#edit added the suggested tags bc i cannot help it

[zs-starwars]

Cackling at these suggested tags

♢⋯ Thranduil in The Hobbit

[kookings]

red hot ice [preview 2]

“I thought your powers were cryokinesis and not charm.”

PAIRING -> cryokinesis!jungkook x fem!reader/pyrokinesis!reader

GENRE(S) -> magic au, rivals au, fluff, action, fantasy, suggestive, angst, crack

SUMMARY -> There’s a very good chance you may not graduate; one, because your Elementals essay due first period is currently frozen solid, and two, because you’re ass at Elementals — a fact that Jungkook only discovers when you storm into his room and reign hellfire upon him for freezing your entire dormitory.

However, using this knowledge to his advantage, he strikes you a deal: beat him in a sparring match and he’ll help you pass Elementals.

Lose, and you’ve just bought yourself a one way ticket to the Formal. With Jungkook as your date.

WARNINGS -> profanity, semi-suggestive content, sword fighting, magic fighting (?), graphic depictions of blood and injuries, graphic depictions of pain, minor enemies-to-lovers, jungkook is a hot mf even tho his powers are ice manipulation, oc is also hot but like literally, because of her fire manipulation oc blushes a lot, oc’s nickname is Firestorm bcs i cannot for the life of me write ‘y/n’, lots of banter, lots of repressed feelings, lots of stupidity, more to be added!

WORD COUNT -> updated to around 20-30k

TAG LIST -> @soobmint @hyuckworld @jenoentry @junepops @aliceu @yanithem @cupidtaes @kookaine @oerangdoongi @ggukkieland @shatzkrinslinzki @geniejunn @maplecornia @travelleratheart101 <3 (let me know if you’d like to be tagged as well!!)

AUTHOR’S NOTE -> hellooo this is the second teaser to this upcoming fic!! (first one can be found here!!)

You make it halfway to the door before he says the words that stop you in your tracks.

"Unless you don't want to graduate, I suggest you hear me out."

You stiffen.

You can study and learn and breathe Elementals until your eyes bleed, but does that mean you'll pass? That you'll get a final grade high enough to tip the scales in your favour? At this point, you honestly don't know. You've been studying and learning and breathing Elementals all semester and yet you're still floundering just below a passing grade. Jungkook's edits to your essay will definitely help to your advantage and might even garner you an A — an A which will definitely pad your grade. But it doesn't guarantee a safety net, and exam season is fast approaching. A knot forms in your stomach.

He's right. You might not graduate.

You're still not sure what the Formal has to do with your mark in Elementals, but you begrudgingly decide to hear him out. For the sake of your grade, of course.

Pivoting on your heel, you fix him with a glare that could burn empires. "You have five seconds to make your case."

His smirk says it all.

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" He saunters over to you; a predator closing in on its prey. "I could recite the whole Elementals textbook and still have time to—"

"Three, two—"

"Lose-to-me-in-a-sparring-match-and-you-have-to-come-to-the-Formal-with-me."

You can't help it— you laugh in his face. "Lose to you in a sparring match? You've got to be kidding me."

"Ah, but I've been practicing. I stand a fighting chance now."

It's true that Jungkook's gotten better in the ring. You've noticed him training more often, his competitive streak driving him to be the best at everything, including sparring. He's filled out more too, evident in the way his shirt now stretches taut across his chest and emphasizes the strong cords of muscle. The added strength paired with his honed skill makes him that much more lethal. Sometimes even, he comes close to beating you.

"You sit a fighting chance, and even then your odds are slim." You cross your arms. "Just tell me why it's so important I go to the Formal with you."

Jungkook stands before you now, and the way he's peering at you from beneath his lashes makes you almost scared of his answer. You can handle hearing his sick, twisted plans to humiliate you, handle knowing he's kept up this pursuit for the sake of his pride.

You can't, however, handle whatever it is that swims in his eyes now. Looking so real and honest and raw.

Jungkook opens his mouth as if to say something.

He thinks better of it with a shake of his head.

"Because," he finally says, "it's high time we bury the hatchet. I think we can go one night without trying to commit homicide, don't you? Besides, it's our last year and last Formal." He smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Last chance for me to whisk you off your feet for the best night of your boring, pathetic life."

"So it's the thrill of the chase, then." Something sour fills your mouth. "Last year, last chance for you to secure me as a trophy on your shelf."

"Something like that." He shrugs. Then he grins in earnest. "Admit it. You can't wait to see how good I look in a tux."

You snort. "I'll sever your throat with your tie."

"If I didn't think you'd make good on that threat, I'd say you're blushing."

"Many would pay generously for the Jeon heir's head."

"I have been told I'm rather spectacular in bed."

"You foul mouthed pig!"

You'd honestly meant it as a mere slap to his arm. A teasing one at that, nothing more.

Jungkook, however, somehow reads your stance as full fledged war, and you are none the wiser.

He blocks your hand with staggering ease, sending a swift jab to your gut in retaliation before kicking your legs out from underneath you. The ground slams into your back, hard and solid, knocking the air from your lungs. You're confused and more than a little annoyed, and this clash of emotions drives you to tuck into a roll, twisting back onto your feet and prepared to strike—

Only to be slammed into the wall by Jungkook, your hands pinned on either side of your head, his cold body flush against your own.

A familiar, throbbing ache begins at the base of your skull, though it's nothing you haven't endured before and certainly not the worst you've encountered. In fact, you're more focused on how close Jungkook is and just how wildly your heart is racing. His face is inches from your own, hands still encircling your wrists, and you can feel the lines and dips of his body pressed firmly against your form.

Your magic goes haywire.

He’s too close.

Close enough for you to lose control.

[katranga]

Disclaimer: Fic is just for fun. Nobody on ao3, or tumblr, or wherever, is expecting perfection. Most of these tips are gonna take a little extra time and effort to implement, and if you don’t feel like doing that, because you just wanna post the darn thing? Go for it! I’m not here to tell you what to do, and I’m certainly not saying that your writing is bad if you don’t follow these tips. These are just suggestions that will hopefully help you improve your work, if that’s what you’re after.

Intro: Why Revise?

To kick things off, I’d like to go over the importance of revision!! This is more of a general writing tip, but it’s a great starting point, because I DON’T want you to be thinking about most of my future tips while you’re writing the first draft. 

I want you to get. those. words. on. the. page! That’s all you should be worried about when you’ve got a blank page staring you in the face. 

There’s so much pressure to get writing right the first time, but I’m here to tell you that’s pretty much impossible. So, pressure’s off! Just write the basics so you get to know your story first. I

I know it seems like writing it perfectly will save you editing/revising time later on, but you can’t revise—let alone post—what you don’t have written because you’re stuck on one line that doesn’t sound just right. You with me so far? Great!

Honestly, writing gets so much faster when you remind yourself that no one is going to see your first draft!

So I cannot overstate the importance of revision.

Because guess what? Everything you don’t like about your first draft can be fixed in revision!

Okay. What is it?

To clarify, when I say first draft, I don’t mean the stuff you do in high school, where you write out a shitty essay on paper first and then type it up basically the same, just to prove to the teacher you wrote a first draft?? Or whatever.

I mean you just write the absolute basics of your story down, and fill in the rest and perfect it later (I’ll go into detail about how exactly to do that in my motivation post).

Now, grammar, spelling, and overall readability, are all important things to fix before you post. But that’s little stuff, and your word processor will be able to pick up on some of that, and just rewording a few sentences to make them clearer probably won’t take too much effort on your end (though I am gonna have a post about filler words and clarity and stuff like that, so if that tends to be a problem for you, I gotchu).

Besides basic grammar/spelling, most of what I change as my first draft transforms into my second or third is: 

Improving the flow of a scene (it can’t all be dialogue, unfortunately)

Pacing throughout the fic (are they falling love too fast? is this scene too long? etc)

Overall clarity (I know why the character did that, but will the reader?)

It may be different for you. Basically, you’re polishing up whatever you didn’t worry about writing the first draft.

My first drafts, for example? They’re 80% dialogue. Because that’s my favourite! And that’s what comes to me when I’m dreaming up fics. But then I go back later and beef up the rest—the characters’ movements in a scene, their inner dialogue, description etc.

Because as much as I love dialogue, scenes feel empty and too-fast with just characters talking. Similarly, scenes can feel bogged down and slow with just characters thinking about things.

But revision isn’t just about adding things! Sometimes you need to take stuff out. Inner dialogue that later gets covered by dialogue? Cut it. (Or vice versa—maybe the detail isn’t important enough for the characters to talk about, and just the mention of it within the narration is enough).

The point is, repetition needs to go. The reader rarely needs to be told the same thing twice.

Quick example from the top of my head:

Lance had lost his jacket. He’d looked over the whole castle for it, but couldn’t find it anywhere. His brother gave him that jacket. One of his last ties to Earth, and it was missing in action.

Maybe Keith took it to spite him, that jerk.

“What’s up, Lance?” Hunk asked when he passed him in the hall.

“I lost my jacket!” Lance said. “My signature jacket, the one Marco gave me! I’ve looked everywhere, but it’s gone. Do you think Keith stole it?”

Same information twice: Lance can’t find his brother’s jacket despite a thorough search, and suspects Keith stole it. No reason to repeat that. Something’s gotta go.

I know cutting stuff isn’t fun. You worked hard on that! You spent hours/days/whatever perfecting a sentence until it gleamed like a diamond, and now just because you thought of a better way to get that information across you have to get rid of it? No way!

I’ve been there, trust me. But hanging on just slows down the whole writing process. Because, for me at least, I know when stuff needs to go, or needs a massive overhaul, or whatever. I’m just digging my heels in because I don’t wanna do any additional work.

Luckily, this is where your shitty first draft comes in handy! If all you did was spit words onto the page as soon as they entered your head, then you didn’t spend a lot of back-breaking effort on whatever you need to cut! And what you need to cut isn’t anything awe-inspiring, it’s just your rough notes, so tossing it aside isn’t nearly as stressful!

Remember, you can always save scenes/dialogue/etc in a separate document! Maybe you’ll be able to salvage some it later. Alternatively, create separate versions of the doc as you edit/revise. If you end up actually needing part of a deleted scene, you’ve still got it somewhere!

And please, never think of the stuff you cut (or fics you never finished) as “wasted time”. Writing time is never wasted! You’re practicing, you’re honing your craft, and even if some bits never see the light of day, you’re still benefitting from all that work you did!

Now, I know I know I know most people edit/revise as they write. Can’t think of the next scene? Reread the previous scene and fiddle with it until something comes to you. That’s great! Revising already written material is loads better than just staring at your screen!

BUT I’ve recently started writing the whole gosh darn diddly thing without looking back and that is so much faster! While I highly recommend it, that’s obviously difficult to do when you don’t know what’s going to happen next in the fic.

Or if you just don’t have the motivation. So! That’ll be our next topic: Getting words on the page!

But for now, I’ve got an example under the cut, as well as additional resources and links if you want to learn more about revision!

Here’s where I take an old embarrassing fic of mine and revise it, hopefully clarifying the points I’ve been making, as well as proving that only practice makes better!

Okay so this is an excerpt of one of my unpublished fics from 2011. I’m just gonna be honest with you here, it was a Twilight human!AU where Edward was a massive nerd. 

For background, Bella has been at the new school like a week and is appalled at the bullying happening to Edward, who she barely knows. (It’s first person bc that’s how the books were written. Just deal with it.)

Here we go:

“They gave him a swirly yesterday,” I announced, appalled.

“Who?”

“Edward!”

Jessica shrugged, unaffected. “Nothing new.”

“Well what are they, twelve?” I demanded angrily.

“He kind of needed a hair wash,” Mike muttered.

Snorts of amusement followed.

“Stuffing his head into a toilet is not funny,” I argued.

“Yes it is, Bella,” Alice chuckled.

“Kay, next time we go to the bathroom, I’ll shove your head into a toilet,” I offered. “And we’ll all laugh about it.”

This was a whole scene, I kid you not. Now, this isn’t bad because it’s just dialogue. It’s ten lines. That’s a reasonable amount of space for a quick dialogue exchange. HOWEVER, there’s about four people in this scene, so the dialogue tags are a little sparse. ALSO, this is the first time Bella’s bringing her concerns about Edward to the group, so there should be more inner reflection on that.

Overall, it’s just way too minimalist lol. So  this is a good example to beef up.

First of all: where the fuck are we? Notice how no setting was given? Not the greatest habit to get into. If it’s already been established in the fic where people are, and the setting’s not that important, I guess you can skip it, but a quick mention isn’t gonna hurt. You don’t want the reader confused!

Since this a Twilight fic, let’s say they’re in the caf. (In Voltron fics, you’re probably gonna be on the ship, but you can always mention what room they’re in. Or, if it’s a new planet, give a line or two of description).

Explanations for changes I made are in [square brackets]:

I tossed my lunch tray onto the table before throwing myself onto the chair next to Alice. “They gave him a swirly yesterday.”

[Indicated setting. Also implied she was feeling “appalled” using verbs instead of outright stating it. Showing not telling!]

Across from me, Angela looked up from the sandwich she was picking at. “Who?”

[Indicated who was speaking—always important—as well as gave brief description of speaker].

“Edward,” I said like it should be obvious. I scanned the cafeteria for him, but the corner he usually sat in alone was empty.

[Another mention of setting. Also backed up her concern for Edward with action and not just talking about him].

Jessica shrugged, unaffected. “So what?”

“So?” I repeated incredulously.

So I’d never heard of someone actually getting a swirly. In real life. Shitty teen dramas? Yeah. Actual high school? No. It was ridiculous, and gross, and… I hadn’t seen anything to indicate Edward deserved it. (Nobody who’d ever deserved a swirly had ever received one, I was sure).

[The almighty character motivation! Note that you don’t actually have to explicitly state why they’re doing something—obviously we as the reader know the deep-down motivation is because Bella cares for Edward. But characters are not always forthcoming with information, even to themselves. Right now she’s focusing on the unjustness of the situation, and partially trying to convince herself that’s all it is].

Mike slung an arm across the back of Jessica’s chair, snorting a laugh. “He needed to wash his hair, anyway.”

“A toilet’s not gonna do that, Mike!”

[Just a cleverer response. Also, a dialogue tag isn’t needed, because no other speaker at the table is gonna be defending Edward. We know it’s Bella.]

He ignored my glare, choosing instead to steal a fry off my plate. I smacked his hand away.

[Again—action. The characters aren’t just static in their seats.]

“Well, really,” Alice began. “What’s it matter?” She sat up sharply, an idea just now occurring to her. “You haven’t been making friends with him, have you? I told you, Bella, it’s social suicide!”

[Gives Alice a chance to respond to Bella’s outburst—in this AU Alice is very concerned with popularity and does not want Bella associating with Edward. She would definitely have a problem with Bella sympathizing with Edward.]

I rolled my eyes. “No, I just…”

The whole situation was ridiculous. This wasn’t how people should be treated. Was I the only one who realized that? Was I really the only one who cared?

“Whatever,” I grumbled, crunching down on a fry.

[This feels like a more natural resolution to the conversation. Alice directly asks why Bella cares, and Bella reiterates to herself it’s just because. And then decides it’s not worth the argument. This is 2k into an (unfinished) 30k fic. She’ll make a bigger deal out of stuff later.]

Now it looks more like a real scene! 

So, to summarize, I added: Description—both setting and character! Character musing! Cleverer comebacks! 

These are just some of the things that you can fix with a keen-eyed round of revision.

--

And that about wraps this up! I didn’t want this to get too long, but it did anyway. (I’m sorry about the graphics I’m a writer, not a graphic designer. But I had to split the post up so it wasn’t one big block of text)

Was any of that helpful? Was it too long? Did the example clarify things? Let me know, I wanna make sure these tips are helpful!

--

Additional Resources That I Highly Recommend:

DRAFTING: THE THEORY OF SHITTY FIRST DRAFTS -- This post probably explains shitty first drafts better than I ever could! If you still have concerns about it, definitely check it out.

Editing & Revision Answerathon -- Okay, this video is pretty long, but I looove Max Kirin for anything writing-related and especially revision!! They’ve got a tumblr and a Youtube account filled with writing tips! If you like getting your writing info through videos, definitely check out their stuff.

Top 5 Writing Tips: Revision -- Here’s an infographic by Max if you don’t want to watch a 44 minute video lol. Also, you can go through their /tagged/revision for more!

[pandywrappers]

I got tagged, now you have to hear about me

Get to Know Me Tag

Tagged by @shibawav

Rules: Answer these ninety-two statements and tag twenty people.

LAST:

1. Drink: water bc my throat is killer

2. Phone call: work…….

3. Text message: “You are a fool”

4. Song you last listened to: Pearl and Marina’s song

5. Time you cried: probably recently, I cry very often (not because I’m sad often, I just find things to cry about)

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: what’s this “date” thing people keep asking about?

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: I never regret giving kisses

8. Been cheated on: maybe by HACKERS

9. Lost someone special: at one time

10. Been depressed: I dunno what depression is, but the closest I could say was that really lonely stage of my life in seventh grade.

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: underage

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:

12-14. purple, orange and I really like pink right now.

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: Yup and I love them to bits

16. Fallen out of love: Never ever

17. Laughed until you cried: Uh, I don’t think so

18. Found out someone was talking about you: I only hear good things<33

19. Met someone who changed you: Yeah, everyone I encounter adds to me and edits my morals in some way, be them a lesson for me or whether or not they have a lesson for me.

20. Found out who your friends are: My friends are my friends

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: “Fasse-booku?”

General:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: They’re all family except for those few kids from school who added me to seem more popular (which carried into Instagram)

23. Do you have any pets: Boota (my hedgehog, named after the best character in Gurren Lagann) and Rocket (my cat, named by my aspiring pharmacist, former aspiring physicist of a sister)

24. Do you want to change your name: My name is cute<333 (It’s Kaela)

25. What did you do for your last birthday: Sledding!

26. What time did you wake up: 9:40~

27. What were you doing at midnight last night: sleeping…?

28. Name something you can’t wait for: a Nintendo Switch for the squid game and matching Pro Controller that I pre-ordered in May

29. When was the last time you saw your mom: Last night during dinner

30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: I’m generally very happy!! Nothing bad has happened, and anything that hurts only helps me in the long run.

31. What are you listening to right now: *klack click clack klik* Keyboard sounds.

32. Have you ever talked to someone named Tom: I have a gay uncle Tom. He’s an accountant.

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: BEING ILL. It’s not bad, just a sore throat and a lotta snot, but it’s more of a bother than anything

34. Most visited website: Honestly, probably Google Docs

LOST QUESTIONS. I JUST PUT IN RANDOM INFO ABOUT ME:

35. Mole(s): I have a beauty mark under my right eye<33 (and just moles all over my body)

36. Mark(s): Stretch marks on my thighs, a birth mark on my left foot (I dunno if this is my cultural belief or something, but my aunt told me that wherever you have a birthmark on your body is how you died in your past life. I assume I was a rabbit and someone was starving, so I sacrificed myself to save them!!)

37. Childhood dream: I wish Pokemon were real.

38. Hair color: Black

39. Long or short hair: Short

40. Do you have a crush on someone: Yes

41. What do you like about yourself: Everything<33

42. Piercings: I guess on my ear lobes, but they’re only garnished during weddings

43. Blood Type: O+

44. Nickname: Kae, Pandy, Panda-chan, Curlicue, La (meaning “sharp” in Lao), Karla…I have a lot

45. Relationship status: 15 Years of Pursuing a Cute Boy

46. Zodiac: (western) Capricorn, (Lunar) Snek

47. Pronouns: Uh, she…?

48. Favorite show: I’ve been rewatching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and it’s pretty dang good. I suggest a watch for yourself (tic toc)

49. Tattoos: No thanks

50. Right or left hand: Right

51. Surgery: I had to remove a calcium deposit from my mouth in order for one of my adult teeth to surface so that I could have braces

52. Hair dyed in a different color: Once in kindergarten, my aunt dyed the back of my head a deep red color.

53. Sport: Ranked Splatoon

54. Vacation: The last one I had was AX and that was pretty amazing, but I go on tons of family vacations and they’re always fantastic

55. Pair of trainers: HEELYS

MORE GENERAL:

56. Eating: This quiz is eating up my time

57. Drinking: Saliva

59. I’m about to: Finish this survey

60. Waiting for: a year and a half

61. Want: Splatoon 2

62. Get married: Heck yeah

63. Career: Not sure, but I like to draw and tbh, I’m a little interested in business

WHICH IS BETTER:

64. Hugs or kisses: I love them both<333

65. Lips or eyes: Lips are gorgeous, but I pay more attention to eyes

66. Shorter or taller: Doesn’t matter

67. Older or younger: Older///////

68. Nice arms or nice stomach: Both/////////

69. Sensitive or loud: sensitive;;;;;

70. Hook up or relationship: Relationship!!

71. Troublemaker or hesitant: I’m p hesitant;;;

HAVE YOU EVER:

72. Kissed a stranger: I could never!!

73. Drank hard liquor: underage

74. Lost glasses/contact lenses: I don’t need either of those!!

75. Turned someone down: Everyone

76. Sex on the first date: What is “sex”?

77. Broken someone’s heart: Everyone

78. Had your heart broken: Never

79. Been arrested: Me?

80. Cried when someone died: Yeah

81. Fallen for a friend: Uh… I dunno, it’s been so long;;;

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

82. Yourself: HELL YEAH!!!!!!

83. Miracles: HELL YEAH!!!!!!

84. Love at first sight: HELL NO!!!!!!

85. Santa Claus: Still do and always will!!!!!

86. Kiss on the first date: Is it going well??

OTHER:

87. Current best friend name: I don’t make friends, I make best friends.

88. Eye color: Brown

89. Favorite movie: Ghibli and Studio Madhouse and Disney

90. Hobby: Drawing and being a weeaboo!

91. Favorite book: I don’t read, are you crazy?? (All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (I think that’s his name))

92. Did you have fun?: I love talking about myself, but nobody cares that much;;;;;;

Tagging! (I dunno twenty people….):

@spiritxiii @fishjellybox @lilacsandlavendersblog @brightykitty @dj-osha @travelbymanju @big-eater-queen-forever @peachy-artist @ruronek0 @siscomknight @100night @odessious @peacefultrinity