#free! writing

[ezzydean]

birthday blitz

just a fun little 2k jolt of excitement and fun for my dear @notsuchasecret for their birthday

going back to the original Samezuka Trio content here.  if you want OG Samezuka Trio, shenanigans, tomfoolery, tentative relationship/friendship anarchy, adult language and not so adult actions, and Seijuurou questioning his life choices then this is the thing for you.  if not? that’s cool.  dldr and all that jazz :D

happiest of birthdays my dear gremlin

(click here to read on my tumblr and not on the dash)

Ai rolls over and yanks the blankets away from Rin for the third time in as many minutes and Rin reminds himself that he loves Ai and that wrapping him in the damn blankets like a mummy and throwing him out the window is something he really, really probably shouldn’t do.  He rolls over and buries his face in Seijuurou’s shoulder and listens as he starts taking deep breaths.

Maybe the throwing Ai out the window thing wouldn’t be so bad?  Maybe Seijuurou would go along with it this time?

“Imagine if you could peel your nipples off like a sticker.  And replace them with, I dunno.  googly eyes.”

“Can you, for one night, not talk like a shitpost from 2012 at one in the morning?”

Ai scoffs.  “Can you, for one night, not be a funsucking vampire looking for a snack when I ask you a question?” Ai mocks him.

Seijuurou lets out a sigh so deep it’s almost a growl.  “Can you both, for one night, just shut up and let me sleep?”

Rin rolls over and looks at Ai, eyebrows raised and a smile on his face.  Ai grins back at him, sharp and sweet like only he can really manage.

“Nope,” they shout in unison as they scramble over and around each other in an attempt to wrap Seijuurou in their blankets and roll him off the bed.  Seijuurou lets them for a few seconds before he starts fighting back.  Seijuurou grumbles and growls but Rin catches a smile on his face as he throws the blanket off himself and tries to wrap it around Ai.

—

“I.  Uh.  I have questions.”

Seijuurou barely even looks up from where he’s crouched down tying his shoes.  He doesn’t need to look.  He already knows the disaster on display in the other room.  He’s been blatantly ignoring the disaster for the last three and a half hours.  Which is why he called backup.  He’s still not entirely sure he chose the correct backup.  But he was kind of desperate, okay?

“Don’t,” he says as he finishes tying his shoes.  “Just. Don’t.”

“Don’t have questions?” Sugawara asks.  “Or don’t ask the questions.”

“Either.  Both.  Just.”  Seijuurou waves his hand towards the other room.  “It’s safer for everyone if you just ignore it and get the hell out while you can.”

Sugawara nods.  “I roomed with Tanaka and Bokuto one summer.  I understand.”  Seijuurou grabs his keys and wallet from the jacket he had left them in and shoves them into his pants pocket.

“Okay,” he says, gesturing to the door.  “Let’s get out of here.”

Sugawara’s head is tilted to the side like a curious puppy and he’s blinking rapidly and making a quiet, almost distressed noise as he stares into the other room.

“Uh, Mikoshiba?”

“Shit,” he sighs.

“The broccoli is on fire.”

“You mean the oranges, right?”

“No.  No, it's definitely broccoli.”

“I’m done.  I’m too old for this shit.  Let’s go.”

He snags Sugawara’s elbow and pulls him out of the house, determinedly not looking at what he’s leaving behind.

Disaster One and Disaster Two don’t even seem to realize he’s left.  He’s not sure if he should be offended or relieved.  He loves them.  He really does.  But some days he wonders just what the hell he was thinking when he agreed to move in with them all those years ago.

Sugawara keeps quiet for the entire walk from the house to the shopping district.  Which is nice.  It’s one of the reasons he enjoys Sugawara’s company.  They can spend most of a day together hanging out and actually spend very little of it talking.  It’s especially refreshing on a day like today where he’s spent the last week cooped up with Rin and Ai both because their schedules all managed to align with the same stretch of free time.  Which unfortunately aligned with the rainiest, windiest week they’ve seen in months.

“I have one question,” Sugawara says eventually.  He’s staring off into the distance when Seijuurou glances up from the display of keychains he’s been poking through.  Sugawara’s got the kind of look on his face that makes Seijuurou both curious and mildly uncomfortable because he’s never sure if the look is going to lead to a hilarious story from Sugawara about something one of his many crow friends did once upon a time or if it’s gonna lead to the two of them missing ninety percent of their clothing running away from a swarm of bees.

Again.

“Okay,” he says warily.

“Why was the fact that it was broccoli and not oranges the bigger issue and not the fact that they were on fire in the first place?”

Seijuurou groans softly.  “That’s a long story.”

Sugawara shrugs.  “I mean.  I’ve got all day.  Tell me a story and I’ll buy you lunch?”

He doesn’t necessarily want to tell the story.  But he’s also not about to pass up free lunch.

“Okay.  So.”

—

“Rei.  Rei Rei Rei!”   Rei looks up just in time to catch Ai as he trips over his own feet and tumbles into Rei’s lap.  Ai immediately latches his arms around Rei’s neck and grins at him.   “I have to tell you something!”  

Ai’s whisper is more of a shout but no one else really pays them much attention.  Which has more to do with most everyone else in the room being just as wasted as Ai is than it does them being granted a smidgen of privacy.

“What do you have to tell me?” Rei does his best to keep his voice at a reasonable level.  But he’s not totally sober either so he’s only moderately sure of his success.

Ai starts giggling and Rei can’t help but laugh along with him after a moment.

“I just.  You have to promise.  Okay?  You have to promise.”

“Okay.  I can do that.”  Rei manages to control his laughter.  “What am I promising?”

“Not to be upset that I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Oh.  Okay.”  Rei nods.  “I’m not upset you didn’t tell me sooner.”

Ai snorts and Rei tries really, really hard not to start laughing again.

“I haven’t even told you yet.”

“Oh.  You’re right.  What do you have to tell me?”

Ai looks around the room with wide eyes.  He looks around too but doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  Rin and Seijuurou are sitting on the couch across from the chair Rei is currently sharing with Ai.  Haru, Nagisa, and a couple of Seijuurou’s friends that Rei can’t quite remember the names of are in the kitchen.  Momo disappeared down the hallway with Sugawara and Makoto a few minutes ago and Rei has half a second to wonder what, exactly, they’re up to before Ai tightens his arms and catches Rei’s attention.

“I have to tell you.”  Ai takes a deep breath and holds Rei’s gaze.  “I’m gay.”

Rei blinks a few times as this rolls around in his head.

“Oh.  Okay.”

Ai’s jaw drops with a gasp.  “That’s it?  Just ‘oh okay’?  That’s all?”

“I mean.  Your first kiss was with Uozumi followed immediately with a second kiss with Minami.  Your first date was with Nagisa.  Your first wet dream was about Rin and Haru.  Every person you’ve ever crushed on or gone out with has been a male.  So I kind of am not super surprised?”

Rin lets out a startled noise that has Seijuurou shushing him with a laugh.  Rin bats at Seijuurou’s shoulder and leans so far forward he almost falls off the couch.

“Haru was part of that dream?” Rin hisses.  “You never told me that he was involved!”

Ai blinks his big blue eyes at Rei and Rei quickly shakes his head.  He did not know that Rin didn’t know all the details and he may have accidentally just spilled the news but he wants no other part in this.  He’s clearly done enough.

“I trusted you,” Ai whimpers.  “I just told you I was gay and you, you, you spill my secrets like this?”

He can hear Rin grumbling in the background as Seijuurou makes comforting noises that Rin grumbles even louder at and he can see the starry watery sheen of Ai’s fathomless eyes and he feels a little bit like he’s about to be pulled underwater by something dangerous and very toothy and just out of sight and he swallows so hard that he’s sure the people in the kitchen can surely hear it.  He has a fleeting thought about sharks and blood and something else that’s on the tip of his tongue.

Cool hands land on his shoulders and he jolts, Ai nearly falling off his lap.  He tilts his head back even though he already knows who is standing there.

Haru quirks a smile down at him and the fleeting thoughts about sharks and blood are much less fleeting.  For all that he’s often characterized as a fish or a dolphin among their friends Haru is more of a fucking shark in the water than any of the Samezuka team have ever been.

“Aiichirou,” Haru says in a quiet, firm voice that has even Rin falling silent, no doubt holding his breath to hear whatever Haru is about to say.  “You told the wet dream story to Nagisa.  While he had you on speaker when he was in my room with me and Kou.  You went into terrifyingly explicit details.  I very highly doubt Rei is the one spilling your secrets.”

Ai pouts up at Haru for a few seconds and, once he realizes that Haru isn’t going to crack, he sticks his tongue out and wriggles himself out of Rei’s lap so he can flop on the couch with Rin and Seijuurou.

“Thank you, Haruka,” Rei whispers.  Haru smiles sweetly at him and kisses the top of his head softly.

“You’re welcome.”

—

“You need new friends.”

Rin startles a little and looks over curiously.  “What?”

“I said that you need new friends.”

“I heard you.  But.  What the fuck do you mean by that, Takuya?

Uozumi shudders.  “First of all.  It’s weird when you say my name.  You’ve called me that like three times in the decade or so we’ve known each other please don’t.  Second of all.  I am classifying myself in that category.  Get new friends.  Please release me from this torture.”

“Torture?  I am a delight to be friends with.”  Nagisa snickers and Rin smacks him on the back of the head without even looking.  “You will never find another friend as great as me shut up, Nagisa.”

Uozumi points at Nagisa like he’s making some grand point of some kind.  Rin rolls his eyes because, really?  Any point you’re making using Nagisa as an example — good or bad — is kind of a ridiculous point as far as Rin is concerned.

“I didn’t even say anything,” Nagisa protests.  “Damn.”

“You didn’t need to.  Your face says plenty even when your mouth is shut.”

“Oh yeah?”  Nagisa smacks Rin’s shoulder.  “What’s it saying now?  Huh?”

Uozumi sighs —  in a way that is far too dramatic for someone who willingly chooses to spend time with Momotarou of all people — as Rin turns to glare at Nagisa.

“It says you’re just jealous that I’m hot and have two hot boyfriends while you have… whatever it is that you have with your odd looks and strange little squishy cheeks.”

Nagisa’s eyes narrow dangerously and Rin grins in response.

“Your boyfriends are about to become widows,” Nagisa growls.  Rin has enough time to jump to his feet and get a few long strides away before Nagisa launches himself at him.

He thinks he hears Uozumi mutter something about new friends again but then Nagisa somehow manages to catch Uozumi’s elbow and then Rin is running for his life as they chase him down the beach.

—

Seijuurou rolls over with a groan when Rin pokes his side.

“Breakfast in bed,” Ai coos.  “Just for you.”

“Happy Birthday, old man,” Rin adds.

“Thirty is not old,” Seijuurou grumbles.

“Yeah.”  Ai pokes him this time until he opens his eyes and sits up against the headboard.  Ai hands him a plate and kisses his forehead.  “Thirty isn’t old.  You’re right.”

Rin kisses his cheek.  “But thirty-one is,” he teases.

Seijuurou’s gonna get him back for that.

Later.

After he eats his breakfast in bed.  And maybe takes a nap.

It’s his birthday, after all.

[kzlatkova]

Anyone who's ever done anything creative needs to fucking see this.

[balrogballs]

i'm a writer irl (can't say who because my agent would rightfully put me into a blender and press the button if i go and out myself as "balrogballs") and honestly the funniest and most humiliating incident of my life was the time my finished manuscript triggered a plagiarism flag with the publisher for two lines of prose in my literary fiction novel...

.... which was word for word similar to a paragraph in a certain explicit work on FFN starring elrond and his batsman from the hobbit films, aka that one elf that looked like he ate panic attacks for breakfast (i forget his name but it's Figwit II) where the lord of imladris bends said twink over his writing desk and gives him the battering ram treatment.

and if you think i had to sit in front of one if the biggest publishing companies in the world and admit that it was, in fact, me who wrote the fic where the lord of imladris bends said twink over his writing desk and gives him the battering ram treatment in order to avoid being wrongly flagged for plagiarism, you would be absolutely correct.

(yes they published the book)

[sulkybender]

[novella-november]

Do you have the Libby library app?

If not, download it to your phone, and under "Add library card" select the button to search for a library and start typing in "queer"...

Sign up with an email, no actual address required, and you are good to go 🏳️‍🌈

[ID: A screenshot of the Queer Liberation Library Libby main page, showing 6 titles, one of which is an audio book. The titles displayed are the Trans Teen Survival Guide; Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the next); We Will Be Shelter: Poems for Survival; Tomboy Survival Guide; A Burst of Light and Other Essays; and Saving Our Own Lives: A Liberatory Practice of Harm Reduction. End ID]

(thank you @teddypoi-qd for the ID!]

EDIT: Here is the Queer Liberation Library's donation page!

[vulpinesaint]

quiz enjoyers! i am now inviting you to come create something in my workshop❕

[johnny-depp-is-loved]

“I’m not on tiktok anyway so this does not affect me” no???? it’s not just about tiktok or whether or not you like the app??? it’s about them being able to censor and control what they want and what they don’t want people to see. it’s about them being able to keep people uneducated for the sake of their personal gain and benefits.

(it’s also about small businesses who relied on tiktok to gain customers / income.)

that being said, if the only thing you care about is the platforms you’re on, sorry to break it to you, but if they can ban tiktok, they can go after any other platforms too.

they can go after tumblr, archive of our own, instagram, youtube, facebook, etc, you name it.

it actually does affect you.

[penguicorns-are-cool]

DO NOT DO THIS!!!

If a website has a paywall, like New York Times, DO NOT use the ctrl+A shortcut then the ctrl+c shortcut as fast as you can because then you may accidentally copy the entire article before the paywall comes up. And definitely don't do ctrl+v into the next google doc or whatever you open because then you will accidentally paste the entire article into a google doc or something!!!! I repeat DO NOT do this because it is piracy which is absolutely totally wrong!!!

[heritageposts]

Translation: What a shitshow. This years Eurovision has gone to hell. And it's first and foremost the EBU's fault.

Also, excerpt from the same article:

Throughout the course of the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU has acted as if they live in a parallel universe. Eurovision is one thing, the world outside something else. The EBU has stuck its head in the sand. Shoved the problem under the rug. Held their hands over their ears and shouted LALALALALA. They appear to have done everything they can to pretend it's possible to hold an apolitical event in a world that's on fire. We have come together to be "united by music", they say, but the sharpshooters on Malmö's rooftops have nothing to do with us! In its struggle to remain apolitical, the EBU has become like a small fascist state in itself, where the artists' space for expression and action has been reduced as much as the undergarments of the Spanish dancers. It is reprehensible.

Reminder again to BOYCOTT EUROVISION 🇵🇸

Don't watch, don't vote.

[sami--onley]

Judy suffers from a lack of food and medicine.

I, Sami, do my best to provide her and her sisters with vitamins and care, holding on to hope despite the difficult circumstances.

Donate to Judy; every contribution makes a difference in her life and gives her a chance for a better future.

Donate here🍁

[olis-inkwell-symposium]

Developing Backstory: Bringing Characters to Life

1. Where It All Started: The Character’s Origin

Place of Birth: Where did your character first see the world? Think about the impact of this place—was it a busy city where they had to fight for attention or a quiet village where everyone knew everyone’s business? This location doesn’t just say where they’re from; it shapes how they see the world.

Family and Upbringing: What was their family like? Were their parents loving or distant? Maybe they were raised by someone other than their parents—a mentor, an older sibling, or even alone. Family (or the lack of it) is usually one of the most significant factors in shaping who someone becomes.

Society’s Expectations: What was expected of them when they were young? Possibly, they were born into wealth, with all the pressure to continue the family legacy, or maybe they were raised to be invisible in a world where survival mattered. How does this influence who they are now? Do they accept or reject those expectations?

2. Childhood Events That Left a Mark

First Taste of Conflict: Think about the first time the character realized the world wasn’t a perfect place. Maybe they witnessed violence or faced betrayal. What was that moment, and how did it stick with them? This moment usually lays the foundation for the character’s emotional landscape—fear, hope, ambition, or distrust all come from these early life lessons.

Childhood Dreams: When they were young, what did they want to be? Every child has dreams—did they want to be a knight, a scholar, or even just someone who could travel the world? Did they have to give up these dreams? How does that lost dream shape them now?

Formative Relationships: Who was their first best friend, mentor, or enemy? Childhood friendships and relationships often create deep bonds or wounds that last into adulthood. Did they have a mentor who taught them everything, only to betray them? Did they lose a childhood friend that still haunts them?

3. The Teen Years: Where They Start to Become Who They Are

Trials and Tribulations: What’s the biggest challenge they faced as they grew up? Was it losing a loved one, failing at something important, or maybe being forced into a role they didn’t want? These teenage years are where the emotional armor starts forming—how did the difficulties they faced shape them into the person they are now?

Education or Training: How did they learn what they know? Were they formally trained by an institution, learning everything by the book, or did they learn through experience, like a street-smart survivalist? What impact does their education or lack of it have on how they interact with others?

Teenage Bonds: Did they have a first love or a first major falling out with someone close to them? These experiences often create emotional scars or connections that they carry with them into adulthood. How does that past friendship or romance influence their behavior now?

4. Key Life Events: The Big Moments That Define Them

Trauma or Loss: Was there a moment that changed everything? Think about a significant loss—maybe a loved one, their home, or a sense of identity. How does this event affect their worldview? Do they build walls around themselves or dive into relationships with reckless abandon because they fear losing more?

Victory or Failure: Did they experience a moment of triumph or devastating defeat? Success and failure leave their marks. Were they celebrated as a hero once, leading them to overconfidence, or did they fail when everyone was counting on them, leading to crippling self-doubt?

Betrayal: Was there a betrayal that shaped their adult relationships? Whether it is a friend, family member, or lover, betrayal often changes how we trust others. Do they close themselves off, constantly expecting betrayal, or try to rebuild trust, afraid of being left alone again.

5. Where They Stand Now: The Present Moment

What Drives Them Today: What’s the one thing pushing them forward now? Is it revenge, the need to restore their family’s honor, or maybe even just survival? Whatever it is, this motivation should tie directly back to their experiences.

Emotional Baggage: What unresolved emotional wounds are they carrying? Everyone has scars from their past—some are visible, others not so much. How do these emotional wounds affect how they treat others, how they react to conflict, and how they move through the world.

Current Relationships: Who’s still in their life from their past, and how do they feel about it? Did they reconnect with someone they thought they’d lost, or are they haunted by unresolved issues with people from their past? Do they have any ongoing tensions or regrets tied to these people?

6. Tying Themes to Their Backstory

Cultural or Mythological Influence: How does their personal story tie into the larger world’s mythology or culture? Do they carry a family legacy, a curse, or a prophecy that hangs over them? How does this influence their interactions with others and their perception of themselves?

Recurring Symbols: Are there objects, dreams, or people that keep showing up in their life, symbolizing their journey? Perhaps a recurring nightmare haunts them, or they carry an object from their past that’s both a source of comfort and pain

7. Character Arc: The Journey from Past to Present

How Does Their Past Shape Their Growth?: Every character has emotional baggage that needs resolving. How does their backstory drive their arc? Do they need to forgive themselves, let go of the past, or accept who they’ve become to move forward?

Unanswered Questions from the Past: Are there any mysteries in their backstory they need to solve? Maybe they’re unaware of their true parentage, or maybe there’s a forgotten event from their childhood that will resurface and change everything.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

you’re kidding me, right?? 😭

***Please note:*** Sharing merch images + news is not intended to encourage and/or to pressure anyone into making purchases. It is up to the individual consumer to be informed and to choose how they spend their money.

BEHOLD THE LATEST TWST MERCH… a toy truck?????? They made merch of the isekai truck?!?!?!!!!/j 💀

IS IT JUST ME OR???? It looks like the dorm leaders and Grim are tacked up missing people posters… or wanted posters…

[codecicle-archive]

Whar does rpf mean 💔💔💔

historians aren't quite sure. Albert Einstein's last words were "rpf is fine" and we've been searching ever since

[dreamgirljune]

yes yes characters doomed by the narrative always slap BUT what about characters saved by the narrative? characters who have already given up hope and don't know they have a happy ending? characters who believe they are a lost cause, characters who feel irredeemable, characters who think there's nothing left for them, but the narrative does provide a way out? what about the characters who don't expect anything good, who don't even remember how to wish for it anymore, who get the things they need anyway? what about the characters who actively run from being saved getting saved in a way they can't stop or control. what about being saved by the narrative!!!

[jamietarttsnorthernattitude]

We’re fanfiction writers, of course:

We’re going to use song lyrics as titles.

We’re going to check for comments 30 seconds after we post something.

We’re going to have more WIPs than days of the month.

We’re going to use any excuse to post snippets.

We’re going to use ask box games to procrastinate.

We’re going to hype up our writer friends.

We’re going to scream, cry and throw up reading our friends’ work.