#notebook's excerpts etc.

[anopennotebook]

Shoutout to this tumblr post (brought to me via Pinterest) that inspired the following:

I need a Navy officer to have looked the dead Leviathan in its face and said “I’m sorry.” I need a Navy officer who repeatedly expresses their doubts / concerns on the project, but their skillset is too valuable for anyone to get rid of them/the problem. I need a Navy officer (metaphorically? Then later *literally?*) tied to their work on the Dead Leviathan project, and accepting their fate as doomed by what will surely be a vengeful god. I need a Navy officer that goes in and worships the leviathan’s remnants, recognizing it for the divinity it is. I need a Navy officer watching this divine being be commanded, and wondering how long it will stay subdued. I need a Navy officer begging and pleading to be released from this sin, and when the Dead Leviathan wakes is the only one to remain untouched. I need a Navy officer wishing they had been touched by a god, for surely experiencing its wrath would be better than the silence that is left behind. I need the struggle of man when faced with divine creation that mortal hands have made flawed, knowing they contributed to marring a holy thing.

[raikan624]

School Projects

Started: August 11, 2024

Finished: August 12, 2024 Summary: A month long partner project in class. Ponyboy and Reader are paired up and find themselves growing closer as time goes on. . . Contains: Fluff, Second-person PoV, Reader's gender is unspecified, Strangers(?) to Lovers, Reader x Ponyboy, no use of Y/N Warnings: Reader is (at least) decent at writing essays, very little dialogue

You were in your History class, listening to your teacher drone on and on about something you’d started to tune out a while ago by now. Idly tapping the end of your pencil on your desk while your head was resting on your arm, only little snippets of the teacher’s rambling came into your brain like, “assigned partners”, and “month-long project”. The class was quiet, really, with some girls gossiping in hushed whispers, some doodling in the margin of their papers or fidgeting with obvious boredom like yourself, some guys discreetly mocking the teacher and making their friends snicker. Only a few kids actually listened or took notes of what Ms. Thompson was saying. Your eyes scanned the classroom, watching everyone do their own thing, then your eyes went to Ponyboy. You knew him to some degree, but you were really strangers, only knowing what each other’s names were but never really interacting at all. You knew he was a quiet kid, that he was a Greaser, and that he liked to read from what you’d seen, but nothing more than that.

When you finally tuned back in to Ms. Thompson’s ramblings, she said, “I will write the pairs on the board. Once you find your and your partner’s names, you will sit next to your partner and take notes and come up with an essay and a visual presentation, including drawn images and excerpts from text books and other resources on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and how it impacted society. This project is due a month from now; if it is overdue, you will get an F on it and it will impact your final grade in this class.”

Ms. Thompson began writing the pairs and the instructions on the chalkboard, your classmates either looking at it in anticipation or murmuring to one another, presumably about who they hoped their partners would be. When Ms. Thompson finished writing on the chalkboard, she sat down at her desk and began to work or grade things from other classes, and there were audible groans or excited ‘yes’s from your classmates as they read the list of pairs. You scanned the list for your name, and you were paired up with Ponyboy Curtis. You just hoped that you both could relatively get along.

The students began to go to their partners and began chatting about what they would be doing for the project, how they’d design it, and who’s doing what. Ponyboy soon came over to your desk and pulled up a chair, sitting across from you with his notebook put on the desktop. The awkwardness almost palpable. ”So. . . What should we do for the project?” He asked, awkwardly breaking the silence, opening his notebook to a blank page and jotting down the instructions, due date, etc. ”I don’t know. . . Maybe a tri-fold poster or something?” You suggested. “Sure. We can do that.” Ponyboy replied, jotting it down.

After a bit more discussion, you came to the agreement that Ponyboy would do the art and visual bit of the tri-fold poster and you would write the essay. You agreed to meet up at Ponyboy’s house after school to start working on the project and that would be the main plan for meetups unless you both went to the library or something.

You walked with Ponyboy after school to his house, and you went to his shared bedroom and began studying, having taken out a few history books on the time period of the Roman Empire and the rise and fall of it, etc. You both started working and were chatting together. You found out that Ponyboy is actually a really nice guy; that he enjoyed watching sunsets, about his family life, and he found out more about you in turn. You both started to bond over time as you both worked on this project, and when you finished writing the essay you began to help him with the tri-fold poster and wrote down excerpts from the resources you had and maybe adding the occasional drawing or detail to the poster or maybe helped him with coloring it.

Before long, Ponyboy had started inviting you to hang out together outside of working on the project, like going to Dairy Queen together or maybe walking around town together, and you had quickly become friends with him. It was great. Ponyboy was a great friend and a great partner for projects, albeit you started to get a warm, almost fuzzy feeling around him; finding yourself looking at him for a few moments more than the casual glance in classes, taking in the details of his appearance. . .

Time flies by, and that definitely applied to the month to do the history project. You’d finished and the due date had come up quickly, but you both were content with how the final result came out. You’d ended up doing a small presentation for the tri-fold poster, along with your other classmates for their own visual presentations. Some kids even went to the lengths of making a class interactive bit and made handouts for the class. You’d ended up getting an A on the project, which you were both proud about, obviously.

You decided to hang out together over the weekend and went to a local diner that had affordable, cheap prices, and you’d had a good time there with him like always.

Once it got later, he walked you with you home and the walk was relatively quiet, only minimal talk happening between the two of you.

After a bit, Ponyboy had broken the somewhat comfortable silence by saying, “Hey, uh, can I tell you somethin’?” with a bit of a shy look in his eyes. “Yeah.” You answered him, looking over at him while you waited for him to tell you whatever he wanted to tell you. You’d gotten pretty close to your house by now.

“I, uh, really like you. A more-than-friends kind of like.” Ponyboy admitted.

You stood there for a moment, processing the new information while he waited for your response with bated breath. He had a crush on you. . .

“I really like you, too, Ponyboy. I’ve enjoyed spending time with you.” You told him, to which he let out an exhale of relief.

You both kept walking back to your house, and when you finally got there, you stopped at the front of your house, pulling away from Ponyboy and going to back into your house before you gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, “See you on Monday, Ponyboy.” You told him, then turning and walking into your house, leaving Ponyboy struck dumb with a lovestruck smile on his face as he watched you open the front door and go in. He couldn’t wait ‘till Monday. . .

Sorry if this is bad; I'm a bit rusty because I haven't done any writing - let alone romance writing - in ages (╥﹏╥) Requests are open :)

[6leggedhorse]

Define Your Happy: Ritual #1 from Mandi Em’a Happy Witch

Ritual One: Define Your Happy Ritual

- Pen/Pencil or any writing utensil

-Journal or notebook of any kind

-Digital images that represent what your personal happy is

-optional: incense

1. So basically you get comfy, in which I did in my bed in my bed, which is easy because my mattress is super comfortable. You want to set the mood, music, a childhood favorite film, favorite PJs etc. light your incense if you have any on hand or diffuser or wax melts whatever you like. Crystals can be used too.

2. Answer the following:

“What does happiness mean to you? What’s the operational definition?

Up until now, have you believed it was attainable? Why or why not?

Think of a specific time when you were happy. What did that happiness look like? How did it feel?

What does the happiest version of you look like? How do they respond to triggers? How do they feel? What do they believe to be true?”

Excerpt From

Happy Witch

Mandi Em

https://books.apple.com/us/book/happy-witch/id1609259153

This material may be protected by copyright.

3. You will then create a vision board, 5-10 pictures work according to Mandi Em, but make this your own ritual, Loki would like that a lot. Pinterest works great and so does Canva, or if you’re more hands on, grab some magazines or images from google and create the board and take your time.

My Thoughts

I like this one, it was oddly therapeutic. I used Pinterest for the board and will be sharing mine and it was a lot of fun to create this one. It helped me focus and hone into what happiness looks like to me, after all, I struggled to experience happiness until I got with my partner and he saved me from a shit situation. I throughly enjoyed this and recommend it if you really need to feel out your happiness and what you would like in life. Now, I won’t share what I wrote down because that’s personal. But overall pretty good, fun and interesting. 10/10 and bonus points for therapeutic purposes. Collage is located under the GIFs.

Next up Bust Out Your Cage Ritual, tune into your blog this Wednesday for that!

[mstepenwolf]

2, 28 and 37 🤍

thanks a lot for asking! 🖤

28: do you collect anything?

Yes! I collect fountain pens, notebooks, art business cards, keepsakes (tickets, postcards, etc.), and stickers.

37: share a secret.

Not sure if it's a secret but it's definitely something I've never shared: I've been on tumblr for about ten years but I began interacting with and befriending others only three years ago.

2: My handwriting – an excerpt from October by Louise Glück

[fatal-rewrites-warriors]

do you have any tips on writing long-term fic projects like this? stuff like planning, keeping up momentum, etc

It has to be for you. The project should make you excited. If you start thinking "I have to do this for the readers" and that thought fills you with dread or anxiety, then take a step back and search for your love again.

Figure out the ways you like to plan. Some people write out of order, some people write chronologically. If you write chronologically, like me, and get stuck on a chapter, write down what will happen (in as much detail as you like, sometimes I'll write a few paragraphs of notes) and move on.

While you shouldn't force it, figure out the difference between actually not being in the mood to write and whatever blocks are preventing you, whether it be mental illness, executive dysfunction, the works. A tried and true method is to simply start, and if it still sucks after like 5 minutes, do something else.

Try keeping a notes app specifically for thoughts you have on the project!

Having friends you can share excerpts and ideas with is a lovely motivator.

You will never be able to predict the reaction of your readers. You might be scared to include a certain part, even parts that mean a lot to you or that you're interested in diving into. Don't be afraid. Write true to yourself.

Related to the previous point, but stop inventing guys who are angry about your writing. If you invent guys a LOT and its hard to stop, invent guys that love your writing, especially ones who ask fun questions. They're much better company.

Write little snippets and vignettes on every available surface. I have little scraps of writing scattered across devices, notebooks, etc. This isn't the greatest organization wise, but it keeps me writing!

Don't delete large chunks of writing. If you're unsure or not feeling great about it, either come back to it later, or put it in a separate document. Sometimes you come back to those ideas with a new perspective.

For the love of god move around every once in a while. Set an alarm if you must. Hyperfocus is rarely worth the status affects you incur after the fact.

Be kind to yourself. If you can't be kind, don't be mean. You wouldn't bully someone else about their writing, so why is it okay to bully yourself?

If shit sucks, hit the bricks. It's admirable to want to finish something, but if it fills you with dread then drop it. It doesn't need to be forever, but creation under duress will never be true to you.

[katzynia]

WIP game

rules: you will be given a word. share one sentence / excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word

Thank you for tagging me @bittercape

word: SHIFT

S – Extremly wippy wip, meaning that’s it’s couple of paragraphs drafted in my old notebook. Topic is Dom drop Slade.

Slade pulled the leather straight and dismissed the thought. Jason would’ve said something if it was uncomfortable. Except… It was pretty hard to say anything with that thing in his mouth. Where were his hands at that time? Shit, would Slade had noticed a tapping among all that trembling and shaking? Surely, Jason wouldn’t have just taken it without protest? Or well, more of a protest than his usual squirming and bratting. Wait, was it more than the usual? Not that the ropes have left him much wiggle room. Or any, to be exact. Slade stared at the leather. Shit. Did he push too far?

H – From my long-long fic, with smol!Jason who survived and Slade doing some mercenary work… (For this, there’s a longer excerpt (from a different part) here)

He hasn’t managed to grow in the intervening years, still roughly a foot shorter than Slade, but the last few dregs of childhood that lingered in his face under all the injuries and hurt the have now vanished. Slight stubble, curls hanging over his eyes. The biggest difference is the scar:  now whitened and smoothed out by time, disappearing under the hair covering the old surgery site. Strikingly, that patch of hair is stark white. Well hello mystery client.

I – From imaginatively named file “Sugarbaby Jason”.

It’s a Tuesday afternoon when the realization hits. Which is not the time to have reality shattering new revelations, in Jason’s opinion. Tuesday afternoons are for mundane, everyday stuff, things that repeat over and over, like settling on a bed reading a book in sweaters, for a completely hypothetical example. The setting is all wrong in other fronts too. Well, at least he’s not reading a cheesy romance novel. Or a deep social commentary about independency and economics. That’d be a bit too on the nose, even for his sensibilities.

F – From WIP with the work name Deathstroke Inc. And surprise! The pov character is Dick.

Finally, Deathstroke saw him and came to an immediate halt. A little overblown reaction if anyone would've asked Dick, but alas, nobody else even looked at his direction. Dick would’ve waved but he was a bit tied up at the moment. When Deathstroke came to the view again after completion of another excruciatingly slow circle, the helmet finally moved towards the other occupants in the room.

T – And ending with extremely long-awaited and will-be-waited-even-longer Mummy AU…

“This your expedition?” Dick said. “A washed-out mercenary, a petty thief and you, a scholar whose never even seen an excavation before?” ”Hey,” Stephanie said. “I’m sorry, but it’s true,” Dick continued. “This whole endeavor is ridiculous.” “You are ridiculous!” Jason snapped and regretted it instantly when a tiny flash of pitying triumph rolled over Dick’s face. Dick turned to Slade, opening his arm and just like that Jason was the little boy again, standing on the outside looking in.

I really like these kinds of games (so feel free to tag me ;)) but alas, my writing style is not best suited for them: My drafts are messy. Especially ones I'm not actively working on, they are full of like half sentences, dialogue lines without any indications who's talking etc. And naturally, a fuck load of {thing} and {what'sthe word] kid of notes :D

(and yes, i'd be happy to discuss any of these, if anyone wants to know more :))

Anyway! Tagging @nonbinaryjaybird @darbydoo22 @notherdeadrobin @marirah if you want to play,

word is: ROUND

[bylerbigbang]

What a Time to be Alive

Fic by @newlesbianprideflag | Art by @teabagboy

Teen | 20k words

Mike is haunted, Will is haunting.

Or: when he was 12 years old, Will Byers was taken to the Upside Down, and with no Eleven-ex-Machina, he stayed there, and was assumed dead. Through sheer force of will, he finds ways to contact Mike and his mom and brother through lights and electricity and, as he spends more time there, ways to manifest physically. He remains invisible and inaudible for the most part, but present enough to write notes and occasionally be touched, heard, or even seen, in flashes. He becomes a haunting, constant presence in the life of Mike, who never wanted to let him go in the first place, and they fall in love through notes and music and whatever touch Will can manifest. (Mike, meanwhile, is somewhat adopted into the Byers family in Will’s place.) When they’re about 15, Vecna gains power in UD, threatening Will’s way of unlife, and, related, Eleven stumbles her way into Hawkins. Mike, with Eleven (and Joyce’s and etc)’s help, goes into the Upside Down to save Will, is confronted by Vecna who tries to convince him that Will is dead. Will saves him, and though they aren’t able to defeat Vecna, they return to Hawkins. Mike and Will, back together, confess their love and kiss and even with whatever will come next, with Vecna and the Upside Down that did not want to let Will go, they have each other, and that will be enough.

Warnings: Temporary Character Death, Mentions of Homophobia, some Internalized Homophobia, Grief, brief UD-typical horror

Read on Ao3 | View Art

Read an excerpt below:

So, Mike has a ghost, and it doesn’t bear much thought.

“Did you draw that?” Dustin asks in a hushed, library-appropriate tone.

“What happened to you being shit at art?” Max follows with immediately, in a much less library-appropriate tone.

What Dustin’s pointing to, and what Max is clearly referencing, is a small sketch of a three-headed dragon in the corner of his math notebook — one head is breathing fire on the quadratic equation, one has its open jaw around an x variable, ready to bite, and one is lazing, likely asleep, on one low college-rule line. It’s fucking adorable, and no, Mike didn’t draw it.

A ghost did.

Mike shrugs. “Yeah.” Max looks unconvinced. “Well, I copied it.”

“From what?” Max asks, more genuine curiosity than light derision.

Mike doesn’t say anything for a second (he’s still not a great liar, about the ghost thing, even though he really should be by now), which is long enough for him to catch the bow of Lucas’ head, the way his fingers skim the corner of the page, face tangled up. “It looks like what…” Lucas trails off, then clears his throat. “You copied it from Will’s old sketchbook?” Dustin winces with the name, and Mike’s sure he does about the same. He’s surprised, honestly, that Lucas was able to recognize it, and then immediately feels guilty for being surprised. It isn’t like Lucas would forget about him. It isn’t like Will is something he and he alone carries, even if its different for him. He didn’t leave any of them.

“Yeah,” Mike confirms, voice a bit caught-in-the-throat. “It’s...” he trails off. He doesn’t know what he would say next, and expects his reticence to be read as an end to the conversation. As inescapable as Will and his absence is, they don’t really like talking about him. Max never even met him, and it fucks with Lucas and Dustin. So. Quiet.

“It’s good, though,” Dustin says, head tilted to the side, a bit unsure. The undertone — better than he ever got a chance to be — is unspoken. “You think he would’ve been an artist?”

“Maybe,” Lucas offers, leaving back and looking away at the nothing that surrounds them. Cramped library shelves of books none of them have the time to read. Old chairs. High school.

On Mike’s hand, the ghost taps his assent.

Read more on Ao3 >

[kinetic-elaboration]

July 14: Writing Vague Blog

Very tired after yesterday so I slept through uh a pretty big chunk of today. Then wrote a bit in the evening. Not a ton-a ton but the next scene: 640 words in about half an hour. I feel like I've excerpted half of this fic so I won't do that today, especially since I didn't write that much. Some thoughts instead.

I still feel like what I want is some more extended creative time and to write something more atmospheric. This story was originally intended to be sort of an 'easy' second project and I don't feel like it's sufficiently balanced anymore, I guess. Also, I do find the later scenes that I've been writing less exciting than the earlier ones and I have ambivalent feelings about that. Like it's fine if the beginning is my favorite but also I don't want to end up in a situation of personally diminishing returns. I think there's potential in later scene ideas but also that I haven't daydreamed them sufficiently and they're just too vague for actual writing. I don't think about this story anywhere near as often as I used to.

Anyway, another thing is that I keep forgetting that a week off isn't just me having to worry about traveling and logistics but actually a week off. Like damn that's the stuff you know. I don't really feel like I'm under-prepared for this sort of time excess but more like maybe I can do anything. And should. And the thing I want creatively is just there almost in reach.

I have just felt sort of tangled recently, in a way that's hard to describe. Maybe it's just because it's been a while since I sat outside with a notebook and worked things out--because of the heat, mostly, also a little bit being sick and being tired and stuff like that rainstorm on Friday, etc. Like I don't think I'll tell myself anything I don't already know, but sometimes I need to slow down and really think each part of the thought.

I don't know. I feel very...behind on many things. I guess that's how I always feel when I let myself think about it that way.

[not-poignant]

Hi Pia :) Does the Gary and Efnisien tier in Ream give access to Underline the Blue chapters 5 to 8? Thank you, I love your writing! <3

Hello anon!

Here's what you get on Ream in terms of specific stories depending on the tiers! (the tl;dr is YES you absolutely do, but I'll put it out in a lil more detail for you):

Following (Free):

This will give you access to all public posts, and is completely free. It's like a 'newsletter/news' tier.

Mallory & Mount ($3):

This is like the 'tip jar' tier. Nothing specific happens here except for access to public posts and the occasional poll. And my eternal gratitude.

Mosk & Eran ($5.00):

This introduces chapter commentaries! (x2 a month) And poll access.

Augus & Gwyn ($9.00):

This is chapter commentaries, as well as the majority of early access chapters, which include Underline the Blue, Underline the Red and Underline the Gold, as well as The Nascent Diplomat. It includes these for ALL previous months, and not just the current month/s you signed up for. Access to a special Discord channel (you must tell me your username on the Discord, it's not automated).

Gary & Efnisien ($17):

This is chapter commentaries, as well as the majority of early access chapters, which include Underline the Blue, Underline the Red and Underline the Gold, as well as The Nascent Diplomat.

It now also includes Constellations, and likely Vexteria and Mallory & Mount early access too!

It includes the Game Theory edits, and any new scenes I add, so you can all see in real time how (slowly) I am altering this story and keeping it faithful at the same time. It includes these for ALL previous months, and not just the current month/s you signed up for. (you must tell me your username on the Discord, it's not automated).

Vexteria & Evan ($44)

ALL previous rewards from the earlier tiers, but starting around November-December will also include merch about once every 4-6 months. These will include things like notebooks, stickers, tote bags, magnets, diaries and more (it will change depending), and each will be themed to certain characters. The first one going out this year will be Augus and Gwyn. But people will need to be on that tier for at least 3 consecutive months before I'll start sending the first package, due to shipping and well, merch costs, lol.

~

Note: The prices are more expensive on Ream because a) you are only charged once a month there, b) it's been 10 years since I set my prices and a slightly higher price range adjusts for a decade of inflation.

Also: Highly recommend the Following tier to folks! You'll still get notifications, but I'm thinking about transitioning my newsletter here. I might also put daily excerpts here too, though it will be a mirror to my Patreon (and maybe my Tumblr), I'm really enjoying all the extra options I get there!

If you have any more questions I'm always here to help! A huge benefit to Ream is simply that they're not being as ridiculous as Patreon right now who is blocking a lot of folks from signing them up, or kicking them from a subscription, also it allows explicit taboo/problematic content like noncon etc. and wants to make a safe space for it, almost similar to AO3 in nature, but for commercial writers.

And frankly that's something I really want to support!

[joziokowalski]

4 and 10 for the books ask game

hehee thank you for asking!! i ended up typing up a lot of words, but then why shouldn't i type up a lot of words about my favourite books. many thanks for giving me an excuse to do so!

4. What are your top 3 comfort reads?

1 e m forster: a life by p n furbank i'm very fond of biographies in general and this one is my absolute favourite. it's as informative as one could wish, and personally i found it extremely engrossing - i feel like it's easy to assume that forster couldn't have had a very exciting life, but this narration, to me, was a real page-turner. very endearing, frequently quite hilarious, i love the fact that it's written in a tone similar to that of forster's own novels, i e often ironic but also brimming with warmth and sympathy for its subjects, even though they aren't idealized in the slightest. it's got lots of excerpts from diaries, letters, etc. so one gets to look into a lot of forster's (as well as lots of other people's) thoughts that he didn't write down for publication, and personally i have found those extremely valuable at many points in my life. the book itself is quite hefty so i wrote out many passages of it into a notebook when i was leaving for university to make sure i would have them with me if i need to come back to them. generally, i'd say one of the comforts of a good biography is that it makes one feel that ultimately every life can be narrated in a way that makes one see the value of it, so maybe those of us who tend to find things rather pointless and meaningless can take a break from that, and this particular biography delivers this 100%

2 the orchid trilogy by jocelyn brooke the thing about this book is that it feels like it was written specfically for my own personal enjoyment. it's like a perfect amalgamation of all the things i tend to love in a book. fictionalized autobiography - check. a dense web of references to artists i'm familiar with and fond of - check. a tone of melancholy and nostalgia married perfectly to irony - check. a deeply obsessive nerd of a narrator who can and will tell you everything about his subjects of interest - check. a preoccupation with the themes of failure, disappointment, adolescence, mediocrity and inferiority, a fascination with the morbid and the sinister coupled with childish naivety, (homo)eroticism always camouflaged in one way or another but in such a manner that only makes it stand out more, a gorgeous gorgeous personal mythology and a sense of getting to borrow someone's very extraordinary personal lens and look at the world with new eyes. and it's funny - at least i have found myself laughing out loud many a time while reading it. there is something especially touching to me in the fact that i only discovered it by sheer accident and even though it's so intertwined with so many of the things i adore i can't think how i could've come upon it if not for a myriad of circumstances coming together. it's a gem i could very well have missed, which i think is quite fitting considering that so much of this book is about the narrator's search for elusive objects that have the power to afford him transcendent extasies but can only be encountered by chance

3 ferdydurke by witold gombrowicz this might be an odd choice of a comfort book, seeing that it's the opposite of peaceful or warm or any other associations the word carries, but that's what it is to me, mainly because i find it endlessly ValidatingTM. firstly, a huge chunk of it is basically merciless absurdist satire levelled at some of the things i also despise with a passion (cough cough school episodes). generally it exposes many things one is normally supposed to accept as if they were ok for the fever dream that they are. and secondly, we reasonable psychologically aware people talk so much about the dangers of depending on other people's perceptions of ourselves, being preoccupied with how we appear to others, giving others the power to define us, we all know very well that those are the things that pave the road to misery and we're trying very hard to liberate ourselves from that, which is very healthy and reasonable of us. but mr gombrowicz frankly chooses violence and embraces neurosis, and posits all those things as unavoidable ("Man Is Profoundly Dependent On The Reflection Of Himself In Another Man's Soul Be It Even The Soul Of An Idiot". yeah panie witoldzie i sure am). so what you get in ferdydurke is a disgustingly relatable deep dive into the horrors of being a person among other people & Being Perceived. his characters have no selves outside of their interactions with others, they are either shaped by other people's treatment of them or artificially shape themselves to resist the influence of others, and they will spend every waking moment fighting tooth and nail to gain control over how others perceive them. and it's a romp! it's one of the funniest books i've ever read. gombrowicz & his narrator is a delightful self-absorbed contrarian who doesn't leave a table unflipped or an apple cart unupset. and, paradoxically, reading about the neuroses that plague one's life can feel extremely comforting when they're presented so unapologetically and with such incisive wit

10. What is your favorite genre book to recommend to someone who doesn’t usually like that genre?

hmm. the problem is, i don't think i read much of what could be labelled as genre books, so i'm actually the one who should be taking recommendations here! the only GenreTM genre i'm really into is nautical fiction, and i won't be very original here - i'll just say that the aubrey-maturin novels by patrick o'brian are gorgeously well-written and so rich in their subject matter, style and manner, that anyone, i believe, could find something in them to enjoy. there's the immersive historical setting, beautiful language, lots of humor (both of the subtle and cringe awkward in-your-face variety), delightfully vivid characters and so much more. if the imagined addressee of my recommendation happens to dislike quick-paced plot-driven adventure stories or lengthy descriptions of sea battles, they will be relieved to find that there aren't that many action sequences in these novels and plot development is very often not the priority. and though the amount of naval jargon may seem intimidating at first, one quickly sees that understanding it at all times actually isn't that much of a requirement, and the novels are written in a way that a reader who doesn't have any knowledge of it will have key terms explained to them when necessary, and at other times will have characters to relate to who don't understand a damn thing of all the sailor talk either. (another author i love who technically fits the genre is herman melville and i sure do believe that moby dick and billy budd are gorgeous wonderful amazing books that are very much worth reading, but tbh i would generally hesitate to recommend them unless to a kind of person i believe would really enjoy them - for better or for worse, they are not everyone's cup of tea, and many of the features that might attract or put someone off don't have much to do with the nautical aspect of these stories imo)

[late-to-the-fandom]

🌻 🥀 💫 for Renathal, 🌸 🌾 for Elisewin?

This took me four hours😳 My brain today…

🌻 What little things do they notice about people or the world around them that make them happy? What tiny little treasures do they find in the normal every day that makes the world seem a little brighter for them?

Renathal is all about the details, in all universes. He knows the importance of romanticizing the domestic details of one’s own existence, and it’s part of the reason he takes such precise care in all aspects of his life. In the AU this manifests as the intricate strictures of his routine, the creature comforts of his flat, the care and attention he gives the notes he leaves on student papers, and in Revendreth its just Venthyr versions of the same. Seeing, appreciating, and tenderly cultivating the details of life is one of his most adorable traits. 

🥀 How would your OC decorate a notebook or journal? What kind of things are written in there? Could you give an example of a nice entry?

Renathal absolutely keeps a diary. It’s not particularly creative in its  decoration, but it is expensive, tasteful, and religiously maintained. Entries will begin as a recitation of events of the day and then diverge into his thoughts, opinions, musings, etc which are generally lurid, prosy, and a bit pretentious (he fancies himself a writer, can you imagine). An example of the latter can be found below. 

💫What is your favourite fact about this character and why?

Gosh, just so many, but I think it will always be his tendency to fall back on dark humor that shows up in every universe and at the oddest of times.

🌸 What are some of their favourite things and why? List as many as you can think of! A few of the Maw Walker’s favorite things:

-The smell of the ocean

-Sex (with Renathal)

-Sunsets and colorful twilights

-Exploring exotic locales (with Renathal)

-Being awake when everyone else is sleeping

-Witty, fast-paced banter that takes all one’s thought process to keep up with (with Renathal)

-Flavourful, heady wines

-Listening to new and interesting stories (as told by Renathal)

-Jumping from great heights for absolutely no reason other than to fall gracefully through the air

-And a new one: lazy mornings in bed doing absolutely nothing but enjoying existing (with… you guessed it)

🌾 Describe your OC through the eyes of someone absolutely head-over-heels in love with them

An excerpt from Prince Renathal’s stolen journal as found in the wilds of Revendreth by an adventurer and turned into Mistress Mihaela who ordered a copy created and now sells reproductions, the proceeds from which go to the restoration of Darkhaven. It should be noted that the Dark Prince is aware of this and does not mind in the slightest. The Maw Walker has refused to issue a public comment on its contents.

The Maw Walker is a hedge maze, a mysterious labyrinth, the paths through which one can spend a thousand years mapping only to find it has reformed itself around one, but within whose depths it is always exhilarating and wholly safe to lose oneself. An exquisitely twined collection of delicate buds which combined create a most solid, immovable, breathtaking whole, the beauty of which is almost an after thought in comparison to its thoughtful grace and grandeur. But it is at one’s own peril to mistake it for a domesticated foliage. It is deadly to underestimate, dangerous to cross. It cannot be controlled, but it may be cultivated by those willing and able to dedicate themselves entirely to its growth.

[muzzlemouths]

I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS ACTUALLY.

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

You've already answered this one, but if you're comfortable with it I'd love to hear about/compare experiences, and if not, you can just skip this one or tell us about the scariest thing you've read/written, if you're cool with that? - 🪲

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

If any of these are too serious/boring/personal/etc. feel free to skip them or substitute in a question you like better, and have a lovely night Muzz!! - 🪲

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

Don't show anyone an excerpt before the project is named. Can't tell you exactly why this one has me by the throat like it does, but I simply Will Not share any snippets or screenshots if the wip it's from doesn't have at least a working title yet, or the entire project feels "cheated on", somehow. Please release me from this curse.

9. Do you believe in ghosts? [Extended edition]

I'm going to answer this in a separate post because it'll take over the entirety of this one if I let it lmao

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

I don't write in margins mostly because I write in Big Ass Letters and they'd take up the whole space. My English teacher hated it lol. As for dog earring, I do that with my journals all the time, but with actual books I'll use the closest flat object as a bookmark instead. I don't take baths so that last one's not an issue for me! But I'd probably avoid it anyways just out of anxiety tbh. No shame if you do though!

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You guys have organization methods???

Okay, in all seriousness, there is no method. I have a gdrive folder for each of my wips and that's about as organized as it gets. Sometimes I have a "notes" document and sometimes those notes are just comments in the doc themselves and sometimes it's just the thought in parentheses that I have to remember to take out later. Some of those notes are from years prior or are old/outdated and I could remove them but I just don't.

Sometimes random scenes or lines or notes will jump into my head and I'll write them down in a notes app or someplace random and then it'll get buried or forgotten about. Sometimes I'll write scenes or excerpts and name them funny titles and those docs don't get put in their respective gdrive folder so when I need them months down the line I have to remember a sentence that was written and punch that into the search bar to see what comes up. It's hell. I have no plans to change.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

I love a lot of poetry but this one from @nutnoce is on my mind constantly

As for books, I could write you entire essays about how Wintergirls changed my life (and if you're looking for the inspiration behind my entire writing style, this is it)

Fanfiction is a little harder to pinpoint. I love a lot of fics and I've come across some really breathtaking ones, but the fic I always return to is one I can't recall the name of, and which no longer exists. It was posted on an old forum website long before AO3 existed and I discovered it mere days before the entire site shut down, so I've never been able to find it again.

That said, the plot of that fic was a character coming to the realization of being trans and running away from home to Who Knows Where, and this one line from it had, and always will, haunt me to my core:

"The highway yawned endlessly forward, an outstretched hand, a familiar stranger, he was exhausted by the introduction and the time and time again he'd been made to greet it alone. The wheel under his sweaty palms offered no more control than the act of waking up every fucking day and dressing a body he didn't recognize."

[thelittlestspider]

Writing Wrapped! 🖊🎉

It was the best of times and the worst of times.

wip list 🤘 for the unfamiliar lol.

Your Top Genres (Writing, Reading, etc)

writing: horror, followed by scifi and fantasy.

reading: horror, gothic, fantasy, and scifi.

Your Top WIP/s (The WIPs You Worked on the Most)

Original: Definitely Carry Me. I worked my ass off writing that fic during the summer. I kind of got away from it for a little while because I was working on other fics, but she's definitely #1 this year.

Fanfic: I think I worked on Landslide the most, followed by Soul Alone. The thing about Landslide is I keep doing little rewatches of That 70s Show to get inspiration, and every time I pick it up I always think about something new I could put in it, whereas with Soul Alone there's not as much to pull from because it's a rare pair in a limited series, so sometimes I get burned out faster.

Your Top OC/s (The OCs You Couldn’t Shake Off Your Head)

Definitely Ray and Scott from Carry Me, and Peter, Carter, and Javier from By the Skin of My Teeth. I'm like obsessed with them. I think of them constantly.

Works in Progress Count

Oh God. Uhhhh. Too many lol.

Drafting/Editing Progress

Carry Me: So far in the actual word doc it's at like 4,706. Which isn't a lot but that's not including the random stuff scribbled in my notebook. Plus I have a lot of stuff I want to do with this fic re: experimenting. Originally BtSoMT was the experiment fic where I just threw stuff on the paper and hoped it was interesting (it still kind of is), but Carry Me is my favorite. It's my weird baby.

By the Skin of My Teeth: I think I'm slowly figuring out what I want to do with this fic. I think before I got caught up in like making it pretty and interesting to other people, and I forgot to make it fun for me lol. So I'm trying to make myself write for me more and worry less about posting excerpts or whatever.

Writing Reflections

I think in terms of progress, this wasn't a bad year. Last year I quit my job because it was really toxic and it was affecting my health, and then I got my old job back, which lets me write a lot more than I could before. Hopefully I'll make more progress before I have to change jobs again lol.

Reading and Book Recommendations

I have so many. I'm just gonna list them here:

Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge (tw: violence, suicide.)

The Bright Lands by John Fram (tw: sexual assault, violence, revenge porn, gore, mentioned prostitution, child pornography, homophobia.)

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson (tw: racism, violence, gore.)

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (tw: cannibalism, violence, gore, sexual assault, murder, disturbing imagery.)

The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton

A Lesson In Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

The Book of Living Secrets by Madeleine Roux

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Vol. I (tw: abuse, attempted murder.)

(I want to add a note that some of these I haven't finished, but they were compelling enough I felt like I had to put them here.)

[imdoingsortagay]

20, 18, 14, 8, 1, 2. 8D

HI

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out? Would you do it again?

Angst was something I tried this year but I'm not much of a fan of writing it soooo maybe not unless it's requested

2. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

One this is that having a dedicated space to write helps me a bunch rather than just sitting on my bed or writing on my phone ( if I was taking a trip I'd try to write on the train there )

8. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Writing the Eve fic where she goes to see lady gaga cause I'm a dork ( everyone knows) just made me v happy

14. What was the hardest fic to title?

Def the recent fic that I wrote for Claire, that title was actually gonna go to part 2 of neighbor!Nat because the song fit more but I decided to use it on the claire one cause my brain could not think of any other title.

18. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

lego fic im writing cause I was talking about it with @maxislvt

20. What did you use to write? (programs, paper & pen, etc.)

on my computer I use google docs to write, and apple notes on my phone and use my notebook to either write down ideas, list what wips I have done or need to be done

[sunnyrosewritesstuff]

12, 30, 46 & 49 for writer asks uwu

Thank you, Dim! 😊

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

Let's see...I'm usually very open to tropes so I'm sure there's not many. The few that I dislike I'm still not touching with a 12-ft pole. 😆But I guess I've been playing with more angst/no comfort stuff that 100% didn't used to be my thing. And like YEARS ago I didn't care for m!preg/baby fics, and now we've got the Cursed!AU...so I'm sure anything is possible and I may end up having some of those grow on me too.

30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?

So I've written several pairings this year that are "outside my comfort zone" just because I had never done them before. But one that definitely stuck out was the fic I just wrote for THAUC: Secrets in the Blue Mountain Apartment and it's because I was writing primarily from Dis and Vili's POV...and seeing as they don't appear in canon books or movies, it was like writing two OCs that everyone has their own HCs for. 😅 So that was tough, but I would definitely like to use more of them in my future writings now that I've at least laid some "groundwork" for myself.

46. Do you prefer writing on your phone or on a computer (or something else)? Do you think where you write affects the way you write?

Oh, computer. 100%. When I was in college, I used to keep a "writing notebook" that I would pull out during class, but yeah. Only at my most desperate do I write on my phone.

For one thing, I type faster on a keyboard than what I can text on my phone. For another, I have all my shortcuts memorized for "bold" "italics" etc., so that just takes time typing. And then writing on a phone is so deceiving to me word count wise. Luckily, I carry my laptop around with me everywhere, but I definitely do my best writing when I'm comfy at home.

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

Currently, I am trying to finish up this next chapter of The Twelve Transformations of Bilbo Baggins so I can update on Saturday. 👀 Here's a small-ish excerpt. 🤣

Bilbo quickly retraced his steps, pretending to sleep as he felt Balin gently scoop him up in his arms. His heart felt like it was thundering away in his chest though. Would Thorin really leave him behind if they couldn’t find a cure? It wasn’t like he was going to be a child forever, but then again, what if the next transformation was worse? Thorin wasn’t going to risk the quest all for Bilbo’s sake.

“Thorin,” Balin’s soft voice broke through Bilbo’s worries. “Am I interpreting these proceedings correctly? You and Master Baggins…?”

Bilbo nearly broke his cover right there. What about him and Thorin? There was a long pause before Thorin answered, but it sounded half-hearted even to Bilbo.

“The wizard knows not what he insinuates. My view of the hobbit is strictly professional.”

Professional?! No wonder more people didn’t do business with dwarves if that’s how they behave in a professional atmosphere. Still it was nice to know that Thorin didn’t hate him. He just didn’t see the need to cultivate an acquaintanceship with Bilbo. That was fine. He could be okay with that. His chin trembled slightly, but he blamed it solely on his guilt of eavesdropping.

“You’re a poor liar, lad. You always have been, but I can understand not wanting to consider such things now. However, you’re a fool if you think holding him at arm’s length will make this quest easier.”

“I will handle it how I see fit.” Thorin growled. “In any case, nothing can come from him being the way he is, so I will hear no more on the subject.”

Ask me some fic questions!

[yojeongin]

hi 🫶🫶 honestly this may be an odd question but what app do you use to track what fics you’re writing? im just using a google doc and i saw a screenshot of the one you use and it looks so much easier😭

I was going to say you were probably confusing me with someone else because I’ve never posted how I track my fics but I think you’re referring to this.

I use notion but since then I’ve changed my system a bit. it’s not a template, I did it myself so it really depends on how you’ll want to set yours 😭 this is what I have so far.

keep in mind, I just write the plot, things I want to tweak or add along the way, whatever inspires the story (songs, pictures/moodboards, screencaps, etc.), and scenes that I want to put into the story but don’t have anything connecting it to it just yet, eventually I’ll add it to the final product on google docs. plus, I also do a lot of hand written notes as well so, a notebook is also good. it’s just a bit tiring if your plot idea/excerpts are long.