#i hate working with media queries

[munchboxart]

I don't know if anyone knows coding but I need to ask and I don't wanna ask on Stack but do media queries not work for borders?

I'm trying to get this vertical line to disappear when the window is under a specific size but it just refuses to work.

.vertical-line { border: 0; }

@ media only screen and (min-width: 963px) { .vertical-line { border: 0 1px 0 0 solid;} }

Added a space between @ and media so it doesn't actually tag. Like I tried border-left too and others but it just doesn't want to work

Edit: found the solution. I just had to put the CSS in it's own file rather than in-line on the same HTML file because the stupid site is old as shit

[sillylittlegirlthoughts]

Hiii maybe wroetoshaw festival fic? Can either be social media or irl🫶🫶

festival | wroetoshaw

thank you anon for this request!! this is if you, harry and friends went to a festival together. i might also write a fic where you meet harry at a festival if you’d be interested !!

w2s x reader

open for requests.





Harry smiled at you as he watched you primp yourself up on the train. Purely afraid of being rushed out into the festival once you arrived. You hated being rushed.

He admired you, watching as your eyes light up and your smile grew wider as you and chip discussed the anticipation you both had for the following days. On the train was you, Harry, Chip and Freezy. Many others were going. The remainder of the sidemen, Callux, Talia, Freya and Willne. To name a few. Your friend group were extremely lucky with their opportunities but they found it was always for work that they were meeting up. Yes, this weekend many people were bringing along their vlogging cameras but they weren’t there because they had to be everyone wanted to be there.

“I’m looking forward to a couple of pints,” Harry added to the conversation. Chip laughed, “Aren’t we all my friend.” As he held up his water bottle waiting for Harry to return the toast.

liked by taliamar, w2s and 32,679 others

y/n y/l/n: weekend loading…..

theburntchip, cal sitting beside y/n sobbing

calfreezy, i thought i was loved

y/ny/l/n, who told you that?

w2s, chip looks like he’s already had a weekend

theburntchip, bugger off

y/ny/l/n, he did just have to sit beside you for three hours

taliamar, so so so excited to see you!!!!!

y/ny/l/n, i miss you!!

callux, please hurry some of us need a drink

The four of us arrived at our hotel, eager to get out and explore the festival grounds. You loved hotels, something Harry knew. You were too busy looking for the reception to notice Harry had changed which hand was lugging his suitcase as he intertwined your fingers with the other. You finally broke out of your trance. “Hi Harry.” You smiled and he sheepishly smiled back.

Once you all arrived in your room, messages from the groupchat came flooding through. Everybody begging the four of you to hurry. “Tell Simon we’ll be there in a minute,” you groaned, unable to find your shoes. “I just need to find these shoes.” You rummaged through your suitcase that might have been a little too full. “These ones?” Harry queried holding up your shoes as you pulled them from his hands. “Yes! Oh my god.” Harry smiled as you kissed him on the cheek, scurrying to put your shoes on.

You and Harry made it to the lobby just after Chip and Freezy. A group, probably to others distaste, were gathered in the middle. All riddled with a buzz of excitement. It radiated as you smiled as soon as you seen the herd of them. “Y/n!” You heard one of them shout, only if you knew which one. Harry’s name was called soon after as he came into their view. “So good to see you.” Callux said as he embraced you. “Great to see you too.” You smiled at him before being welcomed by another’s embrace and then it carried on. Eventually, everyone arrived on the field for the festival. The good thing was, music was playing from every end on every stage. Everybody ran for a drink. “Would you like a beer?” Harry asked, pointing to the bar some were already off too. “Please, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.” He replied, giving your forehead a kiss before moving on.

As the sun went down, the atmosphere grew and drunk levels were significantly increased. You and Harry were dancing with one another, his hand sometimes resting on your waist but other than that it was reckless dancing. Unfortunately, as you danced your night away you knocked over a man’s beer behind you. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry—Let me, let me buy you another.” You scrambled as you picked up his cup, looking at him with apologetic eyes. “What the fuck! What the fuck!” He yelled, Harry turned around. “Hey mate, back off!” He shouted, the guy just laughing in his face. His girlfriend rapidly apologised logging her boyfriend through the crowd. “I’m so sorry. He’s so drunk. Sorry.”

Harry wrapped his arm around your shoulder as they walked away into the crowd. “Hey. You okay?” He yelled over the bustle of the crowd. “I’m fine, Harry. It’s just people when they’re drunk.” You said, it didn’t bother you but something about his anger felt so genuine even through the slurred speech and drunken eyes. Suddenly the crowd raved as the main artist came on stage. Harry nudged your arm with excitement. “For this first song, grab your significant other or maybe someone you care about.” Harry had never leaned into you faster his arms grasping your waist as he turned to face you. The song flowed as did your bodies. “I love you.” Harry spoke as he pulled you closer. “I love you more.” He pulled you in for a kiss and the night never felt younger.

y/ny/l/n posted!

liked by w2s, calfreezy and 23,216 others

y/n y/l/n: if i told you we only drank a little would you believe us?

w2s, i look out of it in everything im in

stephentries, you were

y/ny/l/n, you necked two pints in like 40 seconds

stephentries, i love my boyfriend 🥰

y/ny/l/n, you can have him

w2s, oi

willne, my shoulders are suffering

calfreezy, my heads suffering boy

taliamar, before my cowboy boots got destroyed thanks to simon

y/ny/l/n, men! i will get you new cowboy boots

[mabelpodcast]

some (non-Mabel-related) news

I went to a bookstore.

It’s a beautiful bookstore, maybe one of the world’s perfect bookstores. It sells used and new books, and there are comfortable seats and beautifully-curated collections created by the people who work there, people who obviously love books, and there are nooks and crannies and secret rooms and areas for children and art and bathrooms and no one will bother you if you want to wander and read first chapters for three hours, which we did. I bought a signed copy of a Caitlín R Kieran book for four dollars. I loved being there.

I also hated being there. This bookstore is Instagram famous. A solid fifty percent of the customers were influencers. They blocked aisles to stage photos. They pretended to read in the most aesthetic poses, with books whose covers complimented their outfits. There was an entire section of the store dedicated to “Book-Tok faves”. I tried to read some of these books, and found them unilaterally depressing - not because of their subject matter, or even because of their shocking lack of copyediting, but because of the clear and heartbreaking hoops each and every author so obviously had to jump through in order to sell their work. The game, as my wife put it, they all had to play. Social media. Followers and likes. The cultural capitol of diversity points. The apologism for lack thereof.

For the past year I have been writing romance novels. I’m going to be painfully honest about the three reasons I’ve been doing so: first, because I’m good at it (I’m a fast, skilled writer); second, because I like romance novels; and third, because I wanted money. I believe in the sanctity of art but also in the bills I have to pay. I wrote these books in a way that meant I would not be ashamed of them, nor of my attachment to them. They are not deeply, religiously personal, like HETTIE AND THE GHOST, but they are about flawed and damaged people trying as hard as they can to find one another, and that is a story-arc I will always stand behind. Also? They are funny. And I write good sex scenes. They are good books.

For the past three months I have been working towards publishing them. It’s been going well. I have had some meetings. Of the twelve literary agents I queried, three have offered representation. I have enough familiarity with the publishing industry to understand what this means: my work is considered marketable enough that I could, with a lot of work but with definite feasibility, make a career from these novels.

Here’s the problem. It’s come to my attention that I hate this industry. I hate the pandering, the reduction of story down to audiences and trends. I hate the “elevator pitch”, I hate the lack of ethics and environmental consideration in printing mass quantities of books, I hate advertising and marketing myself and making sure that I am palatable - just queer enough, just marginalized enough - to sell rather than put off. I hate participating in a system that I fundamentally despise; I came up with Cantrap Press’s barter system because I hate it. On a long journey home at night, surrounded by suburban sprawl, I realised that I couldn’t make this my career. It would drive me insane. These stories will not change the world but all stories are alive and to pinch and snip them into shapes palatable enough so a Big Publishing Company can successfully pimp them to a world of Book-Tok influencers sounds, to me, like a living nightmare. I won’t do it.

But: I have another problem. I do believe with all my heart that art should be accessible. At the same time, I also believe with all my heart that artists should be fairly compensated for their work. Running a small press is a wonderful and worthwhile endeavor, but it is a labour of love, like putting out a podcast entirely for free. It’s also a labour of money, and the rising costs involved mean that I wouldn’t break close to even if I were to print these books myself.

So what’s the solution? Here’s mine. I’m giving them away. I’ve done this before, and it felt like the purest form of myself. The books will be, always, entirely free to whoever wants them, under the domain of a Creative Commons License. There will be a donation button. You can pay what you like for them, pay what you think they’re worth, pay what you can afford, or pay nothing at all. No pressure. No judgement. My barter policy will apply to these, too, if you want to compensate me but don’t have the funds. I’ve come to terms with the fact that refusing to play the game means I’ll never make a lot of money from these books. I may not make any at all. But these are my beliefs. I have to abide by them. I’ll be able to look myself in the eye; you’ll get fun fiction for free.

In a post-apocalyptic society maybe I’d be riding a donkey around the countryside telling stories, and you’d repay me for my skills by making sure I had enough turnips and deer jerky and tinder and donkey medicine. Instead I’m a person who lives in a house with electricity and gas bills. The farmers I buy my vegetables from at the market deserve to be repaid for those vegetables and the weight of labour, capitol and resources they represent. I don’t resent anyone for their participation in the system. I resent the ever-tightening ropes around us all. The ways we are tracked and compelled and sold to, the advertisements masquerading as entertainment, and worse, as art, how it seems we are being moved increasingly towards a model of consumption as definition, but only under very specific umbrellas - four companies own all stories, now what will you buy to define yourself by their characters and worlds? If I choose not to participate, no company can own my stories. And now, neither can you.

Introducing Anarchic Candy.

And my first book to be released, COMEBACK.

PS: in a twist of fate that, as my wife put it, would be completely unbelievable if it appeared in a story, one of the agents who enthusiastically offered representation also represents the author of one of those Book-Tok-famous books I saw at the used bookstore. This didn’t make up my mind (I’d already made up my mind before that agent even contacted me) but it’s an ironic coincidence I really can’t ignore.

[thelongestway]

Epilogue, part 2! I think there will be one last chapter in this epilogue, but I'm not entirely sure - maybe I'll move it or its elements to another story entirely. Or maybe it's one of those things that would work best as a "missing scene" or a bonus. Need a bit of a breather to figure out if it's not superfluous, and New Year's Eve is a bit hectic with the planning!

I will find out somewhere in the darkness of liminal time. :P

Chapter 14

In the end, no amount of talking by itself could convince the former prisoners they had been headed to hell. Far too much in their lives had ridden on their contract with BreharWallHan being a good decision. Luckily, this Friend had had no time to dispose of the letters. It watched the adults reading over the crumpled, occasionally tear-stained papers written by the adult refugees. Once their confidence was shaken, the Friend read Shena's terse play-by-play of BWH interrogators just barely missing the Friend on Preservation, redacting all places and names. And for the kill shot, this Friend showed them the children's letters.

The adults broke. The Friend spent some time listening to their stories and walking them through their options, then left them alone to hug their children and think.

SecUnit had been observing the whole conversation from afar with a couple of drones, itself settled into a comfortable chair in the mess hall, feet up on a nearby counter, staring at the ceiling. The Friend tapped its feed.

SecUnit, is it true you've never seen "Protect and Serve"?

The SecUnit's face contorted. Two drones buzzed up to this Friend's face, direct with eye level. Another two flew up to the nearest speaker as it pulled Dandelion into their conversation.

Stop giving them lists!

Unless you want to watch contemporary medical drama, SecUnit…

NO.

Then I will have to ask people and give them your lists to pay you, the ship said with a laugh and disconnected.

The SecUnit added a third drone to glare at the Friend, specifically hanging in its line of sight towards the SecUnit itself.

I don't like realistic media. It said with an air of finality. And I filter out media with SecUnits. In the serials they're (a) always evil, (b) always faceless and stupid, (c) always kill humans. I hate that.

Something in the way it said that… No, not Protect and Serve. A different show.

The Friend queried for permission to send it files. After a long two seconds the SecUnit accepted. The Friend watched as it checked the files for malware, then opened an episode. Five minutes went by; the SecUnit watched in real time. Then it paused the show.

Why do you have this.

Sometimes this Friend needs to fill up space with heavy files or create noise for searches. It always tries to have some media on hand.

A drone flared its lens at the Friend.

Your memories have more holes than a target after an automatic turret uses its whole ammo stack. This is intact.

It is not. There was a particularly bad mission two years ago, so now this Friend is missing the fourth special.

The SecUnit interrupted, five drones now circling the Friend. Static crackled in the feed.

Why do you have this.

The Friend requested file access and fast forwarded the tenth episode to the eighteen-minute mark. A SecUnit, face plate lowered to show a handsome, genetically-engineered heroic visage, was kneeling in front of a child with a toy blaster and handing her a tiny little box. It pressed play.

"This Security Unit has a package for you, Mila. From your clients."

The living SecUnit paused the video straight on Mila's face, full of wonder and awe, and stared at the Friend. It gave an awkward shrug, looking away.

This Friend does not have keepsakes from clients and such. This does the job instead. Best part, it's not realistic at all.

It's not. The SecUnit agreed. Its drones settled in their assigned spots. This would never happen.

It went back to the first episode, and the Friend pulled out of its feed quietly. It needed to locate an incinerator.

It had already kept the real letters far too long.

[izicodes]

Creating A C# Homework Resource Site

Thursday 18th May 2023

I am back again with another project again, but this time I built a small C# homework site! I was thinking of when I had to teach myself C# because the teacher I had was very bad at explaining concepts and had very little homework. Whilst I was working on my C# Console Application project, I reminded myself how I could turn some of these into C# homework!

What would the site include?

These are the main parts of the website:

The home page

The list of assignments page - put into 'levels'

The actual page of each assignment

About the site

The Contact page for any thoughts, or ideas or want to contribute somehow e.g. add a C# homework idea

I named the site 'CSharpSaga' or 'C#Saga' but I might change that in the future, I am not sure yet...

What did I work on today?

So, I actually started it 2 days after work as a fun quick web design exercise from turning my thoughts into a webpage. I then developed it more today!

Some before and after screenshots!

These screenshots are me turning my quick idea into something that looks like it's part of a "real" website. I was working on how to design the cards for picking the featured assignments!

Here I worked on if the user clicks on the actual assignment page! I chose the very first homework I came up with which is a simple console using variables, basic syntax and data types! I worked out how to use special syntax highlighting using Prism, super happy I got the hang of it and did not manually style the code examples!

That's all! I still have to work on the other pages I have on my navbar but I'll get to them later! I still have to work on the media queries of the pages (I hate working on responsiveness in web dev...) but I would probably leave that for late (bad practice)!

Thanks for reading and happy coding! 👩🏾‍🎓👍🏾

[blood-teeth]

TMITAWH is 2 years old????!!!!

i cant believe i missed it that sounds so ridiculous to me! in my defense, i was driving for two weeks straight

i don't have anything planned for celebration; i'm so sorry! but i do have some updates!

for those that missed it, tmitawh is now a novel and will no longer be told in an interactive fiction format. this has upset a lot of people. i've lost a lot of followers over this announcement. and i can understand this to some extent, but largely i have to continue to be unapologetic about my choices.

this story is one that has, in every meaning of the phrase, saved my life. writing in this little world has gotten me through some of the darkest times and carried me through to the next day. at some point, IF stopped being a media that was capable of telling the story i wanted to tell.

i'm disheartened by a lot of the anons i've received. some are hateful and unkind. others are upset that they no longer will have the opportunity to pursue Cain or Ezio, and a few mention that they're not interested in reading a lesbian story and will not be reading the book if it ever makes it to publication. i've disregarded the first, but the second cuts the deepest i think.

i have never, ever been shy on this app that i'm a lesbian. i feel as though i've talked endlessly about it. being a lesbian is a huge facet of my identity and being told that, in so many words, a story written for myself, with other queer people in mind, is not for them seems like such a stupid thing to say. like, i didnt write it for you. i wrote it for me. i wrote it for the lesbians who love so violently that they have to hide it away under their clothes, in between their teeth. i wrote it for the lesbians who have been told their love is disgusting, or wrong, or sexy and for a male's pleasure only. i wrote it for the lesbians who are told their love is okay as long as they never show it- as long as they only hold hands at most but never kiss in public. i wrote it for the lesbian who sits in pews and breathes over their hands and wonders if God loves them still.

i'm not sorry to not have written a story catered for you when the whole world is for you. leave me out of your self-absorbed, hateful little orbit.

please know, this blog does not tolerate hatred, bigotry, or harassment in any shape or form. and if you're going to fuck around with me, you sure as hell are going to find out with me.

on a more positive note!

i want to thank you all who have been overwhelmingly positive and supportive of my endeavors!! it means the absolute world to me!! i sometimes hold myself at night and think of all the kind words y'all have sent over these past two years and just sob. never in my life before this could i have imagined sharing my work with people who give a shit and care. it warms me in ways i cannot begin to describe. i love you and i hope you are well as always. my inbox/dms are open ANYTIME if you just want to chat, catch up, rant to me, or tell me about your pet. actually, please tell me about your pet.

Some quick publishing updates:

I'm 20k words out of 90k into draft 2. and i think this is going to be the last draft before i query (?????) i'm really very happy with the muscles and bones of the manuscript. now it's just some meticulous line editing i have to work through.

after this, i'm off to the query trenches. (im scared) if anybody has gone through this process before and has any tips, i'd love to hear them!

here's a little excerpt:

"She grabs hard enough to make sure of her presence, not enough to bruise. Some sick part of the Traveler’s brain says, Yes. Please. More. Press deeper. Press harder. Bruise me. Hurt me. She delights in the heat that blossoms from where the Reverie digs her fingers into skin. Eyes earnest, stubborn disposition to her jaw as the thick muscle there flickers in an implication of anger. “I will find you,” she’s shaping her tongue into a dagger at the Traveler’s throat. “I will find you again, and that is a promise.” The Traveler gasps, tilting her head higher. She blinks and— The Reverie’s mouth is on hers, hot and aching, and the Traveler blinks— Want flavors the Traveler’s tongue, the Reverie’s hands pressed tightly against her collarbone, teeth at her jaw. She blinks and— Is this Before or After?"

i also, stupidly, have officially started a twitter that i want to start working with. i know twitter is dead, but it remains to be very useful for publishing. if you'd like to follow me, im there on @ morganhollow25. i dont know how to use it. im scared to use it. but if you have a twitter maybe follow me there too! i absolutely plan to be on tumblr primarily. i love it here and have grown a tiny home in these webs.

i'll have more updates coming soon regarding FTMTB and other works. thank you all again <3

[hannibal-confessions-nbc]

NBC HANNIBAL CONFESSION BLOG!

ask inbox status: open

vomit in my inbox

GUIDELINES BELOW:

NBC Hannibal content only

Both NSFW + SWF is welcome

Meta is also loved and welcomed

Do not send photos or media

Be respectful of each others opinions, I can see your comments y'all 😭

NO DOG DISCOURSE WE LOVE THEM THERE IS NO ROOM FOR HATING ON THE DOGS .PLEASE STOP

I don't have a tagging system or warnings

I'm not the flash, it might take me a hot minute to post your ask

Anon is enabled so keep yourself anon unless you don't mind a tainted rep.

He/him pronouns. If you're addressing me, just call me OP. (I, too, would not like to taint my rep.)

If I don't post your anon, ever, don't take it personally. pretty please.

I'm Autistic so I might misinterpret your ask (sorry)

DO NOT INTERACT: HANNIBAL HATERS (OBVIOUS), CLASSIC DNI (TERFS, RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION, ANTI-LGBTQ+, ABLEIST, RACIST, SEXIST, ETCETERA)

You will get blocked if I am aware that you fit into any of the criteria above

Follow @hannibal-confessions-extras for other stuff. find out

I have enabled asks on @hannibal-confessions-extras in case you have any queries & questions about this blog and how it works, or if you need to clarify rules, or something else. I'm aware that some of you seem scared to send things in or feel like the guidelines are unclear or too ambiguous. Do not send confessions on that sideblog, those are strictly for @hannibal-confessions-nbc :)

Queued posts will be under the tag #queuefessional

[literaticat]

[I know this isn't a question you can actually answer for *all literary agents* but I'm just really struggling with this] Why do literary agents ghost on fulls? It's genuinely killing me waiting for a response that by now (a year and one *unresponded* nudge later) I should know is never going to come... :( I guess on a more actionable note, if a lit agent ghosts should I dnq in future with future work? should I tell other writers I was ghosted on a full?

I have literally never ghosted a full on purpose, or as a way to "decline without declining" -- I promise you that it is MUCH easier to just say "not for me, but thanks for the look!" than it would be to ignore nudges and guilt, etc.

The only reason I would [seem to] "ghost" on a full is if I just literally haven't read it yet, OR if it somehow got lost in the shuffle. Sometimes it does take a really long time! A year IS a long time, yes, but I hate to tell you, not unheard of; I have certainly gotten both declines and offers from publishers after more than a year.

Also, we have a LOT to read! Sometimes things do get lost in the shuffle! I am one person and a very part-time assistant dealing with an absolutely ABSURD amount of email and queries, and while QM is an immense help, it's still not PERFECT, and things can get inadvertently moved to weird places or accidentally archived or whatever, one click in the wrong place and then forgotten.

Personally, if I were you I would have nudged more than once in a twelvemonth, but hey, we can't turn back time. Why don't you nudge one last time and say something like: "Hey, it's been a year, so I'm looking to close this out and move on. If you ARE still considering, please do let me know; if I don't hear from you by the end of the month, I'm assuming it's a pass." [or similar]

That way at least you've given them ample opportunity, you've reminded them, etc, and you can close this out and move on. If they pop out of the woodwork at some point, great, otherwise, no worries, you aren't even thinking about it anymore because you have already moved on.

As to whether you should DNQ with future work? IDK. I mean, it's nice that they saw something promising and wanted to request a full in the first place, which bodes well for them liking your future work, but also, do you want an agent who doesn't respond ever? Probably not! So if they DO respond and apologize, so sorry, it's been forever, you are quite right, this looks great and I was on the fence about it but I do have to decline -- then by all means try again with another work. If they just NEVER respond, I wouldn't bother.

As to whether you should spread tales of your querying experience: I don't think you should go out of your way to like, BLAST THEM ON SOCIAL MEDIA or anything, as that has real potential to blow up or blow back on you*** -- but if an author friend asks you about it, you can certainly speak your truth. On QM where people post dates and results of queries, you could certainly say "query (10-2023), full request (11/2023) -- no response on full for a year, closed out (12-2024)" or whatever. Hey, it's facts, if they don't like it, they should have fixed it or done better!

--

*** I say that social media yapping has the potential for bad results -- not because an agent would, like, "blackball you" in the industry or anything remotely like that -- but just because social media is unpredictable and wild and once you let some drama out of the bag, you do not have control over how it mutates and grows. Your simple post about being ghosted COULD turn in to a real dogpile on the agent and it turns out they had simply *not seen the email* or they were having a personal crisis when you nudged or whatever, and suddenly somebody is sending them death threats and harassing their clients. OR, your simple post could be perceived as "sour grapes" and turn into people doing a forensic analysis of everything YOU have ever done and said online, and suddenly somebody is sending YOU death threats and harassing your family. Either way, very much not great and not worth the stress, honestly. Just move on.

[deadtime-stories]

I forget social media is where you actually post stuff, but this is a blog so I'm trying to do that occasionally. Both here and over on @littleredpencil, where I'm putting my fanfiction back up.

This weekend has been the first in 2024 where I've genuinely had time to sit down and look at my writing projects. Due to a hurricane of life events, I didn't have the time or energy left to do anything I was hoping to do in 2024.

I aimed for March to query Scion of Bones to agents, but beta reads and edits came back far slower than expected. The feedback from these services was phenomenal and worth the money...but also revealed continuing weaknesses that now have me currently working on my EIGHTH REWRITE. (Well, partial rewrite.)

This involves several things:

(under a cut for anyone who does not care about Scion of Bones)

Cutting down the involvement of characters like Nox's brother Sequoia, who is genuinely just not necessary in those scenes. There have simply been many characters over the rewrites whose roles are better switched over to Drew, especially in a debut novel where large and inconsequential casts can be confusing. Drew is the closest thing Nox has to a significant other, and it makes sense for all these smaller support roles to be added to his.

Rolling small side character interactions into Drew's, and keeping Drew 100% human only. This gives him a more solid and prominent role in the story, and gives him the much more defined and important role of being Olivier's counterweight. Liv is Nox's thread to the demi world, and Drew is his thread to the human one. These two important people keep Nox firmly on the border between worlds and allow the story to move forward and the plot to oscillate between them.

Getting over my really weird issue with symmetry. This has been a NIGHTMARE of a problem, and I don't know where it came from. Absolutely nobody would ever notice this, but when Scion of Bones became dual POV, the viewpoints were spaced in a pattern. Whatever order the POV switches were in during the first half, it was mirrored in the second half:

I cannot for the life of me tell you why I was so freakishly obsessed with this. This particular mirroring serves no narrative or literary purpose. What it did was make the flow of the story strange and broken in some places, where I wrote the chapter based on which POV was involved instead of the scene. Now that I've had a few months busy with other things and finally gotten back to working on it, I've found I'm able to let this symmetry go and put the POVs where they need to be. Which brings me to:

Breaking up chapters or adding shorter, in-between chapters to switch the POV where suitable. Because of the reveal at the end, Scion of Bones is meant to be seen through both Nox's and Liv's point of view, but understood predominately through Nox's. He's the reader's introduction to the series, and they aren't allowed to know everything Liv knows until after that reveal. But Liv is not only an important source of (admittedly vague) backstory and information, he's a MAIN CHARACTER of the series. This story isn't about Nox with Liv as support, it's also OLIVIER'S story. His story needs and deserves its own exposition and plot outside of holding Nox's hand, and that means breaking out of the weird POV pattern I was holding onto and mixing things up to give him his time on the stage.

Refining and growing Garrett's involvement. Love him or hate him (you're supposed to hate him), Garrett starts out as Nox's primary adversary while the Blood Court is Liv's. Garrett's role has also evolved since the start--a lot--and his ultimate goals and intentions have become more nuanced. So has his relationship to Nox and the outsized control his money lets him have over him. Not only is Garrett not stupid, but there's a reason he has his position...he's smarter and craftier than most give him credit for. There are also specific reasons a man like Garrett would let Nox operate so independently for so long, despite having the resources to rein him in if he wanted to.

As the first book in a series, Scion of Bones has a lot of heavy lifting to do. It needs to introduce the world, while having a solid and easy-to-follow cast and plot. It needs to draw a reader in with the immediate danger of assassins, and present as a contained, standalone novel while still quietly laying the groundwork and backstory that will allow the final paragraphs to launch it into something far bigger and much more complicated.

Annoying as it is for bookshelf aesthetics that most first books in series are smaller than their sequels, there are just different rules for a successful first book. Unless you have a huge fandom or social media following, authors just can't afford to have too much going on in their debuts.

That's why this book has undergone eight rewrites and taken more than four years now to get to this point. It started as a self-indulgent AU fanfic of a fanfic about two barely-noticed VLD characters, and was over 120,000 words of them kind of getting together. The bad guys were created more than half of the way through when I belatedly realized I needed one, and the ending was cobbled together at the last minute.

The current version is the result of years of studying story structure, excessive reading to get get familiar with my genre, editors, beta reads, and rewrites. Scion of Bones is taking so long because it's my first real education in professional story writing, I've had to learn so much to get it to this point.

So, I really hope 2025 is the year I complete that education and finally get the finished version out into the world. Whether traditionally published, or independently.

[janeykath318]

Natasha Lends A Hand (Shieldshock)

“I thought you’d turned your accounts private,” Steve said, looking concerned and placing her phone on the end table out of her reach.

“I did, but thought it would be safe to check Tumblr. There’s people threatening to unalive themselves or burn all their Captain America gear if you marry me. They all hate me,” she sniffled. “I shouldn’t let it get to me, but it does.”

Steve sighed and repositioned himself so she was snuggled against him and wrapped his arm around her. Darcy sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

“They’re just letting their bitterness and jealousy get to them. Block the hell out of them.”

“You bet I did. I guess no more social media for me until after the wedding,” she sighed. “Though how we’re going to pull that off without the angry mobs coming after me, I don’t know.”

“We’ll get through it. You’re the one I love and I get to spend my life with. Nothing will change that,” Steve reminded her softly, kissing the top of her head. “Shall I get the emergency ice cream?”

“You know me so well, babe,” Darcy sighed fondly. “Yes, please. I’m so grumpy, I don’t even care what kind it is.”

“I’ll get the big bowls, then,” Steve declared, extricating himself from the sofa and heading to the fridge.

Despite her irritation, Darcy took the opportunity to shamelessly ogle him from behind.

“Hate to see you go, love to watch you leave,” she crooned flirtatiously.

Steve chuckled as he dished up two heaping bowls of cookie dough ice cream.

“You’re ridiculous and I love it,” he responded, presenting her with her cold treat. Darcy gave him a thank you kiss before diving into her favorite comfort food.

Her mood cleared up and for a couple days, things were chill as rumors quieted down, but then an old photograph surfaced of Darcy leaving a bridal boutique and the furor was rekindled. Darcy deleted all social media apps from both of their phones and holed up in her apartment, calling Jane to inform her she’d have to work remotely for a bit.

The TV was no help either. Steve finally shut it off in disgust.

“I’m calling Natasha,” he finally declared. “This is out of hand.”

“I thought she was in New Zealand?” Darcy queried, trying not to sound too hopeful. She knew Nat would have useful tips for dealing with the crazy and would be there in a heartbeat if she could.

“Got back night before last,” Steve informed her. “She’ll keep the wolves at bay.”

“That she will,” Darcy agreed, flipping aimlessly through a bridal magazine. She’d long ago found her dress, but she loved looking at all the pretty styles and gleaning useful tips from the articles.

Sighing at a very romantic looking pose, she dog eared the page to add to her photo shoot ideas.

Two days later, Darcy found herself unceremoniously being hauled out to a waiting sports car by Natasha herself.

“Am I being kidnapped? Did I finally piss off Fury enough to have me disappeared?” she queried jokingly.

Natasha only smiled mysteriously.

“You’ll soon find out,” she teased evasively. “I assure you it is a good surprise. Now smile for the paps.”

Darcy blew a kiss to the gathered cameras and smirked as she left them in the dust.

“Where are we going?” she asked after they’d left the city well behind.

“Getting you married.”

“What?” Darcy spluttered. “Now? I mean, how?”

“I have my ways and several invested friends. We’re tired of seeing you and Steve so stressed and we’re going to give you a happy day with no paparazzi or snoops.”

“If you can accomplish that, my friend, you really are a miracle worker,” Darcy said, with a half sigh, half groan. “It’s a good thing I love that man as much as I do.”

“The fact that you’re not protesting speaks volumes,” Natasha observed. “And if I overstep in any way, please tell me.”

“You know I trust you, Nat,” Darcy assured her. “I bet you got me time off, packed my bags and my gown, and probably booked the officiant as well.”

“Pretty much.”

Darcy laughed and leaned back in the seat. A lot of decisions had just been taken out of her hands and for once she wasn’t mad about it.

Steve, meanwhile, was huddled in the backseat of an SUV being lovingly lectured by his friends.

“You should have said something sooner,” Bucky chided him. “We could have had this well in hand weeks ago.”

“Yeah,” Clint agreed from the driver’s seat. “I wish I’d paid more attention. I didn’t realize the press was hounding her so bad, the jackasses.”

“You guys have much bigger issues to deal with,” Steve protested. “I thought Darcy and I could handle it.”

Bucky gave him the stink eye and Sam sighed.

“The point is, Steve, you shouldn’t have to handle invasion of privacy and personal attacks. It’s not okay,” Sam told him. “Calling Nat was the right call. We’ll get you hitched in peace and quiet.”

The destination turned out to be a mansion in upstate New York with very tight security. Darcy’s eyes boggled as they drove through the gates.

“What kind of strings did you pull, Nat?” she asked in wonder, staring at the magnificent building.

“Never you mind,” Natasha replied. “Let’s just say someone owed me. There’s plenty of good options for either an indoor or outdoor ceremony. We’ll give you the grand tour tonight and have you saying I Do tomorrow. Then we’ll leave you alone to enjoy honeymoon bliss the rest of the week.”

“I like that plan!” Darcy agreed, cheerfully.

The two vehicles pulled up in front of the mansion and Steve and Darcy were handed their suitcases and ordered inside while their friends unloaded the other luggage. They gaped open- mouthed at the grandeur inside.

“That staircase is really something,” Steve admired. “The chandelier!” Darcy breathed in wonder. “I feel like I’m in the American version of Downton Abbey.”

“Yeah. Where’s Carson?” Steve joked with a chuckle.

Presently, Natasha swept in carrying the bag that contained Darcy’s dress.

“Follow me,” she ordered, “you too, Steve.”

Natasha assigned them to separate bedrooms, much to Darcy’s dismay, but assured her it was just for the one night, per tradition.

“I’ll be right next door,” Jane assured her. “We could turn this into a slumber party!”

Eyeing the gigantic four poster bed, Darcy certainly saw the potential.

Natasha hung up Darcy’s wedding dress in the spacious wardrobe and added another dress beside it.

“I brought your red dress along for dinner tonight, she informed her. “It’s a dressy occasion.”

Darcy just nodded, deciding to just roll with it.

The grand tour was one jaw dropping sight after another and Steve and Darcy decided that the lawn behind the mansion was perfect for a ceremony setting. It faced a beautiful row of pools and landscaped hedges that stretched out as far as the eye could see. The forecast looked good, but in case of inclement weather, they agreed on the enclosed porch for a backup.

Steve and Darcy lingered on the lawn, relishing the view and the peace. Darcy thought he looked more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. Steve was glad to see the tense lines and constant wariness erased from Darcy’s expression. She hadn’t deserved all the stress being with him had caused, but he was so grateful for her.

“I’m sorry I let it get to this, Darcy,” he sighed, holding her close. “You could have walked away from all the drama and I wouldn’t have blamed you.”

“I’m too stubborn to quit on us and I love you too damn much,” Darcy replied, looking up at him contentedly. “I won’t gonna lie, it’s been awful, but we’re worth it.”

“Yes, we are,” Steve agreed, kissing the top of her head. He loved how perfectly they fit together. “We have the best friends, don’t we?”

“Most of the time, yeah,” Darcy agreed.

Dinner was a happy affair and everyone looked incredibly gorgeous in their dressed up state. Natasha thought Darcy was positively glowing as she laughed and playfully argued with Clint about who had won an age old bet. Bucky eyed the bride and groom to be with a great deal of fondness and just a touch of wistfulness.

“I want what they have, don’t you?” he murmured to his table neighbor, Wanda.

“Yes,” Wanda sighed, smiling pensively. “They are so good for each other and so loyal through everything. That is a relationship to strive for.”

After dinner they went outside and stargazed while reminiscing about various escapades. Darcy and Steve shared the story of their meet cute again and the men took the opportunity to lovingly roast Steve.

Darcy went to bed after a very satisfying goodnight kiss, giddy at the thought that tomorrow she would be Mrs. Rogers.

Jane woke her with giddy impatience.

“Wake up! It’s your wedding day!”

“Ahhh!!” Darcy squealed, when she’d fully come to her senses. “It’s happening! It’s actually happening!!”

They clutched each other in an exuberant hug.

Natasha and Wanda joined them for a cozy ladies only breakfast, (Steve had been forbidden to see her before the ceremony), then they chilled out on the balcony for a while, champagne in hand.

They helped each other out with hair and makeup and Darcy could only stare in amazement at herself in the mirror as Natasha put the finishing touches on her updo.

“Wow! I look like a princess!” Darcy remarked, awestruck. “Nat, you’re a wizard. I should feel bad that my mom’s not here, but I can’t. She’d be throwing out the backhanded compliments like candy. Another benefit of eloping, I guess.”

“Truth,” Jane agreed. “They’ll have to settle for watching the video and pictures.”

“You got a photographer on this short notice?” Darcy asked, eyebrow lifting in surprise. “That’s quite a feat.”

“She’s pretty new to the business, but very talented,” Jane told her. “As soon as Natasha told me the plan, I called her: My wedding gift to you and Steve.”

“Jane. That’s……so sweet….I might just cry,” Darcy batted away tears and Wanda shook her head.

“No weeping and spoiling makeup yet, Darcy,” she commanded her. “Let’s get you into that beautiful dress….”

Everybody sighed in unison when Darcy unzipped the garment bag and revealed her beautiful gown. The strapless A-line design was covered with intricate beadwork on the bodice and lacy details on the skirt hem.

“Steve’s brain is gonna explode when he sees you,” Wanda commented, as they helped her into the dress.

“Not literally, I hope,” Darcy quipped. “I want him to live for our wedding night.”

She wiggled her eyebrows in a way that made Natasha chuckle and Jane wave her finger in playful rebuke.

Steve was sketching while he waited for his summons on the back balcony overlooking the garden. He hadn’t had this good of a view in a long time and his pencil flew across the paper as he drew. He supposed he should be feeling nervous, but he wasn’t. The flutters in his stomach were sheer excitement at finally marrying the woman he loved, a dream he’d thought long since died. But then Darcy had crashed into his life, quite literally, and nothing had been the same.

He felt a cool hand on his shoulder and Bucky spoke up.

“Nice to see you drawing again, punk,” he said. “Calming the nerves?”

Steve shook his head.

“I’m distracting myself from breaking Nat’s rule and running to see Darcy. I can’t wait. Are you and Sam behaving?”

“Us? Misbehave? Where’d you ever get that notion?” Bucky asked, feigning shock. Steve just chuckled.

“Only whenever you’re left alone for more than five minutes,” he retorted. “Kinda like me getting into fights, only now the tables have turned.”

Bucky shrugged sheepishly.

“You’ve got me there.”

A figure joined them a few minutes later and both men stared as they took in Natasha, looking beautiful in her light aqua bridesmaids dress, red hair curled and spilling down her back. Steve saw Bucky swallow hard.

“Fifteen minutes, gentlemen,” she told them, returning their admiring glances, her eyes lingering on Bucky. “Damn. You clean up good, boys.”

“So do you,” Bucky replied in a strangled sounding voice.

Steve grinned. He couldn’t wait to help these two get a clue.

“You’ve got it bad, Buck,” Steve observed sympathetically after Natasha had disappeared.

“No…..aw, hell.” Bucky muttered, unable to lie to his best friend. “But She thinks love’s for children. What’s the point?”

Steve sighed.

“The point is, she’s had everyone she cared about ripped away and The Red Room philosophies were deeply ingrained in her. Believe it or not, I haven’t heard her utter those words in nearly two years. And clearly, she now believes in love enough to make sure I didn’t screw things up with Darcy and then gave us this…..” he gestured toward their surroundings as he flipped his notebook closed and stood up. “You’re about to witness firsthand how taking a chance is absolutely worth it. And this is coming from someone who’s known to be hopeless with women.”

Steve grinned at Bucky, who smiled knowingly back and stood to give him a man hug.

“I wouldn’t miss this miraculous moment for the world,” Bucky declared, with another affectionate thump on the back. “Now let’s go get you married.”

There were no decorations or aisle runners or musical accompaniments, but Darcy found herself not missing any of it. She simply waited until she’d seen the bridesmaids and groomsmen line up in front of the officiant—was that Agent IPod Thief?—and strolled outside to join them, escorted by Clint. (Thor was sadly unavailable, being busy with Asgardian stuff, but he’d sent Darcy a very congratulatory text message in all capital letters).

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and Steve was looking at her like she was his entire world. The harassment that she’d been dealing with from social media and the press faded away in the reality of their happiness.

The jealous bitches can suck it! she thought gleefully.

Agent Coulson (How was he not dead?) looked exceedingly pleased to be overseeing the wedding of his childhood idol. It was kind of cute, Darcy observed vaguely, before Steve distracted her by winking flirtatiously at her.

“Yes, I do take this fine specimen of man to be my husband,” she proclaimed, when prompted. Steve’s ears reddened and Sam snickered.

“…..to love, honor, and cherish, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, through alien attacks and allergy attacks, through portals and peril, through midnight snacks and cuddles, until death do us part.”

“Awwwww….” Wanda sighed.

Steve squeezed Darcy’s hands, looking like he wanted to kiss her right then and there.

“I take this amazing, beautiful, fearless woman to be my wife, to love, honor, and cherish in sickness and in health, through alien attacks and allergy attacks, through tasers and tesseracts, through slow dances and silliness, until death do us part.”

They’d gone off script, but clearly their friends appreciated it and applauded their ad-libbing.

“That was impressive,” Bucky murmured, as he handed Steve Darcy’s ring.

She gave him another one of those glowy smiles as he slipped it on her finger. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she was and how lucky he was.

Darcy slid Steve’s ring on with a dramatic flourish and then they were pronounced husband and wife and he was kissing her exuberantly.

Everyone cheered.

Afterward, as they meandered through the gardens, hand in hand, Darcy told him, “Today was a fairytale. This was so much better than the big shindig I used to imagine.”

“You’re not upset about not having the big party we talked about?” he asked, fingering one of the dangling curls by her cheek.

“No,” she told him. “It felt so right. So us.”

“It did,” he agreed. “You look completely radiant, Mrs. Rogers.”

Darcy flushed at his warm words.

“If you keep using that tone with me I’m not gonna be able to control myself,” she playfully warned, running her hand up his chest. Steve in a tux was a very impressive sight and she felt a strong urge to climb him like a tree.

“I’ve dreamed of this ever since I crashed into you in the hallway that first time,” she admitted, feeling his heartbeat beneath her fingers.

“Groping me or marrying me?” he asked in amusement.

“Yes,” she answered mischievously, making her new husband laugh and then kiss her again. When she’d finally regained her senses afterwards, she saw a very pleasing sight.

“Oh, look, babe, looks like Bucky’s getting cozy with Nat over there.”

Steve followed her gaze to see Bucky walking alongside Natasha very closely. He said something that made her throw back her head and laugh in a way that she very rarely did.

“Now that’s what I like to see,” he murmured.

“Right?” Darcy exclaimed. “I ship it so hard! They deserve it so much.”

“They do,” Steve agreed. “I hope they realize that. She spent so much time trying to find me a wife and now the shoe’s gonna be on the other foot.”

He rubbed his hands together, very ready to help the BuckyNat ship sail.

“First order of business when we get back from our honeymoon,” Darcy declared. “In the meantime, how about we sneak inside and find a handy closet where I can ravish you?”

“Much as I like that idea, you’d better make sure you’re done with pictures first, because when I get through with you…..” Steve playfully threatened, dropping his voice intentionally. Darcy gulped.

“Right. Good point. Excellent point,” she rambled, fanning herself. “We should probably quickly round up everyone for a group picture. I’ll go get Jane.”

She picked up her skirts and scurried off, leaving Steve to smirk after her and then head to round up his friends. This newlywed thing was going to be fun, he thought.

[eirenical]

twenty questions for fic writers

Was tagged by @elenothar, @kholran, AND @fixaidea to do this meme, so I guess I should do this meme? XD

Where possible when linking fic, I've linked to my tumblr post and not the fic itself, so if you'd like to read the tags/further notes before jumping into the fic, you can. Also because all my fic are locked to users-only on AO3 these days because of AI nonsense. :P

Tagging: @laireshi, @enechelon, @difeisheng, @lizardrosen, @slangerogkatter, @kalypartemis, @dreamer-wisher-liar, @humanlighthouse, @shaish and as always, anyone who sees this and wants to do it. No obligations to participate, just an invitation to join in the fun. ^_^

How many works do you have on AO3?

171 works. And I have some from ff.net that I still haven't migrated over yet.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,415,465

...holy fuck, you guys. O_O

3. What fandoms do you write for?

*sobs in 'i've barely written anything this year'*

Actively (and I use the word loosely) I write for Mysterious Lotus Casebook, DMBJ, Granting You a Dreamlike Life, Guardian, and I'm dabbling around in South Wind Knows at the moment.

The rest of my responses behind a cut. ^_^

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Center Cannot Hold… But It Can Change (Rise of the Guardians (2012)) (3,649 words)

beyond the end of the story (镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)) (5,988 words) -- this story has a lovely podfic by @flamingwell, too, that I would heartily recommend.

Legacies Lost (陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)) (41,962 words)

When Is a Curse Not a Curse? When It Becomes a Gift. (盗墓笔记重启 | The Lost Tomb Reboot (TV)) (16,289 words) -- this story also has an incredible podfic, this time by @thelaithlyworm.

All of the Above and Much More Besides (Les Misérables - All Media Types) (12,007 words)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I used to respond to every single comment. Then I had a bad exchange where I just did NOT get to respond to comments because my life kind of... exploded. And then I felt so guilty for not responding to those amazing comments, that it built a giant wall of awful for me in front of "responding to comments." So now I really, really do my best, but sometimes I just can't. And it bothers me kind of a lot. *sigh*

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think that honor goes to I Have Come To Sleep With You (warning: MCD) -- a fic that should have been a Barricade Day fic but somehow wasn't... which probably explains why it's the fic with the angstiest ending XD

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Four blocks from the barricade, Feuilly finally stopped his headlong flight, arrested by a shortness of breath from a wound left behind by a bullet that had had his own name written upon it… and by a query so softly voiced that he almost believed he had imagined it until he heard it again.

"You are bleeding." A short pause. "I believe you are wounded, my friend." Another pause. A wet laugh. "You and I are a matched set, I fear. Come. Sit with me, awhile. Rest. You are always racing about. A force not to be--" A harsh cough. "--stopped. It is why Enjolras admires you so."

I think most of my fic have happy endings? It's rare that I truly leave one sad. And I'm not sure how to judge which one is the happiest.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thank goodness, no. Not usually. Though I have gotten a few insensitive comments or comments that made me uncomfortable before.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

^________^

Boy, do I. ;D

Of my 171 fic posted on AO3, 44 of them are rated M or E. And I'm not sure how to discuss what kind, but it's mostly M/M and a not insignificant number of them are tagged noncon and dead dove, so, that probably means something. ^_~

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have written both crossovers and fusions. But if we're going with the classic definition of crossover (as in a story where characters from both canons interact), then probably my "craziest" one would be this one:

Five Times That Berger Saw Him, which is a Hair - MacDermot/Rado/Ragni x Eloise at the Plaza (Movies) crossover that grew out of the fact that Gavin Creel played both Claude in the 2009 Broadway Revival of Hair and Bill in the Eloise movies.

Major Character Death, Homelessness, Mistaken Identity, Romance, Grief

The first time Berger saw him it was Spring, and he was certain that he was having a flashback.

Only because tonally the canons are VERY different.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

To the best of my knowledge, no?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! A few of my Hair fic were translated, and I think one or two others, but I'm blanking on which.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Twice, both of which are unfinished and one of which was not published. One was from way back in my Sailor Moon days in college and was written with one of my college roommates. It's still up on my website, if you go look. ;D The other is a Guardian fic that I was co-writing with @elenothar, but we've both kind of wandered out of Guardian fandom for now. I have hopes that someday we'll come back to it because I really like the idea, still, but only time will tell. ^_^

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I honestly don't think I could pick a favorite. O_o;;; Especially as almost every single ship I've loved has been one I've eventually grown tired of. My current favorite is definitely Di Feisheng/Li Lianhua, but I don't think I have an all-time favorite.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

...................TNTC. But I never say never on a WiP, so who knows? ^_^

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told that I'm good at getting character voices down in narratives? Like, that when I write a character it sounds like them? I hope that's true. ^_^

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action/fight scenes. OTZ I've been working at them, but they're still hard for me.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

It was ALL THE RAGE in anime fandom when I came up through it like... 25 years ago. Fanon Japanese was EVERYWHERE. And then it became very cringe to do that. Now... I don't know. There are some words/concepts that REALLY don't translate without a full author's note. And there are modes of address that don't translate and thus I prefer to see in their original language. But full dialogue in another language without a translation available can be an accessibility issue? So if you're going to do it, I think a translation should be provided somewhere, like in hover notes or a glossary or a parenthetical or something? IDK. I still don't really have a clear opinion on it, tbh.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The first fandom I wrote for that I KNEW I was writing for was Sailor Moon. But I was making up stories for characters in shows I loved (and often acting them out, either alone or with friends) since I was VERY young. If that counts, then it was probably Smurfs? XD

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I was going to say I don't know, but I just realized I DO know.

It's Composite Events, hands down. ^_^

It's almost 60,000 words worth of DMBJ x Dollhouse fusion fic and to this day is one of the only fic that I had mostly outlined before I wrote it, even though I VASTLY underestimated how many words it would take to write. XD Please heed the tags on that one if you're going to go down that road, though. It's fairly dark and consent issues are a running thread throughout.

Once upon a time, Wu Xie fell in love with a man who wasn’t real. The man who wasn’t real loved Wu Xie in return, and in so doing, became just as real as he was. But being real comes with dangers of its own, and those dangers could destroy everything they both hold dear.

Special mentions go to:

Muet, Les Miserables, modern AU -- this is definitely another 'heed the tags' situation... for pretty much the same reasons. XD

In a world where the government controls even thoughts, free speech is a luxury few can afford. Les Amis de l'ABC believe it should not be a luxury so much as a right, and those in power will do whatever they must – will destroy whoever they must – to silence them for good. When Enjolras is the one to fall prey to their machinations, Les Amis are left reeling and without a leader. R couldn’t care less about that. He just wants his partner back.

Legacies Lost, The Untamed, canon divergence AU

Sixteen years ago, the Yiling Patriarch died, a victim to his own hubris and the Yin Tiger Seal. Hundreds of cultivators from many different sects died with him that day, their souls forever doomed to find no rest, even in death. On this, the 16th anniversary of the battle of Qiongqi Pass, Jin Ling is determined to make pilgrimage, to try to put the spirit of his long-lost father to rest. He finds much more than he bargained for, and what he finds… will change everything.

Lightning in a Bottle, Mysterious Lotus Casebook, pre-canon

You’re 15 years old and you hear his name for the first time. He defeated the demon of the Blood Realm, they say. A prodigy. The fastest sword in the jianghu. The promise of your generation fulfilled. A hero.You have no use for heroes.

When Is a Curse Not a Curse? When It Becomes a Gift.; The Lost Tomb Reboot, post-canon

...and I'm sure I'll think of a million others that I should have mentioned, too, as soon as I post this. OTZ

It started, for once, with Wu Xie being just a hair faster to react than anyone else.Wu Xie had seen Xiaoge across the room, eyes wide, breath catching, pulling his fingers from the delicate door mechanism they’d been exploring, gathering himself to run, to intercede, to take on the consequences of Wu Xie’s actions, like he always did…  Maybe it was the lingering effects of the golden water.  Maybe it was pure dumb luck.  Whatever it was, Wu Xie beat Xiaoge to it, blocking everyone else from the puff of some ancient dust trap which then hit him full in the face.Dimly, somewhere beyond his struggling lungs, Wu Xie could hear people calling his name, voices raised in desperation and fear.

Wu Xie has often wondered what goes on in the mind of their Menyouping.  Thanks to an accident in a tomb, he’s about to find out… and get a lot more than he bargained for.

[quornesha]

Australian Magpie Prophecy and Symbolism

The Following Channel is from higher powers, Divine, the ancestral plane and is prophetic through Quornesha S. Lemon|

Whether the Australian Magpie appears in dreams, visions, waking life or synchronicities, it is a sign and message that your enemies are beneath you. This could be in relation to a cantankerous boss, in law, neighbor or hateful person. Rest assured you have overcome something or someone. Everything sent or assigned to your life to destroy you, will be removed. The Australian Magpie is a prophecy that you do not have to chase down anything that is for you.

The Magpie reminds that when you put in the effort, success is sure to follow. The Australian Magpie is a reminder that the Gods of wealth are aligned with you. Whatever you need will come to you with relative ease. The Australian Magpie is a sign that anything that isn't for you at this point will end abruptly and without explanation. This is for your own protection. Something divine is about to happen. You are being protected and anything shallow will be exposed. Whatever you have lost you are being restored right now. You will see things trickle into place.

The domino affect will be applicable to these blessings. If it looks like you’ve been through hell know that divine heavenly blessings are coming. The Australian Magpie prophecies that a time is coming where commerce will be successful. That is to say, whatever business you are planning to continue, begin or otherwise will bring fortuitous blessings. It is a season of harvest and reaping. Stand confidently in what it is that you have discovered. Australian Magpie is saying get ready, you will touch a lot of money in this season, so, manage well. If ever you receive a lovely message and vision of your future know that it is also foretold that you will come through an adverse situation soon. From adversity to success, from struggling to thriving, from poverty to prosperity. A debt will be cleared and surely you will be financially free. A good time of life is surely ahead. Pay close attention to the number 8. The Power of tetragrammaton is at work. Generational wealth is being released upon you right now. It is so.

The Australian Magpie also reminds you to take heed of messages you receive soon. As information of a positive nature is being released to you. Listen to the message(s). A time of favor has surely come. The Australian Magpie symbolizes, the message and the messenger of all realms, opulence, luxury, connections, blessings, heaven and earth, providence, success, attribution, being generous and gratitude and defeat of ones’ enemies.

This message isn't, obviously resonant with all whose paths it crosses, as perhaps you may encounter someone of this vernacular, mastery or skill. Therefore, it is a sign from the universe that you're meant to work with such a person.

Need further clarity or your own queries answered? Book your own reading as my schedule is full and I do not guarantee a reply on social media regarding this post.

If this is not you, then it is time to get clear to rejoin your tribe or the rest of the world of infinite beings. It's time to bring your light to the forefront. However, if you aren't able to invoke, heal or otherwise on your own, call on the assistance of shamans, healers, intuitive people, etc. to assist you. This synchronicity can possibly have specific meanings for you, it's time to get insight.

The Gift that Quornesha Has can never be duplicated, She is a Shaman, Writer, Healer, And Teacher with incredible prophetic/healing gifts. Please do not infringe upon her rights as the author. You are not permitted to reuse, nor are you to sale as you wish. This information has been made available to you for the purpose of introduction and demonstration. All rights reserved. If you'd like to use this in a magazine, online publication, or other, please ask for permission first. Legal actions will be taken if you proceed to impose. Be blessed, bless others and be at peace on your journey. What you do is coming back on you. Make sure that it is good, and all is well within you, through you and around you. The source sees all and knows what you think it does not.

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @lauryn-janae

Who You Are:

Lauryn || she/her

I am a chaotic Leo with big dreams and a penchant for causing trouble. I have dreamed of becoming a published author since grade school, and I have experience as a freelance writer. I'm currently working on my first independent novel!

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Adventure, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, and thriller. Middle grade, young adult, new adult, and adult.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

If I could only write one genre for the rest of my life, it would be fantasy. I love to create worlds in my head and build stories around them. There's so many possibilities, from fantasy-adjacent magical realism to high fantasy.

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

I am not a fan of tragedies! I'm a big crybaby, and I hate to see people suffer. It's okay if they have to go through a lot to earn their happy ending, just as long as there IS a happy ending.

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

My target audience are members of the LGBTQ+ community. I hope that even if someone is not a member of the queer community, or is an ally, they will enjoy my works and understand us a bit better.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

I like to focus on themes of self-acceptance, and am fond of flawed characters. My favorite tropes are enemies-to-lovers and found family. The tension between enemies melding into a soft romance is so exciting. As for the found family trope, I love the idea of lonely or independent characters finding a place where they belong.

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

I do not like love triangles. Most of the time, the main character will end up picking the abusive, annoying character that they have more chemistry with over the kinder, more stable love interest.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

I'm currently working on my first novel. It's been rolling around in my head for five years, but I only started working on it in earnest last year. I'm about 75% of the way done. Please wish me luck!

Why do you write? What keeps you writing?

I write because I have so many ideas floating around that I cannot contain them.

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

I started writing when I was ten. I've always been a bookworm, so it just seemed natural to write.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

I get my inspiration from other forms of media. Books, movies, video games--sometimes I'll read or see a small detail, and it will spark a whole new story inside my head.

What work of yours are you most proud of? Why?

I am most proud of my current novel. It's messy, but all of the characters came straight from my heart. They're the most realistic characters I have ever written.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

I self-published a book once when I was about fourteen, though I wish I could erase that from my past. I do want to publish a book traditionally one day. It's my life's dream.

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you? Why?

I'm most excited about getting ARCs. Whenever I imagine being a published author, the moment that springs to mind is holding an advanced copy of my novel. The part that least appeals to me is querying. I hate rejection, though I know it's a normal part of publishing.

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

My favorite part of the writing process is getting those first words down. The possibilities seem endless in that moment. I don't like editing though. I like to read, but when I'm reading my own works, I become overly-critical.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

I write random major scenes first, then go back and add intermediary scenes. My works are like patchwork quilts; I cut and paste and stitch things together until it's finished.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

I've only been on writeblr for a few days. I decided to join it to find other writers, and gain motivation to finally complete my novel.

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

@nightlylaments @the-only-drama-llama @thirteenducklings @mr-writes @lyralit These were some of the first blogs I found, and I just felt like they give off cool vibes.

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

I like seeing people share memes about their characters, like the Valentine's Day cards. I think it's a really creative way to interact

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

I haven't been in this community long, so I don't know much about potential problems!

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

I like to write flash fiction and give advice. I wish I could be an alpha reader for other writers, but I don't have the wherewithal.

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

I like to interact the most with polls. I'm so glad they finally added them to Tumblr!

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

I like to make opinion posts. I really like to know how other writers think!

Finally, anywhere else online we may be able to find you?

On Twitter

[tavarillasgalen]

I hate you "you have to write for the market"

I hate you "you have to build your way up to the books you actually want to write"

I hate you "authors need to be on social media"

I hate you "authors need to follow trends in order to sell"

I hate you publishing houses putting more and more of the marketing work on the authors instead of the marketing team

I hate you "no one will read your book if it doesn't check all these boxes"

I hate you publishing houses not letting authors finish a series or forcing them to combine books because of numbers

I hate you letting high-selling authors take more time and write what they want to write while lower selling authors don't get those privileges and have to follow all these guidelines (how dare you query a book over 100k words!! instant rejection without even reading the writing sample)

I hate you not being able to distinguish between "this isn't to my taste" and "this is bad"

I hate you "the way I do it is The Correct Way For Everyone"

I hate you not being able to recognize that something that is very triggering to one person can be incredibly healing to someone else

I hate you "this isn't my experience, so it is wrong"

I hate you "but what lessons is this story for adults teaching? how will people know this thing is bad?"

Etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

[mariacallous]

Since Twitter launched in 2006, the company has acted as a kind of heartbeat for social media conversation. That’s partly because it’s where media people go to talk about the media, but also because it’s been willing to open up its backend to researchers. Academics have used free access to Twitter’s API, or application programming interface, in order to access data on the kinds of conversations occurring on the platform, which helps them understand what the online world is talking about.

Twitter’s API is used by vast numbers of researchers. Since 2020, there have been more than 17,500 academic papers based on the platform’s data, giving strength to the argument that Twitter owner Elon Musk has long claimed, that the platform is the “de facto town square.”

But new charges, included in documentation seen by WIRED, suggest that most organizations that have relied on API access to conduct research will now be priced out of using Twitter.

It’s the end of a long, convoluted process. On February 2, Musk announced API access would go behind a paywall in a week. (Those producing “good” content would be exempted.) A week later, he delayed the decision to February 13. Unsurprisingly, that deadline also slipped by, as Twitter suffered a catastrophic outage. 

The company is now offering three levels of Enterprise Packages to its developer platform, according to a document sent by a Twitter rep to would-be academic customers in early March and passed on to WIRED. The cheapest, Small Package, gives access to 50 million tweets for $42,000 a month. Higher tiers give researchers or businesses access to larger volumes of tweets—100 million and 200 million tweets respectively—and cost $125,000 and $210,000 a month. WIRED confirmed the figures with other existing free API users, who have received emails saying that the new pricing plans will take effect within months.  

“I don’t know if there’s an academic on the planet who could afford $42,000 a month for Twitter,” says Jeremy Blackburn, assistant professor at Binghamton University in New York and a member of the iDRAMA Lab, which analyzes hate speech on social media—including on Twitter. 

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.

For subscribers to the cheapest package, the number of rules through which they can filter data from the app’s Real Time PowerTrack API will be capped at 25,000, and the number of queries of the Full Archive Search API will be capped at 50,000. The number of Twitter handles they can analyze through the Account Activity API will also be limited to 5,000, and there will be a max of 20 requests per minute for the Engagement API Totals Endpoint, which allows researchers to see how well tweets are doing in terms of engagement.

While this sounds like a substantial dataset, it only accounts for around 0.3 percent of Twitter’s monthly output, meaning it is far from being a comprehensive snapshot of activity on the platform. Twitter’s free API access gave researchers access to 1 percent of all tweets.

Elissa M. Redmiles, a faculty member at the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems in Germany, says the new prices are eye-watering. “It’s probably outside of any academic budget I’ve ever heard of,” she says, adding that the price would put off any long-term analysis of user sentiment. “One month of Twitter data isn’t really going to work for the purposes people have,” she says.

Kenneth Joseph, assistant professor at the University of Buffalo and one of the authors of a recent paper analyzing a day in the life of Twitter, says the new pricing effectively kills his career. “$42,000 is not something I can pay for a single month in any reasonable way,” says. “It totally destroys any opportunity to engage in research in this space, which I’ve in many respects built a career on.” 

The pricing documents were provided to WIRED by a researcher who asked for anonymity, since they are still accessing Twitter data through an existing API agreement and worry it could be terminated if they were identified. They say the new costs were “not viable for the academic community.”

“No one can afford to pay that,” they say. “Even rich institutions can’t afford to pay half a million a year for a thimbleful of data.”

It’s not clear whom the new pricing model is targeted at. Nir Grinberg, an assistant professor in the ​Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, used to work at a startup that used Twitter’s data.

“It seems like a really steep increase for a tiny amount of data. One percent of Twitter a few months ago was free. Now Twitter is offering 0.3 percent for half a million dollars [a year],” he says. “It’s just crazy. I honestly don’t know who could budget for this.”

Researchers say the damage won’t just be to academic discourse. Twitter is a vital dataset for understanding how the internet works and what conversations are being had in the notional global public square.

Joseph recognizes that there are other platforms he could research, but notes that Twitter’s potent combination of journalists, high-ranking politicians, and business decisionmakers makes it a vital area for research. “Twitter is a particularly special space for understanding elite discourse,” he says. “To rip that away from all of us trying to use the system to understand it is a tough pill to swallow.”

Blackburn, however, says researchers will continue to find a way to scrutinize what’s happening on Twitter. “We’ve been mostly cut off from Facebook for years and we’ve continued to make progress,” he says. “It’s not like science is going to be held hostage by a guy that played himself into burning $44 billion on a website that makes no money, just so he could force all its users to read his shitposts.”

[elizmanderson]

Wondering about how to find beta readers? Especially finding those who would understand what your writing. The previous question you answered was SO INCREDIBLY HELPFUL LIKE OIGHSODPIHGDL K - Especially about how to respond and work with beta reader feedback.

because my family had been my previous 'beta readers' which... the 'best' time was when I got into a huge slump and hated my comfort writing because my parents said my MC was too 'overdramtic' when I was just... describing and trying to process feelings that I've felt before with characters? It did not feel nice whatsoever and sent me spiraling. Another time I got kicked out of the house for the day for not wanting my NON-HUMAN characters to be gendered... but I digress.

Which brings me to my next question, how would I find people (preferably online) who can give me feedback and beta read? It's been difficult to find people IRL who are as excited/understand what I'm trying to write with my plant fairy escapism comfort.

Thanks for answering my questions! It means a lot to me. :)

this is, alas, a tricky question, because...guess where I used to meet beta readers? if you answered "Twitter," you are correct! and that's obviously considerably less viable than it once was (and less viable every day).

with that in mind: if anyone else reads this and has suggestions for similar events/hashtags/ways of connecting on other platforms (including Tumblr), please rb or comment!

at any rate, in general social media can be helpful for finding betas because there are often hashtags to use when you're looking for readers. sometimes there are even specific events to help writers connect with each other for critique purposes! again I'm unfortunately most familiar with this on Twitter, but for example there's been an event there called like CPmatch or something like that where folks would pitch their books and then interested people would comment like "wow yes I'd love to read this!"

personally most of my virtual beta readers are friends I met online just by talking about my books and learning about their books! while several of us are agented and/or published now, we all started in the same place: writers finishing up projects and hoping for good luck in the query trenches. so we'd all just shout excitedly about our books on Twitter, and that's how we found each other.

(hashtag events for writers - weekly, semi-weekly, or monthly events at a set time where the host asks questions/provides prompts and writers answer them and comment on others' answers. I'm sure they exist somewhere other than Twitter, but that's the only place I've seen them. not to be a broken record lol but I fear my knowledge about connecting with people online is more useless day by day because of the incompetent grapefruit now destroying my favorite platform.)

anyway, sometimes you'll be more excited about someone's book than they are about yours or vice-versa, but overall being genuinely interested in other writers' work and making friends with them over your shared interest is the best way to find future virtual betas, particularly betas who will understand what your books are trying to do (as opposed to what you described coming from your family).

and I know you said "preferably online," but just in case you ever have interest in in-person meet-ups: depending on your location, you may have a home region on NaNoWriMo (dot) Org, the official site for National Novel Writing Month. (I think I mentioned that in my last post, but if you're like "what the hell is that," lmk and I'll explain.) various regions may have in-person events in November, which is a great way to meet people irl!

(actually, speaking of NaNoWriMo, it's a great time to meet other writers virtually, too! use the tags "NaNo," "NaNoWriMo," or "National Novel Writing Month" to declare your participation and find other writers who are also doing it. the official site also allows group chats - I think there's a maximum of 20 people per chat - and don't quote me but I think you can request to be sorted randomly into one in case you don't already know anyone there.)

additionally, try googling writing groups in your area. there may not be any (and I have zero tips on how to start one, as I am much happier joining an existing group), but it's worth taking a look. in my area, we have an unofficial NaNoWriMo group that chats throughout the year on Discord (so online even though we're also close enough to see each other in person!), plus a weekly critique group that meets up at a Panera to share feedback, plus a weekly writing group that meets up at a local coffee shop to chat and get some writing done! even if your area doesn't have a critique-specific group, you can meet other writers in your area if that's something you're comfortable with and able to do.

(of course you should always meet people in a public place until and unless you get to know them well enough to feel comfortable meeting them somewhere private.)

I feel like this was basically no help at all because all my virtual meeting-other-writers experience came from Twitter, but:

tl;dr

use hashtags to indicate that you're looking for beta readers (don't ask me which hashtags; I've never personally done it this way)

join hashtag and beta-matching events on social media to meet people

connect with other writers on social media by shouting excitedly about your projects and theirs

if you participate in NaNoWriMo, meet people using relevant hashtags or on the NaNoWriMo website

to meet other writers in person, google writing groups in your area or check your NaNoWriMo home region to see if a group is active near you