#doing something as basic as an outline is basically impossible

[applejuiceyjuice-art]

i like doodling on my ipad bc its so convenient but its such a pain in the ass to do anything that elaborate like i don’t even bother coloring half the time and why i practically only post sketches.

it’s partially bc my ipad is old and cracked and overheats, lags, doesn’t register inputs, crashes...but it’s also bc it’s annoying asf to get references or import anything. something i can do on my computer in 2 seconds is a whole ordeal on my ipad THROWS MY SHIT OUT THE WINDOW

[aroaceleovaldez]

I think one of the problems with the HoO characterizations is Rick kind of forgot to give half the cast hobbies and general interests, and maybe like people they know outside of their families and outside of camp, or if he did remember to it rarely gets brought up for most of them, or in the special case of Annabeth - she randomly develops a hobby in weaving for exactly one scene and then never again. Apparently she just knew how to do that, even though it is a skill she has literally never used before nor uses again.

The best examples I can give of this are comparing/contrasting the examples of when we do actually get this with the lack-thereof: Hazel and Frank are good examples. Hazel has hobbies and interests generally unrelated to all her demigod stuff (horses and art) and we see this repeatedly discussed and brought up. She also knows and interacts with people outside of the necessities of her quest/Camp Jupiter or her family - Sammy was her best friend at school and they hung out and stuff! Meanwhile, Frank, as far as we know, doesn’t know anybody outside of his family even though he presumably went to school before Camp Jupiter? His hobby is... archery? That’s the only thing he ever really shows interest in but at the same time it only rarely gets brought up except for him using a bow as his main weapon and the like two instances of noting that Frank had hoped he was an Apollo kid for a little bit. The closest other detail we get to Frank having any other kind of hobby/interest is him mentioning off-hand that he used to play Mythomagic.

Piper and Leo - We can presume that Piper knew Shel before moving to Oklahoma, because Piper used to visit her grandpa often and as far as we know that’s also where Shel lives. But we never see Piper ever mention knowing anyone else in her grandfather’s community. Heck, when she’s introduced we’re basically outright told that she doesn’t interact much at all with any of her classmates outside of necessity, and we don’t even have any confirmation that before Hera’s mind-meddling that she even acknowledged Leo’s existence. Also, Piper has like, exactly zero hobbies. We do not know what Piper does in her free time or what she likes (except vaguely that she has surfed before), only really what she dislikes. Leo at least does have some kind of excuse for not really knowing anybody, and an explicit explanation about why that is the case and how he feels about it. Leo also has a repeatedly referenced interest/hobby in mechanics that’s very core to his character.

Percy and Annabeth? Pre-HoO, they both have plenty of interests and know people outside their general circles! Percy knows kids at school. Annabeth’s general outer social circle is Camp Half-Blood, because she grew up there, but she clearly knows people at camp. She’s also super into architecture! And Percy does a ton of stuff in his free time - he skateboards! He plays basketball! He has two pets he takes care of (Blackjack and Mrs. O’Leary)! Post-HoO he’s on a swim team! But during HoO? Percy’s hobbies just kind of disappear, besides “oh yeah he uh. Does water stuff.” There’s no acknowledgement of like, “Yeah Percy sets up a little basketball hoop on the back of his door on the Argo 2 and shoots trash at it.” Literally anything! And yeah, Annabeth’s architecture interest is somewhat acknowledged, but also like, not really? We at least get some kind of “Yeah, in her spare time she’s usually on her laptop working on stuff” but we also barely get any instances of Annabeth thinking about her friends at camp except for like, Tartarus.

For Jason it at least kind of works because a.) he has amnesia and it’s implied he doesn’t really have close friends at Camp Jupiter besides Reyna, so it figures he only ever really references random other legionaries like, twice. and b.) there is also the heavily implication that Jason doesn’t have hobbies, because his entire life was so focused around his training at Camp Jupiter. This works less with Reyna, but she also kind of has an excuse for not knowing people besides like, her sister and Jason, given she ran away when she was young, Circe’s island was destroyed, and she could have only been at Camp Jupiter for like 3 years maximum at that point. And she’s not exactly the most social character. We also don’t get much indication of her hobbies, besides she also likes horses and it’s heavily implied she likes nature/gardens? Presumably, given we get like, one note of that in HoO, maybe two if you count her living on Circe’s island, and then like one more nod to that in TOA. And we only get her POV chapters in BoO anyways so again, she has some excuses. Coach Hedge also is incredibly bland besides maybe him having a hobby in sports, and... violence? Which definitely does not count. And him lacking any POV chapters doesn’t really help.

I think this is why Nico continually feels like such a strong character, simply because we know what he does in his spare time. We know he knows people outside of the camps (most of those people are gods or ghosts, but he at least knows people) and technically you could argue him knowing about Camp Jupiter between BoTL and TLO counts too. He even references his old neighbor at one point. Obviously, he’s very into Mythomagic, and that comes up a lot because it’s his special interest and is usually also relevant to their quests. He travels a lot, and apparently used to when he was younger as well. We also learn he used to have a special interest about pirates and that apparently may have played into his crush on Percy. Like, all that is so simple and minor but it makes such a difference for how Nico feels as a character. Most of Nico’s stuff though is established in the first series, which definitely helps because the first series was pretty good about giving characters hobbies and maybe some people they know - Annabeth, Percy, and Nico we’ve already covered, but also like, Grover knows other satyrs and is usually practicing music and also we know what foods he likes. Thalia is very into punk culture and music. We know she particularly likes Green Day. We know she knew the Hunters of Artemis before the events of TTC. Rachel's whole thing is that she’s super into art and she has a bunch of connections through her rich family, and she’s basically Percy’s only mortal friend. They have lives!

If you put a protagonist in a room and told them to occupy themselves, you should have an answer for what they do. They should be able to name one person outside their immediate social circle who they are generally friendly with or vaguely know, unless they have a specific reason for that to not be the case. HoO crew needs to occupy their time by themselves, no weaponry, for twenty minutes? Hazel could be drawing, Nico could be organizing his cards, Leo could be tinkering, Annabeth could be working on her laptop, Percy could be trying out little skateboard tricks. Jason, Piper, Frank, and Reyna? What would they be doing?

TOA does actually answer that question for Jason, at least, because we learn that Jason makes tiny dioramas! That’s adorable! Why doesn’t he do that in HoO?! TOA also gives us more depth to Will Solace besides “He’s a medic and does medic things” with telling us that he’s into Star Wars. Like, that’s actually so much information to work with! Thank you! And then we also find out in TOA that Nico’s also kinda into art! We still don’t get anything new for Piper, Frank, or Reyna - besides again one more potential implication that Reyna thinks plants are Pretty Okay, and that nature is Mildly Alright. Like, not even “maybe she keeps a houseplant” territory, all we have is “if she had the option, she might be interested in visiting a flower garden.” But honestly TOA at least gives us something for most of the characters we see. Like at least one thing. Most of the rest of the writing is a mess but at least the characters are mildly interesting.

Anyways, give your characters hobbies, it’s good for them.

[mariclerc]

A project of love | ls2

Summary: where you have to do a project with your crush and you try not to fall for him.

Warning: none.

a/n: requested and dedicated by @bananaleclerc I hope you like it!! And yes, I need a break from posting so much 😂😂

You're hunched over a textbook at a library table, surrounded by scattered notes and a half-eaten granola bar. Just then Logan enters the library, a whirlwind of energy and a backpack overflowing with what looks like every microbiology textbook ever written.

He slammed his books down next to you. “Hey there, study buddy! Ready to conquer the microscopic world?”

You jump a little, startled. He flashes a dazzling smile. “Uh, yeah, hi Logan. I was just... uh... reviewing.” You say, trying to sound casual.

“Awesome! Me too. Though, to be honest, my brain feels like it's about to explode from all these bacteria names.” He pulls out a chair dramatically and sits down. “Did you get a chance to look at the project outline Professor Davies sent? Apparently, we're germ-fighting partners!”

Your stomach flips. Internally screaming, you manage a smile. “Yeah, I saw it. Partnered up, huh? Makes sense, I guess.”

“Definitely! We balance each other out, right? You with your quiet genius vibe, and me... well, I bring the enthusiasm.”

You laugh nervously, a blush creeping up your cheeks.

“I wouldn't call myself a genius, but hopefully, I can keep up with your... enthusiasm.”

“Oh, you will, trust me. So, what do you think? Should we start with some foundational stuff, or dive straight into the exciting world of, like, antibiotic resistance?” he grins.

You take a deep breath, trying to focus. “Maybe foundational stuff first? That way, we're both on the same page when we get to the more complex topics.”

”Sounds like a plan! But hey, don't worry about keeping up. Like I said, I'm basically a walking microbiology encyclopedia. Just ask away if you get lost.”

You nod, but your mind is racing. Trying to focus on the project feels impossible now that you're so close to him.

You clear your throat. “Okay, so... cell walls of bacteria... what were we talking about those in lecture?”

Logan launches into an explanation, peppered with jokes and pop culture references. You try to concentrate, but all you can think about is the way his eyes light up when he talks about something he's passionate about.

Later, after a productive study session, you're packing your things.

“So, should we meet again tomorrow? Same time, same place?”

You feel your heart pounding. “Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

“Great! Hey, you seem a little quiet today. Everything alright?” he asks softly.

You force a smile. “Yeah, no, I'm just... tired, I guess... All this studying.”

“Studying can be draining! But hey, at least we're suffering together, right?” He winks at you. “See you tomorrow, germ fighter!”

He flashes another smile and throws you a peace sign before walking off. You sigh, a mix of frustration and a secret thrill bubbling in your chest. Studying with Logan might be the most nerve-wracking, yet strangely fun, experience of your university career so far.

You watch him disappear into the library crowd, a bittersweet pang in your chest.

You mutter to yourself. “Germ fighter, huh? More like heartbreaker.”

You gather your things, a sudden wave of determination washing over you. You like Logan, a lot. But you can't let that distract you from the project. You take a deep breath and head out of the library, a plan forming in your mind.

***

The next day, you arrive at the study table a few minutes early. You've spent the morning making flashcards – not just on microbiology, but also on Logan's interests you've gleaned from his conversation snippets. Genetics? Check. Obsession with the movie "The Andromeda Strain"? Double check.

He bursts in, a little late and slightly out of breath.

“Sorry I'm late! Professor Davies got us sidetracked talking about her research on bioluminescent bacteria. Apparently, there's a kind that glows neon green – can you believe it?” He says hurriedly, making you laugh a little, just then he notices the flashcards on the table. “Whoa, flashcards? You serious?”

You nod smiling, not as nervously as yesterday. “Just thought they might help us remember all this complex stuff. Besides, I found some fun facts related to the topics we need to cover. Maybe a little trivia can keep things interesting?”

His eyes wide at your words. “You got fun facts about bacteria? Okay, you officially win coolest study partner ever! Shoot, let's hear one.”

You pick up a flashcard and grin. Maybe studying with Logan won't be so bad after all. Maybe you can find a way to balance your academic focus with a sprinkle of something more.

***

The following week becomes a whirlwind of flashcards, late-night library sessions fueled by takeout, and a slow, simmering tension between you and Logan. Your knowledge of bacteria trivia becomes legendary, earning you surprised yet impressed glances from Logan. He, in turn, starts bringing coffee (with extra whipped cream for you, which you secretly adore) and peppering the study sessions with personal anecdotes, revealing a surprisingly deep and caring side beneath his bubbly exterior.

One rainy afternoon, hunched over a microscope analyzing bacterial cultures, Logan asks. “Hey, you ever wonder what those bioluminescent bacteria actually look like in real life?”

You glance up, surprised by the sudden seriousness in his voice. “Not really.” you admit, “but Professor Davies said she has some under a special microscope in her lab. Maybe we could ask if we could take a peek after our next class?”

He grins, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Perfect... We can make it a little research adventure.”

The stolen glance you share sparks a warmth in your chest, a silent acknowledgement that this is more than just a study session. The next day, after you convince a hesitant Professor Davies to let you glimpse the glowing bacteria, you find yourselves alone in the dimly lit lab.

As you peer through the microscope, Logan leans closer, his shoulder brushing yours. “Wow.” he whispers, “they're incredible.”

You hum in agreement, captivated by the tiny emerald lights dancing before your eyes. The silence stretches, charged with unspoken emotions. You can feel the heat radiating from him, his breath tickling your ear.

Suddenly, the lab door bursts open, revealing Professor Davies returning from her meeting. You and Logan jump apart, both cheeks flushing a deep red.

“Did you get to see them?” she asks cheerfully.

“Yes, Professor,” you stammer a little bit, “they're amazing!”

As the week progresses, the air between you crackles with a new awareness. You find yourself stealing glances at Logan as he talks, your heart skipping a beat when he laughs at one of your jokes.

During a particularly frustrating attempt at culturing E. coli, you blurt out, “Ugh, these bacteria are so stubborn!”

“Hey,” Logan says softly, placing a hand on yours, “we'll figure it out together... Like always.”

His touch sends a jolt through you, and you meet his gaze, your eyes locked in a silent conversation. In that moment, you both know this partnership has become something more, a budding connection waiting to bloom amidst the petri dishes and microscopes.

The shared look hangs heavy in the air, the frustration of the stubborn E. coli forgotten. Logan's hand lingers on yours, his thumb gently brushing against your skin. You can feel the warmth radiating from him, and a blush creeps up your neck.

“Maybe,” he starts, his voice a low rumble, “we should take a break from these little buggers. Grab some coffee, clear our heads?”

You nod mutely, your heart pounding a frantic rhythm against your ribs. Stepping out of the lab, the rain has stopped, leaving the air fresh and clean. As you walk side-by-side, a comfortable silence settles between you. You steal a glance at Logan, his profile sharp against the setting sun.

Reaching the familiar coffee shop you frequent, you order your usual, Logan opting for his favorite with extra whipped cream (a detail that makes your stomach flutter with a strange mix of amusement and affection). Settling into a quiet corner booth, you both sip your drinks, the tension still simmering beneath the surface.

“Thanks for sticking with this project,” Logan says, his gaze fixed on you. “It wouldn't have been nearly as fun without you.”

A shy smile graces your lips. “It wouldn't have been so bad with you either.”

He leans closer, his eyes searching yours. The air crackles with unspoken desire. In a voice barely above a whisper, he asks, “Can I do something?”

Your breath catches in your throat. You nod hesitantly, a shiver running down your spine. He closes the distance between you, his hand cupping your cheek. His touch is soft, sending a jolt of electricity through you.

The kiss is tentative at first, a brush of lips that sends a wave of heat through your body. But then, something shifts. He deepens the kiss, his hand moving to cradle your head, tilting it for better access. You melt into him, the taste of coffee and something uniquely Logan swirling on your tongue.

The kiss is brief, broken by a gasp for air. He leans his forehead against yours, his chest rising and falling with each ragged breath. Your eyes flutter open to meet his, a goofy grin plastered across his face.

“Wow,” he breathes, a mixture of awe and amusement in his voice.

You can only manage a shaky smile, your heart overflowing with a mix of exhilaration and nervousness. The world seems to tilt on its axis, and for a moment, only you and Logan exist in this small corner of the coffee shop.

As you pull back and smile, a newfound confidence sparks within you... Maybe this partnership, born amidst bacteria and microscopes, could blossom into something more. And you, for one, are eager to see where it leads.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello,

I need your help. I am a young writer and I want to write a novel. I have written the plot, characters, outline, etc. and when I start writing, it goes well. Then afterwards I lose motivation in what I write. I have written over 10+ drafts with new characters, plots, and outline, but it seems impossible to pass 50 pages of writing. My novel is very similar to a very popular and beloved book and I look at the responses and everyone loves it. I feel like my book isn’t going to be good (writing and plot) and I am afraid to start writing again. I really want to write with motivation. I also write the same beginning and I try to change it but it’s a really essential thing for my plot but it’s really hard to write. What can I do?

Young Writer Struggling with First Novel

First, know that this popular and beloved book that's inspiring you isn't something a young, inexperienced writer sat down and instantly wrote. Most really popular and beloved books were written by writers who had some level of writing experience under their belts, whether it was years of writing complete stories, years voracious reading, years of writing-related education (school or self-taught), or years of industry-related reading and writing experience. And even then, they didn't sit down and type out a flawless first draft.

What you're going through right now is writing practice. Every single one of those 50-page drafts has made you a better writer. But, not being able to get past those first fifty pages tells me that there's something about your story that's not working. You may have a plot outlined in the sense that you've mapped out a bunch of things you want to happen, but if your story doesn't revolve around a conflict that's trying to be resolved, and if your story doesn't have some kind of structure or hit the important story milestones, you're probably losing momentum because your story engine ran out of gas.

So, it's important to spend time filling your brain with the necessary knowledge to help you understand how stories work... reading books and articles about writing, watching videos about writing, reading a variety of books, even watching movies and playing story-centric video games all can help your brain understand how to tell complete stories.

Here are some posts to get you started:

Guide: How to Turn Ideas into a Story Guide: Starting a New (Long Fiction) StoryGuide: Filling in the Story Between Known Events Guide: How to Outline a Plot Basic Story Structure Beginning a New Story How to Move a Story Forward Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories Understanding Goals and Conflict 5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write Have Plot, Can’t Write Concentrate on Quantity at First, Not Quality Advice for a Young (Very Young) Writer Things to Remember When You’re a Frustrated Young Writer…

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  @wynnyfryd! Wynnyfryd has 34 fics in the Stranger Things fandom and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

i don’t know, you figure it out

Plot Holes

biting you biting you biting you- oh! kissing you!

Satanic Ritual: DO NOT WATCH!!

She's got some of the FUNNIEST writing in this fandom, and it's very snappy too like. She's an editing demon for sure, she can take a concept that I'd think would take paragraphs to explain and find the right words to make it hit just as hard with like, two sentences. I also really really love how descriptive her metaphors are, really visceral sometimes, and she's really good at writing realistic life events but still making them fun to read about even when it's about like, devastating shit. The sex she writes is also intense as hell! -- @griefabyss69

Below the cut, @wynnyfryd answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I am but a humble bisexual — I see two beautiful brown-eyed men makin’ beautiful brown eyes at each other, I go a little insane for two years. It is what it is.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

late-night moments of quiet hopeful hesitant intimacy over a shared joint or cigarette. Thin wisp of smoke between them, stars dancing in their eyes. Yeah. YEAHHHHHHH 

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

This isn’t really a trope so much as a dynamic, but I love a good dipshit 4 dingus dialogue-heavy scene. Don’t get me wrong, I think Eddie and Steve can both be very smart and knowledgeable in their areas of interest/expertise, but these are two young dudes with no access to the internet. I love letting them be confidently incorrect dumbasses. Just ‘yes and’-ing each other’s stupidity while an exasperated third character begs for mercy.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

Well, this question is impossible and furthermore rude. This question came into my home and didn’t take its muddy boots off. This question never mailed me a thank you letter for my lovely wedding gift. That blender was expensive; the absolute nerve. No but seriously, I think The Lathe by palmviolet is going to stay with me forever.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’m a big fan of doing canon divergence from different jumping off points — the beauty of having characters live in the same small town their whole lives is that you get so many great opportunities for these “what if our paths crossed sooner” moments.  I have some very loose notes for a S3 fic where Eddie is the movie theater employee who finds Steve and Robin in the bathroom after they escape the Russians, and I also have an old WIP set between S1 and S2 where lifeguard Steve rescues Eddie and then spends the summer teaching him how to swim. Would love to revisit those after I finish the trailer park AU (which I will be referring to as TPAU because my fingers are tired and because ‘toilet paper au’ makes me laugh.)

What is your writing process like?

Uhhhhh. 😂 I mean, for TPAU, basically just insert the scene from Dune 2 of Paul’s first sandworm ride: I’m shaking I’m sweating there is sand in my nostrils and I am surely about to die— oh wait, maybe I’ve actually got this? Am I actually doing it? Oh shit, look at me go!   For one-shots I like to use a more structured outline and bracket method. I start by dividing my doc into numbered scenes, with each scene getting a notes section and a prose section, like this:

This format gives me a lot of freedom to switch up the order of scenes and to move between scenes so I avoid writer’s block. I can also jump ahead to scenes I really want to write without making a mess of my outline. Once I have something written in the prose section of each scene, I go back and work on replacing each bracket with prose until there are no brackets left. Lastly, I create a new blank doc and copy the prose over in order so I can read the full fic and work on edits from there.  

Do you have any writing quirks?

I have been known to abuse a semicolon. And an em dash. And a conjunction at the start of a sentence. Yes, I do have ADHD.   I’m also a lyricist, so I feel like my prose tends to stray into poetry territory pretty often.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

When I’m finished! Which is probably why I tend to stick to one-shots; I get impatient and want to post stuff the second it’s ready.

Which fic are you most proud of?

‘i don’t know, you figure it out’ for SURE. I’ve never written a fic this long or stuck to a writing project this consistently in my life. Like ever. The last time I even came close was my first NaNoWriMo when I was 16, which was, uh… years ago, plural, and I’ll leave it at that. 😂

How did you get the idea for i don’t know, you figure it out?

“There’s a dead rat on his doorstep.” That’s it. That first sentence/scene popped into my head while I was bored at work, and then I started thinking, “hey, you know what? I don’t know that anyone’s ever done a fic where Max and Steve trade places for S4; that might be fun.”  And then NaNoWriMo was coming up, so I thought it would be cool to try live posting a fully improvised fic every day for a month to see how many words I could write. And then this tragic wet cat version of Steve Harrington grabbed me by the throat and took over my whole life.

When writing Satanic Ritual: DO NOT WATCH!!, what was something you didn’t expect?

How SAPPY these two got!! My god, boys, I’m trying to write smut over here, stop having a beautiful existential crisis! (I blame Briston Maroney for that though lol, I think I listened to ‘Body’ like 1400 times that month.)

What inspired Satanic Ritual: DO NOT WATCH!!?

@inklessletter posted this totally gorgeous art of Steve and Eddie recording themselves kissing, and I promptly lost my mind.  

What was your favorite part to write from biting you biting you biting you- oh! kissing you!?

This exchange: Steve: “What? I’m just asking!” Robin: “You’re being embarrassing!” Steve: “No, you’re just embarrassed. There’s a difference.” Like it’s just so them lmao

How do/did you feel writing i don’t know, you figure it out?

You know when you set out on a long hike in the summer and three hours later your calves are screaming and you’re covered in sweat and your sunburn’s starting to itch and this one horse fly won’t fuck off and your cell phone doesn’t even get service out here so literally WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF, and then you climb that last hill and look out on the most beautiful landscape you’ve ever seen in your silly little life? Basically that.

What was the most difficult part of writing Plot Holes?

Ooh, that one was fun! The only real difficulty was trying to keep it to a microfic because the concept could definitely be fleshed out to a full story — @griefabyss69 and I were joking around about “what if someone did ‘plot hole’ for the @steddiemicrofic prompt fill?” and then that fic just fell out of my head in about 15 minutes. 

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

For sure! I’m currently super proud of the graveyard scene in the most recent update of TPAU — I don’t write true horror often, but I love horror so it was really fun to give it a try! Favorite line from any fic is probably this reference to ‘You’re Divine’ in my fic Monsoon Season because I love uncomfortably-aroused prude Eddie, and his internal monologue cracks me up every time I think about it: Freddie Monsoon’s debut novel is called The Fourth Chime, and it is, as far as Eddie can tell, the first installment in a series of unapologetically filthy fuck fests about a man whose lover gets flung into an alternate dimension during an apocalyptic event and miraculously returns as some sort of… sexy bat-boy with a fucking horse dong and a bite kink. Critics are calling it “the most romantic novel of the last decade.” It’s me; I’m Critics.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

My main project right now is finishing TPAU if it kills me, but beyond that, I have a few one-shots for @subeddieweek in the works, including a collab with @griefabyss69 that I’m so so SO excited to share. It’s hot, it’s funny, I can’t wait for y’all to read it. 

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

First of all, as @wormdebut would say: I think you’re pretty. Thank you so much for all your hard work! I love this blog, and I love answering questions <3 Secondly: - Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. - Toss cubed sweet potatoes and parsnips, sliced sweet onion, and fresh garlic in a mix of olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary, and then spread in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.  - Bake for ~40-45 minutes. (Potatoes and parsnips should be soft without being mushy when you poke them with a fork.) - Prep your sauce: I made a dijon drizzle situation by mixing olive oil mayo, a dash of dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a splash of water, but you could also add a little dab of hot sauce, bbq sauce, or different mustards. Basically just grab like four condiments out of your fridge and play around with the flavors you like until you make a mix that’s thin enough to pour. - Drizzle roasted veggies with sauce. - Enjoy a very tasty side dish (or do what I did and eat the whole sheet as a meal like some sort of parsnip goblin because you were too lazy to make the main dish after chopping all those veggies) okay thank you love you byeeeee

Thank you to our author, @wynnyfryd, and our nominator, @griefabyss69! See more of Wynnyfryd's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[lightofraye]

Friday the 15th

Despite the title of this post, no I'm not trying to make a kind of scary Friday the 13th (15th) thing. More... I have a huge life event coming up and the anxiety is getting to me.

It's a natural anxiety. When someone goes through something huge, they react in various ways. For a wedding, for example, it's a tremendous step. If they're 100% certain in that step, it's full of joy and perhap anxiety something will go wrong with the ceremony as opposed to anxiety about the person they're marrying. Moving across country can be anxiety inducing, despite the excitement and prospect of something new experiences.

Then there's surgery. Even the most minor of surgeries can be anxiety inducing because of what could go wrong. When I had a deviated septum fixed, the doctor actually outlined how it was a basic, minor surgery with potential for a lot of bad happening. So, you know, yay?

Now I have a new, terrifying surgery coming up. It's a necessary surgery, one that I had been forced to reschedule due to getting infected with influenza A just mere days prior. I was so sick that I was down and out of work for six weeks. It affected my voice (I still hear it time to time), my breathing, and I still wonder about the lingering symptoms I have. (Hard to tell if it's allergies or lingering influenza, honestly. But all tests say I'm fine, so...)

This surgery had been a long time coming. My doctor and I had been observing the symptoms, the cause of said symptoms, and it was only late last year that I decided it was time. The minor means of dealing with the issue weren't possible because the issue was too large--and those minor means were 1) extremely painful and 2) doesn't stop the issues from coming back.

I'm being very vague. So I'll say it outright now. What's the issue I'm referring to? Fibroids. Uterine fibroids, to be precise.

I had the issue start well over five years ago. Little minor symptoms that kept happening... and then kept staying. To the point where I gave up and tracked down my ob gyn because my mother had those symptoms that led to cervical cancer and I was not going to leave my young son alone to face his abusive father on his own.

Turned out, it wasn't cervical cancer. Or even uterine cancer. (Thank gods.) No... it was a fibroid. A growing fibroid, actually. Already by the time it was detected, a myomectomy was impossible. That'd work for small fibroids, and mine was already beyond the acceptable size. An ablation wasn't possible either, as the fibroid meant spots would be missed and the symptoms would continue.

My ob gyn had to refer me to a different ob gyn for a very simple, frustrating reason: it was a Catholic hospital and any treatment that'd work to stop the issues of the fibroid was against their policies.

Fortunately I found a great ob gyn and she agreed with my other ob gyn. We inserted a Mirena IUD to handle the biggest symptom--ongoing bleeding--and decided to monitor every six months. Every six months, it showed signs of growing. And growing.

Then it... stopped. So we decided that as long as the IUD was stopping the bleeding and I was doing okay, we'd just do a wait and see.

Well... late last year, it was getting worse again. Other symptoms appeared, too TMI for comfort, but let's say the bathroom and I were becoming too well acquainted.

So a hysterectomy was scheduled. It was supposed to have been the first week of April and I got hit with influenza late March. We waited until I felt better and other life events got sorted. We thought I'd be okay.

I was wrong. So very wrong.

I called my ob gyn and said "We need it out. It's getting painful." The fibroid was creating problems that are affecting me body-wide. Minor from weird ass chin hairs that were growing thick and repeatedly, something I never had before. (The fibroid is disrupting hormones on a very wide scale, much like PCOS.) To intense discomfort in my lower abdomen.

What's interesting are the other irrational thoughts happening. It's a discussing having been held before by other women who have also undergone such similar procedures.

Am I any less a woman for losing the uterus? The answer, naturally, is NO. Even if I were to lose my breasts as well as my uterus, I'm still a woman. Because I say I'm a woman. I lose pieces of the body to maintain the whole.

My health will be so much better for the loss of the uterus, especially as the fibroid will be gone and things settle on multiple layers. Hormones will be back to normal (after some disruption). The pain and discomfort will be gone. I presume that weird chin hair that keeps coming back will finally surrender the ghost.

Even so, it's a major life step. A major surgery that, thankfully, has become more routine. We're planning on using the daVinci Surgical System and hope no issues will occur. It's actually outpatient now, which has me stunned.

My daughter and daughter-in-law will monitor me after the surgery. The next few weeks after, I'll have to be careful with even light objects--I won't be allowed to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. (That's about 8 pounds, by the way.) That'll be frustrating for me, as I do a lot of heavy lifting on the regular.

But my health will be better. Eventually I'll heal. Eventually I'll celebrate no more purchases of hygiene products. I joked we'll have a "Yeet the Uterus" party, but we just might.

I'll never have to worry about unplanned pregnancies again, so that's something. Yes, even at my age, it can happen.

November the 15th is going to be a big day for me.

[mostlyghostlyy]

ik you just posted one like this but I’d love to get ambushed by him in an alleyway and being forced to suck his dick, oh my godddddd

Its giving the Kurt Russell "Now I KNOW that sounds bad-"

Do I gotta start tagging stuff "Dead dove do not eat"?

Cold air bites at your skin, hair prickling from its icy touch. Stumbling down the steps from the bar, you let out a little giggle. Vision blurred and spinning, balancing seemed to be almost impossible. Saying you were tipsy would be an understatement. Obviously, you were in no state to drive. You had the foresight to have one of your friends drop you off and pick you up, but unfortunately, they were called away for a family emergency. Whatever the fuck that means. 

Deciding it's no big deal, since you only live a couple blocks away, you don't call a cab. Might be a nice night for a walk. The crisp air feels good against the warm flush of your skin, it nearly makes you forget about the creep you encountered at the bar. It seemed like the usual harassment case, weirdo wanting your number or a quick fuck. However this guy just felt…Off. So, endowed with the liquid courage you'd been consuming the whole night, you told him off. Digging into his appearance and the creepy manner he was communicating. You made it known that you were too good for him. The man did eventually leave after your loud commotion. Tail tucked under legs, retreating pathetically.

Running your hand across the passing buildings for support, you wobble your way down to a dimly lit section of street. Figures that your route home would have a conspicuous dark patch, bordered by an alleyway that seemed to swallow up the light. Electing the path of brave stupidity, you begin to waltz past the alley, stumbling without support. A hand snakes around your waist and one covers your mouth in a tight clasped. You're yanked into the blackness before you get a chance to realize what's happened. 

Your back is slammed into the cold brick wall, you try to speak but are shushed by the entity that grabbed you. A metal blade is pushed into the skin of your neck, just enough so it's a real threat. You raise your hands in a sign of surrender, tears starting to form from realization. Drunk buzz starting to wear off from bounding adrenaline. Starting to whisper some soft pleas, “don't hurt me. Take whatever you want. I won't tell anyone if you let me go. Why are you doing this?” (the basics, yk)

The entity laughs, and you swear you know that voice. You can almost put a face to the voice, your eyes slowly becoming adjusted to the dark. The blade is moved from your neck to push some hair out of your face. His silhouette is a clear black outline inside of the raging dark, malignant eyes sparkling. 

“You said all those nasty things to me, Princess. Now I'm going to repay the favor.” Soft rasps in your ear, He's close to you, but now he's moving closer. Pressing his body into you, squeezing you into the wall. His erect penis pushing into you, his face bending awkwardly into the crook of your neck, inhaling the smell. “Aww are you scared, my little lamb? There's no need to worry if you behave. We're just going to have a little bit of fun. Let's see if we can't use that mouth for something more… Productive.”

He lifts his head so he can look into your eyes. Bringing up his hand, he probes your locked lips with his index and middle finger. “Open up, Angel. Gotta get you niiiiiice and ready for me.” You turn your head, and he presses the knife tighter into your neck as a warning. With no choice but to comply, your mouth falls open and he inserts his digits into your mouth. 

He feels around inside for a while, before telling you to “suck them good and hard. Practice makes perfect. Don't you want to be perfect for me?” His fingers taste of sweat and chemicals as he pumps them in and out of your mouth. Parting them on the return so they stretch your lips open. Saliva stringing them together, and pulling from your mouth. He pushes them so far in, you gag around them.  shutters in what you can only assume is arousal, moaning in pleasure before he begins rubbing his erection on you. dry humping your body while his fingers work your mouth open, trying to create any stimulating friction. Disgust and fear mingling and creating a pit in your stomach. He's letting out huffs between thrusts that contain a mix of praise and degradation. Hot and sticky breath, you can't wait to get away from it. High pitched whining emitted from him, as his legs shutter in place. Head thrown back, as his fingers come to a standstill in your mouth. A wicked smile plastered on his face, his pants are now coated with his seed. 

He pulls his hand free from your mouth. “Practice is over, Princess. Time to show me what you learned.” You protest this, shaking your head. Frightfully pale and queasy. He grabs your throat, tightly squeezing it. “get on your fucking knees, Angel.” Each pet name he spits with absolute vitriol. He lets you go, coughing and weezing. You slowly lower yourself to your knees, resolving yourself to just go along with what he wants. “Look at youuuuu! So pretty for me on your knees, all for me to ruin!” He purrs. He motions at his pants. “go ahead, pretty thing. Work for it if you want it.” you sob gently, tears streaming down your face. Working to undo his belt and pants, sticky to peel off from the ecstasy he worked up earlier. His dick springs free, hitting the cold air and making him hiss. You reluctantly look around and start at the tip. Giving small kitten licks, nauseated by the taste. His hands find purchase in your hair as he urges you on, thrusting his hips to meet your lips, you cough around his cock and he moans sweetly. Gently bobbing your head up and down, and he's muttering prayers to an unseen entity. 

“Now tell me again, my arrogant Angel, are you still better than me?” sentence punctuated by loud and heavy huffs. Each jerking motion of his hips sends him deeper down your throat, tears prick your eyes as you struggle to breathe. You whimper at the sensation, and he keens. 

Lightheaded and dizzy from the oxygen starvation, his pace speeds up ferociously. erratic rutting, pulling your hair back and forth, using you as a human fleshlight. Chasing the mounting high, stimulating himself as best as he possibly can. Animalistic growls and grunts pour from his mouth. They may have been words at one point but have found themselves incoherent. Warm seed fills your mouth and runs down your throat. His cock still firmly planted in your mouth and throat, his hands buried in your hair keeping you complacent. You struggle to swallow around the obstruction, and he loosens his grip. Dropping you to collapse on the pavement, eyes puffy from crying. He tucks himself back into his pants, belt chiming happily as it's reconnected. “Be a good girl now, little Angel, and be polite next time.”

[pm0]

@hajimedics revealing my #anonymous self to show how ur post inspired me 🫡

ok I guess I will explain what the symbolism in this drawing means under this cut now :)

BASICALLY Rave’s tags on his art got me thinking about mutual sentience theory & the idea that who these puppets actually are does not align with what playfellow workshop created them to be — specifically, the actual desires of the puppets in whps are not the same as what playfellow thinks they should desire — and it made me think about how it might apply to Frank & Julie.

We know that neither of them fall into (strictly) binary gender labels, we know that Frank is gay, we know that Julie was confirmed sapphic in a stream — and yet we see playfellow putting them into the roles of cisgender heterosexual man & woman respectively, that they cast them to be in the roles of each others romantic love interests (see julie-rella animation cels). So I wanted to draw something based on that concept, the contrast of who they are vs who they’re “supposed” to be.

This is why I included 2 Franks and 2 Julies here, one set in my usual style for drawing them and the other being more ‘on-model’ — the former are a representation of who the puppets actually are, with their agency, while the latter are who playfellow themselves outline the puppets to be. The playfellow puppets are a ‘perfect’ version of sorts, their canonical accuracy + their sparkling appearance being extensions of how true to the script they are.

The framing of these two sets, how they interact with each other within the image, is meant to show the situational helplessness Julie and Frank share. They are stuck together in a ring of lavender flowers (do you get it. wedding rings. lavender marriage. I’m a master of artistic metaphor /j), looking to one another in worry as they’re surrounded by playfellow’s expectations. Neither of them want this, for themselves nor for each other, but what are they meant to do? They aren’t trapped by something they can just escape from, they’re trapped by their own identities; the will of their creators and the will of themselves are intrinsically linked, each at their core are answers to the question of who “Julie Joyful” and “Frank Frankly” are, to try and sever that connection is an impossible task.

The circles above each of the on-model puppets’ heads are primarily meant to be halos bc well. you know how queer religious trauma goes (there’s a ‘playfellow workshop is a stand-in for american christianity and possibly god’ metaphor in there somewhere) BUT they are also supposed to represent wedding rings too, to show yet again how playfellow likely wants them to be a couple — and not in the “a couple of bestiesss(๑>◡0)~☆” way they’d like to be

I think that’s all????? not really much else I can say here. background is black + slightly red for that whrp undersite feel and the on-model puppets are drawn in white to contrast with the primarily black background but also because they’re technically Julie & Frank’s straightsonas & black+white=straight pride flag. ok bye

[pengujoon]

A HOPELESS DEVOTION

content: oikawa x reader, iwaizumi is their best friend. angst, hurt/no comfort. none at all. cw: suicide. (not elaborated in detail but some descriptions may be triggering). oikawa and reader were best friends before things went south.

a/n: of course this was written by me when i'm almost drunk and realising that i have a crush on my friend for 4 years but knowing that he doesn't see me like that i was feeling sad and thus this story was created. as such, enjoy.

part i

Everyone in Aoba Johsai knew that there was an inseparable pair of best friends, and it was none other than you and Oikawa. 

Even after Oikawa was ostracised by his teammates of the volleyball team, you stood by him and gave him all the help you could’ve possibly gave. Even after his fangirls physically abused you to the point of hospitalisation, you still stood by him. 

Even after all these troubles you’ve gone through, no one could understand why you were so resilient on being Oikawa’s best friend -  other than you yourself, of course. Who could’ve possibly known that you’d develop a crush on the volleyball captain since an impossibly long time ago? 

This very thought was ruled out a long time ago, with the fact that you had a boyfriend when you stayed by Oikawa’s side when his closest friends left him. Apparently that was enough proof to your very own group of haters that you didn’t see Oikawa that way. 

They couldn’t have possibly known that the boyfriend that you had was just a façade you convinced a random classmate of yours to put up with to get away from their beatings, could they?

Shaking your head, you glanced at the empty cup in your hands.

You came to this party with one goal in mind: to confess to him before he left for Argentina. 

Deep down you knew that it wasn’t the right place and time to confess; being in a party with the noisiest crowd and everybody being all drunk and high on different substances just made the setting way worse than you’d expect a confession to take place in. 

But you knew that you could blame this on the alcohol if you confessed. It was basically the April Fools Privilege. You could easily get away with it and claim it as your drunk self talking. Maybe even a sleep talk? 

You came back from the open rooftop and headed down towards the kitchen to grab yourself a cup of water to clear your mind. However as you stepped onto the last few steps of the stairs, you knew that the very person that you were about to confess to was right in the kitchen with someone else, seemingly to be discussing highly confidential information with the way they whispered cautiously as though to protect their words from peering ears. 

You decided to stay by the stairs and lean against the wall to hear them properly; thank goodness they stood rather close to the entryway, but not close enough to actually see the outline of your figure. Your current location was pristine, to be frank; you figured out that even if they left the kitchen towards the living room, they wouldn’t even have noticed your very presence, and thus you stood by there trying to piece together bits and pieces of the conversation that you could hear. 

Initially, it wasn’t anything much as far as you were concerned: it seemed like they were discussing the party and how well it went, but you suddenly heard your name in the conversation, bringing your attentiveness up to another level. 

What could they even be talking to need to saying my name? You thought to yourself, looking upwards to the ceiling with hopes that it’ll be something good. 

Out of all the possible topics that you thought they could be discussing of, you definitely did not expect that the very centre of the topic was you. You’d thought that maybe it was about school in general, and talking about the friends he had. Or maybe even his heartfelt emotions towards you?

“What do you think of your best friend? You know, the one that always follow you around no matter where you go.” 

“Oh,” you heard him say, “that person.” 

Although no names were mentioned, you knew very well that he was referring to you. After all, who would have the guts to follow the famous captain of the volleyball team around like a hopeless puppy? 

But with such distaste over mentioning you? 

“I hate them.” 

To say that your heart broke was an understatement: god, no words could describe the heartbreak you felt at that moment. Was it anguish? Grief? Sorrow? You couldn’t even tell what you were feeling right there and then.

At that very moment, you have never wanted to run away this badly from a situation in your entire life before. Your rationality screamed at you to run, to leave this hell; but it was as though your body rooted itself to the ground judging by the way you stood as still as a statue. 

Maybe he was just saying it to pretend to be cool? you thought, knuckles turning ghostly white from the sheer force of you holding the railing, as though it was the only thing that grounded you to reality. That it's not a dream.

But deep down, you knew very well that it was a lie. There was literally no one in the kitchen. No one - just them both.

No one was even in the same room with them. 

There was no point for him to lie.

You knew that he wasn’t drunk, given the way he articulated his words smoothly. 

But soon you realised: did you even know him? Did he ever trust you enough for you to see him in a drunken state even after being ‘friends’ for more than half a decade? Did he even bother to talk to you if it wasn’t for you initiating the conversation every time?

“God, imagine how tired I am having to deal with my ‘best friend’.” His mocking tone reached your ears, tearing your already broken heart into a million pieces more. 

“Imagine having to be nice to the person or else your reputation will be broken. Imagine having to act like you like someone for years.” He took a breath. 

“I should get an Oscar’s award for my acting skills, don’t you think?”

The way they both burst out laughing after he finished that very sentence made your eyes water. Your knees felt weak, it was as though you could fall to the ground any moment were it not for your arms holding you up as it held tightly against the railing of the stairs. 

How badly you wanted to believe this was all fake - it was just a dream! A hallucination! Maybe you drank too much. That’s it! It must be the alcohol playing with your ears and mind!

But no matter how hard you try to lie to yourself, you knew it was undeniably the truth. You’ve guessed it from the very start: he hated you with every fibre of his being. He never wanted to be your best friend in the first place. 

Ok, maybe he did. 

Or maybe not. 

Maybe he just wanted someone who he could toy with, who he could tease just for the sake of passing time. Who else could he do such things to? You were the only one that stuck to him mindlessly even after others left him.

You were stupidly in love and available. 

It was just as simple as that. 

You couldn’t even remember anything else that happened after that - everything was a blur. 

And that’s why you never knew how you ended up back at the open rooftop, sitting by the very edge, your legs dangling off the building held back by nothing. 

Supposedly - unless they both knew that you were standing by the door - no one could’ve possibly known why your body laid lifeless by the pavement, bloodied with body matters scattered all over from the sheer force of your falling body hitting the concrete ground. There was no explanation for your sudden death.

Right?

a little bit of my mental illness took over me so the ending was not something i could control. but ngl i thought the ending was executed really well and i was genuinely surprised when i finished the story. i'm posting it now because i'm almost drunk (as mentioned) and i have no idea if i'm doing anything right atm. but i want to be productive.

[minas-linkverse]

Do you have any tips or tricks on how to start a comic like this? Or even just how you got started?? I've had my own au for years that I so badly wanna put out into the world but I've been struggling with finding a good way to start it!!!!

Hm!! Ok!! This is a tough question with many different answers even just from me. I'll do my best to answer tho!! 😮

The main bit of advice I want to give, and which I think is vital to anyone creating anything:

☆ Know yourself.

When looking up advice for creating, people love to tell you that by doing things a specific way is the best and only way to go. Often advice of this sort has solid points, you should plan ahead, you should have easy character designs, buut... You don't have to.

I do not work well with outlines or scripts. I dislike sketching. You'd think that'd make being a long form comic artist impossible for me, but nope.

I know theres things I cannot do, so I've put all my practise to what I can do. My lineart style allows me to almost skip sketching completely, my scripts are more of an A to B structure than law. I improv 90% of the time when making pages. It's kinda like dnd with myself.

I would absolutely not reccomend what I'm doing to others, but I know it works for me. People can tell me I'm doing it wrong but its either wrong or no comic at all, SO. Suck it. 👍

Er. Rambling now.

My point is, figure out what you can and cant do, and do your best to give yourself the ideal work enviorment and process.

☆ Deal with being overwhelmed

Making just a few panels and suddenly realising its gonna take years to get anywhere is SO demoralising. It's gonna happen and its gonna happen again, and again, and—

But continuing with the earlier advice, you gotta ask yourself what would help you. Are you willing to sacrifice quality? Do you just need a break? Maybe you're like me and like to include smth you love in every update so you'll have something to get excited about making.

That feeling of overwhelm is trying to tell you something, so figure out what that is so it wont end the project for you.

☆ Start it

You wont like what you make when starting. I've never heard of an artist who has.

I'm not saying start this instant, not everyone is as into improv and flailing around as me. But I will say you'll never feel ready. Figure out the minimun of what you need to start and do it. Show friends first if youre afraid to post.

Also where to start? Well sure there's lots of good advice online about that, but you can also just doodle random stuff until you feel like diving deeper. That's what LV started with, just Twi and Wild hanging out with animals and some headcanons. It may not be the most tightly written work but theres beauty in the humanity of a mess.

☆ Extras

A "failed project" or "forgotten WIP" is only a failure if you let yourself feel that way. Yea it can be a hauntingly strong feeling thats hard to deal with... But it can be beaten. WIPS are proof you tried and not everyone can say they have.

Lv is far from done and I have no intention of dropping it, but because the journey has been so nice I'd satisfied even if I had to call it here. Its smth that helps me with the overwhelm... What I've made is beautiful even now.

Comparing yourself to others is gonna rip your heart out. I love that theres other links meet aus out there and hope the best for those artists but I caNNot follow any of them or I'll crumble to dust.

So Uhm.

Basically. Have fun and be yourself. 👍

Ps. Readability is basically the most important thing for a comic artist to pay attention to, that and not destroying yourself with details and rendering. 🙌 Good luck out there!

[iamamythologicalcreature]

Six Sentence Sunday/Creative Proof of Life

Thanks for the tags, @alexalexinii, @shrekgogurt, and @that-disabled-princess!

This WIP post is basically a proof of life statement. I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted Chapter 1 of the Haunting of Simon Snow. I'm so overdue for chapter 2, BUT... instead I finished writing the rough draft. I've been attempting to outline, because when I rough a draft, I really rough it up. Ahem.

So I have been working on it, even if there is zero evidence on AO3 as of yet.

How about some sentences? I haven't sliced up chapters yet, so not sure if this is from chapter two or three, but here's a snippet of Simon on the phone with Penny expressing some smooshy sentiments:

I curl up on the couch a bit more, maneuvering myself so my wings aren’t crushed. “I went flying last night,” I confess then, in quiet tones. Like someone might hear me. “You— Oh, but… You can’t! What if someone sees you?” I can actually hear her biting her lip. She wants to spell my problems away, and she can’t. “But I can,” I say, smiling a bit more. “There’s no one around for acres. No one will even willingly drive here on account of the house being haunted. It’s empty. And I’m flying at night.” I say flying in the present tense and realize I fully intend to fly again tonight.

Penny huffs. Her specialty. “I don’t like it.” “I do,” I say easily, warming up to explaining, hoping she’ll understand. “It’s so freeing, Pen. Like the weight of the world can’t hold me down, anymore. I feel… It’s like… It’s like I’m closer to the stars. Like I’m close to stirring up the milky way.” I let out a sigh, my eyes closing as I drop my head back, indulging in that recent memory. “I don’t hate it as much, when I’m up there. You know?” There’s a few seconds of silence, and I open my eyes again. “Pen?” “Hate what?” she asks quietly.

(just in case you were worried I wouldn't be including angst...)

Bit more info on my progress (maybe some whinging) and tags and hellos below the cut!

Fun facts about my ineffecient writing process:

I spent more than one or two hours clearing asterisks from my rough draft this morning. (Because discord has trained me to do *this* when I write instead of this.) Because I'm trying to listen to my draft via screen readers, but it keeps sounding like "asterisk-impossible-star-fuck me" (that's my favorite one honestly, it's supposed to read "Impossible. Fuck me.") which is really annoying (more often than amusing). ANYWAY… what this has revealed to me is that I use "Fuck" a lot, as well as "So good." Ahem. Take from that what you will.

BTW, I'm sure there's an easier way to do that than manually. Please don't tell me for at least a few days, or I might lose it. I am but a mortal being, with a tattered heart and patience worn thin. (Or something.)

OKAY. It's been awhile since I did one of these posts. Time really flies. Gonna give this list my best shot, but as always, open to any who want to participate! (Also adding some new names in for the new year so this is sort of my "Gee I hope this is cool with you" super long tag list. If you'd rather not be tagged, just drop me a missive to that effect!)

@leithillustration @prettygoododds @rimeswithpurple @artsyunderstudy @blackberrysummerblog @hushed-chorus @nightimedreamersworld @best--dress @whatevertheweather @ileadacharmedlife @scribble-tier @imagineacoolusername @brilla-brilla-estrellita @alleycat0306 @angelsfalling16 @fatalfangirl @erzbethluna @tender-ministrations @anxious-m3ss @ebbpettier @bubble-gumhead @facewithoutheart @bazzybelle @theimpossibledemon @aristocratic-otter @mooncello @cutestkilla @annabellelux @ic3-que3n @j-nipper-95 @letraspal @messofthejess @onepintobean @palimpsessed @raenestee @supercutedinosaurs @theearlgreymage @thewholelemon @wellbelesbian @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @youarenevertooold @bookish-bogwitch @martsonmars @orange-peony @mostlymaudlin @stardustasincocaine @confused-bi-queer

Lastly, quick note/question. Tumblr seems to be remiss in informing me when I've been tagged in other posts. Is this a common issue?

[nyxivy]

Rocketober - Day 1 - Friends

A/N: am i starting this midway through october? Maybe so. You cant stop me

Contents: No actual smut just rocket being horny. Nsfw descriptions? Smut mentioned. Female reader. No use of Y/N

Friends. Friends. Friends. Friends. Friends. Friends. Just friends. Rocket chants in his head as he fixes his eyes to the gun he's tinkering with. To be honest it hasn't ressembled anything even similar to a gun since you've come flouncing in, basically flaunting your flarking flawless body in your little skimpy loungewear, making it pretty much impossible for Rocket to get anything done.

Not for the first time this evening his eyes rake over your body when you turn away from him. From the way your hair fell perfectly against the back of your neck, slightly mussed up from a day of doing nothing much, allowing Rocket to imagine that your head looked that way from being buried in a pillow, his hand placed at the crown of your skull, claws gently gripping the roots of your hair, keeping your moans nice and muffled. He shakes his head out of the daydream and his eyes continue their path down your body, your oversized sleep shirt drapes over the gentle curve of your shoulders. He knew that if you turn around he would be able to see the swell of your tits, and the outline of your nipples where you'd decided you didn't need a bra. A decision he both cursed and thanked you for. The hem of the shirt rested on the crest of your ass, bunched up where he swears he'd seen you purposefully hoist it up before you bend over to do fuck knows what. He actually doesn't think he has a single idea what you're actually doing in here apart from shamelessly parading around for him to gawk at but his thoughts never get any further as his eyes fall on your ass. He actually thinks his jaw drops open and his brain short-circuits a bit. The quite frankly tiny booty shorts you're wearing do nothing to protect your modesty, and the way you're bent over allows them to ride up even more, exposing your soft skin. He has the urge to bite. Not enough to break skin, just enough to make you squeal in that adorable way you do when something startles you. He thinks about the way your ass would feel in his hand, firmly gripping the plumpness and maybe even the way it would bounce if he gave it a sharp smack- oh fuck. He feels himself go entirely still as his eyes lock on the most glorious thing he thinks he's ever seen. Right there, between your legs, not five feet away from him he can see the plump outline of your pussy, the thin fabric of your shorts the only barrier between him and what he's sure must be the prettiest fucking pussy in the galaxy. Holy shit, was that a wet spot? He has to catch himself as he feels a growl rise up in his throat, he just wants to shove his nose into the warmth between your legs and lap up your wetness until you're a quivering mess.

He needs to look away, he feels warm all over and the sorry excuse of scrap metal he called a gun on his lap was the only thing between his cock straining against his jumpsuit and the world. He tears his eyes away from your pussy, just to trail them down your perfect legs, trying desperately to think of something, anything else.

Just friends. Just friends. Just friends. He went back to chanting, the issue was not that he needed to be reminded not to try and make a move on you, lest he ruin the friendship you have with each other. In fact he found it quite easy to deny his urges, simply because he know you were not interested. How could you be? Rocket just needed to remind himself of that. It wasn't your fault he was quite frankly obsessed with you and that made him second guess every little action. You were just innocently doing- wait, what were you actually doing? You had your head in a box and were rummaging around. Almost as if you'd read his mind, you straighten up with a sigh from within your throat that could easily be mistaken for a moan. You don't have anything in your hands, you must not have found what you were looking for. When you turn around your eyes almost immediately find Rockets and he fixes his gaze to his project in front of him, cursing himself for being caught staring. When he dares to lift his gaze again he notices that he was completely right about your nipples. The hard outline of them creating shadows in your shirt and he wonders if it's because you're cold or because of the friction of the shirt. Then he wonders if they're sensitive, if he could simply brush over them and have you arching your back into his hands. Then he thinks it must be the friction, because this room feels boiling. Although that might just be Rocket. And with the clothes- or lack-of clothes you were wearing he wouldn't be surprised if you were cold. Your bare feet padded against the cool metal of the ship as you made to leave. Definitely cold. And when his eyes flicked up to meet yours you smiled at him, as if you knew something he didn't.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

So the situation in Space Oddity is of course an ugly mess for Aro because of all the complicated relationship and situational dynamics at play. Judging from your other metas, it feels like Tom saying he doesn't want to turn is mostly out of concern for Lily's feelings (the rest being negative first impressions). So if it was him alone, I feel he'd eventually agree to join the Volturi (not as much instinctive repulsion to vampirism, doesn't believe a way home is possible, attachments are more easily manipulated by Chelsea when the people aren't physically there).

But how would Lily alone, Lily with Harry, or Tom and Lily without Harry play out in terms of how much luck Aro has in getting anyone to turn?

Space Oddity by me and @therealvinelle and The Man Who Would Be King by me and @therealvinelle

Does Tom Want to Be a Vampire?

I'm very curious what other metas you mean because the answer is no and pretty much for the reasons he outlined. If you're talking about the one where I said he would like to become a vampire, there's a few key differences there that we'll get into. He likes Lily and all, but if he really wanted to do something he wouldn't sugar coat it or lie about it either.

Honestly, no, he meant every word he said.

The difference between Tom here and Tom in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to London and How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bacchanals is a few key things. In the first, Tom's unbearably lonely and feels he's living a pointless life where he'll never amount to anything or do much of anything. Suddenly, a very exciting person is there with a mysterious mystery, to Tom the charm of being a vampire was having companionship and having an exciting new life. In Bacchanals it's similar in that while he has a good friend, he still feels his life is quite dull.

Tom in Space Oddity is much older, is convinced his life is great, and most importantly is already immortal. He doesn't have to achieve immortality and when the immortality being offer a) makes him an addict for blood in a way he'll never escape b) he gets the very fun offer of joining someone else's immortal army c) he will physically and mentally change as a person and you have Tom going very :/ even at the promise of more power (and that's very suspicious to him because what the fuck is that supposed to mean.)

Lily becoming a vampire is equally as bad for the same reasons. He'd lose control of his apprentice who would become an addict for human blood and would be inducted into someone else's undead army.

He ain't for it.

(I'm not saying it's not impossible he'd join if isolated, just Marcus and Chelsea would have their work cut out for them.)

Lily Alone

Lily alone is not for it but this is Voldemort 2: Electric Boogaloo, she has no idea how/if she can escape them and when she does try to run they find her very easily. Running more might just piss them off/make them decide she's not worth the risk so maybe better to just... try to strike some kind of a deal.

So we basically get what's been happening in the fic with the bonus of a) a lack of cover b) a lack of baby that prolongs how long they'll wait before turning her c) complete isolation again.

We see in the original fic Lily's relatively good at handling isolation/adversarial environments, she doesn't break with Tom or in Godric's Hollow for all things get very stressful, but here she also has someone who can a) manipulate how she feels about things b) if that doesn't work then there's the guy that sees every relationship she has and can act on that information.

It's not a good situation.

Lily with Harry

See above, but she has a little more time so Harry can grow to a point where he can be turned as well or Lily can let him live his life.

Tom and Lily without Harry

The fic except full throttle as Aro doesn't have to slow down for baby.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Weak Beginning & Middle Struggles

Anonymous asked: I've been working on a draft of my story for a while now. I wanna move on to getting everything more refined and connected better, but every time I try, I blank out or it just doesn't feel right. I can worldbuild and character build as much as I please but when it comes to the PLOT... it just. Won't go. The beginning feels sluggish and unnatural, the middle feels too wobbly to work with and the end is fairly solid but you know I kind of need everything else to align with the end and the end needs to align with everything else. I have tried outlining techniques and they don't help much (at least the ones I've tried, like snowflake or flashlight) but if I try to pants it I lose the plot and everything changes in a way I'm not satisfied with. I know what I want but its just... impossible to get into a state where I can actually look at it. I'm in limbo and I would like to leave.

Since you're doing a lot of world building and character development, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess this is probably a genre fiction novel or novella. Having said that, the first place to start is to make sure you have a good grasp on how to move these kinds of stories forward. Otherwise, if you don't know how plot works, you can't really come up with a plot and you have nothing to outline.

Basic Story Structure How to Move a Story Forward Beginning a New Story

It's also important to make sure you understand conflict, and more specifically, what conflict is driving the story? What is the problem in your character's world that they must resolve? What is the problem within themselves that they'll work on while they tackle the problem in their world? Conflict is essential for the story, and if you don't have strong conflict, your beginning and middle will be weak. Once you know your conflict, you and figure out your character's goals (what they want to do to solve the problem) and motivation (why they want to solve the problem.)

Understanding Goals and Conflict

If the above doesn't get you back on track, there could be something else going on. 5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! looks at some of the common problems and tells you what to do about them.

If all else fails, you may just need to spend more time figuring out what the story is about, what needs to happen, and the best way to make those things happen.

Good luck with your story!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[ward-en]

originally wrote this out as a silly rant, but honestly I'm kinda irked and also find Welsh history stuff fascinating, so here's a slightly more coherent rant about the Welsh language, it's history and why I think that efforts to make Welsh more prominent in Wales is a positive and undeniably important thing (ended up being kinda long so see rant under the cut) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Basically, this article outlines how people think that efforts to increase the amount of Welsh speakers, which includes making more schools Welsh-medium and requiring knowledge of the language for certain jobs, are "forcing Welsh upon people". Just to clarify, this article is only about Ceredigion, but efforts to increase Welsh fluency are happening all over Wales, so I think this is still relevant regardless. Anyway, people are claiming that they feel they are being pushed out of the country, and that the council should be spending money elsewhere. There is an argument to be made with that last point, but ultimately this while opposition has a whiff of colonisation to it, a hint of English bullshittery. Opponents of these efforts seem to see it as a personal attack, as though trying to teach a country it's own language is discriminatory. I do not understand this point of view at all. The Welsh language had been in decline ever since (mostly) English settlers started to promote the replacement of Welsh with English. Welsh was stopped from being taught in schools, to the point where children heard speaking Welsh were made to wear something called the "Welsh Not" (pictures below)

Children caught speaking Welsh would have this wooden plaque with "WN" carved into it hung around their necks, and any student seen wearing one by the end of class would be beaten with a cane for it by teachers. From ~1840-1940, the Welsh language was literally beaten out of children. A factor in this was an investigation into the "lawlessness" and "laziness" of the Welsh, which was carried out by monoglot English speakers, that decided the Welsh language was the primary cause. There is probably a lot more I could talk about regarding the erasure of the Welsh language and culture, but my point is, it happened. And the Welsh language declined for it, to the point where from 1911 to 1961 the census reported that the percentage of Welsh speakers had decreased from 43.5% to 26%. The Welsh government have been making efforts to raise this number, with methods including making Welsh lessons mandatory in school (I believe most students must take a Welsh GCSE), providing more Welsh-medium schools and providing more job opportunities to those who speak Welsh; things that the original article take issue with. But these things haven't been introduced to flush out non-Welsh speakers from the country, it's to create more of them. We can see that these efforts aren't in vain either; the percentage of Welsh speakers increased for the first time in over 100 years in 2001. The numbers decreased in 2011, but have since rose to even greater figures in 2021. The pandemic had an effect on these figures, which is to be expected as schools closed, limiting most children's access to proper education, which just adds to the necessity of bolstering the Welsh language today. To make the most general of conclusions, we are slowly but surely regaining the language that many of our ancestors had beaten out of them, stripped from them against their wills. Our country should be able to speak it's own language, the same way you'd expect people living in Spain to speak Spanish, people living in Germany to speak German. This isn't an attempt to erase the English language from Wales, that would be impossible at this point. Instead, bilingualism is encouraged, to keep the language that most of us already speak from birth whilst still promoting a language that had previously been dying. A language that previously represented Wales. The fact that, as seen in the original article, most of the opponents of the council's decisions identified themselves as "British" rather than "Welsh" (as most of the supporters did), is honestly to be expected. It was non-Welsh (mainly English) people that have tried to erase this language multiple times before, and history seems to be repeating itself. This will sound harsh, but if you disagree with the people of a country speaking it's language, then maybe it's time to pack your bags. You want a country that speaks majority English? Go to England or something. But I think it is reasonable to say that in Wales, we should be encouraged to learn our own language.

Sorry for this being such a departure from my usual stuff. Anyone who follows me probably gets whiplash every time I post lol. But I've been thinking about stuff like this a lot so seeing this article kinda just sent me into a frenzy. Honestly I wish I spoke more Welsh. Duolingo is the only decent language learning app I can find but it only does Northern Welsh and I'm a southern gal so I've been hesitant. I did get an A* in my Welsh GCSE though so at least there's that. Rant over now lol. Hwyl fawr a nos da!!

[nordstarr]

what’s your process for writing such long and well thought-out fics? like you don’t have to go into extreme detail but do you 1) outline the story 2) rewrite a lot of parts 3) have a beta reader? also, i would love to write tomark so do you have an advice on how to get their voices right or a good interview example to base that off of. thank you and love your fics. big fan.

first of all, thank you so much, that really means a lot :(

I know you didn’t want extreme detail, but this is me we’re talking about, so this answer got sorta long and rambling. I APOLOGIZE for that, but I hope you’ll get something out of this?

I’m gonna do my best to at least give you a vague overview of how I approach writing, with the caveat that it’s probably/definitely not the objectively Best Way or only way to write fics. My ADHD and general perfectionism make me a really bad case study.

That being said:

1) On Outlining: for “See You”, I didn’t have an outline at first, or even really a good idea for a plot, and I just word-vomited a lot onto the page, vague scenes and ideas and the general vibes of what I wanted to touch on with that fic, i.e. old men in their healing era, looking back on their past, and then got lost in the weeds and abandoned it for a year because it became unmanageable without an outline. Once @phoebesbridgers and I started talking and throwing ideas back and forth and kinda brainstorming, we worked out an outline that evolved as I was writing it. Bare-bones at first, and then adding more scenes as needed, where the pacing was lacking or where I wanted to go into more detail. I was adding scenes up until the very end, so it’s definitely nice to have an organic outline you can edit and expand upon. In my experience, writing fics over 10k without an outline (no matter how loose or free-form it is) is basically impossible. Sometimes that outline is just text messages between Kristen and me, sometimes it’s me taking actual notes in a google doc.

“Who said I can’t go back?” was even more collaborative (duh), with us basically working out a full outline before we started to write, aka doing some brainstorming sessions, taking down notes for that, and then working out what scenes we needed, but still expanding on things and adding stuff in the middle of writing.

Here’s what the first brainstorming for “Sink into your sunlight” looked like (excerpt. these usually go on for a WHILE), just gathering the vibes and basic concept:

Those notes usually evolve into vague scene ideas, so I’ll have an empty google doc with scenes laid out in order, mostly “[scene 1: x happens here], or giving the scene a stupid name that encapsulates the main thing it’s going to be about.

2) On rewriting: I'm someone who edits A LOT as I'm writing something, which is 100% bad practice and perfectionism and not something I recommend because it slows my progress down so much, but that usually means once a scene is done, I don’t change much anymore. Usually after a few days of not looking at the scene and getting some distance, I’ll either print it out or throw it into an AO3 draft to have a different format to look at, and go over it again, editing spelling errors and doing minor edits, shifting some parts around, and once I hand the fic over to Kristen, I edit and add stuff wherever she had notes.

3) On beta readers: I think it’s pretty clear from all of the above that I’d be so, so lost without @phoebesbridgers being someone I can trade ideas with and also make her do all the heavy lifting of editing and beta-reading. She gives me notes and feedback and helps out on pretty much anything when I need her opinion, be it pacing or outlining. I can’t recommend enough that you have someone you can show your fic to, or just brainstorm with, and have them as your biggest supporter and hype man. It makes the mental barrier of writing so much easier to manage when I’m writing for one person, or a small group of friends, rather than the Big Vast Faceless Void of AO3. It takes the pressure off. As long as she likes what I write, I’m happy.

4) As for how to get their voices right: a lot of that is just the natural osmosis of spending 15 years being a fan of this band and watching interviews and hearing them talk, but what always helps me is either reading dialogue I’ve written out loud, or having some TTS go over it, or even just going over it in my head and seeing if I can hear the words in their voice, or can imagine them saying them. I wish I could give more helpful advice on that, but listening to interviews or their show banter always helps to kinda get their cadence right. If you're writing for a specific era, it helps to watch interviews or clips from that time, just to get a feel for what the dynamic is like.

Feel free to ask more questions, I'm just really bad at giving advice lmao