#if i hit a roadblock again i want to remember this

[i-like-gay-books]

i wanna make a post for all the artists out there struggling with long term burnout, because i’m just starting to emerge from it after nearly three years and i honestly forgot what it was like to have creative energy and i lost a lot of hope during that time.

first of all, burnout can come from anywhere, it doesn’t necessarily have to be that you did too much art and now you drained your creative energy. for me personally, i was dealing with anxiety-based burnout in the aftermath of covid and my freshman year of college, and i lost all motivation for writing, which is like my main thing, the thing i consider to be me, you know? if i’m not a writer, i’m not me.

it was really hard, and i had to push through it, painfully, because my degree is in creative writing, and burnout or not, i do not have the funding to not graduate on time. and it wasnt just writing. this burnout affected all areas of my life.

i stopped being as interested in music, stopped wanting to go to concerts for my favorite artists, because even my favorite artists weren't very important to me. i would make it halfway through a book or maybe even finish a book and then stop reading (aside from fanfic) for several months.

last year, i had such a hard time coming up with a halloween costume that the only thing that saved me from not having a costume entirely was that i found a nice coat that looked exactly like sophie's dress from howl's moving castle.

and the worst part of it all was that i truly started to lose hope. i thought i might never find a favorite music artist again, with songs i want to play on loop endlessly despite knowing that, historically, that usually leads to me not being able to listen to the songs again for a while. i thought books just weren't for me anymore. i dared not think it, but in the back of my mind, i worried that i would never write something i was truly excited to write ever again.

it was really disheartening. still is, to be honest. its the worst thing an artist can feel, to be cut off from that creativity, the one thing i always seemed to have in abundance, no matter what, before.

but as i said, im starting to come out of it now. its a very slow process, but a couple weeks ago, i started planning my novel again, and started rereading an old favorite book series instead of continuing with fanfic. the reason i started making this post is because today at work i had not just one but several halloween costume ideas, when it was so hard for me to even manage one last year.

i still have a ways to go, but i just wanted to make this post. because tumblr is great, but i only ever see artists talking about their current art on here, and it wouldve helped me a lot while i was in the thinck of it to see someone who hadnt produced art they were truly excited about and proud of in a long time.

it was gone, but it's coming back. it might leave for a long time, but once your circumstances aren't as stressful and draining, it will return. even if it feels like it won't, like maybe you've changed permanently and stopped being an artist, somehow, it will.

humans are made to make art. sometimes we're just not in the right circumstances to be able to do it and survive at the same time.

[cosmicdahlias]

A Fatal Mistake

a ford x reader fic

MINORS DNI

Ford is being driven to the brink of insanity for betraying Bill, constantly possessed and harmed in every way possible. He’s been missing for days and you’re working to find him when he comes through the front door, looking incredibly worse for wear.

warnings: blood, injury, possession, oral, p in v, creampie, knives, death

i included one of my favorite astronomy facts! i loved astronomy in high school, it was actually one of the few classes i applied myself in. i was gonna give the ending my usual fluff treatment, but after reading the book of bill and seeing how dark things get in the lost journal pages i couldn’t help myself.

It had been days since you had seen your research partner, Ford. As of late disappearing for a day or two was commonplace for him, but it had been almost a week with no sign of him.

You never had any idea what he got himself up to when he took off like that. He’d come back with various injuries and when you tried to probe him for their source he always insisted he didn’t remember. Normally you’d think he was lying, but it genuinely seemed like he was telling the truth.

It killed you to see him like this. Not just because you cared for him as your research partner, but because you harbored deep feelings for him. You always had, ever since you met him all those years ago in college.

When he called you up asking for you to come work with him in a small town in Oregon, you happily agreed to it without a second thought. For the longest time it was just you and him, discovering and documenting the weirdness that inhabited Gravity Falls. There were so many times you wanted to tell him how you felt, but you were plagued with cold feet.

Years had passed when another brilliant mind joined the team after you’d both hit a roadblock in your studies. Ford had been struck with the idea, as if from nowhere, to build an inter-dimensional portal. You two were incredibly brilliant, but lacked the engineering skills to complete this monumental task on your own. Ford called up his old college roommate, Fiddleford McGucket, in Palo Alto. He eagerly accepted the offer, insisting Ford’s plans were “mathematically feasible!”

As much as you enjoyed Fiddleford’s company, any chance you’d had to confess your feelings to Ford fell by the wayside. Between diligent work and never being alone with him, you simply didn’t have the time.

After months of the three of you spending every waking moment on the portal, the time came to finally test it. Things went wrong, horribly wrong. The rope tied to the test dummy had wrapped around Fiddleford’s wrist, pulling him halfway through the portal. Ford’s and your quick thinking allowed you two to heave him back out. Ford tried to ask him what he had seen, but he rambled incomprehensible nonsense and said the machine would bring about the apocalypse. He quit on the spot.

What should have been a silver lining to have Ford to just yourself again did not turn out to be so. In the following days he became erratic, paranoid, overrun by sleep deprivation, constantly turning his head as if to sounds you could never hear. He was a shell of his former self, but you were determined to stick by him.

One morning he called you frantically, all you could make out was “Fiddleford was right”. He did not elaborate, insisting he had more to say to you in person. Alarmed by the obvious decline in his mental state, you raced over. He sat you down on his couch and explained everything.

He confessed that building the portal was not his idea, that he was instructed to do so by an otherworldly being by the name of Bill Cipher. He had trusted him, lured in by Bill stroking his admittedly massive ego, praising his high IQ, and promising him the secrets that would solve the mystery that was the weirdness of Gravity Falls. Bill said that the portal would be Ford’s magnum opus, a true conclusion to the answers he so desperately sought.

But it was all a lie. Bill needed the portal to link his dimension to yours so he could take over and establish a “Weirdmageddon”. A cataclysmic event that would turn all reason and logic on its head, it would spell the end to life and the universe as you knew it.

It was a lot to take in, but the look on Ford’s face told you that this was gravely serious. You took his word without question, vowing to put an end to Bill’s plans and destroy him at all costs. Within days the disappearances started to happen.

At first you wondered if these episodes were some kind bender, be it alcohol or drugs… or both. Perhaps a way to cope with the reality of being used as Bill’s pawn in a sick game of chess for the fate of the universe. But now you were certain there was something far more sinister at play.

It was a fairly common occurrence that you saw his eyes glow bright yellow, pupils catlike. His demeanor would shift and his voice would change in register, almost as if someone was speaking through him. During these instances it was like he became a different person, he was wild and unpredictable. He would say things to you either for shock value or in an overtly flirtatious manner just to see you turn red.

You had studied your fair share about demonic possession. With the way Ford had described previous moments where Bill had taken over, back when he still considered him his “Muse”, it was a no-brainer that Ford was once again being used by Bill. This time it was for his own sick enjoyment of making his former puppet suffer, a punishment for Ford’s betrayal.

You sat in the secluded cabin in the woods the two of you used to conduct research in, before things had become so tumultuous. Night had fallen and you were on the phone speaking to the GFPD.

“So you’re not going to send out someone to look for him until morning!? Why can’t you do it now? He hasn’t been seen in days! He could be-“

The front door swung open with an incredibly disheveled Ford standing in the doorway.

“FORD!” You shouted.

“Hello, hello?” The officer asked over the phone.

“He just walked in the door, sorry for all the trouble.” You said unceremoniously, slamming the phone.

“Where have you been? I was so worried!” You said.

Before Ford had a chance to respond he began to fall forward, you leapt to your feet and caught him before his face could make contact with the floor. You took his face in your hands and studied his eyes. They looked insanely bloodshot and exhausted, but thankfully normal.

“Ford, what the hell happened to you?”

“I- I don’t know.” He murmured faintly.

“Let me get you somewhere comfortable.”

You lifted him up, put your arm around his shoulders and led him back to his room, sitting him on the couch. You scanned him from head to toe. His white button-up shirt was torn with a long horizontal laceration across his chest, a ring of blood stained his shirt, it looked like he’d been attacked with a knife. You put a hand to his chest, he flinched.

“Oh, Ford. Who did this to you?”

“I can’t recall a thing. I remember nothing from the near week I was gone.”

“Regardless, I need to get you cleaned up. I’ll be right back.”

You headed to the bathroom where he kept a first aid kit in the medicine cabinet. You made your way back and sat next to him on the couch.

“This shirt’s gonna have to go.” You said, pulling scissors from the kit.

“I don’t think there’s any chance of salvaging it anyway.” He chuckled weakly.

You removed his tie and cut away at his shirt, sliding the remains off his arms and revealing his chest. With the shirt no longer obstructing your view you could see that the cut was deep, but thankfully not enough to require stitches. He had avoided a hospital trip… this time.

“You know, you’re probably gonna have to get a tetanus shot.” You said.

He laughed softly “I’ll take it over rabies shots, those are hell.”

You pulled out a small bottle of disinfectant and a cotton pad. He winced as you applied it to the gash.

“I’ll never get accustomed to this sensation.” He said through gritted teeth.

“I’d imagine obtaining the injury was far worse.”

“It’s a good thing I can’t remember it then.” He smiled sheepishly.

You unfurled a roll of gauze, pulling his back away from the couch and wrapping his chest.

“Ford, you have to tell me why you keep vanishing. I know you say you don’t remember, but I’m certain there’s more to it. I know it has something to do with Bill.”

He looked away, afraid to meet your gaze. You took his cheek in your hand, turning him to face you.

“Hey, I tell you everything, I know you can do the same for me.”

He put his hand over yours and took a deep breath. “I leave because I don’t want to put you in danger. On nights where I can no longer fight the exhaustion, Bill threatens me in my dreams- my nightmares. He wants to hurt you.”

“There has to be a way I can help keep him from taking over. Something, anything.”

“I wish I knew, but I… don’t. I feel like I’m slowly going insane, but at least if I’m away from you I can’t harm you.”

“I’m not letting you face this on your own, we’re a team and I’m not going anywhere. You scared me half to death over these last few days. I started to think I might’ve lost you. I’m not losing you again, not even for a second.”

“You don’t understand the violent things Bill wants me to do to you, to kill you.”

With stakes as high as they were you realized how foolish it was to keep secrets, even your feelings for him.

“No matter what happens, I’m staying. I love you, Ford.”

You leaned in and kissed him. When you pulled back he stared at you, blood rushing to his cheeks.

“You love me?” Ford he whispered.

“I have for over a decade.”

“I- I had no idea.”

“Well, you’re the smartest man I know, but you’re incredibly stupid when it comes to romance.” You laughed.

“Touché.” He smiled.

“Ford, I don’t know if you feel the same way, but I’ve wanted you for so lo-“

He cut you off by pulling you onto his lap and kissing you passionately.

“I love you too, stardust.”

Ah yes, the nickname he’d given you in college. You had told him a fact about how certain elements in human bodies only form from the death of a star. You told him “we are literally made of stardust” and the name stuck. He always said it in a way that came off platonically, but this time as it left his lips it was obvious the intent was vastly different.

He looked at you directly in the eyes, he hated eye contact so you knew you must’ve mattered to him a great deal.

“I’ve felt the same way for so long, I just never thought you did so I put my feelings aside, buried them deep. You have no idea how often my thoughts are occupied by you. There were so many times I would just watch you working, the way your brow furrows in concentration is adorable. I need you like a flower craves sunlight, like a fish to water.” He whispered.

You kissed him again, tangling your fingers in his hair. He lowered his mouth to your neck, kissing and sucking the skin. You ground yourself against him, eliciting a soft moan against your neck and causing him to grow achingly hard.

“God, I’ve wanted this since the day you came into my life.” He breathed.

You sunk to the floor in front of him and started undoing his belt. You unzipped his fly and pulled out his cock. Jesus christ, he was big. You stroked him a few times before taking him in your mouth.

“F- fuck, your mouth feels incredible.” He moaned.

You moved your head up and down his shaft, Ford whimpering far more than you had expected.

“Ah, hhhnh, don’t stop.” He whined.

He ran his fingers through your hair, moaning and softly bucking his hips into your mouth. He took great care to not move hard enough to make you gag. You picked up your pace, stroking him with your hand as you sucked.

“Nhhhh where did you learn to do something like that? You’re so good at this. Y- you’re gonna make me c- cum if you keep guh- going- ah- like that.” He stuttered.

You bobbed your head furiously on him. He tangled his fist in your hair and gently pulled your mouth off of him.

“N- no, stop. I need to feel myself inside you. Please?”

You nodded and he turned himself to lay back on the couch, you stood and slipped your panties off from under your skirt, dropping them to the floor. You got on top of him, straddling his hips and hovering over his cock. You lowered yourself to take his length inside you, now it was your turn to whimper as your pussy struggled to accommodate him.

“Dear moses, stardust, and I thought your mouth felt good. You’re heavenly. So warm and- mmh- tight.”

You slid him fully inside you, never feeling so filled by cock before in your life. He rested his hands on your hips and you began to move yourself on him. He threw his head back, already overwhelmed by the mere feeling of your pussy taking his cock.

He panted. “You can’t imagine the amount of times I’ve pictured something like this. How often you’ve distracted me from my work. The nights I’ve spent with my hand wrapped around my cock, the mere thought of you pushing me to orgasm. Oh stars, how I longed to know you intimately.”

He slipped a hand between your thighs, stroking your clit with his thumb, the other hand still holding your hip. You bit your lip, stifling what would have been an uncomfortably loud moan, tightening around him.

“Good girl, I love how my touch makes you constrict my cock.”

You became even tighter at his praise.

“Nnnnahhh, Ford.”

“Is that a praise kink I sense, stardust?”

You nodded fervently.

“That’s my girl, so needy for my words.”

You lifted and dropped your hips, sliding him fully in and out of you at a steady rhythm. His eyes rolled back into his head, completely overtaken by the pleasure of you. His breath was ragged, his eyes never leaving you, darting between your body and face.

“You’re so gorgeous, stardust. I’ve studied so many creatures over the years, seen the likes of sirens and nymphs, but you are by far the most enchanting.”

He reached up a hand to cup your cheek, you leaned into his touch. You felt yourself growing close between both his words and thumb on your clit. You made an attempt to tell him, but all that came out was unintelligible whimpering.

“Oh Ford, you’re- I’m gonna- ah- nhhhh.”

“That’s it, you’re such a good girl. Cum for me, you’re almost there.”

You absolutely lost it at his praise, digging your nails into his shoulders and riding him as hard as you possibly could until you came completely undone around him. The feeling of you spasming and contracting around him sent him over. He released your clit, both hands gripping your hips. He slammed you down onto the full length of his cock and came deep inside you.

“Dear god, y/n!” He half moaned, half whimpered.

Your pace died down and for a while you stayed on top of him. You both said nothing, just looking into each other’s eyes and panting as your heart rates settled. You leaned down, pressing a kiss to his lips and pulled yourself off of him. You laid down, Ford spooning you.

“In the name of all the stars in the known universe and beyond, you are absolutely incredible, stardust.” He sighed, content.

“I love you, Ford.” You said, eyelids growing heavy.

He pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “I love you too, y/n.”

You both lay in silence, slumber embracing you. Bill knew it was now or never. He took control of Ford and silently moved him off the couch so as to not wake you. He led him to the kitchen, pulling out a large knife. He crept back into the room where you slept, looming over you.

You stirred. “Mnh, Ford? What are you-“

Your eyes widened in terror as you caught sight of the knife in his hand, his eyes glowed unnaturally in the dim light. Adrenaline rushed through your veins, you bolted off the couch and ran for your life. You burst through the front door and took off into the forest, the light of the full moon being the only thing to keep you from crashing into the trees.

A constant crunching of snow behind you was a strong indicator that Ford was pursuing you. Tears streamed down your face. You said you would stand by him no matter what and now you were paying the price for thinking with your heart.

You looked back to see if you were still being followed, but didn’t see him. Before you could even turn your head again you collided with something, falling to the ground. You looked up and your heart sank. Ford grinned with a smile so wide it looked as if the corners of his mouth would split open.

“Hey there, dollface. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”

-

Ford came to god knows how much later. He blinked, vision blurry, as it always was after Bill had taken hold. He could see a figure lying in the snow and as his eyes began to focus he screamed in horror.

You lay before him, your body stabbed near beyond recognition, an immense pool of blood stained the fresh snow. There was no way to bring you back, you were gone. A page ripped from Ford’s journal laid on top of you.

“Did you really think I’d let you have your happy ending with your little ‘stardust’? It’s just us now, sixer, I’m all you’ll ever need.”

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Do you know any fics similar to The Mating Privilege or I Don’t Like the Way She’s Looking at You? Just some stories where Derek isn’t the *best* mate/bf/husband etc or they have to pretend to not be together and ends up with stiles feeling neglected or ignored.

I’ve also read “how I long for yesterday” and “worth it” for those that want something similar but not quite what I’m looking for!

First of all. "How I Long for Yesterday" is my fic. So this made my day.

How I Long For Yesterday by sweetbutterbliss

(1/1 I 6,017 I Mature I Sterek)

Stiles blinks, his throat going dry, and he moves his thumb without thinking - liking the post. He feels a surge of petty satisfaction. At least the fucker will know he knows now. He stands up, his body feeling too heavy, and he blows out the already guttering candles. He lets out a sob of frustration when the last one won’t fucking blow out. But he sucks it back in and bites down on his tongue, using his thumb and forefinger instead. He throws himself into their empty bed without undressing. He lies there repeating the words ‘Derek blew me off for Isaac’ over and over. He tells himself to shut up while rearranging his pillow violently, but he goes to sleep with the refrain continuing its painful loop.

Worth It by dragneels

(1/1 I 1,670 I General I Sterek)

He hadn’t thought even for a second, instincts roaring, and jumped in front of Derek, taking the blow. And then he got lost in the darkness. also known as the "stiles telling derek that he's worth everything" fic no one asked for

***

As the seconds tick by by Halevetica

(1/1 I 3,972 I Not Rated)

When Derek picks up a new contract, he starts showing up late and missing important dates making Stiles feel unimportant. Derek is sure the contract is worth it, but Stiles doesn't understand why.

I'm Torn Do I Stay Do I Go by Adaline_Stilinski

(2/2 I 6,963 I General)

Derek had been focusing on making alliances with other packs around Beacon Hills to protect his pack but in doing so he started to neglect Stiles and there relationship. Stiles get's sick of it and decided to leave for some time apart is it going to help be like the stories Stiles reads and write about how distance makes love grow or will they both realise that there better apart. Will tragedy bring them together

Aberration by JackalPinesOfHouseEvergreen

(11/? I 29,415 I Teen)

Derek is a hot-shot lawyer who is very focused on his work. Stiles is his loving husband who does his best to fit into Derek's high-class family. He's hit some major roadblocks though. He feels neglected and unloved, and worse when Derek ditches him at his own family's parties which leave him humiliated as he tries to appear like their marriage isn't failing.

As an old member comes during some important werewolf ceremony to stir the pot, Derek's relationship with his family and Stiles is tested more than ever. Derek's world has been rocked and turned upside down.

And Stiles? Stiles is trying to find out who he is in the absence of the one he loves. As much as he believes in Derek and in their relationship, Stiles needs to find his self-worth that got lost along the way. Remember the fire he had inside of him as he got in the face of those that looked down at him, the fierceness of his intelligence that made others fear and respect him. Remember how fun life was...

Derek and Stiles drift a bit as Derek realizes he has to woo Stiles again, because he will not risk losing the love of his life. Not again.

The Mating Privilege by Kikileduc

(12/12 I 35,380 I Mature)

Stiles and Derek have been happily mated. The pack is doing well, but in hopes of creating alliances for it to do better, Derek accepts a neighboring pack's request to allow two wolves to join the Hale-McCall pack for a full moon cycle. They hope to form a blood-tie, or at least a long term friendship between the two packs. The issue is Kohona, the tribal leader's daughter, has her eyes set on an unavailable alpha wolf. This could have drastic consequences for their young emissary, however...

Til We Ain't Strangers Anymore by WriteByNight

(7/7 I 35,994 I Explicit)

Stiles should've expected Derek to suddenly disappear since the werewolf was in the habit of taking off without notice. However, Derek always showed up when they needed him.

As the weeks pass by, Stiles is no longer confused and a little hurt. What started as heartache begins to get worse the longer Stiles goes without seeing Derek. Eventually, his body begins to shut down and his only hope seems to be Derek...but nobody can find him.

There's no cure for a broken heart. Except, maybe, the cause for the broken heart himself.

- - -

Or the one where Derek takes off without warning and Stiles finds out he could be Derek's mate and the distance between Derek and Stiles, along with Derek's refusal to develop the bond, is slowly killing Stiles. Without Derek, Stiles will die, but no one knows where he is or how to contact him. And Stiles is barely keeping it together.

[americas1suiteheart]

Here's the link for the whole series on Ao3 if you prefer to read it there :)

Weird Science | Chapter II

Egon Spengler x Reader

[Notes; This is a shorter chapter and is kind of a filler I guess, but I promise there's more the next one. There is no summary for this.

[Warnings; Some foul language and that's about it.

Part 2/? | <Previous Chapter | Next Chapter>

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒦︶︶︶꒦꒷

Ring, Ring, Ring, Ri-!

You run from the other room to get the telephone, nearly tripping over some of the boxes scattered throughout your apartment. You answer the phone, picking it up and holding it to your ear.

"Hello?"

"Y/n! Hey, it's Ray. I was calling to see if you wanted to swing by our research area sometime this week? Me and the guys have been working on something but hit a bit of a roadblock and need help getting it fixed or changed up soon," Ray's voice rings out excitingly through the phone.

"Hey Ray! Sure I can, but it'll probably have to be either tomorrow or Friday, I'm kinda stuck moving some of the boxes out to my apartment right now,"

"That's fine, Y/n. Also, how do you feel about getting some drinks with me and the guys this weekend? I figure I can reintroduce you to Peter and Egon again. I think it'd be fun if you aren't too busy," Ray suggests.

"Great! I wouldn't mind going with you guys, I think it'd be nice especially with all this that's goin' on right now too." You say, twisting the telephone cord in between your fingers.

"Great! How about you come on over Friday and after we finish up we can all go down to a bar for the night. The work shouldn't take too long."

"Yeah that works, I'll see you Friday then. Bye now."

"Bye Y/n, see you Friday." Ray says before hanging up the phone.

You place the phone back into its holder, then walking through the stacks of boxes to get back to organizing them.

I forgot just how much fun it was to talk to friends, why did I ever loose touch with all of them? Especially Ray.

You pick up a box labeled Motherboards and Breadboards, scribbled out in messily neat handwriting, picking it up and placing it on top of the boxes labeled Wires.

You had only been moving your stuff out for two days now, so regardless of the amount of shit you had in your apartment currently, you still weren't done and there was unfortunately plenty left in what used to be your lab.

You go to turn on your radio, tuning it to a radio station that played some of your favourite stuff and luckily managed to catch it just as a song was about to play.

-bzzt!- "...You're listening to 97.5 FM, the top radio station where you can get all of the newest -bzzt!- hits! Here's Everything She Wants from Wham's new album 'Make It Big'!" -bzzt!-

You make a mental note to remember that you need to buy another radio, as the speakers on yours were starting to give out.

"Somebody told me, "Boy, everything she wants, is everything she sees" I guess I must have loved you, because I said you were the perfect girl for me, baby,"

You danced as you organized more of your boxes. "Where on earth am I going to put all of these?" You said to yourself, putting your hands on your hips.

"Somebody tell me, o-" -pop!- -fzzt!- Your radio began to pop and spark, and it finally gave out with some mild vapor coming out of it.

"Shit! No, please don't give out on me now." You sigh, unplugging the radio from the port and trying to fan away the smoke.

'As if my week couldn't get any worse right now. I'm starting to look forward to Friday more and more.' You think to yourself.

You run your fingers through your hair, deciding to take a nap so you could try to calm yourself down.

---------------------------------------

You wake up, stretching and letting out a groan. You look at your bedside clock. 7:47 PM, the clock read.

You get up and head into your kitchen to make dinner. You grab a pot, a can of tomato soup, some bread, and a couple slices of cheese.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup couldn't really be considered the best dinner but its what you had. that's another thing you needed to add to your list. New radio, more groceries.

You add the can of tomato soup and a can of water into the pot and turn the heat on. You get four slices of bread and four slices of cheese out, placing them onto your cutting board as you go to grab your skillet and some butter.

You walked back into your living room to turn on your answering box to listen to any messages you might've gotten while you were napping.

-beep!- "You have- 3 new messages" -beep!-

You walk back into the kitchen to make your grilled cheese, turning the stove on for the skillet and putting two slices of butter on it to melt.

"Hey, Y/n! It's Sarah. I wanted to call to tell you that Mark and I are engaged now! How awesome is that, right! I'll have to talk to you about it when you actually answer your phone. I'll talk to you later, bye!" -beep!-

You smile to yourself, it was always good hearing from Sarah, you never got to talk to her often and you were happy that she finally got engaged with Mark. It might be better to meet with her to congratulate and talk to her, you'll call to tell her that later.

"Hey, Y/n. It's dad. I heard about what happened at the University and I want to say I'm sorry, kiddo. If you ever need help with anything or just want to come and hang out with your old man you can always come over whenever you want. I hope you feel better and, uh, yeah. I love you, stay safe." -beep!-

It was always so nice to hear from your parents. You hated to say it but it was even better when you heard from your dad rather than your mom. You'd always been daddy's little girl though. You need to go and visit them very soon, you forgot just how much you missed them.

You take both of the grilled cheeses off of the skillet and turn of the stove for both the soup and the skillet.

"Hey, Y/n, it's Ray again. Good and exciting news; me, Venkman, and Spengler got actual evidence that phantoms and ghosts are real and even got an ectoplasm sample. Not so good news; we've all been kicked out of the University today. I guess the Dean decided he was done with us in the same week. Anyway, just wanted to sha-" -beep!- "Time limit exceeded." -beep!- "You have no more messages" -beep!-

"Shit. I hope they're okay." You say to yourself, taking your plate and bowl to place it on your kitchen island.

Your home didn't feel all that cozy now with all of the boxes scattered throughout your apartment. Though you guess it never was to begin with.

There were only the bare necessities. A bed, one chair next to the island, pots and pans, food, a small television, a table where the television and phone sat, and a few other kitchen appliances. You were always at your lab so you didn't feel the need for a couch, things for hobbies, or anything else that weren't completely necessary, though you guess that a television wasn't exactly necessary.

You sit at the island and eat, turning on your television and putting on the news. Nothing interesting to say the least, just the same boring thing as everyday.

You sigh and clean up the mess from your food, walking them and putting them up to dry. Turn off the television and head into your room to go to bed again.

Though it sucked to have been fired from the University, you had a lot of time to relax now, to sleep a normal amount of time for the first time in years. But the downside of it is that you were bored. So.. incredibly.. bored.. This was also the first time that you had nothing to do in years to occupy your hands and mind. It was awful.

You finally fall asleep after letting your mind wander, thinking about how you never would have had to let Thallman go work with another professor if you would've just done something else to not piss of the Dean.

꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶︶︶꒦꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦︶︶꒦︶︶︶꒦꒷

This was a shorter chapter and I'm actually being smarter about making chapter fics, making two of them at a time so people don't wait ages for one individual chapter to be released (And I'm terribly sorry for that, guys), and I'm sorry for the pace that this is going. But the next chapter is going to have more, I promise. I'll stop the ranting for now, I do hope you enjoyed it, though.

[darkwingsnark]

Thematic Contradictions: Pinky, the Nature of Suffering, and the Brain.

A comment written on a youtube video showing the multiple backstories provided by the different iterations of PatB. Something written in the moment, free flow, with no research to back my claims. All made for the fun fun silly-williness of it all.

I did think others might enjoy it all the same, so sharing anyway.

Honestly, while contradictory in nature for the sake of making different origin parodies [a habit shared with shows like Darkwing Duck], there's plenty to work with in regards to coming up with a backstory. Even if you were to assume that Brain truly has lost it enough to believe all origins, there's still the running theme of having lost his innocence due to interference with humanity. That the trauma triggered the want and need for control to provide safety for himself [and Pinky]. I wouldn't call his want to take over the world [and thus humanity] to be seen as the example of his anger displacement. His anger displacement comes in the form of lashing out and getting overtly defensive when hitting roadblocks. It's a triggering of the feeling of failure, which in turn is internalized. His plan didn't fail, HE failed. Which in turn, he feels, is a jab at his intelligence. And if he isn't intelligent, the very thing granted and the outcome of why he suffered, then what was the point of it all? If he can't seek control, make the world a better place, was his suffering just a cruel act and not the marks of a greater destiny?

The answer in the end, of course, is one that philosophers have debated for a long time. But I argue that, outside of the love story of two mice [platonic or otherwise], the show handles topics like hope vs nihilism. Nihilism, in this case, demonstrated by both characters. Nothing matters, so why not take over the world? [It has to matter, or else why did he suffer?] Nothing matters, so why not have fun and be kind along the way?

Hope is also what enables them to continue their plans for world domination, while the fear of not being good enough is why Brain hardly ever tries a scheme more than once. Despite the fact part of learning comes with figuring out where one's mistakes occurred. But Brain has trouble learning on an emotional level, because he's closed off. That is where his learned helplessness comes into play. We've seen time and time again that he has trouble being vulnerable because that means losing any semblance of control. Control over himself, as well as passing on the reigns to have another help him through his pain. But what if he's rejected? What if his pain is mocked, or the other sees his vulnerability and validates the fact that he is a failure?

To want is to face the possibility of pain. To hope can lead to loss. And the Brain has faced enough of that for a life time.

And none of this even covers the new theme that reboot has made of Brain being just like the humans he sees as monsters. Of how he has continued the cycle of abuse through Julia's creation and downfall. When you see the mouse dine at the table of humanity, it becomes hard to distinguish one from another.

Luckily Pinky is there as Brain's moral anchor. And I like to believe that Brain can be better, can remember that nothing matters so why not be kind in spite of it?

[solarbird]

I’m going to say one final thing about the Trump shooting, then turn the rest of this into a resource post, highlighting some useful information about Project 2025, JD Vance, and the two together, since there is some involvement.

I argued in the past that it doesn’t matter whether Trump’s ear was hit by a bullet or shrapnel, because it fucking doesn’t, it was still an assassination attempt. I’ve argued about how Democratic conspiracy theories give us more MAGA and give them something to counterbalance against January 6th.

But most importantly, going off about which happened gives Donald Trump more attention for something he wants attention about.

For a blessed few days, nobody was talking about the stinking orange buffoon, not really, and given that literally nothing changes about the story he wants to talk about if it’s shrapnel or if it’s a bullet, that was a really good thing. It was “fuckity-bye, ear” in the news and I was delighted for it.

Even talking about him overhyping the damage or whatever just gives it all more air.

Don’t give it – or him – any air. Don’t let him get up. Until and unless something actually major actually happens – not hypotheses or speculation, actually something major – keep it quiet, because it helps shift the focus back on him.

Keep the focus on Harris and on Vance. That’s what’s good for us. Not speculating about trivia nobody outside the obsessed cares about: himself, as victim.

Make sense? Good. I’m shutting up about it until and unless there’s some actual hard news, and I recommend you do too.

Have some more resources on Project 2025 and JD Vance; use them as appropriate when talking to your friends and family about the election, particularly the Trumpy ones:

This is a two-fer: Trump again denies Project 2025 — despite Vance writing foreword for chief architect’s book. This is the same book that calls progressives “unhumans” and praises the January 6th insurrectionists. So that’s fun.

You’ve heard the “childless cat ladies” with “no stake in America” quote, of course. Push comes to shove, he really doesn’t think women – certainly not childless women – should be able to vote. He doesn’t just come out and say it like the GOP candidate for governor in Nroth Carolina did, but it’s in there.

There are so many levels of Christofascism in the Project, here’s yet another one: A Jewish couple were rejected as foster parents because of their religion. This is the future Project 2025 envisions

FBI director issues warning on ‘frightening’ Project 2025, specifically its plans to make the FBI directly responsible not to the constitution but to one man, Donald Trump.

How J.D. Vance Went From Green Tech Investor to Climate Change Doubter – it’s about money and power, naturally.

JD Vance roadblocked dozens of US diplomats while he obsessed over their views on gay rights, because he really, really hates the queers.

Anybody remember the Spoils System in the Federal government? I kind of doubt it, because nobody – I mean, literally I’ve seen nobody – talks about it in relation to J.D. Vance’s radical plan to build a government of Trump loyalists based on Project 2025. Not only was it massively corrupt from top to bottom – absolute looting for the winning political party – but it even triggered the assassination of President James Garfield.

Enjoy this big collection of JD Vance being absolutely evil. He really hates women without children – no, he really hates women in general, and hating women who don’t have (white) children is only the start.

Here Vance supporting police tracking women’s periods for evidence of abortion.

There’s more, but this is getting pretty long. I’ll leave you with this last little nugget:

The AP had to take down their fact check about JD Vance never having sex with with a couch. This is because while he didn’t actually tell such a story in Hillbilly Elegy, they can’t prove a negative, so couch time is back on.

And with that, enjoy the weekend.

[sadnesslaughs]

The worst thing about dying is talking to HR the next morning.

(A response to a writing prompt)

“With all due respect. I didn’t intentionally miss the meeting. I died yesterday. It was on the news and everything. I even texted our boss after it happened, so he knew I wouldn’t be able to make it into the office.” Garth pleaded, not wanting to lose his comfy office job. It was hard for immortals to find work, mainly because most companies either closed or got suspicious of their employee that had been working there for over a hundred years.

That’s why Amiza was perfect. A large distributor of candy and snacks, the sort of company where the bosses only see you as a statistic on an excel sheet. No one cared if he stayed here for six hundred years, as long as he showed up on time. He also had great job security, knowing that both candy and snacks were goods that would never go out of fashion. It was practically an unsinkable business, and yet he hit a roadblock in his employment. Dying yesterday on his way to work.

“Ah, yes. The ‘death certificate’.” The HR manager, Tom, resisted the urge to use air quotes, instead doing the verbal equivalent of it, giving a snarky rise in his voice as he went over the word. “You would have us believe you died and came back to life? It’s not even Easter and Christ has risen. Splendid.”

“Ah, I’m not a god or anything.” Garth said, a little embarrassed by the comparison. He had gone through a cult stage in the early 1000s, something that most immortals did while they were young. After that weirdness, he never wanted to be referred to as a deity again.

“I was being sarcastic, Mr. Backlor. How do you expect us to believe any of this? People don’t come back to life.”

“What about during open heart surgery?”

Tom sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “In that case, they may sometimes come back. Though, I doubt any medical profession is deeming them dead during the surgery. I also assume they wouldn’t turn up to work a day after being declared dead. I want to believe you, Garth, I really do.” Tom lied, already having the termination email template on his screen. “But, you have to give me more to work with. Why shouldn’t we fire you?”

“Because I’m a great employee.” Garth thought that would be obvious. What other answer was he going to give in this situation?

“You’re a good employee. Not great. Great is reserved for people like myself.” Tom smirked, always happy to fluff his own feathers. The man’s arms crossing against his chest as he leaned into his chair, demonstrating the proper authority that comes with a position like his own.

Garth thought about that. “Didn’t you come to work late last Tuesday?”

That smirk shattered as Tom shifted forward, scowling. “I wasn’t aware I was being monitored by you. For your information, I had a terrible emergency that morning.” Tom wouldn’t say what that emergency was, not wanting to admit he got stuck waiting for fresh hash browns in a drive through.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just thinking that we’re kind of similar. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Similar? Tom fumed at the comparison, tapping away at his keyboard, writing Garth’s name into the empty boxes on his template. “Now that I think about it. Dying would void your employment contract. You wouldn’t even be able to sue us.”

“You can’t do that! I’m telling you, I died. I was even in the work parking lot when it happened. You can check the footage. Some idiot was speeding through the parking lot and they ran me over.”

Tom stopped typing, pausing. “Our car park?” Now he was nervous. A death at their workplace? One that had gotten news coverage? He sweated, wiping his forehead. “We… have signs around the parking lot telling people to slow down. We also have numerous safe crossing areas. You only have yourself to blame.”

Garth thought about the accident. He didn’t remember seeing any signs or crossings. He didn’t remember seeing much of anything except the hood of a car. “I don’t think there were any. I was in the old bit. The one that leads to the underground elevator.”

“Ah, one moment.” Tom hurriedly emailed Jenny, who organized their safety and upkeep, asking her to let him know if they had placed any signage or crossings on the underground parking level. When Jenny said they were doing that next week, Tom panicked. “Ah, why are we even having this discussion? Of course you’re not fired. We couldn’t fire a person for dying.”

Garth didn’t expect the sudden attitude shift, but was happy to hear he wasn’t on the chopping block. “You mean it? That’s great news. I thought I was a goner.” Garth offered his hand to Tom, who quickly shook it. “Yes. Actually, I think a promotion might be in order. To compensate you for your troubles. A great employee should be rewarded.”

“I thought you said I was only a good employee?”

“I didn’t want to ruin the surprise promotion.”

“That makes sense. I think?” Garth wasn’t born yesterday, so he knew what was going on. Even if he hadn’t intended to sue them, the thought of being sued was enough to deter them from firing him. After all, he didn’t want anyone looking too deeply into this either. It was hard enough trying to convince doctors you magically came back from the dead. You didn’t want lawyers also looking into your strange medical records.

“A ton of sense. Now, why don’t you get back to work? I’ll send the paperwork through for your promotion.”

“That sounds great.” Before Garth left, Tom reached over the desk, tapping his shoulder. “Yes?”

“I also might need you to make an address to whatever news company reported on the accident. Let them know it wasn’t as bad as initially reported. Just so we can sweep this whole mess under the rug,” Tom said, begging him to agree. The sooner they covered this up, the better it would be for them all.

“Sure. Bye Tom.”

“Bye Mr. Backlor.” Tom said, slouching in his chair as the man left. Glad he got that ticking lawsuit bomb out of his office. He just hoped he had diffused it, not wanting his own job to get caught in the blast if it went off.

[doevademe]

I originally had planned for this prompt to be about Percy and Nico remembering they were lovers in a previous life and trying to work through that, but the characters (especially Nico) resisted that plot. Oh well, maybe some other time.

Some other time has come. You can’t just tell us about this magnificent idea and not elaborate!

(It’s the notes from Mixing up the Routine)

Oh, now that takes me back.

Okay, so quick background on my WIPs: I have a lot of them. Some of them transform over and over until they become unrecognizable when I finally publish them. Some barely change and get published with just a few minor changes from their early stages, and some never see the light of day due to plot or characterization problems (or because I know fans would hunt me for sport with some of my more controversial ideas).

My fic about Percico as reincarnated lovers belongs to the latter category. Whenever I try to develop it, I hit a roadblock in either the plot department or the characters remaining in character means the story grinds to a halt. I've tried to rework it multiple times, but I've never been able to get it right. However, if you want, I can give out the latest outline for the story under the Read More, especially since I'm sure I'll never actually write it out.

The conflict starts with Percy and Nico having dreams about their past lives, where they see a person they are in love with (who they are changes a lot each attempt, sometimes they're both men, sometimes a man and a woman, once they were even two women). At first, they think this dreams are random and unimportant, but they are persistent, and once they realize it's their past lives, they become obsessed with finding the other.

Nico theorizes that he's getting these memories now because he's nearing the age when his past life met their lover, and thinks that him having those dreams means they can find each other again. He goes on an underworld adventure, trying to find some way to track his past lover.

Percy, meanwhile, is having an identity crisis. He's falling in love with a memory, while being days away from his wedding with whom he thought until just recently was his one true love, but how he feels for his past live lover... it makes this whole thing feel shallow and petty. He's also sad because Nico has been acting weird, and he knows he won't make it to his wedding, and that just hurts.

Nico appears before Percy the very day he calls off the wedding, and they are both confused. Percy was sure Nico would be away for longer, and Nico believed he was shadow traveling to his past life lover. Nico finally explains his absence and Percy realizes who they are to each other but... he doesn't feel for Nico the same as he did for past life lover, so what gives? Why is that?

Cue an investigation about what's happening, ending up with Percy and Nico realizing this isn't their second life. It's their third. Both times, they have found each other, and their love has made them as miserable as they have been happy. They always end up in tragedy and Percy had decided enough was enough.

It's revealed that before their last life began, Percy lied and said they'll go together like last time, but when Nico jumped into the Lethe to be reborn, and Percy didn't follow. Nico was born decades before Percy because of that. Then, he asked Aphrodite (in some drafts his mother, in other drafts through his father Hermes) to make sure he didn't fall in love with Nico in this life. To block out the feelings.

Once they learn this, Percy is convinced he did the right thing, because what happened to Nico while he was in love with him? Just pain and tragedy. Maybe it's for the best that they remain separated this life, give Nico a full life for once.

And here's where I hit a roadblock, because continuing from this to a happy ending requires Nico to fight to convince Percy they can be together, that this time will be different, but the thing is... why? Why would Nico want to fight for them when he feels like he's the only one with feelings in this life? What argument could be strong enough to compel Percy to undo the block? Only he can unlock his heart. Nico could ask Aphrodite, but that would be no different from forcing Percy to love him. The characters resist this plot having a happy ending, and I want this plot to have one.

So yeah, this is where I'm stuck, and any iteration of the reincarnation has been met with similar issues. I still like this plot a lot, but I really can't make it work, no matter how much I try.

[leonawriter]

When I think of all the different detco pairings, I usually think of the main ones, and so I'm all "yeah I ship all canon plus a few non-canon (AKA queer) on the side!" and actually I just... when I think about it?

It's funny, but there are a few side pairings that I'm not a big fan of. Some not as bad as others, sure, but still.

(under a cut for criticism and salt)

Shiratori, for instance, has changed a lot ever since he was introduced. Not talking about M3, more his initial plot line where he's basically only there to act as a roadblock to Takagi and Sato getting together. He wasn't especially likeable, mostly throwing his weight around as a "marriage candidate" and stalking anything potentially like a date.

I have to wonder if Gosho's views on his earlier characterisation of certain characters and plots has changed, since then. I was already in the fandom when the Sato/Takagi kiss happened, which would mean the other officers couldn't keep pursuing Sato in the same way and Gosho would have to figure out what to do with the ones he'd previously only used for that purpose.

But then we have things like the bookend gags in Bride of Halloween only a few years ago where there are fake "wedding" and "funeral" events that are gatecrashed by Sato's... "admirers," and I wonder how much has actually changed.

Shiratori himself has Kobayashi, the kids' schoolteacher, but... the fact that he'd only met her for a short time as a kid to the point that he thought someone who turned out to be a murderer was her just because they did the same sort of paper craft with their cup holders was a little... frustrating.

Every time I've gone through that I've been "that could have been her. That literally could have been her. She could have changed, and her life experiences could have shaped her and made her a different person, and you would have to live with that." It'd be such a great story to tell, that sometimes that just happens. And he could meet Kobayashi and get to know her as an adult, as a new person, with no assumptions and no sense of her being a replacement goldfish for someone who was a replacement goldfish for.... her.

Overall I don't have anything with regards to those two that makes me actively dislike them, it's just... "man, that could have been SO much better written."

The other one I'd say I have salt over - and for similar reasons, too! - would be Chiba and Naeko. Because again, they met as small tiny children, and never forgot each other, and grew up, and... haven't changed one bit.

Honestly, just... he could at least spice that up by making it so that one of them had attempted to date other people, and it didn't work out because they're hung up on a memory. But that just makes me think of them finally finding each other, and they're so caught up with how they remember the other being, that they don't even recognise each other at first! That? That'd be fun.

The thing I really dislike about Chiba/Naeko is that she tries to effectively control him for her own purposes; she pushes him (anonymously, which is even creepier!) to lose weight (which because we're in comic book time happens really quickly, which is concerning) and then when other women start finding her guy attractive, she encourages him (effectively) to put that weight back on and be unattractive to others again. Never mind whether or not he's healthier or happier either way, oh no! It's all about her feelings, insecurities, and not wanting competition.

It's like - the pairings are so very hit and miss. He'll either write something so good, or he'll write something and you wonder if he's ever been able to experience the world outside of his art studio in order to have friendships with women, or learn about modern issues and so on.

...I also dislike Kyougoku's misogyny toward Sonoko, which is a much bigger issue, what with him policing the way she dresses and being way too controlling of who she hangs out with, projecting his insecurity that she even might date other men onto her, no matter what she'd say about it, no matter if it's her idol-crush on Kaitou Kid (which is different from romantic love), or just... hanging out with friends who aren't girls.

Dude needs to lay off, seriously.

[nat-seal-well]

I’m going to the renaissance fair today so I probably won’t be on much, haha. I’m about to go get ready for it because that’s going to be a Process™️. But before I do that I wanted to share part of what I’ve been working on (since I hit a roadblock with my other wip again).

When Elena comes to, it happens in stages.

She is vaguely aware of her mind waking up, only to be pulled back under the sea of unconsciousness. Like the lull of ocean waves, advancing and retreating, she is one grain of sand picked up by the force of the water and helpless to do anything but ride it out. Conscious and then not. Conscious and then not. Over and over again, in a loop.

But tides go out eventually, and when hers does, she finds she’s able to stay awake for more than a few seconds. Here is the next stage. She is slow, groggy, and wakefulness comes sluggishly like it often does after a long night with Tina and cheap, flavored vodka.

The third stage is thought, and the thought in particular that she has is, I fucking hurt.

I fucking hurt is an understatement. If Elena wanted to be more precise, she wouldn’t have been able to tell herself anything at all, because she doesn’t have the words for it. The hurting is an all-over sort of pain, a compounded concretion of many different kinds all at the same time. Her muscles ache. Her head is killing her, above her right eye, where something feels gross and like it was wet once, but dry now. All of her limbs burn with the stinging of too many different cuts to count. And whatever is under her is hard and unyielding, like stone, which does nothing to help.

It occurs to her afterward that this is not normal. She should be—

She should be…

…Where should she be?

There is a gap in her memory that unnerves her exactly as much as it should, which is to say, a lot.

Through her closed eyelids, Elena can see that there is a light. Someone must have left it on, which is annoying. She already has a headache and the brightness of the light won’t do a single thing to help, so she elects to keep her eyes shut as she has a little, private, spiral of panic.

Okay, okay, okay, she says. C’mon. Don’t freak out. (Too late, but she can try.) What happened? What is the last thing you remember?

Where were you?

When Elena was in high school, she needed to fill one of her classes with an elective because she was an extremely uninteresting teenager and didn’t feel like having a free period. It was the only high school in Wayhaven—what was she going to do? Wander around town? That was what all the other kids did their last year, only taking a half-day because they already had all of their required credits, but Elena didn’t see the point in it. She had already spent endless weekends unsupervised and doing exactly that, when she wasn’t working short shifts part-time at a little boutique she hated. So she decided to take an Intro to Photography class, just for the hell of it.

They had her go out with one of those super old cameras, the kind from before everything went digital. The pictures had to be processed in chemical baths under a red light, the whole deal, and then hung up to dry and develop. Whatever the camera had captured an image of would start to show eventually, a little at a time, and Elena’s was spectacularly awful. It was a good thing the teacher graded based on participation.

Trying to remember feels a lot like that picture in the dark room.

It comes to her slowly, bit by bit. Fuzzy at first, it starts to clear up the further she pries into her own head, even though that is already voicing its complaint with the throbbing right above her eye.

[sometimesraven]

any writing advice for someone writing their first novel? (*cough, cough, aka me*)

<3

Disclaimer: what works for me might not work for you, so feel free to take, twist and scrap whatever you need. I recommend asking/shopping around for ideas and other authors' processes, and it'll take some trial and error before you find what works best for you. But here's how I personally write.

Disclaimer disclaimer: this got real long while I was writing it and I realised how terrifying it must look to a first time writer. Take it step by step, at your own pace. It's not as scary as it looks xx

BEFORE YOU WRITE

(I'm going to be focusing on the story itself, but I'm sure it goes without saying that you should have your characters planned out first)

First things first: have a basic idea of the story beats. It doesn't have to be a Big Old Detailed Outline, just a basic compass to keep you going in the right direction so you're less likely to hit a roadblock. Personally I use the Plot Embryo! Here's my favourite video explaining it:

It's a nice simplified, easy to use tool for plotting. Here's a page from one of my journals breaking it down in a way I can personally come back to and understand:

hopefully you can read my shitty handwriting but I've put a little breakdown in the image description.

I then use these prompts to scribble down the basic idea of what journey I want my main character/s to go through, and use that as my blueprint for when I write.

WHILE WRITING

First things first: if you're like me, and seeing errors or plot holes in the stuff you've already written will bug you forever, do what I do and NEVER READ BACK OVER YOUR WORK WHILE IT'S STILL IN PROGRESS. Sometimes I have to skim back to remember where I am but as a rule, once something is written it's no longer my problem until the whole thing is done.

Don't worry about chapters and other such structure. I use the plot embryo to split things up so I know where I am, but otherwise chapters and scenes Do Not Exist until the editing process. Here's the "chapters" of a WIP as an example (this is a slightly different embryo adapted for romance but you get the idea)

Then just keep going until you're done. You don't even have to do it in order. If I'm stuck on a scene, I'll just put a big word in all caps that I can ctrl+f easily (usually either ELEPHANT or PENIS sklfsgskjf) and move on to the next bit I have ideas for, then come back to it later.

This first finished story will be bad. It'll be rough, patchy, full of holes. THAT'S OKAY. This is what we sometimes call the "Zero Draft". The draft that literally exists just to get the story out of your head to make the whole thing easier.

EDITING

Warning: editing is the longest, hardest part of writing a novel. Your book will go through several different versions, be scrapped and torn apart and put back together again. This is what makes the story great.

This is where every author differs, and there's a whole bunch of ways this can go. Personally, the first thing I do once the zero/first draft is done is put it down. Don't look at it, don't touch it, don't think about it. For at least a month. This allows you to come back to it with fresh eyes that haven't been staring at the same words for so long they just hate the whole thing regardless (and you WILL HATE IT. This is normal).

Then, the first thing I do is read back over the whole thing, adding notes and reactions as if I am a reader. If a part of what I've written makes me go 🥺🥺🥺, I'll write that down. If something could be worded better, I write that down. If you think a certain thing that you would put in the tags of a tumblr post, write it down. Treat it like you're someone else's beta reader, note down every negative, every positive, every ???? part. This will give you an idea of what is and isn't working. Here's some of my funniest notes from my zero draft of book 2 just to prove how literal I'm being here:

Then, and this is a controversial move that doesn't work for everyone but it works for my autistic adhd self-loathing brain: WRITE THE WHOLE THING AGAIN. FROM SCRATCH.

This sounds daunting and it is, but you've already written it once, so the second time is easier. Usually I don't worry about making this perfect because again, this is just another draft. I'll copy from my zero draft anything that I think is fine and write new bits or scrap bits as I go.

Sometimes, the story is fine. Sometimes this is an easy refining process. However, if you're anything like me, sometimes the whole thing is messy and you'll realise halfway through rewriting that the whole thing needs restructuring. Do not despair. This is normal.

I'm using book 2 of the Truth Saga as an example for this. I got 40k words into rewriting it before I realised that the reason it felt so 'off' was because the whole thing was sagging in the middle, characters were being left behind, and the whole thing needed restructuring.

It was a rough realisation, as Reckless Truth (book 1) was such a comparatively easy process. I only did three drafts and didn't have to restructure much. Book 2 is giving me so much grief and I'm gonna slap it when it's done.

If you hit this roadblock, it might be time to do what all mood writers hate. Detailed plotting. Go right back to basics. Write down every plot point in detail this time. Act like you're spoiling the whole entire story for someone. Have you ever watched a movie or book review where the reviewer does a full breakdown of the plot? Do that. In this you'll find out exactly where you're going wrong and be able to tweak and fix it. If you have more than one main character, I recommend doing a separate plot thing for each of them and one for the book as a whole so that you can make sure their emotional arc is getting the attention it deserves.

Then, when you're happy with the new plot you've written based on the draft of your story, go back and try to rewrite it again. If this sounds like a nightmare, it is. But it's worth the work, I promise.

From there it's a case of rinse and repeat, reread, rewrite, re-edit until you're mostly happy with what you've got. Then send it to beta readers and editors to tear apart even more and put it back together until you think it's ready! I also recommend joining some writing discords, watching streams or videos about writing, just research research research basically

Happy writing!

[firstkanaphans]

Hello! I'm not sure if you remember but I was the anon who asked you about writing transition scenes a while ago. I'm a quite late with this, but I just wanted to reach out and say thank you so much for your advice and taking the time to answer so thoughtfully!! I was writing a fic that took place over a span of a somewhat short period of time (a little over a week) so it felt really important to include all the minute details of each day since the characters are together for most of it and it was such a short period of time for their relationship to develop. Since I'm a heavily chronological writer, I kept hitting roadblocks because all the little transitions between the "bigger" plot point conversations felt so boring to write.

But I took your advice and just skipped the transition scene completely. It felt so wrong at first haha! Like I was using a cheat code or skipping an entire section on an exam. But for the first time I was finally able make some progress on the fic! And then coming back to read that transition after a few weeks, I realized that the jump cut wasn't quite as jarring or abrupt as I'd originally thought. Also, I was eventually able to figure out a way to include a lot of the little details I'd skipped by not writing those transition scenes in the first place back into the actual story.

Anyway, I just really wanted to thank you for your help 😊 I really appreciate it and it has made all the difference! For once I actually think I may be able to finish a fic for once haha!

Oh, that makes me so happy! Thank you for telling me. I totally understand the impulse to write every second of every interaction but in the end, a lot of it just isn’t needed. I’m so glad my advice was able to get you out of your rut and be sure to celebrate once you finish that fic because it’s no small feat.

Thank you again, Anon, and happy writing ✍️

[elendsessor]

no fusion run update part nightmare fly has been swatted

i have to admit this took a great number of tries, a lot of grinding, and a lot of skill manipulation. i was thinking “oh i’m pretty overleveled so beelzebub won’t be as bad as usual-”

WRONG. WRONG ON SO MANY LEVELS.

i did make sure to get magma axis ahead of time and avenge for good measure but there were two major problems:

one, only qing long had makakaja, and he doesn’t null/reflect dark attacks.

two, nobody on my team had debilitate.

yes loa can learn it but that would take even more grinding and i didn’t want to do that since it’s not really how i like going through the labyrinth or a lot of the game.

quick side tangent and explanation since i’m sure someone may ask: yes the grinding dlc exists but i don’t want to get paid dlc for something so minor and game breaking. only thing i have is merciful difficulty (don’t remember if that’s dlc or not i’ve had that option available since i got nocturne) and even then i only used it for grinding. scout’s honor, i’m doing major fights on hard mode and decided bc i’m worried about the possibility of being too op i would be running from a majority of fights (on normal of course) unless it’s a demon i want to recruit. if i end up needing to do some passive leveling i switch back to hard. i genuinely hate merciful difficulty but considering how grindy nocturne can be it was somewhat necessary to level my demons without taking an eternity. i don’t like how merciful is game journalist mode, i don’t like how much of a joke boss encounters are with it, etc etc. and trust me playing a save file with only merciful difficulty was so boring.

that’s also why i genuinely hate the grinding dlc aside from being paid when it should’ve been in base nocturne hd, and why i made some pretty big decisions that don’t min-max demifiend. part of the fun of nocturne is overcoming the bosses since they’re some of the hardest in the series and let’s be real being owned by at least one is a right of passage. if you’re extremely overleveled before facing bosses like matador that are infamous for forcing you to learn the game, it takes you out of the experience. that’s part of why i’m nerfing myself just in case. (i’m not going to be using freikugel as soon as it’s available but depending on how lucifer goes (i’m playing chronicle so he has diarahan oh joy) i may end up using it if absolutely necessary. divine shot’s cooler anyways sorry not sorry.) since i have to do some grinding for demon skills bc no fusion, there’s a very real chance i may get too op, and i’d rather not. also fun builds are better than the meta builds again sorry not sorry.

this all being said, i did hit a roadblock. the best way to deal with the beel in any game he’s in (where the skill is available) is to have at least one party member with debilitate. nocturne’s debuff skills like war cry and fog breath are pretty busted, but it would be too risky to use taunt without a dekaja to follow up, and mp preservation is really big in fights where the enemy can remove buffs/debuffs, so yeah debilitate is huge on a lot of levels. unfortunately despite it working in the original ps2 versions of nocturne, hd fixed a lot of ai bugs including certain ways to trick it into never removing buffs/debuffs.

this was my first true mandatory skill mutation fest.

and after several resets, i got debilitate on my star player.

also got it on gogmagog just in case so it turned into a roughly two hour endeavor of chaining. that beautiful 3% mutation chance pulled through eventually. i didn’t expect to use gogmagog given his fire weakness and i couldn’t remember if beel has any fire moves but he was an emergency switch in if i ran out of great chakras.

now you may be wondering why qing long is ko’d when he was obviously used despite not a good fit for beel and that’s because he again managed to pull through. beel will not remove buffs or debuffs in the first phase nor use death flies early on, so i sped through with a few makakajas before sacrificing him for a monke switch. funny monke kept buffing defense and evasion to make some attacks not as powerful especially since titania can’t deal with physical moves especially if they’re powered by focus.

after a few tries i finally got a winning run where the ai forgot to do some crucial dekajas and dekundas, spammed death flies which was doing nothing, and ultimately magma axis secured the kill. it was long. beel is built like a tank. probably would’ve made him run out of mp eventually given how long it took. but this was the first hurdle since thor that really got me and it served as a nice palette cleanser. once you play through nocturne once or twice, most bosses end up being pretty easy, but the labyrinth of amala always finds a way to destroy your self worth and remind you what game you’re playing, and i think that’s why i’m beginning to appreciate it more.

one more side note but beelzebub has the best battle theme in the game just saying it’s a banger and so unique i love it

[edwarddominicemilio]

"HESITATION IS DEFEAT": PERSEVERANCE, DISCIPLINE, AND THE ONE-ARMED WOLF

After almost three years since my initial playthrough of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, I finally beat Sword Saint Isshin. It took me that long because I had been uninstalling and re-installing the game many times, often out of frustration.

I first played Sekiro on the second half of 2021. Back then, I was still in law school so I just wanted to have fun with what I thought was a button-masher. Oh, how wrong I was.

I barely got past the first miniboss, General Naomori Kawarada. When I beat him, I jumped out of excitement and exhilaration.

However, I did not know how or why I beat him. I was mashing deflect like a madman, causing my character to flail his sword every which way. It was totally uncharacteristic of the graceful shinobi Wolf was supposed to be.

Unsurprisingly, my inability to learn why I succeeded (or failed) hindered me. I could not get past the Chained Ogre. I was angry. "This is not why I play video games," I told myself, "it's just stressing me out."

I quit playing Sekiro the first time.

I tried Sekiro again after I graduated from law school. This was around early 2023. I just took the Bar Exams and I had been waiting for the results. The discipline I developed throughout the Bar Review season taught me to persevere. I treated the game like a personal challenge.

I also learned how to strategize and to "play the game the way it is meant to be played". This meant abiding by that humorous description of Sekiro: "Sekiro is not an action game, it is a rhythm game with swords." How witty!

So, I practiced timing my deflects properly. I treated each fight like a dance. The opponents swings and I deflect. Then, I listen to that glorious CLANG! that everyone who plays this game knows and loves. Once I hear it, I swing my own sword. CLING! CLANG! CLING! CLANG! Deathblow!

Heavenly.

But there is a final roadblock just before the end. Sword Saint Isshin Ashina, back from the dead upon necromancy of his grandson Genichiro Ashina, killed me more times than I can count.

In fact, I became so disheartened. Was I not playing the game correctly? That can't be. In fact, I can see my improvement! Genichiro was impossible to beat in the beginning, he was a challenge in the middle, and a pushover by the end. I was improving, was I not? Why don't deflects work?!

I quit playing Sekiro for the second time.

After a year, I started playing Sekiro again on March 2024. It was a new save file. Unsurprisingly, everything before Sword Saint Isshin was a breeze. It was objective proof that I was improving.

But when I reached him, I was still at a loss. What was I doing wrong?

Then, I took to heart what he said every time he killed me, his ubiquitous boss dialogue: "Hesitation is defeat". This is not him mocking me, this is him genuinely trying to give me advice. "Remember Sekiro," he says, "hesitate and you lose."

So, I changed my ways. I stopped being a passive partner in this magnificent sword dance. I became aggressive, I chased him, I did not allow him any chance to breathe. He swings, I deflect. He prepares a big wind-up attack, I dodge. He thrusts, I Mikiri. But after each move, I swing back.

I made it a point to be the attacker and to stay as the attacker. Hell, when he hit me, I didn't heal. I just told myself, "Fuck it. He's not gonna hit me again. I can deflect the next ones. Retaining this offensive momentum is worth the risk."

Then, everything clicked.

See, the best thing about Sekiro is how much faith it has in the gamer's indomitable will. You had to beat the game straight up. No, you cannot summon other players or spirits to fight for you. No, you cannot find an exploitable grinding spot to level your character up. No, there is no easy cheese. You just had to "git gud".

And "git gud" I did.

A year ago, landing a hit against Phase 1 Isshin was a miracle. Some days ago, I got Phase 1 Isshin to almost broken posture. Yesterday, I killed Phase 1 Isshin the first time. This morning, I beat Phase 1 Isshin effortlessly. This afternoon, I reached Phase 3 for the first time after spending an entire day learning how to beat his dreaded Phase 2.

In a sense, the strategy to beat his Phase 3 is almost metaphorical. Jumping to meet the lightning and throwing it back at him is symbolic of how you should meet his aggression head-on.

When I beat him, I did not jump for joy in the same way I did when I beat General Naomori Kawarada. Instead, I just whispered, "Fuck. I did it," to myself.

I trusted the process and applied the learnings. Beating him was inevitable. I was not surprised when I did.

That's the way life works too, isn't it? One has to stand up straight and meet life head on. One has to take action.

Thank you, Kensei, for teaching me not to hesitate.

[babygirlrex0504]

The Bounty Pt 3

You and Mando now have the bounty! Trying to ignore the fact that he is a child of the force, you struggle on bringing the child back to the client and facing Mando to tell him. After having help with Kuiil getting back the Razor Crest pieces, Mando and you take the child back to the client. Mando now knows the child has “powers” he still doesn’t know you do as of yet. Will you show him soon?

A/N: Guys these parts have turn into a series, I didn’t realize how many people actually enjoyed it. So for right now, I am gonna be focusing on the two series that I have. Eventually I will get to the other stories I have planned in the Masterlist but for right now these two are my main focus! Also if you want to be added to the tag list more then welcome to comment!

Masterlist

Tag List: @pascalshimbo @flowersgirl02 @yourunstablegf

Previous Next

Masterlist

Clan of Three

Bounty Mini Series

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mando was quiet, he usually is quiet but ever since the Child saved him from the Mudhorn, he has been eerie quiet. You didn’t want to bug him since it is something you have to process. As he did so you watched the child like a hawk, he would get into one of the pieces on the ship’s dashboard, that was shaped as a ball. He loved it.

You held him and brought him down from the cockpit after Mando said that they will be landing soon. You had to put him back in his egg. You felt your stomach drop. This is wrong. You can’t just give a child with the force to the Empire. When you sent him down he gave you a toothy grin.

“Remember my young padawan learner,” The voice of your teacher rang through your mind. “Jedi must protect each other, we are all one with the force. We are all brothers and sisters.”

You pet one of its ears and frowned. “I’m sorry little one.” You whispered. You heard the rumble of the ship hit the atmosphere. You sighed and put your hood up.

Mando came down the ladder and looked down at the kid then up at you. You stared into his visor and looked away opening the ramp. As you walked through the village people would stare as you both walked past. When you got to the door, you felt sick and wrong. “I am going to stay out here,” You said looking down at the kid. Mando looked at you about to say something. “No I can’t…I can’t. Meet you in the cantina.”

As you walked away you heard the coos from the child. Your heart sinking more. “Remember my young padawan learner. Jedi must protect each other, we are all one with the force. We are all brothers and sisters.”

Her voice rang over and over again, repeating it like a broken record. You remembered as that young with your doe eyes making that promise. The promise to never leave someone behind, never. Now now you are, breaking that promise. You stopped mid track as you looked back for a moment then waiting outside of the cantina for Mando.

“What if there are too many roadblocks master?” You asked as she knelt down to have you eye leveled with you.

She smiled at you, the kind of smile that a mother would give their child. The smile that made you feel at home. “The force will guide you and help you through the roadblocks,” she paused and placed a hand on your shoulder. “Let it flow through you. If I am not their physically to help you. I am there through the force.”

When you opened your eyes you saw a silver shining metal walking towards you. Mando, he did it. You cursed yourself for not stopping him. Mando walked up to you and nodded before following him into the cantina. “Mando! Y/N! They all hate you,” You turned to face all the glared and stares from the other hunters. “Because you’re legends.” Greef said smiling brightly.

You stared blankly at him, you weren’t in the mood, you wanted to go back and raid the building. Grab the child and leave. Even if that meant leaving Mando. “How many of them had tracking fobs?” Mando asked grimly.

Greef scoffed at the comment before motioning around the room. “All of them. All of them! But not one of them closed the deal. Only you two,” then came his smirk he scoffed once more. “And with it, the richest reward this parsec has ever seen.” He lifts the side of his jacket to reveal more beskar. I glared for a moment then straighten up.

Everyone was part of this? Being okay with the child being thrown in the hands of the most dangerous people? You took a breath in and noticed that Mando was sitting down. You followed him and sat next to him. You didn’t say a word as they exchanged words and eventually more jobs. You stared at the puck Mando had then back in the cantina.

Mando nudged you to scoot out. “Any idea what they’re gonna do with it?”

“It?” You whispered both Mando and agreed looked at me. You didn’t realize you said it out loud more importantly how you said it.

Instead of saying anything they continued. “I didn’t ask. It’s against the Guild Code.”

“They work for the Empire.” You said gritting your teeth. You can feel the anger building up. You tried to make yourself more calm but couldn’t stop thinking about what they would do to the kid.

“What are they doing here?” Mando added looking down at him.

“The Empire is gone. All that is left is mercenaries and warlords. But if it bothers you that much just go back to the Core and report it to the New Republic.” He explained.

You rolled your eyes and Mando scoffed. “That’s a joke.”

“Both of you enjoy your rewards. Buy some camtono of spice. By the time you come out of hyperspace you will have forgotten all about it.” Greef leaned back smiling at us.

You shook your head and both of you walked out. It was quiet between the two of you. “We shouldn’t leave the kid like that,” You whispered as you passed by people. “Who knows what they are going…”

“Let’s get going.” Mando said interrupting. At first you thought to step back and just leave to get the kid. However your sabers were in the Razor and you knew if you were gonna storm there you needed them.

When you went inside the Razor, you waited until Mando was out of sight. You hurried and grabbed the things you needed and heard the ship power on and closely powered off. You snapped you head up to the ladder as you shoved the sabers in the back pocket. “Let’s go.” He said grabbing weapons.

You smiled at him and followed him out. It was like a blur as you both walked through the town. When you both reached the alley that they were located he turned to you. “We sneak from the back, I will get the door to distract them.”

You nodded your head as you both part ways for the moment. You started to plant the small bombs against the wall. You left one of your hands against the wall, finding where they kept the kid. “Ready?” Mando asked distracting you.

You nodded. “Yeah.”

You and Mando stood a good couple feet away blowing a hole through the wall. Alarms blared as you stepped through the hole, shooting at anything that moved. Mando right behind you doing the same. You hurried through the hallways and stopped at the door that you felt the force strongly at.

When opening it the doctor cowardly put his hands up. Mando walked towards the child as you aimed your gun to the doctor’s head. “No no no don’t hurt it. It’s just a child! Please please! If it wasn’t for me it would be dead!”

“What did you do to it?” Mando asked picking him up.

You pressed the gun against the doctor’s head. “What did you do to jt!” You yelled.

“I saved it, they wanted it dead but I saved it.” He said over and over again. You looked up to see Mando heading for the door, you followed him out.

Mando and you walked fast but cautiously towards the door. Shooting at the troopers that found their way toward you. When you reached to the main room, that you both made the deal at. There was no one in there. “For a fortified building you would th…”

“Freeze!”

You turned and saw four stormtroopers surrounding the both of you. You slowly put you hands up, getting ready to use the force to place your sabers in your hands. “Wait. What I’m holding is very valuable,” Mando interrupted placing his weapon and the child down. You looked at him questioning his move. “Here.” Ignoring my stare.

That’s when you heard whistling and air brush pass you. You heard the troopers around you gurgle and call to the ground. You looked around to see smoke coming from their armor. “New toy?” You tease smiling at him.

Mando shrugged picking up the child. “Yeah something like that.”

You both hurried out cautiously, immediately noticing how quiet it was outside too. No one was out and about, walking around, selling. Nothing. “Mando! Y/N! Welcome back! Now put the package down.” Greef ordered as other Hunters came around every corner and roof.

You looked around and felt the force once again. You looked down at the child and he was sleeping. “When you need to young one fight and kill to protect yourself and others who can not fight for themselves. That is the only time.”

“But isn’t what Master Yoda said not to do?” You asked looking up at your master.

She half smiled and put her hand on your shoulder. “Yes he did but you have to survive. And so does others.”

You looked down at your shoes. “How would I know?”

“Trust in the force,” She said getting to your level. “Only trust in the force. It will guide you on what to do.”

You heard a blaster bolt passed you as Mando dived into the carriage that a droid would drive. You went in as well as the droid started driving, having blaster bolts fly passed both of your heads. You thought that you both would make it until you felt the crash into the side with smoke coming from the droid.

It was quiet for a moment, you watched as Mando brought his rifle out. “Protect it.”

You looked down at the child as Mando shot a couple of shots. You held him laying down on your side, protecting him. He stirred and looked at you. “No matter what young one protect your own.”

Mando shot back as the blaster bolts came flying pass your heads. Mando looked over at you then the kid. You sighed and stood up, you felt someone grab your arm to pull you down but you already grabbed one of your sabers. Igniting it, the shine of the s/c illuminates around you. Everything seemed to slow and still, you felt the hand slowly releasing your arm.

You pulled out the other saber igniting it as well. That’s when the blaster fire hit, you swung both of your sabers deflecting the bolts hitting them into the owner. Some you made sure would hit near others that would coward away. You looked down at Mando. “Come on!”

That’s when you both heard noises above you, looking up you saw more Mandalorians. Your eyes went wide as you saw them defending for you both to flee. Mando hopped all the way out holding the child close to his chest as he shot his pistol towards the hunters. One hunter came close to you as you swung slicing his chest, having him stubble backwards.

“This is the way.” You heard Mando’s voice through the yelling and blaster fire. Mando looked over at you and nudged over to where the Razor Crest was at.

As you both ran towards the exit you would block any sort of fire towards him and the child. Some of course would zoom pass hitting near all three of you. Mando and You were about to run on the ramp when you heard a voice behind you both. “Hold it you two,” You both slowly turned. Greef he was pointing his gun at the both of you. “I didn’t want to come to this but you both broke the code.”

Before you could say anything Mando shot him making him fall back. You turned to him and he shrugged running up the ladder with the kid. You followed behind as he started up the Crest, he was still out on the chair. You watched as the Crest rose up to head out. You watched as it left the town behind, you started to relax when you heard something fly next to you.

Mando and you looked over at the window and saw another Mandalorian. They waved you down and Mando shook his head. “I gotta get me one of those.”

You heard the child coo snapping your head down. “Hey little guy.” You said picking him up.

Mando side glanced over. “Probably should feed it.” His voice was off and didn’t look over at you.

“Yeah I will find him something.” You mumbled walking out. You took one glance over before going down.

Couple of hours passed as you wrapped the little one and placed him in the small bed that was tucked in the corner of the room. You tucked things away, cleaning the area that you cooked up a small bowl of soup you made for the kid. You brought your sabers out looking down at them.

You can’t believe that you showed yourself. Not to just him but to everyone there, now you will be a bounty just as much as the child. You inhaled deeply looking over at the sleeping child. You heard footsteps as they stopped, you looked over to see Mando standing next to the ladder looking at you.

You looked away and placed your sabers up in the container up on the top shelf. “So you hid the swords there?” He said leaning against the wall.

You nodded. “Yeah.” You said softly.

It was quiet for a moment. “What are you?” He murmured.

You sighed. “Mando…”

“No I deserve to know,” He walked up to you getting close and inches from your face. You saw your reflection through the chrome of his helmet. What were you… “After that whole thing down there. I…You…” He sighed looking away before looking back at you. “What are you?”

“Never be ashamed of who you are,” Both you and your master sat in the garden that was located on the temple grounds. The sun beamed hitting the color of the flowers and the large tree. That day you were scared on using the force from stories that other children talked about. You were 4. Young. Freshly trying to levitate an object. You looked down. “Being a jedi is far more greater then anything else in the galaxy. But it is also a greater responsibility. You will learn Y/N. One day.” She held your hand and smiled at you.

“I’m not a monster,” You chuckled. “I’m a Jedi.”

[theramblingvoid]

Hit me wit the 🎮 and 🕜 (sorry i can't copy paste the questions themselves on mobile)

🎮 If your OC lives or would live in the modern world, would they like video games? What would be their favorite game?

Hallowrove: Would probably really enjoy open-world exploration type games, ones with a lot of sidequests and hidden secrets and things like that. Unfortunately can't name any really from my own experience but I think they'd find that cool. Perhaps I could even interest them in some Sunless Skies :} I feel they might lose interest pretty quickly after all the map areas are unlocked but I think they'd enjoy it.

Null: Does anyone remember slither.io. Yeah. I think Null wouldn't care about most games but the constant energy consumption and growth would appeal to. ....wait. I'm small brain. The bigbrain enlightened real answer is Stardew Valley. This guy figures out that you can 1. Hoard money and infinitely progress and 2. Get more items and perks by befriending the villagers and they go Hog Wild. They'd have a bit of a roadblock at first because they wouldn't want to give up any crops to sell, but after figuring out that gets them money to get more crops they'd immediately sit down and get like 500 hours on it. All without fixing a single community center room.

🕐 Was there ever a time your OC would have given everything to turn back the clock 5 minutes? What happened?

Hallowrove: ...Hm. Very interesting question. After a fair bit of thought: no, I don't think there was. Their biggest mistakes, the ones with the most consequences, are things that they would do again (or at least thought they would 5 minutes after the fact) and the things they might wish they could've prevented are beyond what 5 minutes would fix. But overall, they really don't dwell very much on the past and what could have gone differently. When they reflect on it, which is not terribly often, they remember it as it was, not as it could have been. I think probably the closest thing to a moment like this would have been the end of their duel with Feducci, when they thought they might be dead permanently, because that was really sudden and unexpected and jarring - but that was ages ago and not very significant now. Still, probably the best and only real example.

Null: If I stretch some definitions a little...yes. Absolutely. Null does not think of giving things for wants like turning back time. Null's only real "want" is to feel less hollow: giving anything is antithetical to that, and there's nothing they care enough about to turn back time for anyway. They want the Name too much now to think about turning back the moment they were told about it, even though it would probably be most helpful. But the person who used to inhabit the space that Null does? She would have given anything and everything to undo the single rash mistake of stepping into the Waswood.