#now i save all my writing in 3 places and draft 1 is done in pen on lined paper

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

Do you have any advice for writing your first draft?

I’ve just finished an outline for a fic of mine, and like all my projects I abandoned them at the first draft because I lose interest in the story.

So, how can I stay interested long enough to complete my draft and move on to actually finishing the story?

HOW TO WRITE A FIRST DRAFT

A first draft is the hardest draft you will ever write; it’s creating something from nothing, without the benefit of using a previous draft as a base. Obstacles such as writer’s block and motivation may oppose you at every turn, and it can be easy to get sidetracked and frustrated when you have ideas for the “middle” of the story but somehow can’t get to it. 

Just know that everyone is different and writes in a way that works for them, so don’t feel pressured if these tips don’t work for you or don't fit your style of writing!

1. Start With a Good Outline

Since you don’t have a previous draft as a foundation for your writing, your outline will take the place of this! Refer to my posts below:

How to Outline

Plotting for Pansters and Pantsing for Plotters

You can also refer to my FAQ, which includes a variety of resources on getting started. This includes posts on how to get into writing fiction, how to write consistently, and how to combat writer's block!

2. Know that You Don’t Have to Write in Chronological Order

Write what inspires you! If you have no idea what your first scene is going to be but have very specific ideas about a coffee shop interaction during the middle of the book,  write the coffee shop scene instead of staring at your blank word doc for an hour and giving up!

Writing is better than not writing, even if it’s not the part of your story that you “need” to get done. In fact, it can be easier (and more cohesive!) to write all of the major scenes you’re excited about first and connect them together, than to write out everything in the order from start to finish.

3. Give Yourself Permission to Write Incomprehensible Garbage

This goes hand-in-hand with the tips I highlight in my post about overcoming writer’s block. When it comes to a first draft, DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT, and QUANTITY OVER QUALITY. It is totally okay if your first draft is covered in placeholders for scenes and conversations that you don’t feel like writing.

For example, rather than getting stuck on writing about your characters on the car ride to the carnival, just write and highlight in red “THEY DRIVE TO THE CARNIVAL” and come back to it later. That way, you can have fun actually writing the carnival scene instead of struggling to write the stuff leading up to it. Momentum is the key to getting your first draft done, not producing writing that “sounds good.”

If you’re just going to go back and edit it later, why bother getting stuck on that now? This leads me into my next point:

4. STOP EDITING!!!

When it comes to a first draft, opening up the doc and editing the things you already wrote for the 712123979843th time is not progress; now you just have one REALLY good scene and no rest of the story. Save the editing for later; you’re more likely to lose steam and feel stuck if you keep getting caught on the same things over and over again. 

I am calling myself out on this one, as I am INCREDIBLY guilty of using editing and rewriting as an excuse to not write new material, but unfortunately it has to be said. Having it in your mind that you’re making progress when in reality you’re using editing as an avoidant technique will not help you in the long run (as much as I wish it would). 

This can sometimes be helped by writing each chapter (or scene that’s getting you stuck) in a new document so that you have no choice but to focus on what you’re currently writing; sometimes the temptations of editing are too great to resist when you have all of your writing in one place!

5. Set Specific Goals and Document Your Progress

Setting goals helps you break up the huge task of “writing a book” into more manageable chunks. 

For example, heading into a writing session with the goal “finish this chapter” or “finish this scene” or “write this dialogue” can make it easier to overcome writer’s block; you are solely dedicating your focus on doing this specific task, and are less likely to get distracted. It’s better than barging head-first into it with no direction, and may also have the added bonus of keeping your writing cohesive.

Documenting your progress can help hold you accountable for reaching the goals that you set. If you like to perform under pressure, maybe you can document your progress online or with a friend; that way, you feel a bit of a pushback from outside sources to get things done! Keeping consistent will also help in maintaining a steady flow of inspiration—you’re always thinking ahead!

However, you should remember that life happens, so don’t beat yourself up if you’re struggling to reach your goals or deadlines! Nobody is a writing machine!

Hope this helps, and happy writing!

[myreia]

15 Lines of Dialogue Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you’re free to include those as well!

thanks for the tag, @thevikingwoman and @bearlytolerant, ty frens!

tagging: @roguelioness @lilas @galadae @ellstersmash @fourteenthz

@tsunael @birues @ardberts @gatheredfates @anneapocalypse

@impossible-rat-babies @coldshrugs @gefiltefished @consulaaris

sorry if you've been tagged before, I have... lost track of who has done what. 😂 No pressure, ofc! 💖 tags also for anyone else who would like to share their writing! Feel free to tag me even if I didn't tag you or even if we're not mutuals, I'd love to see what you're working on!!

These are from published (and one unpublished) ffxiv fics. Because a lot of my favourite Aureia lines happen within the context of banter, I had a hard time deciding what to cut and where.

— 1: Far From Happenstance [ARR]

“What’s that thing on your arm?” “This? Ah… well… Perhaps this conversation is best saved for later, perhaps in a less conspicuous place?” “Or we could have it now. Your choice.”

— 2: Uncertainty [ARR]

“Tailing unsuspecting women about the city is nothing to be proud of.” “I have done nothing of the sort! Our meetings have been no more than happenstance, a quirk of nature drawing us to the same spot at the same time. I assure you, Aureia, I am not following you—” She stifles a snort, laughter tugging at the corners of her lips. “Oh…” He blows out a breath. “Oh, you’re joking? That was a joke. You have an unfair sense of humour…” “Don’t make yourself such an easy target next time.”

— 3: To Ash and Ember [ARR]

Lahabrea stares at her, startled out of his victory, mouth twisted with contempt. “How—” Aureia raises a hand, palm sheathed in blinding light. “Get the fuck out of him, you bastard.”

— 4: Sand and Stone [ARR]

“This is good for us,” she says quietly. “The Scions, I mean. We’re exposed here. Ascians, Garleans… it’s only a matter of time before they try again. Mor Dhona will afford us some means of protection we’ve lost.”

— 5: Bitter Frost [ARR/HW]

“You press on,” she says after a moment. She cups her palm between them, subconsciously pulling on the aether around her. A faint flame sizzles to life, warming her fingers. “Guilt can only carry you so far before it bleeds you dry. Just know that the next time… the next time will be different. Better.”

— 6: Divergence of the Heart, Chp 5 [HW]

“I don’t care what they say about me. I’m a hero to some, a villain to others. I can live with it.” “You should not have to. If there was a way—” “Please, Aymeric, I’m begging you not to draft a new statute on my behalf. You can’t decree change and expect centuries-old beliefs to shift overnight.”

— 7: Divergence of the Heart, Chp 7 [HW]

“Happiness? What makes you think I’m happy with this? With any of this?” “You’re the Warrior of Light. Defender of Eorzea and a beacon of hope. Blessed by Hydaelyn and beloved by all. What possible reason could you have not to be?”  “Oh, fuck you.”

— 8: Divergence of the Heart, Chp 8 [HW]

She blinks. It shouldn’t be more simple than that. Does he not comprehend why this is so profoundly embarrassing? “And..?” “And how would this fact be of such radical importance that it would be the sole cause of a change in my opinion of you? Do you believe it so crucial to your identity that I should judge you differently for it?” “No, I don’t think that at all. I suppose I feel I’m… a failure, somehow. As a person.”

— 9: For All the Truths Left Unspoken [HW]

“Oh? Because you seem a little haggard, Thancred. Why don’t you look me in the eye and tell me what time you went to bed last night. Or if you went to bed at all, for that matter.” “It is not your concern—” “No, but you could have at least done the decency of admitting what was going on before you started fucking my friend.”

— 10: A Question of Desire [HW]

She cuts him off with a kiss. [Aymeric] groans softly, leaning into it, and she laughs with delight. “Save it for later,” she murmurs against his mouth.

— 11: Bound by Faith, Chp 2 [ShB]

“Under pain of further admonishment, I told her what I could.” “Nothing unfavourable, I trust,” she says drolly. “Who do you take me for, Aur?” “An idiot, if I’m being honest. Next question?” “…stumbled right into that one, didn’t I?” “Yes.” Her eyes sparkle with fondness. “You did.”

— 12: Bound by Faith, Chp 2 [ShB]

“There. That’s it. Aureia was a name I took by chance. Not because I wanted it, but because I needed it. An alias intended for Ul’dah alone, one I intended to relinquish the moment I could escape the city. But then you called me Aur and it… stuck.” She hesitates, her voice breaking. “I don’t know why it felt right, but it did. You gave me a name, Thancred, without even realizing that that was what you were doing.”

— 13: Bound by Faith, Chp 4 [ShB]

“They don’t hurt. At least, not like this. Sometimes, with astral fire…” She closes her eyes and swallows hard. “He did something to me, Thancred. Whether it was his intention or not, he left a mark that is more than skin deep. Like a part of his aether was seared onto mine. It makes me powerful, yes, but… my magic is not always controlled. It’s never been the same since then.”

— 14: Untitled Post-5.3. Fic, Chp 2

She glances at him and finds him glaring at her. It’s not a real glare—behind the dark look and mock exasperation is a knowing smile. “She’s taken full reign of the apartment. Mess everywhere. Looks like a tempest went through the place.” “Far too easy to imagine that.” “I don’t know where she gets it from.” “Oh, I know for certain. That’s the influence of your bad habits, not mine—” “I—listen here, you ass—” “Oh, an ass, am I? Bit early to deteriorate to name calling, no?”

— 15: Untitled Post-5.3. Fic, Chp 4

“Aur… that suite I mentioned earlier… I was quite serious about it.” “The suite or the sex you want to have with me in it?” “The whole matter.” She pauses, holding the soup out to him. “You should finish it,” she says quietly.

[imsadstuff]

Loving You Is Red - A Jeon Jungkook Fic, teaser 3

Link to fic: here

Synopsis:

Jeon Jungkook's name was unheard on the Formula 1 paddock till he got a chance to drive a Mercedes car as a reserve driver. His 2020 starts looking brighter as he signs with Ferrari and meets you, his teammates little sister. So many cliched tropes, strangers to friends to lovers, slow burn, dating brother's best friend, and most importantly Jeon Jungkook looks smoking hot in a Ferrari!

Author's Note:

So, this has been collecting dust in my drafts since I watched Drive to Survive last year, watched the new season, and got motivated to write this fic.

The fic is going to be released on 17th March 2023, mark your calendars!!

Please comment under if you want to be added to the reading list for this fic! ❤ Also, if you have any thoughts or ideas, please feel free to comment or message me and for the love of Jungkook, don't be a ghost reader!

Race 8 Austrian Grand Prix 2020

“Why?” Jungkook asks as he’s walking to the Ferrari office. It’s a meeting and photoshoot heavy day for him.

“Because I have a job now, even if it’s sorting my father’s emails and arranging his meetings, I can’t be there every weekend” you explain calmly as you swivel around in your office chair.

“What’s your day like today?” he asks as a fan stops him for a picture, he’s becoming better at being popular as every race happens.

“We have a few apartment showings, so I’ll be shadowing him, start to figure out if I want to do this or not” you say sipping on your coffee, you’d been arriving early at the office to have some moments of peace before the chaos starts.

“What is your day like?” you ask him and he just grunts, knowing how bad it is to sit through meetings.

“I have a strategy meeting, another meeting with the communications team, lunch with a bunch of promoters and in the evening we’re shooting a bunch of videos for ferrari’s youtube channel” Jungkook reiterates his schedule for the day, and he’s already starting to feel tired.

“Press has just been awful since the last race, no wonder we’re having comms meeting two days in a row” Jungkook had been trying to stay away from the negative headlines but everyone was absolutely shitting on Phillip this week.

“They like pitting you and Phillip against each other, last week was all the ammunition they needed” you had been screening all the click baity articles, they were absolutely making Phillip lose his mind.

“Do you think he hit me on purpose or was I really in his blind spot?” Jungkook asks opening the door to the conference room, most people are already here. Phillip is already slouched against a chair, looking defeated already.

“No comment” “Boo Freaking Hoo!!” he says and you can’t help but smile like a stupid idiot.

“Call me later if you can” you say and Jungkook hums a goodbye as he takes a seat opposite Phillip. 

“So, lots of bad press, people are divided” Claudia says, placing down multiple article print outs and newspapers on the table. 

“And thank you Phillip for snapping at the sky sports reporter, just handing them their headlines” this hasn’t been Phillip’s week, and he’s done with cameras and reporters.

“We need to take hold of the narrative or at least change it because the sponsors aren’t happy with the two drivers seemingly fighting each other. How about you go golfing or something this tuesday” Claudia suggests and Phillip immediately nods his head no. 

“He can’t golf to save his life and I have my sister’s birthday party that day-”

“So, just invite Jungkook, because I really need the news narrative to change” Claudia says with an authoritative tone, the two of them can’t even think about going against her. 

“I don’t want to intrude on a family thing-” Jungkook sounds a little offended by the whole situation, mostly he’s a little ticked off about you not telling him about your coming birthday.

“It’s not, it’s a surprise party with a few friends, I was going to invite you anyway” Phillip says and Claudia smiles widely.

“This is sorted then, I need at least a story with the birthday girl on the two of your instagram’s” The two of them are left alone as Claudia leaves, there’s still this animosity in the air.

“Just so we’re clear, I didn’t hit your car on purpose,” Phillip says, looking Jungkook square in his eyes.

“I know that,” Jungkook replies, a little too confidently.

“How can you be so sure?” Phillip asks as he sits up straight.

“You’re competitive, not petty” Jungkook leaves with a big smirk on his face, he’s been enjoying the season so far a little too much.

taglist:

@blancflms @nadzzzblog @kookiewhtaee @jksoftii @oiseul @elisaaru @coralmusicblaze @tearyjjeon

(comment under if you want to be added to the tag list)

[amadwinter]

Making of Monday - Theme Weeks

I actually made a post last Monday. I wrote an emotionally-charged, nonsensical rant about how much I hate writing, because I was in the middle of editing a very long chapter and I needed the catharsis. But I deleted it because I needed it to be written, but I didn't feel it needed to be seen. Sometimes, writing is like that.

But! Anyway! Something completely different now.

Last year, I participated in 3 different theme weeks (Stewjoni Biology Week, Blasphemous Week, and Sith Obi-Wan Week), resulting in me writing 60k+ over 15 fics! Some people write their fics for theme weeks or theme months (Kinktober, Flufftober, etc.) day by day. I do not.

This is what I do instead.

Step 1: Make a list and brainstorm

Whenever the prompts for each day of the theme week are revealed, I write them all down in one document along with their dates. Having them all together in one place is great for my own reference. Then I start writing down different ideas that could fit on each prompt. Some are short, one-sentence ideas. Some really get the creative juices flowing and include little snippets of dialogue.

Step 2: Create individual documents

After letting these ideas marinade for a time (a week, a month, etc), including thinking them over, playing them out in my head, getting a feel for where these ideas will go, I create an individual document for them. Hopefully, this stage occurs at least a month out, or preferably two+ months before the posting date.

Step 3: Fluctuating creativity

Over the course of the remaining time, I flip back and forth between each of my documents. When inspiration on one wanes, I rush back to another. What's extremely helpful is having each one at different stages. One fic still needs to be outline, another two need to have the rough draft written, one needs to be edited, etc.

Step 4: Panic

You see all that time I've given myself to write? Yeah, usually I don't use it to the fullest extent. About 2 weeks before the theme week kicks off, I don't have anything finished. Everything is in various stages of progress. But that deadline coming up? Yeah, that really gives me the motivation to power through and do most of my writing in those last two weeks.

But I wouldn't be able to do that without thinking over the fics so much over a few months, and getting the outline down. It's all part of the process, and it doesn't work without all of it.

Step 5: Posting

If I'm lucky, I'll have the fic finished the day before I'm set to post it. Once or twice, I haven't finished until the day after. But if I'm far enough along, I will push through and finish it no matter how much I regret it.

Should I have a different process for getting all this done? Maybe. Might save me some stress. We'll see how any of the theme weeks of 2024 go.

[daisywords]

Hi Daisy! Your blog and the way you write give me such nice and peaceful feeling :)

How did you get into editing? I've been currently thinking about it and you said in your pinned intro that "you did go to school for this", so I'm curious to learn a bit more from your process.

Weirdly, editing is so much fun for me, I have to stop myself when I'm drafting. So yeah, how has been your experience working with it so far?

Sorry, this might be a bit too long? Hopefully you can shine some light on those questions, thank you!

Hi!

(1) Thank you!

(2) I'll elaborate a little on my current situation + how I got here on the chance that something might be useful:

I'm still pretty early in my career journey, but currently I work full time on the editing team at a research organization. Eventually I'd like to move to freelance work and/or lean more into the book publishing side of things (I get to work with books sometimes, but not like. fun ones) but for now I'm getting experience/building up savings etc.

I don't think it's very common, but the university I attended had a linguistics-based program specifically for editing, mostly focused on copyediting (whereas a lot of editors come from an English/journalism background).

This program plus a couple internships I did* worked out for me in terms of coming out with some specific skills/experience already under my belt, which I used to get hired at my current job. (for example, a lot of copyediting roles using editing tests in the hiring process, and I had already done very similar editing tests at school).

If you're more interested in the world of fiction publishing and such, or freelancing/contract work (which is a big percentage of editing work), I'm not really a great person to ask, since I have a very loose grasp on how all of that works. (Hoping to figure more of that out in the next few years).

I have done various levels of editing for a few different books—jobs which I got through personal connections and circumstances. Frm my understanding, a lot of freelance work comes from more word-of-mouth networking, though there are some services that people use like Reedsy. Right now I'm tentatively planning on starting a few freelance projects here and there and trying to slowly build up my clientele until I can one day transition to doing that full time, but we'll see. Right now it's nice to have a stable income and health coverage and stuff, and be able to save a little, since I finished school with basically zero dollars.

*one at a small publishing house and another with my university's editing service for the faculty

(3) Editing is so fun! Sometimes it sucks, but it's also fun. I'm one of those nerds that finds grammar and usage really interesting, so even though a lot of what I do at work is delete commas in some places and add them in others, it's still interesting to me.

I also like the more developmental/structural side of editing, though I have less experience doing that. But I love starting with all the pieces already there, like clay, so to speak, and turning a piece of writing into the best version of itself.

There are some things about my current work that I don't love, of course. A lot of what I edit is more academic writing, which can get pretty dry, and often I'll find a project interesting enough the first time I read through it, but I absolutely hate it by the time I'm done. Sometimes people want things done on unrealistic timelines and I have to deal with that. etc etc.

When I'm drafting my own writing, I usually have my editing brain turned off. Sometimes I'll skim back through my own drafts and notice really obvious mistakes or things that I correct in other people's writing in my sleep. I don't tend to spend a lot of time reworking things as I go, maybe because I keep the editing process pretty compartmentalized in my head.

Anyway that's a lot of rambling from me. Hopefully at least some of that answered your questions.

Nice to "meet" you!

[namistrella]

Nami’s 2023 Fandom Goals

Oooookay I am putting this out into the Tumblr void for some semblance of accountability because I usually tell my family my goals but unfortunately they do not know about the whole “writing gay smut” thing. (With the exception of my spouse, who knows all my secrets and then some, and gets both my regular goals and my fandom goals!)

Writing goals

1. Finish my first completed book-length fic! An easy goal to start with because I’m 1 chapter away from a finished draft of Trace a Line for @amywaterwings :) It’s looking to be about 50-55k when it’s done.

2. Get the bulk of my wips posted, even if they’re unfinished! I spent an hour tallying it all up and I have OVER 250k of UNPUBLISHED words. Unpublished!!! I want to edit, polish, and post as much of it as I can, and let readers choose whether they want to read something with an undetermined completion date or not. (I plan to complete all of them eventually, but with so many wips I have to pick and choose which to prioritize.) Anyway there’s lots of stuff in there, for like 5 different fandoms. Should be fun:)

3. Finish my 2021 COBB!! (Love Laid Bare). Well, finishing is a potentially-too-ambitious goal for one year because the outline is shaping up to be a 90k fic, but I’d like to at least make some significant progress toward completing it. I’ve been postponing because the early parts need some major reworking. But compared to two years ago, I feel I have enough energy, time, and skill now to tackle it and fix the problem spots.

Reading goals

1. Leave more comments! I’m going to try to comment on every fic I read. Might miss a few but I’m going to try!! A related goal is to be less self-conscious about comments, too. Some of them are going to be rambly and maybe I will scare some authors. Some of them might just be strings of emoji or keysmash. But the point is that I’m going to leave more comments!

2. Download my all time favorite fics, format them w/ pretty covers, and save them to my Kindle. I’ve already done this with a lot of them but I’m still missing a bunch, so I want to finish this.

3. Make a dent in my marked for later?? Is this another too-ambitious goal?? Maybe. There’s hundreds of fics in there. HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS. Jesus christ I don’t even want to look at the number of pages it is. But I KNOW there’s some real gems in there so I’m going to finally read them! Or at least I am going to try!

Other goals

1. Do some digital drawing tutorials! I did art all the way through school, up through college (mostly watercolor landscapes and mixed media/abstract stuff) so I’m not completely inexperienced, but digital drawing has always felt awkward to me, and drawing people specifically is NOT something I am good at. (anatomy??? don’t know her.) So I’d like to get better at drawing people, and drawing them on my ipad. Simply for purposes of being able to put my blorbos and silly little guys in situations.

2. Participate more in fandom communities. I’ve been kinda MIA the last two years because I was really not in a good mental place for a really long time. 2022 was one of the most difficult years I’ve ever had. But things are looking up and I’m doing MILES better than this time last year so I have more social energy to spend, and I’d like to spend it on my fandom friends! so you may see me pop out of hiding in discord more often :)

[ae-diaries]

2022 in REVIEW

Had this in my drafts for so long. I'm a list-type-of-girl so I listed what God has done in the past year. Para mayroon din naman akong good memories and lessons na babalikbalikan. Now, I finally have the time to post it.

My birth month is already over. It became my favorite tradition to write my year-end reflections but I didn't have time doing this last December to February because I put my focus and energy on my loved ones, constants, and work.

Looking back, 2022 was tough, but I was tougher. It wasn't easy. At least for me. Madami akong iniiyak sa year na ito: my family's health issues, quarter-life crisis, and silent battles. They were too much to handle. Yet in those unbearably hard times, I never give up and lose hope knowing that God was holding the other end of the rope. Indeed, it has always been His grace and the people He used that saved and buoyed me to the surface that I will always be immensely grateful for.

Despite the stormy sea, God has won more victories in my life through and through. Those tough times gave me the opportunity to exercise my tenacity and draw me closer to God.

I LEARNED na may baon pa pala akong lakas kahit feeling ko ubos na ubos na ako, may bigla na lang dumarating na tulong at malasakit kapag feeling mo walang wala ka na at may Diyos na yayakapin ka at hindi ka pababayaan kapag feeling mo hindi mo na kaya.

I REALIZED that uncertainties will come along the way, but one thing is certain - He is always faithful to his promises. And that's what I want to fix my eyes on this 2023: the lens of 3Gs (Gratitude and God's Grace).

Ended the year with inner peace and gratitude.

I could say lahat ng pagsubok na pinagdaanan ko at ng pamilya ko ay may magandang kapalit. Photos (with caption) below wrapped up the higlights of my 2022. #SKL 😜

1. TATAY'S HOSPITALIZATION

(Me in the photo..after humagulhol to surrender Tatay's condition to Jesus...and to his doctors.)

The first quarter was truuuuly a turbulent period for our family. I was drowning in fear because of so many terrifying episodes during my father's hospitalization. And the worst part of it is when the doctors offered immediate intubation for tatay on the night of Feb. 13 because of his decrease in sensorium. At this moment, I exploded in tears as I/we prayed and surrendered his condition to Jesus. But what happened next was a testament of God's miracle: Tatay slowly opened his eyes a few hours before his intubation! Truth be told, you will never know that God is all you need, when God is all you have. Sa panahong hopeless kana, dito mo malalamang may Diyos ka nga pala na kumikilos. You just have to place your full trust and faith in Him. He is way maker, promise keeper and miracle worker. I also met the best and the most compassionate doctors He used as instruments.

It's humbling to say that serving my father is what I considered my biggest achievement in 2022. Nothing else comes close.

It was also in this season that my elder sister and her fam abroad got Covid-19. But then again, they made it through by God's grace.

2. ELYU TRAVEL

In April, a week after my father was discharged, I went on an unexpected solo trip to SFLU out of necessity. I felt God also brought me here to breathe, clear my mind off things, calm my storms, and somehow, reward me for what I'd been through. Dasurv? 😂

3. BABY MEGAN WAS BORN

3. In July 21, my sister gave birth to Baby Megan, my third niece. She's a rainbow baby. A new bundle of joy to our ever growing family.

However, it was also the month where Tatay got Covid-19 and I fell ill, too. My anxiety was kicking in again, but later on I realized, "Kelan ba kami pinabayaan ng Dyos?" He has always been faithful to us. We wouldn't survive this without Him.

4. THE RETURN OF F2F CLASSES

And then come August, the return of F2F classes. I feel blessed to have met a new breed of awesome learners under my care. They have brought context to my world.

5. A MASTER'S DEGREE HOLDER

And I never thought that despite my busyness and clutter at work, I would be able to have my thesis completed and finally received my master's degree at the Philippine Christian University at the same time. One for the books!

6. ALYESSA'S MILESTONE

In the same month, Alyessa, my younger sister, finally started her career abroad. I couldn't be more proud of her milestone. Pautang naman sis. 😂

7. BABY GIA'S CHRISTENING & 1ST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

We also celebrated baby Gia's (my second adorable niece) first birthday and christening last September. It was way memorable! (without lockdown and less restrictions, too)

8. ONE OF MY BIGGEST DREAMS WAS GRANTED!

Last October 24, I received an email - this I considered an early xmas gift from God - an answered prayer that I'd been longing to hear! All of my efforts and hardwork were all worth it.

9. A WELL-SPENT FAMILY VACATION

And last December became one of the most memorable Year-End parties we had in our fam. Plus, my eldest sister and her fam had finally spent their Christmas vacation in PH after 13 years. Everything was surreal. ❤️ Grateful is an understatement.

An dami kong drama, nag-bday lang naman ako. 😅

My wish? I didn't have anything in particular because all of the things that I'm experiencing right now are my answered prayers in the past. I put 2023 in Your hands.

#HERYear #Januarygirl #post-bday

[arecaceae175]

3, 12, 18, 23

Fanfic ask game

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

The first thing that comes to mind is chapter 1 of In Defense of Honor. I'll throw the scene under the read more bc it's a bit long :D

OH ALSO I really liked chapter 14 of febuwhump. There was cool subtext going on and it was fun to write. That's down below too

12. favorite character to write about this year

LU SKY!!!!! I also wrote a little bit of Loft from Bonus Links and I thoroughly enjoyed that too

18. current number of wips

Posted WIPs: 5, but one of those is Temple Escape and I don't plan on finishing that, so really just 4

WIPs in my drafts folder: 19. That's only counting the fics in my drafts I've actually started writing. There are about 15 more docs that have ideas or outlines lol

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

Hmmm I wouldn't say there's any I wanted to write but didn't. I have a lot of WIPs that I'm still working on that I'm excited about!

IDOH:

Sky rolled his shoulders and took one step towards the men, but he was stopped by Warriors’ hand on his arm. 

"Sky, it's fine. Let's just go," Warriors whispered. Sky ripped his arm away and stepped fully in front of Warriors. 

"No, it's not fine," Sky muttered over his shoulder. He turned to face the man in front of him. 

"Do you have something to say about your hero?" Sky said loudly. The man and his friends sniggered, then he stood and rolled his shoulders.

" Hero ," the man said sarcastically as he swayed on his feet. "I sure do." 

His words were slurred and Sky could smell the alcohol even more strongly than before. His meager self-preservation instincts were screaming at him to leave, but the heartbroken look on Warriors' face when he let his mask slip for a split second was burned into Sky's mind. 

"This man risked his life for his kingdom. He sacrificed so much to save you, all of you! And this is how you repay that?" Sky said. He felt his hands shaking, righteous anger for his brother burning within him. 

“We’re knights! We’re the ones who protect this place!” The man yelled back. 

"Sky," Warriors hissed. Sky ignored him.

"You're a disgrace to the knighthood," Sky spit. 

"Who the hell do you think you are?" The man yelled. He threw his hands up and shoved Sky with all his might. Sky barely felt it, and he only had to take a half step back to right himself. Warriors gasped and tensed beside him, but Sky put out an arm to settle him.

"I'll give you that one ," Sky growled. "If you try anything else I won't hold back."

Febuwhump:

Time spit blood onto the ground, then raised his head again. His cheek was split and a small stream of blood dripped down his face. He met Warriors’ gaze. “Do what you must.”

A knife was placed in Warriors’ hand and it cleared all the haze in his mind. He had done it, they trusted him . This was his chance to get Time out alive and keep the others safe. He gripped the knife with white knuckles and forced his breathing to steady.

“I don’t think you understand,” Warriors said. He needed Time to see his plan. They both needed to be ready to run, and Warriors needed to know if Time could still fight. “I’m the best shot you’ve got.” 

“Why? Are we friends now?” Time asked. It sounded sarcastic, but Warriors knew Time was trying to ask for more information. 

“Because I’m the one holding the knife,” Warriors said.

“And your friends are the ones holding the swords,” Time said, minutely shaking his head. 

Warriors’ heart sank. Time could see the entire room and into the hallway. Warriors never got a good look, but judging by Time’s answer there were too many guards and too many weapons for him to take on alone. 

Warriors realized he had to make a decision. Either he refused, which would give away his position and jeopardize the others, or he had to torture Time. Warriors felt his hands start to shake and images of a battlefield littered with his fallen brothers flashed through his mind. How many of those bodies had he been forced to put there?

Warriors shook the thoughts out of his head and refocused his gaze on Time. He desperately hoped their captors couldn’t see his shaking hands or his rapid breaths. He needed to keep his head. Time needed him.

“No one has to die here. Tell me the location so we can all walk away,” Warriors said, desperate to buy himself more time to think.

Time said nothing. 

Warriors slashed the knife across Time’s chest. Time remained silent, but he flinched and clenched his eyes shut. His expression of pain was seared into Warriors mind, and he knew with certainty he would see it in his dreams for the rest of his life. 

[physicsphddiary]

Update because I suck

Why haven't I written anything? IDK. I want to start doing this again so I will try once more. I've started organising my research notes into weekly journals rather than daily (Obsidian is so good); I will try to summarise the week every Friday.

Today I will just provide an update to things.

Research is going okay. I think right now I've got enough to write a paper. Above is a video of the fronts (it's very high-resolution). I think I've explained what it's showing before, the black lines are the temperature contours, the blue and orange lines are the stream-function, they show the flow direction (and distance between the lines show flow speed) in the z-x plane. The heatmap is the vertical vorticity, for an average here that's just the change in the x direction of the along front (y direction) flow.

A shitty edit in paint of a diagram from Nature just to show the directions. The video is an average over the y direction of an "ideal" filament. We are interested in the mechanisms by which the filament evolves, particularly what the evolution of the horizontal gradient of temperature that defines it looks like. It's important for the resulting vertical transport of heat, momentum and chemicals, etc. The ocean components of full climate models (i.e. the whole Earth) are reaching horizontal resolutions of about 10km (largely thanks to the GPU), which is the typical size of these structures, so they represent the "biggest thing that the models can't model" and good parametrisations for them are important.

I will explain more in my update tomorrow, but I think I've reached the end of this line of attack that I'm doing right now, and hopefully can put together a draft paper before the year ends. Next I want to work on more realistic simulations than the kind of ideal stuff that I do.

I'm going to a conference in February, presenting a poster. It's exciting but I'm very nervous of course.

For me myself life is going well I think. I've got a new bike because the old one was a bit temporary. I still have it and keep it in my office, perhaps for emergencies. I got some kind of award recently. A whole $5k. Was pretty nice. I saved most of it but I just bought a new Surface Pro because mine was from 2017 and was the cheapest model. It was nice just to splurge on a computer I've never done that.

Unfortunately I had to also buy a new phone recently because mine (also from 2017, a release OnePlus 3t) kicked it. I got a Pixel 6a. I was very happy but then Black Friday happened and it became $200 off (I paid $500) so I feel bad lol.

I had some BANGING sushi last week. I went the first time because it was a free meal due to a department thing, and then immediately changed plans with someone to go to the restaurant instead two days later; we were gonna get sushi, but at a cheaper place (dw I paid). It was sooo good yum. First time I went I got a roll (and loads of takoyaki and alcohol because it was free), but with the friend we each got this special nigiri set. HOW do they do it. Like you know it's just raw salmon or whatever but it just tastes so good. Power of freshness I guess.

I'm going back to the UK over Christmas. I'm excited. I didn't go last year so it's been 1 year 3 months and 7 days since I last had a Greggs sausage roll (shocking). I bought some bottles on Aliexpress and hopefully they get here on time, I want to fill them with maple syrup and give them out to people I see. I'm staying in London for a day to see some friends then going home. It's going to be the unhealthiest two weeks of my life I'm gonna eat and drink so much. I really miss making cocktails. I can't really do it here because I just can't justify buying all the stuff, I never have friends over and my roommate doesn't drink. Looking forward to seeing my uni friends again, it's been a long time.

Cassi

[wuxian-vs-wangji]

Hello. You said before that you wrote a supernatural fanfic that you lost? I was just wondering if you could say what it was about (if you want to, I don't want to be a bother)? I read some of your other fics and while I don't understand a lot because I'm not in those fandoms I feel like you would have a better end of Supernatural than whatever that was we just got (If you've heard about that). Sorry for long ask, thank you if you answer or if you don't!

Oh, I’ve heard about it, LMAO! 

I used to be deep in the SPN fandom on tumblr. Went to a con, met Jared, Jensen, Misha, Jim (got a photo with all 4 of them!), Kim, Rachel, Richard, Matt, and even met Genevieve in passing! Oh, and the guy who played Dick the Leviathan. I totally blank on his name. I think I bailed around season... 8 or 9? 

Kind of rage-quit after they killed off Kevin. At that point they’d just done too much of that crap in a single season and it was pretty obvious they’d lost any semblance of care for the writing, so I bailed.

I’m fine talking about the plot of my fic. When I’d had time to process the shock of losing more than 200 pages of writing *sobs* I posted a summary of how it was supposed to go for my readers. When I do that it’s my way of saying “I quit forever”.

I’ll put the main answer below the cut, since it’ll probably end up being long. My fic was in the form of an entire season of SPN, one 45-47 page chapter per “episode”, so it’s a bit to summarize...

The story took place at some indeterminate point after Season 6. It was written to be independent of the Leviathan Storyline, but really could fit in just about anywhere. I think I’d used details from the season where Sam Carter from SG1/SGA was an evil angel lady, but also it was heavily anchored in Seasons 1-6.

It started with mass destruction in this one town. In the middle of the crater something ragged and uncontrolled and evil appeared. Seriously- destruction was the core of it all. Pure, raw, uncontained power lashing out at everything.

And then the creature at the center of the swarm starts to walk away, leaving a path of destruction behind it.

After a chapter or two of monster-of-the-week type stuff, Sam and Dean started hearing whispers of this thing. Like it was circling them. Through Cas they find out that Heaven is on edge- something has escaped from the deepest, darkest corners of Heaven’s Prison (Dean makes a comment about how hell is supposed to be heaven’s prison, but Cas explains that there are some things too horrible to be sent to hell, away from the watchful guard of angels).

My favorite chapter of anything I’ve ever written opened with people shopping in a store in some small town, kind of a boutique store, and there is a sudden violent quake, everything goes pitch black, then kind of orange. They hear strange noises and long story short Hell is basically growing unstable, collapsing on itself, and this store just randomly fell into Hell. With all the dicking around on the surface with the apocalypse and Leviathans and whatever the fuck else, reality is essentially collapsing in on itself. Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and the mortal world are all colliding.

Sam and Dean are trying to figure out why this store just kind of vanished (the authorities say sinkhole but it’s basically a crater where this thing once stood) when Sam collapses.

Dean gets him to the hospital and is suddenly dizzy. He turns and finds himself trapped in his own mind, where the thing circling them appears. It needs something from Hell, Dean needs to save the humans, and neither can complete their goal without the other.

The woman (it is all in black and appears to have no face, but speaks with a female voice) has ripped a piece of Sam’s soul away. He is trapped in horrific agony and the woman will leave him there forever if Dean doesn’t help her.

She manages to open a path between this world and hell and Dean goes back to hell with her.

When they return (somewhat victorious but it’s very gory and a lot of people died), Dean has no idea what it is she’s taken. But also where there was once swirling black mist under the hood of her cloak, there is a face rotted, ripped, and destroyed.

Adventures, Adventures, Adventures

The boys cross paths with the woman again. She’s stronger now and her face is looking more human-esque. Castiel is also extremely agitated as he learns about this woman and all he’ll tell Dean is that he needs to kill her on sight. Castiel gives Dean one of the angelic blades for protection (Cas was with them for a lot of the story but I can’t remember what I had him doing). 

Dean comes across this thing again, it is standing over Sam as he screams and writhes and so he stabs it with the angelic blade- the thing that should kill anything.

It doesn’t do shit.

Adventure, drama and whatnot later (around what would be episode 19) the story comes out in fits and bursts:

Once upon a time, in the 1600s, Zachariah decided to make an apocalyptic safety net. He manipulated events to bring together a Campbell and Winchester line (implied Sam and Dean are descended from siblings of these two). The couple had two children- Elizabeth (older) and Matthew (younger).

Two powerful demon hunting families were outcasts in their village. They were forced to live far from the main settlement, and one day the villagers went all witch-hunt-ie and burned the parents alive. Elizabeth and Matthew (only a small child) were left alone.

One winter, as Matthew was dying and Elizabeth- barely alive herself- was hunting in the forest, she came across a young native American man. It was love at first sight. She collapses and he follows her tracks to carry her back to her hovel. When she comes to he’s built a fire, prepared some food (Elizabeth was a shit hunter, couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn from 3 feet away), and has also given Matthew some herbs that help break his fever.

Elizabeth and the young man (I can’t remember what name i gave him) fell deeper in love over that winter. But right when she starts to think things are getting better, the villagers are incensed. They attack, and make Elizabeth watch as they burn Matthew and her love. At this point Matthew is like 6, so, you know, truamatic.

Elizabeth is deemed a feeble-minded woman and kind of thrown aside. That night she goes on a rampage and murders a lot of the villagers in their beds before they catch her and hang her.

But that wasn’t the end of Elizabeth Winchester’s story. It was the beginning.

Elizabeth was a safety net for the apocalypse. Her soul should have gone to Hell for what she did, but instead Zachariah dragged her up into Heaven’s Prison. There, Zachariah tortured Elizabeth for 400 years (which is idk in heaven-time, there is a whole segment of the fandom who analyzes the time in heaven/hell vs on earth).

She became, essentially, a demon made by Heaven itself. They were trying to get her to say ‘yes’ to Michael. That way, if Dean proved to be a turd (spoiler alert: the biggest turd), heaven could resurrect Elizabeth and Michael has a backup. One of the main tortures Zachariah employed was literally strapping angelic grace to her. Demons on Earth are burned up when they catch a glimpse of Grace, but in Heaven she couldn’t even die, so it both drove her overwhelmingly insane and also made her incredibly powerful.

After Zachariah’s death she was forgotten, and left in her cage with that grace burning her soul for years.

Bobby, Jo, Ellen, etc. canonically wander through heaven at-will, evading angels when needed. They were the ones who found their way into the prison and brought her out, but too quickly lost control of her and she returned to the world of the living herself.

A demon with the grace of an archangel.

Bobby, Jo, Ellen, etc. made a pact with her- they let her go, she enters the Cage and destroys both Lucifer AND Michael.

What appeared to be Elizabeth torturing Sam (it kinda was- she’s half demon remember) was also a sort of act of kindness. Sam’s soul was still lashed to The Cage. It was covered in the markings of that place, and when he died it would suck his soul back in. Elizabeth was removing those marks- essentially skinning Sam’s soul and applying those pieces to herself to give her access to the Cage. Taking Dean with her to Hell was also so she could get something that would help her in the Cage.

As they are preparing for her to rip apart the rest of the marks on Sam’s soul (which may kill him), Heaven is trying to intervene to stop her (because Team Michael and they want the apocalypse back on track). They send an archangel to stop her--

The young man she’d fallen in love with back when she was human.

It turns out the man was an angel all along- he played her and arranged his own horrible end (and that of her brother) to push her over the edge. They needed a pure soul with a bit of demonic power to maybe give Elizabeth an edge as a vessel for Michael.

She rips the grace out of the angel. Zachariah’s torture- constantly strapping her to a grace and ripping it away taught her how. It is the most agonizing and horrific end to an angel possible, her act of vengeance.

Eventually Elizabeth would make it to Hell, rip Michael’s grace from Adam, and the Cage would seal behind her after she sent Adam back up. There was going to be a sequel (second season) in which Elizabeth returns.

Her relationship with Sam and Dean in “season 1″ was very contentious and kind of frenemy-esque (think Meg at times). “Season 2″ was going to be more about her just not knowing what to do now. She can’t trust heaven or hell, so she kind of ends up lost and following the Winchesters on their hunts without them noticing her at first or being able to speak to her (like she only shows up sometimes and then vanishes again).

“Season 2″ wasn’t really planned out, but by the end of it they’d have found out Chuck was God. As a sort of apology/ way to get them to stop constantly resurrecting people in the goddamn show/ reward Elizabeth’s soul was “healed” of it’s demonic edge, the Grace would fully anchor (making her an archangel), and she would be given a new realm of death to rule over- one for hunters or supernatural creatures who had been resurrected or in some way used by Heaven or Hell to spend their afterlife at peace.

No chance of resurrection, no matter the spell, and no interference even by other archangels. The hunters dicking around with the paths through heaven would be sent there too (for their protection, the angels in heaven were starting to hunt them in return).

I feel like I’m missing details, I somewhat repress my memories of this fic because losing it was that traumatic, but yeah. That was the general thrust of it.

[amayaonly1]

Diavolo's Cousin from Hell - Lesson 1 (Obey Me! x Female!MC/Reader)

@strawberry-moonpies Here you go! We get to finally meet Balial - the demon that everyone, including Diavolo, dreaded to meet. I hope you enjoy this chapter (even though you'll be encountering very alien words towards the end). Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Middle English text ahead. It's not accurate, as the sentence structure in Middle English would be different than what we know now. Imagine a young boy speaking Middle English that existed before Early Modern English. Don't worry, it'll only be for this chapter.

Other work: A Lil' Oopsie

Diavolo's Cousin from Hell mini-series:

Prologue | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5 | Lesson 6

The school bell shrilled. It was the final lesson of the day. Most students by then would've started packing their things away, eager to return home after a long day. But not yet for Ms. Buduh's History and Religion class. The blackboard behind was filled with wordings and a few diagrams, all written with white chalk. The students before her still had their heads down, most of them busy jotting down whatever information they'd gained; some were scrolling or tapping away on their D.D.D.

"For your next assignment," she began as she stepped closer to her desk, placing a large leatherbound book down. "You'll be required to read up a few articles pertaining to the relation between Abrahamic religions and humanity. And then, write up a 1000-word essay that compares and contrasts each religion and its influence on humanity. The deadline is two weeks from today; submit it at the end of the class before leaving. That is all for today. See you at our next lesson on Tuesday."

As if on cue, the classroom was overwhelmed by the sounds of shuffling. Students began putting away their belongings before getting up and walking out of the classroom. A few of them even stayed back to ask the demoness, while some gathered around their friend's seat to chat.

"Hey, MC." The said human, who'd just zipped up her bag, looked up. Her gaze fixated on a pair of bright blue orbs, ones belonging to the Avatar of Wrath. Giving her a gentle smile, he offered, "Shall we go home together?"

"Yeah," was her response as she returned the smile. Slinging the back on her shoulder, she and Satan began making their way for the exit, joining the rest of the students in the corridors as they went about leaving campus.

"What do you think of this assignment?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Well," MC drawled. "After today's lesson, at least I understood the religions she'd touched on. But writing the essay would be the tricky part."

"That's Ms. Buduh," he sighed. "She's pretty passionate about history and religion, so it's no wonder she had high expectations. But I'm confident that we'll be fine. We have tons of resources at home. Actually, let me know if you want to do the assignment together. I'll see if I could get anything from my archive, and then we'll work together in the library."

"That's a good idea," beamed MC. "We can even cross-check each other's work after the first draft. At least that saves me from going off-topic."

Satan opened his mouth preparing to respond, only to be interrupted by the notification sound from his D.D.D, coincidentally at the same time as MC's. Both whipped out their devices and checked the screens. It was a message from Diavolo; a rather urgent one:

Please drop by the student council room ASAP. An urgent matter had arisen.

"Strange," commented the blond demon.

"What is it?" MC looked at him, puzzled.

"I've known Diavolo for years now, so seeing him send a message so brief and abrupt is rather odd to me. I wonder what could've made him call for a meeting this urgent?"

"Who knows? We'll just have to find out when we meet him there. Anyway, I need to go to the toilet first. Since the meeting room is not that far from here, you can go ahead. I'll catch up once I'm done."

"Alright, see you later."

The two went their separate ways. But MC needn't spend much longer in the toilet. A quick-release followed by a hand wash was all she needed to do; of course, she couldn't stop herself from standing in front of the mirror and adjusting her uniform. At least she'll look fresher in the meeting after hours of classes.

"Aw, he's so cute~!"

That was what MC heard as soon as she stepped out of the restroom. Following its source, she turned her head in its direction. Her gaze fixated on a group of three demonesses crouching down. All cooing and fawning over something- or rather, someone.

"What is a child doing here wandering around on campus?"

"Perhaps he's looking for his parents."

"You might be right! Shall we help search for them?"

A child's voice boomed in anger, "Ye insolence! I schal(shall) have ye knowe I am no child. I am named Balial, heir to the Kyng of the Underworld; the Future Kyng of the Underworld. Ye will regrē̆ten treatyng me with such litel respecte."

Unfortunately, such declaration made no attempt in intimidating the girls, for they squealed in fascination and adoration. "Oh, my!" One of them gasped. "He's very good at acting like an ancient king!"

"Lord Diavolo would be so proud if he sees this."

"Diavolo?" hissed the boy, clearly irritated. "Ye durren(dare) utter his nome in front of me with such nonchalantness?"

"Excuse me," came MC's voice. Might as she stopped this before this young demon would commit arson.

Instantly, everyone's attention was now on her. With a sheepish smile, she continued, "Sorry for the interruption, but I happen to be on my way to the Student Council Room. I'll bring him to Lord Diavolo just in case he's not actually lost if you're concerned about that."

"Sure," one of the demonesses beamed, standing up like her other friends. "It'll be bad if anything happens to him while in RAD."

"We'll leave him in your hands, MC," said the other with relief.

"Thank you," responded the said human. "Take care."

As the three demonesses walked away - still talking about what they'd just encountered - the young demon looked up at her and said, "I thank you, fair maiden. I am in youre debt."

"You're welcome," she said with a genuine smile.

MC finally had a proper look at him, and she could see why the demonesses were in awe of him. The young demon was of a short stature, which she estimated to be around Luke's height. He had short, raven black hair which parted away from his face in the middle, and prominent fangs. He was adorned in a black suit with red coat-tails, a black cape with a red inside, and a black cane with a gold skull handle.

But what caught her attention was the pale gold eyes; ones that awfully reminded her of the young Demon Lord. Maybe she had yet to meet enough demons, that's what she thought, for perhaps there are demons out there who have a similar eye colour as him.

"My name is MC," she introduced, extending a hand to him which he willingly shook. "I'm one of the human exchange students for this academy."

He sure gave a firm handshake, she thought, albeit his age.

"Charmed," he responded with a smile. "Ye mighte have heard me earlier, but I schal repeten(repeat) meself. I am namen(named) Balial, sonne of Kyng of the Underworld."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness," Mc greeted, with a bow. "May I know what brings you here to our academy?"

"I arriven to meten(meet) my cosyn Diavolo, son of Kyng of Devildom," he explained. "I went to his paleys(palace), but alas, neither he nor his butler was present. Hennes(Hence), I depart for this institucioun(institution), which my feithful butler Merihem finden(found) their wheraboutes."

"I see. If you wish, I can take you there. I did say that I happen to be going there as well. I can even give you a short tour of the academy, if you'd like."

"Ah, merveilous idea! I thank you, Mistress MC. Let us goon(go) to meten my cosyn. To devout my thanks, I schal granten ye permitted to adressen(address) me my nome."

"That is an honour, Your Highness," MC bowed her head in appreciation as she began walking down the corridor with the young Prince next to her. "Perhaps, in return, I should teach you Modern English."

[studythenight-away]

Hello! As finals season (aka 5-research-papers-due-in-a-week season) dawns on many of you, I thought I would share the process I used to write papers in college. This made writing long research papers much less daunting (but can also work on shorter papers). I really hope this helps some of you who feel stuck. Especially during these ridiculous times, when you're stuck at home and might have other uncontrollable factors affecting your mental health, a clear framework of what to do could be helpful. Good luck, my friends! You got this.

About me

I graduated college in 2018 with degrees in Political Science + International Studies and will be starting law school this fall. I wrote nearly 20 15 to 25-page papers, never earning below an A. I loved researching about my topics but hated writing. It's tedious, takes so much time, and everything I write sounds bad at first. Plus, I was a terrible procrastinator so most of these essays were written in under a week. Talk about stress.

Over time I found a process that worked for me, one that made churning out a paper seem straightforward, like going through a factory line rather than this terrifying concept of writing 10,000 words. It kept me sane without decreasing the quality of my work (or more importantly, how much I learned!) 

I'm thinking about making a short video to show this in action… let me know if that could be helpful!

Step 1: Research

How you organize your research is a key step in keeping you sane. Usually I'll have a pile of 20 books in my dorm along with dozens of JSTOR tabs open on my laptop, and that can get overwhelming very fast. Right now just focus on collecting ideas, not developing an argument or even an outline! As with most research papers, you could be starting with little to no background information on the topic, so it is still too early to be thinking about an argument.

Put all your research in one document

Open up a new doc: this will be the heart of everything. For a 15-page paper I usually end up with around 14-18 pages of typed research, 10 pt font, single spaced, tiny margins. This seems like a lot, but essentially all I do is type up anything I read that seems relevant to my topic, so luckily this step does not require that much brain power. Just type type type!

Use the table of contents

Find the chapter(s) that are actually relevant instead of skimming through the whole book. Time is of the essence here!

Use Zotero, cite right away

You can also use easybib or whatever you're used to, but keep track of your sources. I like Zotero because I can keep a log of all of my sources and copy the footnote or bibliography version whenever needed. Before you even begin reading, cite the source and copy it into your research doc. This will save you so much time later when you have to put in your citations in the actual paper. 

Here is an example of what my research doc looks like:

Full citation is my heading for each source just so it’s crystal clear

I ignore all typos (I don’t think there are any in this part though, go me!) because my head is buried in the book just trying to get all the info down

I always start with the page number so I know what to cite when I go back

Create a shorthand 

While typing up research, you might think of something that the author didn't talk about that you'll want to write in your paper. Or perhaps a few sentences already start to form. Put them all in one place, with your research, so you know what source you'll have to cite to then lead into your idea. I type "!@#" before anything that is strictly my own idea so I'm never confused. It's fast and stands out.

This is an example: the two bullet points above are evidence from my source, which made me think of this argument I could make, which I noted with “!@#”

Step 2: Read Your Research

Now that you have all your information, go back and read through it all. Every time you read about a new theme/person/event, write it down somewhere. You may come up with a list of 20+ different ideas in your research. No matter how small, as long as there is something about it, write it down. Each of these mini themes is going to end up being a paragraph in your paper or combined with another mini theme. 

Once you’ve made your list, look for larger overarching themes. In the paper I’ve shown you, I had mini categories like “political party x” “religion” “labor groups” “little organization” and “hierarchy.” When I looked back I though, hey these are all groups and how groups are working together, so they each became their own mini paragraph under the subsection of “Alliances.”

As with most research paper structures, I try to find three general themes/subsections (like an extended version of that 5-paragraph essay we wrote in middle school). It makes the paper less messy and also makes sure I’m not covering things that are beyond a reasonable scope.

During this step, you are also searching for your thesis. It won’t be your final version. As you fill in your outline in the next step you may make slight changes. But this is definitely when you start thinking about it.

Step 3: Outline

We’re ready to outline! Once I’ve collected all my different themes and organized all my subsections and paragraphs, it’s time to fill in that outline. I start a new doc just for the outline and take advantage of google doc’s headings function to make a clear document outline.

Here comes the fun part, I read through my research one more time, this time copy and pasting all my research into each section of the outline. The document outline in google docs makes this easy because I can just click on each subheading to get me there (super helpful when you’re dealing with 15+ pages of research).

Here is what it looks like:

Let’s say I need to add something to my outline about labor groups. Boom, labor groups. Also, the typos are really abound here haha

Step 4: Write the Paper

Okay, I get it, easier said than done. BUT! You already have everything set up. Your outline is essentially just a list of your paragraphs and all you have to do is paraphrase, cite, and create a topic sentence. And that’s how you should think about this: you’re essentially transforming bullet points into sentences and adding footnotes. 

In high school my English teacher introduced us to Sh*tty First Drafts for creative writing, but honestly the same applies to research papers. Sometimes I’ll even have phrases like “wait no that’s not what I meant but basically...” and when I go back to edit, I realize that what came after “but basically...” is fine! And I keep it. So just start typing.

How do you cite while you write? Because we’re trying to get a constant stream of writing going, inserting proper footnotes after each sentence you type is too bothersome. I usually split screen with my outline and my paper so I just copy and paste a few words from my bullet point into my footnote, like so:

(This is from a different paper about cluster munitions.)

Step 5: Edit the Paper

I work best when I print out my first draft and make all edits in red pen. I feel more productive and can visually see where I want to move sentences and what I need to change. The more red there is the better I can feel the paper getting. (Whether or not that’s true doesn’t matter. We’re trying to stay motivated here!) When it’s all digital I don’t really see the progress. Plus, once I finish all the red, I get another moment of passive brain work, where all I’m doing is transferring edits rather than thinking. And at this point in the process, that kind of relief is much welcomed. 

The good thing about this process is there’s not usually a need to cut entire paragraphs or pages because the paper you end up with is just a formalized version of your outline. Because you started with such a detailed outline, the cutting and editing now is just to refine your word choices and get rid of the “but basically”s. You’re almost there!

Step 6: Replace your citations

Now it’s time to go back and replace your footnotes with actual citations. Zotero makes this easy because in Word you can just insert and add the page number, and it’ll automatically do “Ibid.” for you when needed. Ctrl+f in the original research doc to quickly find the source.

Step 7: One More Read-Through and Submit!

Congratulations!! You’ve got a fully-researched and well-backed paper! Of course, even though the process is straightforward, it’s still a lot of work. In ideal situations I would start researching two weeks before the deadline, but if need be, I believe I’ve done this all in three miserable panic-filled days as well. 

Please message me if you have any questions at all! I really hope some of you find this helpful! Good luck!

[vinnieworld]

5 tips to boost 5 days of Productivity

We all love to procrastinate and most of us (including myself) have made sport out of this, but is this how we really should be approaching things?

The answer is NO.... apparently

So join me in my self evaluation of bringing you 5 tips how I avoided procrastination by being a bit lazy.

Being productive for a whole week when you have too much on your plate but you spend your entire weekend scrolling through social media... well me too :)

Though Mondays suck, its a brand NEW week so we can't let Mondays win and ruin out entire week right?

Tip 1 - Preparation before the week start

- Make a to do list - For the next day or the week

A short list of your most prioritised tasks e.g. starting that essay you been avoiding, even if it just picking the ttile

Make sure to not put too much pressure on these tasks

Keep it simple

DO NOT put too many things, be realistic only add things you know you can achieve

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

We all have those sleepless nights, especially when you have a 9am lecture/class the next day. Somehow you end up going to sleep at 4am still make it to your lecture on time, though the rush might be exciting this is not the way to start the week because your mind will get used to this so much and this becomes your normal routine.

Not going to lie, I am super guilty of this but I found out this not only drains my energy, it strips me away from my motivation and make me lazy all the time.

So one bazzare night I thought to myself what would I potentially want to do this coming week, so I got my phone started typing my "potential" to do list for the week, okay the list was quite long and seemed quite overwhelming, and I knew I wouldn't do all of this so though I made the list I didn't put too much pressure on this. When I checked back in the middle of the week I did most of the things on the do to list unconsiously. This was so surprising I never get things done.... what changed ?

Most of the time we put too much pressure ourself, that's why we procrastinate and they avoid the things we need to do. The minute the pressure is gone you get the urge to do your things even if you are unaware of it.

Tip 2 - Follow today's work TODAY

- Follow the lecture and make notes while you're attending the lecture

Take brief notes on what's on the slides

If the lecturer give extra info add those especially

DO NOT panic if you don't write everything on the slide, remember these are brief notes to for later revision

Speed is not important, what's important is that you have something written on the paper

when the lecture/class is finished fill in the gaps you left during it, do this right after while you still have the energy.

one page = one lecture (unless the lecture is 90 slides then its bit tricky)

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

I personally find it very hard to keep on top of things, especially with how different lecturers have different methods and speed with delivering their content. I tried many methods, recording the lectures, printing the slides, handwriting everything but it only made me bored of the things I was learning.

I can't stare at pages and pages of writing when I'm trying to revise, so best way for me to do this is if I have one page or two for the entire lecture. This helped me a lot of condense my notes, motivated me to keep writing and I felt accomplished by the end of every lecture.

Tip 3 - Keep one book for all your modules

- Invest in a chunky subject divider notebook

This is where you write the notes form the previous tip

One book to take to all your lectures, don't have to carry five or more

Write all the assignment and exams for that subject in the dividers (Kinda like a self-reminder)

Keep a general section where you write extra information that relates to the subjects (e.g. extra seminars, extra activity sessions, groups project notes, your own research for subjects, assignment preparation etc. )

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

Most of my detailed notes are digitalised, this is way easier then writing hours and hours of detailed notes by hand. But all the modules, lectures, practicals are separated so it's too much of hassle to find what I want when I want to have a quick glance at something.

Dividing the book by subject and seeing different content I am going to need regularly being on one place really is therapeutic for me, give me less stress so I don't have to spend time looking through pages of notes to find just one sentence.

Having one book for all my modules, helped me so much to keep on motivated to write notes and keep on top of it and when I revisit it, it's so pleasing to the eye.

Tip 4 - Write flashcards on the day

- Put little bit of extra into a flashcard

Once you finished a lecture, read back and pick the most key bits and write a maximum three sentences

Keep it very very brief

Think of pictograms for some words. e.g. little blog with stokes for a virus or a spark for electricity

Some info you can't fit on your page put it on the flashcard, like a diagram or a table

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

I am a sucker for flashcards, seeing them makes me so happy to revise. But making them when an exam is near is frustrating so if you make them before by the time you get your exam season you already have flashcards to revise from. How convenient!

Tip 5 - Write a sentence or research a bit everyday for your assignments

- Every time you feel like you done nothing today take a look assignment and write sentence - Take this step by step everyday and add information along the way

Pick a title first for whatever your assignment is

Do basic research on the title you chose

Do a basic plan

Improve on the basic research

Add information to the plan

and ect....

Little ramble on how this helped me :)

Doing assignments is tricky, very boring, they can be very long and stressful so we avoid even starting it until the day before it's due. Okay, we all work well under pressure but we don't really produce our best work under a day so investing little time everyday or every other helped me to produce more quality work than normal and it was less pressuring and stressful when I started the binge writing on two three days before the deadline, because all the research, preparation is done all I had to do was write and improve my work along the way.

I actually cannot recommend this enough because it saved me from a lot of breakdowns over my assignments. Just by adding something to it every now and then I basically finished my first draft by the time I actually want to start to write properly.

Bonus tip - Take the weekend off! - > If you're like me and get bored very easily with doing the work then follow these tips for the days you have school or uni, finish everything by Friday and take the whole weekend of .... TRUST ME you will be much more prepared for Monday.

Thank you so much ya'll for reading this, I do ramble a lot but it's a part of me that I embrace so I hope this was helpful for you and make sure to tell me your thoughts and feelings.

Till next time Lovelies x

[erensangel444]

gojo thirst

DNI if not 16+ please + thank you :-)

i literally have not gotten any writing done on the fics in my drafts, but i saw this tiktok, and a bitch jumped at the opportunity. gojo is 100% a cocky mf in bed and OMG im gonna actually die!! fuck him....literally tho like i will actually fuck him...OKAY now to the blurb :D

word count: 884 words

LOOK AT THIS MF

“look in the mirror,” gojo growled from behind you. you could feel the tears running down your cheeks, your eyes squeezed shut tightly. gojo’s hands were bruising your hips, but you reveled in the roughness of it. gojo leaned down, his chest against your back as he whispered in your ear, “come on, look in the mirror, angel,”. you could hear the smirk in his voice as you lifted your head up.

gojo moved away from your ear, his back no longer against your chest as you opened your eyes. you were met with the image of gojo behind you, his abdomen clenched. your eyes wandered up his body, being met with a smirk. his cheeks were tinged a light pink, his hair slightly casting over his face. his blindfold was slipping from its position over his eyes, one of gojo’s eyes peeking out from behind the fabric.

“w-wanna look at you,” you whined, gojo laughing softly in response. “yeah?” he teased, raising his voice slightly higher, “wanna see me?”. you nodded, a tear falling down your cheek. gojo obliged, removing his blindfold completely. he threw it down onto the bed, flashing you a smile. his hair slightly fell over his blue eyes, but you could make them out in the reflection.

“look at yourself,” gojo said, grabbing a fistful of your hair. he lifted you up by your hair, your back flush against his chest, the assault of his hips slamming into your backside relentless. you could feel gojo’s cock brushing against that sweet spot deep inside of you, your moans and whimpers sounding throughout the room.

you did what gojo had said, looking at yourself in the mirror. you looked a fucking mess, your tongue was lolling out of your mouth, remnants of tears staining your cheeks, more falling from your eyes by the minute. “fuck,” gojo laughed softly from behind you before sighing, “look so pretty, so desperate for me, huh?”. you squeezed your eyes shut, your stomach turning in embarrassment and pleasure.

“don’t act like you don’t like it,” gojo teased, his lips brushing against your ear. “open your eyes, kitten, don’t wanna have to tell you again,” gojo commanded. you obeyed once more, opening your eyes. “you know,” gojo started, eyeing you in the reflection, one of his hands on your hips, the other still latched onto your hair, holding you upright.

“i saw this video,” his voice had a teasing lilt to it, his words slightly shaking as he attempted to breath in between sentences, “wanted to see if i could do it,” you moaned out loudly, gojo’s cock plummeting in and out of you. “actually,” he groaned, “know i could fuckin do it,” he gripped your hair tighter before laughing.

“jus’ wanna make a video, wanna save it as a reminder,” gojo moaned. tears were falling down your cheeks more freely now, your bottom lip held in between your teeth. “wanna make a video, kitten? hmm? want everybody to see how good i give it to you?” gojo teased, a whimper accompanying his voice as he mocked you.

you nodded, whimpering, but gojo wanted an answer, “say it,” he gripped your hip tighter, pulling you back on his cock. “wan’ it! want everyone to see,” you moaned. gojo accepted your answer with a low chuckle, letting go of your hair. you head fall back into the pillow, your moans being muffled by the matress.

“all fours,” gojo said plainly, giving you a harsh smack on your backside, “want you to watch me film it,”. you obliged, shakily supporting yourself on your arms. gojo’s thrust slowed for a moment as he muttered, “where’s my fuckin phone,”. one hand remained on your hip as the other lifted up the comforter in search of his device. “found it,” he cheered, smiling at you in the reflection of the mirror.

he swiped on his phone absentmindedly for a moment, his line of vision shifting from the screen to the way your center was sucking in his cock like a vice, “so fucking dirty,” he mumbled. “got 10 seconds angel, get ready,” gojo murmurred, leaning his phone against a pillow that sat across from your connected bodies

gojo’s body was in frame, only the backside of your body in frame along with it. “can lay down, princess, just watch the screen,” gojo assured you. your arms fell at gojo’s words, your head back in the pillow. you turned to look at gojo’s phone, the numbers 2 and 1 flashing against the screen.

gojo roughly thrust into you at the first beat, laughing softly as he went in accordance with the rest of the beats. the rhythm slowed for a moment, a little bit more time in between each beat. gojo took that as means to increase the intensity of his thrusts. he roughly thrust in and out of you know, and you swore you could feel the tip of his cock brushing against your cervix.

you reveled in the slight pain that accompanied the immense pleasure. you were a babbling mess now, incoherent pleas falling from your lips along with desperate moans and yelps. eventually, gojo grabbed the phone, pausing the filming. “wanna get a close up,” he explained, though you were in no place to question him, your tears and drool staining the pillow.

you could hear the music start back up, as did the intensity of gojo’s thrust. you moaned louder now, gojo laughing from behind you. “should get a close up of us too, huh? is that a good idea?” gojo teased. you yelped out a “yes!”, gojo’s hand grabbing at your hair again. he pulled you against his chest once more, your back arching from the feeling of gojo’s cock inside of you.

“say cheese, angel,” gojo teased, the music from his phone playing once more.

fin

just a quick little blurb:D it’s back to homework now 4 me:((( thank you guys for reading, so much love 2 you<3

[itsnothingofinterest]

So with the end supposedly approaching (relatively speaking), people have started giving some thought as to who the final threat is really going to be; Tomura Shigaraki or All For One. It’ll definitely be one of them, they’re the strongest and most established villains by a mile; but both have their own reasons for people to think they’ll be the “final boss” of the series. And far be it from me to keep my opinion to myself; I really think it’s going to be Tomura.

I’m not sure if that’s some level of controversial among the fans hoping for Shigaraki’s redemption, as I do believe the alternative’s gotten a lot of traction lately. Because understand that I’m still expecting his redemption too, and don’t expect his hypothetical final boss status to really prevent that. (Practically nothing can, it’s as much a guaranteed outcome at this point as Deku getting his sixth bonus quirk.) Realistically, the only difference would be if he & Deku then team up to fight the evil potato head, or to...just start fixing stuff I guess.

On that note, the eventual redemption is actually one of the reasons I think he’s the better choice. Almost every point of comparison between the two villain I can think of makes Tomura seem like the better choice, actually...with maybe one or two exceptions. So I wanted to go over all those points of comparison & everything they’ve got going for them as endgame villains and why the comperrisons overall seem to favour Tomura as the final boss.

1. Someone who was defeated to the power of just one man

For one, just looking at pure power levels, AFO’s just not as threatening as Tomura; and there’s not really a way to bridge that gap.

Like, Tomura’s obviously more of a threat personally; he’s got the stronger body that was scientifically enhanced, and only he has Decay on top of the AFO quirk and the collection that came with it. It is just a fact that right now, Tomura is far more powerful. And before anyone thinks that AFO could become an equal threat by just taking over & fighting in his body; that’s not true because, along with just more combat experience that doesn’t rely on an arsenal of quirks, Tomura also has that Shimura trick where you remember your origin and become super bad ass. You know, the trick that All Might used to beat AFO in Kamino. In other words, the most dangerous individual in the series right now is the AFO!Tomura body with specifically Tomura in control.

And as long as the slight edge in mentality in Tomura’s favour exists, there’s not really a way to bridge that gap and have AFO take Tomura’s place as the biggest potential threat. Restore or enhance AFO’s original body? That’s just catching it up with AFO in Tomura’s body, which is still behind Tomura in Tomura’s body. Have AFO boost Tomura’s body with him in control? It would still be better with Tomura in control. There’s no scenario where Tomura isn’t the most powerful character in BNHA.

(Well, except maybe AFO weakening him by, say, stripping him of his quirks; but if he has to make things easier for the heroes to become the most powerful, I think that kind of proves my point anyway.)

But one person can only be so dangerous, so lets talk followers. Tomura has a close knit group of friends & allies on top of a vast army super loyal to him specifically that reaches a six digit figure, and AFO...just doesn’t. And I’ll get back to this later; but I don’t think he wants one either. He sticks to just a handful of people useful to him and what’s left of his Nomu. And while maybe that is the better way for him to accomplish his own personal goals, it’s simply not as threatening as the force which Hawks thought could’ve conquered the country if the heroes hadn’t struck first.

Tomura is a country ending threat, who in the right circumstances could fight literally all of the heroes with a chance of winning, and AFO simply isn’t.

2. His own little world

And to return to what I was talking about earlier, I’m not sure he really cares to be either. Like, people say he wants to conquer everything, and I imagine he’d think regaining lots of money & power would be great down the line; but evidence seems to suggest he doesn’t really care much for the country as a whole or any of the major themes being discussed by the actual main characters at the moment.

I mean if he did, he’d probably have rescued the PLF, that army capable of competing with all of hero society. And he probably wouldn’t have told ~10,000 dangerous and powerful villains indebted to him for their freedom to just run amok while he keeps contact with only the ones useful for his personal goals. And he definitively wouldn’t be laying low & sleeping through his enemies lowest moment & giving them a month to recover, also in service to those personal goals. That activity seems to imply those personal goals matter a whole lot more to him than societal conquest.

And what are those goals? Seemingly, taking over Tomura’s body so he can finally steal One For All. To what end, we’re not 100% sure of, but I believe it’s either a) a weird pride thing where he finally has control over his brother who’s rebelled against him for decades upon decades or b) an attempt at immortality as a sentient & transferable body-controlling quirk. Either way it’s some selfish personal thing he just gets others wrapped up in.

He’s incredibly disconnected from the greater themes and conflicts of the story. He seems to have no opinions on heroics besides how people are stupid for attempting them, and no opinion on society besides that it just naturally sucks. He’s mainly just a nuisance for the actual main characters. This self-important old man stuck in his own little world is supposed to be Deku’s final opponent?

Oh, and on that note-

3. Deku who?

We’re also talking about who’s going to be the final obstacle for Deku to face; and the problem with the being AFO is that...they don’t really have much to bounce off of with each other. You might be able to argue slight foil-ment, but they don’t really know each other, nor do they have any kind of connection to each other besides Deku having OFA so he’s AFO’s enemy by default.

(In fact their latest & 2nd convo, which came out as I was drafting this post out, kind of proves that with how AFO basically just shallowly made fun of him for trying to be a hero. That’s basically the extent of their antagonism.)

In fact, I’m like 80% sure this is a major reason for the Dad For One theory existing; just to give them some connection, something to talk about. Because otherwise AFO is just an evil guy known by people Deku knows/wants to save. He’s basically just another, more dangerous Overhaul; who Deku's already fought. And to AFO, Deku’s just another OFA holder acting all high & mighty; which we also already saw him face in the Kamino fight. So what little they do offer each other has already been done for both of them. And there’s nothing wrong with that for carrying a fight, I just wonder if that can really carry the final fight.

Compare that to Shigaraki, who foils Deku in ways so numerous & obvious it’s almost hard to talk about, such as: their position as successors, strategic thinkers, very similar origins, very similar core characters, team players, red shoes, they looked really similar as kids...just to name a few parallels. Contrasting AFO, there is a lot to work with here that would contributed to a good fight that’d double as a battle of ideologies. And admittedly, we know this because it already has, this is also something we’ve seen before; but there’s a lot more unexplored with their conflict, a lot left unsaid that we could see from them arguing their viewpoints. A lot more than from Deku & AFO anyway.

I mean for Pete’s sake; All Might & Shigaraki have more in common and more to talk about than Deku & AFO. That’s a major problem if those two are meant to carry the final battle; which is why I don’t think they are.

4. Just punch him

There’s also the fact that AFO doesn’t really challenge Deku in any real way; and I’m not just talking about how All Might solo-ing him (twice) should logically mean endgame Deku should also be able to solo him. I’m more talking about how...that’s kind of all he’d need to do. If you can just beat AFO up enough then...that’s it, threat over. Wrapped up in a neat little bow.

To compare, Shigaraki is the greatest threat the heroes have ever faced, the victim most in need of saving, and to top it off, he’s got the gall to be both of those things at once. What’s a hero supposed to do with that? That’s a serious question characters are going to have to think about when deciding how to deal with Shigaraki. His position is that of, not just the greatest challenge, but a set of the greatest challenges a hero could face. And that’s before you get into his side representing those oppressed by serious systemic issues that need to be addressed as well; quite possibly simultaneously.

No one needs to address systemic corruption or prejudice to beat AFO though. They just need to punch him real hard. The biggest challenge AFO presents the heroes is “how do we make sure this guy stops being a problem for good when neither our most secure prison, nor removing his head, did the job?”

(Personally, my answer is to have Tomura do it. Because unlike Deku, Tomura actually does have a proper antagonistic relationship with AFO, so he has reason to be the one to end him besides just being the protagonist. Plus he’s under no obligation not to kill, so there’s that.)

And like yeah, that does make AFO the easier guy to deal with, and thus write an ending around (to say nothing of how he's also the most satisfying person to see punched in the face); but does that really mean Horikoshi would want to use him instead of the more interesting option of Tomura? I mean I guess we can’t be sure, there is merit in writing the easy resolution; but I’d prefer the complex finale if I were in his shoes.

5. Horikoshi’s favourite

And lastly there’s just the issue of which of the two Horikoshi’s put more work into. Spoiler alert: it’s not the guy that spent like 200 chapters in jail being menacing every one in a while.

Tomura is by far the more developed between the two, having constantly evolved over the course of the series. And more than just as a character, as described above he’s been developed as the more threatening and challenging conflict for Deku while also reflecting him in a lot of important ways. We’ve seen the growth of his power & influence, we’ve gotten to know & understand his motives, we’ve seen how he’s been failed by heroes before. Everything about him has built him up as the ultimate villain, the most desperate victim, and overall greatest challenge for Deku and the story as a whole to face.

And AFO is...nearly one of those things. Which is pretty much what he was from his first appearance. He has not developed at all over the series, and from what we can tell from his flashbacks, he hasn’t developed at all over the past ~200 years either. (I’m half tempted to call him more inciting incident then character.) What we have with AFO, as far as a character and a villain goes, is pretty much what we’re getting until he’s done. And, well; if Tomura is a better villain & a better pick for final boss than he was then, that gap’s just going to keep growing.

Like, I doubt it really needs stating how Shigaraki is probably the character Horikoshi has put the most work into in the entire series. And a lot of that work, a lot of his development, has gone to the idea of him surpassing AFO or being a villain foil to Deku, who himself is mean to surpass All Might. For his roll to be usurped by the guy he’s meant to surpass just feels like it’s going against that. Like, it’d feel almost as wrong for his character and the story around him than it would for Deku is All Might got his powers back and took over for him as main protagonist. It just doesn’t feel right for Tomura not to be the final villain, is what I’m getting at.

6. ...One saving grace

Okay, but I will admit one thing AFO has going for him that I would be remiss not to bring up. Besides being the most hated character in a series that also has Endeavor in it, I mean. He’s got this one trait that makes him an effective antagonist to anyone in the series; his complete disregard to pretty much every major theme in the series.

I mean think about it; the major themes of Shigaraki’s circle all revolve around trying to fix the society that rejected them; but AFO believes Society just naturally sucks that way as part of human nature, so their cause is doomed. And the heroes’ major themes all revolve around how to become/what it means to be a hero; but AFO believes trying to do good in that society can’t really be done & also it’s ridiculous to believe comic books are real, so their cause is also doomed and they look stupid doing it. So despite not really interacting with anyone’s core conflict or goals in favour of wrapping them up in his own, he still manages a one-sided ideological opposition with nearly every major player in the series; and that’s not nothing.

But, and I completely understand that this is just a matter of opinion, that kind of just leaves him feeling to me like a good antagonist, not a good final antagonist. I’d still prefer it be Tomura even from this perspective, because he’s able to oppose the ideologies of his opponents on purpose & with proper ideologies of his own.

To summarize:

Shigaraki feels the better choice for final boss because he’s more threatening, more interesting, both as a person and as an opponent for Deku specifically, he’s far more directly tied into the themes of the story and their resolution, & he’s had far more set up. AFO is more hated, and his callous disregard for everything everyone else holds important is something I guess, but that’s pretty much all he’s got going for him in compression. I don’t know about you, but I know who I think would carry the conclusion to the series better.

But I also know this isn’t the most popular take among my villain fan colleagues right now. So if anyone disagrees, I welcome any civil discussion about these two & their viability as final boss.

[soyforramen]

If I'm not too late, for the writing prompts: 9 and/or 47, dealer's choice

·  “Just tell why you did it!” “Because I’m in love with you, okay!”

·  You’re my ex but I think I still have feelings for you

Angst below, in an AU timeline...ish

 --

             It felt like a fire had lit up her lungs, the smoke crawling up her throat and choking her until her breath rasped out into the cold night air.  Behind her, Jughead stumbled, his breathing coming like tidal waves.  Betty spared a quick glance at him as she yanked at his arm and pointed to the ridge beyond.  

             “Just over there,” she lied.  

             It was becoming easier and easier to lie to him.

             On their way up the ridge her feet slipped in the muddy wet leaves.  Her knees hit the ground and her teeth rattled hard enough to see stars.  Jughead slipped an arm around her waist and dragged her up the rest of the hill, his breath erratic.

             It was another ten minutes until they finally reached Archie’s car, the only one in the Sweetwater parking lot.  Not many people went hiking at 4 a.m., let alone to go chase down a kidnapped ex.

             Thunder rolled above them, the vibrations lingering deep in her bones, and they leaned around the car.  Jughead’s hand were on his knees, his breath gasping and desperate. His wiped at the water trickling down his face and coughed hard.  Betty kneeled on the ground, hands grasping at the loose asphalt as she forced herself to focus on counting rather than what she’d encountered tonight.

             “What the hell was that for?” Jughead wheezed.

             Betty shook her head, still unable to talk through her sore throat.  She let out a slow breath – 1, 2, 3, 4 – and breathed in again.

             “Why’d you try and save me?” he yelled over the thunder.  A crack of lightening illuminated them and she was startled by the intensity in his eyes.

             “Did you want me to leave you back in there?” she shot back.  Stars colored her eyes as she tried to stand, and she listed to one side, grasping for the car to keep her balance.

             Jughead snarled and paced towards the far end of the parking lot, ignoring the pouring rain around them.  From his limp, Betty assumed he had a Charlie Horse.  Betty wanted to chide him about not taking care of his body, about his inability to treat it as something better than a dumpster for all his repressed feelings.  It wasn’t her place, though.  Not anymore.

             Besides, it seemed cruel to point out, especially after he’d been on the verge of being tortured –

             “I don’t need your help,” he said when he returned, his words still punctured by small gasps.  “I had everything covered.”

             She snorted and stood up to face him.  A chill ran through her as the wind picked up, but she diverted the movement into massaging at her damaged wrist.  Jughead, still as perceptive as ever, didn’t miss her wince. He reached towards her, his eyes fixed on her wrist.  Realizing what he was about to do, he stopped short and bent over to retie his shoe.  

             Even from this angle Betty could see how thin he was.

             “I’m sure you did,” she said.  Even as the adrenaline seeped out of her body she still couldn’t keep the acid from her voice.  “That great, big escape plan of yours was going swell, though I’m curious as to what you were planning after you got chained up in the basement and held to the wall with duct tape.  Or did I miss something when I broke in?”

             Half her words were covered up by an angry burst of thunder.  Perhaps it was for the best; they’d both been through a lot.  Or, perhaps it would have been better to put it all out there, fight out their anger until there was nothing left remaining.

             Jughead’s lip curled, and Betty knew he’d caught enough.

             Betty narrowed her eyes.  Despite everything, she still didn’t know whether to trust him. There had been too much time between them, too much space and anger and -  Not to mention his aliens and her serial killer.

             “You can’t drive stick with a broken wrist.”

             “It’s not broken,” she said petulantly, her lip pursed like Juniper’s when she didn’t get the last cookie.

             Knowing that he was right, she dug into her coat pocket, angry with Jughead and herself.  Another gust of wind blew through their wet cloths, and they huddled into the cab of the truck.  As the engine turned over, Jughead scrubbed at the window with his damp shirtsleeves, trying to break through the fog that had followed them.  The water streaked across, unable to change, and he gave up on the idea.  With a grunt, he shifted into drive and turned towards town.

             “Stupid,” he muttered, and Betty side-eyed him.  

             Her first instinct was that he was talking about her, and she bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from snapping.  After everything she’d done tonight, and he still couldn’t think anyone could care for him.  Betty stared out of the window, her fingers pushing and prodding against the delicate skin on her wrist, revealing in the sharp jolts of pain and irritation. Eventually the pain cleared through her fog of anger and she realized he was likely talking to himself.

             “Just –“

             Jughead stopped, cursing under his breath.  They came to a blind curve, halfway under water, and he shifted to first gear.  As they crept along Betty’s eyes began to shut.  She could feel her muscles relaxing as the adrenaline wore off, and the only thing that kept her awake was the potholes in the road.  In the flashes of lightening above them, she could see Jughead’s jaw clenching as he worked to keep something in check.

             Fine, she thought idly as darkness consumed her. Let him be mad.  It wouldn’t be the first time he didn’t want to be near her.

             She was startled awake when the engine stopped. In front of them was the Andrews’ home, normally bright and cheery, but in this light it was eerily still in the pouring rain.

             “He’s not home tonight,” Jughead said flatly.  “You can stay in his room.  Unless you want to go home.”

             Betty shook her head, trying not to let her fear overtake her.  The house was empty and would be for the next week.  They still hadn’t heard anything about Polly, and Alice had taken the twins upstate to try and get their mind off of it.  After tonight (any night, every night, ever since – she cut off that particular voice, struggling to keep that terrible week out of her head), the last thing she wanted to do was to be alone.  

             The thought sent a shudder through her and she wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep the chill from sprinting down her back.

             Jughead nodded, still staring straight ahead.  He’d pulled the keys from the ignition and was now jangling them in his hand.  He opened the car door and stepped out into the rain, not seeming to care whether Betty followed him or not.  She scrambled out of the car, towards the front door and slipped in after him.

             She held her breath, waiting in the long stretch of dark, for the lights to turn on.   When they did, it was nothing more than Archie’s living room, still messy and smelling slightly of old clothing and pizza.  

             Jughead stalked towards the kitchen, his face set in an emotion she couldn’t discern anymore.  A gut feeling told her it was because she was a stranger here, one who was encroaching not only on his ‘investigation’ but also on his personal space.  

             “I’ll make coffee,” Jughead said gruffly.  “Take a shower or you’ll catch a cold.”

             The way he’d said it, matter-of-factly and without any emotion behind it, contrasted so sharply with the fact that he’d remembered. He remembered, and wanted to let her know he’d remembered that she was prone to get colds when it rained. These little things twisted the knife deeper into her back and she tried not to think about her last foray into this home.

             “Thanks,” Betty said softly.

             She barely glanced at the mirror when she stepped into the bathroom.  A thick cover of mud coated her lower half, while leaves had taken up residence in her hair.  Her wrist, still throbbing and sore, was a swollen bright red.  As bad as she might have looked, Betty revealed in the metaphorical duality of it all.  Long ago, she might have said she was a good person, untouched by the corruption of life. Now, though, she felt as dirty and broken as she  looked.

             Pity about the boots though.  Real suede apparently didn’t mix well with the more wild side of life.  Betty didn’t dare think about what it would cost to buy Veronica a new pair.

             The pipes groaned as the water warmed up.  Peeling off her clothes was a chore, the damp, clinging clothes didn’t want to cooperate.  The wet slap of them on the floor was a loud echo as she stepped into the shower.  

             The warm water was practically sinful after tonight. She let it cascade down her skin and shut her eyes to the world around her.  Every inch of her body felt sore and bruised.  She dreaded even thinking about how she’d feel tomorrow.

             A draft of cold air sent goosebumps along her skin and Betty stilled.  She trusted Jughead, of course, and yet…

             The door shut again, and she peered around the curtain to find a set of clothing on the counter.  Her heart stopped when she recognized a grey S from so long ago.  Reluctant to let it out of her sight, Betty pulled the shower curtain to.   He’d always had a bad habit of forming sentimental attachments to things, to items that had no right to such kindness.

             But to have kept that shirt all these years?  To have kept her shirt?  Surely not.  Surely her eyes, tired and sore from lack of sleep, had deceived her.

             The ghost of her guilt churned again, deeper this time. A sharp pain went through her stomach – of guilt?  regret? hope?

             Betty picked up the bar of soap in her uninjured hand and scrubbed at her skin, hot tears running cold against her cheeks.  Careless.  She was always so careless with everything worth while.  Archie’s hands ghosted across her skin, his lips, his whispers they both knew were lies.  She was only looking for an escape, not another well to get trapped in.  This time, though, she couldn’t think of a single way to escape.

             A sob broke from her lips, and then another, and another.  She shoved her fist against her mouth and curled up at the bottom of the tub.   It was all she could do to keep from breaking up.  A part of her, the one that saw reason, was surprised it hadn’t happened earlier tonight when she’d seen Jughead half-conscious with a red welt on his forehead.  His head lolled absently against a support beam.  His hands tightly bound with duct tape.  Tight enough they were turning purple.  Those stupid glasses lay at his feet only to reflect the beam of her flashlight onto the chains that bound him.

             Images, real and imagined, flashed before her eyes. The well.  TBK laughing above her.  Polly, bound and gagged in the back of a cab.  The twins, facedown in Sweetwater. Squeeky Fromme’s dead eyes staring up at the night sky, milky and flat.  Jughead’s hands –

             Betty shook her head, trying to shake the images away. No, that hadn’t happened, she chanted internally.  It’s not real.  

             Not this time.  

             Long after the water had run cold, Betty finally came back to herself.  Her movements were slow and forced; her head felt uselessly full of cotton.  With a groan, she stood up and gasped as pins and needles threw her back to the ground.  Unable to do anything, Betty turned off the water, gritting her teeth as she waited for the feeling to come back into her legs.  

             Into her life, even.

             Now, with only the steady drip of a leaky faucet to keep her company, Betty heard just how quiet it was in the house.  The wind blew outside, stronger than ever, but it seemed as if the house itself had gone into hibernation.  Jughead had likely gone to bed, she realized.  Or maybe he’d been smart enough to know he should see a doctor after all.

             Perhaps that would be best.  Then they could both pretend tonight had never happened and go back to the chilly detente they’d found themselves living in.  

             With an anticipatory wince, Betty hauled herself up and out of the tub.  As she reached for the towel, she realized that the shirt loudly proclaimed ‘El Royale Gym’ in bright red letters.  She scowled at the dancing rooster, ordering it to be something other than it was. Clearly, though, she’d been wrong.

             Roughly, she pulled the shirt over her head, her damp hair catching at the collar, and stepped into the gym shorts.  Why she put herself through this, why she tortured herself with something so impossible –

             “Coffee’s on the counter,” Jughead said when she stepped out.  His fingers flew over the keyboard, his eyes never leaving the screen.

             At least some things never changed, she supposed. Even that, though, rang hollow after what they’d been through tonight.  

             Betty wrapped her hands around the mug, grateful for something to occupy herself with.  She sipped at it a moment, giving him the chance to say something.  Do something.  When he didn’t, she didn’t know whether she felt relief, or disappointment.

             It wasn’t until she reached the stairs that he finally spoke.

             “Just tell me why you did it,” he said.  

She hesitated, knowing that this was her own personal Maginot line. Crossing this would mean the end of one life, and the beginning of another strange reality, one where she would have no control.

“Why did you come after me?  Why didn’t you call Sheriff Keller, or Archie, or –“

“Because I’m still in love with you,” Betty said.  Her voice was no more than a soft sigh, but it was enough to bring about a sudden calmness.

The calm before the storm, she thought morbidly.  Whatever would happen now, whatever was said…

She waited, counting to a hundred.  When he didn’t say anything, she set the coffee down on a side table and went to Archie’s room, shutting the door softly behind her.

(Part 2 here)