#i just randomly found this on Pinterest and needed to make some post about it lol

[justsomeunsurefancat]

Same Cloud, same

[huhmiya]

CABIN NIGHT | matt sturniolo

pairing: bf!matt x f!reader

summary: where matt takes you to a cabin in the middle of the forest for a romantic evening together.

warning: smut, sub!matt, p in v, use of y/n, pet names (sweetheart, good girl, love, baby), hair pulling, protected sex

warning: smut, dom!matt, p in v, use of y/n, pet names (sweetheart, good girl, baby), hair pulling, protected sex

a/n: not my photos, on pinterest. I haven't posted for a long time, sorry about that

WORDS: 2.3k

huhmiya on wattpad

you - pink | matt- blue

-

Matt has always mentioned or asked you to come to a cabin with him, but you have always agreed and then accidentally made other plans, or he ended up having to record a YouTube video because his brother changed the timetable. As a result, you never had the opportunity.

Today, however, you both finally had the chance to go out and stay at the cabin for a few nights, just the two of you. Matt was very excited, not only because you were with him, but also because he admired a cabin in the woods where no one knew your location.

As he drove, Matt couldn't resist placing his hand on your thigh, a habit he developed when you were in the passenger seat. He never mentioned it, but once he had Chris sitting next to him in the car, and he randomly placed his hand on Chris's thigh for a few seconds, resulting in an awkward silence and Chris teasing him about it ever since. However, Matt didn't let it bother him when he was with you in the car.

The music was playing softly in the background as the two of you chatted. He glanced at you while keeping his focus on the road, and gently squeezed your thigh to get your attention. You responded with a slight hum and made eye contact before he had to turn his attention back to driving.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, his tone gentle. "I know we finally have the time, but I don't want to pressure you. We can turn back if you'd rather not go."

He was eager to go, but unsure if you felt the same. The last thing he wanted was for you to do something you didn't truly want to do just for his sake. Your smile reassured him, and he smiled faintly in return, waiting for your response.

"Why wouldn't I want to?" you answered, watching his side profile as he drove.

He chuckled, his teeth peeking through, as if he thought you were joking. To him, it was clear that he wanted nothing more than to be in a cozy cabin in the middle of the woods with you.

"Have I not made it clear enough for you, sweetheart?" His words caused your eyes to roll, already knowing the answer.

Neither of you spoke, he simply rubbed your thigh and continued to listen to the navigation system guiding you both on the remaining distance until your arrival.

You gazed at his hands, noticing his painted fingernails matching yours, though his were starting to chip off due to his habit of scratching or biting them occasionally.

For the next hour or so, he drove until finally reaching your destination.

Upon arriving, he quickly exited the car to retrieve his belongings and opened the door for you before you could even reach for it, prompting a soft laugh from you.

"Thank you, but I could have done it myself," you said, though secretly enjoying the gesture without needing to express it.

"I prefer to make my girl feel like a princess rather than treating you like a slave," he whispered as he kissed your head before locking the car.

He would retrieve our luggage shortly, but first, he wanted to make sure the key was where it was supposed to be since no one else was around.

He found the key hidden under the plant pot, surprisingly untouched. Just as he was about to pick it up, he remembered the owner talking about some safety tips and details before he rent it.

"Would you like to relax while I grab our things, baby?" he inquired, scanning you from head to toe and smirking when he caught your gaze.

"Don't you want some assistance with that?" you asked, meeting his blue eyes as he simply shook his head in refusal.

You watched him for a moment, considering helping him, but he grabbed your arm and guided you back to your previous position beside him.

"Come on, y/n, be a good girl and listen to me. I don't need help with this," he emphasized, ensuring his words were clear. It wasn't just because he didn't want your help, but also because there were only a few bags to carry since you were both staying for three nights.

You didn't respond, choosing to stay where you were instead of entering the cabin alone. You waited while not helping him.

He made the task of carrying the bags to the cabin seem easier than it actually was. To him, it was no big deal.

He entered the cabin first, with you holding the door for him as he carried both of your belongings. He headed straight to the room, as he had looked it up online before renting it for a short period.

As he disappeared into a room, you took the opportunity to look around. Your fingertips brushed against the soft wood and door handles, trying to figure out the layout of the place.

"Are you exploring? Finding something interesting? What are you up to, love?" he asked upon returning and seeing you inspecting something, though he wasn't sure what.

He approached you and hugged you from behind, resting his head on yours as you took in the details of the room.

"Just looking around," you answered, rubbing his arm adorned with tattoos before starting to walk, yet he still kept his hands wrapped around you.

He wasn't as touchy in front of his brothers, as he never wanted to make them uncomfortable. He was more likely to show affection when the two of you were alone in his room, but he faintly worries about his brothers walking in and judging him for being clingy. However, when he knew it was just the two of you, he could truly relax and be comfortable around you.

You smiled and kissed his hand, as it was the closest thing your lips could touch. Soon after, you pulled away, causing him to watch you.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes focused on you. He wanted to make sure you were alright. You simply nodded and reached into the bag to get a drink of water before putting it in the fridge.

He checked you out like he had done before entering the cabin, admiring your beauty as usual, but something about you today seemed particularly appealing to him.

Without taking any action, he simply sat down on the couch, and before long, you joined him, resting your head on his shoulder. He placed his hand on your arm and gently rubbed it. "Why do you look so stunning today? You always do, but..." His words trailed off, leaving you slightly puzzled and intrigued, but he quickly laughed it off.

After a moment of silence, he felt your fingers tracing his tattoos and readjusting his shirt after. "Could you pleasure me in some way?" he asked quietly, causing you to pull away and meet his gaze as he bit his lip.

"Could you be on top?" he pleaded, continuing to stroke your arm before kissing the tip of your nose.

"Are you being serious right now? Like, actually serious?" you questioned, to which he just gave you a stern look before responding.

"Do you want me to show you my hard cock to prove I'm serious?" he asked, his accent subtly present but not overpowering.

He leaned in and gently kissed your lips, resting his head on the armchair as you slowly straddled him.

"Do you like that, baby?" you whispered, feeling his touch tender as he eagerly tried to remove your shirt.

You broke away from the kiss before he could fully undress you, his gaze fixated on your chest.

"I'm not a fan of bras, but I do love boobs. Well, some bras, at least. They can push your boobs together and drive me wild," he confessed before you silenced him with another kiss.

He groaned and returned the kiss, his hands fumbling with your bra until he finally unclasped it.

After squeezing your breasts, he pulled away from the kiss, admiring your exposed chest that belonged to him as you were his and he was yours.

"Fuck y/n," he grinned. He was acting like a child, but he didn't care. You took off his shirt, and he let you do it.

His torso was exposed, and you ran your hand over it, feeling him harden beneath you while on the couch.

His cheeks were red, and whimpers escaped his mouth as you moved on his lap. He was needy, and you could tell.

You didn't waste any time, knowing he hated being teased but also loved it, depending on his mood. But you could see he was too horny to handle any teasing.

You slowly got off him, making him a bit worried, but then he watched as you took off his jeans, causing him to bite his lip.

His pre-cum stained his boxers, but he didn't seem to care or even notice. His legs trembled slightly with need, but they weren't shaking too much yet.

You left him in his boxers as you slowly undressed, testing his patience even though he couldn't do much.

"Y/N, please, don't make me look foolish here," he whispered, glancing at you before realizing you were testing him.

He removed his boxers on his own as he watched you shed your remaining clothes. His member throbbed, and he couldn't resist the urge to pleasure himself in that moment.

You placed your hands on his knees and then ran them up to his thighs. He caught his breath and gazed at your hands.

"Are you sure you want me to make love to you?" you asked. He nodded, but then swiftly reached for his jeans, pulling out a condom from his pocket.

"Did you anticipate this?" you teased. He just shrugged and handed you the condom. You opened it with your teeth before sliding it onto his erection.

He gasped as your hand made contact with his eager member, craving your touch.

He grinned at you before gripping your hips, guiding you to straddle him on his lap since he couldn't bear not feeling your touch on his throbbing shaft.

He ensured that you were comfortable and adjusted to his size. His eyes rolled back as he restrained himself from moaning in pleasure.

"Good girl, y/n," he stammered out, noticing the mix of pain and pleasure on your face as you slowly rocked your hips.

He tried to control his excitement so that you wouldn't experience any pain after getting accustomed to it once again, as you had done many times before, and he particularly enjoyed when you were wrapped around him.

"Oh, yes," you whispered to yourself, the pain gradually giving way to pleasure.

You began to move more vigorously, which is what he desired and enjoyed. Both of you let out sounds of pleasure.

He grabbed your hair, pulling it back, causing you to close your eyes and part your lips, feeling his strong hands in your hair.

The rougher and faster you went, the tighter he held onto your hair.

Your moans were like music to his ears, which he adored. Your mixed-up breathing, as you focused on being dominant some of the time and the other on the pleasure.

His eyes glistened with pleasure, his skin becoming moist as his cock was coated in your wetness. He could tell you were close by the way you were getting rougher while riding him on the couch, your moans growing higher in pitch.

"Are you close, sweetheart?" he asked, looking at you before pulling your hair as his orgasm built up.

You nodded, both of you covered in sweat. You pushed his hair back while continuing to ride him, his hands exploring your waist.

His eyes rolled back as you began kissing his neck, causing him to moan softly from the sensation and your movements.

"Damn, I'm going to cum if you keep teasing me like that," he whispered softly, almost inaudibly.

You felt your own orgasm building, sensing Matt's cock twitching more inside you, indicating he was close as well.

A few tears welled up in his bright blue eyes, overwhelmed by the pleasure coursing through him. He bit his lip in response to the sound of your moans, unaware that you had just reached your climax on his cock.

His eyes widened in amazement and desire, a mix of awe and lust consuming him. He felt your legs tremble slightly from the intensity of your orgasm, yet you continued to ride him with such vigor that it clouded his thoughts.

"Oh, that's it, y/n, fuck," he groaned, his hands entangled in your hair as he released into the condom.

His moans echoed louder than yours, his body arching in ecstasy as he struggled to stifle his sounds.

As you gradually slowed your movements, he finally caught his breath and was able to gaze at you intently.

"Can we do this every night while we're in the cabin?" he asked with a smirk, cheeks flushed.

"Maybe," you replied as you dismounted, leaving a trace of your essence on his member. He removed the condom, tied it off, and disposed of it in the bin.

"I can make you say yes," he says, throwing down the gauntlet. You arch an eyebrow as he winks and settles back on the couch beside you once more.

masterlist! guidelines & information! wattpad! socials!

[pype-r-morgan]

Stoner Witchcraft Blog Post #1

Amarok, Trickster Wolf Spirit:

and why FN Stories are often similiar but rarely the same

Warning: This post contains information about Chaotic and therefore; unpredictable Deities and Spirits. Do not approach these spirits without reason or they approach you as they did me.

Everything comes at a price - Anne Bishop

Dark Witchcraft is the path rarely followed

I found this on Pinterest randomly. I'm a Plains Cree living in Northern Canada, so some of these I'm familiar with different names and/or origin. Many stories do cross from tribe to tribe, so variations make it hard to find where they came from.

Most of these legends come from above the Arctic Circle. There are some that have travelled south and southwest - Orca and Wolf spirit have often been said to be both at once. What's interesting though, no one taught me that beforehand. I just figured it out based on the spirits being so similiar. Intelligent, loyal, family taught and orientated, pack hunters, harmless until they aren't. I actually (stoner me) missed that first time I looked at until now.

No... The spirit that grabbed my full attention was Amarok.

A lone giant Dire Wolf that'll either kill you or make you stronger. Chances are not in your favour if you cross one by accident. They're chaotic neutral, as most tricksters. They're gender neutral like most spirits, unless you're brave enough to check. They can speak, but rarely.

Amaroks fit right at home with my mixture of chaotic or neutral (usually both) Patrons.

Anubis

Lucifer

Loki

Amarok

Orca

Anubis is really the only voice of reason, Loki and Lucifer try to help... The Orca has been with me since a child in its wolf state, but living in a river town, I often dream of Orcas in fresh water.

Now, before anyone goes "name your source" first is wiki, second is my own experience, third is I'm one of the last generation raised as a traditional FN. My first language is Cree, and I grew up with many stories about different spirits, including several similiar but different creation stories.

I do talk to these Deities and spirits often. No, they are not beginner material and I don't encourage anyone to approach any of these Patrons. They will kick your ass if you fuck up badly enough, but they repay handsomely for loyalty, for a price.

These Deities came to me for my unusual compassion and empathy for those most forget about. I'll take extra suffering to prevent another. I'll sacrifice what means most to if it helps me regain myself and offers hope. This meant that despite wanting to hold on, I had to let go of the fact that, right now, I can't have a dog.

This year I had to give up two. My SDiT for snapping at a child, and a rescue that wasn't suited for my small place with no yard. My break up with my long term partner and Sir broke more than my heart. My big girl passed last year at 15.5 years. That when Anubis first came to me. Lucifer shortly after, and Loki the beginning of the year.

Amaroks ... Wolves in general don't scare me. I was the toddler who sat with the feral Rez dogs and got bit in the face, only to go back and leave that one alone.

It's not lack of fear; it's blending into whatever energy is needed. It's chaotic energy in raw form.

I just wanted to share this because I have a lot of stored witchcraft knowledge packed in my minds sacred space.

From tarot, mythology, cryptids, channeling, pop culture and witchcraft, music channeling, TV channeling, meditations, pet and animal magik, dark (not shadow) witchcraft, what is and isn't a familiar (yes, they can be physical form but their spirit will never leave you. Not all pets or even spirits make such an impression on the soul. I've been blessed with three in my life, my Hybrid directly connected me to Anubis and still holds place at his side.)

[leyyvi]

ley I need writing advice, how do you write out your stories? Do you just start writing and whatever comes to mind just gets put in or do you write a writing plan beforehand like a summary of what u want to happen

Hmmmm my writing process is like...super erratic tbh. It's a mixture of both honestly. Sometimes I get ideas when I'm out doing stuff and I'll quickly jot down a summary or dialogue for it in my notes to put later in a doc.

IDK if it'll make sense but I've written Paychecks as if I was writing a screenplay or like...episodes for a long running tv show. Every chapter is intended to feel like an "episode" and I usually start thinking of things with dialogue first. A lot of them are just conversations I'd want to have between characters or what I'd think they say.

More below the cut because I have a bad habit of rambling

My process has definitely changed like when I first started writing the story I'd write out entire scenes which were mainly derived from my own experiences, just tweaked a bit. I didn't outline or anything I kinda just....wrote. (I was drafting paychecks for a couple months before I posted the first chapter). I think it was easier for me to sporadically write instead of outline because at the time I was really craving just...going to places? Like travelling and stuff, and I was SO bored at work I'd just start daydreaming 😭 and then my coworkers started talking about sugar daddies (one of them had some experience in that stuff)

I had a lot of stuff just written out of order randomly on this doc (it's got around 90k words on a single doc, never doing that again LOL) but then after a while I started to actually think of a plot and move some scenes around. But for the first several chapters I kinda just rewrote a lot of what I had drafted. Butttt I don't have anything drafted after a certain point anymore so it's more difficult for me to write. It's a big reason why it takes me so long to update now.

But noooow I actually put a very vague outline at the top of my doc for the chapter. I have an idea of what I want to happen for the story as a whole, but there's also a bunch of stuff I add in that I think of while writing. Here's the outline for chapter 16. (Granted some things are changed when I wrote the final draft)

And then I'll usually write out the scenes in that order. Sometimes I have dialogue already for it so I'll start out with that. Dialogue is the easiest way for me to determine how the scene will go (I'm basically talking to myself in my head thinking of them lol). Then I'll add things after that, like what they're doing when they're talking. If I have a thought about some inner monologue or introspection I'll add that too.

If I'm feeling stuck on a particular scene, I may write a summary of it and come back to it later when I have an idea.

Another thing is I have this story planned out in arcs. So there's the beginning arc where Levi and Reader first meet, then the Vegas arc where some sort of connection is established, the Eren arc which is what we're in right now, and then I have another one planned. I found thinking of it in arcs broadens it when I get stuck and helps me see the story and how it's flowing as a whole.

I will say that listening to playlists has helped a lot too. I’ve been listening to the first few songs that I added to my playlist and as weird as it sounds it gave me a lot of...nostalgia of when I first wrote it. It brought back a lot of feelings I had last year when I was writing ;; That and I have a pinterest board for Paychecks Levi and Eren for inspo too and I liked to look through/add to it when I’m not sure on what to write.

Good god this got very long I hope there's an answer to your question in there somewhere lol feel free to ask for clarity on anything! Hope this helped ❤️

[samwisethewitch]

Practicing Witchcraft in Secret

I love things that are traditionally “witchy.” I love dressing candles with herbs. I love setting things on fire. I love making poppets and charms. But not everyone is able to be so obvious in their craft. For various reasons, some witches choose to be secretive about their magical practice.

Why Would You Want to Keep It a Secret?

Historically, witches kept their practice a secret because it wasn’t safe to be open about their beliefs. In the late middle ages, the Catholic Church began to actively persecute witchcraft, herbal medicine, and folk spirituality with the publication of “witch hunting guides” like the Malleus Maleficarum. This witch hunting fervor would continue even after the Protestant Reformation, with some of the most famous witch hunts (such as the Salem trials) carried out by Protestants.

It is important to remember that the witch hunts were political at their heart and that very few of the people executed for witchcraft were what we would recognize today as witches. They were mostly women, poor folks, or members of ethnic or religious minorities. But even so, the danger of being accused of witchcraft and/or devil worship drove many medieval witches, herbalists, and pagans to hide their practice.

The United States experienced a modern witch hunt of sorts in the 1980s with the “Satanic Panic.” We still don’t entirely understand what caused this cultural phenomenon, but what we do know is that it resulted in widespread paranoia about devil worship. Anything that could be misconstrued as “satanic” was shunned or outright persecuted, from Dungeons & Dragons to heavy metal music to nature-based religions like Wicca — and, yes, witchcraft. People who had been comfortably open about their spirituality suddenly found themselves practicing behind closed doors. If you’re over 30, you may remember this. If you’re under 30, the Satanic Panic probably shaped how your parents view witchcraft and paganism, and they may still be grossly misinformed as a result.

Even today, a lot of witches choose to keep their practice a secret because it would be unsafe or uncomfortable to go public. Many witches have family members, friends, or coworkers who would be uncomfortable if they knew about their witchcraft, and may even choose to end the relationship because of it. Some witches live in culturally Christian areas where it might be harder for them to get jobs or make friends if they were openly self-identifying as a witch. Some of us live in places where an outdoor ritual could get the cops called on us, or have missionaries showing up to save our souls.

On the other hand, some witches just like privacy. You may feel like your spirituality is nobody’s business but yours, and for that reason you may prefer to do witchcraft in a way that is more subtle and secretive. Desire for privacy is a perfectly valid reason to stay “in the broom closet.”

There are also some magical traditions that require members to swear a vow of secrecy and to keep the group’s secrets. However, these traditions usually require an in-person initiation, so I won’t be discussing them here.

Inconspicuous Witchcraft

If you haven’t read my posts about magical journaling and kitchen magic, I highly recommend you check them out. Those are two forms of magic that are very easy to practice discretely.

No matter what your reason for keeping your practice a secret, here are a few tips for making magic without drawing attention.

Use scented candles. Candle magic is one of the easiest and most versatile forms of spellwork, and all it requires is a candle and your intention. Scented candles are perfect for undercover witches because, rather than adding herbs and oils, you can simply buy a scent that matches your intention. (For example, a vanilla candle is great for love, while a pumpkin spice scent will attract wealth.) Plus, they’re so commonplace that no one will think twice about seeing one in your bedroom or on your desk at work. If you’re a purist and want to make sure you’re using real plant materials, you can get all natural candles scented with essential oils — but lots of witches use artificial scents and get good results, so don’t feel like you have to go with the more expensive option.

Diffuse essential oils. Essential oils contain the concentrated essence of a plant, which makes them a must-have tool for witches. Essential oils are also extremely popular right now, both for holistic healing and for aromatherapy, so you definitely won’t attract any negative attention for using them. You can get a good essential oil diffuser for under $20 online. Some brands overcharge for their oils, but you can find good quality oils for under $10. When choosing an essential oil, look at the magical correspondences for the plant it is made from. You can diffuse oils to infuse your space with their energy, similar to the way you would use incense.

Enchant your perfume. You can choose a perfume to match your intention or make your own custom perfume by mixing essential oils in a carrier oil. Focus on your intention as you spray the perfume, letting it infuse your energy field with magic. You can also buy magical perfume blends from witch-owned businesses online or on Etsy.

Learn shufflemancy. “Shufflemancy” is a modern form of divination that is done by putting a playlist on shuffle — whatever song plays first contains an intuitive message for you, either in the lyrics or in how it makes you feel. You can find playlists specifically made for divination by Googling “shufflemancy playlist,” or you can make your own by compiling a playlist of songs from different genres that deal with different topics. Just be sure to keep it diverse — if your playlist only has love songs on it, you might not get very helpful messages if you have a question about your career.

Learn bibliomancy. This divination method is similar to shufflemancy, but much older. Bibliomancy is done by asking your question while holding a book, focusing on your question while connecting with the book’s energy, and then opening it to a random page. There is a long, long tradition within Christianity of doing this with the Bible — if you feel connected to a certain sacred text, you could use it for bibliomancy. You could also use a book of poetry, a novel, or even a dictionary. However, I think it’s important to use a book you feel a connection to, rather than something randomly grabbed off the shelf.

Use Pinterest and Spotify as manifestation tools. You may have heard of vision boards, a tool used to manifest something by creating a detailed collection of images that match your intention. Pinterest boards are already essentially virtual vision boards, and creating one with focused intent can be a spell by itself. Likewise, you can use Spotify playlists for manifestation. To do this, create a playlist of songs that match your intention (songs about money or love, for example) and listen to it while meditating on your desired outcome.

Choose your outfits with intention. You can pick clothes based on color correspondences (see this post for a guide to color magic), the material they are made from (a wool sweater vs. a cotton T-shirt), or some other symbolism. For example, if you want to feel empowered, you might wear leopard print to channel the energy of a fierce predator.

Enchant a piece of jewelry for a specific purpose. You can choose your jewelry based on the correspondence of the metal or gemstones it is made from, make your own piece, or use whatever you already have on hand. You can enchant this jewelry by passing it over the flame of a candle or through the vapor of an essential oil diffuser. State what purpose you want this charm to serve, either out loud or in your mind. Wear this jewelry whenever you need to tap into that energy, and make sure to cleanse it often.

Create magical art. If you want to manifest something, draw or paint a picture of it. You don’t have to be a skilled artist — what matters is that you are taking your mental image of what you want and bringing it into the physical world. Fold up the picture and keep it in your pillow, or in some other special place. Likewise, if you want to banish something, draw or paint a picture of it and then rip it into little pieces and throw it out. This ritual allows you to purge yourself of the negative emotions tied to the thing you are banishing.

Take a magical bath. We rarely have more privacy than when we’re in the tub. Taking a bath is already a ritual of sorts, and it’s easy to add magic. You can, of course, make magical bath salts by mixing essential oils into Epsom salt, but you can also create bath spells with household objects. For example, a bath with salt and vinegar will clear up nasty energy, while adding milk to your bath will attract love and abundance.

Practicing in secret does not have to mean a less deep or well-rounded practice. There are lots of magical acts that can be done subtly or kept private. The suggestions in this post are by no means exhaustive, and I hope they will give you some ideas for other ways to fill your life with undercover magic.

Resources:

“Introduction” from The Malleus Maleficarum at http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org

The Fat Feminist Witch podcast, “Episode 34 — Witches, Midwives, and Doulas”

“Most witches are women, because witch hunts were all about persecuting the powerless” by Bridget Marshall for The Conversation

New World Witchery podcast, “Episode 118 — The Satanic Panic”

[notasdriedapricots]

The Tender Trap: The Origin Story

This is just pretty much a disclaimer for the disaster that’s coming.

I TALK A LOT OMG HOW DID YOU KNOW? Here's a TL;DR: -The Tender Trap is canon as shit, because I never intended to write a fic, and much less to publish it, but one thing lead to the other and I ended up kinda liking it. I love them so much. There's quite a lot added to it, but there's still a fair bit of the original thing in there, because again, that was the original goal. -However, if you think there's too much still there, let me know! I think I've modified it enough, but that's only my opinion. -If you catch technical mistakes, grammatical errors, weird vocabulary... let me know! English is my second language. -There's an after-villa sequel in the oven that has more angst (the game doesn't leave much space for that) and honestly is more fun. Or at least I've been having so much fun with it. I have to finish it first, though. I might hate it by the end, but we'll see. -Funny story: It was untitled for months. The day I randomly found a title while listening to Ella Fitzgerald, I kinda decided to 'fuck it, just upload it somewhere'. And so here we are. That was literally yesterday. -The first real chapter will likely be posted on AO3 on Thursday/Friday, depending on how much longer I keep messing with it :D

800 words of me rambling under the cut. How annoying is that.

I transcribed the whole goddamned game. In past tense instead of present, mind you. As one of the most popular memes in my country preaches: Why? There is no 'why'?

Well, there is. Just for clarification, that transcription is not what I will be posting. I'm not that dumb. No, I wanted to add nuances to the story without altering it, so I used what the game gives us as the skeleton. I wanted to see if I could make nonsense dialogue and the whole amnesia deal make sense by turning it into inside jokes, sarcasm, and anxiety. (Prosody is a wonderful thing). I tried my best to not contradict what has been explicitly said, regardless of how. much. I. wanted. to. change. it. That was the challenge, to reframe it so it made sense. Did it interfere with the 'creative process'? Nah, it was pretty fun, and I work well with a structure in place. The post-villa thing is way freer and oh god it's so over the place I have to put some order to that I don't even know where it's going but I found out I love writing domestic shit and I LoVe Lucas' mother.

This idea lead up to extending some scenes, adding others I felt were missing, composing internal monologues... And I ended up writing fiction again after like ten years. Which is not a "take it easy on me" card, by the way. Be ruthless, I can take it, mainly because I did this just for fun. I know I'm rusty, what's new? I know it mainly shows in the first chapters because the game forces a pace that's too fast and too slow at the same damn time and there's only so much my brain can do. I might rewrite them at some point, who knows. Also English is not my first language, so I can only hope there's something that sounds hilarious in there somewhere that you can point out so we can laugh about it. Let me know! I've loved this language since I was three, I want to use it properly. Also punctuation is sometimes different (commas and the necessity of explicit pronouns in English are a pain in the ass compared to Spanish) so you're welcome to correct that as well if you catch a mistake. So I don't intend to put myself at the same level as some of the fantastic writers in this fandom; you keep writing art, I'm just here for shits and giggles, and because this was insanely fun for me.

But going back. I started getting sidetracked, as I tend to do when I write, as you can see, so I had to get the scissors and cut those parts that weren't adding much to the main plot (telling Gary to apologize to Marisol is very nice but this chapter is already over 8000 words long, SIR) to make room for other parts that needed more depth, so amongst other things we have the emotional breakdown and apology we deserve after CA (or at least one that makes me feel bad, I don't know) and a lot of chats so these two actually get to, you know, know each other? Oh, and smut, ejem. Yeah. That.

In between I wrote half the after-villa sequel, canons for Liz, headcanons for Lucas, (head)canons for them together, pages and pages of questions and answers from both of them, fashion headcanons, families and exes, best friends; I put together pinterest folders with pictures of so (so) many people, clothes, apartments; I even wrote a musical episode where Liz has a karaoke battle with her ex in a jazz joint that's one of my favourite things because the songs are just *chef's kiss* I mean, Liz singing 'Cry me a river' is so cathartic... Anyway I started adding shit, mostly thoughts, to the game's dialogue, and it ended up in this abomination that never intended to be anything but fun. I'm not particularly proud of the first couple chapters because the cut/don't cut thing looking at the wordcount, trying to decide if I butchered the original dialogue, reduced it to a general paragraph, or pretend the scene never happened, all while having a chapter that was too short to split into two (or that would have one of them containing too little new stuff) but so long to be just one... was painful. I'm still dealing with that as I tweak the next chapters, but as soon as I have a somewhat definitive word/chapter count, I'll let you know. Just know that it's long, so do with that what you will.

SO, welcome. Take a seat, help yourself to a drink, and stay for as long as you like. When I got into this I went to the ball, so now I'm just dancing.

[tipsyreads-female]

Soft & Shy [Review]

Fanfiction: Soft & Shy

Author: @salvejoon

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Fluff; Smut

- Spoiler Warning! -

(read further under the cut when you're fine with spoilers or after you've read the fanfic) 

Firstly want to say, this here will be a pretty messy review and I'll randomly talk about everything and will probably not have any kind of structure and you have to deal with a messy pile of words, memes, emojis that should somehow express my feelings. 😂😅💕

Secondly, English is not my native language, it's my second language and even when I think I'm not THAT BAD anymore... to learn new languages is a real struggle for me. Especially when I'm exited and hyped, I throw almost all my knowledge about the English sentence structure and grammar out of the window and create a grammatical disasters of joy and exitement. Please don't hate me for that... (why I apologize even you are not a native as well: Because your fic is an amazing writing and no joke, I thought at first that you're a native! 🙈😘❤)

Okay okay okay, let's start talking about the actual fanfic!

I want to say thank you, Iggy.

Thank you that you liked my Namjoon-Post yesterday.

Why?

Because I have the habit to stalk peoples blogs when they likes something on my blog. I'm just a little curiouuuus... 🙈👉🏻👈🏻💕

Yeah, then I went to your blog looking around like I always do and what chatched my eye????

Yep, you're correct, it was your fic Soft & Shy which you pinned as the first visible post on your blog.

No joke, literally the Title of your fic and the banner with our sweetest Boy Jungkook made my heart beat faster and let me lowkey squeal. 'That looks like a fic that Tipsy seems like to read~'

...but then I read further, read the formals of the fic and the short summary... Omg Girl... that's not "formals list".

THIS HERE IS TIPSY'S WISH LIST FOR A FIC WITH JEON JUNGKOOK! 😭😍💕💕

No joke, you can imagine Tipsy reacting like this just reading the formals of the fic! 😭💕

Shy and inexperienced Jungkookie Boi?? Grinding and Dry Humping??? Soft subby Googie and dommy Reader undertones????

SIGN ME THE FUCK UP FOR THAT!!! 😭🤧🤤💕

Why the frick did I just found now your fic and not already earlier?!?! But at the same moment I'm just so thankful that you liked my post, so I could find this amazing fic at all!

Really, I enjoyed a lot to read this fic!

Especially how you switch from the present to the past and then back again. I really like this method to write about their backstory, so you didn't have a huge "backstory block" before you switch back to the present time where you almost forgot the scenery the characters were in... (I tend to write such huge backstory blocks... 😅 that's why I love your own method so much!)

...and omg fuck... the way you characterized Jungkook... nghhhh, fuck you made my inner Dom so damn feral Iggy!!!😭💕

How shy and cute he is, how fast he gets flustered... and whenever he calls the Reader "Noona" and then later, even whine it... FUCK! That made my abdomen clench so hard!😭💕

AND THE WAY HE'S ON ONE HAND A SHY AND SUPER FLUSTERED BABY BUT ON THE OTHER HAND SO DAMN NEEDY AND JUST WANT IT SO BADLY... I MEAN THE CHANGE OF HIS BEHAVIOUR IN THE CLUB... AT FIRST TOO SHY TO TELL HER THAT SHE LOOKS HOT BUT THEN GRABBING HER AND PRESSING HER AGAINST YOUR BODY AND MAKING HER RIDING HIS THIGH???

...AND YOU KNOW ABOUT WHAT THIGHS WHERE TALKING!

THESE THIGHS!

(When my Pinterest pops up with "Tipsy, we have some new Ideas you could like" and show me THIS. Yep, it's official, my Pinterest knows that I'm a naughty Girl.)

Really... I have such a thing for shy boys and grinding/dry humping (hot and heavy make out sessions are the best ones!)... plus when they're inexperienced, even say that they're turned on my dominant womens...

I WANT TO THROW MYSELF ON SUCH BOYS, NGHHHH!!

At the talk scenery where Gookie confess her that he never had done it before... I really wanted to jump at him, telling him that this is absolutely fine, that this is actually super hot and that I'll take so much time with him as he need, smother his face in thousand kisses and show him how hot and attractive he is nevertheless! (... and lowkey wanna make him cum in his pants while dry humping) 😭😭😭🤧🤧💕💕💕💕

(You maybe see... I'm a hoe for such stuff!🙈😅❤)

...casual soft Sex with a whining and begging Gookie... with a whining and begging big dick Junggookie Boi...

Please Iggy, explain to me why I'm such a big hoe for that?!😭💕 And why do you make my horny dom hoe so damn feral?!

But really, the ending scene made me smile! 😭🤧💕 (This one here!):

(Screenshot by Tipsydipsydo) | Soft & Shy | © salvejoon

"I want to make love to my girlfriend!"

I SQUEALED SO HARD, THAT WAS UNHEALTHY! 🤧💕

I'M TOTALLY FINE! ABSOLUTELY TOTALLY FINE! 😭😭😭💕💕💕

...but after I calmed down, I start giggling...

I AGREE, GOOGIE IS TOTALLY A STAMINA BOY! ALWAYS UP FOR A SECOND ROUND!🤪🤪💦💦💗💗

(Screenshot by Tipsydipsydo) | BTS Kink Scenario | © Tipsydipsydo

I mean, I think we both have there some things in common Babyyy~ 🤪

No, really (I know, I use "really" a lot in here xD), I love this fic so much AND I CAN'T BELIEVE IT THAT IT DOESN'T NOT 100 NOTES UNTIL NOW, IT'S SO LOVEWLY AMD CUTE WRITTEN, YOU DESERVE SO MUCH MORE LOVE AMD APPRECIATION FOR IT! 😡😡😡💗💗💗

WE WILL WORK ON THAT, AFTER I FINISHED WRITING THIS HERE AND REBLOGGING IT IN MY FIC-RECS, I'LL FORCE MY FOLLOWERS ON MY WRITING BLOG TO READ IT TOO! 😡😡😘😘❤❤

YOU. DESERVE. THAT!

*caaaaalm down Tipsyyyyyy*

I loved to read it and someday, I'll re-read it for sure again!

Send you so much love and a virtual hug! 🤗 (stay safe during this time!😷💕)

I wish you a nice and lovely day/night (what time zone you have~) and I really love your Writings! 🤗📝💕💕💕

Your Tipsy! 💜

[blossomhcney]

( hannah john-kamen. thirty three. cis female. she/her. ) in texas, evie macdonald is more commonly known as eve. they’ve been living in stratford for thirty three years and currently a dancer at deseo. some say they are secretive & petty but i’m more inclined to believe those that say they’re passionate & organised. if you walk by their house, you can sometimes hear my boy by billie eilish playing from their window. ( cherry red lips, heels click against the hard floor, half used bottles of perfume, stained ripped jeans, old fashioned jewellery hangs loose around her neck. )

hi all ! i’m lucy, i’m twenty three years old (oof an old lady in here apologies if anybody is older lmao but you definitely know how i feel !) and i use she/her pronouns. i am from england (press f in the chat yikes), so i am in gmt timezone !  i am always up for plotting, so do not hesitate to message me here or ask for my discord ! uhhh i am terrible at talking about myself so i’m just gonna get on and introduce evie ! also do not come for me for randomly waking up at 5:40am and coming on here to post these because i was so excited lmao bye

PINTEREST BOARD !

NAME. evie spencer macdonald. NICKNAME. eve. AGE. thirty three. GENDER. cis female. PRONOUNS. she/her. SEXUAL ORIENTATION. bisexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. biromantic. HOMETOWN. stratford. OCCUPATION. dancer at deseo. AFFILIATION. none.

ZODIAC. aries. POSITIVE TRAITS. passionate, organised, determined. NEGATIVE TRAITS. secretive, petty, impatient. LANGUAGES SPOKEN. english, norwegian, italian.

HEIGHT. 5′6 EYE COLOR. blue. HAIR COLOR. brunette. TATTOOS. can be found on the pinterest board !

QUICK INFO.

trigger warnings: none, i think

from the day she was born, evie was doted on. her parents, francesca and marcus macdonald had tried for years to have a child. evie was considered their miracle baby, not just by her parents, but by the doctors who had delivered her. francesca had been forty four when evie was born, considered to be far too old to bring a child into the world and yet, against the odds, she had succeeded. 

of course, growing up in stratford was never easy. not with her mild mannered and sweet parents. evie spent a fair amount of time with her nanny, her parents had careers that, despite having their miracle baby, they could (would) not give up. for evie, it was the time of her life, being taught swedish as soon as she could grasp words. it was like having her very own best friend that she could share secrets with and talk in private. 

despite being called a miracle baby twice a day, evie is thirteen when she truly begins to notice how her mother declines to look at her unless she is forced to. the way she winces each time evie talks to nova, the nanny, in norwegian. she asked nova one night, why her mother hated her so much. the broken words of a child, breaking the heart of herself and her closest friend in one question. she finds herself with no answer, just the calming words of a mother figure as she tucks her into bed and says good night. 

she realises how much she enjoys sex at sixteen. rebelling had never been so sweet. her father had tried to be strict with her, tell her when she could go out and where she could not go. she had felt sorry for him, sitting there as he wagged his finger in her face and gave her instructions not to attend parties with the boys in her classes and not to be late home for her curfew. evie was patient (for the last time), as he listed off everything he did not want her to do. and then she stood, smiled sweetly and told him that he had nothing to worry about. of course he did, but the soft words of his only child soothed him for a night or two. nobody was ever awake past evie’s curfew, so they would never know if she came home late. until marcus had cameras installed and he could see her sneaking boys and girls into her home two hours past her curfew, only to kick them out three hours later. the punishment he tries to enforce is laughable at best, she is to go to school and back, no extracurricular activities and no more nights out with friends. they both know she will never listen, but if it makes him feel manly to yell, she won’t fight it. 

she is eighteen when she stops going by evie. some boy makes the mistake of comparing her to a toddler and she grabs his finger when he waves it in her face and threatens to break it. by some, she is dubbed a psychopath, others a hero. that day,  she introduces herself as eve and politely asks her family and friends to address her as eve. 

it has been years since nova stopped working for her family and left to work for another family, but eve misses her dearly. she was her closest friend, the person she could tell every secret. in the most cliche way, she discovers she was so much more. a letter arrives one morning, addressed to eve. it contains detailed experts of what she can only assume was a journal, depicting how nova was her mother, not francesca. it explains why she felt so hated and alienated by her mother and why their marriage was nothing more than a farce. confronting her parents would feel good, but they barely talk to one another now and they hardly even look at her. she feels like a stranger in her own home and now, it all makes sense. 

it just so happens that, even after twenty one years, the idea of the town finding out who her biological mother actually was, terrified her parents. an argument had ensued and eve had not been able to catch herself, blurting out that she knew she was not really a byproduct of their love, but of her father and another woman. oh god, the tears. the screams. you would have thought that she had threatened to kill them both and then herself the way her mother had acted. they practically beg her to keep quiet, they’ll give her anything to never say another word about it again. as sickening as it is, she needs out and if they will pay for it, wouldn’t she be stupid to say no?

she is twenty three when she becomes a dancer at deseo. she had frequented the strip club a number of times over the years, always so fascinated with the way those women moved and swayed with the music. she had sometimes imagined herself up there, eyes all on her as she showed them what they wanted. and now, it was a reality. at least she would no longer need to take the money from her parents each other. of course, she hadn’t really needed it before, they had forced their money upon her with the fear that she would spill their deepest, darkest secret. she settles easily into her new job, enticing men and women with her looks and then her charms. soft edges and wide eyes, she had the perfect look. 

and she still does. she’s been a dancer for ten years, even better than when she started. whoever said the younger the better was sorely mistaken. women like eve aged like fine wine; they only got better with age.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

best friends / ride or die - who doesn’t know the deal with this by now??? somebody that eve can rely on and tell all her dirty little secrets !

reliable customers - eve is most definitely one of those dancers who, for the right price, can be yours for the night. of course, that is dependent on the person, but eve is a very lovable person.... anyway , i would love to plot this out for many reasons (1/4)

the one that got away - pretty obvious, but somebody that eve actually let in for once and it didn’t end well (she knew it wouldn’t), but this is one that she always regrets not fighting for 

exes - as the above would suggest, eve is not the type to let anybody in, so these would be far and few between, but meaningful enough that she classes them as an ex (1/?)

childhood friends - she has lived in stratford all her life, so she very likely has friends that she may have drifted apart from over the years, but they can always reminisce over their childhoods together (2/?)

hook ups / one night stands - ahh so much easier than dating, eve will take a one night stand over a prolonged experience of feelings any day (4/?)

flirtationship - somebody she lives to tease and poke fun at, but in a far more friendly way than people presume two friends would 

[loadingoliver]

compulsive shopping

something I never thought I would be dealing with. for one, I was never a big spender. since being very little, I hated the thought of people having to spend money on me and I was very good at saving it. yet I've never bought as much as I have the past year and I don't remembered why I bought most of the things or even what they were. which means I've never owned as many unnecessary things before. during that year I also spent all of my savings including some money I’ve had put away for years and rarely touched before because I never had big needs that would require extra money. whenever I reached for those savings this year it felt like an emergency, I planned on putting it back there after my next paycheck, but I never did - some new purchase would always seem more urgent. “I was living from paycheck to paycheck. I was living FOR the paycheck”*(The Minimalism documentary). pretty early on I found myself in a financial crisis and had a lot less money to spend, unfortunately it wasn't about how much I would spend, but the way I would spend it.

since I can recall I’ve always hated spending money going out, going to movies, eating with friends, buying food for myself - it seemed like such a waste of money - on something that lasted a moment instead of something material that I could have forever and that would bring me joy and serve purpose. or better yet, multiple purposes, right? too bad I wouldn’t use anything for long. I own some clothes that I wore literally once or twice. most things I would get were horrible quality and poor source which I was aware of. a lot of clothes didn't fit me, therefore didn't serve purpose, but instead would make me feel frustrated with what I looked like. and the joy, momentary excitement, dopamine kick - that was what would initially drive my constant need to buy new things, but it would last less and less time. the rush I would get from checking out “inspirations”, looking up things, reading product reviews, planning purchases, placing orders, waiting for deliveries and then using those items for the first few times- gradually it shrunk to feeling excited until the end of each transaction. I haven't even worn something, I didn't even get it in the mail, I would already look for something else, I was already hung up on something new. I had never-ending lists in my head of stuff I wanted to get next, that I needed next. I had a few private Pinterest boards specifically for that, that's what all my Instagram likes went to. and I would obsess over them. that’s what I would spend all of my free time on. my energy, thoughts, motivation to get up, to work, to survive through bad days. to live, I guess. they were my treats for doing well, my consolation prizes and my what the hell’s. I didn't plan on buying 10 things at once, but just this one and, of course, these two. while still in my head, most things felt essential, unlike previous ones- I was crazy getting that previous item, but this? I clearly need this. if I look better, I’ll feel better.  my shopping habits were gradually becoming more impulsive and compulsive. I was no longer thinking through or questioning what I needed, practicality was not high on my list. I would almost never try on stuff, I would base my decisions on the fact that I liked the way something looked on someone I saw. usually on Pinterest or Instagram- so people of completely different proportions, physical features, lifestyles, preferences and identities - not me. it usually looked good with other articles of clothing that I didn't own, so when shoes arrived in the mail and I wasn’t so sure about them, I would sometimes convince myself that I also needed different trousers, t-shirts, different colours or materials to go with them, that would solve it. when I had less money, I would buy more, but cheaper items. it made so much more sense to buy multiple things for less. and if it’s cheap, why think twice?what's the harm? I actually knew enough about the harms of fast fashion industry, but I chose to ignore them. I thought I couldn’t afford to be environmentally conscious, to make ethical choices, to consider people behind products, to pick more intentionally. I couldn’t afford to buy as many quality items, so I chose quantity over quality. and it’s hard to appreciate quality, when you get bored and dissatisfied with everything so quickly. but each time it felt like that one item was the one that would perfectly fill in the painful space in my life, each product seemed ridiculously important for a short while, it somehow was supposed to be the start of a new life- a toothbrush that, at least in the pictures, matches my bathroom tiles and other beautiful, pure, and organic-looking sink accessories that I was getting next; or a running windbreaker that I can fold into the size of my fist and that might not go with any of my clothes, but I could always have it with me and it would help me save space in my giant everyday backpack full of other essentials. it felt like every little thing would weirdly define me for a second. that when I pick a product, I decide what kind of a person I am. but who I was and what I liked was becoming very blurry.

style and clothing felt like such an easy way or opportunity to redefine or redesign myself. it gave me a sense of identity, it was a symbol of a different better life. and when I was out of ideas for myself and my life, any image that gave me a sense of what I lacked i.e. self-confidence, self-respect, ease, balance or even better social skills or ability to fit in among certain people sounded great. I reached a point where there were too many different voices saying what would make me feel better and I would get very confused. not even with what I needed or wanted, but as to what I liked, what was aesthetically pleasing. which btw, while not the most important in life, comes in pretty fucking handy when you work as a product designer and a craftsman. that lead me to my worse state. I could change my mind about what I wanted to look like, which subconsciously translated into whom I wanted to be, in five minutes while randomly scrolling through a board of pictures on my Pinterest or checking out my Instagram feed. it didn’t come out of nowhere, I was never able to stick to the same clothes, I went through so many stages, I tried out more haircuts within the last five years than most people have in their lifetime. I actually would feel sorry for people who had the same hairstyle their whole life and wore the same type of clothes for years- how boring are you and how unadventurous is your life? I didn’t see the integrity some of those people have, the lack of need to fix what already works, the peace, the contentment, the blissful zero fucks to give about something this empty and unimportant. I thought they lacked sensitivity, awareness and were afraid to experiment or take a risk, while it seemed natural for me to play around, constantly research, look for something. I even convinced myself that I had to be that way to keep an open mind and my creativity levels high. but when it got out of control and started changing so fast I couldn't keep up with it, I realised how much my low-self esteem was being used by the industry convincing me to want new things to fix me and immediately hate the old ones. definitely wasn’t news to me as a phenomenon, but took me a while to realise that it affected me, and how much. as those things tend to, it aligned with various work stuff, break ups, prolonged health problems, family conflicts, other everyday stuff and social media apps, including Instagram and Pinterest, have become my pacifiers, a way to push away all sorts of thoughts, issues, anxiety, to look away, to avoid, to calm down, to entertain myself, to distract me and keep me busy. once I realised just that, they stopped working that well. I suddenly felt like notifications, badges, sponsored posts, fake smiles, free trials, special discount codes, pictures carefully selected for me were attacking me more and more, but none of them no longer made much sense. it all quickly turned into an uninteresting, disturbing, worthless noise and waste of my time that I was able to, surprisingly easily, let go off. sadly, that didn't make my shopping urges and impulses go away. in fact, I still have to fight them pretty much every day and it will take a while. but I really want to work on this. work on this by not letting things be more than things are and define me or change the way I feel about myself. even though I don’t feel great about myself right now. I want to end this post on a positive note because I’m really feeling incomparably better most days now, but the truth is I obviously just started uncovering some stuff and it’s not pretty, so it might take more than giving up retail therapy.

if you can relate, feel more than free to message me, bother me, ask me questions, but beware I might recommend you an endless list of podcasts, essays and videos that helped me and that my friends can’t take any more. if you can’t relate, you lucky fuck, hope you found this interesting. and if you did, the interesting part actually is the shit that happens next, now that I’m taking steps to live a simpler, slower live, without all that excess bullshit, so stay tuned.

[kholoudnine]

THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Hey guys!

So I have just come out of last weekend's book fest, am writing this at like 4am waiting for my sleep aids to finally kick in because I really should be going to bed now, and I thought It'd be a good time to start a blog post.

This past week has been crazy and just picking up more and more as it goes on. I've been ordering books, selling to stores(more to come on that little detail soon), signing up for signings in other states, booking meetings, and getting together more places to perform my art live. It's a work out for sure but the more I do the clouser I feel like I am to where I wanna be in life, so it's all worth a little lack of sleep. Although I have been making a commitment to sticking to a decent regemin for taking care of myself. If you read my poetry, you know I struggle with this daily, but if I wanna be at my best on stage and at signings and in my work, than it's an important step. It's also something I wanna encourage. For people not to just accept the narrative of being unhealthy and tired, if you're unhealthy and tired, strive to change that. I have so many ideas for blog posts and videos about how I've been going about doing that which I hope you'll enjoy and take something from. This post though, I wanted to talk about something that I've been asked for a lot lately, advice.

Now I knew when I started this that there would be people who looked up to me and people who want to know I did it and want to know what they can do for their dream and just wanna know more about my journey, the thing about that was just I thought all that as a little kid and I thought it'd be something that came from record deals and being rich and screaming stadiums, never did I think my self-published books and my open mic performances would draw so many people asking me for guidance through their own journey or draw so much curiosity for how I got where I am today (which for a time I thought wasn't very far). I've even been mistaken as a professional in the craft, someone with years of signings and publishing under their belt. This got me thinking, what exactly makes a professional, and what do I have to offer?

So for the people who ask me about my experience, I've pretty much been at this my whole life. It's been a constant uphill battle for me with anxiety and doubt and obstacles of all sort pushing back, but since I was a little child dressed as Hannah Montana and using letter stencils to write songs I was sure this is when I wanted. Something I need. That meant going to every free class I could find. The library funded a lot of my passion and education, with improv and acting classes, guitar lessons, computer courses, open mics, and workshops. I lived in libraries. I would read books about design and flip through adventures, I'd sit in the stacks learning about podcasts, I took photography and leadership in freshman and sophomore year of high school (for the gods' awful times I was in online school *shudders*). I still go to those classes now, the maker's space is going to help me tremendously in the next coming year. I'm so excited about it all still. For a long time with all those classes, I was still the quiet one. Even with all these teachers believing in me, I couldn't beileve in my own voice. I didn't think I could speak, and around my peers I was still weird, so I was quiet. Until JYPS workshop, that is when I was put on a stage for the first time in my teenage career. Working with the group definitely drove me to who I am now, instead of just being taught poetry, I was taught business, I was taught to stand on corners and give out flyers, to promote myself, to be confident and build connections, and I still go now. I'll be there this weekend, learning just like everyone else will be. This is where I found my voice. So as you can see, I've got experience, but I'm still trying to learn more. I don't really think I'll ever not be a student.

Knowing that, I will now give my best advice. I'm going to break it down into FAQ's because I do get a lot of questions, and most are more or less the same things.

1. How Do yoU Find Events?

I find all of my events through my mum and word of mouth. My mother started releasing books about a year before I did and she finds a lot of the events this year since most are ones she researched years prior. Other events I find through the library system and old fashioned word of mouth, it is not uncommon for people to come to my performances or see me at a signing and invite me to another somewhere else. Networking is key. Always remember to talk to people at these things as you'll never know who you'll meet. Do not be afraid to ASK "Hey can I preform here? Hey what signings are there in town? Hey Siri search local book signings?" You'll find something surely.

2. How Do You Find Inspiration?

Everywhere. My life, other books and art, music, dancing, etc. I've been dancing and gotten entire scenes in my head randomly or laying back and listening to music then I'll start replaying the song as a whole outline shows itself to me. It's really a magickal thing, being an artist. It does take practice for some to get to that level of spacey but you can always start by writing about what you know. Many scenes or emotions or characters in my books can be connected to my life in some way or another, maybe an altered moment, maybe a name I heard, maybe a character that reminds me heavily of a friend. Start with writing what you know, I will occasionally write out my thoughts like a novel when I'm trying to sort things out or I'm in a funk, find your thing.

3. How Do You Get Over Stage Fright?

You just do it. Get on stage, it's really the only way I've found to deal with it. A lot of people don't know this but I do have grand stage fright, to the point of running off the stage when I was younger actually. It still bothers me and I'm in constant management with it. If you don't get on stage you'll surely never get over it. Start small. For me going up and performing in front of people who don't know me, acting as a character who was not me, would help tremendously. Occassionally I'll still channel some more confident and emotionally showing version of myself for my performances, it's whatever works as a small step for you. Some people feel more comfortable anon like me, but others may want to start by preforming in front of people they trust and slowly work their way to strangers. Don't push yourself too far to fast, and don't worry about if you start by running off the stage, you get over it.

4. How Do You Self-Publish?

There are several ways to self-publish your books, the way I chose to go through primarily was Amazon. I put my books on their website (not signing their exclusivity contract) and then I can sell it other places. So I've also been trying to add my books to Lulu, I have previews up on Tablo and Wattpad, and I'm selling them to a local bookstore. Amazon prints my books so I do pay them to order the copies but I do not pay the same price as a normal costumer, since they are mine I only pay the cost of shipping and printing. You can find loads of other self-publishing routes with some diligent research, look around and find what's right for you, don't be afraid to ask other authors who self-publish questions at book signings, many are willing to help others.

5. What are the benefits of self publishing?

Since I self-publish my book I get to tell the story my way, without some of the hurtles trade might give me. For instance, my books are quite dark and do contain not only strong language but descriptive violence. When JK Rowling was publishing Harry Potter, Ron actually swore quite a lot, but because the publisher felt the book series would appeal so well to children, they had her change that about the character so as not to poke any parents. Prisoner Nineteen could bring a very wide audience (though I in no way compare my work to Harry Potter) but seeing as the characters are mostly quite young (the main being only fourteen) I could see it drawing in a younger crowd than would be expected for a series like it, because I published it myself, I don't have to worry about that. I market it as YA, and really leave it up to the reader (and their parents) what they feel comfortable reading. This for me is the biggest plus of self-publishing, you get no deadlines and complete creative freedom.

6. How Do You Write A Book?

I can't exactly tell you that. Everyone has a different way of writing their book, I've seen a million different writing styles and writing processes, it's really up to you how you write your book. As for finshing it, what helped me was having a clear goal and deadline in mind.

7. How Do You Balance Everything?

Chaotically. I'm definitely not going to lie and say this is all super easy. Meetings, school, art projects, volunteering, blogs, writing, signings, performances, and whatever else I have to do that week balanced on having a social life and not going crazy? It's not exactly easy. And occasionally you will probably freak out and/or cry from stress and anxiety, that does happen to me sometimes, but if it's what you want to be doing and I mean really want to be doing? Oddly enough, it doesn't feel like work a lot of the times. It feels great to be able to be doing something you actually love and want to be doing. If going a little bit crazy is a part of the process, eh, just makes for better writing and more theatrics. Did the sane man really ever make great art or great changes?

8. How Do You Get Your Stuff?

So usually this is directed towards my merch. Everything you see on my tables is customised and designed by yours truly (save for things like my lights or shell). I get an idea, I plan it out, and I then search all over the internet to find my supplies. (Honey really helps with this. Save money, create smarter.) Look on Pinterest or Tumblr or at other cons to try and think of something that fits your book.

9. How Do You Find The Courage?

Caffeine. Straight to the vein. I just get an iv drip before every apperence.

No but, really it's a lot of channeling your nerves into your work. Of deciding if this is really really really something you wanna be doing. If the answer to that is yes? You'll find your courage and strength. A support system doesn't hurt. If that can't be friends or parents, then you can find it in groups. Look around your local art scene. I'm sure somewhere there's a workshop or two, check on NaNaWrimo they do video chats, join a group on social media, find a pen pal, but nothing can really replace knowing people are rooting for you and knowing that you're working towards your dream goals.

10. How old are you?

I am eighteen years old and my birthday is June 24th, so. You're certainly not too young to do something and make decisions with your life. There is no "starting age" that's when you decide it is.

And to close, the thing that makes you a professional. I really didn't know, but a friend of mine posted online a few days ago "You are a rapper if you are rapping." This I think is true in all things. Especially in art, there is no point when you should ever stop learning, but you are what you are. If you sing, and you're serious about it, you are a singer. If you dance, and you're serious about it, you are a dancer. If you act, and you're serious about it, you are a dancer. If you write, and you're serious about it, you are a writer.

[lexa-griffins]

hi. hope you're fine :D i have two questions. 1) how do you come up with your au's? i always have a hard time thinking about them but your's are so amazing and pretty 2) how do you know they're good? do you have beta readers? bc when i think i have a good idea i can't find the courage to show to my friends :/

Hello! I'm doing fine, hope you're doing well too :D

First off - thank you 🥺🥺🥺 having my aus described as "amazing" made me 🥰🥰🥰

Now, my AU's kinda of come about randomly? While I am piss poor at writing in a timely manner I can create a whole plot on the spot but the ideas themselves usually come from anything or very little. I usually pick something I enjoy about some sort of media and go from there. Sometimes it's a costume that inspires an AU, sometimes it's a line, sometimes it's a whole movie/episode/book that makes me want to try my own twist. Sometimes my AU's are just vague ideas... very very vague ideas. That's why I like reblogging random images that remind me of them and say random shit in the tags, it helps me built it up. If it's hard to create a full plot around an idea be loose with it. Go the aesthetic route if you're a more visual person and make a moodboard on pinterest or write down whatever detached though you have about it in a notebook. The moment I started just tagging shit and rambling about my au's was the moment they started to take more shape. Write random lines and scenes for it! Have a very specific scene you can see clearly in your head but 0 context for it? Who cares! It might even help you /find/ context!

To answer the second one.... I don't 😅. But if I love the story enough I'll go with it anyways, cross my fingers and hope for the best and if it doesn't get the best or little response well.... i keep it anyways :p. I do share my ideas with my friends a lot, terrorize them with plots and headcanons actually. Some of my fics have beta readers, some don't but there are also stories I share the idea for and some that I just write and post basically. I know saying 'just do it' it's easy, but if you like the idea and think its good and if your friends are open to listening to it, share it! You can give all the preface you want, 'it's not set in stone' 'its all very lose' 'i only have a vague plot for it' doesn't matter, share it! Get opinions! Sometimes they might not be the ones you want and to be honest first time my little group of friends who listens to my ideas said they didn't really like/found it boring I pouted so hard and shelved the idea for about two years, and now i went back and changed it A LOT while still keeping the same vibe I wanted for it (country clexa, country girl turned city girl Clarke, southern belle Lexa) and the friends who didn't like it before now like the new plot a lot! I find that sharing the idea with someone I know will listen to it helps me both with their opinions and also by me seeing it written down and catching anything that doesn't make sense or needs to be better explained. They might ask you questions about it that will spark you to get deeper into your idea and develop it more.

I think it feel like people will have AU's that they know everything about and that they are super developed before they are ever shared but.... nah. Sometimes I'll get questions where my honest answer is "dude I don't know, but we are about to find out together" before I start creating an answer on the spot.

I'm not sure if this helped at all, but really, if you like your ideas and are excited about them and want others to see them: share them. There's bound to be at least one person who likes them as much as you, be it a stranger online or your friends. But you'll never know if you keep them locked inside yourself!!!!!

I do hope you find the courage to share them :D All it takes its for you to share it once, I promise that after that it gets so much easier to simply go to a friend and say 'hey, hear me out!' and dump a whole plot on them 😂

[foxwap449]

Concealed Bookends

Concealed Bookshelf

Concealed Bookshelf Hardware

In this super simple DIY tutorial we will show you how to create sturdy invisible DIY bookends.

INVISIBLE - Transforms any book into a bookend PRACTICAL DESIGN - Lightweight and durable glossy, white-coated steel with L-shaped design for stability EASY SET-UP - Just slide the inside cover of your favorite novel into the tab and it becomes a bookend. Bookends Email to friends Share on Facebook - opens in a new window or tab Share on Twitter - opens in a new window or tab Share on Pinterest - opens in a new window or tab Add to Watchlist.

After we built our floor to ceiling industrial shelves in our library it was a common occurrence for our large and really heavy books to just fall off the ends of our shelves.

They would make a booming noise as they slammed against the tile below. No matter where we were in the house when books would fall it would scare us half to death.

We would joke that it must have been Walter (our friendly house ghost). It is a joke Brent and I have to blame Walter when doors get left open or lights start to flicker, the cat gets shut in a random room or books randomly fall off the shelf.

The truth was we had no bookends for our shelves so I tried to use our heaviest books on the end to act as bookends and keep the rest of the books propped up because I liked the books being able to free stand without anything pushed up against them. This worked for awhile until the weight of the books was too substantial for the large book and it came crashing down to the floor.

Thank goodness the cat was never walking by when that happened! We needed a lot of bookends for our large shelves and didn’t want to spend a ton of money on them. To keep the shelves from looking extremely cluttered, we planned to incorporate only a few decorative bookends and have the rest be as concealed as possible.

Even better would be if they were invisible. This is not a new concept, invisible bookends, but we challenged ourself to try and make them with materials we already had in our garage and found a straightforward way to make them that worked like a charm. They are both durable and simple to “install”.

Today we are sharing our technique for creating the visual effect of having books appear to be standing on their own but are actually being held nice and secure in place.

How to Make Invisible DIY Bookends

SUPPLIES

FYI: This post contains a few affiliate links to products we used to make this project. Gray House Studio does receive commissions for sales from these links but at no extra cost to you. We appreciate you supporting this site. Read our privacy and disclosure policy. You can also easily shop our recommended products here.

Concealed Bookshelf

STEP BY STEP GUIDE

1. First we used a yard stick to mark the correct size for the bookend on the piece of sheet metal. It is easiest to use a sharpie to draw on the metal. The width of the bookend should be at least two inches smaller than the book’s width.

The height of the piece of sheet metal needs to be almost twice the height of the book because you will be folding the piece of metal in half and you want it tall enough to support the book without sticking out the top.

Concealed Bookshelf Hardware

2. Once the size of the bookend was marked, we used a pair of offset snips to cut the metal.

If you are planing on buying snips, pick a pair out that is angled and the blades turn at the end.

The angled pairs are made to be specific for the right or left hand so be sure to pick the tool that matches your dominant hand.

The angle in the tool works well for long cuts because the handles does not interfere with cutting the material.

3. Finally, we bent the sheet metal in half. In order to bend the piece of metal it is helpful to use a clamp and clamp the sheet metal under a scrap block of wood.

The wood provides a straight edge for the metal to bend over.

The bend should be made at the center of the piece of metal. Once the bend reaches 90 degree the bookend is finished.

4. To make the bookend “invisible” place the vertical piece of metal inside the front cover.

When you place additional books next to this book they will cover up the bottom piece of sheet metal making it appear as if the books are free standing on their own with no support. That means your invisible bookend is working!

Our invisible bookends were a lifesaver on our shelves. The danger of falling books has now been prevented! Hidden sheet metal bookends are a great solution for keeping shelves clean and uncluttered. They also make for the perfect alternative if you don’t have a cat to hold up your books.

This project is calling my name. I love to put books on small shelves, on floating shelves, and other places where there simply is no room to add the bookends needed to hold them there. So when I saw these seemingly invisible bookends, I knew it was a simple answer to my dilemna.

What’s unique about these is that the top of the bookend isn’t just sticking up into the book, which isn’t stable enough if the book is fairly thin, but the pages are removed and replaced with a piece of wood that the bookend is then glued to. That way the book can’t accidentally fall off.

Obviously you don’t want to use a book you want to keep for this, so go to a thrift store and pick up a couple of not too thick, pretty books. To make two bookends, one for each end, here is what you’ll need.

Supplies (for two bookends):

2 books with 1″ spines

2 thin metal bookends

1×6 board or a board of another dimension to fit your book

super glue (I used gorilla glue)

clamps

craft blade

Selecting Your Book and Lumber Size:My books measured about 5.75″ deep, 8.25″ high, and 1″ thick. It’s important to find a book depth that will correspond with lumber standard widths, so you don’t have to do any unnecessary cutting of the lumber later. This is why I used a book with a 1″ spine. I used a 1×6 board to fill the inside of my book, which really measures .75″ x 5.75″. This board fit my book dimensions perfectly! How did I know that would happen? Well, I brought my book spine to the lumber yard with me!

Step 1: Use a sharp craft blade or razor to cut away the contents of the book from its spine.

Step 2: Wrap the book spine around your lumber to mark where to cut the lumber. I left about a 1/8″ gap at the top to achieve a more realistic book effect.

Step 3: Cut the board to the length you marked. If you don’t have a saw at home, you can do this at the lumber yard. They will make cuts for you for free.

Step 4: Cover the wooden blocks and metal bookends with moderate amounts of Gorilla Glue, as shown above. Don’t get too close to the edges or it will seep out. Gorilla Glue foams and expands as it’s clamped, which makes for a strong hold, but a messy final product if you’re not careful when applying the glue.

Step 5: Once everything is all glued into place, use clamps to press it all together as the glue sets up. You should use scrap lumber as a buffer between the book and the clamps or the clamps will leave indents in your book. I made the mistake of not doing this, and got some pretty visible denting, especially on my orange book. Thankfully the dents aren’t noticeable on my shelves.

Mandi Johnson from A Beautiful Mess devised these clever bookends and we thank her for sharing them. She’s got photos detailing every step she took making them so if you think they will help, hop over to her blog.

Image and Project Source: A Beautiful Mess

[dee-vine]

Shutter Speed Ch.1

Amature Photographer in Need of Model for Experiemental Career Starter

Are you looking to get a jump into a modeling career? Or do you just like having pictures taken of you? If either of these apply to you, this listing is perfect for you!

I am an “amature photographer” looking to build up a portfolio, and I am in need of the perfect model for it.

You don’t need to have experience with modeling for this gig. I am not looking for a runway model or anything. You just need to be able to sit still and listen to any directions I may give you.

Dress and makeup will be left to your discretion. Details on that will be further discussed when chosen, as well as details on payment.

All I need from you right now is to reply to this with a sample picture (nothing fancy, just need to see how you look on camera), your first name and email address, and 3 facts about yourself.

Excited to meet you all through this lovely website.

-JJ

“Is this stupid? This has to be stupid, right?”

Archie doesn’t even look up from his spot on the couch, eyes trained on his phone. “No, Jughead. This is not stupid.”

“Do people even go on Craigslist anymore? Will people even answer? I probably sound creepy, honestly. Arch, this is stupid, why did you talk me into doing this? I’m horrid at photography!” Jughead throws his head down onto the desk, groaning loudly. Archie sighs heavily and gets up, walking over to his best friend and reading the ad over his shoulder.

“Jug, this sounds just fine. Yes, people still use Craigslist and no, you are a great photographer. You won the county fair’s photography contest three years in a row. You beat the photographer for the daily paper!” Archie slaps his friend’s back enthusiastically, eliciting yet another groan from him. He rolls his eyes and moves his finger to the mousepad on the laptop, hitting the post button before Jughead rethinks anything. “There -- the replies will come in in no time!”

Jughead lifts his head to look at the screen, groaning once more and slamming the laptop shut. He looks up at the tall redhead, shooting his best evil glare. “Have I ever told you that I hate you?”

Archie grins down at him, swiping the beanie off his head and ruffling his hair, earning a very manly squeal from Jughead. “You love me and can’t live without me. Now how about we order a pizza and play video games for the rest of the night?” He laughs as Jughead steals the hat back, already walking to the kitchen for the takeout menus they keep stashed in a drawer.

“Only if you’re buying!”

Five hour shifts at the cafe were hard enough without a headache. Betty woke up with a migraine that lasted even as she went to work. Now, as she unlocks the door to her apartment and steps in, she just wants to take a hot bath and go to bed early, but she has no such luck.

“Betty! You’re finally here, I’m so glad. I wanted to get your opinion on this patio set I found. The weather is getting nice again and we don’t have anywhere to sit out on the deck and I think this would totally --” Betty raises a hand to cut off the excited raven-haired girl. Veronica quickly shuts up, sensing her friend’s distress. “Are you okay? Was work not good today?”

“I have had the worst headache all day. And I know, I know we were supposed to go to that fondue place but I really just need to lie down. I’m sorry, V.” Betty moves to the couch and lays across it, closing her eyes and placing a pillow over her face. Veronica sits on the chair perpendicular to her, setting the laptop down on the coffee table and taking in her friend with concerned eyes.

“Don’t apologize Betty, it’s okay! We’ll stay in and have a girls night. I’ll let you use my aromatherapy soaps so you can take a nice bath, and I’ll make our own fondue and feed you chocolate covered strawberries while we watch romcoms. How does that sound?” Veronica replies giddily, taking the pillow from her face.

Betty peers over at her, her lips quirking up a bit.  “The lavender soaps?” she asks, her headache lessening at just the thought of them. Veronica nods and stands, holding her hands out to help Betty up. Betty takes the offer and follows her to the bathroom, letting Veronica set everything up for her. Before she leaves she thanks her with a hug, because she really couldn’t ask for a better best friend.

She met Veronica freshman year at NYU, being randomly paired with her as a roommate. When she first saw her, she was certain they wouldn’t get along. Veronica was visibly rich, wearing pearls with every outfit and flaunting her money. But she was also the kindest person that Betty had ever met. The moment she walked into the dorm, Veronica greeted her and complimented her outfit, even helping her organize all of her things. Betty had not expected it from her, but they instantly became best friends. Veronica showed her the ways of New York, which she very much needed considering she grew up in a small, boring town. They remained friends the whole year and decided to get an apartment together sophomore year, getting even closer because of it. They are going into their second year there now, staying in the city for the summer. The apartment was lavish because Veronica’s parents were paying for most of it, and Betty couldn’t really complain. Just a perk of having Veronica Lodge as her roommate and best friend.

A knock breaks Betty out of her relaxation, Veronica telling her that the fondue is waiting for her when she’s done with her bath. Betty reckons she spent long enough in the tub, her fingers pruny and her headache, thankfully, gone. She wraps a towel around herself as she steps out of the tub, draining the water and walking into her bedroom, thankful for the ensuite. She throws on a pair of pajama shorts and an oversized NYU sweatshirt before stepping out of her room. Veronica had set up the fondue on the coffee table, complete with strawberries, angel food cake, raspberries, bananas, and marshmallows. She is currently sitting on the couch, searching through a handful of DVDs for something to watch.

“Ronnie, did you really make all of this?” Betty asks, doubt in her voice. Veronica never really cooked growing up, always having things served to her.

The other girl looks up at her with the biggest smile on her face. “I did! I looked up a recipe on Pinterest. Although, I may have had to borrow some stuff from neighbors, but it was all me!” Veronica beams, seeming so proud of herself. Betty smiles and sits on the couch beside her, reaching over and dipping a strawberry in the melted chocolate. Veronica finally picks a movie, Leap Year, and settles back with her laptop again, chewing on a marshmallow. “You know that patio set I was telling you about? Well, I bought it; we have to pick it up next Wednesday. How exciting!”

Betty chuckles, picking another strawberry to eat. “Since when do you use Craigslist?”

“Since I found you can easily get cheap furniture to complete your home. Plus, it’s really fun to just browse! You never know what you can find.” Veronica types away at the keyboard, staring intently at the screen.

“Yes, exactly. You never know what you can find, V. There are creepy people on there.” She gives her a stern look, Veronica rolling her eyes and staring at her with an arched brow.

“Betty, I know what to look for. I am not going to get in any trouble, trust me.” Betty levels her with a look before turning back to the television, knowing when to back down from a fight. She’s heard the horror stories about websites like that, but she knows Veronica is both tough and smart. She watches the movie, munching on the treats and ignoring Veronica’s random comments about her Craigslist findings. In the movie, Anna and Declan are crashing the wedding when Veronica calls Betty’s name repeatedly, trying to get her attention.

“Ronnie, we really don’t need any more furniture. We have no place for it.” Betty says in a monotonous tone, keeping her eyes trained on the movie.

“It’s not furniture, Betty, it’s a gig!” Veronica exclaims, angling the laptop and pushing it towards her. “And you need to reply to it!”

This gets Betty’s attention and she snaps her head to look at the grinning girl, her face illuminated by the computer screen. “Why would I do that? I just told you how I feel about Craigslist.”

“Because,” Veronica says, dragging out the vowels, “This gig literally screams you. It’s an amature modeling gig --”

“Okay, now I know you’ve lost it because no part of that screams me,” she snorts, looking back at the movie.

“That’s exactly why it’s perfect for you! You don’t think you can do it, which is the reason that you should!” Veronica claps her hands to emphasize her statement, grinning at Betty. The latter turns back to her, officially thinking she has gone insane. She voices this, which causes Veronica to roll her eyes. “Betty. Think about it. This is an amature photographer, looking to build up a portfolio. Not professional, so not high-strung. The ad says you don’t need experience, and you just need to sit still and follow directions, which you are a pro at. You just need to send in any picture of you and then three facts about yourself. It’s as simple as that!”

“If it’s so simple, why don’t you do it then?” Betty mutters, glancing away from the laptop.

“Do you really think my ego needs that?” she questions, raising her eyebrows. Betty considers that and realizes that no, Veronica Lodge does not need any ego boosting.

“What if it’s a murderer? Or some crazy pervert?” she asks, her eyebrows knitting together in worry at all of the possible outcomes.

“I will make sure that doesn’t happen. I will do a full background check on him and will come with you if you really want me to,” Veronica assures, smiling again.

Betty bites her bottom lip, thinking it over. “I won’t get chosen,” she says quietly, bringing her knees up to her chest. “You know there is gonna be actual models replying to that. Or girls that should be models.”

“There’s no harm in trying,” Veronica reasons, sliding over to her.

She sighs, putting her legs back down. She looks at the laptop, reading over the ad again. “Only if you reply for me,” Betty finally agrees after a minute. A smile spreads across Veronica’s entire face, her eyes sparkling and face literally glowing.

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes, I most definitely will!” Veronica squeals, positioning the laptop back on her lap. “You are so gonna get this gig,” she mutters, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Betty instantly regrets her decision as soon as Veronica goes to her Facebook and searches through her photos. “We are gonna need to pick the best picture to send. And when I say best, I mean the hottest. And that is gonna be hard because you are always hot.”

She laughs at the wink Veronica throws her way. “You flatter me, V.”

“I’m serious, Betty. You are gorgeous and every photo is perfect,” she tells her, scrolling through countless photos. “But I think this one is a winner.”

Betty looks at the screen to see a photo from about a year ago. It was Christmas Eve and they were snowed in for days prior, not being able to go home for the holidays. The snow, however, did not stop Veronica Lodge from having a spectacular holiday bash with friends from their old dorm. They dressed in their cutest holiday outfits, per Veronica’s request, and of course pictures were taken. Veronica took this particular one because she could not stop complimenting Betty’s outfit. She had chosen a dark red turtleneck sweater with a leather skirt and tights, her hair styled up and her lips painted with dark red lipstick as a last minute decision. Looking back at the picture now, Betty can admit that she did look different, if anything. She normally strays away from lipstick and dark colors but in the picture, she looked good.

“I think you’re right,” Betty says quietly, staring at the picture.

Veronica smirks, copying the picture onto the post. “Knew it. You’re welcome for my amazing photography skills. Now for facts.” At this, she stops completely, her head snapping towards Betty. “Betty, you have to have the best facts. Like, incredibly interesting facts.”

“Wow, V, thanks for boosting my ego.” Betty rolls her eyes, occupying herself by dipping a slice of banana in the chocolate.

“Betty, you know that’s not what I meant! I just mean we have to really intrigue this person, okay? You can tell by their writing that they’re going to be picky. So you have to stand out.”

“Why can’t I just be me?” Betty asks, not taking her eyes off the movie.

“You can! You will! But you just have to pick the best facts about you. Three facts, Betty. I think you should choose something about your family, something you like to do or something that inspires you, and something unique about yourself.” Veronica taps her chin, staring at the computer screen in thought.

“Give it to me,” Betty tells her, reaching for the laptop. She hands it over and watches as Betty immediately starts typing away.

“What are you writing?” Veronica inquires, leaning over to see. She reads them as Betty finishes, smiling slowly. “Yes, these should be perfect. Make sure to remember me when you’re off in Paris, America’s Next Top Model.”

A few days have passed since Jughead even checked on his Craigslist ad, and for two good reasons. At first, he didn’t even want to see because he was mad at Archie for forcing him into it, and who knows who was going to answer. The second reason he didn’t check was because he honestly forgot without Archie bugging him about it. Four days after he posted it, he found himself on his computer, opening the website.

To his surprise, he actually has a lot of replies. He scrolls through them, seeing countless boring selfies with basic facts that are not at all intriguing.

“Wow, your favorite color is pink. And so is yours. And yours,” Jughead mutters to himself, shaking his head. There are a few mildly interesting ones, but selfies are not telling of how photogenic someone is. Nor is a professionally photoshopped photo, because do they think he’s an idiot?

He hears Archie come back from his run but doesn’t turn around. His eyes are stuck on the screen because suddenly, he has found the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. Her eyes are striking and Jughead finds himself lost in them, imagining how mesmerizing they’d look in person.

“She’s pretty,” he hears from behind.

Jughead snaps out of it, clearing his throat. “Uh, yeah. Pretty, yeah,” he stutters, trying not to stare at the picture too long. He scrolls a bit to look at the facts, hoping they stand out just like her eyes.

Hi! I’m Betty. I’m not normally asked for random facts, so not sure how great these are. For starters, I want to be a journalist and my literary hero is Toni Morrison. My parents are in charge of our smalltown newspaper back home, so when I was young I used to write up articles and they would pretend to publish them. And also, I love fixing up old cars and motorcycles with my dad. Not that interesting but that’s me. :)

Jughead smiles as he reads her post, trying not to be too endeared by the smiley face. She included her email at the end, as well as a “hope to hear from you!” to top it off.

“Is she the one, then? Since you’ve been staring for ten minutes, and all,” Archie smirks, poking his cheeks.

“Oh shut up,” Jughead grumbles, swatting his finger away.

Archie just laughs and leans closer, looking at the picture on the screen. “Well?” he asks, glancing expectantly at his best friend.

Jughead bites his lip, staring at the picture. He isn’t sure what exactly it is about her, but he is sold. “Yeah, yeah. She’s the one.”

Please let me know what you think! :) 

[bellarosepope]

5 Things to do Daily to Market Your Book Before it’s Even Finished

If you want to be successful, you need to market your book before it’s even completed. Here are a few simple things you can do daily to get the word out.

I’ll be honest. I had no idea how much you really need to market your book – before it’s even done! I was actually very naïve about the entire writing to publishing process before I decided I wanted to be an author. But the second I made that decision, I was all over the Internet doing research – another thing all aspiring authors should do before their book is completed.

I Googled the shit out of the different avenues of publishing and once I decided self-publishing was definitely for me, I narrowed my searches. And guess what?

I was basically clueless about how much work I’d really need to do.

Obviously, this didn’t deter me. It was just an eye opener. I learned that becoming an author isn’t just about the writing. It’s a business. And all businesses need great marketing in order to succeed.

Why you need to market your book before you’re done writing it.

I think it’s actually less about marketing your book as you’re writing it and more about marketing yourself as a writer in general. There are a lot of people out there who don’t see the point in spending their time marketing their writing.

Those people usually didn’t do their research about the publishing and selling process of being an author and they also probably won’t find much success when their book is released.

Don’t be that person.

You need to market your book as you’re writing it and even during the different stages. Why? Because who the hell is going to buy your book if nobody knows it exists? You need a fan base. You need to build interest and get your name out there. 

Without doing this, there won’t be anyone to buy the book you worked so hard to write. You’ll have to rely solely on someone randomly happening across it online and with millions of books out there, those odds aren’t very good.

But how do you market your book when it’s not even done yet?

It seems nearly impossible but I promise it’s not. There’s tons of helpful advice on how to market your book while you’re still in the stages of writing it.

But before we jump right into those details, let’s talk about what you need to do right away when you know you want to be an author. These are a few things I did within the first month or so of deciding I wanted to be an author:

Make social profiles – I’m talking about all the social profiles: Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, and any other ones you can think of. Try to make them all the same name, too. For example, on every single form of social media, my username is BellaRosePope. This is the name I’m going to be published as and, luckily, it was actually available on all platforms. If the name you’re going to use for publication isn’t available by itself, you can try adding things like “YourNameAuthor” or “BooksByYourName.” Any way of keeping it simple and memorable is best.

Make an author website – Yes, you do need a professional author website with a domain name that matches your social handles (preferably). Again, I was lucky that BellaRosePope.com was available to begin with. If you can’t afford to purchase a domain and hosting, you can get free hosting through different website platforms, but it will have the website after your name. For example, if I didn’t buy this domain, my website would read BellaRosePope.wordpress.com. This looks much less professional.

5 things you can do daily to market your book – before it’s done

There really isn’t an all-around checklist you should be following daily. However, I found these methods extremely helpful for me personally and they’re things I do every day or at least once or twice a week to grow my platform and establish myself as a writer.

1. Document your writing process

You can do this on your social platforms or by blogging or even both. I personally do both. When I have something extensive to share or I feel as though I have some tips that have helped me a lot personally, I’ll blog about it and post it on my website (like what you see right now) so I can help others, too.

You can even just post little updates on your social profiles. I find Twitter to be the best place to write short updates about how far I’ve written or if I passed a specific goal I had set. Tumblr is also a great place to post updates, as well.

Here are a few things you can talk about if you’re not sure what to share about your writing process:

New goals you make for that week

Anytime you surpass said goal

When you have a great new idea and want to share how awesome you are (I do this a lot :p )

Updates on edits

Issues you’re having in specific parts

Excerpts of chapters

Questions when you’re having trouble

Songs that inspired specific scenes

Pictures that are reminiscent of your book

2. Get social on Twitter

Twitter is actually a huge hangout for writers in the community. There are tons of them out there just looking for other writers to mingle with. Liking, replying, retweeting, and even messaging different writers can help expand your social network and you may even find new friends or possible critique partners.

But why should you connect with other writers when you want to market your book to readers?

Because writers are readers. I don’t think I’ve ever met or heard of an author who never read or didn’t like to read. Perhaps they’re out there, but the very large majority of other writers love to read.

Not only could they potentially buy your book when it’s published, they may also offer you advice for your writing journey since they’re writers, too.

In order to find other writers on Twitter, just search and use the following hashtags:

#amwriting / #amediting

#writer / #writers

#fantastywriter (that’s for me, you should use #yourgenrewriter)

#writingtips

#author / #aspiringauthor

#writerprobs / #writerproblems

#storyteller

Really, you can use any hashtag that gets the message across that you’re a writer. You can also pick up on hashtag use as you connect with more writers in the community.

3. Follow others in the writing community

Every single day I get on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr and I go through the same hashtags listed above and I find writers I think I would get along with. I stalk their profiles and websites and get to know a little bit about them. Then I’ll comment on a few of their things and just connect with them. This is a great way of building your platform base and gaining a following.

4. Join writing events online

A lot of people host daily events for writers, especially on Twitter. These aren’t huge things. More often than not, they’re usually just another writer who posts a theme for the day and you share a piece of your writing based on that and use the appropriate hashtag.

A few that come to mind right away from Twitter are:

#SlapDashSat hosted by @SlapDashSat

#Thurds hosted by @iamfunkhauser

#FriDare hosted by @Micascotti

#SciFiFri hosted by @SciFiPrompt

You can also find free writing events on Twitter by following @writevent. A number of authors also hold writer chats on different days of the week via their Twitters.

Here on Tumblr, there are TONS of “writer tags” you can participate in if you’re tagged. You can even make up your own and tag other writers. Here’s an example of one I invented (that people really hated – in a good way lol). This allows people to market themselves as a writer while also expanding your reach.

5. Share details about your writing

Do this all over the place. Talk about your book. Talk about the world you created. You can even talk about how you got started writing in the first place. So long as everyone within earshot (screenshot?) knows you’re a writer by what you share, it’ll work.

An author who does a great job of this and building hype for her book in general is Jenna Moreci. She hosts an event here on her Tumblr @jennamoreci every Tuesday called TSCTuesday where she answers your questions about her upcoming book, The Savior’s Champion, and people get PUMPED.

In general, you just need to get the word out that you’re writing a book and will publish it someday. You’ll have more success as an author if people know and remember you.

The most important part of being an author – aside from actually writing the book – is knowing how your market your book. You need people to know who you are and that you have a book in the works. It will build interest and excitement, which will lead to more sales when you finally get published!

                                        Read More Tips From My Site Here

[synoir]

I’m waiting for my order and I love the fact that you drunk dialled someone! And like before I’ll pick the numbers randomly. 11, 22, 33, 44

Yeah someone also found it quite enjoyable. He laughed to my face for two minutes. 

11. Describe your writing process from scratch to finish.

O-ho! This is challenging. 

After the idea comes and I roll it around my head for a while, time varies, and take small notes on my notebook. Then I start a Folder on Google Drive and create a document to take notes on. I also create secret Pinterest boards for visuals that would inspire me. That’s the beginning. The very beginning. 

After writing on the Notes file a while, I transition to a mind that is ready to start writing. I don’t find the beginning very hard. I don’t worry too much about where is the best place to start the story, I figured I can change and add to it anytime. 

I do have outlines, although they aren’t very detailed and usually are in my notes file. If I plan a long story I do make Timeline and Outline documents as well, but I don’t worry too much about updating them and that they have every little detail on them. 

I try to make sure I have enough room for leeways as I write, without losing the track. 

Other than that I just sit down and write.

22. How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied and a project is ultimately done for you?

As much as it needs. Not much though. The first draft, then I re-write it, then share it with alpha readers, I play around the chapter until I feel confident enough to post them. But honestly, I could actually re-write everything at the moment. Nothing feels quite finished. Which is bad. I should be able to be done with them. 

I would say the ideal is the first draft, the re-write, the final edit (and hopefully the final edit is good enough).

33. Do you listen to music when you’re writing?

Not generally. Music has a time of its own in my life. I like to listen to it. I listen right before I write, especially if certain songs have inspired me in some way, or right after I write to be able to lay back and think of what I have written. 

44. Best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten.

The best, or the most useful?

I had written a vampire story when I was 12 (I think) and I was having trouble with introducing the character’s name, my dad had told me to do it when the POV character is thinking about it. That way it would be more natural. That advice really changed how I see writing, or how I shoot photographs even. 

You see, when writing from a character’s point of view, you are describing the world from their eyes & their mind. If they aren’t noticing the spider on the wall, and you need them too, you better change the POV or force them to see it. If your character doesn’t care what the name of the new character is, you need them to care if you want to share their name. So convince your characters if you want that information in your story. 

He gave the advice for one small detail I was struggling with, but in a broader sense, it helped me understand how to write stories in general.

Writer Asks | Choose from the list

[zzpopzz]

Really long rant about how I made Vanilla Twilight, I typed it at 2am so it’s kinda crappy and boring, just skip through this post.

So I'd been thinking about it for a long time now, even before finishing Vanilla Twilight that I'd talk about it if someone asked, well that never happened so I was just thinking that I'd let it go but that post is so important to me so well fuck it I'll just talk about it anyway. I did it completely on a wimp like how cool would it be if I make a lyricstuck for Toumaki like I'd be the first (if anyone did this before me im sorry). The first song I intended to do wasn't VT, it was a much shorter and easier song. I saw the music video first time after a while and the lyrics gave me some scenes to draw right away, like the tones, the atmosphere, the lyrics all fit them very well, made me wanted to draw something happy but sad. The ending for it was a happy one instead of a sad one like other songs I did (I didn't post the ending for any of them, just let the viewers decide what it's gonna be) I was very scared like what if it won't turn out ok and people gonna hate me for it or no one even gonna look at it. Also what I visualized are mostly illustrations with backgrounds, what I never done before so high chance it won't go anywhere. I thought well let's just see how far will I get and won't talk about it at all until I post it so at least I won't be all barks no bite. I was very traumatized that someone might know about what I did so I locked all the files when I shut down my PC in case someone hack into it lmao. I started with making a storyboard(kinda) for it, this is where I first got trouble because there was some part I didn't think of when I visualized what I'd draw at first ( 'I don't feel so alone' part mostly and some in between) and it's only at this point that I realized how many I'd have to draw (over 40 images total) and it's mind blowing for someone who rarely finish a painting like me at that time, that number is more than what I'd draw in a year. VT doesn't have choruses that meant I can't do tricks like repeat some panels (I don't like this anyway). I usually painted on small canvas before that but I wanna make sure I can fix things later and some idea I had was pretty big so I used 3000x5000px canvas then trimmed them down ( I didn't know how big it was and it's huge). The idea was to make a tumblr scroll-post like a lyricstuck (my favorites are by paperseverywhere and toastyhat/emptyfeet , they made really cool tutorials about these) so I tried to drew out compositions that would look good scrolling down panel by panel and have some connections between them (this didn't turn out so good in the end because I wasn't good lol) Since I was scared that people might point out that I draw something wrong, it took me almost a week or something searching for references (check my pinterest board) like the streets, sky, houses, roads, outfits, poses,... I was going to draw. I got some knowledge about bikes by this too, like I can tell the differences between road bike, mtb, touring bikes,... I also see and captured bunches of screenshots and reread ywpd trivia countless time to make sure I won't get anything wrong. If you take notice, every outfit Toumaki wear in there are all canon, from anime or promos. The first few panels was really exciting because I had never painted so many with backgrounds before, I was really happy when I almost finished the first verse even compared to the full 3:50 of the song it was only 20 seconds and I thought maybe I can pull this after all. The last panel was intended to be Makichan standing infront of his house looking at the sky but I wanted to show the sky at the end of the panel and that wouldn't work on scroll-down post so I had to leave it for later, I repainted this panel for about 3 times and finished it just 30' before posting. The first panel of the second verse wasn't turning out alright too because that was my first time doing a 3 points perspective drawing and the colors didn't turn out as I wanted either (my intention was a green/gold dawn scene). Things kinda worked well despite that until the scene when Toudou sits in his ink, gdi I didn't know why I was so caught up in that and painted every piece of that wooden floor, it took me almost a week but turned out better than I expected so I was ok with it. I was going to make sketchy paintings for all of the panel but I did too much details on that one so it gave me the impression that I'll have to do just as much for every others. Now I still had school to go and that semester my uni got me pretty crappy schedule that made me have to wait for classes at school frequently, I was frustrated because I didn't get to paint during that time and I might finish it too late (even though I didn't set a deadline) and when I got home I just spent so much time checking twitter and just can't pick myself up to draw and ended up feeling shitty about it. *Side story*  I was so mad because I didn't get anything done and there's still more than half of the whole thing to do and the worst part is that I had no one that I can talk to because I didn't have any friend who ship Toumaki and I also don't want to publicly talk about what I was doing, I wanted to surprise people when I'm done, I didn't wanna give people the expectation then screw it up (I literally thought I'd drop a bomb not a grenade lmao) I can't remember how long was that shitty phase but I felt like it was so long, I barely finished verse 2 at that point. I was so mad at myself and my progress so I spent a few days to look at time management threads and this helped a lot, I changed my habits completely  by this and I still apply those methods now, like I used to stay up til 3am to read fics (bless you writers you fueled me with your writings bless you all) then I switch to bed before 12 and get up early for a good start or reduce working time while increasing quality* After that I kinda got things together,I just went ahead with painting tho it's still kinda tiring, I had to work on 5 essays during this time too. At this point I was like screw all, I give no shit about what everyone thinks I'm just gonna finish this and get some good nap (I practiced power nap to get more focus time for painting but dude everyone wants a good long nap) 10 days before uploading I found out that there's a Toumaki day (I'm so sorry), I was going to posted on the first sunday of June (I did researched on which was the best time to post on social medias so I randomly picked a sunday) and Toumaki day is the last sunday of May, that meant I had 10 days left and 15 panels to paint! I was going to ignore that but I already made it big I should make it right too so I shit my pants going through those last panels. I purposely hiding Toudou's face till the last verse to emphasize the feelz and got so relieved that I finally got to paint him (I read some tags that some viewers got emotional at this part so I'm so glad it worked). The whole things was put under Makichan's perspective so I was so sick of painting him at that point, he showed up in every panel and I can't paint him ugly because he's beautiful (especially his hair, I spent shitload of time painting them). I can talk lots about why I picked to do so but that's headcanon shit and it's embarrassing so let's just skip that. The last day I had only 3 panels left and I was hell confident that I've got this and somehow spent the whole evening rewatch Toumaki pingpong ep (end me). Of course that didn't end well, I managed to finish those by midnight but I still had like 3 panels that needed  repaint completely and all 43 needed retouch and edits. My plan was to post at 9am sunday (thats 9pm saturday est) so I had to get up at 5am and finish all that, I ended up cutting down 2 panels and simplified the instrumental panel (some tags said that was nice so I was at least relieved). Unlike other songs I did, the length of every line's quite different and the original sizes I did would make viewers have to scroll slower or faster at different parts. I didn't plan this beforehand and had to trim down some panels even the parts that I really liked and spent lots of time on. I also found out that people outside the homestuck fandom might not familiar with this type of post so I made a video too (I’m sorry I have zero skill in editing). After posting I was terrified of people's reactions or worse, there won't be any reaction so I turned everything off and went to sleep and woke up with an unimaginable number of notes I'd got, I set the target of 500 notes and I really didn't think that I'd get past that number like maybe 2-300 (well my other songs didnt even get 200), at the end I got 5000. I spent the next week reading and screencap tags given in reblogs, I put them on desktop and they're still my motivation til now. Vanilla Twilight is the thing I'm proud of the most even until now, when I've done other songs and projects that look somewhat better. If I have to recommend one thing on my blog I'd recommend it despite its' unskilled paneling, poor composition and muddy colors. It was the first time in my life that I'd put so much effort into something and went through such emotional roller coaster, the feelings I put into it was raw and the idea was very original compared to other songs, I improved and changed a lot during the 2 months I spent on it and never once regret doing it. ***Anyway, you sure have much free time to read it this far, here's a little game for you: I put random things in VT and HF like some characters/stuff from other series, my ocs,... (there wasn't anything purposeless in there even the logo on their cups or the bags they wear) just send me anything you find and I'll draw you something in return**