#i have a whole folder in my notes app for this au

[monstrsball]

TELL ME ABOUT THE POKEMON AU RIGHT NOW GIVE ME DETAILS

GLADLY!!

the elite four + champion are the top five aces. ushijima is the champion and he specializes in dragon-types (i thought about changing this to give him more variety but i think it also makes sense for him to stick with one type? maybe thats just me though! interested to hear people's thoughts on that). sakusa specializes in poison-types, kiryuu fire-types, bokuto fairy-types, and i'm still undecided on aran.

as for gym leaders, they're mostly some of the older siblings? bc i liked the idea of saeko being a fighting-type gym leader and naturally i had to then include alisa (fairy-type) and miwa (dark-type) as well. i want to make akiteru one too but idk what typing to give him.

also tenma who is a flying-type gym leader & washijou who is a dragon-type. washijou runs the gym in the town ushijima is from. i think i might use other coaches for the rest of the gym leaders but i'm not sure.

if i were to write anything for this au, it would be centered around kageyama and his growth as a trainer. and to some extent suga because he's one of kageyama's traveling companions (and a bit of a mentor too because i like to insert suga and kageyama's canon dynamic into aus when i can). both of their teams are partially based off of vibes but i also went looking for pokemon who evolve with high friendship specifically.

hinata's team is very very up in the air rn but he's kageyama's rival! i'm thinking he comes from a town without a big gym. he's not the most skilled trainer and doesn't have many pokemon but he has a great friendship with the few pokemon he does have. he is vastly improving though.

[laugtherhyena]

Every time I see your sprite work, it just makes me want to make a sprite edit of Akane with the design I made for her in my "She Was Saved" AU (An AU based on the idea of Akane surviving the events of DRA), but I've never done any sprite work so, do you have any tips?

Ok ok so, first things first, i wanna make it clear that none of my sprites are made from scratch, they're sprite edits, hence why i always tag them as such. Every single one of them used some canon character as a base for the base sprite (that one fitst sprite where the character is just standing there with a simple expression) and a handful even have canon sprites uses as bases for poses. Just figured i should make that clear so there's no confusion here.

While I'm not sure if I'm the best at giving tips n stuff, here's what i could think off;

I think the most important tip i can give anyone who wants to get into sprite editing is MAKE A BUNCH OF LAYERS‼️Save things separately just to be sure rather than merging them because that almost always leads to more time spent later down the line. While the amount of separate things certainly varies from artists to artists here's the one i use for my edits.

The app i use (Ibis paintX) allows me to make folders with a bunch of layers to them so i use them to keep stuff more organized.

On the first pic well have a folder with the base sprite, one for the different poses and in Beni's case two for the different eyes she has (one for the normal eyes and one for the ones that are part of the glasses, normally i only have one layer with all the eye variants)

On the second image I've opened the folder that holds the base sprite, or should i say just sprite since it's in this folder that i organize everything that belongs to one specific sprite when I'm making them as to not get myself confused. Anyways, you can't see in the screenshots but the first layer has her glasses, second has her eyebrows and mouth and the third has the eyes.

Fourth has the main body lineart and fifth has the main body colors, please keep those separated as by doing so you make it easier to add those lil effects onto the character's faces on certain expressions + having the lineart of the main body always helps when sketching and connecting the different arms to the main body.

Lastly you got the arms, but ideally you should make the arms/poses in a way they can be placed over the body layers since that just makes things easier to put together, i just have this habit of placing the no pose arms under everything else.

When editing i make the different arms and eyes in advance so that when i start making the different sprites i can just duplicate the canva with the first one a thousand times and everything will carry along with those. Saves time in the long-run + you don't need to separate all layers on them (lineart, colors, shading) since they're just parts there's no problem in just merging them together.

A very important thing to note tho i that if the character has glasses or any accessories that you plan on removing or moving around in some pose/sprite this accessory should be made in a different layer from the main body, this makes editing easier than if you had to just erase and refill the part where the accessory was in the sprite you don't want it to be in.

A similar rule should be applied to the character's hair, if they have short or mid length hair you can just add the whole thing to the main body sprite, but if the character's hair is long you should make this bluk/back part of the hair in a separate layer placed under the main body layers. This also apllies to any back accessories.

Here's Akira as an example; she has one layer for her glasses, one for the back/bulk of her hair and one for the guitar case she carries.

These are essentially the basics of if, so let's go over to some actual tips.

Make the sprites on a small canvas.

Since the Danganronpa another games are made on game maker the size of the character sprites is surprisingly small, while I don't think you should just do it on the same canvas size as the actual sprite, it's good to have a smaller canvas so that the lower amount of pixels gives it a look similar to the in-game sprites + as you can see by mine, they don't actually look low quality at all.

(if curious, the go-to canvas size i use for most of my edits is 773x1020)

Use other sprites as references/bases

Especially if you're just starting on making sprites, use the canon ones for bases, references or even just straight up trace them. This will make the sprite look closer to canon and will start making you undertand the elements that make up the style of the sprite, do it enough times and soon enough you'll be able to make poses on your own without needing a sprite from the game as a base.

Remember! What's wrong about tracing is not the act of tracing itself, as the act of doing so is a great exercise to help you learn, the problem is when you do it and claim you made it 100% on your own. Since these are sprite edits, there's not a problem in doing so.

Observe and learn what makes up the style you're trying to replicate

This is hard to talk about since it really is something that comes with practice, I've been making sprite edits for like 5 years now so this stuff is like written on the walls of my brain by now. Just try to look and analyse the sprites and slowly you'll start seeing patterns and small onto them that you didn't noitce before, like how Linuj's sprites have a bit if line weight to them but are still on the thinner side, how he tends to make the hands a bit on the smaller side, how when he color the character's skins he makes the area near the top of the head a lighter shade than the rest of the skintone, the way he usually makes the character's mouths, and even some more complex things like how the male characters will have very little to no eyelashes while the female characters tend to have a whole lot of them, etc.

At the same time, there's no shame in deliberately ignoring some of these things. Personality the small hands REALLY bother me in a few cases and i tend to just make mouth shapes on a whim instead of trying to stay 100% close to the style. It's just a question of messing around and figuring stuff out, it won't look perfect on the first go, but overtime you'll start to get the hang of it.

[sad-leon]

Asking a handful of creators:

Do you save things that, for one reason or another, you never ended up posting? I always love seeing scrapped WIPs / deleted scenes / etc, and was just curious!

(Absolutely no pressure to post any of it, of course!)

Theres a lot I dont post to Tumblr and even more that I don't post to Instagram. I usually share with discord though. I've thought about making a big post of those at some point.

Wips that I haven't shared, though, I got a whole folder of animations I probably will never finish. I have a bunch of half-done animatics as well. Maybe one day I'll go back and share what I did get done

A lot of my traditional art, though, I rarely share anymore. I have a lot of Lonely Leo doodles that I've done traditionally that I haven't shared as well as comic/au ideas that never go anywhere

I had a whole animatic planned that I was doing traditionally with watercolour that I never finished lol. If I can find the papers maybe I'll edit together what I did get done (it was Snufkin-centric, though)

My notes app also homes a lot of ideas or concepts that never really go anywhere

[captain-space-kin]

NWOD ASK BOMB!! 💣💣

do you prefer writing oneshots or multi-chapter fics? when it comes to more complex plots, how do you keep track of outlines/plotlines/arcs etc?

I have yet to actually write a multi-chap fic, so I can’t say definitively, but I have been DYING to write something long form. Here’s hoping that happens soon 🙏 🙏

My first step is always to make a word vomit doc with all the ideas, scenes, themes, motifs, arcs etc etc that I initially have. From there I move on to a more detailed brain storm doc!

For Wayward Son (my “The ninja find Lloyd as a baby and raise him” Ninjago Au), my co-writer and I ended up having to rewrite the whole show for the concept. So the brain storm doc is us working through the episode transcripts and noting down all the changes we have to make for the story to work (plus things we want to change like relationships and such), it’s currently 36,800 (even!!) words ahsfsgdfdf

The few times I’ve planned long form fics I’ve used this Abbie Emmons guide for my outlines. It is meant for 50k NaNoWriMo novels, so we’ll see if I keep using it in the future lol

As you can see it’s organized into my ninjago folder, and Wayward Son subfolder. Everything in it is labeled so that at least I can understand what it is. Both the docs titled “Baby Lloyd AU” are my initial word vomit and then another more detailed word vomit that I had before my co-writer came on board and we moved onto the brain doc. This was back in June-ish I think? I don’t have exact dates since these all used to be google doc files. The one labeled original is older then that though, sometime in early 2023 based on some dates from my notes app.

Anyway! Thank you for the questions!

[bookwhimses]

WIP Game! ✨

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it.

~

i was tagged by @redgoldblue (🖕🏼💖🖕🏼) and I have Elected to tag @goldenaltar @flailfail (though idk if u have any wips atm) and @dont-offend-the-bees but obviously none of you have to do this. I'm trying to get back into writing and posting about my writing and my sibling happened to tag me in this so I'm taking the opportunity.

I'm keeping this to just DGHDA wips, and just the titles of the actual drafts, not the plan/world-building docs that are secondary to actual draft docs, and also eliminating copies of docs that just have the same name but I've clearly copy-pasted to work out alternate ideas. I have included a couple from my notes app because I also store wips in my notes app and voice recordings. The ones I've asterisked are ones I'm confident I came up with and talked about with @gallantrejoinder, and the ones I've double asterisked are ones I'm pretty sure we both came up with or talked about with @flailfail. Bear in mind I may miss some because there was like a two year period when all the three of us did was scream into the night on Discord about how Dirk and Todd should kiss. I also omitted one doc titled "oreo lols" which became Jack's fic like a small boat on the ocean.

Edit: okay. some of these are more deranged than I thought. I've arranged them into categories of "this is a fairly good title for this draft" to "i have no idea what this is without opening it". bon apetiser

~

This Is At Least Something Resembling A Sane And Relevant Title:

bronfman estate's holistic haunted house*

in orbit to a shining sun

Miracle Aligner

Dirk Gently's Holistic Jukebox*

midsummer night's dream

playing cyrano

the night sky settling over our shoulders (The title of this is taken from an original poetry work by @gallantrejoinder)

the office is haunted

this, forever

Dear Theodore

Inhibitions

Pink In The Night

A Hand Full of Aces (Held Close To The Chest)*

Here For The Cult Stuff*

metaphor about embroidery of self

Farah

Clearly Just The First Sentence Of A Draft Or Scene Outline:

Todd: hey yeah just getting off the plane

Todd and Amanda are the children of a merchant

The Brotzman family go to the seaside

This At Least Vaguely Communicates An Idea:

metaphor about embroidery of self

touch starved

bargaining

regency dirk**

teacher au*

the scenes from cub from dirk's pov that i absolutely should not be working on rn

forcebond fic

Dirk and Todd are Sad and Asexual and Pining and In A Relationship. (This one is actually one I came up with with @gallantrejoinder and they took full writership of it and it's their partially posted wip, If You're Still In, I'm In. My working title for this, which is also used in my files as a folder title, was "pink lemonade".)*

TMA x DGHDA crossover

nest fic

reverse dghda au

Body swap

MY FAIR LADY AU*

Shapes and Colours filler scenes

season three

Disneyland AU**

tumblr verse picture fic*

No Idea What's In There Bestie <3:

dude just write a whole nother fic ya useless twink

haha lol well

THREE

Big shush

kisses

despair squid

Bonus Round: Folder Names For Groups Of Docs That Make Comparatively More Sense:

all my elephants

dirk of creek cottage

kiss kiss fall in love

the trouble with mistletoe

timebomb

[darlingpoppet]

for the ask game: 5, 20, 46

Thank you so much for these! <3

5. How many wips do you have?  What fandoms/pairings are they for?

On my Scrivener app I currently have 3 active WIPs: Where The Dead Forget (Patrochilles), a PZA fic inspired by The Dreamers, and a Shinto priest Erwin/Kitsune Levi modern AU I’ve had in my brain for years at this point (obviously Eruri from AoT/Snk but I also planned to have a YumiHisu subplot in there too). The first two I decided to work on for NaNoWriMo this year, the third one I will take the time to write eventually 😂 I also have countless (well, at least 18??) (most likely abandoned) eruri WIPs from over the years in my Google docs folders and Notes app. Although who knows, it seems like every time I read through old stuff I get re-inspired……

20. Do you prefer writing AUs or canon fics?

I usually prefer to write canonverse fics! Not always canon compliant, I often do canon divergence or alternate canon, but in any case I’m definitely the type of person who likes to write fanfic to expand on or explore the worldbuilding of a particular story I like. Even the one AU fic on my list of published works is an “official” AU. The Dreamers PZA fic will technically be my first modern AU of my own creation lol. I would also like to do a historical AU (or possibly a Royalty AU) someday since I love reading them, but haven’t yet settled on the perfect idea for the perfect time & place……

46. If you could only write one type of AU for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I suppose if Canon Divergence AUs count, then it would be those! It’s always fun to tweak even just a small element of a story and then imagine how the whole thing completely changes! It’s like opening up a machine to watch the gears turning and learning how it works on the inside… I love it!

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

7, 8, 17, 22, 24, 29, 33, 36

I love that you sent me a load of numbers right as I'm preparing to send you a metric ton of them too. 🤣

What is your deepest joy about writing?

OOOOOOH OKAY hmm… I guess creating storylines that I love :)

If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

Action! I looove writing dialogue, but I struggle a lot with action scenes.

Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

I have… many WIPs um 😅

Wellll one uses bugs as a metaphor (I think metaphor is the right word). To be specific, roly-polys! Though I am calling them wood lice in the fic because that’s what one of the characters calls them for some reason.

To get in The Mood for this fic, I listened to a whole freaking PODCAST ABOUT BUGS!!! IT WAS SO ENTERTAINING!!!

The podcast-person is actually Wilbur Soot, the actor for the character I’m writing about agahsbqiaviqgq it worked out really well!

But seriously hearing Wilbur talk about bugs is like. So much fun. I got to hear him talk about the time he caught a fly and showed his dad’s friends and then immediately was overcome with guilt that he’d captured the fly so he let it go. And also the time that a spider bit his pencil and he couldn’t pull it away (???). And also the time he found a caterpillar and brought it to school for show and tell and the teacher decided to keep the caterpillar to use for the class and the caterpillar turned into a cocoon but Wilbur didn’t really know what a cocoon was so he thought the caterpillar had died so he started crying alsvwkafajag

And then the caterpillar turned into a moth (Wilbur wanted it to turn into a butterfly) so he just sat in his classroom and pouted lol

AND THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE THINGS HE TALKED ABOUT!!! HE ALSO WADED INTO THE OCEAN AT MIDNIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORM TO COLLECT SALTWATER AND PUT IT IN A JAR!!! AND HE HAD A ROLY-POLY INFESTATION AT HIS HOUSE BUT HE DIDN’T CARE SO HE JUST LET THEM STAY!!! BECAUSE HE LOVES ROLY-POLYS!!!

Anyway I listened to that podcast in order to get inspiration akavaksvaksvajv

I also got inspired by some art! Here’s the link!

There was also some dialogue that I really wanted to use, but unfortunately it didn’t end up fitting 😭

I’m gonna save it to use later though, because I really do like it!

How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

Fairly organized? I use Evernote, and have different folders for different genres of fics. There’s two main folders, and then a bunch of smaller ones for series/AU’s.

I use my notes app to jot down random ideas, and I also have a blue notebook that I use for the same purpose!

How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

Usually a fair bit! I’ll get the First Idea, and then spend some time daydreaming about it. Then I’ll write it all down, daydream some more, develop it, etc. After that I’ll usually start writing!

I typically plan out the opening-middle of the story, but I don’t really have an ending planned out in a lot of cases. Not always the case, but usually.

I enjoy this process, yeah!

Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

From literally everywhere. Art, music, other fics, movies, scenes in books, one time I even got inspired by watching a janitor?

When inspiration runs dry, I tend to just… chill. Not really worry about writing or ideas; I’ll spend time doing other things in the meantime.

Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

Not really, no. I mean, I doodle sometimes, but it isn’t something I’m particularly good at nor something I enjoy a whole lot.

They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice...what do you Know?

OOOOOOH WELL I know many things aksvajsvkagahv most of which I’ve researched a ton for writing purposes!

How unborn babies act/develop in the womb

How little kids act/talk/look at the world

GOOD DIALOGUE

Ukulele… I guess? Don’t know why I’d write about it aksgsisgaigs but I know a lot about it!!!

Autism (I myself am not autistic and obviously I don’t know everything about it, but I went through a phase a couple years ago where I researched tons about it over several months, so I do know a lot about it)

Dream SMP lore… especially Wilbur/Ghostbur lore mwahahahahaha

So much about Star Wars. So so much

[internetcowboi]

Keegan! Hi hello! Sending you some asks: 🧠✨💋 (you can decide what to talk about on that last one) 🥰🥰🥰

Hi Pal! 😄 Thank you for the asks :)

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet?

I have a folder in my notes app labeled 'Fanfic Fanart Ideas' and there are currently... *checking*... 33 notes hahaha. The latest one is a roughly fleshed out Snowbaz au, Antichrist!Simon and Vampire-Priest!Baz, exploring how identity is about so much more than lineage and circumstance.

✨ Choose three adjectives to complement your own writing.

Ooooh... Descriptive (I love setting a scene), Introspective (read: a whole heap of internal monologue), and Sincere (I love a good heartfelt moment)

💋 [Freeform - what is something you want to know about one of poster’s fics?]

I'm not too sure what to say here- maybe just that I'm excited for COBB, and also slightly terrified that posting is next month and I have so much more to write? But I'm really enjoying the project, and I'm super excited to collab with @ic3-que3n because their art is awesome!

[monstrsball]

feeling bored… kinda wanna talk abt pokemon au more. send me a hq character and i’ll assign them a pokemon team? maybe? 👀

[ohnoyoonoh]

PREVIEW of PHILIA & EROS

author -; @ohnoyoonoh​

genre. au -; highschool au, based on/inspired by the movie. the half of it. coming of age.

pairing -; lee jeno x oc, huang renjun x oc, jeno x oc x renjun, renjun x jeno (ish)

synopsis -; a story of where someone asks a writer to write them a love letter for the girl they like except the writer likes this girl, too. it's an adventure of lessons in friendship and first love with renjun, jeno, and hwayoung in the town of dalgleish, oregon.

author’s note -; sneak peek into my upcoming story with jeno and renjun. i was actually very passionate in this story. this is the first story in a while that will be tagged with networks, yayyy lol lmk if you wanna be part of the taglist

warnings -; love triangle, strong language, minor bullying, whole story includes touches on sexuality, touches on sex but not committed, underage drinking and drug use, mention of minor character death (renjun’s mom), kissing, long ass story lemme tell you that

word count -; (preview) 4.8k and it’s only the beginning

Love. Love certainly comes in different forms. According to C.S. Lewis, there are four types that people focus on: Storge, Philia, Eros, and Agape. Omitting agape as many do not believe in the Christian faith, the other three simply play a role in everyone’s upbringing whether they notice the existence of these loves in their life or not. Following the words of Lewis, we would be obliged to love every single day without a choice whether it’s to us or seeing it with others. We see love wherever we go. But in this society, do we really know what love is? Love is not as straightforward as we thought it would be unlike adding and subtracting in math. Love is strange but whatever the perspective by the person, it could also be the most beautiful thing in the world.

And that is not how you write a world-class essay to make you pass an honors class.

Huang Renjun began to press the backspace of the conclusion to the last essay he needed to write for the English class. It wasn’t his essay that he was writing but one that was in his queue of his homework services. The list was stacked with requests of the take on C.S. Lewis’s Four Loves for Mrs. Lee’s Junior English Honors class, but the teacher could care less that the students cheated in the class in the peewee town of Dalgleish in the state of Oregon.

Dalgleish didn’t have much except for the Pretty Douglas Fir trees decorated around the boundaries of the town. It was fitting as the Dalgleish basically meant green field. There weren’t many open fields but looking at the town from above, the amount of trees make it look like a green space. That was one of the things that Renjun enjoyed seeing, the nature that the town offered. It was calming, least to say. Losing himself into the natura was a good getaway from the extensive labor he needed to do to support him and his family. His family consisted of his father and younger sister, Mei. His mother passed away due to breast cancer when Renjun was thirteen and Mei was ten.

That was the reason why he started his business of the homework services, but it also extended into adding more part time jobs to continue a decent salary for a high school student. His father never asked him to do any of these jobs because he never wanted to overwork Rejnun and his sister during high school. He wanted to make sure that they could focus primarily on their school work and occasional side jobs to include in their résumés and transcripts. Though due to the passing of his wife, he wasn’t able to commit to his computer science career and waived off the successful path to enter a minimum wage job.

Renjun understood the reason for his father’s lack of working, which is why he stepped up a little more than a teenager should carry on their shoulders. He loved his family too much to not do so. Which is why, he was checking off the list of names on his queue for the homework that needed to be handed that day.

Zhong Chenle

Eleanor Lee

Amie Quill

Wong Yukhei

Eugene Mills and the list going on.

He calculated the amount that was due and the total, making sure that no one paid him less. He didn’t mind if someone paid more, as it would be beneficial to any extra expenses that needed to be paid off. “$20 per essay, mm.. $200. That should be enough to cover the water bill and the groceries.”

Mei nodded, writing the total on the sticky notes that littered all over the mirrored wall. The wall full of sticky notes for the week logging any needed tasks to be finished. Wherever there weren’t any sticky notes were old pictures of the family and memories in their upbringing or new polaroid pictures of Renjun and Mei. It was a nice reminder of the moments that were captured in the midst of the hard every days.

“Hey, uh, Renjun, I was wondering if I could go to homecoming?” Mei questioned, breaking the silence as Renjun revised the to-do lists while editing his own essay. He forgot to do so since the amount of requests to do their homework was unbelievable. The only downside of the homework service was that everyone requests last minute. “Renjun.”

“Sorry, I forgot to do my homework,” he snapped his head up, letting his sister know that she had his undivided attention. Mostly. “Uh, what did you ask?”

“I was just asking if I could go to homecoming, I’ll even work extra hours to pay for my dress. I’ll even pick up some of the homework in your requests,” Mei pleaded, not verbally but through her eyes. Renjun stared at her, wondering if she was serious. It wasn’t uncommon for freshmen to attend high school events, especially someone like his sister. Mei was and still is the type of person to enjoy the events that school offers. It was the perfect opportunity to spend time with her friends and escape the hours of working. That was what Renjun recalled during their late night talks as they pleated the dumplings for their lunches for the rest of the week.

“Renjun, stop spacing out,” Mei shook his shoulder, seeing if it would wake him up out of his trance.

“Uh, yeah yeah. You can help me with some of the homework and take over my shift for the next two days at the library, is that okay?” Renjun offered. He knew he would have felt bad if he said no. Knowing his sister, she would either give up on working and not get a new dress, or give up working and not going to homecoming all together.

Mei agreed, nodding her head profusely and quickly embracing her brother. Renjun stood there, reluctantly wrapping his arms around her. Mei rarely showed affection to him which is why he seemed so surprised at the actions. Nonetheless, he appreciated the love. God. Love. Love. Love. His essay. His eyes widened, releasing from the grasp of his sister, “Crap, I need to finish the last paragraph of my essay.”

The sound of the alarm ringing through the kitchen, notifying the Huang siblings that it was time for them to head to school. Renjun groaned, wanting to bang his head against the wall. He shoved the folder with the homeworks that he finished inside of his backpack while tossing Mei her lunch. He grabbed the pen that hung off of the wall, checking off the sticky note that was made a week before to remind him of the work to do. Renjun rechecked everything once more to be certain that he hadn’t skipped over anything. Assuring himself that he didn’t miss anything, he grabbed the keys of his dad’s car and made his way out the door. Before exiting the house, his dad seemed to be missing from his usual spot on the couch but knew he was home due to his shoes still at the door.

“Mei, is dad still home?” Renjun questioned as he sat on the floor to put his shoes on. Mei turned around to face her brother and nodded, “He’s taking a shower and already made his food.”

Renjun nodded, slinging his backpack over his shoulders to adjust the straps as he wore it, “Are you ready to go?”

“I’ve been ready, I don’t know about you,” Mei sarcastically retorted. Renjun scoffed, standing up and opening the door to allow his sister to go out first. As they walked outside to get to the car, Renjun playfully kicked her leg causing her to quickly turn around to punch him. He quickly ran to the car to escape her wrath.

“Alright, I’ll see you later. Don’t forget your shift at the library,” the male informed his sister as they both entered the school. Mei groaned but nodded, saying goodbye to her brother as she parted ways to join her friends. Now, Renjun was stuck to being a high class loner for the rest of the day. He never made any friends, well ones that didn’t last long. Though he was content with that. It was better than having ones that would backstab you or talk behind your back. For being a small town, Dalgleish didn’t have much to offer with people. So, people created their own drama. Luckily in all of the Huang siblings’ time in Dalgleish, they never had any mentions of being in drama. They only were the butt of the joke of their low-class dad, but Mei and Renjun never paid attention, so the joke died before it was even alive. That belonged to the top of the hierarchy in their school. But, Renjun could care less about them and rather focused on his studies and jobs.

“Here is yours and Chenle’s homework,” Renjun flipped through the countless essays in the folder, handing Lucas the needed homework.

“Ahh, thanks, let me send you the money now. I’m also paying for Chenle’s, just in case you wonder why there’s extra,” Lucas pulled his phone out to send the money through the Venmo app.

Feeling his phone buzz, Renjun took his phone out to check that the amount was correct. Confirming that it was right, well it was actually over. Chenle and Lucas were always kind enough to pay extra. They always said it was just for the hard work that he gives since they were his first customers and the growth of the services. “Thanks, Lucas.”

Lucas smiled before heading his way for his class. After he left, Renjun continued to make his way to all of the students that needed their work for the day. He scheduled different locations and times around the school to make sure that his contraband work wasn’t known to the faculty of the school. The only one who knew was their English and Physics teachers. Mrs. Lee and Dr. Jean.

Mrs. Lee immediately knew that the essays by the students in her class weren’t written that perfectly. The growth from one essay to another seemed to be developed overnight. Not trying to question her students, they were bright but most that had the perfect scored work weren’t the brightest. Knowing this, Mrs. Lee found out after give and take, she realized that the work was by Renjun. To let him know that she knew, she asked to conference with him after class. The only thing that Renjun grasped from the conversation is that she blatantly called her students stupid when it came to essays. Renjun agreed but defended them that they were smart in other areas and needed to strengthen their levels in the writing department.

And for Dr. Jean, he just didn’t care.

“So, who’d you write for this time? I just don’t wanna read the essays to waste my time to give them A’s,” Mrs. Lee sat in her chair, sipping on her cup of coffee as she watched Renjun pack his stuff up so he could attend his next class.

He dismissed his teacher’s comment, placing his essay on her desk, “I’ll give you a list later. Oh, I also need a recommendation from my favorite teacher.” He smiled, setting a blank recommendation letter for the college he’s applying to on her desk.

He watched her scan over the document, only for her face to scrunch up in disgust. He reflected her expression with his own face, confused as to why she looked repulsed, “What is it now?”

“I don’t know, you could have chosen a better school with your grades and get in,” she tossed the paper into her neat stack before grabbing the essays and shelving it.

Renjun shrugged, knowing that the reason is that he was afraid to leave his sister and dad. More so, his sister. He didn’t want to leave all of the responsibilities to his sister. To delve even farther, the responsibility of taking care of their father. He wasn’t sure if Mei was ready to do it. A lot of people may wonder why he even thinks of his father, but his dad was still family. Their dad may not be in the best state and not pulling his weight as the head of the family, but he still worked every so often. Their dad was lucky enough to be friends with the owner of his job, and the owner understood the hardships that he was going through. The consequence of his lack in effort fell on his children.

“I just think it would be better if you attend some other college, maybe, I don’t know,” Mrs. Lee retrieved another document on a clipboard, handing it to him.

He grabbed the clipboard, wondering what it was. An application to University of Oregon. He laughed, tearing his eyes away from it to look out the window. She’s still trying to do this. He gave the clipboard back, “I can’t go to this university. It’s not even that good.”

“It was good to me,” Mrs. Lee gave him a hall pass on a sticky note before waving him off to allow him to get to his next class.

“Well, I’m passing and staying in the best town in the world,” he waved as he walked out of the class.

Renjun pondered on the idea of leaving Dalgleish, but would it be the right decision. Everything he needed was right here. There could be a great job opportunity when he graduates from the community college. Well somewhere and that somewhere is not in Dalgleish. He was going to have to move out of the town one way or another if he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a computer scientist. Maybe, he could find a way to come back to Dalgleish, opening a company would be beneficial. That was settled on a maybe. For now, all he needed to do was pass junior year and move onto senior year.

Making his way inside of the physics classroom, he showed the pass to Dr. Jean, only for it to be dismissed. He took his seat next to the window in the back. With the lack of care that his teacher had in the class, Renjun worked on the next requests of his services.

“Renjun, you’re working with Isabelle,” his teacher declared. Renjun picked up his head so fast, wondering as to why there’s suddenly a project. He was always informed beforehand in the beginning of the semester of what’s to come, but he came to realize Dr. Jean was the best teacher at coming up with random projects. Renjun just nodded, clearing his backpack from the chair next to him allowing Isabelle to sit it in.

Isabelle gave him a head bow, greeting him, “Hi. I’m Isabelle but you could just call me Hwayoung. You probably already knew that. I can’t believe Dr. Jean still calls me Isabelle, probably because he can’t pronounce half of our names.”

Renjun chuckled, shutting his computer off to place back in his backpack. He picked two of the copies of the paper before tossing the extra copies inside of the extra copy bucket that was behind him. He handed the paper to Hwayoung before reading the document. Seeing it was the project, his mouth contorted to a form of disappointment in finding the surprise assignment. The project didn’t even have anything to do with physics but basically getting to know your partner and put it in a PowerPoint. He didn’t know if he wanted to cry or laugh. He glanced in Hwayoung’s direction: Pretty. Pretty. Popular.

Choi Hwayoung. The ideal girl that anyone could ask for. She was nice and smart. She was one of the pretty girls of the school, and everyone knew that. Renjun liked her when he joined the Model UN team, and she was also on it. He thought that she was also smart when she stood her ground during the time of Model UN. He wished he could have stayed longer as he enjoyed it, but his sister wasn’t all that capable when he had to leave for a competition once. Despite thinking the basic reasons for him liking her, he liked how she smiled and her dimples just protruded. Her eyes were full of life when debating. How she spun her pen between her fingers when she was in focus. Renjun, tone your feelings down.

Now, he wasn’t sure if he still liked her due to the lack of attention he gave his own feelings.

“Oh right, my name is Renjun,” he whispered as Dr. Jean ranted on another go of the conspiracy theories of the Illuminati and Beyoncé . His teacher always made the time in class go by faster or slower depending on how dedicated he is to the conspiracy topic. Some were more interesting than others. He looked over to her writing, “I think you knew that already.”

“Yeah, I did. You were on the Model UN team but left, you were really good at what you did,” Hwayoung complimented him. He smiled, nodding as his way of accepting the praise.

The small talk ceased as the bell rang for dismissal, he collected his items and shoved them into his backpack. He slung his backpack over his shoulder, “I’ll do the project and turn it in when it’s finished.”

“But this is a two person project. I am not asking for your homework service to come in play here,” Hwayoung turned to look at him. “Maybe, we could just actually do it together. Unless you don’t want to because you’re uncomfortable to do that which then do the project by yourself, just text me if you need anything.”

With that, she smiled and left. Renjun watched her leave the classroom. That was a first. Typically any project with partners left Renjun to do the work all by himself, which he didn’t mind. Most complain that they had to do it by themselves, but he enjoyed the easy A without the others messing it up.

The final school bell rang, but Renjun was already in the car, waiting for his sister. He hummed to the music, tapping to the tunes of Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman album. His head turned to the door opening, and his sister joined him in the car already singing the song. Renjun turned down the volume, “Ready?”

She nodded while buckling up her seatbelt. Renjun placed the car in reverse, only for a student to be waving a paper trying to get his attention. He wasn’t paying attention, trying to get Mei to work on time was his priority.

As he continued to reverse the car, he still hadn’t noticed the student until Mei tugged on his jacket. He slammed on the breaks, finally seeing the student waving the paper around in the rear-view mirror. He almost ran over him. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to come to a compromise in his head that he almost committed homicide by accident, “What the hell?”

The male student walked around from the rear of the car before going around to the driver’s side. He knocked on Renjun’s window before Renjun rolled the window, “Why were you in my way?”

“You almost killed me. Shouldn’t you feel a little empathetic?” The student smiled with a teasing tone in his voice.

“If you have nothing important, I will be going now,” Renjun put the car in drive, starting to press on the acceleration pedal. He still wanted to know what the student wanted, but it was probably just another order for homework help. “If you want me to do your homework, find my number and text me.”

“I want you to help me write a love letter. I read your essay for Lucas, and it was really good,” the student requested, holding the note out. Renjun slammed on the brakes once again, but this time, Mei slapped her brother in the shoulder for the discomfort of their backs hitting the seats so harshly. He looked at her with an apologetic expression before his gaze turned back to the student.

The student held the note at the window, which Renjun started to read.

Dear Choi Hwayoung.

The first three words were enough for Renjun to decide if he was going to help this fool or not. He shoved the letter back into the hands of the requester, “Nope, I’m not writing a love letter to Hwayo- to her.”

“Oh, to who?” Mei pitched in. Love always made people curious, well more nosy. Then, the ideas of who ends up with who just turned into a big mess. Renjun certainly didn’t want to help someone out that wanted to create a love letter. Plus if he was the recipient of a love letter, he hoped it wasn’t made by someone that didn’t have feelings for the person. Or in Renjun’s case, written by the person’s personal feelings. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be genuine. Artificial. Unauthentic. Fake. Love isn’t supposed to be any of those things if a person wants to make it work.

“No one, Mei.” Renjun answered before he turned back to the student, “Have a good day.” He rolled the windows back up and continued to drive away to his priority. He looked in the mirror once more to find the student sulking with his head down. He chuckled. That’s so pathetic.

“Hey, you could have totally picked that request up. That was Lee Jeno,” Mei tapped away on her phone as she informed him of who the student was. Renjun scoffed, but he also was unsure why the name of the student is relevant. Customers are customers. There’s no needed relationship as it’s based on monetary and satisfaction of getting work done. Mei looked at her brother who stayed silent, and she was sure that he had no clue who Jeno was. She raised her eyebrow, “Do you not know who Lee Jeno is?”

“Do I care? Mm.. Not really,” he didn’t really care about who Jeno was. He rarely cared about any of the people in the school, as they weren’t his business. He wanted to stay out of anyone’s mouths as much as possible. Renjun thought of who Jeno was because he did sound familiar. They lived in a small town, so everyone knew most of each other. Dalgleish compromised mostly of East Asians, but nonetheless it still had a good variety of other ethnicities. It shouldn’t be hard to think of who Jeno was. Ah, he’s the boy who used to live four houses down when they were younger before the downfall of the Huangs came about. Jeno would try to invite them to play often with the other kids in the neighborhood, but Renjun was shy at the time, and Mei wasn’t the one who enjoyed company. Though that did start to change as they grew older. Renjun wasn’t shy, just liked to keep to himself to stay out of trouble, and Mei enjoys the energy with people.

“Jeno is the star student of the school, more like the perfect Asian kid. He plays the violin, ping-pong captain, forward for soccer, and is part of A Honor Roll,” Mei listed all of the things that Jeno specialized in. Renjun listened but wasn’t in awe of the achievements that Jeno had. Most of the kids in the school participated in those activities, differing in sports and academics. Everyone had their own skill set to show off, which made Jeno not any different from the student body.

“Okay, what does that have to do with me?” Renjun questioned, stopping at the red light. He wasn’t sure what his sister was making in her brain. She was most likely going to lose track of where she was heading to prove a point.

“Plus, he banks and his parents have this IT company in California. So if you help him, he could probably get you to return in favor by getting you an internship,” Mei added onto her tracks. She sure did make a point. That was a first. Renjun surely could land a job if he gets an internship, but he didn’t want to use someone like that. He wanted to do it on his own.

“Yeah, no. I refuse to do that,” Renjun pressed his foot down on the gas pedal, accelerating the car as the light switched to green.

“How come? It’s a good opportunity, I’m just saying,” Mei said as she shuffled around in her seat, adjusting her jacket.

“Well, I don’t want to use someone like that. I want to get there on my own, no matter how hard it is. I have a plan to get there,” Renjun answered. He arranged his future’s timeline, coming up with the desired plan. He thought of Plan B, just in case the first one didn’t work. Then, he had his safety plans just in case nothing of his wants couldn’t come to reality.

Mei answered with a hum. Renjun was glad that she didn’t continue the conversation. He parked next to the curb in front of the library and turned off the engine. He decided to study at the library. He didn’t have much to do today other than making dinner and finishing the rest of the requests that he didn’t assign to his sister. Plus, the library offered free food and beverages to their workers. And, who doesn’t like free food?

“Your shift ends at 7, which is perfect. I’ll be in my usual section, working and studying if you need anything,” Renjun said as he left his sister as they entered the downtown library. He walked towards the Japanese literature section, quietly greeting some of the regular goers that he recognized. Living in Dalgleish, he picked up quite a few languages. He was surrounded by multiple ethnicities who differed in languages and to benefit the elderly who weren’t comfortable using English, he thought it would be nice to learn their native language. Plus, there were foreigners who came frequently to visit the town. It was like a tourist attraction, sometimes. Even if there wasn’t anything to see in the town.

Renjun was only fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Korean, but he was conversational in other languages like Cantonese and Japanese. He tried to make the effort, plus his world geography class had an extra credit opportunity to explore languages. Despite not seeming to be a people person at school, Renjun was able to converse easily with others when he was out and about. He often got teased by his sister for it because he always said he was not a people person.

He placed his belongings on the ground, unpacking his laptop, and plugging the charger in the outlet to refuel the laptop’s battery. Putting his earphones in to enjoy his music, he bopped his head a little to the beats. Renjun checked his list if he had any new requests. He wanted to know if Jeno asked for one with his love letter. That’s so stupid. Love letters are supposed to be personal. He’s such a dumbass.

“Hey.” came out of nowhere. Renjun jerked in his chair a little, even if he had earphones, he didn’t blast it just in case someone asked him about anything in the library. He still was a worker there, even if he wasn’t working. He thrived off of a busy schedule. He didn’t thrive off on being startled.

He whipped his head to the person who peeked over his shoulder, almost throwing his hands around if it wasn’t in a public place or at least a library. He saw the same boy from earlier, only this time in neater clothes. Jeno was wearing his athletic warm-ups when he was at the school. Renjun just blinked his eyes before shaking his head and getting back to his laptop, “You’re in a library, look through some books for inspiration for your love letter. Good luck to you and bye.”

“Oh come on, I’m not the best at words and expressing my feelings. Can you just at least read it and revise?” Jeno asked, moving a chair from another table to sit with Renjun. The ping-pong star received hushes from those around him, causing both Renjun and Jeno to have apologetic looks to them.

Renjun shook his head, “No. No way.”

“I’ll pay you extra from what your highest price is. I’ll pay you even more for authenticity,” Jeno pulled his phone out. Renjun peeked over at Jeno’s screen to see his website page with the costs of the homework papers. He thought about the extra costs. He possibly could buy his sister’s dress for homecoming, so she could keep her money from work and spend it on makeup and other necessities to get ready for school events. It was a good idea, but Renjun wasn’t the best at even expressing feelings and whatnot.

“I’ll give you $100 for this one letter,” Jeno offered.

“Alright, sold.”

[stevethehairington]

WIP tag game

thank you my dear @aahaanaa for tagging me!  💕

rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

hahahaha okay so uhhh i have WAY TOO MANY wips for this not to turn into an incredibly long, incredibly drawn out post, so i think i’ll choose some of my favorites from my wip folders from each fandom, but not list all bc uhhh yeah we’d be here forever. seriously fdgkldf.

SKAM: - Camp Rock AU - Dog Poop AU (which was basically even’s dog takes a shit on isak’s lawn and even leaves i only so he can go get something to clean it up with but isak thinks hes just leaving it period and so they argue over it dflgd) - Gummy Bear AU (which was a lowkey crack fic inspired by That One sugarless gummy bear review about the dude and inviting his date over) - Black Mirror: Playtest AU - Angsty Divorce Fic (ksggfdg i actually think this one was finished but i never posted it bc Reasons dfkgldf) - plus 19 other docs in the folder Simon vs./Love Simon: - Ask Jaques (was going to be an anonymous love advice columnist au, omg it would’ve been so good) - Tilt-A-Hurl - Kiss The Boy fic (smth based on Kieynan Lonsdale’s song) - Bookstore AU - Sleepy Subway - plus 5 other docs in the folder Marvel: - Fake BBQ Master Husband (aka the fic of my DREAMS, oh my god i had the BEST plan for this one, im still so sad i haven’t written it, i LOVE this idea more than life gglkdgh if anyone were to ask me about it i would definitely gush all about it) - Post Apocalyptic AU - cop!steve, framed!fugitive!bucky (ohh man this is another one i had this whole elaborate plot for, it would’ve been so good) - Rom-Com AU (ughhh another one that would’ve been AMAZING, i’m so upset i never finished this one either klgdfg) - HTGAWM AU  - plus 58 other docs in the folder rlkgjhlkgjfgkdfg Good Omens: - Woo The Bookkeeper (aka the fic that was going to be my GOBB fic before i had to drop out rip) - Hogwarts Married Professors AU - Pirate AU (oh my GOD i had SO MANY good plans for this one) - Set It Up AU (the concept would’ve worked SO WELL w GO omg) - Hair Washing AU - plus 12 other docs in the folder

IT: - Airport Swipe (aka based on the tumblr post about someone waiting for their flight swiping through tinder and the person they just left swiped is Right There and questions them lol) - Lowkey Ratatouille AU (which basically had nothing to do with a cooking rat and was just based on the linguini/colette relationship lmao) - Swim Team AU - winter break cabin snowstorm bed sharing!!  - Fake Relationship Office Christmas Party AU - plus 21 other docs in the folder

Shameless: - baby driver au of sorts - monopoly murders families  - bloody and raw, but i swear it is sweet - alternate first kiss - mickey’s hawaiian shirt - plus 17 other docs in the folder

The Old Guard: - this is his body, this is his love (which i just need to finally finish and then i can post it gkjfdgdf) - after the war - bath fic - soft mornings - the way they love - that one time booker wins the bet - no other wips in the folder atm but many many bouncing around my head in the spaec where the braincells should be

Trust FX: - angsty frank ocean thoughts - body worship. - dinner at gabriele’s - pale violet red - color prompt - sunflower field car trunk hm - 1 am word vomit - Paper Airplanes (i thought i’d just list all of them out even though it’s more than 5, but those are all i have in there so!)

Suburra: - two babies, one teddy bear, and the much needed push - fic inspired by “you said you’d grow old with me” by michael schulte - The Dance Floor - really fucking depressing extended ending -  post s3 fix it

and this all doesn’t even include whatever i’ve got going on in my notes app on my phone lmaooo.

WOW! as you can see I have a whole shit ton of ideas, sure would be nice if i could actually write them all instead of staring at my ever growing collection of wips and doing absolutely nothing with them! 

@ me: your wips folders are not a musum!! you CAN touch the art, contrary to popular belief!! gkjfdgd N E WAYS, i’m going to tag: @wandering-scholar-lad @peachykoya @raynertodd @cluelessheroes @likedestiny @scimitar-and-longsword @thewolvesrunwild @pinesboi @1derspark

[littlereyofsunlight]

The Fire is So Delightful

Hi @geekynerddemon, I’m your @steggyfanevents secret santa! You chose modern AU from the options I gave you, so I wrote you some firefighter Steve Rogers and a self-rescuing Peggy Carter. There’s a cat in a tree, plus a bunch of the usual suspects from the MCU. Chapter 2 coming shortly!

Read on AO3

ch 1/2 Rating: Gen Relationships: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers Characters: Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Sif, Dum Dum Dugan Additional Tags: Firefighter AU, Modern Day AU, romcom, meet-cute, the gang’s all here Summary: Peggy rescues a cat from a tree. Steve doesn’t help.

“Will you look after Liho for me?” Natasha’s sudden request startled Peggy out of her contemplation of the drink in front of her. They were at their usual place, a dingy little bar down the block from work where the bartenders all knew them and they could hold a conversation without having to shout over music or dodge the advances of the neighborhood suits, who generally avoided the place owing to its distinctly aggressive lack of atmosphere.

“Sorry?”

Natasha kept her eyes on her own drink, fidgeting with the straw. Natasha, normally a beer drinker, or after especially difficult weeks just straight vodka, had ordered one of the bar’s ridiculous cocktails. It was tequila-based, neon orange, came in a Tiki cup and had what looked to Peggy like an entire mint plant sticking out the top. “I’m going out of town for the holiday and I need a cat-sitter.”

Peggy had worked with Natasha on the analyst team for six years now, but she’d only ever been invited to her home once, a few months ago. “I’d be happy to, I have no plans.” As a rule, she saved the trans-Atlantic flights for better weather. Her parents weren’t big on Christmas, anyways.

Natasha gave a quick little half smile, and Peggy noticed her shoulders drop a good inch. “Thank you.” She took a sip of her drink, holding the ostentatious garnish away from her face as she did so. “My, um, ex-girlfriend is also going to be home for the holiday, so I didn’t want to just do a short trip this year. I’ll get you a key next week.” Then she changed the subject back to work, and they strategized about their supervisor’s latest power play—and speculated how their beloved admin Darcy Lewis might undermine it—until much too late for a work night.

Two weeks later, Peggy set her bag down just inside the threshold of Natasha’s bright, clean two-story duplex. “Are you sure you want me to stay?”

Nat waved her hand. “It’s such a long drive between your neighborhood and mine. If you’d be more comfortable at home, of course, Liho will be fine.”

Peggy looked around the downstairs living area, flooded with early afternoon light. “I’m sure I’ll be perfectly comfortable here. I just know how very private you are.”

Nat gave her a shy smile. “I think we’re past all that, aren’t we?”

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Peggy smiled broadly back.

“Okay, bedroom is upstairs and there are fresh sheets and towels and everything. Help yourself to anything in the fridge or pantry, of course. I got some of those yogurts you always eat, plus this—” Nat thrust a nice bottle of red wine into Peggy’s hands, though Peggy wasn’t sure exactly where she’d been hiding it up until then “—Her food is on the counter, please just the listed amounts, because she is a terrible beggar and will try to weasel more food out of you.“

“Noted,” Peggy said.

“And her litter boxes are in the bathrooms, the litter is flushable.”

“Convenient.”

“Also, she sometimes tries to escape out the front door, so look out for that.”

“So to review, your cat is a cat who acts like a cat,” Peggy teased. “I have this handled, I promise. Liho and I will get some quality time on your couch with everyone’s favorite streaming network while you spend the holiday with your sexy ex. Now get out of here. Maria’s waiting for you, isn’t she?”

“Thank you, Peggy,” Natasha said, as she rolled her eyes but pulled her in for a quick hug nonetheless. “Liho’s hiding upstairs, but she’ll probably come down around dinnertime, so like, six, if she doesn’t get curious about you before then.”

“Is she very interested in people?” Peggy’s grandmother kept cats in her little London flat, and they were always all over the place regardless of who was visiting, though she supposed that could have been more out of necessity. The few times she and her brother Michael had tried to play hide-and-seek while visiting Nana had been very anticlimactic: there were only two good child-sized (or even cat-sized) hiding spots in the whole place.

Nat shook her head. “She and I get along because we’re very similar.”

“So if I lose her, I should just put out a saucer of vodka.”

“It might work,” Nat allowed. “Smart-ass.”

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nat looked up the stairs one more time. “Thanks again. Text me if you need anything.”

“We won’t.” Peggy raised her eyebrow. “Text me if you get some this weekend.”

Nat actually blushed at that, to Peggy’s surprise. “You’re sort of wearing on my gratitude, here,” she grumbled fondly. She picked up her bag and took her coat off the hook.

Peggy threw up her hands. “Yes, I’m trying to get you to leave already!”

Laughing over her shoulder, Nat finally opened the door. “See you in a week.”

“Drive safe!” Peggy called after her.

“Oh!” Nat called, stopping beside her car. “My neighbors are all pretty friendly, don’t be surprised if someone pops by.”

Before Peggy could formulate a response (How friendly? Which neighbors? Why aren’t any of them watching your cat?), Nat was in her car and on her way. “Thanks for that advice, I guess,” Peggy said to herself. She closed the door and looked around. At least this Christmas she’d be alone in a new location, she mused. She pulled out her phone and tapped out a quick message to her friend Angie back home, even though Peggy knew she’d be asleep already. She scrolled aimlessly through the apps on her phone, hovering over the ‘dating’ folder she’d shoved Hinge and Bumble and all the rest into after the last in a series of disastrous dates over the summer. Peggy hated to admit it, even to herself, but she was lonely.

True to Natasha’s word, a small, sleek black cat poked her head through the top two spindles of the stairs promptly at six pm and, upon seeing Peggy on the couch but not Natasha, she let out a series of squeaking chirps. Peggy put down the novel she’d borrowed from Nat’s bookshelf—Lauren Beukes’s Broken Monsters, and here Peggy had thought Nat to be more of a nonfiction reader—and got up to see what Liho’s dinner situation was.

Natasha very clearly cared a great deal for the skinny little cat who, according to Nat, had turned up on her doorstep one day and invited herself to stay forever. There was a stainless steel water dish that continuously burbled up a little fountain, and two shallow dishes, one for wet food and one for dry. On the counter above the cat’s dishes, Nat had thoughtfully set out Liho’s food, all fancy brand-name specialty stuff. Liho chirped at her a few more times while Peggy dumped a can of wet into the designated bowl, and she kept making adorable little nomming noises while she chowed down. Peggy stroked her hand down the cat’s back and Liho jumped and shot Peggy an affronted look before she went back to her food.

“No touchy while eating, got it.” Peggy left the cat to her meal and grabbed her phone to see what delivery options were available in Nat’s neighborhood. As she tried to decide between Mexican and an interesting Vietnamese-fusion place, the doorbell rang.

Peggy opened the door to a barefoot, confused-looking man wearing a t-shirt despite the frigid weather. He sketched a brief wave before launching into a query in sign language, but she couldn’t hope to follow. Peggy waved back and gave him a broad “huh” gesture. He nodded and reached up to turn on the hearing aids hidden under his hat.

“Is Nat home?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, she’s not in,” Peggy responded.

“I’m her neighbor, Clint,” he said, pointing his thumb at the other side of the duplex. “I was hoping she’d want to split a takeout order.”

“Oh!” Peggy said, realization dawning. “I’m Peggy, Nat’s friend from work. I’m watching her cat for the week. Did she tell you she was going back for the holiday?”

Clint watched her lips closely and nodded as she spoke. “Right, sorry, I forgot.” He scratched the back of his head under his knit cap and squinted at her. “Do you maybe want to go in on some takeout?”

A grin spread across her face and she opened the door wider. “What do you think of the Vietnamese place?”

Clint gave her both thumbs up. “The báhn bao are freaking amazing.”

When Nat texted later that evening to let Peggy know she’d arrived, Peggy and Clint snapped a quick photo for her with their very impressive spread of food and Liho just barely visible in the background, creeping on the interlopers in her home from the top of the stairs. Nat texted back a laughing with tears emoji and then when you go to bed tonight double check under the covers. she sometimes attacks feet if she’s not expecting them

Noted, Peggy replied. More normal cat behavior.

Nat sent back the eye-roll emoji.

Have you seen Maria yet? Peggy hoped she wasn’t being too nosy. She and Nat had been friendly for years but this new level, with in-home cat-sitting and ex-sex-discussing, was still pretty new for them.

In response, a photo appeared of Nat’s slim fingers around a half-drunk pint glass. she’s meeting me in 30 minutes, got here early for some liquid courage

Peggy sent her a string of crossed fingers and martini glasses, punctuated with a purple heart.

Nat sent back a purple heart and Peggy felt it in her chest, warm and liquid. She didn’t have many good friends, and all of them were back home in the UK. Nat, standoffish, prickly, elusive Nat, was turning out to be her first real friend in the States.

Just then, Liho jumped up into Peggy’s lap and butted her head against the hand holding her phone. Now she was ready for Peggy to pet her.

Clint was good company, and he turned out to unabashedly love Love Island, which Peggy watched to keep up with Angie’s opinions on the subject, so he and Peggy re-started the beginning of the third series together and talked about how Camilla was too good for the rest of the crowd.

While Peggy got ready for bed, she poked her head around the upstairs, looking for Liho as she brushed her teeth and slathered on moisturizer, dipping back into the bathroom to spit and then to dab on a spot treatment.

“Where are you hiding, miss?” She peeked behind the door of Nat’s second bedroom, set up as an office. She spun the desk chair around, but there was no cat curled in a ball in the seat. Peggy went into Nat’s bedroom and threw back the covers, but no luck. She called and called, but Liho didn’t poke her head out, didn’t answer with a chirp. Peggy searched the whole house twice, and then remembered what Nat had said about the front door. Had it been open too long when Clint left? Peggy had said goodnight and gone to put away her leftovers, she hadn’t watched to see if the cat stayed inside. She couldn’t remember seeing her after that.

Feeling out of sorts, Peggy grabbed her phone and Nat’s key, tossed a hoodie on over her sleeping shirt and shoved her feet into her sneakers. She opened the door and stepped onto the stoop, calling softly for Liho as she shut the door firmly behind her, in case the cat was still inside. “If you’re out here, darling, please come back inside.” Peggy shivered as a cold wind blew down the street, throwing the bare branches of the tree in Nat’s yard against each other. A full moon and a cloudless sky, plus the street lamps and the festive lights on many of the houses meant the street was fairly well-lit, even at this hour.

She turned on the flashlight on her phone and swept the light around the walkway, focusing on the spots in shadow. “Liho!” She stepped off the stoop and into the yard. Over the wind, Peggy heard it. An unmistakable chirp. She spun around, trying to see the cat. “Come here, kitty!” Against her better judgement, she made kissy noises and thanked the lord no one else seemed to be out at this hour. Another chirp, and this time Peggy realized where it was coming from. She aimed her light at the tree. Standing in a vee about halfway up the old oak was Liho, shivering in the wind.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Peggy said, “did you get yourself stuck up there?” Liho chirped back at her and stayed put.

Peggy eyed the tree trunk. She’d climbed more difficult ones, to be sure, but not since primary school. She tucked her phone and keys into her pocket and zipped her hoodie up to her chin. “I’m gonna get you down,” she told the cat. “Don’t worry,” she said, mostly to herself.

As Peggy climbed, Liho retreated further up into the branches. “That’s the wrong direction!” Peggy complained. But she could keep going, so she did. The street lamp provided decent illumination, and it was a dry, cold night, so the bark wasn’t slippery against her rubber-soled shoes.

A truck rumbled down the street and stopped at a nearby house and Peggy hoped the occupants wouldn’t notice her, climbing a tree at midnight in her pajamas.

“Uh, ma’am?” A voice called up from below.

“Bugger,” Peggy cursed. No such luck.

She didn’t dare look down, the branches were starting to get thin. Liho watched the man on the street with some interest, though, which might work in Peggy’s favor. “Ma’am I’m with the fire department. Is everything okay up there?”

Peggy had to laugh. “I’m fine, just retrieving a cat. But you seem to be short a hook and ladder, or even a siren. So try again, Mr. Fireman.”

She heard a sigh from down below, but Liho was cautiously creeping towards Peggy along one of the topmost branches. “That’s it, come here.” Peggy reached out her hand and Liho came closer. Peggy braced herself against the trunk of the tree, hugging it with her thighs, and then she grabbed the cat by the scruff of her neck. Liho let out an undignified squawk but didn’t fight her grip, allowing Peggy to drag her close to her chest and hold her there.

“Good job,” the man encouraged.

“No thanks to you,” Peggy muttered. She climbed down. Liho, to her credit, submitted to Peggy’s hold like a kitten in her mama’s jaws. Soon enough, they were both out of the tree.

The supposed firefighter stood several feet away on the sidewalk, watching. “All set?” he asked.

“We’re fine.” She finally got a good look at him then, and well, he did look the part. At least six feet tall, with broad shoulders, fair hair, and a clean-cut All-American sort of look, if the chiseled jawline throwing shadows under the streetlamps were anything to go by. He wasn’t in his gear, of course, just jeans and a short leather jacket. It was still a good look on him.

He looked back up the tree. “You, uh, you’re pretty good at that.” He looked back to her and gave her a small smile.

“It’s not my first tree.” She looked him up and down. “Are you really a firefighter?”

He hooked his thumb back at his truck. “Not on duty. I heard the call on my radio, and I was nearby.” Now Peggy could see the bar of lights on the top of his truck. “I’m guessing you didn’t call this in, though? You definitely had things under control.”

She smiled despite herself. “I did have it under control.”

He nodded. “Well, glad I could be of no help at all.”

“You certainly did get here quickly, so points for that, I suppose.” She shifted the cat against her and took a tentative step closer.

“I live in the neighborhood.” He took a step closer, too. Peggy could see the wry smile on his lush mouth now. “Steve Rogers,” he offered.

“Peggy Carter. I’m just cat-sitting for a friend.” She cut him a look under her lashes, having a bit of fun. “But I’m starting to see why my friend likes this location.” Steve open and shut his mouth a few times, and then his reply was cut off by the wail of a siren. They both turned to look as a fire truck careened down the street. Steve stepped into the center of the road to flag them down. As the siren got louder, Peggy felt Liho tense under her hands, her front claws digging into Peggy’s sweatshirt. She tried to hold her close, but the cat squirmed away and bounded right back up into the tree. “Oh, Bloody Nora!”

He came back to stand beside her, hands on his hips. “Did the cat just run back up the tree?”

Peggy sighed. “The cat just ran back up the tree.”

“Well,” Steve scratched at the back of his head as he looked up to where Liho had perched herself, “I have that ladder now.”

“Captain Rogers!” Someone called from over by the truck. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Steve checked his watch. “Lieutenant Barnes, somehow I made it here a full five minutes before you did.”

“Aw, Steve, it’s a cat in a tree.”

“I told him we should get our hustle on for any call in your neighborhood, Cap,” another firefighter piped up.

“You should hustle for any call anywhere, come on, team” Steve’s voice got more commanding as he spoke with the members of the crew.

“Is that the cat’s owner?” another crew member piped up, gesturing at Peggy as she climbed down from the truck.

“I’m caring for her, yes,” Peggy replied.

The woman looked up at the tree and back at Peggy. “Would she let someone hold her if we got the ladder up there?”

Peggy considered. “She’s not great with new people.”

The firefighter nodded and looked back at Steve. “Cat bag.”

“Cat bag,” Steve agreed. “Ms. Carter here already got her down once, so I don’t think this one’s a jumper.”

The rest of the crew all exchanged looks, disbelief clear on their faces despite the truck’s flashing lights throwing strange shadows over the group. “Uh, what?” The handsome one Steve had called Barnes broke the awkward silence.

“I got her down,” Peggy explained. “Then your siren scared her and she went right back up.”

Another firefighter—also a handsome man, Peggy noticed—looked slowly between Peggy and the tree. “So if you didn’t have any trouble getting up there, then why …?” He squinted back at Peggy.

“She didn’t call this in, it must have been a neighbor.” Steve clapped his hands together. “All right, it’s cold out and I’m sure that cat wants to be warm inside, just like the rest of us. Who’s going up?”

“Not it,” both Barnes and the other one said at the same time.

“Wilson,” Barnes whined, “I got the last one.”

“Allergies, man. You’d have to dose me with Benadryl if you want me within five feet of a cat.” Wilson shrugged. “Sif, can you take this one?’

The female firefighter—yet again a very attractive person, statuesque with dark hair and big, dark eyes, Peggy was starting to wonder if the entire engine company put out a calendar every year—already had a burlap sack, which Peggy assumed was the cat bag, in her hands, along with a length of nylon rope and carabiners. She rolled her eyes at the other two. “Well, it’s not like Cap’s going to send Dum Dum up after her, is it?”

As if on cue, a fourth fire fighter stuck his head out of the truck’s door. “Everything okay out here?”

“Thanks for the help, Dugan!” Steve shouted back.

“Oh! Cap! Didn’t realize you were here!”

Steve waved him off and turned back to Sif. “You don’t want the ladder?”

Sif looked at the tree. “Nah, it’ll go faster and scare the cat less if I climb up. What’s her name?” The last part she addressed to Peggy.

“Liho.”

Sif nodded, put on some thick work gloves she produced from a pocket, clipped the cat bag to her belt and up she went.

“You know,” Peggy said, standing next to Steve as they watched Sif’s ascent, “if you lot hadn’t showed up I’d already be back in the house with the cat I’ve been entrusted to look after.”

She could hear the smile in his voice as he replied. “But then you wouldn’t have met me or my motley crew, and wouldn’t that have been a shame.”

Peggy eyed him speculatively and took a breath. “Jury’s still out. Perhaps you could buy me coffee sometime, Captain, as an apology for keeping me up so late. Give me more time to decide.” She felt brazen, hitting on a man who was there to do his work, but he wasn’t her neighbor, after all. And she was intrigued by this man, his apparent kindness, how he showed up even when his shift was over, not to mention the easy way he had with the people under his command. Captain Steve Rogers was the sort of man she wanted to get to know better. And, not to put too fine a point on it ... he was sexy.

Half his mouth quirked up in a self-conscious smile and he rubbed at the back of his neck. “Coffee, huh?” He looked at her, his ridiculously long eyelashes casting shadows on his face in the strange light. “Could we make it dinner? Tomorrow?” He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on the balls of his feet. “With the upcoming holidays, I’m going to be working ten days straight. Better to get it out of the way.”

“Oh.” Peggy’s spirits fell.

“No!” Steve backtracked, eyes wide. “That came out all wrong. That was me trying not to uh, sound too eager? Also, I’m tired, and one of my firefighters is up a tree, and you are a very attractive woman and you just asked me out and my brain might be short-circuiting right now?”

Peggy had to laugh at that. “Okay, okay, stop digging.”

“You have to forgive Cap,” Wilson said from behind them. “We don’t let him out much.”

“This may in fact be the first non-work conversation he’s had with a woman,” Barnes chimed in. “Sorry it was so bad. He’s terrible at flirting.”

Steve took the good-natured teasing in stride. “Watch it, you two,” he warned them, but there was only wry warmth in his tone as he shook his head.

“I agree, it was very lacklustre flirting,” Peggy said. “You’ll need to step up your game for dinner tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve replied, a broad smile on his face.

“Got her!” Sif called from above. “Coming down. Good job securing a date, Cap.”

Peggy had to agree with that, too.

[tender-history]

Fic Plotting 101: How I Start from an Idea.

Hullo, hi, welcome! It’s Plotting 101 with Dee: Part One!

 Before we get started, here’s why I made this post:

 1) I get a lot of CCs asking how to approach plotting, pacing and especially story flow, and I wanted to link them all to something useful,

2) I see a lot of people wanting to write plot but unsure how to approach it because it can be overwhelming,

3) Google Searching ‘how to plot’ can be EXTREMELY scary.

 Let’s take Number 3 first. If you’re going to Google ‘how to plot’, you’re going to end up with advice on everything ranging from ‘don’t plot’ to six sheet spreadsheets with fifty columns each that wants you to put down everything from your character’s eye color to what exactly they think of instant noodles. You’ll end up with diagrams, beat sheets, templates, storyboards, and find guides that range from six-step plotting techniques to fifty-steps. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t follow that method - sometimes, if you’re a person who likes character design and questionnaires a lot, you’ll love that method. But I’m not like that, and a lot of writers I know aren’t like that either. There’s nothing I hate more than some spreadsheet asking me my character’s weight and height. And if you go down that road, chances are that you’ll just go down the rabbit hole of intricately designing your characters and settings for AGES instead of actually writing anything at all.

 So - if not through spreadsheets or beat-sheets, how DO you plot?

 If you ask me, the best plotting method is to do WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.

 How do you find what works for you? You try things. I tried many different ways of plotting before I decided what worked for me. So this is going to be less a guide on how to plot and more an explanation of the ways I plot, with the hope that maybe you can find something in here to help you.

 > For me, step ONE is the IDEA.

 This is your big shiny nugget. Your driving force. This is EXTREMELY important, because no one idea is equal to another.  Some ideas are better, because they can help you do something unique, something only you can do, which makes you stand out. For the sake of demonstrating this whole thing, let’s take The Tender History of Tides. Tender History lived on my Ideas folder in my Notes app for months before I began writing it. This was my one-line quick jot-down: ‘what if I wrote non-royalty historical fantasy set in Joseon Korea?’

 Done before? Yeah. Can be done in a unique way? Heck yeah.

 Your idea is very very important because it’s the axis on which you’ll pivot your entire plot. It’ll grow and develop and change if you just give it some thought.

 So, plotting suggestion #1 right here: Keep an Ideas folder. You WILL forget your idea, however shiny it is. Keeping it all in one place helps in more than one way: 1) You know it won’t disappear from your mind, 2) Sometimes ideas can overlap, come together, and turn into a whole new story.

 For Tender History, the historical fantasy set in Joseon Korea idea very, very quickly merged with another idea I’d had: taegi dark-fic with sea-monster Tae and monster-hunter Yoongi. They were disparate thoughts, things I thought of at different times, things I then put together to create something more unique than what they would have been individually.

 I often generate ideas this way. I’ll consult my Ideas folder for thoughts I’ve had in the past, then see if they can be combined with something else to make a better shiny.

 Few examples:

 1) vhope magic shop au + but what if the whole thing is set in a game arcade?

2) taegi vampire au + but what if this was set in the fashion world?

3) vmin library au + but what if they went to a magical school?

 Combination is one way of idea generation. Other ways of idea generation that I sometimes use:

 > Use images. Go on Pinterest, check out some aesthetics, let your imagination run wild.

> Use online prompters. There are so many prompt generators floating around! For Fantasy, I use Seventh Sanctum sometimes (they have hundreds of different sort of prompt generators, and some are really good if you’re stuck on banal things like naming, or a quick character design). For fan fiction, there are prompt bots on Twitter. You can even google writing prompts, there are several websites that offer one per day, which you can then use to kick start your imagination.

 > Now you have your idea. Step TWO, for me, is developing the idea.

 This is the step where you can really stand out in the crowd when it comes to plotting. It’s great having a unique idea, but this is the part where you flesh it out.

 Here’s how I do that:

> Scribble down a skeleton of what you think the story will be: In my case, for this Taegi fic, the skeleton looked something like this:

taegi, yoongi is a detective, tae is a supernatural being of some sort, setting is joseon korea, time period is (???), wintry, monsters and murders, dark, atmospheric, there’s a romance and it’s both soft and dangerous, side: noble seokjin, scholar namjoon, doctor jimin (?). they’re in a village and there are these murders and everyone is keeping secrets. 

This, as you see, is a ramble. It’s just whatever’s in my head, being committed to paper. Now, plotting is WORK. Putting what’s up there - that ramble, that mess of ideas - into a functioning, well-paced, structured, organized plot requires you to put work into it. It’s not easy. But it’s a lot of fun. And when it starts coming together, you really feel very good about your writing and your story!

So, moving on to the actual work now:

> Write a 250 word pitch of the story. Organize your ramble into something coherent, meaningful and easy to absorb. Imagine that this is exactly like the back blurb on a book. The back blurb on a book is meant to entice you to read it. IF it’s enticing enough for you to read, then you can imagine that it might be enticing to a reader. But first - you have to make it enticing for YOU. As the writer, YOU have to feel like, ok, this is gonna be a killer story if I tackle it.

 The objective of this pitch is two-fold:

1) You have to be able to tell three things from it: the idea, the characters, and the main conflict.

2) A complete STRANGER - i.e., someone who has no idea about your story - should be able to look at this pitch and tell what exactly the story is about.

 I can’t stress the importance of this step. Often times, it’s not until you force yourself to explain your plot in 250 words that you find possible issues with it.

 Here’s how I explained Tender History in 250 words or less:

 “In late 1700s Joseon Korea, a string of strange murders sends Inspector Kim Seokjin to a frozen northern province. Accompanying him is Min Yoongi, once a scholar of the supernatural, now an indentured laborer until a debt for his crimes against the palace can be paid. Quickly taking on eccentric artist Kim Taehyung as his assistant, Yoongi sets out to find the monster that’s terrorizing the land. But there’s more to both the icy lakes and the people here. More to Taehyung and his unflinching ease at drawing scenes of death. Yoongi just needs to figure out what.”

 Note a couple of things here.

A) You as the writer knows who the important characters are, because they are named.

B) You know the setting: 1700s, Joseon Korea, icy, winter.

C) You know the characterization and how they play into this world: inspector Seokjin, indentured worker Yoongi, artist Taehyung.

D) You know the conflict: murders, monsters, secrets.

E) You ALSO, if you look deeply enough, know the inner character conflict - Yoongi has debts, he has no free will until he pays them.

 If I show this to you, a stranger, you should ALSO be able to glean these basic details from this 250 word pitch.

 It’s not easy. It just looks easy. I spent hours putting this down in a way that was completely right: precise, simple, yet very explanatory. This pitch will force you to confront what is the story, its actual plot and actual characters, and what is only set dressing. You can’t ramble about it anymore for hours. You can’t have a bunch of disconnected ideas anymore. You HAVE to fit it into something concise, something easily absorbed - not just by you, but by a reader who can’t see into your mind. 

You will also know, by putting this down, if the characters aren’t developed enough inside your head. Because why would anyone go to a wintry frozen land to catch a monster? You can’t answer that unless you know, by forcing your thoughts into coherency, that oh, Yoongi has no real free-will here.

 > Step THREE, marry external and internal conflict.

 Or this is step 1.5, actually. You cannot plot a story without both external and internal conflict. Or, you can, but then you won’t touch your readers as much as you would want to.

 What do I mean by this?

 Your external conflict is something that exists outside of your characters - your regular villain, say. This is your Darth Vader, your Voldemort, your Capitol.

 Your internal conflict is what your character feels. This is HARDER. In Hunger Games, Katniss ponders and combats her own ruthlessness. In Harry Potter, Harry’s desire to fit into the world and live a normal life continuously contrasts with his own fame and the symbol of hope he becomes.

 In Tender History, my external conflict is very fancy: murder, monsters, scary villages, etc. Internal conflict is a lot less so: Yoongi in this fic continuously has to wrestle with feelings of guilt and unfairness, with wanting to do good but feeling too burned by the system. If you’ve read Murmuration, the external conflict is the Scarab, but the internal conflict is their own ambition, their guilt over what they had to do to survive, their (terrifying) loyalty to each other.

 Internal conflict is where you find your character voice. If I’d set Tender History Yoongi in a celebrated position at his job, he’d be a much different character. His voice would be much different. He has power! He has resources! Versus this Yoongi, who has nothing, and hence has to trust the people he’s allowed to work with to tell him the truth.

 Think of it like peeling the layers:

 1) The Idea,

2) Develop the Idea,

3) Fill in the External Conflict,

4) Fill in the Internal Conflict.

 I have a few major rules I follow at this point of plotting. They’re like this:

 1) Are these the right characters for my story? - This means I do a round of thinking about whether these people are the perfect vehicle to tell this story I want to tell. Great, I want to tell a story about wintry Joseon Korea, and monster-fighting. But. Is indentured-worker Yoongi the best person to carry this? What if I make him a village leader instead? What if he’s a runaway prince? What if he’s the monster? Depending on what you want your story to be, you have to think of your character to fit the telling. In Romance of Old Clothes, I chose Tae POV for the whole thing because I wanted to illustrate his reading of people vs. other people’s reading of him. Taehyung’s internal conflict in that fic was that he lies to himself extensively. He’s got this idea of who he is, which is untrue, which is then broken down in a climactic moment. He’s my perfect character to tell that story, because of his obliviousness. Similarly, in Tender History, Yoongi’s the perfect character to tell this story, because of who he is in society, his internal troubles, and his monster-hunting experience.

 2)What are some details I would add to this world? - I have a basic idea of the conflict, the world, and the characters now. This is where I take out a chart or a notebook and get to work. I do this like a mindmap: I jot down anything I can think of - say, okay, Joseon Korea: food, art, paintings, caste system, civil examinations, scholars, winter, roads, Confucianism, shrines, religion, music, monsters, gender roles. Then I begin detailing it. ‘Food’ for example: royals eat different food from commoners eat different food from untouchable castes or peasants. Summer food is different from spring food is different from winter food. When I read about food for this fic, I read about the ‘barley gap’ or the gap between barley and rice cultivation during winter. People historically starved during this time. If my story is set in winter, this is an important detail.

 Let’s take something more contemporary. I’m writing about a vintage clothes store. Details I would need - clothes, brands, size of the shop, layout of the shop, how do they procure clothes, how do they test authenticity, what are their customers like, who do they interact with, where is their shop in the city, what does being in that locality mean, what seasons are busy for them.

 A mindmap is just a page full of words, questions, things you know, things you don’t know. Filling it up is the next major step.

 3) What is character development going to be? - This is very important. Okay, you have an external and internal conflict. Now, start of the story being point A, and end being point B, what exactly is A and B for my character? What do I want them to become? In Romance of Old Clothes, Taehyung at Point A is lying to himself about his own nature. By Point B, he’s able to identify that he needs to let people in, open up more. In Wonder Woman, Diana at the beginning of the story is rather naive, believing that if only she could destroy the God of War, the whole war will end. By the end, she understands and admits that things are not that black and white - that people sometimes fight wars because they want to, not due to some external influence.

 You have to know this to continue.

 Step 4, in how I plot, is to put down a starting scene, a few story beats, and the rough idea of an ending.

  But I’ll get into that - and more, including pacing - in Series 2 of this series of posts! Please let me know here or on twitter if these are helpful, or if I’m just rambling too much.

Since I am now struggling a lot to balance writing with work, and if you want to help me keep on writing posts like this, please consider donating to my ko-fi.

I also made a post on how I world-build, the tools and templates I use for the same: it’s over here!

 https://tender-history.tumblr.com/post/185910085044/on-research-worldbuilding-and-culture

[cdelphiki]

⭐

Thanks for asking! I had to decide what I wanted to talk about, that’s why it took me a while to respond!  But, I’ve decided to talk about chapter 4 from In For a Penny, which is the chapter where Selina meets Damian.  I read a comment about it today and had to reread, which is why it’s on my mind again. 

So I actually started writing this while in the Charlotte Airport, back in January when I was traveling. I hadn’t started publishing the story yet, but I was preparing to start eventually.  I had gotten into quite a bit of batcat stuff at the time, and started shipping them so hard.  Like, I’m a whore for Batcat, it’s sad.  I hadn’t shipped anyone to anything ever up until I read The Longer You Stay and read a bunch of the comics dealing with Bruce & Selina.  

I had the story all nicely outlined, and wanted to write the whole thing before I started publishing.  (I also wanted to write the Tim & Damian get tortured story first, but here we are)  And Selina wasn’t really involved in the outline.  I was going to introduce her wayyyyy down the road, like after all the kids are already a thing. I wanted them to eventually be married in the AU, but not for a long time. 

Then I was sitting in the Charlotte Airport and the scene of her sitting next to Bruce on the ground, making Bruce point out things he liked about Damian hit me. (And I had to sit there and look like I wasn’t about to cry LOL)  I made a quick note in my notes app, so I could go back to the thought later, and turned my mind to things that wouldn’t make me cry in front of thousands of people and possibly catch the attention of airport security.  

That note reads, “Have Bruce freaking out about not deserving to want Damian— he had no say in reading him never wanted him none of that and doesn’t want to get attached because he has no claim to him.  Selina sees and sees him hesitating to touch or play with him and that leads to the conversation”

So I made it to my parent’s house and tried not to think much about any of my fics while I was there.  Absolutely totally failed, because I stayed up for several hours that night, past midnight when I went to bed, to write it.  That was after I’d gotten up at like 5am to catch my flight, by the way. I was exhausted. 

While I was going, I really wanted Selina to be the voice of reason.  I feel like she is the voice of reason a lot in comics, and sometimes Bruce is that for her.  They’re good for each other.  Both of them have their insecurities and fears when it comes to COMMITTING TO EACH OTHER, like god you two just get married already (yelling at their present selves in Precedent, but actually no because they won’t get married in the AU until after… something.  In like 2-3 fics. It might even be the final one that happens in.)   

She was, at first, supposed to just show Bruce that it was okay to want Damian, and that he was a good dad and loved his son.  But then Bruce kinda had a panic attack, unplanned.  And then I really fell in love with Selina, tbh.  Because she was able to get Bruce to be real with her and break down, where he wouldn’t have done so for anyone else.  

I cried.  A lot.  While writing this.  I swear, being a writer this past 1.5 years has really made me cry a lot more than anything has in the past 15.  I used to never cry, now I’m crying because ‘oh my godddddddddddd they love each otherrrrrrr’ like what is happening to me?  

Once I was done, I saved it in the project folder and realized my entire outline just went to crap.  I had to rewrite the whole thing, but honestly I love when that happens.  Because it tells me I’m really getting in touch with the characters and understanding the world, and 99% of the time, those kind of scene end up being the key to the entire fic. (And, it’s often the scene most people remember most.)  Which is why, when I returned home from that trip, I posted the first chapter and started publishing In For a Penny.  So I could eventually share that scene.  🤷🏼‍♀️

[onapinkston9-blog]

How To Convert WAV Into M4A

Wav to MP3,MP2,WMA , m4a-mp3 converter free download WAV, OGG, APE, AAC(used by iTunes),FLAC(lossless compression),MP4,M4A, MPC(MusePack),AC3,TTA,ofr(OptimFROG),SPX(Speex),Ra(Actual audio), m4a-mp3 converter free download and read what he said WavePack. For a long time I've used Acoustica Audio Converter Professional (2005) program for the WAV to MP3 conversion, but it doesn't assist Win7 sixty four and because I am now getting rid of my outdated XP PC so I need to discover a new solution. On account of safety know-how DRM, MP4 recordsdata cannot be simply distributed, while it is much less complicated to replicate files in M4A; that's the reason Apple Lovers" choose the latter format. With M4A, it is possible to buy music in iTunes, as well as obtain it into smartphones or different units.

In case you like to purchase top quality music recordsdata, as many websites now offer files in lossless WAV format, you will in all probability must convert them to be used on a conveyable gadget. Click on the "Profile" drop down button to select WAV as the ultimate destination format. M4A on-line totally free. Obtain the file, choose the quality (bit price), frequency and channel and we are going to do all the give you the results you want, so you will get the mandatory file. Compress FLAC to MP3, M4A or AC3 with high audio quality. Audio information come in quite a few totally different codecs. Some are lossy, reminiscent of AAC and MP3; they save house compared to the unique recordsdata, however some of the authentic data is misplaced during compression. Some codecs are lossless, akin to Apple Lossless, FLAC, and SHN; these recordsdata might be transformed back to their unique form with out the loss of a single bit. Finally, some are uncompressed, equivalent to WAV and AIFF; they characterize the precise information from a CD or a master. The following information will take converting Opus to MP3 as the example and the guide can also be used to transform Opus to WAV, FLAC, WMA, AAC, AC3, OGG, M4A, MP2, AIFF, RA, AU, and many others. Step 2, Choose M4A because the output format by clicking the Setting icon. Like this, you possibly can set the output path before the conversion as your want. It's amazing that there are applications like this one which are completely free. The appliance is very good for conversion between audio codecs. Command-line mass conversion of any directory tree of audio information.

Performed! You simply transformed M4A file to mp3 file. Click on the green Convert button on the upper right section of the interface and there could be a sidebar popping out from the right side of the interface. Set the directory for the output file on the sidebar and click the Convert button below to activate the conversion. Rip CD and convert to Ogg format. And Convert Wav recordsdata to Ogg. button on the higher right of the interface and choose a folder for saving the output recordsdata within the dialog that opens. All Audio Converter, Whole Audio Converter, Audio to MP3 Converter, Transformed Audio Sharing, Mp3 Converter, audio converter lite, audio converter by cometdocs - convert audio recordsdata, the audio converter, audio converter professional, all audio converter, any audio converter, any video audio converter, audio converter all, audio converter all-in-one, audio converter movavi, universal audio converter pro, universal audio converter professional, video to audio converter, create audio file. Beneath Convert possibility you will note Add Files. From there, a window will pop up that can assist you to choose M4A recordsdata from your pc and open with this system. You can even drag and drop recordsdata to the program. One other approach of importing is clicking on the inbuilt browser and then seek for the appropriate M4A file.

Free WAV to MP3 Converter is a free software program utility from the Different subcategory, a part of the Audio & Multimedia category. The app is at the moment obtainable in English and it was final up to date on 2012-04-29. The program can be installed on Win7 x32, Win7 x64, WinVista, WinVista x64, WinXP. An MFA file is analogous in that the file extension intently resembles ".M4A" nevertheless it, too, doesn't work with M4A players and is totally unrelated to audio recordsdata. MFA files are both MobileFrame App files or Multimedia Fusion Improvement recordsdata. Massive-scale digital media distributors, resembling Apple and Amazon, use DRM (Digital Rights Administration) encryption for copyright safety and to authenticate the media player you authorize to play the encrypted recordsdata. If you buy an album or music from iTunes, the DRM-protected file can only play on an Apple machine that's related with your Apple ID. If you wish to play that music or album on an Android cellphone or pill, you want to use a copy of the file that does not have DRM encryption. You possibly can inform if a file is encrypted or protected by right-clicking on it and consulting its properties. When it comes to file size and high quality, AIFF and WAV formats are pretty interchangeable. For you techno-junkies, the AIFF format results in an uncompressed PCM (pulse-code modulation) file that means it still has relatively giant file sizes, but maintains a better high quality of sound. Put in your CD containing the sound information you want to convert, or load up the sound information out of your disk into iTunes. You can do this by going to File > Add to Library and easily browse for the recordsdata you would like to open.

WAV audio files are an effective way to preserve the entire and correct quality of a recording in a truly lossless format on your laptop. Nevertheless, if you're not an audiophile and are involved about space for storing, it is perhaps time to transform them to a extra manageable format like MP3. Anybody know of a superb converter for WAV to Mp3? I discovered heaps with google but they appear a bit dodgy. Simply wanna know if anyone is aware of a superb one. Presumably a free one. In case your songs are out of DRM protection, you possibly can simply convert them with iTunes. Let's learn how to convert songs to different audio formats with iTunes.

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Direct MP3 Joiner

Convert MP4, MP3, WAV, MOV and extra to any format on-line. CD to MP3 Ripper will enable you to to rip the audio from CD to MP3, WMA, APE or WAV for common players. Reveals a 0 kbps audio bitrate for MergeMP3's output file. Audio Joiner is a useful audio tool which lets you be a part of a number of audio recordsdata with completely different formats into a single one,fast and straightforward,with a high quality app helps a wide range of audio formats each for input and output (together with MP3,FLAC,AIFF,M4A,MP2,OGG,AC3,WAV,WMA,AU,MKA,CAF,and different formats. Magic Audio Joiner is licensed as shareware for the Windows operating system from media splitter software and can be utilized as a free trial till the trial period ends (after 30 days). Change is the quickest audio converter software we tested. You will get the precise output quality as wanted for every audio becoming a member of and audio conversion This free MP3 joiner gram offers often used presets in addition to detailed parameter settings embody frequency, bitrate, number of channels, etc. This MP3 Merger is suitable for creating lengthy audio mixes, for uninterrupted play time, as a substitute of composing a playlist, as an example. It prices you nothing and brings you essentially the most satisfying audio conversion expertise as another paid software program! EZ Softmagic MP3 Splitter & Joiner three. Construct 2 It builds MP3 Splitter (MP3 Cutter) and MP3 Joiner in a single, you'll lower up, scale back, trim a large MP3 file into plenty of smaller pieces or join, merge various MP3 files to an even bigger one. Convert MP3 format to WAV format; WAV shops uncooked audio data and can be used in enhancing and processing. After uploading the file, the content material or music in your audio will probably be displayed within the form of waveform together with two control markers i.e. start and stop. MP3 Cutter Joiner Free is an aspirational program for music lovers especially one who likes to create his personal music and want some slicing, enhancing, becoming a member of, and so on. MP3 Merger can merge & mix your plenty of FLAC, MP3, OGG and WAV audio data to a whole single audio file. Hamster Free Audio Converter is claimed to work with Windows 7, Vista, XP, and 2000. Whether or not you are making music, podcasts, audio books, or every other type of venture, Audacity is a very unbelievable instrument. Visible MP3 Splitter and Joiner helps MP3 and WAV and merge a number of tracks of those extensions. QuickTime Participant can make audio recordings , nevertheless it producesm4a information. Choose your goal output audio format there, right here takes convert FLAC to WAV for instance, simply go to Audio > WAV and choose the audio quality in the correct facet. In case you prefer to use online mp3 cutter joiner free download MP3 combiner to merge totally different audio files together, right here we introduce you with a very good on-line device. As a result of the AMR file kind was specifically developed to document speech, telephones and apps that document audio utilizing this format aren't perfect for recording extra dynamic sources like natural sound and musical instruments. Then, Visual MP3 Splitter and Joiner is the appropriate solution for you. It extracts audio from a variety of video information, online mp3 cutter joiner free download including MPEG WMV and MP4. On-line MP3 cutter is invented in an effort to provide help to design your individual ringtone, cut part of the interview or audio books. Ideas: Drag and drop the folder the place the MP3 info are to this MP3 Joiner, in the occasion you do not want so as to add files one after the opposite. Along with changing single audio files into other codecs in bulk, you'll be able to be part of multiple files into one larger audio files with Freemake Audio Converter.

Is there a better option to merge multiple mp3 recordsdata and save them as a single audio wav file? This M4R converter works straight out of your internet browser, it means that you can convert a track to M4R audio format (for iPhone ringtones), so you should use the converted M4R audio file in your iPhone as ringtone. 6. This audio cutter and joiner on-line service is multilingual. MP3 joiner to mix audio recordsdata. By searching on-line audio joiner or online audio merger on Google, you would get a number of choices. Utilizing it, you'll be able to crop, trim, paste and be a part of audio information. A how-to information for trimming MP3 audio in macOS Sierra utilizing simply the software program that comes along with your Mac. One other amazing function is which you can obtain & convert YouTube movies with YouTube instrument and convert movies to audio format with video to audio converter. If you're looking for a lossless MP3 cutter that may preserve unique high quality whereas reducing the audio, mp3DirectCut may very well be your perfect selection. Ok, I suppose I went a bit far over right here, but yeah, it's a superb tool if you wish to take pleasure in some severe audio editing. If you would like a quick audio merger, Apowersoft Free On-line Audio Editor is the one for you. Be aware: An option to Report audio can be on the market, however it didn't work and crashed the software program program all through my testing. This free MP3 cutter and MP3 joiner supports a considerable amount of input codecs including MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG, APE, AC3, AIFF, MP2, M4A, CDA, VOX, RA, RAM, TTA and much more as supply codecs. If you want to purchase Free On-line Mp3 Cutter And Joiner , 816 products shall be listed. Now it's easy in order that you may be a part of collectively assorted audio recordsdata into one single file and divide a large audio file into smaller gadgets. Lastly, additionally it is value noting that Mp3 Audio Splitter Joiner can even convert between Mp3, WAV, WMA and OGG codecs. In cases if you solely require a section of an audio recording, maybe for something you may have dictated that you simply need to sort up later, a software tool which may reduce the audio is beneficial.