#i am no writer im just having fun

[anarchswild]

Hindsight 20/20 mini writing 1/?, suggested by @discodiablo

"So like, what's the point of all this?"

Ashton stood over her sire as he was leaning over a small pile of paperwork. A death certificate.

"Well now that you're dead, we need to make that official. Can't have ya runnin' around while still legally alive." Reid sighed, adjusting his prosthetic out of the way. He muttered under his breath. "I'll need to get Zacharias to take care of the rest… I don't get any of this."

"It's not like we're going off the grid, why bother?" The fledgling had moved on to laying on the couch in the office, kicking her feet while playing with her phone. They'd need to get her a new phone number too, close her social media. Nothing she'll want to do. They don't even have the security of the shrecknet anymore.

"We bother because otherwise it'll follow ya with nothin' but problems. We interact with society, but we're not really part of it, y'know? Gotta make sure that stays the case." She gave him an unconvinced look. He stood up from his desk, walked to a filing cabinet on the other side of the office, then pulled out and handed her a newspaper.

She looked at it, unimpressed. "An obituary? Really?"

"Take a closer look at it. The names and the date." He poked the paper, pointing to the headline.

Ashton rolled her eyes, but began reading anyway. "... Oh, you even highlighted it. Reid Thomel, right there, perished in the Portland Symphonium fire on... October 6th, 2003? I thought you said you got turned in the 90s." She looked at him incredulously.

"I did, November of '97. Tam celebrates it every year. My point is, my sire didn't teach me jack shit before she left me on my own. I spent almost 6 years dodging normal human society. Doin' stuff like taxes. All because no one realized and no one told me. So I'm tryin' to save you from that." He leaned over to ruffle her hair, to her indignation.

"If you're making such a big deal out of this, shouldn't it have been, I dunno, obvious?" She said while slapping his hand away.

"Well. You know what they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty. But I don't wanna hear that from you, little miss 'why bother'."

[mokadevs]

day 19: partners-in-crime

[arsenicflame]

steddyhands modern au inspired by this post:

(1828 words, themes of kink but nothing explicit, established blackhands & gentlebeard-centric. Happy Pride!)

Stede picks up leatherworking in the wake of his divorce. He's not exactly sure how it ended up being such an important hobby for him, only that he had always admired the intricate designs on his horse's best bridles, and with little else to do with his time, he decides to give it a go.

It's rocky going at first, but he's having fun working with his hands for the first time in his life, and there's a sense of satisfaction in seeing the design come to life as he works. With practice, his skills improve, and he learns how to make things that are truly one of a kind.

He starts off posting his pieces online, as a way to reach fellow enthusiasts, but quickly finds himself with a rather large audience. Stede’s style is unique, and, after many requests from his followers, Lucius encourages him to make some more basic pieces he can sell. It's not about making money for Stede, but another way to meet new people who share his interests- as Lucius keeps telling him, it's sad that his personal assistant is the main person he talks to these days. 

So Stede sets out on a new adventure, and has quite the time designing a new range of patterns for the market. He makes purses, belts, bracelets, and, most importantly, dog collars- all still with his unique designs embossed into them, of course. He rents a booth at his towns monthly craft fair, and very quickly finds himself with a new group of friends in the other regulars- Pete, his usual neighbour, who sells an array of wooden figures he carves, Roach, who runs a stand for his bakery, and Frenchie, who isn't actually a stallholder, but is almost always busking near his friend Wee John’s stand of knitted goods, bringing life to the market even in the pouring rain. There's also Buttons, another regular at the market. Nobody is exactly sure what he does there- he doesn't sell things, or seem to buy anything either, but rain or shine, he's there with the birds.

Stede’s been doing this a few months by the time June rolls around. As he's setting up his stand, he notices that the area is much busier than it’d normally be at this time of morning. Lucius, who got roped into helping run Stede’s stall somewhere down the line (despite his protests that this is not what personal assistant means… But hey, he got a boyfriend out of it, at least), reminds him that there's the parade today, too- not realising that Stede had no clue there was a parade today, and especially not that it was pride. Stede immediately jumps to fretting about the amount of stock he’s brought, and Lucius takes the cue to escape, saying he’ll go and grab them coffee (but really, he's off to flirt with Pete)

Lucius is still missing when Ed stumbles across the little leather stall. Stede’s just ran back to his car to fetch his last boxes of inventory, and by the time he returns, Ed’s already begun to narrow down his choices. Stede greets him, starting to tell him that they're not actually open yet, but before he gets more than a couple of words out, Ed’s exclaiming “You're a Kiwi!!!”

The two of them smile at the shared recognition, and Stede says he’ll make an exception, just for Ed, and asks him what exactly he was interested in. Ed tells him that he's looking for a collar “for his boy”, and points out the particular design he was looking at. It happens to be one of Stede’s favourites from this latest run of work, a fact he mentions to Ed. It leads them into a discussion about Stede’s craft, and Ed’s Izzy, and then everything in between. Ed’s listening intently to the things Stede’s telling him, completely drawn in by the process, and by Stede himself. He watches as Stede stamps Izzy's name into the collar, and Stede even lets him have a go at one of the stamps. 

Lucius reappears sometime in the middle of this- only to immediately retreat again, seeing Stede engrossed with Ed. He sets up camp at Pete's booth opposite, watching this man flirt intensely with his boss- and Stede flirt back just as hard. Does Stede even realise he’s doing it? Lucius had known Stede was gay since before Stede even admitted it to himself, but this is on a whole other level.

The pair stand there so long that Izzy comes to look for Ed- the two of them are manning a float on the parade with their crew, and it's past time for them to get geared up. He's already worked up, frustrated to have been left to set up everything alone, when Ed had just gone to see if he could get them both coffee. So maybe he's a bit of a prick, approaching with a brash “where the fuck have you been, Edward”, to which Stede brings the same energy, giving a bitchy “Ed! Do you know this guy?” Izzy tenses, ready to snap, but then Ed cuts in, excitedly telling Stede that this is “his Izzy!” Which confuses the hell out of Stede. 

Forgetting his earlier attitude, he asks Ed if he “really named his dog after his friend”, only to be met with confusion right back from Ed at where the hell Stede got the idea he had a dog from. Stede gestures at the bag with the collar in it, to which Ed has to tell him, “oh, no, that's for him.” Ed tells Stede that they're here to run a float for their local leather society, and while Stede is certainly shocked by what Ed’s saying, he's not finding himself… uninterested. It's simply that he’s never even considered any of this before, especially not that people would use the things that he made for this, but Ed sounds so enthusiastic about it all. He tells him about how his friends would love to see Stede’s work, about how classic leather gear is always so fucking boring- but not Stede’s stuff, no, Stede’s stuff is “fresh” and “fascinating” and unlike anything Ed’s ever seen before. 

Ed's enthusiasm is incredibly infectious, so when he invites Stede to come back to see their float, he readily agrees. It’s a concept Izzy’s less than enthusiastic about. He doesn’t really want to bring this man who’s dressed like he just walked out of a HOA board meeting to their kinky little corner of the world, but he is having a lot of fun watching Stede squirm, so decides not to raise a protest. He does demand he gets his long-overdue coffee first, though (Stede pays for it- as “compensation for him distracting Ed from his job”, he says, not giving Izzy a second to process before he's tapping his card)

By the time they return to the float, Fang, Ivan & Jim are waiting for them, all already geared up. Stede is stunned silent at the sight for about 5 seconds, before he starts actually looking at the quality of Jim’s harness, and proceeds to go off about the poor quality of the craftsmanship, about how the hardware is tacky and completely the wrong choice with this leather, how his “ten year old daughter could do a better job!!!” 

There's complete silence from the group, until Izzy, of all people, bursts into laughter at Stede’s audacity (and, the fact he was staring at Jim's tits completely unabashedly, like he hadn't even noticed them in the first place). Izzy's laughter sets Ed off as he tells the group about Stede’s misunderstanding- “you didn't say he was a person!” “I mean, he's my dog”- and soon everyone's having a friendly giggle at Stede’s mistake.

It's somewhere in the middle of the retelling that Ed remembers that this whole thing happened because he was buying Izzy a gift. After a moments fumbling, he presents Izzy with the collar-  It's a rich, deep black, embossed with a rolling pattern that resembles waves. It’s made from a firm enough leather to take the tooling, and to remind Izzy that he’s owned while he’s wearing it, yet still soft enough for long term comfort. Izzy's eyes immediately lock on to it, an unreadable expression coming over his face, and Ed turns it; first so he can really see the design and Izzy’s name embossed into it, and then so he can see the small “Ed ♥” on the inside of the collar, right over his swallow tattoo. 

“I did the heart,” Ed says to him softly, intended only for Izzy’s ears. Izzy's eyes flick up to Ed’s, and he raises his chin to give Ed the room to put it on. Ed buckles the collar around his neck almost reverently, a test of the tightness turning into a caress of Izzy's neck. It's a perfect fit.

It's as though something comes over Izzy; so twitchy and abrasive earlier, now silent, staring at Ed with a look akin to worship in his eyes. He obediently tilts his head for a kiss as Ed's fingers move to his chin- It's a sight to behold, and one that has Stede intrigued. He wants to know more about this lifestyle, and these men in particular. He wants to be the one to put that expression on Izzy's face.

The moment breaks as Ed and Izzy pull apart, and Ed calls for the crew to finish the last bits of set up. Izzy shakes himself a little before running off to bark orders again, but even still, there remains a softness to him that wasn't there before. 

Ed turns back to Stede with an apologetic smile, already obvious that he has to get going. Before he can speak, however, Stede jumps in -“My business numbers on the card in the box… I'll be around all day”- Ed’s smile turns more genuine at that, promising to stop by if he gets a moment, and that he’ll send his friend's Stede’s way- “if he wants that kind of business.” Stede says that he does, actually- that he's seen a whole new world already today, and, while he was a little taken aback at first, he can feel the passion Ed and his friends have for this life. If there's one thing that's ever mattered to Stede, it's other people's enthusiasm. Maybe he doesn't completely understand yet, but he would like to try.

One year later, Stede’s back at the market on pride weekend again, far better stocked for the crowds this time around. Lucius is finally free to spend the day flirting with Fang & Pete to his heart's content, now that Stede’s roped his own boyfriends into helping him run the stall- and into modelling the merchandise. Ed loves that part, while Izzy needs a lot more convincing, but the puppy eyes Stede & Ed weaponise against him make a very good argument.

[sxcret-garden]

,

[tradingjack]

having fun with colors for once :P

thanks @creepycoffins for the awesome dtiys :D

[foxett]

Hey guys

[lightbulb-warning]

i used to freehand comics all the time as a child and since the part i liked was the drawing part i would just draw panel after panel because i didn't want to stop drawing to think about icky icky words, plus the story TOTALLY still made perfect sense! to me! and noone else, but 'whoooo caaaaares omgggg its not like comics and sequantial art are a communicative meeediummmm lmaoooooo'. i spent my entire childhood telling myself stuff like "oh pfft I know this story by heart- ill SIMPLY remember the dialogue and write it later" ...and. I can't help but admire baby maiora's (call that a minora ba tm tsk) fucking audacity? hubris? confident wrongness? kid couldn't even remember to finish the comics in the first place? INCREDIBLE levels of unearned self assurance, wish that were me, genuinely- what an icon!!! anyway i think i have forever cursed myself

[carnivalls]

.

See the thing is. I know I'm good at writing. Like I have my weak areas or things I need to improve in, but it's not a skill I otherwise spend a lot of time feeling insecure about because a) if I don't believe in my writing literally who will b) if I want to publish my writing I ought to at least feel a resting level of good about it because editors and agents likely will not be cradling my face like a prize cat and telling me how talented I am while asking for their edits c) I've always had an audience for my writing even at its worst– I started sharing my original works online when I was around 16 & that really helped sell to me the idea of 'there will always be someone out there who likes what you do' d) untalented men never think this hard about the quality of their works and they always end up published anyway and e) I don't have many other thoroughly developed skills so why not have one I feel good about. Having said this. Awkward feeling to realize you're one of the authorial weak links in your postgraduate creative writing degree's social circle

[greasydumbfuck]

thinking about frank and sex (in a sad way)

[strawberryybird]

ok fuck it. in honour of fire emblem: free real estate timeskip day, have some disability headcanons.

edelgard with crutches. thats it thats the post. done.

but also i absolutely think edelgard can have some mobility aids as a treat specifically for me, mobility aid user and edelgard enthusiast. i think the double-cresting she has going on means she has some level of chronic fatigue. use crutches babygirl <33 you know what? She can use a wheelchair, too. And a cane. All the mobility aids for my girl.

lysithea too, for that matter. I'm very fond of lysithea being the default recipient of Hilda's embellishment and decorating. I think Lys has trouble with her joints and uses braces, wraps, and ergonomic designs of things. Whatever motif Hilda has designed this month, Lys will give a test run.

Lys and her dislocating joints creating new spell-casting techniques by force of need and love of her craft.

Hilda's love for jewellery and decorating leading to her interest in the exact intersection of utility and design. Anything to stop people from having to put in so much effort to do things. That's atrocious. Use this, for Seiros' sake.

Magic users with Magic!Psoriasis in their joint extremities. Hands, feet, kneecaps, neck. Anywhere, really. Magic causing immune system reactions my beloved headcanon.

Claude takes out a new tangle from a new pocket in every class. where did he get them. why does he have this many. how did he get a new tangle in the span of the last 6 minutes. claude what the hell.

Marianne & Bernie having enthusiastic sign language chats in the tea gardens. Byleth makes sure to teach them every swear they've ever learned.

If Byleth has to step outside for a bit of air when they realise they're missing another memory from Before, no one makes a big deal. The world will keep moving with them, says Ignatz, who can't bear loud noises anymore.

Dorothea unabashedly handing in her essays on dyed paper, because the pink means the letters stop sliding around. Bernie made her a little quilted pouch for her green-lensed glasses.

Ferdinand making Edie nearly weep with laughter as he matches her pace on the stairs, threatening to have them all demolished for domestic terror and regicide.

Annette and Constance inventing the dicta-quill, creating ye-olde speech-to-text. Annie sends one personally to Lorenz, who lost his left forearm in the final battle. She gets 3 pages of effusive praise and thanks back. Their correspondence gets so long, that the post service starts charging their letters as parcels.

[writernopal]

build a home writing server she said

it'll be fun and instructive she said

....

she did not think about the pain in her bunghole it would be to migrate ALL OF HER WORK

[ohsweetflips]

5, 6, 12, and 16 for Rhodes please? ☺️

i flipped 5 & 6 bc i realized i could put them in somewhat-chronological order <333 :)

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6. Healer’s summary of treatment for Rook’s wounds

A haphazard note written by the Veiljumper's healer about Rhodes, approximately 6 years before they were recruited by Varric and Harding. Takes place after disarming a relic went horribly and they were promptly electrocuted. Seems to be more instructional for dealing with Rhodes than instructions for Rhodes.

Do NOT let patient tell you that they are "okay to get up and go." Rhodes doesn't know what they're talking about. They don't remember all of us worried that their heart was going to stop at any moment. Any medical discharge must be approved by me.

Dawn Lotus and Elfroot to soothe pain. Prophet's Laurel as well if it's unbearable (you can tell by the sweat on their brow).

Patient is often restless. Might have to assign someone just to keep them company. Or ask Amylia to stop in when she closes shop - she's rather fond of them.

Royal Elfroot, Rashvine, and Deep Mushroom for the burns themselves. Will scar, no doubt, but this will at least help ward off infection. Even Rhodes is a bit squeamish over their wounds.

Do not let patient take off bandages. Telling them that we will get Strife involved doesn't work. Been telling Strife that he's too soft on them. Find me - I know they're uncomfortable, but I'm not having an infection on top of this. Elfroot can help them relax.

Tell Strife to have scouts search for more Arbor Blessing. I would rather not have another close call like this.

Patient has trouble sleeping. Try not to disturb them too often. I can check on them if necessary throughout the night.

Kid's got to be more careful. "But I'm fine, and the others were able to disarm the relic anyway." I don't think they realize how close they were to death. Sylaise help them, truly.

5. A conversation overheard between Rook and a companion

A conversation overheard between Rook and Harding, about three or four months after Rook's recruitment.

Rhodes: "Do you miss it? Being with the Inquisition?"

Harding: "Hm... kind of? Being a scout, I was able to travel all over and actually see what was going on. How pretty or abandoned or... eerie some of the places were. All before anyone else from the Inquisition got there. And then I got to be the one to tell the Inquisitor about it!"

H: "But then, on the other hand... I like being here. Being a part of the adventure. Being able to make decisions and help call the shots, you know? Varric still takes lead but it doesn't feel like I'm working for him. Well, not that the Inquisitor made me feel- the idea of the 'Inquisitor' is so much more intimidating than he actually - anyways! I like being a part of the action. Plus, you're here! I wouldn't want anyone else!"

R: "... Really?"

H: "Yes! You're good at what you do and you're my friend and - don't look at me like that! You'll make me cry!"

R: "I'm just happy to be here!"

Varric: "Listen kid, Harding, I love this moment we're all having here. But we're about, ah, five minutes out from meeting some pretty tough people who won't want to deal with the whole crying... feelings... heart-to-heart sort of thing going on."

R: "Right, right... wait, Harding, what was eerie about what you did with the Inquisition? Didn't you just... go and look at places?"

H: "Have you ever been to swamps where corpses crawled out of the water? Twice?"

12. Rook’s daily schedule

A scribbled list on a torn piece of notebook paper. Found knocked off a table in Rook's room. Before the battle of Tearstone Island.

Morning:

Wake up (around 08:00). Bathe (to actually wake up). Brush and braid hair. Coffee with Lucanis and Neve. Magic training - see if can finally get that new spell. Help Lace garden. Eat and review where we have to go next.

Late Morning:

Davrin and Taash are training - go see how they're doing. (Tell Lace?) Go check in with Bellara - make sure she's eaten today. Relax with friends (if possible). If not: get ready to head into field. Fix hair (if need to). Apply cosmetics (if feeling like it). Reorganize pack. Head out.

Afternoon:

If out in field: save world. If at Lighthouse: Stone-parchment-shears with Manfred (Emmrich says it's probability, I swear it's strategy). Play with Train Assan. Visit Emmrich - go for walk outside? or watch Manfred's magic lesson. If not too late: go visit Veiljumpers.

Evening/Dinner:

Go see what Neve's doing - help reorganize office if wisps are at it again. If weekly group dinner: help out (dish duty, again). If not: Prepare something with Davrin. Have dinner together. Clean up.

Night:

If out in field: return. If not: Spend time with Davrin. Talk about our day. Bathe again (most likely). Brush out hair. Get ready for bed (now with Davrin).

16. Letter from Rook to their love interest

A letter carefully written from Rook to the warden, Davrin, while he is away at Weisshaupt to help train the griffons. Before the battle of Tearstone Island.

Davrin,

Emmrich says that, since I miss you, and because you're going to be gone for a while, I should write to you. He said I could just tell you about my day and gave me a piece of his own paper.

[An arrow drawn pointing to an elegant letterhead, courtesy of the Grand Necropolis]

I don't write a lot. I don't have good penmanship. I hate that I can't talk to you right now.

This is weird because

I've never had

I'm not used to wanting to talk to someone who isn't here. It's just me, or everyone is just there.

You make things different. I wish you were here.

[A change in pressure of the ink, as if a break was taken in between writing]

Emmrich is really happy with Manfred's magic. He asked me if I wanted to watch one of his magic lessons (how I got the paper). He thinks Manfred's trying to learn electrical spells because he nearly set a rug on fire with this weird, purple fire. He's doing good, though! No major new burns in Emmrich's library.

I helped Taash train today. Made me hold some of their weights while sitting on their back. They told me to tell you that they could do 27 push-ups like that and now it's your turn, "unless you're scared." I told them you could do more!

[A simply drawn smiley-face]

Lucanis is planning a fancy dinner for Neve tonight. When I checked in, Lace was helping him. I think she wants to do something for Taash. The kitchen already smells amazing. If we ask nicely, we can probably get him to make some for us when you get back.

I'm writing this with Bellara while she's reading. She's been keeping me company tonight. It's for the book club. She said she likes it, but the romance happened too early. She loves the characters.

Everyone says hi!

I hope you're having a nice time in Weisshaupt. Are the flowers still blooming? Tell Mila that I say hi. Give Evka and Antoine my love. And pet the griffons for me. Assan gets extra.

I miss you and Assan. It's not the same without you here. I want to go with you next time. I like just existing with you.

Please write back.

I love you!

Yours,

Rhodes

In return, Rhodes receives a lovingly written letter with a pressed blue flower.

[ender-goo]

Lukewarm take but the idea that we need less "sympathetic" villains or villains with a tragic story or motives because is "lame", and instead we should make every villain evil for the sake of it is fucking stupid.

Villains that are evil for the sake of it is not a bad trope perse, and if done well, it can lead to incredible characters (best example in modern times is Jack Horner from Puss in Boots), but to want to make every villain evil just "because"? Because apparently trying to make villains have depth and be 3-Dimensional and give them motives and a story and shit is "lame"??

I've seen so many people say that because the villain is supposed to be "the bad guy" plain and square, trying to give them a reason for their evilness just ruins the character and like ?????, newsflash idiot, the villain also needs layers to them, if you make them and one-note bad guy, the story can AND WILL fall apart, because oh dear, the villain is a character too.

[puppppppppy]

who up seeing their disorder in a fictional character but feel like its not their place to put a name on it

[lunar-years]

Oh wait did I get confused, I read it as confirming Jamie as bi, was it confirming Roy as bi?

it can mean anything your heart desires it to, anon. MY heart desires it to mean #happybivisibilityday to all pictured parties PLUS our favorite guy who hung their posters 🥰 do what brings you joy and #believe

[feyd-meowtha]

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