#i check my own writing sometimes to see if it has updated itself

[locallysourcedshuggy]

brain not braining, write not writing, the horrors of being gay and having ethel cain as ur #1 on spotify, my dog walking away as im trying to pet her, my bb fanfic remaining untouched for several weeks

[thirstkanaphan]

How much time do you invest in ateez? You seem very knowledgeable

Thank you!

I'm a relatively new atiny! I got into Ateez last June and my first comeback was Golden Hour Part 2. I'm a historian by training and trade, so it's in my nature to try to learn as much about a subject as possible. I really enjoy that process!

My level of investment in something is directly proportional to the quality of the fandom. If a fandom is fun, then I'm likely to spend more time with the thing I like. This is my first kpop fandom and it's been a fascinating experience to see how this fandom organizes itself. It's really segmented, and the quality of experience seems to vary based on where you hang out. For example, I don't even touch tiktok because I get bad vibes from that app. I mostly lurk on atiny twt, but there seems to be a new conflict/discourse/fanwar every other day and it seems exhausting to fully engage with fandom in that way. I've watched as long-time ateez fanbases closed their doors because they got hate for every little thing, even from their own followers. It's honestly a joyless place to be, and every hit tweet or funny joke curdles within hours. That seems to be the case for most kpop fandoms though, and not specific to atiny.

Tumblr has always been my primary site for engaging with fandom and I wanted to help make it a space where people could discuss and enjoy Ateez without any of the drama. Every day I open up this app and it’s filled with wonderful meta, beautiful gifsets and fanart, playful shipping, funny edits and clips, cool commentary, and (of course) simping over eight beautiful men. Being able to curate your experience here is why it remains one of my favorite apps.

If I were to describe the time I invest in Ateez, here's a rough sketch:

I follow most of the update accounts on twt, so I usually wake up to about 2-3 announcements, instagram posts, etc... I do my best to share those things to the Ateez Community, especially IG posts.

I probably check twitter several times a day and bookmark things that I want to share here, whether it be clips, memes, or images. As I see things on the timeline, I'll think about fun ways to curate them here or I'll be inspired to write some meta.

I listen to Ateez's music pretty frequently. When I'm at work I sometimes connect to the stationhead app and let the admin curate a playlist for me. It's like Ateez radio.

I try to keep up with their logbooks and promotional content as they come out, as it's easy to fall behind. I still have quite the backlog to get through, so sometimes in the evenings I'll put on something new-to-me and post about it here. The content masterlist is a great archive to browse through.

I read fic! I guess that counts as an investment too.

I also spend time on collecting apps, as the fandom will be voting on things like music show awards during the next cb.

I like to spend a couple of hours in the evening going through tumblr, liking, reblogging, and posting.

Hope that answers your question!

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update (12/15/24)

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (★★★★★)

A good indicator of a good twist is that when you do catch on, you're kicking yourself for not figuring it out sooner. Tamsyn Muir does that in every book of this series, but it was such a kick in the pants this time around. I spent the last 100-200 pages of this book absolutely freaking out and pacing around my room. The character work in this book was really the stand-out between Nona, Camilla, Palamedes, and Pyrrha. I was also overjoyed to see the return of a beloved character (I thought maybe she Came Back Wrong but she's just having some weird quarter-life crisis). It was incredibly interesting to get some more context about the world, both before the Houses and outside them. I was utterly devastated by everything that happened in the last 50 pages and the only reason I didn't leave this mortal coil upon finishing was because I need to read Alecto.

More under the cut

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (★★★★★)

Oh, Naomi Novik, you are cruel. It's truly a miracle that I made it the whole year it took for The Golden Enclaves to come out when I read this for the first time. Anyway, I feel like ADE and TGE sometimes overshadow this one, ADE because it's the first and introduces us to so many beloved characters and TGE because it's insane, but this one is probably my favorite in terms of El and Orion's relationship. They are such fumbling teenagers (made infinitely worse by their magical whatnot), and it's adorable. This is also the book that really makes you feel for the Scholomance itself. As readers, we're told it's alive to some extent, but this is the book where it truly becomes its own entity or character. This was just as fun the second time around, and I grabbed some great evidence for my thesis.

For She Is Wrath by Emily Varga (★★★☆☆.5)

This book reverses what often happens; it has a bit of a weak beginning and end but the middle is just amazing. When Dani is enacting her revenge, the tension is high, the backstory is juicy, and her strengths get their moment to shine. The mystery of what is going on with the magic is great, and her tension with the love interest, Mazin, is quite well done. The beginning is a little contrived (really, of all the places to just dig into?) but moves quickly. I found the ending incredibly rushed; with the scope of Dani's goals, I really thought this was going to be a series, but it doesn't seem like it. The last ~20% or so is just jam-packed with every possible thing the characters can do, major moments getting barely more than 5 pages each. This book hovers at just under 400 pages, and I think extending it to around 450 just for more space in the climax would do wonders.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (CR 30%)

Even if I haven't made much progress, the politics of this story continue to draw me in. This is what a political fantasy should be: me flipping back to the cast of characters every five pages to check who's related to who. Jokes aside, I am genuinely enjoying myself. I continue to find Phedre a delightful protagonist, and I'm really interested in what this is all building up to. Also, I think the main love interest was just introduced, and their dynamic is entertaining so far!

Witchbound by Sable Cross (DNF) and Daughter of Truth by S. Frasher (DNF)

I'm just putting these together because I DNF'd them both pretty early in for the same reason: bad writing. As it turns out, metaphors and pretty language don't automatically make your writing good; you have to be able to string a coherent sentence together for that. Once the poor writing made itself known a couple times, I knew it wasn't going to get any better.

[babsvibes]

I just rewatched Logan's episodes, and is it just me or is it weird that he seems to reset every episode he's in? Even when he and the Belchers end an episode off on good terms by the next ep he's in, he's right back to being hostile.

Thank you for sending! My power was knocked out in a storm, so this was a nice distraction 💕

It could have to do with the nature of a sitcom. Bob’s Burgers is an episodic situational comedy where the characters stay the same while we watch them react to situations. It’s more typical for the world to reset with a loose continuity, so we get to have multiple holiday episodes without the Belchers aging in tandem, Tina sometimes has stage fright and sometimes doesn’t, and characters we thought learned their lesson don’t.

Hostile is an interesting word to use, though to your point Logan refers to his own feelings as hostility in Large Brother. I think you might get more mileage out of “antagonistic” in a conversation analyzing his behavior because it coincides with his role.

Because Logan’s role in the sitcom is to be an antagonist, he will act antagonistically. In serial storytelling (where the plot builds on itself and usually has a more linear timeline), he might learn or grow over time, but in our current canon unless one of the writers wants to give him a permanent heel-face-turn then he’ll likely remain the antagonist.

Take how the Belchers acted in season one for example. In seasons three and four, we see them flip from this slightly edgier, aggressive tone to one that’s more lighthearted. This isn’t because the characters grew but because the show and writing team shifted directions. Fan-favorite characters like Fischoeder and Zeke appear more because of audience perception and in turn their personalities are more palatable to the Belchers than in their first introduction to explain their continued presence.

If you want to hear me talk an annoying amount about Logan’s character and his role in the show, you can read here or check out my presentation here (I….. yeah), though it’s not updated with Jade in the Shade info just yet.

[kirby-souljourney-au]

Welcome to Kirby: Soul Journey!

Hello!! My name is Bugthing, I use he/xey/it/they pronouns, and I am the mod of this account. This is a sideblog made very specifically for all things regarding my Kirby AU, Soul Journey! I store whatever Kirby-related content I make here, including a project I’ve been working on since the 20th of December, 2022.

If you’ve been following me for long enough, whether here or on my main blog (@goblinbugthing), you know very well what that is, but for the new people, allow me to introduce you to the biggest project I have ever worked on in my entire life…

The Kirby: Soul Journey AU fic!

As I said before, this has been in progress since 2022, and it is currently unfinished. I had put the fic itself on hiatus for months before I said anything, though the announcement of the hiatus itself was only posted in November 2023.

At the time, I had been working on chapter 2, and eventually gave up on it entirely because it wasn’t living up to my (unreasonably high) expectations.

However, soon after I announced the hiatus, I decided I would be rewriting the entire fic from scratch.

And that brings us to where we are today! The rewrite is in progress, research is being done, changes are being made, and I’m slightly more confident in my writing than before. So, make sure to check in with the blog every now and then to see any updates!

Everything else, under the cut!

(Divider gif via @/animatedglittergraphics-n-more)

Stats:

Currently in the planning stage.

Chapter in progress: None

Asks: Open

Send in anything regarding the AU! I love answering questions!

Ref sheet masterlist doc here! [Unfinished — we’ve got a LOT to go]

I must add that ArtShield desaturates the colours slightly after shielding, so please reference the hex codes written down in the post for the correct colours!

Voice claim masterlist doc is readable here!

Chapter Index

IT RETURNS. (Teaser A) (AO3 / Wattpad)

The Destruction. (Teaser B) (AO3 / Wattpad)

A Reaper’s Blade (Prologue) (AO3 / Wattpad)

Read the Original (VERY OUTDATED) (AO3 / Wattpad)

Teaser A - The True Ultimate Life-Form (Tumblr ver.)

Teaser B - Threat to the Multiverse (Tumblr ver.)

Prologue - Preparations (Tumblr ver.)

Chapter 1 - Return of One and Introduction to Another (Tumblr ver.)

Read the Oneshots (ALSO VERY OUTDATED) (AO3 / Wattpad)

MERCY (Tumblr ver.)

Hold the Stars (Tumblr ver.)

Taboo (Tumblr ver.)

Exile (Tumblr ver.)

Once So Great (Tumblr ver.)

Awaken (Tumblr ver.)

Gentle Angel (Tumblr ver.)

Righteous Anger (non-canon) (Tumblr ver.)

Comics

Wanderer’s Curiosity (OUTDATED)

If any of the links are broken, please let me know! I'll get to fixing them right away!

Tag Key

#sincerely - mod bugthing — Posts from me, the mod, ranging from nonsense to progress updates.

#k:sj au — Things generally regarding the AU itself (e.g. voice claims, character refs, worldbuilding).

k:sj new generation — Anything regarding the future of the Soul Journey universe (e.g. future fankid designs)

#k:sj voices — Character voice claims.

#k:sj characters — Character reference sheets.

k:sj newgen characters — New Generation character reference sheets.

#dreamland’s mailbox — Any asks you send in.

#dreamland’s polls — Any polls I make here.

#dreamland art exhibit — Original art regarding the AU.

#not k:sj canon — Things not canonical to the AU (e.g. what if scenarios, crossovers).

#not soul journey / other aus — Posts unrelated to K:SJ, and/or other people’s AUs.

#kirby: soul journey — Actual, real, canonical, proper chapters and oneshots.

I tag triggers with #cw: (trigger)

I tag OCs with #oc: (character)

Please note that this section may be updated in the future.

Socials

YouTube (I rarely upload, but I do use community posts sometimes)

Wattpad (My fanfics’ second home)

Archive Of Our Own (All my fics live here)

$$app (Consider supporting me by donating)

Ko-Fi (Commissions currently closed)

For now, that appears to be it! Have a good day, and enjoy your time in Dreamland!

— Mod Buggie

[spire-pod]

▲ Audio Drama Recommendations - Week One!

Happy #AudioDramaSunday! Just in time for our first proper newsletter release! We've got a handful of sci-fi shows we'd like to recommend, as well as a full review of our favourite listen of the week to check out! If you'd like to stay updated on our show and see our weekly recs, you can sign up to our newsletter here!

This week, we’re rounding up a handful of other hard sci-fi shows that we’re a fan of. If you like Spire, odds are, you’ll like these guys too!

@station151podcast follows Antartica’s first and only astronomical radio observatory. Great pace, atmosphere and concept. I’ll always eat up AI characters (SPIRE audiences do not interact) and research station astronomy will always have a special place in my heart.

@wirelandranch is cosmic horror at its best. It’s sci-fi in the broadest sense, combining Americana with the psychedelic. Great sound design and certainly immersive. Sometimes I don’t know where I am when I listen to this. That’s good.

Edict Zero is a super unique cyber noir adventure. The sound design is literally crazy, and if you’re a fan of a bangin’ soundtrack (you are, you know it), you will certainly enjoy this. Cinematic, immersive. Slay. 

And, our final recommendation is a show I’ve had the pleasure of listening to for the first time this week, @chainofbeing! Read our full review under the cut :))

Chain Of Being is a science fiction, narrative podcast, though honestly, I’d classify it as toeing the line of Weird Fiction, which is the greatest compliment I could give, considering it’s my absolute favourite genre. I will always adore a show that isn’t afraid to take itself to strange, unique places, and Chain Of Being commits one-hundred-percent to its atmosphere. It’s not the kind of show where you can just sit back and listen, it encourages you to meet it at its level, which I’ve found can be rare — especially in an age where most media will spoon feed you information — but very, very welcome.

Conceptually, the show is very strong. I love the combination of high Biblical concepts with hard sci-fi. It creates a deeply immersive atmosphere that you can lose yourself in, while still using just enough cues for a modern audience to enfold themselves in the world without too much separation. Its unique setting makes it stand out in the world of AD, and that’s only improved by the stellar sound design. Especially the first few remastered episodes are so deeply atmospheric and sonically unique, it feels greatly cinematic. The acting is great, and all voices are distinct and well characterised — which is often important in AD, especially one as high-concept as this, when the audience has so much to pay attention to. The writing is also clearly aware of the audience — knowing exactly what to do to engage them, while still respecting that they will do the work to fill in the blanks.

Highly recommend a listen, especially since their second season is in the works. Chain Of Being stands out in the landscape of audio drama as a great show. They’re crowdfunding this month too, so if you’re interested, definitely check out their own page here!

[peepos-prose]

Welcome to my Blog!

Hello! My name is Peepo (he/they - adult) and I've been around on writeblr for a while! I am a horror/dystopia writer that sometimes dabbles in fantasy and sci-fi with too many manuscripts on my hands that I'm trying to get in motion.

Below you'll find all of the projects I have in the works, and I'll do my best to keep things updated! Thanks for checking out my writing!

General Posts

Tagged In | Memes | Writing Things | My Art | Not Writing | Peepo’s Cheeps  | Other’s Work | Other’s Art 

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PYROPTOSIS

The planet we hoped would be our saviour now threatens to eat us alive.

Summary

Despite all efforts, humanity had driven itself to near extinction on Earth. Resources were low and natural disasters had ravaged the planet to ashes. After so many years, it was finally time to move on.

Damysus was the answer.

A group of elite researchers are sent across space to establish a colony on Saturn's moon, yet the harsh desert has no empathy, and each day brings with it new danger. Rhea is just one of the many scientists trying to tame the planet, faced with an ongoing food crisis she just can't fix. But when her girlfriend decodes a dark secret from an alien relic, they descend into the shadows to find the truth. And what started as an effort to settle down becomes an all-out panic to leave.

WIP Intro

Tags

Inspiration | Content

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Illusory Chronicles: Aphelion

Stranded on Earth, a species fights to survive against the human lust for More.

Summary

Decades after an asteroid belt collided with Earth, a dense fog still hangs in the sky, sapping energy from machinery and mankind alike. Yet, a strange new form of power is sweeping the globe, celebration and folly finding a place among the people.

But for Emerys, it’s just another Saturday.

Finally graduating high school, he can’t wait to put his horrible home life behind him. But, his freedom doesn’t kick off quite as expected, as a near-death experience awakens something powerful inside him. Powerful and confusing. Traveling across the country with a cheerful (and frustratingly cute) unicorn named Sunny, Emerys is thrown into a dangerous conflict, forced to unravel the truth of Earth’s mysterious energy source where the cost of failure is a fate worse than death. 

WIP Intro 

Tags

Inspiration | Content

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THE HOUSE ON DEARMAD

Walls of flesh, struts of bone, the House waits to claim you as its own.

Summary

Jessi M’Gie is a paranormal investigator with something to prove - a life spent yearning for more, he is dedicated to his audience, ever searching for his big break. And when it arrives, an old friend calling for help, he’s quick to make a move.

Deep off the coast of Ireland, hidden amidst a dense fog, sits the island of Dearmad. And on it’s rocky shores a lonely house takes root, so sinister that the locals refuse to step close. They say it has a mind of its own, where nothing can be trusted. But Jessi doesn’t have a choice. He needs to succeed. He needs to stay.

WIP Intro

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Things will be updated as they arrive, so please check back in every so often to see what's new :3 Thank you!

[moonchildxxsblog]

Update🧚🏻

✨since I haven’t expressed myself the past weeks, the progress is slow but steady it is not slow in itself but slow because I want to change 10000 but I changed a lot I see definitely progress I’m talking mentally first since this is a journey about habits

✨first things first it is probably the result of some umbrella affirmation but I have my complete complete shit together I didn’t even plan on doing it and I also didn’t think I will get stuff done that fast really within a few weeks I got almost every to do to zero no matter how excessive it was - I’m up to date with every responsibility and I deal with everything combined with manifestation really perfectly I don’t react and no matter who whines at me in the 3D I still manage to manifest the responsibility and get it done (speaking of everyday things and the last states I have to shift really „responsibility“)

✨so now up to habits - my doubts regarding manifestation (and of course I know everything is true but I talked about it before I had excessive uncontrollable doubts still they all accured as a purge) I’m not good at explaining it and it has nothing to do with anyone else a purge and all that is not part of manifestation it was just part of my own limiting belief - so this also has gotten a lot better I don’t want to give up anymore no matter what happens no matter how emotional I am the thought doesn’t occur anymore this is a not visible thing but for me huge huge progress (obviously I still don’t check the 3D and I still don’t consume social media I’m happy that this is now a habit)

✨I also don’t think about different methods and teachers also not visible progress but for me also huge because these 2 factors cost unnecessary time time is better invested in affirming I mean no matter what even if it’s „just umbrella“ but doubting searching all that is a complete waste of time and is so so so exhausting - but it’s something that I couldn’t just „decide“ I had to affirm myself to that state

✨though the somehow any kind of urge of instant gratification is still there I channeled it to complete productivity and other stuff (the instant gratification is more like any kind of stuff like dopamine drama or whatever)

✨I’m proud of myself but it is the journey that I’m on right now and need to be sticked out I know myself better than anyone and everyone is different - right now it is important that everything is a routine and „boring“ no „excitement“ I need to fix foundations and not seek outside excitement that is short term and doesn’t fix the core I want a big big life change/state change these random other things won’t do anything- though for other people it’s fun but that’s what I learned in this whole journey I’m not them

✨this also may sound harsh I accidentally and also sometimes on purpose closed some people off but this is all about my mental health now and I don’t want to talk about my life to other people some people are sweet yes but either they understand that I sometimes need some weeks by myself or they don’t and that’s also fine - but dealing with my limiting beliefs and fighting strangers limiting beliefs on top that’s something I just stopped doing this year I’m not a people pleaser anymore and this alone already got me to this huge progress at least within

🧚🏻all of this is not a quick fix and I’m not looking for a quick fix just as an example if I have 1 umbrella affirmation and I affirm it 30min a day it will gradually change my life if I would do it 8 hours a day it would be super quick though I focus on multiple things right now so gradually is better for me - and habits are changed gradually since the 3D will come up with any kind of situation that will trigger the old habit and the new habit needs to become strong

🧚🏻and I probably shouldn’t write it but I think most people don’t know shit about manifestation otherwise they would come to the same conclusions like Sammy yes there is a small range of stuff that still can be „true“ but the range is not that big (Neville & Joseph Murphy obviously say almost the same)

🧚🏻my mood is still up and down but there is nothing that I can actively do about - the important thing is that I control my thoughts

🚫one thing I still absolutely need to work on is comparing myself to others I mean they are not in this journey so sincerely now more than anything I can’t compare myself with them at all anymore

[cheswirls]

I had a dream where you dropped a 100k saboace fic out of nowhere. It had a weird rating: a combination of “Not Rated” and something like “At Your Own Discretion”, with an E on a grey square.

It started with Sabo and Ace witnessing a normal, happy wedding, yet they both felt dread and unease for some reason. Also, 80% of the first chapter was a note in different languages.

LMao interesting. i think i got an email for this before the sun was up so i read it then turned over and went back to sleep. but since i've been up i've been thinking abt this

went back and checked to see if i had anything not already publicly published that would qualify and i think maybeeeee the cyberpunk au fits. idk how long any others would be but not 100k long. that one... yea that one i still stand by being my magnum opus when its done but i havent touched it in a bit soooooo we will see. 100k is a lot to drop all at once tho. i think i had it planned to start posting when pt 2 was in progress but it'd be staggered enough to give me a head start on writing/editing pt 2. and there's no shot that pt 1 by itself hit 100k so

actually while i was writing that smth popped up in my mind. the sy rewrite (it's labeled 'system' here if anyone wants to dig stuff up abt it) that is probably still years down the line will def be that long, and i wanted to start posting that when it was completely written. idk that i would do that all at once, but that is an option! i decided that before i stuck the no-posting-wips rule on myself a year or so ago. i think, actually, that i wanted it to be 100% written and somewhat edited, and then edit as i go w/ consistent updates. buuuuuut i did a trial-and-error of that with tsdf (the hs au) and that obviously has not been going well, and since i'm dead set on super long chapters for system (probably max 12-15, at like 25k+ words each), i think that would work even less. it'd have to be mostly edited, like 85% done, for me to consider posting before it's fully finished. but again, that's likely years away, bc i have to finish sy completely before i have everything at my disposal to do a rewrite.

that was prolly a longer reply than you wanted haha. idk if this is contrary to popular belief (i hope not!) but i can't write in anything but english. i can manage speaking and reading to an extent, but if i've typed out smth in another language, i'm using a translator tool (sometimes several) to do so.

anyway/// weird that i am in your dreams but i hope that's a good thing :) hopefully i'll have smth to update soon

[klug]

Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop Final Story Impressions

This is a repost of something from privatter for my Twitter. I think my opinions are about the same as most fans, it's mostly negative/disappointment.

⚠️ Mostly negative opinions. I will focus on the overall game experience first and then story.

> Good points

I loved the final boss battle BGM. It was really really good.

This game has so many side stories that I love because they explore aspects of the characters that aren't touched on much, so I can't really hate it. Ally and Rafisol have my favorite side stories, but I'm also fond of Klug and Risukuma's.

A lot of the main stories are also really good, Ecolo and Accord's specifically.

This game has a wonderful presentation and I can tell the devs poured a lot of their love into this game. The amount of collectibles and flavor text and attention to detail for the shadow battles also made me so happy.

---

> Bad points

The online and various bugs in this game all just make this game very hard to play sometimes...it's good if you have a lot of people to play with locally, I guess.

The platform exclusivity and update schedule, but I don't really need to go into why these weren't good.

The translation quality was inconsistent in several places and there should've been more quality checking. I'm not sure if the translators just never cross referenced each other's work, but it was so weird to go from very well translated stories to ones that just got subjects wrong or made ridiculous inferences that weren't in the original.

---

Onto my feelings on the story...

It is about what I expected, but somehow it's worse than what I expected. As the main stories continued, I noticed there was no true plot progression and most of the newer episodes were dedicated to reiterating information that the players should've already known or inferred from earlier stories. At that point, I accepted the ending wouldn't be anything spectacular despite how incredible the beginning chapters were, but the ending was abrupt, everything felt too easy, and there were a few developments that didn't feel foreshadowed at all.

Why did not!Sig want to control the dream world anyway? We didn't see anything of this plan in Satan or Ecolo's stories either. How could it have only taken 2 Puyo battles with Amitie to beat Sig, anyway? He (and Strange Klug!) are treated as ridiculously powerful characters, and Sig's Secret shows this too. Why did the ending only involve Satan, Ecolo, Arle, and Ringo -- people who really aren't as close to Sig as his own classmates? Why weren't Accord or Lemres there after being so heavily involved with Sig and Meena?

It felt like they just needed to slap an ending onto this story somehow. And Sig's story itself was even somewhat of a letdown for me. I thought it was very very funny, but I was a bit sad to see that we didn't get to see anything very interesting after Meena took some of his powers. It felt like there was seven supposed to be a chapter between Sig and the final chapter focusing on not!Sig and what he was doing because, let's be honest, he barely showed up. The fact that he wanted to control the dream world was very sudden and only came out at the very end.

I think all of this just hurts more because I've always really liked Sig, Amitie, and the crimson spirit and their connections lore wise so I was excited to see it touched on in more detail but...we don't really have anything new now. A lot of this story felt like a combination of the novels "Everyone's Dreams Coming True?!" And "Sigs Secrets", both which I honestly like better than Puzzle Pop.

The amount of lore drops and teasing with the crimson spirit also just hurt me more. I'm very dedicated to her as a character ,so it felt like they were just showing her off only to pull out the rug from under me by not actually involving her in the story...? This is entirely a tunnel vision take, but I do think it is hard to write a story like this without being more explicit about the fact she exists...

I hope this story at least creates a point for them to jump off from in the future since the scattered lore in audio dramas/books is more consolidated here, but it feels like this is how they're ending this subplot with Sig and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Because my aforementioned favorite ends up getting the short end of the stick.

[wormhole2anywhere]

Attention passengers, this is your conductor speaking!

Thank you for choosing Monochrome Railway. My name is Ray and I will be accompanying you for the ride. First, let us review safety precautions when boarding the train, whether it's for a single specific trip to a station or a recurring trip from one station to another.

Safety Checks (Rules):

I do not mind which passengers board this train, as I do not feel obligated to exclude those people whose views are different than mine as long as they pertain to a bare minimum set, in which case I will as swiftly as possible procure the continuation of a safe space in which to consume my works, I will take the liberty to take necessary measures if the situation arises.

Continuing from the first point, I am not to be held responsible for the possible outcome of interactions stemming from my own activity that are not directly related to me. Though I have my own views (which you can consult further down), I am used to separating art from artist to a certain degree, as such, there is a possibility yo end up seeing content from accounts you do not approve of.

Anyone is free to interact as long as they remain civil. This one doesn't need much explanation, I enjoy the attention my posts might get, and as a result I enjoy seeing what people think of my content as long as they behave.

Content will be warned accordingly for the sake of the consumer, please let me know if I ever miss a content warning, but do so tastefully.

With the safety checks out of the way, allow me to state frankly my own views that can and will affect the content shown in here:

I am not a proshipper. I know people exist with different views than I, and I let them be, however, content that is excluded in a non-proship view will not be present in a positive manner.

I reserve the right to not avoid the content excluded by the point above if it is mandatory for setting purposes. I will never paint it in a positive light because I do not find enjoyment from it, however, I find that in certain cases it is mandatory to address things vital to a story that are not tasteful in my views for the sake of narrative.

I may write spoilers of storylines I know the full extent of. People who are spoiler avoidant will be warned in the post itself, however, sometimes points that may be deemed spoilers might be vital for my works.

I mostly write and draw about my hyperfixations. I cannot be tied to a lone specific piece of content unless my mind is very into it, so content may change drastically over time.

This Monochrome Railway line has no specific set destination, however, stations it might stop in are:

Gear Station: It is not a rare occurrence to see the Subway Bosses when you come along for a ride in Monochrome Railway, as connections and partnerships made sure to anchor this train to at least monthly visits to that station.

Puyo Puyo/Madou Monogatari Station: Just as frequently as Gear Station, Puyo Puyo/Madou Monogatari are often frequented mostly for the sake of meeting an appointment with a certain horned devil.

Orsterra & Solistia Joint Station: White-haired clerics and dark-haired scholars keep the train from omitting this station on occasion, it may be accompanied by dirty blond little lambs in need of guidance.

Pokémon Station: Separate from Gear Station due to its more general nature, Monochrome Railway occasionally visits the Pokémon World as a whole.

Zenithian Station: Though this one is lately more in the back-burner, it is expected this station is revisited soon, as the various worlds in need of heroes to slay dragons and do quests are soon to have a few new interesting additions.

That will be the full line for now! If new stations were to arise, this post will be updated accordingly, so keep an eye out for a possible update on the Information Board!

As a last addition, this conductor will be working on extensive guides of both preferred content and original content for better navigation. As soon as it is finished it will be linked so as to ensure you learn how to navigate the various contents each station may produce.

Thank you for reading until the endstaying until the end of this announcement! Without further ado, let us aim for victory! All aboard!

[spider-phoenix]

Tagging 🕸️ Guide

posted 02/06/23

updated 02/06/23

All tags intended for navigation on this blog will be prefaced with 🕸️:

Tags that are for reach won't have this.

All tags - minus the content warnings - have been added to this post, so feel free to click on them and browse.

Navigation

🕸️: watercolour

🕸️: spiderfire

🕸️: fantasize

🕸️: sketchbook

🕸️: spider-totems

🕸️: order up

🕸️: talk2me

🕸️: offtopic

Content Warnings

TW: suggestive

TW: canon violence

TW: iamgay

TW: angst

TW: cringe

all applicable posts will have the correct community label, if you believe a post has been mistagged feel free to shoot me a message.

Explanations for each below the cut ⊹

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ ♫ ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Navigation

Theories and commentary on the movies in relation to the art style, animation techniques, colour theory, and general composition. Doesn't include lore related theories unless they specifically relate to these ideas.

Art and writing for my spidersona ! Check out his intro post for more info (coming soon)

Writing for the characters, mostly featuring trans readers. I write for male characters and readers more often than others, but I'm willing to switch it up. Headcanons will also show up under this tag.

Fanart for the show and characters, featuring canon spiders only. Comic characters or beta designs may be featured, and posts including both a canon spider and a spidersona can have this tag.

Fanart and writing for all spidersona's outside of my own, including requests, commissions, fan projects, and gifts for friends.

Completed requests ! I do fully custom mood / still boards (including all original images + art), fanart, short writing, and a few other misc things.

Asks or submissions of any kind, as well as reblogs of posts tagging me or other instances of me communicating with my mutuals or followers.

Self explanatory, off topic posts. Although rare for this blog, these posts may include updates on myself, my activity on tumblr, projects I'm working on, or the blog itself.

Content Warnings

I don't post explicit content of any kind on Tumblr at all, however I may include suggestive material in some posts. I tag these accordingly and will sometimes use cuts on the posts, however I don't censor most things. I am very anti-censorship and pro-content warnings, don't question it. fiction does affect reality, I should know, however no one wants to hear my essay long opinions on the topic so don't bring it up, for ur own good.

Canon violence includes any violence or extreme emotional distress that happened in direct canon. Small things such as someone getting punched once don't really count, this tag is mainly for anything large that renders a warning.

Posts that are literally just me fawning over Hobie will be tagged with this, including self-shipping art and such. I know some people might not want to see that so I figured I'd throw a tag on there for anyone who'd rather skip it.

Anything not canon that features violence or emotional distress, headcanons, writing, and art may be included in this.

Posts mentioning or related to typical "cringe culture" topics. Includes fictkin, MOGAI micro-labels or xenogenders, neopronouns, etc. This tag is mostly a joke, cringe culture isn't dead but she did transition, she's catgender she/it/paw now. On a serious note, if you're not interested in those kinda things that's chill, you can avoid the tag.

[writingmochi]

lissie: eyyo? EYYO?! :0 :0

no worries about that because i still have things on schedule with all the wips i'm interested in finishing first (do check the newly updated wip page). chromaquest is such a darling to me because i love the world of undertale/deltarune so much. definitely a "power of friendship" moment with that one.

yeah, i definitely did notice that but with the abundance of a.i. and many similar-ish formats going on, it sometimes limits writers from their fullest potential. my friend specifically noted that their plagiariser has a different writing style in their other fics than the one that is plagiarised so i can definitely understand. i also have a pretty unique writing style that adapts to what the story wants (fixed pov or fluid pov, analogies and numerous chekov's guns, etc) that makes me unique (let's just hope that the plagiariser doesn't repost the plagiarized fic unless changes are made and stated)

i've also gotten back into reading recently and getting locked in is HARD. it's the reason why i like to elongate prose so that it helps the reader getting immersed. also, specific descriptions of anatomical and appearance features (length of hair, color of skin, etc) are a turn off for me that couldn't make me gush as much as i hope for the fic review itself. it's the reason why my mcs are all ambiguous when it comes to appearance, other than fashion even if most of the settings i set the stories in are korea or asia-adjacent locations unless stated otherwise

me and @/maggstar discussed on her post about the abundance of pwp/rough smut being featured in most enhypen fics and how it practically alienates a bunch of people who don't enjoy it and prefer softer smut/love making with a reason why the characters do what they do. usage of tags is also discussed in how writers use the smut tag when their fic doesn't have smut. it's the reason why i have such a small list of tags i used + too many tags = post glitches and not showing up on explore, especially when you write long fics

one look give 'em whiplash big drop with a big flash

can't wait to play mouthwashing then (maybe i will stream it to my discord friends cause i don't like playing horror games by myself) omg NOT LADS. i don't wanna invest my sanity and money in lads istg a bunch of my irl friends play lads and i, as a former mystic messenger girly, already know what to expect. ik sylus is handsome as fuck (two of my friends are obssesed with them and i do see him as more of an astarion type instead of wyll-karlach) but i fear if i play lads, i might not write lol and i could probably call myself a hypocrite because i've been reducing my smartphone usage since in 2021 + i still have mystic messenger to replay. i don't wanna go near lads for my own well-being :")

status post are like little thoughts that i wanna write about writing or just groups that i write in general. a kind of post for me to yap actually. don't confuse it with the #ignore the ramble posts that are a bit more controversial (that's where i tag my release reviews and let's just say that i am strict to score my favs release. doesn't mean that i don't enjoy them too thos but they are musicians after all)

Hey Lissie! I read through your lengthy exchanges with @faeyun while scrolling through my feed thinking 'omg what a coincidence, I was just thinking about fandom culture and stuff the day before' and you guys covered up so so much I could barely cover up everything you guys said into one coherent ask but to be honest (and to be straightforward) you've genuinely been my no. 1 aspiration on this app alone for the longest time and no it's not just because we're both orang Indo 😭✋✋✋

It pained me a little seeing how you felt jealous of other writers for writing 'hits' and what not because BABES.

Isobel. Motion Picture. Terra Incognita. Future 'Menari Dengan Bayangan' stories. I only said.

There are so many fics you wrote that I have on my tbr for the longest time which I haven't been getting to because, if you have not noticed, I don't particularly enjoy reading as much as I do writing (subi just admit that you're a slow reader—) but also the fact that... I just think so many of your works are so cool I feel overwhelmed on which to read first 😭😭😭 PLEASE HELP ME GRAHHH

Cuz I started following you when I was a minor (16?17?) So the only fic I COULD read... Was the Niki ramen burping one (WHICH BTW UVE SEEN YOUR REBLOGS IVE SEEN YOUR REBLOGS I EXPLODED AT SKME OF THE LORE YOU DROPPED IMMA GET BACK TO IT IMMA GET BACK) and thought 'okay if the piece contains smut I'll just leave it for me to read when my birthday comes up in the next few months...'

*next few months*

*realizes that just because I'm 18 doesn't mean I magically am comfortable with reading or writing smut* well sh*t.

This is not to say your works are inheritently 100% black out devil's tango, no, I just noticed that they do contain heavier topics in general and... I do want to mentally prepare myself for those things. But also yeah main takeaway is: idk which to read first 🥹 so, i feel like this is long overdue but, could you help reccomend me which one of your works to read first? It doesn't have to be the works I just mentioned, it can be anything else 🫶🫶 I recently added a lil upgrade to my blog where I mentioned some works I enjoy and works that have inspired my writing as a whole (ahem as inspired by someone *cough cough*) so, yeah in conclusion you're cool asf 👍

Yours truly, subabooba 🧋🧋🧋🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

lissie: hiya subibuba! i guess that i didn't expect such a lengthy reply to our convo but i'm also glad to see it anyway...

i'm glad that our convo is insightful enough for you. many opinions and agreements are being uttered through these convo, but i'm sure that it will be insightful cause the people who visited this blog could also know about how i felt about this whole thing and the state of this place as a whole

thank you so so much for that. i mean, i'm probably one of the active indonesians here, especially in txtblr and enhablr, and now there's you too! i'm glad that i could inspire you so much also

i do think being jealous is normal. it means that you want to strive for your best and continue to improve, and one of the ways to improve for me is to be experimental. all the fics you mentioned aren't like the others. isobel with the magical realism, motion picture soundtrack with the slow-burn drama, terra incognita with the cyberpunk sci-fi, menari dengan bayangan with the 24-hour time limit, and i only said with its isekai story. that + all the other additional things i made to immerse myself and readers into the world of the story (terra incognita with the opening sequence and fics with playlists)

thank you for even considering reading my fics. as i mentioned many times before, people are actually afraid of the large word count. but, honestly, big word count helps me actually delve deep into the fics i write. hence why it can be interpreted so much and why, as i have also mentioned too, i like to create discussions. i love how after i released motion picture soundtrack, most of the feedback i have gotten is about the bullying aspect of it all and the discussion surrounding it. it becomes a talking point in a larger conversation outside the realm of kpop fanfiction

i genuinely respect you so much for that because you have so many temptations to read smut here and you don't! very proud! you mentioning it makes me realise that i *do* have written many heavier topics, not just the devil's tango. it's pretty much a reflection of things that i am thinking. but i do have so sfw fics like the rest of menari dengan bayangan will all be sfw, but some have strong themes as well such as for sunoo's and jaeyun's. a few of my wips are also sfw like the tyunkai we are dreamers one i mentioned and all enha maknae line wips, especially chromaquest, cause new deltarune updates are here in june YIPPEE

i see your update about the inspo deck. i can't wait to read what you have written inspired by mouthwashing. i bought the game but haven't played it because i still have to finish baldur's gate 3 (and its nearly 200gb in size so that u can uninstall it to play more games)

i will curate you, user hyukassubi: a personal guideline for the current writingmochi-verse with the starting point from besok mungkin kita sampai !

i will recommend you crossroads next, a jay fic that elaborates on the themes mentioned in besok mungkin kita sampai, but with a bit of slow-burn romance between them. set in years 2 and 3 of high school, and it is very wholesome and still is my self-proclaimed magnum opus. definitely read this while also listening to the playlist.

after that, smirch! it is set in high school, but more on a delinquent style. it is a enha and txt 01-03 liner series where every member has their own part and own mcs. i only have published heeseung and jay and still plotting down taehyun's. i do think this is a very VERY underrated series of mine and i want to go back to writing this so bad ughh

if you want a more challenging story and still sfw, do read ashen next! it is my halloween special beomgyu fic about cinderella and how, maybe, mc might be cinderella? i had a moot of mine live reacting to this fic, and istg it's the funniest thing i have ever read and i can't wait for you to be amazed and shocked by it hehe

if you're ready to have a bit more adult theme to it, try a story of two broken hearts. set in high school about jake and mc fake dating because their crushes dated each other. it has, what i say, non-explicit smut. implications written but not full on descriptive smut. it is actually my first fic ever when i start my blog and i still love it so much. they're unlikely but ugh the angst still hurts me. i'm reminded of the climax of the fic and it still give me chills.

lastly, i will recommend time wave series. probably my most ambitious series cause it has yeonjun and soobin, and with beomgyu, jake, jay, and jungwon spin-offs in the future. it is a 100k+ word count of a series with supernatural and childhood best friends rekindling, with time travel.

then, if you are comfortable enough, you can start reading the heavier ones. i probably start with i only said because of its lighter fantasy high school theme and then troubled pixies, then motion picture soundtrack for heavier high school aus

i sure hope that that is enough of a guideline and thank you so much for this. i had the widest smile on my face whilst i'm writing this :3

yours truly, lissay <3

[ryndicate]

꘏ General ꘏

About

This blog (mainly) creates and also interacts with dark content. I place warnings for all my content, so proceed at your own risk.

we are very very multifandom here. i hyperfixate a lot, and my adhd is sitting proudly at the wheel. whatever character my brain chooses for the day is usually how it goes. characters I write for are linked in my masterlist even if I haven't put anything out for them yet. I add as I go

I’ll be real and say that I frequently dip away from tumblr for a couple days rather often; I have a low social battery that drains even when I’m shitposting to no one in particular. But I love to chat so don’t hesitate to send an ask, I’ll get back to them next time I’m online :)

DNI’s 

My content is not suited nor intended for minors. 18 and up please and thank you. If you don’t have an age marked somewhere visible I will block. “18+” “adult” “legal” etc are not acceptable and will result in a block.

Blank blogs annoy the piss out of me but I'm too lazy to block them all so just have an age listed okay.

do not interact with my content (reblogs especially) if your own blog rules are not 18+. If i see 17+ or similiar, that makes me uncomfortable.

no dc anti’s (if you know how to scroll past, this doesn't include you) hate will be ignored. if you don’t like my content, the stuff i reblog, or the things i say, just block me or unfollow. 

if you ask for part 2s. it’s a rude thing to do in general. 

Rules and Asks

I typically answer all my asks, I don't ignore people so if I'm taking awhile to respond it's either because i havent seen it or I'm thinking on a response. However, if I think an ask is worded in a way that would make others or myself uncomfortable, check my return to sender tag. I'll probably have made a post with a response without directly posting the ask itself.

I do need a listed age to feel comfortable responding! Please no trauma dumping. And I'm awful at writing comfort so pls no "what would Chara do" h/c situation asks 🥲 I'm bad at them. Awful. The result of my attempt would somehow make your day worse. For your own mental health just pls do not lol.

I'm down with being called bb/babes,girl by just about anyone. But bitch/bestie/love are reserved for mutuals and discord friends, those are very important terms of endearment for me and it feels off getting them from people I don't know.

If you send me compliments about my writing we’re valentines. this isn’t even my own rule, this is cosmic law. 

Writing Info

I write every day, but I write and post at my own pace, the pace my irl life allows. If something is listed in my wips, I’m working on it so please don’t demand content from me.

The stuff I write is usually explicit, and even when it’s not has mature, dark, or unsettling natures to it. Not every fic will include these topics but beware they may contain incest, a/b/o, monsterfucking, horror, yandere etc. Here’s a little link to give you an idea on more, listing them can get tedious so i keep it separate and update it as I go.

I don’t do requests (commissions aside) but if you want to tell me your thoughts on a character, or maybe put them in a messy little situation, it might spark something in my mind and a little something might come of it, you never know ;3

what do i not write... hm. scat. vore. the Obvious. Other than that this is a really tough Q bc my mood switches up a lot. Sometimes I go on a single trope spree, other days I will write criminal level fluff in one hour and shiver inducing dark alley shit in the next. I have so much range, please expect me to use it.

[ohheyitsokay]

just a day

welcome to the poly frontier? 

listen absolutely no shade to the other authors who write triple frontier poly fics (I got permission) I just wanted to try my take on what relationships with this group of guys would look like - and I honestly think my execution is going to look really really different. This one’s just for me to explore and start to develop the dynamics, so I really hope you all enjoy!

note: I’m going to say this is an 18+ series, sorry!

pairing: triple frontier guys - Will “Ironhead” Miller, Santiago “Pope” Garcia, Francisco (Frankie) “Catfish” Morales, and Ben “Benny” Miller x (f) reader

wordcount: 2k?

warnings: obviously a poly relationship, which includes kissing, domestic intimacy with all of them (not just with the reader, but not in-between Will and Ben because nope), mild sexual themes

another note: I will not be fetishizing male/male relationships, nor will I be including any romance or sexual between the brothers

>>

You wake up tucked into Will’s chest, his beard tickling your hairline like he fell asleep kissing it. Hand on his chest, you feel the steady rise and fall of it, slow and peaceful in the murky morning light. His arm is around your shoulder, half tangled in your hair, and there’s another arm tucked around your waist from behind - Santi's.

Pressing a kiss to Will’s collarbone, you gently begin the process of extracting yourself, apologizing with soft squeezes instead of words. Their hands find each others in their sleep, and you almost think you made it, for once, before Will’s blue eyes find yours for just a moment. It happens every morning – they need to know you’re okay. 

Verifying the time, he gives a bleary smile before rolling, free arm searching for a pillow to hold against his body in your place during the precious few minutes he has before he needs to get up, too. 

Frankie is in the kitchen already, and of all of them, he’s the best at hearing your quiet footsteps. His arms wrap around your frame, gathering you into him as he relishes the feeling of just you and him, for a moment.

Your nails run over his back, and he shudders at the feeling, smiling at you a little as the two of you pull things out of the fridge. It’s unreasonable, how many groceries you all go through, but feeding them is important to you, a love language in itself. Frankie was the first awake – his coffee is already brewing. In half an hour, give or take, Will and Santi will wander out, and the smells in the kitchen will change, but not yet.

For now, it’s dark roast coffee and there are quiet crunches of the apple you tossed into his broad palm. It’s not enough for the whole day so you tuck a breakfast bar into his work bag for later, with and extra jacket and a water bottle. There’s no need for notes, with him, the slow kisses he shares with you at the door are more than enough to bring him home to you in the evening. Before he can give up his time with you his hand slips under the shirt you’re wearing, just running over your bare side like he has all the time in the world. 

Then his hat is firmly on his head, and he brushes his rough thumb over your cheek, looks at the stairs to the bedroom with just a touch of longing, and slides out the door.

You’re mixing peanut butter into a premade jar of overnight oats when Will wraps his arms around you from behind, pressing his warm chest against your back. He’s tired – more than the others, and you let him borrow your strength for long moments. Santi watched from the doorway, giving them too you, his eyes fiercely affectionate, before he sandwiches Will between you half crushing you with their weight.

Laughter is a good way to start the day, even if it breaks the quiet. 

They bump into each other, happy, but silently arguing over who’s turn it is, before Santi relents and slips off to the shower. When you hand Will the jar, he kisses your temple before your mouth, and his hand is firm on your hip. He makes you eat with him, would make you pancakes if he had time, and asks what you’re working on today. His fingers flip the pen in his hand, but he’s too distracted by you to work through the paper like he did before. It’s new, all of you sharing the same space, and there are pros and cons. 

Then they trade places and Santi's body is damp and insistent as he kisses you, a little too needy for a man who has less than twenty minutes before he has to leave. You cant really deny him, though, indulging his touching while exploring him in turn, before pushing his distractingly bare chest away from you. He talks about his day a lot, considering it hasn’t happened yet, but his passion is contagious. He isn’t planning on telling you, but he fixed a bug on your laptop last night before he went to bed, and hid your favorite chocolate in your desk.

The kitchen smells like juice and granola now, and the ache of waking up is seeping out of your limbs.

When Benny comes out, you expect him to complain about the noise, but he doesn’t, just ruffles his hair and hugs Santi sleepily from behind.

His energy hasn’t quite built for the day, but he cant really sleep in like he wants to, and likes to see them off. He was restless last night, you could tell even with Santi between you on the bed, and you wonder if he relaxed at all. You give them space, retreating to get yourself ready and set up in your home office, pausing to send Will off with kisses and well wishes. When he forgets his timing and kissed down your neck, you hook your fingers in to his belt loops and he almost calls in sick.

It doesn’t happen, though, he’s too responsible without extra encouragement, and his eyes crinkle as he promises to continue, later.

Then it’s Santi and Benny’s turn, looking silly with the former prepared for tedious meetings and the other in his pajama's with a duffle bag, but that’s how it goes, sometimes. 

When Benny finishes at the gym, he finds you working away, lost in your music, and hovers at the door for awhile before his eagerness for you wins out. His hands are needy, but he doesn’t say words – his eyebrows speak for him and you nearly give in to his big, pleading eyes. 

He likes it when you run your hands through his hair, and you do, and press a promise into his cheek with your lips. You know today isn’t a day he wants to plan fights or check emails or update his socials, but he gets to it anyway, waiting for you, and needed to feel productive. They’re all too smart, beautifully, wonderfully overpowered with strength and mind and love and you know they cant help but direct it somewhere, Benny included.

As you finish your work for the morning your phone tells you the others are meeting up for lunch, and you thank them individually for the chance to give Ben a little extra attention.

Last night’s fight hadn’t gone great. The four of you had rallied behind him afterwards, patching him up while Santi yelled about justice and Frankie forced him to eat and drink, but now was time for something different. You were the center of this world they’d created, the one who’s undivided attention meant everything to them. 

Ben rarely wanted to talk about the pain, during, needed to punch it out at the gym or be soothed by Santi's validation before seeking you for heated, slightly painful kisses. Now, though, he’s frustrated with himself, and seeing it hurts in your chest like the cut across his skin.

You settle onto the huge bed in his corner, offering him your arms and a smile that soothes the throbbing in his bruises. This is a moment just for the two of you, and he takes full advantage, tucking his head onto the pillow of your chest and letting your hands wander his shoulders and hair and neck. Ben starts out ranting, but gets distracted along the way, soaking in your attention and the sliver of skin exposed on your stomach.

He kisses along the line, unable to resist half smiling at you as he licks it, almost losing himself to the temptation to go a round with you all on his own. They wouldn’t mind, really, but he doesn’t, just shifts back up to press your mouth against his. It’s slower and it’s nice for him not to have to be intense, with you.

The afternoon is spent quietly, both of you working diligently, knowing the others are doing the same, so you can cherish your precious free evening. You find a note from Frankie, a little inside joke that he knows will remind you of a story, and it makes you text him something that will make him laugh. 

At some point Santi calls you, frustrated, needing to verbal process, and the three of you on speaker phone navigate it with the gusto of heroes on a fantastical adventure. Will’s logic is absent with him, but you get the feeling it hardly matters, this time around. In truth, Ben is better at working the tightness out of Santi’s voice, and when you talk, you can hear him sigh like you’ve scrubbed a bit of darkness out of his day. 

When he gets home his mood is much improved and he picks Benny up with a grunt, spinning him around once, thick arms careful of the younger man’s sore spots. You get an equally soft kiss, and you smack him when he squeezes your ass, a glint in his eye.

There’s still a bit of shyness in Ben as he asks Pope to look over the videos from the fight, still a bit of awe and raw respect for the older man, and it makes you melt a little to see. The men are tentative sometimes, about the developments in their relationships with each other, but some things needn’t change. 

The couch is nice, a recent purchase, and you have a matching chair you like to settle in, mostly ignoring the distant voices and glancing out the window through the leaves of a large tree in the front yard. There’s a story on your phone you’ve been meaning to catch up on, and it’s peaceful, reading as the clouds float by.

There’s sounds of tires rolling over the gravel, and it makes you laugh when you open the door to see Ironhead and Catfish carrying no less than a small crate of take-out from Benny’s favorite Italian place. Unpacking it, Will spends more time invading your space, catching up, and flirting with you than Frankie does. He would never say it aloud, but he’s excited to see the reaction to their surprise.

He gets a perfect one – Benny yells when he smells it, and is jumping up and down, and the way Frankie’s chest puffs tells you it was his idea. Will gives you a squeeze and you know he’s proud, too, if for different reasons. He takes the moment of distraction, while the attention is on his brother, to slip his hand in your back pocket and kiss you without anyone noticing. If he had his way, he would yank you into the laundry room, but the idea of eating together keeps your feet planted and he sighs against your mouth. 

The boys eat like they’re starved, before they’re grabbing at you, coaxing you into the living room, and you’re beyond thankful there’s not really dishes to do. It’s not that they would make you do them, but it’s nice for all of you to be able to ride out the remarkably low-effort evening. 

Santi is insistent it’s his turn – the others have all had their time with you today, and only Will grumbles. They compromise, your legs over the later,  your side in the protective hallow of the formers chest. You choose a movie at random, knowing they’ll talk through it if you do. It’s nice, to listen to them banter from the cozy arms wrapped around you.

They get caught up talking about an old friend you’ve never met, and Frankie tries to explain things to you as they rapid-fire stories and bets on where he is now. You roll your eyes when you lose track again and again, but it’s full of joy, and he catches it before getting pulled into a ridiculous debate. 

Hands run over your calves, gently kneading, and you wonder if Will even knows he’s doing it – taking care of you is his second nature.

The film is finished but the talking hasn’t, now moved on to the inaccuracies in the movie as they try to outdo each other with random useless knowledge. There’s no real annoyance in their voices as they bite at each other, and you think that really, nothing has changed, and it’s good.

At some point you doze off.

There’s hushed arguing, and Frankie wins, scooping you into his sturdy arms and carrying you to bed. He likes the way you murmur your thanks, and his heart pounds as you sleepily pull off his hat and toss it somewhere. It makes him feel like you knew it was him, could feel it was, even in your mostly unconscious state. It’s a nice feeling, and he tucks it away in his mind, hoping to save it for if ever he get’s jealous. 

The sleeping arrangements are a mess – Will has tried multiple times to make cohesive charts, and none of them stick. It’s a tangle of limbs and everyone shifts depending on temperature and general neediness. Santi laments the choice of a movie over a long evening of unhurried lovemaking, and receives and smack on the stomach in return. It makes you wake, halfway, and when your arms reach for him, he forgets his previous complaints.

They settle at their own pace, quiet conversations floating in and out of your dreams, and the sounds of teeth being brushed and plans being made make you smile. Tomorrow maybe, you’ll be up without a thought, awake and talking or kissing with whoever else didn’t need as much sleep, but for now, you didn’t mind. It was just day, with many before and many to come.

>>

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[wordsnstuff]

Guide to Drafting

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Planning v. Discovery

The first thing you must decide when you embark on the journey of drafting a story is how you’re going to get it done. Typically, there are two groups you can fit into, though most writers are somewhere in between. There are writers who plan meticulously before they begin writing to create a very clean first draft, or there are discovery writers (otherwise known as “pantsers”) who find more success in choosing a premise and then using a zero draft to explore the idea before gluing down any details. You are most likely someone who falls between those two methods. Some initial planning to feel familiar with your idea before you do some of the planning through the writing itself. Having some semblance of a method will help you narrow down your own process, which is immensely important if you want to get any substantial project near completion.

Consistency

Drafting is a difficult process because it’s either the revisitation of ideas you’ve already had, or the generations of ideas in quick succession. If you want to have a draft in a reasonable amount of time, you must develop a consistency in your writing. I won’t say that it must be a strict routine because time management can be a luxury, but you must make the consistent effort to write, and keep it in the forefront of your mind. Even if you don’t write every day, it should be something you try to make time for every day.

Know What You’re Trying to Accomplish

To get a draft done, you need to set expectations for yourself and they must be realistic. That doesn’t mean they have to be easy, or an amount of work you’ve been able to accomplish in the past. Considering how much time you dedicate to writing and your skillset, it should be a goal within reality. In addition, you must accept that you cannot create a masterpiece in one draft. For each version of your story that you write, you must have a focused goal, such as maintaining consistent characterization, making the plot concise and engaging, or making the prose more fluid and efficient. If you have a specific and attainable goal that you can accomplish in a reasonable amount of time with a fair amount of precision, each draft will be better than the last.  

Designate Work to Phases

As mentioned in the last section, it maximizes your time and effort to have specific and attainable goals for each draft. This doesn’t mean that you rewrite the draft each time (though that is very common amongst writers), but that you designate tasks to draft versions. I find it very helpful in clearing my mind and soothing my perfectionist anxiety to make a “schedule”, outlining what I’ll accomplish in each version following the zero draft. For example, my draft schedules usually end up something like this:

Zero Draft: Main plot line, basic characterization, key world building

First Draft: Finalize Timeline, research for world building, structure

Second Draft: (Rewrite) Plot Development Fine Tuning

Subplot development

Foreshadowing

Build up to climaxes

Tone & Pace

Third Draft: (Intermittent Rewrites) Character Development Fine Tuning

Backstory

Subtextual Development

Making sure motivations are clear

Relationships between characters

Reinforcing character arcs

Checking dialogue

Fourth Draft: (Give to Beta Readers) World Building & Prose

Descriptions & Flow

Finalize settings

Checking grammar & punctuation

Reader Immersion

Fifth Draft: Incorporate Beta Reader Feedback

Write for Yourself First

In what some call the “zero-draft”, there are no rules. This draft is purely for your eyes. It’s you telling yourself the story for the first time. So, you don’t have to write in chronological order, or know the right word you’re looking for, or take a break every time you run into a problem. The purpose of the zero draft is to get a rough idea of as much of the story as you can and avoid getting snagged on minor details. This part is important. A lot of writers like to outline meticulously before they begin drafting and if that works for you, that’s great, but the majority of writers who attempt that get stuck in the planning phase, or burnt out on their story before a word of it exists. The easiest way to avoid those two situations is to do a zero draft, which can be as long or short as you want if it provides a skeleton for you to add meat to later.

Common Struggles

~ How do you estimate the number of words/chapters?... That depends on the genre, mostly. However, that’s usually something you decide in the second draft and beyond, and it can vary because of factors you haven’t got locked down until the plot and character arcs are firm or final. This is also something you’ll probably do a lot of tinkering with, and receive feedback on, especially from beta-readers, who can advise you on where natural breaks could occur from their perspective.

~ Why, after planning everything out, do I always struggle to write the draft?... 99% of the time, it’s because you’ve either burned yourself out, or accumulated too much pressure. When you put that much effort and time into a story, you can either slip into a headspace where you feel little excitement about it because you’ve already done all of the problem solving and had all of the revelations. It’s usually beneficial at this stage to take a step back (even if you’re not burnt out) and give your story some space, so that once you come back to it, you’re enthusiastic enough to fully realize your vision. If instead you’re struggling to write because you feel a lot of pressure to do justice for a story you’ve put so much love into already, take a step back, remember that the first draft is just for you, and work on letting go of the idea that the zero draft is meant to serve any purpose beside simply existing. 

~ How do I come up with the necessary scenes to move the story forward between major plot points?... Most writing problems can be solved by asking yourself the right questions. When you’re trying to figure out what your reader needs to see next in order to effectively set up the next major event, ask yourself “What would happen between event A and event B that would add context or make event B more impactful?”. Treat it like a real situation and try to map out all of the tiny, notable moments that would take place between the major plot points, and then assess those moments on the basis of how impactful they would be to the coming scenes, and whether they can add context, set the tone, or aide in the rising action.

~ How do I balance sticking to the draft and following my own creative instinct in the moment?... This is a judgement call. Sometimes you’ll realize that maybe you should have just stuck to the outline, but remember that you can always go back, rewrite, test things out, etc. Always save every version of every scene, just in case, and go wild. Don’t be afraid to take detours just to explore. The writing process is anything but linear. 

~ How do I maintain momentum in my writing progress when I constantly have distractions or other responsibilities that take priority?... Work at it. There’s no magic trick or piece of advice I could say that gets rid of your personal responsibilities. Write when you can, don’t make excuses on top of the reasons you have no control over, and remember that you create your own deadlines and expectations. Be kind to yourself, do what you can, and don’t spend potential writing time punishing yourself because there isn’t as much as you’d like. 

~ How should I designate space (words/pages) to specific scenes/description/conversations, etc?... Trust your instinct and remember you can always cut/add later. In the earlier drafts, I’d advise you try to create as much material as possible to work with, and in the later drafts, be ruthless when determining what is necessary and adds value, and what doesn’t.

~ How do I finish a draft if I regularly lose motivation or interest in my projects?... Accept the fact that motivation is fickle, and that no writer in history has ever maintained “inspiration” for any project from the beginning to the end. There are going to be days where you’re like “ugh this is not what I want to do right now”, probably more than there are days where you’re stoked to work on your project, but that’s reality. If your goal is to finish a draft, you must recognize that writing is work, and nobody wants to work all the time. Try to supplement the lack of motivation by setting a positive and enjoyable routine so that, even when you’re not particularly motivated, you still know that your writing time will be peaceful and comfortable. 

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