#interesting exercise

[robthegoodfellow]

Writing Patterns Game

Rules: share the first line of your last 10 published works or as many as you are able and see if there's any patterns.

Tagged by @dragonflylady77 awhile back! 💛

3DPC4EVA

A car never forgot the moment it came to—became aware.

¿Por qué no Halloween?

The line outside Club Quarry snaked around the block, an impatient technicolor parade of glitter and sequins, leather and feathers—and skin.

Only One Bed

Eddie got a job bartending at the Hideout a couple months before he finally graduated—third time’s the charm—in large part because the owner, Sam, was a close friend of the family.

A Little Death Do Us Part

Billy had been dead for four days when Steve finally made a breakthrough, muffled cracks as bones restitched and the crushed chest cavity filled, the rasp of rusted lungs expanding with breath.

Step Up

The divorce was finalized around Christmas, which is when Steve resolved to tell Robin.

Step 9

Steve didn’t know what he’d been expecting until the bells above the diner door let out a merry jingle—and there he was.

I'm Glad My Dad Died

Billy had a secret: he was glad his dad was dead.

Here I Go Again

Billy’d been warned against stopping in Stark County, but when you gotta go, you gotta go—and anyway, he was running low on gas.

Drummer Boy

Billy had always been a side sleeper, one hand wedged beneath his pillow—or tucked under his ear to hear the thrum of his pulse, steady and lulling on good nights, thudding fast on others, a dull roar that drowned out the shouts through the wall if he listened hard.

For My Baby, For My Man

Steve felt like a real asshole when Robin asked out of the blue one day, maybe a month after he and Billy became roommates, if the guy was paying part of his rent in labor.

no pressure tags (sorry if you already did this back when the game swept through originally): @imsodishy @ihni @shieldofiron @fizzigigsimmer @adelacreations

@suometar @spaceofentropy

[thebibutterflyao3]

Writing Patterns

List the first line of your last 10 (or however many you have) posted fics and see if there's a pattern.

Thanks for the tag @samynnad102687

Rugby to Rugburn | Explicit | 2,222 words | Jegulus

It started at their niece’s eighth birthday party.

Backpacking | Mature | 2,279 words | Dorlene

Marlene batted at the visor on her helmet as she pulled up behind Sirius at the traffic light.

James Potter vs. Tik Tok Leggings | Mature | 3470 words | Jegulus

Pandora skipped across the room and held out a gift bag with a wide grin on her face. “Happy Birthday, Reg!”

You Had Me at Meow | Mature | 5,383 words | Jegulus

“Are you following me?” James teased, glancing over his shoulder at the tiny black kitten chasing his heels.

Simps & Feral Squirrels | Mature | 19,272 words | Multi-ships Texting

So Sirius created a new group chat and named group chat Corrupt the Youth.

Light Me Up | Teen | 5,228 words | Nobleflower

Alice nodded excitedly as Frank explained the strategy for tonight’s quidditch match.

Fairy-Tale Sweets | Explicit | 100,180 words | Dorlene

Anya was back for the third time in two weeks, her ex-girlfriend was sitting in her office at the rear of the book shop.

Promise Me One Thing | Mature | 3,582 words | Wolfstar

Sirius twirled his wand over his fingers and chewed his bottom lip.

He’s Your Problem Now | Mature | 5,603 words | Wolfstar

“Fuck me,” Remus whispered, grimacing at the sharp pain in his shoulder.

Positive Reinforcement | Teen | 1,852 words | Jegulus

The back of the library was their favourite place to hide.

The Catfish & The King | Explicit | 144,213 words | Wolfstar/Jegulus

“Just a heads up, the boss is coming in today,” Dorcas warned, leaning against the doorway to the office that no one seemed to use.

***Open Tag! Feel free to post yours!***

[inkskinned]

i love when words fit right. seize was always supposed to be that word, and so was jester. tuesday isn't quite right but thursday should be thursday, that's a good word for it. daisy has the perfect shape to it, almost like you're laughing when you say it; and tulip is correct most of the time. while keynote is fun to say, it's super wrong - i think they have to change the label for that one. but fox is spot-on.

most words are just, like, good enough, even if what they are describing is lovely. the night sky is a fine term for it but it isn't perfect the way november is the correct term for that month.

it's not just in english because in spanish the phrase eso si que es is correct, it should be that. sometimes other languages are also better than the english words, like how blue is sloped too far downwards but azul is perfect and hangs in the air like glitter. while butterfly is sweet, i think probably papillion is more correct, although for some butterflies féileacán is much better. year is fine but bliain is better. sometimes multiple languages got it right though, like how jueves and Πέμπτη are also the right names for thursday. maybe we as a species are just really good at naming thursdays.

and if we were really bored and had a moment and a picnic to split we could all sit down for a moment and sort out all the words that exist and find all the perfect words in every language. i would show you that while i like the word tree (it makes you smile to say it), i think arbor is correct. you could teach me from your language what words fit the right way, and that would be very exciting (exciting is not correct, it's just fine).

i think probably this is what was happening at the tower of babel, before the languages all got shifted across the world and smudged by the hand of god. by the way, hand isn't quite right, but i do like that the word god is only 3 letters, and that it is shaped like it is reflecting into itself, and that it kind of makes your mouth move into an echoing chapel when you cluck it. but the word god could also fit really well with a coathanger, and i can't explain that. i think donut has (weirdly) the same shape as a toothbrush, but we really got bagel right and i am really grateful for that.

grateful is close, but not like thunder. hopefully one day i am going to figure out how to shape the way i love my friends into a little ceramic (ceramic is very good, almost perfect) pot and when they hold it they can feel the weight of my care for them. they can put a plant in there. maybe a daisy.

[glorfy-the-bright-haired-ellon]

The ‘it’s Viktor’ moment is lit and framed in such a way that reminds me of the dialogue screens in Patho 2 so here's a crossover as a little treat for me and the 5 other people who share my brainrot

[obsob]

despite, despite, despite!!

[siggiedraws]

Sonic is fundamentally unrelatable and unrealistic - and that's a good thing

I want to address a common sentiment in the fandom that I've seen countless times over the years - the idea that Sonic should be more humanlike. Specifically, the idea that Sonic should have more human traits, such as anxiety or insecurities, that make him emotionally vulnerable in some way.

I have always felt that this sentiment strips away what I love about Sonic so much—that it goes against his character as someone who is meant to be inspirational rather than relatable. From the bottom of my heart, I truly believe that making Sonic more relatable ruins his appeal and misses the entire point of what role he is meant to fulfill. Sonic being the way he is, an inhuman being that is extremely strong and unyielding mentally and emotionally, makes him an inspirational character that is appealing outside of the realm of relatability.

Please note that I am discussing Game Sonic for this essay, not any versions of Sonic from spinoff media.

(Special thanks to @blurredblu for helping me write this essay!)

Relatability =/= likeability

First, it is important to define "relatability" for the rest of the essay, as what is seen as relatable can vary across countless different cultures and lifestyles.

In this case, we are discussing facets of the human psyche. Traits such as emotional vulnerability, insecurity, or trauma are traits seen as humanlike because they imitate the depth of the human mind. They come across more realistic, and thus relatable to people in real life who have generally gone through emotional hardships.

Relatability is also considered with the implied audience in mind, according to Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses.

If relatability were somehow a goal of craft, then the question should be: How can a writer go about trying to make a piece of fiction relatable? If we mean “relatable” as sharing a reader’s experience, the first place to go is audience. We must always ask: Relatable to whom? Which brings us back to the elephant in the room—to call a manuscript “relatable” is really to make a claim about who the audience is or should be.

When writing relatability in fiction, what is important to recognize is who the target audience is. Sonic is a character that was initially created to appeal to a wide target audience, not only meant for young boys but for girls, women, and an older age range in general. When it comes to marketability however, Sonic is almost always advertised towards children, and this demographic is the most pertinent when we look at versions of Sonic written with relatability as a goal. With this idea of the target audience in mind, a character who is portrayed as young and having a childish temperament would be more relatable. The Paramount Sonic movies are a great example of a version of Sonic explicitly written to be relatable to the target demographic on a broad level, heavily influenced by the culture that the movies derive from: specifically a middle-class, suburban, small-town vision of American life. Sonic is portrayed as dependent, inexperienced, and abiding by a nuclear family structure who idolises many elements of American popular culture, such as Keanu Reeves or Marvel/DC superhero comics. Compare this to the games, where Sonic is shown to be self-supporting, wise, and living life as an unfettered vagabond, all without a trace of any pop culture utterances.

In other words, Sonic was created to be the height of unrelatability to his target audience.

It is not lost on me that the prevalent desire for Sonic to behave realistically ties into the idea that the goal of crafting a good character is to emulate realistic human characteristics. A character's relatability is what allows audiences to connect with the character, which is considered unequivocally a good thing.

What is forgotten in this rudimentary line of thinking is that characters in media need to fulfill a role. Characters are not people like you or me, but fictional creations made to serve a particular purpose. There needs to be thought put into what narrative role the character fulfills and why they are portrayed a certain way to the audience. Hence, there must be a reason for the relatability, instead of employing it haphazardly.

To quote Craft in the Real World once more:

"readers’ expectations for fiction are created by their previous experiences with fiction—in other words, by culture."

The desire for Sonic to be relatable can be attributed to people recognizing pervasive tropes present in their previous experiences with fiction, internalizing these commonalities as the correct way to write good stories, and assigning these to Sonic as a result. While I can understand the logic behind this thinking, it is crucial we don't limit our appraisal of media by saying a protagonist ought to abide by a certain limitation, when it's the breaking of rules, however rigid they are, that allow for different methods of storytelling. Sonic breaks the so-called rule that a protagonist must be relatable, and it's this unrelatability that enhances and strengthens the narrative in many Sonic games. In other words, writing Sonic in a relatable way can be a way to write him; that does not mean it is the only or correct way to do so.

We should bear in mind that there are usually financial incentives to cast characters as mentally or emotionally relatable to audiences. To create a protagonist that appeals to all audiences to maximize revenue, the solution is typically to make them broadly relatable. While this can be a successful formula, it is important to not apply it to media indiscriminately. If a myriad of works all prioritise having characters be relatable over what makes them unique, you may end up sacrificing creative integrity for the sake of following a trend. In Sonic's case, you would lose the inimitable appeal that makes him stand out. While relatability can be valuable in certain contexts, it should not dominate all other considerations of writing a character, especially when it is done for the purposes of profitability as opposed to earnestly conveying a character to, ultimately, tell a story.

What makes Sonic stand out

What, then, makes Sonic stand out as a character? His inhuman mental fortitude. In a wide and varied cast of characters such as the Sonic cast, each with their own unique emotional struggles, Sonic stands out as the sole character with no struggle. He has no weak point, no Achilles' heel. Though he is weak to water, that is only a physical weakness. Mentally, he is too strong for anything to affect him long-term.

As stated before, characters are designed to serve specific creative purposes. In Sonic's case, his striking mental resilience is to highlight other messages and characters in the story. This is because Sonic usually plays the guiding or support role in his stories. He is not the sole focus. There is always at least a second character that the story focuses on to highlight that character's problems and struggles, and how that character ends up overcoming that conflict, often with Sonic's help.

With all this in mind, would Sonic stories be improved if Sonic was, instead, a human-like character with human flaws and insecurities? Or would this muddy his core concept and require all Sonic stories to be changed unrecognizably to fit this new, different character?

Sonic has no backstory - and that's a good thing

Understand that this section is not an attack on backstories in general. For the most part, backstories provide insight into a character's motivations and personality. They are effective in accomplishing what they were meant to do - creating characters that are meant to be realistic.

Sonic is not meant to be realistic.

Yuji Naka once stated the reason behind Sonic's lack of a backstory in an interview: if you uncover all the mysteries, then the character will become uninteresting.

Very little information of Sonic's backstory has been revealed. We know that he is from Christmas Island (same interview link as above) and it is implied in the Sonic 1 manual that he and Eggman already know each other and have been regularly tussling before the events of the first game. These are vague and unspecific details that are not brought up in Sonic games at all, and for good reason.

Distance is required to portray a character who you are meant to be separate from rather than analogous to. Maintaining a certain level of mystery around Sonic creates intrigue, as a question is begged but never answered or even brought up in Sonic stories. This is because Sonic's backstory has no relevance on the narrative and delving into it is not necessary.

Sonic's motivations are simple and straightforward. He likes to run and go on adventures because it's fun. He likes to help people not out of some heroic obligation but because he wants to do what he feels is right. There is no need for a backstory to explain Sonic's motivations when they are plainly presented to you in such an uncomplicated manner, and what's on the face of it is just wholly what it is.

Sonic is also a character that remains static rather than having a major character arc. While he can grow when it comes to things that don't affect his overall character, such as Sonic learning and overcoming Shadow's Chaos Control technique in Sonic Adventure 2, he has no emotional conflict to overcome. He has been a fully realized character since the beginning of the franchise.

Compare this to a character like Tails, whose character arc is about him being bullied for his two tails in the past and being inspired by Sonic to be more confident in himself, as communicated in the Sonic 2 manual and his Sonic Adventure campaign. Divulging Tails' backstory is necessary for the improvement of Tails' circumstances and confidence levels to be effectively communicated in the story.

Fictional characters are narrative devices created to tell a story. They are not real. Again, there must be narrative reasons for them to be the way they are.

Providing Sonic's backstory would serve no narrative purpose—none that would serve the themes his stories and character are meant to serve, at any rate.

Sonic has no trauma - and that's a good thing

Upon analyzing Sonic's character in the games for so long, it has become astoundingly clear to me that Sonic does not have an ounce of mental trauma from everything he has been through. This should not be seen as a bad thing, but rather a well-thought-out and deliberate decision that serves to reinforce the role his character serves.

In the face of situations that would be considered stressful or traumatic to the average person, Sonic remains unfazed and even excited. There are countless examples of this: Sonic jumping from a plane with nothing but shrapnel to use as a surfboard in Sonic Adventure 2; Sonic expressing excitement that he's near an active volcano spewing lava in '06; Sonic exuberantly grinding over pits of lava in Black Knight; Sonic burning up with excitement at the prospect of dangerous stakes in Team Sonic Racing while everyone else seems to be concerned.

For Sonic, danger and near-death experiences are not a source of emotional struggle, but rather a source of fulfilment and joy. He lives life on the edge; the excitement of diving off of a plane or nearly falling into lava only fuels his love for life.

Additionally, Sonic also enjoys the simpler pleasures of life. Exploring the world. Reading books. Going on relaxing vacations. Racing through open fields. Life is one big adventure and Sonic is having a blast living it.

The idea of Sonic having some kind of secret, hidden trauma that he hides under the guise of a fake smile can be a fun fanon trope, but, for the purposes of canon and official Sonic stories, there are clear reasons why they should stay as fanon. If Sonic had trauma, it would undermine his unrelatability and make no sense given his role in his stories. Tropes such as Hurt/Comfort and Angst are ubiquitous when it comes to fandom culture, and this could be a case of those tropes appearing in the Sonic fandom simply due to the nature of fandom itself. Enjoying fanon in and of itself is all well and good, but advocating for it in canon will homogenize it by stripping away what is unique about the media we love.

In the end, there is no reason to believe that Sonic pretends or does not behave genuinely when it comes to expressing his true emotions. Sonic simply has nothing dark inside of his heart to hide. This is confirmed in Unleashed, where Sonic's heart is strong enough to resist the negative emotional forces of Dark Gaia without him even realizing. The subconscious nature of the action combined with his humility even leads him to initially think it to be Chip's doing. His heart is so strong and so pure that it is incorruptible by negative forces. This shows how Sonic's resolve is effortless and practically baked into who he is.

Sonic's internal strength is completely unconscious on Sonic's part. He doesn't actively try to be the way he is. He just is.

Sonic doesn't cry - you get the idea

It has become a hot topic in the fanbase in recent years that Sega once provided a revision note for Sonic to not express excessive emotion such as outwardly crying or sobbing.

This idea has generally been met with hostility and aversion from fans. However, this negative reaction has always confused me, and I hope to offer a different perspective to the issue.

Why does Sonic need to cry?

Let's expand on this argument for fairness' sake. A common rebuttal grants that Sonic doesn't usually cry. But in extremely emotionally difficult situations, such as loss or mourning, Sonic should cry because it is only natural to cry in such a situation.

Again, I want to challenge this notion. We could approach it from the angle of human psychology and behaviour—it is far from the case that everyone cries in response to severe adversity, belatedly or otherwise—but instead I want to explore this with respect to the narrative angle we have covered so far. Specifically, with respect to the idea that characters, unlike you or me, are designed and portrayed with certain purposes in mind.

Why would it be natural for Sonic to cry?

To help understand Sonic's handling of loss, let's analyze four examples from the series of Sonic losing someone.

In Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic stays strong and composed right after Shadow's presumed death, paying respect to his fallen ally.

In Sonic Unleashed, after Chip leaves him, Sonic takes a deep breath before moving forward with a smile on his face.

In Sonic Battle, Sonic is desperate for Emerl to live and expresses this openly.

In Sonic '06, Sonic expresses a great amount of despair when Elise dies in an explosion aboard the Egg Carrier.

It is clear from the outset that Sonic is not an uncaring individual - he wouldn't do all the selfless things he does if not because he didn't care about people. He also still feels strong emotion at losing those close to him, but he handles those emotions with a great deal of fortitude. In Adventure 2 and Unleashed, his reaction is more subdued, while in Battle and '06, it's clear that Sonic is upset and isn't afraid to show it. The difference could be due to that in the prior examples, Sonic watched them die in front of his eyes, while in the latter examples, they were already gone by the time we see Sonic's reaction.

Nevertheless, Sonic feels emotion. It is only because he does not express himself in an adequately typical way that this idea is met with so much outrage and pushback. Because Sonic does not cry, and because an expected response in certain scenarios would be to cry, it is perceived as a writing mistake that must be fixed. Sonic is perceived as a bad character because he does not fit into a rigid box of socially acceptable expressiveness.

But why is Sonic acting outside the norm necessarily a bad thing? The fact that Sonic can go through such hard situations and remain positive is a testament to his strength. The fact he doesn't cry makes him come across as superhuman when it comes to mental fortitude. That is not a mistake of his character that needs "fixing." That is the entire point.

The animosity towards the idea of Sonic not crying, that he must express himself a specific way, a distinctly normal and humanlike way, is stirred from the irrational, yet sadly common, leap in logic that Sonic must behave and experience life like you or me.

There is an irony, too, to how localised this demand of realism is of Sonic. I've seen no outrage demanding that he spill blood or break bones like us. But, apparently, he must shed tears to be a good character. Sonic is superhumanly resilient while running, or fighting, or taking on the miraculous powers of the Chaos Emeralds. Chaos is power and power is enriched by the heart. Sonic's is shown to be one of the strongest and purest out there, one that moves ever on from and through the pain of loss, grief, and tragedy. Isn't it bizarre, then, that this is considered a defect to him?

The messaging of Sonic

Sonic's core concept as an inspirational character must be maintained because it is key to the emotional messaging of nearly every single Sonic game.

Right from the very first game, you play as a plucky little hedgehog, fighting against the tyranny of Eggman's industrialization threatening to destroy all life on the planet.

Sonic is small and unassuming. But he fights anyways, determined to stop Eggman. And he does.

This concept remains throughout the franchise. Sonic always remains steadfast in the face of great adversity. From Sonic CD's "You Can Do Anything" vocal theme telling the player to believe in themselves to simple yet motivational phrases—ones that Sonic himself has given to the likes of more normal characters such as Elise: "If you have time to worry, then run!"

There is even a quote on the Japanese box art of Sonic & Knuckles comparing Sonic to the Sun, the far and unreachable star in space that our entire galaxy revolves around.

We look up at the Sun like how we look up to Sonic.

As brought up earlier, Sonic is the antithesis of relatability to his target audience, children.

This is because he is meant to inspire children.

The fact that Sonic remains so popular and successful to this day is undeniable proof that relatability is far from a necessary ingredient for likeable characters. Given the fact that Sonic is such a strong-willed character, that he fights endlessly against adversity with a smile on his face, that he always gives positive words of encouragement, is it any wonder why he is so popular with children? Sonic is a wonderful role model that promotes living life to the fullest. Sonic is deceptively wise, seeming to know simple yet effective solutions to every problem. Sonic encourages you to chase your dreams, to stay strong through hard times, to enjoy life.

Sonic is a friend who is always there for you.

Not only does Sonic provide guidance to characters, he provides guidance in the real world as we navigate our lives and the trials and tribulations that come with them. Each character that presents a problem is the character we are meant to connect with, and Sonic is who we strive to be.

CONCLUSION

I do not hold any grudge against relatable characters. I love them, just as I love all kinds of different characters in all kinds of media.

I believe that coexistence is possible. I believe that you can praise a character for their relatability and realism, just as you can praise a character for being the antithesis of both of those things, and these do not have to be contradicting principles for one to have. It all depends on a character's narrative function and how their character traits – both relatable and unrelatable – serve the story that is being told.

Sonic the Hedgehog is a character whose role in the narrative is to inspire and guide other characters. From a Doylist perspective, he represents the prominent, all-embracing messaging about staying strong and positive despite all odds, inspiring and guiding his target audience.

Every decision put into Sonic's character traits serve his role perfectly. Of course this extraordinary character does not behave like you or I do. Why would he? That's simply not his nature; a gust of wind in the breeze, moving endlessly all throughout the world. A pure and positive heart who has achieved the innate desire of all humankind in a way that we will never truly understand, free from the burdens of human nature. Freedom.

Sonic is unrelatable and unrealistic. And he is an amazing character.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

hope you feel better soon!

I am riddled with ailments, but I stay silly!

[onlygenxhere]

This prompt from yeo has had me rereading old fics half the day. I have decided as a whole I don’t start things terribly interesting. I mostly start things with the setup of what’s coming. However, I do like the way I end most things. So choosing endings was way harder than beginnings. (I didn't link anything too much work)

 Beginnings

Catching up with Tia Victoria the ninth fic in the Found Family Fluff series. (rated G)

Rose was Victoria’s first love. She remembered the day her parents brought her home from the hospital. Despite only being two years and two months older; looking at tiny Rose with her halo of dark curls and knowing immediately that this was her person.

That never really changed as they grew up. Of course they fought, but it was never serious, and more often than not Victoria would talk Rose into sleeping in her room by the end of the day. 

Victoria had been pretty upset when Rose had decided to go all the way to LA to try and make it in music.

My Favorite Alarm Clock – Ch 19a outtake from Falling Toward the Future (rated E)

Julie was dreaming about Luke when she felt him crawl into her bed behind her and snuggle up against her bare back. She was still right where he had left her last night after worshiping her body, from her mouth to her ankles and every place in between.

She sighed contently at the feeling of his warm bare chest pressed flush against her.

Jukebox Baby Part 2 – from the Jukebox Baby series (Rated T)

Julie was backstage at The Grove in Austin Texas trying to get ready for the concert tonight and failing miserably.

Every time she tried to do her eye makeup she started to cry and the crying was pissing her off now which was just making her cry more.

She was not a weepy person usually. She was also someone that didn’t get sick to her stomach and throw up easily either but both of those things had apparently stopped being true since she’d gotten pregnant.

Endings

Don’t want to miss a thing the eighth fic in the Found Family Fluff series. (rated G)

As the movie started back up and he sent a text off to Willie he was thinking life isn’t a movie.

The good guys don’t always save the day and the guy doesn’t always get the girl, but as he put the phone down and looked over at Luke holding Julie’s hand leaning on the bed watching the movie he sure hoped the guy got to keep the girl this time.

Then Willie poofed into Julie’s room and as his eyes found Alex he smiled.

He sure hoped the guy got to keep the guy too.

Falling Toward the Future (rated M)

Luke reached down and picked her up under her knees causing her to squeal and laugh as she wrapped her arms tight around his neck.

“We’re going to be ok Julie Molina,” he started to walk them back to the house. They’d managed to drift further away as they’d been kissing and talking.

“Is that so Luke Patterson?” She laid her head on his shoulder as he carried her like she weighed nothing.

“Yep,” he said popping the p. “You’re my person and I’m yours.”

He stopped when they got to the steps and put her down so she was a step above him putting them almost eye to eye. He held her face in his hands, those hazel eyes intense on hers. “We really were meant to be.”

As he leaned in to kiss her again she whispered against his lips, “Come what may.”

Burn Baby Burn the sixth fic in the Found Family Fluff series (Rated T)

He pulled away from her panting and pressed his forehead against hers.

“You’re killing me boss”

“Not possible” 

Luke took a couple more deep breaths and pulled his head up to look at her smirking face.

“Cause I’m already dead.”

Julie thinks the look on his face is too serious when she had meant to be cheeky. She loses the grin and runs her hands down his chest around to his back pulling him down flush against the length of her.

“How dead do you feel right now? Because you feel very alive to me”

Luke closes his eyes groaning and shifting against her unconsciously.  

He opens his eyes and they’re another new shade of green she hasn’t seen before, “I guess I should have said I’m going to burst into flames if we don’t slow down.”

Julie smiles and laughs, “Yeah, that feels like a real possibility”

Luke’s smile returns full force, spreading slowly across his face crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“Burn baby burn” he whispers against her lips as he dives back in.

Julie giggles into his kisses as she wraps her arms around him falling back into the fire.

With the First Lines post going around again, I got curious.

Please reblog with your 3 favourite beginnings and 3 favourite endings you have written.

Can be the beginning/ending of a story or of a chapter within a story and can be more than just one line.

[maybeinanotherworld]

physics professors are really going through it- every day, I think about my quantum physics professor who once went on a rant about how there's too many types of mustard these days followed by the words "well, at least quantum physics is less complicated than the mustard aisle" followed by one of the most cursed derivations I have ever seen

[notherpuppet]

How would you feel about someone adapting your comics into literary fanfiction on A03, but like they fully explain that it's your au as well as tag your account directly? Pretty much a fanfiction of specifically your au?

Ooh, that’s cool with me! I hope it’s fun?? :O

I’m not much of a writer when it comes to prose so if that’s sounds like something you’d want to do, then by all means, go ahead!

[fil3t]

Lavellan in the Fade

And the old Dalish curse Means something new to me Take me as well, oh, Fen'harel Like my hand and vallaslin

~ Lavellan's Lament by @dreadhallatavern

WIP-ish

[oneminutefiftysixseconds]

okay now i'm curious:

reblog to reach more corners of sportsblr and do tag which sport your response is based on <3

by play/take part i don't necessarily mean at any competitive level -- for example i mostly blog about pro cycling, am part of a local cycling club and enjoy riding for both leisure and exercise so i voted yes even though i don't race yet

[robininthewindow]

“Autistic sniper” “autistic engine”’”autistic medic” BIYCH THEYRE ALL AUTISTIC!!!!!

[bayazreza]

Original color palette!

[thankstothe]

season 1 pretties

[divorcedwife]

putting them in the 18th century