#third goal is just for fun for now :) i need to get started building out this story i wanna work on so then maybe next year (lol)

[spyderverse]

blah blah here are my current art goals for 2023 <3

focus more on character design/concept art

actually practice figure/gesture drawing

draft some short comic scripts

[slayingfiction]

How I push through writing when I don't feel like writing.

Here are some of the techniques that I use to help me write more often or more consistantly when my laziness/depression/anxiety starts to take over.

I watch TV. I don't do it with the purpose of zoning out though. I watch something popular and well-liked such as the LOR or Harry Potter to get new ideas on how I can develop my story and apply their in-depth world-building ideas to help develop mine. Without plagarizing of course!!!!

Zoning out and daydreaming. As I have mentionned before, daydreaming is a huge part of my story outlining and world-building process. I'll stand in the shower, or take a walk and think about how my charcaters would act/react/behave in situations, mundane or not. Doing this gives me a better sense of my characters, and sometimes gives me ideas for scenes I use later on.

Work on writing related projects. These work well at keeping me distracted while still being productive on my writing goals. Example, I have one story I am working now, I made a new language (alphabet and numbers included) to include as a cool and fun component for the book. So, at times when I don't wan't to write, I continue creating the dictionary (very fun, 8/10 would recommend). Also, for the same book, my characters don't work off the Georigian calendar and 24 hour clock, so I've been working at creating a new calendar (harder than it seems, 2.5/10 dont recommend). These are side projects that help my story, without having to write.

Reading. You saw this one coming, I know. Reading is great, especially when you're editing, your writing style will unconsciously change to be more similar the author you were just reading. Also, most importantly, I'll be reading and think, "this story is really good, but you know what story I like even better? Mine." then change to writing.

This one is my biggest life saver!! I learnt about a year ago that sometimes I'll get bored of writing a story, and have difficulty keeping on track. That's why I finished my first book in 2016 and just started editing the first draft last week. The solution for me was to work on multiple projects at once, because it was much harder to be bored of multiple stories. I stick to 2, but will sometimes add a third. This is easy for me, because I have a list of over a dozen series I want to write. Don't abandon one project for another, use them as a distraction/ motivation for each other, so you're always furthering at least one project. I've never heard someone say, "oh no, i accidentally worked on this other writing project for three months instead of the other writing project I was doing. Dammit." No, we're just happy we have written something. Be sure to have well outlined story lines before starting, don't just start writing randomly or you'll reach a point where you don't know where to go from there.

Author/ writer projects. Maybe this is building a following, or community to share your projects and engage with. Tumblr, Insta, Reddit, whatever it is. My hope this year is to start up my website to offer publishing services (editing, graphic design, short writing courses) and build a following as a writer. (See what I did there? Never a bad time to self-promote ;) ) Having your own projects like this will help you in the future when you're going to try to publish and sell your books!

Talk with friends and a writing community. Never underestimate the passion that will burn inside you when talking about your story, or when others are talking about theirs. Surrounding yourself with a positive writing community can be the best thing for you as a writer.

Write or read (your story) every day. I'm not going to be one of those people that say you need to write 1000 words a day, that's a lot. But maybe try for 100? That could maybe only take 5 minutes, and at the end of the year that's still over 36 thousand words of a novel. Or just read your story, and I've always found it helped me get in the creative mood.

Make a playlist of songs that remind you of your characters, your story, or just puts you in the mood to write. Then play it ONLY when you're having trouble writing. Playing it while writing will not help, you'll get annoyed with the songs.

Just really can't do it today? That's okay, take a break. You deserve it. There's always tomorrow.

Does anyone else have ways they push themselves to keep writing? Let us know in the comments!

Happy Writing!

[keikeu]

question...? :: lee heeseung

pairing :: nonidol! lee heeseung x f! reader

genre :: angst, open ending, exs to implied lovers

warnings :: lots of alcohol consumption, reader and heeseung have a complicated relationship (tension kinda??)

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you got out of the car, closing the door behind you. after taking a deep breath, you followed your friends. the loud music was quick to fill your ears the closer you walked to the building. the two-story house was filled with people, you weren't shocked. as you made your way to the front door, tailing after your friends, you couldn't help but observe the place and the people. nothing had changed. everything was the same just like the last time you had come here, where it all started.

parties weren't your things. to the people around you, you were considered a good girl. seeing you in big social gatherings always came as a shocker to them. dressed in a revealing outfit, drinking alcohol, they didn't expect someone like you to participate in such gatherings. it seemed out of your leisure and in truth it was. sure you enjoyed going out and having fun, but only with your small group of friends. when more people got involved, something bad always happened.

one of the first parties you went to was in the same house. you were in your second year of university, feeling stressed, and without a second thought, you agreed to let your friends take you somewhere new. thinking back to it now, you wished you had stayed home that day. and maybe, you should have stayed home today too. but drinking your sadness and loneliness away sounded better.

you pushed through the people, walking to the kitchen. all your friends had gone to do their things, some to dance, others to meet new people and possibly flirt. you just wanted to get wasted enough so you could block the memories that came with this house. it seemed that your goal was going to be harder to achieve though.

lee heeseung. heads turned when he entered, people greeted him like he was a celebrity or something. well, in your university he was. he was handsome, smart, funny, talented, and knew how to make people fall for him. he knew how to get what he wanted. you downed your third shot, it was going to take more than that to fully knock you out. when you felt memories resurface, you got ready for the fourth.

you and heeseung shared a past. the first time you made your appearance at a party, you turned a few heads yourself. people didn't expect to see you, and you didn't expect to receive so much attention. it was overwhelming, and in order to escape from all the flirting and questions, you went to the only place that seemed less packed. the balcony. that's when you saw the boy in all his glory.

you weren't going to deny the fact that he was beautiful. especially under the moonlight. you walked over to the railing, looking at the night sky, although you were really trying to get a better look at him. heeseung noticed, a small smile made its way on his face before he took a sip of his drink.

"you can look if you want." you turned to face him looking at you. that sentence left you rather confused, and you knew it was evident in the expression you held. heeseung laughed before turning his gaze to the moon. you thought he was vain.

"why would i want to look at you when i have a perfectly good view in front of me?" you asked, now staring at the sky. heeseung shrugged, taking another sip of his drink.

"just seemed like you wanted to admire my face or something. don't need to get too worked up over a small misunderstanding." he answered, you didn't expect him to.

"i am not getting worked up." you said, his pestering was certainly working. he chuckled at your words, you didn't like it. he might have been the first person to push your button like that, others never did knowing your temper.

"so what's your name, pretty girl?" he asked, his eyes connecting with yours. you didn't want to admit it but the nickname did affect you. not a lot of people had called you that before, but knowing him, it probably rolled off his tongue easily to any girl he found interest in.

"i don't think i want to tell you just yet." you said. now heeseung wasn't exactly a playboy, contrary to the rumors about him. his relationships weren't very long-lasting though, leading to him having multiple partners within a year. you didn't exactly trust him, especially when he had been cocky the first time you talked.

"i see, you want to play hard to get. i like that. how about i get you a drink?" for some reason, you found yourself agreeing as you walked down the stairs to where the people were partying. you got to know heeseung better, he wasn't as self-obsessed as you had thought, but he sure was flirty. his witty and provocative remarks often caught you off guard, and you liked that. it was something new, something you hadn't experienced in a while.

"i love this song." you said, finishing the last of the liquor that was left in your drink. you couldn't remember the number of cups you and heeseung had chugged down, lost in conversation and laughter. you two were totally drunk, and that's how heeseung got a genius idea.

"let's dance then." you would've rejected the offer but you were wasted so you said yes. he held your hand as he guided you through the crowd. you were in the middle of the dance floor, all eyes were turning in your direction and you could feel the people staring. it made you a bit self-conscious, but having heeseung's hands on your waist and seeing his bright smile calmed you down.

when the song was almost coming to an end, he came closer. you moved too. you were inches apart. he was eyeing your lips, his looked asking for permission to kiss you. all it took was a small squeeze of his shoulder and you felt his soft lips on yours. it was sweet, yet sloppy. your hands were placed on his neck, he pulled your body forward. you felt hot, you didn't know if it was because of the many beverages you had had or because of the intimacy of kissing in such a packed room.

at first, your and his friends were laughing. you wouldn't blame them, the scene was a bit comic. yn, the good girl kissing, or better said, making out with heeseung, the popular boy. but then that laughter turned to clapping. your friends were proud of you, you rarely got out of your comfort zone and this was definitely out there. people were cheering and later, a drunken kiss lead to the start of your complicated yet beautiful relationship.

you were snapped out of your thoughts when a girl asked for the bottle of wine. after handing it to her, you looked at your own reflection on the drink. you looked sad. just like heeseung looked the first time you saw him. why couldn't you stop thinking about him? even after a year, why couldn't you move on?

what you and heeseung shared back then was special. every moment felt magical. you two challenged each other, you brought out the best in one another. he changed you. you introduced each other to a new world filled with colors and although the time you shared was magical, it wasn't meant to last.

lost in situations, circumstances, and miscommunications ultimately lead to your downfall. there was a reason heeseung got out of relationships so quickly. he was always looking for a thrill. for something new. you, tried your best to keep up, but eventually, you got tired and called it quits. after heeseung, nothing was the same. nobody was the same.

"hey yn, come dance with us! we brought you here to cheer up not stand in the corner all depressed like that!" one of your friends said, grabbing your hand and taking you to where the rest were waiting.

you danced for a bit, but you excused yourself when you weren't feeling it. you walked to the same balcony you had gone to that night and breathed the fresh air. for once, it didn't smell like a mix of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and perfume. you looked at the sky, this time it was different. the moon was covered by clouds and you couldn't make out many stars. you sighed before running a hand through your hair. at least you were away from the people.

heeseung wished he could say the same. he was still surrounded by people waiting to exchange a few words. he just wanted to enjoy the music and make himself a cocktail by mixing a bunch of random alcohol. this was not how he enjoyed his time. finally, he did manage to get away from the crowd and he made his way to the kitchen, where he had seen you.

he didn't want to make it obvious, but there was a point where his eyes lit up when he saw you. he hoped to talk to you in the same night, you hadn't caught up ever since your break up and he understood your reason not to do so. he just wanted to know. he was curious if you missed him as much as he missed you. he quickly made his beverage before going up the stairs and noticing you in the balcony. the feeling of nostalgia made a bittersweet smile form on his lips.

he cleared his throat in order to grab your attention. you gently turned, upon noticing him you felt your body freeze and your heart swell with emotions. well, this certainly was a bad surprise, you thought. you hated the effect he still had on you, and how good you felt when you had his attention.

"sorry if i'm bothering, i just wanted some fresh air." he said, walking closer. you got a whiff of his perfume, it send chills down your spine. you gulped before speaking.

"i could tell from all the people crowding at you back there." you mentally scolded yourself after that, you had just given away the fact that you were staring at him from afar.

"yeah, i guess you could say i have fans." he smiled, and you let out a small chuckle. he turned his head, this time he was admiring you. you looked beautiful. you always were beautiful. the party lights made your features glow and the dress complimented your figure. he smiled softly at himself before focusing his attention on the drink.

even after you two had broken up, heeseung still thought about you. he tried to repress the image of you in his mind, but you always lingered there. it was impossible to forget you when you had made him feel so amazing.

"so what have you been up to?" what heeseung really wanted to know was if you were seeing someone. he wasn't going to ask you immediately though, after some small talk, he'd pop the question.

"nothing much. i joined mrs. moon class. well, i had to, but she's not as bad as you described her to be." you said, tapping your fingers on the railing.

"oh really? you haven't had her give you a project yet, those are always hell." he answered before taking a big gulp out of his cup. the alcohol mix burned his throat but he didn't pay much attention to the pain. he waited for your answer.

"well i'll just have to ask for your help then since you managed to pass." you chuckled at the end, remembering the times when you'd catch heeseung working on his homework late at night. he'd always leave the sheets half done on his study table just to cuddle with you thought. it was cute.

"i'd be more than happy to help you." he smiled at you, making your heart skip a beat. he also moved closer. it was your turn to ask him what he was up to. he answered quickly, something about an internship at this company, you didn't quite catch the name as you were getting lost in his eyes.

after what seemed like a few minutes of small talk, you were engulfed by silence. it was awkward, yet comfortable. hard to explain really. it was like you both wanted to say something, but at the same time, you didn't mind staying like that. the sky was slowly clearing so you busied yourself with the sight of the moon, rather than heeseung next to you. he had other plans though. he wanted your attention. he wanted to look into your eyes and hear your sweet voice again.

"are you... still seeing that guy?" his question made you freeze. words were stuck in your throat. your body tensed and you tried to think of a quick answer. a few months after you and heeseung broke up, to make yourself feel better, you started dating again. except this other guy, hyungsoo, wasn't your type. nobody felt like your type after heeseung.

he was slow and you were impatient. he was distant and you needed love. he was rude at times which only made you more sad. to put it simply, he wasn't good for you, but he served as an okay distraction from heeseung. others could notice he didn't treat you well and that your relationship wasn't the best. hell, it was shitty, and heeseung saw that too. he was surprised to see you with another guy, especially with such a douchbag like him. he wanted to say a few words to hyungsoo, but he had no right to do that. he was your ex after all.

heeseung hated the idea of seeing him with you, so that's why he asked. seeing you so nervous almost, made him feel bad. maybe he shouldn't have butt into your business like that.

"we broke up. why do you ask?" the relief he felt after hearing you weren't with him anymore didn't last long because the question that followed left him nervous. he moved in his place, scratching the back of his head.

"no reason." he finished his beverage. you turned to face him, trying to read his expression. did he perhaps feel jealous because you were dating someone after breaking up with him? you didn't want to feed into that thought, although it sounded nice.

"since you're getting so personal, you don't mind me asking if you're seeing someone right now?" heeseung had tried. he had tried to find someone else, but the two girls he dated were nothing like you. in fact, he found himself missing you even more as he began new relationships. no one was like you. the way you made him feel, nobody could do that to him. and he only realized that after it was too late. he took you for granted. he always wanted something new, not realizing that he could still have that with you.

"no, i'm not. i've been busy." he lied. he wasn't going to tell you exactly how he felt. you could guess that yourself, he didn't want to show that he missed you without being sure that you felt the same. you gave a small nod before joking, "i guess that's what comes with popularity."

he chuckled, his grip on the cup tightened a bit. you noticed. there was definitely something he wasn't telling you. you were going to risk it. weird really, you hadn't even had enough drinks to make you think out of line and yet here you were, thinking of asking heeseung a very ballsy question that could leave you either very happy or completely crushed.

"can i ask you a question?" your body was facing him. he also turned, now standing in front of you, hands in his pockets. he hummed in agreement. you fiddled with your fingers and let out a small sigh.

"do you ever wonder what it would've been like if we stayed together?" his eyes lit up. his heart threatened to pop out of his chest. he gulped, you noticed how tense he was. you mentally face palmed, wanting to turn back time and pretend you never said that. it was too late now, so you waited for heeseung to answer. he, on the other hand, tried not to sound too enthusiastic.

"yeah, i do." his answer and the smile on his face as he said those words made your eyes grow wide. you wanted to jump from joy, scream from excitement and cry from pain. you wanted to pull him into the tightest hug ever and tell him that you still loved him. but all you could do was smile back. you knew your words were going to fail you if opened your mouth.

"i always think what would've happened if i didn't leave that night we fought. if i had apologized and held you in my arms again. i guess i still think about those days although it's been a year." he said with a chuckle, avoiding your gaze by looking at the ground. he didn't mean to say all that, it just came out. he sounded very desperate, even though he had been the one at fault. you also blamed yourself, maybe if you had kept your cool and let him explain, you wouldn't be here right now.

"i find myself thinking about that time too. it feels like everyone else after you has been second-best." you confessed, coming closer. heeseung wanted to touch you. to embrace you. he understood what you meant, he felt the same.

"look, yn, do you think we can-" he reached for your hand, holding it tightly in his. his words were rushed, he wasn't thinking straight. and before he could finish, your friend's drunk tone cut him off.

"yn we need to leave now! minhee got into a fight and you're the only sober one to drive us home!" you immediately let go of his hand and walked to your friend, worry laced in your speech as you asked her about the details. heeseung watched as you walked away, for some reason he didn't have the guts to follow you. he ran his hand through his hair, letting out a long sigh before putting his hands in his pockets.

he had missed his chance. he didn't ask you the most important question of the night. heeseung wasn't sure if he was going to see you again, but he was going to try his hardest. he missed you too much to let you go. and something told him you felt the same.

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a/n :: halloween post!! i had fun with this one and i like it🤭🤭 heavily inspired by taylor swift's song with the same title (i just love her lyrics)

©keikeu

[ljjsims]

Greek Goddess Legacy Challenge: Generation #8 Amphitrite: Completed

Following the sun to another kingdom: Meet our queen of the Sea, Amphitrite!

You love dancing around with your friends and partying with them! Being young is a gift and you take full advantage of it in the city, going out every weekend. Your friends start getting in relationships, but you are not in a hurry. You know love and family is something that comes naturally. The person you marry should feel like your best friend. You should build your home with that person. So when you meet Poseidon, you decide not to marry him when he asks you. You barely know him! But he doesn’t seem to be giving up. And giving up everything to marry someone should count for something too. Right?

Little bit explanation with the sheets: - First sheet is for describing your current generation, with the challenges you need to do each life-stage. Also, because I love the myths, a bit of mythological background. May it inspire you :) - Second sheet is the preparation sheet for this generation, with important characters for your story. It is technically optional, but I love seeing sims with a backstory in my world, so I would highly recommend it. - Third sheet is for your gens children. They all have their own little challenges if your interested in those. I try to make all of them a bit different from each other, so it doesn’t get boring. Your heir is also on this sheet, but I’ve put their challenges on their own sheets. Stay tuned for those ;) - Fourth sheet is completely optional. If you want sims with names from the myths and love making sims to see them in your world, this is for you! All with a little mythological background ofc, you know me.

Next Generation is Nemesis! Previous Generation was Athena First Generation is Gaia

The Greek Goddesses Challenge by LJJ-Sims is a challenge based on the ancient mythical creatures and stories from Greece. I fell in love with Greek mythology in high school and have not let that love go since. In this challenge you will follow 10 deities in their journey through life. Every goddess has a different take on and goal in life. Special about this challenge?  All your kids have little challenges of their own, not only your heir. These challenges are optional, so if you feel like these are too much or just too restricting for you: by all means let them go. I also have sheets for characters that you can make before you start each generation. This gives your challenge a lot more personality and makes it frankly easier and more fun!

A little disclaimer: because I made these gods and goddesses into a legacy challenge, the relationships in the myths don’t exactly match the relationship in this challenge. There is a lot of keep it in the family in mythology, to put it lightly. And apart from the fact that you can’t do that in the Sims, I don’t really like that part. So I didn’t include it, thus the inconsistency. An example: Ares is now Hera’s stepfather instead of her son, which she conceived with her brother  and husband Zeus. This inconsistency can also be found in the stories. It’s just based on and not copied exactly, as Sims live lives that are a lot shorter than those of immortal gods. And it takes a way from the creativity if we just copy the myths. Even if we wanted to do that, it’s quite hard, as every myths has its fair share of variations and some are just completely different stories.

I use the MCCC-mod to alter the length of life states. You can find the days-years ratio here: the boring stuff.

I get all the information from several sites about mythology, but mostly use https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses. This is a great place to start if you want to know the myths surrounding a certain god or goddess. Wikipedia is also a friend of mine in this challenge, although I automatically doubt a lot of information that is on there. More of a book person? I absolutely adore Stephen Fry's Mythos, which is very beginner friendly, and Nathalie Haynes Pandora's jar. For little synopses of gods, I would recommend Greek Mythology: The Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes Handbook by Liv Albert.

[stormoflina]

you wont answer me cuz you know im right. i loved szobo in the early days but his drop off was huge and now he is just another hospital merchant. for all the hype of him being the next kdb he cant even score a solo goal and im yet to see a good pass from him in the final third

Well hello anon.

I didn't answer you, because

1. The last couple of days my head was moving in between the Moon and Mars, and I'm not sure if I would have been able to remain respectful.

2. I'm getting tired of all these anons coming to my infobox and, for the lack of a better expression, trying to take the piss out of me. If you read my posts you know that he's one of my favourite players, and that I'm not mindless hater about any of our players, but especially not towards him.

3. You were being very condescending and annoying.

But buckle up my dear salty anon.

Dominik, naturally, is an offensive minded midfielder. At Leipzig, he basically played as a wide 10 (or occasional RW) and for the most part he does the same for Hungary. In both teams he was a pressing monster, his pressing is arguably one of the best in the current Liverpool squad as well. The difference is, that in both teams he had other midfielders behind him. He still had defensive duties, but not this current caliber. In Hungary he plays one of the hardest and most taxing roles: he drops deep to collect the ball, helps the build up from deep, and he contributes a LOT in defense, but he also has freedom to roam around the pitch, and enjoys the other midfielders support when he appears in the final third.

In Liverpool, he is a box-to-box midfielder. A different role, and not just a different role in midfield, but he is a midfielder under Klopp, played in the RHS in a triangle with Salah and Trent. Salah is our main goalscorer, Trent is our main creator. His job is to provide a stable link up between the two, allowing them to express themselves freely, offer his support, keep the width when needed, etc etc. Without him doing this, that rhs can't function properly. And this is just one of his many responsibilities. When Trent inverts into midfield he drops back into either help out (Ibou), or takes up completely the RB position. A position he has never played, by the way. He's constantly pressing, constantly running, constantly covering/contributing in defensive duties. He is the 5th fastest player this season. Other than his pressing, his other great quality is his off-ball work. Again, arguably, his awareness and intelligence when it comes to that is one of the best in the current squad. I encourage you to watch back some of our recent matches and take notice of him instead of the one giving the assist/scoring, many cases, without his efforts it wouldn't get to the point of it being a goal scoring opportunity.

I'm not going to argue with you and say that his passing hasn't looked a bit off in certain matches, that he didn't have some bad first touches or unnecessary long shots. He did. But please also think about all these NEW and constant duties, (other than the pressing& off-ball work), doesn't come natural to him at all and how these can affect his performance in the final third. Yes, it's an excuse,but a reasonable one in my opinion, maybe not for you, whatever.

All in all, it's easy to fail when you have been shifted from a role of being supported to being the one who is the constant and many times only support. Mind it, this is happening in a much more physical, much more demanding and stronger league. It's no wonder fatigue and eventually injury caught up to him. Other than Endo (and he only had like 5-6 starters in the PL), all of our starting midfielders struggled with injuries throughout the season, Domi was the last one to go down.

Anyways, this is the last time I did this. I'm so sick and tired, especially now with all the hate towards him, having the same conversation again and again. You think he's a bad, selfish person with a big ego, who insults and makes fun of his teammates etc etc. I'm not here to change your mind. But maybe try at least watching football with your eyes open before you start accusing one of the team's most selfless and most hard-working players, who is literally out injured (and likely very upset and heartbroken about that) because he tried to give his everything for his club, manager, teammates and fans.

[friskebits]

CASEY JR IS SO SILLY SO HAVE A RANT ON HIM! So, we all know he was raised in an apocalypse, and there aren't any real life examples of how living like that would effect someone, but! I've been taking a intro to psych for a few months now and I might be wrong on a few things here so feel free to add onto this if u want :3 Moving on, you ever heard of Maslow's Hierarchy? No? Well here it is (and if you have just bear with me for a moment)

The way this hierarchy works is that in order to get to self-actualization, which is extremely hard to do in a normal world already, you need to have all the rows of this pyramid fulfilled, and Casey Jr was failed from step one. Obviously he was loved and cared for, but love and familial relationships come after physical needs. You can't build a pyramid starting from the third layer. Obviously the Turtles and Casey Sr and April tried their hardest but it's really hard to take care of a baby, especially with limited recourses and its safe to assume that every now and then he went hungry or was cold and didn't get enough rest, especially throughout his childhood. Obviously he grew up used to his unfortunate life so I'd like to think he sorta lived his own version version of this hierarchy, an unfulfilled one. Now with all of that out of the way, it's so wholeheartedly heartbreaking that this kid will never reach self-actualization which is literally basically just actually enjoying life, being creative, having fun in general pretty consistently. This fucking kid was failed from step one, and will probably never reach his full potential!

He was raised centered around one thing, stop the kraang. Having your entire life centered around one goal is really unhealthy, especially since he knows absolutely nothing outside of that goal. His entire conscious and unconscious mind is occupied with that goal. Even when he's safe and consciously is perfectly aware of his safety, his unconscious mind doesn't know that. Being in fight-or-flight mode for long periods of time isn't sustainable, it'll literally kill you, and he's been in fighting mode his entire life, sudden changes in setting and environment are gonna trigger that fight or flight response HARD. His first few weeks or months or hell even years with the present turtles is gonna be filled with him getting SO pissed at himself for still treating his life like he's gonna die at every turn, not to mention again going back to the pyramid, all of a sudden he's thrown into a place where he can fix himself and reach his full potential, but it's extremely possible that his constant need for a survival situation is a cardinal trait and he might not want to! It's very easy to get used to being scared, and it's very easy to assume he got really used to it.

Typically speaking after an extreme high (for Casey Jr, going to the past and saving the world) you get stuck in an extreme low. The relief we can tell he feels at the end of the movie is gonna be gone and fast. Not to mention the stress of being in an entirely new environment with people he knows that don't know him, being in a place where everyone else hasn't been failed in such a fundamental way the way he was, set up for failure from step one? This kid is NOT going to be okay for a VERY long time- and that's stacked on top of YEARS of ptsd and watching everyone he loves die, his entire being is out of place in the present and he breaks my heart because when you're in a place where you're so flawed, completely by yourself and stuck with people who will never understand your life, you're completely and utterly fucked.

(tags for friembs :3 @clanofjones @paytato435)

[itsmaddienotmaddy]

I wasn’t going to blab my soccer nonsense but I can’t HELP IT.

We won, we scored, it’s World Cup season and I’m living for it.

Soph is inevitable and how fucking exciting is it that she got TWO goals and an assist in her World Cup debut. So good. So deserving. Miss ma’am put in the WORK today. She also needs to make quicker decisions on her passing, she waits and loses the open opportunities forcing her to go back or try to take on 4 players on the dribble.

Trin, also a DEBUT. It’s really really fun to see these players on this giant stage. And tbh, I think Trin would have done better if she hadn’t been trucked in the first 30 seconds. I think she’ll likely build in this tournament. I’m waiting for a worldie.

Alex - needed exactly what Tobin said in the first re inc recap episode. She needs good service. Soph and Trin like to dribble. There’s a conflicting front line game plan. That being said, she worked her ass off. Had really good opportunities and read situations really well. And my GOD, that flick assist to Soph is what dreams are made of. Should we ignore the penalty? Ummm. I kind of already blocked it from my brain. Soph should have taken it.

Pinoe, I love her. We all love her. Not her game. We know this. She obviously knows it. But the promising thing she does is that she’s this linking spark. Lindsey must have been pumped to have her in because all of a sudden, there were passing triangles pinging all over that side.

Alyssa (baby) - another youngin! I can’t find it in me to be anything but so freaking happy seeing the youth get this experience. No curmudgeon here for now. She had one great run and cross that was promising. Had a hard time staying on her feet, but can ya blame her?

Andi, sweet Andi. This was a great game for her to get minutes and side bar; she’s not a baby youth but it’s her first World Cup too and I’m PROUD. Idk if she’s always gonna cut it against top opponents but I appreciate her vision and her physicality. She’s a brick wall and really and truly, in a 50/50 sitch, my money is on Andi staying tall and the opposing player eating grass.

Savannah. How’s she doing? Can she believe it? How NUTS to have your literal second cap be starting the first game of the World Cup. She was getting shoved and getting really familiar with the grass for a bit, but she settled and actually looked extremely comfortable, stood out positively, and had some really good goal opportunities. She’s very cool, I wanna see a banger one of these games.

Lindsey has a pretty good game! She is a brilliant player and there were such good moments showing just that. Her pass to Alex’s flick to the first goal. Beautiful. And she had a few more that were so so nice. Went down easy a few times per usual but I do think she adjusted to the game and the lack of calls and she was working to stay up, putting that damn muscle to good use. She does have a tendency to overthink the strike when the ball takes a hot second to get to her. But, that third goal. A solid freaking rip.

Miss Rose. I missed that pale bitch so much. She makes the midfield. She makes those around her better. She allows a different attack because she carries the ball so well and folks are confident in her foot skills to allow her to work. She wasn’t perfect - her headers will forever crack me up. But we are at our best with Rose on the field.

Naomi. First World Cup whom? She is smooth, she is calm, she is consistent. Idk how she’s so young. She’s got amazing energy, big fan.

Center back Julie. She did what we needed back there. I’m curious if she was utilized as center back for the veteran experience or if she was put there instead of in the 6 because her fitness level isn’t midfield tier yet. Either way, blue headband blonde hair target on set pieces is something I’ve been missing in my life. She’s crazy. And we need it. Idk whom else is working as hard as her to get a body part on the ball for set pieces. (Can I say it? Can I say I miss Jill Ellis era set pieces?)

Crystal was doing lovely Crystal things. She works super well with Soph and if Soph could have weighted those passes better on the overlaps, oooohhhhhh!! Could’ve been SO good.

Foxy, a commanding debut. She looked v good. Maybe a touch better on crossing but she really just killed it. No other notes needed.

Kelley. Miss Bitch. Miss ‘I Know Exactly the energy you gotta bring to a big tournament’. No joke. Kelley brought tournament vibes onto the field. Her experience is unparalleled and I thought she made good use of her minutes. Her overlaps were good. Her connection with Lindsey and Pinoe was very good. And her crossing was spot on.

Sofia. Not the debut I’m sure she wanted. Usually a great crosser, not great today. Got smoked on the one defensive run needed. It’s a bummer.

Alyssa (uncle). I love her. I trust her. She didn’t have to do much. But I still love her.

And Vlatko gets a section because he confuses me. His game plan always seems so sleepy. The thing about the USWNT is that they used to put on a show. Loud sparkly ruthless bad bitches. And the personnel still has that in them, I KNOW THAT. I just don’t know why that’s not being accessed and unleashed. Which makes me blame coaching. Idk if he’s too nice, too careful, too unwilling to change the expected game plan when the actual game requires something different.

I am just a dumb bitch on the internet, however, if my players are getting pushed and shoved left and right and the ref isn’t calling shit…. I may rethink my idea of putting in my two most fragile (and arguably some of the most important) players in. I am so aware that Rose and Pinoe needed game minutes. Especially before the Netherlands. So I’ll let it slide this time lol. But the energy of that game - the ref letting all the physicality, pushing and tackling slide? That’s a… oh, maybe I put a Kristie and a Sonnett in and get them to put on their enforcer pants and change the flow of this game.

[melodytaylorauthor]

On today's episode of Mel writes books:

I am in the process of re-editing my first novel. I wrote it when I was 18 years old, and I've learned a bunch since then. (I should hope. Eesh.)

It's coming along nicely, thank you. The bones of a good story were in there, I just didn't yet know how to dig them out. Now I do.

As part of a new edit, I'm also getting a new book cover with a new author photo and a new description (often erroneously called a blurb).

Descriptions are HARD. It took me a few years, but I think I finally have a handle on the damn things. Here it is:

"Ian is a young woman with an unusual name – and a brand-new pair of fangs.

After life as a struggling artist, becoming a vampire is the most fun Ian’s ever had. Alongside her vampire mentor, she’s been playing the debutante artiste all night and sleeping all day. Until the night her mentor is brutally murdered.

Now Ian is next on the killer’s list. With no mentor and no idea how to catch a murderer, Ian fears she’ll be dead before sunrise. When an old and dangerous vampire who calls himself Sebastian Cain offers his help, Ian knows that despite his frightening demeanor, she has to accept.

But Sebastian is hiding secrets. With justice for her mentor and her own survival hanging in the balance, Ian must unravel Sebastian’s dark past and true intentions, gain control of her new vampiric powers, and uncover why a killer wants her dead – before she finds a dagger through her heart."

Allow me to dissect for you, if you like.

A story needs to consist of an everyday world, an inciting incident, characters' goals, complications, crisis, climax, resolution. A description is similar, but you don't want to include the final climax or resolution, and it's not identical.

A description needs a splashy hook. This should be one sentence, not too long. Then three paragraphs. First paragraph: a sum up of the everyday world, characters' goals, and the inciting incident. Keep that as tight as you can. Three to four sentences is ideal. Second paragraph: a summary of the complications. Stick to the main two or three complications, don't get lost in the weeds. Three to four sentences again is ideal. Third and final paragraph: a sum up of the crisis but not the climax or the resolution. The crisis is literally just the decision a character is forced to make in the course of the story and what will happen if they choose poorly; the climax is what they choose, the resolution is how that plays out. Keep that last paragraph short, too. Three sentences or so.

Tips from authors I admire: Don't ask your reader, "What would you do if -- ?" That's not what the story is about. Also, if the reader doesn't care or wouldn't do anything or wouldn't do what your character does, you've lost them right there. Don't ask questions like, "Can Ian unravel Sebastian's dark past and figure out why the killer wants her dead?" If she didn't the story would have an unsatisfying ending. Of course she will. Duh. Get more into the flavor of how that will go than if it will. Our newbie vamp who is described as a debutante artiste is going to unravel the dark past of someone much older and scarier than her, and figure out why her mentor's killer did it and wants her dead next? How the fuck will she do that? Well, read the book and find out!

Start with an elevator pitch. Figure out how to sum up the main character and the main conflict in about three sentences. This is what you will say to people who ask what your book is about. The more you ramble, the more you lose people, so keep it tight. Main character, main conflict. Build your description from there. When people ask what my book is about, I say, "It's about a young woman who's only been a vampire for a few years. She's having a great time when the man who turned her is horribly murdered. So now she has to not only figure out how to not get killed herself, but also why anyone would do this to her mentor and just how to survive as a brand-new vampire."

A breakdown of my description:

First, a splashy hook. This can be something about the theme, a statement about the major conflict, or a statement about the main character. Whatever seems interesting and gives a feel for something important going on in the story.

"Ian is a young woman with an unusual name – and a brand-new pair of fangs.

Every time I would workshop this description, if I left out that Ian was a woman, the biggest comment that I got was "Ian = female?!?" This was way too confusing for people, even people who should have been cool with fluid gender. When I opened the description with Ian being a woman, no one was confused about her gender, but everyone said it wasn't a great opener. Listen, people, I'm painted into a corner here. It's not a great opener, but you're not leaving me much choice. Ian is a very new vampire, and a lot of the complications in the story stem from her being so young and not having a handle on the world she now inhabits. So I added the "brand-new pair of fangs" as a tone-setter. Is it as grabby as it could be? No. Is it kind of what I had to work with? Kind of. It's doing its job well enough. My readers have responded well to it, so I'm content. Readers and writers look for very different things in a story. Remembering that is important to learning how to take critique.

Now we reach our first paragraph: everyday world and inciting incident. Our character was doing X thing UNTIL . . .

"After life as a struggling artist, becoming a vampire is the most fun Ian’s ever had. Alongside her vampire mentor, she’s been playing the debutante artiste all night and sleeping all day. Until the night her mentor is brutally murdered."

This paragraph has to do so much work. It has to give the reader a feel for the character, give the reader an idea what the character wants, and then say what happens to screw that all up. You have to take your walking, talking, breathing character that you've spent maybe YEARS detailing and getting to know and turning into a REAL PERSON, and distill them down to a couple of sentences. Who are they, what do they do/want? KEEP IT SHORT.

Ian is an artist. She's always wanted to pursue that muse, but it's hard out here for creatives. She bumped into a vampire (without knowing it) at a poetry reading and made friends with him, and he decided he liked her and changed her, so now she gets to play all night, painting and partying and having a good time, and it's been great for her so far. The man who turned her is a decent guy who's a real friend and believes in her. Yay, she gets to follow her muse. What she doesn't know is that he has a dark past that's been looking for him, a jilted lover with murder in his heart and the resources to track this guy down and make him suffer. Ian's mentor doesn't know his ex is about to catch up to him either, until the night he gets his heart ripped out of his chest. Ian is funny, intelligent, loves cats, enjoys a little light drug use at parties, doesn't take the world or herself too seriously, has her own sad love life history, is the oldest of two girls and has somewhat exhaustingly normal parents, etc. NONE OF THAT MATTERS. Not to a potential reader, not yet. Hopefully they will come to love Ian, but first, they have to have an idea who she is and if they want to know her any better. Three sentences: who she is, what she does/wants, what happens to fuck that all up.

On to the second paragraph: complications. Okay, so the big thing has gone wrong; then what happened that made fixing it or getting back to normal life even harder? Because if something went wrong, and then got fixed, boooooring. The character has to struggle to fix their shit, or the reader won't care.

"Now Ian is next on the killer’s list. With no mentor and no idea how to catch a murderer, Ian fears she’ll be dead before sunrise. When an old and dangerous vampire who calls himself Sebastian Cain offers his help, Ian knows that despite his frightening demeanor, she has to accept."

Another paragraph that has to do a lot of work. Sebastian is another fully-formed, interesting character who has a redemption arc through the story. There's also Ian's relationship to her mentor to explore, her human and vampire relations start crawling out of the woodwork to get in the way, she falls in love, Sebastian gets lusty for the first time in five hundred years, the two of them argue a bunch, there are secrets to uncover. Again, none of this matters in the description. The primary complications are that Ian will be killed next, her youth and inexperience make her vulnerable, a scary old vamp has offered help, she can't really say no and expect to live.

I'm giving you a little insight into the characters and story to let you know how MUCH I had to trim out to make this description work. It really boils down to what the main story is about -- having a good elevator pitch helps with this process A LOT. For the description I branched out and added Sebastian in, because his arc is important to the story, but I never bring him up in my elevator pitch. Short and sweet. And notice how you don't even know her mentor's name? Yeah. Short and sweet.

And on to our third and final paragraph: sum up the crisis, but leave out the climax and resolution.

"But Sebastian is hiding secrets. With justice for her mentor and her own survival hanging in the balance, Ian must unravel Sebastian’s dark past and true intentions, gain control of her new vampiric powers, and uncover why a killer wants her dead – before she finds a dagger through her heart."

Ian has a LOT of various decisions to make throughout the story. The big ones have to do with Sebastian and his redemption arc, saving herself and seeking justice for her mentor, and figuring her newbie vampire shit out. There's SO MUCH MORE, but this is where the primary plot goes. This is the question my elevator pitch proposes. I added in Sebastian, because the description can be a tad longer, but the elevator pitch is where it all starts.

If you got to the end of this, thanks for reading, I hope it was insightful and helpful! I know it was long; a lot goes into this.

Good luck out there.

[yappacadaver]

2 + 14 + 22 💖

Thanks you so much for sending me nubers :’3 ILU!!!!!!!

2. What would they do if the other woke in a manic state after a nightmare?

Raymond: Dealing with a manic Yumi is basically his third (fourth???) job now. If possession was taking over, he’d tap into the skills and knowledge they’re building together on how to deal with that (PLOT!!!! Coming v soon working on this chapter now lol). If it was just general psychological distress, that would be a little further outside his comfort zone, but he’s prepared to do what he can. The question “what do you need?” comes up a lot. Despite being a certified yapper, comforting words don’t come easily to him. His preference lies in problem solving, though Yumi shows him that sometimes a quiet and reassuring touch is what she prefers.

Yumi: Yumi would have a hard time with Raymond’s mania, mostly because it’s a very rare state for him to be in (these days). Where he has worked very hard to get a handle on his anger and fear, seeing him rage or panic would scare her— especially rage. If she ended up being the target of his rage she’d be paralyzed, and wouldn’t be much help. Otherwise, she’s very attentive and would do her best to see to his needs that he’d surely neglect like feeding him, keeping him hydrated, keeping him from staying up late working/smoking. She’s got a good ear for listening, and good arms for hugging. The episode would likely end with a long heart-to-heart, maybe some tears, and cuddles back to sleep (or at least back to resting, eyes closed).

14. How do their personalities compliment each other? How do they clash?

Oouh these two are complimentary like yin and yang

They have great “opposites attract” energy: she’s wild, he’s mild. She’s modern (90’s modern) and he’s more traditional. She’s sexual, he’s more discreet.

And in every aspect they maintain, there’s a little bit of the opposite energy in them. Raymond, the traditional type, might balk at being first-named when he expects an honorific, but he also designs websites and databases (in the 90s). Whereas Yumi, the MTV kid with a gameboy attached to her hand, does expect Raymond to pay for everything.

Their complimentary personalities only clash when their goals are misaligned. Only then do their worst aspects come out against each other and then Yumi is soooo bothered with how controlling Raymond is, or he is soooo frustrated with Yumi’s unreasonableness.

22. What reminds each of their partner?

I think I did this one before but it is such a fave and I’ve got more to say LOL

Raymond: he thinks of her in capricious summer weather, when honeysuckles start to go from white to yellow and you can smell them in the air. He sees her in lightning strikes and wary animals. A certain postcard with a certain crab mascot might arrive any day now and snap his memories straight back to their road trip.

Yumi: She has reminders of him etched into her body, the little scars on her fingers evoking the memory of him holding her hands for the first time and bandaging them in the back of his car. When she smells cigarettes, or hears waves crashing against the rocky New England shore, she remembers him.

Tysm again for sending some numbers!!!!! Yayayay these were so fun (*≧∀≦*)

OTP ASK GAME HERE, always accepting and anon is always on :3c!!!!!

[malefic-advantage]

the phases of the moon / the lunar cycle

a quick rundown on the spiritual meaning of the phases of the moon!

new moon: birth and rebirth, the beginning. this is the time to dream up plans and goals, to explore possibilities in a mindful way. opportunities flow into life, so give life the opportunity! pick up what's been put off, allow and invite change in order to see growth. clean up your workspace if you need to, you'll regain your strength and energy at this time and you'll want to use it soon.

waxing crescent: building and rebuilding, the rejuvenation. setting intentions and finding ways to implement them. putting thoughts and plans in motion, starting to work towards goals. pushing things into action and organizing where things should start, the perfect time to understand why you're dedicated to the tasks at hand. curiosity can only benefit you right now, these days are crucial for the completion of a goal!

first quarter: keeping things moving even when there are doubts and drains. taking note of what's in your surroundings/what you're surrounding yourself with, constantly figuring out what's working. stay brave and take a deeper look into what you're consuming, so it won't consume you instead. challenge is another word for game, so stay focused and remember to have fun!

waxing gibbous: align with what you've learned from what's hurt or hindered you. refine and reorganize and finally answer the question of "what's working?". your plans are nearly realized and the finish line is just around the corner. you've been building steady momentum, it's time to tidy up loose ends and get ready for the celebration that awaits.

full moon: highly charged by the opposition aspect, a clear divergence appears. symbolizes completion and harvest, this is the point where what you have been attracting and working towards has come to you. if seeking to banish, use the light and energy of this transit, as it will bring any dedicated cycle to a close. you made it.

waning gibbous: evaluate and reflect on how you've been working and what you've been working on. allow space in order to readjust and take note of your energy levels and momentum within projects. this is a time to express gratitude and realign your intentions if need be. asking yourself "how am i feeling?" will help you decide how best to take time for yourself. till your soil, turn your stones, and see how different the garden looks nowadays.

third quarter: let go of what pains you, it can be easy to let it consume you, but there are better days coming. it's not possible to always be your best. this is a point in time where what's been eating you up inside has become to be shown on the outside too, be wary of power struggles, both external and internal. blockages show their faces here, cleanse yourself of them any way you know how, these issues will seem much more manageable, do not give up your own space for it.

waxing crescent: surrender to the experience of the last few weeks. you've changed what you could have, and you cannot go back in time. now, rest and restore your energy, allow yourself this moment of letting go in order to come back stronger. this is a compassionate, replenishing time, where gratitude and acceptance will make all the difference. practice self love and self care, try to sleep in if you can!

there are a few things that influence how we interpret the phases lunar cycle from an astrological standpoint:

whether the moon is in the day or night sky

it's aspects to the sun

when the moon is found in the same realm as the sun, we compare the difference between energy and rest, as seen in the crescent phases.

when the moon is found in the opposite realm of the sun, we compare the difference between evaluation and alignment, as seen in the gibbous phases.

this has weight when considering the aspects between the sun and moon during the quarterly phases (new, first, full, and third quarters). the quarter phases are seen as a battle for dominance in the respective kingdoms of night and day, the full moon is seen as an opposition from the sun, and the new moon a conjunction.

the full moon being in opposition to the sun presents challenges, and considering that the moon simply reflects the sun's light, qualities and symbols of the moon seem to be reflective of those of the sun. during the full moon, one's pride seems to be much more egregious than normal, and the opinion of personal spotlights are heightened.

the new moon being conjoined with the sun takes this in a different, yet similar, way. during the new moon, one's emotions become synonymous with their life-force, we identify with the parts of ourselves we as human beings typically keep hidden.

of course, there's more than just these two factors to consider when drumming up information on the lunar cycle, but it's fun to look at how these work with it!

[birlwrites]

🎢, 🍦,💖,🤗,😬, 💔, 🤲?

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

oh, definitely career goals: tyrant - it's unhinged from chapter 1 and only gets more so

🍦 What’s the sweetest fic you’ve created so far?

i was torn so i picked 2 afslghjksdf - the first one is sun and shadow, aka the pjo au, and the second is the point of creation, which is a check please fic with lardo/ransom in which lardo is a composer and ransom is a poet and they make art for each other and it's very soft

💖 What made you start writing?

hmm i don't think there was ever a set Moment - i've always been coming up with stories, and i'm p sure my parents have some picture books/graphic novels/comics/idk what to call them drawn by yours truly at age <5. i started actually like, typing stories in a word processor in about 4th grade because my best friend was writing a story and i wanted to copy her

🤗 What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?

3 things: first of all, try not to jump straight into posting your stuff somewhere like ao3. get a feel for what you like writing and what makes you happy before you start introducing things like 'how many people kudosed my fic today' - there is SO MUCH fic out there, and it can be very hard to build an audience/find your people, especially when you're just starting out. there's no reason to demoralize yourself right away. build up your sense of what YOU like before you start worrying about whether other people like it. (sharing your writing with your friends is different - they're your friends, not faceless internet people ashfkjhsf)

second of all, it's important to make sure that you're actually enjoying the process. writing fanfic should be fun - if it feels like a chore or an obligation, it might be time to step back and see if you've accidentally turned it into a job instead of something you do solely because you enjoy it

third of all, writing a complete fic beginning to end is a skill in and of itself. don't expect yourself to just sit down and bang out a multichap fic with flawless pacing and an amazing ending. that's something that requires practice. the best way to practice is to finish what you start. you don't have to finish absolutely everything - as i said, this should be fun - but just be aware that if you want to complete your fics in a satisfying way, you need to practice writing complete stories. one-shots are a great way to start!

😬 Which of your fics would you be most horrified for friends, family, or coworkers to stumble upon?

ohhhh man

honestly, the entire concept makes me wince, but tbh probably lachrimae. i feel like that's the one most likely to inspire the 'why aren't you writing original stories, you should be writing original stories' reaction

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

i have a few, all regulus angst - we've got implode--, survived by, and happy birthday, which i wrote when i was ~15 and, if i do say so myself, KILLED IT.

implode-- is about sirius rescuing a mostly-dead regulus from the cave, survived by is about sirius finding death eater regulus after evan's death (there's a theme LMAO - that's a fic i wouldn't be able to write these days, i'm too attached to evan now), and happy birthday is canon-compliant snapshots of regulus's life from age 11 to age 18

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

ABSOLUTELY. HERE'S LACHRIMAE

-

Voldemort says, "Do you consider yourself a fighter, Regulus?"

It could pass for conversational—silk floating on water. He hisses the tiniest bit on Regulus, a tiny whistle of air after precisely pronounced syllables like an ice cube against the back of Regulus's neck. Regulus's mask gleams at his side, awkward and useless in his hand—he can't put it on, but he can't put it away, and so there it stays, a glimmering ghost in the sun.

What sort of answer does Voldemort want? He doesn't want Regulus to fight, he wants to keep his Seer safe, but there has to be a reason he's asking, a reason he called Regulus in the first place.

Regulus doesn't consider himself a fighter. He's... flexible. He bends, goes around instead of through. Fire and brimstone have always been more Bellatrix's thing, and Voldemort must know that.

"You," Voldemort says, "have a habit of responding to my questions with silence."

Great.

-

send me fic writer emoji asks!

[teecupangel]

How about a plot twist? Connor is transported to the crusades. How would that change things, if at all, and how would he and Altair get along? Any romance for Connor? If so, with whom?

If, in this scenario, Ratonhnhaké:ton is thrown into the Third Crusades during the plot of AC1 (maybe he got punted just after the failed Jerusalem mission). In this case, there would be enough information for him to know that he’s been sent to the past. Personally, I believe he would try to return to his village first, maybe try to find out why he was sent there in the first place, but, to do that, he would need a ship and a crew.

His Eagle Vision would tell him to try his luck in an unassuming building and that’s where he would first make contact with the Rafiqs.

To be more exact…

With Malik.

Unorganized Notes:

In this setup, we’re going for Ratonhnhaké:ton being in the middle of the plot of AC3, old enough to be a great Assassin but young enough to still need a bit of guidance

I threw him in Malik’s direction because Malik would be curious enough to interact with him, smart enough to realize that Ratonhnhaké:ton is an Assassin from another Brotherhood far away from them, and kind enough to act like a mentor to Ratonhnhaké:ton. Throwing him in Masyaf would be asking for trouble since Al Mualim wouldn’t risk an unknown Assassin screwing his plans now (although this would set a plot of Ratonhnhaké:ton versus Altaïr though which could be fun but would easily fall on the pitfall of Hollywood team-up plotlines). The other two Rafiqs would be a bit harder to pinpoint but they would definitely alert Al Mualim about Ratonhnhaké:ton. Malik has a slight chance of not doing the same thing because he would see that Ratonhnhaké:ton wants to remain ‘not seen’ and he’ll do it until he’s sure that Ratonhnhaké:ton is not a danger to the Brotherhood.

Ratonhnhaké:ton wouldn’t have that much information about the Levantine Brotherhood. Hell, he might not even recognize Altaïr at all since Achilles didn’t exactly give him a big rundown of the Brotherhood’s history. At best, he might think he’d heard of Altaïr before but can’t remember where.

This would make him and Altaïr have a relationship with equal footing. Ratonhnhaké:ton and Altaïr won’t exactly get along at the start. Altaïr would find him to be too secretive to be trustworthy. Ratonhnhaké:ton would be annoyed by Altaïr’s arrogance. They would have a ‘forged in fire’ kind of friendship, especially after Altaïr starts to change for the better.

Ratonhnhaké:ton’s main goal is to get a ship and a crew to sail back to his village but he will get sucked into the whole Assassin versus Templar thing because he can’t find it in himself to not care. Especially when this supposed crusade hits too close to what was happening back in his time.

Romance-wise… is it weird that I can kinda see Ratonhnhaké:ton and Maria having something? Like, even if it’s not going to lead to anything, they would definitely have a crush on one another. Also, Ratonhnhaké:ton would definitely see Maria as a formidable opponent without caring about her gender and treat her with respect befitting his kinda-sorta rival. Maria would see that and be… interested in Ratonhnhaké:ton because of it.

On the other side, Malik treating Ratonhnhaké:ton more like a younger brother? Maybe even have a scene of Ratonhnhaké:ton reminding him that he is not the brother he lost and Malik agreeing with him, there was no way he would replace Kadar. It’s just… They both lost someone dear to them and they’re not looking to replace them. They just see someone in pain like them and they tried to help. In the end, found family!

Ratonhnhaké:ton and Altaïr ending up as BFF would be fun too and acting as each other’s ‘woahwoahwoah, my friend didn’t mean it like that! Let me explain!’ whenever someone misunderstand them (mostly Christians)

[annegirl13]

Back to Books!

I really fell off the reading goal bandwagon after, what, January? Let’s blame the ADHD for that hyperfixation fizzling out. But! I’m back to reading now. I’ll call it a combination of long car rides, a need for background noise while cleaning and doing tasks on my own, and a desire to be a good example to my new students.

So what have I read in the past month? (I’m no particular order, and it might have been more like 6 weeks…)

I finished:

The Ramona Quimby Collection by Beverly Cleary - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Technically this was 8 books (?) I have read all the Ramona books in the past. I think my favorites are Beezus and Ramona and Ramona’s World, so the start and end of the series. It’s interesting to see Ramona and Beezus grow up through each book. These books bring back a lot of memories for me. I give them a collective four stars.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An absolute classic and a masterpiece. Picked this one specifically because I want to read it to my third graders. Absolutely beautiful. If you haven’t read this one, do it! The full cast recording was pretty good. (As a kid I think I had the tapes with E.B. White reading it himself, which was also fantastic if you can find it.)

Redwall by Brian Jacques - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An old favorite. Brian Jacques was a wonderful world builder and this is the one that started the series. Four stars, with one just for the full cast recording. Jacques was the master of those!

Mattimeo by Brian Jacques - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sequel to Redwall so I had to follow up with this one. More lovely world building, fun characters, and amazing performances.

Taggerung by Brian Jacques - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My favorite Redwall book. I love all the characters and the plot, and I get songs from this stuck in my head! Absolutely gorgeous.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A modern classic, in my opinion, but I had to stop listening to it until daytime. Something about listening to it at night on my own was too creepy! Neil Gaiman’s voice is one I could listen to no matter what he read.

The Losers Club by Andrew Clements ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A new (to me) book by a favorite author! I really connected with the main character, who is a book lover to the point he gets in trouble at school for reading when he’s not supposed to! I so relate! The story was really fun and had a great message. I might do this one as a read aloud for my kiddos. Alec (the main character) is in 6th grade, but I think my kiddos could understand. It has a list of recommended books at the back, many of which I have not read (yet!)

I’m currently reading:

High Rhulain by Brian Jacques - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another good Redwall book. I like the character and all the riddles. This one is a comfort read. It gets stars because I’ve read it before.

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Just checked this one out from the library and then thought, “Oh! I haven’t done a reading update. I should do that!” I’ll let you know how it is. It looks a little spooky!

Not sure if I’ll dig out my tracking blanket project, but I at least wanted to share these. I want to teach my class to share what they’re reading and how they feel about books, so like I said, I’m setting a good example.

[notjanine]

spent the summer prepping for and taking the worst exam of my life, riding out the lease at the worst place i've ever lived,* then being temporarily kinda homeless,** and getting dozens and dozens of job applications rejected. i had some fun in there, but my anxiety has been through the fucking roof on top of my regular summer depression.

then the last two weeks of august happened 😳

everything happens so much. somehow, i managed to find the perfect apartment for a reasonable rent, and now me and Books are living (together!) in a fantastic and charming new home- lots of space, big kitchen table, a balcony facing undeveloped woods, just off one of the major roads in the city that has my favorite grocery store and our favorite sandwich shop (where we were already regulars). plus, i've gotten not one, not two, but three (three!) job offers- and i can take them all!!! one is with a hospital where i did my favorite internship rotation, and i'm so excited that i get to go back there and get paid to do that job, it was a blast. another is right by my new place and it's similar to the other hospital, but it's slightly bigger and sees more complex cases, so i'll be comfortable and confident, but i'll still get some new, specific clinical experience in areas that i'm interested in.

and the third position is... literally my dream job. it's the job that's been the end goal since the moment i chose my field of study. grad school and the internship made me rethink all of my professional goals and push them back, thinking i wouldn't be able to get to them for so long because i'd need ~more experience~. but now i'm. uh. i did it. i did it??!

the two hospital jobs are just part time, but they both pay well. the other won't start for a few months bc my boss*** has to get insurance approval to add me to her private practice,**** but that's okay, because i have a lot of reading and learning i want to do in the meantime to prepare! and then it will start as part time working up to full time as i build up my case load, but i'll also get to decide my own hours and do some work from home. i'll get to work with my favorite kinds of patients! and i'll get fantastic professional development opportunities for specialization, if i want to. the other dietitians in the practice seem lovely, so i'm excited to work with them. and the pay is realllly good, gosh, for being fresh out of the internship, it's nuts.

so things will pick up as i go through orientation and onboarding for the two hospital jobs next month. but it'll get calmer again after that, so i'll have the time and energy to prepare for the more challenging work that starts later, which is really nice.

and in the meantime, i'll be tending the wee garden on my balcony and playing board games with the love of my life 💗

[braxiatel]

Writer’s Round-Up 2022

I made a post following this writer’s meme on New Year’s Eve last year, so I thought I would repeat it for comparison. It isn’t one you need to be tagged in to do, nor do you need to tag others if you do it.

Total Word Count:

I have published a total of 68,570 words! Compared to 2021’s 31,021 that’s 2.2x as much!

New Things This Year:

There’s three main things that come to mind.

I started writing Hermitcraft/Life series fic!

I made some new writing friends I think deserve a shoutout. First @stitchthesewords and @atherix, and more recently @sparksnevadas and @mochiwrites. I love their works and admire each of them for their craft and their style of writing, so making their acquaintance has been lovely.

Finally I have rediscovered the joy in writing. Last year is struggled so much with anxiety about writing and publishing fic, to the point that it was preventing me from writing. I think I am a lot more confident in my own ability now, and more importantly I’ve become more comfortable with my own shortcomings. All writers have room to improve, and the best way to do that is by writing. If it is too frustrating I stop, and if not I write it as well as I can and accept that my writing is best when I am enjoying the process.

Fic I spent the most time on:

Could I Be The Sky for sure. I spent about four months working on it, and I am so proud of how far I came through the process of writing it. As such I think the story gets stronger the further you read, and the third chapter + the epilogue are by far my favourites.

Favourite thing I wrote:

Hmm. See, the thing is, I like a lot of what I wrote.

Other than CIBTS, which means a lot to me for a lot of reasons, I think the answer has to be one of the Equinox AU fics. However, because they are all part of one story I struggle to pick one. Possibly the latest, In the Darkness You Reap, or maybe the one before that Harbour Me, Guide Me Home

I also really enjoyed writing "We Double as a Drama Troupe" not least for the excuse to use a little bit of the 0.5 theatre degree I earned before dropping out of university. I think it’s funny, and that I got the characters pretty spot on.

Favourite thing I read:

Oh there’s so many. Genuinely.

I read less Warcraft fanfiction now than I did last year, but I still just want to give a shoutout to that fandom for the amazingly high level of writing quality. I specifically want to list @khadgarfield’s Convergence. I love the language it uses, especially for descriptions. In fact I think of it often while writing myself.

Another favourite was @milo-hypno’s Aftershocks of Divinity. This fic… wow, this fic. I don’t think I will ever read another romance/slowburn fic and not compare it to this. The way Aftershocks of Divinity treats the subject of love, of recovery, is genuine and poetic enough that it brought my to tears even as I was reading it for the third time - and it is one of those where rereading it adds to the story.

And lastly, I would be remiss not to mention the Midnight series by @atherix. Oh Midnight. I don’t even know where to start listing all the things I love about it. Atherix, friend, you are the master of world building and foreshadowing. Midnight is fun to read because it rewards paying attention to details. Oh, and then there’s the characterisation, of course. It has that perfect mix of accurate to canon and sensible in the context of the AU it is set within. This one is a masterclass in slowburn as well, and were it a little less late I would dig out a screenshot of me messaging the group chat full of people who do not read Hermitcraft fic, letting them know that the OT3 from the fic series I keep talking about finally got together.

Writing goals for next year:

There’s projects I want to start working on and ones I want to keep working on. Equinox and Kingdom of Boatem AU are the main two, but they aren’t necessarily a goal.

I think most of all I just want to keep working towards writing being something that brings me joy and creative satisfaction. I’ve come so far in 2022, I want to keep up that good work.

-

Finally, something I couldn’t fit in anywhere else. I have to give a massive shoutout to @loombarrow for all of your help with writing through the year. Love you, friend!

[jrow]

Fic year in review

@calaisreno and @raina-at both tagged me (and Raina said some really nice stuff!) so I figure, why not do this? For the record, I’ve stolen Raina’s format ;):

I am pretty happy with my fic output this year. It’s been a busy, stressful one in the non-digital world, and I was very glad to have fandom to unwind in. Things are getting busier and far more stressful in my offline life (work, volunteering I’ve started, young kids, stuff) but keeping some time aside to write/edit is pretty important for my mental health. Sometimes it’s just a couple hundred words a week (with millions of imagined words in my mind) or betaing a few pages, but it’s still very needed.

Total number of completed stories: 5

Total word count: about 110k published, but I know I wrote about 20k of that in 2021. Plus there is probably 10k or so words in WIPs (that may or may not see the light of day)

Fandoms written in: BBC Sherlock

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?: Probably about what I expected. If I had put money on it, I would have said 100k. I’d make the same guess for 2023...

What’s your own favorite story of the year? Depends on the day....potentially Jam, because I’m pretty proud of the epilogue. But I suspect that The Man in the Cartier Frames is the one I’ll reread the most.

Did you take any writing risks this year?: I participated in FTH which was a little nerve-wracking, but it turned out really! I am not sure I would have overcome writer’s block if I didn’t have those pieces to work on. I like a bit of pressure sometimes. In terms of writing, I took fewer risks than I would have liked, but the alternating perspective in Jam certainly felt like a risk.

I also started beta’ing this year, which was a bit of a risk, I suppose. It also worked out really well though. It’s something I think I’m good at. It’s also easy when you are beta’ing for people whose stories you really, really like! And for the record, a co-worker of mine suggested earlier this year that I make an easy shortcut for em-dashes (I use them a lot in my work) and it’s honestly changed my life. It’s why I’m so quick to insert/correct them when beta’ing now! I do love an em-dash.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year?: Post at least a part of an AU. So far, all of my posted works have been basically in canon. I have a handful of AUs sketched out or, in two cases, partly written. But, I have a lot more trouble sticking with them. I think it’s the world-building aspect (something both @calaisreno and @raina-at are amazing at!) and fear that what I develop won’t read true. I do a ton of research for all my fics, regardless of when/where they take place (I like to be accurate when I can), but world building is a step beyond researching. The reality is, that (at least some) of the AUs I want to write won’t be as popular as my regular stuff...I am fine with that most of the time, but sometimes there’s a worry you will be writing for no one but yourself (which shouldn’t matter, but some days does ;) )

Most popular story of the year?“ Hmmm...in terms of kudos and general love, it’s definitely The Man with the Cartier Frames. People love parentlock and I do think I write it well (it helps that my kids are good ages to model Rosie). But I got a lot of love and really amazing comments on Blue Plaques too.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I’m not sure anything this year was under-appreciated. Possibly 5mm (a very short (and fluffy established relationship fic), but it’s the third in my That Time of Year series, so I expected small numbers.

Most fun story to write: Blue Plaques. Figuring out a ridiculous mystery that would give the ending I wanted (I knew the solution before I knew anything else), and researching about blue plaques and random spots in London was a ton of fun.

Most unintentionally telling story: Oooohhh. That’d probably be The Man With the Cartier Frames. There is lots of my daughter (M) in Rosie in this story. This includes a freak accident that made my partner (M’s father) an absolute mess at the hospital (that Sherlock sobbing scene was inspired by real life). M was totally fine (I still don’t know how but am so thankful) but that moment was the seed that led to this fic.

Biggest disappointment: Probably that I didn’t post an AU? But honestly, I am not really disappointed with this year’s writing or reception.

Biggest surprise: The engagement I got from some of my favourite authors (including art!!) this year. It’s a real honour when people whose writing you admire start commenting on your stuff. It’s worked the other way too, I have started reading people’s because they comment on my stuff and it ends up being amazing! I was going to tag people here, but I’m afraid of forgetting someone...if you’ve commented on my stuff and you write, I’m probably talking about you!

I’ll nominate anyone who wants to reflect on the past year :).