#maybe this is what finally motivates me to put good fanfic on my AO3 page lol | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

forkanna · 4 years ago

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NOTICE: Characters and locations ©Atlus. This fic and story ©2019-2020 me! All rights to their respective owners. Mature rating for sensual situations and dialogue. Canon (slight) divergence. Based on vanilla P4 since that's what I played (Sorry, Marie fans). Names are in Western order. Title adapted from the boss battle music. Cover art by 7aho.

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NOTES: This one isn't going to be quite as in-depth or long as my P5 fic (and also a lot lighter in the plot department haha). Apologies for all the exposition within the first couple of pages. I always attempt to make the fic accessible for readers who don't know anything about the fandom if I can, but try to keep it short.

And for those of you waiting... don't get mad at me for not putting out very much Elsanna lately. I promise you, it IS coming. LOTS of it. I just have to have proper motivation or it will turn out not so great. Thank you for your patience!

CHAPTER ONE

None of this was right.

The spooky old castle seemed to press in on Chie Satonaka from all sides as she tore down hallway after hallway, the sound of her loafers echoing off the flagstones. Nevermind how bizarre it was that she was in another world — which she was never going to get used to, even if she came and went a thousand times — but her childhood companion and best friend in the whole world being in danger was more important. She didn't have the luxury of being thunderstruck.

Chie and her friends had gone back and forth so often about the Midnight Channel. Was it real? Was it a scam, a mere urban legend? Mass hallucination? Nobody outside of the sleepy little town of Inaba had ever heard of it, or seen it happen; purely a local paranormal phenomenon. As the story went, if you watched your television with its power turned off at midnight, during a rainstorm, you could see something. Some versions even claimed the person you saw on the screen was your soulmate.

However, that was where fantasy ended and grisly reality took over. The two previous instances had shown women that later turned up dead — and not just on TV. Their corpses hung upside down from power lines and rooftops. In this most recent case, they had all seen Yukiko Amagi in the TV — first as a blurry shadow, and now in vivid high definition.

If it really was Yukiko. That woman in the screen looked and sounded nothing like her best friend, even if it was her face and voice. The garish pink princess dress was so unlike her! Not to mention the obscene thirst for boys from such a timid, polite girl… Chie could remember each word with crystal clarity:

"Goooood evening! Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise! I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to 'Not A Dream, Not A Hoax; Princess Yukiko's Hunt For Her Prince Charming!' And I came prepared — I've got my lacy unmentionables on, stacked from top to bottom! I'm out to catch a whole harem, and the best of the lot is gonna be all mine! Well, here I gooooo!"

Every deranged syllable had come from someone else's mind. It had to be a sick joke! Still, there was no other explanation for where her best friend had gone. Unreachable by phone or email, and her parents didn't know where she was, either.

The other world was their only lead. And since Yu had previously shown her and Yosuke that they could actually go inside, as long as the screen was large enough to step through… that was that. Insane as it was, they had all jumped through a big screen TV into a parallel dimension to rescue their friend.

But staircase after staircase flashed past, rich red curtains and glittering chandeliers, with no sign of Yukiko. The shadows pulled at Chie from all sides exactly as the boys had described. Maybe it was her bright green-and-yellow windbreaker that caught their attention, or maybe it was that someone was invading their realm. She didn't belong in Yukiko's palace. Or at the very least, the shadows of the Midnight Channel thought she didn't, and probably were equally distrustful of the boys.

Speaking of which, where were they? She could have sworn both Yu and Yosuke were right behind her… and that weird red-and-blue bear thing, whatever his name was. They had tried to insist she stay behind because she was a girl, not strong enough to fight in spite of her kung fu training, and now they were the ones who couldn't keep up?! She almost wanted to turn back and give them a good kick in the-

"Chie told me that red looks good on me…"

The words nearly made Chie trip over her own feet and go down hard. "Yukiko?!" Where was it coming from? She turned this way and that, trying to find the source, but saw no one. The voice kept going, talking about how much she didn't like her name. How she thought she was worthless. She tried to tune out the harsh words themselves, merely focusing on the direction they were coming from and attempting to follow.

But as she barrelled through an ornate set of double doors, looking for the next flight up… the subject matter changed. And she couldn't ignore the words anymore.

"Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning. She's bright and strong, and she can do anything! She has everything that I don't. Compared to Chie, I'm… I'm…"

"HEY!" she shouted. "I'm coming, Yukiko! Hang on!"

However, the disembodied voice only continued, without any obvious source now. How could it come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time?! "Chie protects me; she looks after my worthless life. And I… I don't deserve any of it… Chie is so kind."

The words burned almost as badly as the tears burned her eyes. This was wrong. Something about it sounded right, sounded satisfying to her, but she didn't want to examine it too deeply. All she wanted was to save her best friend and get her out of this nightmare palace.

"I know, right?"

That was not Yukiko.

"What the-" Her eyes swivelled to the side and saw a girl running backwards. She was about her minimal height, a little over five feet… had the same chestnut-brown bowl cut. The same green jacket. The same…

The same. "Oh no."

"Oh yes," the doppelganger laughed as she easily jogged backwards and kept pace with her, no worry for running into anything. She never did. It was as if this other Chie, this fake, had eyes in the back of her head or rearview mirrors that only she could see. "I bet you knew you'd be seeing me sooner or later."

"What are you?!" Chie demanded of the impostor.

"Don't ask stupid questions," she laughed, voice distorted. "Let's cut the bullshit. And I mean Yukiko's bullshit."

"What… do you… what are you saying?"

Waving a hand up toward the roof, she went on, "Yukiko thinks you're 'so kind'. That you protect her, right? We know that's not what you want from her at all." When she didn't respond, the clone smirked. "You're thrilled to death she depends on you. The most beautiful girl in school, and she needs you — some grubby little bitch who couldn't tell eyeshadow from lipstick. Man, do you get a charge out of that!"

"I… I do not!" she shouted, trying to put her head down and run faster — to ignore this pretender. She had been warned that there were frightening shadows all around them, and this was further proof; it was a trick. One she refused to fall for.

"Where ya goin'?" the clone pouted as she sped up to match pace. "Gotta go save your princess? Of course you do. She can't do anything while you're not around. Helpless like a lost puppy, right?"

Teeth gnashing, she snarled out, "Yukiko is not a puppy!"

"But you wish she was. If she was a helpless dog, yipping around your heels… then you would be set, wouldn't you? What else would you need with a devoted, needy little bitch to boss around?"

"I… excuse me?! What did you call her?" Chie finally stopped, turning to snarl at the girl who stopped as easily as if they had planned this weeks ago. "She's not a bitch! A-and she's not helpless! So you can shut up and go back to wherever you came from, because I have a friend to save!"

And then she left her in the dust.

Determination radiated off her entire body as she leapt over one of the shadows, landed on the face of another and demolished it. They seemed to sap her endurance a little at a time, but she also felt stronger somehow with each one she defeated. Just like training in her secret hideout when she was little; she might be getting tired now, but she would be able to handle more next time.

"You're right."

Her jaw tightened. "Thought I told you to leave me alone."

"You said to go back to where I came from," Other-Chie corrected with a Cheshire cat grin. "And I did! Right here with you!"

"Yukiko needs me! So unless you're going to help me save her-"

"Are you kidding? Like I said, you're right; she's not really that weak. Yukiko doesn't need you. It's the other way around, isn't it?" That shut her up, so the shadow went on, "You don't know the first thing about being a girl. So terrible at it. And she's kind, and sweet, and trusting. What are you?"

"I… I'm her friend."

"No, you're really not," she laughed loudly, harshly. The beginnings of fresh tears stung the back of her throat as she took the next steps two at a time, wishing desperately that she could ditch this unkind spectre. "Because that girl cares about you, and all you care about is that she does. You don't actually like her at all; you find her too quiet, too meek. Too pretty."

"That's not-"

"But she does depend on you. And hey, why should you ditch her when she's so devoted to you? Keep her on the end of your leash like the bitch she is."

"STOP!" Chie begged — and went down hard when her shoe tripped over the top stair, rolling a couple of times onto her side. Her knee had borne the brunt of the fall and now it throbbed in pain, and she automatically tried to massage it. "Just… just leave me alone, I… I do like her, she is my friend! My BEST friend!"

"Awwwwww, is she though?" More false pouting as she crouched over the real Chie. "Can she really be your friend if you want to keep her under your thumb? Totally codependent?"

Growling, she began to crawl forward, wishing she had a good pair of earplugs.

"Can't escape the truuuuth," she sing-songed.

"Go away."

"Just let yourself enjoy it. Give in. In fact… Yukiko is right on the other side of that door."

That made Chie sit up a little straighter. Was she really? Somehow, she knew it was true; she could sense a presence on the other side of the floor-to-ceiling double-doors now that they were so close.

"Yukiko?"

"That's right. So go in there and grind her under the heel of your boot. Show her that you're-"

Completely ignoring the rest of her shadow's words, Chie burst from the ground with renewed adrenaline and kicked open the doors.

"Yukiko!" But the princess didn't move. "Yukiko, what's wrong?!"

As she laughed, madly and maniacally, Yukiko did finally turn around. And she was just as otherworldly and demented as the Chie-clone that had been hounding her heels. Mostly, they looked the same, outfit notwithstanding; it was the eyes… they were almost golden, they blazed with such a yellow intensity. Something about them was most certainly wrong.

"Oh my! A prince has arrived! Things are really heating up!"

Gritting her teeth, Chie pointed at her and said, "No… you're not Yukiko. You're not her at all!"

"What are you talking about?" she gasped, full of false innocence. "I am she, and she is me! We are we."

"Oui oui," Chie's clone added with a light chuckle. A sick lurch shot through her stomach when she realised the clone had followed her inside. Now she had to deal with two of them.

"Oooh la laaaa," the false Yukiko giggled as she pressed an open palm to the center of her chest, just above her ample cleavage. "But I'm afraid if you really want to woo your princess, you'll have to wait! Deeper in, deeper in!"

The shadow of Chie approached her opposite number. Were they in league with each other? Rivals? Maybe they were part of the same being, a monster that wanted to manipulate the people that fell through the TV into this hellscape… but all she did was reach up and grasp at Yukiko's hair, snapping her head backward.

"AH!"

"I'll go deeper in," she promised with a little smirk. "And I don't want to wait."

"Mmhh! Yes, my Prince!" That obscenely lovesick look on her face made Chie turn away from them, throat tight with disgust. "But you can only have me here! I think she wants the other me!"

"Does she? Yes… yes, of course she does." She looked up in time to see the other Chie glowering down at her, despite the sinister smile. "Owning just one of you isn't enough; we need both of you in our cage."

Chie wanted to smack both of their heads together. But then something Yukiko had said pushed through to her: 'deeper in'. She knew where the real Yukiko was.

"Take me to her."

"Huh?" She tilted her head, silky black hair falling to the side. "Take you what where?"

"Don't play dumb. Just… take me to my best friend! You can do whatever you want to me, but I need to see her… I need to know she's okay!"

Against all her expectations, Fake Yukiko pouted instead of looking interested or pleased. "But that's not how this is supposed to work. You do whatever you want to me. Right? I don't wanna be the prince, I wanna be the princess!" And she actually began to sniffle a little.

"Hey, don't cry," the other Chie said with a slight chuckle, tightening her grip on the back of her hair. "I'll make you feel good if you don't cry."

"Y-you will?"

"Hey, HEY!" she shouted over the two of them. "Focus! How about this: I'll help her do that to you, whatever she wants — or I want, or whatever… if you take me to Yukiko first!"

"Oh!" The false Yukiko's face lit up with joy, cheeks turning as pink as her vile princess dress. "You promise? It's not worth it if you don't promise, I wanna hear you say it!"

"I promise. Now, can we get a move on?"

While Yukiko was giggling and literally bouncing up and down for joy, the other Chie started clapping, nodding in approval. "Daaaamn, I'm a little shocked, Satonaka. You're playing her like a fiddle. Thought you were going to insist you're nothing like me, but you're doing exactly what I would do. Bravo!"

"Just cut that out already and let's go," she groaned, burying her face in her hands. Then she felt herself being hoisted into the air. "Wha- WHOA! What are you doing?!"

"Just what you said," she sighed as false Yukiko hitched up her skirts and dashed through the other door toward the stairs. The other Chie fell in step behind her, toting the real one in a princess carry as easily as if she were a bag of flour. "Taking you to see both halves of your whole. Or should I say 'your hole'? Eh? Great pun, right?"

"Disgusting. I can't believe you can talk about her that way — and you call yourself another part of me!"

Her smirk should have been illegal. "Ohhh, but I am. And I see right through all of your bullshit. She's a trophy to you; an ornamental piece. A refrigerator magnet. No… more like, one of those cute little buttons you have pinned to the front of your jacket there." Her head nodded down at said buttons. The sleepy smiley face had always been her favourite, but now she just wanted to rip them off and throw them away. "Something you can wear around and show everyone. Maybe that's what the red one is, right? Is that your Yukiko button?"

"It's… my 'I love exercise' button. And if you're really me, you would know that."

"But it is red, like her favourite colour," she kept teasing.

"Sh-shut up. And do you have to carry me like this?! I can walk, y'know — like my button says!"

"It says you can walk?"

"No, it says I love- just shut up! GOD!"

Laughing openly at her, Other-Chie scoffed, "I'm faster than you. And I won't be a panting, sweaty mess when we get to the top floor… well, maybe once we're there…"

"Does everything you say have to be a double entendre?!"

However, she seemed to be dead on the money. In no time, they were at the top floor, and entering an ornate throne room. Somehow, the shadow Yukiko had gotten there ahead of them with enough time to spare that she could seat herself, and look as prim and proper as if she had been waiting for them for an hour. And there, at the bottom of the red carpet-lined steps leading up to the dais, was…

"YUKIKO!" Springing out of her double's arms, she ran forward and knelt by her side, curling an arm around her shoulders. This Yukiko was wearing a light pink kimono, as she typically did when working at her parents' very traditional Japanese inn.

"My, my, it's getting crowded in here," the shadow on the throne chuckled as she rose from her seat, stepping to the edge of the dais. "Why don't you and I go somewhere else? A land far, far away, where no one knows me. If you're my prince, you'll take me there, won't you? C'mon, pretty please?"

"Do you… mean me?" Chie asked hesitantly. She was a little worried about how the real Yukiko hadn't said anything yet, but curiosity would not let her ignore the shadow entirely.

"Of course, Chie! She's my prince. She always leads the way; Chie is a strong prince." Then she sighed and added, "Or at least, she was."

"Was?" the Other-Chie demanded, eyebrows shooting up.

"When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough. She can't take me away from here — can't save me! Historic inn? Manager training? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down — sick of everything being decided for me!"

"The hell I can't save you!" It was a disbelieving scoff, and the other shadow began to stride up the stairs as she continued, "I'm your prince, aren't I? I can do whatever I want with you. And you'll be grateful, because you know I won't let anything bad happen to you ever again. Well… nothing that I'm not doing to you myself."

Even while Chie herself was reeling in fresh disgust, the other Yukiko's eyes were widening. "You will? I m-mean… I really thought you couldn't help me escape my prison."

"I'll destroy your prison and make you a new one," Other-Chie said… and as she reached the top of the stairs, something about her changed. One blink, and she was identical to the real Chie; the next, a large crown appeared on her head to match the thin, delicate tiara on Other-Yukiko's head. The jacket stayed the same colour but turned into something more royal, with gold braids hanging down in loops over the shoulders. Medals replaced the buttons. And her school skirt became grey tights.

"A new one just for me?" Other-Yukiko gasped in wonder.

"Thick bars made of diamonds. The floor will be polished marble, your cot in the corner will be velvet…" Her hands smoothed up Yukiko's neck, gripping in the hair and tilting her head up. "And your collar will be made of the finest leather money can buy."

"Chie…?"

Her attention instantly diverted from the shadows to the real Yukiko Amagi. She was still huddled in her arms, dazed eyes finally focusing on the stairs, up at the two figures. Then turning to the one holding her.

"Yes?" she breathed. "Are you okay?"

"Chie, what… what is… going on? How did I get here?" Already, her eyes were watering as she whispered, "A-are we going to die?"

It wasn't that Yukiko was a coward, or a weakling. She was stronger than she knew. But she saw herself as weak and helpless. Chie had always tried to encourage her to train with her, thinking the kung fu might help offset that meekness, but she had shied away from it — insisting it would be seen as 'unladylike' by her extremely conservative mother. Frowned upon as something ill-suited for a girl who would one day help run the Amagi Inn to be caught doing.

"No," she whispered, a smile finally pulling at her mouth for the first time since she had entered the TV. "No way. I got your back."

"I've been s-so scared," she whispered fearfully as she trembled in her arms. "I don't know wh- don't know what's going on, but I kept thinking, if… if only you came… but how did you know where I was?"

"Boo hoo," Other-Chie jeered at them. And when she turned to look…

This was a very different scene now. Her princely green coat was now draped over her back like a cape, yakuza-style. The rest of her clothing was… something else. Was it some kind of metal bikini? Maybe it was gold; that would explain the yellow sheen. And between the thigh-high boots and opera gloves, and the smug look on her plain face… the outfit was definitely giving it a very specific connotation.

"Isn't it sickening?" Other-Yukiko sighed, shaking her head as her arms folded in front of her chest — in just the right way to push her breasts up. "They cling to each other like they're going to fall apart. And how can that other me just blubber and cry all the time?"

Other-Chie grinned and started sliding her hand up and down the small of her Yukiko's back. "Mmm, forget about them. The real Chie and Yukiko have business to attend."

"Ooooh," she giggled. "What kind of business?"

"Let's get out of here," the real Yuki whispered. "Just… j-just let them do whatever that is, and… and you and I can go back to Marukyu Tofu and… and have something for dinner, and w-we'll just… forget all about this. Okay? If… if you know the way out?"

Her eyes were so hopeful when she looked up at Chie. As always. That was the look that got to her more than she had ever wanted to admit. Which, unfortunately, contributed to how badly the shadow version of herself was getting to her with each and every word…

"Look at her face," said shadow snorted instantly, grinning wolfishly down at the original Chie. "She finally gets it. She sees the ugly black mold under the tatami that she had been pretending didn't stink for years. Yukiko Amagi is nothing but a tool to her."

"And she loves being a tool," her Yukiko breathed as she sat her Chie in the throne, then crawled into her lap, petting up and down her arms. "I know I do."

"Come on!" the real Yukiko whispered. "Can't we go away? Do you know the way home?"

"Y-yeah," Chie whispered. Then she cleared her throat and stood up. "We're going. Back the way we came; if we can get out of the castle, I think I can take us to where we can go back through the TV."

"Through the what?! I'm- WHOA! Chie-chan!"

Not wanting to mince words, she started dragging Yukiko away from the steps. The other girl couldn't move very fast, but it was as much about the restrictive kimono as it was her inferior athletic ability. But she would never give voice to it, never have complained about-

"Why is she SOOOO slow?!" Of course, Other-Chie said it for her. "Doesn't she ever even go outside? Pathetic!"

"Actually… there's something wrong, my Prince."

"What?"

"They haven't paid us back yet."

"Ohhhh. I believe you're — right!"

A loud din of jangling metal filled the air as Chie suddenly found herself stopped short, just a few more strides from the doors. When she looked down, she saw her arms were pinned to her sides by thick chains, and they were already trying to drag her back toward the throne.

"Hey!" she shouted, struggling. "What the hell is this?!"

"You promised!" Other-Yukiko wailed, pouting as the toothily-grinning Other-Chie dragged her back toward them, up the steps and onto the dais. It hurt, but her pride was wounded far more than her body.

"Promised wh… oh. OH! B-but you already have the other me, isn't that enough?"

"You're my prince! Why should I only want one of you when two princes who adore me is twice the fun?"

Her shadow chuckled. "She's got you there, Satonaka."

Now Chie had a dilemma. She could see Yukiko approaching the steps, expression panicked and worried for her best friend. And all she wanted was for her to escape, to save herself. Her entire goal in entering the TV was to get Yukiko out of there!

Then she thought about something else. There were more shadows than their two clones roaming those stone hallways; all manner of beasts and ghouls and assorted horrors. Yukiko was not a fighter; never had been. She still needed her. Even if she hated that she liked it, that didn't make it untrue.

"Alright!" she gasped out. "Okay, let me out of these chains, and… and I'll do it. I'm sorry, I forgot."

"You forgot?!" Yukiko asked incredulously.

"No, no, she did," her own shadow mused, eyes narrowed down at her. "So obsessed with Amagi that we stopped mattering, didn't we? You're as codependent as she is."

"Sure, yeah, whatever. Let's get on with it. What am I supposed to be doing?"

The eyes remained narrowed, but her smirk came into full bloom. "You know already."

"What? No, I really don't. Should I pull her hair like you did?"

"Chie?" asked the real Yukiko as the fake one smiled wider. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Yuki-chan. Really, it's… I promised them…" She didn't want to continue, but her shadow had other plans, and nudged her hard with her elbow. "I promised I would d-do whatever they wanted if they took me to you. And I mean… they did, so…"

As her friend looked stricken and confused, the false Yukiko nuzzled up against her side. "Do whatever you want to me. It's going to make me feel so safe, so loved! Like my prince cares about me!"

"But she's your prince!" she protested, nodding at the other Chie.

"We're both her prince. How are you still not getting this? No wonder our grades are in the toilet; we're just dumb as a fencepost, huh?" Then she picked up Chie's hands and guided them to the princess's neck. "Do what comes natural. Go on."

"What comes… natural…" Well, putting her hands on Yukiko's neck sure didn't feel that way. Even if this monster was a fake, it had her noble features, her little bow mouth… which was slightly parted in anticipation.

They wanted her to choke her. It hit her like a ton of bricks, and her hands shot away as if burned. Yukiko pouted, and Other-Chie rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Please, stop this," asked the real Yukiko, bowing politely. Just as she had been trained to do. "W-we just want to leave. Is that so wrong? We want to go home!"

"Not until she fulfils her promise," Other-Yukiko pouted. "And it's such an easy one! All she has to do is put me in my place like she already wants to do — everybody wins! I get to belong to my Prince, and she gets to enjoy owning me!"

Yukiko was revolted. "What are you saying?! You're a person, I- no, I'm a person, and so are you, and… who would want to be owned like they're some kind of thing?!"

"Why, we do, obviously. We want a hot stud to sweep us off our feet, so we don't have to think about anything at all! Not managing an inn, not grades, not responsibilities. Living the life of a pet sounds so inviting, doesn't it?"

As she went on, the real Yukiko was beginning to look despondent. And Chie knew why; because she was right — at least partially. It didn't mean she really wanted a life like that, but as she was now beginning to understand, it meant there was a part of Yukiko that found the idea of running away from everything that was expected of her to be an extremely appealing notion. And that it distorted the bonds of their friendship. All the things she had heard Yukiko saying before, echoing off the walls… those were probably her honest feelings and wishes. Everything the shadow spouted was the worst possible version of said feelings.

"Well, I'm not going to do this forever," Chie warned them with a sigh as she reached into the shadow Yukiko's hair and scratched behind her ear. "But I will for a little while. I did promise, I guess."

"Mmm," she hummed, and the false Chie also watched with satisfaction. "My prince… it feels so good, I'm so yours…"

"Doesn't she have any self-respect?" the real Yuki muttered. But it was loud enough they could hear her.

"She doesn't. You know that she doesn't and you don't." Other-Chie began to stride down the steps toward her, a red whip appearing in her hands, already pulled taut. "But while they're busy… would you like to find out how they're feeling up there? So boring, sitting around on the sidelines."

Instantly, the real Chie stepped away from the pet, letting her fall onto her elbows from the unexpected absence of her master. "You leave her alone. That's not part of the promise."

"It's a bonus," her opposite chuckled with a smirk. "All she has to do is say 'yes'."

"But…" She had to think fast. As usual, Yukiko looked too terrified of the imposing shadow, of the whip in her hands, to protest; she might even give in. "But I… but your Yukiko wants us both!"

One eyebrow raised as she turned to smirk back over her shoulder. "But they are both ours. Every Yukiko belongs to us for all eternity. Doesn't that make you feel so good? Makes them feel good."

"So good," Other-Yukiko echoed, rubbing up and down her upper arms as her eyes closed in bliss at the mere fantasy.

"You lay one finger on her and the deal is off," Chie pushed stubbornly. "I said I would… d-do things to the other Yukiko, but you getting to torture my best friend isn't part of that!"

A little "Chie…" slipped out of Yukiko's lips. Then she swallowed hard and said to the other one, "Y-yes, please don't touch me. I… I don't want…"

"Liar," she insisted.

"I am not lying! I'm scared, I d-don't want to be here! And I don't want you to hurt m-"

She cut off with a yelp as the whip came whistling down, hitting the ground right next to her fingers. She clutched both hands to her chest and shrank in on herself, eyes slammed shut as she tried to blot out everything and everyone.

"She wants it," Other-Chie said with certainty. "Look at how pathetic she is. Not trying to fight me off, can't even move now."

Other-Yukiko laughed and began to paw at Chie's leg, which made her a lot more uncomfortable than she could have imagined. "Poor little bitch thinks she's too good for our collars. Speaking of which…"

Suddenly, the other Chie was standing over her and holding a black spiked dog collar, dangling off the end of her index finger. She began to twirl it around and around. "Happy birthday to us."

"What's… what are you doing with that?" Now it was in real Chie's own hands. The leather was warm and heavy, and the shadow Yukiko's neck was slender, calling out for its companion. "Oh."

"Please?" she breathed needily. "Just… put it on, and we'll both be so happy…"

So she put it on. She couldn't bear to face the real Yukiko, but she managed to slide the leather around her doppelganger's throat and fit it snugly without being too tight. A sigh of gratitude fell from her as soon as it was complete, and she smiled up at Chie with what seemed like genuine affection.

"I thought you had seen how worthless I am," she whispered. "But you want me all to yourself? Really?"

"S-stop it," she muttered as she cleared her throat. "I did it because it's… what you wanted. A trade for Yukiko."

"But I'm-"

"What else do you want me to do? Huh? So we can get it done, and… and I can go home."

Now the false Yukiko looked as if she might cry. Her real life counterpart crept forward to kneel on the second step, getting a better look. Other-Chie clicked her tongue, though her expression remained as smug as ever. "So mean. Give her what she wants, and then make her feel like doggie doo. What a power move; really keep her on your leash this way."

"Cut that OUT!" Chie snapped.

"Whoa, touchy! I can't help it if the truth is too weird for you."

"You don't want to be here with me," Other-Yuki finally breathed, and Chie found herself actually feeling a pinprick of remorse. "Can't you play with me a little more before you go? I… I'm gonna miss you…"

"Oh… fine, fine. Tell me what it is you want me to do."

Her expression full of sappy affection — and the real Yukiko's full of disbelief and outrage — she began to hitch up her skirts. "Well, I did pick out something very special to wear today — so I can catch a stud, like you! But it looks like I got defeated, and these are going to waste, so… I thought-"

"Wait, wait, I'm not- you want me to see your underwear?!"

"Not just see it…"

Cold flooded the pit of her stomach. She turned wide eyes on the real Yukiko, who still seemed dazed but was now frowning a lot deeper than before, then back to the legs that were appearing beneath the hem of the clone's dress.

"No."

"Don't you want to go home?" she purred as her thighs came into view. "Play with me. Make me feel really, really good… and you might get that wish. Pretty please?"

"NO! You're a shadow, a- a demon! Why would I do something for you I've barely ever done to myself — much less anybody else?!"

The shadow Yukiko got a little more insistent, pout more pronounced. "Because I'm your princess! Touch me — make my body come alive for you! Turn me into your willing servant!"

"Come on, stop it!"

"Why? Give me one good reason you shouldn't be ripping off my clothes and having your way with m-"

"Because I wanna do this with the REAL Yukiko, not YOU!"

To Be Continued…

#We'll Face Ourselves #persona 4 #p4 fanfic #forkanna writes #chiko #chie satonaka #yukiko amagi #jess the writer

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apollon-hyakinthios · 6 years ago

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Are you sad because all the good writers have left the Hetalia fandom?

Do you spend a lot of time focusing on famous authors that have been inactive for years, and fics that were published half a decade ago?

Do you miss the way the fandom used to be? Do you even feel like the fandom is dying and nobody is making fanworks as good as they used to be?

Well, I have some good news for you - Hetalia fanfic is alive and well, and there are many wonderful authors still active in our fandom!

So, where do I start looking?

Luckily, five other wonderful people from our fandom and i have put together a blog that has an archive of recently-written hetalia fanfic, just for people like you who want to find more fanfic and get to know more authors in the aph fandom but don’t know where to begin!

The HWD Official Blog is the Tumblr account for the Discord server we run - the Hetalia Writers’ Discord, a growing community of over 100 active writers! On the HWD, we come together to share our work, exchange feedback, support one anothers’ projects, make friends, get motivated to finish projects, and more! And we’re in the process of collecting all of the work of our writers on the HWD Official Blog , so that any and all of you lovely people in the fandom can check out what we have to offer!!

And we have it organized into an easy-to-use directory format just for you. Here’s how to get started browsing!

FANFIC: If you’re looking for fanfic in general and you don’t have a specific character or pairing in mind, this is the place for you! Our Fanfic tag includes only writing by our members - no blog maintenance, update or announcement posts - and includes all characters, ships, genres and ratings.

TAG DIRECTORY: This is the place to go if you’re looking for works that feature specific characters, pairings, ratings or genres! HWD is completely ship-neutral and hosts works of all pairings.

CREATOR DIRECTORY: This is the place to go to check out our wonderful writers by name, including their Tumblrs, their AO3 and FFN accounts, and more! This page was put together by Mod Sara, @kanadka !!!

Our directories are always being updated and added onto!! If you don’t see your favorite ship or character, don’t worry - we are still in the process of adding to our archive and categorizing all the fanfic we already have on our blog, and you’re sure to find more if you explore the general Fanfic tag!

But to help you get more of a feel for what we’re all about, here are some of my favorite fics from our writers!

Non, je ne regrette rien by @gnostic-heretic

Pairing: Lithuania/Poland, France/Poland

Rating: M

Genre: Historical, Drama

“It would be a wonderful evening, a wonderful night ahead, and he had never been happier in his life.”

god who ate everything by @52px

Characters: Rome, Carthage, Etruria, Macedon, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt

Pairing: Carthage/Etruria

Rating: G

Genre: Historical, Drama

“—did this world feed you?

The pallid web of peace sticking the Mediterranean together since the last war is cut into pieces. To discuss just how unhappy the Romans are that Carthage is not dead yet, Carthage himself is called to Rome. Easier said than done, as he has been under the ancient equivalent of house arrest for years and is barely fit to board a boat. What's worse, to test his limits, the living ghost nation must travel much deeper into Italy than anticipated. Along the way, Carthage faces supernatural feelings centuries-buried before he faces his final grave.”

Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man by @bonjourxrenae

Pairing: America/Lithuania

Rating: G

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Historical

“Missisippi, 1928. Alfred receives a new record for his Victrola. Upon trying to serenade his houseguest Toris with showtunes, he winds up being serenaded instead.”

Between Shadows. by @morgenstille

Pairing: Belarus/Lithuania

Rating: T

Genre: Romance

One of my favorite passages from this fic: “In another life, the two of them are married and have a family. Toris wonders what their children would look like; it’s pointless speculation, of course, they can’t have children, but still, he wonders.”

Star Crossed by @flyingsassysaddles

Pairing: Nyo!Tibet/Nyo!Mongolia

Rating: T

Genre: Historical, Romance, Tragedy

A favorite passage: “Khulan trembled, burying herself into the Tibetan’s chest and feeling the week pulse of her friend’s heart.

The pulse sang a song Khulan had been listening to for 13 years, from the first time she met the crying girl who had fallen off her horse, to the first time they held hands when playing in the snow, to when the girl trailed behind her as she brought the hunt back home, smiling when Khulan returned to her day and night.”

bless me, father by @scandinavienne

Pairing: Germany/North Italy

Rating: T

Genre: Historical, Romance

“In Renaissance Florence, Feliciano struggles under the weight of his family name.”

napom, fényes napom by @phyripowritesthings

Pairing: Belarus/Hungary

Rating: T

Genre: Romance

“During less than a decade but spanning two millennia all the same, Hungary learns that she’s been missing out by not having gotten to know Belarus better, and she finds that maybe they’re just each other’s thing.”

The Dimensional Door by @scarlettlillies

Characters: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Sweden

Rating: T

Genre: Alternate Universe

“Eduard thought he was living a normal life, with good friends and a future he was working hard towards. But the world he lives in is not what it seems when he finds himself plunged into a role that only existed in the comics that Feliks liked. But he isn't alone in all this. He's glad for it, considering monsters and portals showing up left, right, and center.”

Wonderfully creative Sailor Moon AU that Lilly has put a ton of hard work and love into!!!

Blood on Gold by @aph-belarusia

Pairing: Belarus/Romania

Rating: M

Genre: Supernatural, Romance, Gothic Horror

“The young voivode Vladimir Dragulescu upon the death of his mother, decides to summon an Ancient Entity to carry his desire for revenge but ends up falling in love for such Being.”

Cross Life by @rantingfangirl

Pairing: America/England

Rating: T

Genre: Alternate Universe, Romance

“Given the choice to change his ways or face the consequences, Arthur is propelled from urban England to the American suburbs, putting up with all the drama, pettiness, and idiots that go with it.”

La Pioggia by @lluviadinoche

Pairing: Spain/Romano

Rating: G

Genre: Fantasy, Alternate Universe

“He loved through a paper. Words that sang and touched his soul lighting fires in the deepest parts of his soul. Antonio was in love. If only who knew with who.”

Castaway by @paperbarks

Characters: Australia, England

Rating: T

Genre: Historical

“All I want is you gone,” says Australia. The imperial statutes, the English judges, the marks of foreign settlement, the hoisted flags – all of it escapes him in the moment. Later he might think it childish, but in the present, England is an all-encompassing entity. England’s absence is the absence of control.”

The Gods’ Share by @kanadka

Characters: Lithuania, Poland, Prussia

Pairing: Lithuania/Prussia

Rating: M

Genre: Historical

“At the beginning of the 1400s, the Teutonic Order was at the height of its power. Their navy ruled the Baltic and their Prussian cities were affluent enough to wholly cover the cost of maintaining the crusading army of the Teutonic Knights as a standing force. By 1435, the country was demoralised and discontented, trounced by a gang of heretics, and all but powerless. Here's how it happened.”

And we have many, many more where these wonderful fics came from!

So check out our blog and take a look!! We are a growing community and we’re adding to our fic archives all the time, and with your support we can continue to grow and make this fandom a more creative, encouraging, and happier place to be!!! <3

#hetalia #hetalia fanfiction #axis powers hetalia #hetalia fanfic

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femsff · 6 years ago

Note

4, 8, 11, 13, 23, 30, 34, 38 :)

Oooh, awesome! Thanks.

I’ve included already answered ones below.

A Writer’s Ask Game

agwitow:

Send me an ask with the number(s) you’d like me to answer!

The Basics1. Do you listen to music when you write?2. Are you a pantser or plotter?

Started out as a pantser but after a few fic, I decided to give plotting a try. Am now a fully committed plotter.

3. Computer or pen and paper?

Definitely computer. My fingers tend to cramp up even when I write a little bit and when I write a page or so in a notebook (I often carry a notebook with me when I go somewhere but don’t want to drag the laptop with me), about 3/4th of it illegible to anyone who isn’t me. In a way, that’s a good thing I suppose considering some of my smuttier fics, but overall it’s just a pain. And I always get disappointed when I get around to typing out the notes because it looks like a lot more when written out!

4. Have you ever been published, or do you want to be published?

No, I have never been published. Maybe one day I’ll try my hand at it, but right now I don’t feel like my writing is “good enough” yet. No idea for an original novel either.

5. How much writing do you get done on an average day?6. Single or multiple POV?7. Standalone or series?8. Oldest WIP

Oldest WIP I’ve written for or does plotting also count? If it’s just written, then it’s probably my abandoned Down the Rabbit Hole (FFnet | AO3). I just... got stuck. And it was so incredibly frustrating and really stopped me from enjoying anything fic-related that I finally just said to hell with it and dropped it. I just checked and I stopped working on it in 2013... I still have the outline and everything though, so who knows?

9. Current WIP10. Do you set yourself deadlines?

The Specifics11. Books and/or authors who influenced you the most

To be honest, I have no idea. I don’t know, maybe I’m rare but I’ve never been one of those people who held specific authors up as their ideal. I used to read a lot of books (nowadays less so, because 1) am adult and have to adult and 2) because I read fanfic and often would rather write my own fic than read a book) and have some favorites (all fiction) but nothing that really stands out.

12. Describe your perfect writing space13. Describe your writing process from idea to polished

Hahaha! Are you sure you want to know?

Okay, so I get an idea. Often when I’m half asleep/dozing, in the shower or just doing something mindlessly. The ideas are usually specific scenes that I can see play out in my head, but occasionally it’s just a conversation/some dialogue. If I like it, I’ll try to force more by really focusing on it. If the muse wishes it, that tends to work. I’m rarely super excited about an idea that I’ll start working on it right away, and prefer to let it roll around for a while. See if it keeps popping up and more details are added. If it’s worth my time and energy, I suppose.

Once that happens, I’ll start writing down notes. I use OneNote to organize my fic ideas/plotting and have one notebook that’s simply for ideas; one section per idea and depending on the idea, it’ll just be a stream of consciousness (often peppered with questions for myself) or a bit more organized in different pages. Again, depending on how excited I am about the idea, this can be done in a day or it can take weeks/months where I’ll occasionally add some info.

Then, when I feel like I want to work on it some more, I’ll start to delve into the details. When is it set? What’s the beginning, middle and end? Which events do I want include but have no idea where yet? Is there specific dialogue or are there actions I want to maybe include at one point? If it’s an AU, AR or AT, I’ll start working on the differences from canon (who is in it, what’s their role, how does it deviate from canon). How long do I think this fic will be? I need to set a max number of chapters for myself, otherwise the story will just keep growing and I’ll keep adding stuff and in the end it’ll read like I just came up with more and more stuff simply so I wouldn’t have to end the story, rather than telling the story I wanted to tell in the beginning.

Anyway, I start creating pages for the chapters and fill in the few things I already know. At this point I often also involve my beta and discuss the fic idea with her. Everything from that conversation goes into the ‘brainstorm’ section and I’ll work on the questions and suggestions that arose during the conversation. Then, I’ll start focusing on filling up the chapters with general outlines. That can be anything from “scene 1 Sam telling Jack (Sam pov); scene 2 introspection about changes (Jack pov)” to a paragraphed summary or even a scene completely written out. Sometimes it’s just “some shippy stuff here”, to let me know that at one point I need to lighten it up or bring them closer together. I go over all the chapter pages that way, but don’t necessarily fill them all out. I also make one page with a chapter overview, which is usually the numbered chapters with one or two lines about the content so I can see in one quick glance which things need working on.

More thinking on the fic idea, sometimes even when sleeping and brainstorming with the beta usually follows, which in turn results in adding more details. The chapter pages get more specifics or maybe a “don’t forget to mention [character]” or “now [# weeks] pregnant, mention that/include symptoms”. Also, depending on the story idea, I might need to do research. That can be canon/fanon stuff, but also scientific stuff, maybe a different language, create background information for original/rarely used canonical characters, timeline, locations, RL world events, and so on. That also gets included in the notebook and, at some point, added to the relevant chapter.

Once my outlining is done and I feel comfortable to start writing, I tend to just create a master document and start writing. Now, that’s not to say my whole outline is complete or that it’s something I must strictly adhere to. Additions and changes are made all the time, sometimes I’ll get stuck or realize a scene doesn’t work the way I envisioned it or the beta tells me something is missing. So, I go back to the notes and work on it. Then I go back to the fic and write, write, write.

Oh and I usually ask the beta to go over a chapter once I’ve finished writing it (or, if I’m stuck in a scene, I’ll ask her to look at it right away) and then I’ll go over the feedback, make changes, possibly discuss some of the things she mentioned, do some more editing and then I’ll go to the next chapter and write some more.

14. How do you deal with self-doubts?15. How do you deal with writer’s block?16. How many drafts do you need until you’re satisfied with a project?17. What writing habits or rituals do you have?

Hmm. I’m not sure? I do know that when I’m stuck I tend to make a fruit salad or get snacks out in the hopes of it resulting in the required brainpower to keep going.

18. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and what would you write about?19. How do you keep yourself motivated?20. How many WIPs and story ideas do you have?

The Favourites21. Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write?22. Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write?23. Favourite author

I don’t think I really have a favorite author... I don’t like non-fiction, I always read fiction and often thrillers. Some of the books I always order and often reread are ones by Jilliane Hoffman and Ingrid Black.

As for fic, see my favorites/bookmarks on my profile on FFnet/AO3.

24. Favourite genre to write and read25. Favourite part of writing

Ooh, difficult to choose. I really love doing the research and plotting, but I think the best part of writing is ending up with the story you imagined before you even ‘put pen to to paper’. Also, managing to convey the emotions through the writing - like when a reader comments with how they also teared up, they had to stop reading a few times to catch their breath/get a grip on their emotions or were just overwhelmed by it all. That’s pretty neat.

26. Favourite writing program27. Favourite line/scene28. Favourite side character29. Favourite villain30. Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet

I have quite a few fic ideas I haven’t started writing yet. Not sure I can choose one. But one that I’ve had for a long time, like ~6 years, and even started writing on (but then discarded that because it wasn’t a good opening) is for Woman In Blue. It’s a first-person fic, a style I actually kinda hate and would probably back-button right away if I saw one of my favorite authors use in a new fic... anyway, it’s Mark Carter in first person, writing about Sam (and to a smaller extent, Jack) and all the things he learned about her life after her death - she and Jack died in a blaze of glory, defending Earth against a Replicator attack that also prompted Disclosure.

The Dark31. Least favourite part of writing32. Most difficult character to write33. Have you ever killed a main character?34. What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

There are so many scenes I’ve struggled with, most recently in Unmade Plans (chapter 8 specifically, that one really was a fight and I’ve rewritten it probably a dozen times) but the hardest was probably the Sam/Klorel scene in Only the Stubborn Survive. Those of you who’ve read the fic will know which scene I mean.

35. What scene/story are you least looking forward to writing?

The Fun36. Last sentence you wrote37. First sentence or your current WIP38. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had

I’m not quite sure. A lot of them start out as weird ideas! The end result as you see them are soooo different. Maybe Consequences of Being Touched, because there were quite a few risque scenes in there?

39. Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had40. Share some backstory for one of your characters

The Rest of It41. Any advice for new/beginning/young writers?42. How do you feel about love triangles?43. What do you do if/when characters don’t follow the outline?

It depends on the situation and the outline. I’ve thrown outlines out of the window at times because something else turned out to work much better once you actually reach that point in your story, but I’ve also rewritten a scene a dozen times before I got it exactly the way I wanted it in the outline.

44. How much research do you do?45. How much world building do you do?46. Do you reread your own stories?47. Best way to procrastinate48. What’s the most self-insert character/scene you’ve ever written?49. Which character would you most want to be friends with, if they were real?50. [Other question—ask me anything]

Well, those were fun but also tricky! Guess I shouldn’t have skimmed the list before rb’ing, haha. No just kidding, I loved answering them. Thanks!

#writer's ask game #writing #fanfiction #me #rl #thank you for playing #london88blog

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mildswearingat4am · 7 years ago

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10 Questions Tag

Tagged by @maramahan ! Now, let’s get down to business

1. What are your favorite genres and/or styles to write in?

Fantasy, of course, because magic is fun! But I also like short creative nonfiction stories. It’s nice to reflect on interesting memories, put them in pretty words, and give them meaning--even if they didn’t always make sense at the time.

2. What was the last writing project you finished and felt successful with?

I was pretty happy with some of my final papers for school?

3. If you have a WIP how do you feel it’s going? What stage are you in?

I have many WIPS:

- Wanderwoods: my magical murder forest! A fantasy novel, maybe 1/3 of the way done

- To Know: Miraculous Ladybug fanfic. It’s on AO3 and FFN and only has two chapters to go, if I would just write them already

- various short stories--my favorites being Grumpy Staircase Gets Closure, Jaded Hero Learns a Thing, Yarn is Scary, and Supernatural Creature is Super in Denial

Progress is slow, because school plus tutoring is exhausting and I tend to not write more than I write, but I don’t plan on giving up any time soon.

If you’re curious about any of my projects, I’d be happy to ramble!

4. What is your favorite place to write?

In my bedroom. But there’s this really cool fallen tree on the lake I wish I could write on, because it’s a great place to sit. (Sadly my laptop isn’t waterproof and I kind of need it to work.)

5. Do you prefer to write long hand or type? Or some other method?

Depends what I’m writing! Journal stuff and school notes have to be hand-written, but my stories feel more Serious and Legitimate if I type them.

6. Do you remember your first character? If so can we meet them?

My memory is unreliable. Probably a self-insert. Possibly a dog. Grade school me liked animal stories.

7. Where do you get your inspiration?

Cool plants and animals! Class readings! Reading! Abandoned playgrounds! Dreams! Weird sounds in the night!

Ideas are everywhere. The motivation to write them down is what’s harder to come by.

8. Do you outline a story before writing it, or does it all live in your head until the first draft gets put down?

I kind of outline? Like, I make a list of stuff that happens, and maybe a few specific scenes I want. But beyond that I like to go with the flow.

9. Where do you go/what do you do when you’re feeling stuck?

I journal! I have a composition book I meant to use as a reference book for Wanderwoods magic and creatures, but it basically became a rant-about-the-drafting-process book instead. If I churn out seven pages on the scene that’s frustrating me I can usually figure out what’s off and how to fix it.

10. What got you started writing/doing art? (Because I always love origin stories)

It’s not super impressive tbh? Books make me happy and teachers told me I was a good writer, so I was like, hey, I want to make other readers happy and write stuff. And I’m still trying to write to this day.

#tagmoth #babbling moth #asking what projects i'm happy with kind of makes me freeze because #like #i don't necessarily get happy with things?#i have a mental pros and cons list for every project and sometimes there are more positives than negatives #sometimes i make myself laugh and that's fun #but i always think things could be better #it's like pessimistic optimism

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rubiaryutheroyal · 7 years ago

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Discord Event 1

Since AO3 is being a real pain in the rear end with account invites, I’m gonna have to post this here. Sorry for the cramped tumblr page, but it’ll have to do.

Title: Paulownia Tomentosa Timeline: Yakuza 0 Spoilers: for endgame of above Shipping: N/A Legal stuff: Submission fanfic for the Springtime Festivities event on the Yakuza/RGG Fanworks Discord. All characters are ©Sega. Description: A tribute to Tetsu Tachibana and his now headcanon’d indoor zen garden. Warning: Name puns ahead. Proceed with caution.

Here is the empty lot.

It’s but a small patch of land caught between towering buildings. There is nothing here but abandoned scraps of wood chips, trash, and broken dreams.

A beautiful bouquet of lilies and balloon flowers lies still on the ground at the center of the lot. Though there is a gentle and swift breeze, the buildings that surround this lot make it difficult for the breeze to glide smoothly by. Thus, the flowers remain unmoving.

The sound of footsteps cracks through the silence. A towering man in a gray suit steps over to where the flowers have been laid. He’s carrying a small bag of mandarin oranges in one hand. With his other, he gently slips one out, a bright and crisp color with a single-leafed stem still attached, kneels down and sets it before the bouquet. He then steps back to view the scene.

It’s a moment of pause before he finally reveals a soft smile. He speaks in a low and deep tone: “Good news, Tachibana… They’ve been growing splendidly.”

He looks up to the sky, giving a deep sigh. Even if he’s only been employed as a real estate agent for a few months, they were some good few months.

“…I still don’t know a thing about gardening or plants altogether, but at least I’ll keep it going for as long as I can. It’s… what you would have wanted, right…?”

Several months prior…

Kazuma Kiryu is the newest recruit to Tachibana Real Estate Enterprises, and yet people can’t help but know his name. He’s the yakuza-like one. He’s the CEO’s pet. He’s the brash upstart who doesn’t know his place and would damn well have been fired already if it wasn’t for the boss.

Such words mean little to him, though. He’s well aware of how he ended up working for this company – but he doesn’t yet understand why he was accepted. The boss just came up to him one rainy night when he was just expelled from his family, and soon, he was in. And just a few days later, his supervisor Oda calls him up out of the blue.

“Yo, Kiryu-kun. The boss is looking for you.”

“Me? What for?”

“I dunno, but he said it was important, looked pretty solemn too… You didn’t do anything to piss him off, did you?”

“Of course not. I’ve only been working for three days!”

“Yeah, and in that span of time, you’ve managed to piss me off too many times to count.”

“…I’m still learning.”

“Save me your excuses. Anyway, you’d better get back to HQ and pronto. There’s only so far you can take a man’s patience before he snaps…”

“I got it already. I’ll be there.”

Oda promptly hangs up on him without so much a goodbye or thank you. Kiryu sighs, wondering to himself. Oda, I can understand… but why would the boss be upset with me? It’s been pretty quiet from him lately… I hope it’s nothing too serious.

He sets back the pay phone into its receiver and hurries off.

Knock knock.

“Come in,” comes the gentle reply.

Kiryu steps inside with a wary look on his face. Tachibana is standing by the window, hands behind his back, looking over the cityscape. He turns back around to greet him with a gentle smile.

“Ah, you’re here, Kiryu-san. Sorry to interrupt you from your work.”

He steps forward at attention. “It’s alright, sir. Oda said… er, Oda-san said you needed to see me for something?”

“Yes. It’s a little sudden, but I recalled something we had forgotten to do shortly after your initiation.”

“Huh? Oh, what is it? Is there something I have to fill out, or…?”

“Oh, no, nothing so formal.”

“Huh?”

Tachibana begins walking toward him, or rather, the door behind him. “Come with me. I need to first show you something.”

“…Alright, sir.”

He follows Tachibana out of the office, down the hall to the elevators, and steps in after him. He watches his boss press the number to the 49th floor, and the doors slide closed. In the next several minutes as the elevator cruises smoothly down to their destination, there’s an uncomfortable silence between the two of them. They both remain completely still, though Kiryu’s tensed face gives himself away.

…Sheesh, I haven’t felt this kind of nervousness since the first time Nishiki and I were sent to the disciplinary counselor back in grade school…

Finally, the elevator slows to a stop and the doors slide open again. Tachibana, without missing a beat, steps out. Kiryu follows along with a much stiffer stride, to which he tries to shake away the nerves.

He follows Tachibana to a large room in the back, noticing the placard set beside the door: Zen Garden.

“…A garden? In here?”

Tachibana nods silently and pushes open the door.

Inside is a beautiful arrangement of various tropical flowering plants native to East Asia, circular stone paths around a small pond, with window panes that line the entire back wall of the room. There is even the rhythmic clack of the shishiodoshi to the makeshift stream that runs along a little “hill” to the pond.

“…Nice place you got.”

“Thank you. I’ve probably spent a bit more than I needed to decorate it, but in the end… I rather like the outcome.”

“Hm…” Kiryu nods, but his attention strays to a spot near the back, where there sits an empty plot of earth. “Hm?”

“What is it, Kiryu-san?”

“I see there’s an empty space there. Are you going to fill it?”

“Ah, yes. That is what I wish to talk to you about.”

“Oh?”

“I had been contemplating what sort of plant to set there when I received that letter from Kazama-san about you. Since then, I’ve reserved this space just for you when you finally come to meet it.”

“…Is this the initiation thing you were talking about?”

“Well, it’s not exactly custom for us to treat every new recruit we get with a new plot in the garden, but I’m willing to make an exception this time.”

“But why me? I haven’t done anything outstanding yet… aside from making trouble for Oda-san.”

“It almost seems like a flight of fancy… but when we first met, I think I may have seen something else in you.”

“Huh?”

“Potential… to achieve greatness.”

“Um, I don’t know… I’m still getting used to proper etiquette and all that…”

Tachibana then chuckles, to his confusion. “It doesn’t have to be soon or even within the extent of this company, but it is there, lying in wait for the right time.”

“…” Kiryu doesn’t respond because he isn’t sure how. On one hand, it seems Tachibana is praising him, but on the other hand, there also seems to be some hidden motive behind it. Thinking about it, his boss does look awfully content with himself… maybe it’s the garden atmosphere?

“…In the meantime,” he casually continues, “How would you like to help me choose?”

“Um… choose what?”

“What sort of plant would you like to put there?”

“O-oh. A plant, huh…” Kiryu takes a moment – which only lasts a few seconds before he replies, “No idea. I don’t really know many plants.”

The blunt answer amuses Tachibana, who smirks back. “Well… what about something that could represent you or your connections to this company? Sort of like leaving your mark on it.”

“Hmm… I only really know about the common ones, like roses and tulips, sunflowers…” He pauses to think a little further. “…Oh, wait.”

“Yes?”

“Ah… I remembered a conversation I had with a childhood friend of mine about our names. When we asked the caretaker at the orphanage we lived in, she mentioned that the ‘kiri’ in my name was a kind of tree or something…”

“Ah, the Empress Tree.”

“E-empress?”

“Yes. It’s also called the foxglove tree because its flowers somewhat resemble foxglove flowers.”

“…Empress…”

“Don’t think too much into it, Kiryu-san. It is a beautiful and often prized tree.”

He clears his throat. “Anyway, would that be a good choice to put here? It’d sure stand out, but…”

“Hmm… I don’t think so.”

“Huh?”

“To grow a tree like that, we would need a much larger expanse of land, as its roots can grow rather deep. It’s not so fitting for a simple garden like this one.”

“Oh.”

“If you’re having trouble coming up with suggestions, may I offer a hint?”

“A hint?”

“You could try something that would better represent your connections to this company, for instance.”

“Connections… Well, I came to this company because of you, sir, so I guess… Tachibana, tachibana… Oh!” He looks rather excited when he comes out with it: “How about a mandarin orange tree?”

Tachibana seems to be taken aback in surprise.

Unsure of whether his attempt at a joke got across, he adds, “…’Cause you know, ‘tachibana’ written another way is…”

“…” And now he looks unamused.

“Uh… I-I’m sorry, sir. That was improper.”

He shakes his head. “No, it’s not you, Kiryu-san. I simply recalled something from my childhood. My apologies for spacing out like that.”

“I-it’s no problem, sir.” Whew.

He smiles again, peering over to the plot of soil, “Well, a little mandarin orange tree…” and back to him, “…for a young real estate agent. It’s quite poetic, really.”

“Yeah… um… I’ve been meaning to ask, sir.”

“Yes?”

“Do you like mandarins?”

Once again, Tachibana seems to freeze and doesn’t reply right away. Just as Kiryu is getting worried again, he does speak up: “They’re fine with me. I don’t particularly like them, but I certainly don’t dislike them.”

“Hm, I see… Are you alright? Should I not have brought up that question?”

“I’m fine,” he replies flatly. Thankfully, he has an incredibly strong poker face, so Kiryu doesn’t suspect a thing.

“Alright. Is this all you wanted to talk with me about, sir?”

“For now, yes. In the meantime, keep up the good work. I’m sure you’ll get used to how we do business very quickly.”

“Right. Of course, sir.”

Tachibana moves to head for the door while Kiryu takes another peek back at the plot. “Oh, sir?”

He wheels back around. “Yes, Kiryu-san?”

“Should I go fetch those seeds for you?”

He smiles with that familiar yet mysterious look in his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. I can search for them on my own time. Now, come along.”

Once they’re out the door, Kiryu bids his boss a polite bow and excuses himself. Today was an odd day for sure, getting called up by his boss out of the blue to talk about plants and oranges, but all in all, it was pretty fair and relaxing.

Kiryu snaps back to attention. He’s still here, standing in the empty lot, carrying a bag of mandarin oranges, staring off at the back wall. Of course, Tachibana is no longer here.

Nonetheless, it’s been a long time since Kiryu has felt this relaxed. He’s stopped by for a quick visit in his former boss’ honor and left an offering to his departed soul. That’s all he needs to do here. No point in moping about or feeling sorry for either of them. What’s happened has happened.

He peers back down at the bouquet and single mandarin orange he set beside it.

“… I might not have learned much about gardening, but at least I did learn some things from you. Thank you.”

And so he struts off with that bag in tow, wondering to himself what he’s going to do with the rest.

“…This is a lot of oranges for me. Maybe I’ll give them away?”

While he muses to himself, a shady fellow with an eyepatch hiding behind a nearby vehicle parked along the curb is now sitting on the ground, having a smoke to himself. At first he was going to ambush Kiryu, but on second thought, he realizes he just wanted to find out where the guy was headed with that bag of oranges. Now that he does know, all of a sudden, he’s not interested in picking a fight. Perhaps it’s for the best.

There’s always next time, after all.

#blog updates #yakuza fanfiction #ryu ga gotoku #discord

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clonerightsagenda · 7 years ago

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alright... this is a vague as hell question so i understand if you gotta think about it for a while, but do you have any advice on writing? or maybe about the process of how you personally write things? i love how organic all the emotions in your fanfictions seem to be. it's not over the top but they still seem /tangible/, you know? i aim to have that kind of skill some day so i figure i may as well ask where i can, but no pressure or anything! thank you :)

Well, first of all, thanks for the compliment! It’s always exciting as a writer to hear that things are coming across well. And it’s very flattering to have someone come to you for advice.

Now, my writing style and process vary dramatically between fic and original stuff. There aren’t a lot of examples of my original stuff online - I put a few stories up here, here, and here, and of course there’s the shitty vampire novel, but all of those are pretty old. I don’t have any current examples of my original stuff; I’m hoping to get back into that more once TLC stops eating my life. So I guess I’ll split this response into halves, with a section for generic advice as well. So thirds, I guess.

General

This is something you hear everywhere, but the number one ingredient in good writing is time. I’m 23 years old. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. And my early stuff is shit. That being said, it’s fun shit - there’s this joyful abandon you can find in really early work, where the writers don’t know any of the rules, don’t care about what other people think, and are having fun in this new world where they can do anything. I love looking back at my old stuff for that reason. But in terms of quality, it’s not great. Now… I’m not going to be arrogant; I’m not spectacular, but I’d say I’m pretty consistently OK. Solid. And a good chunk of that is because I’ve been writing for nearly two decades.

That being said, this time I’m talking about is over *years*. I don’t hold with advice that says you have to write every day to be a writer, even if you feel miserable doing it. Doing something when you hate doing it is a good way to poison it for yourself forever. There’s a difference between knowing you’ll get into a writing session once you start and you’re just dragging your feet vs. forcing yourself when you don’t want to. Don’t punish yourself if you don’t feel like writing today or if you don’t have the time. Don’t fret if you’ve gone a year without touching any of your wips! You can always come back to it. It’s not a race.

You’ve probably heard this next one already as well, but reading is also important. Find authors you like. See what they’re doing. Learn. And this 100% includes the writers you like online.* There are some people online doing incredible things with language that I haven’t seen as much in published fiction, because self-published stuff is a crucible for creativity that might not get past official publishers as much or as quickly. (Ngl it’s also a dumping ground for a lot of bad stuff, but you have to do the filtering). The more you read, the more you have to draw from when you’re developing your own style.

*(If your goal is publication, you do need to read a lot of what’s being published in the genre you’re aiming for. Most of my advice here is focused on just writing for pleasure. Publication has some different considerations.)

Finally, if you have an opportunity to give and get critique, go for it. You learn a lot from pulling other people’s writing apart. What worked? What didn’t? How can you apply that to your own work? Do note though, that unless people are asking for this level of criticism, they may not appreciate you showing up and giving it to them. There are some sites that involve people critiquing each other, or you might find a workshop class or group. You can also find friends who might be interested in swapping stories. Always figure out what your boundaries are and how honest you want your friends to be. Setting that up at the start is a good way to avoid hurt feelings later.

Those are all pretty general and obvious, and I’m sure you’ve heard most of them before. So let’s move on to my process and break the rest of this response into two.

Fic-related

I’ll start with fic since that’s what you mentioned. Again, a major ingredient is time. I’ve been in this fandom for 5 ½ years, which is kind of horrifying to think about. I wasn’t writing fic for all of that time, but what I was doing was a lot of meta and character analysis. I really love digging into characterization and motivation. How does this character really feel? Why do they do what they do? What would be the best way for them to develop as a person? Those are questions I dealt with in my meta posts, but they are also questions that you frequently deal with in fanfic. Then TLC happened, and I ended up writing tens of thousands of words for these characters. That was a hell of a lot of practice. So, I got very comfortable with them. I can whip off a pesterlog like that these days.

What really got me comfortable though, was assigning a kind of speedy and carefree attitude to fic. I tend to be very protective of my work. For a long time, I wouldn’t let anyone read anything I wrote. A real turning point was when I went to a workshop where the instructor challenged us to submit something. I submitted something terrible to a literary journal, and it got rejected, but I also got a really nice note, probably since whoever looked it over realized how young I was. That first submission broke some of the tension. However, I still tend to be cautious. I’m a perfectionist. I like to get things right. So with fic, I really tried to let go of that. I don’t polish this stuff as much as I’d polish original material. I usually do a little more if I am putting it up on ao3, but I will write something in one go and slap it online. That’s incredibly freeing. It makes me more productive, and I think some of the stuff I write fast and loose is often some of my better stuff. The John and Jade pajamas thing, which I think is by far the superior tuesjade prompt response I’ve done, popped into my head all together. I wrote it down, did one pass of revision, and was done. Telling yourself ‘I’m just going to write this thing because it’s fun and I want to, and I’ll put it up online in case anyone else wants to look at it, and if they don’t like it I don’t care because I like it’ is liberating. When you’re no longer so worried about getting everything perfect and making sure other people will love it, I think you write better stuff.

In terms of process, most of my fic is short. I usually have an idea, often a few scenes will pop into my head fully formed, and I’ll write it. There’s typically not a lot of planning involved. In my longish 6-10k stories, I usually do this for multiple scenes and then paste them together. Now, I planned the hell out of TLC, but that’s because it’s 1500+ pages with over 30 characters to deal with. If I didn’t plan everything out, I’d be halfway through and realize I’d forgotten a main character. And that would be terrible.

I want to make sure I touch on emotion, since that’s something you mentioned. A lot of it does go back to all that analysis I did so I got pretty comfortable with how I interpret these characters’ inner lives. Then I had to figure out how comfortable they would be talking about that stuff, how they would express it, and what circumstances might encourage them to be more vocal. The nice thing is, people sitting around talking about their feelings is a perfectly acceptable fic genre. I’m not saying you can’t get away with that in original stuff - I’ve seen some good examples - but it’s not a hallmark in the same way. Fic is about filling in the gaps, and since content creators often don’t slow down to show these quiet emotional moments or the emotional impact of various story events, fic writers and fic readers love them.

When I’m writing something focusing on emotion, I try to avoid “quick fix” stories. You can’t suddenly solve depression or anxiety or trauma. Instead, my moments of catharsis typically involve someone learning to be more honest than they had before about their problems, an exchange of insecurities, a realization of what they have left to overcome, or another sort of “small step”. They’re quiet, tiny progressions on a scale of getting better, and maybe that’s why they feel more organic? Sometimes you get a big epiphany in life, but more often you get a lot of small ones.

I do think stories focused on emotional development can very easily seem forced and false, so I’m pleased that you don’t think mine do! It’s something I worry about. I think the biggest trick is to make sure the characters aren’t just talking about something because you want them to. Would they realistically admit something? How would they respond to being questioned? Are they doing this because they want to, or is it obvious that the fic author has tied them to a chair and is pointing emphatically at a teleprompter offstage? One advantage for me is that a lot of my fic is set post-TLC where people have aired a lot of their grievances. However, they’re still sometimes reluctant, say one thing and mean another, or cloak one emotion in something different. Once you know how a character behaves, you can write them behaving that way and still express the true emotions underneath through the ways they try to hide them. I think Catch Me If You Can is a good example of that. Vriska is allergic to being genuine (that’s kind of her whole arc in that fic) and so instead of being upfront about her emotions, she frequently gets defensive and hostile. However, those defensive responses betray a lot about what she’s really feeling. So often, I like to express character’s emotions in the negative space between their reactions and their true sentiments. What we don’t say or only allude to is often more important than what we do. Sometimes the words we use are just distractions. (In contrast, Dave will talk to a wall, and TLC Jade is so determined not to repeat her mistakes she turns honesty sometimes into a cudgel or penance.) Often, characters being truly honest to each other and straight-up admitting their feelings shows up at the ending of one of my fics as the resolution moment, once they’ve worked their way up to that level of vulnerability. See: A Horrible Kind of Nice.

OK, let’s touch quickly on original stuff. In terms of process, it’s the total opposite. I outline the hell out of it. Maybe not for some a shorter stories, but for anything long? I love outlines. I also tend to start with the plot first. That’s something, after spending so many years focused on fic, that I’m starting to reconsider. I think that when I go back to original stuff, I’m going to spend a lot more time immersing myself in the characters first, so I can write them as authentically as I hope I write people in fic these days. I also write out of order. Is there some scene you are really itching to get to? Write it. This goes for scenes in the same story, though. You do need some level of discipline to not keep jumping from new idea to new idea abandoning your old ones. You’ll never get anything done that way. I do think there’s power in finally completing something too. In my experience anyway, after I completed my first long story, it got a lot easier to finish other ones. I did that with the help of NaNoWriMo, but I’ve since done it on my own.

This has gotten very long, so I’ll cap it off there. It’s a big question that can be answered a lot of ways, and I feel like I mostly rambled. So if you’d like clarification on anything, or if you want to say 'hey Kat you didn’t answer my question at all’, feel free to ask a follow-up.

#Anonymous #kat writes

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adrienaline-rushed-art · 7 years ago

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Tomato Soup and Lemon Zest: Sorry I Ain’t Sore-y

Rating: Teen

Chapters: 4/?

ao3 fanfic 1 - 2 - 3 - 4- 5

NOTES: Please let me know what you think!

Comment if you want me to tag you in the next update, otherwise check the tag #adrinathdrawingfic

based on this post

@samantha-girlscout @artgirllullaby @miraculouslyme @breeeliss @itsmegan347official @deadstache @tallsuperstar @b0n3-crush3r

Also, @yourfavouritekindoftrash made a fic based on the same post, check it out under the tag #adrinathdrawingfic

Adrien had to resist grinning when Nathaniel entered the classroom. He was doing his best to appear natural, not only was he trying to stand straight, but he looked like every movement was torture. On the bright side his face seemed a little more energized. He could look a little brighter though, Adrien would have to remember to give him a list of foods he should eat.

“You ok, Nathaniel?” Adrien put on his best sympathetic smile.

Nathaniel stopped and stared at Adrien, almost as though he was afraid to talk to him.

He rubbed his arm. “Yeah, just a little sore…”

“Aw, have you been exercising lately?”

“Yeah,” Nathaniel looked offended by the word exercising.

“Ah, well, I’m sore -y to hear that.”

Nino took off his headphones. “ Dude.”

Marinette slapped the back of Adrien’s head.

Adrien whipped around to look at Marinette then back at Nino. “You guys were just minding your own business and now suddenly you're in this conversation?”

“Puns never go unheard or unpunished,” Marinette poked at where Adrien’s hair was parted.

Nathaniel chuckled, “I think it was a pretty good joke.” He walked away, barely suppressing a yelp as he climbed the steps. He really was sore.

Adrien turned and rested his elbow on the back of his seat, “Oh, and, keep it up, Nathaniel.”

Nathaniel didn't turn around, but he threw a weak, “Thanks…” back at Adrien and sat down.

Adrien spent the rest of the class period using the reflection from his tablet screen to watch Nathaniel- that is until Marinette leaned over into the reflection and smirked at him. Part of him knew she would give him trouble if he told her. At one point Nathaniel was called on to answer a question. It amused Adrien very much to hear Nathaniel mumble, be told to speak up, pause for a moment, speak barely any louder, and stutter frequently.

Once he was done, Adrien looked back at him and gave him a thumbs up and winked.

When Adrien turned back around Nathaniel immediately dropped his face into his hands, these two boys were driving him out of his mind.

Nathaniel whipped out his sketchbook and got to work. Observing Adrien from afar and learning the delicate waves of his hair, the shape of his back… every time he turned around - which turned out to be frequent - he did his best to capture that look in his eye. The sparkle that was so difficult and far too precious to replicate on a piece of paper. When class was over and Adrien faced his way to talk briefly to Marinette, he observed the distance between his eyes, the curve of his lips, the roundness of his cheeks, and the on fleekness of his eyebrows .

There. The page was covered in practice of everything Adrien. With time he'd know his face to a perfection.

Adrien whistled, somehow Nathaniel interpreted it as his name and looked up.

Adrien smirked, “You know class is over, right?”

Nathaniel nodded slowly, staring more than he was listening. Adrien laughed a little then waved goodbye as he stepped out.

It took a while for Nathaniel to get up. Mostly because he dreaded feeling pain in muscles he didn't even know existed, but also because of how confused and frustrated he was about his current life situation.

Here he was, drawing some kid who can just casually put his arm around you, stares at you in class, and is a supermodel . When he got home, he'd be obediently doing exhausting cardio for a sexy stranger in a catsuit he stupidly challenged, and by the end of the week he'd be meeting with him again. How does one go from single and lonely to two-timing trash?

Now, at least he knew he wasn't technically two-timing, since he wasn't dating either of them. But if he knew anything about anything, he knew they were both flirting, and he didn't find himself rejecting either of them.

He sighed. He had no choice but to see where things would go.

* * *

Dammit. Was it Friday already?! Nathaniel just wasn't ready.

Yes, he had done the exercise, yes he had made sure to rotate which muscles to work on which days, yes he had made sure to drink 9 cups of water a day - though his bladder didn't appreciate it - and yes he started going to sleep earlier. And as much as he loved being able to feel the action of lifting a fork all the way in his lower abdomen, amused was not a good way to describe himself as he exited the school building.

Although, he couldn't entirely complain. He did admit that he'd been more alert in class, better at turning in homework, and most importantly… more inspired and efficient in his artwork. He wasn't necessarily ready to admit it to Chat Noir, however. After all, this was the sort of advice he’d see in a YouTube video for a “happier you” or whatever bullshit, and he knows he'd ignore it and laugh at it… but as soon as this asshole so much as smiles at him-

“Hey, Nath!”

Ah, yes, asshole number two.

Adrien smiled as he strolled over to Nathaniel’s side. “Got any plans for the afternoon?”

Nathaniel stared at his feet. “Yeah, I recently started learning how to fence. That’s what I’m headed to in a couple of hours.”

“Oh, that explains why you’ve been sore lately. Look at you, you’re gonna get strong! I’m actually headed to fencing right now. Maybe when you’re ready I’ll challenge you to a duel.”

Nathaniel’s face burned and his voice shook. “Yeah well, fair warning, my teacher is pretty skilled…”

That was his attempt at pride and wit.

Adrien’s smile widened. “I’m sure they’d be happy to hear that.”

“You know what? I’ll tell him. Anyway… see you.” Nathaniel lifted his hand slightly and started walking down the stairs.

Adrien answered mostly to himself, “Yeah, I will.”

* * *

“How are you feeling?” Chat Noir grinned.

Nathaniel wore a breathless smile at the sight of Chat, then quickly frowned. “Terrible.”

“Awesome. Now, you’ve mostly been working out your back and abs… maybe a little bit of your legs too, it’s time to let those rest. We’ll do arms today.”

Nathaniel groaned, “What?! My arms hurt too!”

“Sorry, Red, they really shouldn’t have based on the exercises you were doing. That goes to show just how weak you really are, and we have to fix that.”

“ Fine .”

Chat Noir put his arm around Nathaniel’s waist, which made him jump a little. “We’re going somewhere else today.”

Chat carried Nathaniel to a building he didn’t recognize. He was guided through the doors, stopped at the information desk, and pulled through an elevator door. Chat stopped him in front of a door, and proceeded to unlock it.

Chat pushed the door open. “Let’s see how good your grip is…”

“ What?! WHERE ARE WE?!” Nathaniel pulled his hand from Chat Noir’s.

“... A private gym, didn’t you read the sign?” Chat blinked at him.

“Oh… no I wasn’t really paying attention.” Nathaniel’s voice quieted.

Chat stood aside and allowed Nathaniel to go in ahead of him. “Geez, Nath, as much as I appreciate that you trust me… you really should pay attention to where someone takes you.”

“You’re right but… dammit you say such stupid shit sometimes.”

“Or your head is in the gutter.”

Nathaniel grumbled and immediately sat on the nearest bench.

“Oh no you don't, we're gonna get started,” Chat walked over to a set of low bars attached to the floor.

Nathaniel sighed and got up slowly, dragging his feet to Chat Noir. “Say, this better not be your idea of the reward you were talking about.”

Chat smirked. “Oh, is that what you want? Well, you did stick to your exercise routine… I suppose I owe you.”

Chat lied down on the floor in between the two bars. “Ready to do some push ups?”

Nathaniel stared blankly. “I don’t understand what’s going on right now…”

“Just put your hands on these bars and stretch out like you’re going to do push ups… then do pushups. It’s really not that confusing.”

“B-but, you’re... there…”

“Exactly.”

“Um?”

“Trust me.”

Nathaniel position himself to do push ups, arms stretched out in front of him and on Chat’s sides. He waited, paralyzed.

Chat’s smile faded. “This is the part where you bend your elbows, causing you to lower, and then push back up. Thus, why it is called a push up .”

Nathaniel grunted as he lowered himself. Once lowered to the bars, he barely brushed against Chat’s lips with his own, he felt his breaths through his bare teeth. “ Shit, shit, shit- ” Nathaniel’s arms trembled as he struggled to keep his body from falling. Normally, the easy way out of this exercise would be to give into gravity, and plop to the ground. But now something was in the way, and he felt a strong motivation to go up.

Nathaniel gasped in relief when he finally thrusted himself back up.

“Good… we’ll have to work on your pacing, but that’s a fair start,” Chat’s voice sang on the word good. He was put his hands behind his head, looking overtly relaxed, and flaunting his chest.

Nathaniel huffed. “I've never… done… a full push up… in my life… I always… cheated while the PE teacher wasn't looking.”

“Those days are over. 9 more to go, c’mon.”

“I don't want to, this isn't a reward.”

Chat licked his lips. “You do, and it is.”

It was true. Part of him did want to. It was a torture resulted from tempting pleasure. Nathaniel would have to lower enough to tease at Chat Noir’s mouth, but stop himself out of fear of actually kissing him, and raise himself up to keep from collapsing against his tightly clothed body.

He felt guilty for going with such a method of exercise, but it was working. He still struggled through the rest of the push ups, but they weren’t as uncomfortable as watching your own pathetic reflection on a scratched gym floor.

Chat continued to flirt and seduce throughout the room. For every pull up he did, Chat - who was seated on the far end of the pull up bar - would lean closer to Nathaniel, playing with the idea of a kiss, but would lean away for every second he was below the bar. In other words, he’d have to stay above the bar for longer than he was below if he ever wanted the kiss. He never achieved this, but he made plenty of attempts, which was progress.

There was a point where Nathaniel really, really, really wondered why he was doing this. He remembered again when Chat hugged him from behind and congratulated him in the end.

Chat handed Nathaniel a bottled water after his breaths had evened out. “That’s enough for today. Great job!” He reached out with his fist and met Nathaniel’s mirrored knuckles, “As you know, you can rest all of Saturday, and… oh, alright I’ll give you Sunday too.”

Nathaniel’s arms quivered from fatigue as he tried to close the bottle. “How long do you think it’ll take for this to not be excruciating?”

“The way you’re doing it now? Probably a little over a month.”

“Sweet Jesus…”

“That sounds like a long time, but once you reach the point when this gets easy it doesn’t mean you’ll be strong yet. You’ll have to make the workouts harder and do the cycle all over again until you’re at least in shape. You don’t have to get ripped obviously, but exercise is a lifetime thing, Red.”

Nathaniel’s eyes looked 300% done. “So what you’re saying is, I’ll have to do this for the rest of my life but it won’t always have to hurt unless I stop doing it for the rest of my life.”

“Right.”

“Uggh, why can’t fitness be a multiple choice question?”

Chat chuckled and pinched his cheek lightly. “It is. Multiple choice doesn’t mean all the answers are all correct. In fact it doesn’t even mean all the answers are possible . It just means the answers that are completely wrong and the answers that are correct are right next to each other. A lot of times, the correct answer is the really long and complicated one.”

Nathaniel glared at Chat. “What kind of Sophocles bullshit?”

Chat snorted, “Nevermind, you get my point. How about I take you home, Nath.”

Nathaniel nodded, but he was spaced out. He was getting awfully close to Chat Noir, maybe the ‘correct answer’ was right in front of him. But, he’d drawn Adrien in his sketchbook. In his sketchbook . That… that was special . What do you do when both options together make a long and complicated answer. Wasn’t this the point where you chose All of the Above ?

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #ml rarepair #adrinath #adrinathdrawingfic #cass writes #i hate tumblr formatting it gets rid of all the italics i had to go back but i dont have time to fix all of it so...

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chickadee333 · 8 years ago

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Impossible Love Masterlist

Without further ado, here is my finalized Masterlist for my novel Impossible Love. At over 85,000 words, you guys are serious readers to put up with this!

(Update: You can also find my fic on AO3 at this link. It’s easier to read there.)

As always, my intention is to write a good, well thought-out story with some sexy, smutty stuff thrown in, and I hope you enjoy it! I like to create some angst-y situations and just have things build up from there. A little sexual tension is fun, right?!? Just another fair warning: This novel contains adult content. Most of my chapters have extremely graphic depictions of sex and violence and, on one occasion, both of them together. But this is ultimately a love story, so I definitely hope you stick around for the ending.

Impossible Love: A Novel by Chickadee333 (aka D):

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Chapter 2: A Troubled Past

Chapter 3: An Unspoken Lust

Chapter 4: A Forbidden Desire

Chapter 5: A Heartbreaking Discovery

Chapter 6: A Manipulated Promise

Chapter 7: A Welcome Freedom

Chapter 8: A Certain Homecoming

Chapter 9: An Uncertain Decision

Chapter 10: A Hostile Takeover

Chapter 11: An Indelible Mark

Chapter 12: A Time Together

Chapter 13: An Agonizing Choice

Chapter 14: A Forced Confession

Chapter 15: A Tormented Mind

Chapter 16: A Yearning Heart

Chapter 17: An Unspeakable Betrayal

Chapter 18: A New Normal

Chapter 19: A Terrifying Strength

Chapter 20: A Contrived Existence

Chapter 21: A Tragic Revelation

Chapter 22: An Imminent Return

Chapter 23: A Forever Future

(They really sound like romance novel titles, don’t they? I kinda did that on purpose since this is truly a love story...)

If you are interested in reading about my motivation and inspiration, please see my Author’s Note below!

I just wanted to give you a little background about my writing and my inspiration. Actually, my inspiration is all of you incredible people. If there were a Tumblrs Anonymous meeting, I’d be the one raising my hand saying, “Hi everyone, I’m a long-time lurker, first-time poster...” My fangirl head just explodes reading all of the crazy, sexy shit you post. And then the art that is on here! You guys are so fucking talented. My stuff is rubbish in comparison and I only hope that someday I can produce amazing art like all of you do. It is truly an inspiration. In fact, seeing the art on here is what prompted me to purchase my Wacom tablet in February. I eventually plan to have at least one drawing composed for each chapter, though that will take some time.

When I was a teenager, I voraciously read comic books (mostly X-Men) and fell in love with that world of characters and their struggles. I learned to draw by teaching myself forms, figures, shapes, and shadows as I saw them in the comics. I had always wanted to write and draw for comics, but that was a pipe dream and I instead went to college and grad school for something far, far different (science). So, this is my chance to fulfill my fantasy of writing and drawing as I always wanted. You have no idea (or maybe you do, actually) how satisfying it is to finally get this stuff out of my head and into print. When I was a teenager, my angst-ridden, sex-starved mind always wished that the comic books could have been a little X-rated—replete with sexy artwork, too. But it never happened and never would happen in mainstream comics, which is why I finally felt the need to let all of these words pour out along with the artwork to accompany them. It was almost like I was waiting for something like Suicide Squad to come by so I could latch onto it and create my ancillary, alternate universe.

I first saw Suicide Squad at the end of December and I was struck by the fact that there was so much opportunity to create a really interesting story that could never be shown in a PG13 movie (too sexy, too smutty). I spent the first three weeks of January letting the movie marinate in my mind while thinking about the characters and making up little fantasies in my head. Then I saw a note that I had left for myself one year earlier encouraging me to “write more”—which was especially jarring considering that I wasn’t writing at all. So, I decided that I would take the opportunity and start writing down my fantasies. It started with Chapter 1 and how I had wished Joker had broken out of prison in the movie. Instead of torturing Harleen, he would succumb to his pent-up desires and have sex with her. I thought it would end there but it just took off. I wrote 30,000 words in literally two weeks, and I’m continuing to write and ride this out as long as I can sustain it. I have my entire story fleshed out and outlined and I expect to have a total of 14 or possibly 15 chapters when it is concluded. Update: A little over 10 weeks later and I have finished 23(!!!) chapters at 85,000+ words, thus concluding my novel. I’m a little sad that it’s over and I definitely don’t want to stop writing, but I think I’ll focus on my drawings for now. But who knows... I have set up my story for a potentially interesting prequel (Joker’s backstory), so maybe I will eventually work on that... 2nd Update: I will be writing a sequel, not a prequel, and I expect it to be the same length (a long-ass novel, LOL).

I will admit that I am not an expert on the Joker and Harley. I have seen the Suicide Squad movie, but I have not read the novelized version of it and I do not plan to. I know the names of some characters (like Frost) from having seen them float around, but I have been making up my own characters to fit my own story. In fact, other than Joker, Harleen, and Frost, most of my characters are original to a degree. When I write, I like to envision my characters played by an actor/actress so I can describe them better and I will eventually share with you my “cast of characters” for this novel (I actually have it posted already in the end notes on my AO3 page). I also have a running soundtrack in my head as if the story were a movie, and I’ll share that with you all as well (also found at that link).

As for Joker and Harley, I know some basics about them from the movies, some comics, the animated series from the 90s, and things that I’m seeing you guys post here on Tumblr. However, I have never been happy with how the comics/tv shows/movies have portrayed characters like the Joker. It always feels like these kinds of characters are too often portrayed as two-dimensional as their image is on the page. Where is the range of emotion? Where is the depth? I love a crazy, insane character, but they are not compelling to me when there is only crazy and nothing else. Why are they crazy? What is their back story? What drives them? What are their motives? What made them who they are? Is there any piece of humanity within them that can be salvaged? That was one thing that I think they got right with Suicide Squad—Leto’s Joker was portrayed as not only an insane, trigger happy loose cannon, but also suffering emotionally in Harley’s absence. I like kick-ass characters that show vulnerability. It is fucking sexy. I think it is important to add those extra layers of personality in order to make the character feel more real.

As for my portrayal of Joker, I intended to show his emotional and vulnerable side. You know he has one. He is still a flesh and blood person, after all. And he was a real person before becoming the “idea” of the Joker. In my world, he had a normal family life as a child (until his family died in an accident), he went to school, he got some degrees, he used his genius brain to start a business, he had a fiancée and a baby on the way. But shit happened and he is now the way he is. He has anger management issues. He is violent. He is fucked up. And he accepts that. Having said that, however, I was never a fan of Harley Quinn obsequiously fawning over the Joker no matter what abuse he put her through. I do not condone domestic violence and it makes me feel pity for her when I think of her returning to her abuser. In stories where she is portrayed that way, I just want to grab her by the shoulders and tell her that she deserves better than that! I know I would not stay with my abuser—no matter how great the sex was. In real life, I work in a social services field where I have managed cases in which my clients have suffered for too long at the hands of their abusive spouse or partner. That is a fucking difficult thing to be confronted with. It is not sexy; it is heartbreaking. And I find that these real life experiences inform the way that I write. For that reason, I am writing my Harleen as a strong, empowered, independent woman. My Joker, while still the insane, trigger happy loose cannon, is written to show facets of vulnerability and emotion. I think that makes him more attractive to know that he is more than just “crazy” and abusive. I like to show that he has desires, dreams, and urges. I think that kind of depth and dimension can sometimes be missing from the comic books—not always, but sometimes.

I do want to say that there are some brilliant fanfics out there that follow comic book canon with the abusive Joker and the submissive Harley. They really hold true to the characters, and that is an incredible feat within itself—to take a character, to know their personality, and to write a story that is true to how they would act. It’s very impressive. I might finish reading with a feeling of “God damn, Harley, you gotta stop letting Joker walk all over you!” And, to me, that means that the writer was successful because they elicited a true emotion within me—whether it is pity or anger or happiness or angst. So, this is not a put-down for those who do write true to the characters. I have mad respect for you. It’s not my bag, baby, but I will read it and enjoy it and I will walk away having felt something and that is the most important thing. Art in any form should make you feel. It should make you react. It should shock your sensibilities. It should inspire. It should make you think. And that is what I hope my art—both my writing and my drawings—do for all of you.

Sorry to have blathered on for so long, but thank you for reading if you made it this far! Your likes, comments, reblogs, and messages bring a huge smile to my face when I see them. It’s like opening a present when I check my Tumblr activity and see that someone has reached out to me. And please feel free to reach out to me with any comments or questions about anything!!!

So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I’m so glad that you enjoy my crazy fantasies as much as I like writing and drawing them!

XOXO,

#suicide squad #impossible love #masterlist #joker x harley #joker #harley quinn #harleen quinzel #fanfic #fanfiction #fanart

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littlestarofthewest · 5 years ago

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Hi, I love your fics and wanted to know if you have some tips for someone who wants to start writing? English is not my main language and I don't know if it's worth writting on my first language and then translate/adapt to english...

Hey anon, sorry this took me so long to answer, but I just wanted to do a somewhat decent job with it. Also, thank you. I'm really honored that you consider me to be someone who can actually give valid advice. I put this under a read more because it got super long (I’m sorry if that’s not at all what you were looking for).

Important side note: While I use phrases like "this is better," everything below is my personal opinion and not some sort of universal truth. I'm not criticizing any writers. I'm sure they know what they're doing, and we're all just looking for ways to put out the best works we can.

A lot of writers use things in their stories that I try my hardest to avoid, and they still have lots of happy readers. It comes down to personal preference, and all I'm offering here are a few ideas for you to consider.

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Let's start with the language issue. When I started writing fanfic I thought about the same thing. I think you have to consider 3 things:

1. Do I have the time / am I willing to translate everything?I'm usually so excited about finishing a story that I want to post it right away. You won't be able to do that if you need to translate it first. Also, writing itself can already be exhausting, and you're going to have to do the same work twice with each story.

2. Is my native language interesting for others?I'm German, and since the majority of the German people I'm in fandoms with speak English, there's no need to post anything in German. If the source material is English, they will consume English fics.

If you know your language to be interesting for other people, it would make more sense to post both languages to reach a bigger audience.

3. How close is my native language to English?Again, I can give you the example of German. The two languages are very different when it comes to sentence structure and how to phrase things. So, if I were to write in German first, a translation would be quite tricky. I'd probably end up "rewriting" the story rather than translating it word for word because the English wouldn't sound so good.

In conclusion: I know it's tempting to write in your own language because it seems more natural but unless you have good reason to do it that way (as mentioned above), I'd probably try to write in English right away. That's what I ended up doing. If you want to find the best way for you, try it both ways and see what works best.

Judging from your ask, I'd say you have enough knowledge of the language to write in English, and while it might suck a little in the beginning, it gets a lot easier over time.

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GENERAL ADVICE

1. Write! Practice is key. Talent might be a thing, but what makes you better at something is actually doing it. You don't have to publish everything, but the fact that you wrote it will help you to get better. I cringe whenever I look at things that I wrote 6 years ago, but it's also great to see how much better I am now compared to then. If you keep at it, you'll definitely see that change at some point.

2. Don't get discouraged if there's no significant response. Even for amazing writers, it takes time to get some traction. Especially on tumblr it's tough to be seen. There are also a ton of reasons why people might not interact, like forgetfulness, blog aesthetic, laziness, shyness, etc. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy your work. I hate to say "write for yourself," but that's the mindset you need. It should be still fun for yourself, even if you don't get a lot of feedback.

3. Have a healthy attitude towards your work.It's absolutely okay to love your own stuff, and if you enjoy it, feel free to show it. Still accept if not everybody else likes it, though.

BUT… don't hate on your work. A lot of writers are a little unsure about themselves, and that's okay, but if you say things like "this is garbage" about your own fics, you shouldn't be surprised if people don't read it. Why would they, if even you don't like it? So, don't put yourself down. Putting words on paper out of nothing is hard work, and every fic is worth at least the time and effort you put into it.

4. Read! My English improved a great deal just by reading. You'll pick up vocabulary and ways of phrasing things without even trying too hard. Read with variety. Fanfic is great, and it's a good idea to see what's out there, but fic writers are still a certain kind of writer. Mix it up with published books (even if it's hard to find LGBTQ+ content), preferably with different genres you're interested in.

5. Mingle. It's hard to put yourself out there, but don't be shy to promote yourself a little. If you feel like doing that, offer to take requests. Check out other writers. One great way to find readers is actually to interact with other writers. We can all need the support, and you might end up picking up some good advice.

Be respectful, though. I've seen people leave comments just to go like, "Hey, you wanna read my stuff, too?" Not nice. If you interact in a friendly manner, there's a good chance they'll check you out anyway. No need to pressure them.

6. Make an effort. I learned that one early on, when someone commented on one of my first fics that they "almost didn't read it because of the way it was formatted." It kinda sucks when you finally have something to post and then need to "waste time" with that stuff, but it's just as important as the story itself.

You don't have editors who will fix every little thing but try to do the basics yourself.- correct your punctuation- try avoiding walls of text- make enough paragraphs (when different people speak etc.)- check for major spelling errors

7. Consider advice / ignore haters. When someone gives you advice (if you asked for it or not), consider it. It's not smart to reject it right away, but you also don't have to do what others tell you. Pick out what works best for you. If someone's rude, kick them out of your life and don't waste a second on them. It's not on you to teach them to be polite.

8. Be mindful of your readers. It's their job to construct a safe atmosphere for themselves online, but you can do a great deal to help them. If you post on AO3, tag your stuff!! I hate to give away spoilers, but a lot of readers will feel better reading your stuff if they know that you look out for them.

On tumblr, use the right tags. Don't tag every character and ship in the universe. People will hate you (for a good reason). Go with what's actually in your story. Mentioning the basics in your post might be an option, too. (I give a quick overview on top of each story, but many writers don't. That's personal preference.)

And due to recent events, a plea from myself. Please consider all genders, sexualities etc. when you post. Tag your male/gn/female/trans reader inserts, tag your ships, tag major triggers, etc. You can't know every dislike of every person, but you have a bit of responsibility here, so please make an effort.

9. Write first - edit later. I'm shitty at this myself, but it's still great advice. A good way to avoid writer's block is just to put down the words, no matter what. It sounds like garbage? It doesn't matter. Did you use the same verb three times in one paragraph? Fix it later. No idea how that sentence should go? Add [character is doing some great action move to defeat the villain] and move on. Fill it in later.

Neil Gaiman said: "There is no first draft worse than a blank page."

You can always change and fix what's already there, but you can't work with nothing.

10. Take writing breaks. You don't have to crap out 2k of words a day to be a writer. In fact, letting your mind rest can be a great way to gain motivation and inspiration. Do something you love and don't hate yourself if the words don't come right away. They'll be back.

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SPECIFIC WRITING ADVICE

There's one golden rule: You want your readers to be so enthralled by the story that they forget that they're reading it.

These are some things that I picked up and still look out for to get exactly that effect. If you do that or not is totally up to you, though.

1. Use paragraphs when another person speaks. Although pretty much every advice blog tells you this, I still see stories that don't do that, and it's super confusing for readers.

NO:Arthur stands up and comes your way. "Are you sure?" You put your arms around him and nod. "Of course."

YES:Arthur stands up and comes your way.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

You put your arms around him and nod. "Of course."

There are a few ways to do this, but the important part is that your readers know who's talking at all times. The second they have to ask and maybe reread to find who says what, they're thrown out of the story.

2. Don't be afraid of "said" and "asked." I know there are these great lists of other words, but there are a time and place. Imagine yourself in conversation. Do you switch between sighing, whispering, growling and shouting with each sentence? Most of the time, people just say things. Use said and pepper in other words when it matters. Also, people tend to read over said. When you switch each sentence, they'll notice which breaks the golden rule.

3. Read out loud. If a sentence is weird, that might help you distinguish what doesn't work. If you notice a point that makes you reread or pause for a moment, chances are your reader will too.

This is also a great way to find weird dialogue. Actually speak the words, and you might notice that nobody talks that way. It's also great to find "the voice" of a character. Read it in their voice and dialect (nobody has to know if you suck at it), and you'll see if that's something they would actually say.

4. Only use epithets if they are absolutely necessary or convey an important fact!!! (This one is a real pet peeve for me because it's so dominant in fic)

NO:The Blonde leaned over, holding out his hand. You shook it, and were taken aback by the older man's shining blue eyes. The cowboy had a voice that made your skin prickle when he finally talked to you.

This is bad for a few reasons:a) You have to come up with all those epithets and oftentimes, they're not very good. b) It can be confusing because it might seem as if you're talking about more than one person. c) Your readers will focus on each new epithet, which breaks the golden rule.

It can be great to introduce a character as the tall, handsome stranger, but as soon as you know how they're called (and you should try to get there fast), for the love of God, use the name. It might sound repetitive to you since you're the one writing it, but readers usually read over names.

If you have to use a workaround, stick to one. The same person is always "the stranger," the next one is "the loudmouth," etc. That way, you can have multiple unknown characters without confusing your readers.

The only!! other reason to use an epithet is to emphasize a particular fact.

YES:"It hurt Arthur to leave John behind, but he wants his brother to be safe."

You could just write "he wants him to be safe," but in this case, "his brother" isn't only a replacement but is supposed to show that Arthur thinks of John as a brother and not just a friend. It actually means something and might even convey information your reader didn't have up until this point. It works well in dialogue, too.

"I need to go with them," you tell Karen, "and try my best to keep tall, dark, and handsome out of trouble."

Karen looks over to John and rolls her eyes. "Good luck."

Of course, the reader character knows John's name, but using the epithet here gives a little insight into how they think about John and that they're comfortable sharing that information with Karen.

5. Check your punctuation. Nobody's gonna kill you if you forget a comma, but try to get it right as well as you can, especially with dialogue. Those are a few rules that aren't hard to understand, and it's especially important if your native language does them differently.

English:"Would you just shut up," says Arthur, giving Micah a mean stare. "One more word, and I'll have to shoot you."

German:"Würdest du mal die Klappe halten", sagt Arthur mit einem bösen Blick zu Micah. "Noch ein Wort und ich werde dich erschießen müssen."

In German, you put the comma after " while you put it inside " " in English. It's a subtle difference, but it threw me a lot when I started writing in English. And if I notice, then readers might notice which again breaks the golden rule.

Besides, we're trying to make some effort, right? Let your story look pretty and professional. You can google a lot of useful guides about comma rules, dashes, and correct punctuation in dialogue.

6. Passive voice can be avoided. Or better said, avoid passive voice. I'm not saying, don't use it at all, since some very common phrases use passive voice, but try not to overdo it.

In most cases, there's always a better way to phrase a sentence, and active voice usually has more dynamic and drives your story in a way that passive voice can't.

7. Adverbs. Most writing advice blogs will tell you to avoid them like the plague. When I first started writing, I was a little on the fence with that advice, but by now, I agree with all my heart. Again, not saying that you can't have a single adverb in your story, but on many occasions, there's a better alternative.

NO:With his heart beating rapidly, Arthur moves quickly around the wagon, pulling out his gun. He fires back, shouting angrily at his attackers, "You gonna pay for this!"

YES:With his heart almost beating out of his chest, Arthur darts around the wagon, pulling out his gun. He fires back at his attackers, his anger sounding like a lion's roar in his voice. "You gonna pay for this!"

I'm not saying that version B is THE best way to write this, but I dare say it's way better than version A. Maybe that's because I'm not a native speaker, but it hurts my head if I have to read 3 words ending in -ly in one tiny paragraph.

A lot of writers very much abuse adverbs in their dialogue tags, which can make things repetitive and takes away the opportunity to put better information there. BUT, there's definitely a time and place for adverbs.

"He speaks quietly to her" is NOT the same as "he whispers to her," and that's the hill I'm going to die on.

8. Strong verbs. I suck at this myself, but this is where you should actually look for long lists of "other words for." This might be especially helpful when you have the above mentioned adverb problem (e.g., dashes, darts > goes quickly).

Still, don't overdo it. You might find words that sound fancy, but chances are that even native speakers might have no idea what you're saying.

9. Past or present tenseWhen writing in German, I often used past tense, but somehow I'm more comfortable with present tense in English.

From what I gathered over the years, most fic readers don't care either way; the only important thing is: pick one, stick to it! It's a widespread mistake a lot of writers make that they somehow switch tenses while writing. It happened to me a lot in the beginning and still does to this day. So be warned ;D

10. What POV should I use?

Again, google is your friend. There are a few different POVs you can use, some of them are very common in fic while others seem to be less popular (like 1st person as in "I do this, I do that"). There are 3 rules that I find important.

a) Don't switch inside of the story. Decide which one you want and stick to it. It's very confusing to switch at some point.

b) After you picked one, look out for the traps. If you write from one character's POV, they can't know things unless somebody tells them about it or they were present for the event. It's easy to suddenly have a character know something because YOU know it. Make sure it makes sense within the story.

c) Don't switch mid-sentence or mid-paragraph. I've seen this a lot lately in reader fics. You have 2k of story from the reader's POV, and then when they interact with the character, the author suddenly ventures into the feelings and inner thoughts of the character. That's confusing, especially if it happens without any marker or break in the text.

Don't switch just because it's convenient. If you want to give them both a voice, do it from the start. And if you do, switch where it makes sense, e.g. every other chapter, in the middle of the chapter with a visible break, etc.

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That's all I can think of for now. I hope it helps you in any way, and feel free to talk about it with me whenever you want. I can ALWAYS talk about writing.

Good fortune with your writing!!!

#answered asks #anon asks #writing advice #Anonymous

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