#there is definitely stuff missing i'll revise this later

[agirlwithglam]

📚 It girl's guide to school 📚

hiii girls! this is part of the big Guide to being the It Girl. this section will be all about school, studying and academics. i'll teach you how to tackle school, get the highest grades effortlessly, and look chic and gorgeous doing it! the rest of the ultimate it girl series is linked! 🎀

guide to getting good grades:

LISTEN IN CLASS. one of the best tips ever. if you would actually listen to what your teachers teaching in class, you’d get to spend a lot less time studying.

ask if you need help! these teachers are qualified for the job, they’re meant to be good at it. so if you don’t understand something, don’t be afraid to ask. and if you’re really too much of a chicken, ask once the class is over or email the teacher. but honestly? half the kids probably aren’t even listening tbh so u do ur thing!

participate in class. actually participating in class will help you so much in recalling the information. it’s a great way to actively revise. you don’t have to be a teachers pet or anything, but if you know the answer, put yourself out there. anyone who judges you simply judges themselves and their inability to speak up.

change up your environment so that you're still interested and excited to learn! you could go to a coffee shop, set up a mini picnic in the woods, go to a library, etc.

use alter egos!! i will never stop recommending this because it really is an amazing tip. either you can create your own alter ego who loves to study and gets high grades, or you could pretend you're rory gilmore or hermione granger!

revision/ study techniques:

feynman technique: teach it to someone else/ to plushies. try not to look at your notes too much, pretend ur a teacher.

use practice questions/ practice exams! trust me this can be so helpful! try and find past exams and go over them in exam conditions so you can see what u missed later. or, you can get all the info and ask an AI like chatgpt to write questions based on it and go through them!

BLURTING! love this method! basically, you write all the information you know about the topic on one page (optional: set a time limit) and then go over it with a different colour pen and add in what you missed. do this a couple times until you haven't missed anything! - you can do this by creating a mind-map, or literally just scribbling down everything you know.

SQ3R method: survey/ skim over the text, question- make questions on it, read- begin reading to find the answers to the questions, recite- summarise the words in a section in your own words, review- quiz yourself on what you just learnt

organise/ prioritise what you need to study using the traffic light method. first, identify the topics, then highlight them according to these 3 colors: red- struggling a lot/ no idea , yellow- okay ish, need to work on it a bit tho , green- good understanding & confident on the topic.

make associations. this is especially helpful for when you need to memorise things. the thing you need to memorise- link it to stuff that you already know.

⭐️ use mnemonics, songs, raps to remember! a couple years back, my science teacher made us create a rap on osmosis (a biology term). and not even kidding, i still remember the simple definition of what it does because of that rap! so create songs or rap and maybe even make a whole music video on it! trust me, not only is it so fun but it really does help keep the information in your mind!

more resources:

huge big list of studying and school

another big study masterpost

100 reasons to study

how to be a whole new student this year

ACE your exams -by me!

study icons:

as i mentioned earlier, channelling the energy of a character who already studies and gets good grades is an amazing way of getting yourself motivated! here are some of my favs & tips to study like them! (p.s i've also added links to the names for a more in depth guide on each person!)

♡ rory gilmore

she loves studying- develop that mindset! have a passion for learning more.

"i can go from 0 to studying in less than 60 seconds"

switch between different subjects when you get bored

ask someone to test you with flashcards

♡ elle woods:

study while you exercise- take care of ur body too!

"what, like its hard?"- i love her sm for this!! if anyone else can do something, of course you can do it too!

be ambitious + have strong source of motivation

get into study groups

♡ paris geller

have the discipline and ambition to do the things that will get you to where you want.

"i want to win, and i'm going to win." - love this, she's sure of herself and confident in her abilities.

prioritise & use to do lists

start early to be the top of your class!

♡ blair waldorf

honestly its so fun to embody her energy of high value, cares about her education, so confident and takes no sh*t from others!

"anything you can do, i can do better"

always have a plan

have flash cards, take notes

♡ hermione granger

always participate in class!

read more about the material. + learn more!

teach others & help them study

finish the hw/ work quickly and do the extra credit!

stylish in school 101:

SURVIVING SCHOOL AIR: here are some tips to staying/ looking pretty and refreshed all day at school bc u and i both know the horrors of school air 🙀 :)

DRINK WATER. stay hydrated - very important. always drink water. this keeps your lips hydrated, face hydrated, and just makes you look a lil less dead.

lip gloss/ lip balm to reapply throughout the day, esp for my girlies with chapped lips! i keep lip balm in my pocket so its always there when needed, but you can also keep it in your locker/ bag/ pencil case.

perfume. you can keep it in your locker/ bag/ pencil case to spray whenever needed and smell sweet and amazing the entire day <3

stop touching your face!! your hands have so much crusty dust and bacteria that can give pimples on your face.

keep hair away from your face. leave it out if you want, but try to make sure it doesn't touch your face too much- it also has tons of crusty musty dusty germs

keep a hairbrush in your locker. listen, i know how messy hair can get during school so keeping it in school is SO helpful to maintain the tidyness and cleanliness

waterproof makeup - if you wear makeup.

sunscreen!! keep. applying. SUNSCREENN!! i'm not going to elaborate further on this point.

ACCESSORISING YOUR UNIFORM!!

this is for the girlies who have a school uniform! i understand it can be so annoying so to have more fun and feel more confident, ACCESSORIZEE everything as much as you're allowed! here are some ideas!

♡ necklesses

♡ bracelets

♡ bows in your hair

♡ bows in your bag

♡ bows everywhere basically 🎀

♡ decorate your ipad/ pencilcase with stickers

♡ headbands

♡ rings

♡ cute earrings

♡ cute watch

♡ nails

♡ a cute clip!

the ultimate it girl series

xoxo, vanilla!

[meowmeowovermeta]

I created this haikavetham ship iceberg and posted it on twt and may as well post it here too :)

the surface is first impressions - to details you pick up in game - to fandom brainrot - to deep lore

because there's so much stuff there are things i just put under one general category, i.e. wedding stuff just went into wedding themes, because there's a lot of that. and alhaitham drinking from kaveh's cups to kaveh freely reading alhaitham's notes goes into comfort/taking liberties.

[activesplooger]

For a story request for kinktober, could see maybe yandere!vox who is extremely possessive of y/n and goes absolute feral with the need to ‘claim the reader’ after seeing them talk to Alastor??

~em

FUCK YEAH ILY ANON <33333 YANDERE VOX EWFHJKWBFHWBEF

𝕶𝖎𝖓𝖐𝖙𝖔𝖇𝖊𝖗 𝕯𝖆𝖞 3 » ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ!ᴠᴏx x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

»»—-𝔜𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔖𝔪𝔲𝔱—-««

𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖘: (MDNI) Kinktober day 3!!! i didn't edit this btw so sorry ill revise l8ter. and that wraps up my requests for now so i'll prolly get to work on my help me (vox x assistant!reader) fic! kinktober requests are open for the whole month so ask as you please!

𝕮𝖂: yandere behavior (vox), oral (m-receiving), front-door penetration, possessiveness, recording w/o consent

𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: You have a 'friendly' chat with Alastor relating to private matters. Your possessive partner, Vox, sees this and feels the urge to mark his territory. Despite your reassurance that the talk was anything but romantic, he still pounces on you with vigorous determination...

𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝕮𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 1,809

»»———-————————————————-««

You're currently sitting through a monotonous routine overlord meeting, fidgeting with a pen in your hand as Carmilla Carmine drones on about stuff you honestly couldn't care less about. Usually, you'd have Vox by your side during these meetings, which would help things be less boring. Whether it was holding your hand under the table or making fun of the other overlords, Vox always helped entertain you. But, unfortunately, he couldn't attend; he's stuck at the Vee tower, trying to calm Valentino down after another temper tantrum.

You start to gnaw at the end of your pen subconsciously, your thoughts drifting to Vox and your plans for the day after this god-forsaken meeting. All of a sudden, a bitter taste hits your tongue. Looking down, you see pen ink splattered everywhere—on your clothes, your mouth, the desk. Forgetting where you were, you jump out of your seat and exclaim, "Shit!". The room goes silent, every overlord turning their attention from Carmilla to you. Fuck, that's embarrassing.

Carmilla raises an eyebrow, a stern expression on her face, "Everything okay, Miss L/N?". "Y-yeah," you stutter, sitting back down and avoiding eye contact, "sorry.". She sighs and focuses her attention back on the "important" subject matter. You wanted to bang your head on the desk and cry. This moment is definitely gonna replay in your head at night and keep you awake.

The buzzing of your phone vibrates in your pants pocket. You pull it out and see a notification:

Hiding your phone under the table, you smile softly. At least you had something to look forward to now. 30 more minutes, you've got this. You pocket your phone once more and pretend to pay attention.

--

The meeting concludes about 20 minutes later, a bit earlier than expected. You get up out of your seat and try to ignore the stares at your ink-stained outfit from the other overlords. Vox wouldn't be here for another ten minutes, so you figured you'd just wait outside the building until he came. However, just as you are about to exit, someone grabs your forearm and yanks you back. You're met face-to-face with the radio demon, Alastor. His smile stretches ear to ear, but it doesn't fool you, Vox has told you all about him and specifically told you to avoid him at all costs. You've interacted with Alastor before. However, Vox was always present with you each time. What could he possible want from you?

The deer grabs your hand and shakes it with a violent fervor. "Why hello there, my dear," he happily greeted, "pleasure to be meeting you without that pesky picture box by your side, quite a pleasure! You take your hand back and size him up, "Uh huh, nice seeing you. Bye-". Turning on your heels, you attempt to leave. Before you can successfully exit, Alastor seizes your hand again and pulls you back to face him, "Why, how rude! Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's impolite to leave when one is speaking to you? HA HA! Anyway, speaking of the bothersome television-". "We weren't talking about Vox-" you interrupt. Alastor chimes in again, his jubilant demeanor never faltering, "Oh, but we are now! Where is your dear Vox, hm?". "Home." you state flatly. "Really?" he asks, eyes narrowing as he pries, "and why is that? Trouble in paradise? You seemed rather preoccupied during the meeting, perhaps you were dwelling on some type of argument?". "What, no-." Alastor cuts in, not bothering for an answer and just wanting to stir the pot, "Or perhaps you were". Alastor's sentence gets interrupted by the loud rumbling of doors slamming open.

In the doorway, you see Vox glaring at Alastor, teal sparks of electricity igniting from his antennae. Oh shit, he's pissed! Good luck, Alastor, because you're about to get your ass beat! Just when you think a battle is about to go down, Vox strides over to you and slings you over his shoulder, rushing you out of the building as fast as possible. "Ah!" you yelp at the unexpected move, "what are you doing?!". He doesn't answer, only exhaling roughly as he ushers you over to his limo.

A VoxTech employee opens the limo door for you both with haste. Vox throws you through the door, landing on the plush limo seats as he follows soon after. The employee closes the car door and retreats to the driver's seat after Vox gets in. “Driver!” he calls out, “put up the privacy divider and stay parked!". The driver does as he says with a weak "Yes, Mr. Vox" in response.

"Love?" you spoke quietly as he sat across from you, a menacing look on his face. "աɦǟȶ were you ɖօɨռɢ with ɦɨʍ?!" he asked, voice glitching as his anger rose. "What-? Oh, Alastor? Nothing, he just-" Vox cuts you off by yanking your arm, examining the place where Alastor grabbed you, "Why was he FᵾȻꝀƗNǤ touching you?!". "I-I don't know I tried to walk away from it," you explain, trying to get him to understand, "nothing happened, I swear!". He releases your arm and leans closer, faces inches apart from each other, "It doesn't matter if nothing happened! He still fucking touched you! Have I not made it ᵽɇɍfɇȼŧłɏ apparent that you're ʍɨռɛ, or should I have been more clear?". Before you can respond, Vox pushes down on your shoulders, sending you down on your knees on the limo floor. He kneels on the seat, one hand undoing his belt while the other pushes two fingers into your mouth, "I'm gonna make it clear to all of Hell that NØɃØĐɎ ɃᵾŦ MɆ is allowed to touch you. Got that, princess?". You speak in a muffled tone, trying to talk coherently with teal claws shoved in your mouth is nearly impossible, "Mmph, what do you mean?".

Vox chuckles grimly and removes the digits from your mouth, a trail of saliva connecting your lips and his claws. He pulls down his pants and boxers, revealing his hard, leaking cock, just inches away from your face. "What I mean is," he begins, tangling his fingers in the back of your hair, "I'm gonna claim you as mine, and everyone in this ring of hell is gonna see that...". Your eyes flicker up to him, heat pools in your core as you anticipate what's to come, "Vox..?". "Shh," he coos, pulling your head into his cock, "smile for the camera, doll.". The last thing you see before being pushed onto his dick is a red dot blinking at the top of his screen. He's recording you.

Before you can dwell on that, you suddenly find yourself being face fucked. You wrap your lips tightly around his needy cock as he thrusts into you, teal claws digging into your hair for balance. His tip graces the back of your throat with each thrust, causing you to gag. "Relax, princess, don't choke," he murmurs, releasing his tight hold on you to lovingly stroke your hair. You moan softly at his affectionate touch, sending vibrations through his length. That was enough to send him over; he thrusts in your mouth with reckless abandon as he rides out his orgasm. Hot spurts of cum shoot down your throat and you swallow every last bit of he.

He pulls out of your mouth and makes eye contact with you, his glare is possessive and dominant. The red dot is still blinking at the top of his screen, he's definitely not done with you yet. Vox pats the seat beside him, signaling for you to sit. You do as he says. The arousal between your thighs starts to become uncomfortable, begging to be dealt with, "Please, Vox...". Vox smiles sinisterly, moving over you until you're pinned down on the limousine seats, "Please, what?". "Please," you beg, looking up at him with pleading eyes, "fuck me...".

With that, a low growl escapes Vox's throat and he immediately gets to work undressing you. He doesn't even bother taking them off. Instead, he uses his claws to rip them straight off your body. "Vox! Those are my nice clothes," you reprimand. He scoffs with a playful smirk, "They were stained with ink anyways.". He removes his shirt and discards it on the floor, laying his weight fully on top of you. Pressing kisses to your neck, you feel his already full-mast erection prodding against your stomach. "Besides," he speaks between kisses, "I'll just buy you new clothes. Whatever you want, on me.". Your heart flutters at his words, how can he be so sweet and so fucking crazy at the same time?!

You wrap your legs around him, pulling him closer as his eyes rake over your naked form appreciate. He reaches out and traces a claw across your curves, stopping at your breast and squeezing the mound. "Mine," he mutters softly. His hips snap into yours in a brutal rhythm, his large cock filling your dripping cunt completely, "You're mine, understand? This body, these curves... everything belongs to me now.". "You speak between moans and gasps, "Y-Yes, fuck, just please don't stop...". Each powerful thrust sends him deeper, the sound of skin slapping skin fills the limo. Poor driver, he can probably hear everything.

He pistons into you harder, "Fuck, doll, you're taking me so well." Reaching out, he tucks a stray strand of hair behind your ear. You don't bother responding, you're too preoccupied with the immense pleasure in your core.

Moans and grunts slip out of your mouth as you get fucked senseless, your orgasm impending. Vox recognizes that you're close and grabs at your nipple, "F-fuck, you're close. Beg for it, beg for release.". The added pleasure of his touch sends you almost over the edge, desperate for release, "Pleasepleaseplease, Vox, I can't wait any longer...". He leans forward, chuckling lowly as he whispers in your ear, "Come.". Your pussy clamps down on his cock as you cum, eliciting a guttural groan from Vox's throat. His hips jerk erratically as he chases his own release.

He comes once again, spilling his seed deep inside you as wave after wave of ecstasy crashes over him. For a moment, you remained inside each other as you caught your breath. Vox withdrawals from you with a 'pop' noise, sitting up on the limo seats. You reposition to lay your head on his lap, his hands moving to play with your hair as you rest on him.

The one blinking red dot fades out, "Hey, Vox? That recording isn't going anywhere, right?". He laughs softly, running his claws through your hair gently, "No no, that ones for my personal connection.".

Liar. What you don't know is that the whole recording was a live broadcast to all of the VoxTech channels, just a 'friendly' reminder of who you belong to <3

The end :]

--

ENJOY!!!! last day of kinktober (4 now until i get more requests) so onto the Help Me series!!! did ygs like the text thing? bc if so i wanna put it in my series for help me for the future so lmk!!!

[emmy-everafter]

Tagged by @sparrowmoth to share about my WIPs. Idk if anyone is actually all that interested in these, but on the off chance that you are, feel free to swing by my ask box with questions!

Rules: Post the names of your WIPs and open your ask box for questions about them.

Published WIPs

Right now, there's just one: Don't Come Any Closer (But Don't Move Away), Win/Team (Between Us/UWMA), rated M, 3 chapters out of ????

(I actually have written several chapters ahead but updates will likely slow down over time as i catch up to the place where I'm currently drafting. But we're getting to the good stuff now and ugh I'm so excited, I love this fic and these boys so much!!)

Unpublished WIPs

Greenhouse fic (better title forthcoming), a short and fluffy sequel to We're Gonna Need a Bigger Pentagram. Jesper/Wylan (Shadow & Bone/Six of Crows), rated T, one-shot. I have about 2k words written and because it's a Jesper POV, I'm planning to publish it later this month as part of "Jesptember," a celebration of our favorite Sharpshooter from the @i-can-read-to-him Wesper discord server.

A Week in the Life (tentative title), followup to the greenhouse fic and continuation of the Coven of Crows universe. Told through flashbacks to a time before WGNABP. Mostly gen crows-as-found-family with hints of Wesper, Helnik, Kanej, and Kuwei/Jesper (I forget if people use Kuwesper for just them or for them + Wylan oops). Probably rated T, probably 6 or 7 chapters. I've only written out a bit, the rest is all outline right now.

Other general ideas for Coven of Crows stuff that I'm happy to talk about!

The time travel crows fic (it has a title but I don't want to share it yet). All the crows ships, probably rated M, gonna be a longfic. I have some chapters written but I need to revise them because I changed my mind about some worldbuilding stuff. Time travel is hard to write, y'all!

Servant & Lever(age): a six of crows Leverage AU, rating TBA, length TBA, mostly just outlines at the moment.

I Won't Give Up Your Ghost, Julie & The Phantoms longfic, rated T or M. I have maybe 8 chapters of this written? But I don't know if there's enough people reading JatP anymore for me to maintain motivation when doing a longfic and I also got distracted, but I had a solid outline for the rest and may come back to it eventually

Untitled sexytimes fic, Palm/Neungdiao (Never Let Me Go the series), definitely rated E, one-shot. Will I ever finish this? Who knows.

A few other half-written or half-baked Thai BL fics, mostly M or E one- and two-shots, for shows like Moonlight Chicken, Tale of a Thousand Stars, etc.

I have some other Six of Crows ideas but I'm much less certain that I'll get around to writing them so I haven't listed them here

No pressure tags for anyone who feels like sharing (apologies if you've already done this and I missed it!): @oneofthewednesdays @hotpinkmurex @magicandpizza @ace-kaz-brekker @starwritebrekker

[clavicuss-vile]

A re-write of Dragonborns, the Dragon Cult, and Dragons in General

Dragon Lore Revised, Part 3 - The Dragons That Came Before

<< Read Part 1, Part 2 >>

Part 3 is finally here! Sorry it took literally forever ^^' In the last two parts we covered dragon biology, and the origins of the Thu'um, their role in Mundus, and the gods they are involved with. We also briefly covered the difference between Alduin the God and Alduin the Dragon. Definitely check that out because in this one we're going to cover pre-dragon cult Atmora, the Old Nordic Pantheon, and the beginnings of the dragon cult!

As always, keep in mind some things i will may relate to my TES/DA Crossover universe but there isn’t much, and 90% of this is original stuff not backed up by canon. But! anything that has it’s roots in real canon will be bolded, with sources attached at the bottom! That being said, lets jump into it!

Part 1: Dragon Kings

So, after being given the gifts of the Thu'um, civilization, and sentience by Aka, and the purpose of order, the dragons flew to Atmora and Skyrim, and began to fulfill their duties. In Skyrim there were no men to shepherd, but in Atmora, the remnants of Kyne's army during the Elhnofey Wars were becoming the Atmorans.

While much of Atmora, particularly to the north, was inhospitable, the dragons established several Junaars[1] (kingdoms) along the southern coast, where the Atmorans could rely on fishing.

^a very sketchy idea of my version of Atmora. Black lines = the edges of continents, red lines = country boundries, blue dots = cities, red dot = capital city

I will do a whole post just on Atmora's geography at some point, so you can ignore the Folk Wood for now. It's a forest ruled by Namira (known as Nanna) and her Faefolk. These cities were all ruled by dragon Juns (kings), with Alduin serving as Drogjun (Lord King) from the capital city of Jylkurfyk. This is where the later Jarl->High King structure originates from.

The dragons were revered, yes, but it is important to note this was not as gods. They were valued as closer to Kyne than mankind, and therefore deserving of reverence, but they were not gods in their own right. The dragons served their god-given purpose to bring order and stability to Atmora - at this point, no domination/abhorrent cruelty took place. They were not monsters, they were the first examples of "divine right of kings".

Part 2: The Animal Totems

The primary religion of these ancient Atmorans was the Totemic Pantheon. Many of these were loan-gods (such as Orkey, Tsun, and Mara), told to the Atmorans through Kyne's mouthpiece, Paarthurnax. These are the Twilight and Hearth Gods of the pantheon:

The most important thing to note is that Alduin the Twilight is Nordic Auri-El. He is not Alduin the Dragon. I know i keep reiterating this but it's important for when we get to the end of the Skyrim main quest. I haven't changed any totems here, all quite similar to canon.

Aka also never recieved enough mainstream worship to fully ascend to godhood.

If you are interested in my version of Mara, specifically how she began as an aldmeri goddess and ended up as many different aspects, I have a post here :)

Rolling with the fan-theory that Tsun = Trinimac, the other changes here is that Orkey is now an Orca, that's purely because i think Atmora is too cold to have snakes. Herma-Mora now has his own totem, as well as Nanna, who is the atmoran equivalent of Namira. She rules the Folk Wood, and is a feared goddess. (Apparently some frogs can live in the arctic so we're good there!)

You may notice that we're missing Mauloch, that's because this is just the Atmoran pantheon, who've currently had no contact with the Orsimer. I'll do a big pantheon post on my version of the Nordic Pantheon at some point! Next one is gonna be the Altmeri pantheon tho.

Part 3: An Exchange of Power

Now that we've explained who the Atmorans worshipped, what happened to the dragons? Where did the Dragon Cult come from? Well, while the dragons were fulfilling their role of order through ruling over Atmora, they grew bored of petty human squabbles. They opted instead to give their kingdoms to Jarls and a High King, so they could deal with the important issues, as opposed to common human problems.

The dragons from this point were still revered, not as kings, but as mouthpieces for the Totem Gods. Paarthurnax especially was seen as the voice of Kyne. This would be the foundations of what would later become the Dragon Cult.

~

And that's it for this part! Well done if you made it all the way through :) the next part is going to be ALL about politics of Dragon Cult Skyrim, how the Dragon Cult functioned as an organisation, some lists of members, how their mystical masks worked and the process of "mantling" a dragon priest mask, and if there's space we may even get into a little bit of Miraak's rebellion. Asks are always open! <3

~

Sources:

[1] Dovahzul Dictionary on The Imperial Library

[fanficwritinggirl]

It had been a long day of classes. Which wasn't unusual seeing as you were in your final year at Hogwarts and your owls were fast approaching. You and Hermione had been spending hours in the library whenever you could in order to prepare and you just felt as though your brain couldn't take in any more information than it already had. But you knew that you could do it. You knew that you had revised as much as you could in order to pass and do well. Passing your owls was one of the most important things in your life at the moment. Well besides your boyfriend Ron. After denying your feelings for each other for years when the battle of Hogwarts happened you both finally admitted your feelings and you have been together ever since. You both needed each other. With everything that happened. The losses both of you had you leaned on each other to get through it. That stuff would either make or break a relationship and for you two it made you relationship. Which yes the previous friendship between you two helped but at the end of the day you two were a strong couple and that was all that mattered.

You sigh as you close the heavy book for potions class and rub your temples groaning. Hermione looks at you equally as tired and gives you a small smile. "I think I've done enough for tonight. I'm going to go up to bed. You coming" she asks you. With a yawn so shake your head. "I'm just going to do an extra half hour and I'll be up" you inform her and she nods her head before picking up her bag. "Also can you tell Ron that I'm here in case he asks' ' you ask her and she nods her head. "Yeah I will. Now don't over do yourself. It'll do more harm than good" she mothers you and you laugh. "Goodnight Hermione" you say. She smiles before walking off.

About 10 minutes later you can feel yourself nodding off to sleep. It was definitely time for you to go to bed. It was quiet in the library. There wasn't anyone there which wasn't unusual for that time in the night. Most of the last years would have done their studying earlier in the evening so that they could have the night off. But for you it was any of the available time that you had.

Sighing you pick up the book, putting it back onto its shelf and grabbing your bag. As you're walking through the library towards the entrance you can't help but feel a presence. You thought it was just your mind playing tricks on you so you just continued on your way. But when you start to hear other footsteps you stop for a second. Which was something that you later would regret. You turn around slowly and all you remember is a dark figure slamming you to the floor and you black out.

Ron's POV

I was sitting in front of the fire in the common room waiting for Y/N. It had been an hour since Hermione had come up and curfew was fast approaching. It wasn't like her to be this late. I mean she is always on time. Maybe she just got lost in studying which wasn't unusual for her.

"You still up, mate" Harry asks me. I turn to see him at the bottom of the stairs. I nod my head at him.

"Yeah, I'm waiting for Y/N. She should be up soon ''I told him. Harry nods his head at me. "Okay well don't be up too long ok '' he says before turning and walking back up the stairs. I look at my watch and groan. Okay I'm going to get her. I know she would be pissy at me if I let her stay any longer. Standing up I walk out of the common room and down to the library.

Walking into the library I see that it is mostly dark. There were only a handful of lights still on. Walking towards all of the litten areas not seeing her at any of them. Panic starts to rise in me when I can't find her. A feeling of dread goes into my gut. I know that she could be anywhere. I mean I could have just missed her. Maybe she just went a different route back. But for some reason no matter how many times that i think that i cant persuade myself that that's what she would do. She took the same route back to the common rooms all of the time back from the library. It was the quickest way and at this time at night she would be exhausted as to why she would take any other route.

It was only when I got near the entrance that I heard crying. Running towards the noise I am shocked to see Y/N lying there. Bloodied. Beaten up. I ran towards her, taking her in my arms. Seeing her face all bruised and swollen, I cried. Help is the only thing that I can shout as I hold onto her.

Y/N POV

Waking up my whole body ached. Every single part. I feel a hand on mine holding it tightly. I open my eyes and see Ron with tears in his eyes. He gives me a small smile. "Hey" he quietly says. Holding back tears. I look at him confused. "What happened?" I asked him. He cries putting his head on my hand sobbing uncontrollably. What was going on? "Ron. Love what happened ''I ask him, panicking. He continues to sob when I hear the curtain open and there stands my parents, Dumbledore, Madam Pomfey and McGonagall. My mum walks in taking my other hand tears going down her face. Madam Pomfey comes in closing the curtain behind her before looking at me sadly. "What's going on?" I ask frantically. My mum strokes my hair and I look at her in the eyes looking for answers. She looks me in the eyes and sighs.

"Honey. You were attacked last night" she says slowly. I was shocked. "What do you mean mum. I don't remember anything" I cry, not accepting what happened. She cries while swallowing before speaking again. "Honey you were also raped" she reveals and everything stops.

After that all i remember was them asking me if i wanted to go through with rape testing. To see if they could get anything to help identify who did this to me as I had to recollect what happened. I remember saying yes and going through with it. It was all a blur. I don't remember most of it. But after that I just curled back up into bed. There but not really there. I could see people talking to me but I didn't hear what they were saying. It was just a ringing in my ears. That was all that I could hear. I just kept looking at Ron as he slept. He was always touching my hand to comfort me. I know that he blames himself somehow. But there was nothing that could have prevented it.

2 days later, me and Ron are just staring at each other. We were not saying anything, just staring at each other. It was comforting knowing that he was there. "I'm sorry" he apologizes again. I sigh, shaking my head. I place my hand on his cheek stroking it. "It's not your fault, love. There was nothing that you could have done. There was nothing that anyone could have done to prevent what happened. He did what he did to me. And I'm going to have to live the rest of my life knowing that he did this to me. There is nothing we can do now. Just move forward the best that I can ''I tell him. He nods his head with tears going down his face. I lean forward placing a kiss on his lips and we hold onto each other.

A week later I had my bags packed and ready to go. It was decided that it would be best for me to spend a few weeks away from Hogwarts in order to get some help for what happened to me. I agreed as long as it didn't affect my education. I didn't want this bastard to have the satisfaction of doing that also. Saying goodbye to Ron and the rest of my friends was hard but they all knew that even though I was strong now. If i didn't get help then this would come back to bite me once again. And I knew that myself as well. With many kisses and hugs from Ron as we stood ready for me to teleport home he promised me that he will be standing there waiting for me when i get back.

And he held that promise. Because he was the first face that I saw as I stepped through a few weeks later. I wasn't going to let what my rapist did to me affect the rest of my life. I'm not going to allow myself to be defined as the girl who was raped. I'm not a victim. I'm a survivor.

[athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 4

Welcome back! Hope you enjoy✨

Pairing: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Human OC/Reader)

Warnings: Violence, cursing, shouting, and fighting. No blood mention. Just broken bones and stuff.

2.1k+ words [originally 1.6k but I revised it and added more details!]

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5 Part 6

Sensing another one behind me, I went low and struck his leg with mine, using his fall to punch his chin with my right fist this time, being careful to use a controlled amount of force or else the nerve I hit will result to permanent brain injury and can be fatal.

I got up, swift in my actions as I saw the guy with a raised baseball bat heading towards me from my left flank, and the other one from the right, fast.

On reflex, I leaned back, the bat that was aimed at me hitting his comrade on the shoulder instead. Guy's lucky, actually. He would have suffered internal bleeding if it bashed the side of his skull.

Four down, two to go.

I took my stance once again to ready myself. This dude was a foot taller than me, with muscles packed with raw strength, but even so, pale in comparison to Tai'chi's p—

Stop thinking that! Focus!

"Smash her head Dan!" The man behind him yelled.

This 'Dan' went straight to me with his bat raised with intent once more.

Breathe in.

Everything slowed down. I let my heart rate decelerate, my hearing sharpened, my sense of smell heightening even further.

I closed my eyes, letting the rest of my senses take over. Years of practice, days of pain from training, each motion engraved to my entire body with purpose. To defend not only myself, but also those who are looked down upon, discriminated and stepped on like dirt. My parents had always taught me to defend myself. Me. Don't get me wrong, my parents are good people, albeit wary of the other races in our community. But the moment I left the roof of my home, I knew it was time for me to defend someone other than myself. I don't give a damn about where we come from or what kind of blood flows within our veins. I will protect those who need protecting, and set anyone straight and down to the ground when they deserve it.

Breathe out.

At the last few moments, with my eyes still shut, I changed my form. I followed his aura and pictured out the shape that was drawing up to land a serious blow to my head. Dan is solid and heavy, but everyone has at least one weakness. And this guy is not spared from that.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

I opened my right fist, right foot forward and relaxed my arms, my legs serving as a firm foundation for my upper body. With the bat inches away from me, I smoothly dodged to the side, using my palm to push away the hand holding the weapon and punched a vital pressure point right under his bicep.

I bent my legs even lower and struck the center of his ribs with my thumb, closing my hands as I jabbed his sciatic nerve on each side at the same time, both located in the middle line of the thigh between the groin and the knee. A solid blow to those nerve points will cause intense pain and shock to the person, along with a temporary immobility of the feet.

a/n: Self defense 101! Remember that dear readers♥

With the support of my left leg, I went behind the man, standing straight and proud. Calm, I opened my eyes when I heard his fall, staring right into the fearful ones of the moron that started all of this.

"Y-You- You killed them!"

Is he that dumb?

"Correction, I didn't. I knocked them unconscious is all. And the fellow that attacked me first? Well, he passed out from the pain of his now funny-looking arm." I stated flatly as I trudged to where he was standing.

"S-Stay away from me! Monster! Freak!" He stumbled, his ass on the ground and away from me until he felt a tree trunk on his back.

I scoffed and withdrew my knuckle dusters back under my baggy sleeve.

"You wanna know who the real monster is?" I stopped and held him in place with my scrutinizing gaze. He was trembling like a wimp at this point.

"It's you.

"You and your disgusting racist friends.

"You, along with all the people who view and treats anyone other than humankind as lowlifes and pests that are meant to be squished and eradicated from the society.

"No, it's you, and the ones who have the same mentality as you, who are monsters under the guise of a human."

I paused, not even blinking as I bore holes into his skull.

"I am human, down to every inch of my being. But unlike you, I respect and treat everyone, regardless of kind or gender, and to those who deserve it, fair and right."

Before I could continue, I scented new people coming into the scene. It was the teaching staff, along with the uni's guard.

Shocked of what they have seen, they turned towards me, angry, surprised, confused expressions on different faces.

"What have you done?!" A female, human instructor, looking to be around her late 20s shouted.

"Ma'am, if you would just let me explain—"

"You are hereby expelled from this institution, young lady!"

All the color of my skin left me as I heard the words I have dreaded even before I set foot in the campus grounds.

"Now let's not go straight to conclusions. We need to deal with this professionally AND properly Miss Holson. You are also not in authority to suspend this student." A heavily bearded dwarven professor, clad in a brown suit and Oxfords, told her off firmly.

"What are you saying Mr. Dulrik? Look at her! Look at this! She murdered students and oh my God, is that the dean's son?!"

For the love of— she blind? Why does everybody think I killed someone???

"Ma'am they are—" I was about to tell her but got cut off, again!

"Helpmehelpmehelpme!" He scrambled away from me and ran to the group of teachers and hugged the young instructor. "I don't know what came over her! She just attacked us out of nowhere!"

The audacity of this fucking bitch!

"Pardon me? Attacked you? YOU were the one who followed me out here! You and your" —I gestured to the bodies laying flat on the ground— " buddies over there!"

"She is lying! The orc was with her and and and—"

It dawned on me that I almost forgot about Tai'chi. My eyes widened, and I frantically scanned the area around for him. And there he was, standing by the oak tree, right where I told him not to move.

He seemed...irritated?

Oh no. At me?

"I have not moved an inch from where I am standing ever since I planted my feet here." He said with his deep baritone voice, turning to confront the staff. "What she's speaking is the truth. They were the ones who followed her here and attacked her, first."

"And how can we be sure you are telling the truth, orc?" Miss Holson replied spitefully.

Even the teacher, huh? Her odor smells like vomit. I mean, I knew she was...foul, but I thought it was because of the situation. Guess not.

Tai'chi did not respond. Instead, he moved to look at me in the eyes. His gaze, searching, but not in an awful way. Was he asking me what I'll do?

"How about we discuss this in the office, shall we?" An elderly professor spoke. She was wearing the university's formal teaching uniform together with black, flat, closed toe sandals. "And Miss Holson, please quiet down. As Mr. Dulrik said, we should not jump into baseless conclusions."

Miss Holson fumed and shut her mouth, holding the coward in her arms.

"Now then, Miss...?"

"Blackbell."

The woman paused. I caught a smell of surprise and... astonishment?

She cleared her throat "Well, then Miss Blackbell, please follow us to the Dean's office, along with your, companion."

Weird.

"Oh and Mr. Smith, kindly call for assistance and take the unconscious students to the infirmary to be treated and looked unto. Thank you." She told the guard. With that, she and the rest of the faculty started walking back.

I glanced at Tai'chi once more to find him, again, staring. I approached him warily, expecting him to be mad at me.

"Uh. Hi?"

I let out a long exhale when he replied, with a slight tug of his lips, his tusk jutting out. "Hi."

I fidgeted, trying to come up with words to explain myself.

"I uh, uhm. Are you mad?"

With his brow raised, "Why would I be?"

Yeah why would he be?

"I-I never told why I keep wearing my mask." I stuttered, "You see I—"

"You two! Start moving before I force you to." A teacher yelled at us from a distance.

"We'll talk later, Pearl. For now let's get this resolved first. I know for a fact that they won't expel you unless they ignore the ill intentions of the ones who attempted to harm you first. But better be safe than sorry, he was the dean's son afterall."

"Yeah... Thanks. We should.. go." I turned and started walking along his side.

******pov shift for a bit*******

Little did Pearl know, he was thinking about how...nice, yeah that's the word, definitely not sexy, you were when he witnessed your skills in combat. It awakened something in him that it took a lot of control not to get aroused there and then, which was the real reason why he stood there, unmoving from his place. Not once did he leave his eyes from you, almost jumping to help you when the guy with the baseball bat was closer than we would have liked. But oh no, he was not surprised, he was astonished and shookt , amazed when you pulled that last technique, sending the human plummeting to the ground almost soundlessly. And the way you stood right after, he knew he was smitten. That proud and intense aura you gave off was enough to make him bow down at your feet. He could feel it. He could smell it. That was his secret, he can scent people and catch any mood shift they make. Even though he told her that her eyes and brows gave it away, it was not entirely true as he could smell, literally, you and the changes on your scent.

Oh but little did he know you could to. Just not as observant as he is.

:>

*******************************

Wow— when I copy pasted the original thing from my notes to my drafts in Tumblr I was like "okay, so. I should read it AGAIN before I post it if I wanna avoid more unnoticed mistakes and keep editing it again and again even though I posted it already! " And I never though it would lead me to adding almost a half thousand words and a pov shift— which i found interesting and really nice! Should I do it more often? Like little inserts of what Tai'chi or another characters thoughts in second pov in between fics if necessary? It's just, nice, to put them in and write all out about what they were thinking outside of Pearl's pov! Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed reading❤

Tags: @kokokatsworld @crackinanutshell

[make-me-imagine]

congrats on 5.5k!! you're insanely talented and I'm so happy you're getting the recognition you deserve 🥺🥺 could i join in the ship requests too?

I'm a rather small sized (like, 154cm & ~40kg kind of small) Asian female from a South East Asia country and i prefer men, especially men who are taller and Age Gaps™ 🥴 I'm not sure how much you know about/believe in astrology but I'm a Libra sun, Taurus rising and Capricorn moon so you can do what you want with that 😂

I'm an INTP/INFP (I've gotten both an equal number of times from sites OTHER than 16 personality, tho I personally vibe with INTP just a teeny smidge more) if you do MBTI ✌🏼 I LOVE to read, especially fanfiction lmao, and i also write! I really love listening to music + watching shows/movies too! My favourite shows are all mystery/crime based LOL and I am working towards becoming a criminal psychologist/forensic pathologist/forensic scientist in future! (heavily inspired by Criminal Minds, Sherlock, Detective Conan and the like so 😂) I have a really vivid and good imagination please i can spend DAYS just daydreaming and imagining scenarios that I never finish writing about & generally this is how all my work is never finished loll

I'm the eldest sibling at home, and my parents haven't always been around so I've been rather used to stepping up and taking care of myself (+ my sibling, like helping them with homework and all). Some people say I'm a natural born leader? idk bc I often step up to be the leader in group work & I'll often be the one to initiate things & all. I'm a rather big procrastinator though LOLL so you'll often catch me rushing my assignments & final projects & rushing my revision for exams + finals like, 2 days before the actual exam 💀 which often leads to me becoming more stressed out & breaking down more often than i actually should so 🥲 I'm trying to quit this bad habit though

I love cuddles and hugs please I will KILL for cuddles and hugs from my back by a tall character pls it just feels so safe and comforting to be spooned too 🥺🥺 sometimes when I'm too absorbed in work or something (which happens too often for it to be healthy) I might just forget to eat/sleep entirely AND also my sleep routine isn't the best. like i will literally fall asleep at 9pm, wake up in the middle of the night on my own at like, 1am, then usually I'll be rushing homework at this time, then maybe sleep again for a short while from 4ish? till when i have to get up for school/work at 5:30/6am 💀 there's been days where i literally looked so sick from the lack of sleep where my tutor once stopped the class to ask me if I was okay and if i was going to faint LMAO 😔 i feel like I'm a night owl??? but then also i have no problem getting up super early in the morning so?? but i really feel most at home and really enjoy the 3am nights 😌

i am also the class clown lol but it's bc i just make sarcastic comments and all and my friends think they're funny???? but also i enjoy making people laugh bc sometimes i find it interesting to try and see what kind of things make my friends laugh so it's lowkey an experiment? or like something i want to achieve? at this point. I'm fluent in English and Chinese/Mandarin and I'm learning Italian so I roughly know some basics, and I really enjoyed History, which I took last year but dropped this year. (I'm taking English Literature with Biology + Chemistry this year and they're all great, except I'm literally dying from the workload aaahhh 💀)

I'm kinda clumsy and Not Good™ at most sports, maybe passably okay for badminton but I'm really not that athletic and really not very keen on exercising either 😔 I'm quite creative and good with public speaking/creative writing/impromptu performance/speech though I'd say! I'm also in my school's drama club 😎 though I'm more of a backstage lights & sounds kind of person. I'm right handed (with a really neat handwriting, as I've been told many, many, many times) and I wear thin frame spectacles which I sometimes will fall asleep in & I'm so clumsy/careless that I'm actually really afraid I'd break them (it's happened before 😭)

I'm a really good planner? like i can do up a great and detailed schedule/plan for revision and all but i will NOT stick to what i plan 😭😭 i love to snack!!!! on chips + gummies especially, and my diet is quite unhealthy lmao i literally don't eat vegetables At All™ & i don't really eat meat that much too?? lmaoo please i can go for days without having a single proper meal & just survive on snacking on potato chips + soft drinks 💀 i am a very picky eater though so really me not finding food i like/am able to stomach is also really kind of my fault 🤡

while i really vibe with and love the dark academia aesthetic, i also do video/MOBA games, like i play games like Mobile Legends & all. I'm someone who knows most, if not all the lastest trends (like tiktok, memes etc) but i won't actively participate in them? i just kind of like to know things, like Knowledge is Power you know (I'm a Slytherin, in case you're wondering, though I've gotten Ravenclaw so often it's a close tie sometimes)

okay i feel like that's enough details about me? feels like I've told you nothing that's useful oh well LOL... I'd really love a ship for Criminal Minds and Marvel? if that's possible please? in case you missed it, i prefer men! (I'm a questioning bi, with a strong preference for men) for the hc prompt "what you do on your first date" or maybe "how you met + first impressions"?

thank you so much for being so kind and willing to do this ship requests thing!! I'm sure you're spending TONS of time and effort on this and aahhh i feel bad for typing so long paragraphs now (as you may have noticed i have a tendency to ramble on if not stopped because i am just really Socially Awkward ™ sometimes 💀 and have really bad (social) anxiety too) and i really think you're super amazing for doing this??? I'm so sorry if this took up too much of your time aaahhhhh thank you so so so much 🥺😭😭 really the biggest of congratulations to you for your 5.5k??? you really do deserve every single follower & i am SO insanely happy for you 🤩❤️

- 🌙🏒 anon

Don’t worry, you definitely provided enough information lmao. 

And thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it. 

I hope you like the ships I made for you

They are under the cut: 

Criminal Minds: 

I ship you with Hotch. 

You get the age-gap here lol. He would be a bit hesitant due to the age gap at first, but he would get over it because he can not resist. He does not seem like the type of cuddles, and especially does not take part in PDA. But when you are alone he would love holding you and spooning, especially after a long day of work. Aaron would be attracted to your uniqueness as well as your intelligence and aesthetic, finding it to be very “you”. 

How you met + his first impressions: 

You met when you were transferred to the BAU as the new Forensic Pathologist.

Hotch thought you were very interesting when you first met and was definitely intrigued by you. 

He thought you fit in fairly well and would get along with the others (which you do). 

He appreciates a sarcastic sense of humor, so he would dig that as well.

Hotch could tell you had a form of anxiety and wold be patient around you when you first met so that you could open up to him at your own pace.

What you do on your first date:

He takes you to a hockey game. 

He is not the sportiest person but he has had an interest in hockey for a while, sometimes watching it on tv. 

When he learned that you liked it, he decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to invite you on a date as well as to see his first game. 

After the game, you walked around town for a bit, getting some late night food and talking or a long time. 

This allowed you to open up to him quite a bit and you grew more comfortable around him as well, which he is very happy about. 

Best Friend: 

Your best friend is JJ. She thinks you are really cool and unique and nice. She has the type of personality that is easy t get along with and open up too, so you bonded with her quicker than the others. I also feel like she is into hockey as well, so she appreciates your love for it as well. 

-

Marvel: 

I ship you with Sam. 

I think Sam is a good fit for you. He is into sports, and digs your aesthetic. He is easy to get along with and very funny. He thinks your line of work is very interesting and loves to listen to you talk about it. Sam also really enjoys crime shows ans thrillers so he is always excited to meet someone who enjoys them as well. 

How you met + his first impressions:

You met through Nat, who you had met through SHIELD years before. 

You happened to be at the compound with Nat when Sam was there and she introduced you. 

He immediately thought you were pretty and very interesting.

Sam could tell you were shy, but that did not stop him from flirting.

Though he also made some jokes and was easy going as to not scare you off. 

He made sure to ask Nat about you once you left and managed to convince her to give him your contact info. 

What you did on your first date: 

He took you to the movies first, to watch the most recent crime thriller that came out. 

After the movie you went to a nearby park and walked around, talking about the movie and other crime/horror related stuff. 

You got food at a food truck and sat by the fountain together. 

He was appalled when you told him that you didn’t eat that often (if came a part of your relationship later on that he would try to cook you meals that you’d like just so you WOULD EAT). 

You ended up spending hours together, and it felt like no time at all.

So you were definitely up for another date with him, which he of course asked you about.  

Best-Friend: 

Natasha. She was the first one you met, and slowly introduced you to the others. She thought you were really cool when you first met and was surprised at how well you go along. That is sometimes hard for her to do, so once you became friends she never took that for granted. She and Sam would gang up on you when you weren’t eating btw. 

xxaaron

[themagiciansreccenter]

The Great Blank Spot: Greywash

So much goes into creating fanfiction even before the first words hit the paper. And in-depth spotlight on our writers and the process behind their work.

Tell us about your current project.

I'm finishing up the sequel to "Firebird"—or, well, really, the story that "Firebird" is a prequel to. It's called "The Marriage Plot" and it's a fake-fake-marriage story, or an un-arranged marriage story, or something: basically it starts with a political misunderstanding that *looks* like the only way out is going to be Eliot and Quentin getting married. Spoiler: that's not what happens.

The fics are finally posted from The Trials. Did you participate?

No, I came into the fandom after The Trials started, so I missed it, but I'm still reading my way through everyone's submissions and really enjoying them!

What is your current word count?

104,069 words, but I revise/cut/rewrite a lot as I go so that goes up and down.

Do you try to write daily? Do you have a word count or other goals you try to hit for each writing session?

I write every morning for about an hour and a half before work—or, well, I sit and work on fiction for about an hour and a half: sometimes that's freewriting, or reading, or editing. I'm trying to be less focused on output quantity and more on time spent this year, since trying for output goals seems to encourage some not-good strains in my mental health whatsits to go mad with power and make my life suck.

What was the inspiration for this fic?

Ahahahahahah oh dear. Um—the answer to that question is hugely spoilery, so I guess I'll say: the last six lines of dialogue, which sort of ~came to me in a vision~, or whatever, and then... the whole rest of the story sort of... constructed itself around that. But I think I can say that I'd been thinking/obsessing about Fillorian marriage, and how—like, skin-crawlingly horrific I find it as a concept, and *why* I find it so skin-crawlingly horrific, before I started working on "The Marriage Plot," and that definitely—informed the story, let's say.

How do you stay motivated between chapters/stories?

I don't have a huge problem staying motivated... for me it's more that I have SO MUCH STUFF I want to work on, so I have trouble staying focused. I have this little Penny-centric fic that I want to get done before the end of the current fan_flashworks round, so I have like 24 hours, and I also have a Penny/Quentin story that'll go up in the next FFW amnesty, and... possibly one or more *other* stories for FFW amnesties that are either done or mostly done, and I just! I am really bad!! at staying focused on one project.

On the motivation front, though, I will say that a big part of why I don't tend to lose motivation is that I never leave projects "at a good stopping point". This seems really counterintuitive, but it helped me *so* much when I started doing this: I almost always end a writing session by getting to a good stopping point, and then writing 9/10ths of the next sentence or paragraph. I like to have a sentence waiting for me where the ending is obvious but not actually written down, so I open it up the next morning and I'm like, "oh, that's supposed to end, 'with his palm'" or whatever, so I have that really easy in for getting back into the swing of writing.

Did this fic require any research? How much research do you typically do for your fics?

I do do quite a bit of research, but I don't typically do research in advance. I'm, like, the anti-planner, I am *so* bad at planning stories, so I kind of write until I hit a point where I'm like "oh, God, I actually do need to know how you go about getting a marriage license in New York, don't I," and then I spend like three hours on the NY city clerk's office website or whatever. I think the thing where I was looking up how to get a marriage license in New York came up like 30,000 words into this story, or something. And a lot of times I'll {{bracket something I need to look up later, like this}} and then just keep working, and fill it in in less high-value writing time—I do that on my lunch breaks a lot, so I can keep my block writing time in the morning for actually making new words.

Do you typically write ahead or post as you go?

It really depends on the project. Somewhat ironically, I mentioned this on Dreamwidth earlier this morning, but I actually usually kind of hate posting things as WsIP unless I am well ahead and very, very sure I can finish quickly. I got kind of trapped by a multi-year WIP in //Sherlock// fandom, which—I love that story, I just wish I wasn't posting it as a WIP. (Though it also wouldn't be that story if I hadn't posted it as a WIP, so... whatever, que sera sera, et cetera.)

When I was posting "Firebird", I started out with... I think I was drafted five chapters ahead at the start? Six? Maybe? I honestly don't remember, but I do know it rapidly fell to four and then kind of froze there, because I knew I needed to have Ch. 8 *very* nailed down before Ch. 4 went up, because I was back-editing all the way to 4 as I wrote 8. And I didn't want to back-edit live work. But then I hit a like... 9/10ths draft place on 8 and burned through that entire posting cushion *super* fast during the last few days I was finishing 8, because 8 was almost the last thing I finished—I had 9 and 10 almost completely drafted before I finished 8, and that's pretty typical of me, to write sort of medium-out of order. So 9 and 10 went up basically as soon as they were edited, because I didn't have that cushion anymore. But "Firebird" lent itself to WIP posting because it has, you know, like. Plot, and excitement, and some sort of cliffhanger-y bits here and there; "The Marriage Plot" won't be posted as a WIP, because it's very interior and relationship-focused, and it just doesn't lend itself to that treatment. The most I might do on something like that is post it consecutively over a few days just to not have to edit all the HTML on 100k+ of fiction in one go.

How much planning and outlining did you do before you started putting words on paper?

Almost none! Ahahaha. I had a freewritten story outline, but I tend to do all my fiction discovery by writing fiction, so I have to be really willing to try things and toss them out, which is what I do instead of actually outlining. I'm thinking about making a pretty huge change to "The Marriage Plot" right now, actually, and am sketching it out by writing some short stories that happen in the (mostly off-screen) 6-9 months between "Firebird" and "The Marriage Plot," and seeing how things crystallize. So I may be about to toss out like 20k of fiction! I don't know, we'll see!

Has it been pretty smooth sailing or rough waters? When things get rocky, how do you handle needing to rewrite sections or scrap scenes entirely?

Oh, I tooooootally don't mind rewriting. I write really fast but am bad at planning, or well—bad at seeing what it'll take to get the characters to where I need them to be emotionally, so mass rewriting just kind of comes with the territory. I also write in Scrivener, which has a Snapshots feature that makes it much less stressful to hose something—I can always go back and look at a previous version if I want a line or a paragraph or to take it back entirely.

Teaser

"Well, no," Alice says, and then her mouth twists, tightening up. "I sort of—I told them that they couldn't have Quentin, because he was already engaged."

"What?" Quentin says; and Eliot grabs at Quentin's tipping wine glass, just in time.

"Look, I had to tell them something, all right?" Alice snaps at him. "Sorry, but I didn't think you wanted to get married to some conceited isolationist—"

"To who, Alice?" Margo interrupts; and Alice stops again, and then flushes.

"I had—well, the only way I could think of to convince them was the—well, you know, when Eliot got deposed," Alice says.

"We *both* got deposed," says Margo, tight; and Alice says, "Yes, *yes*, you *did*, but then *you* took the throne and now *Eliot's* on your council, so I told them—"

"You told them," Margo finishes, "that to prevent civil war, I offered my most powerful rival my only virgin son in marriage."

"Well," Alice says. "Basically—yes."

There is a long moment of silence.

"Well," Eliot says, finally. "I'm not sure how anyone could've foreseen *that* one going wrong."

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