#the chapters are really short but they're not connected enough that I want to put them all in the same chapter

[jorvikzelda]

been feeling like Lisa is just a really difficult character to get down and putting writing her thing that I've been putting off for weeks even though it was technically fully planned because I just cannot get in her head and then I write 1700 Lisa words in one setting. bitch. what

[alexanderwales]

do you have thoughts on marination as a worldbuilding process?

you know the saying that about having a lifetime to write your first novel, but a few years the second. works like Worm or your own Worth the Candle could only take the shape they did because they're drawing a deep well of past endeavors and (inadvertent) preparatory work

often, it seems, authors won't, can't, spend nearly as much time sitting on their next ideas. and, arguably, they shouldn't.

cook up enough worlds and plots, and you learn which questions are interesting to ask, you develop a repertoire of favorite themes to vary and truck around cuttings to give new homes. so much of initial "marination" is spent in blind alleys and skill-building

i don't want to write a blogpost in your inbox (sorry), so i guess to hone in on what i want to ask: how highly do you value marinating on ideas? how much is it something you try to leave slack for, or occasionally sacrifice? do you have general recommendations for or against the approach?

this is one of those topics where the simple, sure, and unsatisfying answer is "it depends" or "balance the extremes", but maybe there's personal notes to add - or toss out the framing?

I tried to answer this three times and threw away those replies, so let's hope this fourth time is the charm.

I guess if the question is "how much does giant amounts of upfront work that you simply throw away or distill down to almost nothing help" then my feeling is that there are a lot better ways to get virtually the same result. If you're going to spend 100 hours getting ready for a story, then I think you can do that in ways that are much more effective (but maybe less fun) than writing test chapters for different characters.

So how important is spending those hundred hours, or however much time it is? Assuming that we're talking about just worldbuilding, or characterbuilding, getting lots of ideas lined up and ready to go, rotating them in our head to make the connections with each other and spark inspiration ... eh? Kind of not really that important?

That is to say, I think that there are really incredibly heavy diminishing returns on worldbuilding, and it's usually not that hard to pluck the low-hanging fruit, especially if you've had some practice with that.

Two caveats to that.

First, I think the thing that web serials do is kind of different in some significant ways from what a novel does. They tend to have lots of characters, and they tend to switch locations. If you're putting out two chapters a week, it actually is important than you have a lot of stuff ready to go, because otherwise you can find yourself creatively tapped when you find yourself in need of a new superhero team, or a new nation to come in for their story arc. It's great to have things in your back pocket, a stack of ideas that you can mine out, old works you can cannibalize, etc. This is much different from writing a short novel, where you're not constantly pushing to new frontiers.

Second, there's a difference between spending a lot of time-at-desk, and spending a lot of time-in-days. If you're spending time-at-desk, I think you start hitting the diminishing returns fairly quickly: if I spent a 40 hour workweek bashing out a world, I actually kind of doubt that it would be all that much better than a world I'd spent 10 hours on, there would just be ... more of it, I guess? It would be fleshed out in ways that are good, but not vital to the story, and which wouldn't reflect themselves too much in the narrative, maybe mostly being things that I would come up with during writing anyway given a solid base?

But if you spend time-in-days where you have this idea and it's sitting there in your headspace, I think that can be extremely valuable. You're just going about your normal life, reading fics, watching TV, doing dishes, cooking, etc., and something sparks a connection, or you just deliberately contextualize a topic within the context of your world, and that gets jotted down somewhere so you don't forget it. Eventually, if you do that enough, your world develops and deepens and gets richer, just from being kept around.

So these are very different, I think. One is "put in a bunch of work" and the other is "don't put in a bunch of work, just keep this background process running". And it is very valuable to have time-in-days, because you get this trickle of associations and more depth that can only come from new connections forming. (Note: probably there are other ways to get this, probably you could substitute some amount of time-at-desk, or do deliberate exercises)

But I don't even think time-in-days is that valuable, either! One of my maxims is that "you won't have all the ideas you're ever going to have when you sit down to write the story", and that's true no matter how much you prep, unless it's a pretty short single-sitting story. All that time-in-days, you're still getting that while you write the serial, and you're probably getting more of it than you would if you weren't writing the serial, so it's just a matter of leaving yourself enough room to plop in the good ideas as you have them, and not be completely locked in with nowhere for the ideas to go. (This is one of the reasons that endings are hard, because you stop being able to introduce new cool things, and you're left only using the cool things you already set up.)

Fuck, I don't know if this was helpful or even what you were asking.

tl;dr: it depends, balance the extremes

[pinkxpxnda]

WOF HCs #0(?)

I'm gonna start sharing my headcannons for Wings of Fire because I think there is so much potential for hcs in wof. Tui hasn't done heeeaaaps of world building, but I honestly think that's fine because a) Im pretty sure Tui has said before that she likes people like, coming up with OCs and like exploring the world of wof themselves (or smt along those lines). and b) Her primary audience is like, children to early teens. Obvi older people read wof, but they're not like, her target audience. And you can see this in her style of writing, and the pacing in wof. In most of the books, something like, exciting and like kinda core to the main plot of the book happens in like the first chapter (and the chapters are pretty short too), whereas in young adult writing, or writing for older people, there is normally a chapter or more of like, set up, where most writers would put their world building. But like, most young kids probably don't want to read about the political systems of the skywings, or the specific fashion, style, and jewellery each tribe has. I think Tui does a good job of doing the broad strokes, as well as enough of the detail that you have things to go off to make hcs.

It's also nice that it's a whole world with no connection to the real world. Other series like Percy Jackson (for example) I'm sure are still super fun to make hcs for, but it's set in the modern day world, so you don't have quite as much freedom, yk?

Anywayssssss sorry for the mini rant, but I will start sharing my wof hcs so I hope u like them lol <3 (Some might be ones I've seen before and really like, but I'll most likely have added to it and I'll also make it super clear if I haven't come up with it)

[dirtbra1n]

it's so cool that you know japanese! Did you self study?

hi anon! thank you! let’s not give me too much credit though. I took japanese for two years in college but following that haven’t took more. because japanese is a demanding language to learn and I needed to give myself enough time to do all the shit that . I’m actually getting my degree in. since then basically I’ve been practicing by reading what I can and keeping up with what I’ve always kept up with (including ssmyhrkg), but I don’t have the discipline to properly self study so my knowledge has for suuure atrophied. but I’m hoping I can get my ass in gear to make up for lost time. like sometime

on this note I can tell you what we did In class for those two years, if you feel like trying to learn yourself! maybe that’s something we all do together. I also ended up doing an impromptu read of one of chapter 52's panels at the end, so if you've seen the pages for it already, but don't really care about pdfs of japanese textbooks, you can skip the middle part under the cut to where I put a spoiler disclaimer in big big big text

for the sake of responsible sharing a) ask isn't going to be rebloggable and b) Telling you plainly in case you haven't used the site before Just press the GET at the top of the screen. it will download a pdf of each of the respective books I link. you don't need to worry about any of the other stuff happening on screen, pinky promise.

the GENKI books are kind of a staple of academic japanese learning, if nothing else they're pretty good at giving you your first building blocks.

this is a link to genki vol. 1 (and its workbook)

this is a link to genki vol. 2 (and its workbook)

and this is a link to kanji look and learn (and its workbook Even though the kll workbook was always a pain in my ass). nobody's getting graded here. so min-max kanji if you want

in any case there are a lot of resources out in the world, so if the textbook approach doesn't feel right there's always other pathways forward. and if you Fairly don't feel like pressing unknown links I present you let me know and I'll screenshot some things, I don't mind

anyway I was going to demonstrate what it looks like comprehending a page with あのさ　駅まで… but I have been made weak. on account of the Being shot by shirahama. maybe some other time. so instead I'll use a different panel to do with shirahama

this next panel is from the most recent chapter 52 of sasamiya. I don't know if you've read it yet anon. if not please read it at your soonest convenience. nothing but a read of this particular panel is gonna come after this disclaimer you won't be missing anything else I don't wanna spoil you okay thanks

shirahama just realized he was talking to miyano normally in front of miyano's boyfriend (sasaki) and also realized sasaki was staring at him (じー．．．) (<- the staring sound effect) in normal sasaki fashion, which is to say With a passive expression. but shirahama is going through horrible horrible things recently re: miyano and Miyano's boyfriend, so he panics and jolts (はっ). that leads us into this panel, where sasaki says, あ、and then thinks, そういえば保健室前に会ったかも。

aa, sou-i-e-ba, ho-kenn-shi-tsu ma-e ni a-tta ka-mo

in essence, "Oh," Come to think of it, (we) met in front of the nurse's office, I think...

そういえば is a common phrase, so I have it memorized. 保健室 was contextual, because I didn't remember the kanji but did obviously remember shirahama and sasaki's interaction there. to be really honest with you 前に was also halfway contextual because I'm always forgetting direction words. 会った is a word I've memorized, the kanji for meet (会う) in the past tense. and かも short for かもしれない, I think.

altogether, while shirahama is five seconds from digging himself an unnecessary pit to hide himself away in, on account of the aforementioned Horrible horrible things, sasaki is just harmlessly connecting some dots in his head about who shirahama is and where he met him earlier. by repeating this process I get a passable gist of untranslated chapters, which gets me by until the good proper and polished chapters drop to finish me off. This concludes today's lesson, happy friday

[strangerthingsfanworkrecs]

Can I recommend the user SpicySix? They haven't written in a little while but I keep going back to their work. Sometimes it feels like my head is in the fandom sand and they're the breath of fresh air I needed.

Introducing @spicysix

We're highlighting Lui for their written fics! All recs tagged #spicysix will be for their work. Lui answered some questions about their process below.

What's a fandom interaction that made you really happy?

Honestly being recommended for this was a huge one lmao I almost cried. But also every time someone reaches out to me to talk about my fics or even leaves a comment or bookmarks one of my works on ao3 it's always the same awesome rush

What's your favorite character or aspect of Stranger Things to create for?

I must say I'm partial to the underdogs. So writing about the characters that are hardly written about is always always fun to me. Argyle and Jonathan specially, those two are so fun to mess around with

What's your writing process like? Any tools you favor?

I use Scrivener to write and it's my favorite tool, specially for bigger fics or series where I can have everything in one place. As for my writing process, it's very simple tbh. I have an idea (usually comes from a song's title or lyrics), I write down the whole general gist of it. If it's a longer chaptered fic, I like to have an outline of what happens in each chapter so I don't get lost. But if it's a shorter fic I mostly just go with the feeling as I write. I don't usually write out of order, neither in long or short fics, so I just keep going chronologically through what I want to happen

What was it like to work on fake it 'till you make it?

"fake it 'till you make it" came to me firstly through a request, I think it was from one of those prompt lists, an anon asked for a "how long do we have to keep this up for + fake dating with Jonathan". That rented a building in my head and I ran for the hills with it. It took me a whole month writing it, and it was all I could think about during that whole time because I was having so much fun with it. I didn't even planned it to go so far but it was like I jumped out of my body and when I went back I had 9k words of love and devotion for that lil creep weirdo. It was the biggest fic I had written so far, and even I didn't know i had so much to praise about Johnnyboy. It was an amazing process, though, and I loved every second of it, of writing about Nancy and Steve too, of coming up with a fun and believable enough Reader Character that was so out of the loop without knowing, and their realization on their feelings for Jonathan and for everything surrounding him. A classic romcom, and it's as fun to write one as it is to read or watch one. It's one of my favorites to this day

What was it like to work on now i don't hate California after all?

"now i don't hate California after all" is a song from my favorite singer, Carly Rae Jepsen, and it had been a while since I listened to it, and then I listened a while after watching ST S4 and I was already obsessed with Argyle so the little gears in my head started turning all the right ways and I was like. Wait A Second. This is so Jargyle. I just love love love how different their aesthetics and personalities are and how they're still So Connected Somehow. And we know Jonathan's a broody guy while Argyle is so vibrant, no way in hell Jon liked him immediately when they first met - dude has like one friend and a half, he's the most antisocial person on media, we know he puts out this huge hater persona hiding his big bleeding fragile heart. I had to do something with this thought so I DID A LOT with it. It's a fic very dear to my heart because it was the fist Jargyle I wrote, and I was and still am so proud of the way I characterized the boys, how I developed their relationship and Jonathan's thoughts. And it also grew on me years later because I found myself in the same position as Jonathan, having to move away with no friends and hating it at first but then finding a friend and lover that made it all easier - and we both also enjoy The Weed Herb so us and Jargyle are like the same yknow. It's one of my favorite fics and one of my favorite songs by CRJ and it feels amazing to Not Hate California After All, 10/10 experience i recommend it to everyone

[shsl-hubris-guy]

Takemichi stan here, please talk more about him being a protag, I'm very intrigued.

(And also, Celeste's cat, lmao)

I have been WAITING for this ask since I dropped the tier list. Thank you. Thank you so much

So in UDG, Komaru becomes the protagonist because she's Makoto's sister, and thus, becomes Monaca's target. Well, Komaru is still Monaca's target in this UDT au too, BUT it's because she's the sister of the mastermind, not the one who killed the mastermind. This puts her as a secondary deuteragonist of the game, as Leon (the deuterag) is unsure how much she knows and if she's trustworthy or not. But that left me with an empty protagonist slot, so I thought to myself, which Captive would best fit within this au? And two options came to mind. The first was Takaaki, but I ultimately wanted the protag/Deuterag dynamic that Toko and Syo had with Komaru so I decided against it, instead opting to have him be in my au's UDT 2 and play a major role there. The other was Takemichi.

Takemichi has always been one of the captives I would've liked to see the most, and it helped here that Mondo had become the first victim in this AU's THH, so I figured that gave him enough significance right off the bat to put him in a leading role in a game about the victims' loved ones, especially considering that we know Leon and Mondo were friends prior to the games. I imagine a game in which Takemichi actually remembers Leon but Leon has no memory of him has a ton of potential to it especially. (Also, as much as I love Tokomaru and Syomaru, I wanna assert that Leon and Takemichi are gonna be entirely platonic. Maybe a QPR at most)

If there are any Takemichi lovers who've scrounged up every known piece of info about Takemichi, and any of it contradicts with my limited knowledge and assumptions, please tell me, I'd love to hear more, but as of typing this out, all my knowledge of Takemichi is

A) he's Mondo's right hand in the gang

B) he's expressly not interested in women despite a literal fanclub

And

C) he's short? Ider finding this info so this could just be an assumption based on the way they draw his face

So my line of thinking would be him pulling together an outfit and painting a biker helmet to look like a Monokuma kid, and therefore, avoid being attacked. This disguise would be a work in progress over the course of the game, coming to completion in the later chapters to introduce a sneaking mechanic. This disguise would make for a way to reveal that the helmets aren't just helmets, but tracking devices to keep track of the kids, so while you can go past the kids with the disguise, it doesn't work on the Monokumas bots because there's no sensor telling them to stop. Also, I like to think his weapon of choice would be something along the lines of a survival multi tool for map exploration, while Komaru maintains the gun and can be swapped out when specific bullets are needed for puzzles, rather than shooting being the primary progression mechanic. Leon, meanwhile, is the main fighter, wielding a metal bat to break the Monokumas when they're attacked.

Really, I'd like to delve into the story of what made Takemichi want to join a biker gang, and having his past let him connect with Nagisa. I can't help but imagine Takemichi, who joined a gang, might've done so because of pressures in his home life leading him to redefine his life and leave home, maybe even staying with the Owadas. So he might just be the right character to reach out to Nagisa and get through to him, saving him from being killed by his own robot and giving him a second chance, with him then being the one to help them through the final chapter and warn them of Monaca's interest in Komaru, though he doesn't know why.

But yeah that's what I've been thinking!

[henrysglock]

The theory that the mind flayer created Patty is very interesting! One thing doesn’t add up though? So if I have this right you said the mind flayer created Patty to manipulate him through love, sortof carrot over stick, did I get that right? But if that’s true, if Henry is gay why would the mind flayer create a girl to manipulate him? If it was actually trying to use love to manipulate him wouldn’t it have created a boy? And if Patty was created by the mind flayer why does Brenner say she is a distraction for Henry from unlocking his connection to the mind flayer?

Hello :3

I'm in love with this trend of people asking me really good questions—because these questions are really good ones, and they're ones I considered many times while I was putting together my theory.

First things first: Just because Henry is gay doesn't mean he can't love Patty. He's just not attracted to her. For example, Mike loves El, but he's not in love with El. Henry loves Patty; he's just not in love with her.

Henry's sexuality isn't a barrier to him being manipulated via love by any and all genders. For someone like Henry, who is so deprived of wholesome and genuine love (since Virginia's is cut with fear and Victor's is cut with willful ignorance), any love from any gender is going to present a vulnerability. That's why we see him being affectionate with Brenner, even when Brenner is harsh with him. Even when it's someone who's openly damaging to him, he still turns to them for love when it's offered.

Second: Henry is supremely focused on being normal. Creating a boy for Henry to become attached to would never work. He would never become so deeply driven to make things work because it's not normal to be in a devoted one-on-one relationship with a boy. It is, however, normal to choose the next best girl—a girl who's othered, who's into everything he's into, and who doesn't seem to have any other friends or love interests. It's in the same vein as lesbians choosing boys to have crushes on because it's "normal".

Simply put, the Mindflayer is relying on Henry's internalized homophobia and compulsory heterosexuality in the context of him being love-starved to begin with.

Patty presents an option that ticks all the boxes: She's a pretty girl who's weird enough to be othered but not so weird as to be unbearably off-putting and who's into all the things same things he's into. She's normal. She makes Henry look and feel normal. She's the perfect girl for Henry. Too perfect, even.

[cough]

[cough]

A boy couldn't have filled that role for Henry—regardless of his sexuality—and the Mindflayer knows it.

Finally, to answer your question about Brenner, I'd like to bring up a point I outlined in my larger analysis of TFS:

Brenner's goal was to eliminate the source of the anomaly that disrupts his work with Henry. The source of the anomaly is not Patty as a person. It's Henry's attachment to Patty. It's his emotional investment in her, which caused a disruption in his brain patterns re: connecting to Dimension X. Patty could pop into Henry's head and plead with him all she wanted, but if Henry didn't care about her, if he wasn't bonded with her, then the anomaly wouldn't have occurred in the first place. ... In short: It is difficult to say Brenner had any intent to do physical harm to Patty. He wanted to get Henry to choose him over Patty, and he wanted both of them to let go of each other. (1.3)

And here:

Brenner is very much, as I mentioned in Chapter 1, focused on eliminating "the anomaly" that threw a figurative monkey wrench into Henry's connection with Dimension X. Patty is not the anomaly; the anomaly was the activation of Henry's hippocampus in response to Patty's abrupt emotional bid ("I'm so lonely"). Patty is not the monkey wrench. Patty threw the monkey wrench. Henry's affection for and attachment to Patty is the source of the anomaly. (8.2.c)

The first thing we need to understand is that Brenner and the Mindflayer are not working together. They are not allies. Brenner is not doing things the Mindflayer likes.

Brenner wants Henry to work for/be loyal to him, not to the Mindflayer. The opposite is true from the Mindflayer's end—it wants Henry to acquiesce and stay "loyal" to it, rather than to Brenner. (<- See also: the Witch Boy-Mindflayer+Patty, Barbara Allen-Henry, Marvin Hudgins-Brenner parallels I outline in Chapter 7 of my larger analysis)

Moreover, the Mindflayer doesn't want to be found. It has never once—in the history of ST—wanted to be found. But there Brenner is, trying to to track the Mindflayer down and study it to see if he can use Henry's connection to open a gate to Dimension X, much the same way Jim uses Bob + D.A.D. to (unwittingly) track down the Mindflayer. (<- Which I discuss in Chapters 7 and 10 of my larger analysis)

Thus, it disrupts Brenner's work by pulling on a sympathetic hippocampal response from Henry re: Patty, specifically while asking Henry to leave Brenner, come back to Hawkins to meet up with Patty, and then run away with her back to Nevada—the origin point of his flaying (<- See: ST3 and the flayed wanting to return to the origin point of their flaying)—while still fully flayed.

Brenner wants to separate Henry from Patty so badly because she's a wedge between him and his goal of finding/studying the Mindflayer, who does not want to be found or studied. The Mindflayer uses Patty to stop Henry's collaboration with Brenner.

"Oh, but Brenner's goal was getting Henry to connect to the Mindflayer—" I know. However, the Mindflayer has no problem connecting to Henry. It does not need Brenner's assistance to do so, meaning the cons of collaboration outweigh the pros, especially when it's running the very real risk that Brenner may attempt to un-flay Henry so he can study the Mindflayer by itself. (<- See: the trapped Mindflayer offshoot in Russia)

The Mindflayer would like to stay right where it is, secretly tucked away within Henry, thank you very much. Brenner is not conducive to that, meaning the Mindflayer needs to get Henry away from him, and it does so using Patty.

You can think of it like a game of semi-sentient chess, wherein the Mindflayer is the player to Henry's king and Patty's queen, and Brenner is the player to the the US government's king and Project Rainbow's queen. Henry just doesn't know the Mindflayer is the player pulling his strings.

Brenner wants to subjugate the Mindflayer by putting Henry into checkmate, specifically by outmaneuvering Patty. The Mindflayer refuses to let that happen by outsmarting Brenner in return via its use of Patty.

Sometimes, in chess, one must first retreat in order to ensure a later advance. That's precisely what the gurney scene with Patty is. The Mindflayer is backing away from a direct connection in order to achieve total connection a few steps later, when Henry comes running back with Patty. I'd argue that that's also what the "I can't force him" scene is, just via Brenner instead. It's a retreat to ensure a later advance.

When Henry's in the lab, Brenner is using Project Rainbow to put the Mindflayer in check—though not yet in checkmate. When Patty comes to take Henry away from the lab, they're evading Brenner's Project-Rainbow-based check. Brenner pursues, using both Project Rainbow and the US Government, and he corners Henry, Patty, and the Mindflayer on the catwalk.

Depending on who Henry chooses to lash out at, it's either victory or checkmate for the Mindflayer and Brenner alike. Henry "kills" Patty and sides with Brenner, putting the Mindflayer into (temporary) checkmate and Brenner into (temporary) victory—until new pieces (like El, Will, Billy, etc.) are added to the board.

In short: Patty disrupting the connection between Henry and the Mindflayer is a strategic retreat on the Mindflayer's part.

[forgottenwriter]

ForgottenWriter's Guide to Writing: Getting Started, Part One.

So, I mentioned before that I might do this, and a few people were interested. I decided to actually put my money where my mouth was for once; this guide is going to be a practical guide to writing for a beginner. Now, this one is aimed at people who want to do stuff in fandom spaces, but a lot of what I am going to be doing here is also relevant to original work. I'll start you off with the basics, and help to teach you everything I've learned over the many, many, many years that I've been doing this.

True to its nature, this article will be pretty basic, but as we go, I'll get to more advanced stuff and concepts. You want to know how to do a proper character arc? Or characterise someone? Or make dialogue flow naturally? Or attract readers? Or really, anything like that? I'm your girl, and just because we don't cover it right away doesn't mean we're not going to cover it. But before we get into that, who am I and why do I get to give you these lessons? Well, I'm a writer, and a pretty successful one! Not only have I been in fandom species since the early 2000s, I'm also a self published author and writer of commissioned fiction. I live and breath writing, and not only do I think it's incredibly important, but I also treasure it as something that we all can have, and which can help us connect to one another.

I've been writing for a long time. Counting it all, I've been writing for almost two thirds of my span of life. I've done a lot, seen a lot, made a lot, fucked up a lot, and learned from it - hopefully a lot! My list of achievements include a fairly successful web novel-ish quest which ran for multiple years at hundreds of comments, votes and discussion per chapter, a 70K word steampunk novel, and a series of decently successful short stories published under a different, business name.

tl;dr, I'm not saying that I am an expert here and we always have more to learn. But I am saying that i know the basics, and know them well enough to make a living doing this shit, so let me pass on a little bit of what I know to you all if you're in any way interested.

So, what do you need to get started with writing? I'm going to be treating you like you know absolutely nothing here, and handing you some of the basic tools. The first thing you're going to want to have is a word processor of some sort. Back in ye old days, there were really only two games in town: Microsoft word and OpenOffice, but these days, there are a ton more options. I'll go over some of them and weigh the pros and cons.

Microsoft Office Microsoft office used to be the standard. Back in the old days, if you could use this, you would. Believe it or not, I don't hear it used much anymore, but if you happen to have it, it can serve well. It's formatting is still universal, and it provides a good grammar and spelling checker.

The downside of this is that it's paid, and microsoft can be pricey. It tends to be bundled with other programs, so if you already have it, you can use it. If you don't, it's not worth coughing up the cash for this alone. Also, it's had some AI controversies I believe, and some writers don't trust it. LibreOffice LibreOffice is an off-shot of OpenOffice, which was Microsoft's big, open source rival for writing back in the day. OpenOffice boasted that it could offer everything Microsoft offered, but for free. That's true! But I find it has a bit of a steeper learning curve. That said, I don't believe they've dipped into AI, and to this day, they're still free and can export documents into various formats.

If you want an word processor but don't want to pay, this one is pretty near the top of the list, and it's what I used for years and years.

Google Docs Google Docs is also a word processor, but differs from the others in several key ways. The first and most important is that your work is saved to the Cloud; you can access it from any computer. This also means that it doesn't matter what kind of computer you're running - LibreOffice won't run well on a chromebook for example, and Microsoft Office has no hope in hell, but anything will run Google Docs. Docs is also free, and has essentially unlimited space. Technically, limited, but if you're only writing, you'll probably never hit it. In my experience, the spelling and grammar checker is worse on google docs than Libre, but this is a minor complaint, and the main drawback of google docs is twofold.

Firstly, if your google account is ever lost, compromised or blocked, you lose everything. Your documents will be deleted, and you will instantly lose access without warning. Now, I rarely hear about this happening, but it's something to be aware of.

Secondly, AI. Google is very AI happy, and there has been suggestions in the past that they harvest information from google docs without permission. This has never been proven, but comes up somewhat semi regularly within author circles. Make up your own mind how likely you think it is.

Generic Word Processor These are things like Notepad, or some other brand of word processor. Typically, they won't serve as well as the ones I've name-dropped above, but you can write on anything in a pinch. The most important thing is to find something that works and clicks with you.

I spent years operating off LibreOffice, and before that, it's ancestor, OpenOffice, and nowadays I do most of my work via Google Docs.

These are all you will need to start writing in fandom spaces. Now, there are more advanced tools - especially if you're aiming to get published, but we can cover those in a later post. They don't matter right now.

[intothedraft]

Chapter 12, part 2: A totally normal mannequin-like face

A cloud of black smoke billowed behind Roen, who was looking away. It vanished as quickly as it had come, and in its place was a Gever. But she didn’t look like any of the Gever Layane had seen.

Oh.

I mean... fair enough. I figured Shafina(h) would show her face at some point. It's a little weird that she's here now, but...

Never mind. Hi, Shafinah!

Her back-arms appeared to be connected to the tops of her wings; the arms made up the tops of her wings, and were covered in small feathers. Her fingers made the barely-visible hand-shape at the edge. She wore a dress that clung to her tiny frame, which was almost covered by the vast cloak-like sheet which was wrapped around her arms and flowed to the ground behind her.

Glad to see you're still creepy as hell. I assume she's still meant to be thousands of years old, and she has different wings because eventually Gever evolved to have wings and two separate sets of arms, rather than one set of 'normal' arms and one set of winged arms? I'm not sure that really tracks, but at least I put some thought into the fact that Shafinah is ancient this time.

Shafinah (who has not been named yet) looks around, and uses magic to conceal her winged arms. Even though she's terrifying, Layane is relatively calm until Roen instinctively backs away. Now Layane can see this situation is scary to Roen, she panics. Clemant also looks terrified, and is rooted to the spot.

The Gever stopped a few yards away from them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” she said, in a thick, heavily accented voice. “Especially you, Roen.” She spoke in a calm, mystical way that reminded Layane of fake fortune-tellers she saw at carnivals.

Is that even more anti-human bias? At least she's not speaking through a lizard called Bozo this time.

Shafinah is quite short for a Gever, but floats upwards so she's eye-level with Roen. Layane can't see her legs, so I assume that, like the other books, Shafinah doesn't have any.

“I have not seen you since you were a baby,” the Gever added. He gulped. “Shafinah?”

As soon as Roen says the name, Layane remembers the carvings on the cave wall.

But in the carvings she had looked like a hugely powerful figure. Now – everything about her seemed too normal.

Normal?

The ghostly woman who appeared in a blast of black smoke, had wings that are unusual even for Gever, and who is now levitating in front of you, looks NORMAL? Is that really the word you want to use here?

“Why are you here?” he asked. It sounded rude, but Shafinah either didn’t realize it or chose to it. “I’m trying to work that one out myself,” she said. “What are you doing? I might be meant to help you.”

Shafinah randomly showing up to help the gang has become a bit of a trope at this point.

I do like that she doesn't appear to have control over it, but... if she is here to help, why didn't she show up earlier? As far as I can tell, the gang is fine at the moment, if a little traumatised (on Clemant's part).

Shafinah appeared to be in her thirties. If she was one of the oldest things on the planet, she had certainly aged well. The only weird thing Layane could spot in her appearance was how her skin was completely unmarked. There were no wrinkles, scars, blemishes – nothing. The effect it had wasn’t a good one. It reminded Layane a little of shop-window mannequins.

She just looks so fucking normal guys. Super normal.

Roen explains that they're basically fine. They're just trying to get back to a flat that's just down the road.

Shafinah, who is now certain she's here to help, says that can't be it. She turns to Layane and Clemant and asks them if they are Nicola's daughters, to which Layane says they are. Shafinah asks what happened to them and Layane explains that Clemant was kidnapped.

“She was kidnapped? By Gever?” “No, by some humans.” “...and we have to work out why,” added Roen. “For G-slur.” Shafinah thought for a moment. “G-slur would want to know,” she said. “She wants the Key back. It must be about the Key; humans did steal it from your parents after all.” “Uh... yeah,” said Roen. “Something like that.”

I got really confused reading this, because the 'your parents' seems to refer to Roen. I think she means Layane's parents, i.e. the Key was stolen from them (if you believe their story).

However, I did spend a couple of minutes thinking Shafinah meant Roen's terrorist family, and was trying to work out if that dialogue was a Reveal or just a weirdly-worded reference to the fact that G-slur gave the Key (that used to belong to them) to two random humans.

Shafinah (sensibly) asks why they don't already know why the kidnappers took Clemant, seeing as they could have asked her, or found out when they rescued her. Roen explains that no, they didn't rescue her, they picked her up from hospital.

Suddenly, Shafinah vanished. She instantly reappeared on the other side of Layane, and stood next to Clemant. “Someone already saved you?” she whispered to her. Layane sighed. If she couldn’t get a response out of Clemant – Shafinah certainly wouldn’t be able to. As expected, Clemant said nothing. “Did someone ‘save’ you?” pressed Shafinah. “Or did the kidnappers release you?”

Clemant nods, and Shafinah tells Layane and Roen that it's a miracle they weren't caught. The kidnappers, whoever they are, are clearly using Clemant as bait.

Roen then brings up the bait plan.

Did... I put Shafinah here just because I couldn't figure out another way for them to have this conversation?

“Roen, you don’t want to use her as bait?” [Shafinah said.] He looked awkward. “G-slur is... sure something will go wrong,” he said. He avoided Layane’s gaze when she looked over to him to demand an explanation. “It’s sort of a... punishment. For me.” “Why didn’t you tell...?” Layane started furiously, but Shafinah put her hand in front of her to stop her. “G-slur will have done that to plant doubts in your head,” she said. “But what if...?” “But nothing,” said Shafinah. “I know G-slur well enough to know what she was doing when she told you that. Just... be on ‘top form’ when you do the plan, okay?”

Nice headhopping. Although, there's been a lot less of it than I expected, to be honest.

Let's go through this point by point...

Roen has basically admitted that he lied about what G-slur told him. Layane has noticed this. Will this have any ramifications on anything? Only time will tell

I have literally no idea what Shafinah means by 'place doubts in Roen's head'. Like no idea at all. I assume she means G-slur intended to fuck with him for good reason but what exactly does this achieve? Please comment what you think she's going on about if you have any ideas

Shafinah, are you saying you know G-slur well enough to know what she was doing with the plan that needs to succeed but also fail but also succeed but also fail? Really?

The Gever seem to have super powerful, random abilities. If everyone knows about Roen's various problems, and they for some reason need him to be doing super important shit, why has no one ever magically intervened?

Shafinah has a suggestion. Maybe instead of making Layane's location known, they could sneak up on the kidnappers!

Hopefully she plans to tell Layane and Roen where the kidnappers are (even though that would defeat the point of finding them, as surely Shafinah could just ask the kidnappers what their deal is) otherwise it's a really pointless suggestion.

Roen stopped. They had reached the apartment. The houses were so repetitive that Layane hadn’t realized they were nearing it.

There was no indication at all that they were walking rather than standing where they first saw Shafinah. Nothing at all.

Layane turns to ask Shafinah something, but she's disappeared. Straight up gone.

“She could have stayed to help,” Roen said. “She’s probably the most powerful Gever there is, it would have been easy for her...”

He storms into the flat and goes to sulk in his room.

Layane, who the previous day announced that once Clemant was back she was going to remove Roen from her life for good - and that was before he admitted he lied about G-slur's plan - seemingly forgets about all of that and takes Clemant to her room to talk.

Clemant won't tell Layane what happened until Layane explains where she was, which is fair enough. Layane tells Clemant everything, and Clemant takes it 'a lot better than expected'. Layane also tells Clemant that Jezirah is fine, but stay away from Roen.

“Clemant, what happened?” she asked. She spoke immediately. “They kept asking me about a holiday.”

I mean, that says it all, doesn't it? Layane and Clemant's parents found Geviria when they were on holiday in Spain.

It would sure be weird if our characters couldn't work out what was meant by that.

(To be continued.)

[inkyu]

part 1 post right here :3

(I'll also be giving tiny story synopsis's because I want to yap about my stories U_U)

Also sense all of my main stories are connected to each other in some way I'll be putting a ⭐ next to a sentence that's connected to Backyard Thursday (I consider BT the plaza of my stories)

Green: Backyard Thursday Pink: Roseburnt

((And no, there's no huge story where they all meet and face a bigger bad, I don't like that trope and I think they've suffered enough(Especially Mandela's Requiem and Backyard Thursday... woof)))

Also geez- lots of old art (here's some recent comic art in comparison before you see the old comic art U>U)

I'm only sharing a few because stories like Rose Burnt do not have any comcis made(Rose Burn was written but I'm moving it to a comic format as writing it in a book style isn't fun for me), Shadow Killed had a few but I lost all files for that and need to go searching for W.I.Ps, I have some panels from the Webtoon drafts I made a few years back so I can go get them for SK

As for the rest I'll show what I can! (TOAK.... Has too many re-do's so i'll only share a few U_U)

Collideists

Yeah... Collideists only had 1 panel drawn of it and never again, and this isn't even the comic style I'm doing anymore

But anywho's, in short:

Collideists takes place in a world where humans go extinct after a bright light lands on Tellus(In universe Earth for context)⭐ causing changes to happen. Two immortal races start to appear called Shadow (Not my species) and Light Creatures(My species). Some were too hostile and others not so much, they eventually re-built the half broken Tellus and travers through wherever they take their half broken planet. Years later Aont is a 17-18 year old high school student currently on summer break (he didn't graduate yet) lives in the most protected country of Tellus and has a secret that if revealed could spark a huge revelation. Despite his secret however he's very reckless and get's caught and news spreads about a "human" being alive gaining the attention of many hostile creatures known as CMJ's.

I haven't really completed writing out all of collideists/it's still in development, but I do have an ending planned, basically Fatum fixes the mess her parents caused (I think you can guess who they are) among the creatures and helps planet travel run smoother in stuff, humans are Moreso still extinct but there are still fake humans running amongst the planet safely (humans are still extinct, the only "actual" human would be Fatum but she's half human (heh.... :3))

All of this is to be changed sense I think I wanna add more sci-fy ish stuff and have it so that thousands of years passed causing 4 planets to be colonized, Tellus and 3 others, maybe only 3 planets or just 2. As creatures in this world do not die of old age (they have the mental stability to live forever as they're just figments of light/color/technically walking corpses(tiny spoilers but not really U_U))

Backyard Thursday

1st image is when I solidified act 1 of BT (2024)

2nd image is when I didn't have a script for BT and just winged it (I knew what I wanted but I made the grave mistake of "fuck it we ball")

Also GEEZ, that art style change is INSANE (Unsure if yo see a different but I do)

Also, Nath's design is TBC because I hate her current design, but she does have other designs like this within BT

I really do prefer her Cold/Saxaisis(country within BT) arc outfit :3 (the paper drawing was made a year after U_U)

Never So Norm

This was at the time where I wasn't used to drawing backgrounds or dynamic-ish poses (I'm still not but they're much more easier for me to draw now!)

this isn't *all* of the panels btw, just a few that I really like, also Never So Norm is one of the few old comic arts I did where I fully sketched out of the chapter instead of "sketch, draw, sketch draw"

I really prefer the sketch all and then draw all format because it's much more easier to follow through U_U

Also here are some headshots I really liked that don't appear in the panels I showed

Despite this world canonically being connected to my other story Rose Burnt that has a lot fantasy elements in it, this story does not. It's slice of life, drama, and school life genre story and it might be one of the most controversial stories I've created. I've implemented a lot of personal elements into my life on this story so it's very personal to me and I'm the most shy when talking about this to strangers U_U

Never So Norm's story (without huge spoilers):

Samy is a 17-18 year old (I'm debating on which/when the story should take place before or after he's 18) high school senior. His friends meet the new girl Cheryl and get into some drama with someone they all hate after Ivan and Ty catches Darrel cheating on Sarah with her best friend Jane. Meanwhile Cheryl meets a new friend and the two get super close, although this closeness slowly determinates after Cheryl discovers something about Alex that not only concerns her but get's her into major drama with someone which ties both Cheryl and Samy's drama together.

Also despite this story focusing on the main cast it will also focus on the parents part of the story which IMO is way darker and shows more on Rose Burnt's fantasy side. (spoilers ahead) I.E an unknown eye virus⭐ and other stuff (some of the main cast will get dragged into their parents drama which causes them to mature more(*coughs* Sarah *coughs*))

(And I'm still figure out NSN cuz it's a whole shit show but I also wanted it to have a little twist to it and not be like other high school drama's ) (Also Backyard Thursday's act 1 takes place in NSN's Earth but this is when the main characters are in their 30's making Ajax and Nath the same as the main cast (When the autism kicks in)) (((And what connects Never So Norm to Rose Burnt is that canoncially a few of the main characters are cousins of the other main characters(Samy and Erg being cousins for example and Samy being a fanboy of a pop singer AKA one of MC's of RB's mom))))

Shadow Killed (I lost the files to the actual full W.I.Ps so take the webtoon draft version I have of it(I never posted it cuz I'm gonna re-do it all once I get to SK in my preferred format))

And that's it cause the rest of it is lost forever :skull:

I wish I saved it better because Shadow Killed is one of my favorite stories I've created, not only because it's my first original story, but also because I loved it so much it survived my story purge back in middle school.

I'm trying not to go ahead and start drawing it right now because I want to get better at art for Shadow Killed, it's one of my biggest motivators to get better at drawing because not only do I want to handle SK with care, but also the art.

As much as I also love Two Over A Kind it's a huge mess right now and I'm trying to clean up the world building because I went a bit overboard on the world building and I'm cleaning it up right now, but I still love it do death!

Trust guys I don't have a favorite story (I do and it's SK)

Story Baisis:

4 roommates Ian, Damien, Hannah, and Victoria live their causal daily life, do their job for bills, participate in guild activities, report any suspicious behavior to the royal guards, and live quietly in the small village of Loyalette. However things go wrong during a mission, Saul Shiskui takes away Victoria's ability after a run in with a wanted criminal Jay. Despite Victoria not being worried as she has a second ability that cannot be taken away, Hannah's vengefulness and anger strives her to find a cure in a cursed village rumored to bring back abilities. While doing so, they catch the attention of the whole world.

That last part is actually a spoiler to the ending of Act 1 of Shadow Killed, to give background/context, everyone has an ability, and if they don't they're called inabilities. there are special people however that have a second ability, these peoples are within a group called the 4 7's or the four seven's, four groups with seven people having a very special second ability. the 7DS, 7HV, 7OH, and 7OM (it's too long to type out the full thing so I always shorten it) the 7DS are seen as evil and must be removed (which is untrue), the 7HV are seen as good luck and must be protected, but somehow all of them keep dying and a new 7OH appears (mainly because of assassin's trying to harbor their ability/take it for themselves, and each death is huge but a kidnapping is not normal(teehee... spoilerssss))

I'm guessing you know what happens at the end of Act 1 as I kidna gave it away with some hints, but if not then I think i'd fun to try and figure it out!

Also this may be one of the few stories that isn't connected to BT, i'm trying to connect it to BT somehow in someway because I love all of my stories connecting! (Maybe SK would just be a universe created the procreator and left to not be added into BT bc it's too powerful or something(more BT universe world buidling AUGAUHAGHU :3))

I'm trying not to go off on SK because of how much I love it, but I have a lot planned for it and a lot of love for this story <3

Two Over A Kind (each image is from a different re-make, it's not from the same remake U_U) (Also yes I did in fact base my username off of this OC, although I'm gonna re-design her and re-name her because I don't want people thinking she's a persona when she isn't U_U)

I'm not sure if you can see the art style change but there has been (+ Gaia has been added to the part 1 introduction!)

Also midway through the CONSTANT re-making they went from 12 year olds to 17-18 year olds

In fact a lot has changed about TOAK, from story name, to world building, to genre.... heck even the main VILLAINS changed a lot, I'd have to make a whole post about how much TOAK has changed. But alas I am not U_U

Story Basis:

Inkyu(Name to be changed but I'm using Inkyu for now) and her friends Luu and Gaia meet the new kid in town Kane. They introduce him around town when weird things start to happen. Eventually they're attacked by a crazy homeless looking lady who sends them into a world called the "Mirror Realm". They eventually escape it and they learn about the world outside of their country having magic and different species besides their own. But now their mirrored clones are out to kill them causing Inkyu and many other of her friends to flee to Kane's old town, so that one of Kane's old buddies can help.

Also the mirror realm stuff is a huge clickbait IMO, they're not actually mirrored versions of the others. They're actually just another species within the TOAK universe (before they weren't but the more I thought about it the more it made no sense to even have it in there) But I think I should save my species ramble bambles or else I'll start going off from the main topic.... like I did with the SK one :Skull: :sob:

(Although I will be happy to answer any OC related species or world building because I really love to ramble about them when given the chance... even if it means spoilering the story on accident qWp)

Extra's/No Comic Art/Comic Art already public

Rose Burnt

Rose Burnt is actually a written story I made on wattpad a few years ago my late freshmen/early sophomore year, I was super into Homestuck (I still am but not as obsessed as I was before) and wanted to try and make a horror-genrefied version of it(RB is no longer horror). Needless to say I gave up on it after like 4 chapters and didn't go back to it until I logged back into my wattpad about and went "Oh shit I forgot I wrote this............." and then I started to hyperfixate on Rose Burnt and things went on from there U_U

here are some sentences/writings from RB that I really like because I still have that TwT (I wrote up to 12-13 chapters before I officially decided that "this would be better as a comic instead")

The premise of the story is the same but some stuff has changed. U_U

I think you can tell (if you're into homestuck) that rose burnt is literally just Homestuck, although it's my version of a sburb game as although Rose Burnt has a lot of elements to homestuck, I think it's different because the goal of their own game is to not get a re-ward but to just get creative/make your on goals

Also those screenshots is beta rose burnt, back when the game aspect wasn't a thing and those ghouls(before they were called monsters but I changed it to ghouls as I solidified their species more and they take on a more spooky-ghost like culture)came to August's and the others world for a different reason, that reason has changed now as I solidified Ghoul culture/their backstoris (a bit)

Rose Burnt baisis:

(Also tiny funfact anything similar to tiktok does not exist in any of my stories because of my huge distaste for tiktok(and also because I need to give the Rose Burnt cast a reason to be outside and not doom scroll all the time as honestly that's very sad...))

5 kids enter summer break ending their 8th grade year, August's birthday just so happens to be coming up. But after a few hours into summer break strange things begin to happen after all of her friends enter a grave yard's house and strange people start to message them about how to handle this situation. August after receiving an early birthday gift from a strange user called "majestic_marryier" uses this gift to help save her friends and stop whoever's hurting them. However, something else stalks August which leads her and her friends into something even more dangerous.

I'm gonna be so fr with you when making the newer beginning to Rose Burnt I wanted to do it in a way that was interesting. Personally I find the starting to Homestuck boring (I think a lot of people do to) and sense Rose Burnt is basically my Homestuck I wanted to write it in a way that I liked, don't get me wrong I freaking LOVE Homestuck, and parts of it's beginnigns, but Rose Burnt isn't really Homestuck in it's own weird way. I don't care if people call it a HS clone or whatever, I just want to write it in a way that makes me happy!

(And I might tag it as "sburb" on MSPFA sense well- the game their playing is SORT OF like sburb but not really-, I'll see when I get to Rose Burnt's story U_U)

Mandela's Requiem

I don't really need to show any art from MR as it's already public so all I'm gonna do is talk about the story basis XP (I also might change up the beginning of MR a bit as the story itself writing wise was based off of old creepypasta storis of "oh haha MC get's bullied and stuff happens", I will def keep the bullying aspect the same but have it so that Isabela is less-sad about it as I kinda wanna distant MR from creepypasta writings and base it off of my own U_U) (I wanna make it so that Isabela is moreso numb to the bullying)

Isabela Sola get's bullied often at her school for being the "weird kid", her vocal stims put people off and the way she talks about things she likes makes her seem weird. Chester Sawyer doesn't find Isabela's habits weird and tries to befriend her but his two jackass friends Henry and Rob prevent him doing so leading into a fight causing Rob and Chester to get detention. Eventually when school ends Isabela get's into a fight with the schools queen Jacklynn. (context: MR is also connected planet wise to NSN and RB, not gonna explain now but when I say queen I mean she literally is the school queen(IRL earth and this earth are not the same)) All of this negativity and mistreatment of others leads something⭐ deciding to stand up and take out other bullies as well as give the victim and supporter a new "forever home" that doesn't last long.

And I think that's all for my yap session U_U, I hope that at least one of these stories interests you as all of them interest me ^W^. I'm still working on my writing skills and I'm getting better by the day.

I hope I answered your question, if you (or anyone who comes across this...) has any questions on any of my stories don't be scared to ask, if anything be scared of my response because I will go on a 50 page essay on the world building X.X (half joking... but I will non stop yap because I love all of these stories dearly!!! even my AU's!!! (i don't prioritize my AU's much but I still love them U_U))

[excessive-vampires]

Dealing With Demons Chapter 5: Hope This One's Interesting Part 2: Cee

Masterlist with CW

Taglist: @demyxdancer @softvampirewhump

"This complicates things," Avi said, looking at my Spotify profile.

Maybe it means they're willing to forgive you? I mean they could only have found it through you.

"Or maybe they were just curious and recognized your good taste in music. Now, I have to do an hour of business paperwork."

I groaned internally.

"To make sure I stay filthy rich."

I thought my acquiescence.

"So what podcast do you want me to put on for you?"

Have I mentioned how much I love that I don't have to pay attention to your boring ass business shit?

Avi beamed. They were proud of the system we'd come up with. Then suddenly they closed their eyes and inhaled deeply.

"A summons."

Guess the paperwork will have to wait. Hope this one's interesting.

That last interesting one I remembered was a woman who wanted one of every single issue of a certain comic book from thirty years ago. That had taken some investigative work. Deals were getting more and more rare, honestly, since Avi had refused to do anything too illegal for any reason besides protecting themself or punishing deal-breakers ever since we made our deal. It just wasn't worth the risk of ending up on the run from the law when they had a real life they'd lose if they did. But they didn't really mind the scarcity. Demons were patient, according to Avi, and for now they didn't need any more power to get what they wanted, not when they had me.

They blinked and suddenly we were in a dark room. Probably some sort of basement. It smelled like underground. Stale and damp and earthy. The floor was rough beneath their feet.

Across the room stood a person probably in their early forties. Short dirty blond hair tinged with gray at the temples Sinister smile, impeccably dressed.

Avi wore casual clothes. One of my old band t-shirts and sweatpants. Not even a bra. I felt self-conscious next to their soon-to-be client's suit. Avi felt frustrated that there had been no time to change. But if they don't answer a summons right away the summoner will eventually give up.

"You're not what I expected." The summoner's voice had a southern drawl to it, much thicker than my slight accent.

Avi looked down at their outfit and grimaced. "If you give me a moment I can put on some more businesslike attire."

"Not entirely what I meant. You have a physical body."

So, this summoner knew enough about demons to recognize possession. That was interesting, but not too unexpected. People tended to do quite a lot of research before selling their souls. I'd had only the one spellbook I found hidden in an alley to guide me, but I was in too much of a hurry to bother finding connections in the world of mages before making my deal.

"Yes." They beamed. "Isn't it nice?" They made a show of turning around in a circle.

"Don't you want a skinnier one? I mean, you're not a demon of gluttony." The summoner laughed at their own joke.

Rage bloomed in me, but also shame. It just goes to show, you never completely unlearn anything.

"Not. Interested."

The summoner shrugged. "No need to get angry."

"Now," the demon inhaled, searching the essence of the summoning spell for more information on the person standing before us. "Cliff Mason. Hi, I'm Avi, they/them. What do you desire?" We both wanted to get this deal over with as soon as possible, Cliff seemed like an asshole.

He grinned. "I have a plan. It requires one of each type of demon." He held up seven fingers.

Ominous.

"It will bestow great power upon everyone involved."

Vague.

"Uh huh, sure. Which lucky demon gets your soul?"

There was a slight pause.

"The power should be its own reward."

There's another red flag.

"Listen, I've kind of got my own thing going on, so find yourself another spirit of avarice."

"No! Having a demon that owns a body will make things so much easier! Now that I've found you I won't let you go!"

I don't know if you can hear this but there are warning sirens going off in my brain right now, Avi.

"Yeah, sorry, this sounds sketchy as hell. I'm out."

"Wait! No!"

With another blink we were back in Avi's apartment.

"That was weird."

Let's hope he gives up on whatever he's trying to do.

"Yeah, it sounds like he'll likely just blow himself up anyway."

I hope so. I got a seriously creepy vibe from him.

They walked over to their desk and sat down to start on the paperwork. "Don't worry, we'll probably never see him again." 

[ahordeofwasps]

☁️cloudy & 🏝 hurricane for the weather wip asks! (--@space-writes)

Thanks for the asks for the WIP Weather Ask Game!

☁️ Cloudy - What inspired you to start writing your WIP? (or in general)

I'm going to do this one for To Not Falling Off Cliffs as there's a funny story behind its creation.

One day, I'm home alone making mac & cheese, not out of a box, but the kind that you make yourself with pasta, butter, milk, flour, and mountains upon mountains of shredded cheese. This is important. Particularly the milk part of this recipe.

I live in a flat in a multiflat building. By the door, there's an old school landline-esque phone that connects to the buzzer at the building's entrance. It goes off. Thinking it's the postperson trying to deliver mail, I pick it up.

I'm not greeted by the postperson. Instead, I'm greeted by "Hiya ma'am! Do you drink milk?" He's a door to door salesman... selling milk of all things.

I do drink milk. I just used a bunch of milk. But, one thing I've learned, both from my parents and from living in areas with an abundance of seniors and students (often targets of door to door salespeople, particularly ones selling crappy internet deals), is to avoid door to door salespeople and to never ever buy what they're selling. I lie and say, "No."

The salesman persists and asks if my flatmate drinks milk. Now that I'm writing this out, it is kinda creepy how he knew I had a flatmate. Lucky guess, maybe?

"No," I say again and it's truthful this time. Sort of. She doesn't drink milk. She drinks oatmilk.

He then proceeds ask if either of us drink oatmilk.

I lie to him again and tell him, "No."

This repeats for a several different types of milk. Eventually, sounding quite exasperated, he says, "Neither of you really drink milk?"

I lie of course and again, tell him, "No."

He proceeds to ask me if I can let him in so he can try selling milk to my neighbors.

I then tell him one honest thing and say that I don't let in door to door salespeople, before hanging up the phone.

I have peace and quiet for one whole second, before hearing another buzzer go off from somewhere in the building. Thirty seconds later, I hear the distinct ka-chunk of the door to the building being opened. I remember thinking to myself how door to door salespeople were like vampires, needing permission to enter a building and the companies behind them leeching off of those unlucky enough to get swindled by them, bleeding them dry in some cases.

The idea of door to door salespeople being vampires is what lead me to write the first chapter of To Not Falling Off Cliffs, Erika with a K's Rest Day.

🏝 Hurricane - Do you often stick to one WIP and finish it, then move on, or do you bounce between WIPs?

Depends on what stage. Usually during the writing stage I stick to one WIP, however during editing I will bounce between WIPs. This might change however. Also thanks to To Not Falling Off Cliffs, which when I started writing, I thought it would be a short story. I really want to work on Crying Wolf's sequel (tentatively going to be called The Emissary Project) and I don't want to put if off too long, however To Not Falling Off Cliffs has turned out to be a novel. So I'm going to work on both at the same time.

[casspurrjoybell-23]

Friday Night - Chapter 7 - Part 2

*Warning Adult Content*

"Would you like a tour?"

The first thing Hunter Dannings saw once he went past the door was a locker room.

His brain conjured up bartenders and waitstaff stuffing their belongings in here at the start of every shift.

River Conners grabbed his wrists, cool fingers at his pulse as he pulled him to the right.

At the end of that hall was their first stop... the kitchen.

The warm room was blasting with music, making it hard to hear the classic sounds of chopping and sizzling pans.

River made the introductions between Hunter and the three people cooking, though he had to yell to do so.

"I'm surprised you're okay with the music being so loud in here," Hunter commented, his head bumping instinctively to the reggaeton playing.

"Most bosses couldn't stand it."

"I trust my head chef, Lawrence."

River pointed out Lawrence, a short French man trying to bop to the music as he garnished a plate.

"His philosophy is that you put your whole self, including your emotions, into the food that you cook," River crossed his arms, watching Hunter through the wisps of his lashes.

"So, you may as well put some good energy in there too."

Those words were innocent enough but Hunter felt like there was some innuendo he was missing.

A beat passed where the other man's eyes trailed him with intent.

The slow crawl of River's stare down and back up his body raised every hair Hunter had to its tip.

His dark eyes were so suggestive, Hunter could easily guess the dirty thoughts he had.

A gust of cool air entered the room when one of the waiters entered the kitchen, catching Hunter's attention.

He walked in through the swinging double doors on the other end of the kitchen and Hunter finally understood how the rooms connected in 'Adonis'.

Hunter looked back at River again but the moment was lost.

The man turned on his heel, gesturing for Hunter to follow.

Back in front of the door to the bar, River presented the employee locker room and bathroom.

They walked through the two walls of lockers which led into the breakroom and just past that was the lounge.

Seeing the cozy couches and patterned walls, Hunter almost wanted to go back in time so he could be young again and work here.

"I wish I could go back in time so I was young enough to work here."

River crossed his arms after Hunter spoke, his tilted head catching every last detail of Hunter's appearance.

Joking or not, River's assessment felt like a test and Hunter's skin tingled with awareness.

"There's no need for time travel. You can just work here now," he suggested cheekily.

Slinking up to the other man, he pinched Hunter's shirt, barely grazing his skin underneath.

"I'm sure the old ladies that come here every night would just 'love' you."

Using a door to the left, River left the room while Hunter was still recovering from his teasing.

The deeper into the bar they went, the bolder River became.

Was Hunter ready for what awaited him at the end?

Rushing to follow, Hunter found River in front of what he explained to be their meeting room.

"For most of the day, my managers just use it for work when they're not out front but we also use it for management meetings, interviews with new hires, training, et cetera..." and going to the final door on the left, Hunter was brought into River's office.

The room was two-thirds the size of Hunter's but what it lacked in space it made up for in life.

Despite his desk being large, every available surface was covered in papers or trinkets.

Like the half finished Rubik's cube about to fall off the corner or the handmade bracelet right beside the laptop.

"So what do you think?" River asked, splaying his arms as he spun over his plush rug.

The smile on his face lacked the usual cheeky edge and Hunter felt as if, maybe, he really did care what Hunter's response would be.

"It's nice," he complimented, hands reaching out to graze one of many aged bands posters curling off of the walls.

"I like how cozy it feels."

"You mean small?"

"No," Hunter laughed, hearing River's matching chuckles from behind him.

"I mean cozy. Your office feels . . . lived in. I like it. I like it a lot more than my office at least."

"Now I think you're calling it messy but I will accept the compliment."

River continued to laugh as he walked behind his desk, relaxing into the brown leather chair with all of the confidence a man in his position should carry.

Hunter sat in the chair in front of him and while he knew the conversation had shifted, he found it hard to leave it alone.

Looking around at an office so much warmer than his own, he felt the need to defend it.

"I meant that I can see how long you've been here working and pouring into this bar. Your office shows that," Hunter explained, spurred on by the warmth that continued to grow in River's expression.

"Mine is mostly empty even though I've had the company for two years."

"Thank you," River told him sincerely.

With his chin tilted down and lips contained to the smallest of smiles, the incredibly masculine man looked kind of cute.

Then, the other man paused, the gears in his mind turning.

"You got an office space in two years?"

Hunter almost winced.

Most people he met outside work assumed he was an entrepreneur, starting his company from scratch and getting rapid success in a Steve Jobs sort of manner.

Finding out the company came from his dad eliminated any respect they had for him.

He always felt the label being metaphorically smacked across his forehead.

"No, I'm not that amazing," Hunter joked, mentally preparing for River's inevitable reaction.

"My dad owned the company and I spent my whole life preparing to take over. Of course, I owe most of my success to being born to the right guy but I also worked my butt off to prove to our shareholders that I could run it at twenty-five instead of waiting until I was fifty."

"I get that. You put a lot into your business and anyone who has heard you talk about it for more than two seconds knows how much you love it."

Hunter waited for the insult to his upbringing or dig to his company but they never came.

River was just smiling at him, looking as if he meant every word that he said.

Raising from his seat, River laughed to himself, leaving Hunter out of the little joke but the smaller man didn't mind.

"You know, when you first strolled in here two months ago I couldn't decide if you were a country club douche or a really well dressed kid."

Hunter stood up just as River reached him, his crossed arms brushing against Hunter's chest.

Hunter kept his eyes on River's, quickly trying to remember what they'd been talking about.

"Which one am I?" Hunter asked, genuinely curious.

"Neither. Though I think you're supposed to be both."

River laughed freely, taking enjoyment in how irritated Hunter was by his conclusion.

As he sobered, River's fingers fiddled with Hunter's dress shirt, his heat quickly seeping past the thin fabric.

With River's hands dancing so low on his stomach, Hunter's breath grew shallow, the reaction worsening the more he tried to control it.

"But somehow, you're just nice," River whispered.

He caught Hunter's gaze and the look of wonder there struck the taller man to the core.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone like you."

Their eyes locked.

Hunter willed himself to look away but couldn't find the motivation to do so.

Truthfully, he loved staring into River's eyes.

He loved watching River's pupils shift back and forth or seeing his crow's feet tighten and relax with each change in expression.

Today, the task became harder since... without his permission... Hunter's eyes dropped to River's mouth.

He zoned in on those pale pink lips just as River's tongue darted out to wet them and Hunter's mind went hazy at the sight.

He was reminded of River's hands on his torso, toying with his shirt and Hunter's resolve wavered.

If he could just lean up and close the distance...

A cell-phone rings.

The piercing sound of River's ringtone cuts through the sexual tension with a knife and the two men jump apart.

Pulling out the device, River's stiff expression visibly melted by the time he looked at Hunter again.

"Sorry, I have to take this."

The younger man took a moment to collect himself, running a hand through his hair while River picked up the cell-phone.

"Hey baby, how are you?"

[unreadpoppy]

Poppy's handy guide to fic commenting - by a fic author who struggles with IRL social anxiety

If you follow me, you've probably seen me talking about people leaving comments on fics.

I try not to sound like a broken record about it so to keep it simple: me like comments. Comments help my self depricating ass believe i'm actually good at this. Comments give me dopamine boost. Dopamine boost gives me enough energy to write more fic.

And also, the reason I like leaving and receiving comments it's because it gives me a real sense of connection. A sense of builduing community with other people.

But, I know that commenting can be very intimidating for a lot of folks. There's a lot of people that talk about 'idk what to say' 'what if the author doesn't like it' and I decided to write this little post to help people who maybe want to leave more comments but are apprehensive about it.

And trust me, I know that it can be hard. I got social anxiety and it took me a long time to figure out commenting, but the truth is, most authors will appreciate your comments, regardless of what you say (as long as you're not been an asshat).

So, here's some stuff to help you put organize your thoughts into a nice little comment. Also, I'm gonna type some examples that are slighlty based on real comments I've left on fic, but remember, you can write stuff however you like.

Method 1: Specifics.

Many times when I'm reading a fic, I'll like a very specific scene, or how the author handled a certain subject. Maybe it's the characters dynamic, or maybe just one phrase that completely broke me. Regardless, this is a type of comment where you're gonna focus on that one specific thing you really liked.

If it's a line that you liked, you could quote that line again and add how it made you feel.

Ex.: "In a world where you wouldn't choose me, i'd still choose you" OOF that line BROKE ME/ made me cry

If it's a scene, you could lightly described it.

Ex.: Oh my god, the part where he took her hand and comforted her??? amazing

You could even just copy paste the whole scene you liked and add your own little commentary on it, giving your insight on to what you interpreted (which is something that i've received as comments in the past!)

I like these types of comments because you can go in depth on something you particularly enjoyed a lot, or you can just easily and in a very short manner show a detail you liked. To me, it shows me that whoever wrote the comment was paying attention to the fic and I can see what they really liked about it.

Method 2: Overall

So this is the opposite of the specifics. Maybe the whole fic was just so good, you struggle with poiting out just one thing you loved. In my opinion, the best way to tackle this looks something like this:

Ex.: I love this fic/chapter! The character dynamic, the descriptions, the dialogue, everything was just soooo good!

Ex.: Aaaaa this chapter/fic was amazing, I loved every single part of it!

You can point out a few key elements but you dont have to go into much detail, showing that everything was truly stellar, or you can just go the compliment route . I like these comments because they are short and very sweet, and they give me a lil warm feeling. They're like the little boost that comes in handy.

Method 3: The Simple Ones

These are even shorter but just as sweet. Maybe you loved the fic but can't articulate well. Don't let that stop you from commenting! These will make a writer just as happy because you cared enough to leave something. These comments come in various types.

Like the keysmash

Ex.: Ç0ERHMJ´2¢JIOÇRFNJRKJE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

(which can be interpreted as crying screaming throwing up)

The two words:

Ex.: Lovely chapter!

Ex.: Loved this!

Ex.: Amazing work

These are very good at getting the point across that you liked what you read.

Now, remember that when commenting you can go as long or as short as you want. You can give a page lenght in depth analysis on to why this fic is the best work of fiction you ever read or just a simple heart emoji to show the author that you care.

I think the best way to think about commenting is that it doesn't have to be this big thing. Imagine you're just...texting a friend, about something you liked. You can be a little unhinged. Authors are social animals and we crave connection (and also to be able to talk to otherd about our work) and comments are a great way to do that. Like, I guarantee, I try to reply to most if not all comments I get, because I do genuinly want to talk to people about this thing I poured my heart into writing.

So yeah, I hope this helps you guys, and may we comment even more in 2024.

[applecorething]

I saw this review of Slow Productivity via bluesky and I like this review, not sure if i'm going to read the book even though it is short. maybe in time. The three headline principles are thought-jogging enough for me i think

The initial chapters of the book will have many knowledge workers nodding along empathetically, sharing in the sense of exhaustion and overload. Taking inspiration from the “slow food” movement Newport quickly moves into his three solutionary principles: Do fewer things Work at a natural pace Obsess over quality

Obsessing over quality is something i want to do, and of course doing fewer things. i am trying, often failing, to avoid multi-tasking. To not put on a podcast while i make my lunch and instead be present and quiet and allow thoughts to surface. it's been hard to do this while fatigued because no thoughts do surface and it has the feeling of wearing noise cancelling in-ear headphones where there's this loud silence giving me a headache. fatigue sucks man.

I am glad i read this review in part because i got to be linked to this other review of The Burnout Generation. This review isn't as good itself but did sufficiently make me want to read the book that i've reserved it at my library. And it reminded me of Jenny Odell and her book How To Do Nothing, which i've been thinking about since 2017 when i read this essay/keynote which comprises the first chapter of her book. I've also reserved this from my library, she's got 7 copies in the glasgow library system, big up jenny odell massive. The photos and videos really add to the essay i think, and for all Medium has gone to the dogs it really was a nice reading environment when it was able to be all VC funded and pop-up/ad-free.

I return to this essay all the time. I love the section about making art from nothing and into nothing, and the bit about Mierle Laderman Ukeles who is permanent artist in residence at the NYC sanitation department, how repetitive maintenance is the work. I love the connection to her other projects like the bureau of suspended objects. I remember reading and loving the There's No Such Thing as a Free Watch project. It really tickles the like.. modern internet investigative reporter vibe i cherish. (related in this vein: Defunctland feature film abt the disney channel theme - this man tracks down and interviews so many normal people in this niche field)

Through writing this i've just found her recent article in Pioneer Works about collage and this wonderful collaboration using presentations from now out of business startups. There's something i find so funny about corporate presentations, even though they're part of my day job. Something changed inside me when i saw Redesign Your Logo by Neil Cicierega.

[byicarus]

it had always been monty and xavier from the very beginning. since the date they'd moved in next door to each other, the two boys had become fast friends, and nothing had changed since then, except for the fact that they had sprouted up a few feet and fallen in love with each other. part of him wondered if anyone else had ever noticed it before they could put the puzzle pieces together. perhaps if they had given it this kind of thought to it before, they wouldn't have been in this situation of awkward confessions and figuring things out. they could've been an item long before... of course, they'd always been attached at the hip, but the air between them was much different now. this was somehow everything that monty needed and still not enough. when it came to xavier, his heart would never get its fill; he'd never grow tired of him. past or present, monty was glad to call xavier all his own. "you're just biased, i think... but then again, so am i. i think you hung the moon and sun," the slightly older boy answered back with a chuckle. he'd ever get tired of hearing xavier compliment him. even before, it was quite literally the greatest feeling he'd ever known. it always made his stomach feel all fluttery. "okay, we don't bring up the bleach blonde hair. that was a mistake and a half, but i mean, as long as you didn't think i looked ugly, that's what mattered," he went on. he pressed a kiss to the top of xavier's forehead. he chuckled a little at how defensive xavier got about his tiny, little feet. his smile grew wider. "they're tiny, and i love them... just like you," monty hummed. he was already imagining how soft they'd be, how good they'd taste on his tastebuds. his cock was raging hard in his shorts, desperate to feel some kind of stimulation. "yeah, yeah, i know. i'm indefensible against your adorable little pouts... 's amazing we just figured out how whipped i am for you," monty went on playfully. they were taking that one last big leap, and there was no more looking back after that. monty was excited, thrilled even, to explore this new chapter of their life together. he always knew it would be he and monty 'til they went out guns blazing, but now, he was going to have a deeper connection — a lover for life. "i wanna see that," the brunette boy admitted. "i don't think there's anything hotter than you using my dirty socks to get off... like i would bust so quickly watching you. but then again, i might wanna wait 'til you're finished to cum... 'cause i'd wanna use them too after you shot your load on them." it was an absolutely filthy thing to say. monty had never felt so honest before in his life. it wasn't like he'd never thought about xavier before in that manner. if he really thought about it, xavier was the one who filled all of his daydreams and fantasies. "yeah... i was kinda lazy, and y'know, i have some missing, but i get that worked out to both of our advantage, yeah?" he questioned with a teasing wink. his toes wiggled in his socks, doing his best to entice his best friend. xavier's tiny head next to his much larger feet was going to be transfixed in his mind forever. "someone's enjoying himself," he teased softly. he groaned as he let his hand fall down into his pants, slowly stroking himself. "that's not weird; i think it's hot... but guess what? you're all mine now, so i can make those fantasies come true, princess," monty breathed out. "all you gotta do is show me how badly you want it right now. you think you can do that, baby girl? show daddy how badly you need to clean his feet."

before college, xavier would have hardly described himself as confident. he had always been smaller than the boys in his grade, interested in video games and coding rather than sports or girls. xavier was the perfect target—too tiny and frail to hit back, too afraid to speak up. being his friend was enough to put a bullseye on monty's back as well, but that never deterred him. he protected xavier fiercely and without question each and every time his incessant bullies came after him, held him tightly when it was over, and never left his side. to anyone else, that might have been enough to let xavier know that what they had was beyond friendship; but monty was too important to him to potentially screw it up. xavier waited until he had that sugary sweet confirmation—now that he did, there was no reason to hold back. "nope, not just being nice. i really think you're the most handsome guy i've ever seen," xavier said bashfully, his cheeks growing redder by the second. "you've always been the cutest. even when you went and bleached your hair, i thought you were so charming. 'cause you're good looking, but you're also goofy and sweet and... perfect." there was nothing that monty could ever do to change xavier's opinion of him. xavier was the only person in the world who knew the real monty, therefore he was obviously the only one who could love him the way he deserved to be loved. "they're not that little," he hummed. the thought of his best friend with his chiseled face buried in his soft soles was enough to make xavier's cock twitch, leaking pre-cum on monty's t-shirt. "i am pretty good at pouting... and you can never resist it." xavier was almost positive that he was dreaming, that he was going to wake up and find monty fast asleep in his own bed before quietly sulking to the bathroom to rub one out before going back to sleep. but no, this was real. monty wasn't going anywhere, and neither was he—they were about to take their friendship to the next level, and there was no turning back once all was said and done. that was just as terrifying as it was exhilarating, but it was easy to stomach when he was this close to getting his mouth on monty's sweaty feet. "i cum to them all the time," the smaller boy said too eagerly. "there's like five pairs at the bottom of my dirty clothes bin, covered in cum... i was going to wash and return them, i promise." it should've been humiliating to reveal such a thing, but this was monty he was talking to. there was no judgement to be afraid of. "the first time i used them, i just sniffed. i busted after like five minutes, but i was still hard... so i tasted them, and—i swear to god—i was cumming in seconds. i liked it a lot." as much as he wanted to get on his knees and finally taste the feet he'd been lusting after for weeks, xavier could have stayed in monty's lap for hours. the other's strong hands felt immaculate as they groped his plump ass, giving xavier a pleasure he'd never felt before. "a whole week? like, even during practice and stuff?" xavier couldn't help but gasp, his little cock desperate for friction. he quickly jumped down from monty's lap, crawling onto his knees at the taller boy's feet. xavier could already smell them as he pulled them toward him and brought them to his face. "they're so big, and they smell so good... i can hardly wait to taste them, daddy," xavier whispered, rubbing his cheek against the damp fabric. he was trying to show restraint, letting them graze his skin as he took deep breaths of the air around him. xavier was in heaven. "when i was using your socks, i... i always imagined meeting you in the locker room after practice, or a game, and getting to play with them fresh off the field. 's weird, i know... but you're such a man now, and i can't resist you. i especially can't resist your sweaty feet."