#if you just like it you'll get like a paragraph with a random plot

[ceilidho]

Do you have any advice for a novice writer who can’t for the life of them figure out how to begin a story and/or scene? I’ve been slowly working on a novel in my free time for the last couple of years, and I feel like I have a decently solid plot and outline, but every time I go to start the actual process of putting words on paper I always get stuck. I’ve gone back and read the first few pages/chapters of other fantasy books to see how published authors do it, but I can never seem to find the right words or starting point that feels authentic and fitting to my own work. It always feels so clunky and out of place, and although I try to follow the ‘rule’ of starting the story in the middle of the action/a moment of change so that it doesn’t feel boring, nothing I come up with seems to help things flow into the beginning of the plot :/

ugh that's hard because actually forcing yourself to write is truly the hardest part. a lot of it is just nerves. like genuinely you're just experiencing stage fright.

that's why i love using tumblr as a micro-writing platform. when i make stupid little posts here, it feels low effort and i don't attach any anxiety to it, and actually that helps a lot when later on i take bits and pieces of stuff i've written here and add it to larger works (if you were following me when I was actively writing "landscape with honey" or "superstore" you'll remember i took a lot of asks that i'd already answered and just shoved them into the fic).

i highly recommend making a word cloud or vocabulary list for yourself if you're trying to cultivate a specific atmosphere as well. i have one on my phone for random words that i want to use.

then i think it might be helpful for you to try and break it down piece by piece. like if you have a scene where a character is packing a suitcase in order to catch a train, just focus on the first part where they're packing their belongings. there isn't a 'right' way to start a story or write something, so don't beat yourself up because the paragraph/sentence doesn't match perfectly what's in your head. the first draft is always going to be rough as well.

try to think of it like when an artist starts a piece. usually they start with simple shapes that they slowly add on to. you can think of your first draft kind of like this:

(image source)

[wantednuzlocke]

Time to post another retrospective! It's time for Chapter 2

Foreword

This first bit is going to be a bit of a vent so you can skip straight to Meta Stuff if you're not interested in that.

Hoo boy, making it to Pyrite. This is the part where we breached the limit of how far most Colosseum Nuzlockes have gone. It makes sense when thinking about it. Most creators at that point hit that realisation of how much commitment a comic is, and start to drop off for one reason or another. This is also the part where I realised I was really getting into making this comic series. With Phenac taking at least a whole year to draw out I got plenty of time to think and cook up what comes next. And I was finally hitting that point where I started to look forward to continuing through developing this work.

I'm not going to lie, I had been in the trenches prior to this chapter with impostor syndrome looming over me continiously. It wasn't something I would talk about it bothering me in the moment I was experiencing it. It was nobody's business but mine. And I managed to power through the existential crisis because I wanted to tell this story very badly. And usualy I don't notice how much I have been gritting my teeth until the stress has already passed.

Simply put, I do not do well over receiving compliments over things that are outside of my control. It makes me feel like a fraud. And most of the engagement and attention my work received felt more like a result of picking fairly niche media in the Pokémon franchise. And the first bit of engagement I received mainly boiled down to pointing out that it was Pokémon Colosseum. And not much else was said. It gave me no frame of reference on if I was doing well or not. Only that I supposedly struck gold by sheer random luck of picking some untapped goldmine, so I would win no matter what. I actually don't like that. But that's a me problem. I do not want to discourage anyone from leaving their thoughts in a comment. Because that kind of shit is already hard enough to come by as is. And I wish it became a bit more common behavior since it's something that can really drive creators forward to want to continue to make more stuff.

Breaking away from the original writing of Pokémon Colosseum a bit more was one of the scarier choices I ended up making. I knew the time would eventually come for it. And I knew that the nuzlocke communtiy would accept it since many other nuzlockes do it. And I love to make things really my own. But I was also low-key expecting the same backlash most of those comics get outside of nuzlocke community circles. I've been a long-time lurker in the community. I've seen plenty of "...well actually..." and "that's not how the game's plot goes" comments on other comic runs. Heck, i've seen someone start a wholeass rant of several paragraphs on someones work because they didn't like how someone portrayed a Raichu's personality.

I knew nothing about the Orre fandom. But what I did know is that it was very beloved by those who were a fan of it. I had no idea how they would react to some rando coming in completely taking apart their beloved game and turn it into something unrecognisable. Heck, Wes seemed like the type of protagonist that a lot of guys would relate to and place their entire identity on. That it would get fans up in arms and call me out for... Replacing a badass man with a woman just to be woke or whatever. Taking the powerfantasy away so to speak.

Thing is, I actually heard nothing from the Orre fandom. Pretty much. It's not like I interacted with them. So it was just the nuzlocke community. And they were on board with what I put on the table. The only way I eventually ended up hearing from them, was because I reached out myself eventually. Mostly because of the anniversary zine. And turns out it's actually a pretty cool and chill community.

Meta Stuff

So where Phenac City you'll basically breeze through the battles like it's nothing... Pyrite hits you like a sledgehammer with a wake-up slamdunk. If you thought you were going to have an easy time Nuzlocking from now on, you're dead wrong. The kiddie gloves are off and on go the spiked brass knuckles.

Almost every person you talk to in this town will directly fling you into battle. And the majority of them have Shadow Pokémon for you to capture. And just entering a random building is enough to reset the trainers so you can battle them again.

This is the part where you can finally start grinding in case the battles get too difficult. The catch is... The Shadow Pokémon cannot level up... So to get stronger this early in, you're still dependent on your Espeon and Umbreon pulling most of the weight.

So my strategy for Pyrite Town was to grind out the duel square trainers until all my Shadow Pokémon had their heart gauge depleted. Starting the battle with them, but then switching to the eevees to sneak in some experience for them to level up a fair bit.

That said, I was both stupid, and also unlucky as soon as I stepped foot in this town. I lost the Shadow Makuhita and Quilava instantly. One to type advantage, one to a critical hit hitting harder than I had anticipated. Double battles still manage to make me sometimes lapse and not take all pokémon on the field in account. But some of these Pokémon just hit like a truck for no good reason..

Pyrite Colosseum was easy enough. It's supposed to be quite the gauntlet as you don't get breaks between battles, and are locked into the team setup you enter the arena with. But yeah... Free experience for Espeon and Umbreon. And TM Toxic attained, which I directly put onto Zerda. With his bulk and his likelihood of being on the battle field for most of the game. I figured it be a good pick to make the shadow pokémon catching easier besides relying on sleep to hit...

And at that point we aren't done with Pyrite Town yet. There is still a whole dungeon full of trainers to go through, and even more Shadow Pokémon to catch. It went alright until I got on the roof of the pyrite building...

Dude. why. ù_ú

You won't believe how much text I wrote before continuing the battle and picking the next pokémon.

I used the now empty slot to purify the remaining Shadow Pokémon while on the way to Miror B. The grind was getting a tad too long.

Miror B isn't as much of a threat, his AI is kinda predictable, considering all his Ludicolos will hurry with using Rain Dance to keep the rain going whenever it's not raining. AND he brings four of the same Pokémon into a fight where you have been showered with several Flying Type pokémon to clean them up. So between intervals you get a free turn to destroy as many Ludicolo as you can.

Though I can imagine anyone who isn't familiar with Pokémon would've been bullied very badly by the follow up Shadow Sudowoodo. That's a tree. No it's not. It's a rock. It directly counters all the precious Flying-Type pokémon you brought along to defeat his Ludicolo's. Not my problem tho. I know exactly what you are. So Miror B becomes so much less of a threat because of that surprise element failing on me. But I understand for some people in childhood Miror B. was a terrible roadblock to deal with.

Plot Planning

Considering what happened in gameplay, this was going to be the first chapter I was fully looking forward to finally getting into. Since it was such a major event. I remember looking at my gameplay notes for Pyrite, looking through the big wall of text when I just started making this comic and going "Yeah... This comic is 18+ rated now if I bring this to fruition.".

Pyrite Town is frankly probably one of the more difficult arcs to write when it comes to pacing. This is noticeable if you have played the games enough to remember that this arc is basically the long haul of the game. Theres 14 shadow pokémon to catch, even more trainers to battle, and on top of that, a lot of back and forthing to the construction lot.

Nuzlockes tend to put a lot of emphasis on every catch you run into. It's part of the attachment process. But fourteen catches in one single chapter? That's going to be hell if you're going to highlight every single one of them. And I had to highlight three losses and one failed capture on top of that as well? Dude, I was still trying to keep each arc no bigger than 40 pages at this point, but this would turn Pyrite into one hella long slog.

Putting the sheer amount of Pokémon and battles aside, there is still a story to tell. There is a lot in Pyrite to do, there are A LOT of noteable side characters, a whole lot of moving parts, a backtracking segment. And there also was plenty of stuff to make fun of. Like, for instance... Silva knocked out two guys and stole a GIANT. SOLID. METAL. GEAR!!?!? The diameter of that thing surpassed his height! That thing gotta be HEAVY! And he hauled that stupid thing all the way across the desert to the construction site. That man can LIFT. Not to mention the Protagonist finding it and casually putting it in his inventory, which I can only imagine as him shoving it in his coat, since he got no bag. Meanwhile Silva can't even make a meaningful dent in stopping Cipher through sheer strength alone, while Duking is not doing anything because of the hostage situation. Where is the line? How strong does Duking have to be in comparison?

Adding onto that... NOBODY knows Wes. Literally NOBODY. Only Team Snagem acknowledged his existence. He was the best snagger on the team they all acknowledge that. Yet no one else knows his face, and assumes he's a stranger visiting the region. He must've been really good at going under the radar. But how in the hell??? Did literally nobody ever see Wes perform a snag on their pokémon?

In the end I ended up omitting a lot of the moving parts of the Pyrite arc. Not neccessarily because I wanted to. But because it became really hard to fit in both the storybeats of the original story, while also putting in the story bits I wanted to fit in. I guess there was a certain drive to keep the pace appropriate. The backtracking isn't as bad when you're playing the game. It usually boiled down to simple fetch quests and triggering certain event flags to make the plot continue its course barely any battling evolved in that part. It could work in a comic setting, or even in writing. But I just really wanted to get moving and not get stuck fussing over the details too much.

My first script contained actually everything I just covered. But I ended up discarding a whole lot. There was a scene where Yume and Chou would make a stop in the desert to talk and get some lore exposure in. But I managed to compress that down to them continuing to ride until they hit Pyrite town and doing some walking and talking. I had initially written it before I was done with Phenac City. And I realised following the original plot as is would not make it a good one. I would continiously end up writing myself in a corner, getting stuck. It was time to take the info pieces I had, and mold them in a way that worked for my own story.

Adding Chou into the story felt like a mistake. I wouldn't have had any of these problems if it was just Yume doing her thing. I wouldn't have to struggle keeping the band together while there was this piece that was actively trying to not be part of it. But... Chou was already written into the story. There would be no way for me to get her out now unless I retconned it. And I wasn't going to alter the existing content I already posted for the sake of convenience. I was going to work with the pieces I added to the board and make it good.

And having Chou be there isn't a bad thing. She's a newcomer to Orre, and therefore a perfect piece to naturally explain the workings of the region. Yume knows the region thoroughly, so it wouldn't make sense to have everyone explain anything to her. Or if they would even try she would shut them up quickly with an "I already know that".

Originally they were both going to be arrested by the cops, since Yume is a wanted criminal. Or people wouldn't conveniently recognise her since her face is obscured on the wanted poster. But then I realised I could use this oppurtunity to progress the plot without needing to detail everything. Yume could just go offscreen and capture the entire cast while Chou was going to give us a look into some more lore.

I also still needed an origin wherever the heck Yume came from she had to live somewhere before getting on board with Team Snagem. Being on Team Snagem from the start in childhood was uh... Nope... Absolutely not... I can see it work for Wes. But... A little girl being part of one of the scariest crime gangs in Orre, which has no moral compass and do whatever the fuck they want? No fucking way she would've developed the temperament and autonomy she has as of right now. And that's not an implication I wanted to dive into. I had already enstablished Cipher didn't know who she was, so that was off the table as well. It was clear she wasn't from Phenac. Those people are too refined when it comes to her attitude, and also, they did not recognise her either. Mt. Battle isn't a settlement. Agate village is a Retirement home. So that leaves Pyrite Town, and the Under. If she was from the Under that would mean she always knew that place existed and would probably have confronted that place right away during the Pyrite arc. So that leaves Pyrite Town as Yume's original residence.

It was easy enough to connect Yume to Duking at that point, considering his house is where the kids of the town have their hideout. He wouldn't abandon a kid in need of a home. Which he would come to regret soon after. But he would also have enough of a bias to not directly want to outright punish her for being a criminal, the same way he treats the other criminals in town. And also being more opposed to getting her lynched for her misdeeds. It would at least mean most people would recognise her on sight and know she is trouble and there was a reason for the cops in town to immediately attempt to arrest her and anyone associated with her.

By this time I had also to turn into the mystery genre, inspired by Penumbra, A Pokémon moon Nuzlocke by Twisted-Eerie. I've been starting to sprinkle some secret hints already in Phenac's Arc for readers to find out ahead of time where the plot was headed and Yume's true origins were at. Because surely, she existed before Duking randomly picked her up from the desert. But most of the tidbits tend to get overlooked or forgotten. I don't blame anyone for that. It's hard to figure out what is actually relevant when you do not know where the story is going, especially on a first read. But I suppose it makes it also extra fun for potential rereaders to find details. Like "Holy shit, it was there all along."

With Duking being her adoptive parental figure it also effectively became easier to tie Yume into the story more. First of all, Silva, being Dukings right-hand man, very vigilante-oriented with how much he takes matters into his own hands to try and do what he thinks is right. A polar opposite to the criminal Yume is. So obviously they would have bad blood with a lot of bad history. A consistent fight of 'true justice' against someone being aboslutely fed up with the others 'holier than thou' attitude. Absolute childhood enemies that would never get along. Easy dynamic to bounce off of.

And then there is Plusle. Dukings cherished pet pokémon. In the game no more than a simple plot device that kept Duking in line when he could've easily nipped in the bud that was Cipher. It's very low level and I didn't consider using it at all, its ability would never be useful, and it would be a nightmare to train safely in Colosseum with how underlevelled it was. Duking also parts far too willingly with his precious Plusle right after the hostage situation letting it join the protaginists in the fray. It would also be awkward if it just outright died after being entrusted to you, considering this is a nuzlocke.

That said, it was still an important pokémon in Yume's life. It's someone she grew up along with if she had been with Duking. And some crack idea spawned real late in. What if it was a Service Pokémon? Yume had been a problem child from the beginning with aggression issues, stemmed from what clearly was emotional trauma. It also was a funny joke to me. Plusle brings positive energy. ... hehehehehehe... ôwô

Setting all this up made it so much easier to tackle the story-telling now. Everything started to fall into place so much easier.

Then we get to the part I was looking forward to... And realised... This is unneccessarily violent and kind of out of place considering the low intensity of the rest of the story I had initially planned was. I also had no experience drawing gore. I could make the decision to go with it and make it as graphic and violent as I had initially planned. But... I saw no point in doing that. It would add shock value. But... I don't really consider that a good thing personally. Especially since I considered it would be a one-off thing. It's what I made the comic 18+ for. It wasn't something I was fully behind myself, and I knew that if I went in this way, it would drive up the inaccessibility to read the comic. I didn't think it was worth doing that for this one scene. Especially when you can simply hint at it happening, without needing to show it.

Which brought me to the next hurdle... Tackling the issue of the consequences of mass murder. If I was going to follow the rules I enstabished on how Shadow Pokémon worked. Then Yume's fate at the end of the arc would be at the mercy of the crowd. She's lucky enough that there were barely any witnesses left that could tell exactly what happened on the same day she got caught. By all means and the laws of the region... Yume would be executed. So I needed to come up with a very good reason for it to at least be delayed for the forseeable future, and get her out of there on the way to the next plot point, Agate Village.

While I had in mind that Proton was originally trained by Eagun and sent over to keep Yume in check. Duking simply calling him for advice still wouldn't cut as an excuse to get her specifically there. She still killed a lot of people. It's not enough. In order to refresh my memory on how the game decided to point you into that direction I decided to rewatch the gameplay footage and had completely forgotten about another key character from Pyrite. Lady Fateen.

Okay, not so much forgotten. But rather. I tend to pretend Fortunetellers in video games do not exist. Especially when I am playing for the very first time. It stems mainly from the point that in most older video games, they are supposed to be the hint-system in older video games. An in universe guide that tells you what you should be doing next to keep the game going. I figured Fateen fulfilled the same role in Colosseum, so I actively went out of my way to ignore her as much as possible because I like to figure problems out on my own. So I think I ended up ejecting her from my memory altogether... But it turns out she doesn't even have this role in the game at all.

She's actually the one coming out of her house, to stop you briefly from leaving Pyrite to point you towards Agate Village next. I initially thought Rui was the one to point you in that direction, considering her connection to Eagun as his granddaughter. But Rui was replaced by a foreigner with no ties to Orre.

But all that said, she is the actual most respected authority in Pyrite Town no one would dare go against her advice since she's never been wrong before. And therefore she is the perfect key to getting Yume out of Pyrite, with her head still connected to her torso. Yay ~

Artistic Journey

CSP is back Babyyy ~ now with the full version. I've been getting into the swing of uisng 3d models to get posing just right. Though I have been flipflopping between sketching the characters and using the models. Also gotten a lot more comfortable with not drawing entire environmental backgrounds for every panel, but instead switching to mood voids. It's putting less strain on drawing at least.

Personally I do not feel like I improved much visually speaking. Drawing over 3d models was also something my mindset had to get over. It felt like cheating. But they were literally blank dolls, I still had to draw the actual character over it. Efficiency was definitely increasing however. Been looking into assets that make it easier to work in finer details with less work.

Drawing battle choreography was still a struggle, as this comic is the first one where I earnestly started drawing out fights. And it didn't really help when my script would just default to [insert battle choreography here] thanks past me who wrote the script. That is so helpful. uwu;;

I've at least been combining dialogue during battles so narration can go on during battles without stopping the flow too much. They kinda felt like seperate blocks before this that would just drive the story to a halt for a bit.

That's all for the chapter 2 retrospective, until next time ~

[soultek]

In Another Life - Bogard x Female!Reader (One Piece Live Action)

A/N: This actually started as much more based on the lyrics of this song than it ended up - I guess this wasn't exactly my intent! It was initially meant to be so much more angsty. But that's how you roll when you just let the characters point you in a direction when you're writing. Every point on my plan got covered - that's all that matters! 😁✌

ALSO this is the first work I've EVER had properly edited for me, so, thank you very much Josh! I appreciate you taking the time to read this! [You don't know what you've got yourself in for agreeing to do more... haha! 😈]

The format editing on Tumblr broke me. So you get what you get below and I'm very sorry but I just could NOT anymore... You'll see it because it is very SPECIFICALLY one sentence that Tumblr seems to find issue with - so now that's just a random paragraph by itself in the middle of a conversation.

Disclaimer: Only the reader character is mine. He's kinda pieced together using elements of his anime counterpart because hell yeah I went back and watched those episodes for further characterisation. Nothing I've used is spoilers. The origami thing is original - but that's only because I've seen a ton of [fan] art of him with birds and I was like "Is this a thing? I need to include it somehow!" Turns out the birds are just a Marine HQ thing - but I liked the idea so I've kept it!

The 'backstory' is also originally because we don't know a whole lot about him yet in either media... sooooo...

Warnings: innuendo, sexual connotations, mention of injury, smoking, mild swearing, mild plot-relevant OOC.

Premise: HQ 3 is back in town. And for you, that ship brings a lot more with it than just injured marines. You're prepared for the usual push and pull this 'situationship' brings. You might not be so prepared for the other news he has for you...

Word Count: 7906

Song Inspo: Another Life - Tenille Arts

Full Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/29SKzlmL31pHFk54BwnO7k

--- Cause I don't wanna kiss anybody else's lips I don't wanna feel anybody else's touch I just wanna be the old you and me We'd be married, have a house and kids by this time In another life

In another life I would get to kiss you goodnight Hold your hand, play with your hair, feel your arms around me Giving me the best hug Yeah, we'd be so in love

In another life

I wouldn't have to kiss anybody else's lips I wouldn't have to feel anybody else's touch We could just be the old you and me We'd be married, have a house and kids by this time And you'd be here tonight In another life

---

Nothing new. That was how you would describe the day. Sitting in your office working through the papers of every Marine coming in and out of your ward; you weren’t sure you knew what busy was anymore. It seemed to be the same all the time - with very little variation in the amount of work you had to do day-to-day - sometimes you just had to work on them faster. With more and more to do for the Marines on the front lines, and with seemingly every other person declaring themselves to be a 'Pirate' these days, at least things were never dull - that you could count on. Today, another ship arrived, apparently with a lot of injured Marines on board, given how many new papers you had stacked up on your desk. You sat back in your chair and blew out a breath. You were glad at least none of these new patients appeared to be in any serious condition. The most interesting thing to you was the newly docked ship's designation: HQ 3. You regarded the papers again, and began to rifle through them slowly. He hasn’t said anything, you thought. Figures. There could be a reason for that, of course… he could be in here. You dared not go through them too quickly to find out. These days he had no reason to tell you, either.

Marking another case as not urgent, you became aware of a sudden clamouring outside your office. Back and forth yelling that sounded more like panic. So much for hiding away... Pushing yourself up from your desk, you opened the door and leaned against the frame, poking your head out into the corridor. Several nurses and doctors were running between rooms, each and every one worked for you now. Which meant that when you called out to them, they stood to attention. "What's going on out here!?" "Nothing we can't handle." "Oh, I have no doubt - is everything okay?" "Some of the new inpatients have a flair for the dramatic is all M'am!" You chuckled, folding your arms, and touched your head to the doorframe too. "Sounds right. Maybe we should give them something to be dramatic about!" You cracked a grin. "If sedative is necessary, get that going - but nothing appears serious. I don't want anyone else on the ward panicking or getting distressed though. Try to get them to keep it down." You winked. "Else I’ll be forced to tell them to, and I'm pretty sure they won't want that."

The small group who had paused to listen to you nodded along, before almost shying away from you, and retreating into the rooms they had come from. You were about to ask why – unless they were scared you were about to force something more upon them yourself – before your question was answered for you. "Oh, I don't know about that." You couldn't have stopped the smile spreading across your face if you'd tried. Not at the sound of that voice. You turned your head to him slowly. HQ 3 meant Garp, and the Vice Admiral brought with him his right-hand man, who was now staring back at you with something of a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth.

Bogard was leaning against the wall right outside your door, letting it support his full weight, right arm held across his body, left hand raised to his chin. If you'd have bet on that stance, you might have won. He had a nasty habit of just appearing like this, but you would never be one to complain about that.   You let your eyes linger on him as you drew them up and down his body. You could pretend it was for your deduction, but you both knew better. "What are you doing here? You don’t look injured to me.” His dark eyes swept the ward, which now hosted a group of Marines from the ship he sailed on. “Where he goes, I follow.” He started. “And, if I leave the ship here, I get to see you. So, it’s not all bad. Guess we’ll be staying while we stock back up, do repairs,” he paused briefly. “The usual.” You bit back the words you really wanted to say. "Doesn't sound so bad. Guess you'll be wanting the recent discharge list?" "You read my mind." "I know you!" You let that statement linger before adding, "all business. Let me get you that list."

You withdrew back into your office, gathering the papers of cleared Marines now waiting to be assigned back onto any ships that were currently docked who were in need of recruits. Much to your surprise you found your hands were shaking. You took a deep breath to steady your nerves; maybe you were more excited about this encounter than you anticipated. To say your relationship with the man standing outside your door was complicated would be an understatement. Something along the lines of a long distance, long term situationship might sum it up best - but they were just a few words that meant nothing to the history of it.

You had been a cadet when you'd first met him. He was a few years older than you. Back when Bogard was just finding himself in the Marine's. It was obvious to you then how fast he was going to climb the ranks. You'd been friends since day one - well, almost. Once you'd graduated your cadet training and had chosen to be stationed as part of the medical division, you began to realise just how injury prone and stubborn he was. At least that was the way he always presented himself to you. The number of times early on you'd found yourself patching up his gashes and wounds with him insisting they were just scratches were innumerable. You found yourself very quickly worried about him in ways that went beyond mere friendship. And the next time he'd done it had been your final straw. You couldn't recall your confession exactly, but you did remember that it came out in the middle of a heated ramble. You had been in tears – you were mad at him for getting hurt, and you were crying because you didn’t want to lose him. Fixing him up that time quickly led to a first kiss, and soon after a relationship. But it didn’t last.

Although he would never tell the story that way, the truth was at that point Bogard had been just dumb enough to make sure he always got an injury, so he had an excuse to stop by and see you, but smart enough to make sure he was never in any real danger. He had mellowed out a lot since then - he was so much more serious and careful now - especially with the responsibilities he had. Man, the more you thought about it, the more you realised just how much time had passed... You carried just as many responsibilities yourself now, but could you say that you didn't still worry about him? No - but he was always so far away that you couldn't allow yourself to dwell on it too much. The 'see you when I see you' was fine if he was going to turn up at your door looking as pristine as he did today. Bogard knew what he was doing - he wouldn't be Garp's second in command if he didn't. You trusted that you had no reason to worry about him. Not even on the Grand Line. If he did ever come back injured - you didn't want to think too much about it - you knew you'd go above and beyond. If anyone had ever been curious about what you were, then that scenario would probably hold all the answers. Though while that wasn't happening, it was fine as a mystery.

He hadn't moved an inch when you returned with the stack. "Here you are, unless I should be giving these to the Vice Admiral?" Bogard took the papers in a way that suggested which was wisest; to him. You held your hands up to indicate that was well noted. "Just let me know who stays and who goes so I can update my records." He flipped through them quickly. "Of course. I suppose it will depend on how many we want that aren't cadets." "Cadets? I mean there might be some fresh faces there, but they will come with a little experience." "Might need that where we're going." This time it was his right hand held to his chin as he moved to answering your question quickly. "Yes, cadets. We're training them." "You're training cadets?" You could see it, actually. He'd be good at that - tough but fair. His captain too. "Lucky cadets." Bogard placed the papers in his pocket. His expression seemed to suggest that might not be the phrase he'd use. He looked up and passed you, studying the corridor and listening to the activity you'd just set in motion, before turning his attention fully back to you. "The whole ward, huh?" "It'll be the whole medical centre soon." "So I hear. Never in doubt when it comes to you." You looked away bashfully - voice quiet. "Thank you." "Still, you could be out on a ship as the main doctor. A HQ ship even. You're plenty good enough." You made a noise, but didn't want to look like you were laughing at his suggestion. "Despite being a Marine, I still prefer dry land. I'm comfortable here. I enjoy my work! I’m even about to be promoted. Where do you go once you're a ship doctor for a HQ vessel?" "It would be worth it for all the places you would see,” he continued. “The prestige." You knew where this was headed, and turned it back on him as quickly as you could. "And you, what about when they call you to World Government bureaucracy and pen-pushing, and you spend more time in a building than you do on the open ocean?" You asked. Bogard made a face like he was considering it, but you knew he wasn't. “Right now, I would probably decline such a position.” he huffed. “I think I have much to learn before I go there." “Uh huh." You knew that, how could you not? Just like he knew you didn't want to be out at sea. No matter how many times he would try to persuade you out there every time he saw you.

That was the point you had known it wouldn't work out. You wanted him safe with you, whereas he wanted you to go travelling the world with him. Neither would comprise. And so, every time you met, you would dance around this question again. Asking without saying 'why aren't we together, really?' in a different way every time. The reality was you'd both chosen your preferred lifestyles and your work over each other. But you weren’t about to admit that out loud, and Bogard wasn't either. So, here you stayed.

To make sure this didn't get too heavy immediately, you cleared your throat and changed the subject. "I heard you were in the East Blue?" He gave a short nod, but instead of offering any more information, he hit back with a rumour of his own. You couldn't say you was surprised that he would keep his official work a secret - such the man he was these days. You knew you'd get it out of him eventually. Though it might take something a little less... professional... "I heard you were with some captain." Try as he might to hide it, Bogard let his emotion seep into his voice. It was obvious who and what he was referring to, and he wasn't happy about it. You bit the inside of your cheek to keep yourself from teasing him about being jealous - that wouldn't end well. And what with where you were right now, you had to be very careful what you let slip, just in case of any prying eyes and ears. And you also knew that Bogard knew he had no right to be jealous - regardless of the truth. Still, this was one thing you wouldn’t tease him about. Reassurance was the only way forward. "Rumours fly.” You dismissed. “That was never a thing." Which was true, after all, you still only had eyes for the man in front of you. Despite the fact that there had never been a conversation about it between you. You could date someone else. You just weren’t sure if Bogard believed you, especially as you didn't know how long he had been holding onto that knowledge for. You knew how much he valued the truth though, so lying would have been unwise at best. “I’d never do that.” you continued. To you, you thought. But you left that part off. You were met with the same steady look he'd been regarding you with throughout this whole conversation so far. You sighed, glancing behind you back down the ward - all seemed calm right now. They knew how to reach you if they needed your help. Turning back to him, you offered a gentle smile. "Care to take a walk with me?" He pushed himself away from the wall with a smile. Turning across, he offered you his arm - ever the gentleman. You smiled back sweetly, wrapping yourself around him, and allowing yourself a moment to admit in your mind just how much you'd missed him.

For a while there was silence, but it was comfortable and more relaxed. You both knew you wouldn’t be able to stray very far. It'd be more like a walk around the block, but it was still away from unwanted attention. He watched you closely. You carried yourself and your rank well. You coped with the pressure of it all. You could handle yourself. You just wouldn't answer the call to open ocean. It seemed strange to him, but he admired how sure of yourself, and your convictions you were. He would not change your mind, no matter how much he wanted to. Still, there was something about the rumour that was bothering him. It wasn't that Bogard thought you were lying - of course you wouldn't. You knew how much he disapproved of it. It was the subject of the rumour that hurt Bogard most. Of all the people that rumours could fly about with you, not him, but someone else? Someone who must have seen you far less than Bogard did… at least he would hope so. People were aware you had been something once. Was it so hard to believe that you might be making it work again? Bogard put in the work even when he was so far away. There were more than enough reasons to conclude that he was still with you. In many ways, he wanted to be asked. Even if he went against his principles and denied it. Though, given you weren't technically a couple, it wasn’t technically lying. He hated how much it caused him to wonder if you had ever been with anyone else ever since you broke up. If Bogard couldn't even get a rumour going, but someone else could? It bothered him that he could get wrapped up in such a way. You weren’t his. But the exclusivity was an unwritten rule. It was expected that you would always be able to return to each other like this. That didn't mean if either of you fell in love with someone else… Surely you had both expected the other to have moved on by now. You both should have moved on by now! It hadn’t been months after all; it hadn’t even been a few years. It was closer to decades, and here you both were. Bogard just didn't want to hear it being discussed. He wasn't sure what heartbreak would feel like; but he didn't want to know either way. And he hated even more that, after all this time, if he lost you for good, he knew his heart would break.

The silence from him wasn't something that you thought was particularly unusual - Bogard was notoriously a man of very few words.  Though you often wondered what ran through that head of his; but someone had to keep Garp in check, so you knew his mind was sharp at least. They seemed like complete opposites - which, you thought, made them perfect for each other. Walking with him this close around the medical centre was enough for you right now. It was nice getting used to his presence again. Even if you knew you'd have to let him go soon. And too soon at that. Glancing over to him, you recognised Bogard’s look was a little further away than you had expected. Realising that you wanted those gorgeous brown eyes back on you, you broke the silence. If he was in his head about this stupid rumour - which you wouldn't be surprised if the Marine Captain had started and stoked himself - then you knew what he needed to hear. And if he felt the truth was so important, he was about to get some. "I have to say, I'm not entirely sure why you're so worried about that rumour. It's me who should be thinking about things like that. Why, I bet you have a girl in every port!" It was clearly a joke, but his look was a little too sharp - Bogard clearly took offence to the idea he was worried. Even if he was. Luckily, his expression quickly softened. "Guy on every ship." He quipped back. You gasped, ready to take full offence to that. "That's way worse than the rumour! Stop it! What do you take me for!? At least mine could happen!" You weren’t stupid - he was a good-looking man. Loyal, dedicated; an old-fashioned romantic. Work-driven sure, but you'd seen other women fall for him. All it would take was for him to find one who he could fall for too, who would share in his dream and actually want to travel the world on a ship with him as a Marine. It scared you a little how easy it was for you to imagine that he could be in a very happy relationship right now. Bogard raised an eyebrow. Surely you didn't believe that, he thought. And if you did, how wrong you were. Surely the ridiculousness of his own statement only highlighted the ludicrousness of your own? How untrue it was? For you though, it was clear you had a point. Besides, what did he have to be worried about? Who would you date anyway? It wasn't like you were about to pick up a guy at a bar or something. "Nearly all the men I see around here are either sick or injured." You protested. He shrugged, and when he doubled down, you were glad you could hear the jokey tone to his voice. "All the more time to get to know them then." "Please." You scoffed, pushing his arm a little. "Besides, you're the only one writing to me, and making me origami, so..." He stopped so abruptly, but you were ready for that. Halting to measure his reaction. He looked across to you curiously. You never wrote him back; he didn't expect you to. Bogard smiled - for once a little wider than usual. Possibly more of a smirk. "Like those, do you?" He teased. You allowed yourself to blush under the weight of his look. The bolstered confidence in him at your words, and then your admittance. "Maybe a little too much."

Despite the jokes you made, it was barely covering up what you really meant - bringing to light exactly what you were both most worried about. And the ego-boosting rush of hearing that it wasn't true. The real truth was no matter how nonchalantly either of you said goodbye - see you later - neither of you wanted to see the other with someone else. Neither of you would like it very much. The difference was you were quite prepared for the possibility of that eventuality. Bogard was not.

Once you had made the full circle and wandered back to your office, you resumed much the same positions as you had before. Although closer and more comfortable this time. Once the ice had thawed a little, you were now acting more as friends. (As if that was all you were.) Where you could get him to smile a little, and if you were very, very, very lucky, you might even get a huffed laugh out of him. Although he did have one last piece of official business to pass by you. He pulled some rolled-up papers out of his Marine coat. "You asked about the East Blue before." He started. "I did." You straightened your relaxed posture a little. Assuming you wouldn't have to do any work to get a candid answer this time. "We were there chasing around a new upstart young group of Pirates." He continued. "Another group?!" You very nearly rolled your eyes; you’d lost count of the crews popping up all over the place over the years. HQ 3 seemed a little overkill, though. "You guys? Really?!" Bogard shook his head. "Understandable reaction. But this crew has potential." He held the roll out to you. "May I request you put these up around the wards?" You looked from the roll to him and back and took it gently. "These upstarts already have bounties?" You asked. "Their captain does." He replied. You continued to stare at him questioningly, but when all he did was stare back, you knew the answer was on the paper itself. You unravelled them and almost let out a laugh.

'Monkey D. Luffy' - the name explained everything. You looked back at Bogard with an amused expression and raised eyebrow. Bogard merely shook his head, expression in understanding of your reaction. 'Let's not go there!' "Sure. I'll put these ones up! That's quite the bounty for the East Blue though! Who'd he piss off!?" You walked back into your office to put it with your unfinished pile of admission checks. This time Bogard followed you, standing in the doorway. "Nezumi.” He replied. “Oh, that weirdo? With the rat face?” You circled your head with your finger. “Rat would certainly be one way to put it.” You couldn’t help your perhaps overly loud reaction. “Oooh! Ooooh. Ooh! Would you like me to tell him that next time I see him?” Bogard placed his hands either side of your door frame, leaning in a little.  ‘Oh yeah you would badmouth me like that!,’ he thought - instant reaction - mouth opening before he changed his mind. Returning to a more relaxed lean, and crossing his arms. “I wouldn’t waste my breath.” You whistled. “Damn! You got a mouth on you.” Sharp as the blade he carried - when he wanted to be. But perhaps also a sign of how close you were, that he would speak as freely as this. Instead of responding, he opted to watch you with his eyes narrowed. You chuckled. “No, I know you. I know that you don’t waste your words.” Pausing for thought, you placed the papers down slowly. Raising your eyes to the window, you mused. “I guess I feel honoured that you share so many of them with me.” “Writing letters is completely different.” He replied. You looked across to him; voice sweet, and smile gentle. “That’s not what I meant.” Bogard bit his lips together, unsure of a comeback. Instead he wound the conversation back, nodding to the poster you just placed down. “Highest bounty on the East Blue now, actually. Doubt he'll stay there though." He said. "Ah. Grand Line bound!" You replied inquisitively. For a while the whimsy of it all had you smiling, until your smile dropped in realisation. If HQ 3 had been chasing them around the East Blue? You looked back to him slowly. Was Bogard going to follow them around the Grand Line? How long would that take? How long would it be until you saw him again? Even he knew he didn't have the answer to that. As he'd stated - where Garp went, he did. No questions asked. Still, Bogard couldn't leave it like that. He felt compelled to reassure you. "Of course, we might not follow them. We had investigations going on before they arrived on the scene." You remembered. "What now then? You really think you'll be back to 'Baroque Works'?" "We were heading that way anyway. I don't see why that would change now." He shrugged. "Doubtless you'll find out when I write to you!" You chuckled, running your fingertips over the picture in the wanted poster. A new kid on the block in a straw hat? Generations had seen this before.

Silence fell for a moment, which allowed him time to look around your office. Then he really couldn't help but smile. Lined up along the window frame, and just about every spare space on your shelves were collections of intricate origami. Bogard had sent you every single one of them. His preference was birds of different shapes, sizes, and colours. But they were all there. Every letter he had sent you came with one, and he'd sent you a letter every time he felt he had something worth saying. Writing back wasn't the point of it. He could guarantee that no one else knew where these came from. Whether you made them or they just appeared. But they weren't there for anyone else to know about - they were there for you. And every time Bogard saw them he wondered how the hell he could ever let himself get worried about any feelings you might have for anyone else. He looked back to you - having finished studying the picture of Luffy, you were now watching him - and Bogard knew he'd been caught with a rare smile on his face. He let it bleed into his words. "You kept them all." It wasn't a question, and his heart swelled. You giggled, pulling a box draw out from the top of your desk. "Honey, you have no idea!" From within it spilled forth letters upon letters, all wrapped up in Marine paper and blue ribbon. You had kept every single one of them too.

It was a little later in the day, as you were finishing up another round of administering medication, when you returned to your office and found that another Marine had made himself comfortable there. And not the one you would have expected. "V-Vice Admiral!" You stood to attention as he rose from your chair, "Sir! How can I help you?" "At ease, please!" His smile was warm, "In fact it's me that I think can help you!" He held out the stack of papers you'd given Bogard earlier. "I trust my second in command’s judgement on these." You took them gratefully. "Of course. I'll make sure everyone is prepped and ready to cast off when you're ready to set sail, Sir." "Better make it sooner rather than later, Lieutenant.” Garp placed his hands in his pockets, expression serious. "I don't want to be hanging around for too long. We have much to get started on." "Oh- I see." You knew you was failing at hiding your look of disappointment. Letting go was never easy, but if you had to do it sooner than you expected? You'd only just got Bogard back - you weren’t ready to let him go again just yet. Garp could see it on your face. It wasn't as if he hadn't seen Bogard interact with you before. They'd stopped off here plenty of times. He'd just never pried into the private life of his second in command before. But something was clearly going on this time. If he hadn't thought so before. He indicated to the origami on your shelves. "I always wondered where these went. Clearly, Y/N, they all come to you!" Your eyes widened. You didn't even know anyone else knew Bogard made them. "Y-yes, when he writes he always sends..." You gestured to the shelves, wondering if you'd said too much. Did Garp know that he... wrote to you? "Would have thought writing was his preferred method of communication. I know he’s a man that’s concise at best.” he continued. “Though he never seems to have that problem around you. Which is something in itself." You knew you was blushing by now, and you couldn't quite meet the Vice Admiral’s eyes. What he was saying was by no means untrue. "He's not always been like that." You were lying and you knew it. But you had to say something. You had no idea what Garp did or didn't know, or what Bogard would even want his superior to know! "Mhm." You weren’t sure that response was convincing enough. "Can't help but wonder exactly what's going on between you two." he enquired. Dammit! You were definitely turning redder now. "He-" You paused. Then took a deep breath, locking eyes with Garp this time. "We were once a couple, yes. But, we went our separate ways due to our own work preferences." You gave a shrug, realising how sad you suddenly felt as you smiled. "He wouldn't stay. I wouldn't go." "...Shame." Garp nodded. "From what I’ve heard, you have enormous potential. Definitely something we could use out there." You bowed deeply. "Those are kind words, Sir. Thank you. But it was never what I wanted. The front line isn't for me, and I would be outright useless in a fight. I'm no field medic." "We could change that." He interjected. You laughed. "I hear you're training cadets?" You weren’t sure you wanted to go back to that, weren’t sure how you would act being trained by them, honestly. "With all due respect Sir, many have tried and at this point I think I'm fine being a competent medic, and a pathetic fighter. I barely scraped through weapons training, and I decided that I would never want to handle one again! At least not by choice." "Competent would not be the word I'd use." He took a few steps forward, causing you to stiffen your posture. "Brilliant, maybe." He tilted his head. "Funny you should say that and be going off with a swordsman." You gaped for a minute. "We-Well I--" You tried to compose yourself. "That was always Bogard's thing." Your laugh was nervous. "Though I admit I can't help but be fascinated. I notice that people are intimidated by him without him even having to draw. So, once he does?" It was hot. It made you feel a little something something, and you'd never really seen him in action in a real fight.

Though of course you were not about to mention this to Garp.

"Well, there's always room on my ship. If you want this to be something more.” He paused for a brief second. “Intimate again." Garp's stare was intense. "I do hope you'll consider it, Y/N." You swallowed hard. Intimate? As if you weren't still--- "A HQ ship would be an incredible honour, Sir. I…” you paused. “Surely will consider it." "Glad to hear it." he replied enthusiastically. Garp swept past you, but stopped at the door. "I have no doubt you'll have the Marine's prepped and ready for our departure. I do suggest if you want to spend any more time with my second, you get as much of it in as possible." Even if you couldn't see him, you could hear the amusement and smirk in his voice. "Should I send him back up to your office, Y/N?" You opened your mouth, but found you couldn't answer before he walked away laughing.

Next thing you knew you was back in the arms of your situationship - under the sheets.

***

Despite what Bogard and Garp had said, it was nice for them to stick around for a little while. It reminded you that you shouldn’t get your hopes up that it would be permanent. But it gave you a taste you couldn’t help but crave. He really was all yours here. And you could pretend you were somewhere in the past, thinking about this as your far-off future. One where neither of you had ever put anything above the other. Breaks were rare when you had work to do, but right now, you also couldn’t afford to spend any free time anywhere else.

Bogard was sitting on the steps to the medical wing when you found him. Hunched over what could only have been a lighter, given the small smoke trail.

You sighed gently, folding your arms and shaking your head. Taking the steps slowly towards him - it wasn’t like you were about to sneak up on the swordsman, he knew your footfall well enough by now - it still didn’t cause him to extinguish his smoke. You stopped on the step above the one he was sitting on. Two heavy steps down, to let him know you were less than impressed, hands moving to your pockets as you bent slightly over him - feeling all at once like a doctor scolding your patient. (Well, it wasn’t like you hadn’t already had the opportunity to check his full physical health at this point.) “You know those aren’t good for your health, right?” You started. As if to mock you, he took a long deliberate drag. “Trust me, if you were on my ship, you would need these to relax too.” He replied. You narrowed your eyes. “Oh no, Mister. No using your captain as an excuse!” “He’s a damn good one.” He protested. Another drag, before he removed it from his lips, but he didn’t put it out. You leaned yourself a little closer to him, lowering your voice – positively saccharine. “Don’t worry, you can order me around!” Bogard raised a hand to his mouth slowly, and coughed. You waited with a smirk on your face for him to take the bait. “Don’t tempt me.” Bogard gave his voice the appropriate stern edge. You had the cheekiest little grin on your face, and hummed like you were a little too happy with yourself for that one. He gave you enough time to bask in it, before looking back to his smoke. “You’re going to ask me to stop, right?” You folded your arms, sighing. “At the risk of sounding like a broken record. You know my spiel by now.” Bogard gave a single nod of agreement. “You’ve never quite got me to quit yet. I think by now you’d know it wasn’t going to happen.” His eyeline had remained level until that moment, but he looked up at you now. “How’s work?” He asked. “Nothing changes…” You shrugged. “But I do have five minutes.” You took the next step down and sank to sit with him. Bogard’s smile was gentle, no matter how obvious it was that you would choose to spend your precious free time with him when he was around, it didn’t make it any less significant of an act.  “Smoke?” He held it out to you. “Ha!” You liked that he smiled at your sarcasm though, his eyes back on whatever he was watching before. “What are you-?” Bogard nodded forward, then pointed, you followed his fingertip down to the beach. Upon it were Garp, and two marines whom he looked like he was giving a stern talking to. “Oh! Your cadets?” “Mhm.” “And you’re up here because?” He scoffed. “Please, you think they’re ready to take me on yet?” You almost rolled your eyes as he took another drag, making sure to blow the smoke away from you. “I can take on both of them using only my less dominant hand. It’d be hardly worth their time either. What does it teach them? Something they aren’t ready for?” You couldn’t help the smirk that toyed with your lips. “Do you have one of those?” “One of what?” He enquired. “A less dominant hand?” You teased. You couldn’t look at him, because you knew you’d crack - but you knew the kind of stare he was giving you, before he jogged your shoulder. “Stop.” You couldn’t help the quick burst of laughter you let escape.

You continued to watch the two young men train with Garp for a while. And eventually you let yourself unwind enough to lean up against his shoulder. It was funny how much more you felt his body sink into relaxation below yours after that. And he put his smoke out too. He was content to sit with you like this. Yes. This was exactly what you dreamed of. Even if you couldn’t say you missed Bogard often (you were far too busy working here to do much of anything!), at least you didn’t let yourself and your thoughts linger on that feeling for too long. This physical contact was exactly what you needed. His letters could cover almost everything else, letting you know he was okay and that you didn’t have to worry. It was exactly what made this work without it having to be a relationship. But they couldn’t hold you. They couldn’t replace his touch. Your eyes lowered to his hands. It was weird for you to think just what they were capable of. He could be so gentle, but his swordsmanship? Just how many lives had Bogard taken with the exact same hands that held you the way he did? You sank your teeth into your lip as you frowned. You could think these things all you liked. Right now you just wanted to hold them - that’s what you knew for sure.

Bogard regarded your body language. Even when you weren’t looking at him, he knew what you desired. It didn’t matter how damn long you had been away from each other. At this point, it was simply muscle memory. You could both say whatever you wanted. Sometimes he wondered if being “single” really was the easiest option for you. It sure sounded like it. But he knew how it complicated things. How it twisted your feelings. Maybe you couldn’t make it work together. But you couldn’t make it work without each other either. Bogard knew you were thinking about how this could be your life. How could you not be? He was thinking it too – and by now he knew you better than you knew yourself.

He moved his hand from his knee, extending it towards yours - palm up - still watching your reaction. You hesitated; too shy to look at him now. Bogard knew, of course he knew. At this point he might as well have been a mind reader. Your movements were slow and deliberate. You took his hand gingerly; lacing your fingers together. Before moving your other to fit his hand between yours. He watched you do this with a smile, before pulling your hands gently back into his lap. You made a small noise before burying your face in his shoulder; surely blushing now. He focused back on the beach, running his thumb over the back of your hand. Yes - this was worth coming back for. Even if accepting the way you otherwise lived meant he sacrificed this to miss you the rest of the time. And if neither of you would move to give that up, you always would.

*** Seeing him off came all too quick. His return seemed but a fleeting moment - a heartbeat, and you were having to let him go again. The thing that stopped you from letting this be anything more than it was. But you were kidding yourself. You were in a relationship. The code; the unwritten rule, the exclusivity of it. There'd never been anyone else. Neither of you were calling it that, though. Neither of you referred to each other as ‘Partners', or ever enquired if it would be like that again. Everything but in name. Yet you would continue to tell yourself this was for the best - and that you wouldn't hurt for a little while as he sailed off into the distance.

Everyone around you on the dock was moving fast, getting final-final preparations done before they set sail. For the two of you, time was virtually standing still. Your hands were in his, and right now all you wanted was for them to stay there as long as possible. As tradition stated, you both had one more try in you - one more line of persuasion before the same conclusion would be reached, and you went your separate ways once again. Bogard leaned into you. That small near smile on his lips that reflected so much more brilliantly in his eyes. And in that moment the light was hitting them just right; illuminating that brown colour in a million beautiful shades. His voice was soft and sweet - as if this time he was really pulling out all the stops. "You should come with us.” he said. “We could always use a doctor." You chuckled, shaking your head. But you were grinning. You couldn't help but smile brilliantly at the way he was making you feel. Of course he was still trying to get you to go with him, despite already knowing your answer. You had to admire that spirit – every single time. "My place is here." You said firmly. You bit your tongue between your teeth cheekily for a moment, before teasing back with. "You could always stay." It was Bogard's turn to chuckle. "You know I can't do that." Your head tilted. 'Exactly'.

But he kept leaning, and you weren’t about to stop him. Now might have been the time to be professional. But it was also the exact time to be unprofessional. You pushed yourself up to meet him in a goodbye kiss. Both of you probably expected it to be short and sweet, but then again neither of you were pulling away - content to stay in it. You couldn't take it anymore, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He reciprocated, hands on your waist pulling you into his arms. At some point someone whistled. You felt him laugh, but he didn't pull back – Bogard just kept kissing you. Not even with the thought in his head that he was doing this in public. A little harder, edge a little more possessive of you. There was something in this kiss meant to completely destroy the idea that there was, or ever would be, anyone else, ever. Even when you were merely joking about it, even when he was too. You surrendered to it, and to him, completely.

Back on the ship, Helmeppo has spotted what was happening on the docks below. And if he was surprised by the kiss in the first place, the fact that it was going on - the stoic second in command swordsman that Bogard was? The guy who wore a perpetual frown most of the time! This wasn't happening - in fact it was beyond being seen to be believed! It was a ‘pinch me I must be dreaming’ moment. He smacked Coby - who was only oblivious because he was working - perhaps a little too hard. But he didn't care, and threw his other hand just to check that he wasn't the only one seeing this! The smaller cadet also couldn't help but stop and stare, almost gaping.

Garp watched the scene with a shake of his head, and a laugh. Sometimes it was good to be right!

Eventually you both had to pull back, if for nothing but a need to breathe. But you kept close. Your fingers gripped his Marine coat tight as you held him close to you. His head dipped to yours. Bogard kept his arms wrapped around you. You closed your eyes and tried your best to hold back your tears. "Stay safe." You whispered, emotion flooding your voice. "I don’t want to see you back here anything less than immaculate.” “Stay safe too." His voice was equally emotional, strained against the proper tone he was trying to emulate. "Don’t take any shit.” You pulled slightly back from him, laughing. “You come back to me.” "You know where we're going. I can't make any promises. But…" He relinquished your warmth none too fast, reassuring you. "I always do."

You stood for a moment like that, unsure where to go from here. You couldn't help it, pulling him back for one more kiss goodbye - and much shorter, to your own dismay. Before drawing your hands to the centre of his chest, fussing with his Marine coat for a second, and making certain to pull it straight, ensuring that the emblem presented itself dead centre. If you were going to tell him to be immaculate when he returned, you damn well weren’t sending him away if he was anything less! "You tell those other girls..." You laughed, unable to finish the joke. "Tell them what?" "They c- can't have—y-!” You kept laughing through it. “I can't even finish that thought." You grinned, putting it another way instead. "You're mine." He shook his head at you. "Always was." Before bowing low, "Until next time, Y/N." Bogard left you with a smile, and with that, began walking a few feet to the ship’s gangplank. You called after him, "I'm already looking forward to that letter!" He nearly laughed.

Upon boarding, Helmeppo and Coby still hadn't got over the scene. Staring at him almost in awe - definitely with a million questions for the man helping to train them. It took just one look, a single stare to swear both of them to eternal silence. Maybe they would get their answers one day. Maybe he would want to talk about it. Right now, Bogard wasn't sure. He did know he considered it private, no matter how passionate and public his goodbye was to you.

You stood back, listened to him shouting commands to get the ship running with a smile on your face. Just like that he was in his element again. He was working now. He was the second in command to a Vice Admiral. 'That's my man.' For a moment, you wondered if you should have asked. You’d still never had a concrete conversation around being officially together again. You supposed it was as unsaid as the exclusivity. The illusion that you would both still be single; until the time you met again. But what was more official than 'Always was.'?

Whatever you were, you were content.

As the ship pushed away from the dock, Bogard appeared at the starboard side railing, offering a hand up gesture as a wave goodbye. You waved back enthusiastically. Glad to see him one last time before he sailed into the sunset. And here you would be the next time he was able to visit you. Because you would wait for him. And maybe one day, you’d give in to him. Or he would settle down with you.

Whoever’s will won out in the end, right now you knew one thing for sure. You didn't care if it meant you were together.

---

Two swordsmen down one to go! 🖤💚💛

Other OPLA Fics: 'Late to the Party - Roronoa Zoro x Reader

[o-uncle-newt]

THREE: it's just really good for mental health

I've been saying I'd post this and now that I have a nice long day with not much to do, I will- not that I haven't posted about this before. Honestly, one of the most important things to me about Cabin Pressure is that it has a power, shared with very few other things (among them incidentally are one or two key Double Acts), to make me smile/feel better about pretty much anything, no matter how dire, at least for half an hour- and with at least a bit of "afterglow" so to speak lol.

But I've written about it here, and here, and here and here... probably other places too. And I think the thing that impresses me the most is that, so often when I share this, I get loads of people telling me exactly the same thing. I don't know what it is exactly- is it just the comedy? The characters, who are over the top enough not to be IMMEDIATELY identifiable but still relatably human? The clever plots that you can get lost in? The heart and warmth and care? Probably a combination of all of these things.

You'll see some of the more specific examples of the above for me in the links in the prior paragraph, so I'll move on, possibly to a TMI extent, to a more specific thing, that might not surprise people- the impact of Arthur Shappey's Guide to Happiness on me. JF has said, I think, that it's a principle he genuinely holds by, and I know that lots of people agree that it's something that really hits you. And it really hit me too.

So I'll talk a bit about my own journey with it- shifting from being an Arthur to being a Martin (or trying to be). As in, this has concretely helped me become a happier/better person.

I am not exaggerating when I say that every therapist I've ever seen has heard of Cabin Pressure and John Finnemore, and I'm pretty sure all of them have seen the above video from Fitton. Now, like a lot of other people, I really glommed on to the whole idea about how if you expect happiness to come from the big things then you'll end up disappointed when they don't measure up, so find smaller things that will give you smaller pockets of joy in your every day.

Without going into excessive detail, the last few years have been tough for me in some ways. At the time, I was in a terrible work environment that had serious ramifications for my personal life. And I kept on listening to that clip and being like "well yes I can make this better with self care" or whatever. And it did- I'd say it was more make this bearable but at the time that was still a lot.

At one point I was talking to my therapist and she was asking if I felt happy. And I said that on a day to day level I was enjoying myself (there were fun parts of my job, it was a larger situation that was the problem), but that I still often felt really miserable. She asked why and I thought about it and was like- I keep doing random little things but nothing is getting better. I'm still in the same situation I was last week, last month, and last year, and this is lulling me into complacency when the underlying root of the problem hasn't been fixed at all.

So my therapist asked me- what do you mean by complacency? Does that mean you're feeling better/happier than you have been? And I had to think about it but I could definitely say- yes, I was. I'd tried new foods, taken great trips, read interesting books, and had a lot of little pops of enjoyment. The difference was that now that wasn't enough anymore. Then my therapist asked me- "but don't you realize how huge that is? That you're past the hump where something small is the best you can hope for?" And she was right.

The way I think about it, that placement of the clip in Fitton, no matter what JF meant by putting it there and no matter whether he had anything that came later in mind when he did it, ended up just working beautifully. Like, it makes sense that this is coming from Arthur- he's the character who changes the least. He doesn't have to, much, and while I won't go so far as to say he doesn't have the capacity to, even if he did he has a lot of people who are protective of him because they don't think he has the capacity to. He enjoys his life. He doesn't really have any problems and the dreams that he sees as within his reach (aka, not being a "muppet baby pilot") are, for him, on par with the pleasure he gets from throwing an apple back and forth.

It's why Arthur is a great character- he's a reminder of something simpler in all of us. I don't think he's relatable at all, and that's a good thing- what we really love is the way Arthur makes us feel. He's so non-self-absorbed that in the few moments where his equanimity is shaken up, he's so thrown off kilter that we, who are more used to dealing with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, want to jump in front to protect him from them. We value the simplistic way in which he sees our goodness, because to us, things are more complicated.

But that complication is a good thing! That's what allows us to be more than and better than what we currently are, eventually. That can be really hard- especially when we're brought low, to take the work to improve things for ourselves can feel impossible. It can take love and support, it can take grit, and it can take an existing base of self-regard, but it can be done. Arthur may not need to, but we do.

At the same time, we learn something important from Arthur, and in particular Martin does in Fitton. (Douglas too, but with a different kind of application.) Martin thinks he's where he wants to be, but he KNOWS he isn't- he's not being paid, he's constantly bullying, and the facade he puts on is doing nothing to earn him the kind of respect that his essentially-purchased title should, in theory, entitle him to. To him, the way to get through it is to grit his teeth and keep on pretending, assume that if he carries on as he is (knowing that he's not good enough yet but still trying anyway) then he'll end up making it. But that just makes him more uptight and difficult, in the end.

What Arthur recognizes is that you DO need those little bits of happiness to make the big ones doable! If Martin is going to keep on trying for the big breaks, he'll inevitably fail at least some of the time (in his case, far more lol) and that will just dump him even farther down than he started. You start to curse the wind, because at a certain point you're trying to control forces that are uncontrollable and that will never guarantee happiness, just give you a potential chance at it. Once you've appreciated the smaller things that you CAN control, and you boost your mood and mentality that way, you start to recognize that maybe you can move past where you are. That you can get both the little things, the apple-tossing and singing, as well as the new big things you are striving for.

Arthur will never need to go past that first thing- the character as constructed has no interest in it. But as much as he doesn't understand the END of Martin's journey except when paraphrased for him in the terms of various movies (not all of which he actually understands), he understands the beginning more than Martin does- that he needs to have the small happinesses to build him up and make him be ready for whatever else comes his way.

Because here's the thing- if we all lived like Arthur, we'd never be with the loves of our lives in the moonlight, would we? We'd be worried it could go wrong or we wouldn't fully appreciate it, and anyway everyone would love us as much as we want to be loved already, and we'd be too busy soaking in the bath to care about the other thing. But the non-Arthurs of us are resilient enough to WANT the loves of our lives (well, on average- plenty of people don't but they wiil have their own equivalent bigger-picture and higher-stakes wants) and, as a result, to be willing to take the risk of it not being everything we immediately want it to be. But, if it's NOT what we want it to be, Arthur wisely knows that we need to make sure we have a cushion of smaller happinesses to fall back on in the meantime, to build us up until we can try again.

With credit to my therapist, I have to say that this reimagining of the Arthur/Martin paradigm and Martin's journey vs Arthur's stasis in Cabin Pressure has stayed with me- reminding me to give myself the smaller boosts I need as I take bigger leaps and really choose the goals that I care about. I'm in a different job that is a better situation, and while I still have plenty of problems, I've learned to find ways to balance them out with the smaller things that make life worth living as I try to overcome them more essentially and hopefully permanently. In the meanwhile, I have Arthur to help.

[rad-roche]

Hello there! I've been admiring your amazing writing for... *checks notes* about 7 years now, and I wondered if you had any tips or advice you'd be down to share? no worries if, hope you have a wonderful day!

aw, thank you very much!! god i'm withering to dust as i type this. all this stuff is pretty subjective, and i think a lot of how-to writing advice is 'how to write like me' so i'd take all of it, especially mine, with a pinch of salt

if you write fanfiction (lord knows i do!) keep a varied media diet. books, obviously, movies, television shows. love fic to bits, but having it sit too large in your reference pool can lead to bad habits. lots of media, but especially challenging media. picking up a random book and hating it enough to put it down two pages in is a fantastic use of your time, because that develops taste. why do i hate this kind of plot? how would i do it? why? and so on, ask yourself questions. save paragraphs you love from novels and keep them somewhere, stare at them sometimes. oh, engage in analysis where possible! you'll notice writing isn't happening yet, unfortunately that has to come last.

this is more a pet peeve of mine, but try to be aware of dialogue that's too representative of what a character is really thinking. it's a little hard to explain if you've never seen it, but have you ever read a book or played a game or the like and it's kind of... too snug where it shouldn't be? it feels a little like a children's show, but for adults? it's that. too many 'i think' 'i feel' statements in spoken dialogue from characters who are otherwise not that emotionally intelligent. the human animal is a messy, temperamental creature, and we're stuck conveying gigantic ideas at the height of emotion through an incredibly lossy communication format. say you're writing a couple, and one says to the other 'when you don't do the dishes, i feel unappreciated', and the other says 'i hear that, but when you don't trust me to do them after i recover from my shift, i feel like you don't understand how hard my job is'. wonderful regulation skills. terrible to read. have somebody blow up, or say something that's accidentally mean, or storm off, or smash a plate or shoot somebody, or not say anything at all. have them be outright wrong about how they feel because they don't understand it. anything you can do to fray that little thread between brain and mouth, just a touch

biggest thing: write for yourself. the more specific, the better. if needed, expand to a group chat of sickos who'll post fire emojis. if you do have an audience in mind, never write for the most incurious person in it. the minute you worry somebody won't 'get' it, you'll write homiletic prose, and the people who will suddenly won't either. you get it. anybody else is a bonus. good luck!!

[pluralprompts]

do u have any tips in case a singlet wants to write a system

This went unanswered for a long time because We were going back and forth about answering this with an essay but honestly? The best tip I can give is to not overthink it.

Plenty of singlet (or possibly singlet) writers write plurality very well! I think it's a decently common joke for systems to point out how random characters are basically systems in all but name when that may not have been the author's intention. The thing about plurality in fiction is that it's a trope in the way gender fuckery can be a trope; people can write plurality without knowing about IRL plurality and people can write about gender fuckery without knowing about IRL gender fuckery. Plurality is such a natural concept (and extrapolation of wondering about the self/personhood/one's body/a number of things, really) that people can write it without being aware it's a reality for some folks. It's not that weird for an author to go "what if this person was actually many persons" (whether metaphorically or literally) and add that to their story. It's just a thing that happens.

So, I guess I'm saying that you don't need to put a lot of pressure on yourself on getting everything exact or realistic so much as just letting your story breathe with the plurality you add to it. Especially with how different systems can be; we're a really diverse bunch, so something that makes one system go "That's me!" will inevitably make another go "This isn't like me at all." Don't worry so much about being realistic or resonating with every system out there. And again, don't overthink it – the only thing I'd really recommend you ask around about is how plurality affects different areas of people's lives. You'll probably get a variety of answers, so choose what works best for your character, but the point is that being a system is something that affects a lot more of one's life than one might think (especially when it comes to making decisions; we've got to take each other into account for those), so including that makes your character really pop out to us plurals.

Because the thing is, although a lot of singlet writers are good at writing plurality, they're not always good at keeping it consistent. And by that I mean they seem to forget it exists whenever it's not immediately relevant to a scene, treating the system's plurality as only a plot device, rather than something that affects the character. Plurality can be a plot device, but if it's only ever treated as that and the author conveniently forgets the implications of it (like how it affects everyday life, or how the character might feel about their plurality, or how others might react to it), it becomes rather hollow. It's failed potential, in a sense. Like when a really cool detail of a character's past gets brought up for one paragraph and then never again, or a character detail is casually mentioned but the reader goes, "Wait, shouldn't this be a big deal?" You don't have to make your character's plurality an emotionally big deal, but it should still be an important aspect of their life, and that's the hole most of these authors fall into; they know plurality as a trope, and they know how they want to use that trope, but they limit themselves to how they want to use it, and don't see how they could be using it in other ways – how it might be more logical to use it, even.

It's a double-edged sword, this awareness of plurality only as a concept. Luckily for you, you have plenty of examples to turn to about the wacky, mundane, and upsetting stuff systems get up to in everyday life, and how our plurality affects us (and if you want to ask about specific scenarios, plenty of systems are fine with answering questions like that!). Include bits of that here and there, and you're good to go.

TLDR: if you're adding a system character to your roster, don't work yourself into a tizzy trying to get everything "right", but ask yourself every once in a while if/how their plurality would affect things. The only things we ask are to not rely on the evil alter trope and to not reduce plurality to an unimportant detail or something that doesn't really affect your character, since even if it's something casual to the character, it's still something that's constantly going to be a part of them.

(Oh, but as a final extra tip... since no one way of writing a system is going to resonate with all of us, go ahead and embrace that. Make your character's plurality specific to them, and ask lots of questions about what different aspects of system life are like to them. What's switching like for them? Do they have memory issues? Does their family know? Does anyone? What's their origin(s)? Do those origins still affect them today? Do they have an innerworld? Stuff like that! It's a whole new world of character customization, so go ham and bring your character's system to life.)

Hope this helps!

[intrepidacious]

✩ upcoming wips

main masterlist | navigation

i haven't been posting a lot lately because i'm a slow writer and life has been kicking my butt but i've wanted to let you take a peek at what i've been cooking up in the background!!

what little attention i have at the moment has been going into time after time but there's a lot of ideas constantly swirling around in my head and i've wanted a place to put some of them. shockingly, these aren't even all of my wips. yeah, i know.

this is just a snapshot of the most prominent fic ideas i've been working on at the moment which means that plots and especially titles might still get changed. also i'm not committing to any sort of schedule with these so keep that in mind :')

please feel free to ask questions about any and all of these and i'll do my best to answer <3

✩ one shots

a smile that cold - ransom drysdale x f!reader - au inspired by daphne du maurier's rebecca - (well, mostly by its musical adaptation, which is great) - i'm going full gothic/seasonally spooky vibes in this one - tropes: widower remarries, mystery, dark-ish (well, there's murder), perhaps a hint of spice - status: mostly done, but still missing a chunk in the middle

to home afar - bucky barnes x freader - the guernsey literary and potato peel pie society au - (oh yes we're going there) - i love this book and this au so much but i just haven't had the time to focus on it - tropes: 40s!bucky, dad!bucky, writer!reader, one (1) broken engagement, fitzsimmons appearance, hints of epistolary storytelling, pen pals to friends to lovers - status: about halfway done, still missing some connective tissue

all that's been (and all that won't) - bucky barnes x f!reader - buffy the vampire slayer au - tropes: slayer!reader, vampire hunter!bucky, friends to lovers, inspired by me rereading all the vampire knight manga so if you know those you'll see the twist coming, canon-typical violence - status: conception phase, some scenes written

stay here forever - 40s!bucky barnes x f!reader - a continuation of first date, last night - this was a plan ever since i posted that story and yet - tropes: friends to lovers, mutual pining resolved, tfa!bucky, kinda angsty, will probably get another part … - status: mostly written, missing connective tissue

just for spite - bucky barnes x witch!reader - originally inspired by a moodboard by @treatbuckywkisses - this has been sitting in my drafts for an embarrassingly long time - might end up being a collection of loosely connected one shots - tropes: post tfatws!bucky, practical magic vibes, there's a cat, slow burn? maybe? - status: first part done, some more scenes written

death becomes him - steve rogers x grim reaper!reader - inspired by a mix of meet joe black, elisabeth (the musical, not the movie), the fairy tale godfather death, and the show dead like me - this is such a weird idea and i need to write it so bad - tropes: canon-compliant-ish, slow burn, artist!steve, will probably include time jumps, dark-ish for obvious reasons - status: random scenes written

tomorrow - steve rogers x reader - inspired by the river song storyline in doctor who - (yes you read that right) - i love using my most random au ideas for steve, i think this works so well and i'm so excited about it - tropes: opposing timelines, kind of slow burn kind of established relationship, goes through steve's entire mcu timeline - status: scenes written, writing time shenanigans is tiring if that's all you do though :')

ghost light - lighthouse keeper!steve rogers x reader - (yeah) - this one is so random but i cannot stop thinking about it - tropes: retired!steve, maybe a little angsty but it's fine really, either writer!reader or barista!reader - status: vibes and like two paragraphs

mirror's image - endings, beginnings!frank x reader - fic based on "why'd you only call me when you're high" by the arctic monkeys - tropes: fwb, drug consumption, angst and spice, idk if this will have a happy ending or not - status: about one third done

✩ series / AUs

dear heart, it's me - anthology based on the amazing devil's album "the horror and the wild" - listen for vibes 😌 - will probably posted for a milestone celebration - pairings include: stucky, bucky barnes x reader, natasha romanoff x reader, wanda maximoff x reader, jefferson x reader, steve harrington x reader (more tbd) - status: one fic stuck in revision, three more started, real excited for one additional one atm

nothing else will do - continuation/expansion of my rewritten drabble - think medieval-ish fantasy vibes, once upon a time with some princess bride thrown in there - pairings include: outlaw/pirate!steve rogers x reader, knight!bucky barnes x reader - status: lots of daydreaming and some random scenes put onto paper

occupy my brain - continuing these two drabbles - ransom drysdale x reader - there will be at least two more chapters but i am aiming to keep this one short and sweet - status: it’s more or less planned out, if only someone would finish writing it down that’d be great

come fly with me - introducing my pilot!bucky au!! - i’m not sure where it came from either but i’m having fun and it grew out of my control fast - series of connected one shots within the same universe - (i also have plans for sam and steve with this one!!) - status: not a priority rn, but i have a couple of ideas floating around my brain

read you like a book - library au!! - you’ve already been introduced to this universe’s bucky and steve and i love them dearly - status: again, not a priority at the moment but they’re coming

something bout you - beloved - ngl returning to this one is probably gonna hurt but i still want it to exist - college au steve rogers x reader - this is my childhood friends fake dating au that i made up for ren - status: hopefully i will return to this one day after tat is done

i feel awkward tagging people in this but do feel free to reblog this and do tell me about your favourites lmao okay have a nice weekend 🫶🏼

[ronaldono-sense]

Doubts 'bout Cyclonopedia: does these mean anything?

Reza Negarestani's most famous book, Cyclonopedia (2008), is a hard one to get through. Far from impossible, though. Even if you're not following its threads closely, the main theme isn't all that missable—not by a long shot.

Perhaps I'm too invested in the book's world to be able to surmise it neatly; perhaps to do so is against its core message(s). If you have read it already, you can skip this paragraph, but if you're reading this post because you're interested in it, just give it a shot. If the preface (named 'incognitum hactenus') doesn't hook you in, maybe leave it for now. Alas, if you'd still like to be given something to chew on, its premise is that the Middle East, as a geopolitical entity, is alive; its petroil is not only sentient but also the lubrificant that gets the deleuzoguattarian Body without Organs all lubbed up and smooth so the chains flying out of these Lament Configurations called war-machines can have a good time channeling us to the Insurrectionary Other.

If you're familiar with SF at all, you'll excuse Cyclonopedia habit of presenting its terminology and lingo first, with explanations later. But you also can have it as a philosophical treatise, and a serious one at that. It has a credible bibliography, and the book's reinterpretations of its source materials are not unprecedented, either. For example, when it says the Middle East is alive, and all that jazz about oil, it is getting that off of a certain Dr. Parsani, so heavily quoted, matter of fact, you'd think he's not real, but a Theory-Fiction fabrication. But that's just not the case.

I absented myself from doing any 'behind the scenes' research on Cyclonopedia, though. At least, for now. I finished it some weeks ago and am currently past the 200-page mark of Fanged Noumena. But it still has its little mysteries, and I still wonder what these Plot Holes are yet successfully withholding from me. And that's what I need help with.

Assuming you have read it, you know Cyclonopedia doesn't tell you everything. Quick example: 'incognitum hactenus' gives the reader two links, but it doesn't tell what they're for. It matters little, nonetheless: one is a time zone converter and the other is a Not Found page (unless you erase part of it so you're directed to a 'Computer Science student web server'?).

But, of course, there's more. There's the '2th 3St', 2 and S being character's names, but still, it doesn't come up again in this equation form, so what's up with that?

Following, I give the ones that really stuck with me along these weeks I thought I put it to rest. Needless to say, this is a cry for help.

I. This footnote:

II. This other footnote, which might be Persian:

III. Also this one:

IV. On page 39 (and the previous one), you see these strings of 'random' bracketed numbers (the footnote talks about PGPs):

V. And finally, there's a footnote on page 37 where someone (Reza?) is at the hotel room 302, bothered by someone (the preface's author) wearing a DFA 1979 shirt. But if we go back to the preface, it is she who is at the 302 room. There, you read:

// SSS ['S' is the same person Reza? is adressing in the 37 footnote] Try to change my room as 302 is really getting to me. There is someone [Reza?] in the window across the way who keeps looking at me.

//

I'm wondering if this is an overlook (it seems that way), or a time-space shenanigans scenario, since the preface gives us this graph:

I'm sure other minor things could also be adressed, and even these ones shouldn't make too much of a difference, if at all, but—at the same time I don't want to sign up a reddit account to ask this, and will therefore shout into the tumblr void—engaging in a community manner with Cyclonopedia, CCRU or CCRU-adjacent material is, probably, the better way to do it and proceed.

[commaclear]

Holy crap???????

I very recently started reading (most?) of the stories you have wrote on Ao3 and I'm in love. Marry me?? I'll give you a plastic spider ring I got for 25 cents.

Anyways, I aspire to be an author and was mostly wanting to know, how do you continue??

I have so many little ideas that float in my mind and I don't know how to keep writing after getting through one paragraph.

-Turtle-shell anon.

Oh dear, unfortunately I'm sworn to only marry Danny Devito...

Okay, I've got a lot to say abt this apparently. I was originally just gonna write some quick tips and it somehow turned into a full essay lol

#5 is my top suggestion for anyone who's feeling uninspired or stuck. Stories are driven by their characters, so let them lead the way!

1. Write your ideas down as soon as you have them

I've got about five or six tiny notebooks stowed away in different places (purse, desk, bedside table, etc.), and as soon as I have any kind of story idea, I start writing it down as soon as I can, otherwise I tend to lose it or lose my enthusiasm abt it, and it's harder to keep steam later on. I do this with ideas for future stories, ideas for dialogue five chapters from now, random descriptions of scenes, just literally anything that pops into my head.

Like dream journaling makes your dreams more vivid, the more you write down your ideas, the more ideas you'll start having! It's like unclogging a dam.

Also, physical writing is always better for me than typing when I get stuck because kinetic movement engages the brain more, so I have a few full size journals too to write longer ideas in.

2. Start stories even if you know you won't finish them

Writing is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more stamina you build up. So starting on stories, even if you don't know where you're going or know you won't finish is still productive because you're exercising that muscle and making it stronger. And who knows? Maybe you'll come back years later and finish this story brilliantly!

3. Download WriteorDie2

Write or Die is a horrific torture device for writers, but it is genuinely helpful for me to power through pointless writer's block or procrastination stints. Even when I feel completely uninspired, suddenly I find I'm full of ideas when threatened with screeching violin spiders.

4. Get a hype man

A big reason writers lose steam on projects is you start listening too much to the internal critic, and you end up hating your own project when you've barely even started. The best way to combat this is to get a non-writer friend to read your stuff and tell you everything they like about it. Ask them to say specific things they liked, not just vague "Yeah, it's good!" because specific positive feedback is always more encouraging than generic platitudes.

5. Do free form character PoV word-dumps

Get out a journal. Set a seven-minute timer and start writing in the voice of your main character (or whatever character is most relevant), like they're making a diary entry or giving a soliloquy. Your pencil cannot stop moving until the timer ends. Just keep writing and ignore any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Have your character dump out all their thoughts and feelings and insecurities, have them rant and cry, have them giggle and blush and kick their feet, or maybe they're still masking their feelings and trying to be strong. Just write in their voice, and you'll be surprised by what they have to say.

6. Explain your story to a rubber ducky

If you're stuck in a plot and don't know where to go, explain your whole plot to a rubber ducky. Make sure you go into all the intricacies and details, explain all the side characters and background lore, tell that ducky where you want your story to go next and why you're stuck.

8 times out of 10, simply talking out loud through your plot will get you thinking differently, and you'll unstick yourself. And it doesn't have to be a rubber ducky; it can be literally anything with a face, but trust me, it is important that is has a face, and you need to be talking out loud, even if it's just a whisper.

[dcviated]

MUNDAY: GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Respond to the following prompts out of character, then tag others you'd like to get to know a little bit better!

ROLEPLAYER NAME: bear! or will, I don't mind being referred to by my real name but even my wife calls me bear most of the time, so-

ROLEPLAYER PRONOUNS: he/him

MUSE NAME: I feel the mainstays will always be Wylan, Raguna, and Eira. But many many others-

PREFERRED COMMUNICATION: As needed. I'm low maintenance while still considering us 'in contact'. But I do love getting sent random bits as relevant and commentary on threads. I can be short or slow on replies at times though. Discord all the way over tumblr IM.

EXPERIENCE: Back when I was 15 or 16 on forums. I did some avatar games that had roleplay baked into it as well that were good. Did a lot of RP in warcraft back during BC to WOTLK, but could not get into it in FFXIV. Tumblr has been my favorite place to write, by far. I love getting into longer form. On that note-

PREFERRED ROLEPLAY TYPE: Literate paragraphs! I can't stay bantering in short stuff to save my life. Like a leak I inevitably switch over to having a paragraph. Then two. Maybe three. I'm pretty comfy around the 300-500 word length on my replies. I get intimidated when they get consistently longer and writer's block starts to lay its bricks.

PET PEEVES & DEALBREAKERS: An inability to meet halfway when plotting is brought up. I don't like being waited on like it's my responsibility to come up with a compelling plot that I suspect you'll half-ass reply to. Have some advocation for what you want. Otherwise ... yeah.

Also an overabundance of context-less dash commentary. Particularly connected to their discord happenings. Some blogs feel less 'indie' and more pseudo-group related. And if you're not involved good luck.

PLOTS OR MEMES: I like to think I'm pretty good rolling with the punches! I can do memes, random asks, and memes and ad-libbing a situation out of a few back and forth banters is really amusing. It's also easier than front-loading a ton of plotting that may or may not be realized anyway. Letting events happen off the cuff feels more dynamic and allows more surprises for both writing parties. <:

That said, don't mind plotting whatsoever! So long as the other person actually wants it and isn't going through the motion of it because it's 'what people do'. Also... I hope they're ready for the long game if so? Like they want to let the plot play out and not just making a plot and then jumping to the end of it.

Pre-establish-jutsu is not plotting!!

LONG REPLIES OR SHORT REPLIES: Middle?? Both?? There's a time for everything but like I said before I'm a fan of 300-500 words for my replies. Sometimes I like them shorter, others longer. But we're biasing towards the 'long' given when a lot of what's in vogue as of late.

BEST TIME TO WRITE: Whenever I can put my adhd into proper submission. I like writing at the office (after I have my work for the day handled) because it separates me from the usual distractions but we can only be so strong...

I like writing earlier in the day! I feel like my best work is done in the mornings, after all. And the head is clearer before I've hit lunch. So on weekends where I don't have plans and I can make myself sit down at a keyboard before everyone else is around, that's just great.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSES: Like any good oc writer, I pull out little pieces of myself and cram them into other beings to irreversibly corrupt them not unlike a certain villain from a certain manga. People have called me dad in the past... perhaps that fits better than I thought.

tagged by: @triinitas (thank!!) tagging: gosh this one has gone around a few times, steal it if you like!

[kribuki]

LOOKING FOR ATTACK ON TITAN LITERATE-ADVANCE LITERATE RP PARTNERS [OCs welcomed]

Henlo! I'm Kri, in my early 20s, in the CET (GMT+1) timezone, literate to advance literate, 1500~ keystrokes, 300~ words, third person perspective, past tense, only use Discord and absolutely love to dive in details and characters' psychology. I'm an enthusiastic and hyper writer who might annoy you with headcanons, plot-relatable clips, ideas and memes so I'm not for the weak hearts (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

We might be a good match if:

You're around my age or older (20+ y.o.).

You are not looking for smut-centered roleplays. I'm okay with smut and NSFW, but when it's only that, it gets boring, honestly.

You're active: I'd appreciate if you can at least send a couple replies every week. Of course, I completely understand if you'll be busy, just tell me in advance. I'll do the same.

You're literate to advanced literate, meaning that you can give me a good amount of text like two+ paragraphs. Though, quantity isn't everything. I prefer quality and if you give me details, psychology, description and all the good stuff, we're gonna be besties.

You can write multiple characters and multiple couples: my style of writing evolves around many characters, since it's a nice way to insert drama and chaos. I'd love if we could write more than one couple. It can be considered as doubling, but maybe it's closer to mumu, since I prefer the ships to be written in the same story rather than having a complete different rp.

You like to mix different genres: romance is a must for me; it will always be there either as the main plot or subplot, but I also love to include many other genres, such as action, thriller, psychological, drama, fluff, angst, gore, fantasy, even comedy.

You're okay with mature and dark themes (dead dove: do not eat): I'm not going to write sugar coated stories, I like to write and explore many themes and they include possibly disturbing ones. I don't want to traumatize anyone, so, if you want to write with me, be prepared. I do not have triggers, although my only objections are adult x minor ships and incest. You may talk with me about your triggers and I'll gladly respect them.

You are open to both canonverse and AUs: I personally prefer AUs (alternative universes), since I believe they allow more freedom and creativity. Examples could be medieval, royalty, knights, monsters, ghosts, gangsters, professional hitmen, mafia, car racers.

You'll match my energy and don't mind OOC (out of character) chatting: like I said earlier, I get very excited and will most likely send you random stuff related to the story for fun, and I love it when people can match my energy and spam me with content. It helps me keep my interest up and also gets me emotionally attached to our story. Moreover, I would really appreciate if you could be honest with me. I wish for both of us to enjoy the story we are writing so if you lost interest, if you want to change/drop it, please let me know instead of ghosting me.

Ships I'm interested writing

Only MxF ships. In bold are the characters I'll write. If both are in bold, it means I can write either of them. ♡ = prefered

Ships I'm looking for:

Pieck x Jean Kirstein

Pieck x male Hange/Hanji

♡ Nanaba x Mike/Miche Zacharius

f!OC x Levi Ackerman

f!OC x Jean

♡ f!OC x Mike/Miche Zacharias

♡ f!OC x Furlan Church

Ships I can write:

Erwin Smith x f!OC

Kenny Ackerman x f!OC

Zeke Yeager x Pieck / f!OC

Eren Yeager x Mikasa / f!OC

Mikasa x Jean

Reiner x Historia / Annie / f!OC

Bertholdt x Annie / f!OC

Porco Galliard x Pieck / f!OC

Nile Dock x Marie / f!OC

Petra x Oruo

Eld Gin × f!OC

Please keep in mind I do want one of my main characters to be a female. My other characters can be of any gender. I'm open to any ship if you want to write an OC. Those listed are the ones I'm most confident writing, but you can always ask. I'll put the same effort in all the ships and couples, unless we decide otherwise, and I'm not going to cast anyone or any ship aside because I love including many characters and see different dynamics.

Ok, I'll stop here and thank you for reading through this long post! If you're interested feel free to dm me, if you've got any questions I'll gladly enlight you. I look forward to meet you! (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

[armentas]

WIP Questionnaire

Thanks so much to @orphanheirs for tagging me; this looks so fun and I loved your answers. I'll be responding for my main WIP, Haven!

What's the first part of your WIP that you created?

Easily my characters. Heather has existed since I was 12 years old, and Beau and Erin have more or less existed since I was 6! I would just daydream about them getting into random situations to pass the time, really. I'd tried putting them in badly written middle school fantasy stories before realizing that coming of age was the most natural thing for them.

If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Oh, I have a whole playlist for songs I'd want to be used! I honestly haven't decided on an intro song, but I definitely know the theme song and end credits song. I'd consider the theme to be Last Chance by CHPTRS, both the vibe and the lyrics are just too perfect. "This could be my last chance" is pretty much the whole thing behind Haven, AND the line of "hold me in the grip of your arms" becoming more and more desperate because of how much Heather misses her brother and wants to cherish this miracle of being with him again... I would be lying if I said that hadn't made me cry a few times. Though the lyrics are more depressing than I'd want for the end credits, for that category, I would still easily choose i have no sense of what home is by ativansocial. It feels like a childhood hug on a warm, dark summer night where things aren't okay, but they will be, which is exactly how I'd want the end to feel.

What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

Oh, can I answer for multiples WIPs? Because Heather is definitely one, but I could easily go on about Celio and Charity too lol. For Heather, the top thing is she's just a really raw person who's easy to relate to, to the point it may even be uncomfortable for the reader sometimes. I think a good example of me trying to utilize this would be an excerpt I wrote where she's reliving the time she was 13ish, Beau was still in the hospital for his car accident, and no one was letting her go see him yet. There's a paragraph or two describing how she's jealous of him for his accident, thinking how she wishes she'd end up in the hospital so people would get her flowers, too. This is the kind of thing where we know it's not great to feel that way, but most of us have probably experienced something similar. We want our own traumas to be louder so they're "heard", and we may especially lack that understanding of other people's issues as children. And that's a big part of Heather's journey: gaining understanding. She doesn't always think or do or say good things, but you get what place she's coming from.

I've decided since that was a big paragraph, I won't get into my other characters, but anyone's free to lmk and I'll drop some info!

What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

My first thought is Omori since that was a big inspiration when this project was still new. This is also an obscure movie, but if anyone's watched the movie As You Are, I think they'd like both Haven and my other story, The Day You Left. Honestly, I don't consume enough media to say in too much detail. If you like your heart being ripped out, you'll probably like Haven.

What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

The plotting!! I always know character arcs first and then weave a plot around where I want people heading, but I've been out of inspo lately, I guess? Or just lazy about brainstorming. That's most likely. I know the most major story beat of Beau's accident but that's practically it, though there's probably potential behind giving Heather some extra new childhood experiences, and being decisive on stuff (aka trauma) for Erin. Not too much is going on with Erin at this moment.

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

Unfortunately not! For some reason, despite being a mega animal lover irl, I've rarely been good at giving my characters pets. If they aren't directly relevant to plot or theme, I usually end up forgetting about them over and over until I decide to just scrap them. It wouldn't work for Heather and Beau anyways; I know for sure Heather's probably tried to bring an animal home, and Beau would've told her it's too much responsibility.

How do your characters travel/get around?

Heather does have her learner's permit, but she doesn't get that much use out of it before she's sent to her child self's body and can't reach the pedals lol. One of her big hobbies is rollerskating, so she mainly relies on that to get around during the story's events. Meanwhile, for Beau, he avoids driving himself anywhere since his accident, so he usually hitches a ride from Erin or someone else.

What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

That's a good question, actually. Kind of just anything and everything, but like I said for the other question, extra plot beats and fleshing out Erin are my main priorities. I know who Erin is, but I only have vague ideas of why she is the way she is. I also get really indecisive with how I want her to be influencing the story exactly (sometimes she's a Heather antagonist, sometimes she's a helper, sometimes she's both), so nailing down core stuff for her would also automatically nail down her role and make that easier.

What aspects (tropes, maybe?) do you think will draw your audience in?

Coming of age is usually pretty grounded in reality and maintains a fairly casual/upbeat vibe even when some not-so-great events happen (at least in my experience with it), so I think people will be curious about the more intense subject matter, how I personally answer difficult questions, and the surreal twist on the genre. I use the word surreal a lot because I wouldn't personally call Heather suddenly waking up in the past "fantasy"'? The narrative isn't about explaining how it works in the first place, it's just supposed to be...weird lol. I also always lean a lot on complex character development, so I'm hoping that, from the blurb, people will think "there should be interesting characters in a story like this" and read it for that.

What are your hopes for your WIP?

My biggest goal is to make it a fully operational interactive fiction game! The reader would be playing as Heather, putting both her and Beau's fates in their hands for that extra stress. The game could even include some art, too, but I'd have to see what feels right once I actually got started.

I could probably write more on that last paragraph but my sleep meds are kicking in lol! Tagging: @themboty @sidhewrites @lavender-laney @nrivanwrites and everyone that's interested!

[kairiscorner]

HI ATE!! (idk if ur older LMAO) im planning to write a fanfic! slayyyy, ive never wrote anything before, im an artist, i draw stuff, but my artworks arent that entertaining to post i guess? so i wanted to know if you had any writing tips that you could give! ty if you ever decide to reply to this!

HI OMG I'M SO PROUD <:DDD i'm looking forward to your fics, and as for tips, here's some i hope would be helpful :DD

write what you know/are familiar with most to start. writing can start to feel more fun, in my experience, when you're writing about things you understand or (also like me) are delulu and imagine a lot about :D

don't hinder your imagination if it serves the plot. fantasizing about where your plot will go is actually super helpful, and very fun! i do recommend not to add fillers though if they don't have any impact on the story, like side plots that go nowhere or random dialogue that doesn't serve any purpose to further the story or the characters' motivations ^^

liven your vocabulary. like many other authors here, i find it generally more pleasing to have more unique and plentiful ways on how to describe a characters' actions or thoughts, even describing parts on a character can be worded in longer or more unique ways! don't confuse it too much though, and i suggest not to use the same word twice when it's just been mentioned--maybe after a paragraph or two can you mention it again ^^

develop your style. like in art, writers have their own styles of writing, for example, mine is usually very descriptive and thought-provoking (wow ang yabang ni ate girl) and usually, i'll focus on the dialogue and description of the situation and story, so generally, my works are a little longer than i expect them to be ^^ you don't have to copy other writers' styles to get better though, what you can do is draw inspiration from them and ask yourself 'what is it i want my story to have?' you can try experimenting with dialogue, scenery descriptions, character descriptions, flashbacks, narration--keep trying, and you'll get to where you want to be eventually :DD

ask for feedback. this is one of the most important tips i have, because reaching out to a bigger audience about your work will help you see where your strengths and weaknesses lie. getting opinions from other people can help you accommodate many others into your works, too, through their suggestions and criticisms ^^

take breaks. this, i struggle with, so i'm kind of hypocritical for suggesting this :'D but if you ever feel like you're stuck in a certain point in the story or that you have to rush to post a story, please don't force yourself to finish it and rush, you might have a lot of regrets about the final product 😭😭😭take time to think about yourself first, then your story <:)

that's all i can think of right now, i'm really hoping your fic comes out well! i'm sure it will >:)) good luck !!

[bokettochild]

How do you Get The Words Out? I keep trying to write fic cause I get a GREAT IDEA and then after an hour of wrestling with it I get a few paragraphs of crappy dialogues hue and clumsy narration and then I never can get going on it again

Honestly, that;'s how I started out too!

Look at the original TBBU! There was no real direction. I sat out and wrote a whole outline in one night, and then went and royally screwed myself over by trying to add more. There are plot-holes everywhere, inconsistencies between one chapter and the next, and countless out-of-character moments, and yet?

This fic has so many comments, kudos and followers!

I wrote this by just churning out random moments and conversations. None of it was good, looking back, but it was loved. And that's the key-

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE GOOD!

The reason this was enjoyed was because I enjoyed writing it! People like it (I assume) because I was just over here having fun and doing my thing and not caring how it looked or sounded, as long as it made me happy. So yeah, just write what you want!

There's information that needs telling but you don't want to write it being discovered? Gloss over the discovery with some quick narration or a character quickly saying they found it out because *reason* and move on to what you want!

And honestly, when I run out of words, or get stuck, I just get up and start acting out the scene and see where my mind and impulses take me. Long, drawn out arguments? Okay, I've played it out, now here are the key points in that argument to include, the rest is clipped for time and thus the scene flows better.

Action scenes?

I'm living on a prayer, please don't ask about those. I honestly que up Skillet or something and pray I can do something half-decent. Ask my family; fight scenes have never been my strong-suit, and there's a whole joke between my siblings about my abysmal fight writing.

To be honest, I get writer's block all the time. But I spend my days folding shirts and it gets super boring, quite frankly, so I can only go so long before my brain creates some story to keep my rotting brain active at work.

Sometimes I also start writing, work an hour, have a couple thousand words, and never come back because it's dragging on, I don't know where it's going, or it bugs me. I swear, I've got to have at least thirty unreleased/unpublished fics because they just.... didn't come to me.

To close though; writing is a process. Don't expect your first fic to be good, so just have fun. Don't expect to know what you're doing EVER, because no you don't. Just write. You'll learn with time what suits you and what you like, you'll improve and you'll look back and you'll cringe, but you'll also smile. Sometimes you will hit a slump, others you won't have enough time or fast enough fingers, but whatever the case it, remember; fic is for fun, and if you lose that, there's no point.

Write for you. Do what YOU want, and if it isn't Tolkien? Well no one ever wanted it to be!

[qs63]

Fullmetal Alchemist: The abducted alchemist

Time for another FMA novel review!

This one much like the previous novel, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Land of Sand, happens in early canon. That means the brothers are still searching for the stone, however this particular novel focuses on a Military case and is very Roy centric — which admittedly is what I'm here for.

Spoilers ahead!

The story follows mostly Ed and Roy as they investigate a series of seemingly random bombing on the railways by a group of terrorists. The plot is quite simple, there aren't any big surprises or particularly memorable side characters. What this has is a lot of comedy and banter, which in my opinion is its saving grace.

There are a lot of funny moments: Roy being a shameless flirt, team Mustang interrogating him about a supposed "son", Havoc terrorizing Breda and Al with a car, Ed going ballistic about his height, Ed pretending to be Roy's son. The paternal Roy-Ed angle is played A LOT throughout the novel, so if you like this you'll have plenty to enjoy. I'm personally not a fan of it, but as it's mainly played for comedic relief it didn't bother me as much as I would've expected.

The best part of this story, for me, were the small Royai moments. You have Riza bringing Roy tea, the two of them discussing strategy alone, obligatory questioning of their past and guilt, and the two of them trying to save each from the same target. It really made me smile.

The worst part of this was Roy and Ed teaming up. It's very obvious the author ran into the same issue Arakawa did while writing the Promised Day arc. Roy is too dang OP so if you leave him alone he'll steal all the thunder from Ed. No, unlike Arakawa's own elegant solution (to blind him for the final fight) the author just inexplicably powered down Roy's abilities and alchemy.

There's a whole paragraph explaining how Roy can't hit the big bad because he's carrying a gun and ammunition on his back, saying that his skills aren't good enough not to hit him without setting off the ammunition. This novel was of course written before we had seen the whole might of Roy's flame alchemy, but that explanation rings so wrong and hollow after seeing Roy burn Envy's tongue and eyes with such accuracy that it was scary…

I wish the authors had found a less bullshit way to have Ed be the one to save the day with his automail blade.

The lack of understanding of Roy's past and abilities is also very noticeable in his final punchline to the terrorist leader, where he said something that almost made me put down the book entirely: "You know the difference between us? We don't use kids and money to try to win people's hearts. We kill, but we don't hate."

Considering all the evil the military did in Ishval and later, and how Roy himself burned innocent children, women, elderly during the war, that phrase left a terrible taste in my mouth.

In conclusion, the Abducted Alchemist is a funny story, worth reading if you want some mindless banter between the brothers and team Mustang. That being said, the plot is quite weak,and the lack of understanding of the characters — especially of Roy — did put a damper on my enjoyment of the story. For all this, it gets a 6.5/10 from me.

[rowarn]

sorry i wasn't specific with my ask! if you could just give me some ideas on how you get your inspo and word usage, that's mostly what i'm looking for! anything is appreciated though, thank youu. :))

RIGHT ON! its okay, i would have given random tips but i wasnt sure if there was something specific you were looking for!

my inspo largely comes from other media. tv shows, movies, edits, fucking character ai bots, other fics; literally anything that i enjoy i typically wind up using in my fics. its not for me personally but plenty of people get inspired by music! songs and music videos

other fics are excellent inspo bc u can see how readers respond to tropes that they've done. age gap, dilf, aus, and stuff like that. its also rlly great to see characterization. as long as you're not plagiarizing then emulating and learning from other writers who are doing the same thing you do or want to do is excellent. i love reading fics hehe

ik that sounds like super basic and boring but having a repertoire of existing tropes and stuff is super great!

as for word usage, it's all super subjective bc my tastes and stuff will not match up for everyone. but if u like how i write and want to emulate it then there are a few things i can say! i focus mostly on smut and dialogue.

first, it's important to have a good vocabulary. knowing synonyms to words you want to say is important. u don't want to have a paragraph that uses the same word over and over again, you want to break it up and make it mentally appealing to read. it won't be interesting to readers if you don't expand your vocab!

i am primarily a smut writer so that's where most of my focus is on intentional word usage. all my narration and plot is pretty basic i'd say. nothing incredibly special except for my dialogue which i put a lot of thought into.

i don't use metaphors that much. so, say, for smut u won't catch me using "globes" in reference to tits. i much prefer to just come out and say breasts, tits, chest.

i also don't use like Correct anatomy language. so i don't use penis, testicles, vagina or clitoris. i use.......porn language bc that's what im writing; cock, pussy, cunt, clit. just to keep it......erotic bc i personally (again, subjective) find correct anatomy language to be more off-putting than erotic.

smut is where it becomes difficult to use broad language. there's only so many words you can use for a dick. so don't be afraid to bust out some wattpad words u know? length, member, etc. ik they can sometimes be cringey and u don't like them but use them at the right time and using it sparingly and most ppl won't rlly notice. it breaks up reading the word cock and dick over and over and over again for 2k words.

for some examples,

for dicks u can use; dick, cock, member, shaft, length

for the puth u can do; pussy, cunt, folds, core, sex isn't bad

clit i use clit, bud, and nub mostly...but ppl use pearl or button, i don't but it doesn't bother me when i see it

i also don't use flowery language. i know in creative writing or whatever it's common to use poetic word usage but i find it to be more confusing than anything. i can't read rlly flowery fics bc the meaning of what im reading just genuinely gets lost. it's all lost on me. i'd say im a much more direct writer with my words and scenes? i utilize a fair bit of narration and exposition in my writing.

i find dialogue style to be quite important. if you read my stuff (like the fics, we dont look at my word vomit LMAOOO) you'll usually see i make the characters talk in specific ways.

simon cuts off his words "goin'" instead of "going", "somethin'" instead of "something", like that. i dont use a ton of language to depict his accent other than that, i leave the leg work mostly up to the readers bc they know what he sounds like. but some writers do like british slang, "wanker", "mate", "innit" LMAO i just don't and thats my choice. i choose to just cut his words off and call it a day. he has a more casual way of speaking in Taking What You Need as compared to konig in Experience.

konig, in Experience, has a specific way of talking as well that is opposite to simon. he doesn't use contractions. i did that intentionally bc i wanted him to have a more intimidating, professional, cold kind of way of talking. "do not do it" comes across different than "don't do it"!

i personally would say that a large part of my characterization comes across in dialogue and the style of dialogue i choose. i think that makes it more enjoyable for readers!

all in all, i basically just emulate what i personally like to see in writing. that's how i keep finding it enjoyable. i love giving fics for ppl to read but if i didn't write straight up what I wanted to see then the actual physical task of writing would be a lot worse.

idk how helpful this was since i basically just told u.....what i like to do LMAOOOO but i hope it gives u some kind of idea of what i focus on and how i get my writing to be the way it is?

EDIT: important that i also use inclusive language to the best of my abilities!

instead of saying like "your cheeks turned red" i use "you feel your cheeks heat up" or something along those lines since people with darker skin tones won't have their cheeks turn red when they blush!! but feeling your cheeks BURN is smthn we've all experienced.

i also try not to use any "running your hands through your hair" bc not everyone can do that! i can't even do that i have curly hair hehe. an alternative would be pushing a stray strand out of your face or tucking some behind your ear or something like that.

also, i don't mention nipple color or vagina color or anything !