can have typos and errors all over the place, plot holes of all shapes and sizes, and a main character who doesn’t make any sense at all; it doesn’t matter, because the point of the event is simply to finish. Neil Gaiman has also said a time or two that your first draft’s only purpose is to exist. Just get the words out; you can fix them later.

Additionally, when you are completing your profile, you can enter in your location and there are designated forums for participants in your area. In the past, there have been meetups for group-writes and workshops as well, though I imagine they will be more along the lines of Discord calls this year. If you are a social person who needs a pair of eyes to help you work through a scene, Nano’s got your back. They will also send you statistics for your area for the average word count, daily word count, past winners, etcetera. It can sometimes feel like you are very alone during this difficult project, but a lot of these things bring a very human element to the event.

Finally, what comes after you have completed. A lot of these benefits are newer than my time, but I browsed through them when I did my Camp Project. When you complete the goal in the allotted time, you get a neat little badge for your webpage and a printable certificate for the immediate boost of dopamine. But you will also get discounts to some neat shit, like different word processing applications (I got 50% off of Scrivener when I finished Camp), as well as things like The Great Courses, discounts in the swag store, etc. But more than that, there are partnering websites who want to help you on the road to being published. Wattpad is in this group, but I believe also big name publishers (I might have seen Penguin on there at one point) are willing to work with winners to get their works distributed.

All that said, I recommend every writer attempt Nano at least once in their writing career. Even if I personally have not done so stellar in the past, it is a fantastic learning experience for all of the work that goes into producing a novel from start to finish – it forces you to know your limits, and sometimes to overcome them. I don’t think I will be participating this year – I have so many side projects that I want to get done, but I will very likely drop everything to do it next year. I have two novels that are real roughly built up that I could do for this, though, and I would love the dedicated time to spend on them.

[adultingautistic]

help? rambling! sorry for that thing.

(saw in the ask-section: so written today as of the 20th of August in the year 2020)

Hey,

No idea how to approach this. Though first things first: English is not my native language and I have some trouble with languages (even my native) [mostly speaking and writing… and understanding (the hearing part but sometime also the meaning part) – okay I just can’t language – sorry] and this thingy here will be long, again – sorry Though I learned to understand written english just so I could read more fanfictions (‘cause the ones in my native language didn’t satisfy me anymore) - spend a whole summer just reading stuff in english and now I *need* to read everything in english and watch things in their native production language (synchro is weird af) and if possible with subtitles (books: if it’s the authors native language; otherwise both languages (german and english) would be translated and then it doesn’t really matter, most of the time anyway)

WARNING: Messy, chaotic and about 2500 words long. Sorry. and it isn’t proof read and some sentences could be… not a sentence

I think I might be autistic / have adhd ? not sure, going to someone (professional) is not really an option as that would take at least 6 to 12 month to even get maybe a appointment… and it involves a lot of social interaction that would stress all people – even those that don’t have to think about *every* interaction they have with eachother… like no planning or thinking about what you have to say or can’t say and what’s appropriate? Like that is a thing – always wondered how most people got through life when everything is so damn hard. It is apparently a thing that isn’t so quite normal… lol*

Okay, most of the time (that I remember) wondered how that worked for everyone else except me – how they get through life thinking all those things, or well… don’t thinking all those things like HOW?!? Why can you “people”? and I learned it’s important if you’re a girl or not; so yeah, girl here. Followed adhd / autism stuff for a few month / weeks and now again for the last days (it’s an on and off thing). so yeah, I can relate to so much on like everything. Long time I thought, nah, can’t have it: good in school (more so when I was younger but never actually bad), finished school good (though could have been better, if I had studied once (like for my oral exam, I opened the document that should help us learn one whole time, the morning of the exam so yeah, not good at that; brain just goes, heard it once, why should I read this information? Can’t really recall it but while reading I “know” it, so WhAt Is STuDyInG?)) anyway (at this point I would have deleted about everything but like 3 or 4 sentences because… rambling. Sorry, but I think it is important what’s actually going on in my brain; I know it’s hard to read lol) considering all those things I read here (and on other blogs and stuff), I would explain so much about what’s going on in my life (I made a document where I collect all that stuff but it’s redundant sometimes and really messy; try to make a short list with most important things).

Like as a kid, it took me longer than other kids for this social stuff (not like it got “everything”, just enough to communicate more or less lol) or I was so freaking focused on rules; one example is at the train station, there is this line to indicate where you should wait for the train and the other side is where you’re allowed to step once the train is in the station – I lost it, when that rule wasn’t followed (never really big, loud but I was really upset – you know, I learned that it isn’t “allowed” to act out in public). Another thing, I would always get the adults (or kids) around me to speak to others: I mean, I wanted ice cream? Couldn’t order it (still hard to this day – I’m 19 years old btw) or any other basic interaction stuff – I mean I broke every connection to my best friend (in 6th grade, so I was like 10 or 11) because he broke a rule while playing “hide and seek” like yeah, one rule one time while playing and I didn’t speak to him for like 6-7 years (met him at driving school again lol) and I still have his book because I didn’t want anything to do with him anymore (now it’s just awkward to give it back).

As I was younger I loved reading, couldn’t get me away from it – now not so much lol (books or reading in general is so hard sometimes… most of the time) – but that is more like: I lost myself in the books and was super focused on it – now I “don’t have time” as in I can’t really read a book if I don’t have theoretically the whole day and night – cause if I have to do stuff later “there is not enough time to read a book” because I could get lost in it and miss stuff and 5 hours is like 5 minutes, right? (that is a part of “time blindness”, am I mistaken? – never really related to that on a deeper level but the longer it think about it, the more stuff comes to my mind that could be part of it lol / like I always at least try to) get ready when I want to visit my grandparents, it’s like a ten minute walk so I need at least 45 minutes to prepare. Example: want to be there at 14:00 so I should go to the bathroom around 13:15 the latest, bathroom always takes long ‘cause I get distracted, so I then somehow get going around 13:50 – spoiler: I need more like at least 15 minutes not less then 10 to get to my grandparents by foot – and where is the time? I got out of the bathroom somewhere before 13:40 most of the time – I do the exact same things every time and sometimes I’m like: oh, it’s like 13:25/13:30, why would I think I need so much time to get ready? And then most often I need longer – and no, then I start to got even earlier (bathroom is like the first thing in the routine I do before I have to leave the house) and somehow it is now 13:45 and I just leave the bathroom – HOW??)

Okay, MSWord tells me, I have written like almost a 1100 words and haven’t even looked at my 11 page document – sorry (can I even write that many words in an ask at tumblr?)

Another thing I found is RSD – of my god (I usually don’t like to use it like that but omg), that explains so much – don’t want to write too much (missed quite a few “too”s I think lol hope you understand anyway) – I really react so intense to small, constructive criticism and I didn’t (don’t) understand why; and question everything; I remember everything I did wrong (so many “small” things but I’m such bad at human sometimes) and the feels and oh no, I didn’t even do something wrong, my coworker/sort-of-not-really-friend told me how I could have slightly improved what I did: I’m such a bad human, I can’t do anything right and they won’t want to have to do anything with me again – thank you brain, not helpful. One other thing was, like I asked for one weekend of and I wasn’t allowed to take it ‘cause they planned to or already shifted an event (couldn’t really focus on that) to that weekend and I didn’t know it and when they said “no”, in that situation I could have lost it, I was almost in tears (you do not cry in public lol) and thought, how could I even ask that and be soo egoistic (along the lines of that).

This next one is just the text copied from a post but that is like exactly what it is for me:

“I literally thought all the symptoms were the default way a brain works, so you’re telling me some of you can “choose” what to pay attention to? Like, if you know you absolutely have to listen to and remember something you just “can” even if you don’t like it?

And if you’re at a restaurant and three other tables are having conversations you don’t just automatically absorb everything they’re saying?

And if you know you have to do something within the next hour it won’t just remind you of a different subject entirely which reminds you of another different subject entirely and you don’t just take you three days to remember the original thing you were doing????”

so true lol.

Found another post with autism signs in adults (that my have been missed as kids), I took out everything I don’t really relate to (like 5 or 6 things lol):

-          may constantly rehears conversations or interactions

-          may feel as though you are always on stage

-          may have a few close friends, not many acquaintances

-          may struggle with other people breaking rules (RULES ARE ABSOLUT – HOW CAN YOU BREAK THEM?)

-          may often fidget, chew, tap, or other repetitive behaviors

-          may get more or less upset at something than is “appropriate”

-          may struggle to adjust when plans change without warning

-          may have routines that don’t seem to have a real purpose

-          may struggle in situations that are unfamiliar

-          may be a very picky eater with few preferred foods

-          may struggle with noises, touching, or sensory input

-          may struggle to process visual or auditory information

-          may struggle to settle body down enough for restful sleep (though I now have a weighted blanket and that’s soo awesome, it really helps at least a bit (don’t wake up that often at night anymore))

-          may struggle to keep track of a fast conversation

-          may take jokes very literally, and not understand teasing

-          may miss sarcasm or subtleties while others are speaking

I understand teasing, I can more or less successful tease and be sarcastic but I’m not sure if people are teasing me. I do not prefer to communicate via text or email. It is still very stressful for me - a telephone is also bad (tone and stuff, not understanding the words correct and not even seeing the other person and in person is also bad – so no to communication and/or interaction lol)

I could provide example for everything but I’m at around 1700 words and just no.

Didn’t really mention sensory stuff, another post I found: “basically, your day-to-day sensory input shouldn’t be causing you distress. sounds wild, i know, but it’s not neurotypical for the stimuli (be it sound, touch, visual, etc etc) you encounter on a day-to-day basis to make you unhappy. also, if busy shopping malls or crowded parties consistently cause you distress or agitation, that’s a neurodiverse thing. it sounds strange, but apparently but yeah, it’s normal for most people to expect to be comfortable in their day to day surroundings.”

Like on one level, I knew it couldn’t be quite “normal” to be always uneasy in “normal” day to day surroundings but like, I can’t understand how people can not find it hard to be in such environment (I heard some enjoy it even, like HOW?).

Random interjection ‘cause I wanted to say something to thing from the beginning: * “Allistics do not “prepare” in order to socialize.  They do not have scripts.  They do not write them, memorize them, or use them.  They just magically know what to say. “ yeah, wow, didn’t realise that for a long time, and it is really magically. But somehow they can; I still ask my mom to help me write emails (more or less important ones) ‘cause it’s hard and she’s always like: “we do it so often, why do you still need help, just write” – not helpful and we didn’t do it actually ‘cause it is a complete different situation now lol every new email is a new thing… I need to think about what to say to the cashier every damn time I’m in the supermarket lol; if I don’t have to talk, someone else orders for me (they thinks I’m lazy or so, I don’t know but it’s so hard and you know what to do, so you can do it lol)

And that executive dysfunction thingy also explains a lot – I mean, I like languages, I’m just not good at that speaking/hearing the words thing – still, I learn Ancient Greek as a sort of hobby (I mean, I learn it for so long now, it’s too late to stop, that would be weird and it is really interesting, just really hard) and I needed like 7 hours to do the work (like, got out of bed, got breakfast, started the computer and did like 30 minutes of working, then did some stuff on the internet for like an hour and then ate my forgotten breakfast, then did some more browsing (I need to do the work cause I have to send it to my teacher this evening lol) some work for like almost an hour, some more phone, a bit of work – and so on. I did some work (but like so many people would have done more or needed less time lol) – anyway I know I really need to work on the language and I just… don’t. arg, that sucks so much, every week I think, I could start doing things on Saturday and then everyday a bit so I have like six days to do some work and every time it’s Thursday and I’m like, lol 10 hours for doing a weeks work. And it’s not like I could focus for that 10 hours – except when I can but sadly it’s almost never on the things I *need* to do. Anyway if my parents hadn’t provided dinner, I wouldn’t have eaten more than breakfast today – anyways sometime I want ice cream or other stuff and I just… can’t do it like I’m sitting here for an hour now, I’m so freaking bored and I just want ice cream but do I move? Nope, and doing something to not feel bored? Nope. I also mean to get my thingy for my wrist ‘cause I have some problems and typing hurts but lol, nope. An example as kid would be I needed hours to dry myself after a shower and just sit on the floor in my room doing more or less nothing or playing (I now a have strategy but yeah)

So, yeah, sorry; I think it’s quite possible that I’m autistic / have adhd, both or so – am I making things up and this is just my mind going a bit wild? (also, I’ve done some online “tests”; most of the time I get like ¾ of the maximal points, but at least always more than half the full points)

Sorry, it’s a messy, long thing but I need a bit of an advice or so – just, like “yeah, could be possible” or “nope.”

Thanks if you made it to the end! 20.08.2020

PS. could write so much more in my mind but nope. i think one can get my point. otherwise just ask me

PPS. actually talked with my grandmother about it, lol, she said, it would explain some things she wondered about lol (never thought i would talk in real life with someone about it but i really needed to talk about my thoughts and then i couldn’t shut up and i was so worried but she is kinda cool with it? though she doen’t really know anything about the topic except what i told her so yeah. i acually have no clue how to approach my mum (even if it isn’t autism/adhd or so, i think i have to talk about how i tick a bit lol) (sorry, just had to write it a least lol)

so sorry, needed a part two (cause brain is stupid)

Okay, part two (I’m so sorry) (now it is the 21st of August 2020)

There is so much more I can write about: sorry, again like 1300 words.

Like, special interests – I have no idea; as I kid my teacher had to regularly remind me that I have to leave the classroom for break – cause I was so into my book that I didn’t hear anyone leaving the room or the bell; now I can get really invested in some fanfictions (if I have like five days for myself and nothing to do, it is like 3 books without a break) and I’m at a point where I don’t find (good) new stuff and read the same fanfic again and again (I know exactly what will happen and still love it), sometimes I don’t read it for like a few weeks or month and then like 5 times back to back. I absolutely love Doctor Who (but I’m not excessively obsessive or so and don’t know that many facts just some), just can ramble for a few minutes (okay, everyone who would listen speaks German and my main input for Doctor Who is English, so hard to translate that and stuff). Well back to books: I love them; even though I can’t properly focus much these day, I love them, I need them: but why? I hate that when book covers changes or the side of the book like it’s: publisher, name of book, author and the next book is like name of the book, publisher, author and all is mixed up or the symbol of the publisher is slightly different: why? Can’t it be consistent? Why??.

Routines, rituals and stuff. Yeah, I have for example this one street (they repaired the street but there is a small crack now), I have to cross it on the side that is where the street crosses another and then the last 3 steps have to be on the other side and the fourth is stepping on the sidewalk (I really can’t do it any other way and I hate this one car that always blocks the crack a bit – it shouldn’t be standing there ‘cause it’s almost directly in the crossing lol) when I still was going to school, my way home was very specific and one time there was a building/construction site (just some repairs or work on the pipe lines in the ground) and the first time I saw this I was stressed after a long day of school and almost lost it right there and then, because I couldn’t walk my normal way (and yes, at home I cried at bit); for the next few weeks my way back home was hell. I have some specific routines for the bathroom and showering (though most people have that, right?). I have to pack my things and then my stuff like keys and such in the same way every time. When I need a walk I have like two (or three) routes I can take and I have to do them and almost can’t change them after I started (I can though it really throws me off and I don’t feel really well after that). One time – cause Covid-19 and stuff – you need to use a shopping cart where I live in order to enter the supermarket (so you keep more distance) – so, I went to the market by foot and had everything planned, shortly before I am at the store I realise I don’t have a “chip” (thingy you need to use the shopping cart; don’t know if you know what I mean) and I lost it – my plans and routine how I go shopping to that market (if by foot) was ruined – went back home and cried and raged like for an hour (went later again, cause I really needed stuff and I couldn’t leave that thing open, that also feels… not good – had to finish the walking “round”: to the store, store, back home)

One thing I mentioned before: sensory stuff; yeah, not a fan of “loud” noises (it isn’t always the loudness but more the number of noises). Water in my face (nope, hate it, never under the shower and like a sponge or so is horror (like everywhere on my body), just clean water is okay (but please, I can’t have had soap like right before on my hands)), lights is a day to day thing (though if I’m tired / close to what I think is sensory overload, either the room I’m in gets like darker or lights up so much it’s not tolerable anymore (then I know, I really, really have to leave the room and not see or hear anybody anything anymore)), and food, yeah (everything has its place on my plate and please don’t touch), I’m a really “picky” eater and I absolutely despise like cooked or baked fruits (some vegetables too) (they feel soo weird in my mouth… and taste bad… but the texture alone is… really, really bad) (if I wait a bit more, I could think of more but you get the gist I think)

One thing that throws me off: Since I’m 14 years old, I do some stuff with youth groups like mostly work in the church as a volunteer (like in the (school)holidays going a vacation with a group and such things) – I needed like three years (I was and still am seen as shy, mostly) to really “lead” a group (I really am good at imitating the others that can lead a group, I think) and now after I finished school and am doing a “Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr (FSJ)” (voluntary social year) (basically I “work” for a year in a social job (sorry, no idea how to explain it in English) and get not much money (that’s the volunteering-part, but ‘cause I work full-time (38.5 hours a week on paper), I get a bit of money)) – and now I applied for studying for working in a social job – can’t really explain it but important is that I would/will have to work with people and stuff, like my job is to create/plan activities for people (like for example, a meeting every week for old people, free-time activities for teenagers or so). On one level I somehow like that working with people (as long as I know what I do, I had time to plan and everything happens more or less as I imagined/planned), on another level I absolutely… well not hate it… but it is really taxing for me and sometimes I really question myself but then other people say, do it, you’re good at it – and I’m like: yeah? I sometimes feel terrible and have no idea what’s going but okay, good that you don’t see that?! Am I not totally awkward and what? Still, have no clue what I would do instead of that lol (sorry, explained that whole thing real bad; just ask, if something is unclear)

So, two options: either I fake everything I wrote before that last thing and how would that work? Or I’m really good at faking that last thing and how? I have no idea and yeah, I had to write that – can both work? Like, it’s not like that I’m always (really) comfortable doing that social stuff but on the other hand, a bit adrenaline and anxiety makes the life more fun or something like that (and it’s not like, yeay, one time a certain situation managed and the next time I can navigate that somewhat same situation, nope, it’s like nothing ever happened before and that’s… annoying?)

Sorry again to bother you. Thanks for reading

21.08.2020

PS. I will probably think of something new every few hours but that’s enough for now I think lol – sorry

PPS. And sorry for my bad English and explaining… language is hard (not like I could write it better in my native language lol)

_______________________________________________________________

First, I will never, ever, ever judge someone based on how good their English is, whether English is their first language or not.  People communicate the best they can, and that’s all that counts, and it does not matter if it’s “perfect”.

So I can’t address every detail you brought up, because this was a LOT!  I did read all of it though, and the general impression I get is that you’re right, you probably have ADHD, and possibly autism as well, though I am not a doctor and I can’t diagnose you.

You asked a few times if you could be “faking” it, and the answer to that I can say for certain: No, you are not faking.  What you told me here are your life experiences.  I just read a story of “How life is like” for you, and it was not fiction, this is your real perspective about how your brain sees the world.  This is not fake.  This is who you are, and I felt what you wrote was very open and honest, the exact opposite of fake.

Sorry, it’s a messy, long thing but I need a bit of an advice or so – just, like “yeah, could be possible” or “nope.”

Based on your experiences that you shared, I’d say it’s more than likely you have ADHD.  You talk often about trying to complete a task and losing your focus before it’s finished:

Anyway if my parents hadn’t provided dinner, I wouldn’t have eaten more than breakfast today – anyways sometime I want ice cream or other stuff and I just… can’t do it like I’m sitting here for an hour now, I’m so freaking bored and I just want ice cream but do I move? Nope, and doing something to not feel bored? Nope. I also mean to get my thingy for my wrist ‘cause I have some problems and typing hurts but lol, nope. An example as kid would be I needed hours to dry myself after a shower and just sit on the floor in my room doing more or less nothing or playing (I now a have strategy but yeah)

This is all very suggestive of ADHD.  You also had some symptoms that could be autism, but it seems like the ADHD is more prominent for you and is affecting you more (keep in mind, I’m only a stranger on the internet, I could be totally wrong).

I’m really happy that you were able to share these thoughts with your grandmother, and that she was open to listening to you about them, even if she didn’t have all the facts.  

I know you said it would be a long wait, and very difficult, to get an appointment with a professional.  But I do really think you should be tested for ADHD.  Maybe your grandmother can help you talk to your mum about it, or maybe your grandmother can make all those phone calls for you (because believe me, I know how difficult it is to make phone calls, they are just as hard for me).  Even if you have to wait a year, it would be worth it to know- and also, because in the case of ADHD, there is medication which can help you.  So it would be really worth it for you to get that, even if you have to wait a long time.

You’re obviously a very detail-oriented, thoughtful person, and I know that you’ve studied this subject inside and out.  You’re not faking, you’re not making it up.  These are your experiences, and they are the truth, and you deserve to be tested if you want to be.  

[ryouverua]

Chekhov’s Bathroom

RECORD SCRATCH -

so you may be wondering how I got myself into this situation -

PREVIOUSLY ON DANGANRONPA V3...

... we found out the classroom has an incredibly interesting mechanism that not only creates flashback lights, but immediately transforms the whole setup back to normal the moment someone comes in. WHICH. UH. IS HUGE.

Also, we’re nowhere near the girl’s bathroom - but we’re getting to that, I promise.

.... Also also, Himiko is alive, which is very good! And I’m super happy for her! I’m just, uh, distracted, that’s all.

L-LOOK HIMIKO I AM REALLY HAPPY TO SEE YOU BUT I DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE’VE JUST UNCOVERED HERE -

Oh crap that’s right though! I guess we aren’t assuming she was able to dislodge it enough from her side by way of time and effort? .... I did just associate the word effort with Himiko, didn’t I. T-TO BE FAIR THOUGH, SHE HAS GOTTEN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT -

sweetcheeks has the cutest little ‘e-eto...’ sound clip istg

Aaaaw Shuichi! He’s gotten so much better at expressing his feelings!

LMAO HIMIKO

WE’RE TREADING INTO UMINEKO TERRITORY WITH THAT SORT OF LANGUAGE man she really is trying to change the genre even now

I was going to say you really need to tell her about the flashback light machine you found but now I’m afraid of bursting her bubble. 8′D

....

You know what? Speaking of adorable sound clips, her ��KA KA KA - !’ is also cute af. Equality!

- another seacats references

sweetcheeks I’m sorry I can’t help it

okay I know that it’s just the building collapsing from the damage but at the same time -

“K1-B0 CAN YOU PLEASE WATCH YOUR AIM!”

“SORRY CAN’T HEAR YOU, I ONLY LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY FINISH MY FTES -”

I was just one away k1-b0 I was just one away -

“And how crazy would it be if someone died in an investigation, anyway - oh wait -”

Yet another bone for the my fellow Umineko fans but man I can’t get over the similarities between Maria and her - I honestly wonder if she was inspired by her at all. 8′D

ANYWAY IGNORE ME TIME TO DECONSTRUCT THE MAGIC SOLUTION -

..... you lost me. But I suppose that’s why she’s inviting us to investigate the bathroom with her -

HIMIKO. HIMIKO. FOCUS.

......... this would be a bad time to bring up the Love Hotel, huh.

It would also be a good time to bring up the whole flashback light situation too, but??? We don’t? Okay, fine. Moving on, I suppose.

MORE RUNNING - though at least it’s a lot closer than the other spots? LIKE A CERTAIN ASTRONAUT’S LAB LOOK I LOVE YOU KAITO AND TSUMUGI BUT FFS WAS THAT NECESSARY -

Omg I love Shuichi’s internal monologue here as he stares at the bathroom door and tries to psyche himself up after going in -

Full disclosure Shuichi? It’s just a room. I’ve accidentally walked into the guy’s room myself. It’s... just a room. It’s not a big deal. Just. Just go in there, dude.

SWEETCHEEKS. YOU ALSO NEED TO FOCUS.

IT’S REALLY NOT A BIG DEAL UNLESS IT’S IN USE.

One step two step three step you can do this Shuichi Saihara this bathroom’s got nothing on you, we have the Detective’s Authority on our side - !

“Please tell me quickly before I pass out from stress.”

................ this sounds more like the Chamber of Secrets to me, but okay.

Wait, no, seriously, were they connected? Since when was Junko’s hidden room connected to the bathroom? I swear they weren’t??? Wasn’t there a special control room and everything? Am I misremembering?

?????? Seriously, though? W-What in the world are you talking about???

Honestly if this appeared behind the sink I would have freaked out. .... Well, more than I’m freaking out, for multiple reasons. There’s the general ‘oh shit a secret passage’ and then there’s the more specific my brain associates two characters with this room because of a certain scene for shipping purposes and one of them is still alive, currently with us, and incredibly suspicious -

Oh goodness, how fitting that they left finding the hidden passage for the Ultimate Magician. 8′)

Where’s the exit then? Like, the hidden one that leads to the bathroom? Was it also concealed in case this room was discovered?

.................wait,

wait

WAIT

I NEED TO LOOK UP SOMEtHING -

BECAUSE I SWEAR

TSUMUGI SAID SHE WENT TO THE BATHROOM IN CHAPTER 1 WHEN WE WERE COLLECTING ALIBIS - or someone said she did? There was the whole group that went downstairs, Kaede and Shuichi in the classroom, and the ones left upstairs were Kokichi, Miu, Korekiyo, Tsumugi, and... Ryoma? K1-b0? Did Ryoma get invited down? He seems like he would’ve been an asset but okay now’s not the time to criticize Kaito’s ‘best fighters’ choices -

oh god where’s the screenshot I really didn’t document anything in the first chapter at all lmao -

I just - I just remember it being so weird at the time? Like a random tangent that went nowhere? She just said she went to the washroom, they followed up for like, five minutes, and then that was it - or... or something, right? Because she never went past Kaede and Shuichi? And then there were apologies passed around for accusing her, and I thought it was cute at the time, and I thought she was kinda cute, and Ryoma too, and oh god I miss them but I’m getting distracted -

OOOH MY GOD I ALWAYS THOUGhT THIS WAS WEIRD POInT BUt ULTIMATELY DISMISSED IT AS UNIMPORTANT WHEN THE GAME SEEMED TO MOVE COMPLETELY PAST IT

Enter through the bathroom.... run out and grab the handbook.... sneak back up while no one’s the wiser? What if Kaede’s plan had failed???? Then again, Tsumugi said she had the aura of a protagonist.... did she have that much faith in her to succeed? this is some twisted Kaemugi at work lmao

And omfg it wasn’t included on Rantaro’s map for the sole purpose of setting him up for some kind of ambush - 

A mastermind who, honestly, was heavily hinted to be female with the initial ‘mother’ comments in Chapter 4 but has definitely been confirmed.

Also this game is really driving over how badly the mastermind screwed Rantaro over. what was it she said, backflip onto a landmine and die or something -

SWEETCHEEKS DID YOU REALIZE TOO???

Then again you didn’t have the benefit of being with me for the Chapter 1 fanservice scene... 8′D

GOOD.

T... thanks for confirming I suppose.

....  ew. Why can’t being busted stop you from talking, too.

Wait... really??? Why? Shouldn’t you and the mastermind have the same shared interests at heart?? Even if you’re at your end, shouldn’t you want to protect the identity of the mastermind - or at least keep on with this whole Kaede frame-job?

... But yeah, okay, I get it now - they’re trying to drive that phrase into my brain, and I think I understand why. I just, uh, wish there was another way about it, or that the wording could be a bit different, that’s all. 8′D

BUT WHY

OH NOW YOU’LL SHUT UP

oh ew it vomited like, motor oil or something. Eeeew.

>:|

Man K1-b0, even though I’m pretty sure it was Monotaro that caused the explosion, you really... really aren’t being careful with your classmates’ lives anymore, huh?

J-J... Just let her have this one, Shuichi. It’s okay to add a layer of fantasy as long as we can get the answer. 8′D

I’m so glad we have a little chance for sassy Sweetcheeks to rear his head. 

I still want to get a visual on what the pathway looks like from the mastermind’s end but I guess just knowing it exists is enough. 8′D Ah well.

And then Shuichi says nothing LMAO SHUICHI SHE IS BEGGING YOU FOR SOME EXTERNAL VALIDATION

He.... he’s getting better, but man he’s still pretty obtuse when it comes to emotions. I’m glad that while he’s showing some improvements, he didn’t just transform all at once.

Anyway, after Shuichi and I try to leave and Himiko literally doesn’t move Shuichi realizes that there’s some emotional work he needs to do on the side of his detective work. Himiko still has to spell it out for him though. B-Baby steps, kid.

LITERALLY. HAS TO GUIDE HIM THROUGH HER VULNERABILITY. LIKE, HANDHOLDING HIM THE ENTIRE WAY.

.... Though this made me smile. Aaaaw, that’s pretty sweet. Just a thought, but I wonder if this is another case of him thinking everyone else is on the same page as him and projecting, the same way he does with his anxieties? ‘This is the clue that will change everything. And now that I know that, surely Himiko does too.’ It’s another example of him diminishing his own skill as a detective - “if I could do this, anyone can” - so naturally, he had already assumed Himiko understood this. Why would she be worried if she already knew the huge contribution she had just made, after all?

anyway small tangent ignore me

You’re the Ultimate Mage. :D

Sometimes I’m a little worried about indulging in her magic/escapism fantasies but then she smiles like this and I can’t help but think it’s worth it ~ she has been through so much, you know? She needs something familiar lol to lean on and as long as it’s not impending the investigation like it did in Chapter 2.... 8′D

Adrenaline is disappearing, huh? Well, keep that energy up - now we have to be nearly done, right? .... Right? What else could there possibly be?

“Shuichi come quick there’s something weird in Hotel Kumasutra -”

“NO. NO, I REFUSE!!!!”

“OH GOD COOTIES, THERE ARE DEFINITELY COOTIES EVERYWHERE -”

lmao Shuichi never change

[nayutai]

Linked | 2

A/N: This is the longest thing I’ve ever written in my life dear God. Fanfic authors that write stuff this long on the regular deserve a medal and an ice cream cone.

Word Count: 10,039

The Center is a stark contrast from all of the stories I’d heard as a child. I’d been terrified with tales of needles and forced scientific research but the view in front of me is a far cry from what I’ve envisioned. The building is made of sandstone and brick with roses of varying colors blooming everywhere. There’s a small fountain out front surrounded by more flowers and couple stone benches. The entire setup screams love. That ideal is further cemented when we walk inside. Everyone is smiling and majority of the nurses moving through the halls are dressed in some shade of red or pink. It’s absolutely nauseating. Tae squeezes my hand which is covered in his much larger one as we walk up to the reception desk.

“Hi! How can I help you today?” The peppy nurse asks as we sit in the two chairs set out in front of her desk.

“We have an appointment with Dr. Min. Kim and Garrison” Tae responds. I’m so glad that he’s able to take over like this because I’ve been running on autopilot for the past three days since The Incident occurred. The nurse quickly checks us in then gives us at least 10 pages of paperwork to fill out.

“Since you two are new patients I’ll need you to fill all this out for me. It’s front and back so make sure you don’t miss anything.” She smiles brightly as she hands over the clipboard and a pen with a bright pink flower superglued to the top of it. We make our way out to the waiting room to bare our souls to all of this paperwork.

“When were we mated? February 27th” The documents don’t take nearly as long to complete as I thought they would but the information they ask for is borderline intrusive. Have we consummated our relationship? If so, how often are we sexually involved? Tae wiggles his eyebrows at that question which makes me smile for the first time since we walked through those doors.

Thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to see Dr. Min once we hand in our paperwork. He’s not quite what I imagined he would be after seeing the other staff members. His smile is bright and wide when he greets us but I can tell he’s a man who likes to show his happiness in ways other than a permanent smile. Nevertheless, his very aura is calming. There’s a picture of a smiling toddler in the arms of a woman with a matching smile perched proudly on his desk.

“Dr. Min Yoongi, pleasure to meet you both,” He says enthusiastically as he shakes our hands before rounding his desk to sit down. “So, what seems to be the problem?” Suddenly he’s all business as he grabs a pen so that he can take notes. The shift is almost a little jarring but time is of the essence I guess.

Tae immediately starts rattling off the details of what happened that day in my apartment. I interject here and there but ultimately leave the storytelling up to him. Dr. Min listens intently, occasionally making a few notes in what I’m assuming is our file. His brow furrows the more Tae speaks. I can practically see the gears in his head turning as he tries to piece together the information that we’re giving him.

“When you say the soulmate mark was fading, how exactly was it doing that?” he looks up from his notes to elaborate. “Did it go letter by letter? Were all of the letters fading slowly at once?”

“It-it was more like when you move a piece of paper over a candle flame. Bits and pieces of each letter seemed to just burn away but it stopped when he grabbed my arm.” I realize that this is the first time that I’ve actually said this out loud since I’d called my mom in a panic that day. It sounds just as outlandish now as it did then.

Dr. Min mumbles a curse under his breath before hastily reaching for his phone. He looks as if he’s been kicked in the knee. He punches a few numbers, glancing at his watch as he waits for his call to be answered.

“I need you in my office now.” He opens his mouth to continue but whoever he’s on the phone with interrupts him to which he rolls his eyes. “Shove that quesadilla up your ass and get in here now.”

This is a far cry from the happy, smiling doctor that greeted us when we first arrived. Frankly, he looks stressed and maybe even a little scared. He gives us a small smile but it’s nowhere near as calming as I think he intended it to be. If anything, I’m even more worried at the fact that he even feels we need to be calmed down. “I’m going to be honest with you guys. If this is what I think it is, it’s bad”

A frazzled man in a white coat that matches Dr. Min’s suddenly bursts through the door. “Hi, I’m Dr. Kim Seokjin.” He quickly shakes our hands before leaning against the filing cabinet behind Dr. Min’s desk. He glances over at Dr. Min with a look that says this better be good. Must have been one hell of a quesadilla.

“Tell Dr. Kim exactly what you told me word for word.” Tae and I share worried glances but nevertheless, we recount every detail of what happened for Dr. Kim. By the time we’re done, his face is a mask of stress just like Dr. Min’s.

“This can’t be what I think it is. Yoongi, tell me this isn’t what I think it is.” A deep sigh leaves Dr. Min as he drops his pen to press his fingers to his temples, eyes tightly closed as he mumbles something to himself.

“What do you think it is?” Tae asks apprehensively.

“Simply put, it’s magic. Faerie magic if you want to be more specific.” Dr. Kim explains rather reluctantly.

“Wait, faeries?” I ask with a confused glance between the two frazzled doctors. “Are you really telling me that Tinker Bell tried to burn his initials off of my wrist?”

“No, no, Tinker Bell is what we call a benevolent faerie. The one responsible for what happened to you? Not so much.” Dr. Min explained. “The magic these faeries practice is old and dark. It’s also the only magic strong enough to” Dr. Min takes a deep breath as if to stable himself “to break a soulmate bond”

It suddenly feels like all of the air has been sucked out of the room. The Earth seems to have stopped spinning on its axis. I can see Dr. Kim’s lips moving but my brain can’t process what he’s saying. It all sounds like gibberish. The feeling of Tae’s hand tightly squeezing mine is the only thing keeping me anchored to reality. Someone, somewhere is trying to split Tae and I apart for some unknown reason and I begin to feel physically sick at the prospect of losing him.

“Jess” The sound of Tae calling my name makes me blink my eyes open though I’m not sure when I’d even closed them. “Jess, come back to me.” He’s got my face cupped in his large hands as I see the doctors standing over his shoulder in concern.

“What happened?”

“Panic attack. A perfectly normal response to what’s happening right now” Dr. Min responds as he returns to his desk. Dr. Kim busies himself checking my pulse and vital signs as Tae looks on.

“I’m checking the two of you into The Center for an extended stay until we can get to the bottom of this.” Dr. Min explains. “We have people who handle this sort of thing but you two physically cannot leave each other’s sides until we’ve got this sorted out. Only the touch of a soulmate can stop this faerie’s magic.”

“Wait but what about school? Our jobs? Our…lives?” I ask incredulously while Tae nods in agreement.

 “I know this is extremely abrupt and inconvenient but, in order for us to help you two, we need to keep you here.” Dr. Min explains as he pushes his phone closer to us. “We don’t know who is trying to break your bond nor do we know why.”

 “We can’t force you to stay but if you want to hold on to each other then it’s in your best interest to do what we say.” Dr. Kim adds on.

Tae releases my hand to drag both of his down his face. For the first time, he lets it show just how tired and worried he is. He’s been hiding his feelings for the sake of my sanity but I can see the weight of everything settling on his shoulders. This is bad. Very bad. He’s been so strong but it’s my turn now.

 “We’ll stay but I need to make some arrangements.” Both doctors relax a bit in obvious relief.

 Dr. Min slides his phone closer to me. “Call whoever you need. I need to go speak with the lab techs. There’s a battery of tests that need to be run before we can even begin to try and sort all of this out.”

 The two men quickly make their exit and I immediately pick up the phone. After dealing with two universities, two crappy places of employment, and two sets of worried parents, I am both mentally and physically drained. A knock on the closed office door precedes Dr. Min poking his head into the room. Tae waves him in and he returns to his desk.

 “The nurses in the long-term ward told me that they’ll have a room ready for you two in about an hour so while they’re doing that I’ll go over the tentative plan of action we’ve come up with.” Dr. Min informs as we listen attentively.

“First and foremost, we have informed the investigative division of your situation.” I didn’t realize that The Center even had an investigative division. I’d always thought it was just a hospital of sorts for soulmate issues. “The involuntary severance of a soulmate bond is actually a serious crime so they’ll be looking for the culprit on their end using the results from the tests we run.”

“And what kind of tests will you be running exactly?” Tae asks as he squeezes my hand in his.

“Magic this powerful always leaves behind remnants so we’ll be running some blood tests on Ms. Garrison since she seems to be the main target of this faerie. We’ll also be running some less…conventional tests such as what we call Readings.”

“Why do I feel like this Reading is going to be less fun than actual reading?” I ask apprehensively. My left nipple is tingling in a way that tells me I won’t like whatever the hell a “Reading” is. Tae always laughs at me when I say that but in all my 21 years my left nipple has never let me down. It’s always guided me through life like a trusty compass and right now it’s telling me that eating nails would be more fun than whatever Dr. Min is talking about.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Reading aren’t very pleasant.” I knew it. Another point for the left nipple. “First you need to understand that magic is akin to a fingerprint when it comes to trying to find out who did what. Essentially what happens is one of our lab fellows will put you in a coma of sorts and they’ll then use the remnants of the magic left in your system to try and trace it back to the faerie responsible for it.”

“But Jess will be okay, right?” I can feel Tae’s panicked energy radiating off of him in waves as squeezes my hand ever tighter.

“Most people come out of Readings completely unscathed; however, the initial toll they take on a person’s mind and body can be a bit overwhelming so she’ll need to stay in that comatose state for at least 24 hours afterwards to give her body time to recuperate.”

My lower lip is drawn between my teeth almost instinctively as my anxiety starts to skyrocket. Finding and being with my soulmate was supposed to be the most exhilarating time of my life and up until now it has been. It’s so unfair that we only got to experience that type of bliss for such a short amount of time.

As if sensing my growing unease, Tae starts rubbing circles in the palm of my hand. I can feel my heart rate slowly returning to normal as he continues his ministrations. Dr. Min goes over a few more basic things before his phone rings again notifying him that our room is ready.

Tae and I are pleasantly surprised that our hospital room is more like a hotel suite with heart rate monitors.

Noticing our expressions, Dr. Min pipes up from his spot by the door as our nurse Miranda sets to hooking up the equipment, “We like to make our patients as comfortable as possible. It’s bad enough that you have to be in the hospital in the first place may as well make it like home.” He shoves off of the door frame before bidding us goodbye. “I’ll see you two in the morning.”

Our parents stop by not long after the doctor leaves with all of our stuff. Of course, the two mothers in the room can’t stop fussing over us. That is until Tae’s younger sister Mihyun gently places Tae’s duffel bag on the bed to reveal a sleeping Yeontan on top of his clothes. That dog can sleep through everything.

Tae and I immediately squeal as we descend upon our “child” while his mom descends on his sister for sneaking Yeontan into the hospital. He gives an excited yip before launching himself into Tae’s waiting arms. We’re allowed exactly five minutes of playtime before Tae’s mom is shooing Mihyun out of the room with Tannie hidden under her baggy sweatshirt.

“We’ll leave you two to get some rest,” My mom says as she kisses my forehead. “Oh, and call Deja. She’s worried sick about the both of you.”

 It’s not till the door shuts behind our family that the excitement of the day finally starts to catch up to me. My eye lids feel like lead weights are attached to them as I cuddle up to Tae under all of the blankets. He pulls me in closer to his side as he continues to flip through the channels on the big screen across from our bed.

“Tae,” he hums in response, glancing down at me before returning to his channel flipping. “I’m scared.”

“Me too, Jess. Me too.”

A sudden flash of light against my eyelids makes me groan as I sling my left arm behind me trying to connect with some part of Tae’s body. That boy is always leaving the blinds open talking about his precious natural light. I for one value my precious natural sleep more.

“Tae. Blinds.” He grumbles some nonsense in his sleep before turning over to ignore me.

“Good morning, sleepy heads!” A cheerful greeting from someone who is most definitely not my boyfriend jolts me out of my slumber. I panic for a moment as I’m not in a familiar bedroom until I remember the events from yesterday.

My sudden movement wakes Tae as he rouses from sleep next to me. He’s so cute in his half-asleep state that I almost forget Nurse Evil and the fact that she woke me up so suddenly.

“My name’s Laila and I’ll be your daytime nurse.” She informs us as she walks over to the computer next to our bed, scanning her ID as she inputs some information. “I need to draw some blood from you, Ms. Garrison if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I mind, but you’re just going to do it anyway” Tae pokes me in the side and I turn my glare on him instead. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being awakened before I’m ready to do so and he knows this.

“Be nice.” He mouths to me but Nurse Laila seems entirely unaffected by my sour mood. She has the audacity to smirk as she preps my arm, feeling for a good vein to draw from. My left nipple tingles a little and I decide there and then that I don’t like woman.

The entire ordeal takes less than five minutes and she’s out the door just as quick as she came with several vials of blood and a promise to return with our test results when they arrive.

“I don’t like her.” Tae just rolls his eyes before rolling out of bed, arms stretched high above his head as he makes his way to the bathroom. “Where are you going? You can’t leave me here. What it something happens?”

“Well then I guess we’ll just have to shower together huh?” He wiggles his eyebrows at me before disappearing into the bathroom. A few seconds later his t-shirt comes flying out of the open door followed closely by his briefs. Cheeky fucker.

I look to my right and notice that the machine that’s keeping track of all my vital signs can be removed from its wall mount. I hope the manufacturer made it waterproof too but if they didn’t then that’s just too bad because the sound of Tae turning on the shower has set me into motion.

Tae’s head is turned upwards into the stream of water when I enter the bathroom. My mouth waters slightly at the way the muscles in his arms flex as he pushes the floppy strands of his hair out of his face. My mind wandered to days past spent pulling on that same fringe as he buried his head between my legs. Finally dragging my eyes away from his figure, I notice a small shelf on the other side of the shower that will do perfectly at holding this blasted machine.

I quickly strip off the flimsy hospital gown I’d been forced to wear before stepping into the shower. After making sure that the monitor wouldn’t fall off of the shelf, I move closer to Tae and loop my arms around his slim waist. I place soft kisses at the base of his necks before moving along one shoulder. A shiver runs through him much to my delight before he’s turning to face me.

“Hmm seems you decided to join me after all” the smirk on his face promises a good time as his lips descend upon mine.

My head rolls back as his lips move along my jaw before continuing down my throat. His little nips and sucks at my skin are sparking a fire in my veins. His large hands skim my hips until they’re gripping my ass, pressing his pelvis against mine. The feeling of his erection against my lower stomach pulls a low moan from my throat. Tae’s lips return to mine as he lifts me up against the shower wall, my legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

I pull away from the kiss with a gasp as this new position has the bulbous head of his length pressed against my neglected clit. My hips keen against him on their own accord as Tae dips his head to capture a hardened nipple in his mouth. He grazes it with his teeth, pulling back slightly before letting it go with a pop.

“Tae, please” I’m not entirely sure what I’m begging for but when Tae slides two of his long fingers into me I feel like I got what I asked for. Euphoria sings through my veins as he plunges his fingers into me over and over, making sure to hit that special spot each time. Right when I feel like I’m about to explode the bathroom door flies open and Nurse Laila’s voice is echoing around the bathroom. We freeze where we are.

“Ms. Garrison? Are you-oh…” The glass door of the shower is too fogged up to clearly see her but we can both tell when she realizes what exactly is going on in here. “Your heart monitor rate was pretty elevated but I see you’re just fine.”

Tae and I lock eyes at the sound of the door closing and immediately dissolve into uncontrollable laughter which quickly morphs into soft whines on my end at the way it causes my walls to clench around his fingers.

“Should I continue?”

“Yes please, Mr. Kim.”

A while later, I’m seated between Tae’s outstretched legs as he dries my hair since the wires keeps getting in the way when I try to do it. He’s humming a tune he’s probably making up as he goes and if we weren’t in a hospital I’d say this moment is perfect. There’s another knock on the door and I half expect to get another visit from Nurse Laila but its Dr. Min.

“Hello, love birds,” He’s sporting another one of his megawatt smiles and I can’t help but to smile back. It’s almost like smiling is a contagious condition around this man. “I finally got the results back from all of the blood tests and I’ve got good news and bad news.”

“Give us the bad news first, Doc.” I nod along in agreement with Tae. It’s better to just rip the band-aid off and get it over with.

“Fair enough well whatever faerie cast this spell has some serious, serious mojo. I’m honestly surprised that you didn’t pass out or worse. I’ve never seen levels this high. You’re one tough cookie.”

“That’s my girl!” Tae praises as he tightens his arms around me. I simply roll my eyes and await the so called good news that Dr. Min said he had.

“Fortunately, there are very few faeries that are even capable of casting spells this powerful. That along with the amount of magical remnants left in your system may very well tell us exactly who did this.”

“So basically, our extended stay may not be so extended?” I question warily, afraid that he’ll say it’s all a joke and blind me with his smile.

“That is exactly correct.” He checks his watch before moving to the computer and logging in, clicking a few things. “I ordered a Reading so they should be coming to get you for that later this afternoon most likely after you two have had lunch.”

Sure enough Nurse Laila comes to collect me for my Reading about an hour after we’ve finished lunch. She puts me in a wheelchair, hospital protocol according to her, and wheels me down the hall to the elevator with Tae tagging along as my designated “heart monitor holder”.

We get off on the basement floor of the Center though it looks more like a funeral parlor than a hospital at this point. The lighting is coming from golden sconces that line the walls and the floor is a super thick carpet the color of spilled blood. Every so often we pass by a small table with a golden urn sitting on it. I don’t even want to know what’s in those. Nurse Laila rounds a corner, stopping halfway down the hallway in front of an inconspicuous set of mahogany double doors. She knocks twice and I expect some sort of witch doctor to answer the door but that isn’t the case.

“Hello Nurse Park” The slightly flirtatious tone in her voice has me looking between Nurse Laila and the god among men that opened the door. This Nurse Park person returns her smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes and he looks supremely uncomfortable as he steps aside for Nurse Laila to steer me into the room.

“I’ll take it from here thanks.” He takes the handles of my wheelchair and I can practically sense him rolling his eyes as she makes a flirty remark on her way out of the door. “Keep me near the cross, Jesus. Anyway, it’s pleasure to meet you both. I’m Nurse Park but you can call me Jimin.”

“Cool so what’s up with you and Nurse Laila?” I question as I hop up onto the bed he’s parked my chair next to. This time I watch him roll his eyes as Tae snickers in an armchair next to my bed.

“I just started working here about two months ago and the second she found out that I haven’t found my soulmate yet just like her she’s been trying to get in my pants. I’d tell her I’m not interested but I’m an attention whore so whatever.” I nearly choke on my own spit as Tae claps his hands like a seal in laughter. It hasn’t even been five minutes yet and Jimin is already my favorite nurse.

When we finally calm ourselves down, Jimin motions for me to lay back on the bed as he prepares himself for this whole Reading thing. I watch him move around the room, taking notice of the way his black scrubs hug his ample backside. Tae flicks my bare leg rather harshly when he notices where my line of sight is focused. He doesn’t actually seem too bothered by it though probably because Tae appreciates a nice ass just as much as I do.

“So, what exactly is a Reading? What’s going to happen?” Tae asks as he curls up in the plushy armchair.

“Readings are actually a form of tracking spell. It’s along the lines of a bloodhound using a dirty sock to find the person who wore it.” He explains.

“A spell? Are you like a wizard or something?”

“Not a wizard, no. I come from a long line of witches actually so I think the correct term would be warlock but that’s much too dark for me. I prefer Magic Mike.” He winks at me as he settles down onto a stool behind my head. Tae snickers once more but the mood sobers when Jimin indicates that he’s about to get started.

“Taehyung, normally soulmates are not allowed in here when I’m performing a reading because it’s a difficult sight to see but I understand that there are special circumstances at work here. I can promise you that she won’t be in any pain but I also need you to promise me that you won’t interrupt because that will be detrimental to her and me. Are we clear?”

“Crystal”

“Okay now let’s get started.”

Jimin grabs a small bowl, grinding something up in it before dropping a lit match into whatever concoction he’s got mixed up. My eyes get wide at the purple flame that suddenly shoots out of the bowl that’s a bit too close to my head for my liking. A citrusy sweet smell caresses my senses as Jimin rubs some sort of oil onto his hands. The atmosphere in the room is peaceful and I hum contently when Jimin begins massaging his fingers into my temples. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s some sort of masseur and not a warlock.

My eyes drift shut as he continues his ministrations, moving down until he’s working his fingers into the underside of my jaw. I’m on the verge of drifting off to sleep when Jimin starts mumbling in a language I’m quite sure isn’t English. A burning sensation starts at my temples and spreads throughout the rest of my limbs. My back arches from the bed at an angle that should be borderline painful and yet I feel nothing. It’s as if my entire being is contained in a small ball inside my head. I’m aware of everything my body is doing but I feel none of it.

Jimin’s hands have moved to the base of my neck but for whatever reason I can no longer hear the sound of his voice like I could before. It’s then I realize that I can no longer smell the scent of the oil he’d covered his hands in either. The burning sensation I’d felt at the start of this has also faded into nothingness. All of my senses are slowly fading and if I had control of my body I know I’d be flailing all over the place. I can’t even open my eyes. Now I see why Dr. Min said these Reading are unpleasant. It doesn’t hurt but being stripped of your senses like this is enough to drive anyone over the edge.

Just when I think I’m about to lose it, a flash of purple light appears behind my eye lids. Is it the flame Jimin lit earlier? It can’t be, can it? That purple light starts to take a shape that looks almost human. The blob of light soon sprouts hair the same color as the light it spawned from though the roots are a pure white. Skin the color of rich caramel soon takes the place of the purple light but it’s still a faceless human and it’s quite unnerving.

Just as her facial features begin to appear she disappears and the face of a man I’ve never seen in my life is in her place. His lips are full and pulled into a smile that has surely made a few people weak in the knees. Just then, something snaps and he disappears just like the woman before him. My senses return to me immediately after but they bring with them the same intense burning that landed us in this situation. Only this time it’s worse. So much worse. My entire body feels like it’s being doused in flames as a scream tears its way out of my throat.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” Tae yells as he quickly hops on the bed and pulls my writhing figure into his arms. Everywhere he touches instantly feels cool.

“This isn’t me!” He shouts as he grabs at some of the bottles and bowls he’s got in the room.

Tae wraps his hand around my wrist where his initials are as he holds my head to his chest. Tears are flowing down my cheeks as I try to focus on the sound of Tae’s voice in my ear whispering words of encouragement. Jimin’s hand suddenly touches my forehead and it’s covered in something gritty. He quickly says a few words in the same unknown language he was chanting earlier and the burning stops.

“What was that?” I choke out as I attempt to catch my breath.

“I have honestly never had anything like this happen before.” He seems genuinely flabbergasted as he rubs a warm wet cloth across my forehead. “I need to consult with my Elders.”

Jimin disappears through the door and returns a few minutes later with Dr. Kim in tow. He quickly sets to checking my vital signs as he fires questions off rapid fire at Jimin. Dr. Min flies through the door seconds later and the interrogation only intensifies. I can tell that Jimin is none too happy about having his work questioned like this. His fists are balled up tightly at his sides as he grits his teeth. It seems he’s fighting to hold back whatever choice words he’d like to throw at the doctors before him as his full lips twitch.

“I did everything by the book.” He opens his mouth to continue but words start tumbling out of his mouth before I can stop him.

“I saw a man too.” Silence overtakes the room in the wake of my confession. “I’ve never seen him before but I saw his face right before everything went wrong.”

“That is definitely not normal. I need to go speak with the Elders. Now.” He vanishes with a flourish of his hands.

                                                              ~

“Why are you interrupting my stories without an appointment, Jimin?” The Elder says though she never removes her eyes from her television set. Teleporting to her living room wasn’t my first choice but this evil ass faerie didn’t leave me with much of one.

“My apologies Elder Ashlyn.” I bow as deep as possible to show that I come in good faith. “We have an emergency of the faerie variety.”

“It must be important if you dared to interrupt All My Children for this.” She waves a hand towards the armchair to her left. “Sit.” I do just that and with great haste.

“There is a faerie trying to break a soulmate bond. I performed a Reading to trace the spell and somehow they used it to make a separate, more powerful attack.” Elder Ashlyn finally turns from her TV to look at me. The fact that I actually have her attention lets me know that this is just as serious as I thought it was which is an oddly validating feeling.

“The person you performed the Reading on, did they happen to see someone else other than the faerie?” I’m taken aback at her question as I hadn’t even mentioned the man Jess had seen yet.

“Well…yes. How did you know that?” Elder Ashlyn chuckles humorlessly as she turns the television off completely, turning her body to face me.

“I know you’ve been around a while Jimin but it seems you’ve forgotten that I’ve lived nearly three times as long.” She steeples her fingers beneath her chin as she considers me for a moment. “I’ve seen this before. Only once, but it’s an experience I’ll never forget.”

One of her fingers twitches and a massive red book appears in my lap. She explains that everything I need to know about what’s going on is in this book. I quickly flip it open and curse inwardly when I realize that it’s written completely in Elotian, the language of the first witches to ever exist. Fuck I should’ve payed more attention in my studies when I’d been forced to take classes on the dead language of my ancestors. I can speak it enough to cast some of the more powerful spells but I sure as hell can’t read it. Elder Ashlyn sniffs in disdain when she sees me struggling to read it. With another twitch of her finger, the words on the page are suddenly written in a language I can actually understand.

“Is this correct?” I question in absolute shock. I know what I just read but there’s no way it can be true.

“I’m afraid it is, Jimin. Now let’s get you back to the Center so we can fix this.”

“We? You’re coming with me?”

“I believe that’s what I just said, Jimin. Listening is key.” I blink wildly as I find myself no longer sat in an armchair in Elder Ashlyn’s but rather back in my Reading room at the Center. God, I hope I can be an Elder one day because I can barely teleport myself sometimes let alone two people at once. She’s even changed her clothes into the long, black robes befitting a witch of her status.

The room is empty so I’m assuming that they took Jess and Tae back upstairs to their room. When we reach the extended stay ward, a hushed whisper moves through the gang of nurses manning the floor as they see Elder Ashlyn gliding through the halls. She’s made quite a name for herself and I’m sure they’re all curious as to why she’s made an appearance.

I remember the room number from Jess’ file so I make a beeline straight for it, cringing as Nurse Laila winks in my direction when we pass by. The door is closed when we reach it so I knock once and open it once Tae shouts to invite us in. They smile at me when I enter but they falter a bit in what looks like confusion when they take notice of Elder Ashlyn following behind me.

She’s intimidating as hell and she knows it. Her hair is a deep ebony shade that seems to blend in with her robes, making the striking blue of her irises even more striking when coupled with the chocolate tone of her skin. She extends a perfectly manicured hand towards the couple as she introduces herself.

“I hear you two are having a bit of a problem.” She opens her mouth to continue when Dr. Min and Dr. Kim stumble into the room, tripping over themselves in their haste. The nurses no doubt alerted them to Elder Ashlyn’s presence the second they could. They both bow deeply the second they right themselves, giving her the respect she’s due.

“Elder Ashlyn, to what do we owe this great pleasure?” Dr. Kim asks nervously after Dr. Min shoves his elbow into his side. Those two act more like brothers than colleagues sometimes.

“I know what’s going on and I know how to fix it.”

                                                           ~

Hearing that someone not only knows exactly what’s happening to me and Tae but also how to fix it has my heart seizing up with joy. This is the first time we’ve been able to get a definitive answer from someone and I’m hanging on to her every word.

“So, what is going on?” Tae asks as everyone else seems to be frozen.

“Miss Jess here has not one, but two soulmates and the third wheel is trying to change that.” Two soulmates? She says it so calmly as if she hasn’t just taken my entire world and tossed into the air. Four jaws collectively hit the floor at this newfound information.

“So…the man I saw,” I trail off unable to actually say it out loud.

“Yes, he’s your second mate.” She confirms. “This type of thing happens once every millennia or so and the lore says that you are to meet both of them at the same time but sometimes things don’t happen as they should.”

“So basically what you’re saying is that I’m supposed to share my soulmate with some other man? That’s complete and utter bullshit and I won’t do it.” Tae is absolutely furious. It was bad enough that someone is trying to break our bond but to find out that I was never just his to begin with is probably a crushing blow.

“So, what do we do?” I question, holding on to Tae for dear life.

“First we find the faerie who cast the spell and I only know of one who has enough mojo and the gall to do this.” The Elder holds out her hand with her palm turned skyward and a woman suddenly appears. Her face is unfamiliar but I’d recognize that hair anywhere. “Her name is Antoinette and despite her appearance she’s been around longer than some of the Elder Witches, including me.”

“How can we help?” Dr. Min inquires.

“Monitor her temperature very closely.” She informs as she waves a single hand in my direction. “I’ve stabilized her internal temperature at 98 so if it budges at all, I need to know about it. Jimin and I will be doing all of the heavy lifting on this one.”

“What happens if this other guy succeeds?” Tae has been silently brooding for so long that hearing his voice makes me jump a little.

“Should the bond be broken, you’ll go back to being unmated only this time there will be no one for fate to lead you to.” The Elder says solemnly. I can see her concern for us in her cerulean eyes. “As for Jess, fate will most likely lead her towards this second as they are soulmates.”

The thought of losing Tae has bile rising at the back of my throat as I continue to cling to him. Meeting him felt like taking a breath of fresh air or seeing the sun after being trapped in darkness. I don’t know why my life is such a whirlwind. All I want is to live peacefully with my soulmate.

“We must go make some preparations. We’ll return when it’s time.” Just like that, Elder Ashlyn vanishes into thin air, taking Jimin with her.

A strange silence settles over the room as the two doctors excuse themselves as well, most likely to inform the nurses on what’s going on. The two of us just sitting next to each other in silence is not out of the norm for us but this quiet feels different. It feels heavy almost as if it’s choking us. Everything about this situation seems to be getting worse at every turn. I have a second soulmate out there somewhere who is trying to take Tae out of the picture to have me all to himself.

“Tae I-” he shushes me with a finger to my lips.

“Don’t apologize because I know that’s exactly what you’re about to do.” I open my mouth to protest but he shushes me once more. “None of this is your fault, Jessie.” My eyes water at the nickname that he normally reserves for when I’m in a shit mood and he wants me to smile. Even now when we’re in danger of losing each other he’s still trying to cheer me up.

“I love you,” I choke out as I sob escapes me. “so, so much.” He sighs mumbling an I love you into my hair as he pulls me even closer.

His breathing is ragged as his emotions finally get the better of him. He whispers words of love and encouragement in my ear as he pulls the hair tie out of my hair so my curls fall down around us. His fingers quickly bury themselves in the ringlets as soon as they’re able to, scratching gently at my scalp. I cling to him as tightly as I can afraid that he’ll disappear if I let up for even a second. We must have fallen asleep at some point because I’m awakened by the sound of my phone ringing. I recognize the song as the one I’d set for Deja.

“Hello” I croak out, cringing at the sound of my unused voice. I sound like I swallowed glass.

“Ew why do you sound like microwaved death in a moldy hot dog bun?” Deja has never been one to hold back what she’s thinking. I can’t help but smile at her tom foolery.

“It’s a lot. Can you and Hobi come see us?” I haven’t laid eyes on my best friend in over a week and that’s a crime against God himself.

“Sure can see you in an hour.” I hear her yelling at Hobi before she hangs up and smile at the fact that my best friend is coming to see me.

Fifty-eight minutes later I hear a commotion going on at the nurse’s station down the hall and there’s only one explanation for the rising sound of yelling.

“Is that Deja?” I nod my head yes as I climb out of Tae’s arms, making my way to the door.

“What do you mean I can’t see her?” Deja is about to blow her lid. I just feel it. I poke my head out and see she’s arguing with Nurse Laila. Hobi is standing behind her with his hands on her hips in case he needs to restrain her and I notice Jungkook standing next to him for backup. Part of me wants to let Deja chew her out but I decided enough is enough.

“Deja!” She stops mid yell to look at before flipping Nurse Laila off and walking down to our room. I can hear mumbling curses the entire way until she reaches me, pulling me into a tight hug.

“Can you believe that trifling heifer told me I couldn’t see you because I’m not family?” She fusses. “Just because we didn’t come out of the same vagina doesn’t mean we’re not family.”

“No printer just fax.” I finally pull away and drag the both of them into the room.

Hobi, Jungkook, and Tae immediately go off on a bro tangent on the couch in the corner talking about whatever it is the two of them talk about. Judging by the devious smirks on their faces, I’m not even sure that I want to know.

“Okay sis now spill the tea. What’s the diagnosis?” I take a deep breath and recount everything that’s happened since we’ve been at the Center and she surprisingly doesn’t interrupt. “Two mates? You lucky little shit how do you end up with two dicks to suck? I mean it sucks that one of them is evil and wants to destroy everything but still” Of course that’s what her sex crazed brain focuses on.

I open my mouth to reply when there’s a knock at the door. Seconds later, Nurse Laila comes flouncing into the room. Deja and I wear identical scowls as we look her up and down. The woman hasn’t been outright rude or mean but there is just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. My left nipple feels irritated and itchy every time she’s around.

“You, you, and you, I need you out. Visiting hours are over.” A quick glance at the clock tells me she’s full of shit and Tae notices it too.

“It’s barely 6 o’clock. Visiting hours don’t end till 9…” He lets his statement hang in the air almost like a challenge. The irritating nurse fiddles with her stethoscope though her smile retains its blinding quality.

“I’m aware of that Mr. Kim but that only applies to family members. Visiting hours for non-related parties end at 6.”

“Let’s ask Dr. Min and see what he says.” This time I notice her smile droop a bit as I reach for the phone. I maintain eye contact as I punch in the doctor’s extension, praying he’s in his office to answer.

“Dr. Min”

“Hello Dr. Min, it’s Jess Garrison. What time does visiting hours end for people who aren’t family?”

“There’s no difference. Visiting hours are over at 9 o’clock sharp for everyone. Didn’t your nurse tell you that.” He inquires and I can practically see the confused expression on his face.

“My nurse is a dirty liar but thank you Dr. Min. Have a great evening.” With that I hang up the phone. At this point, Nurse Laila is outright glaring at me. I have no idea what her problem is but she’s got the wrong one if she thinks I’m going to put up with her crap.

                                                            ~

A thick mist the color of a donkey’s ass bubbles over the edge of massive black cauldron. Everything about what’s going on is so cliché that it physically pains my warlock spirit.

“Is all of this really necessary, Elder Ashlyn?” I inquire as she hands me a large wooden oar to quite literally stir the pot.

“Magic this dark requires us to old school Jimin. Now keep stirring and don’t let it stick.” She instructs as she consults the recipe in her “magic cookbook”. She tosses in a few more ingredient and the smell coming off of this concoction would make Shrek himself puke his guts out. Me, being but a pure warlock, am on the verge of passing out from the stench while Elder Ashlyn seems totally unaffected. I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, I can’t wait to be a freaking Elder. This shit stinks.

“Just how dark is this magic anyway?”

“This is blood magic.” The weight of her statement hangs in the air like the foul stench of this potion.

All magic obviously affects the person you cast it at but what many people don’t realize that the person who casts the spell is also affected. Blood magic had been outlawed centuries ago because people were using it to transfer the effects of performing dark magic – which could kill the people who practiced in it depending on the power of the spell – onto other people or animals. Breaking a soulmate bond requires some potent stuff which explains why the faerie hasn’t croaked like a frog but that doesn’t explain why Jess isn’t a corpse though. She didn’t even need the standard 24 hour recuperation after the Reading.

“They’re soulmates.” The Elder interrupts my train of thought to tell me something I already knew. Of course this strange man is Jess’ soulmate. That’s the whole reason he’s trying to break her bond with Tae in the first place.

“What?”

“That’s why Ms. Garrison isn’t six feet under. Antoinette probably added some of this second soulmate’s blood into her spell. It’s also the reason why Mr. Kim has been able to stop her with just a touch.” Everything suddenly clicks into place. Soulmates are intended to be our ultimate protectors so it makes sense that a spell containing the blood of her soulmate didn’t stop Jess’ heart like it should have.

The god awful concoction is nearing its completion according to the watchful Elder when she suddenly spaces out. She looks like Raven when she was having visions and I want to laugh but she’d probably smack me. When she blinks back to reality she looks visibly shaken. I’ve never seen her look like this, frightened almost.

“What happened? What’s going on?”

“The other Elders. They were attacked.” I drop my oar, nearly letting it slip beneath the surface of the foul substance I’d been stirring.

“Who would attack the Elders?” The Elders represent the oldest most powerful witches currently breathing and an attack on them is quite literally a suicide mission for anyone that dares to try it unless…unless this Antoinette wench is more powerful than Elder Ashlyn had previously let on. I mean, she did say that the broad is even older than her. A faerie that old is sure to be a magical powerhouse and she’s the only person with even half of a reason to want the Elders out of the picture. They’re the only ones able to stop her.

“Everyone lived but none of them are in fighting condition anymore. Apparently Antoinette and her minions organized a surprise attack” Well that doesn’t sound very good.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” I sure hope it doesn’t.

“Yes Jimin. We’re on our own now.” Fuck.

“Can’t we call in some more witches?” The look on Elder Ashlyn’s face tells me everything I need to know. She might be powerful, but she’s only one. The other Elders were supposed to help us.

“Our numbers have yet to bounce back from that last witch hunt in Salem.” We both shudder as we remember that hellacious period where our entire way of life was nearly extinguished. “It’s too risky to call in more help.”

Jesus be with us.

                                                             ~

“I think your left nipple was right this time.” Tae asks as we’re laying in bed, deciding to call it a night now that our friends have left. I snuggle up closer to his side.

“My left nipple is always right but what was it this time?” He chuckles and kisses my forehead before he answers.

“Nurse Laila. She’s suspicious and I don’t like it.”

“I told you she was a trifling bi-” Just as I’m about to insult this woman for everything she’s worth, Tae groans in agony. “What’s wrong?” I ask worriedly thinking I’ve accidentally elbowed him or something but he doesn’t answer.

Sweat is beading at his hairline and he’s clawing at his left arm. When I notice that his fingernails are beginning to draw blood, I shift on top of him and pin both of his arms to the mattress. It’s taking every ounce of my strength to keep him from breaking free which leaves me unable to press the call button for help. Guess I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way. I scream as loud as I can as Tae continues to thrash around and yell as if he’s being scalded. The nurse who answers my calls takes one look into the room and immediately pages Dr. Min.

She runs over to push Tae’s shoulders into the bed when she sees that I’m in danger of being thrown off of his writhing form. His entire body is covered in sweat. I can feel the heat radiating off of him in waves. Tears well up in my eyes at the sight of him in so much pain. I’m hoping that my grip on his wrist will prevent anything from happening to the mark on his skin. A rush of air scares the living daylights out of both me and the nurse as Elder Ashlyn and Jimin suddenly appear at our bed side. They’re appearance is quickly followed by that of Dr. Min.

“Get off of him but don’t let go of his wrist.” I quickly clamber off of him, joining the nurse on the other side of the bed. His arm thrashes wildly now that I can’t hold it down and for a second I’m genuinely concerned that he might pull my arm out of its socket but the thought of letting go never crosses my mind.

“Jimin we need to do a barrier spell.” He nods once and they both wave their hands over my boyfriend. They begin chanting in what sounds like the same language Jimin had used during the Reading.

Tae suddenly stops moving as he’s wrapped in a greenish light. His body lifts from the bed a few inches, taking my hand with it as I continue to hold on. The light continues to grow brighter and brighter till I’m forced to look away. When it finally dies down, Tae is lying peacefully on the bed. It’s almost as if he’s sleeping.

“You can let go now.”

“What was that?” I ask as I crawl back onto the bed with Tae and pull him into my arms. Elder Ashlyn excuses herself to speak to Dr. Min and the nurse, leaving Jimin to answer my question.

“We put a barrier spell on him and your hand coincidentally. It will protect him from any and all magic, including ours, but it won’t last forever.” He runs a hand through the dark red strands that sit messily on his head. “A faerie like Antoinette will probably find a way to break it so I’m hoping we get to her before she can do that.”

“Will he wake up or will he just keep sleeping like this?” I gently brush Tae’s sweaty hair out of his forehead and undo a few of the buttons of his pajama top to hopefully help cool him off. Jimin runs a hand through his hair again before gripping the back of his neck and I can already tell that I won’t like his answer.

“I guess I forgot to mention that barrier spells are often called Sleeping Beauty spells for obvious reasons.”

“So will true love’s kiss wake him up?” Jimin huffs out a small laugh in spite of himself.

“I’m afraid the similarity to the fairytale stops with the sleeping. Only the person or in this case people who cast the spell are able to wake him up.” I nod my head in understanding, looking up from Tae’s face when Elder Ashlyn and Dr. Min re-enter the room.

Dr. Min moves to Tae’s side of the bed, logging into the computer to input some data before he starts hooking Tae up the identical heart monitor on his side of the bed. It had previously gone unused as the faerie’s magic always seemed to be directed at me, but in light of recent events it’s definitely needed now.

“Ms. Garrison, I’ve had a long talk with Dr. Min and we think it’s best that the two of you relocate to my residence.” The Elder informs me as she takes a seat in the couch. “I’ll be able to better protect the both of you there.”

“So when do we leave?”

“Now” She waves her hands and yet nothing changes. The last time she did that she straight up disappeared but this time nada. My neck nearly snaps when I look towards my window and instead of the rose garden in front of the Center that our room had a view of there is a thick wall of trees. They sway in the wind like funeral marchers.

“Did you really just bring our entire hospital room to your house?” Jesus Christ this woman is powerful. She looks like she’s barely older than me but it’s frightening to think just how much she can do.

“Not necessarily. I simply made this spare room look like your hospital room although I did snag the monitoring equipment. It’s quite useful.” She makes sure we’re comfortable before leaving to go do whatever it is Elder witches do in times of crisis. Jimin is about to do the same but I beg for him to stay a while longer.

It’s a little strange to see him in something other than his black scrubs but I’m not complaining. The tight, ripped jeans he squeezed himself into are just what the doctor ordered. The thought of asking to take his picture briefly crosses my mind just so I can show Tae just how thick he is. I know he’d appreciate this sight just as much as I do.

“What made you want to dye your hair red?” I question as he runs his hands through it for the millionth time today.

“I like switching it up. It was bright orange before this, wanna see?” He digs his phone out of his back pocket, scrolling for a bit before he’s handing it over to me.

“You’re probably the only person I’ve ever met who could actually do this and not look like a sad jack o’lantern.” He smiles before taking his phone back.

“I don’t know I think orange would look good on you too Ms. Jess.” I roll my eyes at such an outlandish thought. I would most definitely look like a sad jack o’lantern. Tae suddenly shifts in my arms, his burrowing deeper into my chest with a small sigh.

“I’m going to ring that faerie’s neck. She deserves to rot.” Jimin’s fists are tightly clenched at his sides, teeth clenched as he stares at Tae.

“Why do you think she decided to attack Tae instead of me this time?”

“I have no idea. We’re almost ready to summon her so we’ll get some answers then.” He stands suddenly from the stool he’d been sat on, walking over to the open window. “Then we’ll kill her.”

“Kill her?” My heart skips several beats at the thought of my newfound friend taking a life. No matter how much harm she’d brought down on us, killing her just feels like too much. “Is that really necessary?”

“Supernatural laws are very clear on this matter. Attempting to break a soulmate bond is a crime punishable by death in our world.” He turns finally to look at me. “Why do you care so much? She tried to rip you guys apart. Aren’t you happy we’re taking her down?”

“Of course I’m happy but she’s still a person.” He scoffs at that.

“She lost her humanity a long time ago, Jess.” He crosses the room until he’s towering over me. If he wasn’t my friend, he’d probably be very intimidating right now with the dark expression that’s clouding his soft features. “Try to get some sleep, okay? I’ll be down the hall if you need anything.”

The door clicks softly behind him as he leaves me alone with my sleeping boyfriend. He looks so peaceful like this but I just wish we could wake him up. With a deep sigh, I shift us around in bed a bit and try to take Jimin’s advice about getting some sleep. The bright light of my phone screen coming alive catches my attention in my peripheral. It’s a text message from a number I’ve never seen in my life.

252-799-3245: Hey uhm you don’t know me but I think we need to talk

Normally I’d delete a message like this and keep it pushing but curiosity gets the best of me. I quickly type out a response and wait, biting what little fingernails I have left.

252-799-3245: My name is Namjoon

[porkchop-ao3]

Hi hi. I've been feeling down lately. Like I'm no ones favorite. Can I have a clingy obsessed Rick?

Thank you for your patience with this! Hope this is okay. I didn’t want to go too far with the obsessive thing in case it got out of character, but I hope you like it! I was inspired by my recent uni work... But this fic by no means reflects the way I work xD 

Just over 3k words!

_

My eyes skimmed across the words on my computer screen as I took a sip of tea, the only break I would allow myself because hey, I needed to stay hydrated. As soon as the mug was out of my hands though, my fingers were back on the keyboard, tapping away and filling the screen with more text. Of course, at this point it was all laughable bullshit; as are most essays when they’re started four hours before the deadline. Every point was being dragged out to entire paragraphs, my evidence was being stretched as much as was acceptable to back me up, I’m pretty sure I’d questioned the meaning of life somewhere three paragraphs ago but I’d made it work. I couldn’t afford to go back and change it now anyway, at least whoever had the pleasure of marking the damn thing would have a good laugh. My lecturers had said that technically there were no right or wrong answers for this particular essay, as long as I could back up what I was saying… Well, there was some kind of evidence for everything I’d said so could they really dispute me?

It was all my fault, though. I’d been drifting off to a peaceful slumber, under the sweet illusion that I was completely done for the semester, when suddenly that five thousand word essay I’d forgotten about drifted into mind and jolted me awake. That was two hours ago, and it was currently four in the morning; just two hours away from the six o'clock deadline for the online submission. I was getting there though, just another two thousand words would do it.

With a stressed sigh, I flicked through the book in front of me, searching the index for keywords, absolutely anything I could use. I just needed a scrap of evidence, a slightly relevant quote, and I’d be good for at least two paragraphs. I laughed aloud when I found something, it was bordering on delerium at this point. I was back on the keyboard then, bashing out my next point, just letting the bullshit part of my brain run with it, barely registering what I was typing. I barely even flinched when the darkened room lit up with green light, I just sighed again, my fingers never pausing.

“Not now, Rick.” I said, narrowing my eyes at the screen, my concentration lapsing momentarily, making me forget my flow.

“Oh, oh wow, th-thanks, that’s really -urrghhh- nice.” Rick slurred behind me, and I knew straight away that he was hammered. I rolled my eyes and read through my last few sentences as I tried to tune him out. “I thought you said you were done, on- on the phone you said y-you were fin-ugh-shed.”

“Yeah, then I remembered this entire essay I had to do.” I murmured, what little I had left of my concentration shattering as I felt the warmth of his presence lean over me to look at the screen. His chest brushed my shoulder and he reached an arm out to lean on the desk, shrouding me in his presence.

“Uhhh, are you high? A-are you even reading what you’re writing right now?” He commented after a moment.

“No. To both of those questions.” I told him, carrying on with the essay despite his quips.

“I thought, urp, you were studying art, not ph-philosophy. That’s some deep shit you’re playing with there, what is your essay even supposed to be on?”

“Please Rick, just let me get on with this. If you’re here to get laid then come back tomorrow. Or in two hours, whatever, I don’t care. Just after this is done.” I grumbled. Rick made a sound of irritation, then straightened up, distancing himself from me. I heard him stumbling around the room, fiddling with stuff I couldn’t see. Then I heard the telltale trickle of liquid on metal as he took a drink from his flask.

“Just wanted to see you, s-sorry I’m such a- such a fucking inconvenience.” He said under his breath. I felt a spark of guilt, then brushed it off just as fast. My work had to come first on this occasion.

“I’ll be done soon.” I said, discarding the book in front of me and replacing it with a different one. Fresh book, fresh evidence.

Rick came back over to my desk, picking up a piece of paper, which I knew to be the essay brief. He then proceeded to flick through some of the other papers on my desk, notes, pictures, plans; all hastily done and probably illegible to anyone but me… and even I struggled to read it.

“S-so you gotta compare these two photographs?” He asked. I nodded, not looking up at the images he was showing me. “You talked about how one was taken by a woman and one was taken by a man? Y-you could, urp, could make somethin’ out of that, right?”

“Probably, toss the idea of feminism around and I could get about six hundred words done. Thanks.” I said, making a quick note of the idea in pencil on the closest piece of paper; the textbook. Rick grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and took a seat next to me, slinging an arm over the back of my chair.

“You wrote the word ‘interesting’ three times in the same sentence, there.” He told me, pointing to the screen. “You could change the third one to impactful, think that’d work.” He murmured, disinterestedly yet focused.

“You’re helping me?” I asked, finally looking at him for the first time since he’d arrived.

“Two heads are better than one.” He shrugged. “Would it help you finish faster?”

“I think so. Hell, I might even pass.” I snorted.

“Alright. Let’s get this done, then we can make out, how’s that sound?” He said distractedly, fiddling with a strand of my hair. I raised a brow at him.

“You’re acting strangely.” I noted. “You’re being… nice.”

“Wh-ugh-at, and I’m a cunt for the other three-hundred-and-sixty-whatever days of the year?” He slurred.

“No! You’re just nicer than usual.” I shrugged, turning back to the screen.

“I miss you.” He told me, his voice so quiet I barely heard it. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder more tightly and pulled me into his side. My eyes widened and I sat there, rigid under the unexpected contact. With the proximity, I could smell the alcohol on him, and was convinced that it was to blame. “I’ve barely seen you for two weeks.” He added, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“All my deadlines…” I trailed off. I didn’t need to explain, he knew.

“Still think you should drop out. School is bad enough, but art school?” He scoffed.

“Hey, it’s another three years I don’t have to worry about starting a proper career.” I told him, twisting to nestle into his chest, essay momentarily forgotten.

“Sure, but is it worth the thousands of dollars?” He asked.

“I don’t know.” I sighed and closed my eyes, the fact that it was past four in the morning hit me in the form of sudden fatigue. “Let’s not talk about it.”

Rick’s hand stroked up and down my upper arm, his other hand feeding more alcohol into his mouth. He placed his flask down on my desk then reached for my chin, tilting my head up and kissing me, I responded for a while, leaning into him and enjoying the sensations. I knew I had to stop eventually though, and with a groan I turned my head towards to screen, breaking the kiss. Rick didn’t stop, spreading his kisses over my cheek and temple, down to the side of my neck. I sighed at the attention, but pulled away, turning to face the computer and attempting to get back to work. Rick’s arms encircled my waist, his kisses moving to the back of my neck and the curve of my shoulder, my body tingled and I longed to give him my undivided attention, but the clock was ticking.

“Okay, next point. Feminism.” I said under my breath, trying my very best to ignore what was going on behind me, but Rick wasn’t making it easy for me. His hands found their way to my breasts, squeezing them through my long nightshirt. My nipples hardened against his palms, and I chewed on my bottom lip.

“Remember, there are words other than 'interesting’.” He mumbled into my shoulder, and I snorted, backspacing on the keyboard as he caught me red handed.

“Thank you.” I said, my tone strained. Rick was quiet for another paragraph, silently distracting me with his touch, his persistent kisses egging me on, lighting a fire under me to get this shitty essay done so that I could be with him. I flicked through the book, finding a vague quote about female photographers. Perfect.

“S-sit on my lap, come on.” He whispered to me.

“What? No, I thought you wanted me to finish this quickly.” I laughed, gasping as he slid his hands under my shirt, resting his cool hands on my stomach.

“Come on.” He repeated, pulling me towards him. I gave in, sliding onto his lap, appreciating his little hum of approval as I did. I leaned back against his chest, and surprisingly I found that the rise and fall of his chest helped to focus me, and before I knew it I had another paragraph. I was close to the end; I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and all I needed to do was conclude. I saved the document, just in case, then skim read the entire essay. Sure, it was a fucking trainwreck from start to finish, but it would suffice. I made a mental note of the points I’d made, then made a start on my conclusion.

“Almost there.” I said, biting on my lip as I summed up my essay, pulling it all together to create what I hoped would be a convincing conclusion. A few hundred words later, and it was done, with an hour to spare before the deadline. I was on the low end of the word count guideline, but it would have to do. I checked my references, made sure my bibliography was in order, and loaded up the essay submission page.

“Aren’t you gonna read it back?” Rick asked me, his hands sliding down to my thighs.

“I don’t think it’ll make much difference at this point.” I said, uploading the file. “It’s better than nothing, right? At least I’ve produced an essay.”

“Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” He chuckled. I rolled my eyes and clicked 'submit’, immediately closing down the page along with all my other windows, putting the whole ordeal to the back of my mind as I shut the computer down.

“Whatever, it’s done now.” I said, feeling the weight lifting from my shoulders with those words.

“Finally.” Rick said, standing up and forcing me to do the same. He dragged me over to my bed by my wrist and pulled me on top of him as he threw himself down. He kissed me, pushing his tongue past the easily broken seal of my lips, moaning into me. His hands explored my body, feeling me all over like they were starved. “Mm, missed this.” He broke away to tell me, but not for long. He rolled onto his side, grabbing my thigh and hooking it over his hip, putting our groins close together. He ground into me, and I felt his growing erection against my core.

“Rick.” I protested. “This is all you’ve been waiting for?” I asked, irritation clear in my voice. Rick didn’t stop his grinding, groaning quietly.

“Please.” He sounded unusually desperate, and I raised a brow. When I didn’t respond, he slid his hand into my underwear, rolling my clit beneath his fingers in lazy circles. “It’s been so long…”

“It’s been two weeks. I’m tired. I just want to cuddle.” I whined, but that didn’t stop me from effectively riding his hand, tilting my hips into his touch. His fingers moved down, sliding between my slick folds and entering me. I cursed under my breath and clung to his lab coat.

“I want you. Fuck, you’re wet.” He whispered to me, thrusting his fingers, groaning when I tightened around him, my breath catching. “Let me…” he trailed off, his other hand going to his fly, freeing himself from the confines of his pants, he stroked himself as he pleasured me. I gave my approval by pushing his coat from his shoulders and lifting his shirt over his head. He kicked his pants off onto the floor then came close to me, pulling my panties aside.

“Woah, slow down.” I laughed, bracing a hand on his chest. I pulled my nightshirt over my head and tossed it behind me, meanwhile, Rick was pulling my panties down my legs.

“I need to- oh, fuck.” He sighed, staring at my body. He leaned in to kiss me again, a hand on the back of my neck. “How did I go so long without this? Y-you’re like fuckin’… Crack. C’mere.” He urged me closer, thrusting his cock between my legs, letting it slide across my pussy. I wrapped my leg around his hips and nestled closer.

“Do it.” I told him, my words little more than an exhale. I didn’t have to ask him twice, he sunk into me slowly, inch by sweet inch he filled me up. “Oh yes…” I sighed, my eyes falling closed. There was a slight sting, having been a while since we’d done this, but it mingled with the pleasure so nicely.

“Have you touched yourself these last two weeks?” He asked me.

“I’m sorry?” I exclaimed, confused and taken aback by the question.

“I wanna know if- how many times you came without me since the last time we did this.” He said, and I flushed, involuntarily rocking my hips.

“Not even once.” I told him truthfully.

“Mmm, bet you’re sensitive, hmm?” He asked, his fingers returning to my clit as he started moving, rocking into me at a moderate pace that showed little patience. I was grateful for it.

“Yes. I want you to make me cum.” I told him, wrapping my arms around his neck and threading one hand through his hair. He thrust harder, quickening his pace early on and groaning throatily.

“Fuck.” He spat, his free hand clinging to my thigh. I pulsed my muscles around him, feeling shockwaves of pleasure each time, I let my head roll back as I bucked my hips to meet his thrusts, trapping his hand between our bodies. “Ohh god, you’re so gorgeous. So fuckin’ perfect, fuck.”

It turned into desperate, unrefined rutting, but neither of us had the intention of drawing this out. This was needy. Desperate. Purely lust-fueld. I needed release, and I needed to feel Rick cum inside me. I hadn’t realised how much I had needed this, and now that I was getting it, I couldn’t get it fast enough. Rick kissed my throat, leaving sloppy wet marks across the column of my neck, then he bit down on my shoulder. He sucked and licked at me, tasting the salt of my perspiration. His fingers moved purposefully over my clit, rubbing it tight, quick circles that wrung the pleasure out of me effortlessly.

“Cum. I want you to squeeze my- squeeze the cum out of my balls, baby.” He growled, and his words alone sent waves through my body, dizzyingly intense pleasure that pushed me to the edge. “Mmm, feel how wet you are for me, did you miss this?”

“Yes, Rick.” I nodded wildy, hanging off the edge, ready to plummet. With one particularly rough thrust of his hips, I was gone. “Rick!” I called his name loudly, completely forgetting about the thin walls of my dorm room. My pussy throbbed around him, contracting with an orgasm that I could only describe as perfect. It felt like it would go on forever, building with an intensity that made my eyes squeeze shut. I wasn’t even finished when Rick joined me, and I drew his climax into me, welcoming it with a satisfied groan.

We came down together, slowing to a stop and letting our bodies slump against the bed. Rick pulled out of me and proceeded to stroke his softening cock against my opening, smearing his seed in a display of vulgar pride. I couldn’t bring myself to care.

“Mmm, look at that.” He commented quietly, spreading my lips with his fingers and watching the mess he was making with interest. I left him to it, closing my eyes and letting the sleepless nights from the previous week catch up with me. Rick pressed a couple of kisses to my forehead, letting out a satisfied sigh. The bed shifted as he got up to leave, and I was momentarily offended, until I heard the bathroom door opening. He returned a moment later with a washcloth, and gently cleaned us up. I hummed appreciatively, pulling him back over to me, he dragged the duvet with him and covered us up.

“So you missed me, hmm?” I said tiredly, a little smile on my face.

“Don’t get any ideas.” He warned, but wrapped his arms around me regardless.

“You love me.” I smirked. The only response I got was an exasperated sigh. I laughed to myself, and tucked my head under his chin. “Goodnight.”

“It’s half past five in the morning.” He commented in amusement. “We might as well start the day at this point.”

“Fuck that. I’m sleeping through till next week.” I said. He grunted, then pecked the top of my head.

“Well done, for getting all your shit finished.” He said, though it sounded like it pained him to say it. I smiled regardless. “Glad to have you back.” He added, punctuating his words with a squeeze of his arms.

[melimelo-ao3]

Answers to the ask

So this is my answer to every ask of the “A Writer’s Ask Game” by agwitow that I reblogged just below.

Yes, I know, people are supposed to be the ones to send a number, and only then am I supposed to answer. But, since this blog has like, very, very limited interaction, and I had nothing to do, I answered them myself.

And I’m putting a time stamp on it: Wednesday 17/02/2021, because for some questions, in a week, it won’t be the same answer.

The Basics 1.     Do you listen to music when you write?

I do, yes. I have a couple of playlists with songs – I know some people enjoy listening to music while they write, but only without any kind of lyrics. I don’t care either way. Some days it’s pre-enregistered playlists, others random, and others just piano.

2.     Are you a pantser or plotter?

I’m mostly a plotter. I’ve tried to go pantser on a couple of stories (Pretty Boy is the last example that comes to my mind), but I end up knowing what I’ll put in the next chapters in advance. Even if it’s just the main plot point / scene.

3.     Computer or pen and paper?

Computer. Except when I have writer block.

4.     Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published?

I’ve never been published, and don’t plan on. I write my stories mostly for myself, and to me it’s a bit too over the top to, first, interest a publisher / editor, and then it would need lots of editing and… I don’t think I’m ready yet to see critics on my stories.

5.     How much writing do you get done on an average day?

I have no idea xD I suppose I’m happy if I get 1.000 word a day, especially if it’s a day I only concentrate on writing. Sometimes it can be more, but sometimes it can also be nothing at all. On days I have other things to do, I’m happy if I can write one sentence more during the day :)

6.     Single or multiple POV?

At the same time? Single. In a story? It depends. Some stories I’ve written in a single POV all along, others I switched between chapters, and others within chapters, with a distinction between the “parts”.

7.     Standalone or series?

Um, series as in several “books”? If so, there’s this story I finished last year. At first, it was supposed to be one single book, but things progressed as they did and so I chose to cut the overall, finished epic into three books. So it’s supposedly a series now.

Other than this, I usually cram everything up in one story.

8.     Oldest WIP

Oldest oldest? I started a story called L’année scolaire (= School Year) when I was like 10. It’s unfinished, so I suppose I can consider it as a WIP. Other than that, if I’m talking about posted fic, it’s a Harry Potter time-travel fanfic called Une nouvelle chance de vivre (= A New Chance At Living). Same, the fic has maybe ten years now (damn, time flies) and has been untouched for… about ten years I believe xD

9.     Current WIP

I have several! On my AO3 profile, there’s Sunkissed (an Achilles x Patroclus Omegaverse ff), The Bravest Belief of All (Amandi) (a Peter Pan x Wendy Darling canon divergence from OUAT) and I Desire You (or worse) (which is an original work with original character that I’ve just started posting) that I update regularly.

There are more on my computer, much more than I can type here…

10.  Do you set yourself deadlines?

Not at all. Because I wouldn’t respect them, and it would make me stress.

 The Specifics 11.  Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

Victor Hugo is the main one that comes to my mind atm. I love the way he writes and what he writes about. There’s Emile Zola’s Au Bonheur des dames, too, which is amazing, one of the best books I know of. And, for the beauty of language and the sheer poetry literally pouring from every single word, Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is. breathtaking. I don’t know if they influenced me, because it sounds a bit pretentious to say that one can find some of these authors in my stories if they look closely, but they definitely represent what I aspire to.

12.  Describe your perfect writing space

In a silent room, except there’s music (I know, it’s paradoxical). I have my computer and my head is resting (I mean, I don’t have anything urgent to do, it’s all done and behind me for the day) and I can concentrate on the scene I’ve been imagining for a couple of days / weeks / months / years (pick one).

13.  Describe your writing process from idea to polished

Usually I have an idea, I play it in my head over and over again until I really like it and I have a couple of things found out (like, scenes or dialogues or narration – depends if the idea is about a story or just a single scene). Then, I write it. Admittedly, the polishing happens mostly when I play it over and over in my mind until it clicks or sticks.

14.  How do you deal with self-doubts?

I usually listen to them, because it means there’s something that’s nagging me about a scene, a moment. So I go reread it, I think back on it – what can I change? How can I formulate it in a different way? – and I change it until I’m satisfied with it.

I experience a (lot) of self-doubt at the moment, with the first three chapters of IDY. I chose to post them, but I’m not entirely sure I’d be ready if people began to hate them or find horrible flaws with them. that makes me doubt whether it was a good idea or not, but I know that I can always delete them if it really goes downhill.

15.  How do you deal with writer’s block?

I stop writing. For a couple of days, usually, to let my brain the time to relax and focus on something else. Then, I sit back before my computer and I open another word document – like a blank page. I copy paste the scene I’m stuck on, and I rewrite it under, while using a couple of sentences I feel are good. I repeat the process until the words flow back again.

(This sounds a lot like a cooking recipe xD)

For the real, unbreachable writer’s block (like, if the above didn’t work), I try to focus on other stories. If that doesn’t help kick the inspiration back (like for No, but I do – even though the writer’s block was cemented by GOT’s last season but that’s another matter entirely), I push the story to the back of my mind and I give it up.

16.  How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project?

As many as necessary until I’m satisfied with myself. I can’t give a number.

17.  What writing habits or rituals do you have?

I imagine the scene beforehand, I listen to music, I write on computer… I can’t think of any other writing habit I have atm.

18.  If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about?

I don’t think I could collaborate with anyone, sorry - -’ When I have an idea for a story, I’m excited with writing every single part of it, so I don’t think it’s for me.

19.  How do you keep yourself motivated?

With the scenes I want to write.

20.  How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

At the moment (meaning the ones brewing in my mind): 11.

 The Favourites 21.  Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?

It depends with the story. I liked Weston in Pretty Boy (I like him too in I Desire You), and Wendy in Amandi.

22.  Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write?

Weston/Edmund. They’re my OTP for now.

23.  Favourite author

I don’t have a favourite author, I search for fics / stories mostly.

24.  Favourite genre to write and read

Romance.

25.  Favourite part of writing

I love writing dialogues, especially when the characters continue to talk on their own and I’m just transcribing everything and the conversation ends up very different from what I imagined.

26.  Favourite writing program

None, I just write on Word.

27.  Favourite line/scene

That’s impossible to choose! xD

On a writing’s perspective only, I’ll say the end part of chapter 3 in I Desire You (or worse). When I reread it and I could feel what the character is feeling / does (I’m being vague on purpose because I haven’t posted it yet), I knew I had to post it somewhere. I don’t know, I’m just really proud of it (and have the most self-doubt over people’s reaction, which is – as always – very logical of me).

28.  Favourite side character

In I Desire You, I like Lucy.

29.  Favourite villain

I don’t think I’ve ever written many villains. Ah, yes, Peter Pan in my OUAT fic. He’s a villain, it works.

30.  Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

I’ve been beginning a lot of WIP at the moment, precisely so I could start putting down all the ideas I wanted, so I don’t really know what to answer to that…

 The Dark 31.  Least favourite part of writing

Writing description of settings. I don’t really like how I write those.

32.  Most difficult character to write

Edmund. No hesitation.

33.  Have you ever killed a main character?

No, and I never intend to. I want my characters to be happy and alive.

34.  What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

Chapter 3 of I Desire You? Or maybe the chapter 2.

Or the beginning of Amandi, which depicts the Peter / Fiona relation.

35.  What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

Um, none at the moment :)

 The Fun 36.  Last sentence you wrote

I understand how he feels.

But I’ll probably change it. I’m not sure yet. It’s for IDY.

37.  First sentence of your current WIP

Well, I have three, so I’ll put the three.

A frustrated scream would have torn the eerie silence and thunderous sound of waves if Peter had any strength left in him to scream anymore. For Amandi

“Where’re y’all running to?” For IDY

Patroclus’ lip trembled when they pinned the crown to his hair. For Sunkissed.

38.  Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

Oof, lots. I’ve often imagined confronting two versions of characters. Like, take characters, usually from period pieces or in mindsets that are very patriarchal, and make them see another version of themselves, usually in Omegaverse, in a sort of Harry Potter pensieve or television setting, like they just watch this alternate universe version of themselves as they go on their daily lives. And then I imagine all the ways this character would first be horrified / angered / dismissive of that version of themselves that they’d judge weaker because they’d be Omegas, and then, slowly, they see that they’re really badass and yk worthy of consideration, respect etc. Not just them, but all their mates etc. would too, as well. And then they would come out as this better person, who aren’t as prejudiced as they used to be.

39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

I don’t know, I think it kind of overlap with the precedent question? Anyway, my characters are (only) plain, normal humans. Or, well, there was one time I had an idea to write a story with elves à la Tolkien, but it’s not really a weird character concept (or at all really xD)

40.  Share some backstory for one of your characters

Well, all my characters’ important backstories end up being revealed, so I’m not gonna spoil anything here…

I’ll take Curly from Amandi. He grew up in an orphanage, a poor one, which didn’t have proper beds (hence why he calls them pockets, because they look like pockets). He has no memory of his parents because they separated before his birth and his mother died in birth. He comes from a magical land (since we’re talking about an OUAT AU).

 The Rest of It 41.  Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?

Write what you want to read.

42.  How do you feel about love triangles?

I’m mixed. I’m not a fan of them, but I wrote one once, although it was a bit special because it looked like that: Person A is in love with Person B, and vice versa, Person C loves Person A and Person C (and the entire world) is convinced Person A is in love with them.

43.  What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

I just go with it. They know better than me xD

44.  How much research do you do?

A lot, but it’s mostly on little details. Like, not wars or political situation of the country at the time period, but more like were oil lamps still used for that class of population in said year, and can you snuff them out by turning the button (like in a slide sort of way, I’m not sure how to translate it precisely in English, but in my head it’s crystal clear).

45.  How much world building do you do?

I do a lot. When I write a story, I like to know every little detail I can.

46.  Do you reread your own stories?

Yes. That’s the main reason why I write them, to be true.

47.  Best way to procrastinate

By searching for aesthetic pics on Pinterest. That thing can take hours and you never see them fly. It’s incredible. Worse than Youtube. It takes you from picture to picture to picture without you noticing. Amazing.

48.  What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written?

I give a little bit of myself to every character I write about. Be it opinions, thoughts, childhood memory or taste. For example, Weston doesn’t like chocolate (he hates it with a passion) because I think chocolate has a disgusting taste (and because he never had the occasion of eating any as a kid).

49.  Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real?

Weston, because he’s friendly and extraverted, and I wish I could be more of both, and I imagine that being his friend would make me mimic him in certain ways.

[curiosity-killed]

Heith meeting at a coffee shop au?

I...really have no excuse for this

send me a ship and a number for a short fic

Keith blinked again, staring down at his keyboard. Despite his best hopes, his fingers still hadn’t started moving, and when he looked up, the document that stared back at him was a vast expanse of nothingness. He groaned, dropping his head to the wooden tabletop. It was a simple essay. Two pages. Not a big deal. Still, somehow, he couldn’t manage to get the words in order in his brain. He’d start planning out a sentence only for the words to fall out of order as his thoughts drifted elsewhere. He scrubbed at his eyes. Running on four hours of sleep probably wasn’t helping, either. His phone vibrated, skittering across the tabletop and earning him a couple sharp glares from the tables around him. Ignoring those, he swiped the lock combination across the screen and opened up the text waiting for him. Pidge: coffee now Pidge: y/y

Shaking his head, Keith sent back an affirmative and leaned back in his chair to wait. Sure enough, Pidge’s reply came back before he could more than lift his gaze from the screen. Pidge: meet at usual spot Pidge: eta 2 min Shoving his phone in his jacket pocket, Keith stashed the rest of his stuff - laptop, two textbooks, half-empty notebook - into his backpack and shrugged it over one shoulder before heading out. The library was stuffed with all the students studying and finishing homework in between classes, and he skirted around over-filled tables and reading nooks on quiet feet. The noise grew as he descended the stairs, comfortable conversation rising up from the group work stations, but it was still fairly quiet. He passed by and escaped into the brisk autumn air outside. The leaves were just starting to change, green turning yellow and orange, and the sky was an artificial blue overhead, nearly one of those default colors on MS Paint. He looked up as he rounded the library corner, smiling a little at the cloudless sky. No season would ever top summer for him, but there was something invigorating in the crisp air of October, in the way the light spilled bright and clear over campus. His and Pidge’s usual meeting spot was one of the metal benches along the back of the library, and as he approached, he spotted her familiar mound of tawny hair. Her head was bowed over her phone, face scrunched up in a frown as her thumbs skittered over the screen. “Hey,” he called as he neared. “Where’re we headed?” Pidge glanced up, lips twitching upwards as she finished typing and shoved her phone in the water bottle pocket of her bag. She started walking as she did so, and Keith fell in step beside her. “Cafe Leon,” she replied. Keith faltered, a hitch in his step causing him to lose Pidge. He caught up in an instant, hastened on by his own worry. “Right now? What about Marmora Cafe? Or Dunkin?” The latter earned him a disdainful glare, and Keith grimaced at his misstep. He and Pidge shared a similar distrust of corporations, and normally he’d never bring it up. As it was, this was an emergency. “I’ve been up for thirty hours,” she said. “I need peanut butter energy balls. I need it.” “I think you probably need sleep instead,” Keith retorted. Pidge raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at where Keith knew he had some impressive dark circles. “Uh-huh,” she said. “How late were you and Shiro at the shop, again?” Keith grimaced, shoulders slumping, and ceded the point. He and his best friend had been rebuilding a bike for the past six months, and as they grew closer and closer to completion, they both were getting less and less sleep. He was pretty sure Shiro was focusing on the bike to avoid stressing over his capstone projects, but it was hard for Keith to drop a project once he’d gotten going. There had been a couple times in the past few weeks where he’d fallen asleep on the garage floor and woken up to Shiro’s guilty face telling him he should get home. “Still,” he said, refocusing on the important point at hand, “other cafes have energy bars, too. And Red Bull. And really strong coffee.” Pidge paused, turning to face him fully with an intent stare. Keith averted his gaze, trying to affect innocence. “This is about Cafe Guy, isn’t it,” she said flatly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Keith said. Pidge rolled her eyes and started walking again, this time with a more determined stride. Keith let her go for a few strides before huffing a sigh and hurrying to catch up. “It’s embarrassing!” he said. “Just talk to him,” Pidge retorted. “I do,” Keith groaned. “That’s the problem! The lie’s gone too far.” Pidge reached up to rub at her forehead, knocking her glasses off-kilter. She adjusted them absentmindedly and gave Keith a pointed side-eye. “You sound like Lance,” she warned. Keith scrunched up his nose, reflexively insulted. Though he and Lance had grown out of their freshman year rivalry to become something like friends, he’d gotten too used to reacting in a set manner whenever they were compared to get past it. “We’re not in a soap opera, Keith,” Pidge continued. “Just be honest with him. Or don’t and come up with a clever way to get his name without telling him that even though you’ve known him for two and a half years you can’t actually remember his name.” Whether the condemnation in Pidge’s voice was real or imagined didn’t really help Keith feeling a sour twist of guilt at her description. It was mortifying, if he was honest. He’d been going to this cafe since freshman year, often enough to have a fairly good idea of the so-called Cafe Guy’s schedule. Because he was there every time Keith went in on weekdays. For two and a half years. The worst part, of course, was that Cafe Guy clearly knew him - had recognized him by name at the start of sophomore year. The guy was like sunshine incarnate - soft eyes and a big smile and the kind of genuine interest that made it seem like he really cared about Keith’s answer when he asked how he was doing. And Keith had no idea what his name was. It was a terrible tragicomedy, the type that was nothing but fitting for Keith’s life. Of course he’d meet a gorgeous, kindhearted guy and proceed to fake his way through every interaction for a year and a half. Catching himself, Keith grimaced at his own whining. Okay, maybe Pidge had a point about Lance rubbing off on him. Although… he nearly cringed at the thought. Taking a pointer from Lance might not be a bad solution. Swallowing his pride, Keith turned to Pidge with his most beseeching expression. “Please, Pidge,” he begged. “You know I’m not clever. Remember when I asked Shiro out?” As expected, Pidge blanched immediately. The memory was one Keith avoided bringing up generally, but now wasn’t time to half-ass. Pidge had been the sole witness to the tragic and extremely drunk disaster of freshman Keith asking his gorgeous CA out at three in the morning. It had started with Keith lying facedown on Shiro’s carpet and ended with him huddled in a mound of blankets, puking in Pidge’s bathroom. “Do you really want a repeat of that?” he asked. “God, no,” Pidge breathed, horrified. “No one wants that.” A distant part of Keith was offended by the absolute terror with which she said it, but the more rational part of him echoed the sentiment – vehemently. “So you’ll help me?” he asked. Pidge heaved a sigh, throwing her hands up. “Fine.” Keith grinned, relief washing through him. Pidge raised a finger at him, though, forestalling too much optimism. “But first,” she said, “peanut. butter. balls.” Keith rolled his eyes but followed her without further complaint the rest of the way to the café. It wasn’t the one Keith frequented the most – Marmora Café was closer to his apartment and ran specials on Monday mornings – but he’d been here enough for the broad windows and white walls to be a familiar sight. Inside, the café turned half into an indie art gallery: local artists’ works hung on all the walls, neat little black placards telling their creator and medium. Pidge didn’t spare these a single glance as she beelined to the baked goods display case. It was a small miracle she didn’t start drooling then and there, Keith thought; her eyes were about the size of CDs as she gazed longingly at the pyramid of peanut butter bites on the top shelf. She’d discovered them last year and somewhere in the midst of finals gotten addicted. They were, as any baked good in Café Leon, delicious, but Keith was pretty sure Pidge’s fervent belief that they could fully replace sleep was a delusion. “Keith! Hey!” Dread settled heavily in Keith’s stomach as he turned to that familiar voice. Sure enough, Café Guy stood at the register, smiling. His smile made it all so much worse. No one that nice deserved to have their name forgotten. “Hey,” Keith replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and shuffling after Pidge. Pidge lifted a hand to wave absently at Café Guy, but her focus was quickly redirected when one of the other baristas came to ask what she wanted. Café Guy waved Keith past her to the register, a fond look crossing his face as Pidge set about ordering her peanut butter balls and coffee. “Cinnamon latte?” Café Guy guessed. “Uh, no,” Keith said. “Just a large dark roast.” Café Guy winced, ringing up the order. When he’d finished, he gave Keith a sympathetic look. “Settling in for the long haul, huh?” he asked. Keith could never decide whether it was unnerving or sweet that Café Guy recognized his different orders and what they meant. He wasn’t used to someone paying that much attention to him, and it sent a tentative thrill of delight at the same time that it worsened the guilt in his stomach. “Yeah, I guess,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Gotta get an essay done.” Café Guy ‘oohed’ sympathetically and accepted the wrinkled bill Keith passed over. He paused before typing it into the register, though. “You sure you don’t want something more substantial than just coffee?” he asked. “I just made a fresh batch of pumpkin bread.” Keith hesitated, about to say no before he looked at Café Guy’s hopeful expression. A dollar ninety wasn’t that big a deal. “Sure,” he said. “Thanks.” Café Guy beamed. Sunshine, Keith thought again, a little manic. The guy had a way of smiling with his whole body, as if his very skin was infused with happiness. “Do you bake everything here?” he blurted. Café Guy looked up, smiling a little still. There was a hint of pride in the expression, as if he knew exactly how good his baking was. Which, to be fair, he probably did. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m doubling in culinary sciences, so it’s fun to experiment a little.” “Culinary sciences?” Keith echoed, storing that tidbit away with the meager information he had about Café Guy. “Yeah, I know. People are always surprised to combine engineering with cooking,” Café Guy said as he stepped around the display to pull out a slice of pumpkin bread. “But you’d be surprised how related they are.” Keith found himself smiling a little in reflection of Café Guy’s enthusiasm as he accepted the brown paper bag. He was pretty sure it was a form of hypnosis, based on what came out of his mouth. “I’d love to hear about it some time,” he said. Café Guy froze and Keith’s heart skipped a beat before Café Guy smiled, small and private. “Yeah?” he asked. “Yeah,” Keith said, riding the swell of this unexpected confidence. “It’d be great.” A throat cleared to his right, and Keith glanced over to realize a line had formed behind him. Pidge’s expression was blatantly gleeful, but the rest of the customers couldn’t be described similarly. Keith winced, clutching his pumpkin bread a little closer. “Oh, um, your coffee will be right up,” Café Guy said hurriedly, turning to Pidge. Disappointed, Keith trudged over to a table by the window. It was dumb to think that today he’d suddenly be smooth enough to get Café Guy’s number, but it had been going so well. He settled into his seat and pulled out his laptop, opening up that still-blank page. He’d gotten no further when the other barista called out his order, and he trudged over to retrieve his coffee with a cloud of despondency settled over his shoulders. He returned, sitting the cup down beside his laptop and turning back to the unwritten paper. “Oh my god,” Pidge mumbled through peanut butter. He looked up, half-expecting her to be choking on the energy balls. Instead, she was staring wide-eyed at his cup. He followed her gaze and found nothing – just the usual white cup and black logo. He turned back to her, squinting in confusion. Rolling her eyes, Pidge pointed emphatically at the cup. “Turn it around!” she ordered, though the words were barely understandable. Doing so reluctantly, Keith froze. Black Sharpie was scrawled over the back of the cup in quick, peaked letters and a phone number. He read through them once, them twice, and then a third time before turning to Pidge with a grin and the words committed to memory. From one Hunk to another, how about a date? :)

[allenmendezsr]

Super Productivity Secrets

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/super-productivity-secrets/

Super Productivity Secrets

 Buy Now    

From The Desk Of Carolyn Hansen Re: How To Become Almost Super-Humanly Productive

They say you should never take advice from someone who isn’t at or above where you want to be in life. That makes sense, right? After all, how can someone give you guidance and help you reach your goals, if they haven’t reached, or surpassed those goals themselves?

I’m Carolyn Hansen, noted Holistic Health and Wellness Coach. In additional to owning a successful Anytime Fitness Gym, I have a well-documented reputation online as an authority on health, exercise and weight loss matters having written several thousand health and fitness articles along with eBooks and programs.

I am fully qualified to give you the guidance and help you need to reach your goals because, as the saying goes, “I’ve been there, done that.”

But this isn’t about me. It’s about you. If you are reading this, it’s probably because:

You want to never have to worry about another dollar in your life.

You want to know that you and your family are well taken care of.

You want to experience long-lasting success in your business and personal life.

You want your friends and family to be proud of you and your accomplishments.

You can achieve all that, and more. I’ll explain to you how in a moment.

Here Is What You Are Probably Doing Right In Your Life

You are serious about improving your life, so you are probably exercising these basic career success strategies.

You strive to perform beyond people’s expectations.

You come in early and work late when needed.

You learn all you can about the product or service you perform.

You network with your peers and seek out mentors.

But NONE of that is enough to elevate you to the personal and professional lifestyle you want and deserve. Let me explain why…

Everything that functions properly in our world is in balance. Things that go out of balance are quickly destroyed if left uncorrected. Think of something as simple as your washing machine’s spin cycle when you have too many wet towels on one side of the tub. It slams and bangs and vibrates. Left unattended, the bearings or motor mounts will break and you’re facing an expensive repair bill.

Your Life Is EXACTLY  Like That Washing Machine

If you are only concentrating on the basic success steps that most motivated people take every day, you are never going to break away from the pack and become one of those people who actually have everything they want and need. Your life will be out of balance.

Leave your life out of balance long enough, and something will break. Emotionally, spiritually, physically, your life will begin to unwind slowly but surely. People who live lives that are out of balance very often experience high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, depression, social and relationship problems, and more. The negatives of living a life out of balance is destructive. It runs counter to reaching the goals you have set for yourself. An out of balance life can even be fatal.

For thousands of years, the Chinese have known about the principle of the Yin and the Yang. The study of this ancient concept can get very deep, but here is a simple definition: “Two halves that together complete wholeness.” Wholeness being the operative word here. The two halves represent your body and your mind. Working together, they make your life whole.

If your life is not whole, you are banging around like those wet towels in the washing machine.

I’m going to tell you a secret. Every really successful person you will ever meet has mastered the art of productivity. And no one has mastered productivity without learning the secrets of wholeness.

So what would happen if someone handed you the complete owner’s guide to achieving success through finding wholeness and true balance in your life?

Once you were given the secrets to increasing your productivity, and raising your success level, would you use them?

If I could show you the things the world’s most successful people know that you absolutely must know in order to achieve maximum productivity, would you follow in their footsteps?

If I am willing to show you exactly what I do every day to consistently achieve my personal and business goals, and live the kind of lifestyle you are seeking, will you faithfully follow along with me?.

If You Answered YES to the above three questions, you are ready to start reaching the levels of success you’ve been dreaming about…

Introducing…

SUPER PRODUCTIVITY SECRETS

A Program For Entrepreneurs Ready And Willing To Operate At FULL Capacity

Super Productivity Secrets IS the complete owner’s guide to achieving true balance in your life. What’s more, it is also the complete guide to achieving the personal and financial success you have been dreaming about but have not quite figured out to achieve. But it’s more than that. It doesn’t just show you how to achieve what you want, it shows you how to keep those things and enjoy them for a much longer time than the average person might.

Super Productivity Secrets is NOT some rah rah cheerleader guide that tries to pump you up with quotes and biographies of successful people. You won’t find the usual “secrets to success” that are simply copied and pasted from articles on the Internet and thrown together like some cheap pulp fiction novel.

Super Productivity Secrets IS 94 pages of help and guidance on how to achieve success through a holistic process that blends your physical needs with your financial needs and life’s goals.

Super Productivity Secrets is a combined approach that leads to successful personal development. It is exactly the program I follow every day and I am, by all measurements, a successful and fulfilled person.

Some people may say this book is life changing, but I prefer to call it life enhancing because you start with the life you have already built for yourself and then elevate it to the levels you desire by doing the same things that the truly success people do every day. The same things I do every day.

Here are just a few pieces of the productivity and success puzzle that Super Productivity Secrets puts together for you.

How to convert diligence from a concept to a daily activity and why that activity is so crucial to achieving balance.

The importance of understanding how to use discipline to bridge the gap between goals and achievement.

How to utilize mental toughness as the fuel to move you forward even when you think you are “out of gas”.

The true meaning of confidence and why it is one of the most powerful tools in your success toolbox.

How to increase your productivity by living in the world of now, and leaving the world of later behind.

The ONE thing you must avoid doing that will bring all of your dreams for the future crashing down around you.

What your success routines and a camera lens have in common.

The secret to less stress, more positive outlooks and experiencing real excitement in life.

How to tap into self awareness to change how people see you and how you see yourself.

The real power hidden in the statement “be stronger than your strongest excuse.”

How to tap into your brain’s ability to increase your creativity.

How to have more energy every day.

The secret to getting better sleep and how to experience the power that good sleep unleashes.

How to become more competitive.

But, most of all, Super Productivity Secrets will take you by the hand and show you how to completely achieve, and maintain the goals you want to reach.

In The Past, Successful People Have Had To Learn These Secrets On Their Own

Now you can have access to them all in just 94 pages. Maybe you’ll read it in one day; maybe in one week or one month. But no matter how little or long it takes, this isn’t the kind of book you read once and put aside.

As I said, Super Productivity Secrets is the complete owner’s guide to achieving success through finding true balance in your life and that means you’ll want to refer to it regularly. In fact, the book contains routines, protocols, dietary tips, recipes and suggestions for strengthening your mind and body in order to tap into the Yin and Yang power of balance. And achieving the kind of balance you’ll discover in this book is the true secret to personal and business success.

But That’s Not ALL I Have Awaiting You…

As an added bonus to round out your success plan, I’ll give you these 5 additional eBooks written by me and sold every day on my website:

You’ll Get All Of The Following!

Super Productivity Secrets

In this core productivity guide we’ll go over the factors critical to what I like to think of as “super human” performance. It’s the way everyone would live if they only knew what was possible.

We’ll cover the expected mental side of the equation, factoring in diligence, self-discipline, confidence and goal-setting. Then there’s mental toughness, focus, and concentration. These are all essential to maintaining the positive mindset that drives productivity.

But then there is the other side of the equation – the one not so commonly talked about, and far less understood. That’s the physical side. The quantifiable strengths and weakness that determine, ultimately, just how far you can push yourself – and that, of course, is where we want to be, on the cutting edge of what it is humanly possible to achieve.

Format: PDF

Mindset Mastery Secrets

Mind and body. Only when they work together can you truly expect to achieve peak performance in everything you do. Neither your mind nor your body can reach their maximum potential when the other is weak and undisciplined.

In “Mindset Mastery Secrets” you’ll learn what it takes to keep your thought processes focused on success patterns that can be turned into desirable habits that reinforce automatic behaviors that continually bring you closer to your goals.

Peak performance thinking is an absolute requisite for getting “in the zone” and achieving rapid-fire successes in every area of your life. I’ll show you the mental tricks that the high achievers use to get the job done.

Format: PDF

Wealthy Entrepreneur Mindset

Do you deserve to be wealthy? Is your mind predisposed to perform the rituals, tasks, and necessities that attract wealth-building opportunities into your life? In short, do you have the mindset of the wealthy entrpreneur? If not, then how do you get it?

These are just some of the questions we’ll explore in this volume, then answer them. We’ll investigate just what is required to transition from the “self employeed” mindset to the entrepreneurial way of conducting your life.

To get there we’ll need to plan. Organization and planning are the hallmarks of success, the cornerstone to any wealth-building venture.

We are going to need to be effective to get anywhere fast (a subject to which we’ll devote an entire chapter), and we we need what might seem like an almost endless stream of energy to keep us pushing forward. I’ll show you exactly where to find it.

Finally, we’ll consider the thoughts of the wealthy entrepreneurs who have come before us – these people know a thing or two!

Format: PDF

The Minimalist Exercise Program

Are you wasting your time with ineffective and outdated theories of what you SHOULD be doing to achieve maximal health and fitness?

Most people are. But with the MINIMALIST program you learn how to get quality results with the least amount of effort.

After all, why do twice the amount of work and spend double the length of time to achieve the same result? If you want to achieve the most bang for your buck, the minimalist approach will get you there.

Format: PDF

The Minimalist Nutrition Program

Confused by all the contradictory information that comes your way about what you should and should not eat? I certainly would be if I wasn’t already an expert on the subject!

Now you can be too. Or at least I’ll show you how to become a master of “minimalist nutrition”. That is, knowing just the essentials about what to eat to stay lean and healthy year round.

You may be surprised to learn that eating “minimally” does NOT mean eating less. In fact it’s really the exact opposite. You’ll learn how to prepare nutrient-dense meals that give you more energy while at the same time they promote maximum fat burning! the most bang for your buck, the minimalist approach will get you there.

Format: PDF

Healthier You, Wealthier You

How do you adopt traits of greatness? You might think of blueprint outlined in Healthier You, Wealthier You as the final key to the productivity puzzle. That’s because without your health, no matter how much wealth you accumulate you are not going to be in a great position to enjoy it for very long.

At the same time, if you don’t know how to efficiently create wealth you are not going to be able to spare the time to attend to your health!

What you need is to be able to balance both your wealth account AND your health account.

Not sure what this “health account” is that we’re talking about? Well, you will by the time you have completed the blueprint!

Format: PDF

At 53 I now feel better than I did 20 years ago…

After a serious illness last Spring I have been on a personal mission to learn, and implement, everything I can to bring my body into a state of perfect health and well being.

Carolyn Hansen��s training has proved an invaluable resource and I am very grateful. At 53 I now feel better than I did 20 years ago – but not nearly as well as I will a year from now 🙂

The key to my recovery and wellness has been finding easy to understand and implement tools such as Carolyn provides – and then following her recommendations. I can not recommend Carolyn Hansen’s work enough – it will change your life.

– Cyndi Krupp

My confidence has returned

I read the salespage for Carolyn’s coaching program I felt like it was talking to me. After reading a little more I bought the coaching and immediately put it to use.

After 33 days I can say that I have changed a lot… Best of all, my confidence has returned and has spurred me on to keep going with my new regimen.

– Steven Aitchison http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/

So What Will Be The Size Of My Investment Carolyn – When I Pick Up A Copy Of Super Productivity Secrets Today?

By now you are probably asking yourself if this is too good to be true. You may be wondering if there really are success secrets that the wealthy know and whether or not this book really reveals them.

I don’t blame you. There are lots junk books and get rich quick schemes on the Internet. But folks, let me tell you: This is the real thing. I won’t bother giving you links to my web site or my other books. Just go to Google and type: Carolyn Hansen Author. You will see for yourself that I am the real deal. I am living the lifestyle that you want to live, and my book Super Productivity Secrets shows you exactly how to achieve that lifestyle for yourself.

But maybe you’re not convinced. That’s OK. Skepticism is healthy. It is one of the things that keep u out of trouble. It keeps us from being taken advantage of. So I’ll make a deal with you:

Download your copy of Super Productivity Secrets right now for just

$27.00

That’s Right – Only $27.00 !

You will get INSTANT ACCESS right now — Even if it’s 3.00 A.M.

*NOTE: These are digital downloads in Adobe PDF Format and you will be taken directly to the download page upon successful completion of checkout. Should you experience any problems being returned to the proper page, please simply email:  (carolynh@xtra.co.nz)

I could charge (and I have charged in the past) so much more for this powerful, life changing information…

But I want YOU to get started immediately, in the comfort of your own home and I am confident that you won’t find a program remotely like this one anywhere. And you WILL be 100% satisfied with the information you receive or you will get 100% of your money back.

My Iron-Clad Money-Back Guarantee

Life may not come with guarantees, but my book Super Productivity Secrets does. So there really is no reason not to take advantage of the opportunity to learn the secrets of the truly successful people and how to apply those secrets to your own life.

Simply download your copy of Super Productivity Secrets right now for just $27.00. Then take a FULL 60 DAYS to read the books from cover to cover, and digest all of the information.

Then, if this program isn’t everything that I say it is; if it isn’t everything that you HOPE it is, just let me know anytime within 60 FULL DAYS and I’ll give you your money back.

That’s how confident I am that Super Productivity Secrets is the answer you’ve been searching for. All combined, this is the ultimate lifestyle, fitness and success library that will make a real difference in your life. You can’t afford not to have this information, and especially when it is just $27.00. Move into the world of today by clicking the link below and getting your success package now.

Don’t wait another minute! Download Super Productivity Secrets now so you can get educated, take action and begin performing at the highest possible levels of productivity. Then continue to do so for decades to come.

To a long, healthy, and productive life!

Author, Productivity Expert & National Champion Bodybuilder

P.S. Remember: There is an unbreakable, unmistakable connection between achieving balance in your life and achieving the success you want. Even if you could achieve that success and ignore balance, you wouldn’t be able to hold on to it for long. That’s why it is so important to know the secrets to productivity and true success that the richest men and women already know. And that’s why it’s important that you ready my book Super Productivity Secrets right now for just $27.00.

Because I want you to be successful, I’ll not only cover your purchase with a full 60 day money-back guarantee, I’ll also include 5 of my best eBooks on that compliment what you are about to discover when you read Super Productivity Secrets.

So go ahead, download your copy of Super Productivity Secrets, and the 5 FREE bonus books, right now for just $27.00.

PRODUCT DELIVERY

This is a downloadable program consisting of ebook files. You will NOT receive a physical package shipped to you in the mail. The entire package will be immediately available for you to download and get started right away after ordering. This program is NOT available in stores, so you can only access it through this website.

Clicking the above order button will take you to a secure page for the transaction by Clickbank, a secure online retailer of digital products. Upon confirmation of your order, you will immediately be redirected to a download page to download the files that make up this program. If you have a high speed internet connection, the downloads usually take just a few minutes. The e-book downloads will be in PDF format, so you will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to open the files. Most computers already have Adobe Reader installed. Audios will be provided in MP3 format.

DISCLAIMER

The website’s content and the product for sale is based upon the author’s opinion and is provided solely on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. You should do your own research and confirm the information with other sources when searching for information regarding health issues and always review the information carefully with your professional health care provider before using any of the protocols presented on this website and/or in the product sold here. Neither ClickBank nor the author are engaged in rendering medical or similar professional services or advice via this website or in the product, and the information provided is not intended to replace medical advice offered by a physician or other licensed healthcare provider. You should not construe ClickBank’s sale of this product as an endorsement by ClickBank of the views expressed herein, or any warranty or guarantee of any strategy, recommendation, treatment, action, or application of advice made by the author of the product.

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[suzanneshannon]

Learning to Learn

There’s been a lot of talk recently about whether or not you need a degree to be in tech (spoiler: you don’t). But please don’t take this to mean you don’t need any kind of education to be in tech, because by not getting a degree, you’re opting to replace the imposed learning structure of an academy with learning on your own.

Academic background or not, technical education doesn’t stop once you get a job. On the contrary: nothing in tech stays in one place, and the single most valuable skill you can possess to remain employable over time is learning how to learn.

Identifying holes

You’re all ready to go, ready to challenge yourself, learn what you can, and grow. But where do you start? Sometimes people rely on a more formal education simply because someone is there, guiding your path.

When you’re learning on your own, this part can sometimes be tough — you don’t know what you don’t know. If you’re starting from scratch, learning web development or computer science, here are some resources that might help:

Computer Science in JavaScript

Awesome Courses

Learning HTML and CSS

MDN JavaScript

CSS Definitive Guide

JavaScript in One Pic

Awesome JavaScript Learning

There are also times when you know what you need to learn, but you have to level up. In this case, I have some strategies on how to organize yourself in the next section.

Possible strategies

You absolutely do not to be as formal in your approach to learning as I am. I used to be a college professor, and so I still organize my own learning as though I’m teaching. I even still use a paper planner designed for teachers. I’ll show you how I do it in case it’s helpful. A few years back I taught myself ES2015/ES6, so I'll use that as an example. Structure like this is good for some and not good for others, so do what works for you.

If there’s an API I’m trying to learn, I’ll go to the main documentation page (if there is one), and list each of the things I’m trying to learn. Then I’ll divide the sections into what I think are manageable chunks, and spread the sections over my schedule, usually shooting for about a half hour a day. I do this with the understanding that some days I won’t find the time, and others, I’ll dig in for longer. Typically I aim for at least 2.5 hours of learning a week, because that pace seems reasonable to me.

The list of ES2015 features I used when I was learning

Then I take all of those features, write them out, and estimate how much time I'll need for each one. Here’s an example where I wrote out all the things I needed to learn. The yellow numbers on the side are my time estimates in half hour units.

You can also do this with course materials from an online workshop, writing down the sections and breaking them into chunks to go over every day. I really enjoy Frontend Masters for long form learning like this, as well as Egghead and courses by Wes Bos.

At this point, I'll break those pieces down and schedule them. The teacher planner allows me to divide my days into the different themes I'm focusing on and put a little in each day. You can see in the first screenshot that I was learning a bit, mentoring a bit, and writing and building what I was learning each day. This kind of input/output really helped me solidify the concepts as I was digging into ES2015/ES6.

I try not to schedule too far out because I'm bound to drop something here and there, or I might dive further one day than I was planning to. I keep the schedules flexible enough to adjust for these inevitable inconsistencies. This also allows me to not get too demotivated. If I feel I'm off-track, the next week is another opportunity to get back on.

Again, you don't have to be as formal as I am, and there are so many ways to be effective. Find what works for you. I would make a small suggestion that you're taking a look at the table of contents for those API docs now and again, mostly because then you're aware of any gaps in your knowledge that you're not filling.

Setting aside time

Setting aside time can be challenging with all of our busy schedules, but it's critical. If you look at your week, how much time do you have? Learning won’t happen unless you purposefully devote time for it. It needn’t be a ton of time. If you’re a more habit-driven kind of person, you can set up a daily schedule. If you’re the kind of person who learns better head down and you have an existing job, then you might have to give up some Sunday afternoons, or possibly some time after work now and again. Most of us need a bit of both. ☺️

If you’re socially motivated, you might want to find a study buddy. Is there someone at work who has similar goals? Maybe going to coding meetups can help keep you on track. Emma Wedekind also builds Coding Coach, where you can have guided mentorship sessions.

Practice

At the end of the day, it's going to come down to practice. If you read about Cognitive Load Theory (I highly recommend the book Cognitive Load Theory if you want to learn about this), you'll see that the old "practice makes perfect" adage has some bite to it.

Information Processing Model (how we learn) - Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin's cognitive load theory, 1968.

I also really like this quote from Zed Shaw’s Learn Python the Hard Way.

Do Not Copy-Paste You must type each of these exercises in, manually. If you copy and paste, you might as well just not even do them. The point of these exercises is to train your hands, your brain, and your mind in how to read, write, and see code. If you copy-paste, you are cheating yourself out of the effectiveness of the lessons.

I also love this quote from Art and Fear, and bring it up frequently as it's been a guiding light for me:

The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the "quantity" group: fifty pounds of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B", and so on. Those being graded on "quality", however, needed to produce only one pot —albeit a perfect one —to get an "A". Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busily churning out piles of work—and learning from their mistakes —the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.

Learning modalities

Truly there are many different learning modalities, and combining them can even be helpful. Sometimes I will sit and practice refactoring code from other languages into JavaScript (this is a pretty old project now), or reverse engineer things to learn. I like reverse engineering because people tend to problem-solve in different ways. This allows me to peek inside other people’s heads and see how they approach things. I even have a private collection on CodePen where I collect other people's work that I think can benefit me and my learning.

Personally, I think there’s nothing more motivating than building. You can actually learn a metric ton just by building things.

Storytime: Many years ago, I was at a conference with a few people who worked on the SVG spec, including the inventor of SVG himself. I was completely unknown at the time, but had been churning out tons of SVG animations that were wildly unpopular for a few years. We got on the subject of a certain behavior that was in the spec. I mentioned, that yes, it should work that way but unfortunately Firefox had x behavior and Chrome had y.

No one in the group knew this, and it was the first time I realized that all those silly playful things I was building were actually educating me; that I knew practical, real-life edge cases even though I hadn’t sought them out in a formal manner. I was so excited! I didn’t plan to become an SVG expert — it snuck up on me as I enjoyed myself, building things to relieve stress and play.

This is good news! You can learn so much by creating things you think are fun. I like to learn for a bit, and then practice what I learned by making something, just to make sure I solidify the concepts.

You may find you learn the most by teaching. If you do have a person you can mentor, it can actually benefit you, too. Writing technical posts or helping with documentation can help you learn something concretely as well.

Cognitive Load Theory

The book I cited earlier, Cognitive Load Theory, has this great section breaking down learning modalities and what they require. A central theme to the book is discussing moving information from a source into our own minds, and that there are certain capabilities and limitations affected by design characteristics of the learning structure and our own cognition.

Intrinsic load is created by the difficulty of the materials.

Extraneous load is created by the design characteristics of the type of education and materials.

Germane load is the amount of invested mental effort.

The chart below explores effects of different ways that we learn, and what the primary cognitive load would be of the three listed above.

From Cognitive Load Theory

This kind of meta-understanding of what it takes to learn might be helpful to you in that you might find you have less cognitive load in one learning modality versus another. You may also find that you can cut yourself some slack when one topic with more germane load takes you longer to understand than another that's mostly memorization.

Know that learning styles do affect our ability to comprehend things, and reducing barriers for yourself is key. Do you keep studying at a cafe where there's a lot of noise and distraction? Consider that your lack of focus might have more to do with the setting than your ability to process the materials.

One more note on this: learning is hard, and it's humbling. It's exciting too, but please don't feel alone if you struggle, or if you need to repeat something multiple times to really get it. Even after taking care of cognitive leaks, expanding knowledge is not necessarily easy, but does pay off in dividends.

Lifelong learners

By choosing to be a developer, you are choosing to learn. This is amazing. Our field not only values our knowledge, but we can stave off boredom because it doesn’t stagnate. My suggestion is to consider these tips a buffet table. There’s so much you can do, so many tools you can use. You don't need to learn everything and no one knows absolutely everything. It can feel overwhelming, but try to view it less like a race to the finish and more like a continuous journey.

Remember: no one was born knowing any of this. Even the experts you know started at zero. There's nothing stopping you from becoming their peer if that's your goal. Or simply learning enough to get the job done if that's what you need.

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