#so that probably helps lower the stakes a lot

[rowanthestrange]

You ever heard of ‘second childing’? That thing where for your first child you read all the books, you hyperfocus on every little thing, plan out their life and time, and rush them to the doctor if they hiccup; but for your second child you just watch casually as Jessica ricochets off the coffee table and you’re like…‘eh, they’re fine’.

Second Childing this puppy hard. Are we fully puppy proofed? Beh, it’s safe. Sure the ground level food cabinet door hasn’t been reattached yet and we’re gonna see him wander in with a packet of instant noodles at some point, but whatever.

[shrimpybbq]

the thought of drew and obx actress!reader sweeping award season with their crime drama😍 maybe it’s about 2/3 seasons too to really get their characters yearning…

Hehe they’re on the red carpet at the Emmy’s with the rest of the cast but they’ve split off together to do interviews. The reporters are ecstatic at getting the main actor and actress of the hottest tv show this year in front of them. Ever the gentleman, Drew has his hand resting on her lower back as he guides them through the interview line ups.

“So Drew! Y/N! How are we feeling? Your show is predicted to sweep the awards tonight - what’s that feeling like?”

Drew looks over and obx actress!reader before smirking cheekily. “I mean… I’m honoured,” he drawled, laughing as he received a playful swat to his chest at the now-famous remark. “No, but really, it’s really rewarding to know that people are liking and appreciating our work. Just a big thank you to everyone who has watched our little show. For letting us put two seasons out as well - it’s amazing to see people have faith in us.”

When the reporter turned to obx!actress reader, she spoke too, “Pretty much just echoing Drew, but it’s been quite intense! You know, you always have hope that your project is going to do well, but seeing the way this has blown up and the love from the fans for us and these characters has been incredible!”

Drew nodded alongside her. The cameras caught the way the pair had subtly begun to lean into each other, though it was clear neither was aware of it.

“And guys, coming from Outer Banks to this kind of show, it must be crazy! You two played an on-off couple before, but now for your characters, the stakes are a lot higher. What would you say has been the most important thing to help you portray this different kind of relationship, especially balancing the really challenging scenes you’re filming?”

Drew reached for the mic first, looking towards obx actress!reader momentarily for approval before speaking. “Yeah, I think knowing each other for so long beforehand was probably the most important thing. We would always debrief after scenes and check in to make sure we were both good, just keeping ourselves in good condition.”

He passed the mic to the shorter woman by his side, turning his attention to her.

“When you’re filming scenes that put you on edge and really push you out of your comfort zone, having people you feel safe with is just so invaluable. Pedro was great with that too, and all the cast on the show really recognised the nature of what we were portraying. Drew and I had a routine that each evening after filming, we would go and get ice cream from this place near the set and just chill. It was really great to just sit silently and eat for a while, you know?”

The interviewer nodded, incredibly pleased with the answers she’d managed to get from the pair so far.

“Ok! So my last question before you go is this - who is the best dancer on the set? Drew, I know you love to show off your dance moves, but there are quite a few great dancers in the cast!”

The pair both thought silently for a moment, before obx actress!reader leaned into the mic, “it has to be Pedro! He loves a quick dance party in between takes.”

“I’m also gonna go with Pedro,” Drew chimed in.

The interviewer grinned widely, thanking them quickly as their publicist began to shuffle the actors over to the next interview stand. The camera caught the pair waving goodbye as they moved over, not failing to capture the way Drew’s hand still rested on obx actress!reader’s back. This time though, her hand was resting on his bicep as she turned to talk to him, their bodies pressed closely together. The interviewer thanked her lucky stars that the pair were so touchy because her editor was going to love this.

[somerunner]

In my high school, all you needed to get a varsity letter in cross country was, I think, to get under 19 minutes on a 5K. Most of the varsity letter requirements for other sports were similarly easy to meet. Our school wasn't known for athletics.

My first race was a little under 22 minutes long, and every year I struggled to get my time lower than 19:50.

My senior year, I had hit puberty, so I had more strength and cardiovascular fitness than before. I figured I would make it this time, and I trained as optimally as I could. I followed the coaches' directions more closely (my brother and I were once told that, given our fitness, we should never run slower than 9 minutes a mile for an easy run; it took until senior year for me to actually follow that advice). I ate well, slept...probably poorly, and I felt pretty fit compared to previous years. My dad bought me and my brothers Garmin Forerunners, which are GPS watches that can tell you your pace in the middle of a race. He came to as many of our races as he could all throughout high school, and our mom did too (she came to our middle school races in addition to high school ones -- it was no fault of our dad's, not to come to our middle school races; I find it impressive and touching that he made it to almost all of my high school ones. In middle school it was always some random distance so we never really had a consistent distance to truly compete against ourselves with. High school had bigger teams and each race always right around five kilometers, with one notable exception).

The watches helped a lot. (I still have mine from back then, but it struggles to hold a charge for a full run unless you've kept it in the charger until the minute you go running. I don't use it quite as much; I've misplaced my charger too often, and I don't want to look for it a day in advance just so my watch can tell me my strides per minute (arguably important, but I digress). I can't pace myself any better than in high school, but I don't need to because there's no exact season or race I'm training for -- though for something big, like a marathon, I will actually use the watch. My phone can record my pace for less-important runs.)

Anyway. Back to the point. I hadn't broken 19 minutes my whole senior year, and we were down to one last race. I was anxious the whole last week. The last three days, I could practically feel adrenaline seeping into every capillary like I was a sponge. It felt good, unsurprisingly to me (though that may be surprising to you). I felt ready.

The last meet was big, full of schools. I'd just learned from my dad (either that day, or just before some other race in the past week or two) that the "strides," or short almost-sprints you do a few minutes before a race, are actually important -- they prime your body for that first 100-meter dash where you stake your position for the next mile. If you don't do your strides, you'll dip into anaerobic metabolism early, and your legs might be locked up halfway through the race, and that's bye-bye sub-19:00.

I felt like I weighed like nothing. My entire body was a spring. Side note: if you've never put on racing flats/spikes, I encourage you to borrow a pair for a short run (and I mean short! Like 100 meters if you don't run, and a mile or two if you do run). It feels like there's a weightless force field on your foot, with how light it is compared to a normal shoe. It's a surreal feeling.

When we started the race, I felt a touch desperate. I ran only a little slower than my best; you're supposed to hold yourself back for the first mile. I knew that, but I glanced at my watch to see that I was averaging a 5:00/mile pace. That was WAY beyond my target pace, and I barely even noticed. That was heartening to see, but I obviously dialed the pace way, way back to 5:45/mile or something. I needed this record-breaking adrenaline to last me for three miles, not half of one.

Frankly, all I remember of that race was that first 200-meter dash and the disconnect between what I felt and what I saw on my watch. I always have that disconnect during a race, but it was especially pronounced during this race.

The next two miles were hard but good, and I broke 19. I got a massive personal record (PR) to end my high school career with; I think it was more than a minute of improved time. Which is rather insane. Improvement tends to be more incremental than that, but things like this do happen pretty often in running, especially at the relatively slow paces I ran at.

My brother broke 19 and 18 in the same race. Just skipped right over the whole 18-minutes-something-seconds window. I was over the moon for him, of course. We'd both made it past the lettering-qualification by the skin of our teeth, and at the same time, by a huge margin.

He's kept up with consistent running more than I have. He's also gotten me back into running after I semi-gave up on it, and our older brother's gotten back into running too. We, along with our dad, decided to run a marathon/half-marathon together this summer. I'd say we all did well, though I didn't train as much for it as I should have.

I've only ran one marathon so far, and it was recent, but now I'm feeling the itch. I want to run another one, I want to absolutely demolish my time. Admittedly, this is partially because I didn't practice as much as I should have, and I've seen my brothers' times, so I know how much farther I can go.

If you've come close to your (previous) best at something, you might have realized too that it was only a false summit. Could be a project within your hobby, could be a physical accomplishment, it could be anything that requires some level of effort large or small. But I hope, when you realized you could do even better than you just did, that it felt inspiring.

It's kind of a rush.

[caplanbuckybarnes]

A Vampire Friend

Summary: You were supposed to be hunting the Cullen Clan one by one./ But yet, meeting one of the more vigorous offspring might have changed your mind.

Warnings: none?

Word Count: 700ish

Read on A03!

The forest air was thick with the smell of pine, cold and sharp in your lungs as you crouched low behind the underbrush. Night had fallen hours ago, and you’d been tracking your target relentlessly. Your heartbeat thumped loudly in your ears, but your breathing stayed even. You’d done this a thousand times before — facing the unknown, facing creatures of the night. But you never expected this moment to feel so… strange.

And it didn’t help that your target wasn’t just any vampire. He was Emmett Cullen.

"You’re the vampire slayer I’ve been hearing about."

His voice sent a chill up your spine, low and amused, cutting through the silence. You hadn’t noticed him until now, suddenly standing not five feet from you, as if he’d materialized from the very shadows.

Your hand flew instinctively to your belt, grasping the hilt of your wooden stake. It wouldn't do much against his kind — the Cullens were different. But old habits died hard.

"Am I that famous?" you asked, trying to keep your voice steady. You stood, bracing yourself for whatever came next.

Emmett smiled, and in the dim light filtering through the treetops, his pale skin glowed unnaturally. His eyes, golden and bright, fixed on yours with an intensity that made you want to look away. But you didn’t. You held his gaze, unwavering.

"More like infamous." He tilted his head, taking a step closer. "Word travels fast among our kind, especially when someone like you is involved."

You tightened your grip on the stake, even though you knew it was probably useless. The Cullens weren’t the typical vampires you hunted. They didn’t feed on humans, didn’t lurk in the shadows waiting for prey. But a vampire was still a vampire, and you couldn’t afford to forget that.

"Why are you here, Emmett?" you asked, your voice more curious than accusatory. You hadn’t expected a confrontation tonight, let alone with the one Cullen you were hunting.

Emmett shrugged, crossing his arms. "I was curious. Wanted to meet the famous slayer myself. See what all the fuss was about."

"Is that right?" you asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what do you think now?"

He took another step, his smile widening. His expression was playful, far from the lethal, dangerous vampires you were used to. Still, you weren’t about to let your guard down.

"I think," Emmett began, his eyes scanning you with amusement, "that you’re a lot shorter than I expected."

You blinked, caught off guard. That was… not what you’d expected.

"Excuse me?" you asked, incredulous, lowering your stake slightly.

Emmett laughed, a booming, genuine sound that echoed through the trees. "What? I thought vampire slayers were supposed to be, I don't know, taller? More intimidating? Dirty? Gritty?"

You couldn't help the smirk that tugged at your lips. "Guess I let my reputation do the talking."

He shrugged again, still smiling. "Well, don’t let me stop you. Go ahead, slayer. Stake me." He spread his arms wide in mock surrender.

You knew he was teasing, but something about his nonchalance put you at ease. Maybe it was the fact that, unlike the others you'd faced, Emmett didn’t radiate malice or bloodlust. He was calm, almost annoyingly so.

"Yeah, that’s not happening," you muttered, sliding the stake back into your belt. Emmett raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Losing your nerve already?"

You shook your head. "No. I just don’t kill vampires who don’t kill humans. You’re off the hook...for now."

He grinned again, this time more genuinely. "Good to know." There was a pause before he added, "We could use someone like you, you know."

"Excuse me?"

Emmett stepped closer again, his expression suddenly more serious. "You’re good at what you do. We’ve heard the stories. But you’re wasting your talents hunting low-level threats. There’s more out there. Bigger things. Things that threaten us all."

You frowned. "And you want me to what? Join you?"

"Maybe." He tilted his head. "Or maybe we could help each other. You’d have backup, someone to watch your back when things get messy."

You hesitated, weighing his words. Emmett Cullen — the vampire you’d been hunting — was offering you a truce. An alliance.

And despite yourself, you were considering it.

"Think about it," he added, stepping back, his grin returning. "We’re not all bad."

With that, he turned, disappearing into the night, leaving you standing alone, your mind racing.

Maybe Emmett Cullen was right.

[writers-potion]

Have you done any posts on lying and liars? I'm looking for ways to indicate that someone is not trustworthy, without being too outright

Crafting (Subtly) Untrustworthy Characters

Hey thanks for the question! Please look at my previous post about writing liars reliably. This will be a follow-up post to the liars posting.

Get In the Head of the Character Being Cheated

Oftentimes, the signs of untrustworthiness may be clear to an onlooker, but not to the victim. This is also the reason why victims of fraud blame themselves and experience lowered self-esteem after realizing they've been cheated on.

On stepping a little away from the situation and looking back, all the red flags may be obvious. What makes a liar convincing is their ability to confound/emotionally overwhelm their victim so that they aren't able to think rationally on the spot. You can reasonably sort through a situation when you're given time to sit down and think for a day - when you're being pushed to make an important decision with high stakes within 2 minutes? Probably not.

You can get away with describing obvious signs of untrustworthiness, but framing them from the POV of the victim who is too scared/tired/intimidated to think properly.

A character who is young, with limited people experience, won't be able to pick up on the signs even though they're right in front of them.

So the goal here is to place the right signs there, with enough emotional/atmospheric fluff that prevents your victim from being perceptive.

Signs of Untrustworthiness

Making little changes in what they've said. Rather than going back on their promises fully, they make smaller changes, e.g. "actually, I'm only available on Tuesday after 9pm, not Monday."

They don't own up to their mistakes. There's always a good reason for their wrongdoings. Always.

They bring up emotionally uncomfortable topics to make the other feel guilty when they want to push for something they want.

They talk a lot about how they are loving/kind, but when you actually ask them for something, they back out.

"It's going to be different next time."

They say they have a strict moral code/discipline, but keep bending them, making excuses as to how the "circumstances are different" and "just this time."

If someone wants to cheat you, they'll try to make you feel special, saying things like, "you're the only one" or "who else can I ask for this?"

They accuse you of being untrustworthy.

"Future faking" where they act like the things they promised are just within your reach, but they're just deceptions.

They get into the victim/martyr mode when you try to place blame on them.

They use half-truths, leaving out the most important parts of the information to cloud your judgement.

They treat you like a king/queen when you're with other people, but cut you down when you're alone. This can also work vice versa.

Hope this helps! Happy writing :)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

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[maximumqueer]

In lieu of the second season of OPLA starting production, I want to talk about my mixed feelings on the first season of it.

Because I got into the anime and manga through the live action. So I will always like it at least a little bit for introducing me to honestly my favorite piece of media ever. But now that I'm caught up with the anime and manga, and know the characters and story better, I find myself having more criticisms of it.

The overall narrative is rushed in a way that leads to important character moments being glossed over. Syrup Village in OPLA is a good example. Usopp does a lot less in the live action, most of his big emotional beats cut for what I can only assume were time constraints. Reducing Gin's role to a one time appearance, and the Don Krieg Pirates to a cameo also feels like a product of the limited runtime, and cheapens Sanji's reasoning joining the crew, as we never get that moment where Luffy witnesses him feeding a starving man, and decides then that Sanji will be is cook. Replacing it instead with Luffy seeing him fight and tasting his food. Which in my opinion kinda misses the point of why Luffy wanted him to join. And that was because of Sanji's kindness, which is not nearly as present in the live action.

OPLA also removes a lot of side characters from the islands the main cast visit, making the world feel smaller, and the stakes lower. Like, the reason I personally cared so much about Luffy and Co. helping out places like Orange Town, Syrup village, Cocoyashi Village, is the people that live there who we get to know (in the anime and manga). I feel far more invested actually knowing the names of several of the people and the village, and knowing that their lives will be better after the big bad is taken down. It's not just a fight for the sake of having a fight, but a fight to help out a group of people who need it.

These characters also end up trying to free themselves from the big bad. Them playing an active roll, and not just being used as hostages (like they were in the live action) is just so quintessential to One Piece in my opinion. Having characters native to the island already willing to stand up to the force controlling them, and Luffy's involvement being to aid them, and not just swoop in a save a group of passive bystanders who were simply waiting for a hero to save them, is subversive for shonen (hell just fantasy in general) and having the live action remove that just feels wrong, as characters having freedom and agency is a big overarching theme in One Piece that has been there since day one.

Then there is the characterization. Zoro is probably the most egregious change. Zoro (bur especially pre-ts Zoro) was far goofier than his live action counterpart. And I do think that that level of goofiness is essential to him as a character. Like, I cannot picture OPLA Zoro attempting to cut off his feet, fail, and then decide to strike a cool pose while he is slowly turning into a wax statue. I cannot picture that version of the character beefing with a bird while lost, when said bird is LITERALLY a compass. OPLA Zoro just feels like your stereotypical stoic cool guy, when he is very much not. He is a bit of a loser (affectionate) and to see him be treated like he isn't feels off. Nami and Sanji are closer to their anime/manga counterparts, but are still different.

OPLA Sanji is not pathetic enough. To use an analogy, OLPA Sanji would take off his coat to place it over a puddle so a pretty woman didn't have to get her shoes and feet wet. Anime/manga Sanji would hurl his body onto the ground, and have the woman use his back to prevent getting her shoes and feet wet. They said this change was to dial down the more pervy parts of his character, which is fair. But that aspect of his character only really starts up in a bad way in Thriller Bark. The part of the series that adapted was when Sanji was pretty much only presented as a hopeless romantic who worships the ground all women walk on and would do anything a woman asked of him.

Nami is similar to Zoro, in that she is just to serious. They both lack the whimsy their anime/manga counterparts have. And she just feels a bit more one dimensional in the live action because of it.

As for Luffy. Him referring to himself as a "good pirate" just feels all sorts of wrong. He has never shied away from that label, and never has had any issue with being lumped in with "bad" pirates in the anime/manga. He never was angry about being framed for crimes, but I get the feeling that OPLA Luffy would be more likely to be angry about that, because he is a "good" pirate. This Luffy doesn't feel like he would go on a rant about not wanting to be viewed as a hero. They also made him nicer overall, and this sounds like a weird thing to complain about, but Luffy not holding his tongue and just telling people how he feels about them, positive or negative, is what makes him as a character work. Is what separates him from a typical run of the mill shonen protag. Him being a kind, but not nice and overall blunt in conversation is pretty integral to his character, and I can't help but feel that the writers and directors of the live action were afraid of keeping this character trait because it could make him unlikeable. (despite that fact that he as been #1 in literally every One Piece popularity poll)

And obviously this is not a critique on the actors, I think they did a phenomenal job portraying their respective characters. This is more about how the writers/directors/producers decided to adapt and change the characters.

I kind of suspected that when I watched the anime (a more one to one adaptation of the manga) as well as read the manga (the source material) that I would end up having more issues with the live action. I do still like it for what it is, and I'm planning on watching the second season when it comes out, I just wanted to share how my opinion on it changed after reading/watching and catching up with the anime and manga.

[leebrontide]

Ok so I said I would do a post on “reasons you’re not writing” from the POV of a writer/therapist who works with anxious, depressed, and neurodivergent clients. If you dig that, read on.

But firstly, a disclaimer. This list is far from comprehensive. Don’t yell at me if your experience isn’t represented. This is a tumblr post. Have realistic expectations.

Also, sometimes the reason you’re not writing is that your other obligations are just taking all of your energy and focus. Fixing that is well beyond the scope of this.

That said, here’s a bunch of barriers I see people run into all the time.

1) You’re afraid of failing, and subconsciously feel like it’s safer not to try.

This is a tricky one, because it's probably messing up many areas of your life, which in turn means you're going to frequently feel stressed out in general, which speaks to the point above.

This is around about where the general internet will tend to offer you an array of affirmations to use to sooth yourself. And that's fine. If those work for you, then use them! BUT, if the affirmations aren't working, then friend you have a bigger project on your hands.

You need to get comfortable with failing, particularly at creative projects. I know that can feel scary and vulnerable, but you won't take risks if you can't fail, which is going to hem in your creativity so hard that your motivation will starve. This is why people talk about writing a garbage draft. Not because they want to make garbage, but because they need the option of making garbage in order to take risks. That may or may not work for you, but either way, you really might wanna look at how to lower your stakes.

2) You’re not sure what you’re trying to communicate.

You can make things happen in the story, but you feel like you’re wandering around aimlessly. You don't find you're making decisions with conviction. It might be hard to really fall in love with any of your writing decisions.

For this one, I suggest stepping back and figuring out what the core of your enthusiasm for a story consists of. That CAN be a message or philosophy. It can also be a feeling or a vibe or a dynamic. That gives you a structure that you can build your decisions around, that you can be enthusiastic about.

3) You switched hyperfocus. And maybe your new hyperfocus is a lot of fun, but you feel sadness thinking about the WIP you left behind.

This one has a similar need to the one before, with an added layer of nuance, because you're probably already struggling with identifying what does interest you. This can make people feel really hopeless and helpless.

I have three totally different suggestions for this one. The first is to just be patient with yourself. Sometimes it's good for your brain to just indulge, and let your brain mine for dopamine where it can. Like, lean in. Spa day for your brain, as long as it's feeling good.

Secondly, see if you can find creative ways to weave your hyperfocus into your writing. Is there a dynamic in your favorite show that can inspire your writing, even if it's an original work? Do you want to take a moment to think about how transportation works in the history of your world? Can you consider your MCs relationship to old movies?

It doesn't always work, but sometimes instead of trying to switch things over, you can build a bridge, that gives depth and texture to your work.

Finally- consider embracing short fiction! Do some writing inspired directly by the hyperfocus du joir while it's around.

4) You feel like nothing you say will be interesting to anyone else.

We understand this is a self-esteem issue, right? You're gonna have to develop the trust that your experiences are not so utterly unrelatable to everyone else that your perspective has no value.

Friend, you are a human, with human experiences, writing for other humans. Trust me, you can do this.

It can help to think about your actual convictions. What do you know? What have you experienced? What matters to you? Funnily enough, the cure for feeling like nothing in you is worth expressing is to pour more of yourself into your writing.

5) You’re collapsed. It’s hard to feel enthusiasm and energy for things.

You're not gonna like this, but for this one I encourage you to put your keyboard or notebook down and stop trying to write right now. I know that when you're feeling better the writing feels good, and you're trying to feel better because everyone is telling you to feel better.

But it's not working, is it? If it was, you wouldn't be reading this.

For many people, writing requires them to be able to feel investment and excitement, because those feelings help steer them towards what's going to work and be exciting for the reader.

Your best bet is to focus your energy on finding gentle little activities that aren't so hard to focus on. Ideally, ones that get you moving just a little bit. You'll have a better time writing when you're less collapsed.

Shaming yourself and getting hopeless and anxious because you can't do this really difficult task right now will make you more collapsed, not less, which will be the opposite of helpful.

And yes, these are depression symptoms. Consider reaching out for supports and assessment around that if you can.

6) You can’t figure out the next step.

Thank God for the internet, this one is a lot more actionable than it used to be.

The first thing to do here is step back and ask yourself "where am I getting lost?" If you have someone to talk this through with, even better.

Then you hop on to your favorite search engine and type in "Stuck on my outline 2nd act" or "can't get started editing" or whatever. People LOVE giving writing advice. There's plenty around. Read some advice! Try things out!

Now here is the critical point- when and if that advice fails, stop and figure out why it failed. For example, I have a short term memory disorder. Most writing process advice is for people who do not have short term memory impairments. So a lot of the advice just plain didn't work for me.

By figuring out that my subpar memory was in the way of my writing process, I was able to put together processes that work for my specific brain and my specific process. You can read about that in more depth here and here.

Frankenstien yourself a process out of stolen bits of other people's processes, with an understanding of your own personalized needs as the lightning that brings it all to life. If you have even traits of ADHD or autism or other forms of neurodiversity (no diagnosis needed) you might also google "ADHD editing hacks".

Finally, and maybe most importantly, chuck anything that you can't adapt right into the trash. I don't care how great the writer who gave the advice is. That's what works for their life and their brain. You have neither. Writing advice is only as useful as it is adaptable.

7) You think of yourself as someone who doesn’t finish things, possibly with history to back that up.

Oh, I feel this one. This was me so hard. For so long.

Make room for the idea that you can and will change over time. Getting shit done is largely a matter of developing a bunch of skills. You've already developed so many different skills in your life that you might not even recognize some of them as skills. But I promise you that you have.

But you see #6? Go read that one again. If you're not finishing things, it's because there's something missing in your routine and process that you haven't developed skills around yet.

I'm not gonna tell you it's easy, but you can find and isolate the barriers and figure out ways around them.

8) You have too many projects and feel frozen when you try to pick one to work on.

Ask yourself if this is a real problem. It may be! Maybe you dream of making a living off of your writing! That requires a level of consistency.

But it also might just be that you've had it drilling into your head that not finishing things is some kind of personal failing.

Write out all your WIPs and story seeds.

See if some of them can be mushed into one. Some AMAZING stories come from people combining story ideas that seem separate into a single story. That's fun.

See if some of them are not for finishing. What's that post going around? Some stories are for finishing, and some are just for "getting the wiggles out"? That's solid advice.

Maybe some stories are just for daydreaming on the bus. Maybe some stories are actually only 1/3rd of a story, and you want to leave it to grow in the ground before you try to do anything with it. That's incredibly valid and common!

If you actually look at the stories that you have that are for finishing, right now, you may find a much more manageable number. And if you only have like 2 or 3 things you're working on, you can just let them take turns as the passion for each project takes you.

Keep a file somewhere of these undeveloped ideas. I have a scrivner file that has each idea it's own little sub-document so I can add thoughts to them for years as they percolate.

9) You get lost in preparation and don’t make it to the page.

A couple different things can be happening here. One thing that may be happening is that you're just a writer who needs a lot of research and prep time before you write. I'm like that. I will prewrite intensively for a year before I write a single sentence. That sounds ridiculous to a lot of people but it works with how my brain works and then when I do start writing I can easily and happily churn out a consistent 2-4k words per hour. If it works it works! Don't let anyone shame you!

The other option is that you feel like you're going to get something wrong/fail/get in trouble if you get anything "wrong". You feel safer doing research, so that's where you stay.

Only you can figure out which it is. Introspect. Then you know whether to focus on managing anxiety or just keep preppin.

10) You want to write, but when you sit down to write suddenly it’s two hours later and you’ve written like 5 words but curated 3 new playlists, read some fanfiction, and argued with some strangers on the internet.

Brains are rough, aren't they.

There are two schools of thought here. Both work, but not for all the same people.

Option 1 is to clear distractions. Download one of those apps that keeps you off the internet. Put your phone someplace that you need a ladder to reach, so you have to very actively decide to go get it. Noise cancelling headphones. Comfy clothes. Protein rich snacks and a beverage within easy reach. Pee ahead of time. Make a routine out of it to train your brain into associating this with focus.

Option 2 is to figure out the optimal level of distraction. When I write nonfiction I almost always have mindless home renovation shows on at the same time. Because nonficiton writing isn't quite stimulating enough to hold my attention. So my attention wanders and I end up doing something that WILL hold my attention. When I write fiction, I need music OR to be outdoors where I can look at trees or clouds or people on the sidewalk. I can't watch any kind of TV.

Think of your attention like a pie chart. Different writing tasks may take up different percentages of that pie. If you're awesome at focus maybe you can just put 90% of your focus on writing, and the other 10% is just making sure you don't forget to eat or something. But if you can't reliably conjure up more than 70% for one thing, then fill the rest of the pie with things you can easily pick up and put down. I only look up at the home decorating shows when my passive audio scanning suggests it's something I want to look up at.

These are both good approaches. Ignore anyone who demonizes either. That only means they've found the version that works for them.

You have your brain. Build a process for your brain.

I hope this helps. I have a free monthly newsletter if you like hearing my rants. It is...not consistently about writing advice or mental health. One time I wrote about how genetically modified goats are related to French colonized Madagascar in the 1800s as well as the modern US military. One time I broke down modern challenges to medical privacy practice policies. This is all to do with what I write but in an idiosyncratic way.

Cause I gotta write about what I care about.

[heallearngrow3]

blue and green

part 6 | blue and green

pairing: Connor x f! Reader

summary: “Were you selfish?”

warnings: none

masterlist

The place was full of smoke. It filled your lungs, rushed through your veins all the way to your core. You were shaking, your moves uncontrolled, legs trembling and when the speakers turned louder, your movements became erratic. The club was crowded, bodies pushed against each other, and perhaps that was the reason why you didn’t pick up on the hand placed against the small of your back. The palm gently rubbed the sensitive skin which wasn’t covered by your top, the touch light and comforting. You turned around and locked eyes with an unmistakable gaze - blue and green - and immediately took a catious step back. The effect of the vodka weared off in a split second, and suddenly you were awfully aware of the man standing in front of you. Your fingers twitched.

“Marcus.” his name on your lips sounded foreign, the uncomfortable realization of who the hand belonged to got you stumbling with your words. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer, but gestured to a brown haired woman dancing a few steps further, her skin glistening with sweat. She bobbed her head to the rythme of the song playing without care, her LED hidden by her messy strands stuck together.

“Her name is North. She wanted to go crazy before...” he didn’t finish his sentence.

“Before what?” the two of you were unmoving, staring at each other. “Before what, Marcus?”

The people around you didn’t take notice of his presence, probably because most of them only saw him without his skin. All that was broadcasted were replayed by the news channels again and again, analyzing and criticizing everything that was said.

“How’s Carl? Is he getting better?”

You let out a small sigh.

“Yes. The altercation with Leo took a tool on him but he’s getting better.”

“I am glad to hear that.” he took a quick glance at North. “You could help us.” he evaded your previous question. “You have access to everything that is in connection with CyberLife.

You shook your head in disbelief.

“No, I cannot. You brought this onto yourself. I am not a criminal nor an accomplice.” your voice was harsh, but you intended to make it clear to Markus: you couldn’t help him. There was a lot on your plate already. You had to make him understand that there was more at stake than your job. You were playing with your freedom. Your life.

“But you helped us before. You helped me, [Name].”

“Because you were important to Carl. Not because I set a high value on the revolution.”

He looked taken aback by your response.

“We need you.” his eyes darkened. “You are close to the fire.”

“And I won’t let it burn me.”

You were still, holding his gaze intently. He looked determined, ready to convince you by any means, and his face held endless secrets which you wanted to reveal. You wanted to shout, scream that even if you wanted to, the risk wasn’t worth it. You would be putting your life on the line, and the idea that you could loose everything you’ve worked for left a bad tasting bile in your throat.

“We need you.” he put an emphasis on the last word. “I need you.”

You stepped in front of him, closing the distance between you.

“And I want to stay alive.”

Were you selfish? Were you so full of yourself, so proud, that you confused good and evil? Was Marcus right, were you really needed to win this unaccounted for fight? The pang of guilt inside your chest was an awful echo, whispering that you were refusing to see reality.

“I understand.” he nodded. “The next time we’ll see each other, things are going to be…different.”

You didn’t say anything. You didn’t have to.

“I wish you the best, [Name].”

You couldn’t get your legs moving, instead, you watched his retreating form. His muscles created a perfectly orchestrated harmony which contradicted to his previous feather-like touch on your lower back.

Markus was getting ready for something. Something that could change the world.

All of the alcohol you drank left your body in a few seconds, and you felt your sobriety taking over the control of your body. You moved swiftly in the ocean of bodies sticking together and clawed your way out into the opened terrace. The smoking area was a few feet wide, fitting for a few people and you took a breath of the chilly night air. Your hands rammed through the pocket of your denim jacket tied around your waist and when you found the small box you took out a cigarette and lit it with one move.

Breathing in, you inhaled the bittersweet poison.

You wanted to have a shower, washing away your doubts.

Footage of the march was posted on every news outlet, every screen reflecting Marcus leading the crowd to a halt in front of the police, putting their hands up and pledging innocence and peace and getting shot one by one. The public opinion was sympathetic, supporting the deviants efforts for equality and justice, the way they protested for their rights and recognition appealed to people.

You wondered how far they would go for their preferred outcome.

You switched off the television, going to back to the papers on your desk waiting to be looked over. You also had to take care of the androids hidden in the storage room. You had their passports but you needed to call Rose to talk her into taking them in for the night. Her house was a secured shelter, one of its kind, and you were utterly grateful for her generosity. Offering a safe place to the lost was more than a crime. It was a death warrant.

Marcus and the rest of Jericho was on the verge of starting a never ending war between rebellious machines and close minded humans. The latter were unsure, fearing for their own survival and safety. Detroit was less of a city and more of a paradise of progress with endless possibilities but to some, developing meant risking their comfort, their normality.

You opened the top drawer of your desk and took out the small envelope. It was time to give instructions to the three androids you were hiding.

It was late and the tower was already empty. The halls were silent, your steps seemed louder than ever, and the three passports you were holding were burning your hands. You stepped into your laboratory, and opened the storage room’s door. It revealed the three androids standing inside with a small hiss.

“I’m here to get you out.” you said quietly. “First you need to go to this location. There’s a woman called Rose, you can stay the night there and leave the next morning to cross the border. Here.” you pulled out the envelope. “Three bus tickets and your passports. Try to evade any detection and scans.”

The three of them nodded in appreciation.

“I’m going to have to put you in this crate. It was used to contain new androids who were yet to be activated. There is enough space for you. We have to go through security and you can’t just waltz out of here on your own.” seeing their expressions, you added. “You will be safe, but you have to trust me.”

They glanced at each other and looked back at you.

“Alright.” said one of them.

“Let’s do this.” you motioned to the huge box, signaling for them to get in.

The stepped inside with uncertainty on their faces.

You didn’t encourage them, instead, you patiently waited until they got in. Their eyes were filled with panic, fear, you realized, and you casted them a smile before you shut the door.

You moved the crate with a pallet truck and rolled it out to the elevator. The tower was silent, the soft noise of the wheels was a harsh scream in the void. You pushed the large, metal box into the lift abd waited till it closed to identify yourself with your voice.

“[Name] detected. Alarm deactivated.”

When you got to the parking garage you moved the crate through the cement floor and gently pushed it onto the truck of your Ford. It landed with a gentle puff, and after you got into the driver seat you started the car with shaking hands.

There you were. Doing what almost got you killed a year ago.

Rose’s house was a idyllic cottage outside Detroit. She secretly supported the deviants’ movement with a place to stay and helped androids by smuggling them to Canada, a safe country to start over.

She was kind. Too kind in your eyes.

You drove the three androids to her home and called out James’ name to find the older woman. Her son was different from her in many aspects, he despised what his mother was doing and voiced his concerns every time you were present. You understood him in a way: it was dangerous and full of obstacles. No one wanted to get involved is this mess but Rose was certain that it was the right thing to do and you didn’t have the heart to plainly doubt her.

“James!” your high pitched voice ranged out in the snowy field. “James!”

“I’m here!” came the reply from the glass house behind the home.

You followed the noise and found the teenager inside. He was holding and axe and you smiled at him before looking around.

“I’m trying not find Rose. Is she here?” you asked.

“She’s in the kitchen.” he answered skittishly. “Why are you looking for her?”

“I have three androids with me. They need to cross the border to Canada.” you knew what he thought before his reaction.

He looked down nervously and then glanced back at you.

“There was a policeman here earlier.” he said. “He asked…questions. We need to be careful.”

You nodded in understanding.

“I promise you everything will go smoothly.” you assured him gently. “Be safe, James.” you added.

Rose was standing in front of the stove, stirring something in a metal pot. Her hand on her hip was her signature stand and you couldn’t help the smile forming on your lips.

“Hey, Rose. Long time no see.” she turned around and when she realized who was talking smiled widely at you. You knew her for a long time, longer than you dared to look back in time. Much like you, she was unlike anyone else, appearing to be an ordinary citizen hiding her true self to deceive others.

“How can I help you? I haven’t seen you in months!” she squeaked.

“I got three androids on the loose with me. Can you help them get across the border?”

The looped smile of hers calmed your rampaging nerves.

“Of course.”

“They are in the car.” your expression was shaded by worry. “I’ll tell them to come in.”

You stepped outside and took a deep breath for the first time after hours. You finally felt like you could breathe again.

[mashithamel]

When I first heard Rand would be working in a sanitarium in season 2 and he’d have a friend named Errol, I was kind of annoyed. Why would they spend precious time in a location and on a character that aren’t in the books, when there is so much ground to cover and so many characters to introduce?

But they used this setting and this character so economically, and so efficiently, that I have been completely converted. They didn’t waste a moment of screentime for Errol, and in only a few minutes justified his creation as a terrific vehicle for exposition and to introduce so many important concepts.

As soon as Rand walks in the door we’re introduced to the Aiel War (specifically—I means we got Blood Snow last season but it wasn’t put in a lot of context). We get a personal view into how much Cairhein specifically was affected by it (the effects of which are mentioned a couple more times this season), as well as giving it a relative timeframe—Errol is much older than Rand, so it wasn’t just a few years ago.

We are reminded that Rand looks like the Aiel even with shaving his head, reminding us about his adoption and that he’s an outsider. Here in Cairhein, even when people know and like him, the citizens are likely to have a gut reaction of surprise or fear when they first see him, something that may contribute to his difficulties ruling the place down the road. We are reminded that they are considered fierce fighters, and introduce that their women also fight and are considered deadly.

We are introduced to sword forms! We didn’t get Lan training Rand in either season (although it sounds like we will finally get it next season!), so it’s nice to learn he’s been getting at least some introductory training if he’s going to be a blademaster eventually. It’s also very consistent with the books for Rand to take advantage of opportunities to learn whatever and from whoever he can. We’re reminded about Rand’s heron-marked blade (before it does its important thing and melts in episode 8) and make the connection that it is carried by blademasters.

So importantly, we see how kind Rand is. He clearly knows and likes this crazy old man who’s calling for the guards. He speaks to him kindly without a trace of annoyance that they’re having the same conversation they do everyday (anyone who cares for people with dementia can probably understand that is really hard at times!). He puts Errol’s shoes on for him. This isn’t quite washing feet, which Biblically speaking is an act of humbling one’s self, but it’s definitely the sort of thing you wouldn’t expect the Promised One to be doing routinely. Right now it’s his job to do, but he does it with the care and compassion you might have for an elderly family member. He defends and comforts Errol when another employee is cruel. At heart Rand is kind and loving. Killing, ordering executions, sending people into danger where some will definitely die are all things he will need to do as Dragon Reborn, and his struggle with this will inform a large part of his arc over the next few seasons.

We see the inequality of the Cairheinin system (and then more blatently at the dinner party). Unsurprisingly the Cairheinin separate their health care by wealth and power, and it sounds like the poor ones may not even have a garden to walk around in? The Two Rivers doesn’t really have this type of inequality, and some of the first things Rand does in the books as the Dragon Reborn is make the elite start treating the poor and lower classes more fairly.

And of course we get PTSD and mental illness. Both PTSD and fears of going mad are important for Rand later, so this early introduction helps define the stakes for him.

It was such a short scene, and I’m sure there are other details those with more skill could expand on (the horse that Rand sets upright? the color palate?). I just really appreciated how much the writers crammed into an original character to help lay the groundwork not just for this season but for seasons (hopefully) to come.

[chaifootsteps]

sarcastic productions did a vid recently about this thing called Tone Armor and it explains something I've had issues with in HB but struggled to articulate

so Tone Armor is, to simplify it (but I do recommend the vid) what the audience understands the stakes of the show to be. I.e. in a Loony Tunes short no one expects a character to be seriously hurt falling off a cliff, getting shot in the face, getting a piano dropped on them, etc. It's kind of part of suspension of disbelief - some shows exploit tone armor by having an early twist that goes against the conventions of the genre. The twist in Madoka Magica ep3 works entirely off this - if you've seen a lot of magical girl shows like Sailor Moon and Cardcaptors you're used to their stakes and you don't expect anyone to really die. In ep3, someone really dies.

And that's a big problem I have with HB - it can't keep its stakes or tone consistent to save its life. In Harvest Moon, Stella hiring Striker to kill Stolas is played like a dark comedy joke. We're supposed to take it like a dramatic beat but also a kind of wacky demon thing. But then The Circus drastically shifts the tone and expects us to treat Stolas and Stella as a straight example of domestic violence - which they do by having her try to slap him, something which is much less violent than the hit she's already ordered on him episodes before. They've already had Stella escalate to the end point most abusers get to, played it as a joke, and they want to turn around and demand the audience instead take it seriously instead of treating it like just a thing demons do? It was already shaky ground in ep5 whether we should judge Stella for ordering a hit given that the premise of the show used to be about imps running an assasination business, and their targets used to be in Hell!

The show also can't make up its mind whether the audience should be worried about the characters being in real danger at any moment in time. Western Energy is the absolute nadir for this - one minute Stolas is dodging holy bullets like he knows he's in danger, the next he's calling Blitzo and speaking with no more urgency than he did when he hired him as a bodyguard in Loo Loo Land (and the episode seems to expect us to blame Blitzo for not dropping everything to help him? Why wasn't Stolas screaming in terror on the phone then???). Worse, when he gets cut off Stolas says out loud 'am I in danger right now?' like he wasn't just tied up on the back of a horse bound with blessed rope. What in gods name happened to his intelligence in this episode?

Then it's right back to wacky hijinks right as the tone was starting to shift with the Striker song from the imp trio and Stolas is still making jokes ('how does one get their own theme song?') until the episode then decides it's going to be serious and act like the audience should be worried Stolas could die. Besides the fact Viv was never going to kill her Creator's Pet, it is way too late to demand an audience buy into this plot line on a dramatic level. To make it worse half the fight scene is scored with a bubblegum pop song on the radio and it keeps cutting to the much lower stakes Blitzo trying to get Loona to take her shot, like it makes any sense at all to cross cut between the two! That episode is absolute garbage imo and I have no idea why it ended up the way it did outside of Viv probably insisting there needed to be a plot device that would render Stolas helpless (which begs the question how Striker hasn't managed to finish off half of Hell's nobles by now if he has blessed rope or at least Stolas, given he's also dumb enough not to bother using his eye powers or his demonic form earlier - the power levels in this show are also massively inconsistent)

And then to put the cherry on a very bad cake Blitzo asks 'he can get hurt?' like he didn't already know blessed weapons exist and he didn't already fight Striker for trying to kill Stolas with one of them (which he should have let him do to spare us all the badness of this never-ending plotline)

Extremely good point.

Tone armor is definitely a thing, and Viv's problem is that she wants it to be both ways. She wants this show to be Looney Tunes and Madoka, and she wants to alternate back and forth between the two whenever she pleases, and when her audience inevitably complains or is confused, to blame them.

And that's not how this works.

[charrfie]

Ok, still salty over Two Realms (it SUCKED) so gotta ask you, how would YOU have done a third drawn to life game (I've kinda wanted one with wilfre seemingly being the antagonist at first before him either being dethroned or he was actually trying to help and fumbling it BADLY)

Ohhh I'm just so excited that people are so interested in my thoughts to the point I keep getting asks related to the topic!!!!! ^_^ Thank you it's very exciting to be able to talk to everyone like this. I don't often publicly interact with the fandom because of some bad experiences I've had in it some years ago but it seems like the environment of it has changed a lot... maybe I should be more vocal about my interest in the series? Everyone who's being so nice about it has been such a big help. That's unrelated to your question, I just wanted to express appreciation!

Now, to actually answer you lol.. I put this under a read more again since it's a little lengthy, but not NEARLY as long as my previous ask

-

Fellow two realms hater 🤝 It was just such a letdown idk where I would even start. The glaringly obvious answer is the actual gameplay itself what with the level design/lack of stylus being how it was but I think my personal biggest problem was the story itself. It seemed to retcon or at least gloss over a lot of the plot from previous games which not only felt clunky but overall lowered the stakes to such a degree... it made me not care about the character drama nearly as much. Which is such a shame! Drawn to life and drawn to life: the next chapter are genuinely my #1 most favorite video games to ever exist. I mean this with no exaggeration. Even if they're kind of bad. Lol. But!!! The potential that the story and characters have in the original two games completely reels me back in!!! There's SO much there, even if it's not put together with the most grace. The subject matter is so serious and something so rarely talked about, ESPECIALLY for the age demographic it was aimed towards. These characters feel so real!!! So fleshed out!!!! It's endlessly compelling!!!!!!!!

All this being said, I think what I would do is make dtl:tr a lot more character/story driven since thats such a major appeal for me in previous entries. While it's even more evident in two realms, both dtl and dtl:tnc do have levels that tend to be a big of a slog to get through in comparison to the 10 seconds of story the player might get as a reward; there would need to be more balance.

As for what this story would actually contain.... I'm a little conflicted. While I'm not the biggest fan of aldark as a villain (he kind of came out of nowhere just to fill a necessary role of "evil"), I *do* like the idea of wilfre being replaced rather than coming back again, and I REALLY REALLY REALLY like the concept of the shadow that controlled wilfre garnering the strength to present itself as a physical manifestation rather than a conduit. I don't even mind if it functions as a solely evil entity! There's something to be said for that just as there's something to be said for wilfre being more morally gray anti-hero than pointlessly evil villain. I'd love to do something in this vein, though probably leave the human world out of it? Or at least keep it very vague. The raposa world gives us as the viewers enough plausible deniability to accept ridiculous/strange events without question.... it's only because the human world is so painfully realistic that the ending of dtl:tnc has the effect it does. So needless to say that's a no on keeping it as the main storyline.

I really like your idea of wilfre trying to help and then fumbling. That's similar to what I wished for when two realms was first announced actually! I sooooo badly wanted to see him trying and failing to adjust to normalcy again post him being freed of the shadow's influence, which I talked about VERY briefly here following the games announcement. I'd love to see him trying to make amends with those he had hurt (a la "ice king apology tour" from the marcy & simon comics), rediscovering who he even is as an individual again, or parsing through what his relationship with the creator has become. It opens up for some pretty interesting conversations. Especially considering how much shit other raposa might give him when he fails to help in the way they expect him to. At the same time, I'd love to get some more dialogue on where jowee and mari are at in their lives. How mari handles leadership (as she actively struggled with it in dtl and dtl:tnc), if jowee has allowed himself to exist outside of the scope of others and their judgement/expectations, etc. The fact that those two get married at the end of two realms threw me for such a loop.... because even when nothing was actively threatening them in dtl:tr they still bickered so much? I'd really like to delve into how people can naturally grow apart as they age and come to understand they may not be right for those they grew up with, as painful as that realization may be. A remake of two realms could also be a cool way of having circi introduced into official canon since she's way too interesting of a character to be constainte to the non-canon wii game.

These are all the story changes I know for a fact I'd like. But it's hard to say definitively what the plot would be other than designating an antagonist concept and the general themes which would be at play. I'm not quite sure what or how a manifested shadow antagonist would again threaten the safety of the raposa world! I figure any retconning necessary for the raposa world to even exist in the first place could be as simple as "oh I knew we could trust the creator to establish a new world for us," which would also heavily contribute to wilfre's character struggles in a very interesting way. So that's not too big of a problem. Drawn to life has bullshitted more complicated things away than just that. I'll have to keep thinking! Maybe I can work up a proper dtl:tr rewritten au alongside the other two aus I have.

I'd love to hear other thoughts about a potential remake of two realms if anyone has them!

[tryingmy-positivelybest]

Rebels rewatch liveblog: Season 1, Episode 4: “Fighter Flight”

I love how Ezra immediately tries to flirt with Sabine - it’s very realistic for a 15 yo boy. I like that they just ended up as friends/siblings though, it shows both of their character development and maturity

…

Thank god Chopper never met the 501st because his little shit instincts would have overdeveloped

…

Kothal on Lothal? How on earth did they get that?

…

We really don’t give a lot of credit to Hera, she deserves more 😭😭

…

Okay but why does the Empire need meilooruns?

…

Usually when characters speak to themselves it sounds odd and sort of like a video game, but in Rebels they do a good job of making it sound natural

…

Zeb’s insistence that Ezra and him need to be even makes me wonder if the Lasats had a life-debt culture? It’s canon in other cultures such as gungans, so it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch…

…

I love Hera and Sabine’s dynamic

…

“THE KIDS”?? “THE KIDS”?? You are correct sir, you and Hera and the exhausted parents, Zeb is the older brother, Sabine is the cooler older sister that everyone is intimidated by, and Ezra is the disaster youngest who’s the parents favorite and no one can stay mad at. (Honorable mention: Vodka uncle Chopper)

…

Rebels s1 shows the Empires day to day, which I love. Sort of like Andor but with much lower stakes - of course they’re taking farms, of course they’re buying meilooruns at a local market.

…

I love the reference to a new hope ❤️❤️

…

Ezra’s absurdly powerful for someone who’s only trained with the force for like?? a week?? Like he’s already sensing obstacles and pushing buttons. Speaking of, i think that it would have been interesting to explore the idea of Ezra using the force before he met the Ghost crew - not knowing what it is, just knowing that it helps to convince storekeepers to give him food

…

“You did all this for fruit” stormtrooper you will always be famous

…

Ezra it’s YOUR backpack 1. Why do you not know what’s in it?? And 2. Why do you have a WRENCH?

…

Brother brother bonding time by killing stormtroopers and hiding stolen vehicles <3

…

Zeb trying to show that he cares by giving Ezra the helmet, only for Ezra to dismiss it is so sad, but it probably speaks volumes for the social skills that Ezra couldn’t develop on the streets (he took it tho <33)

[usopps-devotee]

[knocks at your door but puts a note through your window]

Sorry for dumping these thoughts into your inbox but I don’t do writing and aint none of the friends I got on here are into OP let alone will understand the Feelings I Feel for cringe lord Buggy. Feel free to ignore, I just gotta get it out my system. Also feel free to ignore because boobies is involved here.

But if not —

Say for some reason, despite not having any especial performance ability what.so.ever, you’re part of his crew. But you want to prove yourself. You’ve been training your upper and lower body strength, trying to at least learn how to hang upside down. And you finally get it. It’s a small victory and you know for anyone else, he’d probably shoot ‘em dead for thinking that was worth getting excited for but you have a sibling suspicion that the Genius Jester has a soft spot for you. So one day while practices are going on, you excitedly tell him to watch how far you’ve come with the intention of holding yourself upside down for five whole minutes.

You don’t even make it to one.

Not because your body gives up, but because after only 20 seconds, you get a wardrobe malfunction. You swore you tucked your shirt in, you really did. But maybe it wasn’t enough. Because you feel a draft, you feel cloth brushing where it shouldn’t, and you can’t help but notice your boss’s initially somewhat proud look turn into one of being stunned.

Because as much as showstopping as your cute nipples are to him, Buggy’s pretty sure this isn’t what you wanted him to see.

You scramble to jump down and right yourself, face burning, all the while he’s trying to pretend like he didn’t see anything (even though he definitely did, and plans on seeing them tonight in his dreams). And if anybody else saw them — no they fucking didn’t.

And this awkward cringe fail clown can’t think of any response other than “Nice work. Keep at it” with a stiff pat on the back before shuffling off. Probably back to his room to think about what he just saw. A lot.

TL;DR - I got Buggy brainrot. Here’s a scenario of a wardrobe malfunction wherein you accidentally flash him. Burn me at the stake.

the incident has been in his mind ever since it happened. His eyes have been on you more than ever but yet he can't look you in yours. Conversations have been stuttered out on both sides. His throat goes dry whenever you enter the same room, you always watch his performances but now instead of watching the crowd his eyes are glued to your chest while center stage.

More than anything he wants to grab, to touch, to kiss your chest, to suck, lick and bite till they are covered in his marks. Always afraid that saying something would scare you off.

♡

Anon you have a place in my heart now trust and believe, you're welcome to leave thoughts on my inbox, my dm, telepathically transported into my brain. All are welcome boo thang

[griefabyss69]

for the random word asks: game/stake/bond <3

You got me with the last two! I had to write more > : ) Game, from shrapnel:

Maybe they can find a big empty place and they can play a real cat-and-mouse game, and he'll see if Eddie hates running around if he's chasing Steve and trying to like, strip his clothes off. He pushes up into his hand, groaning. He technically has time before work, but he decides to just calm down instead. He doesn't want his day hanging over his head while he tries to get off. Making breakfast will help.

Stake, from quiet house:

Waking up from a nap that tried to replace a full night's sleep makes him feel like a soggy cardboard standee, but at least Eddie's there, with his heartbeat against Steve's cheek. He has no idea when he got this far down the bed, but they're tangled loosely together and Eddie's breathing is deep and even, helping him drift comfortably for a while, even if he feels kind of hungover for no reason. All of the sex probably did that - it's not like they kept it gentle. As soon as the shield between them crumbled it's been heavy and hard even if it's been the sweetest he thinks he's ever experienced. He's definitely sore. Like more than just his ass, and so he thinks maybe he should keep whatever he and Eddie do in public kind of low stakes, at least for now. It's okay, they can still makeout in the dark probably, they just… have to be careful about it.

Bond, from a continuation of a microfic ( Into The Night ) I did last month! Working title: house party piss ninjas (voyeurism, discussions of urination):

Eddie's not sure if this counts as bullying or flirting or just joshin' around, but he feels himself get a little thicker in his hand and he presses his toes hard into the soles of his shoes. C'mon, keep it together!!! Be soft, be soft!!! "Because you're… you're a pervert, Steve! A voyeur!" he exclaims, finally able to give himself a shake and tuck his dick away from sight. It doesn't get any softer but at least with his pants on it's much easier to hide. "Uh-huh," Steve says, directing the beam to the side of Eddie's face, making him hiss and squeeze his eyes shut. "Are you embarrassed?" Eddie wants to shout DUH!!! at him but he just frowns and shrugs. "No," he says. "Just wondering why you seem to like watching me piss so much." Steve laughs, lowering the light so Eddie can steal at glance at him. He looks… Normal. No fucking shame. "I dunno," Steve sighs, and starts walking back. "You're so… covered up, like, armored, and your aura's all spiky." His aura? "Maybe I just like seeing you vulnerable," he says, like that's not a fucking crazy thing to say to an acquaintance. Or even a friend. Or anyone he's not already been balls deep inside of. "Underneath all of this bullshit, we're just animals pissing in the woods, you know?" He opens his mouth to answer but he's truly gobsmacked. He nods dumbly even though he doesn't necessarily agree with being the one made vulnerable in this situation. "It's what I like about sex, too. But that's different obviously, I promise I won't go all peeping tom on you getting busy," Steve continues. "But you get it, right? Just… a lot of society is… really fucking stupid. But I like people." As far as explanations for pervert behavior can go, this one makes it pretty far. "Okay, so why haven't you whipped it out?" Eddie challenges, crossing his arms as they pick their way back to the rock. "You want to watch me piss?" Steve asks, sounding more like Eddie asked him if he'd please eat a slice of birthday cake. "That's not what I said, actually. This has just been very one-sided," Eddie says. "Your explanation is nice, but I still think you're just covering up the fact that you're a pervert. Like you have to know this goes beyond the regular male bonding thing, right?" Steve laughs. He's so fucking unbothered that it kind of pisses Eddie off, like how is he supposed to win against that?

Thank you!!! <3 <3 <3

WIP Game: Word Guess

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Agitation 3.6 Live Reactions

(This is me, writing reactions as I read, because why the fuck not. They're not complete, mature thoughts taken after I sit back and evaluate what I've read. Consider them as such)

“Think of it as a game,” Lisa said, “A high stakes variant of cops and robbers.”

Ooh this bit. I've seen it referenced a lot in the fandom discussions, but never seen the conversation reproduced or redone in fic (probably because if it happens in the AU, it happens so close to the canon version there's no need to rewrite it or anything)

“I think,” I ventured, “That it’s a little closer to real cops and robbers than the schoolyard game.” “No, no.  Hear me out.  Grown adults running around in costume?  Making up code names for themselves?  It’s ridiculous, and we know it’s ridiculous, even if we don’t admit it out loud.

ehhhhhhh, I mean... she's not wrong exactly, but it's also not ridiculous because real people are really dying. In RL, if someone went around in a costume with codenames trying to fight crime, then yeah, absolutely, that's ridiculous, even if they made actual progress somehow.

But if that same costumed weirdo could fly, or fart fire or w/e, then it's a lot harder to not take seriously.

Maybe we have some agenda or goals, but at the end of the day, we’re getting our thrills, blowing off steam and living a second life. 

yeah, Lisa, no. That's... no.

Then there’s the crazies.  The people who are fucked up in the head, maybe dangerous if there’s not something or someone to help keep them in line.  The people who take it all too seriously, or those guys you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of, even if they didn’t have powers.  Lung, Oni Lee, Heartbreaker,” she paused.  “Bitch.”

Way to add this as an afterthought. Also, like most of the Empire 88 (if not all of it) falls into this category too. I get they've barely been mentioned yet, but Kaisar and Co are definitely crazy and taking it too seriously.

Lisa paused, “Right.  But you have to understand, ninety percent of what goes on when you’re in costume?  It’s the first group.  Adults in costumes playing full contact cops and robbers with fun-as-fuck superpowers and toys. 

And people dying, having their property destroyed (and ruining their livelihoods), being crippled or physiologically scarred for life...

Yeah. It's all fun silliness 90% of the time.

(I get that Lisa is selling this to Taylor to convince her that this is all cool, but still, does she actually believe this on some level? I get that her power probably makes her cynical but my god, Tattle-bitch, fuck off)

But what good is having a team if there’s no competition?” “Which is where we come in,” I figured out where she was going. “Exactly.  At the end of the day?  We’re not doing much harm.  Property damage, theft.  A few civilians get hurt if they don’t move out of the way fast enough.

Yeah, totally, that's the only way civilians get hurt.

I mean, if all the villains were as nice and soft as the Undersiders, or at least most of them, sure. I don't think Lisa's wrong to an extent, but the Undersiders are very much the minority, and you guys still have the ability to really fucking hurt people.

Are there readers that actually buy this? I buy Taylor buying this to an extent, given her mindset and so forth, rn, though I doubt she 100% buys it, but equally, it sometimes feels like some of the fans actually buy this mindset.

“Compared to the psychos and the monsters out there, it’s almost in the city’s interests to keep us in circulation.  Far as I see it, we’re not that much better or worse than the so called good guys.  We face more risk at the end of the day, with the possibility of jail time and physical danger, but we get a better payoff.  We just took the path that was higher risk, higher reward.”

You are better than most of the alternatives, sure, but while it's true that the heroes would have a lot lower profile without the villains (and if there were no villains the heroes might not stay heroes what with all that conflict urging or w/e of the Shards) but as far as Lisa knows, the heroes could just... you know, use their powers constructively if there weren't villains eating up their time.

So yeah, no.

“I’m not sure,” I said, carefully, “That I buy all that.”

Smart girl

“No? Then why don’t they send people like Über straight to the Birdcage after his trial, like they are with Lung?

That is a stupid question, Lisa. The Birdcage isn't just a catch all for every supervillain. It's a nightmare blackbox you shove the worst (or the alleged worst, anyway) into. It's a "Break Glass In Case of Scion" Box. It's certainly not a place you shove Uber and Leet into unless they cross lines. We don't put people into maximum security prisons just for assault and theft, usually (Which, AFAIK, is all Uber and Leet have done largely - AFAIK, they haven't killed anyone)

Sure, there’s the three strike rule, and he’ll get sent to the Birdcage eventually, but the people in charge have to maintain some plausible deniability.”

Because the US government totally wants villains running around this much for the... merchandising money? Like, there's not trusting the police, the government, etc, and there's... this.

Again, I suspect Lisa doesn't quite believe this, but still.

“But the real evidence to my ‘cops and robbers’ theory,” Lisa continued, “Is the reaction you see when someone crosses the line.  You’ve heard about it happening.  Someone finds out another cape’s secret identity, goes after the cape’s family.  Or a cape wins a fight and decides his downed opponent isn’t in a state to say no if he’s feeling lusty?  Word gets around, and the cape community goes after the fucker.  Protecting the status quo, keeping the game afloat.  Bitter enemies call a truce, everyone bands together, favors get called in and everyone does their damndest to put the asshole down.”

Or, you know, it could be that some people have standards? I mean, I get what you're saying, about protecting the game, the unwritten rules, etc, but equally, like... no? Yeah, when someone crosses a line everyone goes after them because that's like... the whole point of lines.

“Like we do with the Endbringers,” I said.  I sheathed my knife. “Holy fuck,” Lisa said, slapping the sides of the steering wheel with her hands.  I think if the van had been moving, she would have hit the brakes for emphasis.  Traffic was starting to move, though, so she started up the car and put it into gear, “Twice, you bring up the Endbringers in as many minutes.  You’re being morbid.  What’s going on?”

Because they're the giant fucking elephants in the room for the setting.

It was hard to talk to Lisa, as much as I liked her as a person. 

You barely know her, christ Taylor, I know you're affection starved and shit but man you dove headfirst into this.

  If I said something, would that give her the puzzle piece she needed to figure me out?

heheheheh, too late.

I was counting on this ruse continuing, whether it was because I enjoyed the temporary companionship of Brian, Lisa and Alec, or because I wanted to get Grue, Tattletale, Regent and Bitch carted off to jail and prove Armsmaster wrong.  I was aware how paradoxical those two interests were.

Sooner or later, something will have to give.

She went on, “See, I know you.  Believe it or not, I like you.  Did from the time I saw you on that roof, opposite Lung.  You know how we fear the unknown?  Well, I know stuff, that’s my whole thing, and that motherfucker is one of the very few people who can spook me.  You, Taylor, stood up to him.”

Taylor "Nah, I'd Win" Hebert

(Does she actually say that in the story, or is that just a fan thing?)

“So this guy or this girl that’s got you down in the dumps?  I say fuck them.  They don’t know you.  They don’t know what you’re capable of.”

This is true. How much does Lisa know about this? God, Lisa's power is gonna suck to work with come fic writing time, balancing what she knows and what she doesn't.

“Who uses words like doldrums, anymore?” 

Fair point :rofl:

“In twenty minutes or so, we’re going to be leaving there, tens of thousands of dollars richer, the adrenaline rush of victory pumping through our veins,” Lisa’s voice was barely above a whisper, “Now tell me.  Can you visualize that?”

"What this country needs is a short, victorious war to stem the tide of revolution."

-Vyacheslav von Plehve, Russia’s Minister of the Interior, before starting the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905

(I'm not sure if this quote is apocryphal or not, I first stumbled upon it as an epigrah in a sci-fi novel, but it makes the point)

“Liar,” she said.  Then she winked at me, “It’s okay.  An hour from now, you’ll be rolling in money and laughing about how pessimistic you were.  Promise.”

Nice to know Tattletale can be so hilariously wrong.

As I opened the car door and hopped out into the pouring rain, I managed to say the words without choking on them, “Let’s go rob a bank.”

Crime Machine Go BRRR!

[amewinterswriting]

Things I've learnt from writing fanfiction

Done is better than perfect. We all love our ideas (at least at first) and want them to be as good as they can possibly be and we're brimming with excitement over the shiny new idea. But then we get bogged down in the weeds of actually writing the damn thing and practicality sets in. Fanfiction really taught me to lower my own personal standards and get the story out there. Even if that story is different to the original idea. And sometimes - not always, but often enough - it actually morphs into something I feel is better than the original idea, or at least different in a good way. All of my ideas respond to the characters and what they want to do, and that often winds up drastically different to the original expectation. Learning to embrace that and write it regardless helped me to actually make some progress in my ever expanding WIP folder.

Feedback will not always take the form you want/if you want to get a critique you're happy with, you might have to do it yourself. Fanfiction is great for getting eyes on your work - there is a pre-existing fandom waiting for content and if you throw it up online, especially on a platform like AO3, you will almost certainly have eyes on it within 24 hours. What you cannot guarantee is if someone will like it, kudos it, comment on it or give it any kind of meaningful feedback beyond "this is great, I really liked it". I know a lot of people throw fanfic up for external validation...I don't. It's always nice if I get feedback that points out an element that the reader loved, or gently points out a typo, but I don't actually expect engagement of any kind. Which makes every single kudos feel like a gift, and every single comment is a priceless treasure. If I want more detailed analysis, I purposely seek out my trusted friends in the fandom, with the idea that they know the level of feedback I'm after and know I'll take critiques in the spirit that they're intended. But that's a relationship built on trust and mutual respect and takes time to cultivate. If you want immediate analysis, you need to put on your critical hat and do it yourself. You are always going to be your own worst critic - you know what you intended and how you might have fallen short of the mark. So be kind with yourself and let yourself embrace the things you did do well, too. Look out for the happy accidents.

Taking risks and writing outside your comfort zone. When writing original fiction, you might shy away from writing styles or scenes you have never written before. Commonly, things like smut scenes, action scenes and experimental sentence structures feel too 'risky' to attempt for the first time with your own original ideas. But fanfiction can be a great vehicle for experimenting with unconventional writing choices in a lower stakes way. Fanfiction gave me the confidence to write smut (and I'm damn good at it, if I do say so myself) but also a reason to write a football match (never again, way too many moving parts and characters, would literally rather write an orgy). I wrote a first person descent into immortal madness that started eloquently and ended with the character only able to form single, simple words. I could experiment with writing in first person, in third person with an omniscient narrator and in third person with a close perspective and work out the pros and cons of each for the stories I wanted to tell.

Learning to analyse characters and subtext. One of my biggest strengths when writing preexisting characters (in my opinion) is being able to nail the character voice and motivations. I'd love to say there's a trick to it, but it's just a lot of analysis of the original media and reading between the lines. Working out what we actually know about the character, then what we can assume or guess based on the interpretation of that knowledge. An adult character who adopted a surrogate father figure in adulthood and never speaks of their birth family probably didn't have a great childhood, though the exact reason why might be conjecture (and a great idea for a fic!). A forgotten hero who willingly succumbs to a curse in order to go somewhere familiar must be quite lonely, and is simply seeking to return home, even if it destroys him. Once you understand why a character has done a thing, it's quite easy to find reasons why they might do any number of other things. As long as you can justify why, you can push a character quite a bit further than you might imagine.

Writing for an audience might surprise you. Most of my fics are in very small fandoms. Or a very small niche in a larger fandom. (I genuinely think I have one of the longest fics in a given fandom. Which admittedly only consists of about 30 people worldwide.) So I never really expect much attention and it's just a nice happy accident when I do get anything as simple as a kudos. That said, some of my fics get patterns of kudos that are really interesting. I will often get kudos out of the blue from the same person on everything I have written for a specific rare pair (so rare in fact that I believe I'm one of 2-3 people to ever publish anything for it) - likely a curiosity click that turned into 'wait, I actually ship this now, dammit'. I have a couple of stories with a specific pairing that consistently gets new attention every time there is a big bang or mini bang for that pairing, despite me not being involved in either of those events. Lately, I've had a single guest kudos per day on a little OT3 piece consistently for the last few weeks. Which probably either means someone keeps coming back with different IP addresses every day (which is really flattering) or that this fic is being shared around a friend group, one link at a time (which I love the idea of, someone reading it and then knowing exactly who else would love to read it and it continues to be passed around).

Formatting for ease of reading. Different mediums are read in different ways. Fanfiction is predominantly read on smartphone screens, in my experience. So learning best practices for formatting web text is useful: frequent line breaks, allow text to be dynamically readjusted by the web browser, if you are embedding images make sure they can also dynamically adjust otherwise readers are zoomed into the top corner of the image and have to scroll left and right to piece together the entire work, etc. But fanfiction (and web-based media as a whole) also lets you experiment with things that wouldn't be seen as acceptable in a novel. I've recently published fic that changes fonts to indicate the text written in a letter, and managed to assign different characters their own font to imply characteristics visually (if you do this, try to limit yourself to the most common webfonts around as these are only visible if the reader's browser has these fonts installed). I'm toying with the idea of a future fic - which is all entirely written via the medium of letters between characters - to be entirely visual renditions of the letters to include interesting environmental details like blood stains or scratched out words or torn edges, but I would definitely want to include image ID for people who use screenreaders or struggle with certain fonts.

Pst, if you enjoyed this and want to throw a few coins at my Ko-Fi, that would be very nice and would support me rambling on about other writing topics or getting more of the actual writing done!