#ive finished the second draft which means its posting time

[goldfish-afterhours]

ROB THEM BLIND

“You don’t need to lower your expectations. You just need more money.”

Summary: Welcome to New Liyue, where the bank is the church and money is the religion. Cash is the lifeblood of this society, and there is nothing that money cannot buy.

Here, people strike rich or die trying. And in the case of the Guili Assembly, the most infamous bank robbery crew in the country, this certainly rings true. Even in the face of armed guards, they’re not afraid to rob the most secure banks dry.

But what exactly are they risking their lives for? What are they planning on doing with such a ridiculous amount of money?

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[good-beans]

A little creative summary for the year ✨ (Template)

Even though I'd done art inspired by/for others before, it was my first time doing proper trades and projects together -- thank you for including me :D

As for writing, I was worried about my thesis next year since I'll be rewriting most of my novel which is a lot to do in a single year..... until I realized I posted 83,794 words for fun in 2024.... 😅 (11,259 words of longfic projects, 54,642 words in drabbles, 17,893 words in creative but explanatory posts, and who knows how many in wips/unposted things :0)

Though writing on here may slow down bit with my thesis, there's no way you can stop me from working on fic completely 😂 I also have some translyric projects I want to complete within the year, as well as the usual art ideas I'm plagued with haha!

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

sorry to message but i just wanted to yell because I saw a post and yOU’RE THE AUTHOR OF FALLOUT FROM THE FADE ???? oh my goodness it’s my favourite fic ive read it SO many times.

i left a comment on ao3 last night because i finished reading it again and i just genuinely hope one day you finish it (i understand you have much going on i am just greedy).

but yes thank you so much for creating it, fenris and hawke are everything to me and this fic is my canon no matter what happens in veilguard. 💜

hahaha HELLO yes that is indeed I... I guess i do owe a little bit of an explanation here since its been uh... like 4 years since I last updated, yeah :| But it still makes me so happy that even after so long people still enjoy my little pile of suffering and yearning!

I don't know how many people who used to follow it are still on tumblr (I think a lot of people i used to write with/who would comment have deleted their tumblrs and AO3 accounts in the intervening years alas) but i do I owe anyone remaining a little context I guess lol. Long story made short is like very shortly after my last update i got broken up with unexpectedly from my 4 year relationship, and went into a bit of a spiral about it. I didn't fully stop writing at this point (though I think nothing I wrote in that like... year or more ended up posted anywhere), but I did realize that when I went to work on my ongoing stuff I was in a place where I was like... only wanting to write about anger/losing relationships rather than healing ones. And that part of me wanted to change some of the things I had planned for the following parts and ending of Fallout From the Fade. And so I decided to take a step back from it for a while to see if I actually wanted to make those changes when I was less bitter or if I wanted to follow my original plan.

And that took me about a year, emotionally. However by then I had actually left my prior job (where I spent a lot of time hiking/camping in the wilderness of Utah with no internet, and I used that time for writing), and started graduate school courses. Aaaannnd grad school has been slowly eating my life since. I've only posted I think one other fanfic since then, and it was a very short prose-poem one shot. Another contributing factor was my gaming tech was too old to actually play Trespasser when it came out, and by the time I got a laptop that could handle it, I had to replay the whole game but I was working full time, etc... and i felt really disconnected from the DA fandom since I couldn't read all the new fic/understand all the lore deep dive posts/experience it with everyone else simultaneously. Oh yeah and I work a second job as a professional mermaid in varying degrees of intensity depending on the season/oportunties available haha.

All that being said. I actually have written more of FFtF in the last 2 years. But like I said in the other post I made kinda recently, the long gaps between my later updates (vs the ones I was doing way more regularly in 2016-2018) had me rethink the approach I was using to write and post it, which was a chapter at a time. It felt like stringing people along in kind of a mean way to dump a chapter and then vanish for another year, and I knew I couldn't promise consistency while doing a masters/PhD program. So I've been kind of fiddling away at it slowly still, both actual writing of following chapters, and some substantial firming up/drafting sections in my outline to get to the eventual ending and ensure it's more cohesive than a lot of my slapdash chapters. But! Idk! I do also def work slower without the fun of having an audience, and miss that. and I never actually asked of the people who are left and still wanna read more of it, if they'd rather just get a chapter every 6 months or so as I scrounge it out. If you are one of those people and have an opinion def let me know.

I will say, the imminent presence of Veilguard does have me more inspired and creative again, and some of that has been going to Fallout. Especially since I'm no longer watching the videos/gameplay bioware is putting out since they have SOOO many spoilers and I wanna go into the game at least semi blind, so my creative energy has to go towards my personal stuff rather than joining everyone else in speculation and hype now. I'm definitely not promising I will have it close to finished by October when Veilguard releases, because I'm still in grad school and the next months are busy for me in terms of mermaid work too, but I am hoping I can make some good chunks of progress between now and then. But then if I say that and can't follow through after all I also don't wanna let people down.

Anyway yeah, it's sort of a lot of conflicting thoughts. But I'm still rotating Hawke and Fenris and this fic in my mind even these years later... which for me is honestly pretty normal. I mean I have whole original novels/worldbuilding ideas/etc that I've worked on for 10-15 years in my own time haha, I've been writing fiction for fun since I was like 10, so I think I also just think of stories/writing across a bigger timeline than people who start writing with fanfiction (which is MUCH faster paced) than original fiction. The difference of course is no one sees my original stuff so there's no one to care if i take 2 years between chunks of progress. SO I guess what I am trying to say is, yes definitely it is not abandoned, I am plodding away at it bit by bit, I also hope I can finish it one day!!!! that is within this decade i hope! whether or not anyone else is left to read it but me haha

[rosewinelonging]

okay this is my final post here! im not one for self promotion so im going to dump absolutely everything into this post lol sorry its gonna be long!

basically the gist is im moving on to original content! ultimately same type of writing, same themes and kinks and what have you. ive basically compiled all my work from the past couple years (this project and others!) and am now revamping it into a final sort of iteration. because i still love writing, ive lost most interest in fandom to any degree. in the same type of way im not really one for social media either. nothing to do with anything in regards to this account though !! its more just the entire landscape, i wanted something i could have more control over. which is to say im moving everything to my own site!

all projects and drafts and art will be going up on [svnd14l.neocities.org] - im not much of a coder but i know enough to put together a simple little archive ^_^ i have different pages for different formats of stories + seperate, slightly more elaborate, pages for my bigger projects (stories that arent simply isolated to a single work but expands over art, short-comics, side stories, and other supplimentary aspects) - though most of those are still a work in progress. theres also a journal (though its mostly used for me talking and complaining about work haha) and an askbox feature!

unfortunately it is not mobile friendly to any degree and im not inclined to change that, at least not anywhere in the near future. so in the meantime im making a new tumblr account [@svnd14lled], not sure how active it will be or really what ill be putting up yet but its there for convience. i know a lot of the appeal of this blog hinged on short form writings and concepts but ill be trying to be a little more intentional which means a little slower in what i put out. very little is ‘finished’ and im still putting up mostly drafts but it should for the most part (hopefully) be better and longer!

soooo i guess thats really it haha i basically have nothing up yet but i got a lot to work on !!! ill list out some of those things under the cut. anyway i loved the time i spent here and i loved all the interactions ive had !!! peace and love !!!!

okay for the actuallly interesting part; as i sort of mentioned ive split my writing into two main categories. which is front-page stories and x projects.

front page stories are more isolated in concept, the draw is more for the plot and themes then attachment to the characters. not to say i dont care about the characters or theyre not fleshed out! (or that i dont get attached lol) its more just that theyre not gonna be expanded on in writing except for whats in the text. i might make some art or write some commentary but for the most part its one and done.

theyre seperated into categories based on format; oneshots, oneshot series, chaptered, chaptered series - and i basically cover all types of kinks. anything ive ever written on this blog features in at least one story. theres incest (sister/sister, mother/daughter, etc), bestiality, underage, intoxication, graphic violence and a whole lot more! the few i have listed up (not quite available to read yet as they need to be edited lol..) are just the ones ive finished drafting but theres a LOT to get through.

the second type of stories are my x projects! theyre much longer, much more complicated, and much more dear to my heart. theres only four of these but the way i treat them in a little more similar to what i was doing on this blog. though there is sort of a ‘main plot’ - it depends on the project and characters. theres still a lot to organize through cement into writing or art. as of right now only one page is ‘completed’ though with limited things to view! its a work in progress :) either way ill list out a general summary / dynamics.

WWW.JOYTOY.NET: the only page thats currently up and the only story thats currently really plot heavy. i have a strict timeline for them and theres only so much can be revealed or uploaded at a time, but theres a whole lot thatll happen!

without too much spoilers - joy is an intersex woman who was raised as a boy living in suburban boredom and hal is a man whos made a career in distributing illegal ‘movies’ with an aspiration to become a director himself - with the catch that hes not interested in having acting. the two of them meet in the summer of 1994 and decide to strike up a relationship. everything you could possibly think could happen, happens. all bases are covered and no limits are found. this story perfectly encapsulates itself; at a first glance its nothing but deprived torture porn, but if you read a little closer theres intention in every action.

basically its a lot! this one is very near and dear to my heart and ive put so much work into her. its gross, its graphic, its tragic - its joytoy baby!

THE ROSE CYCLE: a little less plot heavy and a little more self contained.

avaline was born into a wealthy and prestigous family with everything she could have wanted handed to her on a silver platter. her life was perfect until one day someone new is brought to their house. johanna - a girl who shares her age and face and now her life as its revealed that she is avalines bastard half-sister. spoiled as she is with unchecked anger issues, avaline lashes out and denounces their connection. at least thats how it always starts - because theyre stuck in a reincarnation cycle and these things never go as they think.

i say a little less plot heavy and this is the synopsis LOL well each cycle is sort of independent of eachother. connected of course but they function on their own. but we got the sister/sister co-dependency !! really nothing is as it seems with a heavy emphasis on unreliable narration.

DARLING CHILD: extremely heavy on relationships here. also featuring my favorite character <3 my darling caroline <3

caroline gets introduced to danny (who she promptly named as such because she very much loathed the name daniel and even more when she changed it to danielle) at a young age, and she never really goes away. theyre not lovers but they are something a lot worse; childhood friends and soulmates. it goes about the way as you would expect it, from children exploring themselves and their identities, to their school years as they expand horizons, to a seperation period as they go off to pursue respective interests, and all the way to coming back together as adults. theyre completely intertwined and its completely by choice.

this story hinges very much on character and character relationships. caroline is annoying, bratty, and childish - she refuses to grow up. danny is intelligent, snarky, and vindictive - she has a need for control. they work together a bit too well. the main story of this focuses on their adult years and how they finally settle into eachother with all of their history. theres a lot of age-play / regression, dom/sub dynamics, and pony play! caroline has always been quite fond of horsies.

PLAYING HOUSE: im gonna be honest, i have nearly a hundred pages of writing and have spent hours and hours poured into these characters and i dont know what the fuck is going on LMAO theyre getting a majorrrr and must needed revamp so who knows whats going on

the very basic plot of it; six siblings, one controlling, powerful, and rich mother, and a whole lot of incest. also aliens. sometimes.

anyway thats the sort of general run-down! of course this is very very basics of it, but itll take some time to get everything put together. im basically comitted to finishing these stories for the rest of forever now lol as much as i havent been entirely consistent, i ALWAYS circle back, but this is my long-term. if i ever get bored with one project of the bunch well i have fifty-billion others to get into lol

[seijch]

ANNOUNCEMENT: NOT A HELLO, BUT NOT A GOODBYE EITHER

omg hi ... im like . ashamed to come back after saying brief hiatus in october and then disappearing off the face of the earth til FEBRUARY but under the cut i will be explaining myself and the following, if youre interested (and a tl;dr at the very bottom if you don’t wanna scroll thru this obnoxiously long post):

the reason(s) i was gone for so long

what i was doing during that time (its just a personal account yall can scroll past this idrc)

the status of those um . halloween requests

the future of this account

i. so . Hiatus .

i know. i know . i probably mentioned it when i made the announcement post, but my mental health likes to go on one of those rides. yknow the ones where you go like up rlly fast then down maybe and then up then DOWN .... its like that. i needed a break and every time i wanted to come back or thought about it, something would happen and i would get stuck in my own head.

a big reason for getting stuck in my head was (and i hate to admit this ... i hate to admit that i have Insecurities On The Internet) my feelings of inadequacy regarding my writing. i love to plot fics, i love concepts and characters and making little headcanons but i dont ... know if i love writing rn. and i thought for the longest time that like . whatever ill just push thru it its fine ill be fine but it kinda wasnt lmao you can kinda see it in my halloween reqs and what become of them when i get to that but i began to feel like nothing i had put out or would put out would hold up prose wise (and normally i dont feel like this im much more “idc its my life im living it��� but thats not a rant for tumblr LMAO). i still feel like that -- like im better as a reader than a writer. but . You Know :-)

tl;dr: mental state go brrrrr

ii. anywhere here’s wonderwall

when i left, i was in a steadily decreasing mental and emotional state, made worse by a situation at work that really was a case of petty jealousy on my end and rlly isnt very consequential now despite how much pain and resentment it gave me when it Was a problem so i wont get into it. the tl;dr of november and december was me using work as an crutch and distraction -- i know my job, i do it well, it helped me not think about my responsibilities and obligations and inadequacies. of course, as the holiday season grew busier n busier i was scheduled so often that i moved 88 or so miles (according to my apple watch, which i ONLY wear at work since im never anywhere else outside my house) and fell into a cycle of showering n sleeping at my house before going back the next day. (theres definitely something to be said abt capitalism and “grind culture” here but once again its not the time or place snsjkdfds)

at the turn of the new year, i happened to remember a birthday card i hadnt filed away for safekeeping from a friend of mine that id been horribly out of touch with til that point. i started crying because i realized how out of touch id been in general up until that point. the month of january was great for me: i was focused, happy, and in a much better place than i had been before. the end of it brought me down focus wise and im hoping that enough time away from my distractions will refocus me bc i ... need it LMAO and though ive burned out from that level of productivity and gotten distracted again im ... trying to stay positive which i think is the most i can do 😁👍🏼

media wise, i got real into stardew valley (but burned out bc i played it extensively as a way to wind down after work), the pokemon platinum romhack renegade platinum (still havent finished it bc of school n i played it w the intent to see if i could nuzlocke it ... bitch its so hard but its so fun bc of it), briefly assassins creed: odyssey (im one of those ppl who completes an entire region before i move to the next so you can tell i burned out of that one + wouldnt have the time to properly devote to it even if i didnt), got back into genshin impact after pulling for xiao (after not touching it for like . months), and danganronpa. yes . danganronpa 😐 i Know. i stopped playing it after the second trial of the first game bc i was so hurt by the outcome and picked it up in late january only to get sucked in (thank god i had the foresight to buy the second and third games during the steam winter sale). rn im at the start of chapter 4 if anyone wants to come in my asks and um . talk to me abt danganronpa

tl;dr: I’m Into Danganronpa Now

iii. you realize halloween was three months ago right

i mentioned this in the first section, but i love to plot things. every request is plotted or at least has a solid foundation. i had fun detailing what concept i wanted to go with considering what i was given, and there were some bangers i might touch up in the future. but heres whats going to happen to the requests themselves:

there are two finished requests. one will be posted tomorrow and the other will be touched up (just bc i finished it doesnt mean its good 🧍‍♂️) and scheduled for next saturday. as for the ones i never got around to ...

i will not be finishing those requests. i hate to be That Person, but i feel like we all expected this 🧍‍♂️ what i will do is post all of my notes for each request in batches -- requests that have an @ to go with them will be mentioned in the post proper, but anon asks will be pictured. (there are some asks that came from blogs who are now deactivated but i wrote down all the prompts and remember most of those askers so ill cross that bridge when i get there) there will most likely be an excerpt or two simply bc i think i mightve written a few plot points or interactions in the form of bullet points. i rlly am sorry about doing this but i remember looking at my notion doc with all the prompts and feeling ... like i wasnt measuring up n it wasnt just to myself or to some intangible concept of “other” id constructed but it was instead to those who requested n actually WANTED to see and hear and read my writing and i ...... im gonna admit thats another big reason i avoided this site.

regardless, youll definitely get what i have (and likely more than just my bullet points and illegible handwriting).

tl;dr: im sorry. what i have in terms of plot, concept, and interaction for every request will be posted, but i cant say ill ever complete them and mean it.

iv. so what now?

well i mean . im not entirely sure how sold i am on haikyuu in the content creation department (as a creator n to a lesser extent, as a consumer). as mentioned previously, its no longer my primary focus. it doesnt mean im not into haikyuu anymore; i have a lot of love for those boys but i cant rlly say im even caught up w recent fandom activity and also havent even finished s4 pt2 LMAO thats on my to do list

and despite all that, i still want to share my plots n concepts and snippets and maybe even fics. it wont happen anytime soon. it might not even happen. but i mean . its better than me saying i wont write ever again shjdkfs but either way ill probably use this blog as a personal blog w the occasional ask game for dialogue prompts (those are always so fun i love making up aus to fit like . the most mundane prompts)

as for my works (past and any potential future), ive opened an ao3 acc here n ill be editing n possibly expanding on my old works to post there. tumblr, to me, is The x reader hub, but i figure more x reader fics on ao3 is never a bad thing.

ill be deleting/posting drafted posts to the queue since they were all meant to be queued anyway as well as (sorry again 🧍‍♂️) deleting or answering asks in the inbox. (moots if you get a notif from me saying i rbed your post from months ago ... mind your business) im very hard to get ahold of and its ... a problem. expect an overhaul of the nav n shit to reflect my new direction n also because i feel like i cant tell if my passion for carrd is shared by the majority HSDKLFS maybe its better to read my info in a normal post ykwim .......

and of course . if youve read all this n decided im no longer worth the follow, i sure as hell cant stop you. thank you for wanting to, at some point, hear what i have to say -- it means more than you think.

tl;dr: writing will be edited and reposted to ao3, this blog will be a personal blog with a hint of writing (sometimes)

the tl;dr to end all tl;drs:

im back! i wont be as active as i used to due to a lessened interest in haikyuu in general, but i have an ao3 acc now where all my past work will be edited, possibly expanded, and reposted. any future work will also find itself there. my halloween requests will be posted in batches as incomplete concepts, plots, and snippets of scenes; i wont be promising to finish any of them.

there are still fic concepts im attached to and want to finish, but i cant promise any more writing on my end. this blog will be a personal blog with maybe writing, not a writing blog with my personal thoughts all over it.

regardless if you stick around or not, its been crazy sexy cool (equal emphasis) being on haikyuu tumblr even tho i wasnt around for long ... even tho its not my main focus anymore, im still excited to see what the future might hold 🤝

love, ari 💌

[inyoursheets]

2, 16, 18, 23!

Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

wow ok this is surprisingly hard to answer! confronting! im not even sure, there isn’t anything specific ive got planned out that im excited to write. i don’t have any future projects planned out yet. or. i mean.....there are some things at the tips of my writing fingers but i can’t allow myself to think about them properly yet bc i need to focus on and commit to finishing warm water. and my thesis (ugh).

there are some things from warm water that ive already written that im excited to share, but right now im in a place where writing just isn’t going smoothly, so whenever i have an idea (like the eloquent “sweatpants dick” note i took recently) (my only contribution that day) im not all that confident or excited about it bc im afraid the actual writing itself will be a pain? that i’ll drag my feet for days and it won’t come easy and i’ll hate every second of it -- until things click and the words start flowing, not unlike this post describes. idk i keep really wanting to write and sitting down for it and then it just--won’t happen. or if i do actually try putting pen to paper i just start hating it all, which i don’t want.

so! this is a sad note to end on! here’s some vague things i am looking forward to: i’m looking forward to being excited about writing in general! i’m looking forward to writing something i’m proud of, either in terms of plot or theme or characterization or dialogue or whatever! i’m also looking forward to having that oh-my-god-the-words-are-flowing-from-me moment, regardless of the result tbh, bc i just love that feeling of loving writing and having it come easily. that’s what im excited about -- being excited about writing again.  

Tried anything new with your writing lately? (style, POV, genre, fandom?)

ok so i have this terrible writing tendency to not know how to not describe every single action characters make -- every movement, every gesture. particularly on first drafts i feel the urge to describe it all, otherwise i can’t continue. i know that it’s not always necessary to write what happens every single second of a scene, but i can’t seem to stop?

idk if im explaining what i mean correctly -- there’s probably terms for this that i dont know -- but someone who i think manages to do the opposite of what i do very well is @fairhairedkings, who is really good at time jumps and not going overboard w the minute-to-minute descriptions, the way i tend to.

i know it can be pretty tiresome and it’s one of the things that annoys me a lot about my own writing, both in terms of reading it (it can be plain boring?) and for the writing itself. it blocks me! but i can’t seem to stop doing it, feel like i’m glazing over things otherwise or lose track of where im going. i have to keep reminding myself that leaving out certain things doesn’t mean that nothing happens or that people assume nothing happens.

so, to answer the question, ive tried to be a bit more concise with it’s hidden in heartbeats, exhales and in the hope of open hands when i started writing it. that fic is a product of being fed up with my other WIPs and it didn’t take more than a week from its initial idea to the finished product, so i really wanted it to be a quickie, and i thought something tight and concise could work for the plot. i didn’t actually manage to succeed though, still ended up describing just about every action there, too. i don’t think i’ll ever manage to write something concise tbh. i do bad with time jumps, i do bad with less is more, which is unfortunate, bc less can truly, truly be more. so! im gonna try this again some time!

Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

mmm well, warm water originally didn’t include mutual pining -- beth wasn’t supposed to be in love with rio yet, we were gonna watch her fall in love slowly, while he already felt things. but then i ended up almost turning that entirely on its head and now we’ve got the mess that is that this fic in its current state lol. there’s also an AU to warm water that i briefly considered bc of you which i won’t go into now bc of possible spoilers -- but ive considered things!!! 

also for it’s hidden in heartbeats, it was supposed to be more about petty!rio and haha, look, exes trying to get “revenge”, and to be light and funny, but i realized that idk how relationships work, let alone how exes work, so i couldn’t really find any good reasons for them splitting up, at least nothing that could generate comedy, so it ended up getting fairly angsty? idk why this keeps happening -- me planning to do something rom com-esque and it developing into something wayyyyy angstier, but it did!

What’s the story idea you’ve had in your head for the longest?

oh wow idek! ive definitely been working on warm water the longest, so i guess technically that one, but there are some other ideas that have been drifting near the surface that have been there longer and are very underdeveloped and need time and nourishment and attention and love, all of which i can’t give them yet bc im trying to stay focused on warm water and thesis writing. maybe the beth/stan friendship snippet ive got hidden in somewhere in my docs!

thank youuuu for indulging me!!! meta writing asks!!!!

[shhh-no-ones-home]

did you say close or closet?* steve harrington x reader

+++++++++ okay this is my final prompt story of the five. i was waiting to edit it for a super long time but i finally did and am posting it. this was also written around season one so sorry if it's ooc now 🤷 like i said in the other prompt one shots these have been in my drafts for a super long time.

* - shes here. Trapped in a closet because your hiding from people at school and it gets super awkward super fast but things start to escalate ;)

prompts:

7. Everyone keeps telling me you're the bad guy

13. Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while

20. d..did you just make that noise?

Song: i dont need love by sammy hagar

tag list:@cynic-spirit 

+++++++++

I ran down the hallway, steve hot on my heels. We were running from some of the football players that we had played a terrible joke on. We turned a corner and before i knew it i was being pulled backwards into a hall closet. It was dark for a second before steve pulled the light chain, pouring the harsh light into the small space. We both just sighed before laughing quietly so they wouldnt find us.

"Looks like were gonna be stuck here for a while. Wouldnt want any of them to catch us and do terrible things to us."

He made a screwy face before smiling back down at me. I shook my head and leaned my body on the wall behind me, watching steve do the same. I sighed.

"You know, us being here a while could be a good thing, now i can get to know you a little better."

He looked at me in confusion.

"Why would you need to do that?"

"Everyone keeps telling me youre the bad guy, id like to make that decision for myself."

"Well i mean youve been hanging around me long enough dont you think? I mean you're not the nicest girl ive ever met."

I mocked hurt and placed my hand on my chest.

"Well then, i guess ill just have to try harder next time huh?"

we both stood there a second before laughing at my sarcasm.

"Seriously though, im not here looking for friends or acquaintances or boyfriends or anything like that. Im here to have a good time with whoever wants to join me. Which is why i was stoked to hear youd help me prank the football team."

"So what im hearing is you're just in it for the ride, not the destination."

I side nodded.

"Sometimes the stops on the ride are better than the destination, i dont need love or appreciation as long as im having a good time. Now im not necessarily easy either but if the moment arose and i was stopped long enough i might just consider some things."

He looked at me like he was reading my mind.

"We're stopped now. "

He raised a brow at me.

"You think your ready for this harrington? I heard you like vanilla girls like nancy drew."

"Its nancy wheeler actually and she'd never do anything like the stuff we did today, even with a little male persuasion."

I laughed at him, male persuasion my ass, that girl would be too scared to get her panties wet if the moment arose much less sleep with anyone she thought was interesting.

"Ill make a deal with you harrington. We can do this right now if you can promise me that nothing comes out of your mouth about me after this. And i know thats a long shot but im not here to make people mad. Like i said, im here for the fun along the way, im not here to ruin other peoples fun."

He reached his hand out for me to shake.

"Deal. now how do you wanna go about doing this, ya know since we are in a pretty small closet."

I shrugged.

"Ive done it in smaller."

I started by sliding off my jacket and throwing my shirt off. He just stood and watched before i pulled him to me and started kissing up and down his neck.

"You gonna work with me or not harrington?"

He nodded frantically before removing his jacket and shirt as well. We quickly got back to each other, but actually kissing this time. He pushed me up against the wall, lifting me, allowing me to wrap my legs around him. As he attacked my neck i let out a soft moan, reaching down to rub him through his pants. I was quick to undo his pants, along with mine so we could get to business. We kissed as he removed my panties and gripped my thighs to line himself up with my entrance. I ground my hips down onto him and he let out a needy, whiny, moan. We both paused for a second.

"D...did you make that noise?"

He let out a small laugh and i could see the blush on his face.

"I guess its been a hot minute."

I kissed him softly and nodded at him.

"Perfectly normal."

He nodded back and kissed me a little more needy. He broke away to look down for a second and entered me, earning a moan. I slid my head back against the wall and he attacked my neck again, sliding in and out of me at a steady pace. I held onto him for dear life, resting against the wall with my legs wrapped around his exposed torso. He rammed into me over and over again, earning soft moans that i was trying the stifle so no one would hear us. I could tell he was getting closer though, his breathing was becoming less steady and so were his thrusts. I reached down and rubbed my clit, sending me down the right path to cuming with him. He rested his head against my shoulder, kissing and biting it, trying to keep his noises to himself; or at least just to us. I could feel him trying to hold on for dear life but he quickly pulled out of me, unhooked my legs, and stumbled back against the opposing wall, stroking himself and cuming down his hand. He let out a loud sigh before looking back at me, walking over to me and kissing me again.

"I dont believe i heard you finish."

He wiped his hand off with the paper towels sitting on the overhead shelf before lifting me back up against the wall. I was shaken a little bit but he kept perfect eye contact with me as his other hand got closer and closer to my core. He rubbed my clit, which sent my head back against the wall, before fingering me, pushing in and out of me over and over again. I gripped his shoulder tightly, wrapping my legs tighter around him as i came around his fingers. My legs were shaky as he set me back down and licked his fingers off.

"See i dont like just vanilla girls."

I smirked at him before pulling my panties back on.

"That was probably as much outside of vanilla as youd ever try to get harrington."

[itsalliepg]

Drabbles - Mark x Renata (MC) - Part 1

SUMMARY: An anthology about Mark and Renata (MC)

PAIRING: Mark x Renata (MC)

RATING: Everyone

WORDS: 1803 divided in 7 drabbles

NOTE: Hey! Here some drabbles I made based on this post here. I divided in two parts. English isn’t my native language. I write to practice and learn, so please sorry any mistakes. I hope you like it, and if you do, I’d appreciate if you like/comment/reblog!Tagging  @seawhite-seafair @maxwells-nut@writtenbycandy @teamtomsato @endlessly-searching-for-you @thedepthsremember

1. “This has to be the second best day of my life.” Words: 317 

            After a day of working at Net4U, Renata came home and found Mark in the kitchen. He was putting something in the oven, and she could already identify the smell.

            _Mmm…lasagna…my favorite…- Mark turned to her and smiled.

            _I know – she approached him and he caught her lips in a passionate kiss – I went to the grocery today, and decided to cook something special for my beautiful girlfriend – she grinned – so, how was your day?

            _It was great! – Renata said excitedly, and Mark’s eyes widened in surprise – my last article had the record of clicks, Leah and I realized we already have enough money to hire another Net4U collaborator! – she took a dress from the bag in her hands – I went into a boutique, because of this gorgeous dress, and I found out the only dress they had was this one, that was in the shop window and was my size! – he giggled – and now my amazing boyfriend is cooking my favorite dish!

            _How lucky you are!

            _I know! This has to be the second best day of my life! – Mark turned to her, arching an eyebrow.

            _Really? – he wrapped his arms around her waist – and what’s your first best day?

            _Well, obviously the day Net4U won that prize… - Renata wrapped her arms around his neck.

            _Of course – he kissed her forehead – which is also the day our relationship became official, right?

            _Oh, yeah? I don’t remember that – she said innocently – if it wasn’t for the award, this would be the fourth or fifth best day of my life – Mark rolled his eyes, but kissed Renata deeply. She pulled back panting.

            _And now? – he smirked.

            _Well…now it’s the third one – she winked.

            _Oh? So I guess I’ll have to do something after dinner to make you change your mind – they shared a sly smile and kissed again – I love you, Renata.

            _I love you too, Mark.

2. “Your hair is the softest thing I have ever had the blessing of touching.” Words: 269

           On a Saturday afternoon, Mark and Renata were sitting on the couch watching TV. At some point, he lay down on the couch and rested his head on her lap. She laughed.

           _It’s me who usually does it – they smiled and she stroked his hair, as he did when she lay on his lap. After a while, he sighed.

           _If I tell you something you promise me you will not be angry?

           _Of course no, Mark! – she widened her eyes – why?

           _Well, my shampoo was over and I used yours…

           _...and?

           _Was it. I used your shampoo.

           _Mark, did you really think I’d be mad at you over of a shampoo? – she tickled his stomach.

           _It’s yours, Renata. I used it without asking permission.

           _Well, you don’t have to ask permission to use my things, okay? – she enlaced her hand on his and kissed his knuckles. He grinned.

           _Thanks. But I must confess I’ve always wanted to try on your shampoo – Renata chuckled.

           _Really? Why?

           _Well, your hair is the softest thing I have ever had the blessing of touching – Mark put his hand to her hair and stroked it – I’m not so vain, but I wanted to see what it would do to my hair – she laughed.

           _You’re lovely, Mark Collins – she turned her head and kissed his hand – and I think you should use my shampoo from now on. Your hair is significantly soft.

           _You think so? – he smiled broadly.

           _Definitely – she smiled back.

           _There’s another thing I love about this shampoo: it smells like you – he caressed her cheek. Blushing slightly, she bent to kiss him.

 3. “I don’t know, go eat a cabbage or something.” Words: 203

           _Nata…- Mark sat beside Renata in the bed, and softly tucked her hair behind her ear.

           _Hum? – she asked, still looking at her laptop.

           _Come play video game with me? – he asked, almost begging.

           _I already said we can do it later, baby.

           _Pleeeease? – he pouted, looking at her with puppy eyes. She finally looked at him.

           _I’m busy, Mark. I have to finish this article, review and post today.

           _Aaaah, I hate when you bring work home…what am I going to do until you finish?

           _I don’t know, go eat a cabbage or something.

           _What? – he grimaced – you know I hate cabbage!            _Exactly. You’ll be pretty busy trying to eat something you don’t like. Who knows you end up liking cabbage – she arched an eyebrow to him, and he laughed.

           _You call me a dork, but so do you – he kissed her cheek.

           _I know. It’s daily living with you – Mark rolled his eyes.

           _I don’t know if I’m offended or flattered – Renata brushed her nose against his.

           _Believe me, it was a compliment – he smiled.

           _Thank you – he sighed – okay, I’m not going to bother you anymore.

           _Thanks – she returned to her article, and he picked up his phone and earphones.

 4. “Leaving me alone was everyone’s first mistake.” Words:249

           _Hello, Mark! – Renata greeted as he locked the front door. She walked to him for a kiss – how was your day?

           _It was…interesting. My room is being renovated, and I have to share a room with three interns, who kept talking all the time. I was getting very annoyed and didn’t know what to do, and finally they left the room to do, I don’t know what. When the room finally fell silent, I noticed how my head was aching.

           _Oh, poor Mark – she massaged his temples – but dit you get to work?

           _Well, I took advantage of my solitude and I worked on the plot for a new game.

           _Oh, that’s nice! – she smiled – so, can I see the drabbles you did?

           _Actually, the drafts are almost ready – he showed the graphics on his tablet.

           _Mark! Did you do all this in just one day? – Renata’s eyes widened.

           _Leaving me alone was everyone’s first mistake – he grinned proudly – I found out when I’m annoyed I feel more creative.

           _So I think you should hire some interns to bother you from now on – they burst into laughter and shared a deep kiss – how about we order a takeout to celebrate?

           _Great idea – Mark hugged Renata and kissed her again – and I think your hands are magic, my head isn’t aching anymore.

           _Oh, you know very well how powerful my hands are – she winked.

           _Mmm…I think I’ll have to see this more closely later – he smirked and they kissed again.

 5. “So, funny story, I might have done some not so intentional redecorating when you were gone.” Words: 314

           Renata got home after going to the gym, and noticed something different in the living room.

           _Mark? Are you there? – Mark came out of the bedroom.

           _Hey, baby – he smiled and kissed her – did you see the wall? – he pointed to a landscape painting hanging above the couch.

           _Yeah, I saw the wall, the rack, the chairs…what happened here?

           _This painting is too beautiful to hang in our bedroom, so I decided to put it here. But the best place was this wall, so we could see when we got home. But it didn’t look good above the TV, so I had to put the rack there – he pointed out – and of course, the couch and the chairs had to move places too, or we couldn’t watch TV! – she giggled – I didn’t mean to change everything, I just wanted to put the painting here, and when I realized, the living room was completely different. So, funny story, I might have done some not so intentional redecorating when you were gone – he took her hands – so, did you like it?

           _Actually, I liked this setup more than the previous one! – Renata grinned – it was a great idea to bring the painting here! And here I thought you were into Feng Shui or something…

           _Feng…what? – Mark grimaced and Renata shook her head, smiling.

           _Never mind, it’s nothing. So, what do we do now? – she wrapped her arms around his neck.

           _What about we take advantage of this change of positions in the room and try new positions as well? – he blinked in surprise – sorry, this sounded better in my mind…

           _I love the idea! – she interrupted, laughing – but I have to take a shower first, I just left the gym.

           _Well, I need a shower too. I’m all sweaty from dragging the furniture – he smirked before taking her in his arms and walking to the bathroom.

6. “That fish looks like me! Look! We have the same distant cold stare.” Words: 280

           _Okay, what kind of animal do you want, Nata? – Mark asked s they arrived at the animal shelter.

           _If you don’t mind, I’d love a cat. I always wanted one, but my sister is allergic – Renata smiled when she saw a Siamese cat in a cage and walked over there – awwww, aren’t you the cutest thing in the world? – she approached and the cat bat its paw in the cage – I think she likes me!

           _How do you know it’s a girl?

           _This little sign here says her name is Lola…I like that – Renata opened the cage and took Lola in her arms. The cat snuggled up and purred – Mark…

           _I think it’s fate. She has to come with us, right, Lola? – he smiled and stroked Lola’s head, and she moved closer to his hand.

           _She likes you too! Oh, my God, she’s the one, baby! – Renata bounced, holding Lola tight – let’s go to sign the adoption papers!

           _Sure, let’s go – Mark took her hand and they walked over the counter. Next to them, she noticed a bunch of aquariums and stared at them for a while – did you find something interesting?

           _That fish looks like me! Look! We have the same distant cold stare –Renata pointed to a golden fish. Mark looked at it, attentively.

           _Mmm…you’re right. It looks like you when you’re working and ignore me – he smirked and she pinched his cheek.

           _And Lola looks like you when I’m working and you want to cuddle – she looked at the cat in her arms. When Renata said that, Lola stretched and snuggled even closer to her. They giggled.

           _I have no doubt she’s the perfect pet for us.

7. “You know what, I don’t really feel like getting tortured today, can you just let me go with a stern warning.” Words:171

           Mark was leaving the apartment to go to work, when Renata appeared in front of him, arms folded.

           _What?

           _You forgot to do the dishes last night – he tapped his forehead.

           _Sorry, babe. I really forgot.

           _This will have consequences for you, mister – she remained serious.

           _Oh? – he widened his eyes – what kind of consequences?

           _Bad consequences.

           _ You know what, I don’t really feel like getting tortured today, can you just let me go with a stern warning? – Renata sighed and rolled her eyes.

           _Okay, I’ll give you a chance. If you don’t wash tonight, you will sleep on the couch – she arched an eyebrow, trying to suppress a laugh, but she let out when he tickled her – this is unfair! I can’t get mad at you!

           _Believe me, I know – he kissed her deeply, and she pulled back grinning – don’t worry, the first thing I’ll do when I get back from work is wash everything.

           _Okay – she smiled – I love you so much, Mark.

           _I love you too, Nata.

Thanks for reading!

Let me know if you want to be tagged in future fanfics!

[aparticularbandit]

i’ve got somewhere between 9-10k written in another au that i’m really excited about. i do think i want to hold off on posting this one - possibly until after the rough draft is done, although i’m not sure. i like the current schedule alternating between carla and if you lived here, you’d be home now with time between chapters to take a break and do something else.

i do still want to finish the choose-your-own-adventure fic.

i do still want to finish the fic that primarily deals with rose and her concept of identity. (i guess if we consider iylhybhn as primarily a luisa-centric fic with strong helpings of roisa (among other things), this would be primarily a rose-centric fic with equally strong helpings of roisa, set during s3. ish.) i have previously referred to this as either the submarine fic or the suit fic, but right now i think i’ll probably combine those two. maybe.

i do still want to finish the pokémon fic trilogy. i have very strong ideas for clara’s book and the last book, but luisa’s is falling behind. her is less concrete, and there are gaps.

i do still have a finished rough draft for a one-shot that i may or may not work up to post. the ideas covered there may end up in other fics (for instance, luisa’s desire to have children but fear of passing on her and her mother’s genetics, which showed up in the newest chapter of iylhybhn - the end result of which may be seen in at least one of the other fics on which i’ve been writing).

i kind of want to finish one of the roisa holiday specials, but the widow!luisa aspect is being used in a different fic, so maybe not that one - which means it’d be more the subversion than the one played straight and idk. so maybe not.

outside of roisa fic, i do want to edit and start posting the noir fanfic that i wrote...four? FIVE?! years ago. it’s complete and was in its fourth draft before i stopped working on it, but it sticks in the back of my mind as the one novel-length project i actually finished and i. still want to share it. on a weekly updating schedule. like i’d initially planned. but to do that, i should probably do a rewatch of the series and i may rewrite the second chapter entirely do to its, uh, sensitive content.

i also have a rare pair fic i’ve started that may get me into trouble that I’d like to work on.

i also have another ship (that i don’t really ship and maybe no one actually really shipped other than torture porn - which is! what! bothers! me! because it’s a legitimate ship and i want it to have legitimate fic) that i want to write fic for that was prompted by something else i saw posted. idk if i’ll do this one or not, though, given the potential risks involved.

but right now, my current main focuses are carla, iylhybhn, and that first fic i mentioned that i’ve been writing. i know my tendency to get distracted with new projects, and that’s fine, but i actually want to finish those three. when i finish one of the longer projects, i may throw another long project into rotation. i haven’t decided yet.

but yes. reasons why i’ve been writing a bunch (not as much as nanowrimo but generally speaking the same schedule, just with a lower word count per month) but not necessarily posting as much.

[seenashwrite]

Changes for Nash

I'm going to be pulling back the time I spend on here in various ways, and if you'd like to know in what ways you can find the basic scoop below the cut.

To new followers - I hate that you've arrived just in time to see this, but I must hit “pause” and look after myself. Story-wise (and otherwise!) there's quite a bit of original content to peruse, so I hope this will satisfy you for the time being.

To all of the Nashooligans  - please understand this does not mean I won't still post things and queue things. I've got a ton of stuff in drafts (thank you notes, replies, feedback, etc.) that will get posted in due time. I'm not disappearing. I'm not dropping the friendships I've made and the chats we have/the things we share/etc., nor a couple of challenges I agreed to and the side-blog projects I’ve committed to work on with others.

For those of you who don't read further, I'll close for you with a heartfelt...

Much lurve - Nash.

What’s changing / stopping:

I've been doing some purging offline, and now have starting doing some purging online. As there are many of you I consider friends and as I have a good chunk of devoted readers/participants in my shenanigans around here, I feel I owed you the scoop on what's changing (at least for now). 

The TL;DR is that “major” original content (things that require great time investment) are not going to be making an appearance for the near future.

So, here are the things related to how I am choosing to spend my time in the context of my activity in the world of fanfic/SPN for the future/near future:

.

* Some projects are indefinitely on hold and some projects are cancelled altogether (see freshly updated Works In Progress post); I will fulfill my remaining challenge commitments as promised, and while perhaps it will be more abbreviated than normal, I will do my best not to kick out anything less than what y’all expect from me creativity-wise

* I've pulled everything from FF.net - the user end is too cumbersome, I'm tired of wasting time on it. I've left everything up on AO3, no plans to take it down from there. I've actually been going through the works there and editing formatting that slipped through the cracks. One thing I am doing is ceasing with adding cute images to stuff, simply not willing to spend the time on it; I may or may not remove the things for which images are necessary to understanding references in a story; we'll see

* Speaking of images - and videos and gifs and whatnots - no more any time soon; I promised one to someone and that’s already done, it’ll be stuck in the Q

* The Nail is on indefinite hold, very possibly will no longer happen; I may whip up an abbreviated version with the fics I had prepped for the next edition, or I'll individually reblog them - priority going to those with less than 100 notes - with brief versions of my usual in depth commentary as time permits; we'll see

* CASPN has been a commitment of mine each week > 1 year, minus the 3 weeks or so absence in the fall due to an injury that resulted in an unexpected hospital stay; I know this is a favorite weekly "break" for a good handful of you; I think I just need my own break. I know for sure I'm no longer able/willing to work on the decks, it is likely more of a time-suck than people realize to comb scripts, get the format for workable Qs and As right, maintain the whole shebang, etc.; bottom line: I just don't know. Like I say, I think I need a hiatus. Maybe until the season premiere. I'll keep thinking about it, let you know on Thursday where I'm at.

* The couple of side blog endeavors I’m pleased to be part of will still keep happening, I committed to it and I’m not gonna leave y’all in a lurch. Plus, that stuff’s fun, and not being in charge of ‘em means less stress and less time consumption

* Having said that, I won't be finishing up the substantial behind-the-scenes work I’ve already done on the SPN Theft Watch blog that is still in construction mode; I'm not deleting it, I'm just not willing to invest time in it right now. I still have several outstanding issues to deal with regarding the personal theft that came over to Tumblr and the reblogs that still have not been deleted. There are a few I still need to give a second notice to; the ones who have now ignored me after 2x, I'm reporting

* I won't be taking on "Dear Nash" things that ask for writing advice, offering up the "Dear Nash: Script Doctor Edition" option, re-blogging any of my writing tips; to the Nonners who asked for a complete master post of such, and the Nonners who asked for a post on how to give and accept critique, I'm putting those on the back burner as well; I also won't be passing along writing tips from professionals; basically nothing under the umbrella of “advice” [ETA: I have done this once since this post (months later) and it went okay. Will consider doing again]

ETA - Neglected to mention that I’ve had an idea for a gift for y’all when/if I hit 1K followers - the “materials” have been accumulating in a bookmark folder - and it’s unlike anything/any concept I’ve seen during my tenure in the fandom. It may take awhile, but I do still plan on doing it.

And if you care to know more scoop about the why... well, the “why” of the tipping point(s) that made me seriously ponder on what I’ve been feeling for awhile now... that’s on a page I made here. 

(Spoiler alert: I’m not angry, there’s no hurt fee-fees, it’s just realization about what I choose to spend my time on and what I get out of those things, how much joy it would bring me and how that’s shifted.)

[evandorepart2]

omg so my dad and i were talking about the future and stuff and things and he told me that my best option was pursuing a creative career and look into writing more seriously. so i am. by that ive found a bunch of magazines and stuff so im gonna start writing to submit things into there + i made a whole list of ideas or older stuff i could possibly rewrite split into novels / short stories / poetry + flash fiction

so the goal now is to like. i guess just write and build up my portfolio lol i mean its not like i Havent been writing but its mainly been fanfics which hmmm dont rlly consider that. as real writing no offense. thats mainly just been practice. ill make like a sideblog and stuff to post it all etc etc but for now i have to focus on my submissions. currently theres two im looking at since theyre open - though one i couldnt find a deadline? so ill be saying before the end of december but idk. other is late january so i have time

the rest either reopen january or later in the year so ill get to it when i get to it.

anyway my two things; one is a series of poems under the theme of Intersections. which i have titled very originally as [the soulmate / the meadow / the boar (the beetle]. take with that as you will lol

the second is a horror - science fiction with a focus on magical realism. so it Has to be grounded in reality. which im doing a short story about Grief, your lover as a ghost and your house is your graveyard.

i have drafts for both done but im gonna be rewriting like. lots and lots and lots. and obv cant share anything until after i submit and im rejected or accepted. if im being honest i do Not have super high hopes bc this is my first time ever doing this and also the ppl i see getting accepted are like multi published authors with multiple degrees and i am a highschool dropout who struggles writing a single paragraph. so um but its whatever i think just the act of actually Finishing and Submitting is the best in the world. and i can always rewrite stuff as i get older or submit to other magazine - esp the ghost story it fits a few other ones i have my eye on.

butttt yea! very happy to have something to work towards i guess! and finally be able to say that i am a writer and have something to show for it :)

[ciathyzareposts]

Game 360: Quest for Power (1981)

Problem #1: Nothing Arthur or Galahad did was done “for power.”

          Quest for Power

United States

Crystalware (developer and original publisher); Epyx (later publisher)

Released in 1981 for Atari 800 and Apple II. Rereleased in 1982 as King Arthur’s Heir

Date Started: 5 March 2019

Date Finished: 5 March 2019

Total Hours: 1

Difficulty: Very Easy (1/5)

Final Rating: (to come later)

Ranking at time of posting: (to come later)

            Quest for Power is another insulting game from Crystalware, a company that was either knowingly scamming its customers or so clueless about what made a good game that they must have never played one. I admit that their titles at least sound interesting–I was sucked in by the backstory of House of Usher (1980), for instance–but if anything they’ve gotten progressively worse as time passed, losing core elements that made them, if not “good,” at least memorable. A commenter named Tronix recently posted some background on the company, and while we can’t take an anonymous Internet comment as gospel, what he says makes sense given the quality of the games. I’m particularly disturbed about the party where they “skipped town” while still owing money to a lot of developers. I hope the developer of this game, Marc Benioff, managed to recover.

There isn’t much to say about Quest for Power. Like the other Benioff/Crystalware collaboration, The Forgotten Island (1981), it’s a short adventure with a few light RPG elements, recalling in structure the old Adventure for the Atari 2600 (1979). It takes about as long to play and win the game as to read the manual, and the lengths that Epyx went through to puff up the manual for the re-release (as King Arthur’s Heir) are particularly absurd given the paucity of actual gameplay. 

            You have to have several artifacts before you enter Canterbury.

            The backstory casts you as Sir Galahad, son of Arthur’s “good friend” Lancelot, who Arthur designates as his heir to the English throne if he can find and return the Scroll of Truth, which Merlin has hidden somewhere on the island. Good lord, that sentence alone manages to mangle the Arthurian legends in about a dozen different ways. The whole point of Galahad’s story–in the few sources where he actually appears–is that he’s too pure for the mortal world, and he is taken bodily into heaven at the end of the Grail Quest. Arthur and Lancelot are hardly “friends” by the end of Arthur’s reign; Merlin should be long gone; and the realm wouldn’t be known as “England” for over 400 years.

               There are several places to buy necessities. This particular list makes it look like I’m about to murder someone and then dump the body off-shore.

             Your little icon sets out from Camelot to explore the land, which I guess is roughly shaped like Britain except that for some reason it’s surrounded by a wall. Your journey will take you to the Caves of Somerset, Hastings Mountain, Sunderland, Essex, the Castle of Skenfrith, the Black Forest, the Eagle Stone, Canterbury, Hillsborough by the Sea, and Leeds. (Of these, only Canterbury has any authentic Arthurian history. “Hastings Mountain” doesn’t even exist.) The manual makes it sound like these are all exotic and interesting places to explore, but really they’re just names written across the screen with maybe one NPC and a treasure item.

            This would have made World War II a lot easier.

           To win the game, you have to defeat a series of enemies (The Devil of Skenfrith Castle, the Black Wizard, Gogmagog–none of them appear in actual Arthuriana) and acquire a series of treasures. For instance, you explore the Caves of Somerset to find the key to Essex, where you find Moses’s Rod (where’s Kenny when you need him?), and so forth. The enemies named in those parentheses, plus a couple of dragons, are the only fights in the game.

              Canonically, Galahad could probably do this.

           Combat is a matter of random rolls. Each round, each fighter does 1-9 points of base damage against the enemy but each round, one of the two combatants gets 10 added to his roll. For instance, you might take 7 damage while doing 19 in the first round, but in the second the Black Wizard gets the bonus and does 15 damage to you versus your 3 damage to him.

                 Looks like I got lucky this round.

               As you start off with only 3 hit points, the first combat–whoever you fight it with–is a risk. But if you can win, you’ll gain enough power and extra hit points that further combats become much easier. After your second or third combat, you’re basically invincible.

          In battle against Gogmagog.

         Gold chests pop up randomly as you explore, and there are a few places where you can spend your gold on an axe, a rope, and a boat. There are three NPCs (Ambrosius, Amadas, and some random guy in Essex Castle) who give you spectacularly unnecessary hints, and one of them must be bribed over 1,000 gold for his. 

     I’m sure I would have found it on my own anyway.

       Once you’ve found enough artifacts and have built up enough power from killing enemies, the guard Oberion (facepalm) will let you into Canterbury. There, you find the Ark of the Covenant. If you open it without the three major artifacts (Anselm’s Staff, Solomon’s Ring, and Moses’s Rod), you’ll be melted in the manner of the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark. With the three artifacts, you find the Scroll of Truth.

    Completing my quest.

Granted, I had the emulator speed cranked up to 250%, but it still only took me about 20 minutes to run around the map and do what I needed to do. The game minimizes its control scheme; the manual actually brags about this. All action is mapped to the joystick except for the (T)rade command. If you have certain items (torch, boat, rope), you’re assumed to use them when the situation calls for it.

Returning the Scroll of Truth to Camelot wins the game. You get a picture of the throne room at Camelot and your score is displayed.

             You can tell it’s Camelot by the “C” on the banners.

            But of course it doesn’t end there. As with half of Crystalware’s titles, there’s supposedly a Great Mystery lurking beneath the surface, with players encouraged to solve it and send their solutions to the company, with promises of a $250 cash prize. (The Epyx re-release removes any mention of such a puzzle.) As usual, I not only didn’t solve it, I don’t even know what they’re talking about. Is it something you’re supposed to find in the game? A hidden message? Is it simply winning the game? 

                 Can anyone identify the source of the image Crystalware used? Reverse image searches were no help.

        The manual says that to solve the mystery, you must a) read the entire manual, b) “go to each of the magical places and talk to all of the magical people.” “It is then,” the manual says, “you may understand the very neurotic mystery.” Did the author not know what “neurotic” means, or is that a clue?

               I wonder if they paid anyone.

           The only three people to talk with in the game are Ambrosius, Amadas, and the guy at Essex. Amadas, at Hastings Mountain, says that “you must have Solomon’s Ring and Anselm’s Staff and Gogmagog to make it past Oberion!” (Once you defeat Gogmagog, his power “fuses” with you or something.)  Ambrosius is hanging out by something called the Eagle Stone, and he says, “Ah, son of Arthur [???], the staff is in the caves.” Essex says, “The Ring of Solomon is in the Skenfrith Castle.” I’ve looked for anagrams, initialisms, and other wordplay and can’t find anything. Thus, I’ll give a reward of $50 to whoever can solve the mystery, which is five times the value of the GIMLET I gave to Quest for Power. It’s the first game so far with 1s straight across the board.

*****

Let’s talk about how we got so far down the list:

      1. I’m having trouble with Planet’s Edge (1991). The introductory application starts up okay, but every time I hit ESC to move on, DOSBox crashes with a “corrupt MCB chain” error. I’ve tried multiple versions. I’ve tried running INSTALL and configuring video and sound different ways. I’ve tried running it with LOADFIX. I have not tried another computer with a different configuration of DOSBox, which I will next week after I move.

2. Minotaur: Labyrinths of Crete (1992) turns out to be a two-player game. (You’re supposed to connect over AppleTalk.) There’s a “single-player mode,” but it just lets you explore the dungeon, pick up items, and test them, not play in any meaningful way. It moves to the rejection list.

             Wandering the Minotaur dungeon.

              3. I thought I had a working copy of OrbQuest from reader Lance M., but I lost it or never downloaded it or something. I had to ask him for it again. He came through, but I had already half-drafted this entry by then. It’ll be soon.

4. I’m moving this week, so I didn’t have time to approach a game as complicated as Ultima VII.

      Anyway, this means I need two more games to add to the “upcoming” list, replacing both Quest for Power and Minotaur. The earliest game on my list that I haven’t played is Sands of Mars (1981), another Crystalware title. We have three more, in fact, and I think I’m going to try to cover them all in one entry, but we’ll leave it as Sands of Mars for now. After that comes a random roll! It lands on Moraff’s Dungeons of the Unforgiven (1993). For those worried that I’m going to get too far away from 1992 before playing Might and Magic IV/V, don’t worry–we’re going to have a discussion next week about designating “landmark” games that I should prioritize in a given year.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-360-quest-for-power-1981/

[apsbicepstraining]

Dean Karnazes: ‘When you’re striving, that’s when “youre feeling” most alive’

In his latest notebook, the ultramarathoner takes on the ancient Greek 153 -mile Spartathlon. He talks about the magic in sorrow and why he has stopped fuelling up on pizza

Hi Dean. You have a new volume out, The Road to Sparta. What is it about? It is the story and the lore of the marathon, from its genesis in ancient Greece 2,500 years ago to the modern marathon. Its how the marathon became the marathon.

And in the book you take on the Spartathlon race[ a 153 -mile race from Athens to Sparta] in Greece, right? Well, what I learned in experimenting the marathon is that theres more to the storey than a lot of us visualized, and it goes beyond 26.2 miles into an ultramarathon. Pheidippides was recruited to run from Athens to Sparta to draft the Spartan for duel. He was actually health professionals smuggler, they were announced hemerodrome, which entailed day-long runner. The Athenians realised that an elite ultrarunner could outrun a mare; we are able to essentially dispatch males quicker than horses if needed. So the Spartathlon is the modern-day form of that journey.

As an ultrarunner with Greek heritage, you must detect a strong connection with this story? Exceedingly often so. My daddy used to always say that were from the same village as Pheidippides. If you go to the hamlet where my fathers from, everyone gazes alike.

Youve flow hundreds of ultramarathons in all seven continents how did its own experience of is participating in Greece compare? It was a different sort of suffer in that Im a modern-day ultramarathoner. I have all the kit, Im gobbling gelatin jam-packs, hydration fluids and everything but in this race I tried to recreate what Pheidippides did 2,500 years ago, running in leather sandals, eating figs and olives and antidote meat I mean, the latter are a tougher raise back then.

What I detected when I was running for 24 hours eating exclusively figs, gives say I had some GI questions, my bowels kind of shut down, so I truly couldnt eat anything for the second half of the race exclusively ocean for 75 miles. I necessitate, he died at the end of his run, and I can see how it is unable to kill you. There was a point when I was maybe 120 miles into the hasten, I was excessively dehydrated, my electrolytes were out of poise, and as I was guiding along I identified what appeared to be a grasshopper, or a praying mantis, a little stick figure in between my hoofs moving along as I was guiding. And I was seeming down at this thing, trying to make sense of it, trying not to step on it and then I realised, it dawned on me thats me! It was as though I was in apache helicopters or a hot-air bag. So I make I had an out-of-body experience. Ive never had anything like that be allowed to happen before and I supposed, maybe this is how you feel right before you die.

Your volumes have inspired a lot of parties to take up ultrarunning. Is this a good circumstance? Ive been conflicted about this a little bit. Theres a race “ve called the” Western Territory 100 thats in my first volume, Ultramarathon Man, and theres a lottery to get in. You used to have a 50 -5 0 risk, but now theres 15 have applied for each entry, so its almost impossible to get in and parties blame me, they say: You told the world about ultramarathoning, and now everyones get into it.

I respect that, but I think its something of a myopic point of view because ultrarunning is a royal seek and has brought purpose to numerous publics lives, as it has excavation. I wrote about this in my book and, in a manner that is, that gave granted permission to other people to try these sorts of things.

I think people can identify with my floor because its every runners narrative, we all feel pain together. This latest work is about a very difficult hasten of quarry. I could have had a good race and it would just be a standard hasten report, but this is about a guy falling apart, its a commonality that unites us.

Do you think you have to be a certain type of person to enjoy putting yourself through those kinds of suffering? I think theres supernatural in destitution, and thats been lost in western culture. We pondered if we took all the sorenes and strive out of our lives, marriage be happy, and I think were so cozy, were dismal. When youre contending, when you look back at that ordeal, thats when you feel most alive, and I envision parties try that out because life is so prosaic now.

Youve done so many races, can you say if one was the more difficult of all? The Badwater ultramarathon across Death valley is a very challenging hasten, 135 miles non-stop, over 50 C, with a headwind.

Do you preserve your mileage? Do you know how far youve was participating in total? Not genuinely, but for the back of the napkin forecast, possibly about 100,000 miles.

Do “youve been” listen to music while youre operating? I listen to audiobooks. I perhaps have 500 on my playlist. I moved across America one time from LA to New York and I perhaps listened to 50 journals in 75 eras of running.

I really like nut butters, I find they sit better with me than gelatins ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes. Image: Atlantic Books

Whats the furthest youve ever run in one proceed? I once moved 350 miles in an 81 -hour continual push.

What do you like to eat while youre ranging? Ill never live down the story in Ultramarathon Man of prescribing a pizza and going it delivered to the roadside as I operate by. But I dont eat that sort of nutrient any more. I really like nut butters, I find they sit better with me than gels. I like coconut sea for hydration, I find that works well.

Whats your favourite home in the world to control? It was London today[ we did a curve along the Thames in central London before the interrogation ]. My favourite target is wherever I am that day. But that was a splendid drain. To you, it was all normal, but it would be like me taking you for a run across the Golden Gate bridge[ near his home in San Francisco ].

Do you ever extend barefoot? On the beach, or the infield of a track, yes. I enjoy leading barefoot, but not on pavements. But I did move a marathon barefoot I wanted to see what it was like.

How was it? It was frightful! My legs were no longer as sore, amazingly, but my hoofs were really beat up.

Who is your ranging hero? Probably my father. I recollect going to the inaugural LA marathon[ in 1986 ]. I was just a young boy and I recollect he ended up in the medical tent at the finish. He was a mess, he had an IV in his arm, he was shivering, and I looked at him and my first thought was: why would anyone do this, Im never going to run a marathon, this is the most ridiculous thing. So he affected me, but not in accordance with the rules you would think. But something about it must have resonated.

The Road to Sparta is published by Allen and Unwin( 12.99 ). To buy for 11.04 go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p& p over 10, online guilds exclusively. Phone prescribes min p& p of 1.99.

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[footballleague0]

Preseason BPI reveal shows just how dominant the Golden State Warriors will be

The 29 NBA teams that are not the Warriors should brace themselves: Their odds of knocking off Golden State are even longer this season. The Warriors have a 57.9 percent chance to repeat as NBA champs, according to preseason numbers from ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI). That makes them even heavier favorites than they were this time last year, when they were still the likeliest team to win it all (52.4 percent) by an overwhelming margin.

BPI is a forward-looking model that predicts the strength of each team on offense, defense and altogether. In making its game predictions, the model takes into account factors such as the strength of the two teams, the game’s location and rest differential between the two squads. BPI simulates the season 10,000 times to create its projections for both the season and the playoffs.

During the season, the model will adjust daily to include information gathered from every game that is played. But in the preseason, with no games played so far, the model is based on past performance combined with Vegas win totals.

And right now, that tells us …

The Warriors are really, really good

Breaking news, right? But seriously, it is notable that they are even heavier favorites than they were a year ago. The reason for that is simple: The model, quite frankly, thinks the Warriors are better than it did this time last year. Not better than how they ended up — that’s a different question altogether — but how good they were expected to be.

BPI believes the Warriors, who are returning all the key players from last season’s championship run, are 9.4 points better than the average team. That breaks down to a +5.6 rating on offense and a +3.7 on defense (that adds up to 9.3, but as a result of rounding their total BPI rating is +9.4).

ESPN Analytics

We mentioned earlier that the season is simulated 10,000 times to create BPI’s projections. Guess how many times the Warriors made the playoffs in those simulations? Yep, all 10,000. In fact, they never finished worse than the 5-seed in any simulation.

Some other Warriors projections while we’re on the subject:

Expected regular-season win total: 63.1. Chance to be the No. 1 seed in the West: 91.3 percent. Chance to reach the Finals: 67.2 percent.

Yeah, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are a tough out.

Their most challenging opponent will come from within the Western Conference: the Houston Rockets, at a total BPI rating of +5.1. That’s a pretty wide gap between BPI’s No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams.

Though BPI doesn’t specifically make an adjustment for the addition of Chris Paul, Vegas certainly recognizes the impact the star point guard can bring to Houston and adjusts its win totals accordingly, which in turn is reflected in BPI.

But the Rockets are not the second-most likely team to win the title next season.

If not the Warriors or Rockets, then who?

The Boston Celtics, that’s who.

That means Kyrie Irving jumped from the reigning Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers to the team favored to hold that title next. The revamped Celtics — with Irving and Gordon Hayward now on their roster — have a 12.1 percent chance to win the whole thing, best in the East. When the Warriors are taking up such a high likelihood of winning it all, 12.1 percent isn’t that bad.

Boston’s BPI rating is +4.9, fourth-best in the NBA behind the Warriors, Rocket and Spurs. Despite that, the C’s are the second-most-likely to win the Finals because they are in the East.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are sixth in BPI (+3.8) and have the fifth-best chance to win it all, at 6.4 percent. The Celtics and Cavs have a 55.8 percent and 27.9 percent chance, respectively, to be the No. 1 seed in the East.

As for Cavs-Warriors IV in the NBA Finals? BPI believes there’s a 17.5 percent chance of it happening.

But back to the Irving-Isaiah Thomas deal. How valuable is the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick the Celtics gave up?

According to BPI, that pick has an 11 percent chance of being the No. 1 overall pick, a 33 percent chance of being in the top three and a 59 percent chance of being in the top five.

If those are lower than you were expecting, that’s because BPI actually doesn’t think Brooklyn is the worst team in the NBA. That honor belongs to the Chicago Bulls (-7.2), who dealt Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason. The Atlanta Hawks, who lost Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. and traded Dwight Howard, are the second-worst team in the league at -5.8.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Bulls and Hawks also have the best shot at the No. 1 overall pick next summer, with a 20.9 percent and 14.8 percent chance, respectively.

While Boston might keep an eye on the pick it traded to Cleveland, much more important to the Celtics is the Lakers’ pick, which becomes theirs if it falls between 2-5 as a result of the trade the 76ers made with the Celtics for the first overall pick in the 2017 draft. That pick has an 18.3 percent chance of falling in the zone that would result in the Sixers shipping it to Boston. The Celtics will receive a different pick in 2019 if the Lakers’ pick falls outside that zone.

Who are the big movers?

We already discussed the Bulls and Hawks, the two teams expected to see the largest drop in wins this season. They are followed by the Jazz (expected to win 10.3 fewer games in 2017-18) and Pacers, who each lost a star — Hayward and Paul George, respectively — this offseason.

The Timberwolves, who were on the other end of that Butler trade, are projected to win 47.6 games, a 16.6-win increase from their total a season ago. The 76ers are behind them, projected to win 42 games after winning 28 a season ago.

Neil Johnson contributed to this story.

For more from ESPN Analytics, visit the ESPN Analytics Index.

The post Preseason BPI reveal shows just how dominant the Golden State Warriors will be appeared first on Daily Star Sports.

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[giantsfootball0]

Preseason BPI reveal shows just how dominant the Golden State Warriors will be

The 29 NBA teams that are not the Warriors should brace themselves: Their odds of knocking off Golden State are even longer this season. The Warriors have a 57.9 percent chance to repeat as NBA champs, according to preseason numbers from ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI). That makes them even heavier favorites than they were this time last year, when they were still the likeliest team to win it all (52.4 percent) by an overwhelming margin.

BPI is a forward-looking model that predicts the strength of each team on offense, defense and altogether. In making its game predictions, the model takes into account factors such as the strength of the two teams, the game’s location and rest differential between the two squads. BPI simulates the season 10,000 times to create its projections for both the season and the playoffs.

During the season, the model will adjust daily to include information gathered from every game that is played. But in the preseason, with no games played so far, the model is based on past performance combined with Vegas win totals.

And right now, that tells us …

The Warriors are really, really good

Breaking news, right? But seriously, it is notable that they are even heavier favorites than they were a year ago. The reason for that is simple: The model, quite frankly, thinks the Warriors are better than it did this time last year. Not better than how they ended up — that’s a different question altogether — but how good they were expected to be.

BPI believes the Warriors, who are returning all the key players from last season’s championship run, are 9.4 points better than the average team. That breaks down to a +5.6 rating on offense and a +3.7 on defense (that adds up to 9.3, but as a result of rounding their total BPI rating is +9.4).

ESPN Analytics

We mentioned earlier that the season is simulated 10,000 times to create BPI’s projections. Guess how many times the Warriors made the playoffs in those simulations? Yep, all 10,000. In fact, they never finished worse than the 5-seed in any simulation.

Some other Warriors projections while we’re on the subject:

Expected regular-season win total: 63.1. Chance to be the No. 1 seed in the West: 91.3 percent. Chance to reach the Finals: 67.2 percent.

Yeah, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are a tough out.

Their most challenging opponent will come from within the Western Conference: the Houston Rockets, at a total BPI rating of +5.1. That’s a pretty wide gap between BPI’s No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams.

Though BPI doesn’t specifically make an adjustment for the addition of Chris Paul, Vegas certainly recognizes the impact the star point guard can bring to Houston and adjusts its win totals accordingly, which in turn is reflected in BPI.

But the Rockets are not the second-most likely team to win the title next season.

If not the Warriors or Rockets, then who?

The Boston Celtics, that’s who.

That means Kyrie Irving jumped from the reigning Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers to the team favored to hold that title next. The revamped Celtics — with Irving and Gordon Hayward now on their roster — have a 12.1 percent chance to win the whole thing, best in the East. When the Warriors are taking up such a high likelihood of winning it all, 12.1 percent isn’t that bad.

Boston’s BPI rating is +4.9, fourth-best in the NBA behind the Warriors, Rocket and Spurs. Despite that, the C’s are the second-most-likely to win the Finals because they are in the East.

The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are sixth in BPI (+3.8) and have the fifth-best chance to win it all, at 6.4 percent. The Celtics and Cavs have a 55.8 percent and 27.9 percent chance, respectively, to be the No. 1 seed in the East.

As for Cavs-Warriors IV in the NBA Finals? BPI believes there’s a 17.5 percent chance of it happening.

But back to the Irving-Isaiah Thomas deal. How valuable is the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick the Celtics gave up?

According to BPI, that pick has an 11 percent chance of being the No. 1 overall pick, a 33 percent chance of being in the top three and a 59 percent chance of being in the top five.

If those are lower than you were expecting, that’s because BPI actually doesn’t think Brooklyn is the worst team in the NBA. That honor belongs to the Chicago Bulls (-7.2), who dealt Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason. The Atlanta Hawks, who lost Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. and traded Dwight Howard, are the second-worst team in the league at -5.8.

It’s no surprise, then, that the Bulls and Hawks also have the best shot at the No. 1 overall pick next summer, with a 20.9 percent and 14.8 percent chance, respectively.

While Boston might keep an eye on the pick it traded to Cleveland, much more important to the Celtics is the Lakers’ pick, which becomes theirs if it falls between 2-5 as a result of the trade the 76ers made with the Celtics for the first overall pick in the 2017 draft. That pick has an 18.3 percent chance of falling in the zone that would result in the Sixers shipping it to Boston. The Celtics will receive a different pick in 2019 if the Lakers’ pick falls outside that zone.

Who are the big movers?

We already discussed the Bulls and Hawks, the two teams expected to see the largest drop in wins this season. They are followed by the Jazz (expected to win 10.3 fewer games in 2017-18) and Pacers, who each lost a star — Hayward and Paul George, respectively — this offseason.

The Timberwolves, who were on the other end of that Butler trade, are projected to win 47.6 games, a 16.6-win increase from their total a season ago. The 76ers are behind them, projected to win 42 games after winning 28 a season ago.

Neil Johnson contributed to this story.

For more from ESPN Analytics, visit the ESPN Analytics Index.

The post Preseason BPI reveal shows just how dominant the Golden State Warriors will be appeared first on Daily Star Sports.

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[char27martin]

7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Angelica Baker

“7 Things I’ve Learned So Far” (this installment written by Angelica Baker, author of OUR LITTLE RACKET) is a recurring column where writers at any stage of their career can talk about writing advice and instruction, as well as how they possibly got their literary agent—by sharing seven things they’ve learned along their writing journey that they wish they knew at the beginning.

Angelica Baker’s debut novel, OUR LITTLE RACKET, was published by Ecco in June 2017. She has written essays and reviews for The Los Angeles Review of Books, Columbia: A Journal of Literature & Art, The Rumpus, and Tin House’s “The Open Bar.” Her fiction has appeared in Violet and One Teen Story. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. She currently teaches at Manhattanville College.

  1. You should write every single day that you can…

During the year or so before I started writing my book, I solicited writing advice from every possible source. I was preparing for graduate school, starting to imagine what my writing life was going to look like once I’d been untethered from the “normal” confines of an office job, and I greedily sought out any potentially useful nugget of wisdom from every single writer I’d ever admired.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten (or at least flagrantly ignored) many of those maxims, but the one I find myself revisiting on an almost daily basis is this: it’s essential that you write every day because there’s no way to know, in advance, when inspiration is going to strike. Fruitful writing days, for me, often start out feeling almost exactly like useless writing days. If I’m not at my desk when a knotty problem works its way loose in my head, then there’s no chance that solution will ever make it onto the page.

2. …although if you don’t write every day, that’s fine!…

When I say that you should write every single day that you can, I mean that you should build up a habit, establish a routine, and make it feel as much like work—the kind of work where you have a boss who keeps you motivated and honest—as possible. But the unvarnished truth is that you won’t be able to write every day. Aside from days that were set aside for practical concerns, like making the money to pay my rent, there were many days during the four years I worked on my novel that were duds. Sometimes you fiddle with an open Word document for a few minutes before it becomes clear that your mind is sludge that particular day; sometimes, hopefully, you have an hour or so of productive note-taking or editing before you hit a wall. But always, always, there are days when nothing gets done, despite your best and most frantic intentions. And when you have a run of several days like that, despair can creep in. It begins to feel like you’re a delusional fraud, like you’ve let your brain go so soft that it will be impossible ever to whip it back into shape. That self-loathing begins to spiral, feeding on itself with every passing minute of non-writing.

I lost almost an entire year to a severe spiral like that; for months, it felt like I’d made zero progress on my novel. And then I gave some pages to a reader, and when we met for coffee to discuss them, she looked at me with sympathy and a little confusion as I described how useless these months of my life had been. But you are getting something done, she told me. These are obviously moving in the right direction. Why are you being so hard on yourself?

It’s hard to know when “taking the day off” from writing is self-indulgence and when it’s a smart way to avoid one of those spirals. But I’ve learned that I’m never going to be someone who writes every day, starting at nine o’clock on the dot and clocking out at five. My friend was right, when she intuited that I was inwardly berating myself and, as a result, stunting my own progress even further. She was right that I needed to be nicer to myself.

3. …but you should absolutely read every day.

And what’s the one thing that has, all my life, always made me feel better? Reading a book. So while I’ve learned that I’m not the kind of writer who can write every single day, I would be willing to bet that there hasn’t been a single day of my life when I’m not reading the fruits of someone else’s more successful labors. Ironically, reading a book I love almost never makes me feel jealous or petty, not even on my worst writing day. It reminds me of what it felt like to read when I was small, when the question of whether I’d finish writing a book was far less important to me than the question of which book I’d pick up next.

4. Be smart about who gets to read your writing and when you show it to them.

One of my biggest motivations in choosing to attend a graduate writing program was a desire to find a group of readers. My classmates are still doing this for me years later; whether it’s a quick read of a specific passage of my novel that was a struggle, or a deeper opinion on a draft of an essay that doesn’t really seem to be about anything yet, I rely on them on a regular basis (and return the favor whenever I’m asked).

But I knew them well by the time I trusted them to read my novel, and I learned the hard way that giving your work to someone you don’t yet have reason to trust can be a huge mistake. Negative criticism from a trusted reader can be useful because you know you can’t entirely discount his or her opinion. Negative criticism from someone whose tastes and critical eye are more mysterious to you doesn’t necessarily mean much; that person might be someone who would never, ever choose to pick up a book like yours in a bookstore. But here’s the catch: that doesn’t mean they can’t still hurt your feelings or make you doubt yourself. I’ve learned that I’m not yet tough enough—although I’m working on it!—to completely shrug off a nasty or ill-informed comment from anyone, even a reader I don’t necessarily respect. I’ve learned to protect myself, and more importantly my work, by choosing readers carefully.

5. Treat it like a job, even if people around you don’t.

Friends of mine who work in more linear fields have a hard time picturing exactly what it is I do during a day spent “writing.” This seems totally reasonable to me. It’s hard to explain to them exactly how the hours get filled, and I’d be humiliated if they could actually see my endless bouts of crying, pacing, flopping onto my bed in despair, and—yes—cruising through Twitter. But I’ve learned that this fuzziness from other people about what I do makes it all the more essential that I block off my writing time, treating it as something that cannot be interrupted. For years, I’ve worked multiple jobs to make my writing life possible, so there’s always going to be some juggling of schedules. But I try to establish my other commitments in advance and treat the time I plan to spend writing at home as somewhat inviolable. It’s not a free morning or afternoon that I’ll spend writing since I have nothing more pressing to do; it’s work, and I have to show up. There’s no one who would care if I didn’t.

6. Always start with something small.

It’s very rare that I sit down and dive directly into whatever project I hope to spend the day with. Generally, I begin with some sort of small writing or editing exercise that feels like it’s somewhere between “task” and “inspiration.” Sometimes, this can be a small thing I want to read instead, especially poetry. Whatever it is, it opens up the part of my brain that knows that it’s time to settle down, stop flitting from one Twitter link to the next, and work.

7. Don’t read the reviews!

It’s a bit of a cheat to include this on a list of things I’ve learned. It would be much more accurate to put it on a list of things I aspire to learn some time soon. I had a professor who told us once that she hadn’t read any reviews of her work since a particularly savage one for her second novel devastated her; she knew that there was no point. This makes logical sense to me. I understand completely that reading someone’s capsule review on Goodreads, in which my book is criticized because some of the characters in its pages aren’t good parents (according to the reviewer), is an activity that’s at best futile and at worst damaging. And yet, I’ve been reading reviews of my novel. I’ll probably keep reading them for now, much to my boyfriend’s dismay. But I hope, I really do hope, that I’m learning to ignore them.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at cris.freese@fwmedia.com.

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from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/7-things-ive-learned-far-angelica-baker